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In this mailing:
- Douglas Murray: The 'Goodness' of
Migrants: When Feelings Trump Facts
- Robbie Travers: The "Fake
News" Crusade to "Protect" You from Free Speech
- John R. Bolton: Trump's SOTU Hit
the Right Foreign Policy Notes - Now Comes the Hard Part
by Douglas Murray • February 1,
2018 at 5:00 am
- No one asked what in
the hearts of the migrants of Calais is so very
"good", and what "goodness" is so lacking
in the hearts of the British people that it needs topping-up
from the camps of Calais.
- It is worth
reflecting on just two recent terrorist plots, by people who
did not bring only "goodness" when they came from
Calais.
- The question fails
to get asked: "What exactly did we gain from their
presence in our country? And what exactly was the 'goodness'
that you think they brought?"
A group of
migrants gather near a truck depot in Calais, France, on January
19, 2018. Calais is a central hub for illegal migrants to congregate,
in the hope of moving from France to the UK. Some of the migrants
attack UK-bound lorries and disable vehicles, to try to climb
aboard them. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)
In Western Europe, there is still only an
overwhelming political and social price a price to pay for
appearing to be against mass immigration. Public opinion polls may
consistently show the public to be opposed to mass migration. But
in public, it remains most acceptable, and indeed commonplace, to
continue to utter bromides about the benefits that migration
brings, including the advantages from any and all illegal
immigration.
by Robbie Travers • February 1,
2018 at 4:30 am
- Even if judgements
against some of these websites might be overturned in courts,
doing so is clearly an enormous financial burden, as the
would-be censors doubtless know. But what a handy way not to
have one's policies questioned -- especially, one assumes,
during elections.
- Attempts to censor
"competing narratives" is probably just a tip-off
that certain individuals are afraid their political ideas will
be unable to withstand the questions asked or the test of
time.
- "If a person
cannot walk into the middle of the town square and express his
or her views without fear of arrest, imprisonment, or physical
harm, then that person is living in a fear society, not a free
society." — Natan Sharansky, The Case for Democracy.
"If liberty means anything at all, it means the
right to tell people what they do not want to hear," George
Orwell wrote in his ant-totalitarian novel, 1984. He would
probably have frowned upon the latest UK Government blueprint to
create a regulatory agency that will ultimately strangle freedom of
expression.
Scrutiny against "Fake News," is
undoubtedly a positive development. It means that at least people
are questioning the news they are consuming. Yes, it is a problem
that so much disinformation and misinformation exists. It is,
however, a far bigger problem if they do not. The public's resolve
should be that disinformation is not combated by a
regulatory body controlled by Government. Individual
arguments, with evidence, is what belongs in a democracy, which can
only survive if it is a marketplace of ideas.
by John R. Bolton • February 1,
2018 at 4:00 am
Donald
Trump's 2018 State of the Union address. (Image source: The White
House)
President Trump's first State of the Union address
was not heavy on national security issues. It did, however, make
one critical point: In reviewing the international achievements of
his first year in office, Trump was abundantly clear that the Obama
era is over. Primarily retrospective assessments like Trump's are
perfectly legitimate for a president finishing his initial year,
especially given what his policies are replacing.
Gone was President Obama's self-congratulatory moral
posturing, replaced by a concrete list of accomplishments that will
inevitably increase the power of America's presence in the world.
Trump's policy is not only not isolationist — as many of his
opponents (and a few misguided supporters) contend — his pursuit of
Ronald Reagan's "peace through strength" approach
actually demonstrates that Obama's detached, ethereal retreat from
American assertiveness internationally amounted to the real
isolationism.
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