Lights, camera, action … By David Moon Last week, United States Vice President Joseph Biden visited Israel on a goodwill mission to regain the trust lost during last year’s attempt by the Barack Obama administration to strong-arm Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s new government into a “comprehensive settlement freeze” in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Biden began his rounds first with Israeli President Shimon Peres at the official residence. The message Biden wrote in the guest book, “The bond between our two nations has been and will remain unshakable. Only together can we achieve lasting peace in the region,” struck … Continue reading Biden reveals a backbone!

Brazil steps between Israel and Iran By Pepe Escobar Talk about a Via Dolorosa. Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is the first Brazilian president to visit Israel officially. Lauded for his charisma, swing and formidable negotiating powers – United States President Barack Obama refers to him as “the man” – little did Lula know that to engage his hosts this week he would have to give the Prophet Abraham a run for his money, no less. In the end, he stood his ground. He made no concessions. And unlike United States Vice President Joseph Biden last week, he even managed … Continue reading Israel and Iran – Lula

By The Mogambo Guru I got a disturbing e-mail from Bianco Research which showed a chart of “Private Credit Market Debt” which they say shows “Total credit market creation not including Treasury Debt, Municipal Debt and Agency Debt”. It is actually a horror that the level of private debt in the United States peaked last year at about US$36 trillion, which is certainly a lot of money, especially since total gross domestic product (GDP) of the Whole Freaking Country (WFC) is only $14 trillion (and falling!). In some kind of bizarre “good news/bad news” joke, total privatedebt has now actually fallen by a couple of trillion … Continue reading Debt doom

Checkered record of the world’s policeman By Jeremy Kuzmarov “In the police you see the dirty work of Empire at close quarters. The wretched prisoners huddling in stinking cages of the lock-ups, the grey cowed faces of the long-term convicts, the scarred buttocks of the men who had been flogged with bamboos.” – George Orwell, Shooting An Elephant and Other Essays. “The police interrogation rooms smelled of urine and injustice.” – Graham Greene, The Quiet American. As the United States expands the war in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the Barack Obama administration has placed a premium on police training programs. The stated aim … Continue reading US World Policeman?

By Francesco Sisci BEIJING – Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao’s press conference with foreign media at the end of the National People’s Congress on Sunday delivered a slap in the face to those in the United States who are calling for the appreciation of the yuan against the dollar to help stem the ongoing global economic crisis. Wen reiterated China’s position on the thorny issue: Beijing will keep the exchange rate stable. The value of the Chinese currency is an extremely sensitive topic for Beijing. The central government has already raised the possibility of revaluing the yuan by about 10%. With … Continue reading China rejects siren song on yuan

The rights and wrongs of halal Calls to outlaw halal and schechita slaughter are a diversion from the truth – that killing animals is never pleasant Nesrine Malik guardian.co.uk, I remember vividly the first time I saw an animal slaughtered at our home in Sudan. The hapless sheep was brought to the house and tethered in the garden days before the Eid festival. My sisters and I fed it, watered it and giggled at its silly bleats outside our bedroom windows at night. I was vaguely aware that this sheep was to provide food for us, but as a five-year-old … Continue reading A new attack on Muslims (and Jews) BAN HALAL AND KOSHER!

Indian cinema looks to up game and hit foreign jackpot dawn.com In a file picture taken on February 12, 2010, Indian actor Shah Rukh Khan poses for photographers as they arrive on the red carpet at the premiere of the film “My Name is Khan” during the 60th Berlinale Film Festival at Potsdamer platz in Berlin. — AFP Photo MUMBAI: Bad scripts, flimsy characters and poor-quality production are hindering Indian cinema as it attempts to capture new global audiences, leading industry figures say. Top actors, film-makers and executives said India needed to raise its game if it was to replicate … Continue reading Shahrukh Khan takes Indian Cinema global 🙂

dawn.com By Jawed Naqvi India’s chief military scientist V.K. Saraswat speaks during a press conference in New Delhi, India. Saraswat says the country will test a new long-range nuclear-capable missile, the Agni-V with a range of 5,000 kilometers, within a year. –AP Photo Nuclear outrage on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was carried out by a people whose hands were covered with the blood of countless black slaves, indigenous American tribes and with the internecine carnage of their own in what they called a civil war. Do Indians and Pakistanis have the stomach for a galling nuclear war? Given the bloodletting of … Continue reading Uncle Baniya and his Boyfriend – The Nuclear Bomb!

Acronymious Posted by Amber Rahim Shamsi  The late afternoon sun gilded our white tea cups. We were talking about stories of National Importance. It’s what some journalists do to feel Nationally Important. I often nodded my head because I was thinking of things of Domestic Importance, rather than National Importance. “Yes, and how about a story on Necta?” said my friend. “Right, that is a story of National Importance,” I said, doing the nodding thing again. If only I had a Blackberry, I could’ve surreptitiously Googled it under the sleek conference table. I did, later, in the comfort of my … Continue reading Quiet! Don’t tell anyone but NCTA will simply be a THINKTANK!!!