To hear the right wingers tell it every Muslim alive is a probable terrorist and we have to watch their every move and shoot on sight if they get out of line. The basic premise of the right wing has been that because the 9/11 terrorists were Muslims, Muslims are to be considered terrorists unless proven otherwise. Interesting that they don't apply the same "logic" to white males like Timothy McVeigh, but in their small minds they don't like and don't trust Muslims, leading to a whole slew of racist and hate-filled remarks (e.g. like many statements from Republican Embarrassment Steve King as well as lots of the rhetoric from the McCain/Palin supporters).

What gets lost in the racist rhetoric is a fact that almost every New Yorker is well aware of: the vast majority of Muslims are perfectly loyal, decent citizens.

In 2007 a survey of American Muslims showed that they were among the most hard-working and loyal of Americans and actually had far more faith in the American Dream than the average American.
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Okay, having just made fun of Italian fascists for being terrified of Christmas ornaments that emphasize commonalities between Islam and Christianity, I come across an even more disgusting phobia. The Taliban are so terrified of school girls that they are declaring jihad against them:

Taleban militants in the Swat valley in north-west Pakistan have threatened to kill girls who attend school.

A local Taleban commander ordered parents to stop sending their daughters to school by 15 January.

In comments broadcast on an illegal radio station, he threatened to blow up schools which enrolled female students.

This year alone, Taleban militants have destroyed more than 130 schools in the Swat valley. They want to bring in Islamic sharia law in the region.

Militant attacks on schools in the region have deprived more than 17,000 students of education.

What fucking dickheads! There is something deeply pathological about people who are terrified of school girls. It would be outright pathetic if it wasn't for the fact that they actually carry out violent attacks on children for simply wanting an education.
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Fascism in Italy got its ass kicked in WW II. In fact, unlike German fascism that took the combined efforts of the US, Great Britain and the Soviet Union to defeat, Italian fascists were even fought to a standstill by the Greeks in WW II and had to have their sorry asses saved by the Germans.

But even today there are Italian losers who are so scared of anyone different from themselves that they follow the failed, stupid and loser ideology of Mussolini.

Their latest cause seems to have some resemblance to Bill O'Reilly having his panties in a bunch over an imaginged "war on Christmas." The Italian fascists have their collective panties in a bunch over...Christmas decorations. Yes, Italian fascists are such losers that they are terrified of Christmas decorations! From BBC news:

Right-wing politicians have protested at the inclusion of Islamic symbols in nativity scenes in northern Italy.

Elaborate cribs with figurines enacting the nativity decorate most Catholic churches in Italy at this time of year.

A priest at a Genoa church put a mosque and minaret in his crib, while a crib at a Venice school also had a mosque.

The Genoa branch of the anti-immigrant Northern League reacted with fury. But a senior church figure said there are no firm rules on what can be included.
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In my continuing coverage of Republican racism and anti-Semitism, one of the stupidest Republican memes was "gee, uh, duh, isn't Obama a Moooslim?"

My first reaction was "so what if he was?" Why couldn't a Muslim be an American leader? But that is beside the point. There has never, ever been the slightest evidence that Obama was Muslim.

Those who listen to this lie and believe it are, quite honestly, abyssmally stupid or amazingly gullible.

But who originated the "duh...Obama is a Moooslim" lie?

Seems an unstable anti-Semite, named Andy Martin, started it. And Fox News let this unstable anti-Semite assert lies without questioning him...yet another connection between Fox News, lies, and anti-Semitism.
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In 2005 there was much sound a fury about a series of Danish Cartoons portraying the prophet Mohammed. The bottom line was that several Danish cartoonists drew cartoons including the prophet as part of a newspaper's publicity stunt. Two of the cartoons were making fun of the newspaper's publicity stunt itself. Two were, arguably, based on racial stereotypes. At least one specifically addressed Western stereotypes of Muslims. In other words, the cartoons were a mixed bag of attitudes towards Islam and the West's attitudes towards Islam.

The overwhelming reaction in the Muslim world was of outrage, often with no real knowledge of the actual cartoons.

This controversy has come back. One of the cartoonists, Kurt Westergaard, was targeted for death by Muslim terrorists. This plot was stopped by the Danish police. In response to the terrorist threat 11 Danish newspapers reprinted Kurt Westergaard's original cartoon...further pissing off Muslim nations.

Again...much sound and fury, signifying nothing.

In response to this new controversy, I want to show all 12 of the original Danish cartoons followed by my public response to the cartoons and the controversy. Folks, there are major issues of tolerance, freedom of expression, and basic human decency involved here. When someone insults you (which MOST of the cartoons were NOT doing) you don't kill them or threaten them with death. If you do, you are essentially a psychopath. You can insult them back, boycott them, sue them...whatever. But to kill someone or threaten someone with death over a cartoon is insane. So, here are the cartoons and my original comments:
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I just received an email alert saying that Benazir Bhutto, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan, was assassinated today. Bhutto had returned to Pakistan after eight years of a self-imposed exile in Dubai, with the hope to becoming Prime Minister for a third time and with the election, restore democracy in Pakistan.

Bhutto was killed after a suicide bomber opened fire and then blew himself up at a rally. This was the second suicide bombing attack on Bhutto since her return to the country of her birth.

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan (CNN) -- Pakistan's former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated Thursday outside a large gathering of her supporters where a suicide bomber also killed at least 14, doctors and a spokesman for her party said.

While Bhutto appeared to have died from bullet wounds, it was not immediately clear if she was shot or if her wounds were caused by bomb shrapnel.

President Pervez Musharraf held an emergency meeting in the hours after the death, according to state media.

Police warned citizens to stay home as they expected rioting to break out in city streets in reaction to the death.

During the 1980s I had a roommate whose boyfriend at the time was a "renegade" of the Pakistani elite. It was incredibly interesting and enlightening to talk about Pakistani politics with my roommates boyfriend because it gave me a "real life" insight to the folly that was even then Pakistani politics.
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