The Western Word

The inclusion of the name Michael Savage on a list issued by the British Home Secretary Jacki Brown of " undesirables" who would not be permitted entry to Britain, should make any person's hair stand on end for its sheer scale of outrage.

Savage, the conservative shock jock, who has parlayed his unrepentant brand of conservative ire for more than two decades on U.S. radio and television, was grouped with a multicultural hodge podge of criminals, Islamic preachers, and white supremacists on the same list, instantly transforming him into the new cynosure for international free speech. Jacki Brown has of course acquitted herself in a similar vein over the past few months, when she issued an order to prevent the arrival of Dutch politician Geert Wilders who had been invited to speak in the House of Lords.

Savage, mind you, is no saint. His modus operandi is confrontational and deliberately offensive and does a considerable disservice to the conservative constituency he represents and seeks to influence.

But as Savage himself notes, being grouped with murderers who are in prison for killing Jewish children on buses, seems to be a development that highlights one of the most significant threats to free speech throughout the West.

Savage was cited for his engagement in " unacceptable behaviour " that could " lead to intercommunity violence". But if giving offense, wanton conduct or offensive behaviour form the principal criteria for debarring individuals from entering the United Kingdom , then many American celebrities such as Howard Stern, Bill Maher and Anne Coulter would have also made the list. So too would have Al Franken, Keith Oldermann and Don Imus.

For the truth is that Savage was singled out, not for his "unaccceptable behavior" but for his conservative views which are not consonant with those of Britain's cultural and political elite. His condemnation of homosexuality, characterized as "homophobia", poses an affront and danger to this same elite and to the politically correct universe they inhabit.

I have no particular respect for Savage's crudeness. But that does not mean that I would tell Australian, New Zealand, Canadian or British citizens that he should not be heard.

Let us be clear about where all this is going. In post-Christian multicultural England, a country, where, as Savage correctly reminds us, the Magna Carta was written and for centuries flourished with pride - those who espouse openly conservative views tied to tradition, family or the preservation of national identity, run the risk of censure, alienation and punishment. As I have stated in an earlier piece England's Multicultural Revolution, the change in thinking in Britain is so radical that it threatens the core of the nation's identity . Let me now state that is also threatens the very thought patterns of its citizens. Fearing ridicule, loss of job opportunities and social alienation, the would-be conservative in England must do his best to shield those views from the public. Objections to gay marriage, Muslim intolerance or foreign influence in the universities must be spoken of discreetly, for fear of the steep economic and social repercussions

The situation is little different in Obama's America. Carrie Prejean, Miss California who , it is alleged, lost her bid to become Miss World because of a stated support for traditional marriage, understands now the costs of tripping the wires of political correctness. That she should suffer outrage, ridicule and punishment for her traditional words and beliefs, is, like Savage's case on the other extreme, a troubling augur of things to come.

In that light, we should never forget that while England was without doubt the place where the Magna Carta was written, it was also the place where George Orwell wrote1984 . If so, then lets be reminded of Orwell's description of his hero, Winston Smith' s, central dilemma:

"The thought police would get him just the same. He had committed--would have committed, even if he had never set pen to paper--the essential crime that contained all others in itself. "Thoughtcrime", they called it. Thoughtcrime was not a thing that could be concealed forever. You might dodge successfully for a while, even for years, but sooner or later they were bound to get you."

The movement for the preservation of free speech around the world could do better than Michael Savage as its latest poster boy. But I would take Savage any day over the prosecutors of thoughtcrime who are surrepetitously worming their way into the hearts and minds of millions of citizens throughout the West.

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

The ADL: Wrong About Geert Wilders
by Robert Spencer (more by this author)

After the heroic Dutch parliamentarian Geert Wilders spoke in Florida last week, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) condemned his remarks, saying: “In his speeches, he claimed that ‘Islam is not a religion’ and ‘the right to religious freedom should not apply to this totalitarian ideology called Islam.’ Mr. Wilders also stated that the Koran is a book of hatred, and that Mohammed was both ‘a pedophile and a warlord.’
These are serious charges, but they don’t stand up to close inspection. In light of the fact that the hadith collection that Muslims consider most reliable, Sahih Bukhari, reports no less than five times that Muhammad (then in his fifties) consummated his marriage with Aisha when she was nine years old, Wilders would have little difficulty making the charge of pedophilia stick. And given that Muhammad participated in numerous battles during his prophetic career, all but one of them offensive, the “warlord” charge can easily be established from texts that Muslims consider accurate in reporting the details of Muhammad’s life.

Chinese Terrorists Release in U.S. Imminent, No Answers From Holder-Rep. Frank Wolf
Should foreigners picked up conducting terrorist training with Al Qaeda and subsequently held at Guantanamo Bay just be released into our communities, no questions asked? Believe it or not, it could happen. And soon. The Obama administration is ready to release a number of Chinese Muslims, known as Uighurs, held at Guantanamo Bay since 2002 into the United States, according to several recent press reports. Information I have received, however, indicates that the 17 Uighurs being held at Guantanamo may be more dangerous than the public has been led to believe. Both the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security have reportedly raised serious concerns about the release of the 17 detainees, who are said to be members of the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement, a terrorist organization affiliated with Al Qaeda. To be clear, we are not talking about transferring these folks to prisons in the United States. They would be released, free and clear. They would be walking our streets, shopping in our malls, eating in our restaurants. (Humanevents)

Is This Who We Want Representing U.S. Interests Abroad?-Steve Emerson
Hudson New York May 5, 2009
Note: The original version of this article was published by the Hudson Institute and can be seen here.
Is repeatedly badmouthing the United States and fabricating an environment of a war against Muslims by the U.S. government a qualification for being sent on overseas travel at the taxpayers' expense? The State Department and a U.S. university seem to think so. Consider the case of Christina Abraham, Civil Rights Director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Chicago chapter. It is an affiliate of the national CAIR group that was described by an FBI agent in trial of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development as a front for Hamas. CAIR had also been declared an unindicted co-conspirator in that same trial, that resulted in sweeping terrorist convictions for all defendants last year. For the past 14 years, CAIR has defended Islamic terrorism, sponsored anti-Semitic conferences and has consistently attacked nearly all U.S. prosecutions of Islamic terrorists and asset forfeitures of Islamic terrorist charitable front groups as racist. Late last year, the FBI severed its relationship with CAIR because of its ties to Hamas. In early 2008, CAIR's Abraham participated in a program on "Building the National Identity and Civic Participation in the Philippines" conducted at Northern Illinois University (NIU) -- an event funded by the U.S. State Department's Office of Citizen Exchanges in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. She served as what the program's training manual described as a "resource person" who "provided…materials for the program," which ran from May 31 to June 28 under the auspices of NIU's International Training Office & Center for Southeast Asian Studies. (Investigativeproject)

Rotterdam: Dutch to be a minority
According to EUMAP, Rotterdam has a Muslim population of about 80,000, or 13%. Taking the big groups of Moroccans and Turks, according to this article, this number is more or less accurate. In other words, Dutch might be a minority in Rotterdam, but Muslims are by far not the majority. With just 52% of the population born with a Dutch passport, Rotterdam city is nearing the point when immigrants will form a majority of the city. This according to data by the municipal Center for Research and Statistics (COS) After Dutch, Surinamese are the biggest ethnic group, followed by Turks and Moroccans. Antilleans and Moroccans are the fastest growing group. Rotterdam now has 30% more Antilleans than a decade ago (now 20,261), and 26% more Moroccans (now 38,100). The COS does not dare to forecast when the immigrant population will overtake the ethnic one. If the trend continues, it will be in 2012. (Islamineurope)

Italy: Muslim women allowed to swim in private-AKI
Bergamo, 30 April (AKI) - Muslim women in the northern Italian province of Bergamo now have private access to a local swimming pool where they can swim freely without traditional clothing. Men are not permitted to swim at the Siloe pool when the women remove their veils, or burquas, at designated times each week, according to the Italian daily, Corriere della Sera. Maida Ziaradi, an Iranian who has lived in Italy for 17 years spearheaded the move and said many Muslim women from Tunisia, Morocco, Iran and Egypt as well as Italians can take advantage of it. The pool is owned by the diocese of Bergamo and the arrangement with the Muslim women is seen as a form of ecumenical respect for the Koran. "At the beginning several (women) were hesitant and fearful," Ziaradi said. "One had never swum before, others made a remarkable effort exposing their legs, one was terrified of the water and now doesn't miss a lesson." Italy is not the first country to introduce designated swimming for Muslim women. In Germany the burqua can be worn in some public swimming pools, while in Australia some public pools have specific timetables for Muslim women.
Mecca Laalaa, a 22 year-old Australian is the first Muslim woman to become a volunteer surf life saver, wearing a specially designed costume or 'burkini'. The burkini that completely covers the body and head, leaving the face exposed. (AKI)

Exclusive: Muslim Youth in Germany: Aggressive Machos-Dr. Sami Alrabaa
Finally, someone has dared to publicly talk about Muslim youth in Germany and their reckless, aggressive behavior. The German radio, WDR5, broadcast a two-hour live talk show called “Hallo Ü-Wagen” on April 25, 2009, to find out why Muslim youth are so aggressive and fanatic. Julitta Münch, the moderator of this program, invited several specialists to discuss the topic. Over two hours, the majority of the participating specialists and the public depicted an egregious picture of Muslim youth – in particular, the males among them. Ms. Münch, noted at the outset of her show that she had invited many teachers, especially female ones, but none turned up. She assumed they were scared to speak up against their Muslim youth.
Mansour Ahmed, a Palestinian social worker in Berlin who daily deals with Muslim youth and their families, said that more than 30% of Muslim young men are “very violent.” They do not allow their sisters to talk to other boys, especially German boys. Mansour also said that Muslim boys would never approve of their sisters marrying a German man. A Muslim boy told Mansour, he would kill his sister if she marries a German infidel, or has sex with a man before she is married. “More than 60% of Muslim girls are forced to marry a man of their parents’ choice.” Mansour added. He concluded that the majority of Muslim young and older men in Germany interpret and apply a kind of Taliban Islam. (Familysecuritymatters)

A Huge Serving of Academia Nuts-David Solway
As we survey the intellectual scene today, what appears perhaps most disconcerting is the spectacle of the modern Western university. There is nothing sacrosanct per se about the university which, like any human institution, can profane its founding principles and grow corrupt and oppressive. The German universities of the 1930s, for example, despite their long tradition of rigorous scholarship, were by no means citadels of informed thought and genuine research, but outright propaganda factories, preparing students’ minds for the absurd theories of National Socialism, the restriction of free expression, and the absorption of sundry false doctrines. The university may as easily become an engine of indoctrination as a generator of intellectual vitality or a transmitter of knowledge. Here we must remain skeptical of slogans and professed ideals, for the principle of “academic freedom” can be misused as a cover for illiberal thought and slavish conformity to a ruling ideology. (Pajamasmedia)

Snitch Studies at Cal Poly: We Snare Because We Care-Peter Wood
Cal Poly is back. It is reclaiming its place on the frontier of political correctness with a new program aimed at encouraging students to turn in their teachers and fellow students for deviating from officially approved thought patterns. California Polytechnic State University, in San Luis Obispo, may be best known these days for its starring role in Indoctrinate U, Evan Coyne Maloney’s riveting documentary about the suppression of free speech on America’s campuses. In an extended sequence in the film, Maloney seeks an explanation from campus authorities as to why a student, Steven Hinkle, got in serious trouble in November 2002 for posting flyers that announced a talk by C. Mason Weaver, author of It’s OK to Leave the Plantation, who is a black conservative. Hinkle was charged by campus police for posting “offensive racial material” in the Multicultural Center, and he was sent up to Director of Judicial Affairs. Hinkle ended up with a seven-hour hearing, during which he was denied access to legal counsel. The judicial board found him guilty and demanded he write a public letter of apology. Hinkle instead went to FIRE and the Center for Individual Rights. Eventually Cal Poly, watching its case collapse in court, agreed to settle with Hinkle and paid his $40,000 legal bill. (NAS)

Media Bias

Was Last Week the Media's Worst?-Christian Toto
Has it really been 100 days of fawning press coverage of President Barack Obama? Actually, it’s a lot more. It began at least a year before he wrested the 2008 Democratic nomination out of Hillary Clinton’s hands. But the coverage of the “first 100 days” may have sunk to a new low.mIt seems only yesterday when mainstream news outlets first started lobbing softballs at 1600 Pennsylvania’s newest occupant. But the media template on the new president, as conservative talker Rush Limbaugh so often dubs it, was perfected in just three short months. Cool. Self assured. Calm. Masterful. And the best is yet to come.Don’t expect the next 100 days … or his next four years … to see much change in that. Reuters started its wire feature on the 100-day mark press conference describing how Obama does the work of many politicians all at once. “He was his own surgeon general, since he has yet to appoint anyone to the job, offering common-sense to Americans on how to deal with the threat of swine flu.” (Human Events)

Third CNN Staffer Joins Obama's Team, As Does ABC Vet; Revolving Door Up to Ten-Brent Baker
Following the path of CNN Middle East correspondent Aneesh Raman and producer Kate Albright-Hanna, who both jumped aboard the Obama campaign last year, senior political producer Sasha Johnson this week announced she's leaving the network's Washington bureau to take the Press Secretary slot at the Department of Transportation. She won't be the only media vet in that shop. As The Politico's Michael Calderone noted [1] Monday night in reporting Johnson's move, former Chicago Tribune Washington correspondent Jill Zuckman “already headed to Transportation in February, becoming Director of Public Affairs and assistant to Secretary Ray LaHood.” Plus, in the past month or so, two other DC journalists accepted administration positions. ABC's long-time Justice Department correspondent, Beverley Lumpkin, who mostly handled radio news, in April joined the very department she covered for so many years, prompting a Washington Post blogger to quip on Tuesday that she's “turning sources into colleagues.” Speaking of the Washington Post, its former science reporter, Rick Weiss, is now advancing Obama policy at the White House Office of Science and Technology. So far, by my count, at least ten mainstream media journalists have revolved into positions toiling for the Obama campaign, transition or administration. (newsbusters)

Talk-show host to sue Home Office over link to neo-Nazis and Muslim preachers of hate in list of 22 banned from Britain-James Slack
A U.S. radio presenter who is included on the Home Office’s list of 22 people banned from entering the UK is suing the British Government for defamation. Mike Savage told the San Francisco Chronicle that being included in such a crowd is no laughing matter - and he is now preparing legal action against Home Secretary Jacqui Smith. ‘This lunatic...is linking me up with Nazi skinheads who are killing people in Russia; she's putting me in a league with Hamas murderers who kill Jews on buses,’ he said. ‘I have never advocated violence. I've been on the air 15 years. My views may be inflammatory, but they're not violent in any way.’ He said he has been defamed and endangered by the British government action. ‘She has painted a target on my back, linking me with people who are in prison for killing people,’ he said. ‘Does she not think people might hunt me down?’ Savage said he has had no contact with the British government or with Smith's office and has no idea how he ended up on the Home Secretary's list. (Dailymail.co.uk)

California Acts to Stop Libel Tourism [incl. Khalid bin Mahfouz]-Rachel Ehrenfeld
Afflicted with one hazard of globalization — the spread of the swine flu epidemic — California's state Senate took measures to protect its citizens from another less deadly, yet terrorizing hazard — the chilling effects on their freedom of expression by foreign libel judgments. California is the world capital of the entertainment industry, which provides major revenues to the state. To protect it, Senator Ellen Corbett (D), the Chair of the Judiciary Committee, initiated California's Anti-Libel Tourism Act (SB 320), which on April 28, 2009 unanimously passed in the State Senate. Today, people who could never win a libel lawsuit in United States or California are suing in libel-friendly countries like the United Kingdom, where they obtain costly judgments against Americans. International treaties require U.S. courts to recognize and enforce these judgments. But SB 320, "would prohibit state courts from enforcing a defamation judgment obtained in a foreign jurisdiction, unless the court determines the defamation law applied in the case provided at least as much protection for freedom of expression as offered by the U.S. and California Constitutions." Without this law, every creative enterprise produced in California, and every individual writer, director and producer in California, is now at risk of financial devastation at the hands of Libel Tourists. In fact, all books, television and movie scripts, fiction and non-fiction, radio shows, web content and even video games, are exposed to this predatory legal action from abroad. (Politicaljib)

How Will New Hate Crimes Bill Affect Your Free Speech?-Gary Bauer
Our last president was ridiculed for claiming to have peered into Vladimir Putin’s eyes and gotten, in his words, a “sense of his soul.” Our current president wants to do something even more audacious: to peer into your mind to get a sense of your thoughts. And if he finds them insufficiently accepting of homosexuality, he may want to lock you up. And he could get the chance. This week, the House of Representatives passed The Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act (HR 1913), which adds gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, and disability to the list of protected categories under federal hate crimes law. An identical hate crimes bill was introduced two years ago but was stopped by President Bush’s veto pen. This year’s bill is expected to pass the Senate and be signed into law by President Obama. Social liberals claim to value privacy above almost everything else. “Keep the government out of our bedrooms and out of our wombs,” they holler. But their respect for privacy has its limits, and liberals encourage government intrusion into your head when they want to punish you for thoughts they find particularly contemptible. (Humanevents)

It's time lily-livered Europe stood up to Muslim bigots-Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Muslims are using Europe's liberal democratic apparatus to roll back our hard-fought freedoms
In 2006, I had a debate with Tariq Ramadan, the author of Western Muslims and the future of Islam. In the hypothetical event of a war between Egypt and Switzerland, for which community would he be prepared to die, I asked him. Mr Ramadan has dual citizenship. He's an Egyptian by birth and a Swiss by naturalisation. His response was one of rage on different levels. Above all I think he was outraged that one should ask such a question. He refused to answer. Mr Ramadan, like many other Muslims, may have two or more citizenships. From all that he expresses both in person and on paper, it is clear that his loyalty, above all, is to Islam. I do not doubt that he would die for Islam, like most Muslims, and that's his prerogative. But what European countries have done is give citizenship to individuals who feel no obligation to share in their societies for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer and in the event of a catastrophe, sacrifice themselves. No debate is more explosive than the debate on the future of Islam in Europe. In this way, they evade one of the chief criteria of citizenship. Political allegiance to the constitution of your country is the minimum requirement. It is this state of affairs that makes Christopher Caldwell's book Reflections on the Revolution in Europe: Immigration and the West (Allen Lane, £17.99), which opens with the sentence, "Western Europe became a multi-ethnic society in a fit of absence of mind," a chilling read. (Thefirstpost.co.uk)

ANTISEMITISM

A cautionary tale-Caroline Glick
Just in time for the annual AIPAC conference, the US Justice Department announced last week it is dismissing its charges against former AIPAC staffers Keith Weissman and Steve Rosen. Their prosecution, and what it exposed about the nature of AIPAC, and the position of Israel, and of pro-Israel Jews and non-Jews in America must serve as a cautionary tale for Israel and its American supporters. A brief summary of the now five-year-old affair is in order. In August 2004, just as the question of how the Bush administration should contend with Iran's nuclear weapons program was becoming the issue of the day, CBS news reported on an "Israeli spy scandal." According to that report, AIPAC lobbyists were working with a pro-Israel, neo-conservative hawk in the Pentagon and the Israeli embassy in Washington to try to force the Bush administration to adopt a more confrontational policy towards Iran due both to its nuclear weapons development program and to its central role in fomenting the insurgency in Iraq. At the time, as a New York Times report noted, the Bush administration had yet to adopt a clear policy on Iran. As one government source told the newspaper, "We have an ad hoc policy [on Iran] that we're making up as we go along." The idea behind the AIPAC spy scandal story then was that these nefarious pro-Israel forces were being used by Israel to compel the Bush administration to adopt Jerusalem's preferred policy on Iran. (Jpost)

Obama Prepares To Throw Israel Under The Bus-Melanie Phillips
As predicted here repeatedly – Obama is attempting to throw Israel under the Islamist bus, and he’s getting American Jews to do his dirty work for him. White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel reportedly told the Israel lobbying group AIPAC on Sunday that efforts to stop Iran hinged on peace talks with the Palestinians. General James Jones, National Security Adviser to Obama, reportedly told a European foreign minister a week ago that unlike the Bush administration, Obama will be ‘forceful’ with Israel. Ha’aretz reports: Jones is quoted in the telegram as saying that the United States, European Union and moderate Arab states must redefine ‘a satisfactory endgame solution.’ The U.S. national security adviser did not mention Israel as party to these consultations. Of course not. If you are going to throw a country under the bus, you don’t invite it to discuss the manner of its destruction with the assassins who are co-ordinating the crime. As I said here months ago, the appointment of Jones and the elevation of his post of National Security Adviser at the expense of the Secretary of State was all part of the strategy to centralise power in the hands of those who want to do Israel harm. Yesterday Vice-President Joe Biden and Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry turned the thumbscrews tighter, telling Israel to stop building more settlements, dismantle existing outposts and allow Palestinians freedom of movement. This is all not only evil but exceptionally stupid. The idea that a Palestine state will help build a coalition against Iran is demonstrably absurd. The Arab states are beside themselves with anxiety about Iran. They want it to be attacked and its nuclear programme stopped. They are desperately fearful that the Obama administration might have decided that it can live with a nuclear Iran. The idea that if a Palestine state comes into being it will be easier to handle Iran is the opposite of the case: a Palestine state will be Iran, in the sense that it will be run by Hamas as a proxy for the Islamic Republic. The idea that a Palestine state will not compromise Israel’s security is ludicrous. (Spectator.co.uk)

Israel Outraged at 'Biased' UN Report on Gaza Operation-Hana Levi Julian
(IsraelNN.com) The Foreign Ministry expressed outrage Tuesday in response to a United Nations report that accused the IDF of deliberately targeting United Nations buildings during Operation Cast Lead in Gaza. The report was "unbalanced, biased and ignores the facts," Israel said in its rejection. It called on the U.N. to take a second look at the "complex reality in which a terror organization operates in proximity" to its facilities. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is expected to submit his response to the report to the Security Council on Tuesday, when he will release the full report.
IDF Investigation Completed 2 Weeks Ago Two weeks ago, Israel completed its own independent investigation into allegations that the IDF fired at a UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency) compound during the war. "The findings of these inquiries… proved beyond doubt that the IDF did not intentionally fire at the U.N. installations," said the Foreign Ministry in a statement."One must wonder why the report assigns no blame to the Hamas organization, which placed its installations and dispatched its men to confront the IDF in proximity to the U.N. installations. It is very regrettable that this pattern, as well as the responsibility of Hamas for harming Israeli and Palestinian civilians, was disregarded by the [U.N.] investigators." The Foreign Ministry noted that the IDF "took a series of measures meant to ensure international and U.N. facilities and vehicles were not harmed, including clearly marking them on operational maps and briefing officers and soldiers on the ground." (INN)

Iran, Syria back 'Palestinian resistance'-AP
'The resistance will continue until all occupied territories are liberated,' Ahmadinejad says after meeting Assad, adding that Syria, Iran achieving 'victories' in preventing 'big powers' offensive to dominate the region'; US envoys head to Damascus to explore ways to ease tensions.
The leaders of Iran and Syria reaffirmed their support for "Palestinian resistance" on Tuesday, a defiant message to the US and its Mideast allies who are uneasy over Washington's efforts to forge closer ties with the hard-line government in Tehran. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad also met with the chiefs of Hamas and other Damascus-based Palestinian radical groups during his visit to Syria. Iran is a strong supporter of Islamic terrorists in the region, including Hamas and Lebanon's Hizbullah. Ahmadinejad's visit to Syria comes as the US is trying to improve strained ties with the two longtime adversaries. Two US envoys, Jeffrey Feltman and Daniel Shapiro, left Washington on Tuesday for Syria for their second visit since March to explore ways to ease tensions between the United States and Syria, the State Department said. (Ynetnews)

TERRORISM, security and policy

The Erosion of U.S. Power in Asia-Dan Blumenthal
When George W. Bush was president, critics of his Asia policy liked to say that America was "getting its derriere kicked" by China. By this the critics meant that the war in Iraq was a big distraction and that the United States was not attending enough Asian multilateral conferences, where it could demonstrate its "soft power." While this case against the Bush administration was never wholly convincing, it did contain a kernel of truth. Beijing did gain regional influence at Washington's expense under Mr. Bush's watch. But Beijing did so not through kinder and gentler diplomacy alone; rather, China grew its military at a rapid clip and the region took note. If President Bush somewhat neglected this troubling turn in Asia's balance of power, President Barack Obama is doing his predecessor one better. His administration's recent announcement to cut defense programs puts America's long-standing military superiority in the Pacific at risk. If left standing, these cuts--heavily targeted on high-technology weapons systems and "power-projection" platforms essential to preserving that superiority--might mean that America doesn't have much of a derriere left in Asia at all. (AEI)

Glossy Internet Magazine Targets Americans for Jihad Training-Eric Shawn
It's been likened to Al Qaeda's "Vanity Fair," a new English-language Internet magazine called "Jihad Recollections" that focuses on the terrorist group, its founder, Usama Bin Laden, and how to commit jihad. It also predicts the demise of the United States. “This is designed for Americans,” says noted terrorism expert Steven Emerson, founder of the Investigative Project on Terrorism in Washington, D.C., and author of the book "American Jihad: The Terrorists Living Among Us." “It’s not for Brits, not for Germans, not for jihadists in the Middle East. It’s designed for Americans and it’s designed to get them to convert to Islam or to carry out jihad acts of terror,” he said. “What started off as some angry kids in their basement has transformed over the past several years into a robust Al Qaeda propaganda outlet right here in our backyard,” says Jarret Brachman, an Al Qaeda specialist and author of the new book, “Global Jihadism.” Brachman says “it raises the bar for pro-Al Qaeda propaganda in English. Its presentation is flashier than any English language Al Qaeda propaganda that we’ve seen to date.” He also says “the publication shows how deeply embedded in the global Al Qaeda movement its editors are.” (Fox News)

Al Qaeda exporting jihad with a hip-hop vibe-Paula Newton
LONDON (CNN) -- The latest video from Somalia's al Qaeda-backed Al-Shabaab wing is as slickly produced as a reality TV show but with a startling message -- complete with a hip-hop jihad vibe. "Mortar by mortar, shell by shell, only going to stop when I send them to hell," the unidentified voice raps on the video, which runs at least 18 minutes. The video also shows a man reported to be Abu Mansoor al-Amriki, dubbed "The American" by al Qaeda. He apparently is now in Somalia training and counseling Somalis from North America and Europe. He speaks in American English. "Away from your family, away from our friends, away from ice, candy bars, all those things is because we're waiting to meet the enemy," says the man believed to be al-Amriki. Intelligence experts say the video was probably made in recent weeks and comes on the heels of an audio message in March purportedly from Osama bin Laden. In that recording, the al Qaeda leader calls on his "Muslim brothers in Mujahid Somalia" to overthrow President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed for cooperating with the West. Al-Shabaab is the militant Islamic wing in Somalia. It means "Youth" in Arabic. (CNN)

Iran increases its political and economic presence in Latin America, defying the United States and attempting to undermine American hegemony. It also foments radical Shi’ite Islamization and exports Iran’s revolutionary ideology, using Hezbollah to establish intelligence, terrorism and crime networks, liable to be exploited against the United States and Israel.-IICC
Overview
1. Since Ahmadinejad was elected president of Iran in August 2005, there has been a marked improvement in the country's relations with Latin America , especially Venezuela and Bolivia . The common denominators are their anti-American ideology and the desire to provide a satisfactory revolutionary alternative to what they consider American imperialism. Iran exploits its relations with Latin America to establish a foothold (using, among other means, Hezbollah) and to establish a political, economic, religious and terrorist-intelligence presence in the region.
2. The springboard for Iranian influence, and the figure marketing Iran to other Latin American countries, is Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez , a leader in anti-American defiance. Chavez has met with Ahmadinejad a number of times in both Tehran and Caracas , and in effect opened Venezuela – and later Bolivia , Nicaragua and Ecuador – to the Iranians. Latin American leaders who were almost unknown in Tehran until Ahmadinejad was elected have become familiar faces, and their relations with Iran are blooming. (IICC)

As the U.S. Retreats, Iran Fills the Void-Amir Taheri
Convinced that the Obama administration is preparing to retreat from the Middle East, Iran's Khomeinist regime is intensifying its goal of regional domination. It has targeted six close allies of the U.S.: Egypt, Lebanon, Bahrain, Morocco, Kuwait and Jordan, all of which are experiencing economic and/or political crises. Iranian strategists believe that Egypt is heading for a major crisis once President Hosni Mubarak, 81, departs from the political scene. He has failed to impose his eldest son Gamal as successor, while the military-security establishment, which traditionally chooses the president, is divided. Iran's official Islamic News Agency has been conducting a campaign on that theme for months. This has triggered a counter-campaign against Iran by the Egyptian media. Last month, Egypt announced it had crushed a major Iranian plot and arrested 68 people. According to Egyptian media, four are members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), Tehran's principal vehicle for exporting its revolution. Seven were Palestinians linked to the radical Islamist movement Hamas; one was a Lebanese identified as "a political agent from Hezbollah" by the Egyptian Interior Ministry. Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the Lebanese Hezbollah, claimed these men were shipping arms to Hamas in Gaza. The arrests reportedly took place last December, during a crackdown against groups trying to convert Egyptians to Shiism. The Egyptian Interior Ministry claims this proselytizing has been going on for years. Thirty years ago, Egyptian Shiites numbered a few hundred. Various estimates put the number now at close to a million, but they are said to practice taqiyah (dissimulation), to hide their new faith. (WSJ)

U.S. Companies Still Host Terrorist Websites-Todd Bensman
In 2005, I got to experience the rare sensation of driving from the Internet — at least momentarily — the official English-language website of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah ul-Uzma Khamenei. A news [1] report I produced for my employer at the time, CBS’s Dallas television, also sent scampering about 45 other Islamic Republic of Iran sites. The Iranians had put them all up on the Dallas hosting company [2] CI Host for less than $50 a month each. After the unwelcome publicity, CI Host disabled the exposed sites and they had to find a home in some other country. Company officials issued jingoistic mea culpas and explained, implausibly, how they hadn’t known about the sites and couldn’t police their own acceptable use policy or servers. More on that claim later. CI Host acted with haste on the Iran sites out of what seemed at the time a healthy self-interest: the company’s business arrangement with Iran, small though it was revenue-wise, represented a potential violation of a U.S. trade embargo against the designated state sponsor of terror. The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) could have savaged the company with fines and sanctions had the agency chosen to do so. OFAC did nothing then. Which brings us to now. (Pajamasmedia)

Legal Advisor Nominee Advocates Global Gun Control-Brian Darling
Last week, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee held a hearing on the nomination of Harold Koh, a former Dean of the Yale Law School, to be Legal Advisor to the State Department. One of the many concerns with Koh is his belief that international organizations should be empowered to regulate the Second Amendment right to own a firearm. On April 2, 2002, Koh gave a speech to the Fordham University School of Law titled “A World Drowning in Guns” where he mapped out his vision of global gun control. Koh advocated an international “marking and tracing regime.” He complained that “the United States is now the major supplier of small arms in the world, yet the United States and its allies do not trace their newly manufactured weapons in any consistent way.” Koh advocated a U.N.-governed regime to force the U.S. “to submit information about their small arms production.” Koh supports the idea that the U.N. should be granted the power “to standardize national laws and procedures with member states of regional organizations.” Koh feels that U.S. should “establish a national firearms control system and a register of manufacturers, traders, importers and exporters” of guns to comply with international obligations. This regulatory regime would allow U.N. members such as Cuba, Venezuela, North Korea and Iran to have a say in what type of gun regulations are imposed on American citizens. (Humanevents)

Don't Pretend This Is a Debate about "Torture"-David Frum
At his press conference Wednesday, President Barack Obama accused his own country of practicing torture: "Waterboarding violates our ideals and our values. I do believe that it is torture." These words are no mere expression of opinion. They have important legal and political consequences. Just one example: On Thursday, ABC News reported the names (and revealed the faces) of two contractors who had advised the CIA on its waterboarding program. During the Valerie Plame case, it was thought to be a very big deal that Bush administration officials had divulged the name of a former undercover CIA agent. ABC sourced their news leak to government officials, too. Did Obama's words embolden these officials to name names--and possibly endanger the lives of two men who acted to defend the nation? Critics depict the Bush administration as a revival of the Spanish Inquisition: racks, thumb screws and other horrors. I wonder how many of these critics realize--as Cliff May of the Foundation for the Defense of the Democracies pointed out in a brilliant appearance on the Daily Show this week--that only three terrorists were ever subjected to waterboarding? Or that this technique was last used in 2003? (AEI)

Dangerous Climate Change Is Coming-Christopher Monckton
The Scare:
Two papers published in Nature in spring 2009 say that the rise in global temperature is unlikely to remain below the politically-defined threshold of “dangerous climate change”, if global economic growth continues at its current pace. The papers are based on computer simulations of the climate response to greenhouse-gas emissions. Policymakers have adopted a goal of keeping the global rise in mean surface temperatures to no more than 2 C° (3.6 F°) above pre-industrial levels. Myles Allen et al. simulate the mean “global warming” that would result from a given cumulative carbon emission. They conclude that a trillion tonnes of carbon emissions (about 3.7 trillion tonnes of CO2, roughly half of which has already been emitted) produces a “most likely” warming of 2 C° (3.6 F°). Malte Meinshausen et al. take a slightly different tack by modelling the probability of global temperature rises across a range of greenhouse-gas emissions scenarios. They find that total emissions from 2000 to 2050 of about 1,400 gigatonnes of CO2 yields a 50% probability of exceeding 2 C° warming by the end of the 21st century. Emissions for the last seven years were almost 250 gigatonnes, implying that even without future increases in CO2 emissions the total emissions from 2000-2050 may well exceed this 50% probability.
The Truth:
Nature is one of many “scientific” journals that have openly declared an editorial prejudice in favor of a frankly alarmist viewpoint on the climate. In short, Nature adamantly refuses to publish any paper suggesting – however compelling the evidence and arguments – that anthropogenic “global warming” will not be as significant as the UN’s climate panel suggests. Nature’s selection process is, therefore, openly prejudiced ab initio. In reality, Nature is now a religious rather than a scientific journal. As is now usual, the two papers foretelling “dangerous climate change” are based not on real-world observations but on computer games. This is the “X-Box 360” method of doing science. Syun-Ichi Akasofu, the discoverer of the science underlying the aurora borealis and one of the dozen most-cited scientists in the world, has pointed out that computer models of the climate such as those relied upon in the two papers in Nature are instructed from the outset to assume that the temperature response to CO2 enrichment of the atmosphere will be substantial. The Playstations do not tell us that there will be major warming as a result of our activities – we tell the Playstations. (Scienceandpublicpolicy)

Israeli company developing swine flu vaccine-Zvi Zinger
Vaccination developed by Israeli company BiondVax intended to provide universal multi-season/multi-strain protection against most human influenza virus strains
A revolutionary vaccine against all types of influenza is scheduled to enter phase 1 clinical trials in humans in the next few days. The vaccine, and Israeli development, is intended to provide universal multi-season/multi-strain protection against most human influenza virus strains, as well as the Avian flu, for a period of five years. This would enable a long-term planning of vaccine production and prevent shortages in national reserves. The Health Ministry is expected to provide the final authorization for the first clinical trials, which will take place at the Sourasky Medical Center in Tel Aviv. The outline for the trial was developed jointly by the Clinical Trial Unit and BiondVax Pharmaceuticals Ltd,, which is developing the universal vaccination in accordance with international and FDA standards. The vaccination is the result of a 20-year study conducted by a team of researchers led by Israel Prize laureate Prof. Ruth Arnon. The technology on which it is based is meant to provide protection against a wide range of virus strain, including future strains. (Ynetnews)

The Cosby Crusade-Amy Chozick
A comic's controversial self reliance drive spawns guide aimed at poor black men
Known for his role as the affable Cliff Huxtable in "The Cosby Show," Bill Cosby has evolved from one of America's most lovable comedians to a staunch social critic who travels the country offering tough talk to low-income African-Americans. In his "call outs" he encourages black audiences to take personal responsibility for disproportionately high rates of incarceration, crime and single-parent homes. Mr. Cosby's race-based crusade has sparked a wave of criticism among some black intellectuals who accuse the comedian of elitism and ignoring deep-rooted racism. In the book "Come On People," recently released in paperback, Mr. Cosby and longtime collaborator and Harvard psychiatrist Alvin Poussaint have turned the Cosby doctrine into a step-by-step self-help guide that mixes advice like "don't imitate the slave masters" (by using the n-word) with stark statistics about the high homicide rate among black men. (WSJ)

Listening to Madness-Alissa Quart
Why some mentally ill patients are rejecting their medication and making the case for 'mad pride.'
We don't want to be normal," Will Hall tells me. The 43-year-old has been diagnosed as schizophrenic, and doctors have prescribed antipsychotic medication for him. But Hall would rather value his mentally extreme states than try to suppress them, so he doesn't take his meds. Instead, he practices yoga and avoids coffee and sugar. He is delicate and thin, with dark plum polish on his fingernails and black fashion sneakers on his feet, his half Native American ancestry evident in his dark hair and dark eyes. Cultivated and charismatic, he is also unusually energetic, so much so that he seems to be vibrating even when sitting still. I met Hall one night at the offices of the Icarus Project in Manhattan. He became a leader of the group—a "mad pride" collective—in 2005 as a way to promote the idea that mental-health diagnoses like bipolar disorder are "dangerous gifts" rather than illnesses. While we talked, members of the group—Icaristas, as they call themselves—scurried around in the purple-painted office, collating mad-pride fliers. Hall explained how the medical establishment has for too long relied heavily on medication and repression of behavior of those deemed "not normal." Icarus and groups like it are challenging the science that psychiatry says is on its side. Hall believes that psychiatrists are prone to making arbitrary distinctions between "crazy" and "healthy," and to using medication as tranquilizers. (Newsweek)