Articles

The deteriorating ethics of most Pakistani journalists have tarnished the once-noble profession and turned it into a blackmailing tool at the behest of their foreign masters. The social fabric has been messed up and turned into a veritable zoo. The attack on TV anchor Hamid Mir has brought this out clearly.

Most parts of Indian occupied Kashmir were completely shut down today in response to a call by Kashmiri leaders to boycott Indian elections. They refuse to accept that they are part of India and have denounced Indian elections as a “sham.” They want a referendum to determine their own future.

American officials are forever launching wars; shooting wars as well as wars on concepts whether it is poverty or terror. Apart from its war on Muslims, America has lost every war, none more thoroughly than the one on poverty

Abdelaziz Bouteflika, 77, has been declared winner in the Algerian presidential election that his nearest rival, one-time prime minister Ali Benflis said was marred by massive fraud. Bouteflika won a fourth five-year term. He was first elected in 1999.

Another setback for Saudi policy as the regime is forced to retreat on its threats against Qatar from where it had withdrawn its ambassador last month. Bahrain and the UAE had followed suit but Kuwait and Oman did not. An agreement has now been reached to patch differences and get back to business as usual--rubbing noses and kissing.

While appearing for a court hearing, albeit behind closed doors, human rights lawyer and activist Waleed Abulkhair was sent to prison. He was out on bail following his three-month sentence last October for “insulting the judiciary,” the “authorities” and “holding unauthorized meetings.” The regime has become totally paranoid but its oppressive tactics seem not to work as people are posting messages on YouTube demanding basic rights.

The New York Police Department claims it has ended its mass surveillance of Muslims in New York State. Is this true? Have they disbanded all their illegal activities or is it just an attempt to deflect criticism from civil rights groups that have exposed NYPD wrongdoing causing embarrassment to the US abroad where US officials never tire of lecturing others about human rights?

The mystery of Bandar bin Sultan's absence from the kingdom has finally been resolved with his removal from the post of intelligence chief. He had lost the Syria file to cousin and Interior Minister Mohammed bin Nayef earlier this year. What will Bandar do now? Given his penchant for mischief-making, it would be premature to write him off but his major role in the kingdom's affairs is over. Good riddance!

This year's Pulitzer prize went to two newspapers, The Guardian of Britain and the Washington Post in the US. The Pulitzer board recognized the contribution of two mainstream newspapers that exposed massive official wrongdoing in the US. Other mainstream media outlets did not. The Pulitzer board did not name individual reporters, like the Guardian's Glenn Greenwald (picture) who took Edward Snowden's documents and published them.

The tragedy of Muslims in India is that they face two enemies: the fascist Hindus that closely follow the Nazi ideology, and their own religious leaders. The maulanas of India are a bunch of opportunists that issue statements to benefit themselves, not the broader Muslim community. Pity the Muslims as the Hindu Nazis of the BJP are poised to come to power in India with elections underway.