RIP Gordon
https://www.dtman.com/forum3/
“I don’t believe the president will have the opportunity to meet one on one with Ahmed Mohammad,” White House press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters
While Josh Earnest, the White House press secretary, said earlier on Monday that Mr. Obama did not plan to meet with Ahmed, the president did speak briefly with the boy and gave him a hug. Ahmed made his way to the front of the crowd after Mr. Obama delivered a speech.
When he flew into Sudan last week, Ahmed wrote on Twitter, “I am coming home.”
Agreed. If your country is so awesome, why are you here?thibodeaux wrote:Also, I didn't want to bring this up but:Seriously, why are these people in our country? Go home, Ahmed, and stay there. Bring your technical genius to Sudan; they need you more than we do.When he flew into Sudan last week, Ahmed wrote on Twitter, “I am coming home.”
Moving to Qatar.Leisher wrote:Agreed. If your country is so awesome, why are you here?thibodeaux wrote:Also, I didn't want to bring this up but:Seriously, why are these people in our country? Go home, Ahmed, and stay there. Bring your technical genius to Sudan; they need you more than we do.When he flew into Sudan last week, Ahmed wrote on Twitter, “I am coming home.”
The prince was among five Saudi nationals arrested Monday after being accused of trying to transport 2 tons of Captagon amphetamine pills onto a plane bound for Saudi Arabia...
Well, that's more than all those Facebook people are doing.Malcolm wrote:Roman Muslims march in anti-terror protest. Granted, this is Italy, the place with an economy in the 2500-year old, hole in the ground, communal shitter, and there's probably nothing better do to but protest, work for the mob, or wait until Roberto Benigni makes another movie that hits big in the US so tourism picks up...
But it's something. Then again, "hundreds" of moderates seems to imply lesser numbers than half the crowd of a soccer game.
It's true. I don't see Muslims on Facebook doing shit.TheCatt wrote:Well, that's more than all those Facebook people are doing.Malcolm wrote:Roman Muslims march in anti-terror protest. Granted, this is Italy, the place with an economy in the 2500-year old, hole in the ground, communal shitter, and there's probably nothing better do to but protest, work for the mob, or wait until Roberto Benigni makes another movie that hits big in the US so tourism picks up...
But it's something. Then again, "hundreds" of moderates seems to imply lesser numbers than half the crowd of a soccer game.
Another U.S. official said Malik expressed "admiration" for the extremist group's leader on Facebook under the alias account. But the official said there was no sign that anyone affiliated with the Islamic State communicated back with her, and there was no evidence of any operational instructions being conveyed to her.
"God wanted me to protect those innocent babies by killing these murderers."
There will be no doubt some hand-wringing about “Islamophobia” and further calls to continue the American elite’s fourteen-year track record of whitewashing Islamic beliefs and culture, but I wonder if the media is missing a powerful, largely-uncovered influence on America’s hearts and minds — the experience and testimony of the more than two million Americans who’ve served overseas since 9/11 and have experienced Islamic cultures up-close.
Yes, they were in the middle of a war — but speaking from my own experience — the war was conducted from within a culture that was shockingly broken. I expected the jihadists to be evil, but even I couldn’t fathom the depths of their depravity. And it was all occurring against the backdrop of a brutally violent and intolerant culture. Women were beaten almost as an afterthought, there was a near-total lack of empathy for even friends and neighbors, lying was endemic, and sexual abuse was rampant. Even more disturbingly, it seemed that every problem was exacerbated the more religious and pious a person (or village) became.
I spent enough time outside the wire and interacting with tribal leaders to get a sense of the reality around me, but the younger guys on the line spent weeks at a time living in the heart of the local community. I remember one young soldier, after describing the things he’d seen since the start of the deployment, gestured towards the village around us and said — in perfect Army English — “Sir, this s**t is f**ked up.”
It is indeed. While it’s certainly unfair to judge Indonesia or Malaysia by the standards of Iraq or Afghanistan, it’s very hard to shake the power of lived experience, nor should we necessarily try. After all, when we hear stories from Syria, Yemen, Gaza, the Sinai, Libya, Nigeria, Somalia, Mali, Pakistan, and elsewhere they all fit the same depressing template of the American conflict zones. Nor is the dazzlingly wealthy veneer of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, or the other Gulf States all that impressive. Tens of thousands of soldiers have seen the veritable slave labor that toils within the oil empires and have witnessed first-hand their casual disregard for “lesser” life.
But this same experience has caused us to treasure the Muslim friends we do have — in part because we recognize the extreme risks of their loyalty and defiance of jihad. That’s why American officers fiercely champion the immigration of local interpreters, even to the point of welcoming them into their own home. That’s why there’s often an intense connection with our Kurdish allies, the single-most effective ground fighting force against ISIS.
Two million Americans have been downrange, and they’ve come home and told families and friends stories the media rarely tells. Those stories have an impact, but because of the cultural distance between America’s warriors and its media, academic, and political aristocracy, it’s an impact the aristocracy hasn’t been tracking. Experience trumps idealistic rhetoric, and I can’t help but think that polls like YouGov’s are at least partly registering the results of a uniquely grim American experience.