December 2009-An unmeetable obligation.

Last year, we all saw the T.V ads by the government which said that the electricity shortage and loadshedding problems would be wiped out by Decembeer 2009.
There is absolutely no way in hell they can do that!!These days the shortfall has soared, widespread loadshedding is being carried out and the industries have been crippled.
The government has managed to talk the talk, but it seems that it is failing to walk the walk. Consumption is growing at an almost exponential rate, and the gap between demand and supply is ever-widening. It has grown to over 2,500 Megawatts. This situation is unacceptable, as most of the residents of karachi are too poor to arrange or afford backup systems like generator and UPSs. As I write this, the generator in my garage yammers on and consumes expensive petrol, while the government doesn't appear to give a whit. Why should they? THEY don't have to endure 10-15 hours of loadshedding a day.
Lets see what happens. I personally don't think that we will get rid of loadshedding by December 2009.

WiFi hotspots in karachi

Three years after buying my trusty Sony PSP, I have just discovered that IT CAN BE USED TO SURF THE 'NET!!!!! So now, I go around karachi tapping into various WiFi hotspots and getting FREE WIRELESS INTERNET in Karachi!! The WIFI hotspots i have discovered so far are:
1-Jinnah International Airport.
2-Pearl Continental hotel.
3-Sheraton Hotel.
4-Avari Towers.
5-Hotel Mehran on Sharah-e-Faisal.
6-Karachi Club. (Free but password protected)
7-Karachi Club Annexe.(Free, but password protected. The password is "Annexestaff")
8-PNSC.(That huge container terminal on your right as you go down the PIDC bridge)
9-Park Towers.(The Food Court).
10-Cafe Evolution/Purple Haze.
11-Wired Up Cafe and Gaming Zone in Zamzama.
12-Hotel Marriot.
13-IBA City Campus in Saddar.
14-Regent Plaza.
15-Dunkin Donuts. (Tipu Sultan road).
16-Cafe Espresso.

These are the WiFi hotspots I've discovered so far. If you know of any other ones feel free to comment on them and I'll include them in this post ASAP.
A major concern is obviously taking out one's laptop or PDA in the car or in any other public area. The law and order situation is bad and this is likely to get you robbed or killed. Do be careful.

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All about the Iphone...

The Iphone, released some time back by Apple, is one of a new generation of touch-screen smartphones. anyway, this good friend of mine, Shayan Tejani, has started a great blog in which he writes all about the Iphone, including how to get free Itunes as well as how to get free Iphone applications. Visit shayantj.blogspot.com or just click here.

The World Challenge-an international ray of hope.

For the last five years, an international competition called The World Challenge has, in association with Shell, Newsweek and the BBC, found projects and small businesses from around the world which show enterprise and innovation at a grassroots level. The winner each year gets a substantial grant.

The World Challenge winner in 2008 was the Plan Bee Project, ruin by the Hashoo foundation, which is run by the Hashwani family, the hotel tycoons of Pakistan. The Hashoo foundation encourages female beekeepers of the remote Gilgit region, which is traditionally male dominated, to keep bees and harvest their premium honey. The Hashoo Foundation processes and packages their honey and sells it in luxury hotels at premium prices. The profits go directly back to the female beekeepers of the remote region. The Hashoo Foundation's Sarah Hashwani explains, "We're not interested in just helping them earn more money - we want to see that their children are better educated, that they have access to healthcare, that the have better sanitation in the houses and that they have better nutrition."

Visit the Hashoo Foundation here.

Visit the World Challenge website here.

The Plan Bee Project:

Deaths in "Rancholain"..

Just saw that deaths have been caused due to firing in some area of Karachi called "Rancholain". First time I'm hearing of that area. Watch ARY OneWorld for more info.

Taliban marriage bureau

Looks like even the Taliban in the Swat Valley have had to become modernized. According to the BBC Urdu Service, the Taliban have opened up a sort of marriage bureau called "Shuba-i-Aroosat", headed by Taliban commander Abu Ammad. It arranges love marriages for couples denied marriages of their choice by their families. Taliban spokesman, Muslim Khan has said "The love marriage aspirants contact the bureau on a fixed telephone number. The Taliban collect their particulars and then contact their familites to arrange these choice marriages,” he said, adding that Islam allows every adult to get marry according to his/her own choice.

He said, “Most of the girls, or their families, who contacted us wish to marry ‘militant’ Taliban.”

It is claimed that they have already gotten 11 couples married, while more than 300 boys and girls wait for their turn.
Amazing!

Death of a student at LUMS...Again...

It seems that LUMS (the Lahore University of Management Sciences), one of the top universities in Pakistan, has been suffering a little bad publicity lately. Only last year, a student tragically took his own life. And today early in the morning, 3 students went out of the gates and were smashed into by a drunk driver in a Pajero. One student has been pronounced dead, another has suffered major injuries, while the third one is relatively OK. As usual, the hospital had to deny medical aid to the critically injured student initially as it was a "police case". The teachers and students at LUMS have protested, and rightly so, and classes were cancelled for the day at LUMS.

I ask you to call the police chief Lahore, DIG Pervez Rathore and have your voices heard, for the police, as usual, seem determined not to deliver justice.

Call him at:

0301-4093189
042-9202976
P.S. Please spread this around. Remember every phone call counts!

Im baaackk...

I have been busy like crazy for the last two weeks cuz I was studying like crazy for my mocks and signing up for Second Life. But I am SO back....

World Cup 2011 matches cancelled....CRAP!!

Just heard that the Cricket World Cup matches due to be held in Pakistan in 2011 will not be played in Pakistan. The ICC has announced at a press conference in Dubai that due to the present security concerns about Pakistan, no World Cup matches will be played.

This has come following a decision last year deciding not to play the Champions Cup 2008 in Pakistan. Also, I have been hearing that the 2nd South Asian Swimming Championship, in which I was supposed to participate, has been cancelled. It was supposed to be held in August 2009.

Following the ICC's decision, public feeling has that been of resentment. Also, people like Nasim akhtar (former Chairman Pakistan Cricket Board) and Ramiz Raja (former skipper of the national cricket team) have said that the ICC rushed its decision. The populace feels the same.

I believe that, what the people fail to realize is that Pakistan is seen internationally as a volatile tionderbox ready to catch fire at any point. It is obvious that despite assuring "foolproof plans" to ensure the security of the Sri Lankan cricket and them having them ambushed in the heart of lahore, NO sane cricket-playing nation will send its team to play within our borders. Until we actually improve the situation in this godforsakens hitpile e call a nation, we can be rest assured of being deprived of international teams and delegates visiting us. Instead of making false promises (like Zardari did today in Japan at the Friends of Pakistan conference) we need to be truly committed to actually doing something. Only then will we actualy do something.

WTF-AMAZING!!

Someone I know sent me a link to this video on Youtube. For some reason it had been titled "Desi Ladki Ka Action", along with a bunch of other stuff that shouldn't be repeated here. Anyway, Waqar Zaka has done an amazing job of directing this cideo and its frikin' FUNNY, especially with the little guy whos always at Pizza Hut Boat Basin. And I have to say, the girl's not bad as well....:D
Heres the video:

Baitullah Mehsud claim responsibility...

It has been claimed by various news agencies that Baitullah Mehsud has accepted responsibility for the attack on the Manawan police training academy, which killed around 20 people and injured many others.

One of the terrorists being arrested.

Yeh Watan Tumhara Hai (This country is your)-NOT!!

I discovered this slideshow/video on YouTube. Played over the stirring song by Mehdi hasan this video does a great job of showing what pakistan was and what it will become.
Thanks to the people at chaikhana.blogspot.com....

Mobile snatching on the streets of Karachi..

This string of videos demonstrates how girls and guys on the streets of Karachi are brutally robbed. In some cases when they resist they are also often killed or hurt.











Its really pissing off to see stuff like this happening in front of me. i mean, what the hell are we supposed to do?

Donkey parking available!!

It seems that the Utility Stores Corporation, which was established by the government to provide goods at subsidized prices to the masses has started to provide parking for those created it. Yes, it seems that the parking at all the police stations and government-owned hospitals has run out and donkeys are now being parked at the Utility Stores. Have a look at this picture from the well-known Jang daily.

ATM robbery in Karachi

There have been a string of ATM robberies in Karachi recently. As usual, our police has been unable to arrest or even identify the culprits involved even though you can see their faces easily in the video and the videos are circulating all over the 'Net.

Pakistan police-Seriously needs help

Continuing the string of posts dissing our police force, here is another one. it particularly shows how much our police is lacking in funding and training.

Police forces of the world

Mexico police

German police force

Chinese police force





Pakistani police force-LOL!!

Indian police force-LOLer!!

Prison Pigeons in brazil

Police in Brazil have intercepted two homing pigeons which had been trained to carry parts of mobile phones to prison cells, where the handsets were later assembled by the prisoners. The trick of training pigeons to carry contraband into prisons is not a new idea in Brazil and has been used several times in the past few years.
In the last case, the pigeons were found near the prison with cloth sacks tied to their backs containing the electronics components, as shown by police representatives to Globo television after they were caught outside Danilo Pinheiro prison.