* In the Baltimore Sun, Shoshana Bryen discusses the problems of democracy taking root in the Arab world, as Mahmoud Abbas mulls postponing PA elections:
There is irony in the sight of a semi-reformed terrorist meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, a dictator for life, to air his fears that non-semi-reformed terrorists will depose him and carry out the terrorist agenda more efficiently.
* Daniel Pipes explains that State Dept. efforts to reach the Arab public through the recently suspended magazine, Hi International, as well as Radio Sawa and Al-Hurra TV have shown little success.
But Muslims generally and Islamists specifically do not lack for reliable information; much less do they (as did Soviet-bloc populations) prefer Western sources of information to their own. To the contrary, many indications suggest Muslims favor tuning in or reading reports prepared by their co-religionists, trusting these more than what comes from non-Muslims….
Rather than try to purvey information to Muslims, State (and its counterparts elsewhere) should instead assert the case for liberal, secular, and humane values. More than facts, the Muslim world needs to understand the basics of what makes the West thrive – and thereby be inspired to emulate it.
* Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupoliansky had a surprisingly frank conversation with the Jerusalem Post about efforts to connect Maale Adumim to the city, as well as the capital’s changing Jewish and Arab demographics.
