Category Archives: Politics

Cabbie hartal in Naya York

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NYC cabbies, the majority of whom are probably desi, threatened to strike over rising gas prices and GPS tracking at a rally on Monday:

Both groups claim drivers are paying upwards of $20 more per day for fuel. Drivers at the rally, who called yesterday for the ouster of TLC chairman Matthew W. Daus, complain that the spike in gasoline prices have chipped at savings and forced delayed vacations… “We want to be prudent,” Daus said. “These guys just got a fare increase — the biggest ever… They’re still making a lot more money based upon our data than before the fare increase.”

In one positive sign for advocates of the surcharge, Daus said he has talked with representatives from several cities where fares are tied to gas prices. [Link]

You run into this problem regularly with government-mandated price caps — the price doesn’t keep pace with real-world costs, and you’re stuck waiting for slow bureaucrats to recognize the new cost structure. A dynamic fare component which tracks fuel prices is an obvious solution.

Drivers wanted
[GPS tracking] eliminated, charging it would be used to track MuslimsBut the more interesting complaint is about mandatory GPS tracking:

Drivers say they don’t want to be tracked and do not need the expense (estimates range from $3,000 to $5,000 per vehicle) of installation. They also claim the devices could be used to monitor speeding and other activities, violating their rights… The commission maintains that the tracking equipment would help drivers navigate traffic, provide efficient routes, and help passengers recover lost property. [Link]

… representatives of the New York Taxi Workers’ Alliance, a union of more than 6,500 New York taxi drivers, decried the monitors as a tool for the state to spy on them… [Link]

… drivers also wanted the GPS plan eliminated, charging it would be used to track Muslims, [Bhairavi] Desai said. [Link – PDF]

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My first Ramadan

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Amman, JordonSunset today marked the beginning of Ramadan for millions of Muslims around the world.

Muslims believe that during the month of Ramadan, Allah revealed the first verses of the Qur’an, the holy book of Islam. Around 610 A.D., a caravan trader named Muhammad took to wandering the desert near Mecca (in today’s Saudi Arabia) while thinking about his faith. One night a voice called to him from the night sky. It was the angel Gabriel, who told Muhammad he had been chosen to receive the word of Allah. In the days that followed, Muhammad found himself speaking the verses that would be transcribed as the Qur’an.

At many mosques during Ramadan, about one thirtieth of the Qur’an is recited each night in prayers known as tarawih. In this way, by the end of the month the complete scripture will have been recited.

Muslims practice sawm, or fasting, for the entire month of Ramadan. This means that they may eat or drink nothing, including water, while the sun shines. Fasting is one of the Five Pillars (duties) of Islam. As with other Islamic duties, all able Muslims take part in sawm from about age twelve. [Link]

I thought that I would share the story of my first Ramadan to mark the occasion here on SM. To me Ramadan was nothing but a word and a vague concept until three years ago.  I had read about it in books and had Muslim friends explain some of the traditions to me, but as a non-Muslim, unless you live in a Muslim country or near Detroit, I think it is difficult to really understand the feeling of Ramadan.  In November of three years ago I landed in Amman, Jordan just hours before sunset on the first full day of the holy month.  I had never stepped foot off a plane in an Islamic country before and I was excited to begin my adventure, in addition to being a bit nervous.  My destination lay approximately three hours south near the ancient ruins of Petra.  I stepped outside and looked for a cabbie that could speak some English.  I asked him if he could drive me to south to Petra.

“Sure.  You go Petra?  I take you.  Please sir. Come.”

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The milk of Paradise

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… And from this chasm, with ceaseless turmoil seething,
As if this earth in fast thick pants were breathing,
A mighty fountain momently was forced:
Amid whose swift half-intermitted burst
Huge fragments vaulted like rebounding hail,
Or chaffy grain beneath the thresher’s flail…
And ‘mid this tumult Kubla heard from far
Ancestral voices prophesying war! …

I would build that dome in air…
And all should cry, Beware! Beware! …
And close your eyes with holy dread,
For he on honey-dew hath fed,
And drunk the milk of Paradise.

— Samuel Coleridge, ‘Kubla Khan‘

The Atlantic’s November issue has an excellent article on Abdul Quadeer Khan, the fat man behind Pakistan’s Little Boy. It’s the first in a two-part series about how Khan stole nuclear plans and procurement lists from a nuke lab in the Netherlands and turned funding from Pakistan, Libya and Saudi Arabia into a nuclear arsenal.

‘If your forces cross our borders… we are going to annihilate your cities.’

— Zia to Rajiv The full text isn’t online, so here are some key bits:

Khan had become something of a demigod in Pakistan, with a public reputation second only to that of the nation’s founder, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, and he had developed an ego to match. He was the head of a government facility named after him–the Khan Research Laboratories, or KRL–which had mastered the difficult process of producing highly enriched uranium, the fissionable material necessary for Pakistan’s weapons, and was also involved in the design of the warheads and the missiles to deliver them… A. Q. Khan was seen to have assured the nation’s survival, and indeed he probably has–up until the moment, someday in a conceivable future, when a nuclear exchange actually occurs. [Link]

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Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness

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Many countries look at their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as a measure of how strong their economy is and whether it’s expanding or contracting, but also to give an idea as to the standard of living in the country:

GDP is defined as the total value of final goods and services produced within a territory during a specified period (or, if not specified, annually, so that “the UK GDP” is the UK’s annual product). GDP differs from gross national product (GNP) in excluding inter-country income transfers, in effect attributing to a territory the product generated within it rather than the incomes received in it…

The most common approach to measuring and understanding GDP is the expenditure method:

GDP = consumption + investment + exports – imports… [Link]

Blah Bla Bla Blah Blah.  I’m not freakin’ Alan Greenspan and I’ve never taken an economics course in my life.  What else you got?  The New York Times reports on Bhutan’s economic indicator of choice.  It is a measure that in my opinion is ready for export.  The GNH, or Gross National Happiness:

What is happiness? In the United States and in many other industrialized countries, it is often equated with money.

Economists measure consumer confidence on the assumption that the resulting figure says something about progress and public welfare. The gross domestic product, or G.D.P., is routinely used as shorthand for the well-being of a nation.

But the small Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan has been trying out a different idea.

In 1972, concerned about the problems afflicting other developing countries that focused only on economic growth, Bhutan’s newly crowned leader, King Jigme Singye Wangchuck, decided to make his nation’s priority not its G.D.P. but its G.N.H., or gross national happiness.

Bhutan, the king said, needed to ensure that prosperity was shared across society and that it was balanced against preserving cultural traditions, protecting the environment and maintaining a responsive government. The king, now 49, has been instituting policies aimed at accomplishing these goals.

Their economic theory isn’t that far out is it?  I am not naive enough to think that they’ll get the prize later this week and am not ready to declare that I am moving to Bhutan, but why not consider the merits of this idea?  Every economic statistic thrown at you about a given country might tell you that the population as a whole is becoming wealthier.  That doesn’t mean that the lives of individuals are any better in terms of quality or happiness does it?

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True Lies

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mush bush.jpg Last week, I wrote about my disgust with all things Mushie. When women rightfully rallied against him in New York on September 17th, he criticized them as if they were just anomalous Vestern Feminazis:

As the human rights and women groups protested outside the Roosevelt Hotel against the treatment of rape victims in Pakistan, Gen Musharraf said that such protests should be held in and not outside Pakistan.

Okay, fine.

On Thursday, women in Pakistan protested his utterly inappropriate remarks and I wholeheartedly supported their rage against an insensitive jerk. Ever-excellent and on top of things, The Acorn points me to an editorial which I missed, since I haven’t opened the Saturday paper yet (Note to self: retrieve newspapers or purchase canine for said task).

I’m pink-cheeked with joy over how the Washington Post let him have it:

PAKISTANI President Pervez Musharraf complains that his country is unfairly portrayed as a place where rape and other violence against women are rampant and frequently condoned. In fact, it deserves such a reputation. According to Pakistani human rights groups, thousands of attacks are reported every year, including gang rapes and “honor killings” of women who are accused of having affairs or who refuse an arranged marriage. Most of these attacks go unpunished. So retrograde are Pakistan’s laws that there are more than 1,500 women in prison as a result of rapes — they were prosecuted for adultery — while arrests of men occur in only about 15 percent of reported cases. [WaPo]

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The “Devils” Advocates

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This past week conservative John Roberts became the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS).  Within days Bush will nominate a second judge who will decisively tip the balance of the court. We can be sure that we will continue to see brilliant desi lawyers in front of the Robert’s court in the coming years.  Just a few days ago for example, ACLU lawyer Amrit Singh (see previous entries) successfully sued in federal court to compel the government to release more pictures of detainee abuse at Iraq’s Abu Ghraib prison.

On Thursday, a U.S. federal judge ordered the release of more images of Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse – which may open up the American military to more embarrassment from a scandal that already has stirred outrage around the world.

U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein rejected government arguments that the images would incite acts of terrorism and violence against U.S. troops in Iraq, saying that terrorists “do not need pretexts for their barbarism.”

“Our nation does not surrender to blackmail, and fear of blackmail is not a legally sufficient argument to prevent us from performing a statutory command. Indeed, the freedoms that we champion are as important to our success in Iraq and Afghanistan as the guns and missiles with which our troops are armed,” he said. [Link]

My guess is that this decision may be appealed by DOD and DOJ and find its way in front of the Robert’s court, where hopefully Amrit will continue to argue it.

The judge gave the government 20 days to appeal before releasing the pictures, which are edited so the faces of prisoners are not shown.

Lt. Col. John Skinner, a Pentagon spokesman on detainee issues said the Department of Defense, “continues to consult with the Department of Justice on this litigation, to include additional legal options…”

ACLU lawyer Amrit Singh said the ruling was a victory for government accountability.

“The United States government cannot continue to hide the truth about who is ultimately responsible for the systematic abuse of detainees from the American public,” she said. [Link] Continue reading →

Dear Mushie: Shut up. Sincerely, Pakistan’s Women

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stop it.jpg The walking P.R. disaster who is PakistanÂ’s president canÂ’t get a break. Nor should he, since he is a dick AND a weasel. I hate to throw two slang references to the male anatomy in the same paragraph, but damn Gina…if youÂ’re going to front like youÂ’re cold-blooded, have the balls to follow through with that unwise approach. Pervez, denying that you made a heartless comment which the entire world heard is only soiling the bed you made and have to lie in…no pun intended.

Care for some background, in case you’re just joining us?

Almost two weeks ago, I posted that the clue-free President of Pakistan was staying at the Roosevelt Hotel in NYC and that a protest was planned outside of it, to shame Mushie into owning his countryÂ’s pathetic approach to human rights for women. Later, I blogged about his sputtering reaction to the vocal horde outside his temporary Manhattan quarters.

As the human rights and women groups protested outside the Roosevelt Hotel against the treatment of rape victims in Pakistan, Gen Musharraf said that such protests should be held in and not outside Pakistan.[link]

Well, today he got his wish. Continue reading →

The only good woman is a dead one.

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votecorpse06.jpg When I commenced grad school at GW, new-to-DC-me spent a lot of time in “J street”, a food court so egregiously expensive and depressingly mediocre, I have NEVER complained about airport food since. One night, while gagging down waffle fries from Chik-fil-a, I was yanked away from my deep-fried poo by a popular Bangladeshi kid whom Sajit probably remembers. 😀

“Come on, come with me, RIGHT now!”

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, but I need your help!”

Intrigued, I closed my textbooks and followed him, chucking Chik-fil-ewww on the way. Within minutes I was somewhere I had never been, looking at super hot boys in soccer togs.

“What is this?”

“IM soccer. You’re on our team.”

I chortled, but he was serious. Since he was heading a co-ed team, he needed a certain number of women on the floor and they were one short. Never mind that at that point in my life, I was more of a futbol spectator than a participant, I was suddenly a player. They told me to just stand there, so that they wouldn’t have to forfeit. I stayed in my corner while the footie fiends whom I had befriended kept the ball far away from me. Their efforts were wasted; the other team destroyed them.

I’ll say this much for my friend– at least he used a “live” woman to achieve his ends.

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Without fear of reprisal

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Two years ago Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York issued Executive Order 41.  This order was issued…

to ensure that immigrants, and other New Yorkers, can access City services that they need and are entitled to receive. The policy protects areas of confidentiality, such as immigration status, sexual orientation, status as a victim of domestic violence, status as a crime witness, receipt of public assistance, and information in income tax records.

The New York Times reports on how that order, which “essentially codified a ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy for city workers,” (obviously including those of South Asian heritage) is now being tested:

Waheed Saleh says he was smoking a cigarette outside a doughnut shop at the rough edge of Riverdale in the Bronx when a police officer handed him a summons for disorderly conduct. He protested, he says, and the officer yelled at him to go back to his own country.

Mr. Saleh, a Palestinian, worked as a gypsy-cab driver illegally seeking fares and was used to tickets for infractions like double parking, making U-turns and picking up passengers. But he believed that this officer, Kishon Hickman, was harassing him. So he complained to the Civilian Complaint Review Board, which examines complaints against police officers.

Before he heard back from the board, however, he heard from federal immigration authorities. About a year later, outside the same doughnut shop on the night of Dec. 20, 2004, he was confronted by a federal immigration agent and local police officers. The police took him into custody on administrative immigration violations, sending him into deportation proceedings. Mr. Saleh believes it was retaliation for his civilian review board complaint.

What complicates this case is that there is a possible loophole:

There are exceptions written into Executive Order 41: Illegal immigrants suspected of criminal activity or terrorism are not protected. Paul J. Browne, a police spokesman, said that Mr. Saleh’s host of summonses amounted to illegal activity, just as a single parking ticket would.

In an interview at a diner near the same doughnut shop, Mr. Saleh said he left his hometown of Jenin, on the West Bank, after his wife died of brain cancer, to find a better way to support his two young children, who stayed behind with his parents.

He arrived in November 2000 on a visitor’s visa, got a valid driver’s license and stayed on illegally to work at gas stations in Rockland County and as a landscaper in Yonkers. But after 9/11, he said, it became much harder to get work without a Social Security card, and he joined other Arabic men driving gypsy cabs.

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Musharraf on ‘60 Minutes’ (updated)

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A 60 Minutes segment tonight on the search for Osama bin Laden needled Musharraf and the head of Pakistan’s ISI on their strategy to play the U.S. for arms and aid.

The reporter asked if they would hold bin Laden’s capture back for maximum publicity or move him to Afghanistan so Dubya could take credit. Musharraf laughed uncomfortably and stuttered a reply. He then wisecracked, ‘But we would like to take the money part.’

The interviewer asked, ‘The $25 million [reward]?’

Musharraf: ‘Not bad. Good money.’

Check out the subtitle during the bin Laden discussion. Is that a show promo, or political commentary?

Watch the clip (19 MB DivX; you need a BitTorrent downloader: Windows, Mac). Here’s the press release.

Update: Here’s who CBS misidentifies as Musharraf on their Web site. Apparently they’ve been taking lessons from both the Times of India and George W.:

Interviewer: “Can you name the general who is in charge of Pakistan?” …

Bush: “General. I can’t name the general. General.”

Interviewer: “And the prime minister of India?”

Bush: “The new prime minister of India is – (pause) No… Can you name the foreign minister of Mexico?”

Interviewer: “No sir, but I would say to that, I’m not running for President…” [Link]

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