My guess is that Sarah Palin didn't realize that she met a Sikh...

Like Megatron, "I still function." I haven't been around, but I still function. Hopefully by year's end I'll have a new video project completed with the fine group of gents behind GNE. Time will tell.

So, guess who Gov. Palin met in NY at the annual UN gathering? India's #1, PM Dr. Manmohan Singh.

I bet the isolated Governor, who has no clue to the world outside of Alaska, had no clue that he was a Sikh. Let alone possibly know that he's from India, which is made up so many religions and cultures. I hope she proves me wrong.

But she definitely will remember the new Pakistani President.

Anyways, check out Sarah Palin chillin with Dr. Singh:

"Sorry Sarah, I'm a one woman man. I'm with Sonia. Sorry."

OK. Now time for a quick thank you to Golf Digest. Thanks to some great work from some Panthic organizations, Golf Digest posted an apology in their August 2008 edition due to their debacle on making Guru Arjan Dev Ji. I actually had the pleasure to speak with Jeff Tarde, the Editor in Chief.

He was a kind man and was very sincere saying that the mistake was not intentionally done or with malice. It's always great to see items like this where media based organizations are quick to apologize for a silly mistake that was not meant. Take a look at the statement below for the apology:

Thank you, Golf Digest.

Big ups for my cousin Harjit Singh Sandhar who started it all up. Look him up on Facebook.

And finally, check out my nephew Runvir. He is the true "Singh is King." Big ups to my Bro in Law Harmohan Singh Gabri (he's on Facebook too) for making a great video on his son.

Later. I'm around...

"Golf Digest" Magazine made Guru Arjan Dev Ji into a Golfing Guru.

Recently the good ol' family was in town for my Cousin's wedding, which were good times had by all. I always enjoy times like this as it allows for all my uncles/aunts and cousins to get together and just forget about our worries. I especially enjoy watching my Parents interact with their brothers and sisters, as they too in ways become like children again enjoying each others company.

However, I was presented one worry during this time that I was totally not expecting. And this worry came from the weirdest place of all… the May 2008 Golf Digest magazine.

My Masi Ji's son, Harjit Singh Sandhar, presented a thought to me after he landed in the DC area from his air trip from Tulsa. While killing time on the plane ride, he decided to open up the latest addition of Golf Digest as he is an avid golfer. While flipping through the pages, he started to read one article called the "Golf Guru." This article allows for readers, like Harjit, to write and pose their various golfing questions. Then the authors then answer the various questions as if they are the gurus to the game of golf, hence the whole "Golf Guru" article a play on
words.

However at the conclusion of the "Golf Guru" article on page 66, Harjit noticed something strangely familiar but couldn’t figure out what. As seen in the scanned image below of page 66, the pictorial image of what is suppose to represent the "Golfing Guru" seemed strangely familiar:

Page 66 of the May 2008 Golf Digest magazine, at the conclusion of the “Golf Guru” article.

A closer look…

Harjit and I kept thinking that this image was familiar from somewhere. If you took away the golf club and the golf glove it appeared to represent a Sikh Guru, but we could not pinpoint which one. Harjit kept thinking the image was of Guru Ram Das Ji, but I wasn’t convinced.

So after some thought, I started to think as if I was part of the graphics art team of Golf Digest. Here’s an article on the “Golf Guru,” and they want me to make an image for it? Hmmm… maybe Google images can help out?

With that thought in my mind, I went to Google images and did a search on “guru.” After doing a search, take a look at the far right most image. It appears to be a “guru” like character, as seen in the image below:

“Hmmm, that looks like a guru to me,” thought the graphics arts department at Golf Digest.

However when you click on the image, it becomes very clear where Golf Digest got their inspiration for the “Golfing Guru.” It is none other than the Sikh’s Fifth Religious Prophet, Guru Arjan Dev Ji:

Guru Arjan Dev Ji, who is not a “Golfing Guru.”

And for fun, let’s just do a side by side comparison:

Sorry Golf Digest, you are guilty.

So clearly Golf Digest didn’t do their homework when selecting an image of a “guru” for their article. They went with their stereotypical gut of what appears to be a “guru” like figure without doing any homework to who Guru Arjan Dev Ji is.

If they had done their homework, they would have realized that Guru Arjan Dev Ji is a major figure for the Sikh religion. They would have realized how he stood for civil and human rights for all people regardless of faith, creed, or gender. They would have realized that Guru Arjan Dev Ji was the principle architect for both the city of Amritsar and Harimandar Sahib, which is popularly known as the Golden Temple. Furthermore they would have realized how he was the Sikh Guru who created the first compilation of Sikh scriptures known as the Adi Granth, which laid the foundation for its current compilation known as the Guru Granth Sahib (the 11th and immortal Guru for the Sikh faith) and consists of almost half of his teaching. Furthermore if they did their homework, they would have realized that Guru Arjan Dev Ji compiled a special prayer known as Sukhmani Sahib which calls for universal world peace.

And finally if Golf Digest did their homework, they would have realized that Guru Arjan Dev Ji was martyred for his beliefs that worked to benefit all of society, whether it was a Sikh or Non-Sikh.

But they didn’t do their homework. So what do we get? A doctored image of Guru Arjan Dev Ji as a “Golfing Guru.”

Totally pathetic and sad.

Unlike followers of Islam, Sikhs have allowed for artistic works to represent their Gurus and major historical events. It allows for their adherents to remember the message of Sikhism through artistic portrayals. But unlike some other religions who may verbally scold individuals for doctoring their faith (like Kanye did to Jesus on Rolling Stone), Sikhism has a zero tolerance policy when it comes to desicration of their religious figures. Anyone remember that idiot Gurmeet Ram Rahim?

Sorry Editor in Chief Jerry Tarde of Golf Digest, looks like you got a whole lot of hurt coming your way.

Oh yeah, you can email Jerry here.

Obama the Turbanator, say it ain't so!!!

So in today’s US Political News today, The Drudge Report posted a picture on their website of Senator Barrack Obama in 2006 wearing a cultural headdress and clothing representing the people of Wajir on a visit to Kenya. Both the Obama and Clinton camps are going back and forth with the “he said/she said game,” with ultimately a sense of dirty politics being played.

What’s worse is that image is causing people to “question” Barrack as to why he donned this attire:

Is this a sign of loyalty to Kenya?
Is Barrack a Muslim?
Is he anti-American?
Is he already loosing the War on Terror by dressing like the “enemy?”
Hmmmm turbans scare me, so should I be afraid of Barrack Obama?

… and bingo Houston. We have identified the problem. Mr. Obama is seen wearing something that looks like a turban and everyone goes nuts. It’s sad to see that it just takes a man in a turban to cause fear in people as if the individual is crazy, a monster, or a terrorist.

So Mr. Obama, welcome to the club. Now you too know how it feels to be looked at differently in the modern world, and it is not because of your skin color but for what you have on your head.

It really does surprise me how shallow people can be to make a news item of something that is not… and that goes for the media and those who are eating this story up thinking that Senator Obama is suddenly different because he has a turban (gasp!) on his head.

Sometimes I feel people just need to realize that the world is diverse and due to the post 9/11 world, it has forced to recognize this diversity if we like it or not.

It just proves to me that those who wear head coverings, whether it is for religious purposes (like Sikhs) or not, there is a distinct need to continue to educate people that we are not weirdos or crazy people.

The freakin’ world is diverse and there is more to it than you think. So get over it and don’t let xenophobia take you back to 1952.

Hell, the world should look at Canada. They got a whole lot of Politicians who wear turbans, and their Sikhs too (Navdeep Bains, anyone?)!

Sorry for the rambling, but I really was pissed when I saw this news break. I’m not necessarily a Barack or Hillary supporter yet, but I do think either candidate would be a good Candidate for the Democratic ticket so it’s a win/win.

However my Father-in-Law likes to remind me that Mr. Obama did write that Senator of Punjab slanderous paper (link1, link2).

Hopefully his thoughts will truly change and can sympathize how it feels to wear a turban in today’s world.

Maybe I should just walk down the streets going “boooooooooo” like a ghost. I bet some people will shriek and run.

Hmmm, maybe a new video project idea coming….

Air your security gripes on TSA blog

Air your security gripes on TSA blog

By DAN CATERINICCHIA, AP Business Writer
Thu Jan 31, 7:40 AM ET
Via Yahoo News

Frustrated by long airport-security lines? Certain those screeners aren't paying attention? Wondering why your grandma always gets frisked? The federal government wants to hear — or at least read — your gripes at the "Evolution of Security" blog the Transportation Security Administration introduced Wednesday. And it promises those complaints and suggestions won't vanish into thin air.

The blog, at http://www.tsa.gov/blog, is getting a rather "blah" response from aviation analysts and passengers advocates who say it will do little to improve process or perception.

"This will just make it easier for them to receive complaints for them to ignore in the name of national security," said David Stempler, president of the Air Travelers Association.

In the blog's initial post, TSA Administrator Kip Hawley said the goal is to provide a forum for the agency to explain why travelers must go through certain steps at checkpoints since interaction at airports is often harried and halted, resulting in "feedback and venting ... circulating among passengers with no real opportunity for us to learn from you or vice versa."

"We will incorporate what we learn in this forum in our checkpoint process evolution," Hawley wrote. "Our postings from the public will be reviewed to remove the destructive, but not touch the critical or cranky."

Terry Trippler, a Minneapolis-based airline expert, applauded the idea but said TSA "was in the right church, just not the right pew yet."

And that church could become anything but sacred. Trippler said he envisions the blog quickly degenerating into an online vacuum where a handful of habitual complainers force TSA officials to respond to them, while other self-appointed security "experts" pontificate on the best ways to improve the process.

Even worse, he said some travelers will avoid the blog for fear of retribution from the government.

The TSA already is fighting an uphill battle in the court of public opinion.

An Associated Press-Ipsos poll conducted last month found that only the Federal Emergency Management Agency, still dealing with its mismanagement of Hurricane Katrina, ranked below the TSA among the least-liked federal agencies. TSA tied with tax collectors in the ranking of a dozen executive branch agencies.

The AP poll found that the more people traveled, the less they liked TSA, but also that 53 percent of air travelers though the agency did a "very" or "somewhat" good job. Their top complaint: the inconvenience of security.

By late Wednesday there were 29 comments on the blog, mostly from TSA employees and moderators. One anonymous poster asked why some airport body scanners stop him due to a hip replacement while others do not.

The response from "Christopher," identified as an "evolution blog team member," said answering those kinds of questions in future posts was why the site was started and added: "Come back on Friday to check out our post on the top three questions security officers get from passengers."

Ladies and Gentlemen.... meet Natasha Bedingfield

... I don't even want to know.

Natasha Bedingfield's "Unwritten," by jesse6i

By the way, check out the promo videos that I did with my good ol' buddy Mr. SikhNet for the 2007 SikhNet Online Youth Film Festival. Two are posted below.

Make a movie for the SikhNet Online Youth Film Festival!

I don't have time to use the computer Sir.

Be sure to make a video this year for the film festival you BAMA! More awesome promo videos to come soon! Here's a hint: "He He Heeeeeeeee, WAAAAAHHHHHEEEEEEEGUUUUUUUUUUUUUURRRRUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!"

That will be the theme for the summer.

Enjoy the 4th if you are in the States. If you aren't here, go back to work.

May Waheguru bless Captain America

News Source: Associated Press
Publication Date: 03/07/07

Captain America
1941-2007

Comic book hero Captain America dies

Captain America has undertaken his last mission — at least for now. The venerable superhero is killed in the issue of his namesake comic that hit stands Wednesday, the Daily News reported.

On the new edition's pages, a sniper shoots down the shield-wielding hero as he leaves a courthouse, according to the newspaper.

It ends a long run for the stars-and-stripes-wearing character, created in 1941 to incarnate patriotic feeling during World War II. Over the years, an estimated 210 million copies of "Captain America" comic books, published by New York-based Marvel Entertainment Inc., have been sold in a total of 75 countries.

But resurrections are not unknown in the world of comics, and Marvel Entertainment editor in chief Joe Quesada said a Captain America comeback wasn't impossible.

Still, the character's death came as a blow to co-creator Joe Simon.

"We really need him now," said Simon, 93, who worked with artist Jack Kirby to devise Captain America as a foe for Adolf Hitler.

According to the comic, the superhero was spawned when a scrawny arts student named Steve Rogers, ineligible for the army because of his poor health but eager to serve his country, agreed to a "Super Soldier Serum" injection. The substance made him a paragon of physical perfection, armed only with his shield, his strength, his smarts and a command of martial arts.

In the comic-book universe, death is not always final. But even if Captain America turns out to have met his end in print, he may not disappear entirely: Marvel has said it is developing a Captain America movie.

The assassination of Captain America.