The presidential contest between Barack H. Obama and John S. McCain is now even at 42 percent, according to a new CBS News poll conducted Monday-Wednesday of this week. Twelve percent are undecided according to the poll, and one percent said they
wouldn't vote.
The Race Tied:
The two main presidential…
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Added by Riaz Haq on September 8, 2008 at 12:22pm —
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As Pakistan finds itself in the midst of arguably the worst
economic crisis in its sixty one year history, the recent accounts of Mr. Zardari's understanding of the economy are not particularly encouraging. It is certainly a huge letdown after Prime Minister…
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Added by Riaz Haq on September 5, 2008 at 8:43am —
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Baba Kot, a village 50 miles from Usta Mohammad town of Jafferabad district in Baluchistan, is where this recent tale of tribal terror began.
The media reports and the
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) indicate that it was here that Mr. Abdul Sattar Umrani, a brother of Mr. Sadiq Umrani, a…
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Added by Riaz Haq on August 31, 2008 at 7:14am —
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Mobile application developers and high-bandwidth data network operators are being dramatically boosted by latest innovations, growing popularity and rising demand of smartphones such as iPhone, Blackberry, Palm Treo and other mobile platforms. Some 10 percent of phones shipped worldwide — and some 19 percent of phones sold at retail in the United States — are smart-phones.…
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Added by Riaz Haq on August 27, 2008 at 9:44pm —
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Indian Wind Power Giant Faltering
By Riaz Haq
www.riazhaq.com
India's Suzlon Energy (SUZL: BSE), with 8% market share of wind turbine in the US, is beset by quality issues at home and abroad, according the Wall Street Journal.
Suzlon Energy, with market cap of INR 270B, is a wind power company in India. In terms of market share, the company is the largest wind turbine manufacturer in Asia and the fifth largest worldwide. With…
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Added by Riaz Haq on August 27, 2008 at 8:52am —
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While the news of President Musharraf's resignation and Asif Zardari's nomination for president occupy the big headlines, the renewed reports of the continuing Swiss probe into corruption allegations against Zardari are also vying for attention in the same week.
Swiss Judge Daniel Devaud has
"confirmed to… Continue
Added by Riaz Haq on August 22, 2008 at 4:30pm —
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By Mona Eltahawy
NEW YORK -- As an Egyptian whose country’s military dictators are either taken by God or an assassin’s bullet, I envy the Pakistani people their ability to now use the term “former president.”
As former Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf contemplates how his friends in the U.S. administration dropped him quicker than you can say “hot freedom fries,” for those of us from the Muslim world -- awash in military dictators who have friends in high places in…
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Added by Riaz Haq on August 20, 2008 at 12:44pm —
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Here are a few lines from Late Faiz Ahmed Faiz that capture the essence of where Pakistanis stand today:
Subah-e- Azadi
(Dawn of Freedom)
ye daaG daaG ujaalaa, ye shab_gaziidaa sahar
(This spotty, stained, dim light after the darkness of night)
wo intazaar thaa jis kaa, ye wo sahar to nahii.n
(Is this the dawn of freedom we yearned for?)
ye wo sahar to nahii.n jis kii aarazuu lekar
chale…
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Added by Riaz Haq on August 14, 2008 at 9:00am —
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“Why are the top 10 medaling nations top 10?” Professor Daniel Johnson asks. “It’s not that athletic prowess is completely independent from wealth and population. These nations have more resources at their disposal.” Daniel Johnson, a college professor and an economist in Denver, Colorado has developed a mathematical model for predicting each nation's Olympics…
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Added by Riaz Haq on August 12, 2008 at 7:27am —
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In the past five years bomb attacks claimed by Islamist groups have killed hundreds across the Indian cities of Mumbai, Delhi, Jaipur, Varanasi, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad. An Indian Muslim was even involved in the failed assault on Glasgow airport in July last year. Yet George Bush reportedly introduced Manmohan Singh to his wife, Laura, as "the prime minister of India, a democracy which does not have a single al-Qaida member in a population of 150 million Muslims".
To be…
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Added by Riaz Haq on August 8, 2008 at 5:29pm —
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Not only is it dangerous, climbing Mount Everest is not cheap, either in terms of lives or dollars. And yet, hundreds are drawn each year to climb it. Commercial expeditions can cost climbers $60,000 to $75,00 each. Nepalese government charges fees ranging from $25000 for one member expedition to $70,000 for seven members. The total cost for climbing is steep, according to
CNN. An expedition to the…
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Added by Riaz Haq on August 5, 2008 at 9:00pm —
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Courtesy of Ahmed Ali, NEDian in Southern California
VERY IMPORTANT TO READ AND THINK ! ! !
Demographics
o World Jewish Population. 14 million
o Distribution: 7m in America
5m in Asia
2m in Europe
100 thousand in Africa
o World Muslim Population: 1.5 billion
o Distribution: I billion in Asia/Mid-East
400 M in Africa
44 M in Europe
6 M in the Americas
o Every fifth human being is a Muslim.
o For every single Hindu the re…
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Added by Riaz Haq on August 4, 2008 at 7:40pm —
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As the Turkish Supreme Court prepares to decide on a petition to ban AKP, the ruling party in Turkey, is it reasonable to compare the secular zeal in Turkey with the religious zeal in Pakistan? It probably is. However, the situation in Pakistan is the mirror image of that in Turkey. Just as the religious orthodoxy in Pakistan is strong but limited to a small but vocal, radical minority of Pakistanis, it seems that the secular orthodoxy in Turkey is just as powerful but shared by a small,…
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Added by Riaz Haq on July 30, 2008 at 8:34am —
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While Senator Barack Obama has been benefiting from his opposition to the unpopular war in Iraq and winning kudos for wanting to unconditionally talk with America's enemies, he has also been sounding more and more hawkish on Pakistan, a US ally. This aggressive stance by Mr. Obama raises some big questions: Is he going to end the war in Iraq and start a much bigger, far more dangerous and longer lasting war in nuclear-armed Pakistan? Does he know that Pakistan, a nation of 165 million people…
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Added by Riaz Haq on July 25, 2008 at 7:21am —
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"Normally they (Six members of India's Parliament) are in jail, serving time for crimes ranging from extortion and kidnapping to murder. The Indian constitution allows them out on bail to attend important parliamentary votes. But the sight of convicted murderers entering the parliamentary chamber won't be the most edifying of spectacles." So says a
BBC report this morning.
In the wake of the Communist Party's pull-out…
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Added by Riaz Haq on July 20, 2008 at 11:30am —
9 Comments
News headlines from Pakistan's tribal belt proclaim a new "Peace Deal" with "militants" along with an appeal for the Shia victims of the Kurram agency blockade imposed by the Taliban. On the surface, these two developments seem disconnected.
The News Headlines:
The "Peace Deal" involves a leading militant in Pakistan's Khyber region, Mangal Bagh, and the local administration to end nearly two weeks of fighting, according to the BBC.
Another BBC report indicates that…
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Added by Riaz Haq on July 10, 2008 at 3:04pm —
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In his first public assertions since Pakistan's disgraced hero Dr. A.Q. Khan was put under house, the nuclear scientist has said, "It was a North Korean plane, and the army had complete knowledge about it and the equipment (centrifuges). It must have gone with [Musharraf's] consent."
This marks the first time that Mr. Khan has directly implicated President Musharraf and Pakistan Army in proliferation of Pakistan's nuclear technology.
Mr. Khan's latest statements contradict…
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Added by Riaz Haq on July 5, 2008 at 9:33pm —
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As the US-led NATO coalition in Afghanistan and the new government in Pakistan find themselves in policy disagreements and total disarray, with Hamid Karzai playing the spoiler, the resurgent Taliban appear to be preparing for the takeover of major cities on both sides of the border: Kandahar in Afghanistan and Peshawar in Pakistan. This is something that would have been considered unthinkable just a few months ago. The concern until recently was focused on the tribal areas of Pakistan. Now the…
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Added by Riaz Haq on July 1, 2008 at 7:19am —
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Sam Hormusji Framji "Sam Bahadur" Jamshedji Manekshaw MC (April 3, 1914 – June 27, 2008) Passed away today in Tamil Nadu, India. He was an Indian Army officer, with his distinct handlebar mustache, and only one of two generals to reach the rank of the Field Marshal in the Indian Army. He was the last of the top commanders involved in Bangladesh war of 1971.
In his long career spanning nearly four decades, Manekshaw rose to be the 8th Chief of Staff of the Indian Army in 1969 and…
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Added by Riaz Haq on June 28, 2008 at 9:09am —
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By Riaz Haq
Bunge, the third biggest US agribusiness company after
Archer-Daniel-Midland and Cargill, is buying Chicago-based Corn
Products International Inc. for $4.2 billion in stock to add
corn-based sweeteners as demand increases for soft drinks and
processed foods in China, India and Pakistan, according to US media
reports. This acquisition enlarges Bunge's international footprint in
emerging economies to drive its growth.
Corn Products…
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Added by Riaz Haq on June 24, 2008 at 5:04pm —
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