When the news leaked out that Mahatma Gandhi‘s personal belongings were going under the hammer on March 5, there was a public outcry in India and the Indian officials tried to persuade the Californian collector to sell these to them. But so far the collector has refused do so. Why? Because the Indian government was giving him low payment for such a precious collector’s items, which include Mahatma Gandhi’s Zenith pocket watch, steel-rimmed spectacles, a pair of sandals and an eating...

Aren’t we all worrying endlessly and banging our heads against a wall, knowing well that the frightening recession would not disappear in the foreseeable future? We are repeatedly told: “Jobs are scarce. Housing is a mess. And the difficulty of making money threatens our comfort and leaves us feeling anxious and stressed.” What is the way out? Pray that Barack Obama and Co, and other world leaders, would bail us out? Or is there any other possibility? Is self-help the best help?...

Twelve masked men attacked the Sri Lankan cricket team at Lahore, Pakistan, Tuesday seriously injuring some players and killing a few policemen guarding them. ( The attack bore the hallmarks of the same militants that carried out the attack on Mumbai in November, a senior Pakistan official said on Tuesday.) More here… The AFP quoted the police chief that it was likely the work of “well-trained terrorists”. He said five policemen were killed in the gun attack which also wounded...

Although Australia has joined hands with the US to train Pakistani soldiers in the on-going “war-on-terror”, there seems to be a great deal of doubt and confusion with regard to the success of this mission.There is an excellent article by Greg Sheridan, Foreign editor, The Australian, under the heading “Unhappy Marriage With Pakistan”. The immediate cause for concern in Australia is the imposition of Sharia law in Swat Valley, close to the capital Islamabad, and the rehabilitation...

Pakistan was often warned during the past two decades that its double-speak on, and nurturing of, Islamic militants and jihadists on its soil could one day endanger its own survival. By ceding the administrative control of certain border areas to Taliban recently, Pakistan has perhaps finally come to terms that the wolf has arrived on its doorstep, and the world is now in panic. On February 16, 2009, the Taliban militants and the government of Pakistan’s North WestFrontierProvince (NWFP) signed...

Last week when a commuter plane crashed in icy weather near Buffalo, New York, a tiny American lady with silver hair was among 50 people killed. Mrs Alison Des Forges, 66, was a rare scholar and human rights activist. She had issued a timely warning of the massacre in Rwanda, that later turned into one of the biggest modern genocides. As it is there are few outsiders who know about life (or take any interest) in African countries. “Mrs Alison Des Forges was steeped in Rwanda’s turbulent...

Ever wondered why the de riguer femme fatales of yesteryears’ movies have almost vanished from the screen. Some believe the dearth of old-style glamour could be one reason. Others think women were avid cinema-goers in the Forties, and maybe later, and these remarkable roles of vamps were created to spark their fantasies. Next month sees a monster celebration of the femme fatale in all her guises in Britain, reports The Independent. “Screened as part of the Birds Eye View women’s...

Some excellent articles have appeared in the recent weeks to help people understand the magnitude, gravity and the implications of the current financial crisis. I recommend a recent post by William K. Black on this subject in the Huffington Post. See here. Black makes an interesting analysis of the biggest white collar crime the world has witnessed, and which has pushed the financial markets to become profoundly dysfunctional. He is the author of “The Best Way to Rob a Bank Is to Own One:...

World’s love affair with President Barack Obama continues to manifest in different forms. Take, for example, a Brazilian carnival queen who painted President Barack Obama’s face on her body. (See the Huffington Post story here.)

Many among us who turn to the internet for our imagined or real ailments could become a “Cyberchondriac”. This term describes a growing number of otherwise rational internet users who, when they present their symptoms to “Dr Google”, latch on to the worst “diagnosis” thrown back at them, reports The Independent. “Cyberchondria has been around for almost a decade, but a recent study is the first to systematically investigate it. “Eric Horvitz and...

Many people are curious to know how the world’s richest man has managed to beat the global financial blues. For this answer one can now turn to a thousand-page official biography of Warren Buffett, The Snowball by Alice Schroeder. “It is surely the book of the moment, because a history of Warren Buffett is a history of high finance from the 1930s to the present day,” reports The Indpendent. “Stocks plunge, banks implode, currencies teeter…Amid the wreckage of the...

The Huffington Post has a story about a teenage mom and dad (from the Sun of London) that has rocked Britain. Whatever be the outcry, the young mom and dad look very happy. “Police said they had investigated but had decided to take no further action as it was ‘not in anyone’s interests’ to prosecute.” Here is the full story… Wikipedia states: “Child marriage has been prevalent in many cultures throughout human history, but has gradually diminished since some...

About four decades back a typical banker was an epitome of honesty, integrity, and, in short, a gentleman. It appears that in the past decade or so the increased criminal nexus between bankers, charltans and criminals (aided and abetted by greedy and myopic political leaders) have crippled the banking industry and created a crisis of credibility. This has created traumatic financial insecurity worldwide. It is becoming clearer that a surgical action is required to set things right. India faced a...

Abdul Qadeer Khan, described as Father of Pakistan’s (or Islamic) Nuclear Bomb, was freed from house arrest by the Islamabad High Court last week. The then president Pervez Musharraf incarcerated Khan five years ago after a great deal of pressure from the international community. However, the recent court judgement threatens to reopen a can of worms. It reads like a sordid tale of the connivance of the successive US administrations and the Pakistani rulers in shoving under the carpet (for...

A fictional character Wilkins Micawber, from Charles Dickens’ famous novel David Copperfield, was immortalized for saying his favourite words “something may turn up”. Finally, this fictional character ended up in a debtor’s prison. Although this may not the fate of the bloggers, but they do dream on…hoping that “something may turn up” one day. Daniel Lyons has an interesting piece on this subject. “I learned the hard way: while blogs can do many wonderful...

In our cynical times, there are also instances of young and old people bravely taking up professional/public causes and not fearing the consequences of the dangers inherent in such a step. The 25-year-old Anastasia Baburova, a Russian journalist who died on January 19th, would be remembered as a valiant fighter for a cause that was close to her heart — freedom of expression. Here is The Economist’s moving tribute to this young woman (please click here…). Excerpt: “She was...

Now that the din and bustle surrounding the Presidential Inaugural ceremony, etc, has settled and Barack Obama and his team have begun to move around in the corridors of power in Washington, it may not be out of place to make some tentative observations. However, I have always believed that a top leader should be allowed at least 100 days in office before any definitive appraisal of his performance is attempted. That is one reason why I have not yet written a word about the new Barack Obama administration....

Well, it seems so in Europe. It is working hard to lure passengers to travel by fast trains. An indication to the impact of this thrust is that Air France-KLM is considering replacing some of its short-haul European flights with a high-speed rail service. ” ‘Rail is becoming more of an option as people realise there is an alternative to flying,’ said Amanda Monroe, a spokeswoman for Rail Europe,” reports The Independent. ” ‘More tour operators are offering rail...

It is a split-second decision by the pilot that makes a difference between life and death. Of course, the final outcome is generally attributed to lady luck. But the saga of the the man flying the aircraft, his gut instinct and experience, in saving the passengers inevitably turns into another legend in the fascinating history of man and the flying machines. The Times of London has more on the rescue of passengers in New York. “Dramatic new details have emerged of the last moments of the...

Who should be the role model for centre-left US president-elect Barack Obama? The Sydney Morning Herald’s political editor quotes the Wall Street Journal columnist William McGurn, formerly chief speechwriter for George Bush: “It should be Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd” whose Labor Party has made their peace with the global economy. Knowledgeable Americans have pointed to Australia as some kind of model, exemplar, or best case. They complimented Australia on competent governance,...

The selection of Hillary Clinton as US Secretary of State was a masterstroke by president-elect Barack Obama to win over the disgruntled Democrats, and to provide a feminine touch to the American foreign policy that had fallen in the hands of macho men who have created havoc in different parts of the world during the past few years. In fact the leaders in Europe, Asia and elsewhere have remained a mute witness to the barbarism that has been practised in the name of diplomacy. Nearly all these leaders...

Bollywood’s celebrated film music director, Allah Rakkha Rahman has created history by becoming the first Indian to bag the prestigious Golden Globe Award on Sunday. Rahman has sold nearly as many albums as Madonna, reports Reuters. “His scores for a host of Indian language movies have fused global influences from hip-hop and rap to Broadway musicals and Indian folk music in a way that critics believe could help Bollywood music become more global. “Rahman, 43, wrote the music...

The murder of Lasantha Wickramatunga, 51, a fearless and outspoken Sri Lankan editor, by unknown gunmen on January 8 brings to light the hazards faced by journalists who take their profession seriously. Here is a tribute to Wickramatunga in South Asia’s wellknown magazine HIMAL: “On 9 January, Himal Southasian, Kathmandu held a meeting in memory of Lasantha Wickramatunga. “At a well-attended gathering, tribute was paid to Lasantha for continuing with his fearless and bold writing,...

The Pakistan government is in a tizzy. After days of denial, and emphatically stating that no Pakistani national was involved in the last month’s bloody terror attack in Mumbai (Bombay), its National security adviser Mahmud Durrani made a dramatic announcement on Wednesday. He said that Ajmal Kasab, the lone survivor among the Mumbai attackers (who is in the Indian police custody), is a Pakistani national. However, this public admission cost Mr Durrani his job the same day!!! (Earlier, Indian...

It can be a traumatic experience for any teenager to live without a mother snatched away in a brutal manner. A year after Pakistan’s charismatic leader Benazir Bhutto’s assassination, her 18-year-old daughter Bakhtawar has expressed her anguish through a moving song that is being broadcast on the State-run television. “Like any child who has lost a parent, it was only natural that Benazir Bhutto’s eldest daughter would wish to express her grief for her murdered mother. Less...