Recommendation: Empire's Workshop Latin America the United States and the Making of an Imperial Republic by Greg Grandin

Greg Grandin's thesis in Empire's Workshop Latin America the United States and the Making of an Imperial Republic is that the USA "workshopped" & tested its ideas on how to manage its global empire in its dealings with other peoples in the Americas.

#FirstNations in its creation of a 2-ocean coast #WhiteSupremacy state to its commercial gangsterism in #Mexico, the #Caribbean & Central & South America. https://t.co/X41jpXjV2H

— Ayman Hossam Fadel (@aymanfadel) December 25, 2021

I created a Twitter moment with more quotes and thoughts!

Recommendation: "Unbroken Brain: A Revolutionary New Way of Understanding Addiction" by Maia Szalavitz

I first heard of Maia Szalavitz from the Citations Needed Podcast episode 99, The Cruel, Voyeuristic Quackery of Rehab TV Shows. Her book Unbroken Brain: A Revolutionary New Way of Understanding Addiction basically contradicts everything I'd ever thought I knew about addiction to mind-altering substances before involvement with supporters of recreational and medicinal cannabis legalization and decriminalization, who opened my eyes to the compound hypocrisies and harms of prohibition and incarceration.

Sohaib Sultan's List of 10 Books for English-Speaking Muslims

Imam Suhaib Sultan recommends 10 books for English-speaking Muslims.

Blog Recommendation: Arabic Literature (in English)

I was going to draw readers' attention to this blog entry about Arabic children's literature from Lebanon, and then I realized that the entire blog Arabic Literature (in English) is worth following!

Irtiqa: A Science and Religion Blog

It's appropriate with the goals of this blog to point out new media which are important for North American Muslims. Hampshire College Professor Salman Hameed writes Irtiqa: A Science and Religion Blog.

Review: The Invisible Arab: The Promise and Peril of the Arab Revolution

Marwan Bishara, a political analyst for Al-Jazeera satellite news network, wrote an Arab-nationalist perspective essay about the ongoing revolutions in North Africa and Southwest Asia.

Review: Change from Within: Diverse Perspectives on Domestic Violence in Muslim Communities

Change from Within: Diverse Perspectives on Domestic Violence in Muslim Communities
Edited by Maha B. Alkhateeb and Salma Elkadi Abugideiri
ISBN-10: 0979138906
Peaceful Families Project www.peacefulfamilies.org

This book is a collection of essays and documents related to domestic violence among Muslims, primarily in North America.

It's not an easy read, but it is important. I particularly liked Zainab Alwani's The Qur'anic Model for Harmony in Family Relations and Imam Mohamed Magid's Affecting Change as an Imam. There are also accounts from survivors of domestic violence.

I acquired my copy from the Peaceful Families Project. It included a video which was used in a domestic violence awareness program at my local masjid.

Dissonance and Harmony: Arabic Music Goes West

Dissonance and Harmony: Arabic Music Goes West was broadcast on Georgia Public Television November 2. Catch it on your local station. It is not available on the PBS site.

Boston Globe Web Site Features Photos of Ramadan Observance Worldwide

The Boston Globe's The Big Picture by Alan Taylor has a 35-photo collection of Ramadan observance around the world.

Journal of Muslim Mental Health

The Journal of Muslim Mental Health is published by Muslim Mental Health, Inc.

There is a blogger who has started the Muslim Suicide Survivors Association (MuSSA). There is a Facebook group with the same name.

Sister Ellen Francis of the Order of Saint Helena, in Augusta, GA!

Knowing that I live in a relative backwater of the world, I am quite happy to report that Augusta, GA, USA is now the home of Sister Ellen Francis of the Order of Saint Helena and a member of the Fellowship of Reconciliation. I look forward to her helping Augusta become a better place to live, and I hope I can learn a lot from her.

The Ballad of Esequiel Hernández

The Ballad of Esequiel Hernández is an episode of the PBS show "P.O.V." about U.S. marines' killing of U.S. citizen Esequiel Hernández Jr in 1997 in his hometown of Redford, TX. Recently, President George W. Bush has again deployed military forces for border duty. This documentary is emotionally compelling and timely. The people who call for a "secure border" have no idea what it would actually take to do so, and even then it would not stop the flow of drugs and workers.

Human Rights Watch Report on Abuse of Domestic Labor in Saudi Arabia

The summary of the report "Saudi Arabia: Domestic Workers Face Harsh Abuses" has been translated into several languages. This reading is not for the faint of heart.

Military Recruitment: Sir, No Sir

One of the ways to end this war in Iraq and prevent war in Iran is to decrease the number of enlisting U.S. soldiers. The military is obviously very concerned with recruitment, even going to the extent of cooperating with Hollywood to produce pro-military films like Iron Man.

I recently saw the DVD of the film Sir, No Sir, and it is absolutely critical for every young person considering joining the military to watch this film. The official web site is http://www.sirnosir.com/.

For more information, also visit http://militarylies.typepad.com/.

I attended Private Ryan Jackson's court martial in Fort Gordon, GA on Friday, May 30, 2008.

A new film is being made about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

For those of you with children, please visit http://www.leavemychildalone.org/, which will inform you about how one of the provisions of No Child Left Behind is exposing children to military recruiters and will inform you how to opt out of your child's school's military recruitment list.

Human Rights Watch-Perpetual Minors-Human Rights Abuses Stemming from Male Guardianship and Sex Segregation in Saudi Arabia

http://www.hrw.org/reports/2008/saudiarabia0408/saudiarabia0408web.pdf

The above link is to the full report of Human Rights Watch entitled "Human Rights Watch-Perpetual Minors-Human Rights Abuses Stemming from Male Guardianship and Sex Segregation in Saudi Arabia."

Professor Rafia Zakaria commented on this report, especially focusing on how worker diaspora communities can spread these practices to other countries.

NPR Segment "Songs of Sadr Provide Soundtrack for Shiite Militia"

I wanted to congratulate Ivan Watson and NPR for the piece "Songs of Sadr Provide Soundtrack for Shiite Militia."
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90465454. The piece is sad because it shows how violence has become so pervasive in Iraq that it enters into popular song lyrics.

There is an error in the translation of one of the songs:

No terrorism or the biggest al-Qaida would stop us
If only Muqtada would point with his right finger
In the face of all takfiris [impious Muslims]
As sharp as swords we will be

"Takfiris" are Muslims who excommunicate other Muslims, thereby making their killing permissible. This is the term many Muslims use to denigrate the extreme "salafi" position which justifies killing of Shiites in Iraq and elsewhere.

Muslim Advocates Comments on Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Report

Read Muslim Advocates's response to the report entitled Violent Islamist Extremism, the Internet, and the Homegrown Terrorist Threat issued by the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs on May 8, 2008.

Hearing helds by that committe on this topic are available at:

Violent Islamist Extremism: Government Efforts to Defeat It, 2007 May 10
http://hsgac.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?Fuseaction=Hearings.Detail&HearingID=9c8ef805-75c8-48c2-810d-d778af31cca6

http://hsgac.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?Fuseaction=Hearings.Detail&HearingID=a3a45e4d-8a9f-4a54-a245-f50743eb1b71

The Internet: A Portal to Violent Islamist Extremism, 2007 May 3
http://hsgac.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?Fuseaction=Hearings.Detail&HearingID=e818e9fb-3103-4cd7-9a75-6db8a33bc379

The Threat of Islamic Radicalism to the Homeland, 2007 March 14
http://hsgac.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?Fuseaction=Hearings.Detail&HearingID=2fb6902f-72e9-45a6-b5b2-15389ed18ec3

Prison Radicalization: Are Terrorist Cells Forming in U.S. Cell Blocks? 2006 September 19
http://hsgac.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?Fuseaction=Hearings.Detail&HearingID=b602edb5-1faa-4011-b12c-c312678d1b71

Terrorism Financing: Origination, Organization, and Prevention, 2003 July 31
http://hsgac.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?Fuseaction=Hearings.Detail&HearingID=9e6956c7-914f-490f-8b0d-5aedc0587db0

Science Magazine Podcast: Women in Science in the Middle East

Transcript: http://www.sciencemag.org/feature/misc/podcast/SciencePodcast_071228.pdf
Audio: http://podcasts.aaas.org/science_podcast/SciencePodcast_071228.mp3

Science Magazine's podcast of December 28, 2007 entitled "Women in Science in the Middle East" was a good insight into the obstacles women scientists face in pursuing their careers. The women interviewees were from Lebanon, Egypt and Kuwait.

Critic of No Child Left Behind-"Not on the Test"

http://www.notonthetest.com/

This web site has a wonderful video and song showing some of the biggest weaknesses of No Child Left Behind.

R.S. O'Fahey-Darfur: Another African Crisis-Islamica Magazine

Darfur: Another African Crisis, an article in Islamica Magazine, Issue 19.

http://www.islamicamagazine.com/Issue-19/Darfur.html