Shankar Tucker

I love talent and this kid is very talented.  Shankar Tucker is an American who was named Shankar because of a hindu guru that his parents follow.  He was tricked into playing the clarinet by his grandfather and soon came to love it.  He went to India and adopted his clarinet to Hindustani music under a flute master named Hariprasad Chaurasia in Mumbai.  Now he is slowly gaining fame with his youtube channel The Shrutibox.  The music here is amazing and when I first came across it I listened to "O re Piya" and couldn't figure out who Shankar Tucker was, but when i saw the subsequent videos I figured out it was the clarinetist and I had to look him up.  He plays with such feeling.  I love it!  You can tell he loves it and I end up loving it because of all the passion that was put into each adaptation or original songs.

I will definitely be paying attention to him from now on.

Pakistan's Military apparently hates civilians

After her first term as Prime Minister Benazir wrote a book about her time as Prime Minister.  She went on to serve another term and came back to Pakistan from exile to run a third when she was assassinated.

This is an interesting article especially knowing the history of Pakistan.  If you have netflix there is an interesting documentary following the Bhutto family who are very important to Pakistan's history.  If you watch it you will get a sense of some of Pakistan's history.  Its only been around for over half a century (65 years according to the article).  But its seen a lot of violence and turbulence.  It is very politically unstable and this makes it hard for the United States to work with them.  Pakistan is a very important strategic alliance for the United States to help achieve peace in the Middle East.  Pakistan itself could use the support of the United States to increase foreign investment if the country settles down.

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Indra Gandhi, Benazir Bhutto at a peace talks meeting .  Zulfikar was the first of the Bhuttos to run for Prime Minister of Pakistan.  Benazir Bhutto pictured here getting involved in politics at a very early age as Zulfikar's hostess during the peace talks with India.

Growing up I listened to a song that made it seem hopeful that Pakistan will become peaceful eventually, but with recent history and the instability that the military is creating there it doesn't seem like peace is feasible in the near future.  The song is about hope that Benazir Bhutto (first and youngest female prime minister in Pakistan) bringing prosperity to Pakistan and that her reign lasts for a long time.  Alas, she was assassinated for standing up to the military as a leader in the Pakistan People's Party.

Benazir Bhutto in Lahore Airport thanking God for allowing her to return to Pakistan from her exile in Dubai.  She returned to run as Prime Minister for the third time under the Pakistan People's Party (a party started by Zulfikar).

Here is an idea...cut funding to the military.  Their head is too big and needs to be deflated.  They need to realize that they are working for the people not ruling them.