tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39348542011-04-21T21:43:04.189-05:00On Political SystemsReview of Political and Politico-religious systemsArifnoreply@blogger.comBlogger121100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3934854.post-1121743585826797242005-07-18T22:26:00.000-05:002005-07-18T22:26:25.833-05:00Dancing with the Taliban By Irfan HusainIF we thought what happened to Mukhtaran Mai was bad, look at what Imrana is going through in India.In the former case, the state victimized the victim by placing her on the ECL and taking away her passport. In the latter, the poor woman was not only raped by her father-in-law, but has been told by the mufti of the Darul Uloom at Deoband that she cannot nowArifnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3934854.post-1121743430096228352005-07-18T22:23:00.000-05:002005-07-18T22:23:50.103-05:00Between a rock and a hard placeBy Irfan HusainOUR path from one self-created crisis to another is littered with expressions of outrage and exasperation from well-meaning journalists, human rights activists and plain, decent citizens.Take the uproar over the Hasba bill in the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) Assembly as an example. Given the comfortable majority the ruling coalition of clerics Arifnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3934854.post-1121743284097363082005-07-18T22:20:00.000-05:002005-07-18T22:21:24.106-05:00Madness, not salvationBy Ayaz AmirTHE youngsters suspected of carrying out the London bombing attacks are all Muslims of Pakistani origin with names like Shehzad Tanveer, Hasib Hussain, etc. Can it get any darker than this?Coherent ideology, my foot. The profiles of these suspects as pieced together by UK authorities suggest they would flunk an elementary test in civics, which is not to doubt Arifnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3934854.post-1121742590929577932005-07-18T22:08:00.000-05:002005-07-18T22:15:15.216-05:00The primrose path to paradiseBy Ardeshir CowasjeeDAWN July 17, 2005 THIS world now has more than its fair share of trials and tribulations, of “blood, blood, destruction, destruction” (to use Osama bin Laden’s famous phrase), and it is undeniable that for the past decade or so Pakistan has made its due contribution.Our governments and army have valiantly supported groups such as the Taliban, Arifnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3934854.post-1062373463334346862003-08-31T18:44:00.000-05:002003-08-31T18:44:23.323-05:00Souriez Arif et Elizae!Arifnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3934854.post-926818572003-04-15T19:02:00.000-05:002003-04-15T19:02:09.936-05:00Maybe this war is (was) right for the wrong reasons. Take a moment to consider why the Judaeo-Christian world is way ahead of the civilization game. And not just ahead of Jihadi Muslims, but also of Hindutva Hungry Hindus and Buddhists drowsy with Nirvana. For a full analysis you may refer to The Clash of Civilizations by Samuel Huntington, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Arifnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3934854.post-864203612002-12-22T22:12:00.000-06:002002-12-22T22:30:29.000-06:00OK, so my system is unrealistic and utopian and the system as well as my moral authority to propose one has been subject to criticism from names that span the alphabet, from Alix to Zytka. There is however an alternative: The Open Source Movement. The most famous progeny of this system is the Linux operating system founded by Linus Thorwald. Lest it be construed that this system is confined to Arifnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3934854.post-855229562002-12-04T23:30:00.000-06:002002-12-22T22:23:30.000-06:00Reading List
John Rawls: A Theory of Justice
Jaques Barzum: House of Intellect
Arifnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3934854.post-848166402002-11-20T09:01:00.000-06:002002-12-22T22:23:45.000-06:00How would this work in practice? Take my infant nephew Bilal. He would be born with a billion Tokens. Note we do not use money in this system as it tends to get soiled. Tokens will be coins made of the same titanium alloy used to make hip prostheses. The astute reader will understand the symbolism of this choice of material. Bilal's billions will be spent on any item that gives him pleasure but Arifnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3934854.post-848140672002-11-20T08:00:00.000-06:002002-12-22T22:24:01.000-06:00One of the major difficulties with capitalism is the tyranny of old age. Take a peek into any S-Class Mercedes not driven by a chauffer. At the wheel you will find either the twenty year-old supermodel trophy wife of a sixty year-old excecutive or the sixty year-old executive himself. What about the rest of us normal twenty or thirty year-olds? Or for that matter the normal forty year-olds, for Arifnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3934854.post-843331092002-11-10T17:17:00.000-06:002002-12-22T22:25:33.000-06:00In all I want to reach
The inmost part
In work, in seeking the way,
In disturbance of the heart.
To the essence of the passing days
To their cause
To the bases, to the roots,
To the very core.
--Boris Pasternak
Arifnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3934854.post-843314222002-11-10T16:31:00.000-06:002002-11-10T16:44:50.000-06:00In the beginning there was the word. And the word was that of Karl Marx. From each according to his ability to each according to his need. What could be more humane? The workers march towards the Kremlin. Brotherhood. Fraternity. Equality. Zhivago watches from the balcony. An aristocrat with ideals. Full of empathy for the striving masses. But the Tsar sets his minions loose. The march is no moreArifnoreply@blogger.com