http://netwmd.com/blog netWMD is dedicated to understanding, promoting, and protecting democracy. Sun, 11 May 2008 17:09:54 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en by Jonathan Spyer The recent events in Beirut pose a simple, fundamental question: Who rules in Lebanon? The answer proposed by Hizbullah last week is that the government of Fuad Saniora and Saad Hariri is to be permitted to hold the formal reins of administration - on condition that they well understand ... http://netwmd.com/blog/2008/05/11/2403 By Phyllis Chesler (Written with the help of Fern Sidman) As a child, my mother took me to the Radio City Music Hall to see the dazzling, long-limbed Rockettes dance. For decades, the Music Hall symbolized glitzy entertainment, New York style. Radio City was also where I went when I ... http://netwmd.com/blog/2008/05/10/2402 By Fern Sidman As Jews around the world celebrated the 60th anniversary of the birth of Israel as a modern state, the annual Yom Ha’Atzmaout (Israeli Independence Day) festivities in New York took place amidst a backdrop of controversy and protest outside of Radio City Music Hall on Wednesday evening May ... http://netwmd.com/blog/2008/05/09/2401 by Daniel Pipes* Two religiously-identified new states emerged from the shards of the British empire in the aftermath of World War II. Israel, of course, was one; the other was Pakistan. They make an interesting, if infrequently-compared pair. Pakistan’s experience with widespread poverty, near-constant internal turmoil, and external tensions, culminating in its ... http://netwmd.com/blog/2008/05/08/2400 By Phyllis Chesler I can’t remember a time when Israel was not central to my imagination both as a model for heroism and as a transcendent, miraculous, reality. From childhood on, Zionism was an ever-evolving example of political, theological, historical, and personal liberation. I was born in 1940 and grew up ... http://netwmd.com/blog/2008/05/08/2399 by Michael Rubin* On April 29, answering a question on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” Sen. Hillary Clinton warned that if Iran attacked Israel with nuclear weapons, “we would be able to totally obliterate them.” On NBC’s “Meet the Press” Sunday, Sen. Barack Obama chided Clinton. “It’s language reflective of George Bush. ... http://netwmd.com/blog/2008/05/07/2397 By Bill West* Lately, we hear much from supporters of detained ex-University of South Florida computer engineering professor Sami Al-Arian, who pleaded guilty to (was convicted of) the Federal felony violation of providing assistance and support to members of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terrorist organization. Al-Arian was sentenced to ... http://netwmd.com/blog/2008/05/07/2396 By Andrew L. Jaffee In Saudi Arabia, you can get killed just for suggesting that religions besides Islam be respected. From the McClatchy-Tribune News Service: … A few weeks ago, one of the nation’s most senior religious authorities directed that two reporters for a mainstream Saudi newspaper be executed for publishing stories ... http://netwmd.com/blog/2008/05/06/2395 A film by Aish.com: Israel Then And Now - 60 Years in 60 Seconds: http://netwmd.com/blog/2008/05/06/2394 by Daniel Pipes* When I lived in Cairo in the 1970s, I conducted a little experiment: What, using only Arabic-language sources, could I learn about Jews, Judaism, Jewish history, Jewish culture, and the like? The paucity of resources stunned me; basically, the best way to learn about these subjects was to ... http://netwmd.com/blog/2008/05/05/2393 By Andrew L. Jaffee In an article from the AP entitled, “Despite peace, Belfast walls are growing in size and number,” walls are called “peace line[s],” and the statement is made, “for dozens of front-line communities of Belfast, fences still make the best neighbors.” Hmmm… Israel defends herself and is labeled an ... http://netwmd.com/blog/2008/05/03/2392 By Andrew L. Jaffee The United Methodist Church has decided that Israel is not the root of all evil: “Anti-Israel Divestment seems to have died within the United Methodist Church. Good Riddance!” - UM Action Executive Director Mark Tooley Several sweeping divestment proposals aimed against Israel have been defeated in committee at the ... http://netwmd.com/blog/2008/05/03/2391 by Daniel Pipes* As Barack Obama’s candidacy comes under increasing scrutiny, his account of his religious upbringing deserves careful attention for what it tells us about the candidate’s integrity. Obama asserted in December, “I’ve always been a Christian,” and he has adamantly denied ever having been a Muslim. “The only connection I’ve ... http://netwmd.com/blog/2008/05/02/2390 By Andrew L. Jaffee Try as he may, Barack Obama has not separated himself from his controversial pastor of 20 years, Jeremiah Wright, whom he calls an “uncle.” Obama has been too weak and indecisive in chiding Wright; he also has waited too long to censure his “uncle.” Obama’s claims that ... http://netwmd.com/blog/2008/05/01/2389 by Jonathan Spyer Whatever the Israelis offer, Syria won’t give up its alliance with Iran, which allows it to punch above its weight in the region. With attention in the Middle East focusing on the US congressional hearings regarding a possible Syrian nuclear programme, the Syrian newspaper al-Watan made a surprising announcement ... http://netwmd.com/blog/2008/04/30/2388 by Michael Rubin* The legal case against the AKP is an affirmation of democracy rather than an assault upon it. Democracy rests upon the rule of law and constitutionalism. Neither plurality support nor a majority in parliament should place any politician or party above the law. The AKP deserves credit for the ... http://netwmd.com/blog/2008/04/30/2387 By Barry Rubin Egyptian President Husni Mubarak is 80. After over a quarter-century in office he is ready for more. But how much longer will his rule–or regime–continue? And under him, Egypt has not done so badly, or has it? Well that depends. He has kept Egypt stable and out of war, no ... http://netwmd.com/blog/2008/04/29/2386 WASHINGTON (April 2008) — A new report from the Center for Immigration Studies demonstrates that most H-1Bs are ordinary people doing ordinary work, not the geniuses claimed by industry lobbyists. Those arguing for an increase in the number of H-1B visas (ostensibly temporary visas for ’specialty occupations,’ many of them ... http://netwmd.com/blog/2008/04/28/2385 By Andrew Whitehead Joseph Farah is irate. And rightly so. The highly respected founder, editor, and CEO of WorldNetDaily was blatantly slandered last week by CAIR’s communication director, and terrorist supporter, Ibrahim Hooper. The Daily News had a column that referred to a new book from WND Books called “Why We Left ... http://netwmd.com/blog/2008/04/27/2384 by Ilan Pappé Oneworld Publications, 2006. 256 pp. $27.50 Book review by Seth J. Frantzman* Flunking History Among many Israeli academics and Western revisionists, it has become fashionable to examine Israel’s war of independence from an Arab perspective in which Jews were the aggressors and Arabs the victims.[1] This trend began in 1989 with ... http://netwmd.com/blog/2008/04/23/2383 by Steven Shamrak There are many lands around the world that have been occupied not so long ago by other countries. Many of them are still subjugated to the rule of an occupying power. They were conquered during offensive or defensive wars, throughout the process of establishment of statehood or as ... http://netwmd.com/blog/2008/04/22/2382 By Andrew Whitehead In an article carried by MyrtleBeachOnline.com, Rep. Sue Myrick says she wants America to “wake up” and do something about terrorism. To that end, Rep. Myrick has introduced a ten-point plan apparently designed to both alert Americans to the threat of terrorism and also lay out a blue-print ... http://netwmd.com/blog/2008/04/21/2381 by R. John Matthies* When is it appropriate to critique the policies of private enterprise? Private institutions are clearly permitted to carry out their business in a manner appropriate to their market, so long as they operate within the boundaries of the law. However, these institutions – commercial, educational, or the ... http://netwmd.com/blog/2008/04/20/2380 by Daniel Pipes* There’s an impression that Muslims suffer disproportionately from the rule of dictators, tyrants, unelected presidents, kings, emirs, and various other strongmen — and it’s accurate. A careful analysis by Frederic L. Pryor of Swarthmore College in the Middle East Quarterly (”Are Muslim Countries Less Democratic?“) concludes that “In ... http://netwmd.com/blog/2008/04/19/2379 By Andrew Whitehead Omer Subhani, the communications director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) South Florida, authors a blog. On April 16, he wrote that he had “serious doubts” about Sami Al-Arian, the disgraced former college professor and Islamist terrorist. Read his post here. In his blog entry, Subhani attempts ... http://netwmd.com/blog/2008/04/18/2378 By Andrew L. Jaffee In an excellent editorial published today, the Washington Post’s op-ed staff joined Barack Obama in harshly criticizing former President Jimmy Carter for meeting with Hamas terrorists, and for advocating that “someone” engage in diplomacy with a group sworn to the destruction of Israel: … [Hamas foreign minister] Mr. ... http://netwmd.com/blog/2008/04/17/2377 By Andrew L. Jaffee I have not been an Obama supporter — quite the contrary — but I applaud his statements today: Sen. Barack Obama on Wednesday criticized former President Carter for meeting with leaders of the Islamic terrorist group Hamas as he tried to reassure Jewish voters that his candidacy isn’t ... http://netwmd.com/blog/2008/04/17/2376 by R. John Matthies* What is to account for the success of Europe’s Far Right? The attention the news media have devoted to the story of Islam in Europe has never been greater. And displeasure over concessions granted to Europe’s Muslims, fear and loathing of Shari‘a (Islamic) law — and fears ... http://netwmd.com/blog/2008/04/16/2375 by Michael Rubin* Few U.S. policymakers have heard of Fethullah Gülen, perhaps Turkey’s most prominent theologian and political thinker. Self-exiled for more than a decade, Gülen lives a reclusive life outside Philadelphia, Pa. Within months, however, he may be as much a household a name in the United States as is ... http://netwmd.com/blog/2008/04/16/2374 by Daniel Pipes* The future of Europe is in play. Will it turn into “Eurabia,” a part of the Muslim world? Will it remain the distinct cultural unit it has been over the last millennium? Or might there be some creative synthesis of the two civilizations? The answer has vast importance. Europe ... http://netwmd.com/blog/2008/04/15/2373 By Barry Rubin The Middle East today is driven by five big conflicts: Among states for power; the Iran-Syria alliance’s war on everyone else; the struggle between Arab nationalists and Islamists to control each country, and the Sunni-Shia and Arab-Israeli conflicts. No wonder there’s so much turmoil. To many in the West, this ... http://netwmd.com/blog/2008/04/15/2372 by Michael Rubin* As Iraqis marked five years since Baghdad’s fall on April 9, Democrats — including Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama — grilled Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker. Before the testimony, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi warned Gen. Petraeus and Mr. Crocker to avoid undue optimism: “We have to ... http://netwmd.com/blog/2008/04/14/2371 By Andrew L. Jaffee Jimmy Carter once again has demonstrated his strident anti-Israel bias, stating this weekend that, “I think someone should be meeting with Hamas to see what we can do to encourage them to be cooperative and to find out what their attitude is.” This is Hamas’ attitude, as ... http://netwmd.com/blog/2008/04/14/2370 Daniel Nassif is the news director of Alhurra, a U.S.-funded Arabic satellite television news network created in 2004, and has also been news director of its sister network, Radio Sawa, launched in 2002. Nassif was born in Lebanon in 1958. He immigrated to the United States in 1977 and finished ... http://netwmd.com/blog/2008/04/13/2369 By Isaac Kfir This article examines Pakistan following the assassination of Benazir Bhutto and the recent parliamentary elections within the confines of the challenges that arise from the need to embrace democracy. The article accepts that Pakistan must contend with a powerful military, rising Islamism, tribalism, an ... http://netwmd.com/blog/2008/04/12/2368 By Andrew L. Jaffee Yeah, all us dumb, racist Midwestern (white?) folk — according to Barack Obama: … “You go into some of these small towns in Pennsylvania, and like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing’s replaced them,” Obama, ... http://netwmd.com/blog/2008/04/12/2367 By Andrew L. Jaffee The Absolut Vodka company recently ran an ad campaign which re-drew the map of North America, showing California, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, Colorado, and Texas as re-conquered by Mexico. The Absolut ad’s sentiments coincide with radical Latino groups who expouse “anti-Semitism, anti-Zionism, homophobia and other expressions ... http://netwmd.com/blog/2008/04/11/2366 by Mary Madigan* The poster advertising New York University’s “Academic Freedom in the Age of Permanent Warfare” conference featured a scolding Statue of Liberty pointing an accusatory finger and stating: “YOU! Stop Asking Questions. You’re Either With US or You’re With the TERRORISTS!” The speakers and attendees gathered around the pastry-laden table ... http://netwmd.com/blog/2008/04/10/2365 A briefing by David Wurmser, Summary account by Mimi Stillman* Mr. Wurmser calls Lebanon a “key battleground between the West as a whole and the forces that seek to drag the Middle East down.” The situation in Lebanon must be viewed in the context of the larger conflict in the region, ... http://netwmd.com/blog/2008/04/09/2364 by Diana Muir* “A land without a people for a people without a land” is one of the most oft-cited phrases in the literature of Zionism—and perhaps also the most problematic. Anti-Zionists cite the phrase as a perfect encapsulation of the fundamental injustice of Zionism: that early Zionists believed Palestine was ... http://netwmd.com/blog/2008/04/08/2363