Peter’s Blog

My friend Qalandar has gone back to Pakistan and has been working for democracy. Below is the introduction to his editorial for the next issue of Naked Punch. I hope you enjoy it.

A renowned poem of Faiz Ahmed Faiz was brought to my attention last night. Sitting for dinner in a restaurant in Lahore the one-man entertainment with his key-board and mike walked up to my table and kindly asked if I had a request. ‘Yes, A ghazal…of Faiz’, I replied. Happy to be playing something other then the latest Bollywood film song he returned to his keyboard and began to sing:

That which was ours, my love,
Don’t ask me for that love again

The poem of Faiz goes on:

but there were other sorrows, comforts other than love.
The rich had cast their spell on history:
Dark centuries had been embroidered on brocades and silks.
Bitter threads began to unravel before me
As I went into alleys and in open markets
Saw bodies plastered with ash, bathed in blood.
I saw them sold and bought, again and again.
This too deserves attention. I can’t help but look back
When I return from those alleys – what should one do?
And you still are so ravishing – what should I do?
There are other sorrows in this world,
Comforts other than love.
Don’t ask me, my love, for that love again.

And here is the actual document: Oppressions Other Than Love (DOC, 152 kb)

The NY Times story on the CIA tapes had this interesting note:

The CIA has said that the Justice Department and other elements of the executive branch reviewed and approved the use of a set of harsh techniques before they were used on any prisoners, and that the Justice Department issued a classified legal opinion in August 2002 that provided explicit authorization for their use.

Since when do Justice Departments issue secret rulings? I thought the whole point of the rule of law, from the Code of Hammurabi on down, is that the laws are public. But I guess that’s pre-9/11 thinking for you.