Obama's first pick: Israeli Rahm Emanuel as chief of staff

[abdullah_001]

Obama isn't Muslim. Obama was never Muslim.

I was pretty sure I read somewhere that hes an apostate, which if he isn't then I apologize.

Even then though Ron Paul was much better than both Obama or Mccain in my opinion.

 

[KAding]

Well, in his defense it does say the following on wikipedia about him:

One of his proudest moments during the Clinton administration "was an event that touched his political sensibilities and his personal ties to Israel: the 1993 Rose Garden signing ceremony after the Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization ("PLO"). Emanuel directed the details of the ceremony, down to the choreography of the famous handshake between Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO leader Yasser Arafat."[7]

 

[KAding]

Obama isn't Muslim. Obama was never Muslim.

His father was born in a Muslim family. Maybe that matters to Muslims? Since Islam is sometimes seen as something you inherit, not something you choose for? His father was thus definitely an apostate, what does that mean for his children?

 

[Keltoi]

His father was born in a Muslim family. Maybe that matters to Muslims? Since Islam is sometimes seen as something you inherit, not something you choose for? His father was thus definitely an apostate, what does that mean for his children?

I'm not sure about how that is viewed in the Islamic prism, but Obama himself was never a Muslim. I don't think he even "had" religion until he joined the Chicago political machine, where associations with people like Jeremiah Wright were important.

 

[Intisar]

Obama isn't Muslim. Obama was never Muslim.

Exactly, his father was a Muslim, and left the deen of Islam to become an atheist.

I only ''supported'' him because he's:
A) African-american

That's a pretty shallow reason to vote for somebody, because they're African-American? I mean, I'm black too and I didn't vote for him because of that reason. I mean, it's nice that someone like him was/is able to become the most powerful person in the world, but being of a certain race should not come into play when voting somebody to be the head of state.

Also, he's not an ''African-American'' like the ones who's ancestors that were here 300 or so years ago. He knows where he's from in Africa, and he's a first generation American. He's African, yes half Kenyati like moi, but he's not an ''African American''. I just wanted to clear that up.

 

[doorster]

Geez Louise! I can't believe my eyes!!

 

[BlissfullyJaded]

^ Well, he's African and American. I think some don't want to refer to him as "black" cuz that comes off as rude to some.

Back on topic, totally expected this!

 

[Intisar]

Yeah, well he is African and he is American, well so I am...but he's not the classic example of one if you understand what I'm saying.

An African-American is a fairly new term used to describe blacks who's ancestors were forcefully brought over from Africa as slaves. What I'm trying to say is, he knows where's from in Africa, African-Americans don't because they've been here for more than 300 years.

Black is not rude, imo, they actually used to call them ''negros'', until Jesse Jackson popularized the term ''African-American''. The term ''African-American'' used to be an insult back in the day, they were referred to and liked to be called ''black American''.

Back to the topic at hand, his becoming president is an inspiration to many.

 

[Keltoi]

Yeah, well he is African and he is American, well so I am...but he's not the classic example of one if you understand what I'm saying.

An African-American is a fairly new term used to describe blacks who's ancestors were forcefully brought over from Africa as slaves. What I'm trying to say is, he knows where's from in Africa, African-Americans don't because they've been here for more than 300 years.

Black is not rude, imo, they actually used to call them ''negros'', until Jesse Jackson popularized the term ''African-American''. The term ''African-American'' used to be an insult back in the day, they were referred to and liked to be called ''black American''.

Back to the topic at hand, his becoming president is an inspiration to many.

You make a fairly important point there. Barak Obama has very little in common with the bulk of the black population in the U.S., besides skin pigment. That didn't seem to make a difference as black Americans voted for Obama by a 97% to 3% margin.

 

[maryam87]

His father was born in a Muslim family. Maybe that matters to Muslims? Since Islam is sometimes seen as something you inherit, not something you choose for? His father was thus definitely an apostate, what does that mean for his children?

LOL Islam is not something we inherit from our family. Basically we believe everyone was born a muslim whatever religious background ur parents are from. Then basically when ur older u could choose to stay as a muslim or believe in what u like :thumbs_up

 

[Liberty]

Also, he's not an ''African-American'' like the ones who's ancestors that were here 300 or so years ago. He knows where he's from in Africa, and he's a first generation American. He's African, yes half Kenyati like moi, but he's not an ''African American''. I just wanted to clear that up.

Don't forget, he's half white, a fact which I'm sure was played up to reassure red neck America.

& I hope Obama doesn't disappoint.
We've high expectations of him.
I mean I know it can't happen overnight but a change such as this can only bring good things...for the most part at least.

 

[KAding]

LOL Islam is not something we inherit from our family. Basically we believe everyone was born a muslim whatever religious background ur parents are from. Then basically when ur older u could choose to stay as a muslim or believe in what u like :thumbs_up

I'm glad to hear that. Though, I don't think that is a majority opinion among Islamic scholars?

 

[Keltoi]

Don't forget, he's half white, a fact which I'm sure was played up to reassure red neck America.

Race wasn't made an issue at any point in the campaign. From either side.

 

[north_malaysian]

they actually used to call them ''negros'',

We still use that word in Malaysian language, because of Portuguese influence..

But the media stopped using that word and replaced it with:

1) Orang Kulit Hitam Amerika (Black skin American)
2) Orang Afrika Amerika (African-American)

 

[Intisar]

Don't forget, he's half white, a fact which I'm sure was played up to reassure red neck America.

& I hope Obama doesn't disappoint.
We've high expectations of him.
I mean I know it can't happen overnight but a change such as this can only bring good things...for the most part at least.

He's black. In America it's called the ''one drop rule'', one drop of black blood and you're black.

Red neck America is racist, so why would they vote for him if they're racist?

 

[BlissfullyJaded]

Why does the race / Islam thing have to always take precedence? I thought the topic is...Rahm Emanuel as the pick. :?

 

[nocturnal]

So because his dad was a member of Irgun that makess him evil? Do you blame Osama Bin Laden on his father? Emanuel was instrumental with helping Clinton push Israel to accept Oslo Accords.

The Oslo accords would have left the Palestinians will the remnants of what would be a totally fragmentized Palestinian "state". Look at the small print of what the Oslo accords would encompass.

 

[nocturnal]

By his own admission, Emanuel's father has greatly shaped his political ideology and outlook. That tells you what you need to know about this man, nothwithstanding his active links to AIPAC and other hardliners in the israeli administration.

His father was a militant in the Irgun, this is an organization about as abominable as the Interahamwe of Rwanda during the genocide, or the Khmer Rouge of Cambodia. People talk about his links to folks like Khalid Rashidi, but that is clearly tangential as recent events have corroborated. Obama wants to focus on the economy, and in effect has dropped the international affairs portfolio on the desk of Emanuel. This is about as hawkish an appointment as some of the leading appointments in the Bush administration.

 

[Keltoi]

By his own admission, Emanuel's father has greatly shaped his political ideology and outlook. That tells you what you need to know about this man, nothwithstanding his active links to AIPAC and other hardliners in the israeli administration.

His father was a militant in the Irgun, this is an organization about as abominable as the Interahamwe of Rwanda during the genocide, or the Khmer Rouge of Cambodia. People talk about his links to folks like Khalid Rashidi, but that is clearly tangential as recent events have corroborated. Obama wants to focus on the economy, and in effect has dropped the international affairs portfolio on the desk of Emanuel. This is about as hawkish an appointment as some of the leading appointments in the Bush administration.

Obama didn't drop international affairs to Emanuel. He hasn't picked the Secretary of State or the Secretary of Defense. If you want to know who will play a large role in foreign affairs I would look at Joe Biden. Emanuel is the White House Chief-of-Staff, which is important, but not so much in the arena of foreign policy.

 

[wth1257]

No, it doesn't make him evil. But when it comes to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, do you think the decisions made will be unbiased? It's not like they ever are really, but this is just more reason for Palestinians to get a raw deal out of any agreement.

It could be, but Obama's past suggusts he is likely to be much more sympathatic to the Palistinian side that pevious presidents. His church was big on that and he had ties with people who would be more sympathatic. Ron Emmanuel is not the Sec. of State or Defense. He's been put where he is to get things done. A lot of democrates owe him favors and he can help Obama get close bills pushed through.

Unfortunatly you can't just be neutral on Israel, you have to be a cheerleader. Of course, ironically enough, this means that some of the harshest critics of Israeli policy are American Jews. Acadamics like Chomsky and Finklestein, and comedians like Stewart
http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=171492&title=Indecision-5768