According to a report in Dawn, Pakistan government has lost billions in revenue because of the chaos that was caused by rain in Karachi. This is not good news. There is no question that this rain in Karachi broke all records, at least for the last 30 years, but the response from those who were […]
‘Opposition supporters who attended the Friday Prayer service in Tehran had responded to calls to chant “Death to America!” by chanting “Death to Russia!” instead’, Robert Mackey writes in today’s New York Times blog. Though I completely agree with the commenter who noted ‘I’m not sure that “Death to Russia!” is the best way to […]
A lot is being said in the Indian media about the inclusion of Balochistan in the India-Pakistan joint statement at Sharm el-Sheikh. [ link, link] Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is accused of giving Pakistan the upper hand by making Balochistan a bilateral problem, instead of the internal problem that it is. The Pakistani Prime Minister’s […]
The annual Tri-Nations tournament, pitting the national rugby teams of southern hemisphere powers South Africa, New Zealand, and Australia is now underway. On Saturday New Zealand’s mighty All Blacks, who seem not to be quite as mighty as in years past, defeated the Wallabies of Australia 22-16 in Auckland. Nonetheless, the Springboks still enter as […]
Mauritania had a coup in which its first democratically elected president, President Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi, was ousted. The new leadership holds an election that the coup-installed leader, Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, wins comfortably and by enough of a margin to avoid a runoff. There are allegations of corruption in the voting. The opposition calls […]
Somalia is complex. The situation there seems incomprehensible and hopeless. The logical response, then, is to wash our hands of it and simply try to contain the seemingly intractable problems that characterize basically stateless Somalia in hopes that they do not bleed beyond its borders. Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, the United Nations’ Special Representative for Somalia, rejects […]
In a Commentary article bound to stir up some controversy, Tod Lindberg puts forward “The Only Way to Prevent Genocide.” A few sample passages (I insert ellipses in brackets to indicate where there are long passages between what I have included): We simply do not have to put up with this. By “we,” let me […]
Firoze Manji, editor-in-chief of Pambazuka News, presents the speech he wishes President Obama had given in Ghana. This is all well and good and unobjectionable. But this is, of course, not the speech that Obama gave and it is usually better to deal with the world as it is than the world as we wish […]
In an excellent piece in Daily Times, the writer deplored the conspiracy theorists in Pakistan claiming that the US is working on re-drawing the map of Asia, and there is no room for Pakistan in this ‘new map’. The writer correctly pointed out that this type of hysterical notions have been claiming that Pakistan is […]
The ultra-orthodox community in Israel and the settlements continues to gain increased political clout in Israeli politics, according to a new report from the International Crisis Group. Due to high birthrates and political mobilization, these communities will likely prove to be a significant hurdle in the evacuation of settlements and the realization of a two-states […]
As border enforcement stiffens, fewer ‘safe’ routes are leaving workers and drug traffickers corralled side-by-side in northern Mexico. This precarious arrangement likely contributes to the recent drop in Mexican immigration. More and more often unarmed workers are being assaulted and robbed by traffickers, adding to the perils of border crossing. During the day, motley clothed […]
The Obama Administration’s mandate of a settlement will include any Jewish construction projects in East Jerusalem, according to U.S. officials cited in various news reports. The clarification comes amidst plans to transform a hotel in predominantly Palestinian East Jerusalem into apartments for Jews. Protestors rallied yesterday to show opposition to the construction project. Opposition to construction […]
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