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NEWS: EUROPE AND AMERICA
GITMO RULING BY THE SUPREME COURT ONLY EMBOLDENS TERRORISTS
 The Supreme Court Goes to War-John Yoo
Last week's Supreme Court decision in Boumediene v. Bush has been painted as a stinging rebuke of the administration's antiterrorism policies. From the celebrations on most U.S. editorial pages, one might think that the court had stopped a dictator from trampling civil liberties. Boumediene did anything but. The 5-4 ruling is judicial imperialism of the highest order. Boumediene should finally put to rest the popular myth that right-wing conservatives dominate the Supreme Court. Academics used to complain about the Rehnquist Court's "activism" for striking down minor federal laws on issues such as whether states are immune from damage lawsuits, or if Congress could ban handguns in school. Justice Anthony Kennedy -- joined by the liberal bloc of Justices John Paul Stevens, David Souter, Ruth Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer -- saves his claims of judicial supremacy for the truly momentous: striking down a wartime statute, agreed upon by the president and large majorities of Congress, while hostilities are ongoing, no less. (WSJ)
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BIN LADEN’S RIGHT HAND MAN RELEASED ON BAIL
 'Bin Laden lieutenant' Abu Qatada freed on bail-Sean O’Neill and Ben Quinn
Abu Qatada, the radical Muslim cleric described as one of Osama bin Laden’s right-hand men, was freed from jail last night under some of the most stringent bail conditions ever imposed by a British court. A judge ruled that there were no grounds to detain Abu Qatada, 47, after previous attempts to deport him were defeated in the courts. The decision by Mr Justice Mitting at the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (Siac) to release the Jordanian-born cleric was greeted with dismay by the Government. Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, said that she was extremely disappointed. She said that she was appealing to the House of Lords to reverse a decision in April that it was not safe to deport him to Jordan. The Conservatives branded the decision “offensive”. Abu Qatada, 47, who was once described as “Osama bin Laden’s right-hand man in Europe” left Long Lartin prison in Worcestershire at about 8.20pm last night. He was driven out of the prison at speed in a silver Peugeot people-carrier.
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"A CEASEFIRE AGREEMENT WITHOUT GILAD SCHALIT IS A MORAL CRIME THAT CONVEYS THE MESSAGE OF ABANDONING THE KIDNAPPED SOLDIER TO HIS FATE."
Ramon: Truce 'triumph for radical Islam'-JPost Staff
Vice Premier Haim Ramon on Tuesday reacted harshly to reports of an imminent Gaza cease-fire, calling it a victory for radical Islam. "I am against a truce, because it is another triumph for radical Islam. It won in Lebanon and now it is about to win in Gaza. So what is the point of being moderate? Why would Hamas be interested in a resolution?" said Ramon at a Haifa University conference. Ramon, together with Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz and Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann, abstained from a cabinet vote last Wednesday to refrain from embarking on a large-scale military operation in Gaza and instead to give more time to Egyptian-mediated truce efforts, although none of the ministers voted against the decision. Ramon said that the Gaza truce deal must be brought to for a referendum. "The government must reach the framework of an agreement and then bring to a vote," he said. "Any significant agreement with the Palestinians requires a referendum." National Religious Party MK Zevulun Orlev called the agreement "a balloon that will burst" and added that "A ceasefire agreement without Gilad Schalit is a moral crime that conveys the message of abandoning the kidnapped soldier to his fate." MK Arye Eldad of the National Union/National Religious Party said that "Because of a corrupt prime minister and an insecure defense minister Israel is capitulating to Hamas and accepting upon itself a cease-fire that will allow Hamas to hit Ashdod and Kiryat Gat later on. The residents of Israel will take note today of who is to blame when the entire center of the country turns into a war zone because of Olmert and Barak." (jpost.com)
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"I NEVER IN A MILLION YEARS DREAMT THAT SOMEBODY WOULD BE COMPLETELY AGAINST THE DISPLAY OF HAIR AND BE IN THIS INDUSTRY. I DON'T FEEL I DESERVE IT."
Muslim stylist wins £4,000 payout-BBC
The owner of a hair salon has been ordered to pay £4,000 compensation to a Muslim stylist who was turned down for a job because she wears a headscarf.
Bushra Noah accused Sarah Desrosiers of religious discrimination when she failed to offer her a job at her Wedge salon in King's Cross, central London. An employment tribunal panel dismissed the 19-year-old's claim but upheld her complaint of indirect discrimination. Ms Desrosiers said she needed stylists to showcase alternative hairstyles. During the hearing Ms Noah, who lives in Acton, west London, told the tribunal that she was "devastated" that she was not offered the job of assistant stylist "due to my headscarf".
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ACADEMIC FREEDOM
THE HARVARD PROBLEM
Answering Back To Israel’s Campus Critics-Richard L. Cravatts, Ph.D
Harvard Professor J. Lorand Matory claims that he is seeking a greater civility on campus through reasoned academic discourse, but his real intention seems to be to create that civility by having only his side of the discussion be heard.
As evidence of what Professor Edward Alexander has called "the explosive power of boredom" in rousing the liberal professoriate to its ideological feet, Harvard's prolific Professor of Anthropology and of African and African American Studies, J. Lorand Matory, was yet again fulminating in the June 5th issue of the Harvard Crimson about the “chilling” of free speech on campus and seeking, as he has been for some time now, "a civil dialogue in which people with a broad range of perspectives feel safe and are encouraged to express their reasoned and evidence-based ideas."
And what were those "reasoned" ideas that had caused Professor Matory to feel "unsafe" on Harvard's insulated campus? Criticism of Zionism and Israel, of course, an issue about which Professor Matory and others have many notorious opinions, but which are being suppressed, in his ominous view, through "imbalances in access to money, media, and society’s administrative apparatuses [which] constitute the censorship of dissent." Professor Matory's implication is that on this one issue — criticism of Israel — the sacrosanct notion of "academic free speech" is being threatened by Israel’s defenders who wish to stifle all speech critical of the Jewish state.
That reference in Matory’s opening line to “access to money, media, and society’s administrative apparatuses” as a tool to obviate criticism of Israel is itself particularly odious, as it echoes precisely the classic form of anti-Semitism which positions Jews as the holders of great power, wealth, and influence, and those able to sway public opinion to protect Jewish interests — which in current times has meant Israel’s interests. And like others who are confounded by what they see as an unjustified continuing support of Israel by the United States, Matory makes the same mistaken assumption that Stephen Walt and John Mearsheimer made in their notorious recent book, The Israel Lobby: that there is a sinister, powerful cabal working in the shadows to deflect criticism of Israel and silence its foes, and that the truth about Israel’s moral and political flaws are therefore never widely known. (intellectualconservative.com)
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"IT HAS COME TO MY ATTENTION THAT YOU HAVE CONTRIBUTED CONSISTENTLY TOWARD CREATING AN ATMOSPHERE IN THE MIDDLE EAST CENTER THAT LACKS COLLEGIALITY AND CAN NO LONGER BE TOLERATED."
Disputes Leave the Middle East Center at the U. of Utah in Turmoil- Paula Wasley The Chronicle of Higher Education
Controversial faculty reassignments and resignations in March of this year, following other disputes, have left the Middle East Center at the University of Utah in turmoil. The tumult comes only a year before the university must reapply for the grant from the U.S. Department of Education that supports the center, which is among the oldest such academic units in the country. In mid-March, Robert D. Newman, dean of the College of Humanities, removed two professors from joint appointments to the Middle East Center. The professors, Peter J. Sluglett, a historian and an expert on Iraq, and Harris Lenowitz, a scholar of Hebrew in the languages and literature department, are both veterans in their fields. In a letter to Mr. Lenowitz, who has served in the center for 35 years, the dean wrote: "It has come to my attention that you have contributed consistently toward creating an atmosphere in the Middle East Center that lacks collegiality and can no longer be tolerated." (Campuswatch)
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FREEDOM OF SPEECH
“MUSLIMS IN THE WEST USE ISLAMOPHOBIA AS A PENALTY CARD AGAINST FREE SPEECH WHENEVER THERE IS CRITICISM OF MUSLIMS”
'Islamophobia' used too often to stifle debate or criticism-Raheel Raza
There is one aspect of the prolonged human rights debacle involving Mark Steyn and Maclean's magazine that continues to trouble me. This concern goes far beyond the principals involved in a hearing before the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal. My unease lies in the constant use of the term "Islamophobia." Since I don't want to spend an inordinate amount of time counting how many times the "I" word was used by the complainants in the Steyn case, all I can say is that it's one too many. One might think there's an epidemic of Islam-bashing in Canada. We have conferences and panels on Islamophobia. It's a hot topic in the pulpit. The bungling of some Canadian institutions in handling terrorism suspects only adds fuel to the fire. Let’s take a moment to debunk Islamophobia. The term was first coined in the 1980s but gained momentum after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States. In 1997, Britain's Runnymede Trust think tank defined Islamophobia as the "dread or hatred of Islam and therefore ... the fear and dislike of all Muslims." It also refers, said the trust, to the practice of discriminating against Muslims by excluding them from the economic, social and public life of a nation. (vancouversun)
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CANADIAN ISLAMIC CONGRESS ATTEMPTS TO STIFLE FREE SPEECH
Muslim ‘hate speech’ complaints contrived-By Klaus Rohrich
While reading the newspapers last week, I found myself several times looking at news articles that reported suicide bombings carried out by Muslim extremists next to stories about a number of Canadian Muslims who see hate speech in every article that makes any mention of Muslims. Particularly galling was the assertion by Khurrum Awan, Naseem Mithoowani and Muneeaza Sheikh, three Canadian law students who are serving as sock puppets for Mohamed Elmasry’s Canadian Islamic Congress in attempting to legally stifle free speech in Canada. The original complaint by these three, plus a fourth law student, was against MacLean’s Magazine and columnist Mark Steyn for running a story called “The future belongs to Islam”. The story was an excerpt from Steyn’s book America Alone, which indicated that given the current trend of Muslim families to have more than twice as many children as European and Canadian families, Muslims would eventually outnumber non-Muslims. Steyn also quoted numerous Imams whose inflammatory rhetoric against Western values made it clear that their end goal was the eventual establishment of an Islamic Europe. For some reason these twerps took exception to the MacLean’s piece and demanded that the magazine provide them with an equal amount of space to rebut the Steyn article. Given that MacLean’s is a privately owned publication and given the fact that it also published numerous rebuttal letters from Muslims in subsequent issues, the magazine demurred. And, of course, the rest is history. (canadafreepress)
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IN A RECENT TELEPHONE SURVEY 53% SAY THE US SHOULD REFRAIN FROM BANNING ‘HATE SPEECH’
88% Say Free Speech is Good, But Only 53% Oppose Ban on Hate Speech-Ramussenreports
The overwhelming majority of Americans strongly guard their right to free speech (88%). But, a new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey found that just over half (53%) say the United States should refrain from banning so-called “hate speech.” Twenty-eight percent (28%) think it is a good idea to ban hate speech, which is loosely defined as comments intended to put down or incite violence against people on the basis of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation and other legally protected categories. Nearly one in five voters (19%) are undecided on whether such a ban is necessary. Women are less opposed to banning hate speech than men. African-American voters are evenly divided while White voters oppose such a ban by a 57% to 24% margin. Many African-American leaders argue for protection from racist hate crimes. (ramussenreports)
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ANTISEMITISM
MARKETING RACHEL CORRIE’S MARTYRDOM
 The (Self-)Deceit of Rachel Corrie- Roberta P. Seid Web Exclusive
The publication of Let Me Stand Alone: The Journals of Rachel Corrie adds yet another item to the growing body of Corrie memorabilia.
The twenty-three-year-old American from Olympia , Washington , died in Gaza in March 2003 when, as a member of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), she tried to obstruct an IDF bulldozer that, according to the IDF, was destroying rocket launchers in the overgrown brush near a Palestinian home.
An official Israeli investigation concluded that her death was an accident. The driver, in the 10 foot-high bulldozer with its limited visual field, could not see Corrie, who was hidden by a mound of dirt or standing in a trench in the military security zone. The Israeli autopsy report determined that she had been killed by a blow to the head from debris probably dislodged by the bulldozer… The efforts to elevate Rachel into a martyred idealist and artist began immediately, followed shortly by efforts to portray her as a new Anne Frank. Today there are Rachel Corrie memorial websites, scholarship funds, and events commemorating the anniversary of her death. More well-known is the controversial play based on her diaries, My Name is Rachel Corrie, which had runs in London , Seattle , New York and other U.S. cities. Her parents, who had never shown interest in the Middle East conflict, are now regulars on the international anti-Israel lecture circuit. This spring, they appeared at several southern California anti-Zionism week events, which are mounted annually by campus Muslim Student Associations. Corrie has also become the cause celebre for divest-from-Israel campaigns whose new strategy is to focus on the Caterpillar Corporation, primarily because a Caterpillar bulldozer was involved in her death. The family and other Palestinians brought a suit against Caterpillar in U.S. federal court for its complicity in Israel ’s “inhumane actions.” The court dismissed the suit in July 2007 for being a political issue outside the court’s jurisdiction. Now yet another item has been added to the Rachel Corrie industry: the book, Let Me Stand Alone: The Journals of Rachel Corrie edited by her family with an introduction by her father, and released in 2008. “She was, first and last, a writer and artist,” her father writes in the introduction, and her family evidently wanted to give her, posthumously, the writing career she sought. According to her father, “In offering Rachel’s writing to the public, our family helps her complete the journey to become a published author.” (commentarymagazine)
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ANTISEMITISM CONFERENCE TO be HELD AT THE HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT NEXT YEAR
FCO to host antisemitism conference-Leon Symons
The first conference bringing together parliamentarians from all over the world who lead the fight against antisemitism will be held in London next February, co-hosted by the Foreign Office.
The other co-host will be the newly formed Inter-Parliamentary Coalition for Combating Antisemitism (ICCA). Sessions of the conference will be held at the Houses of Parliament and the Foreign Office.
Labour MP John Mann, chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group against Antisemitism and co-founder of ICCA, said: “I am confident that this event will mark a new era of parliamentarians taking the lead in the fight against antisemitism.”
Fellow co-founder Irwin Cotler, a Canadian MP and former Canadian justice minister and attorney-general, commented: “The holding of such a conference is as timely as it is necessary as we face a new, escalating, global and virulent antisemitism. (JewishChronicle)
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"ONCE AGAIN, WE ARE WITNESSING AN ATTEMPT TO HIJACK THE DURBAN BANNER OF HUMAN RIGHTS TO SINGLE OUT ISRAEL AND REJECT SOLIDARITY WITH JEWISH VICTIMS OF TERROR.”
Wiesenthal Center at Brasilia Preparatory Conference for "Durban II"
16 June 2008
BRASILIA: A motion by the Simon Wiesenthal Center for NGO’s to express "Solidarity with Latin American victims of Palestinian terrorism, and victims of all terrorism in the Americas, especially mentioning the Buenos Aires AMIA Community Center" was rejected in a subcommittee on refugees at a preparatory conference for Durban II, currently underway in the capital of Brazil.
At the same time a motion put forward by representatives of the Brazilian-Palestinian Federation (FEPAL) condemning Israel for "denying entry to Brazilians of Palestinian origin" was passed.
"Once again, we are witnessing an attempt to hijack the Durban banner of human rights to single out Israel and reject solidarity with Jewish victims of terror. These worrying signs create an important threshold for the Governmental Conference, as many States adopt the language of the most radical NGOs," stated Shimon Samuels, Wiesenthal Center International Relations Director who served as head of the delegation of Jewish organizations during the infamous Durban Conference in 2001.
The Wiesenthal Center also reported on the circulation of an "Open Letter to the Latin American People, its Governments, Movements and Organizations", signed "Steering Committee of the Palestinian National Committee, Campaign for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel, June 2, 2008" (http://www.badil.org/Publications/Press/2008/press481-08.htm), which stated in part:
- The process towards 'Durban 2' is already highly contested. The world's imperial powers, with United States and Israel at the forefront, are putting pressure on states, members of the Human Rights Council, and the preparatory committee to dilute the agenda and to silence the principled voices of the victims of racism that shape the agenda of the civil society conference at Durban in 2001...
- ... the US and Israel withdrew... because civil society had identified Israel's regime as a form of apartheid and called a concerted campaign of BDS, and because the US was unwilling to address is [sic] own record of slavery, racism and colonialism...
-The struggle against Israel's colonial apartheid regime is one of the cornerstones of the struggle against state-sponsored racism and ongoing colonial policies worldwide...Knowing that we share a history of struggle against colonialism and racism with the people across Latin America, we have full confidence in your active support of the Palestinian people. In solidarity..."
"We cannot draw definitive conclusions on the ultimate impact of 'Brasilia' in the Durban process. Nevertheless, we have obtained assurances from Brazilian officials that language targeting Jews and Israel have no place in the Brasilia final document," Sergio Widder added. (SimonWiesenthalCenter)
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TERRORISM
UK APPEALS COURT QUASHES LYRICAL TERRORIST’S CONVICTION
 Lyrical terrorist Samina Malik has her conviction overturned-Sean O’Neill, Crime & Security Editor
A woman who wrote jihadi poetry using the pen name “Lyrical Terrorist” has had her terrorism conviction quashed by the Appeal Court. Three senior judges said the jury at Samina Malik’s trial last year had been confused and her conviction for possessing items of use to terrorists was unsafe. The Crown Prosecution Service indicated that it would not seek a retrial. Miss Malik, 24, from Southall, west London, became the first woman convicted under terrorism legislation since 2001 when she was found guilty of possessing jihadi propaganda in December last year…Of 21 items found in Miss Malik’s possession, 14 were propaganda items. However, she also possessed documents including The Terrorists Handbook, The Mujahideen Poisons Handbook, and operator manuals for firearms and anti-tank weapons. (timesonline)
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“THE NEXT ATTACK PROBABLY WON’T COME BY AIRPLANE. IT WILL COME IN A SHOPPING MALL, OR A SCHOOL, OR ON WALL STREET, OR POSSIBLY ALL THREE.”
The Next Attack: Coming Soon-Cal Thomas
When the terrorists attack again — as Homeland Security has repeatedly warned us they will — how many survivors will be consoled because the Supreme Court and the State Department looked out for the “rights” of terrorists before the rights of their dead loved ones? Will the dead be wrapped in a copy of the Supreme Court’s 5-4 ruling granting foreign detainees, whose mission is to destroy our Constitution, our country and way of life, the right to appeal to U.S. civilian courts to challenge their detention, a right that should be reserved only for American citizens? Perhaps inside the caskets can go a statement by the State Department refusing to close Islamic schools underwritten by the government of Saudi Arabia, which teach visceral hatred of Jews, Christians and all things Western. To the second issue first. Despite the recommendation from a federal panel that the Islamic Saudi Academy in Alexandria, Va., be closed for promoting hate, the State Department won’t go along. State has jurisdiction because as part of the Saudi government, the school is subject to the Foreign Missions Act. A local Democratic politician running for Congress won’t support the closing of the school, either. He is Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Gerry Connolly, who has reportedly called critics of the academy “bigots.” Perhaps his position is related to a $2.2 million check he accepted from the Saudi Embassy to extend its lease. (humanevents)
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TERRORISM-INTERNET
“THE DAY OF THE ATTACK IS VERY NEAR”
Mujahideen Monitor U.S. Economy, Attempt to Undermine Dollar-MEMRI
Numerous postings on Islamist websites in the past two years reflect the mujahideen's growing interest in the state of the U.S. economy. As was argued in a 2007 MEMRI analysis, [1] many of the jihadists and their supporters have come to view their struggle against the U.S. and the West as an economic war. More specifically, they have come to the conclusion that it is financial, rather than military, losses that will prompt the U.S. to change its policies in the Middle East and elsewhere. Consequently, they emphasize the importance of targeting U.S. interests around the world, and of directing their military jihad primarily at targets that affect the U.S. economy.
A recent posting on the Al-Ikhlas forum urges the mujahideen and their supporters to sell their dollars, if they have any, because Al-Qaeda is planning a strike inside the U.S. so that it will undermine the American economy: "[I advise you] to get rid of [your] American dollars... and buy gold instead... or real estate. The next attack inside the U.S. is imminent... Zawahiri will convey his instructions [regarding this attack] in his next [message]... This attack will put an end to the so-called United States of America and destroy its economy completely... The day of the attack is very near..." [3]
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JIHAD-INTERNET
ON HOW TO KILL JEWS
 
Hamas’s next generation of jihadists learn to kill jews throuh the video game-Elisa Vandernoot
Want to make killing of Jews and infidels fun? Tired of watching the same old hamas tv videos? Well those days are gone. Hamas’s military media has just released an interactive video game where the young and 'want to be' budding jihadist can perfect his or her skills by earning points in different jihadist missions like assassinating PM Olmert and killing lots of ‘evil’ zionists soldiers to the swelling sounds of jihad music. While Israel’s corrupt leaders delude themselves into a false truce with Hamas, Hamas will be stockpiling more weapons during this hudna (temporary cease fire) while their children will practise their Jew hating skills by earning points killing ‘the evil Jewish’ occupiers.
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