Isaac Schrödinger

Always Suspicious

A. Irshad's letter to the Dawn:

FOR providing help to earthquake victims in Pakistan, a regional sentinel office of Nato has been set up in Islamabad. It is hard to understand why our own forces cannot alone deal with the situation after the earthquake. Nato, since its formation four decades ago, has never been engaged in rescue operations in a natural disaster. The arrival of an army of 1,000 Nato servicemen to deal with the post-earthquake circumstances arouses suspicion.

[Emphasis mine]

An army is not made up of a single battalion, Irshad.

The West just can't please these people. If NATO hadn't sent any servicemen, then the matra would have been: "The heartless West doesn't care about the suffering Muslims in Pakistan."

Now that NATO has sent a tiny group, the chant is: "OMG, they are trying to take over Kashmir with their ARMY."

Common Sense Under Siege

Tayyab Siddiqui:

Difficult days are ahead for Syria and any major mistake could cost Assad his presidency.

Excuse me, his presidency!? When was Bashar Assad voted in? Who were the opposition candidates? The correct word would be dictatorship, Mr. Siddiqui.

He has complied with Security Council Resolution 1519 for the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon and shut down the offices of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad. He also received Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, and thus indirectly endorsed peace negotiations between the Palestinian Authority and Israel.

The US, however, is not content with these measures. Its fundamental objective is to co-opt Syria as a partner in the peace efforts to achieve US interests in the region, making Syria abandon support for Hamas, the Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah, terminate ties with Palestinian rejectionist groups and develop good relations with Baghdad.

So, in your opinion, support for Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah, and bad relations with Baghdad is kosher? Are you saying that the US, or any Western country, should not put pressure on Assad for these oh so minor transgressions?

It is ironical that President Bush should seek retribution for alleged Syrian complicity in Hariri’s murder when its administration has authorized the CIA to kill presumed terrorists and Congress has sanctioned funds for the overthrow of the government of Iran. Again the targeted killings of Hamas leaders by Israel within Israel and outside as state policy has not attracted any condemnation or Security Council action.

Of course. Murdering the leader of a democratic society is no different from killing the head of a terrorist group or a totalitarian regime. I mean that's just Common Sense 101. Think about it. Is there any moral difference between killing Osama or murdering, let's say, the prime minister of Belgium? Nope. Zilch. Nada.

Pajamas Media: Die Hard

Thank heavens. Some of us do prefer pajamas and its close cousins. Ahem.

The Power of an Individual

The Yemeni government is frightened by a blog.

Reminds of this quote:

You see these dictators on their pedestals, surrounded by the bayonets of their soldiers and the truncheons of their police. Yet in their hearts there is unspoken – unspeakable! – fear. They are afraid of words and thoughts! Words spoken abroad, thoughts stirring at home, all the more powerful because they are forbidden. These terrify them. A little mouse – a little tiny mouse! – of thought appears in the room, and even the mightiest potentates are thrown into panic.

Americans

This video is dedicated to the finest men and women of our generation. My small words won't do it justice; go there and see it.

Link via CatHouse Chat.

The Traffic in Lebanon

Michael Totten:

My mother nearly has several heart attacks on the road every day. “If I lived here I guess I just wouldn’t drive,” she said more than once.

I think that the system is about the same or worse in Saudi Arabia. How often do you see a driver making a left turn on a signal from the far right lane in North America? One can figure it out but it's still a huge contrast with the way Canadians and Americans drive. Desi friends of mine who've lived in the Middle East have often remarked on Canadian courtesy.

"Drivers actually stop to let you cross the road. That's sooo odd. And nice."

I would also say that it's overall safer. I would bet that the Arab Middle East has an unambiguously higher rate of accidents and deaths per capita than the US or Canada.

I Scream, You Pay

This is just bizarre.

Two Egyptian Girls

The Big Pharaoh:

They are too young to vote yet they are campaigning for an MB [Muslim Brotherhood] candidate. They were told that God demands them to wear a piece of cloth on their head in order to be "complete Muslims". They were told that covering your hair is as essential as bowing down in prayer. They were told that, unlike their uncovered friends, they will get "extra points" in paradise for doing so even during Egypt's dreadful summer heat. They were told that as soon as you see blood coming out of you, you turn into a walking vagina and so you have to cover as much as possible because every walking sperm around wants to devour you.

Even more disturbing: they will grow up, get married, have kid, and then "teach" their daughters the same abominable lessons.

The Holy Land of Racism

The Religious Policeman on Saudi Arabia:

... up until now, we've been one of the most rabidly racist countries in the world, and totally unconcerned about it. Walk down any Saudi street and ask anybody who looks as though they come from points East, how do the Saudis regard and treat you? Ask the Pakistani taxi driver. Ask the Bangladeshi street-cleaner, in his orange jump-suit, sweeping up the tissues and fast-food boxes that we thoughtfully throw out of our car window as we pass. Best of all, if you get the chance, ask our Indonesian housemaids.

I certainly saw that the "All Muslims are Equal" rhetoric is completely hollow in Saudi Arabia. Non-Saudis in the country don't have the right to own property. They must rent their living space and so did my family. We had to move around a lot because our compassionate Muslim brothers -- the Saudi owners -- would jack up the rent when the first year of lease was over.

Non-Saudis were employed to maintain the apartment buildings where we lived. They would keep watch over the entrance, wash a car for 10 riyals (US$2.66) in the suffocating heat, bring drinking water to many apartments, and clean the floors. I don't think they spent less than 12 hours a day on hard labor. I saw them eat only one food: rice. These guys were from Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, or the Philippines. They sent a large chunk of their meagre income back home to their parents, wives, and kids. Most hadn't been to their native land in years. They simply couldn't afford to. They would chat a bit and offer the saddest smile whenever they saw us [we're Pakistanis]. Not an ounce of fat was present on their bodies. The oppressive sun had added a few coats of black to their skin color. Still, they worked hard and diligently without complaint.

Yet, the Saudis treated them with contempt. The Saudis would rather bark at them than speak to them like civilized men. The squalid workers would never utter a word in protest because they knew that in Saudi Arabia it doesn't take much to deport a foreign worker.

My dad worked in Saudi Arabia with many Arab colleagues. He often worked on the weekend to show his dedication (read: pick up the slack for incompetent Saudis). Yet, he got paid around half of what the company gave the Saudis. You see, at the very heart of Islam, some Muslims are more equal than others.

I once watched a documentary which presented the Haj in detail. The documentary showed a black man who was moved when he watched the rich and the poor, the men and the women, the white and the non-white, all praying to one God. Reality, however, reared its ugly head when he went outside the Mosque in Makkah to pray and sleep in a tent. The occupants of that tent wouldn't allow him to stay and pointed him to a different shelter. He soon realized why. That tent was for Arabs who wouldn't associate with anyone who is black. So, this black Muslim went to a different tent with folks from Africa who allowed him to stay. Inside the Mosque, all brothers are equal. Outside the Mosque, the unspoken racial apartheid is well and present.

Finally, an incident I'll never forget. A few years ago, while I was in Saudi Arabia, my mom told me to bring home my youngest brother from the bus stop. I was slightly confused. You see, the school bus dropped him off only a block away. I did walk him home after my mom clued me in.

"The Arab kids throw stones at him if he's alone."

A Free Headache

I'll offer a little personal experience on this story. My youngest sibling has an odd diet. He eats everything that's sweet in the home and then goes for "the main course." Often, we have quite a varied supply of sugary foods. Soft drinks, ice cream, biscuits, sweets, and cake being the most popular. Our mom didn't like his diet for two reasons:

1. My brother wasn't eating healthy food.
2. There was a noticeable increase in his ballisticness.

So, she tried to limit his access to the listed items. The removal of one entry that really made him calm down was Pepsi. Everyone noticed the difference. Believe me, that tiny caffeine jolt packs quite a punch.

Last I heard, coffee had more caffeine than Pepsi. I don't think those schools are going to get "alert and attentive" kids. Instead, they'll be "hyper and uncontrollable."

A Model for the World

I happen to admire American Arrogance^TM.

Health Hazard

I don't think there is anyone in the "art" world who is brave or stupid enough to create "Piss Muhammad".

A Dopey Policy

Oh for the love of common sense. I diligently started using one at the age of 8 and look, I'm okay! (Well, maybe a little big boned. I blame the Canadian water for that.) And I assure you: no caps were swallowed, chewed perhaps, but not swallowed.

The Incomparable Aussie

Matthew Hayden is back with a vengeance.

He started this year with eight miserable Test matches. He scored 387 runs at an atrocious average of 27.64. His top score was 61 -- his only half century. I feared that he wouldn't get more than 1000 runs in this year.

I underestimated Hayden. He hammered 637 runs at a ferocious average of 91 in the last four matches. He now has 1024 runs at an average of 48.76 for the present year. Hayden has set a new record by scoring more than a 1000 Test runs in five successive calendar years.

Oh, by the way, he broke his own record.

The Finest Sport

Good news:

The venerable sport of cricket is getting a new workout in the San Francisco Bay area boosted by an influx of high-tech workers from cricket-loving countries eager to proselytize their sport.

"It's really picked up," says Santosh David Poonen, secretary of the Northern California Cricket Association, which includes about three dozen teams...

...popularity soared in the past two decades as the Silicon Valley boomed, bringing in workers from such cricket strongholds as India, Pakistan and Australia.

Imagine the team with that core: players with a lineage from either India, Pakistan, or Australia. The rest of the world would tremble with fear.

Link via Daimnation!

A Little Indulgence

HAHAHAHAHAHA.

H5 in Canada; Birds Hardest Hit

MSNBC:

As many as 65,000 birds at a poultry farm in the Fraser River Valley of British Columbia are to be slaughtered after a strain of bird flu was discovered in a duck there, according to reports published Sunday quoting Canadian health officials and the owner of the farm.

Though, it's not the same virus found in Asia.

“I want to emphasize that the H5N1 subtype detected in Manitoba is completely distinct from the strain currently present in Asia,” said Dr. Brian Evans, chief veterinary officer of Canada,  said Saturday. “From a genetic perspective, there are significant strain differences in their structure,” Evans said.

Centers for Coddling

Photon Courier:

"Liberalism is increasingly the politics of ignorance--it's amazing what these kids don't know," worries Fred Siegel, who teaches history at Cooper Union in New York City.

Indeed.

Zero knowledge of history is a given for over 95% of university students. Though, what continues to surprise me is their ignorance of business and economics. Minimum wage, rent control, universal health care, income caps (for the filthy rich), and having the taxpayers pay for 100% of the college tuition are just some of the horribly bad policies most of them support.

Often, there is a dose of hypocrisy in their anti-business views. I'll offer an example. A friend of mine had a discussion in his class regarding Wal-Mart. He was on the lonely pro side of the debate. A girl in the class, who had worked for Wal-Mart, hated the company. Low wages and the bad treatment of employees were her complaints.

Skip to a few weeks later. The boyfriend of that girl was working on an assignment for which he needed some baby clothing. Guess where he went? He bought the stuff at Wal-Mart for which that girl was happy since Wal-Mart has low prices. So, basically she doesn't like a company which increases the purchasing power of ordinary folks.

Hmm, come to think of it, students don't really learn about capitalism or the Middle Eastern history as much as they are given caricatures of both. Businessmen are treated as exploiters of the poor workers. Similarly, the Jews are treated as the bad guys with Arabs as their victims. The templates are unfortunate and untrue.

Update 08:10 PM ET
Speaking of historical and economic ignorance, try reading the letter posted here without gagging. The last paragraph is a monument to idiotarianism.

Victory is Our Strategery

Jay Tea offers a brief history lesson for those who want an exit strategy from Iraq. His conclusion is true.

Jews Have the Most Fun

The Superficial:

Now I'm not Jewish, and have no idea how bar mitzvah's are supposed to work, but if there's any truth to the above story I'm seriously thinking of converting.

Bwahaha.

Link via AbbaGav.

The Viking Percussions

Hunh. That's the first time I've seen the word "Vikings" and "shehnai" in the same sentence. Indeed, it's illogical. I'd suggest using the tablas as artillery.

So Very Sad

The Angry Arab outdoes himself. That is what passes for logic and argument in the Arab world. Is it any wonder that their people are culturally in the Dark Age, economically incompetent, and spiritually impotent? Yet, they fervently believe their system to be unquestionably superior to the West.

Allah Be Praised!

Did Zarqawi go bye-bye?

No Respect for Islamists

This is torture!? Where are the most dreaded techniques? Namely:

1. Britney Spears music on a demonic loop.
2. Having an infidel WOMAN!!! strip in front of you.
3. A woman putting her haraam panties on your face.
4. [THIS is the worst] Flushing the Quran.

All these four activities are legal for the US. Admit it, we've no right to call ourselves better than the Islamists.

A Topsy-turvy World

Omar comments on the Cairo Conference:

... al-Arabiya reporter explained that it was the delegate of the Assyrian Party who said something that offended the Kurdish and Sheat politicians. This was a not confirmed by another source yet but if proven to be true, it will be a surprise!

The key points of differences were the issue of the Ba’ath party and the “armed resistance”. Al-Dhari unsurprisingly demanded the government to recognize the armed resistance which he described as a “legitimate right for all occupied peoples”. He also demanded ending what he called the “marginalization of certain factions” which is a clear reference to the deba’athification policy. Finally he insisted that a timetable must be put for withdrawing foreign forces from Iraq and he also mentioned the calls made by some US Democrats’ recent call for an immediate withdrawal to justify his demands.
Ironically, the most extreme faction in Iraq has only demanded a timetable but not an immediate withdrawal of troops like some US politicians did!

[Emphasis mine]

Lovely. Baathists come off as less extreme when compared to the cut-and-run Democrats.

58 Pounds!

Dude, you're getting a brick!

Diligent Perfidy

From the Daily Telegraph via the Corner:

One of France's most distinguished diplomats has confessed to an investigating judge that he accepted oil allocations from Saddam Hussein, it emerged yesterday. Jean-Bernard Mérimée is thought to be the first senior figure to admit his role in the oil-for-food scandal, a United Nations humanitarian aid scheme hijacked by Saddam to buy influence. The Frenchman, who holds the title "ambassador for life", told authorities that he regretted taking payments amounting to $156,000 (then worth about £108,000) in 2002.

[Emphasis mine]

I bet that there is a long list of Frogs who accepted baksheesh from the Iraqi Butcher. Think of it as Oil for Appeasement^TM.

Deprave Glorification

Initially, I just wanted to leave this as a comment at LFG, but as I typed the whole thing...I decided to re-publish it here as well. To understand the context, read the post or this article first. My comment follows.

My analysis of the vile fatwa of Osama:

1. The Muslim world is shown to be under a ruthless (cultural, social and economic) repression of the Zionists-Crusaders. Saudi Arabia gets a special mention. Osama sets up the US as the ultimate enemy of Islam. Every single frustration of a Muslim is directed at the Super Infidel. He, thus, portrays his [then upcoming] actions as a defensive war. He, of course, is appealing to the base instincts of humans.

Basically: Oh Muslims, you can do no wrong. You are innocent victims. Now it's time to retaliate with myself as your leader. And thus, you can reclaim your [imaginary] prosperity and rightful honor.

2. His knows tremendous amounts of Islamic history. And he doesn't hesitate from bludgeoning the readers with it. Again and again, he quotes the Quran and uses Mohammad as his model. He plans well to gain the sympathy and understanding of Islamists everywhere in the world.

Basically: It's the duty of every Muslim to fight the infidel. Jihad, for short.

3. He brings in the [then] recent history of Islamists defeating a huge country to galvanize his inept supporters. Look, we defeated the greatest superpower in the whole world -- the Great Soviet Russia.

Basically: We can do it!

4. Lies come out of the wazoo for the above three points with some truth mixed in. If some blogger or commentor wishes, then s/he can create the Mother of All Fiskings by taking on that fatwa. I have no desire to do so.

On to Bruce Lawrence, the professor of religion. I knew that this would happen but I still don't get it. I don't understand why some academics have such a romantic admiration for evil.

Every goal and conclusion of that fatwa would lead to the darkest hour of humanity. The world would be completely wiped of Western Civilization, Rationality and Enlightenment. Osama and his diabolical minions would make sure that their solution was final.

Yet, this professor -- this learned man -- who should represent the antithesis of Osama, is actually calling him, "high-minded" and a, "welcome voice in global politics."

Bruce Lawrence is the quintessential intellectual moron.

The Circus Freaks See No Problem with Islamism in US Schools

The title of the post pretty much sums it up. I would only change "circuit" to "circus." Btw, do they ever make a logical decision?

Selective Memories

Polipundit gives the democrats an explicit advice plus a warning.

I bet they won't notice it.

Microsoft Wants More Power

How much of the graphics resources will Windows Vista suck up?

The operating system will be shipping with four different themes, ranging from Classic XP to Aero Glass, with each theme demanding more graphical horsepower. Aero Glass will be the most intense.

Microsoft is on record saying that Vista will be intelligent enough to detect what theme should be displayed on the given hardware, but vendors and consumers are wondering exactly which hardware will run the heralded Aero Glass theme without a significant performance sacrifice.

Do read the specs. I don't think my computer setup will be able to run the Aero Glass theme. Well, at least, not as smoothly as I'd like it to. There's another year before I'll upgrade my tower. So, by the time I'll get Vista, this won't be an issue for me.

Though, at present, I still hate not being able to play HD videos on my rig. The clips are too choppy. You can download HD content and see for yourself if your PC can handle the strain.

All in the Family

April 06, 2005: More than half the marriages in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are between first and second cousins. I, sadly, have cousins who are married to their cousins, and know relatives who have beaten their wives.

July 31, 2005: Muslim women who refuse the orders of their elders (to marry a cousin or wear an abaya for example) bring shame upon their entire family. Most of the time threats or beatings are enough to force the women into submission.

August 17, 2005: Marriages to first and second cousins are more common than non-cousin marriages in Pakistan. I have relatives there who've married their cousins. It brings a whole new meaning to the phrase "all in the family."

And now on November 17, 2005, Charles linked to this:

It is estimated that more than 55 per cent of British Pakistanis are married to first cousins, resulting in an increasing rate of genetic defects and high rates of infant mortality. The likelihood of unrelated couples having the same variant genes that cause recessive disorders are estimated to be 100-1. Between first cousins, the odds increase to as much as one in eight.

In Bradford, more than three quarters of all Pakistani marriages are believed to be between first cousins.

Can't say I'm shocked. This "tradition" of inbreeding is very insidious. Many Muslim men marry off their daughters to their brother's son, so that their grandsons and grandnephews are one and the same. In addition to the birth defects, this has a negative effect on individuality and the independence of women.

Extended families are told to stick together and care for each other. This logic quickly morphs into caring solely for their family members since these Muslims don't have any incentive to mingle with anyone outside their clan or families. Most Muslims in such situations think of their surroundings as a group vs. group conflict and thus support only their side. This crushes individuality since in these societies any publicly bad (read: unIslamic) behavior of a person is taken as bringing shame and ridicule upon that person's family. It's then incumbent upon the respective family members to discipline the said person. The punishments are often brutal.

The women in such families have no freedom for going in public alone. The logic: why would they want to unless they were a prostitute or dating someone from another family? Since the marriage of women is set, almost without exception, by the elders, the women have thus no reason to meet a non-sibling male. Boys, of course, can party all night, go to the cinema, play sports and do pretty much whatever their hearts desire. But girls are kept indoors and get a second-class education if they're lucky. Families have often killed women who break these rules. The police can be bribed to look away from such honor killings. The punishment for an honor killing in Jordan can be as little as six months in jail.

When the "lucky" Muslim women do marry, their husband's home becomes their new gulag. The duty of these women is to give birth to many kids and raise their daughters as honorable women -- just like themselves.

Bush is to Blame

MSNBC:

Suicide bombers killed 74 worshippers at two Shiite mosques near the Iranian border Friday while in Baghdad two car bombs destroyed the blast wall protecting a hotel housing international journalists, including those with NBC News, and killed eight Iraqis.

But remember, these Minutemen are only fighting the AMERICAN IMPERIALISTS. If the infidel Americans were to leave them alone, then these gentle creatures would be flying kites, eating dates, and following the noble example of the Prophet Muhammad (PUBH). Honest, crescent my heart.

Will Muslims Deal with Them?

Don't be scared, embrace the charge.

Link via Samizdata.

Covering Up a Crime

The Big Pharaoh showcases the idiocy of a Saudi embassy. You can't hide behind your lies in the Blogosphere.

All You Need to Know About OSM

Iowahawk:

Will being part of the OSM network have a negative impact on the quality of Iowahawk?

Yes.

Does this mean that you will be removing your “tip jar” button?

No, because I will have additional expenses to cover such as yacht polish, and so on.

Of course. Don't forget to take a look at the OSM Business Model.

A Glorious Teaser

"Even though you've been raised as a human being, you're not one of them."

Those are the first words spoken by Jor-El in the trailer. Afterwards, one of the most famous pieces of music plays in the background as we're treated to various magnificent shots of the upcoming epic. The scenes of darkness and gloom are contrasted faultlessly with illumination and strength. The sight when Jor-El says "light" is utterly gorgeous.

No praise is too much for those who polished this jewel of a teaser. The iconic voice of Marlon Brando and the majestic music of John Williams were utilized perfectly. No doubt, the Last Son of Krypton will thunderously return to Earth next summer.

Click here to view the Superman Returns teaser.

Update 10:50 PM ET
The folks at The Planet message board are ecstatic. Bryan Singer is being hailed as a genius. Only 7 months and 12 days left!

Update 11:58 PM ET
Dan-El:

My gravestone is gonna read "the dude who did that poster with the clouds"

Congrats.

False Impressions

Why didn't you say what those statements were?

What statements?

In the report. You know, the nasty things that the nasty Americans were saying.

Not telling.

What do you mean, "not telling"?

I'm not telling.

Why not?

Because you'll laugh.

No I won't.

Yes you will.

No I won't

And you'll tell all the other boys and girls.

No I won't. Cross my heart.

Aawww! You'll get in trouble for saying that!

OK, OK. Crescent my heart.

Written by this incomparable person who has injected humor into the hell which is Saudi Arabia.

Oooh, Canada

Greg Weston:

In total, we count over $10,000 that flowed to what has to be the most well-financed little-league team in the country.

I'd say. Link via Kate.

Trying to Escape Hopelessness

Read this post about Michael Totten's experience with a Lebanese woman. An excerpt won't do it justice.

The Government is Your Friend

Great Moments in Unintended Secondary Effects:

1940's
With wages frozen by government edict, employers begin offering non-taxable health insurance to attract and retain scarce employees. The next sixty-odd years will feature numerous proposed government solutions to this unintended secondary effect of the original government solution.

Also read the first comment. It shows how successful MA politicians have been in convincing folks of the horrible cannibalistic nature of the market. The solution they offer is always the same: more incompetent government.

Winter is Here

The temperature in the past few week had fluctuated a lot. Often, it would go from being chilly with strong winds to hot and calm within 6-8 hours. Finally, today, we are getting snow! It's very beautiful. There's already a thin white coat on the ground. Spending a decade in hell Saudi Arabia really makes one appreciate this atmosphere.

OSM PWN3D?

This is harsh and hilarious.

The Trouble with Lesbian Cheerleaders

"Wizbang, come for the titties, stay for the politics."

Hunh.

Technorati Profile

Thanks to the Finest

Students from the Zein Al Abdeen secondary boy's school in the Amil district of Baghdad with their new school bags which contains, pens, pencils, notebooks, a calculator and other school supplies. USAID is funding the purchase and distribution of 1.5 million of the bags through a contract with Creative Associates International. All Iraqi secondary students will receive the bags.

[Emphasis mine]

Photo and caption from USAID.

Link via Gateway Pundit.

Welcoming Home the Finest

Sweet photo via Clayton Cramer:

Chatting, folks taking pictures, Old Glory, bagpipes; what's not to like! Take a look at the many snapshots at Clayton Cramer. They are, indeed, powerful.

Helping Each Other to Fight Islamism

Excellent analysis by Athena at Terrorism Unveiled.

Now is when US must help Arab governments and people truly wage a very public battle on Islamist terrorism throughout the media channels in the Arab world. What attracts attention? We must support monetarily and do all possible to help coordinate some of these protests. These type operations in WWII helped local populations repel Nazism. It's unfortunate that this type of support is viewed simplistically as "propaganda" and somehow "less than honest" because we're attempting to "influence" others. Of course we're trying to influence. Sadly, naysayers lose sight that this is welcome help for a cause that most reasonable people in Jordan would support. It's not some imperialistic nefarious scheme to steal Jordan's...oil. [There is none, by the way]. It is a plan, however, to stabilize, reform, and democratize the region. Compared to the other option, allowance of the status quo, US help benefits not only ourselves, but those living in the region. We must not divorce ourselves from current events, especially the effect the Iraq War has had in the Arab world, and we must not be blind to grievances.

The US government should have such a policy. Jordanians and the American don't agree on many topics but on destroying al Qaeda and its heinous clones, the two countries and its people should work as one.

Pakistani Hindus Under Siege

Hasan Mansoor:

An alarming trend — that of Muslims kidnapping Pakistani Hindu girls and forcing them to convert to Islam — in Pakistan’s Sindh province is forcing the worried resident Hindu community to marry off their daughters as soon as they are of marriageable age or to migrate to India, Canada or other nations.

When dawah fails, there's always the option of kidnapping and forcibly converting the infidels. Note, conversion to Islam is a joyous occasion but leaving Islam is punishable by death.

Sanao Menghwar, a Hindu resident of Karachi’s Punjab Colony, is a traumatised man; all three of his daughters —Aishwarya, Reena and Reema — have been kidnapped and forced to convert to Islam.

His daughters and he will have no respite. Another lovely case:

Sapna, the daughter of one Seth Giyanchand, was recently taken to a shrine (Amrote in Shikarpur district) by Shamsuddin Dasti. Dasti, a Muslim friend of Sapna’s brother, is a married man and father of two.

Nevertheless, the custodian of the shrine, Maulvi Abdul Aziz lost no time in converting Sapna to Islam (her names was changed to ‘Mehek’) and marrying her to Dasti. The case came to light only when Sapna’s parents stated that their daughter hadn’t eloped but been abducted.

[Emphasis mine]

So, a married Muslim friend of a Hindu guy kidnaps the sister of that guy, forcibly converts her to Islam and marries her. Dasti has mastered the art of perfidy. What about the moderate legal system of Pakistan? Doesn't it come to the rescue of oppressed minorities?

... the threat of victimisation by Muslims is palpable; Shirin says when forced conversion cases make it to court, lawyers themselves avoid taking them up, fearing a backlash from maulvis.

Ah yes, the Maulvis -- the ones who are experts in Islam and its laws. They are arguably the most ignorant, irrational, and anti-enlightenment scumbags in the Islamic world. Yet, the Muslim majority treats them like Nobel laureates. They show their true colors by explicitly standing with those who forcibly convert infidels and destroy families.

The option for religious minorities in Pakistan is to stick together or leave the country to the merchants of the Dark Ages. The legal system cannot and will not protect them.

I initally read the Mansoor article at FFI.

Mistaking Ignorance for Prowess

Dr. Manzur Ejaz:

Proud of my understanding of economics and my ability to express it in Urdu/Punjabi, I was trying to enlighten Rakha Maseeh on how the trickle-down would help him. Rakha Maseeh, a childhood buddy from my village, can very well fit into the category of the ‘wretched of the earth’. After listening to my complex argument, he blurted, ‘I have seen our thatched roofs dripping during the rain, but have never seen wealth dripping down. When you guys (rich farmers) are economically pinched, you squeeze us hard but your prosperous times never drip-down to us. This has been the way for centuries and it will remain thus forever.’

That observation is true for Pakistan and the speculation about the future will also prove correct if their culture, religion, and laws remain the same.

Since the beginning of the Reagan-Thatcher era, the poor, from the South to the North, have been expecting the fruits of the trickle-down theory. Economists have been assuring the poor that if the rich have more on their dining tables, more crumbs will be swept off and thrown down.

I don't know of any economist who has made that kind of statement. Dr. Ejaz doesn't even provide a single example.

In fact, trickling-up has been the order of the day: wealth is being transferred from the poor to the rich. The latest example of this is the way oil companies have ripped off consumers. In the last three months, the income of oil giant Exxon-Mobil was $100 billion and its profits $10 billion. No corporation has made so much profit in such a short period in the entire history of capitalism. And it’s not the only one: every oil company has made similar unprecedented gains.

The US got hit by some of the worst hurricanes in history. Oil prices shot up in the short run for everyone -- not just the poor -- and Exxon-Mobil made a measly 10% profit. Yes, you read that right, measly; Washington Post:

Altria Group, the maker of Marlboro and other cigarettes, made 22 cents for every dollar of revenue in 2004, and pharmaceutical company Merck made 25.3 cents for every dollar of revenue in 2004.

By other measures, such as profit per employee, return on invested capital and free cash flow, Exxon Mobil is nowhere near a standout.

More from the proud Ejaz:

These corporations could not make such a killing even during devastating wars or natural disasters. This time around, however, the main difference is that Washington is being ruled by oilmen and women: President George Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld and Secretary of the State Condoleezza Rice have all come from the oil industry.

These people are like the conservative traders of any other country. Their allegiance to traders, industrialists and religious fundamentalists is no different than those of the pro-Khomeni Iranian bazaar or anti-Bhutto tajiran, who were the backbone of Tehreek Nizam-e-Mustafa of Qaumi Ittehad in 1977.

Give me a break. I'll let the Washington Post answer the "oilmen" charge:

... in 2004 Exxon Mobil earned more money -- $25.33 billion -- than any other company on the Fortune 500 list of largest corporations. But by another measure of profitability, gross profit margin, it ranked No. 127.

Also, see this post and its first three comments at Free Republic if you're unclear on the concept of profit margin. Back to Ejaz:

At present, US consumers have more debts than their total worth,...

Um, no. According to this year-old article, the median net worth (assets minus liabilities) by age groups in the US was all in the positive. This is not a matter of opinion. It's a simple fact.

Ejaz, then, goes on a tangent which produces jewels like this:

... the US crusade against religious extremism does not seem genuine because the country itself is a fertile ground for religious fundamentalism.

Riiight. Ejaz tried his best to showcase the US as a society that not only thrashes its own poor but harms the "wretched of the earth" as well. Unfortunately, he didn't let small things like facts get in the way of his warped world view.