The views of South Asian-Americans are heavily influenced by the perceived positions of the presidential candidates regarding the South Asian nations. While there are no polls indicating their preferences, there is anecdotal evidence that the Democrats are likely to attract the largest share of South Asian-American votes this year.
The Clintons have had quite a love affair with things Indian since Bill Clinton's days in the White House. Indians see the couple as friends of India and credit them for the close ties between the two nations and the start of the outsourcing trend from the US to India that has intensified in the recent years. On the contrary, Pakistanis still remember Bill Clinton's patronizing speech on PTV during his brief visit there in March 2000.
While some Indians seem pleased with Barack Obama's rhetoric about "sending US troops into Pakistan", many see him as an unknown quantity as far as India is concerned. Some Indians were also turned off by a document released by Obama surrogates critical of President and Senator Clinton's links to India in an effort to portray Mrs. Clinton as having a poor record on outsourcing and protecting American jobs. The three-page piece of opposition research, titled "Hillary Clinton (D-Punjab)'s Personal Financial and Political Ties," was obtained from a source unaffiliated with the Obama campaign. The "Punjab" reference is an apparent reference to a joke that Mrs. Clinton made last year at a fund-raiser hosted by a top Indian-American supporter. "I can certainly run for the Senate seat in Punjab and win easily," she was quoted as saying. The "Punjab" here refers to the Indian state of Punjab.
In the past elections (including Bush's first term), most Pakistanis have played it safe by supporting Republican candidates for President, based on the common perception that Democrats have been much more pro-India than the Republicans. However, this trend changed in 2004 when most Pakistani-Americans voted for Democratic candidate John Kerry as a protest against the Iraq war and Bush's perceived anti-Muslim bias. This year, it is likely that the Pakistanis would again support a Democratic candidate in spite of their reservations about both Obama and Clinton. Obama's aggressive stance about sending troops into Pakistan initially turned off many Pakistanis. However, Obama has been trying to clarify and backpedal on those remarks. Obama has said there was "misreporting" of his comments, that "I never called for an invasion of Pakistan or Afghanistan." He said rather than a surge in the number of troops in Iraq, there needs to be a "diplomatic surge" and that U.S. troops should be withdrawn within a year.
Among Indians, there seems to be a generation gap in how they perceive Clinton and Obama. While the first generation immigrants from India tend to favor Clinton, the younger Indians are supporting Obama. An Indian commentator Alka Sabherwal of Danville, CA, attributes Obama's opposition among first-generation Indian-Americans to "racial prejudice".
While some Pakistani-Americans have serious reservations about US-Pakistan relations in an Obama administration, many of them support Barack Obama because of his unequivocal opposition to the Iraq war. Some Pakistani-Americans favor Obama because of the fact that he is the son of an African Muslim who lived in Indonesia as a child with a Muslim step-father. Their expectation is that he may have a soft spot for Muslims because of his Muslim heritage and early life in the largest Muslim nation. Of course, it would be political suicide for Obama to profess any love for Muslims or Islam in the current political environment. Even the hint of any Islamic connection could be bad for his campaign.
Obama has to constantly bend over backwards and re-iterate total and unqualified support for Israel to avoid conflict with AIPAC, the most powerful pro-Israel lobby in the US. While Obama's commitment for direct talks with Iran and a summit with the Islamic countries to discuss and resolve the current distrust has raised hackles in some quarters, it does offer a promise to many Pakistanis and Muslims in the United States for a better relationship between the US and the Islamic world in a future Obama administration.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Silicon Valley Pakistanis Hit By High Food Prices
The prices of rice, chappati, besan, daals, spices and almost all staples consumed by silicon valley South Asians have experienced triple digit price inflation during the last year. After reading about food price inflation and shortages of staple foods in their home countries, Pakistanis and Indians are now feeling the pinch in Silicon Valley as Basmati rice is in very short supply even with a 300% price jump. Jamsine rice, preferred by East Asians, has also disappeared from the grocery shelves at Costco stores. Costco management has decided to limit each customer to two bags of rice to control panic buying or profiteering.
Even with these dramatic price increases, the impact on their wallets from food price inflation is relatively small because Silicon Valley South Asians spend a much smaller percentage of their incomes on food than their friends and families in South Asia. Nonetheless, higher energy costs and the costs of various goods and services used by them everyday is causing them to be careful with their monthly budgets.
Many governments, including Pakistan's and India's, realize the possibility of civil unrest in the event of severe food shortages or famine, and some have taken minimal steps to ease the crisis in the short term, such as reducing import tariffs and putting export restrictions. On December 20, China did away with food export rebates in an effort to prevent domestic shortages. Russia, Kazakhstan, and Argentina have also implemented export controls.
According to reports from London this week, the executive director of the World Food Program, Josette Sheeran, warned that more than 100 million people will be pushed into poverty by a "silent tsunami" of sharply rising food prices. "This is the new face of hunger - the millions of people who were not in the urgent hunger category six months ago but now are," Sheeran said. "The world's misery index is rising."
The Bush administration, after sitting on the sidelines for months, is finally taking notice of the situation. The Washington Post reported today that the administration and Congress have been caught flat-footed by rapidly escalating global food prices and are scrambling to respond to a crisis that they increasingly view as a threat to U.S. national security, according to government officials, congressional staffers and human rights experts.
Among the major international concerns about "instability" leading to increased threats of "terrorism", the food price inflation and shortages of staples have now risen near the top. However, the $200m allocation by the US is much too small to deal with the global nature of this crisis. The Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the administration is planning “further steps to help ease the burden of rising food prices on the world’s neediest people.” Options include building more overseas storage facilities and roads to reduce food spoiling, and making the food crisis a top priority for the G-8 summit of industrialized nations in July, administration officials said. Top Senate Democrats, meanwhile, are pressing the White House to devote more money to emergency food aid — up from $350 million to $550 million — as part of a supplemental Iraq war budget package.
The consensus seems to be emerging in Washington that these are just the first steps toward a bigger commitment with a comprehensive strategy to follow soon.
Even with these dramatic price increases, the impact on their wallets from food price inflation is relatively small because Silicon Valley South Asians spend a much smaller percentage of their incomes on food than their friends and families in South Asia. Nonetheless, higher energy costs and the costs of various goods and services used by them everyday is causing them to be careful with their monthly budgets.
Many governments, including Pakistan's and India's, realize the possibility of civil unrest in the event of severe food shortages or famine, and some have taken minimal steps to ease the crisis in the short term, such as reducing import tariffs and putting export restrictions. On December 20, China did away with food export rebates in an effort to prevent domestic shortages. Russia, Kazakhstan, and Argentina have also implemented export controls.
According to reports from London this week, the executive director of the World Food Program, Josette Sheeran, warned that more than 100 million people will be pushed into poverty by a "silent tsunami" of sharply rising food prices. "This is the new face of hunger - the millions of people who were not in the urgent hunger category six months ago but now are," Sheeran said. "The world's misery index is rising."
The Bush administration, after sitting on the sidelines for months, is finally taking notice of the situation. The Washington Post reported today that the administration and Congress have been caught flat-footed by rapidly escalating global food prices and are scrambling to respond to a crisis that they increasingly view as a threat to U.S. national security, according to government officials, congressional staffers and human rights experts.
Among the major international concerns about "instability" leading to increased threats of "terrorism", the food price inflation and shortages of staples have now risen near the top. However, the $200m allocation by the US is much too small to deal with the global nature of this crisis. The Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the administration is planning “further steps to help ease the burden of rising food prices on the world’s neediest people.” Options include building more overseas storage facilities and roads to reduce food spoiling, and making the food crisis a top priority for the G-8 summit of industrialized nations in July, administration officials said. Top Senate Democrats, meanwhile, are pressing the White House to devote more money to emergency food aid — up from $350 million to $550 million — as part of a supplemental Iraq war budget package.
The consensus seems to be emerging in Washington that these are just the first steps toward a bigger commitment with a comprehensive strategy to follow soon.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Blue Collar Bigotry in US Presidential Race
As the election strategists, media pundits and "independent" analysts pore over the results of the Ohio and Pennsylvania primaries, there is hardly any overt mention of racism, the big elephant in the room.
President Clinton has been making a skillful use of the race card in supporting his wife's bid for the presidency. After the South Carolina primary, Mr. Clinton compared Obama's win with Jesse Jackson's win against him in the 1990s. At a rally of mostly blue collar white audience recently, the former President said that the voters will have to decide whether they prefer "a feeling of change" or "facts of change" -- a clear dig at Hillary Clinton's opponent Barack Obama. Real change, he added, is especially important here Pennsylvania. As Der Spiegel reported in early April, Jim Miller, a blue collar caucasian member of the audience smiled awkwardly and said something that many here in Reading are extremely reluctant to admit: "There is still racism here." He points to the crowd in the gymnasium and says: "Many, many racists."
The recent reports of Obama's pastor's inflammatory speeches, and Obama's remarks about rural America "clinging to guns and religion" have not helped, either. In his "race in America" speech, Barack Obama talked about many issues that hit a nerve in a place like Reading. He said that when whites suffering from unemployment and poverty blame blacks for their misery, they are not necessarily racist. Conversely, he also said that discrimination doesn’t just exist in the imagination of blacks.
According to a report in Der Spiegel, the speech "opened Pandora's Box," said John Forester, the news editor for a Pennsylvania paper, the Reading Eagle. Forester is convinced that the speech put race squarely in the center of the campaign, and he considers cities like Reading to be accurate test cases on whether a black candidate can prevail. He is not optimistic. Obama's inspiring speech, says Forester, was "political suicide."
In my own personal experience as a South Asian immigrant, I have seen that racism is alive and well in blue collar white America, even as the racism has declined among better educated urban whites. The blue collar neighborhoods in New York, Chicago and other major cities on the East Coast and the Midwest are some of the most racially segregated. There have been many high-profile racially motivated incidents of violence, such as the Howard Beach killings and Chicago south side riots, that characterize life in blue collar America.
Recent polls indicate that as many as a third of those who voted for Hilary Clinton would vote for John McCain if Obama becomes the Democratic nominee for President.
As is often said, "the more things change, the more they stay the same." However, I do believe that better educated population is better for America, as it is elsewhere in the world. By voting for Obama in large numbers, the high-earning college educated whites have shown that race is not relevant for leadership. Education will help fix racism, poverty and many other ills in society.
Regardless of the outcome of this election, I think America has come a long way since Martin Luther King's civil rights marches in the 1960s. I do hope Obama wins and makes history this year. But if he does not, he is still young. He will get more chances in the future to rise to the highest office in America. Hopefully, America will be further along in race relations with better education and understanding among the races, regardless of class.
President Clinton has been making a skillful use of the race card in supporting his wife's bid for the presidency. After the South Carolina primary, Mr. Clinton compared Obama's win with Jesse Jackson's win against him in the 1990s. At a rally of mostly blue collar white audience recently, the former President said that the voters will have to decide whether they prefer "a feeling of change" or "facts of change" -- a clear dig at Hillary Clinton's opponent Barack Obama. Real change, he added, is especially important here Pennsylvania. As Der Spiegel reported in early April, Jim Miller, a blue collar caucasian member of the audience smiled awkwardly and said something that many here in Reading are extremely reluctant to admit: "There is still racism here." He points to the crowd in the gymnasium and says: "Many, many racists."
The recent reports of Obama's pastor's inflammatory speeches, and Obama's remarks about rural America "clinging to guns and religion" have not helped, either. In his "race in America" speech, Barack Obama talked about many issues that hit a nerve in a place like Reading. He said that when whites suffering from unemployment and poverty blame blacks for their misery, they are not necessarily racist. Conversely, he also said that discrimination doesn’t just exist in the imagination of blacks.
According to a report in Der Spiegel, the speech "opened Pandora's Box," said John Forester, the news editor for a Pennsylvania paper, the Reading Eagle. Forester is convinced that the speech put race squarely in the center of the campaign, and he considers cities like Reading to be accurate test cases on whether a black candidate can prevail. He is not optimistic. Obama's inspiring speech, says Forester, was "political suicide."
In my own personal experience as a South Asian immigrant, I have seen that racism is alive and well in blue collar white America, even as the racism has declined among better educated urban whites. The blue collar neighborhoods in New York, Chicago and other major cities on the East Coast and the Midwest are some of the most racially segregated. There have been many high-profile racially motivated incidents of violence, such as the Howard Beach killings and Chicago south side riots, that characterize life in blue collar America.
Recent polls indicate that as many as a third of those who voted for Hilary Clinton would vote for John McCain if Obama becomes the Democratic nominee for President.
As is often said, "the more things change, the more they stay the same." However, I do believe that better educated population is better for America, as it is elsewhere in the world. By voting for Obama in large numbers, the high-earning college educated whites have shown that race is not relevant for leadership. Education will help fix racism, poverty and many other ills in society.
Regardless of the outcome of this election, I think America has come a long way since Martin Luther King's civil rights marches in the 1960s. I do hope Obama wins and makes history this year. But if he does not, he is still young. He will get more chances in the future to rise to the highest office in America. Hopefully, America will be further along in race relations with better education and understanding among the races, regardless of class.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
US Media Military Analysts Tainted
"Hidden behind that appearance of objectivity, though, is a Pentagon information apparatus that has used those analysts in a campaign to generate favorable news coverage of the administration’s wartime performance" reports The New York Times in today's issue.
The Times goes on to say, "The effort, which began with the buildup to the Iraq war and continues to this day, has sought to exploit ideological and military allegiances, and also a powerful financial dynamic: Most of the analysts have ties to military contractors vested in the very war policies they are asked to assess on air."
Implicated in this scandalous PR and pay-off campaign by the Pentagon are the big name media such as ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, Fox and Wall Street Journal. Each claims they weren't aware of the conflicts of interest of the retired military officers who were presented as "independent analysts". These "independent analysts" names include retired generals Barry McCaffery,Jeff McCausland, Wayne Downing, Paul Valley, Joseph Ralston, Don Shepherd,Montgomery Meigs, and Thomas G. McInerney. Many of these "independent analysts" were flown to Guantanamo, described as the "gulag of our times" by Amnesty International, and they tried to help the administration whitewash the US misdeeds at the notorious and illegal prison. The NY Times breaking this tainted analysts story has had its own journalists such as Judith Miller involved in promoting the Iraq war using false information about WMDs provided by the Bush administration prior to the Iraq invasion.
The big US media share major responsibility for the misguided policies of President George W. Bush. They became the cheerleaders for the Iraq war immediately after 911 in spite of the fact that Iraq had no role in it. They remained "in bed" with the Bush officials for a long time and only recently have they begun to criticize the current administration as the disastrous results of Iraq became apparent.
It seems that the current administration truly believes in Alexander Hamilton's proclamation that "the masses are asses". At least, that's the conclusion one can draw from their attempts to use the media to mislead the American people to support their wrong headed policies. However, they must remember the words of another great American: Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln said, "You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time."
The Times goes on to say, "The effort, which began with the buildup to the Iraq war and continues to this day, has sought to exploit ideological and military allegiances, and also a powerful financial dynamic: Most of the analysts have ties to military contractors vested in the very war policies they are asked to assess on air."
Implicated in this scandalous PR and pay-off campaign by the Pentagon are the big name media such as ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, Fox and Wall Street Journal. Each claims they weren't aware of the conflicts of interest of the retired military officers who were presented as "independent analysts". These "independent analysts" names include retired generals Barry McCaffery,Jeff McCausland, Wayne Downing, Paul Valley, Joseph Ralston, Don Shepherd,Montgomery Meigs, and Thomas G. McInerney. Many of these "independent analysts" were flown to Guantanamo, described as the "gulag of our times" by Amnesty International, and they tried to help the administration whitewash the US misdeeds at the notorious and illegal prison. The NY Times breaking this tainted analysts story has had its own journalists such as Judith Miller involved in promoting the Iraq war using false information about WMDs provided by the Bush administration prior to the Iraq invasion.
The big US media share major responsibility for the misguided policies of President George W. Bush. They became the cheerleaders for the Iraq war immediately after 911 in spite of the fact that Iraq had no role in it. They remained "in bed" with the Bush officials for a long time and only recently have they begun to criticize the current administration as the disastrous results of Iraq became apparent.
It seems that the current administration truly believes in Alexander Hamilton's proclamation that "the masses are asses". At least, that's the conclusion one can draw from their attempts to use the media to mislead the American people to support their wrong headed policies. However, they must remember the words of another great American: Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln said, "You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time."
Saturday, April 19, 2008
"Streets of Karachi" on the Big Screen
Shoieb Yunus, founder of a Pakistani media company called Precept Productions, has announced plans to make his maiden film about his hometown in Pakistan. A Silicon Valley high tech entrepreneur, Shoieb has had prior success in his ventures ranging from finger-print sensing software company to a TV production called "Gao, Celebrity Ban Jao", the Pakistani version of American Idol with a good run on Pakistan's GeoTV.
The film "Streets of Karachi" is being made for Pakistani and international audiences. It is expected to be released in June 2008 in Urdu language with English subtitles. According to Shoieb, "Streets of Karachi" is a drama about a man, who has achieved success in the United States, but realizes that his success and the possession of material things are not making him happy. He visits his ancestral hometown of Karachi, explores the city, sees immense contrast on the streets, and realizes Karachi is a vibrant city as well as the backbone of his country, where people from all over Pakistan come to fulfill their dreams. And, then events take a turn.
The concept, storyline and screenplay have been developed by Shoieb Yunus. Jawad Qureshi is the executive producer. Shoeib has produced 100 hours of entertainment programming for television, and has been the CEO and Managing Director of Precept since its inception in 2005.
The male lead is played by Adil Murad, the female lead is played by actress and model Nadia Hussain, and the lead character is played by veteran actor Munnawar Saeed. The film will be shot in studios and on location in Karachi, Pakistan.
For more information about this film, distribution opportunities, and Precept Productions upcoming media and entertainment projects, you may contact bizdev@preceptglobalaccess.com.
The film "Streets of Karachi" is being made for Pakistani and international audiences. It is expected to be released in June 2008 in Urdu language with English subtitles. According to Shoieb, "Streets of Karachi" is a drama about a man, who has achieved success in the United States, but realizes that his success and the possession of material things are not making him happy. He visits his ancestral hometown of Karachi, explores the city, sees immense contrast on the streets, and realizes Karachi is a vibrant city as well as the backbone of his country, where people from all over Pakistan come to fulfill their dreams. And, then events take a turn.
The concept, storyline and screenplay have been developed by Shoieb Yunus. Jawad Qureshi is the executive producer. Shoeib has produced 100 hours of entertainment programming for television, and has been the CEO and Managing Director of Precept since its inception in 2005.
The male lead is played by Adil Murad, the female lead is played by actress and model Nadia Hussain, and the lead character is played by veteran actor Munnawar Saeed. The film will be shot in studios and on location in Karachi, Pakistan.
For more information about this film, distribution opportunities, and Precept Productions upcoming media and entertainment projects, you may contact bizdev@preceptglobalaccess.com.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
A New Era Of Unchecked Corruption?
As Mr. Asif Ali Zardari and Mr. Nawaz Sharif together consolidate their power in Pakistan, there are renewed fears that a new era of of unchecked corruption is about to hit Pakistan. Let's hope that these fears are unfounded. Unfortunately, the history tells us otherwise.
In the past, Pakistanis have had to withstand plunder from only one of them at a time. The question now is: Can Pakistan survive a combined assault by both of these "gentlemen" and their cabinet ministers in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi? Who will expose who, now that each is scratching the other's back? Will they cover up for each other to leave no tracks? If and when the corruption reaches new heights in human history, who will expose it? A very weak and ineffective opposition that exists in Pakistani parliament now? Or the compliant judiciary likely to be restored under a deal? Or the newly energized media? Or the powerful new middle class? Who will come to the "rescue" of the people and the country? Is it going to be the military again, as in the past? Or will a new force emerge in Pakistan to offer a better choice? A choice other than the military, the familiar corrupt politicians or the failed Islamic parties who recently suffered an ignominious defeat? Only time will tell. In the meanwhile, here are few lines in Urdu by Yasir Ali. The title is "Aao milkar khatey hain" meaning "let's pillage and plunder together".
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
The Nepalese Choice: Is This Possible in Pakistan?
Pakistanis have had to choose between the military dictators and the familiar corrupt politicians for all of their 60 years of history. They have gone back and forth between these two choices. This year, they have chosen the familiar corrupt politicians after suffering many indignities and food and electricity crises of last year. Not only have Pakistanis rejected the military rule, they have also rejected the Islamic parties who made significant gains in 2002 elections, right after the US bombing of Afghanistan with Pakistan's assistance. Besides the Islamic parties whom they have just handed a major defeat, do Pakistanis have a another choice? Is there a force lurking within Pakistan that could suddenly rise up as a viable alternative?
Contrary to expectations of most observers, Nepal has voted such a force into power. Charles Haviland of the BBC reports that "Nepal has been rocked by an electoral thunderbolt. As the Maoists surge towards victory in the elections to a constitutional assembly, even some of their leaders have expressed surprise at its apparent scale."
If Pakistanis continue to be ill-served by their rulers as they have been, is the Nepal scenario likely to play out in Pakistan? Probably not. Is it possible. I think it is. Only time will tell.
Contrary to expectations of most observers, Nepal has voted such a force into power. Charles Haviland of the BBC reports that "Nepal has been rocked by an electoral thunderbolt. As the Maoists surge towards victory in the elections to a constitutional assembly, even some of their leaders have expressed surprise at its apparent scale."
If Pakistanis continue to be ill-served by their rulers as they have been, is the Nepal scenario likely to play out in Pakistan? Probably not. Is it possible. I think it is. Only time will tell.
Bush Embraces The Pope
President George W. Bush took the unprecedented step of personally going to a USAF airbase to receive Pope Benedict XVI upon his arrival in the United States yesterday. This is a highly symbolic and extra-ordinary gesture toward the pontiff, a polarizing figure who has drawn strong support and admiration from the conservatives in the West and widespread criticism in the Islamic world.
It should be recalled that, in 2006, this pope quoted Byzantine Emperor Manual II Paleologos as saying "Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached."
The choice of this quote by the pontiff came in a speech at a German university exploring the historical and philosophical differences between Islam and Christianity and the relationship between violence and faith. Later, as the worldwide Muslim outrage mounted,a Vatican spokesman, Father Frederico Lombardi, said he did not believe the Pope's comments were meant as a harsh criticism of Islam.
It is in this context that the Muslims around the world watch this embrace of the pope by a "born again" and "evangelical" US President who once described the US war on terror as a "crusade", invasion of Afghanistan as "Operation Infinite Justice" and uses religious terms such as "evil" and "axis of evil" in desecribing those who oppose the United States in the Middle East. As Fareed Zakaria, editor of Newsweek International, recently said in an interview, "The rhetoric in Washington is absolutely pernicious--rhetoric that views the outside world as evil. Our foreign policy is trying to convert people to nirvana--that is, our way--or beating them up, humiliating and punishing them."
Many conservatives of all shades in the US and the West see this "war on terror" as a "clash of civilizations" between Christianity and Islam. They assert this "war on terror" is of the same or greater scale and potential duration as the Cold War that preceded it. And they expect the current Pope to play the same role that his predecessor did by siding with the United States and Western Europe against the Soviet Union during the Cold War. While the challenge from groups such as Al-Qaeda is serious, it is nowhere close to the existential crisis during the cold war with the nuclear arsenals of US and Soviet Union on a hair trigger. The rhetoric emanating out of the West has the potential of pushing the world toward a catastrophic war, an "Armageddon" that the lunatic fringe on the right is hoping for.
It should be recalled that, in 2006, this pope quoted Byzantine Emperor Manual II Paleologos as saying "Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached."
The choice of this quote by the pontiff came in a speech at a German university exploring the historical and philosophical differences between Islam and Christianity and the relationship between violence and faith. Later, as the worldwide Muslim outrage mounted,a Vatican spokesman, Father Frederico Lombardi, said he did not believe the Pope's comments were meant as a harsh criticism of Islam.
It is in this context that the Muslims around the world watch this embrace of the pope by a "born again" and "evangelical" US President who once described the US war on terror as a "crusade", invasion of Afghanistan as "Operation Infinite Justice" and uses religious terms such as "evil" and "axis of evil" in desecribing those who oppose the United States in the Middle East. As Fareed Zakaria, editor of Newsweek International, recently said in an interview, "The rhetoric in Washington is absolutely pernicious--rhetoric that views the outside world as evil. Our foreign policy is trying to convert people to nirvana--that is, our way--or beating them up, humiliating and punishing them."
Many conservatives of all shades in the US and the West see this "war on terror" as a "clash of civilizations" between Christianity and Islam. They assert this "war on terror" is of the same or greater scale and potential duration as the Cold War that preceded it. And they expect the current Pope to play the same role that his predecessor did by siding with the United States and Western Europe against the Soviet Union during the Cold War. While the challenge from groups such as Al-Qaeda is serious, it is nowhere close to the existential crisis during the cold war with the nuclear arsenals of US and Soviet Union on a hair trigger. The rhetoric emanating out of the West has the potential of pushing the world toward a catastrophic war, an "Armageddon" that the lunatic fringe on the right is hoping for.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Has the Lawyers Movement Gone Awry?
"If they demand that the Afghan refugees be returned to Afghanistan, we demand that they (the Urdu-speaking Karachi-ites) be sent back to India" so says Mr. Latif Afridi, the President of Peshawar Bar Association. This outrage from Peshawar followed the clashes between the lawyers in Karachi which were triggered by the violence of the lawless lawyers of Lahore earlier.
The lawyers movement started well and helped bring about a positive change in Pakistan as a manifestation of the rise of the middle class considered the backbone for any democracy. However, it seems that this well-intentioned movement has been hijacked by unscrupulous elements in the legal community who are willing to engage in bigotry and violence against any one who disagrees. The inflammatory rhetoric by Mr. Latif Afridi captured on video by GEO News is particularly shocking.
One of the most alarming trends in Pakistan is that the various factions of lawyers movement in different parts of the country have allied themselves with regional parties such as the MQM in Karachi, PML(N) in Lahore and Islamabad and ANP in Peshawar and Quetta. Unless the top leadership of these lawyers stop and reflect on this dangerous situation and alter their divisive rhetoric and inflammatory actions, it is within the realm of possibility that the very forces helping shape a democratic Pakistan may lead to its demise as a single nation. Democracy requires a lot of mutual tolerance, necessary compromises and great patience. It can not be nurtured or sustained in an environment of violence, bigotry and intolerance.
The lawyers movement started well and helped bring about a positive change in Pakistan as a manifestation of the rise of the middle class considered the backbone for any democracy. However, it seems that this well-intentioned movement has been hijacked by unscrupulous elements in the legal community who are willing to engage in bigotry and violence against any one who disagrees. The inflammatory rhetoric by Mr. Latif Afridi captured on video by GEO News is particularly shocking.
One of the most alarming trends in Pakistan is that the various factions of lawyers movement in different parts of the country have allied themselves with regional parties such as the MQM in Karachi, PML(N) in Lahore and Islamabad and ANP in Peshawar and Quetta. Unless the top leadership of these lawyers stop and reflect on this dangerous situation and alter their divisive rhetoric and inflammatory actions, it is within the realm of possibility that the very forces helping shape a democratic Pakistan may lead to its demise as a single nation. Democracy requires a lot of mutual tolerance, necessary compromises and great patience. It can not be nurtured or sustained in an environment of violence, bigotry and intolerance.
Sports Draw Big Money, Mega Stars in India
As India's economy, business and industry experience rapid growth, large amounts of sponsorship dollars are flowing into the various sports including cricket, football and golf. At first, most of the attention was on the big cricket stars such as Sachin Tedulkar grossing million of dollars a year. Then came the Indian Cricket League(ICL) and Indian Premier League(IPL) drawing the biggest names in cricket such as Brian Lara and Inzimam-ul-Haq. The ICL tournaments covered by Zee Sports TV channel have been a great spectacle, comparable to the NFL and MLB games in the United States. Well, the money gusher is now starting to flood Indian golf with $2.5m purse for the Indian Masters golf tournament last February in Delhi.
While a $2.5m purse is small and about the same as Qatar Masters, it represents a growth opportunity that has attracted the big names in golf including South African Ernie Els, Fijian Vijay Singh and Australian Adam Scott. "As these events draw richer and more-aggressive backers, they have been offering more prize money. In November 2009, Dubai will host the Dubai World Championship, which will feature a prize purse of $10 million, making it the most-lucrative golf tournament ever for players", reports the Wall Street Journal. It goes on to say as follows: the declining dollar has lowered the relative value of purses at U.S. tournaments, making these Asian, Middle Eastern and European gigs harder for players to ignore. When asked during his stay in New Delhi whether he expected more top players to play outside the U.S., Mr. Els quipped, "The way the dollar is going, I'm sure."
Most of the new tournaments don't match the average purses available in the U.S. or even the European Tour. In Delhi, the $2.5 million purse was about the same as in the Qatar Masters in January, compared with an average purse of $5.8 million for the U.S. tour and $3.8 million for the European Tour. But the money race in on. In November 2009, Dubai will host the Dubai World Championship, which will feature a prize purse of $10 million, making it the most-lucrative golf tournament ever for players.
While a $2.5m purse is small and about the same as Qatar Masters, it represents a growth opportunity that has attracted the big names in golf including South African Ernie Els, Fijian Vijay Singh and Australian Adam Scott. "As these events draw richer and more-aggressive backers, they have been offering more prize money. In November 2009, Dubai will host the Dubai World Championship, which will feature a prize purse of $10 million, making it the most-lucrative golf tournament ever for players", reports the Wall Street Journal. It goes on to say as follows: the declining dollar has lowered the relative value of purses at U.S. tournaments, making these Asian, Middle Eastern and European gigs harder for players to ignore. When asked during his stay in New Delhi whether he expected more top players to play outside the U.S., Mr. Els quipped, "The way the dollar is going, I'm sure."
Most of the new tournaments don't match the average purses available in the U.S. or even the European Tour. In Delhi, the $2.5 million purse was about the same as in the Qatar Masters in January, compared with an average purse of $5.8 million for the U.S. tour and $3.8 million for the European Tour. But the money race in on. In November 2009, Dubai will host the Dubai World Championship, which will feature a prize purse of $10 million, making it the most-lucrative golf tournament ever for players.
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