My letter to the NYTimes RE Overreacting to Terrorism? by Nicholas Kristof

A red rose, symbol of love-  Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository

RE: Overreacting to Terrorism?
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/24/opinion/terrorists-bathtubs-and-snakes.html?ref=international

Dear Editor,

Nicholas Kristof astutely asks if we are "Overreacting to Terrorism?"... YES- I totally agree!  But while his point about climate change is indeed quite important, I am more concerned about the current social and political ramifications of overreacting to terrorism.  A crime is not more criminal based on the perpetrator's worldview or religion. Paraphrasing Gertrude Stein's 1913 poem: A crime is a crime is a crime!

Kristoff pulls up cogent statistics verifying Obama's belief that "Americans more likely to die from falls in tubs than from attacks by terrorists",  but Kristoff does not look at equally telling statistics showing escalating insults and hate crimes against Muslims here in America.  Nor does Kristoff look at statistics concerning domestic violence, or child abuse, or rape which he is much more aware of than most people... Fact is good people do good things, and horrible people do horrible things. A crime is a crime is a crime, a hate crime is a hate crime is a hate crime, and murder is murder is murder.

The Middle East scourge ISIS/Daesh is quite happy to take credit for, and be empowered by violent crimes perpetrated in the West by lone wolf copy cat criminals.  Don't hand criminals, thugs, murderers, and religious tyrants an ego trip narrative to recruit more lone wolf copy cat criminals.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

NOTES
Cruz wants to patrol Muslim neighborhoods. What happened when N.Y. tried it? (+video) http://fw.to/y71PWFd

AIPAC Brings Donald Trump’s Anti-Semitic Fans Out of the Woodwork @Deanofcomedy http://thebea.st/1LCOllZ  via @thedailybeast

Nicholas Kristof ‏@NickKristof 13h13 hours ago

New Islamic State video celebrates Brussels attacks by quoting Donald Trump http://wpo.st/ka4P1 

Chris Doyle ‏@Doylech Mar 23

People thought 21% of UK were Muslims actual figure just 5% - fear-mongers succeeding

The Jordan Times ‏@jordantimes 16m16 minutes ago

More media training required to prevent spread of rumours, experts say http://ow.ly/ZV3qP

UN Foundation ‏@unfoundation 31m31 minutes ago

On #ShareHumanity trip Ban Ki-moon visits Lebanon where 1/3 of population are #refugees from Syria or Palestine.

United Nations ‏@UN 43m43 minutes ago

"Let us renew our resolve to #fightracism" - Ban Ki-moon on @RememberSlavery Day http://j.mp/1RBU2TH 

Palestine PLO - NAD ‏@nadplo 4m4 minutes ago

From our occupied capital #Jerusalem, we send our best wishes to everyone celebrating #GoodFriday #Palestine

EcoPeace Middle East ‏@EcoPeaceME 3h3 hours ago

Environment and Climate in the Middle East - Gaza pollution flows to Israel due to power... http://fb.me/7jjCiunkp "  ... "Gaza’s water treatment facility not yet online due to electricity shortages, causing wastewater to flow north into Israel; major desalinization plant in Ashkelon shut down as result."

 

Arab American Inst. ‏@AAIUSA 5h5 hours ago

Clinton attacked #BDS: http://buff.ly/1q4fJ2r  Stand 4 free speech w @jvplive & #AAI http://buff.ly/1q4fHrl  ..."“Clinton is unashamedly showing that she has embraced Israel advocacy groups’ talking points wholeheartedly,” Dima Khalidi, the director of Palestine Legal, told Shadowproof. “She is broadcasting her opposition to a broad popular nonviolent movement for Palestinian human rights, and promising to throw her weight behind the concerted suppression of First Amendment-protected human rights advocacy in the U.S.”"

The IMEU ‏@theIMEU 7h7 hours ago

University of California Adopts Policy Linking Anti-Zionism to Anti-Semitism http://bit.ly/1PtwxnX  [Robert Mackey]  ... "As Omar Zahzah, a Palestinian-American graduate student at UCLA who spoke against the proposed policy before the regents voted on Wednesday, observed later:

We all agree that anti-Semitism and racism must be combated on campus. Where we disagree is in the claim that anti-Zionism is bigotry. Palestinian and Jewish students alike should have the right to say that the ethnic cleansing of Palestine in 1948 was morally wrong and that Palestinian refugees should have the right to return home to a state where Palestinians and Jews live in equality rather than in a discriminatory Jewish state.  '

Palestine Studies ‏@PalStudies 14h14 hours ago

UN database will list businesses operating in settlements in occupied territories https://goo.gl/qYpZKK 

The IMEU ‏@theIMEU 8h8 hours ago

The Palestinian ‘Arab Idol’ winner, now a megastar, has a life story worthy of a biopic http://on.ft.com/1XQj53B  ... "Assaf’s family remain in Gaza and he regularly returns to visit them. I suggest that he is now a Palestinian icon but he firmly rejects this. “I don’t consider myself an icon. There are more deserving people among the Palestinians who merit that. Hanan Al Hroub, the Palestinian teacher who recently won the Global Teacher Prize, is an icon."

J Street ‏@jstreetdotorg 14h14 hours ago

.@NPR lifts up the story of how Bassam Aramin became a voice for peace in the Middle East http://n.pr/1UMIOL1 

The IMEU ‏@theIMEU 10h10 hours ago

Israeli settlers use Ibrahimi Mosque loudspeaker to sing racist songs and call for expulsion of ‘Arabs’ from Hebron http://bit.ly/1Udbkqs

The IMEU ‏@theIMEU 8h8 hours ago

Survey: 85% of Palestinian citizens of Israel fear rising levels of racism http://bit.ly/1T7Seks

Heart-rending pictures of a toddler's lifeless body washed ashore on a Turkish beach sparked horror on Wednesday as the cost of .... a growing refugee crisis hit home.

Wearing a red T-shirt and blue shorts, the child -- identified as three-year-old Aylan Kurdi -- is believed to be one of least 12 Syrians who died when their boats sank trying to reach Greece.

Istanbul (AFP) - Heart-rending pictures of a toddler's lifeless body washed ashore on a Turkish beach sparked horror on Wednesday as the cost of Europe's growing refugee crisis hit home.

The images of a tiny child lying face down in the surf at one of Turkey's main tourist resorts has once more put a human face on the dangers faced by tens of thousands of desperate people who risk life and limb to seek a new life in Europe.

From my old friend Palestinian-American Mike Hanini Odetalla's facebook wall:

#Refugees taken in by:
#SaudiArabia: 0
#Qatar: 0
#Kuwait: 0
#Emirates: 0
#Bahrain: 0

****** 

The archaeologist who looked after ancient ruins of Palmyra in Syria for 40 years, Khaled al-Asaad, was taken hostage {and murdered by Daesh/ISIS} after IS seized the Unesco World Heritage site this year BBC News 2015

 

A cloud rises above where the Temple of Baal Shamin stood in Palmyra until {Daesh/ISIS}Isis blew it up in August 2015... Isis is destroying the ‘Venice of the sands’ piece by piece – and worse atrocities may be yet to come.

Kidnapping and Sex Slavery: Covering ISIS' Religious Justification for Rape

The New York Times

Aug 14, 2015 - Rukmini Callimachi discusses how she worked to tell the stories of Yazidi women and girls held as sex slaves by the Islamic State.

*************

FYI

#‎Jordan‬ hosts second largest number of {Syrian} ‪#‎refugees‬ per capita — 2015 report ‪#‎Amman‬ ‪#‎JO‬ #Jordan http://ow.ly/RJ6yP

According to official figures, there are some 1.4 million Syrians in Jordan. - See more at: http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/jordan-hosts-second-largest-number-refugees-capita-%E2%80%94-report#sthash.TLNe3Xcq.dpuf

Refugees from 44 nations, including Somalis, Iraqis and Sudanese, reside in Jordan, according to the UNHCR. - See more at: http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/jordan-hosts-second-largest-number-refugees-capita-%E2%80%94-report#sthash.TLNe3Xcq.dpu

My letter to the NYTimes RE The ISIS Theater of Cruelty By HUSSEIN IBISH

Conscientiously refusing to, in any way shape or form, accidentally promote the image and ugliness of Daesh/ISIS/ISIL/The Islamic State (or whatever you want to call it), and I've blogged my unpublished letter with a beautiful painting by Magritte.

The Return (Le Retour) by René Magritte 1940 oil painting... WIKIART: "Rene Magritte’s witty and thought-provoking paintings sought to have viewers question their perceptions of reality, and become hypersensitive to the world around them."

RE: The ISIS Theater of Cruelty By HUSSEIN IBISH
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/19/opinion/the-isis-theater-of-cruelty.html?ref=opinion

[AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine]

Dear Editor,

Daesh/ISIS/ISIL/The Islamic State (or whatever you want to call it) has viral violent videos as part of their recruiting tool kit, but I think we must also assume they have a plethora of much more subtle propaganda and a whole arsenal of psychological warfare tricks aimed at silencing dissent:  Please don't let any one bully you away from publishing more- much much more- of the brilliant Hussein Ibish's exceptionally relevant and helpful analysis on the situation in the Middle East.

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

NOTES
World Press Roundup: Middle East News

The Net ... a poem

Forwards ...a poem

The Connectors ... a poem

Mideast Quartet calls for speedy resumption of peace talks... "Pending the resumption of negotiations, the Quartet called on both parties to refrain from actions that undermine trust or prejudge final status issues."

Global Citizenship... laying the foundation for a culture of peace

To honor a tragic history, we must work for peace : "The only way to honor our tragic histories is to create a future for our children free of man-made tragedy. This means making peace fully, completely and without reservation, between Israel and Palestine." Ziad Asali

STAY CONNECTED... Given the U.S. commitment to religious freedom, and to the international covenants that guarantee it as the inalienable right of every human being, the United States seeks to: Promote freedom of religion and conscience throughout the world as a fundamental human right and as a source of stability for all countries

The Golden Rule... Do unto others as you would have them do unto you

... Ibrahim's Estate... The Promised Land: In Celebration of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights & Peace Day

Tala Haikal: Empathy Is Essential to Humanity

Hussein Ibish: Non-violent resistance is Palestine’s most powerful weapon

ATFP Calls for De-Escalation between Israel and the Palestinians

 “Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as by the attitude you bring to life; not so much by what happens to you as by the way your mind looks at what happens.” Khalil Gibran (1883-1931), born in Lebanon, immigrated to the United States in 1895 where he grew up to become a beloved poet and respected writer.

"There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies" Martin Luther King Jr. (1929 – 1968) American minister, humanitarian and social activist- a cherished leader of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States, whose inspiring words continue to influence and empower diplomatic efforts to bring more justice, more security, more peace and more jobs to more people, every one and every where.

"We are brothers. It's not a question of Jews, of Christians or of Muslims. We're all in the same boat, we have to help each other to get out of this crisis." Lassana Bathily

IBISH: Clarifying why Arab and Muslim Americans should be smart rather than stupid

My letter to the Washington Post RE Kathleen Parker's "The irresponsible reporting in the Chapel Hill killings"

Deah Barakat, Yusor Abu-Salha and Razan Abu-Salha set an inspiring example in life and in death.

RE Kathleen Parker's "The irresponsible reporting in the Chapel Hill killings"
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/wp/2015/02/11/the-irresponsible-reporting-in-the-chapel-hill-killings/

Dear Editor,

Kayla Jean Mueller,

Kayla Jean Mueller,

Kayla Mueller

Irresponsible reporting is indeed a problem, and so is the rise of Islamophobic anti-Muslim hate... and half a world away so is Hamas, Hezbollah, and Daesh/ISIS militancy- as well as Israel's refusal to respect international law and the Palestinian's basic human rights.  There is plenty of tragedy and plenty of blame to go around, with many different bellows seeking sparks.

Parker makes a point to point out that on very same day of the tragic Chapel Hill killings, we had gotten confirmation that 26 year old Kayla Mueller, the American aid worker kidnapped by "the Islamic State" was indeed dead.

The word Daesh would be a more accurate and more helpful word to use to describe the terrorist group in Syria that kidnapped and murdered Kayla Mueller. It is a derogatory term used by millions of Muslims. "The name Daesh is a "loose acronym" for "Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant" (al-Dawla al-Islamiya al-Iraq al-Sham). The name is commonly used by enemies of ISIS, and it also has many negative undertones, as Daesh sounds similar to the Arabic words Daes ("one who crushes something underfoot") and Dahes ("one who sows discord"). Samantha Rollins" http://theweek.com/speedreads/446139/france-says-name-isis-offensive-call-daesh-instead

Hussein Ibish wisely explains in a recent column concerning the word Islamophobia that "The history of the battle against anti-black racism, or anti-Semitism for that matter, in the 20th century in the United States demonstrates that, in spite of the inherent difficulties posed in trying to use language for constructive social purposes (as opposed to demagoguery), real progress is, indeed, genuinely possible. And it all depends on developing, slowly and painfully, by fits and starts, new and improved social consensuses about the equality of all people in our societies and the basic respect they should be accorded in our national and collective conversations." https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/commentary/564741-defining-islamophobia

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

NOTES
World Press Roundup: Middle East News

Mideast Quartet calls for speedy resumption of peace talks... "Pending the resumption of negotiations, the Quartet called on both parties to refrain from actions that undermine trust or prejudge final status issues."

Global Citizenship... laying the foundation for a culture of peace

To honor a tragic history, we must work for peace : "The only way to honor our tragic histories is to create a future for our children free of man-made tragedy. This means making peace fully, completely and without reservation, between Israel and Palestine." Ziad Asali

Hamas confirms that it has banned a visit by Palestinian orphans from the Gaza Strip to Israel because it was in the context of “normalization” with Israelis.

During World War II, the Allies adopted the Four Freedoms—freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom from fear, and freedom from want—as their basic war aims.... The United Nations Charter "reaffirmed faith in fundamental human rights, and dignity and worth of the human person" and committed all member states to promote "universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion"

A Palestinian’s journey from stone-throwing to conflict resolution

“The United States casts its lot with the problem solvers, the healers, and the builders,”  US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman in a September speech, quoted by CSM in their recent editorial 

Jordan's King: World must stand up to radicals

What Will Israel Become?

STAY CONNECTED... Given the U.S. commitment to religious freedom, and to the international covenants that guarantee it as the inalienable right of every human being, the United States seeks to: Promote freedom of religion and conscience throughout the world as a fundamental human right and as a source of stability for all countries

"Where, after all, do universal human rights begin?

Palestinian Refugees (1948-NOW) refused their right to return... and their right to live in peace free from religious bigotry and injustice.

The Golden Rule... Do unto others as you would have them do unto you

... Ibrahim's Estate... The Promised Land: In Celebration of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights & Peace Day

Tala Haikal: Empathy Is Essential to Humanity

Hussein Ibish: Non-violent resistance is Palestine’s most powerful weapon

ATFP Calls for De-Escalation between Israel and the Palestinians

 “Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as by the attitude you bring to life; not so much by what happens to you as by the way your mind looks at what happens.” Khalil Gibran (1883-1931), born in Lebanon, immigrated to the United States in 1895 where he grew up to become a beloved poet and respected writer.

"There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies" Martin Luther King Jr. (1929 – 1968) American minister, humanitarian and social activist- a cherished leader of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States, whose inspiring words continue to influence and empower diplomatic efforts to bring more justice, more security, more peace and more jobs to more people, every one and every where.

"We are brothers. It's not a question of Jews, of Christians or of Muslims. We're all in the same boat, we have to help each other to get out of this crisis." Lassana Bathily