Thursday, October 29, 2015

Talkin' in That Ol' Code


Riley Freeman



Riley Freeman - Yup

Muhammad Rasheed - Nah. Just a certain demographic of gun owner.

Riley Freeman - I agree with #2.

Muhammad Rasheed - The bulk of the welfare pie is made up of free subsidies to for-profit corporations, and 'cash crop' farms that mega-corporations own patents on. So I'm going to consider that #2 to be a nonsense partisan talking point by some dick "gun owner." lol

Riley Freeman - But it's still true. Welfare is given money while social security is supposed to be an earned acruement set aside for retirement. And, even though the majority of the working class pays a third of their paychecks towards this, it's consistently in danger of being cut.

Muhammad Rasheed - Part of it is true. The part designed to blame the poor for the country's ills.

Riley Freeman - How is that phrase wrong and blaming the poor?

Muhammad Rasheed - lol

Well, for one I don't "constantly hear it."  :P

For two, the 'Muslims' reference, combined with the defensive "gun owners" comment, is giving this away as a partisan nonsense talking point... one that i butt heads with all the time. It's saying Obama is a Mooslem that wants to protect his fellow Mooslems, and all the real patriots who support unregulated gun ownership are the real victims, and "all the people on welfare" (code for "blacks") are the problem with gov and our culture. #bringBackTheGoodOleDays

Riley Freeman - I think you read far too much into factual information. You still have not explained to me how the statement about welfare and social security is inaccurate.

Muhammad Rasheed - Yes, I did, Riley. This nonsense FB meme is 100% exactly what I said in the last post above. That's the message.

And you've been on FB long enough to recognize that.

Riley Freeman - You're failed to state that it was inaccurate or how. If anything, your provided more facts that make state the scenario even more of a travesty.

Muhammad Rasheed - "These two sentences tell you a lot about our government and culture."

There are 2 sentences in the first bullet, 3 in the second bullet, and both of them of partisan talking point drivel that continue the regular ongoing narrative that Muslims are being protected by this administration, gun owners are persecuted, and the lazy people on welfare are a BIG problem.

The meme tells me that the people who wrote it tell me a lot about our culture.

Riley Freeman - That's not what I asked sir. It's the second statement true or no?

Muhammad Rasheed - I already answered that. No, I don't "constantly hear" about SS "going to run out of money." We don't hear about welfare running out because we are on the fiat system and can create money out of thin air at will with unlimited credit (as long as the people accept it). And I didn't find the ending comment "interesting" at all.

Wrong on ALL counts.

Riley Freeman - So you're saying that you've never heard that social security is in danger of running out of funds a few decades from now?

Muhammad Rasheed - I said I don't hear about it "constantly."

Riley Freeman - How could you not when it's at least a yearly topic.

Muhammad Rasheed - lol There's LOTS of topics I don't partake in, Riley. Do you continuously engage in the hot topic of whether Ali should've been the first Rashidun Caliph of Islam?

Riley Freeman - Partaking in a topic and a topic being discussed by major news outlets and across the Internet is two different things. I don't claim to be completely savvy when it comes to politics but even i, as a person employed in America am privy to this major topic. If the topic of Ali were a major news topic, then yes I would know. But it's a personal topic that pertains to your religious beliefs and, no disrespect meant, but only matters to you and those with similar interests to you. It does not pertain to me. As far as the two statements go, as u said from the start, I agree with statement #2. I have very mixed feelings on the first because I believe in gun control. But regardless of subsidies, poor, rich, big business, rural America, inner city America, or whatnot, there has never been talk it the welfare system running out of funds.

Muhammad Rasheed - It doesn't pertain to my religious beliefs since I'm not a Shiite, but the controversy is a heated one, and involves more humans than the SS one does. I heard of the SS thing before, but I do not partake in it. I certainly don’t listen to people go on and on and on about it constantly as the idiot who wrote this meme claimed. It does not pertain to me since I'm not a Repub/Tea Partier who walks around with that in my talking point GOP man-bag.

The government coffers can't run out of funds on this Fed Reserve fiat system. That's why we're on it, because it gives us unlimited, self-fulfilled credit.

Riley Freeman - But the question, all along, was have you heard the topic. Now, after several posts, side tracks, stalls, and evasive maneuvers, you actual give the answer after actually claiming to have done so already. And even now, you essentially just glanced over it quickly. These are the same maneuvers that they use so how can you truly separate yourself from them if you choose to arm yourself with the exact same tactics that you claim to despise rather than just being straight forward and up front? Whether you are left wing, or right wing, if this is how you choose to deploy your message, then you're just two wings in the same bird and are both headed in the same direction.

Muhammad Rasheed - Hearing about it before isn't the same as "constantly" hearing about it as the meme author said. The only evasive maneuvers, etc. I've seen involved you pretending this meme wasn't a GOP talking point and should be taken at face value. It shouldn't. I don't respect the message, that I btw didn't have to dig to find.

Riley Freeman - I asked you straight up had you heard of it. A plain and simple question. Regardless of being a constant topic or you being engaged in it, you choose to use the tactics you employed rather than give a straight answer. This is the same thing that if a tea party candidate were called a liar for that they would come or back with saying that the didn't lie they didn't answer the question in the fashion that I desired. Which would be true but, if you're not going to give a straight up answer to a straight up question, then you're playing their game. You can't distance yourself from them if you choose to act like them.

Muhammad Rasheed - You asked me several questions and I straight answered them all. One of them I answered flippantly, and you decided whether I actively engaged in continuous debate with the anti-Welfare for the poor crowd or not was the most important question of the thread. lol

1.) Responding sarcastically to the meme itself, I said I didn’t constantly hear that argument.

2.) You asked how could I not since YOU heard it all the time.

3.) I countered with the fact that I hear arguments all the time that you don’t hear.

4.) Then you decided that the “real question” was whether I had heard the argument “at all.”

Riley Freeman - I never decided, accused, or inferred that your actively engaged in the topic. Seeing as how you pride yourself with being very knowledgeable when it comes to political topics, I found it hard to fathom that you never even heard of the topic i brought up. You stated you hadn't even heard about it, then you changed your answer not one but twice. Now you're trying to justify your outright lie? That asking with the fact that you're still stewing and steaming about this post ten days later is beyond sad. In the immortal words if the bard, Dr. Frazier Crane, I wish you good mental health. Unfortunately I am no longer listening. Nite nite. Lol

Muhammad Rasheed - You found it hard to fathom because you made it up, Riley. I said -- contrary to the meme's statement -- that I hadn't been constantly hearing it. You're the one that made it into "I never heard it."

For the record, that's what a strawman argument looks like.



See Also:  Respect the FLOTUS

Respect the FLOTUS


Muhammad Rasheed -




William H. Foster III - Yikes Almighty.

Bakkah Rasheed-Shabazz - Zombies???? Real zombies???

Riley Freeman - It's 2015, this meme is 2 terms late.

Muhammad Rasheed - Not while they are still calling her "Moochelle."

Riley Freeman - And? She's now joined the same club as Bushes wives, Nancy Reagan, and so forth and so on.

Muhammad Rasheed - And they've never stopped disrespecting her, proving their oddly proud low class status.

Riley Freeman - And the still say Barbara Bush looks like a man, even have made comedic parodies of such with men playing her. They called Nancy Reagan anorexic. And they still call Hillary Clinton a pants suit wearing lesbian. How are the rest considered comedy while this is disrespect?

Muhammad Rasheed - Was the GOP doing that to Bush and Reagan?

I've never called those two FLOTUS' those things, nor have I thought that was comedy. Humor is subjective, but there's no way I would consider calling my First Lady of the USA a "fat cow." I will never understand how that is supposed to be funny. Unless, of course, I put on some racist-tinted glasses...

Riley Freeman - Sir. The example you showed was not GOP members. But democrat party members did it to those examples that I mentioned. And not one person, GOP or democrat came out in their defense while outlets such as Saturday night live feed into those insults.

Your post is not about you. Your post is about someone daring to insult a first lady. I'm pointing out that it has been and continues to be done. But I'm unsure as to how you don't think calling someone's wife an old man, a perceived coke addict, or a lesbian dictator is less insulting. Or are you just glancing over that?

Muhammad Rasheed - lol I'll tell you what my post is about, no need to guess.

The President set an easy, low-hanging fruit trap for the low class to out themselves, and they predictably marched their goofy asses through that door, grinning with teeth all askew. The posted image was designed to showcase that.

No more, no less.

Muhammad Rasheed - As an added bonus, you enabled me to mini-rant regarding my disdain for racist jackasses calling my FLOTUS a 'fat cow.'

Muhammad Rasheed - Thanks.

Riley Freeman - So the fact that no traps were set in the past no traps were set insults were still nationally run means that the other side had to reach while the people who you are criticizing had to be be baited? Wouldn't that then be entrapment?

Riley Freeman - Get a tampon sir because you're both reaching and dripping at the same time and it's making a mess.

Muhammad Rasheed - To be clear, the insults had already started, thus necessitating the President's quote above. The trap was designed to reveal the culprits for what they were, despite any delusions to the contrary.

RE: Your 'reaching' comment, I'm going to continue to not take ownership of the nonsense you invent about me. That last convo underneath that Tea Party meme you found demands that all attempts to read my mail from you be heavily screened. lol

Riley Freeman - To be clear, if you have to spot someone the f, the c , and the k, then you can't then you be made that someone says the word FUCK. I guarantee you that they already know who made the initial insult. To try to bait others into saying it is entrapment.

And as far nonsense being invented about you, you're just reaching because I'm not high fiving and patting you on the back and am instead providing contradictory well know information. Now if you feel that you need to keep changing your story, then I will certainly take your bait and point it out.

Muhammad Rasheed - They were going to say it anyway; such is the nature of the beast. The trap was just designed to have the culprits peel off the label and press it into their greasy foreheads themselves.

I'm not reaching at all, and I'm sidestepping your own attempts to label my arguments because they are without substance and I disagree with them. You "pointing out" something that I don't even remotely agree is true is merely a waste of your own time. Your attempts will only result in enabling me to flesh out my argument in more detail. You may keep trying as you like.

Riley Freeman - My point is this. If you choose to use the same tactics as those who you ate against then it's no different than the Klan and Skin heads. They go by different names and claim that they are different and above one another add far as their historical prestige goes but, in the end, they have the exact same goal. And none if it is good. Plain and simple.

Muhammad Rasheed - That doesn't make a lick of sense. You may keep your point.

Muhammad Rasheed - I reject out of hand the idea, weirdly packaged as a "plain and simple" one, that the two opposing camps are possessed of equal force on an equal ground. There's no way. You're going to have to submit a strong argument indeed to persuade me of THAT.

But I'm open. Let's hear it.

Riley Freeman - You're fighting for a camp that has the same self indulged goals as the other camp. They just use different means by which to do it. Two different camps, same end result. Don't believe the hype or follow the sheep.

Muhammad Rasheed - Not likely since I don't self-identify as a Democrat. I'm a fan of the Obama clan from reading his two celebrated books early in his original presidential run, and I became a bigger fan of his Administration after his Moderate policies demonstrated he thinks closer to my own preferences than I originally suspected he would.

And I am the least sheep-like person you know.

Riley Freeman - Then you are, like me, an individual. I salute you. Unfortunately the political machine is who keeps race an issue, who keeps classism an issue, who feed never ending debates where their campaign promises day that they have the answer when they know they don't. When the people actually take action themselves instead of depending on these carrot danglers then, ands only then, real change will come

Muhammad Rasheed - I agree that the ideals the country promises are 100% wrapped up in the initiative and hard work of the people themselves, and not in the magical wave of the hand of leadership. What leadership can provide is vision, enabling the people to see more, or better, options than they had grown used to. I think Obama can help many citizens do so, the ones who needed it most.

I disagree with the concept that politics is what keeps racism as an issue, when the entire Western civilization is based upon exploitation of nonwhite/non-Europeans. Only the conqueror class need the illusion that all we have to do is stop bring up race in order for it to disappear. Class will always be an issue as well because we live in a society in which there are differing levels of communities who live along a hierarchal tier of income differentials. Why wouldn't these things be brought up considering they are major components of the world we live in?

Riley Freeman - When I say that things are kept an issue it's due a lack of proper political action to curb or prevent. We all know that it will never be eradicated but the political system often plays dumb when it comes to these issue instead of being proactive.

Muhammad Rasheed - Well, the political machine doesn't have the ability to fix the race issue, and it will never be fixed. Not when members of the conqueror class are more than willing to pretend the infamous historical atrocities were exaggerated fictions, and the exploited classes should just shut up and accept the way things are. These conditions will guarantee a regular feeding of traditional resentments from the one side, and a continuing patronizing dismissiveness from the other.

Riley Freeman - So the fact that the political machine openly recognizes atrocities inflicted on Jews and native Americans but chooses to brush off slavery is a sign that they don't have the power to do something? They have the power to at least acknowledge, but they choose not to.

Muhammad Rasheed - They don't have the power to fix it because exploitation of nonwhites is a major component of Western Society. Western Society is all about a Eurocentric monopoly for whites at the expense of all others. The political machine will always sabotage a genuine competition against that power. But they can certainly continue to pretend to fix it by instituting more of those popular polarizing partisan policies that don't work though.

Riley Freeman - Acknowledgement is step one. If you're saying that those effected need to just "let it go already " or history books are allowed to describe slaves as "unpaid workers" while empathy is given to the holocaust, the trail of tears, etc then the givernment, itself, becomes the oppressing force.

Muhammad Rasheed - The gov has always been a tool of the oppressing force, which is a fundamentally White Supremacist society.

Wednesday, October 28, 2015

A Study - Responses to the Abuse of a Person Versus a Nonperson



Muhammad Rasheed -

Muhammad Rasheed - I'm unconvinced that they think that way about every girl that gets thrown around, only a certain ethnic group.

Zodicus Zu'ul - to be fair, probably not just one ethnic group.


Hm. Look, I know it's considered poor social media etiquette to compare people to Hitler nowadays, but hear me out. lol

Remember that speech when Hitler pointed out that the European war machine had been doing horrifyingly foul shit to all the nonwhites in the world for centuries? But when he turned the same savagery upon fellow White people during the Holocaust tragedy, it became THE WORST THING EVER!!! "Yeah, we do stuff like that to populaces around the globe all the time, but NOW you've crossed the line, Adolph!! WTF????"

1.) White cop beats up black student
RESPONSE: "She must've done something to deserve it" *yawn*

2.) White cop beats up white student
RESPONSE: "Unacceptable!! He's a damned human being you, psychopath!!!! WTF????"

3.) Black FB Poster: "Hey, how come you didn't respond that way when the cop beat up that black student?"

White FB Poster: "Oh, here comes one of you people playing the race card! It wasn't about race, nig--! BUDDY!!!"

Rick Drew - *That* cop has issues. Just look at the rage in his fat face.

Muhammad Rasheed - They both have issues, Rick. The 'rage' you see is the effort needed to subdue this beefy dude. Beating up that little girl... "brat" as you called her... didn't take that much force.



Rick Drew - As I said - the entire story is not out with her. Other kids in the class are already standing up for the cop.

Zodicus Zu'ul - are these the same kids who nicknamed the prick Officer Slam?


Muhammad Rasheed - lol @ "As I said"

Muhammad Rasheed - How come this guy isn't a brat? The article said he actively resisted arrest-- even grabbed the cop's leg -- and yet you directed your disapproval towards the cop. With her, you called her names while you "wait for the whole story" that still won't warrant that guy beating her up.

Rick Drew - Choking someone already subdued - or at all - is 100% wrong. She was given multiple chances. Asked numerous times to comply. She refused. Then she assaulted a cop. So what's her punishment? Should the cop be fired? Time will tell. But she should be charged and expelled.

Andre Roberts - You sound absolutely nuts.

Andre Roberts - Your FIRST instinct was to call out the cop for choking the white guy as "rage filled". You didn't need more facts, or more to the story. But the black girl? She deserved it, but wait for more facts?

Thought Power Douglas - "The brat"??? Ur subtle. Really subtle, but I read between the lines. Man handling a child is okay??? Do u know the message that sends to our youth??? But u don't really care. Their "brats", right???

Dave Stephens - Decades ago I attended a wonderful school in the middle of nowhere in Eastern Oregon, so I don't know how things were in the city schools then, but I guarantee you that if a teacher encountered a student that would not stop talking on her cell phone and would not leave the classroom, every thing in that video would've happened and nobody in the classroom would consider the slightly violent outcome unexpected… of course, in the late 70s and early 80s, the teacher would have simply asked the two strongest boys to grab her arms and legs and drag her to the principals office to be expelled or suspended...

Andre Roberts - No matter how much of a bitch she was being, the cop handled this completely wrong. He completely went overboard.

Dave Stephens - Clearly. But if I say to the teacher, the principal and their security guy, "Make me." Well. They will...

Andre Roberts - If a video surfaced of you doing what he did to your kid, you'd be arrested for child abuse with the swiftness. So explain to me why it's okay that he can do it? I'll wait.

Alonzo McDowell - This is the problem, why the duck do schools allow they in the first place. My son's school allows cell phones as long as they do not use they in class. What the fuck...these are teenagers, they are going to disobey the rules. But you have some who race bait by acting as if it is not possible that a grown ads man could have handed the situation differently. Why the duck didn't the school call the parents, that is a problem. I bet most white people could not imagine their child doing this, yet I see white children acting out in malls all the time. They cuss and destroy things because they can't get their way. Parents disciplining they children has been demonized, so the school experience rebellious teenagers. I blame the school and the officer...what if the desk had hit another student, or he had thrown the student into the wall paralyzing her over a cellphone. Get the fuck out of here too all you spineless people who refuse to look beyond race and see that this cop was out of control. Brat...your ignorant.

Muhammad Rasheed - If it's wrong to use excessive force, for whatever excuse, on the one guy, then it is also wrong to use excessive force on someone he outweighs by 200 lbs.

Jeremy Travis - Muhammad, chill. What you're not understanding is that Black resistance and defiance trumps any- and everything that a white person can do. Dylan Roof MURDERED NINE PEOPLE IN THEIR CHURCH... and calmly and gently escorted about, even had food purchased for him. But because a Black GIRL didn't leave a classroom, Officer Tackleberry is within his duties to sling and throw her about like a heavy bag of trash.

Just know that no child services agency would allow a parent to do that to their own child. A man wouldn't even be allowed to do that to his own wife. But the untameable nigger beast, even as a youngling, is too wild and dangerous to have mercy and discretion exercised in its care.

I mean, what we're essentially being told is that, 60 years ago, someone should have slammed down and thrown around Rosa 'the Resistor' Parks.

Andre Roberts - Wait, so this guy Rick thinks if you don't listen to a cop, they can beat you? Is he serious???? Lmao. So what if the 1 or 2 kids like the cop, that doesn't mean what he did was okay. He didn't see a fellow human being (just like Rick) he's saw an animal that needed to be tamed.

Andre Roberts - Notice the white folks in this thread 100% agree with her manhandling.

Zodicus Zu'ul - “First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out - because I was not a Socialist. Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out - because I was not a Trade Unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out – because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.”  ~Martin Niemroller.

Zodicus Zu'ul - Andre, not all of us. if that had been my kid, there would be a cop waking up underground in a box right about now.

Andre Roberts - You give me hope. The rest of your brothers? Not so much.

Zodicus Zu'ul - oh dude, i know it.

Andre Roberts - The reason they feel that way is because they see another irritating loudmouth black. She deserved it. Forget the fact that you don't do that to children.

Zodicus Zu'ul - yeah. i never have been able to understand how people can look at someone who looks just a little different on the surface, and treat them like they are less than human.

Andre Roberts - And that's it right there. They don't see black people as human so it's okay to brutalize us. It's okay to assume we did something wrong. It's okay because we don't feel pain.

Zodicus Zu'ul - yeah, of all the things white folks have done over the years, the greatest contribution of my bunch to the Greater Civilization is pure xenophobia. "It's different? KILL IT WITH FIRE BEFORE IT MAKES MORE!!!!!"

Zodicus Zu'ul - oh, and i've read somewhere they arrested the little girl who was filming it all in the first place.

Alonzo McDowell - White people have been socially conditioned to fight against their own interest. Many believe that it is the other group's problem until it happens to them. The privilege of not systematic enduring the pain, physiological terrorism that white supremacy places upon minority groups makes them feel immune. They are taught and conditioned to feel that everyone else is the problem. Hitler did not just want to dominate the world, he want to dominate every physical aspects of humanity. This included control the German people, to make a super race with the help on ignorant Germans. He didn't care for the German people he needed the first his ultimate place and then they too were to become slaves to his ideals. Corporate, politicians and institutional government, etc are system the eventual eat it's own to survive, its a living organisms of corrupt people feeding off those who commit themselves to there cause. Eventually those would condone the evil and turn a blind eye because victims. Greed, power and control doesn't care about no one. These laws and systems that now are being used against minorities, will turn and be used against white people. Its like if you never had cancer, how could you relate. The conquer will one day become the conquered.

Zodicus Zu'ul - most of those people today vote Republican.

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

A Sinister Long-Term Goal for America








Muhammad Rasheed - To be clear, Bernie Sanders does NOT agree with capitalism at all.  He's fundamentally offended by the wealthy, and by the idea of anyone having the potential to be wealthy.  As a proud democratic socialist, he does not believe capitalism can be tweaked, and finagled, or "worked with" at all; only destroyed and replaced with socialism altogether.  

An ideal United States of America republic uses multiple systems, providing a wide range of options for our very large populace to govern our lives, including capitalism with a Free Market economy, enabling anyone who so desires to own property, own the equipment they innovate, invent, or purchase to run their own business for economic success without a ceiling.  Bernie hates that concept, and believes we shouldn't have that right.  Instead of protecting the capitalism Free Market by preventing corporations from sabotaging it when they form monopolies and cartels, creating the inevitable plutocratic situation (Capitalism cannot function without competition!  Once that's gone it is no longer capitalism, it is corporatism!), Bernie wants to punish everybody by replacing the whole system with a socialist one.  

As Maher mentioned on his program this month, we do have some programs in place many consider to be "socialist."  That combined with Bernie's crabby anger -- in stark contrast to Obama's legendary (and some feel frustrating) cool stoicism -- the populace seem to be latching onto him as a serious candidate for the White House.  The people are generally pleased with President Obama's performance, and so it's possible that the GOP's labeling him a socialist may have served to warm the potential voters up to the concept, effectively backfiring on the clueless Grand Old Party.  lol  Perhaps the people think: Well, since a Moderate-labeled-socialist did a pretty decent job, maybe a full-blown leftist socialist will knock it all the way out of the park!

The people have to recognize that if the democratic socialist gets his way, he's going to put items in place that will assure his ultimate goal is achieved... NO MORE CAPITALIST TRADITION FOR THE USA.  That means you will not own your home by law.  You won't own the inventions you create (assuming it would even be possible to do so under that system; it might be illegal to even think that way).  Do you care about that anymore?  Once upon a time, Americans cared very much about that sort of thing.  Owning property, owning your own home was a potent symbol of Freedom.  But has that changed?  Are we now indifferent to the concept of ownership and can give it or take it?  After-all we've all been groomed since 1913, when the Federal Reserve Act was passed, to accept our new debt culture using the fiat money system based on unlimited credit.  

We don't care to own our homes anyway because our debt culture has already indoctrinated us into not caring if we own anything or not; we're good just pretending to own stuff while making unlimited payments.  That's the New America.

What's the difference really between swiping something on credit, making regular payments on it forever because the interest eats up most of it, versus borrowing property and the means of production for your business from the collective, while a ceiling is placed on how much you are allowed to earn?  They function the same.  We've been groomed for over a hundred years to welcome an eventual communist America with open arms.  

What's that?  Socialism and Communism aren't the same?  Well, so what?  You now know that a democratic socialists plan is for a gradual transition from capitalism to socialism.  Why do you believe it would stop there?  The Democratic Communist Party, that was so active during the socially turbulent 20th century had a long-term plan for taking over the nation.  Why wouldn't you think that transitioning us first over to what would effectively be a "communism-light" wouldn't be part of the long-term plan?  

I don't want the country to be a communistic one, or a socialist one either for that matter.  I want my descendants to be FREE. 

Don't Bern America in 2016.

Jenny Halasz - I am glad you are blogging. I'm enjoying the posts. But I'm curious why you think Sanders is completely against capitalism? I haven't heard him say that at all. I think many of his goals - education for all, overturning Citizen's United, reducing the gap between the ultra wealthy and the impoverished, are idealistic goals that will never happen - similar to the bastardized version of Obamacare we ended up with. But like negotiation, perhaps starting far left will help us eventually land in the middle or middle left rather than the middle right that starting moderate got us.

Muhammad Rasheed - Hi, Jenny! Thank you, it's been fun developing my online writing voice. The reasons I think Bernie is completely against capitalism are:

1.) A text book 'democratic socialist' is 100% against capitalism, and actively works towards a gradual transition from capitalism to socialism.

2.) Bernie made the effort to correct Maher's statement that America is socialist by insisting America is "quasi-socialist," but he pointedly never corrected anyone when they referred to him as a democratic socialist. That means he takes full ownership of the text book definition as his own political ideology.

3.) In that #5 item in which I quoted him, he said he doesn't want to be an extreme Republican, nor a Moderate Democrat (like the sitting POTUS). The opposite of that is what Bernie considers to be what the vast majority of the population needs, and that would be an extreme leftist. The extreme left want nothing less than the complete eradication of the capitalist system from the earth, believing it is a poison to the vast majority of the people.

Starting far left will do nothing but water the seeds planted by the original Democratic Community Party during the 20th century, and bring us closer to something horrible.

Jenny Halasz - Your arguments, as usual, are well thought out, I just disagree.  ;)

Muhammad Rasheed - lol

Thank you, but what part do you disagree with? The definition of democratic socialism?



Jenny Halasz - I disagree with getting into substantive debates on Facebook.   ;)

Our Cultures Are Not Costumes




Duke Center for Multicultural Affairs – 




James Zielinski - #OurCultureIsNotACostume

Now shut the fuck up.



Muhammad Rasheed - Members of the conqueror/exploiter class, dressing up in the uniforms and dress of the exploited classes they have a history of making fun of as inferior peoples, are the problem here. This is where the pushback is coming from. 

Two black comedians teasing the privileged conqueror class for some of their cultural traits isn't a problem for anyone.



Muhammad Rasheed - White people protesting when nonwhites pushback -- even a little bit -- against centuries of exploitation. 

Who didn't see that coming?

Sarah Mary - There are so many costumes that make fun of whites yet you don't see a single white person up here holding up a picture of a toothless hillbilly, or some dbag in a white trashbag, or some other racist shit. Why? Cause its Halloween. This is a bunch of PC horse shit.

Muhammad Rasheed - Whites are the conqueror, colonializer, exploiter class of the Western world. Even when they are dirt poor, they are privileged in society over nonwhites. Whites hold the power, politically and economically, and traditionally exploit nonwhites to uphold their privileged status. 

In the modern day, efforts are being made to correct these wrongs, and whites often protest the threatening of their privileged position.

Sarah Mary - So basically what your saying is that because I was born white I'm automatically more privileged and all the hard work I've put into my future doesn't count? Because of this fact it's acceptable for a black person to make fun of poor white America by dressing up as say a cowboy or girl for example but its racist if I decided to go as Nicki minage or however you spell her name and use some pillows or something for her over glorified and obviously unnatural body.. That would be racist?

Sarah Mary - Or if I used "blackface" on top of it instead of trying to avoid being perceived as racist because of past history when women themselves in general were not allowed to be performers?

Muhammad Rasheed - As a white person, you are more privileged automatically when you are born in a Eurocentric society that is based upon a White Supremacist ideology and exploitation of nonwhites. Whether you personally work hard and maximum that situation for your advantage in life is irrelevant. 

When members of the privileged-conqueror class pretend that society is equal, and complain when the traditional members of the exploited classes give any kind of pushback against historical wrongs, it comes across as spoiled entitled whining. It does not sound like an appeal to justice/fairness at all.

Brian McGuckin - Privileged or superiorly smarter? Technologically, throughout the past 1000 years, Europeans and Asians were far more advanced than the rest of the world's cultures desire and will to discover new lands for settlement and trade. The rest of civilization were sleeping. So yeah, then they decided to share their new lands with their neighbors. Just the way it rolls... History!

Muhammad Rasheed - Privileged. The European sole advantage in the last five centuries was their use of the colonializing war machine to enslave their competition, creating the European Cartel that dominated the world by exploiting all non-Europeans that they seized. If they were inherently mentally superior, then there would have been no need to legally prevent nonwhites from rising in status from education and land ownership. No. 

The whites attacked everyone, enslaved/exploited them to generate massive wealth, and deliberately held them down to uphold their own exclusive Whitopia class at nonwhite expense. That's not 'superiorly,' that's evil.

Sarah Mary - Well in the case of costumes I guess I'd better go burn the fifty dollar blonde wig I bought made by Vivica A. Fox designed to show black women how their own hair should "really" look. #blacksagainstblackculture #butthatsnoneofmybusiness #whitepriviledge

Muhammad Rasheed - So pointing out some of the high profile psychological generational damage caused from five centuries of being told they are inferior to this other person is helping your point how exactly?



Alexandria Elizabeth - Brian you are wrong. 

Africans taught the Europeans everything they knew, all the way down to bathing. Whites wanted it to seem like they were the smarter race because they want to be the best in everything. Do your research. The Africans were kings and queens long before the white race was even accidentally made. The black race was first and was the creator. The white race ventured because of selfishness and wanted to conquer every land mass. The white race distributed the lessons and languages they learned from Africa and claimed it as their own. The white race has always stole the light from other races and will continue for years to come.

Sarah Mary - Really it's your high profile celebrities who should be rebuilding the image of your race. Not further continue "whitewashing" it not having them "twerk" or be "ratchet". Most black people don't even bother looking into their own cultural ethnicity. Most are happy to resign as " black". You ask a white person they'll say something like oh I'm irish or I'm Italian or I'm mixed in with German or English. Yet most black people are completely fine with being grouped in just by their skin tone when there is such an immense history in not only African cultures but Jamaican or Haitian etc. As well. But no black culture has started to revolve around beat drops booty shaking or some dumb diss made by some dumb rapper who's made millions influencing black people to commit crimes and "do time" in and out of prison systems.

Sarah Mary - The devil doesn't force or lie. He merely sets the stage for those to play the role.

Sarah Mary - It's actually been scientifically proven that life didn't "start" in Africa. To say they came first is also wrong.

Muhammad Rasheed - 1.) Chris Rock is a high profile celebrity. His "Good Hair" helped support the growing "natural hair" movement to counter the 'blond wig' item you mentioned.

2.) Your comment "Most black people" betrays your racist heart. There are some members of certain communities of blacks who behave a certain way, and prefer a certain entertainment. This by no means represents all blacks. Your decision to double-down on racism is interesting.

3.) The decision to fully commit to the role that the adversary sets in its stage is the force of evil in the earth. Deciding to believe the devil's suggests and inflict them upon others to enrich yourself (while indoctrinating the exploited classes that you are God's representative on earth here to save them from their own "nonwhite savagery"), is evil.

4.) actually + scientifically proven + no cited source = foolishness

Alexandria Elizabeth - Yes Muhammad!!! This poor poor American bred child!!!!

Sarah Mary - OK well everything you just said about me is everything you could use as a double standard for everything Alexandria has stated as well.

Sarah Mary - Then you know what I guess I'll be the one to say it if you don't like what America teaches then get the fuck out go be Canadian or some shit. The fact that both of you have made it a point to say that the black race is superior would be by definition racist.

Muhammad Rasheed - I challenged you to support your "actually it's been scientifically proven" comment, and you responded with the "Go back to XYZ if you don't like it!" line straight from the Ku Klux Klan Watchtower tract? Really?

Sarah Mary - How about instead of bitching on Facebook about white privileged bullshit.. You start a work shop and go around to inner city schools and teach future generations. Oh wait most are to lazy to take their hair curlers out before heading to Walmart.

Muhammad Rasheed - Alexandria was telling the truth. Western society was built upon the legacy knowledge from the civilizations of the past, with Ancient Egypt being the biggest contributor. Because Ancient Egypt was Black African during its golden age of accomplishments, it was necessary for the Eurocentric exploiter's institutions to paint a false narrative of who the old Egyptians were.


Sarah Mary - I do believe I did in fact post my own article to support my beliefs that not all races started in africa you can feel free to do the same.

Muhammad Rasheed - @Sarah… so your article references a paper by Klyosov and Rozhanski, yet their work isn't actually debunking the theory. Their paper admits that the African gene (haplogroup A) originated long before all others (in the 132,000 yr range), with a mixture group including the European gene family branch popping up from it in the 64,000 yr range. The paper states they found another group that popped up in the 160,000 yr range, and then oddly, say that even though they have zero idea where it came from geographically, state that it “probably” came from the Central Europe/Russia area. They believe that Europeans didn't descend from Africa because they lack certain types of genes, but this is absurd. The point of "Out of Africa" theory is the acknowledgement that there ARE numerous distinct gene types in Africa, but only one migrated off the continent to eventually become everyone else. Klyosov & Rozhanski's hypothesis could only sorta make sense if the estimated date for the first Out-of-Africa migration was chiseled in stone and known as an absolute fact. It is not. The fact that the authors themselves were surprised that the African gene turned out to be even older than assumed should be the first clue.

I cannot accept this article as the "actually it's been scientifically proven" debunking you claimed it to be, but only more White Supremacist speculative wishful thinking.

Kimberly Medina - Sarah you're such a sorry excuse for a human being trying to deny your blatant racism. It's funny because any of those "white stereotypes" will NEVER EVER get your people killed, unlike all the racist stereotypes you just threw are the exact reason why many members of the black community are being gunned down (Most Unarmed & Innocent). But thanks for not improving society and just being a waste of space, you seem to be an expert at that.

Sarah Mary - Woww see with everyone else in this conversation we articulate our debate right, wrong or indifferent without personally slandering eachother. Yes there has been racial stereotypes thrown around but none personally directed at eachother. I have said that the majority of what I'm personally seeing on a day to day basis definitely has fit the stereotype that I've pointed out. But I haven't personally attacked anyone who has countered my statement as such.

Sarah Mary - So therefore savior of the people over Facebook Kimberly Medina because someone dared to show a differing opinion I become a waste of space. You obviously have never practised in any sort of debate.

Sarah Mary - To say that what I see to form my opinion that actual persons who identify as black and taking an avid interest in their actual heritages is fewer and farther between is not a crime to become a worthless human being. I'm actually very disheartened by this. I work with beautiful black women who portray themselves with power and I have nothing but respect for them. I deal with male and female customers who come in and are courteous and gracious and I have nothing but respect for them. I will not respect though that it has seem to become normal behavior to have "ratchet" shit or anything like that. Further more that is not at all the AMERICAN culture I was taught. Gangster rap all that crap glorifies that kind of life. I'm not going to stand by that and wonder how statistics are so radical. But in no way have I once personally made an insult to anyone here except you.

Muhammad Rasheed - That "lazy/hair curlers/Walmart" comment was very insulting, Sarah.

Sarah Mary - I agree that it is insulting but it was never directly towards you or your family or any personal relations to you I simply said "most".
 
Muhammad Rasheed - The insulting, racist aspect of your "most" is the obvious fallacy involved in how you could possibly know what "most" black people are like. People often subjectively notice items that they believe supports their biases, and unconsciously develop the habit of ignore the ones that don't. Stereotypes are bad because people judge the entire greater demographic based on what some groups within the demographic do (or have done). When members of the privileged, politically powerful class stereotype, it can mean the entire demographic will suffer... being held back from opportunities for generations.

Classism is older than racism. Each ethnic group has different economic classes, each with their own sub-culture and life preferences. , and each tend to be markedly very different in life style and values. "Ghetto" blacks in the lower class neighborhoods, as well as their "trailer trash" poor white counterparts, live in ways, and value things, very different from middle class blacks and whites further up the class ladder. To judge ALL blacks or ALL whites based on uncouth behaviors of the most unsophisticated of those demographics is evil, and a strong component of racism in this country.

Sarah Mary - K but no one is saying all of anyone soo whats your point.

Sarah Mary - This post is about costumes and not one picture has a white person holding a picture with "my culture is not a costume" yet there are plenty of "racist" white costumes.

Muhammad Rasheed - @Sarah… You keep using the "negative stereotypes are true for 'most' black people" defense, and my point is to prove that idea false. Based on all of the White Supremacist stuff that popped up when I researched your "actually" article, I think your stance on this topic runs a lot deeper than you are trying to pretend.

The exploited class is discouraged from embracing their own culture ("Speak American or go back to XYZ land!") and told to assimilate to a limited degree by the privileged class. The privileged class does not assimilate into the nonwhite cultures as they feel they are inherently inferior. Obviously nonwhites dressing up as white ethnic types is not the same as the opposite scenario. Eurocentric domination is still the norm.

Bradley Aycock - Our culture is not costumes... too soon? lol



Archie Lee Donaldson Jr. - Nope kmsl

Muhammad Rasheed - What 'culture' is he representing? 'Superstar?" lol

Bradley Aycock - clearly he was black and made himself into a costume. so he is representing European or English cultures. yes white people like myself have cultures my friend.

Muhammad Rasheed - lol Let's try that again:

What 'culture' is being represented in the pic?

Bradley Aycock - okay, if whites have no culture then neither do you. we all come from some cultural background. all these photos are is people finding a reason to be butt hurt. I come from an english/European decent. I'm here because of the first settlers. thanksgiving is a cultural thing. with all that aside, it's a joke that went way over your head.

Muhammad Rasheed - Of course Europeans have many cultures.

Which one is being represented in this pic?

James Parker - Michael Jackson had Vitiligo you idiot, he didn't make himself into a costume, that was literally a skin condition omfg

Gretchen Lea - What about these



Richard Tufts - Totally.

I mean, no one will ever say it or think it, but if all the rest of these are super-duper discriminant and stereotypical, then so is that one.

I mean, that;s only fair, right?

Muhammad Rasheed - European ethnic types can wear other Europeans' cultural dress as costumes without thinking the natives of those Euro-countries are inherently inferior to them. 

When they wear nonwhite/nonEuropean outfits, they are usually calling them racist derogatory names and giggling.

Duke Center for Multicultural Affairs – 



Laura Chin - What is this one?

Ritika Rastogi - A caricature of jewish people


Archie Lee Donaldson Jr. - This is stupid

Muhammad Rasheed  - 



Saturday, October 24, 2015

The Court of Public Gossip




Some thoughts on this video:

1. On one hand, I feel sorry for his wife. Even if he weren't so egregious with his 'flirtation', that he would be so disrespectful to her and their marriage is just shameful. On the other hand, is/was he that way with her? Is she OK with this aspect of him? Is she an enabler?

2. What about his daughters' friends? Is/was he like that with them?

3. That he has so many explicit and implicit admissions to his rapist nature SHOULD clear all doubt from the minds of deniers.

But if not...

4. Seeing him be THIS comfortable with being so creepy on a television show with millions of viewers should tell you just how easily it would come to him in a private setting.

Darryl Clayton - Was that music playing during Uncle Bill's drool Fest?

Jeremy Travis - I'm guessing it was added for effect by whomever edited the video.

Deah M. Barber - Creepy assed creeper creep ass. Ew.

Aye Dub - Lol. He's just assertive! Rotflmbo

Jeremy Travis -    :(

Aye Dub - Lol. You could learn from him...

Muhammad Rasheed - ^lol

Jeremy Travis - Shut it, Momo!   >:(

Muhammad Rasheed - To me, it just looks too fishy. I haven't heard anything that justifies throwing Cosby under the bus as the poster child antagonist for feminist/women's rights. 


Jeremy Travis - So his multiple mentions of drugging women's drinks isn't enough? His admission that he gave women quaaludes before 'consentual' sex, despite the fact that giving a woman quaaludes before sex makes consent practically impossible, isn't enough?

Muhammad Rasheed - During the 'swingers' sub-culture of the times, it was normal to offer people those pills, along with alcohol and marijuana, as options to "relax." Looking at this from our "date rape" perspective of how drugs + dating seem to us now, it is easy to jump to conclusions as to what must have been really happening, but that isn't true. Cosby said he didn't slip that stuff in peoples' drinks without their knowledge, and honestly, why would Bill Cosby have needed to? In light of everything we are aware of regarding celebrity culture and the groupie phenomenon, it doesn't seem as if much critical thinking is involved in this armchair smear campaign to me.

Jeremy Travis - MRasheed wrote: ""During the 'swingers' sub-culture of the times, it was normal to offer people those pills, along with alcohol and marijuana, as options to "relax." "

Quaaludes make you do far more than relax.

MRasheed wrote: ""Looking at this from our "date rape" perspective of how drugs + dating seem to us now, it is easy to jump to conclusions as to what must have been really happening, but that isn't true."

How do you KNOW that it's not true? Dozens of women make the same allegations, he has admitted to giving women quaaludes to 'relax' them into consensual sex, and he has said both in jest and in seriousness that he has laced women's drinks in order to get them 'relaxed' for sex, but him having sex with them without their consent is an absurd idea to you?

MRasheed wrote: ""Cosby said he didn't slip that stuff in peoples' drinks without their knowledge, and honestly, why would Bill Cosby have needed to?"

Rapists don't usually rape because they HAVE to or because there's no other way for them to have intercourse, they do it for the pleasure that comes from the forbidden act itself. Didn't some rich-ass basketball player just go to jail for date-raping a bunch of women? Since when do rich-ass basketball players HAVE to rape women? You make it sound like the profile of a rapist is some poor, ugly, uncharismatic reject when in fact the opposite is often true.

MRasheed wrote: ""In light of everything we are aware of regarding celebrity culture and the groupie phenomenon, it doesn't seem as if much critical thinking is involved in this armchair smear campaign to me."

He has already admitted to a hell of a lot that points to his guilt. I understand the pain of seeing 'America's Dad' nose-dive from grace, but there's far more that suggests that he's a sexual predator than there is that suggests that nearly FIVE DOZEN groupies are ALL telling the exact same lie, a lie that he has often confirmed.

Jeremy Travis - I'm fairly certain that a woman who has given consent for sex is already as relaxed as she needs to be. Some fucking knock-your-ass-smooth-the-fuck-OUT quaaludes seems like a whole helluva lot to 'relax' an already relaxed person.

Jeremy Travis - Also, not only have I not seen any other news source corroborate the story posted by Free Your Mind and Think, their own article doesn't even show how any of the five women were models or were paid to 'destroy' Bill Cosby like the headline suggests. Is this FYMaT staffed either by people who weren't 'smart' enough for Fox News or by people who weren't talented enough for the Onion?

Muhammad Rasheed - Here's a perfect example of how it actually worked in practice:
______________
In her "tell-all" memoirs, Down the Rabbit Hole, former Playboy Bunny Holly Madison alleges that the first time she met Hugh Hefner, he offered her drugs.

"'Would you like a Quaalude?' Hef asked, leaning toward me with a bunch of large horse pills in his hands, held together by a crumpled tissue," Holly writes.

Holly said she declined the drugs. "'Okay, that's good,' Holly recalled. "'Usually, I don't approve of drugs, but you know, in the 70s they used to call these pills thigh-openers."
_______________

They functioned the same in context the way offering women a drink do. This multi-million dollar group settlement that Troiani is trying to get is banking on judge/jury using modern sensibilities regarding drugs + dating as a means to burn Cosby. Personally I haven't read anything that convinces me I should jump onboard the "Cosby raped these women using drugs!" FB train, because it all looks like just an attempt for opportunistic people, as led by Troiani, to get some money out of him, by any means necessary.

Jeremy Travis - Again, his multiple admissions that he spiked women's drinks in order to have sex with them doesn't raise suspicions in your mind?

Muhammad Rasheed - I haven't come across anything where he said he gave women drugs without their knowledge. 

The other news sources eschew the opposite speculative opinion regarding what all of these allegations could mean, because they fear that angle may not attract the same numbers of viewership.

Jeremy Travis – MRasheed wrote: "I haven't come across anything where he said he gave women drugs without their knowledge."

I know you don't get out much, but it's a well-known fact that no one puts dope in a willing person's drink. Again, 'Spanish Fly' and the like are not for people who've already given consent. No one ever says "Let's go fuck, but first, I'mma need for you to spike my drink for me so that I can 'relax'."

MRasheed wrote: ""The other news sources eschew the opposite speculative opinion regarding what all of these allegations could mean, because they fear that angle maynot attract the same numbers of viewership."

So not CNN, Fox, MSNBC, Russia Today, Univision, nor al-Jazeera have the integrity to report 'the truth' that only a questionable website with all of the credibility of a sleepy toddler with a secret is willing to report in a way that contradicts their own headline?

Yep, you too have been quaaluded.

Muhammad Rasheed - My favorite part is where they updated the page post-disposition leak.   ;)

Muhammad Rasheed - I haven't come across anything saying he gave women drugs without them knowing. All the cases I've read were like the above, where the women took the drugs offered with no issue. I don't know if people still offer folk drugs like that or not (not including old players like Hef), but it seems unlikely in this more aware era where people might be more wary of such things. But then again people still have sex raw despite full knowledge of the dangers of AIDs, so who knows? What is for sure is that Cosby's swingers' era was infamous for being MUCH more free regarding sex/drugs/dating, and people did take drugs casually when offered. To believe without proof that Cosby slipped drugs into women’s' drinks is silly to me, and to add to the public court that it was true is irresponsible.

Jeremy Travis - Was he suggesting that Spanish Fly was put onto the head of a pin and then dropped into a girl's can of Coke and she would drink it WILLINGLY?

You ain't NEVER heard of no bunch of women needing a drop of some drug so that they could have consensual sex with a famous, wealthy man whom they found attractive. Do you even know how women work?


Jeremy Travis - ^^^ Muhammad ^^^

Muhammad Rasheed  - See response below, since I'm not retyping that in this part.

Muhammad Rasheed - I'm 100% for women's rights, but I do not believe in burning Cosby just because he makes a convenient & valuable high-profile face for their cause ("Let's get him! It doesn't matter if he turns out to be innocent! Let him take one for the team! Fuck 'em! WOMEN POWER!"). I am not likely to accept a "Dude! Everyone knows he did it! Just accept it!" proposal just because it's the popular thing to do. 

Those Michael Jackson allegations prove to me, without a shadow of a doubt, that the court of public opinion + gossip hungry speculation is completely full of shit.

Lana Andrade - This is dangerously close to victim blaming.

While I do feel some type of way about Cosby being the poster child of sexual abuse while Woody Allen is still seen as a genius to some, I just can't shake my frustration at the outright refusal to discuss sexual abuse in the black community.

Muhammad Rasheed - I would cheerfully swap Cosby with Allen on the chopping block of judge/jury/execution that the court of public opinion is casting. 

Lana, in this case I do not believe I am engaged in victim blaming by virtue of not believing these people are victims. This is no less than a cash cow predatory business effort by one Dolores M. Troiani, designed to enrich herself and those that she can convince to sign onto this high-profle grifting scam with her (naturally I will expect her to magically pocket the bulk of the settlement should she win). I've been watching the case with interest, but have yet to see anything that actually suggests otherwise.

Lana Andrade - I said dangerously close… what about Beverly Johnson? What does she have to gain?

Muhammad Rasheed - From what I can tell... taken from a counter to her allegation by the model Iman... she joined in the group settlement because she was still bitter over being passed over for a part in his production company. So she would gain an over-the-top vengeance from a petty diva, is what it seems like.

Muhammad Rasheed - I know that sounds bad from me, but that's what it looks like.

Lana Andrade - Ok



Muhammad Rasheed - lol 

It's not like I don't understand the side that wants to burn Cosby based on "All of these allegations looks bad on him! He must've done it!" because that's how people function. But I prefer to side with Jill Scott's early stance on it, seeing it as the more mature. I don't want to sacrifice an innocent to make sure that the women's rights movement gets its due when there are plenty of actual high-profile villains to choose from.

Jeremy Travis - It has nothing to do with scarificing anyone for women's rights, as if the women's rights movement is some sort of pagan god, it's all about how a guy admitted to drugging women's drinks so that they would be knocked out and he could rape them them in the meantime. I guarantee that if you were to ask a thousand women who were in their sexual prime in the 70s how often they let a man put something that powerful in their drink so that they could have consensual sex with him they'd look at you like you were the damnedest of fools.

Muhammad Rasheed - Meanwhile he didn't admit to drugging women's drinks. He said, similar to the Hef incident above, that the drugs were offered and taken consensually. I'm open to studying the material you can provide that states otherwise. I know all the memes, jokes, and parodies back up your opinion, but I'll need to see something that functions more along the lines of proof.

Jeremy Travis - Did you not see the video I posted a few minutes ago?

Muhammad Rasheed - Yes. In the Larry King Live interview he's describing a mythical urban drug called "spanish fly" that functions as an aphrodisiac. One tiny dot of it, that can fit on the end of a pin, would make the woman fall for you. In the interview he said that he and the neighborhood youngsters were searching for the drug like the legendary quest for the fountain of youth. Perhaps the scary music made you think he was talking about date rape?

Kyle Baker - Thank Heaven this video has scary music, or I might not know how to feel.


Thursday, October 22, 2015

The Ever-Enduring Lowest Class of All



Gary McCoy - Clock Boy Leaving America To Live In Theocratic Authoritarian Slave State

It wouldn't surprise me if he next shows up in a video wearing a stocking mask and holding a knife alongside a hostage on his knees.

James Lindley - Or wearing a clock vest.

Muhammad Rasheed - He'll be alright. Qatar is great. My former Senior Director took a Program Director position in Qatar, under the Q-BOSSS contract, a few months ago.

Lyn Ouvrier - Sorry to barge in, but what was it again? Qatar is great? I've lived in Qatar for nearly three years. And I am telling you, the only great thing in Qatar (and investors will agree, I am sure) is its growing economy. I see no greatness in a country that has no regards for human rights.

Muhammad Rasheed - It's greater than the article was trying to make it out to be, and the human rights are better there than in Kuwait where I was back then. Qatar is a cushy assignment because the local customs are among the least strict in the Muslim World. And women make great progressive strides there, too (they appointed a female cabinet member in the early 2000s).

Lyn Ouvrier - I have to agree that women are more free in Qatar. I've seen it myself. But, I have witnessed a rampant disregard for human rights there, very similar to its neighboring Gulf countries, i.e., slave-like treatments of domestic helps and construction workers, among other things. It's a helpless feeling to watch oppression with your own two eyes, knowing that you have no freedom to rush to those poor people's aid. You wanted to do something but your hands are tied. Tied by the stringent laws that prohibit you to interfere. I lost count how many times I gritted my teeth and cried in frustration. And those were the things that left a lasting impression on my mind.

Muhammad Rasheed - Yes, we saw it in Kuwait, too. But Ahmed Mohamed and his family will not be of the poorly-treated servant class, and will get along just fine there. The tone of the article is misleading at best.

Lyn Ouvrier - Of course, Ahmed can surely expect a special treatment from the Qataris. But Ahmed and his adoring fans mean nothing to me. My concern is for those poorly-treated servant class (bugs me too why modern day slavery is still practiced in this 21st century). No offence meant for you, but I find it so unfair that while Muslims are allowed to voice out against discrimination, etc. in their host countries, other migrants -especially domestic employees from Asian countries- have no voice and less to zero rights in Muslim countries, most especially in the Gulf countries. Doesn't sound fair to me.

Lyn Ouvrier - And btw, I agree with the title of the article. Qatar is still practicing modern day slavery. Therefore, it IS a slave state. Let's call a spade, a spade.

Muhammad Rasheed - I agree. It's a problem that never stopped plaguing humanity. Even the "First World" nations do it.

Lyn Ouvrier - The first world nations still practice modern day slavery? Whoah. That is a huge statement. Care to cite one example? I'm interested.

Muhammad Rasheed - "In its annual Trafficking in Persons Report, released Friday, the State Department acknowledged that trafficking and forced labor still exist in America. The report includes several examples: abuse of third-country nationals trafficked to work on military bases, migrant domestic workers subjected to forced labor by diplomats and international organization personnel, and temporary guest workers in a variety of industries forced to work under horrifying conditions with nowhere to turn. While it's important that the report stresses there's more the U.S. government can do to stem trafficking in America, it offers nothing new and recycles much of its findings and recommendations from past years — recommendations that still haven't been fully implemented."

SOURCE: US Admits Modern-Day Slavery Exists at Home

Muhammad Rasheed - But the point of Gary's article seems to be specifically that Ahmed's family are moving to harsher conditions, and that isn't true. Qatar will be great for them because they are of a moneyed class.

Lyn Ouvrier - Allow me to digest that article for a few minutes.

Muhammad Rasheed - No prob.

Gordon Campbell - I doubt that there is state-condoned slavery or human trafficking in the United States or any non-Islamic nation!

Muhammad Rasheed - Since they know about it, and aren't doing anything about it, that's the very definition of "condoning," Gordon.

Gordon Campbell - The ACLU's definition of slavery and trafficking is agenda-driven twaddle.

Lyn Ouvrier - I was just about to say that too. I checked the report. Most cases were done outside of the US. Those workers deployed to US military bases were processed by agencies ran by Arab Muslims. And in all cases in and outside USA, the human trafficking and forced labor was never condoned by the government. In fact, the report clearly stated, preventive measures were enacted and progress to stop those activities were made. The keyword here is "CONDONE". Everyone can see that the Arab countries are not making efforts to stop modern-day slavery in their countries. In fact, it was even condoned. Case in point is Qatar where employers are allowed to seize and hide their domestic employees' passports and other travel documents so they cannot escape even from maltreatment --even if their lives are in danger. And that's exactly how and why I've met one domestic help there who jumped from a two storey building just to escape her employers who raped her repeatedly. In those cases, the maids ran away and the employers create a cock and bull story against the maid. And because the laws on domestic employees aren't favorable for those maids, they mostly end up deported or jailed.

Muhammad Rasheed - "It is no surprise that the inmate/slave labor force has grown along with mass incarceration in America. The Prison Policy Initiative counts 2.3 million people in prison, according to the 2010 census, by far the highest rate of incarceration in the developed world."

SOURCE: 23 cents an hour: The perfectly legal slavery happening in modern-day America

Lyn Ouvrier - Muhammad, the point here is that, those practices were never condoned by the US government and efforts were made to stop those acts. Furthermore, those ill-fated employees can file a case against their employers. In Arab countries, they can't. In Arabcountries, those acts are condoned. In the USA, they're allowed to protest. YOU are allowed to protest. In the Middle East, you can't. You have no voice. They have no voice. Bottomline is: You're comparing apples to oranges.

Muhammad Rasheed - I'm just calling a spade a spade, Lyn. The practice still exists for people to need to protest, and as the researcher pointed out, the processes and procedures are badly in need of an overhaul, especially in a nation which claims to have a zero tolerance for the violation of human rights.

My point was that everyone is doing it. Naturally it's to varying degrees, but it never stopped happening. Although I am personally grateful that race-based chattel slavery is over in America, but I am not so naïve to believe it can't come back if we are not vigilant. Humans never stop being humans.

Lyn Ouvrier - Point taken. But like I said, and I believe this is what the article is trying to point out, everyone is more free in America than in Qatar or anywhere in the Arab states. That's an irrefutable fact. You, me, everyone has a voice in America. In the Middle East, you will not be able to enjoy those privileges. As for modern-day slavery, the procedures are in need of an overhaul. Acknowledged. And with that acknowledgement comes another acknowledgement: The fact that preventive measures -irregardless of their failures-- do exist. Again, those measures are non-existent in Arab countries.

Muhammad Rasheed - I don't think they are non-existent, because they exist dormant within the very scripture they claim to follow. They just have to fight harder against the corrupt traditionalist systems they live in to achieve our levels of liberty.



Lyn Ouvrier - Experience-wise, I can claim that they do not exist. And I will stand by my statement.

Muhammad Rasheed - Well, I'll agree with you on the surface level. In the practical sense they don't exist since the people themselves aren't giving enough push-back.

Muhammad Rasheed - They exist within their scripture, they just have to fight to take hold of it and force their governments to comply with the Word of God. If they choose to finally commit to that, He will be with them.

Muhammad Rasheed - I hope I'm alive to see such a thing. I got to have an African-American POTUS in my lifetime, so why not? lol

Lyn Ouvrier - I think it's better for both of us to avoid talking about scriptures for two reasons: 1) This is Gary's post and out of respect to him, I don't want to hijack it and discuss about something that is totally irrelevant to the thread. 2) I have a broad understanding of islamic scriptures related to slavery issue and I am sure, as a Muslim, your interpretation of those scriptures differs from mine. We're not on the same page, apparently.

Muhammad Rasheed - 1.) RE: scripture relevance - I'm pretty sure the article Gary linked to has "theocratic" in the title, Lyn.

2.) Are you implying the claim that the One God condones slavery? lol I'm 100% willing to have that discussion with you. Will you accept my FB Friend Request for a friendly "en garde?"

Lyn Ouvrier - Sure. But not here and not now. I am not going to hijack Gary's post and it's midnight now in my timezone. Let's call it a day. Some other time, I will gladly grab your invitation --with pleasure.

Lyn Ouvrier - Oops. I did not read your comment well. Pardon, I am getting sleepy. Re: Friend request. I am sorry, but I can't accept it. I am a straightforward person so, I'll be straight with you. I enjoyed the exchange, but I don't have a single Muslim friend in my friends list and I am not planning to add one today or in the future. We will find a way to have that Islamic debate on slavery one day, don't worry  ;) But I have to decline your request and I have to bid you good night too. Have a good night, Muhammad!

Mark Hitsman - Training will go well and he can be infamous bomb maker

James Lindley - Or tester.

Mason Mastroianni - Wow. It's pointless to have a conversation anymore. The headline of the story says it all; we live in the age of divisive media.

He accepted a scholarship at the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development.

Way to be part of the problem, guys.


See Also:  "What's My Name?!?"