No thanks!

There’s respite for those who wake up in the early hours to watch the live telecast of the Academy Awards and yawn through the human beings (and animals) thanked by the winners during their acceptance speeches.

Every year the winners tend to rush through names to keep within the time limit allotted to them and hope that no one has been forgotten. I’d rather watch the winners say what’s on their minds or share an interesting anecdote, unencumbered by thank yous. From this year, nominees will be required to hand over a list of gratitudes, to be scrolled across the bottom of the screen if they win. I’m waiting to see who violates the new ‘no list’ rule because that’s bound to happen! 

Valentine's Day celebrations banned in Islamabad?

Tailpieces

1) Self-styled Indian god-man Asaram and his followers want us to discard Valentine’s Day and worship parents instead because it is in line with our values. Ironically, this comes from a man who has been accused of and arrested for sexually assaulting a minor.

2) Konika Dhar, the sister of the Brit ‘Jihadi Sid’ says she’s on a mission to bring him back to Britain. She adds that families like hers need more state support when their loved ones are brainwashed. I disagree. Responsibility starts and ends with the family and community. The family’s ignorance about his radicalisation process is nothing short of a gargantuan failure. On a separate note, the thought of getting him back is terrible — to put him on trial and send him to prison for a few years at British taxpayers’ expense? I doubt Britons would want that. Better he remains where he is till Putin’s men drop a bomb on him and his like.



3) The Siachen avalanche that resulted in the loss of lives of several Indian brave-hearts has been tear-inducing to say the least. Soldiers posted to the world’s highest battlefield are known to tell their families not to expect them to return. Stephen Cohen at the Brookings Institution equated the Siachen conflict between India and Pakistan to two bald men fighting for a comb.

The big debate to re-emerge post the tragedy is the need to de-militarise this fatal area. But with deep suspicion between the countries about cross-border insurgency and the continuous high alert, I doubt if the concept of an ‘undefended border’ (as between the US and Canada) will ever become a reality.



4) The hastily assembled Pakistan Super League (PSL) taking place in the UAE these days is, not surprisingly, a damp squib. Few leagues have been successful in emulating the success of the IPL and the PSL isn’t one of them. Beneath the veneer of home-grown glamour, roars and cheers lies the brutal reality of empty upper decks and most of the filled seats belonging to invitees and free-loaders. The PCB is believed to have pumped in significant funds into the production, ground event and procuring airtime for the broadcast and the huge shortfall in revenues from various streams, can leave a gaping lacuna in its profit and loss account.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 11^th,  2016.

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