tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16404563270846453232023-11-16T11:02:17.888-08:00Knock! Knock!Knocking here and knocking there...Amadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04050364401907861298noreply@blogger.comBlogger52125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1640456327084645323.post-30660490225190163482012-08-11T04:05:00.001-07:002012-08-11T05:03:49.163-07:0020 Things I want in my Tablet<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Ebrima; font-size: small;"><br />Dear Tablet PC Manufacturers, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Ebrima; font-size: small;">Google has started shipping its latest tablet PC called Google Nexus 7. Apple’s iPad is already a market leader, but they are also planning to launch iPad Mini in September. Amazon’s Kindle Fire caused a lot of positive vibe last year while Lenovo and Samsung has some offerings as well. But the most noise, nowadays, is coming from Microsoft, who is about to launch its surface tablet PC. So has been become quite difficult not to own a tablet PC nowadays. I am willing to pay a maximum of $300 but I have 20 things which I require in my tablet PC, which would enable me to replace my laptop (at least for home use) and give me even more. So if you want to earn my $300, then read this blog and make a tablet PC which fits the bill. </span></div>
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USB Connection (Flash Drive). This is a must, I want to swap my files from here there and everywhere, and I don’t want to do so, through my laptop. Since I don’t want to open my laptop. </div>
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Disk Management tool. I hate it when I can’t see my files in my device like the case in my iPod touch. All files are available within the individual apps, and one app cannot open other app’s file. e.g. I have some pdfs in iBooks, but I can’t open those PDFs in Adobe Reader! I hate this restriction. I own the files so I should be able to open it from any app/tool that supports it. </div>
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<li>Wi Fi (Obviously), no need for 3G/4G. </li>
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Skype with camera support. </div>
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Easy typing (For Blogging and Emails).</div>
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Good Blogging Tools, allowing me to create new and manage existing blogs. </div>
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Social (Twitter, Google+, So.cl). I don’t need Facebook, so you can cut the extra $50 for that. </div>
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Good Readers for PDFs eBooks. I hate it, if my PDF documents don’t align and fit in the screen. And yes I read a lot of URDU PDFs, in which pages are scanned and not written. I want that to align as well. </div>
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Email Programs (connect to Exchange, GMail, Outlook.com and any other email programs that I might wish to create an account in, in the future)</div>
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Camera.</div>
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Easy upload of videos. </div>
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Open all sites, ALL OF THEM. Not like Apple IOS 5, which doesn’t open some videos sites, which has flash etc. </div>
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Open all Live Streaming websites and other video sites. </div>
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Support torrents (Yes I am a pirate)</div>
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A stand/cover, which would make the tab stand up, so that I don’t have to hold it in my hands, forever. </div>
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Looks and Feels Cool. </div>
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Connectivity with PC. </div>
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Shouldn’t be Sluggish.</div>
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Good RSS Reader for my Google Reader Account.</div>
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VOIP Support.</div>
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</span> </div>Amadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04050364401907861298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1640456327084645323.post-39829955347010149412012-01-18T19:27:00.000-08:002012-01-18T19:27:30.269-08:00How to list all sheets in Excel<div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(99, 99, 99); font-family: 'Segoe UI'; font-size: 13px; text-align: -webkit-auto; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Insert a new sheet and have that sheet active when you run the macro.</span></div><div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"></div><div>Right click on the sheet and click on 'view code'</div><div>Paste the below code and click on 'run'</div><div><br /></div><div>"Private Sub ListSheets()<br />'list of sheet names starting at A1<br />Dim rng As Range<br />Dim i As Integer<br />Set rng = Range("A1")<br />For Each Sheet In ActiveWorkbook.Sheets<br />rng.Offset(i, 0).Value = Sheet.Name<br />i = i + 1<br />Next Sheet<br />End Sub"<br /><br /><a style="font-size:13px" href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/pengoopmcjnbflcjbmoeodbmoflcgjlk">'via Blog this'</a></div><div>Courtesy: <a href="http://www.eggheadcafe.com/software/aspnet/28898686/how-to-list-all-sheets.aspx">http://www.eggheadcafe.com/software/aspnet/28898686/how-to-list-all-sheets.aspx</a></div>Amadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04050364401907861298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1640456327084645323.post-85329414031738334982011-12-01T00:31:00.001-08:002011-12-02T07:10:07.836-08:00And So It Begins<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Few would deny that these are historic times. And we happen to be in the middle of it. Witnessing it live. Years from now, our grand children, will ask us about these times. And one of their questions can be what did we do? On which side were we standing?</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Witnessing events which might be historic, can be a bit tricky. As things unfold before you, you don't realize that the event can be epic. History unfolds as a chain of small, sometimes seemingly insignificant events. But as a snowball rolling down from the top of a hill, the event starts becoming bigger and bigger.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Imran Khan's October 30th Rally, changed everything. It changed the status quo. It threatened the people, who were never threatened like this before. The giant statures of Nawaz Sharif and Zardari are rapidly diminishing. Like a hunter he has cornered his prey. But NS and AZ will not go down tamely. They might act like 'cornered tigers', a term Khan is quite familiar with, himself.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Few also can deny that Khan do not have a easy battle in front of him. While millions know about the corruption of NS and AZ, but few know about the corruption of bureaucracy, military and judiciary. Will the bureaucracy be tamed by the Khan? Can he fight the system and not just two aging politicians?</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This series of blogs 'And so it begins...' lets me write about the events as they unfold. I am inspired by these events. For the first time, in my life, I see a possibility of change, even though it is very slim.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Will Khan succeed? Can he take on goliath? Will the prayers be answered? </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjutiJOyqNgUWwg8irtWA_Vt-J9mlS-oBEswa5UqjykXctA0nvEorGTm3qrBLHZa_kvC2NKo0ZeZLFUdYEYrkSaFLDy3Aaq1lSshmN4AO3N1DdFRgqRhtdCPtow39B9olBKQCODoVj-WxU/s1600/Shair3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="72" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjutiJOyqNgUWwg8irtWA_Vt-J9mlS-oBEswa5UqjykXctA0nvEorGTm3qrBLHZa_kvC2NKo0ZeZLFUdYEYrkSaFLDy3Aaq1lSshmN4AO3N1DdFRgqRhtdCPtow39B9olBKQCODoVj-WxU/s320/Shair3.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br /></div>Amadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04050364401907861298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1640456327084645323.post-42886493694833746102011-11-23T10:38:00.000-08:002011-11-23T10:41:29.631-08:00Ulema Meeting With Musharraf after 9/11<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Below is an excellent article by Ansar Abbasi, originally written by Mufti Rafi Usmani, on what happened behind the scenes during Musharraf's meeting with Ulema-e-Karaam after the attack of 9/11 and before the decision to attack on Afghanistan.<br />
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<a href="http://jang.com.pk/jang/oct2011-daily/10-10-2011/col7.htm">Jang Group Online</a>:<br />
<br /></div>Amadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04050364401907861298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1640456327084645323.post-73685078615625405692011-11-18T03:22:00.000-08:002011-11-18T03:22:28.698-08:00Lahore 30/10/2011 Revolution Pakistan-Imran Khan-PTI---Hypocrisy Unleashed - YouTube<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7qTLobqzPg&feature=BFa&list=WL657AAA7322E7A44A&lf=mh_lolz">Lahore 30/10/2011 Revolution Pakistan-Imran Khan-PTI---Hypocrisy Unleashed - YouTube</a>:<br /><br /><a style="font-size:13px" href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/pengoopmcjnbflcjbmoeodbmoflcgjlk">'via Blog this'</a>Amadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04050364401907861298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1640456327084645323.post-57232328988161053992011-10-01T06:44:00.000-07:002011-10-01T06:45:00.781-07:00Difference In Attitudes<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19px;">Japanese Attitude for work:</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19px;"> </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 19px;">if none can do it, ya-akhi why should i do it!</span></span></div>
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Amadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04050364401907861298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1640456327084645323.post-54157313667599764412011-10-01T03:08:00.000-07:002011-10-01T03:11:51.993-07:00Shoaib Akhtar - Sachin is your God not my God<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Well one thing is for sure, Shoaib Akhtar is the boldest cricket ever. He doesn't think much about saying anything. Below are his answers to all the controversies his book created. And they are pretty bold :)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">While answering to Indian Media about the controversies created by his book, Shoaib tells them that Sachin is your God and not my God. 'And if your God can get a ball hit on his head, then its your problem not his'. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Meanwhile Afridi, another bold Pakistani cricketer, has vouched for Shoaib, saying that Sachin was really scared of Shoaib, and Afridi could see Sachin's legs shaking, while Afridi was standing on the square leg. </span></div>
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Amadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04050364401907861298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1640456327084645323.post-74034303099417140982011-09-30T15:29:00.000-07:002011-09-30T15:29:02.810-07:00SCSM - IT Operations Perspective<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Microsoft's System Center Service Manager is here. Fancy names aside, it is a ticketing system which keeps a track of all the work done in IT operations. We have just launched SCSM in our production environment and right now is a good time to tell you guys as to how I, being part of IT Operations, see SCSM. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">SCSM's first release has a huge feature set, but once you go inside you find that each feature is at a pretty basic level and if your IT operations is at an advance level, you can forget about an out of the box implementation of SCSM. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Having said that, Microsoft seems to be pretty serious about SCSM and they have already opened a lot of communication channels (via forums, Partners, MS Connect etc) to ensure that SCSM can be customized easily to tailor fit any environment. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Contrary to what I was told during our initial meetings with MS, I didn't find SCSM to be "100% ITIL V3 compatible". Two important areas of IT operations as defined by ITIL V3 namely Events Management and Requests Fulfillment were missing. And no matter what anyone say, I need a visible distinction between Events and Incidents. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The integration with System Center Operations Manager (or MS's monitoring tool), is seamless and brilliant. SCOM is responsible for reporting alerts in case of any issue in your IT infrastructure (e.g. a CI has crossed an acceptable level of operations e.g. C Drive is 80% full), and once that alert is reported, you have a choice to automatically create a ticket and assign to the relevant team or you can send the alert from SCOM to SCSM. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Although not officially released by MS, but the SCSM community has created an exchange connector which is quite brilliant. With the help of this connector you can create, update and even close a ticket by just sending an email to a designated mailbox which SCSM reads after a defined frequency. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Reports are very very basic in nature. But if you know anything about database design and SQL query language, have no fear. With the help of Sql Reporting Services, you can create your own reports, which is much better actually, since every organization has its own set of unique reporting requirements. However as a future add on, if a reporting tool is built into SCSM for non SQL literate folks, then it will facilitate the SCSM users even further. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>User Friendly</b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Obviously its a Microsoft product, so the added benefit of being user friendly is definitely there. But I have found it to be a bit slow. Considering its basic requirement is a top notch h/w with Windows 2008 and SQL Server 2008, it doesn't reflect well into the architecture of SCSM. So if you are seriously considering SCSM, make sure that you go through the design considerations carefully. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Web Portal</b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Web portal has nothing to write home about. Although I expected that Web Portals are the future of all MS applications, but MS chose to go with fat client consoles. I am not sure why. Maybe, for now, they just included a basic web portal with plans to expand it in future releases. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Final Verdict</b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">If you are not in a hurry and can wait for the next release of SCSM, then do so. Since I believe that the next two releases/versions of SCSM will be much mature than this one. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Stay tuned for more on SCSM. </span></div>
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Amadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04050364401907861298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1640456327084645323.post-31550032380648853802011-09-30T08:59:00.000-07:002011-09-30T09:01:02.525-07:00Why I have not bought an Apple Till Now?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I remember there was a time, when I was a big fan of Apple, even though for most of my life, I couldn't afford any of their products. Their powerful Macintosh desktops, their flat screens, their lamp shaped PCs, their introduction of mouse etc all amazed me. Obviously everything was out of my buying power. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Eventually after collecting a lot of funds and mustering up a lot of courage, I eventually bought the stick shaped, finger sized iPod Shuffle. I was pretty excited to finally own a apple. But when I found out that I couldn't copy the mp3 files directly into the shuffle and I needed iTunes to transfer them to be able to listen to them, the fun ended. Something was not right, with Apple's approach. It was trying to create a world of its own. And it was trying to tell you what you should do and what you shouldn't do on the internet. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Years later, my buying power increased but Apple's approach stuck with me. Every time, I evaluated an Apple product, the verdict was, it is a cool toy to have, but you won't be able to use it as one and all. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Now the world has been taken over by Apple frenzy with the release of iPhone, iPod and iPad. Still they are not cheap and still Apple prefers to stay in a world of its own. e.g. Flash is not supported on Apple devices. Now that takes away half of the news, sports and cricket/squash highlight websites, that I am so used to browsing daily. So if I buy an iPad, I won't be able to do what I am doing now. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">No thank you is my reply to Apple. Instead of iPhone, I bought Nokia N8. It might be a little sluggish, but after buying it, I have packed my camera, my mp3 player, my FM modulator, I am carrying my office Cisco IP Phone extension anywhere I travel in my office and I am not even using my laptop during weekends! Instead of iPod Touch i already have Nokia N8. And for reading online books, my choice would be 'Kindle' rather than iPad, since I prefer reading books for 3-4 hours and iPad's back light and its weight, are not somethings that I prefer in my books. </span></div>
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Amadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04050364401907861298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1640456327084645323.post-70027145086320705962011-09-30T07:41:00.000-07:002011-09-30T07:41:29.012-07:00Squash - The Beginning<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">No I am not talking about a lemonade. I am talking about Squash the game. It is an excellent game, giving you fitness, stamina, quick thinking, judgement and best of all an exhilarating feeling. If you are a beginner or someone thinking about starting this game, read on, for some tips on how make the best out of squash. </span></div>
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Have Passion For The Game</span></b></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Well no marriage lasts without passion. And that holds true for the game of squash as well. In an ideal squash game, more often than once, you would be required to push the limits, and if you don't have that passion, you won't find that push. The good thing about human mind and heart is that it can produce passion for anything. If you are still having trouble, consider the below</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">a. Watch international players and games. (You can do so at psasquashtv.com. You don't have to watch the full game some highlights might do)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">b. Watch the senior players in your club in action.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">c. Target certain players that you wish to beat.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">If you develop passion for squash and make it a part of your life style, very soon you will see that squash starts paying you back. Don't let squash be another spike in your life, which you start with a bang and end with a whimper.</span></div>
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Planning</span></b></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Success through a plan is much more pleasing, than success through a fluke. If you are not planning your game, you are opting for 'Random Squash' (going to the court, hit a few balls and come back), which will make you lose interest in squash very quickly.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Your Squash Plan, doesn't have to be grand. It can be something which you come out with while driving to your club, browsing through Squash websites or watching a game of Pros. It might include. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">a. Which days of the week you will play and which days you will rest. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">b. Which days you want to practice alone, and which days you want to play games with your partners. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">c. Which shots you plan to incorporate in your game, in this week/month (e.g. I dedicated one full week to developing my fore hand, and one full week to developing my back hand)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">e.g. I once saw Nick Matthews (current World # 1) take a big lunge to his right, from the T position, take the ball on the volley and hit a nick. This shot gave no time to the then world # 1 Ramy Ashour to even think about going for the ball, although it wasn't even a good nick/drop. The moment I saw that shot, I included that in my practice plan.</span></div>
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Grip</span></b></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">You will get a lot of good videos on the internet, telling you how your grip should be. Over here I just want to tell you that, (a) make sure you are not holding the racquet too tight or too lose. During the game, you might need to change the way you are holding your racquet to pick up some impossible shots, which you cannot pick up through your regular grip. e.g. you might want to pick a drop shot by placing your racquet below the ball like a shovel. To pick a ball which is further away from your body or to hit a power shot, you might want to hold the racquet from the end, to get more control, you might want to hold the racquet from the top etc.</span></div>
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Watch The Racket</span></b></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Most squash sites will tell you 'Keep your eyes on the ball'. But I found that, this is not enough. The game of squash has become much faster, the reaction time is lesser, the Rackets are more powerful etc, so if your plan is to 'just' watch the ball, that plan will fail more often than it will succeed. So you can start squash by watching the ball, but keep in mind, that you have to upgrade/train yourself in observing watching the opponent's racket. You will win a lot of points by doing that. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Then upgrade yourself by watching his body position which will tell you where the ball is going to end up, before your opponent has even hit the ball, this will give you a good time to reach that location, and most importantly you don't have to run towards it, you can walk towards the ball and conserve your precious energy.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">But obviously the final level, would be to know your opponent so well, that you would know what shot he will hit, as soon as you have hit the ball towards him! I know that requires a lot of intuition. At club level, most of your opponents would only have a selected range of shots, so this trick, once you reach to that level, would win a lot of points for you. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Learn To Observe</b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Or rather have 'patience' to observe. Most players want to get in a court, stay in the court, and then leave for home. You will be surprised to know how much you can train yourself by just observing.</span></div>
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Warm Up </span></b></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">You should and might already be having a good warm up routine. There are plenty of tutorials available for the same. Make sure all your joints and blades are rotated etc.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">But one essential part of the body you need to warm up, which might not be included in those videos, are your eyes. Yes you need to warm up your eyes as well. No, not by watching girls. But while you and your opponent are warming up the ball, make sure that your eyes are on the ball at all times. This will train your eyes, to follow the ball, to find the ball in case of a powerful shot etc.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">You might also want to observe your opponents hand, holding the racquet. How he moves his wrist, what is the position of his racquet in different scenarios etc. All of this might give you some points into his game.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">As I delve deeper into the world of squash, I might add some more tips here, so stay tuned!</span></div>
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Amadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04050364401907861298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1640456327084645323.post-26901329237223304292011-09-26T06:30:00.000-07:002011-09-26T06:30:46.997-07:00Well Done Team Pakistan!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Well Pakistan cricket team has finished its tour of Zimbabwe in which they won every match, and also discovered a good (but old) bowler Mr. Cheema. This is good since seeing the upcoming load on Pakistan, it would be handy to have bench strength. Hafeez also found his form and the Pakistani fan is now starting to live with the Akmals. No huge performance from both the brothers, but they will (just like Imran Farhat), no doubt, retain their places in the playing 11 in place of other more deserving candidates like Asad Shafiq, Khalid Latif and Khurram Manzoor.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">But I am not sure whether to be more happy for them for winning every match on the tour or I should be more happy for the fact that there were no controversies. I think it definitely is the latter. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Any hoo, Mr. Chairman, Mr. Shoaib Akhtar and Mr. Waseem Akram, all did their part in ensuring that Pakistani cricket keeps on presenting all the wrong news headlines. Mr. Shoaib releases his autobiography, Mr. Chairman calls it 'bullshit' and Mr. Akram says that Shoaib was a problem before and is a problem now!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I am not sure that whether Mr. Chairman should have used such words in public, but anyhow, unless he is not blaming the international cricket boards for fixing matches, all is well in Pakistan. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">What is your response to this series, do let me know. I continue on my fickle pledge not to follow Pakistani cricket anymore, BUT, did watch some highlights here and there and did like Hafeez and Shafiq's boundaries and Cheema's yorker! Hope to see better signs in the SriLanka series...</span></div>
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Amadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04050364401907861298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1640456327084645323.post-51885225520064481952011-09-26T06:13:00.001-07:002011-09-26T06:17:00.593-07:00Vishwa Bandhu Gupta Explains Cloud computing<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dw72emPbnGWBWBN4WIsG_MgWndpLG-4Qs3rKotYmnj8Yw-rRbCR9-o7O1RkYTab_Mo4R1lGNVipdWx8sgIoLw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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An absolutely funny video. No words for it. </div>
Amadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04050364401907861298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1640456327084645323.post-85951103007829311722011-09-26T05:00:00.001-07:002011-09-26T06:16:36.701-07:00The McGurk effect<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Amadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04050364401907861298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1640456327084645323.post-31618957883644957732011-08-28T15:39:00.001-07:002011-08-28T15:41:47.027-07:00Sadaqatul-Fitr Explained<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica;"><span style="font-size: 20pt;"></span></span><br />
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<center></center><span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica;"><b> </b> </span> <br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-weight: 700;">By Mufti Taqi Usmani</span></div><div align="justify">Sadaqat-ul-fitr is an obligation for every Muslim, male or female, who owns 613.35 grams of silver or its equivalent, either in the form of money, ornaments, stock-in-trade, or in the form of some goods or commodities beyond one's normal needs. Every person who owns such an amount has to pay Sadaqat-ul-fitr, not only on behalf of himself but also on behalf of his minor children. The prescribed amount of Sadaqat-ul-fitr is 1.75 Kilograms of wheat or its value in money. This amount is prescribed for paying Sadaqat-ul-fitr for one person only. If a person has some minor children, the same amount has to be paid on behalf of each one of them separately. The following points must be remembered concerning the payment of Sadaqat-ul-fitr. <br />
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1. Sadaqat-ul-fitr is obligated on each adult male or female separately, and the relevant adult person himself is responsible to pay it. The husband is not required to pay Sadaqat-ul-fitr on behalf of his wife nor is the wife supposed to pay it on behalf of her husband. Similarly, a father is not bound to pay Sadaqat-ul-fitr on behalf of his adult children or vice-versa. However, if the head of the family, by his own free will, wishes to pay Sadaqat-ul-fitr for each one of the members of his family, he should seek their authorization for that purpose. In this case the Sadaqat-ul-fitr paid by him will be valid on their behalf. If he did not pay the Sadaqat-ul-fitr on behalf of any of the members of his family, he will not be responsible for it. Rather, it is the duty of every adult member of the family to discharge his own obligation or to request the head of the family to pay it on his or her behalf.<br />
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2. It is a Sunnah that the Sadaqat-ul-fitr is paid before performing the 'Eid prayer. It can also be paid before the 'Eid day, but it is not advisable to delay it up to the performance of'Eid prayer. However, if a person has failed to pay on its proper time, he should pay it as soon as possible, whereby the obligation will stand discharged.<br />
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3. The Sadaqat-ul-fitr is not necessary on behalf of a child who was born after the break of dawn in the 'Eid day, nor is it necessary to pay Sadaqat-ul-fitr on behalf of a person who dies before the dawn of the Eid day.<br />
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4. Sadaqat-ul-fitr should be paid only to a person who is entitled to receive Zakah.</div>Amadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04050364401907861298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1640456327084645323.post-68274533151295929962011-08-10T09:54:00.000-07:002011-08-10T09:54:51.472-07:00Thought Provoking Piece by Allama Iqbal<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div><div dir="ltr"><div><div class="ecxWordSection1"><div><div><div><div><div><div id="ecxyiv150791113"><div><div><div><div id="ecxyiv150791113"><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></i></div><div class="ecxMsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">When I Go To The West I See Islam Without Muslims.<span style="color: black;"></span></span></div></div><div class="ecxMsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">But<span style="color: black;"></span></span></div></div><div class="ecxMsoNormal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">When I Come Back To The East I See Muslims Without Islam</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></div></div><div align="center" class="ecxMsoNormal" style="background: white; text-align: center;"><br />
</div></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7XqoYhxi5u9RQlMTY0MNH3YkpQzZXbdNgzXYWk8O3l700E8i0hqnA_s_sv7UGCicqSVY6hdchSTRpzXhRAxiwZg1f3I69Kh8Ai6tvns2-V0BWqSKyCtdDelmIHfC-UfBF30oPLXj3lAA/s1600/image002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7XqoYhxi5u9RQlMTY0MNH3YkpQzZXbdNgzXYWk8O3l700E8i0hqnA_s_sv7UGCicqSVY6hdchSTRpzXhRAxiwZg1f3I69Kh8Ai6tvns2-V0BWqSKyCtdDelmIHfC-UfBF30oPLXj3lAA/s320/image002.jpg" width="233" /></a></div><br />
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</span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Amadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04050364401907861298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1640456327084645323.post-48261916723118706142011-08-07T07:49:00.000-07:002011-08-07T07:54:47.550-07:00Fruit Chat Take 2<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Well Yesterday I tried to make Fruit Chaat. And simply put, I failed miserably. Its not my fault that my wife doesn't label her Masaala bottles. And spare me from not 'smelling' the difference between cummin powder and Chaat Masaala. Its Ramadhan I couldn't even taste to tell. Anyways, now I know the difference. And going to make the world's most popular (at least for me) fruit chaat. Thanks to the below recipe, I am going to give 'making a fruit chat', another go.<br />
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<br />
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<b>Ingredients</b><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"></span><br />
<ul><li>1 <b>Banana</b></li>
<div align="left">
<li>1 <b>Apple</b></li>
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<li>1 <b>Pear</b></li>
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<li>2 <b>Guavas</b></li>
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<li>1 <b>Peach</b></li>
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<li>1 <b>Tangerine</b> or <b>Orange</b></li>
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<li>A handful of <b>Grapes</b></li>
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<li>1 <b>Pomegranate</b> (optional)</li>
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<li>3 to 4 tbsp <b>Sugar</b></li>
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<li>A pinch of <b>Salt</b></li>
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<li>1 tsp <b>Cumin Powder (Pisa Zeera)</b></li>
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<li>¼ tsp <b>Black Pepper Powder (Pisi Kaali Mirch)</b></li>
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<li>A few drops of <b>Lemon Juice</b> or <b>Orange Juice</b></li>
<li><b>1 tsp chaat masaala</b></li>
</div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></ul><br />
<b><u>Directions</u></b><br />
<br />
<div align="left"><br />
<div align="left"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span><br />
<ol><li><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;">In a large bowl, chop all fruit in small pieces. Add sugar, cumin powder, lemon or orange juice, salt, and black pepper powder. Mix well.</span></span></li>
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></ol><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">Courtesy:</span></b><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">Well I mixed a few recipes, but if you want more recipes, you can visit the below link</span></b><br />
<a href="http://www.angelfire.com/country/fauziaspakistan/fruitchaat.html"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">http://www.angelfire.com/country/fauziaspakistan/fruitchaat.html</span></b></a></div></div></div>Amadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04050364401907861298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1640456327084645323.post-21123692087875181792010-12-29T20:48:00.000-08:002011-07-13T04:17:19.347-07:00Jinnah and Shariah<h3 class="post-title entry-title"><br />
</h3><div class="post-header"></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 85%;">Just recently I came across a brilliant article in which the writer has collected all the quotes of Mohammad Ali Jinnah which highlights the Quaid’s intention of fighting for a Modern Islamic State, which was to be Pakistan. Although the full article can be read at the following link, I would like to mention some of the notable quotes of Mohammad Ali Jinnah as excerpts from that article.<br />
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<a href="http://members.tripod.com/no_nukes_sa/chapter_5.html">http://members.tripod.com/no_nukes_sa/chapter_5.html</a></span></div><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 85%;"></span><br />
<div align="justify"><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 85%;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 85%;">I would like to suggest to the readers to forward the following article if they find it suitable, to all they can, so that the confusion, which is being deliberately hatched by some of our misguided brothers, can be cleared.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 85%;"><strong><u>The Flag of Islam </u></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 85%;">In an address to Gaya Muslim League Conference in January 1938, Jinnah begun mapping out his new world view. He said:</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 85%;">When we say ‘This flag is the flag of Islam’ they think we are introducing religion into politics - a fact of which we are proud. Islam gives us a complete code. It is not only religion but it contains laws, philosophy and politics, In fact, it contains everything that matters to a man from morning to night. When we talk of Islam we take it as an all embracing word. We do not mean any ill. The foundation of our Islamic code is that we stand for liberty, equality and fraternity.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 85%;"><strong><u>Lahore Resolution (1940) </u></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 85%;">He spelled out his reasons for reaching out towards the 'Pakistan' goal in his Lahore (1940) address in more or less ideological terms, arguing that "Islam and Hinduism... are not religions in the strict sense of the word, but are... different and distinct social orders", that "the Hindus and Muslims belong to two different religious philosophies, social customs, literature", "to two different civilizations", that they "derive their inspiration from different sources of history"... (with) different epics, different heroes and different episodes." "We wish our people", he declared, "to develop to the fullest our spiritual, cultural, economic, social and political life in a way that we think best and in consonance with our own ideals and according to the genius of our people."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 85%;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 85%;"><strong><u>Jinnah for Shariah </u></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 85%;">Shariah is simply defined the Islamic Law, isn’t it? Read the following excerpt.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 85%;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 85%;">"We are a nation," he wrote to Gandhi on 17 September 1944, "with our distinctive culture and civilization, language and literature, art and architecture, names and nomenclature, sense of values and proportion, legal laws and moral code, customs and calendar, history and traditions, aptitude and ambitions; in short, we have our own distinctive outlook on life and of life."</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 85%;">He returned to this more extensively in his Id message in September 1945, saying:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 85%;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 85%;">"Everyone, except those who are ignorant, knows that the Quran is the general code of the Muslims. A religious, social, civil, commercial, military, judicial, criminal, penal code, it regulates everything from the ceremonies of religion to those of daily life; from the salvation of the soul to the health of the body; from the rights of all to those of each individual; from morality to crime, from punishment here to that in the life to come, and our Prophet has enjoined on us that every Musalman should possess a copy of the Quran and be his own priest. Therefore Islam is not merely confined to the spiritual tenets and doctrines or rituals and ceremonies. It is a complete code regulating the whole Muslim society, every department of life, collective[ly] and individually."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 85%;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 85%;">Social, civil, commercial, judicial, criminal, penal code. Do we still need clearer words? If yes then we have ‘it is a complete code regulating the whole Muslim society, every department of life, collectively and individually’</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 85%;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 85%;"><strong><u>Pakistan as a Bulwark of Islam </u></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 85%;">After independence, as head of the state he had founded, Jinnah talked in the same strain. He talked of securing "liberty, fraternity and equality as enjoined upon us by Islam" (25 August 1947); of "Islamic democracy, Islamic social justice and the equality of manhood" (21 February 1948); of raising Pakistan on "sure foundations of social justice and Islamic socialism which emphasized equality and brotherhood of man" (26 March 1948); of laying "the foundations of our democracy on the basis of true Islamic ideals and principles" (14 August 1948); and "the onward march of renaissance of Islamic culture and ideals" (18 August 1947). He called upon the mammoth Lahore audience to build up "Pakistan as a bulwark of Islam", to "live up to your traditions and add to it another chapter of glory", adding, "If we take our inspiration and guidance from the Holy Quran, the final victory, I once again say, will be ours" (30 October 1947).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 85%;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 85%;">Guidance from Holy Quran, isn’t that Shariah?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 85%;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 85%;"><strong><u>Islamic Economic System </u></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 85%;">As for the specific institutions of the new state, he exhorted the armed forces to uphold "the high traditions of Islam and our National Banner" (8 November 1947); and commended the State Bank research organization to evolve "banking practices compatible with Islamic ideals of social and economic life" and to "work our destiny in our own way and present to the world an economic system based on true Islamic concept of equality of manhood and social justice" (1 July 1948).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 85%;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 85%;"><strong><u>Islamic, Muslim Rule </u></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 85%;">For Jinnah, "the creation of a State of our own was a means to an end and not the end in itself. The idea was that we should have a State in which we could live and breathe as free men and which we could develop according to our own lights and culture and where principles of Islamic social justice could find free play" (11 October 1947). He told Edwards College students that "this mighty land has now been brought under a rule, which is Islamic, Muslim rule, as a sovereign independent State" (18 April 1948). He even described Pakistan as "the premier Islamic State" (February 1948).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 85%;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 85%;">What does Islamic, Muslim Rule mean if nothing else than Shariah.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 85%;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 85%;">Now following are some quotes which are being used frequently to make us believe that Jinnah wanted a secular state. Although if one looks into closely he would find its nothing like that.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 85%;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 85%;"><strong><u>Pakistan Not A Theocracy </u></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 85%;">Jinnah's broadcast to the people of the United States (February 1948) is in a similar vein:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 85%;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 85%;">I do not know what the ultimate shape of this constitution is going to be, but I am sure that it will be of a democratic type, embodying the essential principles of Islam. Today, they are as applicable in actual life as they were 1300 years ago. Islam and its idealism have taught us democracy. It has taught equality of men, justice and fair play to everybody. We are the inheritors of these glorious traditions and are fully alive to our responsibilities and obligations as framers of the future constitution of Pakistan. In any case Pakistan is not going to be a theocratic State -- to be ruled by priests with a divine mission. We have many non- Muslims -- Hindus, Christians, and Parsis -- but they are all Pakistanis. They will enjoy the same rights and privileges as any other citizens and will play their rightful part in the affairs of Pakistan.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 85%;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 85%;">While he laid a good deal of stress on Islamic ideals and principles, he ruled out theocracy, saying "Pakistan is not a theocracy or anything like it. Islam demands from us the tolerance of other creeds."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 85%;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 85%;">Technically speaking, theocracy means a government "by ordained priests, who wield authority as being specially appointed by those who claim to derive their rights from their sacerdotal position." Unlike Catholicism, there is no established church in Islam; (in fact, it decries such a church). Moreover, since Islam admits of no priest craft, since it discountenances a sacerdotal class as the bearer of an infallible authority, and since it concedes the right of ijtihad to "men of common sense", the concept of theocracy is absolutely foreign to Islam. Hence, during the debate on the Objectives Resolution (March 1947), Mian Iftikharuddin refuted the Congress members fears about the sovereignty clause, saying that "the wording of the Preamble does not in any way make the Objectives Resolution any the more theocratic, any the more religious than the Resolution or statement of fundamental principles of some of the modern countries of the world" (10 March 1949). Thus neither Iqbal, nor Jinnah, nor any of the independence leaders (including Maulana Shabbir Ahmad Usmani) stood for a theocratic state.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 85%;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 85%;"><strong><u>Muslims will cease to be Muslims</u></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 85%;">Finally the one and only argument, taken from all of Jinnah’s quotes, is the following one, to prove their point is this one. Of all Jinnah's pronouncements it is his 11 August address that has received the greatest attention since the birth of Pakistan, and spawned a good deal of controversy. Although made somewhat off-the-cuff -- he said that "I cannot make any well-considered pronouncement, but I shall say a few things as they occur to me". </span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 85%;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 85%;">How can these remarks be termed as a policy statement is still alien to me.</span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 85%;">... If you change your past and work together in a spirit that everyone of you, no matter to what community he belongs, ... is first, second and last a citizen of this State with equal rights, privileges and obligations, there will be no end to the progress you will make. ...we must learn a lesson from this [our past experience]. You are free; you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other places of worship in this State of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed - that has nothing to do with the business of the state ... we are starting in the days when there is no discrimination between one community and another, no discrimination between one caste, or creed and another. We are starting with this fundamental principle that we are all citizens and equal citizens of one State.... I think we should keep that in front of us as our ideal and you will find that in course of time Hindus would cease to be Hindus and Muslims would cease to be Muslims, not in the religious sense because that is the personal faith of each individual, but in the political sense as citizens of the state. </span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 85%;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 85%;">In dissecting this statement, there is, however, little that could lend itself to disputation. There is no problems with the dictum that every one, no matter what community he belongs to, would be entitled to full fledged citizenship, with equal rights, privileges and obligations, that there would no discrimination between one community and another, and that all of them would be citizens and equal citizens of one state. These principles Jinnah had reiterated time and again during the struggle period, though not in the same words.</span></div>Amadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04050364401907861298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1640456327084645323.post-88769555774069747202010-12-19T23:51:00.000-08:002011-07-13T04:17:57.798-07:00Bringing Family To Kuwait<div class="post-header"></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">Shields and Iron clothes are out. Bracing up for the occassion. Motivating myself to go on whatever the conditions might be, to stand up once I fall, praying immensely that May Allah give the courage for me to go on, and May HE give me success.<br />
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<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><br />
Ha Ha. Don't worry dear blog, I am not talking about war, but I am preparing for initiating the processing of my Family's Akaama. Every country has its own policies and procedures which look alien to us, and as is human nature we are weary of everything alien. To further complicate the already complicated is the issue of language. I understand very little arabic and the ministry officials understand very little english.<br />
<br />
Kuwait's process of giving family visa is<br />
<br />
1. Get a temporary visa from the ministry.<br />
2. Have the visa stamped in the Kuwaiti embassy in Pakistan.<br />
3. On arrival here, apply for Akama and have it stamped on the passport of the family.<br />
4. Get the Civil ID.<br />
<br />
<strong>Getting a Temporary Visa</strong><br />
<br />
This is the most important and critical step, since in this step it is determined by the ministry whether the family is really of the applicant or not. All documents are studied, checked and verified in detail by the various officials.<br />
<br />
Before applying for this, documents should be prepared. It is highly recommended that the documents are made under the supervision of someone who knows what documents are required by the ministry. This can be done through various Photocopy shops as well. One such shop is in Farwaniya as well and the person there is Pakistan iand is very helpful. His name is Irshad and his number is 6048413. The documents that I had prepared initially were.<br />
<br />
1. English Translation of Nikah Nama, attested by Foreign Office Pakistan.<br />
2. Photocopy of Wife Passport.<br />
3. Photocopy of Child's Passport.<br />
4. Birth Certificate of child.<br />
5. Photocopy of Urdu Nikah Nama.<br />
<br />
From here in Kuwait.<br />
<br />
6. Photocopy of letter from company in English and Urdu both.<br />
7. Photocopy of my 'Amal' something document which is also known as green paper.<br />
8. Photocopy of my Civil ID.<br />
<br />
Incidentally no photographs were required.<br />
<br />
Once I got these documents, I went to Pakistani Embassy in Kuwait and submitted by Nikah Nama there. Over there they made a document in Arabic verifying that the Nikah Nama is original. And they also attested it. I submitted the papers in the morning and they called me in the afternoon to collect it. They took 5 dinaars for the whole process.<br />
<br />
Next I took that document and took to Kuwait Foreign Affairs, there I had to buy a 3 dinaars (8 Dinaars Total) stamp and they attested the same document for me. After that I took all the documents to the ministry. The location of the ministry was in Jahra for me since on Civil ID the address is Sulaibiya. Below the ministry was a photocopy and typing shop, where they created an application for my wife and child. They also arranged my documents. I think they took no more than 2 dinaars (10 Dinaars Total) for the whole process. Then I went and applied for the visa. I had to run around a little since the documents have to be verified from the various offices. At that time I kept on praying that wherever I went, they don't put something in red, since if they do, then it means that something is wrong.<br />
<br />
Finally my papers were accepted, some comical scenes occured as well because of the language gap and I had to run up and down for the various authentications and sometimes to find the right office as well. Finally they took my papers and called me on the next working day to get the visa.<br />
<br />
In the next working day I had to run around a little bit more, since my documents were stuck somewhere and nobody knew where they were. Finally they found the documents and I had to run once again for some more verifications. In the end they said 'Bukra Bukra' and 'finish'. And I was like what Bukra what finish. Anyways the person was able to explain to me that Bukra means tomorrow and that the visa work is finished, and you will get it tomorrow.<br />
<br />
Next day I went there early in the morning and I had to put 3 dinaars stamps on both the visas (16 dinaars). The ministry is filled with women in Black sometimes veiled and sometimes not. I think this is an ideal example that wearing Abaya and even Veil does not stop a woman from earning.<br />
<br />
Finally the visa was in my hands and I took a big sigh of relief and braced for the challenges ahead. The family visa is valid till 2 months from arrival, so once the family is here I started their Akama Process immediately.<br />
<br />
<strong>Having the Visa Stamped From The Kuwait Embassy in Pakistan</strong><br />
<br />
Once I got the visa I was happy that within a week my family will be here but that was not to be, since Kuwait Embassy in Pakistan has its own procedures to stamp the visa.<br />
<br />
They required medical, character certificate from the police station and a valid airline ticket to do that. Once it was ready, they informed us that the visa has not arrived from Kuwait and they required that to stamp. So they called us a week later.<br />
<br />
For all this process I had to send 10,000 rupees, which is around 50 dinaars (66 dinaars total), since the embassy charges around 3,000 for stamping each visa and some cost is incurred on Medical as well.<br />
<br />
Finally it was all done there and the family arrived here.<br />
<br />
<strong>Applying For Akama</strong><br />
<br />
Once the family arrives here, then one has to apply for Akama or in other words Resideny Permit. Since the insurance fees was a little bit high so therefore I decided to have the Akama for a year only.<br />
<br />
The first step for getting the Akama is the medical test, which I had done from Mustashfa Naeem. Before going there a medical card is required to be made. I had that done from the Pakistani Photocopy wala, who made the card for both wife and child. He charged 1 dinaar for it (67 dinaars)<br />
<br />
I went to Mustashfa Naeem and bought 1 one 10 dinaar (77 dinaars total) stamp for my wife, for the child it is not required. They took blood test for the wife and x-ray as well. For the child I went to the doctor and he wrote that medical test for the child is not required. So I got his medical report there and then. They called us after 10 days to come and collect the report.<br />
<br />
We went there after 10 days and collected the report. Then we went for Insurance. The Insurance office was within the vicinity of Mustashfa. We went there and he required the Civil ID numbers of Wife and Child. The Civil ID number can be found online by dialing 889988 and then pressing 2 and then pressing 4. Once that is done, the service asks you for entering the a number which is mentioned in the visa. Once you do that, the service tells you the Civil ID number.<br />
<br />
All that is taken to the counter. 41 dinaars (118 dinaars) is required for the adult and 31 (149 dinaars) for the child. They give the insurance cards and a receipt there and then.<br />
<br />
After that I took all the papers to the Ministry from where I initially got the Temporary Family Visa from. I had made the application for Akama from a photocopy centre in Farwaneya, but I still went in the photocopy centre there, to get my documents arranged.<br />
<br />
Then I went into the ministry where my papers were checked only in one office this time, since verification and authentication had already been done. Then they asked me do deposit 200 dinaars (349 dinaars) for the akama of both the wife and child. I did that and then I brought the receipt back to the same counter. Once I deposited that, they asked me to wait for a few minutes and they gave me the passports with the Akama printed on it.<br />
<br />
So now I have the Akama done for the family and its a relief.<br />
<br />
In the end a few little tips. </span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"></span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">1. For this kind of work, always go as early as possible. The ministry usually open at 7, so make sure that you are there by that time. </span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">2. Also the language barrier might not be that difficult to cross. Just try to understand and concentrate and if you don't understand then just tell them Ma Arif, meaning I don't understand. Or say in English that I don't understand. </span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">3. Also I didn't find long and huge lines anywhere, since in Pakistan we are used to do that, therefore this was a welcome thing. </span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">4. Have lots of stamina and don't be lazy be prepared to run around a little and try to complete as much work in one go as possible. </span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">5. Have your documents in order and have them arranged, since arranging them on the counter might be too much for the officials in the ministry. </span></div><div align="justify"><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">6. Always carry your original Civil ID and the Green paper with you, even to places where you think that its not required.<br />
<br />
I was a bit scared before going to the ministry but in the end, I didn't find it that difficult. It is just that they have a particular process to follow and one must respect that. </span></div>Amadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04050364401907861298noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1640456327084645323.post-90440936181184849682010-07-29T03:22:00.000-07:002011-07-13T04:18:26.996-07:00The Curious Case of a Suicide Bombing<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">Well recently I was asked by a near and dear one, about what I feel about suicide bombings! Well nobody likes them, especially when they are killing civilians. And the ones happening recently, have been denounced by all religious scholars as well. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">But who is doing them? Well isn't that a million dollar question. There have been a lot of theories. And I am going to add one more theory :)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">In a recent attack on Mr. Afsandyar Wali Khan, eye witnesses gave a very strange account. Don't you just love the first, unedited and unfiltered accounts! Some curious stuff from the newreport</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-size: medium; line-height: 22px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">Policemen were firing at the bomber but there were only specks of dust.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-size: medium; line-height: 22px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-size: medium; line-height: 22px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">The bomber is said to have received eight shots but that didn’t slow him down. He said it appeared that the man had been drugged and he did not feel any pain. “At one stage, he fell but got up again.”</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium; line-height: 22px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><br />
</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium; line-height: 22px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">With hundreds and thousands of prisoners held in Afghanistan by the NATO troops and a lot of mind altering drugs at their disposal, they can easily have a whole production line of suicide bombers. So, go figure! One more conspiracy theory for you.</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium; line-height: 22px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><br />
</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium; line-height: 22px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">For the original news item, check out the link below.</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium; line-height: 22px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><a href="http://knockhere-knockthere.blogspot.com/2010/07/asfandyar-unfazed-after-suicide-attack.html">http://knockhere-knockthere.blogspot.com/2010/07/asfandyar-unfazed-after-suicide-attack.html</a></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium; line-height: 22px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"> </span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium; line-height: 22px;"><br />
</span></span></div>Amadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04050364401907861298noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1640456327084645323.post-80172905112741802402010-07-28T16:58:00.000-07:002011-07-13T04:19:48.658-07:00Plane Crash and Us<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">The day started with bad news and although the day was pretty hectic the general tinge of sadness never left. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">In the morning when I woke up, I found a message on my mobile, that the wife of a close friend of mine was on the Air Blue flight which had crashed in the Margalla Hills in the morning. It doesn't go more tragic than this. They were married just 3 months back. Recently my friend had been running here and there trying to arrange for the travel documents for his wife so that she can travel to Kuwait. Finally the visa was secured and he was so very happy and had a continuous smile on his face, as his wife would finally be coming to Kuwait. Fate, it seems, had a different plan. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">Generally I shut off my imagination in such cases, but the visions of her hands dressed with Henna and bangles, and the continuous smile and excitement on my friend's face, somehow kept on coming back to me. The hands have now charred to black and the smile, now replaced by depression and confusion. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">All this makes you stop and wonder about the meaning of life. While no one comes to this world to stay here permanently, but it seems that we all have forgotten the one and only inevitable thing in life and that is death. We plan for this world, as if, this is it. While our religion, history and even common sense tells us something totally different.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">This is why our priorities are totally upside down. We have chosen life in a world where there is death, and we have chosen death for a world where there is life. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">Haroon Rasheed, the great caliph, called Bahlool Daana (the wise) one day. Bahlool was famous for his eccentric habits. Haroon Rasheed, gave him a stick. And asked him to give the stick to any person who is more mad, then Bahlool himself. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">Months later, Haroon Rasheed was travelling to another city and had a huge caravaan with him. The caravan was filled with luxurious goods like expensive carpets, silken beds etc, strapped on hundreds of camels. Anything which would provide ease to the caliph during the journey and stay in the city was included in the caravan. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">Seeing this Bahlool, came to the caliph and asked him, as to where he was going with such grandeur. The caliph told him about it. Bahlool, completely surprised, asked, 'But are you going to stay there forever?'. The caliph replied, 'No Bahlool, of course I will come back to my palace, what an odd question to ask!'</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">Bahlool the wise, started to laugh and gave the stick back to the caliph. The caliph, surprised, asked why he did so. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">Bahlool replied 'You have made such big plans and efforts for a place where you are going to stay only for a few days, but you have made no plans and no efforts for the hereafter i.e. the place where you are going to live forever! Therefore I think that you are crazier than me, and hence you deserve to have this stick back'</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms';">May Allah guide us towards a happy life in this world and even a happier life in the hereafter. May HE give patience to the families of the victims. And may HE give the happiest life to the victims in the hereafter. Where it really matters. Ameen!</span></div>Amadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04050364401907861298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1640456327084645323.post-39210199343286848082010-07-24T05:33:00.000-07:002010-07-24T05:34:46.818-07:00Mountain of LightJabl-e-Noor-Ul-Quran. Is a mountain which stores old and unreadable pages of the Holy Quran. It is in Quetta, Pakistan and is privately managed. <div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/media-gallery/17-sacred-mount-ek-02?pageDesign=new_MediaGallery_externallink1-6">http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/media-gallery/17-sacred-mount-ek-02?pageDesign=new_MediaGallery_externallink1-6</a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Amadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04050364401907861298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1640456327084645323.post-68080473427738169392010-07-18T17:01:00.000-07:002010-07-18T17:02:34.510-07:00Butt's secret mentor<div>Salman Butt has a secret mentor. Who is he? No idea. </div><div>http://www.cricinfo.com/pakistan-v-australia-2010/content/current/story/467704.html</div><div><br /></div><div><blockquote>That was one the one pieces of advice I got from a man, whose name I don't want to reveal at the moment. He was one of the best batsman I saw opening the innings. He just told me "watch the ball from the time it starts form the bowler's hand till it reaches you and let your body react to it." It has worked</blockquote></div>Amadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04050364401907861298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1640456327084645323.post-73994654620044523212010-07-17T12:27:00.000-07:002010-07-17T12:28:07.576-07:00Asfandyar unfazed after suicide attack<div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="http://www.dawn.com/2008/10/04/top1.htm">http://www.dawn.com/2008/10/04/top1.htm</a></b></span></span></div><p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; "><br /><b>By Faiz Muhammad</b></p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; "><span style="font-size:100%;"><b></b></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; "><b></b></span><p style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; "><br /><img src="http://www.dawn.com/2008/10/04/images/top01.jpg" align="left" />CHARSADDA, Oct 3: Investigators probing into the attack on Awami National Party chief Asfandyar Wali Khan in Walibagh on Thursday have claimed to have found important clues which could lead to the group behind the suicide bombing. Five people were killed in the attack.<br /><br />“We have two leads and we are looking into both. It will take three to four days before we say anything with authority,” Additional Inspector General (Investigation) Safwat Ghayyur told Dawn on Friday.<br /><br />According to him, the suicide bomber, of medium height and in his late 20s, charged towards the ANP leader who was exchanging Eid greetings with activists of his party in his ancestral Walibagh.<br /><br />“I was there in my hujra and receiving Eid greetings. I had seen off about thirty-five people, when I saw this bomber running towards me,” Mr Khan told reporters.<br /><br />“Policemen were firing at the bomber but there were only specks of dust. My bodyguard got hold of him and then there was a big explosion,” he said, adding that bombings could not deter him or his party from pursuing the policy of working for peace in the region.<br /><br />The AIG said: “When the bomber was being frisked, he pulled himself away and started running towards Mr Asfandyar Wali. The Special Branch fired at him and that caused commotion.”The policemen and Mr Khan’s personal bodyguard also fired at the bomber.<br /><br />The bomber is said to have received eight shots but that didn’t slow him down. He said it appeared that the man had been drugged and he did not feel any pain. “At one stage, he fell but got up again.”<br /><br />Mr Khan’s bodyguard then shot at his forehead and as the bomber fell he detonated the bomb.<br /><br />The investigators said the bomber was only 14 feet away when he started running towards Mr Khan but ANP activists sensed the danger and him inside the house.<br /><br />The blast left five people dead, including the bodyguard, police constable Shabir Khan, ANP’s Buner district deputy president Shamsuzzaman Khan and bank officer Fazal Ghani.<br /><br />Mr Khan and his family were flown to Islamabad immediately after the incident. Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti and senior ANP leaders, who had rushed to the place, saw him off.<br /><br />Body parts of the bomber have been sent to a lab for DNA test.<br /><br />The explosion was so powerful that ears of the bomber were found about 200 meters away from the blast site.A team of FIA and the investigation branch of the NWFP police held differing views over the type of chemicals used in the bombing.<br /><br />The FIA believed that it was a low-intensity phosphate/nitrate mix, but the police department said the suicide vest was made of plastic explosives.<br /><br />The bomber had used a manual trigger which, according to the investigation team, was widely used in suicide bombings in the neighbouring Mohmand tribal region.<br /><br />The group involved in two suicide attacks on former interior minister Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao in Charsadda was also linked to Mohmand Agency. But the investigators said it would be premature to say which group was involved.<br /><br />“The manual mechanism used in the bombing points to links with Mohmand and not with Swat where suicide bombers use electronic circuitry,” an official said.<br /><br />So far no arrest has been made.</p>Amadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04050364401907861298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1640456327084645323.post-44337610059420652812010-07-12T08:11:00.001-07:002010-07-12T08:22:42.565-07:00FIFA's Rugby 2010 is Over!<div style="text-align: justify;">FIFA 2010 is over and Spain are the champions. Although it is still to be decided, whether what we saw was a football or a rugby tournament. Football has changed drastically and mainly because of one team, and that is Netherlands. They have embedded the art of foul into their tactics/game plan. And this is not something new which they have done. They had done the same thing in field hockey. Football, like hockey, is a field game, and the only thing that catches the eye is the flow and pace of a team. Scoring goals is like icing on the cake. Netherlands has a hockey team as well, and in order to break the flow of champion teams like Pakistan, India and Germany, they embedded foul play into their game plan. Once their opponents are in the flow, the Netherlands would easily commit a foul, take the yellow card and give the free kick/hit to their opponent. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The chance of scoring a field goal is higher than scoring a goal through free kicks/hits. As in latter, the number of defenders increases considerably. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Netherlands is killing football unless FIFA takes some stern action.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Anyways, for us, its back to Cricket i.e. truly a Gentleman's game. Pakistan has an important uphill battle against the two best test sides. Lets see what happens.</div>Amadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04050364401907861298noreply@blogger.com0