Ruminations of an 'artist' of 'sorts'
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Cartoons I like
This random compilation has been underway for a while now. Apart from some random ones, most of them are from xkcd , Mike Luckovich (2006 Pulitzer Winner), Michael Ramirez (2008 Pulitzer Winner), Nick Anderson , Clay Bennett , and Carlos Latuff.
To be read when exams are over and I'm jobless
By Nicholas Schmidle
By Mohammed Hanif
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Thoughts on the Middle East, History, and Religion
Juan Cole is President of the Global Americana Institute
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Pakistan Crisis and Social Statistics
By Alex Morales
The Taliban's accession to the position they occupy today is a logical culmination of the Pakistani state project as it has been executed since 1978
By Aasim Sajjad Akhtar
By David Jackson, USA TODAY
By NAHAL TOOSI – 12 hours ago
by Steven Musil
By TOM MCNICHOL
PESHAWAR: Taliban militants in Buner district shaved the heads and moustaches of four Pakistani men as punishment for listening to music, one of the men said Sunday.
Ahmadinejad speech: full text [PDF link]
This is the full text of the speech Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad gave at the Durban Review Conference, a UN conference on racism, in Geneva, Switzerland, on Tuesday, 20th April 2009.
Seasons in the Sun (and nerd nests in NUS!)
I just love, love, love (!) this song!
Seasons In The Sun by Terry Jacks
Download now or listen on posterous
terry jacks - seasons in the sun.mp3 (3288 KB) Download now or listen on posterous
Oh, and w.r.t. the heat in Singapore and the exam season, here are a few pictures of nerd nests around NUS, on a Sunday!
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Covert Actions by the US?
U.S. Weighs Taliban Strike Into Pakistan (By DAVID E. SANGER and ERIC SCHMITT, Published: March 17, 2009)
It is possible that the decisions about covert actions will never be publicly announced!?
What is this like, cutting the sugar intake of grandpa without him knowing? "Oh, it's for his own good, you see." What excuse is protecting your own sovereignty when it's at the expense of another's? You want to protect your country, go watch your seas, your skies and your borders. You have no fucking right to come to my country just to protect your own.
You think you know better while sitting thousands of miles away? You think your Principals Committee knows about ground realities? I don't think so. What is this about, huh, the new world order? You're well aware that our country does not support these terrorists. You know we are taking steps to resolve the situation by conducting our own covert operations. It affects us more than it affects you, you see.
And either ways, it is our nationals who become "civilian casualties" - such an infuriating word - "casualty". What is the etymology of the word? Innocent people who are killed casually?
Look, the bottom-line is, our civilians' lives are not less valuable than your civilians' lives. I do not endorse any terrorist attacks that result in such casualties. Islam very well doesn't. And Pakistan doesn't.
As for the political turmoil in Pakistan - it's been in turmoil ever since its inception. And it has always come through. Your skewed world-view won't let you see the real Pakistan. Stop making excuses. Read up on it some more, and try to reduce your ignorance.
And not that anyone doesn't know this, religious terrorism does not only stem from Islam. In India, there is a terrorist organization for almost every religion. The Sikhs have the Bhindranwale group (BTFK and others), and if you remember, Indra Gandhi was assassinated by her Sikh guard. The Christians have several terrorist organizations in Tripura that have conducted various attacks on Hindus. Then you have the ULFA that does not represent any specific religious group as they target Muslims and Hindus alike. The Maoists have conducted more terrorist attacks than any other terrorist organization in India. So go do your homework and learn about other terrorist groups as well.
In Sri Lanka, there are Hindu Terrorists (so what if the media doesn't use that term - they use it for Muslims so we can use the same logic, can't we? Yes, I'm talking about LTTE - the Tamil Tigers), who have killed 604 soldiers and 177 civilians during past 72 hours in Mullaitivu. In the UK, Irish Catholic Terrorists known as the Real IRA bombed BBC headquarters in 2001. IRA has conducted more terrorist attacks in the UK than the recent surge of 'Muslim' Terrorism combined. In Spain and France, the terrorist organization is ETA. In Africa, the list of terrorist organizations is exhaustive, but we all know about the The Lord's Salvation Army that trains and exploits children for their terrorist activities.
My point is: just leave Pakistan alone. We're not like Afghanistan or Iraq. We have nuclear warheads, and no Pakistani wants them to be used.
Peace.
PS. Our President may be a jackass but our nation is not.
It is possible that the decisions about covert actions will never be publicly announced!?
What is this like, cutting the sugar intake of grandpa without him knowing? "Oh, it's for his own good, you see." What excuse is protecting your own sovereignty when it's at the expense of another's? You want to protect your country, go watch your seas, your skies and your borders. You have no fucking right to come to my country just to protect your own.You think you know better while sitting thousands of miles away? You think your Principals Committee knows about ground realities? I don't think so. What is this about, huh, the new world order? You're well aware that our country does not support these terrorists. You know we are taking steps to resolve the situation by conducting our own covert operations. It affects us more than it affects you, you see.
And either ways, it is our nationals who become "civilian casualties" - such an infuriating word - "casualty". What is the etymology of the word? Innocent people who are killed casually?
Look, the bottom-line is, our civilians' lives are not less valuable than your civilians' lives. I do not endorse any terrorist attacks that result in such casualties. Islam very well doesn't. And Pakistan doesn't.
As for the political turmoil in Pakistan - it's been in turmoil ever since its inception. And it has always come through. Your skewed world-view won't let you see the real Pakistan. Stop making excuses. Read up on it some more, and try to reduce your ignorance.
And not that anyone doesn't know this, religious terrorism does not only stem from Islam. In India, there is a terrorist organization for almost every religion. The Sikhs have the Bhindranwale group (BTFK and others), and if you remember, Indra Gandhi was assassinated by her Sikh guard. The Christians have several terrorist organizations in Tripura that have conducted various attacks on Hindus. Then you have the ULFA that does not represent any specific religious group as they target Muslims and Hindus alike. The Maoists have conducted more terrorist attacks than any other terrorist organization in India. So go do your homework and learn about other terrorist groups as well.
In Sri Lanka, there are Hindu Terrorists (so what if the media doesn't use that term - they use it for Muslims so we can use the same logic, can't we? Yes, I'm talking about LTTE - the Tamil Tigers), who have killed 604 soldiers and 177 civilians during past 72 hours in Mullaitivu. In the UK, Irish Catholic Terrorists known as the Real IRA bombed BBC headquarters in 2001. IRA has conducted more terrorist attacks in the UK than the recent surge of 'Muslim' Terrorism combined. In Spain and France, the terrorist organization is ETA. In Africa, the list of terrorist organizations is exhaustive, but we all know about the The Lord's Salvation Army that trains and exploits children for their terrorist activities.
My point is: just leave Pakistan alone. We're not like Afghanistan or Iraq. We have nuclear warheads, and no Pakistani wants them to be used.
Peace.
PS. Our President may be a jackass but our nation is not.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Jolene!
Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene,
I'm begging of you please don't take my man.
Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene,
Please don't take him just because you can.
Your beauty is beyond compare,
With flaming locks of auburn hair,
With ivory skin and eyes of emerald green.
Your smile is like a breath of spring;
Your voice is soft like summer rain,
And I cannot compete with you, Jolene.
He talks about you in his sleep,
An' there's nothing I can do to keep,
From crying when he calls your name, Jolene.
And I can easily understand,
How you could easily take my man,
But you don't know what he means to me, Jolene.
Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene,
I'm begging of you please don't take my man.
Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene,
Please don't take him just because you can.
You could have your choice of men,
But I could never love again.
He's the only one for me, Jolene.
I had to have this talk with you:
My happiness depends on you,
And whatever you decide to do, Jolene.
Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene,
I'm begging of you please don't take my man.
Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene,
Please don't take him even though you can.
Jolene. ( Jolene.)
--
By Dolly Parton
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Friday, January 23, 2009
For Good
All her fragrances came to an end. No more joyous conversations on the phone. No more updating status messages on online services with implied meanings that were known to her alone.
Promises made but not kept. Issues not resolved. Too many people inbetween. He let her go...
For good.
For good!
She was the fresh bud upon his thorns. She neutralized him. He wanted to neutralize her. God had found their inverse and placed them in front of each other. Valentines forever.
Communication. The closer he came the more he got pushed back. He had a lot to say. He had a lot of nothing to say. A voice unheard?
A voice unheard. A murmuring one. A whimpering one. Agonizing her.
Uncertainty meant 'never', she thought. Ranting and pointing his finger at everything but himself! I will miss you. You took a stand on every little thing. You sure could yell. And so loud.
But you could be the one. The one who saves me from my own existence. Why are you so eager to identify with someone above the ground? Someone prepared to lead the way. Would this someone die for you?
Will you? Will you now? Would you die for me? Don't you fucking lie.
Don't you step out of line.
Don't you fucking lie.
I won't say goodbye. You do it. And then face yourself. If you can.
Promises made but not kept. Issues not resolved. Too many people inbetween. He let her go...
For good.
For good!
She was the fresh bud upon his thorns. She neutralized him. He wanted to neutralize her. God had found their inverse and placed them in front of each other. Valentines forever.
Communication. The closer he came the more he got pushed back. He had a lot to say. He had a lot of nothing to say. A voice unheard?
A voice unheard. A murmuring one. A whimpering one. Agonizing her.
Uncertainty meant 'never', she thought. Ranting and pointing his finger at everything but himself! I will miss you. You took a stand on every little thing. You sure could yell. And so loud.
But you could be the one. The one who saves me from my own existence. Why are you so eager to identify with someone above the ground? Someone prepared to lead the way. Would this someone die for you?
Will you? Will you now? Would you die for me? Don't you fucking lie.
Don't you step out of line.
Don't you fucking lie.
I won't say goodbye. You do it. And then face yourself. If you can.
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