No Terrorism Monster Godzilla In House Of God, God's Villa

No Terrorism Monster Godzilla In House Of God, God's Villa - IMRAN™, originally uploaded by ImranAnwar.

The Faisal Mosque (in memory of the only pious King of modern Saudi Arabia, the assassinated Shah Faisal) on the outskirts of Islamabad, Pakistan, is among the largest houses of God in the world.

Just like the symmetry of the photograph above, the ironic similarity, rhyming and conceptual congruence between God's Villa and the monster Godzilla is intended to raise awareness, not to offend. It is up to us to have religious faiths in our lives to be better people, but also to stay involved in who and how someone speaks for our religions.

This is true regardless of what religion we practice, Islam, Christianity, Judaism, or other, non-monotheistic, religions, like Hinduism, etc. Without educated, sensible and intelligent people staying involved, religions can be hijacked, and God's Villa overtaken by the monster Godzilla of fanaticism, intolerance and terror.

So help me, God, to save the houses of God, from the actions of the Satanic, verses of hate-preaching and the No-SoulMan's Rush2Die and kill innocent children and people going to school or to prayer.

Also see, Heaven Vantage.

© 2008-2010 IMRAN™
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Dome Of The Rock - Heaven Is A Place On Earth

Dome Of The Rock. Heaven Is A Place On Earth. The Baths, Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands - IMRAN™, originally uploaded by ImranAnwar.

The Baths, Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands

People fight and kill for sandy pieces of land, on the gates of perceived heavens, when God has created heavens on earth we cannot give enough thanks for.

This dome shaped rock is a highlight of the stunning swath of beach at The Baths, in Virgin Gorda, the British Virgin Islands. A place that makes you say "Oh, God!" more than most places of worship.

The truth is, without justice, there cannot be peace on earth and the sands of time will churn with rivers of blood, as man kills man, to try to prove who is a bigger prince of peace. And, God, isn't that a shame on earth.

PS If you have not seen it, I highly recommend you watch KINGDOM OF HEAVEN (available on DVD).

© 2008-2010 IMRAN
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Image Notes: Taken on a Norwegian Cruise Lines cruise in 2008 with a pocket Nikon S6. Imported into iPhoto. No cropping. Did not reduce highlights which would make the rock top less shiny but it would dull the stunning water and sky colors. Reduced saturation a bit & added title frame in Photoshop.

Do You Know The Ides Of March, The March Of Time?

Do You Know The Ides Of March, The March Of Time - IMRAN™, originally uploaded by ImranAnwar.

I post few photos of myself here unless there is some significance to the image or event. Today is such a day. The Ides Of March are upon us.

The Ideas of March is the name given to March 15, a day dedicated to the Roman god Mars, in their ancient calendar. They held a military parade on the day. It was there and on this day Julius Caeser was assassinated in 44BC, despite being warned.

Life rushes forward, time marches on. Today is March the 15th, 2010. The Ides of March are upon us as the March of Time parades us past our glorious lives to our inescapable ends, the colors of our lives, like the colors of the title in this photo, sliding from the blue skies of joyous lives to the deepening pinks of the ending gentle sleep.

We eye the future, even as the seers of the Ides of March see something else. We do not warm to how they warn us of a different story. For we know only one way to live, no matter how far or near the end. We have to remain full of wonder, for the mystery of the unknown, whether of turning a page, or not turning a corner.

The end may be near, lurking like the dangerous stab in the heart by a trusted loved one, but the joy of having lived every minute as we wished is even nearer, deeper in our hearts, and that lives through all eternity, regardless of how glorious or how humble we are in the grand scheme of history.

"Et tu, Brute? Then fall Caesar!" wrote William Shakespeare.

When we hear the silent haunting melody accompanying an impending dusk, appearing, oh, so soon, on an amazing life, when we felt so close to the blue skies of tomorrow, we are left wonderously gasping in our final breaths....

If only.... if only....if only!
Such was life, Such is life.

Liberating Religions Trapped In A Cave Mentality

A Twitter ID, @thoughtandhumor, going by the name of Professor Howdy, sent me a tweet today. "Will pop culture be the end of historic Christianity", it said, with a link to an article by T. M. Moore titled Trapped in the Cave?

It refers to Plato's parable about cave prisoners who did not know there was more to life, and the universe, than the shadows and darkness that made up their daily existence… until one escapes and returns with news of the world out there.

The article is quite well written and readable for something that touches upon Philosophy and Religion.

It makes some excellent points, especially related to something like Philosophy, which is somewhat more logic and reason driven than Religion. Religion, especially the Bible-Thumping or Muslim-Blowing versions of it, which get most (negative) media attention tends to be increasingly driven by a total lack of intelligence. Such practice of religion seems increasingly based on an obvious strong attempt to actually curtail one's use of the very thought and conscience that God has given us.

This applies to the suited-booted smooth-talking, jet-setting, secretary-screwing, so-called Christian preachers who condemn victims of natural disasters in the name of God. I am certain Jesus Christ would personally bitch-slap these playboy preachers, if he was to return today.

It applies to the illiterate, unwashed, hell-bound suicide bombers and their un-Islamic so-called Muslim trainers, who plan and joyously carry out murder and mayhem among bazars filled with women and children, or who show their "bravery" by killing little girls going to school. Instead of 72 virgins in heaven, they can be assured 72 billion years of burning in eternal damnation.

The Jews in Occupied Palestine, the ones who cry over their holocaust, yet carry out one of their own, who keep Palestinians in what the Vatican also described as Concentration Camps, are not off the hook. Neither are the "peace-loving" Hindus who crush Muslims in Kashmir and other states, or put an evil cast of castes on what should all be equal human beings in the eyes of God. No one is above blame, though they all feel they, and their oh-so-obviously-perfect religion, are above blame, higher than the other religions.

Yet, almost each religion, in addition to laudable aspects, has much that is laughable. In this set of circumstances and global theological reality, ALL major religions can benefit from the advice the writer gives in his article. The writer proposes using elements of pop-culture to introduce more people to the spirit of philosophy. I concur with some of those fundamental propositions, for what I hope would enable a better, more human and intelligent practice of their religions.

In my humble opinion, most major religions were "progressive" ideas at their time, yet have become etched in stone in the sand-filled brains of their most virulent followers. We do not need to turn the Holy books politically correct, or do other such, often ridiculous, editing as some religions do as a palliate. It may please a small number of new adherents, but, I believe it comes at the cost of greater hardening of attitudes among the more conservative believers. That makes the effort both foolish and counterproductive.

I think enabling, even encouraging practicing Christians and Muslims (and others) to use more of their brains, and intelligence, instead of rote-indoctrination done to them since childhood, will actually make them better human beings in the practice of their own religions.

That means religions can go about again in their role of helping improve the human condition, the human experience, even as they still give people the opportunity to work for the improvement of the post-human afterlife they believe in.

Care must be taken, though, to ensure this is not, is not presented as, and does not come across as, an attempt to "edit and update" the basic tenets, the core values, of the basic faiths that make the religions what they are.

Otherwise, instead of opening minds, such attempts are more likely to lead to even more severe introverted responses from religious quarters and their most ardent followers.

Who needs more "Christmas Is Under Attack" or "The West Is Out To Destroy Islam" pedagogue blowhards emptying their lungs, with words from their empty brains, filling the airwaves, further poisoning instead of clearing the air, within and among religions.

What do you believe? And, what do you think?

Comment here, or let me know at http://twitter.com/imrananwar

When Life's In The Rough, Believe In Magic And Miracles

As I, along with countless millions in this country and around the world, face the most challenging times of my life, I do my best to remain the positive person I was since I was a child.

I usually do not blog with embedded content (because I like my blog to be a record of my creative efforts and also because you never know when the embedded content can be removed by the owner or poster). But, this Golf video clip is especially poignant.

You will find this clip entertaining for the sports value.

But at this difficult stage in life for so many of us, it is a great reminder to never give up hope, never lose faith and above all, never stop believing in magic you could not have imagined, good fortune you could not have planned.

Just when you think all is lost, your life is in the rough, the most amazing things can happen. Good fortune can appear when you least expect it. A gust of wind, or just the ultimate touch of God's hand can twist a blade of grass just so perfectly, that every thing lines up. And, it lines up far better than you could have set up, aimed for or taken at swing at.

Believe. Have faith. Smile. Above all, give thanks. Even if you don't get to ace every hole, or achieve very goal, what could be better than to have had a chance to play the game... of life.

Port, Hole, Whole Boat Peephole, British Virgin Islands

Port, Hole, Whole Boat Peephole, Virgin Islands.
Sounds So Sinful For So Heavenly A Place



The Baths at Virgin Gorda, in the Virgin Islands, are just an out of the world experience to visit and see.

Getting from the top of the hill to the rock formations, with convoluted steep climbs down through jutting rocks with rising water, narrow paths and scary little landings, enhance the thrill. You walk on planks to where pirates of yesteryear probably walked the plank. But now the scene is serene, and of peace and security.

The sky and sea look satin smooth while the rocks are textured and the light plays games to show rocky shades of olive and mocha on the sides.

You fall in love with it, especially when you see this view, like a port hole of the planet, a peep hole onto a world of boating, yachting, fun and frolic.

Being able to frame the whole catamaran in this triangular opening on what must be volcanic rocks spewed out of earth millennia ago, even with an old pocket Nikon Coolpix S6, was a fun and the picture came out very nice.

A must see place.

© 2008-2010 IMRAN
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Why? Why Now? Why Me? But, Still So Blessed

You all know how positive a person I am. But it is becoming so difficult every day.

Everything of any significance that I NEEDED to happen or fall into place correctly this week, singly or in total, went wrong or led into brick walls. Non-stop. But, I continued to laugh it off, and continued to plug away as I have for the last nearly 2 nightmare years.

But, it just does not stop. The surreally bad week ended just now with my lifeline iPhone 3GS falling out of my pocket (when the earphone cable snagged a chair & yanked it out), falling face down, on tiled floor and being smashed to pieces :-( .

This was just unbelievable bad luck and bad timing because it is the only phone and net connection I had. And, due to the real difficult time in my life, I can't afford to replace it right now.

"Why? Why now? Why me?" were the words of the song "Suzanna, I'm Crazy Loving You" that came to my mind (and the expression on my face, I am sure).

But, as I was walking home from where it happened, devastated at the new challenges that poses, the way things are rapidly crashing, and as all I built over 21 years vanishes before my eyes, the feeling of despair for the unnecessary and unfair loss, I considered how blessed I am.

I am so blessed --- in the dream life I have had, still have now with being alive, healthy & able, and the amazing life that lies ahead, once these worst days are over. God willing. So, Thank You, God, for all the blessings.

Your prayers in these toughest days of my life are appreciated.

400 Sunsets Fly By. Farewell, Father

Four Hundred Sunsets Fly By. Farewell, Father - IMRAN™, originally uploaded by ImranAnwar.

Time eternally flows on and on.
Taking with it beloved people,
Favorite places, precious lives.
Leaving in its turbulent wake,
Memories, smiles, seas of tears.
Savor and never ever forget,
Love, smiles, time, joy we get,
Before they fly forever, forever.

How fast 400 days went since I lost you, my beloved father. Yet, each felt like a century of sorrow. A lifetime of smiles and blessings you gave.

Now you and Ami have flown together, to heaven, forever. As tears roll down my face, I promise, I will not forget and will pray and love you both to my dying day, Abu.

Farewell, Father.

No processing was done to this image's colors. See bird more clearly slightly larger

18 Years Of A Million Tears. Mother's Memory 2/2

18 Years Of A Million Tears. Mother's Memory 2/2 - IMRAN™, uploaded by ImranAnwar.

2/2. The saddest day of my life, 18 years and a million tears ago.

I flew out of JFK the night of February 1, 1992, headed to Pakistan - where it was already 2/2/1992. I was going to see my beloved parents in Lahore. But, I was en route via Karachi. My Mom had insisted I stop there to condole the death of a relative and a friend's father there, the previous week.

The powerful PIA Boeing 747 jet engines hurtled me over the North Atlantic, erasing 600 miles per hour between my mother and me. But, there was an invisible infinite eternal distance of space and time growing silently, a cosmic chasm that no known power in the universe could shorten.

As the plane was flying towards Europe, life was flying away. As the aircraft was coming in for a landing, unknown to me, my mother's soul was taking off into the heavens beyond this world.

Landing in Karachi, I was smiling and happy, when I disembarked, clueless about what tragedy had struck me but I was unaware of. I went to the airline counter to check the status of my connecting flight to Lahore that was supposed to be for a few days later.

I was flirting with the young lady checking my reservation, asking for a nice window seat. She looked at me in a puzzled manner that I did not understand then. As she quietly typed on the keyboard my curious eye made me read a telex message on her desk, facing her.

As I read the upside down text, my breath left me, my heart stopped. I felt the hand of death clutch my heart...

"Please give priority seating...
Passenger Imran Anwar needs to be on next flight....
Has to attend Mother's funeral."

That is how I found out that my mother had died, just over 50 years old.

Instead of seeing my Mom to open the bags of gifts I was carrying for her and everyone, I would barely get home in time to carry her body for burial. Instead of her pinching my cheeks as she loved to do, all I got to do was touch her cheek one final time, as I fell on my knees next to her. She seemed just to have fallen asleep.

18 years later today, to the day, not a day goes by when I do not shed a tear for my beloved mother. Tears roll down my cheeks as I write these words, and every time I relive that moment.

Ami, I will love you forever, even after I die.


© IMRAN
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Mother Of Exiles, By The Golden Doors

Mother Of Exiles, By The Golden Doors

By Imran Anwar

The Statute of Liberty, in New York, is one of the best recognized symbols in the world. Less known are the full words of the poem found there. See it larger.

On a heavily clouded day in Manhattan, the often blue sky filled with shades of gray was burdened with the weight of a golden red sunset they were trying to conceal.

The light was the worst it could be for a great traditional photograph. But, as I caught the patina of Lady Liberty through the architectural frame painted Gold by the falling sun..... it provided the perfect backdrop for me to remember, and share, the words that hold so true today, and forever.

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

© 2009 IMRAN
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Clouds Over Cloud Computing? Raining On The Hype Parade

Clouds Over Cloud Computing? Raining On The Hype Parade

What's In A Name? What's In A Function? What's In The Hype?

By Imran Anwar

A recent blog entry on Internet Evolution by Mary Jander, titled "Clouds May Finally Be Forming for IT" recently caught my attention. Mary wrote about how companies have started looking at cloud computing as an infrastructure platform for their business.

That got me thinking about the very concept of cloud computing - as it is being foisted upon the industry and business. Don't get me wrong. I believe in the Internet and its power since before it became a commercial entity in the United States. It was for this reason that I elected to pioneer and be founder of Internet e-mail in Pakistan nearly 2 decades ago.

I also do not wish to sound like one of those "everything that can be invented has been invented" naysayers. However, even as the technology lover and evangelist, sometimes I see the industry shooting itself in the foot by simply renaming, repackaging, re-hyping concepts every few years.

Obviously, technology has been moving forward at a rapid pace every decade. Back in the day, a green screen operator's "cloud" was somewhere in the big air-conditioned room far away, housing the mainframe. 10 years later the concept of client/server moved the cloud into a less discrete location and made it a little more granular.

Then came the not so successful network computing concept which fell victim to its own hype. Next we have the Internet now being leveraged productively in some creative ways, but again causing marketing driven hype to set it up for potential disappointments and failures.

It is partly for this reason, the lack of clear revolutionary changes in enterprise computing, that we face a problem. We have entire industry initiatives and business plans being built around terms that nobody even fully agrees on the definition of.

Cloud Computing, Web 2.0, the Semantic Web, etc. are just some of the examples of how we, as an industry, are adrift. We are again latching on to buzzwords, hype, self-sustaining waves of "if we talk enough about it, it will happen" -- hoping someone, somewhere, will create a solution which sells enough in the marketplace to validate the original buzzword.

In the past some companies, like Microsoft, would derail perfectly good technologies possibly competing with their products by using FUD (fear, uncertainty, doubt). Many good companies, products and technologies fell victim to that. However, despite the best efforts of monopolies of their time, whether in computer hardware, operating systems or telecom, smart, nimble and aggressive competitors did create new products, categories and entire industries.

That is why it is so ironic to me that thousands of companies and professionals are trying to create a new Cloud Computing industry --- without overcoming the FUD factor inherent in the marketplace!

Instead of removing uncertainty about what cloud computing means, what advantages it offers, what risks it carries and how those risks can be overcome, the players who want to lead in this industry are actually putting their faith in uncertainty!

They are relying on poorly defined concepts, media driven hype and evangelist driven buzzwords. They are hoping to be able to come up with something that sticks while no one knows what it all means.

That approach may work in the 3M Post-It sticky notes laboratory. But that is not how an entire industry, Information Technology and the Internet, based on a reality AND an image of clarity, consistency and communication standards can operate or succeed.

This is not the way to overcome the FUD that validly exists in the minds of technology and business managers in the enterprise. Add to that the recent outages, consistent problems and massive hacks that have hit everyone from Microsoft to Google, from Twitter to Facebook, and you can see why selling Cloud Computing as the answer, or even ready for prime time conversion of businesses, is both disingenuous and dangerous.

How many CIOs would be willing to completely bet their careers, and the security, and business continuity, of their organizations entirely on something as nebulous, literally, as cloud computing? I would not. As a CIO in a recent engagement, I started moving my client organization in that direction, for specific, clearly defined, non-mission-critical, business and technology functions. But, the most important, sensitive and mission-critical elements I ensured keeping in-house, in a proven, reliable and secure infrastructure

It is time for us, as an industry and professionals, to get out from under the umbrella of excuses that are often self-contradictory. When asked to define cloud computing we say things like "This is still an evolving platform". When asked to sell the concept to clients, we make it sound like it is as reliable as what clients need and expect, knowing that it is not.

Let us let the rain of facts, client needs, technology realities and user expectations wash away the layers of hype that are coating our vision. Then let us build clear definitions, clear messages, clear value propositions that will sell far better than the hype.

Only with such clarity can we expect the sun to shine on a bright future for Cloud Computing. What do you think?

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Send More US Troops Into Afghanistan?

Imran Anwar (IMRAN.TV / http://www.imran.com/media/blog/ ) raises very serious questions about the current situation in Afghanistan. Are more US troops the answer? If not, what is? Listen for the answer.


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Oh, God! Perfect Stillness, Ablaze In Stunning Red & Pastel Sunset Shades

I am so blessed. All my life, despite ups and downs, at no stage has God not granted me every wish I have had. Some have taken longer than others. Some have been won and lost, but nearly every single wish has been granted and I know the best is yet to come.

This picture of my boat slip at home, in East Patchogue, Long Island, New York has its own messages hidden in plain view.

How can we not, then, see the power of God moving in every moment of stillness around me? How can we not see the brilliance of his work deep inside every shadow?

Even when something seems upside down, is it not merely a reflection of something beautiful right above and ahead?

Thank you, God.

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Ominous Dark Clouds, Storms Above & Around, Gold Lining Too Far, Soon Overcome By Darkness - IMRAN

By Imran Anwar

We always hear about how every dark cloud has a silver lining.

But what do you do if there are nothing but dark clouds, ominous, rolling in. Lower and lower, literally falling to 20 feet above the ground. Every peal of thunder and every ring of the telephone, bringing more destructive forces beyond our imagination and control, shaking and uprooting what comes in their path.

As this masive, thunderous storm struck out at Long Island I was hit by two severe economic jolts, shaking my house, and the future of my home, to their foundations in every sense.

There was no single dark cloud with a silver lining. This was as bright as the evening was going to get, deep soul-chilling darkness, rolling in right behind, above, within and all around the ominous clouds.

In the distance, not Silver but a Gold lining, above Fire Island. So close, but just far enough not to save the sinking ship of drowning dreams.

And soon even that ray of hope, lining of Gold, the sliver of remaining faith, first glistening with promise, then dulled and eventually overcome by the sheer forces of darkness, disappeared from view, leaving a uniform dark shroud... Fade To Grey.

No man is an island, but with dreams on fire, and a storm above, even the strongest resolve can be shaken. The pain. The loss. The efforts and work of a lifetime, lost in the process.

I know, this is nothing. It will get worse. Much worse. It could always be even worse, and I am thankful I have all that I have within me, a gift of God.

I shall rebuild. I have no choice. I shall rise again. Because that is who I am. And shall remain as long as I live. So help me God.

©2009 IMRAN
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Pakistan Democracy: The Long March, The First Step

What a difference a day makes. What an even bigger difference a week can make.

What an amazing and exciting week this has been for Pakistan as a nation. Its elected leaders had just recently squandered a historic opportunity to set Pakistan boldly and directly on the path to institution and nation building.

On more than one occasion, on TV and radio, I had compared Pakistan, as a nation and especially as a government, to the ship Titanic, except that this one had deliberately hit every iceberg it could find.

Just when it seemed that the current government in Islamabad had completely forgotten the lessons of history - of merely one year ago - something changed. It had appeared that the policies of Islamabad were surely and not so slowly pushing Pakistan in the direction of chaos and eventual return of martial law.

As someone who has told his share of lawyer jokes, for the last one year I have had nothing but praise and kudos for the barristers and attorneys of Pakistan. Theirs is a career dependent upon daily earnings, made from daily work outside the court houses of Pakistan. One could not have been imagined that profession as the consistent and unstoppable source of the year-long protest movement. What the lawyers of Pakistan carried out was doubly special, as they did it against not one but two tyrants within one year.

Besides self-inflicted wounds, almost exactly of the kind that General Musharraf suffered from, perhaps there was some hubris or misconception in Islamabad. Maybe there was a feeling that people in Pakistan have become immune to tyranny. Perhaps it was felt that when push comes to shove Pakistanis are so used to having people in power do what they please that nothing would come out as protest against any power grab carried out by Islamabad.

But just when it seemed that our ship PNS Titanic was headed straight into a minefield, surrounded by icebergs, in the midst of the perfect storm, the most amazing opposite perfect storm arose in response. The nation became a nation.

The Long March, as it was called, was the best example of a peaceful (at least by Pakistani standards) uprising by the people of Pakistan to have their way with an elected ruler trying to cling to, and expand, his power.

I was in Lahore in 1977 when it happened the last time. I remember driving past puddles of blood covered with ash in dozens and dozens of locations on The Mall where anti-PPP protesters had been killed by the government at that time. This time however, thankfully, the perfect storm that arose was one of common sense, decency, courage and people power.

In particular in addition to the lawyers of Pakistan, there are many people I, even as a New York-based Pakistani, want to give thanks to.
This includes Prime Minister Gilani for his understanding of which way the wind was blowing and helping President Zardari see some light. General Kayani must have had to fight the urge not to take over the government. It must have been difficult when the elected leaders were themselves creating a situation that was going to endanger not just law and order in Islamabad but bring chaos across the nation.

Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif has grown in stature not just within Pakistan but also abroad. He is being praised for taking a stand on principle, showing patience and then being very statesmanlike in his response to broken promises from Islamabad. To then show courage and refuse house arrest to march upon Islamabad put him on a much higher level of leadership than he was at before.

Even the police officers who, after some "kaarwai", showed common sense and decency, either to resign or to let the protesters begin their march towards Islamabad, should be considered heroes of democracy. As most of my readers and fans know from my background, during my days at the University of Engineering and Technology in Lahore, in the early 1980s,

I was a student leader and chief organizer of QSF. The Islami Jamiate Taliba, as well as its parent, the Jamate Islami, were considered the mortal enemies of liberal organizations like ours. They even murdered Anas Choudhry, a final year student member of QSF, the year I joined UET.

But, today, as during the previous year, I am happy to give credit to this party for its principled stand against tyranny and dictatorship.

I never thought it possible, but even a member of the very political party and inner circle of Islamabad, Ms. Sherry Rehman, deserves praise for her decency, courage - and good timing - in resigning her position. It can be argued that she did it because there were others interfering in her ministry rather than what the government was doing to the independent media. But I, and the people, still give credit for her resignation.

Many of these things would not have become possible had it not been for the courageous, first-time in the life of our nation, stand of the real Chief Justice of Pakistan, Iftikhar Choudhry, and his fellow judges, who resigned under General Musharraf.

They stayed out of office and jobs, despite pressure, incentives and other tricks that governments have at their disposal in Islamabad. I will avoid passing comment on the people who sold out their souls to get the appointments that they got. But I hope that this new chapter in Pakistan's history will also be the time when we start naming our villains for future generations to remember and spit on the names of.

Another hero, an entire industry really, that is among the less respected professions around the world these days, including America, was the Pakistani media. I say this not as a member of the media but as a proud Pakistani American who was ashamed of the silent acquiescence of American media in George Bush and Dick Cheney's shameless rape of the American Constitution and human rights around the world.

American media cannot be shut down by any government. Yet the media here quietly let the Bush government do whatever it wanted.

The Pakistani government, through many of its Stone Age laws curtailing freedom of expression and press, can shut down almost any Pakistani media entity. The bigger they get in Pakistan, the more the government can squeeze them. Even as a teenager I know how many magazines Prime Minister Zulfiqar Bhutto, whom I then admired, shut down for being critical of his policies. Urdu Digest was one that frequently had to reappear under other names.

I was a member of the press in Pakistan when vile dictator General Zia-ul-Haq gave many journalists a taste of what a dictator can do. He had writers' nails pulled with pliers to make them stop criticizing him.

For the Pakistani media to have stood up, first to General Musharraf and then to the current Zardari government in Islamabad, at great risk and financial loss to themselves, is another element to celebrate in this great victory of the people. A lot of credit goes to GEO TV, Jang and many other media.

Lack of space and time prevent me from individually thanking every single group or individual, like Mr. Aitezaz Ahsan, who played a central role in this great turnaround. God bless you all, for being the new heroes of a new democracy that can still rise in our nation.

The long march may have been intended for Islamabad, but it may turn out to be something far more important.

The Long March may have become The First Step in a thousand-mile journey - to the true destiny of Pakistan - as a great, free, democratic society ready to take its place in history.

"Qadam Barhao Saathio, Qadam Barhao"

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Imran Anwar is a New York and sometimes Florida based Pakistani-American entrepreneur, Internet pioneer, inventor, writer and TV personality. He can be reached through his web site http://imran.com and imran@imran.com . You can follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/imrananwar

India's Triumphant Cultural & Political March

India's Triumphant Cultural & Political March:

From The Slums Of Bollywood To The Red Carpet Of Hollywood

By Imran Anwar

(New York) It was nearly 30 years ago that my first writings were published in a major Pakistani newspaper, the once defunct and then reborn Pakistan Times. The writings continued during my time with the Jang group, in particular MAG Weekly, in the late 1980s, until I left for the United States.

All during that time, despite all my criticisms of whoever was in power at that time in Pakistan, my writings were always full of hope, desire and confidence of a great future that Pakistan had ahead of it. I also often wondered about why people older than me, some who had also travelled abroad, were far more cynical and much less hopeful.

All through that time I had always been the staunchest supporter and the defender of the name of Pakistan, whether it be in writing letters to the editors of foreign journals and newspapers critical of Pakistan or trying to convince foreign diplomats and journalists, as well as Western citizens, about how great Pakistan was going to be.

One of the important yardsticks, which would perhaps now be called a Meter stick under the metric system, was how we were doing in comparison to India. I distinctly recall how Pakistan had always been a pro-western, America-allied, fairly liberal, capitalism driven society.

India, on the other hand, was a country we competed with on the field of sports, the battlefield, as well as for international influence. We used to laugh at the ugly, dinky little cars that the Indians made, instead of importing the fancy ones we were driving in Pakistan.

Yet in the last 20 years that I have lived in America, India has made amazing, impressive and steady marching progress towards becoming a major global player - in almost every industry in the world. Pakistan during that same time seems to have sprinted downhill - faster than any Olympic athlete could.

It should have been a matter of concern for us when India, the long staunch Soviet and Communist ally, became a major trading partner of the United States, a country on which we had long relied, and whose foreign policies we had often followed. India developed a pool of engineering and other professionals, providing services, engineering, talent and operational capabilities to the world's largest companies.

In doing so they earned billions and billions of dollars for their country. During this time, we in Pakistan saw the decline of the educational system, the breakdown of institutions, if any existed, and simply the beginning of the end of what might have been a great future.

It was a matter of personal disappointment, almost shame, for me that the day that India launched its first astronaut into space was also the same day that Pakistan went to the International Monetary Fund to beg for survival money. Shame.

During the same time that we were making a name for ourselves, for kidnapping and beheading visitors to our country, India launched, and continues to run, one of the most impressive media campaigns to promote tourism in its country.

Titled "Incredible India!" this campaign appears in major newspapers, magazines and many other places. It simply takes almost exactly the same kind of tourism places and situations that Pakistan could offer visitors but turns it into a must-visit, mystique-filled, once-in-a-lifetime, cultural experience image.

During this time despite the proliferation of private TV channels in Pakistan, another field where the Indians have done an amazing job has been their film industry. They have leveraged it not just in making a name for themselves, but marketing their country and becoming a source of talent abroad. In addition, in exchange, they are bringing even more visitors and foreign exchange to their country,

First their hottest movie stars started appearing in Hollywood films. Then, despite many Indian movies being barely concealed copies of Hollywood scripts, India was able to convince Hollywood to make many Indian-themed movies.

Then they tied their greater and greater visibility in Hollywood, ever improving quality of Bollywood films - which were getting screened in America. They then mixed in marketing of India and its culture and cemented it with the welcoming of American tourists and filmmakers. This was an amazing recipe to lead India to one of its greatest global public relations successes just a few minutes ago.

The Academy Awards ceremony has just concluded in Hollywood, California. As this publication is going to press, the whole world (including a television audience of probably 1 billion people, along with the many millions more who will read newspapers and see photographs online) has seen India emerging as a triumphant victor on yet another field. This time it' the red carpet of Hollywood and the Oscars ceremony.

Even a movie called Slumdog Millionaire, set against the backdrop of the intense poverty that can be found in India, has turned into a global publicity and financial victory for India, its culture, its movie industry, its tourism and its economy.

And this is not just about showbiz or something that has no global or historic significance. India's clout, its visibility, its popularity and its new-found confidence - even from something as simple as a movie award - is manifesting itself in its ability to dictate to the world.

India can now even dictate what President Barack Hussein Obama's team can or will discuss with the foreign ministers of Pakistan and Afghanistan - who are now in Washington DC.

India not only did not attend the meeting, it made clear to the American government that Kashmir is not to be discussed. The American administration agreed to that. In the meantime the same American Administration has expanded the missile strikes it will carry out within Pakistan – while Pakistan's shameless politicians are merely fighting over dissolving assemblies and not even worried about justice, the one promise that people had asked to be fulfilled, from Karachi to Swat.

The early copies of tomorrow's New York Times show the exactly opposite paths that two countries born on the same day in history have taken.

The Indian movie industry's massive triumph on the Hollywood red carpet is one headline related to India. On the same page, the news item related to Pakistan is about a secret United States unit now in Pakistan to train its commandos to battle AlQaeda and the Taliban.

While American companies, and even individual creative types, are literally discussing over cocktails this very minute the next project they want to do in India, the few people discussing Pakistan are wondering if Pakistan will even survive as a nation.

I wonder if I will be around in 20 years to write a similar analysis. And I wonder where in history, geography and world affairs Pakistan will stand on that day. What do you think?

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Imran Anwar is a New York based Pakistani-American entrepreneur, Internet pioneer, inventor, writer and TV personality. He can be reached through his web site http://imran.com and imran@imran.com . You can follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/imrananwar

Speed(y)boat, Slow (air)ship to Miami - IMRAN™

Underway in Biscayne Bay, I was able to fire off a few shots of this shiny speedboat flying across the shimmering blue water as an equally bright and blue airship languidly circled the Miami skies over mansions and highrises, ports and parks. Nikon D300 shot, taken from my Sea Ray Sundancer 360.

© 2009 IMRAN

The Three Trillion Dollar Question & The Answer Is….

The fact is that the American and the global economy are in a severe recession. The biggest problem is a crisis of confidence. Uncertainty is always known to be the enemy of confidence. I am reminded of the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle that we were taught in our electrical engineering studies, at the University of Engineering and Technology at Lahore 25 years ago.

The problem with the uncertainty today is that no one seems to know what they are uncertain about. Almost everyone agrees that the economy will eventually recover. Most people can also see the signs, not just here in America, but also abroad. These show some economic activity has begun to take place.

Some of the positive news that has come out in the American media recently has been a decline in the number of homes going into foreclosure. This has come at the same time as higher retail sales figures for the month of January. Of course these numbers may look higher compared to the very dismal sales figures of December 2008. Regardless, it is a positive sign.

However, it seems that at every stage, and at every piece of news, the stock market reacts adversely. My personal suspicion is that most large investors, including players in the stock market, and other influential figures may also be playing an active but insidious role in ensuring volatility in the stock market.

Mind you, I have no actual proof of this. It is merely a hunch. My suspicion is that these people play the stock market not just for regular profit but for nefarious purposes.

The volatility is actually not random but manipulated by certain key investor groups. It is their way of ensuring that people in government, the media as well as the public at large remain uncertain, as well as demanding of a bigger and bigger stimulus package, that is likely to benefit fewer and fewer people.

In other words, the more volatility they show in the market, the more they can get people to panic. The more that happens, or the more things appear uncertain, the greater the likelihood of being able to force the government to spend billions of dollars more, mostly on pork barrel spending or bailouts of crooked bankers.

There are several other positive signs. The price of oil continues to remain low. President Baraka Hussein Obama, with the support of his Democratic majority in Congress, has succeeded in passing a massive stimulus package. This stimulus package as it is called is nearly $800 billion worth of mostly government spending.

This package has come on top of nearly $2 trillion being pumped into American banks. In other words almost $3 trillion is getting spent on restarting the American economy. But is it going to be enough? That is the massive historical question.

My personal feeling is still ambivalence towards these amounts being spent.

I am highly opposed to the massive money poured into banks that did not lend money to consumers. Some of these shameless perpetrators of corporate malfeasance, and gross negligence and incompetence, went on to give themselves billions of dollars in bonuses. One yearns for the days of public hanging of vile characters like that.

Similarly, the money being spent on big government projects are not the answer for short-term solutions that we need to jumpstart the economy really quickly. For example, many projects will take months, if not years, to actually get rolling. Many approval processes and similar formalities will insure other delays. That means any hiring or new jobs that come from these projects may take years to come into the economy.

As a matter of fact, if the economy recovers on its own, especially with the private sector leading the way, it is even possible that by the time these government projects come online most of the capable talent will already be in private service. That means either less experienced or less capable people will end up running those projects. That increases the likelihood of failure and wasted money.

For months I have been proposing an alternate economic recovery plan. My proposal was based not on spending $3 trillion but one trillion.

My proposal is very simple. I suggest that the government set aside $1 trillion and create a state run bank. This bank would issue a short-term limited use credit card. On average the $1 trillion would be given out as a $10,000 credit card to 100 million American households. The range of credit available on these cards would be $5000-$25,000 (hence the average of about $10,000 per household).

The credit cards would be issued with a very simple set of rules. They would only be given to people who are legal residents, or citizens, and who had paid taxes in the last three years. They would not have filed bankruptcy during that period. People would have between 30 and 90 days to use up the entire limit on their credit card. That means "use it or lose it" would be the rule.

This would ensure that one trillion American dollars would jump right back into the economy within 30-90 days. People would be allowed to buy anything legal at any American merchant who accepts these credit cards. These credit cards could even be used to buy an American automobile, if people wanted to. That way American consumers money would be going to American automakers to help them recover - but without it being a no strings attached bailout, as was previously being asked for.

This credit card would not be a giveaway. The entire money borrowed by the consumers would have to be repaid in full, with interest, to the government. However, instead of 15-25% interest rates that most banks charge on credit cards, if they were even issuing new credit, people would be able to pay in this credit card loan back to the government at a nominal interest rate of about 5%.

Even at this 5% rate consumers would be saving a ton of money in interest payments. At the same time even the government would be making a lot more money in interest income than it has been getting from literally giving away taxpayer money to banks at nearly 0%.

Instead of the government trying to set up the infrastructure for doing this, I would have MasterCard, Visa and American Express compete for the business of merchant processing. The condition would be that they would not charge the typical 3-5% transaction fee to merchants but 0.5%
In exchange merchants would have to pass that in savings to consumers. It would still be a win-win-win for everybody.

The credit card companies would still get to process hundreds of millions of new transactions - without having to do any marketing. Merchants would be ensured of immediate new cash coming in through these transactions - without additional cost. Consumers would benefit from the lower costs being passed on to them - without having to wait for expensive credit lines from sleazy banks.

People would have the choice of paying this credit card in monthly statement payments, just like any other credit card. In addition they could also make payments to this credit card loan by adding some of the amount due to the annual taxes that they pay.

Within five years most of the money will be recovered in full, with interest. $1 trillion will immediately go into the US economy to jumpstart it. Many consumers will be able to buy things that they are unable to afford for lack of credit right now. Thousands of merchants will be able to stay in business with the influx of cash. States will benefit from sales tax revenues starting up again. Manufacturers will be able to keep factories running and people employed. Above all, the solution benefits every American, at every level of education and economic strata, not just a few.

I believe my $1 trillion answer is the solution to the $3 trillion question. What do you think?

IMRAN.TV: (Urdu) "What's Next In Pakistan-India, Palestine-Israel Issues & Obama Administration?"

Imran Anwar, IMRAN.TV, New York, Local video feed clip of Pakistani TV channel's question:

Q. What is the situation in America and what comes next for India-Pakistan, Israel-Palestine and other issues under the Obama administration?




What is your opinion?


Category: News & Politics

Tags: IMRAN, IMRAN.TV, Urdu, Obama, President, Politics, Inauguration, Israel, Kashmir, Palestine, India, Pakistan, "Imran Anwar", ImranAnwar, Muslims, Hindus, Zionists, Media, PR

IMRAN.TV: (Urdu) "What Are People's Expectations From Obama?"

Imran Anwar, IMRAN.TV, New York, Local video feed clip of Urdu TV channel's question:

Q. What are people's expectations of President Barack Hussein Obama?



What is your opinion?


Category: News & Politics

Tags: IMRAN IMRAN.TV Urdu Obama President Expectations Politics Inauguration Israel Kashmir Palestine India Pakistan Imran Anwar ImranAnwar

Do You Need Help In This Economy? - "Help Us Help US" - Real Economic Recovery Plan

Are things looking bad in this economy? Who's bailing you out? Could you use $25,000 right about now?

Here is a working plan that will save us and the US.

Financial deregulation started under the Clinton era and, through the terrible mismanagement under George W. Bush, the economy melted. Now TRILLIONS of Dollars were given away by Bush to bailout industries that put you, me and our entire economy at risk. Even failing carmakers are getting Billions. Are you getting a dime?

Obama has good ideas but they are not enough to do anything for you, for us, for the US in the immediate situation. We need help NOW.

Here is the IMRAN Economic Recovery Plan.

It provides a specific way to trigger an economic recovery within 90 days. Ninety Days, not 9 months or 9 years.

Imran Anwar ( http://imran.com/media/blog/ ) explains the plan and the specifics on how it would work. Using a simple example with numbers, he shows how much money you would get, how you can spend it to stabilize your situation and help the economy. Finally, he explains how the government gets the money back - so we are not all paying trillions in higher taxes for money that makes bankers and other failed executives even richer at our expense while we lose homes, jobs, cars and our future.

This plan ensures legal American residents, citizens and taxpayers are bailed out. They can spend money on American businesses, so more Americans can be hired and the American government can get tax revenues again to ensure a stronger future for AMERICANS.

Would $25,000 to $30,000 help you today? If you want to get help, do something. Take action. It's easy.

Please tell everyone you know about this ERP (Economic Recovery Plan).

Please share via FaceBook, MySpace profile, your blog, Twitters, Digg, StumbleUpon... call in on radio shows, email TV programs and hosts that you like. Write letters to editors.

If you don't take action, no one will bail you out but you will be paying for years for money given away to bankers, oil companies, automakers and other sleazy businesses. It's your choice. Watch now and please rate it positively so others can hear the idea and support it. Help Us Help US!

Tags: Economy, Recovery, Bailout, Banks, Banking, Taxes, Tax, Bush, Clinton, Obama, Money, Borrow, Buy, Shopping, IMRAN, "Imran Anwar", ImranAnwar, IMRAN.TV, "Economic Recovery Plan", HelpUsHelpUS

CLICK! 40 Years Of Photography - FLASH! A Lifetime Of Memories

CLICK! My 40 Years Of Photography

By Imran Anwar

I wrote the following words on December20, 2008 to celebrate nearly four decades of photography and to salute my father for setting me on this hobby, and many other great paths. I am sure readers will recognize some of the items and gadgets I mention in this trip down photographic memory lane; no pun intended.

My Father gave me a camera when I was 6 years old. It was a small 35mm film camera, made in Japan. It was a time when cameras were expensive, and processing film even more so. At that time I had to start with simple black and white films. I had to use pocket money in Karachito develop photos taken with that camera as I grew up in Karachi, and attended St. Paul's English High School in Saddar.

In four decades I sure have come a long way. From that startup Japanese camera to today's amazing Nikon D300 DSLR that I received on my 46th birthday, a lot has happened.

Forty years of life, 40 years of photography, a lifetime of memories.

I hope to see and capture a lot more, God willing, and to share with my family and friends the many unforgettable sights I have seen.

So, as I said, I started with a nice little Japanese camera my dad gave me as a kid going to Karachi. He also had the confidence in me to let me use his more expensive and also more breakable camera, a really reliable Argus (that still works!).

From his passion for photography and traveling to new places with us, he and I captured our memories and our lives as I grew up in Pakistan.

After my O' Levels exams I moved to Aitchison College, in Lahore. By then I "borrowed" (ahemmm…. somewhat permanently!) the camera Abu had started using. It was a truly awesome (for it's time) Yashica Electro35 camera.

That camera was amazing in its own right - telling over and underexposure by its orange and red LEDs! A "Wow" back then is something even 10 years old kids expect to see in cell phone camera these days! The amazing progress of technology and photography does not cease to amaze me even today

I then found myself studying (well, that is a liberal use of the word!) for an Electrical Engineering (Electronics) degree.

Unfortunately, some of my work from the late 1970s to mid-1980s is lost forever, turned to ashes when USA and Reagan-Bush Sr. backed Taliban type right-wing fundamentalists ransacked and burnt my stuff in my hostel room at Lahore's University of Engineering & Technology. (Ironic how similar people are now called terrorists, back then they were "mujahideen" supporters of Zia and the US policy of promoting Islamic fundamentalism against the Soviet Union).

The Yashica Electro 35 was stolen and not recovered. Even terror(ist)s know how to use a camera.

The typewriter I used to get published in the then popular newspaper The Pakistan Times was also stolen but later returned. Terrorist supporters, even the jeans-wearing ones in Mumtaz Hall who hung out with the hot babes of UET didn't need no stinkin' typewriter. Why use words when you can use guns, I guess?

Anyway, even before I finished my engineering studies, I was invited to, and was thrilled to join the owners of Jang Group's (especially the brilliant owner and publisher of MAG Weekly as well as Jang and News, Mir Shakil-ur-Rehman) team in Lahore.

Even though I came on to write a youth page, within a few days I was privileged to become Business Manager, and also started writing weekly articles in MAG Weekly in Karachi. I would rush them to my then colleague, later friend, and now a fond memory, the late Wahab Siddiqui who was Editor of MAG.

Since I drove around in Lahore a lot, I also started carrying a portable camera in my car and took 'slice of life' photos called PIC(K) OF THE WEEK with a caption that made people think about the ironies, absurdities and tragedies of life we see everyday and just drive on by.

My late mother, Mrs. Nargis Anwar, had always taught me to be sensitive to those moments of life's drama that unfold around us every day. My father taught me how to capture them on film. I still hope to "some day soon" put together some of my tongue in cheek articles (a dangerous thing to do under then dictator General Zia) and photos with captions from back then into a book. Yes, one day

But, life has it's own plans. After a few years of working at Jang, I picked and packed my proverbial bags and came to America; exactly 20 years ago (January 1989 to be precise). I was fortunate to come to America on a scholarship to get an MBA at Columbia University in New York City.

My parents came to visit me a few months later (Abu had to go for some higher studies on a fellowship of some sort). When he went off for studies (somewhere in Utah I believe) my mother and I went around town (Manhattan) from my Columbia University apartment. Our favorite visit together was to the top of the World Trade Center in New York. It was one of the best times of my life spent with my mother, whom I lost just 2 years after her return to Pakistan at around age 50.

When we were in New York, my then current model camera stopped working so I was saving up for the camera I badly wanted. She wanted to buy it for me but my dream camera at that time, the MinoltaMaxxum 7000i, was too expensive for me to let her buy for me in 1989. Maybe I should have - as I could have captured many more memories of my parents' only trip to America together.

I did buy it a few years later and took some stunning pictures - of beautiful places, gorgeous faces - during my Manhattan years.

I loved taking these photos especially when I was living a blessed life at The Monterey (on the Upper East Side of Manhattan overlooking one of North America's largest and very beautiful mosques) and when visiting loved ones in Washington, DC and friends in California.

Life, time, lifetime friendships, captured in memories in the heart and on film.

(continued...)

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FLASH! A Lifetime Of Memories In A Blink

By Imran Anwar

In last week's article I mentioned how I came into photography, thanks to my father inspiring me in every way a father can inspire his son.

He loved photography, and got me a camera at age 6. I mentioned how I progressed from a small, simple 35mm camera in the late 1960'sto one of my favorite film cameras in the late 1980's.

The 1990's brought along a new revolution. Along with the 35mm film Minolta Maxxum 7000i, I became one of the earliest users of digital cameras when the first Apple QuickTakedigital camera came out. I even have some of its pictures on my web site, at IMRAN.COM .

I later upgraded to the next Apple model and I still have it as a memento. It seems so ancient now! It's part of my Apple collection of Mac IIfx, ColorOne scanner, StyleWriter and LaserWriter printing equipment that still reminds me of my love affair with Apple and its technologies. Maybe I will give it to a museum some day (if I don't end up having to sell everything to survive this economic downturn, that is!!).

Not much later 2 Megapixel cameras were coming out so I invested in, and loved, a Minolta DimageX 2MP. My flickr photo-sharing page ( flickr.com/imrananwar) has some taken with that camera. That camera was unfortunately lost but it was impressive both technologically (a marvel in how it "double-turned" light rays to provide an actual optical zoom lens without having a lens protrude from the camera body!) and color quality.

During the next few years I got the 5MP NikonCoolpix E5700, which took some of the amazing Palm Beach and Singer Island, Florida, photos you see on my flickr pages. You should take a look, too. Some of these have been enjoyed by more than three thousand people!

I still use it with an amazing panorama EyeSee 360 lens.

(Ooops, typed too soon, that beautiful camera and specialized lens were shattered a shortly after my writing these lines, when the Nikon strap slipped out of the hook, sending the camera and the lens sliding to hit the road and smash into little pieces! Note to readers, never assume that cameras and other things connected by straps will not slide off. Always check the straps regularly).

Hundreds of panoramic images of Europe, United States and other places are still to be processed and put online. I hope to do soon, so my family and friends can view them and feel like they were right there in the room or city or museum right beside me. It helps me bring the joy of going to the most remote places in the world and knowing I can share the experience with my father, and my loving family and friends.

For portability, and to get back to taking "slice of life" photographs as I used to take in Pakistan for MAG Weekly, I had also added another Nikon to the mix. I replaced the lost Minolta Dimage X with a Nikon S6 (slightly larger than the S1/S5 but WiFi built-in for ease of transferring to the Apple MacBook Pro laptop).

But for real SLR photography with changeable lenses I was in a quandary.

I did not know whether to move from Minolta (my Maxxum 7000i film and Dimage X digital) to another Minolta, their newest DSLR, or complete the migration to Nikon by adding another Nikon like the D60, to accompany the E5700. (As my photographer readers will know, it is not as simple as just picking up a Sony or Panasonic DVD player. Selecting cameras is almost as much a matter of taste and preference as wanting to be a Mac user).

Minolta made it easier by selling out their camera business to Sony. For a while I even found the Sony AlphaA700 a better deal than Nikon (you may have seen an old review I wrote) but I did not make the jump to Sony. I refused to indulge Sony's choice of forcing us to buy expensive Memory Stick and not regular SD Secure Digital cards that are so great and cheaply available

Anyway, on the photography front, though I did not get the Sony Alpha DSLR, nor did I move to the Nikon DSLR ship right away. I found the Nikon D40 and D60 not enough of an advance to make the jump.

And, then, on my return from my recent trip to visit my father, I finally did. I had decided on the Nikon DSLR D30012.3 MP camera when it came out and I got it as one of the best birthday gifts I have ever received from a loved one.

I invested in some additional lenses and flash, etc. and I love it. Sheer magic and take a look at flickr.com/imrananwar. That page has just some of the photos to prove the magic. Some have already won awards, been used in calendars and traveling road shows by companies here and 2 will be used as "INSPIRATION" posters by another company.

Check them out and leave comments. I hope to be back in Pakistan soon and put it to use on photos of my family and beloved homeland of Pakistan. I have also selected some photographs to make a printed coffee table book for my father to see and show his friends the amazing magic I was able to capture from a gift he gave his son 40 years ago.

So, there you have it.

My 40 years journey in photography so far. It was started by my father's gift of a camera. It developed from my mother's gift of telling us never to miss any moment of the beauty in the world around us - before it is too late.

I try to do that, every day, in my own way, by living and capturing that incredible journey, for myself, and, I hope, online, for you and others. The photographs of that journey are online and on my computers, now and in my mind for as long as I live.

Forever? I hope so. The Internet and my "Live, Forever" project (at neternity.org ) give us a chance to leave coming generations a permanent record of our having seen the amazing world I saw, we saw, with our eyes. I hope our visions are seen, for an Eternity, if you do the same.

I emailed the first draft of this tribute and article to my father by email. He had just arrived back in Lahore from a trip. I spoke to him late on the afternoon of December 20, 2008, and had a wonderful conversation with him on the phone.

A few hours after my salute, Mr. Anwar-ud-Din, beloved father to my siblings and me, passed away from unexpected cardiac arrest early on December 21, 2008. ILWIR.

His smile, his love, his words, his sacrifices for us, his very presence in the lives of all that he touched - they are all etched in our hearts and memories for far longer than an eternity, far deeper than any photograph can capture.

May Allah bless him and my mother with a great place close to Him in Heaven.

I thank you, dear reader, for saying a prayer for my parents, and all the great people who have left us and now live forever in our memories. I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

(The End)

It's A Bird, It's A Plane, It's The First Sunset Of 2009

It's A Bird, It's A Plane, It's The First Sunset Of 2009 - © IMRAN, originally uploaded by ImranAnwar.

The sun looks burning hot, the bird gives a sense of warmth, while passengers in the JFK bound jet in the distance must be feeling cozy - but this was the coldest temperature photo I have ever taken.

It was 22 degrees F (with blustery winds making for a windchill of near Zero) at Fire Island National Seashore on Long Island, New York. It was a new year but different from previous years.

The first sunset of 2009 burned itself into memory for tomorrows as memories of another kind flood my heart and mind, of the many new year's days spent with my beloved parents, who are now both gone forever.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=XUIMAKK4-ao

IMRAN.TV: Should USA/Canada Stop Buying Chinese Goods

Poisonous pet food. Counterfeit goods. iPhone knockoffs. Internet attacks on American defense system computers. Industrial espionage. Wholesale theft of American product designs. Not to forget, lead tainted children's toys China shipped to USA and Canada.

A Twitter contact of mine, Christine Lu, who happens to be Chinese and affiliated with a Chinese business related organization, had posted a comment on Seesmic arguing against USA/Canada rejecting Chinese made goods.

This is a serious economic and geo-poliical issue. Here is my opinion on that:



What do you think?

Use Tweets Instead Of Bullets To Win Your Wars

The last two weeks have been a blur of activity all over the world. Ranging from the good to the bad and the ugly, everyday we learn not only how flat our world is but how interconnected everything is.

The attacks that took place in the Indian city of Mumbai were just the kind of excitement that we did not need this holiday season. I can understand Kashmiri freedom fighters and their supporters wanting to lash out at India, and its economic centre, saw the Indian occupation of Kashmir and the treatment of the Kashmiri people. I can even understand their frustration that61 years have gone by but the rest of the world does not seem to care about United Nations resolutions calling for the Kashmiri people's right to self-determination.

In the meantime more and more American, and European, investment continues to pour into India. From Bombay to Bangalore one can see India becoming a magnet for international investment as well as outsourcing of jobs from countries like America. Even the Indian film industry, which used to be entertaining, to say the least, has now become a force and is beginning to make its mark felt even in Hollywood and the West.

Perhaps it is for this reason that the Mumbai attackers decided to target tourists and visiting businessmen, whose Dollars and Euros are strengthening India and enabling its to continue its policy of occupation and terrorizing of the Kashmiri people.

However, there is no excuse for the indiscriminate murder of innocent Indian citizens going about their daily lives. I cannot understand how this attack on Mumbai in any way made the Kashmiri issue more important to the rest of the world. Or, how it made the world in any way more sympathetic to Kashmir.

Even if calling attention to the Kashmir issue was their primary goal, one would at least expect some communication from the masterminds or strategic leaders of this kind of attack. One would request them to at least explain their version of a rationale for such mayhem. Even the PLO, when it was successfully hijacking airliners in the 1970s, was communicating to the rest of the world that it was trying to call attention to the plight of the Palestinian people. Of course, as we can see that did not lead to the independence of the Palestinian people from Zionist Israel.

At the same time, carrying out an attack like this when it would obviously lead to severe Indian reaction against Pakistan shows that these terrorist killers were no friends of Pakistan. It would be foolish of us to argue that they did not come from, or have some support in, Pakistan - as my fellow Pakistanis tend to do. At the same time the jingoistic and "let's use this as an excuse to bash Pakistan" tone and tenor of India's words on the issue is not the smartest response either.

One hopes that saner heads prevail on both sides. Not that I am in any way advocating war, but India would be well advised to remember that Pakistan is its nuclear armed, capable and militarily strong neighbor.

Pakistan may not be able to "defeat" India in a conventional war, but any war that takes place because of the circumstances can easily spiral out of control and turn into a nuclear conflagration. In that, neither India nor Pakistan would win. They, and the whole world, would be defeated.

It is for this reason that it is essential for Pakistan and the Kashmiri people to immediately start using more effective tools of communications to call world attention to these issues. We are living in a connected age. Almost everybody has access to the global network, either through computers connected to the Internet or even through SMS on their cell phone.

Services like Twitter, which enable millions of people to have a real time conversation with short messages of 140 characters (called Tweets), are where the current and future battles for hearts and minds of the global audience take place.

In places like these Muslims in general, and Pakistanis in particular, are few and far between. People from, and supporters of, India and Israel are always active in general. They become even more hyperactive when Muslims, or Pakistanis, or Palestinians, carry out these types of murderous attacks we saw in Mumbai, which backfired on all of us.

If you have not already done so, and have Internet connectivity, I invite you to join up Twitter. Follow the conversation and respond to it. The easiest way to start is to go to http://twitter.com/imrananwar ,sign up and use the Follow button. This way you can see what I am saying in response to the attacks on Pakistan.

Then simply by clicking Reply you can join the conversation. In this case not only would your response come tome, but it would go on the "global public timeline" which means it is there for the whole world to see.

As you say interesting and useful things, or have interesting points and counterpoints, more and more people will begin to follow you. That enables you to build relationships as well as open doors of communication with people from all over the world.

Remember, just because you are not in the same room as the person you are responding to, don't lose your sense of decorum no matter how angry they try to make you.

Being abusive, narrow minded, or just plain offensive only ensures that your words reflect poorly on the very country or cause that you are trying to support. Or it will mean more and more people blocking your messages AND opposing whatever you were supporting!

Remember, a conversation is most effective when you are open minded and balanced. Even people with opposing, or somewhat negative opinions of your country or cause, can become more aware of your point of view, or even become supporters. Be opinionated, but be courteous. Be firm, but be open-minded.

That is the most effective way to communicate your point of view, as well as helping educate the rest of the world on what the root cause of the Pakistan and India problem is. In one word, it's Kashmir.

The only way to win that battle of hearts and minds in a global, interconnected, world is through using tweets instead of bullets to win your war. Get online, follow and tweet me!

Just Another Reason I Love Miami

Leaving Miami for Bahamas & US Virgin Islands 7-Day Cruise Norwegian Dawn 20080406 - 3 - IMRAN™, originally uploaded by ImranAnwar.

I know it's extremely aggravating when people expect you to speak Spanish instead of English in Miami. And, the looney drivers in Miami remind me of driving in Pakistan. But, when you see the colors of the sky and water there - it's easy to see one of the many reasons I love Miami.

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Playing Games With The Future

Part 2: Playing Games With The Future

By Imran Anwar

In the previous column we were analyzing how the Republican Party and defeated politicians play the blame the media game. Even though President-elect Barack Obama has won the election, there are many months before he can even more into the White House. He is busy putting together his team and trying to arrange for a smooth transition from the current administration.

We are looking forward to seeing capable, strong, respected, intelligent and competent people to get lots of Cabinet and administrative positions. In other words, we are expecting from the Obama administration what we did not have in the Bush administration!

In the meantime, lame duck president George W. Bush cannot seem to wipe the glee of his face in that his disastrous presidency is coming to an end. He still does not seem to understand the serious damage he has done to America, Americans, the world and America's standing in the world. He is just acting as if a juvenile, who had been given the responsibility for managing a dorm for a few weeks, is glad that he can go back to partying and having a good time. Texas ranch, here I come!

His team of incompetent, and sometimes corrupt, officials continues to wreak havoc on the nation and the global economy. Secretary Hank Paulson in particular has been spectacular in his inability, apparent poor judgment and lack of good decision-making. It seems that every time he opens his mouth the stock market will drop 200-500 points. Call that the financial equivalent of Hurricane Katrina, another Bush disaster legacy of rewarding failure and incompetence.

As I have written before, the world faces grave financial crises, which need both liquidity and a return of credit and consumer confidence. Paulson does not seem to know how to provide either one. First he disagreed with the good decisions that were being made by other central bankers around the world. Then he agreed with them and said he would follow them.

Then he announced that the government would use the bailout money from taxpayers to buy bad assets, or bad loans, from banks and financial institutions. In effect, he proposed rewarding poorly managed companies run by greedy and crooked executives, while saddling the taxpayer and the American economy with trillions of dollars in liabilities.

When the market had finally adjusted to this, dumb as it was, idea - he roiled the markets again. He did this, in effect, by saying, oops, that's not what he was planning to do. He then proposed finding some new way to give the money not to the financial institutions that are melting, and could sink the entire global economy with them, but consumers who have high credit card debt.

As was to be expected, the bank stocks that were starting to stabilize took a massive new beating. The entire stock market dropped precipitously again. Thanks, Hank.

An interesting news item related to this financial crisis is that opinionated, big mouth, gold and daring movie producer Michael Moore (who had done great exposes on Bush, 9/11, the war on terror, the US auto industry, US health-care, etc.) has announced that he will be making another movie.

This time he will follow up to his previous successes with a movie exposing the games and players that made up the current financial mess. Hopefully, he will expose their endgame as being something that America and the world cannot afford to play.

News reports still continue to comment on how major American corporations, financial institutions, and insurance companies that have their hands stretched out asking for taxpayer bailout still continue to shamelessly spend money on unbelievable expenses.

AIG is the worst culprit of them all. There have been documented cases of more than one expensive, unnecessary and in your face lavish events that this company has continued to hold for its executives.

This company is getting some of the biggest handouts in corporate, financial and global history, already exceeding the $100 billion, yet its executives are dining out on $400 steakhouse dinners, staying in two-storey resort bungalows - while having massage and spa treatment instead of attending the so-called necessary conference costing nearly half a million Dollars! I wonder where I can apply for one of these jobs. I love steak, my shoulders are tight and I sure could use some R&R at taxpayer expense.

I have to give credit to my fellow media professional, the respected TV anchor, Lou Dobbs of CNN for not letting go of the story - despite the bold-faced explanations of the AIG CEO on the lame Larry King Show.

There is one story, however, that I do not think anyone is investigating at least now. It would be so great if CNN, the New York Times or the Washington Post - all the great American institutions - would spend some resources on investigating, in-depth, the major stock trades that took place during the last few months.

I do not have any proof to level a formal complaint or accusation, yet. But, I have a hunch that all was not as it appeared.

I hope that future historians, investigators, and congressional committees will investigate what I am going to say in more depth. I wonder, no, I ask: Was the stock market being manipulated by M/s Paulson, Bush officials and their cronies? What do you think?

While it seems hard to imagine, I do not put it past the friends of evil genius Karl Rove to let the United States economy fall into a new great depression.

Students of the Great Depression and its causes, including Secretary Paulson, and Karl Rove, know that it can take four years or more for an economy to come back from a giant depression.

That means, conceivably it is possible to sabotage an Obama presidency even before he takes office! They could do this while setting the stage for the economy to still be in bad shape when the Republicans make the next bid for the White House in 2012.

I hope I am wrong, but American politicians have been guilty of far worse crimes, against their own people.



Imran Anwar is a New York and Miami based Pakistani-American entrepreneur, Internet pioneer, inventor, writer and TV personality. He can be reached through his web site http://imran.com and imran@imran.com. You can follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/imrananwar

Playing The Blame Game

The historic election of president-elect Barack Obama is complete. Jockeying has begun for positions in the new Cabinet and the new administration - which will take oath of office in early 2009. Democrats who have worked hard for Obama's success are lining up.

On the Republican side, the blame game continues on who was responsible for the disastrous showing of the Republican Party in the recent elections. Not only did a relative newcomer to politics, but an African-American on top of that, manage to beat a far more established political rival John McCain, Democrats also increased their significant majority in Congress and now even the Senate. It’s going to be a difficult 2-4 years for the Republicans.

While the Republicans are still licking their wounds, they are still not an agreement on whether the defeated vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin was an asset or a serious liability.

There are some who admit that Sarah Palin was a terrible selection. Even the unofficial mouthpiece of the Republican Party, and the ultra-right-wing as well as neo-con movements of the United States, Fox News Channel, had one of its reporters rattling off a litany of Sarah Palin weaknesses.

Of course this was done after the election. This included apparently amazing, and downright scary, facts like the candidate for vice president of the United States, one heartbeat away from the presidency if the physically challenged John McCain was to die while in office, could not name the three countries that make up North America! Canada is to the North of us Americans, and Mexico is to the South. She did not know that! She did not know that Africa is a continent and not a country. The list goes on.

What is even more shocking than such an apparent moron being a major political party's candidate is that some people still do not seem to have learned a lesson from this defeat. It appears that some part of the Republican Party still does not get it. There are people who are already positioning Palin for a presidential run in 2012. They seem to think that extreme right-wing ultraconservative bible thumping hockey mom small town Christian mentality is what America needs. Heaven forbid!

These people are quite clear in their thinking that she was a great candidate who was simply defeated because the media did not like her. Blaming the media is nothing new, as we know in all countries. Most parties and candidates do it, especially if they are falling behind or defeated.

However, even as a writer who worked for a newspaper (Jang Group & MAG Weekly) in Pakistan that was constantly attacked by the left and right asking for greater coverage than the other side, I find the Republican Party's blaming the media laughable.

I am all for being fair and balanced, for real, unlike just as a dumb slogan, and giving equal coverage to all parties - especially at the start of the race.

The media's job is not to be a mouthpiece of either party, nor should it try to influence people in one way or the other, when the choice is between two equally strong candidates.

But, it is ridiculous to assume that the media should be giving equal coverage, or writing equal number of "positive stories" if one candidate is running an awesome campaign and the other just cannot seem to get his foot out of his mouth.

Another amazing thing that is happening now, post-election, is that the same Sarah Palin who was unavailable to do any interviews, or take any press conferences except with carefully chosen friendly journalists, is now all over the media.

One of my favourite TV anchors is Campbell Brown over at CNN. She is bright, beautiful and bold. That is why it is great to see her run a show called "No Bias No Bull". In a recent episode I loved it when she declared that during the elections they could not get Sarah Palin to speak to them and now, post-election, Palin does not ever seem to "shut up!"

Suddenly the same Republican Party that was attacking the media elite, while not making its candidates available to speak to them, is actively courting the media.

John McCain made his first TV appearance after losing the election on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno". To his credit McCain has been a gentleman in defeat. He has been gracious and even funny. He told Jay Leno that after losing the election he has been sleeping like a baby. He sleeps for two hours, wakes up crying and goes back to sleep.

In the meantime Sarah Palin, who was calling Barack Obama a socialist, is now gushing with praise and kind words for him and his family. The same man that she was trying to label a terrorist-friend is one she is suggesting should be selecting opponent republicans to be members of his Cabinet. Nice try.

Only time will tell if the Republican Party will continue down this destructive path of courting the ultra-right-wing, fundamentalist Christian, extreme elements of American society.

I, for one, am hoping that the American public and the American media will continue to keep an eye on what and how the Democrats do in the next two years. If it looks like they are foolishly squandering the historic opportunity that American voters gave them, it would be an opportunity for the Republican Party to find its footing, and its place in history again. But that cannot be done just by playing the blame-the-media game.

As a member of the media, I also feel it is our responsibility, to now report accurately, fairly and with an eye to the future. America, and the world, stand together on the brink of disaster but with great and bright future days still within sight. It is up to us to work together to make that brighter future a reality.

[Continued...]
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Imran Anwar is a New York and Miami based Pakistani-American entrepreneur, Internet pioneer, inventor, writer and TV personality. He can be reached through his web site http://imran.com and imran@imran.com . You can follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/imrananwar