The Future Is Another Country: 2050 And Beyond

tahmedsahab, dostmitter, stuka:

ww.mateela.com might also interest you gentlemen..it was doing rounds in the cultural scene in khi a few months ago..still getting rare reviews..it is a production house dealing mainly with making new and restoring old punjabi films, music, literature and making the same available on the net for those abroad and all..they have also branched out into silent movies very recently

soundmiester: dearie, childish i am..its so much fun acting like a cute lil 14 year old and getting away with taking peoples fulltime

saxena: pls say something horrid quick..youre freaking me out

mastram dear no money you see

Challenging chessboard of Asia

http://www.washtimes.com/commentary/20020208-7593024.htm

William R. Hawkins

President George W. Bush will soon embark on a diplomatic swing through Asia, which will include a summit in China with President Jiang Zemin.

Beijing`s support for the U.S. campaign against al Qaeda, tepid as it has been, has led some observers, particularly former members of the Clinton administration, to argue that China should again be considered a ``strategic partner.`` But a realist look at Beijing`s behavior demolishes this line of thought.

China has recently held naval maneuvers in the East China Sea with the apparent intent to pressure Taiwan. And Chinese interceptors have again been harassing American patrol aircraft flying over the South China Sea, recalling the crisis of last April 1 when a Chinese jet collided with a U.S. Navy EP-3 reconnaissance plane and forced it down on Hainan Island.

The state-run Chinese media have been critical of the United States and its president. The official journal Beijing Liaowang concluded in a year-end review, ``U.S. foreign policy under Bush is overbearing and extremely supercilious; it smacks of unilateralism, and obviously betrays the desire for exclusive domination.`` The Beijing Review, China`s leading English-language journal, opened the new year with an article claiming ``The September 11 tragedy, however, has not weakened America`s superior role in world dynamics; the United States has not given up its demand for world hegemony.``

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan said on Feb. 4 that China disapproves of the use of such words as the ``axis of evil`` in international relations. Mr. Kong also claimed that American public opinion does not support President Bush`s characterization of Iran, Iraq and North Korea as terrorist states. ``China always holds that anti-terrorism campaigns should be based on irrefutable evidence, and anti-terrorism attacks should not be expanded arbitrarily,`` said Mr. Kong.

Beijing has itself attempted to use ``anti-terrorism`` to justify suppression of the Muslim independence movement in Xinjiang Province, but this conflict has nothing to do with Sept. 11. Beijing well knows that Osama bin Laden`s focus was the United States. Bin Laden also trained fighters for war in Chechnya against Russia and in Kashmir against India, but he did not make the same effort to train fighters for Xinjiang. This was because the al Qaeda/ Taliban network was created and backed by China`s ally, Pakistan.

The Taliban even sent parts of U.S. cruise missiles fired in 1998 at al Qaeda camps to China for study. Chinese firms also set up the Taliban`s telecommunications system and shipped in weapons through Pakistan.

China`s ambitions remain what they were before September 11, and Beijing continues to see the United States as the main obstacle to fulfilling those ambitions. While seeking a ``multipolar`` world to weaken American influence, China has wanted a unipolar Asia with Beijing as its center. It has worked to isolate India, bully Taiwan, contain Japan, and divide the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).

China has been working hard to encircle India. In Tibet, Beijing has built all-weather military roads linking a chain of army bases, major airfields and ballistic missile sites. China is fast increasing its ability to launch deep strikes — by both aircraft and medium-range missiles, against major Indian targets in the hinterland. China still holds the disputed territory in the Aksai Chin, over which the 1962 war with India was fought and through which runs a vital logistical route supporting Beijing`s occupation of Tibet.

In Myanmar (Burma), long recognized as ``the back door to India`` China has strongly supported the military dictatorship by providing arms, and upgrading strategic infrastructure and port facilities. Beijing has built naval bases along Burma`s coastline in the Bay of Bengal, better designed to service Chinese warships than the nonexistent Myanmar fleet.

China is also sending arms and money to support the ``Maoist`` guerrillas in Nepal, and is the main supplier of arms to Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

Beijing`s strategic calculations have been thrown into turmoil, however, by the vigorous U.S. response to September 11. China sees the United States acquiring a new foothold in Central Asia and improving relations with Russia.

Chinese has long supported Pakistan`s jihad in Kashmir. Pakistan`s top military commanders met with their opposite numbers in Beijing at the height of the India-Pakistan crisis triggered by a terrorist attack on the Indian Parliament. This Chinese gambit against India has been damaged by American pressure on Islamabad to curtail the infiltration of guerrillas into Kashmir, and by the elimination of the Taliban.

Beijing views a potential U.S.-Indian military alignment with horror. Paired with the U.S.-Japan alliance, it would bracket China and bring into concert with Washington Asia`s other two major powers. Furthermore, the new Changi Naval Station in Singapore, the provision of new weapons to Taiwan, the reintroduction of American troops into the Philippines and U.S. discussions of collaborative work with regional allies on missile defense presents Beijing with the specter of having its encirclement strategy turned against it.

A prominent circle of Chinese military thinkers and hardline academics believe that Beijing needs to demonstrate its strength, rather than look meek, in the wake of the American demonstration of power in Afghanistan. They are urging President Jiang to more forcefully confront President Bush over issues like Taiwan, missile defense and any expansion of the war on terrorism.

Whatever the atmosphere of the summit turns out to be, President Bush needs to remember one thing; he had Beijing pegged right the first time.

China is a ``strategic competitor.``

William R. Hawkins is senior fellow for National Security Studies at the U.S. Business and Industry Council Educational Foundation.

``Chupp Chupp kharray ho,zaroor koi baat hai.``

``Kaun jeeta kaun haara,yeh kahaani phir sahee.``

__________________________________________________

Signs of a Cover-up at the Pentagon.

How many times did we see the video clips of the planes hitting the World Trade Centre? It was repeated almost like a loop on every channel until the horror of the event was permanently burned into our memories.

Yet what can be said of the plane crash at the Pentagon – we heard about it soon enough, but very few images were forthcoming on the day, and the bulk of what we saw afterwards were still photos of the collapsed portion of the pentagon and a few pictures of fire-fighters attempting to extinguish the blaze. No sign of any video recordings, very few witness reports and definitely nothing to show us the event as it happened.

Have a look at the following two links – it appears the Pentagon’s security cameras failed to capture the crash on CCTV, yet a nearby hotel and a gas station had security cameras which DID manage to capture the whole event. Pretty poor security at the Pentagon – its just a wonder that no-one else is trying to attack the world’s only superpower if the security cameras on their military command centre can’t manage to film a plane crashing into the building. The FBI came and confiscated all the tapes without even having the common courtesy to give them to CNN so we could see them 56 times a day. Were they worried that we might see pieces of paper with state secrets on them flying out of the building? What exactly are they worried we might see?

http://www.gertzfile.com/ring092101.html

Video of attack

The electronic news media have broadcast repeatedly the attack on the World Trade Centre. They are perhaps the most dramatic news images since the explosion of the first atomic bomb over Hiroshima.

Now word has reached us that federal investigators may have video footage of the deadly terrorist attack on the Pentagon.

A security camera atop a hotel close to the Pentagon may have captured dramatic footage of the hijacked Boeing 757 airliner as it slammed into the western wall of the Pentagon. Hotel employees sat watching the film in shock and horror several times before the FBI confiscated the video as part of its investigation.

It may be the only available video of the attack. The Pentagon has told broadcast news reporters that its security cameras did not capture the crash.

The attack occurred close to the Pentagon`s heliport, an area that normally would be under 24-hour security surveillance, including video monitoring.

http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=cache:cEYcct0w1g8C:www.militarymarket.com/+nex+gas+station+camera+pentagon&hl=en

NEX camera captures Pentagon crash

Security cameras at a NEXCOM-operated gas station recorded the Sept. 11 crash of a hijacked passenger airliner into the Pentagon, Navy sources have said.

The security tape, which sources said clearly shows the American Airlines jet ploughing into the building and exploding, was turned over to the FBI.

The gas station is located on a hill south of the Pentagon. Its security camera is aimed to record cars coming and going from the gas pumps. The angle of the camera gives a clear view of the side of the Pentagon where the 757 jet hit, sources said.

The tape’s existence has not been discussed publicly by military officials or federal investigators.

What exactly do they not want us to see?

Here are two abstracts of articles taken from the Daily Press:

`HORRIFIC` IMAGE STILL HAUNTS SURRY WOMAN DISASTER VIEWED FROM ARLINGTON

Daily Press; Newport News; Sep 14, 2001; TERRY SCANLON Daily Press;

Abstract:

Her brother, [Keith Wheelhouse], of Virginia Beach, spotted the planes first. The second plane looked similar to a C- 130 transport plane, he said. He believes it flew directly above the American Airlines jet, as if to prevent two planes from appearing on radar while at the same time guiding the jet toward the Pentagon.

Wheelhouse`s account of a second plane is unlike everything else that has been reported about the attack. Some initial reports on television said a second airliner might be headed for the Pentagon, but authorities later dismissed that. A Norfolk-based FBI agent interviewed Wheelhouse Wednesday evening.

A possible explanation for the second plane could be a plane landing at nearby Ronald Reagan National Airport. The Pentagon is between the cemetery and the airport. But Wheelhouse insists he was not confused by other air traffic.

HAMPTON ROADS WOMAN SAYS SHE, TOO, SAW PLANE FOLLOWING JET THAT HIT PENTAGON

Daily Press; Newport News; Sep 15, 2001; TERRY SCANLON Daily Press;

Abstract:

Kelly Knowles, a First Colonial High School alumnus who now lives in an apartment a few miles from the Pentagon, said some sort of plane followed the doomed American Airlines jet toward the Pentagon, then veered away after the explosion.

At the same time, [Keith Wheelhouse] and his sister, Pam Young, who lives in Surry, were preparing to leave a funeral at Arlington National Cemetery, which is less than a mile from the Pentagon, when they watched the jet approach and slam into the Pentagon. Both of them, as well as at least one other person at the funeral, insist that there was another plane flying near the hijacked jet.

A follow up article to these two can be seen at this link. (From the Google cache)

Over a month later Pentagon officials finally decide to deliver a convenient story that the mystery plane WAS in fact a c-130 that flew out of Andrews Air force base and just happened to see flight 77 on its way to destruction. It followed the plane on a request from air traffic control. If this is true, surely you’d think that a fighter from the same base could have intercepted the plane instead of having to ask a c-130 that just happened to be in the area to have a look?

All of this certainly adds a lot of fuel to the popular theories that the planes were being flown by remote control, especially now we have evidence to suggest that an unknown plane or flying object has been sighted at the WTC, flight 93 and now at the Pentagon.

WTC object caught on camera as plane hits: http://www2.justnet.ne.jp/

suxena #524, ``yeah, i missed you too...the bleach didn`t do it? try some mirchi mixed with lime juice. that`ll do it.``

hmmm, you seem to speak from experience. do you still have nightmares about it..

as for mirchi with lime juice, i`ll save it for eating dry chanas.

Rsaxena

ohh well let me ruin it some more - have I ever told you that you are the mostest sweetest person on chowk.

he he he i hope you are breaking out into hives reading this : )

aicha

samina:

“You, Tamed, Dost Mittar and Prem are an example of whats so compelling about Chowk.

(And scout, anNy, sadna are wonderful as well)”

….ahem, ahem…

veereshsaab (sounds so much better than unkil, right? : ))

“Here is another one: the English print and tv media in India has never been more ir-relevant now than during any election in the past.”

….how’s that? does the u.p. electorate not like english? …btw, you never got around to telling us why gandhi never won the peace prize….would be very interested in your thoughts….and how is surhavi?…remind her to def. visit sargodha next time she comes….as for your charpoy in jhang…maybe one day:)…

samina

``Hydra

When you get up in the morning, how do you decide which personality youre going to be? Do you rub your eyes, look in the mirror and say ``I feel very Kim today!``? Or is it ``Sunny days mean Aamir, rainy days mean Fatima``?``

...uh-uh...picks one out of a hat....

saminashah, anyone, you might find this interesting :)

http://www.nytimes.com/2002/02/09/arts/09SPIV.html
Creating a Stir Wherever She Goes
Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak had been invited by a group of scholars on this chilly January evening to give a talk at the Penniman Library of the University of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia. ``They have read Gayatri`s paper,`` said Ms. Spivak, a professor in the humanities at Columbia University who sometimes refers to herself in the third person. ``And they said they couldn`t understand it.``

Ms. Spivak, wearing a sari, with vivid pink highlights in her crewcut hair, looks a little like Grace Jones. She originally wrote the paper, called ``Moving Devi,`` as a catalog essay for a 1999 museum exhibition of representations of Devi, the divine female principle in Hindu mythology.

``People had some problem following her argument,`` Sanjay Krishnan, a professor of English who organized the talk, explained respectfully. Mr. Krishnan is a Spivak admirer. Like the other 17 members of the audience, he was looking forward to the lecture. After all, Ms. Spivak, 59, is a celebrity in academia. (Her r *sum * of publications, lectures and awards has now reached 41 pages.) She was one of the first translators of Jacques Derrida into English and one of the most famous practitioners of postcolonial studies, devoted to the culture of people of the former colonies.

Ms. Spivak began. ``What does `Moving Devi` mean?`` he asked.

``The answer,`` she said, ``is a change in the relation of the subject who is writing from a place where Devi belongs as she slowly moves into the text of the museum. What I`m looking at here is that itinerary, not the nostalgic identatrianism of the metropolitan migrant.``

As she spoke, Ms. Spivak summoned a dazzling array of references: Marx, Hegel, Freud, Lacan, Rilke, Aristotle, and Hindu and Sufi mysticism. ``The Sufi is not invaginated in the polytheistic universe,`` she said, ``but the supernatural is invaginated in the natural.``

Got all that? Hard going for the layman as well as for some academics.

``She certainly enjoys celebrity status in our profession,`` Michael Rosenthal, a colleague of Ms. Spivak`s in Columbia`s English department, said in an interview. ``But I don`t think I am alone sometimes in finding it difficult to understand what exactly she is saying.``

Indeed, over the years Ms. Spivak has become almost as famous for her dense writing style as for her theories about colonial oppression. ``Spivak is so bewilderingly eclectic, so prone to juxtapose diverse notions without synthesis, that ascribing a coherent position to her on any question is extremely difficult,`` Stephen Howe wrote in The New Statesman and Society, a British weekly. Fred Inglis, a professor at the University of Sheffield in England, derided Ms. Spivak`s work in the Times Higher Education Supplement as ``preposterous.``

And the Oxford scholar Terry Eagleton, in a much talked-about essay in The London Review of Books, called Ms. Spivak ``pretentiously opaque.``

He cited ``a wretched sentence, like `the in-choate in-fans ab-original para- subject cannot be theorized as functionally completely frozen in a world where teleology is schematized into geo-graphy.` ``

Still, Mr. Eagleton wrote, Ms. Spivak is ``among the most coruscatingly intelligent of all contemporary theorists, whose insights can be idiosyncratic but rarely less than original.``

``She has probably done more long- term political good, in pioneering feminist and post-colonial studies within global academia than almost any of her theoretical colleagues,`` he continued.``

Edward Said, Ms. Spivak`s colleague at Columbia, echoed the praise in an interview: ``She pioneered the study in literary theory of non-Western women and produced one of the earliest and most coherent accounts of that role available to us.``

Ms. Spivak, who was born in Calcutta, first made her reputation with her 1976 translation of Mr. Derrida`s ``Of Grammatology.`` Then, in 1985, she published her landmark essay ``Can the Subaltern Speak?,`` about the inability of the powerless to express themselves. Subaltern originally meant a junior officer in the British Army, but it has been co- opted by academics studying groups particularly oppressed by colonial powers. Ms. Spivak argued that the experiences of such groups are inevitably distorted by the perspectives of the elite who are describing them Ñ academics, for instance.

In this essay Ms. Spivak also extended the meaning of subaltern to apply specifically to women in colonial countries. She examined the suicide of an Indian woman, Bhubaneswari Bhaduri, in 1926. The suicide was originally attributed to Bhaduri`s distress over an out-of-wedlock pregnancy. Ms. Spivak pointed out that Bhaduri was not, in fact, pregnant. She said Bhaduri killed herself because she could not bear to take part in a political assassination. This woman ``was not heard,`` Ms. Spivak said, because she was defined only within the narrow limits of gender.

Such an approach has put Ms. Spivak on one side of a bitter divide. Like many college English departments around the country, Columbia`s is split between cultural theorists like Ms. Spivak, who study the political, social and psychological forces that drive culture, and more traditionally minded scholars.

And in a place where petty slights can take on gargantuan proportions, it doesn`t help that Ms. Spivak, unlike most professors, has her own secretary. ``I negotiated this when I came because I had a very busy office,`` she said.

In 1986 she published another important essay in the journal Critical Inquiry. She disagreed with Sandra M. Gilbert and Susan Gubar Ñ authors of ``The Madwoman in the Attic`` (Yale University Press), a feminist analysis of 19th-century women who were authors Ñ who had depicted Bertha, Mr. Rochester`s insane wife in Charlotte Bront‘`s ``Jane Eyre,`` as Jane`s dark double.

``I found it more interesting that she was a Creole from Jamaica,`` Ms. Spivak recalled. Bront‘ also used animal imagery to describe Bertha. ``They thought it was O.K. to represent her in these animalistic terms,`` Ms. Spivak said.

``It told us about the society when someone could present someone from the colonies as an animal,`` she observed. ``We are also marked by our time as she was by hers.``

Ms. Spivak comes from the first generation of Indian intellectuals after the country`s independence. Her father, Pares Chakravorty, was a doctor. ``I am, unfortunately, a Brahmin,`` Ms. Spivak said, ``but from an inferior sect of the Brahmin cast.``

Her highly intellectual mother, Sivani, did charitable work and is an avid reader of her daughter`s work. When she read Ms. Spivak`s translation of Mr. Derrida, Ms. Spivak recalled, her mother said it reminded her of Madhyamika Buddhist sacred texts. ``Then,`` Ms Spivak remembered, ``she said, `But dear, how are you going to reconcile your communism with this?` ``

Despite her sari and her frequent references to Indian culture, Ms. Spivak dislikes being identified as a scholar of India, a label she attributes to ``benevolent racism.``
``I am a Europeanist,`` she said.

She attended a Christian missionary school and the University of Calcutta. Her graduate work was at Cornell, ``on borrowed money, before multi-culti,`` she said, adding, ``I was a brilliant student.`` When she wrote her dissertation on Yeats, her adviser was Paul de Man, who was later found to have written pro-Nazi newspaper articles in wartime Belgium. ``I have seen all around me profound contradictions, colleagues who speak about Arabs in an unspeakable way,`` she said of de Man`s anti- Semitism. ``Hegel says unspeakable things about Africa, but I can still use Hegel.``

In 1964 Ms. Spivak married a fellow student, Talbot Spivak. They divorced in 1977. Then, while teaching at the University of Iowa, she began a 10-year relationship — which she calls ``a second marriage,`` although it was not legally binding — with one of her students, who was nine years younger. ``People wanted to see if he got an easy Ph.D.,`` she said. ``I was incredibly hard on him.`` (Today many colleges prohibit professors from dating students.) She has been separated for 10 years from her second husband, Basudev Chatterji, a history professor at Delhi University. She has no children.

Ms. Spivak is in demand around the world for talks and lectures, causing a stir wherever she goes. In the United States, she usually wears a sari, sometimes with combat boots; when in India, she often wears jeans, she says. She objects to comments about her exotic appearance.

``Since they can`t talk about my work,`` she said, ``I say they talk about my style.`` She admits, though, to sometimes being flattered by the attention. ``At a gay costume party in Cairo, someone came dressed as Gayatri; this is an admiring thing,`` she said.

Ms. Spivak also bristles at criticism of her writing. ``When academics say I`m difficult to understand, I don`t pay attention because I think they are saying, `This does not deserve to be understood,` `` she said. ``No student ever complained at the end of a course.``

The scholars at the University of Pennsylvania weren`t complaining, either; they were just trying to understand.

Aditya Behl, an associate professor in the university`s department of religious studies, asked Ms. Spivak about a particular passage: `` `If multicultural mulch begins to affect museal practice,` `` he read, `` `it will have happened in the middle voice, neither active nor passive — an expressive instrument we have lost in modern grammars.` ``

Mr. Behl said he was ``perplexed by this seeming that Devi is rendered inaccessible to the metropolitan migrant.``

Ms. Spivak told him: ``It`s not that it can`t enter the museum. You have to be able to recognize it without its cultural dress.``

Of course.

re: aicha

{{ absolutely mortified - and I abs agree with Harpreet - I think you are pretty cool too!! }}

uhh...if you wanna be nice to people, please go somewhere else...you are ruining chowk for everyone...

:)

re: spout

{ hi moron, i missed you. i did wash my eyes out, with bleach. and they still feel dirty. }

yeah, i missed you too...the bleach didn`t do it? try some mirchi mixed with lime juice. that`ll do it.

dost-mittar . . . I travel a fair bit in connection with keeping body, soul and family together but mostly by plane which is so synthetic . . . so train rides are always used by me to analyse the state of the nation by checking out on cream roll and dosa quality as well as price . . .and standing satiated at VT on a comfortable day weatherwise with the option of travelling 1st AC for 600/- I see no reason why I should not travel general class for all of 55/- rupees ( a dollar and 10 cents now) over a distance of almost 200 kilometres and in the same train . . . to add to the fun, 2nd Class compartments usually have wires leading out from the fan/light wall switch outlets used by people to listen to their transistors so I could use my laptop also without worrying about battery running out which I cannot do in the dignified environs of AC for more than 2 hours.

saminasha . . . I think the best reportage on Enron in India was from The Economist . . . they have been giving the truth as they saw it (John Elliot, I think) for the last few years. What is new about Enron in India, it is just a flagrant continuation of the same thing that our ``better`` leaders of yore did with so much class/style - rip the country.

Reply cutandpaste # re: Onion article on Amoco conflict

I take back every unkind thought I have ever had about you. You are a star. You illuminate. We would be dull and lifeless without you. Cutandpaste ki jai.

Reply Soundmeister # 501

``Zafar-bhai.... your argument, forgive me, is really stupid.``

waaaaaah!

``Even assuming you are right in saying that more Muslim bhais do gaali-galochh on Hindu behens than vice-versa``

Look, I admit asking anybody to count these things is excessive...but it`s true...(sniff)

``1. In a truly liberated society, you should be as profane to a woman as a man, ideally, because you are beyond social niceties and speak uninhibited. Example would be the way i converse with really close friends, regardless of their sex.``

But chowk is not a truly liberated society. Not that I think the use of wulgurrrr langvayge is a perfect indicator of liberation, but how many women use it, and how many men use it?

``2. The fact remins that the composition of this site`s visitors is largely Pakistani, and the kind of Indians who DO patronise are more or less from the same stratum, not to mention, they are intimidated by the sheer Paki-ness of it all :))).``

We`re here because we dig it! Truly. We like you heaps - why else would we keep coming back for more? (But our kebabs, I must tell you, are definitely better, not that I`ve ever tasted uss paar ke, magar koi baath nahin, yeh mujhe patha hai...)

``Add to that mix the fact that anonymity on this site is rather a thin veil, compared to other sites, because the interactors are by and large the same people with a few changes over time. So forgive my co-religionists for being more polite than they intend to be.``

Totally not understood, but forgiven, forgiven...(btw have NO IDEA which religion etc. and find that I quite like it that way. :-)

Veeresh,

Agreed that events taking place in the US are not the focus of the world`s attention; in Enron`s case I`ve noticed that the US media has neglected to mention its pretty cutthroat deals in Argentina and India. What exactly were Enron`s deals with India?

In terms of Argentina`s crisis, it might help us to understand some of the corporate forces leading to this country`s troubles. Also, in terms of the WFO meetings in NYC;(which were moved from Switzerland to avoid the growing protest movements in Europe)would it not be instructive to make some linkages here?

regards

http://www.theonion.com/onion3804/indo-pakistani_tensions.html

DETROIT— Indo-Pakistani tensions continue to escalate this week at the Eight-Mile and Telegraph Road Amoco, where hostilities between owner Rajesh Srinivasan and in-store Subway mini-franchise manager Majid Ashraf threaten to spill over into all-out war.



``We have made every effort to extend the hand of friendship to the Pakistani delegation that runs the Amoco Mart`s Subway Express,`` said the India-born Srinivasan, 49, in a statement to the press Monday. ``But that hand, my own hand with which I built this business for my family, has been repeatedly and without remorse slapped away.``

Leased and operated by Pakistani immigrant Ashraf and his family since March 1999, the in-store Subway occupies 30 percent of the Amoco Mart`s total retail space. Ever since their arrival, the Ashrafs have been the subject of increasingly inflammatory rhetoric from Srinivasan, who charges, among other things, that they are not mopping their fair share of the disputed territory near the coolers.

In a terse Feb. 1 statement to reporters, Ashraf struck back.

``I come to America to make business, not to be insulted by the son of a New Delhi whore,`` Ashraf said. ``I take my orders from [Subway regional manager] Larry [Ferber], not from son-of-b itch Indian dog who says to me where I mop and where I not mop.``

Though tensions have existed ever since the Ashrafs took over the Subway, the situation began sharply deteriorating in December of last year. Upon seeing Srinivasan sweep the parking lot at his wife`s behest, Ashraf mocked his Indian counterpart, calling him ``a quaking little baby goat`` and questioning the manhood of ``anyone who would take orders from a woman.``

``What Majid doesn`t recognize is that there are significant differences between his Islamic culture and Rajesh`s Hindu culture regarding gender roles,`` said Dr. James Sasser, a Harvard professor of Middle Eastern studies. ``But, to be fair, Rajesh didn`t help matters when he came after Majid with that squeegee.``

Relations further deteriorated on Jan. 20, when a dispute over cleaning-supplies inventory led to a full-blown shouting match between the small-business owners. For 45 minutes, Srinivasan and Ashraf loudly traded insults in full view of customers, and the episode reached its apex when Srinivasan called Ashraf ``a filthy, lying cheat lower than the untouchable caste of my native land.``

Srinivasan then spit on the floor in disdain, prompting Ashraf to retaliate by hurling an economy-sized container of Janitor In A Drum™ at his rival`s head.

Though the skirmish resulted in no serious injuries, it did end what little dialogue there had been between the two sides. Neither Ashraf nor Srinivasan is currently speaking to the other, and both are said to be hiding the employee bathroom key in an attempt to force the other out.



Acquired by the Srinivasan family in 1987, Eight-Mile and Telegraph Road Amoco has long been a hotbed of Indo-Pakistani tension, as its strategic location makes it critical to Pakistani cab drivers needing to refuel on their way from Detroit garages to the more lucrative suburban trade routes. Fluctuating gas prices have, over the years, resulted in strained relations between the station`s Indian owners and its Pakistani cab-driver customers, but the economic interdependence of the two groups in a highly competitive climate kept such tensions in check.

Given the volatility of the current situation, officials from Amoco and Subway, who license franchise rights to the Srinivasan and Ashraf families, are keeping a close eye on the troubled region.

``Something must be done, or we`re looking at a situation that could lead to all-out war,`` said Frederick Foss, Subway director of franchise relations for southeast Michigan. ``It`s in the best interests of everyone in the area that positive relations are maintained between the two sides.``

Community members are equally eager to see stability restored to the once-peaceful Amoco. Among the concerned local residents are Sandy Kreil, the nurse who gets coffee at the Amoco Mart on her way to work; local panhandlers ``Dan-O`` and ``Malik``; and Frannie Koenig, the elderly woman who drops in every morning for a Diet Dr. Pepper and a pack of Newport Lights.

In spite of the concern, diplomatic initiatives on the part of Subway and Amoco officials have met with failure.

``I do not see why I must refill ice machine every day when Ashraf`s customers have taken away 40 percent of my business for soda,`` said Srinivasan before walking out on a Jan. 11 negotiating session. ``You go die, Mr. Ashraf. I am not listening to you anymore.``

In the wake of the breakdown in negotiations, many observers are fearful that the Indian family will ``drop the bomb`` and refuse Ashraf access to the Dumpster behind the station, effectively forcing him to pay for a separate commercial garbage service and increase his costs beyond profitability. This move would leave Ashraf with little choice but to retaliate with a strike against the candy aisle.

``If such a scenario were to unfold, the devastation unleashed upon the Amoco and its surrounding environs would be vast,`` Sasser said. ``Without the Amoco Mart, locals would have to go all the way over to the Exxon on Gratiot [Avenue] for gas and snacks. Something must be done immediately, or it could spell doomsday for everyone.``

Enron? What do I say about Enron? I say that anybody investing anywhere in the sub-Continent must (a) always be ready for fast exit (b)appreciate that we learnt the art of renegotiating contracts from the Brits and (c) I think enron stuck a lot of Indian Financial Institutions as well as Sovereign India with plenty of bad debts.

Vaise it has been a learning curve for many ``business journalists`` here who are not looking for jobs.

Here is another one: the English print and tv media in India has never been more ir-relevant now than during any election in the past.