Every & any thing interesting, collected from others

Can the Brain Be Rebooted to Stop Drug Addiction?

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 05:46:44 -0700

Scientists for the first time have identified long-term changes in mice brains that may shed light on why addicts get hooked on drugs—in this case methamphetamines—and have such a tough time kicking the habit. The findings, reported in the journal Neuron, could set the stage for new ways to block cravings—and help addicts dry ou ...

The World Bank: World Hunger Growing

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 04:31:53 -0700

World Bank President Robert Zoellick says the escalating price of food is stunting opportunities and creating hardship for people in poor countries. The international lending organization says it aims to double agricultural business investment this year and called on rich countries to help offset the rising cost of food. Speaking to reporters ahead of the World Bank/IMF meetings this weekend, Zoellick said World Bank members mus ...

Dog and his owner

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 04:20:59 -0700

An amazing story. Sam, a 2 1/2 year old dachshund, was devoted to his owner, Teddy Crockarell. When Crockerell died of cancer last Monday, Sam seemed to immediately run away.

This despite the fact t ...

Will Obama Pay for 'Bitter' Flap?

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 03:48:44 -0700

After the last few days that he endured over his controversial comments about "bitter" small-town America, Barack Obama can only hope that the Pope's arrival in Washington on Tuesday stea ...

MQM chief quits, withdraws resignation within 60 minutes

Sat, 12 Apr 2008 01:25:51 -0700

Following immense pressure from within the MQM and demands to review his decision to step down as party chief, MQM founder Altaf Hussain withdrew his resignation about an hour after he announced it, saying that he was prepared to offer unconditional friendship to PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif.

“Even if Nawaz chooses to curse at me, I offer him my unconditional friendship,” he told several hundred MQM supporters, leaders and Rabita Committee members ...

Losing the police plot?

Sat, 12 Apr 2008 01:15:50 -0700

IRONICALLY, civilians and the police make strange, if not estranged, bedfellows. To be fair, several reasons keep this relationship at odds but the abject indigence of the force remains the real culprit. Where routine police excesses have robbed the public of all faith in their custodians, the authorities have made negligible efforts to address the woes of the force. Instead, burdensome additions are introduced in the name of security. One of these is Karachi’s Muhaf ...

Need for a strategy

Sat, 12 Apr 2008 01:13:46 -0700
IN his review of the current state of the national economy, federal Finance Minister Ishaq Dar made two important points about putting the economy back on the right track and rectifying the widening budgetary and current account imbalances. It hardly needs to be emphasised that the economic agenda should be the government’s first priority given the hardship people are facing. Rising food and energy prices have fuelled inflation which was at an all- ...

Free media bill tabled

Sat, 12 Apr 2008 01:06:59 -0700
ISLAMABAD, April 11: The new government on Friday brought a bill to the National Assembly to kill a draconian gag imposed by President Pervez Musharraf on the country’s nascent electronic media under the state of emergency imposed in November that provoked an international outcry.

The Pakistan Electronic Media Authority (Amendment) Bill, introduced by Information and Broadcasting Minister Ms Sherry Rehman on the second day of the firs ...

Pakistan - Kevin Drum

Sat, 12 Apr 2008 00:59:45 -0700
By Kevin Drum
I see that Fred Kagan has a long piece up at National Reviewbunch of defeatist appeasers like Neville Chamberlain.
That’s a fresh approach, isn’t it? And it doesn’t get much better from
there. It’s mostly a phoned-in mishmash of straw men, race-baiting,
appeals to cultural so ...

Collective Failure

Sat, 12 Apr 2008 00:58:09 -0700
acts of violence in Karachi
especially the death of several people in arson have overshadowed the
events of the earlier two days. Dr Arbab Rahim and Dr Sher Afgan Niazi were
roughed up in shameful incidents. The reaction assumed a grave dime ...