Dallas mayor more fearful of large gatherings of white men than Syrian refugees

"Dallas, Texas, mayor Mike Rawlings stood in opposition to other Southern politicians (including his governor, Greg Abbott) when he said that he was more afraid of white men with guns than Syrian refugees.

While speaking on MSNBC this past Saturday, November 21, (watch the video here), Rawlings said that he would welcome Syrian refugees to Dallas. When asked about the growing fear over Syrian refugees and possible ties to ISIS, Rawlings responded:

I am more fearful of large gatherings of white men that come into schools, theaters and shoot people up. But we don’t isolate young white men on this issue. "


https://www.colorlines.com/articles/dallas-mayor-more-fearful-large-gatherings-white-men-syrian-refugees

right!

about Isis from one of the Arab world's most respected journalists

What you want to know about Isis -
I recommend Abdel-Bari Atwan. I heard him on the radio and on bookTV,

What I learned: Isis is a de facto state. It has cabinets and ministries. Its cars have their own licenses. They have their own currency, they trade with other nations, have customs department. The head of their media department was educated in a US university in ITT. They use bit coins. They are very sophisticated, understand how to use social media.

His book: "Islamic State:The Digital Caliphate."
"In his book, based on visits to the Turkish-Syrian border, online interviews with jihadists, and the access to leaders he enjoys as one of the Arab world’s most respected journalists, Atwan draws a convincing picture of the Islamic State as a well-run organization that combines bureaucratic efficiency and military expertise with a sophisticated use of information technology.
He was the editor-in-chief at the London-based daily al-Quds al-Arabi for twenty-five years and now edits the Rai al-Youm news website - the Arab world's first Huffington Post-style outlet."

http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2015/jul/09/inside-islamic-state/

"Global powers unleash arsenal to crush ISIS"

So - they are going to crush isis with missiles and tanks and aircraft carriers.

This level of absurdity would be funny if it weren't so dangerous and idiotic.

"http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/621254/Global-powers-unleash-arsenal-to-crush-ISIS-terror-terrorism"

Southwest Airlines Is Allowing Its Racist Passengers To Kick Muslim Passengers off Their Flights

The world’s largest low-cost airline carrier allowed a few racist passengers to oust Arabic-speaking and Muslim passengers on two separate flights this week, quickly becoming the official airline for the country’s bigots.

Two men, 29-year-old Maher Khalil and 28-year-old Anas Ayyad, who both moved to Philadelphia 15 years ago from Palestine, were speaking Arabic before their flight in the terminal this week, reports NBC Philadelphia. After overhearing them, another passenger on their flight approached the gate agent, demanding they be removed from the flight. The agent acquiesced, telling the pair that they wouldn’t be allowed to board because a passenger was afraid to fly with them.

http://gawker.com/southwest-airlines-is-allowing-its-racist-passengers-to-1743955900?rev=1448133343015&utm_campaign=socialflow_gawker_facebook&utm_source=gawker_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow

~~~
I love the response of one of the Palestinian passengers:

“If that person doesn’t feel safe, let them take the bus,” Khalil, who owns two pizza parlors in Philadelphia, said to a Southwest Airlines gate agent, according to NBC Philadelphia. “We’re American citizens just like everybody else.”
~~~
---Palestinian, Arab, Muslim, any "rejected" people, should not have to apologize for their existence. Put the blame where it is - on the racist bigots.

Groups plan to march at climate talks in France despite ban.

PARIS — Environmental activists said Monday that they want to go ahead with plans to march in Paris before the U.N. climate summit later this month, despite the attacks in the French capital.

A coalition of activist groups including Avaaz, Greenpeace and 350.org said that they intend to “hold all the mobilizations currently planned,” including a march set for Nov. 29, the day before the conference begins.

Demonstrations have been banned in France after a state of emergency was declared following the attacks that killed 129 people on Friday.

The environmental groups were set to meet French authorities on Tuesday to discuss how to move forward. The planned route of the march runs right through some of the areas that were attacked.

“The tragedy in Paris has only strengthened our resolve,” said Nicolas Haeringer of 350.org. “We can think of few better responses to violence and terror than this movement’s push for peace and hope.”

Organizers have been preparing for the march for months, hoping for tens of thousands of people to take part.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/climate-activists-want-to-march-in-paris-despite-attacks/2015/11/16/a05a5432-8cab-11e5-934c-a369c80822c2_story.html


---good.

Does anyone know where I can purchase Veggie Patch products?

-- meatless 'burgers' etc.
I used to like them, esp. frozen falafel - easy to just defrost and eat.

first the local chain - Stop and Shop - stopped carrying the product.
Now I've started trying to find a chain that stocks them, and cannot.

Their web page and their facebook page are "out of order",
so I wonder if they are going thru a transition or are kaput.

thx.

About that Syrian refugee passport found at Paris attack scene

Since right-wingers are using this as an excuse to close all borders and turn back all refugees,
this is an interesting article in the Guardian:

But there are several reasons why it’s worth waiting until all the facts are known before making too strong a link between the attacks and the refugee crisis. The first is a general one: on at least 12 occasions, Isis has actually criticised refugees for fleeing to Europe. “For those who want to blame the attacks on Paris on refugees, you might want to get your facts straight,” wrote Aaron Zelin, an analyst of jihad, in an online commentary about the 12 outbursts. “The reality is, [Isis] loathes that individuals are fleeing Syria for Europe. It undermines [Isis’s] message that its self-styled caliphate is a refuge.” It’s therefore unlikely that the vast majority of Syrians fleeing to Europe are Isis supporters, since their actions are in obvious contravention of the group’s creed.

Vanity Fair: How the Bush Wars Opened the Door for ISIS

"It has been an unbelievable 25 years since George H. W. Bush started us on the adventure that still isn’t over in Iraq and Afghanistan. There are American soldiers fighting and dying in the Middle East right now who weren’t even born when Bush the Elder declared the Iraqi invasion and occupation of Kuwait to be an intolerable situation and sent roughly half a million Americans halfway around the world to reverse it."
(May 2015)

http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2015/04/iraq-war-bush-isis

Coburn: Paris attack: Isis has created a new kind of warfare

For the first time urban terrorism, guerrilla tactics and conventional fighting have been combined in a lethal blend.

These attacks are almost impossible to stop because they are directed against civilians, who cannot all be defended, and the bombers are willing to die in order to destroy their targets.

But it is important to understand that Isis is an effective fighting machine because its military skills, evolved during years of fighting, are a potent blend of urban terrorism, guerrilla tactics and conventional warfare. Its blitzkrieg advances in Iraq in the summer of 2014 were preceded by a wave of suicide bombings using vehicles packed with explosives in Shia districts of Baghdad and central Iraq. The aim was to keep its enemies frightened and off balance and to show to potential supporters that Isis was a power in the land.


http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/paris-attack-isis-has-created-a-new-kind-of-warfare-a6734701.html

Massachusetts PASTAfarian wins right to wear a colander in driver's license photo

Joke? Or not?
Apparently not.....

The American Humanist Association’s Appignani Humanist Legal Center is pleased that the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) is permitting a Pastafarian woman to wear a colander in her driver’s license photo, a development that occurred after the group's attorneys were enlisted to assist with the applicant's appeal.

Lindsay Miller identifies as a Pastafarian, also known as members of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, a secular religion that views the existence of a Flying Spaghetti Monster to be just as probable as the existence of the Christian God. As a Pastafarian, Ms. Miller wished to wear a colander on her head in her driver’s license photo, as an expression of her Pastafarian identity. However, she was denied this request by the Massachusetts RMV.

http://americanhumanist.org/news/details/2015-11-massachusetts-pastafarian-wins-right-to-wear-a-colan