Accidental Blogger

Ambassador to the Vatican (Joe)

Conservative law professor/blogger Stephen Bainbridge thinks that appointing Doug Kmiec[1] as the U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See would be an insult to the Vatican and to the Pope.  He follows up with a non-responsive response to the challenge that under his views, maybe Obama shouldn't appoint an ambassador at all.

What I find interesting about this -- apart from Henry Farrell's puzzling claim that Bainbridge is "thoughtful" -- is that Bainbridge has apparently talked himself into the position that it would be an "insult," or at minimum "impudent," for Barack Obama to appoint anyone who supported Barack Obama.

[1] Kmiec is an anti-choice Catholic who supported Obama on the theory that overall he was better than McCain, and that he was better than McCain with respect to abortion on the grounds that abortion will remain federal law in any event and that an Obama Administration will actually result in fewer lives lost to abortion than a McCain Administration.  Bainbridge's horse in this race is abortion.

My Bleeding City

Author Suketu Mehta in the New York Times on the Mumbai terrorist mayhem.

MY bleeding city. My poor great bleeding heart of a city. Why do they go after Mumbai? There’s something about this island-state that appalls religious extremists, Hindus and Muslims alike. Perhaps because Mumbai stands for lucre, profane dreams and an indiscriminate openness.

Mumbai is all about dhandha, or transaction. From the street food vendor squatting on a sidewalk, fiercely guarding his little business, to the tycoons and their dreams of acquiring Hollywood, this city understands money and has no guilt about the getting and spending of it. I once asked a Muslim man living in a shack without indoor plumbing what kept him in the city. “Mumbai is a golden songbird,” he said. It flies quick and sly, and you’ll have to work hard to catch it, but if you do, a fabulous fortune will open up for you. The executives who congregated in the Taj Mahal hotel were chasing this golden songbird. The terrorists want to kill the songbird.

The rest of the article here.  (Mehta is a bit over the top with his sentimentality, just as many New Yorkers were after 9/11. But what he says about the religious tolerance of big, diverse Indian megapolises used to be true only a decade or so ago - that's the India in which I grew up.)

Gay Rights and Family Values

For the past couple of months I have been following the developments in the Nebraska Safe Haven Law which went into effect last February making it possible for parents to give up their children to the state if they believed that they could not adequately care for them. A law of good intentions had unintended results. Nebraska did not specify an age limit for the children who could be dropped off at the doorsteps of the government. Alarm bells went off in the state legislature when it was discovered that parents were "abandoning" older children, some of them teenagers.  Some parents had driven from other states as far away as Georgia and California to bring their kids to Nebraska. The law has now been revised to limit the age of children who can be dropped off to 30 days or younger.   

This brings me to Joe's recent post about the ballot initiative in Arkansas limiting adoption and foster care rights to heterosexual couples in a "valid marriage." As Joe pointed out, although the law will prohibit heterosexual unmarried couples from adopting children, the underlying impetus for the initiative is to really exclude gay couples from becoming adoptive parents and foster care givers. That the Arkansas law passed with a 57% majority, indicates that a lot of people believe that a valid marriage provides "safe haven" for children. I would hazard a guess that none of the children abandoned in Nebraska was under the care of gay parents and that many came from homes where parents are / were in a valid heterosexual marriage. But things still didn't work out for the kids and the parents.  The problem in my opinion, is that when most people think of marriage and home in an abstract and legal manner, the image in their minds is that of "Father Knows Best" or the "Huxtables" even when their own marital and family situation may be crappy. Parenting skills are a matter of maturity, emotional stability and yes, often the financial security of the care givers. When two people are involved in parenting, the emotional harmony between them too plays a role in the child's life. Sexual preference or marital status are not factors that determine any of the above. If it did, widowed, divorced and single parents would invariably be failed parents.

The reasons that kids were given up in Nebraska are most likely to be of financial and emotional  nature and probably had nothing at all to do with the sexual preference of the parents. Could some of them have been more effectively cared for by nurturing gay couples in stable relationships with superior financial wherewithals? The answer of course is an unequivocal "yes." What about well off and mature single men and women who did not have the time or the inclination for marriage or childbirth during their career building years but who at a certain stage in their lives feel secure and stable enough to adopt a child?  Some of these "unorthodox" parents may even have the loving help of an extended family (grandparents, aunts and uncles) who will pitch in with child care. Should such prospective parents be denied the right to a family? What exactly do family values mean? Is it about a "safe haven" for children or is it all about mean hearted prejudices that have no grounding in reality?

Note: I believe that even parents of older kids coping with stressful situations in child rearing and lacking the means for private counseling should be able to seek help from the community and the state without feeling a sense of shame.

A Sin Against the Lord

A church in Kansas is warning Americans to expect divine retribution for electing Barack Obama president.

... because they are unnatural creatures!

Does the following story strike anyone else as a case of hilariously unintended irony? Or am I forcing an "unnatural" analogy in my wicked mind?

The gnomes, along with plastic flowers and other decorations such as teddy bears, have been called "inappropriate" and tacky by the Diocese of Bath and Wells.

The church banned the garden figures from Wrington and Congresbury cemeteries in Somerset, and have said they will remove any that they find as part of new guidelines issued by the Chancellor of the Diocese, Worshipful Timothy Briden.

A spokesman for the Diocese of Bath and Wells said: "There is no such thing as a real gnome so why should we have such unnatural creatures in churchyards?" (emphasis mine)

A November Surprise That Wasn't!

A couple of McCain supporters and GOP hacks can't quite believe that Barack Obama can think his own thoughts and put them together in complete sentences. So they tried to launch an investigation using the expertise of an Oxford philosopher to "prove" that Obama's autobiography, The Dreams from My Father was actually ghost written by the dreaded terrorist he "pals" around with - William Ayers! (via Leiter Reports)

The Election Of The Gods

Now its not just McCain vs Obama but also the Christian God vs Allah / Buddha / Vishnu!

Irony of the Day (Joe)

Way back in the day (last October) I went off on Dozier Internet Law for its absurd website terms-of-use page, which made a number of laughable legal claims; these appear to me to basically be intellectual-property claims couched in contract context.  I was particularly impressed by the You May Not Link Here Clause: "we ... do not allow any links to our site without our express permission."

Well, one Accidental Blogger reader recently brought to our attention a new suit filed by Dozier, in which it will reportedly sue an internet user for not linking to its website.*  Nice!

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* I hope or assume that this description is an oversimplification.  Really don't care.  I just like the implication that you can be sued for linking to Dozier's stupid website or, in the alternative, for precisely the opposite.

An Unhealthy Obsession(Sujatha)

A couple of weeks ago, an insert containing a DVD was in my Sunday newspaper : 'Obsession', with the O represented by a Crescent and Star, well recognizable as the symbol of Islam, and the N ending in the business end of a machine gun. The linkage implied was all too clear, despite miniscule disclaimers to the contrary about the majority of Muslims being peaceful- that " Islam = Terrorism".
The DVD purports to give an 'insider's view' of the  'War against the West', but I didn't feel too keen to give that piece of propaganda any viewing, until a week ago, a second DVD arrived, this time in the mail. My, those are some determined people trying to get out their message. So I kept it aside, intending to view it when I could make the time, to see why it was generating generous quantities of protest letters to the editor.

This morning, however, reading about a 'Hazmat' incident at a mosque in Dayton, it became all too clear what the target audience and the intended effect was.

The Muslim community gathered Sunday, Sept. 28, 48 hours after an unknown irritant disrupted worship at the Islamic Society of Greater Dayton.
"We were in the midst of the Fifth Prayer when people started coughing," said Ismail Gula, the society's secretary.
Gula said the building was evacuated and the service to break the daily fast of Ramadan continued at a nearby facility.
He said he had no idea what might have caused the incident. "It might be anything," he said.
Gula said he had received many calls of support from Christians and Jews over the weekend.
...

Also on Sunday, members of several Dayton religious groups were scheduled to view and discuss a DVD about Islamic radicalism mailed to some area homes and circulated with newspapers here and around the country.
"Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West," was a paid advertising insert in the Dayton Daily News, Springfield News-Sun, Hamilton JournalNews and Middletown Journal, all owned by Cox Ohio Publishing, on Monday, Sept. 22. It appeared in more than 70 other newspapers nationwide.
The Rev. Gary Percesepe, executive director of Greater Dayton Christian Connections, characterized the DVD as "fanning the flames of fear and prejudice against Muslims, with the potential to inspire hate crimes."

What was the provenance of this DVD, which is being distributed by the millions through newspaper inserts and direct mail?  Why are they playing the fear card as in " The threat of Radical Islam is the most important issue facing us today...It's our responsibility to ensure we can all make an informed vote in November"

This NPR link sheds some more light on who is behind this:

Obsession was produced by the Clarion Fund, a 501(c)(3) charity, which cannot get involved in campaign politics.
But its spokesman has said the newspaper distribution had one purpose: to make terrorism a presidential campaign issue where it counts — in the battleground states. He said Clarion did this with a half-million dollar grant from a secret donor.
And others have been promoting Obsession in other ways. Joe Wierzbicki, a political consultant, offered free copies of the DVD to listeners on a talk show in Detroit last month. He was promoting a free screening of Obsession on Sept. 11 in Dearborn, a city with a large Arab population.

The DVD (at least the trailer and the couple of scenes that I deigned to watch) was rife with clips of Arabic and Iranian propaganda of kids yelling 'Death to America' , imagery of the aftermath of bombings in Israel, the ubiquitous footage of 9/11, a self described former PLO terrorist now reformed and equating Palestinian propaganda with the methods used by Nazis to revile Jews. The interesting twist is that the same techniques were being used to revile Muslims through a good part of the film (based on the chapter headings which were all vilifying 'Radical Islam').

Where will it all end, this incitement to hate and violence? Will this Obsession convert Muslims into the new Jews, at least in America?

'Hari Puttar' Redux (Dean)

The long awaited resolution to the hotly contested Hari/Harry Puttar/Potter suit has emerged, in Hari's favor. Well, not really long awaited, and probably not all that hotly contested. In fact, this case, like the recent suit resulting in an injunction prohibiting the publication of a Harry Potter lexicon, pretty much points out the imbecility of some areas of so-called intellectual so-called property law. Rowling's publisher won that suit, so I'm happy to see Warner Bros.'s claims rejected here. The notion that Hari might "confuse" consumers into thinking he's Harry is absurd. The lexicon case may be a closer call, but I find myself among a slim minority who believe the probably badly-executed lexicon shouldn't have been held to infringe on Rowling's (or the publisher's) copyright, despite what the judge found to be copious copying from Rowling's works. It was nothing more nor less than a reference work focused on the text of the series. There is no other sensible way to produce a useful lexicon. One must copy and paraphrase another's so-called original text.

Is religious prejudice a cover for racial bias?

Nicholas Kristoff of the New York Times thinks so.  Despite the Reverend Wright controversy and his own declaration of how he came to embrace the Chirstian faith, a substantial percentage of American voters, many of them Democrats, persist in their belief that Obama is a Muslim. Kristoff suspects that this is stubbornness on the part of some voters who cannot comfortably admit that the real reason they will not support Obama is his skin color and not his faith.

What is happening, I think, is this: religious prejudice is becoming a proxy for racial prejudice. In public at least, it’s not acceptable to express reservations about a candidate’s skin color, so discomfort about race is sublimated into concerns about whether Mr. Obama is sufficiently Christian.

The result is this campaign to “otherize” Mr. Obama. Nobody needs to point out that he is black, but there’s a persistent effort to exaggerate other differences, to de-Americanize him.

Sarah Palin: The "Super Mom" on political parade

"I just loathe the way Palin is using her kids, especially the baby, as a sort of shield. Conservatives cut funding, always, consistently...so just popping out children left and right does not make someone a good advocate for them. I don't think people are realizing how disastrous she could be for social services," writes Matt in a comment.

Many others are having similar thoughts on seeing Sarah Palin's Family Values image being peddled by her party. In fact, the author of the following article nervously recalls having seen Sarah Pralin once before --- in Iran! [via Leiter Reports]

I grew up in Iran and immigrated to US to avoid living in a theocracy. Lately though, the trajectory of US politics is something to worry about, not only to me, but also to many others in my predicament.

Wednesday night at the Republican convention was an especially poignant moment. I was watching Sarah Palin deliver her acceptance speech. As I was watching her, her family, and her adoring fans in the Republican convention, I could not overcome a feeling that I have seen this scene before...

Right after the Revolution in Iran and the establishment of the Islamic Republic, the Iran-Iraq war was started. To be fair, Iraq started that war, but the new revolutionary leaders of Iran saw the war as a godsend. They milked it for all it was worth. They labeled anyone against the war as a traitor or unpatriotic. Anyone who suggested that there may be a negotiated settlement was ridiculed and purged from power. Even Ayatollah Khomeini once said that this war is a blessing from God himself. You may see the parallels here already, but keep reading.

More here.

Community Organizer

An apt rejoinder to the "elitist" put down of Barack Obama by Sarah Palin and other Republicans. (link)  Another Biblically correct shirt maker takes the slogan one step further; Democrats are having fun too.

The "Vicktory" Dogs

Taking a bit of a break from the faintly sinister and patently ludicrous political theater surrounding the US presidential campaign, I am happy to bring you news of a different kind.

Stories that lift our spirits very often describe the triumph of the utterly vulnerable - the miserable underdog beating incredible odds. In this particular case, the underdogs happen to be real dogs and this is the heartwarming story of their rescue from debauched cruelty and certain death.

Little over a year ago, we learnt about the criminal activities of ex-NFL star Michael Vick who was caught and later sentenced to jail for the brutal torture of several pit bulls that he used in illegal dog fighting. Vick is currently in jail serving a sentence of 23 months (too lenient, in my opinion). But what about the abused dogs, some of whom were bred to be vicious killers and others as terrified bait animals? At the time of the court case, the conventional wisdom (including that of various animal welfare organizations) was that the dogs had been so severely abused that they were beyond rehabilitation and needed to be euthanized. But Best Friends, an animal rescue agency in Utah thought otherwise. Volunteers from Best Friends pleaded with the court for a chance to return Vick's dogs to normalcy through patient and humane care. Luckily for the dogs, the judge agreed to give the animals a second chance after the hell hole to which Vick and his cronies had condemned them from puppyhood. The tragic story now has a happy ending. Read about the loving rehabilitation and amazing transformation of the dogs on the Best Friend's website: (I have added Best Friends to the list of animal charities I plan to support regularly)

National Geographic filmed the progress of the vicious, suspicious or coweringly nervous dogs to trusting, playful animals some of whom have already been adopted by dog lovers. The documentary aired on September 5 on the NG channel in their series Dog Town. (Unfortunately I missed the full documentary but saw a few incredibly touching and gratifying scenes from the film on a news show. I hope to watch the episode on September 12 when it will air again.) More about Dog Town and the Best Friends Animal Society in the L.A. Times.

It has been a summer of awe-inspiring, thought-provoking spectacle on television. First the Summer Olympics, then the Democratic and Republican national conventions and now the return of "DogTown." If that sounds sarcastic or snarky, it isn't meant to. The two-hour season premiere of the popular National Geographic Channel show is titled "Saving the Michael Vick Dogs," and if there were such a thing as an Olympics for animal rescue and rehabilitation, this would be it.

Last December, the Atlanta Falcons' star quarterback Michael Vick was sentenced to 23 months in prison for operating an illegal dog fighting venture on his Virginia property. Forty-seven pit bulls in various states of physical and psychological damage were found at Vick's Bad Newz Kennels; eight more corpses were discovered buried nearby.

It has been a summer of awe-inspiring, thought-provoking spectacle on television. First the Summer Olympics, then the Democratic and Republican national conventions and now the return of "DogTown." If that sounds sarcastic or snarky, it isn't meant to. The two-hour season premiere of the popular National Geographic Channel show is titled "Saving the Michael Vick Dogs," and if there were such a thing as an Olympics for animal rescue and rehabilitation, this would be it.

Last December, the Atlanta Falcons' star quarterback Michael Vick was sentenced to 23 months in prison for operating an illegal dog fighting venture on his Virginia property. Forty-seven pit bulls in various states of physical and psychological damage were found at Vick's Bad Newz Kennels; eight more corpses were discovered buried nearby.

At the time, many animal rescue experts recommended that the dogs be put down; so traumatic had the abuse been, so long had been their imprisonment that rehabilitation seemed impossible.

Others, including the veterinarians and trainers at Utah's Best Friends Animal Society, argued that the dogs could be saved. A judge finally agreed, and more than half were turned over to various shelters and rescues; the 22 most troubled dogs were sent to Dogtown.

Located on 3,000 acres of canyon country in southern Utah, the Best Friends sanctuary is one of the largest and no doubt the most beautifully located no-kill animal facilities; Dogtown is its canine program. For the past two years, "DogTown" the show has chronicled the staff as it healed and trained various ill, hurt, abused, abandoned and behavior-issue-plagued dogs.

In other words, it's a hard-core dog-lovers kind of show.

But even those folks who have never adopted a dog, loved a dog, pet a dog or met a dog will sit riveted as the four toughest cases of the Vick survivors are brought back from what can be described only as the brink of torture-inflicted canine insanity.

Behind the scenes at the GOP Convention

After a shaky start, the Republican National Convention picked up tempo by midweek. The party reached its high point on Wednesday, the 3rd of September, when John McCain's running mate, Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska brought the house down with her acceptance speech. McCain wrapped up the convention the next day with a patriotic story and a promise to "change" Washington during his own address. Those of us who watched the convention coverage on TV, saw the razzle dazzle and choreography of the orchestrated events. Now it is being reported that the GOP stagecraft wasn't exactly flawless. For example:

• Like any political gala designed to tug at the heartstrings of voters, the Republican convention was awash in symbolism and iconography, most of them easily understood. But for reasons that remained unclear for half a day, McCain delivered his acceptance speech before a giant image of Walter Reed Middle School in North Hollywood. Neither the audience in the hall nor TV viewers recognized the building or its particular significance in relation to the speech. The McCain campaign cannot explain why this particular school was used as the back drop on McCain's big night. Although the campaign won't admit it, it is now widely believed that the image that was intended to be there for patriotic symbolism was that of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington D.C. and not the school. The inept stage crew got the props mixed up and the principal of Walter Reed School is now unhappy that her school's photo was appropriated by the RNC without permission.
• When anti-war protesters interrupted McCain who peppered his speech with references to patriotism, honor and national security, he placated the audience thus:

  "My friends, my dear friends ... please, please don't be diverted by the ground noise and the static," McCain said. "I'm going to talk about it some more, but Americans want us to stop yelling at each other."

  What McCain must have known but didn't say, is that the protesters, who were "escorted" out by security guards were not mere "ground noise and static". They were Iraq War veterans who have hounded McCain at other public events because of his support of the war but not of those who are fighting it.
• Sarah Palin delighted the audience at the convention with many homilies about her down-home, common sense, non-elitist approach to governing. One punch line that got thunderous applause was when Palin decried the unnecessary perks of the governor's office.  "That luxury jet was over the top ..... I put it on eBay," she declared. But being the  consummate stand-up comic that she has proved to be, Palin knew exactly where to end her narrative to elicit the loudest cheer. It turns out that she did "put" the plane on eBay but she did not "sell" it.  The plane was later sold to a private buyer for $300,000 less than the asking price. Yet Sen McCain later told audiences during campaign stops that his running mate had sold the plane on the Internet for a profit.
• McCain spoke at length about fighting corruption, reducing the size of the government, defeating terrorists, cutting taxes and of honor and pride. He spoke more briefly about the economy, energy independence and education. On health care, he had only this to say: 

My health care plan will make it easier for more Americans to find and keep good health care insurance. His [Obama] plan will force small businesses to cut jobs, reduce wages, and force families into a government run health care system where a bureaucrat stands between you and your doctor.

Perhaps McCain had so little to say on this issue because he doesn't really believe that health care is a problem for most Americans. John Goodman, a health care adviser to the McCain campaign has claimed that there are no "uninsured Americans" because everyone has access to the hospital emergency room.  (McCain's campaign has now disassociated itself from Goodman)

Senator McCain has admitted that he doesn't understand economic issues very well. It is therefore not a surprise that he did not address the challenges facing the US economy in his speech. The day after the GOP convention ended, the US Department of Labor released a report showing that the US unemployment rate rose in the month of August to 6.1%, the highest in five years. Perhaps it is time for the McCain campaign to hire an economic adviser like Goodman who can redefine joblessness and declare, "There are no unemployed Americans;  there are only persons of leisure with access to eBay where they can sell at a profit all the accumulated junk in their basement and make a living."

Post Convention Updates:

The Invisible Sarah: The upcoming Sunday talk shows will be bristling with the presidential candidates answering questions of reporters and making their case to the public. One candidate who will not speak to the media is Sarah Palin. The McCain  campaign says that she will speak "directly to the American people."

Pray Away The Gay:  The church attended by Sarah Palin has planned a conference to promote the conversion of homosexuals to heterosexuals through the power of prayer. The "Love Won Out" conference is scheduled for the 13th of September in Anchorage, Alaska.      

Right Wing Weather Forecast # 2

Right wing religious bigots routinely hear from God.  They are also given to interpreting natural and man-made disasters as retributive justice wrought upon those who stray from Christian values as defined by them - not a surprising quality among the deluded and the vindictive. But where the bigots go wrong is when they start believing that God too hears them and their mean-spirited prayers.

It has now come to light that evangelical pastor James Dobson's organization Focus on the Family had posted this video on its website prior to the Democratic National Convention - praying for rain of "Biblical proportions" on the evening of August 28, the day Barack Obama delivered his acceptance speech outdoors before an audience of nearly 80,000 at the Mile High Stadium in Denver. (The video was later removed from Dobson's website but survives in cyberspace). The temperature in Denver on August 28 turned out to be balmy and the skies remained crystal clear. The supreme irony of course is that just three days later, the Republican National Convention was in total disarray when its inaugural day festivities got side swiped by Hurricane Gustav roaring into the Gulf Coast. I don't believe any supporter of Senators Obama & Biden had organized public prayers for weather interference against their political opponents' plans.

(click to enlarge)

Republican "Family Problems"

After hurricane Gustav's glancing blow derailed the Republican convention for a day, the news media and tabloids are all over hurricane Bristol, the real storm which is at the center of this year's GOP festivities that threatens to expose the hypocrisy of the party's "Family Values" bigots. Of course, the sanctimonious right wing morality brigade is spinning like Dervishes to put a holier than thou gloss over Sarah Palin's messy personal story. John McCain is resolute in his claim that Palin was thoroughly vetted but nobody is buying. The public too sees the irony of the events that have unfolded at the cost of one 17 year old whose ambitious parents spared little thought before pushing her into the national limelight at a vulnerable time in her young life. Many are asking now, "What about other young pregnant teens, especially poor ones, who may or may not have the financial or family support that Bristol Palin apparently does? Will the Republican Party show the same understanding and sympathy for them?"

Here is a sample of letters to the editor in today's Houston Chronicle; only one letter asks everyone to butt out of Sarah Palin's personal life.  And a cartoon by Chronicle's Nick Anderson.  (Anderson should have added, "...and I am a Democrat" to the young woman's statement."

Alaskan Akela (Sujatha)

Although the tabloid-style argument over the family shenanigans of the Palins has brought McCain's VP pick into sharp focus, there's another side to the much-vaunted abilities of Gov. Palin that you may not know of yet.

This is who McCain has nominated for VP:

"On March 27, the state House passed House Bill 256, Gov. Sarah Palin's bill, which allows for no science-based, same-day airborne hunting of wolves and bears and opens the doors to game-farming in Alaska. It also allows the lieutenant governor to remove Alaska's ballot measure to vote again on aerial hunting, thus taking Alaskans' right to vote away."

This is what Airborne hunting of wolves looks like: One of the saddest things I've seen, akin to the cow mistreatment videos that we blogged about earlier this year.

Hunting for food is one thing. Hunting wolves just for the thrill of the hunt, and that too by air, is another entirely, as is facilitating the horrendous practice.

Hari Puttar - A Comedy of Terrors

Indeed! The empire of the Harry Potter franchise has long arms. Trade mark H.P. is guarded like the Fort Knox (is Fort Knox still being guarded?). Any infringement, real or perceived, on the pricey trademark is cause for legal action. A Mumbai based film company is now feeling the wrath of the magical money making machine of J. K. Rowling / Warner Bros. for supposedly playing fast and loose with the Harry Potter name. Can Warner really prove theft of intellectual property in this case? Hari is indeed a common Indian name and puttar does mean "son" in Punjabi.  If the story line of the film does not mimic any of Rowling's own literary creations, what is the problem? A lot of hogwash from Hogwarts in my opinion.   (story via WSJ Law Blog; link: Dean)

NEW DELHI, India (Hollywood Reporter) – Warner Bros. has filed a lawsuit against Mumbai-based producer/distributor Mirchi Movies related to the title of its upcoming film "Hari Puttar -- A Comedy of Terrors," which Warners feels is a tad too similar to its franchise about a certain young wizard.

The case is being heard in the Bombay High Court and comes up for hearing Monday (August 25). "Hari Puttar," a comedy that centers on a 10-year-old Indian boy whose family moves to England, is slated for a September 12 release.

"We have recently commenced proceedings against parties involved in the production and distribution of a movie entitled 'Hari Puttar,"' London-based Warners spokeswoman Deborah Lincoln said. "Warner Bros. values and protects intellectual property rights. However, it is our policy not to discuss publicly the details of any ongoing litigation."

The Hari Puttar name began making the rounds here as a comic gag when the first "Harry Potter" film was released. Hari is a popular Indian name, and "puttar" means "son" in the Punjabi language.

"Since the case is sub-judice, we can't comment as of now," Mirchi Movies CEO Munish Purii said. "However, we registered the 'Hari Puttar' title in 2005, and it's unfortunate that Warner has chosen to file a case so close to our film's release. In my opinion, I don't think our title has any similarity or links with 'Harry Potter."'

Legalized Depravity

During the much publicized Q & A session (religious litmus test, really) with Pastor Rick Warren of the Saddleback Church on August 16, 2008, presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain reflected on wide ranging issues such as morality, personal tribulations and their vision for America. (McCain who went second, by the way, was not in the cone of silence as was expected of a gentlemanly participant. He therefore may have heard Warren's questions and Obama's responses prior to his own turn at the table.)

During the interview, (watch the video here or read the transcript here) Warren asked both candidates the following question:

Does evil exist and if it does, do we ignore it, do we negotiate with it, do we contain it or do we defeat it?

Obama gave the following nuanced answer:

Evil does exist. I mean, we see evil all the time. We see evil in Darfur. We see evil sadly on the streets of our cities. We see evil in parents who have viciously abused their children and I think it has to be confronted. It has to be confronted squarely and one of the things that I strongly believe is that, you know, we are not going to, as individuals, be able to erase evil from the world. That is God's task. But we can be soldiers in that process and we can confront it when we see it. Now, the one thing that I think is very important is for us to have some humility in how we approach the issue of confronting evil. But you know a lot of evil has been perpetrated based on the claim that we were trying to confront evil.

Here is McCain's response to the same question:

Defeat it. .. If I'm president of the United States, my friends, if I have to follow him to the gates of hell, I will get Osama Bin Laden and bring him to justice. I will do that and I know how to do that. I will get that done. No one should be allowed to take thousands fo American --- innocent American lives. Of course evil must be defeated. My friends, we are facing the the transcendent challenge of the 21st century, radical Islamic extremists. Not long ago in Baghdad, Al Qaeda took two young women who were mentally disabled and put suicide vests on them, sent them into a marketplace and by remote control, detonated those suicide vests. If that isn't evil, you have to tell me what is and we're going to defeat this evil, and the central battle ground according to David Petraeus is in Baghdad, Mosul and Iraq. And we are winning and we are succeeding and our troops will come home with honor and victory and not in defeat and that's what's happening. We have - and we face this threat throughout the world. It's not just in Iraq. It's not just in Afghanistan. Our intelligence people tell us Al Qaeda continues to try to establish cells here in the United States of America. My friends, we must face this challenge. We can face this challenge and we must totally defeat it and we're in a long struggle. But when I'm around the young men and women who are serving this nation in uniform, I have no doubt .. none.

How's that for a contrast in world views? I always worry when McCain begins a sentence with the words "My friends." They are usually followed by a statement that is either false or dangerous. While Obama recognizes evil outside the borders of the United States, he also acknowledges that our nation is not guilt - free. McCain on the other hand sees evil only outside the US - inside Iraq in particular. He makes no mention of our overcrowded prison system, social inequities, illegal torture of enemy combatants. He expresses no worry about sexism, racism, homophobia within our own society. McCain the Valiant is focused on only one evil - Al Qaeda. And he is going to fight it in Iraq, the unnecessary immoral war he is determined to "win."

Our upcoming presidential election ought to be about more than just the economy and jobs. It should also be about how we see ourselves as citizens of the world. Obama, despite his youth and inexperience, recognizes that vital aspect of leadership. McCain, on the other hand, appears to believe that following in the errant and belligerent footsteps of Bush-Cheney is the only way to lead America and "defeat" evil.

The recent Olympics opened up the doors for the world to focus on China's human rights abuses. China heard (and rightly so) from its many critics, George W. Bush among them. The quality of the leadership of a nation determines to a large extent its moral character. When the men and women in the corridors of power throw moral consideration and honest self examination into the dust heap of political expediency, we go down the rabbit hole of oppression and criminality. The morally bankrupt tenure of Bush-Cheney has surely dragged our law enforcement and bureaucracy down this slippery slope. Cheered on by "patriotic" pols and right wing blow-hards intent on fighting evil outside our borders, some of those trusted with keeping our nation "safe" may have lost their compassion, decency and even their common sense. Human rights abuses are the inevitable outcome of a cold hearted interpretation of law and order. How precious is our physical safety and how much coarsening of our national character is justified in safeguarding it? According to the following story, some intrepid warriors in the Department of Homeland Security may believe that no amount of depravity is too much to keep America safe from "evil" foreigners.

The Purity of Pursuit

Here is one topic on which most people have a strong opinion. My own take on the matter is a bit mixed and the older and more cynical I grow, I seem to be leaning away from what I once fervently believed as a youthful sports fan. I have had some heated debates with others who hold a position on this matter more purist than mine. Now that the 2008 Olympics are in full swing, and we are  dreaming of "Citius, Altius, Fortius" the issue is once again on many minds.

The world of sports may be the last bastion of perceived purity where we expect to see miracles of human ability, unaided by external tools or stimuli.  While we tolerate smoke and mirrors in most other pursuits, we don't like our modern gladiators to "cheat." I mean, we live in a world of widespread  physical and psychological enhancements and tinkering. Ordinary folks as well as beautiful celebrities are often surgically altered for the sake of vanity and show biz; capitalists and so-called worshipers of the free market such as big corporations and hedge funders fix and manipulate markets to line their own pockets and rob ordinary working folks of jobs and pension funds; nations go to war under false pretenses and citizens support the aggression for the sake of patriotism; concert musicians take beta-blockers so their hands won't waver during performances due to irregular heart beats; in-vitro fertilization and rented wombs produce "genetic" descendants for infertile couples.  Medical interventions are available for numerous human appetites and disorders.

We have come a long way from the hypocrisy of "amateur" sports when talented but often poor young men and women were supposed to push the limits of physical achievement in the sporting arena and play by the rules set by aristocratic men of leisure. That silly notion of "purity" robbed many atheletes of a dignified life after they were past their physical prime. For example, all round outstanding sportsman Jim Thorpe was stripped of his Olympic medals and lived in abject poverty for not being "amateur" enough.  Jesse Owens, the winner of four gold medals in the 1936 Berlin Olympics spent his later years racing circus horses because he couldn't get paid as a sportsman. Two times Grand Slam winner Rod Laver languished outside the glamorous "amateur" tennis circuit until the advent of the Open Era when  "professionals" were at last permitted to compete in the major championships. We have forever abandoned the obsession with "unpaid" athletes. The world of sports is now one of the most lucrative for those who excel. But we still cling to the fond belief of "naturalness" in athletic endeavor and any suspicion of performance enhancement by artificial means throws a shadow over sporting achievements. So what exactly is "natural" in sports when we constantly seek massive technical and technological advances that mostly favor athletes from wealthier nations ?  While mechanical enhancement through space age equipment and gear is kosher, the one area where we cannot bring ourselves to accept outside tinkering, is the body of the athlete. Use of chemical agents to enhance performance is cause for heavy fines and dismissal in most sports, especially in the Olympics. Is it time to shed this last taboo which is often skirted by athletes who know which drugs to use and how to evade detection? If atheltes are fully informed about the ill effects of performance enhancing drugs and decide to use them despite the risk, should we penalize them? What is wrong with "doping" in sports? In a provocative article in the New York Times, columnist John Tierney says, "Let the games be doped." What do you think?

Once upon a time, the lords of the Olympic Games believed that the only true champion was an amateur, a gentleman hobbyist untainted by commerce. Today they enforce a different ideal. The winners of the gold medals are supposed to be natural athletes, untainted by technology. After enough “scandals,” the amateur myth eventually died of its own absurdity. The natural myth is still alive in Beijing, but it’s becoming so far-fetched — and potentially dangerous — that some scientists and ethicists would like to abandon it, too.

What if we let athletes do whatever they wanted to excel?

Before you dismiss this notion, consider what we’re stuck with today. The system is ostensibly designed to create a level playing field, protect athletes’ health and set an example for children, but it fails on all counts.

The journal Nature, in an editorial in the current issue, complains that “antidoping authorities have fostered a sporting culture of suspicion, secrecy and fear” by relying on unscientifically calibrated tests, like the unreliable test for synthetic testosterone that cost Floyd Landis his 2006 Tour de France victory. Even if the authorities manage to correct their tests, they can’t possibly keep up with the accelerating advances in biology. Some athletes are already considering new drugs like Aicar and GW1516, which made news recently when researchers at the Salk Institute used them to quickly turn couch-potato mice into treadmill champions with new, strong muscles.

“There’s a possibility that athletes in this Olympics will be using these drugs,” said Ronald Evans, the leader of the team at Salk, who has been fending off inquiries from athletes about these drugs. He has advised the antidoping authorities on how to detect these drugs, but whether they’ll be able do it competently this Olympics is far from clear.

If athletes didn’t have to cheat to win, they and society would be better off, says Bengt Kayser, the director of a sports medicine institute at the University of Geneva. In a 2005 article in The Lancet, he and two bioethicists argued that legalizing doping would “encourage more sensible, informed use of drugs in amateur sport, leading to an overall decline in the rate of health problems associated with doping.”

A Gold Medal in Fakery (Sujatha)

Viewers were outraged enough to register some annoyance at the revelation that the fantastic fireworks for the Olympics Opening ceremony were pre-recorded and added in. But Chinese officials have taken the fakery to new levels, with their using a lip-synching 'pretty model'  Lin Miaoke aged 9 (in the red dress)  to move her lips to the pre-recorded voice of 7 year old Yang Peiyi. According to the show's musical designer Chen Qigang:

"We have a responsibility to face the audience of the whole country, and   to be open with this explanation," he said. "We should all   understand it like this: it is a question of the national interest. It is a   question of the image of our national music, our national culture.

"Especially at the entrance of our national flag, this is an extremely   important, an extremely serious matter.

"So we made the choice. I think it is fair to both Lin Miaoke and Yang   Peiyi - after all, we have a perfect voice, a perfect image and a perfect   show, in our team's view, all together."

Never mind that the real singer was as cute a little kid as any. Her just-growing-in milk teeth were enough to disqualify her from being on stage singing the anthem. Is this a cultural issue that shows Chinese to be obsessed with image over substance, or is there something else to Chen 'feeling forced' to set the record straight?  I wonder if there was political pressure to use the lip-synching kid and the only way in which he could assuage his guilty conscience at having to do so was to give praise where it was due for the singing performance.

Ethan Leib: Freakonomist

Fellow blogger and law professor Ethan Leib, whose views on friendship and the law were discussed here at some length a while ago has a gig as a columnist on NYT's Freakonomics blog. Ethan's first post is up and it is about the legal aspects of friendship, natürlich.  At least two more articles authored by Ethan will appear in the coming week. One of them will further expand on his thoughts on friends-in-law and the other will be about juries. Do visit Freakonomics and check out what Ethan has to say.

An Indianized Bible: Sari Mary and Turban Joseph (Sujatha)

Some weeks ago, this report highlighted the Vatican's giving the green light to a new Indianized Bible which depicts Mary and Joseph as poor Indian villagers (Click on the photo for a larger view):

Barefoot and wearing a sari, with a bindi on her forehead and a naked baby on her shoulder, the woman in the picture is unmistakably Indian. So is the man behind her, clad in a loincloth and turban.

They could be any poor family in an Indian village, or at one of the country's teeming railway stations. This, however, is no ordinary family.

The image is one of the Virgin Mary with Joseph and the baby Jesus in the first “Indianised” version of the Bible, published by the Roman Catholic Church last month.

The New Community Bible is part of an attempt by the Vatican to attract more converts in the world's second-most populous country as congregations decline in Europe and North America.

Not only do Mary, Joseph and others adopt Indian clothing and contexts, but this bible goes further in syncretization.

The Bible uses passages from Hindu scriptures, such as the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, and Sanskrit words such as Moksha – meaning salvation – in its notes, so newcomers do not feel alienated by new concepts and vocabulary.

...

“The scholars felt that any serious and contextualised and inculturated commentary on the sacred text, made specially for India, could not ignore the rich cultural and religious heritage of the land,” said Fr Tony Charanghat, a spokesman for the archbishop of Mumbai.
For example, alongside the well-known passage in Matthew where Jesus tells disciples to “turn the other cheek”, the accompanying notes compare this to Gandhi’s creed of ahimsa, or non-violence.
Beneath another passage about miracles, the notes explain the difference between Jesus’s teachings and the Vedanta – a Sanskrit term for enlightenment.
“His miracles are eruptions of charismatic power not the result of yogic techniques,” the commentary says.

The oddity of this New Community Bible is not the Indianization of the context, but the fact that it is rewritten in English, rather than the major languages of India. Who might the target audience be? Why would an English speaking and reading (presumably middle class or higher) Hindu/Muslim/Jain/Sikh/Buddhist be convinced by this to convert to the 'one true faith'?

Adopting the context and imagery from different cultures is hardly unique. It has been done over the ages, even during the spread of Buddhism over much of Asia. This series of images (Click on the image for a larger view) shows the distinctive change in appearance of depictions of Buddha as the faith travelled along from Asia Minor to the Far East. It has always been to the advantage of proselytizing groups to depict their deity in terms which would appeal to the largest group, which makes this Sari Mary and Turban Joseph not that radical or new.

I suspect that the New Community Bible is targeted less at attracting converts and more at retaining current Indian Catholics, tempted as they may be by the lures of Hinduism and/or its practices, which strike a more resonant chord to them culturally than the rituals of the Ro