Being the “other”

From Friday’s MotherJones.com, the casualty figures in Iraq are: Number of U.S. service members killed in Iraq since Operation Iraqi Freedom began on March 19, 2003: 732 Number killed since George W. Bush declared an end to “major combat” on May 1, 2003: 594 Number killed this month: 136 Paul Wolfowitz, the man considered one of the architects of this war, doesn’t know that. Is it because we can’t hear the names of the dead? Or because we can’t see them? Despite the recent charges against the guards at Abu Gharib prison, the great majority of men and women in…

Read this piece. You cannot escape the race issue in the Katrina disaster. You have to wonder if that’s what makes it OK to ignore situation – on the part of the federal government, that contributed to this catastrophe by de-funding the levee construction, removing National Guard and flood equipment (for Iraq?!?) and then not mobilizing resources quickly and appropriately. I’m also hearing CNN ask if this is about race or class. It’s not an either/or option. Race and class are linked, although, this administration has done a lot to erase that line by making sure so many more of…

Recently there have been a couple of incidents reflecting the hazards of being and Islamic traveller.  First Jarrar is told to change his shirt because of its Arabic script.  Second a Northwest Airlines flight is diverted because of 12 "unruly" Muslim passengers. I quite liked this analysis in Salon about this situation.  May Allah help us all and may our fellow non-Muslim passengars have compassion and mercy on us: GO-AROUNDS Re: Passenger vigilantism The Raed Jarrar case is especially troubling because it makes so little sense. Not only did security at JFK assume that Jarrar was potentially dangerous because of…