Rushdie is right . . the veil does suck

An Afghan woman was shot yesterday in broad daylight in Fremont, California. She was 37 years old, mother of six walking her three year old to school after her mini van had broken. She was wearing a Hijab.

I wonder if the guy (yes it was a guy) was inspired by oreoable Salman Rushdie saying 'the veil sucks' or by honorable Gordon Brown saying that covered women makes him 'uncomfortable'.

Police are deciding if it was hatecrime.

My only question is, if you want to 'shoot' someonewould you rather not shoot Foley then a Hijaban?

Schadenfreude for Mighty Heart

Michael Winterbottom’s shoot of A Mighty heart – The Daniel Pearl story starring Angelina Jolie got shut down in Karachi for not having the right permits. Apparently, the crew members,

“ … ran into trouble in July while filming without permission near Karachi's Village restaurant, where Pearl had planned to meet a contact shortly before his abduction. Officials halted the filming and police and federal agents arrested three Pakistani men - who were wearing police uniforms and carrying guns - for impersonating policemen."

Now the shoot is being held in Pune in India, where the locals have been going ape shit over Ms Jolie’s appearance.

Call me a cynic, but one has to think that westerners have learned nothing about Karachi. Would Michael Winterbottom dare shoot a major production without getting the right permits beforehand in any other city? Seems like he did exactly what Daniel Pearl did, walk into a dangerous and volatile situation expecting everything to be fine and dandy. Mr. Winterbottom is a master film maker with a liberal tendencies, after all he made Road to Guantanamo and given the opportunity he would have made a visually stunning film shot in Karachi.

However, as an aspiring film maker and a native son I would like Karachi to be exposed by us rather then be patronized by Hollywood. So all I can say is Schadenfreude \SHOD-n-froy-duh\ malicious satisfaction obtained from the misfortunes of others.

How to kill Americans (a short film)

My friend and mentor (Cemendtaur) has done an inspirational piece of work on the Lodi arrests. Please see this very important short documentary. On one hand it shows how the FBI forges ahead with their bullshit and on the other hand, it shows the power of one man's personal Jihad to know the truth.

----The Preemptive War Within; The FBI's Jihad

Reports suggest that after the terrorist attacks on September 11,2001, Attorney General Ashcroft summoned his intelligence people andtold them to do everything possible to prevent further acts of terrorism.

The government started pouring money into anti-terrorism operations,and amongst other efforts, informants were recruited and sent toMuslim communities around the country. These undercover FBI agentswere paid handsomely to produce results.

One such spy went to Lodi, California, and made friends with theinsular, agricultural and working-class Pakistani community in thatrural town. Most of the members of the Lodi Pakistani community were alarmed by the anti-American rhetoric of the newcomer...23- year oldHamid Hayat was not one of them.

The short film being introduced tries to shine some new light on theground realities of the Hamid Hayat case, including a visit toBehboudi, the small village in Northern Pakistan that is Hamid'sancestral home and where, the FBI says, he went to learn...

How to Kill Americans
http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=jq9GyvDN6QI

----Cemendtaur, the artist behind this project and himself born inPakistan, is based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Other work from hispen and camera can be seen at http://KarachiPhoto Blog.blogspot. com; hecan be reached at Cemendtaur@yahoo. com

Has the West been silenced by Islam?

The current over Mozart's King Idomeneo presenting the chopped off heads of Muhammad, Jesus and Buddha (love the equality) is a bunch of nonsense. On one hand, I really don't give a damn, the artist is using them as a metaphor, BUT, if the Europeans are shouting themselves hoarse over the Islamic black mailing, why is it not ok to have a restaurant in Bombay named Hitler's Cross? Is Jewish black mailing on the holocaust different from Islamist feeling offended by the severed head of their prophet? They are both offensive and in bad taste.

Has the West been silenced by Islam?
In an age scarred by flashpoints between cultures and religions, it is easy to make accusations of prejudice or bigotry. But, argues Paul Vallely, we have all got something to gain from developing new sensitivities (more)