Does anyone care to revamp education system? By Ismail Khan dawn.com A Pakistani girl at her school in Mingora, the main town of Pakistan troubled Swat Valley. A province that has little resources of its own spends Rs30 billion on education, Rs24 billion of which is spent on salaries of teachers and other allied staff. – AP (File Photo) Editorial Reading campaign Reading campaign “WHERE is Malta?’ a panelist at an interview board asked a candidate – a postgraduate in Geography – who had applied for a job to teach the same subject. “Malta?” a somewhat puzzled candidate retorted, with … Continue reading Does the Pakistan government care to revamp education system?

Cyber attack ‘could fell US within 15 minutes’ The US must prepare itself for a full-scale cyber attack which could cause death and destruction across the country in less than 15 minutes, the former anti-terrorism Tsar to Bill Clinton and George W Bush has warned. Alex Spillius in Washington telegraph.co.uk Former White House counterterrorism advisor Richard A Clarke Photo: EPA Richard Clarke claims that America’s lack of preparation for the annexing of its computer system by terrorists could lead to an “electronic Pearl Harbor”. In his warning, Mr Clarke paints a doomsday scenario in which the problems start with the … Continue reading US can be destroyed with 15 mins of an Indian or Chinese Cyber Attack!

Dining on aroma by Amber Rahim Shamsi dawn.com My friend Aisha has a new theory: instead of suppressing the craving for a slice of chocolate cake, smell it. Fool the brain into thinking that chocolate cake will soon be consumed and the craving goes away; the brain isn’t all that smart, she says. She got the idea from a sitcom, where lean, muscular thirty-somethings lounge on a bench outside a bakery, inhaling the aroma of oven-fresh goodies while sipping on their low-fat soy milk lattes. The theory, coming from a serial dieter and derived from a sitcom, may not be … Continue reading Smell of food – whats your favourite?

‘Death metal’ trainee teacher told to quit gory band or resign A trainee teacher who fronts a gory death metal band whose live act features blood-smeared women has been threatened with dismissal by German authorities. Thomas Gurrath Photo: CEN Unless he abandons his controversial music career with the band Debauchery, Thomas “The Bloodbeast” Gurrath will have to give up his teaching traineeship, according to a report in Bild, the German daily. The 29-year-old Stuttgart-based teacher and his band have released albums with names like “Kill, Maim, Burn” and “Torture Pit”. The band’s live shows and promotional materials feature nude women … Continue reading Mr Thomas “The Bloodbeast” Gurrath – trainee teacher needs your support!

George Rekes latest anti-gay leader caught in gay tryst Yet another religious leader who fought gay rights apparently doesn’t practice what he preaches. George Alan Rekers, known in conservative circles as a staunch anti-gay activist who champions “curing” homosexuals, solicited a 20-year-old male hooker online from a website called rentboy.com, according to a published report. The Baptist minister then reportedly took his escort for a 10-day romp through Europe last month, according to a published report. The allegation drew parallels to former Florida Rep. Mark Foley, evangelical pastor Ted Haggard and other leaders who opposed rights but were either pursuing … Continue reading Anti Gay Christian Extremist caught with 20 year old rentboy

By Jeremy Scahill The writer is an investigative journalist and author of Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army Erik Prince, the reclusive owner of the Blackwater empire, rarely gives public speeches and when he does he attempts to ban journalists from attending and forbids recording or videotaping of his remarks. On May 5, that is exactly what Prince tried to do when he spoke at DeVos Fieldhouse as the keynote speaker for the “Tulip Time Festival” in his hometown of Holland, Michigan. He told the event’s organisers no news reporting could be done on his speech and … Continue reading What Blackwater’s Erik Prince does not want us to hear

By Fahd Husain The writer is Director News for Express News and 24/7 (fahd.husain@tribune.com.pk) If you are, or ever were, a Pakistani and are in the United States right now; good luck to you. The firestorm is coming right at you. You may thank Faisal Shahzad and his choice of Nissan Pathfinder as the smoking gun. Believe me I know. I was in New York on September 11, 2001. I lived through the nightmare and its aftermath and saw America’s transformation all around me as the nation reeled from the towering body blow. I remember watching the TV screen in the … Continue reading Dealing with our demons

By Salman Masood The writer is an Islamabad-based journalist whose reports frequently appear in The New York Times. (salman.masood@tribune.com.pk) Is Faisal Shahzad an aberration or representative of a pervasive trend amongst young Muslims, especially Pakistanis, to resort to violence for whatever political or religious grievances they nurture against the west? On the face of it, Faisal Shahzad does not fit the classic profile of a terrorist. Being the son of a retired air vicemarshal of the Pakistan Air Force, he must have enjoyed all the perks and privileges children of armed forces officials are used to. He wasn’t book smart … Continue reading When the minority holds all of us hostage

Microfliers could search for missing people, detect bombs, and perhaps even deliver drugs inside the human body. While Predator drones prove their mettle in Afghanistan and Pakistan, a new generation of far smaller flying robots is taking shape in various labs. These micro­­fliers may soon take on a variety of military missions and innovative humanitarian ones as well. At the University of Waterloo in Ontario, microroboticist Behrad Khamesee has developed a flying robot about the size of a pencil eraser. A pair of laser-operated, fingerlike grippers allow the bot to grasp and release small objects. The device operates wirelessly, powered … Continue reading The Latest Trend in Aircraft: Really, Really Tiny

Admittedly, the project is a little dangerous—not because of a few little fusion reactions but because of the the very flammable gas and voltages high enough to instantly kill you. Most college freshmen fill their dorm rooms with clothes, books, and electronics. Thiago Olson also brought his fusion reactor. But Vanderbilt University drew the line: No do-it-yourself reactors in the dorm! Instead, his device was housed in a nearby laboratory. Olson’s project was motivated by the challenge of doing fusion—and by the same promise that has inspired thousands of physicists over the past half century. Nuclear fusion is the energy … Continue reading Build a $1000 Fusion Reactor in Your Basement!