And along came 2012 (+video entertainment)

© Steven Chung (even if he didn't want it)

2011...what can we say about you. We lost a few, we gained a few. From people to places and health fallacies to debt recalculations.

Zooming into our little part of the world, It's safe to say that Pakistan remained in the top 10 of the world's most information-generating countries. Our president and celebrity pin-up girls managed to keep the headlines occupied for silly things while folks in Africa continue suffering from unimaginable pain, suffering and strife, ranging from disease to hunger. Our favorite cricket player is on the top of every one's (imagined) speed dial and rallying towards a cause yet unknown has not been an issue. 

I've got about 3 decades beneath my belt (and not literally you dirty minded readers, you!). I'm talking about what I've seen, experienced and learnt. It's probably safe to say that 2011 has clearly trumped all previous years within the 2000 millennial. So much information about so many things happened that I find it hard to even hold onto any one specific thing. I mean, the Egypt, Libya uprisings took a sizable portion of our year and twitter feed and for good reason. Two countries changed their entire modus operandi within a span of weeks! 

I can't even imagine my life without 2011. I know it's a 'tough-to-grasp' concept, but hey - think out of the box, right? What if we didn't have 2011 and we skipped over from 2010 to 2012. We'd be looking at a vacuum in our ability to prepare for the Mayan/Nostradamian (if that's even correct) predicted end of the world theory (which is pending validation come new years). We would be looking at 3 leaders vanished into oblivion with no profits for news and media agencies to benefit from. Steve Jobs (one of the greatest men of our time) wouldn't be here and we wouldn't have had a chance to remember him for his many achievements, pretty much all starting with an 'i'.


We had the memo gate scandal that crossed multiple ponds, Japan declared 32+ waist sizes obese (for men), Greece went bankrupt and the EU had to ask CHINA for a loan of US$ 700 billion (I saw the report on BBC myself). We discovered that the three tyrants brought down by 2011 were all 69 years old when they died. How kinky is that, right? No, seriously! I read somewhere that there were more military deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan this year than ever before during both wars, combined! I doubt this is true, but still...not an accomplishment by any standards. 

Everyone had it rough except the Swiss, they always manage to slip through the cracks with their international Get-out-of-jail card. Good for them; they were wise with foresight well ahead of their time. Even Argentina and Chile didn't see that kind of nonsense. Nor did Bolivia, Mexico or Colombia, minus the major drug busts and deaths - causalities of the cartel.

Let's thank our Gregorian friends for 2011 and appreciate all that we have enjoyed, endured, witnessed, celebrated and mourned throughout these 365 days and pay tribute to a wonderfully noisy year. Here's to you 2011, may you be remembered for all - the good, the bad, the ugly and the nasty (Clint Eastwood wasn't available for the sequel so we got Chuck Norris and Rajinikanth both).

2012...buckle up, lot's to live up to.

In the meantime, let's pay tribute to our wonderful friend, 2011, courtesy of  @JibJab , one of my favorite Spark-Notes equivalent, in video!

Zardari - A fruitcake? Call the Men in white coats!

By Robin Mcdowell, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Asif Ali Zardari, the man poised to become Pakistan's next president, is still known as "Mr. 10 per cent" because of corruption allegations. Now his own lawyers say he may have suffered from mental health problems within the past year.

That has left many Pakistanis wondering: Is this the best man for the job?

"People have short memories, but not that short," said Rafat Saeed, 42, as he parked his car in the bustling city of Karachi following a week of political turmoil and relentless violence by Islamic militants.

"His name is synonymous with corruption!"

Friends and family say Zardari, widower of assassinated former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, is fine now and fit to rule. But the questions over his psychological state are not likely to go away soon.

The United States and other Western nations nervously watched the ruling coalition collapse this week after the two main parties forced Musharraf - a close ally in the war on terrorism - to resign as president rather than face impeachment.

Zardari's party is now in a position to dominate the five-month-old civilian government, especially if the 53-year-old Zardari, recently cleared of all graft charges, is elected president by lawmakers in a Sept. 6 vote, as is widely expected.

If he wins, he will be one of the most powerful civilian leaders in Pakistan's 61-year history, retaining many of the powers accumulated during Musharraf's nine-year rule, from the right to dissolve Parliament to appointing heads of the armed forces.

But he has many demons in his past.

With $60 million in a Swiss bank account, corruption allegations dating to his wife's time in power will not go away any time soon. Then, in recent days, questions emerged about the state of Zardari's mental health.

In a corruption case brought against him by the Pakistani government, Zardari's own lawyers told a London court last year that he recently suffered from dementia and other psychological problems - an apparent attempt to delay proceedings.

They claimed it was the result of years spent in Pakistani jails - where Zardari says he was placed in solitary confinement, tortured and living in fear for his life before he was released in 2004. The claims of mental illness were first reported in the Financial Times.

Friends, family and party members insist, however, that he's healthy now and fit to rule.

"He was under stress, no doubt," said Wajid Hasan, Pakistan's ambassador in Britain and a longtime friend of Zardari's, adding that the diagnosis is now more than a year old.

"He was never prescribed drugs, he only received counselling," Hasan said. "I have spent long periods of time with him in the past two years ... He's been alert. He's been steady."

But his political rivals disagree.

"A 'patient' shouldn't be allowed to run for president," argued Sadiqul Farooq, spokesman for the party headed by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, the junior party in the coalition that walked out this week.

Zardari, who earned the nickname "Mr. 10 per cent" while serving as minister for investment and environment when Bhutto was prime minister, was accused of pocketing commissions on contracts - from Polish tractors to licenses to import gold.

He says the allegations were part of a smear campaign to keep Bhutto from returning from self-exile after her government collapsed in 1996.

Pakistani investigators accused them at one point of spiriting $1.5 billion out of the country.

Swiss prosecutor Daniel Zappelli said Thursday that some $60 million that had been in Swiss bank accounts since the 1990s would be unfrozen, following a request by Pakistani authorities.

He declined to identify the owner of the funds, citing privacy rules. But Hassan Habib at the Pakistani Embassy in Bern said he believed it belonged to "the late prime minister Bhutto, or her husband, or it was a joint account."

Among the skepticism, some in Pakistan are willing to cut Zardari some slack.

Imran Ibrahim, a 27-year-old stockbroker, notes that few Pakistani political leaders are squeaky clean, either using their position to line their own pockets or to help enrich family and friends.

"No one is free of flaws," Ibrahim said. "I think he's better than many of the others out there. Plus, he was the husband of Benazir Bhutto, who dreamed of a prosperous Pakistan. He'll live out her dream, or at least he'll try."

Bhutto was killed in a Dec. 27 attack as she was campaigning for parliamentary elections. Zardari immediately took the reins of her Pakistan People's Party, surprising many as he rallied supporters.

A former polo player from a wealthy landowning family, Zardari had shown little interest in politics, but quickly proved it wasn't due to lack of skill. By forming an unlikely alliance with Sharif, a bitter rival, they forced Musharraf from power.

The moment the former military ruler was gone, however, rifts in the coalition emerged.

Sharif accused Zardari of breaking promises to immediately restore judges ousted by Musharraf or to dramatically scale back the powers of the presidency.

Eventually, Sharif quit the coalition, saying his party would prefer to sit in the opposition.

Zardari's People's Party has begun forging new partnerships with smaller parties in Parliament, which could make it even more dominant.

In March, Pakistani courts acquitted Zardari in the last case still pending against him, involving the import of a German luxury limousine. When the government told judicial authorities in Switzerland and Britain that no crime had been committed, the European courts had little choice but to end their proceedings.

-

Associated Press reporters Stephen Graham in Islamabad, Ashraf Khan in Karachi, Babar Dogar in Lahore, Khalid Tanveer in Multan, Paisley Dodds in London and Frank Jordans in Geneva contributed to this report.

WSJ View on Mr. 10%

Pakistan's Next President 
Is a Category 5 Disaster
September 2, 2008; Page A21

If there's a case to be made against democracy, few countries make it better than Pakistan.

On Saturday, Pakistani legislators will elect a new president to replace Pervez Musharraf, the general-turned-strongman who resigned the office last month.

In one corner there is Mushahid Hussain Sayed, a former journalist and one-time political prisoner of Mr. Musharraf who is nonetheless running as the candidate of the general's old party. Mr. Mushahid, probably the best of the bunch, stands next to no chance of winning.

In another corner there is Saeeduzzaman Siddiqui, candidate of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's party. Mr. Sharif -- whose record includes bankrupting his country, presiding over a disastrous military campaign against India, and attempting to implement Sharia law while awarding himself near-dictatorial powers -- has made it clear he intends to gut the powers of the presidency should he return to office.

And then there is Asif Ali Zardari, the widower of slain former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and leader of the Pakistan People's Party. Mr. Zardari, who has compared himself to Jesus (an innocent accused of crimes he did not commit), is easily one of the most notorious figures in the long parade of horribles that make up the country's political history. He is, of course, expected to win Saturday's ballot handily.

Just how bad is Mr. Zardari? It would be a relief if it were true that he was merely suffering from dementia, a diagnosis offered by two New York psychiatrists last year. But that diagnosis seems to have been produced mainly with a view toward defending himself against corruption charges in a British court.

Mr. Zardari -- who earned the moniker "Mr. 10%" for allegedly demanding kickbacks during his wife's two terms in office -- has long been dogged by accusations of corruption. In 2003, a Swiss magistrate found him and Mrs. Bhutto guilty of laundering $10 million. Mr. Zardari has admitted to owning a 355-acre estate near London, despite coming from a family of relatively modest means and reporting little income at the time it was purchased. A 1998 report by the New York Times's John Burns suggests he may have made off with as much as $1.5 billion in kickbacks. This was at a time when his wife was piously claiming to represent the interests of Pakistan's impoverished masses and denouncing corrupt leaders who "leave the cupboard bare."

It's an open question whether Mr. Zardari will be more or less restrained in his behavior if he's elected: His return to politics has meant the dropping of all charges against him and the release of millions in frozen assets. (The presidency will also confer legal immunity.) That may make him one of the few men in Pakistan to get richer this year: The economy, which grew in an unprecedented way under Mr. Musharraf, has tanked under civilian management. The Karachi stock exchange has lost about a third of its value and the currency about a fifth in recent months. Markets often have better memories than voters.

It's also an open question whether Pakistan's increasingly dire security outlook will focus Mr. Zardari's mind on the urgent tasks of governance. Mr. Zardari has sought to parley himself internationally as a pro-Western candidate, and maybe he is. Yet over the weekend the Pakistani government agreed to stop its air strikes on the Taliban, in exchange for which Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, a religious party, agreed to throw its support to Mr. Zardari. The Taliban has used previous cease-fires to regroup and re-arm for operations against both Afghanistan and Islamabad.

Then there is al Qaeda, now openly endeavoring to use its last redoubts in Pakistan to take over the country. Last month, Ayman al-Zawahiri issued a long broadcast (in English, no less) denouncing Mr. Musharraf as an American tool and calling on Pakistan's army to come over to his side.

That call was unlikely to be heeded against Mr. Musharraf, who could count on the loyalty of his troops. But Mr. Zardari is a caricature of everything that's morally bankrupt with the country's Westernized elite, and thus an inviting propaganda target for al Qaeda and the Taliban. It doesn't help, either, that they are working fertile political soil: 71% of Pakistanis oppose cooperating with the U.S. in counterterrorism, and 51% oppose fighting the Taliban at all, according to a June poll.

Al Qaeda and the Taliban feed on chaos, and a Zardari presidency will almost certainly provide more of it. For Pakistanis, this is a self-inflicted wound and a rebuke to their democracy. For the rest of world, it's a matter of hoping that Pakistan will somehow muddle through. For now, however, this looks like a Category 5 hurricane, dark and vast and visible just offshore.

Write to bstephens@wsj.com