The fall of Hitlery Clinton

This youtube flick is HILLARY-IOUS!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oEa8-tYzgU

Enjoy!!

Hello World!

So, where was I? Oh yeah, Pakistani politics... BLAH! I am still following it on and off and 2 of my very close friends have made it to the National Assembly. More on that later...

What a chaotic yet pleasant 3 months or so I have had! Marriage is a different ball game altogether and I am actually enjoying every bit of it, Alhamdolillah! The marriage took place on the 15th of January and only Allah Knows how I pulled it through! What a weird, weird wedding I had! For all those that might care to remember, January 15th was a rainy and wet day; the entire city was inundated in heavenly outpour! I have never seen Dubai so soaked and soggy - it was a sight!

The weird thing was that I had been doing rigorous istikharah throughout the first 2 weeks of January seeking Allah's counsel in taking this step of marriage. My blood results (and the wife's too) were necessary for the nik'ah and I was to collect it early morning on the day of the nik'ah. I got up at 7 o' clock in the morning to go get our blood test results and the moment I stepped out of the house I realized how I was going to have a long day ahead of me. I was stuck in snail-pace traffic from Qusais all the way to Baraha Hospital, Deira, from where I had to collect the results. To exacerbate matters, I had a slight fever.

I got to Baraha hospital in 2 hours (I ask you!) and the moment I got out of my car, which was parked in a pool of water, I was in for the shock of my life: The ceiling of Baraha hospital had caved in and water was pouring through the ducts overhead right onto the machines and counters ! Security personnel were shoving people out telling them to go home and come the next day! My heart was in my mouth, I swear! I was almost shattered and I had thought that the Will of Allah was against what I had willed. I had this weak feeling in my knees and I did not know what to do. I wasn't about to give up though.

I tried reasoning with the security person who didn't speak English or Urdu, which only made it harder to explain my predicament to him. Fortunately, an old man in a dishdash was kind enough to hear me out and spoke some broken Urdu. I quickly picked up his broken pattern of Urdu and tried speaking to him in the same manner so that he could understand me. It worked! He took me inside to the incharge (who was a veiled lady) who could speak in English. I explained my situation to her and she mobilized her people to expedite my pending report. I had to hang around for 2 hours and she handed the blood reports to me! I think it was 2 o' clock by then. As I left, all the good folks there wished me well. They all had heard my story and the lady in the veil told me that if my intentions were good and God had willed for this marriage then not even a storm could change that. Indeed, Allah's help arrives when you most need it!

I had a lot of errands to run, make some preparations for the dinner at night, make arrangements for the wife and in-laws and in between I had to go to office as well! I was running all over the place and I have never been so rushed in my entire life! The nik'ah was to take place just before Maghrib at the Dubai Courts where I got soaked in rain in the suit I had worn to work. I hadn't taken a shower that day; I hadn't had anything to eat since the other night; I hadn't cut my nails in a while, basically I was a wreck! If only words could do justice to what I felt and had been through that eventful day.

By the Grace of Allah, the nik'ah took place smoothly and in 20 minutes we were done. The call to prayers for Maghrib had just subsided. Me and the 2 witnesses from my side headed out for Maghrib prayers in the masjid behind the Dubai Court. After the Maghrib prayers, I prayed 2 rak'ah nafl to thank Allah for everything - I swear By Allah it was the most soothing, fulfilling, and peaceful prayers I had ever experienced! 2 rak'ah of nafl prayers hardly take 5 minutes and those 5 minutes took away all the pain, sadness, fatigue, anxiety and what-have-you!

I have left so much detail in between due to paucity of space and time (sigh, I have so little at hand these days!). But, marriage has been a rewarding experience. It is a great blessing from Allah and a good life partner - I have come to appreciate - is one of the choicest blessings of Allah (SWT).

The wife has left for Canada and I will be joining her there in a couple of weeks. I miss her dearly and can't wait to see her again! Puppy lurvvv, hehe.

Welcome to the Jungle

Pakistan is getting inundated in its own blood. The ongoing conflict in the country reflects at how there is no rule of law and that the country is now following the laws of the jungle. Benazir's assassination does not come as a shock to me. Yes, she was corrupt; yes, she was coming back as part of a larger American design; and yes, she was giving some horrific statement vis-a-vis Pakistan's internal security. Yet, I do not condone her murder! I denounce her killing and would like to throw caution to all those who may be saying to themselves "good riddance".

I have said it before, this is not the way civilized countries settle scores with one another. Bugti's assassination by the state (and it is quite clear who took out Benazir) was a clear indication of what extent the present dispensation was going to go to get their way. All those who supported Bugti's assassination must be thinking twice now. If you are still saying "good riddance" then I guess you have to wait till one such brutality hits closer to your own homes.

The "establishment" was never easy with Benazir coming back and it took a sinking Musharraf and American diktats for a marriage of convenience between the 2. The honeymoon had to end somewhere and it came to a tragic end with the brutal murder of Benazir. Had she not been killed, this unholy alliance of BB and Mushy would still come crumbling down after elections in a similarly dramatic fashion (perhaps even worse).

There is no doubt that Benazir's death comes as a setback for the US. There also is no doubt that all America has now in Pakistan to further its ludicrous cause of the "war on terror" is Musharraf. No prizes for guessing who is the winner in this tug-of-war. The question now that begs is: Does America have the patience to support an increasingly ambitious "establishment" (headed by Musharraf) that is now biting the hands that feed it? If this wasn't the last straw then I think we are certainly very close to it. The following few months will be very interesting (although all this is very tragic indeed).

The elections in Pakistan becomes very important now. I personally feel the elections need to be boycotted for many reasons. My number 1 reason was for the independence of Judiciary, which stands defunct at the ambitious hands of the present government. Today, my primary reason for boycotting these elections is because if the results of these elections turn against what the "establishment" wants it to be then we will see some seriously horrific consequences. With the way Musharraf (and remember he is just a face - there is a ruling "establishment" that has been holding everyone captive since the 50's) is clinging onto power do we really think he will easily digest results that are contrary to what he wants?

Let's not forget how the "establishment" reacted the last time an election went against them in the 70's. God have Mercy on us!

Addendum: Just as I almost hit the bed after posting this, I came across this news item from Reuters. This could be an insight into a possible motive for her assassination. As you may recall, the US Congress was already pretty ticked off at the misuse of US aid to Pakistan in the "war on terror".

Decision Time...

Why is it that marriage is such a complicated thing for us Muslims these days? As it is the thought of marrying the right candidate consumes half our time and gives us gray hairs before we even tie the knot. Then, on top of that, we have parents who become an impossible obstacle in wanting something HALAL for ourselves!

Here is a good youtube flick reflecting what kind of nonsense can be made out of something that is actually a commandment from God to His slaves for satisfying a natural urge/need in a perfectly legal way.

More on this later...

Life in Darra

Darra Adam Khel is a town in the northern region of Pakistan. It is home to the Afridi tribe of the Pashtuns. There are 2 things in Darra that catch one's immediate attention - the scenic valleys and the weapons market!

Darra's economy runs on sales of ordinance handmade by craftsmen who have replicated almost every gun/rifle in the weapons market. The prices are really cheap and the quality pretty close to the original.

Since it is next to impossible for an ordinary person to gain access to Darra, I am posting this 8 minute video on Darra's weapon market.

Enjoy!

The Battle for the soul of Pakistan

So much has happened in Pakistan in the last 9-10 months. The lawyers' movement has inspired the youth of Pakistan to mobilize and stand firmly in support of civilian institutions. The pressure that is being exerted by the lawyers, students and the media is starting to bear fruit - the major one being Musharraf being stripped of his khaki wear.

Pakistan has seen itself through one major hurdle and as it now faces its next biggest challenge, some politicians might end up playing the roles of pimps and sell Pakistan's soul to the powers-that-be. Two names stand out amongst this list of sellouts: Benazir Bhutto and "Maulana" Fazlur Rahman. These selfish scoundrels have ridden on the popularity waves of the lawyers movement and manouvered themselves into a position where they are now bargaining for the PM house. So much so that these 2 opportunists have trashed these same lawyers who resurrected their all but dead political careers. Brutus would feel shy at such treachery!

Pakistan is fortunate to have a batallion of good men and women who have given some hope to the people of Pakistan. Just when we were about to despair, God sent us not one, but a whole host of brave souls! Today, these brave persons are being incarcerated and punished for their honesty by Musharraf's goons. They are being forced into early retirement so that the good are thwarted and the bad continue their stanglehold on the jugular vein of the nation. Benazir and Fazlur don't give 2 hoots for the lawyers. They have stated clearly that they are willing to contest elections whether these honest men and women are re-instated or not. This treachery is equivalent to treason!

Are we Pakistanis going to let such power-mongers take control of our destiny and let the good folks fizzle out? Have we not learned anything from the struggle of Imam Hussain (AS)? Will we let wrong triumph over right again? NO! Pakistanis need to take a stand today and force these 2 scoundrels to boycott the elections if the Judiciary is not restored as it was pre-November 3rd. Anything short of this will just take us back to the status quo of the last 60 years and we will murder future brave souls who would have lost hope in the system; we will rape the ambitions of young aspirants who want to contribute positively to the country's growth; we will deflate the exhuberance of those who dream of saving the ummah from the shadows of despair. This fight should be waged unabated!

I am glad that Aitezaz Ahsan is already devicing plan B in case "Ugly and the Beast" take part in the elections. It speaks volumes of the level-headedness of the man and how he is able to transcend the rotten scenario and think outside the box. His open letter is well worth a read.

Innocence of the young

I recently went through 2 experiences that made me realize how children are innocent and so close to purity. Sure, they can be real rascals at times, but their hearts are so clean and souls so pure that it just makes an almost-30-guy like myself miss this innocence that was once in me, too.

I was at the City Center mall last night and was waiting for my order to arrive at the counter from "Shamiana" (desi food rocks!). 2 local girls, who looked pretty young - 14 maximum I'd say - also were ordering their food as I looked on while I waited. The filipino lady at the counter gave these 2 girls a coupon, which I hadn't got. I politely asked the lady at the counter why I didn't get any discount coupons and she told me nicely how it was only valid for the combos that these 2 girls took. I just said, "Oh OK... thank you... maybe next time I will go for it" and continued waiting for my food.

One of the girls came up to me with BOTH the coupons and offered it to me! She said, "You can have it" (in her local Arab accent, hehe). I was pleasantly surprised! I declined, but she insisted. I didn't take the coupons and told her that I had already paid for my food and that it was very nice and polite of her to do such a kind thing for a total stranger. She smiled and kept her coupons on her tray and left with her friend looking for a place to sit.

A couple of nights prior to this I saw a little boy - I would guess 7 years of age - eating my favorite chips, Lays Salt and Vinegar!! The little boy was with his mother and father and I made a face at him suggesting "Aren't you going to share with me?" And what does the kid do? He sticks his hand out and offers me the entire packet! I told him "Can I have alllll of it??" (sounding excited) and he looked at his parents and just nodded in approval! I was so impressed by the kid's "tarbiyah" (upbringing)! I just took one and returned the rest and really complimented his parents on the kid's exemplary behavior and manners. They looked like pretty proud parents, hehe.

Some can argue the first example cannot be really classified as young children, but for a person who is breaking white hair left, right and center, those girls really reminded me of my teen days when I was so into myself. It was all about my image and I-dont-give-a-fudge, rocker attitude. The little boy also made me realize how we actually start off as really cool and pure souls and with our experiences and increasing individualism (because of self-centered interests) we turn out to be real idiots, frankly!

Sometimes I really wish I could turn back time and pause it into my childhood. Reminds me of that cool Enigma song from yesteryears, Return to Innocence!