Not Just Pakistan's Problem
By Bashir Goth
The Question: After Benazir Bhutto's assassination on Thursday, what's next for Pakistan?Benazir Bhutto was Pakistan’s strongest voice against terrorism and military dictatorship in Pakistan. After her assassination, the country’s fate has been thrown into the unknown.
A look at Benazir’s latest statements gave us a glimpse of just how much of a threat she was to the extremists. She didn’t mince words in stating loudly and clearly her intention of cleansing Pakistan of Islamic extremists and terrorists.
Ann Curry of The Today Show wondered aloud why Bhutto was risking her life by returning to Pakistan. She told the former Prime Minister, “You're a mother of three. You could be living in London fine. You don't have to do this.”
Benazir replied, “Look into the eyes of the people who came to receive me at the airport, the joy, the happiness, the singing, the dancing, before the terrorists struck. They were celebrating my return because they want hope. If I don't come back, the 160 million people of Pakistan won't have hope of a future free from terrorism, a future in which there will be democracy.”
She didn’t hide behind euphemism in her objection to Pakistan falling into the hands of Islamists:
“The militants want an Islamist takeover of Pakistan,” she said in the same interview. “They have to be stopped. I have a choice to keep silent and to allow the extremists to do what they're doing, or have a choice to stand up and say, ‘This is wrong. And I'm going to try to save my country.’ And I have taken the second choice.”
READ MORE in Washington Post
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Occu-beration
By Bashir Goth
The Current Discussion: Australians are voting online for a "Word of the Year" from a list of new words to be included in the dictionary: among the frontrunners, "Chindia", "globesity," and "password fatigue." Create your favorite new word of the year that tells us something about trends in your country.
Somalilandracy: A self-declared independent country that establishes peace and security within its borders without much international help; abides by all rules of democracy and international law but not recognized by the international community. The name is derived from the case of , known by academics as Africa’s best kept secret.
Occuberation: when foreign forces occupy a country under the pretext of liberating it from the ruling regime with the consent or silence of the international community while the natives of the country see themselves as an occupied nation. Examples are Iraq and Somalia.
Hillaries (Hillary’s tears): when a politician, or anyone else for that matte,r breaks into tears to attract sympathy from voters or audience.
Noneoliday: when a country, usually a developing one, declares a holiday for security reasons due to the arrival of important foreign leaders. This happened in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, during the OPEC Summit in November and it again happened in Dubai during the visit of President Bush on January 14, 2008.
Kenyan way: when a sitting president rigs and officiates his victory in a hastily arranged ceremony to deny the other party any room to maneuver.
Nullmuslim (nullmuslims) Regular Muslims who have been disfranchised by the Islamist extremists who commit heinous crimes in the name of their religion, crimes that Nullmuslims are unable to do anything about. Nullmuslims have been declared null and void by the extremists who have hijacked their religion and made them voiceless.
Climatedoomer (climatedoomers): Those who see global warming as a human-caused doomsday that will bring life on earth to an end.
READ MORE in Washington Post
By Bashir Goth
The Current Discussion: Australians are voting online for a "Word of the Year" from a list of new words to be included in the dictionary: among the frontrunners, "Chindia", "globesity," and "password fatigue." Create your favorite new word of the year that tells us something about trends in your country.
Somalilandracy: A self-declared independent country that establishes peace and security within its borders without much international help; abides by all rules of democracy and international law but not recognized by the international community. The name is derived from the case of , known by academics as Africa’s best kept secret.
Occuberation: when foreign forces occupy a country under the pretext of liberating it from the ruling regime with the consent or silence of the international community while the natives of the country see themselves as an occupied nation. Examples are Iraq and Somalia.
Hillaries (Hillary’s tears): when a politician, or anyone else for that matte,r breaks into tears to attract sympathy from voters or audience.
Noneoliday: when a country, usually a developing one, declares a holiday for security reasons due to the arrival of important foreign leaders. This happened in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, during the OPEC Summit in November and it again happened in Dubai during the visit of President Bush on January 14, 2008.
Kenyan way: when a sitting president rigs and officiates his victory in a hastily arranged ceremony to deny the other party any room to maneuver.
Nullmuslim (nullmuslims) Regular Muslims who have been disfranchised by the Islamist extremists who commit heinous crimes in the name of their religion, crimes that Nullmuslims are unable to do anything about. Nullmuslims have been declared null and void by the extremists who have hijacked their religion and made them voiceless.
Climatedoomer (climatedoomers): Those who see global warming as a human-caused doomsday that will bring life on earth to an end.
READ MORE in Washington Post
Dear Candidates: Lead, Don't Loot
By Bashir Goth
The Question: The U.S. starts to choose a president this week. If you could send the candidates one message, what would it be?
My message would be simple and clear: Use the great American values of liberty, equality, and human dignity for all that are enshrined in the American Constitution. This is what attracts the world to America. It is the illusion of realizing this dream that appeals to people all over the world and makes America the land of opportunity. America defeated the Communist world not by force but by propagating these ideals through its powerful media, through its corporate culture and its liberal trade.
In Africa, it was the Peace Corps teachers that left the greatest impression on the minds of the generation that grow up in the 1960s and 70s. They not only taught the youth, but they intermingled with them, they learned their culture, some of them even married local people and a number of them became scholars in the cultural areas in which they worked.
America is at its best when it crosses oceans through its corporate power and not through its military hardware; when it sends its fast food chains, its Starbucks, its Hollywood movies and its freedom culture, and not when it sends its cruise missiles, its bombers and its marine fleets. I would like to tell the coming president, take heed of history; all known powers of the world, from the ancient civilizations to 20th century dictatorships, have started to crumple when they relied on military muscle. Force is the choice of the desperate.
Let the civilized, cultured and sophisticated and humane face of America obliterate the brutal, savage and inhumane images that the world has seen in Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay. There is no doubt that the whole world will follow America if America chooses to be a leader and not a looter.
READ MORE in Washington Post
By Bashir Goth
The Question: The U.S. starts to choose a president this week. If you could send the candidates one message, what would it be?
My message would be simple and clear: Use the great American values of liberty, equality, and human dignity for all that are enshrined in the American Constitution. This is what attracts the world to America. It is the illusion of realizing this dream that appeals to people all over the world and makes America the land of opportunity. America defeated the Communist world not by force but by propagating these ideals through its powerful media, through its corporate culture and its liberal trade.
In Africa, it was the Peace Corps teachers that left the greatest impression on the minds of the generation that grow up in the 1960s and 70s. They not only taught the youth, but they intermingled with them, they learned their culture, some of them even married local people and a number of them became scholars in the cultural areas in which they worked.
America is at its best when it crosses oceans through its corporate power and not through its military hardware; when it sends its fast food chains, its Starbucks, its Hollywood movies and its freedom culture, and not when it sends its cruise missiles, its bombers and its marine fleets. I would like to tell the coming president, take heed of history; all known powers of the world, from the ancient civilizations to 20th century dictatorships, have started to crumple when they relied on military muscle. Force is the choice of the desperate.
Let the civilized, cultured and sophisticated and humane face of America obliterate the brutal, savage and inhumane images that the world has seen in Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay. There is no doubt that the whole world will follow America if America chooses to be a leader and not a looter.
READ MORE in Washington Post
Dear Candidates: Lead, Don't Loot
By Bashir Goth
The Question: The U.S. starts to choose a president this week. If you could send the candidates one message, what would it be?
My message would be simple and clear: Use the great American values of liberty, equality, and human dignity for all that are enshrined in the American Constitution. This is what attracts the world to America. It is the illusion of realizing this dream that appeals to people all over the world and makes America the land of opportunity. America defeated the Communist world not by force but by propagating these ideals through its powerful media, through its corporate culture and its liberal trade.
In Africa, it was the Peace Corps teachers that left the greatest impression on the minds of the generation that grow up in the 1960s and 70s. They not only taught the youth, but they intermingled with them, they learned their culture, some of them even married local people and a number of them became scholars in the cultural areas in which they worked.
America is at its best when it crosses oceans through its corporate power and not through its military hardware; when it sends its fast food chains, its Starbucks, its Hollywood movies and its freedom culture, and not when it sends its cruise missiles, its bombers and its marine fleets. I would like to tell the coming president, take heed of history; all known powers of the world, from the ancient civilizations to 20th century dictatorships, have started to crumple when they relied on military muscle. Force is the choice of the desperate.
Let the civilized, cultured and sophisticated and humane face of America obliterate the brutal, savage and inhumane images that the world has seen in Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay. There is no doubt that the whole world will follow America if America chooses to be a leader and not a looter.
READ MORE Washington Post
By Bashir Goth
The Question: The U.S. starts to choose a president this week. If you could send the candidates one message, what would it be?
My message would be simple and clear: Use the great American values of liberty, equality, and human dignity for all that are enshrined in the American Constitution. This is what attracts the world to America. It is the illusion of realizing this dream that appeals to people all over the world and makes America the land of opportunity. America defeated the Communist world not by force but by propagating these ideals through its powerful media, through its corporate culture and its liberal trade.
In Africa, it was the Peace Corps teachers that left the greatest impression on the minds of the generation that grow up in the 1960s and 70s. They not only taught the youth, but they intermingled with them, they learned their culture, some of them even married local people and a number of them became scholars in the cultural areas in which they worked.
America is at its best when it crosses oceans through its corporate power and not through its military hardware; when it sends its fast food chains, its Starbucks, its Hollywood movies and its freedom culture, and not when it sends its cruise missiles, its bombers and its marine fleets. I would like to tell the coming president, take heed of history; all known powers of the world, from the ancient civilizations to 20th century dictatorships, have started to crumple when they relied on military muscle. Force is the choice of the desperate.
Let the civilized, cultured and sophisticated and humane face of America obliterate the brutal, savage and inhumane images that the world has seen in Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay. There is no doubt that the whole world will follow America if America chooses to be a leader and not a looter.
READ MORE Washington Post
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Not Just Pakistan's Problem
By Bashir Goth
Benazir Bhutto was Pakistan’s strongest voice against terrorism and military dictatorship in Pakistan. After her assassination, the country’s fate has been thrown into the unknown.
A look at Benazir’s latest statements gave us a glimpse of just how much of a threat she was to the extremists. She didn’t mince words in stating loudly and clearly her intention of cleansing Pakistan of Islamic extremists and terrorists.
Ann Curry of The Today Show wondered aloud why Bhutto was risking her life by returning to Pakistan. She told the former Prime Minister, “You're a mother of three. You could be living in London fine. You don't have to do this.”
Benazir replied, “Look into the eyes of the people who came to receive me at the airport, the joy, the happiness, the singing, the dancing, before the terrorists struck. They were celebrating my return because they want hope. If I don't come back, the 160 million people of Pakistan won't have hope of a future free from terrorism, a future in which there will be democracy.”
She didn’t hide behind euphemism in her objection to Pakistan falling into the hands of Islamists:
“The militants want an Islamist takeover of Pakistan,” she said in the same interview. “They have to be stopped. I have a choice to keep silent and to allow the extremists to do what they're doing, or have a choice to stand up and say, ‘This is wrong. And I'm going to try to save my country.’ And I have taken the second choice.”
With the national election coming closer and Benazir’s supporters gaining momentum, it is obvious that the extremists and al-Qaeda decided to act. The assassination of Benazir is therefore only a hint of what is at stake for Pakistan and the whole region. The escalation of terrorist activities in other parties of the Muslim world such as Algeria, and the arrest of terrorists preparing to strike Saudi Arabia during the Hajj, are indicative of the audacity and coordinated efforts of Islamic extremist groups.
Read More in Washington Post.
By Bashir Goth
Benazir Bhutto was Pakistan’s strongest voice against terrorism and military dictatorship in Pakistan. After her assassination, the country’s fate has been thrown into the unknown.
A look at Benazir’s latest statements gave us a glimpse of just how much of a threat she was to the extremists. She didn’t mince words in stating loudly and clearly her intention of cleansing Pakistan of Islamic extremists and terrorists.
Ann Curry of The Today Show wondered aloud why Bhutto was risking her life by returning to Pakistan. She told the former Prime Minister, “You're a mother of three. You could be living in London fine. You don't have to do this.”
Benazir replied, “Look into the eyes of the people who came to receive me at the airport, the joy, the happiness, the singing, the dancing, before the terrorists struck. They were celebrating my return because they want hope. If I don't come back, the 160 million people of Pakistan won't have hope of a future free from terrorism, a future in which there will be democracy.”
She didn’t hide behind euphemism in her objection to Pakistan falling into the hands of Islamists:
“The militants want an Islamist takeover of Pakistan,” she said in the same interview. “They have to be stopped. I have a choice to keep silent and to allow the extremists to do what they're doing, or have a choice to stand up and say, ‘This is wrong. And I'm going to try to save my country.’ And I have taken the second choice.”
With the national election coming closer and Benazir’s supporters gaining momentum, it is obvious that the extremists and al-Qaeda decided to act. The assassination of Benazir is therefore only a hint of what is at stake for Pakistan and the whole region. The escalation of terrorist activities in other parties of the Muslim world such as Algeria, and the arrest of terrorists preparing to strike Saudi Arabia during the Hajj, are indicative of the audacity and coordinated efforts of Islamic extremist groups.
Read More in Washington Post.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Spare A Moment
By Bashir Goth
Dear Somalis
In the diaspora
Dear sisters
Dear brothers
When celebrating Eid
When sauntering in Christmas
Spare a moment
When showering gifts
On your lucky children
Spare a moment
When you heap them
In new clothes
In Nike shoes
Spare a moment
When admiring their smiles
In peaceful lands
In beautiful parks
Spare a moment
When you spoil them
With happiness
With electronic games
With garnished foods
Spare a moment
When you drive your families
In lush boulevards
Dinning with them
In glamorous eateries
Aimlessly strolling
Aimlessly buying
In designer stores
Spare a moment
For the hungry
For the homeless
For the hopeless mothers
Hugging dead children
Back in Mogadishu
Spare a moment
When your children
Splash ice cream
On the kitchen floor
Spare a moment
When they fret and frown
Over food at home
Crying for deliveries
From fast food outlets
Craving for French fries
For hamburgers
For hefty MacDonalds
When you relent
And render the order
Spare a moment
For mothers in Mogadishu
Hugging and holding
Hungry children
Hollow-eyed babies
Hanging to life
Spare a moment
When you stroll to hotels
To Sunday evening parties
Prim and piffy
Spare a moment
When you toast a drink
And toss down a draft
When you mumble
In mesmerizing music
Spare a moment
For children in Mogadishu
In feeding zones
Spare a moment
For mothers shivering in cold
For elders cursing their age
For the ruins of Mogadishu
Spare a moment
When you ensconce
In comfy sofas
In heated homes
Spare a moment
When you turn on
Your television sets
And swap channels
On sleek screens
Admiring your children
Excited and starry-eyed
Over latest gadgets
Escaping the luxury
The comfort at home
To virtual violence
To horror movies
Spare a moment
For children in Mogadishu
Roasting in real hell
With limbs maimed
Wading through the blood
Of dead parents
Stumbling on decomposing bodies
Of dead siblings
Seeking shelter in squalid cellars
In bullet-riddled, pockmarked caves
In the lap of agonized mothers
Spare a moment
For an orphan nation
Spare a moment
For a country scorched
Spare a moment
Spare a moment
Spare a moment.
December 19,2007
Copyright© 2007 Bashir Goth
READ MORE in Awdalnews, Wardheernews
By Bashir Goth
Dear Somalis
In the diaspora
Dear sisters
Dear brothers
When celebrating Eid
When sauntering in Christmas
Spare a moment
When showering gifts
On your lucky children
Spare a moment
When you heap them
In new clothes
In Nike shoes
Spare a moment
When admiring their smiles
In peaceful lands
In beautiful parks
Spare a moment
When you spoil them
With happiness
With electronic games
With garnished foods
Spare a moment
When you drive your families
In lush boulevards
Dinning with them
In glamorous eateries
Aimlessly strolling
Aimlessly buying
In designer stores
Spare a moment
For the hungry
For the homeless
For the hopeless mothers
Hugging dead children
Back in Mogadishu
Spare a moment
When your children
Splash ice cream
On the kitchen floor
Spare a moment
When they fret and frown
Over food at home
Crying for deliveries
From fast food outlets
Craving for French fries
For hamburgers
For hefty MacDonalds
When you relent
And render the order
Spare a moment
For mothers in Mogadishu
Hugging and holding
Hungry children
Hollow-eyed babies
Hanging to life
Spare a moment
When you stroll to hotels
To Sunday evening parties
Prim and piffy
Spare a moment
When you toast a drink
And toss down a draft
When you mumble
In mesmerizing music
Spare a moment
For children in Mogadishu
In feeding zones
Spare a moment
For mothers shivering in cold
For elders cursing their age
For the ruins of Mogadishu
Spare a moment
When you ensconce
In comfy sofas
In heated homes
Spare a moment
When you turn on
Your television sets
And swap channels
On sleek screens
Admiring your children
Excited and starry-eyed
Over latest gadgets
Escaping the luxury
The comfort at home
To virtual violence
To horror movies
Spare a moment
For children in Mogadishu
Roasting in real hell
With limbs maimed
Wading through the blood
Of dead parents
Stumbling on decomposing bodies
Of dead siblings
Seeking shelter in squalid cellars
In bullet-riddled, pockmarked caves
In the lap of agonized mothers
Spare a moment
For an orphan nation
Spare a moment
For a country scorched
Spare a moment
Spare a moment
Spare a moment.
December 19,2007
Copyright© 2007 Bashir Goth
READ MORE in Awdalnews, Wardheernews
My Choice: None of the Above
By Bashir Goth
In the face of the resounding chorus for action against global warming, it may be tantamount to self-immolation to say anything negative against the campaign to fight climage change. One may not even dare to raise his voice for fear of becoming a victim to inquisiton by the brigades of climate change cheerleaders.
Despite that, I must risk refusing to follow the herd on the motives and long-term objectives of the global warming campaign. I am not a scientist to disprove the findings of eminent scholars in the field, and indeed that is not my point at all. Instead, my concern is the timing and fervor with which developed nations, particularly European countries, push the agenda of climate change. (Please refer to my previous piece)
Drawing lessons from history and the nuances of international politics, one cannot but question the honesty of the whole issue. Questions that need answers include: Why has fighting climate change and global warming gained momentum while conventional players in the energy sector find themselves in fierce competition with powerful competitors from Russia, China and India? Why was the science community silent when Europe was spewing the greatest amount of CO2 over decades? Why did the conscience of the academia, politicians and drum-beating lobby groups suddenly awaken when oil gushed from every hitherto unsuspected region in Africa, Central Asia and elsewhere? How can one allay the fears and suspicions of oil-producing countries that the motive behind the climate change issue and the robust search for alternative energy is really about a tacit strategy to liberate the developed economies from the stranglehold of the oil-producing countries? Isn’t it reasonable for oil producing countries such OPEC, Russia and others and even emerging commercial powerhouses like China and India to suspect that all that the giant industrial countries want is to regain their traditional lead in technology and world trade?
READ MORE in Washington Post. or Opiniononline
By Bashir Goth
In the face of the resounding chorus for action against global warming, it may be tantamount to self-immolation to say anything negative against the campaign to fight climage change. One may not even dare to raise his voice for fear of becoming a victim to inquisiton by the brigades of climate change cheerleaders.
Despite that, I must risk refusing to follow the herd on the motives and long-term objectives of the global warming campaign. I am not a scientist to disprove the findings of eminent scholars in the field, and indeed that is not my point at all. Instead, my concern is the timing and fervor with which developed nations, particularly European countries, push the agenda of climate change. (Please refer to my previous piece)
Drawing lessons from history and the nuances of international politics, one cannot but question the honesty of the whole issue. Questions that need answers include: Why has fighting climate change and global warming gained momentum while conventional players in the energy sector find themselves in fierce competition with powerful competitors from Russia, China and India? Why was the science community silent when Europe was spewing the greatest amount of CO2 over decades? Why did the conscience of the academia, politicians and drum-beating lobby groups suddenly awaken when oil gushed from every hitherto unsuspected region in Africa, Central Asia and elsewhere? How can one allay the fears and suspicions of oil-producing countries that the motive behind the climate change issue and the robust search for alternative energy is really about a tacit strategy to liberate the developed economies from the stranglehold of the oil-producing countries? Isn’t it reasonable for oil producing countries such OPEC, Russia and others and even emerging commercial powerhouses like China and India to suspect that all that the giant industrial countries want is to regain their traditional lead in technology and world trade?
READ MORE in Washington Post. or Opiniononline
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