Wolf: How many Muslims do you actually know in order to claim that Asmaa is not a "typical" Muslim. Or is your claim based on the sum total of watching news clips, which tend to favor the bomb-throwing fanatic, as opposed to the ordinary lives, hopes and dreams of over a BILLION people? There are certainly religious people (of all faiths) that use religion to justify their actions. When Christians were massacring Muslim civilians in Bosnia, or when the Catholic IRA was bombing Protestant Belfast, most people understood that it was inaccurate and inappropriate to blame Christianity or Christians for such …
All 31 comments by...
Imran
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Wolf: Beastiality: The quality or condition of being an animal or like an animal. Conduct or an action marked by depravity or brutality. Looking at the most extreme interpretation of Islam (Saudi Wahhabism, which is universally accepted as a minority view) as somehow representative of all or most of Islam, is either bad logic or an intentional attempt to deceive (your Taliban example being another entity following such minority view). The sum total of all these persons (even assuming every individual in the countries above follows such view) is still a tiny fraction of all Muslims. And while Iran is certainly …
Posted to Caricaturing Danish Muslims
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Anyone who doubts the power of the hard-right Israeli lobby (whose tentacles reach deeply into BOTH parties) should witness what happened in Congress today. "Who Killed the Iran Provision?" "...We worked so hard to get one provision in a bill that says that President Bush must get Congressional approval before he launches an attack against Iran. And they killed it in secret -- within the Democratic caucus! The provision didn't say we could never attack Iran. Or that we would be taking that option off the table in negotiations. It said the president must get congressional approval. You know, like it …
Posted to For Israel's Sake
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Whattheheck: Last time I checked, Hezbollah wasn't in anybody's house but their own, in Lebanon, while Israel was conducting the systematic bombing that is the basis of the article. The "academic" got it right. The thing about "academics" is that they conduct these "mental" experiments properly (analogies actually have to be analogous), rather than spout populist cliches. Lay off the Faux News, its bad for you.
Posted to Lets be Realists, Let?s Demand the Impossible!
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Whattheheck: The problem with your analogy is that the guy threatening imminent harm is in your house, justifying your use of lethal force in self defense (in its actual legal meaning, rather than its Bush inspired Orwellian opposite). You know, as well as I, that the situation in the Middle East is NOT analogous. btw: The Katyushas were fired AFTER the Israelis began their systematic bombing of Lebanon. In fact, since Hezbollah chased Israel out of Lebanon in 2000, it had not fired a single rocket at Israel, much less at Israeli kids.
Posted to Lets be Realists, Let?s Demand the Impossible!
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Wolf: Ironically, that is exactly how Israel was created, but instead of the land dispute being 150 years old (like Texas), the Zionists terrorized both the British and the indigenous population on the basis of a 2000 year old dispute. Indeed, terrorists like Shamir, Begin, and other "founding fathers" would later become Prime Ministers. No wonder Israel fears terrorism; its very existence is living proof that terrorism works.
Posted to Lets be Realists, Let?s Demand the Impossible!
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The Palestinian reality is that Israel was created by Europeans, guilty over the holocaust, on their land; that despite the "people without a land, a land without a people" slogan, hundreds of thousand real people, who had lived there for generations, were expelled, to create this "Jewish utopia" in 1948. The Palestinians suffered further losses by trusting neighboring Arab regimes to regain their land for them by force. Their tactical military errors notwithstanding, the land remains stolen against the wishes of the indigenous population. It amazes me when people talk about how "grateful" the Palestinians should have been to get what …
Posted to Lets be Realists, Let?s Demand the Impossible!
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In order to find a solution, one must correctly analyze the problem. The purpose of my previous post was to place the Middle East paradigm in its correct context. I get tired of hearing how poor Israel is just "defending" herself, as if hordes are attacking for no reason whatsoever, without any discussion of the land grab which is the basis of the conflict. There are those in Israel who do not want to give up any land, for any reason, and envision a God-given mandate for a Greater Israel, of biblical proportions (no pun intended). There are Palestinians who do …
Posted to Lets be Realists, Let?s Demand the Impossible!
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Mitch: "..the Palestinians fled their land as much as had it stolen." Just listen to yourself. You sound like every ethnic cleanser in history, whitewashing the murder and expulsion of the indigenous population. For a brief summary of Israeli terrorism, by Israel's noble "founding fathers," that produced your Palestinian "fleeing," see: http://www.counterpunch.org/martin05132004.html Imran
Posted to Lets be Realists, Let?s Demand the Impossible!
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Mitch: While I applaud your newfound recognition that "both sides have engaged in terrorism," there is no moral equivalence between the violent taker of land and those from whom it is taken. Nor is there any equivalence between the side that uses its overwhelming military superiority to inflict tens of thousands of civilian casualties and the suicide bomber who kills a few dozen. It's the moral equivalence of heavily armed thieves complaining that the lightly or unarmed victim is fighting back. But, hey, "they're both using violence." Thank God you were not around when the French Resistance was fighting their guerilla …
Posted to Lets be Realists, Let?s Demand the Impossible!
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Mitch: What sane person would say "...the Jews fled Germany as much as were expelled?" That sort of ignores the Nazi pogroms that encouraged them to "flee," doesn't it? You wouldn't think twice about calling that person an anti-semite and a supporter of ethnic cleansing. The questionable contention that you lack "sloppy thinking, gullibility, self-righteousness, and/or bad grammar" does not absolve you of justifying ethnic cleansing with statements like “..the Palestinians fled their land as much as had it stolen.” Sorry, but the shoe seems to fit.
Posted to Lets be Realists, Let?s Demand the Impossible!
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Mitch: Pre-1948 History? Oh yes, the 19th and early 20th century Zionists who wanted to create a Jewish state in a land where the overwhelming majority of the people were not Jewish. How does one do that without finding a way to "displace" or "transfer" the natives? Are you truly not familiar with the verbal gymnastics some Zionists engaged in concerning the ethnic cleansing that would be necessary to bring about such a state? Does that sound like one who is simply "buying a house" in your neighborhood? Does that make the native who sees and hears the goals of Zionism …
Posted to Lets be Realists, Let?s Demand the Impossible!
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Mitch: I understand that these Zionist myths are essential for peace of mind. But they're not true, and conceal a horrible crime. Let's take them one at a time. Pre-1948 Land purchases. There were three periods of land acquisition by Zionists and Jews. While Jews in 1922 owned 3 percent of the land of Palestine, the additional land purchased by 1947 raised the total owned by the immigrant Jews to 7 percent of the whole area of the country. That's a long way from buying up the whole country. Pre-1948 population. Palestine in 1882 had a small, native, and migrant religious …
Posted to Lets be Realists, Let?s Demand the Impossible!
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Suppose I have a land conflict with you. You buy your gun at Kmart, and I buy mine at Walmart. Am I now just a proxy for Walmart when I fight you for my land? (And you KNOW how evil Walmart is). Just goes to show how far this administration will go to ignore and obscure legitimate local grievances. The sad part is how many people actually buy into their crap.
Posted to Examining Irans ties to Hezbollah
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Decampe: Your post is the typical emotional retreat to well-rehearsed cliches when confronted with the facts. But even here, you've got it wrong. The missiles were launched at Israel AFTER the Israeli systemic bombing of Lebanon's population and infrastructure, a bombing that Israeli officials themselves admitted amounted to collective punishment of all of Lebanon, guilty or innocent, to get them to split with Hezbollah. So explain again how Israel has not behaved like a terrorist and how 1000 civilian deaths compare with less than 50 caused by Hezbollah. It should be noted that the overwhelming majority of Israeli casualties were heavily …
Posted to Examining Irans ties to Hezbollah
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Decampe: Like the media, you imply that this conflict is only 5 weeks old, when Hezbollah captured the Israeli soldiers, the implication being that there could be no reason for Hezbollah's unprovoked "attack." However, the conflict is older than this, and your mention of Samir Kuntar and four others implies that you know this (left out of your discussion is that Israel agreed to their release as part of an exchange, and then reneged on it after getting their own people back. But more importantly, left out your discussion are the thousands of others kidnapped by Israel, held without charge for …
Posted to Examining Irans ties to Hezbollah
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Geez, I check out for just a couple of days, and the postings have gravitated to civilizational confrontation! I thought this post was about how 3000 Shiite guerrillas held off the "mighty" Israeli Army, Navy and Air Force (Thermopylae-style). Normally, I would point out that this "civilizational" divide is a further diversion from the actual facts on the ground (Bush uses it to justify just about everything he does), but here goes. How come every time Israel (or Bush for that matter) kills someone, she is defending "the West" against Islam? What "West?" The Christian West? There are more Christian Arabs …
Posted to Examining Irans ties to Hezbollah
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Excellent interview with British MP George Galloway about media bias against Hezbollah. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=730041565017127482&q=british+mp&hl=en
Posted to Examining Irans ties to Hezbollah
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Typical AIPAC response: rather than address the issues actually raised by the speaker, attack the speaker personally as an "anti-semite" or one who "despises Israel." Notice that there was NO discussion of what he actually said. Silencing or marginalizing critics of Israeli actions in this fashion will not help Israel find the right answers (much like Bush attacking his Iraq war opponents as traitors rather than listening to their criticism and formulating better policy). It will guarantee them an Israeli version of "stay the course."
Posted to Examining Irans ties to Hezbollah
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The Palestinian reality is that Israel was created by Europeans, guilty over the holocaust, on their land; that despite the "people without a land, a land without a people" slogan, hundreds of thousand real people, who had lived there for generations, were expelled, to create this "Jewish utopia" in 1948. The Palestinians suffered further losses by trusting neighboring Arab regimes to regain their land by force. The tactical and military errors notwithstanding, the land remains stolen against the wishes of the indigenous population. It amazes me when people talk about how "grateful" the Palestinians should have been to get what was …
Posted to Examining Irans ties to Hezbollah
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Decampe: I did not deny the existence of Israel. In order to find a solution, one must correctly analyze the problem. The purpose of my previous post was to place the Middle East paradigm in its correct context. I get tired of hearing how poor Israel is just defending herself, as if hordes were attacking for no reason whatsoever, without any discussion of the land grab which is the basis of the conflict. There are those in Israel who do not want to give up any land for any reason, and envision a God-given mandate for a Greater Israel, of biblical …
Posted to Examining Irans ties to Hezbollah
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My best guess: Israeli withdrawal to pre-1967 borders, including East Jerusalem. Dismantling of ALL Israeli settlements in these areas. Release of ALL Palestinian prisoners. Reparations for: (1) the land Israel gets to keep, and (2) harm done to Palestinian civilians, both in Palestine and those driven out, and (3) destroyed homes, fields, crops and infrastructure. Palestinian state (with all sovereign powers) on West Bank and Gaza, a viable land corridor linking the two, with its capital East Jerusalem. Right of return for all Palestinians expelled since 1948. However, as mentioned earlier, there are imperialists in Israel that do not wish to …
Posted to Examining Irans ties to Hezbollah
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Decampe: I accept that negotiation is the most beneficial way to resolve this. The problem is that both parties should want to negotiate. Therein lies the rub, so to speak. Both parties must perceive some gain from negotiation versus war: the party that can get everything it wants by force does not want, or need, negotiation. Israel has a monopoly on overwhelming force. It takes what it wants, and even when it "negotiates," it dictates rather than negotiates in good faith, using the rejection of such dictation as further excuse for more war. The Palestinians (or Hezbollah for that matter) do …
Posted to Examining Irans ties to Hezbollah
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Decampe: I also share your analysis of the horrible consequences of anti-semitism. How many question, with the same vigor, the anti-muslim hatred currently in vogue? Many of the posts here are nothing but anti-muslim tirades rather than a discussion of issues (much like Bush analyses of the issues, with the proviso that I am not painting anyone here with the horrid/putrid Bush brush).
Posted to Examining Irans ties to Hezbollah
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Hijynx22: I don't recall saying that Hezbollah was "the big bad organization to which all powers are impotent." I believe that I very clearly pointed out the overwhelming military superiority Israel possessed over the 3000 militiamen of Hezbollah. In fact, it was this very mismatch that made for my Thermopylae analogy. Oh, and btw, what's with the "Jackass" and "Go IDF" thing? How old are you?
Posted to Examining Irans ties to Hezbollah
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In a modern-day Thermopylae, Hezbollah's 3,000 fighters have astoundingly held off Israel's mighty military machine, the world's fourth strongest, for nearly four weeks. In the meantime, Israeli war crimes against Lebanese civilians and its infrastructure (Christian and Muslim) have united them as never before. The latest polling shows 87% of Lebanese population now backs Hezbollah. The war has backfired for Israel. US inaction/complicity in these war crimes will not soon be forgotten. In the longer term, the message will not be lost on anyone: that having a pro-American Arab government counts for nothing, and that Arab civilians count for less than …
Posted to Do you think that Israel is justified to wage war in Lebanon?
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Context is everything. Despite cursory appearances, this is hardly a battle between "freedom of speech" and "religious sensitivities." First of all, most of the European newspapers, who published and then re-published the cartoons, were a collection of right-wing outlets (Washington Times, Faux News types) who care only about the 'free speech' they agree with. It did not come as a surprise that the original newspaper that published the cartoons had previously REJECTED cartoons about Jesus for fear of offending 'its readers.' So much for their being courageous defenders of "free speech." Secondly, combined with the current international climate of hostility to, …
Posted to What was your first reaction to the controversy surrounding the Danish cartoons?
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Let's put this holier than thou 'freedom of speech' canard to rest once and for all. If a newspaper published cartoons referring to African-Americans as the "n" word, or printed caricatures of the Jewish Holocaust, would they really be REPUBLISHED over and over again in the name of free speech? Of all the attacks on freedom of the press here and abroad, would these insulting cartoons be the battle "free speechers" would stand their ground on? Would these cartoons be embraced as warmly as have the Muhammad-bashing ones? Be honest. Free speech advocates around the world would do nothing of the …
Posted to What was your first reaction to the controversy surrounding the Danish cartoons?
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It is misleading trying to defend these insulting cartoons by pointing to the "context of the killing of a Dutch filmmaker." The Europe/ Islam "context" much older than that. These events have not occured in a vacuum. As Salim Muwakkil points out on THIS website, the Islamic ire is not difficult to understand, really. When Louis Farrakhan allegedly called Judaism a “gutter religion” in 1984 he was denounced from pillar to post, and more than 20 years later he still catches flack for those reported remarks. Congress even got into the act, unanimously passing legislation condemning Farrakhan’s words. The phrase “freedom …
Posted to What was your first reaction to the controversy surrounding the Danish cartoons?
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Eliza: You bring up an excellent point about the "1984"-style inversion and re-righting of terms and concepts by the current administration. The inversion of the defense of "free-speech" in this cartoon context is similar to their inversion of the defense of "journalistic sources" in the Plame Affair. In both instances, these noble concepts have been twisted beyond recognition by those who have, in the past, vociferously opposed such concepts their entire lives (and will toss them again when it no longer suits them). Although I am disheartened by the number of people who do not see through these transparent charades, the …
Posted to What was your first reaction to the controversy surrounding the Danish cartoons?
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Knocko: I'm not sure if you read the preceding posts regarding religious bigotry and incitement masquerading as free speech, but thank you for proving my point. Imran
Posted to What was your first reaction to the controversy surrounding the Danish cartoons?
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