NBC and their Olympic coverage team generally provide some of the most extensive sporting event coverage in the world. With literally thousands of hours of footage, it is small wonder that the coverage becomes impersonal at times. Once such instance, found here: http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/assetid=d344b6d1-b25e-442b-b06c-cf2452e122f7.html depicts a very painful crash of American Stacey Cook in a practice run. Viewers see the terrifying crash, and then see Stacey Cook slowly try to sit up but then fall back down. NBC then flashes the rather obvious fact that she did not finish the race, and proceed to show the crash again, this time in slow motion. In the end, viewers are left with no idea how badly she was injured.

She's not moving, but I'm sure she's fine.

Update: Stacey Cook did, in fact, recover from the crash in practice, and ended up finishing in the top 10 overall in the Women’s Downhill event. This was quite an accomplishment, as at least four of the women racing in the finals crashed during the actual race, and did not finish. It was the quickest and most dangerous women’s downhill course in recent Olympics.

Each Sunday, the Patriot will provide a look at some of the news issues that you should know about. We know it is tough for college students to keep up-to-date on current events. The Patriot’s Sunday News Beat is your answer to that. This week’s column will be mainly an aggregation of links, due to time constraints.

George Will describes the Demorat’s attempts to prematurely end a school choice program in Washington D.C. designed to help lower income families, and how it demonstrates the Democrat’s consistent approach to make citizens dependent on the government. Article here.

Walter Mead takes a look at the New York Times attempt to cover the latest climate controversies, and details the extensive level of bias reporting within the article which leaves readers still without an adequate scope of the issues at hand. Article here.

Salena Zito takes a look at the current Congressional landscape, and discusses the crucial role that many Pennsylvania races are poised to play in 2010: Article here.

Mark Landsbaum of the Orange County Register has the most comprehensive list of falsifications and scandals perpetrated by climate “scientists.” There will be more to come on this later in the week. Article here.

Additionally, The Times (UK) covers the research of Dr. John Cristy, former head of the U.N. IPCC. His research has found that much of the warming reported at multiple stations worldwide was due to issues in the immediate area, and do not serve to explain the climate at all. Article here.

Karen DeYoung and Joby Warrick, of the Washington Post, expose the fact that the Obama Administration has preferred killing terrorists to capturing terrorists in overseas operations. They discuss some of the possible reasons for this radical policy, as well as the possible implications: Article here.

In addition to all of that, the Winter Olympics have begun in Vancouver, Canada. Unfortunately, the start of the games was marred by the horrific death of a luger, Nodar Kumaritashvili, who died while making a practice run on the course. Samantha Shields of the Wall Street Journal describes some of the aftermath of the terrible death: Article here.

You can follow the results of the 21st Winter Olympics at: http://www.nbcolympics.com.

That’s everything for now. Until next time, have a good week.

“The Pentagon’s most recent inventory of bases lists a total of 716 overseas sites. These include facilities owned and leased all across the Middle East as well as a significant presence in Europe and Asia, especially Japan and South Korea…

The count also does not include any sites in Iraq where, as of August 2009, there were still nearly 300 American bases and outposts. Similarly, U.S. bases in Afghanistan — a significant percentage of the 400 foreign sites scattered across the country — are noticeably absent from the Pentagon inventory.”

In a continuation of cold-war era politics, The United States has increased her projection of power across the globe, deploying military personnel throughout the globe in ever-greater numbers, with mind-boggling arrays of equipment; 1.5 million pieces in Iraq alone.

What are your thoughts on the deployment of the U.S. military? Discuss them here.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/christopherbooker/7113582/Amazongate-new-evidence-of-the-IPCCs-failures.html

As the claims of climate alarmists continue to be investigated, the integrity of their premise continues to evaporate. While the article by Christopher Booker in the Telegraph (U.K.) outlines the previous unearthing of erroneous climate claims, it is worth reminding you here:

1.   Climategate - Hacked personal e-mails of top climate researchers reveal illegal dumping of information to dodge freedom of information laws, and also statements like “The fact is that we can’t account for the lack of warming at the moment and it is a travesty that we can’t.”

2.    Himalayan Glacier Debacle – Further investigation into claims in the 2007 IPCC report found that a statement was included – that Himalayan glaciers would all melt by 2035 – which was a blatant fabrication, and had literally no basis in fact. Despite being warned about this by at least one prominent glaciologist, the statement was included in the report anyway.

Which brings us to:

3.     Help us pretend to save the rain forest lie (also dubbed Amazongate by Mr. Booker) – As the article details, claims in the same 2007 IPCC report featured claims from non-peer reviewed, and essentially propagandist, material that stated that climate change would endanger “up to 40 percent” of the Amazon rain forest. This claim essentially had no scientific backing.

While climate alarmists continue to claim that we are headed toward a climate catastrophe, it is clear from building pile of falsified claims and unethical activity that these climatologists are shrouding the truth. As mentioned in a previous article of mine, The Common Sense Climate, there are many well-regarded scientists who disagree entirely with the theories behind human-induced climate change.

It is clearly time for the IPCC, the CRU, and all other organizations supporting climate alarmism to be audited, and for a truly independent organization to be created that will investigate the effects of human activity on the climate. Until then, the climate debate will forever be concealed by disingenuous propaganda.

“Shame on you America: the only country where we have homeless without shelter, children going to bed without eating, elderly going without needed meds, and mentally ill without treatment – yet we have a benefit for the people of Haiti on 12 TV stations. 99% of people won’t have the guts to copy and repost this.”

Above quote is from a friend’s status on Facebook.

In the aftermath of the devastating earthquake affecting Haiti on January 12th resulted in an outpouring of aid throughout the developing world, with Americans being bombarded by “Text ‘Haiti’ to 90999″ and the other numbers for American Red Cross and related charity and relief organizations dedicated to Haitian aid.

Lehigh University has started their own Haitian Initiative; Collecting $50,000 towards relief efforts. Despite the best intentions of the Community Service Office, is Haitian relief, efforts that have been duplicated around the world, really the best use of Lehigh Student’s time and money?

Goodwill to mankind is a noble goal, but logistical and financial concerns limit the impact that can be made. While Dr. King was a proponent of “help[ing] our neighbors across borders just as much as our friends down the street.”, when 17,000 Pennsylvanians are homeless, our efforts would be better spent closer to home, helping our friends down the street.

Start a conversation with a Jewish student at Lehigh on the topic of Israel, and the ensuing moments will look a lot like the movie Flubber. No one will really know what they’re talking about, spectators will suffer whiplash trying to keep track of what’s going on, and more than a few delicate objects will end up broken.

So when the Berman Center for Jewish Studies brought Israeli writer and director Ari Folman to campus to screen and discuss a much different film: his acclaimed, yet controversial anti-war epic Waltz With Bashir, the debate was sure to be fierce.

Bashir is Folman’s account of his role as a soldier in the Israeli Defense Force during the 1982 War in Lebanon. Years after the events took place, the film follows its writer, director and protagonist as he tries to recover suppressed memories from the 20 year-old conflict.

Specifically, Folman has a recurring nightmare about the massacre at the Sabra and Shatila Palestinian refugee camps (Google it). In one of the film’s most powerful and thought-provoking moments, Folman draws an equivalency between the actions of IDF soldiers and those of Nazis during the Holocaust. Both, he posits, stood by idly as thousands of innocent men, women and children were systematically executed.

The juxtaposition is startling, but for Folman, whose parents are Holocaust survivors, the shadow of that experience inevitably frames the discussion of all subsequent history. Yet many American Jews have a similar background, so it’s troubling that Israelis are free to engage in such unrestrained self-critique, yet external criticism of Israel is often dismissed as anti-Semitism in America.

To be clear, Bashir hardly touches the political dimension of this particular incident or Israeli foreign policy in general. The film focuses on the human consequences of war – especially its psychological impact on adolescent men who are tossed into a world of bloodshed and violence. In Israel, where military service is mandatory and conflicts occur at a tragically consistent rate, each generation is bound by the shared experience of the crucible of war.

In America, no such binding agent exists, which could go a long way in explaining why our political debate is marred by suspicions of bad faith and insidious motivations. At Lehigh and in the American press, the discomfort was palpable as Bashir raised issues that are usually considered off-limits. Rather than engaging the substance of Folman’s critique, some viewers simply dismissed its validity because they couldn’t be inconvenienced to amend their half-baked positions based on new information. It’s not that this film demands that every viewer radically shifts his or her perspective, but it does challenge the dangerous popular disdain for critical reflection.

Ironically, it was the Israeli newspaper Haaretz that published a scathing review on the eve of the Oscars (Bashir was nominated for best foreign film in 2009), slamming Folman for his too-delicate treatment of the IDF. When the Berman Center brought another Israeli speaker a few weeks later, he remarked on the high level of implicit censorship in America as compared to Israel. Of course, the internet makes it so that anyone can say anything, but political, social and institutional norms define the legitimacy of specific arguments while excluding others. For instance, in 2008, the Israel lobby and mainstream media outlets pounced on then-Senator Barack Obama’s mere recognition of Palestinian suffering. This statement was soon diluted to attribute that suffering exclusively to the failure of Palestinian leadership to recognize Israel as a state.

With these subtle constraints on dialogue in America, it’s even more remarkable that a film as critical as Bashir was financed entirely by public money from the Israeli government. As that government moves farther to the right under hawkish Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, vigorous debate over Israel’s direction as a Middle Eastern democracy will ensue. We can’t count on Americans to ask the tough questions, so it is even more important that the vibrancy of Israeli public discourse remains.

Even with the Copenhagen climate change summit fast approaching, the average American could care less about the environment or related legislation. If Americans did care, the United States would already have extensive legislation to promote sustainability. The reason for this apathy is the same reason that most Americans don’t vote – they have no interest or benefit from acting.  They have not witnessed the detrimental effects of a deteriorating environment. Topping the carelessness, the scientific community is fighting discord on the effects of greenhouse gas emissions.

That is not to say that global warming does not exist or that the environment has not been harmed by unsustainable habits. In a discussion held on October 21^st, professors at Lehigh discussed the very real effects of pollution and unsustainable habits. Professor Fennel talked of China’s environmental agency finding 45% of its waterways unsuitable for human contact, some of which are used as drinking water. Numerous professors discussed the recent rise of precipitation events in the U.S., the use of groundwater mining to satisfy growing demand. This process pumps more than ten times more water out of the ground than is naturally being replaced.

Apathy toward the environment is fueled by various controversies surrounding climate change, including recent data contradictory to the “hockey stick” theory.  There is no consensus.  Northern Hemisphere climate variability is still actively being researched. This data has enormous implications for further legislation, because data on climate variability will help determine the earth’s sensitivity to carbon dioxide emissions.²

These findings are not tangible to the average American, creating a disconnect between fact and public concern. Most Americans are blind to global patterns and environmental issues. Unless the stream in their backyard turns to sewage, Americans cannot be bothered with sustainability legislation.

In this way, the average American and Lehigh student share a lethargy for all topics relating to environmental sustainability. Small minorities of Sierra Club or Green Action members may recognize unsustainable habits, but they have little power to bring sweeping legislation to their respective institutions.

Change must come from a higher entity – like a global climate treaty. International efforts towards sustainability seem to indicate that only a very gradual approach is politically realistic. In the future, this incremental process may be the same tactic the university will utilize in curbing student and faculty environmental footprints.

It remains to be seen whether this legislation will triumph over apathy – coaxing more environmentally friendly habits – or will stir direct opposition caused by adherence and comfort in the status quo.

For now, it seems the American public and businesses need not worry about this legislation inconveniencing their lives or forcing change. Hopes have turned grim for a new energy bill. Politicians fear capping carbon emissions will cause economic hardship to an already hurting electorate. Internationally, Europe, the U.S., China, and developing countries harbor contrasting goals and levels of commitment. Many are wary that action will be possible from the climate conference in Copenhagen, though it does present a global stage and opportunity for change.³

1)               http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/nov/10/copenhagen-climate-change-summit-2c

2)               November 6^th Jason Smerdon, Storke-Doherty Lecturer, Columbia University “Spaghetti Plots, Hockey Sticks, Pseudo-Realities and Congressional Oversight: A decade of attempts to reconstruct the climate of the last millennium and where we stand now”

3)              http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/09/us/politics/09caucus.html?_r=1

On Friday, hackers infiltrated the Climate Research Unit (CRU) and posted hundreds of documents and emails regarding CRU’s research, climate models, and publications.

While main stream news sources have tried to downplay this, there is no hiding the incriminating evidence contained within. Currently, all signs point to the emails being authentic. While the hacking of CRU’s server is a crime, what it exposed is even worse.

Despite the American mainstream media’s ambivalence on the subject, this is big news. Many media outlets in other countries still understand that. For analysis on that, see the Telegraph’s commentary on the news story.

For analysis on the various documents contained, much is still being uncovered from the massive amounts of information held within the files. However, the Herald Sun in Australia has some very good analysis on what this means for IPCC lead author Dr. Phil Jones.

Many blogs are leaping on this story, detailing a lot of the troublesome quotes from the emails. One blog details a lot of the quotes that show severely unethical practices.

While I won’t detail the extent of the comments, I will leave you with one quote from an email sent by Dr. Trenberth, Head of the Climate Analysis Section at the National Center for Atmospheric Research:

“The fact is that we can’t account for the lack of warming at the moment and it is a travesty that we can’t.”

What does this mean for the anthropogenic climate change hypothesis? That is for you to decide. Take a look at the evidence and make up your mind.

If you are so inclined, the .zip file containing the documents and emails can be found here.

Token conservative columnist Ross Douthat has an interesting piece in today’s New York Times to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.  His argument, in short, is that the end of the Cold War has left us without a legitimate target for our paranoid delusions about the next great turn or tragedy in world history.  He takes both political parties to task for their role in perpetuating pseudo-threats in an age of what is actually unprecedented security.

On the right, pundits and politicians have cultivated a persistent cold-war-style alarmism about our foreign enemies — Vladimir Putin one week, Hugo Chavez the next, Kim Jong-il the week after that.

On the left, there’s an enduring fascination with the pseudo-Marxist vision of global capitalism as an enormous Ponzi scheme, destined to be undone by peak oil, climate change, or the next financial bubble.

Meanwhile, our domestic politics are shot through with antitotalitarian obsessions, even as real totalitarianism recedes in history’s rear-view mirror. Plenty of liberals were convinced that a vote for George W. Bush was a vote for theocracy or fascism. Too many conservatives are persuaded that Barack Obama’s liberalism is a step removed from Leninism.

OK, fair enough.  Give Douthat some credit for making a bold claim that directly contradicts conventional psychosis wisdom.  The state of our public discourse is abysmal – but that doesn’t mean our current economic, political and social solutions are actually sustainable.  It just means the crazies haven’t been vindicated…yet.  Twenty years of ideological hegemony for global capitalism is hardly enough time to declare “the end of history.”

What do you think?

My wife and I came to Lehigh University from Pakistan just a few months ago on a Rescue Fellowship, which was sponsored by the International Institute of Education (IIE). Pakistan has been in the international news frequently these days due to the war against terrorism. In the wake of terrorist attacks all over the country and growing lawlessness, President Asif Ali Zardari and his administration seem totally helpless. Let me share some of my experiences working at a Pakistani university so that you might be able to understand what is actually going on in post-fundamentalist Pakistan.

Amnesty International and The Human Rights Commission Of Pakistan publish documents every year detailing the human right abuses in Pakistan. They mention that the state of Pakistan still fails to provide adequate protection for women and the working class. Despite making up almost 51 % of the population, women continue to face a discriminatory status in Pakistani society. There is a great tide of violence against women since 9/11. Hundreds and thousands of innocent women are victims of honor killings, acid throwing, rape and murder. In post-colonial Pakistan, gang rape and other barbaric traditions are used as a form of criminal punishment. Hundreds of thousands of innocent Pakistani women have already suffered gang rape in the name of honor or tribal revenge. Last year, five women were buried alive in Baluchistan. Human rights groups and civil-rights activists organized protest demonstrations all over Pakistan. It is the most shameful and barbaric crime of the 21st century.

I was teaching as an adjunct lecturer in the English department at Bahauddin Zakria University Pakistan at that time. My wife, Shirin Haider was professor and chair of the English Department. She asked me to organize a peaceful protest demonstration against the barbaric killing of the five innocent women. We organized a rally in which hundreds of female students very actively and voluntarily participated. They shouted slogans against barbaric tribal laws and feudalism. My wife announced the declaration of war against barbaric and criminal traditions against women by founding the Revolutionary Women’s Action Committee (ReWAC), a platform for women’s liberation and revolutionary struggle. It was one of the biggest organized rallies in the history of Multan, which, with its feudalism and religious shrines, is one of the most backwards and traditional cities in Pakistan. In places like Multan, women are not allowed to participate in politics because of chauvinist pseudo-religious dominance.

The next day, our rally was covered in the news. All the local and national newspapers ran headlines with images of women demanding their legal rights. We started consciousness-raising groups and seminars on gender and social awareness, and the response was very positive. Within a few months, hundreds of female students joined our organization. We organized another protest rally, this time inside the campus, against gender harassment and violence against women. Despite threats from the Taliban and the conservative University administration, our female activists organized the rally. In that part of the country, this was deemed a progressive and revolutionary move. It heralded the feminist uprising within the campus. Our democratic and revolutionary initiative was a great success; it gave strength to oppressed and humiliated female students.

Critical revolutionary activism of female students was a breath of fresh air in the stifling environment of Southern Punjab. However, the reactionary and conservative University administration, sponsored and influenced by the feudal lords, local fanatic groups and traditionalists felt threatened by the revolutionary activism of female students. Our activism was a spark of life and hope for the oppressed women who are denied basic human freedoms and rights. Our activists tried to organize a musical evening on the campus to promote awareness of sexual harassment, which is rampant in all state-run universities. Recently, a female faculty member at Quaid-e-Azam University in Islamabad was burned with acid at the hands of a fanatic professor. In another incident, two female students experienced harassment at an examination centre at Zakriya University in Multan.

The Vice Chancellor of our University demanded an immediate explanation from Professor Haider for launching ReWAC. Like a ruthless dictator, he banned all activities linked to ReWAC. Our activists were coerced through harassment to give up their membership in ReWAC, and were threatened with expulsion if they resisted. I was immediately terminated from my position. The Vice
Chancellor very ironically thought that I was plotting a political rebellion for social change against the government with female students. I was banned from even stepping foot on the campus. It was an assault on my freedom and an insult to my pedagogy, so I protested with my wife and students. The very next day Professor Haider was removed from her position as chair of the English Department. I was arrested at the main gate of the University as I was going to my residence inside the campus. My wife was manhandled, and I was sent to police station where I was brutally tortured by the police for three days. Then, I was sent to jail and was released on bail after 14 days.

During my detention, my wife, along with female students and activists were psychologically harassed and humiliated by the University administration. During my detention, I started a hunger strike which lasted for 54 days. On the eve of the 54th day, I pinned down nails in my feet and left hand as a symbolic protest. I was treated like a war criminal; they forcefully undressed me and struck my lower back with 17 lashes. They asked me to cry and beg for mercy, but I refused. They kept hitting me harder and harder until I fell unconscious. They later threw cold and filthy water on me. During torture, one of the police officers pressed my genitals and scornfully laughing, checked my circumcision. I have seen the naked brutality of Pakistani state. I have also experienced the hypocrisy of intellectuals and professors. I have witnessed malicious opportunism and the betrayal of middle class friends and colleagues.

After this experience, I realized that one of the main reasons Pakistan is fast becoming a breeding ground for religious extremism and terrorism is because of the oppressive and decadent education system based on class stratification inherited from British imperialism. Pakistan is a failed state, although paradoxically it has nuclear weapons for people’s destruction. It has a very powerful corporate army, which is mainly responsible for harboring and preserving socio-political decadence, lawlessness, violence and corruption. There is a very strong police force, which is used for political victimization, harassment and torture, and the judicial system is inhumane and corrupt.

Pakistan is a long-term strategic partner of the United States and the most faithful ally in its war against terror. Now, the US Congress has approved the Kerry-Lugar bill of $1.5 billion to facilitate non-proliferation, faithful implementation and commitment towards war against the religiously faithful terrorists. I think the grant will only add insult to injury. It will further aggravate political tension and will sabotage the political and democratic process of Pakistan. Pakistan needs immediate social surgery, because the tumor of religious extremism and terrorism is getting more and more dangerous for global peace and security.