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Ruth King

ANTI-SEMITISM Comments turned off

As Dems Embrace Socialism, Even ‘Socialist’ Countries Reject It

By on May 19th, 2019

https://issuesinsights.com/2019/05/09/as-dems-embrace-

If Democrats are going to run in 2020 on a platform of driving the U.S. into socialism, they are likely to get thumped hard at the ballot box. Results of a Monmouth University Poll released this week show that 57 percent of the country says socialism is not compatible with American values. Only 29 percent say it is.

It’s alarming that socialism has penetrated as deeply as it has into our politics. For decades, Americans clearly understood what socialism is, and widely rejected it. And, despite the media’s grade-school infatuation with socialist politicians and policies, maybe they still do. The Monmouth poll found that only 10 percent of Americans hold a positive view of socialism.

Yet every Democratic candidate has to identify as a comrade in the struggle if he or she is to pick up any traction. When Noah Wall from FreedomWorks wrote in the Washington Examiner three months ago that the Democratic Party was in a socialist spiral, he was exactly right.

We need to be clear — and fully honest — about what socialism is. It’s coercion. It’s compulsion. It’s the threat and use of force. It robs its free people of choice and enslaves them. Socialism is anti-liberty, pro-servility, and soul-crushing. Its servants live in misery while those in power live in luxury.

Of course America’s Democrats say that their version of socialism is democratic socialism — not that nasty stuff that’s killed and maimed in Cuba, North Korea, and Venezuela. They want to emulate the systems of Scandinavia.

But Sweden, Norway, and Denmark are not socialist countries. They are welfare states paid for by the market economies of those nations — and the defense budget of the United States.

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BOOKS, ISRAEL Comments turned off

The Jews Who Became like Arabs: The Early Days of Israeli IntelligenceBy Janet Levy

By on May 19th, 2019

https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2019/05/the_jews_who_became_like_arabs__the_early_days_of_israeli_intelligence.html

When Israel was still a dream, an idea far from plausible reality, Jews from the Arab world risked their lives for the nascent state and went undercover in enemy territory: Syria, Egypt, Lebanon, and Jordan. This special Palmach unit, dubbed the “Arab Section” or the “Ones Who Become Like Arabs,” received cursory training in spycraft, intelligence gathering, and sabotage. Resources — cars, cameras and radios — were in short supply, as was money to cover ordinary expenses and even salaries. Yet, the Arab Section infiltrated Arab communities, gathering useful intelligence and radio reports, carrying out acts of sabotage and even attempting an assassination. 

The exploits of this elite unit of the Haganah, the Jewish underground army in Palestine, are told through the lives of four of its Arab-Jewish recruits in Spies of No Country:  Secret Lives at the Birth of Israel (Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 2019). Author Matti Friedman uses material from interviews, Israeli military archives, unclassified Haganah documents, published histories and unpublished testimonies from participants to tell the story of four of the men who helped establish what would become Israel’s intelligence services.

These young men, Jews born in Middle Eastern communities, could easily navigate between two worlds, but were, for the most part, amateur spies who survived mainly by their wits. They paid close attention to Arab morale, their opponents’ military strength and schemes, any potential subterfuge plans, and most importantly, what was happening around them.

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WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

Pakistan on a Tightrope By Dr. James M. Dorsey

By on May 19th, 2019

https://besacenter.org/perspectives-papers/pakistan-tightrope/

Pakistan risks falling off a tightrope as it attempts to balance its relations with rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran.

Recent developments – including the Baloch nationalist attack on a luxury hotel in the strategic port city of Gwadar and a legal dispute over completion of a gas pipeline that took place against the backdrop of Saudi-Iranian-Qatari competition for the Pakistani gas market – suggest that Pakistan is in an increasingly tenuous position.

The South Asian nation’s seemingly unsustainable tightrope walk is likely to have consequences for the security of China’s massive US$45 billion investment in the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a crown jewel of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative. It could also affect the roughly US$10 billion the Saudis are planning to invest in a refinery and copper mine in the troubled Pakistani province of Balochistan. Pakistani hopes are dwindling that it will be able to contain political violence – a necessity if it is to attract more badly needed foreign investment and avoid sanctions for inadequate counterterrorism measures.

The assault on the highly secured Zaver Pearl Continental Hotel Gwadar (a part of Pakistan’s largest luxury hotel chain), in which at least five people were killed, was the second incident since Pakistani PM Imran Khan and Iranian president Hassan Rouhani agreed last month to step up security cooperation along their 959-kilometer-long border.

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Egyptian-German Scholar Hamed Abdel-Samad: Islamic Extremism Stems From The Core Of Islam; Tens Of Thousands Of ISIS Supporters Live Among Us

By on May 18th, 2019

https://www.memri.org/reports/egyptian-german-scholar-hamed-abdel-samad-islamic-extremism-stems-core-islam-tens-thousands

Egyptian-German scholar Hamed Abdel-Samad said that Islamic extremism and terrorism stems from the “core of Islam” – from its texts, its history of conquests, its founder, and its ideology – and that the problem does not lie only with the returning ISIS members, but with the “multiple layers of radicalization,” with which the governmental and Islamic structures are not equipped to deal. “There are thousands, tens of thousands, of them living among us,” he warned, calling to try ISIS fighters in international tribunals and to impose harsher punishments. Abdel-Samad, who was participating on a talk show on the Austrian Servus TV channel on February 21, talked about the dangers to the child’s worldview posed by the victim’s mentality, by violence in the family, by mixed messages on sexuality, and by the clash of cultures. He discussed the violence and lack of freedom suffered by Muslim women, saying: “How often has this imaginary god ruined people!”

To view the clip of Egyptian-German scholar Hamed Abdel-Samad on MEMRI TV, click here or below.

“Many Muslims From Every Muslim Country Joined ISIS, The First Group Came From Saudi Arabia, I Don’t Think Islamophobia Exists There, The Second Group Came From The Middle Class Of Tunisia. There Is Not Much Islamophobia There Either”

Hamed Abdel-Samad: “Many Muslims from every Muslim country joined ISIS. The first group came from Saudi Arabia. I don’t think Islamophobia exists there. The second group came from the middle class of Tunisia. There is not much Islamophobia there either. There is not a single Islamic country that is devoid of terrorism and of increasing radicalization.

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ISRAEL Comments turned off

The True Lies of Zionophobia Daryl McCann

By on May 18th, 2019

https://quadrant.org.au/magazine/2019/04/the-true-lies-of-zionophobia/

It was my mistake to post a piece on Facebook by the New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies about Amnesty International having “lost its moral way with regard to Israel”. A social media friend fired back with alacrity: “Have you seen how evil Israel has been to Palestinians trying to survive—cut off all their water and cut down their olive trees. Not an ounce of humanity in their evil hearts.” Evil hearts, I reflected, is very strong language. It so commonly occurs that liberal-minded thinkers—of the armchair variety—believe themselves to be non-discriminatory and well-informed without reading critically or with the open mind they purportedly prize. There’s no incentive to read more broadly if you believe you already have “the truth” and, fortified with that truth, you can scorn any sympathy for Israel as heartless or stupid.

he expression “Zionophobia” was first coined by Judea Pearl, father of Daniel Pearl, the Wall Street Journal journalist kidnapped and beheaded by Salafi jihadists in 2002. Judea Pearl agrees that classical anti-Semitism played a role in the slaying of his son. After all, the self-identified executioner Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, while an inmate at Guantánamo Bay, made the following confession during a military tribunal hearing: “I decapitated with my blessed right hand the head of the American Jew Daniel Pearl in the city of Karachi, Pakistan.” However, the enmity directed specifically at the Jewish state, rather than at Jewish people per se, requires a separate term:

Denying Jewish people the right for nationhood is straight racism, not anti-Semitism. Jews fight Zionophobia by labelling it anti-Semitism, which is a mistake. It is so easily deflected by saying “My best friends are Jewish” or “I’ll go to prison to defend a Jew’s right to wear a yarmulke or eat kosher food” but still want Israel abolished.

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FOREIGN POLICY Comments turned off

The Warmonger Canard By Matthew Continetti

By on May 18th, 2019

https://www.nationalreview.com/2019/05/iran-deal-supporters-john-bolton/

The Iran echo chamber tries to save its nuclear deal.

Whatever the opposite of a rush to war is — a crawl to peace, maybe — America is in the middle of one. Since May 5, when John Bolton announced the accelerated deployment of the Abraham Lincoln carrier group to the Persian Gulf in response to intelligence of a possible Iranian attack, the press has been aflame with calls for America to show restraint, pursue diplomacy, and rein in the madman with the mustache before he starts a war.

Never mind that President Trump, Mike Pence, Mike Pompeo, Patrick Shanahan, and Bolton have not said a single word about a preemptive strike, much less a full-scale war, against Iran. Never mind that the president’s reluctance for overseas intervention is well known. The antiwar cries are not about context, and they are certainly not about deterring Iran. Their goal is saving President Obama’s nuclear deal by manipulating Trump into firing Bolton and extending a lifeline to the regime.

It’s a storyline that originated in Iran. Toward the end of April, Zarif showed up in New York and gave an interview to Reuters where he said, “I don’t think [Trump] wants war,” but “that doesn’t exclude him basically being lured into one” by Bolton. On May 14, an adviser to Rouhani tweeted at Trump, “You wanted a better deal with Iran. Looks like you are going to get a war instead. That’s what happens when you listen to the mustache. Good luck in 2020!”

And now this regime talking point is everywhere. “It’s John Bolton’s world. Trump is just living in it,” write two former Obama officials in the Los Angeles Times. “John Bolton is Donald Trump’s war whisperer,” writes Peter Bergen on CNN.com. “Trump’s potential war with Iran is all John Bolton’s doing. But it might also be his undoing,” says the pro-Iran Trita Parsi on NBCNews.com. “Is Trump Yet Another U.S. President Provoking a War?” asks Robin Wright of The New Yorker. Guess her answer.

“We cannot repeat the days before the Iraq war when even many of our most reliable news outlets repeated and amplified what was, in fact, a flimsy case for war,” Wendy Sherman writes in the New York Times. She would rather our most reliable news outlets repeat and amplify anti-Bolton talking points instead. Sure, America suspects Iran was involved when “four commercial tankers were reportedly sabotaged off the coast of the United Arab Emirates,” and “Saudi Arabia also reported that drones sent by Iranian-supported Houthis attacked Saudi oil facilities.” But, look, “Iran has denied this.” What more do you need to know?

This is the Iran echo chamber at work. Recall former Obama deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes’s admission to the New York Times Magazine in 2016, when he said, “We created an echo chamber” to attack the Iran deal’s opponents through leaks and tips to the D.C. press. “They were saying things that validated what we had given them to say.” And: “We had test drives to know who was going to be able to carry our message effectively, and how to use outside groups like Ploughshares, the Iran Project, and whomever else. So we know the tactics that worked.” They worked because “the average reporter we talk to is 27 years old, and their only reporting experience consists of being around political campaigns. That’s a sea change. They literally know nothing.”

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ENVIRONMENT AND JUNK SCIENCE Comments turned off

Hey Greenies: Check out the global revolt against your green agenda…By Monica Showalter

By on May 18th, 2019

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2019/05/hey_greenies_check_out_the_global_revolt_against_your_green_agenda.htmlFor all the good press the green agenda gets in the mainstream media, voters in free countries across the globe are getting wise to just what this feelgood earth religion really about.

Not green jobs, as President Obama liked to promise. Not lower emissions – just ask Germany about that one. Not saving the planet.

Nope, just less money in one’s pocket and more power in the government’s hand reaching for it.

The Heartland Institute’s H. Sterling Burnett, writing for the Washington Examiner, has a good one on just what’s going on globally, calling it ‘backlash’:

From Alberta to Australia, from Finland to France, and beyond, voters are increasingly showing their displeasure with expensive energy policies imposed by politicians in an inane effort to purportedly fight human-caused climate change.
Skepticism over whether humans are causing dangerous climate change has always been higher in America than in most industrialized countries. As a result, governments in Europe, Canada, and other developed areas are much farther along the energy rationing path, cutting carbon dioxide emissions as required. However, residents in these countries have begun to revolt against the higher energy costs they suffer under due to high taxes on fossil fuels and mandates to use expensive renewable energy.

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ENVIRONMENT AND JUNK SCIENCE Comments turned off

Cuomo vs. New York The Governor cancels another natural gas pipeline. By The Editorial Board

By on May 18th, 2019

https://www.wsj.com/articles/cuomo-vs-new-york-11558134235

Governor Andrew Cuomo proved again this week that the biggest threat to New York isn’t Donald Trump, but progressive anti-growth policies. Witness his administration’s permit rejection for a 23-mile natural gas pipeline connecting New York City and Long Island with Pennsylvania shale gas fields.

Beyond creating hundreds of construction jobs, the pipeline would boost development. Low-income housing developers urged the Governor to approve the permit, noting “the uncertainty related to state approvals” is “particularly concerning, since alternative energy options are unavailable or would include costs and design changes that have not been factored into these developing projects.” Don’t they understand that political uncertainty is a cost of doing business in New York?

The pipeline would also lower carbon emissions since oil is often burned for heating and electricity when demand for gas exceeds supply. No matter. Environmentalists detached from economic and energy reality claimed the pipeline would hinder development of wind and solar, which make up a mere 5% of state electricity though Mr. Cuomo has set the fantasy renewable target of 50% by 2030.

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NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

Fran Lebowitz: ‘We Should Turn Trump Over to the Saudis’ Who Killed Khashoggi By Jim Treacher

By on May 18th, 2019

https://pjmedia.com/trending/fran-lebowitz-sorry-everybody-misinterpreted-we-should-turn-trump-over-to-the-saudis-who-got-rid-of-that-reporter/

Back in 2013, a rodeo clown in Missouri caused a national scandal by wearing an Obama mask. Somehow it was a threat to the president’s life. A mask. On a rodeo clown. In Missouri. And it was also racist, of course, because Obama’s dad was black.That was then. This is now. Hillary lost, so anything goes.

Right, Fran Lebowitz?

Brent Baker‏ @BrentHBakerOn HBO’s @RealTimers on Friday night, guest #FranLebowitz suggested murdering @realDonaldTrump: “We should turn him over to the Saudis, his buddies. The same Saudis who got rid of that reporter. Maybe they could do the same for him.” #RealTime

Ha ha, funny joke. Even the L.A. audience seems reluctant to cheer too loudly.

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NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

New DOJ Investigation Has Haunted FBI for Months . By Eric Felten

By on May 18th, 2019

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2019/05/18/new_doj_investigation_has_haunted_fbi_for_months.html

John Durham, the prosecutor tapped by Attorney General William Barr to investigate how Trump-Russia allegations emerged and spread within federal law enforcement, has already been looking into whether the FBI’s former top lawyer, James Baker, illegally leaked to reporters.

In fact, the U.S. attorney from Connecticut appears to have begun that work more than seven months ago, to judge from an underreported transcript of an October congressional interview with Baker. The Baker interview, at which Durham was not present, suggests that the prosecutor nevertheless has some people very worried.

Baker testified about the Trump-Russia affair on Oct. 3 before the House Judiciary Committee and the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

In that session, the former FBI general counsel admitted that versions and variations of Christopher Steele’s dossier were being turned in to the bureau from the strangest of places. Baker said he had even heard about it from David Corn, Washington bureau chief of left-leaning Mother Jones, who wrote one of the first pieces on the dossier, in October 2016. But in one of those company-town connections that happen frequently in Washington, Baker said he was not just a contact or source for Corn; they were also old pals.

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