Mike Ghouse on Voice of America about Iran deal, Turkey and Ferguson

My talking points for Voice of America Radio, Washington, D.C 

Turkey

Turkey has allowed 6 F-16 Falcon fighters to operate from their Incirlik air base to do the sorties over ISIS territory.  We had enough of the evil acts from the ISIS, it is time to stop them from killing people, destroying the heritage of the nations and forcing women to be sex slaves.

Way back in September 2014, in an Op-ed at Huffington Post, I had urged President Obama to use the Quranic method, to give them warning, if they don’t stop killing, drone them and save the innocent lives of Christians, Yazidis, Shias and others.   However, if they retrieve, we have to stop. 

I would rather round them up and question them, and demand them to show where Quran tells them to do such evil things. I hope that will put an end to the false propaganda against Islam, and let the world focus on evil in men. Religion is never the problem; it is the evilness in men.

We have the world with us, and it is time to stop them and that is the right thing to do.

2    Iran Deal

a.     This is the best thing that has happened – It is good for Israel, America, Iran and the world. I am writing a full article on this topic.

b.    Netanyahu is possibly the worst enemy of Israel – he is isolating the nation from the rest of the world. Six Powerful nations Russia, China, UK, France, Germany and US are in this together to ensure Iran does not go nuclear behind everyone’s back. They have made this deal in good faith for the protection of Israel.  

c.     It is good for Israel and what does Netanyahu do? He slaps them in their face! 

d.     Why should they like this man?

e.     We have to guide the world’s anger towards Netanyahu, the pied piper of Israel, instead of the people of Israel.

f.       The Republicans want to double down on this, shame on them, if they do not pass this bill, I would question their loyalty? Are they allowing a foreign leader to be disrespectful of our president? Shame on them.

g.     I am sure there a few good Republicans out there who want to do the right thing for America, Israel, Iran and others, but will they do the monkey see, monkey do? That is obedient conformists and jump like sheep instead of exercising their minds?

h.    Mother Teresa said – if you want peace, go talk with the enemy

i.       Chinese Quote – if you want to get rid of the enemy for good, make friends with them.

j.       Obama has precisely done that, and this is a major paradigm shift in our foreign policy – it is sensible and the righteous one

k.     Obama said, super powers don’t response to talks – he is right, we cannot be yelling at each other, one has to be an adult. I hope the Republicans act like adults as well.

l.       Obama is right again, it is the best way for Iran not to get nuclear weapons.

m. Reagan had that wisdom, and he dealt with Russians while they had their missiles pointed at us. Of course every Republican is eager to claim to be a follower of Reagan – but very few of them are

n.    Negotiate with enemies

o.     Hardliner on the Iran side are as ugly as ours are.

p.    Netanyahu does not get it, he is not comfortable with peace, he has got to be on the edge and keep the Israelis and Americans on the edge.  

3

Behjat Gilani and Mike Ghouse on VOA

      

Ferguson after one year
The police chief says, "They were criminals, they weren't protesters," Belmar said – aren’t they innocent until proven guilty? We should demand an apology from this officer.  Instead of mitigating the bad race relations, this guy aggravates by killing.  Aren’t they not trained to hold the trigger?

I question the police training to produce these men who are too eager to pull the trigger.

Mike Ghouse, speaking for America Together Foundation.

Thank you,

Mike Ghouse
(214) 325-1916

Mike is a speaker, thinker, writer, pluralist,  TV-Radio commentator and a human rights activist committed to building cohesive societies and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. His info in 63 links at MikeGhouse.net and writings at TheGhouseDiary.com 

Ferguson is burning and we can mitigate the conflicts if we come together

Ferguson is burning, and as an American committed to building a cohesive America, I am deeply saddened to read the comments on facebook this morning. It has unleashed the bigotry in a handful of fellow citizens to say outrageous statements about "them" meaning the African Americans. Racism is not gone, it is subdued. I just pray and hope that we the people realize the severity of this, and don't let this divide us further, as it is not good for us.

Let me quote the Native American wisdom, " All things are connected. Whatever befalls the earth, befalls the sons of earth," and add, "Whatever he does to the web, he does it to himself." As generous, kind, mature and bigoted Americans, together we have a choice to make it worse by venting our base, mean and unchained animus towards others or hold ourselves and think of the damage we would do to ourselves. We cannot afford to leave in fear and hatred of each other.

Most of the problems we have in our nation can be traced to one thing –and that is not knowing and being judgmental about others. Whether it is Ferguson, Racism, Homophobia, Anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, Misogyny or whatever creeps on us, it gains ground because we don’t know each other.

It is time to take initiative such as the Thanksgiving Celebrations and bring people together to "know each other". Knowledge leads to understanding and understanding to appreciation of a different point of view. We have build this nation with lots of sacrifices and we simply cannot afford to let the issues tear us apart, and it will be a loss of all of us.

Added: 

Listen to the truth:

We who believe in freedom cannot rest;
We who believe in freedom cannot rest until it comes:  
 Until the killing of Black men, Black mothers’ sons,
Is as important as the killing of White men, White mothers’ sons.
 

That’s the song that Bernice Johnson Reagon composed and called “Ella’s Song,” honoring Ella Baker, one of the key teachers and leaders within the Freedom Movement of the 1960s. You can hear it – please do hear it!  -- sung by Sweet Honey on the Rock, the musical ensemble that Reagon founded.
 
And listen with a truth-tuned ear to Martin Luther King, speaking on March 14, 1968, three weeks before he was murdered:

“A Riot is the Language of the Unheard . ...It is not enough for me to stand before you tonight and condemn riots. It would be morally irresponsible for me to do that without, at the same time, condemning the conditions -- intolerable conditions -- that exist in our society. These conditions are the things that cause individuals to feel that they have no other alternative than to engage in violent rebellions to get attention.” http://portside.org/2014-11-27/other-america-riot-language-unheard

Or listen to Abraham Lincoln:

“If God wills that … every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago so still it must be said, ’The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.’ ”  (Quoting Psalm 19, verse 9.)
 

Lincoln was sadly affirming what Thomas Jefferson, theorist of liberty and practitioner of slavery, had said about slavery two generations before: “I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just.”

I hope this gives hope to others, and each one of you can do this, as we did in  Dallas.

Mike Ghouse is president of America Together Foundation, and is committed to building a cohesive America, where no American has to live in apprehension or fear of the other.  He is a speaker on Interfaith matters, pluralism and Islam. His info in 62 links at www.MikeGhouse.net 

Ferguson is burning, I stand with the people. Never again.

I stand in protest with the people of Ferguson for Justice, and wish these protests become a catalyst to eradicate the evil of racism from our society. Let’s be clear the bad guys are one or two to a million good police officers we have, but their actions create despair and trust issues in public safety and we must punish the bad guys to the maximum our law allows, no one should dare do this again. I pray for a safe America for every resident, and no one should live in fear of the other. Never again

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Mike Ghouse is a public speaker, thinker, writer and a commentator on Pluralism at work place, politics, religion, society, gender, race, culture, ethnicity, food and foreign policy. All about him is listed in several links at www.MikeGhouse.net and his writings are at www.TheGhousediary.com and 10 other blogs. He is committed to building cohesive societies and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day.