By Andrew L. Jaffee

An Indian investigator on Saturday blamed Pakistan’s spy agency of orchestrating the July train bombings that killed at least 207 people in Mumbai, an accusation that could threaten the already shaky peace process between the nuclear-armed neighbors.

- AP, Sept. 30, 2006

If true, Pakistan’s intelligence service, the ISI, has put President Musharraf in an awkward position, more so than he is in already. Just today, he claimed to be the West’s “main ally,” yet a string of events this week involving Pakistan makes his claim slightly incredulous. I believe that he truly believes that a parliamentary/republican democracy is a goal for Pakistan, that Islamism is the world’s most dangerous problem, and that he fully intends to one day turn over power to the people. But putting these noble goals into practice is a high-stakes game for him because of: 1) the number of radical Islamists in Pakistan; and, 2) and because of the supposed “middle ground” he walks between appeasing the radical Muslims, and at the same time, trying to nudge Pakistan into the 21st century.

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by Daniel Pipes
Daniel Pipes’ Weblog*
http://www.danielpipes.org/blog/674
* Cross-posted with permission

This quiet Sunday turned up two news items in the British press that caught my eye:

“Police to brief Muslims before terror raids“: “Police have agreed to consult a panel of Muslim leaders before mounting counter-terrorist raids or arrests. Members of the panel will offer their assessment of whether information police have on a suspect is too flimsy and will also consider the consequences on community relations of a raid. Members will be security vetted and will have to promise not to reveal any intelligence they are shown. They will not have to sign the Official Secrets Act.”

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By Andrew L. Jaffee

“Security officials determined that it posed an ‘incalculable security risk.’” “We can’t guarantee safety at the event.” How many times have you heard it — especially when it comes to non-politically correct speakers and/or events? Benjamin Netanyahu? Daniel Pipes? The police don’t want to be bothered. The politicians are hiding under their desks — whether they be university administrators, opera directors, or government apparatchiks. Because of the fear of “provok[ing] Islamic ire,” Berlin’s Deutsche Oper has cancelled all scheduled performances of Mozart’s “Idomeneo.” Granted, the interpretation of the opera is controversial, sporting the severed heads of Mohammed, Jesus, Buddha, and Poseidon. But the opera was cancelled for fear of Muslim reprisals, not Christian, Buddhist, or Greek “sensitivities.” Thankfully, many Germans are fighting back, defending the right to free expression.

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By Andrew L. Jaffee

Ed. note: netwmd.com has sent the following letter to MoveOn.org-endorsed candidates, asking them to denounce and reject the endorsement, as MoveOn’s Action Forum has become a hotbed of anti-Semitic, racist, and anti-Christian hate speech, including promulgation of 9/11 conspiracy theories. The original letter text was authored by Bill Levinson.

An open letter to MoveOn.org-endorsed candidates:

Ned Lamont (CT)
Patrick Murphy (PA-08)
Diane Farrell (CT-04)
Robert Byrd (WV)
Bob Casey(PA)
Nick Lampson (TX-22)
Sherrod Brown (OH)
Francine Busby (CA-50)
Bill Nelson (FL)

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By Andrew L. Jaffee

Iraqi Shiites began observing Ramadan Monday. Sunnis did on Saturday. Is this justification for the spiral of ultra-violence between the two Muslim sects? I’m only partially being facetious. My point is there is no valid rationalization for the horrors now taking place in Iraq: beheadings, death squads, executions, homicide bombings — you name it. Even if you look at a scholarly analysis of the split between Sunni and Shiite Islam, there is no rationalization for the deep hatred between the two groups. The violence is meaningless and useless — a pure pity for a nation that the U.S.-led coalition had given an opportunity to build a democratic and stable society. For those of you interested in the historical underpinnings of the Sunni/Shiite divide, here’s an analysis from the History News Network:

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by Bill Levinson

(Posted by permission)
Jews Call On Bob Casey to Return MoveOn’s Contributions and Repudiate Its Messages

Center for Jewish Values:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 26, 2006

CONTACTS:Zev Safran or Andrea
Ragone; (212)244-8597
andrea “at” centerforjewishvalues.org

HATE MONEY IS HATE SPEECH
Jews Call On Casey to Return MoveOn’s Contributions and Repudiate Its Messages

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By Andrew L. Jaffee

The U.S.-led invasion of Iraq gave the country’s citizens a unique opportunity: to find freedom of expression, commerce, religion, etc. It well may be that some Iraqis still see freedom and stability as a goal, but it cannot be the majority. If the majority of Iraqis wanted liberty and security, the country would not be in the chaos it is now. Just look at what happened today:

The bodies of 40 men who been tortured were found in the capital in a span of 24 hours, police said Thursday. Bombings and shootings killed at least 21 people in and around Baghdad, including five people who died from a car-bomb explosion near a restaurant.

The bodies found in Baghdad, more apparent victims of sectarian death squads, had been dumped in eastern and western Baghdad in the past 24 hours, police said. All showed signs of torture, had been shot, and had their hands and feet bound, police Lt. Thayer Mahmoud said.

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By Andrew L. Jaffee

Why worry about the weapons of mass destruction that Saddam supposedly didn’t have — even though some were found? It looks like al-Qaeda in Iraq has bigger plans for exterminating people:

In a new audio message Thursday, the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq called for explosives experts and nuclear scientists to join his group’s holy war against the West. He also said that more than 4,000 foreign insurgent fighters have been killed in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. …

The speaker said “the field of jihad” could provide scientists with an avenue for experimentation.

“The field of jihad (holy war) can satisfy your scientific ambitions, and the large American bases (in Iraq) are good places to test your unconventional weapons, whether biological or dirty, as they call them,” he said.

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by Bill Levinson

Although the rapidly-widening hate speech scandal has again forced MoveOn.org to disable its Action Forum, it is fascinating to revisit some of the racist and anti-Semitic remarks that gained overwhelming approval from the other participants. This one is from a professed liberal who begins with the premise that Blacks are oppressed but then denounces all African-Americans in our Armed Forces as potential mutineers who cannot be trusted with weapons.

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By Andrew L. Jaffee

Kirsten Harms, Berlin’s German Opera director, cancelled a performance of Mozart’s “Idomeneo,” beacause she was afraid of Muslim reaction — not Buddhist, Christian, nor Greek reaction (“a leading Berlin opera house decided not stage a production because of concerns it could provoke Islamic ire.”). Again, we see special dispensations granted to Muslims precisely because Islamist use of terrorism works. Islamist violence has achieved its goal for some in the West, instilling a paralytic fear, just as the Islamists want. Why the “Islamic ire” over an opera? From Deutsche Welle:

Many religions could find director Hans Neuenfels’ adaptation of Mozart’s “Idomeneo” blasphemous. Although the opera itself makes make no reference to Islam, Neuenfels introduced the closing scene that depicts the decapitated heads of the Prophet Mohammed, Jesus Christ, Buddha and the Greek god Poseidon.

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By Fern Sidman

In 1979, Rabbi Meir Kahane, ZTK”L, wrote a book entitled, “They Must Go”. This book generated an enormous amount of controversy as it spoke of the concept of transferring the Arab population of Israel to any of the 22 Arab countries in the Middle East. The essential premise of this book, as had been expressed by Rabbi Kahane for a number of years prior to the book’s publication, was the preservation of the State of Israel as a Jewish state.

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By Andrew L. Jaffee

In a wonderful example of democratic/capitalist voting with your feet, “Convenience store operator 7-Eleven Inc. is dropping Venezuela-backed Citgo as its gasoline supplier at more than 2,100 locations and switching to its own brand of fuel.” Hugo Chavez can call President Bush “el diablo” at the UN — a speech funded by American taxpayer dollars — but U.S. corporations and consumers can tell Chavez to take his oil and shove it where the sun don’t shine. From the Chicago Tribune:

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by Randy Sprinkle

“The end of all intelligent analysis is to clear the way for synthesis.” - H.G. Wells

There are relatively few individuals today who would not take offence to being called a fascist. This was not always so; before and during the 1930’s, even though Western liberal societies in general rejected philosophies of fascism, the term had nowhere near the stigma that it does today, and many were drawn to the concept.

One individual who embraced the ideas of both fascism and liberalism was HG Wells. Before Hitler and Mussolini brought infamy to the term fascism, Wells referred to himself as a “liberal fascist” and put forward a theory of revolutionary praxis centered around a concept he described as ‘liberal fascism’. The end result envisioned was an authoritarian elite ruling over a global ‘liberal utopia‘, a benevolent oligarchy for the good of mankind.

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By Andrew L. Jaffee

OK. Let’s take a break from politics for a good laugh. Imagine this: The movie “The Matrix” done by the Muppets. Kermit is Neo, Ms. Piggy is Trinity, and — get this — Gonzo is the evil Matrix enforcer, Mr. Smith. Watch and laugh, thanks to magicdonnie.com:

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By Andrew L. Jaffee

So many Muslims are angry because the Pope accused Islam of having a problem with violence? But they are silent when Muslims kill other Muslims. Here’s a kicker, from the AP:

LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan - A suicide bomber struck outside the compound of a southern Afghan governor on Tuesday, killing 18 people, including several Muslim pilgrims seeking paperwork to travel to Mecca, officials said. …

Meanwhile, a bomb attack Tuesday against a NATO patrol south of the Afghan capital killed an Italian soldier and a child, officials said.

Killing Muslim pilgrims and children… These are the killers — “minutemen” — that people like Michael Moore praise?

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