South of West

• Zardari Under Pressure to Send Warning to London

  Posted: July 30, 2010, 6:50 pm by Rob Crilly

  I filed this story last night. It made the front page, but got taken into another story and ended up essentially as a picture caption. It happens…. But anyway, I thought it said something interesting about the way Pakistan works. … Continue reading →

• Pakistan’s Miserable Week

  Posted: July 30, 2010, 9:48 am by Rob Crilly

  Not a great week for Pakistan: Monday: Wikileaks story breaks with hundreds of documents alleging that Pakistan’s intelligence service is working with Taliban and al Qaeda extremists Wednesday: Worst plane crash in country’s history with 152 people dead. David Cameron … Continue reading →

• Sudan’s Groundhog Day

  Posted: July 25, 2010, 11:11 am by Rob Crilly

  Sudan has reappeared briefly in the op-ed pages, first with Dave Eggers and John Prendergast urging US intervention to prevent a return to war following the South’s referendum on seccession. Now Marc Gustafson has responded with a pursuasive argument that … Continue reading →

• Postcards from Hell 6: Cherries in a box

  Posted: July 22, 2010, 10:45 am by Rob Crilly

  I made the mistake of leaving these cherries out of the fridge so they went a bit soft. But the glorious thing is not the cherries themselves, but their packaging. Lined up in neat rows like chocolates in a box, how … Continue reading →

• Postcards From Hell 5: Rose Petals

  Posted: July 19, 2010, 1:32 pm by Rob Crilly

  Baroness Warsi visited her ancestral village yesterday, the place that her father left 50 years ago in favour of England. She received a rock-star reception, with cheering, drumming and great cries of “zindabad”. But the best thing about it was the fistfuls of fragrant … Continue reading →

• Postcards from Hell: 4. Hospitality

  Posted: July 12, 2010, 6:44 pm by Rob Crilly

  This will be old hat to those of you who know Pakistan. But anyone who believes it is a failed state peopled by Western-hating suicide bombers will be surprised to learn that Pakistanis have taken the art of hospitality to … Continue reading →

• Explaining Away Terror

  Posted: July 11, 2010, 10:31 am by Rob Crilly

  Great piece in The Daily Times today by Hasan-Askari Rizvi on the failure of many Pakistani leaders to recognise the domestic nature of terror attacks. Instead they continue to reach for narratives that suggest a global conspiracy against Islam rather … Continue reading →

• Postcards from Hell: 3. The Media

  Posted: July 7, 2010, 7:10 pm by Rob Crilly

  Pakistan’s media houses have plenty of problems. The government is planning new laws that will restrict reporting of terror attacks and limit criticism of government. Reporters face risks every day as they go about their work. So far, six have … Continue reading →

• Postcards from Hell: 2. Murree Beer

  Posted: July 6, 2010, 9:22 am by Rob Crilly

    Murree beer may remind me of sixth form home brew experiments – and I gather their whisky is not what it used to be – but if there’s one thing I know about failed states it’s that they tend … Continue reading →

• Africa United?

  Posted: July 4, 2010, 12:03 pm by Rob Crilly

  I’ll be honest. I love that Shakira song. It’s trite and filled with stereotypes from grass skirts to bumshaking dances – and I know I shouldn’t like it. For as Brendan O’Neill points out at Spiked Online it captures everything that is wrong and patronising about this “African” World Cup… Ever since the opening ceremony, [...]

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Fish cakes

Alas a fish cake.

Yet more fish cakes

Guess what ... yeah ... fish cakes.

The end of the fish cakes