Yet Pakistan exists...

Since it's Obama's Presidential inauguration today, I thought I would share this timely email with everyone, it's so sad that it's almost funny ... in a sickening way.
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Here is a comparison of the Resumes of the heads of states of two neighboring countries that achieved independence together.


Chief Executive of India
Title: Prime Minister
Name: Dr Manmohan Singh

EDUCATION /Qualification:
1950: Stood first in BA (Hons), Economics, Panjab University, Chandigarh ,
1952; Stood first in MA (Economics), Panjab University , Chandigarh,
1954; Wright's Prize for distinguished performance at St John's College,Cambridge,
1955 and 1957; Wrenbury scholar, University of Cambridge ,
1957; DPhil (Oxford), DLitt (Honoris Causa); PhD thesis on India's export competitiveness

Working Experience [Teaching]
Professor (Senior lecturer, Economics, 1957-59;
Reader, Economics, 1959-63;
Professor, Economics, Panjab University, Chandigarh, 1963-65;
Professor, International Trade, Delhi School of Economics,Universit y of Delhi, 1969-71;
Honorary professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University,New Delhi, 1976 and Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi,1996 and Civil Servant

Working Experience [INTERNATIONAL ASSIGNMENTS] :
1966: Economic Affairs Officer
1966-69: Chief, financing for trade section, UNCTAD
1972-74: Deputy for India in IMF Committee of Twenty on International Monetary Reform
1977-79: Indian delegation to Aid-India Consortium Meetings
1980-82: Indo-Soviet joint planning group meeting
1982: Indo-Soviet monitoring group meeting
1993: Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting Cyprus 1993: Human Rights World Conference, Vienna
Working Experience [Government Positions]:
1971-72: Economic advisor, ministry of foreign trade
1972-76: Chief economic advisor, ministry of finance
1976-80: - Director, Reserve Bank of India; Director, Industrial Development Bank of India;
- Alternate governor for India , Board of governors , Asian Development Bank;
- Alternate governor for India, Board of governors, IBRD
- November 1976 - April 1980: Secretary, ministry of finance (Department of economic affairs);
- Member, finance, Atomic Energy Commission ; Member,finance, Space Commission
April 1980 - September 15, 1982: Member-secretary, Planning Commission
1980-83: Chairman, India Committee of the Indo-Japan joint study committee
September 16, 1982 - January 14 , 1985: Governor, Reserve Bank of India.
1982-85: Alternate Governor for India, Board of governors, International Monetary Fund
1983-84: Member, economic advisory council to the Prime Minister
1985: President, Indian Economic Association
January 15 , 1985 - July 31, 1987: Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission
August 1, 1987 - November 10, 1990: Secretary-general and commissioner, south commission, Geneva
December 10 , 1990 - March 14, 1991: Advisor to the Prime Minister on economic affairs
March 15, 1991 - June 20, 1991: Chairman, UGC
June 21, 1991 - May 15, 1996: Union finance minister
October 1991: Elected to Rajya Sabha from Assam on Congress ticket
June 1995: Re-elected to Rajya Sabha
1996 onwards: Member, Consultative Committee for the ministry of finance
August 1, 1996 - December 4 , 1997: Chairman, Parliamentary standing committee on commerce
March 21, 1998 onwards: Leader of the Opposition, Rajya Sabha
June 5, 1998 onwards: Member, committee on finance
August 13, 1998 onwards: Member, committee on rules
Aug 1998-2001: Member, committee of privileges 2000 onwards: Member,
executive committee, Indian parliamentary group
June 2001: Re-elected to Rajya Sabha
Aug 2001 onwards: Member, general purposes committee
2004: Prime Minister of India

BOOKS:
India's Export Trends and Prospects for Self-Sustained Growth -Clarendon Press, Oxford University, 1964;
also published a large number of articles in various economic journals .

ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
Adam Smith Prize , University of Cambridge, 1956
Padma Vibhushan , 1987
Euro money Award, Finance Minister of the Year, 1993;
Asia money Award, Finance Minister of the Year for Asia , 1993 and 1994


Chief Executive of Pakistan
Title: President of Pakistan
Name: Asif Ali Zardari

EDUCATION /Qualification:
High School from Cadet College Petaro
Details of higher formal education not known; Claims graduation from London but not available to be verified. As per some account. His official biography says he attended a commercial college called Pedinton School. But a search of tertiary educational institutions in London showed no such school.

Working Experience:
Early days: Working at the family owned Bambino Cinema at Karachi. Some accuse Mr Zardari of small-time ticket frauds to steal money from the family business.
Up till 1987 (marriage to the future Prime Minister, Benazir Bhutto): No record.
1988 to date: While no official record of any business exists, Mr Zardari is widely believed to be one of the (if not the) richest man in Pakistan. An unofficial list of family owned businesses, property and accounts exists but the completeness of the same cannot be verified. Mr Zardari has however been involved in various national and international cases relating to his businesses. The most significant European cases are a Swiss money-laundering inquiry and a British civil cases.

Working Experience [Politics]:
1988-1990: Husband of the Prime Minister
1993–1996: Minister of Environment during his wife's second term as the Prime Minister
Un till 1999: Senator
30 December 2007: Appointed himself as the co-chairman of the PPP, along with his son Bilawal Bhutto Zardari
September 9, 2008: Zardari was elected president of Pakistan. Sworn in by Abdul Hameed Dogar, whose position as the Chiefe Justice of Pakistan remains a contested issue by an overwhelming majority of the Pakistani legal fraternity.

Working Experience [Other]:
Other experience of Mr Zardari includes his widely believed but not proven involvement in
- Several murders - most famously of his brother in law, possibly his wife
- Wrapping a bomb to the leg of a famous UK businessman to ask for money
- Embezzlement & looting of Billions of Pakistan's wealth

BOOKS:
None on record

ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
Marrying the then future and now ex (RIP) Prime Minister of Pakistan
Only serving politician to have spent 10 years in Jail
Told the US VP Candidate that she is "gorgeous" and said : "Now I know why the whole of America is crazy about you". When the photographers asked the two to keep shaking hands, he replied : " If he insists, I might hug you". This was one day after the President delivered an emotional speech at the UN in new York waiving a photograph of his deceased wife only months after the murder of his wife.

Vote on Obama's site about aid to Israel.

This is apparently an effort where the significant/most voted on/ ideas will be presented to Obama after his inauguration on January 20, 2009.

Someone had the courage to ask whether to re-evaluate US's aid to Israel; by Sunday afternoon 1/18/2009, it seems like only half of the total 36740 votes were in favor of such re-evaluation.

Pro-Israel factions never cease to amaze me with their resilience.

http://citizensbriefingbook.change.gov/ideas/viewIdea.apexp?id=087800000004lmt&srPos=1&srKp=087&srS=1

PS: It takes about 10 seconds to sign-up to be able to vote and comment.

CNN reports Israel lieing?

Rick Sanchez reported that Israeli claim about breaking the recent truce was actually a lie and the Palestinians were telling the truth.

What I found more interesting was Rick's overall defensive tone; as if he was doing the "forbidden". Although to be fair, he WAS doing the forbidden, so nevermind my surprise ...

As expected, after proving Israeli government had just openly lied to everyone, his guest goes on to claim "there was no real deal" anyway and there were "eminent security reasons" etc. for Israel to lie/attack.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KntmpoRXFX4

Deepak Chopra on 11/26/2008 Mumbai Attack

It's comforting to see at least some prominent figures in the mainstream media have a comprehensive view on things:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/11/26/king.chopra.mumbai/index.html?iref=mpstoryview

Video: http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2008/11/27/intv.india.attacks.chopra.cnn

Toilets to face away from Mecca for 2012 Olympics London

Another example of extent of superstition that has creeped into the psyche of our people:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1061051/Londons-Olympic-Park-toilets-turn-away-Mecca-respect-Islamic-law.html

"Toilet facilities are being built at London's Olympic Park so Muslims will not have to face Mecca while sitting on the loo.

...

Last year, thousands of pounds of taxpayers' money was used to ensure toilets at Brixton prison in London did not offend Islamic law."

I personally don't blame those who end up believing in this since ignorance is widespread, but the so-called scholars who advocate and/or tolerate this sort of nonsensical behavior should be smacked upside down over their heads.

I don't have his heart.

Pakistan is going to be the new Iraq, so to speak in the upcoming months, anyone watching the current news could see it coming.

How good would this be for the US, Pakistan and the rest of the world?

In this program http://pkpolitics.com/2008/09/18/capital-talk-18-september-2008/, (I'm sorry but it's in Urdu) watch this guy who is a social worker from Bajour, Dr Khalil-ur-Rahman, describing how Pakistani helicopters bombed his car and where about 40 people got killed/injured and his son lost both legs (his picture is shown).

What's left me practically flabbergasted is how composed this guy still is and still claims "he loves Pakistan as his country".

Now, what will the free world do in the upcoming months to address thousands of parents like him? As a citizen of the so-called free world, I don't know.

But what I do know is that according to the locals of that area, barely ANY Talibans or Al Quaida's members have been killed in American and Pakistani bombings, they practically all have been civilians. The news reports claiming X number of terrorist died in so and so attacks is all hogwash.

I also know that the locals are swearing that the military solution will only devastate this area further, will kill more civilians, and will strengthen the terrorists by letting them take advantage of legitimate civilian anger.

Why McCain chose Palin?

People have been shocked/thrilled/disappointed by McCain's choice of Palin as his running mate. There have been several theories circulating in the media as to why did he choose her over other much more experienced and intelligent candidates, but the one theory that I think is the most viable and that jumped at me the moment I saw her was about:

1) Youth (especially compared to McCain)
2) Sex (Hillary set a precedence that Palin could benefit from)

Looks matter a lot more than people think in American elections, and McCain knew that he had lost battle to Obama. So the only chance he had was the VP and he availed it! Which seemed to have worked too, to some extent.

However, I think, come November and Obama will destroy McCain in the debates and will win, hands down, unless something big happens within the next 2 months, dramatically changing the status quo. It's not a coincidence that American forces are moving from Iraq to Pak/Afghan border right about now.

What exactly that drama is going to be is anyone's guess ... but I'll have my popcorn ready, and I suggest you do too, after all it's once in a 4 year occasion so might as well enjoy it :)