Remembering Taseer — In the Express Tribune Ayesha Tammy Haq reflects on the life and death of Salman Taseer. “Today he would have been 67-years-old but we have silenced him and with him, killed hope,” she writes. Moderate Pakistanis must speak out against the violence: “The quieter we stay, the more difficult it becomes for people to say anything.”
Freak Shows — If you can stomach one more second of Silvio Berlusconi’s sunburned hedonism, check out this profile by Ariel Levy in the New Yorker. It’s a fun read.
Rules of Engagement — In the Washington Post, Fred Hiatt, draws a parallel between Mubarak-led Egypt and Junta-led Burma. “Engagement in Egypt failed,” he argues. America must engage the Burmese “at the margins” and have faith that the “septuagenarian thieves” that rule represent the country’s past, not its future.
Missing Persons — After writing stories about the military involvement with al-Qaeda and the Afghan Taliban, a Pakistani reporter has vanished, reports Omar Waraich from Islamabad. Is the ISI involved?
Medical Ethics — In a smart piece for AJE, Donna Dickenson looks at the transnational dimensions of reproductive rights, particularly ‘reproductive tourism’ in the India and elsewhere.
Border Lines — The end of a 4-year-old blockade of the Gaza strip was supposed to herald a new era in Egyptian diplomacy regarding Israel and the Palestinians. But at the Rafah Crossing it appeared as if little had changed, finds TIME’s Abigail Hauslohner in Rafah.
Sex Scandals — “”When I see that a little chambermaid is capable of taking on Dominique Strauss-Kahn, I tell myself I don’t have the right to stay silent,” says one French woman. Bruce Crumley explores “post-DSK” France.
