Gmail Down :(

Man the Gmail is down.

Blue Screen for the Gmail. Well they say temprature is just symptom of the problem. I hope they dont cure symptom but the problem.

Creating a Criminal

“Lock a guy down for 22 hours a day,” he said, “and you are creating a criminal.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/25/world/asia/25detain.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&ref=asia

This story is worth reading and pondering.  It is about the American Soldier who tried to help a local get a lawyer, this soldier is currently under investigation.

Again this story has the duel message, the goodness in the human, how one person’s effort can make a difference and about the inertia of the system that fails to correct itself. I have many times talked about the American’s coming out and saying spade is spade, e.g. the Lawyer for Guantanamo  detainee who went to Supreme Court, many people who voted against the use of torture, many who came out against the Gaza War.

It is the culture and concept that they are free to say and do what they think is right that keeps this country a most desirable country for immigrants. One of American Egyptian I know, was protesting against Gaza War in America said that back in Egypt he will be arrested for simply holding these posters.

Yes there are many things that still push people to not to speak truth one of them is fear of being prosecuted when you are doing right thing.

I many time find the

Naming the Terrorists

{Wrote this blog about two months ago, revised some of it today}

One of the most difficult matter with which Muslims have to deal with is,  naming the terrorists.The enemy that is killing them.

This problem is unique for Muslims. No other nation or group has to deal with this problem with so much complication.

For, rightly or falsely, American public ‘might” assume these are terrorists are Extremists Muslims or extremists Arabs (anyone watching 24 can figure this out), Europe can assume these are groups who are threatened by their civilization and way of life, their intellectuals can describe that these are results of their leaders policies, India can say that these are terrorists sent by Pakistani’s, Russians can put blame on Chechans, Sirilankan’s can say they are Tamil.

What should Muslims do? Whom should Pakistani’s point out if the schools are blown in Swat?

Where should they put blame if the Civilian-Guards are rounded up and their ears are chopped of?

Whom they protest if people living in Swat are killed and thrown in the choks.

How you label and describe the enemy that is among you?

The basic failure of the American and Pakistani agencies is label these groups simply Taliban. They failed to explain how these entities threaten the core of the country and society.

Western societes can more easily accept and define names like Taliban, Al-Qaeda, etc… as terrorists or extremists  because these words are alien to them. They are not part of their vocabulary. To them they clearly label some foreign entity. Some bearded person wearing Imama on head and Shalwar Kameez (oh! he looks like khoomenies in Iran), sitting in some crazy looking place planning to destroy everything. He speaks in the description of history that is alien the them. He uses words that are gibrish to them. His interpretations of events, current affairs, etc… is not what they used to. Their mind can relate such persona more easily to evil, because they are strangers to them. {you will find many Americans who belive that Pakistan and Afghanistan are part of Mideleast}

For muslims this is quite difficult.

A bearded person wearing Shalwar Kameez, having chadar on his shoulder is not some foreign thing to Pakistani’s.  Even in Lahore a bearded Pathan wearing Shalwar Kameez, having gun on his shoulder and guarding some street is not so foreign thing. The person arrested by police during attack on the Police Training Camp at Lahore looked similar to many of the Pathans at local tandoor ( basically Tandoor is word for oven but used at synonym for the shops having Oven and selling fresh bread/ROTI ).

Pack of bearded people shouting Anti-American slogans does not make them terrorists. In a country where protests mostly result in destruction of public property, picture of Maulvis burning a bus does not mean that religious theocracy is overtaking.

In sum, they cannot completely relate their outlook, words, interpretation of history to the evil. Previously evil to Paksitani’s was related to India, Communists of Russia, etc… They were people defined by their nationality, by their religion; Indian’s were Hindus (even when they had largest Muslim population), Russian’s were God Less communists trying to invade Muslim Pakistan, …. This time People are from within our region, they are Muslim, they look like us!

Someone has to do lot of work to define what makes people and organization that unacceptable; even when their outlook is similar to yours.

To do that you need people who speak in the same language as them. That’s where both American and Muslim intellectuals have failed.  They have used people appearing foreign to the Muslim public, in defining what the Terrorist is.  Unfortunately many of these people trashing terrorists appears to be equivalently trashing Islamists-political movements. They fail to grasp that people who are not supporter of Taliban might not be supporter of  Secular forces also. People who will not lift finger for Taliban might be too much protective to the Madrassas.

This creates a conscious and unconscious effort in the society to protect or atleast not protest agianst the acts which even they will not support. This current event of the lashing of girl in SWAT is clear example. No one wants this to happen but no one is coming up to protest against  it. Any debate on this run into the same dead end, where both Taliban claiming their actions to be Islamic and their aggressive so-called moderanists also giving this benifit.

One must also recognize that the threats that have been posed to Pakistan for more than 50 years were not by these people. They came from other side, quite different side I may say.  For example the recent attack in Lahore, where it was easy for Indian media to describe it as act of Taliban, because they have only one thought about Islamic militants, taliban etc, that these are chaotic forces, terrorists which can do anything. But it will be difficult to convince Pakistani for that; and not surprisingly to every other logical mind. Why will muslim-militants attack Srilanka? and why Cricketers? They dont have to do anything with any of the political agenda these people have.  It is more easy to assume that India’s RAW or some other agency might be involved than to assume that someone from North will kill the people playing the game loved by it’s countrymen.

This failure on part of the society to recognize the enemy within is creating the rift. It is creating a tension, where one part is too much in anger to hear other side.  We have to Name the Terrorist , define it with clear understanding that they have nothing to do with religion.

Respect me!

Today I recieved an email on one of University Email groups in Pakistan. The emailer sent a attached email about the Fatwa regarding the working of the women; “Aurton Ki Mulazmat” it said. Yes that Fatwa was allowing them to work but only when there is no one to feed them. In just 4 to 5 lines it took away a right of women to work unless if she has no “MAN” to take care of her (what a horrible woman that be!).

It gave no explanation, no refrences to Quran, no citations of Hidats; no nothing; few words and puff the freedom of the woman’s intellect to be more than than maid is gone.

Even the people who are hanged are given more than that, people incarnated for less than a week are told why their freedoms are being taken away. But no! that fatwa from Jamia Binoria did not did that, because it will be giving respect to the reader, the listener. Because then the banished-ones will be able to challenge it, then ‘it’ can give the counter arguments, ‘it’ can point out the weakness in the arguments.  Oh, how could it give you such a respect, how can you think more than what you are told.

I might not be scholar, but I can take that to other Lawyer to challenge your line of arguments.

But this will weaken the Mufti, it will open him to be questioned, it will open judge to be judged. It is the Mufti (the one who gives Fatwa) that is hiding not Islam, it is Mufti that is using and trying to deface Islam.

So Mr. Mufti (Mr. Abdul Aziz ), repect me just enough to be regarded as accused who has right to know under what law he will be thrown in the jail.

Respect me just enough for being a living being, if not a human being.

Tell me what will you do with the women who worked in the life of Hazrat Muhammad? like Hazrat Halima,

What will you do to many of them women who work in Farms with their husbands, fathers  and brothers, because you are saying they can only work if there is no one to feed them.

And yes tell me what shall I tell a woman of family crying in pain to do because due to this fatwa there will not be Lady Doctors.

Yes atleast I will not have to worry about educating my daughter more than house-schooling because there will be no women teachers.

Oh right! I dont have any right to ask question, what a waste of your time.

Should Man have his say in abortion?

Can Man force woman to have the abortion? Or can man stop woman from having abortion?

Increasingly in this world sexual lives are becoming free from the boundaries of religion and are not being governed by the rules of the marriage. Except in the Religious world (mostly Muslim) the concepts of Family are changing are being redefined.  They are married is being replaced with they are living as Partners. Man and Wife is no more the only pair, Man and Man, Wife and Wife are also on the rise. Whether such things are good or bad? this blog-entry is not discussing that.

In the world where religion and culture are not the sole decision makers,  questions that would not have even risen previously require more thorough thoughts.

Question is if both parties have not explicitly decided about having child together and female gets pregnant, is it only her choice if she wants to or dont wants to have children? It does not matter whether both man and woman are married or not. Situation could arrise in the Husband and Wife also. Should legally wife has the say on whether they can keep or not keep child?

What if she wants to have children and male dont wants to? Can she legally force him to provide Family Support? But then this is not about the money only. Can she force him to become dad?
The emotional attachment a parent should feel with his/her child should not be held hostage by the decision of one parent.

And what if the e.g. female wants abortion and male does not wants to due to social, cultural, emotional or religious point of views? Legally his views dont matter,  I know that.

Should it not be other way also?

16th March; day to remember

I do not want to write about this moment because it is full of success, it is full of message; and because it is still not away from shadow.

What can you write about this day? This day is for nothing; yes among all the noise and hu-ha this day is for none of them.That’s why I dont want to write about it.  When army overtakes the city every officer starts plundering the success, humming stories of bravery of people in his command, victory came because of my men, he will say.But I dont want to write about officers that stood victorious on that day. Because that day is not for them, that stands for something more important than rugged egos and rebuffed ethos.

I dont want to write anything about this day because  CJ is not my hero, he is not what I want for my savior. But This day is not about Chief Justice this is about justice.

I have zero expectations from Choudary Iftikhar, but I have full right to expect justice from Chief Justice of Pakistan. This day says keep your fingers away from chief justice.

This day is not about Politics, this is not about PPP, PLM (N); but this day shouts in the faces of politicians.

It showed that simply winning elections dont give right to rule. You can not assume to be given full authority just because you have won the election. Today was the day when people spoke and said you have to talk about what we are talking about.

Being cynical as always I still see many hurdles and un-cleaned business, ambushes and traitors every where.

I dont want to say anything, I want to hear stories of people who were there in the streets of Lahore, who were there on the roads towards Islamabad.

It is day of Hope. It is day of victory.

But no one has any right of claiming to be victory leader; if story of GPO 150 is true then no one except lawyers and civil-society deserves the right to claim victory.

What ever this day is, it is  Day To Be Remembered.

Please dont ask Army to interfere

I was disappointed by many who were saying Army should interfere; many of whom who were pretty active against Musharaf. It is same mindset that resulted in acceptance of many previous military intervention.  One should not accept illegal actions even if  they result in  something he/she wished.

If we cannot enforce will of the  majority then there is flaw in our system that should be rectified by the people not by army. If we need army to come and do the corrective measure then we should accept their permanent position in the political system, give them role legaly and forget about the salogans of democracy.

Section 144, Should Politics be stopped by fear of terrorism

There comes section 144, again in the context of best interest of Pakistan.  Govt. is saying that they cant allow long march because of the fear of the terrorism. Well they are right, there should not be any such political activity when there is fear of terrorism.

But I remember the day Benazir returned to Pakistan she was told to reduce her activity, not go for the big rally and she did not listened. Then PPP put blame on the government. Then again it was advised by that times govt. to reduce the public exposure because there is threat on her life but she did not.  Lot of my friends were of view that she has every right to hold the political rally, that’s how the elections are fought, that’s how the politics works; you go and talk to people, you go and meet people, show your public muscle.

I then thought they were wrong, I now also think govt. has right to stop such public activities if there is clear danger of terrorism. But question is are they imposing the Section 144 with positive intent? Will imposing Sect. 144 save the Pakistan from terrorism?

It does not look that this govt. has any more positive intent than that of the previous govt., which by the was zero.But leaders of the political rallies should think and be responsible for the life and safety of their participants.Routs, security guards should be marked. There should be clear emergency plan. We dont want anything that happened in two of the Benazir’s rallies.

But unfortunately Govt. going for kill by starting the arrests, blocking the paths does not allow any room where both can work out details of the program.

Unfortunately the elements of state that should work to protect the people become too busy protecting government that they forget to protect state.

Summer comes to Florida

Yes, I remember just some days ago I was talking about the Winter that keeps coming back to Florida, it looks that summer has finally stepped in Florida. The sun bright in the sky and it was hot enough to make you jump towards water fountain. The tempratures are in 70s and there is chance of hitting 80.

Not bad except when you are walking, rightnow when the bus circulation is low one has to walk a lot. So not a good time for the summer to come

Punjabi; Horse at UK and Horse-trading in Punjab

Came on this news at the guardian, “First Hurdle triumph for Geraghty as 22-1 outsider Punjabi hangs on” http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2009/mar/10/cheltenham-festival-champion-hurdle-2009

It was interesting because horse named Punjabi and the current things happening at Punjab.