I noticed that now everyone is calling this guy a "professor". Having a PhD. does not making you a professor - that's a job you're hired for. According to Berkeley, he's just a minor-level instructor. Let's not give this guy any more atatus than he deserves.

Oops! I meant "status".

Keep those emails, letters and phone calls coming:

www.conservativealerts.com/041404.htm

send a FREE message to Robert M. Berdahl, the Chancellor of U.C. Berkeley, DEMANDING that Prof. Bazian be FIRED for his treacherous remarks. (And for those of you so inclined... Chancellor Berdahl's office number is 510-642-7464; Prof. Bazian's office number is 510-642-8356.)

Mike H

Don't worry guys, the job is done. I gave Robert M. Berdahl a call and he said he will look into the matter. Berdahl seemed surprised which is a positive sign.

FYI
(Group's Call to Action for grass roots network)

ACTION ALERT: DEFEND FREE SPEECH
STOP THE ATTACKS ON DR. HATEM BAZIAN!

Dr. Hatem Bazian, a highly respected lecturer at the University of California, Berkeley in the Near Eastern Studies and Ethnic Studies Departments, is being victimized by a mean-spirited national right-wing campaign. His just defense of the Palestinian people and his call to end war and suffering of all in Iraq are being
maliciously portrayed as "incitement of violence and sedition."

Capitalizing on the vicious anti-Arab and anti-Muslim hate fest that is escalating in the U.S. as the occupation in Iraq erupts, reaching critical stages, right-wing and racist forces are engaged in attacks designed to seriously jeopardize the well-being of Arab- and Muslim-Americans - particularly outspoken community leaders, prominent activists and critical scholars - in an attempt to completely silence dissent against the violence of occupation. Behind it all is the racist belief that critical speech and the Bill of Rights come to a
screeching halt at the doorstep of Arab- and
Muslim-American homes, thus falsely positioning them as conspirators within. Popular statements such as "we need regime change," that are being made daily by many all the way from John Kerry to progressive activists, are being twisted and presented as "sedition" and "treason" in a
McCarthy-style purge.

Although Arab- and Muslim-Americans are particularly targeted and scapegoated, the attack on the Bill of Rights and the right to dissent is incrementally affecting all sectors without exception. The intent is to create a fully
compliant population, criminalize opposition, and expand the political reach of an ideological right-wing extreme.

Dr. Bazian has been receiving livid hate mail; his work at the University is being challenged; and extremist elements are threatening his and his family's well-being. Like millions of Americans and people around the globe, Dr.
Bazian has been an articulate and outspoken critic of U.S. foreign policy - calling for a U.S. that is at peace with itself and with nations around the world on the basis of
equality and liberty for all.

Hatem was a prominent student leader at San Francisco State University during the eighties and later at UC Berkeley in the nineties - both are institutions best known for their legacy of the free speech and anti-war movements. During his student years, he fully championed
the rights of disenfranchised communities, people of color, supported ethnic, labor and gender studies, and worked to organize an effective U.S. student movement on a national scale in opposition to both NAFTA and GATT. Hatem
served as Chair of the U.C. Berkeley Graduate Assembly, and from 1995-1999 was coordinator of the Graduate Minority Students Project of the Graduate Assembly, through which he spearheaded statewide efforts to defeat Proposition 209, a 1996 California-wide anti-affirmative
action proposition. Bazian was also active in the
anti-Apartheid struggle and Central American solidarity movements. In 1990, Hatem was the Chair of the National People of Color Student Coalition and executive member of the Board of the United States Student Association.

We ask you to take a stand in clear support of free speech and against the racist criminalization of Arab-Americans,
Muslim-Americans and all people standing against war and occupation. The escalation of rhetoric by President Bush in conjunction with the increase in military force and attacks on the Iraqi people will likely give yet another green light for further anti-Arab and anti-Muslim backlash. We need to take a strong stand now!

thanks for the post, pea-nut. this is just as i expected. this event is going to force the anti-american left-wing fifth column out of the closet.

i just did a google for the search "Hatem Bazian intifada united states" and got 113 hits. the story is getting out there!

Ted, help school me....

I understand anti-american and left-wing, but what does "fifth column" mean?

While the language of the call to action (though unverified) is reasoned and not of the "inflammatory" sense, the organization has very suspicious financial dealings...the "Peoples" org that accepts donations on their behalf does not publish an annual report and there's no trace of a 990 filing in ususal sources though they claim to be a 501(c)3.

hmmm....

I just received an email informing me that the email that I sent to Chancellor Berdhal has wound up on www.indybay.org/news/2004/04/1677394.php and the email is correct.

to pea-nut: "fifth column" during the cold war referred to communist sympathizers and agents within america. it really means "the enemy within." nowadays, it is slang for the very far-left agitated anarchistic kind of people that you may find associated with such organizations as a.n.s.w.e.r. or the earth liberation front. the dictionary gives the following definition:

NOUN: A clandestine subversive organization working within a country to further an invading enemy's military and political aims.

ETYMOLOGY: First applied in 1936 to rebel sympathizers inside Madrid when four columns of rebel troops were attacking that city.

if anyone is curious as to what the communists are up to these days, check out this site:

http://www.internationalanswer.org/news/update/041404bazian.html

and to think they are soliciting "tax-deductible donations" on the web.

Ted thanks for the education!

I wasn't aware that answer had direct communist ties though they receive passthrough donations from a communist slanted organization. They are loosely affiliated with union organizations vis a vis their coke campaign (Columbia paramilatary slayings in plants)

Hello Pea-nut,

You have presented the ideal picture of Hatem Bazin from the left-wing, progressive politically correct point of view. He may well be a personally likeable and idealistic person, with good intentions. However, good intentions are all too often a cover for deeper and darker motives.
It seems that today there are two schools of thought about the greatest political danger facing the world. One camp believes it is America, George Bush, multinational corporations, etc; the other sees islamic fundamentalism as the new danger.
It is important to be able to think for oneself to some degree and to examine the evidence and the arguments.
I am offended by Enron, corporate shenanigans and Karl Rove's Machiavellian and amoral election tactics. However, in the big picture, these are secondary to the imminent and present danger of islamic Fundamentalism.
The muslim world is caught upon the horns of a dilemna: to stay true to the literal fundamentalist teachings of Islam, with the result of falling behind the modern world, or, to break out of the rigid dogmatic interpretation of islam and to join the modern world.
Right now it appears that the islamic world, and especially the Arab wold, is caught up in blanket denial of its problems and conveniently blames it all upon Israel and the USA. They are not taking responsibility for their own future because they cannot see a future outside of submission to Islam, and that doesn't get them the goods of the modern world. They are angry, frustrated, irratiional, emotional and getting more and more into a reflexive jihad consciousness.

So, when Hatem Bazin, a Palestinian-born resident of the USA, calls for an intifada here in the USA, he is bringing his ancient blood feuds to our shores. He is also showing his primary allegiance to be Palestine, and not the USA. In the current war situation this verges on sedition. Intifada equals terror, equals suicide bombings, equals armed mullahs inciting their congregations to war, etc...

Look, peanut, these guys are like Jerry Falwell on steroids!!!! Wake up and smell the coffee! What they are advocating is a rigid, autocratic, theocratic dictatorship of the mullahs. Hatem Bazin is an agent of Islam as a global cultural/political force. In my humble estimation this force is profoundly anti-evolutionary, anti-freedom, anti-women, anti-individual freedom, etc.

I demonstrated against the Vietnam War but this is not Vietnam. This is very different. It is ironic that all the supposed 'progressives' are so blinded in their monomaniacal mindset that their hatred of Bush blinds them to the reality of a far greater danger. It brings to mind the sad story of the left-wing intellectuals in the 1930's who visited Stalin's 'workers' paradise' and praised it as the new utopia. Blind, so blind!

Free your mind, brother, and dare too entertain another viewpoint. A mind filled with conclusions is closed to new insight. Wake up! Are you absolutely sure that the moral high ground lies with the anti-Americans? Really?

Mike H

good commentary, mike. i guess i'm a little confused on this one. i was under the impression that pea-nut was merely informing us -- as opposed to advocating -- what the defenders of hatem bazin al-sadr were up to....

TDog and everyone:

I found it astounding that when TDog spoke to Chancellor Berdahl about Bazian, he seemed surprised. I myself - and many others who've so noted on this site- have called and left messages and e-mailed letters and copies of the article. Someone must have intercepeted A LOT of material for this to have been the first Berdahl heard of it (maybe the same person who got a hold of zzx375's letter to the Chancellor and posted it at the "Defend Hatem Bazian" site, along with zzx375's name and address).

I suggest that anyone still interested call and speak personally today to the Chancellor and the Deans of the College, Division and Department which employ Bazian. The article posted by pea-nut said that Bazian's work at the university was being "challenged". Let's keep that up.

Note that not once in the article posted by pea-nut above defending Bazian does it address what he actually said.

We need to reinforce, in our complaints, that these are not "alleged" comments but that THEY ARE ON VIDEO!!! That's evidence, proof ...

It was Stalin who first coined the term 'useful idiots' to refer to those American communists who supported him.

Good posting, Mike! You really managed to keep your cool with pea-nut (brain).

Mike H, Thank you for taking the time to respond so thoroughly to my prior post. Keep in mind that when you write things like, "ree your mind brother" I am actually a sister....

Ted was correct. I posted the spin on this story being put out by the left. Discourse is not a loudspeaker activity...it is a full-duplex listening and rebutting.

Mike wrote, "It seems that today there are two schools of thought about the greatest political danger facing the world." I must reply that there are many more schools of thought than two and there is not a "political danger facing the world". The term "political danger" is a stringing of words without definitive meaning.

Camus wrote wonderfully about the inter-connectednes of events throughout the world in his "Neither Victims Nor Executioners."

Regarding the reason behind this thread, I have been trying to obtain a complete transcript of what was said before, during and after the noted comments, and also the context and reaction....deadly firestorms create a lot of smoke and heat and unfortuneately they can be started by someone flicking a cigarette out the window....which is not the same as pouring gasoline and inviting others to throw down matches.

I do think there are people who mean harm, but don't more folks die in drunk driving accidents here than from terrorism? Wouldn't drunk drivers be more of a realizable threat then terrorists?

I do not believe that it is religion we are fighting against. We are fighting against fanaticism. I will have to revisit my Viktor Frankl because he wrote very well about this subject and I'm rusty on it at present.

Mike wrote, "In the current war situation this verges on sedition." Sedition seems like Junior Varsity treasonn. I say let there always be sedition and a reasoned questioning of the goverment and policies, because it is really the people behind government that we question, and people are motivated by their own loves, dislikes, need for power and prestige, and sometimes, oh those wonderful sometimes, when ego is not involved and there is a beautiful and true interpretation and application of law.

I can not say that I am "anti-war" because there is definitely a need for defense. And I am not "pro-peace" because given a choice between justice and mercy, I think I'd generally pick justice every time, and sometimes what goes hand in hand with justice is unavoidable collateral damage.

Pea-nut:

The point of balance lies between Justice and Mercy.
But Justice comes first, then tempered by Mercy.

That's how we will have to deal with Islamic Fascism.
It is a political issue because it pits the 'polis' of the West against the 'Dar al Islam'. It is a core issue because it is the confrontation of two very different cultural-political streams of consciousness; two very different paradigms.

Islam's paradigm is frozen in medieval time, and this accounts for its inability to fully join modernity. It is a 'holistic' philosophy/culture because it embraces all aspects of life under one teaching. It unites all the discrete elements of life into one 'unified field' of values.

Now compare that to the Westerrn understanding of 'holistic', 'unified field', and you get my drift. We are talking apples and oranges.

The Left is so riddled with hatred of Bush that it has lost almost all semblance of any rational objectivity. The right wing has its own 'bete noirs' that cause it to lose reason, but that is another matter. The left wing fails to apprehend the imperial ambitions of Islam, just as it failed to see the seemy underbelly of Stalin's 'workers' paradise'. The cardinal sins of the Left are utopianism and naivite, or rather, naive utopianism. This blinds them too the real motivations and dynamics of Islamic Fundamentalism.

I just re-read Victor Frankl's 'Man's Search For Meaning'. It's a great book, a real story. Islamic Fascism is far closer to the Nazis than most people care to realize. But we are waking up to its reality and what it means to the world.

In the final analysis the appeal of Islam rests in its vision of a simpler past, a simpler, more devout life, a life based upon God, a rest from the turmoil of 'Future Shock' generated by the West. It challenges the reality and validity of the spiritual life of the West. But it fails to realize that, while organized religion may be on the wane, the true spiritual life exists within the individual. The West is and remains the home of the spiritual freedom of the individual. And Islam cannot, will not accept that. All must 'submit' to Islam.

No thanks. I'll pass. And I will confront the Hatem Bazins of this world who use the freedoms of the West to undermine the West.

Mike H

...the true spiritual life exists within the individual.... (Pea-nut up in balcony, standing ovation saying wonderfully done!!!)

What a brilliant post and thank you for it!

Ah, lovely discourse and to improve one's horizons....

But I do not know enough about this specific situation to either vilify or to defend the Berkeley lecturer. I don't think that the right approach is to fight words with threats of violence.

I'm of the fight words with better crafted arguments and fight bullets with better aimed bullets.

When there is no discourse, no interchange of ideas, that is what frightens me. The terrorists lived quietly here....I am afraid of the quietly fanatic....which I would imagine are in the audience and swayed by vocal calls for intifada. It is the actors, not the speakers, to hunt and eliminate.

I think lamps are useful for finding moths, if you catch my meaning.

Mike, are you familiar with Honest Reporting (www.honestreporting.com)? They do a great job of watchdogging the media, most recently shining the light on an openly anti-Israel Reuters journalist among other things.

Again, thanks for the reply.

YES, THE PROF GOT LAYED OFF UNTIL FURTHER INVESTIGATION

Zak,

PLEASE tell me this is not a joke! How can I verify this? How did you find out?

Quit pussy-footing around. What this "professor" did was an act of sedition. Please look up the Sedition Act of 1918 in your Google search if you don't believe me. It is time we started enforcing it.

I don't know if he has been layed-off or not, but his eamil address as listed in the 04-05 UCB Campus Directory is hats@igc.org and his number is 510.642.7792, Rm. 250 Barrows Hall