MAQzine

By AMY TEIBEL and TIA GOLDENBERG, Associated Press Writers Amy Teibel And Tia Goldenberg, Associated Press Writers – 25 mins ago JERUSALEM – Israeli naval commandos stormed a flotilla of ships carrying aid and hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists to the blockaded Gaza Strip on Monday, killing nine passengers in a botched raid that provoked international outrage and a diplomatic crisis. Dozens of activists and six Israeli soldiers were wounded in the bloody predawn confrontation in international waters. The violent takeover dealt yet another blow to Israel 's international image, already tarnished by war crimes accusations in Gaza and its 3-year-old blockade of the impoverished Palestinian territory. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanhayu canceled a much-anticipated meeting with President Barack Obama in Washington on Tuesday in a sign of just how gravely Israel viewed the international uproar. In Canada , Netanyahu announced he was rushing home . Israel said it opened f...

Monday May 31, 2010 INDIA DIARY By COOMI KAPOOR Every once in a while there comes a criminal case which warms the cockles of law-abiding people disgusted with corruption and endemic delays in the administration of justice. THE wheels of justice grind but grind ever so slowly. Often offenders get away scot free or with a mere rap on the knuckles for serious crimes. The heady cocktail of money, political influence and the notoriously overburdened courts invariably result in subversion of justice. Yet, every once in a while there comes across a criminal case which warms the cockles of law-abiding people disgusted with corruption and endemic delays in the administration of justice. One such case has been in headlines recently. Despite the gross misuse of political influence, police and civil administration, the 18-month prison sentence awarded to the retired director general of police, Haryana, S. P. S. Rathore, for the molestation of a 14-year-old girl, has given hope that in spite of ...

Let God Fill the Empty Space It goes without saying that a positive thinker sees the glass half filled whereas a negative thinker sees it half empty. Oh, suppose you have a half filled glass, what now?  Should you keep it half filled and half empty and for how long? The day before yesterday I was sitting with a friend.  I was drinking my cold drink from a bottle using straw.  My friend had his drink poured in an imported glass.  He had already finished half of his drink when his young niece, about 4, came over, picked the glass and finished the drink. We both watched her silently and hoped that she would leave now, but she did not.  Instead, she asked his uncle, my friend, to fill it again for her!  My friend’s sister came, grabbed the kid’s hand and took her away.  But, the story did not end there.  We completed our talk and I returned home. Now while I am typing this article, a half filled glass of water on my desktop CPU has arrested my a...

Have you ever seen a tree in such a pitiable state of excruciating pain?  If not, please look at this tree and feel the intensity of its agony.  If plants and trees can communicate with each other, why can't they express their feelings of joy and pain. There have been reports in the past that people helped plants in their growth by speaking sweet words to them and developing a strong rapport as friends.  Apparently we have no reason for not believing them as plants and trees are also amongst the most amazing organisms that The Creator has blessed us with. Some people were shocked to see this photo when I posted it on my photography blog http://shuttermess.blogspot.com on 12-29-09.  I guess it was because most of us do not have time to look around and watch nature.   The above photo was taken in Jinnah Bagh (previously Lawrence Garden, Lahore).  Hundreds, if not thousands, of people go there everyday to spend time alone or with family and friends, to fin...

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 14, 2010 A funny thing happened after the Saudi Arabia-sponsored 2008 World Conference on Dialogue in Spain : People began paying attention. For those readers who may have forgotten, King Abdullah initiated the interfaith dialogue conference with the hope of bridging the gap that exists primarily among Muslims, Christians and Jews. Not unexpectedly, the conference was greeted with a lukewarm response, if not more than a little hostility by the Western media. Saudi Arabia , according to the argument at the time, was presumptuous to sponsor a conference on religious harmony since no churches are permitted in the Kingdom. Media coverage was casual and the event was soon forgotten. Or maybe not. According to the Washington Times, an arch-conservative newspaper and ordinarily a harsh critic of Saudi Arabia , some Jewish leaders have recognized that such conferences can narrow the gap that separate Jews and Muslims. Rabbi Marc Schneier, who heads the Foundation Fo...

 "Loosen your grip on the population and fight government corruption" In her column in the government daily  Al-Madina , Saudi Princess Basma bint Saud attacked the Saudi religious police, accusing it of instituting religious terrorism. She claimed that it operates savagely against ordinary civilians instead of dealing with the corruption within the government. The column provoked reactions in Saudi Arabia , and was widely discussed on Internet forums. Princess Basma is a social activist and a prominent supporter of women's issues in Saudi Arabia . Recently, in an extraordinary step, Basma was photographed with her face unveiled for an interview with  Al-Madina . Also, counter to the custom among Saudi princesses, she married a man who is not a member of the royal family Following is the translation of her column: [1] "I Have Searched the Annals of History... And I Have Not Found a Trace of the Term 'Authority for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice...

May 27th, 2010 --  Age Correspondents   | New Delhi There was further reason for India to be greatly annoyed with the Canadians after it emerged on Wednesday that an Intelligence Bureau official who was to have travelled to Canada as part of preparations for the Prime Minister’s forthcoming visit to that country was denied a visa as his organisation had “engaged in violence”. The IB official, who was due to travel to Toronto, was later given a visa but only after New Delhi lodged a strong protest about the visa denial. In an understandably angry reaction, the home ministry on Wednesday wrote to the ministry of external affairs asking that Canada “apologise” for citing the reasons it had for repeated denial of visas to various officials, and also described the developments as “unacceptable”. Wednesday’s revelations only added fuel to a fire which was stoked when it became known earlier this week that a retired BSF official too was denied a Canadian visa for having served...

Nuclear Offer to Apartheid Regime Blows Diplomatic Cover By JONATHAN COOK  Nazareth . I srael faces unprecedented pressure to abandon its official policy of “ambiguity” on its possession of nuclear weapons as the international community meets at the United Nations in New York this week to consider banning such arsenals from the Middle East . Israel ’s equivocal stance on its atomic status was shattered by reports on Monday that it offered to sell nuclear-armed Jericho missiles to South Africa ’s apartheid regime back in 1975. The revelations are deeply embarrassing to Israel given its long-standing opposition to signing the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, arguing instead that it is a “responsible power” that would never misuse nuclear weapons technologies if it acquired them. Reports of Israel’s nuclear dealings with apartheid South Africa will also energise a draft proposal from Egypt to the UN non-proliferation review conference that Israel -- as the only nuclear pow...

A news item on Shahid Afridi's selection as a captain: ISLAMABAD :  Former Test Captain Zaheer Abbas was stunned by the decision to appoint Shahid Afridi as captain especially for the Tests. He said the selectors should have given more thought on the captaincy issue. “The move is a big gamble and could backfire as the all-rounder was not a regular in the five-day side,” Abbas said while talking to APP on Wednesday. “I am really surprised at the board’s decision because he has not played a Test in the last four years,” he said. “It is a strange decision and one that could badly backfire because Shahid (Afridi) has not been a regular Test player and his last Test was in 2006. So how can the board give him the captaincy for two very tough series against Australia and England,” he said.   (The Express Tribune) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Whatever additional arguments PCB has up its sleeves, the whole bunch of money minters sitting there cannot justify Sh...