Magic of metaphors : Op-Ed Journey of Thomas Friedman

tom friedman reminds me of the 7 dollars an hour security card in the lobby of our office building who used to give advice on picking stocks during the internet boom ! ..... sometimes he reminds me of romair

Re: # 1 Your comment is profound ?

Re: # 2 Mr.Hamid , the article is "tough". Person like you should explain the article. It is bumper going over head, too abstract for my brain.

yes Tom is right in saying that the world is turning flat, flattened by the carpet bombings of one country after another. Afghanistan and Iraq have been flattened. Iran and Syria may be next. Saudi Arabia is not far behind. Could very well be Pakistan and Burma's turn next.

Tom Friedman and Judith Miller, both found their voice via the "liberal" NY Times. They are both jews and have served an important role in the giant war machine that america is.

Tom serves a useful purpose in american mainstream media - he has this natural knack for abstractly intellectualizing and rationalizing perpetual war abroad while maintaining perpetual terror at home. Given his taste for metaphors, the american people who dont even understand their mortgage terms, get this feeling that this guy must be saying something important and big about foreign affairs. Afterall, he was one of those journalists who successfully convinced americans that attacking iraq was like avenging 9/11.

His partner in crime, Judith Miller was disgracefully fired from NY Times after years of writing horror film like accounts of Saddam's plans to occupy Washington DC and his secret dealings with outer space aliens. So successful was she that during the initial euphoric days of Iraqi occupation, she even led a small platoon of american soldiers inside Iraq in search of WMDs - that was a rarity because jews typically plan wars and tend to stay away from front lines. So she got fired from NY Times and then jailed because in her zeal to fulfill Israeli agenda she turned on america and was considered an accomplice in outing a CIA operative's identity. But since jews take care of their own, she wasnt villified at all in jewish run media and in fact she found a new home in the jewish Rupert Murdoch run Wall Street Journal, where she is now dishing out intellectual advice on, what else, Iraq!

hamidm2 mian: ....i am quite surprised you don't love tom friedman......he fits the exact profile of americans that you, generally, line up behind....

what gives?

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speaking of credibility, this is what the interactor formerly known as romair said 6 years ago..good thing he doesn't interact here anymore because it would be embarrassing for him to read some of his own words.





I had stated at the time of the coup, that India would be well-advised to negotiate with Pakistan on Kashmir, when Pakistan was at its weakest. It could have gotten a really good deal. I will say again, India should negotiate now, lest Pakistan`s position continue to get stronger. If Musharraf can keep some checks for ten years on the corrupt politicians who will get elected in one year`s time, Pakistan could be different place in a decade. At that time, it is quite possible, Pakistan will not want to negotiate in Kashmir, and will be more than happy to let India, ``bleed`` there.

Pakistan literally has the US media at its footsteps, with an international audience. Musharraf is a hero in the USA, and has an extreme amount of goodwill going for him. The benevolent, educated, liberal dictator taking on the militant mullahs, seems to be the image here (quite a bit of truth in this image). This is a Bhagwan-given opportunity that has never been provided to any South Asian leader. Pakistan should keep pointing out that while it is trying to help the US, India`s attacks are greatly harming its efforts. It should also continue to offer Vajpayee invitations to visit Pakistan. And it should openly state it would like to discuss with the Indians, in the UN, all Pakistani and Indian accusations of terrorism against each other.

The only thing worse than losing an internal or external war is being involved in one definitely.





yes...6 year down, pureland is a completely different place..there is a civil war, the jihadis are on the warpath, the paki army soldiers who aren't surrendering or getting their throats slit are having to kill a whole bunch of their own civilians..if all this isn't enough, pureland is being bombed by US jets when they don't fall in line.



and India? well, as the world sees it, india is in a completely different league than pureland..

and kashmir? even the normally deluded pakis realize that kashmir ain't gonna banega pakiland...

Re: # 7 Arjun you need to calm yourself and lower your excitement your blood pressure. The K problem is not still solved and its hurting India more than Pakistan. If India needs oil and gas from middleeast and central asia you need pipelines to have cheap transport. You can not have access to A.Stan all things can change if K problem is solved. Romair is still right best person to make give and take is general Musharaff. No civilian president will dare to talk of give and take as he and his party will get beating at elections. If general promises then he has brains and strong wrists to carry out, army will not object to make give and take related concessions. W.STan problems are of short duration and american induced, Army does not have mind and heart in american ordered operations.Again Romair has suggested good solution that is withdraw army and tell americans to solve the problems as we have no means without offending also new elected rulers will not agree , that excused can not be over ridden by usa. Wheather one likes or not general is there to stay for 10 years. He will be elected again in 2012 for 5 years then in 2017 he will retire due to old age. He is smart man a street fighter from Karachi , by giving long rope of corrouption forgivence PP chairman is go to end herself. You see nature of two general, Zia was simple man he killed Bhutto and bad publicity while by his kindness he is killing bb and ppp. He has given problems in religious parties so only he has immerged victor in late political games. MQM is solidly behind him and now PP has blundered and has chosen short cut to demise of PPP. As Romair said the economy is doing fine and stock market is reaching peaks all time. If govt finally let gas prise to float there will rich b.stan people like Quawaitis and that problem will go. Key to B.Problem is letting gas prices go international and B.Stan become Saudi Arabia of Pakistan Punjab and Sindh ( sindh will be ok as they produce lots of energy) will suffer high prices but B Problem gone. With conceding to Americans Freedom of operation in W.Stan and letting gas prices float B. Problem gone. Then Army can start attention to east and south problem makers and attention to K. You may not like that idea but that is future. General can give some relief but elected people will harrass india all time as elected people have to follow popular ideas. Still 10 years to solve before general departure or both countries will be facing sure big war, all atomic bombs flying and nuclear diseases due to nuclear stuff flowing in air.Then China will get involved if pakistan is attacked and china missiles will destroy many big cities of India. If india wants that they can have after 2012. The state of things may be bad but future will be much worse.

#8 ahmedmadani

Ahmedmadani sahib, you are well-intentioned but mistaken. Here are the realities:

(1) The K problem is not solved because it can not be solved because at its root it is a problem of religious fanaticism (and anybody who denies that obvious reality is intellectually dishonest). Therefore, the K-problem has not been solved because such problems can not be “solved� except the way you guys have “solved� them in Pakistan – and the Indians have given up trying to solve it because they do not like your solution.

(2) The K-problem is not hurting India more than Pakistan, the reverse is true.

(3) The oil/gas pipeline carrot will not work with India – because most Indians think that the country of Pakistan and its leaders are dishonest crooks who do not have the ability to even acknowledge the wrongs they have committed – what to think of setting those wrongs right. Therefore, relying on Pakistani “good faith� is little different from asking the local bully to safeguard your daughter’s honor!

(4) The above facts do not change no matter who leads (or more likely, grabs power in) Pakistan.

(5) Pakistan is a small country which has been acting like a match for a bigger country (India) in arms build-up and is paying a price for that folly economically. Until the mindset of its leaders changes, it will continue to pay that price. In reality, it is Pakistan which is bleeding – in fact, gushing rivers of blood!

(6) Musharraf is not very smart no matter how well the USA likes him. Had he been so, he would not have made a fool of himself in Agra during July 2001, when he had the best opportunity to make a positive difference. Like virtually all Pakistani leaders, he has a narrow vision and a primitive mindset blinded by religious bigotry.

(7) We (the Amrikkans) are not interested in any of your problems – though it will be nice if you had a democratic setup. Just hand over the troublemakers and their cronies to us and we won’t bother with you. If you refuse to hand the troublemakers over to us (like the Afghanistanis refused in 2001), we will come after you and get them ourselves. We have already paid you a good price for all of that – including bailing you out from your economic mess over the past few years – so expect no more payments or concessions of any kind from us – especially if we end up doing the job ourselves.

Ahmedmadani sahib, I forgot to add...

I hope you have a good Eid!

Re: # 7

arjun:

ROFL.. is this from when you coined the slogan "pakis are delusional

Re: # 7,
I would agree with arjun on that one!

Tom Friedman is much more reasonable in his arguments than many other American journalists. There are others who I respect a lot less - to name a few Charles Krauthammer, Bill Kristol, George Will, Bill Bennett, Bill OReilly and Ann Coulter. The trouble I have with a lot of these folks is that they demonize those who don't share their world view. I was horrified when Ann Coulter mocked Senator Max Cleland's Vietnam war service by saying that his disability occured because of an accident and that he was no hero. Here's a gal who professes to honor and respect our troops, yet she smears a silver star veteran who lost three limbs in Vietnam.

arjun # 6 "I can understand your frustration to...in NYC, you're the cab driver and your rich wall street passenger is probably jewish...what's the matter? he didn't tip you well? maybe if you took a shower once in a while.. "

huh? I am sure you are being funny here, and I give you a passing grade for that. I also realize that this is an era of talking in sound bites and cliches, and I give you passing grade on that too. But could you please point me to which aspect of my post #4 do you disgree with?

sometimes pakis and hindoos exchanging insults reminds me of two men with bad comb-overs making fun of each other's hairstyles .......

.... anyway, i must thank arjun for keeping track of romair's inanities over the years ....... i wish somone would do the same for tom friedman - an empty suit who picks up some silly idea based on a drive-by view and then goes around pontificating on it as if he was a fuckin scholar or womething ...... how romairesque! ........ and what really bothers me is that people actually think the man knows what the fuck he is talking about ..... like they say, a fool is born every minute ......

'It is either possible to appreciate Friedman's idea, or to know a fact, but never both at the same time'...... how true

Re: # 15 Hamid as cosultant you can appreciate how he packages his drive through observations and markets. That is called businessmanship amrketing of high order.