10/01/06 - 10/31/06

10/01/06 - 10/31/06

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Total Clips: 52

Outlet		Date	News Type
Development; SIS (4)
Yahoo! Finance	Core Security Appoints Tom Kellermann as Vice President of Security Awareness	10/30/2006	Alum Mention
Rappahannock Record	Gallery schedules open house	10/18/2006	Alum Mention
MetroWest Daily News, The	Kaufman led McAuliffe through difficult time	10/15/2006	Alum Mention
Albert Lea Tribune	Mexican consul to visit Albert Lea Tuesday	10/07/2006	Alum Mention
Provost; SIS (2)
Lexington Herald-Leader - Online	CENTRE GRAD HONORED	10/25/2006	Brief Mention
Ka Leo O Hawai'I	Organization sends computers to Samoa	10/10/2006	Brief Mention
SIS (46)
Washington Institute for Near East Policy	Countering Holocaust Denial in Arab and Muslim Societies A New Approach	10/31/2006	Brief Mention
BBC Radio - Washington DC Bureau	A. Ahmed on radio	10/31/2006	Radio Interview
American Conservative, The	Great Black Hope	10/30/2006	Quote
Washington Post	Targeting Afghan Schoolgirls	10/29/2006	AU Author
Pakistan Link	The Journalist and the Jihadi	10/26/2006	AU Author
South Asian Womens Forum	Black voters to remain loyal to Democrats	10/26/2006	Quote
Gulf Times	Blacks are Democrats' most loyal voting bloc	10/26/2006	Quote
Yahoo! News	Black voters to remain loyal to Democrats	10/25/2006	Quote
CounterPunch	Op-ed: About that Trip to Cuba... When the FBI Came Calling	10/25/2006	AU Author
OhmyNews.com	The Ayatollah's Gambit	10/25/2006	Quote
Washington Post - Online	Blair and the Veil	10/23/2006	AU Author
Kojo Nnamdi Show - WAMU-FM, The	French Riots: One Year Later	10/23/2006	Radio Interview
Kansas City Star	OVERLAND PARK \| Event promotes understanding	10/23/2006	Brief Mention
Washington Post	The Week Ahead	10/22/2006	Calendar Listing
Revealer	Selling Coke to Muslims	10/20/2006	Quote
Salon.com	Globalization and the blue agave	10/19/2006	Brief Mention
Nagaland Post	Sen hopeful of early nod to Indo-US deal	10/18/2006	Brief Mention
Kaumudi	China to 'seriously' implement UN sanctions on NKorea	10/18/2006	Brief Mention
Press Trust of India - United Nations Bureau	Early nod to Indo-US nuke deal will help both nations Sen.	10/17/2006	Brief Mention
ZeeNews.com	Early nod to Indo-US nuke deal will help both nations Sen	10/17/2006	Brief Mention
NewIndPress	Early nod to Indo-US N-deal will help both nations	10/17/2006	Brief Mention
Rediff.com	'Indo-US relations on upward path'	10/17/2006	Brief Mention
Washington Times	Daybook October 17, 2006	10/17/2006	Calendar Listing
News 8 at 5 PM - WGAL-TV	Edmund Ghareeb on TV	10/16/2006	TV Appearance
Syria Times	Syria, Pakistan enjoy close relations, says Ambassador	10/16/2006	Brief Mention
Richmond Times-Dispatch	LIFE ON CAMPUS; The IM-generation blogs and slogs their way to college	10/15/2006	Quote
Payvand Iran News	Rioting of US generals and talking with Iran - Prof. Mowlana	10/13/2006	Quote
Norman Transcript, The	Conference to explore Turkish Islamic movement	10/13/2006	Brief Mention
Islamic Republic News Agency - New York Bureau	Rioting of US generals and talking with Iran - Prof. Mowlana	10/13/2006	Quote
IranMania	Revolt of US generals & call for talks with Iran	10/13/2006	Quote
Pakistan Link	Five Years after September 11 Testing the Clash of Civilizations	10/13/2006	Quote
Brown Daily Herald	Kevin Roose '09 The sound of snobbery	10/13/2006	DRS Mention
Christian Science Monitor	The price of Russia's 'dictatorship of law'	10/12/2006	AU Author
Arabic News	Revolt of American generals; call for US talk with Iran	10/12/2006	Quote
U.S. Newswire	Media Guide To LIFE(at)50-plus - AARP's National Event & Expo	10/12/2006	Brief Mention
Islamic Republic News Agency - New York Bureau	Revolt of American generals and call for US talk with Iran	10/12/2006	Quote
FOXnews.com	Muslim-Themed Products Mimic American Pop Culture Icons	10/12/2006	Quote
FOXnews.com	Mimicking America	10/11/2006	Quote
npr.org	Judea Pearl and Akbar Ahmed's Interfaith Dialogues	10/11/2006	Radio Interview
Fresh Air - National Public Radio	Judea Pearl and Akbar Ahmed's Interfaith Dialogues	10/10/2006	Radio Interview
Pakistan Link	Mozart and Muslims	10/07/2006	AU Author
United Press International	Analysis Will U.S. sell out Kurds again?	10/04/2006	Quote
Monsters and Critics	Will U.S. sell out Kurds again?	10/04/2006	Quote
Progressive, The	Out of balance with the Constitution	10/03/2006	AU Author
Orlando Sentinel	Migrants' remittances to Latin America The good, the bad	10/02/2006	Quote
San Diego Union-Tribune - Online	Migrants' remittances Good and bad	10/02/2006	Quote
No Category Defined (0 Clips)


Core Security Appoints Tom Kellermann as Vice President of Security Awareness 10/30/2006 Yahoo! Finance	Return to Top
BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Core Security Technologies, provider of CORE IMPACT, the first-to-market penetration testing product for assessing specific information security risks, today announced the appointment of Tom Kellermann as vice president of security awareness. In this capacity, Kellermann will be responsible for building relationships with key industry and government partners, and helping further the acceptance of auditing security defenses to reduce organizations' operational risk. In addition, he will continue to participate actively in US, international and industry security working groups, helping these organizations promote improved security practices and policies. if (window.yzq_a) { yzq_a('p', 'P=SzxgldhtfJBOBFhBRUYGNQD3quAIGkVGC5gAB0oB yzq_a('a', ' } 'As an influential voice on security and risk management, Tom has been involved in shaping numerous organizations' approach to security,' said Paul Paget, CEO of Core Security Technologies. 'Tom shares our passion for security and belief in the importance of proactive security and associated risk management. His expertise will help us build the partnerships that will increase industry awareness and adoption of our automated penetration testing solutions.'Kellerman joins Core Security from his most recent role as an independent cybersecurity analyst. Kellermann previously held the position of senior data risk management specialist at the World Bank Treasury Security Team for over six years. In this capacity, he was responsible for cyber intelligence and policy management within the World Bank Treasury and regularly advised central banks around the world regarding their cyber risk posture and layered security architectures.'In today's hostile cyberspace environment, it is essential that organizations regularly test their defenses before the enemy does,' said Kellermann. 'Core's penetration testing product, CORE IMPACT, allows senior management to realize, in advance, the implications of elite attacker tactics. Consequently, it's an exciting time for me to join Core and further our efforts to help organizations worldwide better protect themselves from emerging threats.'Kellermann has also written extensively. Along with Thomas Glaessner and Valerie McNevin, Kellermann co-authored the book, E-safety and Soundness Securing Finance in a New Age, and the white paper, 'E-security Risk Mitigation in Financial Transactions,' and is the author of numerous World Bank white papers on cybersecurity (which are available at http //www.worldbank.org/finance/esecurity). Kellermann serves as a member of the New York Chapter of Infragard, the New York Electronic Crimes Taskforce, the Financial Coalition against Child Pornography, the Anti-Phishing Working Group and is an active member of the American Bar Association's working group on cybercrime. He was also a member of the Department of Homeland Security US-CERT Emerging Threats Working Group. Kellermann holds a master's degree in international political economies from the American University School of International Service and a B.A. from the University of Michigan. He is a Certified Information Security Manager (CISM). About Core Security TechnologiesCore Security Technologies develops strategic solutions that help security-conscious organizations worldwide. The company's flagship product, CORE IMPACT, is the first automated penetration testing product for assessing specific information security threats to an organization. Penetration testing evaluates overall network security and identifies what resources are exposed. It enables organizations to determine if current security investments are detecting and preventing attacks. Core augments its leading technology solution with world-class security consulting services, including penetration testing, software security auditing and related training. Based in Boston, MA and Buenos Aires, Argentina, Core Security Technologies can be reached at 617-399-6980 or on the Web at http //www.coresecurity.com. Contact if (window.yzq_a) { yzq_a('p', 'P=SzxgldhtfJBOBFhBRUYGNQD3quAIGkVGC5gAB0oB yzq_a('a', ' } 'As an influential voice on security and risk management, Tom has been involved in shaping numerous organizations' approach to security,' said Paul Paget, CEO of Core Security Technologies. 'Tom shares our passion for security and belief in the importance of proactive security and associated risk management. His expertise will help us build the partnerships that will increase industry awareness and adoption of our automated penetration testing solutions.' Kellerman joins Core Security from his most recent role as an independent cybersecurity analyst. Kellermann previously held the position of senior data risk management specialist at the World Bank Treasury Security Team for over six years. In this capacity, he was responsible for cyber intelligence and policy management within the World Bank Treasury and regularly advised central banks around the world regarding their cyber risk posture and layered security architectures. 'In today's hostile cyberspace environment, it is essential that organizations regularly test their defenses before the enemy does,' said Kellermann. 'Core's penetration testing product, CORE IMPACT, allows senior management to realize, in advance, the implications of elite attacker tactics. Consequently, it's an exciting time for me to join Core and further our efforts to help organizations worldwide better protect themselves from emerging threats.' Kellermann has also written extensively. Along with Thomas Glaessner and Valerie McNevin, Kellermann co-authored the book, E-safety and Soundness Securing Finance in a New Age, and the white paper, 'E-security Risk Mitigation in Financial Transactions,' and is the author of numerous World Bank white papers on cybersecurity (which are available at http //www.worldbank.org/finance/esecurity). Kellermann serves as a member of the New York Chapter of Infragard, the New York Electronic Crimes Taskforce, the Financial Coalition against Child Pornography, the Anti-Phishing Working Group and is an active member of the American Bar Association's working group on cybercrime. He was also a member of the Department of Homeland Security US-CERT Emerging Threats Working Group. Kellermann holds a master's degree in international political economies from the American University School of International Service and a B.A. from the University of Michigan. He is a Certified Information Security Manager (CISM).

Gallery schedules open house 10/18/2006 Rappahannock Record	Return to Top
Gallery continues jam sessions; open house slated October 21-22 Maryland poets Hiram Larew and Forestine Bynum read from their newly published anthology at Sunrise Studio Gallerys jam session and open mike last Wednesday. ECHOES Voices from Prince Georges County Poets was made possible by a grant from the Prince Georges Arts Council. In addition to their work, it contains poetry by other county residents ages 4 to 83. Poets alternated with musicians, who played a variety of instruments and musical genres. White Stone poet John Pleasants read some of his work, including poetic tributes to host Alvaro Ibaez and to Virginia Poet Laureate Carolyn Kreiter Faronda. The free open mike jam sessions continue every Wednesday from 7 to 9 p.m. at 127 Whittaker Lane near Hughlett Point. Ibaez and his wife, Denise DeVries, announced an open house October 21 and 22 to open an exhibit by guest photographers Marianne Henderson of White Stone and Starke Jett of Reedville. Musical presentations are coordinated by Celeste Gates. I have been photographing since I was a child - that first Brownie opened great horizons for me, and later I had my own darkroom, but it was only after I retired that I took it up seriously, said Henderson. Her photos have been published in Gourmet magazine, the New York Times, Old House Journal, and various textbooks and brochures. One of her images is the Chesapeake Bay reference for a U.S. postage stamp in the Wonders of America series. Henderson received a bachelors in English at Immaculata College in Pennsylvania, a masters in international relations specializing in Far East studies at the American University, Washington D.C., and attended the Harvard Business School. She held positions in business and financial planning, marketing, sales, customer service and training with Bell Atlantic, Chesapeake and Potomac and AT&T. She retired from Bell Atlantic International. Henderson has lived in, worked, or visited more than 30 countries. Over the past few years, she made a number of trips to Southeast Asia, leading photo tours and working on projects for a non-profit, Global Community Service Foundation, of which she is a director. Her exhibit will feature portraits from Southeast Asia. Jett is a graduate of the College of William and Mary. He studied photography at the Rhode Island School of Design, and at Brooks Institute of Photographic Arts and Science in Santa Barbara, Calif. In 1991 and 1992, he worked on a project documenting the watermen of the Northern Neck in association with the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities. He does freelance editorial work for Chesapeake Bay Magazine, Wooden Boat Magazine, Soundings Magazine and other regional and national publications, and has been published in Englands Classic Boat magazine and other European boating magazines. He also is co-author of a book documenting Chesapeake Bay graveyards, The Chesapeake Book of the Dead. He also has been featured in three other photography books, A Goodly Ship, Treasuring the Chesapeake, and Beacons of the Bay. Jetts artwork has been widely exhibited in shows in Santa Barbara, Richmond, Washington, D.C., Annapolis, Md., Charlottesville, Warsaw and Reedville. His work has won many awards for excellence, including awards from the Virginia Press Association, the Virginia News Photographers Association, and a gold medal from the International Regional Magazine Association for a feature on the Chesapeake Bay log canoes. He manages a photography studio for portraits and commercial work in Reedville. Admission to the art show and open house on October 20 and 21 is free. Local musicians will be featured at 7 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday. An open poetry reading will be held at 6 p.m. on Saturday. For directions, contact Ibaez or DeVries at 435-2880, aibanez@rivnet.net, or www.a-ibanez.org/map.

Kaufman led McAuliffe through difficult time 10/15/2006 MetroWest Daily News, The Tyler B. Reed	Return to Top
E-mail Printable Popular Kaufman led McAuliffe through difficult time By Tyler B. Reed/ Daily News Staff Sunday, October 15, 2006 - Updated 12 54 AM EST FRAMINGHAM -- Its ironic, some would say, that a trained conflict negotiator led the McAuliffe Regional Charter Public School during its first five years of existence. When the middle school opened in 200during a dire fiscal year for the town, it drew loads of criticism from residents who felt the school was sucking funds away from the district. It was the schools executive director, Robert Kaufman, who stood up publicly to defend it. 'We opened at the time of the most recent recession, when the town closed a school,' said Kaufman, who announced he will step down at the end of this school year, and feels the charter school was scapegoated for the districts own financial troubles. 'Its been difficult to win the support of the establishment.' Friends of the school credit Kaufman for absorbing the criticism, ardently defending the school he built with his friend Michael Delman and guiding it to the point where this year it expects to survive a crucial state evaluation. Kaufman has a masters degree in international affairs and peace studies from American University and researched strategies for solving conflicts while working in Europe, Africa and Asia. 'Its his training in peace studies and mediation skills that I think served him and the whole Framingham community so well,' said Marc Kenan, executive director of the Massachusetts Charter Public School Association. 'Its those skills that allowed him to navigate the difficulties with the town and the town leadership.' The school was first envisioned in the late 1990s when Kaufman partnered with Delman, a school teacher who had a vision for a middle school where students would enjoy learning. Delmans college roommate from Brown University is Kaufmans brother-in-law. 'My career has really been about new initiatives,' Kaufman said. 'Im more of an entrepreneur.' The two teamed to design the schools charter around the theme of expeditionary learning, then opened the school in 2001. Delman became the principal and Kaufman the director. 'We brought different but complementary pieces to the school,' Delman said. 'He brought the expertise in middle school education,' Kaufman said. 'I brought the expertise in community development.' The school has faced several challenges during its first five years. When the school opened, the Clinton Street building was not ready, and classes met for five weeks in the gymnasium. This year, financial trouble forced the school to lay off Delman. Delman said losing his job was frustrating, but made him 'mostly just sad... to get to not be there.' Kaufman said the tough financial decisions brought the school community closer together. 'The effect that it has had has been a rededication and a galvanization of the community,' said Kaufman, who argues his students are outperforming the district on the MCAS, parents are happy with the school and students are 'juiced about learning.' He said he hopes the schools peace studies courses, in which students learn practical ways to resolve conflicts, will be his lasting legacy. \|\| Your Rating You have not rated this article yet Today's most read articles Updated 2 04 AM ET1.Older women, men face same heart risks The late Rep. Blumer would have turned 65 this week(79)2.Diamond Notes Lyons Fired From Fox(58)3.State officials pay respects to Blumer(53)4.Weather predictions often prove SNOW BLIND(38)5.Dead languages revival unlikely(35) Search the site

Mexican consul to visit Albert Lea Tuesday 10/07/2006 Albert Lea Tribune	Return to Top
Saturday, October 7, 2006 5 36 PM CDT Mexican Consul Nathan Wolf will visit Albert Lea Tuesday to share information about the services offered by the Mexican Consulate in St. Paul.According to Glenna Kristy, Albert Lea Medical Center cultural services supervisor, the Mexican Consulate is relatively new to Minnesota.The consul has been making visits around the state to tell people about the consulate and give them information, Kristy said. I had been to a presentation in Austin, and I felt it was an important thing to do here, especially because we do have a large Mexican population.Kristy said she and Linda Lares of SEMCAC talked to city leaders and members of the Human Rights Commission, who were on board for the idea right away.And since this month's theme for the sesquicentennial celebration is heritage and immigration, we thought it was a good tie-in, Kristy said.The event will be held at Riverland Community College. There will be a social time in the Skylight Room from 5 to 5 30 p.m. A welcome and introduction will be given in the lecture hall by Linda Lares and City Manager Victoria Simonsen from 5 30 to 5 45 p.m. Wolf will speak from 5 45 to 6 45 p.m. and a question-and-answer period will take place from 6 45 to 7 p.m.The public is invited.Wolf was born in 1968 in Mexico City. Wolf majored in marketing at the Instituto Tecnol-gico de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (TEC) and studied international relations at the American University in Washington, D.C.The consul has belonged to the Mexican Foreign Service since 1992 and has held different positions he had been also posted at the Mexican embassies in Montevideo, Uruguay and Washington, D.C.Wolf is also a member of the Mexican Council of Foreign Relations.At the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he held diverse positions as private assistant of the Coordinator of Economic Affairs and deputy chief of cabinet for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2001 to 2003.In 2003, Wolf was appointed to become the diplomatic advisor for the Mexican a position he held until he was designated to be the new Consul of Mexico in Minnesota. Published Oct 07, 2006 - 05 36 01 pm CDT News Index Copyright 2006 Albert Lea Tribune Inc. All rights reserved. A publication.

CENTRE GRAD HONORED 10/25/2006 Lexington Herald-Leader - Online	Return to Top
Shannon Goodpaster, a recent graduate of Centre College in Danville, was awarded the 2006 Sarah Ida Shaw Award from Delta Delta Delta. The award, given to one collegian each year, is the fraternity's top honor. Winners have proven themselves as outstanding motivators within their collegiate chapters, great leaders and positive forces in the lives of friends and family, on campus and within the fraternity. Goodpaster has served her chapter as new member educator and vice president of chapter development. While earning a bachelor's degree in history and international studies, she maintained a 3.92 grade point average and amassed a number of scholastic achievements. She was the recipient of four major scholarships and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. She is pursuing a master's degree in international affairs at American University in Washington, D.C.

Organization sends computers to Samoa 10/10/2006 Ka Leo O Hawai'I Kristen Ciano	Return to Top
NEWS Alleged arsonist still afoot Gubernatorial debate lackluster UH student Shawn Barnes sits next to last year's shipment to Smoa of about 80 computers. He's expecting to send another shipment in December. Ka Leo File Photo • Ka Leo O Hawai'i Organization sends computers to Samoa UH students to make another shipment in December By Kristen Ciano Ka Leo Staff Reporter October 10, 2006 Globalization is happening quickly. Cultures across the world are mixing and technology is spreading across the planet. In the case of cultures that were previously isolated from outside contacts, new influences and the birth of new necessities may cause confusion and difficulties. Taking knowledge from another culture isn't necessarily a bad thing, said Shawn Barnes, a University of Hawai'i at Mnoa graduate student in anthropology. It's what happens, and it's what's happening now. According to Barnes, the solution lies in giving people in these cultures the tools to make choices for themselves. It is for this purpose that Barnes and his colleague Patrick Besha, who studies foreign relations with a concentration in Asia and the Pacific at American University at Washington, D.C., founded Aloha Computers for Education in Smoa (ACES) two years ago. ACES is a nonprofit organization that equips Smoan schools with computers. Barnes taught math and science at Ulimasao College on the island of Savaii as a Peace Corps volunteer. When a New Zealand student donated five computers to Barnes' school, he became the technology expert as well. Eventually, we got the computers up and running, and the kids loved them, he said. They were really psyched. Kids were coming to school early and staying late to use the computers. Although ACES focuses on equipping underfunded rural schools with computers and has supplied five such schools on the island of Savaii with computer labs. Most of the village population wants to develop computer literacy. People there are really interested in learning computers, Barnes said. I used to teach night classes and my classes were always full with people who want to learn. Everyone wanted to come to the night class, all ages, from the village mayor to chiefs to school kids to middle aged women. A good chunk of the population wants to learn computers. With the threat of globalization at most rural villages' back doors, the issue has led Barnes to believe that giving people this knowledge and familiarizing them with approaching technology are the best courses of action. What I'm trying to do is teach basic computer skills so that the rural villages can control their own destinies and not rely on outside sources and influences, he said. Say a resort gets built two villages down. Now you have a lot of money and outside influences with their own goals that may be different from the village goals. If the village has people with technological skills, it provides a counterbalance and gives the village a voice. No one knows how computers will be a part of rural Smoan village life. It seems beneficial then that villagers understand the technology before it encroaches forcefully upon their culture with the introduction of foreign business. This may allow villagers to maintain more control over their environment and way of life. The kids in my class will be chiefs 20 years from now, he said. They're going to encounter things that chiefs now don't have to. Twenty years ago, they didn't have to worry about resorts popping up next door. It would be good if the people had the basic knowledge of how these systems work to guide their village through the pitfalls of globalization. It will be better than not having that knowledge ... The Internet is going to come to Smoa no matter what. It's better if they have an understanding of the issues so they can deal with them when they come up. Many of the difficulties that arise when new products, technology and knowledge are introduced to a relatively isolated culture are due to power inequities. Outsiders control the knowledge and the resources. If villagers already have the knowledge and resources, the inequity is reduced. The villagers have the opportunity to make informed decisions about what they want to let into their culture and can direct their own development. If you take away the magic element of new technologies, Barnes said, such as barcoding systems, it takes away a lot of power from people who control the technology. If the technology works and is not understood how it works, then it's basically magic, and the people who control the magic have some sort of power over the people who don't. In order to become familiar with the technology that will eventually become part of village life and to direct its future accordingly, people need computers. With practice using computers, villagers won't feel intimidated when they come in contact with future technologies. They'll have the confidence and self-reliance to figure them out. It's not just knowledge of different ways to plant corn, Barnes said. It's a system with a mouse and a keyboard and hardware that can be taught. In order to teach the knowledge, you need to have the hardware. You can't read a book about Microsoft Word and know it. You have to sit down and figure it out. He says that in this way, they can limit the control that outside influences have over their lives. After his work with the Peace Corps, Barnes wants to stay involved and continue to help where he can. Everyone likes to help, and ACES is a mechanism for getting old, dusty computers out of closets and business store rooms into Smoa, where they can help other people and maybe help preserve a culture. ACES will make another computer shipment to schools in Smoa in December. To donate computers, visit http //www.aces-samoa.org. Computers must be working, Pentium 3 or better PCs. Laptops of any kind are welcome; they are much easier to store and ship.

Countering Holocaust Denial in Arab and Muslim Societies A New Approach 10/31/2006 Washington Institute for Near East Policy Robert Satloff	Return to Top
Home > North Africa' height=25> PolicyWatch #1158 Special Forum ReportCountering Holocaust Denial in Arab and Muslim Societies A New ApproachFeaturing Robert Satloff, Akbar Ahmed, and Gregg Rickman October 31, 2006 On October 20, 2006, Robert Satloff, Akbar Ahmed, and Gregg Rickman addressed The Washington Institutes Special Policy Forum. Dr. Satloff is the Institutes executive director and author of Among the Righteous Lost Stories from the Holocausts Long Reach into Arab Lands. Dr. Ahmed is the Ibn Khaldun chair of Islamic studies at American University and former Pakistani high commissioner to Great Britain. Dr. Rickman is special envoy for monitoring and combating anti-Semitism with the State Department. The following is a rapporteurs summary of their remarks. Watch streaming video of this event, including a presentation of images and documents from Among the Righteous. ROBERT SATLOFF Of all the forms of anti-Semitism in Arab societies, Holocaust denial is one of the most pernicious and widespread. Generally it takes one of three forms outright denial, Holocaust glorification, and Holocaust minimization or trivialization. One does no favor to Arabs by exempting them from this history, whatever its connection to their political dispute with Israel. And because jihadists conspiracy theories target a coalition of Crusaders and Jews, exempting Arabs from Holocaust history certainly does America no favor either. While extremists are not likely to change their minds, millions of Arabs still have unformed views and are receptive to the lessons of history. The question is how to approach them. If one really wants to alter Arab perceptions of the Holocaust, then it is useful to frame it as an Arab storypreferably a hopeful, constructive, and positive story. So began the search for an Arab who saved a Jew during the Holocaust. The Holocaust, although overwhelmingly a European story, is an Arab story too. The Germans and their allies only briefly controlled North Africa, home to more than half a million Jews; but during this period of controlJune 1940 to May 1943the Nazis, Vichy French collaborators, and their Italian fascist allies applied many of the precursors to the Final Solution. These included not only laws depriving Jews of property, education, livelihood, residence, and free movement, but also torture, slave labor, deportations, and executions. There were no death camps, but many thousands of Jews were consigned to more than 100 brutal labor camps, many of which were solely for Jews. Only about 1 percent of Jews in North Africabetween 4,000 and 5,000perished under Axis control in Arab lands, compared with more than half the Jews of Europe. But had U.S. and British troops not pushed Axis forces from the African continent by May 1943, the Jews of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and perhaps even Egypt and Palestine almost certainly would have met the same fate as the European Jewry. In all of this, Arabs played a central role. Indeed, Arabs actions were not too different from those of Europeans. With war waging around them, most were indifferent. A percentage collaborated, including Arab officials in royal courts, Arab guards in labor camps, and those who went house to house pointing out where Jews lived. Without the help of local Arabs, at all levels, the persecution of Jews would have been virtually impossible. However, there were also those Arabs who risked everything to help Jews. Arabs welcomed Jews into their homes, guarded Jews valuables so Germans could not confiscate them, shared with Jews their meager rations, and warned Jewish leaders of coming SS raids. The sultan of Morocco and the bey of Tunis provided moral support and, at times, practical help to Jewish subjects. In Vichy-controlled Algiers, Muslim preachers gave Friday sermons forbidding believers from serving as conservators of confiscated Jewish property. Not one Arab broke ranks. There were also remarkable stories of rescue. These include the story of Si Ali Sakkat, who opened his farm to sixty Jewish escapees from an Axis labor camp and hid them until liberation by the Allies. There was also Khaled Abdelwahhab, who scooped up several families in the middle of the night and took them to his countryside estate to protect one of the women from the predations of a German officer bent on rape. There is also strong evidence that the most influential Arab in EuropeSi Kaddour Benghabrit, the rector of the Great Mosque of Parissaved up to one hundred Jews by having the mosques administrative personnel give them certificates of Muslim identity, with which they could evade arrest and deportation. These men, and others, were true heroes. One question worth addressing is why there is a hesitancy to acknowledge these heroes. One reason for this is the conflict with Israel over the past fifty years, but it is not Israel alone that has fueled Arab anti-Semitism. After all, if Arabs made such a clear distinction between Jews and Zionists, then why were 99 percent of Jews in Arab lands compelled to leave in the years after Israels founding? It is important to note that those small remnant communities of Jews still left in Arab lands are themselves among the least likely to talk about what happened during World War II for fear of stirring additional animosity. These storiesboth those of Arab heroes and of villainsare extremely important. Arabs need to hear them. They especially need to hear them from their own teachers, preachers, and leaders. Americans also have a responsibility to help open Arab minds to this forgotten chapter of their history. In the post-September 11 era, investing in toleranceboth at home and abroadis really a national security issue. AKBAR AHMED Among the Righteous is an outstanding achievement and has provided a tremendous service to those looking for new breakthroughs in dialogue. With the help of this book, non-Muslims can see Muslims as human rather than cardboard stereotypes, and Muslims can see themselves also as fully human, acting at times with heroism, with courage, with indifference, even with cruelty. Holocaust denial is tasteless, ignorant, and unacceptable. Anti-Semitism must be fought wherever and whenever it is found. To fight it effectively requires an understanding of Islamophobia, which itself feeds Muslim anti-Semitism. A much more concerted effort must be made to build bridges and convert anger and hatred into friendship and reconciliation. Images so often become the reality. This new book serves as a powerful vehicle to shatter stereotypes. It tells a historical story of societies under siege and on the cusp of change. At the same time it tells the story of Arabs overcoming the challenges of colonialism, offering heroic accounts of individuals risking their lives and making a difference. GREGG RICKMAN Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has remarked that anti-Semitism is more than just a historical fact; it is a current event. Todays anti-Semitism is marked by violence, conspiracy theories, and Holocaust denial. Through the telling of stories of Arabs who risked their lives to save Jews, Among the Righteous seeks to change the way in which Arabs see Jews, themselves, and history. The trajectory of Muslim-Jewish relations need not spiral into the abyss. That Muslims and Jews can find common understanding is not only possible but has already been accomplished through great bravery and selflessness. New generations need to be inoculated against bigotry through education based in tolerance. In order for freedom and democracy to prevail, anti-Semitism in all its forms must be prevented. Only through open talk about commonalities and differences between faiths can we begin to address tensions and misunderstandings. Even the horrors of war could not extinguish simple human generosity. Heroic choices made by some Arabs during the Holocaust provide an important lesson. Polish writer Stanislaw Krajewski asked the question, What behavior is possible in an anti world, in which anti values reign supreme? Many of the stories in Among the Righteous provide a resounding answer to this question. This rapporteurs summary was prepared by Nathan Hodson.

A. Ahmed on radio 10/31/2006 BBC Radio - Washington DC Bureau	Return to Top
Akbar Ahmed was interviewed live on BBC radio

Great Black Hope 10/30/2006 American Conservative, The W. James Antle III	Return to Top
by W. James Antle III Smell it? Its trash from my opponent. Time to take it out. In his campaign to replace retiring Sen. Paul Sarbanes (D-Md.), Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele has appeared in five television commercials, each filmed against a gray background and featuring props ranging from his now famous puppy to a set of garbage cans. The spots emphasize his one-of-the-guys likeability-and assiduously downplay his membership in the Republican Party. Steele is the GOPs best shot for electing a high-profile black candidate in a cycle party strategists had hoped would be the breakout year for African-American Republicans. Even he, puppy ads notwithstanding, is an underdog. An Oct. 2 Mason-Dixon poll shows Steele trailing Democratic Congressman Ben Cardin by 6 points; a poll commissioned by the National Republican Senatorial Committee has the race closer but still finds Cardin ahead. Other black Republicans running this year are faring even worse. Lynn Swann had hoped to ride his local star power as a Hall of Fame wide receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers to the Pennsylvania governorship in an uphill fight against popular incumbent Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell. But polls show Rendell trouncing Swann by as many as 21 points. Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell is also coming up short in his bid to become the Buckeye States first black governor. The campaign-tracking website Real Clear Politics gives his Democratic opponent, Congressman Ted Strickland, an average lead of 17 points. A fourth closely watched candidate, former Detroit City Councilman Keith Butler, lost the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in Michigan. In May, the Washington Post speculated that Steele, Blackwell, and Swann might make 2006 the year of the black Republican. GOP operatives and conservative commentators picked up the phrase. This could be the year that black voters finally send a strong, concerted message to Democrats, wrote conservative columnist Deborah Simmons in the Washington Times. Stop taking the black vote for granted. Armstrong Williams claimed to USA Today columnist DeWayne Wickham that [t]his is the year of the black conservative voice. Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman fueled the hype in an interview with PBS commentator Tavis Smiley. You may remember back in 1992 the number of women who were nominees for Senate, and they called it the year of the woman, he told Smiley. The same thing is happening this year with African-Americans, and what Im so pleased about is the majority of them are Republicans. As the Republicans already dismal standing in the black community was battered by events from the Florida recounts to Hurricane Katrina, the chairman of the putatively color-blind party has been quick to portray the uptick in GOP African-American statewide candidates as a deliberate strategy. Weve gone from a model of outreach to a model of inclusion, Mehlman told the Washington Post. Outreach is a top-down approach. Inclusion says, Lets find some really good people and encourage them to run. Mehlman and his predecessor as RNC chairman, Ed Gillespie, certainly encouraged Steele. After Steele jumped from the Maryland GOP chairmanship to the states lieutenant governorship on a ticket with Robert Ehrlich in 2002, he was repeatedly showcased by the national party. At the 2004 Republican National Convention, Steele won a primetime speaking slot and a seat near Vice President Dick Cheney. When Marylands senior senator announced his retirement, President George W. Bush and other party leaders turned to Steele. Bush, former President George H.W. Bush, Karl Rove, and former White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card lent fundraising support. So did Ed Gillespie, who signed on as Steeles national finance chairman and reportedly held an event in his own home to raise $100,000 for the campaign. In eight months, Steele raised nearly $3 million. That makes it all the more ironic that Steele is the most coy of the major black Republicans about his party affiliation. When he declared his candidacy in predominantly black Prince Georges County, he never mentioned he was a Republican. Neither do most of his ads. His campaign has been criticized for designing Another Democrat for Steele signs that some say appear to identify the lieutenant governor as a Democrat himself. Steele complained to reporters-in off-the-record comments he was eventually forced to admit to making-that in Maryland the GOP label is like a scarlet letter. Ken Blackwells task is even harder. He is trying to run as the most principled conservative while simultaneously distancing himself from his state partys other elected officials. On the issues, Blackwell is anti-tax, tough on state spending, and pro-life-but emphatic that he is not the second coming of Bob Taft, Ohios embattled incumbent governor. This mix worked in the Republican primary, where Blackwell rolled up 56 percent of the vote against a white candidate backed by the partys moderate establishment, but has been a tougher sell to the broader electorate. Blackwell is in many ways the opposite of Steele and Swann. He is an experienced campaigner, having served as mayor of Cincinnati and won statewide office three times-the state treasurers race in 1994, elections for secretary of state in 1998 and 2002. Unlike Steele, he had little encouragement from the local GOP. The Taft-Voinovich-DeWine wing of the party would just as soon see Ken Blackwell jump in a lake, says David Bositis, an expert on African-American voting patterns for the Joint Center of Political and Economic Studies. And while Swann has struggled with specifics, Blackwell has detailed policy positions on almost every issue. So why is Blackwell, someone whom Beltway conservatives have long had their eyes on, not doing better? Republican consultant Philip Stutts answers this question with one of his own Have you seen Tafts numbers? Blackwells gambit to distance himself from the man he would succeed has so far failed. With approval ratings hovering around 17 percent, Taft is the most unpopular governor in the country. The struggle has less to do with the fact that these candidates are black Republicans, says Stutts. The problem is they are running in the wrong year. Bositis says 2006s crop of black Republicans couldnt have gotten the nomination at a worse time. Bositis questions the whole year of the black Republican concept, pointing out that the number African-American Republicans running for the House is actually lower than in 1994. As for Blackwell, Steele, and Swann, he cautions against GOP leaders getting too much undeserved credit. The Republicans didnt just say lets nominate a lot of black candidates, argues Bositis. The party in Ohio didnt want Blackwell and in Maryland, who else did they really have besides Steele? Other skeptics suggest the GOPs financial commitment to its black candidates may be faltering. Even Steele has wondered publicly whether his national support might be tapering off. Will my party be bold in its effort to show that its commitment is different from [the Democrats]? he asked reporters in late September. When the RNC announced ad buys on behalf of competitive Senate candidates, Maryland was not on the list of targeted races. Indeed, Republican minority outreach efforts arent always as straightforward as they appear. In his addresses to black and Hispanic groups, Mehlman has repeatedly repudiated the partys supposed Southern Strategy even as Bush and the congressional Republicans rely more heavily on the votes of Southern whites than Richard Nixon or Ronald Reagan ever did. The RNC chairman also claims that without black and Hispanic votes, his party doesnt deserve to win-even though, as TACs Steve Sailer has often pointed out, the GOPs gains among white voters contributed more heavily to their 2004 victories than their much smaller improvements among minorities. Nor would 2006 be the first time a predicted breakthrough among minority voters failed to materialize. Almost every year now is hailed as the year of the black Republican, American University professor Clarence Lusane recently wrote. President Bushs outreach attempts yielded him Goldwater-like percentages among black voters in 2000, with a small increase four years later that evaporated after Katrina. In 1996, the GOP nominated Bob Dole, who voted for the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and Jack Kemp, who has worked tirelessly to court African-Americans, and won just 12 percent of the black vote. That doesnt mean that all is lost for the GOP. Even many critics concede that all three of the major black Republican candidates running this year would have been likely to win in a more GOP-friendly cycle like 2002; Steele is still running a competitive race now. And polls have shown both Blackwell and Steele drawing between 20 and 30 percent of black voters-although experts caution that small sample sizes and other factors should keep prognosticators from drawing premature conclusions. When I was working for [Louisiana gubernatorial candidate] Bobby Jindal we were polling 20 percent among blacks, Stutts recalls. On election day, we got 9 percent. The question is whether those polling numbers will translate into actual votes. Nevertheless, Stutts says party leaders deserve a lot of credit from moving from defense to offense with African-American voters. It will take a better cycle for Republicans generally to determine whether the Mehlman strategy pays dividends. But as it stands right now, the only African-American candidates likely to win statewide are both Democrats-and the year of the black Republican is increasingly looking like the GOPs latest 2006 disappointm

Targeting Afghan Schoolgirls 10/29/2006 Washington Post Ali Rose	Return to Top
After the fall of the Taliban, many believed that girls' education would quickly advance. But now womens' rights are associated with foreign manipulation and schoolgirls become the targets of religious resentment. I recently spent three months in Kabul working for a small NGO that promotes girls education called the Oruj Learning Center. I saw the consequences. Fewer and fewer families are willing to risk their daughters' safety sending them to school. In the provinces girls generally have to walk long distances to get to their school and that, in itself, is often a life-endangering act. Moreover, throughout the country the schools themselves -- especially girls' schools -- have been targeted by insurgent forces. Two of four schools with which my organization worked were burned down last fall. Recently schools with which Oruj partners have experienced increasing dropout rates. The explanation most often articulated by both the girls and their families is 'the lack of female teachers.' As female students mature, the girls and their families feel increasingly uncomfortable facing a male teacher with their faces uncovered. Unfortunately, this perpetuates a cycle in which female students rarely graduate high school in the provinces. Therefore few females become qualified to act as teachers in girls' schools for the next generation. While local development organizations share the rhetoric of their human rights-based and gender-conscious donors, in practice they neglect women. Why? Most Afghans perceive human rights and gender equality as contradictory to their own indigenous interests and beliefs. Development organizations see this happening but fail to modify their strategies. Sustainable change will occur only when Afghanistan's citizens initiate, rather than simply receive, tools for development. Ali Rose is a graduate student at American University. She won our PostGlobal On the Ground Competition this month for best student submission.

The Journalist and the Jihadi 10/26/2006 Pakistan Link Zoladz, Marta	Return to Top
Washington, DC Group picture of the interfaith panelists The French Embassy was full of life on the evening of October 5, 2006. Washingtonian professionals, professors and intelligentsia gathered and sipped on cocktails and discussed current events while waiting for the premiere of a new HBO documentary. La Maison Francaise was hosting the debut of The Journalist and the Jihadi The Murder of Daniel Pearl directed and produced by Ahmad A. Jamal and Ramesh Sharma. Amongst the distinguished guests was Ambassador Akbar Ahmed who not only attended this lavish evening but also took part in the discussion panel moderated by CNNs renowned journalist, Wolf Blitzer. The film narrated by Christian Amanpour explores the lives of two educated men with privileged childhoods but divided ideologies that lead to a tragic end. Pearls story is portrayed through the words of his family, friends, colleagues and State Department employees who were involved in his case. They describe Daniel Pearls ruthless character in seeking understanding in the Muslim world, his love and determination for journalism, the well-organized plot for his kidnapping and the tragic result of his death. The film also explained the life of Omar Sheikh and all the events that led him to become the mastermind of the kidnapping of Daniel Pearl. This intense film shows the animosity and misunderstanding between the divided cultures of the West and Islam. Through actual footage and photographs the audience was introduced to Omar Sheikh as a privileged, young man who attended elite schools in Great Britain and explained the events throughout his life that made him turn to violence in support of his beliefs. Daniel Pearl was living a parallel life in California as the son of a well-educated Jewish family. His career as a journalist advanced rapidly due to his charisma and curiosity that in turn led him to Pakistan in search for answers. The film goes even beyond the two men and explains the law and order situation in Pakistan. The directors paint a vivid picture of the overcrowded streets of Karachi and the chaos within the society. The directors interviewed Pakistani police and Muslim scholars to illustrate what was happening throughout the kidnapping. After the movie the guests sat down to dinner and listened to a panel discussion between two Indian directors Ahmed A. Jamal and Ramesh Sharma and former Pakistani Ambassador to the UK Akbar Ahmed. Wolf Blitzer led the conversation by asking striking questions about the film, what message the directors wanted to convey and current sentiment about Islam. Ambassador Ahmed began the conversation by stating that only in Washington could Indian and Pakistani sit together and agree on issues. Ambassador Ahmed suggested that it is Islam that is under attack and not just one person. We must look at the whole scenario together. This is a challenge for the whole world, he urged. People such as Sheik have brought a negative image to this religion that is not truly representative of what it preaches. Ambassador Ahmed says that the solution is to bridge the cultures through dialogue and showing films such as this one. The two directors explained that this film tries to show that behind every person there is a family, love, peace and relationships and they hope that this will have an emotional effect on people. The panelists agreed that in this divided world that we live in it is important to show films of this degree to explain understanding and what is happening with the growing hostility. After the panelist discussion, Ambassador Ahmed and Wolf Blitzer continued the conversation amongst themselves and with Ambassador Ahmeds team of students from the American University. Ambassador Ahmed introduced his students as the educated, future generation that will work on tolerance and cross- cultural communications. Two of his students, Hailey Woldt and Frankie Martin, who accompanied Ambassador Ahmed on a two-month trip in the Muslim World, shared their experiences of being in Karachi and their journey to build good relations and understanding in the divided world. Marta Zoladz, the student assistant, Ramanathan Coimbatore, Ahmeds teaching assistant and Jonathan Hayden, head assistant also attended the event and had the opportunity to share their experiences with Wolf Blitzer and what they have learned on the importance of interfaith dialogue while working for Akbar Ahmed. As the evening came to an end more questions were asked by the intrigued audience about international relations and current events. A night such as this one does not occur often, where people of different faiths and cultures come together to discuss a tragedy and together through dialogue try to bridge the gap to prevent future disasters from occurring.

Black voters to remain loyal to Democrats 10/26/2006 South Asian Womens Forum	Return to Top
Black voters to remain loyal to Democrats Posted on Wednesday, October 25, 2006 (EST) Republicans have been stymied in their efforts to woo African-American support and black voters are expected to constitute the Democrats' most loyal voting bloc in upcoming US elections. Barack Obama //File Tim Boyle WASHINGTON - After the 2004 presidential election, Republicans stepped up their efforts to recruit blacks, heartened by returns that showed that George W. Bush had garnered a surprisingly high proportion of the African-American vote. But rather than making continued gains, polls show Republican retrenchment in the black community. A survey a year ago by the Wall Street Journal found Bush's support had sunk to a stunning two percent -- an all-time low. When black Americans go to the polls in congressional elections on November 7, my guess is that it is going to be a typical African-American vote, which is going to be 10 percent for the Republican and 90 percent for the Democratic candidate, said David Bositis of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies. As the demographics of the United States change, and a greater proportion of the American electorate is African-American, Latino or Asian, Republicans -- seen by some as the party nearer to conservative whites -- have stepped up efforts to reach out to minorities. Bush earlier this year, for example, finally ended his boycott of the annual meeting of the prominent black group the NAACP, which many of his predecessors in the White House have attended. A heckler is restrained as he shouts at US President George W. Bush during the NAACP Convention AFP/File Jim Watson Republicans also have fielded a handful of high profile black candidates to be their standard bearers for key races this year, including the governorships of Ohio and Pennsylvania, and US Senate seats in Maryland and Michigan. But the party has been hurt by the perception of a slow federal response to last year's Hurricane Katrina disaster -- which hit African-Americans in New Orleans especially hard -- and the continuing US troop presence in Iraq, which black Americans strongly oppose. African-Americans are, and have been from the very beginning, the most anti-war group in the United States, said Bositis, whose center tracks policy issues relevant to black America. They were dubious about going to war to begin with. African-Americans also, by and large, oppose the Republican Party stance on affirmative action, tax cuts, the minimum wage, immigration and education. The party's position on those issues cancels out its successes in recruiting high-profile black candidates for marquee races, some political observers said. None of the crop of black Republican candidates is given a good shot at winning, and they have equally little chance of convincing fellow blacks to abandon the Democrats, whom they see as more closely representing their social and economic interests. George W. Bush (L) and Bruce Gordon AFP/File Jim Watson The resistance of black voters to the Republican Party has little to do with the color of the candidates and everything to do with the nature of the party's policies, Clarence Lusane of American University wrote recently. Bositis said that as far Republican recruitment efforts go, many blacks remain unconvinced, given the demographics and historical underpinnings of the party, that there really is room in the Republican Party for vibrant, active, outspoken black involvement. If you look at the Republican base, the most important part is white southern conservatives, he said. The Democratic Party is a multiracial party. A Democratic majority in the House of Representatives could give four of Washington's most prominent jobs to black lawmakers the chairmanships of the Judiciary, Ways and Means, land Security and Intelligence committees. There is currently one black member of the US Senate, Barack Obama if Illinois, but another black Democrat, US Representative Harold Ford, is making a strong bid for Tennessee's vacant Senate seat. Democrats need a net gain of 15 seats to wrest control of the House and a six-seat gain to take over the Senate. AFP menu2[0] ' ' menu2[1] ' ' menu2[2] ' ' menu2[3] ' ' menu2[4] ' ' menu1[0] ' ' menu1[1] ' ' menu1[2] ' ' menu1[3] ' ' menu1[4] ' ' Recent Topics

Blacks are Democrats' most loyal voting bloc 10/26/2006 Gulf Times	Return to Top
loyal voting bloc in upcoming US elections. After the 2004 presidential election, Republicans stepped up their efforts to recruit blacks, heartened by returns that showed that George W. Bush had garnered a surprisingly high proportion of the African-American vote. But rather than making continued gains, polls show Republican retrenchment in the black community. A survey a year ago by the Wall Street Journal found Bush's support had sunk to a stunning 2% - an all-time low.When black Americans go to the polls in congressional elections on November 7, my guess is that it is going to be a typical African-American vote, which is going to be 10% for the Republican and 90% for the Democratic candidate, said David Bositis of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies. As the demographics of the United States change, and a greater proportion of the American electorate is African-American, Latino or Asian, Republicans - seen by some as the party nearer to conservative whites - have stepped up efforts to reach out to minorities. Bush earlier this year, for example, finally ended his boycott of the annual meeting of the prominent black group the NAACP, which many of his predecessors in the White House have attended. Republicans also have fielded a handful of high profile black candidates to be their standard bearers for key races this year, including the governorships of Ohio and Pennsylvania, and US Senate seats in Maryland and Michigan. But the party has been hurt by the perception of a slow federal response to last year's Hurricane Katrina disaster - which hit African-Americans in New Orleans especially hard - and the continuing US troop presence in , which black Americans strongly oppose.African-Americans are, and have been from the very beginning, the most anti-war group in the United States, said Bositis, whose center tracks policy issues relevant to black America. They were dubious about going to war to begin with.African-Americans also, by and large, oppose the Republican Party stance on affirmative action, tax cuts, the minimum wage, immigration and education.The party's position on those issues cancels out its successes in recruiting high-profile black candidates for marquee races, some political observers said. None of the crop of black Republican candidates is given a good shot at winning, and they have equally little chance of convincing fellow blacks to abandon the Democrats, whom they see as more closely representing their social and economic interests.The resistance of black voters to the Republican Party has little to do with the color of the candidates and everything to do with the nature of the party's policies, Clarence Lusane of American University wrote recently. Bositis said that as far Republican recruitment efforts go, many blacks remain unconvinced, given the demographics and historical underpinnings of the party, that there really is room in the Republican Party for vibrant, active, outspoken black involvement.If you look at the Republican base, the most important part is white southern conservatives, he said. The Democratic Party is a multiracial party.A Democratic majority in the House of Representatives could give four of Washington's most prominent jobs to black lawmakers the chairmanships of the Judiciary, Ways and Means, Homeland Security and Intelligence committees. There is currently one black member of the US Senate, Barack Obama if Illinois, but another black Democrat, US Representative Harold Ford, is making a strong bid for Tennessee's vacant Senate seat. Democrats need a net gain of 15 seats to wrest control of the House and a six-seat gain to take over the Senate. - Blacks are Democrats' most loyal voting blocPublished Thursday, 26 October, 2006, 09 58 AM Doha TimeWASHINGTON Republicans have been stymied in their efforts to woo African-American support and black voters are expected to constitute the Democrats' most loyal voting bloc in upcoming US elections. After the 2004 presidential election, Republicans stepped up their efforts to recruit blacks, heartened by returns that showed that George W. Bush had garnered a surprisingly high proportion of the African-American vote. But rather than making continued gains, polls show Republican retrenchment in the black community. A survey a year ago by the Wall Street Journal found Bush's support had sunk to a stunning 2% - an all-time low.When black Americans go to the polls in congressional elections on November 7, my guess is that it is going to be a typical African-American vote, which is going to be 10% for the Republican and 90% for the Democratic candidate, said David Bositis of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies. As the demographics of the United States change, and a greater proportion of the American electorate is African-American, Latino or Asian, Republicans - seen by some as the party nearer to conservative whites - have stepped up efforts to reach out to minorities. Bush earlier this year, for example, finally ended his boycott of the annual meeting of the prominent black group the NAACP, which many of his predecessors in the White House have attended. Republicans also have fielded a handful of high profile black candidates to be their standard bearers for key races this year, including the governorships of Ohio and Pennsylvania, and US Senate seats in Maryland and Michigan. But the party has been hurt by the perception of a slow federal response to last year's Hurricane Katrina disaster - which hit African-Americans in New Orleans especially hard - and the continuing US troop presence in Iraq, which black Americans strongly oppose.African-Americans are, and have been from the very beginning, the most anti-war group in the United States, said Bositis, whose center tracks policy issues relevant to black America. They were dubious about going to war to begin with.African-Americans also, by and large, oppose the Republican Party stance on affirmative action, tax cuts, the minimum wage, immigration and education.The party's position on those issues cancels out its successes in recruiting high-profile black candidates for marquee races, some political observers said. None of the crop of black Republican candidates is given a good shot at winning, and they have equally little chance of convincing fellow blacks to abandon the Democrats, whom they see as more closely representing their social and economic interests.The resistance of black voters to the Republican Party has little to do with the color of the candidates and everything to do with the nature of the party's policies, Clarence Lusane of American University wrote recently. Bositis said that as far Republican recruitment efforts go, many blacks remain unconvinced, given the demographics and historical underpinnings of the party, that there really is room in the Republican Party for vibrant, active, outspoken black involvement.If you look at the Republican base, the most important part is white southern conservatives, he said. The Democratic Party is a multiracial party.A Democratic majority in the House of Representatives could give four of Washington's most prominent jobs to black lawmakers the chairmanships of the Judiciary, Ways and Means, Homeland Security and Intelligence committees. There is currently one black member of the US Senate, Barack Obama if Illinois, but another black Democrat, US Representative Harold Ford, is making a strong bid for Tennessee's vacant Senate seat. Democrats need a net gain of 15 seats to wrest control of the House and a six-seat gain to take over the Senate. - AFPGulf Times Newspaper, 2006

Black voters to remain loyal to Democrats 10/25/2006 Yahoo! News Griffith, Stephanie	Return to Top
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Republicans have been stymied in their efforts to woo African-American support and black voters are expected to constitute the Democrats' most loyal voting bloc in upcoming US elections. if (window.yzq_a) { yzq_a('p', 'P=wGioQkSOwhXHRhMBRT.SPggOquAIGkU_klIACOfl yzq_a('a', ' } After the 2004 presidential election, Republicans stepped up their efforts to recruit blacks, heartened by returns that showed that George W. Bush had garnered a surprisingly high proportion of the African-American vote. But rather than making continued gains, polls show Republican retrenchment in the black community. A survey a year ago by the Wall Street Journal found Bush's support had sunk to a stunning two percent -- an all-time low. When black Americans go to the polls in congressional elections on November 7, 'my guess is that it is going to be a typical African-American vote, which is going to be 10 percent for the Republican and 90 percent for the Democratic candidate,' said David Bositis of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies. As the demographics of the United States change, and a greater proportion of the American electorate is African-American, Latino or Asian, Republicans -- seen by some as the party nearer to conservative whites -- have stepped up efforts to reach out to minorities. Bush earlier this year, for example, finally ended his boycott of the annual meeting of the prominent black group the NAACP, which many of his predecessors in the White House have attended. Republicans also have fielded a handful of high profile black candidates to be their standard bearers for key races this year, including the governorships of Ohio and Pennsylvania, and US Senate seats in Maryland and Michigan. But the party has been hurt by the perception of a slow federal response to last year's Hurricane Katrina disaster -- which hit African-Americans in New Orleans especially hard -- and the continuing US troop presence in 'African-Americans are, and have been from the very beginning, the most anti-war group in the United States,' said Bositis, whose center tracks policy issues relevant to black America. 'They were dubious about going to war to begin with.' African-Americans also, by and large, oppose the Republican Party stance on affirmative action, tax cuts, the minimum wage, immigration and education. The party's position on those issues cancels out its successes in recruiting high-profile black candidates for marquee races, some political observers said. None of the crop of black Republican candidates is given a good shot at winning, and they have equally little chance of convincing fellow blacks to abandon the Democrats, whom they see as more closely representing their social and economic interests. 'The resistance of black voters to the Republican Party has little to do with the color of the candidates and everything to do with the nature of the party's policies,' Clarence Lusane of American University wrote recently. Bositis said that as far Republican recruitment efforts go, many blacks remain unconvinced, given the demographics and historical underpinnings of the party, that there really is room in the Republican Party for vibrant, active, outspoken black involvement. 'If you look at the Republican base, the most important part is white southern conservatives,' he said. 'The Democratic Party is a multiracial party.' A Democratic majority in the House of Representatives could give four of Washington's most prominent jobs to black lawmakers the chairmanships of the Judiciary, Ways and Means, There is currently one black member of the US Senate, Barack Obama if Illinois, but another black Democrat, US Representative Harold Ford (news, bio, voting record), is making a strong bid for Tennessee's vacant Senate seat. Democrats need a net gain of 15 seats to wrest control of the House and a six-seat gain to take over the Senate.

Op-ed: About that Trip to Cuba... When the FBI Came Calling 10/25/2006 CounterPunch Jimenez, Margaruite Rose	Return to Top
I did not anticipate when I traveled to Cuba for research in March 2006 that the trip would be of interest or concern to the FBI. The purpose of my trip was both transparent and legal. As a full time graduate student conducting research for my thesis, and directly related to my program of study, I'm legally authorized to travel to Cuba under the existing travel restrictions placed on United States Citizens prohibiting their travel to and from Cuba. In light of the legality of travels, I assumed the call was a prank when a woman claiming to be from the FBI telephoned me at American University in Washington, DC in May 2006. Offering to call her back, I guessed that the number was likely to belong to Chinese take-out restaurant. In fact it was the number for the main FBI switchboard where they quickly connected me to Special Agent Alexandra Montiga. She was warm and friendly, saying she'd like to meet with me regarding my work and travel to Cuba. "This is standard," she claimed. "Something we do with everyone who travels to Cuba." I've traveled to Cuba several times over the past four years and never heard anything about this. People I know travel to Cuba all the time, and are rarely if ever contacted by the FBI. This is not a "standard" I was aware of. During a second conversation, the FBI agent asked me why I was hesitant to talk with her, and said that this was "very low-key" and "no big deal," she just wanted to ask me some questions about Cuba. She offered to take me out for lunch or dinner at a restaurant of my choice, stressing repeatedly that this was "informal" and "just the two of us meeting for lunch." During our third conversation the following day, I told the agent I didn't feel comfortable meeting with her without first discussing it with university officials and having a third party present. She asked who I had been talking to about this. Could I give her specific names? I declined. The FBI agent acted personally offended, claiming I was making things more complicated than they needed to be by involving people from my university. I responded that since I was contacted on campus, regarding my travel to Cuba on the university's license, and being asked questions about other university faculty, I felt obligated to let the university know what was going on. I said I would be happy to cooperate, but would like more specific information on exactly why she wanted to talk to me and what she wanted to talk about. The agent said she'd rather not go into it over the phone, but that basically, she wanted to help me. She informed me that the Cuban government had been known to target "certain types" of academics, and she'd like to warn me about things to watch out for, and find out from me if I had experienced any of the "targeting activities" while working in and on Cuba. She told me the meeting was "preventative" so I'd know what to look out for. She assured me, the meeting would be of more use to me, than her or the FBI. She said the FBI did this with all students traveling to Cuba. Again, this was news to me, and all the other people I know who travel frequently to Cuba. I was encouraged by university officials to be cooperative and meet with the FBI, but with a lawyer from the university present and not down at the FBI offices, as had been requested. It turned out that the "informal" lunch invitation I received from Alexandra (just call me Alex), to "chat about Cuba," wasn't extended to a third party. I received a call from Special Agent Montiga (no longer so friendly), confirming that she and her boss in the Counter Intelligence Unit, would meet with me in a conference room at the university with an attorney present. What Agent Montiga claimed over and over again was just a talk between the two of us "more as friends really," to give me information, and help me out, quickly turned into two and a half hours of mostly being questioned by her boss, Fred Buckley. Special Agent Buckley, they made sure to tell me a number of times throughout the conversation, had been involved in the investigation and eventual prosecution of Ana Belen Montes, a Cuban spy who'd infiltrated the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency, and sentenced to 25 years in prison. They didn't want to see anything like that happen to me, they claimed. Not that they were suspecting me of anything, they just wanted to warn me what my work on Cuba could lead to if I wasn't careful about who I worked with. The agents told me that students like myself, were exactly what the Cuban government was looking for. They gave me a detailed step by step account of how a "recruitment effort" takes place between Cuban officials and cooperative or "sympathetic" American citizens. An agent might befriend me for example, maybe ask me out for lunch, or offer to take me to a restaurant of my choice, very "low-key" of course. Then the Cuban Intelligence agent would ask me seemingly innocent questions about my work in Cuba, to try to get a feel for my views and contacts. The Cuban official would try to play things off, they claimed, as though they were just trying to be my friend, trying to help me out and give me information. "Has any of this happened to you or anyone you know?" they asked. The early warning signs they claimed would help me "spot a recruitment effort" by the Cuban government, had been followed almost exactly by Special Agent Alexandra Montiga, during our initial conversations over the phone. Other than that potential "recruitment effort" or "targeting," no, nothing like that had ever happened to me before. Their questions continued, ranging from the very basic to the more personal. Could this be called a "fishing operation"? Why do I go to Cuba? How do I get there? Who first got me interested in Cuba? What are their names? Who do I stay with when I'm there? Am I followed or monitored? Who is responsible for me in Cuba? Who do I report to? Do I meet with members of the Cuban government? Have I ever met Fidel Castro? Would I like to? How much contact do I have with the people at the Cuban Interest Section in DC? Do I ever see them outside of the Interest Section, or invite them to campus? What are their names? Do I recognize any of the photos they have of Cuban Intelligence agents operating in DC and Havana? Do other professors on campus work on Cuba? Do they meet with people in the Cuban government? What are their names? Before the meeting ended they gave me a binder containing information on Cuban counterintelligence operations, articles on people convicted of spying for the Cuban government, the recruitment process used by Cuban intelligence, and a list of "helpful sources" for further reading about the "terrorist activities" conducted by Cuba targeting the United States. In a final attempt to get names of people I was "involved with" who also do Cuba work, Agent Montiga, reiterated how "low-key" this was, and that she didn't see why it was "such a big deal" for me to give them names, and that other students she'd spoken to had been significantly more helpful than I. I apologized but still refused to provide names without knowing the reason I was being asked. Regardless of this fact, they thanked me for my time, said to contact them if I remembered anything I might want to tell them in case something had "slipped" my mind, and that they would be in touch. This was my first encounter with the FBI since I started focusing on Cuba several years ago. I assume it won't be my last. I promise though, that it will be both the first and the last time I allow myself to be intimidated into staying quiet and being "cooperative" when my civil liberties are so blatantly challenged.

The Ayatollah's Gambit 10/25/2006 OhmyNews.com Bright B. Simons	Return to Top
Freudian slip or deliberate threat, Mr. Hosseini of Iran's Foreign Ministry's 'admission' that Tehran could close the Strait of Hormuz 'depending on the kind of sanctions' leveled against the Islamic Republic has brought into sharp focus the most potent weapon available to the bipolar regime in Qom and Tehran disruption of world oil supplies. 2006 wikipedia commons The straits of Hormuz, a waterway connecting the Gulf of Oman to the Arabian Sea, are a series of narrow channels barely 50 km or so at their narrowest point. But the straits are also the conduit for 12 percent of U.S. oil imports, 17 percent of World petroleum supplies, 25 percent of Western Europe's and 66 percent of Japan's. It is tribute to Hormuz's enduring allure that effusions about the wealth associated with the region goes back 2000 years ago to the times of the Roman Poet Horace, as well as to the relatively more recent era of the English Bard Milton some 400 years ago. TODAY'S TOP STORIES Japan Faces Headwinds The Ayatollah's Gambit 'U.S. May Change Policy After Elections' Unfair Beauty Based on Privilege Europe's Club Of Mystery Fenerbahce FROM THE SECTION In India Truth Finally Triumphs The Ayatollah's Gambit Japan Faces Headwinds Australia at Loggerheads With Pacific Leaders China Footwear Giant to Sue EU Mr. Hosseini's comments are hardly unprecedented. In June this year, Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khomeini made identical, but much firmer, threats, also in response to the prospects of U.N. sanctions. But they come at a time of unprecedented anxiety following Kim Jong-il's reckless atomic test. How Iran may close the Hormuz has been the subject of intense study since 1988, when Iranian naval units mined the area towards the close of the country's titanic confrontation with Iraq. The Iranian action prompted deadly showdowns with the U,S, navy, and ultimately led to the shooting down of an Iranian civilian airliner on July 3, 1988, in which 290 passengers died. In the aftermath of the incident, Admiral Crowe, then Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, issued a stiff apology, repeating earlier reports about Iranian hostile acts in the Straits at the time. Some of those reports had suggested that the airliner had been mistaken for an Iranian F-14. Despite the airliner incident, military assessments of the U.S.-Iran clashes in 1988 after these episodes generally concluded that the U.S. had the better of Iran in most frontal and asymmetric engagements. But times have changed. Recent events warrant a bleaker view of future prospects. In March of this year, the head of America's Defense Intelligence Agency -- responsible for coordinating intelligence gathered and analyzed by the four branches of the U.S. military -- Lt. Gen. Michael Maple gave testimony regarding these matters to a US Congressional committee in which he asserted, of Iran's continuing naval buildup, 'when these systems become fully operational, they will significantly enhance Iran's defensive capabilities for the Strait and ability to deny access to the Persian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz.' He was referring to accelerated efforts by Tehran to integrate capabilities it has acquired from China, Russia, and North Korea. Of particular note to Western strategic analysts are North Korean sea and undersea tactical offense equipment that, coupled to other foreign-procured systems, could, as some recent war games conceived by the Pentagon suggest, disable a U.S. carrier group. Carrier groups constitute the capstones of America's global naval strategy. Since his testimony, intelligence assessments have fleshed out the details of Iran's possible strategy. That Iran would rely on asymmetric forces -- such as suicide boats, partially submersible crafts, heat-seeking underwater missiles, and pilot-less aerial drones -- to incapacitate the straits' global logistical function is almost universally accepted as a certain course of action open to the country's war planners. In April of this year, the Harvard-based Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs published a report in which the Hormuz threat, as well as other escalation possibilities, were evaluated. Examples of the risks considered included Iran launching simultaneous or sequential raids on major oil production platforms across the Gulf, particularly in Saudi Arabia; employing chemical WMD to disorient mitigating responses; and sustained missile attacks on Israel. It was calculated that a single anti-vessel mine laid by special or irregular forces would cause shipping to be halted for at least three days to enable U.S. clearance teams to defuse the risk. American mine-clearance capabilities are generally regarded as, in comparison with other naval auxiliary strengths, rather below-par. What would the effects of such Iranian actions be? American University's Inventory of Conflict and Environment, a web database of simulated strategic scenarios run by Dr. James Lee of said University, has a case study of the potential ramifications of such an action. They extend beyond disruption of oil flows, and the 15 percent of world commerce that transits the straits, to horrendous irreparable damage to marine life and a regional conflagration drawing in the wealthy Gulf states, whose relations with Iran, even in times of nominal Islamic solidarity, are frosty. A full-blown conflagration is likely to extend also to the central Asian region where Iranian Intelligence has expended many resources on efforts to cultivate ties with political groups. Motivated in the past by concerns about the Taliban, these activities now proceed in view of a potential escalation in Tehran's nuclear stand-off with the West. The China-dominated Shanghai Cooperation Organization is another forum within which Iran intends to leverage alliances against potential U.S.-led isolation. Outside the Middle East, the Central Asian region is the world's most strategic geopolitical flashpoint over matters of energy and nuclear proliferation. However, a holistic appraisal of the Hormuz threat will certainly indicate it as Iran's 'suicide option.' Unless acted upon in the event of an actual U.S. attack, the world's response would be near-unanimous in condemnation. In fact, of the major powers, the U.S. will suffer least in terms of reduced oil inflows, since it relies least on oil transiting the straits, and also because it has the greatest strategic reserves and the biggest active crude oil inventories. Should the confrontations result in Iran's oil installations being massively hit, the U.S. would again be less severely affected as it bars its companies from investing in Iran's oil economy. All this means that other Western powers forced to bear the brunt of Hormuz's closure would be likely to view Iran's actions in very dim light, reinforcing the regime's isolation. It is doubtful whether even Iran's putative ally China, which obtains about a fifth of its oil via Hormuz and is extremely dependent for its general oil needs on the continued functioning of the Iranian oil economy, would support such a move. But it is the threats nearer to home that are most likely to feature more prominently on the minds of the Ayatollahs and the Revolutionary Guards. Sparking a wider conflagration around Hormuz would almost certainly shut down Iran's oil economy and draw the ire of neighboring Gulf states, which would also be drawn to the brink of economic ruin. It would resurrect now hibernating territorial disputes between Iran and the UAE, for instance, and undermine regional solidarity. In any event Iran, a Shiite and non-Arab theocracy, cannot take for granted the support of its mainly Arab, Sunni monarchical neighbors. Denied this support, at least at the elite level, and having created a war situation in which the very livelihoods of its neighbors are at stake, it would be unable to rely on the notional 'revolts on the streets' it expects will occur across the Middle East in a confrontation between an Islamic state and the West. Governments in the region are no strangers to the use of emergency measures, and given a conflict situation where their use would scarcely be opposed by even the most committed pro-freedom activists, are likely to adopt and dispense with them liberally. Regional elites would also become more receptive to touted alternative oil distribution projects, such as expanding the region's notoriously underdeveloped oil pipelines. Expanding Saudi Arabian controlled pipeline networks would undercut Hormuz's strategic value and thus shift power from Iran to the Arabian peninsula in the longer run. Indeed, closing the Hormuz may well set off a domino effect that might eventually topple the regime itself, particularly if the action persists and anti-regime elements have enough time to move in from abroad with the support of regional intelligence services, mobilize, and use conflict zones as cover. My bet is, rather than actually closing the Hormuz by hostile action, the Ayatollahs would heighten tensions to the extent that the price of oil increases to unbearable levels. They can do so in Shiite-controlled Iraq, by staging mock battle rehearsals in the vicinity of Banda Assar and Abu Masa, close to the straits; reinvigorating past ties amongst Afghanistan's Northern Alliance militias; and perhaps declaring that they have a nuclear capability. I suppose they understand the West as well as any of us and are likely to use the West's own creations against it. Indeed, some analysts reckon that by successfully racking up insurance costs to shipping firms, the Ayatollahs' could exert immense effects on the international oil pricing regime, and maybe even destabilize it. Thus their most potent, near-term feasible weapon remains the revenge of the markets. Hormuz is the last gamble; so, in great tactical tradition, they mention it first. That said, if I were an investor and I knew a company about to invest in some project near the Hormuz, I will be cautious about having anything to do with it. Which is probably why, as you may have guessed, I am no investor.

Blair and the Veil 10/23/2006 Washington Post - Online Venturelli , Shalini	Return to Top
Of all the difficulties Britain faces with its Islamic extremists, who would have thought senior members of Blair's government, including the prime minister himself, would settle on the menace of the veil. While hate-filled men urge death and destruction in mosques, universities and private homes, it is the sight of a concealed woman's face that ignites debate on how to address the grave threat to British society from domestic sources of terrorism. This would seem puzzling at first. Britain's Muslim women who prefer the full face veil, or black niqab, as a form of dress are the least of the dangers to public safety, especially when compared with plots by radicals to stage mass killings on subways, buses and airlines. Why then did the British allow native jihadists to spread their ideology of murder and self-immolation for decades as a form of the good life and then suddenly scold the relatively benign shrouding of the face? The problem has less to do with differences among major political parties -- Labor, Conservative or Liberal -- than with the continuing struggle of British society and institutions to change course from the distinctive approach of the British Empir