ABRIDGED VERSION AT GUARDIAN: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/sep/27/pakistan.sarahpalin

Wajahat Ali

As part of her “Meet the Ineffectual World Leaders” parade to miraculously understand the complexities of modern day geo-politics in less than 40 days, Sarah Palin had a lively interaction with recently elected Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari in New York. Zardari, the Suge Knight of Pakistan, also affectionately known as “Mr. 10%” for his absolutely awesome reputation and history of corruption, stepped out in the American lime light for the first time as an elected politician. Read the rest of this entry »

RUSTY ZIMMERMAN, ILLUSTRATOR

WAJAHAT ALI, 9/24/08

When Naomi Klein published her latest book, The Shock Doctrine last year (recently out in paperback), she sought to illustrate the theory that the free market policies of economist Milton Friedman were pushed through in countries such as Chile and Iraq while their citizens were in shock from disaster or upheaval. Such policies were then used to transfer wealth and assets from governments to corporations. She noted then that the disasters did not have to be natural or military-led, but economic. Enter the current crisis in Wall Street, where a $700 billion bailout package is being promoted as immediately necessary to stave off further financial catastrophe. In a short space of time, evidence of Klein’s theory have already surfaced in the form of Section 8 of the Bush administration’s bailout plan, which states that as-yet undetermined decisions based on the plan are “non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency.” Klein spoke with me on the consequences of the current financial crisis, where the seeds where planted, and how politicians from both sides helped contribute to a new round of “shock therapy.”

ALI: With the Feds stepping in with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and the $85 billion bailout of AIG, is this proof that the Republicans have learned to stop worrying and learned to love regulation? Read the rest of this entry »

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/09/observing_ramadan.html

Muslim faithful throughout the world are currently observing the holy month of Ramadan. Observant Muslims participate in fasting (sawm), one of the five pillars of their faith, this entire Lunar month (this year it extends from September 1st to the 30th). Eating, drinking, smoking and sexual activity is prohibited from dawn until sunset, when the fast is broken with the evening meal called Iftar. Local customs define varying traditions, including differing types of food used to break the daily fast. The fasting is meant to teach a person patience, humility and sacrifice, to set aside time to ask forgiveness, practice self-restraint, and pray for guidance in the future. (35 photos total) [<-- Click for amazing photos]

Here’s a sad monument to the sleaziness of this presidential campaign: Almost one-third of voters “know” that Barack Obama is a Muslim or believe that he could be.

In short, the political campaign to transform Mr. Obama into a Muslim is succeeding. The real loser as that happens isn’t just Mr. Obama, but our entire political process.

A Pew Research Center survey released a few days ago found that only half of Americans correctly know that Mr. Obama is a Christian. Meanwhile, 13 percent of registered voters say that he is a Muslim, compared with 12 percent in June and 10 percent in March. Read the rest of this entry »

• Story Highlights
• Racial prejudices could cost Sen. Barack Obama 6 percentage points, poll suggests
• Poll: Forty percent of white Americans have at least a partly negative view of blacks
• Experts point out that it’s hard to quantify racial attitudes
• Democrats typically get close to 90 percent of the African-American vote

(CNN) — A new study that surveyed racial attitudes suggests that racial prejudices could tip the balance in the upcoming presidential election. Read the rest of this entry »