gdp's Comments

KABOBfest : Muslims as Model Minority?

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 23:45:34 +0000

Word.

Kuwait Black Market : For Real ?

Mon, 21 Dec 2009 15:16:54 +0000

Harbour, sorry.

Kuwait Black Market : For Real ?

Mon, 21 Dec 2009 01:29:07 +0000

Havana, its a great cafe though.

KABOBfest : Caption Contest...

Sat, 19 Dec 2009 03:01:54 +0000

Mutassim: Baba told me pudgy women give good head.

KABOBfest : What a Joke

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 06:24:33 +0000

That could equally be 140 cases where the units engaged in these counter insurgency tactics were not caught. You simply can not rule something out because you can't come to terms with the reality it might present.

KABOBfest : What a Joke

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 04:57:53 +0000

Okay, so you have these facts. He showed non of the supposed tell-tale signs of a suicide bomber, and then suddenly hes in Iraq. Two possible scenarios ensued: 1) He died in a "suicide attack". 2) He died fighting US Forces. Regardless of which of the above is true, and I'm not going to debate that, the "official word" from his father, is that he died fighting for US Forces. Now, lets move on. No matter how many statistics you pull, and no matter how many things you say about this or that, there are both people who have prospered (legitimately or not) and there those who have had their lives ruined by the war in Iraq. Neither you, nor I can affirmatively say who falls in ANY of these categories, whats there to say that he wasn't fighting for a legitimate cause for people who have been wronged throughout the war? Regardless of which version of his demise you'd like to entertain, the people who are proud of him, publicly do so under the pretext that he died fighting US Forces. In doing so, they clearly do not "promote" suicide bombing. More: Where is the transcript? and What do the final two paragraphs of the article serve? You put resistance in quotation marks, are you implying that all the resistance in Iraq is nothing but people pursing senseless violence?

KABOBfest : What a Joke

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 03:32:18 +0000

@ C.H. Read the first paragraph of the VERY next page of the article you pulled the reference from. Here, you've read what you liked to read, and disregarded the rest. "So many Arabs" So a lot of Arabs? I don't know any Arabs who took to the streets, maybe I just don't live in the right neighbourhood. You do understand that when you say things like that you're implying that the majority of Arabs glorify and praise these actions? ============================ A number of commentators keep referring to "Arab Extremists" and their suicidal attacks, who are these people specifically? Are they just very-Arab, Arab looking proficient speakers of Arabic who blow themselves up with no particular agenda? Or is any nutter who vaguely resembles an Arab suddenly classified as an "Arab Extremist"?

KABOBfest : 15 Things "Never" to Discuss with an Arab

Sun, 13 Dec 2009 23:29:06 +0000

I won't join you. Religion is subjective. You could approach a Muslim who prefers to pray 10 times a day, does that make him an extremist? Surely in the eyes of those who pray 5 it would. Tumble down this path and suddenly you have this notion of "good Muslims and bad Muslims", "moderate Muslims" and "extreme Muslims", "practising and non-practising". All these terms build a highly polarized perception of the faith for those who do not understand it and suddenly people are afraid of Muslims because all they ever hear about is that pinnacle of this otherwise peaceful faith is uninformed aggression against innocent people. Suddenly you have "Islamophobia" because every news source and running commentary uses this sadistic terms and the military might of the united states bearing down on a bunch of helpless civilians. "I know Iraqis" - Is this how you've figured out they don't want to blow themselves up, because if so, then we have an entirely different problem on our hands and these Iraqis would probably not be too happy that statements like those you made above are the determinants of your arguments. You've had arguments with leftist Americans and non-Iraqi Arabs, and they said something, cool. That doesn't mean that what they said was correct or that the result of your debate with 2 people with tertiary opinions about events happening on the other side of the fence actually amount to concrete evidence on the ground. The problem is that you have established views of Islam and Arabs that you do not wish to change, you listen to what you like and piss away anything that doesn't fit your ideal model. The opinions you've presented across throughout this discussion are incredibly idealistic and linear in nature, they do not take into account that a great many factors come into play when it comes down to forming a model for the conditions on the ground. Whether you like it or not, whether the people you've talked to, or the articles you've read back up your opinion, you can not fully ascertain that any one party is or isn't responsible. Regardless of who they are or what their record might stipulate, such is the basis of sound and subjective inferences. Again, I'm not here to ague who did what or who is responsible for this or that, and I'm certainly not here to argue your perception that the occupation in Iraq isn't criminal or illegal. My initial reply, and every subsequent one I've been struggling to deal with your poor inferences and even poorer backing. Again, I would like to bring to your attention the fact that the original article by Hanitizer was not dealing with Muslims, and you through your inferences, tried to make it as such. Not only is this wrong, but it makes you out to be a clear product of this continuing trend of unwarranted suspicion against Muslims and Arabs.

KABOBfest : 15 Things "Never" to Discuss with an Arab

Sun, 13 Dec 2009 21:54:49 +0000

" "If anything I'd take it that you're hinting that violent Muslims are the norm and that one must look in Arabia to see how terrible this religion is" The acts of a few can ruin the lives of millions...look at Iraq. Iraqi culture overwhelming rejects suicide and very few Iraqis, aside from some hardcore Saddamists, have blown themselves up. Iraqi Shiites and Kurds, who make up 80 percent of the great nation, have yet to blow themselves up. In spite of this, some Saudis, Syrians, and Jordanians have managed to slip over the border and destroy daily life for Iraqi civilians." " - You didn't deny that violent Muslims are the norm, instead you imply that the majority of civilian deaths since the glorious US-Occupation of Iraq began are for the most part a result of those coincidentially neighbouring Arab countries, nevermind the fact that 2/3 of those countries are actually US allies. I'm sure what you meant to say was "foreign militants". Its also wonderful that you just found out that the Iraqi people don't want to blow them selves up. These statistics are truely astounding. You clearly have no clear undestanding between the cultural, national or religious boundraies of either the Arab world or the followers of Islam, you're consistently washing them all together to paint your filthy picture of hatred. Work harder on stringing relavent quotes and sentances together and maybe read more into the implications of the language you use when you write.

KABOBfest : 15 Things "Never" to Discuss with an Arab

Sun, 13 Dec 2009 21:45:56 +0000

"No one claimed responsibility for the mosque burning in the West Bank the other day either, yet it is blatantly obvious who is responsible." - They spray painted a delcleration, and left a name son. If that isn't claim of responsibility then I don't know what is. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middl... "I suppose you'd like me to agree with you and suggest that we should view hardcore Presbyterians and Hasidic Jews with equal suspicion as Muslim extremists in the Mogadishu carnage, but I prefer to remain in the Universe of reality." You've missed my point entirely. That entire paragraph is there to counter your continued use of a language that implies that the problem is with the religion of Islam and not the people supposedly behind these actions, it's about your use of terms like "islamic fundamentalists" as to imply that islam is fundamentally a violent reglion, "muslim extremists". I'm saying that you shouldn't jump the gun that they were "Muslim extremists" in the first place; there is nothing wrong with suggesting a possible link to previous attacks, but it is fundamentally wrong to make such ascertive statements when you have nothing but your skepticism of not just the faith, but all of its followers. "Actually, the Al-Qaeda linked Tehreek-e-Talibani proudly claimed responsibility for the mosque siege in Rawalpindi." - Said so yourself, those clowns are "linked" to Al-Qaeda, they are neither Al-Qaeda nor am I here to represent or defend either of them.

KABOBfest : 15 Things "Never" to Discuss with an Arab

Sun, 13 Dec 2009 16:17:31 +0000

"Yes, but he did talk about the problems that are plaguing the Arab world, many of which involve Islam one way or another (Iraq, Yemen, Egypt, Algeria, Somalia, Syria, and Lebanon being just a few)." -Really where? You mean Palestine? Or did you mean Anwar Sadat, or are you just the next International Development clown who equates the Arab culture and Islam? Surely Salma Hayek's cleavage is worth putting an abayya on and keeping locked up at home. Your worldly-self stated previously that you'd been to South Asia, a region of well over a billion people with significant non-Muslim populations and not a single Arab, I still don't understand the relevance. Again, the fact that you found Muslims who do not support violence astound you? If anything I'd take it that you're hinting that violent Muslims are the norm and that one must look in Arabia to see how terrible this religion is, because after all, all their problems are because of this dastardly faith. "Oh come on, Monica...can it really mean that I am "skeptical of Arab culture" and the religion of Islam because I point out that many incidents that have polarized, traumatized, and ravaged the Arab world involve people who use Islam to justify their violence". - Exactly my point, had you used distinctively Arab issues and maybe said "Hey Hanitizer, what about the following topics that also plague the Arab world" and then listed a number of issues that plague distinctivly the Arab world, regardless of whether they were perputrated by supposed Muslims or not then maybe wouldn't have had this discussion. Instead, you choose to make this post about Islam by listing a number issues, all of which were carried out under the banner of this faith and only one of them bearing any resemblance to an Arab issue. Moreso, no one has claimed responisibiliy for the attack in Mogadishu, and the Mosque blasts were certainly "condemned" by everyone, Al-Qaeda included. Why did you say "holy warrior" when no one has claimed responsibility? I'm sure that term could have been used to imply that the perpetrator was not an adherant of a particular faith, but lets not kid ourselves here. It disgusts me that you would make light of the burning of the mosque in the West Bank, the issue here isn't the fact that it was just that the Mosque was burned, but that where is the action against these settlers? Where is the oh-righteous IDF out to bomb the shit out of these "Israeli Extremists" who honestly, following the same silly handbook should be called Jewish Extremists, or terrorists depending on they feel in the morning? Oh wait thats right, there is no one, because ironically enough, the Palestinian Authority has no authority after all. The Palestinians nothing but their big swinging dicks to defend themselves with and the IDF sure as shit hasn't done anything about aggressions by settlers in the past.