STANDPOINT by Atique Naqvi

Kurdistan and the Middle East Jigsaw Puzzle Atique Naqvi | Boston Masoud Barzani's term ended in August 2015 but he refuses to step down. Masoud Barzani, the 70-year-old President of Iraqi Kurdistan, is an old man in a hurry. Barzani’s latest tweet about the referendum for Kurdish independence and an eventual breakaway from Iraq will add another chapter to the politically charged yet tragic soap opera in the Middle East theater. Barzani’s tweet last week read: “I am pleased to announce that the date for the independence referendum has been set for Monday, September 25, 2017.” The specific tweet not only took the Baghdad-based federal Iraqi government by an unpleasant surprise, it also sent chills in Ankara, Turkey, and Tehran, Iran. A couple of years back, when I met Barzani in Davos, Switzerland, on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum’s Annual Summit, he was more than happy to take me through the achievements of semi-autonomous state of Kurdista...

As they say it... at Hult Boston Atique Naqvi | Boston [Disclaimer: This is a fun blog, and should not be taken seriously] Students have their own lingo, and Hult students are no exception. Though 'Lingo' is a restaurant at Hult’s Boston campus, the students have developed their own lingo for everyday usage as witnessed in the past few months. Described in a dictionary as a ‘dialect’ or ‘unique phrases associated with a particular place’, students’ lingo at Hult’s Boston campus provides an interesting insight into the stressful everyday life of students. “You are all set”, most of us have heard this in Boston, time and again. I’ve been told numerous times that ‘you are all set’ in a bank, retail store, restaurants, bars and millions of Dunkin fukin’ Donuts around the city. However at Hult, students use numerous special phrases, and their origin or etymology is mysterious, to say the least. Here is a list, and assumed meanings, of some of the choi...