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[24 Feb 2008|07:43pm] Movie: Wild Tigers I Have Known Logan is a soft spoken and lonely 13 year old boy with a crush. Unlike his equally lonely friend Joey, who obsesses over the sexual exploits of the popular boys, Logan is fixated on the boys themselves, particularly Rodeo Walker. Rodeo is the only one of the group of cool kids who shows any friendliness towards Logan, in other words, he doesn’t go out of his way to make Logan’s life miserable. As they strike up a mismatched friendship, Logan’s infatuation with Rodeo inspires him to create a new persona named Leah. Leah and Rodeo grow close through whispered late night phone calls, and when Leah agrees to meet Rodeo face to face it is Logan who must finally prove that he can ask for what he so achingly wants.

[23 Feb 2008|06:43pm] Young filmmakers put lives of Muslims in focus Filmmaker Tries to Change Portrayal of Muslims CHRISTMAS IN NEW YORK Values are unexpectedly tested as a Muslim girl walks the streets of New York during Christmas Day. LinkTV's One Nation Contest Winner for Best Drama: GLIMPSE An inside look into the lives of an African American Muslim family that struggles within to find the true balance of Islam. Ask Baba Ali: "Randomly Checked" (Absolutely hilarious...think of it as a sequel to Muslim While Flying, which won best comedy in the above contest) Howard Zinn: You Can’t Be Neutral on a Moving Train This rousing documentary uses Howard Zinn's life to tell the story of political activism in the 20th Century and beyond, from the anti-Fascist protests of the late '30s and early '40s, through WWII and post-war unionism, to the civil rights movement in the South, the Vietnam War, and now, Iraq. Zinn has been an active participant in all of these movements, giving a white, academic, radical voice to people fighting for respect and justice around the world, often risking his own life and livelihood. Looking for China Girl (Really good if you're interested in Chinese culture and/or have studied Chinese social and cultural history) Twenty-five years ago, to stop the country's spiraling birth rate, China's communist government decreed that couples should have just one child. And influenced by Chinese tradition, couples usually want a son and not a daughter. According to official figures, about 117 boys are born for every 100 girls. Many reasons have been given for the fact that more boys are born than girls, including selective abortion or infanticide, under-reporting of female births and adoption. This World follows 24-year-old Xinhau Lu, who still lives with his parents on a small farm in rural China, on his search for a wife. "In my current situation, no girl would be interested in marrying me," he says. So in an anxious mission to find work and attract a bride, Xinhau travels 860 miles to Beijing. Others, however, are not as scrupulous as Xinhau. Some young women across China are being kidnapped and sold as brides. We speak to Qing, only 16 years old when she was snatched and forced to live with a desperate bachelor. And in China's cities there is also a new breed of girl like Shao Ying, who have made successful careers and are enjoying the single life. These are the personal stories of a modern demographic crisis. Can China stop itself from becoming a bachelor society? Book: The Gathering (I didn't like this book but thought that maybe others might) Pretty early on in The Gathering you realize that in her lingering portrait of the Hegarty clan (and this isn't hyperbole--they are a family of 12), Irish novelist Anne Enright will wrestle with all the giant literary tropes that have come before her. Family, of course, is the big one, but with equal intensity she explores death and dying, the sea and its siren song, sex, shame, secrecy, unreliable memories, madness, "the drink," and--always in the shadows--England. That said, it's not like any other novel about the Irish that I've read. The story of the Hegartys is indeed bleak, and hard, but it surges with tenderness and eloquent thought which, in the end, are the very things that help this family (or at least her narrator Veronica) survive. Through her eyes, and in Enright's skillful imagination, those small turning-point moments of life that we all know in some form or another--a petty fight, a careless word, an event witnessed--come together in an unshakeable vision of how you become the person you are. --Anne Bartholomew

[19 Feb 2008|09:56am] Speaking on the character of Muhammad, (pbuh) Mahatma Gandhi says in (Young India): "I wanted to know the best of one who holds today's undisputed sway over the hearts of millions of mankind....I became more than convinced that it was not the sword that won a place for Islam in those days in the scheme of life. It was the rigid simplicity, the utter self-effacement of the Prophet, the scrupulous regard for his pledges, his intense devotion to this friends and followers, his intrepidity, his fearlessness, his absolute trust in God and in his own mission. These and not the sword carried everything before them and surmounted every obstacle. When I closed the 2nd volume (of the Prophet's biography), I was sorry there was not more for me to read of the great life." - Muhammad in Their Eyes Graphic Bible Features Superman Jesus A new, abridged version of the Bible rooted in Manga, the Japanese form of graphic novels, projects Jesus Christ as a tough, dark stranger who arrives in town ready to save the world. Archaeologists dig up 'oldest' African human sacrifice The tomb of a 5,500-year-old man surrounded by three sacrificed humans, two dogs and exquisite ceramics were exhumed north of Khartoum by Neolithic expert Jacques Reinhold and his 66-year-old Austrian wife. Fidel Castro's resignation letter College Web site posts sex gossip, hate, rumor The student found his name on the Web site beside a rambling, filthy passage about his sexual exploits, posted by an anonymous student on campus. The young man could only hope the commentary was so ridiculous nobody would believe it. Movie: George Washington The story of a group of kids growing up in a depressed rural town in North Carolina, as seen through the eyes of 12-year-old Nasia. After breaking up with her show-off boyfriend Buddy, she withdraws from her delinquent friends and becomes romantically obsessed with a strange, introverted boy named George who is burdened by the fact that his skull never hardened after birth. Tragedy strikes when one of George's friends is accidentally killed and the group, fearing punishment, decides to hide the body. In its aftermath, George is put in the unlikely role as town hero. (These two recs come from someone else ;)) Book: One Thousand Roads to Mecca: Ten Centuries of Travelers Writing about the Muslim Pilgrimage One Thousand Roads to Mecca is a collection of more than 20 accounts of the Hajj spanning ten centuries. The writers collected in this anthology reflect the geographic diversity of Islam. These pilgrims come from all over the world: Morocco, India, Persia, England, Italy, and the United States. They travel by boat and camel, on foot and horseback and, most recently, by airplane; many suffered all the hardships and dangers attached to a long pilgrimage of months or even years through deserts and over mountains, across lands populated by brigands and thieves. But along with the hazards are descriptions of of Cairo and Damascus at the height of their glory during the medieval period and anecdotes and observations that render the cosmopolitan nature of the pilgrims. In addition to the writings of Muslim pilgrims, there are also several accounts by non-Muslim westerners who, by hook or by crook, gained access to the forbidden city of Mecca and then wrote about it. One Thousand Roads to Mecca is both classic travel literature at its best and a wonderful introduction to the tenets and practices of a frequently misunderstood religion. Movie: --LIMITED RELEASE-- The Band's Visit A small Egyptian Police band arrives in Israel. They are suppose to play at an initiation ceremony but instead are left stranded at the airport. The band tries to make their way on their own, only to find themselves in a desolate, small Israeli town, somewhere in the heart of the desert. A lost band in a lost town.

[15 Feb 2008|04:53pm] Ask Baba Ali - "Little Backbiter" Tolkien Estate Sues New Line Cinema The estate of "Lord of the Rings" creator J.R.R. Tolkien is suing the film studio that released the trilogy based on his books, claiming the company hasn't paid it a penny from the estimated $6 billion the films have grossed worldwide. Study: 'Sexsomnia' Causes People to Have Sex in Their Sleep If you think it's impossible to have sex while you sleep, think again, according to a new study. (old news) The West Memphis Three Shortly after three eight-year-old boys were found mutilated and murdered in West Memphis, Arkansas, local newspapers stated the killers had been caught. The police assured the public that the three teenagers in custody were definitely responsible for these horrible crimes. Evidence? The same police officers coerced an error-filled "confession" from Jessie Misskelley Jr., who is mentally handicapped. They subjected him to 12 hours of questioning without counsel or parental consent, audio-taping only two fragments totaling 46 minutes. Jessie recanted it that evening, but it was too late� Misskelley, Jason Baldwin and Damien Echols were all arrested on June 3, 1993, and convicted of murder in early 1994. Although there was no physical evidence, murder weapon, motive, or connection to the victims, the prosecution pathetically resorted to presenting black hair and clothing, heavy metal t-shirts, and Stephen King novels as proof that the boys were sacrificed in a satanic cult ritual. Unfathomably, Echols was sentenced to death, Baldwin received life without parole, and Misskelley got life plus 40. For over 14 years, The West Memphis Three have been imprisoned for crimes they didn�t commit. Echols waits in solitary confinement for the lethal injection our tax dollars will pay for. They were all condemned by their poverty, incompetent defense, satanic panic and a rush to judgment. Documentary: Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills -Named one of 1996�s Top Ten Films of the Year by over 35 major critics -Winner of Emmy, Peabody, National Board of Review "Best Documentary" Awards -Nominee DGA, Independent Spirit "Best Documentary" Awards -Runner-up New York, Los Angeles, Boston Film Critics "Best Documentary"

[15 Feb 2008|02:08pm] “We are not talking about a conspiracy” Correspondent Wajahat Ali speaks with Stephen Walt and John Mearsheimer, authors of the book "The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy," about how their groundbreaking book and ideas have been received. Secular Not Islamic Kosovo With the clock ticking for the much-awaited independence, Prime Minister Hashim Thaci said independent Kosovo will not be an Islamic state. The US ambassador to Japan offered a personal apology on Wednesday, February 13, 2008, over a US Marine's alleged rape of a young girl in Okinawa. US staff-sergeant Tyrone Luther Hadnott, 38, was arrested on Monday over allegations that he raped a 14-year-old girl in his car on the island, which is home to thousands of US troops. Japanese leaders called for strong action on Wednesday, a day after Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda said the alleged rape "can never be forgiven." Media Language and War: Manufacturing Convenient Realities In the competitive world of media today, swift and conveniently selective reporting is of prime importance. Google News, for example, claim to scan 4,500 news sources, of which only a few are highlighted as main stories. Gorillas Photographed Mating Face-to-Face -- A First When Incest Is Best: Kissing Cousins Have More Kin Study analyzing more than 200 years of data finds that couples consisting of third cousins have the highest reproductive success Egypt's Earliest Farming Village Found The 7,000-year-old farming-village site includes evidence of domesticated animals and crops—providing a major breakthrough in understanding the enigmatic people of the Neolithic, or late Stone Age, period and their lives long before the appearance of the Egyptian pharaohs. The Old Closes and Streets of Glasgow

[14 Feb 2008|09:00am] "LAST KISS" was originally written and recorded by Wayne Cochran in 1961. It became a big hit in 1964 by J. Frank Wilson And The Cavaliers, was recorded again in 1974 by a group called Wednesday, before becoming a big hit once more for Pearl Jam in 1999. J. Frank Wilson and The Cavaliers - Last Kiss Last Kiss: Songs of Teen Tragedy

[14 Feb 2008|07:57am] Fact: Only 1 out of every 20 African Americans actually have Native American ancestry. The majority have some European ancestry. - African American Lives Part 2 (if the show repeats definitely try to catch it) Book: The Other Boleyn Girl From Publishers Weekly: Sisterly rivalry is the basis of this fresh, wonderfully vivid retelling of the story of Anne Boleyn. Anne, her sister Mary and their brother George are all brought to the king's court at a young age, as players in their uncle's plans to advance the family's fortunes. Mary, the sweet, blond sister, wins King Henry VIII's favor when she is barely 14 and already married to one of his courtiers. Their affair lasts several years, and she gives Henry a daughter and a son. But her dark, clever, scheming sister, Anne, insinuates herself into Henry's graces, styling herself as his adviser and confidant. Soon she displaces Mary as his lover and begins her machinations to rid him of his wife, Katherine of Aragon. This is only the beginning of the intrigue that Gregory so handily chronicles, capturing beautifully the mingled hate and nearly incestuous love Anne, Mary and George ("kin and enemies all at once") feel for each other and the toll their family's ambition takes on them. Mary, the story's narrator, is the most sympathetic of the siblings, but even she is twisted by the demands of power and status; charming George, an able plotter, finally brings disaster on his own head by falling in love with a male courtier. Anne, most tormented of all, is ruthless in her drive to become queen, and then to give Henry a male heir. Rather than settling for a picturesque rendering of court life, Gregory conveys its claustrophobic, all-consuming nature with consummate skill. In the end, Anne's famous, tragic end is offset by Mary's happier fate, but the self-defeating folly of the quest for power lingers longest in the reader's mind. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. Movie The Other Boleyn Girl (In Theaters Feb. 29th) TBH the movie looks cooler than the book reads Trailer

[12 Feb 2008|08:14am] Alienation Leads to Consumerism Which Supports the Capitalist System However, the question arises: if capitalism is so self destructive to the human ego (khudi) then why is there so little resistance to it? In other words, if this economic system is so unnatural that it creates conflicts within our psychological, spiritual, and ecological constructs, then why don’t the masses develop a consciousness of that system and oppose it? Many Iranians say revolutionary ideals still unmet In Tehran Monday, tens of thousands celebrated the 29th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution in 1979.

[12 Feb 2008|07:52am] (This documentary series may sound boring, but it really is cool) Chinese Restaurants Chinese Restaurants tells the story of the Chinese Diaspora through its most recognizable and enduring icon – the family-run Chinese restaurant. In this thirteen-part series, Canadian filmmaker Cheuk Kwan takes us on a tour of restaurants around the world, bringing us into the lives of extraordinary families as they share moving stories of struggle, courage, displacement and belonging, and what it means to be “Chinese” today. Visit remarkable families in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Cuba, India, Israel, Madagascar, Mauritius, Norway, Peru, South Africa, Trinidad and Tobago, and Turkey. Meet the many faces of the Chinese Diaspora as they celebrate their unique identities, forged by political and economic forces, their ancestors’ legacies and the vibrant cultures of their chosen homes. Turkey Istanbul's China Restaurant is the oldest Chinese restaurant in Turkey. Its founder, Wang Zhengshan, fled China with his family in a dramatic trek over the Himalayas in 1949 when Chinese Communists took power, thereby earning a place in urban legend as the man who "walked from China". Wang died in 1961, leaving his widow Fatima and eight children struggling to survive. Now as Fatima contemplates retiring, the restaurant faces an uncertain future. Chinese Muslims in Turkey: The Story of Fatma Wang For hundreds of years Turkey has been the destination of many Muslim immigrants fleeing their countries for one reason or another. Here is the story of a Chinese Muslim Fatma Wang from Dislocating China. Three families, three nations (Dru Gladney, Dislocating China, pp181-184) Fatma Wang — Hui Fatma Wang came to Istanbul via Taiwan with her family fifty years ago. She, with her husband, a high-ranking Kuomintang official, escaped from Xinjiang in 1949, through the mountains to Pakistan, where they lived for more than four years before relocating to Istanbul, where her husband was appointed as a professor. A Muslim Chinese (known as Dungan in Central Asia, or ‘Hui’ — a term that at one time merely meant Muslim — in China), Fatma has more recent family roots that go back to Sichuan in southwestern China, but she, like many Hui, believes strongly that her earliest ancestors were Persian, and possibly a part of the legendary ‘black-robed’ Muslim force invited to help the Tang emperor suppress a local rebellion in Sichuan. She is thus descended from the hybrid offspring of Arab mercenaries or Persian traders who entered China in service to the empire, married Chinese women, and were later implicated in the empire’s many hegemonies. To this day, Hui are often seen as somehow between Chinese and non-Chinese, distrusted by both sides, the liminal, eternal stranger, inherently useful as mediators, traders, and scapegoats. Fatma Wang is now the proprietor of the oldest Chinese restaurant in Istanbul, the Cin Lokantasi, on Lamartin Cadessi. While over the years her food has taken on a decidedly Turkish taste, she can still serve up a zesty, spicy bowl of beef noodles. Her sons, Isa Wan Er Shao and Kurban Wang Er Bang, married Turkish women and, like most Istanbulites, practice a secularized version of Islam that honors Muslim holidays an dpractices but is not over-religious. The brothers speak Chinese to their Chinese relatives, but Turkish to their sublings and children. ‘As long as they are Muslims’, Fatma once told me, ‘I don’t care who they marry. The family members tell me that they relate to the Turks not as Turks, but as Muslims: ‘We are Muslim first, Chinese last’. They are neither Turk nor Chinese, but merely Muslim. Ms. Rosey [Wang] Ma, one of Fatma’s daughters, who lives in Kuala Lumpur, explained to me (pers. comm.) that her mother did not wish her children to marry non-Muslims or even Chinese, but only Muslims, and the German husband of one of her daughters was required to convert to Islam before the marriage was allowed. For Rosey Ma’s insightful history of Muslim Chinese in Malaysia, see Ma, R (2002). Islam in China Blog

[11 Feb 2008|11:10am] eBook: Topsy-Turvy Land: Arabia Pictured for Children (1902) (FYI this is a missionary book) Excerpt: In Topsy-turvy Land all the habits and customs are exactly opposite to those in America or England. For instance when a boy enters a room he takes off his shoes but leaves his hat on his head. I do not know whether we should call it a hat, however. His hat has no rim and is not made of felt or straw, but is just a folded handkerchief of a large size and bright colour with a piece of cord to hold it wound round his head—a sort of a hat in two pieces. The girls go without shoes but carefully cover their pretty (or ugly) faces with a black veil.

[11 Feb 2008|09:44am] Abu, Ibn, and Bin, Oh My! Last week, the Explainer went over the meaning of "al-" in Arabic names. Many readers wrote in to ask about the words that appear in names like Hind ibn Sheik, Osama Bin Laden, and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. What's the deal with ibn, bin, and abu? In Arabic names, both ibn and bin can be translated as "son of." Osama bin Laden means "Osama, son of Laden." It's not uncommon for names to include references to three or four generations of ancestors, each offset with bin or ibn. So, why do some names use bin while others use ibn? Roy Scheider, of 'Jaws' fame, dies at 75

[11 Feb 2008|06:38am] The True Confessions of a Conspiracy Theorist Because I have a tendency to turn a normal conversation into a tempestuous discourse about world politics, trade agreements, and/or the sinister connotations of the plentiful number of shampoo choices at the drugstore, I have provoked the ire of many. I frolic merrily in the meadows of verbal trouble–making; I linger dangerously in the undulating hills of social banishment. However, I have discovered that during my long career as a hapless instigator, I have never unintentionally aroused more hot temper than concerning the issue of sports in the mainstream media.

[10 Feb 2008|10:12am] Wine, Worship and Sacrafice: The Golden Graves of Ancient Vani | Treasures from Georgia According to legend, Jason and his shipmates, the Argonauts, set sail on a perilous journey from Greece to Colchis (modern-day Georgia), then located beyond the known world. Less well known today, however, is the archaeology and artifacts of Colchis, with its intermingling of Greek and Persian motifs with local styles and traditions. Metalworking, whether in gold, silver, iron or bronze, was a traditional focus of Colchian art and craftsmanship. The earliest evidence of wine and winemaking comes from the area—another mainstay of Georgian life throughout several millennia. A few high resolution images of some of the artifacts Serbs warn of Kosovo clash Belgrade's leader foresees outbreaks of violence if an independence declaration is rushed through Justice at Agadez In the Western African country of Niger, the official justice system of this former French colony is based on the Napoleonic Code. A small percentage of the population still subscribe to superstitious beliefs and seek the advice of traditional healers. But in this largely Muslim nation, many citizens seek justice from the local Islamic judge, or 'Cadi,' who interprets Koranic Law. Filmed in the village of Agadez in northern Niger, Justice at Agadez chronicles seven typical cases heard by the local Cadi. The film unobtrusively witnesses these seven "stories" - small civil disputes, domestic conflicts, marriage problems, accusations of theft. With the small vestibule of his home serving as a "courtroom", the Cadi listens to the complaints and often heated arguments of all parties to the dispute-sometimes just a husband and wife but at other times a room full of shouting people-listening patiently, frequently posing questions and seeking clarification, before rendering his judgment. Justice at Agadez not only demonstrates the power of Islamic religious beliefs in enforcing both moral and civil behavior but also provides viewers a rare opportunity to see how Islamic law, unlike the manner in which it has often been sensationalized in the Western media, actually functions on an everyday basis.

[09 Feb 2008|05:27pm] Book: King of the Castle by Charles Le Gai Eaton This book examines closely many of the unquestioned assumptions by which we live our lives, comparing them with the beliefs that have shaped and guided human life in the past. It begins with a consideration of how secular societies attempt to possess their citizens, body and soul and how, as a consequence, the necessity of redefining human responsibility becomes an ever more urgent imperative. The book continues with a presentation of the traditional view of man as ‘God’s Viceroy on Earth’, with an eye to its practical implications in a world that has all but forgotten, under the pressure of mass social persuasion, that man must always be free to choose his own ultimate destiny. The author’s thesis is a passionate yet incisive plea for the restoration of the sacred norms of religion, as against the debilitating and falsifying aims of a profane world-view based on no more than recent scientific and technological achievements. -- Charles Le Gai Eaton was born in Switzerland and educated at Charterhouse at King’s College, Cambridge. He worked for many years as a teacher and journalist in Jamaica and Egypt (where he embraced Islam in 1951) before joining the British Diplomatic Service. He is now a consultant to the Islamic Cultural Centre in London. ETA Gai Eaton has worked with Nobel Laureate of fame, T.S. Eliot who actually discovered him and published his first work

[09 Feb 2008|09:52am] Black Death Selective In Its Wrath: Plague Targeted The Weak, Frail Despite the long-held assumption by historians that Europe's Black Death of 1347 to 1351 killed indiscriminately, a new report by University at Albany anthropologist Sharon DeWitte and Pennsylvania State University researcher James Wood finds that the deadly plaque targeted the already ill and weak. The Claim: Menstrual Cycles Can Synchronize Over Time Ron Paul's Name Crossed Out On New York Ballot Papers Steve Miller, a 27-year-old Brooklynite for Ron Paul, just called in to report that poll workers at PS 180 (57th and 16th Avenue) wrongly informed a voter who wanted to cast a ballot for the Texas Congressman that there were only two Republicans on the ballot. Jewish Vote Eclipsed By Hispanics A California Jewish newspaper dubbed it the “Jewish primary,” but the Super Tuesday contest in California might be more accurately called the Hispanic primary. And California wasn’t alone — in a number of states, a surging Hispanic population is poised to play an unprecedented role in the 2008 presidential election and beyond. At trial, stepdad blames abused child for her death After police discovered the frail, battered body of 7-year-old Nixzmary Brown in her home in 2006, authorities say her stepfather was quick to admit he had bound her to a chair with duct tape and beat her on a daily basis. US Air Force Academy encourages Islamophobia? The three anti-Muslim fear-mongering bigots have spent the past couple of years on speaking tour across America but this is the first time that the trio has spoken at a military academy for which they picked up $13,000. Book: The Blood of Flowers From Publishers Weekly: In Iranian-American Amirrezvani's lushly orchestrated debut, a comet signals misfortune to the remote 17th-century Persian village where the nameless narrator lives modestly but happily with her parents, both of whom expect to see the 14-year-old married within the year. Her fascination with rug making is a pastime they indulge only for the interim, but her father's untimely death prompts the girl to travel with her mother to the city of Isfahan, where the two live as servants in the opulent home of an uncle—a wealthy rug maker to the Shah. The only marriage proposal now in the offing is a three-month renewable contract with the son of a horse trader. Teetering on poverty and shame, the girl weaves fantasies for her temporary husband's pleasure and exchanges tales with her beleaguered mother until, having mastered the art of making and selling carpets under her uncle's tutelage, she undertakes to free her mother and herself. With journalistic clarity, Amirrezvani describes how to make a carpet knot by knot, and then sell it negotiation by negotiation, guiding readers through workshops and bazaars. Sumptuous imagery and a modern sensibility (despite a preponderance of flowery language and schematic female bonding and male bullying) make this a winning debut. (June) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

[08 Feb 2008|06:37pm] The Doctrine for Joint Nuclear Operations In 2005 it was drafted that, with presidential approval, America could launch pre-emptive nuclear strikes against states or terror groups, and that nuclear weapons can be used to destroy chemical and biological weapon stockpiles. After public exposure, the draft was canceled. Studies conclude that biofuels are not so green Almost all biofuels used today cause more greenhouse gas emissions than conventional fuels if the pollution caused by producing these "green" fuels is taken into account, two studies published Thursday have concluded.

[08 Feb 2008|09:26am] Saving Timbuktu's Islamic heritage Thanks to a South African initiative, the rich history of the ancient Malian city of Timbuktu will be preserved. Canterbury Archbishop Supports Shari`ah The Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams expressed on Thursday, February 7, support for the adoption of some Shari`ah aspects in Britain Point/Counterpoint Why Muslims Should Support Ron Paul I want a candidate who has no desire to go adventuring in other countries and who will actually follow the Constitution. Right now, the only one on that page is Ron Paul. Why Muslims Shouldn’t Support Ron Paul Muslim groups, mosques, activist communities and intellectuals should get off their Ron Paul kick and enter the reality-based community. Why Muslims Shouldn't Support Anyone in a Non-Khilafah System The season has come yet again. Some Muslim organizations are trying to promote, convince and coax Muslims to cast their vote in the upcoming elections under the guise of benefit. This action is most definitely and totally haram. Unfortunately, it is passed by very easily due to the Ummah's confused understanding of Islam, specially in matters related to the laws of Islam governing political action. When pork is consumed or when zina is committed, the Muslims are quick to respond (as they should). However, when democracy is likened to Islam or when we are told to vote for our local congressman, there is approval or at least confusion. Video Games Normalize Killing, Doctors Say, Gamers Say Video Games Get Picked On Research suggests that violent video games can make children feel different. A brain scan of a teenager who has just played what was deemed a nonviolent video game was compared to the scan of a teen who had just spent 30 minutes playing a violent game. Indiana School of Medicine researchers said highlighted areas in the brains showed increased activity in the areas involved in emotional arousal. Police parade kidney-snatching 'mastermind' The alleged mastermind of a kidney transplant scheme in India has admitted to his involvement in about 300 transplants over the last 12 to 13 years, police said Friday.

[07 Feb 2008|08:58pm] Documentary: And Along Came a Spider Between July 2000 and July 2001, 16 women were murdered in the holy Iranian city Mashhad, all but one of them with a prior incarceration for prostitution or drug-related charges. When 39-year-old Saeed Hanaei was arrested and then confessed to the killings, he proudly claimed his actions were in accordance with holy teachings of preventing vice and promoting virtue. Featuring a chilling first-person prison interview with Hanaei, AND ALONG CAME A SPIDER tells the story of Iran's infamous "spider killings" - named for the way he drew victims into a deadly web. ( Synopsis of Film )

[07 Feb 2008|03:54pm] Check this post if you haven't already and you want to be kept on my friends list Movie: The Other Conquest (La Otra Conquista) The movie spans the years 1520 to 1531 in Mexico - from the death of Montezuma to the apparition of the Virgin of Guadalupe. If the first conquest was the military conquest of the Aztec Empire by Hernando Cortés, the "other" conquest is ostensibly the religious conversion of the native population. But this movie makes its case that the real "other conquest" was the intellectual backwash of the New World on Old World culture. When two cultures clash, neither wins, but both are altered. The theme is struck early, when the brutally realistic Spanish officer tells the priest, "The only result of the Crusades has been that Muslim ideas entered the Christian world." The priest - who is one of the two central characters of the film - thinks this verges on blasphemy. "And if you insist on converting the Indians, the same story will be repeated here in New Spain," says the officer. "And what is that?" asks the priest. "A conversion that is never complete." (Source) Controversial Article that Rejects the Claim that White People are as "Oppressed" as Black People Written by Assed Baig (UK) I was recently discussing Black history month with a fellow student along with establishing a position for a Black Students officer. I was shocked by the response. "Do we have a white history month or a white students´ officer?" From the outset I must declare the definition I am using for `Black´ is that of the NUS Black Students Campaign. This definition is for students of African, Asian, and Caribbean descent. The ignorance of many other students amazes me. Do people not realise that this is a white country where history in schools is white history? Black history is largely ignored and rarely taught at educational institutes. The position of black students´ officer is for a guaranteed representation of a minority group so that they can have representation. Democracy is not only about the voice of the majority but is also about ensuring a voice for the minority. However I think we need to look into this further in an attempt to explain where the roots of this thinking lie. The reason why white people point fingers at black people is because that they need an enemy, a `bad guy´. As long as there is an external entity to which you can shift blame, it stops you looking at yourself. The term `black on black´ crime is an example. We never hear white on white crime, is this to say that white people do not commit crime against white people. Crime is not committed on the basis of colour. In reality it is the white ruling elite which are responsible for much of the problems that we see today. Nuclear weapons, AK47´s and M16´s are all invented and made by white people. Fighter Jets, tanks and land mines are a white invention and largely made in the white dominated Western World. Terrorism has been perpetrated by white states. The terrorism that we are told to fear in the so called `War on Terror´ was initially funded and terrorists trained by our governments. The artificial and unnatural lines drawn on maps from Africa to the Middle East, were drawn up by the colonialist white ruling class. The biggest crimes perpetrated in this World are carried out by the white ruling class; take for example the theft of Iraqi oil. Yet if we look at our society, our media and film industry it is black people that are seen as the criminals. It does not stop there we are given an image that the black people cannot help themselves. It requires the white man to step in and help black people help themselves. This kind of thinking is prevalent in many white people and has its roots in racist imperialist colonialism. In many people it is sub-conscience. You only need to pick up The Sun newspaper to read the racist undertone that runs through it. ( Read the rest ) His Response to Criticism Since the publication of my comment piece in GK News there has been a furore of comments and accusations against me, culminating in myself being called a racist. These have been balanced by statements of support from lecturers and students alike. My intention was to get people to think about racism towards black people and to think about the world we live in. It did not need to be a "balanced article" since the "other side", i.e. that black people are the problem in society, is constantly perpetuated by politicians and the mainstream media – rampant Islamophobia since the start of the "war on terror" being just one example. Some of the response to my article has itself been bigoted and racist. I have seen messages saying I should be killed, deported and burned by Jesus. Others have called my article an attack on British culture. If I mention the ruling elite it is seen as an attack on this country and British culture. I would argue that real "British culture" is one that unites black and white people in opposition to war and racism – issues we have seen millions marching and protesting over in the past few years. As for the calls for me to be deported or "fuck off" to another country, where do these people expect me to go? I was born in this country and have as much right to be here as a white person. Would this be said if I was white? I think not. I believe the origins of racism today lie within the capitalist society we live in – it is used as a tool by the ruling class. Ever since slavery gave birth to modern day capitalism, racism has been an inherent part of the system. It has been used to both scapegoat and coerce minorities, and to divide those wanting to fight back. ( Read the Rest ) What Abraham Lincoln Taught Me about Email—Thoughts on How Lincoln's Electric Communications Came to Affect Mine I began writing Mr. Lincoln's T-Mails based on the thesis that Abraham Lincoln's telegrams made him the first online president. As I watched Lincoln's use of the telegraph evolve and read and re-read his messages I began to discover that I was thinking of his t-mails as I wrote my own emails. Here is how Abraham Lincoln's t-mails ended up having an effect upon how I use email.

Clarification [07 Feb 2008|10:42am] Since people are adding and removing this journal, let me explain: This is a read-only journal for the purposes of passing information along. I am not giving personal opinions or reading/commenting other people's entries. Most, if not all, of what will be posted will relate to politics, history, news, books, movies or religion. Comments will be disabled on every post. If you want to read this journal just add it and I will add you back. I cleared up my friends' list so as to not be spamming others. If you want to stay on just comment below. If you send me a message, note that for some reason I cannot send messages back. post comment

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