“Iwould show that it is to this ardor for making oneself the topic of conversation,to this furor to distinguish oneself the topic of conversation, to this furorto distinguish oneself which nearly always keeps us outside ourselves, that weowe what is best and worst among men, our virtues and vices, our sciences andour errors, our conquerors [...]

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Here is Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy’s acceptance speech for her short documentary Saving Face, dedicated to the women of Pakistan Syndicated from: Octagonal Tangents

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*Painting Nusra Latif Qureshi This Thursday the Association of PakistaniAllies (APA) organized a Mushaira (Urdu Poetry Recital) at Tufts along withsupport from the Tufts Association of South Asians (TASA) and the Institute forGlobal Leadership (IGL). [I know that was a lot of nomenclature, sorry aboutthat]. It was a lot of work getting the speakers to [...]

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“Of course, because I’m the one speaking, you’realready prepared to believe the exact opposite of what I say. But you’re smartenough to sense that the opposite of what I say is true, and though you mightdoubt me, you’re astute enough to take an interest in my own words. You’re wellaware that my name, which appears [...]

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“In 1971, when Pakistan was broken into two, itscritics jubilantly cried, ‘Jinnah’s Pakistan is dead.’ They were wrong. Jinnah’sPakistan will be alive as long as there are Muslims who feel for the dignity,the identity and the destiny of other Muslims, and who care for the oppressedand minorities in their midst. In that sense Jinnah’s Pakistan [...]

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What isthe measure of a great country? An economist would tell you that it’s the GDPof the country, how much its industries can produce and export. An engineermight tell you to look at the infrastructure of a country. A better answer–though one that still falls short- will tell you that a great country is onethat [...]

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I don’t believe in New Year’s resolutions. Andunless you’e extremely disciplined you shouldn’t either because they are awaste of time. Instead I’ve thought of doing something different. Here is a(tentative) hypothesis I want to lay out: We should think more about ourfailures. Now no one should actively seek failure, but when it has come to [...]

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From the onset it was clear that it was theintegrity of the country at stake for many of those attending the rally. Criesof ‘Who will save Pakistan? – Imran Khan, Imran Khan!’ rang out as we settledto our seats around noon at the large grounds across the Mazar, when the crowdswere still sparse. For many [...]

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Afriend of mine posted this Economics article which had the following picture: I’m going tofollow this up with a post about why the EU is failing but first let’s see whatis at stake:50 years ago noGerman and French leader would have smiled in front of the cameras, and itshould serve as an important reminder about [...]

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Here is the song -Why this Kolaveri Di- that has gone viral in Indiaover the past week: Now it’s a very catchy tune don’t get me wrong.But what most people have failed to point out is that it absolutely butchers both Tamil and English. Now some might say that thissong is a product of globalization [...]

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