Islamic terrorists are trying to kill us

Two years ago, the Heritage Foundation conducted an exhaustive review of publicly available U.S. court and federal and state government records. The researchers documented at least 60 terrorist plots related to Islamist extremism following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks — all aimed at the U.S., and the pace of plotting has only quickened.

There have been nine additional plots since that report came out in 2013. Seven occurred this calendar year, six since April. Plot number 69 was thwarted just a few days ago. On June 2, federal law enforcement officers killed Usaamah Abdullah in Boston. Dawud Sharif Abdul Khaliq, an alleged accomplice, was arrested later. It is suspected they intended to behead anti-Islamist activist Pamela Geller. So, yes, Islamist terrorism in America is on the rise. The numbers don’t lie. Still, there is a ferocious debate over what they mean. …

What the U.S. faces now is a transnational terrorist threat more complex than the enemy that confronted America on Sept. 11. Terrorists are linking social networks and human webs, and that creates unprecedented opportunities to operationalize violence.

Defeating this threat will require both continuing to disrupt plots here at home and defeating the overseas terrorists who inspire them.

MEDIA IGNORES WOMEN’S SPORTS

Kiley Kroh for ThinkProgress: Women’s sports have never been more popular — everywhere except on television, that is. Both the quality and quantity of women’s sports coverage is far eclipsed by that of men’s sports and in some respects has actually worsened over time, according to the latest iteration of a 25-year longitudinal study of gender in televised sports news and highlights shows.

SportsCenter, ESPN’s flagship program, dedicated just 2 percent of its airtime to women’s sports in 2014, according to the report — a figure that has remained flat since 1999. In addition to SportsCenter, researchers examined the sports news and highlights on three local Los Angeles network affiliates and the results were just as dismal: Just 3.2 percent of airtime went to women’s sports, down from 1999 and 2004 levels but a slight improvement over 2009’s 1.6 percent.

“I’m surprised that I was surprised,” Cheryl Cooky, associate professor of women’s, gender and sexuality studies at Purdue University and study co-author, said of the results. “This is a persisting trend. It’s just somewhat disappointing given the tremendous growth and participation in women’s sports over the last 25 years in particular. That excitement is not being captured by the media.”

While women’s sports received paltry attention in the time period observed by Cooky and her co-authors, coverage of the “big three” men’s sports — football, basketball and baseball — increased from 68 percent in 2009 to 74.5 percent in 2014. That imbalance remained even in the offseason. When women’s sports were featured, the vast majority of the time, 81.6 percent, went to basketball.

A ‘SPIRITUAL VACUUM’ IN CHINA

Eleanor Albert for the Council on Foreign Relations: Social scientists have observed the rise of a spiritual vacuum, following decades of unprecedented economic growth. Modern China has emerged as a wealthier and more educated society with renewed interest in religion. Consequently, experts say that as the [Communist Party of China]’s ideology loses public traction, Christian churches, official and unofficial, appear to be filling some of this void.

Believers are not only searching for meaning in their own lives but also for the future of their country as China adapts to a rapidly changing economy and society. Protestantism “appeals to Chinese traditions of ritual and community,” according to French Jesuit and China scholar Benoit Vermander. Moreover, experts say Chinese Christians are also attracted to the faith’s sense of fellowship, comprehensive moral system, organized structure and solidarity as part of an international movement.

Christians in China are predominantly Protestant, drawn to the religion’s emphasis on egalitarianism and spiritual community within the church, says Fenggang Yang of Purdue University’s Center on Religion and Chinese Society. The sense of fellowship among Chinese Christians is attractive compared to the hierarchal structures of other religious and social organizations, Yang adds. It is also possible that more Chinese may choose Christianity over other faiths, such as Tibetan Buddhism, Islam or Falun Gong, because Christianity is more tolerated and is potentially a safer option in China, says Freedom House’s [Sarah] Cook.

Christian religious practice resurfaced after the end of the Cultural Revolution and has been gaining ground in Chinese society ever since. The number of Christians in the early 1980s was estimated at about six million. Today, estimates vary widely: The government tallied 29 million Christian adherents, while outside organizations have placed their estimates substantially higher.

Compiled by Nathan Rubbelke from think tank research