Sunday Open Thread 5/3/2009
- Feds drop charges against pro-Israel lobbyists:
- What a surprise… imagine if these people were spying for another nation, other than Israel. Once again this proves that AIPAC is the strongest lobby on the Hill, and that Israeli interests continue to overwhelm US interests, even in the USA!
- The indictment against Rosen and Weissman charged that they obtained and then disclosed to reporters and to an Israeli official classified information on U.S. policy toward Iran, as well as information on the al-Qaida terror network and the 1996 bombing of the Khobar Towers dormitory in Saudi Arabia, which killed 19 U.S. Air Force personnel.
- Prosecutors moved Friday to dismiss all charges against two former pro-Israel lobbyists accused of disclosing U.S. defense secrets, ending a four-year legal battle that promised to put former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and other Bush administration insiders on the witness stand.
- What Afghanistan can learn from the Taliban
- Yet the Taliban proved that corruption could be curbed. As the US and others aid Afghanistan, they should learn from the Taliban and draw on the Koran, Islamic law, and Afghan values to help the country move away from the corrosive system of baksheesh.
- But the Taliban's policy of zero tolerance worked. The streets were safe and cleaned regularly. The police were harsh, but honest. Doors to Afghan homes and cars were left unlocked, without fear of theft. Many warlords stopped fighting. The Taliban maintained a network of community mobilizers who used Koranic verses to shame farmers out of poppy production while also introducing alternative crops.
- Again, the Taliban went too far. But America can learn from what worked, and avoid what didn't. America can help the Afghan government enforce a zero tolerance rule for baksheesh among officials in the executive and judicial branches. President Hamid Karzai and his cronies can be replaced. Progressive schools for Islamic law can be established to support the judiciary.
- Imran Khan: Sufi Mohammed violating Quran
- “Sufi Mohammad is not just violating the Swat accord; he is going against the Holy Quran by breaking promises,†Khan, the chief of the Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaaf, said.
- “Sufi Mohammad is not just violating the Swat accord; he is going against the Holy Quran by breaking promises,†Khan, the chief of the Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaaf, said.
- Muslims have an excuse not to go to gym now, FBI?
- No more make-believe in the Middle East
- Now, though, Netanyahu appears to have ended the charade, although perhaps only until political expediency warrants another metamorphosis. His policies may be misguided, but his intellectual honesty may prove salutary. The Israeli right and its American supporters have a hard time claiming Israeli moderation and reasonableness when Netanyahu and his ministers openly oppose a two-state arrangement; affirm the blockade of Gaza, preventing reconstruction there; tout settlement expansion; brag of undermining US efforts to talk with Iran; and threaten an attack on Iran – across US-controlled Iraqi airspace – that could jeopardize US troops and interests throughout the region.
- Now, though, Netanyahu appears to have ended the charade, although perhaps only until political expediency warrants another metamorphosis. His policies may be misguided, but his intellectual honesty may prove salutary. The Israeli right and its American supporters have a hard time claiming Israeli moderation and reasonableness when Netanyahu and his ministers openly oppose a two-state arrangement; affirm the blockade of Gaza, preventing reconstruction there; tout settlement expansion; brag of undermining US efforts to talk with Iran; and threaten an attack on Iran – across US-controlled Iraqi airspace – that could jeopardize US troops and interests throughout the region.
- Zoubir Bouchiki, Houston's jailed Imam, on Democracy Now!
- In 2007, he received notice that the US Citizenship and Immigration Services had denied his application for permanent residency status. He was arrested by immigration authorities in December 2008. He has been held without bail ever since.
- In 2007, he received notice that the US Citizenship and Immigration Services had denied his application for permanent residency status. He was arrested by immigration authorities in December 2008. He has been held without bail ever since.
- Girl beheaded for bumper crop on Hindu auspicious day
- Remember the outcry over Bridges TV founder's murder of his wife? While religion was not even a factor in that case, in this case, it is clear that the girl was beheaded for a “good harvest”. But no outcry of course. Imagine if this was a Muslim family.
- Hembram who owned three acres of farmland, planned in advance to sow seeds mixed with the blood of his granddaughter on Akshaya Tritya on Monday, a day considered auspicious by Hindus, police said.
- Sadistic Abu Dhabi prince makes Abu Ghurayb torture seem childish
- If there is going to be a downfall for these tiny kingdoms in the Middle East, it won't be due to the lack of democracy, but a turn towards injustice. The prince's sadistic torture of a person due to a business deal turned sour is so disgusting that it is hard to imagine if the guy is a human being or an animal (the prince that is). And more disgusting is the official response from the UAE government that all “process and procedures” were followed in this case.
What are your thoughts on these stories or others?
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http://www.examiner.com/x-8519-Detroit-Muslim-Examiner Sakina Al-Amin
