Category Archives: News

Rashomon on the plane

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Back in July, Manish posted about the killing of Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes that took place in the London Tube. He was a young, brown-skinned man who was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and was shot in the head by police as a result of a series of unfortunate events. Manish titled his post Rashomon on the Tube. “Rashomon” was a reference to an Akira Kurosawa film in which people that witnessed the same incident had all reported seeing different things. When I read that air marshals had shot and killed Rigoberto Alpizar at the Miami airport yesterday, the first thing I thought of was de Menezes. Early reports said that the man was frantic, trying to run, mentioned a bomb, and reached into his bag just prior to being shot. I tried to put myself in the position of the air marshals. It would have been a tough choice, but I would have probably fired as well. When reports later surfaced that the man’s wife was yelling that he was “bi-polar” and “off his meds” I had to pause. The air marshals should have considered this, but its still a judgement call in my opinion. The latest news however makes me think that this is “Rashomon” all over again. Time Magazine reports:

At least one passenger aboard American Airlines Flight 924 maintains the federal air marshals were a little too quick on the draw when they shot and killed Rigoberto Alpizar as he frantically attempted to run off the airplane shortly before take-off.

“I don’t think they needed to use deadly force with the guy,” says John McAlhany, a 44-year-old construction worker from Sebastian, Fla. “He was getting off the plane.” McAlhany also maintains that Alpizar never mentioned having a bomb.

“I never heard the word ‘bomb’ on the plane,” McAlhany told TIME in a telephone interview. “I never heard the word bomb until the FBI asked me did you hear the word bomb. That is ridiculous.” Even the authorities didn’t come out and say bomb, McAlhany says. “They asked, ‘Did you hear anything about the b-word?'” he says. “That’s what they called it.”

Look at the striking similarities in these cases (besides their pictures):

  1. Both men were killed in the name of protecting citizens from terrorism and turned out to be innocent.
  2. Both men ran from, and were fired upon by plain clothes law enforcement officers.
  3. Both men were of South American ancestry.
  4. In both cases witnesses describe facts which contradict the first reports from the authorities.

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We three (well, thirty-five) Singhs of Orient are …

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One of my favorite holiday traditions is our annual national battle about the character of the nation. Are we the Christian nation of the “first settlers” or the secular nation of the barely theistic founding fathers? Since 20% of Americans do not identify as Christian, how do we find common ground with the rest of America?

One way is through holiday hymns/song. Let’s face it, many traditional hymns and carols are as catchy as Puritan cuisine is tasty. I went to an elementary school where our annual assembly had both Christian and Jewish songs; the nation’s capital goes one step further with the annual interfaith concert at Washington National Cathedral:

Hindu and Sikh hymns echoed through the Washington National Cathedral as nine world religions filled the building, a usual venue for Presidential prayers … Led by Washington’s Guru Gobind Singh Foundation (GGSF) executive director Rajwant Singh, 35 Sikh men and women in spotless white with saffron satin scarves around their necks said opening prayers at the 26th Interfaith Concert held by the Interfaith Conference.

The Kuchipudi Dance Academy represented the Hindu faith as its troupe presented a recital in honour of Lord Shiva.

The Buddhists also took part in the event for the first time, with three Sri Lankan monks from Washington’s Buddhist Vihara joining the annual celebrations recently.

More than 1,400 members in the audience also enjoyed interludes of tabla maestro Rajinder Pal Singh, a student of Alla Rakha and Zakir Hussain.

The annual concert aims at bringing together Islamic, Jewish, Hindu, Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Sikh communities on a common platform. [Link]

I’m waiting for William A. Donohue to protest against this invasion of a Christian space. After all, if this guy finds the White House insufficiently Christian, what will he think of Hindu dancers in the National Cathedral?

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Better Dead than Fed (by an Infidel)

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StrategyPage has an update on the latest snag affecting post-quake relief efforts in Pakistan –

Under pressure from Islamic conservative politicians, Pakistan agreed to get [out] NATO troops, performing relief work in the earthquake zone, within 90 days. There are about a thousand NATO troops involved in the relief operations. The Islamic conservatives find this very embarrassing, with all those infidel (non-Moslem) soldiers in a Moslem country. Many conservative clerics are preaching that it is better to suffer and die from privation, than to tolerate infidel soldiers in your neighborhood. Thousands of people in the earthquake zone face death, as the brutal Winter weather has closed in. The NATO troops have the most helicopters and other high tech gear to get aid to people who need it most. European governments are trying to get civilian specialists into the area, to replace the departing troops.

These pressures are the same reason last weekend’s Predator strike on a senior Al Qaeda leader was initially pitched by the Pakistani’s as the product of a bungled bomb –

Pakistan declared that Harethi died when a bomb he was assembling went off. But people in the are displayed missile fragments, including data plates that said “AGM-114.” That’s a Hellfire missile, normally fired from CIA Predator UAVs known to operate in the area. The Pakistani government does not like to admit it allows the CIA to fly armed UAVs freely around Pakistan, but it does.

Tis a delicate dance when you’re barely sovereign over your own country & don’t want to admit that others (infidels, no less) are in there cleaning up your mess. Pakistani newspapers do seem to be talking pretty readily about the big secret –

“For their part, it is not surprising that the Pakistanis would deny that Rabia was taken out by a US missile. Although the government of Pakistani President Gen Pervez Musharraf is one of Washington’s most valuable allies in the war on terrorism, anti-American sentiment in the country runs high. Public acknowledgement that US drones are operating over Pakistan and launching missiles could direct that sentiment toward Musharraf,” he points out.

In the meantime, it appears that Amartya Sen’s dictum that the ultimate source of modern hunger is politics, not poverty may find a sad new proofpoint.

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Bombs over Bongs

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Sixty-four years ago today, Japan kicked off its Pacific Ocean campaign by attacking Pearl Harbor. The Pacific war led to the starvation of three million Bengalis by the British and the bombing of Calcutta. It also paved the way for Indian independence.

The Japanese raided the Howrah Bridge in Calcutta, attacked British ships in the Indian Ocean, and occupied parts of Assam and the Andaman Islands. Indian forces under British command fought back in Burma, and British bombers based in Bengal raided Japan.

Mitsubishi Zero: Suicide bomber

Several areas in India anticipated Japanese bombing:

Their air force bombers had already dropped a few bombs on Calcutta, the biggest city of India at that time, and on the naval station at Vishakapatnam on the east coast. There was a bomb scare in Madras city which was to the south of Vishakapatnam on the east coast. There were blackouts and air raid practices in all the big cities of India, including Bangalore City, where an aircraft factory was being built up with the help of the Americans… [Link]

A survivor recalls the bombing of Calcutta:

I remember the bombing of Calcutta by the Japanese, the target being Howrah Bridge. That morning had been a lovely clear and breezy day and we were flying kites…Our hero was an Indian Air Force Hurricane pilot who, night after night, shot down Zeros

We all had duties to perform when the siren would sound, such as putting a small bag with a piece of black rubber, Vaseline and bandages around our shoulders. We had no fridge in those days and drinking water was stored in earthen jars on the veranda. When the siren sounded that day, my parents brought in the water jars and my sisters and I ran downstairs to the ground floor and hid in the air raid shelter… When the “all clear” siren sounded we would leave the shelters and look at the damage… The bombing of Calcutta led to an exodus of residents – Howrah and Sealdah Stations being packed with people trying to get out. [Link]

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SAIFF film fest begins tonight

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This year’s South Asian International Film Festival kicks off tonight in Manhattan with Hari Om featuring Cicatrix’ favorite, Vijay Raaz. Here’s the full program. The festival lasts through Sunday, Dec. 11.

Widely touted as one of the best films to come out of India in the last decade, Hari Om takes us on an unforgettable tour of Rajasthan as an autorickshaw driver and a French tourist set out on a cross-cultural journey through the beautiful region looking for a glimpse of the “real” India…

Selections from the top-shelf roster include: Being Cyrus, a dark comedy about a Parsi family featuring Bollywood megastar Saif Ali Khan in his English-language debut, and The Blue Umbrella, director Vishal Bhardwaj’s hotly anticipated follow-up to his 2003 masterwork, Maqbool. Both Cyrus and Umbrella were the subjects of a New York Times feature piece last week extolling the rise of New Wave Bollywood, which departs from song-and-dance conventions to present a fresh look at Indian society…

Other featured selections include: Kya Kool Hai Hum, the sleeper Bollywood superhit; Sancharram (The Journey), Liga Pullapully’s controversial depiction of lesbian love in an idyllic Kerala village; Bachelor, the hit romantic comedy from Bangladesh; Naked In Ashes, the acclaimed documentary about a young yogi; and Kal, Ruchi Narain’s revelatory look at Indian youth. SAIFF is also proud to present a special program for children on Saturday, December 10th, featuring the family films Duratta from Bangladesh about a runaway tyke, and Hanuman, the animated box-office hit from India. [SAIFF press release]

Being Cyrus on Thursday night looks promising.

Related posts: Indo indie, Dueling film festivals in Manhattan, Film festival hosts 14 South Asian premieres in New York

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Merry Krishmas

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I loved this suggestion from the thread on Chrismahanukwanzakah:

All Mixed Up – i sort of have a soft spot for christmas trees… i think they’re fun. when i have kids i’m going to decorate my tree with Om ornaments and little sita, ganesha, and ram ornaments…and my tree is going to be topped with a flute playing krishna. [okay i probably won’t do that…but it was a fun picture to paint in my head]. Not mixed up after all – I actually did that last year. Put up a tree with ornaments and bulbs and topped it with a silver idol of Krishna playing the flute…My “Krishmas” tree 🙂

christ.gif The Christmas tree already was up when I went home at Thanksgiving, and was quite pretty except for the hideously oversized red bow at the top. What to do with the top of the tree is an annual problem. Many years we’ve just stuck a random ornament, or left it bare. This year, I suggested that Mom replace the aesthetically distressing ribbon with a big gold OM that was gathering dust on a high shelf in the kitchen. This way we could avoid distressing the Christmas fanatics by not secularizing our tree, without having to put an angel or star in which we don’t believe there. Manish, this doesn’t fall into the schlock category of a tree in the shape of an OM, does it?

Yes, despite what you might have thought after reading my grumping about the made-up “discrimination” against Christians, I celebrate Christmas and have done so for years. My mom claims that when we were very little, she would give us gifts on Diwali instead (supposedly some people do this for Pancha Ganapati), but we would cry at Christmas because we didn’t get presents then. As they couldn’t easily afford two gift-giving seasons back then, my parents opted to assimilate a bit more and get in on this Christmas thing, and now that they’re better off, we go for the full materialist extravaganza of gifts, food and travel.

But thanks to William A. Donohue, president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights and the man who got Wal-Mart to fire the poor schmuck who knew about Christmas’s pagan origins (and now is launching a boycott of Land’s End), I might have to give up Christmas. Continue reading →

Inappropriate Italia

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For years I’ve said that EVERYTHING sounds better in Italian. I might have to eat those words (with Arrabiata, preferably). Via Reuters:

Calling a foreigner a “dirty negro” in Italian is not necessarily a racist insult, Italy’s highest court has ruled.
The verdict, relating to a case where a group of Italian men punched and insulted some women from Colombia, caused deep unease at a time when Italy is struggling to contain racism.

Punched and insulted women? Not cool.

The court on Monday ruled in favor of one of the men, who argued he was not being racist when he launched the assault with the words: “Sporche negre — cosa ci fanno queste negre qua?” (“Dirty negroes — what are these negroes doing here?”)
Most Italians would have no doubt that calling someone a “dirty negro” was a racist insult. The term is seldom heard and is considered no more acceptable in Italy than it would be in Britain or the United States.

zoro.jpg It took me a few reads to grok why the court ruled the way it did; apparently it’s not the “crime of racism” to just dislike or reject someone based on their ethnicity or faith, it’s only racist if hatred is involved. When I was younger, I had the N-bomb hurled at me often. If only I had known whether it was uttered out of hate or dislike, I might have wept less.

Bad PR is never molto bene, whether inspired by the shitty treatment of Marc Zoro or this “it’s-not-racist!” verdict:

Politicians across the political spectrum criticized the ruling and said it could not have come at a worse time.

Bear in mind however, that this is the same supreme court which ruled that grabbing a female coworker’s ass wasn’t harassment and that rape isn’t possible if the victim is in extra-snug jeans. Sigh. Continue reading →

The Leader

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Patient and steady with all he must bear,
Ready to meet every challenge with care,
Easy in manner, yet solid as steel,
Strong in his faith, refreshingly real.
Isn’t afraid to propose what is bold,
Doesn’t conform to the usual mould,
Eyes that have foresight, for hindsight won’t do,
Never backs down when he sees what is true,
Tells it all straight, and means it all too.
Going forward and knowing he’s right,
Even when doubted for why he would fight,
Over and over he makes his case clear,
Reaching to touch the ones who won’t hear.
Growing in strength he won’t be unnerved,
Ever assuring he’ll stand by his word.
Wanting the world to join his firm stand,
Bracing for war, but praying for peace,
Using his power so evil will cease,
So much a leader and worthy of trust,
Here stands a man who will do what he must.

Hint: Write out the first letter of each line.

Over the past few days we have learned that the U.S. has been placing news propaganda stories in the Iraqi media. Is it possible that they are doing the same to the Pakistani education ministry in order to counteract the teachings of those darn madrasas? Ummm, no. That’s a bit farfetched. But then how in the HELL did the above poem end up in Pakistani school textbooks?? Where is that panel of historian fact-checkers when you really need them? Continue reading →

Hate crime acquittals in Sikh beating

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Five of Rajinder Singh Khalsa’s attackers were just acquitted on hate crime charges (thanks, Dave). Two were convicted of assault, but the hate crime acquittals sure look like a miscarriage of justice:

A Queens judge rendered mostly not guilty verdicts Monday in the trial of five men accused of attacking a Sikh man in Richmond Hill. All were acquitted of the hate crime charge. Two defendants were found guilty of second degree assault while three others were found guilty only of aggravated harassment…

Queens Supreme Court Justice Seymour Rotker, who conducted the non-jury trial, suggested he didn’t believe at least one of the witnesses and appeared skeptical at the evidence as he rendered the verdict… Rotker said there was “conflicting testimony as to who did what and how” during the July 11, 2004 beating… Police said Khalsa was attacked by the men who were at a christening at a catering hall next to an Indian restaurant. [Link]

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The foreign policy advisor

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The United States has a big thorn its side. His name is Hugo Chavez, the President of Venezuela. The man seems to be on a crusade to limit America’s sphere of influence in South America and thwart U.S. foreign policy (a.k.a. oil policy) as best he can. Some have even called for his assassination. Global Policy.org has one perspective:

Chavez has always been outspoken in condemning what he calls “U.S. imperialism,” mocking President Bush as “Mr. Danger” and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld as “Mr. War.” But Venezuelan officials insist that his recent threats to sever ties with Washington — thereby suspending the export of 1.5 million barrels of oil per day — are more than the rhetoric of a populist rallying domestic support. “When the president talks, it is not a joke,” said Mary Pili Hernandez, a senior Foreign Ministry official. “The only country Venezuela has bad relations with is the United States; with all other countries we have good or very good relations. But with just one word, the U.S. could resolve all of the problems. That word is ‘respect.’ ”

Chavez asserts that the 21st-century equivalent of the Cold War is the developed world’s thirst for oil — and its attempts to manipulate weaker governments to secure it. Oil-rich Venezuela sells 60 to 65 percent of its crude oil to the United States, making it the fourth-largest oil supplier to the U.S. market. This year, near-record-high oil prices have helped Chavez finance a variety of social programs that he vows will make the country more independent of U.S. influence.

Observers say the oil revenue also has emboldened Chavez’s foreign policy strategy. He has recently inked oil agreements with Argentina, Brazil and his Caribbean neighbors and has launched efforts to strengthen ties with China through oil accords. Rafael Quiroz, an oil industry analyst in Caracas, said the Chavez government believes that the conflict between developing countries endowed with such natural resources and nations with high demands will only intensify in coming years. Chavez would like to precipitate that conflict, Quiroz said. “I think he’s correct to try to speed up that kind of confrontation, because the developing world — where 85 percent of world reserves are — will stand in a better place after that,” Quiroz said. “Every day it is more apparent that oil is fundamental for Venezuela in its international relations, and it is the main ingredient Chavez uses to form strategic alliances.”

SM tipster Sluggo informs us that one of Chavez’s top foreign policy advisors is a Sri Lankan-Canadian human rights activist named Sharmini Peries, who was a journalist with Frontline India before working with Chavez. After interviewing him she joined his cause.

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