Steve Jobs defines success as Loving What You Do and Being a Good Talent Scout

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How to stop ignoring your goals

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Sir Salaar's advice

Congrats to all who graduated...my advice for u:
a)KEY: Keep neutral expectations (manage ur expectations of future)
b)STAY Positive through tough times- ALWAYS love life!
c)STAY flexible (adjust to life as it unfolds, dont be rigid!)
d)practise PATIENCE...life moves at its OWN pace!...dont let that bother you...accept it! - you'll do just fine, keep trying & with a smile! ;)


REM...ONLY the NOW is real!! Past & Future are thoughts only!!... Good Luck! :)
PLEASE try to optimize your ONE life.. & let me repeat... its a "beautiful life"... dont let anyone tell u otherwise!!!...happy discovery..optimize your trip...THE SATIFACTION IS ALL IN YOUR THOUGHTS & INTENTIONS... make it a GOOD one..best to ALL ;)

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Happiness Hormone!

Serotonin is a neurotransmitter, low levels of which lead to depression, bad mood, low self esteem, anxiety, chronic pain, panic, fear and phobias, obsession, pessimism, emotional behaviors, insomnia and various other negative moods.
Foods rich in carbohydrates lead to the concentration of trytophan which the body converts into serotonin. E.g. Bananas, chocolate, turkey, pumpkin and food rich in folic acid-cabbage, broccoli, spinach and beets are among the best well known serotonin foods.

A not so healthy way of inreasing serotonin levels is through nicotine. Nicotine increases serotonin levels and its absence has the opposite affect, this being one of the explanations why some of those who quit smoking gain a few pounds.http://www.whatisserotonin.com/

Ever wondered why reduced calorie diets affect mental mood and emotions. In just four weeks of low-calorie diets, the level of tryphotan is reduced significantly. This affects serotonin levels. It installs mood disorders, sometimes calmed by a meal high in carbohydrates. 

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Reasons for business success

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Frustration bohat hogai ChiLl KeRnE kO DiL KeRtA ha (fb group)

A little boy asked his mother, "Why are you crying?" "Because I'm a woman," she told him.

"I don't understand," he said. His Mom just hugged him and said, "And you never will."

Later the little boy asked his father, "Why does mother seem to cry for no reason?"

"All women cry for no reason," was all his dad could say.

The little boy grew up and became a man, still wondering why women cry.

Finally he put in a call to God. When God got on the phone, he asked, "God, why do women cry so easily?"

God said, "When I made the woman she had to be special.

I made her shoulders strong enough to carry the weight of the world,

yet gentle enough to give comfort.

I gave her an inner strength to endure childbirth and the rejection that many times comes from her children.

I gave her a hardness that allows her to keep going when everyone else gives up, and take care of her family through sickness and fatigue without complaining.

I gave her the sensitivity to love her children under any and all circumstances, even when her child has hurt her very badly.

I gave her strength to carry her husband through his faults and fashioned her from his rib to protect his heart.

I gave her wisdom to know that a good husband never hurts his wife, but sometimes tests her strengths and her resolve to stand beside him unfalteringly.

And finally, I gave her a tear to shed. This is hers exclusively to use whenever it is needed."

"You see my son," said God, "the beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair.

The beauty of a woman must be seen in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart - the place where love resides."

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Sir Salaar Gold

It is important that one realize the importance of the quotations below. Below are all the quotes that i have been able to note in an on going lecture and there are some statements without the quotation marks which are an essence of what he said and not his exact words but the others in the quotation marks are his exact words.

-(Talking on nerds) "Although they score good, their common sense is out of whack!"

-On growth of businesses "Grow kerne k liay internally generated funds kabhi bhi kafee nahe hotay"

-(On American Society)"When Consumption-Oriented societies cannot buy what they want credit markets are set up."

-(On Human Nature) "A baby has been programmed to care. He has been cared about and it is therefore programmed in his genes"

-(On Luck) "Life ka texture aisa hay, life itself is a game of chance! Are you with me?!"

-(On learning lessons from history) "History doesn't repeat itself. It's the laws of nature that are constant. E.g characteristics of different elements that make up physics, chemistry, biology."

-(On Stock trading) "Stock markets give the market a chance to express itself"

-(On Behavioral Finance) "Human beings are emotional and the stock market gives a platform to express yourself like in an interview"

-(On a student kicking the Aud 3 door, trying to say incognito) "Always do in life what you can own upto."

-(On Global Recession) "Being small has advantages. Jab aandhi chalti hai, a small brick like Pakistan doesn't get affected much. Its the big houses that fly away!"

-(On DJIA & DJTA) "The Dow Jones Industrial average and the Dow Jones Transportation average is basically a confirmation of sheyr aya!"

-(Choice of Spending extra money)"I believe Paisa kharch he sirf self development pe hona chahye"

-"Depth of understanding increases with knowledge.e.g How can you expect someone to understand the concepts of standard deviation when he hasn't studied Statistics"

-(On a quote from the book, Making Good Brain Great) "Mental health is kept through making new connections in the brain, therefore it is important to keep learning new stuff otherwise the brain starts disintegrating. e.g take guitar lessons or learn anything new"

-(On load shedding) "Always make the most of what you have. Look at the positive side. You get time to think and thank Allah for all the times you do have electricity"

-(On Stock Markets) "Nothing can go too fast up forever and one way up. There comes a point when even an F-16 cant go straight up because the air becomes too thin."

-(On American credit market) Cheap and Easy credit started in 1990's on America which started Consumerism. Expected 30 years of income by an average american individual has been spent now, today in credit sales.

-"You will get used to the lingo we'll be using in this course"

-(On corporations)"Money, Reserves, Greed and Power is the fabric of change. Martin Luther King is all drama because what a corporation can do is much bigger than what an individual can do. Corporations caused the freedom of black Slaves." Reason being they needed these slaves to become a part of the working force and be the consumers too.

-(On American Dream) What is the American Dream?

You want something and don't have money? We'll give you money. It starts from a house. Be a Home Owner. Buy a Car. Buy a TV. We'll make mortgage payments for the next 30 years.

-(On American Society) Uptil 1990's there somewhat used to be family system in America, now they have divided the -American family and created the need so that every member of the household feels the need of buying their own stuff. Every individual in a family needs his/her own car, own television etc.

-"Haan jeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!"

*In quotation marks are the exact statements, word for word. Others are exact to the best of copying and writing ability since they have been copied from an on-going lecture and all the above quotations are from the discussions where we went off-topic, in a good way!

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Post Presentation Glee!

In the four years of my undergrad, i neither realized nor captured the satisfaction, glee, the merriment one comes across right after a big presentation.

Oh, the relief!

Like a huge weight has been put off your chest. How ignorant of me, not to write about the exuberant moment all these years, whilst i experienced this delight numerous a times. After the question answer session, as soon as the instructor announces no more questions. Next group please!

You breathe a sigh of relief. Grab your belongings and step out of the auditorium. Cool wind starts blowing, embracing your triumph and owing much of its coolness to the anxious sweating earlier, however, in the lighthearted bliss, the trees sway smooth, spring leaves drop slowly, the ecstasy is unparalleled. University life feels better but for the most of it you don't want the blitheness to end, for it is heavenly. Perception of life changes at that very moment, even the people you hate the most, start to look good. As if they have adorned an invisible veil of beauty. An unusual radiance shows on their faces. All i know is, this verve, gaiety and vivacity is priceless.

How even the simple sunset looks surreal later in the day.The extra lively, slow motion exhilaration of the day pouring slowly past is extraordinary. You know this joy would only last a while but while your at it, you are sure to take pleasure at every elated moment.

So heres to, the next presentation!

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Keeping your hopes low is the way to go

Pakistan vs. India World Cup Semi Final on 30th March 2011. Pakistan Lost. As usual we expected to win but emotions clouded our judgement. A cautious and better approach would have been to understand that we are the underdogs but still, Afridi, i salute your brilliance in your bowling to your captaincy to your post match apology. Everything was perfect. You have provided us with unparalleled excitement, happiness and hope.

This is however not the end. More matches are to come. The need is to reposition the cricket viewing stance in Pakistan. Its just a game!

Great people are born in a hopeless environment because when the going is good then everybody is going but its only when the going gets tough, its the tough who get going. Pakistan team, while others were hanging themselves on the media's false accusations, dying to believe what they heard, i was staring straight at the shining glory ahead but i admit you have left me hurt and broken. We took a heavenly ride throughout our silence but now the waiting has begun. The moment has arrived for killing the past and coming back to life.

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Bursting the Carefree Bubble!

Lets face it

For some of us the crucial switch from the carefree university life to the rest of the life is going to come as a surprise to say the least. The friends, environment, atmosphere you thought would be with you till the end disappears all of a sudden leaving a strange sense of loss. The biggest challenge is that no one sees it coming, albeit knowingly. You start to get comfortable in the university life, slowly and gradually start getting tuned to the routine so much so that you cannot think beyond it. Finishing write-ups a day before the submission, pulling all-nighters, studying chapters for the first time before an exam, projects, presentations etc., you get so caught up in the challenging routine that you fail to realize how much is going to change.

Life after graduation can be tough and challenging in its own way. I for one have seen it unfold in front of my eyes not once, but thrice. I have seen my three siblings graduate from university life into "real life" before me with their own concoctions, ideas and goals of life but all that changed. Although all happened for the better, it all unfolded differently from the dreams they had. We have no idea whats in store for us out in the real world. Chances are that some of us MIGHT NOT get into universities for higher education or the careers or job that we always dreamed of after graduation. I have seen FOREIGN QUALIFIED graduates from "prestigious" universities, Queen Mary and the like, work in the worst of government offices in lahore.

Rarely does life go as planned. All that planning seems to laugh at you as it starts to crumble, chaos surrounds you and the artificial world, that you made in your innocence, swirls away. Life is tough.The truth is, some of us can not even work outside our usual group of people, our friends, our batch fellows. Some of us cant even go a day without our "dawgs".

I,however, followed a different path.

While others have been looking for friendly internships filled with people their age, people their type and cool companies with corporate atmospheres, i took a different approach, a real, closer to real life approach. One that involved experiences that other organisations just can not provide. I worked at a government office where i knew no one, where employees aren't familiar with the concept of internships, where you cant differentiate between a customer and a service provider on the first day because it resembles a road side Truck Hotel/Tea Stop except for the food, where air conditioners don't work (A.C. ducts have rats the size of a small cat running along the edges), where people use fans to cool themselves, where wearing full sleeve formal shirts results in as much sweating as in a football match, where you have to work on wooden/broken chairs and desks, where (i am not kidding) a meter wide registers and type writers are used instead of computers for storing data, where the cafeteria is built in the storage rooms and the biggest source of entertainment in the break is having tea, which is a little bit of tea in cup of sugar. There is evidence to support the claim that government offices are hideous, you can't find a single picture on Google.

Similar is the story when i worked at a Call Center on the 12P.M to 7A.M night shift which gave a real feel of the pain people take to earn it in the real world, where people make a living out of making phone calls. Although i was lucky enough to have a few cousins working alongside me but most employees at that mediocre call center were working alone. The tedious duty of making repeated calls which almost always resulted in refusals by the customers gets boring, frustrating and intimidating in the very first hour of the job. When your employers key for motivation of the employees is a Rs.1000 for every successful call in addition to the basic salary, it is self explanatory of how tough it is to make a sale of a product the U.S, a product that you have never seen and all the knowledge that you have about the product is the specifications sheet you have rote learned. Every time you dial a number and hear a "hello?" from the other end of the phone you had to open fire of the rote learned specifications at the "potential customer" and most phone calls resulted in slamming of the receiver while you were still in the middle of your speech.

The biggest moment of excitement came when they give you a break from 4A.M to 5A.M, a time at which you are about to drop dead and all you can think of is your bed to sleep, in complete tranquility but that is just the starting of the last two most crucial hours of the job when the manager comes in to supervise because that is when the employees slacked off the most.

I have worked at another private company but lets not talk about that!

The gist of the matter is, wisdom comes from over coming whatever comes your way and i believe those summer internships added REAL EYE OPENING experience that no university, school, college,MNC like P&G or Unilever or a prestigious Bank could ever add.

"The realization of how lucky we are, we forget those who are so much worse off."

The point is to open your eyes BEFORE the wave hits you, because this is not the same as going from a high school to college to a university. Things are about to change.

But the end of innocence is not the end optimism. Life is a mixture of what happens, which you can't control and what you do, that is totally in your control. There are its moments of joy, the memories that are sure to last forever. So relax, accept, move forward and be wiser and happier than before.

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Shahbaz Sharif pumped up shakes the life out of the mic

I admire Shahbaz Sharif for much of his hard work and for his pubilicity stunts too.

On a more serious note, shahbaz sharif and charlie chaplin have a great deal in common, besides the moustache. The style of speech for instance. Watch BOTH videos below:

Charlie chaplin version of a similar speech in a movie. All of it is worth watching but that part (starts 3:40 onwards):

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Don't deliberate, DISTRACT!

Thinking is a tool that has been granted to all human kind and of which all other animals have been deprived. Whereas all animals act on passion and instinct, we humans “ think” or so it is believed.

History has proven that although we have been given the gift of thinking, we have not yet learnt to use it for our good, let alone master it.

As is with young ones, when they fix their eyes on something, they holler and cry until their needs are met, so it is with us "GROWN UPS".

The best solution would be to DISTRACT yourself from it and get yourself occupied with something else. Say your hobby, for instance.

In no way am i hinting at giving up your dreams, goals and objectives and suffice with what you already have. Be positive and optimistic but accept whatever your situation is and solve the problem when the time is right, without deliberating on it in the present.

The idea is, this life is too short, life hereafter may be eternal but this one is too short for deliberating over aspects that are out of your control, detract yourself and get busy with something else that makes you feel better, laugh and be merry. There will always be things that bring upon hopelessness and dejection and when they do, DISTRACT. (

I am hoping that by typing this word in capital letters it would be imprinted it on my mind.)

For instance, If you come across a hurdle while driving that you know you would not be able to cross, you steer around or change your course, however when a similar situation arises in our daily process of thinking, goal setting and achieving we go for a head on collision with the obstacle keeping us from following our dreams.

Don’t deliberate, DISTRACT.

Young ones and grownups are all the same. We holler, cry and get annoyed when the world denies what we yearn for. When we come across something that bothers us, we just cannot get over it, we ponder over it persistently. That is our biggestproblem.

Just like we DISTRACT our little siblings to get them to stop crying and asking for things we know are not good for them, we need to DISTRACT ourselves when we come across something that is bothering us, to something that makes us happy. Don't deliberate, DISTRACT.

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Should I Go For Masters Right After Bachelors (Undergrad)?

All those who plan on studying abroad

(Facts & Information): The fact is most of us have not even toured the universities we plan on going into, which all sane students do. Most of us have no idea of their work load, for i know i wont be able to handle a university like LUMS without my chums. Most of us have no concern for their extra curricular activities, which is an important part of the personality and character building process. Most of us don't care if the university has a name, all we know is we "studied abroad".

Most of us base our decision on the information of rankings, courses and fee structures provided by university sites. Combining that with another fact that we are risking around 3 million for a year, in case of Ms, Msc's and MBAs, usually combines into an utter disaster.

(I have seen foreign qualified working in the worst of conditions in government offices during my internship at NICL). When asked with a reason as to why they chose to start working in a goverment owned company like NICL? They would say we did our masters in insurance and other private companies have no vacancies. When asked why did they choose to do their masters in Insurance in the first place? They said we just did it because we had to select something and considering that there arent many students opting for insurance so we believed things would work out for us because of the small supply of insurance qualified people. This is just plain sad.

(Feelings and Emotions): I find alot of my friends in last year of their undergrad unable to decide which university to go to, which degree to opt for and whether or not to go to one at all after their graduation. This, so obviously hints at the fact that you just are not ready for masters yet. This problem is emotional. Believe it or not. Seeing that you are the only one going to be left behind in this race of studying abroad, which starts as soon as you approach the end of A levels and now watching the next four years of undergrad and sticking together with another batch of friends, whom you have been with, through thick and thin, fading away and seeing all this happening all over again, you lose your calm and tend to hasten. In the process you cloud your judgement to the extent that you aren't able to see properly.

There is a solid reason in the madness of good universities that care about their standards and ask for job experience. They know the degree of "serious" motivation, self confidence and determination masters level needs instead of the hasty decisions that most of us take.

(Being Cautious): If i were to be planning i would be cautious enough not to risk my last and most valued portion of my academic life just like that, based on other people's views and a few colorful pictures painted by the internet. This is not the same as undergrad level, where most of us just jump straight into it, right after completing our High Schools and colleges. Masters level defines what career you want to choose and what you want to do with your life. This is the last shot most of us have got and i would rather spend a year or two gaining experience of the "real" world to exactly know what the world has to offer and what i want to do and then carrying that on, in the masters. It's like a deep breath before a plunge. The job or self employed experience trains you for your big plunge, the masters degree. How would you know to take a deep breath before jumping into water if you have never been in the water in the first place.

(Being Positive and Optimistic): I am not at all saying stop being positive and optimistic, but be sure to mix a little pragmatism and reality into it as well. Internships, projects, interviews and presentations are the very tip of the iceberg that we learn in undergrad. The confidence and knowledge one gains at the undergrad level only caters to a few parts of the corporate world. NO WONDER these areas are saturated. Everyone is being taught the same thing, same run of the mill, prepared for being consumed and misused by the MNC's and banks. Being lined up like live stock to be executed once full grown. The great mass of the "real" world which you can NOT see is under the surface, which can only be judged when you dive into the water and look for yourself.

(New Ideas): What we are not trained to do all these years of schooling is think on our own. From the very start we are guided through our course packs, which chalk out the road map we are to follow. Who made the curriculum? Why are they being followed the way a Holy Book should be followed? Why aren't we for once able to think on our own? All we do is follow the same old curriculum to become marketeers, accountants, managers and sales people all over again. I find it to be local epidemic to go from junior school to high school to college to undergrad to masters and then Ph.D. non-stop. Students abroad take a while off to get their mind off of studies and travel around and see if they find some thing interesting elsewhere in the world.

(The Big Picture): For once, step back to get a wholistic view, give yourself time. Step out in the open "real" world and see for yourself how things are done and carefully observe the windows that open. Look out for opportunities and chances that exist, in terms of business, trade, unique ideas that you are so blindly over looking. Give yourself a year or two to look for these opportunities, really get to know and understand what you REALLY want to do "BEFORE" your masters degree instead of going for masters first and then coming back into the real world to get a feel of how things are done. There is a high probability that first hand experience would change your mind as to what you REALLY wanted to do all along, once you start earning your living. Think before its too late!

P.s.

It is much like the on going debate on personality ethics and character ethics. Personality ethics focuses on appearance and outward behavior, not concerned about the inner self (very much like having a masters degree to your name). Character ethics focuses on integrity, humility, fidelity, courage, justice, patience, simplicity and modesty. What is important is that you build your character ethics first before going for personality ethics, the outside look. It is important that you know yourself and what you EXACTLY want to do before you go on adding an image to it. We need to develop, change, and train ourselves inside-out.

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Darvaza: The door to hell on planet earth!

This gaping hole in the ground is in Uzbekistan and is called the "Door to Hell" by the locals. The History to this gaping hole is around 40 years old.

40 years ago, in the era when Uzbekistan was a part of the soviet union, few geologists were

conducting gas drilling in Kara-Kum desert, near the village of Darvaza, where while drilling, they suddenly came across an underground cavern so big that it swallowed all the drilling site with equipment and the nearby camps.

No one dared to go down the cavern owing to the huge volume of poisonous gases emitting from the gaping hole and due to a lack of proper gear to save one from the poisonous reservoir.

Someone suggested that before the poisonous gases could engulf the nearby town of Darvaza and kill its inhabitants the only logical thing to do is to put the hole on fire!

Geologists thought it was an excellent idea and lit the crater

on fire thinking the gas would burn out in a few days max. The crater is on fire since 1972. Nearly 38 years have gone by and there are no signs of the gas slowing down owing to the huge amount of volume of the natural reservoir. No one can estimate how much of the natural gas is still in there. The cavern is still burning today like the first day it was put on fire.

On one hand in Europe the government and other regulatory agencies are worried about the little amount of carbon dioxide (Co2) emitted from a car's "2 inch" exhaust pipe. The Co2 emissions of each car model is mentioned on the brochure and seriously taken into consideration so that the individual can choose the cars that have reduced impact on the environment.

On the other hand, this Nuke Silo is on fire, out in the open for four decades in Uzbekistan.

Did the media say Global Warming?

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Mike Greer Wins $129 Million Lottery (12/11/2010)

Whats Your REACTION?

Amongst two big winners in Michigan Mega Lottery this year is Mike Greer(on the left).

In Detroit, Mike Greer and co. found themselves stuck in an ethical dilemma on 12th November 2010, when they found out that they had won a whopping, nearly $129 million on a lottery ticket that one member of their group (kept anonymous) purchased from an adult book store.

Mike Greer, a 49 year old from Farmington hills, came forward from the group (which chose to remain anonymous) to claim the snowball winnings and is reported to have said " The group has more than 2 members and less than a 100" to cause even more anonymity as far as the other members of the group are concerned.

Greer also said that he didn't purchase the ticket, therefore it can't be said for sure whether the ticket was purchased inside the adult bookstore

or at it's outside walk-up lottery window. Whatever the means and the degree of piety of the ticket purchase, Greer said on the behalf of the group that a part of the riches would be going to a church.

"The only thing I can assume is that the Lord trusted us to do certain things with the money that He bestowed upon us," he said. "Thats the only thing that I can gather."

The group will take it's winnings in a lump sum of $69.6 million instead of annual installments.

Is there an adult book store around here?

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All in a day's work

Stop dwelling on everything that you sense, tell it to .... ...

Incessantly driving along, heading back home from my university i came across that eureka moment where i thought i had it all figured which was suddenly followed by an inner voice saying "I dont think so".

I couldn't give my routine a direction, a moment which many of you might have come across when you can’t decide where your life is going. I realized that this routine of mine had been going over for some while now (3 years and a couple months to be a little specific) and i seemed to lose focus of which day of which month, of which year it was, because it was all the same, very much like the other days. Usually waking up early in the morning, knowing there is an hour's drive to the university filled with traffic and a plethora of traffic signals and ending up going for home at 6 in the evening and even then as if the day’s struggle was not enough I find myself in a constant battle of saving car fuel by going slow and and an urge of quickly reaching home and handing over the transport to whoever needs it and laying off for rest.

Anyway, driving along the extra dusty, steel mills polluted area of the ring road directly in the direction of the sunset, tired from a hard day’s work at the university, tired of the idea of driving, with the least amount of motivation to step on the gas pedal or for that matter do anything besides just sitting there in the driving seat of the car barely holding on or should I say barely touching the steering wheel of the car to keep it in lane, i drove just below the speed limit to save myself from a speeding fine and carefully caressing the accelerator of the car, in fifth gear, making it run at just the right speed at the right rpm (the reading pointing exactly between 2 and 3) which i had heard is the optimal engine speed for most economical performance to keep it from consuming more fuel and maintaining a reasonable speed, i approached the city dump.

As if my mind was not processing enough information coming from all the senses, i reached the famous CDGL(City Distric Govt. Lahore)'s "dump" where they attempt to dispose off the waste of the city of lahore by simply leaving it out in the open. It is spread acrosss acres of land just at the bank of river Ravi and regardless of whether the fresh air vent of the car is closed or not, no matter how tight you shut your car windows or for that matter even if you turn the A/C off, the staunch smell would seep in just as usual, everytime you cross those heaps of waste.

Adding to that was the tension of people usually miscalculating the speed of the vehicles coming their way high jumping across the road partitions, running, slipping and ending up right in the way of cars speeding in the fastest lane of Ring Road, resulting in screeching halts and stoppages and an exchange of a lot of colorful words once both parties are in the hearing distance.

Owing to the densely populated blocks on both sides filled with people who are not accustomed to crossing highways as it cuts through their very homes and bazars where at first there hardly used to be a road and now there is a nearly as wide a road as motorway on which cars speed across in an attempt to save time and by pass the traffic of the city, and it is totally needless to say the whole concept has been misjudged by the government when planning that this would make the road a thoroughfare because the busy bazars on the right and left have to communicate and exchange goods and services during the light of the day.

Driving along, as if I hadn’t got enough of the other basic senses , suddenly Rihanna on the radio intently inquisitions "Just gonna stand there, watch me burn?" , and that was all i needed to hear after a hard day’s work.

Pumped by the instinctive urge to save the damsel in distress, i let go of all worries of fuel economy and speeding fines, donkey carts and cyclists in the way or for that matter all considerations of pedestrians crossing the road, i sped up, crossing the bounds of speed limit and destroying the fuel economy that i had been so long maintaining, in an attempt to quickly reach the place the lady was calling out from, as if she really was calling out for help and that too only to me through the radio in my car.

No sooner did i realize the petrol gauge on a race against time, speeding towards "E" as the car sped towards 130 and no sooner did i see a police car on the horizon with their speed guns pointed at me and a policeman intent on stopping me for a fine.

It seemed the sense of taste had not been paid heed to and it came to show its presence, that speeding ticket did leave a bad taste through the rest of the journey.

Don't dwell on every piece of information. LET IT GO!

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Here comes the apology!

Yesterday, Oct. 6, 2010 more than 50 oil tankers headed for U.S and Nato forces were torched by TTP (Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan. Atleast two dozen men opened fire on the tankers that had been detained parked alongside the road at a place in southeast peshawar.

Not only were the supplies burnt but they were also looted and ended up for sale in peshawar market. 

Pakistan is the only land route that America has to take in order to get its supplies to its forces in Afghanistan. The reason being to the left of Afghanistan is Iran and obviously America cant come in through Iran with the current levels of understanding between them. On the top of Afghanistan is Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, which again is not possible because those countries are land locked and the majority of the population is an all three countries on top is muslims who unlike Pakistani muslims do not tolerate foreigners to use their lands to fight other muslims.

Considering that the only other option that america has is to go through air, and airlifting supplies of a 150,000 strong army is not the most economical and pragmatic option. The best alternative is to go through the Arabian Sea, karachi then all the way through pakistan to the khyber pass and then into Afghanistan.

Ignoring all this, Nato forces crossed into Pakistan on thursday 30th september 2010 and opened fire on the Pakistani border forces killing 3 pakistani soldiers. The U.S. helicopters crossed some 200 meters into Pakistani airspace and shot first at pakistani soldiers, who in turn fired rifle shots only to indicate that they had crossed into pakistani territory.

However, it was too late, the helicopters fired missiles and destroyed the outpost killing three and wounding another three. To "ease" the tension of the incident US marine corps colonel David Lapan appeared in the scene to state; 

"Even the statement that Pakistanis put out indicated that their forces used rifle fire at the helicopters as a warning. And, well, if you fire at a helicopter in a COMBAT ZONE, they'll usually take that as hostile and return fire."

The interesting thing to notice in the above statement is that Colonel David mentions a territory some well 200m inside pakistani airspace as a "COMBAT ZONE". Helicopters equipped with 

latest of gobal positioning systems within an accuracy range of a few feet this is out of the question that it was a mistake to have flown inside pakistani borders and not known so.

Then on 6 Oct, 2010 after a week of the incident U.S. finally realised the blunder it had made. First by attacking the pakistani border and then the subsequent failure to apologize, instead issuing a statement that it was all a mistake, a misunderstanding and it is not an attack on pakistan, which the pakistani media is portraying, infact, it was hot-pursuit of the taliban insurgents that ended up in some 200 meters inside Pakistan.

So it was high time to apologize. And then it came!

US Embassy's public affairs section said "Ambassador Anne W. Patterson today extended an apology to Pakistan on behalf of the american people for the terrible accident on sept. 30th."

And this wasnt the only apology,

A seperate statement issued by ISAF headquarter in Kabul read "We deeply regret this tragic loss of life"

Had this apology come a little earlier the Nato and U.S. the 50 oil tankers, army supplies could have been saved and would not have ended up in a market in peshawar to be misused yet again.

Is Pakistan next on the hitlist of America after Iraq and Afghanistan?

Well, whatever it is, America testing war in a country that is the ONLY pragmatic supply route, has NUCLEAR WEAPONS, a government albeit weak(which is a lethal combination to say the least for it makes the situation ever more dangerous and a threat to the world at large), its own army, population more than half of america's population, it just might be the biggest blunder america has ever made.

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Tennis. An innate/inborn Talent?

Aisam Ul haq is the second Pakistani to qualify for the Wimbledon after a period of 40 years. Aisam qualified for Wimbledon after 6 attempts. He has played twice in Wimbledon, even reached quater finals in one.

Aisam's mother, Nausheen Ihtisham, has been a 10 time Pakistan no.1, a national Champion.

Aisam' maternal grandfather, khawaja iftikhar ahmad, was the all India no.1 before partition.

Aisam has been an under 16 number 1, under 18 number 1. World number 7 in juniors and Asia number 1.

Aisam got a tip from Martina Navratilova's (who reached 12 Wimbledon singles , including 9 consecutive years from 82-90 and has won a record 9 Wimbledon Women's Singles titles) coach saying that Martina, used to write down her goals and ambitions everyday believing that

"once you write this down, you believe you belong there, so there is no mental pressure. Self belief is very important if you want to achieve something."

Aisam accordingly started writing in his memoir that " I am going to qualify for Wimbledon" from January till June 2007 believing that one day he will qualify. And he did, Aisam went on to become the first Pakistani in 40 years to play a Grand Slam tournament and the second Pakistani to reach the second round of wimbledon.

Aisam believes "In any field target setting is very important for everyone. Thats the only way

you get motivated about playing or training hard. Some people keep long term targets, some

keep short term targets. I just realised that its better to keep short term targets.Long term

become frustrating if you dont achieve them. One should keep targets according to ones

"heysiat",

otherwise there are alot of disappointments. In my past i used to dream really big, I will do

this i will do that and when i didnt achieve them i had to step back.

Exposure taught me this. You learn from your mistakes. I had big hopes and all that

and because of that i suffered alot in personal life and in sports. Now i keep them small

and if i keep achieving them, the motivation keeps on increasing and it makes you work

harder."

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Aisam Ul Haq's Post match interview mens Doubles

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1600523098344


Jim ( Host): "Now for aisam, its been a great two weeks for you its been a challenging time back
home with the floods in pakistan. How impact do you think this has been for the people back home
to see your success here?"

Aisam : "I'm only going to find out when i go home, you know, but i would like to, actually its
our eid festival today. I would like to say eid mubarik to all the muslims and the pakistanis
out there. Sorry i went down again, two days in a row and thanks to this guy here, but,
uh you know they're.yea yea yea, i know.
You know it was a close match and it just proves why these guys are number 1 in the world.
An Unbelievable run here. you know The indo-pak express was running pretty well here until we met these guys. You know its been great. I would like to thank
everybody for supporting us throughout these two weeks. My parents who are watching in pakistan love you all,
its my sisters birthday today im very sorry i couldnt give you the best present for you but Happy Birthday to you
and, uh, i dont wana take any lime light away from these guys but i just wana say something
on behalf of all the pakistanis everytime i come here i feel there is a very wrong perception
about pakistan being a terrorist country. we are very friendly, loving and caring people and
we want peace in this world as much as you guys want and may ALLAH bless us all. Thank you"

Jim( Host) : "Well said..that was beautiful. On behalf of the USTA first vice president John agoson will present our runners
Rohan Bopana and Aisam Qureshi with their trophy. Congratulations guys."

Jim (Host) : "Now i would like to invite our champions.oops sorry, one more thing!..."

Aisam: "I always forget, yesterday i also forgot, i want to thank these guys so much (holding the opponents shoulder)
for donating you know from their fund to the pakistani victims for the floods. I really really appreciate it and i hope
pakistan will get help from you guys."

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Supreme courts judgement of july 31, 2009

On this fateful day the supreme court of Pakistan declared that taking oath under the PCO (provisional constitutional order) is illegal, so what musharraf did November 3, 2007 was illegal. For those of you who do not know, whenever a PCO has been declared, the judiciary is required to take oath under the provisional constitution order. The provisional constitutional order says that no court will pass judgement against PCO.

In short, the judiciary has to agree on taking oath of office under PCO, which the judiciary did.

One big question that arises from this decision of Supreme court is that why is this decision of the supreme court only being applied to the act of November 3, 2007? If this ruling of the supreme court is being applied retrospectively,which is of no use in the first place, then why selectively?

Why isn't it being applied to the Provisional constitution order of 2000, 1999 and 1981( declared by General Zia ul haq on March 24, 1981)?

Nearly every member of the nowadays 14 member bench has taken oath under PCO in the past. Aren't they all guilty now?

Many people debated what repercussions would entail and the ease with which the supreme court passed this decision because this decision invalidates the legislative work of the provincial and national assemblies.

Not only that but 34 judges of the Lahore high court lost their jobs on account of this historic ruling because they took oath under a PCO Chief justice Abdul Hameed Dogar but another group of judges remains intact. The july 31 ruling protects the appointment of Justice Sardar raza khan, justice shakir ullah khan, justice tassaduq hussain jillani, justice saqib nasir

and many others under this category.

Is not this Discrimination?

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