Monthly Archives: October 2005

X marks the spot, more or less

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Abhi posted earlier about Sri Lanka objecting to high-res satellite imagery of sensitive government sites on Google Earth. At the time, Indian officials were also worried but had given up trying to block it. Ironically, the post came on one of India’s two biggest military parade holidays:

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]

There’s apparently been a change of heart behind the red sandstone in Delhi. You can’t stop technology, but you can lean on companies. India has escalated the issue to the man who used to run India’s missile program:

Indian President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam expressed concern Saturday about a free mapping program from Google Inc., warning it could help terrorists by providing satellite photos of potential targets… The Google site contains clear aerial photos of India’s parliament building, the president’s house and surrounding government offices in New Delhi. There are also some clear shots of Indian defense establishments… [Link]

India’s not the only one complaining:

The governments of South Korea and Thailand and lawmakers in the Netherlands have expressed similar concerns… South Korean newspapers said Google Earth provides images of the presidential Blue House and military bases in the country, which remains technically at war with communist North Korea. The North’s main nuclear facility at Yongbyon is among sites in that country displayed on the service. [Link]

This issue is similar to that of the deliberate error injected by civilian GPS satellites to prevent use by enemy missiles. On one hand, Google fuzzes out sensitive U.S. sites, so why not let other legitimate governments submit these requests as well? On the other, the public has a right to know, and foreign providers of satellite data will always step into the gap.

I come down on the side of consistency. As a private company rather than an extension of the U.S. government, Google should act even-handedly, no matter which approach it takes.

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Blogging India at the Washington Post

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With all this mutinous talk of Toral’s recent demise on the Apprentice the past couple of days (1,2,3)  and the really excellent discussion that has ensued, it has been really hard to find focus on other areas.  Despite that, the mutiny must go on, and part of our progression is the appearance of Washington Post Staff Writer, author of Suburban Sahibs and (former SAJA President) S. Mitra Kalita’s ongoing Washington Post blog, India 2.0, chronicling her eight week trip to India.  Accompanied by photographer Andrea Bruce (see her recent WP Photo Exhibit here), Kalita departed for her trip before the recent earthquake disaster in India and Pakistan.  The scope of her blog looks to be very interesting and falls very-much into line with some of the things we like to focus on here.  Since her departure, and subsequent arrival in Delhi, Mitra has blogged on the departure pangs that many of us go through before leaving for the country of some of our parent’s birth, especially post liberalization of the early 1990s. 

“Yet again I am surrounded by suitcases and piles of clothing — the bright pinks and oranges and magentas of East and the tans and blacks and navys of West — and engaging in the giving and taking that foreshadows the semiannual rite of my hyphenated life: a trip to India.  Will I really wear these jeans? Or should I pack another salwar kameez? What’s the point of taking so many saris if I still can’t wrap myself in them properly.  These are familiar questions, posed since I was a little girl spending summer vacations in the land of my parents’ birth. But as I look around my bedroom, I am struck by a stark difference between then and now.  There are no Nikes. No Walkmans. No Tang. No Pringles. No Guess. No Gap. No Minoltas. No socks. No razor blades. No microwaves (I swear we took one once.) In fact, I am taking no gifts, just a few requested items for my husband’s cousin’s family, who are hosting me. Among them: a Bose iPod speaker and Livestrong wristbands. I do not have an iPod and didn’t know what the heck those bands were. Already, this American cousin feels she has been living in the Dark Ages.”
  She has also blogged on the South Asian earthquake and, the burgeoning mall culture that has taken over, not just India, but from my recent travels to South Asia, Sri Lanka as well.  She writes of a recent mall opening,
“Make no mistake about the “mall” moniker. In India, that means marble floors and glitzy storefront displays. Like many conveniences taken for granted in the West, the Indian counterpart tends to be equally rooted in providing the customer experience. (McDonald’s, for example, might have a worker who pumps your ketchup.) So the opening of M.G. 2 (named for its location on Mehrauli Gurgaon Road and because it is adjacent to M.G. 1) served up a heavy dose of pomp and importance alongside glasses of Coke and mineral water, with trays of tofu triangles and asparagus bruschetta circulated by waiters.” 

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All politics are local

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I like to keep tabs (as best I can) on South Asian Americans running for public office around the country.  The latest two are running for state government in Virginia and Maryland.  Democrat Supriya Christopher of Virgina may have thrown her hat into the ring as a one issue candidate (in my opinion), but she is looking to get smart on the rest of the issues to fend off the competition.  MSN reports:

Supriya Christopher, a US military veteran and mother of two, is a busy woman these days. She is contesting for the Virginia State House of Delegates.

Running for an open seat, Christopher feels “tired but energised” after endless fund-raising efforts that have notched $150,000 to date. She is hopeful of bringing another $100,000 for a media blitz in this last round of campaigning before the Nov 8 elections.

“I’m tired but energised,” said the former US Army Signal Corps officer and now a member of the Commonwealth of Virginia Veterans Services Foundation.

She is the first Indian American as well as the first Asian American to run for a seat in the General Assembly.

Christopher, running from what is considered a Republican bastion, feels she is holding her own against Republican opponent Sal Iaquinto, an attorney, and former staff member delegate Robert F. McDonnell, a Republican.

So what is her one main issue?  All politics are local.

Virginia Beach, and the 84 th District, is the home of some of the world’s greatest military bases and military families. As a proud Navy wife, I have a personal connection to the challenges we face. My husband Damien is an F/A-18 fighter pilot presently onboard the USS Harry Truman serving in the war on terror. This is Damien’s fourth six-month deployment and second tour of duty in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

When serving as President of the Oceana Officers Spouses Club, I was a vocal, public advocate for Navy families. When the issue of base closure arose and opposition to jet noise came to a head, I spoke at hearings with Senator John Warner, the Navy League, the Association for Naval Aviators and congressional and city officials. I was privileged to reiterate how important it is to keep NAS Oceana open in order to provide a quality lifestyle for Navy families, particularly in the 84 th District. [Link]
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Synthesis In Surinam

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Glancing away from the usual topics in Amrika, Britain, Canada and the Subcontinent–long before Microsoft was filling out H1-B forms, and even before Sputnik inspired the 1965 Immigration and Nationalization Act*, indentured laborers were crossing from South Asia to South America. At the age of 24 Munshi Raman Khan brought with him a love of all things Indian,  particularly the Ramayan, on which he lectured the children of his Hindu brethren. Why do I have a feeling this guy could have had a great blog if he was around today?

At age 24, Rehman M. Khan (1874-1972), a young Pathan arrived in Suriname in 1898 on the steamship Avon.  . . .this young Khan knew the Qur’an as well as the Ramayana very well. He soon became popular in his plantation and among the surrounding Indians of the other plantations as a Ramayan specialist. He started propagating the Ramayana ideology and taught Hindi to the children of the Indian community. . . .there are many manuscripts available which he wrote in Suriname dealing with the Muslim problems in Suriname, the language issues and his own biography in four volumes. Coming from a middle class Pathan family, Khan was very educated. His knowledge of Urdu and Hindi helped his literary prose. He was also a poet and could compose poetry in standard Hindi “with a flavour of Braj”. . .He used his knowledge to educate the Hindu and Muslim community and to reconstruct the “Indian identity”. Khan kept in touch with India constantly and was also craving for news from his homeland. (Link.)

Khan wrote an autobiography, apparently in Hindi or a related dialect, that was previously only translated into Dutch. (According to one review in The Hindu,  he was even knighted by the Dutch Queen Juliana for his merits.) A translation into English has been popping up in reviews in The Hindu, IndoLINK, and The Tribune. The Autobiography of an Indian Indentured Laborer, by Munshi Rahman Khan, looks to be a fairly new release and seems available for purchase in dollars from Bagchee. 

*Of which we sadly missed the 40th anniversary.

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Zerobridge

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Check out Zerobridge, a qawwali-influenced alt-rock band from Brooklyn. Mubashir Din plays guitar, Mohsin’s on drums and Greg Eckelman rocks the bass. The Din brothers trace their roots to Kashmir. Listen here and here.

I’m diggin’ the clean guitar melody on ‘Out in the Distance.’ The instrumental ‘Bleed‘ samples ‘Chalte Chalte’ from Pakeezah and evokes the wall of sound from Smashing Pumpkins’ ‘Cherub Rock.’ ‘Refugee Citizen‘ reminds me of the Velvet Underground.

The group explains its name:

Zerobridge is an actual bridge in Kashmir’s capital, Srinagar. The story goes that as they were building bridges to connect the suburbs to the city center, they would name them by numbers, 1 Bridge, 2 Bridge, etc. The only bridge that was there before construction didn’t have a name, and so they called it Zerobridge. [Link]

Over the summer, they rocked my building’s roof (photos) as well as a smaller party (photos).

I think on our record we released in September (2003), being in Kashmir was definitely an influence. We were there just after the Indian parliament bombing after 9/11…

South Asian artists such as the the Sabri Brothers and Hindi film composers like A.R. Rahman and Ismail Darbar are an influence as well. [Link]

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Scenes from a suicide bombing

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Aizaz Akram, half of the NYC DJ duo Mixer Assassin, has posted some wildly contrasting photos from a trip to Pakistan.

The scene of a mosque suicide bombing in Sialkot, Pakistan which tragically hit his own family:

The suicide bomber packed the briefcase with tiny ball bearings. The force of the explosion sent the ball bearings through this door frame… Adjacent to the front pillar is where my Uncle Ghazanfar was seated, reading his prayers… He suffered cranial fractures and has had 14 pieces of his skull removed…

The row directly in front of the crater is where a few of my cousins were sitting. They were shredded instantly…

Clubbing at a socialite’s haveli in Heera Mandi, Lahore:

A view of Yousuf [Salahuddin’s] (or Sallu for short) Haveli (mansion) in Heera Mandi, Lahore, Pakistan. This entire building is his. There are at least 50 rooms. At least that I SAW. It’s practically a castle…

The man himself… the Hugh Hefner of Lahore, and possibly even Pakistan, Mr. Yousuf [Salahuddin], complete with bling-bling white hair. Yup. Bottles of liquor everywhere.

Admission? 6,000 rupees for an invite, or $100 dollars… The party was also protected by policemen outside. Unbelieveable.

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Serendipity

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Like an incestuous college dorm, this alternadesi hothouse of a ‘hood keeps yielding interesting hookups.

This past summer, I wandered home late one Friday night, sharing the building elevator with a gaggle of desis heading to the roof. I dumped my stuff in my room, walked upstairs and stumbled into a large yet strangely chill party: an indie rock band, a DJ rig, beer, Christmas lights, extension cords and lots of people dancing, drinking and enjoying the NYC skyline. That party nearly got the entire building banned from the roof (much respect), but I didn’t know whose party it was.

A few months later, I went shopping for my first Mac in years to build a fruit-friendly version of the blog editor we use. The font of all things Mac here is the Apple temple in SoHo. Because it abuts all manner of modeling agencies, it’s usually packed with offhandedly striking women, those for whom beauty is merely a Mendelian byproduct. Like the Nano, they’re shiny, costly and impossibly thin.

I got to talking with a random sales guy in a hoodie. Here’s what turned up:

  • He spins house music and is an amateur photographer
  • He was in my loft building that same morning
  • He was visiting two DJ friends who live right downstairs from me
  • The DJs and the rockers were the very same guys who threw the mother of all parties on our roof
  • And, they’re all desi

The next couple of posts came from this serendipitous connection…

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Is The SSF Gonna Rock You?

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Mephistopheles1981, eagle-eyed observer of the Sri Lankan diaspora, writes in with a tip on L.A.-based rock band The Slow Signal Fade.  The quartet features Sri Lankan-born Marguerite Olivelle as its lead singer, and a bunch of other people that I don’t care about because they’re not Sri Lankan.  (Just kidding, Ron Ulicny, Chris Walters, and Christy Greenwood!  You guys seem nice, too.)  According to a cached Google page from their website-in-progress, the band “formed in fall of 2002 through an array of failed alliances, random acquaintances, circumstance and numerous ads in the LA based classified paper The Recycler.”  They went on to record a five-song E.P. called the “Kindling E.P.,” setting some sort of land-speed record in the process:

Their first demo turned into their first album, “Kindling E.P.,” and was recorded in only eight hours.

“We had to pay studio time and didn’t have enough time to listen to the CD before we released it,” Walters said. 

I don’t know that I would necessarily want to advertise that aspect of my debut album, but fair enough.  This year they released a second E.P. called Through the Opaque Air.  So what does The Slow Signal Fade sound like?  Lots of stuff, apparently:

Armed with a vast collection of esoteric and sometimes conflicting influences, they have crafted a unique sound….a delicate blend of power and intimacy that sits comfortably and transcends genre.

Their musical influences vary from the likes of classic rock bands including Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, The Doors….through early post-punk and pop like The Cure, New Order, The Police, and U2…..to the modern sonics of Mogwai, Tool, Sunny Day Real Estate, and Fugazi. The SSF’s evocative style, colorful melodies, and engaging percussions provide the foundation for the beautiful, timeless and ethereal vocals that draw inspiration from singing legends ranging from Sarah Vaughan and Dinah Washington, to Chrissie Hynde, Sinead O’Connor and Cat Power. This band provides a musical journey that leaves an indelible mark on the listener, a refreshing balance of musicianship and candor. [Link]

And what do people who aren’t in the band think they sound like?  From Popmatters:

It’s Disintegration-era The Cure as done by The Cranberries, all epic slow tempos and one-note guitar lines fronted by Marguerite Olivelle’s lovely, pitch-perfect, urgent vocals. It’s a combination that shouldn’t be nearly as enjoyable as it is, but the wall of sound on display is exotic, acid-washed, and somehow really accessible. [Link]

A quick listen to a few of their songs, especially “Push Pull Push,” leads me to think the Cranberries comparison is particularly apt.  However, as the great LeVar Burton once said, “You don’t have to take my word for it!” since free MP3s are available at their website.

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Science Fridays?

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I was thinking of starting up “Science Fridays” here on SM.  Let’s face it, there are a lot of science geeks and engineers that read SM on a daily basis who aren’t being catered to.  I think our long term growth strategy should include reaching out to this key demographic.  Why Friday?  Two reasons.  First, the two most prestigious peer-reviewed journals Science and Nature are reported on in the media on Fridays (though they usually come out on Thursday).  More importantly however I usually have more time to blog on Fridays (the rest of the week I am busy doing science-geek things).   This being SM I will of course look for the desi connection in science stories.  So without further pomp here we go.  This week’s theme will be Cryptozoology.  The first story I bring you is a tip from SM reader Marvin Thomas who writes to us about something that washed up on a beach in Tamil Nadu recently because it was supposedly dislodged by the Tsunami from months ago.  First watch the following clip [via Giantology]:

If you remember, Vinod blogged about ancient ruins that were uncovered as a result of the Tsunami.  This creature was supposedly buried close by.  But according to the “reporter” Rupa Sridharam in this “news clip” the bones of this creature just washed up/was unburied now.  Luckily SM has a paleontologist on staff to definitively tell you that this is a hoax.  Even if you can’t see the fake special effects it’s obvious that whoever filmed this doesn’t know the first thing about science.  First off they sent in archeologists to do a paleontologist’s job.  I HATE it when people mess stuff like this up.  Remember Top Gun?  Kelly McGillis’s character was described as a “civilian astrophysics instructor.”  Why the hell would someone that specialized in stars and globular structures be sent in to teach test pilots?  That’s just stupid.

Currently Snopes.com has this case (hoax or not) categorized as “undetermined.”

It’s probably safe to say that the clip itself is not a genuine news report, as no other news outlets have reported on this amazing find. We don’t yet know the source of the video — it could be something taken from a television or film drama, a viral promo for some type of upcoming entertainment offering (such as a video game), or just something created for the sake of perpetrating an amusing hoax.

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The most fundamental of human rights

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Often times when we post about immigrant rights on SM I see a conflict develop between those that believe that even certain basic rights should only be granted to, or expected by citizens, and those who believe this policy is too harsh.  As one commenter pointed out, the U.S. Constitution does not consider immigration status when dealing with certain freedoms.  The reason I bring this up is that governments around the world have been using the “citizenship loophole” to deny large populations of people the right to have rights.  The Christian Science Monitor explains by citing the example of Geneva Camp in Dhaka, Bangladesh:

Borders have made all the difference in the life of 25-year-old Noor Islam. He was born in Bangladesh, but an invisible line has virtually confined him to Geneva Camp, a squalid enclave in the capital, Dhaka.
Shifting borders dictated this fate. In 1971, when East Pakistan gained independence as Bangladesh, Islam’s family and some 300,000 other Urdu-speakers found themselves without a nationality in the new Bengali state.

“In Geneva Camp, we don’t have much access to education and jobs,” Islam says, adding that citizenship would dramatically transform their lives.

The so-called Stranded Pakistanis are one of the largest and oldest communities of stateless people, a group estimated to number 11 million across the globe. Their predicament deserves more attention, say experts, since national identity is the most fundamental of human rights – indeed, the very right to have rights.

“They are the ultimate forgotten people,” says James Goldston, executive director of the Open Society Justice Initiative in New York. The problem persists, he says, in part because nation-states still enjoy broad discretion under international law to grant or deny citizenship as they see fit.

It’s really easy to exploit citizenship status actually.  Even our own President uses it to a degree.  If you change a person’s status from citizen to something else, say an “enemy combatant,” they no longer have the right to have rights.  They become a stateless person.  Governments all around the world are getting in on the action to make their “problems” go away (and have been for decades).

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