When the Will of the People Poses an \'Inconvenient\' Truth @BS
Nice article really insightful however i am not sure whether the article broached on the topic of military intransigence to leave politics or whether a military solution is (or Not) a panacea to our problems. Correct me if i am wrong.

@rf786
Foreign intervention of all sorts is unacceptable whether that comes through soft power - negotiation, pleading or through hard power - gun powder, Jutt (Jumbo Jutt aka F-16s) the wild wild west. Pakistan has been more willing to bow itself to the power of a largely uni-polar world than submit to the will of the people.. I can see that as a result of two reasons:

a) Politicians/Military Generals are not seasoned in terms of the real politik at play - We have been oft used and abused by the West but we always look like the love sick/love lorn puppy expecting our lover to change.

To take a more comical turn, most tv dramas etc depict the heer mahi kithey reh gaya sentiment where the lover is often duped by a cunning other who is more concerned with regards to property, money or other "conquests" and our typical romeo/Juliet roams the street in search of his/her lover.. So much ingrained is the whole dhoka but still expecting something pushed into our mentalities that we cant think otherwise. It is acceptable in world politics to hold no norms no moralities.. One should count their losses and move on and adjust to the realities of the world. The sooner the better!

b) The willingness to categorize funding into funding/assistance and other as "foreign intrusion".. Saudia pumps in money.. we say our Muslim brethren are helping us.. Similarly is the case with Iran.. Iran=Muslim= Brotherhood=Show me the money!.. Does brotherhood only arise out of the Muslim tag.. Also are our Muslim brathar.. really our Muslim brothers in the true sense of the word? because playing the devil's advocate anything and everything comes with certain conditionalities.. and the money of course pumps in to support splinter groups furthering the Wahabi or the Shiite Agenda across Pakistan.. (I am not saying all moolah goes to these people however some would trickle down to sustain such groups) Pakistan has for long been fighting other peoples' war.

Window Shopping Maria:

Ejaz rightly pointed out that it can be a pain for men as well. For someone who lives in a family with pre-dominantly boys that grew into men i have had the fortune (or misfortune) of going for window browsing

The act of acceptance maybe rejoiced however rejection seems like the girl was not worth it for god knows what reason. This can prove to be a terrible problem doubly for the potential match victim since she has first to swallow this bitter pill herself and then of course there is the plethora of aunties and mohalla vallies that have their say in the complete bargaining deal.

However, considering the limited mingling that boys and girls are allowed in this society and everything from going out with friends would be viewed with scorn. In case of such limited inter-minglings.. the parents have to inevitably rely on personalized relationships to view a reasonable match. This often turns ugly however although i would agree with the act being at times evil to say the least.. your article should have posited some alternatives.. considering the society we live in what should work out for us!

Accepting Death A beautiful and candid piece. It made me contemplate.. We do take life as it comes believing in what makes our life go around without too much questioning or controversies.. its only at a critical juncture in life such as death of a loved one or birth that makes us think at times as what makes the world spin..

A child born in a Afghanistan where 1 out of every 2 children suffers from malnutrition.

The death of a parent for a boy who lives in Palestine & Kashmir or their slow and painful death due to AIDS.

The death of a child from malaria in Africa.

Well it does not only speak of the injustices of the world but also the injustice of GOD. What higher purpose does he have with giving all these people such pain and suffering.. for us to say that their must be an higher motive might make sense but in reality it is hogwash.

I once viewed a show that really highlighted the loss of a loved one in the five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance.

Acceptance is when you finally come to terms with your loss and move ahead.

The Truth About Karachi Re: # 196

Maybe the government sniffed that you had an infectious love for karachi and they want to ban everything patriotic..

India: Is Growth Coming at Expense of Development Overall a reasonable article however the quagmire that India is stuck in at the moment is no different from what most developing countries/TWC (third world countries) face.

This growth vs development dilemma was very finely described by Ardeshir Cowasjee in a Pakistan daily.. quote unquote

The two concepts are not synonymous and all growth must be measured against the collateral damage accrued thereby. Even otherwise, growth for the sake of growth is the ideology of a cancer cell.

World Cup 2007: A Legacy To Be Left Behind First of all.. kudos to all the Paki Bashing..

``This author must be a Pakistan lover and not a cricket lover``
Simple. Sarcastic and to the point.

Well my initial impression of the article was.. Yeah rite in your dreams buddy..

Firsts with a team which has been facing problems of consistency and injury problems.. Pakistan is among the top guns.

Secondly, Pakistan has mostly failed to chase targets and although Indian cricket has been that for some time but they have been able to better themselves over time. Till the psychology of the OH OVER 250 RUNS scored by an opponent team doesnt subside we will not win any match.

Lastly but not the least most Pakis are not very ``enthusiastic`` about Pakistan`s chances of winning the World Cup..and hence may not turn up in droves to witness matches..

I guess the ones that are the faves to win

Saffies.. Zoolanders.. Indies..Aussies..

Who should Win...

Saffies.. and/or Indies..

Latin America on the Road to Democracy and Humanism There is increasing disgust at the IMF from within the academic circles as well.

Joseph Stiglitz one of the greatest economists to date talks his mind about the IMF here. Mind that he was himself part of the World Bank at a time yet he realized this over time.

http://www.globalpolicy.org/socecon/bwi-wto/wbank/stigindx.htm#stigimf

Seemingly, God is Angry at America Are we speaking of a God based on boundaries or territorial lines...?

Human tragedy be it America, Africa or any country for that matter is supposed to be sympathized for regardless of the cast color creed or ethnicity of a certain victim.

Although many of the so-called moderates and the FUNdamentalist shall be describing this as a wrath of GOD and others going so far as describing this the end of the imperialistic powers we must realize a few things:

A poor man in reality has no religion.. no nation.. no allegiance.. he is just concerned about earning his livelihood and getting over with the day.. It is sad to note that 96% of the area affected were blacks who became locked in the area due to the lack of economic and physical mobility. The government may have been slow in acting and it may have been attributable to the cut in funding for the rainy days since the Clinton Administration..but when it did come.. it overwhelmed the mass populace.. and the whites or the economically better off got away.... We still have to realize that these were inherently poor people.. and poor people in any country are the first to succumb to such sort of natural catastrophies. Instead of helping these people are even for that matter feeling sympathetic towards their plight.. we are just being like our ``masters``... arrogant and indifferent to the problems of the poor even in developed countries like the US of A itself.

By calling these calamities the wrath of God and gleefully rejoicing isnt really the way to go.. for even the sad state of Muslim countries is inherently a wrath of god.. which we often ignore by just claiming corruption and malpractices at the heart of all problems. When are we going to go beyond our pseudo-intellectual debates and start doing something meaningful.

Enigma of the Defence Budget They have also called in to reduce and nearly eliminate the number of servants attached with officers for monetary compensation and for hiring civilian workforce. I am confused about the consequences of that.. however i feel that goes in line with the ``reduction`` of armed personnel.. shame shame sir musharraf..

The SAT Scam I`d agree with Maliha here.. since i have overheard many of my fellow students who unfortunately couldnt get their test center as Lahore and had to move to ISB.. they were told to have a break for 5-6 minutes and were allowed to go out of the hall. People literally wrote the answers down on their palms and then used it to ``answer`` the aptitude test.

When i took the SAT II i myself was given a chance to participate in a cheating fiesta.. although i did dictate the answers to a few of my peers however when trying to do it myself i dont know but a false sense of consciousness prevailed upon me and i just couldnt. The point just mentioned was not to elevate me to the level of a saint but that at times ``oppurtunities`` also exist within Lahore.

Plus there have been many times when people have actually registered for 3 tests and used that time to really ace 2 of their subjects.

I would testify to the ``Satisfaction guaranteed`` testing that people are doing these days where many have given enough dough to ace it.

There is however a positive change in the SAT test which i welcome with open arms is the inclusion of the essay component which will to a great degree atleast check cheating to a degree.

The SAT Scam I`d agree with Maliha here.. since i have overheard many of my fellow students who non-fortunately couldnt get their test center as Lahore and had to move to ISB.. they were told to have a break for 5-6 minutes and were allowed to go out of the hall. People literally wrote the answers down on their palms and then used it to ``answer`` the aptitude test.

When i took the SAT II i myself was given a chance to participate in a cheating fiesta.. although i did dictate the answers to a few of my peers however when trying to do it myself i dont know but a false sense of consciousness prevailed upon me and i just couldnt. The point just mentioned was not to elevate me to the level of a saint but that at times ``oppurtunities`` also exist within Lahore.

Plus there have been many times when people have actually registered for 3 tests and used that time to really ace 2 of their subjects.

I would testify to the ``Satisfaction guaranteed`` testing that people are doing these days where many have given enough dough to ace it.

There is however a positive change in the SAT test which i welcome with open arms is the inclusion of the essay component which will to a great degree atleast check cheating to a degree.

Vanity is My Favorite Sin Well a reasonable article although i am a lil confused as to whether you tried to bring out the wonders of blabbering less or is it that people who talk a lot tend to give more info about themselves.. Clear that misconception please.

Education: An Abysmal Situation I would agree to most people comments here but i have a few suggestions of my own stemming from the article and from the readers` opinions as well

First of all for political development essentially what needs to happen is that there has to be a politicization of the society not of a minority of privileged people. Look towards the 60`s when Pakistan became the first country ever in history to bring down a dictator by people`s power. Look today, despite the benefits of ``trickle down`` growth not reaching the masses but rather inflation drives hitting the common man the most and despite the overarching role of army in the political arena and in the stifling of so called democratic institutions in the ``supreme interest of the nation`` what we have is a lifeless, numb and apolitical audience. What has made us like that.. its because we as students have been told.. no politics its ur duty to study.. but its also our duty to tell the state admin that man u are doing something wrong here and we want change. A comparative across many nations who have come far ahead in terms of political development (look at Europe or the US) have active student wings and political socialization begins from education where there are student democrats and republican. So depoliticization of education is not the solution.

Secondly, in terms of imparting education there are always question of what sort of education are we talking about. Sadly enough, and as the author points out that there has been an orientation towards the west to look for solutions to the miseries created at home (the westernized people are going to effectively ruin the country.. so has decolonization really occured or is there a colonization of the mind) which has led to differential access to education and lack of education for most leading to more inequality and poverty. Thus we need an endogenous and indigenous model to education, and arabic is one way of doing it (though i am not suggesting it be the only way) but for the purpose of the so-called Muslims this country has been created for and also the fact that new problems relating to role of religion, state and society need to be discussed and people need to be educated along those lines and also for the possibility of interpretations and solutions to the novel problems facing pakistan today. And this can be done... as said earlier it can be done and its definitely not a problem of resources but of resource allocation.

Thirdly, whenever we talk about education sadly again in our mind we create biases about who needs it urgently and who can live without it. The matter of adult education has hardly been broached in the article and once again education does not mean building of new formal school structures (another possibility) but of evening classes lead by the very students of the school to educate the adults on what they have read which will not only help the students in their retention of material but will also benefit society at large and the emphasis at large should not be about teaching the word (L is for land) but rather the world (L is for land reform which you wont ever get :() and in this regard i am talking about Paulo Freire`s method of education (From Pedagogy of the Opressed)

Lastly, but more importantly i feel that the process of education has to be complimented by infrastructure development and job creation. Its not that people don`t have proper education but there aren`t enough jobs created within the system and thus most people are shut off from the oppurtunity of employment only to be employed in the more radicalized version of Islam and thus the ``inevitable`` sectarianism strikes home. Most of these elements at large has more to do with bad socio-economic conditions rather than extremism really. Who would say no to weapons and cash when it is providing you with that sort of empowerment that education is supposed to provide you to become a functioning member of society.

In conclusion i would say that most of the problems that are occuring have been mostly systemic (due to the military dictatorship), lack of political development (apoliticisation of institutions and of society at large) and lack of social development (the abysmal amount of money spent on health education and other social indicators)