654,965 Dead

The February 2007 edition of the Johns Hopkins Magazine has a simple black cover with the text :
654,965 in gray and in white underneath: Could this many Iraqis have died? The article is about a study published in the Lancet done by two JHU researchers of epidemiology. The study which is novel in its approach was to use methodologies from epidemiology to determine how many people have been killed by violence since the beginning of the war. The method they used was to pose a survey to ordinary citizens in different Iraqi cities and neighborhoods. The survey was designed to best assess how many Iraqis had family members killed by violence. So after the study was completed they published findings. It was a startling number of 654,965 Iraqis killed.

At the movies ...

I saw a great movie this weekend. Breach the movie about Robert Hanessen's espionage against the US for the Russians. The movie was very interesting and had a lot of drama. The movie was probably one the most interesting I have seen in the last 3-4 months.

College Hoops:

Well Maryland has won its third straight game (all conference wins). This is really a good direction for the Terps with only 4 games left before the beginning of the ACC tournament. There next game is against Florida State. The Terps lost their last game to them so this is a very big game for Maryland.

Catching Up

Wow I haven't posted in almost 2 weeks. I have been so swamped at work that I just haven't had time to think about posting. I figured I better post or I might just lose interest and never post again.

Well first off Maryland beat Duke yesterday by 12. Go Terps!!!!! I know that Duke hasn't been their usual dominating self this season but a conference win is always huge. Also, a win against a rival like Duke is also huge. So maybe this will be the beginning of the turn around of the Terps that will them into March. Keep your fingers crossed.

I also have been reading a book ( I know I just said I haven't had much free time. So sue me:-)titled The Great Theft by Dr. El Fadl. This book is a must read for anyone who considers themselves moderates but deeply faithful. Dr. El Fadl seems to be highly esteemed individual in the field of Islamic jurisprudence. This book sets the tone for any discussion on radical (or puritan as Dr. El Fadl calls them) Muslims and where their origins and beliefs stem from. In recent discussions with my friends I drew much of the same conclusions that Dr. El Fadhl does. So it is kind of rewarding to see that my ideas and that of an esteemed scholar agree almost in 90% of what the books says.

I just also saw the movie Norbit. It was funny but not as funny as I thought it would be. I think my expectations were to high. Also, I think Eddie Murphy movies should be watched at home. They are not worth the $9.50 admission cost. So to anyone who hasn't seen it yet, wait for the DVD.

Finally, I have continued watching Little Mosque on the Prairie and I must say at first I thought it was just plain bad but actually it is turning into a somewhat funny show.

Looking back at this post I think I figure out why I haven't been posting as much. It has less to do with work and more to do with all the extraneous tv and movies I watch.

Ziarat Ashura

Ziarat Ashura audio

The above link is to an audio file for ziarat ashura.

Ziarat Ashura text

The above link is to a PDF file of the arabic textg of ziarat ashura.

May all your prayers be accepted. Please keep us in your thoughts as you pray.

Ya Hussein! "Qala Rasallulah, 'Ana Min Hussein. Husseina miny'."

Israeli connection to 9/11

This is a clip from youtube.com that exposes at least some of Israels connections to the events of 9/11. It seems to be several clips from different days compiled into one long clip. What is astonishing to me is that the reporting is from Fox News. They usually follow the far right mantra of never blemishing the image of Israel. Of course listen carefully and you here the correspondent and host go to all lengths to distance the Israeli government from any blame.

Hossein Hossein Hossein -- Ya Hossein

Helali (2006) 3 Muharam

Blogging about .... well blogging

Ok so I haven't blogged in a little a while so just to keep things going I thought this would be appropriate.

I have been so busy lately. Mainly worrying about work. But that is not something I want to talk about now.

I just finished watching the end of the Maryland vs Virginia game. I was deeply disappointed. This means Maryland is 1-3 in the ACC that is just not a good start. Since I didn't really get to see the game. I am not going to speculate what went wrong. Well the next game is against Virginia Tech in Blacksburg at 7:30pm on 1/21/2007.

I also watched Rome last night. It was a good season opener. If anyone who hasn't seen the first season of Rome, this one great show for people who like a little history lesson along with a lot of action and drama. The first season dealt mainly with the rule of Ceaser and ends with his assassination. The second season has picked up from there. The story includes the story of Ceaser's niece, her son and his heir, his mistress, and her son the senator. It also includes the story of Marc Anthony and Cleopatra (briefly-- with Ptolemy). There is also a significant part of the story that deals with the personal lives of two regular army guys. Its a good show.

Little Mosque on the Prairie Season 1 Episode 1

A small prairie Muslim community butts heads with locals when their new spiritual leader arrives.

Here is the first of episode of the new show from Canada. Its not that funny but its it quaint. Give it a whirl you might like it.