The Pakistani Spectator

A Candid Blog


Author Archive

COMMENT: All’s fair in laughter and jokes, innit!

By Miranda Husain • Apr 27th, 2010 • Category: Politics

Shazia Mirza has claimed surprise at the increasing number of Asian women attending her shows in good ol’ Blighty. Such comments smack of sheer arrogance and effectively blur the lines between the stereo-typer and the stereotyped
The queen of culture shocking comedy has done it again. She has lifted the lid on [...]



Britain’s first wives’ club

By Miranda Husain • Apr 19th, 2010 • Category: Features

One might have hoped that the wives of Britain’s political leaders would have naturally and rightly shied away from the superficial eye candy route of supporting their men’s political ideologies and supposed pragmatism. But they have not
There is some concern that the current bout of election fever gripping Britain is increasingly [...]



Crude violation of rights in Ecuador

By Miranda Husain • Apr 11th, 2010 • Category: Politics

The most impressive feature of this documentary is its refusal to pay homage to the Michael Moore school of filmmaking. Meaning that just as it never becomes a one-man show, nor, too, does it fall into the trap of base stereotyping
Back in March, we saw ‘The Hurt Locker’ sweeping the Academy Awards, [...]



Obama’s focus is on Iran, not Pakistan

By Miranda Husain • Apr 2nd, 2010 • Category: Politics

Any US efforts failing to stabilise Afghanistan and Iraq before the end of the Obama presidency could feasibly be blamed on their having been inherited from the previous regime. By direct contrast, however, the nuclearisation of Iran would represent the biggest American foreign policy blunder of this century
The Pak-US chinwag of last week has offered [...]



Prowess Pundits and the Media

By Miranda Husain • Mar 27th, 2010 • Category: Politics, Worth A Second Look

These pundit-prowess experts are the professional opportunists who, when talk turns to the current political scenario, move swiftly to monopolise the spotlight with their zealous decrying of the media. And to hell with the damned cat lover
It may be homage to the arrogance of youth that in times gone by, I used to find myself [...]



Raw is war, even when mechanised

By Miranda Husain • Mar 24th, 2010 • Category: Politics, Worth A Second Look

The push-button approach to fighting al Qaeda endeavours to seduce us into believing that modern warfare is akin to the virtual wars of video games. But, of course, here in the real world, there are no three lives to be had and no restart button to push when the game is over
Much has been made [...]



Dead man walking in Afghanistan

By Miranda Husain • Mar 13th, 2010 • Category: Politics, Worth A Second Look

Already there have been reports indicating that the Pakistan-based terrorist group Lashkar-e-Tayyaba (LeT), perpetrator of the 2008 Mumbai attacks, has superseded al Qaeda in the global threat stakes. Indeed, a recent Newsweek report referred to the LeT as “potentially the most dangerous outfit on the planet”
The top US and NATO commander in Afghanistan vowed this [...]