Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Some Fun Videos



Pretty cool way to go through the history of your country



Bad Day at the Office


Random Walker Texas Ranger


An Oldie but a Goodie (remember Triumph)




Friday, March 25, 2011

12 Angry Men We're Not

A jury of your peers. My wife was telling me she was doing a project with her students asking them to figure out how to select a jury of peers. So I jokingly told her that I would just select 12 white guys. The idea of "a jury of your peers" is almost as ridiculous as "innocent until proven guilty". Her class, in their 40 minute session, put more effort in figuring out a jury of peers than the actual judicial system.

A couple of years ago, I got this little letter in the mail summoning me to Jury Duty. I went to serve my one day in a room of strangers waiting to be called on to do their civic duty. Unfortunately for me, I was actually called and was selected to be on a jury of a case of a man suing his bank (the actual amount of money was about $15k, and the poor man was representing himself). The biggest thing I remember is being inconvenienced and annoyed for three days having to listen to someone struggle through presenting his case, and the loser lawyer for the bank stinking at his job. I wanted them both to lose. Not because of the facts of the case, but that their little dispute about a closed or open account was inconveniencing my life.

But during the proceedings I was thinking about how I am this guys peer. The only thing we may have had in common is that we both paid our taxes. He was representing himself, spoke with a heavy accent and mumbled. So the fact that I had to strain to hear what he was saying made me dislike him. The lawyer for the Bank seemed like an arrogant jerk. But he was a mumbling jerk who thought he was the smartest guy in the room. When we were finally deliberating the case in the Jury Room, I looked around at the rest of the jury. We were a good mix of people; a microcosm of the area we were from. But what happens when a black man is accused of a crime in a very white area. Where are his peers? How can they relate to him, or understand what he has gone through. Do they understand his culture, his words, or the meaning of his actions?

Obviously the answer is they can't, because they are really not "a jury of peers", they are just tax payers doing a civic duty. Now, let's add another layer to this. If someone is arrested, do we really view them as innocent until a jury of their peers finds them guilty? The answer is that it is very difficult to assume someone is innocent until proven guilty within the justice system. If someone was truly innocent until proven guilty would they be detained in police custody through their trial?

Now, I know the practical matters of why the police do this, however it leads to other rights being given up. There are American citizens who are in custody today without charge. No date for a trial coming up. Nothing. They are just gone, disappeared off the face of the Earth. I am pretty sure this is not what the Founding Fathers had in mind when they wrote this and this.

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

...and we're back

I am looking to buy a new car. Once upon a time, I loved car shopping. I used to walk into dealerships and sales people used to fall over. Finance managers would get fired. Sales managers would cry. I could get any deal I wanted, any time. But, this new round of shopping, I can't seem to get what I want. Is it because I'm still trying to negotiate prices based on the last time I got a car? Is it possible I lost my mojo?

Highly unlikely.

I am not quite sure what's going on, but I am going to get a car this week, and I am going to get it at my number. Even if I have to settle for a Honda Civic, my number will be hit (and no, Civic is not my number one option; or any option). I am regrouping today, and I am going to unleash hell on the car dealerships tomorrow. The game face is coming back on, the entrance theme is coming back out. This time there will be no mercy. I have three cars I found that fit into what I want to do. And if I can't make a deal with any of those three, I deserve to drive a Civic (not that there is anything wrong with a Civic, except they suck).

Get ready for war, get ready for pain, get ready for a nice shiny new car in my garage... I hope

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Devastation of the Quake

Watching some of the images coming out of Japan of the utter destruction that the quake and tsunami caused, I couldn't help but think of the serious worldwide effects this would have. Am I going to be able to still get my favorite sushi roll and soy sauce? If there is a worldwide shortage, can we make sure I get the first batch of soy sauce at least? The article states :

A possible shortage of Kikkoman would be felt in Israel. "About 85% of the soy sauce used in Israel is Kikkoman. This is a very unusual figure in the world," Afriat says. "Israeli chefs feel very connected to this product. After the tsunami I received phone calls from hysterical people fearing a shortage of Kikkoman."

Is someone going to step up to the plate and make sure the world does not run out of soy sauce? If I have to have my spicy crab roll without my favorite soy sauce I also may become hysterical. Never mind that there is a nuclear meltdown underway; forget about 15,000 people dead or missing (and the number is rising) get me my damn soy sauce, because I have an occupation to maintain.

I interviewed local legend Muhammad Fahmy and he said, "I'm with Israel on this one. The nerve of people questioning the validity of their argument is absurd". And if Muhammad Fahmy said it, it must be the truth, so I guess I really have nothing else to say.

The Good Old Days

Courtesy of Bill Simmons. I miss this

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Dark Days

"My God so they are killers. I've heard lots of people say once a man's a killer, they just keep on killing and killing; they sort of develop a taste for blood".

This old movie quote is the best thing I can think of right now. Qaddafi has announced that they are going to attack Benghazi, and show no mercy (story). The BBC has also reported that bombing has already begun. So this is what it comes to. The genocide is going to happen and few will take notice. The people went to the street to demand their freedoms and rights. Qaddafi escalated it into a civil war with violence. And now, he will attempt to murder everyone who stands up to him. What is interesting to me is how the international community continues to be on the wrong side of history. Their lack of action and lack of urgency is troublesome. They were on the wrong side of history with Mubarak. They supported him publicly until it was evident he had lost control of the country. Now they are silent while a madman butchers his own people.

I am reminded of the Edmund Burke quote "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil, is good men to do nothing".

The Empire Strikes Back

As the worlds eyes are fixated on Japan and the disaster there, things in Libya are getting progressively worse. Qaddafi is steadily regaining ground on the rebels. It doesn't seem that enough people are dying for the world to intervene. But, if you think about it, it makes sense. For a foreign power to impose a no fly zone doesn't make sense unless you are ready to engage. For example, if you impose the no fly zone, and Qaddafi's forces do not abide by it, is the US, or NATO going to actively engage Qaddafi's forces? Is the US ready to put boots on the ground in Libya to ensure that the killing of civilians stops? Right now, unless there is a force willing to go all the way in Libya and support the rebels, it is clear that Qaddafi is going to take the country back, and then go to work on those who rose up against him.

So the international community will sit idly by as these atrocities continue. Why? Because they do not have the stomach to get involved in the Middle East (or anywhere else for that matter) unless the gain is great. What is there to gain out of helping Libyan's? If you think about it, there is nothing to be gained. We can't impose our will on another country at this point to control their oil. So life is cheap in Libya, and as long as the uprising is contained where there is nothing to be gained, who really cares. We have much bigger fish to fry like a fake democracy in Iraq (where there is alot to be gained), or denying democracy for those who do not share our views.

Monday, March 14, 2011

Wow

Crazy video of a kid getting bullied and his reaction

Youtube took this video down.

Japan

Not sure what can be said except Subhanallah. These photos are unreal.


Friday, March 11, 2011

Adventures in Snow

Being almost spring time, the final bit of snow was finally washed away today with the rain and warm weather. For a brief moment I missed the snow until I remembered the first big snow storm of the season. Then I missed it no more. Good riddance and welcome spring. So what happened on that day? I wrote about it the day after. Enjoy.



I am tired. I shoveled for four hours yesterday in the morning, and two hours the night before. I am a fool, because at the hardware store two weeks ago, my wife told me to buy a snow blower. I said for what. If it snows, I'll hire one of those little hoppers who runs around with a shovel. Well, unfortunately for me, the hoppers didn't make it up the mountain I live on. So at 7am, I went outside yesterday and started the never ending driveway (for those of you who have been to my house, you know how it is). At 8:00 I was starving and tired. The last time I had eaten was the night before, right before I went out to shovel for two hours. As a side note, my daughters came outside with me Sunday night, and loved that the snow was sparkling, "Look Buthayna, it's SPAAARRKALING", said the younger one (3) to the older one (6). Then they both lay in the middle of the driveway doing snow angels. This, needless to say annoyed me, because I was trying to shovel snow, at 6pm on a Sunday night, in the middle of the worst blizzard since 1996, and they loved how it sparkled. So I shoveled away their damn snow angels, much to their chagrin. But they were unrelenting. Snow angel after cursed snow angel. And that was the night before.

Back to the matter at hand. So at 8:00am yesterday I was tired and hungry. I knew there were bagels in the house, and I really wanted a cup of coffee. So to get into the house from the garage you enter a mud room. This room is about 3 feet by 3 feet. There are 4 doors in this little space (5 if you count the one for the garage). Immediately to your right is a door to the laundry room. Right next to the laundry room door is a small closet. Then directly in front of you, coming in from the garage is the door to the kitchen. And directly to your left is a door to a pantry. So I open the door to the kitchen, and no sign of life. Wife and kids not downstairs yet. Crap. I go back outside, and continue my death march. After what felt like an hour (it was 15 min), I checked again to see if my wonderful wife had come downstairs. Nothing. Now, i could have take off my boots and tried to shake off the snow from my legs and make myself coffee and toast a bagel and fry an egg, but I knew if those boots came off, they were not going back on. So back outside I went. After another 15 min I checked again. What the hell! No woman, no children. Why the hell did I get married. I want coffee and a bagel egg and cheese! Is this so freaking difficult! I am on my death march out here, the least that can happen is I die with a full stomach.

So now I think about going in the house without taking off my boots. Quickly I think better of it. But now I start to panic. I see on the counter, directly to my right a can of Diet Pepsi. That is caffeinated. So I grab it. Then I remember I have a pantry, and pantry's have food! Now we're cooking! So I go into the pantry, but find nothing but pickles, tuna, olives, and chips. So I grab a bag of cheese doodles, and my can of soda, and go outside. I munch down the cheese doodles, and finish the soda in 3 chugs, and get back to work. But now I feel like crap. I am disgusted with myself; soda at 8:30 with a bag of cheese doodles sucks.

But I am shoveling away, and then I hear the voice of an angel "Ibrahim, Ibrahim, Ibrahim". Only one person says that name that way. I quickly make my way to the garage and see my wife. "Would you like anything to eat?" She asks. You don't even know I tell her.

Thursday, March 10, 2011

King Nothing II

I have been reading up on Congressman Peter Kings hearings, and I guess I am a bit dumber than I thought I was. I am not exactly sure what he is trying to accomplish here. Does he want the Muslim community to actively investigate terrorism? Are they supposed to actually go out and seek out plots, collect evidence and interview witnesses? What exactly does Rep King want?

What I do know is that when you start calling people treasonous without any evidence whatsoever, you look more and more like Senator McCarthy (McCarthyism). Perhaps that's what Peter King is trying to accomplish. Go out and make a name for himself. After all, the elections are coming up next year, and with the radical shift in the base of the Republican Party he needs to make nice with the new base. And who is this new base you ask. Well, they are non other than the Tea Party, who have shown little regard to anything that is not white, Christian, and conservative. They have driven a clear stake in the ground with an "us" against "them" mentality.

The alarming trend of labeling and fear mongering seems to be gaining steam. Of course, all of this fits into the 8 Stages of Genocide that Gregory Stanton identified in this 1996 article.You will be shocked at how far along in the process we have gotten in 10 years. Now, I am not saying we are all going to be lined up and killed; however, our identities as Muslims are under overt attack. This is not a fight that is happening quietly anymore. There are elements in this country that want people to hate you because you are Muslim.

I don't like standing on this soap box for very long, but it is our duty as Muslims to show everyone what we are about. I don't think we need committees and organizations to do that. A simple act of kindness to your neighbor is a great start. There is no better way to change public opinion about yourself, then show people who you are through your actions. We can talk all we want about how Islam is the religion of peace and all that other good stuff we like to toot our own horn about. But the real difference only happens when you show someone who you really are.

King Nothing

Is it just me, or does Qaddafi look like a villain from a bad 80's movie. Where do we get these guys from? He has the Jheri Curls. He has the all female Amazonian body guards. He has the blond nurse that goes with him everywhere. He talks like an idiot. He thinks he has solved the worlds problems (in his green book). Every time I see him, I think of the movie Wag the Dog. I feel like he is just a made up character for everyone to hate.

But the violence he is perpetrating against his own people is very real. But alas, his time will come. He is desperately trying to hold onto power by killing his own people. Interesting idea, reminds me of a song by Metallica (King Nothing) where they say "just want one thing, that's to play the king, but the castle's crumbled and you're left with just a name, where's your crown king nothing".

When someone becomes desperate to hold onto power, they are willing to do anything to hold onto that power. Even if it means burning his "kingdom" to the ground. I don't know if it will get to that. Hopefully someone from his inner circle will reach a breaking point and end this craziness. But what we are seeing throughout the Middle East is a bunch of King Nothings. The sad thing is we propped up these King Nothings, and supported them. I really hope that the King Nothing mentality doesn't find it's way here to the US..... Oh crap, I forgot about the Tea Party.

Zabiha Halal Sucks

My wife and I converted to Zabiha only a little more than a year ago. This is making me seriously reconsider.



By the way, the Shack Burger is phenomenal. Biggest attraction at CitiField.

To Kill a Mockingbird..

So, I was taking my daughters to school this morning, and they wouldn't stop singing the wonderful "hush little baby" song. I was wondering what it is about nursery rhymes that attract children. Is it the fact that they can make up the words as they go along. Is it because of how simplistic the message is? Take for example hush little baby. Who buys a mockingbird for anyone? I thought those are just to be killed. And a horse and carriage? No wonder why these kids grow up screwed up. They think the world owes them something. Well not the world, but their father. How am I supposed to afford all that crap?

I can't get out of the grocery store with them without being rocked at the checkout lane by them. Supermarkets put all that junk there because they know kids will eventually break down their parents, and parents will eventually buy the junk. And then there is the mall. Generally speaking, I dislike the mall. But i especially dislike it after having children. It is not humanly possible to go to the mall with children and not:

1. go to the toy store and spend $10 per kid on a useless piece of junk that will get lost in the car on the way home
2. hear "I'm sooo hungry", and spend another $10 per kid on food that will get thrown in the trash (up to $40 in case you are not keeping track. $60 if you count adults for food)
3. deal with "I don't want to go home", in which you respond like an educated person "If we go home now, we'll stop and get some ice cream", and guess how much that's going to cost for a family of 4.

So, we're up to $80 on a trip to the mall that you have not actually made any real purchases. So, going out for "clothes for the kids" which is once every 2 months is an absolute disaster. And God forbid you need something real, like a winter coat, you are done with. All because of that damn mockingbird.