Roz Savage, Ocean Rower

Roz Savage is a British ocean rower, author, motivational speaker and environmental campaigner. She has rowed solo across the Atlantic Ocean and is now rowing across the Pacific Ocean.

Roz Savage rows near Diamond Head in Hawaii. You can see where Roz is at any time using "RozTracker." (Roz & "Junk" meet...video.)

Roz Savage is my new hero. You can visit her website if you click on this post title. Godspeed and good luck to Roz. Wish I was there.

Do you share...?

I saw the mistakes of society and thought it was the governments fault.

Well, I believe I was wrong.
The world's condition can't be blamed on a few individuals.
The world's condition is solely dependent on all of humanity.
We all contribute to the world's state

Now that fact stumps me.
If the world's state depends on everyone,
well then how do we go about changing the world?
How does one boy's ambition matter at all?

Do you share my ambition?
If you don't, then mine doesn't matter.

Where did this ambition come from?
Haha, I laugh now at what I had once thought possible.
But I still won't give up.
I'm just stubborn like that.

Trouble in Paradise

In Reflection

(a response to Carlos Castaneda's A Separate Reality)

I do not wish to understand;

Only to learn.

I do not need to comprehend;

Only to experience.

I do not want to document,

But to live.

Don Juan says to live

Like a warrior.

He does not mention

“Think” or “talk;”

But only to live.

Don Genero leaped

Into impossibility -

But only if you do not See.

It was a wildly fantastic leap

Of will.

Not willfullness,

Nor resilience, nor

Stubbornness compounded;

His magic comedy

Simply is.

Indulgence in stupidity

Is, “I must understand,

Explain to me the ‘hows,’

A discussion must be had.”

Sorrowful tragedy of loss

This blinding

“Comprehension.”

District 9

Race-ism is prejudice

prejudice is blind

blind-ness is ignorance

ignorance is dangerous

End Of The Line

90 percent

of the big fish

in the oceans are

gone...

we ate them.

Island Lessons

A turtle is wise
and takes time with life.
Sturdy and steady,
Loyal and steadfast,
Armoured but vulnerable.
Finds her way in the dark
And knows intuition
leads the way.

Pirate ship sails
In moonlight and under the sun
Into the sunset
And the storms.
Demands a bountiful life
Embraces adventure
Follows the stars.

Anchor in love
Hold fast to soul
Reflect in morning coffee:
Intellectual self absorption.

Dance
Swirl and sing and sway
Explore cultures
Unlike your own
Remember that you are
A lovely woman
And to be proud
And garb yourself with love.

Treasure Maps prove
Magic exists
Follow your dreams
Literally.
“Impossible”
Does not exist
for pirates.

Rum to imbibe
From time to time
Next day’s headache will
Tell you when
You’ve gone too far.

Listen to the playlist
Of your life
Your melody is
What holds it all together.

Stories and poems
Tell us about ourselves
Read forever
Not to replace imagination;
To spark, instead.

You are the key.
Unlock your life.

(and when you get
really, really, really
scared . . .
just turn on your light)

Dr. Strangelove

Waaaaaaaaa-Hooooooooo!

(We'll meet again some sunny day)

(click title)

The Terrible Power of Fear and Ignorance

It has become disturbingly clear in the behavior of a significant portion of the American population since the election of an African-American to the Presidency of the United States that the fear that the results of this election has engendered needs to be taken seriously and thoroughly examined.

The irrational actions and comments made by participants of Town Hall meetings throughout the nation in recent days demonstrates a profound level of ignorance regarding the actual content of the health care reform legislation that is being considered by Congress in particular and a total lack of understanding of what constitutes the philosophical basis for the political systems embodied in Fascism, Socialism and Communism in general.

On closer examination of these events, it becomes clear that this ignorance and the underlying racism that seems to propel it forward is being exploited and manipulated by those who have an economic and social agenda that is seriously challenged by the current administration. The health insurance industry is promoting and financing the alleged grassroots opposition for obvious reasons: the creation of a meaningful public option for providing access to health care for the tens of millions of Americans who either have no health insurance or who have inadequate coverage would severely impact their profits. Within such a reality, they would be forced to provide a far more humane service than is currently available.

It is quite disturbing that much of the conservative media has been filling the airwaves with hateful speech and fabricated testimonials presented as truth with the blatantly-stated intention of undermining the Obama Presidency. Unfortunately, they fail to grasp the extent of the damage they are inflicting on the social order. They may not comprehend that they could be opening a Pandora’s Box of repressed and deep-seated feelings of fear, anger and discontent. Racism is very much with us and the focus of hatred and mistrust heaped upon an African American President, who also demonstrates extreme intelligence, may prove to be a convenient scapegoat, but highly injurious to the nation’s future.

The Disclosure Project

Our Collective Sickness

The American brand of capitalism is, in my judgment, the source of our collective malaise. The profit motive has become the essential driving force of our culture; it informs almost all aspects of our cultural life and does not seem to recognize or accept any ethical boundaries. It appears that those who live in the rarefied atmosphere of wealth and power feel that they are somehow exempted from the fundamental concepts of ethics and social responsibility that are essential for a society to be truly harmonious. There are many examples that adequately demonstrate this point -
• The financial debacle that has driven so many individuals and small businesses to ruination was powered primarily by the greed and unprincipled and arrogant behavior of the manipulators of capital. In spite of the horrendous damage that their behavior has visited on the financial well-being of the nation, the prime movers of this debacle have remained essentially unscathed. The corrupt Congress helped facilitate this catastrophe in many subtle and not so subtle ways.
• The abuse of the public trust perpetrated Corporate America as exemplified by Enron – the energy company that shamelessly boasted about the extent to which they screwed over California rate payers.
• The CEOs of major corporations who fashion golden parachutes for themselves while simultaneously disregarding the conditions of the very workers who are responsible for the actual productivity of their organizations. This includes the reprehensible behavior of the CEOs of the for-profit health insurance companies who put in place business practices whose primary function is to purposefully deny as much coverage as possible to their clients who fall seriously ill. The purpose of this draconian way of doing business is to ensure good returns to their stockholders and riches beyond the imagination to those in charge (estimates are that William W McGuire of United Health Group received 1.7 billion dollars worth of compensation, a value that represents one dollar out of every 700 dollars spent on health insurance in the entire nation).
• The many substantial corporations that have taken advantage of loop holes in the Federal Tax Law that result in avoiding entirely the payment of income taxes. There is apparently a complete lack of any sense of personal and social responsibility.
• The tobacco companies who continue to produce addictive products that are known to kill those who use them. It is estimated that approximately forty thousand people die each year from pulmonary diseases caused by tobacco. It seems that life is apparently not that sacred after all, especially when juxtaposed against the prospect of making huge profits.
• The military-industrial complex that in many ways coerces the nation into choosing armed conflict as the essential means to achieve political ends.
• The many corporations whose practices have burdened the planet with an array of dangerous chemical compounds, including, of course, greenhouse gases without any regard for the resulting damage to the public health and the global environment.
• The extent to which corporate money has corrupted local, state and federal governments and significantly eroded the public trust.

Commerce permeates nearly every aspect of modern living, and the will to profit inundates us all. In the long term, this worldview will bring the peoples of this nation and, presumably, the world to grief, for it is unsustainable.

The O'Jays

Free Market Economy My Ass

MONOPOLY.........HELLO!

What Do You Know?

My mommy always said

there were no monsters...

no real ones...

but there are

Fascism Lite

EARLY WARNING SIGNS OF
FASCISM

Powerful and Continuing
NATIONALISM

DISTAIN FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

IDENTIFICATION OF ENEMIES/SCAPEGOATS
as a Unifying Cause

SUPREMACY OF THE MILITARY

RAMPANT SEXISM & RACISM

CONTROLLED MASS MEDIA

OBSESSION WITH NATIONAL SECURITY

RELIGION AND GOVERNMENT
are Intertwined

CORPORATE POWER IS PROTECTED

LABOR POWER IS SUPPRESSED

DISTAIN FOR INTELLECTUALS & THE ARTS

OBSESSION WITH CRIME & PUNISHMENT

RAMPANT CRONYISM & CORRUPTION

FRAUDULENT ELECTIONS

The Rose

The Rosette Nebula

NGC 2237 is a "long stem rose"

a stellar nursery 5000 light years away

with a central core of young hot stars

Examined Life

"You just have to be able to drill in very hard wood ... and keep on thinking beyond the point at which thinking begins to hurt"
Werner Heisenberg

“Deep, persistent problems are never solved by accident; they are solved only by people who are obsessed with them and set out to solve them directly”
Lee Smolin

"Newly acquired insights are at first only half understood by the one who begets them, and appear as complete nonsense to all others... Any new idea which does not appear very strange at the outset, does not have a chance of being a vital discovery"
Niels Bohr

"Only the descent into the hell of self-knowledge can pave the way to godliness" Immanuel Kant

"Nobody can have the consolations of religion or philosophy unless he has first experienced their desolations" Huxley

Kindergarteners with Guns

Give a classroom

of kindergarten children a bag full of guns

then perhaps you'll see

what you earthlings really look like

Population Of Sheep

"Naturally, the common people don't want war, but after all, it is the leaders of a country who determine the policy, and it is always a simple matter to drag people along whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. This is easy. All you have to do is to tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in every country."


Hermann Goering, Hitler's Reich-Marshall at the Nuremberg Trials after WWII

we want to get lost into the mountains of uncertainty

we sail into the mountains of uncertainty

off to that far off deserted, silent valley

off to Shimshal, off to Simshaal

into the oceans of uncertainty

far from this irrational world full of crazy men

Fool the I

Ironic paradox that
the politicians that
sold-out most
to the private sector
have RE:PUBLIC in
their self description

What are you doing?

The universe is going on...

what are you doing?

PAKISTANI CHRISTIANS-THE VICTIMS OF HALF LAW IN GOJRA

PAKISTANI CHRISTIANS-THE VICTIMS OF HALF LAW IN GOJRA


by


Brigadier Samson Simon Sharaf (Retired)

The recent incidents in Gojra are a grim reminder of how existing half laws can be manipulated for personal and political ends. Besides loss of life, property or the reputation of the country, it also reflects an opportunist political system in which strange bedfellows can be espoused for political expediency and where rule of law can be applied selectively. Worse, it exposes false claims of the provincial and federal governments over constant surveillance of banned militant outfits in Punjab.

The entire trail from Jhang to Gojra, Mian Channu and Shantinagar is littered with similar incidents of religiously fanned hatred spearheaded by banned militant outfits. Time and again such incidents take place with impunity and remarkable alacrity. It is to question why the local administration is caught sleeping and why no preventive measures manifest themselves in pre emptive actions.

There is no doubt that the working relationship between the Federal Government and PMLN Government is dysfunctional. It took the Government of Punjab three days to move into a belated action despite warnings given by Mr. Shahbaz Bhatti, the Federal Minister of Minorities Affairs. The provincial government dismissed the factual reporting of the federal minister for over two days and moved reluctantly after all the damage had been done and Faisalabad-Karachi Railway traffic blocked for two days. The Chief Minister has repeatedly postponed his visit to the city citing security reasons. Meanwhile the frustrations continue to grow resulting in resignations of one federal and one provincial minister.

Reportedly, around 18th of July, intelligence agencies had issued a warning to the Government of Punjab of likely incidents of terrorism in which some enclaves of minority Pakistanis could be targeted. Rather than take this information seriously, the provincial government deemed it fit to act as it did, allowing free access to militant outfits for arson and murder. Perhaps they were too engrossed in the aftermath of the Supreme Court ruling sparing no moments for the welfare of its citizens.

The entire incident belying the fragility of our system began at a wedding party in Korrian, a Christian village 6 Kms from Gojra on 29 July. A local guest was escorted out of the celebrations for being drunk. He took revenge by leveraging the Blasphemy slogan in cahoots with some local clerics and sleepers of the banned outfits. The Federal Minister Mr. Bhatti moved into action but all his cautions fell on deaf and defiant ears in Lahore.

The Christian enclave in Gojra is located close to Awan Town named after a local property tycoon Mr. Qadeer Awan. Qadeer also runs and controls many local businesses like CNG and Petrol Pumps. He is reputed to be a very influential PMLN member and financier of the party and sleeper militants. He is known to hold the neighbouring Christian enclave in contempt with a long record of confrontation. He saw the incident at Korrian as an opportunity to settle issues and extract advantage. He is the prime suspect in the FIR, registered after 48 hours of delay. Christians allege that he with his team of sons and relatives master minded the entire operation including movement of militants from Jhang and surrounding areas.

These militants moved on public transport with automatic weapons, explosives and incendiaries with complete impunity despite many Police Check Posts en route. Rather than risk confronting heavily armed militants, the baton wielding local police chose to by stand. A nearby sizable Christian Village Chak 424 was put on hold through an expected militant attack. This was done through messages by militants, clerics and local administration. The village was never attacked but the warnings served to block reinforcements to the besieged people of Gojra. The militants were seen taking orders on cell phones as also pass on information. If all calls on cell phones from the area were to be checked during the arson, it would reveal a long trail of connections leading to militant leaders, politicians and handlers residing outside Pakistan.

But there is a positive side too. Neighbouring Muslim communities gave shelter to men, women and children, escorted them out of the area on their own transport and provided food. Some Pakistani NGOs have also established camps and MQM relief has arrived in trucks from as far away as Sindh. Pathetically, the only missing group is the Government of Punjab.

Standing next to seven caskets on the railway crossing at Gojra, I was questioning myself why seven females were burnt alive with incendiaries and why innocent people shot in the head at point blank. As I write this, two more men have succumbed to burn injuries in the local hospital. The Punjab Government made no efforts to evacuate them to a Burn Hospital in Lahore. I ask myself, did they deserve this treatment. Do Pakistani Christians who put the opportunist Unionist of Punjab to shame by aligning with Jinnah deserve this?

Local Christians allege that PMLN Government is reluctant to act because it fears losing its vote bank in the area. The incident has become a political battle ground between PMLN and PPP in which justice, rule of law and criminal accountability would ultimately be eclipsed. I remain in awe of the political system to move beyond its petty politics.

In an environment where the legal community is charged and Supreme Court taking landmark decisions, it is incumbent to take a look at half laws that provide a pretext for mob justice. The Supreme Court needs to re evaluate Section 295 C of the Pakistan Penal Code and direct the Parliament to frame it in a manner, wherein it cannot be exploited or manipulated.

Brigadier Samson Simon Sharaf is a retired officer of Pakistan Army and a political economist.
E mail: nicco1988@hotmail.com

And What Of Man?

And what of man...

will he ever learn to fly?

Young Men Killed in Action in Vain

Dr Hamid Hussain is my very dear friend.

He has stood by me and helped me morally and materially and I am under heavy debt of all that he did for me.

He is a sensitive man and keeps on sending me his articles and these obituaries.

My only question is that these young men have been killed because Pakistans hopeless generals and politicians decided to fight USA's war against USSR from 1954.

Why did the clown Zia decided to fight the proxy US and Saudi Afghan war for lust of US Dollars ?

Why was this region militarised.

I dont question US policy because USA is paying hard cash to Pakistans highly corrupt politicians to fight this so called war.

As I see Pakistan is the South Vietnam now and will become a big strategic liability for the world when the Islamic Extremists become more more and more powerful.Or is that the real US strategic aim to then denuclearise Pakistan.

As I see the whole US strategy is flawed.In Afghanistan and Pakistan.It is creating more problems than solving.

God knows what will become of Pakistan.The choice is between Somalia and Yugoslavia.

A country led by crooks and swindlers of the worst order surely deserves this fate ?

I will request Dr Hamid Hussain to address this question of mine.

Agha Amin
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Captain Omer Zeb Afzal


Captain Omerzeb was from 111th PMA Long Course. He was commissioned in 9 Azad Kashmir Regiment (AK).

He was deployed in Lower Dir on May 11, 2009 as part of the military operation named ‘Rah-e-Rast’ against militants.

He called his fiancée at midnight of May 20-21 and wished her a very happy birthday. In six different languages he sang to her birthday song. She said to him, “I wish you were here on my birthday. I wish I could have celebrated my birthday with you.” And he replied, “Do you want me to come over? Should I come over to Rawalpindi in the morning and we celebrate your birthday together?” She said, yes, please, please do.” Few hours later, he was killed in a blast on May 21, 2009 at the age of 24. That day was the birthday of his fiancée.

He did come over as he promised but on the shoulders of soldiers and his coffin draped in Pakistani flag. He left this world on the same day that his beloved fiancée came to this world twenty three years earlier. His fiancée kept screaming, “You guys are lying to me. He is not dead. He cannot leave me. He promised to celebrate 93 birthdays with me. This was our first. He can’t leave me on our first birthday together; he promised me 93 birthdays together.”



Rose

If I should cease to bring a Rose

Upon a festal day,

‘Twill be because beyond the Rose

I have been called away….


If I should cease to take the names

My buds commemorate,

‘Twill be because death’s finger

Claps my murmuring lip.


Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)


Rest in peace Omerzeb. Our thoughts & prayers with his family and loved ones.

Regards,

Hamid

(Thanks to a family member for providing this heartbreaking story of a young lad)


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Captain Waqas Zameer

Captain Waqas Zameer was serving with 15 Frontier Force (FF) in Swat. He was stationed at Kanju camp with his Armored Personnel Carriers (APCs). He was due for home leave but was asked to lead a search operation against militants. Waqas was commanding three APCs and infantry troops from 6th Azad Kashmir (AK) Regiment. His convoy was ambushed and in a gun battle which lasted several hours, many soldiers were injured. After evacuating injured soldiers, Waqas ordered disengagement. In the meantime, another soldier was hit. Waqas jumped out of his APC, put injured soldier on his shoulders to get him inside APC when he was shot in the chest. He later died at the age of 24. He brought 15 of his injured soldiers back to safety but in the process gave the ultimate sacrifice.


When I Must Leave You

When I must leave you

For a little while;

Please do not grieve

And shed wild tears

And hug your sorrow

To you through the years.

But start out bravely

With a gallant smile;

And for my sake,

And in my name.

Live on and do

All things the same

Feed not your loneliness

On empty days.

But fill each waking hour

In useful ways.

Reach out your hand

In comfort and in cheer

And I in turn will comfort you

And hold you near;

And never, never

Be afraid to die,

For I’m waiting

For you in the sky.

Helen Steiner Rice

Click the link below for four and half minute summary of a 24 year life full of vigor of this young lad.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPPZCWi1et8

Rest in peace Waqas. Army & PIFFERS are proud of you. Our thoughts & prayers with the family and loved ones.

Regards,

Hamid


---------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Lieutenant Muhammad Asim

Lieutenant Asim was from Mardan district of N.W.F.P. He passed out from Pakistan Military Academy (PMA) in the summer of 2006 from 27th Graduate Course. He was commissioned in 36th Azad Kashmir (AK) Regiment. His battalion was stationed in Shangla, Swat in Operation al-Mizan. Asim’s vehicle hit an Improvised Explosive Device (IED). After one week in coma, Asim died in Combined Military Hospital (CMH) in Abbottabad on August 31, 2008.

Following link summarizes his short life from PMA to his final journey.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inq5AuMxPX8



Loving Memories by Unknown

Your gentle face and smile

With sadness we recall,

You had a kindly word for each

And died beloved by all.



The voice is mute and stilled the heart

That loved us well and true,

Ah, bitter was the trial to part

From so good as you.



You are not forgotten loved one

Nor will you ever be

As long as life and memory last

We will remember thee.



We miss you now, our hearts are sore,

As time goes by we miss you more,

Your loving smile, your gentle face,

No one can fill your vacant place.



Rest in peace Asim. Our thoughts and prayers with Asim’s family and loved ones.



Regards,

Hamid

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Captain Junaid Khan 1983-2009

Captain Junaid Khan of Special Services Group (SSG) laid down his life for his country in Swat Operation. He along with three others was on a reconnaissance mission to collect information about extremists operating in Khwazakhela area of Swat. They were captured by militants and later brutally killed. The other three who fought and died together with Junaid included Captain Najam Riaz, Naik Shahid Rasool and Lance Naik Shakeel (all from SSG). Junaid died on his birthday at the age of 26. Professor Ayaz Khan buried his only son and his life changed for ever.

‘In peace, sons bury fathers but war violates the order of nature, and fathers bury sons’. Heroditus, Greek Historian

May God bless Junaid. Our thoughts and prayers with his family.

Regards,

Hamid


---------------------------------------------------------------
Captain Qamar Abbas (May 30, 1981-May 12, 2009)

Captain Qamar Abbas was commissioned in 40 Field Artillery. He was also Hafiz-e-Quran (memorized Quran by heart). Soldiers usually die on frontlines far away from their homes sometimes in strange and alien lands. Captain Qamar Abbas was born in Swat and he died in Swat fighting against extremists two weeks short of his 28th birthday.

Home, Sweet Home

Alas, I didn’t know that I’ll be coming back

Back to hamlets, villages and alleys where I was born

To fight the demons who have stolen the smiles from the faces of my compatriots.

Rest in peace Qamar. Our thoughts and prayers with the family & friends.



Regards,

Hamid


-------------------------------------------------------
Major Zia-ul-Haq

Major Zia-ul-Haq passed out from 95th PMA Long Course and joined 16 Baloch Regiment of Pakistan army. He was killed in action in recent operations. He passed out on May 14, 1995 and died in the same month in 2009.

Major Zia’s father died when Zia was only 18 month old. His widow mother raised him and after three decades the journey of her life came to a tragic cross road again. Major Zia’s son is six year old and daughter two and half year old. The old eyes of Zia’s mother are now looking at her daughter-in-law who has to travel on the same road lonely raising the next generation. Zia’s children have to grow up without father reliving the life of their dad.

Sacrifice

Few have sacrificed their life

To redeem the honor;

And to pay for the sins of others.

Indeed a heavy price;

The interest is paid by even the children of those gone with the wind.


Zia; Rest in peace. Our thoughts and prayers with the family.


Regards,

Hamid


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Havaldar Qamar Ilyas & Sepoy Siddiq Akbar

Havaldar Qamar Ilyas was serving with elite Anti-Terrorist Squad and killed in action. He was from Sargodha and was married only ten days before his death. A young girl only had ten short happy days together with this young lad before he departed on a long journey.

Sepoy Siddiq Akbar was native of a small village of Babairai near Mardan. He was killed in action on May 06, 2009. He was married one year ago. One frame in his room shows two pictures; himself in uniform and his young bride in her chador. Memories of one short year will now be with this young bride for years to come.

These two wives of soldiers are from different ethnic backgrounds and live hundreds of miles away from each other but their pain is same. Tears rolling down their beautiful faces silently will be known to very few of their countrymen and life around them will go as normal but they will never again be normal.


Soldier’s Wife

I’ll light a candle in my window

Though I know you have gone too far;

And not coming back.

But I’ll keep that candle burning

Until we meet again in heavens.

Goodbye my beloved;

You know you are my true love.


Rest in peace Qamar & Siddiq Akbar. Our thoughts and prayers with the family and loved ones of Havaldar Qamar Ilyas & Sepoy Siddiq Akbar.


Regards,

Hamid


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Captain Bilal Zafar Abbasi (1983-2009) – Lineages of Valor

Captain Bilal was from 108th Pakistan Military Academy ( PMA) Long course. He excelled during training and held coveted position of Battalion Junior Under Officer in the academy. He was commissioned in 42 Baloch (nick named al-Havi). Later, he joined elite Special Services Group (SSG). He was part of a SSG operation code named ‘Janbaz’ to clear heights occupied by militants in Peochar valley. SSG company led by Major Sardar was given the task of clearing Swat-Peochar road. Bilal’s team was assigned the task of clearing ‘Ghazano Sar’ top. Bilal was hit by a rocket launcher and killed in action on May 17, 2009 . The height is now named after him and called ‘Bilal Top’.

Bilal sent a text message from his cellular phone the night before his death to his colleague Captain Raheel which read, “in the roars of bullets, in the thunder of bombs, there are few who just do not stop….. knowing that they are surrounded by death….. knowing that they could leave their parents and family alone….. But they just keep on moving… because in their hearts and following through their veins known as ….. HONOUR, DEVOTION, LOVE WITH MOTHERLAND, DEATH BEFORE DISGRACE, PAKISTAN ARMY ZINDABAD”.

Bilal was from a family with long history of service in armed forces dating back a century. Bilal’s great grand father Subedar Lal Khan served in First World War and won George Cross. His grand father Tajjamal Hussain retired as Colonel and his father Zafar Tajjamal Abbasi was Captain in Pakistan army. Bilal’s maternal grandfather was Major Majeed. Bilal’s brother Captain Zawar Zafar Abbasi is also serving with SSG.

My Boy Jack (1916)

Have you news of my boy Jack?'
Not this tide.
'When d'you think that he'll come back?'
Not with this wind blowing, and this tide.

'Has any one else had word of him?'
Not this tide.
For what is sunk will hardly swim,
Not with this wind blowing, and this tide.

'Oh, dear, what comfort can I find?'
None this tide;
Nor any tide,
Except he did not shame his kind -
Not even with that wind blowing, and that tide.

Then hold your head up all the more,

This tide,
and every tide;
Because he was the son you bore,
And gave to that wind blowing and that tide!

Rudyard Kipling, 1916


Rest in peace Bilal. Our thoughts & prayers with Bilal’s family and loved ones.


Regards,

Hamid

(Captain Bilal’s family information is from Hilal, June 2009)


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Captain Meraj Muhammad Khan (1985-2009)

Captain Meraj was from the village of Garo Shah of Mardan. He got his early education from cadet college Razmak. He joined 112th Pakistan Military Academy (PMA) Long Course and passed out with the sword of honor. He was the first Razmian to win the sword of honor. After passing out from the academy, he was commissioned in 12th Cavalry (this is an old cavalry regiment which was formed with the amalgamation of two elite irregular cavalry regiments; 2nd Punjab Irregular Cavalry raised by Lieutenant Samuel Brown and 5th Punjab Irregular Cavalry raised by Captain Robert Fitzpatrick. 2nd became 22nd and 5th became 25th and 12th Cavalry emerged from amalgamation of 22nd and 25th. It was part of Frontier Force band of brothers. In 1937, 12th Cavalry became permanent training regiment of 2nd Indian Cavalry Group and taken out of order of battle. Pakistan brought 12th Cavalry back to the order of battle.

Meraj was a rising star of the Armored Corps but he volunteered for the paramilitary Frontier Corps (FC) N.W.F.P. He was part of the Special Operations Group (SOG) of FC. This is an elite unit which serves as a Rapid Reaction Force of FC. Meraj participated in many operations of SOG in Ambela Pass, Daggar and Sultanwas.

On June 04, 2009, a security convoy of police and FC was hit by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) in Rustam near Mardan injuring many. SOG of FC led by Major Asad rushed to the spot and chased the militants. In the ensuing gun battle, policemen, FC personnel and army officers fought together and died together. Meraj was killed in this encounter. Others who sacrificed their lives in this encounter included Naik Ameer Hakim Chitrali, Havaldar Imran Ali Wazir and Sepoy Mehboob and Sepoy Nasrullah of FC, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Fareed Hussain Bangash, Station House Officer (SHO) Sherullah Khan , Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI) Hanan Khan and two police constables; Laiq Shah & Nazir Khan.

Meraj was engaged on December 06, 2008 and was due to get married in October 2009. Meraj qualified for a special operations course in U.S. and was scheduled to leave on June 12. However, just a week before he embarked on a much longer journey. In a befitting manner, five brave men of FC who died together were given final goodbye together when their flag draped coffins were lined up for funeral prayers. All were from different areas of Pukhtunkhwa (Naik Ameer from Chitral, Havaldar Imran from Waziristan and Meraj from Mardan) and in an ironic twist their lives were cut short by their own who have been possessed by the devil. However, death has brought all these men honor. FC and nation should be proud of these men and if peace comes to the haunted lands of Pushtuns and Pakistan it will be due to the blood of these men who gave up everything to secure their homeland.

Born in Mardan; died in Mardan protecting his own folk. Rest in peace Meraj along with your comrades. Our thoughts & prayers with the family.

‘We challenged Death. He threw with weighted dice.

We laughed and paid the forfeit, glad to play-

Being recompensed beyond our sacrifice

With that nor Death nor Time can take away.’

Robert Ernest Vernede


Regards,

Hamid

What do you think?

The Big Bang

Let there be light

Us and Them

"Patriotism" is another word for nationalism,

"nationalism" is another word for racism...

...there is no "us and them"...

...there is only "us"...

...african-american...

...japanese-american...

...mexican-american...

...hmong-american...

...arab-american...

...cuban-american...

...german-american...

...chinese-american...

...italian-american...

...all racist terms...

...there is only one race...

...the human race...















(not counting the aliens)

Burning Man

Rod Serling

There is a sixth dimension,

beyond that which is known to man.

It is a dimension as vast as space

and as timeless as infinity.

It is the middle ground between light and shadow,

and it lies between the pit of man's fears

and the sunlight of his knowledge.

This is the dimension of imagination.

It is an area that might be called The Twilight Zone.