Author: mara.ahmed

Feryal Ali Gauhar is a Pakistani actress, filmmaker, writer, human rights activist and the only UN Goodwill Ambassador who quit over the invasion of Iraq: “He actually mentioned to me that the River Indus, which is one of the largest rivers in the world, was breached on the left bank deliberately in order to protect the [US drone] base, which is on the right bank. And the breaching caused the inundation of an entire district, which resulted in the displacement of millions, not thousands, but millions… this particular district is one of the most densely populated. So, yes, there is a connection between what is considered to be a natural disaster and the management of that disaster which is not natural at all.” Full interview.

excuse me while i get sick!

This week, as flood waters ravage Pakistan’s land and 20 million of its people, and after Pakistan’s own president, Asif Ali Zardari, managed to muster only $58,000 of his own vast wealth to the flood relief (a donation nearly doubled by Angelina Jolie), yet another devastating blow has hit Pakistan: news that the government has now approved an $11-million statue of the President’s assassinated wife, Benazir Bhutto. And yes, this is Pakistani taxpayer money.” Full article.

The official probe of her death would later note that earlier she had been “reprimanded” for showing “empathy” for the prisoners. One of the most moving parts of the report, in fact, is this: “She said that she did not know how to be two people; she … could not be one person in the cage and another outside the wire.” Full article.

So a 91 year old man, his grandson and a friend of his were killed while tending to their livestock on their own farm, 700 metres from the border with Israel. Where is the clamour for justice? Where is the international outrage that at least should be comparable to the Israeli settlers shot a week ago, who actually were not settled on their own land according to international law? Israeli armed forces have continued to wage a war against civilians in Gaza, long after the Israeli air and ground assault in the winter of 2008/2009. Full article.

Fisk reported that a “very accurate source in Washington” in close contact with military personnel has confirmed “terrible stories of gang rape” by US forces at Abu Ghraib. The unnamed source told Fisk that images of women being raped were behind the Obama administration’s decision not to release any more pictures of abuses. The original set of images, showing male prisoners being abused, were released in 2004. Full article.

A community gathering to reflect on the tragedy of 9/11 and the state of civility in our country today. Presented and sponsored by the interfaith community of Rochester, supported by Nazareth College’s Center for Interfaith Studies and Dialogue. Community prayers led by: Bishop Prince Singh – Episcopal Diocese of Rochester, Muhammed Shafiq – Islamic Center of Rochester, Rabbi Alan Katz – Temple Sinai, Dr. VV Ramen – Hindu Temple and Jan Cook – Buddhist Community.

norman finkelstein talked about “israel and palestine after the flotilla” at le moyne college, syracuse, on sept 16, 2010. 400 people attended the talk on a rainy thursday evening at 5pm! the times they are a changin’…

“Iraq has quietly agreed to pay $400 million in claims to American citizens who say they were tortured or traumatized by Saddam Hussein’s regime after his 1990 invasion of Kuwait. The controversial settlement ends years of legal battles and could help Iraq emerge from United Nations sanctions put in place two decades ago.”

WTF!!! it’s too disgusting – it’s like haiti paying the french to compensate plantation slave-owners. same kind of twisted logic and disregard for reality.

susan sontag on 9/11 – the new yorker, september 24, 2001: “Those in public office have let us know that they consider their task to be a manipulative one: confidence-building and grief management. Politics, the politics of a democracy–which entails disagreement, which promotes candor–has been replaced by psychotherapy. Let’s by all means grieve together. But let’s not be stupid together. A few shreds of historical awareness might help us to understand what has just happened, and what may continue to happen. “Our country is strong”, we are told again and again. I for one don’t find this entirely consoling. Who doubts that America is strong? But that’s not all America has to be.” Full essay.

aïe aïe aïe. ahmed rashid would be ridiculous if he wasn’t so dangerous. scary to think that american ambassadors and sr govt officials get their info on pakistan from this man.

A few days ago, the West’s favorite Pakistani journalist, Ahmed Rashid, wrote a ‘guest column’ on the BBC website in which he suggested that the Afghan governance model be transferred to Pakistan:

Pakistan’s Reconstruction Trust Fund could be run by a board that included the World Bank, other international lending agencies and independent and prominent Pakistani economists and social welfare figures with no ties to the government.

Pakistanis would still take all the major decisions, but those who did so would not be the cronies of the president, the PM or the opposition leaders.Pakistan’s finance bureaucracy and army would have seats at the table, but certainly no veto powers over how the money is spent.

Their job would be impartial implementation of recovery overseen by the Trust Fund. Such a fund would not just monitor the cash, but help the government put together a non-political, neutral reconstruction effort. It would also help plan long-term economic reforms….

The notion that that the World Bank, IMF and friends are ‘non-political’ and ‘neutral’ is risible and not worth wasting time on, especially given that their supervision of Afghanistan’s largest bank (largely owned and controlled by the Karzai family and just as corrupt as Zardari and his cronies) doesn’t seem to have been all that effective since it collapsed just as the BBC website published the path-breaking text. Full article.

If I should ever, God forbid, perish in a terrorist incident, and you or some nutty group uses my death as your justification to attack or discriminate against anyone in my name, I will come back and haunt you worse than Linda Blair marrying Freddy Krueger and moving into your bedroom to spawn Chucky. John Lennon was right when he asked us to imagine a world with “nothing to kill or die for and no religion, too.” I heard Deepak Chopra this week say that “God gave humans the truth, and the devil came and he said, ‘Let’s give it a name and call it religion.’ ” But John Adams said it best when he wrote a sort of letter to the future (which he called “Posterity”): “Posterity! You will never know how much it cost the present Generation to preserve your Freedom! I hope you will make a good use of it. If you do not, I shall repent in Heaven that I ever took half the Pains to preserve it.” I’m guessing ol’ John Adams is up there repenting nonstop right now. (Michael Moore) Full article.

happy eid people of pakistan! with love from ur ally, the united states.

The latest strike hit North Waziristan, the same district targeted in three other drone attacks since Wednesday and a renowned hub for Taliban militants who have vowed to attack security forces in retaliation. The target of the drone attack was a compound in the outskirts of Miramshah, the main town in North Waziristan. A total of 24 militants were killed in the four strikes. Full article.