Love Affair well done!

The Nightmare nice read

Education Reform: Signs of Hope it sounds utopian alright. GPS and satellite technology being used by our ministry for monitoring purposes...i mean doc do u really think the lazy bimbos in tht ministry would actually do tht? I`m very pessimistic. And abt our satellite programme, isnt it true tht our only geo-satellite the Paksat-I is for the moment only beamin two free educational channels for the VU-and tht it isn`t capable of transmitting real time pics of locations such as those schools u just mentioned? Google earth is available I know, but for free one gets pics from two year old archives-for real time pics there`s a fee which i`m sure the government can afford, but would it hav the will to pay to do that exercise is all together different matter. We can dare to hope perhaps....but i dont know....there arnt many ppl in the federal ministry who can even grasp what tech can do for them....anyways...hope floats

Pandora Box of Television in Pakistan ``In our national history it will always be remembered that when America and its local agents made up their minds to dismantle a Quranic law, they used TV as a weapon and dissolved centuries’ old understanding in one month.``...although I agree with you that the television medium can and is used to mould the thinking of its viewers, I think what you`ve taken here is an extreme stance. Yes, the establishment-local or foriegn-does used the media to advance its msg, but that happens in every country and part of the world. Take US`s Fox news for example. Also, about cooking programs you say ``This is a conspiracy to systemize gluttony``...I think you`re just imagining things or being just paranoid...

Sissy Fascists Paracha sahaab, what were you doing in a discussion forum held by some women’s organization anyways? esp when you yourself admit that you don`t fancy urself as a speaker...that`s what I want to know....and also were you talking about Maulana JJ here :-)?

Beethoven’s Funeral I loved your writing style man! but I would like to add that there area dozen or so death/heavy metal bands in Pakistan. One such popular band emerging out of PK is Dusk, which consists of local celebrity guitarist Faraz Anwar-this guy also has a death metal album released somewhere in Europe. Also Karachi and Lahore also have their own share of underground rock concerts, complete with praises to Satan etc, though I must add that their acts r very much fake. But nevertheless there are a couple or more bands which arn`t that bad.

Here We Go Again NFP, I say this with all due respect to u,that your current article was below par-it sounded more like a mere rhetoric of an elitist thinker, who wrote this feature while listening to some gossips in a drawing room debate. The suspects held in connection with the current bomb attack have roots to the Balouchistan Liberation Army(BLA)-which had claimed the attack just hours after the blast. The dimensions of the politics behind this attack and the one you dicussed does not reflect the realities. All in all, a dissapointing effort. A better idea perhaps would be for you to stick with your reviews on the music industry, which undoubtably is your forte.

Reforms! What Reforms? Thank you for speaking out the truth out loud, Dr. Hoodbhoy...it`s depressing that not even the HEC, an institution that supposedly commands great respect, functions in the interests of its poor citizens-not even one institution in the country sadly perfoms correctly...:-( Depressing state of affairs. Will anyone stand up to change the status quo?

Socio-political History of Modern Pop Music in Pakistan interesting piece on Pakistan`s music scene.Though the timeline could have been complete if it had started right from the year of our Independence, 1947, rather than 1966. In any case , a very good read.

Use of the Internet by Terrorists True, the Pentagon is responsible for the countless deaths that they so coldly attribute to `collateral damage’. But my question is does this still justify the slaughtering of people like goats-some of them civilians- and then videotaping the murder? Which Islamic junction teaches us that? While condemning others for their heinous acts, we should also take a note of our own inhumane actions and must not support them.

Only $5 Million To dispel all myths about PakSat-1, I want to make it clear that the satellite has no defense use whatsoever. It can`t be. Simply because it was never meant to be; its a communications satellite of potentially no miltary use. Besides the frequencies are montiored at two foriegn ground stations: one located in London(see the pic above) and the other is located at Perth Australia.
Also, although Paksat-1 is our first acquired `geostationary satellite`, it is not the first satellite of our country. We have had others such as the Badr series of satellites `indigenously built` by Suparco. The difference is that they were all LEO satellites.
The intent of this article is to shed light on the millions and billions being spent on this project. The figures invested for this project are frankly unbelievable. But what even more appalling is the greed of the individuals who have been (and still are) involved with this project. (More on this later)
....
Salman Siddiqui

Snarl! I agree with the Farhat Hashmi part but terming the ban on headscarfs ``as the most progressive act`` is beyond any rational thinking. The ultimate freedom of choice should rest with the people and not with the government especially in matters related to one`s religion.