Internet advocacy: Blogs in Pakistan – no more a silent revolution

 

PTI chief Imran Khan, who made a surprise appearance at the Pakistan Blog awards held in Karachi, said bloggers are part of a revolution. PHOTO: SIDRAH MOIZ KHAN

 

KARACHI:  To the audience’s delight, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief Imran Khan made a surprise entrance at the second Pakistan Blog Awards that kicked off Friday evening at the Regent Plaza hotel.

Acknowledging bloggers in Pakistan, Imran said that a silent revolution is building up in Pakistan and that the bloggers are a vital part of the revolution.
“Political class is in a state of shock due to this revolution,” the PTI chief said. Stand-up comedian Sami Shah had his reservations about Imran’s presence, saying, “It turned political all of a sudden”. However, Shah said that the event was a positive step.
The awards were attended by prominent, as well as the not-so-prominent faces of the Pakistani blogosphere and cyberspace. The popular opinion remained that the blogosphere has shown an exponential growth.
“This year around, it is great,” blogger Sana Saleem said. “You can gauge the importance of media from the fact that almost every news organisation’s website has a blog now,” she added.
Applause roared across the hall, which housed around 300 people, as Rabia Gharib, the host for the event started to announce the winners.
“Each nomination represents a different hue of Pakistan,” Gharib said.
“The environment is electric,” remarked CEO P@sha Jehan Ara. “Blogs are definitely going to go a long way.”
Jehan Ara, who began blogging a few years back, said that there were about 25 blog nominations in every category.
However, prominent talk-show host Faisal Qureshi said, “Pakistani blogs have quantity, but don’t have quality. We are a nation of complainers, not advocacy. We should be more responsible about our content,” he added.
“Internet usage is converging in Pakistan, which is helping new and social media,” said Badar Khushnood, the Google Pakistan’s country consultant. “There is always a certain level of noise and hype, but in my belief, blogs have done a lot of good to citizen journalism.”

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Pakistan Bloggers Awards 2011

Karachi: Bloggers from all over Pakistan attended the Pakistan Bloggers Awards 2011. The ceremony took place in a local hotel in Karachi, in which the Chairman of PTI Imran Khan made a dramatic appearance.

While speaking to the audience Imran Khan said that Karachi will witness the biggest change on 25th December 2011. He said that a tsunami of change is coming in Pakistan, due to which father is in one political party, whereas their family members are joining PTI.

On the blogs front, the best social activist award was given to mybitforchange.org, a blog by Dr. Aisha Aijaz. The best blog by a journalist was awarded to Beena Sarwar, whereas best political coverage award was given to Ali K. Chisti. TV anchor Faisal Qureshi, social activist Abid Beli, President PASHA Jehan Ara, Google Pakistan Country Manager Badar Khushnood and several others from the social arena and media industry attended the event.

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Not giving Gold Medals in KU Annual convocation 2011 -A very good Decision

 
Karachi: University of Karachi held a Annual Convocation 2011 on 17 December 2011 at Valika Ground.Students, who have taken degrees of BS in the relevant subjects staged protest during the Convocation Ceremony 2011 against the neglecting by the administration.
Its a very good decision by KU Administration to not giving gold medals to the position holders because everyone knows how they got positions in their respective discipline. Karachi University administration said that due to unavailability of sponsors we are unable to give gold medals to position holders.The main cause behind no interest of sponsors in giving sponsorship for gold medal might be they knows about checking system in KU.They have seen that what KU's gold medalist do in market after passing out.

Its a common belief in KU that if any teacher got angry or student just argue, misbehave on any lecture matter or point, the teacher will definitely took revenge by giving him low marks as compare to his class fellows even the student gave a perfect answers  on sheet.If you want good marks in any subject, all you have to do is to curry favor of your teacher.Even in the morning,You will have to admit it as evening if your teacher called morning as evening.If you succeed in to happy your teacher as compare to your mates, you will definitely got highest marks even you left empty copy.The student who does not care about these things & just focuses on his studies gets average marks. You can't even claim on any result if your teacher failed you or give you low marks, you have to write an application to your DEAN & CHAIRMAN but like all government institution your application will not effect anything and will disappear soon.
BS program starts with controversially as the administration has no plan what they have to do and what not.They even have not give GP(Grade point) to 1st BS batch which passed out recently. Their is lack of professional teachers in BS Program. Departments cover this by outsourcing and sometimes they called their recent master students for teaching their BS batch.Outsource professor founds sometimes unavailable and took few classes, no one can ask them.On other hand inexperience teacher can give limited information as experienced professor can share his experience with students and can teach well.But senior teachers are remained very few in KU.Many have resigned due to threatening from students political parties in Karachi University.
The major problem of BS program which administration recently solved was market is not recognizing it as old Master degree.The name changed like  earlier you have to enroll for 3 years graduation program and than for 1 year master or 2 years bachelor and 2 year master, in short in past 16 years of education consider as masters degree but HEC starts in 2007 that every institution affiliated with it will have to start 4 Year BS  program.But it came out in controversial when students passed out in 2010 & started searching jobs but market asked them for a masters degree and give jobs to 2 years bachelor and 2 years master holder candidate.KU now has given offer to students whether they want to took 3 years bachelor and 1 years master or 4 years BS.This is the fault of HEC and universities that they should aware the market about their BS Program.

The main reason of no sponsorship in Convocation is the failure of BS Program.KU administration should make strict action and make it possible that their should be clear & fair teaching and checking of examination copies that we can get good graduates and masters in future.The graduates should be "GOLDEN" not Gold lover.The main complain from companies ,enterprises,banks & other industries is that they want golden product for running their business on a successful path but when they took interview of Gold Medalist they even don't know basics about their discipline and when the interviewer asks him how he got gold medal if he does not knows basics than the answer comes from him that the teachers didn't taught us that things or teacher of that subject didn't took classes properly.
If the gold medalist will not perform well in the market than how come we expect from anyone to Sponsor further graduates from University of Karachi.Administration should consider all these facts and make it possible that we will produce quality of graduates not in Quantity.


By  
Muhammad Usama Abbasi

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Veena Malik goes missing from Mumbai - ZEE NEWS

MUMBAI: After courting severe backlash for her controversial photo shoot with FHM magazine, starlet Veena Malik has mysteriously gone missing from her Mumbai residence.

Apparently, Veena’s business manager Prateik Mehta and filmmaker Hemant Madhukar revealed that Veena is untraceable since the morning of December 16. Veena was shooting for a horror flick ‘Mumbai 125 kilometres’ in Goregoan (West) before disappearing.

Talking to a daily, Hemant said, “Veena, without giving her last shot at 5 am for my film ‘Mumbai 125 kilometres’, suddenly disappeared from her vanity van. Her mobile too was not reachable I assumed that the actress was tired and left for home.”

However, Hemant received an SMS from Veena, which disclosed that the actress was depressed and unwell. After almost twelve hours of the incident, Prateik and Hemant discovered that Veena was missing.

“Today we had a couple of shots with Veena but I realised that her phones are still switched off and she has also not communicated with her manager since then which is indeed serious. Veena normally is very chirpy and full of life on the sets but from past few days she looked depressed. Hope she is fine.” added Hemant.

Hemant and Veena’s manager have approached the local Bandra Police to help them find Veena Malik.

JEW(GEO) NEWS REPORT ON VEENA MALIK DISAPPEAR

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India uranium sales 'unique': Australia

Islamabad- humari news Australia’s Defence Minister Stephen Smith said India represented a “unique” case for uranium sales Thursday and denied that lifting its export ban to New Delhi opened the door to countries like Pakistan.
The ruling centre-left Labor party voted to overturn its long-standing ban on uranium sales to India at its national policy summit last weekend despite the fact that it was still not a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Smith, on an official visit to India, said the decision had been “warmly welcomed” but rebuffed suggestions that Pakistan may want a similar arrangement.
“The circumstances for India so far as export of uranium is concerned are, in my view, unique,” Smith told ABC television from India.
“Pakistan does not have the same record so far as proliferation is concerned. There have been serious expressions of concern about proliferation in the past.”
Though India had not signed the NPT — Labor’s rationale for withholding sales until the weekend’s policy u-turn — Smith said it had agreed to split its civilian and military nuclear programmes and vowed not to engage in atomic tests.
It had also submitted to the authority of civil nuclear regulators.
“India is the world’s largest democracy. There’s never been any serious suggestion or any evidence of proliferation on India’s part,” he said.
He described the ban as “an irritant or a grain of sand in the relationship (that) is now gone” and said he and Indian officials had agreed that they could and should do more to to boost strategic cooperation.
“The whole world is moving to the Asia Pacific and the Indian Ocean, and India is very much a central part of that,” he said.
Smith said he had also discussed the recent announcement of a US troop boost in northern Australia with Indian counterpart A.K Antony and he understood that “Australia has an alliance relationship with the United States.
“India also understands that Australia has a strong view that the engagement of the United States in the Asia Pacific, indeed the enhanced engagement of the United States in the Asia Pacific, is a good thing for peace, prosperity and stability,” Smith said.
Australia describes India — its fourth-largest export market — as at the “front rank” of its global partnerships and aims to strengthen ties beyond economic and trade links into areas such as defence and security.

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Boneless BONN conference started in Germany without its bone Pakistan

Afghan Foreign Minister Salmai Rassul, Afghan President Hamid Karzai, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle (L-R) pose for a picture at the International Afghanistan Conference in Bonn, December 5, 2011. — Photo by Routers

BONN: BONN Conference started in Germany without their Prime member country Pakistan.Germany’s foreign minister on Monday opened a major conference on Afghanistan’s future, vowing that the international community won’t abandon the country after Nato combat troops pull out in 2014.
 “The goal of this conference will be to lay the groundwork for a free, secure and prosperous Afghanistan,” Guido Westerwelle told about 1,000 delegates from around the world gathered in the western city of Bonn.
Pakistan was seeming to be very important for this conference but due to NATO attack on Pakistan's tribal area Pakistan boycotted  this conference as a protest.

The involvement of Pakistan in this conference do not matter anything as USA is doing what it likes, it never consider Pakistan's suggestions on Afghanistan issue.USA always treated Pakistan as its slave not as its alliance.So participation of Pakistan in this conference will not affect directly but there is also have some negative impacts which can raised questions on credibility and importance of decisions made during this conference as one of the country whose contributed lot during Afghan war and who is also its major neighbor country is not participating in the conference.

NATO attacks on Pakistan can be raise a question that may be it is possible that cause behind NATO attack can be to rid Pakistan from BONN conference and during conference NATO countries are planning some thing against Pakistan so they make Pakistan away from the conference and also wanting to kick Pakistan from their alliance.

Their is also some news in the circle that NATO is going to attack Pakistan's tribal areas for searching Taliban commandos.So it'll definitely increase tension among Pakistan and USA as COAS Kiyani said that he has allowed border forces to take immediate action on any attack from NATO forces. 

Pakistan seems to be Bone in the US alliance and kicking Pakistan from alliance could be danger for USA as their is two ways for NATO supplies for their equipments and other stuffs.One is from Pakistan but they have now tension with it and second is through Russia but Russia didn't forget 1980's Soviet Afghan war when USA helps Pakistan to break Russian federation into tiny parts.So Russia is also don't want to leave this opportunity.

So if USA lost the war and starts exit from Afghanistan in upcoming years with broken hands they will be 2nd Super power who 'll defeated by PAKISTAN.So they can't took Pakistan as a "Piece of Cake" as it can be cause them as a "Piece of Rock" which can break their teeth.

*********************LONG LIVE PAKISTAN*****************************

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Judaism and Islam side by side

On Sunday night, the fashion collective Three as Four opened its highly anticipated exhibition “Insalaam Inshalom” at the Beit Ha’Ir Center for Urban Culture in Tel Aviv, bringing to fruition a project over two years in the making. Covering the walls of the four-story building in fabric printed with their spring collection’s central motifs, which are made of a mix of Muslim and Jewish symbols, the designers Gabi Asfour, Adi Gil and Ange Donhauser invited 10 artists to show works that relate to the project’s central notion: that Judaism and Islam can live side by side. “We’ve accumulated the energy of artists and performers who are like-minded,” Asfour said. “We tried to balance things from all sides, though it’s always difficult.”
Featured in the show are pieces by Yoko Ono, Joseph Dadoune and Jessica Mitrani, to name a few. Installations, video works, textiles and photography are among the works on display throughout the center’s “Insalaam Inshalom”-patterned walls. The performers at Sunday’s event included the Cyprus-born, New York-based director/choreographer Maria Hassabi, who wore cotton overalls from the Three as Four collection. Carrying a rolled-up rug on her slight frame, she slowly made her way down a flight of stairs into a cramped performance area, stopping every few seconds in different sculptural positions. Having arrived, she released the rug behind her back and wrapped herself in it as in a cape. At other moments she lay on it as well as under it as if it were a blanket.
As usual, Three as Four opted for a less formal fashion show, with a backgammon board acting as a centerpiece onstage, with mannequins dressed in pieces from the collection positioned around it. Models entered the central space to stand between the forms, then took turns walking over to a low table, sitting down, rolling the dice and moving the pieces of the board game. After each turn, one model would get up and take the place of another — a collective game of musical chairs.
“Fashion and beauty are tools to promote togetherness and unity in different countries and cultures,” Gil said. “We hope we can inspire other people to work together and not be scared of working together.”
The fashion collective’s members are themselves products of multiple cultures and identities: Asfour was born to parents from Mandate-era Haifa, who fled to Beirut; Gil was born and raised in Israel before moving to Germany and then New York; and Donhauser is a Soviet-born Russian-German who moved to Germany in childhood. Donhauser met Gil in Germany, and they met Asfour in New York, where they had moved to seek a more culturally diverse setting.
“I’m the middleman in the Middle East,” joked Donhauser, who adds that she’s glad she finally made it to Tel Aviv. “I’m closer to understanding how meshugeneh it all is. You shake your head and say: It’s all so human after all.”

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