Intermission

This blog is now off for a few days to find the end of the rainbow. Back early in the new year. Have a good one.

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Good news! Earth not flat

And now for some good news. Geophysicist David Deming writes that parts of north and south America and the southern hemisphere, from California to Korea, have been experiencing freezing weather of such unusual extremity and harshness that crops have been devastated and states of emergency declared. (NB: I have removed the quotes from this article because the author has objected to their being reproduced).

… The fact is that the global temperature of 2007 is statistically the same as 2006 as well as every year since 2001. Global warming has, temporarily or permanently, ceased. Temperatures across the world are not increasing as they should according to the fundamental theory behind global warming – the greenhouse effect. Something else is happening and it is vital that we find out what or else we may spend hundreds of billions of pounds needlessly.

… For the past decade the world has not warmed. Global warming has stopped. It’s not a viewpoint or a sceptic’s inaccuracy. It’s an observational fact…. So we are led to the conclusion that either the hypothesis of carbon dioxide induced global warming holds but its effects are being modified in what seems to be an improbable though not impossible way, or, and this really is heresy according to some, the working hypothesis does not stand the test of data.

It was a pity that the delegates at Bali didn’t discuss this or that the recent IPCC Synthesis report did not look in more detail at this recent warming standstill.

The report compiled observations from more than 400 prominent scientists from more than two dozen nations who have voiced objections to the so-called ‘consensus’ on ‘man-made global warming.’ Many of the scientists are current or former participants in the United Nation's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, whose present officials, along with former Vice President Al Gore, have asserted a definite connection.

The new report comes from the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee's office of the GOP ranking member, and cites the hundreds of opinions issued just in 2007 that global warming and man's activities are unrelated. [My emphasis]

…‘Many scientists from around the world have dubbed 2007 as the year man-made global warming fears “bite the dust”’, the introduction said. And there probably would be many more scientists making such statements, were it not for the fear of retaliation from those aboard the global-warming-is-caused-by-SUVs bandwagon, the report said.

And it details some of this intimidation.

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Video nasty

At Harry’s Place, David T draws attention to the remarks by an 'artist', Judy Price, who it appears has been awarded an Arts Council grant to

'curate a series of archival film screenings around the British Mandate period'.

This is a curious commission, to be sure, since Price is a member of Jews for Injustice Against the Jews and, to judge from her comments quoted here, a virulent opponent of Israel’s existence. One can think of many adjectives to describe her reported attitude – ignorant, bigoted, pathological – but objective wouldn’t be one of them. David T therefore comments:

I find it odd that a woman with these views, and with this political agenda should have been asked to put on, at public expense, an event of this nature.

Indeed, in any decent, rational universe that question would be baffling. But this is Britain. A clue is provided in this observation by Price herself:

The British Council is trying to operate with integrity, not to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Israel but to mark it in a critical way along with the Naqba.

Of course she may be wrong about this; after all, anyone who regards the restoration of the Jews to their rightful ancestral home as a ‘catastrophe’ for the people who tried to destroy it at its rebirth and haven’t stopped trying ever since can hardly be regarded as a reliable source on anything at all. However, given the general attitude of the British Council it wouldn’t be in the least bit surprising that it should be using taxpayers’ money to fund Arab propaganda and thus disseminate lies and hatred about the Jewish people. And I’m horribly afraid, as Israel approaches the 60^th anniversary next year of its rebirth, that this is but an early harbinger of the verbal pogrom to come.

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The litmus issue

Those (and there are many) who don’t know the history of the Jewish people and who have fallen for the propaganda lies that Israel was only created as a result of the Holocaust or that Jewish immigration to Palestine started in the 1880s would do well to read this concise historical account by Dore Gold and Jeff Helmreich. The key point it makes is that Israel was not a new creation but the restoration of the Jews’ ancient national home, to which the international community recognised in the early years of the last century that they and they alone had an overwhelming legal and moral claim.

This was specifically on account of the fact that they had never renounced the land -- which had only ever been the nation state of the Jews alone -- but had been driven out; and that throughout the period of their exile they had repeatedly returned and established majorities in different parts of the land including Jerusalem. It should also be borne in mind that the present state of Israel is merely a small fraction of the original Jewish nation state; most of it was given away by the British to the Arabs in 1921 as a piece of regional realpolitik, and the remainder was to be divided between Jews and Arabs – the original two state proposal which the Arabs rejected in order to drive the Jews out of their rightful and internationally recognised home, the project which continues to this day.

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Two great productions

Delighted to see rave reviews (here, here and here) for Nicholas Hytner’s Much Ado at the National, which I saw in preview last week.  Simon Russell Beale is utterly brilliant and hilarious as Benedick, letting us see, and believe in, the touchingly poignant and endearing character below the absurdity; Zoe Wanamaker is a splendid Beatrice, again showing us the vulnerability below the feistiness; both bring a luminous intelligence to their roles; the rest of the cast is excellent.

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A levelling of achievement

When the government announced its new vocational diploma to run alongside the A-level exam, it was clear that it was intended to destroy A-level altogether, albeit by stealth since A-level – however degraded it has become – is still regarded as the ‘gold standard’ of the exam system. Now we can see that in order to ensure that A-level is indeed finished off, the system is to be rigged. The new diploma will be worth three and a half A-levels. That means that studying such issues as 'hairstyles in society', or 'critically responding to a range of computer games' will be worth more than studying maths, physics or foreign languages. The Telegraph reports:

The decision by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service means students may find it easier to get into university by taking the new courses, which will combine vocational and academic studies. It could lead to a sharp increase in the number of pupils going to university, particularly those from poor backgrounds who are often turned off by purely academic study. However, there are fears the diploma - which will include subjects such as hospitality and hair and beauty - may be less rigorous than A-levels. Although universities will not be obliged to admit teenagers with a diploma, it is thought the move will pile pressure on admissions tutors to look favourably on the new qualifications.

A-level was arguably the most efficient and effective public examination in the world. Its concentration on breadth rather than depth ensured the highest standards at undergraduate degree level; its rigour ensured that the drop-out rate at British universities was exceptionally low. All that is now in the past as the whole system has slid inexorably downwards, dragging A-level with it. Now it is to be finished off altogether – and doubtless what remains of the British education system along with it.

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The Christmas libel

For graphic evidence of the way bigotry destroys rationality, the annual hate-fest against Israel over the plight of Bethlehem’s Arab Christians is a jaw-dropping example. As in previous years, Israel is being blamed for the fact that the Bethlehem Christians have been all but driven out. As in previous years the Church of England leads the charge, with clerics and activists blaming their parlous position on the ‘wall’, the checkpoints and the economic hardship -- which are all put down to Israel’s apparent malevolence, with no acknowledgement whatever of the terror mounted against Israel by Bethlehem’s citizens, or the terror mounted against the town’s Christians by the ruling Muslim Arabs.

Last year, churches up and down Britain replaced their traditional manger scenes with the propaganda of hatred – collages about the security barrier suggesting that the Palestinians were effectively playing the part of Christ in being crucified all over again. Now this disgusting development has been taken one stage further. A group called the Amos Trust is selling nativity sets with a wall down the middle cutting off the wise men from the manger. The Amos Trust¹s website markets the display as

A nativity set with a difference...poignant, ironic and made in Bethlehem.

Such moral blindness apart, it is truly remarkable that these mindless bigots never pause to ask themselves the obvious question. If it really is Israel that is driving out Bethlehem’s Christians, then why isn’t it equally driving out Bethlehem’s Muslims? Same Israeli ‘occupying’ forces; same separation barrier; same hardship, brutality, economic sanctions etc. Are we to assume, perhaps, that Israel has a particular problem with Christians, rather than the Muslims or Arabs in general, that the rest of the world has somehow missed? (In which case, might they not also scratch their heads at the fact that Israel is the only country in the Middle East where Christians have thrived and multiplied, rising in number from 34,000 in 1948 to nearly 130,000 in 2005?) Might there not be the teensiest, weensiest morsel of a clue in the fact that, whereas a few years ago Bethlehem was mainly Christian, now it is 80 per cent Muslim? Might the fact that such a dramatic change occurred simultaneously with Bethlehem coming under Muslim control after Oslo (thus making all those responsible for that satirically named 'peace process' accessories to the persecution of Bethlehem's Christians) just possibly have something to do with it?

But no, of course none of these upstanding church people and the myriad others who have absorbed the Big Lie would even consider such questions -- because they are the same people who resolutely ignore the evidence of Muslim persecution of Christians not only in the Palestinian territories but around the world. As Abraham Miller reported recently in FrontPageMagazine:

In the West Bank town of Taibe marauding Muslims burned, looted and beat Christian residents in the name of a Muslim family’s ‘honor,’ a family whose father had brutally beaten his daughter to death for wanting to marry a Christian. The violent Muslim mob burned a statue of the Virgin Mary and shouted, ‘Burn the Crusaders!’ PA fire and security forces took their time arriving on the scene, appearing hours later. In the end, the mob was almost immediately released from jail. Meanwhile, the Christian fiancée of the murdered woman was arrested and beaten while incarcerated. The lesson—that of the mob being released while an innocent Christian languished in jail—was not lost on the Christian community of the West Bank!

I have read the article in ‘The Tablet’ in which you speak about people leaving Bethlehem in large numbers and then ask the question: “I would like to know how much it matters to the Israeli Government to have Christian communities in the Holy Land. Are they an embarrassment or are they part of a solution? That’s a question.”

No doubt the Israelis have already given you their answer, perhaps informing you that the Christian Arab population within the pre 1967 borders of Israel has grown from approximately 34,000 in 1948 to nearly 130,000 in 2005. Ironically this is the only part of the Middle East where the Christian population is growing.

You should really have asked the Palestinian Authority how much it matters to them that there are Christian communities in their territory.The main reason for the departure of Christians from PA administered territories is the religious persecution, murder and land grabs which stems from the increased Islamisation of the region. This is the result of the PA adopting Muslim religious law in the territories in contrast to Israel which safeguards the religious freedom of its citizens.

You have nothing to say about the likes of George Rabie, featured in a recent article in the Mail on Sunday who is a taxi driver from Bethlehem and was beaten up by Muslims using his cab when they discovered he is a Christian. He said ‘Every day, I experience discrimination. It is a type of racism. We are a minority so we are an easier target. Many extremists from the villages are coming into Bethlehem.’

Nor have you championed the cause of those who have been subjected to forced marriages of Christian women to Muslim men, received death threats for distributing the Bible to willing Muslims, or been intimidated into wearing traditional ultra-modest Islamic clothing. Nor have you written about the churches which have been firebombed by Muslim extremists protesting against the remarks of the Pope (most recently in Nablus, Tubas, and Gaza). Nor about the situation in which Christian Arabs have found their land expropriated by Muslims or been forced to pay bribes to win the freedom of family members jailed on trumped-up charges.

All of this is the main reason why Christian Arabs have been selling or abandoning homes and businesses, seeking to escape the chaos and corruption of the PA and move to Israel, Europe, South America, North America, or wherever they can get a visa. Why do you have nothing to say about any of this in The Tablet or other public media? Of course you do not need to answer. We all know. No one in public life dares to make any comment even mildly critical of Islamic behaviour. On the other hand Israeli Jews are an easy target

Earlier this month, Khaled Abu Toameh in the Jerusalem Post reported from his sources yet another attack upon a Christian in Gaza:

They said four masked gunmen tried to kidnap Nabil Fuad Ayad, who works as a guard at a local church. Nabil's cousin, Rami, was kidnapped and murdered two months ago by the same group, the sources said. The sources identified the gunmen as members of the radical Islamic Salafi movement.

…The Salafis, who have become very active in the Gaza Strip in recent months, are totally opposed to common Western concepts like economics, constitutions and political parties. They refer to the 2,500 Christians in the Gaza Strip as Crusaders and have vowed to drive them out of the area.

…Christians living in the Gaza Strip told the Post that they were very worried about the increased attacks on members of their community and religious institutions. ‘The latest incident is aimed at sending a message to all the Christians here that we must leave,’ said a Christian leader. ‘Radical Islamic groups are waging a campaign to get rid of us and no one seems to care.’

More recently, the distinguished international human rights lawyer Justice Reid Weiner, who has written a monograph on the plight of Christians in the Palestinian areas, told a conference about the real cause of their suffering. The Jersualem Post reported earlier this month:

He cited Muslim harassment and persecution as the main cause of the acute ‘human rights crisis’ facing Christian Arabs and predicted that unless governments or institutions step in to remedy the situation -- such as with job opportunities -- there will be no more Christian communities living in the Palestinians territories within 15 years with only a few Western Christians and top clergymen left in the area.

‘Christian leaders are being forced to abandon their followers to the forces of radical Islam’[, Weiner said…

Weiner argued there was a 180 degree difference" between the public statements coming out of the mainstream Christian leadership in the Holy Land - who "sing the PA's tune" and blame Israel for all the Christian Arabs' ills - and people's experience on the ground. ‘The truth is beginning to come out he said. The question is what is being done with the truth.’

His comments come just months after a prominent Christian activist Rami Khader Ayyad 32 was killed in Gaza. ‘For too long the plight of Christian Arabs has been put on the back-burner or ignored altogether;. said Rev. Malcolm Hedding, executive director of the International Christian Embassy, a Jerusalem-based evangelical organization.

The Evangelical leader, who has drawn the wrath of Catholic leaders in the Holy Land for his strong support for Israel, said that ‘power politics’ has prevented the major Christian leaders in the Holy Land from speaking out on this issue.’There is a one-sided debate in which Israel is responsible for everything he said. The Christian world needs to stand up and speak out about this.’

But it is not. On this, the true cause of Christian perseuction, it is silent. Instead it scapegoats the Jews. At this particular time of year, the historical resonance is deafening.

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The war on America

 
Although the recent terrorism prosecution of the US Holy Land Foundation which was accused of funding Hamas went belly-up when a mistrial was declared, the case nevertheless has already exposed vital and fresh information about the extent of Muslim Brotherhood infiltration of America. On the Counterterrorism blog, which has much of great importance about this trial and what it revealed about Islamist infiltration in the US, there is a summary of a special panel it held to discuss the ties between Holy Land, the Brotherhood and Hamas — which interestingly was pivotal in establishing the Brotherhood in the US. 

During the course of the trial, federal prosecutors presented an array of internal Muslim Brotherhood documents from the 1980s and early 1990s that give a first-ever public view of the history and ideology behind the operations of the Muslim Brothers (known as the Ikhwan, the Group, or the Brotherhood) in the U.S. over the past four decades. These documents, accepted as valid by the defendants and admitted at trial without protest, discuss recruitment; organization; ideology; and the development of the Group in different phases in the United States. For researchers, the documents have the added weight of being written by the Ikhwan leaders themselves, rather than interpretations of secondary sources. The exhibits make four things clear:

1) Many of the existing organizations that have set themselves up as the interlocutors between the Islamic community in the United States and the outside world (including government, law enforcement, and other faiths) were founded and controlled by the Muslim Brotherhood from their inception. Many of them changed their names over time to achieve broader national acceptance.

2) The Brotherhood established a highly-structured organization with many different faces inside the United States while deliberately and continually seeking to hide the Brotherhood’s links to its front groups.

3) The agenda to be carried out by these groups in the United States in reality had little to do with the organizations’ publicly-proclaimed goals, such as protecting the civil rights of Muslims. Rather, the true goal is to destroy the United States from the inside and work to establish a global Islamist society.

4) The primary function of the Brotherhood structures, from the early 1990s forward, was to support, materially and politically, the Hamas movement in the Palestinian territories, as instructed by the office of the general guide of the Muslim Brotherhood in Cairo.

Anyone who believes that the US is somehow immune from the Islamist infiltration that has occurred in Europe will be rapidly disillusioned and alarmed by what the Holy Land proceedings have already revealed.  

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An unjust comparison

Excellent column today in the Times by David Aaronovitch on the extraordinary loss of rationality by the great and the good, in which he makes precisely the point I made here last month that the claim that Britain already detains terror suspects without charge for longer than any other European country is complete nonsense, as we can all see with every day that passes in the Meredith Kercher investigation in Italy.

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Soft heads and gloating enemies

Israel’s doveish former foreign minister Shlomo ben Ami hymns Gordon Brown’s divorce from Britain’s‘servile alliance’ with the Bush administration in favour of a new doctrine of ‘hard-headed internationalism’ which has also been adopted, apparently, by a chastened America (although ben Ami concludes this stirring denunciation of US ‘belligerency’ with the pious hope that the next American president must use the ‘threat of effective military power’ – but not, it would appear, the power itself). We can see with what respect the jihad regards this new ‘hard-headed internationalism’. In Iran, Ahmadinejad has called the infamous hard-headed NIE a

‘declaration of surrender:... It was a positive action by the U.S. administration to change their attitude and it was a correct move.’

And al Qaeda’s second in command, Ayman al Zawahiri, has described the hard-headed British pull-out from Basra as a

‘decision to flee’

and crowed that it proves

‘the condition of the Iraqi Jihad is -- overall – excellent’.

There is another separate but intimately related issue here: the gross culpability and dereliction of duty in time of war displayed by Britain's political and military leadership. Col Tim Collins, the British officer involved in the overthrow of Saddam has said that the pull-out from Basra illustrates muddled thinking and lack of planning:

My own view is frankly that there was great incompetence in the military leadership. Those who agreed to cut the size of the Armed Forces, as they did in 2003, at the same time agreed to taking on a further commitment in Afghanistan in the sure and certain knowledge that they were unable to cope in Basra. It is deep incompetence, in my view.

I think that the removal of Saddam Hussein was a good thing. I think the chaos in Basra is a temporary thing, because I am certain that the US - which is fast getting control of the rest of the country - will sort it out. It leaves the UK’s military reputation badly damaged.

America's surge in Iraq is indeed one of the most hopeful signs. But the broader problem of strategic error remains. It is the tragedy of the free world that at a time of its greatest peril it is being led by incompetents and pygmies, who are incapable not only of seeing the big picture but of viewing events through the prism of anything other than western liberal wishful thinking. Until our political leaders make the imaginative leap to see events through the prism of Middle East thinking, whose premises are often diametrically opposite to our own, such cultural hubris will be our undoing.

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