Yes, still sick

I'm still alive. I have an ongoing health problem that sometimes flares up. This is a bad one. I'm not sure when I'll be back, so consider the blog on hiatus indefinitely.

Still Sick

Probably the best thing to do is to subscribe to my RSS feed. Hope to be back soon. Thanks for all your good wishes.

Update

Yes, I'm still alive. I've been pretty ill, but I'm getting better now. Let me tell you, this has been one hell of a year for getting sick. I think I'll be back by this weekend.

Also - don't forget to VOTE!

Running Late

I'm a little under the weather, but there's lots of news so I'll post soon.

What's Wrong with Muslims?

Seriously, what's wrong with Muslims? Campbell Brown of CNN has a commentary on the McCain supporter who called Obama an Arab. And I agree with her. So what if Obama was an Arab or Muslim? What would it matter? When did being an Arab or a Muslim become an insult? If I said I wouldn't vote for someone because he was black or because he was Christian, people would think I was some kind of crazy racist. But apparently some people think it's legitimate to not vote for someone because they're an Arab or a Muslim.

First of all, most Muslims are not Arab, they're South/Southeast Asian. Secondly, not all Muslims or Arabs are terrorists! Calling all Arabs terrorists is like saying all Hispanics are drug-dealers because of the cocaine coming from Columbia (I think that's decreased a lot recently). It's a stupid stereotype that has become pervasive in America since 9-11. After Timothy McVeigh blew up the Murrah building in Oklahoma City, people didn't say that all white former military men were crazy sociopaths. When wacko Christians blow up abortion clinics and murder doctors and patients, no one says that all Christians are terrorists. But if someone with darker skin does something wrong, it seems to tap into this crazy white-person fear of people who are different. Let's hope a black president can change this shit.

All About the Emirates

First, the fun news. Abu Dhabi Media Company is teaming up with National Geographic to produce 10-15 films with some actual money behind them.

The bad news. The Emirates are cracking down on everything. This is mainly in Dubai. Dubai has been billing itself as very open and accessible for everyone, not some scary Muslim place. But if you remember, a boy was raped there last year [can't find my post], and several people have gone to jail for drug possession, even for something as stupid as poppy seeds off a bagel. Now, two Brits have been accused of having sex on the beach (for real, not the drink) and sentenced to 3 months in jail and a fine.

The BBC even has a little video of what you can do in Dubai.

Top Stories 10/13

Al-Ahram (Egypt): Post-Eid freefall - The economy in Egypt is taking some hits.

Haaretz (Israel): Labor Party, Kadima sign coalition agreement - "A coalition agreement to bring Labor into a cabinet headed by prime minister-designate Tzipi Livni was signed Monday after over 18 hours of talks and two days after a draft agreement was formulated between Labor Party chairman Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Livni."

Hurriyet (Turkey): Turkey intensifies contacts with regional administration in N. Iraq - Turkey should be meeting with the Kurdish administration of northern Iraq tomorrow.

Yemen Times: Yemeni farmers threaten to swap grapes for qat - Apparently the farmers weren't able to sell all their raisins because of Chinese raisins being smuggled into Yemen and sold for cheap. So the farmers are threatening to start growing qat. Qat is a plant that is legal in Yemen, but not in a lot of other countries. It's a stimulant that can be addictive, and I've heard it's pretty endemic in Yemen.

It's the Economy, Stupid

Yes, an old Clinton line. BBC News had an article earlier this week about how the Middle East stock markets are falling. And a brief glance at a few Middle East news sites show headlines about the economy. This is definitely world-wide now, which makes sense as so many economies are globalized. Who knows where things will go from here.

The Jewel of Medina: Update

More news. I hadn't realized that Random House was the original publisher, who had decided not to publish the book. It was subsequently bought by Beaufort Books. They're trying to publish the book in the US before any violence starts. Link to an article on Beaufort Books' website from All Things Considered (NPR).

The UK attack story made the Khaleej Times out of Dubai. They also have a Reuters article from September that says the book had already been released in Serbia, was pulled after complaints, but will now be released again. There's also a really good article about Freedom of Speech, by a Muslim who was at UC-Berkeley when The Satanic Verses was published.