Saturday, March 21, 2009
Obama's message to Iran
Obama's decision to keep 50,000 troops in Iraq pissed me off: it wasn't my impression of what he meant by "end the war".
Top among the reasons I want us completely out of Iraq is that our military presence in oil producing Islamic nations has been correctly interpreted as a means to keep a stable supply of oil. This message takes a completely different tack: welcome these nations instead of coerce them.
If this attitude toward the region comes off as well in Iraq to Iraqi ears as this message to Iran comes off to my ears, the equation of keeping troops in Iraq to prevent a civil war vs withdrawing from a net negative situation may change.
Labels: energy, iraq, islam, obama, Obama Adminstration, war
// posted by Erik @ 3/21/2009 12:17:00 AM
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Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Blackwater wants US Courts to apply Islamic law
Via TPM .... well, just go get the link from Josh's introduction.
Labels: islam, right wingers, war
// posted by Erik @ 6/18/2008 10:49:00 PM
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Thursday, June 12, 2008
Rabbi Elchonon Kirshentaun
"We're here to share in the pain of Lebanese people and to express our belief that authentic Jews have been against the State of Israel since day one and has no right to exist and it's against the Jewish faith ... Judaism is a religion of peace, Jews have been loyal citizens of whichever country they have lived in over the years and have lived in peace with Arabs in the Arab lands for thousands of years, we would like to continue to do so. The only problem is Zionism and Zionists. It's neither Jews nor Arabs, it's not Judiasm or Islam ... [Zionism] is only 50 to 100 years [old]."
Labels: islam, judaism, liberalism, religion, right wingers, YouTube
// posted by Erik @ 6/12/2008 07:18:00 PM
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Friday, March 21, 2008
Obama on national security
This is relatively long for a YouTube clip, but I find it nearly spot on and complete:
I disagree that we as a nation should demonstrate such reflexive support of Israel's foreign policy as Obama seems to advocate here, but given the breadth of the speech, I feel comfortable with the foreign policy he outlines.
That said, I've noticed no candidate expressing extended thoughts about the credit failure we've brought on ourselves. America has lived on credit for years, paying debts with refinanced mortgages. One of Bush's 2004 campaign sound-bites was that an unprecedented number of Americans owned their own homes. It was true at the time, but in retrospect a negative, not a positive. People during Bush's first term were able to get mortgages they couldn't afford.
So I'd like a 2008 candidate lay out what we should do about it.
Labels: 2008 elections, Iran, iraq, islam, terrorism
// posted by Erik @ 3/21/2008 12:32:00 AM
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Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Koran 3:145: Only Allah can kill you
Reading bin Laden's 1996 fatwa in which he declares war on Saudi Arabia and the "American-Zionist crusaders", this Koranic verse stuck out,
No one dies except by GOD's leave, at a predetermined time
That's some pretty hardcore predestination. No matter what you do, you aren't going to die unless it's the one and single time god picked for you already.
Labels: islam, religion, terrorism
// posted by Erik @ 9/11/2007 03:38:00 PM
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