A bloody 2007 comes to an end

So the year 2007 finally comes to an end. It was an year marred by extreme violence in Pakistan and by the looks of it, things are set to get worse. With horrendous incidents like May 12, July 10(Storming of Lal Masjid), October 18 and now December 27! The year also witnessed a record number of suicide bombings across the country. Taking a look at the South Asian Terrorism Portal page for violent incidents in Pakistan since 1988, it is indeed shocking to see that over 60% of the page lists incidents that occurred in 2007 alone! Sad!

Hence, keeping all the recent bloodshed in mind I wish you a safe and peaceful 2008! May we emerge a stronger, united and a fully democratic nation come December 2008. Lastly, here's a nice excerpt from a new year wish I received:

The New Year is set before us like an unwritten volume--- all its pages blank. Let us write upon each day's page things that at the end of the year we will look upon with rejoicing rather than regret. Let us look behind us with understanding, before us with faith, and around us with love. We are given a fresh start not only at the beginning of the year, but every morning when we wake up. We have the chance to start anew and make things right. Keep the books with your soul at the close of this year as it is a good preparation to start the New Year. May God help us to be kind, fair and wise in all of our affairs. May we say "I love you" with deeds of kindness and acts of caring.

Amen!

All hell breaks loose as BB is assassinated

I'm speechless.... don't know what to say really. When I heard of the attack, I wasn't really shocked since suicide attacks have now sadly become the norm in our country. It was when the news broke of her death, thats when it started to sink in. Bhutto was dead - a name revered among millions in Pakistan (especially here in Sindh). I have been critical of her in the past, but shit, this is just plain barbarism ... the height of intolerance! Do they not realize that the very existence of this great country has now been plunged into danger by this heinous act!? Who is behind the killing? What are their motives? Who is supposed to gain from all this?!

Meanwhile, all hell's breaking loose here in Karachi. Factories, hospitals, cars being burnt ... god knows how much blood will be spilled tonight. I sincerely hope you and your loved ones are somewhere safe because I know many people are still stuck outside and have been unable to reach their homes. There's just one advice for the people of Karachi right now - stay the @%$ put!!

Bakra Eid Mubaraks!

I'd like to wish everyone around a very joyous Eid and hope your qurbanis are accepted by the Almighty. I don't wanna sound rude or anything, but there seems to be an increasing trend of showing off whenever this Eid comes around. Maybe, I should just my trap shut about this but I can't help but wonder if people have so much frigging money, why don't they spend on something more useful - for the society, helping the poor et al.

Lastly, it was saddening to hear of Amin Gulgee's murder yesterday. A society bereft of artists has been robbed of its crown jewel. And then there was that train accident near Mehrabpur - again, one that happens every year or two sadly. Everywhere you look, there is death; people are dying. Echoing Dehog's call, are we doing anything about it?

Lost in Semantics

I don't usually post emails on my blog but this one too damn funny! =)

SOCIALISM: You have 2 cows and you give one to your neighbor.

COMMUNISM: You have 2 cows; the Government takes both and gives you some milk.

FASCISM: You have 2 cows; the Government takes both and sells you some milk.

NAZISM: You have 2 cows. The Government takes both and shoots you.

BUREAUCRATISM: You have 2 cows; the Government takes both, shoots one, milks the other and throws the milk away...

TRADITIONAL CAPITALISM: You have two cows. You sell one and buy a bull. Your herd multiplies, and the economy grows. You sell them and retire on the income.

AN AMERICAN CORPORATION: You have two cows. You sell one, and force the other to produce the milk of four cows. Later, you hire a consultant to analyze why the cow dropped dead.

A FRENCH CORPORATION: You have two cows. You go on strike because you want three cows.

A JAPANESE CORPORATION: You have two cows. You redesign them so they are one-tenth the size of an ordinary cow and produce twenty times the milk. You then create a clever cow cartoon image called Cowkimon and market them World-Wide.

A GERMAN CORPORATION: You have two cows. You re-engineer them so they live for 100 years, eat once a month, and milk themselves.

AN ITALIAN CORPORATION: You have two cows, but you don't know where they are. You break for lunch.

A RUSSIAN CORPORATION: You have two cows. You count them and learn you have five cows. You count them again and learn you have 42 cows. You count them again and learn you have 2 cows. You stop counting cows and open another bottle of vodka.

A SWISS CORPORATION: You have 5000 cows, none of which belong to you. You charge others for storing them.

A CHINESE CORPORATION: You have two cows. You have 300 people milking them. You claim full employment, high bovine productivity, and arrest the newsman who reported the numbers.

AN INDIAN CORPORATION: You have two cows. You worship them.

Try to understand what your boss trying to say actually

Having started working professional since May of this year, and then reading this list below, I now KNOW how valid these points really are. Read away ...

1."We will do it" means "You will do it"

2."You have done a great job" means "More work to be given to you"

3."We are working on it" means "We have not yet started working on the same"

4."Tomorrow first thing in the morning" means "It's not getting done "Atleast not tomorrow!"

5."After discussion we will decide-I am very open to views" means "I have already decided, I will tell you what to do"

6."There was a slight miscommunication" means "We had actually lied"

7."Lets call a meeting and discuss" means "I have no time now, will talk later"

8."We can always do it" means "We actually cannot do the same on time"

9."We are on the right track but there needs to be a slight extension of the deadline" means "The project is screwed up, we cannot deliver on time."

10."We had slight differences of opinion "means "We had actually fought"

11."Make a list of the work that you do and let's see how I can help you" means "Anyway you have to find a way out no help from me"

12."You should have told me earlier" means "Well even if you told me earlier that would have made hardly any difference!"

13."We need to find out the real reason" means "Well I will tell you where your fault is"

14."Well Family is important; your leave is always granted. Just ensure that the work is not affected," means, "Well you know..."

15."We are a team," means, "I am not the only one to be blamed"

16."That's actually a good question" means "I do not know anything about it"

17."All the Best" means "You are in trouble"

The World’s Most Famous Photoshop Fakes

While that might be a creative opportunity for artistic photographers and designers, for news editors, it can all be a bit of a nightmare — and for readers too when the photos skip the newspapers and land straight in your mailbox. Here are seven of the most famous photoshop fakes.

read more | digg story

Merriam-Webster Add w00t to Dictionary

Congratulations World of Warcraft addicts. Give yourselves a pat on the back, Halo-ers; you and all the other gamers and internet fans out there have collectively legitimized 1337 speak. Teachers weep, meanwhile, w00t!

read more | digg story

My Gmail goes LEET!

:)

For those who don't know what that means, read this.

Work, work

Life's been busy as hell of late at work. Been putting in long hours for something I volunteered for and now I feel shouldn't have done it :(. Kher, I had no idea it would get this bad at work but you could always count on our management to screw things up beyond repair! I'm glad I won't be here for long.

Pen Pricks

Lazim hai, hum bhi daikhain gay

An awesome piece put together by Dr. Adil Najam over at Pakistaniat.

The line that stood out for me was Quaid's affirmation:

Musalmaan ... Museebat mein ... Kabhi Ghabraya Nahi Karta!

What more can I say? God Bless Pakistan!

Sweet Revenge

Congratulations to Team Pakistan for an excellent victory today! I must admit I had given up hope after India had posted a 300+ total but what do ya know! Pak chased it! And in some fashion! All credit to the lads and a much-needed boost for a nation reeling from the effects of a brainsick ruler!

Mush has gone MAD!

There could be no other sane explanation for it. The lust for power has gone to this guy's head to the extent that he's now willing to break every freaking law and curb every possible independent voice in the country just so that he could have things HIS way. Sadly, as a result, the ignominy of a fourth Martial Law (under the cloak of 'Emergency Plus') is upon us; all news channels are off-air since Saturday and several lawyers, politicians and activists are under arrest or confined to their homes under duress.

Good thing they haven't clamped down on the Internet so far - or else we'd be doomed. I say that because I (and thousands more I'm sure) have been flocking on web sites to get the latest updates as all channels have been forcefully blacked-out. The common man, though, is deprived of this facility and hence has been left vulnerable to rumors like this that did the proverbial rounds today before it was dismissed by Mr. Pervaiz "I'll do anything to please the West" Musharraf. In his words, it was the "Joke of the Highest Order". You said it right Mush, you have indeed played a "Joke of the Highest Order" on the people of Pakistan. Congratulations!

Another day, Another bombing

Today saw yet another suicide bombing, this time targeting the airforce personnel in Sargodha. It sent a shiver down my spine as I read the breaking news on BBC Online since one of my cousins is an airforce officer and works there! Thank God he's safe and wasn't on duty at that time, but that couple of minutes of uncertainty made me realize the helplessness and fear people must face in such situations and worst yet, the unfortunate people who lose friends/family in such incidents doesn't even bear thinking about!

Pakistan is turning out to be a battlefield between pro-American and pro-Taleban forces. We are sadly paying the price for a supposed "War On Terror" whose very foundations were based on evidence conjured up by its instigators from faulty intelligence - it was more like a cloak for their ulterior motives. It is indeed sad to see some people still believe what the Bush administration says even after failures of such magnitude in the form of their needless invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan. Their hands are stained with the blood of thousands of innocent civilians in both of these countries as rightly reminded by a brave protester in this photo. They should be treated as war criminals and tried in a court of law for murdering thousands of completely innocent men, women and children.

For now, what the future holds for our country is anybody's guess. The sensitive situation is set to prevail as the military seeks to further strengthen its grip on state affairs with news once again doing the rounds of an impending declaration of emergency across the country. I hope it doesn't come to that, and let's hope we do have elections - although, again, I doubt they'll be free and fair. I can't help but think we're screwed either way! Your thoughts?

Rotund

All work and no play makes Johnny a fat boy! For sure I mean! What did ya expect?! These software jobs with their odd timings and sedentary styles are the perfect recipe to become chubby and overweight. So much for all my efforts of last year when I managed to lose no less than 7Kgs! (Seriously!) Now I would give just about anything to go back to that state :(!

'Rotund' describes me (with my considerable girth) just about perfectly. Damn you Mcdonalds, KFC, Pizza Hut, Chocolates and M&Ms!! I'll have my revenge ya'hear! Speaking of M&Ms, I know there's a packet lying in the freezer right now and I know it won't be there by tonight! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah ...

H.E.L.P!

Violence grips Karachi - AGAIN!

I woke up this morning from the plangent sound of my mobile alerting me to the receipt of a new message; who knew what calamity it was going to report. It was Teeth Maestro's message through the Twitter Karachi channel that over a 100 people had been killed in a bomb explosion near Benazir's convoy! What the #$#%$! I said to myself. If there was one thing we'd been grateful for the previous day, it was that there'd been no untoward incidents reported all day across the city. But sadly, the day ended on a bloody note - yet again.

The name Karachi must have become synonymous with violence and bloodshed for those foreign folk. No wonder they don't want to travel here, because you never know who might blow up what in pursuit of their twisted and hidden (or perhaps not so hidden) agendas. Another thing that saddens me is the sort of response from the so called "educated" people on a prominent place like Karachi MetBlogs. Just by going through the comments here and here, you could why we are the way we are. When the educated lot are truly "jaahil" by nature, when such people harbor feelings of hatred and animosity towards a fellow human being, no wonder the entire nation has become intolerant beyond recognition!

I don't know what else to say really; the death toll from last night leaves May 12 and 12 Rabbi ul Awwal calamities in the shadows. May ALLAH grant peace and patience to the dead and their families, and destroy all those connected with this heinous act and fail them in such sick and demented agenda of theirs. Amen.

Eid Mubaraks!

Ramzan whizzed by faster than ever for me this time! And here we are, once again, on the eve of that delirious day we all look forward to. Sadly, not even such a joyous occasion is riddled with controversy in this dear country of ours. The disunity is so evident! :( I'll leave the ranting to another post; for now, wishing everyone who reads this post bauhat bauhat EID MUBARAK! :)

God Bless us All - especially our country! Amen!

On the current political scene

This couldn't be more appropriate right now ....

baaziicha e atfaal hai duniyaa mere aagay
hotaa hai shaboroz tamaashaa mere aagay

Sham Democracy

I am left utterly speechless as the crème de la crème of corrupt politicians are once again joining hands to rule this dear country of ours! The sight of all those losers in National Assembly clapping and celebrating Mushy's re-election was truly sickening! I mean how freaking low can you get?! Selling your soul to the man who has America's blessings, and what about BB - who's going to pay back the billions she's looted and will loot over the next 5 years?!! What will happen to Zardari - will he be let loose to fill his pockets with state wealth YET AGAIN?! Are their previous deeds all forgotten, JUST LIKE THAT?!

No one has the right to absolve the criminals of the state - no one! Where is the Supreme Court now?! If there's any semblance of law and order left in this country, they should immediately take notice of this disgraceful ordinance and render it null and void at once!

I am simply outraged, incensed and vexed at the hypocrisy of the people who claim to be the representatives of the people of Pakistan. And don't even get me started about Mushy! He has lost what little credibility he had as a leader, as his actions have demonstrated that he'll do just about anything to stay in power - sanction the heinous acts of May 12, violate the constitution, exceed his term in office as Military Chief, hold more office than legally allowed, form alliances with known plunderers - the list goes on and on!

The stage drama of his re-election and the so-called "deal" with BB has exposed everyone and everything. Kinda ironic when you think that such looters are going to be leading the Land of the Pure!

PTCL Broadband

For someone who lives in a city suburb like me, getting the state-of-the-art facilities like DSL from ISPs is always a pain. Although DSL and Cable have been around for a couple of years in the city, no ISP had bothered to expand it to remote telephone exchanges like mine. And so my area had been starved of broadband connectivity uptill now when PTCL decided to start off their broadband operations. And you know what, within days of starting off, they had received hundred of applications! I wonder why other ISPs didn't see the wisdom in starting off in such remote and previously cut-off areas as well, since a lack of competition would have resulted to scores of people signing up for them! Anyway, I couldn't be more happier and signed up instantly for a 256kbps connection costing me Rs. 1199/month.

The service has been pretty good so far, except for a couple of days ago when the PTCL link had been damaged rendering DSL inoperable for 5-6 hours. Bearable I'd say .. but the speed's been damn good at all times. Another thing that works in my favor is the Fiber Optic line I switched to last year, finally giving up on the old copper lines, which seemed to never get rid of their noise problem. I don't know if it's mal-management or what, but the PTCL guys can't seem to keep the copper wires running devoid of noise for a week straight! Good thing I switched to fiber optic which is just wonderful ... even on dial-up!

So, all in all, I'm a happy PTCL customer - so far! :)