Sean Patrick Murphy reviews ‘Darshan: The Embrace.’ Following is an excerpt from his review. You can find the complete review at the Global Film Review blog. ” This movie is a snooze fest. Which is unfortunate because the subject, Amma, is fascinating. What director Jan Kounen appears to have tried is to provide a documentary […]
I look at the news of the day as either a sign or a signal. A sign is a piece or stream of data that serve as declarative propositions about the world. Signs describe the world contemporaneously, as true or false through argument, news, video, photographs or–for that matter– blog posts. Signs carry no prescriptions […]
Philippines: China and the Philippines signed two major agreements last week. The first agreement, the Joint Action Plan for Strategic Cooperation, is a bilateral relations road map for the next five years. The second, the Philippines-China Consular Agreement, is the first consular agreement that the Philippines has negotiated with another nation. This agreement includes notification […]
Zainab Jeewanjee interviews former National Security advisor, Foreign Minister & Attorney General of Pakistan. They discuss Jinnah, democracy, Musharraf international relations and current political affairs in Pakistan.
The Indian Ministry of Defense announced that domestic companies will now be allowed to bid for large defense contracts. So far domestic companies could supply only non-combative equipment to the Indian military. They can now bid for contracts for tanks, artillery and air-crafts. In July when the CAG’s report criticised defense procurement methods, this author […]
Following on the heels of the Indo-US joint military exercise, Indian Defense Minister A.K. Antony said that there is no possibility of Indian military involvement in Afghanistan. Though the joint military exercise was aimed at the study of counter-terrorism efforts and peace-keeping operations, the Indian Defense Minister categorically denied any intention of sending troops to […]
SE Asia: The NY Times has an article discussing East and Southeast Asian economic integration. Thai prime minister, Abhisit Vejjajiva, believes that the regions should be looking for a new growth model, one that is less reliant on the consumption of Western nations. This would mean increasing domestic demand and increasing aid between Asian nations. […]
US-India conduct two week joint military exercise. A sign of strengthening ties the joint exercise (YudhAbhyas) consisted of the Mechanised Infantry Battalion of the Indian Army and Second Squadron of 14th Cavalry Regiment of 25 Stryker Brigade Combat Team. The two countries shared experiences in peace keeping operations and also humanitarian work during disaster relief […]
Cambodia – In a never ending quest to irritate his larger neighbor, Thailand, Cambodia’s Prime Minister, Hun Sen, is considering allowing former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to move there. Despite the fact he is wanted on criminal charges in Thailand, ranging from tax evasion to treason. Thaksin was deposed in a bloodless 2006 coup […]
My heart sank when I read “ISLAMABAD: A wave of suicide bombings, coordinated grenade, bomb and gun assaults, and drive-by shootings blamed on militants has left more than 190 people dead in Pakistan so far this month.“ on Dawn. Is this the same Pakistan that some Western countries accuse of ‘not doing enough’ in the fight […]
As Pakistan’s military steps up offensive efforts in Waziristan against terrorists, tension ensues among civilians who are increasingly living in fear and uncertainty. Zainab Jeewanjee describes this through her grandmothers experience of Pakistan’s history and how it relates to a desolate lack of expectation which has transcended to even younger generations today as Pakistan faces the War on Terror.
Thailand – A Thai HIV Vaccine trial, led by Dr. Supachai Rerks-Ngarm of the Department of Disease Control of the Thai Ministry’s Public Health Department, was successful in that it provided coverage to a small percentage of participants, which is better than any previous trial. A combination vaccine, using strains of HIV common in Thailand, […]
Finally, the operation in Wazristan is under way, thank God. Pakistan is doing a good job of clearing every place that was a safe heaven for the nuts in and around Pakistan. Now, policy makers in Pakistan should not focus on achieving short term military objective. This war is not going to be easy and […]
Shaukat Aziz delivers a Keynote address at the 2009 Organization of Pakistani Entrepreneurs Conference in Washington DC (OPEN). Zainab Jeewanjee reports on Aziz’s address which focused on international security, the global financial meltdown, terrorism and bridging gaps with the Muslim world.
A BBC article documents Pakistani citizens who support a military offensive to take out terrorists. Citizens of Pakistan increasingly suffer the brunt of terrorism since 9/11 as a spillover of militants from Afghanistan found their way to the northern areas. In addition to our strategic interests, America should take into account the grave human element of suffering that our allies face in cooperating with our efforts in the War on Terror.
