I'm glad zombie hasn't forgotten about us.
Come back, zombie!

For a bunch of f*ckin' hippies, they sure do love hate mongers.

I think that woman or man on the poster is scary looking. Does that make me islamophobic? Am I a bad person, or just not a "progressive"?

re: #2 DesertSage

I'm glad zombie hasn't forgotten about us.
Come back, zombie!

Please do!

(putting salt and pepper on my brain in anticipation)

Seems to me that islam does alot more of constructing others, who often go by the labels of pigs and apes than most westerners combined. And it also seems that muslims do a lot more deconstructing of others, their arms, hands, feet, tongues, necks, heads, clitori, than all other western countries combined. But, that's me a silly gun toting, bible thumpin, cousin marrying beer drinking, flag waving, bitter, anti immigrant, unemployed redneck.

UC Berkeley--I can't even imagine what would come of me if I had to matriculate there. The only thing that pops into my mind is the term "going postal"? Not an appealing thought.

Will they speak about Sharia? Infidels? Dhimmis?

I bet not.

Yet.

Hatem seems to be a popular name these days.

Why don't they all go fly an imam?

re: #8 Racer X

Somehow, I think they'll forget clitorectomies, as well...

So, translating... "Deconstructing Islamophobia" can be read as "Destroying those against Islam"

Did you ever notice that any time somebody uses the word "deconstruct" they are trying to convince you that evil is good?

deconstruct me with words all you want...

just leave your bomb-belt home, please

and while you're at, please deconstruct Muslims' Cruxophobia

if you're in the neighborhood, walk your dog through the auditorium.

Those Berkeley folk are sure to eat this crap right up...

If Islamaphobia truly abounds, then nobody would show up at such an event, right?

/What are the chances?

In today’s world, Islam and Muslims are the feared “other” and the responses to the perceived threat they pose is already connected to every local, regional and global process

I thought the West was the "feared other."
The infidels that needed to be wiped off the face of the Earth.

At Berkeley? Im Shocked,,Speechless, Not
Hi All

What is in the background of the poster? Oil rig stuff? A bridge? Why did they put that stuff in the background.

I think the veil falling just a tad off of one eye is suggestive. Think of it as the Muslim equivalent of a strap dropping off a shoulder ... not too much, but enough to make their men dream.

re: #22 hermeneuticsHey Hermy!

re: #3 HBob

Isn't that something, HBob?

"Peace, Man... peace, love and child-maiming, civilian-killing hatred to all kffir!"

What always amazes me about these sorts of events is the totally contradictory set of ideas.

Globalization -- bad, but in Marxism-Leninism, the official creed of these academic miscreants, the essential foundation for the spread of Communism/Socialism

Race and Gender -- oh, so let's give it up for the most racist people on earth (read al Tabari's comments on how Umar, the heir of the Prophet, described Africans as "the most hateful people" and refused to look at them) and perhaps the most persistently misogynist culture in the modern era.

Deconstructionism -- the denial of the possibility of Truth in defense of a creed that would represent itself as the only truth.

Constructing the Other -- what they do with us all the time in order to to demonstrate that we are the enemy.

The lack of self-consciousness among these people is breathtaking, really.

if they want to deconstruct islamaphobia, tell them to stop blowing shit up and murdering innocent people!

re: #23 conservgirl

I just wrote you! Hi girly. How art thou?

re: #22 hermeneutics

Where's the kid? I haven't seen him post in a while. He was doing pretty good.

re: #4 Promethea

I think that woman or man on the poster is scary looking. Does that make me islamophobic? Am I a bad person, or just not a "progressive"?

Masks are scary.
That's not just a Western thing.
To see but not be seen= sinister power.
I'd say your (our) instincts are healthy.
Which means you (we) can't be "progressive!"

re: #25 Lucius Septimius

So true, Luc -- but what to do?

re: #16 .45ACP

if you're in the neighborhood, walk your dog through the auditorium.

Better, anyone have a pet pig?

lol, Thats mighty poor treaatment of an innocent pig, though

re: #28 DesertSage

He's exhausted. Between you and me and the hundreds of people on the net, he didn't do well at his race last weekend. Bonked at 27 miles. He's just got to train more, I guess. Other than that, he's doing well.

re: #30 hermeneutics

So true, Luc -- but what to do?

Point and laugh at them. No, really.

re: #27 hermeneutics

Thou art great! How is CC?

I just don't know or understand what kinda of crap is going on on college campuses now a days. Why can't the kids just go back to what worked for us in the old days. Sex, Drugs, and Rock & Roll!

cc is just duckey, thank you!

Good evening, Lizasrds, especially {conservgirl}

re: #33 hermeneutics

Tell him to come back soon. And I hope he does better in his next race.

re: #31 Kosh's Shadow

Having just glanced through the latest spin-off links, I'm thinking a rabid bobcat could provide some amusement... Or maybe a few ermines. Nothing done to them, just normal ermines. Evil biting machines would be fun enough in their natural state ^^

re: #26 CapeCoddah

Indeed -- Islamists are deconstructing things all the time, mostly their own sorry asses.

re: #34 Lucius Septimius

Point and laugh at them. No, really.

"One horse laugh is worth a thousand syllogisms."

re: #39 goddessoftheclassroom

Dudette. Any more grand theatricals today?

re: #22 hermeneutics

I think the veil falling just a tad off of one eye is suggestive.

Booiiinnggg!

Do not listen to the man standing behind the curtain

/the wizard

re: #39 goddessoftheclassroom
hey Goddess! How was the ritzy party? Did you get raves on the shoes?

re: #35 conservgirl

See above. Hey -- they did a dunk test on him and he's less than ONE percent body fat. Do you think that the lack of fat is lowering his endurance? I"m serious.

re: #34 Lucius Septimius

YES! Laugh, publicly, LONG and LOUD while pointing!

Laughter and ridiculing them... they CANNOT STAND against it! Cannot take it!

re: #42 Lucius Septimius
Not often enough, though

re: #43 wolfie

"One horse laugh is worth a thousand syllogisms."

Damn straight. I do it all the time.

re: #37 buzzsawmonkey

You, sir, are an artist.

They send the dumb ones to die, but the leaders wont do that themselves

re: #51 Lucius Septimius

You're tenured, right? :)

How about we deconstruct the organizing principles that gave birth to the violence inherent in Islam instead. Lets talk about that for a change. Let them acknowledge that the root of the problem stems from themselves and their actions.

re: #55 snowcrash

A big amen to that

"Don't be afraid of us just because we hate your politics, your culture, your religion(s) and your way of life. We won't hurt you as long as you go along with what we want. Besides, you'll get to wear this cool looking headgear and stuff. And learn Arabic. C'mon...open yourself up to it! Submit to it! You'll love it!"

/bah!

re: #6 eaglewingz08

But, that's me a silly gun toting, bible thumpin, cousin marrying beer drinking, flag waving, bitter, anti immigrant, unemployed redneck.

What, you're not a typical white person, too?

We shopuld put them all on an island and give them unlimited explosives to do with as they wish. They can blow each other to hell.

Panel Two
Muslim Otherness: The Role of Media in Constructing Otherness
Chair: Samira Esmeir

"Otherness" is popping up everywhere in this article

Here's the dictionary definition

Otherness= The quality of being not alike; being distinct or different from that otherwise experienced or known

Here's my definition of the word

Otherness= The quality of thinking you and your kind are the only ones fit to live on this planet; everyone else is an infidel and should be put to death

re: #54 hermeneutics

Yessirreebob. Shame is too few people really take advantage of it. Mike Adams is my role model.

Some years back I tested the "sensitivity" rules and started complaining about how my Feminist colleagues were creating a "hostile working environment" and, worse, a "hostile learning environment" with their Leftard man-bashing signs etc.

What's good for the Goose is good for the Gander, so to speak.

re: #55 snowcrash

Organizing principles of Islam? Thinking here ...

Here's a starting question: Do they have a negative anthropology? DO they believe that humanity is inherently sinful / damaged / tainted?

To think there were times when (a) I wanted to go to college at Berkeley, but wasn't accepted - went to UC Santa Cruz instead, ooh boy, and (b) I wanted to go to law school at Berkeley, where praise bleepin' Jesus I was not accepted and I'm so glad I didn't go there because I would be so much dumberer today. Thankfully, I now no longer want to go anywhere near Berkeley.

re: #61 Lucius Septimius

I was bit by a goose, once. Still afraid.

re: #57 elevenbravo1969

"Hey, kffir! Its a velvet yoke, won't hurt much, and you'll get used to our vaunting ourselves over you, just submit to us Muslims, we're God's chosen best people in the world so much better than you..."

/Fat chance, Mahmoud!

re: #60 gman

The whole "Other" thing comes straight out of Hegel.

In other words, yet another Dead White Male construction.

(I love pointing that out to them -- the sputtering, pursed lips and sullen smirks are worth the price of admission)

I packed house, no doubt.

In order to prevent being banned and embarrassing Charles & this site, I will refrain from posting my true thoughts.

And if my thought-dreams could be seen,
They'd probably put my head in a guillotine
~Bob Dylan

re: #63 mink

Yep. I think you got lucky!

Berkeley is living up to its reputation as a place to store young people while they go through the maturation phase of breaking away from their parents.

The people who participate in these events will eventually reason them away as a dalliance that they are best without as an adult.

I wouldn't pay it much mind, its nothing more than manic contrarianism, a phase young people go through.

re: #62 hermeneutics

Organizing principles of Islam? Thinking here ...

Here's a starting question: Do they have a negative anthropology? DO they believe that humanity is inherently sinful / damaged / tainted?

To believe that creation is inherently evil is to hate the Creator. Or to believe that the supreme power of creation is in the hands of the Evil one.

Such a view of humanity points back to who they really worship.

re: #48 hermeneutics
Wow he is efficient. I wonder how much Lance Armstrong had when he raced.

re: #64 hermeneutics

You were goosed a bit? Goosed a bit by a goose what bit? What bit did it bite?

re: #44 Lucius Septimius

Dudette. Any more grand theatricals today?

As a matter of fact, the guy playing the nurse was dreadful, and knowing, with is ego, he could do better, I started heckling him. He not aonly rose to the occasion, but afterwards challenged ME to an "Act Off." We did Act V, Scene e, where they die. To his credit, he did Romeo very well, but I read blank verse well,

Anyway, after getting to lie with my eyes shut for several minutes on my "tpmb," I wake up and begin my part. I'd forgotten that Juliet kisses Romeo in the effort to get some poison from his lips to kill her--I drew the line at that, and the kids laughed. I did kill myself rather well, but again, I choose to die next to, not on, Romeo.

There will probably be pictures somewhere on MySpace tonight.,,.

re: #72 Karridine

I goosed by bride tonight as she was on the way out the door. I guess that was sexist, wasn't it?

re: #61 Lucius Septimius
What kind of response did that elicit?

Islamaphobia. The new crime of the 21st Century.

An irrational fear of being blown up......an irrational fear of having your airliner flown into an office building....

An irrational fear of adherents to a certain, un-named Religion of Peace.

re: #22 hermeneutics

If I'm not mistaken, bridge in the background is the San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge; foreground is cargo derrick; view is from bay front near Berkeley.

re: #70 Lucius Septimius

No, Lucius. Most traditionalist Christians, at least, have a damaged creation (negative anthro) in tension with a perfect creature they will become -- today's inherent sin nature with the hope of eternal restoration.

What I'm wondering is the anthro of Islam, at least the radical ones. They seem to believe they can create heaven-on-earth -- a form of millennialism?

re: #73 goddessoftheclassroom

Well, was Romeo at least mortified at the possibility of being kissed by teacher? At that age I know I would have been.

I had three people not show up today who were supposed to be doing presentations. Some people's class participation grade is going to really suck.

re: #72 Karridine

He bit my heart.

More excellent work from Zombie. I love the way Berkeley just acts like all criticism of Islam is Islamophobia, by couching the language in "academic" terms. "Constructing the Other" my ass. Typical multicultural claptrap.

one day when I'm rich and retired I'm going to rent a hall near one of these events, and hold a simultaneous Bigfootaphobia and other non-existant phobias event. Just to ridicule these idiots.

I'm sure I could get good lizard attendance.

I have kids in school.

Islamics did Beslan.

It is not paranoia.

re: #83 Sir Lurksalot

Sasquatch replies that he really is a nice guy, just a little fuzzy.

Signed, Sasquatch.

re: #77 elevenbravo1969

OH, thank you for answering my question. I guess they included those images only to give it a local flair. I was hoping it had some sort of deep meaning but ... oh well.

re: #83 Sir Lurksalot

I'll come.

Phobia?
I'm not afraid of these people. I simply detest them. That's a big difference.

re: #75 conservgirl

They had to shut up -- I did this about the time that a new cadre of feminists decided to make a case out of everything they could construe as being "sexist" etc. They went so far as to claim that the picture I had of my wife in my office somehow was "sexist." The mere possession of the picture "objectified women" and created a hostile environment. I'm not kidding.

So I just catalogued all the abusive things they said and the sexist, anti-religious, anti-Republican signs etc. they had posted in and around their offices and sent a complete list to the Dean.

Exposed, they shut up.

re: #61 Lucius Septimius

That's one thing that drives me crazy. Those who do have tenure and do oppose the PC on campus won't do anything to fight it at all. I'm not saying they have to be a true soldier like Mike Adams, but why are they such passive wimps?
(Not having tenure, I'm too wimpy to ask! )

Moonbat Poster Reconstructed

re: #84 Ojoe

..."Islamics did Beslan..."

No,, no. You have it wrong. It was anti-Islamic activity that did Beslan.

Islam is a religion of Peace....

re: #87 hermeneutics

Sasquatch will attend.

How about an event on "USMarineophobia"?

re: #94 dogness

How about an event on "USMarineophobia"?

Also known as "Jarhead Aversion", "Devil Dog shakes", and "the Leatherneck willies".

Oh but an excellent math department, still.

I think it's great that these jihadi wankers instead of laying low for a while can't help but blow their horn -- the more publicity this gets the better. I hope they have seminars on deconstructing Iranophobia and genocidophobia as well; I understand communities of genocidal maniacs have been under terrible pressure lately. Must be all the post-colonialism. Or is it post-post-colonialism now?

re: #93 Ojoe

Sastuqtch = big foot ?

re: #67 markx

I packed house, no doubt.

In order to prevent being banned and embarrassing Charles & this site, I will refrain from posting my true thoughts.

And if my thought-dreams could be seen,
They'd probably put my head in a guillotine
~Bob Dylan

we will keep a eye on you now! :)

re: #69 Right Brain

Berkeley is living up to its reputation as a place to store young people while they go through the maturation phase of breaking away from their parents.

The people who participate in these events will eventually reason them away as a dalliance that they are best without as an adult.

I wouldn't pay it much mind, its nothing more than manic contrarianism, a phase young people go through.

Not entirely. Many of them grow up to mouth progressive ideas while they tend their North Berkeley bonzai gardens. As long as entitlement programs don't enable Oakland blacks from ruining the feng shui of their living rooms. Others join the media where they ask easy questions of Barack Obama or write puff pieces white washing Jimmy Carter/Hamas/Castro. Yet others lose whatever ability they once had to think critically.

Don't underestimate the threat of Leftist indoctrination of young people.

re: #89 Lucius Septimius
How do you deal with idiots like that? That is a new one about the picture of your wife. Geez...

That was brilliant on your part about keeping the list, that is what our management does when they want to fire somebody, keeps the list. It seems to be very effective.

re: #73 goddessoftheclassroom

Linkies. Or spin-off-linkies, perhaps.

Future blackmail material either way.

re: #96 kuchuklambat

Will you stop with the logic thing?

re: #79 Lucius Septimius

Well, was Romeo at least mortified at the possibility of being kissed by teacher? At that age I know I would have been.

I had three people not show up today who were supposed to be doing presentations. Some people's class participation grade is going to really suck.

With all due modesty, I think he was disappointed at the lost street cred opportunity, but the students thought it was hilarious.

re: #100 Globular Cluster

MY son may attend Berkeley engineering school in a year (my father's undergraduate alma mater). I believe that the engineering school is a bastion of sanity. I hope.

re: #95 OldLineTexan
hey you, how are ya? Drinking tea tonight?

Who coined "Islamophobia"?

re: #105 hermeneutics

MY son may attend Berkeley engineering school in a year (my father's undergraduate alma mater). I believe that the engineering school is a bastion of sanity. I hope.

You have to leave the bastion (if it exists) to get your slices of liberal arts.

Whereas liberal arts majors can typically hide in dumbed-down "science" classes to meet their requirements.

/hence, "fire doesn't melt steel"

re: #107 really grumpy big dog Johnson

People with an agenda we should be concerned by.

Brought to you by the "Center for Race (Oh yeah, we're gunna' get payback from you oppressor-white-crackers!) and (You're gunna' get blamed for every fuckin' problem in the world, you chauvinist pig WHITE-MALE!) Gender.
U. C. Berkley...........

Power to the Correct People!
(You know who they are.)

/too strong?

re: #106 conservgirl

hey you, how are ya? Drinking tea tonight?

All tea'd out at the moment, sad to say.

The Center for Race and Gender. It sounds so deliciously learned and scholastic. In reality it's nothing but a malodorous stew of grievance politics garnished with venom and hate.

re: #108 OldLineTexan

What do you think of UT Austin's engineering department?

re: #111 OldLineTexan
The hot weather bring it on?

Wish I could read the comments. Computer issues. Night folks!

Despite its reputation and events like this, UC Berkeley is pretty average on the moonbat scale. Well, because as you all know, almost all American universities are favorable to moonbat. Most students are hardworking, and I think the student body is more than 50% Asian, or close to that. SF State across the bay is much more Islamist and anti-Semitic. And most of Berkeley's moonbats are not students but aging 60's-70's types.

I will be out of town this weekend so will not be checking in on the insanity.

re: #116 really grumpy big dog Johnson

Good night, really big Johnson.

re: #114 hermeneutics
Not that you asked, but my brother graduated from Auburn University and he is a fine one! Let CC come South, we have pretty girls down here.

Good night--I'm drifting off!

re: #118 hermeneutics
That sounds really awful:)

The conference seeks to provide an open scholarly exchange, exploring new approaches to the study of the current period, de-constructing the organizing processes that gave birth to Islamophobia

Here's one "process" giving birth.

re: #121 conservgirl

I know. :)

re: #115 conservgirl

The hot weather bring it on?

Not so much, but I drank more than usual at work, so I am not going to get into it tonight. Plus, I am somewhat disappointed in the oolong I have been able to get my hands on of late.

I would make these Islamophobophiliacs a nice pot though, were they to stop by. I bought some pu-erh at a tea shop that is just one stop short of nasty.

"constructing the other"

It's easy to "construct the other" when you can use such broad identifiers as "enslaves women" and "does not believe you have the right to live" and "educates children that they should end their lives in a haze of blood while killing as many infidels as possible."

Gotta go. BBL

re: #105 hermeneutics

MY son may attend Berkeley engineering school in a year (my father's undergraduate alma mater). I believe that the engineering school is a bastion of sanity. I hope.

Indeed. The Math/Science/Engineering curricula are not the epicenters of Leftist insanity. Most of these students are busy completing homework assignments that aren't complete BS. I did actually attend Cal and it is unfair to tar all departments with the same brush. The Slavic department, for example, was largely anti-Communist and opposed Soviet oppression.

I hear things have gotten much worse, unfortunately. A professor friend mentioned that the environment is much more anti-semitic than when I attended.

re: #78 hermeneutics

I was thinking along the lines of groups like the Cathars who posited two gods -- a "good" god and the evil god of creation. Radicalism often carries with it a deep pessimism over human nature which can lead into dualism and a negation of creation. Orthodox Christian theology teaches that man is saved in spite of his imperfections. As Augustine says in On Christian Doctrine, the central lesson of Jesus is that human nature is not a barrier to salvation, but an essential means to it.

The radical tends to claim that human nature is a barrier, and only the perfected man can be saved. This requires, as you said, creating heaven on earth. It is akin to millenarianism but with the difference that rather than seeing God as the architect of redemption, they demand that men bring about the transformation -- the purification -- of the imperfect world of history.

While Christians see sin as an essential part of God's plan of redemption, Muslims see it as completely avoidable and God as completely merciless with those who do not submit utterly to his Will. It seems to make no distinction between the sinner and the sin.

re: #126 OldLineTexan
That must be nice, to have a tea shop. I am jealous.

re: #89 Lucius Septimius

Excellent! Dinged-up and green-hearted THAT, Lucius!

"Is THAT the standard you want to apply? I understand.
Let's apply it to YOU..."

/where'd you go, Feminazi?

re: #114 hermeneutics

What do you think of UT Austin's engineering department?

Being a Rice man, I think about it as little as possible. Seriously, it's a good department, but for whatever reason I meet (and work with) many more Texas A&M grads. But we have one "new" engineer of each in a sister department, and I couldn't be happier with either.

/however, I credit the parents in both cases

Sleepward for me too.

Just back off so I can eat my waffle!

re: #119 conservgirl

Not that you asked, but my brother graduated from Auburn University and he is a fine one! Let CC come South, we have pretty girls down here.

And it's a fine engineering school.

re: #101 conservgirl

I deal with them by letting them know that I am paying attention and will call them on their hypocrisy.

To their credit, most of them realized that, in fact, the things they had said and posted were in bad taste and were potentially offensive. The problem is that when one lives in an echo chamber it's hard to realize that other people might take offense at one's unreflective little bigotries.

Vide: Obama.

re: #131 conservgirl

That must be nice, to have a tea shop. I am jealous.

You can have this place. it's in the mall. Over-priced and full of "flavored" (cheap) tea. The staff is friendly, educated, and pushy. The accessories are nice quality and well over-priced. All in all, be jealous only that I am within two tolls of a large "Chinatown" (Bellaire/SW Houston).

re: #136 OldLineTexan He is an electrical engineer and works on Nuclear plant projects. Worked for Siemens forever and now works for TVA at Brown's Ferry.

re: #137 buzzsawmonkey

You are truly amazing!

EtNorskTroll-
Don't forget to hit Babba's tip jar! I think you can still post there. Unlike here. :~)

re: #139 OldLineTexan
I have been to Chinatown there. I was in town helping the rep there and we went to look for purses.

re: #142 EC Marm

EtNorskTroll-
Don't forget to hit Babba's tip jar! I think you can still post there. Unlike here. :~)

Did EtNorskTroll get the boot?

re: #144 DesertSage

I was just wondering the same thing.

re: #144 DesertSage

Did EtNorskTroll get the boot?

Yup, history.

re: #146 EC Marm

Yup, history.

What did he do?

Could this be the origin of the term, "Islamophobia?"
[Link: www.islamophobia-watch.com...]

Runnymede Trust:
The Runnymede Trust has identified eight components that they say define Islamophobia.
This definition, from the 1997 document 'Islamophobia: A Challenge For Us All' is widely accepted, including by the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia.
The eight components are:

1) Islam is seen as a monolithic bloc, static and unresponsive to change.
2) Islam is seen as separate and 'other'. It does not have values in common with other cultures, is not affected by them and does not influence them.
3) Islam is seen as inferior to the West. It is seen as barbaric, irrational, primitive and sexist.
4) Islam is seen as violent, aggressive, threatening, supportive of terrorism and engaged in a 'clash of civilisations'.
5) Islam is seen as a political ideology and is used for political or military advantage.
6) Criticisms made of the West by Islam are rejected out of hand.
7) Hostility towards Islam is used to justify discriminatory practices towards Muslims and exclusion of Muslims from mainstream society.

re: #143 conservgirl

I have been to Chinatown there. I was in town helping the rep there and we went to look for purses.

Heh. Real ones, or knock-offs? I admit, I have not explored much off the main drag and a couple of the more well-known shopping centers. Next time you're in, I'll make sure you get to TenYen Tea (used to be TenRen, and still is on their website) for some slight indulgence.

Let's take the Islappies out purse shopping in Chinatown! What do you think?

I blue'd my nic if you would like to mail me for an eBay tea dealer that is very reputable.

re: #148 DesertSage

What did he do?

The old man had too much wine...

re: #148 DesertSage
I know he and Dorian went at it on Monday, can't remember what else.

re: #150 OldLineTexan
Fake ones.

Done, I am going to email you for that request. Thanks OLT.

re: #147 buzzsawmonkey

Pourquoi?

Attempting to make some connection between that sick Republican candidate who attended the KKK meeting and the White Nationals in Europe. Here's a link, it's toward the end.

re: #105 hermeneutics

As engineering cannot be falsified (a truss either stands or gravity and the wind take it out), an engineering school usually is a bastion of sanity.

re: #154 buzzsawmonkey

I didn't know there was too much.

Oh, there most definitely is.

re: #147 buzzsawmonkey

Pourquoi?

I'm fresh out of quoi. How 'bout bourbon?

re: #158 OldLineTexan

Blinding headache the next day, for instance...

re: #148 DesertSage

From the Spencer thread. He's been an undercover euro-nazi since the Vlaam Belang thing.

re: #149 hermeneutics

Hmmm.

The people who came up with this are the folks at the Runnymede Trust. They define their mission as:

Our mandate is to promote a successful multi-ethnic Britain - a Britain where citizens and communities feel valued, enjoy equal opportunities to develop their talents, lead fulfilling lives and accept collective responsibility, all in the spirit of civic friendship, shared identity and a common sense of belonging. We act as a bridge-builder between various minority ethnic communities and policy-makers. We believe that the way ahead lies in building effective partnerships and we are continually developing these with the voluntary sector, the government, local authorities and companies in the UK and Europe. We stimulate debate and suggest forward-looking strategies in areas of public policy such as education, the criminal justice system, employment and citizenship.

Founded in 1968, Runnymede has established and maintained a positive profile on the social and interpersonal benefits of living affirmatively within a society that is both multi-ethnic and culturally diverse; and continues to speak with a thoughtful and independent public voice on these issues today.

Waffle-phobia!

re: #161 Killgore Trout

Love the latest Avatar -- hadn't seen that one.

re: #160 Ojoe

Blinding headache the next day, for instance...

Passed out on a couch all afternoon, staggering to the sink to spit purple, etc.

the only waffles here should be from the soles of army boots applied to their butts

re: #161 Killgore Trout

From the Spencer thread. He's been an undercover euro-nazi since the Vlaam Belang thing.

I haven't been back down there most of the day, anything going on?

re: #165 Lucius Septimius

I thought it was time to freshen up my blasphemy.

re: #149 hermeneutics

7) Hostility towards Islam is used to justify discriminatory practices towards Muslims and exclusion of Muslims from mainstream society.

Works for me...

re: #166 OldLineTexan

Passed out on a couch all afternoon, staggering to the sink to spit purple, etc.

Spit purple? Unless you have a smurfette for a girlfriend that sounds seriously unhealthy.

re: #168 Thanos

A few nazi-types showed up to complain, nothing spectacular. Did you the the genocide thread over at GoV? Amazing.

re: #149 hermeneutics

The eight components are:

1) Islam is seen as a monolithic bloc, static and unresponsive to change.
2) Islam is seen as separate and 'other'. It does not have values in common with other cultures, is not affected by them and does not influence them.
3) Islam is seen as inferior to the West. It is seen as barbaric, irrational, primitive and sexist.
4) Islam is seen as violent, aggressive, threatening, supportive of terrorism and engaged in a 'clash of civilisations'.
5) Islam is seen as a political ideology and is used for political or military advantage.
6) Criticisms made of the West by Islam are rejected out of hand.
7) Hostility towards Islam is used to justify discriminatory practices towards Muslims and exclusion of Muslims from mainstream society.

I see 7 bullet points, not eight. But, tell me which ones are wrong.

Center For Race and Gender

Mission Statement:

The Center for Race and Gender is an interdisciplinary research and community outreach center at the University of California Berkeley dedicated to fostering explorations of race and gender and their intersections.

I feel so much better now.

re: #172 EC Marm

Spit purple? Unless you have a smurfette for a girlfriend that sounds seriously unhealthy.

It wasn't me. And yes, seriously unhealthy. There is such a thing as too much wine.

re: #130 Lucius Septimius

I know nothing about the Cathars.

I don’t think we disagree, Luc, about sin and redemption in Christian theology (at least the Calvinist branch, to which I subscribe ... do you?)

Radicals, you say, claim “human nature is a barrier.” I disagree. Radicals almost always have a positive anthro. They believe, generally, that people can be made better (perfected?) through political, educational and social means. Born innocent, people are tainted by culture or society – society must be improved so that its people improve. For radicals, then, society/culture/politics is the barrier, not human nature.

Christians upend the logic of such radicalism. For Christians: change people, one sinner at a time, and society will inevitably improve.

re: #164 Racer X

Waffle-phobia!

1) Waffles are seen as a monolithic bloc, static and unresponsive to change.
2) Waffles are seen as separate and 'other'. They do not have values in common with other foods, are not affected by them and does not influence them.
3) Waffles are seen as inferior to eggs and toast. They are seen as barbaric, irrational, primitive and sexist.
4) Waffle eaters are seen as violent, aggressive, threatening, supportive of terrorism and engaged in a 'clash of civilisations'.
5) Waffle-philia is seen as a culinary ideology and is used for culinary or gastronomical advantage.
6) Criticisms made of other breakfast foodstuffs by waffle aficionados are rejected out of hand.
7) Hostility towards waffles is used to justify discriminatory practices towards waffles and exclusion of waffles from mainstream breakfast.

Fred! on FNC!
Rippin' Obama and Wright.

re: #170 Capitalist Tool

...."and exclusion of Muslims from mainstream society..."

They do that, themselves.....

re: #161 Killgore Trout

From the Spencer thread. He's been an undercover euro-nazi since the Vlaam Belang thing.

I went back and read that thread. Wow, I'm kinda glad I wasn't there. I probably would have used more colorful language against him then I used toward you on the evolution thread (which really wasn't too bad).

re: #162 Lucius Septimius

Yes, the Runnymede folk are as you described. Someone up thread was asking about the origin of the term "Islamophobia." Got me wondering.

re: #86 hermeneutics

OH, thank you for answering my question. I guess they included those images only to give it a local flair. I was hoping it had some sort of deep meaning but ... oh well.

Well, I interpret it as a composition depicting the Western male hegemonic infrastructure ironically menaced by a faceless, 700-ft tall, but otherwise friendly, muslima.

exploring new approaches to the study of the current period, de-constructing the organizing processes that gave birth to Islamophobia, and studying its interconnectedness to existing and historical otherness in the areas of race, gender and “post-colonial” studies.

Oh, so they are going to be speaking out against the murder of innocents, blowing up men, women, and children, flying jumbo jets into office buildings, strapping bombs on themselves and blowing up pizza parlors, weddings, and that sort of thing.. right?

re: #174 Alouette

None of correct, of course.

Maybe I accidentally lopped off the eighth? Sorry.

re: #183 Dar ul Harb

Hmmmm, I interpreted it as the scaffolding of society, precariously undergirding the feminist pictured in black.

re: #184 Yankee Division Son

exploring new approaches to the study of the current period, de-constructing the organizing processes that gave birth to Islamophobia, and studying its interconnectedness to existing and historical otherness in the areas of race, gender and “post-colonial” studies.

Honestly, do they write this stuff with some sort of "Random PoMo Bullshit Phrase Generator"? Sheesh.

Just got here. Sorry if my thought is redundant.
I've worked in the building trades for over thirty years.
"Deconstruct" means "tear down". It has nothing to do with anything constructive.

"3) Islam is seen as inferior to the West. It is seen as barbaric, irrational, primitive and sexist.
4) Islam is seen as violent, aggressive, threatening, supportive of terrorism and engaged in a 'clash of civilizations'. "

It's not so much the religion as the screaming Jihadists demanding that I should summit or die that leads me to these conclusions. Flying airliners into buildings, attempting to blow airliners over the Atlantic, cutting off the heads of helpless prisoners, indoctrinating children in the glories of murder and maiming through self destruction, and celebrating these crimes in the streets isn't erased by a feel good seminar.

re: #177 hermeneutics

They believe, generally, that people can be made better (perfected?) through political, educational and social means. Born innocent, people are tainted by culture or society – society must be improved so that its people improve. For radicals, then, society/culture/politics is the barrier, not human nature.

True, but rooted in that, it seems to me is a distrust of basic human nature -- people have to be changed, even if it is against their will. And invariably all those efforts to change society/culture/politics fail, leading to pinning the blame for the world's problem on people.

Calvinism indeed teaches that people are changed, but by the grace of God, not politics. Now that's a really radical notion. Puritans were among the most optimistic people in the world when it came to human nature.

re: #181 DesertSageI did not think you were that bad on the Evolution thread...

I read part of it, but quit after a while - same old shit, different day but without the mask on. Why PJM still carries the POS is beyond me, it's sure not going to help their rep longterm.

re: #190 Lucius Septimius

Are you a Calvinist? I can't tell.

I'm trying to sell my house so I've packed "redundant" books, including the Institutes. Relying on memory and speaking in generalities, doesn't Calvin speak of Christian religion as relational and Christian theology as, in essence, the doctrine of human nature?

re: #191 buzzsawmonkey

And the gay rights movement took the lingo from the feminists before them, and the feminists from ... Marx?

re: #157 Ojoe

As engineering cannot be falsified (a truss either stands or gravity and the wind take it out), an engineering school usually is a bastion of sanity.

But at U.C. Berkley, does fire melt steel?

re: #196 IslandLibertarian

But at U.C. Berkley, does fire melt steel?

That is the crucible question!

re: #194 hermeneutics

I teach theology sometimes, and most of my friends in the field are Calvinists. So I crib from them.

My ultimate sense of Calvin is that for him salvation is a matter between us and God, and if God has chosen to save us, that work can never be undone. And eventually, through listening carefully to God's word, the call will come. It's noteworthy that the whole thing about predestination is in the section of the Institutes on pastoral theology -- it's not intended as a metaphysical doctrine. It is intended as a counsel of comfort. God knows your worth, so have faith -- in time He will show you the way.

If you're among the reprobate, you wouldn't care one way or the other; if you do care, then rest assured you're among the elect. And if you haven't hear the Call, don't worry -- you will eventually and at the right moment.

Calvin had immense faith in what people were capable of -- he probably had more faith in human nature as it is than any theologian of his era. (and he'd dig "Hermeneutics" as a nic -- he'd likely covet it himself)

And now I must a-bed.

re: #169 Killgore Trout

I thought it was time to freshen up my blasphemy.

Wakarimaska Dai-Butsu, baka gaijin?

re: #199 IslandLibertarian

Wakarimaska Dai-Butsu, baka gaijin?

Heh.

re: #82 Globular Cluster

More excellent work from Zombie. I love the way Berkeley just acts like all criticism of Islam is Islamophobia, by couching the language in "academic" terms. "Constructing the Other" my ass. Typical multicultural claptrap.

The entire thing is infused to its very core with postmodern Marxist academia-speak, and is an attempt to elevate "Islamophobia" to a legitimate field of study. The event was apparently mostly organized by Bazian, who is trying to position himself as the new Edward Said, the intellectual leader of the Islamo-victimization movement.

If I did not draw attention to this event, it would probably pass completely unnoticed by the outside world. So why publicize it? To me, there are several strategic reasons: One, to possibly inspire other citizen journalists to cover it; two, to sow paranoia amongst the conference participants, who will fear and suspect that hidden amongst their ranks are spies and traitors; and three, the obvious reason, to simply shine a light on the nefarious goings-on in academia.

Next step: an "Islamophobia Department." Think it won't happen? Think again. They would have laughed at you 25 years ago if you have said that one day major universities would have "Race and Gender" Departments.

re: #2 DesertSage

I'm glad zombie hasn't forgotten about us.
Come back, zombie!

re: #5 Racer X

Please do!

(putting salt and pepper on my brain in anticipation)

I haven't forgotten! Just taking some time out to catch up on some unfinished projects. One of them is a three-part new-and-improved Olympics Torch Relay report, hopefully to be unveiled tomorrow.

They still use this 20 plus year old cliche "deconstructing" (the pretentious ass's way of saying "analyze" or "examine") in universities?

They make up a word ("Islamophobia"), and then they go about the laughable task of exploring ("deconstructing") the phony meanings (racism, bigotry, ad absurdum) inherent their false construct.

Incestuous pseudo-intellectual drivel Fest 2008.

re: #204 profitsbeard

That's just about exactly right.

First step, we create a made-up word to examine a non-existent syndrome.
Then, we "deconstruct" our own construction, to reveal its nefarious inner workings!

Basically, the whole thing is a big euphemism for, "Let's let off some steam about how much we hate the neocons and the Zionists."

Liberals don't even no the problems they are making. It's sad to see how many incompetent people actual live in this country. Problem is we will have to clean up the mess. Pay your dhimmi you fascist liberal fools.

New bumper sticker. "Liberalism is nothing more than fascism with a smiley face and a peace sign."

re: #205 zombie

Good to see you zombie!

re: #205 zombie

Zombie keep up the good work!

Good to see you back, Zombie.

I am wondering, and maybe someone has an answer to the following question. Has there ever been any critique within the Marxist-left world, of the replacement of class consciousness by race/gender/sexual orientation consciousness? That is, anyone over there ever object to the splintering and weakening of the working class via identity politics? Any Marxist ever say that black, white, Hispanic, etc., workers share a class interest against The Man and that dividing the working class along racial and other lines would only serve The Man's interest? Seems like a reasonable argument within that worldview.

Zombie? Buzz? Lucius? Anyone else?

re: #196 IslandLibertarian

You bet, at about 1,517 degrees F. for structural steel.

But it softens like a noodle before that.

I think using the vehicle of deconstructionism is a strategic mistake. Deconstructionism is passe', a tired old nag heading swiftly to the knacker yard. Its too mechanistic, its inner workings too well known and tiresome. I don't think anyone but the usual suspects -- the perpetually aggrieved and reflexively transgressive -- will buy into a repackaged narrative three decades stale. Everyone else will roll their eyes, and mouth the words if forced to, but few will accept this as a legitimate sociopolitical movement.

i'm expecting a great post on zombietime and zomblog from this event. A post that will put zombie's post re: obamania in san francisco to shame even.

don't let me down zombie!

re: #209 neocon hippie

It would be seen as part of the false conscious by the true marxist, but the cultural marxist would see it as a useful, albeit temporary, tool to smash the bourgeois hegemony... and the identity politics would simply vanish all on their own once the inequities of capitalism were eliminated.

I guess practitioners of identity politics would be seen as junior partners in Smash Das Kapital Inc.

However, to play shaitan's advocate for just a moment:

To the extent that "Islamophobia" means, as it appears to mean, "loathing of Islam," then they are in fact correct in positing that Islamophobia exists.

And that "othering the other," or whatever the hell is the latest language for analyzing people's group psychology, is really nothing more than that old standby, xenophobia.

Does xenophobia exist in humans? It certainly does. In fact, I propose that it has always existed, that it existed in pre-humans as well, that it is exists in all animals that have sufficent brain power to distinguish one thing from another.

Xenophobia is probably the one universal constant across every culture in the world. The Navajo, for example, call themselves "Dine" which means simply "The people," and their name for all the surrounding tribes translated basically as some variant of "Those jerks who live over there." And then there is of course the old Arab homily, "Me against my brother, me and my brother against my cousin, me and my family against another family, me and my clan against another clan," or something approximating that -- which is basically quintessence of xenophobia distilled down to its unapologetic core.

In fact, i would say that xenophobia is built in to humans (and other mammals) genetically, and is actually repsonsible for the wide variation of cultures we have on this planet -- each group jealously protesting its traditions (and lives) form the surrounding groups. If there had never been any xeonphobia, then there would be one one global generic culture.

Which, actually, is what the cryptosocialists want: an end to nationhood, an end to distinct cultures, a new "global village." Which is exactly why they decry xenophobia.

But I say xenophobia is inescapable, and actually, in an odd way, beneficial, because it is the only thing that preserves all the many fascinating cultures in the world. And we couldn't get rid of it if we tried.

The French will always hate the English. The Xhosa will hate the Zulu. The Serbs will hate the Croats. The Chinese will hate the Japanese. The Arab will hate his neighbor. And yes, the infidel will tend to feel a gut-level loathing for the Muslim.

Not only are these feelings pretty much inescapably genetically and cultiurally ingrained, but in most cases have a valid basis. Neighboring groups tend to get in fights, and like the Corsicans of old, vendettas continue on through the centuries and millennia, but not just with families -- with entire cultures. One could sit here all night listing all the atrocities one group perpetrated on another, and the resultant "xenophobia" the victim group feels for the perpetetrators.

And so it is with 9/11, the USS Cole, the 1983 Marine barracks, the Madrid subway bombing, 7/7, Beslan, etc., etc. Infidels feel wronged by Muslim extremists. And so, xenophobia in the form of "Islamophobia" arises.

What can be done about it? And what should be done about it? How about this for a controversial opinion: nothing.

zombie-

I gave many a near-coronary to faddist "philosophy" professors, who fell for this Eurotrash (Foucault, Derrida, ad nauseam) neo-nonsense, by simply being aware of the history and roots of their pretense of a "new way of knowing things". And by happily by exposing its preening vacuities.

They hoped students would not to realize that serious examinations of their pet nouveau topics already existed (Nietzsche's and Wittgenstein's deep language explorations) and made these (mostly French) haute poseurs come off as petty pickpockets of men and women whose genius make their neologism-laced flapdoodle look lame and trite (Descartes, Hume, Schopenhauer, Freud, Wm. James, Bergson, Jung, the Durants, K. Horney, J. Jaynes, N.O. Brown, etc., etc., etc.).

Best to start with Heraclitus and Socrates and Artistotle and climb through the growing realizations of what human understanding is built upon (epistemology), otherwise these pretentious "post-logocentric" jugglers can mesmerize the naive with their "socio-semiotic" jargon and "phallo-mythic geometry of the other" twaddle.

They can deconstruct the labio-dental fricative of a Bronx Cheer.

re: #69 Right Brain

Berkeley is living up to its reputation as a place to store young people while they go through the maturation phase of breaking away from their parents.

Also known as just about any college campus these days. Trust me, my sister is in her second year -- Middle-Eastern studies, of all things -- but she had turned into a certifiably barking moonbat in the space of about six months. She was already leaning that way, though...

re: #215 profitsbeard

They can deconstruct the labio-dental fricative of a Bronx Cheer.

That is priceless!

islamophobia is a fear of islam.

What do you call a healthy disrespect of islam?

re: #219 rorschach

islamophobia is a fear of islam.

What do you call a healthy disrespect of islam?

Survival instinct.

I'm going deep into debt to send my son to Marquette University, a Catholic University in Milwaukee; hoping to keep his mind free from the BS being taught in State colleges. But even at Marquette they have "hijab for a day" and "Islam awareness"; why would a Muslim attend a Jesuit, Catholic University? I'm serious.....Why?

re: #219 rorschach

islamophobia is a fear of islam.

What do you call a healthy disrespect of islam?

Common Sense.

Why does the center for race and gender have anything to do with this? I bet this presentation will include something to the effect that people who are critical of Islam are racists, despite the obvious fact that Islam isn't a race in the first place.

re: #221 dammad

I'm going deep into debt to send my son to Marquette University, a Catholic University in Milwaukee; hoping to keep his mind free from the BS being taught in State colleges. But even at Marquette they have "hijab for a day" and "Islam awareness"; why would a Muslim attend a Jesuit, Catholic University? I'm serious.....Why?

To corrupt it.

Labio-dental fricative.

For those who don't know that tune's creators.

Best deconstructed guitar solo in history.

re: #224 stevieray

You're right. Grrrrrrr......

#222--ISLAMOPHOBIA MEANS FEAR OF ISLAM--WHICH IS A JOKE SINCE THE OTTOMAN TURKS BECAME THE SICK MAN OF EUROPE AND THE WEST [sheltered in the arms of science--cf. churchill] COLONIZED THE ISLAMO ARABIC and SOUTH EAST ASIAN ISLAMO WORLD POST WW1 AND BEFORE--the real word to apply to this blood sucking scavenger psuedo religion is ISLAMOMISIA--which is a hatred of ISLAM for the religious thuggery that it is, as the prime handmaiden for arab/turkish jihadi imperialism since the inception of this death cult brought into being through the epileptic schizoprenic mind of its christian and jew hating founder and chief highwayman and mass murderer--the profiteer mohammid

re: #221 dammad

Its all about moral relativism, which is the fear of judgment. Liberals will chastise creationism in favor of evolution, yet they (liberals) cast a deaf ear to the realities of evolution which is predicated on survival of the fittest, natural selection and/or selective breeding. Liberals/progressives are all about hypocrisy, they just suck!

Yawn.....
Let me know when they hold the big protest against Berkelephobia, so I can send Zombie a save-the-date card,reserve a speaker truck, and book a gaggle of Freepers.
Par-tay!

re: #222 ethanxxx

The survival instinct.

So who is crazier, the boys at Gates of Vienna, or the leftist dingbats at Berkeley?

So, then, is this a men-only event?

I still can't figure out why the feminists there are so enthused about Islam. Don't they realize...?

I have a theory. The reason why liberals support this islamophobia nonsense is because they have been so ineffective at bringing even incremental change with their various causes (anti-war, anti-military, anti-capitalism, etc) and as a result will settle for anarchy. Their motive appears to be either gross ignorance or pure evil.

re: #191 buzzsawmonkey

The Islamist movement in this country has stolen its terminology and its modus operandi entirely from the gay rights movement. Both the term "Islamophobia"--a co-option of the "homophobia" locution--and the emphasis on "human rights"--i.e., special rights which have no justification in civil rights law--are taken from the gay rights movement.

Which, when it comes to islam and its treatment of gays, is highly ironic.

/'Gays For Palestine!' Yeah, right. Some serious mental disconnect there.

A photo of a woman swathed in a suffocating cotton coffin is doing nothing for their 'cause'.

Muslims deserve all the 'Islamophobia' that exists. They themselves are the cause of whatever fear and hatred of Islam exists.

Islamophobia is an insult against the Right to be Uninvolved. It is up to the Muslims to decide among themselves what constitutes the nature of Islam, such as it is up to the others to investigate what may be the consequences of Islam. Those Muslims who divert the efforts they should be spending on their own community to the others are the actual Islamophobes.

In plain language: Don´t tell me that Islam should be peace, tell it to Al-Zawahiri and Ahmadinejad!

/here, deconstructed that for you

Whenever someone uses the word "Deconstruction" my Skept-o-meter starts pegging.

It isn't that deconstruction in and of itself is inherently wrong. Deconstruction is a useful tool to figure out what motives and beliefs exist in a political, religious, or cultural system. The key notion is that it should apply to a specific belief system. Deconstruction is something that should be done with great care for three reasons: First, make sure you don't leave something important on the floor. Second, do not attempt to make stuff up to fill in perceived gaps of understanding. Third, do not deconstruct with an agenda. Even the errors from inadvertent mistakes of deconstruction will lead people to think all sorts of strange things.

That's the problem here. Hatem Bazian is applying the tools of deconstruction with an agenda. Islamophobia isn't monolithic. It has various reasons, some valid, some not. Islamophobia isn't a school of thought. People don't teach Islamophobia.

You might as well deconstruct UC Berkley. And after you did, if you did it right you know what you'd find? NOTHING! I don't even think you could make a case that they believe in critical thought. And for a classic example why that would be, we can cite this case.

Ya gotta love an Islamofascist thug named "Hatem".

Our tax dollars at work...