This is my gut response to the blog entitled "Benazir Bhutto".
Benazir Bhutto was an icon. There were only a handful of international female leaders in the 20th Century and out of all of them, Benazir Bhutto was the only one who was truly beautiful. She had class, she had style, she was brilliant and charming, and she was gorgeous. She showed the world an Islam that was sexy.
Benazir Bhutto was an example to everyone that a woman could be strong and powerful and feminine and alluring. She was a paragon of glamour. And she was as glamorous at 54 as she was at 35. Benazir Bhutto was an intelligent, articulate, HOT middle-aged woman.
Benazir Bhutto was magnificent.
I don't know that much about Pakistani politics and I don't know how corrupt she really was. And even if I did someone would tell me that I didn't. And I don't know the extent to which she was independent and the extent to which she was in cahoots with the "West" and even if I did, someone would argue that I was wrong.
But Benazir Bhutto went back to Pakistan knowing her life was in danger, and as it became clearer and clearer that it was true, she remained and continued to make public appearances. Because Benazir Bhutto had balls of steel. Benazir Bhutto was fearless.
I don't know exactly what Benazir Bhutto believed, and if I did someone would tell me I didn't. But whatever it was, I know she was willing to die for it.
Benazir Bhutto had an apartment in my city, New York, and she could have been strolling down Fifth Avenue shopping and living the high life, and she chose instead to live and die in her homeland, Pakistan. Because Benazir Bhutto was a patriot. And regardless of where she stood ideologically, she stood on her own two feet, and Benazir Bhutto is a hero. She is a female hero for the beginning of the millennium and in her death she remains an icon for all women everywhere and for all men who truly love women.
And I didn't hear what Mitt Romney said and I don't know who it was who killed her, and I am sure the analysis in the major US media is largely skewed but what do you expect from the major US media? I don't really care what they have to say, and especially not today. And with all due respect, I don't really care what anyone else has to say about what they have to say today. Tomorrow I will but not today.
Tomorrow or the next day I will care about a political analysis of Benazir Bhutto's death and how it is portrayed in the US media, but today I only know that she was magnificent. And like the Bamayan Buddhas and the Twin Towers, things that are magnificent should not be blown up.
Today is a day of mourning for the destruction of that most extraordinary of extraordinary creatures: a beautiful woman in the fullness and glory of her own power.
I hope one day I am as fearless as she.
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Benazir Bhuto
by Pakistan is First & Foremost (not verified) on Sun Apr 13, 2008 04:14 AM PDTNo doubt Benazir was Brave and was a martyr for her followers.
Benazir was nowhere near democratic.
Democracy or Jumhurait was just a tool/excuse for her to enter the political arena. Pretended to promote Democracy to win hearts and minds of all people of Pakistan and the west.
Under Benazir’s rule Tribal leaders , the war lords , the Nawabs, The Chuadaries, The Khans were empowered. The Taliban loved Benazir she empowered them too.
The poor and ordinary Pakistanis suffered. They had to make the tribal leaders their friends in order to get basic things in life. Exploitation and slavery became prevalent under her rule.
Ironically women folk were deprived of their basic human rights. The tribal rule in rural Pakistan was authoritative under Benazirs Govt.
That’s the reason why the people of Pakistan invite the military and celebrate by handing out sweets when army takes over. Under the army when people queue up for flour (for example) they get it because they are next not because they have connection and are wealthy!
Benazir was hungry for power. She envisaged becoming the Queen of Pakistan and to live and rule like the Kings of Saudi Arabia. But Pakistani people are different.
Benazir was almost there but I think she spoke to soon or simply got carried away. She failed to fully acknowledge the geopolitics. Only weeks before she openly announced that if she gets to power she will allow USA to attack Pakistani territories. No doubt this must have annoyed a lot of people including Pak Army. China, Iran and others.
Politics is a dangerous game. It can make or break nations. Having said that Benazir was a couragages politician and did not deserve to die like this. May Allah forgive us all and grant Benazir a place in pradise. Inshallah.
Pakistan Zindabaad.
Teimoor..........Thank you
by Sasha on Sun Dec 30, 2007 07:03 PM PSTsolh
Ok Sasha, Congrats. I think
by Teimoor (not verified) on Sun Dec 30, 2007 06:10 PM PSTOk Sasha, Congrats.
I think your son will do well as a marine biologist or zoologist and will have peace of mind.
I recall a line from the book Life as it happens,
A father talking to his son:
Son, let me tell you that with a mother like that and with my love for the world of humanity and justice I would not have expected a different son from what you are...."
Best wishes.
Teimoor sadly my son has.......:o(
by Sasha on Sun Dec 30, 2007 11:45 AM PSTI am sad to say that my son has faced a great deal of discrimination since he was very young. It is part of what makes him so wise at such a young age. It is why he knows he cannot wait around for things to happen to make a change in his life. He knows he will have to be creative and proactive for the rest of his life if he wants to succeed.
He prefers not play the "victim mentality" because he knows it paralyzes people to the point of self-destructive tendencies. He has chosen another path.
I have raised my son to think for himself and I think that it is the best gift we can give our children.
Also, my son has seen more of the real world than any young man should have. He has seen the devastation and poverty of my country as he goes several times a year to visit it.
He survived Hurrican Rita and almost faced being homeless because of it. We were fortunate to not be homeless because of a good friend of mine and family to help us along the way.
He saw the devastation, shock, and dismay of the people at the shelters set up for evacuees that were not as blessed as we were, while they waited for weeks to find a place to live, begin the process of healing and restoring their lives. I could go on with more examples of the challenges he has had to face..............they have been many. They have made him the strong young man that he is.....today.
"What thwarts us and demands of us the greatest effort is also what can teach us the most."
-Andre Gide
"Opportunities to find deeper powers within ourselves come when life seems most challenging."
-Joseph Campbell
solh
PS: He plans on being a zoologist/marine biologist. His office will be the jungles and oceans of the world. :o) He is not in it for the money. He knows money comes and goes, rather he prefers to do something that he loves for the rest of his life.
Harvard: Speaking of Harvard. He has an uncle who graduated from the Law program in Harvard long ago. He has already told him plenty of his Harvard years. Also, mentioned to him how he grew up in total poverty to not only graduate from Harvard but to become a judge in the area where he lives. Really an amazing story and man. I hope he writes a book about it.
BENAZIR-PEERLESS/FEARLESS To Kathy:
by Rosie T. on Sun Dec 30, 2007 10:29 AM PSTThank you very much for the link. You wrote:
"we cant remove sexuality from anything about a woman. If she isnt being noted for hiding it, she's being noted for using it or flaunting it. We cant win"
But I don't believe Benazir used or flaunted her sexuality, I believe she simply embodied it, because she was born that way. She was simply a very sexy woman. And she chose a career in politics and she chose not to downplay that aspect of who she was.
And when I wrote this blog I was in mourning and now I am celebrating. In my opinon there's a certain paragon of female beauty which combines good looks with regality and restraint. It can be seen in women such as Marlene Dietrich, Sophia Loren and Catherine Deneuve. But they were actresses. It can also be seen in Jackie Kennedy Onassis and Empress Farah, but they were WIVES of leaders. Benazir was such a woman but she was also herself a LEADER. And one who was willing to make the ultimate sacrifice.
And I'm celebrating, not her death but her life. The gift she's given us with the mesage that it's really okay for us to FREELY choose to be who we are. If we want to be Thatchers and Albrights in the political arena, that's good. We can do that. We can "downplay" our sexuality, or play up a "mannish" sexuality, or maybe we're not so sexy and it's not an issue for us at all, and that's fine. If we want to be Benazirs, and be magnificent icons of beauty in the politcal arena, we are free to do that too. I'm celebrating her message: we REALLY have choice. We REALLY CAN CHOOSE to be WHOEVER we truly are.
You see, I think we CAN win and we ARE winning, and I think we absolutely unquestionably won this round.
ZENDEH BAAD BENAZIR. WITHOUT EQUAL. BEYOND PAR. PEERLESS. FEARLESS.
Best regards,
Rosie
To Sasha, Your son has not
by Teimoor (not verified) on Sun Dec 30, 2007 08:08 AM PSTTo Sasha,
Your son has not seen the real world yet.
He may go to a university in the south and get B in place of A because of a racist teacher then he will not go to MIT or harvard and will go to B grade grad.school and then work for B level company and then Stanford and berkley guys will be his bosses.
he may work for a racist boss and get a few shares of stocks. He may work for an israeli boss who will never give him promotion because he was born in Iran. he may be discriminated against by an arab who is Arab first and believer in God second. He may be discriminated against by an Iranian boss who may look like saddam and act as him and hate all Iranians because he wants to show that he does not care for his national origin. The man may finally quit his job and become an independent self employed worker and the best that he could have been as a team player. So I wish the best for your son.
Its always about sexuality
by kathy (not verified) on Sat Dec 29, 2007 11:14 PM PSTwe cant remove sexuality from anything about a woman. If she isnt being noted for hiding it, she's being noted for using it or flaunting it. We cant win. Thats why I'm happy to see blogs of every nature covering the Bhutto story: //dinahproject.com/blog.asp
Lets not fight it, lets just put it out there and continue the discussion...
XXX
by Omid Hast on Fri Feb 01, 2008 09:24 PM PSTxxx
As long as people
by Sasha on Sat Dec 29, 2007 07:12 PM PSTAs long as people continue to believe they are power less, they will remain so. Those who believe they have the power will continue to have said power.
"Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point."
-C.S. Lewis
"The winner creates his destiny. While the loser waits for it."
-Armando (my 16 year old son)
solh
Dear Sasha, Choic and
by p. w. (not verified) on Sat Dec 29, 2007 02:57 AM PSTDear Sasha,
Choic and Internal locus of control is for democratic societies where the options to choose from are provided for every one. For Many people in third world countries, there are no much of choices on the daily life basis, so people have no way of percepting things unless convincing themselves by their destiny and fate, and therefor such biliefs have been embedded in their cultures.
Choice not Chance
by Sasha on Sat Dec 29, 2007 02:13 AM PSTChoice not Chance
Determines Destiny.
Choose to Be Proactive.
Choose not to Blame
Circumstances,
Conditions, or Conditioning
for your Behavior.
You have the Initiative and
the Responsibility to make things
happen instead of merely being Acted Upon.
-Anonymous
solh
In loving memory of Benazeer...
by Freedom Fighter (not verified) on Sat Dec 29, 2007 12:47 AM PST"In Bahaaraan mozmaraand andar Khazaan
In bahaar ast dar Khazaan, Magreez az aan..."
Rumi
Excuse my poor translation:
These springs are needed in the Autumn!
This is Spring in the Autumn, Don't run away from it...
Xerxes, give her credit...
by Rosie T. on Fri Dec 28, 2007 09:35 PM PSTwhere credit is due. Where is CIA now? She knew that she faced death and she was not afraid. Give her credit where credit is due.
I don't give a damn about her ideology. She iwas further to the right than me. So what? In the new world, if we manage to survive the old one, there will be mixed economies. There is no other choice. After the hideous failures of the socialist revolutions and the cancers caused by rampant capitalism, all we can do is find a new synthesis. She died for what SHE believed in. Didn't KILL for it, DIED for it. Give her credit where credit is due.
Who was she "in bed with", really? The CIA? Or herSelf?
Bhutto was another US option
by XerXes (not verified) on Fri Dec 28, 2007 06:54 PM PSTIt's sad that she is dead but don't give her too much credit...
Eeey Aaaakh...
by Ghatebe' (not verified) on Fri Dec 28, 2007 04:32 PM PSTEeey AaaKH...
Rosieeee Jaaan, Nadereste Ghershmaal, Che Shakar khoordanhaye ziadiii, Ghand shekastan-haayeh meft o na marboot....... :0
To bia bongaahe shaaadmaani maa naaderest taa behet begooyam....... ;0
But seriously,
Wish we had a man or woman (with balls of steel) like Beenazeer in IRAN right now !!!!!!
All the respect in the world for BEENAZEER
Rosie
by Miz Mammad (not verified) on Fri Dec 28, 2007 04:17 PM PSTKheili To "Sheytooni" :) Khoda Begam Chekaret Kone !! Bayad "Sigheh" Beshi :) !!
to n.zanincanadai1: Stick to shoes
by Anonymous_lol (not verified) on Fri Dec 28, 2007 03:56 PM PSTPlease comment only on shoes and fashion..the only area of your expertise :-)
Dear Ashamed
by Rosie T. on Fri Dec 28, 2007 11:29 AM PSTWell you play the game you claim "we" play very well, we being the 90% you claim are disgusting and are the same as Benazir's assassins. That's what "they" do, those assasins, they look at something quickly and according to their preexisting onceptions and they shout out "Disgusting" and then they shoot someone in the head.
Or don't they?
Yuor gun is words. I bet you didn't do more than scan one of the replies I wrote so carefully for more than five seconds. You know witth all the vitriole heaped upon me on this thread I never said anything anyone said was disgusting.
I bet Benazir would be delighted to find out there was a heated debate going on on an Iranian American website about the extent to which her legacy should include her beauty. After all, she was part Iranian...and so cosmopillitan...and so...wonderfully...vain....
Disgusting!
by Ashamed (not verified) on Fri Dec 28, 2007 09:17 AM PSTIt's really sad!! I see 90 percent of the comments posted here as nonsense and irrelevant including the article itself. For God's sake, a person has given her life for her country, and a bunch of ignorant parasites argue about her physique and sexuality. I wonder what the difference is between the mentality of the people who are assassinating her character even after her death here and that of the actual bombers! Shame on all of you so-called civilized "intellectuals".
To Sara E. / canadai
by Rosie T. on Fri Dec 28, 2007 09:14 AM PSTSara E. : Thank you for the spelling correction. I wrote the blog quickly and it was careless.
I have responded to criticisms such as yours already on this thread below and, it is difficult to imagine that you would use QUITE the same tone and rhetoric as you just did if you'd bothered to read them. Since you appear to be quite familiar with me I assume you know I use my blogs as a form of conversation, So it would have been reasonable for you to have checked a bit before you unleashed your vitriole. In any case, I would recommend the longish one to "American Observer".
I have not reduced Benazir Bhutto to anything. Benazir embodied all the power of the Goddess with capital "G". Such people are irreducible.
Yes, canadai ( if you've perhaps changed the channel back by now...) it is so. Regardless of her corruption, personal history, ideology. She was very, very human. And yet she embodied the Goddess, not in spite of but also because of her flaws. Whatever her past, she chose to risk death for HER VISION for her people. She died fierce, a beautiful female warrior. And that is her legacy.
A little chubby? That makes her more beautiful to me. It shows she did not spend her middle years in Swiss spas and with personal trainers, and having liposuction as so many women of her class do. A woman as fashion-conscious as she surely must have considered it. But she chose not to. And menopausal women who make that choice often tend to gain wieght. It is natural. You speak of health. What about mental health? This global culture is OBSESSED with thinness. Again, I mention the Venus of Wollendorf. These statues of PRE-patriarchal Europe--of the worshippers of the Mother, of Gaia...they were... ROBUST.
To Wikipidia: Talk to the hand
by n.zanincanadai1 (not verified) on Fri Dec 28, 2007 08:12 AM PSTYou think I spend 12 ours thinking about this? Are you nuts?
1) Rosie said BB had charm and class. IMHO she was a dozd and there's no class in that.
2) Rosie said this lady was beautiful. Fat is unhealthy and gross. Even when she was young, in my opinion, she was not that hot.
I never said she deserves to die. But I have no sympathy for corrupt leaders. Even semi pretty ones.
PPPUHHLLLEZZ (notice the H)
I'm changing the channel
ps
by sara e (not verified) on Fri Dec 28, 2007 08:05 AM PSTps It's Mitt Romney, not Mitch. Ms. supposed Professor, hope you don't teach Politics or History.
Congratulations
by sara e (not verified) on Fri Dec 28, 2007 07:53 AM PSTAmazing, you've managed to reduce an educated, accomplished leader, admired the world over, to a mere sex object with a click of your mouse. This really deserves accolades.In doing so, you have sided with the exact type of filthy scum that think this way of all women, as windowdressing. And those who continue to deprive Pakistan and others in the region of a democratic future. Do us all a favor Rosie T or whomever you are, go out and get some, then maybe everything you write and think about doesn't have to have sexual overtones, martyrs, death, destruction,poetry , etc..this is a forum for serious, sane people, who have a life and don't spend all day here.
To n.zanincanadai1: …put a lot of P’s, U’s, L’s, E’s, and Z’s in
by Wikipedia (not verified) on Fri Dec 28, 2007 07:51 AM PSTSo you went out and thought about this for twwwelvvvve hoursssss, and thissssss issss the best you can do. You need to articulate your point of view better than this. I am sure she did not get herself killed because at one time in her life she was fat, and even if she was fat, so what of it? There shall not be fat female leaders, or fat people can not be beautiful? And the arranged marriage for some financial, political, or social gain, does that deserve condemnation to death now? Then, half of the woman in this world are condemned because they have entered into some kind of an arrangement!
The threat of imminent death was real, so are you saying she didn’t care because she was a corrupt fat thug. Diana died in a high speed car accident inside a Mercedes Benz S280. Is that the same as dieing in a political rally, riddled with bullets and shrapnels, without not much protection. Is being the first female Prime Minister of a Muslim country the same as being Princess of Wales.
Just because you put a lot of P’s, U’s, L’s, E’s, and Z’s in your please, doesn’t make your views clear. Articulate without using too much Z’s, please.
where was the police? would
by Anonymousalso (not verified) on Fri Dec 28, 2007 07:50 AM PSTwhere was the police?
would you not imagine police being in a rally to protect people?
I wonder if they went home by higher orders to let things go as bad as they did.
In USA at least ehy provide police for protection of people in rallies or demonstrations.
I find this very strange why there was no protection.
Why would you...
by Anonymous12 (not verified) on Fri Dec 28, 2007 07:42 AM PSTWhy would you stick your head out of the sun roof of a car, when you know there are people waiting around only for the purpose of killing you?... irresponsible.
Not Pakistan
by Iva (not verified) on Fri Dec 28, 2007 06:32 AM PSTCall it FILTHYstan, the name is more fitting for a place that is filled with brained washed nasty moslems whose first order of business is to KILL as perscribed by their idol Al-Lah.
Bonnie and Clyde?!?!
by n.zanincanadai1 (not verified) on Fri Dec 28, 2007 06:20 AM PSTRosie...I forgot to mention her union in holy matrimony with mr. 10 %. Now that's sexy. A feudal feminist entering into an arranged marriage to a business man! They steal and flee..
Rosie jan
by ms kt (not verified) on Fri Dec 28, 2007 06:20 AM PSTRosie jan
If you'd just stop being so didactic...
If you lose that everything else will be fine.
No sympathy here
by n.zanincanadai1 (not verified) on Fri Dec 28, 2007 06:16 AM PSTRosie joon
Charm? Class? Maybe you are getting carried away. PPPPP UU LEEE ZZ
She was a thug. She stole from her people. And let me remind everyone that she was FAAAATTT. How does that make her beautiful? Maybe when she was younger..but even then... PP UUU LLLEEZ
Balls of steel?? Wait a minute... did she face her people on corruption charges? PP UU LLEEZZ
Diana all over again...God I can't wait for the whole thing to end.
I am not being mean. Come on dige...PU LEEZ