The hunger games on May 29, 2014If hatred is the ego, then hunger is the id. Hatred has an unquenchable hunger. That hunger involves unusual means of cruelty to satiate a depraved craving for the food of violence. On the Memorial Day weekend, a time when US citizens pause to reflect on the sacrifices of our military, a lone assailant fed […]
Love leaves a mark on May 22, 2014One of the classics on my bookshelf is Ar-Raheeq Al-Makhtum (The Sealed Nectar), written by a biographer named Safiur Rahman al-Mubarakpuri. The selection was awarded the first prize by the Muslim World League at a worldwide competition on the biography of the Prophet (PBUH) held at Makkah in 1399H/1979. The work moves within a chronological […]
An ordinary class of religious idiot on May 15, 2014Jesus said, “The poor you will always have with you” (Mark 14:7). Unfortunately, he omitted to mention that the same applies to idiots. Every religion has its fair share of these unfortunate creatures. They are best left alone to their own devices and we should completely ignore them, but when an ordinary class of religious […]
Jurist Sayedd Yousef: Night of the Living Dead on May 8, 2014George A Romero’s cult classic Night of the Living Dead was produced and released in 1968. The story follows two primary characters and five others trapped in a rural farmhouse, attacked by ‘living dead’ creatures. The zombies swarm the farmhouse in search of living human flesh. For a budget of $ 114,000 dollars, the director […]
The Bundy ranch standoff: greater darkness on May 1, 2014“Many year later, as he faced off with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the son of Cliven Bundy was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover the beauty of the range.” As he looked up at the sky, Cliven Bundy’s son was aware of the sweat pouring off his […]
The Bundy ranch standoff: darkness on April 24, 2014Players in the dark. This was my initial thought when mainstream media organisations ‘went dark’ with a news embargo. It was as if the military-style operation the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) was mounting against Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy was of less interest than reporting the local weather. Players in the dark require a cloak […]
Umar Media receives the Sandal Award on April 17, 2014A friend of mine is a member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. Academy members are preeminent filmmakers, actors, directors, musicians and visual effects artists. In 2013, the academy extended an invitation to 276 individuals to join their ranks, which now number more than 6,000. My friend is a multi-talent who is […]
Political theatre on April 10, 2014Act I: Brutish behaviour.What is the name of an organisation, which recruits a distinct flank based on the need for individuals of an unusual class? These candidates are intelligent. They will also accept the challenge to maximise their worst character assets and base talents to engage in primitive behaviour patterns. The candidate willingly takes on […]
Pakistans porcelain cuspidor on April 3, 2014Pakistan owns a porcelain cuspidor. Once more, the spit has been hurled. Sawan Masih has been sentenced to death. He will be hanged in the manner reserved for enemies of the state. He is a dangerous man. His arrest on March 6, 2013 on a blasphemy charge caused a horrendous backlash against his fellow Christians. […]
Siphonaptera on March 27, 2014The Conference of the Fleas convened. Mobile phones were lined up on a table outside the SCIF. The fleas wanted to be certain that nobody would capture their own words or remarks using a sophisticated software net. Entering the compartment, the fleas were greeted with the enduring creed of their organization: ‘Every doggie has a […]