Education like such as, uh, South Africa and, uh, the Iraq

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Since I’ve had beauty pageant winners on the brain, I thought I’d share this video with the five of you who haven’t seen and rolled your eyes at it yet. I mean, that’s what I did once I realized what she meant by “condone” (way to kinda fake us out on the News Tab, oh person with unintelligible TypeKey handle).

Natasha Paracha is Miss Pakistan World 2008. She’s an alumna of U.C. Berkeley (go bears!), where she majored in Poli-Sci and started an association for Pakistani students. When she’s not confusing important words which commence with the letter “C” ;), she’s thinking about current events, about which she had the following to share:

The recent tragedy in Mumbai was the work of misguided individuals who do not represent a specific religion, creed or nationality…The fact these young men may have links to Pakistan is in no way indicative of the culture and caliber of people that represent Pakistan. It is my hope the world views this tragedy with those thoughts in mind as we all mourn for the victims and their families. [link]

More:

The tragedy in Mumbai has left us all in shock. It is difficult to understand that such violent acts are taking place in metropolitan regions. First, the attacks that were carried out at Marriott in Islamabad and now this…I have family and friends that live close to the Taj and Oberoi and my heart goes out to all those innocent people involved. [link]

All right, now which one of you (or ten of you) went to Cal with her and have stories about that one time she got her belly pierced at Zebra on a dare, and it, like, totally got infected? Oh, snap…that was me. Carry on, bear cubs and mutineers…

177 thoughts on “Education like such as, uh, South Africa and, uh, the Iraq”

  2. I was actually very familiar with this video earlier in the week, and I posted this up on my facebook profile. I was, like all of you, astounded that this ditz mixed up the words “condone” and “condemn.” You can hear the journalist at a loss for words, saying some “umph” sound. On a lighter note, she claimed that India and Pakistan are “friends.” Moreover, the terrorists were non-religious and non-state actors.

    In a way, she’s emblematic of a facet of Pakistan’s failed-state status. She’s an American who parades half-naked for ogling men, and she wants to talk about women’s rights. She, like the rest of Pakistan, are in disbelief that the terrorists were Pakistani and Muslims. So the terrorists are not Muslims/Pakistanis when they commit an egregious act. By expelling fanatics like this from a community without ever coming to terms to what made the fanatics crazy DOES NOT SOLVE the ROOT CAUSE of Islamofascism: It implicitly does not acknowledges that problems exist (since they are now no longer Pakistanis or Muslims – they are non-state-actors who obey no religion) within that community. Also, they need to take ownership and face the realities of their government and philosophy, and not socially castigate the terrorists. In the USA, we don’t do this. For example, we consider Timothy McVeigh to be an American Christian. We don’t say that he wasn’t a non-state actor who obeyed no God.

  3. When it comes to shaming their country, Pakistanis never fail to deliver. Miss Natasha has gone a step further and shamed Berkeley as well.

    That’s more than we asked for.

  4. well, within the context of pakistani society, where the patriarchy forbids such events, i can certainly see how a woman could view such pageants as a liberating force. even outside this context, if we were to go universal, feminism is all about choices and the goal of liberation is not met by restricting women to granola careers. real feminism should allow for beauty queens, hedge fund managers, soldiers, and centerfolds.

    Right, but that’s really irrelevant to my point that Pakistanis in Pakistan and the diaspora concerned about women’s rights should probably be more concerned with getting a higher literacy rate, stopping the stoning deaths of women for the crime of being raped, etc. There’s something wrong here, when the elite Natasha Paracha, who had the opportunity to go to UC Berkeley, with her nose job and probably chemically-straightened hair, claims to represent Pakistani women’s progress by parading around on stage with five pounds of make-up on, when the women she claims to represent never had the opportunities that she’s had.

  5. Try Zaid Hamid (in Urdu) if you want to hear someone shaming their parents, country, alma mater, etc. Note, in particular, the statement when the video has run 1:03 minutes.

    Truly disgusting. And that is the real enemy…semi-educated people full of hatred, religious fanatacism, and bile, as well as in deep denial about what their side is up to. He says the terrorists wore Hindu bands which no Muslim would ever wear, and judging by their ugly looks and their uncouth speech, they could never have been Pakistani, but instead were obviously Indian. And that anyway it’s all part of a big Israeli-Hindu Zionist conspiracy.

    And the interviewer is sitting there agreeing with him.

  6. Pakistan needs more mild mannered, moderate muslims like Natasha representing the country on TV. I’d rather hear her than Zaid. In fact, the more Natashas Pakistan can breed, the less Zaid’s will rear their heads.

    The thing she is doing with her fingers on her face at the beginning is NLP, neuro-linguistic programming.

  7. 157 · Amitabh said

    Try Zaid Hamid (in Urdu) if you want to hear someone shaming their parents, country, alma mater, etc. Note, in particular, the statement when the video has run 1:03 minutes.
    Amitabh Wrote: Truly disgusting. And that is the real enemy…semi-educated people full of hatred, religious fanatacism, and bile, as well as in deep denial about what their side is up to. He says the terrorists wore Hindu bands which no Muslim would ever wear, and judging by their ugly looks and their uncouth speech, they could never have been Pakistani, but instead were obviously Indian. And that anyway it’s all part of a big Israeli-Hindu Zionist conspiracy. And the interviewer is sitting there agreeing with him.

    Boston Mahesh Wrote: And in the same way, but with an Americanized accent, emotional restraint, and an motive to shed blame and finger point, I believe that Natasha is doing the exact same thing. She’s leveraging her UC-Berkeley education, her charm, and her “managerial presence” to spin the public to believe that: 1. Pakistan had nothing to do with the Mumbai terror attacks, since Pakistan and India are truly friends. 2. Since these Pakistan-based Mumbai terrorists, as well as the terrorists who killed people at India’s Parliament building in ’02, and the terrorists who hijacked Indian Airlines flight in December ’99 used terror tactics, they WERE NOT PAKISTANIS AND THEY WERE NOT MUSLIMS, since ‘terrorism knows no religion.’ Moreover, they were not Pakistanis.

    The Pakistanis have effectively created an interesting approach at dealing with terrorism and many of its internal problems: By developing a logic system which nullifies the terrorism and fanaticism which develops inside its borders. This, in effect, sweeps the dust under the rug.

  9. What is an “extension program” for admission? Does that mean transferring in from a community college after two years?

    No, transferring from community college is a different admissions process but comes from the California Master Plan for Higher Education.

    The Fall Extension program is for students who were not admitted into the regular class of freshman to matriculate in fall, but who were close to the cut off and are admitted for spring — Berkeley has a set number of seats that open after December because several groups of people graduate in about 4.5 years. It makes spring admission conditional on enrollment either a) in UC Berkeley’s extension (continuing education) program, or through enrollment at a community college for the fall semester while students wait to become full-time students. You still apply in the regular admissions stream, though; it’s not a separate program that you can apply to.

    In the USA, we don’t do this. For example, we consider Timothy McVeigh to be an American Christian. We don’t say that he wasn’t a non-state actor who obeyed no God.

    I don’t think that’s entirely true. Most people think of Timothy McVeigh as a white supremacist. Very few talk about “Timothy McVeigh, the American Christian terrorist,” and certainly no mainstream church or Christian denomination claims him. He’s called the Oklahoma City bomber, and occasionally people talk about the fact that he was in extreme racist organizations. They don’t call him a non-state actor because he wasn’t — as far as people could tell — part of a large-scale terror network, but it’s also because we don’t tend to use the term “terrorist act” for crimes motivated by racial animus (including the KKK burning crosses on people’s yards or bombing churches). Just my $1.50.

  10. 161 · Camille said

    What is an “extension program” for admission? Does that mean transferring in from a community college after two years?
    No, transferring from community college is a different admissions process but comes from the California Master Plan for Higher Education. The Fall Extension program is for students who were not admitted into the regular class of freshman to matriculate in fall, but who were close to the cut off and are admitted for spring — Berkeley has a set number of seats that open after December because several groups of people graduate in about 4.5 years. It makes spring admission conditional on enrollment either a) in UC Berkeley’s extension (continuing education) program, or through enrollment at a community college for the fall semester while students wait to become full-time students. You still apply in the regular admissions stream, though; it’s not a separate program that you can apply to.
    In the USA, we don’t do this. For example, we consider Timothy McVeigh to be an American Christian. We don’t say that he wasn’t a non-state actor who obeyed no God.
    Camille Wrote: I don’t think that’s entirely true. Most people think of Timothy McVeigh as a white supremacist. Very few talk about “Timothy McVeigh, the American Christian terrorist,” and certainly no mainstream church or Christian denomination claims him. He’s called the Oklahoma City bomber, and occasionally people talk about the fact that he was in extreme racist organizations. They don’t call him a non-state actor because he wasn’t — as far as people could tell — part of a large-scale terror network, but it’s also because we don’t tend to use the term “terrorist act” for crimes motivated by racial animus (including the KKK burning crosses on people’s yards or bombing churches). Just my $1.50.

    Boston_Mahesh Wrote: Maybe most people think of Tim McVeigh as a white supremacist, but ALL people regard him as an American terrorist. After all, he served honorably in the US Army against Iraq, and he was a Catholic – on his execution, he received Viaticum. And perhaps one reason why nobody refers to him as “the American Christian terrorist” is because it’s understood.

    Do you regard Khalid Sheikh Mohammed as a Pakistani? We all do. Do you regard him as a Muslim? We all do. Do you regard him as a terrorist? We all do. He’s a Pakistani terrorist. To say that he’s not a Pakistani, but a non-state actor, and to say that he’s not a Muslim because no Muslim kills innocent people is to not come to terms with the problems of Muslims in general and Pakistanis in particular. The first step in rectifying a problem is to acknowledge that problems exist.

  12. I think the Urdu media (whether print or audio-visual) needs a lot more scrutiny than it’s currently getting. They* present one side of themselves to the English-speaking world and save their true face for the Urdu market. A lot of the Urdu stuff gets a free pass since it passes under our radar almost completely.

    *’They’ can refer to a number of groups: Islamofascist, terroristic, jihadist, or even just the Pakistani Establishment and/or Pakistani society itself.

  14. She thinks she’s an ambassador to Pakistan?! Hilarious. This little Pakistani pageant is not nearly as competitive as India’s or any other country’s Miss World pageant for that matter. It consisted of eight average looking girls. How can she even call herself miss pakistan “WORLD” if she is only eligible for the Miss Earth pageant? Her title is such B.S.

  16. the sash alone killed the possibility of anyone taking her seriously. i think the fault lies with whichever producer decided the winner of a meaningless pageant was qualified to speak on behalf of the Pakistani people. although she was still better than Hamid Gul two weeks ago on Fareed Zakaria who said 9/11 was an American/Zionist conspiracy.

    p.s. was it just me or did she mispronounce of the name of the Pakistani PM (Jee-lani instead of Gilani)

  18. She Probably used the words to gain attention to herself and this pageant. Its an old trick used by celebrities in the past as well.

  19. 170 · Sonya said

    Any Indian Beauty Pageant Star would have answered beautifully and eloquently!

    She’s not a wannabe beauty queen… have you seen this girl pre-nose job? Not a pretty site…

  21. did u guys know that natasha paracha got a drastic plastic surgery operation done on her nose?? in fact, her before-and-after surgery pictures were posted on her surgeon’s official plastic surgery website (www.drphilipmiller.com). she was displayed as patient #52 in the rhinoplasty section; somebody discovered these pictures, and when it came out in the public earlier this month, natasha contacted the clinic’s office to get them removed. u shud have seen those “before” photos. if u guys think she’s ugly now, u aint seen anything yet..

  22. Well she aint no genius I give her that, but she looks very nervous

    I must say though, she is very pretty, her features are incredible. Pakistani’s are truly a pretty/handsome looking people and have considerable unique features distinguishing themselves from other countries of that part of the world.

    i wonder if on viewing this video again, she was like auuuuhg!!

  25. what a dumb bitch. apparently, she farts like an animal. she actually had to take medication to help overcome her continuous flatulance..

  26. yea apparently paracha goes online trying to delete pictures of her plastic surgery. hahahahahaha, unfortunately, she cant erase her inherited ugliness..