Earthquake Relief Day

I believe I was supposed to have posted this up yesterday, but I guess better late than never. Just a heads up for donors out there and in recognition of the Earthquake that hit South Asia...

As bloggers everywhere observe "Earthquake Relief Day," there has been
an outpouring of calls for support to donate to various charities. But there
have been few efforts to critically evaluate the charities (and in some cases
individuals) that are soliciting for funds.

One glaring example is SEWA International, a charity with
documented links to the extremist RSS and VHP in India. In a report
prepared by a group of US professors and researchers, the authors of Stop
Funding Hate noted:

At the very outset, Sewa International is a Sangh organization. Its
historical connection to the Sangh is visible from the fact that in older Sangh
literature, the address of Sewa International is the same as that of the RSS
headquarters in Delhi.[99] Further, this fact is established time and again
in much Sangh literature that describes the Sangh's Sewa karya (Service work).
In its mission statement Sewa International characterizes itself as "an umbrella
for more than 2000 projects and programs all over India" overseeing "more than
50000 Swayamsevaks (volunteers) involved in running 76 types of
activities.[100] Similarly, Sewa Disha, the Sangh's Sewa Vibhag report
introduces Sewa International as follows:

Yet another development is the establishment of an international
organization titled 'SEWA INTERNATIONAL' which now has branches in many
countries. Sewa International will look after the interests of seva [service]
related issues not only in the respective countries where they have chapters but
also take up 'GLOBAL' level care of sewa [service] work carried out under the
Sangh ideology. [101]

So also, the RSS website documents its links with its operations
abroad, "in over 100 countries":
where volunteers are busy organizing Hindus
under different organizations. Hindu Council, Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh, Sewa
International, Friends of India Society International, etc. are some of
them.[102]

What is discomforting is that many donors are contributing to groups
like SEWA International without knowing about its links. For this reason, donors
are encouraged to do their due diligence before contributing.

Kabul in pics

My brother just recently got back from Kabul, Afghanistan. Needless to say, he came back with tons of pics, so I'll be posting some of them I thought were really interesting! This one, I think, is obvious...the Afghan flag (bayraqe Afghanistan) freely swaying over the city.

Hurricane Wilma...just waiting

A Neglected Catastrophe

Fundraising to help victims of south Asia's massive earthquake doesn't compare to the amounts raised for other recent disasters.

The earthquake flattened Shabnam Khan's childhood village and killed a dozen relatives.
Her sister's mother-in-law died in her bed when the Oct. 8 earthquake struck Pakistan and India. Her husband, who was out of bed because he couldn't sleep, lived...

http://cairfl.org/ViewArticle.asp?Code=CM&ArticleID=502

Beauty Series on NPR

Must listen!!! (after all, it is NPR!) Susan Stamberg does an amazing job in this bit about how beauty is emphasized in this society and how that affects us all on different levels.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1958117

Bill Maher's closing bit the other night

Hilarious! Wonderful bit by Maher!!

"Mr. President, this job can't be fun for you any more. There's no more money to spend -- you used up all of that. You can't start another war because you used up the army. And now, darn the luck, the rest of your term in office has become the Bush family nightmare: helping poor people.

Listen to your Mom. The cupboard's bare, the credit cards are maxed out. No one's speaking to you. Mission accomplished. "Now it's time to do what you've always done best: lose interest and walk away. Like you did with your military service and the oil company and the baseball team. It's time.

Time to move on and try the next fantasy job. How about cowboy or space man? Now I know what you're saying: there's so many other things that you as President could involve yourself in. Please don't. I know, I know. There's a lot left to do. There's a war with Venezuela. Eliminating the sales tax on yachts. Turning the space program over to the church. And Social Security to Fannie Mae. Giving embryos the vote.

"But, Sir, none of that is going to happen now. Why? Because you govern like Billy Joel drives. You've performed so poorly I'm surprised that you haven't given yourself a medal. You're a catastrophe that walks like a man. Herbert Hoover was a shitty president, but even he never conceded an entire city to rising water and snakes."

On your watch, we've lost almost all of our allies, the surplus, our airliners, two trade centers, a piece of the Pentagon and the City of New Orleans.. Maybe you're just not lucky. I'm not saying you don't love this country. I'm just wondering how much worse it could be if you were on the other side.

"So, yes, God does speak to you. What he is saying is: 'Take a hint.' "

Being Female in the 21st Century

Ok, so I'm taking this equity course as an exit this semester and fortunately most of our discussions are online, which means I get to write some thoughtful pieces! We've been disucssing what it is to be female for the past couple of weeks. The following is a post I recently made in regards to the topic at hand and thought I might share. Please, feel free to comment!


Being a female in today’s society has become quite different, in my opinion, than ever before. Nonetheless, although the concept of being female has evolved much in the world, many things haven’t changed since the years of the women’s suffrage movement. Just decades ago, women in the United States were still seen as second class citizens and thereby had essentially no rights. In fact, the right to vote wasn’t fully granted until 1920.

I consider myself quite lucky to have been raised in such times as these because I feel I have had a great advantage over many of my predecessors. I have always grown up learning that women were equal to their male counterparts, not the same, but equal! I was taught through teachers, family, and religious leaders alike that a woman has God given rights that every human being is born with. Such rights can not be taken away by anyone. Moreover, a woman has just as much potential as any man. Nonetheless, because of the fact that men and women are not the same, each has an individual responsibility that the other may not be able to fulfill. For example, women are biologically different than men and therefore can give birth, whereas men do not have this capability.

As far as the educational and workplace settings, growing up, I was taught that there was no difference in the intelligence levels of males and females. Although, this is something that has been debated by scientists and philosophers and even laymen in the mainstream media for years. Further, I learned that both have the equal potential to become successful individuals in the school and workplace alike.

Although, many times, your upbringing is not reflected in the society you live in. The media has had a large say in what "being female" is all about. Sadly, often, I feel the media has done a great injustice in portraying women as mere sex objects and nothing more. We may have advanced as a society from the typical house maker role, but how advanced have we become when we have allowed man to impose that we strive to become the next "top model"? How advanced have we become when we have allowed man to decide which female candidate is the better looking to decide who gets the promotion? How advanced have we become when we have allowed man to dictate, once again, who we are! I can’t help but wonder, is this really an advancement?

Building The Self

Building The Self
Advice from Ayatollah Khomaini on “Character Building for Muslim Brothers and Sisters”

1. Offer the five daily prayers on time.
2. Observe fast on Mondays and Thursdays as much as possible.
3. Reduce the period of sleep and busy yourself in the recitation of more Holy Qor’an.
4. Attach importance to your promises and agreements.
5. Help the needy.
6. Keep away from places where your character may be suspected.
7. Avoid pompous and sumptuous gatherings and do not arrange the same.
8. Put on simple dress.
9. Do not indulge in talkativeness.
10. Put in regular physical exercise.
11. Study More.
12. Help the people in learning craft.
13. Learn the Arabic language and be alert in every field.
14. You should not remember the good you have done and do not forget your past mistakes.
15. Consider the poor materialistically but think of the pious and the saintly spiritually.
16. Keep yourself informed about the Moslems.

Straight from Kabul

I recieved this short email from a good friend who's based in Kabul (a journalist) at the moment. She shares her experience on the day of the earthquake and election results. I thought it would be nice to post something more personal for once. Enjoy!

Hello all,

The other day as I was driving through the city, I looked at the many many new buildings with their green glass facades and wondered how they would fare in an earthquake. Given that the epicenter was somewhat far from Kabul, that thought remains just a thought thankfully.

So I just wanted to drop a quick note that all is well here. I was in the Internews offices this morning, standing on two inch heels and didn't feel a thing, but like everyone else, I ran outside when I saw the furniture shaking. Even though I'm a California girl, 7.8 is a little too much excitement even for me.

An 11-year old kid in Nangrahar province died, but I think we were fortunate compared to the folks in Pakistan. It could've been a lot worse.

In other news, the top five or six Parliamentary candidates from Kabul who are set to win are all opponents of Karzai, and certaintly Ramazan Bashardost - who came in third - has been an outspoken critic of the international community and distribution of American aid in Afghanistan. The candidate I did a story on for Youth Radio, Sabrina Saqib, came in sixth among the female campaigners.

Here's a link to a short write up I did right after the election, based in part on my Jschool thesis. I will try to write a post election analysis for Al Ahram.

http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/blog/2005/10/afghanistan_ele.html

The weather's been perfect in Kabul. Few dust storms, not too hot and not too cold. It's a lovely time to take long walks in the evening.

I should mention, I'm working at Internews probably through December at which time I'll be looking for a new job based in Kabul. Currently, I'm overseeing a Pashto-Dari language magazine that's connected to the national radio program that we produce here. Our first issue will come out beginning the new Afghan month, Aqrab - sometime around end of October.

Drop me a note when you have time.

From Kabul city,
Roya

Afghanistan recognizing Israel

What a disgrace! I, for one, am ashamed. Kaka Karzai and his admin have gone too far this time around.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2005\10\15\story_15-10-2005_pg1_4

Afghanistan recognising Israel

Daily Times Monitor

LAHORE: Afghanistan has decided to recognise the State of Israel, ARY news channel reported on Friday. The channel, while quoting the Afghan government’s diplomatic sources, said that the Karzai administration has finally decided to recognise Israel. The government’s vital decision will pave the way for other Muslim countries such as Pakistan to follow suit, the channel added. The official announcement of the recognition will be made in the next few days, the channel said.