Ode to..Bush????

[PrincessFiona]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20051206/od ... Nzc3JlbA--

ISLAMABAD (AFP) - Education officials in Pakistan have dropped a poem from a school textbook after discovering that it secretly contained the name of US President George W. Bush.

At first sight the anonymous 20-line ode entitled "The Leader", which was taught to Pakistani students aged between 15 and 18, appears merely to list the qualities of the ideal statesman.

But closer inspection reveals that the first letter of each line spells out the American president's title and name.

Bush's surname appears in the following lines: "Bracing for war, but praying for peace / Using his power so evil will cease. / So much a leader and worthy of trust, / Here stands a man who will do what he must."

"The poem triggered controversy. It has been deleted from the book," senior education ministry official Tariq Qureshi told AFP.

He said the ministry was investigating how the poem slipped by the officials who monitor textbooks, but added that it had been downloaded from the Internet by a committee of subject specialists while revising the syllabus in 2004.

The decision to cut the poem was taken at a high-level meeting chaired by Education Minister Javed Ashraf Qazi and curriculum experts here on Monday.

"The matter is over now," Qureshi said.

But the incident has raised eyebrows in this conservative Islamic country, where military ruler President Pervez Musharraf is often accused of slavishly supporting the US-led "war on terror".

Qureshi said the education minister had warned all those involved against further negligence and said that a new English language textbook will be included in next year's syllabus.

The poem in full:

Patient and steady with all he must bear,

Ready to meet every challenge with care,

Easy in manner, yet solid as steel,

Strong in his faith, refreshingly real.

Isn't afraid to propose what is bold,

Doesn't conform to the usual mould,

Eyes that have foresight, for hindsight won't do,

Never backs down when he sees what is true,

Tells it all straight, and means it all too.

Going forward and knowing he's right,

Even when doubted for why he would fight,

Over and over he makes his case clear,

Reaching to touch the ones who won't hear.

Growing in strength he won't be unnerved,

Ever assuring he'll stand by his word.

Wanting the world to join his firm stand,

Bracing for war, but praying for peace,

Using his power so evil will cease,

So much a leader and worthy of trust,

Here stands a man who will do what he must

Maybe that anonymous author should sign up for our Secret Santa.

[Rapunzel]

I'm thinking that much of what you'd find taught in a Pakistani school would probably not pass muster. I know that in some Islamic textbooks Christians and Jews are referred to as "dogs and pigs" and other such nonsense.

I'm also thinking that the entire "first letter of the last four lines spell Bush" thing might actually be a coincidence. Who wrote the poem?

Jennifer

[SueC]

I'm also thinking that the entire "first letter of the last four lines spell Bush" thing might actually be a coincidence. Who wrote the poem?

Jennifer

The first letter of EVERY line spells PRESIDENT GEORGE W BUSH--which could be a coincidence, but I doubt it.

I'm just wondering who / why did someone bother to wiggle that into an Islamic textbook in the first place. It's such an odd thing to notice (yes, I realize it was done purposefully, but I doubt many American kids would notice it - let alone Pakistani children for whom English is not a first lanugage).

[Rapunzel]

I'm also thinking that the entire "first letter of the last four lines spell Bush" thing might actually be a coincidence. Who wrote the poem?

Jennifer

The first letter of EVERY line spells PRESIDENT GEORGE W BUSH--which could be a coincidence, but I doubt it.

Ohhh, I didn't see that it spelled out his entire title and name.

Well, that's obviously on purpose!

Jennifer

[Meenah]

Yep,
Sign him up for secret santa!!!!
Luanne

[Rapunzel]

I'm just wondering who / why did someone bother to wiggle that into an Islamic textbook in the first place. It's such an odd thing to notice (yes, I realize it was done purposefully, but I doubt many American kids would notice it - let alone Pakistani children for whom English is not a first lanugage).

I'm thinking that this may be a part of the U.S.'s plans for countering much of the hateful propaganda that comes from nations such as Pakistan. Awhile back there was much talk regarding the airwave plans for something like Radio America (I'm not sure what it is called). And, critics were poopooing the plans as not expansive enough - that the government needed to do even more and be more ambitious. I'm wondering if this was a part of that original plan?

What is actually taught in Pakistan schools is an intense hatred for India and the west coupled with an overt glorification of bloodshed and violence in the name of religious conquest. Pakistani schools were the germinating ground for much of the Taliban. This poem is an extremely benign tangent off of the real problem of what is taught in those schools.

Jennifer