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February 2020

WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

China’s Government Is Like Something out of ‘1984’ By Victor Davis Hanson

By on February 20th, 2020

https://pjmedia.com/victordavishanson/chinas-government-is-like-something-out-of-1984/

The Chinese communist government increasingly poses an existential threat not just to its own 1.4 billion citizens but to the world at large.

China is currently in a dangerously chaotic state. And why not, when a premodern authoritarian society leaps wildly into the brave new world of high-tech science in a single generation?

The Chinese technological revolution is overseen by an Orwellian dictatorship. Predictably, the Chinese Communist Party has not developed the social, political or cultural infrastructure to ensure that its sophisticated industrial and biological research does not go rogue and become destructive to itself and to the billions of people who are on the importing end of Chinese products and protocols.

Central party officials run the government, military, media and universities collectively in a manner reminiscent of the science-fiction Borg organism of “Star Trek,” which was a horde of robot-like entities all under the control of a central mind.

Thirty years ago, American pundits began gushing over China’s sudden leap from horse-drawn power to solar, wind and nuclear energy. The Chinese communist government wowed Westerners. It created from nothing high-speed rail, solar farms, shiny new airports and gleaming new high-density apartment buildings.

Western-trained Chinese scientists soon were conducting sophisticated medical and scientific research. And they often did so rapidly, without the prying regulators, nosy elected officials and bothersome citizen lawsuits that often burden American and European scientists.

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WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

What explains Germany’s persistent, quixotic friendship with Iran?By Orit Arfa

By on February 20th, 2020

https://www.jns.org/what-explains-germanys-persistent-quixotic-friendship-with-iran/

A bungled telegram marking the 40th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, coming on the heels of the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, puts some Jewish groups on edge.

At the World Holocaust Forum at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem on Jan. 23 marking the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier declared: “Germany’s responsibility does not expire. We want to live up to our responsibility. By this, you should measure us.”

On Feb. 5, his office sent, by mistake, a congratulatory telegram to the Iranian regime on the occasion of “Islamic Revolution’s Victory Day” on Feb. 11.

According to a spokesperson from Steinmeier’s office, the error resulted from a coordination issue with the German embassy in Tehran. The spokesperson added that the text of the telegram erroneously sent also contained critical remarks, although it has not been publicly released.

The intent to mark the founding of a regime that pledges to wipe Israel off the map is just a small string of German actions vis-à-vis Iran that prompt pro-Jewish and human-rights activists to measure Germany’s contrition over the Holocaust unfavorably.

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ISRAEL, WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

The Bahraini Supreme Court sentenced a man to three years in prison for burning an Israeli flag at a pro-Palestinian protest.

By on February 19th, 2020

https://unitedwithisrael.org/israeli-flag-burner-sentenced-to-prison-in-arab-nation

A Bahraini court refused to hear an appeal by a convicted Bahraini man found guilty of organizing an illegal pro-Palestinian gathering, rioting and burning the Israeli flag in the town of Budaiya, Bahrain in May 2019. He was sentenced to three-years in prison, according to media reports this week.

The prosecution said the man “intended to endanger people’s lives and properties, to destabilize public security and to disrupt traffic.” The burning of the Israeli flag at the entrance to the village of Abu Saiba was intended to block streets, according to reports.

Following the news, Twitter erupted with a fury of claims that this was the first time an Arab country punished a person for burning the Israeli flag and the sentence shows a thawing of ties with Israel and a desire to appease the Jewish country.

Bahraini journalist Adel Marzooq tweeted, “This is the first time that Bahrain punishes citizens for burning the Israeli flag. It is striking that it is the same punishment prescribed in the Israeli Penal Law (3 years imprisonment).”

During a June 2019 interview with Israel’s Channel 13, Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa said, “Israel is historically part of the heritage of this whole region. So the Jewish people have a place among us.”

White House senior adviser Jared Kushner also presented parts of US President Donald Trump’s “Deal of the Century” in Bahrain.

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ISRAEL Comments turned off

Two U.S. lawmakers (Jim Jordan R-Ohio and Mike Johnson R-LA) visited historic sites in Judea and Samaria days after the creation of a special ‘deal of the century’ committee to begin mapping out Israeli sovereignty in the region. By Malkah Fleisher

By on February 19th, 2020

https://unitedwithisrael.org/us-lawmakers-tour-judea-and-samaria-discuss-israeli-sovereignty/?utm_source=

, JNS

Reps. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), formerly head of the House Freedom Caucus, was joined by Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.), a member of the Judiciary Committee and head of the Republican Study Committee, and their wives toured Israel this week on a trip organized by the Yes! Israel Project, an organization that introduces political and business leaders to places often avoided by mainstream American Jewish organizations.

In July, Jordan tweeted in favor of a House resolution condemning BDS, saying “Israel is America’s closest ally and great friend. But radical left members of Congress are trying to take down a resolution in support of Israel.”

In January, Johnson tweeted an article about the impending publication of the Mideast peace proposal, adding the psalm to “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.”

During the trip, Johnson also expressed support for Jewish sovereignty in Judea and Samaria.

“I support the Trump [Mideast] deal that recognizes the Jewish connection to your homeland,” he told JNS. “It is important for Israel to apply sovereignty to these lands as soon as possible. We have reservations about the so-called ‘two-state solution’ that would establish a Palestinian state.”

From the Temple Mount to the Judean Hills

The congressmen began their tour on the “Heritage Trail” in Beersheva on Monday, where they learned about the biblical Abraham and the ties of the Jewish people to the Land of Israel. They then traveled to Maon Farm in the southern Hebron hills, and then to the Tomb of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs in Hebron.

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EDUCATION Comments turned off

Georgetown Library Bans ‘Offensive’ Books Catherine Smith

By on February 19th, 2020

https://amgreatness.com/2020/02/18/georgetown-library-bans-offensive-books/

Georgetown University officials removed and banned “all but a few books” from the McCarthy and Reynolds libraries that students have deemed “offensive,” Breitbart reports.

According to a report by the College Fix, Georgetown University officials have removed hundreds of books from campus libraries after students argued that they were riddled with bigotry and the extremely vulnerable students found them unacceptable and offensive.

Student Alexandra Bowman said she noticed a book “prominently featured a Native American on its cover” and therefore she complained to the administration. Shortly thereafter, Georgetown’s Reynolds and McCarthy libraries were almost cleared out.

“While some were simply raucous crime noir murder mysteries representative of the literary and cultural time in which they were written, other books included extremely problematic and damaging elements, including the glamorization of rape, including that of underage girls,” Bowman said in a short comment. “Completely naked women of all races were frequently featured on these books’ covers. Further, many books fetishized young nonwhite women.”

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NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

Orwellian Word Games From Los Angeles to New York, progressive elected officials abuse language in an attempt to change how we think. Seth Barron

By on February 19th, 2020

https://www.city-journal.org/progressive-elected-officials-abuse-language

A new law in California bans the use, in official documents, of the term “at risk” to describe youth identified by social workers, teachers, or the courts as likely to drop out of school, join a gang, or go to jail. Los Angeles assemblyman Reginald B. Jones-Sawyer, who sponsored the legislation, explained that “words matter.” By designating children as “at risk,” he says, “we automatically put them in the school-to-prison pipeline. Many of them, when labeled that, are not able to exceed above that.”

The idea that the term “at risk” assigns outcomes, rather than describes unfortunate possibilities, grants social workers deterministic authority most would be surprised to learn they possess. Contrary to Jones-Sawyer’s characterization of “at risk” as consigning kids to roles as outcasts or losers, the term originated in the 1980s as a less harsh and stigmatizing substitute for “juvenile delinquent,” to describe vulnerable children who seemed to be on the wrong path. The idea of young people at “risk” of social failure buttressed the idea that government services and support could ameliorate or hedge these risks.

Instead of calling vulnerable kids “at risk,” says Jones-Sawyer, “we’re going to call them ‘at-promise’ because they’re the promise of the future.” The replacement term—the only expression now legally permitted in California education and penal codes—has no independent meaning in English. Usually we call people about whom we’re hopeful “promising.” The language of the statute is contradictory and garbled, too. “For purposes of this article, ‘at-promise pupil’ means a pupil enrolled in high school who is at risk of dropping out of school, as indicated by at least three of the following criteria: Past record of irregular attendance . . . Past record of underachievement . . . Past record of low motivation or a disinterest in the regular school program.” In other words, “at-promise” kids are underachievers with little interest in school, who are “at risk of dropping out.” Without casting these kids as lost causes, in what sense are they “at promise,” and to what extent does designating them as “at risk” make them so?

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HISTORY Comments turned off

Sorry, New York Times, But America Began in 1776 by Wilfred Reilly

By on February 19th, 2020

https://quillette.com/2020/02/17/sorry-new-york-times-but-america-began-in-1776/

The United States of America began in 1776, not 1619.

That one sentence is the thesis statement of “1776”—a non-partisan black-led response to the New York Times’s “1619 Project” initiative, which launched last week at D.C.’s National Press Club. I am pleased and proud to be a part of 1776, along with founder Bob Woodson, Glenn Loury, Coleman Hughes, Jason Hill, Carol Swain, John Wood, Taleeb Starkes, Robert Cherry, and many others. From my perspective as a member, 1776 has three core goals: (1) rebutting some outright historical inaccuracies in the 1619 Project; (2) discussing tragedies like slavery and segregation honestly while clarifying that these were not the most important historical foundations of the United States; and (3) presenting an alternative inspirational view of the lessons of our nation’s history to Americans of all races.

The first of these points is perhaps the least important, but still a weighty task. Many of the claims made by the 1619 Project, which attempts to link everything from non-socialized medicine to American sugar consumption to historical slavery, are simply not true. Gordon Wood, one of the USA’s leading historians of the Revolutionary War, has been sharply critical of 1619’s best known essay (“America Wasn’t a Democracy Until Black Americans Made It One,” by Nikole Hannah-Jones), dismissing Hannah-Jones’s claim that the USA seceded from Britain primarily to protect the institution of slavery as factually inaccurate.

Wood points out that attributing American secession to a desire to protect slavery—rather than (say) taxation without representation, conflicts over French and Indian war debt, or tense armed exchanges like the “Boston Massacre”—“makes the Revolution out to be like the Civil War,” which is “wrong in so many ways.” The eminent historian seems bemused and angered by the decision of the Times to support an arguably questionable scholarly project, saying: “I was surprised by the scope of this thing, [since] it’s going to become the basis for high school education, and has the weight of the New York Times behind it.” Given that the generally reputable Pulitzer Center is already offering a “1619 Project Curriculum” targeted at “all grades,” Dr. Wood’s words of warning ring true.

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HOMELAND SECURITY, IMMIGRATION Comments turned off

Grassley, Ernst Want to Know How Al Qaeda Emir Came To America As A Refugee Daniel Greenfield

By on February 19th, 2020

https://www.frontpagemag.com/point/2020/02/grassley-ernst-want-know-how-al-qaeda-emir-came-daniel-greenfield/

I wrote about the Al Nouri case in the beginning of February. 

After engaging in terrorism in Iraq, an Al Qaeda leader came to America as a refugee and applied for Social Security disability benefits because his “injuries” in Iraq had made it too hard for him to work.

Only 2 years after being the Emir of an Al Qaeda group, Al-Nouri had traded the deserts of Al-Anbar for the deserts of the Southwest. How was an Al Qaeda leader able to move to the United States?

Easy. He claimed to be a refugee from Al Qaeda.

A quarter of refugees that year were Iraqis. The Al Qaeda leader was one of 13,823 Iraqi refugees. The huge increase from 1,608 in 2007, made any real screening of the Iraqis all but impossible. And, worse still, Iraqis, like Al-Nouri, were in the top 3 refugee groups and their claims were processed ‘in-country’.

“In-country processing”, as noted by the Center of American Progress, makes “the process less onerous and cumbersome for Iraqis seeking asylum by allowing for in-country visa processing, making screening less restrictive.” And what migrants from Al-Qaeda’s stronghold needed was less restrictive screenings.

The less restrictive screenings were one of Senator Ted Kennedy’s final immigration gifts to America. The Refugee Crisis in Iraq Act was introduced by Ted Kennedy, backed by Grover Norquist, and co-sponsored by Joe Biden, Pat Leahy, Chuck Hagel, Dick Durbin, Bob Menendez and Barack Obama.

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IMMIGRATION Comments turned off

New Cambridge, Mass. Law Bars Police from Arresting Undocumented Immigrants for Driving Without a License By Mairead McArdle

By on February 19th, 2020

https://www.nationalreview.com/news/new-cambridge-mass-law-bars-police-from-arresting-undocumented-immigrants-for-driving-without-a-license/

Undocumented immigrants will not be arrested for driving without a license under a new Cambridge, Mass. law aimed at protecting those illegally residing in the country from the grasp of the federal government.

The new law, passed unanimously by the city legislature, directs police in Cambridge to issue a court summons to an undocumented individual driving without a license instead of arresting them, although the driver may be arrested for other legal complications, such as active or outstanding warrants. The law also prohibits officers from asking a person’s immigration status, a move intended to prevent Immigration and Customs Enforcement from getting wind of the arrest and deporting them.

The policy of issuing a court summons in place of an arrest was already in practice, but it will now be codified for the sanctuary city, which boasts both Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

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MOVIES AND TELEVISION Comments turned off

Marathon Man for Idiots By Kyle Smith

By on February 19th, 2020

https://www.nationalreview.com/2020/02/television-review-hunters-dumbs-down-nazi-hunting/

Hunting Nazis gets dumbed down to comic-book level in Amazon Prime’s Hunters.

If Al Pacino is doing a TV series, it should be worth watching. Alas, many things that should be so are not. Pacino’s first series is Hunters, on Amazon Prime video, and the more you love Pacino, the more you’ll cringe. “The Americans, but with Nazis” seems to have been the idea. It came out more like “Marathon Man for idiots.”

Created by David Weil, who serves as showrunner with Nikki Toscano (though Jordan Peele, one of the executive producers, is mentioned more prominently than either of these in ads), Hunters is a case study in how an adolescent imagination shrunken and enfeebled by comic-book tropes can be disastrously misapplied when considering history’s gravest events. Pacino plays a Jewish Holocaust survivor turned Bruce Wayne-style mystery millionaire vigilante in 1977 New York City. Pacino’s Meyer Offerman assembles a Super Friends squad of spy/assassin/codebreaker/con artist/bank robber types with the aid of, erm, a yenta (Jewish matchmaker, not ordinarily associated with hired killing). Guided by Offerman, the hunters set to work tracking down surviving Nazi war criminals living in America under assumed names.

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