These "scholars" are asking President Obama, Florida Governor, and Gainesville Mayor to intervene. Such a request to the elected officials proves these "scholars" neither have any knowledge of the American laws, nor they bothered to consult a lawyer before writing this letter. These "scholars" must understand that the same first amendment to the US Constitution that gives every person living in the US the right to express their feelings towards anybody and anything (freedom of expression includes the right to burn effigies of public figures, burn the US flag, and even burn the US constitution), grants freedom to all Americans to burn religious books. Unlike Sultans, Kings, and All-Powerful heads of states Muslims are familiar with, the US president, the Florida Governor, and the Mayor of Gainesville are sworn to be subservient to the US Constitution, including all the amendments; these elected figures cannot intervene in the legal system, on a case by case basis.
Muslims must grow a thicker skin and learn to ignore acts of provocation, instead of reacting to them and propelling small town news to an international level and making Johnny Nobody famous.

Photo courtesy of CBC News.

====and the original letter=========

Muslim Shia Council
In the Name of God the Beneficent, the Merciful

AN OFFENSE AGAINST THE HOLY QURAN

* Our letter and appeal to all the believers in North America
* Suggested letter to the officials
* Information and mailing details


OurLetterThe Letter from the Council of Shia Muslim Scholars in North America
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful

Peace & blessings upon you (Salam Alikum)

On September 11th, a group in Florida is organizing a day to burn the Holy Quran. The Council of Shia Muslim Scholars in North America is sending this letter to:

* The United States President Mr. Barack Obama
* The Governor of the State of Florida Mr. Charlie Crist
* The Mayor of Gainesville, Florida, Mr. Craig Lowe
* Senator of the State of Florida, Mr. Bill Nelson
* Senator of the State of Florida, Mr. George LeMieux

We urge you to please show your support for our position by sending this letter from your own e-mails or home address to the detailed addresses below (please refer to the end of this e-mail for the detailed information.)

In this Holy Month, the month of revelation of the Holy Quran, the least we can all do is defend the Book of God by communicating this position to others.

May God shower with His Mercy and accept your work.
Thank you.

Peace & blessings upon you (Salam Alikum)


OfficialLetterSuggested Letter to the officials in support of the position of the Council
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Dear ____________________,

Kind greetings to you.

Surely, you are aware of some of the radical voices calling for burning the Holy Quran on the ninth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 tragedy. This issue is becoming increasingly worrisome to American citizens with each passing day.
We, the Council of Shia Muslim Scholars in North America, with the responsibilities we hold toward our fellow citizens - whether they be Muslims or not - and with that which is entrusted to us by thousands of our adherents from mosques and Islamic centers across the United States, say the following:

Indeed, we thank the majority of our Christian brethren as they have denounced this grave offense against one of the world's major religions. We truly do extend our gratitude to the religious personalities and groups, church officials, and humanitarian organizations that have condemned this attack on more than 1.5 billion Muslims. Still, we write to you because you are responsible for the security and stability of this nation and one of the greatest priorities is to prevent potential harm from reaching American citizens. These proposed irresponsible appeals are no more than attempts at causing sedition that can rip the fabric of the American public by playing on the strings of faction and religion - the connection between a human and his Lord and Creator.

We have complete confidence in your ability to absorb and deal with a situation of this gravity, realizing its repercussions. We also have hope in what the American people have become familiar with in your awareness, boldness and courage. Thus, we anticipate that you will intervene to stop the likes of these provocative and troublesome acts which are targeting people this time by exploiting the garb of faith and posing with sacred robes in the hearts of the faithful.

Sincerely Yours,

_______________________


AddressesAddresses & Information
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. President of the United States:
* The President, The White House, Washington, DC 20500
* http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact
2. Mayor of Gainesville, Florida
* Mayor: Craig Lowe, Gainesville, Florida
* mayor@cityofgainesville.org
* lowesc@cityofgainesville.org
* 200 E University Ave, Gainesville, FL, 32601
3. Governor of the State of Florida
* Governor Charlie Crist (Charlie.Crist@MyFlorida.com)
* Office of Governor Charlie Crist,
o State of Florida,
o The Capitol, 400 S. Monroe St.,
o Tallahassee, FL 32399-0001
4. Senators of the State of Florida
* Senator: Bill Nelson
o 716 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
o Tel: (202) 224-5274
o Fax: (202) 224-5274
o Web Form: billnelson.senate.gov/contact/index.cfm
* Senator: George S. LeMieux
o 356 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
o Tel: (202) 224-3041
o Fax: (202) 224-3041
o Web Form: lemieux.senate.gov/public/?p=EmailSenatorLeMieux

Catching the Wave at the OPEN Silicon Valley Forum 2010


Ever since this scribe went to his first OPEN (Organization of Pakistani Entrepreneurs of North America) Silicon Valley forum the annual event seems to be expanding in the number of presentations. Last year the conference presented three different tracks. This year there were the same number of tracks plus a mini-track on “Birds of a feather”, the gatherings of alumni of various Pakistani universities.

The theme of this year’s forum was “Catch the Wave.” In the tranquility of the present recession market it was natural to ask which wave OPEN had in mind. Naeem Zafar, who replaced Dilawar Syed as OPEN’s new president last year, had the answer. In his presidential message Zafar explained that the Silicon Valley, when compared to the last couple of years, was seeing an increased activity and the theme of the conference caught the air of optimism associated with the renewed flow of capital.

For the last couple of years OPEN has been using the word “keynote” quite liberally—and understandably so: OPEN has to accommodate a number of high profile professionals and give each one of them equal importance. So, this year, there were four keynote speeches. The morning keynote was give by Faysal Sohail, Managing Director, CMEA Capital. The title of his talk was, “Beyond the Busted Decade.”

The afternoon keynote by Rafiq Mohammadi, CEO Interwoven, was on “Scaling to a Billion: Lessons for Entrepreneurs.” ‘Don’t sell cheap,” was the advice that was repeated several times during the talk.

The Gen Y keynote was given by the Ex-president of OPEN, Dilawar Syed. Syed spoke on “The Art of Organizing.”

Speaking on “Bottom-up Entrepreneurship for Democracy and Development” the evening keynote speaker Professor Iqbal Z. Quadir, founder and director, The Legatum Center, MIT, shared with the audience his experiences of working for social uplift in Bangladesh. He rejected several facets of conventional wisdom including the myth that large populations of developing countries are stumbling blocks in the economic growth of those nations, that mineral rich countries are more fortunate, etc.

In “Among the Believers” Naipaul writes wryly about his guide who while showing Naipaul around would pray at different mosques—Naipaul likened that act of his escort to that of a bee sucking nectar from various flowers. This roving reporter too tried to benefit from as many talks as he could, but finding the task daunting just attended whatever sessions he could. Although this scribe was able to catch only a fraction of the OPEN show, in the following report he would give the names of all the talks and the speakers who made presentations. This is being done not only to record the conference, but to acknowledge the hard work of OPEN volunteers who worked very hard in making each and every part of the conference successful. This reporter was fortunate to attend only the programs NOT followed by the phrase “program brochure”, below.

A panel discussion on “Ending Up in a Down Economy”—a more realistic appreciation of the economic situation, when compared to the theme of the conference—was moderated by Zia Yusuf. Panelists included Osman Rashid, CEO, Kno, Inc.; Safwan Shah, co-founder of Chowk dot com; and Rehan Jalil, President, Wichorus. [Program brochure]

Faysal Sohail, moderated a panel on “Future of Personal Transportation”; experts included an advocate of electric cars, Richard Lowenthal of Coulomb Technologies, and a campaigner of hybrid cars, Maurice Gunderson of CMEA Capital.

Lowenthal called audience’s attention to not only the environmental problems associated with burning fossil fuels, but also to the hazards of oil extraction—the continuing saga of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill being an excellent example.

Gunderson said that rough calculations indicate that even if the earth were hollow and filled up with oil, consuming at the peak demand it would only take 86 years to exhaust the hypothetical total oil supply.

A talk on “Funding: Of Angels and Super Angels”, moderated by Umair Khan included Jeff Clavier, Founder, SoftTech VC; Ann Miura-Ko, Partner, FLOODGATE; Salman Ullah, Co-founder, Merus Capital; Elon Boms, Founder and Managing Director, Launch Capital LLC; and Michael Tanne, Founded and CEO, Wink.

In a talk titled “Reason to Believe- Finding A New Public Narrative for Pakistan”,
Mir Ibrahim Rahman, the young CEO of GEO Networks TV said what Pakistanis have achieved despite all odds was unbelievable. He ended the talk stating his personal belief that Pakistan would emerge triumphant out of all the crises it is facing.

OPEN’s regular fixture, Entrepreneurship Idol competition, was moderated by Naeem Zafar and included Salman Ullah, Mark Gorenberg, and Riaz Karamali as judges. [Program brochure]

A panel discussion on “Authentic Leadership” was moderated by Saadia Ahmed, Financial Advisor, Waddell and Reed. The panelists included Imran Sayeed, Senior Vice President, Keane; Athena Katsaros, Leadership Trainer, Executive and Team Coach; Noosheen Hashmi, Philanthropist; and Voytek K. Siewierski. [Program brochure]

Sumaya Kazi, CEO & Editor-in-Chief, YoProCo.com led a workshop on “Demystifying Social Media Marketing”. Kazi spoke about her experiences in boosting traffic to business web sites through the use of social media portals.

A panel on “Media in the Mobile World” was moderated by Omar Khan, Founder, Carbonated.tv. Panelists included Mir Ibrahim Rahman, CEO, Geo TV; Amy Plemons, TV Producer; and Imran Maskatia of Microsoft. Mir Ibrahim Rahman said the Pakistani media has educated the people; he was confident that the next elections in Pakistan would be agenda-based.

Idris Kothari, Founder and VP Engineering, Vertical Systems, Inc. moderated a panel on “Pakistani Education’s Role in Entrepreneurship.” Panelists included Dr. Ahmad Jan Durrani, Vice Chancellor, Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS); M. Raghib Hussain, Co-founder, Cavium Networks; Dr. Jahanzeb Sherwani, Founder and CEO of iTeleport LLC; and Monis Rehman, Chairman and CEO, Naseeb Networks.
[Program brochure]

“The Next Wave of Innovators: Meet the Social Entrepreneurs” was moderated by Saad Khan, Partner, CMEA Capital. Panelists included Salman Khan, Founder, Khan Academy, an Internet sensation and a growing collection of scores of useful educational videos; Leila Chirayath Janah, CEO, Samasource; Misbah Naqvi, Business Development Manager, Acumen Fund; and Tabreez Verjee, Board Member & Seed Investor, Kiva. [Program brochure]

A discussion on “Beyond BRIC: Opportunities for Entrepreneurship in Emerging Markets” was lead by Dilawar Syed, CEO, Yonja Media Group. Panelists included
Babur Ozden, Advisor to start-ups, former CEO Emerging Market Companies;
Eric Buatois, GP, Sofinnova Ventures; Stephen Ciesinski, VP, Corporate Strategic Programs, SRI International; and Faraz Hoodbhoy, Founder and CEO, PixSense.
Hoodbhoy said he found it tough doing business in Pakistan, as a Pakistani from the Silicon Valley—“We Pakistanis are very mean to each other.” He said his company’s profit margins were higher in other countries where he and his associates were seen as the Silicon Valley guys.

“Put your passion to Work” had Zainab Jeewanjee, Sales Director, Go One Global Corp, as its moderator. The panelists included Rajesh Setty, Entrepreneur, Speaker, Author;
Ethan Casey, Author & Journalist; Cindy McCreery, Screenwriter; and Omar Ahmad, CEO, SynCH Energy. Casey said as a child he wanted to try out new things and not necessarily follow the path others laid down before him. He warned the audience of the economic uncertainty that comes with following one’s passion.

Ashish Mathur, Co-founder and Executive Director of the South Asian Heart Center, gave a talk on “Heart Diseases in South Asian Community”--an apt talk for the stressed out entrepreneurs. Mathur and the topic of his talk were introduced by Dr. Safwan Shah.

Dr. Rafae Bhatti, author of “Privacy in Cloud, Healthcare, and Social Network”, gave a talk on the subject of his book.

Dr. Amad Jan Durrani, VC, LUMS, gave a talk on “Challenges Faced by Higher Education in Pakistan.” [Program brochure]

OPEN Forum 2010 had three ‘Birds of a Feather’ sessions: of the NED University, moderated by Dr. Safwan Shah; of the University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore, moderated by Moazzam Chaudry; and of Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute, moderated by Dr. Rafae Bhatti.

A workshop on “Opening Doors” was moderated by Azhar Zeeshan, Founder, Zaaviya.
Workshop--advisors included Farzana Ali, Organizational Training and Development professional; Dilip G. Saraf, Career and Life Coach; Dr. Ashraf Shirani, Professor, San Jose State University; Ellen Shulman, Associate, Lee Hecht Harrison; and Kate Fiandaca, Recruiter, GreeneSearch. [Program brochure]

Every time the OPEN leadership changes hands, new ideas are tried out at the organization’s flagship annual event. This year, with Naeem Zafar, as the new president the conference extended its scope and ended the day long show with a music program. This year’s conference also saw a mild political activity. A hand-out distributed by the Silicon Valley Pakistani American Council and the Friends of South Asia condemned the May 28 massacre of the Ahmadis in and around Lahore; Pakistanis were urged to be vocal in supporting human rights for all the citizens of Pakistan and to work for a repeal of discriminatory laws that target minorities.

How OPEN, a completely non-profit organization, successfully arranges such splendid events year after year is commendable. What is easy to miss by the attendees of the conference is the hours of hard work the OPEN volunteers put in—whereas the event takes place in July, the planning and preparation work starts early in the year. The program brochure listed the following as the planning team volunteers of OPEN; AbdulRahman Rafiq, Azhar Zeeshan, Babar Yasin, Bari Abdul, Faisal Hanif, Iftikhar Mirza, Jumana Ghadiali, Laiq Chughtai, Melanie Ananthraman, Moazzam Chaudhry, Mubashir Yazdani, Moez Naseer, Mohsin Imam, Mufti Ghadiali, Nadir Rahman, Nayeem Qureshi, Naziya Sayyed, Pooja Batra, Rafae Bhatti, Shahab Riazi, Sonya Sohail, Umair Muzaffar, Zainab Jeewanjee, and Riyadh Abdullah.

[Photo shows OPEN President Naeem Zafar speaking at Forum 2010]

The gem of the following news report is here:

"The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility. In a one-minute video, the group said the attack was in revenge for the death of its leader, Baitullah Mehsud, and the recent killings of the top leaders of al-Qaida in Iraq."

Doesn't this remind you of the hackneyed joke about the famous rape case? A young tigress was raped in the middle of the night. The jungle police was looking for the rapist and was questioning every lion, tiger, and cheetah. And then the phone rang. It was the mouse. He claimed responsibility of the rape.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36892505/ns/us_news-security

Cops quiz SUV owner after failed NYC bombing
Investigators also looking for man seen on security video in Times Square

NEW YORK - New York City police have spoken to the registered owner of the vehicle used as a homemade car bomb in the heart of Times Square but say he is not considered a suspect.

Chief NYPD spokesman Paul Browne would not give further details Monday.

The dark-colored sport utility vehicle didn't have a clearly visible vehicle identification number. Its license plates came from a car found in a Connecticut repair shop.

New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said a white man in his 40s was spotted in security video footage about half a block from where the vehicle was left on Saturday evening with its engine running and hazard lights flashing.

In a video released by police, the man, who appears to be thin, is seen removing a dark shirt, stuffing it into some sort of bag and walking away down the sidewalk, carrying the bag and glancing at least twice over his shoulder.

Attorney General Eric Holder told reporters Monday that investigators had some good leads in addition to the videotape.

He said it was too early in the probe to say whether the incident was of foreign or domestic origin, or to designate it as a terrorist incident, but he did say that those behind the act "intended to spread terror across New York."

Police said they'll be releasing more video of people seen acting suspiciously in and around Times Square, including footage, taken by a tourist, of a man running away from the scene, heading north.

Police told NBC News that it would be incorrect to characterize the people, including the man shown changing his shirt, as "suspects." They were sought for questioning, a spokesman said.

Police found the "amateurish" but potentially powerful bomb in a smoking SUV in the busy theater district Saturday night after being alerted by two street vendors, then cleared the streets of thousands of tourists so they could dismantle it.

'Mayhem'
The 1993 Nissan Pathfinder contained three propane tanks, fireworks, two filled 5-gallon gasoline containers and two clocks with batteries, electrical wire and other components, police said. Timers were connected to a 16-ounce can filled with fireworks that were apparently intended to set the gas cans afire, then ignite the three barbecue-grill-sized propane tanks.

Commissioner Kelly said it was "the intent of whoever did this to cause mayhem, create casualties."

Police also found eight bags weighing more than 100 pounds of a substance that turned out to be fertilizer that was incapable of exploding.

Police spokesman Paul Browne said that unlike the ammonium nitrate grade fertilizer that has been used in terror attacks including the Oklahoma City bombing, this fertilizer would not have caused a massive explosion.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said there was no evidence of a link to al-Qaida or any other militant organization in the failed bomb attack that prompted the evacuation of the teeming entertainment and shopping district.

"It's unfortunate that this happened. I'm confident that we will find out who did it," Bloomberg told reporters outside a Times Square restaurant.

Officials were treating the incident as a potential terrorist attack, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said on NBC's "Meet the Press," though it was too soon to tell who is responsible. She added that investigators had no suspects but that they had recovered forensic evidence, including fingerprints, from the vehicle.

The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility. In a one-minute video, the group said the attack was in revenge for the death of its leader, Baitullah Mehsud, and the recent killings of the top leaders of al-Qaida in Iraq.

Kelly said there was no evidence to support the Pakistani Taliban's claim.

In another video released early Monday and apparently dated early April, Pakistan's Taliban chief promised attacks on major U.S. cities, a monitoring group said.

"We avoided what could have been a very deadly event," Bloomberg said at a news conference earlier Sunday. "It certainly could have exploded and had a pretty big fire and a decent amount of explosive impact."

A T-shirt vendor and a handbag vendor alerted police at about 6:30 p.m. Saturday, the height of dinner hour before theatergoers head to shows.

T-shirt vendor and Vietnam veteran Lance Orton said he alerted a mounted policeman when he noticed smoke coming from a parked SUV.

"People take it lightly," Orton said on NBC's TODAY show. "I've had a few situations where I've told people about things; they say, 'That's nothing.' But you can't take that attitude."

One of Orton's helpers suggested calling 911. Orton said he pointed at mounted police Officer Wayne Rhatigan, who was on duty in Times Square.

"There's a patrolman right there on the horse. I asked one of my guys, 'Go over there and grab that officer,' " Orton recalled. "He came over on horseback. He saw what I did. It was steadily getting worse."

After the vendors noticed the SUV, police cleared buildings and streets at the so-called "Crossroads of the World." Officers were deployed around the area with heavy weapons on empty streets in the heart of busy midtown Manhattan.

A white robotic police arm then broke the windows of the vehicle to remove any explosive devices.

While he called the device "amateurish," Bloomberg said it could have been deadly.

"We are very lucky," he said.

A Connecticut license plate on the vehicle did not match the SUV, according to authorities. Police interviewed the vehicle's owner, who told police he had sent the plates to a nearby junkyard, Bloomberg said.

'Act of terrorism'
New York Gov. David Paterson called the incident an "act of terrorism."

"Luckily, no one is hurt, and now the full attention of city, state and federal law enforcement will be turned to bringing the guilty party to justice in this act of terrorism," Paterson said in a statement.

[Photo courtesy of AP]

World's Worst Industrial Disaster Remembered in the Bay Area


Are you looking for a powerful metaphor that would highlight the clash of personal and corporate greed with the public good? A metaphor in which the greed would ultimately win by putting the dispensable, no-good public in a gas chamber? We already got one. It is called Bhopal. In the middle of the night on December 3, 1984, a poisonous cloud, emanating from Union Carbide’s pesticide factory in Bhopal, slowly enveloped the vicinity of the factory and started killing and maiming people. Over three thousand people died within hours of this tragedy—those who survived, after being exposed to the deadly gas, lived and have been living a life of agony. The current death toll related to the gas leak stands at over 20,000.

Twenty-five after the disaster, a closure still evades the suffering people of Bhopal: the decrepit factory stands to this day—a constant reminder of the triumph of corporate bottom line over community interest; old chemicals, still present on site, continue to pollute the underground water reserve; and the survivors of the tragedy still wait for the day when they would be properly compensated.

On the 25th anniversary of the world’s most gruesome industrial accident, several groups of the San Francisco Bay Area came together to highlight the lingering Bhopal issue and raise awareness about the legal battle people of Bhopal are fighting with Dow Chemical (owner of Union Carbide). Two programs were held: a staged reading of ‘Bhopal’ a play by Rahul Varma, and a screening of the movie “The Yes Men Fix The World.”

The play was performed at the CounterPulse Theater in San Francisco on Friday, March 26. The main force behind that program was Vidhu Singh, a veteran artist and the director/producer of the play; Ashok Malani acted as the production manager. The staged-reading of ‘Bhopal’ was a sold-out program--in fact, people were turned away because of lack of space. ‘Bhopal’ did a great job in educating the audience about how the tragedy unfolded. The play starts with the Karbide’s CEO (Mick Laugs as Warren Anderson) sending Devraj Sarthi (Muder Kothari) to India; Mr. Sarthi promises to increase the production of company’s facility at Bhopal. In Bhopal, a Canadian researcher (Caroline Wampole as Dr. Sonya Labonte) is at odds with the state machinery (Abhishek Das as Chief Minister Jaganlal Bhandari) because her research is exposing the harmful effects the pesticide making factory is having on the community. Izzat Bai (Nidhi Singh) is one of the slum dwellers—her pregnancy is being deleteriously affected because of her exposure to the chemicals. On reaching Bhopal, Mr. Sarthi strikes deals with the state government for the expansion of the factory operation; he also buys out from the community evidence of ill-effects of chemical exposure. As the operation of the factory is ramped up, problems multiply and even Mr. Shustri is affected by them: Shustri’s lover (Palak Joshi as Madiha Akram) loses her child. And then there is this explosion that brings to fore the dirty secrets Karbide Inernational and Mr. Sarthi were trying to hide.

The effort Vidhu Singh and her team members put in the production bore fruit. Even though the play was a staged-reading most actors seemed to have memorized their lines. Nidhi Singh, Abhishek Das, and Caroline Wampole gave stellar performance. Jaysi Chander, as the hollow-eyed angel of death, performed a particularly haunting rhythm (Choreographer: Roko Kawai) at the end of the play--the dance supported by glum vocals (Leslie Schneider) and tabla (Esther Adams) created a chilling atmosphere of morbidity and despair.

Around forty people showed up for the Saturday program at the ICC, Milpitas—the event was organized by the Friends of South Asia (FOSA) and Association for India’s Development (AID). A partial screening of the movie "The Yes Men Fix the World" was followed by an eyewitness account and a thorough discussion on the 25-year history of the Bhopal tragedy. Sudarshan Suresh of the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal (ICJB), Anu Mandavilli, and Ramkumar Sridharan answered audience's questions.

Whereas most of us are still shocked at the Bhopal disaster, a relevant question—given the uneven fight between powerful corporate greed and powerless, naïve communities living under corrupt administrations—is: how come such disasters are not taking place more often? And perhaps the answer is: industrial accidents, harming people, are still happening all over the world; helpless communities are still being taken advantage of, left and right, it is only a matter of scale. If there were no explosion in Bhopal, the Union Carbide factory would probably still be functioning, insidiously killing more people over time than it did the night of December 3, 1984.

Movement for the establishment of Khilafat in Pakistan thrown back to the TV Studio

News reports suggest Zaid Hamid’s elaborate plan of passing a historical declaration at Minar e Pakistan—on the 70th anniversary of the 1940 Lahore resolution-- turned out to be a humiliating failure. Fearful of his life (of nuts who consider Hamid to be responsible for Jalapuri’s murder), the organizers changed the venue of the ‘historical gathering’ from Minar e Pakistan to Alhambra Open Air Theater. Hamid’s media campaign was telling us there would be hundreds of thousands of people at the occasion—well, at least a few dozen people indeed showed up.

People are calling the 23rd March washout an unceremonious end of Zaid Hamid’s career, but we should doubt this hasty conclusion. This man appears to have a super-inflated ego--delusion of his grandiose leadership was probably only slightly injured by the lackluster show two days ago. He would most likely retreat to his home ground, the TV studio, and run his movement for the establishment of khilafat in Pakistan on air.

Are there any lessons to be learned from this episode? Yes, many. For example,
1. Roaring within in the confines of a TV studio and having a popular show does not make one qualified to run a mass movement.
2. Pop culture icons (naives like Ali Azmat and Maria B.) can fall for the ‘mesmerizing’ speeches of a self-proclaimed security analyst, but the drama of giving fiery talks and for others to be awe-struck by such oratory looks good only on TV: it does not have any value other than entertainment, for the rest of us.
3. Students filling up auditoria at the university campuses intently listening to a particular speaker are often there because of the celebrity status of the speaker—not because they agree with the speaker’s views.
4. People on the Pakistani street are much smarter than they appear to be. They know what their real issues are: disappearing writ of law, lack of economic opportunities, education, and healthcare. They understand they don’t need to follow anyone not addressing the core concerns of the society.


Photo, courtesy of panoramio.com [Photographer: Uzi82]

A Dream to Live For

Once, during a long phone conversation my architect friend Neil Edwards pitied the people who get so bogged down by the meaningless stuff in life that one day when they are very old, their life has slowed down and finally given them the opportunity to look back, they reflect on their own experience and say, “Life is whatever happened to me while I was doing something else.” That was one gem of an observation—I thanked Neil for it and resolved to keep track of my course every single day of this life. And I am very conscious about wringing the most out of every second of the time that has been given to me. But still, the world we live in keeps pushing strong waves towards us, which often lead us astray.
The year 1992 was my Wanderjahr. I resigned from my job and left the country, to discover the world. I was out on the road for eight months. During that time I passed through twenty-two countries and closely witnessed a range of human experiences the present age is all about. And somewhere in those observations I discovered the purpose of my life. I found out I was born to work with people in the “developing countries” and create islands of hope in oceans of anguish and despair. The previous sentence my sound high-flown and philosophical, but it really is not; it still took a lot of writing, a book titled “Elmustee, A Growing Island of Hope” to be more precise, to describe what oceans of anguish and despair I see, and how islands of hope can be created in the middle of such seas. It has been roughly eighteen years that I formulated my dreams and desired to one day peacefully die working on my pet project. Planning the initiation and the implementation of the project has been a big challenge—the strategy keeps changing. And in thinking about the project, about the strategy, about the challenges I sometimes lose focus, for months at end. Almost a week ago, another such long period of doldrums came to an end when my friend Sabahat Ashraf (iFaqeer) called and we decided to meet. We met at a deli and talked about Elmustee. Sabahat came up with an elaborate scheme to put the ideas in the broad daylight of the Internet and get people interested in the project. I liked his strategy and hoped this revival of the project would really take it to the launching pad.

[More information about membership communities is present here:
http://elmustee.wikispaces.com/]

Photo, courtesy of
http://www.teacakemartini.com

Commemorating the 25th Anniversary of the Bhopal tragedy, Friday, March 26 and Saturday, March 27

TWO Events, in the San Francisco Bay Area, Commemorating the 25th Anniversary of the
Bhopal Gas Disaster

============ ========= ========= ========= ========= =======
FRIDAY, March 26, 2010, 8 PM


A Staged-Reading of Bhopal

A Play by Rahul Varma • Directed by Vidhu Singh



At CounterPULSE, 1310 Mission Street @9th, San Francisco, CA 94103

http://www.counterp ulse.org • 415-626-2060
Tickets: brownpapertickets. com or 1.800.838.3006



Presented By: Theater Rasa Nova
and Friends of South Asia (FOSA)

============ ========= ========= ========= ========= =======

SATURDAY, March 27, 2010, 5 PM

"The Yes Men Fix Bhopal"

Featuring a partial screening of the acclaimed film
"The Yes Men Fix The World" (2009)

followed by an eyewitness account and a discussion

Where: India Community Center (ICC)
525 Los Coches St, Milpitas

This event is free and open to all.

Presented By: Association for India's Development (AID)
and Friends of South Asia (FOSA)
============ ========= ========= ========= ========= =======

No, The Editor of Jyllands-Posten is Not Dead


Lies, lies, and more lies. But lies must be stopped. No, Flemming Rose is not dead.

The following message that has been making rounds on the Internet is a product of someone’s perverted fantasy.

=====
'Danish Editor burnt alive'

The editor of the Danish newspaper ‘Jyllands Posten’ was burnt to death when a fire mysteriously broke out in his bedroom, a Saudi newspaper claims.
According to the newspaper, the editor was sleeping in his bedroom when the fire ravaged his bedroom. He and his newspaper became controversial when it had published blasphemous caricatures of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
The paper claims that the Danish govt is trying to cover up the news of the death. He was hit by divine retribution, the paper added. Muslims, all over the world, strongly denounced this blasphemous act and massive protests were held in all Muslim countries including Pakistan. Text messages and emails that claim that the editor or the cartoonist has been burnt alive have also been circulating since Tuesday, lending support to this report. The paper named the editor as Elliot Back. However, Back is merely a senior in Computer Science at Cornell University, who had published the caricatures on his website. Name of the culture editor of Jyllands Posten, who commissioned the caricatures, is Flemming Rose. Jens Julius is the name of one of the cartoonists that drew the images. There were 12 cartoonists in all, who according to the BBC have gone into hiding.– NEWS DESK
=====

A Saudi newspaper claims!!!
Come on, give me a better reference. Which Saudi newspaper published this rubbish?

In short: No, Flemming Rose is not dead. No, the cultural editor of the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten did not burn to death. If that were the case all major media outlets would have reported Rose’s death; the news would have been on Jylland-Posten’s web site (http://jp.dk/) ; and the Wikipedia entry on ‘Flremming Rose’ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flemming_Rose) would have been updated.
Please stop spreading lies.

[Flemming Rose photo by John McConnico, for the New York Times.]

A Much Needed Recession

A.H. Cemendtaur

World economy hurt, consumer confidence down, consumption reduced, factories closing doors…but is it all bad news? No, not really, especially if you ask the environmentalists. They are smiling ear to ear. Environmental activists are seeing the economic slow down as the much needed respite Mother Nature needed.

But things won’t stay this way for too long. It is almost certain that the world economy would pick up momentum again. And before it does, environmentalists must ensure that the world economy has changed one of its basic, faulty characteristics: its primary reliance on fossil fuel. That in the next cycle of mad rush higher economic activity should not mean accelerated degradation of our natural environment. One way to protect the environment would be to heavily tax people and corporations smearing the landscape. As an example, oil can and should be taxed at the drilling site to generate enough income to plant trees needed to offset the global warming effect the burning of oil would ultimately produce. All metals and other minerals should similarly be taxed at their mining sites, to generate income to deal with the pollution the extracted products would ultimately generate. The revenue should also be used to educate and empower the indigenous people whose land is being exploited—in Ogoniland, Nigeria; in Sui, Pakistan; in Amazonas, Venezuela; and elsewhere around the world--so that these locals become better custodians of their lands. Creating such safeguards for the environment, in the next five to ten years of restrained economic activity, is a big challenge, but we don’t have a choice. We have been on a suicidal course. Short-term benefits we reap from fast economic growth are offset many times over by the long-term detriments of a fossil fuel based economy. We must make a fundamental change in the nature of our economy, to make sure the next economic upturn won’t push us over the brink of survival.

[Photo courtesy of http://www.umich.edu]

Israeli Terrorists Caught on Tape

It is a chilling video.
It is 8:30 pm. Four men are inside Mahmoud al Mabhouh's room (Room 230) in Hotel Al Bustan Rotana in Dubai, killing him. A woman and a man are walking up and down in the hallway, making sure no one disturbs this operation. It is the same woman, who, most probably, minutes earlier, knocked at Room 230 and said,
“Room Service, Please.”
Mahmoud al Mabhouh probably looked through the peephole, and on seeing a woman outside opened the door. The four assassins used that opportunity to quickly enter Room 230. The woman stayed behind, along with a man in a business suit. They pace the hallways talking gibberish in low tones, to ensure the killing operation goes smoothly. [The other theory says the four assassins entered Room 230, when Mahmoud was away. You need some technical knowledge of electronic key cards and how to make a key card that opens your hotel room open other doors.]
The assassins did not carry any guns. They used their muscles—see their muscles at 3:27-- to subdue Mahmoud, to beat him up really bad, and to ultimately put him on his bed and suffocate him to death, using a pillow. The murderers remained in Room 230 for around twenty minutes. They probably checked Mahmoud’s heartbeat, several minutes after he ceased resistance to the pillow thrust against his face, to make sure he was indeed dead.
The CCTV footage does not show the other five members of the 11-member Mossad team that had arrived in Dubai, for this operation. Of the five other members, not seen here, one was probably acting as the main coordinator. Then there was another team of four hit-men that most probably would have killed Mahmoud had he stayed in the other hotel he had stayed in, in previous visits to Dubai. If Mahmoud had stayed in the other hotel, the two-member team of Kevin and Gail (seen in business suits, in this video) would have facilitated the operation at that location.

So how much money Mossad spent on carrying out this terrorist operation?
Eleven people flying from Israel to various destinations in Europe, then flying in to Dubai, then flying back to the European destinations, and finally flying back to Israel. That is a minimum of $16,500 expense.
Hotel expenses: $3,300
Dining, shopping, and other expenses: $3,300
Money spent on skilled forgery of European passports: $550
Total expenses=$23,650,
Say, approximately $25,000

And why did this all happen? Because Mahmoud was a “terrorist.” Forget about the history. Forget about how Europeans grabbed Arab lands and shooed away the unwanted Arabs. Forget about an aggrieved group of people, without a state behind it, without an army, trying to fight for its rights. If they don’t have an army, but still want to fight, then they are terrorists.
Thanks God we live in North America where we have successfully pushed all potential terrorists into “Indian Reserves.” Why don’t the Palestinians accept a similar fate for themselves?

Salinger fans, Can't find "Go See Eddie"? It is here now.

J. D. Salinger
Go See Eddie
The Kansas Review VII, December 1940, pages 121-124

HELEN’S bedroom was always straightened while she bathed so that when she came out of the bathroom her dressing table was free of last night’s cream jars and soiled tissues, and there were glimpses in her mirror of flat bedspreads and patted chair cushions. When it was sunny, as it was now, there were bright warm blotches to bring out the pastels chosen from the decorator’s little book.

She was brushing her thick red hair when Elsie, the maid, came in.

“Mr. Bobby’s here, ma’am,” said Elsie.

“Bobby?” asked Helen. “I thought he was in Chicago. Hand me my robe, Elsie. Then show him in.”

Arranging her royal-blue robe to cover her long bare legs, Helen went on brushing her hair. Then abruptly a tall sandy-haired man in a polo coat brushed behind and past her, snapping his index finger against the back of her neck. He walked directly to the chaise-lounge on the other side of the room and stretched himself out, coat and all. Helen could see him in her mirror.

“Hello, you,” she said. “Hey. That thing was just straightened. I thought you were in Chicago.”

“Got back last night,” Bobby said, yawning. “God, I’m tired.”

“Successful?” asked Helen. “Didn’t you go to hear some girl sing or something?”

“Uh,” Bobby affirmed.

“Was she any good, the girl?”

“Lot of breast-work. No voice.”

Helen set down her brush, got up, and seated herself in the peach-colored straight chair at Bobby’s feet. From her robe pocket she took an emory board and proceeded to apply it to her long, flesh-pink nails. “What else do you know?” she inquired.

“Not much,” said Bobby. He sat up with a grunt, took a package of cigarettes from his overcoat pocket, stuck them back, then stood up to remove the overcoat. He tossed the heavy thing on Helen’s bed, scattering a colony of sunbeams. Helen continued filing her nails. Bobby sat on the edge of the chaise-lounge, lighted a cigarette, and leaned forward. The sun was on them both, lushing her milky skin, and doing nothing for Bobby but showing up his dandruff and the pockets under his eyes.

“How would you like a job?” Bobby asked.

“A job?” Helen said, filing. “What kind of a job?”

“Eddie Jackson’s going into rehearsals with a new show. I saw him last night. Y’oughtta see how gray that guy’s getting. I said to him, have you got a spot for my sister? He said maybe, and I told him you might be around.”

“It’s a good thing you said might,” Helen said, looking up at him. “What kind of a spot? Third from the left or something?”

“I didn’t ask him what kind of a spot. But it’s better than nothing, isn’t it?”

Helen didn’t answer him, went on attending to her nails.

“Why don’t you want a job?”

“I didn’t say I didn’t want one.”

“Well, then what’s the matter with seeing Jackson?”

“I don’t want any more chorus work. Besides, I hate Eddie Jackson’s guts.”

“Yeah,” said Bobby. He got up and went to the door. “Elsie!” he called. “Bring me a cup of coffee!” Then he sat down again.

“I want you to see Eddie,” he told her.

“I don’t want to see Eddie.”

“I want you to see him. Put down that goddamn file a minute.”

She went on filing.

“I want you to go up there this afternoon, hear?”

“I’m not going up there this afternoon or any other afternoon,” Helen told him, crossing her legs. “Who do you think you’re ordering around?”

Bobby’s hand was half fist when he knocked the emory board from her fingers. She neither looked at him nor picked up the emory board from the carpet. She just got up and went back to her dressing table to resume brushing her hair, her thick red hair. Bobby followed to stand behind her, to look for her eyes in the mirror.

“I want you to see Eddie this afternoon. Hear me, Helen?”

Helen brushed her hair. “And what’ll you do if I don’t go up there, tough guy?”

He picked that up. “Would you like me to tell you? Would you like me to tell you what I’ll do if you don’t go up there?”

“Yes, I’d like you to tell me what you’ll do if I don’t go up there,” Helen mimicked.

“Don’t do that. I’ll push in that glamor kisser of yours. So help me,” Bobby warned. “I want you to go up there. I want you see Eddie and I want you to take that god damn job.”

“No, I want you to tell me what you’ll do if I don’t go there,” Helen said, but in her natural voice.

“I’ll tell you what I’ll do,” Bobby said, watching her eyes in the mirror. “I’ll ring up your greasy boy friend’s wife and tell her what’s what.”

Helen horse-laughed. “Go ahead!” she told him. “Go right ahead, wise guy! She knows all about it!”

Bobby said, “She knows, eh?”

“Yes, she knows! And don’t you call Phil greasy! You wish you were half as good looking as he is!”

“He’s a greaser. A greasy lousy cheat,” Bobby pronounced. “Two for a lousy dime. That’s your boy friend.”

“Coming from you that’s good.”

“Have you ever seen his wife?” Bobby asked.

“Yes-I’ve-seen-his-wife. What about her?”

“Have you seen her face?”

“What’s so marvelous about her face?”

“Nothing’s so marvelous about it! She hasn’t got a glamor kisser like yours. It’s just a nice face. Why the hell don’t you leave her dumb husband alone?”

“None of your business why!” snapped Helen.

The fingers of his right hand suddenly dug into the hollow of her shoulder. She yelled out in pain, turned, and from an awkward position but with all her might, slammed his hand with the flat of her hairbrush. He sucked in his breath, pivoted swiftly so that his back was both to Helen and to Elsie, the maid, who had come in with his coffee. Elsie set the tray on the window seat next to the chair where Helen had filed her nails, then slipped out of the room.

Bobby sat down, and with the use of his other hand, sipped his coffee black. Helen, at the dressing table, had begun to place her hair. She wore it in a heavy old-fashioned bun.

He had long finished his coffee when the last hairpin was in its place. Then she went over to where he sat smoking and looking out the window. Drawing the lapels of her robe closer to her breast, she sat down with a little oop sound of unbalance on the floor at his feet. She placed a hand on his ankle, stroked it, and addressed him in a different voice.

“Bobby, I’m sorry. But you made me lose my temper, darling. Did I hurt your hand?”

“Never mind my hand,” he said, keeping it in his pocket.

“Bobby, I love Phil. On my word of honor. I don’t want you to think I’m just playing around. You don’t, do you? I mean you don’t just think I’m playing around, trying to hurt people?”

Bobby made no reply.

“My word of honor, Bob. You don’t know Phil. He’s really a grand person.”

Bobby looked at her. “You and your god damn grand persons. You know more god damn grand persons. The guy from Cleveland. What the hell was his name? Bothwell. Harry Bothwell. And how ‘bout that blond kid used to sing at Bill Cassidy’s? Two of the goddamndest grandest persons you ever met.” He looked out the window again. “Oh, for Chrissake, Helen,” he said finally.

“Bob,” said Helen, “you know how old I was. I was terribly young. You know that. But Bob, this is the real thing. Honestly. I know it is. I’ve never felt this way before. Bob, you don’t really in your heart think I’m taking all this from Phil just for the hell of it?”

Bobby looked at her again, lifted his eyebrows, thinned his lips. “You know what I hear in Chicago?” he asked her.

“What, Bob?” Helen asked gently, the tips of her fingers rubbing his ankle.

“I heard two guys talking. You don’t know ‘em. They were talking about you. You and this horsey-set guy, Hanson Carpenter. They crummied the thing inside out.” He paused. “You with him, too, Helen?”

“That’s a god damn lie, Bob,” Helen told him softly. “Bob, I hardly know Hanson Carpenter well enough to say hello to him.”

“Maybe so! But it’s a wonderful thing for a brother to have to listen to, isn’t it? Everybody in town gives me the horse-laugh when they see me comin’ around the corner!”

“Bobby. If you believe that slop it’s your own damn fault. What do you care what they say? You’re bigger than they are. You don’t have to pay any attention to their dirty minds.”

“I didn’t say I believed it. I said it was what I heard. That’s bad enough, isn’t it?”

“Well, it’s not so,” Helen told him. “Toss me a cigarette there, hmm?”

He flipped the package of cigarettes into her lap; then matches. She lighted up, inhaled, and removed a piece of tobacco from her tongue with the tips of her fingers.

“You used to be such a swell kid,” Bobby stated briefly.

“Oh! And I ain’t no more?” Helen little-girl’d.

He was silent.

“Listen, Helen. I’ll tell ya. I had lunch the other day, before I went to Chicago, with Phil’s wife.”

“Yeah?”

“She’s a swell kid. Class,” Bobby told her.

“Class, huh?” said Helen.

“Yeah. Listen. Go see Eddie this afternoon. It can’t do any harm. Go see him.”

Helen smoked. “I hate Eddie Jackson. He always makes a play for me.”

“Listen,” said Bobby, standing up. “You know how to turn on the ice when you want to.” He stood over her. “I have to go. I haven’t gone to the office yet.”

Helen stood up and watched him put on his polo coat.

“Go see Eddie,” Bobby said, putting on his pigskin gloves. “Hear me?” He buttoned his overcoat. “I’ll give you a ring soon.”

Helen chided, “Oh, you’ll give me a ring soon! When? The fourth of July?”

“No. Soon. I’ve been busy as hell lately. Where’s my hat? Oh, I didn’t have one.”

She walked with him to the front door, stood in the doorway until the elevator came. Then she shut the door and walked quickly back to her room. She went to the telephone and dialed swiftly but precisely.

“Hello?” she said into the mouthpiece. “Let me speak to Mr. Stone, please. This is Miss Mason.” In a moment his voice came through. “Phil?” she said. “Listen. My brother Bobby was just here. And do you know why? Because that adorable little Vassar-faced wife of yours told him about you and I. Yes! Listen, Phil. Listen to me. I don’t like it. I don’t care if you had anything to do with it or not. I don’t like it. I don’t care. No, I can’t. I have a previous engagement. I can’t tonight either. You can call me tomorrow. I’m very upset about all this. I said you can call me tomorrow, Phil. No. I said no. Phil. Goodbye.”

She set down the receiver, crossed her legs, and bit thoughtfully at the cuticle of her thumb. Then she turned and yelled loudly: “Elsie!”

Elsie moused into the room.

“Take away Mr. Bobby’s tray.”

When Elsie was out of the room, Helen dialed again.

“Hanson?” she said. “This is me. Us. We. You dog.”

War on terror and the Pakistani Wildlife

Cemendtaur

War on Terror is terrorizing the wildlife of Pakistan. Let me explain how this is happening.

Pakistan does not have much wildlife to begin with. The population explosion of the country has either made the hitherto wildlife extinct, or in a few other cases has made the animals shrink in numbers and be confined to challenging environments.

Loss of habitat is considered to be the primary reason for the extinction of animals. Homeless animals don’t survive for too long. Tiger that was once found from Balochistan to Assam is now extinct in the present day Pakistan. Whereas the Mughal Emperors used to hunt in the forests that once existed throughout Punjab, today we have the Hiran Minar, but no hiran (deer) in that area and the title of ‘Sher-e-Punjab’ (Lion of Punjab) is reserved for third-rate politicians. In fact, searching out from Pakistan the closest you would find tigers would be in the Ranthambore Reserve in Rajasthan, India. Neel Gaay (a large deer) has met a similar fate. Once found in many parts of Sindh and Punjab, Neel Gaay’s small herds are now found only at the Pakistan-India border. Loss of habitat is not the only way Pakistani wildlife is losing the battle of existence. Any kind of wildlife that can be hunted for its meat is endangered in Pakistan because Pakistanis, as reports suggest, are eager to please their Arab visitors at the cost of the natural beauty the fauna brings to a region.

With Pakistan’s mammalian wildlife retreated to small pockets in Balochistan (in the Kirthar range) and along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border the War on Terror enters the stage. War on Terror is about chasing the terrorists far and wide; it is about looking for the enemy everywhere, even in places people normally don’t go to. You can imagine Pakistan’s shuddering wildlife vexed by such an encroachment on its habitat.

The other way the War on Terror would push Pakistan’s wildlife over the brink is more insidious. Ever since the war started there has been a debate about what makes a person join the ranks of the terrorists. There seems to be a consensus that poorly developed areas with little education, fewer means for people to better their lot, fewer things to keep themselves busy with provide opportunities for the inhabitants to accept extremist ideas. On reaching the conclusion that the development of an area would increase the opportunities for the people of the area, there is a push to make Pakistan’s remote tribal areas more accessible to the connected world. War on Terror has come with an urgent need for “development.” Road construction projects are being planned even before there is any investment in education. With roads comes the evil: people who want to exploit the natural reserves of a region previously inaccessible. When roads would be built to remote areas in the north, that are still forested, one of the first people to use those roads would be the illegal loggers. The grab in the form of logged trees would invariably result in the loss of habitat for the wildlife of that region.

With our present understanding of the environmental issues, Pakistan must put its development strategy in the right order. First there should be education, so that the people would understand the importance of their natural environment and feel motivated to preserve it; building of roads and throwing a region in the cruel market economy should be the last step of development.

As for the War on Terror…if only the Pakistani wildlife could speak. And if the wildlife could speak and be in the audience at the Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, the booing would have never stopped and it would have been impossible for Obama to deliver a convoluted speech that had obvious contradictions.

Photo of Pakistani leopard courtesy of
http://www.wildlifeofpakistan.com