It may well be that some Iraqis would want a continued US presence in their country because of a belief that the Americans would somehow protect various ethnic elements from going after one another with blood on their minds. My own experience in the Middle East and elsewhere in the developing world suggests that there's usually a substantial difference between what pe
The potential of a "tyranny of the majority" always exists in any society, even a democratic one. And James Madison was quite precient about this in his commentary. In my native India, this argument has often been used by minority Muslims, who point to the fact that 80 percent of India's population consists of Hindus. But India has nevertheless managed to re
There is no way out of the Iraq quagmire other than for the US and other well-meaning liberators to get out, thereby cutting their own losses. The "significantly smart" members of the Gulf2000 List can cogitate all they want, but I'm afraid that Iraq is "lost." It is lost in the sense that the current prescription of imposing elections on an unwilling and u
The potential of a "tyranny of the majority" always exists in any society, even a democratic one. And James Madison was quite prescient about this in his commentary. In my native India, this argument has often been used by minority Muslims, who point to the fact that 80 percent of India's population consists of Hindus. But India has nevertheless managed to re
What will it take to end global poverty? By Jack Freeman Written for Earthtimes This June it will be five years since the nations of the United Nations agreed upon a set of "Millennium Development Goals" -- basically aimed at halving the amount of extreme poverty on the planet by the year 2015 -- and pledged their governments to work toward achie
I received this letter from a young woman who I'd mentored at The Earth Times. I was so touched by what she said that I thought I should share the note. (I have withheld her name.) Dear Pranay: Happy New Year! I was delighted to find an e-mail from you in my inbox the other day. I looked you up on the internet recently (the power of Google!) in o
I agree that "patience" is required for rebuilding any society, particularly one that was working fine until the US "liberation" happened along. Earle refers to the "insurgents." They flourish not in a vacuum but as an integral part of the very society that we -- the US -- are trying to rebuild after destroying it. They aren't aliens, as we are, but a part of the ever
Why do I have this increasingly weary sense that none of the electioneering, media propaganda, and diplomatic "make nice" is going to work? Look, everyday Iraqis don't want the US around on their soil. It should be pretty clear by now to all that even if they are force-fed these so-called elections, Iraqis are far, far away from establishing responsible institutions o
Sundaram Tagore is a smart entrepreneur and art scholar. He's built up a flourishing business in New York, the Sundaram Tagore Galleries. The galleries, in the tony SoHo neighborhood, feature works of both established as well as upcoming artists from South Asia, and others. I recently wrote to Tagore to introduce a pretty well-known painter in Singa
One of journalism's great figures, Seymour Topping, has just come out with a new novel, "Fatal Crossroads: A Novel of Vietnam 1945." It is published by EastBridge Books. Topping has devoted much of his 50 years in journalism to covering Vietnam and China as a correspondent and editor. He became the first American correspondent to be stationed in Vietnam aft
By Helen Abby Becker One tries very hard not to be indignant over the extravagantly festive holiday goings-on reported daily in newspapers across the United States, when other headlined stories regularly feature details of the horrors of the war in Iraq, the genocide in Rwanda, the extraordinary cruelties of jihad extremists, and now the extraordinary cruelty
As an international journalist, I get to meet fascinating people all over the world. "Fascinating" doesn't necessarily mean "nice." But I've always been intrigued by men and women who accumulate power. My central question always is: How do they do it? Single-mindedness is certainly one characteristic that I see in such people. They are very focused on their
By Pranay Gupte KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia -- Just the other day, a senior official here was talking about the Indian government's quiet disclosure that it would spend $500 billion over the next five years on strengthening the infrastructure. "That mean roads, power systems, airports, telecommunications, you name it," he said." That's a lot of contracts.
Rami G. Khouri is a professional commentator on the Middle East. He wrote the following piece on the new, but unpublished Arab Human Development Report, produced by the New York-based United Nations Development Programme. Pranay Gupte's reaction is reproduced after Mr. Khouri's article. A View from the Arab World: Time to bring home Arab human development
By Pranay Gupte 1. The beautiful women of Orchard Road. 2. The energy, bustle and great roadside stalls of Orchard Road. 3. The really exceptionally pleasant service at stores. 4. Mezza Nine restaurant at the Grand Hyatt and its ebullient manager Mike. 5. The wonderful hawker food centers. 6. The museums, especially the ones on Asian art a
The legend of M. S. Subbulakshmi (published in the International Herald Tribune, December 16, 2004) By Pranay Gupte She was known as the "nightingale of India," but that scarcely captured what Madurai Shanmukhavadivu Subbulakshmi -- who died on Saturday at the age of 88 -- was all about. Known widely as just "M.S.," she was the greatest singer of Car
By Pranay Gupte I thought that I should send you a few thoughts about writing in general, regardless of whether your audience is a college admissions committee, a professor who has assigned a topic for classroom discussion, or wider lay readers. I'm sending these pointers in the hope that you will continue developing as a writer -- even if you choose a differ
By Pranay Gupte DUBAI -- From his glass-walled office in the building that he shares with MasterCard, Dr Omar Bin Sulaiman sees a tranquil scene. There's a small lake in his backyard, ringed by neatly trimmed hedges from which rise gently sloping lawns. The glass exteriors of neighboring edifices reflect the tranquility. Soon, if Dr Sulaiman has his way, such
By Pranay Gupte The central issue in India today is that of good governance and how it will affect the country's economic prospects. Those prospects would appear to be promising, on the surface at least. With a population of 1.2 billion people, including a growing middle class of 300 million mostly urban residents, India is rapidly becoming the world
Human Rights Day Statement By Kenneth Roth New York, December 10 — As we commemorate Human Rights Day, we are challenged by how little the world has done to save the people of Darfur, in western Sudan, from the year’s greatest human rights disaster. With the Sudanese government and its ethnic militia well along in their campaign of murder, rape, pillage,
By Pranay Gupte You have only one constituency in journalism: your readers. Never forget who signs your paycheck: Your publisher. It is his newspaper. A journalist is, above all, a story-teller. Write simply and clearly. Use verbs liberally. Use adjectives sparingly. Don't just tell: show and tell.<BR
Dear Zak: Thanks for your gracious and thoughtful letter. I was quite touched by your sentiments concerning journalism, and I hope that you will be able to adhere to your values upon your return to Singapore. You write very eloquently indeed, and I will treasure your note for its substance, sentiments and sheer structure. As you must know by now, s
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