http://thirdworldism.posterous.com dispatches from the global south posterous.com Wed, 28 Dec 2011 04:20:00 -0800 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thirdworldism/~3/50lXNWG7KSo/badar-alam-on-imran-khan-the-pti http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/badar-alam-on-imran-khan-the-pti <p> <p><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <a href="http://getfile7.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2011-12-28/iheJBHcelesdCrEhkvmeIFfdGztopxqkEjplebkawBlkHiHyFFEjkitzoxrG/IMG01143-20111225-1711.jpg.scaled1000.jpg"><img alt="Img01143-20111225-1711" height="375" src="http://getfile4.posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2011-12-28/iheJBHcelesdCrEhkvmeIFfdGztopxqkEjplebkawBlkHiHyFFEjkitzoxrG/IMG01143-20111225-1711.jpg.scaled500.jpg" width="500" /></a> </div> </p> <p>One of the great things about being a journalist is being able to just sit and talk with intelligent and interesting people. Unfortunately, only a few sound bites of each long interview makes it into any published story, and some of the most interesting stuff gets left out. This is mostly because of time restrictions, but also because some stuff may not be directly relevant to the story, or because Western audiences may not be able to make sense of it without understanding all of the Pakistani context.</p> <p>So I'd like to make it a regular habit from now on to post some longer clips of my interviews here on my blog, which don't make it in to published stories.</p> <p>I'm going to start with bits from an interview I did last week with Badar Alam, editor of Dawn's <a href="http://herald.dawn.com/" target="_blank">Herald magazine</a>. The interview was for a radio story that I did for PRI's The World titled "<a href="http://www.theworld.org/2011/12/the-growing-clout-pakistani-sports-star-turned-politician-imran-khan/" target="_blank">The Growing Clout of Pakistani Sports-Star Turned Politician Imran Khan</a>". As you can tell, Alam is quite critical of Khan and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf.</p> <p><strong>On the difference between Imran Khan's political support base and that of Pakistan's traditional parties:</strong></p> <p> <object data="http://abfiles.s3.amazonaws.com/swf/fullsize_player.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" height="129" width="400"> <param name="movie" value="http://abfiles.s3.amazonaws.com/swf/fullsize_player.swf" /> <param name="scale" value="noscale" /> <param name="salign" value="lt" /> <param name="bgColor" value="#FFFFFF" /> <param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /> <param name="wmode" value="window" /> <param name="FlashVars" value="mp3=http%3A%2F%2Faudioboo.fm%2Fboos%2F604663-badar-alam-on-imran-khan-1-3.mp3%3Fkeyed%3Dtrue%26source%3Dembed&amp;mp3Title=Badar+Alam+on+Imran+Khan+1%2F3&amp;mp3Time=12.00pm+28+Dec+2011&amp;mp3LinkURL=http%3A%2F%2Faudioboo.fm%2Fboos%2F604663-badar-alam-on-imran-khan-1-3&amp;mp3Author=desmukh&amp;rootID=boo_embed_604663" /><a href="http://audioboo.fm/boos/604663-badar-alam-on-imran-khan-1-3.mp3?keyed=true&amp;source=embed">Badar Alam on Imran Khan 1/3 (mp3)</a> </object> </p> <p><strong>On Imran Khan's constantly changing ideology:</strong></p> <p> <object data="http://abfiles.s3.amazonaws.com/swf/fullsize_player.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" height="129" width="400"> <param name="movie" value="http://abfiles.s3.amazonaws.com/swf/fullsize_player.swf" /> <param name="scale" value="noscale" /> <param name="salign" value="lt" /> <param name="bgColor" value="#FFFFFF" /> <param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /> <param name="wmode" value="window" /> <param name="FlashVars" value="mp3=http%3A%2F%2Faudioboo.fm%2Fboos%2F604665-badar-alam-on-imran-khan-2-3.mp3%3Fkeyed%3Dtrue%26source%3Dembed&amp;mp3Title=Badar+Alam+on+Imran+Khan+2%2F3&amp;mp3Time=12.04pm+28+Dec+2011&amp;mp3LinkURL=http%3A%2F%2Faudioboo.fm%2Fboos%2F604665-badar-alam-on-imran-khan-2-3&amp;mp3Author=desmukh&amp;rootID=boo_embed_604665" /><a href="http://audioboo.fm/boos/604665-badar-alam-on-imran-khan-2-3.mp3?keyed=true&amp;source=embed">Badar Alam on Imran Khan 2/3 (mp3)</a> </object> </p> <p><strong>On Imran Khan's foreign policy</strong>:</p> <p> <object data="http://abfiles.s3.amazonaws.com/swf/fullsize_player.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" height="129" width="400"> <param name="movie" value="http://abfiles.s3.amazonaws.com/swf/fullsize_player.swf" /> <param name="scale" value="noscale" /> <param name="salign" value="lt" /> <param name="bgColor" value="#FFFFFF" /> <param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /> <param name="wmode" value="window" /> <param name="FlashVars" value="mp3=http%3A%2F%2Faudioboo.fm%2Fboos%2F604670-badar-alam-on-imran-khan-3-3.mp3%3Fkeyed%3Dtrue%26source%3Dembed&amp;mp3Title=Badar+Alam+on+Imran+Khan+3%2F3&amp;mp3Time=12.10pm+28+Dec+2011&amp;mp3LinkURL=http%3A%2F%2Faudioboo.fm%2Fboos%2F604670-badar-alam-on-imran-khan-3-3&amp;mp3Author=desmukh&amp;rootID=boo_embed_604670" /><a href="http://audioboo.fm/boos/604670-badar-alam-on-imran-khan-3-3.mp3?keyed=true&amp;source=embed">Badar Alam on Imran Khan 3/3 (mp3)</a> </object> </p> </p> <p><a href="http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/badar-alam-on-imran-khan-the-pti">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/badar-alam-on-imran-khan-the-pti#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/thirdworldism/~4/50lXNWG7KSo" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/434942/sam09.jpg http://posterous.com/users/37lsLzsnSim5 fahad fahad http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/badar-alam-on-imran-khan-the-pti Mon, 20 Dec 2010 18:39:00 -0800 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thirdworldism/~3/oY4kkFJxKmw/every-land-is-karbala-the-globalization-of-mu-0 http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/every-land-is-karbala-the-globalization-of-mu-0 <p> <p><em><span style="font-size: x-small;"><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2010-12-20/qEfEzfaseiwHCsspienEueHfuIlcGzFppgcbhhIIyBouIuoxtmbnzuEntvgq/Tabuik_festival.jpg.scaled1000.jpg"><img alt="Tabuik_festival" height="329" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2010-12-20/qEfEzfaseiwHCsspienEueHfuIlcGzFppgcbhhIIyBouIuoxtmbnzuEntvgq/Tabuik_festival.jpg.scaled500.jpg" width="500" /></a> </div> Above: Tabuik festival in West Sumatra, Indonesia (source: <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tabuik_festival.jpg">Wiki Commons</a>)</span></em></p> <p>Here's a map I've made by plotting a bunch of Youtube videos of the rites of the Shia Muslim commemoration of Muharram/Ashura. The embedded map below is a bit small and annoying to use, so click on <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&amp;hl=en&amp;msa=0&amp;msid=211049723901618750359.000497994c76a682d224b" target="_blank">this link</a> for a full page version of the same. Then click on any of the little blue markers and a youtube video will pop up showing you an example of how the Muharram rites are performed in that part of the world.</p> <p><iframe scrolling="no" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" src="http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&amp;hl=en&amp;msa=0&amp;msid=211049723901618750359.000497994c76a682d224b&amp;ll=23.885838,23.90625&amp;spn=140.799904,350.859375&amp;t=h&amp;z=1&amp;output=embed" frameborder="0" height="300" width="500"></iframe><br /><small>View <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&amp;hl=en&amp;msa=0&amp;msid=211049723901618750359.000497994c76a682d224b&amp;ll=23.885838,23.90625&amp;spn=140.799904,350.859375&amp;t=h&amp;z=1&amp;source=embed" style="color: #0000ff; text-align: left;">Globalization of Muharram Rites</a> in a larger map</small></p> <p>The map is far from exhaustive, as there are literally thousands of Muharram videos on Youtube from all over the over the world. I've just selected a few that show the wide diversity of the rituals as they have spread around the world.</p> <p>The map and videos quite neatly reflect the migration and displacement patterns of people from the time of the events of Karbala in 680AD to all corners of the globe today. It also shows something about how rituals and tradition are defined, and then continuously moulded by time and migration.</p> <p>So, for example, here is one path taken. The rites travelled east from Iraq, across Persia, to North India sometime between 1300 and 1700 AD. Although Shi'ite Muslims claimed ownership of the rites, in India Sunnis and even Hindus were active participants. Somewhere along the way two things became common elements of the rites:</p> <ul> <li>a drum performance known as Dhol-Tasha: (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZ6gemqbs5k" target="_blank">video</a>), and</li> <li>and the parading of what are known as Tazias - symbolic representations of the shrine of Karbala: (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiUC5JA6lhA" target="_blank">video</a>)</li> </ul> <p>During the days of the British Raj, thousands of Indian indentured labourers travelled to far flung regions of the British Empire, such as Fiji, Mauritius and the Caribbean Islands, taking these rituals with them. In Trinidad, the rites became known as the festival of Hosay, in which not only Sunnis and Hindus participated, but also Afro-Trinidadians. In Trinidad, the Dhol-Tasha drums (referred to as 'Tassa') and Tazias ('Tadja') can still clearly be seen: (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rix9IwetBT8">video</a>)</p> <p>In recent decades there has been considerable migration of people from the Caribbean to North America. So today you can see those same Tasha drums and Tazias at Muharram commemorations in Manhattan: (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBwyg0r2hxE">video</a>)</p> <p>And in Manhattan you can also see Muharram rites being carried out by migrants from India who did not stop over in the Caribbean, something quite different: (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-RDdP3Di9Y">video</a>)</p> <p>There are a million other things that can be said, but have a look at the videos on the map for yourself and see.</p> </p> <p><a href="http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/every-land-is-karbala-the-globalization-of-mu-0">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/every-land-is-karbala-the-globalization-of-mu-0#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/thirdworldism/~4/oY4kkFJxKmw" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/434942/sam09.jpg http://posterous.com/users/37lsLzsnSim5 fahad fahad http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/every-land-is-karbala-the-globalization-of-mu-0 Thu, 07 Oct 2010 10:32:00 -0700 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thirdworldism/~3/LGal_S-DSxc/jeeway-abdullah-shah-ghazi http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/jeeway-abdullah-shah-ghazi <p> <p>Its sad to see the place where I have spent so many evenings contemplating the meaning of life now covered in blood and body parts.</p> <p>Anyways, some sound bites of people I spoke to at the Abdullah Shah Ghazi sufi shrine after the suicide blasts there a couple hours ago (some in English, some Urdu).</p> <p>Eyewitness 1 (Urdu):</p> <p><div class='p_embed p_audio_embed'> <a href="http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/jeeway-abdullah-shah-ghazi"><img alt="" src="http://posterous.com/images/filetypes/mp3.png" /></a> <div class='p_embed_description'> <span class='p_id3'>Eyewitness1.mp3</span> <a href="http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/jeeway-abdullah-shah-ghazi">Listen on Posterous</a> </div> </div> </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Eyewitness 2 (Urdu). He didn't see the blast himself, but arrived soon after:&nbsp;</p> <p><div class='p_embed p_audio_embed'> <a href="http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/jeeway-abdullah-shah-ghazi"><img alt="" src="http://posterous.com/images/filetypes/mp3.png" /></a> <div class='p_embed_description'> <span class='p_id3'>Eyewitness2.mp3</span> <a href="http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/jeeway-abdullah-shah-ghazi">Listen on Posterous</a> </div> </div> </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Zulfiqar Mirza, Sindh Interior Minister (English)</p> <p><div class='p_embed p_audio_embed'> <a href="http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/jeeway-abdullah-shah-ghazi"><img alt="" src="http://posterous.com/images/filetypes/mp3.png" /></a> <div class='p_embed_description'> <span class='p_id3'>ZulfiqarMirza.mp3</span> <a href="http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/jeeway-abdullah-shah-ghazi">Listen on Posterous</a> </div> </div> </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Ahsan Iqbal Zaidi, Sindh Secretary for Auqaf &amp; Zakat (English):<div class='p_embed p_audio_embed'> <a href="http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/jeeway-abdullah-shah-ghazi"><img alt="" src="http://posterous.com/images/filetypes/mp3.png" /></a> <div class='p_embed_description'> <span class='p_id3'>IqbalZaidi.mp3</span> <a href="http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/jeeway-abdullah-shah-ghazi">Listen on Posterous</a> </div> </div> </p> <p>And here is a video (don't worry, there's no blood or anything in this):</p> <p><iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/r86nAsh8xL0?wmode=transparent" allowfullscreen frameborder="0" height="417" width="500"></iframe></p> </p> <p><a href="http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/jeeway-abdullah-shah-ghazi">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/jeeway-abdullah-shah-ghazi#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/thirdworldism/~4/LGal_S-DSxc" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/434942/sam09.jpg http://posterous.com/users/37lsLzsnSim5 fahad fahad - - - - http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/jeeway-abdullah-shah-ghazi Sat, 07 Aug 2010 13:26:00 -0700 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thirdworldism/~3/EYOCR9ACuyY/satellite-imaging-and-bullshit-in-pakistan http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/satellite-imaging-and-bullshit-in-pakistan <p> <p><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2010-08-07/ggiwjGhuhyuJsiBbfJEpDqudEhevrBIvmjlIIlkIIEtbxuIzCDIkdqDfpamA/rehman-malik-2009-1-18-5-49-4.jpg.scaled1000.jpg"><img alt="Rehman-malik-2009-1-18-5-49-4" height="318" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2010-08-07/ggiwjGhuhyuJsiBbfJEpDqudEhevrBIvmjlIIlkIIEtbxuIzCDIkdqDfpamA/rehman-malik-2009-1-18-5-49-4.jpg.scaled500.jpg" width="500" /></a> </div> </p> <p><span style="font-size: x-small;">(Photo stolen from AP)</span></p> <p>So, as Karachi continues to burn from the ongoing politico-ethno-sectarian violence (or "target killings"), Interior Minister Rehman Malik has just announced a new weapon in the government's arsenal to hunt down the culprits: Satellite Imaging. Yes that's right. According to the <a href="http://tribune.com.pk/story/37007/govt-turns-to-satellite-imaging-to-tackle-karachi-situation/" target="_blank">Express Tribune</a>:</p> <blockquote class="posterous_medium_quote"> <p>Interior Minister Rehman Malik on Saturday said that the government has officially hired the services of satellite imaging experts to tackle the situation in Karachi.</p> <p>The government decided to hire the experts keeping in view the rise of target killing incidents in the city.</p> </blockquote> <p>That sounds great! Once we get the satellite imaging system up and running, there will be no way that those target killers will be able to escape the hands of the law.... Except that we've apparently been using this satellite technology for at lease <strong>seven months</strong> now, and obviously it has not stemmed the violence at all.</p> <p>Yes, when I read the Express Tribune article today I remembered editing some footage of Rehman Malik months ago in which he said something similar. A quick google search revealed I wasn't wrong. According to a <a href="http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\03\23\story_23-3-2010_pg12_5" target="_blank">Daily Times article</a> dated March 23, 2010:</p> <blockquote class="posterous_medium_quote"> <p>He said that if those involved in target killings think they could escape after committing their crime, they are wrong since they are being watched closely and a satellite watching system is also being maintained for this purpose.</p> </blockquote> <p>Now, some of you may have thought he was bluffing about having this hi-tech technology. That's why Malik also added:</p> <blockquote class="posterous_short_quote"> <p>I am not just scaring them, but I mean business</p> </blockquote> <p>In fact, the honourable Interior Minister has been trying to scare away criminals with the threat of satellite technology since at least <strong>January</strong>! Quoting a <a href="http://www.geo.tv/1-9-2010/56584.htm" target="_blank">story on Geo.tv</a> published on January 9, 2010:</p> <blockquote class="posterous_short_quote"> <p>The Interior Minister said satellite system is also being used for carrying out monitoring.</p> </blockquote> <p>All of this pisses me off. It is the same thing over and over again every few weeks. Political violence breaks out in Karachi --&gt; Rehman Malik comes to Karachi and holds meetings with MQM and ANP --&gt; Rehman Malik announces that those criminals will not be tolerated --&gt; Rehman Malik flies back to Islamabad.</p> <p>He never tells us anything new about what will be done to bring the violence to a halt permantly, but just promises to deals with the "miscreants" with an "iron hand". I don't blame Rehman Malik for everything that goes wrong in Karachi, but as the Interior Minister of Pakistan, he (and all other government officials) need to be held accountable to what they say.</p> <p>To that end I did another google search and put together a timeline of what Rehman Malik has said about ending violence in Karachi. You can see it here: <a href="https://sites.google.com/site/desmukh/rehman-malik-on-karachi" target="_blank">Timeline: Rehman Malik on Karachi Violence</a>.</p> <p>The timeline contains just the first twenty quotes that I could find. It would be nice if this could be done for all government officials. (Google has a great tool for that, but it doesn't work for Pakistan just yet: <a href="http://labs.google.com/inquotes/" target="_blank">Google In Quotes</a>)</p> </p> <p><a href="http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/satellite-imaging-and-bullshit-in-pakistan">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/satellite-imaging-and-bullshit-in-pakistan#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/thirdworldism/~4/EYOCR9ACuyY" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/434942/sam09.jpg http://posterous.com/users/37lsLzsnSim5 fahad fahad http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/satellite-imaging-and-bullshit-in-pakistan Wed, 26 May 2010 11:52:00 -0700 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thirdworldism/~3/_Vs-hy2voF8/flood-preparations-in-kala-dhaka http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/flood-preparations-in-kala-dhaka <p> <p>A friend whose family is living in the Kala Dhaka area of Mansehra district tells me that the Frontier Constabulary has now left the area after <a href="http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=239101" target="_blank">completing</a> its search operation, and the the road and boat links have finally been reopened.</p> <p>But now they have to worry about the risk of the area being flooded if the Attabad Lake in Hunza bursts (as it is scheduled to do <a href="http://tribune.com.pk/story/16307/hunza-lake-expected-to-spill-by-may-28/" target="_blank">any day now</a>). Last week some residents apparently received hoax phone calls telling them that the flood was arriving in a matter of hours, so some families ran to the mountains to seek higher ground. Although they eventually returned after being assured of safety, they still live in fear as they await the flood water.</p> <p>According to my friend, the only preparation made so far by the government is to set up twenty tents in the mountains.</p> <p>(For some excellent on-the-ground coverage of the Attabad Lake crisis check out the <a href="http://pamirtimes.net/" target="_blank">Pamir Times</a>).</p> </p> <p><a href="http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/flood-preparations-in-kala-dhaka">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/flood-preparations-in-kala-dhaka#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/thirdworldism/~4/_Vs-hy2voF8" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/434942/sam09.jpg http://posterous.com/users/37lsLzsnSim5 fahad fahad http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/flood-preparations-in-kala-dhaka Fri, 21 May 2010 17:00:00 -0700 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thirdworldism/~3/vh7BQ-sxUKw/19026127 http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/19026127 <p> <p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aamir_Liaquat_Hussain" target="_blank"><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2010-05-21/tgnDmaaeEufHwjicqyrwpaDmohhloxCyfqtkqqjvacqiHzubDeHdaIycciII/aamirliaquat.png.scaled1000.png"><img alt="Aamirliaquat" height="223" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2010-05-21/tgnDmaaeEufHwjicqyrwpaDmohhloxCyfqtkqqjvacqiHzubDeHdaIycciII/aamirliaquat.png.scaled500.png" width="500" /></a> </div> </a>So I can't let this slip by. The Jang/Geo group's columnist and superstar Islamic televangelist <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aamir_Liaquat_Hussain" target="_blank">Amir Liaquat Hussain</a> (sorry you won't be able to view the link in Pakistan without using a proxy server) has been <a href="http://www.aamirliaquat.com/entries/Show/501" target="_blank">campaigning</a> against facebook for quite some time. But he has outdone himself in his <a href="http://ejang.jang.com.pk/5-21-2010/pic.asp?picname=06_07.gif" target="_blank">latest Urdu column</a> in the Jang.</p> <p>He really seems to have lost his mind now. He thinks that the letter 'f' is a secret symbol representing the Christian cross. He writes (my translation):</p> <blockquote class="posterous_short_quote"> <p>Have you ever wondered why the 'f' in 'facebook' is not capitalised as 'F'? The answer: how else then would the cross (saleeb) be formed?!</p> </blockquote> <p>Remember that this guy used to be the State Minister for Religious Affairs of Pakistan, and was the embodiment of "enlightened moderation" during General Musharraf's rule.</p> <p>Further in the column he gets down and dirty with the raw numbers:</p> <blockquote class="posterous_medium_quote"> <p>According to the BBC, there are a total of 469,221,000 users of facebook around the world, and its income is over a billion dollars, which means they earn an average of two and a half dollars per user. From Pakistani users, therefore, they earn approximately $5,631,282, whereas applying the rate of 47.5%, all Muslim countries combined "gift" facebook with about $517,100,000.</p> <p>Please take note! Instead of repeatedly clicking on this fiendish website, if we all just close our accounts and stop visiting it altogether, then these worshippers of wealth will be forced to lick the ground.</p> </blockquote> <p>Atrocious mathematics...</p> </p> <p><a href="http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/19026127">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/19026127#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/thirdworldism/~4/vh7BQ-sxUKw" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/434942/sam09.jpg http://posterous.com/users/37lsLzsnSim5 fahad fahad http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/19026127 Wed, 14 Apr 2010 01:49:00 -0700 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thirdworldism/~3/BbfLTYKXDtY/16214908 http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/16214908 <p> <p><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2010-04-13/xzJCAwCebFpAEHCghtEqfsxgosImpuvqEevIwEImJoviHJvwcjHIIytgAmyt/Photo-0132.jpg.scaled1000.jpg"><img alt="Photo-0132" height="375" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2010-04-13/xzJCAwCebFpAEHCghtEqfsxgosImpuvqEevIwEImJoviHJvwcjHIIytgAmyt/Photo-0132.jpg.scaled500.jpg" width="500" /></a> </div> The Pakistani army has <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/apr/13/civilians-killed-pakistan-air-strike" target="_blank">killed at least 71 civilians</a> in an air strike in the Khyber Agency. As news gets around, people are slowly beginning to express their shock about this incident. But no one should be surprised, as I am sure 71 is just a tiny fraction of the total number of civilians who have been killed in Pakistan's various wars against its people in Swat, Waziristan, Orakzai, Balochistan and other places.</p> <p>The media rarely reports on the civilian deaths due to a combination of self-censorship, difficulties in accessing the conflict, and pressure from the military. The cover up of what is going on is systematic. The only reason why we are hearing about these 71 civilians is because an official confirmed it (anonymously).</p> <p>When I was reporting on the war in Swat and the IDP crisis in May last year, we came across countless civilians whose family members or friends had been killed in the conflict. About two days after the army claimed it had "cleared" Buner of the Taliban, our team drove there to report on the situation. Along the way, we saw houses, shops and vehicles that had been bombed.</p> <p>As we drove by the carcass of one burned out truck there was a revolting stench hanging in the air. We stopped at the petrol station a little further down to ask about it. The station owner and a few grey-bearded men gathered there insisted that the truck had been carrying several women and children who were fleeing the fighting when it was struck by a rocket.</p> <p>We drove further into Buner and stopped at the Dagar Hospital to look around. Here we met several injured people and families from Swat who all told a similar story: they were trying to flee the fighting on foot, but they were unaware of a curfew that had been imposed by the military. The army fired at them. Those who survived had to walk with their injuries through the moutainous terrain to the hospital to receive treatment.</p> <p>We interviewed some of these people on camera, and when I went back to the office I filed a report that tried to show both sides of the picture: On the one hand there were people who welcomed the army and the offensive against the Taliban, and on the other hand there were those who were angered about their family members being needlessly killed by the army while trying to flee the violence.</p> <p>I made the package and sent it to our head office. The next morning, they were running my report in the news bulletin -- but the editors at the head office had censored out any mention of civilian casualties caused by the army. I was angered and called the head office to find out how they could remove such an important aspect of the story. The producer apologized: "Sorry, the management has told us that we can only run pro-Army stories. These are orders from the top".</p> <p>I was ashamed, and protested -- but not enough.</p> <p>Stories like this were everywhere. At the start of the Swat military operation, the house of our reporter in Mingora came under fire, apparently from the military. It killed his sister. He was obviously incensed, but when he reported on television he still had to toe the official pro-Army editorial policy. He couldn't risk his job, now more than ever, because he had to support his family who had just relocated from Mingora to Peshawar.</p> <p>Another colleague based in Peshawar managed to get in to Mingora at a time when it was still off limits to journalists. He described horrific scenes of truckloads of dead bodies, and people carrying their loved ones away on <em>thelas</em>.</p> <p>But these stories weren't getting out because the management was censoring them. The ISPR on the other hand was very active in issuing press releases everyday, detailing the number of militants who had been killed and the military personnel who had been "martyred" (but never any mention of civilians). The military had restricted journalists' access to the conflict zone (other than the occasional ISPR-chaperoned visit) so there was no way for journalists to independently verify any of the claims. So unfortunately, they just repeated the ISPR claims on television as if they were the truth.</p> <p>That was my experience of reporting on the war in Swat last year, but I suspect reporters face more or less the same difficulties in covering the more recent wars in Waziristan, Orakzai and elsewere. It may seem like there is a great deal of news coming from the war zone each day, but in reality it is a great big sanitized black hole in the distance, and we may never know about the civilian casualties.</p> <p>I wonder sometimes how things would change if the drone attacks and the air strikes in the northwest were covered live by the media with all of the same visuals of blood and gore and people screaming and crying that we see on our TV screen whenever there is a terrorist attack in Lahore or Islamabad.</p> </p> <p><a href="http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/16214908">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/16214908#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/thirdworldism/~4/BbfLTYKXDtY" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/434942/sam09.jpg http://posterous.com/users/37lsLzsnSim5 fahad fahad http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/16214908 Sat, 10 Apr 2010 13:23:00 -0700 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thirdworldism/~3/JPfRBY7fK_k/over-heard-at-aafia-siddiquis-house http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/over-heard-at-aafia-siddiquis-house <p> <p>Dr Aafia Siddiqui's 12-year old daughter Mariam <a href="http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/Regional/Islamabad/10-Apr-2010/Govt-formally-declares-teenage-girl-as-Aafias-daughter" target="_blank">mysteriously shows up</a> at her grandmother's home after being missing for seven years.</p> <blockquote class="posterous_medium_quote"> <p>Fauzia Siddiqui (Dr Aafia's sister): Ahmed! Come and sit next to Mariam. She's your sister for God's sake!</p> <p>Ahmed (Dr Aafia's son): How do <strong><em>you</em></strong> know?</p> <p>Fauzia: The DNA tests! They tested her blood. Rehman Malik said so!</p> <p>Ahmed: Hmmphhh...</p> </blockquote> </p> <p><a href="http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/over-heard-at-aafia-siddiquis-house">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/over-heard-at-aafia-siddiquis-house#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/thirdworldism/~4/JPfRBY7fK_k" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/434942/sam09.jpg http://posterous.com/users/37lsLzsnSim5 fahad fahad http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/over-heard-at-aafia-siddiquis-house Mon, 05 Apr 2010 00:24:00 -0700 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thirdworldism/~3/Z9TiKEbPm-A/constitutional-gender-bending http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/constitutional-gender-bending <p> <p>So I've been going through the proposed <a href="http://www.na.gov.pk/p_release_images/report_constitutional_18th_amend_bill2010_020410.pdf" target="_blank">18th Amendment</a> and have been learning lots of things about the Constitution that I did not know before.</p> <p>One thing I have learned is that the Constitution assumes that everyone in the universe is male. See for example Article 62, which describes the necessary qualifications for members of parliaments -- each clause in it starts with "he is this..." and "he is that...".</p> <p>This creates a bizarre situation when referring to candidates for seats reserved for women. Article 62 (b)(ii) reads in full:</p> <blockquote class="posterous_medium_quote"> <p><strong>he</strong> is, in the case of the National Assembly, not less than twenty-five years of age and is enrolled as a voter in any electoral roll in any area in a Province from which <strong>he</strong> seeks membership for election to a seat reserved for <strong>women</strong></p> </blockquote> <p>The 18th Amendment tries to rectify this somewhat, but isn't too successful at it:</p> <blockquote class="posterous_medium_quote"> <p><strong>he</strong> is, in the case of the National Assembly, not less than twenty-five years of age and is enrolled as a voter in any electoral roll in any area in a Province from which <strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">s</span>he</strong> seeks membership for election to a seat reserved for <strong>women</strong></p> </blockquote> <p>To be fair, all the way at the end of the Constitution, in Article 263, you will find this qualifier:</p> <blockquote class="posterous_medium_quote"> <p>In the Constitution, words importing the masculine gender shall be taken to include females</p> </blockquote> <p>Ok, sure.</p> </p> <p><a href="http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/constitutional-gender-bending">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/constitutional-gender-bending#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/thirdworldism/~4/Z9TiKEbPm-A" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/434942/sam09.jpg http://posterous.com/users/37lsLzsnSim5 fahad fahad http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/constitutional-gender-bending Mon, 15 Mar 2010 03:39:00 -0700 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thirdworldism/~3/EKtBLoWr3qg/here-a-men-there-a-men-everywhere-a-men-men http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/here-a-men-there-a-men-everywhere-a-men-men <p> <p><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thirdworldism/qdIzjhovnbooEAGdGDxIsFCzBjgAswHrpAzlzrrhggfCbwJGsHfwnjnICawv/media_httpwwwappcompk_rCepc.jpg.scaled1000.jpg"><img alt="Media_httpwwwappcompk_rcepc" height="290" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thirdworldism/qdIzjhovnbooEAGdGDxIsFCzBjgAswHrpAzlzrrhggfCbwJGsHfwnjnICawv/media_httpwwwappcompk_rCepc.jpg.scaled500.jpg" width="500" /></a> </div> </p> <p>Whenever I open the newspaper in Pakistan, all I ever see is men. Men, men, men. Here-a-men, there-a-men, everywhere-a-men men.</p> <p>Can you spot the odd one out in this photo?</p> </p> <p><a href="http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/here-a-men-there-a-men-everywhere-a-men-men">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/here-a-men-there-a-men-everywhere-a-men-men#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/thirdworldism/~4/EKtBLoWr3qg" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/434942/sam09.jpg http://posterous.com/users/37lsLzsnSim5 fahad fahad http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/here-a-men-there-a-men-everywhere-a-men-men Mon, 08 Mar 2010 13:03:00 -0800 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thirdworldism/~3/YnPk5FhJ9tI/why-is-the-pc-hotel-karachi-functional-despit http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/why-is-the-pc-hotel-karachi-functional-despit <p> <p><strong>Occupation Day 12:</strong> I am reposting Dr Riaz's (International Socialists) latest <a href="http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=351666849854" target="_blank">facebook update</a> on the PC hotel occupation below. Let me add to this that the union met today with the hotel management and the Labour department as scheduled, but there was no end to the deadlock. The management is demanding that the workers end their occupation before negotiations.</p> <p>The workers on the other hand are adamant on staying put until their demands are met. When I spoke to one of the workers in the basement he told me that the hotel "was their second home" so they are comfortable staying there as long as it takes.</p> <p>Meanwhile the media blackout continues. In addition to Express News TV, I can tell you on good information that the Karachi assignment desk of Geo News has also been specifically told by superiors not to cover the story right now. Action for a Progressive Pakistan has a put together a <a href="http://progpak.wordpress.com/pc-workers-occupation/" target="_blank">very useful page</a> with a lot of information on the issue and a petition.</p> <blockquote> <h3>Why is the PC Hotel Karachi Functional Despite Strike by Over 250 Workers?</h3> <p>The protest camp outside and the occupation by 150-250 workers inside continues. Those inside are in high spirits. Intl Socialist comrades talked to one of the occupation leaders Ubaid and he said those inside are determined to continue struggle until all 4 sacked union activists are reinstated. However the occupation is having its effects on the striking workers, some have fell ill and others are exhausted. But they continue to hold their ground and are not leaving the basement. Today 4 of these who had ventured out were stopped by security from re-entering the hotel and they were asked to sign a letter stating they will resign if they do not do work after entering the hotel. They all refused.</p> <p>Today i talked to some workers inside PC hotel who are not part of the strike. These are over 350 contractual employees hired from one Maha Enterprises by PC management. Maha Enterprise is owned by one Aslam Siddiqui. These contractual workers do all types of jobs, they work in Engineering, House Keeping, Banquet and others similar to the permanent striking workers. Contractual workers were hired in 2001 by the PC management when it sacked over 300 permanent workers including the union officials who continue to struggle in these last 9 years. The contractual employees are illegally forced to sign a blank page that is used as their resignation letter by the Maha Enterprise on very minor issues. For example, one worker told IS comrades that if the contract employees are seen talking to a union activist then he either dismissed or is severely reprimanded. However despite this intimidating atmosphere a large number of contractual workers have recently joined the PC Workers Union.</p> <p>The PC management continues to use illegal, threatening measures against the employees. When on Feb 24 the strike started one of the former Presidents of PC Workers Union, Arif, managed to join the occupying 250 workers. Arif's entry had a huge uplifting effect for the occupiers, now they had an experienced comrade. However the management spotted Arif and asked Security Officer Nasir to remove Arif, Nasir refused and tendered resignation and has left PC. Similiarly when the occupation began the union invited the contractual workers in protest outside PC many joined. Next, of the security men filmed the protestors and soon one of the contractual workers was called for explanation and PC managment asked Maha Enterprise to sack him and he was. This was done to create example for other contractual workers. Some contractual workers say that they are waiting for the union to prove its strength and if they managed to get the 4 reinstated then they will come out again.</p> <p>Therefore for the struggle to enforce an effective strike the contract workers have to join the permanent unionized workers.</p> <p>It is clear that despite the occupation and strike by PC Workers Union permanent workers the PC hotel continues to function without any interruption thanks to the owner Hashwanis and Maha Enterprise breaking yet another law ie the right for temporary workers to become permanent after 6 months of service by continuing to have them as scabs for the past 9 years!</p> <p>The struggle of PC workers is critical to the working class confidence. The media boycott continues though some channels like right-wing Haq and moderate Hum and Radio FM103 have interviewed the union leaders in the past 2 days.</p> <p>Somehow the struggle for PC workers continues to involve a tiny fraction of other section of working class. The PC Workers Solidarity Committee exists but continues to have its meeting without involving those outside their own loop. One such meeting is taking place on Wednesday, where and what time we will let you know soon.</p> <p>Meanwhile if you are in Karachi just stop by at the camp outside and express your solidarity or donate whatever you can to help the strikers. Also sign the petition prepared by Adaner, Abira, Madiha and others which is here <a href="http://www.petitiononline.com/5tgb7ujm/petition.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span>http://www.petitiononline.</span>com/5tgb7ujm/petition.html</a></p> <p>For details of the strike you may visit the Intl Socialists Pakistan website <a href="http://www.worldtowinpk.net">www.worldtowinpk.net</a> and for a detailed analysis of the impact of PC and other working class struggles read the recent issue of Intl Socialists monthly Socialist (Urdu) here <a href="http://tinyurl.com/ydyf2ob" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://tinyurl.com/ydyf2ob</a></p> </blockquote> </p> <p><a href="http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/why-is-the-pc-hotel-karachi-functional-despit">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/why-is-the-pc-hotel-karachi-functional-despit#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/thirdworldism/~4/YnPk5FhJ9tI" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/434942/sam09.jpg http://posterous.com/users/37lsLzsnSim5 fahad fahad http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/why-is-the-pc-hotel-karachi-functional-despit Fri, 05 Mar 2010 11:26:00 -0800 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thirdworldism/~3/a9OG6j8DhZc/workers-occupation-of-pc-hotel-day-10 http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/workers-occupation-of-pc-hotel-day-10 <p> <p>The workers occupation of the basement of the Pearl Continental Hotel Karachi is now in its tenth day, yet there is no end in sight to the stand off. It should be made clear that this is not a strike as initially reported. Most of the workers who are involved in the occupation are working their shifts as normal, but instead of going home after a day of hard work, they go down to the basement.</p> <p>Their aim is to make sure that the four union leaders who the management is trying to fire are not forcefully removed from the premises. If the workers leave the building then the management can physically stop them from returning and no longer have to worry about them. The management can then dismiss whoever they like whether or not they have the legal right to do so.</p> <p>Yesterday (Thursday), there was a meeting between the union, the hotel management and the Sindh Labour Dept, but there was no outcome. The management (represented by PC Human Resources director Zia Jan) has asked for more time, so another meeting has been scheduled with Labour Dept for Monday. Though the workers understand that the management's aim is to buy as much as time as possible in order to exhaust those involved in the occupation and weaken their strength.</p> <p>I spoke on the phone to a few of the workers who are in the basement, and they tell me that despite the attempt to weaken their position they have resolved to stick it through together. Two workers earlier had to leave to receive medical treatment for various health problems and are currently admitted at the National Medical Centre. Meanwhile, there are two other workers (Liaqat and Said) who need treatment but are refusing to leave the occupied basement.</p> <p>A major problem it seems is that the mainstream media in Pakistan has refused to touch the issue, so hardly anyone is aware of what is going on -- even people who are staying or eating at the hotel have little idea about the struggle taking place. So there is no pressure on the hotel management to resolve the issue quickly.</p> <h3>Make a phone call</h3> <p>Here's what you can do to help (at the very least). Call up Sohail Akbar Shah, the <a href="http://www.cmsindh.gov.pk/list%20of%20Chief%20Secretariat%20link.htm" target="_blank">Secretary to the Chief Minister</a> on 021-9202022 or the Labour Minister, on any of the numbers listed <a href="http://www.sindh.gov.pk/dpt/LabourTransport/Contacts.htm" target="_blank">here</a>, and let them know what is going on.</p> </p> <p><a href="http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/workers-occupation-of-pc-hotel-day-10">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/workers-occupation-of-pc-hotel-day-10#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/thirdworldism/~4/a9OG6j8DhZc" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/434942/sam09.jpg http://posterous.com/users/37lsLzsnSim5 fahad fahad http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/workers-occupation-of-pc-hotel-day-10 Thu, 04 Mar 2010 03:59:00 -0800 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thirdworldism/~3/HKy-Yh8ZnZI/workers-occupation-of-pc-hotel-basement http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/workers-occupation-of-pc-hotel-basement <p> <p><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thirdworldism/FjOI2ngICzMHDoBAJuuHvuaP0FbocoCkLRm8BshYN0x5pFep2o7Q9n5P3hjC/P3040050.jpg"><img alt="P3040050" height="375" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thirdworldism/smeL19C7XJw43OG9dqzoJiuykx5QEEy9iWaiZFp6NMU9wcp8JcBZMcciafSz/P3040050.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" /></a> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thirdworldism/bRsYwRYep0FJl9I64PhqMIHI2TSgagf9Ecs0ivDOj4rYiuEJVh1ZtolaCha8/P3040051.jpg"><img alt="P3040051" height="375" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thirdworldism/owuwzB5KGYezA41qtIVUgMCmUbokCpsrXthbew6RgRY1kBAFN3W0Cq08RDFa/P3040051.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" /></a> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thirdworldism/N600b9bNgQGFsEkkJGQYEKQ0x0dIgSnPiZpYsCyEIJVYbDrbkAwU3Zyb3M1e/P3040054.jpg"><img alt="P3040054" height="375" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thirdworldism/wqu7bDuJmi9lF4p8sQB7Nrfw1HtYadE90qvDfVJYn02s0ErEybHuuS8LVGDo/P3040054.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" /></a> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thirdworldism/xDHH6YuX76xFcCmMYVz3wc3zmE6AKRV15hgss7pfjdnxvGHVUQgO8Q31ErYG/P3040055.jpg"><img alt="P3040055" height="375" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thirdworldism/4heZ8k4CQQf7rTYOScVxq7XFhlWlcMsVl4U68EPGeepaS36CJYbRAwNo6uKn/P3040055.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" /></a> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thirdworldism/EIa8EJeLbstuzWlOwp0C2TyPXtWoPk6MMoH0HDsGauSx6sjlN4LdXFJKalwC/P3040056.jpg"><img alt="P3040056" height="375" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thirdworldism/5mC8p14eX1xD4cGhAy0qwZebGBU7VL1O8HrUpvBAb2erVZuNVsGGxrmVfRw9/P3040056.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" /></a> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thirdworldism/9t9gUyyQElSCFjMx5F5YvsmvB32DDPzeTsYbp0wLp3o4cLDl3Lh737OHnLeO/P3040060.jpg"><img alt="P3040060" height="375" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thirdworldism/jPUGKuYtIYiw1rK60Sw9X6TlGOHXHa6H4rELwBvdQan7SZIHUKjE6BiPyGWI/P3040060.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" /></a> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thirdworldism/nUGxzJQ0E3NGKfKw2X2VfrZ9QtmuwRiSXqfeSKiYUYxWESxKgowCuHVy9N3M/P3030017.jpg"><img alt="P3030017" height="375" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thirdworldism/KL53bqF7kx8ILVzYtyX6jlgF30PO02h1wlMrgNEb3GkqgmmsYaam1ihNyE5r/P3030017.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" /></a> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thirdworldism/sPaBFLmZrYjGBPUHQgGBLOTawrIYGwXH58otHrxZ74xDMH6DAl8F5Ib1zKsK/P3030022.jpg"><img alt="P3030022" height="375" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thirdworldism/0nLZAd6ulEZmfCrwKXaIS9IUROdsHQEeaqVc8sFKN6fEWh0a9WVioq7BqPdF/P3030022.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" /></a> <div class='p_see_full_gallery'><a href="http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/workers-occupation-of-pc-hotel-basement">See the full gallery on Posterous</a></div> </div> </p> <p>These are the latest photos from the basement of the Pearl Continental Hotel in Karachi. A hundred and fifty hotel workers have been occupying the basement for the last nine days after the management tried to fire four leaders of the workers union. The four union leaders refused to receive the termination letters. Along with the 150 other staff they occupied the basement level of the hotel and are refusing to leave until their demands are met.</p> <p>The workers fear that if these four union leaders are dismissed without a fight, then it will only be a matter of time before the entire PC hotel workers union is dismantled -- something that the management has been trying to do since 2001.</p> <p>More later.</p> </p> <p><a href="http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/workers-occupation-of-pc-hotel-basement">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/workers-occupation-of-pc-hotel-basement#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/thirdworldism/~4/HKy-Yh8ZnZI" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/434942/sam09.jpg http://posterous.com/users/37lsLzsnSim5 fahad fahad http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/workers-occupation-of-pc-hotel-basement Wed, 03 Mar 2010 12:17:00 -0800 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thirdworldism/~3/EwCM1iPzI8s/strike-150-workers-occupy-karachi-pc-hotel http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/strike-150-workers-occupy-karachi-pc-hotel <p> <p><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thirdworldism/mWQlHgbhXqkviLnhuwC8cycx0VlP4Wur1pCzpuYjZtavvYvcxz8OXjxbGU8A/arton223-c9e0a.jpg"><img alt="Arton223-c9e0a" height="252" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thirdworldism/qIDu4AEBekR8ms3bTArDm9r7chmrU2hdK9dB85VIgyTWc5C1Zeq1tRCBCpMa/arton223-c9e0a.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" /></a> </div> </p> <p>Dr. Riaz Ahmed of International Socialists Pakistan posted the following on his facebook account a little while. I am copying it below because you will not read about this in the mainstream media (<a href="http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/the-media-is-your-enemy">why?</a>). For a bit of background on the issue, read <a href="http://www.iuf.org/cgi-bin/dbman/db.cgi?db=default&amp;uid=default&amp;ID=5255&amp;view_records=1&amp;en=1" target="_blank">this article</a>. (Above photo is from a previous demonstration)</p> <blockquote> <h3>Strike: 150 Workers Occupy Karachi PC Hotel</h3> <p><strong>Over 150 workers of Karachi hotel Pearl Continental have occupied the&nbsp; basement for the last 8 days. About 50 workers have set up a camp outside the hotel</strong></p> <p>Armed guards of PC hotel have stopped media and other activists from going into the basement of the hotel. However they can be contacted by mobile. In a rapidly developing strike which started from after the sacking of 4 union activists in Karachi PC, 27 from Pindi PC and 70 from Peshawar (already closed and about to be given to Blackwater). The sacked workers first started protests 24 days ago when they protested at constitution avenue. The management started negotiations but then backed out and thus the second phase of protests have begun in Rawalpindi PC and Peshawar PC as well.</p> <p>The strike at PC is the first of such intensity after a long time. Workers have risen up to the bosses and have taken measures which are not common in Pakistani trade union struggle ie occupation. However the bosses of Pearl Continental are billionaire Hashwani group and they managed to blackout news from print and electronic media. Almost all major papers are situated at a 1 km distance from PC Karachi but none of them have reported the occupation by workers.</p> <p>Two comrades of IS, Asim and Shafiq went to the Karachi PC camp and managed to talk to the occupiers on phone. They report that the occupiers are in high spirits but certainly need a large number of people to express solidarity. Outside the Karachi PC the police attacked the camp on tuesday and arrested the protesters but later released them. The attack has not deterred the protestors neither those occupying inside our those outside. Now the protesters are sitting in the open.</p> <p>The strikers have asked everyone to assemble at the PC hotel at 12noon on Thursday 4 March 2010 to express solidarity.</p> <p>PC workers have been fighting sackings since 2001. But the current struggle errupted in an atomosphere where the Pakistani ruling class is on an offensive. Throughout the country they have attacked occupying peasants, protesting clerks and other working class protests. However the occupiers and protesters have not taken the attack laying down. The occuption by PC workers is therefore critical to the struggle of a huge number of working class struggles, that is why the ruling class and its media are united and blocking its spread using all means of violence available to them.</p> <p>It is important that the news of OCCUPATION is spread as far as possible. We can learn from the expreience of PC workers that the media is 'free' to report that which is in the interest of a section of the powerful, otherwise not. So it is up to the working class to mobilize support, propagate and express solidarity with its own means.</p> <p>riaz ahmed International Socialists Karachi 0333-2298922 <a href="http://www.worldtowinpk.net">www.worldtowinpk.net</a></p> </blockquote> </p> <p><a href="http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/strike-150-workers-occupy-karachi-pc-hotel">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/strike-150-workers-occupy-karachi-pc-hotel#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/thirdworldism/~4/EwCM1iPzI8s" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/434942/sam09.jpg http://posterous.com/users/37lsLzsnSim5 fahad fahad http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/strike-150-workers-occupy-karachi-pc-hotel Sun, 28 Feb 2010 11:01:00 -0800 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thirdworldism/~3/pSSfnDiu80k/found-in-qayyumabad-bach-na-saka-khuda-bhi-mo http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/found-in-qayyumabad-bach-na-saka-khuda-bhi-mo <p> <blockquote class="posterous_medium_quote"> <p><em>bach na saka khuda bhi mohabbat ke taqazon se // ik mehboob ki khatir sari dunya bana dali</em></p> <p>(even God himself could not escape the demands of Love // for the sake of one beloved He created the entire universe)</p> </blockquote> <p><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2010-02-28/hDpvofDxdCfDxyjrJzklIrghJeazooBuisGvyjpBfHDginJzBuIyBtuexifc/Photo-0347.jpg.scaled1000.jpg"><img alt="Photo-0347" height="375" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/temp-2010-02-28/hDpvofDxdCfDxyjrJzklIrghJeazooBuisGvyjpBfHDginJzBuIyBtuexifc/Photo-0347.jpg.scaled500.jpg" width="500" /></a> </div> </p> <p>story. so i asked the cab driver about this couplet. he told me that he used to work in saudi arabia but was sent to jail due to immigration irregularities. he spent three years in prison in jeddah, with several other pakistani and indian inmates. to bide their time they would exchange poems and stories. this couplet was recited to him by an indian inmate. it stuck in his head. so when he finally came back to karachi he made his son paint it on his taxi.</p> <p>several people have complained to him that the couplet is blasphemous, so he says he will remove it one of these days. i hope not.</p> </p> <p><a href="http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/found-in-qayyumabad-bach-na-saka-khuda-bhi-mo">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/found-in-qayyumabad-bach-na-saka-khuda-bhi-mo#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/thirdworldism/~4/pSSfnDiu80k" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/434942/sam09.jpg http://posterous.com/users/37lsLzsnSim5 fahad fahad http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/found-in-qayyumabad-bach-na-saka-khuda-bhi-mo Mon, 22 Feb 2010 23:17:00 -0800 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thirdworldism/~3/QvpKcRssXbo/the-media-is-your-enemy http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/the-media-is-your-enemy <p> <p>While going about my business as a so-called news reporter in Pakistan, I often get confronted by people on the street who want to say something in front of the camera and tell the world about their problems.</p> <p>Most of the time, I have to kindly explain that it's not possible for us to take the opinion of everyone on the street because we have a limited amount of time. They respond angrily by complaining about how the media only shows the opinions of rich and powerful people, while the views of common people are ignored. They accuse us of being <em>"bika hua"</em> ("sell outs"), for rather than upholding justice and standing up for what is right, we only propagate issues that are of concern to the ruling elites. At this point I usually accept my guilt and concede to everything they have said.</p> <h3>Sell outs</h3> <p>It is true. More or less all news organizations in Pakistan are sell-outs and represent the interests of the ruling elite. But I wonder why it takes so long for people to realize that the media is anything but that. There appears to be an expectation that media organizations should be free and independent bodies that uphold justice and protect democracy.</p> <p>Yes, that is what they <em>should</em> be. But it should not surprise anyone if a group of organizations, owned by a small group of extremely wealthy people, who want to make more money for themselves, and who are close friends and business partners with many other rich and powerful people do not care for the general public.</p> <h3>Reality TV on crack</h3> <p>So for those who are still confused, let me explain how it works:</p> <p>Save for PTV, and APP, all media organisations in Pakistan are privately owned. <strong>Private</strong>. That means <strong>not public</strong>. That means ordinary citizens have no say in how the company is run, or which news stories it covers.</p> <p>In Pakistan, any given media house is usually owned by an individual or by a "family". That means the salaries of all the employees come out of the pocket of just a few individuals, and the organisations are run according to their whims. Sometimes it is run by someone who has no qualification other than being the offspring of the owner. The only employees then who would be willing to challenge the whims of the owners are those willing to risk their salaries.</p> <p>The main goal of the owners is to make as much money as they possibly can. Their money comes from advertising. For the TV channels, they get more advertising if they have better ratings. The strategy to get higher ratings, it seems, is to make the news as entertaining as possible. So the criteria for "newsworthiness" is "entertainability". So thats why we have live coverage of violence and betrayal, controversy, and conspiracies, with footage of blood and police and charged protesters and heated arguments, further hyped by anchors who have been drinking too much Milo and apocalyptic graphics. News television in Pakistan is essentially <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8HPv316iQw">reality TV on crack</a>.</p> <h3>The hand that feeds</h3> <p>It's important to remember that it is the advertisers and not the viewers who are the customers of the media organisations. So anything that might upset the advertisers is unlikely to get much coverage in the media, no matter how entertaining or relevant it may be.</p> <p>Take for example labour struggles in companies that have major brands. You never hear about those struggles because the story is killed by the editors before they ever see the light of day. The workers of <a href="http://asianfoodworker.net/?p=229">Dalda ghee</a>, <a href="http://asianfoodworker.net/?p=110">Blue Band margarine</a>, <a href="http://www.nosweat.org.uk/story/2006/12/29/vicious-attack-union-coca-cola-pakistan" target="_blank">Coca Cola</a> and <a href="http://www.iuf.org/casualtea/" target="_blank">Lipton Tea</a> in Pakistan have all been involved in protracted labour disputes with their employers in the recent past. They have gone on strike, held protests and demonstrations, and in some cases the employers and/or the state have used violence against them.</p> <p>These are issues that genuinely affect the general public, yet these stories are never told by the mainstream media. Try <a href="http://www.google.com.pk/search?q=dalda workers">googling any of the issues</a> and you won't find any stories about them published by any of the private Pakistani media outlets. Of course the reason is that the owners of these brands pay huge sums of money to the owners of the TV channels for advertising. Airing a story about labour rights abuses at one of these companies could put that income at risk.</p> <h3>Anti-democratic</h3> <p>Needless to say, the same applies to labour issues that take place within the workplace of the media organisations. For example, unless you work in the press, you probably have never heard of the <a href="http://asiapacific.ifj.org/en/articles/ifj-urges-pakistan-courts-to-act-on-wage-award-for-journalists">Wage Board for Journalists</a>. This is basically a committee formed by the government (usually led by a Supreme Court judge) that is supposed to meet every five years to determine the minimum wage for journalists in the country, that is legally binding. For years, the owners of the newspapers have blatantly and shamelessly flouted the decisions of the board. Yet all the while, they claim to be the defenders of the judiciary.</p> <p>The media company owners are also among the pioneers of the practice of hiring employees as "temporary workers" in Pakistan. And they have also worked quite hard to limit the power of the workers unions within their companies. So while the media organisations <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4Tmud2vH5A">champion themselves</a> as the defenders of democracy, they are in fact very much anti-democratic, as they refuse to allow any form of democracy within their own workplaces.<p />I could go on and talk about how most of the owners have other commercial interests of their own (ranging from music labels, to toothpaste, to gold)&nbsp; or about their political interests that they have to simultaneously take care of. Or about self-censorship of news relating to the army. Or about the utter lack of fact-checking.</p> <p>But it should be clear by now that the interests of the general public are not something that the media in Pakistan cares for. So please lower your expectations.</p> </p> <p><a href="http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/the-media-is-your-enemy">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/the-media-is-your-enemy#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/thirdworldism/~4/QvpKcRssXbo" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/434942/sam09.jpg http://posterous.com/users/37lsLzsnSim5 fahad fahad http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/the-media-is-your-enemy Sun, 10 Jan 2010 09:58:00 -0800 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thirdworldism/~3/i_E5uqe3HGQ/the-viceroy-holds-court-in-karachi http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/the-viceroy-holds-court-in-karachi <p> <p><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thirdworldism/OmXsG2meklyDF1sgAF6Sh27fnKb7WQ3Z03QSReK76omD53uMzzri1vzMUg6H/Bileband_1.jpg"><img alt="Bileband_1" height="400" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thirdworldism/E5tIC6HUZIHiEvWYDb45bby4FYWmqeWPkA0YlhBydxMWVFFYWFkXSpRA44XZ/Bileband_1.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" /></a> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thirdworldism/KkcM4cCDBKZJds7SQ8AZWct1OjvAVlCAHtgsj8JXju7rFDai2kgPLRh3SZI2/Bileband_2.jpg"><img alt="Bileband_2" height="400" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thirdworldism/MWtzRXadDYzkOZGpDGJY1frdaErHOZ6ICHNYLGDnV2orxQQajnEC2JNDVGRu/Bileband_2.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" /></a> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thirdworldism/cVQ2P76yObh5bpUpzBFFLvH1K3rL3JELfOu7Cy9Y4CHvuASiGLNyytoV8M8p/Bileband_3.jpg"><img alt="Bileband_3" height="400" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thirdworldism/fFfvsv2EPA76zE9u1LLqNhDF6fquoX6jm6zzbVQpCczCiM69zL7bU9f7OWfk/Bileband_3.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" /></a> <div class='p_see_full_gallery'><a href="http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/the-viceroy-holds-court-in-karachi">See the full gallery on Posterous</a></div> </div> </p> <p>Just look at how cool and confident he is. Miliband, you own this town. It's all in the body language -- the way he talks, they way he walks, his posture -- as the band of local informants follows him around and looks up to him, hoping to be graced by his attention. One could be forgiven for thinking that he is the foreign secretary of Pakistan.</p> <p>And the same is reflected in his words. When he spoke at Jinnah's mausoleum, he expressed his concern at the recent political violence in Karachi, and how that has "marred" the city's image in the rest of the world. He said he wants to see and end to the violence soon.</p> <p>That's all well and true, but I wonder, when will a Pakistani diplomat visit the UK and express her/his concern about the problems in London?</p> </p> <p><a href="http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/the-viceroy-holds-court-in-karachi">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/the-viceroy-holds-court-in-karachi#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/thirdworldism/~4/i_E5uqe3HGQ" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/434942/sam09.jpg http://posterous.com/users/37lsLzsnSim5 fahad fahad http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/the-viceroy-holds-court-in-karachi Thu, 07 Jan 2010 02:29:00 -0800 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thirdworldism/~3/PRn_yKILYdU/news-conferences-at-the-press-club-are-boring http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/news-conferences-at-the-press-club-are-boring <p> <p>As a journalist, I often get calls from activist acquaintances and comrades who are holding events about important social issues and are looking for some kind of media coverage. Too often, I am unable to get approval to cover it from my bosses because the story does not seem newsworthy (or ratings worthy) enough to them.</p> <p>So I am writing a few tips to help activists who are having a hard time getting their word out through the media.</p> <h3>1. Make the event visually interesting and different</h3> <p>This is the most important aspect. Every day, there are scores of press conferences held at press clubs, or seminars arranged at hotels. But news editors can only choose a tiny handful of them to cover.</p> <p>Therefore you have to make your event stand out from the rest. Put on a spectacle; break a world record; dress up in costumes; play some music; do something playful and symbolic and colourful. Make sure it is not something that happens all the time (i.e. a regular protest with boring signs at the press club).</p> <p>By doing something different, you will make reporters (and readers/viewers and bystanders) curious so that they ask questions about your issue.</p> <p>Here are a couple of examples from different parts of the world that I like:</p> <h4>Bonuses Are Back Pig Party:</h4> <p><iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/bl9vqAVd2cI?wmode=transparent" allowfullscreen frameborder="0" height="417" width="500"></iframe></p> <h4>Santa Claus in Palestine:</h4> <p><iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/FIg93xb6srk?wmode=transparent" allowfullscreen frameborder="0" height="417" width="500"></iframe></p> <p>Of course, you would have to take into consideration the local sensitivities and sense of humour.</p> <h3>2. Use a fax machine</h3> <p>It is the internet age, but most newsrooms in Pakistan are still in the stone age. When sending out invitations to the event to the media, do it by fax. You can send an email as a supplement, but it won't get the same attention that a fax does for mysterious reasons.</p> <p>The best time to send the fax is the evening before the actual event. If you send it any earlier they are likely to forget when the time comes around. So you could try emailing a few days in advance, and then send a fax the evening before.</p> <p>You can also call or SMS a reporter or the newsroom to remind them over the phone, but make sure you are not badgering them. Just a reminder.</p> <h3>3. Be concise</h3> <p>This applies to every aspects of your event. Make sure your invitations are short and to the point, highlighting just the key details. Make sure the actual event is not long and drawn out, because most reporters don't have the time or the attention span. So keep both the list of speakers and the speeches short.</p> <h3>4. Only invite high-profile guests if they are comitted to your cause</h3> <p>Newsrooms love events where there are famous guests, so that they can get their soundbites. This applies mostly to politicians and public office holders who are in the news for reasons other than your event.</p> <p>But if you are a serious activist working on real issues, then you probably don't want to have some loser politician come and hijack your event so they can go on about how their political party is the country's saviour. So if you can find someone famous who is genuinely committed to your issue, then that is great. Otherwise, you don't need them.</p> <p>good luck.</p> </p> <p><a href="http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/news-conferences-at-the-press-club-are-boring">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/news-conferences-at-the-press-club-are-boring#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/thirdworldism/~4/PRn_yKILYdU" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/434942/sam09.jpg http://posterous.com/users/37lsLzsnSim5 fahad fahad http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/news-conferences-at-the-press-club-are-boring Tue, 05 Jan 2010 12:10:00 -0800 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thirdworldism/~3/C0aRczmltU4/shaheen-sehbai-is-don-kings-long-lost-twin-br http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/shaheen-sehbai-is-don-kings-long-lost-twin-br <p> <p>so every time <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaheen_Sehbai">shaheen sehbai</a> breaks some new political gossip, geo tv interviews him over the phone and shows this photo of him:</p> <p><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <img alt="Shaheen_sehbai_09sep06" height="183" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thirdworldism/0Lm3b8Lr2vPclJEvqZJGQsFjRm1phfGGz2RttbWEAODOfBGDtEDpsIvcMJdk/shaheen_sehbai_09Sep06.jpg" width="150" /> </div> </p> <p>for weeks now, ive been racking my brain, trying to put my finger on which black U.S. celebrity he looks like. with a little help from friends ive finally figured it out:</p> <p><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <img alt="Shaheen_don" height="150" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thirdworldism/kklFgPWuEP3qX4EOCespTBRsTBN6cMAYITOQgGjOXryRjIEleHSNAQDPF3vW/shaheen_don.png" width="300" /> </div> </p> </p> <p><a href="http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/shaheen-sehbai-is-don-kings-long-lost-twin-br">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/shaheen-sehbai-is-don-kings-long-lost-twin-br#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/thirdworldism/~4/C0aRczmltU4" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/434942/sam09.jpg http://posterous.com/users/37lsLzsnSim5 fahad fahad http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/shaheen-sehbai-is-don-kings-long-lost-twin-br Tue, 29 Dec 2009 09:48:00 -0800 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thirdworldism/~3/NCYVA9rnAeg/the-blast-and-security http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/the-blast-and-security <p> <p><div class='p_embed p_image_embed'> <a href="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thirdworldism/KbJqrIOWXzGJ45BgfmZh0u1l9pNaiDzLz0w2EFN0dlRuLEIeff0dZ9A2SJOX/k-608.jpg"><img alt="K-608" height="267" src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/thirdworldism/wIR0Vig3ybKaNTYH6gzoqgcX6yFLaYmuRFguwnfb4xU73GfNnAaphvlwvcum/k-608.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" /></a> </div> </p> <p>Just two random points about yesterday's suicide attack in Karachi:</p> <h3>One</h3> <p>I was not too far away when the explosion happened and I arrived at the spot in about five minutes. Several of the procession participants reacted angrily to the blast and started attacking the police and media personnel. But I was quite surprised by how quickly the fires in the area started and how quickly they spread. Now I'm no expert when it comes to urban fires, but I would imagine that a significant amount of fuel would have been needed right then and there to get those fires going so fast.</p> <h3>Two</h3> <p>Many people described yesterday's attack as a security lapse, but I would disagree. As much I love to criticise the government, the level of security yesterday was much more than it has been at similar events in the past. The side alleys were blocked, there were police and rangers stationed all along the route, and also on roof tops, there was a helicopter that was monitoring the procession from above, and everyone entering the procession was frisked. It wasn't completely secure for sure, but in order to do that we would have to turn the city in to a police state. My point is that you can impose as many security measures as you want, but that will never be enough to stop someone who is brainwashed into thinking that killing others is the path to salvation. We need another approach to understanding security.</p> <ol> </ol> <p>(photo stolen from AP)</p> </p> <p><a href="http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/the-blast-and-security">Permalink</a> | <a href="http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/the-blast-and-security#comment">Leave a comment&nbsp;&nbsp;&raquo;</a> </p><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/thirdworldism/~4/NCYVA9rnAeg" height="1" width="1"/> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/434942/sam09.jpg http://posterous.com/users/37lsLzsnSim5 fahad fahad http://thirdworldism.posterous.com/the-blast-and-security