HUM HINDUSTANI: The two crusaders —J Sri Raman Swamy and Thackeray are past masters at political lynching, though Thackeray’s followers may get physical about it as well. And both continue with their series of crusades, regardless of either results or reactions The dissimilarities between Bal Thackeray and Subramanian Swamy are many and manifest. There is, however, no mistaking their striking similarity as practitioners of the politics of dementia. The main dissimilarity consists in the fact that the Shiv Sena chief enjoys a nationwide notoriety, while very few know of Swamy as the Führer of the Janata Party. Even fewer are … Continue reading The bad rash of Hindu Mullahs!

VIEW: Us, the libertines —Reem Wasay Liberalism, in essence, is a disentanglement from the central components of ideologies that must be reversed so as to integrate ourselves within the global intention In the dangerously disoriented day and age that is today, our glaringly ignorant libertines seem to have fallen off the bandwagon of ‘get-with-it enlightenment’ to become misguided messiahs for what can only be termed a sadly lost cause. Every glossy, time-out rag and two-cent publication will tell you that Pakistan’s neo-radicals are none other than the freewheeling fashion week firewalkers, predominant amongst most of our event-cum-party pages. Whilst most … Continue reading Going global without the mullahs!

Comment: Together making a greater mess —Zafar Hilaly While we have no right to object to greater Indian influence in Afghanistan, what we justifiably find intolerable is the use that India makes of its hold over Karzai to belittle Pakistan, fund Baloch insurgents who enjoy a safe haven in Afghanistan and create for our military the awful prospect of a two-front threat George W Bush will soon be penning his memoirs. The chapter on Afghanistan should not take long. Five Latin words would suffice, namely, veni (I came), vidi (I saw), vincit (I prevailed) and hesitat (I dithered). And if … Continue reading Indian Games, American Pickle, Pakistan do more!

A prescription for meditation Research shows Transcendental Meditation, despite its celebrity baggage, can be an effective way of fighting depression Ed Halliwell guardian.co.uk, Thursday 8 April 2010 14.30 BST Article history Magical mystery tour: the Beatles, among devotees at a transcendental meditation course in Bangor, North Wales, given by the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, 1967. Photograph: Hulton Archive/Getty For the second time this year, news that meditation techniques can be an effective treatment for depression has received widespread media coverage. In January, the Mental Health Foundation recommended expanding the provision of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for everyone at risk of depressive relapse … Continue reading Meditation is good for you

ElBaradei can inspire change in Egypt The 6 April clashes in Cairo show Mubarak’s vulnerability, and ElBaradei’s celebrity clout can help those below take advantage Jack Shenker guardian.co.uk He looked to be in his early 20s. With his shirt ripped open and blood trickling down one side of his face, it took all the energy he could muster to momentarily writhe free of the six thugs dragging him off to a police truck and issue a final, desperate appeal to the stunned tourists watching from the other side of the street. “This is the real Egypt!” he yelled as the … Continue reading ElBaradei, President of Egypt in waiting

Waterworld Creatures With Wings Here are fishes with wings. Some of them are actually capable of gliding high in the air. It’s a bird, it’s a plane! It’s superman? Of course not, it’s a fish! Yes, some fish do have wings like birds. Down, down … and here they are – waterworld’s creatures with wings. Band-wing flyingfish (Cheilopogon exsiliens) Image Source This creature of the waterworld is one of the most elegant-looking flyingfish. It have large pectoral and pelvic fins that looks like wings and like other species of flyingfish, it is capable of leaping out of the water that … Continue reading Winged Fish etc!

Pakistan’s divides grow ever-deeper By Syed Saleem Shahzad ISLAMABAD – The brazen attack on Monday on the United States consulate in Peshawar, the capital of Pakistan’s North-West Frontier Province (NWFP), was the first ever against a US facility in the restive region. The attack, in which gunmen fired on a security post at the consulate in broad daylight before detonating a car bomb, killing eight people, comes at a key time in Pakistan’s turbulent history: deep fissures have created an environment ripe for exploitation by militants. At stake is not only the security – and survival – of Pakistan, but … Continue reading Mullahs Attack Peshawar!

By Julien Mercille The latest chapter in the Iranian nuclear crisis revolves around a possible “nuclear fuel swap” through which Iran would send most of its low-enriched uranium stocks (LEU at 3.5%) abroad, possibly to Russia and France, which would further enrich it (making it LEU at 19.5%) and then turn it into fuel rods. The fuel rods would be sent to Iran, which could use them in the Tehran Research Reactor (TRR) to produce much needed medical isotopes. The problem for Iran at the moment is that the TRR was last refueled in 1993 by Argentina, but it will … Continue reading The devil’s in Iran’s nuclear details