War of the Words

Wow! I am simply overwhelmed at the amount of comments (and the passion thereof) in response to my pro-Dubai posts. And as I cannot reply to each comment in the comments section, here’s another entry on the counter-arguments:

This farhaN Nocturnal guy is a real specimen, eh? If you’ve been reading the comments he posts, you can see that – lacking substantial arguments – he resorts to insults. Hehe. People like him make me and my blog visitors laugh. Keep it up, Farhan!

One of his previous comments had *some* substance and I think it deserves a response.

farhaN Nocturnal: My friends's Grand father and Uncles have lived in Dubai for more than four decades.
BPC: Just for the record, this makes the grandfather 70 if he started working at 30, and which makes the uncles 40 if they were *born* there.
farhaN Nocturnal: His grand father is an engineer and he is amognst those ppl who planned and built DUBAI , all his uncles served in very important departments of UAE governemnt. His grand father was an advisor to the UAE kingdom on technical/planning issues.
BPC: MashaAllah. Very nice. And you still say it is a racist place? Weren’t they “brown’”?!! Or were they gora back then and turned “brown” recently?
farhaN Nocturnal: buTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT what they think abt dubai now? they say its not worth living anymore, so two of his uncles have left CRAPY DUBAI.
BPC: The reason these people left Dubai is not because it is crappy, but because Dubai no longer had any use for them. The truth about Dubai is no doubt that it is a city of young people. Most people working in jobs here range form early 20s to late 40s in age. It is very difficult for people beyond that age to work, unless they are already in jobs where they have been for a looooong time. Even then, sometimes, due to the need for annual contract renewal, most get retired by 50 or so in favour of a younger person. Ofcourse, if you are an expert in your field, you just get promoted.

So yes, there might be some substance to this argument, but that doesn’t make Dubai crappy. Slightly ageist maybe, but then, which place isn’t?

Where do these people work now? My guess is, they probably don’t. They have probably converted their Dirham earnings into rupees and are sitting on top of huge property or businesses, and badmouthing Dubai - totally disregarding that this is where they made their wealth.
farhaN Nocturnal: And in answer to the question raised by blog owner that why ppl still lIVING IN DUBAI WHEN THEY DON'T LIKE IT, so MY QUESTION IS TO BLOG OWNER WHY DON'T YOU BURN YOUR GREEN PASSPORT WHEN YOU DONT LIKE PAKISTAN, BUT YOU WONT BURN CUZ YOU R HYPOCRITE TOO.
BPC: What part of me publicly expressing my dislike of my Pakistani passport makes me a hypocrite? Believe me, I will have burned it a long time ago, but the sad truth is that you cannot have NO passport, and the Green passport makes it very difficult to switch to another. I am working on an alternative though, and the day I burn the Green One, I will happily courier you the ashes.

LOL Farhan man, you do make me laugh. I enjoy Sabizak’s posts because she actually seems to write using her brain and not her ass like the guy above. She is new in the UAE … please take note of that … she is NOT living in Dubai. She is living in Sharjah. Therefore, anything she notes as a con of Dubai is actually a con of Sharjah. Being in Dubai and dissing Dubai is like being in Hyderabad and dissing Karachi. Two different cities people. Two different ones!

Sabizak: Many of the places you pointed out I had absolutely no idea existed. Firstly, because I live in Sharjah, not Dubai and secondly like you rightly said I have just been here a month and a half. But even in my first comment I told you my response to the place is pretty emotional at the moment.
BPC: Exactly. And when my mum read these posts, she pointed out to me that I was EXACTLY like this the first time I came to Dubai seven years ago. LOL. I used to spend my whole day crying. You hate any new place as its difficult to immediately find your feet in a new place. And admittedly, Dubai is a VERY difficult place to find your feet in. Sharjah, perhaps moreso.
Sabizak: My ideals in life are far from achieveing 'success' or being 'ambitious' in the capitalistic sense of the word so I do not value these things the way you seem to.
BPC: Quite contrarily, my values are not as far as those that you claim are yours. I harbour no fantasies of being a CEO with a gazillion dirham bonus. All I want is to be able to be a fulltime mom (or work-at-home mom) when I have babies and to be able to send them to good schools when they are old enough, good colleges when they are older and then to be able to retire at 45, so I don’t have to work when I don’t have the energy to.

Dubai lets me do all that. The exchange rate makes it easy for me to invest in a pension plan. There are great schools in the city, and now, there are great colleges too. Most of all, it’s a SAFE place for me to raise my kids.
Sabizak: As for 'low-level jobs' as you put it, I don't think there is any such thing as that. Everyone on earth deserves equal respect from us if they are honest and hardworking and I am sure there are nations in the world that respect that fact.
BPC: What do you mean there is no such thing as a low-level job? You think construction workers and tea boys are working on the same level as a multi-national company’s CEO? Humanity aside, let’s not forget economics and sociology. Society is a balance of low-income, middle-income and high-income people. To claim that these boundaries don’t exist is ridiculous.
Nowhere have I said that low-level workers don’t deserve respect.
Sabizak: As for the third class treatment you asked me to explain about, in the number of times that I have gone to hoity toity stores, like Ikea for instance, i have noticed that the Arabs working there fall all over each other trying to lick the boots of any gora who happens to saunter past them in a one mile radius but will not even as much as smile at you, infact be downright rude, when you ask them for directions or any other help. These may just be assumptions based on chance experiences, i dont know. It may well be so but according the the law of probability random occurences also point towards real statistics, Random Sampling, as they call it.
BPC: Definitely random sampling. I have been to Ikea plenty of times. Infact. All the furniture in my flat is from Ikea. Cheap and cheerful J I have never been treated with disrespect. And let me make another observation based on years of living in the UAE: majority of desis go to these shops to “window shops”. Going to Ikea is a “weekend outing”. They have no intention of spending money. Even as a customer, one can tell who is planning to spend money in the shop and who is merely looking. Most goras and Arabs come inside Ikea to shop. (Their weekend outing might be a day at the beach etc). So when you work as a salesman on commission, who would you rather spend time serving: a windows-shopper or a genuine customer?
Sadly, its because of the “window-shopping” majority of desis that the genuine shopping minority suffers.
Sabizak: As for Liberty Books, go check out their online store and how beautifully it is run, delivering books all over Pakistan for free, i tried looking for some such online store in the UAE and i couldn't even find ONE.
BPC: Go to UAEmall.com for online shopping. THOUSANDS of things. More than just books too. See, you just gotta ask … Dubai’s go it all J
Sabizak: As for parks. I gather you are from karachi thats why you spoke of that but these shadeless palm trees and the sorry excuses that they have for parks here, just go and lose yourself once in Lahore's Lawrence Gardens and you will know what the beauty of a genuinely lovely, tranquil, near to nature park is.
BPC: Err, no, I am not FROM Karachi. I spent just five years there.
Your argument about parks is a bit silly, Sabizak. It’s like me going to Lahore and complaining about there not being any beaches. Or a Swiss coming to Dubai and complaining about there being no snow (though he could find some in the Snow Park at Mall of The Emirates these days!).
Nature varies from region to region. To borrow a quote my good friend D., “surely the world is big enough to accommodate several versions of nature”. Some place have mountains, some don’t. Some are jungles, some are not. Some have deserts, some don’t.
If you see vast stretches of barren land here, then that is the “natural” state of this country. In case you’re forgetting, this is a desert country. It’s not a green area like Lahore, so to expect “natural” parks is ridiculous.
If you want to explore the ‘nature’ of the UAE, then go visit the natural springs at Masafi. A lot closer are the beautiful dunes of the desert all around us. Go trekking in one of the fabulous wadis. If you seek green, head to the greenest part of the UAE: Al Ain. It’s called the Garden City for a reason.
Sabizak: Btw, what do you think about the internet censorship over here
BPC: It’s very good. Keep the kids away form free porn. For people who NEED free access, there are the freezones where NOTHING is censored.
If you are a business and need it all day every day, you can set up an office here. If you are an individual and need a one-off free access, go buy a coffee at one of the coffee shops in the freezone and use the wi-fi. Free Porn!!!!!
Sabizak: the hegemony that Etisalaat enjoys and the subsequent exorbitant rates for calling abroad. And how about those two English rags that pass off as newspapers over here?
BPC: Incase you are forgetting,a second telecoms player Du has just entered the market. A few years ago, there were three English dailies, now thee are six. All changes are gradual. You cannot deny that changes aren’t taking place.
Sabizak: What really ticked me off was the way you chose to show your displeasure towards your country.
BPC: I repeat, it’s not MY country anymore.
Sabizak: It has at least given u the passport that u cannot possibly burn (coz this country will never give u its)
BPC: That’s where you go wrong. Don’t make assumptions based on hearsay.
Sabizak: but I guess Canada and such like would be a good option.
BPC: Over my dead body! I love the weather in this city. I love the proximity to Europe. I love the sense of safety and security. Canada?!! No way!!!
Sabizak: If there is something wrong with our country we cant just merely throw stones at it and then disappear to greener pastures. THATs lazy, getting off our butt and trying to contribute in some positive way, now that requires real effort.
BPC: What do you think Jinnah and his cronies did? Didn’t they convince millions of people to “throw stones at (their country) and then disappear to greener pastures”? Isn’t Pakistan made for people who couldn’t stand living in India?

Pakistan is a country diseased by corrupt politicians and landlord, that has not been able to cure itself for more than half a century. I can’t waste my life trying to heal this ailing beast.

Now for some of the anonymous posters.

Anonymous#1: Are they granting citizenships on the basis of your services or it's still out of question?
BPC: You fulfil certain criteria and you can get citizenship here. Simple.

Anonymous #2: I read you don't want to return to Pakiland then what are your alternatives as you are not welcome in the country who is using your talent?
BPC: What’s your definition of “not welcome in the country that is using my talents”? I feel very welcome here, thankyourverymuch. I have been afforded enough security to be able to work, I have been afforded the opportunity to work in a job well-paying enough to allow me to invest in property, and by buying property, I have been afforded the chance to stay here indefinitely after I retire. If that is this country’s version of “not welcome’, then I can’t to find out what it’s welcome is like!!

Anonymous #3: First low class workers deserve respect too PERIOD.
BPC: I agree.I never said they don’t.
Anonymous #3: Why UAE or other Arab country men aren't up for it?
BPC: The people of the UAE aren’t up for it because their country takes enough care of them for them not to have to work outdoors in the 40 degree summer heat. The UAE’s people don’t work in these jobs because their government PAYS them to go abroad and get higher education so that when they come back, they can work in good jobs.
As for people from other Arab countries, I have no idea. If somebody reading this blog can tell me why all the low-level workers are Pakistanis, Indians, Sri Lankans and Iranians, then I’d be glad!
Anonymous #3: We all know why they hire south asians workers. They are cheap and they have noone in their home country govts to give a shit about them.
BPC: So is it the Emirati’s fault that Asian workers are cheap? Is it the Emirati’s fault that a Pakistaniman’s own government doesn’t give a shit about him, to the extent that he has to leave his own country and family behind and work 14 hours a day? Sorry, but none of this is the Emirati’s fault. If anything, it is the fault of the Pakistani government for not making enough provisions to take care of it’s own poor people.
Anonymous #3: No wonder Saudis and UAE are becoming such a rich society, they are buliding it on the blood of real human beings.
BPC: Really? You think these Arab nations get rich by paying Asian construction workers 1000 dhs a month instead of 1500 Dhs a month? If that is so, then why don’t the Asian countries keep these workers home and make them work there and get rich like the Arab countries?
Anonymous #3: You say there is no racism at your level then why are you not allowed in this club?. http://www.gulfnews.com/tabloid/Special_Report/10042700.html
BPC: That is just one side of the story. I have gone to many, many clubs/restaurants/five star hotels. And I have NEVER been stopped. Of course, if you wear a sari to go to a club, they will stop you. If you are wearing a T-shirt with trousers, they will stop you. If your hair reeks of coconut oil, they will stop you. Who wants to club next to an oil-smooshed, sari clad woman? Not me. If you are clubbing, at least look the part.
I am sorry, I just refuse to listen to these complaints because I have NEVER been denied entry and that says something. I am VERY brown by the way. No one can EVER mistake me for anything but a Desi.


Anonymous #4: Can you read what you write? Woman you are one racist lady.
BPC: Yes, I am, I am the first racist in the whole world to be guilty of racism against people LIKE HERSELF.
Seriously, what part of my comment sounded racist to you? Is any part of what I wrote untrue? How many British construction workers are there? Or Lebanese ones?
And answer a question for me honestly if you believe you are not racist: if you were to share an elevator with a person and they started a conversation with you, would it make a difference to you if the person was a CEO dressed in a suit and ties, or if he was a construction worker in boots and overalls? Which one would you be more likely to exchange contact details with and meet up with a coffee later and perhaps even become friends with?
Not racist my friend, realist.
Anonymous #4: I read your archives and found out you've spent many years in KSA. Wow! how Saudi money spoils mind .. I've heard about but i've seen it too. FYI not everyone born with money. Most people need to earn it to make a living and just to get by. They are not fortunate to have gone to schools or have cars before their 20th birthday. People like you are spoiling Pakistan. Glad India got rid of these kind unless we were too ignorant like too.
BPC: Oh ho ho! Lookie here. You think you have me all figured out, eh? You think I was BORN into money? Well, I shall take that as a compliment.
The truth is quite the opposite actually. The five years we were in Karachi, I used to travel by public buses because I couldn’t afford cab fare. I started earning my own money when I was 18. My first job in Dubai five years ago paid me a measly 4000 Dhs. But I had set my sights high and I knew where I wanted to be aged 25 years.
Alhamdolillah, I am there now. I bought my own car with my own money when I was 23 and at 25 I bought a house. I can afford holidays in Europe now. These are all things that were very, very far-fetched dreams some years ago. I wasn’t born into money, but my parents gave me the best education and the best upbringing and whatever I have today is all earned on my own, with the blessings of my parents and by the grace of Allah.

Think twice before you accuse people of the golden-spoon-syndrome, sweetie. And pay attention when I say people control their own destiny.

Anand L. Pradhan: BPC thinks sabizak is lazy for not finding out stuff and the poor are in their state because of lack of ambition. I have heard more intelligent comments than this in monkey cages. IMHO, her own laziness is gigantic. She wants someone else to burn her passport. Do it now, BPC. Now! And show us that you have your money where your mouth is (or whatever it is you speak with)...
BPC: Let me introduce you to one of the many styles of writing. My comment as pointed out by you was the last line of my entry: a kind of summing up, a retort to the subject discussed in that entry.

I didn’t mean for someone to come and physically assist me in igniting my travel documents, any more than I am requesting you to come here and adhere your lips to me posterior when I say this: KISS MY ASS.

Do you get the point?

My Dubai

Okay, I have officially HAD it with people complaining in Dubai. As if people who have lived here for years and years complaining isn't enough (if you hate it so much,why don't you leave?!!!!) there is a whole load of people who have no more than a few weeks of Dubaiiing under their belt and feel entitled to pass judgement on Dubai.

Fine, everyone has a right to their own opinion. But just because YOU THIHNK Dubai sucks doesn't make it the truth.

Case in point is a blogger who stumbled across my blog (sabizak.blogspot.com) and very tactlessly chose to educate me about the vices of Dubai.

Now, if she had said anything worth half a thought, I might have let it slide, but the pure ridiculousness of her accusations is definitely worth comment.

Saizak says: Dubai is one of the suckiest, most racist places on this planet. The goras and arabs are ROYALTY and Indi-Pakis are shit.

BPC says: Define 'sucky'? If, for you, sucky is an immense sense of security, a police force that does it's job, no power cuts, affordable water and electricity, god road, excellent parks and public facilities, then YES, Dubai is very, very sucky.

If you have seen the goras and Arabs treated like royalty and South Asians treated like shit, then there is a reason for it.

Tell me honestly, what class of South Asians comprises the majority of the UAE's expat South Asian population? MOST of them are construction workers, municipality workers who clean the streets etc., store clerks nad generally people working in low-paying, low-level jobs.

Now tell me what class of goras choose to live an expat life in the UAE. Do you see any gora construction workers, municipality workers , store clerks ... anybody working in low-paying, low-level jobs.

No, these guys come out here to make big bucks. Now don't tell me that there is any place in the whole world where a construction worker will get the same treatment as an office executive.

When you talk about 'treatment', why do you always look at how the poorman is treated. I am supposedly Pakistani. I get a pretty good salary: almost on par with my local colleague and EXACTLY the same as my gori colleague. I get a lot of respect in my workplace too.

The South Asians you see getting treated like doormats are those who treat the Goras like God. Trust me, the amount of ass-kissing I have seen South Asians doing for a Gora is disgusting.

As for the Locals, well, this is their own country and they have every right to receiving preferential treatment here.

Sabizak says: Dont know how u can stand for third class treatment and then like the place. But i guess everyone has different values.

BPC says: I will repeat what I said above, that I have a great job with a great salary, and have a great workin relationship with my colleagues of all nationalities. In my personaly life, I have friends from all over the world, Locals, Europeans, Arab expats ... I have never felt any discrimination on basis of my skin color.

I am very curious about this 'third class treatment' that you are suffering. Please tell me what exactly you are referring to.

Sabizak says: I remember once reading on ur blog that u dont like poor ppl or something to that effect. I guess Dubai is nice n purged of those types.

BPC says: I have no idea why you remember reading on my blog that I don't like poor people. That doesn't seem like a thing I would say. Please point me to the blog entry that says so.

What I definitely don't like is lazy or compacent people. And lots of times, I refuse to sympathize with 'poor' people because more than being victims of their destiny, they are victims of their own lack of ambition.

There is nothing that one cannot acheive if one works hard enough. I refuse to feel sory for a beggar who has thirteen poor children to feed and bringthem all out on the street with him to beg for alms. HE is just a menace to society. His kids should be in school and he shouldn't have thirteen bloody,fucking kids in the first place.

So yeah, I am glad there are no beggars in Dubai.

Sabizak: GODDAMN artificial place. Perpetual amusement park with nothing substantial to offer. The fucking place doesn't even have a decent bookshop or library. But I guess they'll start thinking about once the finish furnishing it with the ugliest high rise structures in the world (which is never)

BPC: You almost make me want to laugh there. Dubai is 'artificial'? What, you want it to be all organic, growing crops without chemicals and people living in mud huts or what?

Wake up, it's 2006. Air-conditioning and highways are there to make our life easier.

But I suppose what you really meant to say was "Dubai has no culture". Well, that's a very misconceived notions held by many new expats like you. Expats who come to Dubai and go to a few shopping malls, a few good restaurants, go on a desert safari, have a look at the Burj Al Arab and think that's all there is to Dubai.

Culture is not a homeless person that you see standing on street corners all the time.

Have you bothered to make any local friends to find out what the culture is? I guess you haven't, because if you had nurtured a realtionship with any locals, you would know that 'culture' is still very much there. You can't expect expats to show you what the 'culture' is like, can you.

Actually, if you want a crash course on the 'cultural' side of Dubai, visit Bastakiya. That's if you want to learn more about the culture of the people of this country.

If you want a fill of culture in a more modern sense, then there is no reason why you can't get any. There are at least twenty art galleries in Dubai displaying the work of international artists. There are atleast four venues that have independant screenings of foreign/art films every week. There are multitiudes of art/craft courses on offer. The Madinat Theatre almost always has a major production on. There are smaller theatre groups that have new plays and popular productions up on a constant basis. International troupes and theater groups visit the country all the time to give performances. There are culinary tours with world-famous chefs.

If you haven't found anyhting here besides malls, it not because there is nothing on offer. It's because you're lazy.

You say that Dubai doesn't even have a decent bookshop or library. HELLO. If you came from US or UK and compared stuff ot Barnes & Nobles, I would understand where you are coming from.

But you come from Lahore. What do they have there?! Liberty books?!!!! And you tell me you can't find anything to compare with that?

Maybe if you tore yourself away from the Nine West and Monsoon stores, you'd be able to see that there are a bunch of Magrudy stores around which are HUGE and have thousands and thousands of books. You also have smaller bookstores by the gazillions. Even Virgin Megastore in Mercato and in Mall of the Emirates has a huge book section.

New books too epxensive, betcha didn't know that there are second hand bookstores in Dubai too. Thre's one in Jumeirah Plaza and one in Ibn Battutta mall and you can pick up books in extremely good condition for as little as five dirhams.

Want cheaper books? Head to one of the charity shops (bet you didn;t know Dubai has those either?). On Thursday, the charity shop of St. Mary's Church clears up their books section and you can buy a whole carton for fifteen or so Dirhams.

Lazy. Again.

If you opened your eyes and gave Dubai half a fair chance, it would surprise you. It would welcome you with open arms and show you that it has so, so much to offer.

And if you still complain, then too bad that Dubai is just a city. Because if Dubai were a person, it would ask you why you are still here ...

She's a SmaaAaaAaaAll Wonder

Some things out there on the net are just to weird.

They are weird enough when you stumble upon them per chance for the first time. But what are the chances of running into a freaking oddity not once, but TWICE!!!

I did just that today.

I was feeling nostalgic and reading up on 80 show Small Wonder when I ran into an article discussing the show as the first mainstream American sitcom featuring a Lesbain lead character (!!!).

Wait, that's not even the wird part. The weird part is this: (a letter left for 'Vicki' on a fansite)

From: "Rizwan Khan" kool_rizz@hotmail.com
To: TiffanyBrissette@fan.net
Subject: To a young girl from PAKISTAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Date: Thu, 12 Apr 2001 14:48:00
Hi Tiffany (V I C I),Everybody loves you and your movie here in KARACHI, PAKISTAN.I wasn't even borned when your play was aired in 1985. But from 1994 whenI was 9 yrs old to this day 2001 when I'm 15 years old I'm watching your moviewhich is telecast on weekdays on 5 pm in PAKISTAN. (Don't think thatPAKISTAN is too behind! We are as able as anyone else!).I have a request. Could the FOX Company make a new version of "Small WonderMellenium." I also want your pictures as a young lady now!

Yours movie's crazy fan,Rizwan KhanURL: http://www.aboutriz.com/
PS. By the way where is Jamie ... oh! sorry! I mean Jerry Supiran.

OHMIGOD!

CoolRiz wasn't even BORNED when Small Wonder was aired. Also, this MOVIE form the mid 80s is aired in Pakistan in 2001, so don't think that Pakistan is "too behind"! ROFLMAO. Just about a quarter of a century.

What takes the cake is this guy's super brainwave: "Small Wonder Millenium".

A closet lesbian child for the new millenium. Wow. I wonder why no one else thought of this before .....

More Vicki fanstuff here: http://members.surfbest.net/smallwonder@surfbest.net/SWonTV/TiffanyFanClub.html

Ode to Shitty Days (and Solutions Thereof)

Ever had one of those days that start bad and just get worse as the day goes on?

CHA CHING!!!

Today was the Queen of such days.

Surrounded by impossibly tight deadlines (that too, when you do the job of three people), impending mid-year reviews (even though you know you've done well), department appraisals (the departments is counting on you), the shitty-feelingness of letting your mum down on something she asked you to do (the ONLY thing she asked you to do in ages), the runny nose and sore throat (antibiotics zindabad), the so-hungry-but-no-time-for-lunch .... you look at the watch and it's 3:45 and you realize you haven't had lunch and that you wouldn't have had anything to eat all day had it not been for the two birthdays in the office today (read: one breakfast buffet in the pantry and one binge on chocolate cake).

So at 3:45 ... about 45 minutes before the end of your work week, you throw in the towel and decide to take a break. The only break you can take without feeling guilty is for namaz.

And those few minutes do for you what can only be considered a miracle.

You still feel like crying because you feel out of control: too much work and too little time. You feel like crying because you're STARVING.

So you sniff on the jainamaz and ask Allah Mian to send you a burger and to make your troubles go away.

And you get back to the office and ....

... your colleague has decided to bring you a hardees Swiss Mushroom N Cheese. And a coke.

And you get a message saying that thing you wanted to do for your mum that had fallen through has actually come back round again and you don't have to hide your face in shamce no more.

Subhan Allah.

I will go now. It's 13 minutes since my weekend started. And boy, what a start!

Pakistan Zindabad

I was going through Karachi Metblogs entires today and I stumbled upon one that seemed quite interesting.

You can read it here: http://karachi.metblogs.com/archives/2006/06/volunteers_need_2.phtml

When I read this post and my first response was "Wow! How refreshing! What a great chance for some youngs kids to meet with working professionals from across the border. It'll be interesting to see how the 'stars' will fare with unexperienced guides/escorts: they'll definitely get a fresh perspective on things. Not just on the city nd what too see here, but they'll also take back good memories of Karachi."

And then I read the comments people have pasted here and I have no regrets in saying that the decision I made when I decided never to return to Pakistan was well-made: the country is full of self-righteous people who will see the negative in everything except their own selves.

Being the way I am, I left a tirade in the comments section, but:

a) the post is quite old and I doubt anyone will come back to read the comments
b) venting archivally (is that a word?) didn't do it for me, so here's a repost, kind of edited into a whole blog entry.

When these people (the kind of people who poted comments in reply to that post on Karachi Metblogs) say it's the politicians that have dragged down this country, they are wrong. It's actually people like THEM that have.

People who might not do anything constructive themselves, but will shoot down anybody who attempts to do anything remotely constructive.

What's wrong with showing some guests around? Isn't that what the visiting stars will be: guests? Or will the prevailing opinion be different if these people weren't Indinas? Or movie stars? Or both?


What a sorry bunch of petty people most Paksitanis living in Pakistan (speically the ones who commented on that post) are. I mean REALLY.

It's a nation full of people who will never see beyond Pakistan Zindabad - no matter how corrupt its leaders are, no matter how filthy its streets are and no matter how the country just tales and takes without ever giving anything back. Yes my dears, the people maketh a nation and if the people sucketh, so doeth the nation.

It's a nation of people who love to hate Indians. Why? They don't know. Self-righteous, fucking, moronic, imbecile dimwits.

Somebody burn my green passport for me PLEASE.

You're IT!

BPC books two nights in a Milan hotel:

"Hotel Charly (MI) thanks you for your preference.It will receive your confirmation of reservation or offer directlyon its E-Mail box."

Who's "it"?!!