Parents and the Pill

Ahem… The ‘f’ word
With all due respect to everyone, particularly the geriatrics; manners are not meant to impress others with one’s actions and speech, although it does others as such nonetheless. Its main purpose is to extend respect to all present. Consequently, respect begets respect.

By the same measure, a gentleman or a lady is a person who does not cause discomfort to the ones presents around him/her with his/her actions and/or speech.

Modesty
Regarding modesty, Companions (ra) of the Prophet (pbuh) once asked him about being naked in the privacy of one’s home/room. The Prophet (pbuh) provided the most beautiful and succinct of an answer: as the All Knower, Allah deserves one’s modesty more than anyone else.

The above applies to speech as well, although I doubt the so-called ``liberalized`` lot cares for something which (in the contemporary West and non-Muslim countries) is not IN.

Parents and the Pill
If Miss Rizvi claims that she’s a decent girl, then at least I don’t feel I have right to assume otherwise. She deserves the benefit of doubt. Besides, she did allude to the reason for the pills as some have noticed.

I think Mr. Ajeya’s post with pictures of Sofia Hayat was the most pertinent of responses to this … I’m not sure what to call this write up without disrespecting the author.

Here’s how…
Miss Sofia revealed a crack…so did the author, though not the same kind. Neither of them revealed anything others hadn’t seen before. All desi girls/women can talk dirty, and a lot of them do…although, often it’s not in public, especially in the presence of men. One married woman asked her married friend: “what do husbands talk about in private?” “They talk about the things we do”, replied the friend. The first woman exclaimed: “hawwww haye…they talk about dirty stuff like us too?!?”

Anyway, Miss Sofia’s crack begs to be exploited…so does the author’s. But then, that may be the objective.

While Miss Sofia has crossed the line by many standards, the latter is teetering about it as well.

Miss Sofia apparently seeks publicity; controversial/negative publicity being the best kind there is…so does the author.

Undeniably, Miss Sofia is selling sex. Here Mr. Romair’s persistent argument of “sex sells” begs to be discussed. Selling “sex” in its truest meaning is called prostitution. Otherwise, using sex and sexuality mostly sells something non-sexual. What is the author selling? I hesitate to hazard a guess?

Has either of them instigated a unique debate/issue? Nope…the issue and the corresponding debate are ubiquitous.

In both cases, it’s a waste of intelligence and beauty.

Sex is nothing to be ashamed about, but it’s nothing to boast about either. As someone has pointed out, the lowest and nastiest of creatures do it on regular basis. It’s an innate human function – part of ‘id’ according to Freud.

As some have correctly pointed out, even a lot of non-desis are at a loss for words to discuss sex with children. The confused desis are only trying to beat the westerners with their drive to have open sexual discussion in the household, particularly with children.

Some are understandably apprehensive about how to tackle this issue with their growing children. But when the time comes, they will know what to do if they keep their wits about them. However, as part of parenting, leading by example and monitoring the children are critical to be prepared for the dreaded encounter. Encouraging, even allowing, youngsters to explore sex/sexuality adds to the worries and concerns parents as well children.

Parents and teachers don’t have to have this discussion with the children. From my personal experience and that of many others, if we raise the children according to Quran and Sunnah of the Prophet (pbuh), children (boys and girls) will avoid unsafe situations themselves. As per the advice of the Prophet (pbuh), marry them at young age and both sets of parents and guardians should coach the young couple on how to manage the responsibilities as well as help them deal with the marital issues, as a lot of them already do. With this approach one stone gets many birds, not just two.

My children did ask me about sex when I was explaining the Quranic verses regarding conception and sexual behavior to them. I learned that Quran offers the best solution to the age old issue of sex education. Yes, it has been a contemporary issue in every era and in every culture. In the Quran, this topic is accompanied by rewards of doing it in a sanctified manner, i.e. marriage, as well as the punishment for doing it otherwise, i.e. fornication. Additionally, when one is discussing the topic he/she can see the real-life practical advantages of prescribed and disadvantages of proscribed sexaul activity. So, my children got the whole big picture sans vulgarity, profanity, obscenity…etc.

On the other hand, like a lot of people I never asked my parents or any elder about sex. When I became sexually active, I, just like most others, discovered it is even easier than learning to ride a bike.

Last but not least, honesty doesn’t have to reach the limits of stupidity, as there’s a time and place for everything in life. As for boldness and bravery, the ability to control one’s emotions, desires, lust is what separates adults from children.

Fornication – a pathetic act of desperation:

Fornication breeds:
- two-way exploitation (i.e. men exploit women and women exploit men);
- irresponsibility;
- human slavery - to ones hormones, public opinion;
- break up of homes and families which affect the children more than anyone else involved, and mostly negatively in terms of economics, love, mentoring, etc;
- STDs since no condom or other preventive tools claim 100% safety and most venereal diseases are still incurable;
- illegitimate children for whom the fathers seldom take responsibility, if ever;
- abortion/infanticide if the mother cannot take care of the child by herself

Medical Fact Ask the professionals and they will tell you that a promiscuous woman causes, contracts, and spreads more STDs, which mostly affect her, than her male counterpart.

Interestingly enough, a woman having sex with her husband is often used as being a slave and property of the man. Yet ‘giving it’ to total strangers irresponsibly with enormous risks of all kinds is “liberation”. WOW…talk about breach birth of a concept.

I’m sure you can come up with all other problems that directly and indirectly negatively impact the society at large if you think rationally and not just logically. Logic is a subset of rationale and it only goes so far. For example, even mass murderers and serial killers use “logic” to justify their offenses, like “he/she was abused as a child”, but rationally he/she would be still be wrong and perpetuating a wrong, either personally or judicially, doesn’t make it right.

I`m sorry Ms Zehra, I don`t mean to put you down. I have no reason to lie to you, especially when both of us are anonymous to each other. You have a talent and vocabulary and most importantly the intelligence to write more pertinently on the issues than being a slave to the public opinion and contemporary trends instead of studying the pros and cons of a issue.

Thanks

Re: # 393

Most of them are middle aged men upto their eyeballs in mortgage payments and credit card bills, can`t say a word to their pudgy wives or the scrawny trolls they have spawned and the only way they can vent is by abusing each other and raking up stale south asian issues from long ago, `cause no one at home will listen anyways.You have done a yeoman service by writing this article.

my god...

this board has exploded all over the place.

great to see these discussions...already i have ideas that have been brewing about what to write about next...

thanks all for reading and for the mostly cross intra cultural and interesting discussions..even if i have regular internet access i doubt i would have been able to keep up the pace....do most of you not have jobs ? :)

z.rizvi.

#390 by sunlight

[I think you misunderstood. When people talk about ``anecdotal evidence`` they do not mean that the incidents never happened.]

Thanks for clarifying.

[My interpretation of those examples is that liberalization has created a small class that is very rich and these incidents occur among that class. But scandals were very common among the Maharajas as well. So I am not sure the examples you have given allow us to draw any conclusions.]

What you said was true until a few years back. I’m from a very middle class background and so is the circle I move in, and I’ve heard some very shocking stuff from my friends which for obvious reasons cannot be retold here, but suffice it to say that the notion that it is a very elite/upper class phenomenon is rather flawed. And I have reasons to believe that it holds true for almost the entire country, except of course, the rural areas with which I’m not familiar.

[Also, as I have stated at length in other posts, the crucial difference between East and West is not sexual excess but the fact that people in India are more ``family-oriented`` and want family involvement for whatever they want to do, whereas in the West people are more individualistic and self-obsessed.]

While I don’t disagree with you, my only contention is that this mindset is changing rather rapidly. Already the larger cities and towns are much more uninhibited compared to just a few years back and there is no indication that the trend is going to reverse any time soon.

Re: #389 by rahul_capri


[I have not been following all the argument now, but I would like to make a point. I think it is important to get laid a few times and be in a relationship before marriage, to get a perspective on the meaning of words like ``love``, ``sex`` etc. One should know how big a deal they are and what these words really mean when they are choosing who they want to spend their life with.]


An excellent post.

I have thought about this many times. It is absolutely true that you really don’t know what you want until you get exposed to it first.

However, there is a problem.

Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle states that (this is obviously not a serious comparison, so I hope nobody thinks it is) the thing being measured changes the moment you try to measure it. So it is with life, and sex and relationships.

The woman you finally fall in love with might have been the guinea-pig in someone else’s sexual experimentation, and this experience could have scarred her for life (“emotional baggage”, in western parlance). This could, and often does, affect your relationship.

Also, you yourself might change due to sexual experimentation. There is a famous Indian author (who will remain unnamed due to reasons I don’t want to go into right now) who has this line in one of his novels – “she found out about her body before she found out about love”. This can change a person irreversibly.

There are no easy solutions. Like all things in life, perfection is unattainable. But one has to try to attain a balance, and keep fine-tuning the society’s rule books to take care of changing circumstances.

We do know one thing for sure, though. What the rules should be when it comes to children in a relationship.

They come first.

Because the parents created them, and are responsible. Everything else is secondary.


At the end of the day, to be happy in your married/sexual life, you just have to be lucky.

Re: # 311 by harish_hyd

[These are just anecdotes]
Anecdotes? Do you mean to say the DPS scandal never happened?
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I think you misunderstood. When people talk about ``anecdotal evidence`` they do not mean that the incidents never happened. What they mean is that since they are isolated examples, not statistics, it is hard to assess their significance. My interpretation of those examples is that liberalization has created a small class that is very rich and these incidents occur among that class. But scandals were very common among the Maharajas as well. So I am not sure the examples you have given allow us to draw any conclusions.

[As a society, India is still very restrained because it is believed that sexual liberalism is in conflict with family values.]
I’m not saying that India is not restrained, but only that things are changing. While western civilizations have realized their excesses and are gravitating towards Eastern culture and values, we seem to be doing exactly the opposite.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
See my response above. Also, as I have stated at length in other posts, the crucial difference between East and West is not sexual excess but the fact that people in India are more ``family-oriented`` and want family involvement for whatever they want to do, whereas in the West people are more individualistic and self-obsessed. I am quoting again a quotation from Madhu Kishwar, who said it a lot better than I could:
``in the West, there is little doubt that the resultant instability in life within the nuclear family causes havoc for the children. ... it has contributed to the atomisation of society into a loose collection of self obsessed individuals.``
...
``in India, despite the cultural diversity among its various social, caste, and religious groups, there is a pervasive belief shared equally by men and women that individual rights must be strengthened not by pitching yourself against or isolating yourself from family and community, but rather by having your rights recognised within it. For individual rights to be meaningful, they have to be respected by those with whom you are close, rather than being asserted in a way that estranges you from them.``

I have not been following all the argument now, but I would like to make a point. I think it is important to get laid a few times and be in a relationship before marriage, to get a perspective on the meaning of words like ``love``, ``sex`` etc. One should know how big a deal they are and what these words really mean when they are choosing who they want to spend their life with.

Re: WhitesAreMuchBetter1981

Here’s some clues as to where this piece of garbage came from.

A psychological post-mortem, you might say:


The Portuguese Inquisition in Goa (1560-1812)


Goa was one of the three Portuguese Provinces in the India continent, for 451 years. For centuries Goa was considered the Rome of the Orient. It was the headquarters of the Catholic Church in the Orient.
Perhaps because of its Catholic fervor , the Portuguese Inquisition in Goa, became the most severe and cruel of all the Portuguese territories.
The inquisitors in Goa became the most fanatic and violent of the Portuguese Catholic Church. Alfredo DeMello, who was born and educated in British India and Portugal, reveals many dramatic facts of the Portuguese Inquisition in Goa.
Alfredo De Mello is also a historian. He wrote already 3 books about the Portuguese Nationality of Cristovão Colon ( misnomer Columbus). He wrote two books in English and one in Spanish.
If you want to contact him directly here is his e-mail ademello@adinet.com.uy

Here is his chapter on this dramatic subject
Chapter 21 “Memoirs of Goa``
By Alfredo DeMello
….Already in 1545 Francis Xavier wrote to Rome from Goa , asking for the Inquisition to be installed immediately. ….
The Christian religion on account of its mystical passivity leads to a state of apathy. It was a regression to medieval apathy, extinguishing all individualism, by the contemplation of Death and the terrors of Hell, by frequent confessions.
In another chapter dealing with the nefarious, fiendish, lustful, corrupt religious orders which pounced on Goa for the purpose of destroying paganism and introducing the true religion of Christ ( poor Jesus, if He only knew what was done in His name!), I have dwelt briefly on the Inquisition, which was introduced in 1560 and lasted until the year 1812, that is a span of 252 years, during which period it held its sway with a power that Stalin and other tyrants would have liked to hold. Stalin was a tyrant, murderer, but at least he was not a hypocrite.
… in the year 1560 the first inquisitors Aleixo Dias Falcão and Francisco Marques, secular canonists, established the Inquisition in Goa. This Inquisition was definitely abolished in 1812 – when the British Forces were occupying Goa - and the files were kept first in Goa, and later sent on to Lisbon.
….The Palace of the Inquisition was pointed out in awe by Goans, who called it Orlem Goro. or Big House, with two hundred cells. The Inquisition in Goa, on account of its rigors, was reputed to be the worst of the existing inquisitions in the catholic orb of the five parts of the world, as felt unanimously by national and foreign writers.
“......The inquisition, this tribunal of fire, thrown on the surface of the globe for the scourge of humanity, this horrible institution, which will eternally cover with shame its authors, fixed its brutal domicile in the fertile plains of the Hindustan. On seeing the monster everyone fled and disappeared, Moguls, Arabs, Persians, Armenians, and Jews. The Indians even, more tolerant and pacific, were astounded to see the God of Christianism more cruel than that of Mohammed, deserted the territory of the Portuguese and went to the lands of the Muslims, with whom time had made peaceful living possible, in spite of the fact that they (Indians) had received from them enormous and incalculable evils. In this fashion the fields and cities became deserted as are today Diu and Goa “ (2)
…Alexandre Herculano, a famous writer of the 19th century, mentioned in his “Fragment about the Inquisition”: “...The terrors inflicted on pregnant women made them abort....Neither the beauty or decorousness of the flower of youth, nor the old age, so worthy of compassion in a woman, exempted the weaker sex from the brutal ferocity of the supposed defenders of the religion....”
“...There were days when seven or eight were submitted to torture. These scenes were reserved for the inquisitors after dinner. It was a post-prandial entertainment. Many a time during those acts, the inquisitors compared notes in the appreciation of the beauty of the human form. While the unlucky damsel twisted in the intolerable pains of torture, or fainted in the intensity of the agony, one inquisitor applauded the angelic touches of her face, another the brightness of her eyes, another, the volluptuous contours of her breast, another the shape of her hands. In this conjuncture, men of blood transformed themselves into real artists !!”
…The words Auto da fé reverberated throughout Goa, reminiscent of the furies of Hell, which concept, incidentally does not exist in the Hindu pantheon. On April 1st 1650 for instance, four people were burnt to death, the next auto da fé was on December 14, 1653, when 18 were put to the flames, accused of the crime of heresy. And from the 8th April 1666 until the end of 1679 - during which period Dellon was tried - there were eight autos da fé, in which 1208 victims were sentenced. In November 22, 1711 another auto da fé took place involving 41 persons. Another milestone was on December 20, 1736, when the Inquisition burnt an entire family of Raaim, Salcete, destroying their house, putting salt on their land, and placing a stone “padrao”, which still existed in the place ( at least in 1866)
…The crimes were of different kinds: blasphemies, impiety, sodomy, necromancy and witchcraft. For example if any of the newly converted took part of the “superstitious assemblies” (Jewish Sabbaths) or former idolatries ( Hindu gods) practiced of yore, were enough to cause a victim to be burnt at the stake. If he confessed at the last moment, and was truly sorry, he would be condemned to the garrote for capital punishment, and then burnt. Otherwise he would be burnt alive.
…If Christians taken for secret Jews were unjustly delivered to the executioners, it was not less unjust to see how the native Christians were accused of magic and witchcraft, and as such, were condemned to fire. Any practice, or feast or celebration of the pagans, was considered as witchcraft. Furthermore, the newly converted gentiles who had passed the greater part of their lives as pagans, and those who lived in Goa were slaves or servants, who with the intention of improving their status in the house of their lords, had changed their religion to Catholicism, these ignorant and rude men might merit at most some whipping, and not death by fire. It did not matter: they were all convicted and suffered death.
The inquisition did not punish only the Christians accused of having trespassed, but also Muslims, Hindus, and other foreigners of different religions: they were accused of practicing their religion in Portuguese lands, subject to the Portuguese crown, where Catholicism was the Law. Many were condemned to whipping and work in the galleys, and this fear of being condemned to the stake, often made these gentiles and Muslims embrace christianism as a mode of escape. Therefore, instead of being useful for the Christian faith, the inquisition only served to shoo away the people from the Catholic church, and create a horror towards same.
…Three kinds of torture were practiced: 1) the rope or the pulley, 2) water and 3) fire. The torture by rope consisted of the arms being tied backwards and then raised by a pulley, leaving the victim hanging for some time, and then let the victim drop down to half a foot above the floor, then raised again. These continued up-and-down movement dislocated the joints and made the prisoner emit horrible cries of pain. This torture went on for an hour.
The torture by water was as follows: the victim was made to lie across an iron bar, and was forced to imbibe water without stopping. The iron bar broke the vertebrae and caused horrible pains, whereas the water treatment provoked vomits and asphyxia.
The torture by fire was definitely the worst: the victim was hung above a fire, which warmed the soles of the feet, and the jailers rubbed bacon and other combustible materials on the feet. The feet were burned until the victim confessed. These last two tortures lasted for about an hour, and sometimes more.The house of torments was a subterranean grotto, so that other might not hear the cries of the wretched. Many a time, the victims died under torture; their bodies were interred within the compound, and the bones were exhumed for the “auto da fe” , and burnt in public.
Those who were branded as convicts, and persisted in denying the facts of which they were accused, or who were relapsed, were obliged to wear another scapulary which was called Samarra, a brown cloth on which the portrait of the victim was painted above flames, and surrounded by demons. Below this portrait were written down the name of the condemned and the crimes.
But for those who accused themselves, after the sentence was pronounced, and who were not relapsed, a different Samarra was given: in these brown vests the flames were facing downwards, which is called “fogo revolto”.
The Sambenitos were distributed to about twenty of the natives accused of necromancy and to one Portuguese accused of the same crime and who was also a new Christian.After the distribution of the Sambenitos, five pointed bonnets or mitres of cardboard, all painted with demons and flames, and the word “feiticeiro” ( sorcerer) were brought and placed on the heads of the persons accused of necromancy. Standing up all night, at last at 5.30 a.m., the sun rose, and the bell of the cathedral started tolling. This was the signal for the population of Goa to wake up, and come to witness the august ceremony of the ``auto da fe``” which was considered as a triumph of the Holy Office.
…By daylight, each convict was ordered to march alongside a godfather, one of the officials assigned to each victim. It was a great honor to be appointed godfather for these ceremonies… The procession was led through the long streets of the city, so that the multitudes could watch the ugly pageant. Finally, covered with shame and confusion, tired of the long march, the condemned reached the church of St. Francis, which was decked with great pomp and circumstance. The altar was covered with black cloth on which stood six silver candleholders. On both sides of the altar there were two kinds of thrones: the right side for the inquisitor and his councilors, and the left side for the viceroy and his court. The convicts and godfathers were seated on benches. Next, four man-sized statues were brought, accompanied by four men who carried boxes full of bones of the victims who had died by tortures: these statues, wearing the Samarra and representing the dead victims would be tried too.
… The condemned to be burnt at the stake were delivered to the secular arm, to which the Inquisition begged to use clemency and mercy with these wretched, and to impose the death penalty without effusion of blood.... What a great goodness of the Inquisition to intercede in this fashion on behalf of the condemned ! By burning them, was not like chopping off their heads, with the “effusion of blood” !
…Goa will go down in history as having had the worst Inquisition, as testified by the Frenchman François Pyrard de Laval, who lived in Goa from June 1608 until January 1610, in whose book “Voyages....” , who states that the inquisition of Goa was more severe than that of Portugal because very frequently it burnt Jews, whom the Portuguese called “new Christians”.
…And as the last straw, it will be enough to have an idea of the omnipotence of the Inquisition in Goa, by reading their Edict of the 14th April 1736, which is a real Manifest against the religious practices and customs of the Indians.
REFERENCES:
1. Teófilo Braga: “Historia da Literatura Portuguesa: Camões, Época , vida e obra”
2. Memoirs of Judges Magalhães and Lousada: ( Vol 2, Annaes Marítimos e Coloniais, page 59, Nova Goa 1859)
3. Chronista de Tissuary Nº 6, page 166
4. Ferdinand Denis : “Portugal”, page 252
5.Joao Felix Pereira : “Historia de Portugal”, 3rd edition, page 235.
6. Coelho da Rocha: “Ensaio sobre a História do Governo e Legislação de Portugal”, page 154, 3rd edition.
.J.C. Barreto Miranda “Quadros Históricos de Goa”, Cad 2, Quad IX, page 147, 1863.

Re: Hyena with Hemorrhoids 1986


#350 by Saj1981


..hahaha...

#349 by Saj1981


..hahaha...

#319 by Saj1981


hahah..

#176 by Saj1981


HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAH...

..... hahahahah..


Is there a pattern here?

Romair:
Where do I begin? Okay, first of all fat babies aren’t born – you get em small and then you feed em and take care of em and then they get chubby and nice. They grow.

I guess that’s your basic problem – the fact that kids grow up and then become people. a lot of people on this board have been telling you for days now that the culture of the place has precious little to do with sexuality other than the fact how you express it and where you express it and whom to. But express it you will.

Its nice to know where you come from. Its nice to know you’re so worried about the people in your life – but the world aint an army on the march or even one on exercises. Army tales and mores, especially of soldiers who were away on work, is hardly the best model to base yourself on. Civilians have a lot of sex but we don’t use it for psychological purposes.

I now understand your obsession with “uncontrolled sex” – see, most of us civilians on this board never met “uncontrolled sex”. We’ve thought about or had sex, premarital, extra marital, multiple partners, same sex partner whatever. But uncontrolled – kind of like an orgy? – I don’t know how many people have had.

Coming to multiple partners – I’m sorry you know so many people, esp of the gora variety, who have sad sexual histories. But as hamidm pointed out, he too knows a lot of people with sad sexual histories, esp of the desi variety.

The point is, its not culture that determines who cheats on whom or who has an STD. There are lots of people in your homeland and mine who are positively steeped in their culture and largely untouched by the horrid West. No chi-chi elite but hearty people like truck drivers, manual laborers, farmers etc. and yes soldiers. Just like their elite counterparts in the truck owners office, or officers mess or even their counterparts in gora countries – these people have to decide on a case by case basis whether or not they are happy with their sex life and if they will cheat on their spouse. Society has no opinion as long as they don’t disturb the pristine bed cover it has drawn up over itself.

What this means is that there are a lot more people at risk in desiland than goraland. A lot more risk because, since people don’t talk about it, contraceptive use is low, STD rates keep rising, etc.

Of course women have it tougher to exercise any of the option employed by their menfolk – so they end up not only bored with sex and pleading a headache but they’re also at risk of catching STDs from their darling husbands. Some women can’t stand it and have an affair after all – which is always a thrilling affair coz then she can keep wondering if the next footfall heralds someone from her village who will then blacken her face and stone her to death or something equally exciting.

So the culture of des is not superior but that culture of goras allows woman to do same things in the open without fear.

As for your wife leaving you – treat her well and she’ll stick around. She might feel homicidal some mornings but it’ll add a bit of spice to your life.

malik #375 sound analysis, good advice.

I look forward to reading thoughtful response from Romair. I also look forward to the leopard losing his spots, to sikhs becoming skinheads, and other unlikely events.

hamidm: and I see that not happy with keeping Romair hopping, you are trying to stir up trouble with echoboom as well. it gets better and better.

hamidm: For a dead horse, Romair has been kicking around pretty good. Another few posts and I should have enough material to write Romair`s Official Biography. So keep up the good work.

Hopefully when all this is over, everyone can go home for some ``marital sex`` as amit (a man wise beyond his years) put it.

echo mian,

``There must be a reason you repeat it so often``........ actually it is quite simple - the memory of my parents is still very fresh in my mind - i think of them every single day .......... my mother was very big on all those obscure holidays that nobody seems to celebrate any more - and i miss that wonderful part of the religion that seems to have been replaced by the incessant praying and other joyless rituals ............ i don`t understand this new islam ........

......... no need to call a shrink .....

temporal the grey,

......... your powers are amazing !........... how did you know romair mian did not have any kids ......

......... uncanny!..... brrrr !

hamidm2:372
Yeah Yeah we know that sob story by heart now. There must be a reason you repeat it so often.

But it won`t hurt to analyse that Licensed-to-Bill, the western Dubba-Peer, under the pretext of getting your mind read.