RUTHFULLY YOURS

http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=1767

The false fatwa against Iranian nukes

In the world of Western foreign policy, when you are trying to get your enemies to put down their weapons for no other reason than that you have been pleading with them to do so, you have to bow down a bit. Then you have to give your appeasement a name that has a nice diplomatic ring to it, because it is going to be referred to in official press releases, and subsequently quoted in the media.

One especially favored phrase for this form of groveling is “goodwill gestures.” It is through such “goodwill gestures” that representatives of the P5+1 countries (Britain, France, the U.S., China, and Russia plus Germany) got Iran to grace the group with its presence at a summit in Istanbul earlier this month. At the close of the meeting, about which much cautious optimism was expressed, all the participants agreed to have another powwow, this time in Baghdad.

Holding these “discussions” on the true nature of Iran’s uranium enrichment in Turkey and Iraq was just the kind of “goodwill gesture” that was supposed to make the regime in Tehran feel at home. Proof that it had the desired effect was in the pudding: A flunkie from the Islamic Republic turned up to assure everyone present that Iran had no intention of ceasing its – uh – peaceful nuclear program.

Trying hard not to offend Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the other representatives made sure to agree with their Iranian counterpart that possessing nuclear plants for “peaceful purposes” was certainly acceptable. The only teeny-weeny problem was that perhaps Ahmadinejad was not on the same page, as he seemed to have indicated on a number of occasions. You know, like the time he announced that the 12th Imam was on his way, and that the whole world would be subjugated to Islam – as soon as the Islamic Republic’s atom bombs finished wiping Israel off the map.

http://spectator.org/archives/2012/04/23/lost-sense-of-duty

If the Secret Service can’t get it back, it might as well merge with the GSA.

The mindless gnomes of the General Services Administration and the highly-trained agents of the United States Secret Service have one thing in common: they are all federal civil servants. But the difference between them, and the import of the scandals now hanging heavily over both agencies, are symptoms of something bigger that we ignore at our peril.

We expect very little from the GSA, and we get it. The GSA culture on display in the planning, execution, and celebration of their infamous $800,000 Las Vegas conference was the inevitable result of the permissive “you’ll die before you can get fired” culture that predominates many federal bureaucracies. The GSA’ers are fat, dumb, and happy in their jobs and have no interest in being responsible stewards of the public purse. Like so many other dysfunctional agencies, GSA should be disbanded entirely, which can be done without much effect on anything else.

The GSA scandal gives the lie to the liberal ideology. More government isn’t better government. More government, and an ever-expanding unaccountable bureaucracy, means more waste, fraud, and misbehavior by civil servants who don’t believe they’ll ever be fired for bad job performance.

http://politicalmavens.com/index.php/2012/04/23/newsmax-pretends-to-buy-into-it-all/

I was barely finished with my recent blog “A Tired Script: Tampa Terrorist from Pro-American Kosovo,” which asked journalists to notice their own words about Albanians loving us because we bombed their turf rivals, and mocked their rote exercise of inserting the requisite Albanian-pro-Americanism paragraph in articles about the latest Albanian terrorist. I was barely finished writing it when I happened upon the March issue of Newsmax magazine at the house of a relative who has since promised to cancel his subscription.

As always playing catch-up in embracing stale left-wing propaganda — whether it’s adulating Bill Clinton, or buddying up to Islam, or forcing down the mainstream media’s Kosovo Kool-Aid that it once debunked, Newsmax was at it again. This time it was the Travel section trying to catch up to (regress to) the zombie presses of AP, San Francisco Chronicle, AAA’s “Via” magazine, Wall St. Journal, and assorted travel bloggers who sometimes are too young to even remember our pro-terrorist war that made Albanians love us. This time Newsmax was trying to catch up by selling us on Albania as a travel destination. Highlighting of course — you guessed it — its pro-Americanism. Behold a section titled “You don’t have to look hard to find countries that give U.S. visitors a warm welcome,” by a John Alderley (another byline without any trace of previous articles, probably belonging to a travel agent paying Newsmax to run the feature):

…This is another surprise, but Albania is now considered the most pro-American country in Europe.

(As if they don’t know the dark evolution of that “surprising” factoid.)

Where else but the largely-Albanian Kosovo capital of Pristina has a Bill Clinton Boulevard and a George W. Bush Boulevard, as well as a 10-foot-high golden statue of Clinton?

There was even a trend among Albanian parents to name their kids Bill and Hillary. They love Americans not just because the United States led the defense [aggression] of ethnic Albanians in Kosovo. They remember how their country was saved by President Woodrow Wilson after World War I — hence plenty of boys were named Wilson 90 years ago. Besides a warm welcome, you’ll see fabulously preserved castles, beautiful scenery, and empty beaches.

http://politicalmavens.com/

Here are a few of the topics that have been covered or reviewed in the New York Times during the past week: mothers of autistic children finding it difficult to date; brides resorting to gastric feeding tubes in order to lose weight before the wedding; mothers being too harsh on each other’s parenting techniques; mothers monopolizing the role of parenting, rendering fathers irrelevant; breast-feeding mothers relinquishing their sexuality to their maternal desires. It certainly seems that as women have risen to occupy the highest echelons of professional accomplishment, we are increasingly being force-fed a diet of whining and junk food for the mind. It used to be that these subjects were relegated to women’s magazines like Cosmopolitan, Ladies Home Journal or Ms, much as celebrity news was once confined to movie magazines or pulps like People, Us and their spinoffs. Today, even the Wall Street Journal has its equivalent of Page Six, not to mention its real estate porn page featuring the week’s most exorbitant sale.

Print newspapers used to be the last bastion of serious news or articles of significant general interest. Now in a desperate attempt to stay afloat, they have dumbed down their offerings and abetted the navel-gazing focus of a moribund feminist agenda. If we are to believe what we read, we live in times of great anxiety when it’s harder than ever to find a mate, sustain a relationship and raise children. Compared to when? The massive waves of immigration? The great flu epidemic? The depression? The Second World War? The polio epidemic? The cold war? Vietnam? Didn’t all of these epochs produce great hardship and stress for individuals and families?

http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/

ARE YOU NAVIGATING THROUGH THE SHOALS OF THE LIBERAL MEDIA? YOU WILL FIND SAFE HARBOR IN THE NEW FAMILY SECURITY MATTERS SITE…..NEWS, OPINION, COLUMNS AND HOT VIDEO PICKS TO WARM A PATRIOT’S HEART. GO THERE!!!

http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/detail/a-renewed-assault-on-freedom-of-speech House Minority leader Nancy Pelosi of California and her fellow Democrats wish to “amend” the First Amendment in order to prohibit corporations from saying anything or spending anything during national elections. There is some satisfaction to be had in no longer having to identify her as House Speaker. I never liked seeing her wield […]

http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/detail/the-need-for-an-inner-jihad-in-america?f=must_reads

America needs an “inner jihad” in order to cope with the jihad being waged against us. That’s the thought-provoking message of The Control Factor by Bill Siegel, a new book that analyzes the psychological impulses driving the West’s misreading and denials of the jihadist threat.

Siegel argues that there’s a psychological process, which he calls the “Control Factor,” that copes with anxiety and insecurity from a lack of control. This is born into us and is not a reflection of one’s nationality, personal strength or intelligence. Other circumstances fostering insecurity, such as America’s economic condition, make the Control Factor more powerful.

This is a unique take on the problem. The downplaying of the Islamist threat is often condescendingly chalked up to a willful denial of reality by those who are weak or unintelligent. The Control Factor adds depth by identifying this psychological process so readers can see how it has been in motion since 9/11.

Insecurity is a major driving force behind human action and controlling behavior. It is, at least to a degree, why there are micromanaging bosses, strict parents and obsessive relationships. It is part of why there are so many Islamic preachers demanding punishment for those who criticize their religion. Insecurity and the resulting drive to control is something that is all around us and foreign policy formulation is no exception.

http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/detail/eco-communism-celebrated-annually-on-earth-day?f=must_reads I came of age in the 1950s during a period when Joe McCarthy was raising hell about communists in the federal government. He was spectacularly inept, often made intemperate and inaccurate charges, but for the most part he was right. He managed to alienate his fellow Republicans and earn a slap-down from then President […]

http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/3026/lars-hedegaard-acquitted The ruling showed that while Judaism and Christianity can be disparaged with impunity, speaking the truth about Islam is subject to swift and hefty legal penalties. The Supreme Court stressed that the substance of the charges — public criticism of Islam – is still a crime punishable by imprisonment. Under Danish law, it is […]

Article 266b, under which I was charged, remains unchanged. Thus, we still have no right to refer to truth if we are indicted under this article.

I am satisfied that the Supreme Court has delivered a verdict in accordance with the evidence given in lower and superior court. The prosecution had this evidence before it decided to press charges so I cannot understand why it went ahead.

The prosecutor has burdened the courts and the taxpayers needlessly for more than two years.

This judgment is not necessarily a victory for free speech. Article 266b, under which I was charged, remains unchanged. It remains a disgrace to any civilised society and is an open invitation to frivolous trials. Thus, we still have no right to refer to truth if we are indicted under this article.

There have been several attempts to make 266b conform to normal standards of justice but successive governments and parliamentary majorities have steadfastly refused.

I am, however, happy that my acquittal means that at least the Supreme Court has set a limit to how deeply the State may penetrate one’s private life. The Supreme Court has clearly upheld the principle that for a statement to be criminal, it must have been made with the intent of public dissemination. We may still talk freely in our own homes.

My personal reaction to more than two years of fatiguing litigation is to demand written guarantees from people who want to talk to me. With their signatures they must confirm that nothing be passed on without my express approval and without me having had a chance to vet it. This goes whether people are journalists or not.

I would advise everybody to do the same for we all know that the prosecutor lies in wait.

The Free Press Society will strengthen its struggle against the penal code’s despicable Article 266b.

Lars Hedegaard, President of The Free Press Society in Denmark, was acquitted two days ago after a three year struggle through three layers of Danish courts, of “hate speech” for having spoken freely in his own home. Article 266b, however, under which he was charged, still stands, ensuring that anyone who fails to submit to continual self –censorship, or who inadvertently says something in public “that might offend somebody” — even if what he said was true – can be placed under arrest and subjected to financially, emotionally and socially ruinous years on trial. It would be hard to think of a more effective way totally to crush free speech. Until article 266b is revoked, free speech is an outlaw in Denmark.