Tariq Farid is the founder and CEO of Edible Arrangements, a successful international franchise business that specializes in delivering gifts of beautifully arranged bouquets of edibles like fruits and candy on holidays and various other special occasions. Currently in its 10th year of operation, the company boasts 883 franchise locations in the United States, the United Kingdom and Kuwait. The company earned $19.4 million in revenue last year, according to Inc.Farid has founded several other... Read Full Story
It is becoming increasingly important for nations to build knowledge-based economies to effectively compete and win in a globalized world. Here is a presentation by Vivek Wadhwa, a Duke professor, discussing facts and myths in the globalization debate:WadhwaView more documents from South Asian Studies Association.Related Links:Dr. Ataur Rehman Defends Higher Education ReformsHigher Education Transformation in PakistanPakistan's Choice: Globalization or TalibanizationPakistan's $2.8 Billion I... Read Full Story
Gender gaps are among the widest in South Asia. Pakistan is ranked at 132, third from the bottom on a list of 134 nations compiled by the World Economic Forum for 2009. Only Chad and Yemen rank worse than Pakistan. This is not a surprise considering one of the lowest female literacy rates in Pakistan. Pakistan's gender gap of 27% in literacy is worse than India's 22%. At overall literacy rate of only 52%, and with more than 50 million people illiterate, Pakistan has one of the lowest overall ... Read Full Story
The world media are focusing on scores of deadly terrorist attacks in the last four weeks claiming over 300 innocent lives in Pakistani cities, and tracking the military's counterinsurgency campaign unfolding in South Waziristan. However, the Pakistani blogosphere is buzzing with the news and pictures of the Fashion Week in Karachi. A series of fashion shows ended Saturday in which 30 Pakistani designers presented their creations. Karachi's Marriott hotel was the scene of the glamorou... Read Full Story
The world media are focusing on scores of deadly terrorist attacks in the last four weeks claiming over 300 innocent lives in Pakistani cities, and tracking the military's counterinsurgency campaign unfolding in South Waziristan. However, the Pakistani blogosphere is buzzing with the news and pictures of the Fashion Week in Karachi. A series of fashion shows ended Saturday in which 30 Pakistani designers presented their creations. Karachi's Marriott hotel was the scene of the glamorous event.... Read Full Story
The return of democracy in Pakistan last year has once again put feudal politicians firmly in charge of the nation's affairs. Both major parties, the PPP and the PML, are heavily dominated by the country's biggest landowners, who are reliability voted into power by their poor landless peasants making up the majority of the electorate in Pakistan. British writer William Dalrymple has accurately described the politics in Pakistan as follows: "There is a fundamental flaw in Pakistan's political... Read Full Story
In a recently published guest post on Haq's Musings, the author and Teach For India Fellow Rakesh Mani talks about his experience of volunteering with India's primary and secondary schools during the last six months. Mani argues that "there has to be something wrong with Indian society for it to allow its children to be among the most deprived and malnourished in the world". Mani laments the fact that "young kids are forced to submit to rote learning" and "they lose the critical consciousness... Read Full Story
The phrase "too big to fail" has gained currency in the United States to describe large and troubled financial institutions since the beginning of the banking crisis last year. The characteristics of such institutions include their large size and huge impact on the rest of the US banking system and the global economy at large. Seen in the context of regional and global geopolitics, are there any parallels between the the large US banks and the Pakistani state? Let's examine this... Read Full Story
The phrase "too big to fail" has gained currency in the United States to describe large and troubled financial institutions since the beginning of the banking crisis last year. The characteristics of such institutions include their large size and huge impact on the rest of the US banking system and the global economy at large. Seen in the context of regional and global geopolitics, are there any parallels between the the large US banks and the Pakistani state? Let's examine this proposition i... Read Full Story
Indira's Sikh assassins met swift justice, but the murderers of 3,870 innocent Sikhs still roam free a quarter of a century later. In addition to the Sikh pogrom, the year 1984 also saw a deadly gas leak in a factory owned by Union Carbide in Bhopal that killed over 2,000 people and left permanent injuries for many more for life.In reaction to the Sikh killings in Delhi and other places, Indira's successor and son Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi declared at a massive rally in the capital... Read Full Story
