Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Climate Change - Time For East To Rise

When the threat of nuclear war loomed large on the western hemisphere people from Europe to America started planning for the eventful day when USA or USSR will use the weapons to annihilate each other.

Some moved to far away countries like New Zealand and some built bunkers in their houses and stock piled food to last for years. People found solutions from very basic to technologically innovative. From GPS to computers all owe their development to the era of nuclear horror so supposed horror.

They did this for a war that never happened. The threat never became real…. The one questions comes to mind is was all that lost? I wonder if we would have been at this point technologically if the threat wasn’t there…..

The Hopenhagen the wishful name of Copenhagen has been let down…. I wonder what we achieved. How naïve and myopic human race actually is….we deny the danger even if it is on the face of it and only wish we did otherwise after committing a mistake. For denialist I fail to understand how they can be skeptical of the changes….. we are mercilessly using the bounty and manipulating the land mass beyond recognition and doubting that it will bring some kind of adverse reaction….

I was shocked to hear India and China collaborated to stifle any real accord…. Why? do we believe we did justice? Since when carbon and development go hand in hand? Haven’t we changed the technology?

The situation is more like what we faced 60 years ago when nuclear age dawned on us. We can use the technology to improve our lives and make it grow. We have the resource to make it happen and still India and China which can lead the world in renewables are shying from it. Take the case of solar powered street lamps….cant we get economies of scales in India and China to make them cheap? Why do we always have to lag behind west? Why cant the east for once grab the opportunity and decide to lead the way….

It is not about blame game… what we did or they did and we don’t get to do has nothing to do with the situation. The situation is that West messed it and we have a historic opportunity to address it.

Copenhagen was not Hopenhagen but if India and China want to lead they will have to make Mexico a success with binding and aggressive emissions cuts agreed.

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Am I First A Pakistani Or A Muslim

The year end for us Pakistanis was not so unfamiliar. Like last year and the year before last we ended our year on a bloody note. 40 people killed in a religious procession in my dearest city of Karachi followed by looting and rampage. Targeted it was and also the looting was meant to stir the religious sentiments of the people of the city so they can pitch once again, against each other. Failed they will be as people in the city do realize that the aftermath of the disaster was driven to destroy the civil fabric of the city.

We Pakistanis sit and wonder how can anyone be so ruthless and cruel to kill a person trying to express their right of religious freedom…. Well I somehow am getting sick of this presumed innocence on part of the larger population. I was going through Pervez Musharaf’s facebook page in which he had sent X’Mas Greetings to the Pakistanis Christians and so many of my so rightist Pakistanis spent no time condemning him for doing so and accusing him of blasphemy. I wish I could do something for such mentally deranged people.

We are the most judgmental nation on earth. We will be stealing electricity and along side it accusing government of doing nothing to solve the electricity problem. Will through our garbage out on the street in front of our neighbours and accuse the government of not taking care of cleanliness. We would skip prayers but pass judgment on people of being non-muslims for not practicing the religion in true spirit. I had a colleague who was very traditional and believed his wife needs to take care of the house and the children. He though loved to dance so never missed any Rain Dance event while in Dubai and before leaving Dubai ensured he did last ritualistic visit to Bangkok. Then again being a Pakistani I am judging someone.

Coming back to the topic of problems of our country we are also a nation that lives off bad news. We need bad news….. watch our televisions and you will find no good thing being promoted. You will find zillion so called experts sitting down and giving you a doomsday scenario of the country and providing solutions for which they don’t do anything other than sitting on their big fat back sides.

We are a country so doomed….. 60 years on and we don’t have a nation. Our we Pakistanis first or Muslims first. If we are muslims first then why did we fight for a nation called Pakistan? We have muslims in India and all over so the identity is not restricted to geographical land mass so was the partition wrong? If we are Pakistanis first then we have to acknowledge our diversity… we have Sunni Muslims and Shia Muslims we have Christians and Hindus and they all are Pakistanis with equal right. If we can conclude the simple question rest will fall in place and if we don’t then it is unfortunate but I would have to agree that the battle of world peace would hinge in battles in Pakistan and Afghanistan.