Links via Diigo (weekly)

• t r u t h o u t | DREAM Activists: Rejecting the Passivity of the Nonprofit, Industrial Complex

  ... and another piece that criticizes the leftist purism of some of the DREAM Act's critics.

  tags: immigration legislation education military industrial complex activism

• Two Responses to the Failure of the DREAM Act

  These have been two very widely-circulated critical pieces on the DREAM Act.

  tags: immigration legislation education military industrial complex activism

• Park51 Raises Urgent Questions for Muslims

  Excellent take on the so-called "GZM" debate by comrades over at the GF blog.

  tags: islamophobia imperialism race

• Planet Grenada: islam and homosexuality

  Interesting links.

  tags: islam queer lgbt sexuality

• LENIN'S TOMB: Papists, secularists and capitalists

  "Religion is not only far from being the major force promoting oppression in this world - for some, it is an inspiration and an alibi in the struggle against it."

  tags: imperial atheism imperialism religion christianity

• Queering the Lines With Cartoons Video

  Includes interview with Jennifer Camper, queer Arab American comic book artist.

  tags: lgbt queer arab america latino comics classism sexism sexuality race

• Interview: 'Many Americans Love Rumi...But They Prefer He Not Be Muslim' - Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty © 2010

  "I have read that, in America, some university scholars of Middle Eastern studies once advised the U.S. government to arrange for the Sufis of Afghanistan to rule that country, based on the belief that Sufis are the opposite of "Islamists." But this is naive, because Sufis are Muslims, so, like other kinds of Muslims, they range from liberal to conservative.
  
  We Muslims should not allow ourselves to be divided against each other by these manipulations. And Sufis should not allow themselves to be manipulated by such governments"

  tags: sufism imperialism islam

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here. <ul class='diigo-linkroll'> <li> <p class='diigo-link'> <a href="http://www.truth-out.org/dream-movement-challenges-with-social-justice-elites-military-option-arguments-and-immigration-refo" rel="nofollow">t r u t h o u t | DREAM Activists: Rejecting the Passivity of the Nonprofit, Industrial Complex</a> <p class='diigo-description'>... and another piece that criticizes the leftist purism of some of the DREAM Act's critics.</p> <p class='diigo-tags'> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/cloud/brownfolks" style="color:#000 !important;text-decoration:none !important;">tags</a>: <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/brownfolks/immigration">immigration</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/brownfolks/legislation">legislation</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/brownfolks/education">education</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/brownfolks/military industrial complex">military industrial complex</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/brownfolks/activism">activism</a></p> </p> </li> <li> <p class='diigo-link'> <a href="http://gatheringforces.org/2010/09/22/two-responses-to-the-failure-of-the-dream-act" rel="nofollow">Two Responses to the Failure of the DREAM Act</a> <p class='diigo-description'>These have been two very widely-circulated critical pieces on the DREAM Act.</p> <p class='diigo-tags'> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/cloud/brownfolks" style="color:#000 !important;text-decoration:none !important;">tags</a>: <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/brownfolks/immigration">immigration</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/brownfolks/legislation">legislation</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/brownfolks/education">education</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/brownfolks/military industrial complex">military industrial complex</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/brownfolks/activism">activism</a></p> </p> </li> <li> <p class='diigo-link'> <a href="http://gatheringforces.org/2010/09/20/park51-raises-urgent-questions-for-muslims" rel="nofollow">Park51 Raises Urgent Questions for Muslims</a> <p class='diigo-description'>Excellent take on the so-called "GZM" debate by comrades over at the GF blog.</p> <p class='diigo-tags'> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/cloud/brownfolks" style="color:#000 !important;text-decoration:none !important;">tags</a>: <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/brownfolks/islamophobia">islamophobia</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/brownfolks/imperialism">imperialism</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/brownfolks/race">race</a></p> </p> </li> <li> <p class='diigo-link'> <a href="http://planetgrenada.blogspot.com/2010/08/islam-and-homosexuality.html" rel="nofollow">Planet Grenada: islam and homosexuality</a> <p class='diigo-description'>Interesting links.</p> <p class='diigo-tags'> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/cloud/brownfolks" style="color:#000 !important;text-decoration:none !important;">tags</a>: <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/brownfolks/islam">islam</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/brownfolks/queer">queer</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/brownfolks/lgbt">lgbt</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/brownfolks/sexuality">sexuality</a></p> </p> </li> <li> <p class='diigo-link'> <a href="http://leninology.blogspot.com/2010/09/papists-secularists-and-capitalists.html" rel="nofollow">LENIN'S TOMB: Papists, secularists and capitalists</a> <p class='diigo-description'>"Religion is not only far from being the major force promoting oppression in this world - for some, it is an inspiration and an alibi in the struggle against it."</p> <p class='diigo-tags'> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/cloud/brownfolks" style="color:#000 !important;text-decoration:none !important;">tags</a>: <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/brownfolks/imperial atheism">imperial atheism</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/brownfolks/imperialism">imperialism</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/brownfolks/religion">religion</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/brownfolks/christianity">christianity</a></p> </p> </li> <li> <p class='diigo-link'> <a href="http://vodpod.com/watch/2257936-queering-the-lines-with-cartoons" rel="nofollow">Queering the Lines With Cartoons Video</a> <p class='diigo-description'>Includes interview with Jennifer Camper, queer Arab American comic book artist.</p> <p class='diigo-tags'> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/cloud/brownfolks" style="color:#000 !important;text-decoration:none !important;">tags</a>: <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/brownfolks/lgbt">lgbt</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/brownfolks/queer">queer</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/brownfolks/arab america">arab america</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/brownfolks/latino">latino</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/brownfolks/comics">comics</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/brownfolks/classism">classism</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/brownfolks/sexism">sexism</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/brownfolks/sexuality">sexuality</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/brownfolks/race">race</a></p> </p> </li> <li> <p class='diigo-link'> <a href="http://www.rferl.org/content/Interview_Many_Americans_Love_RumiBut_They_Prefer_He_Not_Be_Muslim/2122973.html" rel="nofollow">Interview: 'Many Americans Love Rumi...But They Prefer He Not Be Muslim' - Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty © 2010</a> <p class='diigo-description'>"I have read that, in America, some university scholars of Middle Eastern studies once advised the U.S. government to arrange for the Sufis of Afghanistan to rule that country, based on the belief that Sufis are the opposite of "Islamists." But this is naive, because Sufis are Muslims, so, like other kinds of Muslims, they range from liberal to conservative.<br /><br />We Muslims should not allow ourselves to be divided against each other by these manipulations. And Sufis should not allow themselves to be manipulated by such governments"</p> <p class='diigo-tags'> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/cloud/brownfolks" style="color:#000 !important;text-decoration:none !important;">tags</a>: <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/brownfolks/sufism">sufism</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/brownfolks/imperialism">imperialism</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/brownfolks/islam">islam</a></p> </p> </li> </ul><br />Posted from <a href="http://www.diigo.com">Diigo</a>. The rest of my <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/brownfolks">favorite links</a> are here.

Links via Diigo (weekly)

• The Believer - Orientalist Party Music

  Interesting article on Arab musicians in Brooklyn after WWII.

  tags: arab america orientalism music

• Provocative Behavior: Pertinent Concerns Over the Burning of Korans

  "One wonders if the actual burning and slaughtering of actual human beings in the Muslim world -- covertly and overtly, in country after country, day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year -- by the highest, most honored, respected and powerful worthies of American society might, just possibly, incite more violence and ill will against us than the burning of a few books by a marginal, powerless goober down in Florida."

  tags: imperialism islamophobia

• US soldiers 'killed Afghan civilians for sport and collected fingers as trophies' | World news | The Guardian

  This is what happens if 'we' (US and NATO forces) stay in Afghanistan. End the occupation now.

  tags: afghanistan imperialism

• How illegal immigrants are helping Social Security

  "Stephen C. Goss, the chief actuary of the Social Security Administration and someone who enjoys bipartisan support for his straightforwardness, said that by 2007, the Social Security trust fund had received a net benefit of somewhere between $120 billion and $240 billion from unauthorized immigrants."

  tags: immigration

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here. <ul class='diigo-linkroll'> <li> <p class='diigo-link'> <a href="http://www.believermag.com/issues/201007/?read=article_knafo" rel="nofollow">The Believer - Orientalist Party Music</a> <p class='diigo-description'>Interesting article on Arab musicians in Brooklyn after WWII.</p> <p class='diigo-tags'> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/cloud/brownfolks" style="color:#000 !important;text-decoration:none !important;">tags</a>: <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/brownfolks/arab america">arab america</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/brownfolks/orientalism">orientalism</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/brownfolks/music">music</a></p> </p> </li> <li> <p class='diigo-link'> <a href="http://www.chris-floyd.com/articles/1-latest-news/2021-provocative-behavior-pertinent-concerns-over-the-burning-of-korans.html" rel="nofollow">Provocative Behavior: Pertinent Concerns Over the Burning of Korans</a> <p class='diigo-description'>"One wonders if the actual burning and slaughtering of actual human beings in the Muslim world -- covertly and overtly, in country after country, day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year -- by the highest, most honored, respected and powerful worthies of American society might, just possibly, incite more violence and ill will against us than the burning of a few books by a marginal, powerless goober down in Florida."</p> <p class='diigo-tags'> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/cloud/brownfolks" style="color:#000 !important;text-decoration:none !important;">tags</a>: <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/brownfolks/imperialism">imperialism</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/brownfolks/islamophobia">islamophobia</a></p> </p> </li> <li> <p class='diigo-link'> <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/09/us-soldiers-afghan-civilians-fingers" rel="nofollow">US soldiers 'killed Afghan civilians for sport and collected fingers as trophies' | World news | The Guardian</a> <p class='diigo-description'>This is what happens if 'we' (US and NATO forces) stay in Afghanistan. End the occupation now.</p> <p class='diigo-tags'> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/cloud/brownfolks" style="color:#000 !important;text-decoration:none !important;">tags</a>: <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/brownfolks/afghanistan">afghanistan</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/brownfolks/imperialism">imperialism</a></p> </p> </li> <li> <p class='diigo-link'> <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/02/AR2010090202673.html" rel="nofollow">How illegal immigrants are helping Social Security</a> <p class='diigo-description'>"Stephen C. Goss, the chief actuary of the Social Security Administration and someone who enjoys bipartisan support for his straightforwardness, said that by 2007, the Social Security trust fund had received a net benefit of somewhere between $120 billion and $240 billion from unauthorized immigrants."</p> <p class='diigo-tags'> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/cloud/brownfolks" style="color:#000 !important;text-decoration:none !important;">tags</a>: <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/brownfolks/immigration">immigration</a></p> </p> </li> </ul><br />Posted from <a href="http://www.diigo.com">Diigo</a>. The rest of my <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/brownfolks">favorite links</a> are here.

Links via Diigo (weekly)

• Anya Landau French: Obama Renews Cuba Embargo for Another Year

  Change we can believe in.

  tags: obama cuba imperialism

• Getting drunk in Kabul bars? Pass the sick bag | Seema Jilani | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk

  "t doesn't get more colonialist than invading a country, setting up shop, selling a prohibited, culturally and religiously forbidden product like alcohol, and throwing centuries of tradition out the window. But of course there is a good reason. For who can go without a beer for six weeks anyway?
  
  Dear melodramatic expats: you are not special because you set foot on this soil. You have not lived through the annihilation of your family for the past 30 years. Kandahar is dangerous, but you can stop spitting forth the tales of war and halt the swagger in its tracks."

  tags: afghanistan colonialism neocolonialism race imperialism

• Boy George-o-meter For Your Own Gay Assessment Purposes - Bekhsoos

  A Lebanese queer feminist responds to "Gay, straight, or just Lebanese?"

  tags: lebanon queer lgbt sexuality

• Gay, straight, or just Lebanese? | Diamond Walid | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk

  "That the rainbow flag has become yet another global brand is not a secret any more. Many wear it the way they would wear a Prada logo, or as a sign of belonging to a westernised "enlightened" elite (when most Lebanese have no idea what this flag represents).
  
  What Lebanon needs in order to genuinely advance gay rights is a leap into modernity. Not an imported, ready-made idea of modernity. But, instead, one that reclaims the past and reinterprets local culture."

  tags: lebanon queer lgbt sexuality

• The challenge to Islamophobia | SocialistWorker.org

  "What do we make of this? Has the U.S. as a society taken a precipitous turn against Muslims? Or as the cover of Time magazine asks, "Is America Islamophobic?" We might also ask if the U.S. is becoming like Europe--where several nations, with popular support, have taken actions such as banning the veil in schools, putting a halt to the construction of minarets, etc.
  
  The answer to these questions is neither a straightforward "yes" nor a "no." Rather, it is both yes and no. This article sets out to examine the dynamics of this debate and explain what it reveals about the state of Islamophobia in the U.S. today."

  tags: race islamophobia

• Born-Again Pakistani « Aristotle's Lackey: Sana Saeed

  "After an 11 year absence, I had the chance this past summer to visit the country of my heritage and birth – Pakistan – for two weeks. Albeit brief and as cliche as this is going to sound, I emerged from the experience completely changed. Somewhere along the way, I had completely abandoned a huge part of my identity – my identity as a Pakistani. Somewhere along the way, I had become almost ashamed to be associated with the country and its people. It wasn’t necessarily a conscious effort, but a lingering feeling of disassociation strengthened within me over the course of four/five years."

  tags: pakistan whiteness identity

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here. <ul class='diigo-linkroll'> <li> <p class='diigo-link'> <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/anya-landau-french/obama-renews-cuba-embargo_b_704804.html" rel="nofollow">Anya Landau French: Obama Renews Cuba Embargo for Another Year</a> <p class='diigo-description'>Change we can believe in.</p> <p class='diigo-tags'> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/cloud/brownfolks" style="color:#000 !important;text-decoration:none !important;">tags</a>: <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/brownfolks/obama">obama</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/brownfolks/cuba">cuba</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/brownfolks/imperialism">imperialism</a></p> </p> </li> <li> <p class='diigo-link'> <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/aug/31/kabul-expat-bars-war-afghanistan" rel="nofollow">Getting drunk in Kabul bars? Pass the sick bag | Seema Jilani | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk</a> <p class='diigo-description'>"t doesn't get more colonialist than invading a country, setting up shop, selling a prohibited, culturally and religiously forbidden product like alcohol, and throwing centuries of tradition out the window. But of course there is a good reason. For who can go without a beer for six weeks anyway?<br /><br />Dear melodramatic expats: you are not special because you set foot on this soil. You have not lived through the annihilation of your family for the past 30 years. Kandahar is dangerous, but you can stop spitting forth the tales of war and halt the swagger in its tracks."</p> <p class='diigo-tags'> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/cloud/brownfolks" style="color:#000 !important;text-decoration:none !important;">tags</a>: <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/brownfolks/afghanistan">afghanistan</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/brownfolks/colonialism">colonialism</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/brownfolks/neocolonialism">neocolonialism</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/brownfolks/race">race</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/brownfolks/imperialism">imperialism</a></p> </p> </li> <li> <p class='diigo-link'> <a href="http://www.bekhsoos.com/web/2010/08/boy-george-o-meter-for-your-own-gay-assessment-purposes" rel="nofollow">Boy George-o-meter For Your Own Gay Assessment Purposes - Bekhsoos</a> <p class='diigo-description'>A Lebanese queer feminist responds to "Gay, straight, or just Lebanese?"</p> <p class='diigo-tags'> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/cloud/brownfolks" style="color:#000 !important;text-decoration:none !important;">tags</a>: <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/brownfolks/lebanon">lebanon</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/brownfolks/queer">queer</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/brownfolks/lgbt">lgbt</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/brownfolks/sexuality">sexuality</a></p> </p> </li> <li> <p class='diigo-link'> <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/aug/28/lebanon-gay-pride-boy-george" rel="nofollow">Gay, straight, or just Lebanese? | Diamond Walid | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk</a> <p class='diigo-description'>"That the rainbow flag has become yet another global brand is not a secret any more. Many wear it the way they would wear a Prada logo, or as a sign of belonging to a westernised "enlightened" elite (when most Lebanese have no idea what this flag represents).<br /><br />What Lebanon needs in order to genuinely advance gay rights is a leap into modernity. Not an imported, ready-made idea of modernity. But, instead, one that reclaims the past and reinterprets local culture."</p> <p class='diigo-tags'> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/cloud/brownfolks" style="color:#000 !important;text-decoration:none !important;">tags</a>: <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/brownfolks/lebanon">lebanon</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/brownfolks/queer">queer</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/brownfolks/lgbt">lgbt</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/brownfolks/sexuality">sexuality</a></p> </p> </li> <li> <p class='diigo-link'> <a href="http://socialistworker.org/2010/08/30/challenge-to-islamophobia" rel="nofollow">The challenge to Islamophobia | SocialistWorker.org</a> <p class='diigo-description'>"What do we make of this? Has the U.S. as a society taken a precipitous turn against Muslims? Or as the cover of Time magazine asks, "Is America Islamophobic?" We might also ask if the U.S. is becoming like Europe--where several nations, with popular support, have taken actions such as banning the veil in schools, putting a halt to the construction of minarets, etc.<br /><br />The answer to these questions is neither a straightforward "yes" nor a "no." Rather, it is both yes and no. This article sets out to examine the dynamics of this debate and explain what it reveals about the state of Islamophobia in the U.S. today."</p> <p class='diigo-tags'> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/cloud/brownfolks" style="color:#000 !important;text-decoration:none !important;">tags</a>: <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/brownfolks/race">race</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/brownfolks/islamophobia">islamophobia</a></p> </p> </li> <li> <p class='diigo-link'> <a href="http://aristotleslackey.wordpress.com/2010/08/28/born-again-pakistani" rel="nofollow">Born-Again Pakistani « Aristotle's Lackey: Sana Saeed</a> <p class='diigo-description'>"After an 11 year absence, I had the chance this past summer to visit the country of my heritage and birth – Pakistan – for two weeks. Albeit brief and as cliche as this is going to sound, I emerged from the experience completely changed. Somewhere along the way, I had completely abandoned a huge part of my identity – my identity as a Pakistani. Somewhere along the way, I had become almost ashamed to be associated with the country and its people. It wasn’t necessarily a conscious effort, but a lingering feeling of disassociation strengthened within me over the course of four/five years."</p> <p class='diigo-tags'> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/cloud/brownfolks" style="color:#000 !important;text-decoration:none !important;">tags</a>: <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/brownfolks/pakistan">pakistan</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/brownfolks/whiteness">whiteness</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/brownfolks/identity">identity</a></p> </p> </li> </ul><br />Posted from <a href="http://www.diigo.com">Diigo</a>. The rest of my <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/brownfolks">favorite links</a> are here.