Terrorist Islamic Republic of Pakistan (TSP): May 30, 2011

[anupmisra]

On a side note: Bangladesh fire coach for refusing to travel to Pakistan
Et tu, my estranged birather? But before any of you get excited, it must be noted that the coach is not a Bangladeshi.

Bangladesh have sacked national team coach Gjore Jovanovski just days after the Macedonian’s appointment because he is unwilling to travel to Pakistan for a World Cup qualifier, officials said

[shravan]

SHO among 10 killed in D I Khan attack

D I KHAN: Ten policemen including SHO were martyred in an attack on police station located in Tehsil Kolachi area of Dera Ismail Khan on Saturday, Geo News reported.

According to the report, armed men stormed the police station, taking police personnel hostage out of which four police personnel were recovered.

Police official said that resistance from the attackers inside the police station has ended.

Earlier, ten to twelve armed men wearing suicide jackets attacked the police station.

Security forces launched the operation soon after the incident and exchange of heavy fire were witnessed from the both sides.

Three bomb also exploded when the armoured personnel carrier (APC) entered the premises of the police station, resultantly the building of the police station caught fire while the APC was also destroyed.

[Stan_Savljevic]

Anup, BD Football association appealed to FIFA to shift their match to somewhere in West Asia or London, FIFA rejected that.

[Kukreja]

how about starting another web site similar to... say longwarjournal?

something like the huffington post or the more recently started firstpost in India would work just as well. A spinoff of the site could be reviving the bharat rakshak monitor in a fashion similar to what the blogger acorn does with Pragati (it reaches people not only though a website, but also through email and print)

[g.sarkar]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/ma ... ven-review
Pakistan: A Hard Country by Anatol Lieven – review
Anatol Lieven's clear-sighted study asks if Pakistan has lost control of its international narrative
Pankaj Mishra
The Guardian, Saturday 30 April 2011
"Pakistan, Anatol Lieven writes in his new book, is "divided, disorganised, economically backward, corrupt, violent, unjust, often savagely oppressive towards the poor and women, and home to extremely dangerous forms of extremism and terrorism". It is easy to conclude, as many have, from this roll call of infirmities that Pakistan is basically Afghanistan or Somalia with nuclear weapons. Or is this a dangerously false perception, a product of wholly defective assumptions?
Certainly, an unblinkered vision of South Asia would feature a country whose fanatically ideological government in 1998 conducted nuclear tests, threatened its neighbour with all-out war and, four years later, presided over the massacre of 2,000 members of a religious minority. Long embattled against secessionist insurgencies on its western and eastern borders, the "flailing" state of this country now struggles to contain a militant movement in its heartland. It is also where thousands of women are killed every year for failing to bring sufficient dowry and nearly 200,000 farmers have committed suicide in the previous decade.
Needless to say, the country described above is not Pakistan but India, which, long feared to be near collapse, has revamped its old western image through what the American writer David Rieff calls the most "successful national re-branding" and "cleverest PR campaign" by a political and business establishment since "Cool Britannia" in the 1990s. Pakistan, on the other hand, seems to have lost all control over its international narrative.
Western governments have coerced and bribed the Pakistani military into extensive wars against their own citizens; tens of thousands of Pakistanis have now died (the greatest toll yet of the "war on terror"), and innumerable numbers have been displaced, in the backlash to the doomed western effort to exterminate a proper noun. Yet Pakistan arouses unrelenting hostility and disdain in the west; it lies exposed to every geopolitical pundit armed with the words "failing" or "failed state"......"
Who is this Pankaj Mishra? The comments to the article are interesting.
Gautam

[pgbhat]

Who is this Pankaj Mishra?

You don't know? Let it stay that way.

[svinayak]

Pakistan: A Hard Country by Anatol Lieven – review
Anatol Lieven's clear-sighted study asks if Pakistan has lost control of its international narrative
Pankaj Mishra
Needless to say, the country described above is not Pakistan but India, which, long feared to be near collapse, has revamped its old western image through what the American writer David Rieff calls the most "successful national re-branding" and "cleverest PR campaign" by a political and business establishment since "Cool Britannia" in the 1990s. Pakistan, on the other hand, seems to have lost all control over its international narrative.

This writer thinks that India's image was in the hands of Indians and people in India are stupid not to know about it.
India " long feared to be near collapse" was a colonial construct.
India the image of poor and hopeless case was projected by western media.

[anupmisra]

Anup, BD Football association appealed to FIFA to shift their match to somewhere in West Asia or London, FIFA rejected that.

So their coach (ex. coach) decides not to go. makes sense. Only the Afghans dare to venture out in the pakilands. Sweet!

[anupmisra]

Who is this Pankaj Mishra?

You don't know? Let it stay that way.

No one that I know (within two generations, anyway).

[CRamS]

P'Roy makes an ass of himself, the utlimate epitome of an argumentative Indian. Asked to review a book about TSP and he launches into his pet self-rigteous diatribes against India. Nice way to get added attention. Man this guy is such a filthy Unle Tom fraud. I wonder of would have the b@lls to speak so disparagingly about US/UK, his benefactors, about the damage they have caused when discussing say Al Queda. What a bloody harami. On this count, A'Roy is a tad better. She attacks the west too, who can cooly dismiss that as noise, but she still enjoys their patronage to do the occasional puke on India when called upon.

Nobody, not westerners, not Indian chutiyas like P'Roy and many of his tribe among India's ruling elite want to bring TSP to justice as AfPak unfolds if it means that strengthens India. Somehow India must be brought to TSP's level or vice versa. So this is poor mother India's tryst with destiny. Is this a kind of hiddenr hatred and civizational contempt for Hinduism that we are witnessing?

[svinayak]

Nobody, not westerners, not Indian chutiyas like P'Roy and many of his tribe among India's ruling elite want to bring TSP to justice as AfPak unfolds if it means that strengthens India. Somehow India must be brought to TSP's level or vice versa. So this is poor mother India's tryst with destiny. Is this a kind of hiddenr hatred and civizational contempt for Hinduism that we are witnessing?

The agreement is that Hindus and Hinduism cannot be made bigger than Pakistan or Pakistan Islam. This is what the JUI scholars from Pak where discussing in the stimsen center.
This is what the western media follows and what their paid employees in India also do. The Indian marxist and the Indian leftist educated in the west also follow the same pattern in India.

[g.sarkar]

This writer thinks that India's image was in the hands of Indians and people in India are stupid not to know about it.
India " long feared to be near collapse" was a colonial construct.
India the image of poor and hopeless case was projected by western media.

The perfidy is that India is brought up in a book review about Pakistan, by someone with an Indian name. Dhanya ho Guardian.
Gautam

[saip]

CRamS: Are you talking about Pankaj Roy or Mishra? The one Pankaj Roy I knew used to open for India way, way back with Vinoo Mankad.

[CRamS]

CRamS: Are you talking about Pankaj Roy or Mishra? The one Pankaj Roy I knew used to open for India way, way back with Vinoo Mankad.

Oops, I meant P'Mishra, and sorry to have unintentionally sullied P'Roy's name .

[A_Gupta]

Who is this Pankaj Mishra? The comments to the article are interesting.
Gautam

Pankaj Mishra is a dude who wrote in the New York Review of Books articles accusing the Indian Government of doing the Chhatissinghpora massacre.

[A_Gupta]

Pakistaniyat: Pankaj Mishra proves that Pakistaniyat is the quality of an individual, not the quality of a culture as such. He writes the following:

Needless to say, the country described above is not Pakistan but India, which, long feared to be near collapse, has revamped its old western image through what the American writer David Rieff calls the most "successful national re-branding" and "cleverest PR campaign" by a political and business establishment since "Cool Britannia" in the 1990s. Pakistan, on the other hand, seems to have lost all control over its international narrative.

This is exactly the magical thinking that Pakistanis have displayed N times, that the problem is not the stuff they do, rather it is the bad Public Relations. India managing to grow economically and managing to lift people out of poverty (no matter how unevenly) and to increase its ability tackle various problems, managing to keep a democratic set up going, managing to increase participation in that democracy; having "a million mutinies" now, as people are encouraged to demand their rights - all this is, to Pankaj Mishra, a matter of India having "rebranded itself".

Likewise, Pakistani AQ Khan proliferation is not the problem to Mishra and co; it is the bad press that accompanied it. Pakistan "lost control of the narrative".

[A_Gupta]

Is this a kind of hiddenr hatred and civizational contempt for Hinduism that we are witnessing?

This is Pakistaniyat. None of us here will deny that India has problems. But for Pankaj Mishra and his type, castigating India as not having solved any problems or having any accomplishments but only having done some P.R. to change its image, is meant to put him on a superior moral plane to the "blindly nationalistic blah-blah-blah types". This is the same piskology that "I'm more Islamic than you" (and so you should shut up and listen only to me).

PS: people have entered the modern era when they argue with reason. People have entered the Pakistan age when they first try to assert a moral superiority and then have their position accepted by virtue of being closer to God.

[CRamS]

Pankaj Mishra is a dude who wrote in the New York Review of Books articles accusing the Indian Government of doing the Chhatissinghpora massacre.

I must say a very peculiar way of introducing P'Mishra to someone who has not heard of him. He is not "famous" in western circles for that accusation alone. Just curious, but among everything you could have said about him, why does his Chhatissinghpora claim stand out in your mind? Many others have made that accusation.

G.Sarkar:

P'Mishra is an Indian write of fiction, and like many of his ilk excel in trashing India like loyal, quintessential Uncle Toms and winning western acclaim. I would characterize him as an Indian RAPE but with a profuse hatred for his Hindu countrymen unlike his Paki RAPE counterparts who are proud of their Moghul roots and fantasize on the return of those halcycon days. Otherwise, in terms of wearing suit boot, speaking shudh, flawless angrezi, and wining and dining with white socialites in London/NYC with a sense of supreme superiority over his SDRE compatriots, he shares a lot of traits with Paki RAPE. One can just google his name to learn of the books he has written. He is also married to some close relative of UK PM David Cameron.

[CRamS]

The agreement is that Hindus and Hinduism cannot be made bigger than Pakistan or Pakistan Islam. This is what the JUI scholars from Pak where discussing in the stimsen center.

Don't recall this gathering you are refering to at Stimson center. Any details you can share? Its head used to be Michael Krapon.

[svinayak]

The agreement is that Hindus and Hinduism cannot be made bigger than Pakistan or Pakistan Islam. This is what the JUI scholars from Pak where discussing in the stimsen center.

Don't recall this gathering you are refering to at Stimson center. Any details you can share? Its head used to be Michael Krapon.

Go inside the discussion groups and see some of the discussion. This was several years ago and there seems to be understanding how India is to be projected by the western media.
Check for all discussions by Americans and Pakistani in key forums on India, Hindus and Hinduism.

[krisna]

India down Pakistan in polo showdown to lift Malaysia Cup

India’s polo team manager Vikram Singh Rathore has hailed his team as their best in 20 years after they downed arch-rivals Pakistan 12-9 in the Asian-Australasian-African Championships final.
India, thus, became the first country to lift the Malaysia Cup with the win at the Royal Selangor Polo Club yesterday.
It was their first-ever win outside India.

todin is friday-- IED mubarak Indian style

[g.sarkar]

Gentlemen:
Thank you. I will google Pankaj Mishra.
Gautam

[pgbhat]

Gentlemen:
Thank you. I will google Pankaj Mishra.
Gautam

Oh well if you have to.

What weakens the military? ---- Ayesha Siddiqa

A lawyer recently filed a petition in the Supreme Court requesting the superior court to gag the media regarding any criticism of the military. Interestingly, notices were served on fairly military-friendly journalists. This was possibly done to warn the less friendly ones and to show them that if the GHQ can run out of patience with friendly folks such as Saleem Shahzad, Najam Sethi, Ejaz Haider and Hamid Mir then just imagine what could happen to those who are considered by the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) as irreparably unfriendly? The defence establishment does not seem to be able to deal with the heightened criticism that is caused due to the influx of information. Just the availability of certain information makes the defence organisation’s behaviour look less kosher than what it would want people to believe.

But referring to the military, there is no truth in the speculative story of Kayani being pushed out. This is not to say that the army does not push out its top leaders. It did so in the case of Ayub Khan, Yahya Khan, Ziaul Haq and Pervez Musharraf. It is perhaps The New York Times’ fascination with the current Middle East which made it suggest the possibility of a colonel’s coup which is not likely in Pakistan. This is not to suggest that Kayani will not honour the feelings of his fellow generals. In case he crosses a line, there will be a handful of three-star generals that could checkmate him and push him out. Once the handful gang up, others follow.

[sanjaykumar]

Mr Mishra is abolutely correct: thousands of Muslims were massacred in India. Unfortunate, regrettable and barbaric.


It is not clear these crimes stand comparison to the killing fields of East Pakistan, Baluchistan and Balwaristan. These crimes are wholly inadequate when weighed against the several Christian genocides of the past three centuries.

The wise do not seek to defend the indefensible. They seek balance. As Pakistan withers, all-India/Muslim relations will only improve.

[chetak]

India down Pakistan in polo showdown to lift Malaysia Cup

India’s polo team manager Vikram Singh Rathore has hailed his team as their best in 20 years after they downed arch-rivals Pakistan 12-9 in the Asian-Australasian-African Championships final.
India, thus, became the first country to lift the Malaysia Cup with the win at the Royal Selangor Polo Club yesterday.
It was their first-ever win outside India.

todin is friday-- IED mubarak Indian style

Good show!!

Grind the paki elites down and show them their place.

[pgbhat]

Thousands file returns with no income tax

ISLAMABAD:

Twenty thousand out of 70,000 wealthy people, who were issued notices for payment of due taxes some time ago, have filed income tax returns showing levy of zero taxes, says an official of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).

Earlier, FBR had identified 700,000 people as potential taxpayers through data of National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA). These people are said to have residences in posh areas, hold foreign currency accounts and frequently travel abroad, but pay no income tax. Of these, over 70,000 were issued notices about a month ago, asking them to file returns and clear their tax liabilities.

The FBR official said the 20,000 potential taxpayers declared such sources of income on which tax was not levied. Elaborating, he said most of the targeted people pointed out that they derived their income from agriculture and received money from relatives abroad. In case of agriculture income, they said they were paying taxes to the provincial government wherever it was necessary.

[Kashi]

The Bugbear Named Jingo

The Indian media’s anti-Pakistan vitriol reeks of opportunist populism

ANEES GILANI

I am occasionally invited to participate in discussions on Indian television channel Times Now, which writer Arundhati Roy says is the Indian Fox News. The channel is on a never-ending spree of Pakistan-bashing. Arnab Goswami’s programme, Newshour, has an altogether predictable format—he invites a Pakistani and a couple of hawkish Indians, criticises Pakistan’s policy of sponsoring terrorism in India and then declares the Pakistani state as an abject failure. Though most of us don’t approve of the isi’s policies, Goswami’s programme provides the Pakistani ‘guest’ with two options—either whole-heartedly concur with the Indian hawks or behave as an ISI spokesperson. I have learnt over a period of time that the best course of action is, simply, to not go to Times Now.

The Indian media loves to engage in Pakistan-bashing. Sure, the media operates independent of the government, but it seems to turn into an extension of the ministry of external affairs (MEA) when it comes to Indo-Pak relations. I don’t believe the MEA directs the media to toe the official line. I believe that it’s more to do with public pressure—despite its mind-boggling diversity, the Indian nation is decidedly conformist on certain issues.

Take cricket, for instance. Every Indian is expected to express euphoria over their team’s World Cup victory even if he or she gives two hoots about the sport. Indians would be surprised to learn that had Pakistan won, we wouldn’t have witnessed the kind of spectacle we saw in India. The euphoria displayed by India was abnormal and a result of the hype generated by the media. The conglomerates operating the media are now so powerful that they exploit the public’s weaknesses to manufacture a massive build-up—out of thin air—before a chosen event. Their motive: nab as many advertising contracts to reap obscene profits.

This is why the Indian media seldom takes up causes that are not in consonance with the sentiments of the majority. An example of this is the plight of Indian Kashmiris—it’s an unpopular cause as the majority of Indians are either indifferent to or, worse, approve of the state’s brutal suppression of people’s rights in the Valley. (talking out of his musharraf as usual) This, despite the Kashmiris having a legally tenable case for independence. And should someone like an Arundhati Roy dare to raise the issue, then she has treason cases promptly clamped down on her. Obviously then, it’s simply unthinkable for any Indian to come out in support of Pakistan on any issue.

This is so unlike what we have in Pakistan, where the entire media seems to be on a crusade to pillory, and even crucify, its own country, including the military and the ISI, irrespective of what has happened to journalists like Umar Cheema and Saleem Shahzad. The Pakistani media fires salvos against the ISI even though many journalists are on its payroll.

It is now routine for the Pakistani media to criticise the isi’s policies on Afghanistan and Kashmir. In India, by contrast, one can find few articles that are criticial of the official policy on Kashmir; you’d be lucky to come across a TV programme doing the same. The unanimous view in India is that Pakistan is the villain and India, the hero. There are no grey areas—just like in Hindi movies. You oppose India’s policy on Kashmir and you become Arundhati Roy. Stick to it and you become India’s Salman Rushdie. And if you’re a Pakistani and so much as twitch against the official Indian line, the media will drop you like a hot potato.

Some Indian friends justify this national phenomenon by arguing that they do not need to oppose their establishment because, unlike in Pakistan, theirs has always been an elected government. There is, therefore, a sense of ownership of government, a sentiment Pakistanis simply don’t have, my friends contend. This explanation may only be partly true. Look at the Indian media’s hypocrisy. It expresses impatience with Pakistan because of the tardy progress in the trial of the militants behind the Mumbai attacks. It, however, has nothing to say about Indian courts taking 60 long years to deliver a verdict on the Babri Masjid case, and how the trial of the accused in the Gujarat riots has been lingering for the past decade. (must find some = = somewhere)Tell me, how many Indians have been convicted of committing human rights abuses in Kashmir?

No doubt the state of affairs in Pakistan is deplorable. As a Pakistani citizen, I fervently wish my country rectifies its mistakes. But the rampant Pakistan-bashing in the Indian media, and the mass hysteria it generates, completely deviates from the track that leads to the station called ‘Peace’.

(Anees Jillani is an advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and a member of the Washington, DC Bar.)

To the script.

[A_Gupta]

^^^^The difference between internal and external affairs is beyond the comprehension of such folks. If Pakistan was not blowing up Indians, Indians wouldn't care in the least about what all happens in Pakistan.

[Kashi]

^^^^The difference between internal and external affairs is beyond the comprehension of such folks. If Pakistan was not blowing up Indians, Indians wouldn't care in the least about what all happens in Pakistan.

More like it does not fit in with their world view and anything that does not conform to their views and plans must either be discredited or better destroyed.

[A_Gupta]

I must say a very peculiar way of introducing P'Mishra to someone who has not heard of him.

First impressions are the most important.

[shiv]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/may/01/pakistan-hard-country-anatol-lieven-review
Pakistan: A Hard Country by Anatol Lieven – review

That article was posted here weeks ago. I commented on it and the comment still exists

Pankaj Mishra's "review" is like a story that every Indian child hears. A boy prepares to write an essay on the cow in an exam but is astonished to be asked to write about the coconut tree in the examination. So the clever lil' boy writes "The cow is tied to the coconut tree." and proceeds to write about the cow. Mishraji (a respectful Indian way of referring to Mr. Mishra seems to have been inspired by that story.

I actually expected to see a review of Lieven's book - but I see an old familiar rant about India. I am only surprised that Mishra does not mention the 70 million rapine Indian soldiers killing Muslims in Cashmere and the fact that a billion Indians do not have toilets while the caste system continues to take its toll as the "untouchables" of India are savagely blinded by the high caste tyrants of Bhagalpur and christian priests are burned to death in dozens of unreported incidents. The country does not have water or a healthcare system but spends billions on arms.

I think I could write a better and more informed article about all that is wrong with India but hello? This is supposed to be a review of Leiven's book. Mr Mishra must be pretty upset with India. It is OK to be upset with India but passing off a rant about India in a review of a book that has nothing to do with that reveals to me that it's my mistake to have turned to the Guardian for this.

As Britain fades - the Guardian too is fraying at the edges. Fortunately I didn't actually pay for reading this review.

[chetak]

The Bugbear Named Jingo

The Indian media’s anti-Pakistan vitriol reeks of opportunist populism

ANEES GILANI

I am occasionally invited to participate in discussions on Indian television channel Times Now, which writer Arundhati Roy says is the Indian Fox News. The channel is on a never-ending spree of Pakistan-bashing. Arnab Goswami’s programme, Newshour, has an altogether predictable format—he invites a Pakistani and a couple of hawkish Indians, criticises Pakistan’s policy of sponsoring terrorism in India and then declares the Pakistani state as an abject failure. Though most of us don’t approve of the isi’s policies, Goswami’s programme provides the Pakistani ‘guest’ with two options—either whole-heartedly concur with the Indian hawks or behave as an ISI spokesperson. I have learnt over a period of time that the best course of action is, simply, to not go to Times Now.

The Indian media loves to engage in Pakistan-bashing. Sure, the media operates independent of the government, but it seems to turn into an extension of the ministry of external affairs (MEA) when it comes to Indo-Pak relations. I don’t believe the MEA directs the media to toe the official line. I believe that it’s more to do with public pressure—despite its mind-boggling diversity, the Indian nation is decidedly conformist on certain issues.

Take cricket, for instance. Every Indian is expected to express euphoria over their team’s World Cup victory even if he or she gives two hoots about the sport. Indians would be surprised to learn that had Pakistan won, we wouldn’t have witnessed the kind of spectacle we saw in India. The euphoria displayed by India was abnormal and a result of the hype generated by the media. The conglomerates operating the media are now so powerful that they exploit the public’s weaknesses to manufacture a massive build-up—out of thin air—before a chosen event. Their motive: nab as many advertising contracts to reap obscene profits.

This is why the Indian media seldom takes up causes that are not in consonance with the sentiments of the majority. An example of this is the plight of Indian Kashmiris—it’s an unpopular cause as the majority of Indians are either indifferent to or, worse, approve of the state’s brutal suppression of people’s rights in the Valley. (talking out of his musharraf as usual) This, despite the Kashmiris having a legally tenable case for independence. And should someone like an Arundhati Roy dare to raise the issue, then she has treason cases promptly clamped down on her. Obviously then, it’s simply unthinkable for any Indian to come out in support of Pakistan on any issue.

This is so unlike what we have in Pakistan, where the entire media seems to be on a crusade to pillory, and even crucify, its own country, including the military and the ISI, irrespective of what has happened to journalists like Umar Cheema and Saleem Shahzad. The Pakistani media fires salvos against the ISI even though many journalists are on its payroll.

It is now routine for the Pakistani media to criticise the isi’s policies on Afghanistan and Kashmir. In India, by contrast, one can find few articles that are criticial of the official policy on Kashmir; you’d be lucky to come across a TV programme doing the same. The unanimous view in India is that Pakistan is the villain and India, the hero. There are no grey areas—just like in Hindi movies. You oppose India’s policy on Kashmir and you become Arundhati Roy. Stick to it and you become India’s Salman Rushdie. And if you’re a Pakistani and so much as twitch against the official Indian line, the media will drop you like a hot potato.

Some Indian friends justify this national phenomenon by arguing that they do not need to oppose their establishment because, unlike in Pakistan, theirs has always been an elected government. There is, therefore, a sense of ownership of government, a sentiment Pakistanis simply don’t have, my friends contend. This explanation may only be partly true. Look at the Indian media’s hypocrisy. It expresses impatience with Pakistan because of the tardy progress in the trial of the militants behind the Mumbai attacks. It, however, has nothing to say about Indian courts taking 60 long years to deliver a verdict on the Babri Masjid case, and how the trial of the accused in the Gujarat riots has been lingering for the past decade. (must find some = = somewhere)Tell me, how many Indians have been convicted of committing human rights abuses in Kashmir?

No doubt the state of affairs in Pakistan is deplorable. As a Pakistani citizen, I fervently wish my country rectifies its mistakes. But the rampant Pakistan-bashing in the Indian media, and the mass hysteria it generates, completely deviates from the track that leads to the station called ‘Peace’.

(Anees Jillani is an advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and a member of the Washington, DC Bar.)

To the script.

Tell me, how many Indians have been convicted of committing human rights abuses in Kashmir?

Tell me, how many pakis have been convicted of committing human rights abuses in Kashmir?

[CRamS]

^^^^The difference between internal and external affairs is beyond the comprehension of such folks. If Pakistan was not blowing up Indians, Indians wouldn't care in the least about what all happens in Pakistan.

TSP has not been punished by India for the crimes it perpetrated. Hence, it can spin anything, mix anything and do an equal equal. If TSP could stand up to US, the way it thumbs its nose at India, they would easily do an equal equal, US talks Taliban, TSP would talk tea party. At some point, a thug has to be punished, reason, rhyme, and logic won't work.

[CRamS]

The big flaw in P'Mishra's usual rants, and this is typical of most anti-India argumentative Indian chutiyas is that they take a little positive pronouncement from some westerner about India, and launch into their pet counter attacks to garner attention. P'Mishra favorite punch line is that the west paints India as rising, and it is his sacred duty to show the reality of India as if people don't know. At some point those westerners are hopefully going to get tired and say, cool it buddy, we don't take India that seriously and we know all the crap that happens in India, and we give a rat's ass as to that rat hole except what matters as far as our interests go, and so we are not interested in a useless debate. Find something else to write about, and we can debate .

[sanjaykumar]

Silly me, I left out the left, so beloved of Mr Mishra's ilk. No litany of global bad boys could be complete without paying reverence to the holy trinity. Mass murders par excellence, Lenin, Stalin and Mao put even Europe and Pakistan to shame with their class struggles. (Of particular note for Pakistani accomplishments, Pakistan keeps some heavy duty company).

[shiv]

we don't take India that seriously and we know all the crap that happens in India, and we give a rat's ass as to that rat hole except what matters as far as our interests go, and so we are not interested in a useless debate. Find something else to write about, and we can debate .

This is right and that is what makes the Guardian look stupid and I am ashamed that I even look at the content in that source.

[Kashi]

This is right and that is what makes the Guardian look stupid and I am ashamed that I even look at the content in that source.

It's not called Al-Guardian for nothing.

[g.sarkar]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/may/01/pakistan-hard-country-anatol-lieven-review
Pakistan: A Hard Country by Anatol Lieven – review

That article was posted here weeks ago. I commented on it and the comment still exists

Dr. Shiv.
I had not read that article, sorry about that. I came to it in this way: NYT has an piece ‘Pakistan: A Hard Country’ By ANATOL LIEVEN, Reviewed by MOHAMMED HANIF on Sunday June 26. But I can not read it, as I have already read my 20 free articles for this month. So, I googled it and found Pankaj Mishra! I thought it would be a better review than that of Mohammad Hanif. How was I to know Pankaj was going to turn out to be such a Kamina? My bad.
Gautam
PS And here it is,
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/26/books ... ieven.html
and actually Hanif is far better.

[CRamS]

g.sarkar:

The 20 article BS is a joke yaar, at least thats what I found. Just delete your cookies and save any history items you need to, and you should be able to read that piece. In my case, since I use my office laptop to browse around as well besides official work, paranoid zombie that I am, I delete everthing from brwosing hstory to cookied etc every time I exit a browser lest my IT folks cast an evil eye on my browsing habits . So for me going to NYT web site is a brand new entry each time.

[Shrinivasan]

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/26/books/review/book-review-pakistan-by-anatol-lieven.html
and actually Hanif is far better.

Hanif's article is another variant of BS... he seems to be praising and deriding Levin at the same time... what is missing is an impassioned review. It looks like these reviewers are just expressing their opinion of the books subject, essentially writing about the topic /subject/plot of the book rather than the book itself. To do a good review, one needs to detach themselves from the subject, and perform an impassioned analysis of the book..