ontd_political | Entries tagged with 9/11

By Raymond Hernandez

WASHINGTON -- After years of fierce lobbying and debate, Congress approved a bill on Wednesday to cover the cost of medical care for rescue workers and others who became sick from toxic fumes, dust and smoke after the 2001 attack on the World Trade Center.

The $4.3 billion bill cleared its biggest hurdle early in the afternoon when the Senate unexpectedly approved it just 12 days after Republican senators had blocked a more expensive House version from coming to the floor of the Senate for a vote.

In recent days, Republican senators had been under fire for their opposition to the legislation.

( Click for the full story. )

Source

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WELL, IT'S ABOUT TIME. This is an awesome follow-up to a previous post on this community regarding the matter. Anthony Weiner, I hope you're not angry anymore. :)

mistersandman

A small US church says it will defy international condemnation and go ahead with plans to burn copies of the Koran on the 9/11 anniversary.

The top US commander in Afghanistan warned troops' lives would be in danger if the Dove World Outreach Center in Florida went ahead.

Muslim countries and NATO have also hit out at the move.

And the US Attorney General, Eric Holder, called the idea "idiotic and dangerous," but organiser, Pastor Terry Jones said: "We must send a clear message to the radical element of Islam."

The controversy comes at a time when the US relationship with Islam is very much under scrutiny.

There is heated debate in the country over a proposal to build a mosque and Islamic cultural centre streets from Ground Zero, site of the 9/11 attacks, in New York.

Speaking at a State Department dinner marking the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, Hillary Clinton condemned Pastor Jones.

"I am heartened by the clear, unequivocal condemnation of this disrespectful, disgraceful act that has come from American religious leaders of all faiths," she said.

Despite having a congregation of just 50, the plans of Pastor Jones' church in Gainesville have gained worldwide notoriety, sparking demonstrations in Afghanistan and Indonesia.
( Click for full article )

Source

Everyone--and I mean everyone--has told these people that this is a bad idea. Well too bad for them, AMERICA doesn't bow to kings and neither does Jesus. (and by kings they mean NATO, assorted representatives of the United States government, the American military, the Vatican, and their local ordinances about open bonfires, did I miss any, aside from common decency?)

treesahquiche

For nine years after the attacks of Sept. 11, many American Muslims made concerted efforts to build relationships with non-Muslims, to make it clear they abhor terrorism, to educate people about Islam and to participate in interfaith service projects. They took satisfaction in the observations by many scholars that Muslims in America were more successful and assimilated than Muslims in Europe.

Now, many of those same Muslims say that all of those years of work are being rapidly undone by the fierce opposition to a Muslim cultural center near ground zero that has unleashed a torrent of anti-Muslim sentiments and a spate of vandalism. The knifing of a Muslim cab driver in New York City has also alarmed many American Muslims.

( Click for the full story. )

Ingrid Mattson, the president of the Islamic Society of North America, said many American Muslims were still hoping to salvage the spirit of Ramadan.

"In Ramadan, you're really not supposed to be focused on yourself," she said. "It's about looking out for the suffering of other people. Somehow it feels bad to be so worried about our own situation and our own security, when it should be about empathy towards others."

Source

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Maybe it isn't in the spirit of Ramadan to worry about your own situation and your own security, but, uh, things in the States aren't exactly sunshine and daisies. Even the most selfless saint would be a little worried. I mean, what's next, getting lynched by Teabaggers?

It's not Muslims who need to salvage the spirit of Ramadan; it's the rest of America who just needs to get over themselves and remember how to conduct themselves with a little dignity.

treesahquiche

( Click here for the video transcript. )

Fareed Zakaria: Build the Ground Zero Mosque (Newsweek) -- A more detailed and in-depth argument by Dr. Zakaria in favor of the Muslim community center.

Thoughts on Abe Foxman's Speechlessness Over Fareed Zakaria's Return of the ADL's Humphrey Award

The dispute between Fareed Zakaria and Abe Foxman is not over. Foxman's faux "shock" over Zakaria's reaction to Foxman's efforts to stop the building of an Islamic community center a few blocks from "Ground Zero" may be masking efforts by Foxman to have Zakaria exit by the same route as Helen Thomas and Octavia Nasr.

( Click for the full story )

Source

I love Fareed Zakaria, and how he stands up against bigotry, entitlement, and the worrying trend of Islamophobia in the West. He is truly an intellectual treasure and a bastion of rationality and compassion here in the United States.

treesahquiche

By Anthony Weiner

Last week I got angry on the floor of the House. In this age of cable and YouTube, millions of people evidently saw the one-minute-plus clip. But there has been relatively little focus on why the substantive debate that sparked it matters.

( Republicans are douchebags, no one is surprised. )

Anthony Weiner is a member of the House of Representatives from Queens and Brooklyn.

Source

I thought that I had already plumbed the depths to which conservatives in the United States could sink, but apparently I was wrong! 9/11 -- the tragic attack that brought everyone together as a nation, the event which every Republican politician paid lip service to in order to send us overseas to a war that is exponentially increasing our national deficit with each passing day -- is apparently no longer a legitimate concern for the Republican Party. The people who died at the hands of hostile enemies and the people who are dying of the toxic exposure and stress injuries they suffered while tirelessly working to aid the rescue effort are apparently no worthier of regard than a speck of lint on the suits of Republicans.

Yes, people die everyday of unsafe work conditions, inadequate healthcare, not being able to afford the cost of living, and gross neglect. But they shouldn't. Not Americans, anyway, and definitely not -- especially not -- American heroes. If we don't take care of the brave and selfless people who saved our country when they're in need now, then we shouldn't expect anyone to come running when it comes time to face our next great crisis.

I applaud Representative Weiner for standing up to this bullshit and not being afraid to be angry about it.

treesahquiche

By Scott Atran and Robert Axelrod

NOT all groups that the United States government classifies as terrorist organizations are equally bad or dangerous, and not all information conveyed to them that is based on political, academic or scientific expertise risks harming our national security. Unfortunately, the Supreme Court, which last week upheld a law banning the provision of "material support" to foreign terrorist groups, doesn't seem to consider those facts relevant.

Many groups that were once widely considered terrorist organizations, including some that were on the State Department's official list, have become our partners in pursuing peace and furthering democracy.

( Click for the full story. )

Scott Atran, an anthropologist at France's National Center for Scientific Research, the University of Michigan and John Jay College, is the author of the forthcoming "Talking to the Enemy." Robert Axelrod is a professor of political science and public policy at the University of Michigan, and the author of "The Evolution of Cooperation."

Source

I'm all for communication, but this "We must be involved" attitude is discomfiting. Yes, sometimes American interference may be the most expedient solution, but American interference caused many of those problems, and may cause yet more.

ONTD: Politics

Entries tagged with 9/11

Senate Passes 9/11 Health Bill as Republicans Back Down

US church defiant despite condemnation of Koran burning

American Muslims Ask, Will We Ever Belong?

Zakaria Not a Bigot Like Palin or the League of Patriots; ADL Baffled

Op-Ed: Why I Was Angry

Op-Ed: Why We Talk to Terrorists

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