Dawn Editorial Along with the religiosity spewed by many television channels, school books have helped create regressive mindsets that the madressahs approve of. If the religious schools have had a smaller impact it is not because they are more tolerant but because their relatively low enrolment rate limits their reach. – Photo by AP. Editorial Fake degrees Fake degrees A report by the Brookings Institution has belatedly discovered what academics in Pakistan have been saying for over a decade. It is now being pointed out that the public school system in the country stokes militancy in Pakistan more than anything else. … Continue reading Militant education

By Huma Yusuf dawn.com Ethnic Uzbek women react near a polling station during a referendum in the city of Osh, June 27, 2010. Kyrgyzstan’s interim leader voted on Sunday in Osh, epicentre of a wave of ethnic bloodshed, in a referendum likely to pave the way for the creation of Central Asia’s first parliamentary democracy. – Photo by Reuters. The recent violence in southern Kyrgyzstan, which left 2,000 people dead and led to the displacement of over 100,000 others, entailed clashes between the region’s two main ethnic groups, the Kyrgyz and Uzbeks. But the dust has barely settled on the … Continue reading Militancy in check?

Smokers’ Corner: The punishing verdict By Nadeem F. Paracha dawn.com According to the said survey 89 per cent Pakistanis say they think of themselves first as Pakistanis, rather than as members of their ethnic groups; yet the country is always standing on the edge of ethnic, sectarian and inter-sectarian strife. We like to call ourselves moderate Muslims, yet our thinking is clouded by fantasies of a violent religious order emerging from artificially induced memories of some glorious mythical past of a Utopia. Good news: Only 10 per cent Pakistanis recently surveyed by a leading US research group have any liking … Continue reading The punishing verdict

 Movies that scare for life: Viewers left with fears for years Scared for life: Many women are uncomfortable in the shower because of this scene in the film Psycho Terrifying films can leave viewers with life-long fears, says an academic. Professor Joanne Cantor questioned hundreds of adults and found that women who have seen Psycho are often frightened to go into the shower, while the threat-laden soundtrack of Jaws can make men tremble. It, the 1986 film based on a Stephen King novel, shows a clown attacking children in the bathroom, after coming in through the toilet or shower … Continue reading Movies that scare

‘Don’t taze my granny!’ American police accused of using a Taser on an 86-year-old, bed-ridden grandmother American police have been accused of tasering an 86-year-old bed-ridden grandmother. Lonnie Tinsley called the emergency services to his home in El Reno, Oklahoma, when he became concerned that his grandma Lona Vernon had failed to take her medication. But instead of a medical technician, he claims at least a dozen armed police officers answered his call. Police in El Reno, Oklahoma, have been accused of tasering an 86-year-old grandmother When Mrs Vernon ordered the police from her house, officer Thomas Duran allegedly decided … Continue reading Police tazer 86-year-old granny!

Queen Rania of Jordan: Hardliners are now the face of Israel Gaza blockade: By attacking criticism as part of an anti-Israel, anti-Semitic propaganda war, they yet again fail to understand that the problem is policy, not PRWhat do chocolate, cookies, A4 paper, potato chips, cumin, toys, jelly, nuts, dried fruit, nutmeg, and goats have in common? It’s a tricky one. If you’re a moderate, they have nothing in common. But if you are a hard-line Israeli politician, they are all potentially dangerous goods that could threaten Israel’s security. It seems that side of the political spectrum has won the argument, … Continue reading Queen Rania – Hardliners: the face of Israel

Boy made nailbombs with chemicals bought on eBay A boy with an “unhealthy interest” in explosives and right wing politics made gunpowder and nailbombs with chemicals bought from his mother’s eBay account. By Nick Britten telegraph.co.uk Protestors of the English Defence League (EDL) break through barriers Photo: PA Police found a pipe packed with nails and screws and charged with powder in the 16 year old’s bedroom, and a pipe with a firework inside hidden under a waste oil tank at a nearby petrol station. The youngster also had literature from the right wing groups the British National Party and … Continue reading Radicalised kid made bombs with chemicals bought on eBay

Can South Africa reclaim its vuvuzela rights? One Chinese company is producing 10,000 vuvuzelas a day, but a church in KwaZulu-Natal claims it invented the instrument Sean Carey guardian.co.uk, Saturday 26 June 2010 12.00 BST Article history The Nazareth Baptist Church of KwaZulu-Natal maintains that nearly all vuvuzela manufacturers are infringing its intellectual property rights. Photograph: Carl Recine/Action ImagesThe sound of the vuvuzela, which has been unfavourably compared by some critics with a swarm of angry bees, has become a defining feature of the 2010 Fifa World Cup. Yet the distinctive drone also has its fans, evident from the fact … Continue reading Vuvuzela!

Mohamed ElBaradei joins Egyptian sit-in over police death case Opposition figurehead and former head of nuclear watchdog in his most direct challenge to President Hosni Mubarak Jack Shenker in Cairo guardian.co.uk, Friday 25 June 2010 15.10 BST Article history Mohamed ElBaradei, centre, is surrounded and greeted by demonstrators. Photograph: Amr Nabil/AP Mohamed ElBaradei, the former head of the UN nuclear watchdog, joined about 4,000 Egyptians at a rare large-scale street protest today, in his most direct challenge to President Hosni Mubarak since returning to the country earlier this year. The Nobel laureate turned opposition figurehead joined the sit-in in Alexandria … Continue reading Mohamed ElBaradei – The best choice for Egyptian President?

Pakistani physicist may have discovered “new form of matter” By APP Jamil Aslam and his team members analyzed the data collected by the KEK particle collider in Japan. ISLAMABAD: Research work carried out by a young Pakistani particle physicist Jamil Aslam and two of his team members may lead to the discovery of a “new form of matter”. Jamil Aslam is a faculty member of the Physics Department at Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU), while the other two physicists are working in Deutsches Elektronen Synchrotron (DESY), the biggest German research center for particle physics. Jamil Aslam and his team members — Ahmed … Continue reading Discovered “new form of matter”