SAJA Panel Discussion on the South Asian Blogosphere

SAJA BRIEFING: The South Asian Blogosphere and How Its Changing the Media 8:35pm
Website: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/saja/2008/09/26/desiblogs

The South Asian Journalists Association presents an online panel discussion among some of the best-known names in the South Asian blogosphere. They will discuss the state of the blogosphere (South Asian and otherwise) and how it is affecting how news and information about South Asia and the diaspora is gathered and shared. Sabahat Ashraf of iFaqeer; Anil Dash of AnilDash.com; Karthik of Uberdesi.com; Maria Giovanna of Filmiholic.com; Arun Venugopal of SAJAforum.org

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Technorati tags applicable to this post: iFaqeer - Blogging - South Asian Blogosphere - Indian Blogosphere - Pakistani Blogosphere

What would Obama mean for Silicon Valley--and Tech/Industry generally?

One thing I have been wondering about Obama and what he said yesterday is what he means for Silicon Valley and Industry/Tech generally. Specifically, what does it mean to eliminate capital gains for start-ups, and stopping tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas and giving them to companies that create jobs in the US of A? Care to comment:

http://www.wadiwallah.com/blog/2008/08/29/obama-what-does-he-mean-for-us-in-silicon-valley/

Interfaith Work, The Diaspora/Expats, and Pride

Someone on a list I am on (actually, two lists I am on), posted an article about Eboo Patel. You know, one of those things about NRI's (Non-Resident Indians) making good. I had the honour of being on the same radio show as Eboo P about a year ago now, and I agree that he's something to be proud of for any community he's part of. See can listen to the radio appearance here.

But the moment I got that mail, I had just gotten back (less than 24 hours) from 3 weeks in India and Pakistan (Karachi and Lucknow; meeting with people from several social strata) and I am not sure the people "on the ground" need to be *TAUGHT* anything new about being nice people of other faiths--what we need are strong voices countering things like, just to provide one example, articles about Keith Ellison titled "Muslim Zionist" (the Jamat-e-Islami's English-language newsletter "Radiance Weekly" in INDIA--quoting, it later turned out, further making the point, a Stateside fanatic rag). And it is the diaspora that needs new voices on this. On the ground, there are enough people with the a moderate outlook, a strong spine, and a track record; we just need to find them and support them.

I guess what I am saying is that we should be doing lists of Indians (or, more importantly, South Asians) in South Asia that we can be proud of--and then listen to what they are saying and support what they are doing. Here's my list:

• Sandeep Pandey, Lucknow
• Bloggers everywhere
• The War Against Rape in Karachi and in Lahore (two independently-run
  organizations)

And those are just the ones I met without much effort or reaching out. Then there are others one hears about:

• The folks working to create a common ground initiative IN Ayodhya between faith communities. I'd like to see someone in the diaspora hold a candle to that. I have a booklet in Hindi I can photocopy and send anyone interested
• Asma Jehangir, Hina Jilani, IA Rehman, et al and the HRCP in Pakistan...

I could go on...

Technorati tags applicable to this post: Moderate Muslims - India - Pakistan - Interfaith Relations - NRIs - Expatriates - Muslim Diaspora - Muslims in the West