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Centre-stage but invisible

IT is a required skill in a stage-play for an actor to be centre-stage and be ready to become invisible to the audience. // http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?correlator=1310648297457&output=json_html&callback=GA_googleSetAdContentsBySlotForSync&impl=s&prev_afc=1&pstok=8W5K5ZAii1wKBRDE3JIW&client=ca-pub-8258178831251847&slotname=Dawn_Columnists_inside_468x90&page_slots=Dawn_Columnists_Ip_top_728x90%2CDawn_Columnists_inside_468x90&cookie=ID%3D7bc0595e8816825a%3AT%3D1303908499%3AS%3DALNI_MaWM22AkqRAF5fH1tLDjMKxcxeZPw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dawn.com%2F2011%2F07%2F14%2Fcentre-stage-but-invisible.html&ref=http%3A%2F%2Fdawn.com%2F&lmt=1310648297&dt=1310648298116&cc=100&biw=1007&bih=458&ifi=2&adk=501409342&u_tz=120&u_his=8&u_h=768&u_w=1024&u_ah=738&u_aw=1024&u_cd=24&u_nplug=7&u_nmime=23&flash=10.0.2&gads=v2&ga_vid=1393871594.1310648270&ga_sid=1310648270&ga_hid=1099309154&ga_fc=true// The trick, as theatre gurus such as Stanislavsky or Brecht would prescribe, is to harmonise your silence with the running dialogue of other actors on […]

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Why we will be poorer

Rapidly aging populations in the developed world, Japan and Europe especially, will place enormous demands on public pensions and health systems just as the number of taxpayers to pay the bills shrinks. Citizens of industrial nations have no choice but to accept lower returns on investment, reduced government largesse, and […]

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Mumbai rocked, Pakistan suspected

Terror returned to Mumbai on Wednesday nearly three years after the massive assault on the city that left 164 people dead. The latest attack was a relatively smaller incident, with three bomb blasts killing 21 people. The significance is no minor matter though, for while no group has claimed responsibility, […]

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Law professors protest Israel’s Boycott Law

JERUSALEM, July 14 (UPI) — Dozens of Israeli law professors are protesting the controversial Boycott Law that they say is unconstitutional but the government says is necessary. Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said he backs the law passed Monday, adding that the measure does not hurt Israel’s image, Haaretz reported […]

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Chavez expects chemo or radiation

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez (L) attends a mass at the military academy in Caracas July 12, 2011. Picture taken on July 12, 2011. CARACAS, Venezuela – President Hugo Chavez said for the first time Wednesday that he expects to undergo chemotherapy or radiation treatment, providing the clearest picture yet of […]

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Mumbai bomb blasts: Pakistan braced for blame game

As graphic pictures were broadcast on television of mangled bodies strewn across roads, commentators were quick to blame militant groups with ties to Pakistan’s intelligence services, particularly the army’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). The claims resonated in a city regularly traumatised by rush-hour attacks. The principal suspect in Wednesday’s bombings, Lashkar e-Taiba (LeT) […]

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Makkah realtors cash in on ‘jinn’ rumors

By BADEA ABU AL-NAJA | ARAB NEWS MAKKAH: There are widespread rumors among Makkawis claiming some abandoned buildings and estates are possessed by jinns. According to the widely circulated gossip, residents of these buildings located in various districts of the holy city, especially on the outskirts, say they vacated their […]

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Biryani for the racists

But whilst some middle-class Cambridge people were shouting abuse down megaphones at these wounded souls, one group were embracing the visitors to their city with moving courage. I spoke with members of the local mosque a few days before the rally – people were scared they said, they felt unprepared […]

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Mayan Warrior Sculptures Discovered In Mexico

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican archaeologists have found two 1,300-year-old limestone sculptures of captured Mayan warriors that they say could shed light on the alliances and wars among Mayan cities during the civilization’s twilight. (Scroll down for photos) The life-size, elaborate sculptures of two warriors sitting cross-legged with hands tied behind their backs […]