#1
"...credit standards...are too high..."
Good Lord. Did he really say that?
Planet check: Summers, this is Earth. Where are you?
Posted by: Richard Aubrey ||
10/29/2011 5:58 Comments ||
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#2
We are going to hear more of this sort of talk:
"Aggressive efforts by the GSEs to finance mass sales of foreclosed properties to those prepared to rent them out could benefit both potential renters and the housing market".
They are doing this in Ireland. The foreclosed property is rented back to the original owner if able to handle it. So part of the rent is money owed and part is paid to government program. I can see government programs also operate like a safety net to assist renter qualification. In this country they are now foreclosing and the people lose their home. When the property is sold. The difference can be substantial. The people will then get a bill for the difference to pay back.
Property taxes are a huge revenue. Various parties want that revenue back. I can hear the pitch now and the public support. O's stash.
#3
Damn those govmint meddling Keynesian economists who think you can spend your way into prosperity. Temporary governmental fixes become permanent. Government bureaucracies expand. The private sector diminishes and jobs decrease. There are fewer and fewer taxpayers to support the non-taxpayers. Oh, that's where we are at today.
[Dawn] A month after ten Ahmadi students were expelled from two schools in the village of Dharinwala, in Faisalabad district, all have been put back to school, not in there old ones, but in two schools in Hafizabad, thanks to Khalil Ahmad, father and grandfather of four students who were among those expelled.
"I managed to get all of them enrolled in two schools in the nearby city of Hafizabad," he said talking to Dawn.com over phone from his village.
But it's not been easy. Most parents of the expelled children are too poor, so Ahmed volunteered to pay for their admissions, their books and stationery. And that is not all. He, with the help of his two sons, makes sure they drop and pick all of them on a cycle of violence, doing turns.
In one school, the principal knows he has given admission to Ahmadi students but the educator believes faith should not come in the way of those seeking education. "In the other the principal has not been told," Ahmed revealed.
Sadly, all during this episode, the government has remained a quiet bystander, as always.
It is not the first time that students have been expelled from an educational institution in Punjab because of their religious affiliations, remarked Bushra Gohar, a parliamentarian belonging to the secular Awami National Party. According to Gohar, her party members had condemned the expulsion of students belonging to the Ahmadiyya community each time on the floor of the house. "However, nothing needs reforming like other people's bad habits... a protest or condemnation from the parties leading in the Punjab has not been forthcoming," she said.
For far too long, Pak students belonging to this minority community have been facing various forms of discrimination based on their faith.
"This tidal wave against the Ahmadiyya education shows no sign of ebbing," Saleemuddin, the spokesperson of the Ahmaddiya Jammat, told Dawn.com.
He said after 1984, when the government promulgated the anti Ahmadiyya ordinance, both the government and the holy men have been trying their utmost to punish them in various ways.
"Ahmadi lecturers were posted away to distant locations and some were not allowed to teach. Ahmadi principals and headmasters were replaced. Ahmadi students were deprived admission in professional colleges. They were refused accommodation in attached hostels. They suffered attacks by thug elements on campuses."
According to the Asian Human Rights Commission, the Islami Jamiat Talaba ...The student wing of Pakistain's Jamaat-e-Islami, which is more overtly violent than its parent organization... , the student wing of the Islami Jamiat has been tasked to cleanse the educational institutions, including universities and professional colleges of Ahmadi students.
Hasan Ahmed, who was among the 23 students who were expelled from Punjab Medical College, in Faisalabad, back in 2008, can never forget the stressful event and how "night after night, for over a month" he kept stressing over the events that turned his settled student life all topsy-turvy.
"I knew it happened to others, so was not completely caught unawares," Hasan acknowledged. He is at present completing his house job in Lahore, keeping an "ultra busy schedule".
Eventually all were re-instated in some college or another. "After months of waiting, just before exam, my friend was sent to Bahawalpur while I went off to a distant place of Rahimyar Khan in a college of lower merit," narrated Hasan.
After a gargantuan effort, he was finally allowed to appear in exams from Lahore and then got admitted to Allama Iqbal Medical College, in Lahore.
"To be in a state of flux was the worst part of this episode specially since exams were approaching and I didn't know which place I was to appear from," said Hasan.
He expressed that till the identity of an Ahmadi remains undisclosed "he remains safe".
But that is sadly not the case if you are living in Pakistain. People are culturally nosy and want to know your cast and sect. "Eventually they end up finding that you are an Ahmadi. Once they know, you can feel a change of attitude and it just takes a mischief maker to exploit others' feelings against you," said Hasan.
Till Hina Akram's faith remained unknown to her teacher in Faislabad's National Textile University, she was considered a star student. But after it became known she belonged to the Ahmadiyya community, she faced so much faith-based harassment that she had to quit studies.
"I was told to convert to Islam," said Hina, who was studying in the sixth semester of her BSc.
"I was handed some anti-Ahmadiyya literature to read, offered a refuge in Mohammedan home. But when she told the teacher she was an Ahmadi by choice he called her an infidel and warned her of severe consequences.
"You will face such a fire of animosity in the campus that not even the vice chancellor will be able to help you," he threatened her.
True to his word, a hate campaign was initiated and a social boycott began. Out of college, she is desperately trying to go abroad. Her fate remains in balance.
But it's not just the education aspect where the anti-Ahmadiyya lobby is hitting, said Saleemuddin. Since 1984, some 208 faith-based killings have taken place. The persecution against the community has surged following the May 28, 2010 massacre of 94 members of the community in Lahore.
After the four million Ahmadis were officially declared non-Mohammedans in 1984 by the state, they cannot call themselves Mohammedans or go to mosques. They cannot be overheard praising Prophet Mohammad. To add insult to injury, every Pak who claims to be a Mohammedan and owns a passport has declared that he or she considers them to be non-Mohammedans and their leader an imposter prophet.
Pak Ahmadis today live in constant fear and humiliation. So much so, the hatred has permeated into each and every slice of society and the oppressors have become more vocal and aggressive.
"The thug elements are getting more and more powerful because of Saudi-US influence and the government's policy of appeasement," said I.A. Rehman, General Secretary Human Rights Commission of Pakistain.
"The Ahmadis are already the worst persecuted minority in our country -- and things for them appear to be growing worse as hatred and intolerance spread," Kamila Hyat, a journalist and a rights activist echoed the same sentiments. "The lack of enforcement of laws to prevent the preaching of hatred adds to the problem," she added.
Saleemuddin said by allowing the thugholy mans to hold anti-Ahmadiyya rallies and conferences, the government is adding fuel to this venom. "People are openly instigated to kill us in the name of Islam," he said.
"Violence and the advance of bigotry, prejudice and hate against minorities have never really been met with the resolve needed to remove impunity from the social equation in Pakistain," Sherry Rehman, a politician belonging to the ruling Pakistain People's Party, agreed.
Instead, she told Dawn.com what is seen is an "expansion in the space for religious and sectarian apartheids, which has led now to heinous acts of brutality and exclusion of many, particularly Ahmadis."
She warned: "This is a dangerous trend that conflates national identity with religion."
Perhaps that is one reason why Pervez Hoodbhoy expresses: "Today, when religion has become so central in matters of the state, they [Ahmadis] do not stand a chance in Pakistain of getting rights, respect, and dignity. The overdose of religion given to young Paks in their schools and homes means that nothing matters more than which religion and sect you belong to. Ahmadis are the lightning rod that attracts more hatred than any other sect."
For its part rights groups like the Human Rights Watch ... dedicated to bitching about human rights violations around the world... (HRW) and the Human Rights Commission of Pakistain (HRCP) say they have "repeatedly" raised the issue of "state tolerated persecution".
"We are urging authorities to intervene in each case," said Rehman. "But the situation is getting worse day by day.
Terming it "abhorrent and self defeating" when society allows "for the dehumanization of Ahmadis or Christians or the Shia for that matter, it is effectively cannibalizing itself," said Ali Dayan Hasan, Pakistain director of HRW.
"The federal government expresses regret at incidents but has made clear its unwillingness to repeal or amend discriminatory laws," said HRW spokesperson.
Given the current intolerance, the fate of the new generation of Pak Ahmadis looks "quite bleak" said Rehman.
Even Hoodbhoy said: "For years, Ahmadis, Hindus, and Christians have been desperately seeking to flee Pakistain. They would be foolish to want to stay," said Hoodbhoy.
This fails to dampen young Hasan's spirits. He thinks the future looks "brighter than ever before".
"Even if the situation is made worse in Pakistain, this does not mean the future is not bright. It's a matter of time before we start getting equal rights in this country.
Often when they get together, the young Ahmadis discuss the "bitter realities" they have to face as Paks.
"But we don't want to leave our country at the juncture that it is at," said a patriotic Hasan. This is because the contribution of the Ahmadi community towards building of Pakistain has been immense," he said with conviction.
He said recently their leader urged all Ahmadis of the world to "fast once a week and pray" especially for the prosperity of Pakistain."
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
10/29/2011 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] TALIBAN Khan vs the Dengue Brothers, Pakistain's version of David and Goliath, is coming soon to a (Punjab) city near you. "Taliban Khan" is Imran Khan, the former cricketer who now snuggles up to the turbans in defense of Pak sovereignty and traditions and for a leg up into a major position in poltix...
Have the Sharifs overreacted or reacted just in time to energise a base that was wistfully looking at the effervescence of Khan's Little Monsters and wondering why their own party wasn't doing the same?
Such are the sands in which Pak politics are scripted that even before the Battle for Lahore there is a sense that the Sharifs may have, for now, stalled what could have been the beginning of a virtuous cycle for IK.
The bigger the crowds Khan mobilises, the better the quality of candidate he will attract to his party in the mercenary world of Punjab politics, and the better the candidates, the bigger the crowds.
But with the Sharifs awakening the slumbering PML-N and activating the provincial administration, Punjab's mercenaries will already be reassessing their options. Ungainly as the N-League's tactics may be, they are looking effective, and effective may be good enough to keep voters and candidates onside.
But solve one problem and you create another.
Mian Sahib That's Nawaz Sharif, aka Uncle Fester...
is now stuck with a Goldilocks problem: he's turned up the heat on the PPP, but what's the right temperature to ensure he and his own party don't get burned in the process?
The immediate decision: Sharif has another month or month-and-a-half to figure out if he really wants to topple the government and go for early elections, or if he'll settle for slamming the PPP to the mat and keep his hands wrapped around the PTI's throat, campaign mode without triggering the election itself. But the immediate decision is predicated on a more complex assessment.
Assume for the sake of argument that the government is felled by a combination of street action and gaping holes in the composition of key assemblies. It would have to be replaced obviously, but by what and when?
Here's Sharif's real problem: lurking in the shadows are the extra-constitutional forces, the boys in uniform, who may have ideas of their own.
Wary of Sharif and burned by the epic mismanagement of AZ and his dissolute lot, could they come up with a Bangladesh-lite option: a caretaker government for say a year to implement some reforms and steady a creaking, tilting ship?
Elections would still have to be held after that, but under a caretaker set-up with major input from the boys in Pindi and Aabpara. At that point, even if Sharif were to retain his substantial support in Punjab, would the popular will be allowed to manifest itself?
The hawkish elements within the PML-N are urging Sharif to go all out, smack the upstart IK around, topple the government and make a bid for power through immediate elections. But many of those same hawkish elements could quickly become poodles obeying their uniformed masters if things don't go to plan. Sharif alone has an empire to protect.
So does he hold the PPP's feet to the fire or does he have the fire consume it and set the stage for an uncertain replacement?
Holding the PPP's feet to the fire does have an extra benefit that could tilt Sharif's decision. By whipping his base into campaign mode, Sharif is also sending a signal to the army high command. I'm here, I've got the numbers, I've got the support, accept that reality and what it means for whose turn is next is Sharif's message.
Remember, the army's options aren't unlimited. Already caught up in strategic games regionally, within the domestic political milieu the army isn't the sole arbiter of what does or doesn't happen.
If a political party is able to present the army with a kind of fait accompli, say, in the form of significant popular support, it will be hard to resist such an argument. What today is packaged as a drive against the PPP to prevent haemorrhaging of support towards the PTI can also be repackaged as 'defence of democracy' campaign if need be.
Of course, there is also a limit to how much the politicians can push the army in their quest for power, so there's a need to keep the signalling polite and less overt. Plus, anyone who seeks power in Pakistain is by definition forced into seeking some kind of working relationship, or at least a tacit understanding, with the army high command.
So while he's busy trying to pound the PTI into the soil of Punjab and harassing the PPP into missteps, Sharif will be calculating and recalculating what the army's game may be.
The end of this year is crucial because of the necessary run-up to a general election. Miss the Nov/Dec/Jan window and the Senate elections will likely be held on time, locking the PML-N into tiny minority status until at least 2015 and ensuring the PPP gains in the 2008 general elections won't be washed out of the legislative apparatus until the 2018 Senate elections.
Sharif will also be aware that the army has the delicious option of simply letting the system run to keep both the PML-N and the PPP weak. By quietly vetoing the idea of a general election before the Senate elections, the army would have an upper house in the PPP's control and a lower house likely in the control of the PML-N after the next general election in late 2012 or early 2013.
Or does Sharif go for broke in the next couple of months, calculating that the boys will be aware that the business of government needs to be attended to, that an extended caretaker period will be politically and constitutionally risky and that legislative gridlock caused by opposing majorities in the lower and upper houses of parliament will be worse than handing power to Sharif?
The scene in Lahore may suggest otherwise, but Sharif's got bigger issues than Taliban Khan to mull over.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/29/2011 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
cycle of violence
Punjab
Mian Sahib 
Here's Sharif's real problem: lurking in the shadows are the extra-constitutional forces, the boys in uniform, who may have ideas of their own.
Holding the PPP's feet to the fire does have an extra benefit that could tilt Sharif's decision. By whipping his base into campaign mode, Sharif is also sending a signal to the army high command. I'm here, I've got the numbers, I've got the support, accept that reality and what it means for whose turn is next is Sharif's message.
