Free Republic

We were told to expect a decision “within days” as to Finland applying for membership in NATO, triggering a threatening response from the Kremlin. That estimate proved to be true. This morning, the President and Prime Minister of Finland held a joint news conference where they announced that Finland’s formal application to join the alliance will be submitted this week following a vote in Parliament that is being described as “a formality.” But formally applying is not the same as being formally accepted. While NATO leadership initially announced that Finland’s application would be accepted and approved “quickly,” some analysts are...

India, the world’s second largest producer of wheat, has banned all exports with immediate effect after a heatwave affected the crop. A notice in the government gazette by the directorate of foreign trade, dated Friday, said a rise in global prices for wheat was threatening the food security of India and neighboring and vulnerable countries. A key aim is to control rising domestic prices. Global wheat prices have increased by more than 40% since the beginning of the year. Before the war, Ukraine and Russia accounted for a third of global wheat and barley exports. Since Russia’s 24 February invasion,...

Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Sunday outlined demands for Finland and Sweden which seek membership in NATO in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Speaking with Turkish reporters after a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Berlin, he said that Sweden and Finland must stop supporting terrorists in their countries, provide clear security guarantees and lift export bans on Turkey. According to Cavusoglu, Turkey was not threatening anybody or seeking leverage but speaking out especially about Sweden's support for the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Ankara views the PKK as a terrorist organization. Cavusoglu echoed an earlier statement by Turkish...

The war between Russia and Ukraine is following a trajectory that is perfectly in line with NATO’s, or rather the Anglo-American world’s, expectations. It is clear that this war has been brewing for quite some time – the start perhaps dates back all the way to the Barack Obama era. Considering it on a continental plane, the war will include an Atlantic-Pacific showdown. This showdown is progressing not directly and all at once, but gradually. There are two simultaneous objectives in the first stage. Accordingly, the Anglo-Saxon bloc planned and programmed to divide from Eurasia continental Europe, which is thought...

Call to take Christian refugees March 12, 2007 11:00pm http://www.news.com.au/sundaymail/story/0,,21369331-953,00.html THE Reverend Fred Nile says Australia should give priority to Christians fleeing persecution in Muslim countries and stop Muslim immigration for a decade. Mr Nile, leader of the Christian Democratic Party and member of the NSW Upper House, has called for a 10-year moratorium on Muslim immigration to Australia. There had been no serious study of the potential effects on Australia of the more than 300,000 Muslims who were already here, he said.

It's pretty rare that I have an occasion to congratulate Hugo Chavez's government on anything, especially anything related to the War on Terror. But two cheers are in order for Venezuela's capture of the leader of an international terror organization which looks to be responsible for an attack on a U.S. embassy last month. Teodoro Darnott, aka "Sheidy Daniel," thought he was immune from Hugo's attentions. Darnott, in the remote Zulia section of Venezuela, near the Colombian border, had begun preaching a weird fusion of militant Islam, Marxist theory, and even a sprinkling of Catholic "Liberation Theology" to a group...

As the dust of the 2006 election settles, it's clear who the real winners are. Our enemies pay far more attention to our politics than most of our citizens, and know just how to manipulate our media to achieve maximum impact. Think it's a coincidence that October was constantly referred to as, "the bloodiest month since 2003" in every newscast for weeks before the election? Just as they swayed the Spanish election in 2004 -- but failed to do three times in Iraq -- the enemy has influenced our own political process to benefit themselves. (web site) More than anything,...

The increasing risks that go with the rise of Islam Islam is, by definition, both a religion and a political system. As the population of Europe withers away, Muslim immigrants are amassing power, bringing the political culture of Islam into close conflict with Western liberalism. Steyn wonders what will happen when the laws of sharia smack up against the mores of Europe.

 UK - Olympic-Size London Mosque Stirs Fear Try and build a similar size church in Saudi Arabia. Oct. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Every Friday, Abdul Khaliq heads down a deserted lane with hundreds of other Muslim men to pray at a temporary shelter on a windswept wasteland in east London. He's waiting for the shacks to be replaced by Europe's biggest mosque. ``We are going to produce a landmark, something not seen in this country before,'' said Khaliq, project manager for the global Islamic missionary movement Tablighi Jamaat, which plans to spend at least 100 million pounds ($190 million) to build...

Talks on whether Kosovo should remain part of Serbia or be given independence should start soon, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has said. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4319566.stm