Bring it on baby.
Here goes…
"American soldiers in Iraq are fighting for a valiant cause. We did find the WMD, and it is called Saddam Hussein. Tell those 100's of thousands of Iraqis whose family members were killed by Saddam and thrown into mass graves that there was no WMD. Tell those people in Kirkuk who got gas'ed with mustard gas by Chemical Ali that WMDs don't exist. Tell those swamp land Shi'ites whose homes were desctroyed by Saddam to decorate his palaces that WMDs don't exist. No country went from dictatorship and oppression to democracy without some kind of turmoil (including US). Ten years from today, Iraq would be a great democracy and that would be direct result of the honor of brave American soldiers."
Let's remember the following items:
1. Saddam Husseign was/is a monster, but he is America's Frankenstein. He was always a ruthless despt, but it was ok for him to do the following things: (a) Start a war with Iran that killed hundreds of thousands of innocent lives (b) Use Chemical weapons agains Iranians during the Iran-Iran war. (c) Kill thousands of Kurds living in Northern Iraq during the 1980s with chemical weapons not bothering to discriminate between innocent women and children.
And guess what? He was still America's ally! The only reason the US turned on Saddam Hussein was because this sadistic tyrant invaded Kuwait and threatened the supply of oil. Despite the outcry about the atrocities in Angola and Sudan, there isn't any call for the mobilization of troops. Why? Limited impact to the US economy.
2. The "Let's make Iraq free" wasn't the pre-text for the war. It was Saddam Husssein presents an imminent threat to the United States because he has and seeks to use NBCs (Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical weapons).
3. The argument that we’re in Iraq to free them is bogus. The it is a mutation of the original argument after NBCs failed to materialize.
"When Americans get captured by terrorists, are they presented in front of Iraqi courts? Or in front of International tribunal? Noppers! They are beheaded and tortured. In times of war, hard decisions have to be made. International rules are applicable when both parties subscribe to it. As far as I know, no terrorist organization has signed the Geneva convention. And you talk about Cuba? Tell that to the Cubans who escape the oppressive regime there to gain freedom in southern Florida."
I don't live in Havana and I'm not a fan of Castro. I don't live in Saudi Arabia and I don't support Al-Quaeda. I live in the United States of America. I am not talking about international rules but about what happens within the United States, country I love and is now my adopted home.
"Non-immigrants = Foreigners. Name one country in the world that allows foreigners into their country without asking for some kind of registration? As much as you would like to make this a Muslim issue, it is not. If you want to make this a Muslim issue, then give credit to American decency that not one muslim was killed inside US after it has been proved that every terrorist on 9-11 was Muslim."
I do give decency to American culture. No other country in the world IMO has this level of diversity and tolerance (ok, maybe Canada). Nobody is questioning that. What I do question is George Bush's commitment to a tolerant America through his flunkies such as John Ashcroft.
Now let’s return to NSEERs which is what I was talking about. This is a quote from the CIS handout from November 2002:
“WHY ARE ONLY MUSLIMS AND ARABS REQUIRED TO REGISTER? Registration is based solely on nationality and citizenship, not on ethnicity and religion”
There were a total of 20 countries on the list: 19 of them were countries with Muslim majorities. North Korea was the exception (you can probably count the number of North Koreans in the US on one hand).
Do you see the pattern? There is a deliberate intent to profile and then they try to deny it. Non-Immigrants=FOREIGNERS. That would make sense if all non-immigrant citizens were subjected instead of Males aged 16-45 from these 20 nations. And then to add insult to injury, the try and deny that it’s targeting any group. Still think it’s not a Muslim issue?
A second reason NSEERs was unnecessary is that most of the people subjected to it were ALREADY registered. I485 applicants, Students, etc. It was finally recognized that this was a worthless system that did nothing to help and only alienated people. NSEERs has been scrapped. It generated a ton of data but very little intelligence.
"Do you know examples of people who were asked to show their GC in a restaurant or park or rock concert or at the bar? If you do not know this for sure, then stop spread false and malicious information."
What’s the false information? The fact that you are supposed to have your GC on you (or access to it) is not malicious information. I choose not to unless I am driving far from home (I define as overnight trip) or flying even within the US.
"The problem is not that AR-11 is enfored today. The problem is that AR-11 was not enforced all these years. In my opinion, any country needs to protect its borders and keep track of who comes in, who goes out, where they live now, etc. America is our home (atleast for us US citizens). You would not want people walking into your home whenever they want, using your kitchen and then going to the bedroom and sleeping next to your wife. Would you?"
I don’t know why Permanent Residents should be subjected to this; that is my opinion. The FBI has already checked fingerprints/backgrounds and CIS has certified that we can live/work here perpetually (subject to obeying laws). Nevertheless, rules are rules and we must comply. I’ve advised my friends to send it via certified mail and keep the return receipt. IMO this is prudence not paranoia.
You can be paranoid all you want. But you cannot scare others without reason.
The objective of this thread is to inform people that carrying your GC with you at all times is a good idea.
"They say to get every single vote, both Kerry and Bush spend about $1200 per voter. Hope you are contributing more than $1200 to make up for your inability to vote."
Ok so I only “bought” three votes. It’s the least those of us who are immigrants and are doing well can do. There are other activities we can (and do) participate in including: raising money for PACs, attending/organizing town hall meetings and inviting representatives from the political parties to attend, and convincing friends and family who are citizens, particularly those in battleground states, to register and vote. And there's joining and getting involved with civil rights organizations such as the ACLU.
I’d like to apologize to members from this forum for getting into this worthless discussion with dsfgh100. I’ll try to avoid purely political posts like this one and will also resist the urge to respond to his posts (sorry, but politics is one of my passions!).
Dsfgh100, there is something I do not understand. This website serves as a forum for immigrants to address issues they (we) are having. It’s also a type of support group. Most of the problems/challenges we encounter are shared by fellow posters. Why is someone with contempt for immigrants like yourself wasting your time here? You're obviously not getting sympathetic hearing. There are other forums where you could write about how immigrants are destroying this country and should shut up or leave. I’ve taken the trouble to find some links for you. Maybe you’ll find more right-wing kindred spirits there. Try these:
http://www.stopimmigrationnow.org/ (want to stop all immigration)
http://home.earthlink.net/~ns4us/id1.html (calls for only white immigration; don’t know if even you’ll like it)
http://www.diversityalliance.org/docs/article_2002sep04.html (calls for a 3 year moratorium).
Sadiq.
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Vote Bush '04
