Why Tunisia's Islamist Party Agreed to Give Up Power

There are four fascinating political experiments going on son, in the Islamic governing political economic spheres. Like in Iran, turkey, Egypt and Tunisia. Mind you, pretty much all Muslim countries are constantly struggling with democracy, rule of law and the role of Islam. But these 4 are the furthest advanced. Iran has had the longest history of constitutionalism going back almost 100 years. Turkey started even earlier but stuttered. Egypt frankly started and has now gone back even further. Tunisia seems to be the most advanced and if I had to put money down, I would say that Tunisia will reach civilisation the earliest compared to the others. Despite the issues they are facing with assassinations and demonstrations. It's an urbanised society so the usual rural obscurantist structures are avoided. Mind you, the Bahrain example is the counter example for urbanism. Then again the gulf Arabs are particularly well noted to be a bunch of weirdass morons. There's a very good reason why Allah decided to emerge his religion in the gulf. Imagine what they would have been without it when you see what they have done up till now with it. 

But politics is this. The spirit of consensus and compromise. And religion usually doesn't allow you to do so hence the utmost importance of having a secular structure son. 

I'm hoping Tunisia can show the way to how a liberal consensus driven democratic society with some elements of Islam can be part of this modern world son. Turkey went a bit too far with the secularism so it's trying to get back into balance. Iran went totally the other way with religiously driven politics. And well you know the utter mess Egypt is in. 

So interesting days ahead to watch how Tunisia is going to play out.

Love

Baba

Rory McCarthy | Why Tunisia's Islamist Party Agreed to Give Up Power | Foreign Affairs
http://www.foreignaffairs.com/features/letters-from/lets-make-a-deal

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Three years after the popular uprising that brought down President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, demonstrations, sit-ins, and strikes have become part of daily life in Tunisia. Railway workers, customs officers, and doctors went on strike earlier this month over changes to their working conditions; next month, taxi drivers will begin an open-ended sit-in to protest rising fuel prices. Politics often seem hopelessly polarized, with Islamists led by the political party Ennahda pitted against their secular opponents in parliament in a manner not unlike Egypt’s bloody rivalries. And the assassinations of two prominent liberal politicians, Chokri Belaid and Mohamed Brahmi, by Islamist militants earlier this year brought public anger against Ennahda into the streets, as many Tunisians blamed the Islamists for a soft embrace of extremist groups. It appeared that Tunisia — whose largely functional democratic transition has set it apart from the other Arab Spring countries — would no longer avoid the violence that has undermined the other revolutions and uprisings across the Middle East.

But for the first time in a long time, the political class has reached an accord. On December 14, after weeks of broken promises and missed deadlines, Tunisia’s rival political parties finally agreed on a deal to dissolve the Ennahda-led government and create an interim administration led by a compromise prime minister. If all goes according to plan, Mehdi Jomaa, who had previously served as minister of industry, will lead a caretaker government of technocrats until elections can be held next year, most likely after the summer. It’s further confirmation that, despite their ideological differences, Tunisia’s Islamists and secularists are perfectly capable of cooperating. It’s also another sign of pragmatism from the Islamists, who in October 2011 swept the first elections after the fall of Ben Ali. Now Ennahda, an Islamist force that sees itself as both a grassroots movement and a political party, has agreed to bow to the demands of its critics and give up power.

Aztec codices

Kids

I saw these codices in the Mexico City museum of anthropology. They are extraordinarily beautiful works of art. They don't have words or letters. But like the Han script or the mandarin or Japanese or Korean script, they are ideograms. Pictures. The Chinese Japanese and Korean characters have now evolved from the original picture to an idealised character but in these codices, you can see the original diagrams. Each of them tell a story. They are long, anything between 5 to 15 meters long, folded up and people will read from them. 

The colours are vibrant, 600 years since they were created. And I fogged up the glass cabinet by peering so closely at them. 

I'm trying to find a replica of these documents for our home but in the meantime you can read about them here or if kannu goes to oxford, then we can go see them in that museum. 

Absolutely beautiful. And Diya, these are examples of what you want to do, illustrations :) 

Love

Baba

Aztec codices - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aztec_codices

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Detail of first page from the Boturini Codex, depicting the departure fromAztlán.

Aztec codices (Nahuatl: Mēxihcatl āmoxtli Nahuatl pronunciation: [meː'ʃiʔkatɬ aː'moʃtɬi]) are books written by pre-Columbian and colonial-era Aztecs. These codices provide some of the best primary sources for Aztec culture. The pre-Columbian codices differ from European codices in that they are largely pictorial; they were not meant to symbolize spoken or written narratives.^[1] The colonial era codices not only contain Aztec pictograms, but also Classical Nahuatl (in the Latin alphabet), Spanish, and occasionally Latin.

Although there are very few surviving pre-conquest codices, the tlacuilo (codex painter) tradition endured the transition to colonial culture; scholars now have access to a body of around 500 colonial-era codices.

Lie back and think of nothing

This was a very amusing read about the medieval marriage and superstitions in England. I quote the last paragraph:

Finally, the bride must not lie back and think of
England. Ideally she should think of nothing, as that
might influence the health and looks of the child she
might conceive that night

Do you complain about inequality? What kind?

Look at this graph of inequality. From the Human Development Report 2013.

People complain, with some justification, that the rise in inequality in income is bad. Hmmm, ok, I will give it a bit of credence but generally, don't give a shit. As a libertarian, you sow what you reap and as long as there is a minimum welfare state, you can earn what you want. But then here’s the question, what if rising inequality in income is accompanied with decreasing inequality in health and education?? Will you be willing to make the trade off? Or is there any relationship between these factors?

Read and Weep from page 203 onwards

The net result of all this is that neither Shias nor Sunnis nor Deobandis nor Ahl-i-Hadith nor Barelvis are Muslims and any change from one view to the other must be accompanied in an Islamic State with the penalty of death if the Government of the State is in the hands of the party which considers the other party to be kafirs. And it does not require much imagination to judge of the consequences of this doctrine when it is remembered that no two ulama have agreed before us as to the definition of a Muslim

Here

Another quote

Pakistan is being taken by the common man, though it is not, as an Islamic State.
This belief has been encouraged by the ceaseless clamour for Islam and Islamic State that
is being heard from all quarters since the establishment of Pakistan. The phantom of an
Islamic State has haunted the Musalman throughout the ages and is a result of the
memory of the glorious past when Islam rising like a storm from the least expected
quarter of the world—wilds of Arabia—instantly enveloped the world, pulling down
from their high pedestal gods who had ruled over man since the creation, uprooting
centuries old institutions and superstitions and supplanting all civilisations that had been
built on an enslaved humanity. What is 125 years in human history, nay in the history of a people, and yet during this brief period Islam spread from the Indus to the Atlantic and
Spain, and from the borders of China to Egypt, and the sons of the desert installed
themselves in all old centres of civilisation—in Ctesiphon, Damascus, Alexandria, India
and all places associated with the names of the Sumerian and the Assyrian civilisations.
Historians have often posed the question : what would have been the state of the world
today if Muawiya’s siege of Constantinople had succeeded or if the proverbial Arab
instinct for plunder had not suddenly seized the mujahids of Abdur Rahman in their fight
against Charles Martel on the plains of Tours in Southern France. May be Muslims would
have discovered America long before Columbus did and the entire world would have
been Moslemised; may be Islam itself would have been Europeanised. It is this brilliant
achievement of the Arabian nomads, the like of which the world had never seen before,
that makes the Musalman of today live in the past and yearn for the return of the glory
that was Islam. He finds himself standing on the crossroads, wrapped in the mantle of the
past and with the dead weight of centuries on his back, frustrated and bewildered and
hesitant to turn one corner or the other. The freshness and the simplicity of the faith,
which gave determination to his mind and spring to his muscle, is now denied to him. He
has neither the means nor the ability to conquer and there are no countries to conquer.
Little does he understand that the forces, which are pitted against him, are entirely
different from those against which early Islam, had to fight, and that on the clues given
by his own ancestors human mind has achieved results which he cannot understand. He
therefore finds himself in a state of helplessness, waiting for some one to come and help
him out of this morass of uncertainty and confusion. And he will go on waiting like this
without anything happening. Nothing but a bold re-orientation of Islam to separate the
vital from the lifeless can preserve it as a World Idea and convert the Musalman into a
citizen of the present and the future world from the archaic in congruity that he is today.

Do Elections Matter for Economic Performance?

Do they? do you feel lucky punk? go on, elect your leaders in a corrupt election, make my day

In mature democracies, elections discipline leaders to deliver good economic performance. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, most developing countries also hold elections, but these are often marred by illicit tactics. Using a new global data set, this article investigates whether these illicit tactics are merely blemishes or substantially undermine the economic efficacy of elections. We show that illicit tactics are widespread, and that they reduce the incentive for governments to deliver good economic performance. Our analysis also suggests that in societies with regular free and fair elections, leaders do not matter for economic growth.

that’s the key thing which so many people don't understand, they put their faith in single charismatic leaders and forget about institutions. While leaders do matter to some extent, but if you have regular free and fair elections where leaders are held to account, the leaders tend to focus on making their people better via economic growth. Look at India, the development story always helps. In the UK, the morons in the Labour govt starting with that blithering nincompoop Gordon Brown was thrown out when they screwed up the economy something bad.

good paper.

Half a Life in Solitary: How Colorado Made a Young Man Insane

Kannu

You may have heard the statement 'the law is an ass'. As this story proves. So be wary of treating legal decisions unconditionally. The legal system does sometimes lead to bad decisions. 

If you can, see the movie Papillion son. And read the book. We've got both at home. It talks about this exact situation but also is quite uplifting on how it shows the indomitable strength of a man. 

This also requires freedom of speech to fearlessly raise these issues.  Also a legislature willing to listen and fix the laws. And a judiciary which is independent. Be very happy you're in the uk and are a Brit where all this is taken for granted son. But keep fighting and be aware. States become authoritarian if not kept in check. Imagine if you had religious nutters running the show? Calamity. 

Love

Baba

Half a Life in Solitary: How Colorado Made a Young Man Insane
http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/11/half-a-life-in-solitary-how-colorado-made-a-young-man-insane/281306/

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Half a Life in Solitary: How Colorado Made a Young Man Insane

A young man was sentenced to life in prison without parole after a dubious trial. And then things got worse.

Andrew Cohen Nov 13 2013, 6:00 AM ET

Associated Press

The story of Sam Mandez is appalling on so many different levels it’s hard to know where to begin. Convicted for a murder no one has ever proven he committed, sentenced to life without parole at the age of 18 because the judge and jury had no other choice, confined for 16 years in solitary for petty offenses in prison, made severely mentally ill by prison policies and practices, left untreated in that condition year after year by state officials, Mandez personifies the self-defeating cruelty of America’s prisons today.

And yet Mandez is not alone in his predicament. All over the nation, in state prisons and federal penitentiaries, officials are failing or refusing to adequately diagnose and treat inmates who are or who are made mentally ill by their confinements. The dire conditions in which these men and women are held, the deliberate indifference with which they are treated, do not meet constitutional standards. And yet there are thousands like Mandez, symbols of one of the most shameful episodes in American legal history.

The Crime

Afghanistan-when-the-moon-sets-watch-out

Here's a question which you may want to ponder son. Why haven't we won? In Afghanistan? We have everything no? Money, materials, technology, intelligence, and And and. 

How have a bunch of low intensity low tech people managed to defeat at worst and keep at bay at best the best equipped militaries in the world? 

This has happened before most famously in Vietnam where they defeated not one but two armies from France and USA. 

Not easy to define or explain. The Taliban learn. We don't is one good reason. We get too comfortable son. Rely on technology and think that will protect and allow us to win. Wrong. 

Being paranoid helps. Always learning helps. Others aren't stupid. They are learning. And as this example shows, you pay for it with blood. 

The moon and cheap cameras defeated the Americans and Brits in this battle. 

Love

Baba

afghanistan-when-the-moon-sets-watch-out
http://www.michaelyon-online.com/afghanistan-when-the-moon-sets-watch-out.htm

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18 September 2012

Last Friday night, the moon phase left Afghanistan in near total darkness.  Even with clear skies, the enemy knew that at the brightest moment, the moon would only appear as an irrelevant orange sliver.  Such times are called “red illumination,” or “red illum.”  Planning calendars in Afghanistan highlight periods of red illum because they hamper aviation.

Even though this is the year 2012, and the Curiosity Rover is beaming images from Mars more than four decades after astronauts first trod on the lunar surface, the moon phase remains important when planning operations.  The moment that the nighttime attack on Camp Bastion was reported, the moon phase could have been safely guessed without looking up.

Language, literature, education and community: The Bengali Muslim woman in the early twentieth century

This was a fascinating article even if it left me a bit befuddled. What was the hypothesis and how did they manage to come to their conclusions? I quote the synopsis.

 The issue of women's empowerment has a long history. This article intends to trace the issue of women's empowerment in the area that now forms contemporary Bangladesh. In this regard, we have delved into the early part of the twentieth century to look into women's writing in numerous journals that were beginning to be published in that era. Looking into Muslim-edited journals, we look into how issues of women's education, writing and the place of women in society were being debated. In this process, we have laid special emphasis on women's writing, using the examples that we have cited as part of a new form of women's voices. What we discover about women's empowerment in this process is that it is a fraught issue, and there is no clear-cut or direct path that can be easily delineated. Early twentieth-century anti-colonial nation-making processes were indeed complex, and in the Bengal region, veered between emphasizing a Bengali as well as a Muslim identity. It is interesting to see how issues of language and the position of women coalesce to form a very exciting arena for researchers.Concentrating on literary writings by women in the early part of the twentieth century, this research is an effort to look into the construction of the modern Bengali Muslim woman, and the connections that can be drawn between the formation of this identity and the emergence of a notion of a Bengali nation. In broad outline, we will be debating the main contours of this nation — based as it is on religious, community and linguistic affiliations. Identity — both at the individual, or community/national level, remained, and remains fluid, as its various dimensions are foregrounded at different times. The nation is also being envisaged as an appendage to modernity, hence the lines that defined modernity at this point are also shifting, and the grounds that the envisaged modern nation occupies are continuously reformed and reconstituted.

foregrounded? eh?

But very interesting to learn about Bengali women writers at the beginning of the last century. Fascinating flowering of their own identity. The authors also navigate and bring out fascinating differences between the urban and rural, muslim and hindu, urdu and bengali speaking and the mixtures thereof.

An interesting paper but curiously left me unsatisfied. I would have liked the authors to have delved deeper into the mix and seen how the Bengali woman emerged, comparing the Hindu and Muslim woman, rather than taking a uni-dimensional perspective because I do believe that there would be a firmer and broader identity with the Bengali bit rather than the religious bit. Still some good references…

Compassion and contamination. Cultural differences in vegetarianism

I don't get Vegetarians. :P

that said, here’s a fascinating study

A growing body of research has shown that Western vegetarians report more concern for animal welfare and environmental sustainability, and endorse more liberal values than do Western omnivores. However, despite the prevalence of Indian vegetarianism, its psychological associations and underpinnings remain largely unexamined. In Study 1, we find that Euro-American vegetarians are more concerned than omnivores with the impact of their daily food choices on the environment and animal welfare, show more concern for general animal welfare, and endorse universalistic values more, yet among Indian participants, these differences are not significant. In Study 2, we show that Indian vegetarians more strongly endorse the belief that eating meat is polluting, and show a heightened concern for the conservative ethics of Purity, Authority, and Ingroup relative to their omnivorous peers, whereas these differences are largely absent among Euro-Canadians and Euro-Americans.

In effect, if you are an Indian vegetarian, then you are conservative. If you are a western vegetarian, then you are liberal (to use the American sense of liberalism – bah). .

Means and standard deviations of omnivore and vegetarian concern for the impact of daily food choices on the environment, animal welfare, Animal Attitudes, and endorsement of Right-Wing Authoritarianism and Universalism.

	Euro-American	Indian
Omnivore	Vegetarian	Omnivore	Vegetarian
Ecological Welfare	2.62 (.97)	3.56 (.62)	3.20 (.71)	3.21 (.85)
Animal Welfare	2.50 (1.03)	3.34 (1.08)	2.83 (.84)	3.07 (.88)
Animal Attitudes	64.26 (14.53)	80.32 (15.77)	61.92 (8.64)	65.06 (11.55)
Right-Wing Authoritarianism	−4.79 (26.39)	−26.86 (25.23)	6.14 (11.39)	5.29 (10.35)
Universalism	4.46 (.75)	5.07 (.86)	4.17 (.49)	4.29 (.56)

 

how about study 2?

Means and standard deviations of omnivore and vegetarian meat pollution beliefs, religiosity, and concern for the Five Moral Foundations.

Omnivore	Vegetarian	Omnivore	Vegetarian	Omnivore	Vegetarian	Omnivore	Vegetarian
Meat Pollution	−3.27 (1.11)	−1.73 (2.22)	−3.16 (1.46)	−1.41 (2.03)	−1.76 (1.96)	1.34 (2.28)	−2.61 (2.24)	2.69 (1.73)
Religiosity	2.12 (1.51)	2.65 (1.69)	2.86 (1.94)	2.31 (1.58)	4.59 (1.84)	5.30 (1.46)	4.73 (1.62)	5.60 (1.01)
Purity	3.56 (1.19)	3.35 (1.69)	3.60 (1.34)	3.13 (.89)	3.85 (1.10)	4.38 (.95)	3.21 (1.29)	5.32 (1.03)
Authority	3.56 (.91)	3.32 (1.31)	3.45 (1.10)	3.00 (1.01)	3.82 (1.08)	4.24 (.88)	3.20 (1.42)	5.16 (1.15)
Ingroup	3.90 (1.03)	3.91 (1.36)	3.67 (1.27)	3.74 (.97)	3.88 (1.08)	4.39 (1.01)	3.50 (1.36)	5.23 (1.03)
Harm	4.94 (.83)	4.91 (1.12)	4.88 (.98)	5.29 (.88)	4.12 (1.28)	5.04 (.84)	3.44 (1.69)	5.39 (.83)
Fairness	4.55 (.88)	4.73 (.85)	4.47 (1.04)	4.98 (.65)	4.05 (1.21)	4.64 (.83)	3.92 (1.50)	5.22 (1.18)

Fascinating. While you would have considered this to be self evident if you were a desi who has experience of western cultural mores, this would come as a surprise…