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The Silsilah Dialogue Movement is a Filipino movement in Mindanao that aims to unite Christians and Muslims, as well as other people of different religion and faith. Prof. Alzad Sattar is proud to be a member and Muslim coordinator of the Inter-faith Council of Leaders in Basilan. He took up Political Science in Basilan State College and had his Masters Degree in the University of the Philippines. He became a professor in Basilan State College since 1996. Presently, he is the Assistant Dean of Academic Support and Services and Dean of the College of Islamic Studies. He is also an active participant and member of non-government organizations that promote peace and harmony like the Silsilah Dialogue Movement. As a child born in the city of Basilan, he believes that this place is very beautiful. Despite of this harmonious scenery with its natural white beach and sea resources, for him, Basilan has a large diversity when it comes to cultures and religions between the people living in this paradise. He hopes that someday this diversity would surpass through the help of the Dialogue. The following are some excerpts and inspiring keys mentioned by Prof. Alzad Sattar in an interview in the Silsilah Dialogue Movement: What was the impact of Silsilah Dialogue Movement to you as person? Prof Sattar: Silsilah actually transformed a lot in me as a person. I remember in the past, I had biases and prejudices against Christians because of a lot of factors. Number one factor is the orientations that I had, that Christians are like this and that and the second factor was the situation that I had experienced. I was born during the Martial law and at that time, many of my relatives died. The people who killed them are the Philippine soldiers who happened to be Christians. This contributed to my perception about the Christians. One factor that also contributed in my biases is the books I read. Like what I said, I was a PolSci graduate and because of that I rea

What is the relation between Islam and democracy? This is a burning question of this era de facto. There has been already a term "Islamic democracy". This term seems to demand something to add in Islam to be democratic or somehow it means that democracy is very different view where Islam lacks the core insight of democracy. What is the governmental view of Islam? What Islam thinks about the system of government in Islamic state? Does the system ensure the democratic right of the people or more than the so called democratic right? The questions are often and frequently asked by the Muslims as well as Non-Muslims. However, the truth is very significant. Islam is not alike democracy. When you hear about that you get a bad idea and get a sudden shock that Islam is not alike democracy! But let me be a little more specific. The fact is that, Islam is not alike democracy because Islam ensures the rights of the people far better than the western ideas of democracy. The governments of Islamic ages proved what the government system Islam says to adhere. If you notice about the governmental system of Khelfat-e-rasheda, you will get the point how honest they were with their promise and pledges. They ensured all the democratic right of the people. But they were not confined within the system we understand as the unique democratic system rather they were far more better and benevolent ruler of the people.

Well. Notice that RT notes that "So far, the only drones making incursions into Pakistani skies have been US Predators used to attack Taliban insurgents." Making this distinction means that UAVs would be flying for a reason distinct from attacking the Taliban, i.e. war with Pakistan. This is in response to the bombing which killed many Pakistani soldiers due to NATO forces fucking up and thinking they were 'terrorists'.

Pakistan is currently the flashpoint of international politics due to numerous reasons. Among the broad array of factors that make Pakistan highly essential and important country in world politics, the two main factors are the geographic location of Pakistan as well as the international War on Terror. Pakistan is located right in the middle of some great powers of the world that are Russia, India, China, similarly the country like Iran is also a neighbor of Pakistan. The presence of the United States along with International Security Assistance Forces (ISAF) and NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) countries has also significantly increased the importance of Pakistan in World Politics. Other factors that make Pakistan the central point of interest in world politics are the alleged presence of wanted extremists across the Pak-Afghan border, Nuclear Capability, State of the Art Missile System, one of the most professional and capable Military and Spy Agency and the hub of international trade.

"Q. How does your background as a constitutional law and civil rights litigator inform the way you approach research and writing as a journalist? One of the primary skills one learns as a litigator is to make one's case by beginning with first premises, establishing their truth with evidence, and then compelling the conclusions you want others to reach. That's how I try to write now. I think that if you want to make an argument, there's an obligation to lay out the premises for it, provide evidence for it, allow readers to assess the documentation for themselves. That belief probably comes from the way judges and juries need to be persuaded that an argument is true. Beyond that, I chose to litigate constitutional and civil rights cases, and to represent plaintiffs, because I wanted to use my abilities to empower those who are vulnerable and powerless and who are being mistreated by the powerful. That, to me, is a primary purpose of the Constitution itself, and, when done correctly, a core purpose of journalism. That's what I try to do now as well in the work I do. I'd much rather be at war with corrupt elites than serving their interests."

RNC Chairman Michael Steele today lashed out at President Obama by saying: "if he's such a student of history, has he not understood that you know that's the one thing you don't do, is engage in a land war in Afghanistan?" Of course it's absurd for Steele to voice that criticism without mentioning that it is his own Party which started that war and waged it for 8 years -- as well as the fact that virtually every Congressional member of his Party continues to support the war -- but Steele was right in the substance of what he said. In response, look at this truly repellent and classically Rovian statement issued by the DNC condemning Steele:

Here we are again.Hard to find even the Gallows Humor in this story, so maybe we won't even try. Maybe it's time to admit that large chunks of America are in the hands of unreconstructed racists and vulgar idiots, and that the popular election of a black man as president just might've pushed these furious, economically doomed old white people into a final rage that is going to end very, very badly. Ready? Here you go: An Arizona elementary school mural featuring the faces of kids who attend the school has been the subject of constant daytime drive-by racist screaming, from adults, as well as a radio talk-show campaign (by an actual city councilman, who has an AM talk-radio show) to remove the black student's face from the mural, and now the school principal has ordered the faces of the Latino and Black students pictured on the school wall to be repainted as light-skinned children.

LONDON, June 24, 2010 (Reuters) - Radical cuts in social welfare spending by governments intent on reducing budget deficits can cost lives as well as cause economic pain, according to a study published on Friday.

The popular cultural representation of the U.S. media is that they are adversarial to, and independent of, state and corporate power. This well cultivated and consciously promoted image quickly dissolves under the lens of scrutiny.

Ground Zero Mosque Is Okay According To The President, But Then Again A Nuclear Armed Iran Seems To Be Fine As Well.

Democrat or Republican, Libertarian or Socialist, politically active and not we are reaping the bitter reward of a political and legal system designed to maximize corporate profits at the expense of our environment, our livelihood, and our very lives. Our society is unraveling. We all know this. This is not idle conspiracy theory. These are well established facts. We are ruled by a headless beast that is no longer accountable to us. That it is headless makes it no less beastly. But there is a silver bullet. It's within our power to restore a functioning free market; to take back our democracy. We must end limited liability for corporations. Only when wealthy investors are no longer shielded from the costs that we collectively bear in their stead, only when they can no longer hide from the burden they have placed on us, only then can we expect the end of corporate plunder.   We are running out of time. Millions of Germans lost faith in the free market and capitalism during the Great Depression, and "with the failure of the left to provide a viable alternative, they became vulnerable to the rhetoric of a party that, once it came to power, combined Keynesian pump-priming measures that brought unemployment down to 3 percent with a devastating counterrevolutionary social and cultural program."

"In 2009, the scientific literature caught up with what top climate scientists have been saying privately for a few years now: * Many of the predicted impacts of human-caused climate change are occurring much faster than anybody expected - particularly ice melt, everywhere you look on the planet. * If we stay anywhere near our current emissions path, we are facing incalculable catastrophes by century's end, including rapid sea level rise, massive wildfires, widespread Dust-Bowlification, large oceanic dead zones, and 9°F warming - much of which could be all but irreversible for centuries. And that's not the worst-case scenario! * The consequences for human health and well being would be extreme. That's no surprise to anybody who has talked to leading climate scientists in recent years, read my book Hell and High Water (or a number of other books), or followed this blog. Still, it is a scientific reality that I don't think more than 2 people in 100 fully grasp, so I'm going to review here the past year in climate science. I'll focus primarily on the peer-reviewed literature, but also look at some major summary reports."

Much like a Facebook profile, " The Social Network " is made more appealing through some artful lies, well-chosen omissions and careful shading.

Makes sense!  Of course this applies  to the U.S. as well as Canada.  Sometimes a fresh look and a little attitude change can make a huge difference.  I for one, have looked at people lately as "stupid" and " lazy."  It does make a difference to think of people as simply "shut-out," due to the media

WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary Robert Gates told Pentagon reporters on Tuesday that existing policies such as housing and spousal benefits for military service members "can and should be applied equally to homosexuals as well as heterosexuals."

David Garland is a well-respected sociologist and legal scholar who taught courses on crime and punishment at the University of Edinburgh before relocating to the United States over a decade ago. His recent Peculiar Institution: America's Death Penalty in an Age of Abolition is the product of his attempt to learn "why the United States is such an outlier in the severity of its criminal sentencing." Thus, while the book primarily concerns the death penalty, it also illuminates the broader, dramatic differences between American and Western European prison sentences.

The founding fathers were very concerned about the danger of democracy and spoke quite openly about the need to construct the democratic institutions so that threat would be contained.  That's why the Senate has so much more power than the House, to mention just one example.

Bush Family Ties to the Nazis... UNBELIEVABLY WELL DOCUMENTED AND WRITTEN ARTICLE... featured prominantly on RawStory.com

Chalmers Johnson explains how militarism and debt don't mix well.

Through long and ignominious tradition, the US has selected people for cabinet positions based on a combination of nepotism and party loyalty. Products of this system include luminaries like former FEMA director, Michael Brown. But sometimes there are qualified cabinet nominees installed for all the wrong reasons. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner is a useful example.