How you can predict a bad day

You wake up face down on the pavement.
You put your bra on backwards and it fits better.
You call Suicide Prevention and they put you on hold.
You see a '60 Minutes' news team waiting in your office.
Your birthday cake collapses from the weight of the candles.
You want to put the clothes on you wore home from the party but find there aren't any.
Your twin brother forgot your birthday.
You turn on the news and they're showing emergency routes from the city.
Your car horn accidentally goes off and remains stuck as you follow a group of Hells Angels along a deserted highway.
You wake to discover your waterbed has sprung a leak and then realize you don't have a waterbed.
Your boss tells you not to bother to take off your coat.
The bird singing outside your window is a vulture.
You call your answering service and you're told to mind your own business.
Your blind date turns out to be your ex-wife.
Your tax refund check bounces.
You put both contact lenses in the same eye.
Your pet rock snaps at you.
Your wife says "Good Morning, Bill" and your name is George.

Happy New Year سالِ نو مبارک

And at New Year night I am blogging and reading what other blogers are doing. Happy New Year. Also trying to re-learn some persian because Mullah's are from Iran

The Legend of Omar Khayyam (2005)

Recently released in 2005 but it is not shown everywhere. Jsut waiting for the DVD version. More info about Omar Khayyam the poet of love is here. And the earlier original translation was lost with RMS Titanic.

Plot Summary for The Keeper: The Legend of Omar Khayyam (2005): "Kamran is a 12 year old boy in the present day who discovers that his ancestor is the 11th Century Mathematician, Astronomer, Poet of Persia, Omar Khayyam. The story has been passed down in his family from one generation to another, and now it is his responsibility to keep the story alive for future generations. The film takes us from the modern day to the epic past where the relationship between Omar Khayyam, Hassan Sabbah (the original creator of the sect of Assassins) and their mutual love for a beautiful woman separate them from their eternal bond of friendship."

And here is a message from the Keepers team.

The film will be available for purchase on DVD on March 21, 2006 through our website http://www.keepermovie.com/ . Meanwhile we are only releasing the film in cities, where theatrical demand makes it feasible for us to do so.
Best regards,
The Keeper Team

Dressing in Iran لباس از ایران

I don't think that lot of people have seen the modern Iran. So far we have had weird pictures of Iron Clad Iran and its subjugated women with no hair visible at all.

THE IRANIAN: Dressing in Tehran, Schahram: "Maylee nah Melli (Dressing in Tehran)

And atleast they dont look depressed in this picture.

This however depicts beautiful sadness

Heinous crime

Killing people who are seeking knowledge is much more heinous than killing ordinary people. If Muslim terrorists are committing this then they may not find peace in hereafter. The message of Quran is very clear that during Wars leave alone; plants, old, young and women, those who seek refuge and those who are praying and those who are in seek of knowledge. In war fight only, to defend yourself, against those who raise weapons to kill you. And there was no war going on in that scientific conference. For the Sake of Allah stop killing innocent people.

Gunmen Open Fire at Conference in India, Killing Scientist: "Police set up roadblocks Thursday in the southern Indian city of Bangalore, seeking to apprehend gunmen who opened fire at an elite science institute and killed a retired professor.
The attack occurred late Wednesday as participants left an auditorium during an annual conference at the Indian Institute of Science, one of the country's leading research centers. A retired professor from New Delhi's Indian Institute of Technology, M.C. Puri, was killed and four other scientists were injured, police said."

New Cyber Abode

These days I can be found here and here. Over the holidays I had build template for my Urdu blog. Urdu is my first language. As Urdu is new on web therefore it was a very hectic and tricky task. I am not done yet but it is ready to roll. My friends who have Firefox cannot read it because I ended up incorporating a bug and Firefox users said yesterday that they cannot read it anymore. I was unable to locate the bug. A cyber friend has volunteered to help with the bug. If you know Urdu then feel free to visit http://zubaan.blogspot.com. You need IE for best viewing. If you see strange fonts then follow these easy steps.
1. On IE menu click VIEW
2. Click on Encoding
3. Click on More
4. Select UICODE (UTF-8)

If it does not help much you may need to install some urdu fonts from here.

Get Well Soon!

I wish Ariel Sharon get well soon. In my native land of pure (Pakistan) I can be condemned by the Right for saying this. However, the so called righteous and Jew hatters do not remember that our Prophet Muhammad use to pay visit to his Jewish neighbor regularly and especially when he was ill. It is a prophetic tradition which is gone now among Muslims. They rather use extreme rhetoric against Jews e.g. Mr. Ahmadinejad. However, our government has taken some positive measures in building relation with Israel. I hope Steven Spielberg's skepticism about peace proves unfounded and the New Year brings us some Happy News as Sharon has vowed to bring peace to the embattled region.

WORLD IN BRIEF: "Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will undergo a medical procedure in coming weeks to repair a small hole in his heart, his doctors said Monday during a news
conference called to explain why he suffered a stroke last week.

Lost Something! Think like a thief

Student Finds a Stolen Thesis by Thinking Like a
Thief: "When Linda Cerniglia went back to school, it took her almost seven years to get through all the prerequisites, the labs, the research. And it took a thief just moments to grab her purse, with the only copy of her master's thesis stored on a tiny jump drive inside."

You may find this interesting too......Stupid Bootlegger.

Food for thought Dec 21, 05

I am starting a new Food for Thought series posts. These posts will contain articles that I consider thoughtful and provoking. They can make a good reading list for thoughtful nights. I dont want to enforce my reading list on others but the idea is to build a reference list for myself so that when I write something I can get back to my references quickly. However, you can also benefit from my digging around the web. This time I am posting some articles that I found interesting in recent "Foriegn Affairs Journal".

Grading the War on Terrorism: By - Richard A. Falkenrath "There is much to learn from the Bush administration's record. The administration itself, of course, rarely admits doubt or mistakes. The White House briefing room is not a Catholic church: there is precious little to gain from confession. The pressures of American politics and governance dissuade serving officials from speaking candidly, and so the burden of sustaining serious public debate falls to journalists, pundits, and outside experts."

A Natural History of Peace:Robert M. Sapolsky "Humans like to think that they are unique, but the study of other primates has called into question the exceptionalism of our species. So what does primatology have to say about war and peace? Contrary to what was believed just a few decades ago, humans are not "killer apes" destined for violent conflict, but can make their own history."

The Turkish Military's March Toward Europe: By Ersel Aydinli, Nihat Ali Özcan, and Dogan Akyaz "Without the Turkish military's support, Ankara cannot comply with the reforms necessary for Turkey to join the EU. So far, the top brass have cooperated, even when reforms have curbed their power, because they have looked at EU membership as both the culmination of the country's modernization and a way to battle nagging domestic problems. But how much
further will they go?"

Understanding Madrasahs? By Alexander Evans "Since 9/11, Muslim schools have been denounced as breeding grounds for terrorism. But instead of seeing madrasahs as a threat,
Western policymakers should recognize that they present an opportunity for engagement and reform."

Women, Islam, and the New Iraq: By Isobel Coleman "Although questions of implementation remain, the new Iraqi constitution makes Islam the law of the land. This need not mean trouble for Iraq's women, however. Sharia is open to a wide range of interpretations, some quite egalitarian. If Washington still hopes for a liberal order in Iraq, it should start working with progressive Muslim scholars to advance women's rights through religious channels."

If you are interested in MSNBC's food for thought go here.

Freedom on Trial

How come a country does not allow freedom of speech to 'Orhan Pamuk' and Vie for European Union. Once part of Ottoman Empire and a world power is now struggling to become member of European Union however is not willing to compromise on issues that need to be addressed before it joins European Union.

Turkey on Trial, Part 1 - New York Times: "The trial of Orhan Pamuk, the best-selling Turkish
novelist, had barely gotten under way in Istanbul the other day when the judge postponed the proceedings until Feb. 7. We can only hope that this delay signals that Turkish leaders are looking for a way to drop the charges against Mr. Pamuk, who is being prosecuted for 'insulting Turkish identity.' In a newspaper interview last February, Mr. Pamuk referred to the Armenian genocide in 1915 during the Ottoman Empire and to the clashes between Turks and minority
Kurds in Turkey since the 1980's. 'One million Armenians and 30,000 Kurds were killed in these lands and nobody but me dares talk about it,' Mr. Pamuk was quoted as saying. This was considered a crime punishable by up to three years in prison by some Turks, including some prosecutors."

Gift Wrapped Guilt

I am watching the US media taking a U turn tonight in their analysis of Iraq after Presidents Speech. It sounds like "Gift Wrapped Guilt" (title stolen here) and has started sounding like true confessions. As there is a talk about safe exit strategy there is a concern about Shiite dominance in Iraq and infiltration of radicals into Iraqi law enforcement agencies and possibility of Iranian influence. Earlier every where it was Shiite Hooray Hooray; now the Sunnis are talk of town. At first everyone wanted to thump Iraqi Shiites on the back, now it is time for Sunnis. And finally in all this exhilaration eavesdropping is taking a backstage.
Related: Good News! Susanne Osthoff is freed. Cheers!

The Situation Room

I am listening to the Situation Room on CNN after president Bush's Speech. This guy senator Peter King (R) New York being interviewed by Wolf Blitzer in The Situation Room keep repeating word "Islamic Terrorism" ... ...Gosh he does not know the difference between Islam and Muslims. If Christians commit terrorism do we say Christian Terrorism..... ? Why do people elect ignorant people? (Read Pres Speech in full text here if you have missed it).

Wolf Blitzer also interviewed two people whose sons have died in Iraq. One form right and one from left. The guy "Al Zappala" said after the speech I feel that my Son died for all the wrong reasons. The woman "Georgette Frank" did not care about her son's death and thought it was justified. She further said all the countries like UK, and France joined us. Excuse me! Why did people changed the name of French Fries. They were after French toast and French Kiss as well. To those who wanted to change the name for French Kiss....Ahh!! why do you hate the French Kiss....? Want some Viagra!!!

Stupid Bootlegger

I faced the problem of stealing final exam by some students for the first time in my academic career. Some good students informed me about the incident without disclosing the name of the culprit. It was very frustrating as I had to write a new exam at the eleventh hour. One of the students who was familiar without the issue sent me this video link Stolen Laptop about a thief who stole an exam but made many mistakes that identified him (thanks for sending me this its funny).

Now! I believe I have identified the student who was involved in bootlegging my exam because of a stupid mistake he made. After the exam one student wrote an email asking me that as I did not make an announcement about changing the questions, is it going to count against him because he was not there today (Strange equestion he asked though. Probably he was afraid and did not show up in the exam and was trying to tell me that he did not take the exam voluntarily. He is assuming that I have not changed the exam as I did not announce in the incident in class. Further it appears to me that he wants to know if I was going to take any specific action against him yet he has not shown up in exam). I am thinking at the moment what to do with him. Students who reported the theft earlier do not want to verify the name and want to stay anonymous. I think by not showing up in the final is enough for him because he won't pass the course.

Honesty is the best policy!

No! Mr. Baker it is not awkward. Mr. Baker is saying in his article that President Bush is doing and awkward dance while admitting faulty intelligence and bowing to pressure by John McCain. He gives us the impression that Bush is eating dust from a second place finisher in 2000 presidential race.

Once again the awkward, freighted Bush-McCain relationship with all its history of rivalry and resentment took center stage in American politics yesterday, as the second-place finisher in the 2000 Republican presidential primaries forced the first-place finisher to swallow something he once opposed.

No! It is not! It is honesty and "HONESTY is the BEST POLICY" to win hearts and minds of people. He would have been a great leader only if he knew the virtue of these qualities from the beginning. Admitting one's mistakes and embracing criticism is not awkward. These are the qualities which make great leaders. Look at the news about turn out of Sunni Muslims in Iraq vote today (I hope it is not another media tactic to paint a rosy picture or paid for story). With big turn out of Sunnis it seems like they have welcomed Bush's admittance of mistake. As a Muslim I can tell you that Muslims value honesty and truth and standby it. I wish them goodluck and hope we are witnessing a whole new chapter in the history of Iraq. Only honesty and dialogue will help the US earn more friends in Iraq. Iraqis deserve freedom and respect. I hope this election will start a new era in Iraq's history. This is a time that US should capitalize on by anouncing a concrete time table of withdrawl. This will help generate more confidence in the new parliment and especially Sunni leadership among Iraqis and the Arab world.

I would say Dionne Jr. has the quotes of the day.

1. The real patriots are not those who fall into line behind everything Bush says.
2. Democracy is about improving government through the uninhibited exchange of ideas.

And here is one from Bush to acknowledge McCain:

Senator McCain has been a leader to make sure that the United States of America upholds the values of America as we fight and win this war on terror.

I have lot of respect for this man! Republicans may win next presidential election if they choose him as a presidential candidate.

Urdu Blogging

Urdu Blogging has been on the web for a while. I have started too on this blog: زُبانِ شِیرٰیں. It is specifically setup for urdu Blogging. Yesterday! I noticed that Urdu newspaper جنگ has also moved towards UTF. Now you don't have to read it in 'jpg or pdf file. Good thing about UTF is that it is searchable on internet like English. If you cannot see the Urdu ارںو text please download the fonts from here and get help in installation. You may need to select UTF in your IE settings. I am not sure if these UTF fonts will work well in Netscape, Firefox, and Mozilla etc. You may like to try this web Urdu type pad.

Perody تضمین فوج اور تقدیر

پیروڈی (تضمین) کو طنز و مزاح کے حوالے سے اردو کی اصناف نظم میں ایک اہم مقام حاصل ہے۔ یہاں پر تقدیر اور وردی پیشِ خدمت ہیں۔ علامہ اقبال مرحوم کی روح سے انتہائی معذرت کے ساتھ۔ سچ تو یہ ہے کہ آج کے پاکستان کے حوالے سے اقبال مرحوم نے تومسلمانوں کے لئے کبھی ایسی اسلامی ریاست کا سوچا بھی نہ ہو گا۔

کلامِ اقبال

افراد کے ہاتوں میں ہے اقوام کی تقدیر

ہر فرد ہے ملت کے مقدر کا ستارہ

تقدیر

افواج کے ہاتوں میں ہے پاکستان کی تقدیر

ہر جنرل ہے ملت کے مقدر کا ستارہ

کلامِ اقبال

اسی روز و شب میں اُلجھ کر نہ رہ جا

کہ تیرے لئے زماں و مکاں اور بھی ہیں

وردی

اسی وردی میں لِپَٹ کر نہ رہ جا

کہ تیرے لئے پوشاکیں اور بھی ہیں

If you cannot see the Urdu ارںو text please download the fonts from here and get help in installation. You may need to select UTF in your IE settings. Unfortunately these fonts may not work in Firefox, Mozilla etc.

Chai Latte دودھ پتی

!چائے چاہیے

کونسی جناب؟

!۔۔۔وہی تو ہے
افتخار صاحب کا چائے کے بارے میں مضمون اچھا ہے۔ سوچا ہم بھی کچھ لکھ ڈالیں۔ ڈاکٹر نے چاء اور سگریٹ دونوں کو ہی مضر صحت بتایا ہے۔ وجہ چالیس کے پیٹے سے پہلے ہی شریاں ؤ وریدِ جاں میں کولیسٹرول کی ضخیم مقدار بتائی ہے۔اور پان امریکہ میں ملتے نہیں سو ہمارا نشہ بری طرح ٹوٹ رہا ہے۔دراصل ہم نے بھی بیگم کے ہاتھوں خوب پراٹھے کھائے ہیں اور ورزش عام پاکستانیوں کی طرح بالکل نہیں کی۔ آپ کہیں گے چاء میں کیا برائی ہے! برائی یہ ٹھری کے مابدولت دودھ پتی کے شوقین ہیں اور وہ بھی خالص وٹامن سے بھرپور دودھ کے ساتھ آپ کہیں گے ہم تو اس کے لئے ترستے ہیں! جی! امریکہ میں ملتا ہے۔ پھلے ڈاکٹر نے بولا (2%) فیصد چربی والادودھ استعمال کرو اور اب کہا ہے کہ (1%) فیصد والا۔ چائے کا مزا کیا خاک آئے گا۔ سگریٹ ہم پہلے ہی چھوڑ چکے ہیں، اِس کی تفصیل پھر کبھی سناؤں گا کیونکہ قابل ضبطی ہے اور پاکستان کے سخت مُلاؤں کو ہمیں کوڑے مارنے کا جواز مل جائے گا۔ اشارتہً تذکرہ کر دوں کہ ایک فرانسیسی بوسہ سگریٹ کے ہزار کشوں سے زیادہ صحت افزا ہوتا ہے بشرطیکہ جانِ جاناں (محبوبِ دِل افروز) ایڈز یا ایچ آئی وی جیسے موذی مرض میں مبتلا نہ ہو۔ لہذا حقہ پانی بند ہونے کے بعد ہم چائنا کی جاسمین چائے لے آئے ہیں جو بہت ہی لطف آگیں ہے۔ طبیعت کو ایسا سروُر ؤ طراوت بخشتی ہے کہ ہم نے آئندہ کے لئے کالی کلموہی چائے کو خیرباد کہہ دیا ہے۔ نہ جانے یہ کس نے کہا تھا کالی کرماں والی۔

Vision and Power

I found this qoutation on the back flap of Dr. Allama Mohammad Iqbal's book "Muslim Political Thought: A Reconstruction"

"Vision without power does bring moral elevation but cannot give a lasting culture. Power without vision tends to become destructive and inhuman. Both must combine for the spiritual expansion of humanity."

Hindi to Urdu Translator

Amazing! In my search for better Urdu fonts and Urdu based word pads I have found this amazing invention by Pakistani computer scientists.

CRULP: "Center for Research in Urdu Language Processing (CRULP) at National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences (NUCES), Lahore, Pakistan is pleased to announce the beta version of Hindi to Urdu Transliterator (Download). For queries and feedback e-mail at: talha.javed@nu.edu.pk."

امرتا پریتم کی یاد میں

Homage to Amrita Pritam

انڈیا کی معروف پنجابی شاعرہ امرتا پریتم جی کا انتقال اکتوبر2005،31 کو ہوا۔ میرے تاؤجی ان کے بہت پرستار رہے ہیں۔ اس بات کا اندازہ کئی سال پہلےمجہے اُن کی فائل میں جمع امرتا جی کی تصاویر اور تحاریر دیکھ کر ہوا۔ تبھی میں نے امرتا جی کی کتاب تلا ش کی اور پڑھ ڈالی۔ کتاب کا نام اب یاد نہیں مگر اتنا ضرور ہوا کے میں نے اُن کی ایک تحریر سے متاثر ہو کر ایک نظم
لکھی جو یہاں پیش خدمت ہے۔

قبروں کی راکھی--- یاسین جنجوعہ

(1992)
مرکزی خیال: ایک گیت کا جنم۔ امرتا پریتم

جب میں بہت چھوٹا تھا!۔
تب صحن میں لگے ننھے پودے
تناور درخت نہیں بنے تھے
تبھی ایک ننھی چڑیا
جو دانہ چگنے آتی تھی
ظالم کوے کے ھاتوں مر گئ
میں نے اُس پر پھول سجائے
اور صحن میں لگے ننھے پودوں کے پاس
مٹی میں رکھ دیا
پھر اُس کی ننھی قبر پر
دیر تک بیٹھا رھا
اور بہت رویا
برسوں بعد۔۔۔!۔
جب میرے گھر کے آنگن میں
ننھے پودے تناور درخت بن گئے
میں اُس لڑکی کو نھیں پا سکا تھا
جسے میں نے کبھی اپنا سوچا تھا
وہ لمبی سی گاڑی میں بیٹھ کر
سونے میں ڈھلے تیرتھوں کی یاترا کو چلی گئ
۔۔۔۔ہماری محبت مر چکی تھی
اور اک یاد کے سوا کچھ نہ تھا
میں نے اُس کی یادوں پر پھول چڑھائے
اپنے دل میں محبت کے مرنے کا درد محسوس کیا
اور چیخ کر رویا۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔!۔
اب یہاں کچھ نہیں
درختوں کے نیچے
صرف ایک قبر نئی ہے
اور میں قبروں کی راکھی پہ بیٹھا ہوں۔
۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔۔
اس نظم کے بارے میں کچھ واضح کر دوں کہ اس میں استعارے کا استمعال کیا گیا ہے۔ انسان کی بچپن اور جوا نی کی محبتوں کا موازنہ کیا گیا ہے۔ بچپن میں انسان چھوٹے جانداروں سے محبت کرتا ہے اور ان کے کھو جانے پربہت دکھ ہوتا ہے۔ جوان ہونے پر محبتوں کے زاویے بدل جاتے ہیں۔ نظم میں دوسری قبر غیر مرئی ہے۔ درحقیقت محبوب کھونے والا درخت کے نیچے بیٹھا اپنی محبت کی یادوں کی قبر پہ پھول ڈال رہا ہے۔ ایک بات کی وضاحت کر دوں امرتا جی کی تحریرامیدِ وصال سے لبریز ہے جب کہ میری نظم وصال کی نفی سے متعلق ہے۔

Guardian Unlimited Special reports Amrita Pritam: "The death of Amrita Pritam, in New Delhi at the age of 86, is being mourned on both sides of the India-Pakistan border, for it was she who chronicled so movingly and passionately the pain of partition in 1947. Regarded as the leading 20th-century poet of the Punjabi language, she wrote verses that are sung and recited in cities and villages by many who are illiterate - such is the hypnotic appeal of her poetry. She was, in
many ways, the voice of the Punjabi people, for her poems gave utterance to their anguish. She enshrined the concept of punjabiat, the deep consciousness of being a Punjabi - a child of the land of the five rivers - irrespective of religious or caste affiliation."

If you cannot see the Urdu ارںو text please download the fonts

From Black September to McCarthy and Spielberg's Munich

Today I was planning a post on Steven Spielberg's new upcoming movie Munich after reading current issue of Time magazine. However when I logged in I found the news about senator McCarthy's death at the age of 89. Interestingly, I have found a common theme about Black September-Munich-9/11 and Senator McCarthy's remarks about 9/11.
In his myth breaking movie Steven Spielberg takes us to new heights of action and reality---but remember it is not another terror movie-like good guys vs bad guys. Withstanding his reputation he gives us new insight into the lives and motives of the assassins and the tragic implications of their actions (I am desperate to watch the movie which is being released on Dec 23. I hope it is going to steal luster from George Clooney's Syriana which is generating a shockwave of political messages). David Brooks rather searches for political motives in Spielberg's movie in his latest article What 'Munich' Left Out. Well we know that movie makers have to combine some fiction to keep their viewrs engrossed.

He says Steven Spielberg's new movie "Munich" is innovative, sophisticated and intelligent. But when it is political, Spielberg has to distort reality to fit his preconceptions.

The Time magazine provide us some interesting details of the 1972 Massacre of Israeli Athletes in Munich by a squad of Palestinian terrorists named "Black September." ---OK!---the historical accounts are surprising me as I read more about it. Black September kidnapped 11 Israeli Athletes on Sept. 5, 1972 (see all the bold text). The Newsweek in its article on the movie writes:

A team of five (5) men is assembled, led by a young Israeli intelligence agent named Avner (Eric Bana). They're given a list of 11 Palestinians living in Europe, each said to be involved in planning the Munich killings.

Very interesting to find out how these numbers are related together and to our contemporary history (some fiction may be there owing to movie making however some of the numbers are historical reality). Now, in our contemporary history what I see is that 29 years later same month different place, different date (Sept 11, 2001) becomes a "Black September" Day in the history of USA--Do you believe in coincidence?---I don't and this is surprisingly what I finally found in the Time article as well (I read the last paragraph of the article later after my conclusion on no coincidence).
Looking back at Sept 11, 2001 in Wikipedia article I have found the following. It says that 19 hijackers took control of 4 planes. However, 27 members of al-Qaeda attempted to enter the United States to take part in the September 11 attacks. In the end, only nineteen participated. Other would-be hijackers are often referred to as the 20th hijackers. If that is true then there is a possibility that they would have planned 5 planes to re-enact the history of Munich in a different way. Well! Spielberg also conveys similar message in a subtle way.

"Spielberg is at his best in visualizing a world he believes to be more menacing than it has ever been. That is more than a matter of noirish shadows. It is the hint of suspicious movement in the back of the frame, a pan that goes on a few frames longer than necessary, suggesting the possibility of a menace that may be present. Near the movie's end, a casual pan along the Manhattan skyline reveals the World Trade Center buildings. Had to show them, the director says. They existed at a historical moment in the mid-'70s. But there is more than historical veracity at work in that shot. The Twin Towers are the symbols of our new age of high (and endless) anxiety. Maybe there is, as Spielberg insists, no resonance between the fate of the Towers' victims and the fate of a few athletes in long-ago, faraway Munich. But inevitably the destiny of those Towers tinctures our thoughts, however much we wish to deny them." (I hope his next movie will be on Sept 11. If not then he should seriously think about this because he is believed to have marvel this theme so I encourage him to do so. In addition to that he has a tradition of doing two Movies back to back but on the other hand it is true that he would rarelly make a movie with same theme).

So, 9/11 is more than just OBL. OBL is just a new player in this same old game. But OBL seems to be very clever to put all these historical numbers in context while planning 9/11. Very surprising!
Related: 1968 Presidential Upstart McCarthy the man who changed America forever died today at the age of 89 said after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001:

"the United States was partly to blame for ignoring the plight of Palestinians. "You let a thing like that fester for 45 years, you have to expect something like this to happen," he said in an interview at the time. "No one at the White House has shown any concern for the Palestinians."

McCarthy did not blame OBL rather alluded to the presence of Palestinian Black Spetember behind 9/11, 2001 attack. I believe that Black September members would have taken part in the attack planning as Time article suggests that some of the Black Spetember members who participated in "Munich Massacare" are still alive.

The most beautiful and astonishing thing about McCarthy I would say is his remarkable denial of Vietnam war and finally a rebuttal of "You are with us or with them doctrine" in a less subtle way.

1968 Presidential Upstart McCarthy Dies: "WASHINGTON - Former Minnesota Sen. Eugene J. McCarthy, whose insurgent campaign toppled a sitting president in 1968 and forced the Democratic Party to take seriously his message against the Vietnam War, died Saturday. He was 89. " In an interview a month before the 2003 invasion of Iraq, McCarthy compared the Bush administration with the characters in the William Golding novel "Lord of the Flies," in which a group of boys stranded on an island turn to savagery."The bullies are running it," McCarthy said. "Bush is bullying everything."

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy says:

I admired Gene enormously for his courage in challenging a war America never should have fought,"

Ok! At the end back to square one of Spielberg movie. Alas! It is a never ending story.

More significantly, Spielberg wonders if the Israelis and the Palestinians will ever find peace.

Somewhat related: Yes! Unfortunately it seems like is never ending story as Va. Muslims and Quakers Pray Together for Safety of Hostages. Spielberg believes that in our World with inherited history peace seems really difficult but he has a prayer for peace and so do I.

سنگِ میل

ارںو بلاگنگ کی ابتدا

آج سے میں اردو میں برقی تحریر کا کھاتہ (بلاگنگ) شروع کر رہا ہوں۔ یہ رہی میری ا یک نظم

پہلی ملاقات

ھم راستہ بھولے تھے

یا وہ اک مقام سَرے رہگزر تھا

جہاں ہم کبھی ملے تھے

میں نے تمھیں دیکھا تھا

اور پوچھا تھا

ھم مین سے کون راستہ بھولاھے

٥٠٠٢
یاسین جنجوعہ

جملہ حقوق برائےعکس و نقل محفوظ ہیں

اس نظم کی برقی تحریر و ترتیب جانِ اردو میں کی گئ ہےمیں جلد ھی اردو کے لئے الگ صفحہ شروع کروں گا، مگر کچھ تحاریر یہاں بھی چھاپی جائیں گی۔

If you cannot see the Urdu ارںو text please download the fonts from here and get help in installation. You may need to select UTF in your IE settings. Unfortunately these fonts may not work in Firefox, Mozilla etc.

Leader vs Dictator

MSNBC writes:

'Bush' poem spells trouble for Pakistani leader 'The Leader'appeared in school textbook, was downloaded from Internet.

Earlier, I did not see much trouble except social embarrassment for Musharaf as I was expecting this kind of stupidity from his officials. There is much more happening in that country especially when retired "Boot Brass" is sitting in chairs which should be filled by scholars and intellectuals only. However, the real trouble is spelled out in a brilliantlyntly crafted poem by our dear blogger Sepoy.

"Dictators Suck Hard" Vs "Leader"

update: the unknow author is actually a guy named Bob running the RHL blog.

Vicky's Rambling

Just checked Vicky's blog and his rambling on "Tomorrow: To know if there will be a tomorrow is to know if the next step you take is the right one." Oh you are pulling me back to poetry and mysticism that matrialism took away from me when I joined the professional life. For me, Even if tomorrow is not the right or better step than yeserday it just makes me realize that tomorrow has opened up like a new window. You look outside and it's a different world. Oh I love that new world every day. If it is not new, I try to paint something new on life's canvas. Also reminds me Wazir Agha's beautiful prose "Kell" (translated as tomorrow). I started writting in his footstep although I never tried to publish much. However, I sent one of my "Inshiya" to him for "Awraq." He wrote back that it is a beautiful "Inshiya" and he is saving for a future edition. I left for USA and don't even know when it was published. Now! since in US, I have not been writing for a while----I guess---need to repaint the canvas.

Milestones I

Omar memorized and repeated his first spelling today. He had learned ABC a while ago in pre-school and at home as well. So Last night I picked up his book and told him what does the dog say: spelled as "Woof," only once.

Today, early in the morning, while brushing his teeth I asked him about last night; what does dog say? And he spelled back "W O O F."

I will be spending more time with him. Teaching at UMT is fun but teaching your own kids is much bigger fun and joyful thing that one cannot imagine. It gives you a feeling of accomplishments in life. It is like reaching out to them when they reach out to you (I have picked his "thumbs up dad" picture taken a while ago for this post).

CIA Mistake or Macedonian Blunder

I would call this a "Macedonian Blunder". The Macedonians are not on the War on Terrorism Map so they just wanted their piece of pie (only to get embarrassment later; Same way India did some stupid things when Pakistan joined War on Terror).
By the way, I loved to take long drives especially after having arguments with my wife. It gives you time to relax and look back and evaluate. By the time the long drive is over you are relaxed a lot and wife is waiting. One night I drove from Kansas to St. Louis, MO and I was planning to go further to Chicago (I had already driven 7 hrs). Then I thought it is better to inform my wife about my whereabouts. So I called her and she said "Honey why you did not tell me that you are going to "Chicago" on your long drive--you should have taken me along. Oh Boy! I took a u-turn for home and never went alone to Chicago. Thanks God! I was not in Macedonia.
You may ask why people go for long drives when they have arguments with their wife? Well there is a joke that you may read below after this news snippet that prompted this post.

Wrongful Imprisonment: Anatomy of a CIA Mistake: "Unbeknown to Masri, the Macedonians had contacted the CIA station in Skopje. The station chief was on holiday. But the deputy chief, a junior officer, was excited about the catch and about being able to contribute to the counterterrorism fight, current and former intelligence officials familiar with the case said." "The Skopje station really wanted a scalp because everyone wanted a part of the game," a CIA officer said. Because the European Division chief at headquarters was also on vacation, the deputy dealt directly with the CTC and the head of its al Qaeda unit.
In the first weeks of 2004, an argument arose over whether the CIA should take Masri from local authorities and remove him from the country for interrogation, a classic rendition operation. The director of the al Qaeda (CIA's) unit supported that approach. She insisted he was probably a terrorist, and should be imprisoned and interrogated immediately.
Others were doubtful. They wanted to wait to see whether the passport was proved fraudulent. Beyond that, there was no evidence Masri was not who he claimed to be -- a German citizen of Arab descent traveling after a disagreement with his wife. The unit's director won the argument. She ordered Masri captured and flown to a CIA prison in Afghanistan."

The Joke

There was a guy and his wife came to know through reliable source that her husband is having the fun of a lifetime at a bachelor's party with friends somewhere in a club. She got ready and armed to teeth with a ladel to beat him up when he comes home.

The husband came home late--when tried to sneak in saw the lights on and wife ready with a ladle in her hand. So he hid in a closet.

An hour or so the wife put the ladle down and talking to herself if he comes home know I will just give him really Hard time. Another hour passes she says--Oh God where is he, If he comes home know I will just ask only once why did he go their and do all ....dash...dash... ?

Another hour passes and she is Oh God! If he comes home I wont say a word. Then by morning she starts praying Oh lord! Where is he, I hope he is alright. If he comes home now I wont say a word. The husband listened to her prayer sneaked out, climbed out of the window and knocked the door. And ...! They lived happily ever after.

Well Masari's story is no joke!
See how they contemplated to cover it up in a lousy way without any apology.

Back at the CTC, Masri's passport was given to the Office of Technical Services to analyze. By March, OTS had concluded the passport was genuine. The CIA had imprisoned the wrong man.
At the CIA, the question was: Now what? Some officials wanted to go directly to the German government; others did not. Someone suggested a reverse rendition: Return Masri to Macedonia and release him. "There wouldn't be a trace. No airplane tickets. Nothing. No one would believe him," one former official said. "There would be a bump in the press, but then it would be over."

Well! in the end to some extent it is owed to stupid extremist Muslims as well as their wrongful actions are making life miserable for innocnet people like Masari. On the otherhand CIA and other authorities need to be more insightful and less anxious while stereo typing everyone.

Just a name should have not raised such a big alarm and caused so much trouble. I have a personal experience too. My youngest son was year old traveling with my wife to Pakistan in May 2003. His First and middle name is ..... and last J.... At the airport, the lady at the entrance to the deparure lounge looked at the ticket and suddenly became Alert and started asking loudly who is "A____ ____," Who is he, Where is he. She should have looked at the ticket it clearly said "Infant" (that my wife was carrying). My wife pointed out to her that this is the one sleeping on my shoulder (like an angel). When the TSA personal saw the infant she became calm. By the way! the Arab politician with similar name had already died by that time... What a stupid .... !!! I am not going to change his name, the airline personnel should better take classes in general knowledge and international relations.

Negative Externalities

New perils of new technologies.

Nanotechnology Regulation Needed, Critics Say: "And a California team working with
laboratory-grown cells showed that carbon nanotubes specifically activate 'cell suicide genes.'
'Cell growth was retarded, and there was a doubling of cell deaths,' said study leader Fanqing Frank Chen of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Chen said factory exposures should be 'a big concern,' and added that many nanospheres are very stable and not likely to break down in the environment."

Pakistan Earthquake damage report

First consolidated report has arrived from Asian Development Bank.