alexa07's Comments (545)

“Yes, Oliver, you can't be more correct in your assessment of how far we have fallen away from our ideals when major news outlets can't be counted upon anymore to provide an independent view for the American public of what is being done in our name in Iraq or any other place with our tax dollars. The media moguls have so sallied the everyday coverage of news that it simply isn't worth the time invested to view or read it unless one is monitoring it, as a critic.”

“Why not do as you please, tomorrow or any day? More credit to you.”

“Did the reporters attempt to talk to other Iraqi families who have lost loved ones, or did they use other methods to illustrate the Iraqi viewpoint of how it feels to be living in the middle of an occupation?”

“Double standards abound. We have to wonder how some of our officials (& Europe's) can talk about Afghanistan without averting their eyes from the camera.”

“" The media will devote endless hours and days of coverage to the tragedy of a white woman gone missing while ignoring similar disappearances of black women. The same applies to stories of child kidnappings and other crimes of violence.

We tend only to care if the victim is white."

One of the most refreshing aspects of the international satellite media & the world of blogging is that other voices, new faces & concerns are shown, in contrast to the normal MSM focus on allowing the majority of expression from only the "whites." A case in point is the story of Shalit, much known while at the same time, the names, faces & stories of thousands & thousands of Palestinians remain unknown. Thank you for another great article.”

“Darrell,
You've definitely got a new fan. I think hate crime laws are exactly what you say, an "attempt to rectify lingering social injustices­." I also would say that the widespread Arab-bashing & Islamophobia within our MSM (including Hollywood, TV & a majority of modern published fiction) also fosters the sense that Arabs of all religions & Muslims of all ethnicities or anyone with similar-looking identity is fair game for ridicule, harassment or even worse. I am sorry about your experiences in this regard to being a victim of such crimes & would say that Americans have to do better to live up to our ideals. A case in point about this topic is the new Dean Koontz book, a great one in every respect except the author inserts several unnecessary (not related to story line, as usual) swipes mocking & mis-characterizing the people, cultures (even food) & religion of the Middle East. How many young people read Koontz' novels & carry away the subconscious message about certain groups? How hurtful could that be? How many young fans of Koontz may even belong to one of these groups he targets? Queen Noor has written eloquently about how she feels in the middle of a great book or movie when all of a sudden, there you have it, the insertion of the usual hateful message that unfortunately perpetuates stereotypes & may even encourage some to act out in heinous hate crimes.”

“"Every time someone Middle East-looking commits an act of violence, it’s now the fault of everyone who is or even looks Muslim or Arab. The mainstream American media, ignorant about the facts in 1948 and even more ignorant and abusive today, plays up those fears."

Keep up the good work you do for everyone.”

“"How independent can we really expect any mainstream media reports to be on any story that relates to the military if it has already decided who is good and who is evil and often voluntarily acts as the privately funded public relations arm of the military?

Sam,
I have to admit that I started to watch the CNN report the other night, but couldn't stand more than just a few minutes. The tenor from the very beginning was obvious, so I am not surprised to learn that CNN didn't even bother to state the names of the victims or to give their families a proper hearing. Iraqi lives don't seem to count for much in the MSM. I have said this many times, but it bears repeating, that my family has all but given up on American broadcast/cable news; subscriptions to nwspps, maggies, while we find without much effort a whole world of real news in the alternative & international satellite media. Thank you for your analysis of the program I didn't watch.”

“Bigotry, hatred, battering any person, male or female because of religion or no religion has no place in the America I know. The batterer who attempted to pull or remove Amal Abusumayah's hijab is an embarrassing reminder that we need to do more in teaching the real American values about religious freedom, plurality, the values of an inclusive society. I commend the Tinley Park police & Cook County State Attorney's Office for doing their job & upholding what is best about our country.
As far as the batterer is concerned, referencing Ft. Hood to Amal in the grocery store was making a public & shameful implication that Amal or all Muslims are responsible for the criminal actions of an individual. Clearly, she is not; just as the rest of us are not responsible for bad actions undertaken by those of similar beliefs, religion, race, gender, preferences & the like. We can't allow members of our society to give Muslims a collective guilt we would not apply to anyone else or any other group in our society.”

“3) Mika is right about the most difficult yrs. being over fast. I felt that I did not want to end my career because of a few short yrs., although I don't criticize anyone who does. My family needed my health benefits, salary for education & college expenses; my pension is important too for the well-being of all now that my husband & I are retired.. The common assumption that working mothers work at their jobs for the new car, better vacations, wardrobes may be true in some quarters, but my lifelong salary has been important for us in very substantial, not frivolous ways. I was lucky to stay married to the same man, something most of my friends didn't do. Those who stayed in the workforce had an easier time surviving; those who did not were doubly impacted by divorce. It never hurts to remember, what would happen if, when you are making such a big decision as to quit or not after having your baby.”

“It's dangerous to venture into what used to be called the Mommy Wars in the 1980s, was it? But this is what worked for me.

1) I stopped at two; we had the boys close together. It made day care & pre-school more efficient. The great divide for many women was having the third child. Most of the women I know dropped out after the third, either permanently or for a number of yrs. Some never got back into their careers.

2) The crunch comes when the kids get sick. I confess I was more than lucky to have a mom & dad nearby who could take a call any day or night. My grandmother helped too with the babies. It is essential to have a guaranteed backup.

I enjoyed my time with the kids immensely. They were my recreation, my hobby, so to speak.

(to be continued)”

“jwcmass,
Your comments are too reasonable. Isn't it easier to blame the victims? Because of the work of people like Jamal Dajani & others at LinkTV & throughout the alternative media, an increasing number of Americans are hearing the Palestinian narrative on a daily basis. The evictions, demolitions, bypass infrastructure, settler rampages are out there for all to think about & they don't look very pretty even to an American audience who has been tutored exclusively from the other side of the spectrum.”

“Yes, so true. I wonder each week what the new topic will be from the weekly turn of events!”

“Dear Qanta,
Thank you for responding to my comments. I appreciate your thoughts & would indeed like to do likewise, travel to the places you describe, whether by armchair or real time! Please continue to write about your experiences on HP.”

“While you focus on commentary, David, I would say also that the actual "news" coverage of war topics, conflict regions & other international news is terribly at fault too, esp. out in the world of broadcast & cable journalism. How can Americans get any real sense of what is happening out in the world at large, let alone in places like Afghanistan? A comparison of European & international broadcasts for any day of the week, eventful news or not, with a typical CNN, ABC program or the like reveals deficiencies so stark as to be terribly embarrassing for American journalists. What passes for "world news" by the MSM is sadly laughable by international standards. I would even go so far as to say some of the news about the USA is superior out on the international networks. I have seen interesting stories on immigration, race relations, politics in states like California, arms & weapons manufacturing in the South that people all over the world are watching, but not in the USA! Laura Flanders on Grit TV featured a Russian English language segment on a protest taking place outside the White House that didn't make it into the prime time in the USA. The media moguls have surely brought our news broadcasting to a new low. It appears that print journalism isn't very far behind.”

“"But the Palestinian leadership, the Israelis, and to a lesser degree the Americans, have only themselves to blame for allowing a conflict as volatile as that of today's Middle East to unravel."

A whole cast of unsavory characters, but I would lay a great deal of blame upon the American leadership whose false words have raised one hope after another not just recently, but for many decades, & not backed up these declarations by meaningful & concrete actions.”

“I'm already one of your fans, Ray. I wish you the best in your brilliant endeavors that may be one of the last reasonable routes for the two-state; otherwise, demography, world politics & citizens' movements will dictate the secular one-state no matter how much the US Congress is haplessly tied to the vested status quo.”

“"Much of Islam is based on orthopraxy and not orthodoxy. Hajj is perhaps most emblematic of this theme. Muslims do not go to Hajj for scholarship, rather they go to observe important rituals, which capture the actions of both the Prophet Mohammed (SAW) and the Prophet Abraham."

Qanta, I found your article to be very interesting, educational for non-Muslims & inspirational for all (regardless of religion or no religion) who can be awed by the gathering of so many, from so many different places & stations in the world but with the same efforts & intent.”

“An interesting article once again, Sabria.”

“"So if Hamas is no longer Hamas, and the Palestinian Authority is no longer an authority, what options do the Palestinians have?

To be continued on another night..."

I would say, yes the great accomplishment of the Palestinians has been to survive just like Scheherazade, to tell another tale, act out another chapter, no matter how foolish the powers that be. If the Israelis had their way, the Palestinians would have been relegated to the status of a non-people, a non-culture long ago. Even though their future is still undetermined whether two-state or secular one, they have proved their resiliency time & time again.

Jamal, It was hard to pick out my favorite comment from your article this time. I also have to tell you that my family loved your ". . .and Obama's promises for "change" do not mean squat when it comes to Israel." This just does describe the whole situation perfectly: No rebukes to Israel during the Gaza carnage, but continuing admonishments to the Palestinians against "incitement," Hillary & Susan Rice's ridiculous pro-Israel quotes, George Mitchell's continuing uncomfortable looks, meaningless gestures. Squat sums it up so far, but we'll see what's in the next story.”

“"Today, the European Union (not counting its new, often deeply corrupt East European members) leads the world in human rights, environmental protection, culture, respect for law, mercy towards animals, and general civilized behavior."

I frequently watch "Euro News" via Dish satellite & am favorably impressed not only with its coverage of current news of the day, but also its cultural, scientific, technological news items. I am also impressed with the background scenery of European infrastructure, public transportation, high standards for food products, drugs, cosmetics; social programs to aid Europeans as well as economic partnerships with those in developing countries. As an American it really does make me unhappy about the contrast between our military adventurism, lack of concern for public infrastructure, dearth of health care, good social programs & the like. Many Americans scoff at Europe, but have little idea about how much better life is in Europe. I blame our media with its feel-good nonsense perpetuating myths about how great life is here, when in fact it is getting harder by the day.”

“Mika has been going into the danger zone of applying what has worked for her to other women in general. I was not upset by what she said, however. What she seemed to be saying to me is that despite all the wonderful things in her life & indeed there must be many, she still enjoys her children most of all. In this she is like many other mothers, but she is also very much unlike the reluctant others. I can relate to that, having seen many women in my life with very privileged upbringing, many successes, or just the opposite, who don't seem to appreciate their children very much. Some women go through the motions of motherhood only, focusing on the obligations only & seem to miss the enjoyment of it. Others, no matter their external circumstances, really enjoy their children. We should all strive to be in the latter group, but no one should excoriate another woman for not having kids. Sorry to be the Lone Ranger here?”

“Princess Haya,
Thank you for all the work you do, & I especially want to thank you for publishing the food consumption map. It is telling. Is there a story to be told as to why it has not been released until now?

"In 2006, the World Food Program produced, but never publicly released, a map charting food consumptio­n."”

“"If Hezbollah joins the Lebanese government as an official entity, let it be clear that the Lebanese government, as far as we are concerned, is responsible for any attack -- any attack -- from its area on the state of Israel," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said as recently as August.

How can Secretary Clinton, Susan Rice & others in the Obama adm continue to support or take seriously in any way any individual who makes such threatening gestures to his neighbors? Let's hope that along with the BDS movement, more pressures will be put upon the Obama adm to distance itself from the right-wingers in Israel & their Christian Zionist enablers in the USA.”

“Use your imagination to fill in the blanks , or possibly a Webster's Collegiate.”