et neutrality: what is it and what does it mean? ‘Net neutrality’ is a controversial topic. It means treating everything on the web equally – but is it an ideal that can be achieved? By Matt Warman, Consumer Technology Editor telegraph.co.uk France has asked Google to hand over the data it has collected During Barack Obama’s election campaign, the future president’s use of technology was much documented. But it was one specific policy that won him the hearts and minds of Silicon Valley: he supported the idea of so-called “net neutrality”. Such was the heat surrounding this thorny issue that … Continue reading Net neutrality

India’s visa rule is unfairly persecuting innocent Pakistanis Being born in Pakistan is not a evidence of predisposition to commit terrorist acts. The visa rules are racist, and must change Robert Wintemute guardian.co.uk, Saturday 14 August 2010 12.00 BST Most people would be shocked if they went to the visa website of a London embassy and read: “Processing time is two to three days for British citizens, but seven to eight weeks for British citizens of Jewish origin”. Indeed, advertising an intention to discriminate is contrary to the Race Relations Act 1976. Yet, explicit discrimination of this kind can be … Continue reading Indian visas for British Pakistanis

Ramadan is not an excuse for gluttony Ramadan should remind us of those less fortunate, but in some parts of the Muslim world it means gorging yourself after sunset Shaista Aziz The Guardian, Saturday 14 August 2010 Article history An estimated 1.6 billion Muslims around the world are marking the start of one of the most important months in the religious calendar, Ramadan. We believe that it was during Ramadan that the Qur’an was revealed to the prophet Muhammad. So, for the next 30 days Muslims will abstain from water and food from sunrise to sunset. The sound of rumbling … Continue reading Ramadan – an excuse for gluttony?

Barack Obama defends plans for Ground Zero mosque Relatives of 9/11 victims accuse president of ‘abandoning America’ over support for Islamic cultural centre David Batty and agencies guardian.co.uk, Saturday 14 August 2010 13.58 BST Article history Barack Obama defends the mosque plans during a White House dinner celebrating Ramadan. Photograph: J. Scott Applewhite/APThe US president, Barack Obama, has defended controversial plans to build a mosque near the site of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York, saying to oppose them would be un-American. Prominent Republicans have led protests against the construction of an Islamic cultural centre and mosque two blocks … Continue reading Barack Obama defends Muslims

BOOK REVIEW: Lahore Durbar in free fall —by Afrah Jamal The Last Sunset — The Rise & Fall of the Lahore Durbar By Amarinder Singh Roli Books; Pp 344; Rs 1,395 After the Mughals exited, but before the British arrived, the Lahore Durbar was presided over by Maharaja Ranjit Singh Bahadur, affectionately known as the ‘Lion of Lahore’, who makes a brief appearance in Amarinder Singh’s narrative, but leaves a lasting impression on his history. Ranjit Singh, who has been described in the book as a great man and an outstanding military commander, was a mass of contradictions. For instance, … Continue reading Lahore Durbar in free fall

VIEW: The Karachi conundrum —Mohammad Jamil The MQM and the ANP should decide whether they believe in peaceful coexistence for all of Karachi’s citizens or if their political and parochial interests are dearer to them. But they should remember that they have no other choice but to coexist Karachi smoulders. The plain truth is that two political entities, which happen to be ruling coalition partners both in the province and at the Centre, are pitted against each other in a bloody battle for the conquest of Karachi — the MQM for keeping the port city as its exclusive preserve, and … Continue reading The Karachi conundrum

COMMENT: Flooded out —Mujahid Eshai We must thank the IMF for its immense ‘contribution’ and tell them to take a hike. Pakistan’s priority today, more than ever, is to reconstruct and rehabilitate its people Boots, shoes, whatever. Who cares? There are enough gigantic issues facing the country because of the seemingly unending deluge sweeping away everything that came in its way. The tales of woe notwithstanding, one has to earnestly start thinking about the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the affected. Local resources being non-existent, help in terms of money being nothing more than a trickle from donor agencies and countries … Continue reading Flooded out

Thieves use breasts to distract victim Police in France are looking for two attractive female thieves who bared their breasts at a man at a cashpoint to distract him before stealing his money. telegraph.co.uk The incident was captured on CCTV at the cash machine on Paris’s Left Bank Photo: GETTY The women in their 20s exposed themselves to the victim as he punched his pin code into an ATM machine in Paris. As he stared at one, the other then withdrew 300 euros from his account before the pair fled with the money. Related Articles Foreign robbers ‘using cheap flights … Continue reading Breasts used as weapons in mugging!

Search giant posts new blog entry debunking ‘myths’ about its net neutrality proposals announced earlier this week By Matt Warman, Consumer Technology Editor telegraph.co.uk Photo: AFP Google has responded to critics of the net neutrality proposals it announced with wireless provider Google earlier this week. In a robust blog post, it tackled its detractors by claiming that “We don’t expect everyone to agree with every aspect of our proposal, but there has been a number of inaccuracies about it, and we do want to separate fact from fiction”. Google has proposed a legal framework that would allow American regulators to … Continue reading Google defends net neutrality stance