Americans are late with most realizations - we could talk about the collective American awakening (has there ever been one?) when it comes to war, racism, classism, surveillance, the hegemony maintained by a government with ever expanding powers. Aaron Swartz, Bradley Manning, Edward Snowden are only three names from a list of conscientious citizens who tried exposing the State and its mass violation of ethics and human rights. One of the best and most honest criticisms of how America is not exactly your beacon of freedom and justice is by Laurie Penny who says:
Edward Snowden. Bradley Manning. Deric Lostutter. These young people are on the frontlines of a different war, a war of the old world of violence enforced by secrecy against the new logic of information transparency. It is generational, and it is gendered, and it’s about values. The MO of national security, in a world where both the nation state and the notion of security are tenuous ideals, holds that any state should be able to access any information about any person at any time, but not vice versa. You can’t ever turn off the internet, nor prevent people having access to it, so ordinary people must learn to fear cracking or publish the private data of state and corporate institutions. We must learn to be silent, to keep secrets, or pay for doing not doing so with our freedom, and possibly with our lives.
Everything must be censored.
Similarly, I’ve been getting into heated arguments with Americans who insist that America does not support drone strikes in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Yemen or Somalia although polls have - repeatedly - established one fact: A strong majority of Americans said they support drone strikes abroad. Which should show you that the perfect recipe for a dystopic society is a complacent public that finds misplaced assurance in its heavily weaponized, militarized, unlimited government.
Josh Begley’s thesis presentation at NYU on drone strikes has a haunting chart of Pakistani deaths under US missiles and should be shown to every American so that they realize that the War on Terror is essentially a war against human rights. Denial can be very fatal at the end of the day.
Protecting my chastity, i wonder if i ever get a man who would love me & make me feel whole!
Whats sad is not everyone is concerned about this on twitter, most are tweeting about the stupid Ind/Pak Match!!
“Hum expect aisa krty hain jo k buhut buri baat hai. Hum mardoon ne asal me aurtoon k sath ziyatti buhut ki hai throughout, History poori gawah hai. Men have treated women badly ,By & Large”
- Ali Zafar on the song ‘Vo dekhnay me’
Ayesha Farooq, Pakistan’ first female fighter pilot
Posted a link to the article on her yesterday. Here’s a video of the same plus some photographs. This is indeed a proud moment and an achievement. Congratulations to her and her family!
In pictures: Pakistan’ female top gun -http://www.thenational.ae/news/world/in-pictures-pakistans-female-top-gun#9
File it under an instance when a Pakistani woman took on your stereotype and precision bombed it.
(via apkiammi)
Want to watch a good movie. Something in drama genre. Family type. Comedy or something like that. Anyone?
My exam went so well today, Alhumdulilah!
Wasnt expecting it… Mashallah all my exams that i gave till now went well!
