Dear Reader,

The world has not changed since the last issue, with my neighbouring country Pakistan now being the target of organised terror. With talibanist sentiments inching their way towards Islamabad, the big question now is when will enough be enough for the powers that be in Pakistan, and from a wider perspective, in Washington? The leaders of the latest nuclear state are sadly worried more about a to-a-large-extent-imaginary indo-pak conflict-to-be than about the trouble brewing in the North West. Oh yes, there have been a few small victories, but the question is no longer about how much land; rather it is about how many minds. How many minds in Pakistan have been won over by the Taliban? How many minds now think together to bring about the burqah revolution where every girl, every woman will be forced behind the cast iron curtain of the abayah? These are the real questions now; and yet, the Neros sleep, dreaming dreams of pulverizing a neighbouring country that is also the largest democracy in the world.

That, sadly, has always been the trouble with the state of Pakistan -  in any nation where the military controls the people politics can be no more than a mere ally for corruption, and in this underdeveloped country the attack is two pronged - from the Inter Services Intelligence or ISI which infiltrates far deeper into the system of governance than is warranted, and the Puppet Politicians who are forever wondering if they should dare to venture out of the clutches of the Military.

And we also have Washington - the seat where futures of entire nations are determined on laptops by people who possess scant knowledge of the culture, political dynamics, or indeed, the economics of these States. Even without delving into the history of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia and similar such, Washington's childlike attitude towards the world at large is brutally evident from the incidents rocking the Indo-Pak subcontinent. Having armed Afghanistan, a land of feudal warlords, Washington failed to realize the real threat until 9/11 and by then it was too late. A similar game was played with Islamabad - the tension between India and Pakistan is to a large extent due to Washington's overt and covert arming of Pakistan to counter the 'threat' of Moscow's support to India, little understanding the mindset and the culture of assimilation and co-operation that prevails in the subcontinent. Video games, anyone?

Thankfully, there are signs of change. With Mr Obama taking over the reins  in Washington there has been a noticeable shift in the nature of aid flowing through to Pakistan - less arms, more welfare. We ask - is the change soon enough? Only time can tell.

In this issue:

Poetry from Katherine Holmes

The Chinese Movie  - An Irving A Greenfield tale

Regina Green's Verses

Iron and Clay - A tale by Cetti Cherniak

Plus, there is more inside

~ Anirban