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Inactive on HNN Only: Daniel Pipes

Daniel Pipes is director of the Middle East Forum and a columnist at the New York Sun and the Jerusalem Post. A former official in the U.S. Department of State, he has taught at the University of Chicago, Harvard University, and the U.S. Naval War College. Mr. Pipes is the author of fourteen books on the Middle East, Islam, and other political topics; his most recent book is Miniatures: Views of Islamic and Middle Eastern Politics (Transaction Publishers, 2004). He received his A.B. (1971) and Ph.D. (1978) from Harvard University, both in history. He spent six years studying abroad, including three years in Egypt. Mr. Pipes speaks French, and reads Arabic and German. Click here for his website.

Click here for his latest blog entries.

My Talk at the University of California-Irvine

My talk last night at the University of California-Irvine, on the topic of "The Threat to Israel's Existence," was disrupted about 15 minutes into my lecture. Two videos document portions of my remarks, plus the Palestinian/Islamist/Leftist goons in action:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5158780407631950723&hl=en (posted by Reut Cohen) offers 5:42 minutes of me, then the disruption, and follows the disrupters outside as they chant "anti-Israel" in conjunction with other slogans, such as "anti-oppression," "anti-racism," and "anti-hate." In response, those who remained in the auditorium chanted "Am Yisrael Chai"
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4939925831604188462&hl=en (anonymous) starts with the disruption, then jumps several minutes my replies to questions. For the wonderful standing ovation that followed on my conclusion, go to the 32:48 minute mark.

For reactions to the evening, see those at LittleGreenFootballs.com.

Comments: (1) I had been forewarned that such a staged exit was in the works, so I frontloaded my comments, to insure that the Palestinian/Islamist/Leftist contingent got a full dose of my thinking. (2) This is the first campus disruption I have experienced in nearly two years, since the Rochester Institute of Technology in April 2005. I wonder if it's UCI or the moment that accounts for this particular agitation; I tend to think the former factor counts most. (February 1, 2006)

Cross-posted at http://www.danielpipes.org/blog/725

Posted on Thursday, February 1, 2007 at 12:00 AM | Comments (0) | Top

My Debate with London Mayor Ken Livingstone

It all began with a faxed letter from Ken Livingstone, mayor of London, arriving out of the blue on April 4, 2006:

I will be hosting a conference to discuss the thesis of the "clash of civilizations" first popularized by Professor Samuel Huntington's book, The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order. I would like to invite you to debate this thesis with me at the opening session of the conference, which will be held 10am-1pm on Saturday, 10 June 2006.

The conference was twice delayed, before finally taking place two days ago, on January 20, 2007. It was quite an event, held in the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, across the street from Westminster Abbey. The mayor told me in a private chat before the event that when he conceived of the event two years ago, he wondered if anyone would show up. He need not have worried; the Greater London Authority's website indicated there had been "an unprecedented demand" for tickets and several days in advance of the event shut the ticketing. One organizer on the mayor's staff told me that the audience numbered about five thousand and that over 150 media had registered for the conference.

The mayor and I each invited a seconder to help us make our arguments: he chose Salma Yaqoob, a councilor in Birmingham, and I chose Douglas Murray, the London writer. Due to the large crowd, the event started a half hour late but even truncated, it still went for slightly over two hours.

Despite the many journalists and video cameras, and despite the GLA having recorded and simultaneously transcribed the event, and despite two and a half days having passed since it took place, there has been – quite to my surprise – not a single media account of the debate, nor a video made available, nor a transcript. (This reminds me in a way of my University of California-Berkeley talk three years ago, which created quite a stir but had zero media coverage.)

There have, however, been a number of blog accounts – interestingly, every one of them sympathetic to Murray and myself; it would seem that the mayor's supporters took a pass on reporting the event. In alphabetical order by author, here are are the fullest and most interesting accounts that I have located (the list will be updated as needed):

Sharon Chadha, "Clash of Civilizations?" SharonChadha.com, 21 January 2007.
Gandalf, "Clash of Civilizations." UpPompeii.com, 21 January 2007.
Graham, "A Very Civilised Clash." Harry's Place, 22 January 2007.
Jonathan Hoffman, "Daniel Pipes survives Livingstone's Lions' Den." Adloyada.com, 21 January 2007.
David Pryce-Jones, "Debating Clash." National Review Online, 20 January 2007.
Beila Rabinowitz and William A. Mayer, "Dr. Daniel Pipes And Douglas Murray Triumph Over ‘Red' Ken Livingstone In London Debate." PipeLineNews.org, 22 January 2007.

(January 22, 2007)

Cross-posted at http://www.danielpipes.org/blog/723

Posted on Monday, January 22, 2007 at 12:00 AM | Comments (0) | Top

My Debate with London Mayor Ken Livingstone

It all began with a faxed letter from Ken Livingstone, mayor of London, arriving out of the blue on April 4, 2006:

I will be hosting a conference to discuss the thesis of the "clash of civilizations" first popularized by Professor Samuel Huntington's book, The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order. I would like to invite you to debate this thesis with me at the opening session of the conference, which will be held 10am-1pm on Saturday, 10 June 2006.

Sharon Chadha, "Clash of Civilizations?" SharonChadha.com, 21 January 2007.
Gandalf, "Clash of Civilizations." UpPompeii.com, 21 January 2007.
Graham, "A Very Civilised Clash." Harry's Place, 22 January 2007.
Jonathan Hoffman, "Daniel Pipes survives Livingstone's Lions' Den." Adloyada.com, 21 January 2007.
David Pryce-Jones, "Debating Clash." National Review Online, 20 January 2007.
Beila Rabinowitz and William A. Mayer, "Dr. Daniel Pipes And Douglas Murray Triumph Over ‘Red' Ken Livingstone In London Debate." PipeLineNews.org, 22 January 2007.