Female attacks on religious police show shift in Saudi values Recent attacks on Saudi Arabia’s ‘morality police’ suggest public support for intrusive religious law enforcement is waning Nesrine Malik guardian.co.uk Recent attacks suggest Saudi women’s tolerance of religious police is waning. Photograph: Hassan Ammar/AFP/Getty Images Something’s afoot in Saudi Arabia. In the past month, there have been two incidents where Saudi women, when questioned or harassed by the notorious “morality police” from the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, have lashed out – literally. In the first incident, according to the Saudi Gazette, a young couple … Continue reading Saudi women in hit and run attacks on ‘morality police’ hidden in veils – the police cannot identify the women!

The wrong kind of war Classical military strategy has failed. In Afghanistan and elsewhere we should prioritise human security Mary Kaldor guardian.co.uk Does the war in Afghanistan keep our streets safe? Both the current and the previous government claim that it does, but the real answer is probably not. Every attack directed at the Taliban and al-Qaida, even precise drone attacks, provides a justification for mobilising more recruits. But would withdrawal from Afghanistan be any better? That is what critics of the war propose. And again, the answer is probably not. Many Afghans fear that it could mean a return … Continue reading Classical military strategy has failed in Afghanistan

10 Creative Drug Smuggling Schemes Being innovative and outrageously creative in drug smuggling schemes requires a lot of  desperation and obviously a lot of brains. Conversely, evidently as creative as the list of such schemes is as below, they all still got caught. Nevertheless, they do deserve a cachet for coming up with such ingenious ideas. 1. Cocaine Pringles credits: myninjaplease.com Chopping and slicing thinly sheets of cocaine to make it look just like Pringles and then putting them in a can of Pringles is definitely a pure desperate act of genius. In 2006, Austin, Texas, police found about 168 … Continue reading Creative Drug Smugglers (do not try this – this is illegal)

This is a world of competition and without reasonable doubt; women are in the forefront of absolutely everything under the sky, right alongside men. Nevertheless, the so-called superior specie likes to sometimes think otherwise. Here we have compiled for you a list of some stereotypes that men like to associate us ladies with and how we can justify each and every one of them: 1. Women Can’t Learn to Park A Car Men think that a woman behind the wheel is a pure breed from dumb Ville. They think that perhaps a poor lady behind the wheel of an Escalade … Continue reading Women!!!

Ever had an ice cream you didn’t enjoy? Obviously not, because Ice cream just has to be the best food ever. But, this universal popularity also means a variety of different cultural, experimental or just plain weird flavors. Here we present 10 such blends from around the world. 1. Horse Meat For various reasons, consumption of horse meat is a taboo for most people. However, when it comes to Japan, their food concepts are radically different. Well known for consumption of raw seafood as Sushis and Sashamis, the Japanese also savor a relatively unknown raw delicacy known as Basashi or … Continue reading Whats your favourite Ice cream flavour?

Facebook fuels American flag business in Pakistan dawn.com Pakistani Islamists shouting slogans during a protest in Karachi against the published caricatures of Prophet Mohammed on Facebook. In Pakistan a row about Facebook, censorship and religious sacrilege means booming demand for replica American and Israeli flags to go up in flames at protest rallies. – AFP Photo Pakistan Eunuch tells Pakistan court wedding claims ‘conspiracy’ Eunuch tells Pakistan court wedding claims ‘conspiracy’ KARACHI: In Pakistan a row about Facebook, censorship and religious sacrilege means booming demand for replica American and Israeli flags to go up in flames at protest rallies. That … Continue reading At least Facebook helps sell American flags to Mullahs!

by Farah Zahidi Moazzam dawn.com The race begins quite early. It starts with animated discussions about which school the baby-to-be will go to. One-year-olds are sent to playschools that guarantee admissions in top-of-the-line schools offering O Levels. Before admission tests, tiny tots are taken for regular visits to familiarise them with the schools they will apply for admission to, and photos of that school’s principal are lifted off the internet and repeatedly shown to the toddlers to make sure they are relaxed during the interview. Fast-forward eight to 10 years. Mothers (and I confess to being one of them) can … Continue reading The politics of professionals

Face-off with Facebook By Irfan Husain dawn TV coverage of the recent demonstrations in Pakistan against Facebook showed angry, bearded faces of men who, it must be said, would be hard pressed to describe what the social networking phenomenon is about. –Photo by Reuters Of late, Facebook, the global social networking site, has been experiencing a series of glitches on its path to world conquest. With over 400 million users, and revenues in excess of a billion dollars, it is one of the Internet’s biggest success stories. And no, Pakistan’s decision to impose a ban on the site has nothing … Continue reading Mullahfication of Pakistans Internet?

VIEW: The desire for peace –Ikram Sehgal There is now a dire and immediate need to change old mindsets and give way to a new and positive thinking. Both Pakistan and India need to avoid shortsighted policies for political point-scoring or short-term gains Peace and good relations between Pakistan and India will remain a dream unless two core issues are sorted out. Kashmir has lingered for over 60 years for a resolution while the one now taking priority is the dispute over water. The water dispute directly threatens the very survival of Pakistan because of the continuing impasse over our … Continue reading Pakistan and India – desire for peace?

COMMENT: Embedded with the Taliban? –Dr Mohammad Taqi Many in the Pakistani media used the 2007-2009 lawyers’ movement in Pakistan as an ablution ritual to distance themselves from their fundamentalist past and created a centrist illusion around themselves “Newspapermen commit murder every day and week and go unpunished. Not that they escape judgment when they murder the King’s English; for that crime they are duly condemned. But day in and day out, they ‘kill stories’ with impunity. Or without criticism they may even ‘bury’ a story that is ‘alive’…” — Dorothy Colburn, ‘Newspaper Nomenclature’, February 1927 A couple of weeks … Continue reading In Bed with the Taliban?