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Michael Fisher

Can Soldiers Be Victims of Terrorism? - The Lede Blog - NYTimes.com - 0 views

thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/...define-terrorism

terrorism political science etymology New York Times Fort Hood

shared by Michael Fisher on 20 Nov 09 - Cached
  • Michael Fisher on 20 Nov 09
     
    Given that it is obviously important to some people to call the atrocity at Fort Hood an act of terrorism, it seems worth asking both if most people can agree on what the word means and why it matters what we call such brutal acts.
  • Michael Fisher on 20 Nov 09
     
    The Lede explores this ubiquitous debate in political science: WHAT IS TERRORISM?
Sana Usman

US soldiers' affectation with corpse pieces of departed rebels - 0 views

www.newsspeedchannel.eu/?p=356

US officials Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta of NATO & ISAF forces in Afghanistan Los Angeles Times U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne Division Airborne's Fourth Brigade Combat Team Fort Bragg N.C ISAF-NATO Zabul Province South Taliban militia soldiers urinating

shared by Sana Usman on 19 Apr 12 - No Cached
  • Sana Usman on 19 Apr 12
     
    KABUL: Shoots seems that US soldiers' affectation with corpse pieces of departed rebels drew criticism Wednesday from top US officials with Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta and the commander of NATO & ISAF forces in Afghanistan.
Ed Webb

RJ Eskow: A Short Vocabulary Lesson for Sen. Lieberman (With Some History Thrown In At ... - 1 views

www.huffingtonpost.com/...ocabulary-lesson_b_353288.html

terror terrorism opinion huffpo

shared by Ed Webb on 11 Nov 09 - Cached
  • Had Dr. Hasan become "an Islamist extremist"? It sure looks that way. But was the horrific slaughter he carried out intended to "intimidate or coerce" anyone? We've heard no evidence to that effect. These terrible killings may have just been an expression of inchoate rage. And if we don't know whether coercion or intimidation was the goal, than we certainly don't know if it was done "for political purposes."
  • If we learn that Malik Hasan left a note saying "anybody who serves in the US Armed Forces must know they will face retribution," we'll know that he is a terrorist. He will have committed his murders in order to intimidate or coerce. But right now we don't have any evidence that suggests Hasan is any different than the civilian who killed 23 people at a cafeteria right down the road from Ft. Hood, shouting "This is what Central Texas did to me!"
  • Christian extremist Scott Roeder's act of murder was terrorism, too, because he wants doctors to stop performing abortions. (He and others like him have nearly achieved their goal, too, which makes it pretty effective terror.)
  • ...5 more annotations...
  • The Irgun's bombing of the King David Hotel in Jerusalem, which killed 91 people in 1946, was also an indisputable act of terrorism, designed to intimidate occupying British personnel and encourage their withdrawal from Palestine. The Irgun's behavior provoked the World Zionist Congress to condemn "the shedding of innocent blood as a means of political warfare," much as mainstream Muslim groups have repeatedly condemned Al Qaeda.
  • As Robert Pape's data analysis showed in Dying to Win: The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism, even suicide bombers are more likely to be driven by powerlessness than religion.
  • If we had applied Lieberman-like logic after the Knoxville shooting we would have started profiling anybody carrying a book by Hannity or O'Reilly. (I can hear some of you saying "Good idea!" Knock it off, guys - this is America.)
  • The Lieberman definition of terrorism would have us squander our investigative resources by pursuing a lot of Muslims rather than a lot of potential terrorists.
  • I don't object to the Joe Liebermans of the world because they're conservative. I object to them because they don't know what the hell they're talking about. Their goal is indiscriminate military aggression toward the Muslim world, not effective security for the United States. They seem to believe that comments like these build a case for that agenda and prove that they can keep us safer than those now in power.
  • Ed Webb on 11 Nov 09
     
    Discussion of nature of terrorism.
Ed Webb

Op-Ed Columnist - America vs. The Narrative - NYTimes.com - 6 views

www.nytimes.com/...29friedman.html

opinion friedman NYT Islam Muslims Arabs USA

shared by Ed Webb on 30 Nov 09 - Cached
  • Ed Webb on 30 Nov 09
     
    Musing on an issue some of you wrote about in your midterm. Do you agree with Friedman?
  • ...2 more comments...
  • Rebecca Ben-Amou on 30 Nov 09
     
    I just think it is an interesting concept. "The Narrative" curbs their ideas on American initiatives in the middle east. How its ideals managed to make it to the U.S. and actually be followed is another question. The Narrative can succeed because it begins to spread ideas to children at a young age, which obviously poses an issue. Children legitimately believe the claims and learn that the only way to stop such American evil is by violence. Do I think that this man who killed 13 people at Fort Hood is mentally unbalanced? If you consider following Jihadist beliefs unbalanced then sure. I agree with Friedman, this man was just another case of a child influenced by these ridiculous concepts
  • Morgan Mintz on 30 Nov 09
     
    I think the most interesting part of this whole story is the fact that Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan did not grow up being indoctrinated with this concept of "The Narrative." As Friedman points out early on in the article, he was born and raised in America, which makes his acceptance of this Arab/Islamic narrative of blaming America for all their problems all the more surprising. It is clearly a powerful force even beyond the Arab world. This links back perfectly to the other Friedman op-ed we read last week about America's role in Israeli-Palestinian peace. If the United States could somehow extricate itself from the region and just get out of the way (significantly easier said than done, unfortunately, but backing out of the peace process would be a start), it would eventually become clear that America is not the source of every problem in the Middle East. Arab governments might have to start answering to their people for some of the problems in their own countries, instead of just pointing a finger at the US. It will only be when this happens that "The Narrative" will begin to lose some of its power.
  • Sarah Henry on 01 Dec 09
     
    What struck me the most is what Morgan commented on, that this was someone who was born and raised in the US. If this "Narrative" has the ability to reach that far and with that much force, then we need to take a look at what we're doing in the Middle East. Even if, as Friedman says, we were doing a kindness to the Arabs when we deposed the Taliban the Baathist regime, I think any good will or positive effect that may have had on the region has expired. I think we need to pull out as much as is possible for us. I don't agree with President Obama on a lot of issues, but I do like the quote that he included at the end. I think it's now the responsibility of the Muslims in the Middle East to take charge of what they can, and to not fall in with the more negative aspects of Islam, and show what good comes from Islam.
  • anonymous on 01 Dec 09
     
    With the way the media is, I don't think you have to live in a certain area to be indoctrinated with concepts from different regions. What is the whole purpose of us blogging? Our blogs can be seen as a historical account for people in the future. With technology we can read blogs from the Middle East, watch videos showing peoples' experiences with different aspects of their daily lives in their respective country, and watch/ read the news. It is pretty apparent that Hasan was mentally unbalanced. I read/ or saw something that he had been harassed for being a Muslim. Last week in my religion class my professor showed us a clip that mentioned he was working to join al-Qaeda. With the internet he was able to get in contact with people in the Middle East. When a person feels like a minority they will want to latch on to another group to have the feeling of belonging. This is a possibility for how Hasan was thinking when he if he got in contact with a member of al-Qaeda or why he shot all those people.
Ed Webb

Disputed Western Sahara becomes kitesurfing hotspot - 0 views

news.yahoo.com/surfing-hotspot-001307768.html

WesternSahara polisario Morocco tourism development environment pollution

shared by Ed Webb on 15 Nov 19 - Cached
  • In the heart of disputed Western Sahara, a former garrison town has become an unlikely tourist magnet after kitesurfers discovered the windswept desert coast was perfect for their sport.
  • Tourist numbers have jumped from 25,000 in 2010 to 100,000 today
  • Kitesurfing requires pricey gear -- including a board, harness and kite -- and the niche tourism spot attracts well-off visitors of all nationalities.
  • ...7 more annotations...
  • "Here is the best place in the world for learning kitesurfing," said the 31-year-old Polish stewardess.On her understanding of the broader regional context, she said: "It's an old Spanish colony and they have good seafood, for sure."Like many tourists, she was under the impression that the area belonged to Morocco, as the destination tends to be marketed in the travel industry as "Dakhla, Morocco".
  • Without waiting for the political compromise that the UN has been negotiating for decades, hotels have sprouted from the sand along the coast, and rows of streetlights on vacant lots announce future subdivisions.
  • Only the names of certain sites, like PK 25 (kilometre point 25), ruined forts in the dunes and the imposing and still in-use military buildings in Dakhla, remind tourists of the region's history of conflict.
  • Polisario, which wants independence for the disputed region and tried last year in vain to sue businesses it said were "accomplices to the occupying military power."
  • Moroccan authorities are looking actively for investors for their development projects on the west coast, the most ambitious being the Dakhla Atlantique megaport with a budget of about $1 billion to promote fishing.
  • On the lagoon, surrounded by white sand and with its holiday bungalows, "there is a struggle between developing aquaculture and tourism," said a senior regional representative, who spoke on condition of anonymity."One has less impact on the environment, but the other generates more revenue and jobs,"
  • "Everything is developing so quickly... we need to recycle plastic waste and resolve the issue of wastewater,"
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