the other

The Outrageous Vilification of Immigrants

2008-09-17T21:15:00.007-05:00

Jim Neal recently published this dairy on immigrant bashing in North Carolina.The vilification of immigrants is seriously outrageous. It's an issue across the country, and certainly a hot topic in this year's election. It's as if people take pride in hate.Notwithstanding the raids, detentions, and deportations, the tragedy here goes beyond immigration itself. The racist undertones explicit in the

Shell-Shocked Somalis Reject Washington’s “Counter-Terrorism”

2008-06-16T17:02:00.002-05:00

A very ecstatic crowed cheered as Ethiopian forces withdrew from their post in Beletwein this weekend. Thousands in Somalia took to the streets last month to protest U.S. attacks and express frustration at the chaos that ensued Washington’s proxy-war in Somalia. It’s evident that the presence of Ethiopian forces in Somalia and the existence of U.S. support for this invasion are not well received

I'm blogging again.

2008-03-16T10:28:00.008-05:00

I took some time off to focus on my thesis and my (rather awful, :p) work at the daily. In any case, post-grad life is finally giving me the flexibility to write again and I plan to update more frequently. I also contribute to EngageMN and Daily Kos and will sometimes crosspost my work from those blogs to this, though I will also continue to post shorter pieces exclusively for this blog.

Iran, Venezuela, Fidelito..

2006-08-04T01:07:00.003-05:00

The international sphere is oh so scandalous right now.I feel like this is all a really surreal episode of cops where the global "elements of discontent" unite momentarily to take over the world.On the first two, the entire basis of the Iran-Venezuela relationship is characterized by a shared hatred for the United States. This is potentially a significant bond, perhaps stronger than the Saudi-U.S

More discourse on Foucault

2006-06-30T23:29:00.000-05:00

This is my original post, and below is a response from the very adequate intellectual Sloan Dawson. I think that Sloan raises some crucial points, and I highly recommend reading his thoughts. Before pasting his response below, I wish to preface his comments with a few thoughts. I agree with Sloan that it would definitely be stretch to contend that my closing arguments are part of Foucault’s

In open defense of Mearsheimer-Walt

2006-06-24T19:01:00.000-05:00

After reading the essay “The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy,” I failed to find the madness or racism Eliot Cohen of John Hopkins was referring to when he labeled the piece “kooky,” and argued that it was imbued with anti-Semitism. The professors suggest that tensions in the Middle East worsen with the intimate relationship between the Israel lobby and U.S. foreign policy, deepening this

Remembering Somalia, Yugoslavia, and Congo when rallying for Darfur.

2006-05-07T16:57:00.000-05:00

Well meaning, but uninformed liberal internationalism has a tremendous capability to destroy. Go ahead, ignore the question of Congo, the various other proxy projects in Africa, destroy a sovereign state, and invade yet another Muslim country. Darfur is not “the worst humanitarian crisis” in the world today, the death toll in Congo far exceeds that in Darfur, and the situation itself is not too

U.S. funding warlords in Somalia

2006-05-06T11:41:00.000-05:00

Interesting!If anyone has the full-text of the following or has other sources, let me know!"Somalia accused the United States on May 4 of funding warlords in the country as part of its war on terrorism. A spokesman for the interim Somali government based on Baidoa said Washington is backing warlords whose militias are battling Islamist militants, which he said has caused the deaths of innocent

Surprised?

2006-04-17T16:05:00.000-05:00

Israel has been shelling the heck out of Palestinian territories, and now the state is somehow surprised that there was a bombing in Tel Aviv this week? I find that hard to believe...Eighteen Palestinians were killed last week. The only story that made headlines was the death of the young girl (who by the way, was not the only youth to fall victim to Israel's terror). The recent bombing in Tel

I stand corrected.

2006-03-28T21:45:00.001-06:00

I'm correcting myself.I decided to edit out parts of my Irshad Manji post. Not because it was politically incorrect... and not because I sympathize for the category of people in question, but simply because I think that certain claims I made were out of context and simply unnecessary.Something has been bothering me lately, and I finally have time to sit and write about it. It's been bothering me

Deconstructing the myth of genocide in Darfur

2006-03-16T21:54:00.000-06:00

The myth of a government-sponsored genocide in Sudan against African-Christians is another attempt by the right-wing and Zionist lobbyist in congress to peversify Islam. It seems to be on the tip of everyones tongue that the UN declared the situation in Darfur a genocide—a claim that is entirely false. Mass media needs to meet reality; the international commission of inquiry on Darfur actually

The trouble with Irshad Manji and Oprah

2006-03-06T02:51:00.000-06:00

I really wonder about Manji. Does she actually believe in what she says or is she basically trying to be innovative in a very conforming sort of way?Oprah gave Manji the chutzpah award for being "brave and daring." Normally, being critical of a topic usually requires some scholarship, but Manji proves to bear little knowledge of Islam or Arab civilization. In fact, Manji is completely anti-Arab,

Mumia Abu Jamal

2006-02-19T16:33:00.000-06:00

Can I speak?Can I speak about a dead at this celebration?After all, they are the ones who made it possibleCan someone say that we are here because they are not?Is that prohibited?I have a dead brother.Is there anyone here who doesn’t’ have a dead brother?I have a dead brother.He was killed by a bullet to his head.It was before dawn on the 1st of January, 1994Way before dawn the bullet that was

Bernard Lewis

2006-02-18T18:33:00.000-06:00

You are no scholar, you are a disgrace to humanity.

Security

2006-02-06T23:56:00.000-06:00

States often operate on efficiency for the government, and not necessary efficiency in protecting the general populace. This is perhaps most evident when it comes to how quickly certain matters are dealt with. Government efficiency simply means that the government will do whatever it can to make sure that it maintains its position of authority. In this sense, states serve the interest of the

We didn't start the fire...

2006-01-21T20:56:00.000-06:00

I was listening to Billy Joel this morning, and I realized that he would be an excellent history teacher. I was twelve the first time I heard this song, and it made me curious about a lot. There is still a lot of things that he mentions that I have yet to learn about. Ahhhh, the failures of high school history! Yes, high school failed me, but Billy Joel still rocks. His song includes a simple,

Munich.

2005-12-29T19:41:00.000-06:00

Films about Arab terrorism are usually filmed from the viewpoint of the victims and not the terrorist. This film was shot from the perspective of the Israeli assassin team leader; so naturally, the audience found rooting for the murders. I will admit that the film in general was objective in a sense that it attempted to explain (at least verbally) the two sides and the cycle of violence involved

Islamo-Facists?

2005-12-26T22:01:00.000-06:00

Re: Conversation with my Irish friend after this discussion This term has become quite popular these days! Ahh when people start using these words—just shows how truly little they know about the subject. I guess what this person is basically suggesting is that the Irish question/issue is categorically different from the struggle that "Muslims" carry forth, essentially arguing that the former is

blame game over Iraq

2005-09-16T23:56:00.000-05:00

Has anyone else (besides me and as'ad) noticed that the U.S. first blamed Syria, then Iran, then Zarqawi over their little situation in Iraq? Their lack of control in the region has placed a little insecurity within. Interestingly enough, what they decided to do in response to the insurgency problem is freaking destroy the livelihood of the poor inhabitants on the

Reading news all day

2005-08-21T16:19:00.000-05:00

I actually learned a few thing...number 1 thing) I found it a bit ironic that 600 of the Israeli settlers who were moved from Gaza were brought to West Bank—another illegal settlement. Wth, what is Sharon thinking? Meh, probably not thinking, he was perhaps too busy fantasizing about his soon to be annexed to Israel proper territories. number 2 thing) So I thought this story was

Nationalism as racism and conceptualizations of brotherhood

2005-08-18T22:04:00.000-05:00

The existence of tribal, cultural, and national loyalties carry an innate racism and thus push away from the attainment of absolute brotherhood. I say this as a person who comes from a country which has been in ruins for over two decades because of a tribal based civil war. While the war was over resources, it was motivated by tribal interests. Fact of the matter is that Somalia was

The Unedited, Uncensored version of "No Victory For Palestinians"

2005-08-17T10:59:00.000-05:00

I am not proud of what was published in the daily today. However, since I am on the editorial board, I must remember that my opinions should be representing the entire board, and not just my own views. A lot of stuff was edited out and other things added to my originally ed, which to some people was too tough. It was tough, but I liked it. Here is the original ed.Israeli pull out from Gaze

The Constant Gardener

2005-08-07T15:03:00.000-05:00

I am not usually one who advocates paying to see movies in a theater, but I will this one time. Constant Gardener seems like a pretty good movie. It begins showing on the 25th of this month. The film is based on a book by John le Carre in which this woman (the wife of a british diplomat) is murdered because of her investigation that lead her to find certain messed up activities by a

The problem is Islam?

2005-08-06T15:26:00.000-05:00

This seems to be the general focus of all of the media and the political discussions that are taking place in the west. It’s all so very interesting. Blair is currently talking about monitoring mosques and deporting certain clerics in the hopes of “curbing the haters”. I find it interesting how after all of this, Islam seems to be the only problem. Does it bother anyone that most of the people

Taking apart Huntington

2005-07-13T00:32:00.000-05:00

In the 1993 Foreign Affairs summer edition, Samuel Huntington argues in the article titled “Clash of Civilizations” that the world can be divided into compartments and that from these categories or civilizations as Huntington would put it, a clash would evolve. This theory by Huntington is problematic for several reasons, all centering on it’s incompatibility with ethics and history. The author

Foucault and the prison of the body

2005-06-25T15:01:00.000-05:00

“The soul is the effect and instrument of political anatomy; the soul is the prison of the body”-Michel Foucault in Discipline and Punish, pg. 30.First half is a summary of his argument presented above, the second half is this argument in relation to Islam. The soul as Foucault argues is produced through discipline that is around the body, it is a product and effect of power and it produces power

thinking about Voltaire...

2005-06-06T20:21:00.000-05:00

Funny how I stumbled upon his work today. Voltaire is perhaps most famous for his quote “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it”. I can’t help but think that this is absolutely beautiful! I liked that particular quote, but in general, he has some very mind-boggling work.What fascinated me the most about him is his words regarding metaphysics. Regarding

Kingdom of Heaven

2005-05-21T16:14:00.000-05:00

Not so much an informative film about the historical events of the crusades, but rather it sought to draw out parallels between the issues that the people of that time faced with the issues that we continue to face this day; mainly emphasizing on the topic of co-existence. The film, was not a crusade movie! For one, the events highlighted in the film took place between the 2nd and 3rd crusade,

So much for justice

2005-05-17T15:05:00.001-05:00

We are living in an era where unpopular religious and political views, or any form of dissent against our government is viewed as “terrorism” or "acts of treason". During this time, the innocent person can be considered untrustworthy while the wicked one enjoys the trust of everyone. Today someone as peaceful and compassionate as Dr. Ali Timimi is labeled as co-conspirator #1 and a terrorist,