LUMS Review

Obama's Silence on Gaza

Posted on January 14, 2009 6:10 PM | Permalink | Comments ()

by Muneeb Ali

In the last week before Obama's inauguration, people are almost numb about Gaza. At least most of them. Another graphic image of an unnamed dead child appears and you really don't want to look. This is too depressing to glance over, you justify to yourself. The death toll goes up by five or six, but who is really keeping a count? Oh they still haven't reached a thousand?

A few, however, are still human enough to feel the pain. Fresh photographs of child corpses make them hug their own kids a little closer. For these frustrated souls, the death toll of 975 is not just a number. The sacred land of monotheistic religions is bleeding. Yet again. Where are the hope candles that we all have been burning this past year? Where is Obama?

Obama can condemn the loss of life in Darfur, but not in Gaza? He can "closely monitor" the situation in Mumbai, but for Gaza there is only one President at a time? He can criticize the current President on economy, but not the Middle East? The failing US economy calls for urgent action - we understand. But when Obama tries to talk about the economy while bombs are slicing innocent humans, while hospitals are fast resembling slaughter houses, and while schools are turning in to graveyards, you can't help but wonder if he is deaf or blind or both.

Continue reading Obama's Silence on Gaza .

Jaadu on iTunes

Posted on January 14, 2009 3:17 PM | Permalink | Comments ()

Another LUMS-related startup is in the air. Jahanzeb Sherwani (Bsc 2002) is done with his PhD from CMU and is recently hitting the spotlight for his innovative iPhone application. Jaadu is a VNC client that lets you control your computer from your iPhone. This is, apparently, the first time that Apple has included a software written by a Pakistani on their iTunes store. Jehan Ara has a more detailed story on Jaadu and J. here.

10 Lessons All Pakistanis Must Learn

Posted on December 2, 2008 7:57 AM | Permalink | Comments ()

by Hassan Baig

"Mulk khud hi chalta rehay ga" (approximate translation: the country doesn't need our contribution to thrive) is a sentence many Pakistanis are prone to saying. I confess that till a few years ago, I myself was confident of this misleading notion. Misleading and dangerous - especially in today's volatile climate. As Pakistanis, it is imperative that we come to terms with the fact that no heavenly Manna will alleviate our country's plight. The job rests squarely on our own shoulders; with the destiny of a whole nation tethered to our will and to the execution of that will. And so as the clock ticks and the prophets of doom raise a foreboding murmur from East to West, it is high time for us to learn some crucial lessons. Lessons without which our collective slumber will only deepen:

Continue reading 10 Lessons All Pakistanis Must Learn.

Chances of a War

Posted on November 30, 2008 6:53 AM | Permalink | Comments ()

by Muneeb Ali

Pakistanis feared, and expected, that the Mumbai attacks will be linked to their country. The media was curling its fingers around this juicy possibility. Hardly waiting to savor the escalating tensions. Even before they actually existed. Now, the Pakistan Army is considering moving its troops, from the Afghan front, back to where they belonged - the Punjab border. Indo-Pak tensions are, once again, creeping into casual conversations. However, there is little, if any, real chance of a war.

If the Pakistani troops start moving towards Lahore, buckle up for needlessly frenzied media reports. Lets not forget that the Pakistani army is currently dislocated. They will only be returning home. A scenario that neither America or Afghanistan can afford at this time. If the troops start building up across the Indo-Pak border, it means going back to playing cat and mouse. The largely harmless, and occasionally catastrophic, game that both armies are accustomed to playing for the past fifty plus years.

Continue reading Chances of a War.

Why Celebrate Obama

Posted on November 5, 2008 6:35 AM | Permalink | Comments ()

by Muneeb Ali

Not everyone shares the excitement of Obama's election. Specially not Pakistanis. And with good reason. Obama threatened to bomb Pakistan, an ally, while trying to sound tough against Hillary. Over time he backed off, became softer, but not soft enough. Pakistanis are worried about becoming the focal point of the war on terror, instead of enjoying this historic moment for what it is. A time when tears are rolling down and a world is healing, you hear voices that nothing will change or, worse, things will complicate.

Read "Dreams from My Father". He rose from black, poor ashes and made history. He went to Harvard and became the first African-American editor of the Law Review not because of his family name, but his intellect and hardwork. He raised $640 million not by cutting deals with corporations, but by $10 dollar donations from struggling ordinary people. Today is not just about bidding farewell to W., Redneck hate, preemptive wars, and free (falling) markets, but is also about celebrating our common humanity under a 21st century progressive leader.

Continue reading Why Celebrate Obama.

Missing in Pakistan: Prisoner 650

Posted on August 5, 2008 8:58 AM | Permalink | Comments ()

A lady doctor remains missing with her three children five years after her arrest. An urgent press release by Asian Human Rights Commission suggests that Dr. Afia Siddiqui has been tortured to the point where she has lost her mind. BBC reported in Jan 2007 that there are at least 200 cases of "missing" people who it believes are in the custody of the security agencies, including Afia. More updates on the specific case of Dr. Afia Siddiqui here.

The Witch Hunt

Posted on August 4, 2008 9:48 PM | Permalink | Comments ()

by Hassan Baig

There exists a foreboding murmur in the wind - young in age but formidable in intention. It was on May 12th that an article curiously titled "President Apostate?" (by Edward N. Luttwak) appeared in The New York Times. The writer, a fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, vehemently argued that Sen. Barack Obama would further deteriorate America's relationship with the Muslim world since many on this side of the so-called fence view him as a Muslim-by-birth who shunned the religion of his father and apostized.

On the surface of it, the article achieved little since it diverged rather blatantly from the methodology of sound argumentation via abusing the very fundamental principle of such discourse - the principle that the core of any argument must not be a difficult-to-take-seriously myth.

However Dr. Luttwak's article contained one seemingly objectively-stated subtlety. The subtlety that Sen. Obama is de facto a Muslim.

Continue reading The Witch Hunt.

Yeh Hum Naheen: Say No to Terrorism

Posted on July 16, 2008 1:00 PM | Permalink | Comments ()

More than 2 million Pakistanis have condemned terrorism by signing up to say "Yeh Hum Naheen" (Urdu for "This is Not Us"). Have you signed yet? Visit YehHumNaheen.org.

This initiative and the corresponding song (video below) has been featured on Time Magazine, The Guardian, Fox News, and BBC.

Startup Watch: Mango

Posted on July 7, 2008 8:57 AM | Permalink | Comments ()

There is a cool new startup by some LUMS graduates targetted at mobile services in the region - Mangoparty.com. Mango is a SMS-based social network. You can join groups of common interest e.g., euro2008 or create private groups of friends e.g., for making coffee plans on the fly. Check it out!

The Rise of the Rest

Posted on May 22, 2008 11:55 AM | Permalink | Comments ()

In The Post-American World, Fareed Zakaria (editor of Newsweek Int'l) sees the "rise of the rest" -- the growth of countries like China, India, Brazil, Russia, and many others -- as the great story of our time, and one that will reshape the world. The tallest buildings, biggest dams, largest-selling movies, and most advanced cell phones are all being built outside the United States.

If America is losing the ability to dictate to this new world, it has not lost the ability to lead. This book is not about the decline of America, but rather about the rise of everyone else. An excerpt from this book was published as the cover story of May 12th edition of the Newsweek. You can read it here.

Fareed received a B.A. from Yale and a Ph.D. in political science from Harvard. He lives in New York City with his wife, son and two daughters.

LUMS Review

Home | About

Obama's Silence on Gaza

Jaadu on iTunes

10 Lessons All Pakistanis Must Learn

Chances of a War

Why Celebrate Obama

Missing in Pakistan: Prisoner 650

The Witch Hunt

Yeh Hum Naheen: Say No to Terrorism

Startup Watch: Mango

The Rise of the Rest

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