Silas

I think it is very important for people to understand that there is NO "systemic racism" in the United States. Such a thing is very different from isolated examples of prejudice or unfair treatment. Systemic racism means state-sponsored racism that is legal and encouraged: manifest mistreatment of minority groups that is pervasive. Things like apartheid, Jim Crow laws, or outright persecution are examples. The US is over 50 years removed from the Civil Rights movement, and numerous laws have been passed to correct past discrimination. We now have affirmative action, set-asides for m

T.E. I am pulled taught like a bowstring over arid and empty plains that merge within rolling apparitions of sand; condemned under a limitless horizon and it drags me from my barren youth of absurd and condescending ostentation; pity for a fatherless boy who belonged nowhere and everywhere the inexorable vehicle of the divine which carries me from sheltering forests into the comfort of scorched oblivion and the iridescent tents of alien men is the rescuing, spectral hand that fulfills everything

I certainly don't mean the above post to be an attack of Christianity, and I appreciate the thoughtful response I grew up Christian, and am learning to be Muslim (I live in an area that is Christian and Sunni Muslim --there really isn't a Shia presence. Likewise, my wife is Christian, so it is complicated) but I experienced a lot of things when I was Christian that I didn't realize were problematic at the time 1. When I was in college I joined the Newman Association, which is a Catholic group on campus headed by a priest. The group was 80% female, and the leadership, aside from

well done Mohammad

I think one of the biggest challenges Christian men face is the feminization of the church, and it is something that does not seem to be an issue within Islam. Christian men are demoralized and alienated from the church, and feel they no longer belong --or maybe they never belonged at all. In my case, I never felt I belonged. Something was always "off" Here are my insights on this matter: feel free to chime in with ideas (both Muslims and Christians) CHURCH AS A FEMINIZED SPACE: 1. Within Christian denominations, women outnumber men, sometimes by a great deal. Women also ha

Here is an article that suggests Wuhan virologists, who collect virus samples in the wild, may have brought the virus back to the lab inadvertently (through infection) so the virus went from the wild, into the lab, and then from there, into the population https://www.newsweek.com/humans-not-animals-likely-took-covid-virus-wuhan-contrary-chinas-claims-1578861

The student loan situation is a big problem for sure, but there are bigger problems The skyrocketing cost of health insurance and medical care are massive issues. The number of uninsured people is rising again (up 4-5 million in the last 10 months), and our medical system is completely dysfunctional. We could have 100+ million people with no insurance and limited access to healthcare within 10 years, and when it gets to that point, we have a wrecked economy While Trump could return, I find it highly unlikely. His age and health will prevent it.

You are experiencing the dark night of the soul others here will provide you with helpful verses from the Quran and good advice but there are those who know, or suspect the truth, feel Allah's presence, or hear the call, and are afraid to venture into the faith in other words, for everyone who feels like they will fall off the ship, there are those in the ocean that see the ship, and yet are afraid to swim to it you will be fine--pray, focus, and listen

My son has been involved in some charitable work involving Yemen, but he wanted to know if this particular aid organization was any good, or if there were any concerns about it? https://www.monareliefye.org/ has anyone hear heard of these guys? I have given to the Zahra Trust in the past

I think the political left, and Democrats who might be tired of foreign wars, need to wake up to the reality that Joe Biden has put together a cabinet consisting almost entirely of militant, neoliberal, Zionist Jews, who almost unanimously want to destroy Iran. I put up a list a couple months ago, and now I can add to it Attorney General: Merrick Garland. Jewish neoliberal and interventionist. Secretary of State: Anthony Blinken. Jewish. Washington insider and notorious interventionist. Encouraged Clinton to send troops to Rwanda, and supported intervention in Syria. Has worked to re

I don't expect a civil war or anything like that but violent protests are another story.

I warned people a couple months before the election that if polling stations were closed and citizens were forced to vote by mail, it would be viewed as an attempt by Democrats to tamper with the election. While department stores, supermarkets, etc. were open, polling stations were closed because it was deemed "too dangerous" to vote in person. It was an arbitrary and deeply suspect decision, and it doesn't matter if the election was "legal" or fraud was minimal. The *perception* was that Democrats were using emergency powers granted to them due to the COVID-19 outbreak to interfere with

The latest polls have the Democratic candidates ahead in both races, which is a bit surprising

I had some social anxiety when I was young, and still have a bit One solution is to practice etiquette, and focus on what is expected of you socially, vs. simply throwing yourself into a social situation and not knowing what to do

And the COVID relief bill that was just passed in the US contains 500 million for Israel https://www.jta.org/2020/12/22/israel/yes-the-new-federal-budget-includes-500-million-for-israel-no-that-isnt-a-surprise