Protests, Strikes And Death

Look at the newspapers today and what meets the eye is same old themes of pain, gain, insensitivity, death, hunger, strikes and drones. These days all the news revolve around these painful but powerfully throbbing with life motif- though ironic that most of them are directly or indirectly related to death - the grim reaper that is the harbinger of lethal sadness.


The saddest is the death of several Afghan civilians at the hands of NATO. This war on terror has claimed so many innocent lives that it has turned out to terrorise a huge population both in Afghanistan and Pakistan. We very dearly and sincerely condole our Afghan brothers and sisters and pray for the bereaved families who have tonnes of heartache to go through to be able to live it out.


Then comes the sad fact that the hunger-protest of the Teachers's Association of Balochistan has entred into its seventeenth day with a few of them had to be taken to hospital since their conditioned worsened. But what is glaringly shameful is that the government has neither shown any remorse nor offered any words of kindness. 

US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said that the US will not be "gouged" by Pakistan on the price it says it will charge for overland deliveries. In connection to this whatever has happened during the last two weeks is weird to many. Looking from that side the Pakistan government appeared very week and ready to give in to the pressure from the NATO. President Zardari was expected to announce the opening of NATO supply routes while in Chicago. Everybody was incensed back in Pakistan and huge protests had been planned especially by the Defense Of Pakistan Council which had to be cancelled when the President did not go forth with the announcement. Why he did this is something that only he can tell. But one thing is for sure that not making this announcement has brought a hiatus in all the angry voices that have been raging on against The People's Party.


The break that came between 'alliance' of Pakistan and USA has deepened with the sentencing of the doctor who helped capture Usama Bin Ladin. The court that issued the sentence obviously saw it is as a treachery to Pakistan and the Constitution. But all this has not in the least been able to heal the wounds caused by the killing of the twenty-four soldiers at the hands of NATO Forces that was the second incident owing to which the relations of the two countries plunged to the lowest.


Now the news that both the Tehreek-e Insaf and the Muslim League (N) plan to go to the Supreme Court against the ruling out of the PM's disqualification by the Speaker Dr Fehmida Mirza.


There are so many wars going on in Pakistan - war between the Pakistan and the USA governments on the price of NATO supply routes, war between the Pakistan government and the Teachers' Association in Balochistan, war between the Pakistan government and the judiciary, war between the Pakistan government and the masses about power shortage in the country and huge scale of unannounced 'load-shedding' and last but not the least war between the Pakistan government and the different political parties especially the Tehreek-e Insaf and the PML(N).


And the most shocking thing midst all this chaos is that neither the President nor the Prime Minister is seen utter a word of consolation to the people of Pakistan about the poverty, power shortage and the other injustices going on around the country. On the contrary Mr Gilani is seen speaking most of the time 'about' constitution. He has been reduced to defending his own position regardless of whatever happens in the country.

Another achievement by Pakistani Students

Another achievement by Pakistani Students

I happened upon this image on facebook. It has been taken from a newspaper - there is no indication as to from which paper. This piece of news states that a group of Pakistani students has prepared bio-diesel. All the ingredients are easily available in Pakistan videlicet: methanol, used and unused cooking oil (I bet: You are smiling! ) .


Here it is!

In order to take a look at the 'original' please click here.


Most of the comments seemed to celebrate it as an evidence of the Pakistani students' intelligence. Some thought that it was a fake news and they also said that the image was fake. One joked asking when they were going to the USA - hinting towards the brain drain that is happening in Pakistan.


The problem with Pakistan is that its citizens do not bring themselves up to practise the best ideas.


We all know the best of all the best ideas - submit yourself completely to Allah and He will overturn everything for you but we do not. We have the Quran, we have the Hadeeth but we are still 'down-trodden' in the World. Simply because we do not act out this best of the best ideas.


Pakistan has second largest salt mine, fifth largest gold mine, fifth largest coal reserves, seventh largest copper mine. Besides Pakistan is fifth largest milk producer, eleventh largest wheat producer and twelfth largest rice producer. Despite all these treasures we are a pauper in the world and our leaders go begging regularly.


In such a situation when Prime Mininter Gilani is asked by the CNN that one third Pakistanis want to leave Pakistan, the reply that our brilliant Prime Miniter has is, "And why don't they leave then? Who's stopping them?"


Watch for yourself! (It is a just-over 4 min long video clip. If you want to go exactly at the point I just mentioned please go at 1:26. Otherwise watch the whole clip and the second half of it shows Imran Khan in an interview on BBC in the program "Hard Talk". And you will see the difference between the two leaders.)


Please note carefully that after Mr Gilani said "Who's stopping them" there was pin-drop silence in the studio and our birdbrain and dimwit of the Prime Minister kept grinning from ear to ear, maybe thinking that he had turned the tables on the interviewer whereas he was making a mockery of himself and Pakistan.














So in a situation like this which idea this Prime Minister or his boss will help to materialise. All the world is laughing at us.


Please keep in mind that the disappointing interview of our Prime Minister should not keep our students from carrying on working hard and trying their best to achieve the best for this country.


The wealthy, in this case, should come forward and help these budding Pakistani engineers and the likes of them. As a nation we have to make it a do-it-yourself job. Our government will not help us!




Source:   The source of my statistics is an article from the homepage of the website: Potential Of Pakistan 

An Amazing Young Lady

I watched this video and I couldn't resist sharing it. This cute little angel of three years has got an IQ of 130. Please watch the video. (Please note: There may be an advert at the beginning of the video. The video clip in question begins after that advert.)

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

This little girl of only three years is amazingly talented with an IQ of 130 at this tender angelic age. Her mother says that she was surprised to see her daughter use advanced vocabulary and complex sentences.

Is Your Password Strong Enough?

Is Your Password Strong Enough?

How to make a strong password? - is the question that has been haunting me for too long now (like I believe it must have been worrying all of you - the readers). I have been trying to devise newer passwords for my accounts on the internet every now and then.


Internet security is a huge problem these days. We are beginning to rely more and more on internet in our daily life. So it is a headache for many to devise and use strong passwords.

Here are a few of the rules/tips I have discovered over the years:

a) Variety: Use a variety of characters in your password, from letters and numbers to symbols


b) More Than One Language: If you know another language why not use an unfamiliar (to others) word from that language.


c) Use two or more than two words. Each of them can be from a different language.


d) Always use numbers in your passwords. Care must be taken about adding numbers though. Some of the experts say that if a number is at the end of a password it is very easy to hack however long that password is. So keep the numbers wrapped by letters on both sides.


e) Make a memorable sentence and take the initial, middle or last letters from words in that sentence (better to use them in different combinations) and use them as passwords.


f) Use a group of two or three unrelated words. If this step is used with "a), b) and/or d)" it will deliver a very difficult password.

Things to Remember:

There are a few things to remember:

a) Words from the different language(s), if used, must be easy to remember and take care not to drop them anywhere in your conversation and better still not to use them even in any of your writings.


b) Never write a password. Learn it by heart.


c) Never send a password in email, text or while chatting.

Useful links:

Following are the useful links that will give further insight into the subject.


a) An article from The New York Times. Titled: A Strong Password Isn't The Strongest Security it was published in 2010 but is good on how to make our online accounts secure.


b) Create Strong Passwords (Microsoft.com)


c) Top 5 Strongest Passwords It is a good website overall as well.

Terrorism

YouTube!

The Modern Pakistan

           I happened upon this video on YouTube. I watched it and had a mix of feelings.

If you want to watch this video on YouTube, click here!

We are bound to have clashing emotions and views after waching this video. It bares one of the core issues of today's Pakistan that is in the limelight for the past decade or so. We are a varied nation with as many different tastes as any other nation in the World. Some people might think that such rock-n-roll clubs with people dancing around like hippies, girls, half-clad girls to be exact (though there were no really half-clad girls in this video but that is what most of Pakistanis will call them) moving around, music playing at the top of the volume and DJ's dancing and changing songs like they have been doing it since they crossed the threshold into youth and last but not the least some youth saying that this is another side and meaning that a positive side of Pakistan as against bombings, drone attacks and Usama hiding in our country are really good for us. But most of the Pakistanis do not feel at ease in such an atmosphere.

Now there are a few points I want to make here.

First of all it is the thinking and the 'abrasive' side of Pakistan that is portrayed around the World in all the Western media without fail and without any thought to the negative repercussions it might have on the masses in Pakistan. There is so much hatred for Pakistan and Pakistanis. Here I think the problem is that we are compared to Indians. Since India is a strong (or at least so believed and projects the Westers media) country with a good economy, stable democratic institutions and a good number of people that (again this is what is believed generally and most of it is true) are literate. This plays a huge role in changing the mindset of our youth and at least some of them when they see such negativity about their country they tend to think why it is so and act accordingly changing to render themselves as 'good, fun-loving people'.

Second thing is many of the youth especially in big cities are going abroad to some part of Europe or America. When they see this culture there they inevitably are influenced. Some are so much 'impressed' by it that they completely change and do not for a good amount of time look back towards Pakistan. I personally call these youths twisted because in the heat of the moment they even drink. Some of them believe it to be a blessing that they are 'free' to do whatever they want. I personally know a few of such people at least who take great pleasure in clubbing and drinking.

The third but the most important factor in alienating our beloved youth are our corrupt-to-the-core politicians and the filthily rich people. They move around in big cars where the air-conditioner never stops giving cool air in the scorching and blazing temperature during the summer when the ordinary (using this word here since it conveys the meaning otherwise these are the most special people in actuality) people are literally dying of hot weather. Then there is the ever-deteriorating plight of our country where the facilities to lead a good happy life are near to none. Then there are corrupt institutions where the poor has no ear which hears them out and no tongue that speaks in their favour.

The fourth one is the media which at times is evil of all evils because the soaps they show, the morning shows that they happily deliver and the other programmes which are telecast FOR the masses has actually nothing - not an iota- to do with the masses. The values that our media expounds belong to the few filthy rich. They almost have nothing that meets the eye of an ordianry person and makes him say that it is about him.

There is another thing - a confusion- that comes to the fore when we compare other Muslim countries to Pakistan. It seems that they have adopted these ultra-modern ways. Whereas Pakistan is still in confusion as to what to do. This confusion is also preying on our youth.

Personally I did not like the video and what was shown in it.It is hugely troubling. More troubling because my humble eyes see the dreaded future of Pakistan in this video. We are fast losing the youth that believes in the Islamic values of humanity and trust, of hard work and honesty, of looking up to our religious leaders and leading a good life according to their sermons and above all the pure culture of seeking Allah and the love of His grand holy Prophet.

Although all is not doom and gloom. There are religious parties and the leaders who are working at it with all their heart. Among the principal ones I personally see are Da'wat-e Islami, Dr Tahir ul Qadri, the precious Professor Rafique Ahmad Akhtar and many more. These people are working untiringly but things are changing vary fast.

The last thing I want to say that even these people (those dancing their lives away in the video above) seem completely out of touch with the ordinary Pakistanis, they are Pakistanis as well. We cannot segregate these people and say that they do not belong to Pakistan. Though they are utterly modern yet they are as much Pakistanis as we are. So my request to all is that we should respect one another.

A Child unfazed by a Hungry Lioness

I was, like everybody, amazed when I watched this video. I first saw it on BBC and then on Youtube.






It is amazing how this child remains unfazed by the hungry beast. Instead of being afraid he seems to be playing with and enjoying the 'attention' from her. The boy is not too young to see the danger still he just stays in his place and at one point he even tries to have a small conversation with the lioness. This conversation is clearer and 'audible' in the video on BBC.

This incident is one of the many where we realize that the children live mostly on a different plane to the adults. They almost have their own world which if an adult succeeds in penetrating he/she is able to bring up a child who is one in a million in many ways.