Category Archives: terrorism

American Xenophobic Racist Murders Lebanese Man Because He’s “Filthy Lebanese Ay-rab” | A Separate State of Mind | A Blog by Elie Fares

Vernon Majors did not kill Khalid Jabara because he had an “unusual fixation” with his Lebanese neighbors. He killed them because he was a xenophobic racist terrorist murderer.If the tables were turned and Khalid had been the person to whom all those criteria apply, you wouldn’t have hesitated to apply them. You’d have even decided what his entire background was judging by his name, the color of his skin, and the country where he came from.That’s not different from what Vernon Majors did. It’s not “unusual fixation,” it’s him making sure Khalid’s family knew they were: ‘dirty Arabs,’ ‘filthy Lebanese,’ ‘Aye-rabs,’ and ‘Mooslems,’ as he told them repeatedly to make sure they knew their place in his world. Not that it matters in the grand scheme of things, but the Jabara family is Christian.The story goes back to last year when Vernon Majors willingly ran over Khalid Jabara’s mother trying to kill her. Unfortunately for him, she did not die, and he ended up in jail, but like the good white American that he is, Vernon Majors saw himself out of jail a few weeks ago, back to the same streets, neighboring the Jabara family, and wanting to take out his revenge on them.Picture this: a man who willingly ran over a woman trying to kill her ends up in jail for one year, with no conditions on his bond — no ankle monitor, no drug/alcohol testing. It was as if he never entered.The Jabara family learned of his release. They also knew he had a gun. They also notified the police who informed them they couldn’t do anything, because second amendment and all. Minutes after the police left, Khalid went outside of his house to get the mail, and he was fatally shot by Vernon Majors, who has since been apprehended.

Source: American Xenophobic Racist Murders Lebanese Man Because He’s “Filthy Lebanese Ay-rab” | A Separate State of Mind | A Blog by Elie Fares

The Rise Of The Right Isn’t All Just About Class | Race Files

Consider the religious right. Are they a class movement? I argue no. They’re self-described cultural warriors, organized out of a born-again evangelical movement that rose as a response to sudden changes brought about by the baby-boom/free love/civil rights/anti-war/feminist uprising of the mid-last century by leaders who politicized what it meant to be “born-again,” exploiting the conservatism that dominated a cultural movement. During the height of religious right wing attacks against LGBTQ people and abortion, we were in a growing economy. The spoils of that growth may have been hoarded almost exclusively by the top ten percent, but the perception of good times was widespread throughout the middle class, and was demonstrated through the enthusiasm with which so many middle-classers responded to dot.com bubble investment opportunities that went bust. Never has the stock market been such a popular forum for the articulation of “hope” married to individualism than during the tech-bubble 90s.So let’s get this one straight so that class reductionists don’t steal the real opportunity presented by the fight against the right: class matters absolutely, but the rise of the right isn’t near as much about class as it is about culture, who gets to control it, and what that means about American cultural identity.I know opponents of “identitarianism” (the term for identity activists who they equate with neoliberals) will hate this, but those of us they’ve labeled “identitarians” include a not inconsiderable faction that understands that identity politics is, maybe, one of the most virulent expressions of anti-intellectualism out there. That’s right, we are able to hold a critique of identity politics while also having the sensitivity to recognize that you have to start with people where they’re at when you’re organizing a popular front for change. It’s an act of walking and chewing gum at the same time that I strongly recommend.Culture and identity are inseparable. We are cultural animals. This is what makes people distinct from other species. Identity is what holds cultures together. In order to win a more just world, we need to put political change in the context of cultural transformation and acknowledge this reality and not waste our effort trying to wish it away.

Source: The Rise Of The Right Isn’t All Just About Class | Race Files

Secret Ledger in Ukraine Lists Cash for Donald Trump’s Campaign Chief – The New York Times

Handwritten ledgers show $12.7 million in undisclosed cash payments designated for Mr. Manafort from Mr. Yanukovych’s pro-Russian political party from 2007 to 2012, according to Ukraine’s newly formed National Anti-Corruption Bureau. Investigators assert that the disbursements were part of an illegal off-the-books system whose recipients also included election officials.In addition, criminal prosecutors are investigating a group of offshore shell companies that helped members of Mr. Yanukovych’s inner circle finance their lavish lifestyles, including a palatial presidential residence with a private zoo, golf course and tennis court. Among the hundreds of murky transactions these companies engaged in was an $18 million deal to sell Ukrainian cable television assets to a partnership put together by Mr. Manafort and a Russian oligarch, Oleg Deripaska, a close ally of President Vladimir V. Putin.

Source: Secret Ledger in Ukraine Lists Cash for Donald Trump’s Campaign Chief – The New York Times

Israel erases Palestine-related contents from school books in J’lem – PNN

The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) in Occupied Jerusalem has omitted all texts and pictures that are related to Palestine and the struggle against the occupation from Palestinian school books before its distribution.According to the Hebrew newspaper Iroshalim, the Israeli municipality and the ministry of education deleted Quranic verses, poems and other contents from Palestinian curriculums advocating the Palestinian struggle against the occupation.The IOA recently distributed these books that contained some blank pages and blackened lines to Palestinian schools in the holy city. Among the lines that disappeared from those books are texts talking about the unity of the Muslim nation and the importance of the Aqsa Mosque.The Palestinian map, flag and anthem were also removed from text books. The Israeli municipality justified the measure by claiming that it would not allow the presence of educational books encouraging violence

Source: Israel erases Palestine-related contents from school books in J’lem – PNN

Donald Trump’s achilles heel is that he is truly un-American | Jonathan Freedland | Opinion | The Guardian

 

What Trump had done was violate a core American ideal: the notion – not always honoured, admittedly – that no matter where your family came from, if you were born in the US or had come there and subscribed to its founding principles, then you were as American as a direct descendant of those who landed on Plymouth Rock. This was what set the US apart, the belief that national identity did not reside in blood or soil, but in loyalty to the nation’s constitution and its bill of rights.Or consider Trump’s proposal to ban Muslims from entering the US; it was again attacked by Republicans as well as Democrats because it contradicts America’s founding purpose, to be a haven from religious persecution, a purpose encapsulated in the constitution’s first amendment guaranteeing the “free exercise” of religion. Or reflect on Trump’s little joke this week, suggesting the way to deal with Clinton might be a bullet – at odds with America’s professed determination to resolve its differences through a constitution, the law and elections.The common thread is that all these moves by Trump are not just reactionary or bigoted or dangerous. They contradict the ideals that all Americans are meant to regard as sacred. Perhaps this is the way to attack Trump: as truly un-American. He says he wants to make America great again. The truth is, he would stop America being America.More comment TopicsDonald Trump US constitution and civil liberties Republicans DemocratsShare on LinkedIn Share on Google+ Save for laterReuse this contentAdvertisementMost popular in USHope Solo calls Sweden ‘a bunch of cowards’ after USA falter at Olympics Rio Olympics 2016: women’s football, tennis, athletics and basketball – live! San Jose Mercury News says sorry for ‘insensitive’ Simone Manuel headline Donald Trump: it’s all a joke Have we detected an alien megastructure in space? Keep an open mind | Seth Shostak

Source: Donald Trump’s achilles heel is that he is truly un-American | Jonathan Freedland | Opinion | The Guardian

David Leyonhjelm, Malcolm Roberts push for Section 18C of Racial Discrimination Act to be removed – Australian Broadcasting Corporation – “Racists just wanna be racist and never have to change, even if they are less humane than those they wish to insult and hold down!”

New One Nation senator-elect Malcolm Roberts also reiterated his similar stance on the race discrimination laws.”It is very important to the country because at the moment a lot of people are afraid to speak up,” he told Insiders. Mr Roberts had told reporters on Friday that Section 18C “needs to be addressed because [it is] curbing free speech”.Section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act makes it illegal to carry out an act if: “(a) the act is reasonably likely, in all the circumstances, to offend, insult, humiliate or intimidate another person or a group of people; and (b) the act is done because of the race, colour or national or ethnic origin of the other person or of some or all of the people in the group”.Section 18D of the Act outlines some exceptions — for example, an offence isn’t illegal if it is a fair and accurate report or comment.

Source: David Leyonhjelm, Malcolm Roberts push for Section 18C of Racial Discrimination Act to be removed – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

ISIS Affiliate in Egypt Warns of Attack Against Israel in Rare Direct Threat — Egyptian Streets

In a rare direct threat, the Egyptian affiliate of the Islamic State (ISIS) released a video warning Israel that it will soon “pay a high price.” “Oh Jews, wait for us. The punishment [we’ve prepared for you] is severe,” the narrator of the video reportedly says, adding that “this is only the beginning.” The video,…

via ISIS Affiliate in Egypt Warns of Attack Against Israel in Rare Direct Threat — Egyptian Streets

Daughter of murdered Guatemala journalist shot dead – IFEX

The daughter of a veteran Guatemalan radio journalist gunned down on June 25 by unidentified attackers was herself fatally shot on Tuesday, prompting the International Press Institute (IPI) to call on authorities to do more to protect journalists and bring their killers to justice. Lindaura Aceituno, daughter of Álvaro Alfredo Aceituno López and a manager at a local mall, was in her car with her young daughter in the south-eastern city of Coatepeque, Quetzaltenango department, when unidentified assailants on a motorbike shot her several times. Aceituno, 36, died after being taken to a hospital. Her daughter was also shot, but is reportedly in stable condition. The motive for the killing was not immediately known and police did not say whether it might be linked to her father’s murder. Álvaro Alfredo Aceituno López, director of local station Radio Ilusión, was gunned down while walking in a street close to his home in Coatepeque. The gunmen shot Aceituno López, 65, several times at close range, at least once in the head, before escaping in a car. The journalist was rushed to a hospital, where he died the same day. According to colleagues, he had not mentioned receiving any threats and the motive for his killing remains unknown.

Source: Daughter of murdered Guatemala journalist shot dead – IFEX

Critics of ‘Military Impunity’ Take On Indian-Administered Kashmir · Global Voices

The Indian writer Arundhati Roy argues that his country is in denial about the Kashmiri people’s freedom—its azadi.While we denounce—as we must—the gunning down of unarmed protesters by the security forces, the attacks on ambulances and hospitals by policemen, and the blinding of teenagers with pellet guns, we have to keep in mind that the real debate cannot only be about the violation of human rights by Indian security forces in the Kashmir valley. Egregious though they are, those violations are the consequence—the inevitable and unavoidable consequence—of the militaristic suppression of a people’s struggle for freedom. Kashmiris are not fighting for the establishment of the rule of law or an end to human rights violations. They are fighting for azadi. For this, they are prepared to face down bullets with stones. For this, they are prepared to die in numbers.

Source: Critics of ‘Military Impunity’ Take On Indian-Administered Kashmir · Global Voices