The Western Word

This Week's Editorial

THE HALLOWEEN GRAVE DANCE
By Avi Davis

It is that time of year again when I become irritatingly sanctimonious. My family readily expects that the last day of October will arouse my deepest antipathies.   Blame it on my upbringing. Since, as an Australian, I was not privileged to be raised with the Halloween tradition, it is difficult for me to appreciate the holiday as one of the sacrosanct rites of American childhood. Sadly, it has always looked much more to me like a gruesome celebration of death. Call me a curmudgeon, but no luminous jack o’lanterns, shimmering skeleton backed costumes, or enticing mounds of corn candy have ever been able to convince me that Halloween is anything other than the commercial expression of America’s obsession with a culture of death.

That was until last week. As I passed a home in my neighborhood, where the splayed feet of a plastic corpse poked out of the dirt, I had a revelation. I finally understood that Halloween is not a celebration of death at all. It is death’s denial. Americans are led, by a relentless assault of media images that promote youth and health, to believe that there is no finality to life. We trivialize death and while mocking it, treat the dead as comic book characters.    Movies, video games, books and music of the last twenty years all offer evidence of a culture dismissing death as a fiction. From Alice Cooper (who wrote that lovely paean to necromancy, I Love the Dead) to the The Mummy, we live in world where death has acquired the teasing patina of farce.

While it may well be easy to dismiss such raillery as over-sensitive paranoia, it can’t be forgotten that Halloween has become an important calendar event, not just among young children but also among adults. For many, Halloween is a convenient and excusable means of revealing one’s dark side, discreetly hidden away at other times of the year.

And not simply for party-goers. To the consternation of many, necromancy, black magic and witchcraft are gaining discouraging momentum in our society, enjoying a revival as a sub-culture that propagates, among other things, orgiastic sex, animal mutilation and devil worship.   A quick search of the Internet under the words ‘witchcraft’, ‘ paganism’ and ‘occult’ unearths thousands of skillfully developed websites, devoted to the transmission of the black arts. Among these websites a researcher will find dates for regular group meetings in every State, shops that sell sacrificial knives and prayer books for worship of the devil.

Those who so innocently celebrate Halloween as an event catering for children should also be aware of some of its less appealing antecedents. Many of the surviving Catholic holy days commemorating the lives of saints, long ago absorbed the rituals and even theology of their surrounding pagan cultures.   Thus, St. Patrick Day, originally designed to commemorate the teachings of its martyred namesake, has leprechauns, drunkenness and other assorted foolishness crowding out the memory of that saint’s original teachings.    The unfortunate St. Valentine sees the Roman god Cupid exalted on his feast day with nary a thought dedicated to his personal legacy.

Similarly corrupted was All Saints Day, (which became All Hallow’s Eve), a day set aside to commemorate the many saints and martyrs who had no special annual remembrance of their own. It may well have been the adoption of the practices of Druids in England who went door to door on the day asking for gifts and threatening spells for the ungenerous that lent Halloween its special form of corruption. Popularized in America in the 19th Century by immigrants, trick or treating soon became so hazardous to life and property that by the 1890s a number of States were forced to legislate against the practice.

Today Halloween trick or treating is a custom so readily accepted that even churches and synagogues host Halloween parties. Dressed as goblins, ghouls, witches and demons, our children roam the streets of our suburbs not thinking of this rite as anything other than a good time costume party. Decades ago, perhaps, this might have been so.   But then children had a cushion of comfort provided by religious faith which affirmed the value and dignity of life.   But with the general collapse of participatory religious life and the rise of a vacuous death culture promoted by the entertainment industry which celebrates vampires, zombies, ghosts, demons other resuscitated life forms, children are no longer recipients of such affirmation. Instead, they are taught to regard life, not as a privilege to be revered and exalted, but as a manifest joy ride.   In contrast, those who have passed to the beyond are transformed into figures of fun, to be ridiculed for no longer having the ability to share in the general joviality.

Why, sensible voices should be asking, can't we leave the dead alone?    Why is it necessary for us to figuratively exhume corpses and treat them with the kind of mockery we should reserve for the real life merchants of horror and death - Islamic suicide bombers and their sponsors who daily wreak carnage around the world?. As I walk the streets of my suburb and see the elaborate lengths parents go to festoon their homes with cobwebs, fake graves, skeletons and other assorted symbols of death, I have to wonder why the same kind of effort is not invested in demonstrating a converse loathing for the real life forces in the world which traffick in death and would gleefully dance on our graves.

This doesn't happen in liberal democracies around the world today because Islamic fundamentalists are not regarded as the true grave dancers. That distinction belongs to corporate bosses, Wall Street traders, armament manufacturers and conservatives.    According to our houses of learning, our media groups and our entertainment industry, they are the demons with ghoulish intent - plotting to destroy our environment, vandalize our wealth and prosecute war when peace is so close at hand. This peculiar world view, in which those seeking to kill and destroy us are ignored while those attempting to protect us or ensure our safety and prosperity are vilified- is an affliction of the West that would roil the graves of the millions who fought in many wars to protect us.

Perhaps that is the reason Halloween, year after year, leaves me with the creeps. I look around and see a real life enactment of Plato's hypothetical cave dwellers who spend their existence viewing shadows projected on a wall, believing them to represent reality – and failing entirely to recognize that real life actually goes on outside the cave.    While true evil lurks in this world, stalking us and waiting for an opportune moment to strike, we spend our time mocking death, rather than reinforcing our faith in life and its profound purpose.

If Western civilization loses its faith in life, it will succumb to those who have a fanatical faith in death.   Maybe that is not so obvious to the young children who will innocently knock on our doors this weekend.   But without reinforcing in those same children the notion that death is not a laughing matter and simultaneously affirming the supreme beauty and uniqueness of life, our future may indeed be quite grim.

Avi Davis is the President of the American Freedom Alliance.

Want to comment on this article? See Avi Davis’ blog
Avi Davis is the president of the American Freedom Alliance in Los Angeles. He can be contacted at isdev@ix.netcom.com

UN Aids Jihadis
by Robert Spencer

That they have broken up several major jihad plots in recent weeks is a tribute to American intelligence gathering and law enforcement. To them must go the credit for the fact that the U.S. is not this week picking up the pieces after another major terror attack. Yet just as Islamic terrorists appear to be ramping up their efforts within the United States, at the UN a new report recommends not the strengthening, but the repeal of counterterrorism laws. In a bizarre report to the UN Human Rights Council, ostensibly on counterrorism but actually more intent on social engineering, a Finnish law professor who is a special rapporteur to the UNHRC, Martin Scheinin, examines what he calls the “complex relationship between gender equality and countering terrorism.” What does working for “gender equality” have to do with resisting Islamic jihad terrorism? Nothing whatsoever, but Scheinin is determined to change that. He calls on UN member states to “abandon the ‘war paradigm’” and instead “enshrine the principles of gender-equality and non-discrimination in the design and implementation of all counter-terrorism measures.” He demanded that the American “war on terror” be “actually responsive to the concerns of women, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex individuals in local contexts.” Instead, apparently, of actually defending Americans from terrorists. (Humanevents)

2 men shot in legs outside LA synagogue- SOLVEJ SCHOU Associated Press Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) - A gunman shot and wounded two men in the parking garage of a North Hollywood synagogue early Thursday and Jewish schools and temples alerted in case the attack wasn't isolated. There was no immediate word on a motive, and police said the shooting may have been a random act by a lone assailant. "We certainly recognize the location and we're sensitive to that," Deputy Police Chief Michel Moore said. "But we do not know that this was a hate crime at all." Two men in their 40s were shot in the legs near the Adat Yeshurun Valley Sephardic Orthodox synagogue in the San Fernando Valley, Moore said. The men, both members of the synagogue, had arrived in separate cars for the morning service shortly before 6:30 a.m. when the gunman shot both several times, police said. (Breitbart.com)

Two Chicago Men Charged in Connection with Alleged Roles in Foreign Terror Plot That Focused on Targets in Denmark-DOJ
Two Chicago men have been arrested on federal charges for their alleged roles in conspiracies to provide material support and/or to commit terrorist acts against overseas targets, including facilities and employees of a Danish newspaper that published cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed in 2005, federal law enforcement officials announced today. There was no imminent danger in the Chicago area, officials said, adding that the charges are unrelated to recent terror plot arrests in Boston, New York, Colorado, Texas and central Illinois. The defendants charged in separate criminal complaints unsealed today in U.S. District Court in Chicago are David Coleman Headley, 49, and Tahawwur Hussain Rana, 48, also known as Tahawar Rana, announced Patrick J. Fitzgerald, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Robert D. Grant, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the FBI. The complaints remained under seal temporarily after the defendants’ arrests, with court approval, so as not to compromise further investigative activity. (DOJ)

Imam Killed, 10 Others Arrested in Detroit Case-IPT
A Detroit imam was killed in a shootout with FBI agents Wednesday afternoon as the agents sought to arrest him and 10 other men on conspiracy and weapons charges. Luqman Ameen Abdullah, formerly Christopher Thomas, is accused of being the ringleader of a radical Muslim separatist movement that wanted a state in America governed by Shariah law. According to an affidavit in the criminal complaint, Abdullah, 53, and many of his followers were converts to Islam. Abdullah was convicted of assault and carrying a concealed weapon in 1981. Like other cases broken up this year, Abdullah converted to Islam after serving time in prison. In the affidavit, FBI Special Agent Gary Leone described the defendants, saying: "Their primary mission is to establish a separate, sovereign Islamic state ("The Ummah") within the borders of the United States, governed by Shariah law. The Ummah is to be ruled over by Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin, formerly know as H. Rapp Brown." Al-Amin is serving a life sentence after being convicted in 2002 of killing a Georgia police officer. (IPT)

France to launch national pride campaign in battle against Islamic fundamentalism-Peter Allen
France is to adopt a series of measures to 'reaffirm pride' in the country and combat Islamic fundamentalism. They include everybody receiving lessons in the nation's Christian history and children singing the national anthem. Using words which infuriated ethnic minority groups and Socialist opponents, immigration minister Eric Besson also said he wanted 'foreigners to speak better French'. He called for all recent arrivals to be monitored by 'Republican godfathers', charged with helping immigrants to integrate better. His proposed measures contrast sharply with the situation in Britain where 'citizenship education' centres on multicultural diversity. M Besson, who was born in the former French protectorate of Morocco, suggested a debate on national identity' entitled 'What does it mean to be French?' He also reignited the debate about face and body-covering Muslim veils, saying they should definitely be banned. As well as providing civic lessons for adults - including classes about the country's Christian history and liberal political institutions - the government will encourage school children to sing the national anthem at least once a year. (Dailymail.co.uk)

Belgium: Anti-racism org accused of having radical Islamist on board
Senator Alain Destexhe (MR) demanded on Sunday that all public support for MRAX (Movement against Racism, Antisemitism and Xenophobia) be stopped. He denounced the presence of Nordine Saidi in the association's office [ed: Saidi is on the board of directors], saying that he was an activist of radical Islam. Saidi headed the Egalite list [ed: equality without quotes] in the regional elections (June 7), a small, controversial party which included former activists of PTB (Belgian Workers' Party) as well as supporters of radical Islam. Interviewed on May 17th on parlemento.com, Saidi refused to condemn Palestinian terror attacks or those committed on Sept. 11th. "I understand suicide or terrorist attacks without necessarily justifying them. In any case, I refuse to condemn them if we can't speak about their causes. Yes, I refuse to condemn terrorist attacks! (...) To prevent these attacks, it's necessary to have dialog with all parties. If we want to prevent attacks, we'll have to one day accept talking with Bin Laden," he said. (Islamineurope)

Filip Dewinter threatened on Dutch Muslim Site- Arne Hankel
The Belgian politician Filip Dewinter of the right-wing[1] party Vlaams Belang has asked the Netherlands to take steps against the Muslim ansaar.nl website. On the site he is threatened with death. This is what the Flemish newspaper De Morgen reported this Tuesday.
Head cut off
On the website there is a call for the head of the Vlaams Belang-leader to be cut off[2] and “death to the kafir”. Also it says in Arabic that Dewinter must show remorse or else will have to pay for it with his life. It is not the first time that Dewinter has been a target of threats because of his opinions. Last weekend the secretariat of his party received a letter with white powder. Research has yet to reveal whether the substance is harmful. Dewinter has now sent a letter to the Dutch Minister of Justice, Hirsch Ballin. In it he asked the Dutch government to take action against the website. “I suppose these are as criminal the Netherlands as they are in Belgium,” The spokesman of Dewinter said, “We take this seriously. Unfortunately, in your country there already have been victims of Muslim terror. Therefore, these kind of expressions should be addressed as soon as possible.” (Gatesofvienna)

Neander-Thoughts: Reply to Steiner-Peter Wood
Professor Richard Steiner at the University of Alaska has a dim view of the National Association of Scholars. He also has a dim view of University of Alaska president Mark Hamilton, along with other members of the University’s administration. The dimness of Professor Steiner’s view extends to Shell Oil and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). In fact, Professor Steiner appears to be something of a professional taker-of-dim-views who dedicates himself to spreading his crepuscular judgment of the energy industry as widely as possible. Last week, Ashley Thorne posted to this site a short article, Sustainability Skepticism Has Arrived, that drew attention to a story reported in the Chronicle of Higher Education about Professor Steiner’s collision with the University of Alaska. The University took him off a NOAA-administered Sea Grant Extension Grant on the grounds that he had violated the terms of the award, which prohibited using the money for advocacy. This would seem to be a clear-cut factual question. Did Professor Steiner use research funds to engage in advocacy? If so, the University acted properly. If not, the University mis-stepped.

Academia and its Discontents-Admin
To the class of 2013, Columbia University’s recent public trials over academic freedom may seem like ancient history, discussed only on occasion in University Writing classrooms or encountered by accident while exploring next semester’s course schedule and Googling professor Joseph Massad. But for faculty and administrators, the debates are indubitably fresh. In 2002, The David Project, an organization dedicated to “educating and inspiring voices for Israel,” produced “Columbia Unbecoming,” a film in which professors from Columbia’s Middle East and Asian languages and cultures department were accused of antagonizing Jewish and Israeli students in class. The film attracted media attention, spurred a number of public figures to publish impassioned articles on the subject (former provost and dean Jonathan Cole and conservative author David Horowitz among them), and even led to political outcry—Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) encouraged University President Lee Bollinger to fire professor Joseph Massad in order to protect free academic inquiry in Columbia classrooms. (Eye.columbiaspectator)

New Film Examines the Truth Behind the Ongoing Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
"Conflict: The Power of Propaganda" goes behind the headlines and past the media bias against Israel. Nashville, TN (PRWEB) October 28, 2009 -- In the new film Conflict: The Power of Propaganda (Joe Israel Productions), director Chris Atkins goes behind the headlines and past the media bias against Israel to present a fair and realistic picture of what is actually happening in the Middle East. The fast-paced documentary exposes the rampant propaganda and challenges viewers to recognize the calculated deception and its ties to both extremism and terrorism on a global scale. "As an outsider, as a non-Jew, it was important to me to make this film because someone had to give Israel a fair 'voice' in the media," says executive producer Joe Amaral. "Israel has always been on the defensive when it comes to the media--always having to apologize for protecting its citizens from terrorist attacks and enemy nations." (PRweb)

Spinning Out Of Control: Honor Killings and Media Bias-Phyllis Chesler
We are entering an all-spin zone, a wild, weird and spooky season — and I am not talking about Halloween. With a few exceptions, the mainstream media continue to kill stories about honor killings and attempted honor killings in North America. How often did you read stories about the honor killings that took place in Toronto (07), Dallas (08), Atlanta (08), Oak Forest, Illinois (08), Alexandria (08), Buffalo (09), and Kingston, Canada (09)—on and on, until the most recent attempted honor killing in Phoenix? There are two killers still on the loose: Yaser Said, the Dallas monster out of Egypt who abused, stalked, and murdered his two daughters with the help of his wife, their mother, and his son, their brother. Iraqi-born Faleh Hassan Almaleki is another foul killer on the lam. Just last week, he ran over his 20-year-old daughter, Noor, with a car because she was “too western.” Imagine: This father used two tons of steel rage against his daughter. He mowed her down with a 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee. Faleh also tried to kill the older woman who was with her, Amal Edan Khalef, with whom Noor was living. Amal had probably rescued Noor, but she was also the mother of Noor’s boyfriend. Both women are now in the hospital; Noor remains unconscious and is barely clinging to life. (Pajamasmedia)

Big Government’s Media Control Strategy-Cliff Kincaid
You may not have noticed that the administration, in addition to trying to seize control of the health care and energy sectors, is implementing a national “broadband plan” to redefine the media and transform America’s system of government. It’s designed, they say, to provide “open government and civic engagement.” But it looks increasingly like an excuse for the federal government to control the Internet and access to information and even tell us what the truth is. Norman Ornstein of the American Enterprise Institute recently explained at a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) “National Broadband Plan Workshop” that it is necessary to have “a common space with shared facts.” Armed with $7.2 billion of “stimulus” money, the federal government is going to provide this. It looks like various progressive groups are lining up at the public trough for their share of the loot. They have in mind what the George Soros-funded Free Press calls “an alternative media infrastructure.” If you think we already have that, with public TV and radio, think again. (Familysecuritymatters)

When in Europe Watch What You Say – EU Attempts to Restrict Free Speech. Media Missing in Action-Paul Belien
If all goes as planned, the 27 member states of the European Union will soon have a common hate crime legislation, which will turn disapproval for Islamic practices or homosexual lifestyles into crimes. Europe’s Christian churches are trying to stop the plan of the European political establishment, but it is unclear whether they will be successful. The media are silent on the topic. Last April, the European Parliament approved the European Union’s Equal Treatment Directive. A directive is the name given to an EU law. As directives overrule national legislation, they need the approval of the European Council of Ministers before coming into effect. Next month, the Council will decide on the directive, which places the 27 EU member states under a common anti-discrimination legislation. The directive’s definition of discriminatory harassment is so broad that every objection to Muslim or homosexual practices will be considered unlawful. On April 2, the European Parliament passed the “directive on implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation,” 363 votes to 226. The directive applies to social protection and health care, social benefits, education and access to goods and services, including housing. American citizens and companies doing business in Europe are also required to adhere to it. (Brusselsjournal)

'Zionist regime a threat to all nations'-AP and jpost.com staff , THE JERUSALEM POST
"The Zionist regime is a threat to all nations ... it cannot tolerate the existence of any strong country in the region," said Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Tuesday, according to Teheran news agency Press TV. Ahmadinejad spoke after welcoming Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who arrived in Teheran Tuesday for a two-day visit. Iran's president praised Erdogan's stance over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, saying the Turkish leader's "clear stance toward the Zionist regime has had a positive impact on the world of Islam." At an international conference in January, Erdogan strongly condemned Israel's offensive in Gaza and the steep Palestinian casualties inflicted there. The Iranian leader is known for his anti-Israeli remarks since 2005, when he said the Jewish state should be "wiped off the map." Ahmadinejad lashed out at Israel, which is believed to have nuclear weapons, saying that when an "illegal regime has atomic weapons, it's impossible to block others" from having peaceful nuclear energy. The Iranian leader was echoing statements voiced by Erdogan in the Guardian on Monday, accusing the five permanent Security Council members of hypocrisy. While these countries put pressure on Iran, which does not have "a weapon," he said, they themselves keep nuclear arsenals for military purposes. (Jpost)

UNWRA Stages 'Propaganda Play' against IDF-David Lev
For the past several months, the United Nations has been sponsoring what many Israelis have called a "propaganda piece," in the form of a one-man play describing Israel's shelling of a United Nations Relief and Works Agency warehouse in Gaza during Operation Cast Lead. The performer, Chris Gunness, who also wrote and directed the performance, is the chief spokesperson for UNWRA in Gaza. In the show, he plays the part of a warehouse and describes how he is "the victim of an excruciatingly painful fire that burned me down" when the building was bombed by the IDF using what he claims is illegal white phosphorous. Gunness has been peddling the show, titled "Building Understanding: Epitaph for a Warehouse," at sites around Israel since the summer, claiming that he produced it chiefly for Israeli audiences. Yet so far he's had few bites; he was banned in a Tel Aviv theater, and a performance scheduled for a theater festival in Akko (Acre) was cancelled at the last moment. (INN)

Tortured reasoning-Melanie Phillips
Britain’s human rights anti-America activists are champing at the bit to convict British and American politicians and officials – at the very least at the bar of public opinion – for their alleged complicity with the torture of suspected Islamic terrorists. Britain’s human rights anti-Israel activists are also intent on arresting Israelis for ‘war crimes’ – so much so that Israelis who have played prominent roles in military operations to defend their country against Palestinian terror attacks cannot set foot in Britain without running the risk of being thus arrested. Two days ago, Israel’s deputy foreign minister Danny Ayalon was the latest to be targeted by such a move during a brief visit to London. Yet as the Mail on Sunday reported last weekend, Britain is complicit in the torture of Palestinians – by other Palestinians. So much so that – surreally – Britain is now sending British police and intelligence officers to the West Bank to try to stop a wave of torture by Palestinian security forces (pictured above in a batle with Hamas activists in Qalqilya last June) funded by UK taxpayers. (Spectator.co.uk)

More Anti-Semitism From an ISNA Outlet-IPT News
The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), arguably the nation's most politically influential Muslim organization, has a habit of contradicting itself. On one hand the group sponsors a campaign to stop hate speech and incitement to violence in the media; on the other hand it sanitizes an anti-Semitic book review in the latest issue of its publication, Islamic Horizons. This is not the first time that ISNA's assertions about standing against bigotry and for dialogue have failed to trickle deeper into the group's actions and editorial oversight. In its September/October 2009 issue, Islamic Horizons offers a summary of a book review from a previously unheard of writer named Ushruf Subreen. The summary whitewashes Subreen's original, full review of Martin Indyk's most recent book, Innocent Abroad. (Investigativeproject)

SWC Urges Norway PM to Condemn Israel Boycott Call
This month, the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) is going to formally consider launching a total boycott of Israel, the first in the western world. In reaction, in a letter to Norwegian Prime Minister, Jens Stoltenberg, the Simon Wiesenthal Centre's Director for International Relations, Dr. Shimon Samuels, deplored "a new stage in Norwegian incitement to Jew-hatred, the outrageously anti-Israel bigotry of the Middle East seminar at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim." Samuels continued, "The virus of antisemitism in Norway's media, unions, NGOs and even government circles is now infecting academia. NTNU has deformed free and open scholarly discourse based upon mutual respect into a campaign of hate propaganda, led by masters of disinformation who exploit their academic credentials to call for boycott of their colleagues who happen to be Israeli. Most disturbing is the role of NTNU's Rector, Torbjorn Digernes, who has declared his support for this campaign." The letter noted that, "as membership of the NTNU Student Union (SIT) is obligatory, any classroom dissident is repressed. Never since Quisling has there been such academic prejudice in Norway, and never since Hitler has any University Rector in Europe granted it his personal blessing." (Simonwiesenthalcenter)

The Terrorist Next Door Goes Global-Dr. Laina Farhat-Holzman
Back in September, I wrote a column asking if we are seeing homegrown terrorists next door. Since then, four more homegrown terrorists were arrested. Are they just the tip of the iceberg? Domestic Terrorists. Najibullah Zazi, Michael Finton, Tarek Mahana, and Hosam Maher Husein Smadi, all of them young (from 19-29) all Muslim, one a convert. I am appalled that these three, one of them born here, could be so vicious that they felt entitled to rain death and destruction on their neighbors and fellow countrymen.
Apparently none of them knew of the others – but did al Qaeda know them? Michael Finton (a.k.a. Talib Islam) was arrested in Illinois attempting to detonate explosives in a van parked outside a federal courthouse. The FBI had already been on to him and provided him with the dud explosives. But what if they hadn’t caught him? Meanwhile, in Texas, a baby-faced 19-year-old Jordanian also parked what he thought was an explosive-laden truck in a garage beneath an office tower in Dallas (modeled after the first attack on the World Trade Center in 1995 and Timothy McVeigh in Oklahoma). (Familysecuritymatters)

Attacks Display Taliban Resolve- YAROSLAV TROFIMOV in Kabul and MATTHEW ROSENBERG in Islamabad
More Than 90 Killed in Peshawar; Five U.N. Officials Die in Kabul
The Taliban staged deadly attacks in Pakistan and Afghanistan Wednesday, killing at least 100 people as they targeted a market in Peshawar and United Nations personnel in Kabul just as U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in the region. The attacks showed just how little the Taliban's firepower has been curtailed despite tens of thousands of fresh U.S. troops in Afghanistan and the Pakistani military's large-scale offensives on insurgent bases in the northwest. The biggest loss of life occurred Wednesday when a potent car bomb ripped through Peshawar's Meena Bazaar, a crowded market selling women's clothes that Taliban zealots deem insufficiently conservative. More than 90 people were reported dead there as a fire sparked by the explosion engulfed the neighborhood, trapping many residents under the rubble of burning buildings. (WSJ)

Islamist Terrorist Plots in Great Britain: Uncovering the Global Network- Ted R. Bromund and Morgan Roach
Abstract: Data on major Islamist terrorist plots in Britain reveal a physical and ideological terrorism pipeline between Britain and Pakistan. At least 27 of 87 convicted individuals were trained or sought training in Pakistan or Afghanistan. Homegrown Islamism is also a major threat: 18 individuals received terrorist training in Britain. Britain and the U.S. need to fight and win both the counterterrorism war and the broader war of ideas. This will require fighting Islamism both in Afghanistan and at home, continuing and expanding cooperation in intelligence and homeland security, and opposing the Lisbon Treaty and other European Union initiatives that would undermine Britain’s ability to control its own borders. (Heritagefoundation)

Katherine Kersten: 'Flying imams' case is settled at our expense
It's all too easy to apply hindsight to a potentially perilous situation.
The "flying imams" and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) are declaring victory in their legal war against law-enforcement personnel and safety procedures at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. Their "victory" -- aided and abetted by a judge arrogantly dismissive of law-enforcement realities -- is a major setback for transportation safety. The case made news three years ago when the six imams were removed from a U.S. Airways jet after passengers and airline employees reported that the six were engaging in suspicious behavior, including changing seats into a so-called 9/11 pattern; cursing the United States and its conflict with Saddam Hussein; chanting "Allah, Allah" when boarding was called, and unnecessarily requesting seat-belt extenders that could be used as weapons. The imams were questioned and released. Subsequently, they sued U.S. Airways, the Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC), the officers involved and even passengers they suspected of reporting their behavior, until an outraged, bipartisan Congress passed a law giving the passengers immunity. (Startribune)

Truman and the Principles of U.S. Foreign Policy-Victor Davis Hanson
Jimmy Carter rejected the postwar consensus. President Obama appears to be following a similar path. Upon entering office, Barack Obama knew little about foreign policy. But then neither did Vice President Harry S. Truman when Franklin Delano Roosevelt died suddenly on April 12, 1945. President Obama often invokes the supposed mess abroad—especially in Iraq and Afghanistan—left to him by George W. Bush. But Mr. Obama's inheritance is mild compared to the myriad crises that nearly overwhelmed the rookie President Truman. All at once Truman had to finish the struggle against Hitler, occupy Europe, and deal with a nominally allied but increasingly bellicose and ascendant Soviet Union. Within months of taking office he had to make the awful decision to drop atomic bombs on Imperial Japan. At war's end, Truman was faced with a global propaganda nightmare. (WSJ)

The Ban on Hizb ut-Tahrir in Bangladesh May Provide Western Countries with an Opportunity to Evaluate Their Own Strategies to Combat Extremist Groups-Madeleine Gruen
Hizb ut-Tahrir in Bangladesh was banned by the government of Bangladesh on Thursday, October 22 for 'anti-state', 'anti-government', 'anti-people' and 'anti-democratic' activities in the country. However, as Animesh Roul pointed out in his CT Blog entry on the topic, the ban, thus far, appears to have done nothing to stop the branch from its anti-government, anti-democratic activities. In fact, Hizb ut-Tahrir in Bangladesh is now absolute in defining its enemies, and has issued press releases faster in the past three days than it has in its entire previous public lifetime. In an October 24th press release, Hizb ut-Tahrir in Bangladesh declared, "America bans Hizb ut-Tahrir in Bangladesh; her aim is to remove the obstacle in the way of her evil plans to subjugate the Muslims of Bangladesh." While Hizb ut-Tahrir in Bangladesh has just assigned itself more thought than any American has ever given it, its amplified ferocity in the wake of the ban does raise an ideal opportunity for Western governments to factor any lessons learned into their own debates over banning Hizb ut-Tahrir branches, particularly what the ideal timing for instituting such a ban might be. (Counterterrorismblog)

UN Agenda 21 - Coming to a Neighborhood near You- Scott Strzelczyk and Richard Rothschild
Most Americans are unaware that one of the greatest threats to their freedom may be a United Nations program known as Agenda 21. The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Division for Sustainable Development created Agenda 21 as a sustainability agenda which is arguably an amalgamation of socialism and extreme environmentalism brushed with anti-American, anti-capitalist overtones. A detailed history on sustainable development, definitions, and critical actions can be found here. Section III of the Agenda 21 Plan addresses local community sustainable development. The Preamble and Chapter 28 discuss how Agenda 21 should be implemented at a local level. The United Nations purposely recommends avoiding the term Agenda 21 and suggests a cleverly named alternative: "smart growth." The United Nations Millennium Papers - Issue 2 (page 5) says this of Agenda 21 and smart growth: Participating in a UN-advocated planning process would very likely bring out many of the conspiracy-fixated groups and individuals in our society such as the National Rifle Association, citizen militias and some members of Congress. (Americanthinker)

Save the planet, go veggie, says climate chief Lord Stern-Daily Mail Reporter
Britons should turn vegetarian to help beat global warming, according to one of the world's top experts on climate change. Lord Stern said methane emissions from cows and pigs were putting 'enormous pressure' on the world. The peer, who wrote an influential review of climate change in 2006, advocated a meat-free diet and called on people to think more about the effect of what they eat. He predicted people's attitudes to eating meat would change so much with time that it would eventually become unacceptable - in the same way as drink driving. And he also forecast the price of meat and other foods that generate a lot of greenhouse gases could rise after December's pivotal climate change conference. Meat is a wasteful use of water and creates a lot of greenhouse gases. It put enormous pressure on the world's resources. A vegetarian diet is better,' he said. The former World Bank chief economist spoke to The Times ahead of the climate change summit in Copenhagen. (Dailymail.co.uk)

Fido, a.k.a. the Climate Criminal-Jonah Golberg
Environmental activists live in a fantasyland. The government cannot have my dog.Don’t tell that to the authors of the new book Time to Eat the Dog?: The Real Guide to Sustainable Living. They calculate that dog owning is much worse than SUV driving for the planet. So when you see a car heading to the dog park with some happy labs drooling out the window, you should think “climate criminals.” Meanwhile, in less surprising news, cats (long known as the handmaidens of Satan) have roughly the ecological paw print of a Volkswagen Golf. Authors Robert and Brenda Vale don’t actually suggest you eat your dog. But they do say we’d be better off if we weaned ourselves from pets that treat Gaia like a fire hydrant. Better to play fetch with our pet chickens and then eat them. The book has gotten lots of press because dogs and cats sell newspapers. What interests me is how environmental activists live in a fantasyland. The push in Congress for a huge new carbon tax is a dangerous farce. Yes, CO2 levels and global temperatures have risen since the Industrial Revolution, and that’s something to take seriously. (Nationalreview)

No men OR women needed: Scientists create sperm and eggs from stem cells- Fiona Macrae
Human eggs and sperm have been grown in the laboratory in research which could change the face of parenthood. It paves the way for a cure for infertility and could help those left sterile by cancer treatment to have children who are biologically their own. But it raises a number of moral and ethical concerns. These include the possibility of children being born through entirely artificial means, and men and women being sidelined from the process of making babies. Opponents argue that it is wrong to meddle with the building blocks of life and warn that the advances taking place to tackle infertility risk distorting and damaging relations between family members. The U.S. government-funded research also offers the prospect of a 'miracle pill' which staves off the menopause, allowing women to wait longer to have a child. It centres on stem cells, widely seen as a repair kit for the body. Scientists at Stanford University in California found the right cocktail of chemicals and vitamins to coax the cells into becoming eggs and sperm. (Dailymail.co.uk)

A new treatment for chronic wounds-Ilana Teitelbaum
Israel could become a leader in the $3 billion chronic wound industry with a new device that heals wounds faster and more cheaply than alternatives.
Millions of Americans, particularly the elderly and diabetics, are afflicted with chronic wounds, which are complicated to treat and can lead to lengthy hospital stays. With life expectancy and the numbers of those suffering from diabetes and obesity increasing worldwide, the global chronic wound industry currently totals around $3 billion. Israeli company EnzySurge hopes to change the way chronic wounds are treated, with its DermaStream product line. The device is relatively low-cost, has the appearance of a bandage and is disposable, unlike the unwieldy equipment in use today. Its small size and simplicity make it convenient for use in outpatient facilities or at home, reducing the need for costly hospital stays. It also helps wounds heal faster, saves time for physicians and nurses, and cuts costs. (israel21c)

Dismantling America – Thomas Sowell
Just one year ago, would you have believed that an unelected government official, not even a Cabinet member confirmed by the Senate but simply one of the many “czars” appointed by the President, could arbitrarily cut the pay of executives in private businesses by 50 percent or 90 percent? Did you think that another “czar” would be talking about restricting talk radio? That there would be plans afloat to subsidize newspapers— that is, to create a situation where some newspapers’ survival would depend on the government liking what they publish? Did you imagine that anyone would even be talking about having a panel of so-called “experts” deciding who could and could not get life-saving medical treatments? Scary as that is from a medical standpoint, it is also chilling from the standpoint of freedom. If you have a mother who needs a heart operation or a child with some dire medical condition, how free would you feel to speak out against an administration that has the power to make life and death decisions about your loved ones? Does any of this sound like America? How about a federal agency giving school children material to enlist them on the side of the president? Merely being assigned to sing his praises in class is apparently not enough. How much of America would be left if the federal government continued on this path? President Obama has already floated the idea of a national police force, something we have done without for more than two centuries. (Frontpagemagazine)

TUDOR TALES-Joan Acocella
Hilary Mantel reconsiders the life of Thomas Cromwell.
In the Living Hall of the Frick Collection, on either side of a fireplace, there are portraits by Hans Holbein of the two most illustrious politicians of the court of Henry VIII. On the left is Sir Thomas More, Henry’s lord chancellor from 1529 to 1532, who, when the King needed an annulment of his marriage, and therefore a release from the duty of obedience to the Pope, was too good a Catholic to agree to this. For his refusal, he forfeited his office and, eventually, his life. Holbein’s portrait shows him thin and sensitive, with his eyes cast upward, as if awaiting the sainthood that the Church finally bestowed on him, in 1935. On the right side hangs Holbein’s portrait of Thomas Cromwell, the minister who did for Henry what More wouldn’t. He wrote the laws making the King, not the Pope, the head of the English Church, and declaring the English monasteries, with all their wealth, the property of the Crown. To achieve these epochal changes, he had to impose his will on many people, and that is clear in Holbein’s painting. Cromwell is hard and heavy and dressed all in black. His mean little eyes peer forward, as if he were deciding whom to pillory, whom to send to the Tower. (Newyorker)