Aryn Baker, in one of the most egregious example of bad reporting/analysis/pull-it-outta-your-ass-telology, quotes some “mild-mannered scholar” who yearns for the return of the Mughal Empire. What the fuck is Institute of Policy Studies, Islamabad? How do you even find these numskulls? More importantly what is this Deobandi v Aligarh match that has been going on [...]
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Rohit points to this absurd “Roots of Indian Muslim Rage” piece (Jets v Sharks!). Suketu Mehta has the “here is why they hate our freedoms” piece. I am waiting to hear from our enlightened commentators about the Versace connection between Cunanan and the Bombay raiders. What is in that brand that drives young men to [...]
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The attack is over. And suddenly everything must now be questioned, say the punditry. CNN is trawling with idiotic “experts”. We are awash in insipid commentary, as well. The nearly two hundred dead, though, demand of us harsher questioning of the status quo. Some more reading: Saikat Datta in Outlook India: By the middle of [...]
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Timeline to date. From BBC: The fidayeen technique – a rudimentary form of “shock and awe” warfare – was introduced into Kashmir by Pakistani radical organisations that entered the Kashmir insurgency from the mid-1990s onwards. From Guardian: Six young men with large bags came ashore, after which the two who remained in the boat started [...]
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The aftermath of the horrific attack seems to be overlapping the attack itself – it is not over. However, information is starting to trickle out in the usual manner. Pakistan, Pakistani-based, ISI, Kashmir-based, “home-grown” are some of the usual suspects before us. I heard/read Somali pirates somewhere which did give me some hope that our [...]
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Initial word makes it that Lashkar-e Tayiba, who have previously been suspects in the Oct. 2005 Delhi serial blasts and the July 2006 train blasts, is responsible for this atrocity. Damn them.
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Bob Stein was kind enough to invite me to a conversation with the historians (Stephen Brier, Joshua Brown, Ellen Noonan, Penee Bender) who wrote and maintain Who Built America? Working People and the Nation’s History. The first edition of that text was accompanied by a CD-ROM which was designed by Bob Stein’s company (with the [...]
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You might have found out, by now, that Google has uploaded Life magazine’s trove of photographs from the 1860s onwards onto their formidable servers. They are of decent quality – with some tags/Labels. The viewer, of course, cannot add their own notations, labels and tags.1 I would have liked to see this in Flickr with [...]
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American Foreign Policy Project has released a joint statement by experts (including J. Cole and B. Rubin), containing recommendations for President Hussein’s future Iran policy: Open the door to direct, unconditional and comprehensive negotiations at the senior diplomatic level where personal contacts can be developed, intentions tested, and possibilities explored on both sides. Adopt policies [...]
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A riff on the exile theme … I wonder if this announcement means that the General is moving to a nice Chicago suburb? (thx to scott.)
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ماے ني! ميں کيهنوں اکهاں، درد وچهوڑ دا حال O mother! who can I ask? about the pain of this separation? The weight of exile rests heavy, some days. I don’t have the words to express, nor can I. So, here is Madho Lal Hussain (1539-94), the Sufi saint of Punjab, who wrote this Kafi [...]
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This will surely be regarded as the best story of 2008 (at least, I will champion it): First, Dawn Mustafa Kamal second best mayor in the world KARACHI, Nov 9: The Foreign Policy magazine of the United States has chosen Karachi Nazim Syed Mustafa Kamal as the second among the best three mayors in the [...]
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Pakistan’s nuclear godfather has suddenly emerged from seclusion (involuntary) and penned a risible column for the Daily Jang. It is notable, this column, for his self-aggrandizing, self-importance, and self-service. Keeping to the tradition, he sprinkles the column with bits of Urdu poetry (though not the tired old morsels), and frames himself as a “just a [...]
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It is pretty evident that we are not living in a red America and a blue America but in a Urban America and a Rural America. Every county with a major city, went to Obama. There is lots of election map pr0n (I love…) and here is my favorite map. update: Via Raj comes this [...]
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Moacir has already called out the media on their triumphalism. While I assert that Obama’s transformative election cannot be held hostage to the likes of Chris Matthews, I see his point. Tom Friedman has already written some jaw-droppingly dumb column about this being the end of the Civil War or something. Rebirth is a cornerstone [...]
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Rahm Emanuel: “In an interview with Ma’ariv, Emanuel’s father, Dr. Benjamin Emanuel, said he was convinced that his son’s appointment would be good for Israel. “Obviously he will influence the president to be pro-Israel,” he was quoted as saying. “Why wouldn’t he be? What is he, an Arab? He’s not going to clean the floors [...]
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Lately, we have had some insanely good weather. And I found myself wandering around snapping pics. Here are a few. More on flickr…
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courtesy e!
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Some blurry snaps of the night….
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