For 1%

Gone are the days of good entertaining programming on TV. Now you cant see a drama on TV that has anything but hatred, scheming, crime, depicting only the 1% of the nation's population. Other major ingredients include hijras, dresses you wouldnt see anyone wearing ordinarily in the depicted social class, and lots of other absurdity. There's this program on A-TV in which the host invites rich people to show off their fancy wheels and to tell us how much they bought them for. That' bullcrap! I used to watch a similar BBC program on PTV and they never showcased any billionaire owners, of which I'm sure they have plenty. But our 1% wouldnt be left behind. Then, there's this interior design program, again, for the 1%. Hello, how about us? The 1% can watch their own favorite foreign channels, so why dont you give us what we would like to see.
There was a host on PTV who was talking about "enlightened moderation" saying that we are not adopting western extremism, of vulgarity for instance, but are showing moderation, by balancing with our culture. Well, she got it all wrong. It's not coming down from their side, it is going up from our side. Leaving our extreme and finding a common ground. Like saying, yea, yea, that might be my religious obligation, I understand, but I have to keep the rest of the world happy, too, I'm sure Allah would understand, so I'll just skip namaz and some other stuff and be enlightened moderate. At least get your facts straight.
Talking of the media, what's with these protests against protesters? The ruling party protesting against Jamia Hafsa, protesting against those who are protesting in front of Supreme Court, and being so nice as to have their own rally stopped far from the Supreme Court, "to avoid any clashes." That's a little more bullcrap! The same people who had media people beaten up, talk about freedom for the media, and protest when "the other guys" beat up some journalist during their protests. That's even more bullcrap! Stay tuned, there's much more bullcrap than can fit on this page.

Road safety

During the 4 kilometer drive from my home to LUMS, 3 motorcyclists riding just ahead of me towards the left handside attempted to make a U-turn from in front of me. They wouldnt have cared if I'd ran them over, too, judging from their complete ignorance throughout the manouver until I slammed my hand on my horn. We dont value our lives at all. That was three incidents in just four kilometers. That's not counting the reckless car drivers coming out of streets straight onto the fast lane with complete oblivion to the approaching traffic. That's also not counting the pedestrians and bicycle riders who are more reckless than all others. Welcome to Pakistan!

(In)Justice

I used to think that justice isnt available to the weak or the poor (synonymous, arent they?) in Pakistan. That still is true. I also used to think that justice is only available to the rich and the strong (synonymous, arent they? Not really, the cops are powerful but not rich) in Pakistan. After some thought, I decided that justice isnt for anyone in Pakistan. No one gets justice. The rich and powerful have the right to commit injustice, which they may choose to avail.

Something that only works in Pakistan

Well, there are certain things that just wouldnt work anywhere except Pakistan. Here's a shot that I took from inside my car approaching Lahore-Islamabad motorway, several months back, of a tractor with only three tyres on the road. I guess they must be endangered species.

Victory of the establishment

It was proven yet again that you cant beat the establishment and that there is no such thing as justice. In the Sonia Naz case, the defendent didnt appear before the court on repeated calls, and left her home. The reason is quite obvious. The powers that be must have threatened her. The accused have been acquitted. Yes, the present regime is best for Pakistan.

What crap

I bet most of the Pakistanis reading this blog have already received what I am referring to here. An SMS requesting you to forward it to everyone you know that if you receive a call from a 12 digit number containing 0099, dont answer it. The SMS even mentioned a name for the condition it causes. Allegedly red rays are emitted and the brain is affected by the radiation, and the preson dies. 20 deaths were reported in a message. The stupid Geo network even aired this news. Someone mentioned that a person died on Mall Road, Lahore like this. A friend of mine reported that his entire village had turned off their cell phones because of this report.
What crap! This is bullshit and anyone participating in this spreading of rumours should be prosecuted.
First, Imagine the tiny battery in your cell phone. How the hell would it be capable of emitting radiation strong enough to damage your brain? You've had hundreds of X-rays, and that huge machine never damaged your brain to kill you instantly (at least not yet). So, how can your tiny cell phone battery do me this great favour? Also, the GSM standard is clearly documented, and it doesnt matter what number a call comes from, the same protocol is followed. It's downright impossible.
Grow up, people! Bullshit like forward it to everyone you know, care about, love, $1.00 for everyone you forward this email to, 10 copies kara kay distribute karain warna aap ko nuqsan ho ga, it's all nothing but bullshit. Grow up!

Men, women and violence

I've been seeing some activity on campus regarding "men for end of violence against women." We've also seen plenty of similar activity around "empowerment" of women by the government on miscellaneous platforms. I personally think that the latter is to win favor of the women half of the population for the next election. But that aside, let's get to the point.
Violence against women by men is wrong and I'm not for it at any level. It is wrong and shouldnt happen. However, most of the problems for women are created by women, not men. Often, one would find a feminine hand behind violence committed by men. But let's let that go. Every day I see women on the street and the way they look at other women is characteristics of criticism and jealousy. When you talk to them or they talk to each other, the same attitude is evident. When at home, they are jealous of each other and create problems for each other. At work, they do the same. So, I think, talking of violence against women by men is just a way to hide from the skeleton in the cupboard. Shouldnt women face the other reality and get their own act together? After that, by all means, come and kick us men, too.

Bangladesh vs South Africa

Bravo! If you wanna change the second half of that game, and change the result, I'd still praise Bangladesh's side for the great job that they did of reaching 251 for 8 wickets. Most teams couldnt even bat out the 50 overs, but these guys not only did that, they scored a marvelous total. What's more, they beat the competition really badly. Good job guys. I wish you'd win the cup, too, I truly do.
Of the England vs Sri Lanka game, even though England lost, I want to praise England. Especially Ravi and Nixon. They fought like men. Bravo! It doesnt matter that you lost. You played extremely well.

Wasim Akram

Well, the other day, I was thinking, and I decided that I havent seen any bowler of the calliber of Wasim Akram. Others came with a bang, Waqar Younis for instance, but gradually reduced in effectiveness. This guy, Wasim Akram, on the other hand, matured and matured and never stopped improving. He would run five steps and still bowl as fast as he wanted to, and the bowl would whizzzz past a dazzled Sachin Tendulkar's nose on a day when Sachin would be in prime form. Truly a great bowler.
I've seen captains, but I havent seen better than Imran Khan. He was a true leader, a firm believer. The team that he led to a world cup victory was probably the worst team Pakistan ever took to any world cup tournaments. I mean, look at it, Ramiz Raja in his last few days not batting too well at all, Javed Miandad not what he once was (though still was pretty effective and key), Wasim Akram, the top bowler in really poor form, Inzamam failing every time, and he still led them to beat Australia in Australia and win the cup. When I look at the match reports now, I say to myself, there's no way this team could make it to the semi finals even, and it had actually won. A guy who walks into the dressing room to a gloomy team and tells them that he's not telling them that they'd win the league match on that day, but that they'll win the world cup, which they eventually did.

What to do now?

OK, enough has been said about this already by plenty of people. It seems vogue to criticize after defeat, but here's my two cents.
We've said and re-said that Pakistan's cricket team is unpredictable for plenty of years. We know why! We know that the batsmen cant stand fast wickets where the ball bounces and seams. Yet nothing has been done about it. And if Aqib Javed was right in one of his TV reviews lately, then use of Gray's ball, which allegedly doesnt wear out, in the domestic cricket scene is spoiling even our strenght, the fast bowling.
OK, we went in with a weak bowling attack into the world cup, missing our top two pacemen. But did Ireland have a better bowling attack? Yikes, that hurt!
Inzee bhai, media everywhere does the same thing. They criticize when you play bad. That's the truth, and they say it. I mean, come on, except for Shoaib Malik, who delivered consistently? That's been the scene for quite some time. Sure, no one pointed it out earlier on, but that doesnt mean they are wrong now. They were wrong before, but you saw it, others saw it, and didnt react. I think they shouldnt have dropped kamran butt from the side like they did a long time ago. I think he had plenty of promise.
I mean, come on, my eldest brother played club cricket for a few months in Karachi, and I knew that his coach punished people if the ball didnt go all along the ground when they were batting. I saw that his foot landed next to his bat where the ball pitched without exception. If they teach that in club cricket, then beats me as to where the national team players learn their bit.
I think, now, that they should do away with anyone who doesnt have the potential to make it to the next world cup, and start with a fresh team. Start building now, and not only the team, but wickets. The cricket board gets plenty of funding from sponsors, where does it go?

Renewed

I've been renewed as MVP this year. I want to speed up my activities, but I am tied up with increasing academic load at the same time. Let's see.