August 2009 – maraahmed.com

review: inglourious basterds

i know it’s unfair to compare everything tarantino does to “pulp fiction” – it’s just never gonna happen again. i know that. but “inglourious basterds” left me disappointed.

the premise of the film is unusual – an alternative end to WWII in which hitler, his henchmen, a large number of german officers and their escorts are mowed down by machine gun fire, burned in a film theater, and finally exploded with dynamite.

this abrupt (and dramatic) end to the war is brought about by two separate forces, acting independently of each other: (1) the basterds – a group of american jews led by brad pitt, a hillbilly from tennessee, who are sent in by the CIA to terrorize the nazis. their rule is to kill every nazi they encounter and then scalp him. (2) shosanna – the sole survivor of a jewish family discovered and killed by hans landa, a nazi colonel nicknamed “the jew hunter.” she becomes the proprietor of a film theater and decides to burn it down at a nazi film premiere.

ok, so here’s what i thought of the film. there is much gratuitous violence, as expected (including frequent scalping shots replete with blood and squelching sound effects) but it isn’t a catalyst for much tension, irony or humor. it’s just gratuitous. the film seems to imply that there is an automatic pleasure to be derived from this mindless savagery. after all, the jews get to stick it to the nazis and it is justifiable payback for the holocaust. but there’s something awful about humanity’s quick race to the bottom of hell. the whole revenge fantasy doesn’t feel right. whether jews are being shot or germans are being scalped and machine gunned in the back while trying to escape a burning building, it’s all part of the same circle of brutality and evil.

in spite of a bevy of characters with immense potential, all abundantly supplied with catchy names, nicknames, histories and quirks, the film doesn’t give most of them the chance to develop into anything concrete or fully realized. they remain juicy tidbits that can never coalesce into a fully formed, captivating plot.

finally, sorry but brad pitt’s curled lip and hillbilly accent didn’t quite work for me. mike myers, as a british officer, is surprisingly calm and convincing. hans landa, played by christoph waltz, is probably the most compelling character in the film. wish he had had a much larger role.

inglourious basterds

France: Woman Wearing Hijab Denied Entry By Bank

“the problem is that france is a traditionally conservative, catholic country. the visible growth of the muslim population since the second world war is regarded as a threat to the french way of life.” Full article.

As Obama Golfs with UBS CEO Days After Firm Avoids Criminal Prosecution, UBS Whistleblower Given 40 yrs

remember BCCI, the ultimate banking scandal? it was child’s play. now at UBS, their employees smuggled diamonds in toothpaste tubes in order to save their clients some tax money. and what did they get for all their fraud and tax evasion? the whistleblower got 40 months but the bank CEO got to play golf with obama. wow.

watch it on democracy now!

Is Using A Minotaur To Gore Detainees A Form Of Torture?

omg, this is hilarious – and to the point!

Is Using A Minotaur To Gore Detainees A Form Of Torture?

film screening on september 11th at rochester museum and science center

As the annual observance of Ramadan comes to a close, the Rochester Museum & Science Center invites the community to explore Muslim traditions at a special presentation of the documentary film “The Muslims I Know” on Friday, September 11 at 5:30pm at the RMSC Strasenburgh Planetarium. Director, producer, writer and editor Mara Ahmed will present her film and lead a follow-up discussion. Full press release.

“Umeed e Sahar” by LAAL, based on the poem by Faiz Ahmed Faiz

For Pakistani Rockers, A Plugged-In Protest

It’s not uncommon for Pakistanis to sing poetry and use it in political protests. So when Pakistan’s first Communist rock band re-appropriated decades-old verses about hope, its songs became the soundtrack to Pakistan’s lawyers’ movement. Full article.

Flushing Blackwater

On August 19, the New York Times revealed that the company was, in fact, a central part of a secret CIA assassination program that Dick Cheney allegedly ordered concealed from Congress. Blackwater is also being investigated by the Justice Department for possible crimes ranging from weapons smuggling to manslaughter and by the IRS for possible tax evasion. It is being sued in federal courts by scores of Iraqi civilians for alleged war crimes and extrajudicial killings.

Despite these black marks, the Obama administration continues to keep Blackwater on the government’s payroll. In Afghanistan and Pakistan, Blackwater still works for the CIA, the State Department and the Defense Department to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars, and its continuing presence is an indicator of just how entrenched private corporations are in the US war machinery. Full article.

Marianne Hoynes speaks out at health care town hall meeting

what’s wrong with the people shouting her down, cheering the problems she faces? surreal.

The Afghanistan Gap: Press vs. Public

This month, a lot of media stories have compared President Johnson’s war in Vietnam and President Obama’s war in Afghanistan. The comparisons are often valid, but a key parallel rarely gets mentioned — the media’s insistent support for the war even after most of the public has turned against it. Full article.

Don’t be outraged for Muslim women

“The initial turn-off when western feminism comes to the rescue, is the blanket assumption that the victim has no volition nor can respond to adversity with the commensurate degree of outrage because she is so accustomed and desensitised to her own subjugation. It is a strange mix of protective sororal sympathy and smugness.” Full article.

Senator Edward Kennedy dies at age 77

One of the most influential and longest-serving senators in U.S. history — a liberal standard-bearer who was also known as a consummate congressional dealmaker — Kennedy had been battling brain cancer, which was diagnosed in May 2008. Full article.

Most red ink ever: $9 trillion over next decade

“by the next decade’s end, the national debt will equal three-quarters of the entire U.S. economy” – perhaps we should stop fighting misleading wars half way around the world? it could save us some money…

Read full article.

After 6+ Years at Guantanamo, Mohamed Jawad Returns Home

A young Afghan prisoner has returned to Afghanistan following his release from Guantanamo Bay. Mohamed Jawad arrived in Kabul on Monday. He was ordered freed last month after more than six years at Guantanamo. He was as young as twelve at the time of his capture and was tortured and threatened into confessing to throwing a grenade at a US soldier. Full article.

The CIA’s post-torture profits by Tim Shorrock

Adding insult to injury, some of those responsible [for torture] have been rewarded with lucrative careers in the private sector. Tenet, for example, is making millions of dollars in the intelligence business, including as a board member for defence contractor QinetiQ. And Jose Rodriguez, the former director of the CIA’s National Clandestine Service who ordered the destruction of CIA interrogation videotapes, works with former CIA director Mike Hayden at the oddly named National Interest Security Company, an intelligence contractor. It’s shameful that people responsible for one of America’s darkest chapters are so richly rewarded. Full article.