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The Angel of the Shadows Huddles Under a Nun’s Habit

A binary theologian, a ‘virgin,’ sodomites and phonies, and an elderly pederast walk into a bar, what is the highly unlikely outcome though probable interpretation?

Christian is a Philosopher that comes from Belgium. What identifies him the most and above all is simplicity, for everything is better with “vanilla ice cream.” Perhaps, for this reason, his intellectual passion is criticism and irony, in the sense of trying to reveal what “hides behind the mask,” and give birth to the true. For him, ignorance and knowledge never “cross paths.” What he likes the most in his leisure time, is to go for a walk with his wife.

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: There’s an old Roman Catholic Christian fundamentalist phrase, “God wills it,” which is said Deus Vult in the original Latin. In 1096, it was the chant for the First Crusade. Many modern Roman Catholics harbour a wish to attain a crusaders mindset in combatting everything un-Christian/non-Christian/not them. They name groups after it, publications under it, and, in this sense, harken back to a time when Roman Catholics waged holy war. They want holy war in a time of global secularization and the rise of women. The extraordinary psychological and ideological insecurity is telling. In fact, studies have been produced, wherein psychopaths are known to want to become CEOs and the like; they’re drawn to these professions. However, lesser known, a highly ranked profession on the list of careers preferred by psychopaths: Clergy. It’s all highly informative. I take this long winding path due to our prior writing on this subject matter of the Roman Catholic Church and an apparent trembling upper lip based on our words from lots of disgruntled readers. You were trained within the Vatican, as a non-Catholic, under the auspices of Opus Dei in an expensive Opus Dei schooling, working on a Ph.D. in metaphysics in Rome, while meeting the hierarchy and, thus, knowing the structural dynamics of the Roman Catholic Church from the inside for an extended amount of time. In short, you can be, by some minds’ qualitative metrics, seen as a sincere threat. Gnoseology deals with metaphysics, epistemology, ontology, logics, empirics, consciousness, and being, as a start. This means, as well, the foundations of the Roman Catholic Christian faith or religion, not simply a new basis on knowing. In some sense, your freemasonic personal history, Opus Dei familial story, Jewish origin, academic training within Rome, and the like, created one of the most potent brews for critical commentary. As an aside, for those reading, if within a Roman Catholic relationship, community, or family happening to feel oppressive or coercive or restrictive to personal boundaries and freedoms, or an individual distant and questioning the theology and their faith, there are options to transition out of the Roman Catholic Church, including various atheist, agnostic, freethinker, and humanist organization, even theist and atheist Satanic organizations with some political activism. You can find atheist resources at https://www.atheistsites.net. Your local freemasonic hall would happily invite a tour or a new membership. Humanists International has a directory of humanist organizations at https://humanists.international/about/our-members/. The Satanic Temple has plenty of local chapters listed at https://thesatanictemple.com/pages/join-us. You can learn a bit about the public knowledge basics of freemasonry at https://beafreemason.org/. There is a revivalist movement around Paganism. You can find those online, whether neo-Pagan, humanistic Paganism, and the like. Secular and humanistic versions of religious organizations exist all over the world. Of course, wonderful feminist organizations are everywhere, too – simply Google “Feminism” or “feminist organizations,” etc. You’ll find your way. So, know, you’re not alone, have options, already have the internal strength within you, and can find a fit based on personal temperament and psychological profile – find what works for you, not what’s forced on you. You can always email me at Scott.D.Jacobsen@Gmail.Com. Back to Gnoseology, how is “supreme wisdom” defined here, as in “The Devil’s Chaplain: God Cannot Create the Nothing”?

Dr. Christian Sorensen: In my opinion, the supreme wisdom is certainly something not explicitly verbalizable or  writable through any  type of content ; and much less has a sacred, universal and immutable character.  The reason for the aforementioned, has to do with a purely logical order, since intelligence always seeks to find answers in confrontation with the unknown. Therefore, if the supreme wisdom was represented by some kind of knowledge, in terms of anything identifiable  with the truth, it would necessarily have resolved to some extent the process of intellectual search ; at least with  partially cognitively constructed responses, capable of actually appeasing the sensation of existential emptiness. If the above, would have been in such manner, then supreme wisdow, could have summoned towards an intersubjective noetic consensus, and should have  redounded in  favor of  commonwealth;  all of which could not be more anachronistic and further from reality.  In consequence, I  consider that rather it’s  related to a hypothetical place, than with an inductive or deductible knowledge, which instead I would denominate : as  somewhat found in another place ; in the sense of being vinculated to a hollow space, and that will make possible a synthetic spiral chain of antithetical premises. Furthermore, what is going to be recognized empirical and commonly as this species of wisdom, especially from a fundamentalist religious perspective, as occurs with the Roman Catholic Church, would regard more with a formula to perversely  legitimize  physical and psychological abuse of conscience, by emphasizing notably the sexual connotation of these ; and through sickly focusing on gender discrimination of them,  since what most obsesses the power structure of  catholicism, is the  repression and subjugation of the screams of silence  deployed from their corrupt control networks, which is not at all surprising for their limited intelligence, but that nevertheless stuns for their stupidity  without limits; because not even the pontiff emeritus, manages to hide its puerile attempt at seduction with the most helpless victims.

Jacobsen: What are the limits of the experimental-empirical method? What are the limitations of the hypothetico-deductive method? Those defined within the sphere of “individual scientific disciplines.”

Sorensen: I consider that both methods have limitations that are equivalent, since they operate circularly and tend to reverberate tautologically   on similar  points. Said circularity, would hardly admit a cyclical dynamics, due to the fact that it does not incorporates a tertiary and integral term : capable of representing a higher synthesis around its hypothetical approaches on behalf  of the particular terms induced, and of the generalities deduced from the discursive conclusions.  Regarding the experimental empirical method, which is a reduction of the deductive hypothetical method, applied in the field of individual sciences, the bias  is even greater ; since the hypothetical statements  are not going to be able of being empirically refutable. Likewise even if they were, only  their character of falsehood and of provisional validity, could  be affirmed with certainty.

Jacobsen: How is this individual reason “becoming consciousness along time”?

Sorensen: The individual reason, will become  consciousness along time, in  what I am going to denominate conscious reason; and as such would be  recognized  in the inverse  process of  « zeitgeist », regarding which, there is a greater gradient in favor of  unquestionable answers as counterpose to what  would be unanswerable questions.  In consequence,  consciousness is going  to installed, at the moment in which  a discontinuity or cut occurs at the level of discursive synthesis ; and  as an outcome, of what I consider integral or comprehensive antithetical terms. According to the last,  opposites would return  and convert again in thesis, in order to constitute  questions of problematic nature.

Jacobsen: The “macro or universal reason” as a “permanent consciousness.” How is this functioning in relation to the “consciousness along time”? Why the asymptotic revelation in time? Does this mean accessibility for all beings with reason to this unfolding?

Sorensen: The macro  or universal reason unfolds, because from my point of view,  this is only relative  to consciousness along time, but is never vinculated with respect to permanent consciousness ; since in the dimension of the latter, time would only be absolute: that is to say,  identical to what is understood as an omnipresent temporality.  Its revelation, for his part, seen from a dimension of temporality, is asymptotic , because this reason from its ontological evolution; would  be in a permanent process of retractive compression and extensive decompression, without  having a determinable origin or end. The being with reason, on the other side, would be completely interdicted during this  revelation or unfolding; since the being  with reason and the last, would flow as two parallel lines,  and only  phenomenologically, that is to say hypothetically, would  converge at some supposed vanishing point.

Jacobsen: Why is there this logical break between the theological mythologies and the theology? How does this play out in a critical analysis of the creation story of Roman Catholicism with a dying and resurrected God-man, a virginal birth, and a variety of miraculous occurrences within the narratives?

Sorensen: In my opinion theology, is  essentially mythological and therefore antithetical to reason, since the means to approach it, always concerns faith, which represents  necessarily a supernatural gift from God ; and in consequence, absolutely denies what the will to power could be. Indeed then, it’s a present, that God confers as a  theological virtue ; in order to accept  unwaveringly, religious beliefs, as dogmas.  The logical break is twofold, because in its origin, it is  imperatively based on faith and not on reason; and due to the fact, that commutes the myth for ideas with the pretense of being clear and distinct, when actually they are just   allegorical and fabulous speculations, devoid of all logical consistency and of any  coherent meaning. Actually,  not only  transgresses  logical principles of  identity, non-contradiction and exclusive third party ;  but also brutally distorts and subverts reality.  Through this sort of magic mechanism, this  violates all sense and judgement of reality ; even going to the point of considering the  person of Jesus as a demigod, and  his apostles as saints, when historically deep down, they were just a sectarian group of phonies, who did nothing but to sodomize each other. Or even, to venerate a woman as a virgin,  when in reality what she did was to hide in the crowd, so as not to be publicly stoned to death ; for being a fornicating adolescent, who felt overwhelmed by her low passions. And as if the above were not enough, in order to put a finishing touch , the immaculate, gets married with an elderly man, who today would have been accused of pederast ;  but to whom the Roman Catholic Church scandalous and aberrantly, venerates to this day, as a holy and chaste male.

Jacobsen: How is the light peering into the Roman Catholic, and even Islamic, theological worlds now?

Sorensen: In the Roman Catholic theological world, par excellence, the light is a sort of halo, that penetrates through the hole of a cavern, in order to project inside it, not only monstrous images and deceptive shadows ; but also  to circulate the figures of people tied to each other and queuing, to be dragged and thrown into an abyss unseen, by a hierophant who dupes them with the surrounding darkness.

Jacobsen: What is the idea behind a single universal subject that’s there and an eternal becoming of what will arrive? Are there any forerunners to this idea?

Sorensen: The background of said idea, unlike what some precursors such as Spinoza proposed, is that what exists, and which represents representatively the single universal subject ; has a pulsatile expanding and retracting cyclicity, whatsoever in no case, would be equivalent to a periodic circularity. Therefore the above, could never be understood, as a subjective process of ontological repetition. Quite the contrary, it should be comprehended, as a process of spiral movements, where it would only be possible to discern, the folding points at every turn with respect to which, it could only be affirmed that they are coincident with the moments repeated in each of the turns.  The deductible therefore, would be a subjectivity that remains asymptotically unfinished,  in the twilight of time and in the becoming of eternity.

Jacobsen: What is the basic formulation of this “trinitarian logic”?

Sorensen: Trinitarian logic, fundamentally expels from the symbolic universe of the subject, understood as individual reason ; the concepts and the idea of antithesis and opposition, respectively, regarding being and not-being. The above means,  that both : concepts and idea, would act operationally in unison. In consequence, negation as such, would not exist ; and only the potentially becoming of something, in terms of  somewhat that interrupts its being for beginning anything  else,  might occur. Therefore then, what I will name the tertiary term,  will not be more than the generalization of a continuous sum of infinite deductions, in the discursive process of reasoning ; that would enable to admit, a conclusive synthesis as  hypothetically valid, but not necessarily as an empirically formal truth.

Jacobsen: Thank you for the opportunity and your time, Dr. Sorensen.

Sorensen: I expect that not only the angel snuggles up: but also the nun.

Photo by Vladimir Šoić on Unsplash

Prof. Sam Vaknin on the Philosophy of Nothingness

Prof. Sam Vaknin is the author of Malignant Self-love: Narcissism Revisited as well as many other books and ebooks about topics in psychology, relationships, philosophy, economics, international affairs, and award-winning short fiction. He is Visiting Professor of Psychology, Southern Federal University, Rostov-on-Don, Russia and Professor of Finance and Psychology in SIAS-CIAPS (Centre for International Advanced and Professional Studies). Here we talk briefly about his philosophy of nothingness.

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: Our focus today is the proposal of “nothingness” in a specific sense by you. To start in negation, what is not “nothingness,” in your sense?

Professor Sam Vaknin: Nothingness is not about being a nobody and doing nothing. It is not about self-negation, self-denial, idleness, fatalism, or surrender.

Jacobsen: Following from the previous question, what is nothingness?

Vaknin: Nothingness is about choosing to be human, not a lobster. It is about putting firm boundaries between you and the world. It is about choosing happiness – not dominance. It is accomplishing from within, not from without. It is about not letting others regulate your emotions, moods, and thinking. It is about being an authentic YOU.

Jacobsen: How does this nothingness connect to Neo-Daoism and Buddhism?

Vaknin: It would be best to watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8ePaN70SyM&t=1s

Jacobsen: We live, as many know, in an era of narcissism. You brought this issue to light in 1995, particularly pathological narcissism. What are the roots of the ongoing rise in individual and collective narcissism?

Vaknin: The need to be seen and noticed in an overcrowded and terrifyingly atomized world. Ironically, narcissism is a cry for help, a desperate attempt to reconnect. There is no such thing as an “individual”: we are all the products of our interactions with others (object relations). But, increasingly, technology is rendering us self-sufficient and isolated. So, our social instincts metastasize into narcissism: dominance and hierarchy replace sharing and networking.

Jacobsen: How does one choose happiness over dominance, authenticity over being fake, and humanity rather than lobster-kind, with this form of nothingness?

Vaknin: We need to choose happiness over dominance (be human, not a lobster); Choose Meaning over complexity; Choose fuzziness, incompleteness, imperfection, uncertainty, and unpredictability (in short: choose life) over illusory and fallacious order, structure, rules, and perfection imposed on reality (in short: death); Choose the path over any destination, the journey over any goal, the process over any outcome, the questions over any answers; Be an authentic person with a single inner voice, proud of the internal, not the external.

Jacobsen: What is the importance of living a life worth remembering in the philosophy of nothingness?

Vaknin: Identity depends on having a continuous memory of a life fully lived and actualized. At the end of it all, if your life were a movie, would you want to watch it from beginning to end? Nothingness consists of directing your life in accordance with an idiosyncratic autobiographical script: yours, no one else’s. Being authentic means becoming the single story which only you can tell.

Jacobsen: What type of personality or person can accept nothingness in its fullest sense?

Vaknin: Only those who are grandiose are incapable of Nothingness. Grandiosity is the illusion that one is godlike and, therefore, encompasses everything and everyone. Grandiosity, therefore, precludes authenticity because it outsources one’s identity and renders it reliant on input from others (hive mind).

Jacobsen: How is nothingness an antidote to narcissism?

Vaknin: Narcissism is ersatz, the only self is false, others are instrumentalized and used to regulate one’s sense of faux cohering oneness. Nothingness is echt, harking back to the only true, authentic voice, eliminating all other introjects, not using others to regulate one’s internal psychological landscape. Narcissism is alienation, it interpellates in a society of the spectacle. Nothingness gives rise to true intimacy.

Jacobsen: What is the ultimate wisdom in the philosophy of nothingness?

Vaknin: Identify the only voice inside you that is truly you. Peel the onion until nothing is left behind but its smell. Rid yourself of introjected socialization. Become.

Jacobsen: Then, to conclude, what is the motto or catchphrase of nothingness in this sense?

Vaknin: Do unto yourself what you want others to do to you.

Jacobsen: Thank you for the opportunity and your time, Professor Vaknin.

Vaknin: Much obliged for having me. Always a pleasure.

Image Credit: Sam Vaknin.

World Genius Directory “Genius of the Year” Over the Years

The world of intelligence testing comes with a wide range of communities and individuals, and tests. Those communities comprise many of the same people with the smaller societies and many more new people with the larger societies.

Although, a few people simply qualify for and apply to an extraordinarily large number of societies, and so become members of them. Such as it is, there have been growing efforts to recognize individuals within the communities for achievements in different domains.

One such effort comes from the World Genius Directory of Jason Betts. Since 2013, there have been awards for individuals within the theoretically high-range testing communities. It seems like an positive effort and came into the email for me.

Many within the high-IQ communities can recognize some of the names from the previous years’ awards. The titles of the awards are ‘World Genius Directory [Year] Genius of the Year – [Region]’ with, typically, three per year and, once, four in a year (the inaugural year).

The standardized regions recognized with the World Genius Directory Genius of the Year awards are Europe, Asia, and America. I remain intrigued by these communities, so went and did some interviews with some of the communities’ membership. They’re interesting people, mostly affable, and open to a chat with a stray Canadian.

The World Genius Directory listing merely recognizes, with a standard of alternative test approval, individuals who score high on tests requiring puzzle solving skills. The hope is alternative tests, as the main set of listed tests, reflect a broader capacity of global information processing.

In some sense, it represents a grassroots effort of recognition of expert puzzle solvers in verbal, numerical, and spatial domains. From 2013 to 2015, they had recognized longstanding names in the communities.

The awardees in 2013, Dr Evangelos Katsioulis (Greece), Dr Manahel Thabet (Yemen), Mr. Rick Rosner (United States), and Dr Jason Betts (Australia); in 2014, Mr. Marco Ripà (Italy), (Australia), and Ms. Karyn Peters (United States); in 2015, Mr. Iakovos Koukas (Greece), Mr. Satoki Takeichi (Japan), and Dr Gregory Grove (United States).

Similarly for 2016 to 2018, some new and some more known names, in 2016, [Omitted by request], Ms. Aishwarya Trivedi (India), and Mr. Jeffery Ford (United States); in 2017, Mr. Marios Prodromou (Greece),  Mr. Sung-Jin Kim (South Korea), Mr. Julien Arpin (Canada); in 2018, Mr. Dalibor Marincic (Bosnia & Herzegovina), Mr. Naoki Kouda (Japan), Dr Bishoy Goubran (United States).

In 2019 to 2022, there was another mix of new and longstanding members: in 2019, Mr. Tor Jørgensen (Norway), Mr. Sunder Rangarajan (India), Mr. Victor Hingsberg (Canada); in 2020, Mr. Domagoj Kutle (Croatia), Dr Jason Betts (Australia), Mr. Daniel Pohl (Canada); in 2021, Ms. Anja Jaenicke (Germany), Mr. Nitish Joshi (India), (United States); and, in 2022, Mr. Graham Powell (United Kingdom), Mr. YoungHoon Kim (South Korea), Mr. Beau Clemmons (United States).

The alternative high-range testing community comes in such a wide variety from the defunct societies to the highly active societies. Yet, there are attempts to recognize one another and motivate one another. The awards are one means by which to do it.

“The World Genius Directory Geniuses” is a listing from the World Genius Directory listing some of the individuals who have scored highly on mainstream intelligence tests and alternative tests. Even if one takes the top 100 names from the scoring rank, many of the names present are awardees, naturally. Active members are active members, after all:

198 Dr Evangelos Katsioulis, Greece, NVCP, www.katsioulis.com

195 Heinrich Siemens, Germany, CIT5, www.tweeback.com/autoren/heinrich_siemens

192 Rick Rosner, United States, Mathema, www.facebook.com/rick.rosner

192 Mislav Predavec, Croatia, LS24, www.generiq.net

190 Kenneth Ferrell, United States, Hieroglyphica, www.kef.highrangeiqtests.com

190 Dany Provost, Canada, PIGS1°, www.lesaffaires.com/blogues/dany-provost

190 WenChin Sui, China, Numerus Classic, www.facebook.com/wenchin.sui

190 Marios Prodromou, Cyprus, Mach, www.facebook.com/metratonivvi

190 Fengzhi Wu, China, Numerus, www.facebook.com/iamFengzhiWu

190 Cường Đồng, Vietnam, Numerus, www.dongkhaccuong.com

190 Tomáš Perna, Czech Republic, ZEN, www.facebook.com/tomas.perna.7

188 Mahir Wu, China, Silent Numbers, www.facebook.com/mahir.wu

185 WeiJie Wang, China, WIT, www.blog.sina.com.cn/u/2194191722

185 Kirk Kirkpatrick, United States, Stanford-Binet, www.facebook.com/macrhino

185 Erik Hæreid, Norway, N-VRA80, www.isi-s.iqsociety.org/mem361.html

185 Christian Sorensen, Belgium, WAIS, www.isi-s.iqsociety.org

185 Rickard Sagirbey, Turkey, Alphabet, www.facebook.com/Neurobuilder

185 Tianxi Yu, China, Numerus Classic, www.facebook.com/tianxi.yu.71

184 Dr Stefano Pierazzoli, Italy, Anoteleia44, http://www.isi-s.iqsociety.org/mem461.html

184 YoungHoon Kim, South Korea, Silent Eagle, https://www.facebook.com/reality180

183 Nikola Poljak, Croatia, Mathodica22, www.phy.pmf.unizg.hr/~npoljak

182 Misaki Ota, Japan, SLSE48, www.facebook.com/oota.misaki.5

182 Caner Sakar, Germany, WIQC, http://profiles.google.com/sakarcaner/about

182 Sadateru Tokumaru, Japan, Algebrica, www.facebook.com/Sadateru.Tokumaru

181 Hansheng Qiao, China, SLSE48, http://hriq.org

181 Lei Xue, China, Silent Spacial, http://leixue.sxl.cn

180 Leela Papadioti, Greece, Mach, www.facebook.com/l33la

180 YoungHoon Kim, South Korea, WAIS, https://www.facebook.com/reality180

180 Zoran Bijac, Croatia, Simtollect, www.globeiq.net

180 Iakovos Koukas, Greece, Verbatim, www.facebook.com/iakovos.koukas

180 Fumihiko Minagawa, Japan, Ninja, www.facebook.com/fumihiko.minagawa

180 Maximilian-Andrei Druţă, Romania, WARP, www.facebook.com/max.druta

180 Takuma Onishi, Japan, Mach, www.facebook.com/takuma.ohnishi

180 Niels Ellevang, Denmark, FreeFall II, www.facebook.com/niels.ellevang

179 Gaetano Morelli, Italy, Mathodica22, www.facebook.com/tany.morelli

179 Gabriele Tessaro, Italy, Anoteleia44, www.facebook.com/gabriele.tessaro.7

178 Dr Evangelos Katsioulis, Greece, CFIT, www.katsioulis.com

178 Dr George Petasis, Cyprus, CFIT, www.georgepetasis.com

178 Tim Roberts, Australia, Titan Test, www.unsolvedproblems.org

178 Dr Benoit Desjardins, United States, Titan Test, www.facebook.com/bdmdphd

178 Mizuki Tomaiwa, Japan, CFIT, https://www.facebook.com/mizuki.tomaiwa

177 Tiberiu Sammak, Romania, AdSub, www.facebook.com/tiberiu.sammak

177 Huiquan Liu, China, AdSub, www.facebook.com/sjtulhq

176 Karyn Peters, United States of America, LAIT, www.facebook.com/karynpeters

176 Zhibin Zhang, China, SLSE48, www.olymp.iqsociety.org/olympians/zhibin-zhang

176 James Dorsey, United States, Numeralis Intelligenia, www.OpalQuestGroup.com

175 Takahiro Kitagawa, Japan, WAIS, www.facebook.com/marubake.no.shiwaza

175 Peter Rodgers, Australia, WIT, http://iqmind.academia.edu/PeterRodgers

175 Brendan Harris, Canada, PIGS1°, www.brendanharris.t15.org

175 Tommy Sandvik, Finland, WARP, www.facebook.com/tommy.sandvik

175 Yosirou Sawayanagi, Japan, SAM Light, www.kawauso.com

175 Susumu Ota, Japan, WAIS, www.facebook.com/susumu.ota.5

175 Veronica Palladino, Italy, Lexiq, http://plus.google.com/113427077760507189284

175 Mhedi Banafshei, United Kingdom, Verbatim, www.facebook.com/mhedi.banafshe

174 Santanu Sengupta, India, JCCES, www.in.linkedin.com/pub/santanu-sengupta/3/50/113

174 Ivan Ivec, Croatia, Algebrica, www.ivec.ultimaiq.net

174 Baku Saito, Japan, SPEED, www.facebook.com/baku.saito.5

174 Anthony Sepulveda, United States, Cosmic, www.deviantart.com/asepulvedastudios

174 Domagoj Kutle, Croatia, Spectra, www.facebook.com/domagoj.kutle

173 Yoshiyuki Shimizu, Japan, SLSE48, www.facebook.com/yoshiyuki.shimizu.54

173 Sandra Schlick, Switzerland, Concep-T, http://home.balcab.ch/sandra.schlick

173 Arttu Purmonen, Finland, Qrosswords, http://fi.linkedin.com/in/arttu-purmonen-5b077918

172 Xiang Zhang, China, SLSE48, www.hi.baidu.com/new/likaihaiyang

172 Dr Claus Volko, Austria, ENNDT, www.cdvolko.net

172 John Argenti, United States, GENE Verbal IV, http://www.facebook.com/john.argenti

172 Hans Sjöberg, Sweden, GENE Verbal III, http://sweiq.iq-metod.se

172 Tonny Sellén, Sweden, GENE Verbal III, http://site0ne.webnode.se

172 Dr Paul Moroz, Australia, VGT, www.joondaluphealthcampus.com.au/ID=6795

172 Yuki Sunagawa, Japan, Lexiq, www.facebook.com/Revirdnas

172 Dr Jason Betts, Australia, GENE Verbal III, www.emeraldalchemy.com

172 Tor Jørgensen, Norway, Lexiq, www.facebook.com/torarnejorgensen

172 Yohei Furutono, Japan, GIFT Numerical III, www.facebook.com/YoheiFurutono

172 Takashi Egawano, Japan, Ninja, www.facebook.com/ore808

172 Tomohiko Nakamura, Japan, Ninja, www.facebook.com/Tomohiko.Nakamura.30

172 Dr Ivan Rašić, Croatia, Vortex, www.instagram.com/dr.ivanrasic

172 Rick Farrar, United States, PatNum, www.facebook.com/rick.farrar.581

172 Nitish Joshi, India, Lexiq, www.linkedin.com/in/nitish-joshi-1a4696170

172 Igor Dorfman, Israel, Lexiq, www.facebook.com/IgorDorfman11

172 Andre Gangvik, Norway, DynamIQ, www.linkedin.com/in/arne-andre-gangvik-9a5658a4

172 Jwajung Kim, South Korea, PatNum, www.instagram.com/kimjwajeong

172 Davor Glumpak, Croatia, PatNum, www.facebook.com/davor.glumpak

172 Kenshin Tomie, Japan, LSHR Light, www.facebook.com/kenshin.tomie

171 Mick Dempsey, United Kingdom, Verba66, www.facebook.com/mick.dempsey3

171 Altug Alkan, Turkey, NRA, www.hell.iqsociety.org/subscribers/altug-alkan

171 Patrick Liljegren, Sweden, OASIS, www.youtube.com/c/RotationMaster

170 Marco Ripà, Italy, 9I6, www.facebook.com/marcokrt

170 Dionysios Maroudas, Greece, Verbatim, www.facebook.com/dios.mars

170 Richard Sheen, New Zealand, NIT-I Spatial, www.facebook.com/richard.sheen.37

170 Ivan Godic, Serbia, GIFT Classic, www.facebook.com/ivan.godic

170 Kirk Butt, Canada, GENE Verbal IV, www.facebook.com/kirk.butt.1

170 Dr Jason Betts, Australia, Spat-1, www.emeraldalchemy.com

170 Charoula Katzioti, Greece, GIFT Numerical III, www.facebook.com/charakatzioti

170 Tomáš Perna, Czech Republic, Spat-1, www.facebook.com/tomas.perna.7

170 Dalibor Marincic, Bosnia and Herzegovina, GIFT Verbal A+B, www.facebook.com/dalibormarincic

170 Željko Zahtila, Australia, Numerus, www.facebook.com/zeljko.zahtila

169 Stephan Wagner-Damianowitsch, Serbia, NVCP, www.facebook.com/s.m.wagner.damianowitsch

169 Shohei Nagayama, Japan, SLSE I, www.facebook.com/shohei.nagayama.37

168 Satoki Takeichi, Japan, SLSE I, www.facebook.com/satoki.takeichi

168 Daming Gao, China, Numerus Light, www.user.qzone.qq.com/18485941

168 Yoshihito Niimura, Japan, Simtollect, http://www.facebook.com/yoshihiton

Insofar as can be seen, the communities are small. However, this, by definition, means small in a statistical sense: Smart people are outnumbered by not as smart people, as a statistical inevitability. Thus, any community will be smaller if comprised of them, and smaller if on the higher ends of the scale of intelligence. As well, it means small in raw size. Mostly, one sees the same names or people.

The awards, such as the Genius of the Year of the World Genius Directory, are one means by which to recognize the time commitment and problem-solving capacity of members of these alternative communities, as one can see in the wide distribution of scores.

It’s different than popular media claims to smartest person in the world, smartest man in the world, and the like[1]. At one point, I did gather some of the uses of “IQ” as a catch-all to claim the smartest this-or-that person[2], while compiling the rankings[3] and then amalgamating the individuals[4], at the time.

The claims are numerous and, typically, arise out of amateur journalism, statistical ignorance, and lack of fact-checking, while based in some truth, i.e., some individuals did score high on some tests – a mix of myth, partial verification, and a state of apparent mental confusion.

Nonetheless, I wish the awardees the best in their efforts and the communities in their work to use their talents for good rather than bad. Some might ask, “What are they doing with their intelligence if they’re so super-smart?”

In some manner, they were, mostly, born with it. It unfolded as a snowflake unfolds over time. Yet, the generativity of nature produces the capacity in steps, so the seedlings were always present. Nature is in charge for the most part.

If they were born with it, and if they live with it, who better to determine its vector, trajectory, than them, or the individual smart person? Everyone needs guidance, and the like, but every smart person can use the capacities, or not, as they see fit, probably.

Awards are merely one moment to recognize some who chose to do well on a test with their talents, and to recognize contributors to community. What’s wrong with that? It depends on the point of view.

——

[1] One sees occasional news items for claimants, including Rick Rosner/Richard Rosner, Marilyn vos Savant/Marilyn Mach vos Savant, William James Sidis/Bill Sidis/William Sidis, Chris Langan/Christopher Langan/Christopher Michael Langan, Evangelos Katsioulis/Dr. Evangelos Katsioulis/“Evan Cat,” Kim Ung-Yong, Terence Tao, and so and so forth.

[2] “IQ Reportage in the Popular Media – Fads and Fun of a Dying Popularity” says:

[3] “IQ Reportage in the Popular Media – Fads and Fun of a Dying Popularity” says, “The various directories, listings, and rankings were analyzed with the compiled ranking as follows, incorporating ‘ESOTERIQ Society of Masaaki Yamauchi (incorporative of some of the Giga Society of Paul Cooijmans), GENIUS High IQ Network of Dr. Iakovos Koukas, GFIS IQ List/Dinghong Yao IQ Ranking List of Dinghong Yao, GIFTED High IQ Network of Dr. Iakovos Koukas, Hall of IQ Scores of Konstantinos Ntalachanis, Hall of Sophia of Guillermo Alejandro Escárcega Pliego, HRIQ Ranking List of Qiao Hansheng, Mahir Wu Ranking List of Mahir Wu, Real IQ Listing of Dr. Ivan Ivec, Svenska IQ-Listan of Hans Sjöberg and Alexi Edin, VeNuS Ranking List of Domagoj Kutle/Domagoj Domo Kutle, WIQF Listing[2] of Marco Ripà and Dr. Manahel Thabet, World Famous IQ Scores of Dr. Ivan Ivec, World Genius Directory of Jason Betts, and World Highest IQ Scores of Mislav Predavec.’”

[4] “IQ Reportage in the Popular Media – Fads and Fun of a Dying Popularity” says:

Compilation Ranking

  1. William James Sidis at unmeasurable sigma (no test named)
  2. Konstantinos Ntalachanis at 8.67-sigma on D.O.S. and at 6.00-sigma on Monster IQ Test
  3. Wen Luo at 7.73-sigma on RIDDLES
  4. Dr. Iakovo Koukas/Iakovos Koukas at 6.93-sigma on MATRIQ
  5. Dr. Evangelos Katsioulis/Evangelos Katsioulis at 6.53-sigma on NVCP-R and at 6.06-sigma on Cooijmans Multiple-Choice #3
  6. Dr. Heinrich Siemens/Heinrich Siemens at 6.31-sigma on CIT-5
  7. Yukun Wang at 6.31-sigma on RIDDLES
  8. Tor Arne Jørgensen at 6.27-sigma on MATRIQ
  9. Rick Rosner at 6.13-sigma on Mathema
  10. Mislav Predavec at 6.13-sigma on Logicaus Strictimanus 24 (LS24)
  11. Dr. Christopher Harding/Dr. Christopher Philip Harding at 6.06-sigma on Stanford-Binet
  12. Junxie Huang at 6.00+-sigma on FREE FALL (Part II) and at 6.00+-sigma on Challenger
  13. Tanxi Yu at 6.00+-sigma on Numerus
  14. José González Molinero/Jose Gonzalez Molinero at 6.00+-sigma on FREE FALL (Part II)
  15. Matthew Scillitani at 6.00-sigma on Psychometric Qrosswords
  16. Mahir Wu at 6.00-sigma on Silent Numbers
  17. Kenneth Ferrell at 6.00-sigma on Hieroglyphica
  18. Dany Provost at 6.00-sigma on PIGS1°
  19. Wen-Chin Sui at 6.00-sigma on Numerus Classic
  20. Marios Prodromou at 6.00-sigma on MACH
  21. Thansie Yu at 6.00-sigma on N-World
  22. Dong Kha Cuong/Cường Đồng at 6.00-sigma on Numerus
  23. Thomas R. A. Wolf at or above 6.00-sigma (no test named)
  24. Andrea Gunnarsson at or above 6.00-sigma (no test named)
  25. Scott Ben Durgin at or above 6.00-sigma (no test named)
  26. Rolf Mifflin at or above 6.00-sigma (no test named)
  27. Paul Johns at or above 6.00-sigma (no test named)
  28. Christopher Harding at or above 6.00-sigma (no test named)
  29. Kevin Langdon at or above 6.00-sigma (no test named)
  30. Photo by Enric Moreu on Unsplash

BJP+ alliance wave set to sweep Punjab elections

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The Election Commission of India, in a noteworthy press conference on 8 January announced the election schedule for five states – Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Manipur, Punjab, and Uttarakhand, beginning on 10 February, with results to be declared on 10 March. Strict COVID norms were applied by the Elections Commission. Restriction was imposed on political rallies, road shows, processions, etc., till 15 January, when a review of the situation will be carried out and further instructions given.

Elections for the 117 constituencies of Punjab will be held over a single day on 14 February with declaration of results on 10 March. The road to elections in Punjab was cleared by the decision of the BJP led Union Government to repeal the Farm Laws that had caused a widespread agitation in the state. The legislations were widely perceived to be in the interest of farmers, their repeal is widely attributed to a dynamic and statesman like resolution by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to set them aside since they were not being accepted by a certain segment of the farmers community, especially those from the grain belt of North

Punjab is now looking at a five cornered contest. In the fray will be two alliances (BJP+ and SAD+) and three independent entities, viz., the Congress, AAP and the nascent Sanyukt Samaj Morcha – if it can get its act together in the short span of time available.

Earlier, as a junior partner of the BJP-SAD alliance, the BJP used to contest only from 23 seats. Ever since the break-up of the alliance in September 2020, the party has been working behind the scenes, very hard yet very quietly, to build up its base for a pan-Punjab presence to contest in all 117 seats. The initial setback of some cadre jumping ship due to the farm agitation has been adequately set aside by a massive joining drive that has seen many Sikhs with a prominent political presence coming in the party fold.

While the party has the capacity to contest all 117 seats, a strategic decision to go into an alliance with two parties, the Captain Amarinder Singh led  Punjab Lok Congress and the SAD (Sanyukt), has been taken. The three parties have a likeminded objective of ushering an era of fast track development in the region that has wilted over time due to chronic corruption and misgovernance.  

The people of Punjab are fast gaining an awareness that the BJP+ alliance is the only political entity that has the requisite strength, resources, experience and wherewithal to, not only provide stable governance, but also to assist the state in getting out of the debt ridden mess that it is in presently. The alliance can also give a huge boost to the economy with rapid economic reforms that would usher enhanced employment, better infrastructure, affordable health, education, etc. 

The alliance has the capability to significantly boost policing and vigilance through central assistance to counter corruption and control the drug and mining cartels that are playing havoc in Punjab. It has the capability of securing the borders to ensure that there is no interference from the inimical neighbourhood. With its government in place the alliance will be in a position to come down heavily on such organisations that are attempting to engineer a divide between the various communities that inhabit Punjab, especially the Sikhs and the Hindus who have coexisted happily and in absolute synergy for many centuries.

Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was scheduled to visit Ferozepur, Punjab to inaugurate projects that would have given a INR 43000 crore boost to the infrastructure of the state in a time bound manner. Also scheduled simultaneously was a visit to the Hussainiwala memorial to pay respects to the martyrs and freedom fighters of Punjab and address a rally of the BJP+ alliance.

The Prime Minister could not reach Ferozepur due to a security breach that has shaken the entire nation and is now being investigated under the scrutiny of the Supreme Court.  The matter, being sub-judice, cannot be commented upon but what can be said is that opposition parties used the incident to create a wave of apprehension across Punjab. It was alleged that Punjab will be put under President’s rule and the elections would be postponed. The ruling Congress even attempted to give the incident a Punjab versus rest of India spin.

It goes to the credit of the Union Government that it dealt with the huge crisis with utmost maturity. While the incident was kept within the confines of a security crisis that needed to be thoroughly investigated, no political vendetta was resorted to. No move was made to put the state under President’s rule, instead, the Election Commission announced the elections within three days of the incident occurring. This was an exhibition of democracy at its best considering that there are earlier instances where other parties, while in power, declared President’s rule in states for far smaller reasons. 

Not only that, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh  on 9 January, 2022, personally declared 26 December as “Veer Bal Dives” to honour the sacrifice of the Sahibzadas (sons of Guru Gobind Singh). He, so clearly, exhibited his love and respect for Punjab and all Punjabis, especially Sikhs. He put a firm cap on all abrasive rhetoric that was being generated because of the security breach, mostly on social media through the forces that wish to generate unrest in Punjab.

The will of the BJP+ alliance to work selflessly for Punjab was exhibited during the course of this very serious incident of breach of the prime minister’s security. The alliance has firmly exhibited its confidence of winning over Punjab on the strength of the ballot.

The people have noticed that while the other parties make promises of small doles like free/subsidised electricity, free bus passes, free water, money to women, etc., the BJP+ alliance speaks of good governance, rapid double-engine growth, fool proof law and order, enhanced employment opportunities, good health and education facilities, etc. The doles being offered by other parties are, in fact, going against them since Punjabis are too proud to extend their hands out to for help, they are looking for an honourable life where they get due remuneration for their hard work. They realise that only the BJP can provide such a life.

The people of Punjab are, by now, well aware of the good intentions of the BJP+ alliance and the goodwill that Prime Minister Narendra Modi holds towards them. They are also well aware of the fact that the other parties simply do not have the means to do any good for Punjab; they will only suck the state and its people dry to fill their own coffers.

The wave, therefore, is fast converging in favour of the BJP+ alliance, it being the only entity on ground that can provide credible good governance of the type that can propel Punjab to its lost glory of being the number one state in the country.

Pakistani regime’s lies and deceit on Afghanistan

Afghan Taliban’s seizure of Kabul in August last year was met with great jubilation across Pakistan for several reasons. Pakistan’s anti-U.S. lobby saw America’s ignoble exit from Afghanistan as an appropriate affront for the shabby way in which Washington had been treating Islamabad. On the other hand, fundamentalists viewed U.S. withdrawal alongwith collapse of the ‘puppet’ pro-West Ashraf Ghani government and imposition of sharia law by Afghan Taliban as a big ‘victory’ for Islam.

Even the simple folks with no ultra-nationalistic leanings or fundamentalist mindset were happy since they truly believed the government [and Pakistan Army’s] claim that the entire problem of terrorism that Pakistan faced was being orchestrated by India from Afghanistan through terrorist groups like Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan [TTP]. Accordingly, they were confident that with Afghanistan under Taliban’s control, India’s purported “state sponsored terrorism” against Pakistan would finally come to an end.

Barely a week after Taliban seized Kabul, Pakistan’s Information Minister Fawad Chaudhary yet once again reiterated Islamabad’s allegation that TTP was being financed by India. While speaking to the media, he said, “We should be satisfied to know with regards to the TTP, that for the first time the process of Indian funding [to TTP], which had been going on for a long time, has ended and at this time they are in disarray”. However, the prevailing situation on ground didn’t endorse Chaudhary’s avowal because far from being “in disarray”, TTP stepped-up its attacks against Pakistani security forces.

In fact, such was the ferocity of violence perpetrated by TTP that Islamabad [with obvious approval of Rawalpindi] was forced to enter into a ceasefire agreement and hold dialogue with this terrorist group, which was responsible for the gruesome murder of 148 people [including 134 school children] during the 2014 Army School Peshawar [APS] massacre. Considering that the students killed were predominantly wards of Pakistani defence forces, isn’t entering into negotiations with TTP a rather unflattering commentary on Pakistan Army?

Rawalpindi had very high expectations from Afghan Taliban, and rightly so. For two decades, it had not only hosted Taliban leadership, but also enraged the international community by providing military hardware and logistical support to this proscribed terrorist group which was fighting the US-led coalition forces in Afghanistan.

So much so that in the October of 2016, Pakistan’s  daily Dawn carried an exposé aptly titled, “Act against militants or face international isolation, civilians tell military,which revealed how “In a blunt, orchestrated and unprecedented warning, the civilian government has informed the military leadership of a growing international isolation of Pakistan and sought consensus on several key actions by the state.” 

Two years later the then U.S. President Donald Trump, in his New Year tweet wrote- “The United States has foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies & deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools. They give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more!” Even though Washington suspended financial aid to Islamabad which triggered the economic crisis due to which Pakistan is today in a state of near-bankruptcy, Pakistan army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa still didn’t make any amends.

Having played a gracious host to Afghan Taliban for two decades and helping it militarily which accelerated Afghanistan National Army’s defeat, Rawalpindi was confident that an indebted Afghan Taliban would most certainly do its bidding as a return-favour. To further ensure that the Taliban government in Kabul remained pliable, Pakistan army took pains to ensure that members of its most favourite protégé [Haqqani network] occupy positions of power in the new setup [Remember how chief of Pakistan army’s spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence [ISI] Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed air dashed to Kabul for this purpose?]

Afghan Taliban’s refusal to take action against TTP may have come as a big shock to Rawalpindi, but this was expected as both groups have fought shoulder-to-shoulder against coalition forces in Afghanistan. Whatever doubts remained were dispelled when Afghan Taliban unconditionally set free TTP members who had been jailed by the previous regime. So, while Afghan Taliban may deny any affiliation with TTP, but this is just theatrics as it can’t afford to turn its guns on TTP at this point of time for several reasons.

Firstly, Afghan Taliban and TTP share the common ideology of establishing sharia rule in their respective countries and so, acting against TTP would antagonise the fundamentalist faction within Afghan Taliban. Secondly, since TTP has assisted Afghan Taliban in combat, acting against it at Pakistan’s bidding is tantamount to betrayal, and being violative of the time-honoured ‘Pashtunwali code’, unacceptable. Thirdly, use of force against TTP could make this group lean towards Afghan Taliban’s arch-enemy Islamic State- Khorasan Province [IS-K], which would make things more difficult for Kabul.

So, in order to protect its own interests, Afghan Taliban will in all probability replicate the brazen skulduggery of hunting with the hounds and running with the hare that its mentor Pakistan exhibited as a “front-line state” during the U.S.-led war on terror in Afghanistan.

It seems that for Islamabad, the chickens have finally come home to roost!

Tailpiece: In the coming days, it won’t be surprising to find Prime Minister Imran Khan [or more appropriately, his army chief Gen Bajwa] borrowing President Trump’s 2018 tweet that may read, thus: ‘Pakistan has foolishly hosted Afghan Taliban over the last two decades, and they have given us nothing but lies & deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools. They give safe haven to the TTP terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more!’ .

BNA targets Lahore in retaliation to Pak Army atrocities on Baloch women and children

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Violence is bad. Violence is no solution to any problem. Agreed. But what should a community, a colonized nation do when violence is thrust upon it and state-sponsored violent attacks take place all round the year on its people? Yes I am talking about the hapless Baloch and the systematic violence carried out by the Pakistani regime across occupied Balochistan. The Baloch Nationalist Army (BNA) retaliated Thursday by planting bombs at Anarkali bazar in Lahore targeting police and bank executives, symbols of Pakistani regime.

In most parts of the civilized world Balochistan remains an alien word. Even for the select few who may have heard about Balochistan look towards this occupied nation through the eyes of Pakistan’s Punjab province. This has emboldened Rawalpindi to successfully mask its genocide in Balochistan under the garb of curbing Baloch insurgency. ISPR (Inter-Services Public Relations) the propaganda arm of Pakistan Army justifies military operations across Balochistan as its efforts to curb terrorism.

It’s not the ISPR’s shenanigans that bothers me, what worries me instead is the naivety of civilized world that happily laps up ISPR’s falsities. How else can one call the retaliation of Baloch insurgents on Pakistani regime as a terrorist attack. Did the world ever bother to condemn the cold blooded murder of Taj Bibi? When Pakistani forces shot dead Baloch student Hayat Baloch? When activist Karima Baloch was eliminated in Canada by Pakistan’s ISI? When journalist Sajid Hussain was silently murdered by the ISI in Sweden? NO.

Over 70,000 Baloch went ‘Missing’, rather ‘Disappeared’ during the last two decades. And all these 70,000 are ordinary people. There are doctors, engineers, lawyers, professors, students, housewives, businessmen and children who were abducted by the Pakistani forces during the last decade and a half. Did we hear any outrage by any of the international human rights organization? Did the haloed United Nations (UN) ever take cognizance about these Enforced Disappearances? NO

During 2021 Pakistani forces conducted 600 military operations across Balochistan and abducted over 650 Baloch, whereabouts of whom remains unknown. More than 290 Baloch dead bodies were recovered who were killed by Frontier Corps (FC), Pakistan Army and ISI-backed Death Squads. The Pakistani security forces set ablaze more than 1000 Baloch homes and looted another 1900 Baloch homes. These aren’t bland statistics, rather a gigantic humanitarian crisis. Think of the Baloch families whose loved ones were killed or abducted, their houses set on fire and women taken upon as sex slaves by the Pakistan Army. And this isn’t a movie script or some figment of imagination, either. Did the media write about these atrocities? Did the human rights organizations or the US ever castigate Pakistani regime for Baloch carnage? NO

What are the options left for the hapless Baloch? What should they do if not pick up arms and retaliate against the colonizing Pakistan Army and shoo them away from their motherland, Balochistan.

Lahore blasts carried out by the newly formed Baloch Nationalist Army (BNA) is just a manifestation of collective Baloch anger. This anger and pain is about the civilized world’s neglect of the Baloch cause.

Soon after the blasts at Anarkali Bazaar in Lahore the BNA spokesperson took the responsibility. Even a cursory look at the media statement of Baloch Nationalist Army (BNA) should have given the perspective and background for Lahore attack.

“The Lahore blast was in response to the killing of women and children by Pakistani forces in Balochistan,” said Mureed Baloch BNA spokesperson.

Ironically, yet again, some prominent media organizations fell into the information trap laid by the ISPR. India Today and Times of India said (based on PTI report) that the place of Lahore blast is known for selling Indian commodities. Aaj Tak went a step further and termed the Lahore blast as a terrorist attack on Pakistan!

Prominent Indian media groups fell into ISPR’s information trap and called Lahore blasts as terrorist attack. (Photo collage: News Intervention)

These headlines and the reportage would have definitely brought smiles to ISPR (Inter-Services Public Relations) who managed to turn world’s attention from Pakistan Army’s genocide in Balochistan towards the attack on Anarkali bazar Lahore that sells Indian commodities.

Sadly, this will not quell the violence rather escalate it further. The root cause of this mindless violence spree is Pakistan Army’s ongoing genocide across Balochistan. And the first step towards stopping this is the acknowledgement that Pakistani regime is the perpetrator of violence.

Statement of the Baloch Nationalist Army (BNA) explaining the reasons of Lahore blast.

Indian media must shun the practice of looking anything and everything in their neighbourhood through ISPR lens, more so in the case of Balochistan.

It’s time the world sits up and take note of the rampant and massive violence across Balochistan and impose sanctions on Rawalpindi.

Outside Looking In: What is Blasphemy? What is Honour?

What is honour? Pakistan has the highest number of honour killings of any nation-state in the entire world. Is this an honourable state of affairs for the State?

In Pakistan, most appear to be women; women are murdered for dishonouring the family honour more than men in Pakistan. Is this honouring women?

Gulalai Ismail fled from Pakistan because of the impacts on her from the military forces and the theocratic control mechanisms, so a dual network of control in which a women’s rights defender had to flee. Her and her sister, Saba Ismail, have been highly important to articulating the rights of women and girls. Is this an honourable set of systems for governance?

They spoke to Pashtun rights; they spoke to rights of women survivors of sexual violence by state forces. That’s religious and armed forces oppressing and threatening the lives of family and individual women for arguing for the equal status of women. Is this reflective of an honourable religious leadership and armed forces?

I see nothing honourable in trying to kill, scare, or imprison, individuals who fight for equality, justice, and fairness. Nothing is new in Pakistan in regard to this. What about actual murders? Are these honourable? In fact, are these common or uncommon?

‘Qandeel Baloch’/Fouzia Azeem was murdered by her brother, M. Waseem, via drugging and asphyxiation for bringing disrepute to the family’s honour.

Ayman Udas was shot by two of her brothers.

Tasleem Khatoon Solangi was tortured and killed.

Three teens and two middle-aged women were beaten, shot, and buried alive in Balochistan in 2008.

Farzana Iqbal, née Parveen, was shot to death.

Saba Qaiser was beaten and shot in the head, though amazingly survived.

Samia Shahid was raped and strangled to death.

A Pakistani mother has burned her daughter alive.

Rozi Khan and Zainab Khan were shot; in fact, Rozi was shot to death.

In 2018, a 19-year-old woman was murdered in Karachi, Pakistan, and claimed as a “sinful woman.”

Shafilea Iftikhar Ahmed was murdered for becoming too westernized.

Sandeela Kanwal was murdered by her father.

Ghazala Khan was shot and killed by her brother.

Rukhsana Naz was murdered by family members.

Aqsa Parvez was murdered by her father, via strangulation.

Hina Saleem was murdered by her father slitting her throat 28 times.

Sadia Sheikh was shot to death by her brother.

The Kohistan video showed, at least, three girls murdered.

Samia Sarwar was shot to death.

What is honourable in these acts? Is the goal to make women’s rights defenders, such as Gulalai Ismail and Saba Ismail, or simply women and men making free and personally informed choices, subject to threat & fear of murder by close family – including father, mother, or brother – or the State?

Blasphemy is similar to these cases in the illegitimate use of force and threat of murder against innocent people who merely use words or make free choices in expression, similarly as women and men make free choices stated as dishonouring the family or otherwise.

‘Ayaz Nizami’/Abdul Waheed has received the death penalty for blasphemy, for words, as an example.

A god, Allah, infinitely powerful, all-knowing, and all-good, cannot carry out these acts for him, requires state apparatuses, religious fundamentalists, military personnel, and public conscience incapable of handling criticism, free women, or the mere existence of atheists in their midst. “But why go public with the words?”

Fair enough, some can live freely expressing opinions and others cannot. Inherently hypocritical, but open and honest in it, “But isn’t this all in the past?” Not truly, Abdul Waheed’s case is happening now.

Taimoor Raza was sentenced to death for ‘committing blasphemy’ on Facebook within the last little while.

80 people are imprisoned for blasphemy right now: Abdul Waheed is the most notable case as a public agnostic/atheist. Half of the 80, at least, have been sentenced to death, according to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.

The honour killings have been happening over the past two decades or so, in and out of Pakistan for those with Pakistani heritage – probably longer. It’s the culture of family honour entrenched as a mechanism to murder dissenters, exported or kept internal to the country, which is the issue.

Even recently, Aneeqa Ateeq, she was lured into a religious discussion group on WhatsApp and made comments about ‘holy personages,’ obviously critical. She has been sentenced to death.

So, I, and countless others like me, Muslim and non-Muslim alike, ask, “What is the honour here?”

What is honourable in killing others by the State, by religious dictates, by armed forces, by family (father, mother, or brother), or otherwise?

Did not the Quran state, “Therefore We ordained for the Children of Israel that he who slays a soul unless it be (in punishment) for murder or for spreading mischief on earth shall be as if he had slain all mankind; and he who saves a life shall be as if he had given life to all mankind.”? [Surah Al-Ma’idah Ayat 32 (5:32 Quran)]

If one praises the murderers, one praises those whom The Holy Quran claims have “slain all mankind.” You make the vote when you pick the side – and apathy is picking the side of the murderer, too, in many ways, passively, because a human being’s life has been taken wrongfully.

Blasphemy or dishonour to family, murder is murder and is a dishonourable act; and, indeed, we all know this, but, sometimes, act otherwise, and will continue to do so, I presume to the deaf to the message of this article or the blind to the meaning of its intent: Universalism for all humanity.

Photo by Hamid Roshaan on Unsplash

Mixed History: On Sir James Douglas

Long fore-running the days of all the major visitation spots in British Columbia, before the time of the founding of Canada on July 1, 1867, prior to the foundation of Fort Langley (though concomitant with it, later), definitively before the title of “Fort Langley National Historical Site of Canada,” or the places of art and the galleries[1], the accommodations[2], the restaurants[3], the businesses dealing in finance and real estate[4], the floral and bridal and antique shops[5], the gift and health & beauty shops[6], visitation spots and services[7], or any of the local community groups and activities and events and items[8], or the introduction of highly educated and well-to-do Evangelical Christians throughout the area from Trinity Western University, the fights at the Supreme Court of Canada for the Evangelical law school, the infamous artist and developer fights[9], or the civic debates of the Township of Langley Cllrs.[10], or such inane, and banal and almost pointless, meanderings as written by the current author on the subject(s) surrounding Fort Langley[11], there existed one individual by the name of Jim Douglas, or Sir James Douglas, KCB[12] (no known relation).*[13] A man whose life seems more titivating with nuance added to the story, small enhancements made clear, while learning more about him: Mr. Mix-A-Lot.

So many parties wish to lay claim to the titular ownership of “Fort Langley National Historic Site of Canada,” only a few wish to understand without claiming it. There’s a vast gulf between the former and the latter only learned through hard experience and conversations with the peoples of the area, settler or not. Douglas was the Governor of British Columbia 1858–1864 and of Vancouver Island 1851 to 1864. He did not start here. Born August 15th, 1803, in Demerara, Guyana (formerly British Guiana), his legacy between and death — on August 2nd, 1877 — remains the founding of British Columbia or, more colloquially, as “The Father of British Columbia.” Neither a minor figure in the community village nor in the provincial history, he set the tone and calibre of the attractiveness of the colonial outposts here. He assisted the Hudson Bay Company acquire a trade monopoly in the Pacific Northwest, as the Chief Factor of HBC from 1839 to 1858. He helped establish British rule west of the Rocky Mountains as the governor of Vancouver Island and British Columbia. A part of this had to do with the negotiation of land purchases with the First Nations. His career took him through the Fraser River Gold Rush, Cariboo Gold Rush, and the Fraser Canyon War.

Guyana, at the time of his birth, was a Dutch colony. His father, John Douglas, owned a cotton and sugar plantation in Demerara. John was a Scottish Merchant who came from the Earls of Angus. One of the oldest of the known mormaerdoms, regional/provincial rulers. His mother, Martha Ann Ritchie, was born in Bardados as a free woman of colour. ‘Person of colour’ referred to someone of mixed African and European heritage. In other words, a non-enslaved mixed ‘race’ woman. Martha met John while he was on the plantation business. They never married and had three children with John returning to Scotland, and who married in 1809 to begin anew with another family. Sir James Douglas — a man of mixed ‘race’ or ethnic heritage — and his brother, Alexander Douglas, were sent to Lanark, Scotland, to become educated. James never went back to Demerara and never saw his mother again — such were the times. They had three children together, though they never married. John Douglas returned to Scotland, where he married in 1809 and started a second family.

With the North West Company or the NWC, (Sir James) Douglas was 15 when he became a part of the working staff. He apprenticed with them, then sailed to Montreal, so was working in the fur trade learning its accounting practices. There was a period of intense competition between the NWC and the Hudson Bay Company or the HBC at the time. It was a mostly economic battle between trade giants. Douglas was caught in this as a teenager. Apparently, in 1820, he fought an HBC guide, Patrick Cunningham, in a bloodless duel. When the NWC merged with the HBC, Douglas became employed by the HBC. The HBC won the economic war. His first posting was in 1826 at Fort St. James in the mainland of modern British Columbia. Chief Factor, William Connolly, requested Douglas to become part of the overland fur brigade at Fort Alexandria to Fort Vancouver. Such as the times were, Douglas, in fact, married Connolly’s daughter, Amelia. Now, bearing in mind, Douglas comes from a mixed-race mother or free woman of colour and a Scottish father; Amelia’s mother was Cree. Ergo, a mixed ethnic background — First Nations and European — wife, Amelia, and mixed Guyanese and Scottish husband, James (Douglas), for a mixed ethnic coupling.

Which is to say, taking a moment to opine, even for today, this retains a character of the revolutionary to it. In that, even within the modern discourse of inter-ethnic couples, striving new paths and creating bridges in Afro-Canadian and Indigenous lives, Douglas simply did it. He did more, talked less. Amelia and James married on April 27th, 1828, and, again, at an Anglican ceremony in Fort Vancouver (1837). Something of a renewal of vows, presumably, and a sacralization of the union under the auspices of the Anglican Church. Within Fort Vancouver, Chief Factor John McLoughlin was the boss of Douglas, while Douglas was the superintendent of Columbia District fur trade for two decades. Douglas went to Alaska in 1840 to negotiate trade/boundary deals with the Russian American Company. Much of Douglas’s efforts vis-à-vis trade and boundary building appears part of a local effort against international efforts, including the Russians, though more acutely the Americans, with an increase in the American influence on the Pacific Northwest, Douglas started the construction of Fort Victoria (1843). Circa 1846, British North America in the West and the United States had a border set at the 49th parallel based on the Oregon Treaty (June 15th, 1846). Originally, the land was jointly held by the Americans and the British through the 1818 Treaty. This was monumental to British-American relations. The HBC moved from Fort Vancouver, presumably as a response. Douglas began a new fur brigade from Fort Langley to New Caledonia, then Fort Victoria became the place for furs shipped from the interior for the HBC.

With the continued threat of American expansionism, Vancouver Island was made a Crown colony (January 13th, 1849). Douglas was appointed an agent for the HBC on the island. Interestingly, in a twist of finance and trade overruling political power, Richard Blanshard was chosen by the British government as the governor; however, as it turns out, Blanshard found most of the associations were held in the hands of the HBC with the individual British colonists mostly associated with the HBC and power invested in the chief factor of the HBC — by that time, James Douglas, himself. In short, he chose to resign and leave Vancouver Island (August, 1851). ‘Why bother?,’ in other words. On October 30th, 1851, Sir James Douglas was selected as governor. In association with the HBC and while the governor, he was criticized for a conflict of interest. Even further, and not to his credit, Douglas appointed his brother-in-law as the chief justice of the Supreme Court of the time. Circa 1856, Douglas was — by definition — elitist in considering people wanting the rule classes to make the decisions for them. Sort of, ‘Get them, the fray, out of our hair, and let us get one with making the important decisions,’ as the attitude, that’s astonishing for someone of mixed ethnic heritage from Demerara. When making a legislative assembly — based on a request from the Colonial Office, Douglas put property qualifications on the right to vote. In other words, only a few could count for membership in the assembly: land-owners versus the rest, in short. Sir James Douglas was not democratic; he was anti-democracy, or a timocratist erring more on land-ownership side rather than the inherent sense of honour. In ironic fashion, we, in modern democratic Canada, honour Sir James Douglas, the timocrat who opposed universal suffrage.[14]

Between 1850 and 1854, Douglas negotiated land treaties with First Nations on Vancouver Island. 14 in total. The Fort Victoria Treaties or Douglas Treaties were cash, clothing, blankets, hunting and fishing rights, etc., in barter for land. In traditional colonial fashion, Douglas left the terms of the agreements blank at the time of the signing. So, the clauses were added at a later time. Is anyone else seeing a problem here? Douglas, in this wrinkle, too, was not a saint; he was through-and-through a settler in mind. Some oral history from the Indigenous claim the signatories — the Indigenous signatories — thought the signings were land sharing deals or peace signings, so sharing and not ceding land. Do you see the issue? The X signed looked like the Christian symbol of the cross, so a spiritual gesture — not the proverbial John Handcock, and so on and so forth. With the coming of Americans from California, too, during the Fraser River Gold Rush, the numbers of Americans to British subjects began to swell. So as to protect the land for the Crown (the British rulers), Douglas claimed the land and minerals for them. Licenses were given to miners to prevent invasion. This was seen as an attempt to keep HBC monopolization. He was reprimanded by the Colonial Office.

Douglas was a completely sympathetic individual to the British. He was a loyalist. Even so far as to go to the San Francisco Black community to find migrants sympathetic to the Crown, the issue was the increasing numbers of American migrants coming to the areas around Douglas without necessary identity links to Britain. Since the United States Supreme Court declared free and enslaved Black Americans unable to acquire citizenship in 1857, Douglas, ever the man looking for opportunities, offered citizenship after 5 years of land ownership. A few hundred Black American families moved to the colony in Victoria. In some ways, one can ask, “Is this good or bad?” It was politically opportunistic in service to the British; it was socially beneficial in giving the disenfranchisemed some modicum of enfranchisement. It depends on the aperture and the angle of the lighting.

Nlaka’pamux communities were the Indigenous communities along the Fraser River. Douglas worried of bloodshed between the Nlaka’pamux and the American miners, and warned the British who could not respond in time. American miners came and reached the lower Fraser River. Sexual violence was reported to happen against the Nlaka’pamux women. Gold was mined without Nlaka’pamux communities’ consultation. Nlaka’pamux fishing was interrupted. Nlaka’pamux communities armed to protect themselves, some of them. Douglas ordered one gunboat on the Fraser River and wanted licenses from miners who went to find gold. Having no army, so no force, and asking for help from the British, the British responded to the plea for help: Staking a claim to the Fraser River as part of the Crown. Alas, August, 1858 found Nlaka’pamux communities and the miners at war. Some 36 people (5 chiefs) were murdered, 3 were imprisoned, and unknown others were wounded. 5 Nlaka’pamux communities were burned down by the miners. By August 22nd, a truce was set. Comically, Douglas arrived with 35 armed men from the British government, though the fighting had ended by that point — fruitless pursuit of peace when a truce has been brokered.

Gold changes everything. Britain chose to remove the HBC privileges during March of 1859 with the discovery of gold. Douglas was made governor of British Columbia while on condition of no more ties to the fur trade industry. Although, governor of Vancouver Island at the time. He was inaugurated as governor of British Columbia in — of all places — Fort Langley, then made Companion of the Order of the Bath for work as governor on Vancouver Island. Fort Langley almost became the first capital of British Columbia. On January 6th, 1859, Royal Engineer Commanding Officer Colonel Richard Clement Moody went by Fort Langley en route to Yale. After visitation of the site, he decided a better place would be New Westminster, which became the first capital of British Columbia. With 1866 came the merger of the colonies of Vancouver Island and British Columbia, thereafter, Victoria became the capital of British Columbia. Douglas focused on the welfare of miners and setting reserves, via gold commissioners, for the Indigenous peoples. He, probably, didn’t want a repeat of war, as before, and worked on a land policy inclusive of mineral rights. In 1860, British Columbians wanted a form of popular government. He had to be confronted by the citizens, in other words. Whatever the response, the citizens were not happy with Douglas’s response to them. They petitioned the London Colonial Office in 1863. Douglas, subsequently, retired in 1864; these petitioners may or may not have influenced the decision. He was given the title of “Sir” as a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath, thusly came to be known — to the plains-folk of the land of Fort Langley — as Sir James Douglas of Douglas Day fame. He died of a heart attack on August 2nd, 1877, incidentally the informal birth date of In-Sight Publishing (2012). All information above is publicly available on the “Father of British Columbia.” A governor, a chief factor, a British loyalist or someone tied deeply to the Crown, a latecomer to war needs, a diplomat knowing the influence of material goods to keep communities at peace, a mixed-ethnicity man (European and Guyanese) married to a mixed-ethnicity woman (First Nations and European) in an inter-ethnic union, someone opposed to popular democracy in favour of a form of ‘democracy’ more closely resembling timocracy or rulership by those who own land. Neither entirely evil nor wholly good, a mixed man of mixed heritage with mixed morals leaving a mixed legacy as “The Father of British Columbia.”

[1] Gallery 204, Kube Gallery, Berga Gallery, Barbara Boldt Studio, Jelly Digital Marketing, Fort Photo Images, Photography Elements, Fort Gallery Artists Collective, Fort Langley Artists Group, Elaine Brewer White Studio, The Neighborhood Art School, FREE iWork PAGES Templates, Old Dog Dons ~ Fort Sketches, Van Gogh Painting & Restoration, K’wy’i’y’e Spring Salmon Studio, Susan Galick Fine Art Studio, The Pencil Studio, Artist Linda Muttitt, and Susan Falk — Artist.

[2] Wisteria House in the Fort, Cranberry Country Inn B&B, Princess & the Pea B&B Langley, Fort Langley Camping, Vacation rental management, Lifty Life Hospitality.

[3] Trading Post Brewing Taphouse & Eatery, The Fort Pub & Grill, Wendel’s Books and Cafe, Mangia E Scappa Italian Foods, Seasons Fine Supplements & Juice Bar, lelem’ Arts & Cultural Cafe, Little Donkey Food & Drink, Rail and River Bistro, Saba Café & Bistro, Republica Roasters, Blacksmith Bakery, Beatniks Bistro, Planet 50’s Cafe, Into Chocolate, The Fort Wine Co., Bobs Growcery (Veggie Bob’s Kitchen Café), Lee’s Market, and Subway.

[4] RE/MAX Award Winning Service, Royal LePage Sterling, RE/MAX — Dean Hooseman, RE/MAX — Gloria McGalliard, Royale LePage- Lisa Bakx, Mortgage Professional Nadia Causley, Ivory Accounting and Advisory Services (formerly de Verteuil & Company), Coast Capital Savings — Fort Langley, Ivory Planning Group, Stocking & Cumming, CA, The Paper Clip Bookkeeping, and Nadia ~ Mortgage Services, Stocking & Cumming — CPA, Business Accounting Langley.

[5] Floralista Flower Studio, Niche Boutique Florals, Ivory Bridal — Dresses, Fort Lang Foto, Country Lane Antiques, and Rempel Mercantile.

[6] The Fort Finery, Gallery Beads and Gifts, Chuckling Duckling Farm, Peridot Decorative Homewear, Floralista Flower Design Studio, Blueberry Meadows Interiors, Sxwimela Boutique and Giftstore, Watermelon Tree Baby & Kids, Kizmit Gift Gallery, Bella & Wren Design, Treasure Landing, Fort Langley Cyclery, The Fort Finery, Cranberries Naturally, Floralista Flower Studio, The Happy Kitchen, Aimee B Clothing And Accessories, Pacific Bottleworks Company, DDBooski Clothing, Dove Coterie, A Quilted Stitch, Bagheera Boutique, Roxanns Hats, Diana’s Sheepskins & Gifts, Roxanns of Fort Langley, Aimee B Clothing, I.D. Salon, SuCasa Spa & Laser Hair Removal, ThriveLife Counselling & Wellness, Pharmasave Fort Langley, Incrediball — The Core Store, Fort Langley Dental Office, Fort Family Chiropractic, Evergreen Chiropractic, Fort Physio Clinic, Fort Sport and Family Physio, Health Roots & Reflexology, Hardman Acupuncturist & TCM, Fort Langley Massage Therapy, TAP True Aromatherapy Products, Integrated Health Clinic, Fort Langley Colonics, Rees Personal Training, ID Hair Salon, TinyKittens Society, and Fort Langley Colonics.

[7] Fort Langley Community Hall, Fort Langley Spirit Square, B.C. Farm Machinery Museum, Langley Centennial Museum, Heritage C.N. Rail Station, Fort Langley Firehall #2, Fort Langley Golf Course, Redwoods Golf Course, Pagoda Ridge Golf Course, Double Header Sport Fishing, Fort Langley Air Floatplane Tours, Mountain View Conservation Centre, Park Lane ~ Bedford Landing, Dogwood Christmas Tree Farm, Trinity Western University, Fort Langley Evangelical Free Church, Living Waters Church, Fraser Point Church — Meeting Place, St George’s Anglican Church, United Churches of Langley — St. Andrew’s Chapel, Vineyard Christian Fellowship, Fraser Point Church Offices, Jubilee Church, and Fellowship Pacific, Brae Island Regional Park, Fort Langley Cemetery, Fort Langley Veterinary Clinic, Waldo & Tubbs Pet Supplies, Strands Bead Company, Spacial Effects Design Inc., Thunderbird Show Park, Dogwood Christmas Tree Farm, Devry Greenhouses, Cedar Rim Nursery, Krause Berry Farms, Driediger Farms, Fort Langley Dental Office, Fort Langley Locksmith, Expedia Cruise Ship Center, Goretti Faria — Family Therapy, Fort Langley Childcare, Fort Langley Web Design, Paper Clip Bookeeping, Stirling Noyes | Design and Marketing, Maven Fort Langley, Fort Horseless Carriage Service Ltd., Spacial Effects Design Inc., Custom Line Homes, Coast Pro Contracting, Site Lines Architecture, Special Effects Interior Design, Fort Fabrication and Welding Ltd., Fort Langley Lumber, Cassian Contracting, B&D Excavating, Local Musician John Gilliat, Heritage Music School, Red Stone Alley Blues Band, Cascades Casino, and Krazy Bobs Music Emporium.

[8] Seyem’ Qwantlen Business Group, Fort Langley Youth Rowing Society, Fort Langley Community Rowing Club, Fort Langley Canoe Club, History of Fort Langley, History of the Albion Ferry, Langley Weavers and Spinners Guild, Biodegradeables ~ Organic Recycling, Eric Woodward Foundation, The Fort Langley Project, Fort Langley Community Association, Langley Heritage Association, Fort Langley BIA (Dissolved), Fort Langley Canoe Club, Fort Langley Canoe Club Paddle Pushers, Fort Langley Canoe Club Sun Dragons, Fort Langley Canoe Club Fraser Dragons, Fort Langley Canoe Club Spirit of a Renegade, Fort Langley Canoe Club Dragon Spirit, Fort Langley Canoe Club Dragon Alliance, Fort Langley Canoe Club Women on Water, Fort Langley Canoe Club Chicks Ahoy, Fort Langley Canoe Club Kindred Spirits, Fort Langley Canoe Club Fort Fusion, Fort Langley Canoe Club Fortified, Fort Langley Canoe Club Vikings, Fort Langley Canoe Club Fort Fury, and Fort Langley Canoe Club Abreast with Fortitude, Fort Langley Canoe Club Dragonflies, Fort Langley Canoe Club — Kayak, Cranberry Festival, Bloom Designer Market, Fort Langley Mayday Parade, Historic Fort Half Marathon, St. George’s British Motoring Show, Fort Langley Celebration of the Arts, Chief Sepass Theatre, Fort Langley Farmer’s Market, The Fort Wine Company, Circle Farm Self Guided Tours, Double Header Sport Fishing, and, formerly, the Albion Ferry (before 2010).

[9] In the recent years, the infamous fights happened between prominent Kwelexwelsten, Kwantlen First Nation artist, Brandon Gabriel (Brandon Gabriel-Kwelexwecten) — and owner of Well Seasoned gourmet foods inc. (2004-) and former Township of Langley Cllr. (2014–2018), Angie Quaale — and developer and Cllr. Eric Woodward.

[10] Mayor Jack Froese, Councillor Petrina Arnason, Councillor David Davis, Councillor Steve Ferguson, Councillor Margaret Kunst, Councillor Bob Long, Councillor Kim Richter, Councillor Blair Whitmarsh, and Councillor Eric Woodward.

[11]Addendum on Wagner Hills Farm Society/Ministries,” “Municipal Case Study: British Columbia and Permissive Tax Exemptions,” “Suffering’s Fortress — Not Bad or Lost People, But Bad and Lost Theology,” “The Fantastic Capacity for Believing the Incredible,” “The Message of William Marrion Branham: Responses Commentary,” “Freethought for the Small Towns: Case Study,” and “Canadians’ and Others’ Convictions to Divine Interventionism in the Matters of the Origins and Evolution.”

[12] Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath.

[13] All hyperlinks and publicly acquired information availablehere.

[14] Fort Langley celebrates Douglas Day in honour of Sir James Douglas.

Photo by Robbie Down on Unsplash

Pervez Domki stands up to Pak Army, attains martyrdom

Pervez Domki attained martyrdom while fighting valiantly with the Pakistani forces at Sibi in Pakistan-occupied Balochistan on Tuesday. Pervez Domki was from the Baloch Republican Guards (BRG) who continued to fight even after Pakistani soldiers had taken his mother into custody and were using her as a pawn to force him to surrender.

As a true Baloch freedom fighter Pervez Domki chose to fight. He killed several soldiers of the Frontier Corps (FC), including one officer, and injured several others. The desperate Pakistanis, in a display of blatant barbarism, killed Domki’s mother in cold blood.

The Pakistani Frontier Corps personnel who were killed by Pervez Domki include SM Rana Muhammad Aslam, while the injured include Major Anwar Kamal and Hawaldar Rehmatullah, among others.

The Pakistani military officials started this operation on a tip-off in Loni area of ​​Sibi when they encircled Domki’s house and took his mother into custody.

A spokesman for the Baloch Republican Armed Forces (BRG), said in his media statement that the BRG’s regional commander Pervez Jan Domki was engaged in a battle in Loni Sibi with the occupying Pakistani forces. “Pervez Domki attained martyrdom along with his mother after a long resistance.”

The BRG spokesman added that in a historic resistance Commander Pervez Domki killed several Pakistani personnel, including a senior officer of the enemy army. “When he ran out of bullets he followed the Baloch philosophy of last bullet and shot himself, rather than let the Pakistanis capture him alive.”

Shaheed Pervez Domki had been associated with the Baloch national armed resistance since 2013. Domki had carried out several successful attacks on the occupying enemy in and around Sibi Jaffarabad. He was a successful civilian guerrilla soldier. Considering his abilities, he was appointed as the Regional Operational Commander five years ago. Until his martyrdom, he continued to fulfill his responsibility in the best possible way. BRG paid heartfelt tributes and saluted him for his supreme sacrifice.

“We want to make it clear that during this battle the occupying Pakistani forces had arrested Pervez Jan Domki’s mother and shot her dead after they could not force Domki to surrender and their soldiers continued to fall to Domki’s bullets. This only shows the insanity of the occupying Pakistani forces,” explained the spokesman of Baloch Republican Guards (BRG).

The central spokesperson of Baloch National Movement (BNM) termed the Pakistani barbarism in Sibi as a continuation of its barbaric act and inflicting collective punishment on innocent Baloch people. BNM said that the mother of Baloch activist Shaheed Pervez Domki was taken into custody and martyred during the military operation in Loni Sibi.

“By infiltrating Balochistan, Pakistani soldiers are violating Baloch values. In a society where women are highly respected, such brutality is tantamount to defying Baloch traditions. Pakistan Army will be held accountable for all these crimes,” added the central spokesperson of BNM.

Do you know the real Ajay Ajit Peter Kerkar?

Kerkar, the main promoter of Cox and Kings, is lodged at the Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai. He has tied himself in knots after investigators have drilled several holes in his defence.

Intricate details about the way cash was siphoned out from Cox and Kings are coming out like worms from the closet of company’s top promoter Peter Kerkar, currently lodged in Mumbai’s Arthur Road Jail.

As many as three charge sheets out of ten have been filed by investigators trying to get to the bottom of the case, the list includes the Economic Offences Wing of Mumbai Police, Enforcement Directorate, Central Bureau of Investigation and the Ministry of Finance.

At stake is a whopping Rs 8,000 crore and over 2500 jobless employees demanding an estimated Rs 100 crore as their dues. They have not been paid.

But details of how the cash was swindled has first surfaced from a 200-page report filed by the EOW, a copy of which is with this reporter.

The EOW report comes 15 months after cops on the railway tracks found the body of Sagar Deshpande, a chartered accountant employed by Cox & Kings as its finance manager. Deshpande had agreed to become a witness in the cases being probed by the investigators. And then, very mysteriously his body was found on the railway tracks in Thane, Mumbai, on October 12, 2020, days before he was to reportedly testify and provide documents to the ED. Mumbai Police continues to investigate circumstances behind his unnatural death. The EOW report highlights views of his colleagues who found him under tremendous pressure having done what was asked of him and now was fearful that he would be accused of the same.

Peter Kerkar, promoter of Cox and Kings

Top sources say Kerkar is in deep trouble because of the EOW chargesheet which has been submitted to a court in Mumbai, terming the FIRs filed by him against his employees, the company’s top brass and his bankers as false. The report has concluded that Kerkar had filed the FIRs to “safeguard himself from the onus of criminality arising out of 10 cases registered against him.”

The EOW report highlights the following:

  • Stanford-educated Kerkar tried filing FIRs with cops near his office. He failed and then faked an address at a chawl in Sewri near Lower Parel. And when the investigators went to Sewri, his lies collapsed like a pack of cards.
  • The Desai Saksena and Associate forensic report, the foundation of Kerkar’s claims, was  — shockingly — disowned by the accounting firm itself.
  • The firms told the EOW they never had access to the books of account, but were pressured to selectively focus on a Rs 83 crore transaction between Ezeego and Redkite (owned by the CFO of Cox and Kings and its internal auditor). And all this while being stonewalled over their query regarding receivables of Rs 1000 crore from fraudulent parties.
  • As many as 15 fraudulent customers were at the core of bogus revenues being booked to inflate the financial performance of both Cox and Kings and Ezeego. The accounts were masked away from the SAP/Oracle accounting system. The idea, claimed EOW, was to help in the proposed IPO in 2009 of Cox & Kings. So, the scheme to inflate financials and give false sense of security to stakeholders and employees was in place for over a decade.

Kerkar, claimed the EOW, blamed almost anyone and everyone who worked with him, the list was a huge one and ranged from lending banks and their employees to the Ares SSG fund, from who he had raised money, and its partner  and even some of his own employees. The idea, claimed EOW, was to siphon cash and hide the true state of affairs from the promoters. He even pushed the audit firm Desai, Saksena and Associates to write a forensic analysis of the financial health of Cox and Kings Limited, a listed entity, and Ezeego, a privately held promoter company.  

The EOW says the plans were executed cleverly by Peter Kerkar, his sister Urshilla Kerkar and other members of his coterie. The EOW says Peter Kerkar himself negotiated with various banks for loans and presented false and inflated data about the company’s financial status. Kerkar also issued personal guarantees and then claimed his signatures were faked but eventually fell silent when forensic reports claimed that he had actually signed all the papers.

Cox & King employees protesting against the non-payment of their dues.

EOW says an estimated Rs 900 crore was siphoned from Ezeego and diverted into promoters’ companies to either pay off their liabilities and finance loans Kerkar took against his shares in Cox and Kings.

The EOW report is the second nail in the coffin of Kerkar.

Earlier, the UK High Court has dismissed Kerkar’s pleas against SSG Capital and one of its founders, Shyam Maheshwari. The court said Kerkar’s personal bankruptcy proceedings can continue in the UK. The court also said there is no or insufficient evidence to support the allegations made by Kerkar to satisfy the court that there is a real prospect of success.

What is interesting is that the UK Court studied papers offered by Kerkar for over 18 months to come to this conclusion. The ruling by Judge Burton evaluated all evidence tendered and allegations made by Kerkar before dismissing the same.

The court ruled that Kerkar allegations of fraud against creditors and their employees are based on his unsubstantiated belief that Maheshwari, as the controller of SSG entities, is responsible for PHUK’s inability to repay monies it borrowed from SSG with Kerkar as guarantor. The court also said that no further investigation is warranted as there is no reasonable chance of any success.

Ares SSG Capital had lent Rs 500cr (in foreign currency) to PHUK, the holding company of Meininger Hotel. Aside from security of the Meininger Hotel, it had corporate guarantees of Cox and Kings Limited and Mr. Peter Kerkar. On payment default of the loan, Ares SSG invoked personal guarantee of Mr. Peter Kerkar, which he defended vigorously in the UK courts – but ultimately failed to prove any of his allegations.

The UK Judge also highlighted this fact that Kerkar planned a unique defence strategy to prevent the charging of the promoters with banking frauds by blaming the creditors. 

The UK Judgment further said the following: “It is inherently implausible that a man of Mr. Kerkar’s extensive business interests would have been prepared to rely on a statement without accepting his allegations that the guarantees were merely procedural and not to be invoked.”

What is interesting is the defence strategy and allegations made by Kerkar in the UK were similar to those being adopted by him in the Indian proceedings. Kerkar — very strategically — had filed complaints against all banks, employees of these banks, funds including SSG Capital and its Partners and all others whose loans he had defaulted on, blaming them for the downfall of the CKL group.

Incidentally, all the banks, and SSG Capital had filed prior complaints against Kerkar and his sister Urshila, CKL and other relevant employees before the EOW, Mumbai. And what is interesting is that just like the UK Court, the Indian court also saw through Kerkar’s lies before rejecting the bail application in the money laundering case. This is what the PMLA Court in Mumbai said: “When illegal things were uncontrolled and gone beyond capacity of Mr. Ajit Ajay Peter Kerkar as he was taking the account in quarter end of each financial section, he woke up and lodged the report with intent not only to save himself but also to save from the actions to be initiated by the other promoters/directors/shareholders of CKL group of companies. Hence, all this resulted in registration of FIR and led to registration of ECIR, which was dug out by ED in the investigation to show the offence of money laundering”. 

This is not all. 

The Court actually noted that Kerkar was the main perpetrator of cheating and fraud, and misused his position as CEO, possibly in collusion with Anil Khandelwal and Naresh Jain, in siphoning of funds from CKL.

Highly placed sources told this reporter that Kerkar knew that SSG Capital would be able to pin him down abroad — where his illegal assets were parked — and as a result, Kerkar levelled serious allegations against SSG in India, replicating the same in the UK Court.

Kerkar said SSG Capital engineered the default in the UK in order to take over the Meininger Hotel business. Kerkar did not mention that he was on the board of the hotel business. 

Now, the sale process was run by Lazards, a firm of high repute. The process stopped because of the Covid outbreak in early 2020. What worked for SSG Capital and its co-investors was that they provided much needed capital for the COVID hit business to survive. This was quite different from Kerkar letting his employees in India fend for themselves without any recourse.

Kerkar’s allegation that SSG Capital co-founder Maheshwari controlled Redkite, which allegedly benefitted from monies from Cox and Kings indirectly via Ezeego, fell flat. The judge held that Maheshwari was neither a director nor shareholder in Redkite.

The judge further said there was simply no evidence before the Court that Maheshwari would exercise control over Redkite. The judgement rightly noted that “Mr. Kerkar  has failed to provide any evidence beyond his own complaint to the police to show:  i) how Ares SSG Group was involved in Redkite ; ii) how Mr Maheshwari allegedly controlled Redkite; and iii) that monies siphoned away from CKL (of which Mr Kerkar was CEO), to Ezeego (a company controlled and owned by Mr Kerkar and his sister) which were then allegedly transferred to Redkite were ultimately used to fund the acquisition of TFCI.”

The fact that Kerkar has failed in proceedings in Mauritius and the UK in addition to the ongoing Indian proceedings, clearly indicates no judiciary is convinced by his claims.

Flashy Kerkar, who once was a frequent flier between Mumbai and London and sweet talked (read conned) people into deals which eventually failed, is now in a cell in a Mumbai jail. The fact that this long-standing fraudulent scheme continued at Cox and Kings is surprising but not beyond imagination – as similar ponzi schemes have been perpetrated numerous times by people who are seen as nice, dependable, caring, persuasive but ultimately fraudsters.

Set up in 1758, Cox and Kings was the oldest of its kind in the world. It was set up around the time the British rulers established control over large tracts of India after a resounding victory in the Battle of Plassey in Bengal. Cox and Kings is in total doldrums, its employees remain unpaid.