Santa in g-string gets DUI charge

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Some gifts from Kris Kringle are
better kept wrapped.

A man in a Santa hat was arrested Sunday night for investigation of
drunken driving after he was spotted outside Grauman's Chinese Theater
in Hollywood wearing a wig, a red lace camisole and a purple G-string,
police said.

"We are pretty sure this is not the Santa Claus," Deputy Chief Ken Garner said.

The suspect was booked into jail after his blood-alcohol level
measured just above the state's legal limit of .08, police said. He
was later released on $5,000 bail.

The man, who is 6 feet 4 inches tall and weighs 280 pounds, also wore
black leg warmers and black shoes. His car was towed to an impound
yard, police said.

Bharat Matrimony

Muhammad Rocked the Casbah

• ---

Listen to the Music

• The Kominas - Dishoom Bebe
• Vote Hezbollah - Poppy Fields
• Secret Trial Five - Middle Eastern Zombies
• Al-Thawra - Naura al Hamra

Muhammad Rocked the Casbah

San Antonio's Muslim punk scene goes national, and Europe is next.

Lydia Crafts | December 14, 2007 | Books and the Culture

Kourosh Poursalehi was a 16-year-old Sufi from San Antonio in 2004 when he created a song that made a fictional punk-rock movement come alive. Hypothesizing that no one in the world was like him, Poursalehi went looking for other Muslim punks and discovered The Taqwacores, a novel written by Muslim-convert Michael Muhammad Knight about a fictional underground Muslim punk-rock scene in upstate New York. In the book, the punks called themselves taqwacore—a combination of the Arabic word taqwa, meaning consciousness of God, and hardcore.

Poursalehi thought the taqwacores were real and set out to meet them. He found a poem written by Knight at the beginning of the book called "Muhammad was a punk rocker" that portrays the Prophet rebelling against the oppressors of his time, smashing idols and sporting a spiky hairdo. Poursalehi put the poem to music—spawning the first-ever taqwacore song.

Article continued...

Clubs Bloom in the Desert

Daryl Visscher for The New York Times

The 360 bar at the Jumeirah Beach Hotel.

Dubai Travel Guide

Where to Stay

Where to Eat

What to Do

Go to the Dubai Travel Guide »

From the New York Times - December 9, 2007

Party Destination | Dubai
Clubs Bloom in the Desert

By SETH SHERWOOD

SIX years ago, Dion Mavath, an Australian D.J., flew to Dubai to take up residency at an upstart local nightclub. Dubai, a fledgling metropolis, was still mostly known as an airport hub and a shipping port, and the local night-life scene, he quickly found, was nearly as sterile and undistinguished as the flat Middle Eastern desert landscape.

"It was dire," he recalled with a laugh. "It was very backwards. There was absolutely no musical knowledge whatsoever."

But few places on the planet have transformed themselves with as much deliberateness and aplomb — to say nothing of oil money — as the tiny city-state on the Persian Gulf. Three mammoth palm-shaped artificial islands have risen from the sea, and scores of five-star hotels and futuristic skyscrapers are exploding from the barren ground.

Amid them, the Middle East's most dynamic clubs and chic lounges have also coalesced from the dust, boosted by an enormous expatriate community, tolerant local mores (a Dubai branch of Hooters is reportedly in the works) and a proliferation of glittery events like the Dubai International Film Festival. From a night-life backwater, Dubai has become the kind of city where you might run into Michael Jordan at the Buddha Bar or stumble across Naomi Campbell celebrating her birthday with a multiday bash, as she did last year.

"Everything is growing exponentially in Dubai, and the party scene is just another facet of that," said Mr. Mavath, who plies his trade from Miami to Malaysia. "Dubai is one of the leading scenes in the world right now for the D.J. community."

The evidence is on view every week at Peppermint (www.peppermint-club.com), a Thursday-only megaclub at the Habtoor Grand Resort, with six bars, 50 V.I.P . tables and its own Facebook page. The boldface D.J.'s that have propelled the jam-packed, Dolce & Gabbana-sporting crowds include Carl Cox and Derrick May.

At the Madinat Jumeirah hotel is Trilogy ( www.madinatjumeirah.com/trilogy), a members-only house-music center. (Travelers can apply for free membership cards through Trilogy's Web site.) Jazzy Jeff, David Guetta and scores of other faces from the Mount Rushmore of D.J.-dom have graced the soaring, sultanically decorated three-level palace. The rooftop lounge offers sublime views of the gulf and the sail-shaped Burj Al Arab hotel, the tallest in the world.

Though Dubai is thousands of miles from St.-Tropez, the Middle Eastern princes, the Russian moguls, the dolled-up Euro girls and the abundant wannabes who pack the plush baroque interiors of the 400 Club (Fairmont Dubai, www.the400club.com) are oblivious. Everyone from Roberto Cavalli to Ludacris has luxuriated amid the crystal chandeliers and gilded mirrors of this year-old club, where a chilled six-liter bottle of Dom Pérignon runs a cool 31,000 dirhams, about $8,447, at 3.74 dirhams to the dollar.

For a more populist night out, lounge chair travelers can go around the world in 80 bars, stopping for fruity Polynesian cocktails at Trader Vic's at the Crowne Plaza Dubai ( www.tradervics.com), mojitos at Cuban-themed Malecon (www.dxbmarine.com) and vodka à go-go at the Red Square Discothèque in the Hotel Moscow ( www.moscowhoteldubai.com).

The only crimps in the social scene are a lack of options for gay partygoers (in 2001, authorities shut down a club for holding a gay night featuring a transvestite D.J. from England), the prohibitions on alcohol during the Islamic holy period of Ramadan and the year-round 3 a.m. closing time.

But as you would expect from an energetic juggernaut of a city, revelers make up for the limited partying hours by redoubling their efforts. Between midnight and last call, Mr. Mavath said, "people just go mental."

Namaste

Students Fight for Social Justice at Columbia’s Sexuality and Gender Law Clinic

From the Columbia News

Dec. 10, 2007

Students Fight for Social Justice at Columbia's Sexuality and Gender Law Clinic

Inspired by professor, students find new ways to combat discrimination

The issue of human rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals is debated around the world, fraught by cultural, political and religious mores. To help prepare students interested in this emerging field, the Columbia Law School's Sexuality and Gender Law Clinic, directed by Professor Suzanne Goldberg, a renowned human rights lawyer and advocate, provides opportunities for aspiring lawyers to participate directly in the development of sexuality and gender law while tackling the difficult questions posed by law reform work.

Last semester, law students prepared to bring the discrimination claim of a transgendered woman before the New York City Commission on Human Rights (NYCCHR).

At the last minute, the claimant changed her mind. Nearly an entire semester spent learning about the commission and preparing her claim seemed wasted.

But it wasn't. The students decided to share what they'd learned by creating a guidebook for others who might have discrimination claims. The guidebook provided an opportunity for Goldberg's students to blend their legal skills with advocacy.

"Instead of dropping the project altogether," said Eileen Plaza (LAW'09), "[we] decided to find a way to leverage the work that had already been done…" The guide aims to raise awareness of how NYCCHR prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity and how the commission is an inexpensive option for enforcing these rights.

The guide is just one of the clinic's achievements. In only its second year, the clinic recently won political asylum for Jamaican and Turkmenistan nationals who, because of their sexual orientation, risked persecution, violence and possibly death if they returned to their home countries.

This week, the students are submitting a report to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) that addresses the intersection of race and domestic violence in New York City. The CERD report—a coordinated effort led by Caroline Bettinger-Lopez, supervising attorney for the Law School's human rights law clinic, along with other students and faculty—details how minorities and immigrants in New York City are disparately impacted by domestic violence.

Goldberg, who joined the faculty in 2006, credits her students for these achievements. "The students receive supervision from me and lawyers from our partner organizations, but they do all the work," she said. In the case of the Jamaican national's petition] "they handled all client meetings, drafted all the documents and accompanied the client to his asylum interview. In every project, the entire clinic pitches in as a team whenever necessary….They have become a group of great legal strategists."

The students, however, give Goldberg credit for their skills.

"Working with Professor Goldberg has taught me how to look at any given problem from a variety of different angles," said Sadie Holzman (LAW'09). "I've learned to always think about all possible strategies for addressing a problem, from using the media to litigation to dialogue, while making sure we think through any possible consequences—both positive and negative—that may result from whatever strategy we use."

"Professor Goldberg really empowers [us] to think critically about our choices," said Plaza. "Our discussions are never about doing the right thing, but rather about what are the implications of our choices and how does that affect our end goals."

Plaza also learned that there are many ways to effect positive social change: "Litigation is one important tool, but there are many creative solutions. The point isn't just to write the best brief or to win the case, but to change public discourse on important issues that effect lives. The clinic has helped me think outside of the box."

Saudi Woman on Jetski - Picture of the Day

Huda, About.com Guide to Islam

Despite what may seem like restrictive clothing, many Saudi women find ways to have some fun! Here a Saudi woman goes jetskiing in the Arabian Gulf.

Ga license plate spells antisemitism... almost

Ga license plate spells antisemitism... almost

By JEFFRY SCOTT
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 11/30/07

For about two months Frank Gumina has driven a 1974 Volkswagen Thing
around with a Georgia tag that reads HA8 JWZ.

Gumina saw nothing in the sequence of letters and the numeral 8 except
a sequence of letters and the numeral eight. Others did.

"I would be at a grocery store or the Wal-Mart and people would say
'Hate Jews?' or 'Jew Hater?' and I had no idea what they were talking
about," Gumina said Friday.

"You know how people just say things that don't make any sense."

Finally, a couple of weeks ago, a mechanic working on Gumina's car
sounded out the letters and the numeral on his tag.

"I got it then," said Gumina. "Hate Jews. I realized I had a problem."

Gumina said he made a few calls and ended up talking with the Atlanta
office of the Anti-Defamation League and the Georgia Department of
Revenue, which handles license plates in the state.

The state has a database of about 8,500 tag number letter sequences
that it blocks from being made into license plates, said Department of
Revenue Spokesman Charles Willey.

The state on Friday said it will now prohibit auto tags that begin
with HA8 or H8 to prevent any accidental or intentional messages of
hate.

Tags on the blocked list included, for instance, "MAFIA," "AZZ
KICKER," and "KKK." The system also blocks any tag that reads as any
combination of words that can be read as curse words or racial slurs,
or anything that starts with the word 'EAT'," said Willey.

Gumina received his tag by happenstance. The sequence was generated by
a computer. It would have been blocked if he had requested it as a
prestige or vanity tag, which is an auto tag with specially requested
letter and number sequences.

"What happened was he ordered it for his car as a hobby or antique
license plate," said Willey. "And hobby tags always begin with HA."

But only one of the 8,468,506 vehicle tags now in circulation in
Georgia would come up with that sequence HA8 JWZ .

Bill Nigut, Southeast Regional Director of the Anti-Defamation League
— which intervened to help Gumina — called the revenue department
decision a "sweet outcome."

But, as of Friday afternoon, Gumina said he still has the tag HA8 JWZ
on his old Volkswagen and he hasn't driven it in two weeks for fear of
continuing to spread a message of hate.

He said he can get a new tag for $7, but the state hasn't assured him
yet they they'll take the old HA8 JWZ off the road for good.

"I'm going to leave my car parked in the driveway until they tell me
they'll give me a new tag and not give the old one to someone else,"
he said, sounding a bit weary with the whole matter.

"I want that tag eliminated."

Iran Holocaust drama is a big hit

Iran Holocaust drama is a big hit

By Jon Leyne BBC News, Tehran   The film tells the story of a Jewish woman saved by an Iranian diplomat The scene is wartime Paris. Swastikas adorn the Champs Elysees. Jackbooted Nazis are rounding up Jews for the concentration camps, while terrified Parisians look on. It is a familiar plot for a television blockbuster. And this time the formula has been as popular as ever, drawing in massive audiences week after week. The only difference is that this is a series made for Iranian state TV, and it has been piling up the ratings in the country whose president once questioned the very existence of the Holocaust. The fact that Zero Degree Turn has been allowed on TV, shows the official sensitivity over the accusations of anti-Semitism that have followed President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's various comments about Israel and the Holocaust. 'Iranian Schindler' "There's been a menu of demonising Iran to portray it as anti-Jewish, which is not the case at all," argues Iranian commentator and film-maker Nader Talebzadeh.   We sympathise just as much with those innocent Jewish victims of the Nazis, as much as we do with the Palestinian victims of Zionism Hassan Fathi TV series writer and director "This popular television series, which is visually also very attractive, has tackled this issue because of all the propaganda against Iran." The series has gone a step beyond simply acknowledging the Holocaust. The central character is an Iranian diplomat, who provides false Iranian passports to enable Jews to flee the Nazi-occupied France, a sort of the Iranian Schindler. He even has a love affair with a Jewish woman. | The writer and director of the series, Hassan Fathi, says he used a true story from World War II to show the outside world they have the wrong impression of Iran. "In those terrible years there were many people who could help the Jews, but they didn't because they were afraid they would be arrested," Mr Fathi explains. | "But some Iranians, when they saw they could save some Jews, they left their fear behind and did so - because of their character and their culture, their beliefs and their traditions," he adds. Ahmadinejad's stance But the outside world also sees Iran's relentless criticism of Israel and Zionism. In fact, the Islamic Republic sometimes seems almost to define itself by its opposition to the Jewish state.   Ahmadinejad has accused Israel of propagating a "Holocaust myth" Mr Fathi's argument - one echoed time and again in this country - is that you can be anti-Zionist, without being anti-Jewish. "Let's be absolutely clear about this. We sympathise just as much with those innocent Jewish victims of the Nazis, as much as we do with the Palestinian victims of Zionism," Mr Fathi insists. "And this is not just the view of a minority, it's the position of most Iranians." President Ahmadinejad takes pride in meeting members of Jewish sects who are also opposed to the existence of a Jewish state. But most other Jews would take issue with his claim not to be anti-Semitic. Mr Ahmadinejad no longer openly questions the existence of the Holocaust. Instead he calls for further research on the issue. To the West, he defends this as an innocent call for academic freedom. But the signal to the Arabs and Muslim masses that he is trying to rally is that there is still some doubt over the Holocaust - if not over its existence, then at least over the scale of it. 'Wishful thinking' And what of Mr Ahmadinejad's call for an end to the Israeli state (when he was quoting the leader of the Islamic revolution Ayatollah Khomeini) and his description of the holocaust as a myth? There is an interesting perspective from Mr Talebzadeh.   Some six million Jews were killed by the Nazis during World War II He is a firm supporter of the Islamic Revolution, but also someone who has spent time in the United States, as his American accent betrays. "The media loves to harp on that theme," Mr Talebzadeh complains. "'They want to wipe Israel off the map', 'This is Hitler'. I mean that 'Hitler - Ahmadinejad' is almost a strategic theme now for three years. "You know, the Soviet Union disintegrated very unexpectedly. It's a very good example of what would happen. Does America think it's going to be there for ever? "I could right now see America dismantling into different states. Israel, I think, would probably fall into the same pattern, and that, I think, is what the president [Ahmadinejad]is trying to convey right now," Mr Talebzadeh says. The idea that the US is about to splinter apart is a piece of wishful thinking quite widely shared here in Iran. | 'Hollywood standard' But there is also a very genuine belief here in Iran's history of religious tolerance. There's a small Jewish community here, as well as Christian and other minorities (though the government has been criticised by human rights groups for its treatment of the Bahai minority). Most Iranians, even those taking part in the most ardent anti-Zionist demonstrations, would be quite shocked at any accusation that they are anti-Semitic. The new TV series also happens to be extremely well produced, with music and cinematography up to the highest Hollywood standard. Week after week, Iranian audiences have been pulling out their handkerchiefs as the tragically doomed romance unfolds between an Iranian diplomat and a French Jewish woman.

Bracelet Found in Chicken After 25 Years

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: November 29, 2007

FAIRMONT, Minn. (AP) -- More than two decades after Aaron Giles lost
his identity bracelet, he's finding how it was discovered tough to
swallow. A meat cutter at Olson Locker in Fairmont came across the
shiny object in a chicken gizzard and saw a name, address and phone
number engraved on it.

''I've heard of livestock swallowing unusual objects, but this
situation stands out,'' Mark Olson, who owns the meat locker, told the
Sentinel of Fairmont.

Giles had lived in Fairmont as a child and played hide-and-seek and
other games with his brothers in their grandfather's barn near
Sherburn.

''I would spend most of my time out at his farm, and that's the only
place I can think of that I would have lost it,'' Giles said about his
bracelet on Thursday. The 31-year-old said he thinks the bracelet was
lost when he was 4 or 5.

The barn was dismantled a few years ago, and Giles thinks his bracelet
was imbedded in materials used to construct another barn in Elmore,
about 45 miles away.

The bracelet was found in a chicken that came from an Elmore farm.

Olson was able to track down Giles' father, who had moved to Arizona.
Giles, who now lives in Gloucester, Mass., said he received his old
bracelet in September.

''It was in pretty immaculate shape. Everything was working on it, and
all the engravings on it were still legible,'' Giles said. ''It was
quite the surprise.''

Giles said he expects the bracelet to stay in his family for many
years to come. ''I have no plans on trying to lose it again,'' he
said.

Iraqi Cardinal Being Congratulated

 

 

A newly appointed Iraqi cardinal, Emmanuel III Delly, was congratulated after being selected as one of 23 new cardinals by Pope Benedict XVI at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. The cardinal is the first Iraqi in modern times to be elevated to that position by the Roman Catholic Church.

Photo: Christophe Simon/Agence France-Presse--Getty Images

Google Goes to India

A Googler finding nirvana in a massage chair on the Bangalore campus.

--
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Faisal Alam
alam.faisal@gmail.com

"Human salvation lies in the hands of the creatively maladjusted."
  — Martin Luther King, Jr.

A Jihad for Love: Interview with Director, Parvez Sharma

A Jihad for Love

by Jennifer Vanasco, 365gay.com
October 30, 2007

Parvez Sharma spent six years filming gay Muslims in 12 countries. Theresult, his moving documentary Jihad for Love, shows a surprisingly diverse,inside look at men and women who are trying to be gay while faithful toIslam.

365gay talked to Sharma about the myth of the Muslim monolith, how hefound his "unlikely storytellers," and the jihad - the struggle - to reconcile who you are with what you believe.

What compelled you to tell these stories?
I'm a gay Muslim myself - I think everything in my life moved me totell these stories.I was recently arrived in America in September 2001, when so much ofthe world changed forever, especially for Muslims. I remember inJanuary 2002 I was realizing very intensely that I needed to takeresponsibility for my own Islam. I knew that I needed to come out as aMuslim. And I also needed to come out as a gay man.

To be a Muslim first and gay second and lay claim to both, and tobring this discussion into the public arena, that was what we wereseeking to do with this film.


What I find really interesting about you and about this film is thatyou seem to be struggling to find a path where you can be both afaithful Muslim and an out gay person.It seems to me that in the West that might be possible – do you thinkthat's possible in Islamic countries?
I think the history of Islam and homosexuality is a complex one. Islamhas now been around for 1426 years. We often rush to pronounceall these general statements about Islam and how we should perceiveit. One of the most problematic things is that in the West we considerIslam to be this violent monolith.

All I can say is that from my experience, filming in 12 countries,believing in Islam myself, Islam is very diverse, speaks in manydifferent languages, and in many different profound ways.


You've talked elsewhere about how the West and Muslim countries seehomosexuality very differently.
In the West, we traditionally apply those titles of gay, lesbian,bisexual and transgender very easily to sexual identity, and to almostconstruct political choices around these identities.In Muslim countries, those labels of affirmation aren't applicable.The labels don't apply very easily.


That touches on an op-ed you wrote in the Huffington Post aboutIranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visit to Columbia University.
I think President Ahmadinejad is very easy to turn into a monster. It isextremely unfortunate how he was treated at Columbia. What people needto understand is the statements he made are open to interpretation.There is a huge debate over what he actually said.

Did he mean that homosexuality does not exist like it does in theWest? If so, I agree with him. It's not the same construct.

If he is denying the existence of homosexuals, then I take strongexception to that and invite him to see the film, because I filmedthem.

Islam is more diverse on the subject of homosexuality than a lot ofnon-Muslims realize.Because homosexuality has existed for as long as Islam has existed, inmany of these cultures it has often been tolerated, and has sometimesbeen celebrated.

If you look at the history, you see examples of homosexuality beingcelebrated in the arts, in poetry, through the courts of the Ottomanin Turkey, through the courts of the Mughal in India, though differentphases of the Persian empire as it developed.

A lot of the hatred, a lot of the homophobia that exists in the Muslimworld today is inherited from Colonialism. Many of the laws thatremain in countries like Egypt or India are laws that were enacted bythe British or the French. And those laws remain.


There's also sharia.
Yes. In the 20th century, there was a revival of extremist Islam. Butmost gay people living in Muslim societies today are not living undersharia law. They are also not engaging in western constructs ofhomosexuality in the same language. Pretty much they are allowed tobe, as long as they're not flaunting their sexuality or owning it in apublic way, by let's say organizing a gay pride parade in Tehran.

I found in the film that the majority of people who have same-sextendencies assume that being married in a heterosexual marriage isperfectly normal and something they're required to do by society andby religion and by culture.


So you're saying that if someone marries a person of the opposite sex,then they can have a same-sex lover as long as they don't callthemselves gay? And they won't have any trouble?
Absolutely. I can say this with confidence. I have filmed this for sixyears and grew up in India, I know that the majority of people who areattracted to the same sex within these societies are within marriages.


But then you have someone like Maryam in your film, who's clearly avery devout Muslim. She tried to be married and now feels this greatconflict between loving someone of the same sex and also being Muslim.
You're absolutely right. In the film, Maryam is a woman in partnershipwith another woman. Both of them have been married before. And theydidn't have the choice to exercise any aspect of their sexualitybecause in patriarchal societies, sexuality whether heterosexual orhomosexual is denied.

They're in a completely patriarchal Arab society where coming outwould involve tremendous risks not just to themselves but also theirfamilies, so they chose to stay invisible. The conflict is profound.

They have not been able to negotiate a relationship with Islam thatthey are comfortable with. Maryam says in the film, "Sometimes I wantto be punished." Because maybe that is what will make me feel that Iat least tried to be good. Because what I am is clearly not good inthe Islamic way.

That's what I set out to document. How do you find a space withinyourself that allows you to be as devout to God as to your ownsexuality? And how can you find a place of equal comfort withinyourself for these seemingly disparate things, love for god and lovefor someone of same sex?


Do you see this as being problematic? What is a solution for peoplelike Maryam? What I think you are saying is that men can get marriedand have lovers on the side, so for them maybe it's OK not to have thesocial construct of being gay. But maybe that doesn't work for womenin love with other women.
I don't claim to offer any easy solutions. I don't feel Islam, diverseas it is and representing such a huge swath of humanity as it does -more than a billion people - is going to have a blanket condoning ofhomosexuality in my lifetime.

What a film like this does is enables this unrepresented group ofpeople, these most unlikely storytellers of Islam, to come out andstart a discussion, to start a learning process within their owncommunities - so that there can be benefits in the longer run formany that will follow.


These are amazing stories you're telling. How did you wind upconnecting with your subjects?
Finding people was a jihad, a struggle. Underground networks exist inmost of the countries I went to - people know how to connect with eachother, to their groups. So emails were sent out, phone calls weremade.

Many times I would just end up in a particular country with a touristvisa and just camp there for the longest time just meeting people andtake repeated trips to film with them.

One of the biggest challenges for me was to gain the trust of thesubjects. I had to go with my extremely intrusive camera, enteringpersonal aspects of their lives and expecting them to share this withme.

I first met Maryam when I started making this film in 2002. Only lastyear, 2006, did she finally agree to be filmed after many years ofgaining her trust.

What helped tremendously was the commonality of our experience. Thatthe Muslim camera was being wielded by a Muslim who knew what they hadbeen though, who understood, who knew the culture. It is a film thatwas not mediated by Western eyes.


What's next for you?
The end of making a film is just a beginning of the movement. When youspend six years of your life on something, you cannot just deliver thechild and expect it to grow up.

To actually create change with the film, I am launching The MuslimDialogue Project, which will tap into networks of people hungry forthis film, and use it as a tool of education. There will also be ameeting at a secret location next year on homosexuality and prejudicein Muslim communities, with religious leaders, psychologists, doctors,queer people, to come up with skills and solutions to take back intotheir own communities. That's the goal.


.And religious leaders are open to this?
You'd be surprised. There is a vast number of Muslim religious leaderswho understand the importance of this film and are keen to engage init, but have not been able to openly support it.

But the discussion has begun now and it's not going to stop andeventually there will be people who can embrace the film publicly. Thefloodgates have opened.

Jihad for Love is showing at film festivals around the country. Formore information, click here.

Massaman Waking Me Up in the Morning :-)

Kosher phones let religious call in good faith

Kosher phones let religious call in good faith
NICK DRAINEY

ISRAEL

WHEN Larry Pinczower switches on his mobile phone, the seal of a
rabbinate council appears. Unable to send text messages, take
photographs or connect to the internet, his phone is a religiously
approved adaptation to modernity by the ultra-Orthodox sector of
Israeli life.

Calls to other kosher phones are less than a penny a minute, compared
with 5p for normal phones. But on the Sabbath any call costs £1.20 a
minute.

"You pay less, and you're playing by the rules," Pinczower, 39, said.
"You're using technology but in a way that maintains religious
integrity."

A community of at least 800,000 people - out of 5.4 million Jews
living in Israel, a country of 7.1 million - the ultra-Orthodox,
though comparatively poor, form a distinct, growing and important
market and Israeli companies are paying attention.

Because they live in tight communities and obey their rabbis, they
have significant power in the marketplaceas well as in the voting
booth, said Rafi Melnick, dean of the Lauder School of Government at
the Interdisciplinary Centre, Herzliya.

"You see it in sectors like food, consumer products and transport
companies," he said. The Israeli airline El Al is now privatised.

"But they continue not to fly on Saturday," Melnick said, in order to
keep hold of ultra-Orthodox customers.

NYTimes.com: Hello, India? I Need Help With My Math

This page was sent to you by:  faisalalam@aol.com Message from sender: LOVE the picture :-) BUSINESS / WORLD BUSINESS   | October 31, 2007 Hello, India? I Need Help With My Math By STEVE LOHR In a new wave of global outsourcing, personal chores are moving offshore, and this is leading to some daunting challenges, both economic and cultural. 1. Hello, India? I Need Help With My Math 2. Chinese Chemicals Flow Unchecked to Market 3. Op-Ed Columnist: Hillary la Française, Cherchez la Femme? 4. Low Buzz May Give Mice Better Bones and Less Fat 5. Gay Enclaves Face Prospect of Being Passé »  Go to Complete List Advertisement In Wes Anderson's THE DARJEELING LIMITED,three brothers (Owen Wilson, Jason Schwartzman, Adrien Brody)set off on a train voyage across India with a plan to find themselves and bond with each other. Their journey however, veers rapidly off-course due to events involving over-the-counter pain killers, cough syrup, and pepper spray. Click here to watch trailer Copyright 2007  The New York Times Company | Privacy Policy

Bush Says Cheney is Darth Vader

LOVE IT!

October 31, 2007

Bush: Cheney's Darth Vader for Halloween

President Bush suggested Wednesday the vice president is going as Darth Vader this Halloween.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Even Vice President Dick Cheney is dressing up for Halloween — according to President Bush.

Speaking before a Grocery Manufacturers Association gathering Wednesday, Bush suggested his No. 2 is going as "Star Wars" nemesis Darth Vader this year — even though he's not wearing a costume.

"This morning I was with the vice president," Bush joked. "I was asking him what costume he was planning. He said, 'Well I'm already wearing it,' and then he mumbled something about the dark side of the force."

Cheney has often been likened to the infamous character, most recently by Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton at a fundraiser in September.

"You can always tell when the Republicans are getting restless, because the Vice President's motorcade pulls into the Capitol, and Darth Vader emerges," the New York senator said.

Cheney himself addressed the comparison earlier this month, telling the Institute for Near East Policy, "Most of you knew me long before anyone called me Darth Vader."

"I've been asked if that nickname bothers me, and the answer is, no," Cheney added then. "After all, Darth Vader is one of the nicer things I've been called recently."

– CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney

Do people have too much time on their hands or what? :)

BOSTON, Massachusetts (AP) -- Good news for your Viagra-using hamster: On his next trip to Europe, he'll bounce back from jet lag faster than his unmedicated friends.

An Ig Nobel award is presented at a ceremony at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on Thursday.

The researchers who revealed that bizarre fact earned one of 10 Ig Nobel prizes awarded Thursday night for quirky, funny and sometimes legitimate scientific achievements, from the mathematics of wrinkled sheets to U.S. military efforts to make a "gay bomb."

The recipients of the annual award handed out by the Annals of Improbable Research magazine were honored at Harvard University's Sanders Theater.

A team at Quilmes National University in Buenos Aires, Argentina, came up with the jet-lag study, which found that hamsters given the anti-impotence drug needed 50 percent less time to recover from a six-hour time zone change. They didn't fly rodents to Paris, incidentally -- they just turned the lights off and on at different times.

Odd as it might be, that research might have implications for millions of humans. The same cannot be said for another winning report, "Sword Swallowing and its Side Effects," published in the British Medical Journal last year.

JK Rowling says wizard Dumbledore is gay

JK Rowling says wizard Dumbledore is gay

NEW YORK (Reuters) - J.K. Rowling has outed one of the main characters
of her best-selling Harry Potter series, telling fans in New York that
the wizard Albus Dumbledore, head of Hogwarts school, is gay.

Speaking at Carnegie Hall on Friday night in her first U.S. tour in
seven years, Rowling confirmed what some fans had always suspected --
that she "always thought Dumbledore was gay," reported entertainment

Web site E! Online.

More...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071020/ts_nm/rowling_dc_1

Quote of the Day

I may have the body of a weak and feeble woman, but I have the heart and stomach of a king.

-Queen Elizabeth I

iPod Sets Man's Pants On Fire

ATLANTA -- The new iPod Nano is hot. But one Douglasville man said his old Nano got even hotter -- hot enough to burst into flames.

“So I look down and I see flames coming up to my chest,” said Danny Williams.

Williams said the burn hole from the pocket of his pants marks the spot of his 15 seconds of flame. He said he had an iPod Nano and an glossy piece of paper in his pocket. He believes the paper shielded him from being burned.

“I’m still kind of freaked out that after only a year and a half my iPod caught fire in my pocket,” said Williams.

The iPod uses a lithium ion battery -- the same type of battery under recall for setting laptops on fire.

Williams said the fact is iPod Nano burst into flames while he was at work was bad enough, where he works could have been another issue. He works at a kiosk in Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

“If TSA had come by and seen me smoking, they could have honestly thought I was a terrorist,” said Williams.

Williams said Apple wants him to send his iPod back and they’ve vowed to replace it. Williams’ mother called Channel 2 because she said this is more than one iPod. She said it’s about what could have happened.

“It could have happened when we were sleeping, it could have happened when he was driving and the outcome could have been much worse,” said Elaine Williams.

After Channel 2 sent Apple pictures of the iPod, they called back but they refused to say how common the problem is. In fact, Apple refused to talk about this particular incident at all.

Woman told to ditch bra to enter court

YIKES! Glad I don't live in Idaho :-)

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho -- Security guards refused to allow a woman into a federal courthouse until she removed a bra that triggered a metal detector.

Lori Plato said she and her husband, Owen Plato, were stunned when U.S. Marshals Service employees asked her to remove her bra after the underwire supports set off the alarm.

"I asked if I could go into the bathroom because they didn't have a privacy screen and no women security officers were available," Plato said Wednesday. "They said, 'No.'

"I wasn't carrying a shank in my bra. If it's so dangerous, why did they give it back and let me put it on?"

Patrick McDonald, the U.S. Marshal in Boise, said appropriate security protocols were followed in the Sept. 20 matter, and guards suggested she simply remove the bra in her car outside, or find a restaurant bathroom.

"She's inflating it," McDonald said. "All of a sudden she just took it off. It wasn't anything we wanted to happen and it wasn't anything we asked for her to do. She did it so fast."

Plato, of Bonners Ferry, said she was parked on a busy street and wasn't familiar with downtown Coeur d'Alene businesses. So her husband held up his coat to shield her from the rest of the people in the courthouse lobby while she removed her bra underneath her shirt.

Generally, McDonald said, undergarments aren't considered a danger to security.

"I don't think they're considered a weapon, really, the last time I looked," he said.

He declined to discuss other ways the federal courthouse guards could have screened Plato for weapons.

Plato wants the Marshals Service to apologize and stop forcing women to disrobe.

"It was very humiliating," her husband, Owen Plato, said. "They could have handled it with a much more professional attitude."

Lawmaker shows naked woman during school lecture

He's not bad looking either. :-)

From the Associated Press

NORWALK, Ohio (AP) -- A state legislator surprised a high school class when the computer he was using projected a photo of a nude woman during a lecture on how a bill becomes a law.

State Rep. Matthew Barrett was giving a civics lesson Tuesday when he inserted a data memory stick into the school computer and the projected image of a topless woman appeared instead of the graphics presentation he had downloaded.

Police interviewed Barrett and school officials and seized the data memory stick and the computer to determine where the image came from, a state highway patrol spokesman said.

Barrett said there were a few snickers from the approximately 20 students in the senior government class at Norwalk High School when the image appeared. He said he immediately pulled the memory stick out of the computer.

The legislator said he finished his lecture using printouts and then met with the school's principal and technology staff, who examined the stick. He said the school's technology director determined the stick had a directory of nude images in addition to Barrett's presentation on civics lessons.

"I have no idea where these came from," the Democrat said.

Barrett said the data memory stick was a gift he received about three weeks ago from a legislative liaison from the state Library of Ohio.

Burning chilli sparks terror feari in London

From BBC. :-)

Burning chilli sparks terror fear

A pot of burning chilli sparked fears of a biological terror attack in central London.

Firefighters wearing protective breathing apparatus were called to D'Arblay Street, Soho, after reports of noxious smoke filling the air.

Police closed off three roads and evacuated homes following the alert.

Specialist crews broke down the door to the Thai Cottage restaurant at 1900 BST on Monday where they discovered the source - a 9lb pot of chillies.

Nam Prik Pao recipe
Heat garlic and shallots in oil and remove to a bowl
Place red chillies in the pan with some oil and fry until they go dark in colour. Then set aside
Mix shrimp paste with the rest of the ingredients and pound in a mortar and pestle
Return the mixture to the heat until it becomes a thick dark coloured paste

The restaurant had been preparing Nam Prik Pao, a red-hot Thai dip which uses extra-hot chillies which are deliberately burnt.

But the smell prompted several members of the public to call the emergency services.

Alpazan Duven, a Turkish journalist based in the restaurant's building, said: "I was sitting in the office when me and my chief start coughing and I said this was something really dodgy.

"I looked out of the window and saw people rushing and then we heard the sirens."

Supranee Yodmuang, the restaurant supervisor, was above the restaurant when she received a phone call from her boss.

"It was about 4pm when I saw the police who were closing off the roads but I didn't know why.

"My boss rang me and said I had to get out of the building because of a chemical attack."

She added: "Because we're Thai, we're used to the smell of chillies."

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "The street was closed off for three hours while we were trying to discover the source of the odour."

Benazir's Convertible Hijab

She TOTALLY has a convertible hijab! Don't you think?

Luke MacGregor/Reuters

Pakistan Deal Is Stalled, Bhutto Says

By REUTERS 36 minutes ago

Former prime minister Benazir Bhutto today accused Pakistan’s president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, of failing to deliver on promises of a return to democracy.

Full article...

Ahmadinejad Gay Spoof on Saturday Night Live

Adam Levine - © ddp

2007-10-01 23:17:26 -

MAROON 5 star ADAM LEVINE and JAKE GYLLENHAAL have teamed up with U.S. comedian ANDY SAMBERG to poke fun at Iranian leader MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD in a hilarious new video.

Saturday Night Live regular Samberg, who recorded cult favourite Dick In A Box with Justin Timberlake, has penned a quirky love song to the Iranian President, called I Ran - and Levine has joined him for the chorus.

The pair premiered the quirky promo, which suggests Ahmadinejad is Samberg's gay lover, on SNL at the weekend (29Sep07).

The video also features Gyllenhaal - because Samberg declared the Brokeback Mountain star looks like the Iranian leader.

In the song, Samberg sings, "I know you say that there are no gays in Iran, but you're in New York now, baby!"

The video comes after President Ahmadinejad gave a controversial speech at Columbia University last week, in which he made the claim, "In Iran, we don't have homosexuals like in your country."

Saturday Night Live Parody - Ahmadinejad Love Song

A Good Laugh from Jay Leno, David Letterman and Conan O'Brien

AgWeb.com
10/2/2007 5:55:05 AM
A Good Laugh:

Jay Leno: “Oh, this Saturday in Washington, D.C., they will hold the seventh annual National Book Festival. First lady Laura Bush will deliver a speech about the joy of reading. And then President Bush will give the rebuttal.”

Jay Leno: “And, folks, it’s official. Congress now has the lowest approval rating of any Congress in the history of the United States -- 11%. In fact,” their “approval rating is so low, today they are invited to speak at Columbia University.”

Jay Leno: “And in Utah, polygamy sect leader Warren Jeffs has been convicted on two charges in” a “sex trial. … He’s going to prison, hopefully for the rest of his life. But the guy’s got 80 wives,” and “when Rudy Giuliani heard that he said, ‘Records are made to be broken.’”

David Letterman: “President Bush has a new plan to stop Iran’s nuclear program. … He’s going to have O.J. steal the plutonium.”

Conan O’Brien: “All the world leaders in town right now for the U.N. General Assembly. … Yesterday, President Bush met with President Valdis Zatlers of Latvia, and President Festus Gontebanye Mogae of Botswana and President Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania. Yeah, yeah. Or as Bush calls them, ‘Buddy, Slim and Big Guy.’”

Conan O’Brien: “Yesterday, controversial Iranian President Ahmadinejad insisted that Iran has freedom of the press. He says there are 30 newspapers published there that oppose his government. Yeah, so, if you are keeping track, that’s 30 opposition newspapers and zero gay people.”

Conan O’Brien: “Ahmadinejad invited several high-profile reporters over to his hotel for dinner” last night. Apparently, “it went well, because this morning, Barbara Walters was seen leaving in the same clothes.”

Conan O’Brien: “The organizers of Hillary Clinton’s campaign are sponsoring a contest where the winner gets to watch a Democratic debate while sitting next to Bill Clinton. … The rules specify no members of the press and no fat chicks.”

Beyonce dumps Malaysia show to avoid Muslim outcry

Beyonce dumps Malaysia show to avoid Muslim outcry
Tue Oct 2, 2007 1:13pm EDT

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - R&B star Beyonce Knowles has axed her debut concert in Malaysia in protest against the nation's ultra-strict dress code and over fears of a Muslim outcry over her show, an industry source said on Tuesday.

Her agent ICM cited a "scheduling conflict" as the reason, but the source said unofficially she was unhappy over a possible hostile reception in the mainly Muslim nation.

"They foresee that when she comes over to Kuala Lumpur, there will be protests against her," the source said. "They didn't want that to happen."

Although Malaysia is a moderate Muslim country with sizeable non-Muslim minorities, conservative groups often frown upon departures from strict Koranic injunctions.

The source also said Beyonce, known for her skimpy outfits, also balked at government rules banning sexy attire and running and jumping on stage.

"You mean when she comes to Malaysia she has to change all her stuff?" the source added.

"It's also beyond the dressing. She has to change the show. Basically, the ministry wants her to stand in front of the microphone and open her mouth. Just sing and cannot move."

Ironically, Beyonce will instead perform in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta on November 1. Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim country.

Last August, singer Gwen Stefani proceeded with her show in Malaysia despite calls from Muslim students who demanded that the event be cancelled as being too obscene.

But she wore no revealing costumes in line with the guidelines.