Of lobsters, whales and the Taliban

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By Irfan Husain

talibanselected4.jpgOne of the joys of being on the eastern coast of Canada is the availability of lobsters. Some time back we were invited to a lobster boil on the beach to celebrate our friend Giles Walker’s daughter Kaisa’s engagement, and each guest had one of the delicious crustaceans with lemon-butter sauce, apart from an array of salads and pies. The meal was followed by fireworks, and a long tramp along a forest trail to return to our cars parked half a mile away.

Earlier in the day, we had gone on a whale-watching expedition on a fast Zodiac speedboat called the Fundy Tide Runner. Although there was some fog, we did spot a few finback and humpback whales. With the engines switched off, we listened for the gentle giants in the mist, and the eerie “whoosh!” of their distinctive exhalation pointed the way to the spot they had surfaced. Although some of these creatures attain lengths of over 50 feet, they accept the proximity of humans without any sign of aggression.

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Of Terrorists and their proponents

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By Huzaima Bukhari and Dr. Ikramul Haq

terrorism.gifThe likely threat of military attack by the US and its allies in the tribal areas of Pakistan using the pretext of potential strike like 9/11 and increasing activities of the Taliban is creating fear and panic amongst masses. The main agenda behind this bizarre scheme is to push the armed forces of Pakistan to the wall, get the control of nuclear arsenals and use bogey of ‘Islamic terrorism’ for the containment of China. George W. Bush Jr., now lame-duck President, before leaving the Oval, wants to ensure that the new man taking his place should have no option but to remain engaged in wars in various parts of the world.

Before one tries to understand the recent US military and propaganda outbursts against the Taliban, one must turn one’s mental clock back three decades or so, and recollect the legacy of Bush Senior. It was George Herbert Walker Bush’s ‘New World Order’ that led to the biggest and worldwide economic chaos during the Gulf War. As Vice-President and President, Bush was an unfortunate instance of ‘collateral damage’, or a ‘necessary evil’, flowing from his more primary geopolitical mission: to usher in the post-nation-state “one world order”, first spelled out in the mid-1970s Trilateral Commission studies of Samuel Huntington and Zbigniew Brzezinski, and first unleashed by the 1977-81 ‘All Trilat’ Jimmy Carter administration.

George Bush remarkable feats include inter alia amongst others:

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Son of a Lion

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pust.jpgAustralian filmmaker Benjamin Gilmour’s debut movie, Son of a Lion, tells the story of a young Pashtun boy who wants to escape working in his father’s weapons workshop and go to school. Gilmour speaks to Spiegel Online about his attempt to combat negative stereotypes about the Pashtun people.

For most people in the West, Pakistan’s remote tribal region bordering Afghanistan held little interest - until Osama bin Laden and his fellow Al-Qaeda fanatics decided to hole up there. The tough terrain and the Pashtun people’s tribal code of hospitality has provided them with protection ever since the US-led invasion of Afghanistan over six years ago.

Australian filmmaker Benjamin Gilmour visited the region before the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks and was captivated by the local Pashtun people. Horrified by the post-9/11 negative images of the tribal areas in the Western media, he decided to go back secretly and make a film about the people that showed them in their true light. He and his local assistant director managed to shoot a story about a young 11-year-old boy who dreams of escaping his father’s weapons workshop and going to school. The simple story, which was co-written by the local people in the village of Darra Adam Khel, is a delicate portrait of a father-and-son relationship, which portrays the local people as well-informed about politics and far from supporters of the Taliban.

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Anwaar’s articles appear simultaneously here at Truth Spring and at Soul Vibes in The Pakistan Tribune.


US loses its status as economic world power
DAVOS, Switzerland, 2008
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