"shes very pretty" yourevery pretty, when youre there wishiwishiwish i was pretty, i wishiwish you could be
me
the postcards will come oneatatime, oneatatime, the pictures will upload and im living on thumbnails, looking through keyholes, scrabbling at windows, comebackcomeback he said dont go somewhere i cant follow you (iwishiwishiwish and the candles blew out on the birthday cake)
its been a year and a half since i saw him. and the last i remember was at the airport, when he dropped me off and not a word, not a word since forever i wonder what it is that makes people leave and never come back. picturepicture upupandawayupload isnt that wonderful? isnt she wonderful? because she can fly, she flies everywhere. what do you see here, what is it that you love, why do birds still come back every winter? and oh, the places you'll go, i can see them in you, im so hungry, so hungry, so hungry. whatever happens (not much, not a lot) and whatever goes (this that, nothing really) one day i will fly to the stars and you'll see them in my eyes, and i'll wear them on my back and i'll touch the ocean on the moon and you'll see it where it met my skin and you wont be there, you'll want me back, you'll wonder where ive gone, i can be there too, i can be there.

[ in passing. for a. ]

"Memory's images, once they are fixed in words, are erased," Polo said. "Perhaps I am afraid of losing Venice all at once, if I speak of it. Or perhaps, speaking of other cities, I have already lost it, little by little."

~ Italo Calvino, Invisible Cities

"Comparative Politics down 20!"
"Ok, hold it.. keep waiting.. how we doing on Macro?"
"Still 59.."
"Ah, shit. What have we got so far?"
"IPE, History of Decol, Humanitarian and French."
"French?! Who the hell wants French?"
"But.. it was empty!"
"..alright, whatever. When Comparative Politics hits 10, drop French."
"Macro up 72!"
"What?! Damn those freshies!!"
"Comparative down 12! Should i drop?"
"Ok, er... ah.. ok, drop, drop!! Apply for Macro before it shoots up!"
"Section 2 of Macro down 60!"
"Brilliant! Who and when?"
"Burki, 8.30, Tuesday Thursday."
"Burki? Argh... alright, whatever, just apply.. Add Comparative as backup!"
"You're over the unit limit!"
"What?? Thats not possible..."
"Hold it! Time clash!"
"Shit!! With what?"
"Macro and French!"
"I'm not taking French!! Why does it want me to take French?!"
"Ok, hang on.. French dropped, Macro up 65.."
"Get a move on!"
"Wait.. hang on.. why is this..."
"What??"
"Course Reg not responding."
"Nooooooooo..."

- a day in the life.

you cant keep a bit of the sky for days when it rains. wouldn't it have been great, then, to have had a tiny slice of bright blue, a sliver of sunshine, maybe? but then you'd want the leaves, and the way the light glows off their back. and then i'd want the ocean when its cool and dark and still and not roaring, tearing off great hunks of sky and swallowing them like a mad hungry monster.
fish season, vegetable season, flower season, mango season, monsoon season. mosquito season, moth season. the month where the heat seeps into your skin and lungs and the week where the mornings are shrouded in cool mist. november 11th, the perfect day to go to the beach. two days in february, when spring will arrive. one day in june, when it will rain just for the lovers who stay up all night, watching the sky rip and tear and descend around them, who will remember the way it tastes in her hair, at his throat, on their lips. the season of the hatchlings, the season of pink sunsets, the times when all the children come home, dropping like bright ragged leaves from planes, trains, parachutes. the season when the birds fly back to distant lands, refuel at Haleji Lake en route from Siberia to East Africa. wouldn't it be wonderful to fly, like birds do? can they see the sky even when it rains?

i'd live with you
in a heart beat, in an
instant;
just tell me
when
and where.

he said, her hands clutched at his hair and her nose and mouth crushed into his throat. im running out of words, meri jaan, im running out of words.

[ sard mulk key aaqaon key naam. ]

my country is torrid...

let me wear its dust and wrap its distances around me

-Kishwar Naheed




found, floating, like leaves caught up in a eddy of wind. mujhey iss dhhul ko pehnney aur musafaton ko orhney do. dusty traveller at the edge of world, waiting, wanting to disappear, dissolve into the rock faces and the sun light, leaving no traces in the sand liking (i think) makhtub's hukm of lonliness. will you come with me, ay musafir?

"yaar, i think i'm going to get out early today. *honk into tissue* we don't have any meeting, do we?"
"nahin, go ahead. got the flu?"
"no yaar i just forgot to take my antihistamines in the morning.. its the allergy acting up..."
.
"...take what?"

"er... antihistamine?"

*blank look

"anti-allergic."
"ohh."


alright, so i'm never thirsty, i'm dehydrated. hey, get me some water. im de-hyd-rated. (as opposed to X-rated). i dont get food poisoning, i get gastroentitis. my four years of Bio O and A level are just about enough to get through a dinner conversation between Dr. Dad (MB.,BS. Cardiology; FCPS, FRCS) and Dr. Mum (MB., BS., Radiology) because its not a baby, its a feotus (which is actually a term of endearment at our house), its not a cough, its inflammation/ wheezing, its not an ointment, its hydrocortisone, and its never "have lots of water" its "take plenty of fluids, betaa, have fun!"
you could never get out of a day of school. must have at least 100+ fever or take two Panadols and shove off. never the flu, always the allergy. what do you do when you have an entire drawer of medicines devoted to everything from UTI to cystic fibrosis?
...oh come on, everyone knows what those two are!


apologies to all those who have pointed this out in the past and have had to put up with me denying all allegations (and crocodiles). yeah, you too.

voule-vouz tabliq avec moi? (part of the fantastic upcoming musical, the Mullah Rouge)

three of us from Collective were at a field visit to SITE. we were eating lunch at a dhaba in labor square, when two men in green turbans came around distributing pamphlets. the guy must have lost it when he saw me, sitting there with the sleeves of my kurta rolled up (i was eating, for fahks sake!), the dupatta barely covering my head, looking pointedly at everyone and everything in the establishment. we've found a live one, boys. anyway, so we all got pamphlets too. back at the office, HG couldn't stop laughing. we usually have to hunt these guys down... you're telling me they came to you?! apparently every once in a while Hon. M. Illyas Atar Qadri Rizvi jazbeh mein aa keh khawateen par chand alfaz likh leytey hain. so here's Zakhmi Saanp, #42 (what else?)

Khushboo laganey waali zina
a woman may not wear perfume and pass by a gathering... "kyunkeh woh is khushboo key zariye logon ko apni taraf ma'il karti hai chunkeh islam ney zina ko haram kiya hai is liye zina key asbab sey bhi roka hai." (because by wearing perfume she calls attention to herself and this is conisdered sinful in islam, wearing perfume and passing by a gathering should be avoided.)

extensive documentation is provided on the consequences of bey-pardagi: "aik aurat balon sey latki huwi thi aur uss ka demakh khol raha tha." allow me to rhapsodize on my love for the urdu language. if this is read as iss ka demakh khol raha thaa then it basically means the something was gouging the woman's brains out. on the other hand, if one takes it as uss ka demakh khul raha thaa, it means her mind was opening up. which is worse, i wonder.
oh, right. her crime: "yeh aurat apney balon to ghair mardon sey nahin chupati thi" (she did not hide her hair from strange men)
very briefly, the pamphlet states that being widowed, having to work, having to look after children etc is no excuse for not observing purdah. women who do not observe purdah will never marry in to good families, if they marry at all.

the finer points of the remaining document:

aurat ka chehra dekhna?
"aurat ka chehra agarche aurat nahin (yaani keh ussey chupana farz nahin)magar fitney ke khauf key sabab ghai mehram key saamney munh kholna manah hai. issi tarah iss ki taraf nazar karna ghai mehram ke kiye jaiz nahin aur chuna tou aur bhi ziydah manah hai."
although a woman's face is not the woman (meaning it does not have to be covered) but for fear of anarchy she should not open her mouth in front of a man who is not forbidden to her in marriage. for this man to look at her is not correct, and for him to touch her is worse.

(fitnah, anarchy. couldn't find a better translation, but over the years i've fallen in love with those two words and everything they connotate to the point where i can spend hours just holding them on my tounge, turning them, tasting them, over and over again.)

baariq pajama mat pehniye (do not wear a thin shalawar)

aurat ke kanghi ke baal (the hair from a woman's comb) (hide them, non-mehram men should not see them)

aurat key zewar ki awaaz (the noise of a woman's jewellery/accessories) (are as bad as her voice. should not be heard by non-mehram. should speak softly even when at home because the neighbours might hear.)

gair aurat key saath tanhai (being alone with a woman) (is a sin. unless shes a "badsoorat burhiya keh jo shahut key kabil naa ho" which im assuming means "an ugly old woman incapable of having sex")

anyway. thats enough for now. i'll try to get a hold of editions 1-41. i'm sure they can't all be about women.

i wonder which jamaat this is. it's interesting how migrants can be even more strictly conventional about purdah than they are in their home land. i suppose the danger of non-kin men is greater, the increase in income means they can afford the luxury of keeping women at home, the threat of crumbling values is greater in an urban environment, the implicit loss of status from a land-owner to a wage labourer reflects adversely on the way men excercise power over the one thing that's till theirs, the women.
i don't know how long it takes before people realise that "piety" doesn't do fuckall for them. neither does the jamiat. i'm going to stop attributing all their success to the organizational capacity of the jamaat. i just think they're getting so much money from everywhere.. the donations, the goverment, external groups, their own rackets. its no coincidence that if anyone has the money to set up schools, the jamat does. if anyone has the funds to print pamphlets, banners, pay activists, lead processions, provide food shelter jobs... the jamat does.

so much for great moderate liberalism.
aren't the amreekans lucky? more excuses to liberate the masses. and even more excuses to do nothing of the sort. jamaats like these are probably so happy with the money they're getting from industries and trade that they'll never really do anything to upset ties with the west.
so where are they, the roots of dissent? for great justice, haha, haha. things have to get bad. really, really bad. and when none of the right ways work, and all of the wrong ways do. fitna, laughed medusa.

if you dont stop beating yourself down for once, maybe things would be a little easier. nevine and ali act so juvenille sometimes. its so easy to get angry. walking back and forth was strangely calming. watching blood spurt out of her hand was not. it wasn't even funny. she was tired, the kind of tired you are when you're turned away again and again, always talked to, never listened to and you figure that if they don't care, neither should you. its hot, and you can't go through the day without breaking into a sweat. you can't hold someone in contempt for having a watermelon bed and matching curtains? watch me. everyone wants to leave this house. that door has seen more people escape than enter, and that's not illogical. nevine and ali are people. so am i. and i'm the one who will break the cycle, hoo-ra. and up she goes. will you marry me?

[ founding eveneverland. ]

three bright orange oranges, tossed up into the sky, into the air, we laugh, the universe split and the sun was created in that moment, and the clouds rushed to cover it up, to dim its brilliance. paper planes soared through the sky, we went flying that winter, wingtip to wingtip, drinking the ocean, crushing sand beneath our toes. we danced like we dreamt like we slept and we said goodbye, everytime we say goodbye again and again i keep forgetting but one day i fear that is all i will remember. this feels hideous as the world looks on, these are things we all stopped believing in, that we threw away, that we fear, loathe, hate. and here i am, an outcast of an age, the girl who never grew up (or who grew old, died, and was born again, because of someone she knew) and here i am, celebrating things that dont exist, because either i lied before or i am lying now when i say there is no such thing, no such thing (if you believe in fairies, clap your hands or the last one will die) and i am telling you that there is.

and there is this giddy silence, this hideous, beautiful moment when we were poised at the place where two mountains met and there were rocks and sand between and a sheer drop to the roaring river below and our heads spun, dizzy with fear and then there was that moment (we felt) this manic grin split our face, grit our teeth, laugh at the sky and let our feet run across showering loose earth in our wake. it doesnt matter. at that point, nothing does. i'd rather dieonmyfeet than liveonmyknees.

the evenings are beautiful, these days, brightly pink because of the heat and the smog. karachi is so much to look forward to. tiny trill-prickles jump under my skin at the sparks that bristle at the very fingertips of pylons, sparkling gold against the neon night sky. i love the rush you feel when you stand on a roof and the city just sprawls to all sides of you, and you can feel it pulsing as if were connected to you, physically, organically, that if you flex your fingers half of the lights in KDA will glow brighter and dim, that the sound of motorcycles at 3 am is just resonating to your own tired restlessness. i love waking up, even. the air in the morning (7 am) feels like your skin (goldenbrown, texturelikesun). i've woken up at 7 for as long as i can remember, even if i do go back to sleep. wake up, eyes stare blearily at the clock, mind slightly confused, skin smiles in happy reassurance (he's there. good.) and we go back to sleep.

..it's never been this way before. stones don't make cities. people do.

coruscate, coruscate, aster minifique..

it is interesting and much joyful to know that the reason i can barely afford fuel for my own car is because i am paying for the ministers' cars. and mobiles. and luxury bills. and (who knows?) utility bills. and the water, leave us not forget that. --->

which reminds me. LAHORIS, THERE'S NO BLOODY WATER IN THIS COUNTRY. KINDLY STOP DEPLETING WATER RESERVES. KINDLY READ THE NEWSPAPERS. WAKE UP.

finally (and this is to crown it all off, this is when i start thinking that the world has truly gone mad) :

Wednesday, June 28, 2006

FIR against Khuhro, 4 MPAs

KARACHI: Treasury Member of the Sindh Assembly (MPA) Eshwar Lal registered a first information report (FIR) on Tuesday against five MPAs, including Opposition Leader Nisar Khuhro, for beating him up on June 21. The FIR has been registered against opposition MPAs Munawar Abbasi, Murad Ali Shah, Salim Hingoro and Mohammad Nawaz Chandio, besides Khuhro. The FIR was filed at Preedy police station under Section 506-B of the Pakistan Penal Code (threat to murder) and Section 324 (attempted murder). No arrests had been made by the time this report was filed on Tuesday evening. On June 21, the opposition MPAs beat up Lal during a Sindh Assembly budget session for sending a “love note” to MPA Shazia Marri of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP). The opposition MPAs and Lal were suspended by the assembly speaker. The four MPAs from the PPP defied the ban and continued attending house proceedings. The Opposition in the Sindh Assembly announced on Tuesday that all its members would court arrest as well should the police arrest the five MPAs. “We have been informed that an FIR was registered against me and four other MPAs,” Khuhro said at a press conference in his chamber. “I am proud to have been named in the FIR.” He said that the FIR was a “plot hatched by the Sindh chief minister”. Qaim Shah of the PPP said that the speaker had punished Lal for the incident by suspending him for the remainder of the session on that day, but had banned the other MPAs for two more days. “The MPAs have been punished and they cannot be punished twice,” Shah said, adding that the FIR had “no legal status”. staff report

and as long as you're reading that, yeh bhi parh lo:

Should women get a dressing down for dressing up?

By Zarnageen

KARACHI: Men and women belonging to different professions spoke to Daily Times about their perception of the Eshwar Lal-Shazia Marri incident. They were specifically asked how a public figure should dress and how should they be treated.

Ruet-e-Hilal Committee Chairman Mufti Munibur Rehman said that women of the assembly should follow the dress code as laid down by Islam and also display the expected mannerisms as taught to them by the teachings of the religion. He said that every Muslim knows that it is mandatory in the religion for every woman to wear complete hijab. Women in the assembly should have separate seats and as far as Shazia Marri’s case is concerned it just goes to show that only modern women face such problems.

PPP MNA Fauzia Wahab said that a workingwoman should be modest and simple in her dressing and mannerisms. Love letters are always showered on women but to blow a little “chit” out of proportion was not appropriate. Eshwar Lal’s beating does not prove bravery or heroic behaviour. Shazia should not have created such a big issue out of nothing. She ended up making a fool of herself.

PPP MPA Rubina Qaimkhaani said that a workingwoman is allowed to look after herself in the form of dressing nicely and grooming herself. MPAs, especially women, should be role models. She said that a woman’s work is judged by her physical appearance and it is important to look nice. Shazia’s incident has nothing to do with the fact that she dressed well, if this was the case then Mukhtaran Mai would have never gone through such an ordeal.

Sindh Hilal-e-Ahmar Vice-Chairperson Shamim Kazmi said a working woman is looked down upon in our society no matter what profession she is a part of. Jamaat-e-Islaami MNA Laeeq Ahmed said like seats for MPAs should be segregated. Men of the Sindh Assembly should respect their fellow MPAs. A woman is worth respecting no matter which field she belongs to.


we spend days and nights throwing the concept of empowerment back and forth. i realise i am left out of that loop because i dont really believe in empowerment of women at all. it doesnt mean that the harrassment and discrimination, the stares and leers and aggression will stop; it only means that women will learn to deal with it on the streets. its a daft word. it suggests that by tolerating a man's gaze long enough to ride a bus a woman is powerful. more powerful? marginally? maybe.
the funny thing is, if we tell our parents (ok, fine. the patriarchs) about the harrassment we face on the streets, they'll only put us back in the house. nothing changes. because we're not talking. isn't it amazing, that metal grill that seperates lecherous male hands from chaste female backsides? i've seen cages in the zoo made of lighter material. we're animals, aren't we?

one day, this country (its people) will realise that nothing matters. not religion, not god, not morality. those books and stories, priests and soothsayers tell you nothing, they have no idea of what you are going through. you trust only yourself, and the people stuck in the same prison. let the rich fly away and become shit-scrapers in other countries. turn around and tell me that your life doesn't have any significance for anyone but yourself. at this point, i really dont care what most of us think about it. what will matter (only, ever, in the end, ultimately) is what any one of us choose to do about it.

so i've been told i stopped blogging. acheeeain. you mean people still check? i am sorry. nothing more disappointing than a un-updated blog [hint hint, UA Tribe].

i am in karachi. this much is known. i went swimming today. there were some fat balding CEOs, a retired millionaire, five screaming kids, two ants and bits of grass in the pool. after blowing everyone away with my spectacular freestyle and less-than-spectacular stamina for two laps, i realise that swimming is actually bloody hard. and bloody exhausting.
i stood at the shallow end, stooping slightly, scoping the scene, looking cool, nonchalantly gasping for breath. zia-ul-haq in goggles drifted in from the deep end, two lanes to the left. two CEO's bitched out a third (not present). you know that one? kal hi i saw him. he came in a Corolla. the new one. acha? haan, haan. must be doing well. god knows, yaar. where these people get their money from.

bhaiyya, you're supposed to go on the higher one! the boy looked 14, until i noticed the bulging arms and abs. 17, perhaps. he bounced up and down on the lower diving board, bouncing like one of those olympic medalists. he grinned, skipped in front, pinched his nose and jumped in, bum first.
make that 16.
the retired pensioner came down the right lane, pah, pah, like a small, very slow motor boat. pink goggles sat at the bottom of the pool. a small fish-like child in a bright blue two-piece stared at them through goggled eyes. the boy swam around and dove inside. resurfacing, he snapped the pink rubber around his own head. bhaiyya, you're a girl.

i pushed myself for five laps, trying to concentrate on the way skin looks when it glistens in the sunlight to distract myself from the burn in my muscles.

it's hot today. tapish. i feel myself going darker. feels nice. for those of you who remember the paper that was presented at the SS conference right after our student panel... the one on the politics of beauty in SAsia.. there was something on the way the darker one is always the wayward one (fitnaa).. none of this white purity chastity bullcrap. i hate being mistaken for a gora in my own damn country. offices, cool white tiles, protective concrete, none of the sun-heat-unskilled labour stuff for us. might as well be gora.

its not Chicago Manual Style. its Chicago Manual of Style, like Vogue or Cosmopolitan. get the latest copy today.

[ my little town ]









complete story: BBC News, or check Dawn.com's updates.


blogging has become a lot harder lately, since they blocked the isp. apologies for not updating more regularly. no newspapers in pakistan today, because of eid milad-ul-nabi, which is also why that bus is burning. the press should be ashamed of itself.

we think its ok to act condescending towards a people if we share a nationality with them. so if a white man says "Africans are so deeply rooted in tribal culture that they cant progress" he's a racist and a bigot. but if a black man says "take an African, give him a bit of power, and he will likely become bumptious, arrogant, intolerant, and jealous of his prerogatives" (p 70, Etouna-Mangelle, Does Africa Need a Cultural Adjustment Program?) he's enlightened. and moderate, leave us not forget.

Does Africa Need a Cultural Adjustment Program? a Cultural WHAT?? are you fucking insane? how do you pass that off as fucking academia? how? how? I'm having fits trying to get through this. i have to dig my nails into my palms, bite my teeth to keep from tearing this book up (edited by Lawrence E. Harrison, author of Underdevelopment is a State of Mind.) oh lord, give me strength.

this is for all those who hoot on mightily about "low levels of interpersonal trust in Pakistani society" and how the poverty and totalitarianism we're facing is an outcome of the "Pakistani mentality." there is no such thing as a "mentality", alright? not since the colonials left, and believe me, they're GONE. they only live on in the way we think. who is the "the average Pakistani": the guy who snatched our mobile phone, the jirgas and rapists, the mob that burnt the bank, the lady who cleans for you, the woman with ten children? how stupid, right? how stupid and lazy and UNEDUCATED and jaahil, right? when was the last time you shared a meal with "the average Pakistani"? when was the last time you embraced "the average Pakistani"? when was the last time you worked besides her? then what the FUCK made you authority on her?

but arrogance aside, how does such bigotry make it into a field that is supposedly governed by academic rigor and careful, conservative emperical-based judgements? people have nightmares about the statements they make based on even slightly dubious data, and you just get up and call an African fat, stupid and narrow-minded and thats ok? did i miss something? is no one worried about this.. at all? or are we going to hold our tounges for fear of being "ideologically loaded?" as if anti-capitalism, anti-consumerism is the only IDEOLOGY. you know when that happens? in the middle of a goddamn HEGEMONY. and we play along, insecure in what we feel and know, scared of being left out of the loop, scared of not gleaning knowledge that might be TRUE, just because, well, everyone says its true.. there must be some truth to it, right? lets be objective, now. they are intelligent people, there has to be something to what theyre saying.

boil, toads, boil.

[ for the SS kids. hilarious. ]

All you’ll ever need to know about the arts
Stephen Moss

History
...
English freedom was enshrined in Magna Carta in 1215; the Wars of the Roses were long and largely impenetrable; Richard III was a monster (he may be due for a spot of revisionism); Henry VIII was fat, decapitated a couple of wives but created the modern English state; civil war raged in the 1640s (actuated by religion, politics or economic change? — discuss), but this being England, everyone soon wearied of ideology and gladly embraced the sex-and-shopping era of Charles II.

The Glorious Revolution was glorious; the 18th century can be largely skipped; we won the Napoleonic wars (Scotland was on board by this point and we had become “British”); the “Great” Reform Act of 1832 gave a few more people the vote; the greater (but largely ignored) Reform Act of 1867 gave a lot more people the vote; Ireland was given home rule, except for the northern bit; the first world war was bloody and pointless; the second world war was bloody and just. Since then we’ve lost our empire, though we did win the World Cup in 1966, regained the Ashes in 2005 and like to send small detachments of troops to global troublespots....

Philosophy
...
Plato, who was born in Athens in 427BC, was a pupil of Socrates. His key work is The Republic, which examines notions of justice and morality. Plato thought the ideal society was one ruled by bright, aristocratic Greeks — a bit like himself. Everyone else should be factory workers, farmers and Big Brother contestants. He was pro state education, anti the nuclear family (believing family loyalties undermined the state), and very keen on philosophers and poets. He was also fixated on shadows in caves — a metaphor for the difference between the visible and the true.

Other useful footnotes supplied by Aristotle (whom he taught), Spinoza, Hobbes, Locke, Hume, Rousseau, Mill, Marx and Nietzsche. Might also be worth mentioning Heidegger, Kant, Hegel, Adorno, Descartes, Schopenhauer, Wittgenstein and anyone mentioned in the Monty Python philosophers’ song. And, yes, they’re all men — see Social anthropology.

....

English literature

“Lo, praise of the prowess of people-kings/ Of spear-armed Danes, in days long sped,/ We have heard, and what honour the athelings won!/ Oft Scyld the Scefing from squadroned foes,/ From many a tribe, the mead-bench tore,/ Awing the earls”, etc, etc for 3,000-plus lines. English literature starts with the eighth-century poem known as Beowulf. It is not an encouraging beginning.




fun sunday afternoon reading for bugger'd SS majors wondering what, exactly, to do with a liberal arts education. just hope my parents dont see this- they might take it seriously :P

[ picks of the day ]

This bawdy world of boobs and gams shows how far we've left to go
Ariel Levy
Friday February 17, 2006

This is not about the sex industry; it's about what we have decided the sex industry means ... how we have held it up, cleaned it off and distorted it. How we depend on it to mark us as an erotic and uninhibited culture at a moment when fear and repression are rampant. In 2004, George Bush, the leader of the free world, proposed an amendment to the United States constitution to for ever ban gay marriage - which was already illegal. In opinion polls, about 50% of respondents said they thought Bush had the right idea. If half my country feels so threatened by two people of the same gender being in love and having sex (and, incidentally, enjoying equal protection under the law) that they turn their attention - during wartime - to blocking rights already denied to homosexuals, then all the cardio striptease classes in the world aren't going to render us sexually liberated....

also check out

Judge's anger at US torture
Richard Norton-Taylor and Suzanne Goldenberg in Washington
Friday February 17, 2006

The UN inspectors refused a US offer to tour Guantánamo after they were barred from visiting the prisoners. The 40-page document is the UN's first to address Guantánamo. Scott McClellan, the White House press secretary, dismissed its findings as a "rehash of old allegations" and "a discredit to the organisation". "The detainees are being treated humanely," he said. "Remember these are terrorists."...


35 rescued, hundreds feared dead in S. Leyte landslide

At least 35 people were rescued after a massive landslide buried three villages in Saint Bernard town, Southern Leyte province, Friday.

A rescue worker said the next 24 hours would be crucial in pulling out survivors trapped underneath tons of mud and rock in Barangay Cabagawan, Sug-angon and Guinsaugon.

Initial reports said a large portion of a mountain in between Sogod and Saint Bernard towns buried at least 300 houses including two school buildings in the area.

"It sounded like the mountain exploded, and the whole thing crumbled. I could not see any house standing anymore," Survivor Dario Libatan told DZMM.

"It was like the whole barangay was wiped off the map," added Southern Leyte Rep. Roger Mercado.

Authorities said a minor earthquake and heavy rainfall might have caused the landslide.

Renato Solidum, Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology director, said a 2.6 magnitude earthquake hit the southwestern portion of Southern Leyte at 10:36 a.m. He said the quake was felt at intensity 2 in Sogod town.

"This earthquake could not have triggered a landslide alone. You need an intensity 7 to do that. Other factors were also present especially heavy rainfall. You only need 100mm of rainfall to trigger a landslide," he told ANC.

Officials said rainfall in Southern Leyte hit a record 500mm from February 1 to 16 due primarily to the La Niña phenomenon.

Mercado also blamed unchecked logging activities in the area for the disaster. He said he had informed environment authorities about the logging problem, which had been ongoing for the past 30 years.

Southern Leyte Gov. Rosette Y. Lerias said the landslide happened around 11:15 a.m. Many of the casualties were feared to be children as classes were going on in an area school when the disaster occurred.

Lerias said bodies have been retrieved in barangays Cabagawan, Sug-angon and Guinsaugon. PNRC officials earlier estimated the death toll at 200, with 1,500 residents still missing.

Lerias said most of the residents evacuated the area earlier this week but returned after the weather cleared up.

"The daytime has been sunny lately but the rains usually come at night so that's when the people evacuate. Unfortunately, the landslide happened in the daytime," she said.

Emergency teams from the National Disaster Coordinating Council, Philippine Army, Philippine National Police and the Southern Leyte provincial government have been deployed in the area, Lerias said.

Didita Kamarenta, who lives on a mountain next to one of the villages in Saint Bernard town in Leyte province, said the earth shook and there was a strong gust of wind.

"I felt mud at my feet. I heard someone outside screaming for help," she said on radio. "All the children, including my two children, are lost. They might have been buried."

Like much of Eastern Visayas, Southern Leyte has been experiencing continuous rainfall for the past two weeks, which experts attributed to the La Niña weather phenomenon.

Last Sunday a landslide hit Sogod municipality, also in Southern Leyte, where eight people died.

The Philippines is lashed by about 20 typhoons each year, including a series of storms in late 2004 that left about 1,800 people dead or missing in provinces northeast of the capital, Manila.

[ more ERRAs. ]

Thursday, February 16, 2006

Ex-ERRA chief says he was fired

ISLAMABAD: Lt Gen Muhammed Zubair, the former head of Earthquake Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Authority (ERRA), said on Tuesday that he had been fired and an opposition party welcomed the move, accusing him of inaction in the aftermath of the October 8 earthquake.

Zubair said that he was sacked as the chairman of ERRA after President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz told him on Monday that he was to be replaced by a civilian.

“No, I have not resigned. The decision was taken to replace me with a civilian,” Zubair said, dismissing media reports that he had stepped down after three months in office. Zubair said that he had been given no reason for the dismissal.

He said that he was proud of the pace with which he had secured planning approvals for the reconstruction projects covering six cities devastated by the earthquake. “The World Bank and the donors agree with us that our speed has been very fast during the past three months,” he said. “They’re happy with us, there’s no problem.” Musharraf’s spokesman declined to comment and Aziz’s spokesman was not immediately available. Media reports cited a government statement saying that the 56-year-old career soldier was leaving his post because he had skillfully accomplished his assignment. The development was welcomed by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), which had opposed military control of the earthquake response after the initial rescue effort.

Aitzaz Ahsan of the PPP accused Zubair of ‘having done nothing so far’ to relieve victims’ suffering. “If there is criticism, it is for the absolute inaction of Zubair in this period,” Aitzaz said “He has absolutely nothing to show for himself on the ground,” he added. ap

DailyTimes.com (where you'll find a very funny pic of Gen Z, looking rather huffy)

uff, the righteous indignation at being replaced by a civilian. damn those buggers. think they know how to run a country. we will miss you, General.
no, really.

dead week. assignments, finals, rescheduled classes. and someone in the IT dept gets into their head that the Faculty and TA email server could use a facelift. so while we sit here like idiots, twiddling out thumbs....





i sincerely hope its worth the eye candy.

CHOKE-GASP-SPUTTER- DYING.. MUST.. GET... FRESH.... AIRRR!!

[ sweatshop v1.2]

if you feel your head go woozy
its the lab
and the elevator's a doozy
its the lab
if the bathrooms couldn't get more shitty
and the decor isn't pretty
if you'd rather eat dead kitties
its the lab.

if the air is unbreathable
its the lab
if they confiscate your eatables
its the lab
if you're dying of asphyxiation
and would leave without hesitation
and go worship your playstation
its the lab

if the net is down again
its the lab
if the cooler is your best friend
its the lab
if the PC's are DOA
and the assistants are MIA
if you don't remember seeing the light of day
you're in the lab.

if you're boiling in mid-winter
its the lab
if you want to burn the printer
its the lab
if your neighbour is obnoxious
and the smell leaves you unconscious
and cs majors make you nauseous
its the lab

[ kudos, gentlemen. much respect. ]

From: Asif Iftikhar
Sent: Fri 2/10/2006 1:27 AM
To: Faculty
Cc: STUDENTS
Subject: "Freedom is Slavery"

On the Cartoons Issue:

I agree that freedom of expression is indeed a fundamental right of any
human being or society. However, limitations have quite often been used in
many laws and constitutions of democratic societies to uphold restrictions
on hate speech and obscenity. In French law, public speech or writings
that incite racial or religious hatred, for example neo-nazi ideas, are
prohibited on the same basis. Similarly, Article 5 of the German
Grundgestez ("basic Law") includes some restrictions on free speech, for
example personal insults or hate speech (Volksverhetzung). The Irish
Constitution categorizes "blasphemous, seditious, or indecent matter" as
that which cannot be granted the right of free expression. In fact, on
July 18, 2003 Dorota Nieznalska was sentenced to six months in Poland for
publishing an art work that showed a penis on a cross, which was
considered to be an insult to religious sentiments. Similarly, On January
5, 2005 another man was sentenced to a fine of about 5000 euros for
insulting Pope John Paul II. The European Convention on Human Rights
(November 4, 1950) sums up many of these restrictions on freedom of
expression:

The exercise of these freedoms, since it carries with itduties and
responsibilities, may be subject to such formalities, conditions,
restrictions or penalties as areprescribed by law and are necessary in a
democratic society, in the interests of national security, territorial
integrity or public safety, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for
the protection of health or moralsfor the protection of the reputation or
the rights of others,for preventing the disclosure of information received
in confidence, or for maintaining the authorityand impartiality of the
judiciary.

How exactly should the Muslims and their governments protest against the
publication of these cartoons is a separate question. The fact that some
Muslims resorted to arson is indeed wrong. But, it would be unfortunate if
that made the world forget the most important thing about free society:
that all humans have certain inalienable rights; but, they also have some
basic responsibilities. It is on the basis of this principle that we
regard calling a black man a nigger or a Jew a kike as indecency rather
than free speech as such, for all human experience has shown that, whether
we wish to criticize an idea or justify it, the all-important battle of
ideas can never truly be won without superior morality. The question,
therefore, is Couldn't the same ideas be expressed as effectively in a
decent way? Academic critiques on Islam and vociferous criticisms against
the Muslims by many renowned scholars (as Bernard Lewis for example, who
is still widely read in Pakistan) have shown us that they can be. However,
without responsibility, freedom can quite easily become what it was never
meant to be: indecency and oppression.

It must also be emphasised time and again that quite often it is we who
choose the shackles of slavery ourselves by the choices we make. It is
here that “Freedom is Slavery” (in Orwell’s words). Who is stopping the
Muslim world from making a strong statement economically? What is it that
we truly and really need from the West? Technology? Maybe. Maybe not. But,
at least, let's stop buying European products that are not our dire needs.
It became quite obvious after the Bajour bombing how much spine we have as
a people. Economic sense. Maybe. At least, that's some kind of twisted
justification. But, do we or do we not have any dignity? Can't we even
abandon the purchase of a few European luxuries to defend our Prophet's
sacred honour (sws)? Maybe I am just overreacting, but I don't think I saw
even half the emotion on this one that LUMS demonstrated in the wake of
the earthquake.

Asif Iftikhar
Lecturer, Islamic Studies

From:Miguel Loureiro
Sent: Fri 2/10/2006 3:24 AM
To: Asif Iftikhar; Faculty
Cc: STUDENTS
Subject: RE: "Freedom is Slavery"

As a "European" and a Muslim let me elucidate some points:
First of all, as we are supposedly all inteligent and well-read people (we do attend a university) I'm pleased to see that very few people at LUMS buy the "Clash of Civilisations" theory (where do the Mediterraneans like me fit?). But it is as erroneous as to generalise about Arabs and Muslims as it is talking about a unified "West" or even a generalised "Europeans". There is a stark difference between Southern, Northern and Eastern Europe. Just because some countries have strong economic (and in the near future legislative) ties, does not mean we are "one".
Secondly, the vast majority of "Europeans" are against these cartoons, for the simple fact that they would not like their own beliefs to be ridiculed. Also, they know when newspapers are reprinting stories for the sake of "freedom of expression", or for the sake of making a quick buck.
Thirdly, all the newspapers that printed the cartoons are private companies that have very little to do with the governments ruling these countries. And although stopping consuming their commodities is a very good way to get the message through (hit them where it hurts), it will not directly affect these newspapers.
What is interesting is that during the Iraq invasion discontent Muslims all over the world had the possibility of having a bigger impact by boycoting American companies (many which contributed monetarily for the present administration's re-election campaign) and did nothing.
You see, it's always easier to burn a few flags than to stop drinking Coca-Cola ($1 million contributions) or Pepsi ($2 million), eating McDonald's ($0.8 million), using Windows ($0.7 million), Dell computers ($0.4 million), putting Chevron/Texaco ($2.4 million), or Exxon/Mobil/Esso ($2.8 million) in your car, or smoking Phillip Morris ($6.9 million).
By the way Asif, you're not overreacting, but asking the "burger-batchas" not to consume...

From: Asif Iftikhar
Sent: Fri 2/10/2006 4:47 AM
To: Miguel Loureiro
Cc: Asif Iftikhar; Faculty; STUDENTS
Subject: RE: "Freedom is Slavery"

Thank you for your comments, Miguel. Since I completely agree that it is
not fair to make sweeping generalizations about any people, I apologize
for any statement that you might have seen as critical of all Europeans.
That was certainly not my intent. While suggesting a boycott of some
“European luxuries” I used the word “European” synecdochically and assumed
that it would be taken as such in the given context. Nevertheless, I
apologize if this point was not clear in my message. Furthermore, it would
be great if Muslims could make an impact on the concerned companies
directly. But, if that is not possible, I don’t see why it would be
against any democratic or civil norms to make our displeasure known to the
governments that “harbour” such miscreants as misuse the idea of freedom
to insult our Prophet (sws). The statement we’d be making through an
economic boycott would still be much more civil than “Either you are with
us or against us” rubric to illegally invade an independent country or
bombing on remote parts of an allied country to hunt down an elusive
phantom terrorist.

Best,
Asif

-----Original Message-----
From: ITSC HelpDesk
Sent: Tue 2/7/2006 10:13 AM
To: G-Host; B-Host
Cc:
Subject: SSL-Tunneling behind Hostels

Dear Hostilities,

As part of monitoring Internet access from hostels, some systems are
found chocking the Hostel LAN by using SSL-Tunneling softwares. While we
are in a process to define and implement subsequent rules to restrict
these kind of softwares, you are requested to avoid using these
softwares to download irrelevant stuff like movies, songs etc. which can
cause chocking of the Internet link.

Your cooperation will be appreciated.

Regards,

--
ITSC HelpDesk
Ext: 4149


alright. this is rubbish. i know we're a university FULL of apathetic fucks, but i'm sure hostelites have enough stake in the lifeblood of their stay at LUMS to do something about this.
primarily, i love the whole "irrelevance" bit. you dont let people of the opposite sex get into each other's dorms. you have hysterical raving fits everytime you see "person(boy)-such-that-their-head-was-in-lap-of-person(girl)" so its not like you have ANY sex life on campus. as it is, dating is a huge taboo around these parts. add to which no pubs, discos, bars, theater, gaming arena, pool, arcade, bookshops, cafes, cinemas on or near campus, accessible to the hostelites...
sports complex, super store and library close at 12. defence market shuts down around 1. can someone explain to me what the hordes of shagless, dateless, entertainment-starved hostelites are supposed to DO aft 2am? sit around and twiddle their thumbs? play a game of fucking LUDO? oh wait, i know. we're supposed to offer a breif and sincere remembrance to god, brush our teeth and go to sleep. alternately (just for variety) we may study.

im not saying we go and bash their heads in with big sticks. there has got to be a way to make the admin aware of the fact that theyre not dealing with "users" and "nodes" and "IPs" anymore. theyre not even dealing with "students." theyre dealing with 19 to 25 year olds. and theyve got to be seriously FUCKED in the head to think that after having sysmatically deprived that particular group of adults the opportunity to do just about anything, they can trivialise things like music and movies. which is seriously, sadly, all that we (and most Pakistani 19 to 25 year olds) have to do. dont even get me started on the legal crap. every movie, cd and book in the market is pirated, and even then, we cant possibly afford to pay for a bloody mp3.

but as it so happens, its the same people shouting, all over again. same five-six people. if those crack-heads ever emerged from playing dota or half-life long enough to give a little support, show a little concern about the the people living on this campus, maybe we'd get somewhere. and its not even that hard. i know of one person who has d/l rights. just expand that to about five people per dorm. and as sweet as it was that the man who came up with the plan was made automatic rep, i'd much rather we vote on it.

also, stop blocking bloody gtalk, msn and skype on and off. this is the FIRST internet service in the world that actually asks its users to cut down on their usage, rather than trying to improve or better manage their own systems. i mean, imagine if WorldCall called you up and said "we hear youre downloading irrelevant things like Grass-Chewing Rituals of Siberian Herdsman. please stop."


and learn how to spell choking, you shmucks.