Hulleye Comes By!

From http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4533247.stm

Dogged by a cartoon

Parliament condemned the cartoon with a unanimous vote Parliament in Pakistan is urging the government to seek an apology from The Washington Times newspaper over a cartoon that depicts Pakistan as a dog. The cartoon shows a US soldier patting a dog holding Libyan al-Qaeda suspect Abu Faraj al-Libbi who was recently arrested in Pakistan.

“Good boy… now go find Bin Laden,” the soldier urges the dog.

Cartoonist Bill Garner says he meant no offence and the misunderstanding was caused by a “cultural gap.”

“We are disgusted with the insensitivity of the editors of the Washington Times,” Pakistan’s charge de affaires in Washington, Mohammed Sadiq said on May 6, the day the cartoon appeared.

“It betrays the mindset of the editorial board,” he said, warning that “such things” could strengthen the hands of the extremists. Cartoonist Bill Garner told Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper that he never intended to offend the Pakistani nation.

“It is a cultural gap, a cultural misunderstanding that caused the uproar. “The symbol to me was that of friendship,” he was reported as saying. “There is a saying in English that a dog is a man’s best friend.”

“East is east and West is west, and never the twain shall meet,” sighed the Washington Times in an editorial on 10 May in response to the uproar in Pakistan.

So the cartoonist and the Washington Post editors actually did not apologize or accept it as something insulting. But rather gave it the EAST and WEST approach of looking at things.

How about a cartoon where USA is shown as a dog and a Pakistani petting it.. wouldnt it be considered “friendly” .. would the WEST accept it?

Thats what they think of Pakistan, and then we have people dying to praise the United States.

Thanks Khurram.

“One does not thank logic.” - Sarek, Journey to Babel

“I’m a soldier, not a diplomat.” - Kirk, Errand of Mercy

“What am I, a doctor or a moon shuttle conductor?” - McCoy, The Corbomite Manuever

“In the strict scientific sense we all feed on death — even vegetarians.” - Spock, Wolf in the Fold

“He’s dead, Jim.” - McCoy, The Devil in the Dark

“Congratulations. You are fully dilated to ten centimeters. You may now give birth.” - Worf, Disaster

“I am Locutus of Borg. Your life as it has been is over. From this time forward, you will service… us.” - Locutus, Best of Both Worlds, Part I

“Is there a Jeen - Luck - Pickerd here?” - Q, Tapestry

“If you were any other man, I would kill you where you stand!” - Worf, Star Trek: First Contact

the new york post reports that it will cost employers $628,880,000 in lost productivity on the first two days of star wars episode iii return of the sith . how many of you are planning to skip at least part of your workday on the first two days?”

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Following up on the previous post, Professors Akbar Ahmed and Judea Pearl have issued a press release to address the outburst of bigotry at their Toronto event. They do acknowledge that their remarks were unfortunate and against the spirit of the event. Then they immediately follow it up with this gem:

“Appreciating the inappropriate venue for such remarks, the Israeli Consul General later expressed his regret and Professors Ahmed and Pearl preferred to close the matter and move on.”

So they accepted a private apology from this Israeli bigot for his public remarks about all Muslims. The apology was not for the defamatory words, but for uttering them at the wrong place. We are all in favor of including diverse voices in dialog groups. But what is the point of inter-faith outreach if this sort of hateful speech is allowed to stand in the name of understanding and moving on?

The Israeli diplomat fired off his own “apology” press release saying “I spoke as a citizen of a small and embattled country …surrounded by countries that do not wish to speak, do not wish to argue, do wish to fight.” I will put up links to the press releases if I can find them.

Professor Akbar Ahmed can be reached at akbar@american.edu

courtesy MWU!