Benazir Bhutto - another casualty in ghandi's nightmare

In 1947 the abstractly named country, Dominion of Pakistan, was formed. The name was changed to the more appropriate monikerthe Islamic State of Pakistan by the Muslim League political organization. The league was established as a response to a British administration decision in the largest Indian state, the United Provinces (now Uttar Pradesh), that acceded to Hindu demands and made Hindi, written in the Devanagari script, the official language. This aggravated Muslim fears that the Hindu majority would seek to suppress Muslim culture and religion in an independent India. A British official, Sir Percival Griffiths, wrote of "the Muslim belief that their interest must be regarded as completely separate from those of the Hindus, and that no fusion of the two communities was possible."

On October 16, 1951, the initial Prime Minister of Pakistan, Liaquat Ali Khan, had been scheduled to make an important announcement in a public meeting of the Muslim City League at Municipal Park, Rawalpindi. Liaquat was shot twice in the chest during that meeting by a man sitting in the audience only fifteen yards away.

On December 27, 2007 former Prime Minister and current leader of the opposition Pakistan People's Party was assassinated in Municipal Park, Rawalpindi. In the interim her father, keeping with family and political tradition, managed to get himself hanged in Rawalpindi in 1979.

While Pakistan has employed the technique of political assassination many times in the years between there has been a significant rise since 1987. Coincidentally, 1986 marked my final visit to Karachi. As you can see by the list below, it was a good time to depart the country.


* Meena Keshwar Kamal, (1987), Afghan founder of the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan

* Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq,(1988), 10-year President of Pakistan and 12-year Chief of Army Staff in a sabotage-induced aircraft crash.

* Abdullah Yusuf Azzam, (1989), militant Islamist, near Peshawar

* Fazle Haq, (1991), former governor of the Northwest Frontier province, Pakistan, from 1978 to 1985

* Iqbal Masih, (1995), 13-year-old anti-child labor activist, in Rakh Baoli

* Siddiq Khan Kanju, (2001), former foreign minister of Pakistan from 1991 to 1993

* Benazir Bhutto, (2007), former Prime Minister of Pakistan, by unknown assassins

The British Empire's legacy? Destruction, upheaval, and war.

merry xmas ya'll

A Florida State Trooper pulls over a pickup on I-75. The trooper asks, "Got any I. D.?"
The driver replies, "Bout whut?"

Thinkgs to do when you're dead

Rituals - Click on this image. → ← yes, that one.

And we wonder why people believe strange things? Cause and effect might represent reality, but friggin' reality left the building awhile ago; right about the same time ideology pranced on the stage.

When you find yourself plopped down in a new cultural pot, try to keep this recipe for survival "It does not require a broad education to function as a social and
economic animal... as long as you know when to rub blue mud in your
bellybutton. But a mistake in local customs can get you lynched."

Point in case. In Saudi Arabia, the punishment for adultery is death. The definition of adultery is being alone in a room with unrelated member(s) of the opposite sex. Nice trick, eh?

Speaking for the Trees

Howz it!?

Took a hiatus to deal wif dem blues, some well timed advice helped me mount back on the literary horse; here I are. In the vernacular of Monsieur Franti, I know I'm not alone.

Wandering the rock, playing the role of modern day nomad, provides constant opportunity for some lovely, lovely introspection. Next thing you know, you're unpacking baggage and a wee little bit of memory slips through the elaborately constructed defenses. The flavor of your response has little bearing on the intruder's fate, though it might affect dinner.

You may sing out, Leave me Alone! Or, perhaps tender the grand fellow a seat at the sacred table. Be most assured; tonight's menu will delectable servings of pain and suffering. Save room for dessert? We're renowned for our chocolate betrayal. Mmmm, scrumptious. Don't you think?

Merry Christmas


The Lorax