The Next
Leader of the Conservative Party
By Sir Cam
Cambridge, England
Bit of a stir caused by Iran's "hard-line"
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's comments about
Israel. Rhetoric. Domestic politics. Evil Axis.
Iran next? Of all the endless commentaries on
this blown-up affair, I found the following sentence
the most apt: "Talking of 'wiping countries
off the map’, where is Palestine?"
(Letter by Ken Taylor, Independent, Nov 1). Says
it all.
CAMERONEO-CON
And the next leader of the Conservative Party,
the next British Prime Minister is... David Cameron?
Before we get too excited by all the spin and
cosy Blairspeak it would be wise to see Cameron
for what he is: a Neo-Con. Andrew Rawnsley had
this to say of him in The Observer of October
23: "He is ardently pro-American and for
the Iraq war. Irwin Stelzer, Rupert Murdoch's
representative on Earth, recently commended Mr
Cameron to readers of The Weekly Standard, the
house journal of
the right wing of the American Republican party.
He sees in Cameron someone seeking to replicate
'the conservative and neo-conservative eras in
America'".
Neil Clark had this to say in The Guardian of
October 24: "And in foreign policy, he is
an unreconstructed hawk, his campaign masterminded
by the neo-conservative trio of Tory MPs Osborne,
Michael Gove and Ed Vaizey, all enthusiastic cheerleaders
for Pax Americana. Osborne hailed the "excellent
neo-conservative case" for action against
Iraq in 2003 and denies that the invasion has
radicalized Muslim opinion".
And, finally, for those who love (to hate?) Tony
Bliar, another commentator says that David Cameron
seems to be "emerging as an identikit Blair"
and has "privately described himself as ‘Blair's
heir’. It is a joke, surely" (Jackie
Ashley, The Guardian, Oct 31).
NO MUBARAK FOR DR ALI
Poor Dr Mubarak Ali. The renowned historian (author,
former head of history, University of Sindh, and
former director of the Goethe Institute, Lahore)
is having a tough time with some Pakistani heavies,
otherwise known as policemen. Here we go again
-- another scholar harassed and intimidated. "They
are trying to verify my learning through their
traditional tactics.
They raided my house and harassed my family as
if I was a terrorist," Dr Ali is reported
to have said.
An editorial in Daily Times (Rescue Dr Mubarak
Ali from the police! Oct 27), rightly expressed
the concern that "If this gets out of hand,
Pakistan's international image will be battered
again" and that "Certainly, we will
not flinch in insisting that the harassment of
Dr Mubarak Ali at the hands of the police should
stop immediately". So, go and catch the bloody
criminals, the corrupt officials et al, and leave
our scholars to do that which they're best at:
projecting an
enlightened image of Pakistan.
A LOAD OF COLONIC MATERIAL
This both amused, and made me think: "It
is obvious, then, that in thinking about humanity
in the 21st century, there is still a lot of colonic
material of a taurine provenance – otherwise
known as bullshit - to be cleared out" (Raymond
Tallis, The Times, Oct 29).
STREET COLLECTION FOR EARTHQUAKE
A collection in the streets of Cambridge on October
12 raised £4,200. The people of Cambridge
gave so generously. So, well done to the organizers,
the Pakistan Cultural Association, Cambridge,
and all the helpers from the University Pakistan
Society and the Islamic Society. The money has
gone to Islamic Relief's earthquake appeal (part
of DEC,
http://www.dec.org.uk).
WHAT! NO TEA
It's with a certain sadness that we bid Ramadan
farewell. Goodbye, beloved month. It doesn't make
sense: you're starved, kept thirsty, deprived
of some of the normal pleasures of life, but you
love this month. Yeah, you might skip lunch for
a few days, but for a WHOLE month? And you'd think
it impossible to be without endless cups of tea
from dawn to dusk. Starved
during the day, worn out by long prayer sessions
at night. Blessed Ramadan: how we'll miss you.
So, what's the attraction? Why do we yearn for
this month, like a lover pining for his beloved?
Simple: it's not the deprivation, the physical
ordeal, but the extra spiritual awareness and
growth that feeds and uplifts our souls. The body
may be starved, but it's the soul that gets nourished.
We may be physically thirsty, but spiritually
we drink deep and long (for a whole month).
Finally, there's the feeling of sharing our humanity.
Care and share. And, I'll conclude with these
words e-mailed by an editor of a magazine to mark
the end of Ramadan: "Let's try also to spread
our joy by sharing and lightening the pains of
those who suffer poverty and deprivation, injustice
and exploitation, occupation and brutalisation".
Rejoice – Eid Mubarak! -- but spare a thought
also for the poor and the needy.
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