WHY can I never access Buzzvines???

HELP!!!I just saw an article on Bloggers.Pk posted on Buzzvines that I really want to read but as usual I cannot open up Buzzvines. Someone help me!!

The best Iftar deals in town!

Come Ramzan and you'll be able to see hordes of hungry people clam,ouring for food around 8.00 PM. No, this is isn't a scene at sone langar or soup kitchen, but what happens at fashionable restaraunts and eateries throughout Karachi. In Ramzan.
Anyway, I'll be publishing a whole series of guides (I hope) on the best places to eat and drink in Ramazan for Iftar, Sehri and dinner.
So, the first guide I've written is tentatively called "The Best All You Can Eat for Iftar Buffets". Enjoy.
Note: It'll be published in a later post.

Ramazan comes to town!

And so, the first week of Ramzan ends. However, I still have to see the traditional Ramazan spirit of tolerance, piety and peace among the general public, who are still enthusiastically cursing their way through town.
I'll be publishing a definitive guide on Iftar and Sehri deals in town soon....Stay tuned!

Unilever mess up; one dead.

The people over at Unilever had been behaving VERY badly recently. So bad, in fact, that they deserve to be put in the doghouse. It has surfaced recently that in their quest to reproduice a thrilling reality TV show, Unilever ended up killing a guy. Father of four, Saad Khan, lost his life when the host of the show (and also a top model) Amina Sheikh gave Saad Khan an underwatere challenge. Saad accepted but he ended up losing his life in the stunt.

Only the poor and substandard arrangements made by the cheapskates over at Unilever, and their agency, MindShare, who are the producers of the show, are responsible for the killing of the young man.

My Life Is Desi.

Thanks to some random friend on Facebook, today I discovered a website called My Life Is Desi. Apparently, its a spoof of F My Life but its still hilarious. On it, Desi people post their real life experiences regarding Desiness. Here's a few quotes:

"Today, my mom told me to steal some chopsticks from the chinese restaraunt because she wanted to use them to make seekh kebabs for the guests coming over tomorrow."

"Today, we were eating and I spilled my drink and I asked my mom for some napkins and she hands me napkins you would find at any McDonald's."

"Today, my mom threw an impromptu chai (tea) party. She threw it not to see her friends, but to finish the milk that expired yesterday."

"Today, my cousin wouldn't let my mom FedEx some cloth directly to her in New York from Houston. Instead, she is having my Khala (aunt) take it on her trip to Karachi and then have her friend pick it up and bring it on her way to New York."

"Today, my mom came home and told me she got makeup for me. it turned out to be chai-flavoured lip gloss."

"Today my dad proudly wore my brother's T-shirt which says "jackass" on the front because he accidentally thought it said "jhakaas" and he showed it to all his friends."

Happy Birthday Pakistan!!!

Congrats, Pakistan you now 62...Happy Birthday!!!

Real Smart.

A friend of mine posted a link to this picture on facebook. Its a problem posted by a boy on some site where you post a question and someone answers it. Well worth reading!

Twitter!

I finally signed up for Twitter!!!Follow me at www.twitter.com/faizkhalil.

Two years ago today-The beginning of the end.

Exactly two years ago, today was the day paramilitary forces stormed the Lal Masjid (Red Mosque) in Islamabad after a week-long standoff with the militant clerics holed up inside with dozens of hostages. It also marked the start of the end of the reign of then-President General Pervez Musharraf. After the Lal Masjid operation ended, peace deals that forces in the restive tribal areas were supposed to sign with the government were scrapped and a wave of attacks started. The lawyers movement also started in earnest after President Musharraf woefully misguaged public sentiment and sacked the Chief Justice of Pakistan, Iftikhar Mohammad Choudhry. Mind you, it also started the process that brought that idiot Zardari into the Presiential Palace. Anyway, President Musharraf was eventually forced to resign by a powerful coalition of political parties, the lawyers' movement and the citizenry. Later on, the same mix (minus the PPP) forced "President" Zardari to reinstate the Chief Justice.

So anyway, two years ago was the beginning of the end. In the process that began that day, Benazir Bhutto was killed, the PPP was brought into power, Musharraf was forced to resign, Zardari was made President, and a new wave of insurgency took hold in the northern and north-western areas of Pakistan. And so we ended up sending in the army and fighting a war against our own populace (albeit those who have chosen to wage war against Pakistan). What will happen next as a part of this process? No one knows. Lets just hope that its for the best.

WiFi hotspots in Karachi-Part II

As promised, Ive updated my original list of WiFi hotspots in Karachi (the original can be read here). As most of us know, WiFi, or Wireless Fidelity technology is widely understood to be Wireless LAN (even though there are certain differences). So basically, we in Karachi can use WiFi certified devices to move aorund and still be able to use internet without the hassle of wires. My updated list of WiFi hotspots in Karachi includes:

• SZABIST, in Clifton.
• CBM.
• FAST-NU.
• Bahria University.
• Royal Rodale Club.
• Time Out at The Forum.
• Hot Spot.
• Beach Luxury Hotel.
• Costa Coffee.
• Evolution and Purple Haze.
• Karachi Broast.
• McDonald's (Clifton).

Apart from these, there are hundreds of other,private WLAN/WiFi networks that may or may not be password-protected. It all depends on how lazy/stingy the Karachiite in question is. Do leave a comment if you know of any more WiFi/WLAN hotspots in Karachi and i'll be sure to include them in this post at the earliest possible time.

A fun alternative to your regular political news show- Hasb-e-Haal!!

A few days ago, as I was doing my nightly surf of the 100+/- channels on cable TV, I came across a program that happened to be just what I was looking for. Its called Hasb-e-Haal, and is aired by Dunya TV. Hosted by Aftab Iqbal, the show also incorporates Sohail Ahmed (who, btw, is hilarious) and Najia. The aim of Hasb-e-Haal is to discuss current event and happenings in the political, economic and social life of Pakistan. Aftab Iqbal acts as the main anchor, and Sohail Ahmed (called Azizi) gives the program most of its comedy with his witty remarks and funny anectodes. The show is funny, but unlike Hum Sab Umeed Say Hain (aired on Geo) and many other programs, it does not comprise of loud, slapstick humour. A must watch!

P.S-Thanks to the good people over at PakPoint, Hasb-e-Haal can also be watched online for free at www.pakpoint.com.

A Tribute to Pakistan Cricket Team.

This video, with the editing done by Zohaib Waqar and the concept by Xoobie Krispy, is an awesome video tribute to the Pakistan Cricket team, who by winning the T20 World Cup have brought a smile to the faces of nearly every Pakistani.

Awesome partying.

After Pakistan won the T20 WOrld Cup, spontaneous celebrations started in Islamabad. I was there at the Jinnah Super market along with fellow swimmers from the Sindh and NWFP swimming teams and we just got carried away. Dancing and shouting slogans in the streets, we tired ourselves out. Here are a few videos of the celebrations which took place at Jinnah Super. I think me and my mates are somewhere in there. Enjoyed it a lot..:D

Pakistan have indeed made a come back..

After facing a long run of defeats, Pakistan beat Sri Lanka and claimed their first ever Twenty20 World Cup on Sunday night. I was in Islamabd at the time representing Sindh at the 49th National Swimming Championships and I saw the end of the match on a small public TV in the middle of Aabpara market. And I can say that I have never before seen the enthusiasm amongst the populace which I saw after Pakistan won the T20 World Cup. I was part of the spontaneous celebrations at the Jinnah Super market which continued late into the night and the level of enthusiasm and suport there among the people surprised me.

I am SO back.

The last post I published was on the 9th of May, 2009. Its been over a month since I posted anything on my blog. In that time, I've given 3 O Level exams, been to Islamabad, Lahore and then Islamabad again, participated in the National Swimming Championships and been invited to swim for WAPDA. And I also partied my butt off at the celebrations in Islamabad after Pakistan won the T20 World Cup. And I can say, it was FUN!!!

Sorry ppl...

Hey guys, sorry for the lack of updates recently.My O Levels are about to start soon and I'm swamped by studies.
Anyway, I'll be back soon with new stuff....

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.

Attack on poilce training academy, Manawa.

In yet another one of the rocky earthquake-like happenings that our sorry country is so famous for, the police training academy at Manawa was stormed yesterday by terrorists (claimed to have links to Baitullah Mehsud), who threw grenades and fired blindly, killing twenty police officers and five civilians. Yet again, it seems that our intelligence service was forewarned but, as usual, they failed to take action. I seriously dunno whats gonna happen next-maybe Sherry Rehman dancing nude in the Parliament??

Of course, the police make themselves a huge target by doing shit like this. I mean, you can't help but want to blow them up when they do this. Have a look:

I mean, wouldn't YOU be a pissed-off Desi if some cop stops in the middle of traffic to talk to his gay police buddy at the 'station. Well, DUH!!!

The policeman on the roof is really asking for it.

China will RULE!!!

I've been thinking about about China and how its been enjoying double digit growth for the last 30 or so years. Recently, they've started expanding into the cell phone market, and from little dip-shit phones, they've gone up to making great phones. Today I saw a blog post on Sense Applied about a "Razor Phone". Now this isnt a copy of the Motorolla Razr, but the phone has a frikkin RAZOR built into it. See the full story here.

Its features include:

Dual sim cards working at the same time
Bluetooth
FM radio
E-book reader
support to extend TF card to 8GB maximally
Language :English/Chinese
2.6 inch Touch Screen – 260k VGA , 240 x 320 Px
0.3 mp Camera ( so you don't get to take a good pic of yourself shaving)
Stereo Loud Speakers
GPRS & WAP – sorry no EDGE it only keeps you on a Razor’s Edge
300 Contacts Directory
and of course a Builtin Razor.

Car capers

This is a post of various stuff that i've seen on the wacky roads of Karachi. It's funny and crazy, and I'll be updating this soon.






You get to see a lot of stuff like this on the roads of Karachi, especially in Ramzan in Karachi when everyone's hungry and suffering under the burning heat. It's like weird stuff like this is an outlet for the Desi Desparados populating our city.

Mission accomplished!!!

In a dramatic wee-hour development, the government agreed to reinstate the deposed chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammed Chaudhry who, along with nearly 50 judges, had been unceremoniously sacked by the then president and army chief General Pervez Musharraf almost two years ago.

In a long-awaited development, the PPP government finally bowed to immense pressure by the opposition and the lawyers movement. The announcement by the Prime Minister ordering the reinstatement of judges followed a not-so-veiled warning by Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq P Kiyani told the government that they needed to reverse some of their more controversial decisions before the situation spiralled out of control.

The reinstated Chief Justice is likely to continue the work he was doing in office before being deposed in 2007-the finding of the 'missing people' many believe to have been held by the security agencies.

After the announcement restoring the judiciary, scenes of mass celebration and jubiliation were seen in the streets, especially in the cities of the Punjab, and sweets were handed out. Many people also resorted to aerial firing.

The full story can be seen here.

I personally believe that the reinstatement of the CJ, Mr. Iftikhar Chaudhry ought to have positive repercussions. The Constitution in force, that is, the 1973 Constitution provides for an independent judiciary in its' preamble, the Objectives Resolution, by clearly stating ["Wherein the independence of the judiciary shall be fully secured"].

Anyway, lets just be thankful that this crisis is over. Now, Ali Ahmed Kurd and all the other lawyers can finally get back to their real job with this little sojourn over. Hey, maybe Kurd will be able to finally change that ridiculous hairstyle of his.

Supreme Court Bar Association President Ali Ahmed Kurd-with that ridculous hairstyle of his.

And maybe, maybe, this will be enough to wipe that huge smirk off "President" Zardari's face.

"President" Zardari-with that huge smirk of his.

Geo News snuffed. Once again.

It seems that we are once more returning to the bad old days on Nvember 2007 when emergency was imposed by then President Musharraf and the star of our mushrooming group of TV channels was ordered to shut down. In an ironic twist of events, today, cable operators were threatened and told to shut down Geo TV. This has now taken place in Karachi, Peshawar, Quetta, Lahore and Islamabad. The full story can be seen here.Ask anyone in Pakistan and they'll tell you one of the reasons that the PPP came into government was because of their promises to restore democracy, the judiciary and to make the media independent. In fact, non of these have taken place. The judiciary is still beholden to the corupt, inefficient government, and yet again, the media has been shut down while the lawyers movement is brutally suppressed and atrocities are committed. At the same time, the economy is so far down the toilet that it probably can't even see the toilet roll and Pakistan's standing in international forums has fallen greatly.

It seems that the government of "President" Zardari IS definitely corrupt, inefficient and self-serving (big surprise there). Anyway, what I really don't get is why that bastard refuses to liberate the judiciary. Hes probably afraid that the BILLIONS of dollars hes embezzled will be discovered.

OK, now only a kind and merciful God with a highly developed sense of irony will save this country from going to the dogs (characterized by Asif Zardari).

The Show Must Go On....And on and on and on....

Our country seems to resemble something like a bad soap opera. The show just keeps dragging on and on and on..
Its like the show goes on whenever theres another "democratically elected" government and then at regular intervals, theres a break, shown by yet another imposition of Martial Law. Like a bad soap, the saga never seems to want to finish, and the same actors keep showing up through the ages playing different roles and characters. It seems that the only thing keeping the country on its feet is the breath of fresh air that (usually) blows in during Martial Law.
It seems that we need a bunch of new, EDUCATED politicians who can actually think for themselves..Otherwise it'll be the same old story all over again, Martial Law, failed ddemocracy, corrupt democracy, Martial Law and so on...
It seems we need another Ayub Khan....Rise from the dead, Ayub!!!

Free girl provided at a beauty parlour...

This is a picture of a signboard that's been going around the 'Net lately.

The translation goes like:

"Husna Beauty Parlor.

Facials - Threading - Plucking - Bleach - Cutting - Party Makeup.

Great and satisfactory work, in your neighborhood.

Get One Girl Free with the Bride."

The signmaker should't have been stingy with the words..LOL

Allegations

Okay, Punjab is really into deep shit now. A few days ago, the Governor of the Punjab, Mr. Salman Taseer, accusedthe former Chief Minister, Mr. Shebaz Sharif, of having upto 144 armoured vehicles accompanying him around. SHIT...People are dying of hunger, disease and stuff, while this bastard has more than a HUNDRED FRIGGIN CARS trailing him around. Damn!!
Anyway, today at a rally in Lahore, Mr. Shebaz Sharif has accused "President" Zardari's crony and advisor, Mr. Rehman Malik of stealing upto Rs. 50 million from public funds. GAWDDAMNIT, will these people never learn??
Those bastards...

Shame..

Shame can come in many forms...But right now its come to visit Pakistan in the form of the horrible terrorist attacks on the Sri Lankan cricket team. Right now, our country has been humiliated internationally, tensions with arch enemy India are rising and the stock exchange is down. There remains a threat of another flight of capital like after the Mariott bombings last year. Besides the six police officers, a driver of a vehicle in the convoy was also killed. Seven Sri Lankan players, a Pakistani umpire and a coach from Britain were wounded, none with life-threatening injuries. As usual, our governement has floundered about, trying to blame India, various militant factions and different people within itself.



Now for my opinion:

To the:

Freaks in our government: SCREW YOU!!! Why don't you actually DO something instead of just pointing fingers, arresting people absolutely uninvolved in any crime and talking about "non-state actors" in every media interview [thank you "President" Zardari].

Militant groups: SCREW YOU TOO!!! The majority of the Pakistani population never wanted to be in the war on terror. So, go attack, bomb and rape Musharraf, Bush and all the other gay, crusty old men who dragged us into it. And while you're at it, why don't you try picking up a translation of the Holy Qura'an and try actually following the true principles of Islam. Huh??How 'bout that??

A few years ago, when General Musharraf took over in a counter-coup, many of the intelligensia breathed sighs of relief and hoped that he was not ct from the same cloth as the previous militiary dictators like General Yahya Khan [stupid drunk who fell to the hims of Bhutto and gave away East Pakistan], General Zia-ul-Haq [had a penchant for actresses and a ludicrous mustache]. Musharraf quickly settled the economy, set the country moving forward and liberalized it. (He also had a curious habitt of shutting away people in secret jails). Anyway, he was a progressive dude.

Meanwhile, the present government has bungled up the economy, gave away Swat to the militants and has started to turn Punjab into a battlefield. Thank you, Zardari.

Anyway, we really need some rulers who actually know how to run the country and havn't flunked their classes at the Naval Cadet College of Petaro like "President" Zardari.

Cricket goes byee-byee in Pakistan...

In a surprising development, today the bus of the visiting Sri lankan cricket team was shot at by militants using RPGs, automatic weapons and hand grenade. The Sri Lankan team was swiftly evacuated using militiary helicopters. It is reported that the governemnt had prior information of this attack from a report which was apparently handed to them as early as 22 January 2009 accusing agents of RAW, the intellgience agency attacking the Sri Lankan team at this very place and time.

The Government of the Punjab was apparently too busy changing the IG, six SPs and several other high police officials in Punjab as well as changing chief ministers and what not. With the imposition of Governor Rule in Punjab, all executive authority rests with Governor Salman Taseer and he is in charge of the government. As usual, "President" Asif A. Zardari has 'regretted" the incident.
News stories related to the incident can be found at Dawn[http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/Dawn%20Content%20Library/dawn/news/pakistan/punjab/sri-lankan-cricket-team-convoy-attacked-eight-players-injured-ha] and Yahoo [http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090303/ap_on_re_as/as_pakistan_cricketers_attacked]

The attack has been described by a senior journalist as "remarkably well planned" and it is said to bear a lot of similarity to the mumbai attacks.

With an attack like this the standard of sports is likely to fall even more in Pakistan, not that it was that high anyway. Foreign teams' visits to Pakistan will likely lessen (not that they were that high anyway) and sports activity in pakistan would probably slow to a halt. I remember that as early as 2007, when I was participating in the 1st South Asian Swimming Championship, at least two teams-including Bangladesh-refused to attend. I don't think that Pakistan's sports teams will be able to go for foeign tours. DAMN!!!! And i wanted to be at Dhaka at the 2010
SAF Games representing Pakistan.

God, what a clusterf**k!!!!Get your act together people!!!

P.S:Shahid Afridi just said that cricket would become more "difficult" in Pakistan.

The ICC has also cancelled the Pakistani part of the World Cup unless there is a "dramatic change". Gee, that seems unlikely.

Younis Khan has also stomped out of a press conference in anger and disgust. Dunno why yet.

Following are pictures of the attack:

Electricity woes-Part 2

It seems that with the advent of the Islamic month of Rabiul Awal, everyone seems to have forgotten the shortfall of electricity affecting Pakistan and is happy celebrating the Prophet's(PBUH) birthday with lights garishly decorating the streets and naats blaring out like its the religious version of Dubai Desert Rock, or Desert rock or whatever the hell its' called. I took some pictures with my cameraphone of these giddy scenes on the streets and here they are:

One can only hope that God actually gives the people celebrating these "Islamic celebrations" so they can realise that saving some electricity would actually be better.

Electricity woes...

Karachi gives you the benefit of being able to fit in any society at all, with or without electricity.

Aaj kal both my generator and UPS is dead. I’ve been dropped to ‘normal’ non- elitist, non burger level. Now it's my house in perpetual darkness while the entire street is aglow. And being a burger and an 'elite', I can't take that.

I have no qualms with the KESC. We use up more electricity then we produce, half the city steals, the other half fix the meters, and the few that pay the bill curse them so much they probably have booked seats in hell. What I can't stand is myself being so dependent on electricity that 5 minutes without a fan drives me insane. And nothing pisses me off more than seeing the barabar wala house radiating more light than uranium. It's all I can do to keep from putting sugar in their generator's engine. In my defense, they have their meter 'fixed' as well.

I miss the days before generators and UPS’s where everyone became equal whenever the KESCwale or WAPDA (let’s not limit this to Karachi) felt like giving society a sermon.

Trucker Tales

I've decided to start a new series on my blog. I'tll be called "Trucker tales", consisting on stuff that I see during the day on the back of rickshaws, trucks and buses. so, the maiden trucker Tale is:

"Sajan koi koi. Dushman har koi"

Enjoy.

Power crisis??What power crises???

Taken at 8 A.M.

As the Holy Prophets (pbuh) birthday gets closer, Karachi is lit up in an array of overpowering green and white. The colors of choice for the various religious organizations making plans which last upto 12 days during this holy month.
Chief among them is the “DI” or Dawate Islami which seems to have decided on its own that there is no power crises in this country and that people want to hear naats and cries of “Sarkar ki amad, marhaba” at all hours of the night.
Noise pollution aside, even though they claim to pay for all the lighting they use, i think it is quite safe to say that their over zealous celebrations are turning from a pageant to a nuisance every year.
Perhaps it is their war with the shiates who paint the city black with equal fervor to their green that has gained precendence over true spirit and effort? The emphasis is now more towards outdoing each other then on bettering oneself. In either case its been a total of 72 hours and the naats are not stopping, the lights are not turned off during the day even upto 10am sometimes and it feels like I am being kept in some of sort of concentration camp. Naats and duas are beautiful to listen to when one has the choice to listen to them when they want not whether they want to or not!!!

Park where you please in New York- Reflective of corruption

What makes officials corrupt?

Disentangling law and culture is a tricky business, but a pair of economists have come up with an ingenious way to do it: studying the frequency of parking violations committed by diplomats in New York City. Since, as their study reports, there is "essentially zero legal enforcement of diplomatic parking violations," the authors hypothesized that any cross-national variation in parking-violation rates should flow from culture alone. And sure enough, diplomats from countries with high levels of corruption were significantly more likely to incur parking tickets, suggesting that cultural factors rather than legal norms drive a great deal of official misconduct.

More interestingly, the number of parking tickets of diplomats from corrupt countries increased with their stay in New York, implying that the diplomats took some time to make sure they weren't going to get caught, then went all out. So, a deterrent would lower corruption, even if it can't stop it.

Funny stuff #6

In keeping with the age-old Pakistani tradition of poking fun at our (corrupt and incompetent) rulers, I decided to post up some picture I found on the 'Net. When I say "government of Pakistan", I actually mean the current circus that's in town. Most of the pictures have to do with Asif Ali Zardari, the only head of state in the world who has served time for corruption and is also referred to as "the ultimate oppurtunist" due to fate handing him everything he wants, via the Supreme Court and sham elections.

"Why so serious??"

Puppet master!!

"The names Zardari, Asif Ali Zardari".

"Mmmmmm....yeah!!!..mmm...lemme at 'em!!"

I SO wanna go to Oxford. Well actually, no I don't. Disgraceful!

Malir River Bridge

Malir River bridge was inaugurated on 4th Feb,2009 by Governor Sindh. The 5km bridge is the longest in Pakistan. It links Korangi to Shah Faisal Colony via Malir River. Here are some pictures for the same. Well done CDGK. Around 43 houses were demolished on the site after payment of compensation to their owners.

Funny stuff #5

The world of sports has long been known for its' humorous side. Here are a few of these imortalized moments I got from the Web. Of course, most of them are from football, the funniest sport in the world!

"Oh YAH!!! Now that feels GOOD!!"

"I can't wait..I just gotta have it NOW!!"

"I thought you were doping that to the other guy."

"Mmm...mmm....I've been waiting my whole life for this.."

"Uhhh..Don't you think we should do this off the field?"

I soo wanna see the landing!!