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Polarized we stand PAKISTAN is at a crossroads. This sounds like a cliche and maybe it is. We always seem to be at some kind of a crossroad. But leaving that paradox aside, the issue at hand is slightly different. There are clear signs that certain classes in Pakistan are having a great time currently....		Invisible spiders A BOY, not more than ten years of age, was sitting and sobbing under thick foliage of an ancient tree. Tears rolling down from his eyes, he occasionally glanced heavenwards, and around the huge trunk of the tree, as if he was waiting for someone to arrive....
Schopenhauer’s bet and mine ARTHUR Schopenhauer, the renowned 19th century German philosopher of pessimism, during his stay in Berlin, usually had his lunch in a certain restaurant, which was also frequented by a group of Englishmen, who happened to be staying nearby....		The glass ceiling IT IS believed that the most lethal killer in the world is coded: Z59.5. In simple terms, it means the widening gap between the rich and the poor, and the discrimination on the basis of population, age groups and sexes....
A palace on the rock A 45-MINUTE flight from Islamabad will land you in a different world — Skardu — an amazing blend of sand dunes, lakes, orchards, glaciers, meadows, people, streams, rivers and green fields surrounded by grayish snow-clad mountains....		Running programmes online The Internet is fast developing and the way we use applications may completely change. The main focus is on running programmes online, without having to download or install anything at all....
Test of fire DESPITE the fact that we’re living in the 21st century, inhuman and age-old customs are still being practised in our part of the world. Phrases like ‘the world has become a...		Picking up the pieces SHAHNAZ Abbasi, who works for my bookshop in Islamabad, phoned me at my office in Karachi to inform me about his grave personal losses in the October 8 earthquake. His voice was shaky. He said he was lucky to have only three casualties in the village....
Need for a proper healthcare system WHEN Pakistani delegates signed the Almata declaration and pledged that health services would be made available to all Pakistanis till 2000, they did not realize that they were committing themselves to a task which needed political commitment, good governance and honesty....		The American royalty THE Americans have achieved almost everything under the sun, what they could not achieve they procured and if there was anything beyond their achievement or procurement, they simply grabbed it by force in the name of freedom and democracy....
The passion for reading I LOVE books — nay I adore them — fervently, passionately, devoutly. I caress them, hug them, kiss them. I do that to all types of books — hardbacks or paperbacks, torn or bound, obsolete or current....		From Russia with love THE newly-born South Asian writers’ and artists’ network in Lahore has perhaps developed a special liking for major writers belonging to the Western literary tradition. They seem to have chalked out...
A controversial genius INAYATULLAH Khan, popularly known in history as Allama Mashraqi, was a genius in his own right. Allama Mashraqi was born in a well-to-do Rajput Muslim family in 1888, in Amratsar, India....		Hot Seat A PART from being a veteran Pakhtun nationalist leader, the octogenarian Ajmal Khattak is a staunch progressive poet, writer, critic, playwright, intellectual, journalist and researcher. He has authored 18 books in Pashto and Urdu....
Inzamam is a man for all seasons TWO of modern cricket’s greatest exponents were in the limelight this past week. Brian Lara overtook Allan Border as the leading Test run-getter of all times, and Inzamamul Haq, on a slightly lesser scale when seen in the overall context of the game, had his spot in the sun when he overtook Javed Miandad...		Lara creates history yet again THE second ball in Test cricket produced the first run, scored by the English-born Charles Bannerman off English round-arm bowler Alfred Shaw on March 15, 1877. After his opening partner Nat Thomson had equalled this historic feat...
The toughest test OF all the major international tournaments involving hockey, Champions Trophy, in my eyes, is the toughest test of skill and stamina. Though a highly respected and much valued entity in its...		Screaming blue murder for Murtha JOHN Murtha’s chest maybe puffed out with medals and ribbons from fighting whatever war he fought, but who cared? Other than, of course, the Americans....
MOSAIC: Pedal power in Germany AD-FRIENDLY and environmentally sensitive, human-powered taxis are flourishing across German cities. Pedal-powered, mouse-shaped Velotaxis, or “cult-flitzers”, as they are called in Germany, ride streets, bike paths, and pedestrian zones to transport tourists and city dwellers....		Newsmaker “BEING the kindhearted soul that she is, Angelina Jolie, not surprisingly, dropped in to visit the desperate souls whose lives were devastated in the October 8 earthquake. The Oscar-winning actress and UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador,...
From Here, There, and Everywhere QUANG NGAI: A flock of ducks makes its way to a rice field. One wonders how bird-flu-hit Vietnam can deal with omnipresent wild birds in the tropical country....		Better safe than sorry This refers to the article written in the Magazine on October 16, by Noman Ahmed. In the aftermath of the devastating earthquake of October 8, among other challenges, there is an...
Health Interactive Q: I am a 23-year-old female. I am unmarried. A brief medical history of my cough is given below. Two years ago, on shifting to our new house there was a lot of dust on the old carpets so we replaced them with new ones....		From the scrapbook THIS week we have Madam Noorjehan and her daughter Zile Huma’s autograph from the collection of Shakiba Zulfiqar. This weekly feature showcases valuable collections. If you have some celebrity autograph, or...