Author Archives: A N N A

Mushie loses it.

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Mushie better recognize.jpg On Friday, I posted about a coalition of activists who were planning on calling out Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf by protesting in front of his Manhattan hotel yesterday. Did any of our New York-area mutineers attend? If you did, tell us what you saw– it sounds like it was pure DRAMA (Thanks, Manish):

Pandemonium broke out at a meeting organized to promote Pakistan’s soft image when after a confrontation with human rights activists an irate President Pervez Musharraf declared that those who opposed his policies were the enemies of Pakistan. [link]
You are against me and Pakistan, said the president when a human rights activist referred to his alleged comments in a Washington Post interview which quoted him (Gen Musharraf) as saying that women exploited rape to get visas.[link]

Wow. Way to keep your cool, there Sir.

CNN has more about how Mushie backpedals furiously:

“I am not that stupid to say that kind of thing,” he said. “I know that rape is happening in Pakistan. I know there is violence against women.”
But, he said, “I am supportive of all women, all actions to emancipate the women, against violence against women, and gender equality,” and he said his government has done more for women than any in the past 50 years.
“I have protected them, I have provided finances, I have provided them judicial support.”

He’s provided judicial support to women but he can’t provide his own open ears. More from Dawn:

Provoked by a single question, the president allowed an event held to promote his government’s pro-women policies to degenerate into a bout between himself and part of the invited audience.[link]

I’m scared of you, General Musharraf:

I am a fighter, I will fight you. I do not give up and if you can shout, I can shout louder, said Gen Musharraf.[link]

He’ll especially shout louder if you cite the wrong sources. How Professor-y! Also, if you have something to say, say it to his FACE…when he’s in Pakistan. Continue reading →

Those legs are weapons of mass distraction, apparently.

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lose the socks, please.jpg Don’t these people have anything better to do with their time than pick on a teenager?

Police will provide a huge security detail for Indian tennis star Sania Mirza during a world tennis tournament in Calcutta next week.
The heavy security follows rumours that a radical Islamic group threatened to stop her playing in the tournament unless she changed her on-court dress.

Awesome. Let’s harass one of the few decent athletes India has, it’s a fantastic way to thank her for reaching the fourth round of the US Open.

The radical Islamic group in question is the Jamiat-e-Islami, they claim they haven’t threatened her at all.

“These are rumours, we have not threatened to stop Sania or anybody else from playing,” he said.
“Though it is true that the kind of dress Sania wears offends us – we don’t expect a Muslim girl to wear such skimpy clothes in public.”

Look. If you want to be offended by something Sania wears while playing tennis, go after what’s REALLY outrageous– those horrid black socks she likes. Priorities, people!

Understandably, Sania’s safety is important to the authorities who are taking all threats very seriously.

“We cannot take a chance with the security of someone like Sania,” Calcutta’s additional police commissioner Gautam Chakrabarty said.
“We have deployed the best of our women police, nearly a hundred of them, to guard her both on and off the court and we have made special arrangements to frisk all spectators attending the tournament,” he said.

What does sweeeet Sania have to say about all this nonsense?

Sania Mirza has refused to be drawn into the controversy, merely asking forgiveness “for whatever I have to do on court as an 18-year-old.”

She didn’t write something irreverent about the Prophet Muhammad. She didn’t molest a mullah. She doesn’t have strange hair and a penchant for criticizing Islam. Don’t get it twizzy– she is not the enemy. Continue reading →

Cricket: India thrashes Zimbabwe

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jai hind.jpg I know nothing about cricket. In fact, whenever someone mentions it, I’m sorely tempted to chirp, “Now THAT was a wicked googly!” a la Seinfeld repping for AmEx. Forgive me for writing this post anyway? 😉

From the Beeb:

India thrashed Zimbabwe by an innings and 90 runs in Bulawayo despite a brave lower-order resistance from the hosts on day four of the first Test.
Resuming on 67-6 and still 208 runs shy of making India bat again, Zimbabwe managed 185 in their second innings with skipper Tatenda Taibu making 52.
Harbhajan Singh finished off the tail to return figures of 4-59.
The match was over when the off-spinner trapped Gavin Ewing lbw for 34 to end the hosts’ last-wicket stand of 47.

Continue reading →

Want to yell at Mushie tomorrow?

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So…I just wrote about an anti-war protest in San Francisco, but if you’re on the right coast like me, you might be feeling left out of all the “Be the change you wish to see”-fun. Don’t fret, my pet. Join “hundreds of South Asian women, international human rights activists and their supporters” as they prepare for “the largest rally for womenŽs rights in Pakistan ever held outside that country.”

South-Asian womenŽs groups and international human rights organizations will demonstrate for human rights for women in Pakistan on Saturday, September 17, outside the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City where President Pervez Mustarraf will be staying during the United Nations World Summit.
Protesters will be demanding an end to the rape, domestic violence and murder of women, often committed under the banner of religion, that have become endemic in Pakistan. They will also be calling on Musharraf to repeal Taliban-like religiously-based laws that are increasingly restricting womenŽs freedoms, such as Zina Ordinance and Hasba Bill.

Two of the women who have put a “face” on tragedy will be there, in one form or another:

Dr. Shazia Khalid was raped by an army officer who was never prosecuted, and she was forced to seek asylum in the United Kingdom. A tribal court sentenced Mukhtar Mai (also known as Mukhtar Bibi) to gang rape as punishment for an offense allegedly committed by her brother. Dr. Khalid will speak to the crowd on Saturday by speakerphone, and a statement from Mukhtar Mai will be read.

Mushie’s ears are perking up, he’s listening. In reponse to this rally and other pressure from everyone decent, his office has given an audience to Pakistani women who wish to meet him at his hotel Saturday morning. Many are planning to do that and THEN protest outside of it. Continue reading →

Brown, Loud and Proud to be Anti-War in SF

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Someone commented that we never seem to put up events which take place on the Wessss-Saeeeeed and that bothers me; northern California is where I’m from.

I remember what it was like when SM started last year and I was at home. Living on the left coast meant being left out of all the cool, cutting-edge things which only seem to go down on Amtrak’s Northeast corridor. Aside from the outstanding events produced by Dhamaal, SF seemed quiet in comparison.

Not on Saturday, September 24th it won’t be:

Why are our taxes funding the illegal war on Iraq, instead of hurricane relief, schools, and libraries? 62% of America disapproves of the war — when will our politicians notice?
Join fellow desis on Saturday, Sep. 24, as we march in San Francisco to end the war, as part of the largest peace event on the West Coast. Bring your family and friends, passion and voices, as we work toward a world free of imperial wars.

Desist coalition (with support from Organizing Youth), Friends of South Asia and the Alliance of South Asians Taking Action are all involved in this endeavor. If you need a ride, wish to help make signs or otherwise want to participate, email desist@southasianprogressive.org.

WHAT: South Asians against war, in SF peace march
WHEN: 11:00 am, Saturday, September 24
WHERE: Dolores Park, 18th and Dolores, San Francisco, CA. Meet next to the tennis courts at Dolores Park (Look for the “South Asians Against the War” banner.)

:+:

I decided to let yay area Mutineers know about this event because I think standing up for what you believe in is hot, whether I agree with what you believe in or not. Continue reading →

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.

Continue reading →

Posted in Law

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.

Continue reading →

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 →

An Angle too Conventional

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himanshu bhatia.jpg WeÂ’ve received a few tips (Thanks, Mytri and Brimful!) about an article entitled “A Flair for the Unconventional”, which ran in the New York Times on Sunday. Following your links, I expected to be slightly bored by something dealing with outsourcing or tech or consulting blah blah blah. I was prepared to let one of the staff entrepreneurs/business titans tackle it, so I could get back to writing a more ANNA-esque post. 😉

But when the page loaded, I was slightly startled to see a striking Brown woman whose picture sat atop a sidebar of “important details” about her: her title (Chief Executive of Rose International, an IT services company in the Midwest), her birth date, her nickname (Himanshu became “Sue”), even what she likes to do in her spare time (nature walks). The last bold, highlighted, impossible-to-miss bit of information contained…

her weight-control regimen?

Are you kidding me? Continue reading →

Now I know what “samadhi” means

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wiki shot.jpg Uncleji’s comment about “A boy named Sue” led me to Wikipedia, one of the sites I adore most on the interweb.

Whenever someone leaves a wiki-fied link, I gleefully click through and then I always check the “main page” to see what’s up. Without fail, I find something fascinating to read and learn. Today? No exception. 🙂

Raj Ghat, a memorial to Mahatma Gandhi is a simple black marble platform that marks the spot of his cremation on 31 January 1948. It is left open to the sky while a flame burns perpetually at one end. It is located on the banks of the river Yamuna in Delhi, India. A stone footpath flanked by lawns leads to the walled enclosure that houses the memorial. Two museums dedicated to Gandhi are located near by. The memorial has the epitaph Hey Ram, the last words uttered by Gandhi, meaning, Oh Lord!

Read the rest here, if you desire edification. 🙂 Continue reading →