The ever present Taliban

So what is new if Rick Santorum is a Taliban because Taliban are everywhere and can be found in a variety of shapes and shades, openly operating across geographic and boundaries and religious compartments.

Consider for a moment:

Americans acted as Taliban when they invaded Iraq for no reason and destroyed the very fabric of the society. Remember what happened at the Abu Gharaib Prison.

The British, French, and other Europeans worked as Taliban when they went around colonizing countries around the world while robbing them of their wealth.

The Israelis are Taliban who are everyday squeezing the very lifeblood of Palestinians.

Saudis are working as Taliban as they rule with an iron fist while providing only minimal personal freedom.

Indians are Taliban as they commit atrocities in the occupied Kashmir while denying Kashmiris the freedom to be independent.

Afghans are Taliban, the Taliban created by the Americans to fight their war against the then Soviet Union. Although forced out of power, the Taliban are bound to return. And many Afghans want them to return in order to get rid of the massive levels of corruption that ails the country.

Pakistani Taliban like to associate themselves with their Afghan counterparts and as a result are bent upon destroying the very fabric of Pakistani society.

Many Africans are Taliban as they go about controlling wealth and power while letting their own fellow human beings suffer unbearably harsh consequences.

In any case, it is fashionable to be Taliban these days. The Tea Party and continuous effort by Republican candidates to please it for securing votes is all an activity in Talibanism.

So what if Rick Santorum is Taliban. Taliban are everywhere.

 


credits: animationlibrary, etc.

Rick Santorum is Taliban

A dear monk friend of mine called me the other day, of course on the secure mystic line. He sounded so delighted. I asked him what was the reason for his jubilation and the conversation between my Dear Monk friend and me (the humble follower) went like this:

Dear Monk friend: Don’t you know what that great future leader, the true Jesus          lover, the hope of the greatest nation on earth…..

Humble follower: O! for Jesus’ sake come to the point stop all that flattery

Dear Monk friend: I mean Rick Santorum has said, “there is no separation in Church and sate”. Is it not great, Jesus must be so happy up there…..

Humble follower: That is a reason for great concern not for joy my friend…

Dear Monk friend: Your problem is that you do not want any one to be happy, specially your friends….

Humble follower: Ok if what Rick Santorum says is true and there is no separation in Church and state, then remember what happened in the Western world when Church and State were conjoined twins few centuries back…..

Dear Monk friend: What happened? I was not even born then, how do I know?

Humble follower: You need to know your history my friend, leave the bible for a few days and read some history books….

Dear Monk friend: Oh! What blasphemy, you want me to stop reading bible and read some silly worldly books with stories of yester years…

Humble follower: Yes you should, you need to know how Church and state conspired to rob their own people and other people of their wealth, freedom and civil liberties. How non-Christians were converted to Christianity by force and the ones  who refused were persecuted and prosecuted. You need to know how Church and State, burned and tortured millions of their fellow Christians who dared to challenge them.

Dear Monk friend: That is unbelievable, that is a big lie, it seems, lately you have been reading satanic stuff, my friend read your bible, burn all these worldly books…

Humble follower: Yes like the Church and State did in those days, it seems nothing has changed……Ok my friend tell me what do you think of Taliban?

Dear Monk friend: They are evil people, don’t talk about them, what do they have to do with all this.

Humble follower: Well my friend they say the same thing, they say “there is no separation between Mosque and state”, they rob their people and other people of their civil liberties and freedom same way Church and State did in the past. They also use and abuse the name of God…….

Dear Monk friend: Hello, hello…..

Humble follower: If it is wrong for Taliban to marry Mosque and State in unholy matrimony then it is wrong for Rick Santorum or any other political or religious nutcase to even think about such a brazen idea. I think Rick Santorum is Taliban, he is the American version of Taliban.  He is going to do to America what Taliban did to Afghanistan ….

 Dear Monk friend: Hello, hello! Cant hear you… seems there is some disturbance in the line….hello …………..

 Republican Presidential hopeful Rick Santorum accused gay people of running a “jihad” against him. What else are gays and lesbians jihading over?

credits: nationalbuffoon, google

The Paradox of our age

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One Percent

US aided Pakistan group which supported extremists

Another example how US taxpayers money is wasted:

ISLAMABAD: The US gave money to a Pakistani Muslim group that organised anti-Taliban rallies, but which later demonstrated in support of an extremist who killed a leading liberal politician, the US Embassy in Pakistan said Wednesday.

US government website Usaspending.gov shows that the group, the Sunni Ittehad Council, received $36,607 from Washington in 2009.

A US diplomat said that the embassy had given money to the group to organise the rallies, but that it had since changed direction and leadership. He said it was a one-off grant, and wouldn’t be repeated. He didn’t give his name because he wasn’t authorised to speak about the issue on the record.

The grant was first reported by the Council of Foreign Relations on its website.

The Ittehad council was formed in 2009 to counter extremism. It groups politicians and clerics from Pakistan’s traditionalist Barelvi Muslim movement, often referred to as theological moderates in the Pakistani context.

The American money was used to organise nationwide rallies against militants and suicide bombings, the embassy official said. The demonstrations received widespread media coverage, and were some of the first against extremism in the country.

The rhetoric at the rallies was mostly focused on opposing militant attacks on shrines, which Barelvis frequent but are opposed by Deobandi Muslims, Pakistan’s other main Muslim sect.

In 2011 and also this month, however, the council led demonstrations in support of the killer of Salman Taseer, a governor who was killed a year ago for his criticism of anti-blasphemy laws. The displays have appalled Pakistani liberals and stoked international fears that the country is buckling under the weight of extremism.

Taseer’s assassin, Mumtaz Qadri, is a Barelvi. He claimed he acted to defend the honour of Prophet Mohammed.

At its rallies, the group maintains its criticism of the Taliban even as it supports Qadri — a seemingly contradictory stance that suggests its leaders may be more interested in harnessing the political support and street power of Barelvis than in genuinely countering militancy.

Two leading members of the council who have been with the group from the beginning of its existence denied receiving any American funds. The apparent discrepancy could be explained by lack of transparency within the organisation. However, given the current anti-American climate, owning up to receiving funds from the United States would invite criticism.

”This propaganda is being unleashed against us because we are strongly opposed to Western democracy and American policies in the region and in the world,” said Sahibzada Fazal Karim, the head of the council, before reiterating the group’s support for Qadri.

”We are against extremism, but we support Qadri because he did a right thing,” he said.

 Credits: Dawn

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                                                   pictorial credits: tumblr,google etc

Taliban and ultra-Ortodox Jews are the flip sides of the same coin

You thought Taliban are enemies of women's right, what ultra-Orthodox jews in Israel are doing, makes Taliban look like moderates.

"An Israeli weekend television program told the story of how [Naama Margolese, 8, the daughter of American immigrants who are observant modern Orthodox Jews] had become terrified of walking to her elementary school here after ultra-Orthodox men spit on her, insulted her and called her a prostitute because her modest dress did not adhere exactly to their more rigorous dress code.

Ultra-Orthodox men and boys from the most stringent sects have hurled rocks and eggs at the police and journalists, shouting “Nazis” at the security forces and assailing female reporters with epithets like “shikse,” a derogatory Yiddish term for a non-Jewish woman or girl, and “whore.”

...Riots broke out on Monday when the police accompanied media crews into Hazon Ish Street, the area where Naama’s tormentors are believed to have come from. Hundreds of black-garbed men and boys poured out of the synagogue and an adjacent seminary holding handwritten signs calling for the exclusion of women, illustrated with the male and female symbols used for public washrooms. One policeman was injured after being hit in the head with a rock and several arrests were made before the crowds dispersed at dusk.

Many of the ultra-Orthodox agitators blamed the news media for the unrest, saying they had come into the ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods to sow hatred and to persecute the residents for their religious beliefs". New York Times

credits: NY Times, slate etc