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Politics : Idea Of The Day -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: IQBAL LATIF who wrote (46409)	6/8/2004 5:25:31 AM
From: IQBAL LATIF	Respond to of 50167

Signs of hope, literature emerging..from Afghnistan..<But above all, he is angry with himself for not standing up and defending his Hazara servant-playmate who while running an errand for his young master was brutally raped by neighborhood bullies. That singular incident, despite his efforts to suppress its haunting memory, gnaws at his conscience and consumes him even when he is living a world away in the placid and tranquil surroundings of Fremont, California. There are many other streams also that run through the story. Like the tributaries of a turbulent mountain stream, they add strength to the story and in the end become part of the mainstream.> A Struggle of Heart and Mind in an Ancient Land The Kite Runner Khaled Hosseini Unlike the Indian Subcontinent where two centuries of colonial rule made English the lingua franca and produced the likes of Naipal, Rushdi and Roy, the neighboring countries that were outside the sphere of British influence lacked that literary milieu. So it was surprising and refreshing to read a first rate work of English fiction by an Afghan. It is the story of an affluent Afghan father, a Pushtun widower; his only son, the narrator and the central character in the book and a Hazara servant boy who is also a playmate of the son. The story unfolds in a posh Kabul neighborhood in the 1960’s and ends in Fremont, California 36- years later. In that timeframe the Afghan landscape underwent a sea-change from a tranquil and stable monarchy to the turbulent and dangerous place that it has become. Along this chaotic and perilous road the Afghans witnessed the end of monarchy, Soviet invasion of their country, the civil war in the aftermath of the Soviets’ humiliating defeat, the rise and fall of the Taliban and lastly the American occupation of Afghanistan. Through twists and turns of the story, the reader becomes aware of the many contradicting and endearing qualities of the Afghan character. It is driven by the age-old principles of honor and pride (nang-o-namoos), revenge, unfettered hospitality, and an inherent kindness and grace that is occasionally accented by shifting loyalties and uncertainties. In that macho tribal mindset there is very little room or understanding for a contemplative and sensitive young boy who prefers reading poetry and writing stories than roughing it up on the soccer field. The boy knows he is a disappointment to his stern father. And in many ways the boy is a disappointment to himself also. He is angry at the injustices of the society, the pseudo-bravado of men, his aversion of competitive sports and his inability to please his father. But above all, he is angry with himself for not standing up and defending his Hazara servant-playmate who while running an errand for his young master was brutally raped by neighborhood bullies. That singular incident, despite his efforts to suppress its haunting memory, gnaws at his conscience and consumes him even when he is living a world away in the placid and tranquil surroundings of Fremont, California. There are many other streams also that run through the story. Like the tributaries of a turbulent mountain stream, they add strength to the story and in the end become part of the mainstream. One such stream is the friction between the northern tribes and the more populous southern Pushtun tribes. But the brunt however has been borne by the Shia Hazaras of the north. The ethnic and religious divide between the north and the south is as clear and distinct as the snowcapped Hindu Kush Mountains that separate them. (Even in the present post-Taliban era that historic friction is still playing out where the northern tribes dominate the present Afghan government of Pushtun Hamid Karzai.) Years later, during the realm of the Taliban, the sensitive young man of this story returns to Kabul to atone his sins of omissions by having a brutal confrontation with the same bully who had savagely raped his Hazara servant. It was the right thing - the Pushtun thing - to do even though the main characters in his life, his father and his playmate, had long passed on from the scene. In the end the same concept of nang and namoos - honor and pride - that the young man disdained to the displeasure of his father becomes a redeeming fact for his own survival. There are some cliffhangers in the story. While the father and son were making their escape from Afghanistan their truck was stopped by a Russian soldier who demanded the company of a young Afghan woman in the group as a payment for letting them pass. The father, ever the epitome of nang-o-namoos, put his own life on the line and stood up to the bully. And when a group of them crossed into Pakistan tucked in the belly of an empty gasoline tanker and not everyone emerged alive at the end of the journey. There is one shortcoming, albeit a minor one, in the book. All through the book the author uses native phrases and metaphors to illustrate the story. For a person familiar with Afghan culture they shine beautifully in the narrative. But despite the author’s effort to explain them in the text, they can be a bit cumbersome for the uninitiated. A glossary of native terms would have been very helpful. The book paints a realistic and haunting picture of a land that has so savagely been brutalized by foreigners and natives alike. The tapestry, beautiful and enchanting as well as tattered and ugly, comes alive in vivid colors through a beautifully crafted prose. (S. Amjad Hussain is an op-ed columnist for the daily Blade of Toledo Ohio). A Struggle of Heart and Mind in an Ancient Land The Kite Runner Khaled Hosseini $29.95, 324 pages, hard cover Riverhead Books, Penguin Group Inc. ISBN 1-57322-245-3

To: IQBAL LATIF who wrote (46409)	6/8/2004 5:30:46 AM
From: IQBAL LATIF	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 50167

The real reason of oil price hikes..it is not the supply it is constraints imposed by the 'greens'..too much regulation stops free flow of oil.. <What has constrained this cheating thus far is not the artificial limits on production imposed by the cartel, but the physical constraints imposed by the oil world’s overstretched wells, pipes and refineries. The industry is trying to feed the fastest world economic growth for 20 years (according to Morgan Stanley) with the thinnest margin of spare capacity for 30 years. The problem is not a lack of reserves per se. Thanks to fancy technologies, new pockets of oil are being found all the time. But no one is investing in the means to exploit them. Low prices deterred investors in the 1990s, and the risk of invasions, insurgencies and other instabilities in the Middle East has put them off since...China and the United States in particular are awash with liquidity and thirsty for petroleum. According to the International Energy Agency, China now consumes 6m barrels of oil per day, 1m more than a year ago. America, which consumes about 20m barrels per day, > The Economist.. Companies dealing with oil appliances and recovery and construction of refineries can be a good bet for some little nest egg for retirement..

To: IQBAL LATIF who wrote (46409)	6/8/2004 5:46:30 AM
From: IQBAL LATIF	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 50167

Idea Of The Day- Why Afghanistan and Iraq are becoming nations where sports is flourishing, why the global media is bent to emanate only negatives why can't they concentrate on positives? War torn countries like Somalia dissipate under pressure of war, here we se a new phenomenon of reconstruction, sports and Olympic medals in old das of communism were sign of success of communist closed economies, Nadia Comaneci of Romania were heralded as success of the doomed system, today by that standard the very leftists and liberals should admit that recent success of Afghanistan and Iraq in reconstituting teams of sports is sign of great advancement.

To: IQBAL LATIF who wrote (46409)	6/8/2004 6:05:44 AM
From: IQBAL LATIF	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 50167

A nation thinking cricket is the best pre 911 under ‘Talebins’ treated sportsman a little differently.. <A team of Pakistani footballers on a rare tour to Afghanistan were arrested and had their heads shaved as a punishment for wearing shorts, a violation of the Islamic code laid down by the Taliban government. The players from the Young Afghan Club, based in the border town of Chaman, in western Pakistan, were dressed in a red strip and shorts for the invitation tour, the first visit by a Pakistani team since the Taliban took power four years ago. Halfway through their third and final game against a local team in Kandahar on Saturday, armed Taliban religious police burst into the sports stadium and stopped the match. The team manager and some of the reserves fled but 12 players were arrested. The raid started a stampede among the hundreds of spectators and several were injured. After a night in the city jail, the players had their heads shaved, a mark of shame usually reserved for petty thieves, and the men were sent home. > guardian.co.uk