Homer converts…Rev. Lovejoy in shock

Posted on October 19, 2005 by Abhi

In my daily efforts to help bring you guys the most interesting stories from around the world, every once in a while I am just blown away. Today is one of those days. ABC News (via AOL news) reports on the revelation that Homer Simpson has embraced Islam:

After 17 seasons of entertaining U.S. audiences, “The Simpsons” can now be seen on Arab television. While U.S. foreign policy is not always a hit overseas, there is a huge audience for American popular culture.
So the Arab satellite network MBC is bringing the cartoon saga of Springfield to the heart of the Arab world. “The Simpsons” has been exported overseas and is now called “Al Shamshoon.”
With Omar instead of Homer, and Badr substituting for Bart, MBC hopes to win coveted young viewers. After all, 60 percent of the Arab world is 20 years old or younger. [link]

Here is the catch. In an act of what can only be described as “censorship wizardry,” MBC has to convince its audience that the entire time Homer is at Moe’s tavern, he is simply enjoying a cold mug of…soda. Oh wait…

Moe’s Bar has been completely written out of “Al Shamshoon.”
…MBC is making some changes as the characters go from American to Arab. They will remove references to things forbidden by the Koran, such as bacon, beer, and other references that might be construed as offensive.
Homer Simpson’s ubiquitous Duff beer will now be soda in the Arab version of the show.

Ooooh, that’s–got–too hurt–the Duff man. Apu can’t sell hotdogs anymore but will instead sell “Egyptian beef sausages.”

With characters who are Jewish (like Krusty the Clown), Hindu (like Kwik-E-Mart owner Apu) and Christian (like the family’s pastor, Rev. Lovejoy), Al Jean — “The Simpsons” executive producer — says those changes mean they aren’t “The Simpsons” anymore.

You can watch a video of the story on the AOL website I linked above.

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Will they or won’t they?

Posted on October 19, 2005 by Abhi

There is a game of high-stakes foreign policy poker being played in Washington right now between the U.S. and India with respect to nuclear cooperation. As with most issues of late, the normally homogenous Republicans are showing signs of a spine again by demonstrating thinking independent of their party leader. The Washington Post reports:

Congressional leaders crucial to the fate of a controversial U.S.-India nuclear deal are pressing Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to consult them before proposing legislation to implement the agreement.
The leaders make their case in a letter which congressional aides said reflects deep unease about the deal’s consequences and the way the administration secretly negotiated it, without input from lawmakers who must approve it.
“We firmly believe that such consultations will be crucial to the successful consideration of the final agreement or agreements by our committees and the Congress as a whole,” they wrote in the letter, which was obtained by Reuters.
Many members of Bush’s Republican party, which controls Congress, and also many Democrats fear the deal excessively benefits India and undermines international efforts to halt the spread of nuclear weapons.

Of course, this is all really about Iran. India surprised people last month by voting with the U.S. in threatening to refer Iran to the U.N. Security Council (where it could potentially be punished) for its nuclear activities. The genie is out of the bottle with respect to nuclear technology so we may as well spread weapons to our friends if they will help us prevent the spread to our enemies. The U.S. however, wants assurances that their technological gifts won’t be used for India’s weapons program:

The separation plan is at the heart of the nuclear deal because it is meant to ensure any U.S. or international cooperation with India advances only the South Asian nation’s civilian energy program, not weapons development.
Burns said the separation issue will be central to his talks in New Delhi this week but it would probably take a month or two for the plan to be drawn up.
Once a clear separation plan is offered by India, it will be easier to ask the U.S. Congress for the necessary changes, he said.

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Indo-Caribbean arty party

Posted on October 19, 2005 by manish

SAJA presents

West Indies Records

art photos with Caribbean roti at Arts India in Manhattan. Maybe they’ll spin some chutney.

Building Bridges – The Indo-Caribbean Diaspora

… a panel discussion about the culture of the Indian communities in Guyana, Trinidad, Suriname, New York City, and beyond. With photography, Caribbean food…

Rohit Jagessar, owner RBC Radio, historian, film director, “Guyana 1838″…
Ramin Ganeshram, journalists & author of “Sweet Hands: Island Cooking From Trinidad and Tobago”
Preston Merchant, documentary photographer
Annetta Seecharran, executive director, South Asian Youth Action! (SAYA!)
Karna Singh, director, Heritage & Preservation Program, Rajkumari Cultural Center
Darrel Sukdeo, freelance journalist (moderator)

Also check out this gallery of 45s sung by Indo-Guyanese musicians.

Tuesday, October 25, 2005, 6:30-8:00 pm, Arts India Gallery, 206 Fifth Avenue, 5th floor, New York, NY (between 25th & 26th Streets; R or W trains to 23rd St.); free, no RSVP

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Hottest Brown Blogger EVER?

Posted on October 18, 2005 by A N N A

Sadly, no mutineer can claim that distinction now that this Bonny lass is blogging.

Like Gogol before her, Bipasha has found a new way to concomitantly combat boredom and promote her new flick. I know, I know. It’s not a “real blog”. It’s a PR stunt. Still, her first post received 186 comments. Watch out darling Ennis, your record may not stand… 😉

Being a star is HARD:

In the past, IÂ’ve had some very ugly experiences in Jaipur — people wanting to touch, wanting to be physically nearÂ…
IÂ’m very scared of the mob-like mentality of the people.

Good thing she didn’t have that problem while making this phill-um. Another problem she didn’t have? A sore kundi from sitting in the makeup chair for hours. Continue reading →

Rub a Dub Dub

Posted on October 18, 2005 by ads

One of my goals in life is to figure out a way to get paid to watch Bollywood movies and yell at the TV screen. According to an article in Salon by Sumana Harihareswara, someone (actually four someones) has beaten me to it:

“Uncle Morty’s Dub Shack,” which just finished its first season on the ImaginAsian cable network, is the “Mystery Science Theater 3000” of bad Asian films, and like its predecessor with the then-unknown Comedy Central, it could help put the obscure iaTV on the map. The conceit of the show is that four loser friends — Trevor, Aladdin, Jimbo and John — earn a little extra cash dubbing martial arts, action and Bollywood films into English at the Dub Shack, run by an old crank named Morty. Uncle Morty doesn’t have the translated scripts, so the friends turn the movie scenes into sketch comedy. For those of us who didn’t warm to MST3K, “Uncle Morty’s” is easier to love, because it’s only half an hour long (the films are significantly, and mercifully, edited down), and the writers create believable alternate narratives for the flicks instead of merely smirking at them.

Unfortunately, iaTV is not offered by my satellite provider, so I had to make do with the clips on Uncle Morty’s website. (Of the Bollywood clips, I enjoyed “Goatman” and “Chicken Members” the most.) The episode guide lists Dushman Duniya Ka, Dand Nayak, and Soch among the cinematic treasures given the Dub Shack treatment. (The channel has also been airing the intriguingly-titled Duplicate Sholay.)

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Party Politics

Posted on October 18, 2005 by A N N A

“43” hosted an Iftaar dinner at the White House yesterday, the fifth time that Bush has held one in the State Dining Room. Ambassadors Ronen Sen and Bernard Goonetilleke attended, as did other diplomats and prominent Americans who practice Islam. After the Imam’s prayer, the President announced a “first” which seemed especially appropriate; a Koran is now part of the White House Library.

The President used the occasion to express his gratitude towards Muslim nations who have assisted in the WoT. As for the rest:

“I believe the time has come for all responsible Islamic leaders to denounce an ideology that exploits Islam for political ends and defiles your noble faith,” he said at the White House, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP). [link]

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Bird Flu, Indian Reverse Engineers and Mangosteens, Oh My!

Posted on October 18, 2005 by saheli

I sometimes hang out at Brad DeLong’s blog, where apparently Razib thought I was a dude. Yesterday DeLong wrote a Cipla's Chief, Yusu Hamied post about Tamiflu, the Roche patented drug which is the one of the only plausible defenses against the dreaded Avian influenza or Asian Bird Flu. DeLong was mostly concerned with the domestic policy and economic ramifications of nationalizing a patent in times of emergency and stockpiling a drug ahead of time, but as with Sepia Mutiny, the comments can be most educational–and that’s how I found out that clever Cipla is at its Robin Hood reverse engineering tricks again. Bird flu is, of course, a global issue:

Cipla, an Indian producer of generic drugs, is preparing to become an alternative producer of oseltamivir phosphate, an antiviral drug better known by the brand name Tamiflu.Cipla plans to offer Tamiflu in the Indian market and in 49 less-developed countries where the company already sells AIDS treatments, Hamied says. The legality of the introduction in India, where pharmaceutical patents started to be recognized this year, is uncertain.

Hamied says he will withdraw Tamiflu from the Indian market if Roche’s patent is recognized. (Link.)

A Roche spokesman, Terry Hurley, said that the company ”fully intends to remain the sole manufacturer of Tamiflu.” . .Making the drug involves 10 complex steps, he said, and the company believes that it’ll take another company ”two to three years, starting from scratch,” to produce it. Hamied dismissed that claim, saying that he initially thought it would be too hard but that his scientists had finished reverse-engineering the drug in his laboratories two weeks ago. He said he could have small commercial quantities available as early as January 2006. Asked if he thought Hamied was making an idle boast, Hurley declined to comment. Hamied said he would sell generic Tamiflu ”at a humanitarian price” in developing nations and not aim at the US or European market. ”God forbid the avian flu should strike India,” he said. ”There is no line of defense.” (Link.)

What does this have to do with mangosteens? I’m glad you asked!

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What the data might reveal

Posted on October 18, 2005 by Abhi

The Christian Science Monitor carries a provocatively titled article today: “How India’s nuclear secrecy hampers earthquake detection.” The article investigates India’s refusal to share real-time seismic data on the grounds that it could reveal information about underground nuclear testing:

In the wake of the recent earthquake that devastated Kashmir, some Indian officials are reevaluating the government’s refusal to share real-time online seismology data with the international community.
India has balked at putting seismic data online because it could provide evidence of underground nuclear testing. The country’s refusal to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty also excludes it from exchanging data with the International Monitoring System, a global network of seismological sensors operated by treaty signatories.

Seismologists can more rapidly and accurately pinpoint the location and power of an earthquake when real-time data can be triangulated against a wide network of sensors. A delay of even seconds in reporting data induces errors in the exact location and could set back relief efforts in their crucial early stages, prompting some scientists here to argue against data hoarding.

Such are the consequences of brinkmanship. We can’t let the other guy know what the yield of our newest, baddest weapon is no matter what.

As for the value of sharing seismic data in the event of a future earthquake, some decision-makers in Delhi have yet to get the message. “Share data? What for?” asked an official from the Ministry of Science, sounding nonplussed when questioned about India’s policy to not make real-time data available via broadband.
“Open-data sharing in seismology over the past century … has been of enormous importance in reporting of earthquakes and studies of global and regional earthquakes,” says Shane Ingate, director of operations at the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS) in Washington, the world’s repository for data from most seismic networks around the globe. “It is regrettable that India … imposes restriction on the open and rapid access of these important data.”

Emerging technologies are making it possible to detect blasts and blast yields even without rigorous seismic data, so it doesn’t make much sense for India to maintain this policy, especially when releasing that data could help save lives.

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Just press the button…

Posted on October 18, 2005 by Abhi

Before this Mutiny started I took a solo trip to North Dakota to find a suitable location in which to establish our world blogging headquarters. The choice of North Dakota was obvious. There were many existing underground bunkers where we could make a home for ourselves, far away from the prying eyes of “others.” I found one facility in particular that immediately caught my attention and won my heart. I knew I had found our home. It was a fixer-upper though. In addition to being a mess, which took days of back-breaking labor to clean up, it featured some old electronic equipment left behind by the previous residents. Among the bookshelves I found a video cassette which I played out of naked curiosity. In hindsight this was a bad idea. The video said that something horrible would happen unless I pressed a red button (which was embedded into a table in the conference room) every three hours. This helped explain why the previous owner was in such a rush to leave and offered a great deal on the place. This button reminded me of an old Twilight Zone episode I had once seen titled, “Button, button”:

The 1980s revival of the Twilight Zone series featured an episode entitled “Button, button”, based on a short story by Richard Matheson. In the story, a gaunt, black-clad gentleman arrives uninvited at the cramped apartment of a financially destitute couple and presents them with a tempting though somewhat ominous offer. He gives them a simple wooden box with a clear plastic lid overtop a large red button – the type of nondescript contraption teens might build in a high school Woodshop class – and explains their options: 1) Don’t push the button. Nothing happens; the man will come back tomorrow to claim the box. 2) Push the button and get $200,000 – tax free – and someone will die. “Who?” the wife asks. “Someone you don’t know,” the man replies. He then leaves them to think about it. The husband decides it’s unconscionable, but the wife wants to go for it. After all, what is the death of someone they don’t know? People die all the time, don’t they? Maybe a bad person will be the one to die. “And maybe it’ll be someone’s newborn baby,” the husband counters. [Link]

By the time the rest of my fellow mutineers moved in to our bunker I had become obsessed with the red button. Anna makes fun of me. She wants to see what will happen if I don’t push the button. Ennis helps me out from time to time. If I fall asleep he pushes the button for me. Anna is probably right, and nothing will happen. Still, I am both a man of science and a man of faith. Why am I telling you all of this? Because today SM tipster Shashi Kara sent us another button to press and it has got me thinking.

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Cutie Patootie

Posted on October 18, 2005 by A N N A

Would that every morning commenced with such gur at my front door. This bundle of adorable is named Darshi Shah and yesterday, she was on WaPo’s front page for a story about how schools are working fitness back into their students’ lives.

Many schools in the area, and across the country, are combating the trend toward child obesity by extending physical education beyond gym classes.

Walking, running and jump-rope clubs are popping up, even for the youngest children, before and after school. Students are wearing pedometers and learning to calculate their heart rates. And fitness gear designed to help kids improve upper body strength and agility are complementing slides and swings on school playgrounds.

The article didn’t contain any quotes from the precious little runner above, to my disappointment. Then again, her game face says it all doesn’t it? Continue reading →