This great article by Robert Fisk is a must read:

“We’ve got so used to the carnage of the Middle East that we don’t care any more – providing we don’t offend the Israelis. It’s not clear how many of the Gaza dead are civilians, but the response of the Bush administration, not to mention the pusillanimous reaction of Gordon Brown, reaffirm for Arabs what they have known for decades: however they struggle against their antagonists, the West will take Israel’s side. As usual, the bloodbath was the fault of the Arabs – who, as we all know, only understand force”.

Read full article…

Ok I believe most of you already know about this whole Rachael Ray Dunkin’ Donuts commercial that’s been pulled for its “terrorist symbolism”.

Just in case some of you still don’t know what the hell I’m talking about, the thing is, Rachael Ray wore a black-and-white scarf around her neck,that was selected by her stylist, and boom all hell broke loose. Yep it’s all because of the scarf, as insane and ridiculous as it sounds, but that’s what happened, because according to ultraconservative right-wing bloggers Michelle Malkin and Charles Johnson this isn’t just any scarf: Rachael’s “scarf” is actually the Palestinian kaffiyeh, and she is supporting Palestinian hate and terrorism by wearing it. Malkin would like to hear more from Dunkin’ Donuts before she decides whether or not to boycott the chain, because of the terrorist scarf this chef is wearing. [Via: Hollywood Crap]. Not to mention blogger Pam Geller’s post under the header “Rachel [sic] Ray: Dunkin Donuts Jihad Tool“: “Have you seen Rachel [sic] Ray wearing the icon of Yasser Arafat bastard and the bloody Islamic jihad. This is part of the cultural jihad,” [Via: Newsweek]

In response Dunkin’ Donuts put out this statement: “In a recent online ad, Rachael Ray is wearing a black-and-white silk scarf with a paisley design. It was selected by her stylist for the advertising shoot. Absolutely no symbolism was intended. However, given the possibility of misperception, we are no longer using the commercial.” [Via: Shine from Yahoo]

Just for the record, Keffiyeh (which is pronounced Kofeyyah in Arabic) has no religious or political significance whatsoever. It is simply a piece of cloth that’s been worn by Arabs over the years in the whole Arab region, to protect skin from sun and dust. It differs according to each country, difference is in style, material of cloth used, the way its wrapped around the face or neck, and the color. Yes the black-and-white Keffiyeh is the one used in Palestine, but again, it’s just a traditional thing. Yes Arafat did wear it, but it wasn’t a thing he created or something only he strictly wore, Arabs, as I mentioned, wore Keffiyeh ages before Arafat and they still wear it for traditional reasons. You can learn more about the Keffiyeh here, which interestingly has new updates relating to the Dunkin’ Donuts incident and the whole Keffiyeh-means-Palestine-solidarity thing. So the Keffiyeh is just like the American cowboy hat, the Mexican hat, and the Dutch wooden clogs, it’s as simple as that. But Malkin argues that it’s “a regular adornment of Muslim terrorists appearing in beheading and hostage-taking videos” [Via: Boston Herald], did Malkin ever notice that in many of these videos the terrorists would be also wearing a pair of blue jeans? does that make any jeans-wearing person a terrorist?

Lorraine Ali comments: “Despite the fact that the kaffiyeh is worn by millions, including Middle Eastern men, arty college students, tourists, Kanye West and even U.S. troops, who use it to keep the sand and dust at bay, the bloggers jumped on the case, exposing what they saw as the latest Mideast threat to freedom and democracy—this time in the insidious form of an iced-coffee ad.”

Dunkin’ Donuts believe that by dumping the commercial they have apologized for the unintended  claimed offense, and saved themselves from the angry anti-Arabs who called for boycott. What they don’t realise is that by such an act they have accepted portraying all keffiyeh-style scarves-wearers as terrorists or terrorism provoking individuals, whether being Arab or not; not only that, but they have “unintentionally” accused all designers who were inspired by the simple, practical, and cool style of the Arab keffiyeh, to be Arab-terrorism promoters who are playing a role in the “cultural jihad”. And it doesn’t stop here, it also means that you -regardless of your religion, origin, or profession- are not allowed to acknowledge the presence of Palestine, nor even think they are actual human beings, because they’re not, they’re just Keffiyeh-wearing terrorists,  and if you dare pick up anything from their culture, let it be a stupid scarf, then you’ll be treated as a terrorist yourself.

Lorraine adds: “This ad was pulled because anti-Arab bloggers saw it as promoting a culture they love to hate, and they used the terrorism card to push their agenda through. The amazing part is that Dunkin’ Donuts caved. They should be ashamed, …because they validated the warped idea that the mere existence of a race—and anything worn by its people—can be controversial. It’s doubtful the ad would have been pulled if a handful of critics found Ray’s garb too Hispanic or too African-American. The groups themselves would have been dismissed as bigoted or insane.”

And as Associated Content’s mmoq37 says: “Now I’m probably not as smart as the people who were able to pick up on the terrorist associations and symbolism in the commercial, but I hope that they don’t feel like they have made an accomplishment by having the ad pulled, if anything they have done more harm than good. (I can just imagine some poor woman, who shares the same bad taste in scarfs, being harassed and accosted by an angry group of ignorant people simply because they think that her scarf looks like a keffiyeh“.

Broken Mystic has a great point: “don’t people realize how racist Michelle Malkin’s remarks are? Can’t they see the racist undertones; can’t they see the dehumanization of a people, the sheer vilification of a people? According to people like her, anyone who wears that scarf is a “murderous Palestinian jihadist.” If Dunkin’ Donuts doesn’t want to offend anyone in their commercials, then how come they don’t realize that they’re offending the Muslim and Arab community by agreeing with Malkin’s racist interpretation of the scarf?“.

Anti-racism organizations such as ANSWER have called for a worldwide boycott of Dunkin’ Donuts. As they explain: “The fact that a giant corporation like Dunkin’ Donuts quickly pulled the advertisement is a sign that the pervasive racism, chauvinism and xenophobia peddled by right-wing bigots is a real danger. This is a classic tactic of fascist intimidation and demonization of an entire population“.

I myself will not set foot in any Dunkin’ Donuts branch until they officially apologize for labeling our entire race as terrorists and for associating our culture and our traditional clothing with inhumane evil terrorism. And I would just like to remind Dunkin’ Donuts that the financial profits they are getting from their shops that are spread in the entire Arab region are because of Keffiyeh-wearing people, and that there are -or better say were- millions of loyal Arab customers who enjoy their services and products and welcome them in their countries, just as there are thousands of Arabs who are loyal employees at their branches. So it’s such a shame to use our land for marketing, use our money for profit and then be ashamed to show our traditional clothing in one of your many commercials.

I do understand the situation Dunkin’ Donuts people are in, and I don’t encourage offending any race, let alone allow my race to be offended and demonized in such an ignorant way. So I believe an official apology is the least they could do. And I will certainly never be ashamed of our Keffiyeh, and will always be proud to wear it, or decorate my home with it.

As Lorraine beautifully states: “Let’s face it, the real danger here is not the girly scarf charged with being a kaffiyeh, or that jihadists are purportedly using Dunkin’ Donuts as a backdoor into America’s malleable consciousness. It’s that the cries of a few commentators indulging in the worst form of racial stereotyping—and their demonization of an entire culture—was enough to spook a giant corporation.” and I couldn’t agree more…