Turkey’s reform-minded Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is nothing like his iron-fisted Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin—right? Think again. In both leaders’ countries, journalists who dare to criticize the government often end up behind bars. In E

Terry Teachout has provoked me to thought (much to the consternation of DarkoV — but what has he done for us lately?) with this list of 10 American novels he wishes he'd written. It's a rather oddly constructed exercise. The first question screaming to b

A decision could come as early as Tuesday afternoon in the case of Jamshid Muhtorov (M

Your turkey and home might explode from risky gas fryers

When it comes to Israel, advice is never in short supply. It’s doled out steadily by diplomats, scholars, editorial writers, columnists, you name it. The onset of the so-called Arab Spring – in actuality, it more closely approximates an Islamic Winter –

Turkish people like to boast about their hospitality. They enjoy being thought of abroad as having a culture that takes pride in opening its doors to everyone. However, there are times when hospitality turns into hostility. Sometimes things break out int

In light of the argument between Tayyip Erdogan and Paul Auster about the relative freedoms of Turkey and Israel, I thought it would be instructive to quote from a Hebrew language profile of Auster published (of all places) in Yisrael HaYom. Unfortunatel

The Arab Spring has been tough on Turkey. Its good friend, Syrian President Bashar Assad, disappointed it with a violent crackdown on protesters. Relations with Iran have grown chillier, Ankara was forced to do an embarrassing about-face on the Libyan no

It is very obvious the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) government is getting seriously disturbed by the growing international criticism over deteriorating freedom of expression in Turkey, especially after the number of arrested journalists ros

Paul Auster thanked main opposition leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu for supporting him in the public eye in a letter sent by the author to Kılıçdaroğlu. "I thank you for your kind invitation," Auster wrote. "I have been refusing to come until now to vioce my c

FILE - In this Jan. 24, 2012 file photo, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses lawmakers at the parliament in Ankara, Turkey. For adversaries in a long-distance spat, they made an odd couple. Turkey's leader, a brash visionary who propell

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan rekindled the debate with U.S. author Paul Auster today, saying the writer should get together with main opposition leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu for a picnic "overlooking Gaza." “Obviously the writer had been misl

Sometimes, people or armies cross countries and oceans, but are destroyed in small rivers when they start to feel self-confident. You have made this country cross oceans, but you are now causing us to drown in small rivers. Today, Turkey is completely di

After the prime minister’s war of words with author Paul Auster, we had heard that the number of arrested journalists exceeded 100. Many national and international media outlets wrote that about 100 Turkish journalists had been arrested for writing news

The same undoubtedly applies to most countries in the world: Media reports only provide a two-dimensional picture, based on a handful of developments deemed newsworthy. And we probably underestimate the information gathering simply by walking in the stre

ISTANBUL (AP) — For adversaries in a long-distance spat, they made an odd couple. Turkey's leader, a brash visionary who propelled his country to regional prominence, tangled with an American author who dwells on the existential in his work. The skirmish

Turkey, an imperfect example for the region By CHRISTOPHER TORCHIA Associated Press By CHRISTOPHER TORCHIA Updated: 2012-02-05T12:35:59Z File FILE - In this Jan. 3, 2012 file photo, Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, right, and the Gaza Strip'

Turkey's leader, a brash visionary who propelled his country to regional prominence, tangled with an American author who dwells on the existential in his work. Th

Turkey's leader, a brash visionary who propelled his country to regional prominence, tangled with an American author who dwells on the existential in his work. Th