What If The Taliban Had Attacked Pakistan's Nuclear Facilities?

Does Pakistan Need Any More Wake-Up Calls? The recent brazen attack by Taliban on the Pakistani army headquarters may be the last wake-up call that the nation is going to get.

Pakistanis have to ask themselves some serious questions. What If The Taliban Had Attacked Pakistan's Nuclear Facilities instead of the Army Headquarters? Or, what if these had been coordinated attacks simultaneously? The results would be horrible and ugly domestically and in the international response and concern about Pakistani nuclear assets.

That there are Taliban, Al Qaeda, Jihadi as well as Khliafat movement supporters and apologists in Pakistan is a sad fact. That there are still Pakistanis who do not see beyond the length of their nose - or a few months of perceived good and bad political stability - and yearn for martial law and its "benefits" is also a sad fact. That there are plenty of "blame America for every problem that Pakistan faces" people in every walk of life is also a given.

But if they all needed any further reminder, slap on the face, and one serious final wake-up call, this attack was it. It literally was an attempt to take over the army headquarters in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, something even India and Pakistan do not try to do to each other in times of cold and hot war. This should show the most ambivalent and secretly sympathetic Pakistanis that the Taliban are the enemies of Pakistan.

It appears that the attackers had inside information before the attack. The fact that there remained a not so secret cadre of Pakistan military officers who theologically, intellectually and emotionally remained supportive of the Taliban was dangerous enough. That they may still be providing material and professional aid to these enemies of Islam and Pakistan is far more treasonous than any actions of corrupt politicians or even dictators imposing martial law.

I must say I am shocked, and seriously disappointed, that the Army did not expect or prepare for the kind of brazen attack that took place. Signs had been pointing to it. Events were leading up to it. Yet, the very center of Pakistan's army operations was caught off guard.

I am surprised at the news reports suggesting that the guards on duty were confused by the fact that the attackers wore army uniforms. This should have been the most basic expectation provided to the guards in their basic training. Expect the enemy at any time, in any guise.

I am also thankful, and actually surprised, that these were not a series of automated attacks by uniform wearing terrorists attacking several Army locations around the country. We should be thankful for that, but also expect, and prepare for the worst.

This also highlights a serious risk that Pakistanis would be foolish to ignore. A similar uniform wearing gang of terrorists could attack nuclear facilities in Pakistan. We are fortunate that this attack did not target nuclear installations. As it is, it is a matter of serious embarrassment and grave concern for Pakistan and supporters of Pakistan.

The time has come for Pakistan, Pakistanis and the Pakistan army to wake up, and march forward, with no doubt, no hesitation in the no prisoners attitude to deal with the cancer that is now obvious to everyone except anyone harboring a secret desire to live in the Stone Age again.

Pakistan has to eradicate the Taliban, and by extension Al Qaeda operatives in Pakistan, not for the sake of Afghanistan, not for the sake of America, a not for the sake of any supposed global war on terror. Pakistan has two fully eradicate this cancer from every part of its body and soul for its own survival.

It is not to be easy. There will be blood. Unfortunately, that is what happens when the cancer is allowed to grow freely, or even encouraged in the false assumption that it can be controlled. The time is now. The need is critical. Pakistan's survival is at stake.

Pakistan's army and its people have to work together to meet this challenge together. The time of ambivalence is gone. The time to tolerate terrorists apologists is gone. The time to eradicate the cancer is here. Let us not let down our nation. Pakistan Zindabad.

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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

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Osama On Obama. What's Different Behind Latest Tape?

Osama On Obama. What's Different Behind Latest Tape?

Osama Bin Laden's latest tape talks about Barack Obama but the tone is different from before. Imran Anwar's short but insightful analysis helps you understand what it means.

© IMRAN 2009
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Illusive 3D Effect Sunset, Islamabad, Pakistan, City Of Political Illusions

By Imran Anwar

During my recent trip to Islamabad, Pakistan, my friends and I took a detour to go see a newly developed Rawal Lake Park (on the other side of where the Dam is and where I had been to, as a teen, with my father).

We enjoyed a nice walk, beautiful sights, and I was able to catch this illusively 3D image of a hazy sunset over the mountains around Islamabad, a city of political illusions, facing huge obstacles all around it.

Night was falling, but I knew, a new day was just around the corner for me, for the park, for the city, for Pakistan.

© 2009 IMRAN
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The Good News About The Bad News In Pakistan

An old adage is that bad news sells. But there comes a stage in societies and countries, as well as the minds of news-readers and TV-viewers, when they just get sick of bad news.

I think it is no exaggeration to say that Pakistanis in general have gotten used to bad news, negative publicity, adverse editorial opinion and just general anti-Pakistan sentiment every day, everywhere, from New Delhi to New York.

That is why it was such a happy occasion to see the current Administration of Pakistan, opposition leaders, the military as well as the Chief Justice of Pakistan doing their part to literally bring Pakistan back from the brink of total chaos.

The reinstatement of the Chief Justice, as well as other political institutions and Punjab government, were also much awaited good news for Pakistanis. You could feel and hear the actual sense both of pride and hope in the eyes and voices of Pakistanis of all walks of life, from Karachi to California.

Obviously this was not detracting critics of Pakistan, as well as Indians and their lobbyists, in addition to Pakistan-bashers in general from continuing their attacks on Pakistan.

It even seems that American Administration officials, in particular the military men responsible for Afghanistan and Pakistan, also have a vested interest in giving the impression of an unstable Pakistan almost on the verge of total collapse.

I don't know if that would be to give them the excuses to continue with their missile strikes or for some other nefarious purpose. Or just to make themselves look like heroes when things get better in 6-12 months.

One can understand their fear, that nuclear-armed Pakistan, with internal strife, daily terror attacks, especially with a perceived internal support for the Taliban among certain government agencies, could become a nuclear nightmare for the United States. But, their own pronouncements have the risk of becoming self-fulfilling prophecies.

However, their pseudo-intellectual analysis of Pakistan being on the verge of collapsing as a country within six months is hardly the way to go about expecting positive change in Pakistan, or Pakistanis attitudes towards America and its representatives here. Nor is it helping bring about economic prosperity, or at least stability, when that is most needed to ensure a prosperous future for Pakistan and Pakistanis.

Keep in mind that any criticism of Pakistan also has a multiplication factor of actions by the Taliban as well as Al Qaeda, which seems to have made parts of Pakistan their head office. Throw in the general fear, mistrust and perhaps even sheer hatred for the concept of militant Islam and Muslims, and you can see why Pakistan gets perceived even worse by Western media, politicians and the public in general.

Sadly, it is supposedly our fellow "Muslims", whether they are brainwashed or willing hell-bound murderers, who take away the brief moments of joy and good news that Pakistanis begin to enjoy.

To make matters worse they kill and maim innocent people, destroy families and malign, damage and even insult Islam by carrying out the most despicable, dastardly and disgusting acts of horror. They blow themselves up in mosques, even in funeral processions, where the only thoughts most people have in their mind at that time are of God and of the day when we all have to return to Him.

I believe that the word suicide bomber is totally insufficient to describe these forces of Evil, these representatives of Satan, these worshippers of Lucifer, these children of Shaitan.

I believe we Pakistanis, and Muslims, as well as the media have to start calling them by their real name. they are not "jihadis". They are not suicide bombers. They should be referred to as "jahanummi qaatil kuffar" - because that is what they are – hell-bound murderer infidels.

And, we need scholars of Islam, religious leaders and decent Imams and Ulema to give fatwas against every jahanummi qaatil kuffar who carries out such attacks.

Let the ones following them know that they will not go to heaven with 72 virgins waiting for them. Let them hear they will go to hell, with the entire Ummah spitting on their names and dead bodies with 7200 curses lashing their souls for eternity.

The recent events and terror attacks in the last few days have left no doubt in my mind that these are the worst enemies of Islam and Pakistan. And the sooner Muslims and Pakistanis unite t exterminate these vermin, the better off Islam, Muslims, Pakistan and the world will be.

From their actions aiming to kill worshippers in a house of God, to the shameless, spineless, disgusting torture and whipping or public flogging of a young woman (regardless of whether the video was made recently or months ago), they show themselves to be the animals that they are.

They are even worse than the pagan Arabs that our Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) made it his mission in life to try to first show the light of true Islam and later to defeat in battle. Fighting these true enemies of Islam is true Jihad.

How shameful that these people, whom even the Quresh tribe of pagan Arabia would spit upon, are the ones claiming to do what they do in the name of God, religion and Islam.

But like many Pakistanis, and many Americans, who believe that the future is always going to be bright, I refuse to give in and give up hope. Even in these terrible, and dark, days I see good news.

I felt proud to be part of the Pakistani media, both through the pages of the magazine and newspaper chain that carry my outspoken opinions, to my own blog and new media, as well as the TV channels that I also appear on. Each one of them went above and beyond to expose the evil, dastardly, cowardly, woman-flogging Taliban for the vile scum that they are.

I am proud of my fellow Pakistanis, here in Pakistan or living abroad, doing their bit to spread the word of this heinous crime - using every tool available to them, from e-mail to Twitter, FaceBook, etc.

I felt pride in the Chief Justice of Pakistan taking notice of this grave injustice and jumping into action. I am even appreciative of usually spineless, two-faced, politicians who spoke up against this cruelty.

In all these things I feel Pakistan and Pakistanis have turned yet another positive corner. I see this as yet another positive sign. I see even more light at the end of the tunnel than before.

I see a nation not falling apart in six months. I see a newly rejuvenated nation. I see Pakistan coming together closer, more united, with greater faith and higher discipline than ever before.

I see a new willingness in the psyche of formerly apathetic Pakistanis finally starting to speak up. Much that I would like to take credit for having written the article asking people not to be silent anymore, in reality my recent article was written knowing in my heart of hearts how great a future we all want for Pakistan.

I know in my heart, mind, body and soul exactly what greatness lies within the hearts, minds and souls of my fellow Muslims and Pakistani people.

Pakistanis taking a stand, and speaking against the evil-doers and the bad news, is the good news, even the best news, we have heard all year.

==
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

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

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

Sex Appeal, Sax Appeal, American Idol, Idle Americans & The President

It is hard to imagine it was nearly 16 years ago that a brash, bold politician named Bill Clinton put his media-savvy personality, charm, good looks and sax-playing ability to good use on American television.
He showed up on TV as a guest of the now-defunct show with Arsenio Hall. (You remember him as the guy whose face flashes in the hit song “Straight Up (Now Tell Me)” by singer-dancer-choreographer, and now a judge on the hit TV show “American Idol”, the cute bundle of energy, Paula Abdul). Clinton did not do this while running for Mayor of some small town, but as a Presidential candidate of the United States of America.
Political analysts, and pundits, diverged in their views on the move. Some thought it cheapened the Presidency, making Presidential candidates act like actors or musicians hawking their latest books on late night shows of Jay Leno or David Letterman, or showing their tender sides on Oprah Winfrey’s show. Others thought it was a brilliant move. It enabled Clinton to connect with a politically disconnected youth population that was more interested in how high Madonna’s skirt was than in how low global opinion of America was.
In the end, Clinton won. This was partly for his savvy moves, and partly because George H. W Bush (father of the current lame-duck American President George Bush) was a clueless President who oversaw the US economy sliding into recession. (Like father, like son?)
And in the long run, American politics became even more inextricably mixed with show business, and the selling of candidates as products not leaders.
The victory of style over substance was visible all through the current Presidential election campaign now taking place in America. Despite not having too much experience, Barack Obama was able to use his star power and personality, his eloquence and some great ideas, to build a campaign. This has enabled him to overcome even the challenges of being inexperienced, Black and having a Muslim sounding name! He was able to beat out Hilary Clinton (who should possibly have learnt to play Guitar or Saxophone like her husband). Obama made a far more experienced and well-known Senator John McCain have to play catch up throughout the campaign.
But what advantage show-biz type political exposure giveth, so does it taketh away. John McCain’s campaign was in dire straits (some say it still is). But, more than any specific problems, it suffered the worst malaise in the world of politics today – it lacked “interestingness.”
There was just nothing exciting about a Presidential candidate who, despite being a war hero and long term senator, was seventy-something years old, and totally boring.
He had sided with George W. Bush in his disastrous policies on Iraq, and had no clues on how to solve Americans’ other major concern, the failing economy. On top of that he was jumping around from issue to issue.
He was weakly trying to appear relevant in a world driven by the star power of Barack Obama. His old guard Republican money machine, often selling out American interests to oil companies and the military industrial complex was being beaten by Obama’s money and public awareness juggernaut on the Internet. Youth was lacking in McCain and his campaign, while it was central in Obama’s campaign.
To make matters worse, McCain actually tried to cut into Obama’s mass popularity by implying that he was a mindless celebrity. In a now infamous TV commercial, McCain ridiculed Obama by comparing him to blonde bimbos like Britney Spears and Paris Hilton (previously my target of ridicule in another article). The only thing was, the technique backfired.
Paris Hilton (“famous for being famous” and infamous for her interesting “home videos”) was the wrong target to poke fun of. Not only was Paris Hilton’s mother a donor to McCain’s election campaign, to her credit, Paris Hilton played along and turned the tables. Enjoying being the center of attention, she turned that into her own political ad. You can see it on YouTube ridiculing John McCain, his campaign and so-called energy policies.
During all these McCain blunders, Hilary Clinton kept fighting Obama for the Democratic nomination. This time around, though, her very popular husband, Bill Clinton lost his groove, and was not able to swing support in her favor. Maybe it is because he said politically incorrect things while tooting his and his wife’s horn, but he also did not show up on TV to play the saxophone. That may have worked better than some of the things he said. Result: Hilary lost to Obama.
It seemed like a done deal for Obama to beat McCain. To top things off, Obama, whom the Republicans accuse of being inexperienced, chose quite a good candidate for Vice President. Senator Joseph Biden, while even more talkative than me after having four drinks of Pepsi and coffee, has vast foreign policy and Washington experience.
That is when the Obama campaign seems to have lost some momentum. Instead of building on this great candidacy they appear a bit rudderless right now.
There is also the question of race. When someone asked the question “Is America ready for a Black President?” one of my favorite TV personalities in America, John Stewart, reportedly said that before Bush’s election “No one asked if we were ready for a moron President!” But, whether Obama can turn his dynamic rise into a historical election remains to be seen.
That is when John McCain did the dumbest thing in the world – which just may put him into the running again to be President.
After ridiculing Obama for his lack of experience, seeing that Hilary’s loss had upset some women voters and people wanted change – he picked a very inexperienced woman governor of Alaska to become his Vice President.
How poorly selected was this woman, Sarah Palin?
After she was nominated it came to light that, despite the Republican’s often holier-than-thou attitudes and anti-choice agendas, Mrs. Palin’s underage daughter is pregnant. Now the Republicans are trying to sound more “open minded”. Instead of Palin’s daughter’s boyfriend being arrested for the crime of statutory rape, he was sitting front row at the Republican National Convention. What a joke.
But, wait, there’s more! Candidate Sarah Palin’s selected was so poorly vetted, it has now also been found that her husband belonged to some sort of militia or anti-USA organization that wanted Alaska to secede from the USA. Good old Sarah Palin also had used office funds for her personal use. On top of that, she used State funds to hire the lawyer to defend her in the case of that corruption. And we complain about Pakistani politicians!
You would think all these reasons would be enough even for a corrupt Pakistani political party to throw out the candidate in question. But, for the Republicans desperate to breathe new life into a comatose candidate like McCain, she is nothing short of a miracle.
She is not Virgin Mary, but she is their Hail Mary pass at scoring a touchdown this election. Sarah Palin is very attractive, as is McCain’s wife Cindy. This may be an election in which these two women’s looks may well decide the election.
Just like selling a new shampoo, the selling of the Presidential candidate to the American public now requires sex appeal, even more than sax appeal!

Can Bush Push Mush? Another Legacy Leaving Opportunity Lost

For all the years I have followed Pakistani politics, from the inside as a student political leader, or from the outside as a media person, I have always been amazed by the huge number of historic opportunities squandered by Pakistan, Pakistanis and Pakistani generals, judges and politicians.

From the dictator Zia having an opportunity to clean up the country of corruption, to Benazir Bhutto doing something for womenkind and education, history was wasted. Ghulam Ishaq Khan was thrust into the role of President and blew a historic opportunity for him to be apolitical, and have a chance to be someone Pakistanis would remember as a hero.

Alas, once in power in most countries, and especially in Pakistan, elected and unelected heads of state, regardless of being 40 years old or 70, seem to live in the moment, for the moment, and moment by moment. Even the aged Ghulam Ishaq Khan did more to enrich his relatives, and play political games, than grab the incredible opportunity he had to become a new father figure in Pakistani history.

It is amazing that in Pakistan's 61 years, there is not a single head of state who has tried to, or left, a legacy good enough for Pakistanis to consider adding his (or her) photo on even a (now defunct) One Rupee note.

We now have a situation that is eerily similar to what we have seen before. A dictator, even more unpopular than Zia, is clinging to power, simply because one of the most unpopular American Presidents, ever, George W. Bush's grand foreign policy for the South Asian region is --- 'we stand by Musharraf.'

Perhaps Bush supports Mush because it ensures there is at least ONE President who is more unpopular than Bush himself is! But, jokes aside, even a tragic accident of history like George W. Bush is trying, belatedly and with no success, to spend the next 6 months trying to "leave a legacy."

I can easily say Musharraf is a far smarter and more cunning man than Bush ever was, or will be. But, one thing they both share in common besides the sound of their names - no understanding of how legacies are left.

They do not understanding that a legacy is not created by clinging to power, or failed ideas, but by doing things in the greater interest, things bigger than what even our biggest admirers could imagine us doing. Legacy and history smile on us when we do things even we could not imagine being selfless, brave and visionary enough to do. When we become bold enough to stop living for our own egos today, but to step aside now, so the future can look back on us with respect.

Alas, neither Bush, nor Mush, get the concept, which is why they are both close to each other in how history will not remember them. They are among the most unpopular, ineffective, and impeachable Presidents - though they rule over countries thousands of miles apart, and worlds apart in political, religious and social systems.

Three Blind Mice Or One Boring Politician?

A FaceBook friend of mine, Amanda Bateman, posted a comment on her profile page with an interesting premise - that the three leading anchors on regular TV, Katie Couric, Brian Williams and Charles Gibson (plus, one assumes, their networks) are biased against poor Senator John McCain.

Her brief posting, cutely titled, "Three Blind Mice", simply stated, "And the biased media continues...should we be surprised? Probably not."

That was followed by the following three URLs.

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/kyle-drennen/2008/07/17/network-anchors-join-obama-world-tour-little-coverage-mccain-travel

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2008/07/if_a_network_anchor_falls_in_t.html

http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/entertainment&id=6274320


Not that the media does NOT have a bias. Of course it does. It always appears biased in favor of whoever you oppose! But I was amused to read the first link. So, I posted a follow up note to Ms. Bateman'sc comment.

I acknowledged that she did make a valid point. But I went on to say that it was amusing to read the first link and have a real pro-Republican blogger quote the... (gulp)... New York Times for an objective comment. :-)

I did not check that blog's previous postings to see what they may have to say about some opinions that Fox News Channel simply is a Republican Party propaganda machine.

This is not to defend the anchors Amanda criticized above, or their myopic lemming-like networks. But, let's not forget that, media bias not withstanding, the media reports things based on interestingness from the public's perspective.

So, Britney Spears' sister having a baby gets on the cover of People magazine but not, say, the Sudanese leader possibly being charged with genocide.

Is that particular choice a show of "bias" against black politicians or world leaders? Of course not - though I am sure some will want to think so. No. We have to look at other possible angles also.

Even my Republican friends, and objective conservative media professionals all admit, McCain has just not been a very interesting candidate or politician in a very long while. He is NOT good at thinking on his feet when an unfamiliar question is posed to him.

(See this video online of him totally lost and clueless http://act.credoaction.com/campaign/mccain_respect_contraception/ ).

He seems uncomfortable with his position. All he can do is appear "resolute" in sticking to the failed policy of the war in Iraq.

People immediately "accuse" me that I must be some extreme liberal, or Democrat, if I dare criticize anything about Republicans. But, in fact, I am a thorough independent.

Ironically, I had been a loud supporter of John McCain for President in 2000 and fully believe we would have been far better off as a nation having him, despite his somewhat loose-cannon personality, as President than the joke of the millennium George W. Bush that fate, and the Supreme Court, foisted on us.

(2004's re-election of George Bush is something Republicans and his voters have to take the blame for and know that history will judge their actions as the most destructive single influence starting America's decline in the world at a time it should have been getting far more loved, respected and emulated worldwide).

So, much that I supported McCain over Bush in 2000, and much that I respected him for being a war hero (as opposed to a war Zero like Bush), I cannot bring myself to support him for President of the United States in 2008. He has served his country ably, well, sincerely, and should be commended and respected for that. That alone is not reason to elect him President.

Does that mean, somehow, that Obama is the perfect candidate. Surely not. Obama can make mistakes, Hillary can still cause trouble enough for the Democracks -- sorry - Democrats to lose the election.

That means McCain can obviously not give up. But, just being a candidate does not a campaign make. He needs to smarten up. He has no momentum at present. He has no great ideas. He is sticking to bad ideas on Iraq. He is not exciting to the populace. Even worse, especially from the media perspective, he is just not interesting anymore.

That is what his campaign in disarray has to focus on. Try to make him be more exciting, interesting, and, yes, more creative and original than he is at present. Can it be done?

What do you think?

In Defense Of Self Defense & Supreme Court Shooting Down DC Gun Laws

It was a split decision, but at last and at least the Supreme Court of the United States has taken a stand on the American Constitution.

Sadly, it has not had much to say on violations of the Constitution carried out by the Bush regime, nor taken any stand on the daily decline in our constitutionally protected rights.

More important to them than the Constitution being torn to shreds were Washington, DC (District of Columbia) gun laws that ban legal ownership of guns by DC citizens.

Mind you, DC, among other cities, has often vied for the Murder Capital of the World title. So, I can see the local law enforcement's logic in trying to ban guns (for the last 32 years). But, both as someone born in Pakistan and having been taught to handle my father's favorite Webley & Scott revolver, and now as an American with an affinity for Smith & Wesson/Walther devices, I fully support the right of Americans to bear arms.

Of course, the NRA, of which I should be a member but am not, would probably disagree with my contention that there do have to be some limits on the types, and possibly even number, of guns we can or should be allowed to own.

I support the right to bear arms for several reasons.

My interest in owning weapons includes having them for target shooting, self-defence and all that the Constitution intended as good reasons to bear arms.

However, I also do not think we, or any non-law-enforcement citizen, need some sort of 3000 rounds per minute assault rifle or machine gun to do all of the things above.

We live in unsafe times. Security of the homeland means protecting ourselves not just from would be suicide-bombers but also from armed home invaders, drug dealers, road-rage-warriors, thugs, muggers, petty criminals, gang members, and so many other types of vile scum that can easily snuff out our lives for a few Dollars, or on a whim.

So, I do support the Supreme Court decision shooting down the DC gun laws, but I also hope for two more things.

The Supreme Court, and American courts in general, should also not hobble American law-enforcement from coming down hard on hard core criminals who often brazenly conduct their business better armed than our Police officers.

Of course, it would also be nice if the Supreme Court actually did something more to protect the whole Constitution itself from our increasingly fascist dictatorial executive branch and lame, crippled Congress, and spineless Senate, and not just try to address one particular aspect of the Constitution. What do you think?

Rude Giuliani Out, Florida Voters Got This One Right

While Florida voters may have been the butt of many jokes for the last 8 years - that just happen to coincide with the George W. Bush presidency - at least the Republican primary voters got one thing right.

They brought to an end the implausible, and frankly, embarrassing, attempt of a third-rate politician like Rudy Giuliani to run for President.

Most people know where I stand on that, as I wrote less than one year ago.

Nothing can make up for the damage my Floridian friends did to the USA in enabling Bush to get selected by the Supreme Court. But at least the Republican voters in Florida sent Giuliani packing, back to New York.

Now he can go back to making money by cashing in on 9/11 some more.

Ideally, he and Kerik would both be cell-mates somewhere.

But that may only happen in some parallel universe somewhere else.

For now, Giuliani Out is the best piece of news for our nation.

Real World News Of Real World News Media Making News In Virtual World

Recent news items mention how CNN, the global, respected, cable news leader, has established a presence in Second Life, a virtual world online.

Even though I have cautiously resisted jumping on the Second Life bandwagon (for fear of wasting time even more than I do at present), this seemingly innocuous news item has far greater long term impact on an industry, and society, than, say, Citibank or McDonald's creating a presence.

For the most part, even large companies like these are merely touching the tip of the benefits iceberg that a real viable virtual world presence will bring businesses in real world terms.

News, by its nature, is the most well suited to that virtual world being leveraged in the real world.

A virtual burger sold by McDonald's will not fill my hunger, virtual or real. Sure, some bank's virtual branch could lend me virtual money in Second Life to buy some virtual property there - while they could charge me a fee in the real world, costing me real Dollars.

But, a virtual CNN reporter asking me a question of my virtual persona (especially if it is based on my true identity) can get the same valuable (or useless) insights as if they had met me in Atlanta or New York.

A citizen journalist in Pakistan could provide detailed accounts of dictator Pervez Musharaff's latest hooliganism against journalists, judges and the Constitution of Pakistan in a virtual world, far quicker, safer and better than than it could be done in the real world.

That is one small aspect and there are many more. Here are the key points to keep in mind particularly for large businesses:

- Real world businesses can be in virtual worlds merely for appearing virtually cool

- Some large businesses can make small incremental revenues quickly in the real world by leveraging "services" delivered in the virtual world

- News media are ideally positioned to leverage virtual world presences for real world benefits far greater than other industries can experience at this stage.

What do you think - "really"?

Dictatorship(ping) Banana(s) Republic of Pakistan To Political Hell

I have previously written about how foolish and untrue the name of my country of birth, the so-called Islamic Republic of Pakistan is. Today I feel that it is probably best renamed to the Banana Republic of Pakistan with General Musharaff the dictator shipping off any semblance of decency, and reality, that was left in Pakistani politics.

Shame on your General Musharaff, and shame on you Benazir Bhutto, for showing how you turned a whole country, again, into a personal toy, its constitution into a rag, and it's future into a certain nightmare when every future dictator will rip the Pakistani Constitution like toilet paper.

Thank God people like Imran Khan, the unsung hero of political bravery in Pakistan, still speak out against Benazir and Musharaff, and the evil of the terrorist Altaf Hussain of MQM, even at grave risk to his life. I dream of the day the Pakistani nation would have the shame or the courage to see what is being done to them and for once stand up and take charge of their destiny.

Then, I realize, it's only a dream. Shame on Pakistanis for letting all this be done to their supposedly beloved Pakistan.

Imran Anwar

Planned Drifting - A New Way Through Life

In Praise Of Planned Drifting
By Imran Anwar

In the 1980’s (saying it like that makes it sound even longer ago than it was), in Pakistan, I remember saying something in a newspaper or magazine interview about my philosophy of “Planned Drifting”. And almost 20 years later, when CNN profiled me their interviewer surprised me with his impressive research when he asked me on-air to explain what I mean by my trademark term. I’ll get to that in a second – or more.

Those were the days when I was attending the well known University of Engineering and Technology, in Lahore, Pakistan, for my B. Sc. Engineering (Electrical/Electronics) degree. Well, attending is not really the correct word – since after doing well in first year classes I fell into student politics for the next 3 years, standing against the evil of the Islami Jamiat Taliba (which was then a US/CIA-backed and financed part of the Jamate Islami religion-using hate-mongers seeking fundamentalist rule and even now supporters of the Taliban and AlQaeda).

Towards the end of my stay at the Engineering University (as it was also called) I had lost three years of my life wasted on student politics but with nothing achieved (because that evil, Islam-using, filthy, vile, repulsive, Constitution-breaking, corrupt, bigotry and hatred-spreading, Taliban-creating, US-backed dictator General Zia banned students’ unions just when it was my turn to run for President). I was then scampering to cover for my missed exams and classes (clearing “supplees” was the term many of my fellow alumni will recall being familiar with).

But, in what seems to be typical twists in my life and career, instead of hurrying up and getting into a stable (boring) life of an Electrical Engineer working for some Pakistani government department or some private sector company that overworks and underpays, I found myself Business Manager of Pakistan’s largest newspapers and magazines chain, Jang. A chance meeting at a close family friend’s wedding party led to a 22 minute chat, that led to my still being involved in the news and media business 22 years later.

So, where – you ask – is this whole discussion taking us, and what were you saying about “Planned Drifting™”. I am glad you remembered, and asked – you know, remembering my problem with remembering recent things.

I read a good article today on some web site --- either there are too many articles online (considering I already read about 30 today, in addition to the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times and a dozen or so magazines) or I am getting old (since I just read that piece online 2 hours ago) --- that I can’t remember.

But the topic was quite a good one. It was about how the writer is a workaholic and finally made time to go visit some friends in Florida and kick back a little bit. He wrote about the issue of how life is what happens when we are making plans for everything else --- or something to that effect. As I mentioned earlier, or at least I think I did, that memory loss can be a terrible thing, and that is a good thing to remember. If you can.

Anyway, coming back to the topic, or what I seem to recall is the topic.

I love making plans. I love getting things done. And, I hate the idea of making all these great plans only to be thrown off by changed circumstances, fate, markets, politics, people and... life. For a procrastinator that would be a great reason not to make plans at all and just lie back and enjoy life passing by. But, that would be too easy. People could think I am lazy, which, no matter how true it could be, is definitely not the impression any one of us wants others to have of us.

So, I came up with a solution to that problem. Instead of making plans – which require time and effort, and then finding changing circumstances throwing off those plans – which causes frustration and annoyance, I say, forget making plans.

But, didn’t I just say, I love making plans? You’re right and glad you remembered. Yes, I did.

I should clarify. You can ‘plan’ – as in aim for, hope or desire or actively dream and pursue - or you can make specific PLANS.

I have always lived by, and promoted (as seen on CNN :-) ) "Planned Drifting™".

Being a mariner (boater) and aviator (hobbyist pilot) I know drifting (usually sideways not in line with the original desired path or desired location to stop at) is the last thing one wants to do, either off course, or into shoals, or into the path of other traffic. But, planned drifting is a proactive, positive, and almost fully aligned with the original planned course or direction.

The approach is to know where you want to get, but instead of thinking of it as a straight line think of it like the cone of radar beam sweeping back and forth 20-30 degrees each way in front of a ship or plane checking hazards and weather. Planned drifting is knowing that even if life throws curves your way, or times and tides change, or fate blows in one windy event or another into your flight path, you can still succeed even though your “plans” may be completely left by the wayside.

You may drift slightly to the left or right of that ideal straight line that you thought you had charted out for your life, but even if you don’t get to what you thought was some specific location or point, you will still get to what life and fate may intend to be your final destination anyway. That would still be a great destination to get to, it would still be a great adventure and it would most definitely be a great journey regardless of where exactly you end up.

Planned Drifting™ is not about idling through life, or coasting, or gliding, or simply going with the flow. It needs more active involvement from you. It needs proactive thinking. It needs nimble and agile thinking. It needs a positive, open, frame of mind.

You give yourself a good general direction (vision), even some desired specific destination (goal), but don't get married to a particular course (plan) - which is most often the thing that will not turn out how we want it to be.

By the way, I remembered, the article I responded to was by Michael Hugos, on the CIO Blogs page at http://blogs.cio.com/life-is-what-happens-when-you-have-other-plans . Do plan to read it – unless you have other plans!

Happy Planned Drifting™.

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“Planned Drifting” is © and a ™ of Imran Anwar. IMRAN.COM.