SiD’s Sphere!!

ghangor ghata tuli khari thi
per boond ab tak nahin pari thi..

key word here: thi

on a side note, my tarot card for today says:

The Hermit
The Hermit represents the need to distance yourself from the people and events in your life that are causing undue strain on your emotions. There are times in your life when seclusion and isolation are warranted. The Hermit is a card of discovery and enlightenment, which can only develop by spending time alone with your thoughts. Your energy will be depleted quickly in social situations.

and i knew just the place to run away to..

and the horoscope takes the cake:

With the communicator planet Mercury standing still in your sign, interactions with others are intensified. Unfortunately, this can overload your nervous system and motivate you to make an impulsive decision. It isn’t a good idea to do anything today that you haven’t previously considered, so take a deep breath and count to ten before giving away secrets you’ll later regret.

One thing I learned in my parliamentary debate training sessions more than three years ago is how an unbiased neutral fact can be manipulated into both a positive statement or a negative one by playing around with a few words. Once you get the hang of it, it’s very simple and a very effective tool for debating when you could end up speaking either for or against a topic without choosing sides yourself.

I always wondered why they were called the ‘parliamentary debates’, and now that I’m finally getting the hang of politics not only on the national, international and also the personal scale, I finally understand how being able to manipulate words to your advantage can make for a very convincing argument. The trouble is, a lot of people play this game unknowingly.

Here, for example is an article by Kaiser Bengali, who has presented a very valid argument in Benazir’s defense.

The other is that there is the universally accepted principle of ‘innocence until proven guilty’. And the fact is that Benazir Bhutto or Asif Zardari have not been convicted in a single case among the many that have been filed against them in Pakistan and abroad.

In this context, the corruption issue is rendered questionable from the perspective of the basic principles of law, and any sense of moral ire can be seen to be based on heresy and insinuations. Once the latter premise of ‘innocence until proven guilty’ is accepted, the entire web of corruption charges surrounding Benazir Bhutto can be seen in the light of realpolitik.

Do you notice how cleverly a fact that none of her corruption cases have been proved has been used to present her as a victim of both the present regime and the one that preceded it.

I can very well use the same fact against her by saying that the corruption runs so deep within this country’s fabric, that no case can be proven against anyone in Pakistan who wields so much political and monetary power. Even with Aitezaz Ahsan on her payroll (who also happened to represent the CJP recently), why did she impose self exile on herself, if not to escape court hearings. The question of cases being proven now holds no ground with the NRO in place.

Now, to analyse the article in greater detail..

The dramatically sharp divide between the two responses raise two important questions: who are the elements that have elevated the campaign against Benazir Bhutto and the PPP to the level of a vitriolic moral crusade and what are their motivations for doing so? The answer perhaps lies in the sharp divide in terms of class interests.

It appears that there is a broad conservative coalition that has been crafted by the military establishment. At one end of the spectrum of this coalition is the religious aristocracy that also enables the militant brigades to supplement the covert operations of the intelligence agencies. This combination represents the ‘muscle’ part of the coalition.

The other end of the spectrum comprises two elements. One is the landed and business elite that keeps the wheels of the economy running and generates the revenue to maintain the state edifice. They represent the ‘money’ part of the coalition. The other is the westernised English-educated professional class that provides the ‘intellectual’ veneer.

While he has very tactfully avoided talking about the ‘landed class’ (read feudals) that supports the BB, he goes on to say this about the so called ‘westernised class’.

The rationale for their support to non-democratic regimes and opposition to democratic politics is not difficult to fathom. The dominance of non-democratic regimes has enabled the ashraafia to amass property and other forms of wealth largely through dubious means, including questionable official policies designed to benefit it. It is able to spend on one evening of family dining out what millions of families each earn in a whole month.

Here’s an account of dubiously acquired assets of the BB herself.

Properties in the UK include Rockwood Estate, Haslemere Road, Brooke, Surrey, Flat 6,11, Queens Gate Terrace London SW7; 26 Palace Mansion, Hammussmilch Road, London W14; 27 Pont Street London SW1; 20, Wilton Crescent, London SW1.

France properties include La Manoir Della La Reine Branch Mormon Ville, Hameau, (Near Forges); France 76780,5 Acre +2 attached properties (4.8 million French Francs in 1990); Property in Cannes France.

The USA properties include Stud Farm in Texas; Wellington Club East, West Palm Beach, Escue Farm, 13524, India Mound, West Palm Beach, Florida 41-7 Acres; 3220 Santa Barba Drive Wellington, Florida; 13254, Polo Club Road, West Palm Beach, Florida; 3000, North Ocean Drive, Singer Islands, Florida; 525, South Flager Drive, West Palm Beach, Florida.

The article is also making the gross fallacy of composition. It conveniently assumes that all people who are bashing PPP are either the westernised class supporting Musharraf or the religious fanatics.

The intense PPP bashing can be seen in this context. The PPP is the first mass party that has raised the banner of egalitarianism. This is anathema to the neocon ashraafia. Its pathological distaste for the PPP — and the Bhuttos — is rooted in its fear of even a whiff of social equality and it can clearly be seen to be merely using the NRO affair as yet another opportunity to whiplash Benazir Bhutto and the PPP and, in the process, demonise democratic politics. The ‘dispensation of justice’ argument makes for a convenient facade.

How, I ask, does someone with even a tenth of the above quoted assets plan to bring abour social equality in Pakistan. I have nothing against the Bhuttos. While I lay part of the blame of the ‘71 partition on him, in many other ways he was a blessing for this nation. What i don’t understand is how political prowess is passed on from generation to generation. And if that does happen, why then can’t we just have a monarchy and put an end to this debate once and for all.

Anyway, that I am not a religious fanatic goes without saying. That I do not support Musharraf is reflected by my admiration for the article that follows the one above- A new economic course. I am, though, close friends with groups of people who support Bhutto or Musharraf. And both surprisingly give me the same argument to justify their support- the ‘lesser evil’ argument.

I wonder if it is due to compromising attitude that gives these power maniacs to hold on to power…

1.Pick out a scar you have, and explain how you got it?

I have a *star* on my right wrist that I’ve used to figure out directions ever as long back as I can remember. I have no idea how I got it and ammi has no clue either. As a kid I bragged about it as a star from God.

2. What does your phone look like?

Currently, uber sexy.

3.What is on the walls of your bedroom?

My bedroom… where?

4. What is your current desktop picture?

A picture of my eyes..

5. Do you believe in gay marriage?

No.

6. What do you want more than anything right now?

If only I could tell someone…

7. What time were you born?

It was in the wee hours of the night. Don’t remember exactly.

8. Last person who made you cry?

No one.

9. What is your favorite perfume/cologne? perfume?

None in particular.

10. What kind of hair/eye color do you like in the opposite sex?

None in particular.

11. What are you listening to?

Something that is making me very upset. *shut up, will you?*

12. Do you get scared of the dark?

No.

13. Do you like pain killers?

Almost a staple.

14. Are you too shy to ask someone out?

Do I really have to answer this?

15. If you could eat anything right now, what would it be?

Chocolate..

16. Who was the last person you made mad?

has to be either sadaf or nabeel. the only 2 ppl capable I’m capable of irritating.

18. Who was the last person who made you smile? I smile a lot actually.

I don’t remember. i smile a lot. At everyone and everything.

17. Is anyone in love with you?

Not that I know of.

i tag Extiinct, Mayya, Nabeel, UTP and anyone else who comes around and feels like doing it.