Current Affairs

NYT: #torture loopholes

islamoyankeeJanuary 21, 2010

Op-ed about military interrogation techniques: Tomorrow will be one year since President Obama signed an executive order outlawing torture, yet our debate about interrogation methods continues. Though the president deserves praise for improving matters, the changes were not as drastic as most Americans think, and elements of our interrogation policy continue to be both inhumane and counterproductive. Americans can now boast that they no longer “torture” detainees, but they cannot say that detainees are not abused, or even that their treatment meets the minimum standards of humane treatment mandated by the Geneva Conventions, the Detainee Treatment Act of 2005 (the…

Current Affairs

Flight 297

islamoyankeeDecember 4, 2009

Unfortunately, it’s not a sequel to the great track Flight IC 408 by State of Bengal. It’s a horrid fantasy by a testosterone challenged man who wants everyone to think he has no fear. What his adolescent daydream reveals is quite the opposite: he is a coward who wants to be a hero. To quote Atrios: “The stupid, it burns.”

Current Affairs

Josh Marshall on Khalid Shaykh Mohammed’s Trial in NY

islamoyankeeNovember 21, 2009

No Josh, you are not alone. I too have that confidence. But what do we have to fear? We’re going to lose this argument? Really? Why am I so alone in having confidence in this country and what it stands for? [From Don’t Get It]

Current Affairs

Fort Hood and the invisibility of Arab Americans

islamoyankeeNovember 18, 2009

The role Arab-Americans play in the military: Consider Navy SEAL Mike Monsoor who threw himself on a grenade in Iraq on September 29, 2006. The device had landed among SEALs and Iraqi soldiers, and Monsoor absorbed the blast with his body, saving everyone’s life but his own. For his act of self sacrifice, he was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor last year. Then there’s Lance Corporal Abraham al-Thaibani of New York who enlisted with the Marines after his city was attacked on 9/11. On the day the World Trade Center towers fell, al-Thaibani ran through the streets of…

Current Affairs

Muslims Serving in the Military

islamoyankeeNovember 14, 2009

Andrew Sullivan offers us observations from a reader. the rollover of the HUMMV which caused the death of the driver. I was at the mortuary when the MEDEVAC helicopter brought this young man’s broken body in to be prepared for the journey home. The rest of his team were brought to Bagram as well. They were very adamant that they be the ones to escort the fallen brother to the C17. Although dirty and disheveled from their encounter, I agreed as I am certain their brother would have had it no other way. To a man, they wanted me to…

Current Affairs

American Muslim Write Letter to #fthood shooter [humor]

islamoyankeeNovember 13, 2009

Via the Onion. “thanks a fucking bunch, asshole,”

Current Affairs

Family of Ft. Hood Victim Responds #fthood

islamoyankeeNovember 12, 2009

Watch CBS News Videos Online

Charity Current Affairs

Muslim Americans Respond to Ft. Hood #fthood

islamoyankeeNovember 11, 2009

Very simply, donate. Support the victims and their families.

Current Affairs

Another View of Violence and Muslim America

islamoyankeeNovember 11, 2009

As Andrew Sullivan says, the clip speaks for itself.

Current Affairs

On Ft. Hood

islamoyankeeNovember 8, 2009

God rest the souls of the horrible tragedy at Ft. Hood. May God grant the survivors and families of victims comfort and solace during these difficult times. More prolonged thoughts during the week.