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Light a Candle, Don't Curse the Darkness



"It's better to light a candle than to curse the darkness." Adlai Stevenson, 1962



It is important to repeat these golden words to exhort people to positive action. But it takes more than words to make social service and volunteerism become normal part of every day life for ordinary citizens. The message to be proactive to solve society's problems has to be… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on September 11, 2008 at 9:18am — No Comments

Can American Muslims Swing US Presidential Race?



The presidential contest between Barack H. Obama and John S. McCain is now even at 42 percent, according to a new CBS News poll conducted Monday-Wednesday of this week. Twelve percent are undecided according to the poll, and one percent said they

wouldn't vote.



The Race Tied:

The two main presidential… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on September 8, 2008 at 12:22pm — 1 Comment

Expect More Economic Woes Under President Zardari



As Pakistan finds itself in the midst of arguably the worst economic crisis in its sixty one year history, the recent accounts of Mr. Zardari's understanding of the economy are not particularly encouraging. It is certainly a huge letdown after Prime Minister… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on September 5, 2008 at 8:43am — 1 Comment

A Tale of Tribal Terror in Pakistan



Baba Kot, a village 50 miles from Usta Mohammad town of Jafferabad district in Baluchistan, is where this recent tale of tribal terror began.

The media reports and the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) indicate that it was here that Mr. Abdul Sattar Umrani, a brother of Mr. Sadiq Umrani, a… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on August 31, 2008 at 7:14am — 2 Comments

Mobile Internet Revolution in Pakistan



Mobile application developers and high-bandwidth data network operators are being dramatically boosted by latest innovations, growing popularity and rising demand of smartphones such as iPhone, Blackberry, Palm Treo and other mobile platforms. Some 10 percent of phones shipped worldwide — and some 19 percent of phones sold at retail in the United States — are smart-phones.… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on August 27, 2008 at 9:44pm — 15 Comments

Indian Wind Power Giant Faltering

Indian Wind Power Giant Faltering

By Riaz Haq

www.riazhaq.com



India's Suzlon Energy (SUZL: BSE), with 8% market share of wind turbine in the US, is beset by quality issues at home and abroad, according the Wall Street Journal.

Suzlon Energy, with market cap of INR 270B, is a wind power company in India. In terms of market share, the company is the largest wind turbine manufacturer in Asia and the fifth largest worldwide. With… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on August 27, 2008 at 8:52am — No Comments

Zardari Corruption Probe Alive in Switzerland



While the news of President Musharraf's resignation and Asif Zardari's nomination for president occupy the big headlines, the renewed reports of the continuing Swiss probe into corruption allegations against Zardari are also vying for attention in the same week.



Swiss Judge Daniel Devaud has "confirmed to… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on August 22, 2008 at 4:30pm — 2 Comments

Stop and Smell the Roses in Pakistan

By Mona Eltahawy



NEW YORK -- As an Egyptian whose country’s military dictators are either taken by God or an assassin’s bullet, I envy the Pakistani people their ability to now use the term “former president.”



As former Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf contemplates how his friends in the U.S. administration dropped him quicker than you can say “hot freedom fries,” for those of us from the Muslim world -- awash in military dictators who have friends in high places in… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on August 20, 2008 at 12:44pm — No Comments

End of the days play!

Another sad day in the history of Pakistan, I really feel bad about what happen today. No matter what Pres. Musharraf did in his 9 years tenure, of course it can’t be totally correct or justified, but it is an undeniable truth that the progress we made as a nation and the development Pakistan has seen in these years is remarkable. There are few questionable things that happened in his era but I am sure that the situation would have been worse if either of the two current crooks were there… Continue

Added by khalid Hassan on August 18, 2008 at 9:00pm — 1 Comment

Is This the Dawn of Freedom We Yearned For?

Here are a few lines from Late Faiz Ahmed Faiz that capture the essence of where Pakistanis stand today:





Subah-e- Azadi

(Dawn of Freedom)



ye daaG daaG ujaalaa, ye shab_gaziidaa sahar

(This spotty, stained, dim light after the darkness of night)

wo intazaar thaa jis kaa, ye wo sahar to nahii.n

(Is this the dawn of freedom we yearned for?)



ye wo sahar to nahii.n jis kii aarazuu lekar

chale… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on August 14, 2008 at 9:00am — No Comments

India, Pakistan and Olympics Success Model



“Why are the top 10 medaling nations top 10?” Professor Daniel Johnson asks. “It’s not that athletic prowess is completely independent from wealth and population. These nations have more resources at their disposal.” Daniel Johnson, a college professor and an economist in Denver, Colorado has developed a mathematical model for predicting each nation's Olympics… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on August 12, 2008 at 7:27am — 1 Comment

Is India Really " Stable, Peaceful, and Prosperous?

In the past five years bomb attacks claimed by Islamist groups have killed hundreds across the Indian cities of Mumbai, Delhi, Jaipur, Varanasi, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad. An Indian Muslim was even involved in the failed assault on Glasgow airport in July last year. Yet George Bush reportedly introduced Manmohan Singh to his wife, Laura, as "the prime minister of India, a democracy which does not have a single al-Qaida member in a population of 150 million Muslims".



To be… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on August 8, 2008 at 5:29pm — 10 Comments

Scaling K2, the Ultimate Challenge

Not only is it dangerous, climbing Mount Everest is not cheap, either in terms of lives or dollars. And yet, hundreds are drawn each year to climb it. Commercial expeditions can cost climbers $60,000 to $75,00 each. Nepalese government charges fees ranging from $25000 for one member expedition to $70,000 for seven members. The total cost for climbing is steep, according to CNN. An expedition to the… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on August 5, 2008 at 9:00pm — 8 Comments

Are Muslims the Least Educated in the World?

Courtesy of Ahmed Ali, NEDian in Southern California



VERY IMPORTANT TO READ AND THINK ! ! !

Demographics

o World Jewish Population. 14 million

o Distribution: 7m in America

5m in Asia

2m in Europe

100 thousand in Africa

o World Muslim Population: 1.5 billion

o Distribution: I billion in Asia/Mid-East

400 M in Africa

44 M in Europe

6 M in the Americas

o Every fifth human being is a Muslim.

o For every single Hindu the re… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on August 4, 2008 at 7:40pm — No Comments

Turkey, Pakistan and Secularism

As the Turkish Supreme Court prepares to decide on a petition to ban AKP, the ruling party in Turkey, is it reasonable to compare the secular zeal in Turkey with the religious zeal in Pakistan? It probably is. However, the situation in Pakistan is the mirror image of that in Turkey. Just as the religious orthodoxy in Pakistan is strong but limited to a small but vocal, radical minority of Pakistanis, it seems that the secular orthodoxy in Turkey is just as powerful but shared by a small,… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on July 30, 2008 at 8:34am — 2 Comments

Obama's Presidency Poses Danger to the World

While Senator Barack Obama has been benefiting from his opposition to the unpopular war in Iraq and winning kudos for wanting to unconditionally talk with America's enemies, he has also been sounding more and more hawkish on Pakistan, a US ally. This aggressive stance by Mr. Obama raises some big questions: Is he going to end the war in Iraq and start a much bigger, far more dangerous and longer lasting war in nuclear-armed Pakistan? Does he know that Pakistan, a nation of 165 million people… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on July 25, 2008 at 7:21am — No Comments

2008 International Multitopic Conference (INMIC) at Bahria University (Karachi Campus)

Deer NEDians,



12th IEEE International Multitopic Conference (IEEE INMIC 2008) will be held at Bahria University Karachi, Pakistan on 23-24 December 2008. This conference will be jointly organized by Bahria University, Karachi Campus and IEEE Karachi Section. INMIC is being held regularly on yearly basis and has become one of the leading conferences in Pakistan for professionals and researchers in the field of Science & Technology in general and Engineering in particular. It is… Continue

Added by Asif Abdullah Shaikh on July 23, 2008 at 9:28pm — No Comments

Is Democracy Overrated?

"Normally they (Six members of India's Parliament) are in jail, serving time for crimes ranging from extortion and kidnapping to murder. The Indian constitution allows them out on bail to attend important parliamentary votes. But the sight of convicted murderers entering the parliamentary chamber won't be the most edifying of spectacles." So says a BBC report this morning.



In the wake of the Communist Party's pull-out… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on July 20, 2008 at 11:30am — 9 Comments

What Do the Taliban Want?

News headlines from Pakistan's tribal belt proclaim a new "Peace Deal" with "militants" along with an appeal for the Shia victims of the Kurram agency blockade imposed by the Taliban. On the surface, these two developments seem disconnected.



The News Headlines:

The "Peace Deal" involves a leading militant in Pakistan's Khyber region, Mangal Bagh, and the local administration to end nearly two weeks of fighting, according to the BBC.



Another BBC report indicates that… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on July 10, 2008 at 3:04pm — 4 Comments

The Smoking Gun in Pakistan Nuke Transfers

In his first public assertions since Pakistan's disgraced hero Dr. A.Q. Khan was put under house, the nuclear scientist has said, "It was a North Korean plane, and the army had complete knowledge about it and the equipment (centrifuges). It must have gone with [Musharraf's] consent."



This marks the first time that Mr. Khan has directly implicated President Musharraf and Pakistan Army in proliferation of Pakistan's nuclear technology.



Mr. Khan's latest statements contradict… Continue

Added by Riaz Haq on July 5, 2008 at 9:33pm — No Comments

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    Silicon Valley Helping Build Pakistan's Human Capital

    Last week I attended a Silicon Valley fundraiser by iCodeGuru, a Pakistani-American group focusing on arranging training and guiding young men and women from underprivileged backgrounds to get full scholarships for advanced STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) degrees at universities in America. The well-attended event held at Chandni restaurant raised over…

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    Posted by Riaz Haq on February 25, 2025 at 10:00am — 2 Comments

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    Posted by Riaz Haq on February 19, 2025 at 10:00am — 4 Comments

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