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July 2015

When Free Speech Isn’t By Marilyn Penn

We’ve seen the demolition of free speech on college campuses where concern for student sensitivity is so great that in addition to speech codes, we now have trigger warnings to give students time to prepare for the trauma of the words that are about to appear in their readings. (Think nigger in Huckleberry Finn) We’ve seen free speech die the death of politically correct sanctimony as one public figure after another has been forced to apologize for uttering a remark hurtful to some group under the liberal protectorate.

Now, with Donald Trump’s offensive comments about Mexican illegals and John McCain, we are seeing the voluntary, pre-emptive surrender of large companies and corporations such as Macy’s and various network and cable channels to media-generated pressure. What connection could Macy’s possibly have with Trump’s remarks? Does it even sell the hair-product that keeps his comb-forward from toppling into his eyes?

Iranian Nuclear Scientist Relief

The deal lifts sanctions on two atomic scientists and a proliferator.

Debate over President Obama’s Iran deal has focused on such bold-face provisions as sanctions relief and inspections. But as we inspect the fine print, we are also learning more about Iran’s real nuclear priorities—along with the Administration’s willingness to accept them.

Start with Fereidoun Abbasi-Davani and Mohsen Fakhrizadeh-Mahabadi, both Iranian nuclear scientists.

Mr. Abbasi was previously head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization after surviving an assassination attempt in Tehran. Mr. Abbasi, who is also a member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, had been under U.N. sanctions for his suspected role in Iran’s “nuclear or ballistic missile activities.” In 2012 Mr. Abbasi admitted to lying about Iran’s nuclear program. “Sometimes we pretended to be weaker than we really were,” he told the Al-Hayat newspaper, “and sometimes we showed strength that was not really in our hands.”

Iran Inspections in 24 Days? Not Even Close Hillel Fradkin And Lewis Libby

Iran can easily stretch out the inspection of suspect nuclear sites for three months or more.

The Obama administration assures Americans that the Iran deal grants access within 24 days to undeclared but suspected Iranian nuclear sites. But that’s hardly how a recalcitrant Iran is likely to interpret the deal. A close examination of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action released by the Obama administration reveals that its terms permit Iran to hold inspectors at bay for months, likely three or more.

Ex-Muslim Mona Walter: Rescuing Muslims from Islam — on The Glazov Gang

http://jamieglazov.com/2015/07/21/ex-muslim-mona-walter-rescuing-muslims-from-islam-on-the-glazov-gang/

A courageous Christian convert from Islam shares her mission to help Muslims break the chains that bind them.

This week’s special edition of The Glazov Gang was joined by Mona Walter, a Christian convert from Islam. She came on the show to discuss her mission of rescuing Muslims from the chains that bind them.

Don’t miss it!

Can Democracy Be Regained? Can the Republic be Saved? Jan Mel Poller

Democracy is more than having the people vote. Iraqis, under Saddam Hussein, voted. They voted for a tyrant, a mass murderer. But they did not have a democracy.

One year ago, I wrote “Towards One Man Rule”. When it counts, America now has one man rule with the approval of about half the population. The other half either goes along with it or doesn’t count. The Supreme Court supports it. Congress supports it. The media supports it. Not 100% of these people support it but enough do to override those who don’t. Enough people doesn’t always mean a majority. Frequently it means those with power.

The Superbowl of Superholes by Mark Steyn

We are cursed, as the Chinese say, to live in “interesting times”, about which there is much to say – the Iran deal, for example, or the Allaku Akbar guy running amok in Chattanooga. Yet the dead sloth that is the Republican Party has finally roused itself to spend the last 48 hours hammering Donald Trump for impugning the honor of John McCain.

As his criminal-immigrant surge demonstrates, Trump’s support comes almost entirely from Americans who feel the political class passes its time talking about nothing that matters to them. So feel free to spend the weekend talking about John McCain. QED, as Trump is unlikely to say.

On the matter of McCain, in June 1998 the Senator stood up to address a Republican fundraising meeting: “You think that was a tasteless joke?” he began, referring to the previous speaker’s closing Viagra gag. “Listen to this one.” He then told the following side-splitter:

“Why is Chelsea Clinton so ugly?

The New York Times Gets It Wrong about Genetic Engineering By Henry I. Miller

It’s not unusual for a person with expertise in one discipline to get into trouble when he expresses opinions in another. An example is William Shockley, a Nobel laureate in physics for his research on semiconductors, blundering into advocacy for racial eugenics. The phenomenon recurred recently when financiers Mark Spitznagel and Nassim Taleb (author of The Black Swan), neither of whom possesses the most rudimentary understanding of the history or techniques of genetic modification, warned about the dangers of genetic engineering in a bizarre commentary in the New York Times. They went so far as to posit the possibility that modern molecular genetic engineering could cause “complex chains of unpredictable changes in the ecosystem” that could lead to worldwide catastrophe.

It’s true that as complexity increases, so does uncertainty and the possibility of calamity. Arguably, it was the synergistic failure of complex systems that gave rise to the great Northeast blackout of 2003, in which 50 million people lost power; and even to the First World War, which, because of the complex web of alliances and treaties, the assassination of a relatively obscure Austrian nobleman was able to trigger.

NIDRA POLLER: BITTER ORANGE, ORANGE PULP

Translation of the original French version published in mid-June http://frblogs.timesofisrael.com/orange-amer-orange-pressee/ ].

The right word would be hazukashi, Japanese for “shame,” which means admitting you were wrong and making sincere amends. Sad to say, but “avoir honte,” being ashamed in French, too often means denial of the misdeed compounded by fresh lies.

Monsieur Stéphane Richard, CEO of France’s sterling telecommunications outfit Orange™, did a song and dance in Cairo. The international cad told his Cairo buddies he had a pressing urge to cut ties with that damned Israeli so-called partner. As if Partner (that’s actually the name of the Israeli company) were a lowdown Chinese knockoff of Orange™. If Monsieur Orange did not actually pinpoint the “colonies,” all the better: the boycotters consider all of Israel a colony. His deep desire to maintain good relations with Egypt and the whole wide Arab world was reason enough to ditch Partner.

Obama’s Inner Trump Outwardly They Couldn’t be More Different. But Take a Closer Look. By Victor Davis Hanson

President Obama is said to feel liberated, in the sense that he can finally say what, and do as, he pleases — without much worry any more over political ramifications, including presidential and congressional elections. Obama’s lame-duck presidency has now devolved into the progressive bully pulpit that his base always longed for. Of course, his editorializing and executive orders may worry Hillary Clinton — much as Donald Trump’s pronouncements do his more circumspect Republican rivals.

Trump is a celebrity who tweets and phones his praise of and insults to comedians, athletes, and media kingpins. But so does Obama love the celebrity world. He is comfortable with Jay Z and Beyoncé, picks the Sweet Sixteen on live television, and has reminded us that he’s the LeBron of the Teleprompter, who won’t choke under the spotlights. Both see pop culture and the presidency as a fitting together perfectly.

Cis Drag Queens Banned from Pride Event Because They Might Offend Trans People (???!!!) By Katherine Timpf

Maybe complete and total inclusivity isn’t as easy as it sounds.

The organizers of Free Pride Glasgow in Scotland have hit a snag in their mission to plan a totally inclusive event: Some activists think drag queens are offensive to transgender people, others think banning drag queens is offensive to transgender drag queens, and still others think allowing only transgender drag queens is offensive to cisgender drag queens.

Whoa.

Although drag performances had been part of Free Pride Glasgow for years, the event organizers announced in a statement on Saturday that they would not be allowing them this year because some transgender individuals found “some drag performance, particularly cis drag,” to be offensive because it “hinges on the social view of gender and making it into a joke.”