With ‘enemies’ like these, who needs friends? An American serviceman stands on board the USS Peleliu, the base of relief operations in flood affected areas of the country. PHOTO: GIBRAN PESHIMAM ABOARD THE USS PELELIU: While a number of countries widely regarded as being close to Pakistan are trudging their way towards lending a helping hand to tens of millions of Pakistanis affected by the devastating floods, the one country that is looked at with most suspicion, if not outright hatred, continues to spearhead the relief effort. The United States on Wednesday upped its assistance for Pakistan’s flood affectees from … Continue reading With the US as an enemy – who needs friends?

Mirror mirror on the wall The writer is a corporate lawyer and hosts a show on Business Plus ayesha.tammy@tribune.com.pk Television in Ramazan is usually all about fasting and food. This year, like in October 2005, we are dealing with a mega disaster, so there is some time allocated to the floods, some time to the relief efforts and some time to asking questions about man’s, in particular influential man’s, contribution to the disaster. And when that happens, it’s déjà vu and one is transported back to the earthquake. Our politicians come on television saying this is not the time to … Continue reading Syed Talat Hussain/ Kashif Abbasi Fund for Flood Victims

I am part of the Sialkot lynch mob A crowd of onlookers watch a young boy get beaten to death. The brutal two-hour long lynching of two young brothers in Sialkot at the hands of a mob, inclusive of policemen and children is so horrifying that it truly merits the questions some visitors to The Express Tribune website have been asking: Are these people animals? Is this the true face of a nation so despicable that even God has forsaken them? While I do not believe in the latter argument, I can understand where such a profound sense of grim … Continue reading Sialkot lynching (Do not watch clips as they are horrific)

Busy day for a monkey who saves her cub from being hit by a moped…and then again from becoming a dog’s dinner By Paul Thompson Even on the dusty and dangerous streets of New Delhi, the bond between a mother monkey and her young is almost unbreakable. This tiny youngster was struck by a moped while scampering across the road in India’s capital, where the animals are a common sight scavenging for food. Lurking nearby was a wild dog who sensed an easy kill. But just when the baby’s fate seem sealed, its mother leapt to the rescue. Dedicated mother: … Continue reading Monkey rescues baby

Look into my eyes: Extreme close-ups reveal hypnotic gaze of tiny jumping spiders By Daily Mail Reporter Staring menacingly at the camera these exotic looking creatures look like monsters straight out of a horror film. But, despite their appearance, these creatures are actually jumping spiders, which measure a tiny six millimetres – and they live in this country. The harmless arachnids, which are capable of jumping up to six times their own height, can be found in grassy meadows and on the walls of houses on sunny days. Star of the show: This Saitis Barbipes has stunning blue eyes – … Continue reading Cute Spiders ?

BOOK REVIEW: Waging peace —by Afrah Jamal Bridging Partition: People’s Initiatives for Peace Between India and Pakistan Edited by Smitu Kothari and Zia Mian with Kamla Bhasin, A H Nayyar and Mohammad Tahseen Orient India; Pp 360; Rs 995 They have been locked in a near permanent state of confrontation for six decades, stopping only to make feeble overtures of peace to pacify onlookers. These 63-year-olds have great reserves of animosity left over from 1947. They renew their peace pledges often but test each other’s patience daily. And they get flustered easily, which makes them the two most predictable nations … Continue reading Bridging Partition

VIEW: Apathy or death of generosity? —Mohammad Jamil Standing crops worth billions of rupees have been destroyed, and many warehouses where cotton and wheat were stored have been inundated and destroyed in the floods. The result will be acute food shortages as well as raw material shortages It is indeed a colossal catastrophe that has befallen the nation. The people’s grief is real, and — in the words of William Wordsworth — “a sorrow that lies too deep for tears”. Yet the world community is lukewarm to our people’s painful predicament. In this age of science and technology, the weather … Continue reading Apathy or death of generosity?

COMMENT: Will there be a tomorrow? —Mujahid Eshai The issues of the small landowners, shopkeepers and tradesmen must be resolved at the earliest. Restoring them will create confidence in the majority. That is the need of the hour. But one does not see any midnight oil being burnt in Islamabad or any of the provincial capitals The secretary general of the UN has come and gone. He has promised to tell the world that the flood catastrophe in Pakistan is phenomenal and the world needs to help the people in every way. The prime minister and the head of the … Continue reading Will there be a tomorrow?

A Muslim-American Veteran Laments about So-Called Ground Zero Mosque Bigotry loonwatch.com Zia Ulahaq Osman Adnan is a Muslim-American veteran. He is for the mosque near Ground Zero. Is he an Islamic supremacist?  Here’ a great piece by Salon.com: A loyal Muslim American laments the mosque mess I am a lifelong resident of Middletown, N.J., the town that lost more victims per capita on 9/11 than anyplace in the state, and the second hardest hit city after New York. Almost 50 of our neighbors died that day, in a town of 60,000. Most of those who died worked at Cantor Fitzgerald. … Continue reading Osman Adnan, Muslim-American veteran and the NY Mosque

VIEW: We did not do it —Gulmina Bilal Ahmad We are a nation of hypocrites and masters at absolving ourselves of responsibilities. Everything is the result of conspiracies hatched against us. The Air Blue crash over the Margalla Hills was, according to some, hatched by Blackwater We are a people blessed with time but a country for which time is running short. Clarity is a rare commodity; clarity in terms of our actions, our thinking, judicious dispensation of aid and even our worldviews. I had written earlier on how we are ideological schizophrenics. We want to be part of the … Continue reading Jews caused the Flood?