Serving in Iraq killed my faith in God The destruction I saw made me question everything I had previously thought about religion Adnan Sarwar guardian.co.uk, Monday 30 August 2010 10.30 BST Article history One of the last pictures taken of Sapper Luke Allsopp, who died in Iraq in 2003. Photograph: Adnan SarwarLuke Allsopp was a friend of mine. The last time we spoke for any length was in February 2003. Around three in the morning I woke hearing him struggling to stand and giggling. I saw him confused and braced against the wall. I called out, he turned and asked … Continue reading Iraq killed my faith in God

Chinese people as identical Maoist robots? Thanks for that, Dior How can the fashion house think it is acceptable to make such a nakedly racist ad campaign? Jenny Zhang guardian.co.uk, Monday 30 August 2010 15.05 BST Article history Given the history of Orientalism in western sartorial practice, is it any surprise that Christian Dior’s latest ad campaign, “Shanghai Dreamers” shot by Chinese artist, Quentin Shih, features a series of photos where a strikingly-styled white model clad in Dior couture towers over rows of digitally reproduced Chinese women and men dressed in cultural revolution drag? And no, your eyes have not … Continue reading Chinese victims of racist ad campaign?

Pakistan is not the target; deal fixers are Cricket needs to use its TV-generated fortune to strike at the root of the match-fixing problem Peter Preston guardian.co.uk, Sunday 29 August 2010 17.30 BST Article history There’s one heart-warming sight you can see any normal day in the villages of Pakistan: a rutted strip of earth, a few sticks driven into it, a bat, a ball, and young boys playing cricket. This isn’t just any game: this is the game. It is also a field of dreams. If you want to grow up to join Europe or Latin America’s rich and … Continue reading Pakistan and the match-fixing problem

There’s only one Imran Whether in cricket or in politics, corrupt leaders – bar notable exceptions – are often all Pakistan has Tariq Ali guardian.co.uk, Monday 30 August 2010 21.00 BST Article history Poor Pakistan. Floods of biblical proportions; millions homeless; a president who pretends to be shocked by cricket’s latest betting scandal when his own persona is the embodiment of corruption. A prime minister shedding crocodile tears because of the cricketing “shame” rather than tending to allegations that flood-relief money has gone missing. And now a sleep-walking cricket captain attempting to deny the ugly truth, but without real conviction, … Continue reading Designer Mullah – Imran Khan Speaks

Gordon Brown Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom We can’t carry on like this: an emergency of incredible proportions only half funded; vital days used up talking about aid fatigue — and what we have not done — instead of urgent need — what we now have to do. The Pakistan floods are the world’s biggest emergency — 60,000 square miles under water, 20 million people displaced, 14 million in need of emergency health care, six million short of food, two and a half million homeless. It is a tragedy whose book of names of lives lost, presumed dead, … Continue reading Gordon Brown and Pakistan Floods

Hating the Taliban The writer is head of research and analysis at the National Counter Terrorism Authority and senior superintendent of police A recently conducted poll in Pakistan has revealed escalating unpopularity of the Taliban since the inception of the group as a unified movement in 2007. The unpopularity of the Taliban amongst the general public rose from 34 per cent to 81 per cent during the period under review. This finding was coupled with the perception of al Qaeda as an existential threat to Pakistan, in roughly similar proportions to the rising unpopularity of the Taliban in Pakistan.  The … Continue reading Taliban are the common enemy?

Don’t act surprised — II The writer is a freelance print and broadcast journalist george.fulton@tribune.com.pk The kneejerk reaction from some designer patriots to my last piece surprised me. I certainly do not believe – as some people have claimed – that all 170 million Pakistanis are barbaric. That’s patently absurd. The point I was trying to make, perhaps clumsily, was that Pakistan has always been a society underpinned by latent brutality — so why the surprise over the Sialkot killings? Before we can improve a society, we need to acknowledge we have a problem. Too many of my detractors were … Continue reading Designer Patriots!

Even in calamities, religious differences prevail Relief camps see segregation on religious lines. QUETTA: Religious differences remain significant even in times of utmost crisis, as Hindu and Muslim flood victims chose to live separately after moving to relief camps in Quetta. Around 1,500 flood survivors from the Hindu community are taking shelter in the Arya Samaj and Krishna temples near the city centre, while another camp is set up at a Sikh temple in Quetta Cantonment. “We have been living separately because our established traditions, culture and norms are different from Muslims. Also, we are few in number so we … Continue reading The Mullahfication of Aid?

VIEW: The Manhattan mosque —Yasser Latif Hamdani President Obama and his government are now under great stress because of the difficult position the mosque issue has put the Obama administration in. Logically, there should not be a problem with building a place of worship, a right guaranteed under the First Amendment to the US Constitution, but the issue is much larger than one of freedom of faith The mosque in Manhattan has stirred a hornet’s nest. The issue now threatens to test the very ideals of western secular democracy that we admire and cherish and seek to emulate in the … Continue reading Manhattan mosque

COMMENT: After the deluge, what next —Dr Syed Mansoor Hussain The prophets of doom and gloom are out in full force predicting the end of Pakistan, the end of this government, the end of democracy or the end of something if not everything else If talking heads on TV and the punditocracy in Pakistan be believed, President Zardari is solely responsible for the floods and its consequences. Two years ago the same group were equally vehement in insisting that General Musharraf was responsible for all evil that visited Pakistan and that if he left everything would be just fine. And … Continue reading After the deluge, what next