Brown Pundits

Posted By omar on May 10, 2012

and finds the coming war with Islam could necessitate some really hard tactics. Maybe starve Saudi Arabia, or nuke Mecca and Medinah.

He does say this is NOT official policy and does not represent the views of the US army yadda yadda yadda. So the Wired.com headline is rather misleading. But his own views are very clear and he is up for a good old-fashioned general whipping of the freedom-haters. 

Some quick points (and I know I am begging to be misunderstood here, but I have to run, so this will have to do):

1. The Wired headline is misleading. The “US army” did not (yet) adopt this policy or teach it as dogma. A colonel did teach it in class and probably represents the views of others in the US army (and in other powerful positions) but these views cannot yet be regarded as the official views of the US army or the US government..and for various reasons they are unlikely to become the official view anytime soon.

2. The colonel truly believes he is fighting for truth, justice and the American way and thats what the US has always fought for. In this respect, he is at least as simple-minded as Tariq Ali and ALMOST as simple-minded as Lt General AI Akram, who wrote this book. 

3. But of course, neither the fans of Tariq Ali nor General Akram have much influence over the most powerful army in the history of mankind. This colonel must therefore be regarded as more dangerous.

4. This episode will lead to a clearer suppression of such views in public pronouncements of the US army. It will also lead to some more officers and thinktankers starting to believe that the colonel is right. Both are expected responses. Neither response will lead to much change in actual US policy in the world because policy is much more complex and is driven by many more immediate concerns.  Even the propaganda value for liberal or even leftist voices within the Western world will be transient and will not really change much of substance. Propaganda value in the Islamic world will be greater but will it change the opinion and actions of powerful people to any significant degree? Probably not by much, but among episodes in the propaganda war this may eventually rank close to Abu-Gharib levels in impact in the Muslim world.

Not so much in the Western world.

Comments?

I just wrote the following on another site and thought it clarifies my post a little, so I am adding it here as well:

1. There is a propaganda war within the Western world between liberals, leftists, rightists and so on that is clustered around the center and whose participants actually live within the existing arrangements of Western capitalism and democracy. In THIS war, the usefulness of this particular item will be on the lines of the Wired.com article (use by left-of-center liberals opposed to XYZ right wing actions and rhetoric). This use has actually maxed out in the wired piece. The same tendentious reporting is likely to be repeated for a few days, then increasingly countered by complaints that the wired piece goes too far and conflates one colonel’s views (or  “model”) with existing policy and mainstream American military thinking (as it clearly does). This particular episode will then fade.
2. There is a propaganda war conducted mostly in academia and on the left-wing fringe by postmodernists, postcolonialists and left-wing hacks like Tariq Ali that is very loud within its own echo-chamber but has limited or no “real-world” relevance. In that echo-chamber, soundbites from this wired piece (“destroy Islam”, “Hiroshima”, “no more Geneva convention Bullcrap”) will echo forever but will be noticed little by the rest of the world.
3. There is a propaganda war conducted by Islamists (militants of the AQ type, as well as “moderates” of the Muslim brotherhood type) against what they regard as Western domination of the Islamic world. In THAT war, these same soundbites will take a few days to get fully noticed (they are not always the sharpest knives in the drawer) but once it gets circulated (and I predict an article in http://www.pakistankakhudahafiz.com/ within 48 hours, unless they read this post ) it will be amplified with every passing day. Thousands of emails and blog posts will follow. All those labelled as apostates and lackeys of Western imperialism will be on the backfoot for months, if not years. In that world, the propaganda value will be huge.
We shall soon see if my prognostication skills are worth anything

Category: Uncategorized | 19 Comments »
Tags:

Posted By Nandalal_Rasiah on May 9, 2012

Many Brown Pundits have posted about the stories one reads in the Daily Mail and other British publications about non-white gangs, often Pakistani, who have been accused by many girls of targeting them for sexual exploitation.  Note that this is occurring alongside what I consider a congruent and parallel phenomenon of Muslim Arab rape in Scandinavian countries.  In England, at least, there is some closure as nine men of Pakistani descent were convicted of sexual exploitation (among other charges including trafficking.)  Its probably not just the BNP types who thought the Crown Prosecution Service potentially incapable of successfully prosecuting a politically charged case given that the defendants were all Pakistani and the victims all white.   There is, of course, discontent among some observers of the trial.  Julie Bindell, at The Guardian, says the swarthy visages of the defendants obscures the bigger picture and posits a false causal relationship between ethnicity of perpetrators and the likelihood of filing charges:

 Contrary to what the British National party would have us believe, this is not an epidemic of Pakistani child abusers abusing white girls – it is more that we as a society ignore the voices of those who know best about child abuse: the victims and their advocates…Why are we not hearing more outrage about the fact that thevictim who came forward in this case four years ago was deemed not to be a credible witness by the Crown Prosecution Service? Had she been taken seriously this gang could have been detected and scores of other victims could have been spared. We kid ourselves if we think the CPS would have pushed ahead if her rapists had been white.

Perhaps Julie has not considered that prosecutors all over the world habitually recognize all incentives to act/not act no matter how perverse they may seem to a reasonable person with high moral function.  She continues:

Greater Manchester police apologised to the victims of the recent case, saying that now that they know more about this type of crime they would conduct future investigations differently. And yet those of us who are involved in the attempt to combat child sexual exploitation have known about these men and the way they operate for decades. The victims have told us. Why have they been sidelined once again in favour of a good old ruck about race?

If the cops  interview a victim, and he/she says a brown man was the perp and that there are other victims and perps, surely its not a ‘ruck about race’ to look for other brown men?  The standard for likelihood should be one that uses occurrence of a particular crime that is adjusted for proportion of ethnicity within a given general population.  Is anybody doing that?  Is that sort of ‘race’ data collected?

Category: Women | 40 Comments »
Tags:

Posted By Zachary Latif on May 9, 2012

I would hazard that lower birth rates in the Muslim world are also a function of an increasingly lack of opportunity and career prospects.

For Courbage, who is French-Lebanese, the answer is clearly no, unless it is to “deconstruct the cliché.”

“Of the three major monotheistic religions, all of which encourage fertility, Islam is the one that encourages procreation the least,” he explains. The factor that explains different fertility rates around the world continues to be, not religion, but education levels. In addition, there are other political and sociological factors that differ from country to country, and which the examples below illustrate.

If there is one example that totally disproves the idea of a cultural link between Islam and high fertility, it is Iran. Under the secular Shah, Iranian women had an average of seven children each. Today, they no longer have the right to walk around without a veil but they have fewer children (1.8) than French women.

The collapse did, in fact, start with the arrival of the Mullahs in the beginning of the 1980s. The Mullahs decided on a “pragmatic” policy, explains Youssef Courbage. Contraception, which had been practiced traditionally in the form of the withdrawal method, was “strongly encouraged and abortions tolerated.”

But after the second Intifada, things changed, and the pro-fertility propaganda stopped having any effect on Palestinian women. At the same time fertility rates were rising among Jewish women in Israel, who were also actively encouraged to procreate. In 2005, for the first time the fertility among Palestinian women in East Jerusalem (3.94) dropped below the fertility rate for Jewish women (3.95). Today, the birthrate among Palestinian women in the West Bank is 3.8, in Gaza it is 4.9 and among Jewish Israelis it is 3, while in the Jewish settlements in the West Bank the fertility rate approaches 6 children per woman.

Courbage explains that these changes are due to the increased poverty among Palestinians, especially since the second Intifada as well as to changes in mentality. “Palestinian women are becoming more individualistic, while we have seen an increasingly family-centered ideology among Israeli Jews,” Courbage says.

After a brutal, and unexpected, drop in the 1980s, we expected to see the fertility rate in North Africa drop under the replacement rate. But here we have a “new surprise,” write Zahia Ouadah-Bedidi, Jacques Vallin and Ibtihel Bouchoucha in a recent article: Not only have none of the North African countries dropped below the replacement rate, but in Algeria the fertility rate has risen from 2.2 to 2.9 in 10 years, whilein neighboring Tunisia it has stabilized around the ideal rate of 2.1. And even if, in Morocco and Libya fertility rates continue to drop, the study’s authors suggest that the region may have a “unique demographic transition pattern.”

What makes these countries unique, they clarify, is that the reduction in the number of children has been largely supported by an increase in the median age for marriage. The average Libyan woman marries at 33, while in Tunisia and Algeria women get married, on average, at 30. These trends, according to Zahia Ouadah-Bedidi, are the result of the convergence of “new aspirations” among women and “material constraints” that prevent young couples from moving in together.

Category: Uncategorized | No Comments »
Tags:

Posted By omar on May 8, 2012

No, it has not. But some “scientist” in Pakistan either said it, or was reported (by an idiot journalist) to have said it.

I have some professional interest in this topic and wrote about secular trends in height here

I would regard this claim (that average height has dropped 4 inches in Pakistan) as complete bullshit for now. Official figures for different countries (as much as is known) are given in this link

A quick search of the medical literature turns up no such trend. I did find a publication for India  which indicates that Indian average height has increased, though slowly. I would guess the same for Pakistan but will try to find better data.

I am calling bullshit on this report for the following reasons:
1. No scientific data has been cited.
2. Such a decrease is practically unheard of in the modern world. If it has not happened anywhere, I find it hard to believe it would happen in relatively better fed Pakistan (better compared to the Indian and African average, and better compared to our own past).
3. Last but not the least, the tendency of Pakistani officials (including scientific ones) to pull shit out of their behind without any fear of being contradicted, and the tendency of our journalists to convert hearsay into established fact.
This means that while the average IQ of officials and journalists may indeed have dropped 40 points, average height has not. Nazria e Pakistan can have the first effect, but has no direct effect on physical height. (if the nation crashes and burns and sinks to Somalia level, then yes, average height may eventually decline).

btw, to see an example of how the ideology of Pakistan impacts IQ, see page 258 onwards of this report to see what a supreme court judge regards as undisputed historical fact (including the fake Macaulay speech and tons of BS about…oh well, see for yourself).

In fact, forget about height, read that Supreme court judgment and have a pleasant afternoon contemplating the horrors to come (I know Justice Katju has been writing his own version of pop history recently and people have criticized some of his information, but compared to these guys he is a subtle, deep and erudite genius). Justice Ijaz even managed to quote Shahabnama (the autobiography of former senior civil servant Qudratullah Shahab, where he reveals that he went on a secret mission to Israel that involved not falling asleep for ten days straight, since in his sleep he might have revealed his real name…I kid you not).

Keep in mind that the Pakistani supreme court regularly copies portions (or wholes) of  judgements from India, so some of the history may have come from India..(as always, we find a way to blame India).

Category: Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Tags:

Posted By omar on May 8, 2012

Found in a shoebox in Edinburgh.

Category: Uncategorized | No Comments »
Tags:

Posted By Zachary Latif on May 8, 2012

I just finished watching this film last night and I’m quoting my friend, Harika Chadha, (citizen film critic):

In all honesty, I didn’t like the film very much. The production was slick but the film was trying too hard to be ‘cool’ and going to great lengths to distinguish itself from the regular everyday Indian. A critics and pseudo crowd pleaser….

I would add to the above that the standout actress is the French-Tamilian girl Kalki, who was also previously in Dev-D. Next on my list to see is another super-hit “Vicky Donor”, which was sold out third week running in Feltham, London.

Category: Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Tags:

Posted By omar on May 7, 2012

Khalid Ahmed’s latest attempt at figuring out what happens after Uncle Sam leaves. 

I think Khalid may be overly pessimistic. Perhaps in an effort to raise awareness and prevent the outcome he predicts?

The writ of the state is indeed getting weaker and does not really exist in some areas (as in this case, where the local Taliban beheaded two soldiers and hung their heads from utility poles in the city…under the noses of the army) but even after Imran Khan fails, there may be another “last chance”.  We have not yet scraped the bottom of the barrel. For example, we have not yet begged the US for help, submitted to a strip search and publicly switched sides. We have not yet begged India for help and “given up” Kashmir in return. We have not yet handed over the Northern areas to China. We have not yet offered to sell the nukes. We have not yet offered to create Khalistan in Pakistani Punjab and Karachi in exchange for restoration of law and order by Ranjit Singh the second (“saanhoon port nahin chahidee” ..dont we need a port? actual answer by a Khalistani netizen to question about why his map of Khalistan showed Karachi as part of Khalistan). There is a long way to go before we hit bottom.

In any case, Uncle Sam is not done yet.  ”There are levels of survival we are willing to accept”. (at 6 minute point in this load of bullcrap)

And then there is this: female staff of NGOs face forced marriage to militants. The glorious days of yore are indeed about to come back in Kohistan.

Seriously, I too think the pressure for a deal with the Jihadis (with imposition of so-called Islamic law all over Pakistan) will become greater once Uncle Sam leaves, but I dont see him leaving anytime soon, so I think the present mess will continue in various forms for the foreseeable future. There may even be a temporary improvement in appearances when GHQ finally brings in their next “undertaker” regime. Or brings in Imran Khan, same thing.  Or we may stumble along under Zardari sahib for longer than anyone could possibly have imagined 5 years ago…the main reason I hesitate to bet on Zardari is that no one can survive with Rahman Malik as interior minister for more than 5 years. Its against all the known laws of nature.

Dont take these comments too seriously. This post is an attempt to get enlightening comments.

More details regarding waziristan attack.

Category: Uncategorized | 6 Comments »
Tags: Khaled Ahmed, Pakistan

Posted By omar on May 4, 2012

The government of Asif Ali Zardari launched a police operation against criminal gangs in Lyari 8 days ago.

Some background on what Lyari is. One of the oldest sections of Karachi, home to over 1 million people. Amazingly loyal to the Pakistan People’s Party until recently. Also a center of drug smuggling and other profitable rackets, therefore of great interest to every gangster in Karachi, where gang wars have happened before.

For some background on the gangs of Lyari, see this. (keep in mind that with so much money involved, journalists are also bought and sold. Details may not be as presented here, but you get the picture…)

Comical Ali, interior minister of Pakistan, had this to say yesterday.

And here is a video from inside Lyari during the said operation.

The police force is led by Choudhry Aslam, an officer who can supposedly get things done (including things like bumping off people in “encounters”).

This police force, armed with armored personnel carriers, has not been able to conquer more than a couple of streets in Lyari till now. It looks like they are now stopping the operation (at least for 48 hours). Clearly the police were not thinking of this being a street by street urban battle that they wont win. If they don’t have a good idea of how things are likely to go, we can be excused for having no idea at all.

Zardari’s corrupt regime is the tip of the iceberg. The fish is rotting from the head (and Zardari, while formally president, is not the head). Much of the ruling elite in Pakistan may not give a damn because they all have their money and passports ready to go, but even those who do want to keep the goose alive are not doing a good job of showing they know what to do.  The great hope is supposed to be the next caretaker regime and/or Imran Khan (who is now being compared to Quaid e Azam by his fans..the first time as tragedy, the second time as farce). Enuff said.

The elite had their chance in 2001. If they had chosen to go with America, what the left derisively calls a “neocolonial neoliberal regime” might have managed to keep things going. But they thought they could have their cake and eat it too. Now, its close to getting too late. Big bad America is not happy and the violent Islamists are not happy and the state is corrupt, incompetent and losing control…and in no position to fight both parties at the same time.

With nuclear weapons in hand, it may not be too late even now. Bargain smartly and there may be a chance to keep the goose alive for several years. By then, other possibilities will open up.

For my leftwing friends (and everyone else, please turn away, this is between us), I would say this: if you absolutely cannot stand the thought of compromising with “the metropole”, thats fine. But have a clear Leninist head about you. Things will then get rather hot. There is great opportunity in such violence and disorder (as the late great chairman Mao famously said) but you cannot have it both ways; A functionaling neoliberal Pakistan and the dictatorship of the proletariat will not go together. Be sure you have your plans and your vanguard party organized and ready to go for the fight to come out on top in that free for all. If your plan is to stay in University, comment on Chapatimystery and resist imperialism and neoliberalism on your favorite blog, then I have some news for you…that aint how it happened in the glorious October revolution.  The not-so-violent left (aka the Western liberal-left) is a part of Western civilization. They like to look unhappy, but they are well fed, safe at night and have a scholarship or better still, a tenured professorship. Make sure you dont lose sight of the basic facts…as the late great chairman also said, a revolution is not a tea party.

But hey, what do i know. All I am saying is, neither does choudhry aslam. The sausage factory is starting to burn.

Category: Uncategorized | 5 Comments »
Tags: Lyari, Pakistan

Posted By Nandalal_Rasiah on May 4, 2012

I’ve never seen this show before but it was cited by a fellow who was too fulsome in his self-expression to tolerate at even THE hipster publication( for speaking his mind) and I wondered if Scottish people should be up in arms over the following (considering that the audience is the rest of the world, where the Scots are a distinct minority, subject to all sorts of ignorance on the finer points of their diction.)

How about Muslims in India?  Should they, a distinct minority and often persecuted population, be lodging a complaint against the creators of “Jay Hind!” (in English!):

Category: Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Tags:

Posted By Zachary Latif on May 4, 2012

Razib has mentioned in the past, Leopold Senghor as a Catholic president of an overwhelming Muslim nation (Senegal was around 90% Muslim). It remains a compelling and rare example of a non-Muslim actually wielding power in a Muslim country. As an aside land reforms in Senegal (whose efficacy are anyway debatable) were stalled because President Senghor (who later became an Immortal) was wary of alienating the traditional Muslim landowners in interior Senegal.

Anyway Roza Otunbayeva was President of Krygzstan (80% Muslim) for a year and a half ending December 2011. Her Wikipedia article ends:

However, in her interviews Otunbayeva stated that she does not believe in God.^[13]

I couldn’t find any more references to her atheism other than that but a little more colour from a somewhat dated piece (2010) Islamist Blowback in Krygzstan:

Judging by the crowded mosques on Fridays and the number of women wearing hijabs on the streets, the valley is more observant than elsewhere in Central Asia. But locals here, like elsewhere, are still more likely to enjoy their vodka than their prayer, or see no problem indulging in both. Nevertheless, Central Asian governments are paranoid, full of atheist apparatchiks trained in the Communist Soviet Union. Only the Islam espoused by a network of state-appointed mullahs is tolerated.

From Bakiyev’s perspective, “all Muslims are extremists,” said Kara-Suu Imam Rashad Kamalov, whose father was gunned down in 2006 in an attack human rights observers attribute to the state security services. Because of the oppression, “more Kyrgyz are devoted to the religion and practice Islam,” he told me. But tyranny will not work forever, he added. “After someone has experienced fear once, the fear disappears.”

Finally atheists in Indonesia battling for increased religious freedom.

Category: Uncategorized | No Comments »
Tags: