Imagining how Jinnah would feel about today's Pakistan: PACC celebrates Founder's Day


Delectable food, two eloquent speakers, a short video presentation imbued in good old nationalism, and a scintillating performance by renowned singer Munni Begum marked this year's well-attended Founder's Day celebrations, held at the Chandni Restaurant in Newark, California. The tradition of celebrating the Founder's Day program on December 25 was started by Bay Area attorney Javed Ellahie (under the umbrella of the Pakistan Founders Celebration Committee) and was taken over by the PACC (Pakistan American Cultural Center) after the latter's inception. The program that has been annually held without an interruption gives Pakistanis, especially non-Christian Pakistanis, living in the San Francisco Bay Area something to do on the Christmas day.

Founder's Day 2010 program, moderated by Bay Area Urdu connoisseur Annie Akhter,
started with guitar renditions of the US and Pakistani anthems artfully played by young Ayaz Latif. Next in line was PACC President-elect Noreen Tariq's short speech. A short video presentation with Junoon's Junoon-say-aur-ishq-say-milti-hai-azadi playing in the background--video put together by Farrukh Shah Khan--was then showed to set up the stage for the speeches to follow.

The theme of this year's Founder's Day program was Jinnah in 2010, as in how would Mohammad Ali Jinnah feel if here were to come out of his grave and visit today's Pakistan. Countries are expected to survive much beyond the lives of their founding fathers. So this rhetorical question about Jinnah can be asked about all the people who fought for independence and finally got a piece of land liberated. How would George Washington feel visiting today's US? [Probably pleasantly surprised to see the size of the country grown tremendously, but a little alarmed by the growth of the federal government.] How would Simon Bolivar feel visiting today's Gran Colombia (Spanish South America)? [Probably a bit dismayed on seeing the land he liberated fractured into separate countries and sometimes not getting along with each other.] How would Lenin feel seeing the Soviet Union no more? How would Mao Tse-Tung feel seeing the economic system of the country changing direction? And near us, how would Gandhi feel, if he were to brought back to life?

In his speech on Jinnah in 2010 Brigadier General (Retired) Feroz Hasan Khan, lecturer at the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, said that if Jinnah were to visit Pakistan today he would not be very happy because when he would take his expired passport for renewal, he would be asked to fill out a form that uses abusive language for the religious leader of a significantly large minority of Pakistan.

Feroz Khan said that people have been painting Jinnah in the light they themselves want to see Jinnah in. In Feroz Khan's opinion Jinnah was a secular person--not an atheist, but a person ready to live with others (of opposing views).

Khan said Jinnah wanted to see Pakistan a modern Muslim state. He said that if Jinnah were to come back he would be disappointed by Pakistan's economic condition. Khan said that nations develop using tangible resources such as their territorial size, the quality of their population, their military strength, and their economic potential; four intangible things that make a nation include national cohesion, domestic stability, international prestige, and the supporters of allies and friends.

Feroz Khan said if Jinnah were to come back he would be surprised by the resilience of the people of Pakistan. And we would be pleased by the optimism and valor of the Pakistani youth. Khan said he did not have an answer for how Jinnah would feel about Pakistan being a nuclear state today.

The next speaker on the topic of 'Jinnah in 2010' was Sabahat Rafiq (also known as Sabahat Rafiq Sherwani). Sabahat Rafiq said that (even when he demanded a separate homeland for the Muslims) Jinnah cannot be called a fundamentalist. Plain and simple, Jinnah could see the ground realities. Jinnah was initially a Congress leader but when he saw the prevailing mindset and realized how democracy in the independent India would in fact be a form of the largest religious group's domination over other minorities Jinnah parted ways with the Congress.

Sabahat Rafiq said if Jinnah were to come back today he would ask the majority of Muslims in Pakistan to not impose their values on others [for this was the very fear Muslims had when they demanded a separate homeland].

She said Jinnah would ask the expatriate Pakistanis to help the people of Pakistan who work in very unfavorable conditions and still make the country work. Rafiq thought the nuclear capability of Pakistan was a good deterrence and "that is why we are safe today."

She asked Pakistanis to not renew the debate on the ideology of Pakistan and instead work with what they had and make it better.

A short Q&A session, in which the uneasy questions were apparently sanitized, followed the two 'Jinnah in 2010' speeches.

In response to 'Who is a modern Muslim?' Feroz Khan said a modern Muslim is one who blends well in the 21st Century atmosphere and who does not want to pull the society back to some bygone era.

Responding to the question 'What needs to be done at the grassroots and what needs to be done at the higher level, to improve things in Pakistan?' Sabahat Rafiq said the democratic process should be let to continue without interruption.

In response to 'Is nuclear power a liability or an asset?' Feroz Khan said the nuclear capability is never a solution for the domestic problems. He said that it has been twelve years since Pakistan acquired nuclear capability, but that prowess has not given the country any internal security.

Answering 'What would Quaid think of Pakistan military's extraordinary strength (in comparison to the other institutions) today, Feroz Khan said if Jinnah were to come back to life he would be mad both at the politicians and the military leadership. Defending his former employer Khan said if the institution of the Pakistan army is stronger than other national institutions then efforts should be put in making other institutions stronger instead of making the army weaker.

Next in line was Farrukh Shah Khan, PACC's current president, who thanked the audience for their attendance and announced PACC community service awards for Dr. Khalid Siddiqui (Bay Area Islamic scholar) and Tashie Zaheer (Urdu poet and organizer of monthly Urdu literary meetings, under the banner of the Urdu Academy of North America). These awards were given for the outstanding community services of the awardees.

PACC regularly hosts a karaoke night on the last Sunday of the month. Two karaoke artists of the PACC music nights, Yasmeen Haq and Asghar Aboobaker (PACC founder and financial wizard) sang songs to give audience a taste of how the karaoke nights go. Much more than their singing abilities the performers were applauded for their courage to stand in front of the one-hundred plus strong audience and sing. An alluring flute performance by Amjad Noorani followed the karaoke.

And then came the part of the program which for many was the main attraction of the event: performance by Munni Begum. To an enthralled audience Munni Begum played harmonium and gracefully gyrated her shoulders in rhythm singing poetry of love and hedonism; her performance continuing till late at night proved the point that if you earn your living through work that you really enjoy you can keep doing it for a very long time and till a very old age.

[See more photos here:
http://pakistanlink.org/Community/2011/Jan11/07/01.HTM]

جناح دو ہزار دس میں، پاکستان امریکن کلچرل سینٹر، منی بیگم، چاندنی ریستوراں، جاوید الہی، عینی اختر، ایاز لطیف گٹار، نورین طارق، جنون، جنوں سے اور عشق سے ملتی ہے آزادی، فرخ شاہ خان، بانی پاکستان کا دن، محمد علی جنا، جارج واشنگٹن، ساءمن بلیوار، لینن، ماءو زے تنگ، گاندھی، بریگیڈیر جنرل ریٹاءرڈ فیروز حسن خان، لیکچرار نیول پوسٹ گریجویٹ اسکول، مونٹرے، کیلی فورنیا، فیروز خان، صباحت رفیق شیروانی، فرخ شاہ خان، کمیونٹی سروس ایوارڈ، ڈاکٹر خالد صدیقی، تاشی ظہیر، اردو اکیڈمی آف نارتھ امیرکا، کیرااوکی ناءٹ، یاسمین حق، اصغر ابوبکر، امجد نورانی، بانسری، ممتاز گلوکارہ منی بیگم۔

Group photo of Urdu Academy organizers and regulars, at the end of a program on Meeraji.

Audio recording of the program is here:

http://www.archive.org/details/MeerajiUrduPoet

उर्दू अकादेमी ने मशहूर शयेर मीराजी के ऊपर एक प्रोग्राम क्या

[tags: اردو اکیڈمی، تاشی ظہیر، ڈاکٹر غزالہ انصاری، نصیر ہمایوں، جاوید عمرانی، مکیش ککڑ، وقار خان، عاصم باجوہ، معراج غزالی، ڈاکٹر طاہر محمود، عبدالستار غزالی
]

This month's Urdu Academy program was on Meeraji, an avant-garde Urdu poet.
In this picture you see Naseer Humayun emceeing the program.
E-flyer of the program is produced below.


www.urduacademy.org
URDU ACADEMY of North America's
Monthly Mehfil-e-sher-o-sukhan

WHEN: Sunday, November 21, 2010

WHERE: CHANDNI RESTAURANT
5748 Mowry School Road Newark, CA 94560
Balentine Plaza, opposite Hilton
Ph: 510-668-1051

NO HOST LUNCH
1:00 – 2:00 p.m.

Khush Amadeed (Welcome)
& Program review

TASHIE ZAHEER

YOUR HOST
M. Naseer Humayun

PROGRAM
2:00 - 5:00 P.M.
JANAB SANAULLAH DAAR
Commonly known as:
"MIRA JI"

KI SHAKHSIAT AUR KALAM KA JAEZA
AUR
UNKA MUNTAKHIB KALAM

Who do they want to take the country back from?

'We want to take our country back' is a refrain gaining currency in conservative circles. The refrain is loaded with powerful subtleties: 'our country', 'we want', 'take back.'
Look closely at the people chanting the slogan and you would know what each one of these phrases means.
'We' stands for Anglo-Saxon, Christian, Straight.
'Our Country' asserts an ownership claim: that only the progeny of the founding fathers of US of A and others who share their racial backgrounds really own this country.
Now 'Take Back' is easy to understand. 'Take back' is complimentary to 'was given to', or 'was snatched from us by.' So who snatched the country from its 'true owners'? The answer lies in the Civil Rights Movement of the 60s. 'We the people' narrowly defined by the founding fathers was opened up in all its meaning to include everybody, through the Civil Rights Movement. The Civil Rights Movement had an impact on the US Immigration policy too. The 1965 Immigration Act abolished the discriminatory measures of the earlier act. Then it was just a matter of time that the population of the USA would become a representative of the world population instead of being a reflection of selective European demographics.

Now the Cons may have a red hot burning desire to 'take back the country', but the voter population reality is against such dreams. The USA cannot remain a democracy AND have the conservatives at the helm. Yes, 'they' can take it back, but only if the red states secede from the union.


PS. It is entertaining to hear Nikki Haley using the 'we want to take our country back' refrain. Who will she take the country back from? From her brother, Charan Singh Randhawa?

Photo courtesy of
http://thenewagenda.net

Obama's India visit costing US taxpayer $3 Million a Day?

Here is a simple math.
If the figure of 2000 people is correct, we can assume 10% of these people on a $5000 per day budget, the rest (90%) on a $500 per day budget.
0.1*2000*5000= $1 Million
0.9*2000*500= $0.9 Million
Total= $1.9 Million/day
We can play around with the high and low budgets and the proportion of high budget and low budget people, to safely guess that the trip is costing between $1.9 Million and $4 Million per day--with an average figure of roughly $3 Million/day.

Why can't Obama talk to Manmohan Singh on Skype? It is free.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_upshot/20101105/el_yblog_upshot/citing-shady-numbers-republicans-take-aim-at-the-cost-of-obamas-trip-to-india#mwpphu-container

Republicans take aim at cost of Obama’s trip to India

By Holly Bailey

Is President Obama's trip to India really going to cost $200 million a day?

That's the number making the rounds among the president's conservative critics, including potential 2012 Obama challenger Mike Huckabee and U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), as the president takes off Friday for a 10-day trip to Asia.

Huckabee made the claim to Fox News on Tuesday night (citing "reports") and in the social media sphere. "Reports say that Obama's trip to Mumbai, India tomorrow will cost taxpayers $200 million dollars a day - come to think of it, that's much less than Obama's been spending here," Huckabee wrote in a Facebook message Tuesday night (misstating the day of Obama's departure). "So maybe it's not a bad thing he's leaving."

On Wednesday, Bachmann repeated the claim on CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360." "Within a day or so the president of the United States will be taking a trip over to India that is expected to cost the taxpayers $200 million a day," Bachmann told Cooper. "He's taking 2,000 people with him. He'll be renting out over 870 rooms in India. And these are five-star hotel rooms at the Taj Mahal Palace hotel. This is the kind of over-the-top spending. It's a very small example, Anderson."

The only problem: The claims appear to be wrong.

The numbers evidently originate with the Press Trust of India, whose report was linked on the Drudge Report and picked up by Fox News host Glenn Beck. The news agency also wrongly said that the White House had blocked off the entire Taj Mahal Palace hotel for Obama's visit and that the U.S. was stationing 34 warships—roughly 10 percent of the naval fleet--off the coast of Mumbai for security reasons.

The agency attributed the $200 million figure to an anonymous Indian government official. It didn't attribute the warships claim to any source.

Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell called the warship claim "absolutely absurd." "That's just comical," he said at Thursday's Pentagon news briefing. "Nothing close to that is being done."

The White House, meanwhile, issued a blanket statement that the $200 million figure "had no basis in reality" and was "wildly inflated." The press office declined to disclose the trip's actual cost, citing "security concerns."

In a news briefing Thursday, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs also refused to release numbers, but he told reporters point-blank, "We are not spending $200 million a day."

The nonpartisan FactCheck.org took up the issue, too, saying that even though the administration won't release a price tag, there is "simply no evidence to support" a claim of $200 million a day. One reason to doubt the report, according to the group: The entire war in Afghanistan costs $190 million a day.

That is not to say that some of the precautions for Obama's first presidential visit to India aren't possibly a tad over the top. As the BBC reports, Indian officials have been removing coconuts from any trees that Obama might walk under, to prevent anything from falling on the presidential head. And as London's Daily Telegraph notes, the country has deployed trained monkey catchers to prevent any "simian invasion" (a measure that Indian officials also took when President Bush visited in 2006).

(Photo of President Obama and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

A pattern is emerging. This is how it works. Say you are a regular at your mosque. One day you find yourself praying by a person who shakes your hand after the prayer. Then it happens again, another day, then another day, and then this person strikes a conversation with you. He is your nationality, he dresses up and speaks just like you do. But this person is a mole. He doesn't look anything like the FBI agents you are used to seeing on TV. He was caught in a minor crime while being out of status in the US; he risks deportation. There is only one way he would be given a second chance: if he can identify the 'bad guys' among his fellow Muslims and provide strong evidence so that the 'potential terrorist' can be tried in court. He is even getting paid for this sting operation...but the money is tight and the time is short. He has to perform and perform well. It all boils down to this simple equation: He can remain in the US only if he can get somebody in the jail. So this fellow Muslim of yours takes you out for lunch one day and tells you how bad the Muslims are being treated and how important it is to do something, anything, to avenge the injustice. You get alarmed by such stupid conversation and you decide not to talk to this person again. But sooner or later this person does find a pair of sympathetic ears. The reason differs on why someone gets entrapped--people can be in all forms of weak state of mind. Then a lot of audio recording is done, most of the recorded talk is meaningless. Parts of conversation that are against the interest of the federal prosecutor are deleted, only favorable parts are kept. If the mole is good enough to persuade the victim to make videos of targets or handle decoys, the case becomes stronger. When enough evidence is collected, an arrest is made.

[This is how Hamid Hayat of Lodi, California, got entrapped--a case this-he has first hand knowledge of.]

These cases have to be produced in the media at a regular frequency so that the Americans do not forget how important it is for their country to keep fighting the 'War on Terror', that budget cuts can be made in education and other unimportant matters, but not in defense or government security agencies.

=====
The gem of the following Associated Press story is here:
"Farooque Ahmed is accused of plotting with individuals he believed were terrorists to bomb our transit system, but a coordinated law enforcement and intelligence effort was able to thwart his plans," Kris said.
---end of excerpt---

In other words, 'intelligent effort was able to thwart' the plan the intelligence agency put together. Bravo!

======
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_terror_arrest

Va man charged in fake bomb plot against DC subway

By ALICIA A. CALDWELL, Associated Press Alicia A. Caldwell, Associated Press

WASHINGTON – A Pakistani-born Virginia man was arrested Wednesday and accused of casing Washington-area subway stations in what he thought was an al-Qaida plot to bomb and kill commuters.

The bombing plot was a ruse conducted over the past six months, the FBI said, but 34-year-old Farooque Ahmed readily handed over video of northern Virginia subway stations, suggested using rolling suitcases rather than backpacks to kill as many people as possible and offered to donate money to al-Qaida's cause overseas.

The public never was in danger because FBI agents were aware of Ahmed's activities and monitored him throughout, the agency said. And the people that Ahmed thought were al-Qaida operatives were actually individuals who worked on behalf of the government, according to a federal law enforcement official who requested anonymity to discuss details of the case.

Ahmed was indicted under seal by a federal grand jury in Alexandria, Va. on Tuesday, and the charges were made public Wednesday. He is accused of attempting to provide material support to a designated terrorist organization, collecting information to assist in planning a terrorist attack on a transit facility, and attempting to provide material support to carry out multiple bombings to cause mass casualties. Ahmed, a naturalized citizen, lives in Ashburn, Va., outside Washington.

During a brief court appearance in federal court in Alexandria, Ahmed did not enter a plea and was ordered held without bond. He told U.S. Magistrate Judge John Anderson he couldn't afford to hire a lawyer. Prosecutors said they planned to use some classified information as evidence in the case.

U.S. Attorney Neil MacBride said in a statement that it was "chilling that a man from Ashburn is accused of casing rail stations with the goal of killing as many Metro riders as possible through simultaneous bomb attacks."

Ahmed's arrest comes as the U.S. has been struggling with an uptick in Americans plotting terrorist attacks in the past 18 months.

Last week, a Hawaii man was arrested and accused of making false statements to the FBI about his plans to attend terrorist training in Pakistan. In August, a Virginia man was caught trying to leave the country to fight with an al-Qaida-affiliated group in Somalia. And in May, Faisal Shazhad, a naturalized citizen also from Pakistan, tried to set off a car bomb at a bustling street corner in New York City. U.S. authorities had no intelligence about Shahzad's plot until the smoking car turned up in Manhattan.

The FBI has made several cases with agents working undercover: Last year, authorities arrested a Jordanian national after he tried to detonate what he thought was a bomb outside a Dallas skyscraper. In an unrelated case, authorities in Springfield, Ill., arrested a man after he tried to set off what he thought were explosives in a van outside a federal courthouse. In both cases, decoy devices were provided to the men by FBI agents posing as al-Qaida operatives.

Federal investigators said that, starting in April, Ahmed met several times with people he believed were al-Qaida operatives. During one of those meetings, investigators said, he agreed to watch and photograph a hotel in Washington and a subway station in Arlington, Va. He also was accused of recording video of an Arlington subway station on four occasions, and agreeing to get security information about two stations.

According to the indictment:

_Ahmed took video of four northern Virginia subway stations — Arlington Cemetery, Courthouse, Pentagon City and Crystal City, which is near the Pentagon — and monitored security at a hotel in the District of Columbia. In a series of meetings at hotels in northern Virginia, Ahmed provided the videos to someone he believed was part of a terrorist organization and said he wanted to donate $10,000 to help the overseas fight and collect donations in a way that would not raise red flags.

_In a Sept. 28 meeting in a Herndon, Va. hotel, Ahmed also suggested that terror operatives use rolling suitcases to blow up the subway instead of backpacks. During that same meeting Ahmed said he wanted to kill as many military personnel as possible and suggested an additional attack on a Crystal City subway station.

The indictment alleges he also handed over diagrams of the Arlington subway stations and gave suggestions about where to put explosives on trains to kill the most people in simultaneous attacks planned for 2011.

At the White House, press secretary Robert Gibbs said President Barack Obama was aware of the investigation before Ahmed was arrested. Gibbs also offered assurances that the public was never in danger.

In a statement, David Kris, assistant attorney general for national security, said the case "demonstrates how the government can neutralize such threats before they come to fruition."

"Farooque Ahmed is accused of plotting with individuals he believed were terrorists to bomb our transit system, but a coordinated law enforcement and intelligence effort was able to thwart his plans," Kris said.

There are no indications Ahmed was connected with larger terrorist groups like al-Qaida, according to a U.S. counterterrorism official, who requested anonymity to discuss an intelligence matter.

Nonetheless, the arrest came as unsettling news for some Washington area commuters.

"As I look around, I think about how vulnerable we are," said 45-year-old McCarthy Council, who lives near the Pentagon City Metro station. "I'm just going to stay off the Metro system for now."

Mary Brereton, 55, a personal trainer who lives in nearby Alexandria, Va., said she's more worried about the safety of Metro's trains after a deadly crash last year than about a terrorist attack.

"Who was it who said, 'If we live in fear every day, then 9/11 was a success?'" she said. "You just can't."

Andrew Ames, a spokesman for the FBI Washington field office, declined to comment on how authorities learned about Ahmed. The Washington Post quoted an unidentified administration official as saying Ahmed drew the attention of law enforcement officials by seeking to obtain unspecified materials.

Ahmed faces up to 50 years in prison if convicted.

A LinkedIn page that was created for Farooque Ahmed identifies him as a network planning engineer with a bachelor's degree in computer science from the City College of New York in 2003, during the same period that other records showed he had been living in New York. The profile listed Ahmed as a network planning engineer for Ericsson and said he previously worked with Verizon and Sprint.

In Reston, Va., Ericsson Federal Inc., issued a statement confirming that Ahmed had done contract work for the company, which promised cooperation with the federal investigation.

A check of legal records for Ahmed found several traffic offenses in Virginia, including speeding.

Officers with the FBI, the Virginia State Police and the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office left the brick town house where Ahmed lives on Wednesday afternoon. One took a photo of the entrance and another carried out a plastic bag containing used exam gloves.

In some ways, Ahmed and his family seemed like many other suburbanites.

Ahmed's wife, Sahar, joined the Hip Muslim Moms, a support group for women with children under 5 years old, and brought her young son to play dates with other mothers, said group organizer Esraa Bani. She had moved to the area and was looking for a mothers group when she joined. She was very quiet and kept to herself.

Next door neighbor Marc Otterbac described the family as "pretty reclusive," but said he talked with Ahmed and his wife on occasion. He recalled commenting once that a dinner they were cooking smelled good and the family brought him some saffron rice and chicken.

Margaret Petney, who lives on the same block as Ahmed in Ashburn, said Ahmed moved in about a year and a half ago with his wife and young child, and that they wore traditional Muslim clothing.

"They didn't seem to be too friendly with anybody," Petney said. "You never know who lives around you."

___

Associated Press writers Eileen Sullivan, Matt Apuzzo and Sarah Brumfield in Washington, Brett Zongker in Arlington, Va., Kathleen Miller in Reston, Va., and Kasey Jones and Ben Nuckols in Baltimore contributed to this report.

Photo, courtesy of AP.

Copies of collection of Iqbal Azeem's poetry titled 'Ma-Hasal' sold out in a short time. Here you see Anupama Chandratreya at the podium; Anupama beautifully sang two Iqbal Azeem ghazals.

Almost 100 people attended a program arranged by Bay Area Urdu teacher Hamida Bano Chopra to pay tribute to legendary Urdu poet Iqbal Azeem. Here you see Hamida Chopra at the podium; AliShan Zaidi presided over the literary meeting.

Another Example of US Media Lies

Were you there at the UN General Assembly to listen to Ahmadinejad? Probably not. Do you understand Farsi enabling you to listen to Ahmadinejad's speech broadcasted from several Farsi radio and TV channels? Probably not. Is the Internet your primary source of information and news? Probably yes. When you see news flashes on the Internet do you read the whole stories? Probably not; like most people you probably only read the heading or at best the lead of the story. So, if you had a passing interest in Ahmadineja's speech at the UN, you would read the following lead of the New York Times of September 24.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/24/world/24nations.html
=====
UNITED NATIONS — President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran made a series of incendiary remarks in his speech to the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday, notably the claim that the United States orchestrated the Sept. 11 attacks to rescue its declining economy, to reassert its weakening grip on the Middle East and to save Israel.
=====
After reading the above you would, like most Americans, shake your head in disbelief, call Ahmadinejad a stupid person, and close the book on him.

You won't know that a day later NY Times published the following correction:
=====
Correction: September 25, 2010
A headline on Friday with an article about an incendiary speech in the United Nations General Assembly by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran summarized his remarks about the Sept. 11 terror attacks incorrectly. In his speech, Mr. Ahmadinejad asserted various theories about the origin of the attacks, including the possibility that they had been planned by the United States. He did not say that the United States had planned the attacks.
=====

Even the above correction needs further correction. Listen to Ahmadinejad's speech yourself. He is saying there are three theories regarding 9/11 terrorist attacks.
"In his speech, Mr. Ahmadinejad asserted various theories about the origin of the attacks, including the possibility that they had been planned by the United States. He did not say that the United States had planned the attacks."
The above sentence of the correction still has an insidious spin to it.

It tells you how responsible the US media is, and how much trust you can put in the large US newspapers.

What does it mean that Dow Jones Industrial Average is down so many points? Down or up from what reference point?

We hear it from the radio and TV everyday: Dow Jones up 10 points, Dow Jones down 20 points. Most of us know what it means, but when this question came up today I looked up on the web to see if someone was explaining it in simple terms. I did not find a web page giving a satisfactory answer to this simple question. When they say Dow Jones (or NASDAQ or S&P) up or down so many points what reference point they are talking about?
The answer is simple. The reference point is the closure of the market the previous working day.

For example, on Friday, September 24, 2010, the market closed with Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) at 10860.26 points.
Today, September 27, the market closed with Dow Jones at 10834.94 points.
Compared to Friday, the last working day, the market was down. How much was Dow down?

10860.26 - 10834.94= 25.32 points
or, in percentage
=(25.32/10860.26)X100= 0.23%

So, it would be said that the Dow Jones was down 25.32 points, today, or that the market was down 0.23%.

In short, the reference point is always the closure of the market the previous working day, even when these numbers are given middle of the day when the trading is still on.

Image courtesy of http://www.worldphoto360.com

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]