Pakistan unplugged by Amber Rahim Shamsi dawn.com The deadline for the end of the ban on Facebook is almost upon us; farms have been ruined, parties gone undocumented, conversations interrupted. But the question is not whether strawberry bushes can be replanted on Farmville, but whether the ban will be permanent. I’ll state at the outset that I don’t think it should be. Here’s why: a social networking site like Facebook combines the functions of mass media with the feel of interpersonal communication; it has redefined the meaning of mass communication. Banning Facebook, YouTube, and the 800 or so sites is … Continue reading Facebook – even Saudi Arabia did not ban it, but I guess Mullahocracy is being challenged there

By Iftikhar A. Khan dawn.com Pakistan had warned India in the early 80s that an attack on nuclear assets in Kahuta would evoke a retaliatory strike on its Bhabha Atomic Research Centre in Trombay.—File photo ISLAMABAD: Pakistan had warned India in the early 80s that an attack on nuclear assets in Kahuta would evoke a retaliatory strike on its Bhabha Atomic Research Centre in Trombay.This has been revealed by the then Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal M. Anwar Shamim, in his book “Cutting Edge PAF” launched here on Thursday. Defence Minister Chaudhry Ahmad Mukhtar, former Chairman of … Continue reading Threat to destroy Indian N-plant stopped attack on Kahuta

Pigeon held in India on suspicion of spying for Pak dawn.com The white-coloured bird was found by a local resident in India’s Punjab state and was taken to a police station in Amritsar. — File Photo Cricket Zimbabwe beats India by six wickets Zimbabwe beats India by six wickets NEW DELHI: Indian police are holding a pigeon under armed guard after it was caught on an alleged spying mission for arch rivals and neighbours Pakistan, media reported on Friday. The white-coloured bird was found by a local resident in India’s Punjab state, which borders Pakistan, and taken to a police … Continue reading Pigeon spy from Pakistan?

Southeast Asian Muslims for dummies The Next Front: Southeast Asia and the Road to Global Peace with Islam by Senator Christopher S Bond and Lewis M Simons Reviewed by Muhammad Cohen Republican Senator Kit Bond and Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Lewis Simons seem a foreign policy version of Neil Simon’s Odd Couple. Bond’s record indicates he never met a war he didn’t like or a Muslim – or Islamofascist, as many of Bond’s supporters prefer – he did, while Simons writes for squishy publications such as National Geographic. Their book, The Next Front, is a surprisingly literate portrait of Islam in Southeast … Continue reading How Americans are ‘losing’ the hearts and minds of Muslims

By Sami Moubayed Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri seemed to be having a relaxed conversation this week at the White House with his US host, President Barack Obama. The two men, only nine years apart in age, both came to power in 2009, in very different circumstances yet nevertheless happened to find plenty in common. Sources from Hariri’s delegation said there was immediate chemistry between the two men, who had a candid one-on-one before going into expanded session with the full Lebanese delegation. One notable member of the Hariri team was Foreign Minister Ali al-Shami, an ally of the Hezbollah-led … Continue reading Obama happy with Al-Harriri tightrope act

The American century is so over By Dilip Hiro Irrespective of their politics, flawed leaders share a common trait. They generally remain remarkably oblivious to the harm they do to the nation they lead. George W Bush is a salient recent example, as is former British prime minister Tony Blair. When it comes to foreign policy, we are now witnessing a similar phenomenon at the Barack Obama White House. Here is the Obama pattern. Choose a foreign leader to pressure. Threaten him with dire consequences if he does not bend toWashington‘s will. When he refuses to submit and instead responds … Continue reading Super-power status of US ending?

Obama shakes pillars of US security By Jim Lobe Washington – In his first National Security Strategy (NSS), President Barack Obama Thursday pledged to maintain Washington’s “military superiority” but stressed that the persistence of the nation’s global power will depend more on the health of its domestic economy and international cooperation. In sharp contrast to the NSS released by president George W Bush six months before the 2003 US invasion of Iraq, the 52-page document underlined the limits of military power and the kind of unilateralism that characterized Bush’s first term, in particular. “The burdens of a young century cannot … Continue reading Shaking up US security

Tough love for an unstable neighbor By Francesco Sisci BEIJING – As with the traditional cry of ”wolf, wolf!”, threats of war between North and South Korea have been heard many times in the 57 years since the end of the conflict on the peninsula. They sound so often that even the current situation could be considered a false alarm, especially since China stepped in and apparently managed to rein in restless Pyongyang. But the crisis in the North is in fact deeper today than perhaps ever before in its history – and leads one to think that this time things … Continue reading Tough love?

By Kenneth Todd Ruiz and Olivier Sarbil BANGKOK – A cigarette hanging from his lips, a sinewy man with a knotted-up beard perched on the back of a plastic chair and spoke into a military-grade radio. ”Happy birthday,” he said in English. Moments later a sonorous detonation boomed from afar in the heart of the Thai capital. A cluster of anti-government protesters crowded around him exulted, shouting ”Happy birthday” in unison. Many more such coded celebrations would follow in the next 24 hours. It’s five days before the army would send armored personnel carriers into central Bangkok on May 19 … Continue reading Unmasked: Thailand’s men in black

Throw the book & face the consequences By Mahir Ali dawn.com Why stop with just the bans? Why not outlaw the Internet altogether? That may not save much electricity, but it will surely help to keep the nation shrouded in ignorance. –Photo by AFP There is no shortage of energy in Pakistan. Notwithstanding the sporadic suspensions in the supply of electricity, during a sojourn in Lahore earlier this month, I found myself confronted every day with evidence of reasonably energetic demonstrations and protests related to a broad spectrum of issues ranging from hepatitis awareness to appalling delays in the payment … Continue reading Ban Islamic Reasoning – instead Worship Mullahs