Tag: uk (last 300)
The nikah is not enough
(BBC) Brit Muslims skipping marriage certificates thinking nikah is sufficient, allowing divorce just by changing the locks.
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(Vid) Times Sq. billboard: NASDAQ welcomes Bollywood superstar SRK. With Kajol, rang opening bell as movie promo.
Shiva Soundsystem’s new site up and running
(Shivasoundsystem) UK-based drum and bass crew has revamped their website with recent offerings available. Nerm’s personal site also has free mixes.
Deadlines, deadlines
(NYT ‘09) Pamuk dreamed of holiday with his new love, Kiran Desai. The music from the Love Boat got still louder.
Grazie
(Tabloid) Bangla cabbie drove out to Long Island, returned $21K in purse left by Italian grandma. Mukul Asaduzzaman is 28, pre-med.
Truth is stranger
Iran nukes slowed by old Pakistani designs
(NYT) Iran’s nuclear enrichment slowed by U.S. sabotage, old Pakistani designs. ‘The [centrifuges] run hot and have short lives. They’re terrible.’
Nuclear dilatory commission
(NYT) Iran has been messing around with a nuclear program for some four decades. Pakistan went from zero to a bomb in about a quarter that time.
Iran, far and away
(Sullivan·C) With China, Russia and India backing IAEA’s Iran warning, the mullahs threw a tantrum by threatening ’10 more nuclear plants.’
Interview with an apostate
(Indep) Ex-jihadis: it was an easy answer to 2nd gen identity vacuum and Paki-bashing. One kid reading physics at Cambridge fought in Afghanistan for the summer. What turned them: jihadis killing each other; anti-war protests; white people being kind.
Conservative brown
China, Pakistan swapped nuke tech
(WaPo) A.Q. Khan ate barbecued lamb while waiting for the Chinese military to pack small uranium bricks into lead-lined boxes for the flight to Islamabad. (ht: P-I)
Apparently crime does pay
Seymour Hersh on Pakistan’s nukes
(New Yorker) -Between you and the Indians, you will f- us in every way. -They play us for everything they can get, and we trip over ourselves giving what they cannot pay for. -If there’s any kind of instability there will be a traffic jam to seize their nukes.
‘Bollywood Terror’
(Vid) By @shashwati: Dubya watched too much old Bollywood and turned into Dharmendra. Glorious vintage Bollyclips mashed up with Dubya speeches.
The scam economy II
(Newsweek) New Offerpal CEO: yes, we’ve run scam ads. Former chief Anu Shukla had been deposed after tussling with an influential tech blogger.
Schoolboy calls out BNP leader
(Indep) Schoolboy to BNP leader: ‘Your party’s built on hatred.’ Griffin: ‘I’ve got lots of Sikh friends.’ At WWII Pathan memorial in Ypres, Belgium.
The scam economy
(Techcrunch) TechCrunch calls out Offerpal CEO Anu Shukla, company switches CEOs. Arrington had ranted about scam offers, calling Shukla unethical. She replied, ‘Shit, double shit and bullshit’: [via]
The Mirpuri vector
(NYT) 3/4 of UK terrorism plots linked to AfPak. ‘If Afghanistan is not secure, then Pakistan is not secure, and... Britain is not secure.’
Former UK ambassador on CIA-sponsored torture
(Consortiumnews) Ex-UK ambassador: CIA took terrorism suspects to be tortured in Uzbekistan, where some prisoners are boiled alive. One-liner: AQ can’t recruit Jehovah’s Witnesses, they’d try the reverse. More on Murray: [via]
Terrorists attack suspected Pakistani nuke installation
Sukhjit.me
(Sukhjit Vid) Tech evangelist Sukhjit Ghag enters the attractive techie talking into a webcam category (see: Felicia Day). (ht: N)
Lord Paul exaggerated expenses
(ToL) Multi-millionaire Labour donor Lord Paul claimed GBP38K in expenses by falsely claiming a flat as his main home. (via @tunkuv)
Pakistan’s nuke facilities already attacked
(Telegraph) Militants have attacked Pakistani nuke facilities thrice in the last couple of years, claims a U.S. researcher.
Male DV in Britain
(BBC) 9% of calls to a British domestic violence line were made by desi men last year. ‘My wife would... beat me, demanding money... my brother-in-laws would come and punch me and beat my back with iron bars.’
An obedient banker
(Forbes) Novelist/banker Akhil Sharma conflicted over helping Britons abuse credit cards like Americans. (via @tunkuv)
Baroness Vadera
(Guardian) Baroness Shriti Vadera will resign as UK business minister today. [There are desi baronesses?]
Eponymous
Khadi is the new sari
(BBC) Designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee is championing khadi and chhotu saris from tribal areas which show off the ankles and shoes. (ht: SB)
Bhambri out of Open
(NYT) Chase Buchanan knocked off #1-seeded Yuki Bhambri of India, 6-3, 7-6 (4), in the U.S. Open junior quarterfinals.
Bhambri at the Open
(WSJ) The top junior tennis player in the world, Yuki Bhambri, played the US Open as a junior one last time before switching to men’s. He’s 6’2’, a gangly 160 lbs. In quarterfinals. Vid from US Open: [via]
Turing completed
(Number10) UK apologizes for driving genius Alan Turing to suicide for being gay, still cool with British Raj.
Liquid bombers used fake batteries
(ToL) Disposable cameras would hide the detonators that were to be made using batteries from Pakistan which could be easily refilled with an explosive.
3 liquid bombers convicted
(ToL) The liquid bomb plotters talked of ‘aftershave’ and ‘rap concerts,’ code for hydrogen peroxide and attacks. (ht: Joolz)
‘Aladin’
(Vid) Bollywood ‘Aladin’ stars Riteish Deshmukh, Miss Sri Lanka Jacqueline Fernandes, Amitabh, Sanjay Dutt.
Flute beatboxing and tablaism
(Vid) Londoners Nathan Lee, flute beatboxer, and Hanif Khan, tabla soloist, have done a few collaborations. Sound isn’t great but there are other vids to see on Youtube.
She gives Ms. Kucinich a run for her money
(Indep) Miyuki Hatoyama, wife of Japan’s Prime Minister-elect, is a macrobiotic diet devotee, alumnus of a famous theater troupe and claims to have been abducted by aliens and to have visited Venus. (ht: SD)
Why SRK was detained
(ToI) SRK detained because of dodgy Bolly promoters, one who shares name with MQM leader, and underworld financing of flicks, claims anonymously-sourced story. (ht: AC)
Welcome to Rukus Avenue
(Fbook Vid) Gorgeous high-def vid of night with Rukus Ave. musicians, actress Janina Gavankar, comedian Rasika Mathur, Sammy Chand.
The racial profiling scale
(Gawker) Where do Indians fall on the Racial Profile Outrage scale? A complete cross-racial guide (ht: Dev).
India stops N. Korean ship
(NYT) India stopped a suspicious North Korean vessel and is searching it for nuclear material, the first time the UN resolution has been implemented.
Pakistan nuke facilities already attacked
(ToI) Pakistan’s nuke facilities have already been attacked by militants at least thrice. They were placed away from its India border, near Taliban-controlled areas.
Burmese nuke program is real
(SMH) Everyone dismissed Indian, Pakistani and Israeli nukes before they were tested. Let’s not dismiss Burma’s. The country wants them to fend off Thailand.
Auspicious triplets
(NYT) Kristof: Reports that N. Korea is selling nukes to Burma seem credible. In N. Korea, a speaker in houses wakes people up with propaganda every morning, and triplets are raised by the state because they are considered auspicious.
Clinton’s connections
(WaPo) Bill Clinton is working with Ambani re: solar power in Gujarat. At same time, U.S. might impose sanctions on Reliance re: its gas sales to Iran.
Burmese nukes?
(Bangkokpost) Burma’s junta may be working on getting nukes from N. Korea, which got ‘em from Pakistan. (ht: @kerim)
Turbans, not bearskins
(AP) 2 Sikh soldiers are on duty at Buckingham Palace and the Tower of London, where they’ll guard jewels taken from India. (ht: NA)
Vintage beauties
New Yorker bets on telegraph
(New Yorker) I read several versions of ‘The Jungle Book’ on the Kindle but squeezed no new joy. The e-store doesn’t carry Bharati Mukherjee... E-romances are driving sales because it’s more private than a bookstore... A nuclear plant e-book sells for $8,000.
Bukhara Names Platter After Hillary
(NDTV) Bill and Chelsea have one, now Hillary has one too. Chef hopes it will strengthen Indo-US ties. Bukhara was on the Silk Route; is now in Uzbekistan. [A Bukharan Jewish community thrives in Queens, where kosher tandoor ovens bake ‘non’ too.]
Clinton and the billionaires
(NYT) Hillary Clinton met with Ratan Tata, Mukesh Ambani, Aamir Khan, manager of Taj whose family was killed.
Lagging in a market they opened
(Google) U.S. companies fear India could buy 8 nuke reactors from foreign companies before U.S. companies even have a chance to bid.
HRC in DEL
An offer they should refuse
(Guardian) AQ bigwig Ayman al-Zawahiri released an audio message saying the U.S. is coming after Pakistani nukes and AQ can ‘protect’ them.
Pakistan’s nukes mostly defensive
(Americanscene) Pakistan could nuke an invading Indian army on its own soil, which would leave little rationale for retaliation... India has a substantial nuclear forces advantage over Pakistan [not in terms of warheads?].
Pakistan nuke workers targeted
Does that banner yet wave?
Tinner docs to be shredded
(WaPo) Swiss order destruction of 100 critical docs against family who aided A.Q. Khan’s nuke bazaar.
Shah Rukh now officially overexposed
(PMH Pic) PMH chills with Shah Rukh Khan at Dolores Park, SF. I am apparently the only Bay Area-walla not to make the pilgrimage.
India looking for next tennis savior
(WaPo) Sania Mirza, Somdev Devvarman and Yuki Bhambri are some of India’s singles hopes in its tennis scene, which has individual stars but lacks depth.
Pakistan deployed nukes during Kargil
(BBC ‘02) U.S. claim: Pakistan deployed nuclear weapons vs. India in ’99 during Kargil but was persuaded by Clinton not to launch them.
The civilized Brits
(Guardian) Tony Blair told the UK military to let the U.S. and Pakistan torture suspects, look the other way, but not do it themselves.
Court settles Ambani dispute
(WSJ) An Indian court ruled the elder Ambani brother has to honor a contract with the younger, which saves Anil money. The bros rarely speak and compete in father veneration, but live together in the same 18-story apartment complex.
Tracking down a suitcase nuke
(WaPo) If a nuke, e.g. Pakistani, went off in a U.S. city, the isotopes could ID the origin. But atomic cops are not ready enough, and isotope profiles are not shared widely due to security.
Delusional Kim
SRK filming in SF
(Shahid57) Shah Rukh and Kajol are shooting ‘My Name is Khan’ in S.F. right now. The terrorism theme made authorities suspicious.
Half of UK Patels married other Patels
(BBC) More than half the 250K Patels in Britain are married to other Patels, avoiding the shame of marrying a Punjabi or (hiss!) an Englishman.
Aamir Khan approached for ‘Maximum City’
(Mint) Rumor: Boyle approached Aamir Khan for his ‘Maximum City’-based thriller. Suketu Mehta’s next book is on NYC immigrants, funded by a Guggenheim fellowship.
Aggression and humiliation
(WSJ) Pakistan once threatened to level Tel Aviv if Israel attacked its nuke program. Its nukes, developed after the humiliation of losing Bangladesh, have enabled it to be highly provocative vs. India.
India adding nukes to cruise missiles
(WaPo) India is designing nuke-capable cruise missiles with Russian help, deploying ballistic missiles on subs and upgrading its missile defense.
India on the nonprolif trip
(WSJ) In August, the U.S. and India blocked a N. Korean jet from taking suspected missile parts from Burma to Iran. Burma may also be trying to acquire nukes.
Brit PM reading ‘Post-American World’
(Guardian) Gordon Brown’s reading Zakaria’s ‘Post-American World.’ -I don’t buy that the beneficiaries of globalisation are only Asian countries.
Gurkhas win right to settle in UK
(WSJ) Gurkha British army vets were given the right to settle in the UK after a campaign spearheaded by an actress shamed MPs. ‘The British public have a massive sense of gratitude and affection to the Gurkhas.’
Pakistan may be ramping up nuclear weapons capability
(Wired) Most worryingly, the report suggests that Pakistan may be on the path to creating thermonuclear weapons that would be more powerful and potentially easier to package in a warhead.
Literary match: Kiran, Orhan Dating
(Dailycherez) The two were spotted at the Turin International Book Fair and seem to be quietly dating.
The centrifuges spin up
(NYT) Pakistan is rapidly producing more nukes even as Obama’s ramping up aid, which makes Congress nervous.
Hersh dour on Pakistan
(New Yorker) Hersh: Since the Pressler Amendment, ‘we’ve lost touch with the [Pakistani military] leadership... No country in the world today is producing more [nuclear] weapons than Pakistan.’
AbFab Actress Campaigns for Gurkhas
(AFP) Joanna Lumley advocates for allowing Gurkhas to settle in Britain. Born in Kashmir, she considers herself a child of the regiment, and her campaign is embarrassing Gordon Brown’s gov’t.
The ugly Indian male
(Telegraph ‘07) Indian men aren’t born ugly: they achieve it through practice. Witness the pinkie inserted into the ear and vibrated with manic vigour, eye-rolling and little oinks of pleasure. (ht: SK)
‘Every child is one book lost’
(Believermag) Karan Mahajan i/v’s Suketu Mehta: Naipaul never had children, saying every child born is one book lost... Someone in Mehta’s Jackson Heights high school yelled, ‘F-ing Gandhis!’... Mehta’s day job: writing for boring tech mag CRN.
Pakistan says nukes stored safely
(WaPo) Pakistan says warheads are dispersed, it has no-fly zones around nukes. and personnel go through background checks. It claims PAL code locks [the U.S. and UK claimed them too, but set the codes to 000000].
U.S. worries over Pakistan nukes
(NYT) The U.S. gave Pakistan $100M for nuke safety with no idea where it went. The Pakistani government’s credibility on nuke safety is colored by the fact that it denounced AQ Khan’s nuke market reports, which turned out to be true.
Anti-terror mission creep
(Telegraph) Asians are more than twice as likely to be stopped than whites in UK anti-terror laws which tripled police searches, almost none of which were terrorism-related.
The London Cage
(Guardian ‘05) In Kensington Palace Gardens, where Lakshmi Mittal owns the most expensive house in Britain, the UK tortured German POWs until 2-3 years after WWII ended.
Obama’s 100 days presser
(TPM·L) Q: Could we invade and secure Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal if the Taliban defeat the Pakistani army? A: Obama’s not concerned that the Taliban is going to ‘immediately’ take over the country.
Indian Summer @ Brit Museum
(Britishmuseum) After Selfridge’s, the British Museum picks up the Indian Summer theme. Jodhpur royal paintings, kew trees, events. (ht: Bess)
Nuclear peril
(New Yorker) Nuclear smuggler A.Q. Khan is running his own Web site from Pakistan. Under an umbrella of Russian protection, Iran does not fear speeches.
J. Hind
(MySpace) There’s a rapper who calls himself J. Hind :) Has a track in Akshay Kumar’s ’8x10 Tasveer,’ which sounds like a J-horror lift: [via]
Granny spies
(ToL) To shadow AQ suspects, MI5 hires elderly women and young moms with babies in prams. They’re rumored to have a colourless chemical painted on a suspect’s clothes during break-ins, allowing a dog to follow his trail.
UK student visas are big business
(Guardian) The UK student visa system is prone to abuse. Pakistani students falsify bank statements, bribe officials or simply fail to turn up to their courses once they arrive in England. The usual motivation is economic migration.
Pathans think, act local
(Guardian) New UK terror arrests vs. Pathans. Until now most UK plots have involved Punjabis or Kashmiris. Pathans ‘are difficult to motivate in terms of somebody else’s agenda.’
Student visas blamed in UK terror raids
(Guardian) Brit intel said the plot indicated al-Qaida was adopting new tactics to send clean skins on student visas from Pakistan rather than using British-born terrorists. Raid photos: [via]
Beware the paparazzi
(Guardian) The UK antiterror chief is not the first to leak confidential info to a telephoto lens. A Reuters snapper spied Dubya writing this Condoleezza Rice: ‘I think I may need a bathroom break? Is this possible?’
No backsies
‘Curry summit’
(Guardian) Since ’06, the UK’s been restricting visas for desi chefs. ‘Given that the curry is almost seen as a UK national dish, we should be developing our own indigenous curry workforce.’ (ht: S)
Tehran complains of double standard
(New Yorker) Mohammad Hashemi, an Iranian reformist: ‘Why is India allowed nuclear energy, but not Iran? ... [On Ahmadinejad] We have several other leaders, several shades of gray, but you just keep going to the black.’
UK antiterror chief resigns
(ToL) Scotland Yard’s counter-terrorism chief resigned after being photographed with a secret doc revealing an antiterror op. The op vs. largely Pakistani Brits, re: a rumored plot against a Manchester nightclub and mall.
We were only one letter off
(Daily Show) Iraq was one of the only countries in the region *not* buying nuke tech from A.Q. Khan, says the author of ‘Uranium.’
A-bomber was cremated
(Wiki) Paul Tibbets, pilot of the Hiroshima a-bomber, was named military attache in India, but this posting was rescinded after protests. He asked for cremation and no headstone to deter anti-nuke protesters.
Pommies go Orwell
A.Q. Khan at it again
(WSJ) Ssince his release from house arrest a month ago, A.Q. Khan has entertained a string of official visitors from across the Middle East who want to fast track their own nuclear projects.
Strange love
(NYT) Mukhtar Mai, 37, has married a constable assigned to guard her after a villlage council-ordered rape. The 30-year-old tried to commit suicide when she turned him down and threatened to divorce his first wife.
Diya means light, not radioactivity
(Tasveerghar) Hindu nationalist Diwali greeting card merges the lingam with a nuclear symbol, taking the notion of national virility rather literally. (ht: Shashwati) Lots more great scans: [via]
The insecure special relationship
(Sullivan·C) The insecure Brits seem to examine every scintilla of protocol for evidence that Americans don’t like them any more, including the placements of gifted busts, books and pen holders. [As bad as Indian newspapers!]
U.S., Canada helped Indian nuke program
(WaPo) India’s nuke program received a boost from Eisenhower’s ‘Atoms for Peace’ and a Canadian research reactor. Stockpiles are growing fastest in China, India and Pakistan. All are flight-testing new missiles.
From 2 to 5
(WaPo) The # of Indian Oscar winners leapt by 3: with double winner A.R. Rahman for score and song, and Resul Pookutty, part of the sound mixing team. [Missing hat tips: Loveleen Tandan, Suketu Mehta.]
Like Pakistan, UK fears being U.S. war scapegoat
(Dailypioneer) Britain fears a renewed war will lead to retaliatory strikes by sleeper cells among British Pakistanis. America, with its relatively robust integration model, will be sequestered; Britain worries it will bear the brunt. (ht: N)
‘Billu’ needs a trim
(Baradwaj) ‘Billu Barber’ is an update to Krishna and self-effacing Sudama... A film flunkey marches up to the local grocer and asks if he stocks asparagus and jalapenos. Priyadarshan is so in-your-face, I miss the underrated ‘Aaja Nachle.’
UK placing Pakistani ads: please don’t bomb us
(Guardian) The UK is buying TV ads using Pakistani Brits and doing high-profile events in Peshawar and Mirpur. The theme of ‘I Am the West’ is say there’s no contradiction in being Muslim and British.
UK buckles under U.S. threat
(Guardian) UK high court rules against Binyam Mohamed torture suit because of U.S. threat. ‘We did not consider that a democracy would expect a court in another democracy to suppress the [torture] evidence contained in reports by its own officials.’
Zardari frees A.Q. Khan
(AP) Nuke proliferator A.Q. Khan is free after reaching a secret deal with the gov’t to end de facto house arrest. The move seems like a gesture by the civilian government to boost its flagging popularity.
Abandoned Sikh boy’s family found via DNA
(BBC) He alleged the boy’s mother wanted him to remain in foster care in the UK. ‘That’s why she orchestrated this [abandonment] drama.’ (ht: Sapna)
Bhambri wins juniors title
(HT) 16 yr old Yuki Bhambri became the 4th Indian to win a junior Grand Slam, beating Germany’s Alexandros-Ferdinandos Georgoudas 6-3, 6-1 for the boys Australian Open title. To move into men’s, ‘he needs to build his shoulders and muscles.’ (ht: Pooja)
Rahman, Sukhwinder performing at Oscars
(NDTV) A.R. Rahman will adapt ‘Jai Ho’ to the live orchestra for his stage performance. Sukhwinder Singh will sing. Lyricist Gulzar will also show. [And M.I.A.?] (ht: Sapna)
Khan collaborator claims he told CIA
(AP) Urs Tinner says he tipped off the CIA about a delivery of nuke centrifuge parts from A.Q. Khan to Libya.
Tube bombing suspect arrested
(AFP) Pakistani forces on Wednesday arrested a Saudi Al-Qaeda member wanted in connection with the ’05 London Tube bombings.
Pig in a poke
(Daily Show) NYT journie David Sanger was given a tour of part of Pakistan’s nuclear program. U.S. gave them $100M to secure nukes but they refuse to say what they’ve done with it.
Mixed-race Britain
(Guardian) Among the UK Indian population, the % with one white parent increased from 3% to 11%, for Pakistanis from 1% to 4%, and for Chinese from 15% to 35%. (ht: Sapna)
‘Chandni’ Chindia
(NYT) ‘Chandni Chowk’: Sidhu has a kung fu move from years of cutting vegetables... An interpreter called Chopstick... Asia’s two superpowers meet in pop culture. The point: don’t be afraid of China’s accomplishments.
‘The Nuclear Express’
(WSJ) ‘The Nuclear Express’: retired nuke designers doubt India and Pakistan have PAL locks [while the U.S. set its codes to all zeroes for many years]. ‘The peoples of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are culturally close, indistinguishable in person’ — wrong.
Chindia cinema
(SF Chron) After the effervescent, mad ‘From Chandni Chowk to China,’ with Ganesha embodied in a potato, how about Jackie Chan and Akshay Kumar in ‘From Panjiayuan Market to Punjab’? (ht: Tania)
Southaal
Bollywood at the Globes
Bollyflick set in Venice
(P Pcc) Shashi Kapoor and Shaukat Azmi, Shabana’s mother, starred in ‘Naina’ (Eyes), set in Venice with shots of the Piazza San Marco.
Borat, Shah Rukh and the Jonas Brothers walk into a theater...
(Goldenglobes) Shah Rukh Khan and Sacha Baron Cohen will present at Golden Globes tonight at 5 pm PT / 8 pm ET. ‘Slumdog’ is up for best picture, director, screenplay and score.
Nightmare scenario in Pakistan
(NYT) Expat Pakistanis with jihadi sympathies are burrowing into its nuke program. A fundie nuclear chief also met with bin Laden... U.S. helped Pakistan design domestic nuke locks via 20 Questions... Pak mil warned madrassas of raids in advance.
‘Billu Barber’ trailer
(Vid) A village barber (Irrfan Khan) sees a slowdown in his business because he fails to adapt to fashion trends. Remake of Malayalam flick.
Orwell was optimistic
(ToL) The UK is stepping up police efforts to hack PCs of anyone suspected of a serious crime — not just terrorism suspects. No warrant is needed for their keyloggers, Trojans and WiFi hacking.
Khan network operative released
(NYT) A Swiss man who allegedly helped A.Q. Khan buy nuke materials has been released from prison after more than 4 years of investigative detention
Pakistan has as many nukes as India
(DNA) A study published in the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists says Pakistan sped up its nuke program, now has as many nukes as India and 5x the types of ballistic missiles.
Trust but verify with the Saudis
(ToI Photo) Indian foreign affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee shakes hands with his Saudi counterpart, keeps one hand over his wallet.
Gateway of latkes
(ToI) Potato latkes served at Gateway of India. ‘We are going to build more Chabad Houses in India. That is our answer.’
Menorah in Mumbai
The first rule of ‘Rab Ne Bana’ is...
(Baradwaj) Raj is Surinder’s Tyler Durden, a creature erupted from a wacked-out id, tapping all of Surinder’s coiled energy and unleashing it with near-nuclear intensity. Yash Raj is on a mission to neuter the film hero — she avenges, he holds her purse.
Give me your masses yearning for Hannukah
(AP) The father of the rabbi killed in 11/26 will lead a menorah-lighting ceremony Tuesday at the Statue of Liberty.
Let’s buy out Pakistan’s nukes
(WSJ op/ed) Thanks to A.Q. Khan, a country that has impoverished its people, corruptly enriched elites, served as a base of terrorism and handed the presidency to Mr. 10%, has made itself a power to be reckoned with. Congrats.
Dubya to sign nuclear deal with UAE
(WSJ) Dubya plans on signing a nuclear cooperation agreement with the UAE. Dubai was a major transshipment point in A.Q. Khan’s nuclear prolif network.
Teabags and cornershops
Macaca in Malacca
(HT Photo) Shah Rukh Khan in traditional Malay getup and songkok cap after being honored by the governor of Malacca, Malaysia.
Maharashtra CM resigns
(Express) Maharashtra CM Vilasrao Deshmukh out after 11/26 attack, Narayan Rane is leading replacement candidate.
Bombay the painted lady
(NYT) Suketu: Desi terrorists would have grown up watching Mumbai in the movies. If the world wants to help, run toward the tamasha, like Mumbaikars. Where else are you safe? New York? London? Madrid?
Mehta hooked up ‘Slumdog’ with gangsters
(Dailybeast) Amitava Kumar: Suketu arranged for gangsters to protect the ‘Slumdog’ shoot. Young men stare glassily at a TV broadcasting the porn movie ‘Queen of the Himalayas.’ A man is selling a Hindi translation of the Starr Report.
Did Britain sell out Tibet?
(NYT) In exchange for getting China to give money to the IMF, Britain just dropped its insistence that Tibet is a suzerainty rather than part of China.
Nuke weapons never locked
(Wiki) Prolif experts have long banged loudly about making Pakistan use PALs (nuke weapon locks). But in the U.S. they were never used until ’77, when they were set to 0000000. In Britain they were never used: [via]
Britons forced to get mini-U.S. visa
(Telegraph) As of January, instead of filling out a landing card, British travelers to the U.S. must apply online for entry permission 3 days before travel. [Shabaash, jihadis. First my hair gel, now this.] (ht: MM)
Heist gunman suffering financial problems
(Myfoxdc) Anirudh Sukhu lost his car, his house, and had been through two divorces when he allegedly committed a bank robbery which left an accomplice dead. He confessed when shown bank surveillance photos.
Sukhu, Sukho, Sukdu
(Wbaltv) Alleged bank robber Anirudh Sukhu had a pot possession charge, a tax lien and civil judgments for unpaid car loans and credit card balances. [Story spells his name three different ways.]
Bank gunman claimed carjacking
(Tradingmarkets) Anirudh Lakhan Sukhu, 42, claimed he’d been carjacked but later confessed to robbing a Maryland bank. He’d left his ID hanging inside the getaway truck.
Bank robbers left ID in getaway truck
(WaPo) 3 Maryland bank robbers left their ID in their getaway truck. Anirudh Sukhu is accused of firing a sawed-off shotgun, striking a bank employee in the hand. An accomplice was shot and killed by police.
BNP membership list leaked
(Guardian) The BNP, a far-right, anti-immigrant UK party, saw its membership list leaked online. Members are worried they could lose their jobs, especially if they work for the gov’t.
Women to watch
Chinese Jamaicans
(Wiki) Sean Paul (‘Get Busy — Diwali Riddim’), Tyson Beckford and Naomi Campbell are Chinese Jamaican, descendants of Hakka immigrants who form the 2nd largest Chinese group in the Caribbean after Cuba. Also, grandma of Kristin Kreuk (‘Partition’).
‘1984’ comes to life in Britain
(ToL) The British home secretary wants to read and record every phone call, text and IM message by Britons. You can’t trust the gov’t to keep it secret. A shack in a Bangalore suburb offers to ‘break all computer encryptions known to man.’
Duke expands in India
(WSJ) Only 9% of Indians go to college, yet the country bans foreign-owned university programs. Duke enlisted alumnus Malvinder Singh, Ranbaxy chief, to set up a center where U.S. students can rotate through on study abroad.
British antiterror proposal fails
(Guardian op/ed) The authorities have not yet dealt with a single case where the current 28 day detention w/o charge was inadequate. Peers refused to surrender real liberties to a hypothetical threat.
Mukherjee, Rice sign nuke deal
(CNN) India’s external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee joined Condi Rice at the nuke deal signing ceremony in the ornate Benjamin Franklin room at the State Department.
Rice in Delhi
(Gettyimages) Photos of Condi Rice in India today for the nuclear deal. She towers over the diminutive foreign affairs minister.
A run through British history
(Vid) Bread ad shows kid running through a hundred years of British history. Asian couple at 1:28. [via]
The Karachi-Kensington split
(Daily Show) An edgy Tony Blair in a fuschia tie said 97% of Pakistanis, vs., 35% of Britons, consider religion important in their lives, but that doesn’t make them morally superior.
Centrifuge plans, ten bucks
(WaPo) An Indian request for bids disclosed sensitive nuke centrifuge designs, and India has used front companies to get plutonium separation chemicals. [But its nonprolif record *to other countries* is quite good.]
N. Korean nuke worries parallel Pakistan’s
(IHT) Pakistan nuke facilities are spread out to deter attack. ‘When a Pakistani facility gets attacked, what do the guards do? Do they fight? Do they help? Do they run away?’
A.Q. Khan sold to Libya too
Zardari and the nuclear soccer ball
(New Yorker) Steve Coll: Should Zardari, who claims to have suffered ‘dementia, major depressive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder’ to escape a lawsuit, be given control of Pakistani nukes? [via]
Claiming credit for looking the other way
(WaPo) Condi Rice said the ‘breakup’ of the A.Q. Khan nuke network, which the U.S. knew about for decades, was a ‘success’ for Dubya.
Sukhdev Sandhu reviews Knightley flick
(Telegraph) ‘The Duchess’: It’s hard to listen to what Keira Knightley’s saying when all you want to do is feed her chips. At age 3, she wanted an agent. She needs to live more and suffer. For now, she’s mostly mannerist.
$2B Ambani home bought from orphan trust
(TO Star) The 4,500-sq.-ft. plot upon which the Ambani private skyscraper stands was bought way below market price from a trust that planned to build an orphanage.
CIA sabotaged nukes from Pakistan
(NYT) The C.I.A. paid the Swiss Tinner family, a conduit for Pakistani nukes, $10M for info on Libya and Iran’s bomb programs and to help sabotage parts. An Iranian power supply was hamstrung, causing 50 centrifuges to explode.
U.S. frets over Pakistani nukes
(NYT) The U.S. says jihadis have tried to infiltrate Pakistan’s nuclear labs, including Pakistani scientists trained abroad.
Bangla revolutionary
Biharis stateless in Bangladesh
(Dailytimes ‘04) Nearly 250K Bihari Pakistanis still live in Bangladesh camps. They backed the Urdu-speaking Pakistani gov’t during the Bangla war, were massacred by the Mukti Bahini resistance, were displaced and their properties taken over by Bengalis. More: [via]
A.Q. Khan gagged again
(NYT) An Islamabad court barred A.Q. Khan from giving interviews about the illicit nuclear network he confessed to running.
A.Q. Khan blows up Musharraf alibi
(AP) A.Q. Khan said the Pakistani army had ‘complete knowledge’ of his shipment of used P-1 centrifuges to North Korea. He said his house is bugged, and he was promised freedom in exchange for taking the fall, but Musharraf reneged.
Sniper’s plan B
(Steampowered Video) New Australian sniper character in game ‘Team Fortress 2’ wields kukri knives. [via]
A.Q. Khan’s nuke designs fit atop missiles
(NYT) Missiles derived from N. Korea’s Nodong include Pakistan’s Ghauri and Iran’s Shahab. Warheads must be smaller than 4 feet wide. Khan’s designs fit.
The Swiss nuclear family
(WaPo) The compact nuke design found on A.Q. Khan network computers may have fit on missiles. The Swiss family which aided Khan is in prison. Pakistanis seemed surprised Khan sold this more advanced design.
Dark humor for mushroom cloud
(Wiki) Photo) Indira Gandhi at first Indian nuke explosion, ‘Smiling Buddha’ (American codename: Happy Krishna). Name was signal to China, scheduled for Buddha Jayanti. [via]
A.Q. Khan’s turnkey nukes found
(NYT) The design found on A.Q. Khan computers in Switzerland, Bangkok is half the size, twice the power of the Chinese weapon, with modern electronics, electronic form and coded for automatic manufacturing.
Ambanis squabbling over S. African merger
(BBC) Mukesh Ambani claims right of first refusal to invest in his brother’s Reliance Comm. before it merges with S. Africa’s MTN. Anil Ambani denies it.
Pakistan’s Oppenheimer wants to clear his name
(WaPo) A.Q. Khan said Pakistan started its nuke weapons program after losing the Bangladesh war. The CIA apparently knew of Khan’s espionage in the Netherlands since ’75 but looked the other way.
Did CIA give Iran the bomb?
(Guardian) A CIA operation to feed Iran with flawed nuclear blueprints went wrong when the Russian scientist warned them the plans had a critical flaw. They presumably could check against plans from Pakistan and find the flaw. [via]
Benazir smuggled nuke data into N. Korea
(WaPo) ‘Benazir shopped for an overcoat with the ‘deepest possible pockets’ to cary CDs with data about uranium enrichment that the North Koreans wanted,’ and she implied she brought back missile data, according to a new book by Shyam Bhatia.
Vertical Shalimar
(Environmentalgraffiti) Mukesh Ambani’s new Bombay home will have vertical gardens 200m high, the world’s greenest skyscraper. [via]
Tour the Ambanis’ $2 Billion Home
(Forbes) The world’s largest and most expensive home: a 27-story skyscraper in downtown Mumbai with a cost nearing $2 billion, Antilla, differs in that no two floors are alike in either plans or materials used.
Desis against trafficking
(Sexworkersproject) Juhu Thukral and Sapna Patel work on labor rights for sex workers and victims of trafficking.
The Nobel, a bend in the river
(HT) JM Coetzee’s writing declined after the Nobel. Naipaul descended into vanity. One can only hope for Orhan Pamuk. [via]
Vinay on TV
(PBS) The documentary ‘The Truth About Cancer’ interviews Vinay Chakravarthy about his leukemia and marrow transplant. It plays nationally on PBS Wed., April 16, from 9-11pm ET. (ht: chickpea)
Where in the world is Mini Khan?
(Tehelka) Bollybloggers met in Munich and sent a plastic SRK doll around Europe with an online tracker. Barbara reserves German for baby-faced Tamil heroes: ‘Schnuffig means cute, cuddly, crumpety guys like Siddharth.’ (ht: Beth)
Bad kitty
Two killed in blast at Pakistan nuke plant
(AP) A gas leak sparked an explosion and fire at Pakistan’s Khushab plutonium enrichment plant which killed two workers. [via]
Greenpeace sends SRK eviction notice
(DNA) Greenpeace slapped faux blue ‘eviction’ stickers on the Shah Rukh Khan’s house and others on Bandstand in Bombay, saying global warming will put the houses underwater by ’50.
A.Q. Khan wants freedom
(NYT) Nuclear poliferator A.Q. Khan expressed hope that the new Pakistani government will end his house arrest, but has received no such indication.
Neocons ruined Pakistani nuke whistleblower
(Guardian ‘07) CIA analyst Rich Barlow blew the whistle on neocons in State helping the Pakistani embassy get nuke parts. They ruined him, calling him an unstable, abusive drunk — as they did to Wilson and Plame. Now the same nukes could be used against us. [via]
Atomic dogs
(BBC) Afghanistan accused Pakistan of dumping nuclear waste in Helmand and Kandahar during Taliban rule.
Planning for the unthinkable
(WaPo) How do we quickly ID the perp after a nuke made from Pakistani or Russian fuel goes off? We need to upgrade our nuclear forensics and create an int’l database of fissile samples.
All hail President Nukes
(Economist) Nawaz Sharif’s wife Kulsoom promised on the campaign trail to replace Musharraf with nuclear proliferator A.Q. Khan.
Cheney takes ‘deep dives,’ readies plan B
(WaPo) For 2 1/2 months, the White House has been getting detailed ‘deep dives’ on Pakistan. The 82nd Airborne in Afghanistan could stem ‘a serious, total, humongous, historical falling-apart’ — i.e. secure the nukes.
It’s not torture when we do it
(Daily Show Video) The att’y general claims you can torture to prevent imminent catastrophe. But when Japanese soldiers water-tortured Americans before they were actually nuked, we executed them for war crimes.
“We are crazy about movies"
(AP) It features Shah Rukh Khan, a miraculously beautiful woman known by one name, Kajol; Its music is very catchy; The plot is heavy on traditional family values but misses few chances to fill the screen with lush shots of cleavage.
Bollywood binds us
(Passtheroti) You see people of Goan descent in the streets of Lisbon, Portugal, and Indian restaurants on every corner. In the bars, desi rose vendors. Graffiti in Marrakech: “Fatima loves Shah Rukh Khan."
Four cricket-themed Bollyflicks opening
(WaPo) “Say Salaam India" is the story of four boys’ struggle to make it big in cricket. “Chak De India" (Come on India) stars Shah Rukh Khan. Also, “Hattrick" and “Meerabai — Not Out."
‘Guru’ a metaphor for filmi rivalry
(DNA) Like Guru, Shah Rukh Khan is the archetypal non-Bombayite outsider. He stormed the bastions symbolised by the Bachchans. Ironically, the insider Abhishek Bachchan played the SRK role. India itself is now an outsider in capitalism. (thanks, Dad)
Furtado crashed SRK’s New Year’s Eve party
(Mid Day) Nelly Furtado headed over to Shah Rukh Khan’s New Year’s Eve party after her Bombay concert.
Bolly dhamaaka in Toronto
(CBC) Writer Suketu Mehta will moderate a panel of Bollywood stars at the Toronto FilmFest— Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan and Rani Mukherji — as they join director Karan Johar to discuss the popularity and rise of the Bollywood industry worldwide
Shah Rukh rips off ‘Bend It Like Beckham’
(Himalayantimes) In ‘Chak De,’ Vidya Malvade plays a Sikh girl with strict parents. She wants to play in an annual hockey tournament but her parents don’t approve. SRK plays the coach to the girls hockey team.
SRK’s security guard killed colleague over taunt
(DNA) ‘Don’t sit at one place. Keep patrolling,’ one of Shah Rukh Khan’s residential security guards told the other. ‘Does your revolver even work?’ At this, the second fired, hitting the first in the chest.
SRK security guard kills another
(ToI) Shah Rukh Khan’s security guard allegedly killed another guard during an altercation outside SRK’s house Monday night.