“Why are you standing there with a donkey?” said an old Palestinian man. “This is a nice modern city, and you’re standing there with a donkey! What are you trying to say? What’s wrong with you?” With this quote BBC correspondent Aleem Maqbool begins his fascinating description of his walk from Nazareth to Bethlehem, retracing a journey made by Joseph and Mary in the Christmas story told by Luke in the New Testament. More here… And if you are intersted in...

The US administration’s doublespeak on India and Pakistan is legendary and has made it virtually impossible to end the so-called “war-on-terror”. The Mumbai barbarism last month again exposed this. Following the UN sanctions against certain militant-terrorist organizations in Pakistan, the US state department officials paid ritual visits to the two countries and mouthed the usual admonitions/concerns. Pakistan took the usual line: “Let India give us proof”, and then...

Objective/fair reporting and debate have been the biggest casualty in the mass media and elsewhere in the past decade. Jingoism and bullying have managed to suppress voices of professionalism and reason. Here is a voice of reason from Pakistan. (Unfortunately, in India and Pakistan the media/political discourse on Kashmir never takes into account the game plan, and geo-political stakes, of the world powers in Kashmir or even Afghanistan.) Writing in the well-known Pakistani newspaper, The Dawn,...

As we witness the dying embers of George W. Bush’s presidency, the American people’s anger at their country’s top executive is no less than that of the Iraqi journalist who hurled shoes and abuses at the US president. A recent PEW poll reveals how Americans describe Bush by different names — some of them a lot worse than “dog.” The Washington Post reports: “For his part, Bush has repeatedly claimed to be unbothered by his low popularity, and has pointed...

William Mark Felt, who died at age 95, was an unusual FBI man who made history. He helped reveal one of the biggest political scandals of the 20th century, which ended when Richard Nixon became the first US president to resign in disgrace, reports AFP. “Felt, the number-two official at the Federal Bureau of Investigation at the time, was the secret informant known as “Deep Throat”, who provided two Washington Post reporters with crucial information about the Watergate scandal. “For...

Americans are known the world over for their love affair with cars…the bigger, the better. But their long time symbol of freedom and romance — THE CAR or The AUTOMOBILE — is in trouble with the car making giants Chrysler, General Motors and Ford in convulsions struggling to survive the recession. The USA and Canada are far behind the European countries in providing mass rapid transportation within cities. North America seems to have left individuals to fend for themselves and encouraged...

Journalists seem to be shedding, with quite a vengeance, their post 9/11 image as subservient/embedded pen-pushers. The Iraqi TV journalist reached the other extreme by using shoes instead of pen. Now a British scribe has made a deadly attack on top British and US political leadership. Sample the ‘ballistic missile’ from Matthew Norman: “Throwing footwear at the front man for the perpetrator-in-chief, the limitlessly disgusting Dick Cheney, is a splendid way to express revulsion...

While President Bush takes the so-called “victory lap” in Iraq and Afghanistan, his country folks reel under recession. It is a sad story of a mighty nation that is now groaning under unemployment, vanishing jobs and mortgage defaults. The Reuters reports that “more and more Americans from all social classes are pawning their possessions to make ends meet. “Pawn shop owners see strong business across the country, even in unexpected locales like Beverly Hills, the mecca of...

During my recent longish stay in Australia, I have come to enjoy the wines there. Earlier, I preferred only French and Austrian wines. Now here comes a rather heartening/healthy news that would tempt me to make another visit to Australia asap!!! “Although the benefits of wine have been known for centuries, new bottles from (Australia’s) ‘Wine Doctor vineyard’ are loaded with up to 100 times more resveratrol, the antioxidant that prevents the build-up of fat in arteries,”...

Today South Africa seems to be competing with Iraq in providing sensational copy for different reasons. Associated Press takes note of the newly-crowned Miss World Kseniya Sukhinova from Russia. In the photo above Sukhinova stands with first princess Parvathy Omanakuttai from India and second princess Gabrielle Walcott from Trinidad and Tobago during the Miss World contest in Johannesburg.

It is not that the spy agencies of the USA, Pakistan and India have abolished their “dirty tricks” departments. The reason we should stop blaming CIA, ISI and RAW is simple. For too long we have blamed our “hands” for cutting someone else’s throat, while absolving the “heads”. The photo above is self explanatory. President Bush, or for that matter Pakistan’s Asif Zardari or India’s Manmohan Singh, stand right at the middle and must squarely bear...

Well done, President George W. Bush. As a sportsman, I admired your ducking capability and your witty response when, on receiving an Iraqi journalist’s shoes, you reacted by saying that “the shoe number is 10″. Why don’t you try these shoes for a change…and know if it pinches? You insisted on a “farewell” visit to your favorite destination — Iraq. It seems that “boots” were destined to be your last historic gift from your hosts. (Remember...

An Indian woman journalist has provided a detailed on-the-spot report from the headquarters of Pakistan’s controversial Lashkar-e-Taiyyebba, or Taiba, (LeT), allegedly the epi-center of “new wave of terrorism”. Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone terrorist who was captured alive in Mumbai, is supposed to have studied here. (See my earlier post “Terror Update: Pakistan, USA and Mafia Don” here…) Writes Harinder Baweja: “Nestled between tall trees and a meshed wire...

It is getting murkier and murkier. Dawood Ibrahim, India-born mafia don (who is said to be safely hiding in Pakistan), is emerging as a key suspect in “the funding and logistical support for the November 26 terrorist strike on Mumbai.” Dubbed as “India’s Osama Bin Laden”, Dawood is also allegedly behind the 2006 Mumbai train bombings (which killed at least 200 people); and 1993 bomb attacks in Mumbai (which killed 260 people). Last month’s Mumbai terrorist carnage killed...

Under the recent UN sanctions Pakistan government has begun a crackdown on a section of the known terror structure on its soil. It is believed that even this step might not have been taken if the incoming Obama administration in the US had not “pushed” its old ally Pakistan to act. (Meanwhile the father of the lone Pakistani gunman, arrested for the Mumbai terror, has admitted that the young man whose picture was beamed by media (photo above), is his son…It is a sad and moving...

Mumbai police today released the names of 10 alleged attackers who killed 171 persons in a three-day siege of parts of this financial hub of India. Meanwhile Pakistan has made it clear that it would not hand over the alleged planners of attack to India. “Police said all 10 attackers were from Pakistan, most of them from Punjab province, and were between the age of 20 and 28,” reports ABC News quoting Muneeza Naqvi, Associated Press writer. “Only one gunman, previously identified...

The Reader’s Digest had introduced a column “Laughter The Best Medicine” that remained popular for many years. A recent report says that “Strength Through Laughter” therapy being offered by medical facilities in the US is proving effective. Ula Ilnytzky, Associated Press Writer, says: “While the verdict is out on whether laughter plays a role in healing, the American Cancer Society and other medical experts say it reduces stress and promotes relaxation by lowering...

India and the US intelligence have known the existence of militant/terrorist camps in Pakistan for two decades but have mysteriously hesitated in squashing them. But post-Mumbai terrorist attacks the US administration has finally woken up to the gravity of the situation… And Pakistan had no option but to act. (Hope it is not an eyewash). A recent report says that Pakistan troops have captured the alleged mastermind of Mumbai terror attack. (To read a related New York Times’ article...

In a major attack, about 30 “suspected militants” armed with guns and rockets attacked the Portward Logistic Terminal in Peshawar (Pakistan) burning 106 vehicles carrying critical supplies (including Humvees) to NATO and US troops in Afghanistan. A latest report says:”Rising violence and instability in Pakistan’s northwest coincides with serious tensions with its eastern neighbour India in the wake of recent terrorist attacks in Mumbai. “Sunday’s assault was the...

Until two decades ago the highly cosmopolitan Mumbai (or Bombay) stood as a shining example of the peaceful co-existence between Hindus, Muslims, Jews, Christians, Parsis or any other religions and sects. I doubt that the centuries-old traditions would vanish in the wake of a tragedy unleashed by a few hot-headed and misguided/brain-washed young people this week. A 500-year-old Muslim mosque and dargah in Mumbai (photo above) attracts 40,000 believers every Thursday and Friday, a majority of them...

With the elections to the Indian states and the federal parliament looming in the horizon, the Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh has taken a major gamble by inviting the chief of the Pakistan’s controversial spy agency ISI to assist in solving the mystery behind Mumbai terror attacks. (AP file photo above shows: From left, US Adm. Mike Mullen, Rear Adm. Scott Van Buskirk, Pakistan’s army chief Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and the ISI chief Lt. Gen. Ahmed Shuja Pasha.) The Guardian...

It is interesting that the global war against plastic bags is progressing faster that the war against terror. I am proud to say that in India my hill state of Himachal Pradesh banned the use of plastic bags in 2003. However, the first city to do so in the country was Mumbai or Bombay in 2000 (now much in news for all the wrong reasons). A BBC report says that in the US, San Francisco became the first city to ban plastic bags from large supermarkets and pharmacies in March 2007. Several months later...

While the media keep reporting on the events related to terror in Mumbai and elsewhere, their viewers might also be interested in fresh perspective/analysis on terrorism, instead of listening to the same old theories. Deepak Chopra, a well known writer/thinker, raised some vital questions on CNN’s Larry King Live. “Who is financing this (terrorism)? Where is the money coming from? What role do we have in this? Are our petrodollars funding both sides of this war on terrorism? Why are...

New Delhi: Reports are now coming in from terror-struck Mumbai (or Bombay) of the valiant rescue effort of the Indian army and the police thus saving the lives of scores of foreigners held hostage during the past 24 hours. Top police officials led from the front and at least three anti-terrorist cops were killed.(Photograph on top – courtesy Reuters – shows a commando landing at the Jewish center.) Latest: For an eyewitness account please click here… And here… Mumbai, a...

Rabbi Gavriel Noach Holzberg is reportedly being held as a hostage at the terror-hit Mumbai’s Jewish center, the base for the American Jewish outreach group Chabad Lubavitch. The centre for prayer and study attracts many Jewish and Israeli visitors every year. (Photo above of the Mumbai Jewish Center) According to the BBC, reports say his wife and son have been freed. “The Reuters news agency says that four gunmen remain in the building. There have been reports of gunfire.” More...