South Asian politics have always been about families. Pakistan People's party is unable to go beyond Bhutto's family and a 19 year old is the best to lead the party in a time like this? Is this really what democracy can offer in Pakistan? If yes, with all his shrewdness and inabilities, I'd prefer Musharraf to stay than Bhutto's family run the show.

Benazir's life, with all its contradictions and controversies, was a ray of hope in the Islamic world. She was the first elected woman head of a nation in the whole of Islamic world, that too in the backdrop of a mainly male-dominated south asian society. The life that ended with a mad man's bombing was not too unexpected in the wake of the recent developments in Pakistan; yet one would have thought she could have been more cautions, given more security, but all that becomes a useless talking point; at the end of it all, we have lost someone who had graced the south asian politics, with her brilliance, charm and personality. Pakistan is quickly descending into further chaos; have the extremists elements that fled Afghanistan after 9/11 invaded Pakistan?

Not shining?


These reports leave you bewildered, with all the talk about India being on record track in terms of economic/social development, we are really 127th in literacy?

In the year 2001, the total number of illiterates came down to 304.11 million from 328.88 million in 1991.

In 10 long years, that is all we were able to do? It is disappointing to see that 30% of people in india still cannot read or write. We need more government funded programs - i know the center-to-right wingers would cringe at that - to bring about changes in this widening disparity between rural and urban india.

Presidential debates are nothing other than mud-slinging at times. What good is Mrs. Clinton trying to get from this cheap shot?
“Now voters will judge whether living in a foreign country at the age of 10 prepares one to face the big, complex international challenges that the next president will face...”

Other than having lived under the shadow of Bill Clinton, what experience is Mrs. Clinton bringing to the table here? Some say, this is Bill Clinton's 3rd presidency - is he the one pulling strings behind the curtains?

Obama, on the other hand comes out to be a self made, articulate and capable leader who really can change the world view on america now. America's battle field today is with the rest of the world and we need someone who can protuberate the aspirations of this great nation, someone who can remain as a beacon of hope in these troubled times. I don't see anyone other than Obama who can do that today!

Ok, there isn't any real phone yet behind Google announcement today - I also learned that some of my former co-workers are on Android project. Yet another learning is that the life has become more difficult for mobile developers with two new platforms coming up next year - Mac OS and Google OS (shall i call it Goose?).

Having worked at Palmsource for several years on various versions of their operating systems, I am familiar with the challenges of mobile OS development. There is some good news about their OS - Open source, easy to customize, potentially cheaper devices, a more web-centric platform, etc.. There is another handheld maker who is watching the show from the bleachers and that is Palm - only Palm has managed to lose more than 100000 of its developers in a time when there wasn't really any competition from other handheld makers. Only palm has managed to lose its market share year after year - only Palm has been unable to face-lift the clunky Treo in 4 years. Gizmodo has written that the only chance for palm is to embrace Google OS - coming to think of it, it is not a bad idea after all. But given the recent history of Palm, I think their heads are still buried in the sand -- anyways, these are exciting time for mobile developers.

Emergency

Once again, Pakistan awaits an uncertain future - the general has suspended the constitution and imposed national emergency. It is not that Musharraf's government hadn't seriously curtailed the civil liberties, but this takes it to a different level. Those who have read about Indira's emergency during 1977 period would know what it means - people becoming pawns in an increasingly powerful government, kangaroo trials and instant justice, all in all a violent time for the common citizens - i just hope that the violence doesn't get any worse, but that is too much to hope for with this development.

Pakistani media has slammed this move in the strongest terms possible. See the excerpt from Dawn.

we are back to square one. Back to Oct 12, 1999. All the gains over the years have gone down the drain. All this talk about the forward thrust towards democracy, about the impending 'third phase' of the political process and the lip service to the sanctity of judiciary turned out to be one great deception. The people have been cheated. In a nutshell, one-man rule has been reinforced, and there is no light at the end of the tunnel...

http://najeeb.blogspot.com

After a number of lost posts and unreliable hosting solutions, I have moved to blogspot. I cannot guarantee the posts will be more regular -- but I need a place to jot things down.