Nov 08, 1999
*** "IT IS that corrosive belief— that the law
cannot touch the high and mighty, while it is wantonly used to crush the poor and
powerless— that has done so much to discredit the idea of democracy in
Pakistan."
(Excerpt from an article ‘Why democracy means little to
Pakistan’s poor’ published by New York Times)
*** "THEY ARE waging genocide against our people,
using weapons that have been banned by the world community."
(Chechen president Aslan Maskhadov’s head of administration on
indiscriminate killing of civilian refugees by Russian artillery and war planes)
*** "CURRENT INTELLIGENCE from a variety of sources
indicates that extreme factions of (Black Hebrew Israelites) groups are preparing for a
race war to close the millennium."
(A 34-page FBI report warning of millennium violence risk by the
radical US members of ‘Black Hebrew Israelites’ who advocate ‘an extreme
form of black supremacy’)
*** "ISOLATING CUBA is not in the best interests of
Illinois or in the best interests of the United States."
(George Ryan, the Governor of Illinois, calling for lifting of US
economic embargo on Cuba. He was the first American governor to visit the island nation in
40 years)
*** "NEVER BEFORE in human history so few have
plundered so much from so many."
(Gen Pervez Musharraf, the chief executive of Pakistan, repharasing a
quote by Winston Churchill to highlight the plunder of financial institutions. About 322
persons owe Rs 220 billion of the politically motivated loans from the nationalised banks
and financial institutions)
*** "THE SWISS would be accomplices or co-conspirators
(in money laundering) if they continued to deny the existence of these Marcos accounts and
gold deposits if solid and corroborating evidence were presented to them."
(Philippine senator Aquilino vowing to build a ‘solid wall’
of evidence to pursue recovery of ill gotten Marcos’ assets from Swiss banks)
*** "THOSE RUNNING the affairs should obey my orders.
The chief of staffs of navy and air force were patriots, and I hope they would make the
administration follow my orders. From November1st, I would make my orders complied
on."
(Supreme Court advocate Chaudhary Arshad Mehloo proclaiming himself the
'prime minister of Pakistan' under Article 184 of the constitution)
*** "WE ARE getting a lot of feedback saying that a
lot of people are going to be home with a video. Everyone is fed up with the millennium
because it is so hyped."
(Spokesman of UK video company on the growing anti-millennium feeling
in Britain as a backlash against extremely high prices)
*** "YOUR HEALTH is precious not only for you but also
for the entire state."
(Chandrababu Naidu, chief minister of Andhra Pradesh state of India, on
organising a three-day yoga and meditation course for top ministers and officials)
*** "LATA: Eau de
Perfum."
(The name of fragrance launched by Indian singer, Lata Mangeshkar,
developed by French perfumer and developer Charles Carusto. The 60 ml bottle of the
perfume carries a price tag of Rs 1,700)
*** "HOSTILITY WILL be met with hostility and peace
will be met with peace . . . I warn the rich to stop sucking the blood of poor
people."
(Gen Pervez Musharraf extending an olive branch to India and warning
the rich Pakistanis to stop exploiting the poor during his first press conference)
*** "[Edinburgh, Scotland] was a better place to be
poor than London . . . A couple of times I did skip meals. There was nothing in the
cupboard"
(Rags to riches British novelist, Joanne Kathleen Rowling, whose books
have been translated into 28 languages including over 8.2 million copies in print in the
US. She has become one of the wealthiest women in England since she started writing novels
three years ago)
*** "THIS IS not new to us, they were paid money in
the past but they were unable to do anything . . . We also ridicule the way the American
administration interferes in the internal affirs of states."
(Iraq’s vice-president Taha Yassin Ramadan criticising the US for
organising a meeting of Iraqi opposition groups in New York)
Edited by Syed M. Aslam
