Monthly Archives: September 2005

Meet Vanita Gupta in DC, Sunday

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It pays to be on SAJA-DC’s list– look at this event(I’m considering missing church for it!):

A talk and inter-active session with Vanita Gupta, an accomplished lawyer and a young leader. Vanita works at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and won the release of 46 wrongly-accused African Americans in Tulia, Texas. Recipient of the Soros Justice Fellowship, India Abroad Special Award for Outstanding Achievement, 2004 Reebok Human Rights Award, Upakar Foundation Community Ambassador award and American Red Cross “Rising Star” award.

vanita.jpg Though some of you male commenters are fighting over a torrid reality show contestant, if I were a guy, Vanita would be the girl for me. Beatiful inside and out AND she works for liberty and justice for all. Damn. Just typing that makes me consider a love that dare not speak its name, she’s that amazing.

The event is FREE, open to the public and at my (and Mutineer Sajit’s!) alma mater. Oh, and there are snacks, yo.

Date / Time: Sunday, September 18, 2005, 11 A.M.
Venue: Marvin Center, George Washington University,
800 21st Street, NW, Washington DC.
Metro: Foggy Bottom, Blue or Orange lines.

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Posted in Law

I See U

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SM Los Angeles BureauSeveral countries are miffed at Google right now.  Its new service Google Earth makes it possible for any Joe Blow to obtain satellite pics of say…the layout of a military installation.  The Register reports:

The recent news that South Korea is to take the US to task over Google Earth images which expose its military installations to close Commie scrutiny has provoked a mini stampede of other peace-loving nations eager to protect their assets from prying eyes.

Enter stage right Thailand, which says it may ask Google to “block images of important state buildings vulnerable to attack”. Armed forces spokeschap Major General Weerasak Manee-in told Reuters: “We are looking for possible restrictions on these detailed pictures, especially state buildings. I think pictures of tourist attractions should do, not crucial places which could threaten national security…”

Manee’s Sri Lankan counterpart, Brigadier Daya Ratnayake, admitted it was a “serious concern if anyone could get detailed images of sensitive installations and buildings”, but added: “This is a new trend, we will first have to see whether, in this day and age, if this a considerable threat to national security…”

India agrees. Reuters quotes an anonymous security official there as confirming that “the issue of satellite imagery had been discussed at the highest level but the government had concluded that ‘technology cannot be stopped’…” [Link]

I love that last line “technology cannot be stopped.”  It has a very Terminator-esque quality to it.  I however agree with all of the above sentiments but for selfish reasons of my own.  You see, I have been using satellite images for over FIVE years now.  Websites like Globeexplorer.com have been making satellite pics available for those that wanted them for years.  I’ll tell you what, there is nothing that will make a girl take you more seriously than emailing her a satellite picture of her house the morning after your first date.  I have done this after more than one date.  Seriously.  Also, why do you think we chose an underground complex for our Sepia Mutiny world headquarters in North Dakota?  It certainly isn’t because North Dakota is safe.  It is in fact anomalously perilous.  No.  We chose it so as to avoid prying eyes.  Your prying eyes.  Our Los Angeles Bureau offices on the other hand can easily be spotted from the sky (in case anyone wants to keep the LA Bureau Chief company).

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D.C.’s Firemen want their Facial Hair

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To beard or not to beard, that is the question:

A group of D.C. firefighters in jeopardy of losing their jobs for refusing to shave their beards are suing the department for violating their right to religious liberty.
Just last month a federal judge ordered the department to allow three firefighters who wear long beards for religious reasons to continue working, as long as their masks fit properly, despite a department policy prohibiting facial hair.

Apparently THOSE three are fine, but the fire department didn’t extend such tolerance towards other firefighters in a similarly furry predicament. The ACLU was called:

“Disdaining this court’s action, the fire chief has announced that he will now proceed to discipline and discharge all other members of the department who wear beards, no matter how sincere their religious reasons for doing so,” ACLU attorney Arthur B. Spitzer wrote in the complaint filed last week in Washington’s U.S. District Court.

I’m most intrigued by the last group mentioned in this list:

In this case, two of the plaintiffs are Muslim, two Nazarite, one Jewish and a sixth adheres to a strict Caribbean spiritual heritage that does not permit shaving.

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Diplomatic finesse

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What happens when you never have to face an election: you lose your gaffe inhibitor (via Arzan):

‘… if you want to go abroad and get a visa for Canada or citizenship and be a millionaire, get yourself raped’

— Musharraf

“You must understand the environment in Pakistan,” Musharraf added. “This has become a moneymaking concern. A lot of people say if you want to go abroad and get a visa for Canada or citizenship and be a millionaire, get yourself raped.” [Link]

Because Mukhtar Mai represents the millions of high-rollin’, Canada-based gang rape queens. Why, I hear the villagers do it for fun these days:

  1. Get gang-raped in the morning
  2. Fax a press release in the afternoon
  3. Profit!

It’s par for course in a legal system which not only does not take crimes against women seriously, it re-victimizes them for their loss of ‘purity.’ But don’t you dare try to fix anything if you live in Pakistan — it may offend Musharraf’s pride. He closes with this chest-thumping chaser:

“Leave the developing world aside; I think we are better than all of them,” Musharraf declared. “Bring the developed world and let us compare Pakistan’s record, under me, a uniformed man, with many of the developed countries. I challenge that we will be better off.” [Link]

Manmohan Singh just met with Musharraf in NYC Tuesday night. One wonders whether Singh had to speak in the grunts and howls of a silverback male.

More at Reality Cafe.

Update: The WaPo has it on tape (via Arzan). Listen here.

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Damned Women.

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SM reader tef sent in a story from the BBC about a woman who plowed a field, while harnessed right next to a bull. Sigh. 🙁

The move was ordered by village elders who said she had angered the rain god by breaking a taboo on women touching ploughs, thus risking a drought.

Apparently, this taboo has existed for hundreds of years; some villagers saw the 25-year old woman touch a plow at the end of last month and my goodness, it hasn’t rained since. Obviously, there’s a connection between the two events.

Predictably, the woman is from a minority caste and refuses to press charges. Police can’t do anything unless she does.

Police have been seeking legal opinion on whether a formal criminal case could be framed under a law which bans witchcraft and such activities in the state, the police chief said.

My inner cynic doesn’t believe that a criminal case will change such ingrained superstitions, but it’s a good first step. What else can you do? Continue reading →

Da Star in dastar

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My favorite example of an unexpected turban is the one on the head of jazz keyboardist Dr. Lonnie Smith, who bears more than a passing resemblance to my father (even my dad has remarked upon this).  [Photo on the top right]

Who is Lonnie Smith?

Dr. Lonnie Smith is internationally known as one of the premier jazz keyboardists in the history of the idiom. A dominant talent and pace-setting proponent of the Hammond B3 Organ and widely recognized and gifted pianist, Lonnie has been at the forefront of the jazz scene since 1969 when he was named Top Organist by Downbeat Magazine. Most recently, Dr. Smith has been awarded the Organ Keyboardist of the Year award in 2003, 2004 and 2005 by the Jazz Journalist Association.

Interestingly, when asked about the turban, he makes reference to Sikhism. He also keeps his hair long and in a top-knot, like Sikh men do. You can see it in the photo quite clearly. It is unclear to me whether he is a convert to Sikhism, however. There’s only one interview I can find where Sikhism is mentioned, and the writer doesn’t pass along any information of use. He certaintly looks like a Sikh, and that’s a very Sikh style of turban, but nobody (not even a friend who is in 3HO) seems to know.

The Turbans

There’s actually quite a tradition of (mainly black) musicians in the 1950s and 1960s wearing turbans. The bottom photo on the left is of a group that even called itself the Turbans:

The Turbans were a Philadelphia based R&B vocal group that had chart success in the mid-50…. the Turbans are credited with performing the first hit record to include the phrase ‘doo-wop’. [cite]

Personally, I’m looking forward to a time when my local racist assholes decide to yell “Lonnie Smith” at me as they drive by, rather than “Osama” or “Saddam” or “Raghead” or “Diaperhead” or “Sand N–er” whatever the f- – – floats into their minds at that moment. Then I’ll know that turbans have really made it. Until such a time, I’ll have to content myself with the fact that Lonnie Smith is one damn fine looking man with his turban and beard, and that the racists here hate me (in part) because I’m beautiful .

You can see a whole bunch of photos of Dr. Lonnie Smith, or read an interview with him in Jazz Times Magazine.

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An ABCD in Amsterdam

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Work & biz travel has been kicking my butt the past few months so I haven’t been able to uphold my end of the Sepia Mutiny bargain of late.   I was however, in Amsterdam last week (on business!) and had a few moments of (sober) time.  ABCD dork that I am, it’s always fun to look for the little signs of desi influence…

Honors for Desi “pride of place” in the US probably goes to Bombay– it ain’t too hard in most good sized cities to find a Bombay Palace, Bombay Bazaar, Bombay Place, etc.    In Amsterdam, on the other hand, the Desi city that secures branding is Goa – the apropos name for one of the city’s many famous, euphemistically named, “coffeeshops”

It’s well nigh impossible for a desi techie to observe the “bicycle rickshaws” peddling tourists up and down the streets & demur that not all technological progress is, uh, monotonic.

These poor, exploited Dutch cyclists, if only they could afford a noxious 2 stroke, soot-spewing engine to alleviate their burden.

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Guerrillas in the Mizoram

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You always hear about our American special forces training the best of soldiers of foreign armies in the latest and greatest methods of killing terrorists and insurgents.  It turns out that one of the finest killing schools in the world is in the jungles of Mizoram.  MSN has a story about our troops attending the Counter Insurgency Jungle Warfare School (CIJWS):

An Indian army commander said Thursday the two-week training in unconventional warfare at the Counter Insurgency Jungle Warfare School (CIJWS) at Vairengte in Mizoram in northeastern India begins Sep 13.

“Apart from a rigorous drill on how to tackle an unconventional war or low intensity conflict, the training module would have a session of simulated anti-insurgency operations for the American soldiers,” a commander at the CIJWS told IANS requesting anonymity.

The school at Vairengte is considered as one of world’s most prestigious anti-terrorist institution with troops from several countries getting counter-insurgency training.

“The motto of this institute is to fight a guerrilla like a guerrilla,” the commander said. “The training module is non-conventional and once a soldier undergoes training here, he can face all deadly situations anywhere in the world.”

So what exactly will our American soldiers be faced with?  A quick Google search finds this article from April of last year:

US troops are being fed venomous vipers, dogs and monkeys as part of military exercises to sharpen skills in jungle combat in India’s insurgency-torn northeastern state of Mizoram.

Ummm.  Yeah.  In all seriousness though I think it would be cool to train there.  I couldn’t find any website for CIJWS, and that is probably how they like it.  I did however find this website by a reporter(?) who visited the school:

However, a school is just a school – it ain’t quite a story. Unless it has functioned as the premier and only institution of its kind in the country for 30 years – and hardly any reporter has heard of it, let alone visit it. Then, it becomes a scoop. When we got a whiff of it, our martial ears tingled; we put out feelers among our khakied friends, who said they had no clue what we were talking about.

Sure that we were being rebuffed, we became Ophelia, and brightened only after a CIJWS officer exclaimed, “How did you hear about the school? Hardly anyone in the army itself knows of us!” He immediately launched into we-are-completely-transparent-nothing-is-classified blah blah, but the point is, training in CI ops hinges on research, analysis, strategy and tactics. And therein lies the sensitive nature of this lean & mean institution.

Here is another interesting link.
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Peekin’ Sandy

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Commenter Angie points us to Sandy Dalal née Sanjiv Agashiwala, a competitive fencer from Penn who got turned on to fashion at his mom’s import-export business and ended up a menswear designer in Manhattan. He’s also qui’ fi’, as the Brits might say, and his light-colored peepers made People’s beauty list in ’98.

Bronx-born Sandy Dalal has followed in the footsteps of other famous northern-borough fashion designers Calvin Klein and Ralph Lauren to become one of the hottest men’s wear designers around. Dalal won the 1998 CFDA’s Perry Ellis Award for Menswear while still attending the University of Pennsylvania. [Link]

He was also named as one of People magazine’s “50 Most Beautiful People” in the same year. Sandy Dalal’s clothing can be found in prominent stores like Barney’s, Bloomingdale’s, Saks Fifth Avenue… [Link]

Bjork, Beck, Wyclef Jean and members of Duran Duran, Foo Fighters and Third Eye Blind wear his clothing during performances. [Link]

Once brown, always brown:

He is known for using beautiful and luxurious fabrics and for mixing patterns — unusual in a men’s wear line. [Link]

The double standard between male beauty and female — male models and ‘manhunts‘ are not taken seriously:

How does it feel to know you’re known for your face as much as for your clothes?
Dalal: Right now it’s a cool gig where I can feed off the clothes and the clothes can feed off me, and rightfully so…

It seems like you don’t take yourself too seriously, despite the awards and fame. How come?
Dalal: How seriously can you take it? Clothes don’t talk back to you. [Link]

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This turban’s disturbin’

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On the late-night community access channel, Dr. Khemfoia Padu, who appears to be black, dons a saffron turban and shills pills with whale tails.

Dr. Padu is the Director of The Natural Healing Foundation… He is a licensed Chiropracter, Herbologist, Nutritionist, as well as a Theologian and Martial Artist. [Link]

I’m not sure whether the pagri pitches desi mysticism, evokes black musicians who wore turbans or references turbans in Africa.

Erykah Padu’s turban may be genuine, but I’m thoroughly irritated that desi culture is associated in the U.S. with hippies and New Age. You can’t go to an all-veg pizza place without drowning in ads for crystals and tarot cards. That ain’t right. A subculture has branded a billion and a half people, the tail wags the wog.

In one freakish conflation of the Indian revolutionary movement with American hippies, a town in Massachussetts actually banned a Gandhi statue. It was the absolute height of clusterfuck ignorance:

Gita Mehta details the extent of the hippie infatuation with South Asia in her classic book, Karma Cola. Westerners seek instant salvation; Easterners the quick rupee. Gurus could pack entire astrodomes in the ’60s, levitation was believed to signal salvation, and Western disciples believed above all else in moksha through easy sex and hard drugs. At one point there were over 100,000 hippies trekking all over South Asia searching for enlightenment in woolly-minded religious platitudes and a variety of uppers and downers. Religion and opium for the masses: no wonder Sherborn, Massachusetts, would have none of it.

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