Month: July 2010

by HAROON SIDDIQUE

“Indian and Pakistani soldiers perform during the ‘Beating The Retreat’ ceremony at the border crossing.” PHOTO/Raminder Pal Singh/EPA

The goose-stepping ritual that marks the daily closure of the Pakistan-India border has come to represent the hostilities between the two countries over the past five decades.

So the news that the ceremony’s aggressive moves, which feature heavily mustachioed troops from both sides high-kicking to the sounds of trumpets, are to be “toned down” is being widely welcomed.

Guardian for more

(Thanks to Robin Khundkar. His comment: “I am glad this idiotic ceremony is being toned down.”

by TRACY MCVEIGH

Female circumcision will be inflicted on up to 2,000 British schoolgirls during the summer holidays – leaving brutal physical and emotional scars. Yet there have been no prosecutions against the practice

Like any 12-year-old, Jamelia was excited at the prospect of a plane journey and a long summer holiday in the sun. An avid reader, she had filled her suitcases with books and was reading Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban when her mother came for her. “She said, ‘You know it’s going to be today?’ I didn’t know exactly what it would entail but I knew something was going to be cut. I was made to believe it was genuinely part of our religion.”

Guardian for more

by GLEN FORD

The U.S. war against Somalia expands outwards and “has now blown back to Uganda,” the U.S. ally that, “along with the minority Tutsi dictatorship in Rwanda, is America’s most reliable mercenary force in Black Africa.” Ethiopia and Kenya prepare to join Uganda in an offensive against the Somali resistance, to save America’s puppet mini-state in Mogadishu.

Black Agenda Report for more

by EVA GOLINGER

The outgoing government of Alvaro Uribe in Colombia gave a shameful presentation before member states of the Organization of American States (OAS) on Thursday, reminiscent of Colin Powell’s “weapons of mass destruction” power point evidence presented in 2003 before the United Nations Security Council to justify the war in Iraq.

Colombia alleged that Venezuela is harboring “terrorists” from the Armed Revolutionary Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the National Liberation Army (ELN) and hosting several “terrorist training camps” near the border region that divides the two nations.

Venezuela Analysis for more

by C. M. NAIM

But what about the person who started it all, the questioner, and his struggle to frame the question? He wished to know if the woman’s salary was “Halal or Haram or Prohibited.” Three categories, clearly labeled. The response, however, used a fourth word, “unlawful,” without explaining how it differed from the earlier three. (Goes to show the Deoband muftis are as sloppy in their own tradition as in English.) The messenger then made the situation worse by replacing the muftis’ one word with his own two: “…it is “haram” and illegal according to the Sharia for a family to accept a woman’s earnings.” Are “unlawful,” “illegal,” and “haram” synonymous in Islamic legal discourse?

The last sentence in the fatwa, “Allah (Subhana Wa Ta’ala) Knows Best,” was entirely erased—perhaps because it was considered trite. Most Muslims, however, would say that the customary closure is a confession of the fatwa-giver’s own fallibility, as opposed to Allah’s unique infallibility. In practical terms, it has always meant that the questioner was free to go to other muftis and obtain a response more appropriate to his precise circumstances. That is why there is no single, all-encompassing, totally binding tome of fatwas even after fourteen centuries of Islam.

Chapati Mystery for more

by SHABNAM HASHMI

More than 30 organisations met in Delhi on July1, 6, 14 & 21 to discuss the strategy to pressurize the UPA to place and pass the Women Reservation Bill in the Parliament. It is becoming clear with everyday that the UPA is dragging its feet on the WRB. Unless we are able to exert a lot of pressure it will again go in cold storage. It was due to the 14 years of struggle by various women’s movements from across India that the Bill was passed in the Rajya Sabha on March 9th. We must not allow it to lapse.

The meeting held on July 14 decided that a demonstration will be organised at the Parliament Street on July 29, 2010 from 11am to 2pm. People will gather at 10.30am at Jantar Mantar, march to Parliament Street where from 12 noon to 2pm a public meeting will be organised.

There would a three hour long program comprising of speeches and cultural programme in support of the Women Reservation Bill. A memorandum will be submitted to the President, PM and UPA chairperson.

Confirmed speakers include: Aruna Roy, Annie Raja, Brinda Karat, D Raja, Javed Akhtar, Kanimozhi, Sharmila Tagore, Sudha Sundaraman, Jyotsna Chatterjee and many women social activists.

I am writing to you with the request to:
Continue reading “Public rally and meeting in support of WRB-join us in Delhi”

by MARK MAZZETTI, JANE PERLEZ, ERIC SCHMITT and ANDREW W. LEHREN

The documents, made available by an organization called WikiLeaks, suggest that Pakistan, an ostensible ally of the United States, allows representatives of its spy service to meet directly with the Taliban in secret strategy sessions to organize networks of militant groups that fight against American soldiers in Afghanistan, and even hatch plots to assassinate Afghan leaders.

The New York Times for more

(Thanks to Robin Khundkar)

(Thanks to Mansoor Sharif & reader)

by MARK MAGNIER

Reporting from Srinagar, India — The latest murky cycle of violence in Indian-held Kashmir began late Monday in the Gangbugh neighborhood of Srinagar. Residents say paramilitary officers chased Muzaffar Ahmad Bhat, 17, and two 11th grade friends, possibly fired shots in their direction — the details were not clear. The frightened youths jumped into a drainage canal to get away.

Los Angeles Times for more

(Thanks to Asghar Vasanwala)

City of Memory

A story map of New York City

City of Memory is an online community map of personal stories and memories organized on a physical geographical map of New York City. City Lore who is behind this project requested one of my poems for Corona, Queens. However, poems and stories about NYC can be interactively added to this map!

http://www.cityofmemory.org/map/index.php#/story/2335/

Asia Pacific Forum

And the World Changed: Contemporary Stories by Pakistani Women — the first English anthology of Pakistani women writers — and Indivisible: An Anthology of Contemporary South Asian American Poetry — the first English anthology of South Asian American poetry — have one thing in common aside from both being firsts: Bushra Rehman. In addition to reading from her work, we’ll talk to Bushra about what both these anthologies signify, for her and for South Asian English literatures.

http://www.asiapacificforum.org/show-detail.php?show_id=194

Union Station

Designed off the image of a train station with many tracks extending outward, Union Station has distinct urban aesthetic, that seeks not to be exclusive and attempts not only offer, but put into relation, the many narratives, images, and voices that are redefining our landscape.

http://unionstationmag.com/2010/07/

Reading at Zora Space: August 8 with the Laundry Party, time TBA

Zora Art Space was designed with the artist in mind.  It is a collective and intimate place where emerging and established artists across all disciplines are invited to showcase their work. Zora is committed to encourage and inspire creativity in all who step in.

http://zoraspace.com/about_zoraspace/