Editor and Researcher Elisa Vandernoot

American Freedom Alliance Weekly Gazette

THE WEEK AT A GLANCE

This Week's Editorial

THE PRESIDENT'S MIDDLE EAST PLAYBOOK

By Avi Davis

Barack Obama has achieved the impossible. He has managed to bring together secular Israelis and ultra-Orthodox Jews in a heated campaign against him.  His administration’s determination to use an Israeli housing construction project in Northern Jerusalem as the pretext for a diplomatic crisis, has set him on a collision course not just with Israelis of all stripes but even with American Jews who are growing increasingly apprehensive of just where this President intends to lead them. 

Did he anticipate this?  No one can know for sure.   But his determination to face down Benjamin Netanyahu and force him to cancel the permit for 1600 units in the Ramat Shlomo neighborhood of Jerusalem has already backfired.   Coming right at the opening of the AIPAC conference in Washington D.C. this weekend, he is about to become the first post- war Democratic President whose name may be greeted with derision by a convocation of Jews.

Almost anyone who lives in Jerusalem knows that the area in dispute, Ramat Shlomo, is a Jewish neighborhood and has been so for thirty years.  It is surrounded by other Jewish neighborhoods and no Israeli in their right mind would consider surrendering it in any final peace deal with the Palestinians.

 

Giving up Ramat Shlomo would be the equivalent of giving up the world famous Hebrew University on Mount Scopus, the tony Jerusalem suburb of French Hill and even the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City.  All three are just as integrated into the Jewish identity of Jerusalem as Ramat Shlomo.  Only by accepting the Palestinian narrative – that all of Jerusalem belongs to the Palestinians, could anyone possibly envision  the suburb as future Palestinian territory.

The punditocracy is awestruck by the apparent petulance of it all.  What, they are all asking, did he hope to gain? Was the intention to dress down Netanyahu and bring him into line?  Well, the Israeli prime minister is defiant and there is no sign whatsoever he will accede to the administration’s demands that he cancel the permit. This stance has rallied much of the country behind him.  Rather than weakening the Israeli leader, as Obama might have hoped, he has only added to his political capital. 
 

The Palestinians watch in delight as they wait for the Americans to deliver Israeli concessions without having to do anything but chew on their falafel.  They win either way.  If the peace process continues to stall they can continue to wait, which is their modus operandi anyway.  If Obama finally gets Netanyahu to say uncle, they will be dealing with a castrated Israeli leader, viewed as unable to control his own foreign policy.

The Arab League, those irredentist potentates, are no doubt rolling around on their palace beds in glee.  They had made clear to Obama that there could be no further progress in Middle East peace without resolving the grievous wound to Arab pride caused by the Arab-Israeli dispute.  Ramat Shlomo has become their poster child for Israeli transgression and so now they too are winning, convincing an American president to do their bidding.  

And what is one to say about the claims by Obama lieutenants such as Joe Biden, Hilary Clinton and David Axelrod, that events in northern Jerusalem put American lives elsewhere at risk?   Are we really to believe that al Qaeda in Iraq and the Taliban in Afghanistan have for years awaited developments in Ramat Shlomo with tense anticipation – so much so that if the crisis is not resolved soon in the Arabs' favor, there is certain to be an explosion?  

Nothing could be further from the truth.  There is absolutely no connection between the construction of apartment units in Ramat Shlomo (still two years distant) and the intent of Islamic martyrs to kill American soldiers thousands of miles away.  The same number of American servicemen will be targeted and killed in the Middle East no matter what happens in northern Jerusalem.

So what playbook is Barack Obama and his administration reading from in breathing life into a crisis that should never have happened?  It is, I believe, simply this: Obama sees the world in terms of a rather protean struggle between the weak and the strong, the poor and the rich.  The weak, in his eyes, are almost always innocent purveyors of righteousness, while the powerful personify greed and oppression.  The same world view permeates his domestic policies and can be read between the lines of his push for health care reform, his castigation of rich bankers, his penchant for apologizing for American actions abroad and his willingness to risk U.S security for the benefit of the human rights of enemy combatants.  

The Palestinians have won his sympathy in spite of their proclivity for deception and their gift of the suicide bomber to the world.  In his first year in office, the President has rarely leveled any criticism at Palestinian temporization and yet demonstrated increasing impatience for the fat cat Israelis in Jerusalem and even more for their supporters in Washington.  After all, they represent the kind of world for which he has absolute contempt.  

Even reserving to himself these feelings, Obama could have spared both countries this latest crisis. There are plenty of ways of applying pressure to an ally without having them feel undermined.   But that would have required a certain statecraft skill set that this president has yet to develop.   Instead, his administration has fanned into a life a blaze it will spend many months trying to extinguish and in the process revealed a political immaturity and flailing inexperience that should worry Barack Obama’s even most ardent admirers.

Avi Davis is the President of the American Freedom Alliance in Los Angeles. His writings and blog entries can be found at The Intermediate Zone. 

 

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View the best of The Intermediate Zone from last week:

First Salvo in the Battle for Our Children's Education
Our Gender Neutral Universities
The Volunteer Attorneys
No Rap Over the Knuckles This Time
Why Copenhagen Failed
Jerusalem's Future
The Armenian Genocide and Congress
The Awards That Offer Humiliation As Their Ultimate Prize


Avi Davis can be contacted at adavis@americanfreedomalliance.org

NEWS: EUROPE AND AMERICA

Suspected N.J. al-Qaeda terrorist Sharif Mobley worked at nuclear power plants-ALICIA CRUZ
Friend says former classmate at Buena High School was a ‘normal, nice guy'
An old high school friend of the South Jersey man arrested by Yemeni counter terrorism forces during an Al-Qaeda suspect roundup in Sa'naa, Yemen earlier this month has asked that we pray for the family of Sharif Mobley. The man, who asked that he only be identified as "Chad" said that he attended high school with Mobley and was very close to him during their school days. Chad described Mobley as a "normal, nice guy" with whom he went to wrestling matches with. Chad said that Mobley moved to Yemen two years ago to learn Arabic and that he never heard Mobley recite any radical statements nor did he know of his former friend having any ties to extremist groups. He added that Mobley, who is the son of Somalian Muslim immigrants, was an average kid who liked girls and video games and never bothered anyone. He reportedly earned a black belt in karate. "He was an overall nice person who would do anything for you." (Newjerseynewsroom)

Lockerbie bomber is better than ever, brags Gaddafi's son... seven months after terrorist was given only three months to live-Sam Greenhill and Nabila Ramdani
The health of the freed Lockerbie bomber has 'greatly improved' now he is home in Libya, Colonel Gaddafi's son boasted yesterday. He said Abdelbaset Ali Mohamed al-Megrahi was doing much better since being released seven months ago by the Scots on compassionate grounds because he had 'only three months to live'. In words which will confirm the suspicions of Lockerbie victims' families, Saif Gaddafi - widely tipped to succeed his father as Libyan leader - also finally admitted that the convicted killer's release had dominated trade talks with Britain. This would have included discussions about lucrative oil deals, despite the fact that Megrahi was officially released purely on compassionate grounds. Five months after the release, Libya announced plans to invest £5billion in the UK. Megrahi, 57, has acquired national hero status in Libya, with babies named after him and an extraordinary 30,000 well-wishers reported to have visited his 'death bed'. Queues of pilgrims form outside the sumptuous villa in Tripoli where he remains with his family despite doctors' predictions that he would be dead by Christmas. (Dailymail.co.uk)

Spanish Hostages: AQIM wants 5 million dollars and the release of Islamists
MADRID - Al-Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) asked the Spanish government $ 5 million (3.7 million euros) in ransom and the release of imprisoned Islamists in Mauritania, in exchange for the two Spanish hostages, according to the newspaper « El Pais » on Friday. The daily quoted sources close to negotiations and a statement of AQIM which he claims to have had access prior to publication on Friday during the day. Wednesday, a Spanish woman, Alicia Gamez, was released by AQMI after three months of captivity in northern Mali. She had been kidnapped with two other men still being held. This release is a positive initiative forcing (Spain) to respond positively to our legitimate demands which are the sole condition so that the other citizens (Spanish) are released unharmed," the statement said. AQMI does not detail the "legitimate demands" but El Pais, quoting sources close to negotiations says that it is the payment of a ransom of 5 million dollars and the release of several Islamist prisoners held in Nouakchott’s central prison. (Ennaharonline)

Teacher attacked after al-Qaeda comments-AFP
Lyon, France - A 15-year-old French schoolboy sprayed a teacher with teargas after she described al-Qaeda as a "terrorist group", she told reporters on Tuesday as prosecutors began their investigation. "I had just explained that the attacks on September 11, 2001 were carried out by the terrorist organisation al-Qaeda, as is written in the text book," said the history teacher, speaking on condition of anonymity. "He stood up and declared that al-Qaeda is not terrorist and that neither is the Taliban," she said, adding that the boy had then pulled out a spray can and doused her and a teaching assistant with teargas. Neither victim was seriously hurt. Al-Qaeda, a global organisation under the nominal leadership of Saudi-born militant Osama bin Laden, boasted of carrying out the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington. (Iol.co.za)

Muslim website calls for 'Sharia' Islamic law in Ireland-FRANK GALLAGHER
An Irish Islamic website which argues for the introduction of "Sharia" law in Ireland had nearly 270,000 hits last month alone. An Irish Islamic website which argues for the introduction of "Sharia" law in Ireland had nearly 270,000 hits last month alone. The site is targeted at what it calls Irish "O'Muslims," the Muslim Public Affairs Council website, www.mpac.ie. Sharia refers to the "way" Muslims should live or the "path" they must follow. Sharia is derived from the sacred text of Islam (the Koran) and traditions gathered from the life of the Islamic prophet Mohammed. Sharia deals with many aspects of life, including crime, politics, economics, banking, business, contracts, family, sexuality, hygiene, and social issues. An editorial post says introducing Sharia is a patriotic duty. "And who could doubt that establishing the authority of Allah in the land is in the best interests of Ireland?" it asks. (Irishcentral)

Muslim gangs imposing sharia law in British prisons-Andrew Gilligan
Radical Muslim gangs are imposing a form of sharia law inside some of Britain's prisons, a BBC investigation has found.
Non-Muslim inmates at the high-security Long Lartin jail have been forced by the gangs to stop playing "Western" music and take down pictures of women from their cells, according to one former prison officer there. Prisoners at the jail, although allowed to cook their own food, are not allowed to prepare pork for fear of offending the Muslim inmates, the officer said. The officer, speaking to Radio Five Live's Donal Macintyre show, told how younger prisoners were targeted for forced conversion to Islam by the gangs. "They went along because they were intimidated. They genuinely weren't of the Muslim faith," she said. "I knew one lad quite well, who was approached by the radical Muslims and he changed. He was being controlled and bossed around and he wasn't even allowed to look at me or speak to me. "He just seemed very frightened all the time. He used to be forced to pray at certain times and he was even forced to grow a long beard even though he didn't want to. (Telegraph.co.uk)

ACADEMIC FREEDOM

CAIR Attacks the Foreign Policy Research Institute-Daniel Pipes
CAIR’s Philadelphia chapter is holding a press conference [1] tomorrow (Wednesday, March 17) at which it plans “to announce the launch of a nationwide campaign to challenge anti-Islam bias in a series of children’s books that the Washington-based Muslim civil rights group says promote ‘hostility toward Islam and suspicion of Muslims’.” The reference is to a ten-volume series for middle-schools and high schools titled the “World of Islam [2]” produced by the Foreign Policy Research Institute and published by Mason Crest Publishers. (For the record, in 1986-93, I served as director of the Foreign Policy Research Institute; I had no role in the “World of Islam” series.) In advance of the press conference, it may be helpful to review an incriminating e-mail exchange among the CAIR staff about the series. It took place on December 9, 2009, when Moein M. Khawaja, “civil rights director” for CAIR’s Philadelphia office, sent a memo to the CAIR staff. Khawaja reported that he had gone through some of the Mason Crest volumes and flagged materials he disapproved of (such as, “The burqa is a visible symbol of European Muslims resistance to assimilation in society”). (Frontpagemagazine)

Climategate Deniers-Peter Wood
Proponents of the theory of man-made global warming have been discomforted by the revelations beginning in late November that some members of the scientific community engaged in dubious conduct that reached the level of misleading the public. They reported data that has since proved to be missing or non-existent; they devised mathematical algorithms that turned statistical noise into supposedly meaningful graphs; they erased deep discrepancies; they selectively omitted findings at odds with their own; and conspired to withhold documents they were legally obligated to share with researchers who had properly requested them; they sought to prevent the publication of scientific work that contradicted their favored hypotheses; and they sought to damage journals that accommodated that work. All of this mischief was clear within a few days of the unauthorized release of the emails and computer code from the Climate Research Center at the University of East Anglia. But in the weeks and months since, the picture of how proponents of the man-made global warming theory have abused “climate science” has only worsened. (NAS)

MEDIA BIAS

Wars of Race, Wars of Terror, & the World According to Tom Hanks-Jack L. Treese, CWO US Army, Retired
“The World According to Tom” is an article that appears in the March 15 issue of “Time.” It is all about Tom Hanks’ interest in American history. It’s not a bad article until Mr. Hanks is quoted in the second to last paragraph. Referring to World War II he stated:
“From the outset, we wanted to make people wonder how our troops can re-enter society in the first place. How could they just pick up their lives and get on with the rest of us? Back in World War II we viewed the Japanese as ‘yellow, slant-eyed dogs’ that believed in different gods. They were out to kill us because our way of living was different. We, in turn, wanted to annihilate them because they were different. Does that sound familiar, by any chance, to what’s going on today?”
For some background I served as a medic with the 101st Airborne Division in Vietnam, 1967-68. I retired from the Army as a Physician Assistant and my son currently serves in Afghanistan with the 82nd Airborne Division. (Bighollywood.brietbart)

NBC's Castro-Driven Journalism-Humberto Fontova
There's no worse crime in journalism these days than simply deciding something's a story because Drudge links to it. - NBC's Chuck Todd, March 6, 2010.
Oh, really?
Well, how about partnering with a Stalinist regime's military robber-barons to boost their currency booty and hide their tortures, mass-murders, and mass-jailings? To wit: In June 2007, Castro's Stalinist regime held a "tourism fair" in Havana to kick off an ambitious plan to boost the Cuban military's tourist booty. By some peculiar coincidence, NBC's "Today Show" decided to broadcast from Havana that very week. Amidst smiling, clapping, dancing tourists, Matt Lauer and Andrea Mitchell advised viewers on how to legally vacation in Cuba. Don't look for this from NBC, but Castro's Soviet-trained and armed military and secret police own most of Cuba's tourist facilities. Along with providing these inquisitive Cuban officials with certain insights regarding visitors to Castro's fiefdom, this setup also insures that most of what tourists spend in Cuba lands in the pockets of the only people in Cuba with guns. (Americanthinker)

FREEDOM OF SPEECH

Kurt Westergaard on appeasement (see video)
Kurt Westergaard gives this interview on Danish media about his views on appeasement of Islam and life under threat. This is a good interview even by his standards. Kurt is very clear and says what needs saying, probably to the extent that he can, and still have it play on Danish media. When you visit Kurt Westergaard, there is only one place in the house where P.E.T. allows you to film, and that is here in the workroom. We have asked Kurt Westergaard to look back and give status now five years after the whole thing started, when pen met paper and he drew the now world famous cartoon of the 'Prophet Mohamed' The drawing was made to support free speech and of course at that time. I hadn't imagined it could become like this. (Europenews)

Jihad Jane's allies in the courts-RACHEL EHRENFELD
The zeal with which Colleen LaRose, aka "Jihad Jane," (above) pursued a fatwa to kill the publishers of the "Mohammed cartoons" - 12 drawings of a turban-wearing bearded man with a bomb, released in 2005 in Denmark, Sweden and elsewhere - comes as no surprise. She went so far as to travel to Europe with the intention to kill Swedish cartoonist Lars Vilks in a way that would frighten "the whole Kufar [nonbeliever] world." This is a well-understood strategy of terrorists: Using violence or the threat of violence to intimidate those who dare resist their jihad, who dare defend secular, Western values. But another less violent but highly potent weapon is also being employed. It involves "lawfare" - exploiting pro-plaintiff libel laws to silence authors and publishers who write about Islamic terrorism. It is common not only in Europe, but surprisingly right here in theUnited States. (Nydailynews)

Counterpoint: In defence of Wafa Sultan-Joanne Hill
Tarek Fatah has used the National Post to present a one-sided, inaccurate and potentially dangerous editorial about statements made by Dr. Wafa Sultan during her March 3rd debate in Toronto with Dr. Daniel Pipes. Mr. Fatah's article is not an unbiased report: it is an opinion piece full of loaded terms such as slur, attack, hateful, anguish, Islam haters and vitriol. He misquotes Dr. Sultan and presents as fact a conclusion that is not supported by any of her statements: a conclusion that I believe puts her life in danger. I am a freelance reporter; I covered the debate between Dr. Pipes and Dr. Sultan for the Jewish Tribune. I have an audio recording of the entire event, including the Question and Answer period, so I can state with complete accuracy what was and was not said by Dr. Sultan. Mr. Fatah assumes the authority of a mind-reader to reveal what he claims is Dr. Sultan's hidden intention. Given his first-hand experience of the eagerness of some Muslims (or "Islamists" if he would prefer) to issue death threats against anyone who is perceived as threatening Muslims, there are three reasons why I find it disturbing that he would attribute to Dr. Sultan this motivation: "Perhaps the answer she had in mind was too outrageous even by her own standards: Force Muslims to convert or die." (Nationalpost)

ANTISEMITISM

Egypt bans official opening of synagogue-Jessica Elgot
A fortnight before Pesach, Egypt has cancelled the official reopening of a restored synagogue, allegedly because of the celebrations and drinking during the synagogue’s reopening ceremony. In Cairo’s ancient Jewish quarter, the ruined Ben Maimon synagogue has undergone a seven month restoration. The synagogue held a dedication ceremony last week, amid a heavy security presence which cleared a 500 metre area around the shul. The dedication ceremony included several Egyptian Jewish families, Carmen Weinstein, head of Egypt's Jewish community, Yitzhak Levanon, the newly-appointed Israeli ambassador to Egypt and the US, Canadian and French envoys. At the rededication ceremony, Rabbi Andrew Baker of the American Jewish Committee said: “Let us recognise that there is something of a miracle in what takes place here today—albeit an earthly one. As the Egyptian Government has embraced this project as its own, I hope it is a sign that it will embrace the history of Jews in Egypt—from the 12th Century but also the 20th Century—as its own too.” (Thejewishchronicle)

Obama Heads the Most Anti-Israel Administration in U.S. History- Gary Bauer
Remember, last June, when President Obama told reporters that it was “not productive” for the U.S. to be “meddling” in the affairs of a certain Middle Eastern country? Obama’s diplomatic deference inaugurated six months of silence after Iran’s sham elections. By the time the White House got around to “strongly condemn[ing]” the bloody crackdown against protestors, the nascent “green revolution” was in retreat, and Iran’s maniacal president – Mahmoud Ahmadinejad -- was bragging about how close he was to developing nuclear weapons. Obama is showing he has far fewer reservations about meddling in the domestic affairs of another Middle Eastern country, America’s only democratic ally in the region. With its diplomatic assaults on just about everything the Israeli government does, the Obama administration is establishing itself as the most anti-Israel administration in U.S. history. I have talked to foreign policy experts in Washington, D.C. and Israel today and they are using adjectives like “bizarre,” “inexplicable,” “counterproductive,” and “outrageous” to describe President Obama’s diplomatic jihad against Israel. (Humanevents)

'Report demonizing Israel risks Presbyterian-Jewish ties'- E.B. SOLOMONT
US Jewish leaders slam report by Presbyterian Church USA that blames Israel for the “Palestinian resistance.”
NEW YORK – American Jewish leaders are slamming a report by the Presbyterian Church USA that blames Israel for the “Palestinian resistance” and denounces companies doing business with Israel. The Jewish Council for Public Affairs, which circulated a memo to its member agencies and board of directors Monday, said the biased report reduced the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to a caricature, demonizing Israel and delegitimizing its right to exist as a Jewish state. “It’s a highly-selective use of text, history and circumstances to form an anti-Israel narrative,” said JCPA vice president Ethan Felson. “They give significant voice to anti-Zionists, condemn companies that sell to Israel and allow for the demonization of Israel. That’s several red lines.” The 172-page report, written by the church’s Middle East Study Committee, is to be debated at the church’s General Assembly this July. But Jewish leaders say its recommendations renew old tensions over the church’s previous divestment policies toward Israel, threatening Presbyterian-Jewish relations.(Jpost)

Anti-semitism report shocks officials
Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) has aired a series of reports in recent days, exposing what officials are calling a “shocking” level of anti-semitism in some Norwegian schools. Much of it is coming from Muslim students who go unchallenged. Education Minister Kristin Halvorsen calls the anti-semitism “completely unacceptable.” NRK interviewed parents of Jewish children, teachers, Jewish leaders and officials of Muslim organizations. All denounced anti-semitic remarks and bullying reportedly going on in schools around the Oslo area. One Jewish parent said he had to transfer his children from one school, to protect them from harassment, only to encounter the same problem at another school. Teachers said Muslim students often interrupt classes on World War II history, for example, claiming the holocaust didn’t occur or making anti-semitic remarks.
(Newsinenglish)

Iran, Hamas Launch 'Facebook Intifada'-Gil Ronan
(Israelnationalnews.com) Iran has called for the launching of a “media intifada” against Israel, and the first results are apparently visible online, in the form of a Hamas Facebook group. Other groups and sites formed as part of the 'intifada' may have been removed or hacked. According to the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center's latest briefing, a conference titled National and Islamic Solidarity for the Future of Palestine was held in Tehran on February 28. It was headed by Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who gave a typically belligerent anti-Israeli speech. The conference's participants were a particularly nasty group of terrorists with a decades-old record of murdering civilians: Khaled Mashaal, the chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau; Ramadan Shalah, the secretary-general of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist group; and Ahmed Jibril, of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.The Third Intifada? During the conference, Iran’s Intelligence Minister Haydar Maslahi called on Muslim countries to launch a what he called a “media intifada” against the Jewish homeland. (INN)

Brussels: Mosque links to Holocaust denial sites
I think it's important to note that the mosque did not link to site which focus specifically on Holocaust denial. It linked to religious Muslim portals, and among various articles, they also offered articles denying the Holocaust. My question, therefore, and this is mostly for my Muslim readers: Is there any religious portal out there which does not have articles denying the Holocaust and blaming Jews for all evil? Links on the site of the Great Mosque of Brussels, which link to Saudi Arabia, linked to negationist (ie, Holocaust denial) items, which are criminal in Belgium. They were removed Wednesday. The site of the Islamic and Cultural Centre of Belgium displayed links to two Saudi sites, WhyMuhammad.com and Islamway, which included outright negationist and xenophobic literature. Islamway published excerpts from the book by Abdallah H. Al-Kahtany, which talks of the 'Zionist propaganda and the myth of the Holocaust'. The author claims in particular that 'it would be ridiculous to claim that such chambers were used for executing people'. The same author, in the same negationist momentum, argues that the 'number of Jews killed during the war was 300.000; much less than the number of Muslims killed in the Jewish Holocaust in Palestine'. (Islamineurope)

The Obama intifada?-Melanie Phillips
Are we seeing the beginning (heaven forbid) of the Obama intifada? The escalating Arab rioting today in Jerusalem and the West Bank is undoubtedly being stoked up by the fact that the Obama administration has turned so viciously against Israel. Doubtless as a result the Arabs now smell victory within their grasp and may now unleash another wave of violence against Israelis. Every single one of their recent ‘grievances’ is not just fabricated but stands history and justice on their heads. The ostensible cause of today's rioting, the re-opening yesterday of the ancient Hurva synagogue in the heart of the Jewish quarter of Jerusalem's Old City, is a typical example of this fanatical moral and historical inversion. The Hurva has been under reconstruction for years. The Palestinian campaign of incitement over it carries the message that Jews cannot build places of worship in their own city. And before anyone says any of Jerusalem is ‘occupied Palestinian territory’, it is not and never was 'Palestinian'. In every single attempt to resolve the Middle East impasse, Jerusalem was always regarded as a special case on its own; and from the mid 19th century onwards it has had uninterruptedly a Jewish majority. (Spectator.co.uk)

TERRORISM, security and policy

Terrorists Targeting Children Via Facebook, Twitter
The Internet grew 20 percent uglier last year, with terrorists and racists increasingly turning to social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter -- and targeting children, finds the 2010 Digital Hate Report. The Internet grew 20 percent uglier last year, with terrorists and racists increasingly turning to social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter -- and targeting children, finds the 2010 Digital Hate Report. The CD-ROM report, put out annually by the Simon Wiesenthal Center for Tolerance, aims to assist law enforcement, public officials, educators, parents and the news media to better grasp the scope of hate. The report, based on some 11,500 problematic Web sites, social networks , chat forums, twitter posts, other Internet postings, found that hate-filled language is increasingly filling social networks. In compiling it, researchers for the Wiesenthal center found such disturbing online content as video footage showing bomb-making instructions and hate games -- including one about bombing Haitian earthquake victims. (Foxnews)

Homegrown Jihad in India- SADANAND DHUME
Barely 16 months after Pakistani terrorists killed 166 people and brought life to a standstill in Mumbai, India's commercial capital is again in the news for the wrong reasons. On Sunday police announced the arrest of two suspected Islamic militants accused of plotting to bomb a nuclear reactor, the country's leading petroleum company and a popular shopping mall. Predictably enough, the authorities stressed the alleged terrorists' links with Pakistan. They were apparently in touch with a handler in Karachi code-named "Uncle."But by now Indians ought to be less alarmed by the established fact that their Western neighbor is a leading sponsor of terrorism, and more by the mounting evidence that there is no shortage of disaffected Indian Muslims willing to wage war against their own country. Abdul Lateef Rashid and Riyaz Ali, the men accused of the plot, are Mumbai natives. Their arrest follows last month's bombing of a bakery popular with students and foreigners in the Western city of Pune that killed 17 people. As in the aborted Mumbai plot, Indian officials suspect the involvement of Indian nationals in Pune acting in concert with the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba. (WSJ)

Al Qa’eda spurs on ‘lone wolf’ terrorists-Steven Stanek, Foreign Correspondent
WASHINGTON // A new tactical shift by al Qa’eda to court low-level operatives, including amateurs with no formal training, could make it harder for the militant network to control its message of jihad, some experts say. In its latest propaganda video, “A Call to Arms”, the group’s US-born spokesman, Adam Gadahn, signals a new willingness to embrace so-called “lone wolf” attackers, encouraging amateurs to emulate Nidal Malik Hasan, the US army psychiatrist who is accused of killing 13 people last year in a shooting rampage in Fort Hood, Texas. Mr Gadahn, who is thought to be living in Pakistan, praises Mr Hasan as a “pioneer, a trailblazer and a role-model who has opened a door, lit a path and shown the way forward”. He also praises the small-scale and relatively unsophisticated attacks carried out by Mohammad Bouyeri, who murdered the Dutch filmmaker Theo Van Gogh in 2004, and Aimal Kansi, who shot and killed two CIA employees in 1993. (Thenational.ae)


Gitmo's Indefensible Lawyers-Debra Burlingame and Thomas Joscelyn
Legal counsel to some of the detainees went far beyond vigorous representation of their clients. Doesn't the public have a right to know?
On the evening of Jan. 26, 2006, military guards at Guantanamo Bay made an alarming discovery during a routine cell check. Lying on the bed of a Saudi detainee was an 18-page color brochure. The cover consisted of the now famous photograph of newly-arrived detainees dressed in orange jumpsuits—masked, bound and kneeling on the ground at Camp X-Ray—just four months after 9/11. Written entirely in Arabic, it also included pictures of what appeared to be detainee operations in Iraq. Major General Jay W. Hood, then the commander of Joint Task Force-Guantanamo, concurred with the guards that this represented a serious breach of security. Maj. Gen. Hood asked his Islamic cultural adviser to translate. The cover read: "Cruel. Inhuman. Degrades Us All: Stop Torture and Ill-Treatment in the 'War on Terror.'" It was published by Amnesty International in the United Kingdom and portrayed America and its allies as waging a campaign of torture against Muslims around the globe."One thread that runs through many of the testimonies from prisons in Afghanistan and Iraq, and from Guantanamo," the brochure read, "is that of anti-Arab, anti-Islamic, and other racist abuse." How did the detainee get it? More importantly, who gave it to him? (WSJ)

Iran 'tried to buy nuclear weapons from Pakistan'-Damien McElroy, Foreign Affairs Correspondent
Iran attempted to buy nuclear weapons from Pakistan in 1990 but a putative deal was rejected at the last moment by the former head of the Pakistani military, according to an official transcript leaked in Washington. Iran had struck an agreement with Pakistan's army chief to buy "nuclear bombs" for $10 billion (£6.6 billion) but Pakistani officials pulled out of the offer when an Iranian delegation travelled to Islamabad to collect the material in 1990.Adml Ali Shamkhani, the former Iranian defence minister, attempted to finalise the sale in a meeting with Adml Iftikhar Ahmed Sirohey, then chairman of Pakistan's joint chiefs, according to an 11-page statement by Pakistan scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan that has been made public for the first time. It said: "He had come to collect the promised nuclear bombs." The confession was obtained by Simon Henderson, a fellow at the Washington Institute think tank. "This is the first real indication that Iran wants - and has always wanted - a nuclear bomb, not just nuclear technology. (Telegraph.co.uk)

The Real Terror War Is On the Internet-Mark Dubowitz
Terrorist Internet sites are not only yelling fire in a crowded movie theatre, they are providing the match, the gasoline, and the arsonist. Terrorists and rogue states are moving their battle to the Internet in a virtual war against liberal democracy. For too long, the United States and its allies have ignored the incitement and violent propaganda from Internet platforms operated by violent Islamist extremists. Today, such neglect is not an option. As we have been warned by Harry Wingo -- a former Navy SEAL who now serves as Google's Washington, D.C. policy counsel-- "the code is mightier than the sword." Internet code is an operational weapon used by terrorist groups to indoctrinate, recruit, train, and finance the next generation of terrorists. Terrorist groups like Al Qaeda, Hezbollah, and Hamas (with support, in some cases, from rogue states like Iran) use a vast and anonymous terrorist Web network as another front in their war against the West. These Web outlets should be treated as indistinguishable from the terrorist organizations that use them. Is the threat real? (Foxnews)

GLOBAL GOVERNANCE AND RADICAL ENVIRONMENTALISM

Gore Attaches Global Warming as Cause to Last Weekend's Storm in Northeast-Jeff Poor Business & Media Institute
Former vice president points toward weather events as evidence of climate change during 'strategy conference call' for supporters.
If there’s a drought – it’s global warming. When there’s a hurricane – it’s global warming. If there are heavy snows or even blizzards – it’s somehow global warming. And amazingly, the latest round of rainy and windy weather in the Northeast, well that’s consistent with this phenomenon as well, so says former Vice President Al Gore. Gore, the self-anointed climate change alarmist-in-chief, told supporters on a March 15 conference call that severe weather in certain regions of the country could be attributed to carbon in the atmosphere – including the recent rash of rainy weather. “[T]he odds have shifted toward much larger downpours,” Gore said. “And we have seen that happen in the Northeast, we’ve seen it happen in the Northwest – in both of those regions are among those that scientists have predicted for a long time would begin to experience much larger downpours.” (Businessandmedia)

Government rebuked over global warming nursery rhyme adverts-Matthew Moore
Two nursery rhyme adverts commissioned by the Government to raise awareness of climate change have been banned for overstating the risks.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruled that the adverts – which were based on the children's poems Jack and Jill and Rub-A-Dub-Dub – made exaggerated claims about the threat to Britain from global warming. In definitely asserting that climate change would cause flooding and drought the adverts went beyond mainstream scientific consensus, the watchdog said. It noted that predictions about the potential global impact of global warming made by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) "involved uncertainties" that the adverts failed to reflect. The two posters created on behalf of the Department of Energy and Climate Change juxtaposed adapted extracts from the nursery rhymes with prose warnings about the dangers of global warning. One began: “Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water. There was none as extreme weather due to climate change had caused a drought.” Beneath was written: “Extreme weather conditions such as flooding, heat waves and storms will become more frequent and intense.” (Telegraph.co.uk)

SCIENCE, SOCIETY AND CULTURE

Israeli Company Develops Bionic Retina Implant-Malkah Fleisher
(Israelnationalnews.com) An Israeli company is featured in the Wall Street Journal for restoring the sight of patients who have lost vision due to disease. Herzliya-based Nano Retina has developed a two-part system to replace the function of a retina which has been damaged by macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, and other diseases. Called Bio-Retina, the device consists of an implant and set of glasses which coordinate to restore lost sight. The operation to install the electrode-laden implant takes a mere half hour under local anesthetic. The bionic implant does the work of the eye's photoreceptors, which normally turn light into electrical signals sent to the brain. The Bio-Retina transforms the light into the electrical signals, which then travel to the brain. (INN)

The Pacific: A Valuable Tribute to a Dying Generation-Christian Toto
The creative team behind HBO’s Band of Brothers is back to bring us another stirring ode to World War II-era warriors. The Pacific [1] follows the Marines who battled the Japanese army along the inhospitable terrains of the Philippines, the Netherlands East Indies, New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands. The change of setting from Europe to islands crisscrossing the Pacific is enough to justify the new miniseries’ existence. And while The Pacific isn’t always as dramatically compelling as the historical record, it’s a valuable tribute to a dying generation. The 10-part miniseries debuts at 9 p.m. EST Sunday night (March 14) with action that begins shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor [2]. Japanese forces were pummeling U.S. troops for a spell, and it looked like the attack’s momentum would carry the Asian nation to even more military victories. Each one-hour installment starts with a brief background on the action to follow. World War II veterans reminisce about their Pacific-based combat missions in interviews interconnected by The Pacific co-producer Tom Hanks’ stoic narration. (Pajamasmedia)

The Frugal Genius-CAMMY BROTHERS
Michelangelo was a notorious miser. He drew on every scrap he found around his studio, only on rare occasions beginning a drawing on a fresh sheet (typically when the sheet was intended for a patron's eyes). He drew incessantly, so that while the drawings that are most widely reproduced suggest absolute mastery and polish, they are not representative of the many more that show him in the often awkward or halting process of working out an idea. The 12 drawings by Michelangelo on loan from the Casa Buonarroti in Florence and on view here in the Muscarelle Museum represent a rare opportunity to see Michelangelo in his workaday mode of production, jotting down visual ideas in a hurry alongside poetic verses or assorted notes. Typically, exhibitions of Renaissance drawings feature the most spectacular, most finished works the artists produced. This creates a lot of visual punch, but gives a distorted view of the artistic process—as if everything issuing from the hand of the artist was pure genius.
By contrast, the drawings on view at the Muscarelle give a more realistic view of all the stages involved in devising and executing an idea, and in the process they provide a number of insights into Michelangelo's way of working. (WSJ)

Defamation case over Prophet Mohammed cartoons 'to be held' in Britain-Bruno Waterfield in Brussels
Faisal Yamani, a Jeddah based lawyer, is planning to take a case to London's libel courts on behalf of over 90,000 descendants of Mohammed who have claimed that the drawings have defamed them and the Islamic faith.Cartoon caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed were published in Danish newspapers in 2006 triggering violent protests across the Muslim world and riots which claimed the lives of over 50 people.
According to Danish press reports, the case can be heard in the Britain because the images, including a caricature of Mohammed with a bomb shaped turban, have been freely accessible via the internet. Danish politicians and publishers are furious that European Union rules reward "libel tourism" by enforcing British defamation rulings across Europe. Ebbe Dal, managing director of Danske Dagblades Forening, the Danish national newspaper association, is concerned that Britain's tough libel laws could be used to restrict free speech in liberal countries such as Denmark. (Telegraph.co.uk)

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