# Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Meal Options

Korean Air has 22 special needs meals plus 2 or 3 choices for the standard meal and 2 or 3 for the first class passengers. That includes 6 types of vegetarian meals (one is listed under Hindu).

We prepare a selection of special meals, catering to a wide variety of tastes as well as ethnic, religious and dietary needs. Special meals will be available in the flights with meal service only. Orders for special meals should be made at the Korean Air reservation center at least 24 hours before your scheduled flight.

[ Welcome to Korean Air ]

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# Sunday, August 26, 2007

If you're not part of the solution...

You are part of the problem. Apparently some news sources don't get it. When covering horrific acts of extremist fringe groups most if not all news outlets will not discuss or publish the goals of those groups, and for a good reason, to help them get their message out, or lend credence to their movement, would be a crime by assisting those who perpetrated the horrible acts. However US news outlets don't seem to understand that is exactly what the do when covering stories like the recent bombing in Hyderabad, India.

First a little background of the city:

Hyderabad is a unique cosmopolitan city and home to people practicing Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, and Zoroastrianism. Hyderabadis have developed their own distinctive culture, which is a mixture of ancient Hindu traditions of Telugu people and the centuries old Islamic Culture.

...

The cities population is estimated at 3.6 million or more in 2006 while the population of the greater metropolitan area is estimated at over 6.1 million. Religiously and culturally, the city is united with Christians, Hindus and Muslims. The main languages spoken are Telugu, Hindi,Tamil,Urdu and Deccani.

Wikipedia ]

Basically Hyderabad is a true success story of a people of different cultures and religions working together for the common good, just the sort of thing that extremists who pretend to have an Islamic bent, just can't stand. How to deal with this "blemish" in their rhetoric of the "two worlds"? Simple, drive a wedge between the Muslims and their neighbors with a terror act. If people die, and it's determined that the "Muslims" did it, the other communities will trust them less and withdrawal from cross-cultural and cross-religious engagements where they can.

So then, what are the voices of reason to do to fight this? Don't highlight the cause of these extremists by labeling this a "Muslim" or "Islamic" act. If we treat these vile extremists as just that, and make sure to use labels that aren't divisive, we hopefully act against their desires and help to invalidate their actions, and at least we don't assist them with their evil intentions. So who can we rely on to just not "get it"?

News Organizations References to the Terrorists

With reference to Islam

Without reference to Islam

CNN
Fox News
MSNBC
Washington Post
USA Today
ABC News
CBS News
Deutsche Welle
US News & World Report
Reuters
AP
Time

BBC
NY Times
France 2

But, you may say, some of these sources are just quoting Indian officials who are saying that themselves. It's a tricky game these militant extremists play and just because the Indian government has fallen for their trap, doesn't mean news organizations should follow. Does this act make any more sense to anyone by using the self proclaimed label of the organization responsible? And certainly does this act represent, in anyone's mind, what any self-respecting, honest, Muslim from the majority of Muslims ever consider acceptable behavior? This linkage of the words "Muslim" and "Islam" to acts like this is the goal of these organizations. They want you to believe that this is what Islam stands for so that you will distance yourself from the Muslims of the world. Then they will have a much easier time to recruit additional followers and create a larger and larger rift between the decent people of the world, and we're helping them.

And before you jump all over me for this rant, ask yourself why a story like this one on CNN.com doesn't refer to these bombers as "Christian Terrorists".

Note: my survey was very unscientific I simply picked the first story about the bombings in India that I found on each site. Oh, and I was very surprised by the Washington Post and Reuters.

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# Thursday, August 23, 2007

Ramadan 1428 AH - 2007 CE

The astronomical New Moon is on Tuesday, September 11, 2007 at 12:44 Universal Time (3:44 pm Makkah time). Sunset at Makkah on September 11 is 6:28 pm local time, while moonset at Makkah is at 6:24 pm local time (4 minutes before sunset). This does not meet the new criteria adopted by Fiqh Council of North America (FCNA) and European Council of Fatwa and Research (ECFR). On Wednesday, September 12, 2007, sunset at Makkah is 6:27 pm local time, while moonset is at 6:55 pm local time. Therefore, first day of Ramadan is Thursday, September 13, insha'Allah.

[ Announcement Detail About Ramadan 1428 AH ]

And if you don't believe me, just ask Crayola, American Greetings, Blue Mountain, or Wikipedia. It wasn't so long ago that my blog was one of the few places you could see this announcement; what a long way we've come.

Update: I am actually surprised by the Crayola page. It is clear that they've done their research and actually understand the holy month. They have activities to share with children to impress important lessons upon them, not just stupid coloring activities based on trite symbolism, but actual activities and exercises designed to educate and enrich. Kudos Crayola, and color me impressed.

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# Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Amanpour's Warriors for God

Last night was the first of a three part series on CNN by Cristiane Amanpour about modern warrior traditions in the 3 major Abrahamic faiths of our day. What does she think she knows? (You may ask):

"My experience has been steeped in all the faiths," says Amanpour. "My mother's a Catholic -- I've been to Catholic schools where we said prayers all the time. My father's a Muslim, I grew up in Iran -- I suppose my pivotal turning point in my adult life was the Iranian revolution. And my husband's Jewish.

[ Miami Herald ]

They've split up the 6 hours into three 2 hour shows, one for each faith: first Jewish, then Muslim, then Christian. I have to say that so far I guess it seems fair, there is little praise or condemnation in the piece, it's mostly just the facts portrayed, and by the people involved when possible. No suprises for me in the first 2 hours, it was all information I already was aware of. I don't expect to learn much on tonight's show either, but tomorrow when we get to Christians I hope to learn a bit more about non-Catholic traditions that I'm none-too-familliar with. 

CNN chose their language for the first piece quite well, and left it up to the viewer to reflect on how they feel about the revelations within it. If this continues through the next two nights then perhaps this series will educate and expand the conversation about how all peoples can turn their back on hate and violence and share this little rock we live on.

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# Tuesday, August 21, 2007

The perfect weather

You may think me the freak, but today the weather was just perfect:

So I should probably figure out where this type of weather is a regular thing, say 2/3rds of the year, and move there...

Of course it also needs to have all the benefits of where I live now:

  • Great restaurants
  • Top schools
  • Lots of diversity
  • Large Muslim community
  • Plentiful Internet
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# Sunday, August 19, 2007

Maryland History is Fun!

My Aunt mentioned this today during our visit, and it looks like a blast:

The Western Maryland Scenic Railroad round trip excursion is an exciting mix of mountain scenery and rich transportation history. It’s an entertaining and educational experience riders of all ages and interests with interpretive history and lively Main Street Districts at both ends of the trip!

[ Western Maryland Scenic Railroad ]

The three and a half hour round trip includes 90 minutes in historic Frost burg and for $48 bucks you get a meal too. There is no menu page, it looks like menu might change, so I picked a day at random and this is what they're serving:

The following menu is available on the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad. If you purchase train tickets that include a meal, you will be asked to select your preference of one of the meals below:

  • Roast Beef and Gravy on Texas Toast served with Mashed Potatoes and Summer Blend Vegetables.
  • Turkey Club with Chips served with sides of Carrot and Celery Sticks and Macaroni Salad.
  • Macaroni and Cheese served with a cup of fruit.
  • Vegetable Lasagna served with a Salad
  • Hot Dog on a bun served with chips and a cup of fruit.
  • Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwich served with applesauce and a cup of fruit.

Not exactly gourmet, but most likely tasty. After returning to Cumberland at 3pm, there is certainly a ton of history to see, and a good number of attractions and a few places to eat.

Now I just have to set a date, and get my tickets!

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# Friday, August 17, 2007

Die Mosquitos Die!

How to build a Mosquito trap.

Materials Needed:

2000ml (2 liter) bottle
50 gram (brown?) sugar
1 gram yeast
Thermometer
Measure cup
Knife
Black paper

[ DIY:happy Quick and Dirty Mosquito Trap ]

That looks pretty darn easy. And would last much much longer than the crappy repellents I've tried so far. Plus, unlike a repellent, this gets rid of the buggers.

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# Thursday, August 16, 2007

Poopsmith!


New onesie: Poopsmith, originally uploaded by Yaty Yasir Kearns.

That's my daughter sporting a Poopsmith Onesie.

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# Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Can you dig it, CC?

Larry Wilmore is one funny cat. Did a piece on the Daily Show about Obama and his blackitude, and ended the piece with a bit of Parliment's Chocolate City. I think it's genius and Obama should use it as his campaign music from this point out.

Tell 'em to make sure they got their James Brown pass
And don't be surprised if Obama is in the White House

[ Lyrics for Parliament's Chocolate City ]

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Cosi is back, baby!

Frequent lunch companions of mine will know that I've been sour on Cosi for quite a while now. My big complaints?

  • Only one kind of bread
  • Only about a dozen sandwich choices
  • The coffee isn't so good

What's changed?

Two kinds of bread! They've added a kind of whole wheat bread that I found quite yummy today.

Much bigger menu! More sandwiches, some are "melts", pizza and individual casseroles in the evenings, and for a limited time? The "Cosi Lobster Roll", mmmm yummy.

And still the same coffee. But 2 out of 3 ain't bad, eh?

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