?

So let me see if i can get this right.

A government bureaucracy that's just tripping over itself in red tape just happens to "mistakenly" seal voter name lists into top-secret ballot boxes that now have to be reopened because of some supposedly innocent careless act. And what's more, it just happens to be a coincidence that the ballot boxes that are being reopened are from Aljunied GRC - the most hotly-contested ward in the General Election 2006 and the one that almost saw the PAP lose 6 candidates to the Workers Party.

Right.

I am very very very very very very very suspicious.

frankenstein mangoes

These mangoes were huge! They're Taiwanese apparently, $4 each at the market, and tasted pretty sweet.

"We should have the maturity to realize that everyone- not just us- deserves to be safe from terrorism. We should understand that our proclaimed innocence is offensive if we do not recognize that most of humanity- including those within our borders- live with this tireless source of pain and anxiety everyday. We should develop the capacity to imagine what this world must feel like for individuals, communities, entire cultures who witness our apathy and our complicity. And we should fight with the millions of people across the world who deserve justice."

- Harsha Walia
Responding to the Toronto Terror Arrests

another political act by Aamir Khan

IT is Aamir Khan's turn to be Gujarat's enemy number one. The Bollywood star follows a long list of illustrious people - Mallika Sarabhai, Medha Patkar and M.F. Husain among others who have been targeted by the Bharatiya Janata Party mobs.

The BJP's youth wing called for a ban on his new Hindi film Fanaa in Gujarat. His crime: He wanted those displaced by the Narmada dam to be rehabilitated. His earlier movie, Rang De Basanti, was pulled out of Gujarat's theatres in April after they were attacked.

He supported the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA), a group seeking proper rehabilitation of oustees.

"Aamir Khan has insulted Gujarat by sitting with Medha Patkar on her hunger strike in Delhi last month," said Amit Thaker, president of the BJP Yuva Morcha. "Medha Patkar is Gujarat's enemy number one, by being with her, Aamir Khan is also an enemy of Gujarat. He should apologise or he will have to face the anger of Gujarat. We will not allow any of his films in Gujarat and will also ban the products he endorses - Titan, Toyota, Coke." In the wake of the protests, Toyota pulled out advertisements of its product endorsed by Aamir Khan.

Full Frontline article here

In case you don't already know, the BJP is a powerful political party that is reflective of the rise of Hindu fundamentalism/fascism in India over the last 20 or so years.

The Narmada Bachao Andolan (Save the Narmada Movement) is a huge peoples' movement in India against the construction of large-scale dams, that are displacing thousands of adivasis, farmers, tribal and low caste people, sucking the water resources away from communities and redirecting it towards middle and upper class people in urban areas who can afford to pay for essential resources like water and electricity. It's the movement that Arundhati Roy donated all the proceeds of her Booker prize-winning novel, The God of Small Things, to.

For more on the NBA, go to the Friends of River Narmada website.

For more on AR's writing, including on big dams in India (read The Greater Common Good), go to this site.

filmmaking 101

burgersandurians Frankly, i'm more than a bit suspicious of a media project claiming to advance "social causes" that is funded by the MDA, but i suppose it could be a good opportunity to develop film skills. And heck, in the spirit of Fred Hampton - you can censor a revolutionary, but you can't censor a revolution.

Reel Revolution

The Substation Moving Images is proud to present Reel Revolution, a new six week programme to challenge young people to bring issues up for discussion through the platform of video.

For more info, go to http://revolution.youth.sg/