BOOK REVIEW: Business with a catch —by Afrah Jamal Building Social Business: The New Kind of Capitalism That Serves Humanity’s Most Pressing Needs By Muhammad Yunus with Karl Weber PublicAffairs; Pp 256; Rs 1,795 In the early 1970s when an academician from a third world country came across the victims of a moneylender, he did what good Samaritans usually do in such circumstances: he took charge, paid off their small loan, securing a temporary release. Then the academician did something many probably would not have done. He decided to put the affected community members (residing in rural Bangladesh) in charge … Continue reading Building Social Business

IEW: Has our foreign policy failed? —Mohammad Jamil Though a majority of political parties and leaders in Pakistan wish to have cordial relations with the US and the west, a great number of people do not like the way they resort to arm-twisting and using a long stick and a short carrot Our foreign policy has been susceptible to manipulation because of internal political and economic instability brought about by flawed policies of successive governments that looked towards western nations or the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB) for aid and loans. Our dependency syndrome has been … Continue reading Pakistan foreign policy failed?

COMMENT: Tackling the roots —Zain Murtaza Maken I believe that we, as a nation, have closed the doors of our minds to reason and contemplation. Adding to this problem is our lack of personal heroes and figures that could function as beacons of light for our minds The biggest problem facing Pakistan is not the militants, or the economic and political policies. The architecture of fear that surrounds us should not worry us as much as the roots that uphold it. The roots that support the whole structure of terror are inevitably nourished by our choices that are, in turn, … Continue reading Tackling the roots

‘Separate’ is the most commonly misspelt word in the English language, according to a new study. Published: 11:26AM BST 06 Aug 2010 telegraph.co.uk One in five said it was their belief the art of spelling was something ‘you just learn in school’. Photo: GETTY The eight-letter word came top due to the regular placing of an ‘E’ where the first ‘A’ sits. Second in the list was ‘definitely’, which often falls victim to a string of mistakes including mixing up the second ‘I’ with an ‘A’. Another common error is dropping the final ‘E’. ‘Manoeuvre’, which is problematic due to … Continue reading ‘Separate’ is most commonly misspelt word

Al-Qaeda’s new ‘planning chief’ lived in US for 15 years The FBI has warned that al-Qaeda’s new head of “global operational planning” is using his unprecedented familiarity with American society to plot attacks against the United States and other Western countries. by Alex Spillius in Washington telegraph.co.uk Adnan Shukrijumah Photo: FBI Investigators believe that Adnan Shukrijumah, 35, is “extremely dangerous” in part because of the experience he can draw on having lived in the US for 15 years. Shukrijumah has taken over a position once held by Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the mastermind of the September 11 World Trade Center attacks, … Continue reading Al-Qaeda ‘planning chief’ lived in US

Photography and nature’s frame Nature photography appeals to our nostalgia for a time when we were more in harmony with the planet Parvati Nair guardian.co.uk, Friday 6 August 2010 12.45 BST Article history ‘Fallow buck at dawn’ by Ben Hall, winner of the habitat section of the British wildlife photography awards. Photograph: Ben Hall/PAThe old adage “a picture is worth a thousand words” needs to be rethought. More importantly, a picture can have the power to move a thousand hearts and change a thousand minds. Often, photographs bring to our eyes what we may have seen many times before, but … Continue reading a picture is worth a thousand words

Let’s stop lining lobbyists’ pockets I see no reason why councils should use taxpayers’ cash to pay PR firms to influence government policy – and I’m going to stop it Eric Pickles guardian.co.uk, Friday 6 August 2010 13.29 BST Article history Many councils and quangos hire public affairs firms using taxpayers’ money to lobby government for even more money: it sounds like something that shouldn’t be allowed, but it is happening with increasing frequency. Residents want to see their council tax spent on improving services, not on lobbyist loud-hailer propaganda to sidestep transparency laws or peddle more regulation or secure … Continue reading Taxpayers, Councils and their Lobbyists

Curse of the mobile phone upgrade Manufacturers have suckered us into an inexorable lurch from phone to phone, instilling a desire that is never wholly satisfied Edward Collier guardian.co.uk, Friday 6 August 2010 14.59 BST Article history A man holds his iPhone 4 after braving swampy humidity and giant queues in Tokyo to be among the first owners. Photograph: Toru Yamanaka/AFP/Getty ImagesDoes your mobile phone cause you status anxiety? Does your ancient, deprecated handset raise muffled guffaws when you produce it in company? I was neither enthusiastic nor particularly early in my adoption of the mobile phone. In 1994 both … Continue reading Mobile phone upgrade – A Scam?

Saddam Hussein and the judgment of history Former minister Tariq Aziz insists the west has got Saddam all wrong and that he was a great leader of Iraq. What’s your view? Open thread guardian.co.uk, Friday 6 August 2010 15.30 BST Article history As they were: Tariq Aziz with Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. Photograph: ISFIn an interview from prison with the Guardian, former deputy prime minister Tariq Aziz has offered a robust defence of his one-time boss, the Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, who was executed in 2006 following his capture after the US-led invasion of 2003. Aziz insists that, despite making … Continue reading Saddam Hussein – A Great Leader?

DNI Clapper: Career military intelligence officer dawn.com James Clapper as he testifies before the Senate Intelligence Committee about his nomination to be Director of National Intelligence, on Capitol Hill in Washington, July 20, 2010. -Reuters Photo Front Page Obama hopeful of ‘enough cooperation’ from Pakistan Obama hopeful of ‘enough cooperation’ from Pakistan WASHINGTON: Retired lieutenant general James Clapper, confirmed Thursday to head the US spy community, is a decorated Vietnam war veteran who champions using people to gather raw intelligence, known as HUMINT. Clapper has served as the Pentagon’s intelligence chief, a job to which he was nominated in 2007 … Continue reading James Clapper