No no hoosegow

Who bombed the Golden Mosque, and why?

2006-02-23T13:15:00.000-08:00

"Recall the remarks of an anonymous senior military officer on April 22, 2004, declaring a spate of bombings in Basra had "all the hallmarks" of "al-Qaeda." Several months later, two British "undercover soldiers" wearing "traditional Arab headscarves" were caught red-handed by Iraqi National Guard "driving a booby trapped car loaded with ammunition."

While I think this poster is somewhat naive when it comes to the level of animosity between Shias and Sunnis, they bring up some important points. All I'm gonna say is that I'm suspicious about this, as I am about the nature of "insurgents" in Iraq in general.

More at http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2006/02/334447.shtml

Starbucks Union member kicked off job for wearing religious symbol

2006-02-10T17:02:00.000-08:00

Just remember kids, we in the west value our religious freedom... gack

For the second time in as many months, Starbucks management has kicked SWU member Suley Ayala out of the workplace for wearing her modest Pentagram necklace.

More at The Starbucks Union site

Our not-so-friendly "friends" on the ultra-right. Right?

2006-02-10T07:26:00.000-08:00

According to the cultural editor of the newspaper, Flemming Rose, it was aimed at “testing the limits of self-censorship in Danish public opinion” when it comes to Islam and Muslims. He added: “In a secular society, Muslims have to live with the fact of being ridiculed, scoffed at and made to look ridiculous.”

When the anticipated reaction by the Muslim community failed to arise, the newspaper continued its campaign, determined to create a full-scale scandal. After a week had gone by without protest, journalists turned on Danish Islamic religious leaders who were well known for their fundamentalist views and demanded: “Why don’t you protest?” Eventually, the latter reacted and alerted their co-thinkers in the Middle East.

More at http://www.wsws.org/articles/2006/feb2006/denm-f10.shtml

Burn victim shot and killed by police

2006-02-07T08:56:00.000-08:00

This is so disgusting, I don't know what to say. The idea of being tazered with burns all over my body, then shot five times. :shudder:

Articles:

What happened

Mainstream article (be sure to note all viewpoints)

Cops cleared

Cartoon Nightmares

2006-02-06T17:09:00.000-08:00

I've been following the controversy and protests over the cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). I can't shake the feeling that the protests seem more than a little convenient: right wing newspaper fans the flames, said flames spread, and all of a sudden, embassies are being burned and people are dead. While I'm not about to say that what's going on is some grand conspiracy, what I do know is that it is a clear policy of political powers to manipulate people into actions that serve larger political goals (such as attempting to manufacture a violent response to justify cessation of civil liberties, wars, and so on.) It's not like this is the first time this has happened -- and if you think some percentage of your favored country, political system, religion, and so on has never engaged in the kinds of behavior going on against the Danes right now, well, all due respect, but you seriously need to get out more.

Anyway...if the idea of movers and shakers inciting public discontent sounds far-fetched to you, I encourage to you to watch the BBC documentaries "The Power of Nightmares" and "The Century of the Self." "Century of the Self" is good for historical context (including the role that public relations has played in shaping popular opinion,) but "Power" is especially pertinent at present, as it deals with the rise of neo-conservatism and Salafism (AKA Wahabism,) and how both movements have used public spectacle to directly influence large sectors of the general population.

The worst donut is better than the best cop

2006-02-01T17:28:00.000-08:00

Over at Sketchy Thoughts, kersplebedeb writes about a rapist cop in Montreal, and why even the best cops don't really help things.

Coffeehouse spirituality

2006-01-29T09:03:00.000-08:00

Just found this article on White Crane Journal -- I think it maps nicely to where I'm at these days. Enjoy.

Coffeehouse Spirituality
Darrell Grizzle

Many of us who are gay and spiritual have been wounded by religion. More than a few of us have been rejected by religious family members when we came out of the closet. A friend of mine had Roman Catholic parents who, after he came out of the closet, declared him dead and went to a priest and had a Mass for the Dead. My own parents, Pentecostals, prayed for my death for several years after I came out. They sincerely believed I would be better off dead than living such a "sinful lifestyle." Some of us have found ways to reclaim our religious traditions. Others of us have found ways to reclaim what was good about our religious tradition, while incorporating elements and practices from other traditions into our personal spirituality. We have struggled with freeing ourselves from a toxic "either/or" religion, trying to move on to a healthier "both/and" spirituality. It's no longer unusual, in gay spirituality circles, to find brothers who describe themselves as Christian Buddhist, or Sufi Celtic Pagan, or Budeo-Pagan, or shamanic, or "ambispiritual," or "panspiritual."

More at White Crane Journal

Just remember kids, tofu is evil

2006-01-28T19:21:00.000-08:00

From The Green Knight:

More than two dozen government surveillance photographs show 22-year-old Caitlin Childs of Atlanta, a strict vegetarian, and other vegans picketing against meat eating, in December 2003. They staged their protest outside a HoneyBaked Ham store on Buford Highway in DeKalb County.

An undercover DeKalb County Homeland Security detective was assigned to conduct surveillance of the protest and the protestors, and take the photographs. The detective arrested Childs and another protester after he saw Childs approach him and write down, on a piece of paper, the license plate number of his unmarked government car....

The detective did not comment in his report about why his license tag number was already visible to the public.

Homeland Security in action, folks: keeping America safe from tofu-eaters, one Honeybaked Ham at a time.

More at Green Knight

Iraqi Invasion: A Text Misadventure

2006-01-28T15:48:00.000-08:00

This is beyond funny...

Oval Office
You are standing inside a White House, having just been elected to the presidency of the United States. You knew Scalia would pull through for you.

There is a large desk here, along with a few chairs and couches. The presidential seal is in the middle of the room and there is a full-length mirror upon the wall.

What do you want to do now?

> INVADE IRAQ
You are not able to do that, yet.

> LOOK MIRROR
Self-reflection is not your strong suit.

> PET SEAL
It's not that kind of seal.

More at Defective Yeti

Questions I have about Islamic culture and practice

2006-01-28T01:50:00.000-08:00

Salaam,

A prefacing note: what I am looking for is constructive feedback on the questions below, as in "if you feel my questions compel you to hate on my butt, well, I'd appreciate it if you didn't." Please consider this post as a request for support on my part, not as an invitation for acrimony. I'd especially like to hear back from women and LBGTI Muslims about their experiences, although all friendly comments are welcome.

Here are my questions:

Am I nuts to think that I can be out as a lesbian and find a mosque, without causing a huge amount of drama? I want to perform salah in jama'ah, not be a firebrand (or a martyr.) It's hard for me to fathom going to Friday prayers if what I'm going to encounter is some variation on "who the blank blank are you?" I can get that kind of treatment on the street, thank you very much.

Am I the only one that Muslims who engage in anti-female attitudes and practices a little suspect, in terms of Islam? While I don't buy into the whole islamophobic representation of women in Islam, I do know that there are definitely some problems in the Umma.

I've also spent a fair amount of time around Pagans, especially of the Wiccan variety. Given my background, my relationship with Paganism is far too complex to detail here -- suffice it to say, I manage to find a way to carry Islam in my heart, and not freak out if my consciousness drifts towards Oshun or Oya (or Leghba, heh heh) on occasion. How do I do this? I don't know. It's a mystery to me. My question is similar to the one about being a lesbian (imagine that): am I nuts to think there's someplace I can go on a community level, without causing a lot of drama? Further, am I nuts to think that I'm a Muslim if this is where my heart takes me? It's not so much that I disbelieve in one God, as much as I feel that prayer to that God takes many forms. It's like the difference between a sign and a road: Oshun or Oya may be signified as "sign," but Allah is definitely "road" in my book -- and just as a sign can lead you to a road, well...you get the idea.

Lastly, does anybody know of a Sufi community that is both Islamic in orientation and, to be honest, residing somewhere on planet earth? As much as I love my Sufi sisters and brothers, the last thing that I need is more ecstatic reverie in my life. (You spend enough time chanting as a teenager, you kind of get wired that way after a while.) In specific, what I need right now is to slowly work my way towards a community that is steeped in practical guidance without being heavy handed, that isn't masculinist, and all in all, is devout while not being fundamentalist. Finding a community with progressive or left radical politics along with the above would definitely be a plus in my book.

Thanks for listening. Any and all constructive feedback is welcome.

The opening

2006-01-28T01:34:00.000-08:00

Salaam,

Here I am, in my forties. I'm a feminist, an anti-authoritarian, and an intersexed lesbian -- and I'm considering formally converting/reverting to Islam. Some of the more secular-minded among you (especially those of you who are attracted to this site because of its politics) may wonder what has gotten into me. Have I lost my mind? Perhaps a little background would help.

First things first: In my early teens, I was initiated into a western Sufi order after a period of searching. The order I was part of wasn't the most orthodox bunch of Sufis in the world -- those of you who follow such things know what I'm talking about -- but we did believe in the fundamental foundations of Islam: that there is no God but God, and while you may get an earful about everybody from Buddha to Zoroaster in the process, that the Prophet Muhammad was -- and is -- his messenger. Given all that, the rest should be simple; as one believer put it after he listened to a profession of faith by a member of my order, "You're the worst Muslim I've ever met, but you are a Muslim." While the closest we ever got to salah was reciting Al-Fatiya every once in a while, it's all good. Right?

Well...depends on who you ask. Not every believer, not to mention every sheikh or imam, feels that being a practicing Muslim is as simple as checking a few simple things off the list -- "Allah, check. Muhammad, pbuh, check. Five pillars, check. OK, here's your membership card, the mosque is down the hall, and hey, enjoy paradise" -- which is probably a good thing. Still, I can't divorce myself from the realities of how I was introduced to Islam, and the culture I'm very much a part of. I'm a child of the West, even though my political views aren't exactly in sync with red-blooded amurricanism (in case you hadn't noticed.) It feels at times as if one part of me is at war with another part of me -- but neither of those parts feel wrong-minded, let alone "evil." It's more like they need to find a way to cultivate peace with one another, if that makes sense. The Islam I carry in my heart is both full and eclectic.

Nevertheless, while the seed that got planted back in my hippie Sufi days took its own sweet time to sprout, sprout it has. Even though the ways that Islam has wound its way into my life are not exactly the most conventional, I still find myself wanting to embrace it at least into part of my life, and by definition, into my spiritual practice. The conversion part should just be a formality, followed by a solid yet welcome reassessment and gradual readjustment of my life, and the rest is just between Allah and myself. Again, right? Right?

I can't help but acknowledge that while Islam is in my heart -- given my past, how could it not be in my heart -- I also find myself at odds with what it means culturally to be a practicing Muslim. Mix equal parts Islamic Sufism, earth-based religion (in a way, more on that later,) Buddhism and multicultural anarchafeminist leftism, and you have my eclectic, heterogeneous self, or at least the self I am at this point in my life. Where on earth am I going to fit in? This more than anything makes me feel like I should just quietly fit incorporate Islam into my practice, and not even bother with the formalities, going to mosque, and so on -- but in my heart, I know that that isn't an answer. It feels like hiding my faith, rather than embracing it. So I continue to struggle with what this all means.

In the meantime, I’m finally reading the Qur’an on a regular basis, rather than relying on my decades-old memories the bits and pieces of Islamic culture that I got handed down to me from my order. It may not be much, but it's a start. Where this will lead me, only Allah knows. I may never formally revert, or I may revert tomorrow. Time will tell, insha’llah.

eHarmony and same-sex relationships

2006-01-28T01:28:00.000-08:00

The "good folks" at eHarmony think it's OK to deny the connubial hookup to lesbian and gay peeps, on the basis that their creepy grandpa of a founder Neil Clark Warren "does not know enough about gay and lesbian relationships to do same-sex matching." As he is a psychologist (a group of people that have been known to express more than a little bit of interest in we queerfolk, for better or for worse,) this seems a bit suspect. If he doesn't know much of anything about same-sex relationships, why doesn't he learn? It's not as if we all live in caves.

Warren has also stated that as same-sex marriage is illegal in most states, he doesn't want eHarmony "to participate in something that's illegal." So instead of acknowledging that the real obstacle here is backward laws that prohibit LGBT marriage, they instead in effect place the blame where it obviously belongs, which of course is on lesbians such as myself. We're also responsible for the socks you lose in the dryer, and that funky morning mouth taste you have if you ate a snack last night. Basically? We're Satan. (Well-intentioned sarcasm here, OK? Please don't post a comment asking if I'm really Satan.) You would think that someone who is such a passionate advocate of marriage would be happy to have even more minions to counter the divorce rates he seems so concerned about.

This probably wouldn't be taking up much of my political headspace if it wasn't for the fact that eHarmony ads seem to be everywhere -- considering the amount of TV airtime they purchase, they seem to get more airplay than James Frey and Oprah combined. Who bankrolled these fools, and why on earth do they think that there aren't LGBT folks who want to get married? I smell christian fundamentalism, big time. In fact, they do seem to have some pretty close ties to Focus on the Family, a christian ultra-conservative group -- for example, Warren has had his books published through Focus on the Family's publishing arm. While he did purchase the rights back from them, his ties overall to the christian right (not to mention his own beliefs, see the links below) are pretty clear.

Feel free to let eHarmony and their founder know what you think.

http://www.eharmony.com/singles/servlet/user/contactus?
cmd=contact-us-email

For more information about eHarmony, go to:

http://www.alternet.org/story/21291/
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/2/5/145919/2183
http://blog.jackola.net/805546.html
http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2005-05-18-eharmony_x.htm

Colombia unravels plot against Chavez

2005-12-18T11:33:00.000-08:00

Former Venezuelan soldiers plotted against the government of Hugo Chavez at a Colombian military building, according to the Colombian president.

Alvaro Uribe made the disclosure on Saturday at Santa Marta in Colombia, where he is meeting President Chavez, and after analysing documents furnished by the Venezuelan leader.

He said: "The Venezuelan soldiers who are in Bogota went to a building to meet with members of the Colombian military. President Chavez gave us these documents ... we analysed them and this morning I said to President Chavez, 'I must tell you the truth: this is a building of Colombia's public forces.'"

More at tinyurl.com/aejuk

Statement from Barbara Becnel, Tookie's advocate and co-author

2005-12-16T17:38:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends,

On Tuesday, December 13th, we lost a great friend, fighter and human being. The state of California murdered Stanley Tookie Williams in cold blood, cruelly and maliciously. His execution was a 35-minute atrocity that will not be forgiven or forgotten.

We will continue to fight to prove Stan's innocence, to continue his message of peace and to end the racist death penalty.

To all of the supporters who spent countless hours fighting to save Stan's life, I say thank you for everything you have done. We mourn this great loss but must continue the struggle.

We will be in touch regarding the memorial service currently being planned.

Keep your heads up. Stan would expect nothing less.

In struggle,

Barbara Becnel

Rest in peace, Brother Williams

2005-12-13T10:36:00.000-08:00

Redemption. I can say it no better than that. That's how I would like the world to remember me. That's what I would like my legacy to be remembered as.

George Jackson - murdered by the state?

2005-12-12T20:40:00.000-08:00

Since the governator seems to think that Tookie William's dedication of one of his several books calling for an end to gang violence to Black Panther George Jackson, as well as other political prisoners (including former South African president Nelson Mandela,) is somehow a justification for his denial of clemency for Tookie, I thought I'd find some information on George Jackson.

Is Arnie truly concerned about Tookie's alleged lack of redemption, or is he tweaked out by the continuing legacy of black and native resistance in the U.S.? You decide.

On August 21, 1971, three days before he was to go on trial, Jackson was gunned down in the prison yard at San Quentin in what officials described as an escape attempt. The official report said that in his possession, Jackson had a 9mm automatic pistol alleged to have been smuggled into the prison by attorney Stephen Bingham (Bingham was acquitted of charges related to the incident in 1984). According to the Soledad guards, it was discarded after the alleged escape attempt, but no record was ever made of the weapon's destruction. Some other prisoners who witnessed the event claim that there was no weapon and that Jackson had not been planning any escape or rebellion. The official report also accuses Jackson of participating in a riot earlier that day, involving two dozen other prisoners, where three corrections officers and two inmates were tortured and killed. At his request, no flowers but only shotguns were brought to Jackson's funeral.

From the Wikipedia article on George Jackson.

Is the execution of Tookie Williams politically motivated?

2005-12-12T20:06:00.000-08:00

From Arnold Schwarzenegger’s decision to deny clemency to Stanley “Tookie” Williams:

The dedication of Williams’ book “Life in Prison” casts significant doubt on his personal redemption. This book was published in 1998, several years after Williams’ claimed redemptive experience. Specifically, the book is dedicated to “Nelson Mandela, Angela Davis, Malcolm X, Assata Shakur, Geronimo Ji Jaga Pratt, Ramona Africa, John Africa, Leonard Peltier, Dhoruba Al-Mujahid, George Jackson, Mumia Abu-Jamal, and the countless other men, women, and youths who have to endure the hellish oppression of living behind bars.” The mix of individuals on this list is curious. Most have violent pasts and some have been convicted of committing heinous murders, including the killing of law enforcement.

But the inclusion of George Jackson on this list defies reason and is a significant indicator that Williams is not reformed and that he still sees violence and lawlessness as a legitimate means to address societal problems.

One can read the Terminator’s complete statement here.

(text from Sketchy Thoughts)

Good news for Mumia

2005-12-07T17:00:00.000-08:00

From: RobertRBryan@aol.com
To: undisclosed-recipients
Subject: Mumia Abu-Jamal - Decision, U.S. Court of Appeals [PLEASE CIRCULATE]
Date: Tue, 6 Dec 2005 20:27:10 EST

Dear Friends and Supporters:

Today the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued the most important decision affecting my client, Mumia Abu-Jamal, since the lower federal court ruling in December 2001. An order was issued this morning that the court will accept for review the following issues, all of which are of enormous constitutional significance and go to the very essence of Mumia's right to a fair trial due process of law, and equal protection of the law under the Fifth, Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution:

* Claim 14: Whether appellant was denied his constitutional rights due to the prosecution’s trial summation.

* Claim 16: Whether the Commonwealth’s use of peremptory challenges at trial violated appellant’s constitutional rights under Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 (1986).

* Claim 29: Whether appellant was denied due process during post-conviction proceedings as a result of alleged judicial bias.

Claim 16 concerns the prosecutorial use of racism in jury selection. The record establishes beyond question that racism is a major thread that has run through this case since Mumia's 1981 arrest, and continues to today.

Claim 14 relates to the guilt phase. It includes the prosecutor's argument that if convicted Mumia would have "appeal after appeal." That comment effectively lessened the burden of the jurors, and turned the concept of reasonable doubt and presumption of innocence on its head.

Claim 29 is about the bias and incredible racism of Judge Albert Sabo, the trial judge. Unfortunately, it is limited to his conduct at the 1995 evidentiary (PCRA) hearing, rather than his monstrous behavior at trial. This restriction is because all of the prior attorneys mistakenly did not attack Sabo's misconduct at trial, an unfortunate oversight and mistake.

The court has also issued a briefing schedule. The case is now on the fast track, as I have been predicting. The opening briefs are due to be filed by January 17, 2006.

Please post this e-mail and the attached Order on your web sites, and circulate it.

Today we achieved a great victory in the campaign to win a new trial and the eventual freedom of Mumia.

Your support, and activism, is badly needed and appreciated.

With best wishes,
Robert R. Bryan
=============
Law Offices of Robert R. Bryan
2088 Union Street, Suite 4
San Francisco, California 94123
Lead counsel for Mumia Abu-Jamal

German police baffled by Bush poo-flags

2005-12-07T12:02:00.000-08:00

Police in Germany are hunting pranksters who have been sticking miniature flag portraits of US President George W. Bush into piles of dog poo in public parks. Josef Oettl, parks administrator for Bayreuth, said: "This has been going on for about a year now, and there must be 2,000 to 3,000 piles of excrement that have been claimed during that time."

The series of incidents was originally thought to be some sort of protest against the US-led invasion of Iraq. And then when it continued it was thought to be a protest against President George W. Bush's campaign for re-election. But it is still going on and the police say they are completely baffled as to who is to blame. "We have sent out extra patrols to try to catch whoever is doing this in the act," said police spokesman Reiner Kuechler. "But frankly, we don't know what we would do if we caught them red handed." Legal experts say there is no law against using feces as a flag stand and the federal legal experts say there is no law against using feces as a flag stand and the federal constitution is vague on the issue.

http://www.madeyouthink.org/

text from http://www.indybay.org/news/2005/03/1728717.php