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February 2008
In a rather half-hearted piece for TNR, Imperial Illusions, Amartya Sen spends some time ruminating on the good/bad of British colonialism in India with an eye towards comparison with the American imperialism. He offers a sketch of the 2,000 year old pre-history of British rule in India as a “country” with “global influence”. Though, he [...]
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Obama Photo Causes Stir, AP: A photograph circulating in the Internet of Democratic Sen. Barack Obama dressed in traditional local garments during a visit to Kenya in 2006 is causing a dustup in the presidential campaign over what constitutes a smear. The Associated Press photograph portrays Obama wearing a white turban and a wraparound white [...]
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Bill O’Reilly is probably not as big an asshole as he appears to be, but one thing is certain, he does a terrific job playing one on radio and television. For years, Americans have contended with “entertainers-cum-pundits” setting frames around policy debates. O’Reilly’s, Limbaugh’s, Hannity’s and Beck’s characters are most likely amplifications of the personalities [...]
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“The last thing we’d want is boxes and boxes of crumpled receipts.” Um, brilliant.
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I appeared on Chicago Public Radio’s Worldview this morning for a brief chat. Give it a listen. [Thanks to John for that, um, title.]
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A live-blog on the election results from Pakistan. update, the morning: The morning – here – shows that PPP is within sight of a 2/3rd majority in the NA. The ANP will form a govt. in NWFP. In Baluchistan, PML-Q has most votes but between PPP and Independents and BNP there are enough votes to [...]
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“Gowarikar came before the media with half a dozen history books and said that he researched the subject thoroughly before making the film.” You will just have to imagine my cheshire cat grin upon reading that sentence in an otherwise eye-rolling reportage on the “controversy” surrounding Ashutosh Gowariker’s bollywood spectacular Jodhaa Akbar. I want every [...]
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The nation of Pakistan – amid bombs and terror – goes to vote tomorrow. The early reports on Urdu media are not promising about the turnout. And the recent bombings have surely dampened any and all Get-Out-The-Vote efforts. There are over 7000 candidates for 272 national assembly seats and 577 provincial assembly seats at roughly [...]
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A few weeks ago, danah boyd wrote her resolve to publish only in Open Access journals. I couldn’t agree more – being an ardent supporter of scholarship that is freely accessible. One of my biggest complaint about our academic world is about the inaccessibility of research to anyone without institutional affiliation or a hefty bank [...]
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Ashvin Kumar’s Little Terrorist is a wonderful short that I accidently caught on the Sundance channel. The title is a bit misleading – I would have called it “The Wicket” – but it is heartfelt and a nice introduction to some issues of difference and sameness around the partitioned homistan.
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BushClinton Forever is a fun exercise is prognostication. I was just explaining that in Pakistan, the Bhutto and Sharif clans have enough heirs to keep control for the next 80 years. It helps that the military will be able to control 3 or 4 sets of 12 year increments which is necessary for bringing about [...]
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I do not remember if I have called to your attention the exemplary work being done for the cause of freedom and justice in Pakistan by the People’s Resistance – “a coalition of civil society organizations that includes Karachi WAF, HRCP, Women’s Peace Commission, lawyers, journalists, and other professionals.” They have participated in marches, rallied, [...]
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Just a few thoughts on Cover It Live – the liveblogging software: It works as advertised, is painless and has very nice interactivity with readers. I expect to make use of it in future panels and talks – should I go to one. A good bit of web 2.0.
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“The worst uncontrolled reentry in history occurred in July 1979, when Skylab, America’s abandoned, 78-ton space station — which had long since run out of maneuvering fuel — came down earlier than planned, raining debris across the Australian outback.” We would be playing out in Doha’s deserty fields and my mother, standing in the doorway, [...]
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