Laughing is refreshing. It's fun to do. It's a helluva lot better than sulking.
Occasionally me and Chuckle have laughing fests. I'll laugh about something, she'll laugh at my distinctive laugh. And next thing you know, we have tears streaming down our face and we're holding the sides of our stomachs from pain.
We also used to lie down next to each other, in an upside down position, and talk to one another. The way your mouth looks in this position, while you talk, used to crack us up! It just looked so dumb and funny to see your mouth move from an upside down angle.
So after watching the recent CNN special on "Unwelcome: The Muslims Next Door", I was in a state of panic and worry and disgust and anger and just an overall upset mood. If you haven't watched it or didn't hear about it, it's basically about the city of Mursfreesboro, Tennessee, enraged that the Muslim residents of the city decided on relocating and constructing their mosque to a larger space. There were many people for and OBVIOUSLY against the building of the mosque and many protests over it. So much controversy surrounded it that it was taken to court. Just a lot of tension, bigotry, and ignorance in the city of Mursfreesboro. It was very disheartening to watch and take in.
However I got an email today from one of our former authors, Artistic Logic, that has kept me laughing all day. Instead of getting upset and outraged, Artistic Logic, more or less, pointed out the ridiculous things people say, ludicrous things people do, and even the outrageous things people wear. Not to mention the lack of knowledge people have about a lot of things these days, particularly that of Islam and Muslims. Don't get me wrong, the special presented by CNN is a very serious issue and impacts many people, myself included. And I applaud CNN for taking the initiative and raising awareness about this. But after some time, if you really look back on it, and listen to some of the stuff and watch the actions of people, it really makes you guffaw at it all.
While talking about subject and predicate parts of a sentence with my class, I randomly thought of it, and I suppressed a giggle. And then again when I was yelling at my students for shouting out during instruction, I had to force the smile away that was creeping up on my lips. And while driving home from work, I was grinning from ear to ear, while thinking about it.
I dont know about you, but I just love to laugh. I feel like my whole day was much nicer cause of that email that had me hooting since dawn.
Not to mention that LOL-ing is much more fun and better,then say, FML-ing.
This afternoon we received an e-mail from one of the doctoral students RE her dissertation, she is Libyan, and her husband and other family is currently in Libya. She has asked us to let people know what is going on. Please feel free (actually, please feel compelled) to forward this message as far and wide as possible. I have deleted the student's name for the sake of her safety and her family's safety. ______________________
Begin forwarded message: >> From: >> Date: February 19, 2011 5:45:42 PM EST > Subject: Re: hoping that everything is well
>> Thank you so much Dr. xxx >> >> I have spoken to him and my family in Benghazi. They are all well. >> >> In Benghazi, the situation is terrible; there are massacres occurring. >> People getting shot by helicopters and snipers; there have been reports >> of poisoning of the city water supply and mercenaries from sub-Sahara >> Africa and Algeria have been unleashed reportedly being paid $30,000 each >> to kill innocent people. Please spread the word among your colleagues and >> urge everyone you know to contact the UN, the Red Cross and Crescent, all >> news agencies, the State Department, and the White House. Please tell >> everyone you know; people are being massacred. >> >> Thank you again for checking in. Please pray for the people. >> >> - >>
I saw this on BBC new's comments page. Everything in the emailed matches up to things I have read on twitter, aljazeera english accounts from anonymous witnesses in Libya and etc. So I have no qualms and doubts in posting this up.
SO What Can You Do? Just spread the word. And here's a great site:www.libyafeb17.com
On a side note. Anyone watching the All-star game? Any bidders? East? or West? Kobe fan or LeBron?
EDIT: It's monday morning, the game is over, and its highlights are going to be played over and over again for the next week on ESPN. And the most important talking point will be on how Kobe schooled LeBron.
"Egypt is free! Egypt is free!" Newspaper headlines, CNN breaking news, iPhone apps... Egypt is finally free, Praise be to God. The unimaginable actually happened... and within only 18 days... what a miracle.
Not really sure how to put all this momentum and energy into solid words. But the feeling is just amazing. Its not only about Mubarak stepping down... its the fact that the whole world was behind Egypt united, standing for justice, and continuously supportive. Im not Egyptian and outside of a few friends in Egypt, I dont have much of a connection to that country. But I still felt part of this revolution... I cried, I cheered, I held hope... I just couldnt physically be with the thousands on Tahrir Square day after day.
From January 25th to February 11th, 2011, Egypt is finally FREE!
As a twitter junkie, I found some inspiring tweets about Egypt from celebrities to scholars to journalists to everyday Egyptians:
ArabRevolution تباً لك ياطاغوت by NickKristof So the Danish are the first to stand up for #Egypt. While we vilified a whole nation for some cartoons. Puts things into perspective
DawudWalid الملا داود والد #Obama gives credit of uprising in #Egypt to young people.
andersoncooper Anderson Cooper Mubarak's lies continue.
YasirQadhi Yasir Qadhi Mubarak everyone!!! Mubarak has gone :)
naveensyed Naveen Syed Congratulations, #Egypt! So amazing, inspiring, motivational. You deserve it!
jamaaldiwan Jamaal Diwan The largest non-violent protest in world history prevails!!! Pouring out tears and prayers for those who we lost along the way...
IrshadManji IrshadManji The ppl of #Egypt have affirmed that liberty is not a Western construct but a universally shared aspiration.
iansomerhalder ian somerhalder Congratulating the people of Egypt- freedom is every living person's right! You deserve it! Dictators be done!
Alyssa_Milano Alyssa Milano Happy Birthday, #Egypt!
Ghonim Wael Ghonim by LowkeyMusic1 Dear Western Governments, You've been silent for 30 years supporting the regime that was oppressing us. Please don't get involved now #Jan25
awadofgum Spent the last couple hours giving out candy on the Diag. People's faces are hilarious when you tell them "Happy Egyptian Revolution Day!"
cwzymuslima cwzymuslima #Egypt did for itself in 3 weeks what the US could not do for #Iraq and #Afghanistan in nearly 10 years. Peace, not war, overcomes #terror.
nilebabe Today I'm so incredibly proud and inspired by the power that #egypt claimed back for itself. I'm proud of my family that contributed to it.
DawudWalid الملا داود والد we bombed Iraq to replace a dictator we propped up.#Egypt, it happen without bombs. So much for the inherently violent Muslim talking point.
NickKristof Nicholas Kristof Muslims and Christians praying together in #Tahrir. Very inspiring. Le'ts hope--and pray--that that unity persists.
**While we're in the midst of celebrating Egypts freedom, however, lets just not forget that it all started with a man in Tunisia who set himself on fire in protest to the Tunisian dictatorship. This is proof. One person can make a difference.**
No no no! Violence was not supposed to take over!!
Besides the clashes that erupted before the army replaced the police, the protests in Egypt were going peacefully, gathering force, and gaining admiration. Just yesterday I read an article on the Associated Press that mentioned the most surprising factor was how non-violent the demonstrations were.
Volunteers in the demonstrations were assigned to prevent any individual protesters from inciting any violent acts, human chains were made up of volunteers to keep the protesters separated from any opposing forces.
So much thought put in to try and prevent any outbreaks of violence BY the protesters yelling against their poverty and their restricted freedoms!!
And that was enough to jinx it.
Come today morning, some 3000 pro-Mubarak protesters ride in on CAMELS and HORSES with whips and sticks (I'm wondering why camels and horses as well), and attacked the large demonstrating crowd, breaking its protective human chain, and Violence Erupts.
People are hurt, people are bloody, people fight back, fights are breaking out.
Some protesters begged the army (that was right there) to intervene, help, and protect, but one replied while the others took cover that they were not "ordered" to do so.
Other pro-government protesters are throwing fire bombs and stones from the rooftop of buildings on the masses of anti-Mubarak protesters.
It's a really depressing scene right now for a protest that was fighting for its people's voice, rights, and for democracy.
I hope the people of Egypt win their battle against injustices.
But I'm scared for them.
Remember how just a couple weeks ago the massacre in Arizona had stopped our nation while we heard the names of the victims and watched Congresswoman Giffords battle for her life? Now think of our entire nation undergoing a shock of many Arizona massacres happening all across the nation. They're facing a fight, I think, even scarier than that.
[Update 5:50 p.m. Cairo, 10:50 p.m. ET] CNN's Ivan Watson says opposition demonstrators inside Tahrir Square are surrounded by pro-Mubarak groups and fear a bloodbath after nightfall.
CNN's Ben Wedeman tweeted: "The only way out of Tahrir is thru army lines to the right of the mosque next to the Mogamaa." (The Mogamaa is a building that houses the Interior Ministry.) "People in Tahrir square begging Obama to intervene. They are terrified a bloodbath is about to occur."
Disclaimer:This post is all over the place, so bear with me.
The only thing I've ever known about Korea and the Korean people are they make some interesting dramas that Controlled Chaos likes to watch/talk about.
And occasionally I'll join her and watch them too.
That's pretty sad, isn't it?
(My knowledge of the place is sad,not the fact that I watch the dramas.)
My friend, M, recently told me about a documentary about North Korea. Some of the stuff that she was talking about just seemed unrealistic and downright primitive that I had to watch the documentary myself.
So that's what I did this past weekend.
I watched the documentary National Geographic: Inside North Korea, reported by Lisa Ling.
A doctor from Nepal, Dr. Ruetz, was traveling to North Korea to perform cataract eye surgery on approximately 1000 inhabitants of North Korea. He was going treat cataracts of people from the age range of 5-70. All in one week. Lisa Ling joined this doctor, under the ruse of working for the medical team and filming the surgeries. Along with filming the surgeries she was also able to capture, interview, and document the life of people in North Korea.
North Korea is a communist country and is currently under the rule of Kim JongIl. It is known as the "Hermit Kingdom", because of the government's successful attempt at keeping out anything foreign and allowing anything foreign to come in. The internet is banned. Cell phones are banned. And North Koreans teach their children to hate Americans and America. In the documentary, we see a mother singing a nursery rhyme with her young daughter that goes something like " The pathetic Americans kneel on the ground. They beg for mercy....." The country is basically isolated from the outside world. And Americans are not welcomed. North Koreans still blame America for the divide between North and South Korea. During her time there, Lisa Ling was the one and only American in the whole country.
People worship Kim JongIl in a god-like way, that it's frightening. After successfully completing 1000+ cataract surgeries, the doctor that performed it was not thanked once. Instead each patient, ran to a picture of Kim JongIl, praised him, thanked him, and vowed to do anything that he wanted them to do, and continuously talked about how indebted they are to him. I know a large part of it is due to fear. Many people fear the government, the soldiers, and fear for their lives and their family's lives and everything that at stake if they say anything against the ruler.
But the immense gratitude and loyalty that some people show their ruler makes you question and wonder sometimes what they are really feeling.One government minder that was escorting Ling and her camera crew around was extremely offended when one of the photographers laid on the ground in order to capture the full image of a statue depicting the "great" leader. He demanded that the photographer leave the country the next day.
What surprised me the post about the documentary (besides my lack of awareness) was how blinded, both literally and figuratively, the people of North Korea are. They have been brain washed to a remarkable extent that when questioned whether Kim JongIl could do any wrong in their eyes, many stared baffle eyed at Lisa Ling, and said "We dont quite understand your question." Because in their eyes, he could do know wrong. The question made no sense to them. And I am well aware that there is only so much that they can do for themselves without putting their lives in danger. And when you are only being fed one thing over and over and over, after a certain period of time you become immune and accustomed to it. It becomes your life. Your only chance at survival, sometimes, is to accept it.
This documentary was filmed four years ago in 2006. The state of North Korea now? Probably still the same.
So as not to make this post super long, I just want to end here by saying that it's most peculiar that people are so quick to point fingers and accuse others of oppression/being oppressed. It makes one wonder why those same people dont raise more awareness of things like this, governments like this, rulers like this, that openly and belligerently restrict and suppress their people.
Bangladesh News: A Bangladesh garment factory fire killed 25 employees and injured 100 on Tuesday.
Reuters news wire reported the fire burned for five hours after starting on the ninth-floor on the Arifa Ahmed Complex.
Fifty people had serious burn and were taken to four hospitals in Ashulia. Others were caught in a stampede as people tried to leave the building.
The Air Force and soldiers helped rescue people from the building.
Many of the 10,000 employees who work at the complex are women.
Bangladesh is a country southeast of India, with a population of more than 162 million according to the World Food Bank, World Development Indicators.About 88 percent of the population is Muslim.
...particularly when I watch/listen/hear/read about things in the news.
When I was in junior high, I used to be obsessed with the weather. Like, I really needed to know whether it was going to be cold, hot, rainy, snowy, foggy, or humid outside the following day. This obsession followed me into high school, and eventually stopped in 11th grade.
The only way I was able to find out what the weather was going to be like the next day was via the 10 o'clock news.
Pre-internet days, people. Get with it.
So the weather man wouldn't come on until exactly 10:30 and so I would have to watch 30 minutes of the news. This is how I kept up with current events.
Eventually when my obsession with the weather subsided, so did my knowledge of things that were happening in the world in which I resided.
I didnt know what was going on in the world for the past 8 years. No joke.
Fast forward a couple of years and enter: facebook.
Facebook, if used with good intentions can actually be resourceful. For real. I started noticing a lot of people updating their status about various things that were happening in the city, state, country, and world. So I started catching myself up with the latest buzz. And in the midst of catching up with current events, I also came back to the realization of why I stopped watching the news.
In retrospect, there never seems to be good news. Why dont people report on happy things? I mean I know they do, but some days it just seems like there is no good news. It's like you have to dig realllyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy deep to find something. Anything. That will make you smile. Or laugh. And if there is good news to be shared, it's always twisted into something that it totally wasn't supposed to be twisted into. Michelle Obama dancing with orphans and kids in India becomes a dance that supports the "axis of evil". Whatever the hell that means. ( This really didnt happen, but you know what I mean)
Some days I really do think the world and it's inhabitants are just far from where we should be, and some days I just rather stay in the dark about it.
But then there are other things that make me think living in this world, aint so bad. Like when I see non-Muslims, like Kate, defending Muslims and Islam. Or like when I see a student's Mom writing encouraging notes to their kids and putting it into their lunchbags.
Or like when I watch the Daily show with Jon Stewart and see how ridiculous the media makes things out to be.
Or like when I hear crazy stories from my sister's new nursing job. Or when I get a phone call from a friend and we talk about the most pointless things in the world. Or when my kids genuinely find my "Knock Knock" jokes amusing. Or when my mom wakes up in the wee hours of the morning and bids me farewell while I walk out to my car, in the dark. Or when I laugh about the most dumbest and randomest things with my siblings. Or knowing that one of my sisters is learning how to play the violin. Or seeing parents involved in their child's education.
Or attending a teacher conference and hearing the famous author, Mitch Albom, give a speech about having a little faith that can take you a long way.
Or knowing that I'm a teacher, and at least one of my students is learning something. Or like watching the show, School Pride, the school version of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and seeing how much people truly care about education in America, and being effective about it.
Or (minus the most recent episode----another story for another time), watching people actively defend and protect and fight for strangers on the show "What would you Do?"
And so on and so forth.
So yeah, on certain days, the world does suck, but you just gotta take the good with the bad.
And hope that some day the good will outweigh the bad and pray that the world really doesn't go to hell.
ABC's 20/20, the news broadcaster, took the initiative and did a special on Islam and Muslims in America. An assorted group of Muslims, men, women, children, from just about everywhere answered questions posed from thousands of viewers worldwide, such as:
What is Islam?
Are Muslim women oppressed?
What does the Qu'ran really say about violence against non-believers?
Does Islam condone violence?
Is there such a thing as a moderate Muslim?
Where are all of the moderate Muslims?
Why aren't more Muslims speaking out against acts of hate?
If you didn't catch it last night, no worries, because you can catch it here:
(click on the picture to view the episode)
Obviously they weren't able to answer all the questions that were posed, in such a short period of time, as one hour. So from my understanding, they are planning to do another special of Islam: Questions and Answers.
Although, in my personal opinion, this should have been done years ago, kudos, again, to 20/20 for taking this course of action and trying to build bridges between the Muslims and non-Muslims in America. And hopefully the rest of the world.
You will always have racist/prejudiced/hateful people in the world. No matter how much a group of people will try to prove themselves against a stereotype or how much they will try to teach people about themselves, their beliefs, and their culture, there will always be that one group of ignorant individuals that refuse to accept it.There will always be that one Caucasian that abhors African Americans. Or that one U.S. veteran who cannot stand the Japanese. Or that one Black panther that hates the White man. Or that one man who thinks that women should stay at home and cook and clean. Or that one group of people who think that Native American Indians should go back to where they came from. Or the group of people who think that all Mexican immigrants should learn to speak English.
And while most racist bigots keep their thoughts to themselves and only express it to certain people, you still have your fair share that explicitly state and talk about how much they hate a group of people.
Most of, if not all, the time, these thoughts and opinions sound extremely ignorant and only show the lack of education people are willing to seek for themselves because they are so blinded by their hateful thoughts.
The latest act of hate: A Church in Gainesville, Florida is planning to burn the Qu'ran, the holy book of Islam, on the 9th anniversary of September 11. They are honoring and remembering the victims of 9/11 by burning the holy book and declaring Islam, to be "religion of the devil".
(click on the picture for the full story)
I dont know how many times that Muslims will have to say time and time again, that the acts that were carried out on September 11th were not what Islam teaches. I dont know how many times Muslims have to defend themselves because of a horrendous act that was carried out by a group of people that claimed to be Muslims and were following what Islam told them to. I dont know how many times Muslims will have to say that what happened on 9/11 had nothing to do with Islam. I dont know how many times Muslilms will have to face the backlash of the acts that were carried out that day. I dont know when the world will accept Islam as a religion of peace and the actions of Muslims do not necessarily reflect the teachings of Islam.
I do know that a time should come where Muslims should stop having to do/say these things. And the rest of the world, the non-Muslims, should take the initiative and go out and learn these things on their own, so they can truly be able to understand the practices of Islam and what it really teaches.
Okay so this is a new hot topic in the news.... the building of a mosque blocks away from Ground Zero where the WTC were.
What's the issue?
People associate Islam with terrorists thus a Muslim place of worship seems scary. Why? Media, media, media. The problem is we can't generalize the acts of a small group of extremists who were in the wrong onto a huge population of people. It's just not logical.
Think of this. Of all the psychologists in the American Psychological Association (APA) 5 of them go and commit some sort of attack on some group. Are we then going to say the APA is a hub for terrorists and we should condemn them all? No, absolutely not. The actions of that group of individuals were wrong and they should be condemned. End of story.
And anyhow the building of a mosque would be the last thing extremists want to do. Why? Because a mosque is a place of prayer, tranquility, community, and understanding. It is a house of God and in it are people who believe in the actual tenets of Islam and practice them in their everyday lives. Park 51 would do wonders in New York City. It would be a hub of interfaith dialoge and community building.
A lot of bloggers have written excellent posts on the topic. Check out Sabrina's Slice of Lemon for an awesome article on the issue.
Hello my friends,
It's been a weird month. I've been jetting back and forth from MI to Dubai to MI so much that I feel like I have permanent jet lag :/. no worries though, I shouldn't be complaining. On this last excursion I had the biggest epiphany, and the most uncomfortable stench surrounding me. Let me explain. I started smoking due to stress related reasons, I went crazy and binge smoked for a week before my 13 hr flight. Not a good idea. I got on the plane and then fainted on my sister and then puked. twice. yup. that was my trip. It made me realize that smoking might just not be for me. I've quit ever since then- which i'm sure Controlled Chaos, will be thrilled to read :). Anyways, so i'm in the beautiful city of DC- or should I say crowded? AND super effing HEATED. This city can get HOT. But I like it. The locals are all dressed in suits and business casual, you can hardly find a slacker looking man/woman anywhere on these streets- well to be fair I am staying near Capitol Hill.
So what's going on in the world? Well, BP finally stopped the leak- for now. They capped it and are deciding to leave it that way for now even though their are some suggesting that the integrity of that cap might disintegrate further on in time- but who cares, it's capped right?
There's supposed to be a meeting tomorrow where President Karzai will declare that the Afghan troops will take over the main security of their country by 2014, what happened to 2011? is really all I want to know. I'm pretty sure the President- our President- was clear that we would leave Afghanistan by July 2011. But I guess these things drag on, something we should all be painfully aware of after 9 years of war.
Speaking of war, Iraq isn't exactly a bed of peace and roses just yet. A suicide bomber let one rip killing at least 43 people. It was assumed he was targeting Sunni militia members, because the bomb occurred outside a line where the militiamen were waiting to get paid. AND on the same day, another suicide bomber targeted a meeting of Sunni militia leaders and killed at least 3 people.
Um..lets see what else is going on? Well Palin doesn't want the building of the Cordoba House, a Mosque planned to be built on Ground Zero; Mexican drug cartel burst in upon a birthday party and shot the place up, killing 17 people; I heard Inception was a good movie, breaks box office record- oscar anyone?; and jobless-ness is at 9.5%. I think thats it, until next time- seyonara folks!
One officer was killed, four were wounded in Detroit early this morning, following a phone call from a worried neighbor who said she heard gunshots near her home.
Officer Brian Huff, 44, was shot and killed while on duty. Two of the four wounded officers have been released.
Suspect Jason Gibson, 25, has been charged several times, including for attempting to disarm an officer in 2007.
Everett, who uses alias names, was arrested last November for carrying a concealed weapon and released on a $200,000 bond.
Police Chief Warren Evans says the suspect, who has not been charged, should already have been behind bars.
Commander Steve Dolunt, Deputy Commander of the Eastern District, told Fox 2 News the shooting was unexpected.
"From what I understand this is the first time in history the police department has had five police officers shot at the same time."
Dolunt said Huff was apart of the back-up unit. The veteran officer was "just making sure the rookies were okay," he said.
BP has taken responsibility for the massive oil spill which led to a 10-day fishing ban on states bordering the Gulf of Mexico, from Louisianna to Florida.
The federal government is putting heat on the company to clean up the mess. There are nearly 210,000 gallons of crude oil pumping into the gulf, per day.
BP said they will try closing up the well causing the oil spurge, in 6-8 days.
Environmentalists are testing the water supplies to determine any health hazards.
"So you're a terrorist?" "Yes. I'm a terrorist" "What kind of terrorist?" "....A terrifying terrorist...Are you scared?" "Not really, No" .... "God dammit! ...Oh oh I mean, Allah Dammit."
Recognize the lines? If you're an avid comedy fan, you'll recognize them from Jeff Dunham's stand-up comedy act with "Achmed the dead terrorist"
The first time I watched the act on youtube, it wasn't hard to guess that the puppet named Ahmed (Achmed) is supposed to be a Muslim. And how did I feel about this supposed puppet Muslim being portrayed as 'the dead terrorist'? I don't really know, I was too busy laughing. The comedy act was funny, like LOL kinda funny. I didn't take offense it, nor did any of the Muslims who my brothers and I shared the video with.
Muslims, if you are one, you know this very well through you local college's MSA skit, make fun of themselves all the time. And we see others making fun of us, alot actually. Some are taken in the LOL manner like above, others can cause us to cringe and become uncomfortable.
But some jokes, regardless of whether they're funny or how liberal a Muslim is, sits in an uncomfortable manner, at the very least.
As some of you know, facial depictions especially of all the Prophets and of God are not allowed in Islam. Period.
But only when a kind of depiction of the last Prophet, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) i.e. the Prophet of Islam, comes out that you may notice noise being made.
Clear point and case, South Park's creators, Matt Stone and Trey Parker, were given a warning by a group called Muslim Revolution, to be careful or they might end up well...dead. They wrote in their online post , " This is not a threat, but a warning of the reality of what will likely happen to them." The crime? The Prophet was shown in one of their episodes buttt mindful of Islam's strict position on that, they kept him concealed in a bear suit or a U-Haul truck.
In comes Muslim Revolution's threat or umm... warning . Comedy Central decides better safe and happy. So on a new episode with the depiction of the Prophet they placed the word CENSORED to block the original concealment of the Prophet (the bear suit) and even censor any mention of his name and even some dialogues.
And the world is in Uproar!
Muslim Revolution faces the wrath of South Park's fans who hack their website and have it redirected to a picture that the fans know Muslim Rev's groupie will find offensive.
Jon Stewart sings an entire song dedicated solely to Muslim Revolution consisting of the words: Go bleeep Yourselves!!
(FYI I would die from happiness if Jon Stewart sang a song just for me, just a nice one)
Islam haters find themselves refueled, rearmed, and set out to make their own noise on forums and through comments.
"Hey MUSLIMS, WHAT'S YOUR PROBLEM?"
Well if you really wanna ask it like that, the answer would be you. But besides that lemme answer some of you questions.
"Chrisitians and Jews are made fun of all the time. So why do you think you are the exception?!"
No we don't think we're the exception. Like I said earlier, there are more than plenty of jokes out and about on Muslims and Arabs.
And we're made fun of and mocked even when it's not a comedic setting (sigh...Hollywood).
But noise erupts when the Prophet is mocked. Here's what it is: Jesus, Moses, Ibrahim etc. (peace be upon them all) while there may be some discrepancies with our beliefs in them, we respect them, we love them, we honor them.
We would not, should not, and could not mock them. When we see shows mocking them (in America) it doesn't settle well with us, but not much is said. Generally America is a Christian country and this is what America's mainly Christian population chooses to allow. Yes I know, separation of Church and State. But God Bless America.
And here we come, where facial depictions aren't even allowed of our own Prophet. Descriptions of him are only through words.
Mocking that is done on Jesus (and I could be wrong here) may also have less of an effect because Christianity has religious pictures and depictions of him everywhere.
While we, don't dare. So not only do we see a depiction of him that we have clearly said NO to, but a mocking one. And you expect a Muslim to be okay with that?
Sorry. That's enough to get a Muslim pissed off.
Enough to get annoyed but would Not excuse a Muslim to take a life or react destructively . The latter half, some Muslims, who are further egged on, turn deaf, dumb and blind to.
"Is that what your REligion reaALly teAches yOu? VIOLENCE? kIlL eveRy peRsoN that upSets You?"
"Um. No it really doesn't. Assuming what Muslim Revolution did was just a warning. It was still messed up. Even the time the Danish cartoons depicted the Prophet, some Muslims acted out violently from anger, keeping in mind there's more than 1.5 billion Muslims out of a 6.7 billion world population, there's a lot more of us that didn't act from that anger.
Some people, like me sit and wonder what would the Prophet had told us to do. Definitely not go and randomly burn buildings and cause chaos or destruction to retaliate against ignorance.
I've heard people say some pretty disgusting stuff to my face or indirectly to me about my beliefs or my Prophet and sure I've wanted to punch people really, really hard. But I don't. Because that's what my religion DID teach me. It's told me again, and again, and again, and sometimes even to my deaf ears not to act out in anger.
Did you know that extreme anger is even considered unlawful in Islam?
Oh and if I ever do slip, it's not because I've been taught violence through my religion."
So you're probably really pissed of with South Park too? You're probably applauding that radical website?
Uhh Actually no. I actually appreciated the creators attempts at, in their own funny way, trying to adhere to Islam's prohibition against depicting the Prophet. I'm not going to applaud them but I did appreciate it.
And notice that those other times when the depiction was made, it never made it to the media? Not that any of it makes it okay for anyone to publicly mock prominent figures of another's religion. (But we're not here to address that). But no, I don't applaud the website. Posting up a picture of a dead man and using that as a 'warning' is disgusting and wrong. And as Snake Charmer points out also, that pisses many Muslims out even more.
Anyways, those are my two cents in a 100 dollar bill. Comments, questions are welcome. And on a side note, I apologize for not giving better insight into the whole thing. I don't watch South Park and nor am I ever planning on it. So I have no idea what happened in the episodes in exact details. Nor am I an expert in any form.
Using another's words, it's an unfortunate situation and we can't enforce what is said about Islam but can voice our concerns. "In any case, in the end, it comes down to the problems associated with the creation of mass media in general, and things can & potentially will get much worse as a result of it"
Belgium's banning the burqa- (the full face covering). The first European country to do so- when they do it- some time this month. The law won't allow anyone to cover their face in public so that would also include the niqab (allows the eyes to be seen) in the ban.
France wants to push for a law that would ban the burqa as well, expanding the 2004 law that banned headscarves in state schools. Other countries such as Britain, the Netherlands, and many German states are also facing the debate in whether or not to expand their ban on headscarves in schools- to burqas in public places. And of course there was Switzerland last year banning mosques from building minarets.
But the thing that makes the Belgium ban different from the headscarf bans in other EU countries is that, it has the support- albeit cautious, of the Muslim community there.
Belgian Muslim: "It is wrong to say the burqa is part of Islam. The vast majority of Muslims do not wear it. And it's not a bad idea to give a signal that we need some rules to live together."
Another Belgian Muslim: "I don't like the burqa. Every person should be visible. In most cases, it is not a religious act, but a macho one...But I wonder if we need a law on it. If we do this, we could make it a symbol and reinforce extremists on all sides. And in the middle of this economic crisis, where everyone is concerned about their job, this is not the number one problem."
Belgian non-Muslim: "The Muslim community is not yet well-integrated in Belgium. The difference between them and us is still there. This law draws a line, saying we in western European democracies accept Muslim beliefs, but in order to live together and even communicate - we have to be seen."
This makes for an interesting conundrum. As a Muslim and as a female, I have thoughts on this- obviously. But does it matter what I think when the Muslims in said country are accepting of this? There is no doubt in my mind that when this law passes, there will be HUGE backlashes across the world from offended and outraged Muslims, but I don't live in Belgium and the closest thing I know about Belgium are their deliciously scrumptious waffles. So who am I to say that this law steps on the toes of Belgian women's rights to wear what they want? Even though that is kind of my first reaction. I don't know. It's complicated to say the least. When Denmark published those cartoons, it only turned into a big deal when Muslims outside of Denmark made it a big deal. Yeah of course there were Muslims in Denmark that were offended and angry, but the majority of people were like, oh.
Sometimes I think in trying to assert freedom and "democratizing" countries- we take away their right to feel and express the way they want to. I mean why can't we live in a world where we have countries and places that express their values in different ways- why does there only have to be one way? If the people are happy what right do I have to say- no, you would be happier this way?
Just when I was beginning to think that as an American, I got it wrong, that I was wrong in my perceptions and in my preconceived notions of what people in the Middle East were like— I read this:
Saudi Arabia To Execute TV Host For Sorcery
I mean are you EFFING SERIOUS???? The guy was a Lebanese tv host that read out horoscopes over the air! Oh and the best part was that they got him when he went to Saudi Arabia for UMRAH (pilgrimage). That’s just sadistic.
Yup. That definitely ruined my day. In other news the Vaticans spokeperson-preacher said the abuse allegations that the Pope and the church were receiving reminded him “of the most shameful aspects of anti-semitism”. I’m thinking: open mouth, insert foot. Let’s just say the Jews are not pleased.
Ever since moving to Dubai, I’ve kind of stayed out of the meat and bones of politics going on in America. Which is different for me but was definitely a yummy breather. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE politics- it’s just that I’ve been living and breathing all the vitriol for such a long time that, I was happy for the respite
But that said, lets talk politics!
So the healthcare bill is now law. And of course with every unpopular law, there are those that will work to repeal it- which is exactly what the entire Republican party and a handful of identity-confused democrats are doing. Some states have joined together in a lawsuit against the government saying, the law over-reaches the powers of the government and cannot mandate states to follow it…anyone who ever came into contact with the constitution will know that this is complete bull$%#* and doesn’t have a chance of winning. So why would these governors and senators and congressmen go through the embarrassment of “suing” the government? Well the popular opinion is that they will lock in the conservative vote come the senate elections this November, 36 seats are up for grabs- well actually most of them don’t have real challengers but with the democrats only leading by a slim majority, one or two seats would swing the momentum. If you can call what the democrats are doing, momentum.
SO what exactly does this law do? Well in my opinion not even nearly as much as I want it to do, but some change is better than none.
1) Provides coverage to an estimated 30 million people who are currently NOT covered
2) Requires Americans who can afford it, to buy health insurance
3) Adds an additional 16 million people to Medicaid
4) Subsidizes private coverage for low and middle income people
5) Regulates private insurers:
a) Bans: denial of care due to pre-existing conditions
6) Congressional Budget Office states that it will reduce the federal deficit by $138 billion
Yup. That’s the law in a nutshell- I mean the law is over 1000 pages with a bunch of other stuff in it but these are like the big building blocks of the bill. And the other stuff is super boring and I don’t feel like torturing you with it. I think I’ll save that for a rainy day. One thing I am interested in though, when the republicans start campaigning (who am I kidding, they’ve been campaigning since 2008)- are they going to run on the platform: “Repeal the healthcare LAW that insures 30 million more people and brings down the federal defecit!!! YEAH NO OBAMACARE- Oh and while we're at it lets kick off ALL THOSE OLD people that this law now covers under the expanded medicaid rules!!" If thats their platform, I don't think Obama should sweat it- but then again Americans are notoriously stupid so maybe....
I know this is a few days late- and I did hear about this..but this is the first time I actually read all the details.
this is the story:
ISRAELI IMMIGRATION COPIED BRITISH PASSPORTS
The six British citizens whose passports were apparently used by the members of the hit squad that killed a Hamas leader in Dubai last month all had their passports taken from them for a few moments by officials at Tel Aviv's airport during routine procedures. The British Foreign Office has been told that Israeli oficials copied the passport numbers in order to create new documents that would later be used by the hit squad. It marks "the first time Israel's involvement has been directly alleged," writes the Telegraph. The allegation increases pressure on Israel to answer claims that Mossad, its intelligence agency, was involved in the killing. The hit squad is believed to have been made up of at least 11 assassins, who were posing as tourists using British, Irish, German, and French documents.
I don't really have that much time to post my thoughts about this- but yeah..
the woman who fell on top of a rare Picasso painting in the New York Museum of Art, and tore a 6 inch hole right through the center....
I would not want to be her tonight....
and if I was her, I would make up a heroic story like I don't know....
that I was across the hall, far, far away from that painting when I noticed someone choking besides it at which point I ran as fast as I could to save them...and while performing the Heimlich maneuver I accidentally nicked, slightly nicked the canvas with my elbow--but saved a human life in the process --and isn't that all that really matters? Isn't it?
I would not admit that no such heroic feat had passed before that rare piece of art, and that I actually stumbled on it because I cannot balance myself for the life of me--or in this case a priceless piece of history.
Any day now my hands will completely heal insh'Allah (God Willing) And I'll be back here typing or back on your blog commenting.
I've been gone for more than two months. But I'm confident it won't last. Insh'Allah!
Have you all been following Haiti? Anderson Cooper was doing an amazing special the other day. He was talking to a doctor working in Haiti in a makeshift hospital, basically by himself. Doctors were turned back by the UN because of security concerns.
And today I saw a news headline about another doctor in Haiti who was saying that 1/3 of her patients might die by night if she doesn't get any help in her makeshift hospital.
I don't know much else about the whole UN thing. But it's terrifying.
On other news. Did any of you hear the song that was chosen as the official song for the FIFA world cup 2010?
It's by a Somalian Canadian known as K'naan. His original song is beautiful with really powerful lyrics. And a catchy rhythm. Check it out.
And this is the remix version of it. This will be the official World Cup song. It's very different from the original.But awesome still in its own way.
Ooooooh Wooooooh
(0 : 22)Give me freedom, give me fire, give me reason, take me higher See the champions, take the field now, you define us, make us feel proud In the streets are, exaliftin , as we lose our inhabition, Celebration its around us, every nations, all around us
(0 :48)Singin forever young, singin songs underneath that sun
Lets rejoice in the beautifull game.
And toghetter at the end of the day.
WE ALL SAY
(1 :00)When I get older I will be stronger
They'll call me freedom Just like a wavin' flag
And then it goes back And then it goes back And then it goes back
(1 :12)When I get older I will be stronger They'll call me freedom Just like a wavin' flag
And then it goes back And then it goes back And then it goes
Oooooooooooooh woooooooooohh hohoho
(1 :39)Give you freedom, give you fire, give you reason, take you higher See the champions, take the field now, you define us, make us feel proud In the streets are, exaliftin, every loser in ambition, Celebration, its around us, every nations, all around us
(2 :03)Singin forever young, singin songs underneath that sun
Lets rejoice in the beautifull game.
And toghetter at the end of the day.
WE ALL SAY
When I get older, I will be stronger They'll call me freedom Just like a wavin' flag
And then it goes back And then it goes back And then it goes back
When I get older I will be stronger They'll call me freedom Just like a wavin' flag
And then it goes back And then it goes back And then it goes
Wooooooooo Ohohohoooooooo ! OOOoooooh Wooooooooo
WE ALL SAY !
When I get older I will be stronger They'll call me freedom Just like a wavin' flag
And then it goes back And then it goes back And then it goes back
When I get older I will be stronger They'll call me freedom Just like a wavin' flag
And then it goes back And then it goes back And then it goes
I cannot begin to imagine what the people of Haiti are going through right now. Especially as I sit here in my bedroom, and look around at my own world. It's like something off of a movie. My world is peaceful and calm. My biggest worry being that I have to go to work tomorrow and I dont have any lesson plans done.
While in another part of the world, on the island of Hispaniola, the world is in utter chaos and nothing is as it was. 100,000. 100,000 people dead. And counting. The number keeps going up. There is no way that it could possibly go down. Some thinking that it could even go as high as 500,000. And over 3 million people were affected by the earthquake. An enormous amount.
The other day my friends and I were talking about the safest place you can go during an Earthquake. Apparently the safest place would be in any doorway of your house. Something to do with the foundation of the house.
Haiti stood no chance. The infrastructure in the impoverished country is not up to par and none of the buildings stood a chance. Sixty percent of the buildings in Haiti were built carelessly and were extremely unsafe.
People die all the time. It's a part of life. But when a large amount of people die, be it a natural disaster or war, or what have you, you cant help but take a step back and say Whoa, death is no joke. We can die whenever.
It's like God is taking you by both arms, and giving you a firm shake and saying "Wake up!"
I'm praying for the people of Haiti. My thoughts are with them all. May God help them all and give them all peace.
If you would like to help the people of Haiti, by donating money, please visit thislink, which provides you with a list of places you can donate to.
And please keep Haiti and its people in your thoughts and/or prayers.
Tomorrow night, President Obama is going to give a national speech at West Point in which he's going to either escalate the troops in Afghanistan or draw down. All signs point to the former, I know how I feel about this but found someone else who can articulate it better. This is Michael Moore's open letter to the President.
An Open Letter to President Obama from Michael Moore
Monday, November 30th, 2009
Dear President Obama,
Do you really want to be the new "war president"? If you go to West Point tomorrow night (Tuesday, 8pm) and announce that you are increasing, rather than withdrawing, the troops in Afghanistan, you are the new war president. Pure and simple. And with that you will do the worst possible thing you could do -- destroy the hopes and dreams so many millions have placed in you. With just one speech tomorrow night you will turn a multitude of young people who were the backbone of your campaign into disillusioned cynics. You will teach them what they've always heard is true -- that all politicians are alike. I simply can't believe you're about to do what they say you are going to do. Please say it isn't so.
It is not your job to do what the generals tell you to do. We are a civilian-run government. WE tell the Joint Chiefs what to do, not the other way around. That's the way General Washington insisted it must be. That's what President Truman told General MacArthur when MacArthur wanted to invade China. "You're fired!," said Truman, and that was that. And you should have fired Gen. McChrystal when he went to the press to preempt you, telling the press what YOU had to do. Let me be blunt: We love our kids in the armed services, but we f*#&in' hate these generals, from Westmoreland in Vietnam to, yes, even Colin Powell for lying to the UN with his made-up drawings of WMD (he has since sought redemption).
So now you feel backed into a corner. 30 years ago this past Thursday (Thanksgiving) the Soviet generals had a cool idea -- "Let's invade Afghanistan!" Well, that turned out to be the final nail in the USSR coffin.
There's a reason they don't call Afghanistan the "Garden State" (though they probably should, seeing how the corrupt President Karzai, whom we back, has his brother in the heroin trade raising poppies). Afghanistan's nickname is the "Graveyard of Empires." If you don't believe it, give the British a call. I'd have you call Genghis Khan but I lost his number. I do have Gorbachev's number though. It's + 41 22 789 1662. I'm sure he could give you an earful about the historic blunder you're about to commit.
With our economic collapse still in full swing and our precious young men and women being sacrificed on the altar of arrogance and greed, the breakdown of this great civilization we call America will head, full throttle, into oblivion if you become the "war president." Empires never think the end is near, until the end is here. Empires think that more evil will force the heathens to toe the line -- and yet it never works. The heathens usually tear them to shreds.
Choose carefully, President Obama. You of all people know that it doesn't have to be this way. You still have a few hours to listen to your heart, and your own clear thinking. You know that nothing good can come from sending more troops halfway around the world to a place neither you nor they understand, to achieve an objective that neither you nor they understand, in a country that does not want us there. You can feel it in your bones.
I know you know that there are LESS than a hundred al-Qaeda left in Afghanistan! A hundred thousand troops trying to crush a hundred guys living in caves? Are you serious? Have you drunk Bush's Kool-Aid? I refuse to believe it.
Your potential decision to expand the war (while saying that you're doing it so you can "end the war") will do more to set your legacy in stone than any of the great things you've said and done in your first year. One more throwing a bone from you to the Republicans and the coalition of the hopeful and the hopeless may be gone -- and this nation will be back in the hands of the haters quicker than you can shout "tea bag!"
Choose carefully, Mr. President. Your corporate backers are going to abandon you as soon as it is clear you are a one-term president and that the nation will be safely back in the hands of the usual idiots who do their bidding. That could be Wednesday morning.
We the people still love you. We the people still have a sliver of hope. But we the people can't take it anymore. We can't take your caving in, over and over, when we elected you by a big, wide margin of millions to get in there and get the job done. What part of "landslide victory" don't you understand?
Don't be deceived into thinking that sending a few more troops into Afghanistan will make a difference, or earn you the respect of the haters. They will not stop until this country is torn asunder and every last dollar is extracted from the poor and soon-to-be poor. You could send a million troops over there and the crazy Right still wouldn't be happy. You would still be the victim of their incessant venom on hate radio and television because no matter what you do, you can't change the one thing about yourself that sends them over the edge.
The haters were not the ones who elected you, and they can't be won over by abandoning the rest of us.
President Obama, it's time to come home. Ask your neighbors in Chicago and the parents of the young men and women doing the fighting and dying if they want more billions and more troops sent to Afghanistan. Do you think they will say, "No, we don't need health care, we don't need jobs, we don't need homes. You go on ahead, Mr. President, and send our wealth and our sons and daughters overseas, 'cause we don't need them, either."
What would Martin Luther King, Jr. do? What would your grandmother do? Not send more poor people to kill other poor people who pose no threat to them, that's what they'd do. Not spend billions and trillions to wage war while American children are sleeping on the streets and standing in bread lines.
All of us that voted and prayed for you and cried the night of your victory have endured an Orwellian hell of eight years of crimes committed in our name: torture, rendition, suspension of the bill of rights, invading nations who had not attacked us, blowing up neighborhoods that Saddam "might" be in (but never was), slaughtering wedding parties in Afghanistan. We watched as hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians were slaughtered and tens of thousands of our brave young men and women were killed, maimed, or endured mental anguish -- the full terror of which we scarcely know.
When we elected you we didn't expect miracles. We didn't even expect much change. But we expected some. We thought you would stop the madness. Stop the killing. Stop the insane idea that men with guns can reorganize a nation that doesn't even function as a nation and never, ever has.
Stop, stop, stop! For the sake of the lives of young Americans and Afghan civilians, stop. For the sake of your presidency, hope, and the future of our nation, stop. For God's sake, stop.
Tonight we still have hope.
Tomorrow, we shall see. The ball is in your court. You DON'T have to do this. You can be a profile in courage. You can be your mother's son.
We're counting on you.
Yours,
Michael Moore MMFlint@aol.com MichaelMoore.com
P.S. There's still time to have your voice heard. Call the White House at 202-456-1111 or email the President.
