baithak

Steve King on Pearls

2009-07-14T08:07:00.000-04:00

Our fascination with pearls is thousands of years old—no other gem has been so loved, for so long, by so many. But is today’s pearl industry in danger of becoming a victim of its own success?

Much as they were treasured and admired, sought after and fought over, nobody knew for sure what pearls were until a little over a hundred years ago. In the absence of a scientific explanation, any number of pretty notions were put about. They were the tears of heaven, the eyes of spirits, raindrops filled with moonlight. Less poetically, though no less magically, most pearls form after a small parasite, such as a worm or a crab, dies inside an oyster shell. The proverbial grain of sand will occasionally do it too.

The process is the same for saltwater oysters and freshwater mussels. A foreign body enters the mollusc, which cannot get rid of it. To reduce irritation, it is coated with nacre, the same secretion the animal uses to grow its shell. Over time layers of nacre build up to form a pearl. They act as tiny light-reflecting prisms, giving pearls their lustre and, sometimes, the iridescent, soap-bubble quality known as “orient”. The Persian word for pearl, murwari, means “child of light”.

Vincent van Gogh - Still LIfe with a plate of onion

2009-07-14T05:22:00.000-04:00

New Orleans under water, Arundati Roy, Chan AKya on Paul Krugman

2009-07-14T04:27:00.000-04:00

Unless enormous amounts of soil are dumped onto the Mississippi River Delta, the region could lose up to 5,212 square miles of land to ocean and tidal marsh by 2100 -- a result of sea-level rise and the land sinking. Even if levees are intentionally breached to supply fresh sediment to the delta, the Mississippi River would fall billions of tons short of delivering enough silt to maintain a delta that looks anything like it does today. That's the picture two scientists with Louisiana State University have painted after trying to get a better handle on the restoration challenges facing the state's delta region. Will Much of New Orleans Be Underwater by 2100?
By Peter N. Spotts

When I ask her where she places her hope, Roy shrugs. She is tiny in stature, but her disillusion can fill a room. She has no faith in conventional politics to change anything. Obama "might be a symbol," she concedes, but nothing "about the relation of American capitalism with the rest of the world will alter ... To answer your question, it's not about my hope, it's about my DNA. There are people who are comfortable with power and people who are distinctly uncomfortable and made to question it." 'What's exciting is that writing has become a weapon'

Since winning the Booker prize in 1997, Arundhati Roy has put fiction on hold to become a global dissenter against repression, economic 'progress' - and dams. Tim Adams discovers the roots of her political passion

I loved the bit about the Bush infallibility complex in the statement, but it should have been directed not so much at the poorly advised Mr Obama, as the people advising him; an august group of Keynesians that includes Krugman himself. It is they who have ridden the infallibility complex that has failed to make the most important observations about the US economy: 1. Leverage needs to shrink across the economy, not merely get shifted around between the hands of private individuals and the US government;2. When consumption is almost three-quarters of any economy, you cannot cut leverage without hurting consumption. So live with it;3. For the economy to generate profits, it probably needs to become smaller, a lot smaller. Chan Akya on Paul Krugman

1,2 and 3 - Syed Saleem Shahzad

2009-07-14T03:31:00.000-04:00

1: Last week, Major General Athar Abbas, a spokesman for Pakistan's Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), in an interview with CNN, said that not only is "the Pakistan in contact with Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Omar, but it can bring him and other commanders to the negotiating table with the United States". Abbas said that in return for any role as a broker between the US and the Taliban, Pakistan wanted concessions from Washington over Islamabad's concerns with rival India, which it fears is gaining undue influence in the region.

2: In response, Richard Holbrooke, the US special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, said, "There's long been allegations that there are continued contacts [between Pakistan and the Taliban]. And I think it's a step forward for the Pakistanis to say publicly what everyone has always assumed," CNN reported. Holbrooke did not rule out the possibility of talks with the Taliban.

3: Following the grand shura and the military consolidation in Afghanistan, though, Mullah Omar has sent a clear message to Prince Aziz that a military victory is the only option for the Taliban and that nothing can stop the war except a clear defeat of the Western occupation armies in Afghanistan. Perhaps that is why Pakistan's Inter-Services Public Relations felt obliged to issue a statement that "strongly denied" the remarks made by Abbas "that the Pakistani military is in contact with Taliban leader Mullah Omar and it can bring him and other commanders to the negotiating table".

Fatwa Season

2009-07-14T01:27:00.000-04:00

You must have read the "unnamed" fatwa by "12 top scholars, who fatwa-ed against theft of electricity. here and here.

First a disclaimer: I do not know these modern day "Abu Hurairas" and I wish them luck.

Some days back a bigger number of "ulemas" in Pindi or Islamabad "declared" suicide bombers as haraam.

Am waiting for other learned "ulemas" to come forward and render "fatwas" on those who have taken millions and billions in bribes and illegal graft - some of whom occupy (illegally) high positions in the party and in the government too.

And since this appears to be a season of fatwas, why not have some fatwas on rape, incest, and murder too?

And finally, let Iftikhar Chaudhary take suo moto notice of these fatwas, like his brethren did in Bangla Desh many years ago.

Michael Raedecker

2009-07-13T16:57:00.000-04:00

Ludicrous: Matt Taibbi Accused of Being Anti-semitic for Goldman Sachs Article

2009-07-13T14:06:00.000-04:00

Normally I don’t care so much when people criticize my work. It goes with the territory. But in this case, the response of a bank like Goldman and Goldman’s supporters is characteristic of the subject matter in a way that is important to point out, even after the fact of publication. These are powerful people who know how to play the public relations game, have all the appropriate contacts, and have a playbook that they follow to discredit their critics. Whether it’s me now or the next guy who takes them on, they’re going to come back with some kind of charge, be it “Everyone was doing it,” or “We’re just smarter than the other guys, you can’t blame us for that,” or “The real culprits are the ineffective regulators,” something.

They’re going to say that and more, but whether it’s this time or the next time, the important thing is to pay attention to what they don’t say. And what they didn’t say about this piece is that it was wrong. They didn’t deny any of it. They said others were just as bad, they said I was a bad guy, they said it was a conspiracy theory. But they didn’t say it was mistaken, and that’s the only thing that matters.

Haroon Siddiqui, Altaf Hussain,

2009-07-13T08:36:00.000-04:00

Marwa Sheribini was buried in her native Egypt where angry protesters condemned German Islamophobia, as did the Arab League. Elsewhere, Muslims berated the Western media's silence. Among them: Wahida Valiante, the hijab-wearing president of the Canadian Islamic Congress. Its executive director, Zijad Delic, added that if Sheribini's attacker had been a Muslim, "the media would've reported it widely. Then for days afterwards, they would deliberate the case and conclude that Muslims are `brutal and uncivilized.' But when a racist European murders an innocent woman, the silence is deafening."
The above examples point to geopolitical inconsistencies or instances of individual racism and state complicity/complacency. But they most glaringly highlight the West's appalling, and dangerous, ignorance of matters Muslim. Our appalling ignorance of matters Muslim

TNS: How do you view the role of right-wing parties, such as Jamaat Islami and Imran Khan’s Tehreek Insaaf, in Pakistan?

AH: Every enlightened person and one who has even a little knowledge of history knows the fact that the Jamat-e-Islami was against the Pakistan Movement. Jamaat-e-Islami went too far in the opposition of the Pakistan Movement and even termed it as the movement of “Kafiristan”. It crossed all limits by even terming the Founder of Pakistan Quaid-e-Azam as “Kafir-e-Azam”. It is known to all those who go to colleges, universities or other institutions that Jamaat-e-Islami, through its students organisation Islami Jamiat-e-Tuleba introduced Kalashnikov, sten guns and other lethal weapons in all the educational institutions to suppress other students organisations and made the educational institutions into the “No Go” Areas for other students organisations. Very recently according to the reports of print and electronic media, State secret agencies and law enforcement agencies including the police stated that all Al-Qaeda people have either been arrested or discovered in the houses of Jamaat-e-Islami’s well known office bearers. Very recently the culprit of the armed gang who attacked the players of Sri Lanka Cricket Team in Lahore was arrested by the police who confessed that he stayed in Mansoora in Lahore, the main headquarters of Jamaat-e- Islami, for two days before launching the terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan team. He also confessed that the weapons he and his accomplices used were provided in Mansoora. What further can I say about the role of the Jamaat-e-Islami in Pakistan. Readers are the best judges. As far as the role of other religious political parties is concerned, almost all the parties who were against the Pakistan Movement are supporting Taliban or Al-Qaeda directly or indirectly.As far as Imran Khan’s Tehreek-e- Insaaf is concerned, I have never made any comment on him or his political party, so please forgive me again for not making any comment. My body is in exile but my soul is in Pakistan – Altaf Hussain By Murtaza Ali Shah

nadeem tiptoes, Youth Help Line, Clean water, Ayatollah Sistani, Solar power, Robert Fisk

2009-07-13T03:24:00.000-04:00

Nadeem tiptoes around, without naming names. ~t

They are still treated as some kind of anti-elite heroes, when in essence, just like the Taliban, these militant clerics too were once cogs of the reactionary Pakistani state; cogs who failed to keep up with the changing nature of the game that the same friendly state now found itself playing after 9/11. In other words, either we can call them Frankenstein monsters, or simply, spoiled Islamist brats who rebelled after dad started to change his ideological focus. Absolutely nothing heroic about any of it. Nadeem F. PARACHA

The last time I picked up the phone to call the Youth Help Line I did it so as ‘Amna,’ a 20 something with career problems. I acted confused, out of sorts. But the voice at the other end was comforting yet authoritative in tone. She knew what she was talking about and she knew exactly how to steer the conversation. She asked a series of questions scratching the surface to uncover the real issues I was presumably confused about. (Youth helpline toll free number: 0800 22444). Nosheen Abbas

People always ask: What can I do to make a difference? So many people in poor countries desperately need assistance. So many people in rich countries would like to help but fear their donations would line the pocket of a corrupt official or be lost in an aid bureaucracy. The result is a short circuit, leaving both sides unfulfilled. That’s where Scott Harrison comes in. Nicholas Kristoff

The issue is no longer about the election results. The issue now is about the core principal of the Islamic Revolution--velayat-e faqih--that Islamic law requires that power over civil society must lie with the clerical order of Islamic jurists. This debate is deeply rooted in the Islamic Revolution of 1979. At the time of the Revolution, Ayatollah Khomeini was the most vocal proponent among the senior Shia clerics of velayat-e faqih, while he was opposed at the time by his peer and rival Ayatollah Abul-Qassim Khoi, who disagreed with that interpretation of Islamic law, and dissented from the urge to assert clerical dominion over civil society. While Khomenei won the day and dominated the revolution against the Shah of Iran, velayat-e faqih has never been accepted across the senior Shia clerical order as settled law. Who Will Win the Next Phase in Iran, Ahmadinejad or Iraq's Ayatollah Ali Sistani?

Energy experts have calculated that Desertec could meet at least 15 per cent of Europe's needs, and be up and running by 2019. By 2050, they estimate the contribution could be between 20 and 25 per cent. Although no host countries have been named, Desertec envisages a string of solar-thermal plants across North Africa's desert. The plants would use mirrors to focus the sun's rays, which would be used to heat water to power steam turbines. The process is cheaper and more efficient than the usual form of solar power, which uses photovoltaic cells to convert the sun's rays into electricity. €400bn energy plan to harness African sun

The outrageous death of his 26-year-old son, arrested in front of his own father, remains one of the most shameful episodes of our occupation of southern Iraq. As they beat the seven men, the British soldiers gave them the names of footballers. I guess it is always easy to demean those who you are going to brutalise. One of his comrades, who worked in the same hotel, and who spoke to me in great pain from his hospital bed, described how Baha had pleaded for his murderers to stop kicking him. "He was a decent guy. They didn't need to do that to him," he said. Robert Fisk: The story of Baha Mousa

Yeh Na Thi Humari Qismat - Sung by Talat Aziz, Jagjit, Chitra, Saima Jahan, Abida Parveen, Begum Akhtar, Habib Vali Mohammad, Ustad Amanat Ali Khan

2009-07-12T13:48:00.007-04:00

Would like to share this. A friend (MMS) forwarded this. I don't know the name of the person whose labour went into this compilation, but wish to thank him or her for the effort ~ t

Talat Aziz

Jagjit Singh

Chitra Singh

Saima Jehan

Abida Parveen

Begum Akhtar

Habib Valli Mohammed

And now the ulimate by one of the best Ghazal Singer of 20th Century -

Ustaad Amant Ali Khan

Here are the lyrics with translation by Mansurul Hoda, author of the Urdu book "Dusra Rookh." He is one of the scholars of Ghalib poetry.

Yeh na thee hamari qismat keh wisaal-e-yaar hota
Agar aur jeete rahtay yehi intezaar hota

It was never in my fate to meet my beloved.
Even if more years of life was to me allocated, I would have been still awaiting the prize cherished.

Tere waade par jiyee ham to yeh jaan jhoot jana
Keh khushi se mar na jaate agar intezaar hota

If you think that I had been living on your promise, it is a lie.
For, if I had faith in you, would not of joy I would die

Yeh kahaan ki dosti hai bane hain dost naaseh
Koi chaarasaaz hota koi ghamghuzar hota

Woe betide, my friendship, that the friends give pious advice and sermons they deliver.
I need someone on whose shoulders could I weep, who could allay my grief and my fears.

Kahoon kis se main keh kya hai shab-e-gham buri balaa hai
Mujhe kya bura tha marana agar aikbaar hota

Whom should I tell that the night of sorrow is full of pangs.
I would not have resented the death, if it comes only once.

Huay mar keh ham jo ruswa huay kyun ka gharq-e-dariya
Na kabhi janaza uthata na kahin mazaar hota

Disgraced, as I was after my death, why didn't I drown in a river or sea.
Neither, there would have been a funeral, nor tomb erected for me.

Yeh masaael-e-tasavvuf yeh tera bayan ghalib
Tujhe ham wali samajhate Joh na badaakhwar hota..

The marvels of ethical problems and your statements full of meanings.
I would have counted you, "Ghalib" amongst dearest friends of God; if only, you had not been a lover of drinks.

evian roller babies

2009-07-12T13:23:00.000-04:00

[thanks ac]

Muslim Brotherhood, Indian Muslim Students, Nothing Queer

2009-07-12T06:12:00.000-04:00

Last week's arrest of Abdel-Moneim Abul-Fotouh, secretary-general of the Union of Arab Doctors and a senior member of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood's Executive Guidance Bureau, opened a Pandora's Box of questions concerning the possible ramifications of the clampdown on the political arena. The Shia connection Jailan Halawi

This year, more than 30,000 Muslim students from Hyderabad and surrounding districts in Andhra Pradesh made it past the "Eamcet", the impossibly overwhelming entrance examination that the state conducts for admission to medical and engineering colleges. In fact, a Muslim student, a young Alauddin, from engineering topped the Eamcet to emerge as the first ranker.
In another heart-warming example, a married Muslim girl has topped the "Edcet" or entrance examination for education colleges. Last year, another girl, Ayesha Fatima, created history by topping the state board for intermediate or Grade 12 with 98.7 per cent scores in the final examinations. A quiet revolution is taking place among India's Muslims, the largest religious minority and perhaps the biggest Muslim population anywhere in the world. Increasingly, Muslim students are not only putting in unusual and stellar performances and competing with the best of the best in realms where they rarely ventured before, but they are even outshining their peers. India's monsoon revolution Aijaz Zaka Syed

the gay rights debate is not about sex at all; it’s about principles. It’s about the right to personal liberty and the willingness of a forward-looking government to play the role of constitutional defender. It deserves all the public attention it’s getting because this debate is about diversity and democracy. And whether a secular state can manage to keep the clergy at a safe distance from the judiciary. There’s nothing queer about it - Barkha Dutt

Beyond warrantless wiretapping, Big Banks, Healthiest Foods on Earth,

2009-07-12T02:56:00.000-04:00

WASHINGTON — The Bush administration built an unprecedented surveillance operation to pull in mountains of information far beyond the warrantless wiretapping previously acknowledged, a team of federal inspectors general reported Friday, questioning the legal basis for the effort but shielding almost all details on grounds they're still too secret to reveal.
The report, compiled by five inspectors general, refers to "unprecedented collection activities" by U.S. intelligence agencies under an executive order signed by President George W. Bush after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.Presidential Surveillance Program: Spying Went Beyond Warrantless Wiretapping

Far from showing appreciation, the largest banking chains are now going out of their way to stiff us. Instead of nice notes, they are quietly slipping new gotchas into our monthly credit card bills and bank statements. In June, for example, Bank of America abruptly raised its fee for a basic checking account by 50 percent. Citibank jacked up the interest rate on some of its cards to 29.99 percent. And JPMorgan Chase more than doubled the required minimum payment on its cards. Big Bankers Mounting Sneak Attack on Consumers By Jim Hightower

In Depth: The Healthiest Foods On Earth The only thing these diets have in common is that they're all based on whole foods with minimum processing. Nuts, berries, beans, raw milk, grass-fed meat. Whole, real, unprocessed food is almost always healthy, regardless of how many grams of carbs, protein or fat it contains. All these healthy diets have in common the fact that they are absent foods with bar codes. They are also extremely low in sugar. In fact, the number of modern or ancient societies known for health and longevity that have consumed a diet high in sugar would be ... let's see ... zero. The Healthiest Foods On Earth Jonny Bowden,

Robert Fisk’s World: You won't find any lessons in unity in the Dead Sea Scrolls

2009-07-12T01:31:00.000-04:00

At last, I have seen the Dead Sea Scrolls. There they were, under their protective, cool-heated screens, the very words penned on to leather and papyrus 2,000 years ago, the world's most significant record of the Old Testament.

I guess you've got to see it to believe it. I can't read Hebrew – let alone ancient Hebrew (or Greek or Aramaic, the other languages of the scrolls) – but some of the letters are familiar to me from Arabic. The "seen" (s) of Arabic, and the "meem" (m) are almost the same as Hebrew and there they were, set down by some ancient who knew, as we do, only the past and nothing of the future. Most of the texts are in the Bible; several are not. "May God most high bless you, may he show you his face and may he open for you," it is written on the parchments. "For he will honour the pious upon the throne of an eternal kingdom."

The story of the discovery of the scrolls is, of course, well known. An Arab Bedouin boy, Mohamed el-Dib, found them at Khirbet Qumran in a cave in what is now the occupied West Bank of Palestine in 1947, and handed them over to a cobbler turned antiquities dealer called Khalil Eskander Shahin in Jerusalem; they eventually ended up in the hands of scholars – mostly American – in the Jordanian side of Jerusalem. Then came the 1967 war and the arrival of the Israeli army in East Jerusalem and... well, you can imagine the rest.

Now, I have to say that I looked at these original texts in the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, a tale that was bound to engender a whole series of questions, not least of which is Canada's softly-softly approach to anything approaching controversy. At no point in the exhibition, jointly arranged with the professional (and brilliant) assistance of the Israel Antiquities Authority, is there any mention, hem hem, of the West Bank or occupation. Or how the documents found there came to be in the hands of the Israelis.

Cheating: Cheney and Chinese

2009-07-11T16:17:00.003-04:00

The Central Intelligence Agency withheld information about a secret counterterrorism program from Congress for eight years on direct orders from former Vice President Dick Cheney, the agency’s director, Leon E. Panetta, has told the Senate and House intelligence committees, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said Saturday. Cheney Is Linked to Concealment of C.I.A. Project By SCOTT SHANE

In early June, Chinese police were unusually busy catching "spies". But the "spies" were not trying to steal state secrets, they were students using cutting-edge spy-ware to cheat in make-or-break national college entrance exams. Only in China

Charlie Rose Interview with Shabana Azmi

2009-07-11T13:58:00.001-04:00

http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/511

The summer of '77

2009-07-11T02:08:00.001-04:00

Did you know that Zi(n)a ul Haq had false lower teeth? Read on for this riveting account by Shafqat Mahmood.

Zia is hated for a number of reasons. He murdered the first truly popular political leader of this country, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. His was the most brutal of our martial laws and it is he who laid the groundwork for the unleashing of the Taliban twenty years later.

Nawab and I:Knowledge Has Its Limitations, Faith Doesn't.

2009-07-11T02:01:00.000-04:00

t: How'd Elvis greet MJ?
N: Same way Hitler greeted Elvis?
t: How?
N: In three words twice - I don't know - doesn't bother me.
t: But you are the Wise One.
N: To play with Bertrand Russell - Knowledge has its limitations, faith doesn't.
t: You sweep the rug under my feet.

N:

t: Point taken Nawab but..
N: But means you have not taken the point!
t: OK. what happens when you are dead.
N: You are not very perceptive today, I told you I don't know. How difficult it is?

***

t: Sarah Palin?
N: Has been.
t: Has been for the next 4 years?
N: You think I am the wise one!
t: Bobby?
N: Jindal has a slim chance.
t: Obamama?
N: I am not telling?
t: This sudden humility is perplexing. OK Iran?
N: The mullahs are in league with the neoconzix?
t: They are? NYT, Haaretz, Debika - none has covered this angle.
N: Iranis are smart. They have done their homework.
t: hmmmmm. Saudis?
N: Don't waste my time. Go here.
t: what is your score? (link)
N: I would yawn if I could.
t: Alright last question. What is MJ doing right now?
N: Watching reruns.

Sunny at 60: 'There are two things I would have definitely changed'

2009-07-10T06:40:00.000-04:00

On the eve of his sixtieth birthday, Sunil Manohar Gavaskar is not contemplating regressing into past life. But he admits, nonetheless, that if he had to live life all over again, there are two things he would most certainly do differently. "I would throw my wicket away, not bat 60 overs for 36 runs like I did in the 1975 World Cup, and I would not get into a situation where a Test match could be conceded [as happened at Melbourne, Australia, in 1980-81], whatever the provocation," he said.

You have never pushed your son Rohan, but do you have any sense of disappointment that he could not go the distance with the India cap?

Look, I wanted him to be a good human being. For me, that was the most important thing. Being a cricketer or a doctor, engineer, journalist was his choice. I just wanted him to be content with what he was. All the feedback that I get from all those who have interacted with him is nothing but positive, which pleases me to no end. As far as his cricket is concerned, I keep teasing him all the time that his father used up all the luck, that's why he didn't have much left for him.

Islamic Superheroes, FBI's Least Wanted, Kissinger on Obama

2009-07-10T05:06:00.001-04:00

The 99, who personify the 99 attributes of Allah, are a creation of Teshkeel Comics in Kuwait, and will soon be appearing in a new mini-series collaborating with Justice League characters from DC comics. The Kuwaiti comics, which sell about one million copies a year, are already popular in the Middle East with an animated film already commissioned. The first of several 99-based theme parks has already opened in Kuwait. Superman and Batman to join forces with Islamic superheroes

Special agent Bassem Youssef was one of the FBI's up-and-comers—fluent in Arabic, ambitious, with a record of spotting threats and cracking terrorist cells. So of course the bureau sent him to rot in a desk job.

The FBI's Least Wanted

Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, 86, discusses the painful lessons of the Treaty of Versailles, idealism in politics and Obama's opportunity to forge a peaceful American foreign policy. SPIEGEL INTERVIEW WITH HENRY KISSINGER - 'Obama Is Like a Chess Player'

The book, The Six Ways of Atheism presents six entirely logical arguments in simple language why people should not believe in the existence of God. The book opens a new front in the case against God. The Six Ways of Atheism - Geoffrey Berg

10 Dangerous Household Products You Should Never Use Again

2009-07-10T03:29:00.000-04:00

You would never cross the street without looking both ways, walk alone down a dark alley alone at three a.m., or tell your child to accept rides from strangers. So why let hazardous, toxic, and even carcinogenic chemicals into your home everyday? The message driven home for millions of Americans each day via TV and internet commercials is this: No need to scrub or scour. With just one squeeze of the spray bottle, you can wipe away dirt, grime, and bacteria. Alas, there’s that dark alley again. Air fresheners, disinfectants, and cleaners found under your sink are more dangerous than you think. Mix bleach with ammonia, for example, and you’ve got a toxic fume cloud used by the military in WWI. And they weren’t cleaning kitchens.

Haram, Carbon Footprint, Locavore Among The New Words Added To Merriam-Webster Dictionary

2009-07-10T01:27:00.000-04:00

Merriam-Webster Inc. has added more than 100 entries to the latest edition of its Collegiate Dictionary. Here are some, along with the year in which Merriam-Webster researchers first found them used in an English-language publication, and their meanings:
Haram (1979): forbidden by Islamic law. foods
Acai (1868): a small dark purple fleshy berrylike fruit of a tall slender palm (Euterpe oleracea) of tropical Central and South America that is often used in beverages.
Carbon footprint (1999): the negative impact that something (as a person or business) has on the environment; specifically: the amount of carbon emitted by something during a given period.
Cardioprotective (1984): serving to protect the heart.

A leaner, meaner Iranian regime - Mahan Abedin

2009-07-09T13:02:00.001-04:00

The sum effect of this new political reality is going to be very disappointing to those people who had hoped that the brief period of street rioting and mayhem would spell the beginning of the end of the Islamic regime. Notwithstanding the damage to prestige and legitimacy, the emergence of a leaner and meaner regime will present new strategic opportunities for Islamic Republic loyalists in the region and beyond. Mahan Abedin is a senior researcher in terrorism studies and a consultant to independent media in Iran. He is currently based in northern Iraq, where he is helping to develop local media capacity.

Chaudhrys’ group sweeps polls as dissidents boycott

2009-07-09T04:38:00.001-04:00

You may be pessimistic about this news story. Perhaps you should be. But think about this. Only Jamaat and PML Q have held elections. A majority wants a functioning democracy in Pakistan. But outside of these two parties, can you name any other party that has held elections? Altaf? Imran? Mu'llah or Maulana or Mr. this or that? ~~t

Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi and Chaudhry Zaheeruddin were re-elected president and general secretary for Punjab, Amir Muqam and Mushtaq Ghani for the NWFP, Ghous Bakhsh Mehr for president of Sindh, Jam Yousuf for Balochistan and Rizwan Sadiq Khan and Dr Hasan Sarosh president and general secretary for the federal capital. Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain supervised the polling in Lahore, while Mushahid Hussain looked after the NWFP polls held in Abbottabad and later flew to Karachi to oversee the polling in Sindh.

A Chili named bhut jolokia

2009-07-09T02:30:00.000-04:00

The hotness or pungency of a chili is measured in Scoville Heat Units (SHUs), that is, the amount of capsaicin (a chemical compound that stimulates nerve endings in the skin) present. Thus a bell pepper, which contains no capsaicin, would have a SHU rating of zero, while commonly used varieties like jalapeno or Italian peperoncino would log in less at than 5,000 SHUs. Until recently, it was the fiery hot Red Savina Habaneros developed in the United States with a rating of 350,000–580,000 SHUs that was regarded the king of the chili world. Then in 2000, the DRDO's Defense Research Laboratory (DRL) at Tezpur in the northeastern state of Assam claimed they had discovered a chili with a pungency of 850,000 SHUs. That claim was met with much skepticism abroad. In 2005, Paul Bosland, a professor at the New Mexico State University in the US, decided to test the claim. He found that the DRL was wrong. It had underestimated the pungency of the bhut jolokia. Its pungency, he found, measured a scorching 1,001,304 SHUs. Bhut jolokia had toppled the Red Savinia to emerge as the hottest chili in the world.