Another reason to shove Islamophobia to the curb

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There are those who, openly, express their fear and hostility toward Muslims. Even Fox news analyst Juan Williams, a black man who has through his commentary and reporting countered similar phobias toward African Americans has raised the specter with his utterance that he gets nervous when Muslim garbed people ride an airplane with him.

But now it appears that the man who tipped the cops off to the DC Metro terrorist plot is a Muslim.

This is not the first time law abiding, America loving, Muslims have helped the cops bring down terrorist plots. It was a Muslim roommate who snitched out his fellow apartment dwellers just minutes before they were about to bomb a busy New York City subway station. A New York Muslim gas station attendant thought it suspicious that another Muslim guy bought a can of gasoline and then walked across the street toward a synagogue. He dialed 911, and the NYPD arrived on the scene just in time to stop him.

These are just two incidents that come to immediate mind.

When an entire group of people are attacked, it's logical that some within that group may be reticent to cooperate with authorities in the future. So Islam bashing is, from a self-interest standpoint, counter productive. But more importantly, it's wrong.

The word Muslim is often juxtaposed in front of the word terrorist. Rarely is it put alongside the phrase "law abiding citizen." Perhaps if it were, there wouldn't be such a skewed view of Muslims. And Juan Williams could fly alongside Muslim passengers without angst.

Maybe we should keep the career politicians

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You see it and hear it all over the place as Tuesday’s midterm elections approach.

“So and so is a career politician. Throw him (or her) out!”

Yes, incumbency is a disease in 2010. But should it be?

Maybe not.

For how many years have there been attempts to reform healthcare in the United States? This Congress finally did it.

What they came up with may have fallen short. (Or, from the perspective of the anti-incumbency folks, went too far.) But healthcare was reformed. Arguably, an accomplishment.

Congress also passed a bill designed to better regulate Wall Street – to make it more difficult for the banksters to kill the economy while playing with other people’s money. Were the reforms strong enough? Probably not. But it was a step in the right direction. Again, arguably, an accomplishment.

Then there’s the stimulus package – another measure that the outsiders – you know, the ones who want to replace the incumbents – say was a failure. Did it do enough? Did it result in a measurable economic recovery? Most Americans would agree that it did not. But, the administration, backed by the non-partisan Congressional Budget office, says things would have been much worse without it. So, again, an accomplishment.

It included tax cuts, something the outsiders support.

It included credits for renewable energy and conservation. It included incentives for home buying and help in paying college tuitions.  And yet, a frustrated electorate is poised to fire those who passed it.

Time will tell whether this anti-incumbency movement will be good for the country. But given the accomplishments of the 111th Congress, maybe we should be careful about what we wish for on Tuesday.

PBS is not NPR

The ombudsman at PBS is earning his salary these days.

Michael Getler is busy trying to inform the misinformed of the nation that PBS is NOT NPR.

Why?

Because there’s an organized backlash against publicly funded broadcasting in the United States as a result of NPR’s firing of Juan Williams as an analyst.

Williams got the ax after he appeared on the Fox News Channel’s O’Reilly report and proclaimed that he gets nervous on flights where fellow passengers are wearing Muslim garb.

As many – including Michael Moore have pointed out – it’s kind of interesting that Williams, a black man, would take that stance. Since he has been fighting the perception that white people should be afraid of black people all his professional life. But I digress.

There are those who think that NPR’s funding should be pulled because Williams is being censored. One Fox News Channel presenter actually suggested that NPR is part of a Muslim jihad designed to stifle critics of Islam!

At any rate, this campaign against NPR has overflowed to one that is targeting PBS as well. While the two may be kissing cousins – NPR stands for National Public Radio, PBS – for the Public Broadcasting System on TELEVISION – they are separate entities.

No matter to those who want to make Williams’ firing a cause célèbre against publicly funded programming. They are targeting PBS as well.

Enter PBS ombudsman Getler, who has penned a column defending HIS network. He writes, in part:

My interest in mentioning this is simply to remind the vast majority of those who wrote to me or called is to explain that PBS is not NPR, that Juan Williams does not work for PBS, that PBS did not fire him, and that both organizations, while part of public broadcasting in this country, are separate organizations and separate public media entities.

As for Williams’ firing: I think NPR missed a great opportunity to advance the discussion about Islamophobia. Forums pitting Williams against a representative of a Muslim organization might have helped clarify the issue. Especially if the Muslim was wearing “Islamic garb.”

But, don’t cry for Williams, America. He had been doing double duty as a Fox News analyst as well. And Fox has rewarded his expanding  celeb by giving him a $2 million contract.

To use his firing as reason to demand the defunding of NPR is bad enough. To expand it to demand that money be pulled from PBS as well is just unfair.

1 week before the vote New York fires its elections chief

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George Gonzalez, New York City’s election chief, has been ousted just a week before the midterm elections over complaints that a new computerized voting system is fraught with problems.

New York isn’t the only place where there are concerns about the voting process.

In Washington, DC – a call to see if anyone could hack into a new computerized election system – a public test of its security – failed (or succeeded if you’re one of the hackers) when election officials were presented a rendition of The Victors – the University of Michigan fight song – on the system. But then they discovered that the system was compromised by “real” hackers in Iran and China. Imagine the Iranians or the Chinese determining the results of elections in the United States!

And in Nevada, folks who have been voting early are reporting that in the closely contested race between Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Tea Party-backed GOP candidate Sharron Angle, the ballots had already been marked for Reid.

None of this does much to instill confidence in an already challenged voting system. A federal lawsuit, for example, is proceeding challenging the re-election of George W. Bush. GOP political operative Karl Rove was just served with a subpoena in the case – one that should be on the front page of every newspaper in the United States – but isn’t.

Brad Friedman, who has been crusading for fair elections, says on his Brad Blogthat there should be other court challenges – now – before the elections – in states where discrepancies have been found. But there seems to be little or no activity by anyone to ensure that the voters votes will actually be properly counted.

And you wonder why voter turnout is disappointingly low each year!

Most teens have bullied others

Bullying among teenagers is pervasive, according to a new study which shows more than 50 percent of American teens have hit their peers in anger at one time or another.

Angle uses decoy to duck press

Angle ducking press in July in Reno

By GARY BAUMGARTEN


Running for the U.S. Senate is very serious business. If you’re a candidate for this esteemed office, you need to be accountable to the public. And that means meeting with reporters along the way.

Attack ads spur complaints

USA Today reports there have been a number of complaints to the FCC about attack campaign ads this year. In this ad, Dean Scontras, Republican candidate for Congress in Maine, decries the attacks made on his campaign.

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New York teens sexually active

D'ashley-Heather

A new survey finds that New York high school students are not only sexually active, but that many have experimented with members of the same gender.

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WikiLeaks documents tip of Iraq iceberg

U.S. Army

By NICOLAS DAVIES

The documents on the U.S. War in Iraq published by Wikileaks contained data on 15,000 Iraqis killed in incidents that were previously unreported in the Western media or by the Iraqi Health Ministry, and therefore not counted in compilations of reported Iraqi war deaths by Iraqbodycount.org.  The Western media are dutifully adding these 15,000 deaths to their so-called “estimates” of the total numbers of Iraqis killed in the war.  This is deceptive.

WikiLeaks at war with Pentagon

Asten

By DANNY SCHECHTER


It happened on a Friday, the anniversary of the first US casualties of the Vietnam War  way back in l957. It was also the anniversary, in l964, of French philosopher Jean Paul Sartre’s announcement that he was turning down the Nobel Prize. He later sat as a judge on Bertrand Russell’s Vietnam War Crimes Tribunal, which indicted that conflict’s carnage and lies.

WikiLeaks complicates efforts to form coalition government

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

It's becoming even more difficult for Iraq Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to form a coalition government, thanks to the WikiLeaks release of documents that describe torturing of Iraqis by U.S. troops.

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Huckabee: Rove an 'elitist'

The two Republican parties, the traditional and that represented by the Tea Party upstarts, may be best contrasted by former Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee's remarks calling Bush political operative Karl Rove a Republican "elitist."

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Is the Taliban interested in peace talks?

Photo by Sgt. Brian Tuthill

By TARIN NAVID

MULTAN, Pakistan - According to US special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrook, Taliban leaders on high level are showing interest in talks with the U.S. backed Afghan government.

Democrat Cuomo takes on labor unions

saebaryo

Democratic candidate for New York governor Andrew Cuomo is pledging that, if elected, he'll put labor unions in their corner to help spur business interests. He also opposes permitting the medical use of marijuana in New York state.

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Tea Party candidate says people should protect themselves against Salmonella outbreaks

There's no question that Tea Party-backed candidates believe in less government intrusion but one congressional hopeful even believes the feds shouldn't be in the business of making sure our food is safe.

Jesse Kelly, an Arizona candidate for the House, says so in an answer to a question posed by a voter at a Pima County Tea Party rally.

More than 1,500 dead from cholera in Nigeria

UNICEF

UNICEF says the Nigerian government is underestimating the number of cholera deaths in that nation, deaths caused, the agency says, by heavy rains, flooding and unsanitary drinking conditions.

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Karzai admits taking money from Iran

isafmedia

Afghan President Hamud Karzai admits that he has received large amounts of cash from Iran on a regular basis. But he shrugs it off as inconsequential.

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Christmas shopping forecast bleak

slowburn♪

A new Gallup poll suggests that this year's Christmas shopping season won't provide a major rebound for retailers as consumers continue to be frugal in their spending habits.

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Fake Times Square terror plot costs $1 million+

.mushi_king

The NYPD says its counter terrorism officers spent untold hours - and more than $1 million - tracking down a terrorist plot that was fabricated by a man who, they say, was only trying to get a former business associate in trouble.

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Farve admits sending voice mails but denies he sexted pics to Jets sideline reporter

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Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Farve reportedly acknowledges pursuing a sideline reporter with voice mails when he was the New York team's quarterback. But he maintains he never sent her revealing photographs of himself.

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Independents shift to GOP

The latest Politico poll shows that independents, the voters that typically tip the balance in elections, have shifted their support from the Democrats to the GOP as the midterm congressional election approaches.

New TSA rules about to take effect

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Starting November 1, you'll have to provide detailed information as it appears on your government-issued ID before an airline may issue you a boarding pass.

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California overdue for The Big One

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The CBS program Sunday Morning today looked at seismologist predictions that California is overdue for a major earthquake. And how people living in the golden state are preparing for the worst.

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Australian airports vulnerable

superciliousness

A private consulting firm says Australian airports are especially susceptible to terrorists attacks. Its report says excellent security measures that were put into place for the 2000 Olympics disappeared six months later.

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Deadly flooding in Thailand

Authorities say at least 17 people have been killed by flooding in northern Thailand - flooding that could spread, they say, to Bangkok.

Haitian cholera death toll rises

UNICEF

The number of reported deaths as a result of cholera in Haiti is increasing - and the disease is now spreading from rural areas to the nation's capital.

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Afghan victory elusive

Official Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Mark Fayloga

President Obama thought that creating a surge, like the one George W. Bush approved for Iraq, would bring an end to the drawn-out war in Afghanistan. But it appears that nothing seems to move things closer to a successful conclusion.

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Palestinians threaten to break Oslo Accords

ISRAEL TODAY

The Palestinian Authority on Saturday warned that if Israel did not start meeting its peace demands, then the Palestinians would break the so-called “Oslo Accords” that started the whole peace process.

Vatican gathering demands end to Israeli occupation, issues statement that Christ nullified God's promise to the Jews

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A Catholic synod called at the Vatican to address the rising persecution of Christian in the Middle East wrapped up on Saturday with a joint statement that focused a lot of attention on demanding Israel end its “occupation” of Arab lands.

U.S. aid to Pakistan comes with strings

dbking

Whenever the United States government doles out money there are conditions. The new aid package to Pakistan is no different. In Pakistan's case, Washington wants Islamabad to do a better job of targeting militants.

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Creating a new courage in Afghanistan

By JERICA ARENTS

KABUL – After an exhausting day trekking through the dirt roads of the city of Bamiyan and outlying settlements, three Americans were guided by a dozen Afghan boys to a tent packed with overstuffed pillows and comforters. After the boys served them a delicious meal cooked over a small outdoor stove, they affixed their flashlights to the spine of the tent and invited the Americans to enter.

London firefighters strike

kenjonbro photo

In the United States there was a scandal when a fire company refused to put out a blaze because the homeowner hadn't paid for fire protection. But imagine the outrage if firefighters actually went on strike.

WikiLeaks finds prisoner abuse continued after Abu Ghraib

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The long awaited - or in the case of the Pentagon feared - WikiLeaks release of documents about the Iraq war suggest that U.S. troops continued to abuse prisoners in Iraq long after the Abu Ghraib scandal broke.

Obama: GOP will repeal Wall Street reform

Many people believe the so-called Wall Street reforms, the government's response to the bankster-created financial crisis, didn't go far enough. But in his weekly radio address, President Obama is warning that, if the Republicans seize control of Congress on November 2, there's a chance they will try to repeal the reforms that are in place.

Don't blame Obama, blame the banks for the slow recovery

dustin larimer photo

Many Americans - perhaps most - are justifiably frustrated at the slow rate of economic recovery. And many are pointing at the administration for the lagging rebound. But is the president really to blame?

Juan Williams: NPR was looking for excuse to fire me

Juan Williams, the news analyst who NPR fired after he commented on Fox News Channel's the O'Reilly Factor that people wearing Muslim garb on airplanes made him nervous, says the radio network was looking for an excuse to fire him. Worry not about Williams' future. He just inked a three-year $2 million contract with Fox.

Pentagon braces for latest WikiLeaks revelations

By JIM GARAMONE
American Forces Press Service   

WASHINGTON - The Defense Department is preparing for an additional publication by WikiLeaks of classified military documents from Iraq operations, DOD officials said here today.

French Senate passes bill to raise retirement age

The legislation that spurred scores of protests in France - raising the retirement age from 60 to 62 - has passed the French Senate.

Walmart's commitment to local, sustainable food

By SARAH LASKOW
Media Consortium

Last week, environmentalists and food advocates warily welcomed the news that Walmart plans to expand its local, sustainable food program.

Mudslinging as Election Day draws nearer

By GARY BAUMGARTEN

The one that really got me was the ad urging Latinos to not vote at all - to send a message to the Democrats that they can't be taken for granted.

From the ruins of Haiti, now a cholera outbreak

André Tuffy photo

More than 100 people are now suffering from cholera in Haiti, an outgrowth of unsanitary conditions within which people left homeless by the earthquake find themselves.

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As Election Day approaches the 'throw the bums out' attitude persists

Olivander photo

Not quite as many voters are in the mood to toss out the old in favor of the new in Congress as during an earlier poll. But the latest Gallup survey finds that a vote for anyone but the incumbent attitude still prevails in the United States.

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Building a peace park in Afghanistan

By DAVID SMITH-FERRI
Special to The Gary Baumgarten Report

BAMIYAN, Afghanistan - This city of roughly 60,000, has only one paved street, a wide, two-kilometer road without lanes that is a site of constant activity from 5 a.m. to curfew, at 10 p.m., and is referred to as the “bazaar” because it is lined on both sides with shops.

Congressman attacked for 'terror ties' by opponent

Rep. Nick Rahall (D-WV) is attacked in this campaign ad paid for by his GOP opponent Spike Maynard for having alleged ties to terrorism. Rahall leads in the polls.

Survey suggests Israelis want peace talks more so than Palestinians

White House photo by Pete Souza

ISRAEL TODAY


JERUSALEM - A joint survey of Israelis and Palestinians published today once again reveals that far more Israelis support continuation of the Middle East peace talks than do Palestinians. 

Images leave wrong impression about French protests

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Yes, there are vehicles being overturned and set ablaze and confrontations with police. But the images coming out of France don't tell the entire story.

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Juan Williams' demise - and NPR's double standard

By TIM RILEY
Contributor


Maybe they were just looking for an excuse.  National Public Radio has given the boot to commentator Juan Williams for a comment he made at his other job on Fox News Channel.  

We may not be through bailing out Freddie and Fannie

A federal report suggests that the bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac may just not be over but that the cost to taxpayers could double.

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Coffee reduces brain cancer risk

Professor Bop photo

Go ahead, enjoy that second cup of coffee, or tea, for that matter, without regret. New research shows you may be reducing your risk of brain cancer in the process.

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O'Donnell can't name a single Democratic senator

Poor Christine O'Donnell. Not only does is Tea Party-backed Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in Delaware having trouble understanding the First Amendment, she also can't name a single Democratic U.S. senator.

100 congressional candidates who oppose the so-called 'Ground Zero' mosque

david_shankbone photo

The Coalition to Honor Ground Zero is releasing the names of 100 candidates for Congress who say they oppose building of an Islamic cultural center two blocks from the World Trade Center site. The coalition is urging opponents of the center to support the named candidates.