Inversion of Control

Dubai Playing its Hand Well, so Far

2010-03-01T03:44:00.000-05:00

Something tells me that the story of the Mabhouh murder in Dubai has more legs than it has already run on, and it appears to be the apex of a trend of continuing stories coming out of Dubai and UK papers over the last year or so.

Yesterday, a minor leak in a Dubai shopping mall aquarium was picked up by a major UK paper and put it as the latest in a litany of Dubai 'misfortunes' that were recited: a bad real-estate sector, a lift problem in the Burj Khalifa (tallest building in the world), the Mabhouh murder and now the aquarium leak that closed down a section of the mall for a few hours. If you follow the story between the lines, you may think that Dubai may turn out to be more 'unstable and unsafe' than Afghanistan in a couple of weeks or so!

Well, on a scale of disasters, the simultaneous weekend closure of the Jubilee and District and Hammersmith lines was more disruption to many more people (yours truly included) than any of the aforementioned incidents in Dubai. At least, Dubai reportedly completed its metro train project ahead of schedule (something that works like the DLR but more extensive), something Tubelines can learn from.

OK, back to the Dubai thing. Dubai knows it has someone on its back -- something has turned against it. The scathing criticism in the Western media, though with cause, was much resented there. So, now Dubai is playing its cards as it knows that this might it has to counter-attack. This little PR skirmish has much greater repercussions with the whole US-Iran-Israel game in the Middle East. More on this in a later.post.

Insightful Debate at Newsweek

2010-02-22T17:53:00.000-05:00

With Joe Stack flying a plane into a building in Austin, Newsweek did some soul-searching over using the word 'terrorist', and provided insight into their internal e-mail debate. Admittedly, the language has changed since 9/11.

Michael Isikoff: . . .And as for your point— haven't domestic groups declared war on the government and demonstrated a willingness to inflict mass casualties— well — I'm sure some domestic wackos have said wacko things, but I cant off the top o f my head think of a serious domestic group that has openly declared "war" on the United States or one currently in existence that has a documented history of inflicting mass casualties on civilians or announced its intention to do so in the future — all of which applies to Al Qaeda.

Mark HosenballThanks to Drudge — no Osama either, though perhaps a political party of one — we now know that the Austin plane crash guy had a famous admirer. This doesn't make Wesley Snipes a terrorist or even a sympathizer. but it does make you wonder how much difference there is between some of the American cultural icons (like Snipes and maybe Glenn Beck but not Drudge or Palin) who enable or validate some views on the lunatic fringe and the rabid Wahhabi clerics in the Muslim world who aren't terrorists, but foster a culture in which they breed.

Michael Hirsh, Senior Editor, Washington Web Editor: Isikoff pretty much has it right. Al Qaeda and Islamist extremism co-opted the term "terrorist" after 9/11. No one had any problem calling Timothy McVeigh a domestic terrorist before 9/11.

And Stack is pretty isolated. There was the same fear after OK City. But it turns out there aren't as many copycat killings of this nature as there are, say, school shootings.

Democracy and Big Business

2010-02-06T03:34:00.000-05:00

Banking CEOs find the time to 'coach' kids out of college who are going to write the legislation to reign in the financial industry:

Kicking off a two-day event designed to "help" legislative aides who will be writing the rules designed to rein in and reform Wall Street, the CEOs made it clear that they would be there "anytime" a young, confused congressional aide needed help understanding a complex topic.

"Call us, say we met in Washington," said Richard Davis, chairman, president and CEO of U.S. Bancorp. "We'd love to help."

In case we forget, greedy credit-rating agencies were at the epicentre of the financial collapse. Here is the US government fighting with consumer credit-rating agencies with ads mocking them after they could not do anything:

. . . Possin is the lead plaintiff in a class action lawsuit against Experian that seeks to "stop the fraud and seek compensation for the tens of thousands of consumers deceived by Experian's FreeCreditReport.com to the tune of millions of fraudulently obtained profits."

The complaint notes that the Federal Trade Commission has repeatedly won settlements from Experian for its advertising, to no avail. "The fact that the government got involved a few years ago shows that this is consumer fraud," said Balestriere. (The FTC ultimately started trying to fight back with parodies of the ads.)

Reason over Emotion

2010-01-27T05:44:00.000-05:00

A friend and I engaged in a debate about the Indian Famines during the British Raj. Here is the book under discussion and its review: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2001/feb/11/historybooks.martinbright

And here is my take on the issue:

Colonialism was ugly and repressive and exploitative. However, I blame misguided economic policy and changing agricultural and transport means as upsetting the delicate balance of food grain cultivation and its logistics.

Very recently, there was an artificial worldwide food shortage due to market speculation. There were hunger riots all over the world. With concerted efforts, logistics and communications, democratic governments made it a number-one priority as there is nothing that can topple an elected government quicker than hunger. Amartya Sen has also followed up on this link between famine and democracy.

Let us go back to the end of the 19th century. Instant communications and mass transportation are not new inventions, they've just become affordable for the masses. The revolutions of the airplane, TV and Internet are nothing compared to the revolutions of the train and the telegraph. When food prices were quoted over the wire, and local greedy merchants could ship grain out of the local area for gain rather than sell it to a population that could not afford to buy it, bad things happened. These bad things happened all over the world, and with the best of intentions. And the bad trade and economics of nascent globalization was compounded by drought. Were the British rulers and their local masters dictatorial? Of course? Were they carries away by their whims and subjected the population to experimentation of new-fangled theories? Which dictator does not?

The famines during the British Raj were the price of globalization and modernity. Could a democratic government have done a better job - maybe yes. Which government was to blame for them - the government in power - the British colonialists of course.

There was no way that a country as large as 19th-century Inida, over-populated and accustomed to subsistence agriculture could respond to the challenges of globalization in the late 19th century with no repercussions. When China tinkered with its peasants and agriculture, the Great China Famine played out in very similar fashion during the late 50s and early 60s. Was Mao dictatorial and a follower of his whims and fancies? Yes. Was he a genocidal maniac intent on killing and exterminating his own people? Of course not. And by that token, neither were the British colonialists. Just the number of commissions and relief efforts that they mobilised would make them not guilty.

My loathing of the British colonialists makes it strange for me to defend them from unsubstantiated charges. However, the British were probably the best among the colonialists, barring Arab colonialists of the Middle Ages who integrated with the local populations. At its root was the local dictatorship born of colonialism and the late 19th century fascination with manipulating populations through the emerging social sciences. Marxism is an invention of the same period, and since Ricardo, laissez-faire economics and non-protectionism was all the rage. Not to forget that 'survival of the fittest' was being taken too literally by many, especially Lytton, the viceroy at the time.

In conclusion, the famine disasters were man-made but not with evil intention. Rather, questionable theories, misguided policies and dictatorial egomania came together to amplify natural cycles. The outcome is tear-wrenching and tragic, which Davis captures quite eloquently. The sight of my ancestors emaciated and dying makes me very emotional, but again, my reason should guide emotion and not the other way around. If not, would I be any better than Lytton or Mao?

Three un-Connected Thoughts

2009-11-29T20:58:00.001-05:00

Some thoughts cross the mind during the daily commute, and it seems that fellow passengers do get a bit uneasy by my blank stares, often at someone's shoe, or at the door, or even at the ceiling. I have a hunch that these disjointed thought are somehow connected, but I just can't figure out how:

1. Language and Culture: Research in the social sciences and resulting policies are usually not of much use unless the language that is the medium of the research, policy, or report, is the language of that culture. This is probably why scientific research into social issues, and the Western-language policies derived therefrom, do not usually carry much heft with non-Western implementors and implementees of said policies.

2. There should be some causation between economic and moral stress, and reinforcing each other, they can spiral out of control. Usually, as the economic stress on an individual increases, his moral choices become more problematic. The cumulative effect of moral stress results in a proportional decrease in the optimal efficiency of the economy, resulting in even more economic stress. So, how does the cycle go the right way: when kings guarantee justice and economic security, while teachers (priests, shamans) preach economic morality -- a morality of managing and sharing resources that enables the king's just laws to take hold in society. (I refer to kings, teachers and merchants quite often as the shapers of societies and nations). With the current ongoing economic crisis, which governments are encouraging the virtuous (!) cycle of economic security and economic morality? They will definitely come out better.

3. Periodic dilution of economic values and ethics: If the observable trend is a swift boost, and then a long slow decline: the swift boost is usually by an individual or a non-establishment movement or revolution - while the long slow decline is carried out by the establishment and the merchants. It is like slow leak in a water tank: values and ethics are the potential energy of a society, that causes things to flow and risks to be taken. When the pressure is bled off and trust decreases, flows of human creativity also decrease. Corollary: an established political party can never bring about positive change, unless the party is used as a vehicle by a revolutionary person or group. Hmmm . . . not even likely . . . not only are political parties entrenched institutions, they are also more opaque and un-democratic than and elected government. So, no change.

8 years of war, isn't it time to move on?

2009-10-09T18:50:00.000-04:00

There is a lot of response, some of it negative, on my article about the Afghanistan war, most of the serious criticism was around my use of the word 'fluke'.

In summary: We have over 8 years of hindsight on 9/11 to gain some kind of preliminary historic perspective on that tragic event. Was 9/11 a war declared on the way of life of the West lives, and started by a highly organized Islamist organization with sleeper cells everywhere, and supported by Saddam Hussein's Iraq?

Or, was it a crazy plot of fanatics that slipped through lax security, lazy intelligence follow-up, and a couple of poorly designed buildings that exponentially increased the material damage and loss of human life? What do the past 8 years tell us: countries are united with the U.S. against terrorism, prosecutions for terrorism are at pre-9/11 levels.

On the other hand, a great many people who were arrested have been released, and al-Qaeda has been determined to be more of an ideology than an international organization. Iraq was a dud, Guantanamo a sick farce. Since 9/11, if we consider the whole world, the ratio of successful anti-terrorist actions to false and unsuccessful attempts is about 1:1000. With international co-operation, some states think they have been given a license for extrajudicial violence - China, Russia, Israel, Pakistan, Saudi, etc. And some think that it is time to unleash the worst kind of hatred and misery on Muslims, Christians and other minorities - prime among them Israel and India.

So, my take was: Pursuing Quixotic wars against phantom enemies, and by bombing civilians will never get us anywhere and will fan flames of extremism and terrorism everywhere. 9/11 was, most likely, a one-off event whose terrorist success was far worse than its planners' best hopes, and it was one of history's tragic events, and a turning point. We are much more cautious now and a couple of sinister plots have indeed been nipped in the bud. But after 8 years and about a million killed or wounded, isn't it time to move on? And make the world a safer place using tried, tested and rational means? Intelligence, prosecutions and policy?

Otherwise, there is no end, for 'victory' is undefinable, and even if it is, it will be increasingly out of reach.

That was the thrust of my article, and that has been the verdict of the Nobel Committee today by giving Barack Hussein Obama the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009. Basically, the message was: Mr. Obama, you said a lot of nice things, now is the time to really act on them, and move on.

Obama, and the Beginning of the End of Racism

2009-09-12T19:02:00.006-04:00

The article version of this post was published by Chowk.

Almost a year after Obama's historic election, the strange wave of euphoria that swept around the world is finally morphing into some long-awaited rational discourse. What was it at the time? What was it that appealed to people's emotions but words could not describe it at the time.

I have been hesitating to write about this as the man stands for a lot more than just his bi-racial ancestry. It felt as if talking about his race was somehow distracting from his 21st-century global persona. However, the 'birther' movement, the tea parties, and the silly signs and antics of demonstrators in the United States have started to form a pattern -- a pattern that finally hit home for a lot of us at the same time, including Maureen Dowd of the NY Times (Boy, Oh, Boy).

Rich Benjamin is dividing this into 'interpersonal racism and structural racism.' While the former is going down, the latter is still there. He also finds class differences to be a major part of the problem also. Poor whites in America are suffering, and it is their plight that Obama was somewhat successful in channelling as part of his victorious coalition.

The implications for the U.S., and for many other countries: With Obama breaking the highest glass ceiling there is, the poor non-white class has finally broken out of the spotlight on its plight and the general put-down perceptions created by structural racism. The laws enacted against racism have finally put a multi-racial person in the highest possible office, but at the same time, the structural racism that developed over time to prolong the status quo is now working against the poor white class itself. In other words, the thinly-veiled non-egalitarianism that took root with Thatcherism and Reaganism, together with the glorification of privatization and greed around the world have resulted in less social mobility and reduced safety nets. There has been a slight decline in social mobility since 1970 levels, and social scientists have studies showing that people are driven to paying less taxes and being less charitable when they perceive that their money will be spent on 'others'. For example, the cost of higher education has gone up for everyone, but non-whites have more opportunities as less racism have opened up opportunities for them, while whites have seen a reduction of opportunities as funds have dried up and the profit motive has invaded all spheres of life.

This economic shift has now created a predicament for a new poor white class. Now, the spotlight is on them, and the next 10 years will decide which message gets picked up by them: The two messages vying for the support of the poor white class are:

1. The non-whites, through sheer numbers, are going to take over and change our way of life. Meanwhile they are the burden on the government that does not let you benefit from its largesse, and you remain poor and without opportunities.

2. We are all very similar in our strengths, weaknesses, and problems. The solution to our problems is to pull together and provide a level playing ground for the weakest of us, so that economic security and social mobility returns.

When you see him comfortable in his skin, you can see a truly post-racial leader, who appeases no special ethnic group. When he told bankers that they were talking to a person who had recently relied on credit cards to get through life, and when he says that no sick person should have to worry on their death-bed like his mother had to, he really means it.

Which message gets picked up by the majority poor white class will determine the national and international peace for the rest of this century.

UAE Prosecution Commendable

2009-05-24T04:26:00.003-04:00

Corrupt countries do not admit they are corrupt, and the concept of corruption is a bit relative among various world cultures. So, I often thought, do we weed out the not-improving corrupt from the incorrigibly corrupt. One day, while reading about the prosecution of Chinese officials, it hit me -- at some point they do prosecute the rich and the powerful. Singaporeans do it, and Indians have started to do it. In Pakistan they do it, but usually for political purposes, and never heard of it in Iran or in Egypt (until recently).

The UAE government, by putting Sheikh Issa under house arrest, is off to a good start. Now, he needs to be put on public trial. I know this is going to be very difficult, as it will be the first step towards more public participation in the government. One thing for the UAE government to remember is that even among absolutist monarchies of the past, the just ruler would make an example of someone from his family or other high official who had really crossed the line.

This is exactly such a case and such an opportunity. Another opportunity would be to find the hapless tortured Afghan and portray the justice done to an equal human.

This is not only good to keep the other rich and powerful in line, it shows the confidence of the ruler, and it should be done swiftly and cleanly, especially because a case with video evidence has taken more than fiver years.

Why Credit Card 'Markets' do not Work

2009-04-24T11:57:00.002-04:00

The once almost-holy status of 'free markets' is finally coming down to reality. Many so-called markets are hobbled by asymmetrical information, derivative product markets, barriers to entry.

In the credit card market, the market is fragmented due to unusual and inconsequential product differentiation. Plans, cashbacks, points schemes, etc., may sound competitive, but on the other hand, the irrational increases in interest rate, 'late-fee traps' (in the words of President Obama) and other such gimmicks are irresistible and have sprung up across the board.

The vast majority of credit card holders are not the targets of these shady practices: these vulture-like practices prey on the weak and at the margin and are wholly disproportionate to the alleged risk, or actual harm, to the creditor. They are akin to a separate business model within the larger credit card market.

And this market-within-a-market is not competitive - it appears to be based on an oligopolic co-ordination. If it were truly competitive, we would be seeing ads like 'only $1 late fee in the first week', 'no penalties for being late once in a while', 'no interest rate hikes', 'no fine print'.

But we don't see that, do we? It may not be an intentional oligopoly - rather, an oligopolic lack of competition through unreasonable diversification of products and creation of a sub-market that no-one wants to change as draining those marginal customers is better than fighting over their business.

Gaza 2009 - end of neo-conservatism?

2009-02-19T14:26:00.004-05:00

(Juan Cole - Salon):

The Gaza War of 2009 is a final and eloquent testimony to the complete failure of the neoconservative movement in United States foreign policy. For over a decade, the leading figures in this school of thought saw the violent overthrow of Saddam Hussein and the institution of a parliamentary regime in Iraq as the magic solution to all the problems in the Middle East. . . . After eight years in which they strode the globe like colossi, they have left behind a devastated moonscape reminiscent of some post-apocalyptic B movie. As their chief enabler prepares to exit the White House, the only nation they have strengthened is Iran; the only alliance they have deepened is that between Iran and two militant Islamist entities to Israel's north and south, Hezbollah and Hamas.

Very profound analysis, and a tribute to the indomitable human spirit, and the inevitability of reason over unreasonable force. The Palestine/Israel problem is now one of pure demographics and it will gravitate towards this arena as time goes on.

After the rout of neocons from the U.S. administration, Gaza 2009 was their last gasp, and in today's interconnected world, the outcome could have been no different.

US Stimulus Bill - a clear shift

2009-02-17T16:35:00.003-05:00

The 787-billion economic stimulus bill has to be praised for its audacity, and the confidence that it will work. In any case, it will be a test case of Keynesian economics for some time to come.

At the policy level, there are two clear and welcome shifts:

The government will run the economy. Not to dis anyone, but Wall Street simply does not have the broad interest base and intellectual depth to run the economy.
The long-term standard of living of the US citizen is tied to his/her output and efficiency, and the US will embrace emerging technologies and industries, where the US worker can add the most value -- even at the expense of existing industries. The US auto industry of today is the steel industry of a few decades ago: if it goes, so be it.

The sheer boldness and policy shift of this bill ensures its success at some level, if not all.

The Day I Met Senator McCain

2008-10-10T17:03:00.004-04:00

Two things I still remember: his very tight shirt collar, and the strange look as I extended my hand.

In late 2000, I met U.S. Senator John McCain at Newark Airport, New Jersey. It was a Friday afternoon and I was on my way back to Toronto. He was standing beyond the security barriers, talking to two Port Authority policemen (or security workers, don't remember) who had followed him from the security screening area. Visiting the U.S. often, I had been following the U.S presidential election cycle and McCain's campaign travails were still fresh in the mind.

I extended my hand, 'How are you Senator? Nice to meet you.' He looked at my hand, obliged it with a brief shake, mumbled something in return, and then went back to the conversation he was having. I remember thinking, 'not your typical outgoing politician, but why did he look at my hand first. Was probably just being careful I guess. Or maybe, I should have just waved at him and not attempting to shake his hand.'

What do I think of that episode today? From how he has conducted his 2008 campaign, it finally makes sense.

Update on 'The Israel Lobby'

2007-10-13T08:42:00.003-04:00

(from The New York Times, September 30, 2007)

Freedoms Watch, a deep-pocketed conservative group led by two former senior White House officials, made an audacious debut in late August when it began a $15 million advertising campaign designed to maintain Congressional support for President Bushs troop increase in Iraq.

Bradley Blakeman, the president of Freedoms Watch, who left the Bush administration as an assistant deputy to the president.

Founded this summer by a dozen wealthy conservatives, the nonprofit group is set apart from most advocacy groups by the immense wealth of its core group of benefactors, its intention to far outspend its rivals and its ambition to pursue a wide-ranging agenda.

Its next target: Iran policy.

Next month, Freedoms Watch will sponsor a private forum of 20 experts on radical Islam that is expected to make the case that Iran poses a direct threat to the security of the United States, according to several benefactors of the group.

Although the group declined to identify the experts, several were invited from the American Enterprise Institute, a Washington research group with close ties to the White House.

. . . Freedoms Watch has quickly emerged from the crowded field of nonprofit advocacy groups as a conservative answer to the 9-year-old liberal MoveOn.org, which vehemently opposes the Iraq war.

=======================================
September 25, 2007
I.N.N. World Report

Exclusive TV interview with Stephen Walt and John Mearsheimer
Authors of "The Israel Lobby & U.S. Foreign Policy"
by Claire Brown

In an exclusive, and sometimes controversial, interview with I.N.N. World Report, Professor Stephen Walt of Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government, and Professor John Mearsheimer of the University of Chicago, discuss their groundbreaking book, "The Israel Lobby & U.S. Foreign Policy."

After being asked about which 2008 Presidential candidate would stand up to the Israel Lobby, Stephen Walt responded, "It's obvious already that all of the major candidates have gone through enormous lengths to demonstrate their personal devotion to Israel, and that they will do nothing to change the U.S. - Israel relationship."

VIEW at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIPv298fdRY

Convicting Padilla: Bad News for All Americans

2007-09-03T02:44:00.003-04:00

Jose Padilla . . . believed he could separate plutonium from nuclear material by rapidly swinging over his head a bucket filled with fissionable material.--
(David Johnston, "At a Secret Interrogation, Dispute Flared Over Tactics," New York Times, September 10, 2006)

With habeas corpus a thing of the past, with arrest and detention without charge permitted, with torture and spying without court oversight all the rage, with prosecutors free to tape conversations between lawyers and their clients, and with the judicial branch now infested by rightwing judges who would have been at home in courtrooms of the Soviet Union or Hitler's Germany, for all they seem to care about common law tradition, the only real thing holding the line against absolute tyranny in the U.S. has been the jury.

Now, with Jose Padilla--a US citizen who was originally picked up and held incommunicado on a military base for three and a half years, publicly accused (though never charged) with planning to construct and detonate a so-called "dirty" nuclear device (this a guy without a high school education!), all based upon hearsay, evidence elicited by torture, and a few overheard wiretapped conversations where prosecutors claimed words like "zucchini" were code for explosive devices-convicted on a charge of "planning to murder," we see that juries in this era of a bogus "war on terror" are ready to believe anything.

That last line of defense-the common sense or ordinary citizens in a jury box-is gone too.

The jury in this case apparently accepted the government's contention that Padilla was a member of Al Qaeda, and had returned from a trip to Pakistan full of plans to wreak mayhem on his own country. They cared not a whit for the fact that the government had used methods against Padilla (three years of isolation and total sensory deprivation that had driven him insane) which would have made medieval torturers green with envy. They cared not a whit that there was no real evidence against Padilla.

This was, in the end, a case that most closely resembled the famous Saturday Night Live skit in which witches were dunked underwater to "prove" whether they were in fact witches, and where if they drowned, they were found to be innocent. In the end, Padilla's jury simply bought the government's wild and wild-eyed story. They decided he hadn't drowned, so he must be guilty.

(Dave Lindorff) [Lindorff's newest book is "The Case for Impeachment", co-authored by Barbara Olshansky.]

Learn from the fall of Rome, US warned

2007-08-16T07:17:00.003-04:00

August 14, 2007, The Financial Times

The US government is on a burning platform of unsustainable policies and practices with fiscal deficits, chronic healthcare underfunding, immigration and overseas military commitments threatening a crisis if action is not taken soon, the countrys top government inspector has warned.

David Walker, comptroller general of the US, issued the unusually downbeat assessment of his countrys future in a report that lays out what he called chilling long-term simulations.

Terrorized by 'War on Terror'

2007-04-14T07:33:00.003-04:00

March 25, 2007, The Washington Post

How a three-word mantra has undermined America
by Zbigniew Brzezinski

The "war on terror" has created a culture of fear in America. The Bush administration's elevation of these three words into a national mantra since the horrific events of 9/11 has had a pernicious impact on American democracy, on America's psyche and on U.S. standing in the world. Using this phrase has actually undermined our ability to effectively confront the real challenges we face from fanatics who may use terrorism against us.

[Zbigniew Brzezinski, national security adviser to President Jimmy Carter, is the author most recently of "Second Chance: Three Presidents and the Crisis of American Superpower" (Basic Books).]

Res Gestae

2007-03-24T04:50:00.002-04:00

(by Dr. Mohamed Elmasry)

. . . .

People will readily go to war once they have been impregnated with a sufficient intensity of hate, mixed with the essential ingredient of fear. They will eagerly follow any leader who promises (however spuriously) to protect them from what they are told to hate and/or fear. The masses can be programmed to hate, and these masterminds know it well.

. . .

Although history generally records aggression as being committed by governments, the core fact is that it originates in the minds of a few ruthless leaders.

And while a given war is launched and won (or lost) as the project of a king or a ruler, it is the ordinary people on both sides who carry the multiple burdens of conflict, death, injury, fear, deprivation, and sorrow.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert admitted recently that his government planned last summer's war against Lebanon for months in advance -- a war that severely damaged Lebanon's infrastructure for years to come. Israeli defense officials even gave the U.S. Pentagon a detailed presentation of their planned aggression well before the event.

Here is what retired U.S. general Wesley Clark said recently in an interview:

"About ten days after 9/11, I went through the Pentagon and I saw Secretary Rumsfeld and Deputy Secretary Wolfowitz ... [O]ne of the generals called me [and said], 'We've made the decision we're going to war with Iraq.' ... And he said, 'I guess if the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem has to look like a nail.'... So I came back to see him a few weeks later, and by that time we were bombing in Afghanistan. I said, 'Are we still going to war with Iraq?' And he said, 'Oh, it's worse than that.' He reached over on his desk. He picked up a piece of paper. And he said, 'I just got this down from upstairs' -- meaning the Secretary of Defense's office -- 'today.' And he said, 'This is a memo that describes how we're going to take out seven
countries in five years, starting with Iraq, and then Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and, finishing off, Iran'."

Shocking? Today, United Nations diplomats will readily say that most U.S. intelligence information shared with the UN's nuclear watchdog agency has proved inaccurate and none of it has led to significant discoveries inside Iran.

But this does not matter to George Bush as he doggedly pursues his dangerous and aggressive ideology, which can be summed up in simplistic Bush-ian terms as: "I Am Right. You Are Wrong. You Are Dead."

Over the long continuum of "res gestae" in human history one can identify the occasional "just war" of aggression; but aggression itself, for its own sake, has never been just or justifiable. No massive action intended to cause death, destruction and misery can truthfully be called a response of self-defense.

Today's aggressive military adventurers, like the gold-greedy pirates of land and sea before them, tend to live their lives with swords always drawn, ready to kill and plunder their next victims. They have no capacity or time, it seems, to consider justice, reverence or compassion for the souls of their fellow human beings.

Understanding ethics is not as complicated as some make it out to be. Only those who are thoroughly wicked at heart could deny that freedom and peace per se are good things. The greater evil in our world comes from those who want freedom and peace only for themselves, but not for others. Thus to study history without considering its ethical implications is like studying law without understanding the deep meanings of right and wrong.

An ancient proverb states that even the strongest person cannot live in peace if his or her neighbours do not feel they are treated justly.

(Dr. Mohamed Elmasry is national president of the Canadian Islamic
Congress. )

Carter Enters Lion's Den of Controversy with Latest Book

2007-02-13T05:52:00.002-05:00

[By Paul Findley -- Chicago Tribune -- Feb. 7, 2007]

At the age of 82, Jimmy Carter entered the lion's den. With the publication of his latest book, "Palestine: Peace not Apartheid," he did what a patriot would do -- rally Americans to vigorous debate of a critical issue that affects our future. He deserves a hero's praise. Instead, he has been attacked and defamed.

. . .

America's Founding Fathers Prepared to Include Muslims

2007-01-23T06:13:00.001-05:00

[By Shahed Amanullah - alt.muslim -- January 3, 2007]

. . . Adorned with his initials, Jefferson's Qur'an -- a 1764 English translation from Arabic by George Sale -- was purchased and used during his comparative legal studies, and was sold to the Library of Congress after the War of 1812.
. . .
And despite public opinion about Islam at the time (which differs little from Sale's professed negative statements), Jefferson explicitly referenced Islam in his support of Virginia's Statute for Establishing Religious Freedom in 1786, where he praised its protections of "the Jew and the Gentile, the Christian and Mahometan [Muslim], the Hindoo and the Infidel."

Early American writings show Jefferson wasn't alone. "It is clear that the Founding Fathers thought about the relationship of Islam to the new nation," writes James Hutson, Manuscript Division Chief for the Library of Congress, "and were prepared to make a place for it in the republic.
. . .
An important point to note is that regardless of personal opinion about the religion of Islam, neither politician nor citizen during America's founding would countenance the exclusion of Muslims from American political or civic life.During the formation of the United States, when the Constitution and Bill of Rights were being debated at both the state and federal level, opponents of religious freedom statutes cited the fear of a Muslim being elected to office. "As there are no religious tests, pagans, deists and Mahometans might obtain office," argued Baptist Rev. Henry Abbot during North Carolina's debate. "In the course of four or five hundred years I do not know how it will work," countered North Carolina Provincial Congress member William Lancaster. "This is most certain, that Papists may occupy that [government] chair, and Mahometans may take it. I see nothing against it."

Israel Support in Congress based on Fear, says ex-Senator

2007-01-10T06:37:00.002-05:00

"I can tell you from personal experience that the support Israel has in Congress is based completely on political fear -- fear of defeat by anyone who does not do what Israel wants done. I can also tell you that very few members of Congress -- at least when I served there -- have any affection for Israel or for its Lobby. What they have is contempt, but it is silenced by fear of being found out exactly how they feel. I've heard too many cloakroom conversations in which members of the Senate will voice their bitter feelings about how they're pushed around by the Lobby to think otherwise. In private one hears the dislike of Israel and the tactics of the Lobby, but not one of them is willing to risk the Lobby's animosity by making their feelings public.

"Thus, I see no desire on the part of Members of Congress to further any U.S. imperial dreams by using Israel as their pit bull. The only exceptions to that rule are the feelings of Jewish members, whom, I believe, are sincere in their efforts to keep U.S. money flowing to Israel. But that minority does not a U.S. imperial policy make.

"Secondly, the Lobby is quite clear in its efforts to suppress any congressional dissent from the policy of complete support for Israel which might hurt annual appropriations. Even one voice is attacked, as I was, on grounds that if Congress is completely silent on the issue, the press will have no one to quote, which effectively silences the press as well. Any journalists or editors who step out of line are quickly brought under control by well organized economic pressure against the newspaper caught sinning. I once made a trip through the Middle East, taking with me a reporter friend who wrote for Knight-Ridder newspapers. He was writing honestly about what he saw with respect to the Palestinians and other countries bordering on Israel. The St. Paul Pioneer press executives received threats from several of their large advertisers that their advertising would be terminated if they continued publishing the journalist's articles. It's a lesson quickly learned by those who controlled the paper. "

[By James Abourezk -- Council for the National Interest Foundation - Dec. 11,2006]

Muslim Demographics

2006-11-14T00:26:00.000-05:00

The October 23, 2006, issue of McLeans contains an alarmist article, "Why the future belongs to Islam," written by Mark Steyn, is an overtly racist piece of propaganda.

A description of the cover picture is in order. The dark, ominous image features a background mass of people entirely covered in full black face veil. In the foreground, a young pre-teen girl -- the only one with her face uncovered -- looks up with a dark menacing stare. The subheading on the cover hints at Steyn's argument: "The Muslim world has youth, numbers and global ambition. The West is old, barren and exhausted."

(Seven Oaks Magazine)

Bush & God

2006-11-14T00:23:00.000-05:00

While meetings with Bush at that time were friendly, Schroeder said he could not reconcile himself with the feeling that religion was the driving force behind many of Bush's political decisions.

"What bothered me, and in a certain way made me suspicious despite the relaxed atmosphere, was again and again in our discussions how much this president described himself as 'God-fearing'," Schroeder wrote, adding he is a firm believer in the separation of church and state.

Schroeder accused some elements in U.S. as being hypocritical when it comes to secularism in government.

"We rightly criticize that in most Islamic states, the role of religion for society and the character of the rule of law are not clearly separated," Schroeder wrote. "But we fail to recognize that in the USA, the Christian fundamentalists and their interpretation of the Bible have similar tendencies."

Indonesian Democracy

2006-11-14T00:22:00.001-05:00

INDONESIA EMERGING AS A BEACON OF WORKING DEMOCRACY
[By Shawn W. Crispin - Asia Times -- October 19, 2006]

With Thailand under military-appointed rule, the Philippines fresh from a stint of martial law, plus an unresolved vote-rigging scandal, and the rest of Southeast Asia under hard and soft authoritarian yokes, Indonesia has clearly emerged as the region's healthiest and most vibrant functioning democracy.

Eight years after launching a highly ambitious political reform program, Indonesia has surprised many analysts and academics by how quickly and smoothly the world's fourth-largest country has consolidated meaningful democratic gains. Since 1998, Indonesia has overhauled every fundamental aspect of its former authoritarian state, including an amended constitution, a more powerful parliament and a reformed election system.

In 2004, the country's first-ever direct presidential elections -- in which former general Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was elected on a strong reform ticket -- represented a democratic high-water mark. What's gone less noticed over that same period have been 250 or so different local elections.

Muslims & Modern Science - Catching Up

2006-11-14T00:08:00.001-05:00

Dinar Standard

Table 1: Top 25 Most Productive Universities in the Muslim World*
University		Country	Publications**
1.	University Hacettepe	Turkey	8,979
2.	University Istanbul	Turkey	6,488
3.	Ankara University	Turkey	5,982
4.	Cairo University	Egypt	4,977
5.	Kuwait University	Kuwait	4,495
6.	King Saud University	Saudi Arabia	4,336
7.	Middle Eastern Technical U.	Turkey	4,215
8.	Gazi University	Turkey	3,652
9.	Istabul Technical U.	Turkey	3,452
10.	Ege University	Turkey	3,336
11.	King Fahd University	Saudi Arabia	3,323
12.	Ains Shams University	Egypt	3,129
13.	University Malaya	Malaysia	2,862
14.	National Research Center	Egypt	2,651
15.	Alexandria University	Egypt	2,628
16.	American University Beirut	Lebanon	2,568
17.	Ataturk University	Turkey	2,535
18.	United Arab Emirates U.	UAE	2,478
19.	Mansoura University	Egypt	2,439
20.	King Faisal Research Center	Saudi Arabia	2,434
21.	University Sains Malaysia	Malaysia	2,402
22.	Dokuz Eylul University	Turkey	2,389
23.	Uzbek Academy of Science	Uzbekistan	2,169
24.	Cukurova University	Turkey	2,026
25.	University of Tehran	Iran	1,962

*Source: COMSTECH
** Ten-year Publication Rate (1995-2005)

ibn Khaldun's Management

2006-11-14T00:04:00.000-05:00

From Dinar Standard

Many classical scholars wrote books and treatises which fell into a genre called nasihat al muluk (advice to the kings). This advice to royal authority stemmed from the fact that these scholars served in the courts of sultans, caliphs and princes in various territories which made them intimately aware of the conditions existing in the court. They observed the internal workings, politics, and intrigues between the court's employees as well as the interplay between the court and the masses.

Ibn Khaldun wrote, "Good rulership is equivalent to mildness… If the ruler uses force and is ready to mete out punishment and eager to expose the faults of people… (his subjects) become fearful and depressed and seek to protect themselves against him through lies, ruses, and deceit… If the ruler continues to keep a forceful grip on his subjects, group feeling will be destroyed. If the ruler is mild and overlooks the bad sides of his subjects, they will trust him and take refuge with him… Everything is then in order in the state. (153)

. . .

On Negotiating Skills:

"If a merchant is not afraid of quarrels, knows how to settle an account, and is always willing to enter into a dispute… he stands a better chance of being treated fairly by traders… otherwise he must have the protection of rank… the person who is afraid or unaggressive… must avoid commerce."

. . .

"Man, by nature, needs something to feed him and to provide for him in all conditions and stages of his life, from the time of his early growth to his maturity and in to his old age. God created everything in the world for man and gave it to him, as indicated in several verses of the Qur'an. Man's hand stretches out over the whole world and all that is in it, since God made man His representative on earth." (297)

. . .

Or profit may be the result of human labor as applied to specific materials. This is called a craft, such as writing, carpentry, tailoring, weaving, and horsemanship. Or it may be applied to non-specific materials. This, then, includes all the other professions and activities. Or profit may come from merchandise and its use in barter; merchants can make such profit either by traveling around with (merchandise) or by hoarding it and observing the market fluctuations that affect it. This is called commerce." (299-300)

. . .

"… rank is widely distributed and … one's happiness and welfare are intimately connected with the acquisition of rank. … bestowal of rank implies influence and power." (306)
"… a person who seeks and desires rank must be obsequious and use flattery as powerful men and rulers require. Otherwise it will be impossible for him to attain any rank. Therefore, obsequiousness and flattery are the reasons why a person may be able to obtain a rank that produces happiness and profit, and that most wealthy and happy people possess this quality. Thus, too, many people who are proud and supercilious have no use for rank. Their earnings, consequently, are restricted to the results of their own labors…" (307)

. . .

"… commerce means increasing one's capital by buying merchandise and attempting to sell it for a price higher than its purchase price, either by waiting for market fluctuations or by transporting the merchandise to a country where that particular merchandise is more in demand and brings higher prices, or by selling it for a high price to be paid at a future date." (312)
"In the attempt to earn the increase of capital that constitutes profit, it is unavoidable that one's capital gets into the hands of traders, in the process of buying and selling and waiting for payment… All this causes the merchant a great deal of trouble… If he is not afraid of quarrels, knows how to settle an account, and is always willing to enter into a dispute… he stands a better chance of being treated fairly by traders… otherwise he must have the protection of rank… the person who is afraid or unaggressive… must avoid commerce." (313)