I. A. Bhatti

easy

a jar of amana colonies apple butter from iowa, a jar of chunky peanut butter… and a spoon. i’m easy to please.

regarding the previous post… there exists a majority, albeit a silent one, in the muslim world that hates these attacks. a majority that sees the futility of the goals held by the groups that carry out these attacks — and, more importantly, a majority that laughs at the contradictions apparent in the occidentalist worldview held by those who would tear down everything to pave the way for a peaceful future. but the silence is the troubling part. they cringe when they hear reports of attacks like these, carried out in the name of their god, cry when confronted with images of casualties and the senseless death of people so similar to themselves. but there is no talk of taking responsibility. the pakistani government has taken no firm position denouncing this crime, and the people of pakistan and the greater muslim community seem content, as always, in shifting blame by concocting conspiracy theories. there is a tendancy among muslims, in their homelands and abroad, to seek comfort in this rhetoric of denial from the blinding glare of every explosion carried out in their names, every massacre spurred on by a sheikh’s perversion of the word jihad. this cannot go on. until the well-meaning majority clears its throat and bellows in defiance of the violent few, the hateful rhetoric fanning the flames of this movement will continue to devour more victims and lasso more blind believers as shells and casing for homemade bombs.

what does the keffiyeh mean to you? according to fox news commentator michelle malkin, the keffiyeh “has come to symbolize murderous Palestinian jihad. Popularized by Yasser Arafat and a regular adornment of Muslim terrorists appearing in beheading and hostage-taking videos…”

the keffiyeh has been worn by arab men for centuries, and it was certainly popularized far before arafat’s time. malkin’s post is a good example of what is wrong with the conservative media’s blind pro-israel spin on the israel/palestine issue: grouping militant palestinian groups with militant islamist groups, portraying arafat and the pa leadership as bin laden-esque ring leaders of a terrorist network, contending that the pa and even militant palestinian groups pose a threat to american national security, labeling the palestinian leadership as anti-democracy… the list goes on. this rhetoric is simply not rooted in fact

racism

scene: 1:50 Monday night, Linn St.

i’m crossing the street to my car, and there is no one else out on the block of linn street i’m walking on. suddenly i hear two or three guys yelling from a balcony in grandview terrace:

“where you going little nigger?

get your ass over here little nigger…

asshole nigger…

where do you think you’re going?

how come you have a car?”

flag pin?

pictures are popping up all over the web of obama with an american flag in his lapel… seriously, dude? what happened to the post-partisan rhetoric that got america so fired up about your campaign in the first place? are we sinking to the level of the blind patriotism of middle america? america needs far more than flags and symbols… obama should not let those who wield these symbols claim patriotism as their own. we need patriots like obama who recognize the actions that must be taken to restore america’s standing in the international community.

and the next time president bush runs his mouth about the lack of democracy in palestine (false) and the inherent evil of the iranian government (come on now) and the irreparable harm to this country that negotiations with our enemies would cause (not the same as appeasement), do more than whine about how unfair it is for him to attack you. call bullshit, firmly rebuke his shoddy arguments, and don’t wait for chris matthews to do it first. 

discourse does not equal appeasement

matthews is absolutely right when he says there’s a difference between talking to the enemy and appeasing the enemy…