China backs Karachi refinery By Syed Fazl-e-Haider KARACHI – China is to invest US$535 million to restart a stalled refinery project in Pakistan, which foreign investors and contractors abandoned amid the political turmoil in the country following the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto in December 2007. The Indus Refinery Ltd (IRL) was a joint venture project between Middle East-based investors with an 86.7% shareholding and local sponsors with 13.3%, proposed in 2004. “The Chinese have been really helpful,” The News quoted IRL chairman Sohail Shamsi as saying. “I thought no one would come // <![CDATA[// <![CDATA[ //<![CDATA[ var … Continue reading China backs Karachi

By Sami Moubayed DAMASCUS – President of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) Mahmoud Abbas heads off to the United States this week for dinner with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Barack Obama at the White House. Days later, Palestinian-Israeli peace talks, stalled for more than 10 years, begin in the US. No serious effort has been exerted in this direction – despite all the loud talk at the Annapolis conference by the former George W Bush administration. That conference in November 2007 brought Abbas together with then-Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert and a host of Arab and … Continue reading Abbas faces a mission impossible

VIEW: Our cricket tsunami —Bilal Abbas No more presidential pardons, plea bargains, fines and partial bans please. It is time to set an example by awarding maximum penalties and jail terms to those found guilty of selling us down the river Just when we were getting over Afridi’s world infamous ball-biting episode comes the most translucent match fixing scandal in our cricket history. If cricket is a religion here, then the incident certainly amounts to blasphemy. Achievements in sports have always lifted the nation’s morale in times of crisis, especially in the recent past when Pakistan became synonymous with ‘suicide … Continue reading Cricket Tsunami

WASHINGTON DIARY: The men on horseback —Dr Manzur Ejaz We can appreciate the military’s flood relief work but if this disaster is partly man-made, the military has to take responsibility because it has been ruling the country most of the time The Pakistani military’s help during these devastating floods is appropriate but not outstanding because people have complained about its delayed response. The military’s flood relief work is not exceptional because no other institution in any country has such a large and organised force that it can take care of a disaster of the scale where one-fifth of the population … Continue reading The men on horseback

COMMENT: Discussing a tragedy —Munir Attaullah Is it not the case that we help in the relief effort not because there is a duty to do so, but out of simple human compassion and fellow feeling? Is the whole exercise not a voluntary affair, where some give generously, others modestly, and some nothing at all? If there is a duty at all, it is that of the government and not of an individual If a calamity affects you (or your near and dear ones) directly, you are forced to act. Your mental energies become narrowly focused. For the time being, … Continue reading If a calamity affects you (or your near and dear ones) directly, you are forced to act.

Davi Barker: 70% of 760 AM Listeners Support Forcing Muslims to Register on Database Posted on 30 August 2010 by Emperor Some may say who listens to AM radio anymore? Nonetheless still a scary poll. 70 percent of 760 AM listeners support forcing Muslims to register on a national database 760 KFMB AM is a talk radio station hosting such conservative luminaries as Michael Savage, Sean Hannity and Mark Levin. Today, below the Wiener Dog racing and ads for the Sean Hannity Freedom Concert is a fun little poll that asks listeners: During a time of war, should we register … Continue reading US Forcing Muslims to Register on Database?

Dr. Sherman Jackson: Western Views of Shariah Posted on 30 August 2010 by Rousseau A real “scholar” of Islam: Sherman A. Jackson Dr. Sherman Jackson of the University of Michigan tackles the issue of Shariah in a brief summary about how misinformation and cultural perceptions of the Islamic legal system have fed anti-Muslim viewpoints. Shariah: Between Two Popes By Dr. Sherman A. Jackson via The Huffington Post While it started out as a minor footnote, opposition tosharî’ah has now morphed into the mantra by which many justify their opposition to the so-called “Ground Zero mosque.” If we allow this mosque … Continue reading Western Views of Shariah

The Taliban are Against Park51 Posted on 31 August 2010 by Emperor at loonwatch.com All the anti-Islam and anti-Muslim rhetoric is a boon for Taliban recruitment. Taliban vs. The Mosque Taliban officials know it’s sacrilegious to hope a mosque will not be built, but that’s exactly what they’re wishing for: the success of the fiery campaign to block the proposed Islamic cultural center and prayer room near the site of the Twin Towers in lower Manhattan. “By preventing this mosque from being built, America is doing us a big favor,” Taliban operative Zabihullah tells NEWSWEEK. (Like many Afghans, he uses … Continue reading The Taliban are Against The New York Mosque