Posts Tagged ‘terrorism’

Bainimarama: I Staged Coup to Stop Terrorists

// September 27th, 2009 // No Comments » // Discourse Studies, Moron of the Week

While Lasenia Qarase and his corrupt government was nothing to extol and praise, Bainimarama labeled them as ‘terrorists’ at the United Nations General Assembly, in order to legitimise his reign:

I believe that these critics are largely unaware of the extent to which politicians, in league with those who employ terror as a tactic to push a racial supremacy and corrupt agenda, had become a threat to the safety and security of our people. Terrorism has become a global issue and it impacts Fiji as well. We are fully cooperating in the international effort to control and contain this scourge.

The full speech is here, courtesy Coup 4.5

Commodore, you are reigning over Fiji with the military, using force and terror tactics. What does that make your regime?

Are You A Left-Wing Terrorist?

// August 17th, 2009 // 3 Comments » // Immigration

Thanks to the right-wing wackos who made a mirror site to the awesome Immigration Clearinghouse, I made the ‘left wing terrorist list’ like 3-4 times over!!

Border Activists Border Action Network Border Ambassadors No to Borders and Boundreys Open Borders Lobby Smart Borders Hispanic Activism American-Latino Immigrants Proudly Assisting the Community Damned MexicanImmigration  Talk with a Mexican American Latina Lista The Unapologetic MexicanYa Basta!!! (Enough Already) Human & Civil Rights Anti-Defamation League Derechos Humanos ArizonaImagine 2050 Para Justicia y Libertad Surviving Spouses against Deportation Texas Civil Rights Review Immigrant Rights Change.org Citizen Orange Long Island WinsTruth in Immigration Immigration Reform America’s Voice Online DREAM Act – TexasFair Immigration Reform Movement (FIRM)Immigrants ListMigra Matters National Immigration Forum The Wonk Room Independent Media Border Reporter Crooks & Liars e-zine Daily Kos El Chuco Times Independent Political Report Orcinus Rio Grande Guardian The Mexfiles Information & Policy Immigration ImpactImmigration Policy CenterImmigration Prof Blog Mexican & American’s Talking Together Migra MattersU.S.-Mexico Immigration Pro Migrant Dream Activist Michael Vargas’ Pro Inmigrant Blog The Sanctuary Student Pro Blogs Mi Destino: fe, cultura y vidaNew York State Youth Leadership Council PandagonUnderground Undergrads

All of these organizations promote and or sponsor open borders and no immigration laws! The federal government needs to look into these groups and find out what they are planning! We suspect that they want to take over America and make it part of Mexico. I f you have any first hand knowledge about these groups trying to partake in terrorists activities, please contact your local FBI field operations manager or call the local police department in your town. These groups are left wing extreamists HATE Groups with one thing in mind, the take over of America.

Dude, first, learn to spell ‘boundaries.’ And ‘extremists.’ And ‘terrorist.’ Actually never mind, just learn to spell period.

Second, America be a part of Mexico? Mexico is in America–the continent of NORTH AMERICA.

And third, I can’t believe I am lumped in with DC organizations, MATT.org and even Daily Kos. I demand a re-do. How about ‘extreme left-wing terrorist?’ Give me my proper dues!!

Hat Tip: Citizen Orange

North Korea Is Not a Threat – Unveiling Hegemonic Discourses

// April 5th, 2009 // 5 Comments » // Discourse Studies, Political Theory, Politics

That security is socially constructed does not mean that there are not to be found real, material conditions that help to create particular interpretations of threats, or that such conditions are irrelevant to either the creation or undermining of the assumptions underlying security policy. Enemies, in part, “create” each other, via the projections of their worst fears onto the other; in this respect, their relationship is intersubjective. To the extent that they act on these projections, threats to each other acquire a material character.
-Ronnie Lipschutz, UCSC

Kim Jong-Il wants attention. And now he has it. He won’t go in our ‘Morons of the Week’ column and certainly scores points for knowing how to misuse national resources to get international attention.

Our problem with MSM coverage of the North Korea ‘missile threat’ is with the purported hegemonic discourse. Hegemonic discourse does not pertain to just speech; it refers to whole narratives, with a hero and a villain, and us and them that we must defeat and overcome. The point of hegemonic discourse–in this case the discourse of the United States on demonizing North Korea and drawing attention to its nuclear activities—is to subjugate and oppress the counter-discourses of a race-war, nuclearism and anti-capitalism.

(1) Race war discourse

While this is not a clash of civilizations, it is certainly a race war in that the entire discourse revolves around preventing certain kinds of people from acquiring and using nuclear weapons.  Would the United States use the same tactics in France? Or even India? No, in fact it looked the other way on outrageous French nuclear testing in the Pacific and supports India’s nuclear program despite the fact that it is not a signatory of the NPT!

Ronnie Lipschutz has some fine lines for us in On Security:

To be sure, the United States and Russia do not launch missiles against each other because both know the result would be annihilation. But the same is true for France and Britain, or China and Israel. It was the existence of the Other that gave deterrence its power; it is the disappearance of the Other that has vanquished that power. Where Russia is now concerned, we are, paradoxically, not secure, because we see no need to be secured. In other words, as Ole Waever might put it, where there is no constructed threat, there is no security problem. France is fully capable of doing great damage to the United States, but that capability has no meaning in terms of U.S. security.

On the other hand, see the Iran nuclear ‘crisis’ as an example. The United States has demonized Ahmadinejad at every opportunity and conjured him up as an Islamic fundamentalist and nationalist who will defy non-proliferation at all costs. On the other hand, Ahmadinejad cheekily asked the United States to join the rest of civilization in worshipping God. That is the discourse of race war but it is concealed by juridical discourse—the hegemonic discourse.

To borrow from Michael Foucault, the United States is using the juridical schema of nuclear non-proliferation to conceal the war-repression schema. North Korea is the historical Other, the terrorist, the threat against whom the world must be protected in the juridical schema. Yet, under the war-repression schema, North Korea is a sovereign nation with the right to develop nuclear and communications technology. And this latest action is really nothing more than a plea for economic help.

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Mumbai Attacks – They Wanted Foreigners

// November 27th, 2008 // No Comments » // DesiPundit, Immigration, Nationalism

Follow on Twitter – #Mumbai and DesiPundit has done a great job with the round-ups.

My concern is with this statement from Reuters.

A witness told Indian television that gunmen in Mumbai looked for British and U.S. passport holders.

“They wanted anyone with British or American passports,” a witness at the Taj Hotel, who said he was from London and was in India on business, told the NDTV news channel. He had smoke stains all over his face. “They wanted foreigners.”

Has this been confirmed? Dave states that “as nationality is the principal trait governments use to select targets, it should come as no surprise that the attackers searched for targets by nationality as well.”

This tactic of targeting ‘foreigners’ — representatives of Western civilization — challenges the concept of building higher walls, smarter borders, restricting immigration to protect Americans and keep out the terrorists, freedom fighters, whatever PC or non-PC term attached to these advocates of violence. In this era of globalization, with more people not living in their countries of origin, if attackers can target Americans outside of America, outside our guarded physical borders, can the nation-state really provide the necessary ’security?’ It certainly raises new questions about the responsibility of the nation-state and mentally redrawing our conception on physical barriers.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh says:

“It is evident that the group which carried out these attacks, based outside the country, had come with single-minded determination to create havoc in the commercial capital of the country,” he said. “We will take the strongest possible measures to ensure that there is no repetition of such terrorist acts. We are determined to take whatever measures are necessary to ensure the safety and security of our citizens.“

Who is behind this? For now, we know through a recovered phone from a slain terrorist that calls were made to Karachi. Lets not pin this on a country and step away from jingoistic calls to attack Pakistan. The Deccan Mujahideen have claimed responsibility for this while Pakistan has strongly condemned the attacks. There is also no need to scapegoat Muslims in India. None of this worked for the United States when it declared war on Afghanistan and started profiling Arab Americans — Al Qaeda is stronger than ever before and Bin Laden is at large, so declaring war on Pakistan, given MAD, would be even more stupid.

ICE thawed: French terrorist allowed to roam free in the United States

// October 14th, 2008 // No Comments » // Environment, Immigration

I found this recently:


And snooped online to actually understand what was going on during that time period. It turns out that the original Rainbow Warrior was sunk in a terrorist attack by the French Government in 1985 (the President admitted it only 20 years later) so this must have been a replacement that I visited. The original ship was at the forefront of protests against French nuclear testing at Moruroa, Tahiti and now serves as a popular dive destination at Matauri Bay in New Zealand. Maintained by the local Maori community, it has become part of the complex ecosystem that it once served to protect … Wonderful story?

It’s amazing to revisit some half-understood, half-remembered childhood memories at an age where we can better understand–thanks to the Internet–what was really happening at that time. All I knew at the age of 10 was that we were supposed to be protesting French nuclear testing in Tahiti and that grew to be a major reason for my dislike for the French government that continues to this day (No, I don’t boycott French Fries and French products).

I dug further and discovered an article in the Guardian pertaining to this. The French leader that had led the bombing of Rainbow Warrior in 1985 now resides in the United States and sells arms/weapons to the United States government agencies. It also notes that U.S. immigration laws are supposed to bar people with records of violence and terrorist activity from residing in the United States:

“The law is very clear: persons involved in acts of terrorism are not admitted into the United States,” said Kelly Klundt, a spokeswoman for the customs and border protection agency.

No, seems like the United States government is only interested in detaining and deporting hard-working immigrants. Why isn’t ICE detaining and deporting terrorists?

More on the history of the Rainbow Warrior from Greenpeace:

Day 2 – The REAL democratic National Convention vs. the Police State

// August 26th, 2008 // No Comments » // Anti-Capitalism, Gender, Human Rights, Politics

One after another, the women leaders of the Democrat National Party took center-stage on Day 2. The roster included Governor K. Selebius, Senator Mary Landrieu, Senator Claire McCaskill, Senator Debbie Stabenow, Senator Maria Cantwell, Governor Napolitano, and finally Hillary Clinton rounded up the day. The subliminal message was clear–women stand to gain more from a Barack Obama Presidency than a McCain one.

Yet, none of the women senators pointed out the gross injustice and violation of human and constitutional rights happening against women just outside their closed tent of the DNC–Code Pink (a women for peace group) supporters were among the many protesters holding a non-violent demonstration that were beaten and pepper-sprayed by cops. They were delegates that were unseated and unheard at the convention. Quite democratic, no?

DNC Rules Protest by andycarvin.

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U.S. Government Wrongfully Detaining Citizens and Tourists

// August 23rd, 2008 // No Comments » // Gender, Human Rights, Immigration, Racism

I came across an outrageous article today that reminded me of a caller I spoke to when I staffed the National Lawyers’ Guild 9-11 Hotline. He was a dual-citizen of Bulgaria and the United States who was apprehended by Homeland Security at the San Francisco Intl. Airport for practically no reason (His name was probably on the DHS ‘watch list’ again for no particular reason). Homeland Security sent him paperwork to fill-out a few weeks later where he had to answer nonsensical questions such as “What is the purpose of your dual citizenship?” and “What country are you more loyal towards, Bulgaria or the United States?” Needless to say, the guy was frustrated, confused and enraged at this treatment–He is a U.S. citizen!

The case below is not of a U.S. citizen but involves a German of Syrian descent whose wife and children are U.S. citizens nonetheless. He was mistreated and detained by U.S. Immigration officers. Who knows how many stories from other citizens, immigrants and tourists never made it to press.

(Does anyone scoffing need to be reminded of the Italian tourist that was wrongfully detained because Immigration officers had no interpreters that could translate Italian)?

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American Muslims Not What You Think – Breaking from Stereotypes

// August 20th, 2008 // 3 Comments » // Ethnic Studies

There is this great Pakistani song titled “Yeh Hum Nahin” meaning “This is Not Us” as in “We are not Terrorists”–a truly great message. Here is a subtitled version:

Anyway, I was reminded of that song as I discovered a surprisingly good editorial in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette this past weekend. It pretty much asks Americans to discard the stereotypical images of Muslims, especially American Muslims, as robotically praying people.

In television land, it always seems to be prayer time for Muslims. Every mention of Islam evokes rows of men bowing toward Mecca, rising and falling in robotic unison.

So pervasive is this image that many Americans think Islam alone defines the attitudes and actions of all Muslims, even those in the United States. By extension, many fear that all Muslims are a threat to U.S. democracy. We see this manifested in the hostile reactions to the persistent — and false — rumor that Barack Obama is a Muslim.

These attitudes cripple our debates over immigration, law enforcement, education and foreign policy. They also hide the fact that U.S. Muslims are a constituency up for grabs in the November election. Electoral swing states such as Michigan, Ohio and Virginia all have significant Muslim populations. And on some hot-button cultural issues, Muslim Americans could potentially be a strong ally to the Christian right.

If that seems improbable, think again. As a professor of sociology who studies U.S. Muslim assimilation patterns, I have analyzed numerous nationwide polls of American Muslims on a variety of topics, ranging from their satisfaction with American society to their opinions on U.S. foreign policy to their attitudes on abortion and the environment. U.S. Muslims are a diverse, well-informed group; in fact, they are the most ethnically diverse Muslim population in the world. They come from more than 80 countries on four continents. Most are not Arab. Not all are immigrants. None are Barack Obama.

One-fifth are U.S.-born black Muslims (mainly converts), and a few are U.S.-born Anglo and Hispanic converts. The vast majority of Muslim immigrants have lived here 10 or more years, and they resemble the general U.S. population in their socioeconomic status. Most are employed, a quarter have a bachelor’s degree or higher and a quarter earn $75,000 a year or more.

U.S. Muslims are also like most Americans in another important way: They are not uniformly religious. Nearly half — 46.7 percent — attend a mosque seldom, never or only a few times a year. About one-fourth go weekly, and one-third go more than once a week, proportions similar to those of U.S. Christians and Jews. Like these other groups, U.S. Muslims range from ultra-conservative to ultra-liberal and from devout practicing believers to secular, non-practicing, in-name-only Muslims. More Christians say they pray daily — 70 percent to 61 percent — than do U.S. Muslims.

Like most Americans, U.S. Muslims are generally not activists. Just as regular church and synagogue attendance correlates with higher political activity for U.S. Christians and Jews, so does regular mosque attendance for U.S. Muslims. Even among the devout, however, there’s a sharp distinction between being a good Muslim and being an Islamic fundamentalist.

The elements that tell us how U.S. Muslims will behave politically are the same ones that predict the political attitudes and involvement of other Americans. People with more education, higher incomes, more group consciousness and more feelings of marginalization are the most likely to be politically active because they feel they have more at stake.

Many U.S. Muslims are immigrants and not yet eligible to vote. Only 63 percent are registered voters, compared to the U.S. average of 76 percent. But they are slightly more likely than most citizens to have contacted a politician and, like other racial and ethnic minorities, are a bit more likely to be Democrats.

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