Faisal Shahzad is Pakistani Taliban

The Pakistan Observer claims the Times Square bomb scare was a hoax - and Faisal Shahzad is a dupe - and the whole thing is a conspiracy (which includes India) to malign Pakistan. The thing is, Pakistan's wounds are mostly self-inflicted; there's no need for the United States and India to rub salt in them.

I would consider the Pakistan Observer to be a dangerous newspaper, but the writing is so bad, and the analysis so superficial, I strongly believe people who buy it use it for reasons other than self-edification.

Cute Baby Picture #2

Looks like there is another Linus in the house!

Trailer: Salt

Salt, starring Angelina Jolie, looks really, really good:

Cute Baby Picture #1

Here is my niece Sarika in a device of some kind:

Another Chechyan War in the Offing?

It's really nice when terrorists owe up to their acts of terrorism, like this Chechen fellow:

Chechen rebel leader Dokku Umarov claimed that he personally gave orders to attack the Moscow subway this week, according to a Chechen rebel Web site. [CNN]

Usually terrorists remain faceless and speechless, letting the imagination take hold on what they look like and meditate on why they did it. The attacks on the Moscow subway system, it seems, was a simple act of revenge, with a challenge to Moscow to "bring it on", a phrase made famous by President Bush.

Will Moscow "bring it", so to speak? Given that they wrecked Chechnya twice already, another drubbing is in the cards. Russians are well-known for their cruelty and their lust to blow everything in front of them -- men, women and children -- to smithereens.

Google: A Simple Choice

This whole China-Google troubles is rather irritating in that choices, for Google, are rather simple: comply with the law and make money in the world's biggest online market or leave the country and keep a clean conscience.

China is not a democracy. We know this. China does not respect, which we in the free world, call human rights. We know this. Yet the expectations for China are the same as a democracy. It's an incongruity that seem to be overlooked by some critics. China is a sovereign country, whose laws we may not like but nevertheless must comply. We would expect the same of any Chinese company operating in the United States.

That Google is wringing its hands over the matter is just drama to me.

How Tiger Woods Is Like Kobe

How will the Tiger Woods story play out? If the tabloid media has its way, the story will end badly for Tiger—his total and complete destruction. I doubt this will happen. Tiger Woods will survive this setback stronger and better, albeit with plenty of scars.

The tabloid media is treating Tiger like he’s a child molester, who also likes to club baby seals in his spare time. But what was his crime? Honestly? He cheated on his wife and then he lied about it? Wow. Another celebrity/athlete caught in an act of infidelity. Nothing novel about this! In fact, a scientific argument can be made that infidelity is a character trait, or even a genetic flaw. Yes, he looks like a jerk because he is a jerk, but being a jerk is not a criminal offense.

If there is a relevant example we can look at, it is the triumph of Kobe Bryant. He, too, was caught cheating on his wife. He, too, faced the music, so to speak. He, too, lost endorsement deals, public adulation, resulting in a seriously tarnished reputation. This was in 2003. Today, no one cares or talks about that dark moment. Now Kobe sits atop of the NBA like basketball royalty, making money and hawking products. In fact, he face was splayed on a recent issue of GQ magazine. Oh yeah, before I forget, he was also accused of rape. Tiger Woods has been not accused of rape yet the tabloid media is treating him as if he did.

I have no doubt Tiger Woods will rise again. Like Kobe, he’s an unflinching competitor who thrives on winning.

But first, he must get his life in order: get his head on straight, make a decision on his relationship with his wife, and, ultimately, just play the damn game of golf and win. And like Kobe, people will forgive his transgressions. But only if he wins. Nothing more, nothing less.

New Toy Story 3 Trailer

The official theatrical trailer for Toy Story 3:

The movie rocks!!! I will definitely go see it, and bring my 4-year-old nephew along.

Trailer: Chloe

Check out this trailer for Chloe:

It has a Fatal Attraction sort of flavor to it. Very intriguing.

Wall Street 2: The Teaser Trailer

Check out the teaser trailer for Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps:



It looks awesome!

Why Olbermann Is A Jack-Ass

John Stewart takes MSNBC's Keith Olbermann down a peg or two. The performance is simply priceless:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Special Comment - Keith Olbermann's Name-Calling
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Health Care Crisis

The Ghost Writer Trailer

Here's the international trailer for Roman Polanski's new film, The Ghost Writer:

It looks really, really good. I don't know if I want to watch a movie made by a director who is arrogantly flouting justice living in splendid exile in Europe, while, at the same time, claiming to be exempt from the law because he is an artiste.

And it's not like he is being falsely accused, he readily admits to raping a young girl after plying her with drugs and alcohol. That the victim no longer wants to press charges is immaterial. It's not about her any more, but the rule of law.

Kick-Ass Trailer

This trailer simply Kicks-Ass:

Biman Bangladesh: New Look

Biman Bangladesh is not only inducting a new aircraft type into its fleet (a Boeing 737-800), but a new color scheme as well. Check out the photo below:



Personally, I don't like it. Too much blue and not enough verdant green and red of the national flag.

1971 Pakistan's Surrender in Dhaka: TV Footage

Here are a couple of videos broadcasting Pakistan's surrender in Dhaka (then called Dacca):





Both of these videos are important historical artifacts reminding people why Bangladesh came about.

[h/t: acorn]