Throwing The Book (Of Opinions) On "Will Print Media Survive?" - IMRAN™

Throwing The Book (Of Opinions) On "Will Print Media Survive?" - IMRAN™
This is one of the questions I have seen asked for my literally 3 decades spent living in America (this coming week!) The irony of this question is that the words print and media have some overlap. Media, as in the industry encompassing information, news, knowledge, views, commentary, and print, a medium of distributing that content.
So, if the question is, will the “media” (industry) survive…… indeed, the answer is Yes, the real problem of fascism style labeling of real news as fake news and real(ly) fake news as (alternative?) facts notwithstanding, Will PRINT as a medium used by the media (industry) survive, is a more complex one. In the long run (when we are all dead anyway, as John Maynard Keynes said and wrote, ironically, in print, a long time ago), the pace of innovation, the sheer volume of information and knowledge, the staggering number of content types, content creators, and content creators, will make it practically impossible to rely on printed paper as the mainstream mass-use medium.
There are not enough trees, one could say, to sustain that volume of paper production, without destroying the remaining forests of the planet, regardless of how much reforestation gets done. Also, if we look at the real long run, when increasing numbers of us will be able to explore space travel, there is just no practical sense in bringing printing equipment on space rockets and even spaceships, much less trees and other plant forms to produce traditional paper. Plus, the amount of information we are already used to having at our fingertips just would not translate into printed paper as a practical means to carry it around.
Having said that, however, I will also say this, or as another great mind said last century or even earlier, predictions of the death of paper/print are exaggerated. When computers came on the scene, with dot matrix, inkjet, laser and color laser printers soon following, the actual production and consumption of paper grew massively.
That rate of growth, especially in a planet starved of space to store the paper, or grow the raw materials for paper, plus a species (not)hell-bound on finding new places to live on in space, will not be sustainable. So, I see traditional, especially high quality paper based printing becoming a growth industry, where the vanity of having a hardbound book rather than just being the author of an eBook, will ensure its survival for a while, much like vinyl albums are still around despite higher resolution audio sampling of today’s digital music libraries fitting in our back pockets.
Another interesting twist may be the very notion of paper to be printed on. If the current pace of innovation continues, what is to keep us from not having literally infinite printed books, where the actual electronic screens become so thin and so embedded into plant and forest based paper pages, that we could still be holding a paper book or two in hand, where flipping pages gives the tactile experience we are used to for millennia, but with all the words of the universe surrounding us in an invisible omnipresent network.
What do you think?

Imran Anwar
Tampa Bay, Florida
12/31/2018

© 2018 IMRAN™

Image original source unknown.

(Still The) World's Most Powerful Medium! - IMRAN™

#TelevisionIn4Words is a trending hashtag on Twitter right now. I contributed to that stream with:
"World's Most Powerful Medium!"
Yes, better believe it, it still is.
You get, as I tagged the post, "#media #news #entertainment #opinion #history #music #comedy #politics #sports #weather" all in one 'box'!
How many heads of state, or sports champions, or politicians, or businessmen, refuse to be interviewed for TV and say, "No, no TV interviews, tweet me or ask me on FaceBook." ?
Much that many of us complain about how TV quality sucks these days, very few spend hours daily watching TV reruns from the 'good old days'. If anything, more and more global citizens are now getting and experiencing the power of television.
Its influence will get even greater as even greater network bandwidth and Internet technology takes global TV to every corner where traditional TV antenna broadcasts could not reach.
And, news flash for those who claim that TV is dead. When you watch video programming, dramas, sports, music, and entertainment on your iPad or smartphone, you are still watching 'television' programming, even if you are not sitting in front of a television set.
Just because the shape and size of the screen change, it does not mean the medium has died.
Stay tuned... television imagery may become holographic or directly tuned into our heads one day in the future, but TV is here to stay. In many ways, it is up to the television industry on how much of the best is still to come.
What do you think?

Imran Anwar
http://IMRAN.TV

Is That A "Doctorate" In/And Journalism Degree In Your Pocket? - IMRAN™

Did Good News Reporting Get Killed In A Mall Shooting? - IMRAN™

Approaching CrossWind Landings Without Being Crabby Or SideSlipping The Issue - IMRAN™

I love flying and I love being in the media. But I cringe when I see idiocy in news reporting of aviation topics.

One recent example was the otherwise decent news organization CNN posting a video of what was an excellent crosswind landing by a commercial airliner as “Airplane makes bumpy sideways landing” as if some major accident almost happened.

I wish my aviator & news anchor friend Miles O’Brien was around CNN to educate the idiots in media reporting on aviation, who can’t tell the difference between a well-executed high crab-angle (to compensate for strong crosswinds) landing and a bad bumpy landing.

These reporters would probably report a video of a chef doing a flambé dish as a dangerous kitchen fire almost destroying a home. Idiots!

But that raises another question that one of my followers asked me on my FaceBook post…. Why do pilots use crabbing, versus sideslip, when landing?

Like everything in flying, it is one of those topics that can bring out many different opinions that can even sometimes vehemently agree. Neither is perfect, one is preferred or at least recommended by airliner manufacturers like Airbus, though a combination of both is usually needed.

Keep in mind, I am barely a hobby pilot, much less some sort of aviation expert. But, this topic gets a lot of confusing responses. Only the high-wing versus low-wing debate gets people more riled up (which is just slightly less than the old Mac versus Windows flame wars! {Note: I STILL love MacOS and still despise Windows though it has become much less puke-worthy since W7)}.

Here is my explanation. Let me know in your comments if you agree, disagree, or have more insight to add. 

IMHO, as a perpetual student pilot, there are 2 primary ways to make crosswind landings. Crabbing (nose pointed to the side but body moving in straight line along the runway centerline) appears "more scary" in videos like this but provides wings level. That is the recommended approach from manufacturers like Airbus.

The other option, Sideslip (or cross-control, with the nose pointed straight down the runway centerline) is the wing low approach, because one wing is lower as the plane is not wings-level. More and more planes are designed with their control surfaces and engines seeming to be closer and closer to the ground.

e.g. Thanks to my late beloved father's giving me experiences as a child most people even in developed countries did not have until later in life, I first flew in Pakistan International Airline PIA Boeing B707 (and later derivation B720) airliners as a 6-years old unaccompanied child in 1969, and many major airliners had 4 jet engines then and until much later.

As the designs moved to two much more powerful engines instead of four, their size and closeness to the ground also increased. So in modern planes the bank angle becomes a much greater issue to keep in mind to avoid striking the wingtip, engine, or even control surfaces on the runway.

However, neither approach may be enough to be used alone in strong crosswinds like 30 knots.

In a crab-only landing the crab angle of 10-15 degrees may not be de-crabbed quickly enough to avoid side-loads on the landing gear causing structural damage.

In a sideslip-only landing the 10-15 degrees of bank angle will most likely cause a runway strike. (These angles are given as examples for illustrative purposes only. Please check your own aircraft’s manuals for specific information).

So, in such situations the best pilots are likely using a combination of the two methods based on the plane, the airport, the runway, runway conditions (dry vs wet or contaminated), the approach speed, etc.

I hope that helps explain why we often see commercial planes using wings level crabbing approaches for typical crosswind landings.

Keep in mind I am a perpetual student pilot and do not even play a commercial pilot on TV. Feel free to add your thoughts in the comments below.

Enjoy the story of my aviation journey at: http://imran.com/adventure/flying/flyingnew.php :-)

IMRAN

Dumb & Dumber & Dumbest All In One News Week! - IMRAN™

What a week it has been in the news cycle. Never a dull moment. And the politicians in the news are not vying to win the Best or Smartest politician vote, but to prove how unbelievably dumb they are and can be.

Let’s start with Hillary Clinton. I remember when Bill Clinton became President, most considered Hillary the brains behind the operation. She was also always the most deeply enmeshed in any of their non-sexual scandals. But for someone so experienced, and so full of hubris, she has shown herself neither smart, nor savvy.

First she was dumb enough to use a private email server to run classified information through. Then she was dumber to deny that. Then she was moronic in doubling down and saying she did nothing wrong and refusing to apologize. And now, patently obviously showing how polls and hunger to get the Democratic party ticket are her only guiding light, she is now apologizing. Too little, too late, too insincere.

In the past I did think she was a more experienced candidate when Obama and she were competing for the ticket. I thought he lacked experience compared to her. He won. And served two terms. Regardless of her viability in the past, I do not think she is worthy of being President.

I thought Bill Clinton was a great President, regardless of the inexcusable sexual escapades he is infamous for. His (not) having sexual relations with that woman, Ms. Lewinsky, did not destroy the economy or cause the deaths of tens of thousands as George W. Bush and Darth Cheney did, while destroying the economy too. So hearing another Bush name coming up also irritates me.

I am personally opposed to the political dynasty concept that Jeb Bush (whom I liked as a politician more than his brother or father) or Hillary Clinton are the ‘only viable candidates' that both political parties seem to follow.

This is America, not some third world country where one family or two families rules for decades.

It is time for the unexciting Bush and the completely untrustworthy Hillary Clinton to be sent packing. They can go write books, make money giving speeches, but please, spare this country more from those two houses of cards.

My Democrat friends, Hillary will sink you all. And, my Republican friends, if you do not dissociate yourselves from people like Mike Huckabee, the only politician who has proven himself absolutely shamelessly desperate even more than Hillary, you will give the Democrats another win.

Mike Huckabee is actually supporting a buffoon government employee, that moronic two bit clerk Kim Davis (the one with four husbands and children conceived with others while married to someone else) claiming her FAITH keeps from following the law on gay marriage. If you read her actual background you would ROTFL (roll on the floor laughing) at the mind numbing surreality of her stance.

No matter where I stand on that issue, now that it is the law of the land, it has be respected. If she does not like it, she should quit her job. Or stand aside so others can.

But, wait! Huckabee is all over her. She is his desperate Hail Mary (no pun intended) attempt to touchdown with the low IQ crowd that cannot differentiate between a personally odious woman breaking the law and her claiming she is good Christian who is the victim of religious persecution. Seriously!? So if a Muslim gets elected clerk in a county, would it be OK for him or her to issue four marriage licenses to people? If someone else becomes clerk, would it be OK for them to say their religious beliefs keep them from issuing marriage licenses to interracial couples?

To show how stupid people have gotten, to ensure even greater ignorance, and even greater intolerance, and even greater likelihood to falling for liars and false logic, the people in that dumb county have decided to close schools in support of this repulsive woman! Way to go!

But it is not all bad news. I see a silver lining. Kim Davis and Huckabee are a match made in heaven I say. Huckabee can be her husband number five perhaps, because he definitely does not match what we need in a candidate for President.

God SAVE the United States…..from these dumb, dumber and dumbest candidates.

 

Massacre 12 Get Life, Kill 3 Get Death, Kill Unarmed Black Man & Walk Free!

Shame on those spineless and shameless members of the jury who opposed the death penalty in the  # Colorado terrorist movie theater massacre murderer trial. They gave him a taxpayer funded life sentence instead of the death penalty.

Here is the lesson that teaches us about the way justice is being served. Massacre 12 People Get Life Sentence, Kill 3 And Get Death Sentence. Kill an unarmed black man on video by choking him to death, or shooting a black kid, and walk scot free.

The younger Boston bomber caused fewer deaths but was declared a  # terrorist The 3 white Christian guys planning terror attacks to massacre US troops arrested in NC were NOT called terrorists, by the  # FBI  or the shameless  # media

But the TN shooter at the marines recruitment center was declared a terrorist, probably because he also was a  # Muslim .

They should all be called Terrorist and treated accordingly, and, when found guilty, put to death for carrying out attacks on Americans which terrorize the public.

Enough with the dual standards about applying the label of  # terrorism  only on  # Muslims . Enough with the  # hypocrisy . Enough with coddling murderers with life sentences while their innocent victims never had a chance to live their full lives.

Firing squads for anyone whose actions lead to the random killing of 4 or more people.

That way someone in a liquor store hold up who kills 2-3 people planned or unplanned is dealt with for murder and manslaughter. But anyone who plans an attack with the intent of killing people at random is treated as a terrorist. Period. Firing Squad.

If someone murders a cop who is performing his duty, then that should lead to the death penalty too. And it should also apply to bad cops who murder unarmed people and put decent cops’ lives in greater danger. 

What do you think?

To Achieve Greatness In The Digital World, Respect Intellectual Property & Innovate, Or Be Irrelevant! - IMRAN™

The article (Tech In Pakistan 2014) in the reputable Pakistan newspaper, Dawn, makes good points lamenting the mind numbingly stupid, and self-destructive, policies and factors that make for such “tepid performance” in Pakistan. The author, Y. Brohi, points out how one does not need an army of people to launch a startup. My personal experience proved that, indeed, even one person can start a revolution or entire industries for others to build on.

At the end of the eighties and in the early 1990s, I was fortunate and blessed to pioneer and launch Internet email service in Pakistan right from my home in Gulberg-III, Lahore, while I was studying for my MBA at Columbia University Graduate School of Business in New York City. Together we, my then partner & neighbor Ashar Nisar and I, were able to launch the .PK ccTLD, literally putting Pakistan on the brave new digital world’s map.

I later also had the opportunity to make another, less known but also important, humble contribution to Pakistan’s economic progress, by bringing and launching global credit cards in Pakistan, starting with issuing the first MasterCard license to a Pakistani bank in the early 90s. The availability of credit to the middle class can be a major driver to drive economic activity and the creation of products, services and related jobs.

Both of those industries were launched with no government funding (actually, we succeeded despite resistance and other tactics of the authorities of that time that I will not mention), and without venture capital, which at that time was near impossible to get in Pakistan.

My reason for writing this is not to boast on past achievements but to exhort the dynamic and industrious Pakistani entrepreneurs to learn from what the article says and what my experience shows.

You, one person, can start anything you want. There is nothing stopping the next secure identity and privacy solution to be created in Pakistan. There is no reason that Pakistanis cannot pioneer artificial intelligence or secure cloud computing methods.

If there is one thing that I have been frustrated by, and feel is a core reason for Pakistanis not creating world changing new things, is the disregard for intellectual property rights and concepts. From people ripping DVD movies to kids ripping games without payment, to the shameless way so-called respectable newspapers (excluding Dawn) steal and reprint others’ creative output, theft of intellectual property is commonplace, and something people almost boast about.

How then can people think in terms of creating intellectual property if they are themselves busy stealing someone else's? That attitude is embedded in our culture and needs to be addressed. Without that, all the creative capabilities of Pakistanis will continue to be wasted on copying or reverse engineering others’ work, not creating brave new IP to change the world. 

I would love to see that topic get discussed at a national level. There are few nations that have so much creative entrepreneurial talent than Pakistan, as I have seen in my ~30 years of traveling the world.

Let us find ways to stimulate that and channel that and guide that for the greater good of the creators and the nation. That is why, in speaking to groups of Pakistani entrepreneurs and technology professionals, I say, “To Achieve Greatness In A Digital World, Respect Intellectual Property And Innovate With Your Own, Or Be Irrelevant!”

 

IMRAN™
http://imran.pk

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On Freedoms And Memories Of Another Day On Memorial Day - IMRAN™

I was still a final year student at University of Engineering and Technology (Lahore, Pakistan) when Mir Shakil-ur-Rehman, the owner of the media empire in this NY Times story ( http://j.mp/1r9rVO6 ), invited me to work directly for him. I was 22 then. 

 

I had met him a few times before, mostly as a student leader leading protest marches into his office when Jang, the leading Pakistan newspaper but that would cave in and give greater coverage to the Taliban cousins Jamate-Islami fundamentalists party. So it was an ironic twist to become one of his key people. 

 

He originally invited me to write on a Youth page but in my first day visiting his office I saw how IBM people in Pakistan were about to rip him off by selling electric typewriters with changeable font balls as "desktop publishing systems". I made a comment about that. 

 

Yes, I always spoke my mind regardless of the "stature" of the people in the room and continue to do so. 

 

Shakil didn't sign the contract and immediately said, forget the youth page, I want you to sit with me here every day and advise me on anything you want. He had the foresight to see that my vision of technology changing media changing society changing the world was the missing piece in his media/society part of the equation. 

 

I learned a lot of lessons from him, 90% of them good, and just 10% of them disappointments. That is a pretty amazing ratio in a world full of us imperfect people. And I am sure there have been times I must have disappointed him too. But I consider him one of the best teachers in my life besides my parents. 

 

He did his best to dissuade me from going to Columbia Business School on a full scholarship, saying I would learn so much more as his right hand man. I have no doubt that would have been true, but I am glad I left. Yes, it would have been an amazing journey with Shakil, but I would still be an employee of a tycoon. I am blessed and grateful for all that life has brought my way on my own. 

 

Our friendship continued over the last 25 years I spent in America. I literally flew in on a PIA flight carrying several thousands pounds of equipment for the well known News International which I was involved in the launch of. I literally flew in minutes before the newspaper went to press.

 

Shakil left the press building even as plates for the very first copies of the paper were being mounted onto presses. Even though it was a lifetime dream of his family coming true, he drove from the Jang Karachi building to the airport to personally receive me inside the terminal and then drove me to the press with him to see the very first copies of the newspaper roll off the press. I always honor him for how he has always honored me over the years.

 

Though we are not related at all, we used to look alike a bit. (Maybe the prominent nose LOL). He always treated me like a younger brother he did not have (unless I happened to ask for a raise LOL). And he would always laugh when I would affectionately mimic his distinctive manner and style of speaking. 

 

One day we were in his magnificent office on the top floor of the Jang Building in Lahore when I did my impression of him. He was laughing out loud when his assistant (Fayyaz) said a well known but obnoxious person (son of a national leader), who had not personally met Shakil before, was there to visit. 

 

Like in a comedy movie, Shakil thought my impression was so great I should meet that obnoxious person acting as Shakil and Shakil would become Imran. We both moved to the "drawing room" part of the office when the guest came in. And I have to say, I was so flawless in doing my Shakil impression the guest (who had spoken to MSR before on the phone) had no clue what happened. Shakil and I had to do everything in our power not to crack up laughing. We did not do that again, but I remember that and many other adventures, mid-day or midnight, that we shared with love, trust and affection.  

 

Though Shakil and I do not get time to speak regularly now, I still consider him one of the smartest, most forward looking businessmen in the world. Yes, Jang, and the GEO channel, are brilliant commercial media organizations. But not once did I ever see action or hear any words come out of the mouth of Shakil (or his late father the great Mir Khalil ur Rehman, brother Javed, or his brilliant sons or daughters) that would ever be remotely considered anti-Pakistan or anti-Islam. 

 

I laugh at former Playboy, by now probably Viagra-needing pro-fundamentalists, like Imran Khan (whom I once admired) and others making accusations against Shakil. It amazes me how many dumb idiots, especially on Twitter and FaceBook (places they exercise right to free speech), foaming at the mouth about wanting to have GEO shut down. 

 

They do not know what it is like not to have these basic freedoms of expression. They do not know how to exercise the freedom of switching the channel if they do not like something. They want things to be exactly how they want them or to be shut down.

 

These idiots did not serve in newsrooms that were raided by scummy crooked military officers of evil dictator General Zia's regime to rip out stories being put in the next day's paper. They did not know journalists whose fingernails were ripped out by "security services" as we knew.  They did not get court-martialed as an engineering student leader for leading marches against the military regime as I did.

 

They did not fall sleep on the floors of newspaper press buildings at 4AM to make sure nothing kept the presses from running. Shakil did, and I was proud to have been next to him in those times. 

 

Long live democracy, freedom of speech, and a free Press, in Pakistan as well as USA. 

 

And long live my friend Shakil and his family.

Daily Times Pakistan Runs Islam Bashing Palestine Smashing Zionist AIPAC Ads

I am a big proponent of peace in the Middle East. I have also always questioned the Pakistan policy of being anti-Israel when so-called enemies of Israel and thaikedaars of Islam, the Arabs, quietly go about doing business with Israel. I am always amazed by the Pakistani public, which cannot stop making speeches about Jihad against India to liberate Kashmir, completely ignore the traditional Palestinian support of India. Plenty of people used to have posters of Yasser Arafat on their walls, though he considered India's late assassinated Prime Minister Indira Gandhi his "sister".

When all is said and done, Pakistan and Israel have more in common than not. They both won freedom from the British Empire. They were both created in the 1947-48 timeframe, as nations carved out of the land of another nation's land for a religious minority. They are surrounded by much bigger enemies from the other religion. Though they are both created for the people of a particular religion, they both haze sizable minorities.

They also have both been traditionally moderate liberal societies where their respective fundamentalists have assassinated leaders considered too modern or moderate. Both are also US allies, but of course the Jewish influence of US politics is a subject books can be written about while in Pakistan's case any such influence could be listed on the back of a folder paper napkin.

Both nations' cultures and societies have tended to be entrepreneurial and generally kids are encouraged to study (though Pakistan's vast illiteracy rates versus Israel's high literacy rate are a sad comparison). Engineers and Doctors are among the most popular professions, not to mention Lawyers.

Both also share the shameful treatment of their religious minorities. In the case of a Pakistan, though, it is a small evil minority of terrorists willing to kill themselves to blow up fellow Muslims in mosques. In the case of Israel it is a far greater state sponsored display of terrorism when kids throwing rocks in OCCUPIED PALESTINE are shot dead, when in their zeal to kill a Palestinian leader the Israeli Air Force drops 1000 lb. bombs into a residential neighborhood, killing innocent civilians and not the actual target.

What gives Israel this seeming Green Light to commit mini-genocides, theft of occupied land, state to state terrorism and official piracy on the high seas, is the shameful weakness of the USA. In America it is considered political suicide to question policy (a political topic) on Israel (a country) because the often-Jewish-owned or controlled media organizations here (easy to check the ownership of the top newspaper and magazine chains here) and the Zionist lobby will brand that person an anti-Semite!

From Marlon Brando to Oliver Stone, as I wrote even in 1996, even the gods of Hollywood have bowed to the Israeli lobby. None is more insidious, or more an intellectual-terrorist, than AIPAC, in its meticulous targeting of anyone who dares raise a voice against Israel.

So, while I am praying for peace in the Middle East between Palestine (Occupied) and Israel (and also between Pakistan and India on a liberated Kashmir), until AIPAC stops its shameless and insidious control of dissent and debate on Israeli policy of the USA, I have to consider organizations like it and other Zionist fascist genocidal groups in Israel as enemies of peace, Palestinians, Pakistanis and people everywhere, just as AlQaeda is.

AlQaeda tries to destroy America and the world openly. Organizations like AIPAC will gladly burn America and the world on the altar of their domination and control agenda. (Please note, considering AIPAC and the Zionist lobby to be evil is NOT anti-Semitism - which is the typical attack-response we expect and get when anyone questions these insidious entities.)

So, while I would love to see Pakistan and Israel also normalize relations, and leverage the hardworking and smart people they both are blessed with, I find it abhorrent that a newspaper like the Daily Times (which I believe is owned by a PPP Governor in Pakistan) does not seem to care that it's web site shamelessly displays blatant Zionist Lobby advertising.

Yes, I know, it's an online ad from Google. But, site owners have control on what they want advertised or not. Even my personal site http://imran.com has Google ads where I recall setting it not to display alcohol, etc. ads. I do not have a huge staff to even monitor this as the Daily Times owners do.

What a shame that for a few pennies this supposedly Pakistani Muslim newspaper and its owners (in dangerously high positions of power in Pakistan) are showing their complete lack of character. What the Daily Times does is like some paper called The Jewish Daily Times running an ad for a German pro-Nazi group. Jews don't all hate all Germans, but I am sure they don't go running Nazi Party ads for a few cents or paisas, as the Daily Times is doing.

But, then, what would you expect from a newspaper owner family that shamelessly steals intellectual property from newspapers and content creators - despite being repeatedly asked to stop.

Here is a screen capture of the friend of Sehyooni AIPAC Daily Times Lahore Pakistan on, ironically, Friday.

The Good News About The Bad News In Pakistan

An old adage is that bad news sells. But there comes a stage in societies and countries, as well as the minds of news-readers and TV-viewers, when they just get sick of bad news.

I think it is no exaggeration to say that Pakistanis in general have gotten used to bad news, negative publicity, adverse editorial opinion and just general anti-Pakistan sentiment every day, everywhere, from New Delhi to New York.

That is why it was such a happy occasion to see the current Administration of Pakistan, opposition leaders, the military as well as the Chief Justice of Pakistan doing their part to literally bring Pakistan back from the brink of total chaos.

The reinstatement of the Chief Justice, as well as other political institutions and Punjab government, were also much awaited good news for Pakistanis. You could feel and hear the actual sense both of pride and hope in the eyes and voices of Pakistanis of all walks of life, from Karachi to California.

Obviously this was not detracting critics of Pakistan, as well as Indians and their lobbyists, in addition to Pakistan-bashers in general from continuing their attacks on Pakistan.

It even seems that American Administration officials, in particular the military men responsible for Afghanistan and Pakistan, also have a vested interest in giving the impression of an unstable Pakistan almost on the verge of total collapse.

I don't know if that would be to give them the excuses to continue with their missile strikes or for some other nefarious purpose. Or just to make themselves look like heroes when things get better in 6-12 months.

One can understand their fear, that nuclear-armed Pakistan, with internal strife, daily terror attacks, especially with a perceived internal support for the Taliban among certain government agencies, could become a nuclear nightmare for the United States. But, their own pronouncements have the risk of becoming self-fulfilling prophecies.

However, their pseudo-intellectual analysis of Pakistan being on the verge of collapsing as a country within six months is hardly the way to go about expecting positive change in Pakistan, or Pakistanis attitudes towards America and its representatives here. Nor is it helping bring about economic prosperity, or at least stability, when that is most needed to ensure a prosperous future for Pakistan and Pakistanis.

Keep in mind that any criticism of Pakistan also has a multiplication factor of actions by the Taliban as well as Al Qaeda, which seems to have made parts of Pakistan their head office. Throw in the general fear, mistrust and perhaps even sheer hatred for the concept of militant Islam and Muslims, and you can see why Pakistan gets perceived even worse by Western media, politicians and the public in general.

Sadly, it is supposedly our fellow "Muslims", whether they are brainwashed or willing hell-bound murderers, who take away the brief moments of joy and good news that Pakistanis begin to enjoy.

To make matters worse they kill and maim innocent people, destroy families and malign, damage and even insult Islam by carrying out the most despicable, dastardly and disgusting acts of horror. They blow themselves up in mosques, even in funeral processions, where the only thoughts most people have in their mind at that time are of God and of the day when we all have to return to Him.

I believe that the word suicide bomber is totally insufficient to describe these forces of Evil, these representatives of Satan, these worshippers of Lucifer, these children of Shaitan.

I believe we Pakistanis, and Muslims, as well as the media have to start calling them by their real name. they are not "jihadis". They are not suicide bombers. They should be referred to as "jahanummi qaatil kuffar" - because that is what they are – hell-bound murderer infidels.

And, we need scholars of Islam, religious leaders and decent Imams and Ulema to give fatwas against every jahanummi qaatil kuffar who carries out such attacks.

Let the ones following them know that they will not go to heaven with 72 virgins waiting for them. Let them hear they will go to hell, with the entire Ummah spitting on their names and dead bodies with 7200 curses lashing their souls for eternity.

The recent events and terror attacks in the last few days have left no doubt in my mind that these are the worst enemies of Islam and Pakistan. And the sooner Muslims and Pakistanis unite t exterminate these vermin, the better off Islam, Muslims, Pakistan and the world will be.

From their actions aiming to kill worshippers in a house of God, to the shameless, spineless, disgusting torture and whipping or public flogging of a young woman (regardless of whether the video was made recently or months ago), they show themselves to be the animals that they are.

They are even worse than the pagan Arabs that our Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) made it his mission in life to try to first show the light of true Islam and later to defeat in battle. Fighting these true enemies of Islam is true Jihad.

How shameful that these people, whom even the Quresh tribe of pagan Arabia would spit upon, are the ones claiming to do what they do in the name of God, religion and Islam.

But like many Pakistanis, and many Americans, who believe that the future is always going to be bright, I refuse to give in and give up hope. Even in these terrible, and dark, days I see good news.

I felt proud to be part of the Pakistani media, both through the pages of the magazine and newspaper chain that carry my outspoken opinions, to my own blog and new media, as well as the TV channels that I also appear on. Each one of them went above and beyond to expose the evil, dastardly, cowardly, woman-flogging Taliban for the vile scum that they are.

I am proud of my fellow Pakistanis, here in Pakistan or living abroad, doing their bit to spread the word of this heinous crime - using every tool available to them, from e-mail to Twitter, FaceBook, etc.

I felt pride in the Chief Justice of Pakistan taking notice of this grave injustice and jumping into action. I am even appreciative of usually spineless, two-faced, politicians who spoke up against this cruelty.

In all these things I feel Pakistan and Pakistanis have turned yet another positive corner. I see this as yet another positive sign. I see even more light at the end of the tunnel than before.

I see a nation not falling apart in six months. I see a newly rejuvenated nation. I see Pakistan coming together closer, more united, with greater faith and higher discipline than ever before.

I see a new willingness in the psyche of formerly apathetic Pakistanis finally starting to speak up. Much that I would like to take credit for having written the article asking people not to be silent anymore, in reality my recent article was written knowing in my heart of hearts how great a future we all want for Pakistan.

I know in my heart, mind, body and soul exactly what greatness lies within the hearts, minds and souls of my fellow Muslims and Pakistani people.

Pakistanis taking a stand, and speaking against the evil-doers and the bad news, is the good news, even the best news, we have heard all year.

==
Imran Anwar is a New York and Miami based Pakistani-American entrepreneur, Internet pioneer, inventor, writer and TV personality. He can be reached through his web site http://imran.com and imran@imran.com . You can follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/imrananwar

India's Triumphant Cultural & Political March

India's Triumphant Cultural & Political March:

From The Slums Of Bollywood To The Red Carpet Of Hollywood

By Imran Anwar

(New York) It was nearly 30 years ago that my first writings were published in a major Pakistani newspaper, the once defunct and then reborn Pakistan Times. The writings continued during my time with the Jang group, in particular MAG Weekly, in the late 1980s, until I left for the United States.

All during that time, despite all my criticisms of whoever was in power at that time in Pakistan, my writings were always full of hope, desire and confidence of a great future that Pakistan had ahead of it. I also often wondered about why people older than me, some who had also travelled abroad, were far more cynical and much less hopeful.

All through that time I had always been the staunchest supporter and the defender of the name of Pakistan, whether it be in writing letters to the editors of foreign journals and newspapers critical of Pakistan or trying to convince foreign diplomats and journalists, as well as Western citizens, about how great Pakistan was going to be.

One of the important yardsticks, which would perhaps now be called a Meter stick under the metric system, was how we were doing in comparison to India. I distinctly recall how Pakistan had always been a pro-western, America-allied, fairly liberal, capitalism driven society.

India, on the other hand, was a country we competed with on the field of sports, the battlefield, as well as for international influence. We used to laugh at the ugly, dinky little cars that the Indians made, instead of importing the fancy ones we were driving in Pakistan.

Yet in the last 20 years that I have lived in America, India has made amazing, impressive and steady marching progress towards becoming a major global player - in almost every industry in the world. Pakistan during that same time seems to have sprinted downhill - faster than any Olympic athlete could.

It should have been a matter of concern for us when India, the long staunch Soviet and Communist ally, became a major trading partner of the United States, a country on which we had long relied, and whose foreign policies we had often followed. India developed a pool of engineering and other professionals, providing services, engineering, talent and operational capabilities to the world's largest companies.

In doing so they earned billions and billions of dollars for their country. During this time, we in Pakistan saw the decline of the educational system, the breakdown of institutions, if any existed, and simply the beginning of the end of what might have been a great future.

It was a matter of personal disappointment, almost shame, for me that the day that India launched its first astronaut into space was also the same day that Pakistan went to the International Monetary Fund to beg for survival money. Shame.

During the same time that we were making a name for ourselves, for kidnapping and beheading visitors to our country, India launched, and continues to run, one of the most impressive media campaigns to promote tourism in its country.

Titled "Incredible India!" this campaign appears in major newspapers, magazines and many other places. It simply takes almost exactly the same kind of tourism places and situations that Pakistan could offer visitors but turns it into a must-visit, mystique-filled, once-in-a-lifetime, cultural experience image.

During this time despite the proliferation of private TV channels in Pakistan, another field where the Indians have done an amazing job has been their film industry. They have leveraged it not just in making a name for themselves, but marketing their country and becoming a source of talent abroad. In addition, in exchange, they are bringing even more visitors and foreign exchange to their country,

First their hottest movie stars started appearing in Hollywood films. Then, despite many Indian movies being barely concealed copies of Hollywood scripts, India was able to convince Hollywood to make many Indian-themed movies.

Then they tied their greater and greater visibility in Hollywood, ever improving quality of Bollywood films - which were getting screened in America. They then mixed in marketing of India and its culture and cemented it with the welcoming of American tourists and filmmakers. This was an amazing recipe to lead India to one of its greatest global public relations successes just a few minutes ago.

The Academy Awards ceremony has just concluded in Hollywood, California. As this publication is going to press, the whole world (including a television audience of probably 1 billion people, along with the many millions more who will read newspapers and see photographs online) has seen India emerging as a triumphant victor on yet another field. This time it' the red carpet of Hollywood and the Oscars ceremony.

Even a movie called Slumdog Millionaire, set against the backdrop of the intense poverty that can be found in India, has turned into a global publicity and financial victory for India, its culture, its movie industry, its tourism and its economy.

And this is not just about showbiz or something that has no global or historic significance. India's clout, its visibility, its popularity and its new-found confidence - even from something as simple as a movie award - is manifesting itself in its ability to dictate to the world.

India can now even dictate what President Barack Hussein Obama's team can or will discuss with the foreign ministers of Pakistan and Afghanistan - who are now in Washington DC.

India not only did not attend the meeting, it made clear to the American government that Kashmir is not to be discussed. The American administration agreed to that. In the meantime the same American Administration has expanded the missile strikes it will carry out within Pakistan – while Pakistan's shameless politicians are merely fighting over dissolving assemblies and not even worried about justice, the one promise that people had asked to be fulfilled, from Karachi to Swat.

The early copies of tomorrow's New York Times show the exactly opposite paths that two countries born on the same day in history have taken.

The Indian movie industry's massive triumph on the Hollywood red carpet is one headline related to India. On the same page, the news item related to Pakistan is about a secret United States unit now in Pakistan to train its commandos to battle AlQaeda and the Taliban.

While American companies, and even individual creative types, are literally discussing over cocktails this very minute the next project they want to do in India, the few people discussing Pakistan are wondering if Pakistan will even survive as a nation.

I wonder if I will be around in 20 years to write a similar analysis. And I wonder where in history, geography and world affairs Pakistan will stand on that day. What do you think?

--
Imran Anwar is a New York based Pakistani-American entrepreneur, Internet pioneer, inventor, writer and TV personality. He can be reached through his web site http://imran.com and imran@imran.com . You can follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/imrananwar

IMRAN.TV: (Urdu) "What Are People's Expectations From Obama?"

Imran Anwar, IMRAN.TV, New York, Local video feed clip of Urdu TV channel's question:

Q. What are people's expectations of President Barack Hussein Obama?



What is your opinion?


Category: News & Politics

Tags: IMRAN IMRAN.TV Urdu Obama President Expectations Politics Inauguration Israel Kashmir Palestine India Pakistan Imran Anwar ImranAnwar

MADitorial: Banking On Bad Headline Writing Skills & Helping Thieves

English is my third language, but even now I recall teachers at St. Paul's High School in Karachi, Pakistan, teaching us to be careful in stringing words together. One of my favorite songs, Stairway To Heaven says something about how "sometimes words have two meanings". But, sentence structure can have even more impact.

But, all too often, we see news stories, especially headlines, that can mean the opposite of what the writer intended. And, most often, they are not deliberate puns. I am sure I am guilty of such errors too.

Today's daily email from the Palm Beach Post in my Inbox is amusing.

It states:

---

Armored-car worker shot at bank near West Palm

Attempted robbery happened this morning Wachovia Bank on Okeechobee Boulevard.

View map of bank | More crime news

---

First of all, the way it is written, the text suggests that the armored car worker, an armed guard usually, is the one who shot at the bank building or something related to the bank.

Secondly, the sub-heading does not continue logically from the headline itself. For example, it could have conveyed the same information, but tied to the headline by saying something like this, "Shot by bandits during morning robbery at Okeechobee Wachovia Bank" - even using terse verbiage for space-saving reasons.

But, what I find amusing about this reporting is how conveniently the "More crime news" link is placed right next to "View map of the bank"... the better to help the next set of bank robbers plan their getaway perhaps!

Three Blind Mice Or One Boring Politician?

A FaceBook friend of mine, Amanda Bateman, posted a comment on her profile page with an interesting premise - that the three leading anchors on regular TV, Katie Couric, Brian Williams and Charles Gibson (plus, one assumes, their networks) are biased against poor Senator John McCain.

Her brief posting, cutely titled, "Three Blind Mice", simply stated, "And the biased media continues...should we be surprised? Probably not."

That was followed by the following three URLs.

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/kyle-drennen/2008/07/17/network-anchors-join-obama-world-tour-little-coverage-mccain-travel
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2008/07/if_a_network_anchor_falls_in_t.html

http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/entertainment&id=6274320

Not that the media does NOT have a bias. Of course it does. It always appears biased in favor of whoever you oppose! But I was amused to read the first link. So, I posted a follow up note to Ms. Bateman'sc comment.

I acknowledged that she did make a valid point. But I went on to say that it was amusing to read the first link and have a real pro-Republican blogger quote the... (gulp)... New York Times for an objective comment. :-)

I did not check that blog's previous postings to see what they may have to say about some opinions that Fox News Channel simply is a Republican Party propaganda machine.

This is not to defend the anchors Amanda criticized above, or their myopic lemming-like networks. But, let's not forget that, media bias not withstanding, the media reports things based on interestingness from the public's perspective.

So, Britney Spears' sister having a baby gets on the cover of People magazine but not, say, the Sudanese leader possibly being charged with genocide.

Is that particular choice a show of "bias" against black politicians or world leaders? Of course not - though I am sure some will want to think so. No. We have to look at other possible angles also.

Even my Republican friends, and objective conservative media professionals all admit, McCain has just not been a very interesting candidate or politician in a very long while. He is NOT good at thinking on his feet when an unfamiliar question is posed to him.

(See this video online of him totally lost and clueless http://act.credoaction.com/campaign/mccain_respect_contraception/ ).

He seems uncomfortable with his position. All he can do is appear "resolute" in sticking to the failed policy of the war in Iraq.

People immediately "accuse" me that I must be some extreme liberal, or Democrat, if I dare criticize anything about Republicans. But, in fact, I am a thorough independent.

Ironically, I had been a loud supporter of John McCain for President in 2000 and fully believe we would have been far better off as a nation having him, despite his somewhat loose-cannon personality, as President than the joke of the millennium George W. Bush that fate, and the Supreme Court, foisted on us.

(2004's re-election of George Bush is something Republicans and his voters have to take the blame for and know that history will judge their actions as the most destructive single influence starting America's decline in the world at a time it should have been getting far more loved, respected and emulated worldwide).

So, much that I supported McCain over Bush in 2000, and much that I respected him for being a war hero (as opposed to a war Zero like Bush), I cannot bring myself to support him for President of the United States in 2008. He has served his country ably, well, sincerely, and should be commended and respected for that. That alone is not reason to elect him President.

Does that mean, somehow, that Obama is the perfect candidate. Surely not. Obama can make mistakes, Hillary can still cause trouble enough for the Democracks -- sorry - Democrats to lose the election.

That means McCain can obviously not give up. But, just being a candidate does not a campaign make. He needs to smarten up. He has no momentum at present. He has no great ideas. He is sticking to bad ideas on Iraq. He is not exciting to the populace. Even worse, especially from the media perspective, he is just not interesting anymore.

That is what his campaign in disarray has to focus on. Try to make him be more exciting, interesting, and, yes, more creative and original than he is at present. Can it be done?

What do you think?