Waiting for the Barbarians
What are we waiting for, assembled in the forum?
The barbarians are to arrive today.
Why such inaction in the Senate?
Why do the Senators sit and pass no laws?
Because the barbarians are to arrive today.
What laws can the Senators pass any more?
When the barbarians come they will make the laws.
Why did our emperor wake […]
One of my Favourite Poems…
WHY? (Freedom to De’press’ II)
Amidst the relentless coverage of the Lal Masjid Operation, our news channels and papers have tried very hard to keep abreast of the situation and to present the blow-by-blow news, as it happens, when it happens. Along with the situation on the ground, a few channels have presented the history of the Lal Masjid showdown, […]
Freedom to DePress?
Neck and neck with the lop-sided blogging community is the inexperienced, sensation-driven tabloid style media that has swept the nation. We seem to think that a free press means the right to air anyone’s opinion, regardless of the consequences.
On one hand, you have conservative newspapers that are so late with the news, they may as […]
The Pakistani Blogger
There is one thing about Pakistani bloggers (and our media, for that matter) that I find very distasteful: Government-bashing. It doesn’t matter who is in power, as long as they hold the seat, it seems Pakistanis must hate them.
Consider this. This government has done more for this country than all our previous leaders put together. […]
www.takebackpakistan.com
Yesterday, my husband and I got into an argument with an anthropologist, who explained to us that the discipline and civility we see in the West is the result of centuries of evolution, development and modernism, a process that Pakistanis never went through. The argument was that our attempt to bring such civility to this […]
Crank Calls or Just Cranks?
It’s 4.19 am on the 9th of April, 2007. My phone just rang, and scrambling out of bed, I ran to see what the emergency was. The voice at the other end says, “hello…. aap mujhse baat karain gi?” (Will you talk to me?). If my husband hadn’t taken the phone from me to threaten […]
Basking in Credit
At a recent rally in Rawalpindi, President Musharraf spoke of increased standards of living among urban centers, where banking policies have opened up new vistas for public spending. Personal loans, car loans, home loans, credit cards, debit cards, atm cards, saving accounts… banks are churning out more products on a daily basis, encouraging customers to […]
They Kicked Her Like A Dog
Why are muslims aggressive? What feeds the rage that moves a muslim to raise his hand against another human being? And what gives muslims the impression that they have the authority to impose their morality on another? I’m not just asking because of the Lal Masjid travesty going on at this very moment; I have […]
Let’s face this Ugly Truth
For some strange reason, Bloggers Pakistan refuses to add this blog to their syndication list. But just so the rest of you won’t miss out, and just so you have an opportunity to refute/applaud his sentiments, here are links to a five-part series (3 of which have been posted already) on the Ugly Truth that […]
Who Will Shape Our Future?
I drive a lot. As a middle-class, struggling couple, my husband and I cannot afford a driver, or a servant (normal for Pakistan – labor is cheap, and we can usually hire a full-time maid or driver for as little as $50 a month) to run errands, so we both drive a lot. We’ve […]