The Largest Minority

May 30th, 2008 by Manila Ryce

FALLUJAH, Iraq — At the western entrance to the Iraqi city of Fallujah Tuesday, Muamar Anad handed his residence badge to the U.S. Marines guarding the city. They checked to be sure that he was a city resident, and when they were done, Anad said, a Marine slipped a coin out of his pocket and put it in his hand.

Out of fear, he accepted it, Anad said. When he was inside the city, the college student said, he looked at one side of the coin. “Where will you spend eternity?” it asked.

He flipped it over, and on the other side it read, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. John 3:16.”

“They are trying to convert us to Christianity,” said Anad, a Sunni Muslim like most residents of this city in Anbar province. At home, he told his story, and his relatives echoed their disapproval: They’d been given the coins, too, he said.

Fallujah , the scene of a bloody U.S. offensive against Sunni insurgents in 2004, has calmed and grown less hostile to American troops since residents turned against al Qaida in Iraq , which had tried to force its brand of Islamist extremism on the population.

Now residents of the city are abuzz that some Americans whom they consider occupiers are also acting as Christian missionaries. Residents said some Marines at the western entrance to their city have been passing out the coins for two days in what they call a “humiliating” attempt to convert them to Christianity.

read more…

May 30th, 2008 by Manila Ryce

FALLUJAH, Iraq — At the western entrance to the Iraqi city of Fallujah Tuesday, Muamar Anad handed his residence badge to the U.S. Marines guarding the city. They checked to be sure that he was a city resident, and when they were done, Anad said, a Marine slipped a coin out of his pocket and put it in his hand.
ADVERTISEMENTOut of fear, he accepted it, Anad said. When he was inside the city, the college student said, he looked at one side of the coin. “Where will you spend eternity?” it asked.

He flipped it over, and on the other side it read, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. John 3:16.”

“They are trying to convert us to Christianity,” said Anad, a Sunni Muslim like most residents of this city in Anbar province. At home, he told his story, and his relatives echoed their disapproval: They’d been given the coins, too, he said.

Fallujah , the scene of a bloody U.S. offensive against Sunni insurgents in 2004, has calmed and grown less hostile to American troops since residents turned against al Qaida in Iraq , which had tried to force its brand of Islamist extremism on the population.

Now residents of the city are abuzz that some Americans whom they consider occupiers are also acting as Christian missionaries. Residents said some Marines at the western entrance to their city have been passing out the coins for two days in what they call a “humiliating” attempt to convert them to Christianity.

read more…

May 28th, 2008 by Manila Ryce

As Crooks and Liars points out, Kiffiyehs are worn by nearly everybody in the middle east, even Western troops, to protect them from the sun and sandstorms. Hell, they’re even popular amongst Israeli Jews (and Meghan McCain it turns out). Affiliating such a common article of clothing with terrorism is like saying that shoes are terrorist-related apparel because bombers happen to wear them too.

The kind of proud ignorance which allows Malkin to publicly state that “Palestinian = terrorist” must finally be confronted in this country rather than catered to, and Dunkin’ Donuts should be held responsible for vindicating such vitriolic hatred and bigotry.

If the most important meal of the day for you is a deep-fried ring of dough and sugar, then please consider boycotting Dunkin’ Donuts and frequenting another doughnut place. Hell, maybe even find yourself a healthier breakfast alternative, like a bag of chips and a smoke.

May 18th, 2008 by Manila Ryce

With as much success as our country has had in the past 8 years, Bush decided to finally give credit for this prosperity where it’s due - God. The big guy told the 9/11 terrorists to wage war as well, didn’t he? Bush is gonna be soooooooo pissed when he finds out God is two-timing him.

President George Bush has claimed he was told by God to invade Iraq and attack Osama bin Laden’s stronghold of Afghanistan as part of a divine mission to bring peace to the Middle East, security for Israel, and a state for the Palestinians.

The President made the assertion during his first meeting with Palestinian leaders in June 2003, according to a BBC series which will be broadcast this month.

The revelation comes after Mr Bush launched an impassioned attack yesterday in Washington on Islamic militants, likening their ideology to that of Communism, and accusing them of seeking to “enslave whole nations” and set up a radical Islamic empire “that spans from Spain to Indonesia”. In the programmeElusive Peace: Israel and the Arabs, which starts on Monday, the former Palestinian foreign minister Nabil Shaath says Mr Bush told him and Mahmoud Abbas, former prime minister and now Palestinian President: “I’m driven with a mission from God. God would tell me, ‘George, go and fight those terrorists in Afghanistan.’ And I did, and then God would tell me, ‘George go and end the tyranny in Iraq,’ and I did.”

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April 28th, 2008 by Manila Ryce

Thank Jah there are still black leaders like Reverend Jeremiah Wright who have the courage to speak loud and truthfully. On the internet, I’ve already had the unfortunate opportunity to see Tucker Carlson, probably the most detached white person on the planet, denounce Wright as a bigot. Irony anyone?

Video of the entire speech available below the fold.
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April 16th, 2008 by Manila Ryce

Legendary intellectual Cornel West joins Al Jazeera to bring a bit of substance to the usually hollow discussion of American politics. Dr. West touches on a variety of subjects from race, philosophy’s role in critiquing power, the truth behind Reverend Wright’s controversial words, free-market fundamentalism, authoritarianism, American hypocrisy, and hip-hop. Sit back, absorb, and share your thoughts.

April 11th, 2008 by Manila Ryce

James Yee, Former US Muslim chaplain for Guantanamo Bay detention camp, describes the hostility towards Muslims at the facility, and the trumped up charges brought against him for raising concerns about human rights abuses.

Yee also reveals that children as young as 12-years-old are being held at the camp. Imagine these juveniles are US citizens who were actually charged with a crime and given a fair trial. It’d be outrageous to try and sentence them as adults, let alone hold them with adult prisoners in a detention facility where torture and solitary confinement are standard procedure.

April 10th, 2008 by Manila Ryce

Chris Hedges hits the nail right on the head in this interview with Thom Hartmann while promoting his new book, “I Don’t Believe in Atheists”. In Hedge’s previous book, “American Fascists”, he railed against the new breed of Fundamentalist Christians monopolizing the poor of America. Now Hedges explains why learning about people like Jerry Falwell prepared him for the equally dim mindset of Fundamentalist Atheists like Christopher Hitchens.

Christopher Hitchens is a narcissistic pro-war bigot whose God is his own ego. He attempts to deny human nature by externalizing evil as a byproduct of religious philosophies. Hitchens drives such a hypocritical wedge of superiority between his philosophy and those of theists that he ends up arguing for the infallibility of his own group.

It is important to recognize that history’s worst persons were just as human as you and I. Failing to accept the commonalities of human kind has allowed freedom-loving Americans to stand behind a fascist government and Israelis to defend Nazi-style tactics against Palestinians. Likewise, it’s the same mental dichotomy of “me versus everyone else” which prevents Hitchens from realizing the similarities between him and the religious fanatics he condemns.

Hitchens’ fascist quest to forcibly bring Muslims into “reason” is identical in all respects to the most radical fundamentalist preachers who call for a new Christian crusade in the Holy Land. The most striking difference, however, is that Hitchens is actually taken seriously on shows like Real Time, as if his agenda had more merit than Pat Robertson’s.

Just as Fundamentalist Christianity uses religion to achieve the most un-Christian ends, so too does Fundamentalist Atheism use the spirit of agnosticism to foster intolerance and justify dominance over non-converts. Hitchens’ followers worship the personality of their jingoist god just as much as he worships himself. In my opinion, anyone who confuses Hitchens’ condescending wisecracks for honest intellectual inquiry would do well to read more than just Vanity Fair.

The role of philosophy, religious or otherwise, is to provide assistance in a person’s ongoing quest for truth, not to allow a suspension of rational thought by providing you with a final and absolute answer.

Then again, I could be wrong.