Pakistani Official Tends Sikh Shoes and Toilets To Atone Muslim Killing Of Sikh

Here's the beginning of the story, you can get the whole thing here.

Image of Golden Temple Amritsar

HASAN ABDAL: Thousands of Indian pilgrims barely registered the man in the orange bandanna and Ray-Ban sunglasses taking their shoes and storing them in wooden cubbyholes before they entered the Sikh shrine in Hasan Abdal.

The unassuming 62-year-old tending to the shoes is a top government lawyer and devout Muslim. At the shrine, he is on an unusual solo quest—taking on menial jobs to atone for the beheading of a Sikh by militants.

Over the past two years, Muhammed Khurshid Khan has traveled to Sikh shrines in Pakistan and India, volunteering to polish shoes, clean bathrooms, cook meals and do other chores. Such service is known as “seva”—selfless service—in Sikhism, and it holds a special place in the faith.

Attacks against Sikhs, Christians and Hindus have spiked in Pakistan in recent years as the Taliban and their allies gained strength. Atrocities by extremists against religious minorities now are so common that they rarely illicit more than routine condemnation by officials, much less collective contrition or shame.

In helping Sikhs, Khan is reaching out to an extremely small minority.
“I have a desire to serve the Sikh community because my community has done them serious harm, and that hurts me,” said Khan, taking a break from his work at the Gurdwara Panja Sahib.

Khan, one of two dozen deputy attorney generals in Pakistan, began his mission in 2010 after militants kidnapped three Sikhs returning from Afghanistan to their homes in Pakistan. The militants demanded some$240 thousand dollars—an amount the families could not afford. Two of the captives were freed in a commando raid, but 30-year-old Jaspal Singh had already been beheaded.

“That news pierced my heart,” said Khan. “How could Muslims do such harm to such a peaceful community?”

 The rest of the story is here.  

This comes from Dawn.com through a friend.  I can't find any other coverage of this, but Wikipedia says:

Dawn is Pakistan's oldest and most widely read English-language newspaper. One of the country's two largest English-language dailies, it is the flagship of the Dawn Group of Newspapers, published by Pakistan Herald Publications, which also owns the Herald, a magazine, the evening paper The Star and Spider, an information technology magazine.

Man Survives Nazis and Stasi Dressed as a Woman

Brandon Demery Curtain Call

[The Nitty Gritty:  Yes the title was meant to get your attention, but it's also accurate.  "I Am My Own Wife" is one more truly amazing performance at Out North.  A Pulitzer and Tony winning play about a most unusual character, performed so extremely well, by Juneau actor  Brandon Demery.

Two more shows Saturday (today) at 3pm and 8pm.

This is one of those true gems that we in Anchorage get to see intimately in Out North's tiny theater.  The blurbs written about the play simply do not give a sense at all of what this is really about, and it's so good you shouldn't spoil it by reading the in depth reviews in advance.   You can stop reading now and just go and see this while you can.  But if you're not convinced, read on.]



This really should have played every night for the week before the Prop. 5 election.  It's one more story about a man's body holding a woman inside.  From Peter Hinton's study guide for the play:

“In an age where politicians still routinely decry homosexuality on the evening news and “fag” remains the most stinging of all playground epithets, Charlotte’s dogged insistence on her own sexuality could prove downright curative, an antidote for a community too often besieged by public condemnation and internalized self-loathing. She was a bona fide gay hero.”**

From New York Times theater reviewer, Bruce Weber,  almost ten years ago, about this play in New York,

. . . the producers of ''I Am My Own Wife'' have done theatergoers a service by giving the play a chance to be more widely seen. And it has, in fact, broader appeal than a mere description would have you believe. It is not an esoteric work, and it isn't especially kinky.

It does, however, tell a terrific story based on a real person, Charlotte von Mahlsdorf (née Lothar Berfelde), a soft-spoken but tenaciously gender-bending biological male who died in 2002 at 74. Her lifelong obsession -- Mahlsdorf preferred to be thought of as female -- was the preservation of furniture, especially pieces from the 1890's, and other household relics like Victrolas and gramophones.

The playwright is one of the main characters in the play, a resolution to the dilemma of having conflicting information about his main character - is she a hero or not? - and not knowing which version was true or how to resolve the conflicts in a person he saw as a hero.

 From the study guide about the drama:

"An exchange with a colleague at a writers’ retreat in 2000 gave Wright insight into an approach to Charlotte’s story that freed him to proceed with it: “For the first time, the play’s structure dawned on me. It wouldn’t be a straightforwsard biographical drama; it would chart my own relationship with my heroine. I would even appear as a character, a kind of detective searching for Charlotte’s true self” (Wright, p. xv.). By making his own process of discovery just as much a part of the drama as the events in the life of his enigmatic subject, Wright highlights the notion that the meaning of an individual life -- in truth as well as in fiction -- depends on who’s telling the story. No collection of stories, no matter how exhaustive it may appear, is ever enough to capture the elusive essence of individual identity; hence the provisional element in the play’s subtitle -- not “The Life of Charlotte von Mahlsdorf” but Studies for a Play About the Life of Charlotte von Mahlsdorf."

And while there were a number of characters - the Irish Film Magazine says 44 (some had very short parts) - there was only one actor playing them all.  There were a few words here and there that slipped out of his mouth that had to be retrieved quickly before proceeding, but that really didn't detract from the power of the performance.

Stage table with props

Need I say it again?  Go see this.  Take your neighbor who voted no last week.  




An additional note.  The student guide has a German vocabulary list for the play.  There is German spoken, but mostly it's translated in the play.  But there is one bit of German not on the list - probably because it was said in English.  Charlotte says something like, "I became the furniture"  "I became . . . "  In German, bekommen, means "to get."  I'm assuming the playwright was indulging in a bit of bi-lingual word play here, because the character both 'gets' these objects and in a way 'becomes' them as well. 

April 16 Deadline To Respond To Court On Redistricting Amended Proclamation

The Alaska Redistricting Board sent its paperwork back to Judge McConahy yesterday (Thursday) and the Judge issued a schedule today:

The Riley/Dearborn Plaintiffs and amicus curiae involved at the superior court and supreme court level in this case are given until 16 April 2012 to file objections to the Board's Notice of Compliance.  the parties and the amicus curiae shall address the following:
(1)  Whether the Board followed the Hickel process as directed by the Alaska Supreme Court?
(2) Whether deviations from the Alaska Constitution are justified by the Voting Rights Act?
(3)  Other matters that the plaintiffs and the amicus curiae feel are appropriate to address.

The board shall have until the close of business on 18 April 2012 to file its replies, if any, to the objections. 

The court will issue a scheduling order discussing the possibility of further hearings and timeliness after the briefing has been received.

You can get the whole scheduling letter here, and the complete list of court documents here.

Here's my question.  The Supreme Court said the board should start with a plan that is constitutional and then make only the least deviations necessary from that to comply with the Voting Rights Act. 

But at the trial and the appeal before the Supreme Court, the plan that paired Senators Hoffman and Stevens was used as an example of a plan that was both constitutional and complied with the VRA.  The Amended Plan has some constitutional problems with compactness, contiguity, and socio-economic integration. 

Why wouldn't the court point to the Hoffman-Stevens pairing plan and say, that meets VRA with no constitutional problems?  The Board's claim that pairing the two Senators was a fatal flaw with the VRA was questioned not only by the plaintiffs and the judges, but also by the board's VRA expert when the met to draft the new plan.  She said that pairing incumbents wasn't fatal and that it was better to pair incumbent than have low Native Voting Age Population (VAP.)   I understand that such a pairing will generate letters from Native organizations opposed to the pairing, but it was pointed out that if the district is truly an effective Native district (in the jargon of the VRA), then the Native preferred candidate would win.  Just a question I still haven't heard answered.  Maybe there's something more I don't see.





I probably should mention that the Board has been really outstanding about getting all the court related documents on their website and sending email notices to people who subscribed at their website.  It would be much harder to go find all the documentation without that assist.


And I should also mention my appreciation for the ways that the Board has made their meetings and the superior court hearing accessible by phone and internet.  These efforts on their part has made a huge difference for people who want to know what is happening. 

People who know about the Board and want to be included have great access.  It would be nice if there was a little more notice where the general public would become aware. 

Superstition

Are you being extra careful today?  Avoiding ladders?  Do you believe in ghosts?  A normally very rational relative sent me this link today from Slacktivist.  This is just a bit of it.

The stories begin right around the turn of the 20th century, with the earliest reference I can find coming from August of 1897.

Capt. B.F. Auld of the Baltimore Police Department received a strange and surprising invitation to dinner at the home of Supreme Court Justice Henry Billings Brown. The two men had never met, and Capt. Auld never fully understood the reason for the invitation, but after what he described as their “distressing” conversation, he guessed it was because he had, two years earlier, been present at the funeral of Frederick Douglass.

“You saw him, then?” the justice asked him, with what Auld described as a “fearful” look. “And you are certain, without doubt, that he is, indeed, dead? You are certain?" . . .

. . .What I’ve pieced together from all these stories sounds unbelievable, and I certainly cannot prove any of it. But there are more things in heaven and earth than I can prove.
All I can tell you is what I believe. And what I believe is this: Somewhere in America, just before midnight on every Friday the 13th, the ghost of Frederick Douglass appears at the bedside of some racist wretch.

Juneau To Anchorage - Great Wild Adventure Out The Window

People spend good money to go into Imax theaters to see huge images of the natural world. But even people sitting in window seats often ignore the spectacular sights outside their windows. Juneau to Anchorage on a clear day like today makes a regular airline passenger into a northern explorer.

Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau, Alaska

My favorite Juneau cab driver called Suwanna Cafe in a mall near the airport to order two Pad Thais which were ready for pick up when we arrived a few minutes later.  And I had my lunch for the flight. (And Dennis had his.)

On the plane, my 'small screen', unlike my computer screen, got bigger as I moved my face closer.  It wasn't edited and there was no dramatic music (though I guess that would be easy to provide with an  iPod or computer) and no narrator dramatically telling me what I was looking at.  I simply had to look and observe without someone telling me what to think or what it all meant.






And it was so amazing - even after having made this trip many, many times - that you're just going to have to bear with me and these shots from my pocket camera. 

All this incredible geography was below, outside the plane and most people were reading, sleeping, playing video games.

All that white in the water is ice floating from the huge glaciers all around.  You can see it closer in the next picture.

And then we were flying into Anchorage.  Flattop is at the end of this ridge below.  Powerline Pass on its right.  Denali and Foraker showing dimly (too dimly for my camera) on the horizon.  From this view, you can't even tell you're looking down on a town of 370,000 people. 

I Get A Taste of the Alaska Folk Festival

Wednesday evening I got to slip into Centennial Hall to catch a bit of the Alaska Folk Festival in downtown Juneau. 

The Empty Oil Barrel Band played and sang politically themed satires.

The festival program remembers Buddy Tabor and Barbara Kalen.

From Tom Begich's blog  we get a more personal reflection on Tabor.  Here's a short excerpt.

February 6, 2012 - Last night, perhaps around 8 PM, Buddy Tabor quietly passed away. A singer/songwriter with a direct link to the soul.  Alternately irreverent and loving, apolitical and revolutionary, album after album cut through to your heart and your head in simple tones and a gravel voice. Weary without giving in, spiritual without putting it on. Aware. Conscious. The words of a poet, the soul of a dreamer, the hands of a housepainter. Buddy Tabor was complex in his thoughts, simple in how he executed them. His body of work pearls worth holding and remembering, just as he is.

 This festival has a lot the feel of the Anchorage Folk Festival and the man sitting in the aisle seat of my row on the flight home today had played at the festival. 

It's Already Spring In Juneau

There's no reason I should be surprised.  It's 90 minutes south via jet from Anchorage to Juneau.  Downtown Juneau is snow free and here and there flowers are blooming, while in Anchorage there's still a lot of snow - though it is evaporating in the sunshine.  So here are a few glimpses of Juneau spring. 

These are chionodoxa growing in Morgan's yard.  Paul and I were just getting back from a hike up Perseverance Trail and he knows most of the people we ran into, including Morgan. 













She also had these eerie light blue iris blooming.  Here's a picture of these same iris two years ago.








And here's Morgan, interrupted from her gardening.

And up on Perseverance trail, where we walked through snow, we saw some purple mountain saxifrage blooming in a crack in the rocks. 

Hickel Day of the Arctic, Girl Scout 100th Birthday, and Random Shots

I got into the House Gallery during a break.  Different legislators were walking about or off the chamber floor altogether.

Here's Speaker of the House talking to someone sitting in the gallery near me.











Haines Rep. Bill Thomas  was reading.


















And so was Anchorage Rep. Chris Tuck

 




Matsu Rep. Mark Neuman also found a reason to talk to another gallery viewer.

Rep. Carl Gatto's desk had flowers and lots of the representatives had black armbands in memory of their colleague who died yesterday.  From the House Majority page:

Gatto, 74, died this afternoon ]Monday] from complications related to his prostate cancer. He was surrounded by his wife and grown children at a Seattle-area hospital. Gatto represented Palmer's House District 13 since winning election in 2002.

 The first bill they passed was the Walter J. Hickel Day of the Arctic bill.

Double click to enlarge

The Charisse Millett introduced the bill honoring the Girl Scouts' 100th anniversary.  This bill got a lot of attention last week when Rep. Keller surprised bill sponsor Sen. Bettye Davis and her staffer by asking about links he found on the internet connecting the Girl Scouts with Planned Parenthood.  But today everyone was all for the bill.  Different legislators


talked about how they themselves, or at least their mothers and daughters had been girl scouts.  Rep. Stoltz even remarked that his aunts and nieces and nephews had been girl scouts.  I checked with someone sitting next to me to see if boys were now allowed in the girl scouts.  Even Keller voted yes.  And Millett directed everyone to send any cookie salespersons to Keller's office.

It looks like Millett forgot to push the button herself.  But under house rules she can get that changed. 

After the House adjourned until tomorrow, I had lunch where I heard that Sharon Cissna had announced plans to run for Congress against Don Young.  So I went to her office to confirm that.   It was true and her concerns with TSA will be a big part of that.

Rep. Lindsey Holmes at Judiciary Committee

I stopped by the House Judiciary committee where they were talking about SB 210.  From the Sponsor's Statement:

SB 210 works with the recommendations from CJA to create tougher penalties on crimes committed against a child. The bill will create increased criminal liability for assaults to children by modifying the current definition of “serious physical injury” and increases penalties when a parent intentionally withholds adequate food or liquids.

Rep. Bob Lynn (right) seemed to be listening intently as Rep. Max Gruenberg asked a number of questions about changing sentencing requirements that were part of another bill that had been rolled in  SB 210. 










Here are a couple of pictures from the other day.  I talked briefly with Rep. Pete Petersen, to my knowledge, the only returned Peace Corps Volunteer in the Alaska legislature. 

A lot of the legislators have these Read posters in their offices.  They're all a little different.  This one is in Rep. Gruenberg's office.

And I chatted the other day with Rep. Scott Kawasaki who was mentioned during the Redistricting Board  because there were allegations that his seat had been gerrymandered to put him into a less favorable district.  But the trial court ruled House Districts 1 and 2 unconstitutional and he's in a better position than he was.  In any case he's been a Democrat in a Republican leaning district anyway.  He sounded ready to go campaign when the districts finally get approved by the Department of Justice and the state courts.

Legislature Passes Less Than 10% of Bills Introduced - 10 This Session So Far

I'm only here in Juneau for a couple of days, so I really don't know details of all the bills and what's been going on.  And looking at today's legislative schedule, nothing pops out of serious interest.  It's there, I'm sure, but not obvious.  I will go over and check things out - something of interest always appears.  But in the meantime, I've been checking out the 27th legislature.  (Each "legislature" meets for 2 years and has two sessions - this is the second session of the 27th legislature.  After the November election, the 28th session will begin next January with the new Representatives and in this case all new Senators (except Sen. Egan) because redistricting substantially changed all the Senate districts - except Egan's.)

So, here are the stats from the legislative website on bills passed so far for both sessions (2011 and 2012) 0f the 27th Legislature.

So, just 50 bills have passed so far. (HB and SB indicate House and Senate Bills, the others are resolutions There are also various resolutions.)  Here are the bills that have passed in this session (the second session of the 27th Legislature that began January this year):

HB 19	SPECIAL REQUEST LICENSE PLATES	LYNN, GATTO	CHAPTER 2 SLA 12	03/07/12
HB 65	SENIOR CITIZEN HOUSING DEV. FUND GRANTS	** EDGMON, HERRON	TRANSM TO GOVERNOR	04/09/12
HB 144	REPORT ON FISHING STREAM ACCESS	GARA	AWAIT TRANSMIT GOV	02/27/12
HB 291	PUBLIC NOTICES POSTED AT POST OFFICES	RLS BY REQUEST OF LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL	CHAPTER 4 SLA 12	03/21/12
HB 307	SUPPLEMENTAL/CAPITAL/OTHER APPROPRIATIONS	RLS BY REQUEST OF THE GOVERNOR	CHAPTER 5 SLA 12	03/23/12
HB 311	REPORTS TO APOC	RLS	CHAPTER 1 SLA 12	02/20/12
HCR 18	COMMERCIAL FISHERIES PROGRAMS	FISHERIES	AWAIT TRANSMIT GOV	04/07/12
HJR 29	BLM LEGACY OIL WELL CLEAN UP/AWARENESS	MILLETT	AWAIT TRANSMIT GOV	03/28/12
HJR 34	COAST GUARD ICEBREAKERS & ARCTIC BASE	HERRON	AWAIT TRANSMIT GOV	03/30/12
SB 30	RETURN OF SEIZED PROPERTY	DYSON	CHAPTER 3 SLA 12	03/21/12
SB 86	PROTECTION OF VULNERABLE ADULTS/MINORS	RLS BY REQUEST OF THE GOVERNOR	AWAIT TRANSMIT GOV	03/26/12
SB 127	FETAL ALCOHOL DISORDERS AWARENESS DAY	MEYER	AWAIT TRANSMIT GOV	04/06/12
SB 173	2012 REVISOR'S BILL	RLS BY REQUEST OF LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL	CHAPTER 6 SLA 12	03/23/12
SCR 16	CELIAC DISEASE AWARENESS MONTH	GIESSEL	AWAIT TRANSMIT GOV	04/03/12
SCR 18	RAOUL WALLENBERG REMEMBRANCE DAY	DYSON	AWAIT TRANSMIT GOV	04/02/12
SCR 20	DECORATION OF HONOR	WIELECHOWSKI	AWAIT TRANSMIT GOV	04/05/12
SCR 25	SUSPEND UNIFORM RULES FOR HJR 29	RESOURCES	AWAIT TRANSMIT GOV	03/28/12
SJR 17	ARCTIC COUNCIL TASK FORCE	MCGUIRE	LEGIS RESOLVE 29	03/19/12

If you go through this list - just 6 house bills and 4 senate bills and a few resolutions - a lot of these bills are symbolic. I won't say they're all fluff, but they aren't focused on solving substantive issues that Alaska faces - balancing resource development and environmental concerns, dealing with serious educational and social issues, etc.

 A quick look shows these that might have some bit of substance:

HB 65   "Making regional Native housing authorities eligible to receive grants through the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation from the senior citizens housing development fund."
HB 144  "An Act requiring the Department of Natural Resources annually to deliver to the legislature and the governor a report on fishing stream access."
HB  307    "An Act making supplemental appropriations, capital appropriations, and other 2    appropriations; amending appropriations; repealing appropriations; making 3    appropriations to capitalize funds; and providing for an effective date." [Click here for specifics]
SB 30  "An Act providing for the release of certain property in the custody of a law enforcement agency to a crime victim under certain conditions and relating to requests for that release by the office of victims' rights." [Note on changes the law makes]


From Fisheries
HCR 18 "Relating to an examination of fisheries-related programs to facilitate the entry of young Alaskans into commercial fisheries careers and to collaboration with the University of Alaska fisheries, seafood, and maritime initiative."

From the Governor's Office:
SB 86 "An Act relating to the protection of property of persons under disability and minors; relating to the crime of violating a protective order concerning certain vulnerable persons; relating to aggravating factors at sentencing for offenses concerning a victim 65 years or older; relating to the protection of vulnerable adults; making conforming amendments; amending Rules 12(h) and 45(a), Alaska Rules of Criminal Procedure, Rule 77, Alaska Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 17, Alaska Rules of Probate Procedure, and Rule 9, Alaska Rules of Administration; and providing for an effective date."  




This is procedural stuff but probably is more than symbolic:

HB 311 -  "An Act relating to the filing of information with, and to information filed with, the Alaska Public Offices Commission; and providing for an effective date."  Looks like changes to make it easier for candidates, you can see the  sponsor's analysis here.


The rest are what I'd call fluff.  They're nice.  They honor some person or organization.  But it seems to me that such bills should not be the main reason the legislature is in session.  


They still have some time left to pass some legislation, and in all fairness, the most contentious take the longest to be passed.  Let's see how many more bills they can pass before the end of the session.


OK, now that I have that out of the way, I'll go over to the capitol building and see what I can find. 

Do You Know a 14-18 Year Old Alaskan Who Would Like to Make a Difference?

I've been in a steering committee meeting all day and there's way too much to write about, so I'll just put this up for now.  There's a lot of neat things going on around the state to promote healthy relationships and prevent domestic and intimate partner violence in Alaska.  It's a way for 14-18 year old's to get involved health policy and get a small stipend and a trip to Anchorage to meet with the other youth. 

Youth Alliance for a Healthier Alaska (YAHA)

Accepting Applications for the 2012-2013 School Year! Applications due May 25th, 2012 at 5pm!

• Download the YAHA Application

Our mission

The mission of the Youth Alliance for a Healthier Alaska is to advise the Adolescent Health program and other Division of Public Health programs and to create interventions designed at improving the lives of adolescents in Alaska.

Who are we?

We are a group of diverse, energetic teens ages 14-18 from across Alaska.  We are interested in health and are enthusiastic about shaping how our state responds to youth issues that we all experience.

What do we do?

We are a group of diverse, energetic teens ages 14-18 from across Alaska.  We are interested in health and are enthusiastic about shaping how our state responds to youth issues that we all experience.

• We provide feedback insight and advice to youth serving agencies. We review materials created for teens by youth serving organizations.
• We create interventions designed to improve the lives of adolescents in Alaska.

In the 2009-2010 school year

• Played a role in the creation of Stand up Speak up
• Advised  the statewide tobacco program and underage drinking initiative
• Created and judged a “Make Art, Not Babies“ art contest
• Reviewed grant applications

In the 2010-2011school year

• Provided design and programmatic feedback for to following agencies: Careline Alaska
• The State of Alaska’s Choose Respect Campaign
• UAA Department of Health Sciences, Nursing Program: (hand washing modules)
• Alaska network on Domestic Violence on Sexual Assault: Stand up Speak up Campaign.

This school year 2011-2012

• Suggestions on youth engagement in the Farm to School Program
• Feedback on the community conversations element of Anchorage United for Youth
• Reviewed Stand up Speak up grant applications
• Embarked on our first community action project: Art of Passage

Contact Jennifer Baker for more information - jennifer.baker@alaska.gov