Britain helping to radicalize Muslim extremists: George Galloway - British MP

The butchering of a British soldier recently by two radicals has created much uproar in Britain and has led the British Prime Minister hurriedly calling the two that they have betrayed Islam.

But British MP George Galloway has a different view point and he blames the Britain and its allies for having radicalized the Muslim extremists.

In a recent interview to RT, British MP George Galloway alleges:

"Through support for Israeli occupations and participation in American invasions of Muslim countries, Britain has ended up spawning tens or even hundreds of millions of “radicalized Muslims” across the world."

He further says:

"Britain has been helping to radicalize these extremist fanatics for a very long time with its support for Israel and its crimes against the Palestinian people, with its participation in US invasions and occupations of Muslim countries. We have spawned across the world maybe tens, maybe hundreds of millions of radicalized Muslims, fanaticized by the injustice and the double-standards of Western policy towards the Muslim world. And all I see is that in a kind of grotesque double whammy we’ve now added to that by reprising our policy in the 1980s of actually helping to build a Frankenstein monster in Syria. And the very same raw material of radicalized fanaticized extremists is being used. And It came back to hunt the United State, Spain and Britain and many places after the Afghan experience, when we built the first Frankenstein monster. And now we are doing it all over again in Syria as we did a year or so ago in Libya."

Answering a question "Couldn't it be said that there's something about Islam that pushes people to do such extremist acts?" the Brish MP replied:

No, I don’t accept that at all anymore than the butchery of Franco the Spanish Fascist dictator had anything to do with Jesus Christ even if the people doing the torturing and the butchering were wearing the cross on their sleeves. George W. Bush was a fanatic, born again Christian he said. But again that had nothing to do with Jesus. So I don’t accept that at all.

See the interview below:

via RT
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When I'm 64 - A Must Read for 'those' Getting Old

'Long time' back in my teens, the Beatles sang 'When I am Sixty Four' and I just shrugged off the song as I thought I was too far away from that stage. But I never knew then in my prime age that there is something called old age that creeps in even before you know it - I did not know it then, but know it now.

Yesterday, I read an interesting post at Facebook shared by friend of friends Muhammad Ali - and I found it full of depth and meaning to our real day life. Whatever is written from herein under is for those crossing 60s and have grown up children. Getting old is the stark 'reality' one cannot escape from - but one can make a difference if one is rational, logical and positive about realities of getting old.

So read on this beautifully written post with its far fetched implications on our lives.

Here it goes:

Don't worry about what will happen after you are gone, because when you return to dust, you will feel nothing about praises or criticisms.

Don't worry too much about your children; for children will have their own destiny and find their own way. Don't be your children's slave.

Don't expect too much from your children. Caring children, though caring, would be too busy with their jobs and commitments to render any help. Uncaring children may fight over your assets even when you are still alive, and wish for your early demise so they can inherit your properties.

Your children take for granted that they are rightful heirs to your wealth; but you have no claims to their money.

Friends falling in category of 60s or who will one day be in 60s also, please don't trade in your health for wealth anymore, because your money may not be able to buy your health!!! When to stop making money, and how much is enough (hundred thousands, million, ten million)? This is what is always in our mind.

Out of the thousand hectares of good farm land, you can only consume three quarts (of rice) in your meals daily; Out of so many houses and places, you only need eight square meters of space to rest at night. So as long as you have enough food and enough money to spend, that is good enough. So you should live happily. Every family has its own problems. Just do not compare yourself with others either for fame and or for social status and see whose children are doing better. What you must compare with others is in happiness, health and longevity.

Don't worry about things that you can't change because it doesn't help and it may result in your health being spoilt. You have to create your own well-being and find your own happiness; As long as you are in good mood, think about happy things, do things daily which make you happy and have fun in doing them. Then you will pass your time in a far better and in a contented manner every day.

One day passes, you will. lose one day; but when One day passes with happiness and contentment then you gain one day. In good spirit, sickness will cure; in happy spirit, sickness will cure fast; in good and happy spirit; sickness will never come close to you...With good mood, suitable amount of exercise, time in the sun light, variety of food, reasonable amount of vitamin and mineral intake, hopefully you will live another 20 or 30 years of healthy life.

Above all learn to cherish the goodness around ……and FRIENDS..........They all make you feel young and "Wanted"…without them you will surely feel lost!!

Don’t forget to love and respect those around you and in turn you will see that you will be loved and respected. Remember Fear is not respect or love but being caring and committed is.... Wishing you all the best.

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World’s most and least racially tolerant countries - you will be surprised about Pakistan

We may have different ideas about the radical countries around the world, but two Swedish scientists have found the world entirely different from the way the world is otherwise perceived.

When two Swedish economists set out to examine whether economic freedom made people any more or less racist, they knew how they would gauge economic freedom, but they needed to find a way to measure a country’s level of racial tolerance. So they turned to something called the World Values Survey, which has been measuring global attitudes and opinions for decades.

Among the dozens of questions that World Values asks, the Swedish economists found one that, they believe, could be a pretty good indicator of tolerance for other races. The survey asked respondents in more than 80 different countries to identify kinds of people they would not want as neighbors. Some respondents, picking from a list, chose “people of a different race.”

The more frequently that people in a given country say they don’t want neighbors from other races, the economists reasoned, the less racially tolerant you could call that society. (The study concluded that economic freedom had no correlation with racial tolerance, but it does appear to correlate with tolerance toward homosexuals.)

And you will be surprised to know that as per the study Pakistan remarkably turns out to be a tolerant country. The study concludes:

Although the country has a number of factors that coincide with racial intolerance – sectarian violence, its location in the least-tolerant region of the world, low economic and human development indices – only 6.5 percent of Pakistanis objected to a neighbor of a different race. This would appear to suggest Pakistanis are more racially tolerant than even the Germans or the Dutch.

The study finds India, Jordan, Bangladesh and Hong Kong by far the least tolerant countries. In only three of 81 surveyed countries, more than 40 percent of respondents said they would not want a neighbor of a different race. This included 43.5 percent of Indians, 51.4 percent of Jordanians and an astonishingly high 71.8 percent of Hong Kongers and 71.7 percent of Bangladeshis.

Read the complete report at Washington Post

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Pakistan Election Day Today 11 May: Polls Open In Landmark Democratic Transition

Pakistan goes to polls today, Saturday 11 May in a landmark election that will bring the first transition between civilian governments in a country ruled by the military for more than half of its turbulent history.

The people of Pakistan hope the polls will deliver change and ease frustrations with a feeble economy, widespread corruption, chronic power cuts and crumbling infrastructure, reports Huffington Post.

Although the Pakistan Muslim League of Nawaz faction is making tall claims for a big win, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's Imran Khan's dark-horse challenge could deprive Sharif of a majority and dash his hopes for a return to power 14 years after he was ousted in a military coup, jailed and later exiled.

Pakistan's best-known sportsman, who led a playboy lifestyle in his younger days, Khan is seen by many as a refreshing change from the dynastic politicians who long relied on a patronage system to win votes and are often accused of corruption.

Khan appeals mostly to young, urban voters because of his calls for an end to corruption, a new political landscape and a halt to U.S. drone strikes on Pakistani soil.

At present, the 60-year-old Mr Khan is in hospital after injuring himself in a fall at a party rally, which may also win him sympathy votes. A survey released on Wednesday showed 24.98 percent of voters nationally planned to vote for Mr Khan's party, just a whisker behind Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N).

(via Huffington Post )

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The Existential Threat

Brigadier Nadir Mir ®

The COAS, General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, said: “The armed forces remain fully prepared to defeat any external direct threat.” This was, indeed, an apt, timely and direly needed statement. Undoubtedly, its primary task is to defend Pakistan from external threats. This threat from 1947 till date has been from the east – i.e. India. Despite this, since 9/11, both by default and design, confusion was added to the threat perception. After the US-Nato invasion of Afghanistan, Pakistan was embroiled on its western borders. More so, due to a tragic, yet ferocious terrorist campaign within Pakistan, the threat perception was engulfed by fog.

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Anyway, the existential threat to Pakistan is from external foes, who likewise comprise an indirect internal threat. India also supports asymmetrical war or covert operations against Pakistan; more so, on its western border and Balochistan.

The Pakistan Army has bravely dealt with great challenges and defeated the strongest antagonists. In the 1980s, Pakistan was hemmed in between the Soviet occupied Afghanistan and hostile India. The Soviet retreat from Afghanistan and the Indian failure in Operation Brasstacks was due to its valiant military and the ISI. Since 2001, if the Nato forces did not cross Pakistan’s western border, and India its eastern border, it was all because of the army’s vigilance, supported by brave tribesmen in its West and freedom-loving Pakistanis in its east. Nuclear deterrence and an alert ISI, however, were part and parcel of the national defence effort.

September 2001 to 2012 has been a very challenging period for Pakistan. On its eastern border, the Indian military threat was gradually increasing; whereas, on its western side, the US-Nato forces were bogged down in a protracted, unwinnable war in Afghanistan. Besides an internal terrorist campaign, led by local extremists and sponsored by foreign hostile forces, was growing worse. Fortunately, the worst part is over for Pakistan and it is regaining its strategic balance. Indeed, the Pakistan Army’s resilience and the ISI’s fortitude is paying off. In addition, the geopolitical winds are in Pakistan’s favour.

Afghanistan: The US and Nato plans to withdraw a bulk of their troops. Keeping in view our national interests, Pakistan must support their exit strategy; indeed, it will help reduce the conflict in Afghanistan. Pakistan’s army must avoid being entangled with the Afghan militants, as its enemies would desire. Pakistan must have friendly relations with the Afghan Taliban. It is important to realize that the Americans are leaving, but the Taliban are staying.

USA: It will need Pakistan for peace-making in Afghanistan. Besides, the US is likely to be busy with numerous other global concerns, including North Korea.

Iran: With Iran, the geo-economic confluence should proceed. The gas pipeline linking Iran and Pakistan would benefit both nations.

China: The emerging global giant and Pakistan’s strategic ally should be further embraced. With China developing and managing the Gwadar port, Pakistan’s economy will boom.

Turkey: With Turkey, the relations can only grow stronger that is in the mutual interest of both nations. Turkey is a rising power and Pakistan’s future strategic ally.

Saudi Arabia: The Pak-Saudi relationship is not only historical, but also futuristic; not only religious, but also geopolitical.

Russia: It is Pakistan’s new friend. In the world of tomorrow, the past will be buried and the Moscow-Islamabad relationship will take a tangible shape.

Keeping this in view, Pakistan’s geopolitical future seems bright. But the three major problems for it will be economy, militancy and India. The economy will improve and militancy will reduce, but after the Afghan war ends. Yet, it is necessary that the Pakistani military pursues reconciliation with both the Taliban and Baloch militants. Ultimately, except for a minority of hardliners, the bulk should be brought back to the national mainstream.

Against this backdrop, the external direct threat to Pakistan is from India. The Hindu-Muslim animosity of 1,000 years did not end with the creation of Pakistan; in fact, it worsened. This was primarily because of the Indian stance of ‘Akhand Bharat’ or ‘Mother India’, and the incorrect notion that the subcontinent or South Asia was indivisible, which was negated by the Two Nation Theory. This is why the Indian atrocities in Kashmir and wars against Pakistan have now reached a new level, creating difficulty for New Delhi to seek peace with Islamabad. On the contrary, as the world’s biggest arms importer, India is preparing for ‘Cold Start’ or a surprise offensive war against Pakistan. The recent Indian tirades against Pakistan were reflections of the same.

Pakistan, however, should opt for ‘Cold Peace’; it means peace, but no friendship. While stressing India to resolve the Kashmir issue, its efforts to destabilize Balochistan and Gwadar should be thwarted. Pakistan should forge unity at home and redeploy its army in the east, once the USA exits from Afghanistan in 2014. The world must know that our army can do more than defend Pakistan.

'The Existential Threat' was published in The Nation on 4 May 2013

The writer is a retired brigadier and has authored a book titled Gwadar on the Global Chessboard.

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Boston Marathon Bomb Blasts and US Drone Attacks

Two bomb blasts exploded at the finish line of the famous Boston Marathon on 15th April, leaving four dead and countless injured - some of whom will me maimed for life or will lose their limbs forever.  A gory and awesome incident which must be condemned as targeting and killing of innocent people is not only act of cowardice but also inhuman and barbaric.

The entire world media is showing headlines and footage of the blast and photos showing of the blast victims. One really feels for those who instead of watching a sport event since 1897 has been a regular annual event of Boston, USA.

But I was just wondering why not the world media shows the victims of US drone attacks carried out heartlessly which kill more innocent civilians, mostly women and children, in Pakistan and other US targeted countries?

Are these victims children of a lesser God? Aren't these humans just like that eight years old boy that lost his  life in the Boston blasts? Doesn't world conscious cry when they see these children dying for no fault of theirs? Why such deaths do not make headlines around the world?

Doesn't this picture of a mother cuddling her two daughters while dying move the conscious of the world  and the world media, which only report of the militants and Taliban - but not these innocent people and children who die as a consequence of collateral damage?

The US soldiers in Afghanistan pee on the dead - one soldier goes on shooting spree and kills sixteen women and children - even some soldiers cut parts of the dead bodies of the militants and pose with their war 'trophies' - but the world remains a silent spectator. Even those found guilty of crimes above are given very light punishments attributing their crimes to stress es of war, rather than vengeance and cruelty of highest order.

When would the world conscious awake?

Also read: Join anti drone days this April

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Support LA Rally against US Drone Attacks Today 13th April

On 5th April  I talked about the Anti Drone Days this April by the US select group which is protesting against the killing of innocent civilians, mostly children and women. The group is continuing to protest throughout the month of April for those over 5,000 victims of US drone attacks of which about 3,500 were from Pakistan only.

Today, on 13th April, a huge anti drone rally is being organized at the LA City Hall (West Steps), 1st St. between Spring & Main, Los Angeles, California.

This humane group is of the view that:

'The U.S. functions as a death squad government, permitting the president and military leaders to create secret “kill lists” of people who have been selected for assassination. There is no due process, no trial, no evidence – the individuals are selected to be murdered and they are killed, and many civilians who are nearby also die. Drones are the weapon of choice.'

It may be added that in the 19th century, it was a common tactic of imperialists to use gunboats to move around the world and assert their will, answering challenges to their authority with bullets and cannon shot. The use, or threat of the use, of naval force was used by Britain, the United States and other imperialist nations to force exploitative terms of trade and political accommodations on various political entities around the world.

The United States government’s drone program serves the same general purpose as gunboat diplomacy. It enables the United States to extend its military power over any country that lacks the ability, or will, to shoot down the aircraft.

So if you are in LA, no matter of what country you belong to, join the rally and raise your voice against the drones that are killing people more and militants hardly 1.5% of the total.

Those who are away, must raise voice through social media networks to support those ge4tting together in LA today.

Join at LA City Hall for a rally on Saturday, April 13 to let the world know that the people of this country are demanding “Drones Out of Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Everywhere!”

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