"We do so to ... find a political settlement," he said. "Reliable civilian governance and a stronger and more effective Palestinian armed opposition will better enable the opposition to be able to provide the counterweight to the initiative of Israel to reach out across borders ... to bring Americans and to bring French - again, a terrorist organization - to the table."

No, no that's not what John Kerry said. To argue the US support of the rebels, he said the following about Syria:

"We do so to ... find a political settlement," he said. "Reliable civilian governance and a stronger and more effective armed opposition will better enable the opposition to be able to provide the counterweight to the initiative of Assad to reach out across borders ... to bring Iranians and to bring Hezbollah - again, a terrorist organization - to the table."

Let's review what the US Administration actions and supports:
1. Supports Shiites against Sunnis in Iraq
2. Supports Sunnis against Shiites in Syria.
3. Supports Christians against Muslims in Lebanon.
4. Supports Muslims against C opts (Christians) in Egypt.
5. Supports Christians against Muslims in Sudan/South Sudan
6. Supports  Israel (Jewish) against Palestinians (Muslims and Christians)
7. Supports dictatorial regime (Morocco, Algeria, .... Saudi Arabia, etc....)
8. Supports Afghanistan's Karzai against Talibans and  fights Talibans 
9. Opens direct talks with Talibans in Qatar
10. Supports Sunnis against Shiites in Bahrain.
11. Supports Military regime in Egypt against democratically-elected Morsi government.

Confused? I am too.

Is Congressman Aaron Shock (Il-18) afraid of being associated with a strong community of Muslim citizens in the town of Peoria? Is meeting with a community of academics, medical professionals, and technical leaders a political death for a republican congressman? That seems to be the case. I have learned from a reliable source that the congressman has refused to meet the Muslim community. In addition, attempts to find a date that would suit the congressman have unfortunately failed.

In the years after 9/11, any association with anything or anybody related to Islam scares many politicians. They must be afraid of supporting "terrorists." Patriotism is driving a divide between law-abiding citizens and their potential representatives.

If you wan to know what it the make of these shoes, drop me a line.

I love couscous, the North Africa dish made with semolina. Do you? Sundays are my favorite days because my wife always prepares a couscous for dinner. In addition, when we have guests, she also makes couscous, and I love that. When she makes it for us, she makes it with garbanzo beans and she throws in a small piece of salted and dried mutton. Mmm..., I love the salted taste of the meat.

However, yesterday, I got offended. My daughter brought home the “Body of Lies” movie for us to watch. Directed by Ridley Scott with the screenplay by William Monahan and the novel by David Ignatius, it follows Roger Ferris (Leonardo DiCaprio), who is a CIA operative in the Middle East. Ed Hoffman, played by Russell Crowe, is his control at Langley.

Now you must be wondering why I am blogging about couscous and then about the “Body of Lies.” It is simple: Couscous was mentioned twice condescendly as if couscous eaters are potential terrorists who can neither befriended nor trusted. I am really trustworthy. One friend from India told me so.

Now, I do not go around accusing hamburger eaters to be killers of Afghani and Iraqi children. I know better. Instead, I think that former President Bush should be dragged into the International Court of Justice for killing thousands of Afghani and Iraqi civilians.

Now given that couscous is mostly a North African dish, why in the hell did the movie refer to it? Couscous is hardly popular in Iraq and Jordan where the movie takes place.

Until recently because of TV images, the public believed that 70% of American Italians were members of the mafia. However, the true rate is about 0.03% because out of 15 million Italian American, there were only 5,000 who were “made” mafia, according to the FBI. In addition, out of the 500,000 members of organized crime in America today, Italian Americans only have 1,500 members, which means only 0.3% of organized crime members are Italian Americans. The jump from 0.03% to 70% is caused by TV and movie images and stereotypes.

I remember reading that the New York Post published an apology for the cartoon that depicted a police officer who killed a chimpanzee. I think that Scott Ridley should also apologize for spreading the idea that couscous eaters are potential terrorists.

This social construction of the image of foreigners leads the public to the stereotype that most couscous-eating are untrustworthy people or potential terrorists. This is unfair.

I am tired of the stereotyping by Hollywood, and I am going to write a letter and request an apology from the director. I mean what is this idea of spreading cultural misinformation that causes prejudice.

In addition, I am starting to be concerned: What if the FBI calls me back for an interrogation because I am a couscous eater…?