Tag: terror

Make More Movies like Fitna

ReallyVirtual2 Comments

As we all know by now, the movie 'Fitna' was taken down from LiveLeak after some threats to their staff today, and is now available on Google Video (watch out Brin and Page).

I was truly disappointed after watching the movie (yes, I watched it, out of curiosity) – it had the same old arguments, partial ayaat, cherry-picked and quoted out of context, mixed with music and select imagery mixed with the beheading videos that have already been milked for all their worth – in an attempt to associate 'terrorist' with 'Islamist'. I was expecting something phenomenal but all I got was 15 minutes of boredom… guess I'm just jaded. I was also looking forward to the debates that the movie was supposed to have elicited, but I guess that isn't going to happen either.

What I don't understand is, why can't the defenders of Islam (extremists or whatchamacallum) realize that nothing better can happen to further their cause than movies like Fitna?!

We keep complaining about how the Western culture is slowly taking over and changing our muslim values… but when a western producer actually stands up and tells the world "honestly" about what he and his supporters think of the jew-hating, brainwashed killing machines that we Muslims are, and that too in a video that is somehow getting world-wide media coverage and can potentially serve to alienate and estrange the muslim population from the rest of the world (something which is a top priority of our 'Islamist' brothers) … our religious superheros miss this golden opportunity by threatening and removing the videos from the internet. That just does not make any business sense, at least to me! I wouldn't be surprised if the threats were a stunt by Gert Wilder himself, just to prove his point.

Like every other muslim, I don't want anyone to draw the prophet's image – either with love or in ridicule, but every time some such incident happens, I can mark the person/entity/group of people as 'bad', 'wrong' or 'evil', depending on my level of faith. This makes hate movies like Fitna excellent tools – wedges that the 'Islamists' can use very effectively to widen the chasm between 'us' and 'them'. Any muslim who watches the video (and is frustrated by the distorted and skewed picture that Wilders paints) and cares enough to research the quotes from the video is bound to become a little less "tolerant" and a little more "extremist" – which is exactly what AlQaida wants. Our terrorist brothers should appreciate Gert Wilders for this honest and public broadcast of his true feelings instead of doing it the KKK way.

To borrow a concept from Richard Dawkin's "The God Illusion", if we are really right and they are really wrong, they are going to hell anyway, and if hell really is all that it is purported to be, isn't that enough of a punishment for them already?

Actually, if I were an AlQaida media representative of some sort, I would have gone one step further and would have sent ALL the Taliban propaganda movies that I could buy from Hall Road, Lahore (they must be in dozens, if not hundreds) to Mr. Wilder as a gift. He surely won't be able to find better raw material for his next "documentary" – or better – a whole TV series. Your infidel enemies bearing the cost of your PR campaigns, and earning some more sins in the process – it can't get any better than this, AlQaida!

If you have come this far in reading this, do also check out the comments here about the pictures of our prophet. I like the way these average 'ferangis' make fun of my religion/ideology, it helps me 'stay awake'. So Al Qaida, please let Wilders make more movies like Fitna, and Mr. Wilders , the next time you make a documentary, please tear a page from the Quran and not some telephone book – we know you want to.

Allergic Terrorists

ReallyVirtual

I just got a 12 point "Security Update" from my kid's school. Point number 12 says [italics are mine]:

Kindly user private cars if possible while picking-up and dropping off your children. We have been informed that the terrorists are allergic to uniform and liveried personnel.

Interesting choice of words there… but I was wondering, if terrorists are allergic to uniforms, shouldn't we keep uniformed people around us all the time, and wear them ourselves if we can? I can see where they are coming from though, a few kids in the school are the progeny of some police people at some high posts, and are usually picked up and dropped off in an official police SUV with 3 or 4 bodyguards who sit outside the school waiting for the kid. Its a good thing I don't (have to) pay taxes, so its not my money that is being used there.

The update also says:

On a final note please talk to your children about the current situation of our city and create and awareness of our surroundings.

Now THAT is really really hard when you have a 5 year old child. I would have to think for hours to choose the right words, so that the few thousand neural connections that the chat will create in his small brain will not affect him throughout his life in a negative way.

Iraqi Children are Dying – Confidently

ReallyVirtual3 Comments

Iraqi Children

The American government is intent on justifying America's war against children terror by any possible means, but this 'research' funded by the US Military is a sad joke. It claims that the invasion boosted the self-esteem of Iraqi teenagers. Ofcourse, they are still dying, but at least they are dying honorably. As we have been American allies for all these years, so perhaps the US Army can come and raise our self-esteem too, we need it and our overlords owe us that much! 'Redacted', by the way, was a thought-provoking movie that should be required watching for all American allies.

Bomb Blast in Islamabad Today

Sohaib Athar

An italian restaurant in Islamabad that had the misfortune to be a popular foreigner hangout was blown up by a planted bomb a few hours ago. You can read all about it on google [link] so I won't regurgitate the facts here, but I just need to get a few thoughts off my chest, that came to my mind after hearing the news.

Firstly, the terrorists are finally getting some common sense and not blowing themselves up – which is bad new for us. Secondly, how come nobody has taken the responsibility for the last few bomb blasts?! Normally, Taleban/Al Quaida etc. rush forward and tell why they did it, but unless I have missed some important news, these attacks are the work of an anonymous peace-hating terrorist entity. Why aren't Al-Quaida/Taleban etc. being blamed explicitly this time? I thought their sole purpose of existence was to take the blame for terrorist attacks, bombings, floods and earthquakes etc. Thirdly, can we please stop "strongly condemn"ing these attacks please, its getting irritating now.

Bell Canada was researching a possible outsourcing setup (which would have turned into a big thing eventually, them being Ma Bell and all) a couple of months ago, but they dropped the idea right after the GPO blast happened. I know of two small software shops whose investors have lost their confidence in Pakistan and are pulling out of here next month – and the security situation played a significant part in driving them out. The last time I saw a similar mass exodus was post-9/11, when Align Technology pulled out of Lahore and left 1000 or so odd people jobless in Lahore, with an expertise that had no other potential employers (virtual orthodontics treatment).

With this latest attack aimed at the foreigners, we won't exactly be attracting more international business, which is a real pity. Perhaps the indian IT industry has hired this new generation of freelance terrorists to push the tiny share of business that comes to Pakistan back into India. Yep, that's one good scapegoat.

We don't need to be bombed back to the stone ages by the US of A, they can save their bombs for Iraq and Afghanistan. We are a self-sufficient nation and will gladly do the job ourselves TYVM.

School Closed Due To Bomb Threats

Sohaib Athar

My son will not go to school today, or tomorrow. When we discussed this in front of him today, he immediately said, "Coz there is a bomb".

The school administration have received specific bomb threats and have decided to keep the school closed for the next two days. Of course, the topic must have been discussed in front of him at school, which is how he knows 'there is a bomb'.

I don't see how closing the school for two days will help, they might as well close the school for two months, or better yet, two years. There have been threats before the elections, and I am sure there will be lots of threats in the future as well. 

I don't blame the school for being paranoid, as it is one of the better schools of Lahore, and so, a lot of my son's classfellows are sons and grandsons of active politicians and police officers. All I (or the other parents) can do is to blame our government, which, in turn, blames the usual suspects , who blame the USA and so on… I'm sure that if my son could, he would blame me for making him live in a country where kids become 'collateral damage', and have to sacrifice their lives and education for some one else's war.

Congratulations my terrorist 'brothers', you have succeeded.