Thursday, July 15, 2010

Pakistan Loves Animals, It Really Does

Our friend Ahsan at FiveRupees had once done a post on his blog about the curiously fanatical predilection of Pakistani internet surfers to surf the world of dark erotica, so to speak, more than any other country in the world. You know, not the usual hardcore porn that everyone else is surfing for around the globe, but porn of decidedly unusual tastes. We can confirm, from the kind of searches that have led readers to our blog, that there's a strange, strange world out there, and even stranger are some of the people who mistakenly land up at Cafe Pyala in search of their unusual fetishes. Think of your favourite Pakistani political celebrity and pair their name with the kinkiest of your fantasies and you'll be getting a sense of the kind of stuff we see all the time.

Now it seems the rest of the world has cottoned on to the decidedly bizarre thought processes of the Pakistani public. Here is what Fox News recently reported via the Associated Press:



No. 1 Nation in Sexy Web Searches? Call it Pornistan
By Kelli Morgan
Published July 13, 2010 | FoxNews.com
AP

Pakistan has banned content on more than a dozen websites because of offensive and blasphemous material. The Muslim country, which has laws on dress codes, ranks as the top country to proportionally search for certain sex-related terms.

This article was updated on July 14.
 
"They may call it the "Land of the Pure," but Pakistan turns out to be anything but.
 
The Muslim country, which has banned content on at least 17 websites to block offensive and blasphemous material, is the world's leader in online searches for pornographic material, FoxNews.com has learned.
 
“You won’t find strip clubs in Islamic countries. Most Islamic countries have certain dress codes,” said Gabriel Said Reynolds, professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Notre Dame. “It would be an irony if they haven’t shown the same vigilance to pornography.”
 
So here's the irony: Google ranks Pakistan No. 1 in the world in searches for pornographic terms, outranking every other country in the world in searches per person for certain sex-related content.
 
 
Pakistan is top dog in searches per-person for "horse sex" since 2004, "donkey sex" since 2007, "rape pictures" between 2004 and 2009, "rape sex" since 2004, "child sex" between 2004 and 2007 and since 2009, "animal sex" since 2004 and "dog sex" since 2005, according to Google Trends and Google Insights, features of Google that generate data based on popular search terms.
 
The country also is tops -- or has been No. 1 -- in searches for "sex," "camel sex," "rape video," "child sex video" and some other searches that can't be printed here.
 
Google Trends generates data of popular search terms in geographic locations during specific time frames. Google Insights is a more advanced version that allows users to filter a search to geographic locations, time frames and the nature of a search, including web, images, products and news.
 
Pakistan ranked No. 1 in all the searches listed above on Google Trends, but on only some of them in Google Insights.
 
“We do our best to provide accurate data and to provide insights into broad search patterns, but the results for a given query may contain inaccuracies due to data sampling issues, approximations, or incomplete data for the terms entered,” Google said in a statement, when asked about the accuracy of its reports.
 
The Embassy of Islamic Republic of Pakistan did not reply to a request for an interview.
 
In addition to banning content on 17 websites, including islamexposed.blogspot.com, Pakistan is monitoring seven other sites -- Google, Yahoo, Bing, YouTube, Amazon, MSN and Hotmail -- for anti-Islamic content, the Associated Press reported in June.
 
But it’s not to censor the Pakistani people, Reynolds said. It’s to shut out the rest of the world.
 
“[It] could lead to conversion, which would undermine the very order of the state,” he said. “Part of protecting the society is making sure that there is no way it could be undermined in terms of foreign influences.”
 
Pakistan temporarily banned Facebook in May when Muslim groups protested the “Everybody Draw Muhammad Day” page, where users were encouraged to upload pictures of the Prophet Muhammad. The page remained on Facebook, but Pakistani users were unable to view it, said Andrew Noyes, manager of Facebook’s Public Policy Communication.
 
And while Pakistan is taking measures to prevent blasphemous material from being viewed by its citizens, pornographic material is “certainly” contradictory to Islam, too, Reynolds said.
 
The country’s punishment for those charged with blasphemy is execution, but the question remains what -- if anything -- can be done about people who search for porn on the Web.
 
“It’s a new phenomenon,” Reynolds said."



I had once thought about doing a post about some of the searches that led people to Cafe Pyala but gave up the idea after I realized that it would probably lead to scandalizing decent people for no fault of theirs. All I can add to the report above is that Professor Reynolds is dead wrong about this being a "new phenomenon." Long ago, at the beginning of the net revolution in the country in the 1990s, Pakistani ISPs realized that were they to start filtering out sex sites (not that it would be possible in totality in any case) their traffic (and hence their revenues) would face a major downturn.

But why blame ISPs for the repressed fantasies of the common user? Pornography has been at the cutting edge of internet usage all over the world and continues to be the single biggest revenue earner in cyberspace. The only question that really is worth asking is why Pakistanis are so sexually repressed in their public life that their only outlet is on the net? And yeah, what is up with that bestial shit?

29 comments:

somethingrichandstrange said...

just a minor correction. nb wrote that post on 5rs, not ahsan.
also. what are these strictures on attire/dress codes imposed by law in pakistan that fox is referring to? i've no idea.

TLW said...

For once I'm not going to link to my fucking blog cause I want no connection to this shit.

XYZ I remember the Five Rupees post you're talking about, so unfortunately we sort of knew about this filthy (dirty) little secret of Pakistan that's just blown up. We also know that there are a lot of dirty little secrets waiting to come out of here.

Anyway, if you look at the search results on google trends for this crap, Pakistan comes up as the number one country. However in terms of cities the top one always seems to be Delhi and some combination of Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata. So if its any consolation, the majority urbanites here are as shocked as the entire world, but it becomes apparent that rural Pakistan now has access to the internet.

So city folk are shocked, but it seems that we will pay for our ignorance of the "habits" of our rural brethren.

And yeah, XYZ, a little more inside info on shit like the ISP's deciding not to block porn would be appreciated. The more dirt we can get out on the scumbags that populate our power centres, the better prepared we'll be to deal with the aftermaths of their various "corruptions".

Anonymous said...

Just an attempt to defame Pakistan
do you really think that publishers/producers in USA create content so that it can be consumed by Pakistanis ?
the biggest market of p0rn is usa itself

Ugly Shoelace said...

Creepy :/

Raamis said...

What is the big deal? So what if we like animals? Plenty of hick farmers in the US get up to some hanky panky with Ms Baa Baa Black Sheep! So what?!

Magnum said...

i sure hope you're being sarcastic, Raamis. If not then stop horsexing, I mean, horsing around, mate.

Ahsan said...

Somethingrichandstrange:

Come on yaar. NB writes one post a year. Do you really think it matters if the Pyalas give me credit for one of his posts? Given all the writing I do? I say no.

Anonymous said...

this is all indeed a fabrication. i for one never do google searches for porn. i've got all of them bookmarked...

Umair said...

I wonder what the fuck they were expecting to hear from the Pakistani Embassy.

Anonymous said...

bangladesh beats us in "sex stories" and ireland beats us in "porn". peshawar comes on the top of the list in cities of pakistan where these searches are done, by the way

Anonymous said...

on a side note, we are also number one in searches for "education", "university", "shahrukh khan", "economics", "india pakistan", "mathematics", "rani mujherjee" and number 2 in ebooks and engineering.

Anonymous said...

Animals woil serch for sex with animals...Pakistan===coutry of animals...

Anonymous said...

Is octopus sex the main Google search category in Spain these days?

Anonymous said...

lol at anon above :)

Anonymous said...

I love looking at animal sex..but hey I am in US so all of that gets nice absorbed in the sea of my fellow animal-porn-lovers. Too bad for paki land, people need to pick up favs and bookmark the sites to avoid these crazy interns at FOX to get promotions based on sleazy articles. I bet the bitch enjoys some banging from her pet dog or something to be able to come up with this idea. I am guessing her thought process went something like that...what do I enjoy doing most in life (animal sex?) and what content would be an easy sell and get most hits (pakifuckistan)..bingo! And that's how her pervert mind came up with the idea. I know these bitches inside out so believe me when I say that Americans are great people but man they like their sex dirty. And as the famous saying in san francisco goes about sex, "If it's not dirt, you are not doing it right".

Ammar Rashid said...

I think you may have jumped the gun cafepyala. Reports are emerging, both from ISPs in Pakistan and the horse's mouth itself (Google) that the survey results are hugely flawed.

As the ISP association points out, it is simply unfathomable that Pakistan could top the 'porn searches per capita' index, considering Pakistan's 'internet per capita' is around 9%, compared to 85+% for most European countries.

This does seem to be a combination of some serious fudging of numbers and blatantly malicious, fox-news-led mudslinging here, guys. Would've been nice if cafepyala hadn't joined the bandwagon though. You guys are usually incredibly meticulous with your facts.

Still, remain a huge fan.

Ammar Rashid said...

Also, I can't help but marvel at TWL's assertion that it's rural Pakistan that's suddenly gotten mass internet access and is rapidly outstripping the rest of the world combined in searches for bestial erotica.

Not only is the argument completely empirically-untested and factually unfounded, it reeks of a disgustingly self-serving prejudice against the rural masses instrumentalized in the service of one's own ideological predilections.

I know cafepyala's generally the place for all manner of light hearted banter and one should take it in that vein and all, but that was pretty sickening to read. Honestly.

TLW said...

Marvel at TWL's Assertion

First of it's TLW. Please do marvel; I remain in awe at my dear old homeland's constant ability to launch one nasty surprise after another at it's own citizenry. Zia-ification, Karachi Burning in the 90`s, Nuclear Tests, Kargil, Musharraf, the Taliban in Af-Land and Pak, Bugti Getting Killed, Swat Burning, the installation of a President Asif Ali Zardari, its been one nasty surprise after another all our lives; what's wrong with laughing at the surprise of extreme animal lovers compare to shit that we couldn't predict even five years before hand.

rural Pakistan that's suddenly gotten mass internet access

With 18 Million users, it probably does, possibly even my dear old Punjab.

Here rural defender, statistics from the World Bank.

outstripping the rest of the world combined

Maybe they're curious? Maybe they're looking for ways to improve horse farming?

rural masses

Dammit, another one of those cliche spouters.

disgustingly self-serving prejudice against the rural masses instrumentalized in the service of one's own ideological predilections

Oh go fuck off to your Poli Sci 301 class and let some people have their laughs in peace.

Anonymous said...

Its Just a Propaganda

TLW said...

Its Just a Propaganda

More like one of those weird stories always hovering around Pakistan ready to be picked up and beaten around the world with when it's convenient. Eric Margolis said after Mushy forced AQ Khan to confess to be the sole driving force for the nuclear smuggling ring, that this sort of coerced fake confession to save Mushy and the high command's ass internationally would come to bite Pakistan in the behind some time or another.

Anonymous said...

Propaganda? haha, We are a frustrated nation and we thought no one was keeping records of our activities//

Rick M said...

next up.. let's top the list for Fox sex.

Who else could've come up with the idea but a FOX news worker. Obviously, their employer does them everyday.

@TLW: Relax buddy, the post is not about you.

aynalif said...

The FOX news story is based on their inherent desire to malign all things Muslim AND on Google's errors. Yes - Google does make mistakes. Even Steve Jobs admitted yesterday that Apple was human and could make an error (for those who have not followed the story this is about iPhone4's poor reception).

There are about 8-10 million internet users in Pakistan. Those who claim more read on - others can skip to the next paragraph! A couple of years back The Pak Telecom Authority Chairman put his finger in the air and plucked out the number 18 and said there were 18 million internet users in Pakistan. This was quoted by JP Morgan and someone added this to the Internet World Stats to fast forward our internet penetration (I use this word with no innuendos in mind) rate. Yahoo! has 4.5 million users in Pakistan, Hotmail has 1.8m, Facebook has 2.1m and there is a lot of overlap. Yahoo! reaches about half of all internet users worldwide and about 70% of all internet users in developing nations. If we use the Yahoo! index and assume 50% of all internet users in Pakistan visit Yahoo! then our total internet userbase is around 9 million. ...

We've got to be a pretty horny bunch of 9 million internet users to drive up Google search rankings for animal fetishes. With such a low number of internet users it is statistically stretching things to claim that we can claim top dog status in the world of canine and human interaction.

Continuing with this reasoning, the Google rankings become ludicrous when you see that searches for "dog sex" place Pakistan as No.1, while Ethiopia, with an internet userbase of under 400,000, comes in as No.2 and Nepal (also with under half a million online users) ranks No.4 according to Google Insights.

Now let us analyze some other Google "facts." If you look at Google Adplanner which lists the top sites visited by people from Pakistan, in the top 50 there are no sleazy sites listed (but of course these must have been removed to give the list a G rating). But why did Google include sites such as softonic.com, rapidshare.com and brothersoft.com among the top 50 sites viewed from Pakistan. Maybe we have a high percentage of nerds online who visit software download sites and technology sites? Of our 9 million users how many are into techie stuff? If you believe Google then cnet.com is the 8th most popular site in Pakistan.

Google itself admitted that its data may contain inaccuracies. But even if we accept that there is some truth in those saucy site numbers, then is it not the responsibility of the guardians of our morals to ban access to such sites. Why is it that i cannot find a copy of Playboy magazine in Pakistani newsstands but i can access their website without any impediment?

Freedom of speech and a free press are all fine but exposure to salacious sites is certainly something which needs restraints in Pakistan. Perhaps the Pornistan title can make those who control the internet save our youth from indiscriminate exposure to porn. There may yet be some good coming out of this.

Anonymous said...

http://www.google.com/insights/search/#q=camel%20sex&date=today%2012-m&cmpt=geo

whatsgoingonhere? please dont tell me this was a hoax

Anonymous said...


There may yet be some good coming out of this.


I thought u were against all the coming :D ...

Google needs to get a life and stop keeping tabs and releasing them to the public. Isn't it an invasion of my privacy to report our searched items on tv.? It should be

ST said...

Hi

Could anyone please share NB's article on Rs.5? I can't seem to find it and I need to share it with a friend. Thanks!

AKS said...

ST,

Here's the link to NB's post:

http://uk.asiancorrespondent.com/fiverupees/2007/04/thwaddi-ghora-i-was-going-to-write-bit.html

One of the conclusions that we came to at the time NB posted was that Pakistanis may well be some of the more unsophisticated porn surfers around.

There is little, if any, porn content in Urdu / Sindhi / Punjabi and Pakistanis are left searching for porn in English. Our sexual vocabulary, as it were, is rather limited and most Pakistanis repeat the same rudimentary search terms.

This may also explain why Pakistani sexual fantasists are unable to mask their fantasies. Add to this the limited ability of older family members, especially women, in unearthing browser histories, and you have even less of a need to mask the searches.

None of this though explains why we remain at the top, or near the top, of the list for Titanic, Kate Winslet and Celine Dion. That shit's just plain wrong.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous JULY 18, 2010 6:00 AM :

change the date range to "2004 - present" and VOILA!!

Anonymous said...

An interesting follow up to the fox news article. Featured in Daily Times.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\07\28\story_28-7-2010_pg9_6