An earlier post suggested that putting controls on internet in Pakistan is not the best idea. By a long shot. Here is a post from an amazing blogger who has to deal with that very fact in Saudi Arabia. Those clamouring for more governmental oversight of the internet in Pakistan will do good by heeding [...]
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None of that pesky freedom and democracy rhetoric from the Democratic Presidential Nominee. He made it clear to the WaPo yesterday that “sometimes we are dealt a set of cards that don’t allow us do everything we want to do at once”. And the cards dealt to the DPN are such that he has to [...]
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Unidentified gumen shot and killed Mufti Nizamuddin Shamzai today in Karachi. Riots have broken out all over town. They burned a KFC, a research library and countless shops. The general in charge of security is trying to protect the Shi’a neighborhoods. By most accounts, this looks like a payback for the Shi’a mosque bombing a [...]
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We discovered Buffy: The Vampire Slayer late – in the seventh season. And thanks only to sven. Now, I admit, I am hooked. I love the humor, mainly. But, there are others to whom Buffyverse is a vast, uncharted space for interstatial observations. There is Ken Kuykendall, a Mormon youth leader, who uses Buffy to [...]
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I have been following this story for the past few days. Gen. Musharraf told GeoTV in an interview yesterday that “junior PAF and Army officers” were behind the assassination attempts in December. He further intimidated that the mastermind of the plot was a Pakistani al-Qaeda member who was still at-large. There is little doubt that [...]
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Main Entry: Kakatanied Pronunciation: ‘ka’ka’ta need Function: verb Etymology: High English Critic, from New York Times, of Japanese origin; akin to recluse authors like Pynchon, prone to lashing out in fury on Great White Authors like Roth, Mailer. 1 a : to pulverize, to ridicule by a quaint twist of phrase, to shame out of [...]
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A discussion arose out of my earlier post where I bemoaned the lack of equality between the sexes in Pakistan & Bangladesh. I was asked to justify that p.o.v on “religious” grounds. On the issue of gender in Islam, others have done a masterful job: Fatima Mernissi’s The Veil and The Male Elite, Leila Ahmad’s [...]
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Tough day today, I must say. You have Ashcroft’s Seven Deadly Agents roaming the streets of US, you have Abu Hamza in London looking like an evil Captain Hook. And then you have the case of Samuel Masih in Lahore. I found out about it from an editorial in the Daily Times: A Lahore Christian [...]
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The Chicago Tribune [r.r] today reported that a Chicago architectural firm, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill who also designed the Hancock Building and the Sears Tower, has designed a 2000 feet skyscraper in the UAE – to be build by the Saudi Binladen Group. It will be called Burj Dubai (Dubai Tower).The realty group, Emaar, has [...]
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Last night on DM (I have to quit watching Cable News), some shill was acting oh-so-bewildered that the President’s ratings were in freefall. Meantime, Dennis Miller’s face showed the dawning realization that he jumped on a sinking ship. So, anyways, the shill said that Iraq was a success and the proof was Libya. huh? And [...]
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Finally got around to reading the State Department’s annual Human Rights Report on Pakistan. Some highlights: [please check irony at the door - in fact, this report was delayed due to the Iraqi prison scandal] Government: The Government’s human rights record remained poor; although there were some improvements in a few areas, serious problems remained. [...]
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I am in the midst of reading a book that is blowing my mind away [review later]. As a historian, I am trained to eschew the individual-centered approach to history – to focus, instead, on processes and ideas. However, the book and the scandal swiveling around Ahmad Chalabi are a keen reminder of the role [...]
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We are off to see Hoover Dam. Hopefully, it will re-ignite my faith in human engineering. Because, looking around Vegas with its heaps upon heaps of cookie-cutter houses and AquaVerdeVistas gated communities makes me ill. Tonight is BBQ at Uncle Shazi who I haven’t seen since 1992. It’s Hot!
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I have to take time out from my Vegas shenenigans to express my outrage. Barack Obama is the Democratic candidate for US Senate from Illinois. He is a law professor at the UChicago. An incredibly cool guy who I think will make a great Senator. His Republican opponent Jack Ryan decided that since there is [...]
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I will be in Las Vegas for the next few days. Don’t know whether I can post but I will be taking some snaps and [ahem] the photoblog [/ahem] will debut when I return. I am quite excited because the iowa crowd will be there and it HAS been a while since we gathered. The [...]
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I have been reading the Gothamist for absolutely no reason [i don't live in NY, duh] but I like the blog and always thought that there should be a Chicago version. Now, Kottke tells us that there is a Beta version out for Chicago called Chicagoist! And they even like History!! The name, however, is [...]
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It is ironic that Pakistan and Iraq are to be saved from the reign of Mullahs by Democracy. But what happens when democracy dictates bowing down before God? From Village Voice comes a startling tale of Bush advisors meeting with Christian Apocalyptics about W.H.’s position on a Palestinian state. Their concern was that the Road [...]
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Michael Moore’s Farenheit 9/11 will unleash a hounds-of-hell worthy controversy as it nears its US release. I thought Bowling for Columbine was effective in highlighting the culture of fear. This movie, based largely on the research of Craig Unger, looks to highlight the relationship between Bush and BinLaden. Do you remember this Boondock from 11/22/2001? [...]
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Sonia Gandhi walks away from Indian premiership. Leaving Congress feeling like the geeky guy who spends a lot wooing the prettiest girl on campus, takes her to the prom in a limo, they win the King and Queen of the Prom solely because of the girl and then, she politely asks to be dropped off [...]
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Why do I persist in thinking that French cinema has something to say? Why? We escaped tonight to a movie and saw Secret Things by savant auteur Jean-Claude Brisseau. I would pitch it as In the Company of Men meets Marquis deSade meets Damien meets a CRACK PIPE. It started out fairly innocuously and for [...]
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