Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

News

THE IMAGINARY EAVESDROPPER: ERDOGAN CONGRATS EDITION

THE IMAGINARY EAVESDROPPER: ERDOGAN CONGRATS EDITION
Make us preferred on Google

Three foreign leaders were quick to call Mr. Erdogan to congratulate him on his presidential victory — Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani, and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin. A brief imagining of what each might have said.


Orban: Recep! Nicely done. Love what you’ve done with the place — controlling media and the courts is pretty real, right? Listen, can’t help but notice that you’re still housing 3.4 million refugees from Syria. If you… eh… have any plans to stick it to the EU by letting them through, let’s talk ahead of time, shall we? Btw, if you need any anti-Soros swag, I’ve got TONS left over.

Putin: Recep Ahmetovich! Only 52% of the vote and a coalition in parliament? Psht! If people really think you’re trying to be me, you’ve got a long way to go, patsan… But anyway, nicely done and of course, next time NATO or the Europeans give you grief, I’ve got that relief.

Rouhani: Hi. Hassan here. Thanks for taking my call. . . Hello? . . Oh good, you’re still there. Listen, nice job with the election — remember, our annual Implacable Opponents of Israel and Saudi and the Kurds BBQ/Bakesale is coming up and you haven’t RSVP’d, but I know you’ve been busy — see you there?

More For You

Trump’s most disruptive days on the world stage are behind him
I’ve said it before: since Donald Trump took office for the second time a year and a half ago, the United States has been the largest single driver of global political risk. Not Moscow, not Tehran, not Beijing – Washington. When the leader of the most powerful country in the world – the one that built and upheld the global order for eighty years – [...]
Ebola’s economic side effects
Natalie Johnson
In addition to the health concerns from the Ebola outbreak, the UN is sounding the alarm on a potential development crisis in Africa sparked by the disease. The intergovernmental body warns that it could cost billions of dollars of the continent’s GDP, and that roughly 328,000 jobs stand to be lost if the disease spreads to countries like Rwanda [...]
Protesters hold flamingo-shaped placards and a large representation of a flamingo as they demonstrate against the government, in Tirana, Albania, on June 22, 2026.​

Protesters hold flamingo-shaped placards and a large representation of a flamingo as they demonstrate against the government, following weeks of protests against a planned luxury resort backed by a company linked to Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of US President Donald Trump, on an environmentally sensitive part of the Adriatic coast, in Tirana, Albania, on June 22, 2026.

REUTERS/Valdrin Xhemaj
Flamingo protests take flight in AlbaniaOver the past month, Albania has seen its largest street demonstrations since the fall of communism nearly four decades ago. The protests in the small Balkan country were touched off by the start of construction on a seaside luxury resort linked to US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner. The [...]
The EU steels itself for tariffs
Farida Dowidar
The trade bloc is also reducing its quota of tariff-free steel imports, as trade tensions mount with Beijing. The EU’s goal is to reduce its near-$400 billion annual trade deficit with China. However, the move could hurt other steel exporters with whom the EU has solid relations, including the UK, Ukraine, and Japan. Brussels isn’t the first to [...]