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Sunday, March 28, 2010

Gadgets – March 2010

Samsung MD320


Samsung's six-panel monitor is the first to show multi-screen high def. When paired with an AMD graphics processor, it can show one image (as large as a 60-inch display) or six separate views. $3,100


Whirlpool Vantage


This Whirlpool is the first washer you can teach how to handle clothes. Its built-in USB port will soon let you add custom cycles (downloaded to a flash drive from your computer) for garment-specific instructions. Price not set


Sharp Aquos LE920


Our eyes are capable of seeing millions of colors, and this HDTV is the first to re-create just as many. Sharp's LCD adds a separate yellow filter to the usual red, blue and green, so it can mix more than a trillion colors. From $3,600 (est.)


New Kinetix Re


The Re dongle and its app make your iPhone a remote. Its infrared emitter stores the codes for your TV and other devices, which it can learn from other remotes by capturing and replicating their signals. Price not set


Recon-Zeal Transcend


Read your current speed, temperature, altitude and more from the inside of your goggles. A lens and mirror make the image from a 0.6-inch LCD in the lower right-hand corner appear as a virtual 14-inch display. From $350 (est.)


Haier Trainer Earphones


Haier's earbuds turn any MP3 player into a heart-rate monitor. A sensor on the controls takes your pulse through your thumb, and the data is dictated to you and saved for review on a PC later. $40


Sony Dash


Get headlines automatically. This seven-inch Wi-Fi display updates and scrolls your picks of thousands of free feeds. Its apps (including Reuters news and others from gadget company Chumby) broadcast changes whenever fresh info pops up. $200

Source:Popular Science

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Saturday, March 27, 2010

At the Presidency: Tearful on Pakistan Day – by Adil Najam

March 26th, 2010 Sarah Khan , Cross-posted from All Things Pakistan

On March 23 I was at the Presidency in Islamabad for the Pakistan Day Awards Ceremony.

This is usually a festive occasion full of pomp and ceremony and amongst the most elaborate state occasions of the year. The grandest room at the Presidency is all spruced up. There are starched military uniforms bedecked with chests full of shining medals (most of the awards handed out are always military awards). The President as well as the Prime Minister of the Republic preside over the proceedings. National power-brokers – political as well as bureaucratic – are all assembled. Everything is choreographed to convey a sense of pride.

This is how it should be. After all, it is the nation and the state honoring those who they choose to honor. In normal times this should be a day of pride and joy.

But these are not normal times. These tend to be tearful times. And so, too, was the ceremony this year. It was not meant to be that way, but that is what it became. It still conveyed a sense of pride, but it was pride drenched in too many tears.

The event started on a high note with the swearing in of the new Governor of Gilgit-Baltistan, Dr. Shama Khalid and later the merit awards for the military's top-most brass. But then came the gallantry award, the Sitara-i-Bisalat, and it was as if the room changed in front of us. It was a parade of wives receiving awards for dead husbands, mothers and father for dead sons, sons and daughters for lost fathers.

Each a poignant reminder of the times we live in. None more poignant than when the young son of Maj. Mohammad Akbar Shaheed – barely 6 or 7 years old – came up to receive his father's award. Dressed in a child's mock military uniform he walked up to the President to give a brisk salute. What might otherwise have been cute, was outright heart-breaking. When the President picked up the child to give him a hug he too was fighting back tears. I do not think there was a single person in that huge hall whose eyes had not filled up. Some, like myself and at least a couple of the generals sitting next to me were no longer even trying to hold them back.

Later, it was the wife of a Army Captain, herself in the Army (Medical Corps), whose uniformed presence reminded everyone just what price we are asking our young men and women to pay for our safety from extremists. When the aging mother of another young shaheed began walking slowly to the dais and the President walked down to meet and console her, I wanted to be able to do the same. Amongst the very few people who was given a Sitara-i-Basalat yesterday and was not aShaheed turned out to be someone who had actually been a class-fellow of mine in school – Muhammad Nouman Saeed, now a Colonel in the Frontier Corps and a commander in the Bajaur operation. I shook his hands to thank him. I wish I could thank them all: The wives of the guards who died battling the terrorists who attacked Islamabad Marriott, the brothers and sons of tribals who were parts of lashkarsthat battled extremists, the mothers and fathers of policemen – too many – who died in trying to hold back suicide bombers. And so many more.

Somewhere during the ceremony, I too got a medal around my neck. But by then that mattered little.

I hope everyone else in the room – President, Prime Minister, Generals, Admirals, Air Marshals, Ambassadors from across the globe, Ministers and politicians, bureaucrats, and all the rest – I hope all of them had the same feeling of gratitude that I had for those who are doing the dying for all the rest of us.

In a sad and sombre way, this was not an easy ceremony to sit through. But I am glad that those who were there, were there. We all need to sit through this. And to think deep and hard about just what we are living through, even as others are not able to 'live' through it.

Indeed, all of them made us proud. But the pride was drenched in too many tears. I wish and I pray that when the ceremony is held again next year, there are fewer tears to shed.

But let me end on a note of pride without tears.

One of the last people to receive an award yesterday was young Ibrar Ahmad Ghazi from Konodass, Gilgit. The young man, who must be in his teens or barely out of them, stood there in an orange T-shirt and black pants with white words and motifs printed on it, sheepishly twitching as his citation was read. I hope he realized just how proud he made everyone in that room – certainly he made me proud. His story is one of humanity and duty to humanity. He found himself walking over Konodass suspension bridge over River Gilgit just as two young (nursery school) girls fell 160 feet into the river. As others looked on in horror, young Ibrar immediately jumped into the fast flowing river and saved the two young girls.

This, too, was a story of courage that made one proud. May all our stories of courage have happy endings with joyful pride.

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March 23, 1940: Lahore (Pakistan) Resolution

March 23 commemorates the passage of what was originally the 'Lahore Resolution' (Qarardad i Lahore) and later became better known as the 'Pakistan Resolution'(Qarardad i Pakistan). If there is a single most important founding document of Pakistan, it has to be this Resolution passed at the annual session of the All India Muslim League at its 1940 meeting (22-24 March) at Minto Park (now called Iqbal Park), Lahore (by the way, what a wonderful idea - for political parties to have annual, open, meaningful, annual sessions where real decisions are taken in a transparent and democratic manner!). In 1941, this Lahore (Pakistan) Resolution became part of the Muslim League constitution and in 1946 it became the basis of the demand for Pakistan.

Most Pakistanis know what the resolution says; or, at least we think we do; in most cases rightly so. But because we are so very sure that we know what it says, we usually do not take the time to actually read it. Maybe we should. And there cannot be a better day to do so than today.

It is, like many of the most important documents in history, a fairly short text. I reproduce it here in full. The first two paragraphs are contextual related to the then discussions on federation within the Government of India Act 1935. The third and the fourth paragraphs are the key operational content which is usually cited in textbooks. However, my view is that the final short paragraph is also key; especially in that it talks in the plural about "respective regions" (as do previous paragraphs).

While approving and endorsing the action taken by the Council and the Working Committee of the All-India Muslim League, as indicated in their resolutions dated the 27th of August, 17th & 18th September and 22nd of October, 1939, and 3rd of February, 1940 on the constitutional issue, this Session of the All-India Muslim League emphatically reiterates that the scheme of federation embodied in the Government of India Act 1935, is totally unsuited to, and unworkable in the peculiar conditions of this country and is altogether unacceptable to Muslim India.

It further records its emphatic view that while the declaration dated the 18th of October, 1939 made by the Viceroy on behalf of His Majesty's Government is reassuring in so far as it declares that the policy and plan on which the Government of India Act, 1935, is based will be reconsidered in consultation with various parties, interests and communities in India, Muslims in India will not be satisfied unless the whole constitutional plan is reconsidered de novo and that no revised plan would be acceptable to Muslims unless it is framed with their approval and consent.

Resolved that it is the considered view of this Session of the All-India Muslim League that no constitutional plan would be workable in this country or acceptable to the Muslims unless it is designed on the following basic principles, viz., that geographically contiguous units' are demarcated into regions which should be constituted, with such territorial readjustments as may be necessary that the areas in which the Muslims are numerically in a majority as in the North Western and Eastern Zones of (British) India should be grouped to constitute "independent States" in which the constituent units should be autonomous and sovereign.

That adequate, effective and mandatory safeguards should be specifically provided in the constitution for minorities in these units in the regions for the protection of their religious, cultural, economic, political, administrative and other rights and interests in consultations with them and in other parts of (British) India where the Mussalmans (Muslims) are in a majority adequate, effective and mandatory safeguards shall be specifically provided in constitution for them and other minorities for the protection of their religious, cultural, economic, political, administrative and other rights and interests in consultation with them.

This session further authorises the Working Committee to frame a scheme of constitution in accordance with these basic principles, providing for the assumption finally by the respective regions of all powers such as defense, external affairs, communications, customs and such other matters as may be necessary.

Apart from the fact that the Resolution talks clearly about "respective regions" (words that have import in the context of the events of 1971), I find the 4th paragraph particularly important. The complex structure of the language notwithstanding, the sentiment is clear as is its emphasis on the rights of minorities - not just of Muslims as a minority but of non-Muslim minorities in areas where they envisaged Muslim sovereignty. In such a short document, for the founding fathers to have devoted so much space to this issue would suggest that they - having lived as a minority themselves - considered the subject of minority rights to be of particular importance. This is one of the many areas where we were unable to live up to their aspirations.

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Sunday, March 14, 2010

Old Allies, New Friendship

India and Russia on Friday invigorated their time-tested ties by signing a slew of pacts, including two nuclear accords, and sealed the price of refitted Soviet-era aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov, ending a minor irritant in their bilateral ties.

Kanwal Sibal

Vladimir Putin deserves our esteem. On assuming power in 2000 he reversed the Yeltsin era drift in India-Russia relations and established a strategic partnership with India. His current visit is his fifth to India in 10 years, testifying to the personal commitment of this pragmatic and practical-minded man to Russia's India relationship.

In the strategic sectors, much has been achieved in the last decade. Russia has given us its most-advanced aircraft, tanks, rocket launchers, cruise missiles, frigates, etc, consolidating its position as India's biggest defence partner. The joint development and manufacture of the fifth generation fighter aircraft (T-50) and the Multi-Role Transport Aircraft (MTR) is intended to give India crucial design capability. The lease of a Russian nuclear-powered submarine and technical assistance in developing our own Arihant give us a strategic sea-based punch. In the nuclear sector, apart from currently building two nuclear reactors at Kudankulam, Russia will build four more at the same site. Its proposed nuclear agreement with India excels in technology transfer terms anything we have signed with others, with an eye on a bigger share of the Indian nuclear pie. Russia is ready to give us access to Glonass (Russian GPS system) military signals, unobtainable from any other source, with civilian applications providing business opportunities.

Defence ties have not been problem-free. Because defence supplies constitute the core of the bilateral relationship, defence transactions maintain their rhythm lest the loss of their cementing force affects the entire relationship. Serious problems such as those of inadequate product support, non-adherence to delivery schedules, cost escalation, incomplete transfer of technology are tolerated.

The aircraft carrier Gorshkov, with a four to five-year delivery delay and steep cost escalation is a glaring case. In view of the high Indian dependence on Russian equipment, such problems affect combat readiness and disrupt planning, prompting calls for diversifying sources of supply. With Israel and France effectively competing and the US making steady headway, Russia's privileged position as a supplier will be increasingly challenged.

At the political level, India and Russia believe in a multipolar world and a rule-based international order. They are opposed to international terrorism and religious extremism. In translating these positions into practical, mutually reinforcing policies, there is less clarity.

In the context of cooperative multipolarity, the biggest question mark is China. It tends to define its core interests unilaterally and expects others to respect them even if they are arbitrarily defined, and lapses into the language of abuse and belligerence when it feels challenged. India and Russia do not have a common vision on China. Can they develop one on the essentials even as both countries continue to engage China, as they should? Not in the foreseeable future because of Russia's strategic need of China to counter western pressures on it.

Russia has shown reluctance to wade into India-Pakistan issues publicly. While it condemns terrorist attacks against India, it is less frontal than even the US about the involvement of Pakistan-based terror groups in such attacks. It may not want to create any misunderstanding with the US on the India-Pakistan issue by appearing to encourage a tougher Indian response to Pakistani provocations.

The contrast between India's economic relations with the US and Russia is striking .The modern sectors of the Indian economy and its most dynamic players are tied to US/Western markets whereas India-Russia economic ties remain limited and their rapid expansion appears unlikely. Even the target of $10 billion of two-way trade by 2010 remains unmet. The India-Russia energy partnership is stagnant. This imbalance in our two strategic relationships needs correction.

On Afghanistan, Russia has given additional transit rights to Nato forces as it sees some advantage to itself in US operations against extremist forces that could destabilise Central Asia and, eventually, southern Russia. In international conferences, Russia is focussing on the important issue of drug trafficking and is quiet about the Taliban. The Central Asians are not active in Afghan discussions. A Russian initiative is needed to chart a hedging strategy involving India, Iran and the Central Asian states against a Taliban return.

A resurgent Russia is necessary for maintaining a desired level of equilibrium at the global level. The space created by the weakening of Russia is being filled in by an increasingly assertive, nationalist, militarily more potent and demographically huge China. Any form of a US-China diarchy would be at the expense, in particular, of large and autonomous countries like India and Russia.


 

Kanwal Sibal is a former Foreign Secretary, Government of India.

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Strategic rethink needed

From DAWN

By Sameer Lalwani

Sunday, 14 Mar, 2010


 

FOR years, the United States has miscalculated Pakistani strategic interests in Afghanistan, which continues to involve tactical and operational support for some sections of the Taliban.

It is now becoming clearer how Pakistani interests are driven not only by 'strategic depth' — military doctrine oriented towards India — but also by concerns of regional encirclement and hedging against expected western withdrawal.

In part due to western misconceptions of Pakistani interests, threat-perceptions and capacities, Pakistan has possessed far more bargaining power in its relationships with the US and Afghanistan than conventional estimates of relative power predict. In the near-term, Pakistan has significant leverage controlling routes for most Nato supply lines, commanding influence over various militant networks, and signalling greater resolve in its commitments. But this asymmetric leverage may soon erode.

Part of strategic assessment is projecting a range of trends, even if they currently seem unlikely. If Pakistani leaders continue to ignore emerging trends in the Central Asian and northern Afghan theatre and fail to update their beliefs and bargaining strategies, particularly with the US and Nato forces, they risk overplaying their hand. The irony is that the current Pakistani strategy that hedges on militant ties may eventually lead to the very isolation and encirclement it has sought to avoid.

Pakistan has not paid enough attention to the present and future economic shifts in Afghanistan that could potentially shake up the regional balance of power. Afghanistan has long depended on its southern neighbour for its primary source of trade, transport and communications. Its ties and border with China were narrow, its links to its Central Asian cousins (Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan) were obstructed by the Soviet Iron Curtain, and despite strong cultural ties to Iran, Afghanistan's economic insignificance and series of hostile governments inhibited this relationship.

As a result of Afghanistan's isolation, Pakistan has commanded tremendous political and economic influence over Afghanistan, and, by consequence, seemingly unfettered leverage over the US/Nato occupation since 2001. But emerging economic trends can precipitate shifts in power, alliances and geopolitical leverage.

The first real shift is China's entrance onto the scene. China's $3bn investment in Afghanistan's Anyak copper mine will require the construction of a new railroad between Afghanistan and China's Xinjiang province and an electricity station. Once online, investments in other critical resources like coal, iron, aluminium and marble will rise and induce even more trade linkages between the two countries. This is even without prospecting for other game-changing resources like oil and gas that have long been suspected to be in abundance in Afghanistan.

Second, northern Afghanistan's links to Central Asia will continue to deepen. Thanks to an Indian-constructed bridge in 2007 linking Afghanistan and Tajikistan, trade through that route increased sevenfold within a year and Afghan land values along that route shot up dramatically. Not to be outdone, Russia too has offered to facilitate a rail transit corridor linking Europe to Afghanistan via Uzbekistan. Increasing Afghan involvement in Central Asia can spin off and spill over, positioning it to capitalise on its natural endowments and become the regional hub of water resources, energy distribution and hydroelectric power.

Third, Afghanistan is developing an alternative southern route to the Arabian Sea. While in the past, landlocked Afghanistan depended on Pakistan to transport its goods through the port of Karachi, Indian completion in 2008 of the 135-mile road from Nimroz province to Iran's Chahbahar port provides an efficient transport corridor for goods between Central Asia and the Persian Gulf.

With the Khyber Pass under constant attack, this insurgent-free route could provide an alternative for supplying western troops with non-lethal goods and aid to the Afghan government. This would cost Pakistan economically as well as geopolitically since currently 75 per cent of non-lethal supplies are transported through the port of Karachi. If the US is able to reopen its base in Uzbekistan as planned, Pakistan's influence will erode even further.

Not all Afghan economic trends are bypassing Pakistan. Projects to build high-transmission power lines and natural gas pipelines connecting South to Central Asia are being funded. But the violent instability of southern Afghanistan and Pakistani tribal areas threatens these projects by driving up transaction costs and sowing distrust. If Pakistan cannot demonstrably control these regions and contain militants, other regional integration paths will attract states and investors, eventually locking in with repeated use, and locking out Pakistan.

Exclusion from the regional economic future is hardly the worst part. China's rising long-term investments in Afghanistan and expanding influence will make it increasingly intolerant of Pakistani-supported Taliban elements, especially those that prove disruptive to its economic interests or foment and support Uighur militancy in Xinjiang, as the Taliban did in the 1990s. This could cost Pakistan an arms supplier, a great-power patron and its wedge strategy with the US.

The most disturbing consequence for Pakistan is that these economic trends are creating conditions for a de facto partitioned Afghan state. The more stable north and west — with international linkages, economic growth and acceptance of the Afghan central government and western troop presence — can emerge self-sufficient and defensible while pockets of insurgency engulf the south and east.

Pakistan's support for certain Taliban elements that underwrite this territorial partition could result in a Pakhtun rump state that galvanises nationalist separatism in Pakistan's tribal frontier. Rather than providing a zone for strategic depth, this 'blowback' scenario could redirect militant networks against the Pakistan state, thus compounding its security dilemmas, overstretched military and economic fragilities.

Shortsighted Pakistani strategy may eventually result in a Pakistan engulfed in militant fires while surrounded by unfriendly states after years of Pakistani complicity with militant externalities. In other words, regional economic and political trends shaped by Pakistani policy could lead to the very isolation and encirclement it most fears.

For these reasons, as Gen Kayani has recently intimated, Pakistan needs to begin recalibrating its position on Afghanistan, before it is too late. This requires a serious reappraisal of its militant ties, credible Pakistan buy-in that marries its own geo-strategic interests with Afghan and regional stability, and real accommodation of some US and Nato interests.


 

The writer is a PhD student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Department of Political Science and Security Studies Programme.

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