10 Nuclear Powers

1. United States
2. Russia (formerly part of the Soviet Union)
3. United Kingdom
4. France
5. China
6. India
7. Pakistan
8. North Korea

9. Israel (so they say)

10. We don't know who else - Iran?

Words Farrukh Dhondy's private babel

I was in a charity shop a few weeks back and I stumbled across a book called Words by Farrukh Dondhy. I recognised the name from wayback. When I trained as a teacher (yes, I trained as an English teacher many moons ago). I remember a book of short stories for young people he had back then (Come to Mecca). Anyway this little book was right up my street. A rambling sort of book, it consists of a series of musings on words and their meanings with special reference to the Indian subcontinent where Mr Dhondy lived before coming to England to study Kipling and so on. If I tell you that he has worked for Channel 4 you will nt be surprised to hear that he lets himself down badly on the language front at a certain points, which is a shame. The core of the book, however, is full of interest. There were several areas where my understanding of the whole matter advanced (for example I was aware that bungalow is Indian but I had not connected it to the word Bengali). A good find.

Spectator Article

I picked this up from Guy Davies on Twitter. Unsurprising, it is a matter of concern. The BBC is in a  powerful position to choose what they consider to be news. See here.

Jhumpa Lahiri

Looking at books in my local Waterstones the other day I saw a book I knew was on my shelves so back home I pulled it down and started to read. It is a book of nine short stories by the American based Bengali Asian writer Jhumpa Lahiri. The collection actually goes back to the year 2000 but I am rather slow at getting round to things. Some neighbours of mine saw me reading it and were very enthusiastic about it. The stories are gentle and well written and coming from a culture I am not so familiar with have a certain impact beyond the obvious. Perhaps the best done, apart from the title piece Interpreter of maladies is When Mr Pirzada came to dine a childhood reminiscence from the time of the India Pakistan war concerning Bangla Desh. Well worth digging out.

10 countries whose name ends in -stan

1. Afghanistan
2. Kazakhstan
3.  Kyrgyzstan
4. Pakistan
5. Tajikistan
6. Turkmenistan
7. Uzbekistan
8. Hayastan (native name of Armenia)
9. Hindustan (India)
10. Kurdistan (not a country)

Plus ça change

I came across this remark in Jan Dalley's The Black Hole where she writes about the economic situation in 19th century India (which then included Pakistan and Bangla Desh). After describing the way the odds were stacked against the ordinary worker on the shop floor she says

"It was hardly surprising, given the number of people in this chain, each making a profit from the weaver's work, that the weavers themselves should be in terrible poverty."

Pray for Asia

Operation World urges us to pray today for Asia

Answer to Prayer

China is in the midst of amazing changes. Beyond the economic shift that has lifted hundreds of millions out of poverty, beyond the positive changes that the further opening of the country has brought, the Church in China is signalling a massive change in this, the world’s largest population. Christians in China now almost certainly exceed 100 million. They are present in all regions of the country and come from all walks of life. They love their country and have ambitious visions to see it transformed by the power of the gospel. The government, traditionally a ruthless persecutor of the Church, now recognizes the positive social impact Christians can make and increasingly accepts the reality that the Church in China is there to stay – and will play a major role in shaping the country’s future.
For an additional 8 Answers to Prayer see Operation World book, CD-ROM, or DVD-ROM.

Challenge for Prayer

The Himalayas region simmers with tension. The conflict over Kashmir is the most intractable of problems, with Pakistan and India (and China) holding conflicting claims over territory. The Kashmir dispute has profoundly shaped Pakistan’s domestic and foreign policies, has provoked an arms race between Pakistan and India and has already resulted in four wars. China and India are in dispute over territorial claims not just in Kashmir but also in Arunachal Pradesh and Ladakh. Strife also exists over India’s hosting of the Tibetan government-in-exile and in Tibet itself. Add to this the Nepal Civil War of 1996-2006 (and continuing tensions), and you have a region filled with potential flashpoints.
For an additional 8 Challenges for Prayer see Operation World book, CD-ROM, or DVD-ROM.

Aslam Masih

Barnabas Fund report

Aslam Masih, a 30-year-old Christian man imprisoned on a false charge of blasphemy in Pakistan, died on 9 September. He had fallen ill with various diseases, and was denied proper medical care. He was kept in solitary confinement without access to a toilet, water or electricity. He was receiving basic treatment in the prison hospital but required more specialised care; however, the prison authorities initially refused to allow him to go to a regular hospital in case he was assassinated. Aslam had been in prison in Lahore since his arrest in February 2010, having been falsely accused under Pakistan’s harsh “blasphemy law”. His family did not visit him during his time in prison, probably for fear of reprisals, and were not even there to collect his body. Pray for all Christians unjustly imprisoned for blasphemy in Pakistan.

For more see here,