text:
Turn autoplay on
Please activate cookies in order to turn autoplay off
Jump to content [s]
Jump to comments [c]
Jump to site navigation [0]
Jump to search [4]
Terms and conditions [8]
Text larger
guardian.co.uk Comment is free Web
The west shouldn't give up on Pakistan
The majority of Pakistanis are fed up of the barbaric acts of terror by extremists, and want effective, democratic leadership
guardian.co.uk,	Wednesday 4 March 2009 22.00 GMT
Shortly after Asif Ali Zardari's Pakistan People's party (PPP) and its coalition partner in the northwest of Pakistan, Awami National party (ANP), signed a peace deal agreeing to the implementation of sharia law in the Swat valley, Zardari unseated the Pakistan Muslim League (PML) government in Pakistan's largest province, the Punjab, and imposed governor rule.
Ironically, both the PPP and the ANP have historically flaunted their commitment to secular ideals. Yet, much like in the case of Musharraf, Zardari's energies are focused on targeting secular political opponents instead of extending the hand of collaboration to politicians across the spectrum in order to defeat the very dangerous enemy that is challenging the writ of the state and poised to impose its own draconian laws by force of the gun, as demonstrated by the attack on Sri Lanka's cricket team.
To be fair to the ANP, its leadership has suffered losses at the hands of the extremists and may well be too scared to further antagonise these ruthless and armed groups who are now terrorising populations in not just the tribal areas, but also settled parts of the northwest province. Yet, as several analysts within Pakistan have pointed out, there have been peace negotiations and deals entered into previously with these groups, but they have not achieved lasting results. And although a military solution is rarely desirable and some sort of political settlement will eventually have to take place, the extremists must lay down their arms and agree to abide by the laws of the state if there is to be a political settlement.
There is little doubt that American drone attacks in parts of Pakistan fuel sympathy for the extremists and create an environment whereby they can coerce concessions from the ruling government. Yet, overwhelmingly Pakistanis are fed up of the terror. Barbaric beheadings, burning of girls' schools, and a general feeling of insecurity has resulted in several Pakistani human rights groups and women activists protesting. Editorials, opinions and especially letters from the affected areas are pouring into newspapers condemning the violence and seeking help.
But the government's priorities seem to be elsewhere. Zardari is too busy consolidating power and obliterating opposition. The imposition of two months of governor rule in Punjab is disturbingly reminiscent of the three-month "emergency" that Musharraf imposed in November 2007. Using terrorism as an excuse, Musharraf proclaimed a state of emergency aimed at annihilating civil society opposition to his removal of the chief justice, Iftikhar Chaudhry.
In spite of jailing senior lawyers and several activists who were leading the chief justice's case for restoration, Musharraf could not thwart the desire for a democratic and progressive Pakistan found in large parts of the country, which has been sustained and facilitated by the amazing lawyers' movement. When political opponents joined the lawyers, Musharraf found it difficult to hang on to power. His party was defeated at the February 2008 polls, and contrary to the image of a wild and unruly Pakistan he had been busy painting to the west in his decade of rule, the Pakistanis voted for secular parties like the PPP and the ANP, not the religiously oriented ones that stood for sharia and jihad.
Having rejected the religious parties at the polls in favour of the secular ones, many Pakistanis are perplexed and severely disturbed that their mandate is being set aside by the government in favour of an alleged peace deal which may result in the imposition of a very rigid interpretation of sharia. On the other hand, what gives the extremists in places like Swat greater reason to push for sharia is the lack of a functioning secular justice system. While the real chief justice, Chaudhry, is still out of a job, a pliant one sits in his place. Nevertheless, the lawyers' movement remains alive today and is not willing to back down. It remains the greatest thorn in Zardari's side.
Much like Musharraf, Zardari offers words of concern for places like Swat but few actions. Actions are reserved for political opponents like the Sharif brothers and their PML, which was doing an administratively decent job of ruling the Punjab until it was derailed a few days ago, and for civil society activists like those involved in the lawyers' movement, who are once again threatening a long march if the real chief justice is not restored. The mere thought of this has led Zardari to topple the democratically elected government in Punjab, from where the long march would have commenced.
He has not learned from Musharraf's experience. He cannot suppress an idea whose time has come. He will either have to restore Chaudhry, who most Pakistanis look upon as a symbol of justice, or risk Musharraf's fate. There is also a lesson here for the western powers. It is time to let go of partnerships with individuals such as Musharraf and Zardari, who cannot deliver on the fight against extremism, and look instead to partner with the Pakistani nation, civil society activists and professionals, who have a far greater stake in the system and want their country to progress and function democratically.
In his inaugural address, President Obama, in addressing the Muslim world, said, "we will extend a hand if you are willing to un-clench your fist". It may be too much to ask those who are accustomed to corruption and deceit to un-clench their fists, but how about extending a hand to those who are on the right side of history and who are not willing to back down from their democratic ideals?
larger | smaller
Your IP address will be logged
Mixx it!
Report errors or inaccuracies: userhelp@guardian.co.uk
Letters for publication should be sent to: letters@guardian.co.uk
If you need help using the site: userhelp@guardian.co.uk
Call the main Guardian and Observer switchboard:
License/buy our content
Pakistan ·
Global terrorism ·
Sri Lanka cricket team attack
More comment
More from Comment is free on
English referee Chris Broad condemns Pakistan security over terrorist attack
Pakistan police claim arrests over gun attack on Sri Lankan cricket team
Echoes of Munich in Pakistan attacks
Gunmen throw Pakistan's sporting future into doubt
Ayesha Ijaz Khan: The west shouldn't give up on Pakistan
This article was published on guardian.co.uk at 22.00 GMT on Wednesday 4 March 2009.
's comment
Comments in chronological order (Total comment)
Comments are now closed for this entry.
Showing first 50 comments | Go to all comments | Go to latest comment
Please choose a problem:
Choose one Personal abuse Off topic Legal issue Trolling Hate speech Offensive/Threatening language Copyright Spam Other
You have 5000 characters left
Your email address: (optional)
Loading...............
Closing this window without pressing "Report" will result in your words being lost.
Sorry, something has gone wrong and this action cannot be completed. Please try again later.
MartynInEurope
4 Mar 2009, 10:10PM
Good article, well balanced, I hope people will read all of it before jumping in with both feet.
Recommend? (7)
Clip |
ShamelessHussy
If you want effective democratic leadership then why did your country vote for a corrupt husband of a corrupt woman who have an absent teenage son who was crowned leader of the ruling party?
People get the leaders they deserve and this is why Pakistan is in a mess. Your calling for western meddling is bound to make things worse. Hows about Pakistanis trying to sort out their problems between themselves and their neighbours instead of relying on warmongering nations on the other side of the world bent on colonial schemes?
Recommend? (23)
Itsintheeyesandsoul
I am not a Muslim. My understanding of your faith is limited. As I understand it though there are three major branches of Islam territorially overlapping each other and various national boundaries. Within these branches there are loosely connected and fluid schools of thought, of varying sizes most very localised and specific to the economic and cultural traditions of the areas they have originated from. These lines of thinking are allied to each other and co-operate with each other as the circumstances they face change. The western construct of radical Islam is exactly that. A figment of simplistic reporting. What is in fact happening is that increasing numbers of Muslims are finding their traditions threatened by external cultural, financial and territorial encroachment to varying degrees.
This is causing the various and diverse schools of thought to temporarily ally themselves with the more fundamental schools in order to strengthen their theological, intellectual roots and tenets. This is done understandably to counter the territorial and cultural erosion and dissipation they face if they do nothing. Anti Moslem feeling and propaganda is also causing many Moslems to adopt a more defensive position, often misinterpreted.
This defensive reaction is nothing new, it has been in progress for the last fifty years or so. This reaction has been exacerbated and accelerated by the American / British territorial invasions. However it was accelerating before 2001 due to western financial and military support for outdated feudal regimes of varying antiquity and adherence to the beliefs of your religion. The support for these regimes and for Israel by America is the true root of the 2001 attacks, and for anti-western feeling amongst many followers of Islam.
The cultural dilution and encroachments are what has caused the rapid growth and emphasis of Sharia Law in recent years to strengthen adherence to The Faith. This is understandable, as internal opposition to some of the more reactionary regimes has grown, religious law being a replacement for civil law. The oppressive nature of some of the secular regimes is what has created the growth of theological politics within the Islamic faith.
TPTFC
Pakistan doesn't have very long to prove that it isn't a complete basket case. The number of terrorists collared in the UK with their roots in Pakistan don't exactly help encourage us to imagine that the country is under control.
FathersJustice
MS Khan
Pakistan would be better of without west.
I agree with Imran khan ..So called war on terror has created more problems for pakistan which was not there.
Grow up and stand on your own legs...
It would seem that the tragic war is escalating, embroiling more innocent civilians in its path. It is further destabilising an already struggling and volatile nation, that has been forced by the wars of the last 30 years in Afghanistan to accommodate the refugees and fighters displaced. The militancy created by the presence of foreign coalition bases and action will spread, drawing more recruits into the fighting. The supply and training bases the coalition are trying to control will quickly be moved to the borders of the new conflict. This will draw yet more recruits to the cause of militant Islam. The totalitarian control the Taliban exercise will take root. Successful democratic government in Pakistan will then be even less likely, as the ideas of theocracy the war has accelerated cause yet more western supported military control.
The oppressive nature of some secular regimes is what has created the growth of theological politics within the Islamic faith. A theocracy will be a barrier to any progress towards freedom, modernisation and tolerance for all the people, as antiquated oppressive laws are imposed.
The conduct of this war is counter to its objectives. It is creating and spreading the ideology and hatred it seeks to challenge. The Islamic world is sliding backward dragging Muslims into self-created oppression.
There are a lot of peoples on the Indian sub-continent and the world recession will create tensions enough without a possible border war and inter ethnic civil violence. If an Islamic theocracy of some description takes power in Pakistan that scenario seems almost inevitable given the historical antagonism between some of the religions.
With the situation as it stands now, intensified terrorist incursions and further destabilisation of the northern border regions of India seems a strong possibility. Particularly where there are large Muslim minority populations.
The loyalties and focus of the Pakistani military will be divided. That will reduce current levels of control on both northern and southern borders, as attention is diverted to suppressing internal unrest. The Indian government is unlikely to have any sympathy for the situation faced by Pakistani government soldiers.
I think it almost inevitable that the Pakistani army will implode under such pressure. It looks as if Islamic theocracy in Pakistan is a strong possibility. We havent even begun to consider the nuclear weapons in the equation.
One word springs immediately to mind.
Kicking a beehive that size is really goddam dangerous !
natbankofuganda
You won't get Western help, anyway. The USA has decided it wants to end oil dependency - so there's no longer a self-interested motive for them to intervene.
Lets not forget Pakistan's existence derives from Western interference - namely, partition.
But maybe the West's declining economic interest in the region could lead to a wider retreat from military interference in Pakistan's neigbouring territories - but don't count on it. We keep deluding ourselves that the Taliban is some 'mother superior' that Islamic fundamentalists can't do without, that aspiring terrorists are dependent on them. But I don't believe this is the case.
Destroy the Taliban and without a strong 'hearts and minds' campaign, the independent and autonomous nature of this terror threat will be more fully exposed.
Pakistan should have been fenced off long time ago, when it was clear, terrorism and Pakistan go hand in hand.
A stronger measure should have been taken against Pakistan, when it became clear A.Q Khan was selling nuclear know how blue print to whoever had the $. He is now free from "a house arrest".
The rest of the world has fallen too cheaply for Pakistan double speak for far too long and paid top $ for all the lies. Pakistan should just be left alone to consume its main export, which no one wants - their well minted madrasas terror graduates.
Who said: what goes around, comes around! Pakistan should be left alone to enjoy the fruit of her labour. Only Pakistan can decide, how abundantly they want to reap the seed they had sowed.
You know Pakistan's troubles are caused by others - the Indians, Western nations and others who came to impose a violent extremist religion, forced marriages, backward culture, tribalism etc on Pakistan.
Politics does not work. Military dictatorship does not work. Uncovered Western educated ladies, writing on Pakistan are not taken seriously. They will be snubbed, abused, and humiliated, but they pontificate anyway, because they can express themselves on forums such as CIF, where they ARE taken seriously by other Western educated Pakistanis.
Too bad, when they visit Pakistan, they need the protection of the security forces, which are also part of the problem. There are layered levels of hypocrisy that appear when educated British Muslims offer their opinions on their homeland.
It is a paradox, as defending ones people, culture, religion and behaviour to a hostile West, and then experiencing the brutality, corruption, violence and bigotry inside the country itself. The casualty of this relationship is truth.
5 Mar 2009, 12:23AM
Pakistan is a nation of 173, million people it is pointless generalising, each person is an individual with a history, background and culture that has shaped their views. What we are seeing in the world today is the friction created by modern globalisation of ideas, finance, industry and sadly war. Superimpose the speed of current accelerating change on a feudal culture that has remained stable and set in archaic ways for centuries and tension is bound to erupt. I am not suggesting that Pakistan is in the main backward, it has obviously advanced and modernised greatly since independence. Many of its people have been left behind though. The tension we are seeing now is the inevitable result of that. Controlling the antagonism to prevent catastrophic loss of life is the challenge.
Jihadists are not generally understood. Most of them are in fact very nice indeed. Apparently in Arabic, Jihad means striving in the way of Allah. There are four types of Jihad it is a concept, comparable to the Christian resistance to sin. Our understanding and translation offends Muslims. A much less offensive and accurate term would, so I understand, be Fasad, which describes illegitimate violence.
The threat from Fasadists might be diminished if the Free Press had been a little more accurate with their terminology. Jihad you could say is an action that has been declared righteous. Sometimes such declarations are made by individual clerics. That does not mean all followers of the Muslim faith agree. The opinions on the interpretation of the Koran are as varied as the subtle nuances in Arabic. The life and actions of Mohammed are also consulted to clarify opinions. At its core Islam is about peace, love and fraternal compassion for ALL in the same manner that the other two Abrahamic religions are. Christians and Jews are referred to as People of the Book.
Because a self proclaimed, deluded, fundamentalist, Christian Reverend Minister with a few followers declares it righteous to hate homosexuals or American soldiers killed in action, does that mean all Christians believe it? Islam does not have a leader. Some clerics are more senior than others, their opinions might carry more weight but there is no overarching structure of leadership. How the Koran is interpreted depends on the leader who imparts his opinions.
Islam is the religion of about one third of the people on this planet. It is rapidly overtaking Christianity as the Worlds leading religion.
Our understanding of the Muslim faith is dismal particularly when you consider that Muslims in general are much more devout than their fellow Abrahamic Christians. To defeat the threat of The Taliban co-operation and understanding between Christian and Muslim is the only rational way forward, particularly in a nation with a population of 73 million. The vast majority of Muslims in Pakistan and India want nothing to do with archaic and totalitarian interpretations of their religion. Neither do they want the imposition of strict Sharia Law.
these ruthless and armed groups who are now terrorising populations in not just the tribal areas, but also settled parts of the northwest province.
I have no sympathy with The Taliban, who were fabricated and armed to kill people like me- secular, socialists opposed to imperialism.
But the current situation is that the Taliban saddle is fastened on to the horse of independence, self-rule and a refusal to submit to rule by the Empire and its agents.
Such times occur in the history of nations: liberals, reactionary nationalists and communists put aside the differences which define them to expel foreigners. They are united by the disgust that they feel at the random attacks on villages by bombers casually wiping out women, children and non-combatants to demonstrate their power.
They find the very phenomenon of the "predator" missiles and the "reaper" drones, guided to their targets by uniformed video game players in Reno, utterly obscene- slime spat in the face of mankind.
The corruption and the cynicism with which Pakistan's ruling elites have been manipulated, enriched, empowered and protected from the citizenry has given everything about the 'west' a bad name.
Time and again democrats, peasant land reformers, secular 'modernisers', socialists have been taught that their dreams of peaceful change, evolutionary development and a sensible national debate are empty. That there can be no politics which do not begin with the acceptance of the status quo and end with doing as they are told.
The best thing that the 'west' can do for Pakistan is to leave the place alone, stop arming the tyrants, stop using the country as a massive religio-social laboratory for Saudis, with guilty consciences and more money than they know what to do with, and let the people do what they would have done years ago if we had let them: govern themselves reasonably, for themselves.
Until we do there will be resistance and the Resistance will be called terrorists, fanatics, bigoted nationalists, tribalists , islamo-fascists. And so on.
They may be all or none of these things, but as long as they are protecting their communities from foreign tyranny and comprador corruption they will enjoy the support of those among whom they live.
Antonymous
Excuse me, but how on earth can Pakistan be a Nuclear State without Western support?
All terror activity is monitored and approved by the West before it happens...this attack on cricketers being the equal of the Mumbai attacks...hmm.
Either we allow Iran to become a Nuclear State and balance Israel...or we take away Pakistans Nuclear ability.
But why should this decision be a, secret and b, based on terror?
Peace is the word.
One small, unsuccessful and isolated attack (and I am talking about Mumbai) should not lead the Eastern world down the same garden path Bush allowed America and the West to follow after 9/11.
2 wrongs do not make a right,
uppityduck
5 Mar 2009, 1:11AM
Pakistan is fast descending to the depths that Algeria fell into in the 1990's when the West abandoned that country to relentless bloodletting.
That Pakistan consists of a corrupt ruling class and equally corrupt Generals are manner from heaven to the extremists and Taliban, who are exerting influences in much of rural Pakistan, add to that an Afghan War nowhere near to conclusion, you'll have to think that this will continue for much of the next decade or more.
Add to this the black hand of the Pakistan security services, the instability actually works for the Army, if there it was a truly democratic country like India the Army would take it's proper place in society.
Even Pakistan cannot be united under Islam, which was the raison d'etre for it's creation, it is tantamount to to questioning the rational for it's existence.
Save for it's nuclear weapons why shouldn't the West give up on Pakistan?
04 Mar 09, 10:29pm (about 4 hours ago)
The world would be better off without Pakistan.
Sad, but very true at the moment.
Live long...
peelavaha
If the majority of Pakistanis are really fed up of the barbaric acts of terror by extremists, and want effective, democratic leadership, then here are a couple of thing they can try. 1) Reduce the military spending by 70% and 2) Use the money to provide alternative schooling and services for the poor.
Pakistani military strength is about half that of of India, which is six times larger. This gives the Pakistani military far more influence over other civil institutions through control of vital resources. No democratic country has such a huge imbalance between it's military expenditure relative to it's GDP. Much western aid is wasted on weapons which are ultimately useless against India but which divert resources away from the needs of the population. The population therefore turns to Wahabi institutions financed by hard line Islamists from Saudi Arabia and other places.
As for defending Pakistan against India, you should know that India has offered to turn the line of control into the international border. The vast majority of Indians do not now want undo partition.
ParagAdalja
There is little doubt that American drone attacks in parts of Pakistan fuel sympathy for the extremists
So writes Ms.Khan. The fact is that this is nothing but conventional wisdom, repeat something on telly and print a thousand times and everyone starts to believe it.
I would direct you to this excellent Opinion Research piece on this exact subject by Farhat Taj (The News International, 030509) conducted by AIRRA, input sampling from over 2000 in NWFP and FATA in Pakistan. The results would surprise you. Far from being unhappy about the drone attacks, those living in NWFP and Fata are HAPPY and support the drone attacks.
And with regards to this glorifying of Justice Chaudhry, I would like to add this - It was Mr.Justice Chaudhry who acquiesced and took oath under PCO as Justice of Supreme Court (under Musharraf) even as seven of his co-justices resigned rather than accept the PCO. Not exactly a hero.
Excellent article, Ayesha and a great post from Ellis.
Itsintheeyesandsoul,
I hope those "Islam is innately a religion of violence" posters will read your posts carefully. Thank you.
Muradfar
Yet, overwhelmingly Pakistanis are fed up of the terror. Barbaric beheadings, burning of girls' schools, and a general feeling of insecurity has resulted in several Pakistani human rights groups and women activists protesting.
That may be so Ayesha but believe me that the same people are still heavily indoctrinated by Islam and all what it stands for. I was speaking to my highly educated niece who is far from religious and trying to emigrate to Canada with her family, regarding the death sentence for Salman rushdie called for by the head of previous Punjab assembly in 2007 and endorsed by most TV Mullahs. I was hoping to hear that being progressive, and aspiring to move to a progressive country she would condemn it, instead she said that she would like to kill Rushdie with her own hands!
It is not what Ayesha says which is important. It is what Islam teaches. In order to sound more convincing and make a changing impact people like Ayesha must disown the violent parts of Quran and Ahadiths.
raekarma
I asked a Pakistani friend what I could do to help and her reply was to let Pakistanis arrive at their own solution without foreign interference. I was surprised at first but I'm beginning to understand her point of view because in solving the mess themselves perhaps they will find the strength and wisdom to overcome these seemingly insurmountable difficulties and lay a foundation for the future.
Saqibmunirkhan
This comment has been removed by a moderator. Replies may also be deleted.
Pakistan's army supported and continues to support terrorism and Wahabbi Islam. In every region it has touched- Kashmir, Afghanistan, Pakistan itself- other view points have been driven out and replaced by Wahabbi Islam and intolerance using violence and money.
When crocodile tears are shed for other Islamic peoples by these same defenders of the faith, let us not forget the reign of terror that has been unleashed on muslims of every other persuasion than Wahabbi by these same people. Bombs and bullets speak louder about their true nature than any amount of pious platitudes OR protest marches.
Right now- the dog has turned on its nominal masters- the people of Pakistan. The reason why Pakistan is unable to defeat the Taliban is because the army and the Taliban/Lashkar e Toiba are all hand in glove.
No civilian government is going to be able to take on the army and unless the people are ready to overthrow the army, things look set to get worse.
stroan
The Pakistan population has pretty well tripled in the fifty years since its inception. In any country even with huge resources a growth like this would surely produce some degree of instability. Pakistan unfortunately has very little.
Throw in a backward-looking (rurally at least imo despite Teacup's rosy urban view) and strong religion plus class/tribal differences (yes even within Pakistan) plus widespread poverty and you have a recipe for unrest.
(Emigrating to Britain, and elsewhere, to escape may be coming to an end - the problems of Pakistani colonies in Britain is another question but not less real)
Muradfar,
That comment in my post was addressed to the poster itsintheeyesandsoul, not to the author. As a matter of fact, though I am not Muslim myself, I am quite plugged into the Muslim society of SmallTeaTown and am taken as "one of us" by them*. Not one that I know of speaks approvingly of violence.
*At the 40th day ceremonies remembering the dead, the custom is to have two sets or rites, one for "Hindu maanu" (basically those who would be offended by having beef served at the function) and quite another for "amaar maanu" (our folk) which includes a milaad. I am always invited to the function for "amaar maanu".
Weeper
Nice article Ayesha, well done.
You say that the western powers should: look instead to partner with the Pakistani nation, civil society activists and professionals, who have a far greater stake in the system and want their country to progress and function democratically.
Very true, but sadly it won't happen. The US is not interested in such things as people and democracy, whatever their pronouncements. They are only interested in geopolitics and resources.
In the past it has done all to support those aligned with US corporate interests at the expense of people and democracy, Saddam, Indonesia, Apartheid, Pinochet, Saudi Arabia, Haiti being only a few examples. Millions have been killed and dictators propped up.
The policy continues to the present, Egypt, Uzbegistan, Iraq, Afghanistan being only a few examples where dictators are supported at the expense of the people. Unfortunately, Pakistan is also an example.
Only the excuses change. Previously we were told to look for reds under the bed, now its Islamists, WMDs, drugs, whatever.
amerk
Anyone and everyone should realize this with open eyes that
'there is a grave proble'
'every problem has a solution'
'USSR was defeated with the help of the west but will foot soldiers on the ground'
'these foot soldiers are going to be again pakistan army and it's bacckers and helpers'
Hence,
the US must curtail;
'india from it's obsessions'
'karzai with his ill intentions'
and ask India to close down all it's consulates in afghanistan... unless that happens, we will see more of such things happening
Pakistan / ISI must give an equivalent reply to India in near future to balance the equation...
Why was Saqibmunirkhan's article removed it was written with true the feeling of a Pakistani National. He was making a valuable contribution to the debate ?? He obviously had deeply held beliefs and knowledge of his subject. Nowhere did he condone violence or use offensive language.
Why has he been unjustly censored?
That is appalling curtailment of free speech.
Particularly considering the Guardian's reputation.
amerk,
1. India supports Islamic terror ?
2. You support terrorism.
You exemplify the kind of person who creates problems for Pakistan and the world. I am reporting your post for abuse- support of terrorism.
If posts like that of Saqibmunirkhan are removed it is easy to see why the debates are so sterile and narrow. The very tactics of the dictators complained of. I was just about to google the ethnic groups he mentioned to learn more. The man has a right to his opinions.
please do report... i am not worried, let the moderator decide !!!
1. terrorism does not have a religion so lets not talk about 'islamic terrorism' or 'hindu terrorism' or 'christian terrorism' - terrorism is all that we are seeing in today's world and there are only sponsors and activits in there and what i am saying is that india is a big time sponsor of regional terrorism and it is frankly very natural too as india wants to be a regional power and does not give heed to any one in the region - activits on the otherhand are interest groups who undertake these actions...
2. i do not support terrorism at all, but i am a pragmatic person and i know what the 'ceter right' and 'extreme center right' in a country will be thinking, they will be thinking that pakistan after this incident is defamed by india and they must and will react to what has happend, it's but natural....
We will keep on seeing such acts in the world till we all start respecting each other on equal basis which i frankly dont see happening in forseeable future...
good luck to all of us !!!
It's a bloody awful fix. Pakistan has been under military dictators for some 35 out of 60 years. It is almost impossible to build a civil society under such conditions. This is exacerbated by a seemingly endless war in a neighbouring country, in which not only parts of the Pakistan military have been involved but also two super powers.
What Pakistan needs is a long period of being left alone to solve its problems. Like many people here I don't find my experience of Pakistan or Pakistanis reflected in either religious extremism or military dictatorship. The new government is trying to re-establish the rule of law at a time when the economy is collapsing and the savage frontier war escalating. I admire those here who seem to think that they could do better or know what should be done. Speking for myself I have to admit that I don't have a clue. My only feelings are sympathy for the people, and some sense of understanding of the awful problems facing the government.
vakibs
what i am saying is that india is a big time sponsor of regional terrorism and it is frankly very natural too as india wants to be a regional power
So what do you think about China ? It is 3 times the size of India and shares a border with Pakistan and Afghanistan ? Isn't it "very natural" that China sponsors terrorism in Pakistan and Afghanistan to secure its regional power status ?
In fact, China has vetoed several times in the UN security council against recognizing myriad terror outifts of Pakistan for what they are. It has toned down its veto these days due to blatant acts of terrorism. Look at how many countries in the neighborhood that China is friends with,are run by military dictators. Why is China supporting military dictators against democratic governments ?
osamabinbush
PAkistan has many things going against it
1. Pakistan was created in the name of Islam. It is natural that when political groups compete whichever can shout out the loudest faith in fundamentalist islam gets stronger.
2. Since its creation and due to the nature of its reation 'anti Indianism' has been pakistan's main foreign policy. Consequently pakistan became a subservient partner of american imperialism because India was seen to be pro soviet union. This led to pakistani involvement in Afghanistan ( in partenrship with CIA) during the eighties. The ony tool the west had in fighting the progressive policies of the pro soviet government was islamic fundamentalism. The result was the rdicalisation of not only Afghanistan but Pakistan as well. Rest is history, the results are there for us to see.
Pakistani civil society has a big problem if they have to survive. The mind set of every thing defined by Islam has to be shed and adopt a secular modern thinking. Otherwise even Allah cannot help them
ThomasY
We have to stay out of this and leave it to Pakistan to resolve.
Obviously we should offer humanitarian aid if there is some kind of repeat of what happened when Bangladesh seceded from Pakistan and we have to make sure what happens stays in Pakistan and does not affect India, Afghanistan etc.
But surely we have learned our lesson from Afghanistan by now. You can not build a state from the outside. Only the people who live there can do that.
@ShamelessHussy
Pakistan did not elect Zadari as President, well not exactly. The President of Pakistan is elected by the two houses of Parliament and the assemblies of the 4 provinces. The PPP and its allies had huge majorities in most of these elected assemblies. During the general election Zadari assured everyone he did not seek elected office but then manourvered himself into the President's seat, once the PPP did well in the elections.
Most Pakistanis are quite embarrassed that Zadari has made it to the presidency.
arun1
The seculars in Pakistan must show some courage. Dismantle the terrorist camps and jail all those who preach hate in madrasas.
As some people have already commented one of the biggest problems is the Pakistani mindset. Everything is India's fault. Its someone else's fault.
Even now people are saying that this attack was orchestrated by India. Even the driver of the team's coach (after his official de-briefing by the security forces) is saying that the attackers did not look like Pakistani's, they looked very 'Indian'. Oh for goodness sake, get me 5 north Indians men and 5 Pakistani Punjabi's and stand them next to each other without any religious symbols on them and tell me who can pick out the Pakistani or the Indian. Its usually said that 80% of the sub-continent Muslims are descendants of Hindus anyway.
When will Pakistanis realise India wants a stable Pakistan. Quite simply no one wants a mess or a failed state at its doorstep. An unstable Pakistan would be a disaster for India economically, as it would have to spend more money on defence to keep out the extremist groups.
Pakistanis need to accept that the attackers come from within and not from outside.
Finally to those Pakistanis that say that the attack in Lahore was carried out by India in revenge for the Mumbai attacks, does that therefore mean that Pakistan was indeed involved in the Mumbai attacks?
Pakistan is defamed by its own shameless acts of terror and violence. All that India has to do is to watch as your own war dogs bite you in the arse.
As for your claims of not inciting violence, we all know what ISI is famous for- the Taliban is after all the creation of the ISI.
I have a lot of sympathy for the common people of Pakistan- very little for the likes of you- who are too paranoid and brainwashed to accept the truth.
When will Pakistanis realise India wants a stable Pakistan
I think the Pakistani elite realizes that nobody wants anything from Pakistan except for them to retreat to their borders and stop stirring trouble among their neighbours. However they are too embarrassed to tell their population that they have run down the country to such a state that nobody else thinks they have anything worth fighting over except the religious nuts. I don't even think even most of the Pakistani politicians firmly believe that there is anything salvageable from the country in the immediate future - they seem to be hedging their bets and preparing a cushion for when they flee abroad - which doesn't exactly inspire confidence in their commitment to decisive leadership.
perpetualperplexion
5 Mar 2009, 1:02PM
That should read India wants a stable and supine Pakistan, and lets not forget there are still many in India that consider Pakistan as illegitimate and still part of India.
Ellis: I have no sympathy with The Taliban, who were fabricated and armed to kill people like me- secular, socialists opposed to imperialism
Good to hear, but just one thing.
The Taliban will kill anbody, including their fellow Muslims. Nothing to with secularism, socialists, pro-Russians Imperialists...
You see, the Taliban are a bunch of fascist thugs, so they don't tend to be that selective in who they kill and oppress.
PaulLambert
'In his inaugural address, President Obama, in addressing the Muslim world, said, "we will extend a hand if you are willing to un-clench your fist"'.
That's just obscene. Consider the U.S.'s record in the 'Muslim world' over the last six decades or so. Millions dead in Iraq from sanctions and war. Overthrowing democratically elected governments (Iran '53). Materially supporting and propping up dictators (Hussein in the eighties, the House of Saud, Suharto in his genocidal assault on the East Timorese). Arming and funding the most extreme Islamist fundamentalist groups in Afghanistan in the eighties (Hekmatyar, Haqqani et al), so that they came to dominate the society. Deeply unpopular airstrikes that kill innocent men, women and children in Afghanistan to this day. But according to Obama, it's the 'Muslim world' that has to 'unclench it's fist'.
As this recent World Public Opinion poll shows, what the people of Pakistan apparently want is for the U.S. to just leave them the f*ck alone.
That's just obscene
No, Islamofascism and their defenders are the obscene.
Millions dead in Iraq from sanctions and war.
Most of the dead of through the fault of Islamic terrorists and Saddam. Just like the 100,000 dead in Iran since 1979. People with agendas are quite happy to turn a blind eye... They have blood on their hands.
so that they came to dominate the society
I think you will find that Islamic terrorist groups have sprung in countries where the U.S. did not "train them" or "support them". You can keep defending Islamofascists and the millions of people they have oppressed and murdered over the years, Paul. You have blood on your hands.
But according to Obama, it's the 'Muslim world' that has to 'unclench it's fist'.
He is 100% correct. The vast majority of violence and murder inflicted on Muslims is committed by fellow "Muslims". Fact. Now, Paul, do you still think Muslims should keep that "fist clenched".
As this recent World Public Opinion poll shows, what the people of Pakistan apparently want is for the U.S. to just leave them the f*ck alone
If they stop sponsoring terrorism, they should. However, as long as a country with nuclear weapons is in danger of collapsing, the U.S. and every other developed country in the world will be keeping a very close eye (and hand) on Pakistan. You develop nuclear weapons, you are dealing with the big boys. Sorry, Paul.
The mess in Pakistan, as it is with many "Islamic" countries, is down to the rigid Islamic culture, economic and societal practice evident in that country.
Get of that "trendy bandwagon" and open your eyes, Paul.
Live long...and keep exposing the truth.
DrJohnZoidberg
paullambert- you must have run out of characters, so i'll finish your sentence:
what the people of Pakistan apparently want is for the U.S. to just leave them the f*ck alone...
...but to keep sending the cheques to prop the country up.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/feb/27/pakistan.usa
@perpetualperplexion:
That should read India wants a stable and supine Pakistan, and
lets not forget there are still many in India that consider Pakistan as
illegitimate and still part of India.
Yep thats what the Pakistani military has brainwashed the Pakistani people to believe, thats how they can justify their huge budget and existence. This was probably true for the first 20-30 years after partition but I think after that mainstream India probably lost interest and moved on.
There is still however a small group, isolated to a extreme right-wing Hindu minority who consider Afghanistan, Burma, Bangladesh and Pakistan to be part of Greater India. This group don't even like the Hindu nationalist BJP party.
Most Indians are now moving to the view that perhaps partition was a blessing in disguise. Without partition India would have had a long border with Afghanistan and a huge Muslim minority. The first PM of India Nehru when he finally relunctantly agreed to partition in 1947 said that it was:
'cutting of the head to cure the headache'
05 Mar 09, 2:21pm (about 1 hour ago)
The usual case of we given them a hand, they knife us in the back.
Was it ever thus?
PeterParker:
'No, Islamofascism and their defenders are the obscene'.
That's a total non-sequiter. Just because reactionary Islamism is bad, it doesn't mean that all the things I referenced that the U.S./U.K. have done in the 'Muslim world' over the years are good. Overthrowing democratically elected governments and installing dictators in their place to protect oil interests is bad. Arming and supporting genocidal tyrants is bad. Bombing innocent men, women and children is bad. I
You disagree?
'Most of the dead of through the fault of Islamic terrorists and Saddam'.
'Islamic terrorists' and 'Saddam' weren't responsible for the sanctions that starved and killed several hundreds of thousands of children. Nor were they responsible for the illegal 2003 invasion and everything it's lead to. They had absolutely no control over either of those things. It wasn't 'Islamic terrorists' collectively punishing Fallujah, committing massacres in Haditha, torturing in Abu Ghraib, shooting civilians like they were nothing in Basra, and dropping cluster bombs on housing estates. It was the U.S. and U.K.. Iraqis are aware of that, even if you aren't. And as Robert Jackson, a chief justice at the Nuremberg tribunals, pointed out:
'To initiate a war of aggression, therefore, is not only an international crime; it is the supreme international crime differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole'.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_aggression
'I think you will find that Islamic terrorist groups have sprung in countries where the U.S. did not "train them" or "support them". You can keep defending Islamofascists and the millions of people they have oppressed and murdered over the years, Paul. You have blood on your hands'.
Another absolute non-sequiter. Who's 'defending Islamofascists'? I just pointed out that the very people you dismiss as 'Islamofascists' in Afghanistan - Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, Jalaluddin Haqqani, Abdul Rasul Sayyaf, etc - were armed and funded by the U.S. in the eighties. To the tune of about $3bn. The U.S. also gave them the green light to carry out terrorist attacks in various central asian states. True fact. They had no real base in Afghanistan until that time, but they were so strenghtened by American (and Saudi, British and Pakistani) aid that they were able to pretty much take over the country. Indeed, the current Secretary of Defence, Robert Gates, was deputy director of the CIA at the time, and was co-responsible for the policy. He's open about it. See Ahmed Rashid's 'Taliban' and Peter Bergan's 'Holy War, Inc.' for the supporting evidence.
In light of these facts, it's simply obscene of Obama to say that the 'Muslim world' has to 'unclench it's fist'.
'He is 100% correct. The vast majority of violence and murder inflicted on Muslims is committed by fellow "Muslims". Fact. Now, Paul, do you still think Muslims should keep that "fist clenched"'.
*Another* non-sequiter. Just because 'Muslims are killing other Muslims' in some countries, it doesn't make it okay for the U.S./U.K. to bomb, invade and subjugate Muslims and countries with largely Muslim populations, nor does it make it okay for them to support genocidal tyrants and overthrow democratically governments. Which is what they've been doing in the 'Muslim world' for decades. Mainly in the middle east, because that's where most of the world's oil is, and they've favoured 'stability' (read: dictatorship) over democracy to keep it flowing. Ask Condaleeza Rice.
'Get of that "trendy bandwagon" and open your eyes, Paul'.
You call it trendy, I call it having a clue, not being a raving Islamophobe, and recognising U.S./U.K. crimes when I see them.
PaulLambert:
Just because reactionary Islamism is bad, it doesn't mean that all the things I referenced that the U.S./U.K. have done in the 'Muslim world' over the years are good
I never said it did. BTW, Islamic terorism is not just "reactionary". Stop defending the fascist terrorists.
Overthrowing democratically elected governments and installing dictators in their place to protect oil interests is bad.
Yeah, never said it wasn't Paul. Nice propaganda line, though. Straight from the pamphlet.
'Islamic terrorists' and 'Saddam' weren't responsible for the sanctions that starved and killed several hundreds of thousands of children
Saddam was wholly responsible. Of course, if they hat got rid of Saddam after Gulf War 1, it might have been different.
Nor were they responsible for the illegal 2003 invasion and everything it's lead to.
Islamic terrorists were responsible for this as well.
It wasn't 'Islamic terrorists' collectively punishing Fallujah, committing massacres in Haditha
No, no, no Paul. The Islamic fasicts were killing and oppressing people elsewhere. 100,000 in Iran alone since 1979, and that is just one country. Still if you want to focus on the massacres that serve your own agenda, fair enough.
Another absolute non-sequiter
Concentrate on your own arguments, rather than my grammar, thanks. Stick to the topic.
I just pointed out that the very people you dismiss as 'Islamofascists' in Afghanistan - Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, Jalaluddin Haqqani, Abdul Rasul Sayyaf, etc - were armed and funded by the U.S. in the eighties.
But the U.S. didn't make them into what they are. You think islamofacists only become effiecient killers once they have had U.S. backing. Come off it.
The U.S. also gave them the green light to carry out terrorist attacks in various central asian states.
What "green light"? What "central Asian states"? What "terrorist attacks"?
They had no real base in Afghanistan until that time, but they were so strenghtened by American (and Saudi, British and Pakistani) aid that they were able to pretty much take over the country.
So I guess it is up to the U.S. and others to "sort Afghanistan out" and return it to how it was? That won't go down well with the CiF brigade.
He's open about it. See Ahmed Rashid's 'Taliban' and Peter Bergan's 'Holy War, Inc.
Anyone can pick and choose sources to fit their own agendas. Sorry, I don't do agendas.
It is not. Islamic terrorism was spreading before any of the "facts" you mention.
And ignoring the deaths of millions killed by Islamic fascists and then using UK/US crimes as "justification" for those deaths.
Sickening.
Live long...and keep exposing these bigots.
Parker:
'Saddam was wholly responsible. Of course, if they hat got rid of Saddam after Gulf War 1, it might have been different'.
No, the people who instigated and upheld the sanctions, despite knowing the effect they were having on the civilian population of Iraq, were the ones responsible. As Hans Von Sponeck, who was the U.N.s Humanitarian Co-ordinator in Iraq at the time, said of them:
'As a UN official, I should not be expected to be silent to that which I recognise as a true human tragedy that needs to be ended . . . How long should the civilian population, which is totally innocent on all this, be exposed to such punishment for something that they have never done?'.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/635784.stm
I'll take his word over yours.
You can say 'Saddam should have disarmed, and they would've been stopped'. But he *did* disarm, and they weren't. Because the sanctions had nothing to do with WMD. They were about 'making life so uncomfortable for the Iraqi people it will eventually encourage them to remove President Saddam Hussein from power'. It was a disgraceful policy.
'The Islamic fasicts were killing and oppressing people elsewhere. 100,000 in Iran alone since 1979, and that is just one country'.
Yeah, but again, i'm talking about U.S/U.K. actions in the 'Muslim world', how they've often been brutal, murderous and aggressive, and how, in that case, it's extremely rich for Obama to say that it's the 'Muslim world' that has to 'unclench it's fist'. It's been the U.S. and U.K. attacking, occupying and subjugating various 'Muslim countries' for decades, not vice versa.
'But the U.S. didn't make them into what they are. You think islamofacists only become effiecient killers once they have had U.S. backing. Come off it'.
As I pointed out, it was U.S./U.K./Pakistani/Saudi monetry and military aid that made them the strongest groups in Afghanistan and allowed them to start dominating the society. To quote Ahmed Rashid's book:
'On the other hand Gulbuddin Hikmetyar's Hizb-e-Islami built a secretive, highly centralized, political organization whose cadres were drawn from educated urban Pashtuns. Prior to the war the Islamicists barely had a base in Afghan society, but with money and arms from the CIA pipeline and support from Pakistan, they built one and wielded tremendous clout. The traditionalists and the Islamicists fought each other mercilessly so that by 1994, the traditional leadership in Kandahar had virtually been eliminated, leaving the field free for the new wave of even more extreme Islamicists - the Taliban'.
Ahmed Rashid, Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil And Fundamentalism In Central Asia, p.19
I'll quote Rashid again here:
Three years earlier in 1986, CIA chief William Casey had stepped up the war against the Soviet Union by taking three significant, but at that time highly secret, measures. He had persuaded the US Congress to provide the Mujaheddin with American-made Stinger anti-aircraft missiles to shoot down Soviet planes and provide US advisers to train the guerrillas. Until then no US-made weapons or personnel had been used directly in the war effort. The CIA, Britain's MI6 and the ISI also agreed on a provocative plan to launch guerrilla attacks into the Soviet Socialist Republics of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, the soft Muslim underbelly of the Soviet state from where Soviet troops in Afghanistan received their supplies. The task was given to the ISI's favourite Mujaheddin leader Gulbuddin Hikmetyar. In March 1987, small units crossed the Amu Darya river from bases in northern Afghanistan and launched their first rocket attacks against villages in Tajikistan. Casey was delighted with the news and on his next secret trip to Pakistan he crossed the border into Afghanistan with President Zia to review the Mujaheddin groups'.
And Rashid isn't just come crank. He's a highly regarded authority on Afghanistan and Pakistan, and his book is seen about the best there is on Taliban era Afghanistan.
'Anyone can pick and choose sources to fit their own agendas. Sorry, I don't do agendas'.
Haha. No, of course you don't. :) And my sources are impeccable.
'And ignoring the deaths of millions killed by Islamic fascists and then using UK/US crimes as "justification" for those deaths.
Sickening'.
Except I haven't done that. I've just been pointing out how A) The U.S. and U.K. have committed more crimes and atrocities in the 'Muslim world' than any Islamist group has in the U.S. and U.K.. And B) How they've often supported reactionary Islamist groups, including those now allied with the Taliban. Hence, the 'unclench your fist' quote is sickening in it's hypocrisy.
pakichick
Mz Khan
non of the players you mentioned are heroes.
Iftikar Chaudry, as someone already mentioned became Chief Justice under Musharraf and under PCO. Something he is now rallying against!
Nawaz Sharif and his brother lead an assault against the Judiciary in their time in office. Nawaz Sharif introduced a Bill which would run Pakistan on "Islamic Sharia" with him being the defacto head of state....thank God he was dismissed before the Bill came into effect.
We must accept Zardari because he came into power through the democratic process.
Sorry, commenting is not available at this time. Please try again later.
Apologies, something has gone wrong and this action cannot be completed. Please try again later.
Logged in as click here to log out
Please read our community standards.
Closing this window without pressing "Post your comment" will result in your words being lost.
Thank you for your comment. This has been submitted for moderation.
Your comment has been successfully posted.
Latest from comment is free
1. Why master juggler Cameron is suddenly dropping the balls | Andrew Rawnsley
2. Charlie Brooker | Why I'm an ebook convert
3. Are science and atheism compatible? | Andrew brown
4. Don't laugh at Europe's woes. The travails facing Greece are also ours | Will Hutton
5. Valentine's Day - Worst. Movie. Ever. | Sady Doyle
Compared to Europe, the US can at least make a pretence of democracy
Let's take on the ads that fuel such waste, debt and misery
A true apology to Aboriginal people means action as well
Why I'm an ebook convert
Mandarins in the margins
1. Are science and atheism compatible? | Andrew brown (1018 comments)
2. We abhor torture – but that requires paying a price | Nick Cohen (355)
3. Killing me not so softly with your song | Euan Ferguson (190)
4. Don't laugh at Europe's woes. The travails facing Greece are also ours | Will Hutton (187)
5. Let's take on the ads that fuel such waste, debt and misery | Jackie Ashley (149)
Bestsellers from the Guardian shop
The World in Information Guardian Wallcharts
Visit the Guardian reader offers shop
Green & ethical shopping at Guardian ecostore
15min ago
Robin Hood won't save the day
Tim Worstall: The idea for a transaction tax sounds like a good way to get the bankers, but we will end up carrying the economic burden
1hr 15min ago
Talk to Hamas
Arik Diamant and David Zonsheine: As Israeli soldiers we hang our heads in shame over last year's attack on Gaza's civilian population. Dialogue, not war, is needed
Comment from the paper
Caryl Churchill: The people's brakes on war
Simon Tisdall: Saving the Baltic sea
Jackie Ashley: Let's take on the ads that fuel such waste, debt and misery
Most viewed on guardian.co.uk
1. Utah delivers vote of no confidence for 'climate alarmists'
2. Online voyeurs flock to the random thrills of Chatroulette
3. Inside North Korea: the ultimate package tour
4. Film director Kevin Smith thrown off Southwest Airlines plane for being 'too big'
5. Climate scientists admit fresh error over data on rising sea levels
1. Fashion designer Alexander McQueen dies aged 40
2. Veteran congressman's death adds to Barack Obama's woes
4. Arsenal v Liverpool - as it happened | Tom Lutz
5. Angela Merkel dashes Greek hopes of rescue bid
Free P&P at the Guardian bookshop
Prosperity without Growth
£12.99 with free UK delivery
What Darwin Got Wrong
Browse the bestsellers lists
Buy books from the Guardian Bookshop
Publications Officer (Production Editor/Assistant…
women living under muslim laws.
wluml international coordination office, london (a….
Negotiable.
Development Officer (x 2 positions)
camfed international.
camfed is a fast-paced and award-winning organisat….
Up to £30K + benefits.
tpp not for profit.
£50000 - £55000 per annum.
{for result in results}
${result.jobtitle}
${ result.snippet } ${ result.state }
Loading jobs...
CCTV shows gunmen's escape after cricket team attack
4 Mar 2009:
Attackers fled by motorcycle and on foot after ambush of Sri Lankan team's convoy in Pakistan
Lahore attack on Sri Lanka means ICC must suspend international cricket in Pakistan
Cricket: ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat says the Lahore attack puts Pakistan's World Cup hosting in doubt
Sri Lanka cricket team attack echoes deadly Mumbai offensive
Sri Lankan cricketers recount Pakistan terror attack
Gunmen attack Sri Lankan cricket team in Pakistan
The aftermath of the attack on the Sri Lankan team bus as it drove to the Gaddafi stadium in Lahore
License/buy our content |
Advertising guide |
A-Z index |
Inside guardian.co.uk blog |
About guardian.co.uk |
Go to: guardian.co.uk home UK news World news Comment is free blog Newsblog Sport blog Arts & Entertainment blog Audio & podcasts In pictures Video Archive search Arts & entertainment Books Business EducationGuardian.co.uk Environment Film Football Jobs Katine appeal Life & style MediaGuardian.co.uk Money Music The Observer Politics Science Shopping SocietyGuardian.co.uk Sport Talk Technology Travel Been there Subscription services Email services Special reports The Guardian The Northerner The Wrap Advertising guide Compare finance products Crossword Feedback Garden centre GNM Press Office Graduate Bookshop Guardian Ecostore Guardian Films Headline service Help / contacts Information Living our values Newsroom Notes & Queries Promotions Reader Offers Readers' editor Soulmates dating Style guide Syndication services Travel offers TV listings Weather Working for us Guardian Weekly Public Learn Guardian back issues Observer back issues Guardian Professional


Every Sunday I have the privilege of sharing Jesus with our elementary aged children. I also have a blast getting to lead our Vacation Bible School each summer! God knows I enjoy being silly and having fun while encouraging kids to love and follow Jesus. I am married to a wonderful man, Bill and we have 3 beautiful daughters. I am a Colorado native and enjoy spending time in the mountains every season of the year. I like to be around people, especially my family and friends. I love just about anything chocolate and I am a huge Denver Broncos fan.


This fall, IDUN Minerals is expanding its skin care range with exfoliating products.
IDUN Minerals offer a vivid color palette of lipsticks, lip gloss and lip liners and all of them are popular products in the range. However, customers have for a long time requested a caring and softening balm as well. This autumn, a lip balm with caring and repairing properties has finally launched.
A deep hydration and intense care face mask that helps the skin to recover.
The facial oil serum is developed for the dry and sensitive skin due to its intense moisturizing properties. It consists of strengthening, nourishing and soothing oils from rapeseed, oat, olive and shea and is enriched with the antioxidant vitamin E that protects against free radicals.
Letsfaceit Nordic is a unique business partner with a distribution that extends throughout the Nordic region, through its own subsidiaries in each country and further to certain Baltic countries. Our wide distribution network reaches online stores, pharmacy- and cosmetics chains, department- and grocery stores, discount chains and fashion retail. We're working with strategies that match your brand, building a distribution tailored to the Nordic market.
Copyright © 2019 Letsfaceit Nordic (SE). All rights reserved.


Do you ever heard of a kopitiam who don't have side stalls? The place which I want to introduce this round is known as Joo Leong Cafe or more famous known as Roti Bakar Sungai Tiram by the locals.
The crowd here are consistently packed and the table turn around are fast. So you can easily get a seat here.
The menu is simple. Just 2 items. If this do not fill you up for breakfast, there are nasi lemak and fried bee hoon that can satisfy your appetite.
You can't get this type of nasi lemak in KL. The small portions of deep fried fish then soaked in the sambal are to die for.
You'll see a couple of tables dedicated to do certain task.
Like this one, the old man's job are to cut bread skins.
This aunty is to toast bread and apply butter on the toast plus cuttin it to small bite sizes.
High quality butters were used here and this is just one small pot of butters used every morning.
This mug of butter can be cleared within 30 mins. They don't stinge on the spread and you get a satisfying one.
The look of the perfectly prepared butter toast.
On the other table, soft boil eggs were prepared. There are truly expert in preparing the soft boil eggs. Every eggs cracked no need much to be scratched.
And this is the amount they boil in one go. Compared to the amateurs who used the water dripping method, this is much faster and consistent from their years of experience.
This is the single egg cup served with toast breads.
This glass cup is for double eggs.
You can choose to sprinkle some sugar on the toast. Add some light soya sauce and pepper to the soft boiled eggs. Dip a piece of the toast in it and enjoy.
A simple and satisfying breakfast to start the day. They serve a good cup of Kopi O too.


His daring hairstyles have made headlines over the years as he's sported everything from cornrows to a mohawk.
Yet David Beckham's latest hairdo has reportedly set tongues wagging as to whether he has undergone a secret 'hair transplant'.
According to The Sun, a source told the publication that the former footballer, 43, has reportedly 'become one of a growing number of middle-aged men to undergo a hair transplant'.
Over the past few months, David has rocked several different hairstyles and last year the father-of-four sported much longer locks and was often spotted wearing different beanie hats.
While the sporting legend went on to cut his locks into a much shorter hairdo, with the sides shaved off and the top strands styled into a quiff.
Yet more recently, David has been sporting a close-cropped look with a suspiciously straighter hairline, sparking the question, has he had a hair transplant?
MailOnline has contacted the sporting legend's representative for comment.
Over the years, David has sported several iconic hairstyles, including cornrows to even a mohawk.
Some of his other famous looks include curtains, a buzz cut and luscious blond long locks.
If the reports are true, hair transplants are becoming more popular with several male celebrities bravely sharing their hair transformations.
David's close friend, Gordon Ramsay, was famously spotted leaving a hair transplant clinic in Los Angeles in 2011, with a black surgical-style cap on his head.
But the TV chef claimed otherwise, blaming it on a run-in with illegal fishermen and an allergic reaction to horses. According to Metro, the chef said he was covered in petrol while filming illegal shark fin fishermen for a Channel 4 show.
'I had petrol doused, gasoline poured all over my hair and I had a horrific infection,' he claimed.
'Then, I was in Napa for Christmas two weeks after the shoot and went riding with the kids, and had a horrendous allergic reaction to the horses, combined with the problems I had with my scalp, so it was just a hair nightmare,' he said.
Previous men who have had such procedures include James Nesbitt, who was treated in Ireland, and Wayne Rooney, who have both been open over their hair transplants.


text:
Q: How to assert (if there are any) duplicates in unit tests? I know with
Assert.IsFalse(postsPageOne.Intersect(postsPageTwo).Any());

you can compare to objects to find any duplicates.
But I want to check if my list contains duplicates, after I used it in my method. Here is the test code:
///ARRANGE
///
var toShuffle = new List<int>(){
    1001,
    1002,
    1003,
    1004,
    1005,
    1006,
    1007,
    1008,
    1009,
    1010
};

///ACT
///
toShuffle = Shared_Components.SharedComponents.Shuffle(toShuffle, 10);

///ASSERT
///
Assert.IsTrue(toShuffle.Count == 10, "Number of Elements not correct!");
Assert.IsTrue(toShuffle.All(a => a >= 1001 && a <= 1010), "Elements out of range!");

A: Look at the amount of distinct values (toShuffle.Distinct().Count()) and verify is that is the same as the initial amount.
I would also advise you to use the proper assertion methods instead of using Assert.IsTrue() everywhere.

A: Maybe my explanations were not good enough and/or the example was inappropriate.
Here is how I solved it:
///ARRANGE
///
var toShuffle = new List<int>(){1001, 1002,1003, 1004, 1005, 1006, 1007, 1008, 1009, 1010};
var expected = new List<int>() { 1001, 1002, 1003, 1004, 1005, 1006, 1007, 1008, 1009, 1010 };

///ACT
///
toShuffle = Shared_Components.SharedComponents.Shuffle(toShuffle, 10);

///ASSERT
///
Assert.AreEqual(10, toShuffle.Count, "Number of Elements wrong!");
Assert.IsTrue(toShuffle.All(a => a >= 1001 && a <= 1010), "Elements out of range!");

//to check if there are any duplicates
toShuffle.Sort();
CollectionAssert.AreEqual(expected, toShuffle, "Duplicates found!");

If the first two asserts are true and the last fails, then there must be at least one duplicate between 1001 - 1010.

A: Using FluentAssertions (which I highly recommend), you can do:
toShuffle.Should().OnlyHaveUniqueItems();

But, I'd actually rewrite your test like this:
//Arrange
var original = new List<int>{1001,1002,1003,1004,1005,1006,1007,1008,1009,1010};

//Act
var shuffled = Shared_Components.SharedComponents.Shuffle(original , 10);

//Assert
shuffled.Should().BeEquivalentTo(original)
    .And.NotBeAscendingInOrder();

The purpose of the test is now much easier to understand.

A: Here is how to do it in NUnit (using the newer assertion notation):
Assert.That(toShuffle, Is.Unique);

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Western Press Review: What Comes Next In Iraq, Al-Qaeda's Acts Of Desperation, And NATO Flag Over Kabul
December 23, 2002 00:00 GMT
By Grant Podelco
Prague, 23 December 2002 (RFE/RL) -- Commentary in the Western press today focuses on what is seen as the increasing possibility of a U.S.-led war against Iraq. Other analysis looks at the "democracy deficit" in the Arab world; signs of weakness within Al-Qaeda; the idea of a NATO peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan; and North Korea's nuclear-weapons program.
Columnist Thomas L. Friedman, writing in "The New York Times," says Iraqi President Saddam Hussein will likely have one more exit opportunity to avoid war with the United States. He calls it "the Primakov moment."
Friedman recalls that Yevgenii Primakov was the Russian envoy who made several failed trips to Baghdad in 1990 and 1991 to try to talk Hussein out of Kuwait to avoid a war. "My guess is that we will see this play again," Friedman says. "Before Gulf War II is launched, a Russian-French or Arab delegation will fly to Baghdad and try to persuade Saddam to spare his family and everyone else from a war, either by disclosing his weapons or by going into exile under Arab or European protection."
Friedman says too many nations don't want to see another Gulf war. Egypt is terrified about a popular backlash. Syria has no interest because it could be the next target. For Turkey, a war would choke its critical trade with Iraq and possibly bring a huge influx of Kurdish refugees. Iran's hard-liners have no interest in a pro-U.S. Iraqi democracy next door.
"And then there are the Iraqi Kurds," Friedman says. "Their zone is currently protected by the U.S. no-flight regime, and as a result they have established their own quasi independent state in northern Iraq, with their own oil revenues. They have never been happier."
For all these reasons, Friedman concludes, the United States needs to let the UN inspections process play out. He says Washington still needs credible evidence to justify a war, if it expects to have allied support. And it needs to be prepared for anything, because as the climax of this story approaches, he says, an Arab or European delegation could show up in Baghdad and forge a deal for Saddam Hussein to back down or go into exile.
THE TIMES:
In Britain's "The Times," commentator William Rees-Mogg says momentum for a U.S. war against Iraq is now so great that it cannot be stopped, short of a miracle. "If [U.S.] President [George W.] Bush was now to flinch, which he will not do, the consequences would be disastrous, not only to his administration and to the United States, but to world peace and to the Middle East," Rees-Mogg writes. "If he retreated at this point, he might just as well resign as president."
Even worse, he says, would be the effect in the Middle East itself. Saddam Hussein would emerge as the leader who had twice survived U.S. assaults. The Arab world would be convinced that his methods were successful. "Apart from other consequences, there would be an immediate threat to other Arab regimes as well as to Israel," he writes.
Rees-Mogg notes that U.S. Senator Richard Lugar (Republican-Indiana) will become the influential chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee in January. Lugar is a hawk on the issue of Iraq and has been skeptical about UN weapons inspectors. "The senator assumes that the war has to happen, and that it will be successful," Rees-Mogg writes.
Lugar has planned hearings to discuss U.S. intentions for Iraq after Saddam Hussein has been removed. And in this, he says, "there may be an implied criticism of the administration's policy, or at least an anxiety that the administration may not have a well thought-out policy."
The first difficulty "is that a new constitution would need to be established in the immediate aftermath of war. The only authority capable of putting that in place will be the U.S. Army. Has the American administration really worked out what will have to be done?"
The second difficulty will be the division of oil revenues. Under a federal system, there would have to be a sharing of the revenues. Would that simply follow the regional boundaries, which might divide Iraq into oil-rich and oil-poor provinces? Would there be cash transfers from the more fortunate oil regions to the less fortunate?
"The United States is gearing up for the war," Rees-Mogg concludes. "Given the unpopularity of the regime, it is quite possible that the war will be quick and successful. Senator Lugar is right to be asking the critical question: 'What will happen next?'"
DIE WELT:
War and peace is the subject of an editorial by Torsten Krauel in "Die Welt." In writing of the prospects for a war against Iraq, Krauel still expresses a hope that a last-minute calm will prevail, especially considering the message of peace that is on everyone's lips in this season of goodwill.
Krauel warns that since military targets in Iraq are dispersed in the middle of civilian populations, bombing would cause untold casualties. The 1991 war proved the manner in which Saddam Hussein sacrificed his people as hostages of the bombing.
Krauel says the over-60 generation, whom he calls the "bomb-shelter children," know only too well what air raids mean. Considering their experience in World War II, "the air-raid-shelter children have quite a different opinion about a war with Iraq than the computer generation."
Even those among the later generation who recognize that Saddam Hussein is a criminal are searching for the ways and means to prevent war. They hope to exert their influence at Christmas time for peace to prevail as the day of decision-making draws ever nearer.
LOS ANGELES TIMES:
Writing in the "Los Angeles Times," Fawaz A. Gerges, author of "The Islamists and the West," says Al-Qaeda leaders have recently unleashed a new campaign of psychological warfare in the form of threats against Westerners in an effort to sow fear and inflict economic damage.
This post-11 September 2001 terror, he says, relying on decentralized operations and aimed mainly at "soft" civilian targets, is designed to defy the United States and to indicate that Al-Qaeda's reach is global.
"Al-Qaeda has shown itself to be highly adaptable and resourceful by scattering its surviving fighters, estimated in the low hundreds, from Afghanistan into various destinations, and by building alliances with other fringe Islamic groups," Gerges says. "But these recent attacks, bloody and costly as they are, should not blind us to the fact that Al-Qaeda is a shadow of its former self."
The war against terrorism has slowly but steadily dismantled the group's infrastructure, he says. "The network lost its vital operational base in Afghanistan. Its partner, the Taliban regime, is history. Its financial and military infrastructure in Europe, particularly in Germany, France and England, was dismantled."
As a result of the tightening of the international noose around its neck, Al-Qaeda acts like a serial criminal band, killing at random. "This is a sign of weakness and desperation," Gerges says, "not strength."
Though the Bush administration should not lower its guard or be complacent, it must avoid falling into a trap of fear and panic. The United States must find ways to frustrate the network's tactics. Working closely with allies and friends is the most effective way of putting bin Laden and his organization out of business once and for all.
Also in the "Los Angeles Times," Shlomo Avineri, a professor of political science at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, writes about the "democracy deficit" in the Arab world.
In the 19th century, he writes, it was a widely held belief among certain European and American intellectuals that Catholicism and democracy were irreconcilable. This seems an absurd assumption today, in a world where heavily Catholic Christian Democratic parties are pillars of democracy throughout Europe. And it is equally absurd, Avineri writes, though quite common, to assume that Islam and democracy are incompatible.
"Take the case of Turkey, where a secular constitution has transformed the country over the last 80 years into a functioning, albeit deeply flawed, democracy. The country's recently held democratic elections saw the victory of a party with strong Islamic roots that is nonetheless committed to democracy and human rights."
Iran, too, should be considered. The country's Islamic constitution is obviously oppressive. But this same constitution guarantees elections that, while not entirely free, are not a sham. Other examples -- including Bangladesh, Indonesia, even Pakistan between military dictators -- suggest that multiparty systems and elections are not alien to the Muslim world.
Yet it is a fact, Avineri says, that in the heart of the Muslim world there is a bloc of countries where not one is democratic and there has been no real movement toward democracy: the 21 member countries of the Arab League.
"The Arab world encompasses a great variety of countries: Some are poor, such as Egypt, Algeria, Sudan and Yemen, while others are enormously rich, such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. They are small and large, populous and sparsely populated. There are monarchies and military dictatorships, benevolent and harsh. But none of their leaders was freely elected," he writes.
This lack of a democratic culture in Arab countries still needs an explanation, he writes, but until 11 September 2001, it was not politically correct to mention it. It is now finally getting both political and scholarly attention worldwide, not because of a simplistic acceptance of a "clash of civilizations" theory but for more practical reasons. The democracy deficit in Arab societies has become a major issue for global security.
When people in Saudi Arabia and Egypt, for example, are deprived of freedom at home, they are pushed to religious fanaticism as the only way to express anger at their oppression.
"Islam is not the enemy," Avineri writes. "But the lack of democracy in Arab countries pushes people toward religious fanaticism and terrorism. This major danger to world security must be addressed frankly and openly."
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL EUROPE
"The Wall Street Journal Europe" makes the case for NATO taking a larger role in peacekeeping. "The thankless job of peacekeeping happens to be crucially important to the success of the U.S.-led war on terror," the paper writes. "The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, that old Cold War workhorse, happens to do this job better than anyone. It's about time it was put to better use," particularly in Afghanistan.
Individual members of NATO have for all practical purposes handled Afghanistan ever since the United States moved to root out Osama bin Laden's terrorist network there," the paper says. "But NATO, as an organization, was not officially present. This policy needs to be changed."
It says NATO as a whole is the logical successor to take over duties after the German and Dutch finish their term in control of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in six months. "A mission of this size would be relatively easy to manage for the alliance," it says. And "a permanent mission would show the Afghans that the Western powers won't abandon the country soon."
The other immediate military benefit of bringing in the alliance could be to put a larger security presence on the ground. ISAF today polices only Kabul, leaving the rest of the country under the control of competing warlords prone to violence. NATO makes an expansion of ISAF militarily and politically feasible.
If deployed smartly, "The Wall Street Journal Europe" says, "NATO can be a true asset in the war against global terrorism. The foremost challenge is to make sure places like Afghanistan once liberated don't go back to their old habits. NATO has the expertise and the troops to do the job as well beyond Europe's now mostly stable frontiers. The place to start is Afghanistan -- then, just maybe, Iraq."
SUEDEUTSCHE ZEITUNG:
An editorial in the "Sueddeutsche Zeitung" assesses yesterday's report declaring that North Korea has begun removing United Nations surveillance equipment from a nuclear reactor at the heart of North Korea's nuclear weapons program.
The paper says the North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Il is playing a dangerous game. For months now, he has exerted systematic pressure with nuclear threats in an attempt to force the United States to accede to negotiations. The paper describes this poker game as extremely dangerous, since for want of a better solution the United States might resort to bombing North Korea.
So far, President Bush has said he does not intend to tackle the crisis in North Korea with military intervention. Nevertheless, as Pyongyang boosts its defiance, Washington's arguments weaken and a diplomatic solution becomes ever less likely to succeed.
(RFE/RL's Dora Slaba contributed to this report.)
Grant Podelco
Grant Podelco is the editor in chief of RFE/RL's English-language website. He first joined RFE/RL in Prague in 1995 as a senior correspondent after working for many years as a writer and editor for daily newspapers in New York, Oregon, and Texas. He reported from Afghanistan in November 2002 to mark the one-year anniversary of the fall of the Taliban.
PodelcoG@rferl.org
FOLLOW Subscribe via RSS

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
City of Charlotte > Citywide Newsroom > News releases > Major Crash Investigation in the Steele Creek Division
Major Crash Investigation in the Steele Creek Division
Charlotte, N.C. – (Tuesday, December 14, 2021) – The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department's Major Crash Investigation Unit is conducting an investigation into a fatal motor vehicle collision that occurred in the 500 block of Huntsmoor Drive.
On Monday, December 13, 2021, at approximately 8:49 p.m., officers from the Steele Creek Division responded to Atrium Health - Pineville in reference to a child, identified as Mateo Jaciel Ayala-Martinez, DOB: 02/07/2020, who sustained life-threatening injuries after being struck by a vehicle. At the hospital, officers spoke with the victim's parents and were able to identify the incident location as 516 Huntsmoore Drive. Officers responded to the incident location and located a 2011 Chevrolet Silverado, which is the vehicle involved in this collision. The father of the victim, Elgar Orlando Ayala, was identified as the driver of the Chevrolet when the crash occurred.
The CMPD Major Crash Investigation Unit and Crime Scene Search responded to conduct the investigation. The preliminary investigation indicates that Ayala went outside his residence to move the Chevrolet from where it was parked in the driveway to a different location within the same driveway. Ayala advised that he pulled slightly forward before beginning to back up, which is when he heard Martinez yelling. He advised that when he exited the vehicle, he observed that he had just hit Martinez with the pickup truck. Martinez's mother was inside the house when the crash occurred, and both parents had reason to believe that Martinez was also inside. The parents transported Martinez to Atrium Health Pineville. Shortly after his arrival, Martinez was flown to Atrium Health Main due to his life-threatening injuries.
On December 14, 2021, at 4:24 a.m., Martinez was pronounced deceased by hospital staff. His family has been notified of his death.
The investigation into this collision is active and ongoing. As additional information develops, it will be released by CMPD's Public Affairs Office. Anyone who witnessed or has information about the crash should contact Detective Mercedes at 704-432-2169, extension 5. The public can also leave information anonymously by contacting Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600 or http://charlottecrimestoppers.com/. The report number for this case is 20211213-2049-01.


Numerous participants—Teams of Our Lady members from all countries and Father Caffarel's old friends—were present. The ceremony was organised in two parts. First came the apposition of the seals on the cases containing the documents, once each of those involved in the cause had sworn to have accomplished their task correctly. Most of the participants had never experienced such a particularly moving event. Then the Thanksgiving Mass began and was attended by over 500 people. Some came from very far away: Brazil, Poland or Togo. In his homily, Monsignor de Moulins-Beaufort accentuated the depth and extent of Father Caffarel's life and message for couples, widows and numerous people who pray. In the days to come, Father Paul-Dominique Marcovits, o.p., postulator for the French part of the cause, will take up the mission of 'carrier' in order to ensure that the entire dossier arrives safely in Rome, where the cause will follow its course under the supervision of a new postulator at the Vatican.
A prayer meeting with a time for meditation was organised in each group on the evening of Friday, October 17th and on Saturday, October 18th a thanksgiving mass was celebrated in the Sacred Heart parish of Boma.
Eleven couples from the Teams of Our Lady attended this mass and gave thanks to God for having given us Father Caffarel, prophet of marriage and founder of the Teams of Our Lady Movement.


text:
import os as os
import zipfile as Z
from os.path import isfile, join
from getpass import getuser
from matplotlib import pyplot as plt

zipfiles = []
kptList = []
name = []

inputzips = []

netID = getuser()

zippath = "/fslhome/" + netID + "/vasp/alloydatabase/alloyzips/"
newpath = "/fslhome/" + netID + "/vasp/alloydatabase/metalsdir/"
finishedpath = "/fslhome/" + netID + "/vasp/alloydatabase/finished/"
databasepath = "/fslhome/" + netID + "/vasp/database/code/"

def plotData(freeEnergy, setloc, totalCPUtime, path, name):
    error_alldata = []
    for i in range(0, len(freeEnergy) - 1):
        A = []
        A.append(freeEnergy[i])

        for j in range(1, len(freeEnergy)):
            a = abs(freeEnergy[len(freeEnergy)-1] - freeEnergy[i])
            A.append(a)
        #A[2] = alldatazip[i][2]
        error_alldata.append(A)

    kpts = 4
    eTOTEN = []
    #ikpts = []

    for h in range(0, 14):
        a = []
        irrk = []

        for i in range(len(freeEnergy)):
            if setloc[i] == kpts:

                a.append(error_alldata[i])
               # irrk.append(error_alldata[i][2])

 #               print(error_alldata[i][0][0])

            kpts = 3 * h + 4
#        print(kpts)

        eTOTEN.append(a)
        #ikpts.append(irrk)

    del totalCPUtime[0]
    del eTOTEN[0]
    #del ikpts[0]
    print(totalCPUtime)
    print(eTOTEN)

    graphpath = "/fslhome/" + netID + "/vasp/database/code/graphs/"

#    print(eTOTEN)
   # print(totalCPUtime)

    for i in range(len(freeEnergy)):
  #      print(etoten[0][i])
   #     print(totalCPUtime[i])
        for j in range(len(freeEnergy[i]))
           plt.plot(eTOTEN[i][j], totalCPUtime[i])
    plt.loglog()
    plt.xlabel("Error")
    plt.ylabel("CPU Usage Time")
    plt.title(name + "Time-Error Efficiency")
    plt.savefig(graphpath + name + '_kpts.pdf')
    plt.close()

    return

def gatherData():
    newpath = "/fslhome/" + netID + "/vasp/alloydatabase/metalsdir/"
    dirs = sorted([d for d in os.listdir(newpath) if os.path.isdir(os.path.join(newpath, d))])

    for metal in range(len(dirs)):
        name = dirs[metal]

        freeEnergy = []
 #       irrkpts = []
        totalCPUtime = []
        setloc = []

        # path = "/fslhome/holiver2/work/vasp/alloydatabase/finished/0-CdCoN"
        path = newpath + dirs[metal]
        print(dirs[metal])
        userinput = input("1 = yes, 0 = no")
        if userinput == 1:
            for n in range(4, 45, 3):
                lvl2path = path + "/" + str(n).zfill(2) + "frzkpts"

                for k in range(n, 44, 3):
                    lvl3path = lvl2path + "/" + str(k).zfill(2) + "kpts"

                    outcarpath = lvl3path + "/OUTCAR"

                    with open(outcarpath, 'r') as f:
                        mylines = f.readlines()

                    for line in mylines:

                        if "free energy    TOTEN" in line:
                            freeEnergy1 = line

                        if "Total CPU time used " in line:
                            totalCPUtime1 = line

                        if "irreducible k-points:" in line:
                            irrkpts1 = line

                    freeEnergy.append(float(freeEnergy1.split()[4]))
                    totalCPUtime.append(float(totalCPUtime1.split()[5]))
                    setloc.append([n,k])
#                    irrkpts.append(int(irrkpts1.split()[1]))

  #              alldatazip = zip(setloc, totalCPUtime, irrkpts, freeEnergy)

#                print(setloc)
 #               print(totalCPUtime)
                plotData(freeEnergy, setloc, totalCPUtime, path, name)
 #               del alldatazip[:]
                print("happy Kennedy")

    return

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


My runner beans had grown vigorously in their root trainers in the greenhouse at home so needed planting out. I had sown one newly bought seed and one collected from last year in each module. I used 'Moonlight' a white flowered variety that produces very tender beans as it is one of the new climbing French/ Runner bean crosses. I had expected quite a failure rate with the saved seed but almost every cell had two strong plants in. They had spent a few days in my grow-house hardening off so were well ready to go out.
Before I could plant them, however, I needed to set up the canes. I used a framework of posts with a rail at waist height supporting the canes. Normally I laboriously tie the canes to the rail but this year I had produced a new rail with holes drilled along it. Unfortunately the holes were not big enough for the canes so my first job was to enlarge them with the drill. This entailed dismantling the rail, drilling each hole out and then reassembling the three parts. Then I had to feed the canes into the holes before lifting everything into place and screwing it down, quite a rigmarole! Next year I shall make the holes big enough to drop the canes through.
Once the canes were set up planting went ahead smoothly. I thought about removing the second seedlings in each cell but decided to leave then for now and will thin them down once they are well established. I finished off by giving them a good dose of water, a sprinkling of slug bait and a strip of doubled fleece wrapped round to protect them from the weather but, more important, the attention of the red legged partridges which love to peck of the growing points. Once they have grown more than a foot high they are safe from the birds.
Once done I picked a large trug full of beans. Some were quite young and I shall try cooking them whole.
Finally I cut 5 asparagus spears, a cabbage and some kale before going home.


Discussion with Dr. Kevin Barrett: Is Islam Reasonable?
aql, justice, prophets , +1 reason Leave a Comment on Discussion with Dr. Kevin Barrett: Is Islam Reasonable?
caliphate, justice, muslim Leave a Comment on Why Do Some People from Muslim Backgrounds Hate the Islamic Belief of the Necessity of a Caliphate (Khilafah)?
Pakistan: Imran Khan in power, what next?
caliph, economics, elections , +2 justice pakistan Leave a Comment on Pakistan: Imran Khan in power, what next?


Let your watch remind you of the good old days and the beautiful cities you have been to as you sport this Mido Baroncelli M866084211.
Let your watch remind you of the good old days and the beautiful cities you have been to as you sport this Mido Baroncelli M866084211. This timepiece is a spectacle to watch as it resembles the vintage clocks we used to have at our homes as well as the tower clocks that have captured our attention in the many cities we've been to. But more than its impressive aesthetics, this watch offers more than expected.
Case– This Mido Baroncelli M866084211 is built with a 316L stainless steel case that is 8mm in diameter and 11mm thick.
Dial– The case holds a silver-tone textured dial furnished with blue-tone Roman numeral hour markers and silver-tone hands. The entire dial is protected by sapphire crystal.
Band– Attached to the case is a 20mm five-link stainless steel bracelet.
Movement– It is powered by Swiss made ETA 2825-2 Automatic movement.
Water resistance– This watch boasts its 50 meters or 165 feet water resistance.
In the world of watches, nothing is more elegant than a minimalist watch. This Mido Baroncelli M866084211 is designed with a silver dial that boasts of its delicate textured inner dial. Around it are blue-tone Arabic numeral hour markers. The minimalism of the dial is matched with the equally sophisticated five-link bracelet, which is a good view around the wrist.
Another great attribute of this watch is its readability. The hour markers and minute markers are all organized and legible. When you are in a meeting or in a class, or especially when you are driving, you can easily read the time even with a single glance. This way, it becomes more convenient on your part. Moreover, the sapphire crystal is non-reflective so you get a clear view on the dial itself.
With Baroncelli M866084211, you do not only get a stylish timepiece, but also a multifunctional watch that definitely makes your life more convenient. It has a date indicator at the three o'clock position and seconds subdial at the six o'clock position of the dial.
The Mido Baroncelli M866084211 has also some disadvantages. First, this watch does not come with luminous features to aid you in timekeeping. This watch is only 38mm in size and this can be small for men with larger built.