Jews and Islam: People of the book

Letter sent to The Economist...

Dear Editor,

I was reading the article entitled 'Jews and Islam: People of the book' in the August 14th issue (Books and Arts section) and couldn't quite understand (at the end of the first paragraph) the use of double quotes around the word "protected" as well as the use of the adjective "heavy" to describe the tax paid by non-Muslims. I would be curious to know how much this tax was exactly. Perhaps the author(s) could provide some sort of figure? Also, excuse my ignorance but I thought this tax was as a replacement for the 'zakah' that Muslims pay and which non-Muslims needn't pay and also as an exemption for non-Muslims' not participating in the army. Please correct me if I am mistaken. This is a genuine question by the way and I hope I don't come across sarcastic.

Regards,
Adil Hussain (07954 402 672)

... The slyness of their comments really ticks me off sometimes!

Reuters

Doing a fair bit of reading/browsing about Reuters (or Thomson Reuters as it is now called). Remarkable company. In particular, how they do what they do keeping strict to their principle of objectivity/impartiality. A couple of examples: (1) Up until very recently no-one could own more than 15% of the company; (2) Their refusal to use the word "terrorist" in reports except as a quotation.

Documentary Review: Iraq – Deadly Legacy

Watched a related documentary ('Iraq: Deadly Legacy', 20 minutes, Journeyman Pictures) following the previous post about how babies are being born in Iraq (in and around Baghdad) with severe deformities and how, as a result, couples are scared to have children. As though Hiroshima was not enough of a sickening crime. Heartless the people responsible and the people who cover it up.

Documentary Review: Taliban – Behind the Masks

Just came across and watched this documentary ('Taliban: Behind the Masks', Journeyman Pictures) by Paul Refsdal which, similar to the Channel4 Dispatches documentary a few months back, sets out to show "the human face of public enemy number one" and like that documentary does so with (rare) honest spin/propaganda-free reporting. 25 minute well spent!

The Saudi Succession

Funny opening paragraph from an article entitled "The Saudi Succession: When kings and princes grow old" in the July 17th 2010 issue of The Economist:

IMAGINE that the United Kingdom was an absolute monarchy known as Windsor Britain. Imagine that Prince Charles, heir to the British throne, had dozens of brothers, scores of sons and hundreds of cousins, and that the broader House of Windsor numbered thousands of lesser princes and princesses. Imagine further that all these royals pocketed fat state stipends, with many holding lifelong fiefs as government ministers, department heads, regimental commanders or provincial governors, with no parliament to hold them in check. Now imagine how sporting these princely chaps would be when the throne fell vacant, if the only written rule was a vague stipulation that the next in line should be the "best qualified" among all the Windsor princes...

Big family big problems ahead!

Mount Snowdon Challenge 2010

Spent the past weekend in Snowdonia National Park with the Noor Ul Islam Youth Group. Good trip alhamdulillah. A lot of first-timers. All convinced of the beauty of the mountains maa sha Allah. Our minibus broke down Friday night and we were unable to get to Mount Snowdon (peak=1084m) on Saturday morning and so had to climb Carnedd Llewelyn (peak=1065m), the path to which was situated right beside our accommodation (Gwern Gôf Isaf Campsite/Farm). We planned and Allah planned better alhamdulillah :)>

Picture/Video compilation here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mQHbE9dFe8

Boys and the Army

"... I [] felt a call of duty for my country. At eighteen, I joined the Russian Army. In my opinion, spending time in the army is something all boys need to do in order to mature, learn about responsibility, and become prepared to fight for their country. And no matter how much the sport of sambo had given me, it wasn't until I went into the army that I grew from a boy into a man. My entire view on life changed, and I felt strength grow inside me..."

(Source: Short biography of Fedor Emelianenko in the Introduction to 'Fedor - The Fighting System of the World's Undisputed King of MMA')