Cuddle Your Wife for $1 Million?

May I never have Nasser Hussain's mentality.

Here is the story summary. Allen Stanford, a rich Texas billionaire, has organized the richest cricket match in history. This weekend, the winner of the 3-hour Twenty-20 cricket match between England and West Indies (or Stanford Superstars, as they are branded), will take home a cool $20 million. Imagine that, for three hours of work, provided you win, the $20 million is yours to be split amongst 11 people.

Yesterday, Allen Stanford apologised for his behaviour after being caught on camera flirting with players' wives and girlfriends. Er, he was not just flirting, he had his arms around two of the wives and another wife (of Matt Prior) on his lap [Cricinfo].

Stuart Broad, who was bowling at the time, commented: "When the pictures came up on the big screen there were a lot of gobsmacked people in our side. Matt Prior was in a state of shock, especially as his wife is pregnant."

After the apology though, here is what Nasser Hussain, the former English captain and now a commentator, had to say.

"It was pretty harmless, to be honest, and the wives must remember that their husbands are potentially earning a fortune by being here and they are in a lovely place having a lovely time in the sunshine.

If the man who is putting up all the money wants to give them a quick cuddle for the cameras is that really a big problem?"

Updated: Video.

Vacation Question

So I was surfing Facebook and then I noticed one of my hijabi friends posted her vacation pictures.

With nothing to do at lunch I clicked on her album. It seems she had gone there with a few of her girlfriends, all of whom are hijabis, and very conservative Muslims too.

Where did they all go for their week long vacation?

Er, Las Vegas.

So what does a bunch of hijabi wearing, Quran-toting, non-gambling, non-drinking, non-sex-show-attending Muslim chicks do in Las Vegas?

Seeing her online, I messaged her.

"So, you don't drink, you don't gamble, you don't attend burlesque."

"So, what exactly did you gals do in Las Vegas?"

And she, after a brief pause and with what I can only imagine in a beautiful smile on the other end replied with that famous line,

"Mezba, what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas!"

Er, something's wrong in the picture, methinks. :-D

Powell Endorses Obama

I'm also troubled by, not what Sen. McCain says, but what members of the party say. And it is permitted to be said, such things as, "Well, you that know Mr. Obama is a Muslim." Well, the correct answer is, he is not a Muslim, he's a Christian. He's always been a Christian. But the really right answer is: What if he is? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer's no, that's not America. Is there something wrong with some 7-year-old Muslim American kid believing that he or she could be president? Yet I have heard senior members of my own party drop the suggestion, "He's a Muslim and he might be associated with terrorists." This is not the way we should be doing it in America.

I could not help but applaud when I saw this video and this statement of Colin Powell in his endorsement of Obama. Make no mistake, this is no black solidarity. Powell is a strict Republican. But at his heart, he is what we call in Canada a "Red Tory", a fiscal conservative, center-right, someone not comfortable with the hard, right-wing, evangelical turn that the social conservative Republican Party has become. And so the endorsement of Obama.

However, Powell went further than that. In his explicit, well thought-out, statement, not only did he defend Muslim Americans, he even raised the story of the soldier who served, and died for America.

I feel strongly about this particular point because of a picture I saw in a magazine. It was a photo essay about troops who are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. And one picture at the tail end of this photo essay was of a mother in Arlington Cemetery, and she had her head on the headstone of her son's grave. And as the picture focused in, you could see the writing on the headstone. And it gave his awards--Purple Heart, Bronze Star--showed that he died in Iraq, gave his date of birth, date of death. He was 20 years old. And then, at the very top of the headstone, it didn't have a Christian cross, it didn't have the Star of David, it had crescent and a star of the Islamic faith. And his name was Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan, and he was an American. He was born in New Jersey. He was 14 years old at the time of 9/11, and he waited until he can go serve his country, and he gave his life. - [Full transcript here]

Powell was referring to this photo (photo #16 on the link).


One can have opinions of his support for the Iraq war and his role in the Bush administration. By the same token, when the man takes guts to say the right thing, one can only say bravo.

By the way, completely unrelated, and strictly for 'entertainment' purposes, here's a study on Playboy models and recession.

Of Elections in USA, Canada and Dubai

No, no, there's no election in Dubai. But I do want to talk about them in a bit.

First, my prognosis of the final US debate is up. It's been a long circus process, but finally we should see some closure in about 17 days. Unless something big happens, I expect Obama to take this election comfortably. Of course, at the back of my mind lurks the unpleasant feeling that the Americans can fuck this up again - after all - this is a nation of whom 17% believes Bush is doing a great job, and where scare tactics apparently work.

Second, our Canadian election was over on Tuesday. It was a disappointing result for us Liberals. We had a decent and honest man of integrity as our leader, but it turned out he wasn't the politician we needed him to be. I wonder what it says about us as a nation when decent men can't win in politics by taking the high road. Although I suspect a faulty tax plan, a team not ready for an election, not speaking English well enough, and other factors also played a part. While I am glad to see Gerrard Kennedy and Ruby Dhalla win their seats, I was sad to see Omar al-Ghabra lose his seat. I hope he is back the next time.

Coming to Dubai, I was informed by a reader (Musa) that an interview with me was used in an article of the National.

South Asian professionals forsake West for Gulf jobs

Aaditya Tangri, 23, and Mr Mezba Mahtab, 27, both moved to Canada from the UAE with their families when they were in high school. Mr Tangri came back last year and Mr Mahtab is hoping to do the same.

Mr Mahtab would like to stay in Dubai for five years, “make lots of money, save as much as I can and then move back again”.

He is not put off by the hot weather and finds the intrinsic Muslim culture that flourishes in the cities most attractive. “In Dubai, when everyone is fasting during Ramadan, you don’t feel out of place.”

The interview was taken almost a year ago, before I started my Masters program and before many other developments in my life - suffice it to say I am not that attracted to returning to Dubai (or Abu Dhabi). Moreover, I distinctly remember saying to the reporter I was thinking about returning, not planning it. Not only do I not like the treatment meted out to Asians, but it seems Dubai is a big bubble waiting to burst.

However, when I see the house prices here, and then I calculate how long I will have to work before I can pay off my mortgage, suddenly 4-5 years in a sunny, tax-free earning country doesn't sound so bad, does it?

US Presidential Debate 2 - Live Blogging

I am live blogging the second US presidential debate town hall on my political blog.

Eid Mubarak with Shadher Lau

Eid Mubarak, every body!

We went down to Rogers Centre (a stadium here, hired for the day by Muslims), and prayed with over 10,000 other Muslims. It was a bit different from the usually intimate environment at the mosque where we used to go previously.

My uncle had come over and he had a special gift for us - a lau (Bottle Gourd).

Now I showed you guys our previous examples of laus before, but my uncle's was in another league by itself. I leave you with those pictures, and hope you all had a wonderful day yesterday.

Laus in his garden.

Labelled laus for everybody.

Our lau.

My uncle with the lau.

Reflections Of The Night

The worry was there on the guys with the clipboard.
The target was high - it was half a million dollars.
The times were tough - it was a recession.
Yet, the speaker wasn't worried.
He knew the mosque wouldn't be let down.
At the end of the evening, the money raised was over a million.
Yes, it is our way.
THEY WILL NEVER UNDERSTAND.

It's just a month.
Is it over yet, they ask.
It's the night of the 27^th.
It's not over, but it feels like it.
It's sad, yet it's a night of bliss.
Yes, it is our way.
THEY WILL NEVER UNDERSTAND.

People's feet are swollen.
They stand all night.
The comfort of the bed beckons,
Yet the voice of the Qari is the one they respond to.
The Quran is over. The Quran is begun anew,
Grown men cry. Why? Silent tears are shed by the women.
Even the mischievous children are quiet.
Something momentous has taken place.
Yes, it is our way.
THEY WILL NEVER UNDERSTAND.

The community is all here.
Men, women, children of all ages.
It feels like Eid. Sweets are distributed.
It's midnight. Soon, the lot is empty.

Then it starts filling up again.
Into the starry sky, the crescent is playing hide and seek.
The 15-year-old is reciting the verses.
"Then which of your Lord's favors will you deny?"
It's almost morning.
The faithful are fed.
The CEO a neighbor of the sweeper, eating on the floor.
That night, the building is full of people.
Yes, it is our way.
THEY WILL NEVER UNDERSTAND.
.
.
.
. [Eid]
.
.
.
A week has passed.
It's the time of the night prayers.
Faithful are called for prayers.
Only a handful have shown up.
Yes, it is also our way.
Perhaps, WE, do not understand.

US Presidential Debate 1 - Live Blogging

I live blogged the first US presidential waste of time debate on my political blog.

Canadian Leaders on Ramadan

Today I was pleasantly surprised to see an email from Stéphane Dion, the leader of the Liberal party and the Hon. Leader of the Opposition in Canada, in my inbox (I am part of the Liberal bloggers mailing list).

On behalf of the Liberal Party of Canada, I would like to extend my warmest wishes to all of you who observe Laylat al-Qadr during Ramadan.

As this is the holiest night of Ramadan, when the Qur’an was first revealed to the prophet Muhammad by God, I know that you and your families will be taking this opportunity to pray, to reflect and to meditate.

I would like to highlight the important lessons that come from this spiritual evening. This night teaches values of sincerity and forgiveness which I believe should be a part of every person’s life. Your culture and religion, which espouses these principles, help to demonstrate the richness of diversity that Canada has and our country is a better place for it.

As you gather at your mosques or in your homes with loved ones tonight, I wish you a rewarding day.[source]

It's really reaching out to Muslims. I have seen politicians greet us on Eid before, but this is details, man.

Of course, the New Democratic Party leader Jack Layton is no stranger to Muslims (he was at RIS last year and is very much involved with the community). He too has wished Muslims on Ramadan and Eid many a times.

And then we have Walmart with Ramadan specials to know we have truly arrived!As an aside you gotta love how Walmart has 2-for-1 (Ramadan AND Eid Mubarak) on one banner - truly lower costs!).

One person is missing in action though - our Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Didigiri

Somewhat disturbing, somewhat funny, and politically very incorrect.

Dadagiri is a new reality Indian TV show on a youth channel called Bindass. One of the segments of the show feature contestants withstanding verbal abuse by a female anchor dressed as some dominatrix. In this episode, it seems someone forgot to give the guy contestants the script - they were unmoved by her tirade.

What then followed, the girl lost her temper.

And slapped the guy.

And the guy ... well, you'd better watch the video.

I find it pretty surprising that such television shows now air in the same land where Richard Gere cannot kiss Shilpa Shetty.

Of course the TV network then did not air the scene but completely left it out of the final cut that made it to the air.

And then conveniently released it on Youtube.

Sneaky, these Indians.

Last Ten Days of Ramadan

You know it's the last 10 days of Ramadan when:

Half the people you know are saying, "Oh God I can't believe Ramadan is over already it was just yesterday it started ..."

The other half are saying, "I can't wait for Eid"!

Already the debate between Global Moonsighting and Local Moonsighting is being revisited.

People are ready to stay all night in the mosque to pray nafil prayers of Qiyam al Lail and then go home and sleep through the fard prayers of Fajr!

All university male students have by this time made a list of rankings of various mosques by the free iftars they provide. Apparently in Toronto the Islamic Foundation is leading with its delicious spread on Sundays.

Part time taraweeh attendees (the 8-rakat-ers) are making plans for which mosque they will attend on the night of the 27^th.

All the mosques now urge you to do more good deeds (i.e. donate more).

Speaking of mosques, all of a sudden you start seeing blankets, pillows and sleeping bags in the praying area!

Four Biwi, So Fight With TV

So.. there's this, like, Saudi sheikh, who hates TV.

So he said, like, TV is bad.

TV producers are also bad. And they should be killed.

Anyone on TV, even Mickey Mouse, should also be killed.

And he says all this .. while BEING ON TV.

Anyone beside me find this ironic?

Ramadan Conversations

"Hey, S!" My brother's friend called out to him.

"Whassup?" My brother replied.

"Yo, why don't you come to Tim Horton's after taraweeh prayers?"

"Er," My brother answered. "Isn't it kinda late? 11.20 the prayers end."

My brother's friend looked at him for sometime.

"What are you talking about? Oh, you mean you pray the full 20? I was talking about 8 rakats. That's over at 10.30!"

"Ah," My brother commented. "Oh well, don't know. Why, what's at Tim Horton's?"

"You should come." My brother's friend winked. "It's Ramadan and it's taraweeh. ALL THE GIRLS ARE THERE!"

* * *

"Oh, my legs are paining!" My friend tells me after we exit the mosque, praying only 8 rakats of taraweeh.

"Yah, I know!" I reply, knowing how long the prayers can be.

"You know," She tells me, "I was so lost after the 2^nd rakat."

"Ha ha." I answer. "I know exactly what you mean. During the 1^st rakat I am convinced that TODAY I will concentrate on my prayers. Then, during the 2^nd rakat I start planning tomorrow's schedule, and then suddenly rebuke myself for losing concentration. During the 3^rd rakat I am thinking tomorrow I have table tennis practice at 5 and I have to do this work project. By the 6^th rakat I have reviewed all my things to do tomorrow and the rest of the week!"

My friend looks at me for sometime, and then utters in a low voice:

"Well, I meant LOST as in mesmerized. The recitation of the Quran was just so beautifully done that I was really deeply into it!"

A Hungry Man is NOT an Angry Man!

I remember reading a travel advice given by a travel show on a visit to some Muslim country. Part of the advice read (I am paraphrasing here) as follows.

Ramadan begins on such-and-such date. During Ramadan, Muslims fast (abstain from food and drink) the whole day. As a result, individuals may be snappy and irritable, therefore be polite and avoid crowds. Important projects tend to get delayed during Ramadan ...

Now I didn't read anywhere that one of the requirements of Ramadan is that a hungry man should be an angry man! I am pretty sure though - that I read in some hadith - in Ramadan, all that some Muslims will get out of their fast is hunger and thirst. So this means many will not get the spirit of Ramadan.

In Ramadan we are supposed to be nice. An extra effort, if I may. We are supposed to be a better person than we are for the rest of the year. So that would mean NOT angry and NOT irritable. Unfortunately though, I have to agree with that advice.

Living in the Arab lands, people tend to be lazier in Ramadan than the rest of the year. The already procrastinating nature receives a boost in Ramadan - with cries of Bukran and Inshallah! increasing ever. And living here in Canada, many Muslims tend to over exaggerate how hungry and thirsty they are to their non-Muslim colleagues, and slack off on their productivity, blaming Ramadan.

So this Ramadan, let us make a deal to not only be a nicer person, but also a more productive person.

And yes, I am blogging this on my break!

Obamaunty

So I was at this aunty's place for a dinner invitation. We were chatting on many things, and the topic turned to her basement tenants.

"Oh I never rent to black people." She then goes on a tirade against black people. "These people never pay their rent on time, are always on welfare, have no family structure! You rent to a single woman with a kid and soon she has millions of 'boyfriends' visiting her and they are dirty and ..."

It was quite uncomfortable. Some people at the table tried to steer the conversation somewhere else and ultimately they succeeded.

After dinner someone turned on the TV and CNN was talking about Obama.

"Oh, Obama!" The aunty starts again. "I hope he wins. He is telling the truth, and America needs someone like him now. But you know what...these... AMERICANS... they will NEVER vote for a black man, ... they are very racist!"

An Interview

There's nothing like enjoying a three week vacation with no studies to worry about. It helps though that the weather has been really, really good! August is almost always a depressing month because summer is coming to an end (and as a sign of that, the CNE is here!).

I recently got interviewed by Ghazala Khan of the Pak Spectator here.

I don't have much to add here; will return with a new series of posts on Ramadan when it gets here, however, I do want to say one thing to the journalists.

The Beijing Olympics is over!!! Please don't bother me with articles about reminiscing on the Games, or "looking back", or a "review". It's over.

The Boy Who Would'nt Shoot

I got this from a friend and I thought it was very, very sad.

So do you know who Abhinav Bindra is? He is the current World and Olympic champion in the 10 m Air Rifle event. He is also the first Indian to win an individual gold medal at the Olympic Games.

Now how many of you know who Asif Hossain Khan is? In the 2002 Commonwealth Games, Abhinav Bindra won the silver medal. Guess who won gold? Asif Hossain Khan from Bangladesh? So where was Asif in Beijing?

On October 2, 2006, after a rough incident between police and shooting federation staff, police broke into the federation premises and assaulted several shooters including Asif. Asif and his fellow shooters were preparing for the 2006 Asian Games to be held at Doha on November 2006. An altercation occurred between a police chauffeur and a federation guard regarding the parking of a car. Following this, police came to the spot and, according to witnesses, beat "whoever they found". Police beat Asif in multiple areas and severely injured his left arm and leg.

Asif said, "We, in fact, tried to stop the brawl but police would not listen to us". He also tried to protect himself by asserting his identity and success to his attackers. However, the police appeared to intensify their violence after this revelation. He, along with four other shooters and staff, were taken to the police station and beaten again. They were later sent to court by the police. Asif was granted bail from the court and was admitted to hospital. Doctors suggested that his arm muscles were badly injured and would take time to recover. His leg was also injured seriously and doctors were uncertain of when he would be able to practice again. Asif's mental and emotional trauma was also apparent as he claimed he would give up shooting. [source]

Do you know what this parking incident was? This fight was about some police DIG's chauffeur trying to park his car at a no-parking spot. The DIG's wife was in the car, not the DIG. The fight broke between the chauffeur and some guard who insisted not to park. So, for a freaking chauffeur who so desperately needed to illegally park his car, we lost a possible gold medal in the Olympics. Here's to the army solving all of Bangladesh's problems.

Kinds of Studiers For Exams

At last all my exams are done. I can finally enjoy what’s left of the summer for the next 3 weeks.

I have realized that there really are four different kinds of studiers for exams.

There’s me – the Last Minute-r. I mean, sure there’s THREE WEEKS till the exams, great! Plenty of time. Oh, I see, only one weekend left. That’s ok. I will study on Sunday. Saturday is for having fun. Oh, I haven’t seen this episode of Star Trek. Oh GREAT… only one night left. Study. Panic. Study. Repeat.

Then there’s the Do-You-Know-ers. They will pop up every hour on MSN (after all, can’t have studies without being on MSN, right?) and say “Hey did you study the WACC equalization theory?” and you are shitting in your pants going WHAT WACC EQUALIZATION THEORY and they go “here it’s mentioned on a side note in chapter 21 subsection 14-5” and it’s marked “not on exam”. While you are fuming they will then add “oh it’s just interesting to know”.

Then there’s the “I-am-skipping-that”-ers. Basically, whenever you buzz them with “Psst.. how do you solve chap 10 qn 23” they will reply with “Oh I am skipping that”. You wonder course after course how they pass.

Finally, there’s the “I-know-a-guy”-er. For some reason, this dude ALWAYS has a collection of past papers for the last ten years of this course, sorted by difficulty and sub sorted by professor, along with answer keys. You always wonder HOW on earth he does it when NO ONE can find any past paper and his answer always is “I know a guy”. Of course then the actual exam has NOTHING in similarity to the past paper because they changed the book (yet again) or the prof, and you fume at the time you wasted. Yet the very next course once again you will go to him.

Ok, now I can have my life back.

Le Riots!

I was eating dinner and decided to watch TV. I switched it on and turned to CBC. It was during the middle of a news bulletin.

"... the police for their own safety just stood and watched while the rioters smashed store windows and set cars on fire ..."Man! I thought. This Iraq thing is getting way out of control.

Imagine my surprise when I learned that it was Montreal, Canada!

Yes, apparently there was riots last night in Montreal over the shooting of a visible minority youth by the police. Googling over the news, I found tales of people who tell of police harrassing them because they are congregating, have a nice car or are being "profiled". [The Star]Still, it was a shock to see such rioting and lawlessness on the streets of Canada. Maybe it's a French thing (I am looking at you, Paris riots). After all, it's Quebec.

Making the Case for Good

I was attending our Managing International Talent class. The topic was of Canadian businesses expanding overseas and encountering standards different to our own - which one do we use? What about ethics?

I gave the following (real) example. A famous language school teaching English in Canada has opened a branch in one of the oil rich Middle East nations. Now in Canada, when we hire someone, we don't care whether the person is black or white, male or female - we just care whether he or she can speak good English, teach it, and hold proper credentials. Not so in this country. There, it's quite common to see recruitment ads specifying ethnicity, gender etc.

In that Arab nation, almost all English language schools hire white Anglo-Saxons to teach English (even if they are Irish!) because the local students can never properly accept a brown skinned teacher (someone beneath them) teaching English.

So I asked this question to the class: Should the class also hire by color and ethnicity, because it makes good business sense?

The lecturer's reply to me was memorable.

"No matter how low the ethical standards of a country are, we cannot imagine that they will always stay that way. To do that is to undermine the basic human nature of self improvement. We have to believe that someone, somewhere, will say no, to judge a candidate by their skin colour is wrong, and so on. We have to believe that things will eventually improve in that country and they will also start to hire by competency and pretty soon everyone in that country will do that."

"In this school we teach you to be leaders. Everyone can be a follower and make money in the short term. Here, we teach you to innovate, to be leaders, to be the force of change. And so I would suggest that if you were running that school, you should hire by competency and uphold the Canadian standards, which were higher. Because - ultimately they will follow those standards, and then you would have been the leader in setting standards, not following them. There is always a business case to be made for ethics."