May 2004

The Archives

• homistan

  Gender Bender II

  05.27.04 | Permalink | Comment?

  A discussion arose out of my earlier post where I bemoaned the lack of equality between the sexes in Pakistan & Bangladesh. I was asked to justify that p.o.v on “religious” grounds. On the issue of gender in Islam, others have done a masterful job: Fatima Mernissi’s The Veil and The Male Elite, Leila [...]

• homistan

  Minority Wrongs

  05.27.04 | Permalink | 1 Comment

  Tough day today, I must say. You have Ashcroft’s Seven Deadly Agents roaming the streets of US, you have Abu Hamza in London looking like an evil Captain Hook. And then you have the case of Samuel Masih in Lahore. I found out about it from an editorial in the Daily Times:
  A Lahore Christian of [...]

• univerCity

  Burj Dubai

  05.26.04 | Permalink | 4 Comments

  The Chicago Tribune [r.r] today reported that a Chicago architectural firm, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill who also designed the Hancock Building and the Sears Tower, has designed a 2000 feet skyscraper in the UAE - to be build by the Saudi Binladen Group. It will be called Burj Dubai (Dubai Tower).The realty group, Emaar, has [...]

• imperial watch

  Gadhafi, Qaddafi, Khadafi

  05.26.04 | Permalink | 3 Comments

  Last night on DM (I have to quit watching Cable News), some shill was acting oh-so-bewildered that the President’s ratings were in freefall. Meantime, Dennis Miller’s face showed the dawning realization that he jumped on a sinking ship. So, anyways, the shill said that Iraq was a success and the proof was Libya. huh? [...]

• homistan

  Human Rights 2004

  05.25.04 | Permalink | Comment?

  Finally got around to reading the State Department’s annual Human Rights Report on Pakistan. Some highlights: [please check irony at the door - in fact, this report was delayed due to the Iraqi prison scandal]
  Government: The Government’s human rights record remained poor; although there were some improvements in a few areas, serious problems remained. On [...]

• imperial watch

  Chalabi Hits The Fan

  05.24.04 | Permalink | 2 Comments

  I am in the midst of reading a book that is blowing my mind away [review later]. As a historian, I am trained to eschew the individual-centered approach to history - to focus, instead, on processes and ideas. However, the book and the scandal swiveling around Ahmad Chalabi are a keen reminder of the [...]