FYI from BATR

BATR and FYI readers who are looking for an excellent English language news source on Iran and the Middle East need look no further than Iran Press Service. Editor Safa Haeri posts outstanding articles, but now sports a new format which makes his presentation user-friendly and extremely enjoyable. So read, think, enjoy, and pass on!!

Reminder from the Calendar of StopTheDraft

Constitution Party on C-Span

Monday May 31, 2004 8:00 am - 8:30 am This event does not repeat. Notes: On Monday, May 31, Memorial Day, Jim Clymer, Chairman of the Constitution Party http://www.constitutionparty.org will be on C-Span's Washington Journal from 8:00 to 8:30 A.M. I encourage you all to watch, and tape, Chairman Clymer on Washington Journal.

Call-In Numbers Republicans: (202) 585-3880 Democrats: (202) 585-3881 Others: (202) 585-3882

World Net Daily News Editor Ron Strom writes on May 28th that Michael Peroutka of the Constitution Party wants to end abortion in America. Just as significantly, Peroutka wants to end American foreign aid to Israel and the role of the United States as a world policeman.

In our new book, The Exception To the Rulers: Exposing Oily Politicians, War Profiteers and the Media That Love Them, we titled one chapter "The Lies of Our Times" to examine how The New York Times coverage on Iraq and its alleged stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction helped lead the country to war. Yesterday, The New York Times, for the first time, raised questions about its own coverage in an 1,100-word editor's note. Here is an excerpt from our section of the book on the New York Times and Iraq.

Is Bush a conservative?

You wrote in the Monday editorial "Bush's conservative support" that "the president showed why conservatives will support him in November: Because he is one of them." Unfortunately, he is not.

Under President Bush, the Republican Party has become the party of big government. The government has grown bigger and bigger, with more agencies, bureaucracies and enforcement programs. This president and a Republican Congress have given us an 8.2 percent annual increase in discretionary domestic spending (that's non-defense, non-entitlement), far greater than anything during the Clinton administration or any other administration since Richard Nixon's. This administration has given us the largest new entitlement program in almost four decades. Mr. Bush has yet to veto a single spending bill.

Mr. Bush refuses to secure our borders. He has proposed a de facto amnesty for illegal aliens. He has given us an unconstitutional campaign-finance law that prohibits corporations and unions from talking about any federal candidate 60 days before an election.

This administration gave us a massive federal education spending bill, a function not authorized by the Constitution, without even school choice or other reform provisions. It gave us a massive agricultural subsidy bill. Then it gave a massive insurance bailout to supplement the massive agriculture bill. It gave us steel tariffs.

Mr. Bush has said he opposes overturning Roe v. Wade. He has allowed some stem-cell research. He has created new programs for the government to spy on ordinary, law-abiding Americans with the Patriot Act.

Mr. Bush has sent American soldiers to serve under U.N. authority. The Bush administration apologized to China after a U.S. spy plane collided with a Chinese plane, instead of demanding an apology from the Chinese for this act.

This is not a conservative record. It is the record of a "me-too" liberal Republican. If conservatives want to vote for a genuine principled conservative, they should consider supporting Michael Peroutka, a Marylander, on the Constitution Party ticket.

TIM PHARES
Laurel

The idea of equality is unacceptable to Islam. For the non-believer cannot be the equal of the believer. Even among the believers only those who subscribe to the three Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam, known as the "people of the book" (Ahl el-Kitab), are regarded as fully human. Here, too, there is a hierarchy, with Muslims at the top.

Democracy means the rule of the demos, the common people, or what is now known as popular or national sovereignty. In Islam, however, power belongs only to God: al-hukm l'illah. The man who exercises that power on Earth is known as Khalifat al-Allah, the regent of God. Even then the Khalifah, or Caliph, cannot act as legislator. The law has already been spelt out and fixed forever by God.

But the bottom line is that no Islamic government can be democratic in the sense of allowing the common people equal shares in legislation.

Press Release: May 24, 2004

Dear Dixie Daily News Readers:

For your review. Ron Holland, Editor Dixie Daily News http://www.southerncaucus.org


Michael Peroutka & Constitution Party Win National Poll Sponsored By Dixie Daily News

According to Alexa website ratings, Dixie Daily News is the South’s most widely read Southern news, heritage & editorial news site with editorials and comments from a Southern conservative, Constitution and limited-government perspective. This national poll with over 30% of our readers outside Dixie, showed the Peroutka/Constitution Party leading with almost 70% of the vote, the Libertarian Party came in second with 12% of the vote followed by Bush with 5%.

Although Dixie Daily News and the Southern Caucus at http://www.southerncaucus.org has a very Southern oriented, pro-liberty and pro-Constitution readership, this poll showing support for third party actions should concern the Republican Party as this conservative & Christian support has historically been taken for granted by the GOP. You can view the poll results at http://www.southerncaucus.org/pollresults.htm

This major drift away from the Republican Party and toward the Constitution Party and to a lesser degree toward the Libertarian viewpoint as shown by the strong showing by GOP Congressman Ron Paul is further highlighted by the fact that Dixie Daily News has not historically been associated with the Constitution Party, the Peroutka campaign or the Conservative Caucus. In fact, according to Alexa, Dixie Daily News and The Southern Caucus receive 3 times the web traffic of The Constitution Party and the Peroutka Campaign websites and almost 9 times more traffic than The Conservative Caucus. The poll proves the GOP can no longer count on conservative and Christian voters to blindly support the GOP.

Ron Holland, Editor of Dixie Daily News indicates The Southern Caucus and Dixie Daily News will endorse a Presidential Candidate on Friday May 28th based on how closely the views and themes of the Bush Campaign, the Libertarian Party and the Constitution Party compare to the 12 Core Principles of The Southern Caucus at http://www.southerncaucus.org/coreprinciples.htm

We will announce our endorsement on Friday.

Best regards, Ron Holland, Editor Dixie Daily News http://www.southerncaucus.org

Soren Kierkegaard (1813-55), who remains a lone and cranky voice in the debate. US policymakers would benefit from a few quiet hours with Kierkegaard, whose 1841 doctoral dissertation showed Socrates not as a system-builder but as a destroyer who saw that Greek culture was a failure and set out to tear down its premises.

Writing for The Washington Times, Bill Gertz reported, "The Pentagon and State Department are planning to set up a 75,000-member international peacekeeping force for Africa, senior Bush administration officials told Congress yesterday."

The report continued by saying, "[Deputy Secretary of State Richard] Armitage said, 'What we envision is about a 75,000-person force, starting in Africa, [for] the training of peacekeepers, people to be available for peacekeeping.' The force will cost about $660 million over five years, with 20 percent of the money coming from State Department funds and the rest from the Defense Department. The program is called the Global Peace Operations Initiative (GPOI)."

The report also quoted Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz as saying, "In most cases, the U.S.-funded peacekeeping force would operate under a U.N. mandate." Wolfowitz was also quoted as saying, "an international force that could be used for peacekeeping operations would reduce 'the stresses' on U.S. forces."

If anyone doubted that President G.W. Bush was a globalist who desires to merge the United States into a one-world society, this report should be more than sufficient to erase that doubt ...

Dear Friends and Family,

My Father, Clay Douglas was seriously injured in a motorcycle accident that took place Thursday May 20 in Phoenix, Arizona. He has a very severe head injury, broken clavicle, broken ribs, and a lot of road rash. He is at Maricopa Co. Medical Center, in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit, where he is being kept heavily sedated. He is not able to respond to anything, because of the sedation, which is preventing him from further injury to his brain. He remains Critical, yet stable. We have no medical insurance for Clay, and have absolutely no idea of how long he will be in there for. Right now we are asking for everyone’s prayers and positive thoughts on my father’s behalf. Any donations would be greatly needed and appreciated, and can be sent to the below addresses. Please help spread the word by passing this letter along to anyone that knows of Clay, which is a lot of people. The June issues of The Free American and Thunder Riders are coming out on schedule, but where not sure if we’re going to be able to afford to distribute them without everyone’s support. Please feel free to contact the family at the below contact information. I will be checking my father e-mail as much as possible, but please limit any new mail to questions or comments about Clay’s condition. Thank you and God Bless.

[D]emocratization is not a necessary condition for economic development. The most startling economic progress, over the past two decades, has been in China which labors under an authoritarian regime. And many new democracies, from Azerbaijan to Kazakhstan, show little ability to progress economically . . . Government by the people may be as injurious to economic well-being as any other form of government.

The Brown decision effectively ended constitutional law by teaching a generation of judges that the Constitution has no meaning apart from the judiciary’s subjective feelings about social policy.

Although I served briefly as Congressman Ron Paul's research assistant in the second half of 1976, I do not think of myself as a skilled political observer. But some things are obvious, and one of them is the present embarrassment of the faithful Republican Right as a result of the prison scandals in Iraq. It has all hinged on the photos. Oh, those irresistible photos!

That anyone could be so imbecilic as to take photos, let alone videos, of that morally repugnant debauchery illustrates a law of bureaucracy: there will eventually be some bureaucrat in any government bureaucracy who does something really stupid and then leaves a record. But it takes special level of mindlessness to make and keep a record that plays well on prime-time network television. ...

Nor is it, Sir, for the defense of his own house and home, that he who is the subject of military draft is to perform the task allotted to him. You will put him upon a service equally foreign to his interests and abhorrent to his feelings. With his aid you are to push your purposes of conquest. The battles which he is to fight are the battles of invasion . . .

In its new and improved approach to foreign aid, the US government will be sending more of your tax dollars to foreign states, selecting those which have been "ruling justly, investing in people, and pursuing sound economic policies."

A significant amount of America's wealth is being transferred overseas, as noted above. This demonstrates that, even for a superpower, nothing is assured. And as economic wealth and power fade, so do all the derivative forms of power - this truth cannot be refuted.

Both of these books [Stupid White Men and Downsize This!] proudly announce on their front covers that they were New York Times bestsellers. And both books simply rehash old myths about capitalism that have been proven wrong over and over again for decades.

Yeas: 88 Nays: 331 HR 3722, which merely asks hospitals to provide information on who is getting free health care went down to defeat today.

In contrast to what Michael Collins Piper has accomplished in his latest work, The High Priests of War, our corporate newsmen resemble an emasculated band of poseurs who can’t (or won’t) tell the American people what’s actually taking place within the corridors of power in our nation’s capital.

Strike-the-Root reposts the Mark Dankof op-ed supporting Al Bawaba editor Hani Jabsheh's decision to post the Nick Berg murder and decapitation photos.

Cramer is one of the very few authors to deflate the myth of Ehud Barak’s “perfect” peace offer at Camp David in 2000 —97 percent of the land, an offer that Arafat rejected as “less than a Bantustan, for your information” . . . Cramer acidly comments that the Barak proposal would have allowed Israel to continue the occupation policy under another name, “Palestine.”

Khazars are also known by the name "Ashkenazim."

Title: The Many Reformations of Iranian Islam
Source: The Iranian
URL Source: http://www.iranian.com/FSFF/2004/May/Reformation/index.html
Published: May 13, 2004
Author: Fatema Soudavar Farmanfarmian



Jahanshah Javid's site, The Iranian (www.iranian.com) is an invaluable resource for FYI readers. It contains articles on ancient Persian history and culture, pre-Islamic Persia, and modern developments in Iran including coverage of the Pahlavi regime past and the present IRI regime in Iran. The articles are stimulating. The publication allows for the published expression of a variety of viewpoints; and it contains a wealth of information for those interested in learning more about one of the world's most important countries and regions. Persian and Central Asia scholar Fatema Soudivar Farmanfarmian's article for today's edition is but one example of the wealth of information and insight available at the touch of a computer mouse. Enjoy.



The Many Reformations of Iranian Islam: By Fatema Soudavar Farmanfarmaian

There are signs to behold. On a recent trip to Iran after an absence of 25 years, I did not see one turban on the streets except those on gigantic billboards, nor did I hear a loudspeaker blare out the call to prayer until I landed in Istanbul. A young man from Ahvaz, visiting the Iran Bastan Museum, said in loud and clear words, that 'religion as a solution to our problems has clearly failed its mission'. Nor was he the only one to be fearlessly outspoken. There is altogether a sense of vibrancy in Iran that one cannot ignore as something that will have no morrow.

Moreover, nearly half of those polled – or 47 percent – said they believe the US should withdraw some or all of its troops from Iraq – a sharp rise of 10 percentage points since mid-April.

Israeli/Palestinian Conflict
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Title: Israel's Threat to World Peace
Source: Nile Media
URL Source: http://www.nilemedia.com
Published: May 12, 2004
Author: Brigadier General James J. David

Middle East seasoned General James J. David's article on how Israel constitutes a threat to world peace may be accessed at Nile Media's Must Read section. General David has written a letter to the Atlanta Journal Constitution about the arrest in Tennessee this past weekend of two Israelis under suspicious circumstances. His text is as follows:



From: Brigadier General James J. David

To: Mark Dankof's America

This is a Letter to the Editor that I sent to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Middle East Terrorists?

Something very suspicious happened over the weekend that's not receiving much news coverage. Two Middle East men who led Tennessee police on a high speed chase in a rented Ryder truck are now being held without bond pending an investigation by the FBI.

It seems that the two Middle East men refused to stop while being chased for three miles by Tennessee police. Officers saw the men throw something from the truck while being pursued and later the officers found a vial containing an unknown substance along the roadway.

Once the men were apprehended, officers also found a "Learn to Fly" brochure in the truck leading officers and others to express concern about the security at the Nuclear Fuel services plant nearby. The two men also gave authorities a fake Florida driver's license and fake identification cards.

It would seem that this incident would've received headline news coverage, but not only did it not receive Headline News, it wasn't even mentioned in the AJC, CNN, FOX, or any other major media outlet. The only mention made was in an Associated Press article. It wasn't mentioned in the other outlets because the two Middle East men were not of Arab origin -- They were both Israeli Jews. Now you know why the silence.

Whatever the case may be, is there any doubt that journalists generally understand critical words about Israel to be hazardous to their careers?

James J. David

James J. David is a retired Army National Guard Brigadier General who served 3 years active duty in and around the Middle East.

The story can be verified with the following link: 1. Real History and the Mossad http://www.fpp.co.uk/online/04/05/HeraldTrib_090504.html

Both Left and Right felt unspeakably smug during the years of protest. But now that communism and apartheid have collapsed, the world is hardly a better place.

World News: Liberty Post
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Title: Israeli Speeders Arrested in Uricoi County
Source: Winston Salem Journal
URL Source: http://www.journalnow.com/servlet/Satellite? pagename=WSJ%2FMGArticle%2FWSJ_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&
Published: May 11, 2004
Author: Associated Press


Two Israeli men were arrested in Tennessee for speeding under inherently suspicious circumstances. Why? And why the "Learn to Fly" brochures in their possession??? Is anyone home??? Hello????

Join other conservatives who still believe in the Old Republic and want to take it back--in Valley Forge, PA in June for the National Convention of the Constitution Party, which will nominate Michael Peroutka (www.Peroutka2004.com) for the Presidency of the United States.

The Amman, Jordan based Al Bawaba reiterates the grim and embarrassing news from the Wall Street Journal regarding the findings of the International Red Cross: The Abu Ghraib debacle is not, in Bush's words, the work of "a few individuals." The International Red Cross indicates the misconduct was both widespread and well known.

Columnist Jeff German: Vegas has new crime element: Israeli mob WITH ITS FREE flow of cash and high-stakes gambling, Las Vegas has always been an attractive target of opportunity for organized crime.

http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/commentary/2004/apr/30/516782598.html

In her book, the former film idol attacks homosexuals as "fairground freaks", condemns the presence of women in government and denounces the "scandal of unemployment benefit". She also criticised the "Islamisation of France" -- which has a five million strong Muslim minority -- and the "underground and dangerous infiltration of Islam".

Watch as the chair of the committee immediately worships Rumsfeld and the mythical 'war on terror'. Immediately we observe that this is another staged whitewash to protect Rumsfeld from blame.

Join Me with Franklin Sanders and Mark Dankof on May 22nd!!

You won’t want to miss our Constitution Party of Maryland State Convention on May 22, 2004. Click here for details. At our State Convention, we will be celebrating our newly recognized status and laying the ground work for the success of our party and candidates. I will have the privilege to speak alongside my good friends Franklin Sanders, editor of the Moneychanger and Mark Dankof, former CP candidate for U.S. Senate in Delaware. Please make your reservations now to attend by clicking on the registration form or by calling John Hicks (State Secretary) toll-free at 866.233.9378. Seating is limited. For God’s Glory,

Michael A. Peroutka
www.Peroutka2004.com

Ron Holland, editor of Dixie Daily News, the nation's leading Southern heritage site, asks for signatures from patriotic Americans fed up with War for Empire, Oil, and Sharon--on a petition which calls for the resignation of Neo-Con Defense Chief Donald Rumsfeld. Please sign, add comments, and forward to your friends around the United States who feel the same way.

This is worded to prevent legitimate criticism of Israeli policies and discussions or portrayal the Jewish faith in anyway someone finds objectionable, whether true or not.

Justin Raimondo uncovers a darker truth about Abu Ghraib: the role of private U. S. contractors in providing surveillance, intelligence, and interrogation services in Iraq--with direct ties to the government of Israel and programs of joint cooperation between Sharon's thugs and the American government.

Who is behind global Islamic terrorism? A new book by Mahmood Mamdani, Good Muslim, Bad Muslim, makes a persuasive case that the guilty party is the United States . . . To be more precise, in July 1979, when Jimmy Carter, smarting from US setbacks in Vietnam, Iran and Nicaragua, decided to fight back against the expansion of global communism by providing secret aid to opponents of the new pro-Soviet government in Afghanistan.

Andrew I Killgore, Ambassador to Qatar, 1977-1980
Richard H Curtiss, former chief inspector, US Information Agency
Colbert C Held, Retired FSO and author
Thomas J Carolan, Counsel General Istanbul, '88-'92
C Edward Bernier, Counselor of Embassy, Information and Culture, Islamabad, Pakistan
Donald A Kruse, American Consul in Jerusalem
Ambassador Edward L Peck, former Chief of Mission in Iraq and Mauritania
John Powell, Admin Counselor in Beirut, '75-'76
John Gunther Dean, last position held US Ambassador to India
Greg Thielmann, Director, Office for Strategic Proliferation Military Affairs, Bureau of Intelligence and Research
James Akins, Ambassador to Saudi Arabia
Talcott Seeyle, Ambassador to Syria
Eugene Bird, Counselor of Embassy in Saudi Arabia
Richard H Nolte, Ambassador to Egypt
Ray Close, Chief of Station Jeddah, Saudi Arabia 1971-1979
Shirl McArthur, Commercial Attache, Bangkok

http://libertypost.org/cgi-bin/readart.cgi?ArtNum=48250
News & Current Events
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Title: Will Mark Dankof Throw His Hat into the U. S. Senate Race in PA Against "Single Bullet" Arlen Specter????
Source: Mark Dankof's America
URL Source: http://www.markdankof.com/Libertypost%20High%20Road.htm
Published: May 4, 2004
Author: Jim Clymer, Chairman of PA Constitution Party
Post Date: 2004-05-04 10:28:26

Will Mark Dankof take the plunge and enter the U. S. Senate race in Pennsylvania against Arlen "Single Bullet" Specter and his Planned Parenthood-AIPAC pals Bush and Rove??? Write him with your thoughts and recommendations. Now.

>From: "Jim Clymer"
>To: "'Mark Dankof'"
>Subject: RE: Liberty Post: Peroutka Smokes Bush in Dixie Daily News Poll
>Date: Tue, 4 May 2004 11:33:27 -0400
>
>Office - 717-299-7101
>
>Home - 717-872-6692
>
>Cell - 717-575-2534

# posted by Blackie : 5/04/2004 11:57:00 AM | 0 comments

Are King George and his War for Empire in trouble among conservative and Christian Southerners? Dixie Daily News thinks so. Editor Ron Holland reports that as of May 1st (with votes still coming in), Constitution Party Presidential standard-bearer Michael Peroutka has collected 54% of the vote to a microscopically bad 9.9% for Dubya.

Missouri could be the first state to introduce legislation that would require hand-counted paper ballots and the banning of all voting machines. A bill to restore hand-counted paper ballots was introduced in the state legislature on April 20. As other states dump millions of dollars into paperless and insecure electronic voting systems, the aptly named “show me” state is considering legislation that many believe will restore integrity to elections with hand-counted paper ballots.

"Fundagelism" is not a word that trips easily off the tongue. It's a crunching together of the even more mouth-boggling compound "fundamentalist evangelism".

George W Bush is a fundagelist. Dad wasn't. George H Bush (not renowned for his Wildean wit) delivered his most memorable wisecrack on walking into a room full of fundagelists: "Gee! I'm the only person here that's only been born once."