Abusive Leadership Style: Trump, Modi and Imran Khan

EVM Voting Machines- Is Technology a Panacea: Technology is as good as the people using it

کیا صرف ٹیکنالوجی لگا دینے سے ٹرانسپیرنسی و شفافیت حاصل ہو جاتی ہے؟

My dear PM, technology in itself is not a panacea. Technology is as good as the people using it! 

Taking on Challenging Responsibilities vs Trying to be a Superwoman

What is the problem with the following advice:
"Don't get too proud, she said, of your capabilities at handling anything — or soon people will expect you to handle everything. The world is always eager to find someone who can handle everything (because the world is lazy, and doesn't want to do the work) and soon you will be responsible for more than you can manage. You will be doing more than what is fair, or even sensible — and you will be doing thousands of things that you were never designed to do.

Don't get seduced by the idea that you are some kind of Superwoman — as much as the world wants to put that honorific upon you. (Telling women that they are superheroes is a trick the world has always played, for making women do all the work.)

Trying to be a super woman

Power of Psychological Assumptions in Matchmaking Processes

Power of assumption?
Match-making processes would be markedly different for society that assumes "you are mentally ill unless proven healthy" vs the society that assumes "you are healthy unless proven mentally ill".
This is similar to the power of assumption in law:
"You are innocent unless proven guilty" vs "you are guilty unless proven innocent" through due process.
The impact on behaviors, societal norms and management processes differ tremendously in societies using the assumption "innocent unless proven guilty" (simpler open fast processes of developed countries) vs 'guilty unless proven innocent (complex convoluted opaque tedious processes of developing countries like Pakistan).

Hill Park Karachi over the Years and Social Networks of Old Familiar Faces

ھل پارک 1975, PECHS, Karachi

 I went regularly in the mornings during 1995-2012 when my children were growing up. Feeding the ducks and climbing up and down the hilly slopes was the nearest to tracking/hiking children could get in Karachi. I also frequented it during 1980-86 during my engineering and MBA days, and even used to study there too . I still go there some times.

My Khaloo was a regular visitor of Hill Park with his children from 1970-88. While on visit from Islamabad to Karachi and staying at Khala's place in PECHS has some very interesting time there.

Branding, Consumerism and Islamic Principles of Trade

مغربی کیپٹلزم کی اشتراکیت کو ضم کرنے کے بعد اس سے بڑی کیا کامیابی ہو گی کہ اس دو سو سال سے لڑنے والے مزہبی پیشوا خود کیپٹلسٹ کنزیومرزم کے سب سے بڑے داعی بن جائیں-

Sam Walton, ‏Ghazali's Ihsaan in ‎معاملات ‏ ‏and High-end Expensive Brands

There are several types of price setting strategies such as Cost Plus and Demand Driven Pricing. Walmart's success was built on cost plus pricing model. Sam Walton was the founder of the retailing giant of 1990s-2000s. In his autobiography "Made in America" published a few months around his death in 1992, he mentions the example of a toothpaste he was selling at around 2 dollars. He found a vendor who offered the same quality at around 55cents. Managers advised him to sell at around $1.20. Their logic was that Walmart buyers are used to buying this tooth paste at around 2 dollars. $1.2 is a significant decrease. However, he declined. He decided to sell at around 70 cents. His logic was that his CSR is providing consumers with lowest prices. Walmart slogan is "Everyday Lowest Prices". He said around 10% margin is as per his mission. The toothpaste was sold at 70 cents. He writes in the autobiography, while he was suffering from terminal cancer, that this book will come to haunt those who will try to meddle with his legacy. He was writing in the context of the question that what was his contribution to the social welfare of people. He said his mission was to provide his customers with the lowest price anywhere. This mission had made life easier for millions of mass consumers of USA. The benefits of cheaper prices that he had passed on to Americans is unparalleled.

Why Leaders Fail to Recognize their Own Incompetence: Bureaucracy and IK

Why People Fail to Recognize Their Own Incompetence.

Incompetence of the "competent authorities" of pakistani government bureaucrats. And belief of PTIans in competence of IK. 

Dunning Kruger-Effect: Why Unintelligent People Don’t Learn?

Economic Hit of Pakistan and Illusion of Monetary Policy's Independence from Fiscal Policy

Central Banks are required by law everywhere to manage and control monetary policy or value of money. There is nothing "natural" about value of money or forex rates. Monetary policy (always artificially crafted) works in tandem with fiscal policy and international policy to establish value of money. Tools used by fiscal/monetary policy include (1) interest rate changes, (2) unemployment rates, (3) inflation reports, (4) gross domestic product numbers, (5) manufacturing data, and (6) commodities. 

Imran Khan's Tabdeeli- Change Management and BPR

IK got elected on the slogan of "tabdeeli" (change). He doesn't know ABC of change management or how BPR (Businesses Process Reengineering) achieves substantial and visible "tabdeeli". BPR is about reducing the complexity of Inter departmental processes by eliminating 60-80% steps and increasing efficiency by up to 80%, and resulting in substantial reduction of corruption as seen in CNIC process of NADRA, passport process or CDC system for share purchase and sale processes.

Growing up with Magazines

In 1969-70 I was 7 when I started reading Taleem o Tarbiat and other magazines. We had almirahs shelves full of magazine issues going back to early 1960s and to even mid 1950s. 

First Makeup Experience: Impact of Childhood Experiences across Time and Space

Vividness of childhood experiences and the distance it travels across time and space. As I am going through the letters, papers and other documents of my parents dating back to the days before their marriage (1940s, they married in 1951), I come across the clues to their personality that I observed during 1966-2003, time of my conscious interactions with them till before their death. An FB post reminded me of a page from my mother's diary where she writes about an incident when she was around 10 or 12 ( 1946-47) about makeup.

History of PKR Pakistani Rupee

چمڑی جاۓ پر دمڑی نہ جاۓ

دمڑی نہ جائے چاہے چمڑی جائے۔

دمڑی کی بڑھیا ٹکہ سرمنڈائی۔

دمڑی کی بلبل ٹکا ہشکا ئی۔[1]

دمڑی کے تین تین۔

دمڑی کی آمدنی نہیں گھڑی بھر کی فرصت نہیں۔

دمڑی کی ہانڈی گئی کتوں کی ذات پہچانی گئی۔

اونٹ دمڑی کا اور دمڑی بھی پاس نہیں۔

دمڑی کی ہانڈی لیتے ہیں تو اسے بھی ٹھونک بجا کر لیتے ہیں۔

دمڑی کی دال بوا پتلی نہ ہو۔[2]

 

My First Brush with Philosophy: A Tribute to Sir Nafees Siddiqui of ICB/IMS

I remember Sir Nafees Siddiqui who used to teach English at ICB/IMSB, G6/3,Islamabad. He didn't teach our class but we had the opportunity to be taught for a couple of class sessions when he came in to fill in for the absence of our regular teacher. Sir Nafees Siddiqui gave us our first introduction to philosophy and its terminology. He drew a vertical line at the center of blackboard to divide it into two columns. On left side he wrote physical, temporal, mundane, real, objective ... and on right words like metaphysical, transcendent, spiritual, abstract, subjective ,.. And then explained the terms and their difference which were instrumental in raising my awareness.

ICB/IMSB Teachers Autographs 1975-80

Tribute to my school teachers who laid the foundation for my learning at ICB (Islamabad Model School for Boys) G-6/3 near Covered Bazar/Melody. 

Autographs from 1975 and 1980:

Sir Ghalib Raza (Urdu) 

Sir Hanif Tahir (Maths) 

Sir Subhan Ullah (Geography)

Sir Rafique Malik (English)

Sir Jan e Alam (Urdu)

Sir Sabir Raza (Urdu)

I regret not having taken autographs on this autograph book from some other great teachers like Sir Saleem A Khan (Physics) , Sir Tanveer (Chemistry) , Sir Wajid Nawaz (Pak Studies) , Sir Muhammad Ahmed, (Technical Drawing), Sir Zafar Zaidi (Chemistry), Sir Arif Husain (islamiat) , Sir Shabihul Hasan (Biology)... But I do have reports with their comments and signatures 😊..

Social Media and Medium is the message

ٹیکنالوجی نے اب اتنی زیادہ ترقی کر لی ہے کہ عام عوام نے کتابیں "پڑھنے لکھنے" کی صلاحیتیں چھوڑ کر 1435 کی گٹنبرگ پرنٹنگ پریس کی ایجاد سے قبل کے زمانے کی عوام کی طرح صرف "دیکھنے سننے" کی صلاحیتوں تک محدود کر دیا ہے!

انسٹاگرام ٹک ٹاک جنریشن کو مبارکباد

FB is not a medium but message itself? tiktok is not a medium but message itself? Instagram is not a medium but message itself? Is technology value neutral or does it bring its own values?

"Medium is the message" Marshal Luhan observed this phenomenon in TV, radio, movies, newspapers. Now this observation is clearly visible in different media now available such as FB, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn etc.

McLuhan in his 1964 book uses the term 'message' to signify content and character. The content of the medium is a message that can be easily grasped and the character of the medium is another message which can be easily overlooked. McLuhan says "Indeed, it is only too typical that the 'content' of any medium blinds us to the character of the medium". For McLuhan, it was the medium itself that shaped and controlled "the scale and form of human association and action".[4] Taking the movie as an example, he argued that the way this medium played with conceptions of speed and time transformed "the world of sequence and connections into the world of creative configuration and structure".[5] Therefore, the message of the movie medium is this transition from "lineal connections" to "configurations".[5] Extending the argument for understanding the medium as the message itself, he proposed that the "content of any medium is always another medium"[6] – thus, speech is the content of writing, writing is the content of print, and print itself is the content of the telegraph."

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_medium_is_the_message

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Understanding_Media

There is substantial research now which indicates technology brings its own values and it rejects the earlier notion of technology being value neutral. For example you can say things on Facebook which you will not say in an email. And you can write certain things in chat which you will not write an email. Also you can say things in an email that you will not say on phone call. There are things that you can say in phone call which you will not say in person.

Similarly, what you can see in a youtube video, you will not see in a cinema hall,.....

 what Marshal Luhan says is that the medium is so impactful that voice of the content is drowned by the medium

yes that's why I said it is part of context.. and effects the message, intended message precisely BUT not the message per se.. You see same has been true in retrospect in all times.. For eg writing on bones with charcoal to writing on tablet with quills, then on paper with fountain pen, then ball point... All methods and media brought substantial changes in handwritings, and hence also carried noticable effects on message because handwriting reflects the inner psychological context of the writer.. like body language carries in verbal communication.. Jab bhi to log ye hi kehte the email typing mein wo bat nahi.. Because handwritings personal touch is gone.. TRUE.. اب ye to ہوگا.. but saying medium is the message is misleading in my opinion.

there is substantial research now which indicates technology brings its own values and it rejects the earlier notion of technology being value neutral. For example you can say things on Facebook which you will not say in an email. And you can write certain things in chat which you will not write an email. Also you can say things in an email that you will not say on phone call. There are things that you can say in phone call which you will not say in person.

Similarly, what you can see in a youtube video, 

you will not see in a cinema hall,.....

Medium is the message. SMS/texting is only suitable for short messages that were exchanged via telegram like short messages that have urgency such as informing about death, arrival, departure, rendezvous, change in meeting time, an emergency, hospitalization, congratulations on success, death info, condolence, receipt, acknowledgement of communication confirmation , etc. It is totally inappropriate for sharing your profound thoughts, intense grief, expectations, disappointments, future plans, major life decisions, etc.

People are getting their love accepted, getting committed and even great break ups through SMS, this cannot always be misinterpretation :) many hidden love affairs are also making love through these messages. We can't call them misinterpretation completely

Mohammad Ayub Latif my point is that medium

 being an overpowering message will dilute and misconstrue your deeper messages. Why do you think the Hidaya Academy students were sitting on the floor during the awards. The medium (seating structure) through which you go for the award is an overpowering message. Similarly, SMS has its intrinsic message which overpowers what the content means. It is constrained by the structure of device, word count limits, sequence in which you see the messages, the hierarchy of display etc is similar in impact to whether the talaba are sitting on floor or on chairs/sofas

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_medium_is_the_message

People are getting their love accepted, getting committed and even great break ups through SMS, this cannot always be misinterpretation :) many hidden love affairs are also making love through these messages. We can't call them misinterpretation completely

Irfan Hyder yes boss agreed and I think the floor seating shows more of learning attitude and also gives the message that asatza and akabareen are Afzal 

Q: But Sir why then writing on social media books npapers etc has such profound effect even tweets, even official matters even arguments by lawyers to great extent, but when it comes to messages why we deem it so useless...

A: Problems are often too complex. For example, Twitter is simply a soundbite. When you reduce a complex issue to a tweet of one sentence consisting of max 280 letters, you have to reduce the complexity arbitrarily to a simplicity which does not do justice to the problem and you are forced to come up with slogans or simplification that can not withstand the complexity of real life. This is what happened to Trump's messages and also IK's messages. They were forced to reduce complex problems to simple soundbites that they were not. Extremist and fringe thoughts of populace pulled the message in their direction. Message got reduced to satisfying the simplistic mind. Nature of Twitter medium focusing on count of subscribers and count of likes forced the message to be  reduced to satisfying the simplistic mind only. Once in power, reality exposed the impossibility of their soundbites! 1 crore jobs, 50 lacs home, Mexico border wall.... See the devastation in both countries

How many taxpayers are in pakistan

فائلر ہوں، چور نہیں ہوں:

ہر پاکستانی GST,WHT دیتا ہے، 

صرف FBR فائلرز 1% ہیں

مگر 13 کروڑ فون، بجلی پر ٹیکس دینے والے بھی فائلرز ہیں!

It is a blatant lie that there are only 1% tax filers who are supporting the taxes of the whole country. Government has files of taxpayers who are giving huge amount of indirect taxes, they must be called filers too!

 

Shajra Taxonomy of Sufi Tassauf Terminology

 شجرہ معرفت الہی و حقیقت روح و صراحت عالمہائے ظاہری و باطنی و طریقہائے تصوف متعلق نور ایمان

Ausaf Husain and His Sincere Frankness

Syed Ausaf Hussain Marhoom: On 18th January, 2012, Ausaf Bhai left for his heavenly abode. A wrangler in the true sense and a man of high principles. With the way he carried himself, no one could gauge his true age. I remember sharing an anecdote with us that he once visited a Hakeem. Hakeem sb as per practice took the pulse and asked what was Ausaf Bhai age. Ausaf Bhai replied either 72 or 79, I cannot remember. Hakeem sb got furious and told him not to joke and that Ausaf bhai must be in 50's. A solid person upon whom you could rely in times of need. Irfan, Sara, and Khurram can dwell more on Ausaf bhai personality. May Allah grant Jannah to Ausaf bhai and buland his darajats. Ameen

Ausaf Husain with his mother

Depressive Thoughts and Poetry- How Poetry Mellows and Enriches Social Interactions

What is the relationship between depressive thoughts and poetic expression? How poetry enables us to face hardships in our lives. 

What a mournful separation of the family members after the partition is depicted through poetry. Note the following message of eid Mubarak and its poetic response by members of the family across the divide. Also, note the level of education in the 1950s and the ability of the educated to express through poetry their feelings and experiences. Today educated can't even read poetry, let alone compose it. 

Elegy on the Killing of PM Liaquat Ali Khan by Shah Abdul Shakoor Faridi

مرثیہ ترجیح بند در شہادت لیاقت علیخان

بر بند سعدی علیہ الرحمہ

از شاہ عبد الشکور فریدی، مانک پور

یہ مرثیہ ایک ١٩٥١ کےخط میں ملا جو کہ شاہ عبد الشکور ساکن مانک پور کا بھیجا ہوا تھا-

 شاہ عبد الشکور فریدی میری والدہ کے نانا تھے- بڑے بزرگ تھے- ان کے منظوم ملفوظات میرے پاس کچھ موجود ہیں- ان کے مزار پر اب بھی عرس ہوتا ہے- ان کے کئی خطوط میرے پاس ہیں- پارٹیشن کے بعد ان کے خاندان کے اکثر لوگ ہجرت کر کے پاکستان آ گئے مگر انہوں نے اپنے آباؤاجداد کے قصبہ کو چھوڑنا مناسب نہ سمجھا- وہ وہاں اکیلے ایک دو افراد کے ساتھ رہ گئے- ان کی ایک بیٹی عائشہ فریدی(میری والدہ کی خالہ) ان کے ساتھ رہا کرتی تھیں جن کے تواتر سے دلخراش خطوط میری والدہ کے پاس آیا کرتے تھے جو کہ ان کے انتقال  1967-68 تک آتے رہے- ان خطوط میں شاہ عبد الشکور فریدی کے منظوم ملفوظات بھی ہوتے تھے- ان کا کچھ دیوان ہمارے ایک عزیز کے پاس ہے

Inter-Disciplinary and Multi-Disciplinary PhD Research

As I look back I am trying to connect the dots that I have been trying to follow the footsteps of Prof Dr JC Browne at UT Austin, TX, in multidisciplinary research. He was, my PhD Supervisor during 1990-95 whose pic is here:

Irfan Husain, Mazdak, Begum & Akhtar Husain Raipuri and Zafar Umar

I have been reading Mazdak/ Irfan Husain's articles in Dawn for last 20+ years. Although I often disagreed with his opinions but yet used to read them regularly. 

My Wing Sung Pen

Wing Sung Pen. Fountain pen. 

Tons of hard work and cherished memories with this friend. 

I got one in 1975, when I was in 8th class, this same color, and it remained in my use till 1987. All my exams: Matric, Inter (HSC1 and HSC2), Engineering (40 course papers), MBA (20 courses papers) and their preparatory work on reams and reams of paper was done with that one pen. I left it in my stuff when I went to USA in 1987. Remember seeing it when I returned in 1995. Then I don't know where it vanished. May be it is there somewhere in that old stuff. 

I remember the smoothness with which it would glide on the paper. It's nib due to long use had become thick. But, it flowed in my hands.

Social History Archival Project of Family Documents and Letters: Heritage Detectives

During the Covid-19 lockdown of 2020, when work from home was imposed and most outdoor activities and social commitments were heavily curtailed, I maximally utilized the available time in structuring and organizing my family letters and documents. During 2020-21 I managed to organize around 5000 handwritten letters and other documents dating back to 1870s: The organization process involved assigning a unique identifier to each physical letter document, dating each letter/doc, and labeling the writer and addressee of each letter and doc. Then the documents/letters were sorted, categorized, indexed, and inserted into plastic protector sheets for preservation, and placed in named phsyical folders. Following processes began to evolve with practice: Adding an index entry in an excel sheet for each physical item, sending a batch of letters/docs for scanning, receiving back the batch of items and their scans, and saving the scanned files in designated computer folders. Then sending a batch of scans to the typist for transcription, receiving the computer readable transcriptions from typists, entering them into dated word documents, and then editing them and also formatting them began to evolve. This project is still a work in progress and this blog post is being updated every few months to reflect the additional learnings. 

The project which had started out as a Family Documents/Letters preservation effort has now morphed into a Social History Archival Project. Eventually, this archive will become the primary data for writing a historical saga of the family travails, a window on the social history that would result in a series of videos, books, research papers or even novels or their adaptation. I am looking forward to my children or their children or other family members who opt for social sciences or can appreciate the importance of social history and may decide to continue the effort in some of these genres! My inspiration is, of course,  "Kar-e-Jehan Daraz Hai" by Qurratul Ain Hyder (my father's cousin), Shajra Project by SMKA Zaidi, and UT Austin's Social History Museum as explained in my following two posts and am looking forward to others to continue the effort: 

Family Tree Shajra of Sadat e Nehtaur: A Case Study of Compilation of Social History
Lesser known dimensions of US Universities - Archives of history and literature

The project required meticulous attention to detail and following the clues to identify when the documents came into existence and were preserved, and then peeping into the minds for motivations of social behaviors of that time. It often requires weaving a most probable story around them which reminds me of the detective work described in novels of Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot or Miss Marple.  Not surprisingly I came across the term "Heritage Detective" on google search which indicates that this is a specific genre and specialized services and there are careers that can be made out of it. 

Library Search for Articles at UT Austin in 1989: How searching of articles has changed

Think about researchers who reviewed hundreds of papers that they had to access manually! UT Austin,  Texas in 1987 had around 6 millions items distributed in several departmental libraries. Some of these were several storyed library buildings. There was also a huge 6 floor central library. For example, In Engineering building library each engineering discipline had their own encyclopedia type abstracts volumes. Computer and control abstracts had around 50 volumes (encyclopedia like thick volumes containing the abstracts of all papers published). Volume 1 and 2 contained the index of citations only. From the alphabetical index search you identified the particular volume,  say volume #34 containing abstracts of a particular area. Then you pulled out volume#34 to read the abstracts and titles. If you thought the abstract was any good or relevant and the article was worth reading, then you noted the reference in a diary. Once you have noted these 20-30 worth reading citations, the next stage was to get the article. Fortunately, library catalog was computerized and UT Austin had a huge subscription of journals. Online catalog told you whether whether the journal was available and at which library, and which floor and which shelf. Generally from 20 citations you found 5-7 not available on campus. For these you needed to go to inter University loan service that typically took from 2weeks to two months to get the photo copy from a partner University. If the journal was available on campus, you went to that physical library location to find the volume of journal. You were lucky if the journal was available on shelf. Often another student may have taken out the volume and placed it in the library somewhere. For that you had to contact the library staff to search the item and hold it for you  which may take a few days. Finally, you find the relevant volume and read the article. If it is really good and relevant you got to get the photocopy from the machines where you had to insert a prepaid cartridge to get the photocopies. 

Of Excellence in Ironing and Remembering the Learnings from Mukhtar A Siddiqui, My Khaloo

Of Excellence in Ironing and Remembering Mukhtar Siddiqui

Mukhtar Khaloo once came to Islamabad and was traveling to Mardan. This was the mid-1970s. He spent a few days at our place. There are two memorable incidents from his stay. 

One was my learning about excellence in ironing. The way he ironed his shirt and pants was a memorable observational experience. The way he sprinkled the water, and the way he used the damp gauze to dampen the areas of pants and shirts before ironing was so meticulous. The way the crease was properly laid on the ironing table, the care with which each leg of the trouser was placed on another and the crease of the two legs were aligned and then pressed was a treat to watch. I first time realized that ironing is nothing casual. It is deliberate, it requires time and patience, it requires meticulous skill, it requires attention to detail, it requires proper heat and dampening. It requires proper placement of different parts of the suit in particular positions before the iron is used for pressing. 

Mukhtar Khaloo's Famous Chand Gari that was a source of great enjoyment to the whole family

Which is the "competent authority" for investigating a crime such as abduction in Pakistan

“Which is the "competent authority" for investigating a crime such as abduction in Pakistan? 

“Competent Authorities” for Investigation & Enforcement suffer from conflicts of jurisdiction, duplication, redundancies, multiple chains of commands, and mismatch of authority with responsibility. There is lack of transparency, and accountability. There is a perennial tension between Enforcement vs Investigation induced by the ends vs means dichotomy! Enforcement requires immediate action and is dominated by the need for "results" (ends) over the need for "due process" (means). However, investigation leading to conviction by courts requires meticulous attention to "due process" (means) over the need for "results" (ends). 

70 years of Failure of Dominant Narratives

اگر آپ ملک کی ترقی چاہتے ہیں تو اس 70 سالہ ناکام بیانیہ کی اندھا دھند تقلید چھوڑ دیں، جس کے چند بڑے نکات یہ ہیں:
1. پاکستان کی زبوں حالی کی بنیاد مالی کرپشن ہے- جی نہیں، پاکستان کی زبوں حالی کی بنیاد مالی نہیں آئینی کرپشن ہے جو کہ اداروں کو تباہ و برباد کر دیتی ہے اور پنپنے نہیں دیتی-

 
2. پاکستان کو صرف ایک سخت گیر ایماندار قیادت چاہیے- جی نہیں اداروں کو چلانے کے لئے اہلیت چاہیے- ادارے مضبوط ہوں گے تو کرپشن کی تطہیر خود کریں گے آئینی تقاضوں کے ساتھ- جبھی وہ پاکستانی جو صبح شام سگنل اور قانون توڑتے ہیں وہ دوسرے ممالک میں جا کر یکایک قانون کی پاسداری کرنے لگتے ہیں-

3- اوپر والا ایماندار ہو تو نیچے والے خود بخود ایماندار ہو جاتے ہیں- جی نہیں نظام تبدیل کرنے کے لئے اہلیت و کومپیٹنس چاہیے، جو کہ KPIs کو کمپیوٹرائزڈ سسٹمز کے زریعے مانیٹر کرے اور تمام فیصلوں اور ان پر عملدرآمد کی مانئٹرنگ کو یقینی بنائے اور ان کے زریعے transparency اور accountability مہیا کرے-

4- تبدیلی کے لئے centralization چاہیے - جی نہیں تبدیلی decentralization اور delegation سے آتی ہے- ہر کام اگر فیڈرل اور صوبائی منسٹریز کو کرنا ہے تو تمام اتھارٹیز اور دیگر اداروں کو تحلیل کر دیں- اگر کوئی اتھارٹی یا ادارہ بنانا ضروری ہے تو اس کو responsibility کے مطابق اتھارٹی دیں اور اس کو اپنے KPIs کا مکلف بنا کر منسٹری کا کنٹرول ختم کر دیں- KPIs نہ پورے ہونے پر فیصلہ گورننگ بورڈ پر چھوڑیں اگر سربراہ اور بورڈ دونوں ناکام ہو جائیں تو دونوں کو سروسز عدالت میں پیش کریں-
ککلکم راع و کلکم را مسئول .....

Competent Authorities of Pakistan and the Source of their Incompetence

What is "Competent Authority" and how their incompetence breeds mafias:
"Competent Authority" is the code word used by bureaucracy itself to hide the name of decision maker. This is often the secretary of Ministry but may denote a committee also or some other decision maker, but the footprint of the secretary must be there in that decision. All notifications issued by ministries and decisions made by ministries use the word "competent authority".

Complex web of Investigative Agencies investigating the other Investigative Agencies

بادشاہ کا گھوڑا اور انوسٹیگیشن کی نگرانی کے نگران:
بادشاہ سلامت نے شاہی اصطبل کے لیے مہنگا ترین گھوڑا خریدا۔ کچھ دن بعد بادشاہ نے وزیر کے ہمراہ اپنے پسندیدہ گھوڑے کو دیکھنے کے لیے اصطبل کا دورہ کیا اور وزیر کو کہا کہ گھوڑا کمزور ہو رہا ہے ۔ وزیر نے معاملے کی تحقیقات کی اور بادشاہ کو بتایا کہ گھوڑے کا نگران اس کی خوراک میں بدعنوانی کرتا تھا مگر بادشاہ سلامت آپ فکر نہ کریں ہم نے اُس کے اوپر ایک اور نگران مقرر کر دیا ہے جو نگران کی نگرانی کرے گا۔ بادشاہ مطمئن ہو گیا کچھ عرصے کے بعد وہ دوبارہ اصطبل گیا تو دیکھا کہ گھوڑا پہلے صرف کمزور تھا اب بیمار بھی ہے اس نے پھر وزیر کو اصلاح احوال کا کہا وزیر صاحب نے بادشاہ کو رپورٹ دی کہ نگران کے اوپر جو دوسرا نگران مقرر کیا گیا تھا وہ پہلے نگران سے ملا ہوا ہے لہٰذا اب ہم نے سخت کارروائی کرتے ہوئے ایک تیسرا نگران لگا دیا گیا ہے جو دونوں نگرانوں کی کرپشن کو آہنی ہاتھ سے کچل دے گا جیسے جیسے نگرانوں کی تعداد میں اضافہ ہوتا گیا شاہی گھوڑے کی صحت مزید بگڑتی گئی اور ایک دن بادشاہ کو خبر دی گئی کہ گھوڑا مر گیا ہے-

Add caption

بڑھتا گیا درد جوں جوں دوا کی:
پہلے ہر جرم کے لئے پولیس کا ادارہ تھا- مگر وزیر با تدبیر نے کہا کہ پولیس کرپٹ ہے- چنانچہ اس کی نگرانی کیلئے FIA بنائی گئی- مگر جب احساس ہوا کہ ان میں بھی کرپشن ہے تو اس کی نگرانی کیلئے NAB بنائی گئی- پولیس چرس کی پڑیا ڈال کر جس کو چاہتی ہے پکڑ لیتی ہے اور جس کو چاہتی ہے چھوڑ دیتی ہے چنانچہ اس کی نگرانی کیلئےANF بنائی گئی-
پھر IB میدان میں اتری اور بعد میں کچھ اداروں کا دائرہ کار ملک کے باہر سے ملک کے اندر پھیلا دیا گیا جونکہ وزارت داخلہ کے تحت چلنے والی نگران ایجنسیوں کی نگرانی مقصود تھی- FIA کو سائبر کرائم کی زمہ داری دی گئی مگر ISPR کے تحت ایک اور ادارہ بنا کہ اس کو FIA کی نگرانی پر مامور کر دیا- پھر ہر ادارے نے اپنی اپنی بھی انوسٹیگیشن سیلز بنا لئے کہ وہ عوام کی نگرانی کریں- ٹیکس والے خود بھی ٹیکس چور پکڑنے کی نگرانی کرتے ہیں اور ڈھیر سارے ادارے white collar crime کی تفتیش کے لے بنائے گئے، مثلاً FIA اور ان کے نگران NAB- وزارت صحت نے دوائیوں کی قیمتوں کے ہیر پھیر کو انویسٹیگیٹ اور نگرانی کے لئے DRAP بنائی، واپڈا نے بجلی چور پکڑنے کے لے اپنا انوسٹیگیشن سیل بنایا-، انرجی منسٹری نے گیس کی چوری اور پیٹرول کی چوری کے لئے اپنے اپنے سیل بنائے اور اوگرا اور نیپرا جیسے ادارے بنائے ہیں......... پھر ہم روتے ہیں کہ مافیا بہت سارے ہیں - یاد رہے کہ CCP نام کا ادارہ ان ہی کارٹیلز کی انوسٹیگیشن کے لئے بنا ہے-

پاکستان میں وزیر داخلہ اور وزیر دفاع کو انوسٹیگیشن ایجنسیز بنانے کا ملکہ حاصل ہے ان وزارتوں کے سیکرٹریز کے نیچے بیسیوں ایجنسیز ہیں، کیا ان وزیروں سے کوئی پوچھتا ہے کہ کتنے کرائمز رپورٹ ہوئے، کتنے ملزمان گرفتار ہوئے، کتنے کے مقدمے عدالتوں میں بھیجے گئے، کتنوں کو سزا ہوئی اور کتنوں کو سزا نہیں ہوئی- جن کو سزا نہیں ہوئی اس کی تفتیش میں کیا کمزوری تھی، اور اس کمزوری کو کیسے دور کیا جارہا ہے - کیا یہی سوال ہر ادارے سے منسٹری پوچھتی ہے-

ایک بڑا مسئلہ overlapping jurisdiction کا ہے جس کی وجہ سے ایک ادارہ دوسرے کے ساتھ پنگ پانگ کھیلتا رہتا ہے- کون سے کرائمز کس ادارے کی زمہ داری ہیں- بالکل اسی طرح سے جیسے FIR درج کرنے کیلیئے آپ ایک تھانہ سے دوسرے تھانے بھاگتے رہتے ہیں، اور سرکاری کام کے لئے ایک محکمہ سے دوسرے محکمہ، اور ایک کھڑکی سے دوسری کھڑکی-

اس کے علاوہ مسئلہ Investigation vs enforcement کا بھی ہے- اس overlap سے مسائل بڑھتے جا رہے ہیں- اینفورسمنٹ کی غلطی انوسٹیگیشن پر انوسٹیگیشن کی غلطی اینفرسمنٹ پر-

پہلے بین الاقوامی جاسوسی منسٹری آف ڈیفینس کے تحت اور تمام ملکی انوسٹیگیشنز منسٹری آف انٹیرئر وزارت داخلہ کے تحت - اب یہ distinction بھی ختم ہو گئی ہے- کون سی کس کے تحت ہے، یہ کسی کو نہیں معلوم -

چسٹس ثاقب نثار نے JIT بنا کر ایک اور complexity پیدا کر دی- اب سب کی زمہ داری ایک ٹیم کے پاس ہے-
you scratch my back, I scratch yours.

کیا آپ بتا سکتے ہیں کہ اغوا کاروں کو پکڑنے والا ادارہ کون سا ہے؟

Constitutional corruption has created the Incompetence of the "competent authorities" of Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Defense in not being able to monitor, manage, delegate, differentiate, distribute the responsibilities among zillions of investigation and law enforcement agencies and also the incompetence in establishing transparency and accountability.

There is a maze of LEAs and investigation agencies: Police, IB, NAB, Ehtisab Bureau, ISI, ISPR, MI, FIA, NCD (Narcotics Control Division), ANF (Anti Narcotic Force), Elite Force (Commandos Punjab), ATF (Anti-Terrorism Force), BC (Baluchistan Constabulary), FC (Frontier Corps), CB (Crime Branch), SB (Special Branch), Rangers in Sindh, CID (Criminal Investigation Division), CIA (Criminal Investigation Agency), CLC (Car Lifting Cell, Khi)......

اس کے علاوہ کئی انویسٹیگیشن سیلز مختلف اداروں میں بھی ہیں مثلا FBR، پاکستان سروے، واپڈا، وزارت صحت، CCP, army, navy, air force، وغیرہ وغیرہ

Oil Price Hike Mafias in Pakistan

Incompetence of the competent authority: Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority, OGRA

The relationship between OGRA and Ministry of Energy, Petroleum Division. There is a conflict of responsibilities and authorities which allows these mafias to fester. 

Hoarding and Price Manipulation Mafias

Incompetence of the "competent authorities" responsible for lack of price control under several ministries. Beware of media brigade that wants to protect and cover-up the shenanigans of the "incompetent authorities" by shifting the blame to the poor people. They are trying to absolve themselves of the responsibility of ensuring that the incompetence of these so called "competent authorities" is punished!

Constitutional Corruption vs Financial Corruption

Corruption is breaking of law to gain some financial benefits. Law is under the constitution, so constitution is at a higher pedestal than law. Constitutional violations have a greater negative impact than the financial corruption because constitutional violations destroy the institutions and their relationships, thereby leaving scars that may take decades to heal. The impact of constitutional corruption last for decades and corrupts generations. 

کرپشن قانون توڑنے کو کہتے ہیں- قانون آئین کے تابع ہوتا ہے- سب سے بڑی کرپپشن آئین و قانون کو توڑنا ہے- آئین و قانون کو توڑنے والی کرپشن کو ہمیشہ نظریہ ضرورت یعنی Doctrine (DoN) of Necessity کے تحت ججز اور ڈکٹیٹرز نے تحفظ دیا ہے- پھر خود روتے ہیں کہ کرپشن بڑھ گئی

مالیاتی کرپشن قانون توڑ کر زاتی فائدہ حاصل کرنا ہے جبکہ آئینی کرپشن آئین توڑ کر اپنی جانی فائدہ کیلئے من بپسند ترمیم کرنا ہے- چونکہ قانون آئین کے ماتحت ہے، اس لئے مالیاتی کرپشن سے صرف مالی نقصان ہوتا ہے جبکہ آئینی کرپشن سے ملک کے تمام نظام تلپٹ ہو جاتے ہیں- مثلاً عدالتی نظام، بیوروکریسی نظام، وغیرہ

مالیاتی کرپشن دراصل آئینی کرپشن کی مرہونِ منت ہے- ورنہ ڈکٹیٹرز کے 35 سالہ آئینی کرپٹ حکومتوں کے ڈنڈا گھمانے سے کرپشن کبھی کی ختم ہو گئی ہوتی-رہی سہی کسر بقیہ 35 سال میں آئینی کرپشن والی ترمیمات کے زریعے سولین حکومتوں پر شب خون مار کر ختم ہو گئی ہوتی-

اگر جنرل ضیاء بندوق کے زور پر اقتدار کے مزے لینے کے لئے آئین و قانون توڑ کر آئینی کرپشن کر سکتا ہے تو ایک پولیس کانسٹیبل بندوق کے زور پر چائے پانی کے مزے لینے کے لئے قانون توڑ کر مالی کرپشن کر سکتا ہے

شکریہ ع خ: آپ نے یہ بات ثابت کر دی کہ پاکستان کا سب سے ببڑا مسئلہ کرپشن نہیں بلکہ نااہلی ہے یعنی انکومپیٹنس- Incompetence سے کرپشن ختم کرنا تو دور کی بات ایسی معاشی بدحالی پیدا ہوتی ہے جو کرپشن بتدریج ختم کرنے والے سسٹم بھی انسٹال کرنے نہیں دیتی

72 سال سب سے زیادہ اُلو بنانے والی ٹرک کی بتی: پاکستان کو ایک ایماندار، ڈنڈا بردار لیڈر چاہیے- وہ چٹکی بجا کر کرپشن ختم کر دیگا

ڈکٹیٹر ضیا: 11 سال کرپشن کا قلع قمع: "ذندہ" بھٹو، MQM، NS، جہادیوں کے گاڈفادر؛ قرضہ معاف، پلاٹ بندر بانٹ، $6Bn کی گنز، ڈرگز سیلاب

گھبرائیے مت: کرپشن کی صفائی 70 سال سے جاری ہے: 35 سال جرنیلوں کی صفائی کے، بقیہ 35 سال 16 وزرائے اعظم کا کرپشن کی پاداش میں صفایا

نیوکلونیلزم کرپشن ٹرک کی بتی: 35 سال جغادری صفائی، بقیہ 35 سال 16 وزرائے اعظم و غداروں کا صفایا، معیشت کی راکٹ پرواز، ملک مضبوط

"ایماندار" طالع آزمائوں نے انسداد کرپشن کے نام پر آئین و قانون کو پامال کر کے پچھلے 70 سال سے پے درپے حکومتیں گرا کر جس طرح ملکی وسائل پر قبضہ کیا ہے کیا وہ اب بھی آپ کی نظروں سے اوجھل ہے؟

کرپشن خاتمہ کو صرف ایک ایماندار، ڈنڈا بردار، مرد آہن چاہیے:
ایوب(10سال)، ضیاء(11سال)، مش(9سال) اور اب عمران خان(صادق امین ایک پیج)ا

It is incompetence of the competent authority, stupid!
کرپشن کا واویلا صرف اپنی نااہلی چھپانے کا ڈھکوسلہ تھا، پکی نوکری والوں کا

"کرپشن کا صفایا" پلاٹینم جوبلی: کرپٹ و غدار سیاستدانوں کی اسیری و مار دھاڑ سے بھرپور، 70 سال سے تواتر و طمطراق سے جاری، ہاؤس فُل

میرے عزیز ہموطنو:
کرپشن 1954، 1958، 1969، 1977، 1999 کی طرح بدستور ہے،...
20yr itch

جج جیسی مقدس گائے کو کرپشن کا الزام لگا کر کوئی بھی درخواست صدر کو بھیج سکتا ہے- مگر دوسری مقدس گائے پر آئینی کرپشن کے الزام کی درخواست کس کو بھیجی جائے گی

ع خ الیکشن سے پہلے: "ملک میں اوپر والا ایماندار ہو تو نیچے سب کرپشن ختم ہو جاتی ہے اور اگر اوپر والا کرپٹ ہو تو نیچے سب کرپشن پھیل جاتی ہے"

کرپشن یومیہ 13Bn (سال میں 4.7Tr) ختم کی مگر خزانہ پھر بھی خالی ہے:
نہ کھاتا ہے نہ لگاتا ہے مگر خدا جانے یہ پیسہ کہاں جاتا ہے!!!!

NRO++
عوام پھر الو بن گئے! کرپشن خاتمہ وہ ٹرک کی بتی ہے جس کے پیچھے حاضر و غائب DoN گاڈفادرز نے پچھلے 70 سال سے عوامی رائے کو فٹبال بنایا ہوا ہے

"کرپشن ختم کرنے" کا چورن بیچ کر پچھلے 70 سال میں آپ کو 17 دفعہ الو بننا پسند آیا؟ 17 میں سے ہر ایک وزیر اعظم کو اپنی مدت ختم کئے بغیر "تبدیلی" پسند آئی؟ کیا آپ کو اب بھی یہ سمجھ نہیں آیا کہ کرپشن سے زیادہ نا اہلی Incompetence سب سے بڑا مسئلہ ہے

اگر آپ کرپشن واقعی ختم کرنا چاہتے ہیں تو تمام گورنمنٹ اداروں کے لینڈ ٹرانسفرز اور دس لاکھ سے زیادہ کے پرچیز آرڈر اوپن ویب سائٹ پر ڈال دیں

کرپشن ختم کرنا بغیر ٹرانسپیرنسی کے ممکن نہیں: تمام پراپرٹیز کی اونرشپ و ٹرانسفر کا انٹرنیٹ پر ریکارڈ 80% مقدمات کو ختم کر دے گا

Edit

Why there are Crime Mafias in Pakistan- Multiple Investigation Agencies with Overlapping Functions

کرپشن اور کرائم انوسٹیگیشن: بڑھتا گیا درد جوں جوں دوا کی How many investigation agencies are there in Pakistan? Which other investigation agencies exist that are not mentioned in the attached lists? I think there are investigating units also in FBR, EOBI, SBCA, SBP etc? I read somewhere many years ago that there are 40+ agencies! How many corrupt have each of them nabbed after collecting enough evidence to convict them in courts. Incompetence of the competent authorities responsible for collecting solid evidence. How much extortion and blackmailing by them? Any research?

How Mafias Come into Existence in Pakistan: There is no single authority to be held accountable

Mafias are created when different government agencies start playing ping-pong with their responsibility. They are all the time fighting turf wars often with the connivance of the vested interests, who then cling together to form cartels that start playing one government department against the other, one ministry against the other. 

    جہاں جہاں مافیا ہے وہاں وہاں ایک بے بس، لاچار اور مجبور اتھارٹی ہے جسکی جان دراصل ایک ایسی منسٹری کی مٹھی میں ہے جو کہتی تو اپنے اپنے آپ کو "کمپیٹنٹ اتھارٹی" ہے مگر سوائے اپنی Incompetence چھپانے کے اور کچھ نہیں کرتی: کام کی نہ کاج کی دشمن اناج کی:یہ شاطرانہ انداز میں Competent authority کے پیچھے
اپنے نام کو چھپا کر اپنی نا اہلی چھپا کر تمام زمہ داری نظر آنے والے حکمرانوں پر ڈال دیتے ہیں

Government has designated a specialized ministry and an authority for tackling each type of problem. They are paid from taxpayers pocket. They need to be punished for their incompetence and aggravation of problems. Each Mafia feeds on a problem of a particular area which can not exist without the collusion of the authority and the relevant ministry. We all thought that IK's تبدیلی will change the working of these rulers who call themselves as "competent authorities". He will hold them accountable and will punish them. Instead he like many others have been ensnared by the bureaucracy and its labyrinth of notifications issued under the disguise of "competent authority". If he and his supporters would have seen a few episodes of the "Yes Prime Minister" serial of BBC, it would have informed PTIans that tabdeeli can only be brought by breaking the code of this bureaucracy. See for example https://youtu.be/GPsHfVCFLhU

Aviation Fiasco: Incompetence of CAA, PIA and Aviation Ministry

CAA has recently certified that all the licenses issued by CAA are genuine and are not fake. Please note the count of fake licenses was 262 in the report flashed by the aviation minister in the assembly which was followed by the Prime Minister speaking about  that the fake licenses while trying to implicate previous governments and indirectly holding them responsible for PK8303 crash. The report of dubious licenses mentioning 262 pilots somehow got reduced to 141 pilots by the time the report was in the hands of media signed by Maritime Secretary. Interesting to investigate why maritime affairs secretary was investigating the aviation licenses. Was he part of Aviation Secretary investigation committee then why the aviation secretary did not sign it, and if he was not part of the committee then why was he not part of the committee. It seems to be incompetence of the competent authority of Aviation Ministry's Secretary Aviation at all the levels. Total Mess. Muck was supposed to be thrown up to malign the opposition parties under whose rule the pilots were appointed. All this only to protect the uniformed air marshal from criticism related to pk8303 crash and shift the blame elsewhere. It was the incompetence of CJP who allowed uniformed air marshal to continue as Chief under the stealth Doctrine of Necessity proclaiming in Supreme Court "Who would be held responsible if something happened". Now that something has happened who should be held responsible, other then the CJP? Furthermore, the incompetent ministers of the  incompetent prime minister who wanted to take the laurels of fighting the corruption by humiliating the opposition and destroying the lives of hundreds of pilots and thousands of other license holders from CAA working as technicians and other aviation personnel. 

Bureaucracy knew about the "sadistic" inclinations of PM. They prepared a preliminary report in the typical "competent authority" code language. IK and his Minister took the bait and bamboozled it in parliament.
IK took sadistic pleasure in tormenting 262 pilots, blaming and humiliating the opposition" in the assembly. This sadistic campaign was continued on social media through their blind media brigade that gears into action without consideration of consequences.

اور پھر ایک وردی والے چیف ایگزیکٹو کو pk8303 ائیر کریش کی تنقید سے بچا کر ملبہ اپوزیشن پر انڈیلنے سے sadistic pleasure حاصل کرنے کا کام شروع کر دیا- اسی sadistic pleasure حاصل کرنے کیلئے میڈیا برگیڈ نے بھی بہتی گنگا میں ہاتھ دھونا شروع کر دیا- سوشل میڈیا میں لوگوں کے کرب اور ابتلاء پر ٹھٹے لگاتے ہوئے تمام پائلیٹس کو گراؤنڈ ہونے میں خوش ہوئے، PIA کو دیوالیہ ہونے کو اپوزیشن کے کھاتے میں ڈال کر ہنستے رہے، ایویشن انڈسٹری کے بند ہونے پہ شادیانے بجائے کیونکہ اس میں ایک ائیر لائن ان کے سیاسی مخالف کی بھی تھی، CAA کی رسوائی کو اپوزیشن کے کھاتے میں ڈالا اور پھر پاکستان کو بدنام کرنے میں کامیاب ہو گئے-

First the EU imposed a ban for 6 months, then it was UK followed by Malaysia, emirates and other destinations in the world. PIA flights were grounded along with all technical staff with CAA licenses working around the world inflicting billions of rupees of losses on all Pakistani carriers and aviation industry.

Once the damage was done the "competent authority" simply used the other coded words to extricate itself from the mess leaving the PM and his minister in the muck. As usual Brilliant Sir Humphrey in BBC serial "Yes Prime Minister" making the minister to cut a sorry figure.

sadistic /səˈdɪstɪk/, adj, deriving pleasure from inflicting pain or humiliation on others. Eg: "IK took sadistic pleasure in tormenting 262 pilots, blaming and humiliating the opposition"

ع خ صاحب سے فرمایا گیا: آپ کو اور آپ کے وزیرِ ایویشن کو "کمپیٹنٹ اتھارٹی" یعنی سیکرٹری ایویشن کی انگلی پسند آئی؟

بڑے آئے، چلے تھے بیوروکریسی کو روزانہ دھمکیاں دیتے اور ان کو 55 سال کی عمر میں رٹائر کرنے ☺

All Licenses Issued to Pilots are genuine, now claims CAA!

- سیکرٹری ایویشن خود پچھلے دو سال سے CAA کا DG ہے، PIA اور CAA اس کے ماتحت ادارے ہیں- اس طاقتور Competent authority کی سمری کے بغیر وزیر ایویشن کی مجال نہیں تھی کہ وہ لسٹ جاری کر سکے جس نے پی آئی اے اور شہری ہوابازی کا بیڑا غرق کر دیا- اس پراسرار طاقتور Competent authority کا نام حسن ناصر جامی ہے- اب اپنی جان بچانے کیلئے یہ بیان جاری کر رہا ہے-

Report of dubious licenses was signed by secretary of maritime affairs. What has maritime affairs to do with aviation licenses. Incompetence of the competent authority of Aviation Ministry's Secretary Aviation. Total Mess. Only to protect the uniformed air marshal from criticism related to pk8303 crash. Incompetence of CJP in allowing uniformed air marshal to continue as Chief under Doctrine of Necessity

Incompetent ministers of incompetent prime minister

Learning and Life is My Autobiography

Writing poetry, blogs, essay, or reflections is greatly cathartic. Things that greatly troubled me, once I got them out of my system through my writing, they stopped bothering me. Once expressed, they stop festering. This is how I forgot many of my longings. My long blog posts are my learning and my efforts in my life. The blog had been a great cathartic experience for me. I write blogs not as much to impress others but more so to organize my thoughts. My thoughts typically are running in circles. They go from one realm to another. And then keep coming back. Once I write them, they become organized and structured. During writing, I also identify the links that I have not explored earlier. I also find links that I knew but had not thought about so clearly and crisply. It is a wonderful experience.

As I connect this with Donald Murray's 1991 essay "All Writing is Autobiography" I feel that this true.

http://www.umsl.edu/~alexanderjm/AllWritingisAutobiography.pdf

[to be completed]

When Ayub Khan Accused Fatima Jinnah Of Being An Indian And American Agent

Source: Time Magazine datelined Christmas Day 1964. It sheds interesting light on how far back this game of the security establishment conjuring up images of US-India collusion go. Ayub Khan actually accused Fatima Jinnah of being pro-Indian and pro-American. Oldest trick in the security establishment’s book. -YLH