Picture of a terrorised city by annie dawn.com Karachi, our beautiful, dangerous and certainly sprawling metropolis of some 18 million people, is no stranger to the phenomenon of violence, especially when it is of a political character. The current wave of targeted killings and assassinations has been plaguing the city for nearly two years in which some 1,500 people have lost their lives. However, yesterday’s assassination of MPA Syed Raza Haider of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) seems to be the breaking point of all the lawlessness that Karachi has patiently, if not resiliently, endured. The MQM has called for … Continue reading Picture of Karachi

The Afghan girl is back by Guest dawn.com While Sharbat Gul’s eyes powerfully transfixed the world from the cover of National Geographic in 1985, Aisha’s ordeal depicted on the cover of Time this week fixates our attention on where her nose would be. The metaphoric pain in the eyes has given way to the figurative – in this case, the disfigurative. The visceral cringe at Aisha’s mutilated face is surpassed by the painful cerebral spasm at the congruent headline: “What Happens If We Leave Afghanistan.” The connective logic is that gruesome violence against women would occur were the US to … Continue reading The Beauty of the Pashtun and the Beast Mullah

Robert Spencer, David Horowitz Cash in on Hate Posted on 02 August 2010 by Garibaldi loonwatch.com This is still my favorite picture of Robert Spencer. Professional anti-Muslim bigot Robert Spencer is cashing in a huge paycheck. He makes $132,537 from blogging on JihadWatch, courtesy of the David Horowitz “Freedom Center.” That doesn’t include all the money he makes from advertisements, speaking engagements and book deals. So, yes Islamophobes, it isn’t all altruistic defense in the name of Western Civilization that inspires your heroes to crusade against Muslims, it turns out the spoils of the Islamophobic cottage industry are quite lucrative. … Continue reading Cash in on Hating Muslims!

UFO files: Winston Churchill ‘feared panic’ over Second World War RAF incident Winston Churchill was accused of ordering a cover-up of a Second World War encounter between a UFO and a RAF bomber because he feared public “panic” and loss of faith in religion, newly released secret files disclose today. By Andrew Hough, and Peter Hutchinson Published: 12:01AM BST 05 Aug 2010 telegraph.co.uk Winston Churchill and Gen. Dwight Eisenhower in Northern France. Photo: CORBIS Sketch of UFO that ‘looks like a space station’ released by the MoD Photo: PA * Are you the scientist who wrote to the Ministry of … Continue reading UFO files: Winston Churchill

PENSIEVE: Democracy, good, bad and ugly! —Farrukh Khan Pitafi Is it our misfortune or that whatever we commission as our strategic weapon, may it be our nukes or our non-state actor pals, it turns against us and proves to be our weakness, not strength? I am speechless and I am disillusioned. Somewhere someone is trying to prove how democracy can go wrong and here am I who has spent countless light years perpetuating the view that democracy is the cure for all our ills. What is there left to prove? We have an entire country sinking under water and a … Continue reading Democracy, good, bad and ugly!

COMMENT: Afghanistan: a labyrinth —Ali K Chishti All groups in Afghanistan have been linked with al Qaeda, one way or the other. Moreover, al Qaeda’s ideological virus has already spread and not talking would mean the US would be bogged down in Afghanistan indefinitely, something no one wants The New York Times recently reported, “Despite deepening pessimism back home and disarray in the top American military ranks, officials insist that the build-up of soldiers in Afghanistan is beginning to show results.” It gave an example of a number of top Taliban leaders being caught (130 over the past 120 days) … Continue reading Afghanistan: a labyrinth

COMMENT: Imran Khan: a Taliban Goebbels? —Dr Mohammad Taqi The PTI and its leader are perhaps politically insignificant, but conceding space to such Ziaist propaganda has the potential to radicalise the nation, especially our youth. Fortunately, Mr Khan is not perceived as an American stooge — he is seen as a Taliban apologist “The lowest form of popular culture — lack of information, misinformation, disinformation, and a contempt for the truth or the reality of most people’s lives — has overrun real journalism. Today, ordinary Americans are being stuffed with garbage” — Carl Bernstein, US journalist. Perhaps ordinary Pakistanis are … Continue reading Imran Khan: a Taliban Goebbels?

PURPLE PATCH: History will absolve me —Fidel Castro It is well known that in England during the 17th century two kings, Charles I and James II, were dethroned for despotism. These actions coincided with the birth of liberal political philosophy and provided the ideological base for a new social class, which was then struggling to break the bonds of feudalism. Against divine right autocracies, this new philosophy upheld the principle of the social contract and of the consent of the governed, and constituted the foundation of the English Revolution of 1688, the American Revolution of 1775 and the French Revolution … Continue reading History will absolve Castro

Bookburning for Jesus Dove World Outreach (Bargain) Center Of all bad men religious bad men are the worst. –C.S. Lewis Without any other background or clues, how does the phrase “Dove World Outreach” hit you? A small percentage of you might guess that those words describe an aggressive marketing campaign for a popular moisturizing soap. That wouldn’t be a bad guess because, it just so happens that, since the 1990’s, Dove soap has grown from a US-only product to one of Unilever’s biggest global brands. Nevertheless, you would be wrong. Similarly, if you have a more metaphorical tendency, you would … Continue reading Dr. Terry Jones and Wayne Sapp scam US Rednecks

Asif Ali Zardari is fiddling while Pakistan drowns The beleaguered country has a president more concerned with politics than his people, says Con Coughlin. Published: 7:37PM BST 04 Aug 2010 telegraph.co.uk The President of Pakistan, Asif Ali Zardari arrives at Heathrow Airport from Paris Photo: DAVID DYSON Pakistan has had to endure more than its fair share of disasters, but even by its harsh standards, the floods that have driven millions of people from their homes, and killed at least 1,700, qualify as a tragedy. In such circumstances, you might expect Asif Ali Zardari, the country’s president, to abandon his … Continue reading Zardari is fiddling