SABHA - 4M Report Arvind Kumar, 14 Dec, 2004
Your regular dose of pseudosecularism
  1. German politicians call for holiday to commemorate murder by Muslims

    Greens in Germany demanded that a Muslim holiday be established as a reward for the murder of Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh.
    Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's Greens coalition partner called on Tuesday for establishing a Muslim public holiday in Germany as a reaction to violence in the Netherlands following the killing of Islam-critical film director Theo van Gogh.
    ...
    "Exactly such a sign is needed given the attacks in Holland," said Stroebele, who like Trittin hails from the party's "fundi" left-wing.
    India has five official Islamic holidays - Bakrid, Moharram, Milad-i-Nabi, Id-ul-Fitr and Mohandas Gandhi's birthday.

  2. Scientific socialism: No work, more pay!

    Communist Party of India (Marxist) has demanded that their laziness be institutionalized as a fundamental right.
    CPI(M) Rajya Sabha leader Nilotpal Basu today said his party would ask the government to amend the Constitution and include the right to strike.
    In a socialist paradise, everyone gets equal pay and this amount equals the GDP divided by the total workforce. In a socialist paradise with the right to strike, it might seem that the GDP comes down as a result of the strikes dragging down the pay along with it, but No! What is the strike for? More pay!

  3. Musharraf says he has smashed himself!

    Dictator of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Gen Musharraf, said he was on the run and he had smashed his own command structure.
    Gen. Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan's president, said he had smashed the command structure of the Al Qaeda terror network in his country.
    ...
    "We have broken the back of Al Qaeda in Pakistan," Musharraf said at a joint news conference with Blair on Monday. "They are on the run, their command and control structure is broken, their logistical bases have been smashed and we have occupied them."


  4. Message on FOIL: Send us your money, we wanna hold conferences

    Tired of paying government clerks to do their job? According to a mail authored by Aruna Roy and Nikhil Dey that was forwarded to the mailing list of Forum of Inquilabi Leftists (formerly Forum of Indian Leftists), an organization that is run by "green-card Indians" living in America, there is a cure. The solution is to hold conferences demanding that the public be given access to dusty government files where clerks document all bribes they receive.
    The purpose of the convention was to raise awareness about the right to information and its role in strengthening and deepening democracy, and in making the government and other public institutions more answerable to the people.
    ...
    I cannot over-stress the importance of the Right To Information movement in really bringing transparency and accountability in governance.
    Convinced? Send in your $$$! -- We aren't making this up!
    If you are convinced about this cause, do send your cheque (for Indian Rupees) in favour of 'National Campaign for People's Right to Information.'

    Thanking you and in solidarity,
    Translation: Thank you for your money. Remember, we're all in it together! You do your part by paying up, we'll do ours by having a jet-setting life attending conferences!

    Did we mention, Aruna Roy is a member of the National Advisory Council to the government of India, which is chaired by Sonia Gandhi who already has access to all official documents! Send in your money anyway. Attending conferences is social work and Aruna Roy might make demands from herself at the next conference! They might even make a film out of it. Starring: Aruna Roy in double role. Besides, they aren't asking for much, just something close to the per capita income of India.

    It has been decided not take more than Rs. 20000 from anyone.
    In case, you're wondering:
    No income-tax exemptions would be available.


  5. Greek Muslims attack women for not wearing headscarves

    Reuters reports that a television crew in Greece had to seek protection in a police station after being attacked by Muslims. Muslims baying for their blood laid siege to the police station.
    They said about 400 Muslim Greeks in the village of Echinos, angered by the presence of actresses not wearing head scarves near the entry of the mosque, gathered around the television crew demanding they leave.
    Greek population is 1.3% Muslim. Meanwhile, a public prosecutor was considering launching criminal proceedings against the television crew! Ahmed Ilhan, the local MP, demanded that the actresses who were attacked by stone-throwing Muslims be charged.

  6. Dhimmi Watch

    I was born in Rawalpindi in Pakistan. My family, part of the old generation, fled to India during Partition. I unreservedly accept Pakistan as an independent, sovereign nation. --Vinod Mehta, Editor of Outlook in BBC.
    From the same piece:
    The irony is that Muslim-majority Kashmir valley, which is at the heart of the dispute, is an incredibly pretty, serene and tranquil piece of real estate.
    Meanwhile, the throat of an infidel was slit in order to make other parts of Jammu and Kashmir as tranquil as Kashmir Valley.

  7. Muslims oppressed everywhere!

    International Herald Tribune reports that Muslims in Thailand are treated as second-class citizens.

    "Muslim spiritual leaders say Muslims in the south have been treated like second-class citizens, but I think Buddhists here have been treated like third-class citizens," said a furniture factory owner, who did not want to give his name for fear of reprisals.

    "The government sponsors 80 Muslims from the south to go to Mecca, but it doesn't give similar sponsorships to monks to study Buddhism in India," said the owner, 60, who grew up in the southern province of Yala.

    Trinidad and Tobago Express reports the oppression of Muslims by the government. Reporting on the statement of Chief Executive Officer of the Islamic Relief Centre, Inshan Ishmeal, it says,

    Government has failed to acknowledge the Muslim community by showing no recognition and not giving any financial support to Muslims at the most auspicious time of Eid.