Cowards at Yale

When they had to choose between respecting sharia law…

.. and respect for basic human rights and freedom of speech..

…Yale Press chose to respect the hand-choppers. Gawker and Hot Air report on Yale’s disgrace.

The New York Times also attempts to report on the controversy without showing the cartoons, of course. In 2006, the New York Times, like most US media outlets, justified their refusal to respect freedom of expression and basic human rights with this statement -

The New York Times and much of the rest of the nation’s news media have reported on the cartoons but refrained from showing them. That seems a reasonable choice for news organizations that usually refrain from gratuitous assaults on religious symbols, especially since the cartoons are so easy to describe in words.

Both the New York Times and Yale note that the cartoons “can easily be found on the internet.” Well, if people can find all the news that “reasonable” media outlets are too scared to print on the net, it’s no surprise that no one buys newspapers anymore.

 

“It’s hard to get straight answers in Iraq”

Michael Totten reports on The Future of Iraq, Part IV

We were in the predominantly Sunni neighborhood of Adhamiyah. It was a stronghold of support for Saddam Hussein’s government, and a stronghold of support for Al Qaeda more recently. Iraq’s Sunni Arabs, who make up around 15-20 percent of the country’s population, are by the far the most anti-American. Yet Adhamiyah appeared, on the surface at least, to be no more hostile to Americans than Iraqi Kurdistan.

I needed help from reliable straight-shooting Iraqis to see the truth behind the façade. I can’t know if everything Sayid told me was true, but what he told me was a lot more interesting and substantial than the “America good” boilerplate I often heard from random civilians.

What I wanted from Sayid was a glimpse into the Iraqi psyche, which he delivered. He also shared with me his vision of Iraq’s future. And I should warn you that his vision is not pretty. (For optimistic assessments, see The Future of Iraq Part I and The Future of Iraq Part II.)

Four of us sat on couches in his living room – me, Sergeant Franklin, Lieutenant Eric Kuylman, and our Iraqi interpreter “Tom.” We didn’t need to bring Tom with us, though. Sayid spoke near-perfect English.

I’m going to skip the exposition and switch to interview mode. Our conversation speaks for itself.

-

MJT: They say you’re a good guy to talk to because you give straight answers. It’s hard to get straight answers in Iraq.

Sayid: Yeah.

MJT: Can you explain to me why that is? I mean, I have an idea why, but I’m sure you understand it better than I do.

Sayid: It’s the formula of our community. There are many kinds of people. I will give you a straight answer, but it’s Iraqi like me.

Just 20 percent of our people are good. 80 percent are bad. You should know that….

More…

 

The White academic’s burden

Magatte Wade* describes how Western academics make life difficult for African entrepreneurs

As an African who has spent my adult professional life in the U.S., I am proud to say that I have never encountered racism here. I am, of course, even prouder of the U.S. for having elected Barack Obama, thus proving beyond the shadow of a doubt that a majority of U.S. voters care more about merit than they care about race. I truly believe that the U.S. has largely moved into a post-racial phase, and that in the future we will continue to move towards a world in which people love and celebrate racial and cultural differences. I look forward to bringing my children into such a world, one in which they will be celebrated for who they are.

Prior to living in the U.S., I was educated in France, and occasionally I would encounter some racism there, especially among older people. On one occasion I was visiting an elderly French woman, a relative of a white French boyfriend, who, when I arrived, whispered to him, “But what will I feed her? I don’t have any bananas.” She was well-intentioned but ignorant; good-hearted as she was, she confused black Africans with chimpanzees. What does one do if one doesn’t have bananas to feed them?

On a brochure for a tour of Jeff Sachs’ Millenium Village in Rwanda, managed by one of Sachs’ Columbia University colleagues, Rule #1 is “Please do not give anything to the villagers — no sweets, cookies, empty water bottles, pens or even money.” While I’m sure the rule is well-intentioned, it captures perfectly the revolting condescension that I feel from the Millenium Villages project. Unlike the ignorant elderly woman, celebrated professors at Columbia University cannot be excused through their ignorance. When highly educated people can objectify us with a “Don’t feed the animals” sign, the only explanation is a blinding arrogance. These people are so sure that they are noble for helping the ignorant chimps, that they hadn’t even noticed just how humiliating the expression is.

Of course, these academics would probably show the same sort of condescension to the participants in a NASCAR rally.

Wade’s article expresses the same sentiments I’ve heard from entrepreneurs and farmers in India and Africa – they know what they want and how to get it, and they’d appreciate it if these environmentalists and NGOs would get out of their way.

Have these helpers ever bothered to listen to the people they’re supposedly trying to help?

* Link thanks to Alan Sullivan

 

“Americans who spent the past week transfixed by the brutal shooting of Neda Soltan and related horrifying events in Iran may be astonished to learn the following…”

– Roger Simon

This is how our state department reacts to recent atrocities in Iran

The United States said Monday its invitations were still standing for Iranian diplomats to attend July 4 celebrations at US embassies despite the crackdown on opposition supporters.

President Barack Obama’s administration said earlier this month it would invite Iran to US embassy barbecues for the national holiday for the first time since the two nations severed relations following the 1979 Islamic revolution.

“There’s no thought to rescinding the invitations to Iranian diplomats,” State Department spokesman Ian Kelly told reporters.

I’m not astonished, I’m not even surprised. This is how the state department reacted to 9/11. They were worried that the Saudi sponsors of 9/11 would cease to be our friends. Legitimizing, empowering and kissing the asses of our most vile enemies has always been their first priority.

They don’t care about us, they don’t care about freedom and they don’t care about democracy, yet for some peculiar reason, we continue to pay their salaries. What’s wrong with us?

I have no interest in tea parties, but if anyone is organizing a rally to storm the walls of the state department, I’ll be there…

 

Three reasons to be optimistic about the Iranian protests

#1 Strength in numbers: In countries like Iran, there is strength in numbers, even if most citizens are unarmed. Like most totalitarian kleptocracies in the Middle East, the Iranian government keeps tabs on citizens through the use of citizen-spies. Neighbors are encouraged to inform on neighbors. This security infrastructure tends to fall apart when entire neighborhoods are so outraged by government crimes, they all march together in protest.

#2 Where is Ahmadinejad? The Russians aren’t as gullible as we are – when they bribe their flunkies they actually expect to see results. When they don’t see results, unproductive flunkies tend to disappear.

When the “most powerful man in Iraq”, Russian/Iranian flunky Moqtaqua al Sadr, failed to perform as expected, he wound up comatose in an Iranian hospital, being treated by “Iranian specialists, as well as by Russian doctors” for a food poisoning attack. Afterwards, he withdrew from public life and devoted his time to studying the Koran. Disorganized and leaderless, his formerly formidable army soon fell.

Ahmadinejad may be following the same path. From the Russia Blog:

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who won an election last week that various opposition groups both inside and outside the country believe was rigged, was scheduled to appear at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit on Monday in the Urals city of Yekaterinberg. Ahmadenijad first delayed his appearance to deal with the unrest back home, then showed up to issue a defiant anti-U.S. statement, then promptly returned to Iran. Anyone Googling media accounts of the summit could come away quite confused about the whereabouts of the Iranian leader.

#3 The historic and profound bravery of the Iranian people – most “realist” power brokers and politicians react to this kind of popular uprising with a mixture of confusion and fear. Even some leaders who are supposed to support democracy are tongue tied. It’s a sign that their hold on power is never certain – who knows what will happen if this idea spreads? Ahmadinejad may be frightened, but Master of the Universe wannabes like the members of our State Department, Vlad Putin and Saudi King Abdullah must be shaking in their boots. If protests continue, most ‘realists’ will probably push for reconciliation in an effort to make the whole nightmare go away.

 

What gave so many ordinary citizens such courage?

Via the Times Online

What gave so many ordinary citizens the courage not only to speak out after years of fear, but to take to the streets in numbers not seen since Ayatollah Khomeini overthrew the Shah in 1979? And where was this heading? Will yesterday’s events presage a brutal crackdown, or are they just a pause in an extraordinary display of “people power”?

ARTEMIS, a 41-year-old Tehrani woman, is the proud holder of a law degree, but one who has never been allowed to work. She was clear about why she joined the million-plus men, women and children who took to the streets of Tehran last Monday.

“People want freedom and justice,” she said. “They stole the vote. No one in his right mind believes this result.”

She said she had been afraid to voice criticism before. “The neighbours listen to you, and people go to prison just for what they say, or what they write. But this is contagious. What you are seeing, all these people, this comes from 30 years of oppression and now we have had enough.”

Gathering in Revolution Square in the summer sun, they walked miles to Freedom Square, shoulder to shoulder, filling the boulevard and spilling onto the pavement.

More news at iranelection

Back in 2004, when John Kerry was in hot water for dissing the Iranian pro-democracy activists while kissing up to the Mullahs, I noticed that many Iranian bloggers understood (and loved) democracy more than many Americans do.

So now they have a revolution, they’re bravely facing an army of goons armed with nothing but their ideals – and we have John Kerry, Ron Paul and Glenn Beck…

 

Yes, it’s a revolution now

Michael Totten’s continually updated reports on the Iranian revolution at Commentary

UPDATE: Mere Rhetoric has posted a Cyberwar Guide To Helping The Iranian Protesters. Please feel free to distribute:

The purpose of this guide is to help you participate constructively in the Iranian election protests through Twitter.

1. Do NOT publicise proxy IP’s over twitter, and especially not using the #iranelection hashtag. Security forces are monitoring this hashtag, and the moment they identify a proxy IP they will block it in Iran. If you are creating new proxies for the Iranian bloggers, DM them to @stopAhmadi or @iran09 and they will distributed them discretely to bloggers in Iran.

2. Hashtags, the only two legitimate hashtags being used by bloggers in Iran are #iranelection and #gr88, other hashtag ideas run the risk of diluting the conversation.

3. Keep you bull$hit filter up! Security forces are now setting up twitter accounts to spread disinformation by posing as Iranian protesters. Please don’t retweet impetuosly, try to confirm information with reliable sources before retweeting. The legitimate sources are not hard to find and follow.

4. Help cover the bloggers: change your twitter settings so that your location is TEHRAN and your time zone is GMT +3.30. Security forces are hunting for bloggers using location and timezone searches. If we all become ‘Iranians’ it becomes much harder to find them.

5. Don’t blow their cover! If you discover a genuine source, please don’t publicise their name or location on a website. These bloggers are in REAL danger. Spread the word discretely through your own networks but don’t signpost them to the security forces. People are dying there, for real, please keep that in mind…

 

More on the unrest in Iran

An Enemy of the World

The Islamic Republic regime in Iran is vividly revealing itself as an enemy of the entire world.

“Supreme Guide” Ali Khamenei’s police and the Basij militia are using violence and terror to suppress the Iranian people at home. His terrorist proxies fire missiles at Israel while torturing, maiming, and murdering Palestinians. He sponsored a violent coup d’etat against the elected government in Beirut last year with his Hezbollah militia. He sponsors a terrorist insurgency against the elected government of Iraq, while his fanatical proxies shoot and kill American soldiers. A car bomb cell belonging to the regime’s Lebanese franchise was recently arrested in Azerbaijan, and more cells were rolled up in Egypt. Terrorists sponsored and encouraged by him and his predecessor, Ruhollah Khomeini, have murdered civilians from Argentina Japan.

The regime’s only allies in the world are terrorist armies and Bashar Assad’s Baath Party state in Syria. Assad himself, like Khamenei and Ahmadinejad, is a pariah among the Arabs, Persians, Turks, Kurds, Azeris, and Israelis who make up the region.

Iranian civilians risk violent beatings and worse by the thousands for standing up to the regime in the streets and treating it as the enemy it clearly is. There is no better time for the rest of us to do so, as well, especially since such gestures carry far less risk for us. The Pasdaran have no divisions in Washington, Paris, or London…

Amazing videos and photographs from Iran – (links thanks to Infidel753 and Dave at Israellycool).

 

Election riots in Iran

Michael Totten: Iran on Fire (continuous coverage)

Oppressive governments that face ferocious resistance in the streets often don’t last very long. The Islamic Republic regime has been durable so far, and reports of its imminent demise have been premature, but there is only so much it can withstand.

[Video of thousands of Iranians marching in the streets chanting "Death to the Government."]

Fausta’s Blog Open revolt in Iran: Photos and video

Iranians Protest, Government Cracks Down by Ardeshir Arian at Pajamas Media

Iran Violence: Protests Erupt, Riot Police Launch Crackdown: Nico Pitney at The Huffington Post

 

Who are you men and where is my soup?

Jimmy Carter and Hezbollah’s “spiritual leader”, Grand Ayatollah Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah offer proof that the world would be a better place if politicians were forced to retire at a certain age.

The world doesn’t need the unending “help” of these and other malign gargoyles.