Of the Two Evils -- Pakistan's Election

So, the verdict is out. The king's party (PML-Q) backed by Musharraf (even till the last time) was badly defeated. Even the party's president and some other senior members were defeated in their respective strongholds. Benazir Bhutto's party (PPP) won a clear lead, which does not come as a surprise, since it is one of Pakistan's most prominent party, and was destined to get more votes after Bhutto's assassination.

A bit surprising thing, however, was unexpectedly better performance of Nawaz Sharif's party (PML-N), especially in Punjab. Recall that Sharif is a very vocal supporter of reinstatement of pre-emergency Nov 3 judiciary. PPP's stand is not very clear on judiciary issue, but, considering that PML-N won a major vote by claiming that they will reinstate the judiciary, I think even PPP would have to consider it. PPP would also have to consider it in some way or the other in order to form a coalition government. Other than that, both majority parties agree on reinstating 1973 constitution and lifting curbs on media (both of which are very good steps).

But, then it creates a problem for Pervez Musharraf, who has categorically said that there is no possibility of reinstatement of judiciary. I think Musharraf would agree to all other demands, but, not the judiciary, because if he does, all the previous cases of his eligibility as president would reopen, and as a result, he is definitely going to be ousted, even impeached too.

So, I think the best possible solution is that Musharraf resigns with honor, saying that he accepts people's verdict. Obviously the vote was not about Musharraf. But it said enough that people are not happy with his policies, and want opposition to form the government and repeal all the illegal and unpopular actions. I think even that will improve his rock-bottom image. At least, I would appreciate that, since it is the best logical solution. Otherwise, there is only more instability and chaos in country, and more protests, violence etc. I think no body in his right mind would still want Musharraf as head of state (except american administration, which has always supported dictators in other countries for their own good).

I think the new government should also close the political cell of ISI, and take some measures in order to stop future army interventions in politics. The media and judiciary should be completely free, handle the terrorism problem effectively (considering it as pakistan's problem, not a US or world's problem), and we are all set to go. But, somebody please tells Musharraf that people don't want him.

There is this widespread notion (especially among the educated) that even democracy has not done anything good to Pakistan, so we should have Musharraf as an autocratic ruler. But, I would quote a few sentences from Cowajee's article (he borrowed it from Basil Henry Liddell Hart's Why Don’t We Learn from History?):

"We learn from history that democracy has commonly put a premium on conventionality. By its nature, it prefers those who keep step with the slowest march of thought and frowns on those who may disturb the ‘conspiracy for mutual inefficiency’. Thereby, this system of government tends to result in the triumph of mediocrity — and entails the exclusion of first-rate ability, if this is combined with honesty. But the alternative to it, despotism, almost always inevitably means the triumph of stupidity. And of the two evils, the former is the less."

Super Bowl Ads

The best entertainment on TV is funny ads, and Super Bowl ads have been up to the standard as always. Here you can watch ads that were played during past two decades (plus this year's too).

Firefox Add-ons and Extensions

I am sure about firefox web browser being the most used program for many computer users. I spend a lot of time on firefox (basically whenever I am out of coding). So, what I like is to customize it to my taste and necessity. I am sure you know of Firefox Add-ons too.

If you were looking for something, and could not find it through google search, here are two lists of (almost all) useful add-ons.

I want a Firefox Extension to ... 200+ extremely useful firefox extensions that save time and effort.
and
Best Firefox Extensions

I use quite of them, especially Mouse Gestures, ForecastFox, Foxmarks, Dictionary search, PDF Download (very useful), Browster (preview) etc. I used to had a lot of them, but then I started having problems with Firefox. It was slowed down considerably, and I could not even type the search pattern in toolbar. I think (if I remember it correctly), those extensions (or add-ons) were related to tabs. Greasemonkey extension also gave me trouble, but since I don't do any web scripting, I uninstalled it. So, I would say that install them one by one (the ones you really think you need), and see if its affecting your usual browsing experience.

The one extension I didn't see in these links was Google Notebook add-on. You may find it useful too. Also, some extensions are out-dated, like, SpellBound, and these features are now part of browser itself. Few weeks back, I used (much-hyped about) Firefox 3 beta, and it has also incorporated more of the features, which previously extensions used to provide, e.g. enhanced bookmarking, and better Download manager.

Happy browsing, with firefox...