Anti-Amnesiastic

They could not reduce the burden of body for him but they will hopefully relieve the burden of brains for so many. Here comes a godsend for postgrad students and researchers. :)

Professor Lozano said: "This is the first time that anyone has had electrodes implanted in the brain which have been shown to improve memory. We are driving the activity of the brain by increasing its sensitivity – turning up the volume of the memory circuits. Any event that involves the memory circuits is more likely to be stored and retained."

The discovery had caught him and his team "completely by surprise", Professor Lozano said. They had been operating on the man, who weighed 190kg (30st), to treat his obesity by locating the point in his brain that controls appetite. All other attempts to curb his eating had failed and brain surgery was the last resort.

The treatment for obesity was unsuccessful. But, while the researchers were identifying potential appetite suppressant points in the hypothalamus, the part of the brain associated with hunger, the man suddenly began to say that memory was flooding back.

More About Iranian experience

More leaves out of Iran's books for Pakistani liberals. Another article about Iranian lessons for Pakistani liberals! Nature abhors vacuum and we must be on watch against the twin danger. "Exit strategy" for "Shah of Pakistan" should not have any room for takeover by any "Ayatollah of Pakistan".

The lesson to learn here is that revolutions don’t always behave. They are slave to no one and masters of all. When revolution comes, the people who succeed are normally not the people who believe in all the wonderful things such as human rights and the rule of law. In times of revolution, power flows from the barrel of a gun

Engineers have Terrorist Mindset

Not a news for me, as I have observed this phenomenon for long. Probably this is a sociologist conspiracy to deflect some funds of engineering school to their school. :)

On a serious note, I had this discussion on another list about over-representation of engineers in Islamist or other terrorist movements. To my mind, one plausible explanation is that that applied sciences make people adept at using tools but do little to shake inherited beliefs and prejudices. Natural sciences and liberal arts tend to broaden one's outlook on life and world
and hence, people with these majors are less susceptible to be deluded by extremist causes.

The authors call it a mindset that inclines them to take more extreme conservative and religious positions.

A past survey in the United States has already shown that the proportion of engineers who declare themselves to be on the right of the political spectrum is greater than any other disciplinary groups--such as economists, doctors, scientists, and those in the humanities and social sciences.

The authors note that the mindset is universal.

Whether American, Canadian or Islamic, they pointed out that a disproportionate share of engineers seem to have a mindset that makes them open to the quintessential right-wing features of "monoism" (why argue where there is one best solution) and by "simplism" (if only people were rational, remedies would be simple).

Freaking War

War is indeed hell, sometimes not just for the loser.

So what if the war was sold on completely fabricated lies, was supposed to be a cakewalk but has now lasted longer than World War II, has divided the country and made the world hate us, has squandered our (borrowed) resources and broken our military, has brought instability to a volatile and crucial region and allowed a real national antagonist to double its power, has diverted our resources from the still-uncaptured guy who supposedly attacked us on 9/11, has become a factory for producing anti-American terrorists, has wiped out over a million innocent people and turned more than four million into refugees?

Threats and Conspiracies

It's all so obvious and it's all so painful.

While manifestations are diverse, the fundamental issue that plagues Pakistan is the lack of legitimate constitutional rule. This is discernable across the three fault-lines holding the future of the country hostage: the civil-military divide; the centre-province divide; and the extremist-moderate divide. Conversely, it can also be argued that it is actually the entrenched civil-military imbalance that accounts for lack of rule of law within the country, which in turn explains the tussle between the centre and the provinces within the federation and between the moderates and the extremists within the society.

Iranian Lesson for Pakistan

A lesson which Pakistani liberals can ignore only to their detriment!

In 1978, Iran’s liberals were bent on removing the Shah by any means. Instead of creating an atmosphere conducive to an Iranian Gandhi, they unwittingly helped usher into power Ayatollah Khomeini and a theocratic regime less tolerant than the one they helped unseat. Three decades later, millions of chastened Iranians wish they could relive those heady days differently; their Pakistani counterparts would be wise to heed their hindsight.

Charlie Wilson's War

Watched this movie today. It is based on the book with the same name, although some humor has been added for public consumption. Interesting to see a God-fearing party animal (Joanne Herring played by Julia Roberts) motivates a philandering senator (Charlie played by Tom Hanks) to collect funds and weapons (from USA and Israel) for Islamic fundamentalists fighting against godless Communists in Afghanistan. Politics indeed makes strange bellows. Om Puri, an Indian actor, plays the role of Pakistan's ex-president Zia ul Haque. The movie ends with a Charlie's quote:

"These things happened. They were glorious and they changed the world.... and they fucked up the end game".

Repressing Democracy

Simon Jenkin's article about Pakistan:

Backing Musharraf has always seemed "a good idea at the time". The next person to be cursed with Washington's favour appears to be Musharraf's successor as army chief, General Ashfaq Kiyani. However, by opting for the realpolitik of dictatorship the west has not just repressed democracy but aided insurgency and terror. It has yielded no security benefit to anyone. If Pakistan becomes a "failed state", the failure will, in large part, be one of democratic imagination in Washington and London. We simply refuse to practise what we preach.

National Harakiri

A nation on the way to collective harakiri.

The bountiful American largesse to the Pakistani army, the businesses the army runs that sustain the luxurious lifestyles of the elite, can't conceal the fact that most Pakistanis are desperately deprived: not just of shared, public resources, but of a clear answer to a simple question - what is Pakistan for? They may be able to replace the burned buses, the torn bridges, the uprooted railway lines; but a combination of military power, dynastic politics, fervent religious dogma and extreme social inequality are the ingredients only of disintegration. It is sad to see a nation dying; it's an unspeakable tragedy when it is killing itself.

Suicide bombing in Lahore

Today it was Lahore's turn. 23 people dead and more than 70 injured. This cancer of suicide bombing and jihadist violence is not gonna die soon. Combine it with the sheer incompetence and authoritarianism of President-for-life, and there is a disaster ready to explode! Muharram is about to start and more turbulence in the offing!!

Searching for propagandists

Ever wonder why academic research is in tatters in Pakistan? An insight into Pakistan's sponsored academic chairs in some international universities:

The main purpose of these chairs was to encourage the academic circles in these countries to study different aspects of Pakistan and not become a diplomatic outpost.

Now, things have become even worse. At this juncture, all major positions are vacant. This is because the government in Islamabad is no longer able to find safe scholars. Recently, the names of three academics from Quaid-e-Azam University were rejected by the government. On the other hand, the names recommended by Islamabad are not acceptable to the universities because the academics that Pakistan wants to send have no academic expertise and are not relevant. Apparently, one of the names was rejected by Islamabad because the scholar concerned was not approved by the intelligence agencies. Interestingly, the final approval is given by the IB and the ISI. One wonders if the intelligence agencies understand the worth of academic work or even know the definition of intellectualism.

Pakistan - After the Assassination

Pervez Hoodbhoy's interview to an Italian newspaper in the wake of Benazir's assassination. It is indeed disheartening to see that while Pakistani "man on the street" is up in arms against military authoritarianism, he feels shy of condemning theocratic authoritarianism with the same vigor. One can only hope that demise of Musharraf in any near-future does not lead to Iranian-style "revolution" in Pakistan.

Almost everyone holds the government responsible for the assassination. Tragically, suicide bombings are not condemned with any particular vigor. There is no strong reaction against the mullahs, madrassas, and jihadis. Perhaps people are afraid to criticize them because this might be seen as a criticism of Islam. Interestingly, in all the street demonstrations I have gone to after the Bhutto assassinations, there was no call for cracking down on extremists. Yesterday I met the lone taxidriver who thought the Islamists did it. I tipped him well.

No end to dynasty worship

There seems to be no end to dynasty worship in Pakistan - even the most liberal and popular political party is not immune from it. Quite disappointing to see this news:

Benazir Bhutto's 19-year-old son Bilawal has been chosen to take over her Pakistan People's Party, after her assassination on Thursday.

It is thought he will take the role in a ceremonial capacity while he finishes his studies at Oxford University.

Bilawal told journalists at the Bhutto family home: "My mother always said democracy is the best revenge."

Ms Bhutto's widower, Asif Ali Zardari, who is expected to run the party, said it would contest January elections.

Rejectionists

Just came across this article. It is insightful to know that extremists despise neardby moderates much more than they do faraway rivals.

In 1947, when the sharp East-West polarisation that came to be known as the Cold War was just beginning to take shape, Stalin came forward with an apparently strange theory. He identified the Soviet Union's main enemy not as the United States, but as the British Labour Party and its leader, Britain's then prime minister, Clement Attlee. The underlying logic of Stalin's theory was the same as the one that had led Lenin, just before the Bolshevic Revolution, to focus the main thrust of his attacks not against the Tsar but against the Cadet Party, the party of the Russian Liberal bourgeoisie. The logic in both cases was that these apparently less offensive parties, the Cadets in 1917 and the British Labour Party, a typical representative Social-Democracy, in 1947, were better equipped than any other anti- communist forces to attract the masses. As such, they represented the main obstacle in the way of a communist victory, and only by removing that obstacle would the communists succeed in isolating the capitalist enemy and paving the way for its downfall.

From Dynasty to Democracy - At the end of the tunnel

Let's hope this chaos may turn out to be a precursor of constructive change. I agree with Tariq Ali that it is a high time for its rank and file to transform Pakistan Peoples Party from a dynastic to a democratic party. Someone suggested on another forum that Aizaz Ahsan be asked to lead PP now and I fully concur with this proposal. Perhaps there exists some light at the end of the tunnel ! Or may be I am just being over-optimistic!


Benazir's horrific death should give her colleagues pause for reflection. To be dependent on a person or a family may be necessary at certain times, but it is a structural weakness, not a strength for a political organisation. The People's party needs to be refounded as a modern and democratic organisation, open to honest debate and discussion, defending social and human rights, uniting the many disparate groups and individuals in Pakistan desperate for any halfway decent alternative, and coming forward with concrete proposals to stabilise occupied and war-torn Afghanistan. This can and should be done. The Bhutto family should not be asked for any more sacrifices.

Assassination of BB

Benazir Bhutto is killed in a suicide blast in Rawalpindi today, along with 20 other people. Another unfortunate event in the land of crisis. Bhutto was far from impeccable politician but removing her from scene will do no good to already messy situation in Pakistan. More chaos ahead!

Pevez Hoodbhoy's 10 Commandments

Pevez Hoodbhoy, world renowned MIT-trained physicist and arguably among the best minds ever produced by Pakistan, reveals an upodated version of 10 commandents, 5 of them for USA and 5 for Muslims. I have nothing to disagree with him on this matter.

1. Muslims must STOP blaming the West (or the “infidels”) for everything that is wrong with them. Out of the 48 Muslim countries of the world, not one can be called a democracy in the pure sense of the word. Sadly, there has been NO significant scientific achievement in the last 700 years or so, whereas between the 9th and the 13th centuries, during the golden period of Islam, it was only the Muslims who kept the light of knowledge burning. The causes of Muslim decline have all been internal, and NOT the result of conspiracies. If Islam is to become a positive, constructive force in the 21st century, it must change from within, and worldwide opinion will follow.

2. Whenever and wherever there is an act of terrorism, condemn it LOUDLY and fully. The West has taken the majority of the Muslim communities’ lack of anger at 9/11 as tacit approval of militant Islam. Unfortunately Islam has become synonymous with violence and terror, and many moderate, peaceful Muslims have now become victims as well. The moderate Muslim community must fight against the hijacking of Islam.

3. Stop dreaming of theocracies and the reinstating of the Shariah law. Such ideas belong to the past, and are not compatible with the continuously evolving society and environment to which we belong. Insistence on such ideas can only drag the Muslims further into a medieval abyss.

4. Accept the fact that others do not see morality the way you do. Muslims have been brought up to believe that the only morality worth upholding is sexual morality. Other religions and cultures may not place so much emphasis on sexual morality, but that does not necessarily make them inferior human beings.

5. The last Commandment is for Muslims who have chosen to live in countries other than their homeland. Integrate. Do NOT try and stand out. Do NOT try and be different. And yes, it is possible to do all this AND maintain one’s individual identity, and without compromising principles and values we have grown up with. We must take more of an interest in our surroundings, in politics, and not just national politics but starting at the grassroots level.

Myths of Neocons About Pakistan

A beautiful dissection of "realism" of neocon pundits about Pakistani politics!

Back to Stone Ages


Shamshad Ahmed's article in The Nation:

A country without constitution or the rule of law and where there is no independent judiciary and no fundamental freedoms and rights is no better than the 'stone age' cultures, and has no place in the contemporary comity of civilised nations. Government and politics, as the world knows them, are alien to Pakistan. Our scene pathetically bears resemblance to Thomas Hobbes's concept of primitive anarchy marked by a 'war of one against all' and to Rousseau's idealisation of the 'noble savage'. Perhaps, Hegel spoke for us when he said that man can never learn anything from history.

Akbar's eclecticism

Khalid Ahmed reviews Stietencron's book on Mughal Emperor Akbar's syncretic approach to religion.

Akbar’s rule was a patch of effulgence in a general darkness on earth. Poets and artists gravitated to it; faiths rejected in other lands escaped to India to find tolerance. Today, Akbar is irrelevant to what is happening in the Islamic world