COMMENT: Sixty-three years on: still India’s vital interest —Aparna Pande Mistrust is bridged by opening borders and improving visa regimes, by championing trade and commerce and above all by the willingness to listen to the other person and to continue talks despite disagreements and differences India’s Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao recently stated: “I believe that dialogue is the most effective means to tackle outstanding issues with Pakistan and the abandonment of dialogue; the interruption of the dialogue, by no means serves the interest that we seek to pursue in getting Pakistan to stop its pursuit of terrorism against India.” In … Continue reading Sixty-three years on: still India’s vital interest

COMMENT: The purpose behind sectarian violence —Dr Syed Mansoor Hussain In many parts of Pakistan, the Taliban religious philosophy has sympathisers and supporters among the general public, politicians, bureaucracy at all levels, police forces and of course among the local religious establishments and mosques. As such the religious terrorists do not work in a vacuum but have local help and protection Sectarian violence is as old as organised religion. However, sectarianism becomes a large scale problem only when it is taken over by a political group to obtain political advantage. There is no point in rehashing the long and violent … Continue reading The purpose behind sectarian violence

COMMENT: Financing flood reconstruction —Muhammad Aftab Out of 21 banks, 12 recorded an increase on the back of higher fee income and a 39 percent decline to Rs 19 billion in loan losses. The banks failed to control their management and administrative expenses, which were up 13 percent to Rs 71 billion As the floods recede, the country is a picture of destruction. Now comes the hard task: of reconstruction; helping farmers, industry and business to put them back on their feet. Whatever the cost of reconstruction is going to be, the financing task is unusual and enormous. Extraordinary steps … Continue reading Financing flood reconstruction

Smokers’ Corner: Hot yuppie soup Nadeem F. Paracha “Those needing psychiatric treatment most are many among the educated and modern: the chattering classes and their hip, self-contradictory and condescending offspring who have become great fodder for urban radical-conservatism.” – Illustration by Abro Sometimes I feel that the human condition in Pakistan is actually a medical condition. At this point, Pakistan does not need politicians, technocrats or economists to improve its lot. It needs psychiatrists. I am not talking about the masses as such. They’ve swung from left to right, right to left and then back again in their assessments about … Continue reading Designer Mullahs!

Life vs. Productivity: “What Would You Live and Die to Protect?” “It is criminal to teach a man not to defend himself, when he is the constant victim of brutal attacks.” -Malcolm X If someone broke into your house, pinned down your loved ones and began pouring poison down their throats, would you stop that person? What if someone poured crude oil all over your crops and livestock? Wouldn’t you try to stop them from doing it? Oyster beds soaked in BP oil. (Photo: Erika Blumenfeld © 2010) Oil filled inland lagoon on Timbalier Island, Louisiana. (Photo: Erika Blumenfeld © … Continue reading What Would You Live and Die to Protect?

Words matter unless they don’t, in 2010. On this side of the Pond, Tony Blair glibly slammed Gordon Brown on the BBC this week, whilst releasing his memoir at the moment his Labour Party began its critical leadership vote. Coincidence? In Arizona’s desert, accidental Governor Jan Brewer refused to answer reporters’ questions about her discredited claim of “headless bodies in the desert,” and so badly blew a prepared gubernatorial debate opening statement that many wondered if this had become the new Republican Tea Party strategy: say nothing for the next two months and pray no one notices. This strategy led … Continue reading Words matter

Hatred and Stupidity … But I Repeat Myself by: William Rivers Pitt, t r u t h o u t | Op-Ed (Image: Lance Page / t r u t h o u t; Adapted: Chris S., Gage Skidmore) 2010 is shaping up to be the Year of the Hate Crime in America, thanks in large part to right-bent Republicans and their Tea Party allies who have nothing to run on in the upcoming midterms. Think about it; would you want to run for office as a Republican these days? Their dearest economic ideas gave us the current recession, their … Continue reading Hatred and Stupidity …

Keeping up appearances A new study demonstrates that how women musicians dress alters the perception of how they play Ben Goldacre guardian.co.uk, Friday 3 September 2010 21.11 BST Article history Everyone likes to imagine they are rational, fair, and free from prejudice. But how easily are we misled by appearances? Noola Griffiths studies the psychology of music, and she’s published a cracking paper on how what women wear affects your judgment of their performance. The results are predictable but the context is interesting. Four female musicians were filmed playing in three different outfits: a concert dress, jeans, and a nightclubbing dress. … Continue reading How women musicians dress alters the perception of how they play

BOOK REVIEW: Of gods and men —by Afrah Jamal Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief By Rick Riordan Penguin; Pp 400; Rs 425 Olympian gods and goddesses are not exactly great role models; their moral compass is frequently out of order and no one dares suggest they get it fixed. The (stormy) age of the gods was great while it lasted but it is over. Rick Riordan reawakens the gods, gives them another shot at (eternal) life with a brand new home, creating a new legion of heroes and heroines in the process. He then combines all these elements to … Continue reading Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief