Death Note from a Nation...Sorry I am the one to say this but I guess we should start saying this now

Death Note from Pakistan...Death Note from me and Death Note from you as well...You can also call it a condolence message sent from a dead to itself....You may not like it (infarct you definitely won't like it) but You can't avoid it either...We have been in a state of denial for not just past 70 years....that is belittling the history...we the residents of region called Sindh (Indus...yes I buy that ideology that we are Indus people not Indian people) have been in this state of denial for centuries...But someone has to talk and we need to do a lot of honest straight forward talking amongst ourselves if we want a true Pakistan for ourselves and our children. We need a constructive dialogue and a new social contract...so here goes my death note...

Sialkot brothers was a big news and then we agreed that it was totally fine to kill the way they were killed because they were supposedly murderers...For us...Salman Taseer murder was a big news and then it was totally fine to kill him the way he was killed because he was supposedly blasphemer.......Innocent girls and boys in Jamia Hafsa complex first indoctrinated in absurdly wrong interpretation of religion by one and then murdered in the name of national security by other and what happened to any of those culprits? So many killed by militants in the name of religion in Swat and then so many murdered extra judiciously in the name of national interest...How many dead bodies recovered from Green Chowk of Swat but just a news for us...a means to spend our evening busy lamenting others so that our own faces remain hidden...., Kharootabad, Baluchistan, Lahore, Karachi everywhere.......So many innocents murdered in the name of religion and retaliation against injustice in suicide bombings and blasts and it was just a news for us...So many killed in the name of national interest, international brotherhood, classified operations etc and it was just a news happening far away from us...for us same story happened everywhere...it has always been the same...a good news...an excellent story for our greedy ears...a means to keep our evenings busy.....a means to hide our ugly face behind corrupt politicians and generals....we ourselves remained the same corrupt, dishonest, dual thinking, hypocrite, trigger happy, conspiracy loving people always blaming others....have we ever thought that no matter how cruel and callous any other is...how big an enemy of ourselves we have become?

Have we ever realized that we as a nation are so corrupt, insensitive and hypocritical that perhaps we are nothing but a source of embarrassment both for our religion and our national founders? Have we ever realized that these politicians, these bureaucrats, these generals are nothing but a mirror of us and are treating us this way only because we can't stop them? We can't stop them not because we are not strong....but because we ourselves are equally corrupt? Shall we ever realize that change doesn't come from top? Whenever, we try to bring change from top, it is just momentarily (even if it comes) and nothing more than charisma? Shall we ever understand that only lasting change will come from within us? It will come from bottom and it will only come if we start facing the truth with honesty. Shall we ever realize that we have been left with very small time to correct ourselves? We have lived as National Security state, Guardian of Islam and caretaker of interests of superpowers for decades...Isn't it the time that we need to transform into a social security state...A state not asking for people to withstand it...A state helping people to withstand their lives with honor and dignity...Have we ever realized that this state did not become a national security state by itself? We, the people made it so instead of a social security state. We desperately loved to teach everyone in the world a lesson and see what we have done with ourselves?

Shall we ever learn that history doesn't remember perished nations by the deeds of their corrupt leaders? The history remembers perished nations just as perished nations....It is our destiny after all...and it definitely can't be made by the way we are trying to build it.

And finally...about the question "Then what is the solution?"...Please don't do this to yourselves....You know the solutions and solutions are not french revolution or Chinese revolution or this and that revolution...You know the solution...do you have the courage to adopt it as well? Difficult question to ask as it requires action from 180 million people...not to change governments but to change ourselves

Express Tribune: 10 troublesome traits of the average Pakistani by Sohail Anwar

1. An average Pakistani behaves as he is told to by the establishment and/or the biased media. We do not cherish golden rules like ‘do the right thing’. Instead, we follow a de-facto rule, ‘my staff, my cattle’ An average red blooded Pakistani thinks that whatever he can get his hands on without reprisal is his property and he has full rights over it – this applies to his wife(s), children, land, cars, official post etcetera.
2. An average Joe in Pakistan will never own up to his mistake(s), because if he does, that will be an anathema to his whole family.
3. A Pakistani would do almost anything in the name of Islam, such as kill someone on simple hearsay, but will never extend his religious charity or piety for the common good of society or for women’s rights.
4. The average Pakistani has acquired the mentality that everything should come to him rather than the other way around, especially when it comes to changing a government by coming out on the streets and just letting the government know that enough is enough.
5. The average Joe in Pakistan knows what his constitutional and legal rights in civil and criminal matters, but does not know the duties that come with it and also how to exercise these rights in a responsible manner.
6. The average Pakistani will know the problem and also the remedy, but will never move an inch to solve it unless he is convinced that his interests will also be served in the process. Also, he will never try to stop a heinous crime unless the victim is his sibling(s), parent(s) or any close relation.
7. The average man believes that corruption is his right, in pursuit of happiness. The drug barons and most of the public servants of Pakistan are a practical example of this.
8. The average Joe’s idea of patriotism is messed up. It starts and ends with his native territory. If a native of Punjab believes that making a Seraiki province is a conspiracy against Punjab, he will stick with it, even though it may hurt Pakistan in the long run.
9. The lucky Pakistani who is sitting on a high post would lean towards nepotism – substituting meritocracy with nepotism has become an integral part of our culture.
10. Our idea of administration of justice is obnoxious. We bribe clerks and court officers to drag a six month case for 100 years. If the offender is powerful and the victim is helpless and less resourceful than the offender, the society favours the strong and not the weak. In the villages, women are property, which can be exchanged or violated just because a male member of a tribe did something wrong.

Express Tribune: 10 terrific traits of the average Pakistani by Tehmina Khan

1. Our warmth: I was halfway through the journey on a PIA flight back home from Toronto and the lady next to me, who was a complete stranger, said in a gruff/indignant/too-assertive-to-leave-any-room-for-argument tone of voice:

“You haven’t eaten throughout the journey, eat your dinner.”

So a lot of people, especially of the Western individual-is-might mentality would consider this rude or nosy but it really warmed my heart. A random stranger caring about what I eat is touching.  I mean, really – who does that? A sweet, motherly Pakistani aunty on a PIA flight, that’s who.

2. Our sense of humour: Yeah it’s inappropriate, kooky, nonsensical, illogical, and sometimes plain outrageous (not to mention incredibly politically incorrect), but it is our sole surviving mechanism through these incredibly hard times.
When I went to work the day after the raid in Abbottabad that launched the latest round of condemnation of our beleaguered country, a co-worker said to another:

“My condolences, I heard they shot your good friend Osama. What a tragic way to die.”

It was totally random. The co-worker at the receiving end blinked, was slightly confused, and delivered a bored comeback and went back to work – just one exchange in a series of silly exchanges that tickle the funny bone and make it easier to get through the tough challenges that face us.
3. Our passion: For food. For lawn. For bargaining. For cussing out news anchors. It is everywhere. Observe it and absorb it. Some people complain about the ‘boisterousness’ of the Punjabi people, but it was such a soothing balm after spending a stretch of time doing my Bachelor’s in the West. People are decidedly mellow there (to the point of being eerily unresponsive).
4. Our levity: Somehow the true gravitas of a situation is lost upon us. Heart attacks? Failing you’re A-levels? Root canal? Survived a suicide blast? Just observe the reactions of those around you (after the immediate aftermath of intense care and concern, of course).
It can drive you nuts when you are trying to extract the appropriate amount of sympathy and concern, but in the long run having these things brushed off changes your perspective.
Nothing is insurmountable, nothing is terrifying.
We’re pretty brave if you really think about it. Of course, you could replace “brave” with less flattering adjectives, but I’ll go with brave!
5. Our wisdom: We have a rich, ancient, and deep-rooted culture that is the opposite of superficial. Well, superficiality will always be present, of course, but I’ve noticed a depth of soul that seems to spring from our very soil (if not the people). Pay attention the next time someone offhandedly cites a Punjabi mahavra. I love such mass-scale, non-esoteric, indigenous nuggets of wit and wisdom. I mean, just the other day I saw this written on the back of a rickshaw:

“Sajjan koi koi, dushmun har koi.”

I laughed, and then I thought about it. Funny yet thought-provoking and from such an unexpected source.
6. Our stamina: Not physically – we really could do with bolstering ourselves in that arena!
I mean our stamina for things that are not necessarily fun. When our grandparents are sick, we are by their bedsides. When it’s time to study, we buckle down and study. That is a remarkable trait in everyone but especially for the young. The West is troubled with the “rebellious teenager” stereotype, but it isn’t that rampant here – quite the opposite actually.
7. Our earthiness: We are not high-maintenance; we will make do with almond oil in our hair instead of fancy products. We’re happy to wear local-artisan created kola puris. And now it is actually fashionable to be “environmentally friendly” and go for “organic” products. Yeah, we’ve been doing it for generations.
8. Our culture: I’m commenting on our culture of making sacrifices for our parents’ happiness. My friends choose their majors to make their parents happy. We have to suck it up and paste a smile on our faces when we are dragged to random people’s weddings. This ties in with our ‘stamina’ but it is our culture that snuffs out the “me, me, me, only me” monster (of course some people are impervious to this and still run around spouting that as their mantra).
9. Our talent: ‘Jay’s Toons’ on Facebook, anyone? Coke studio? Olive handmade soaps? With all the challenges these people face, somehow, their talent and genius slips through the cracks of the obstacles that are there. I can only imagine where we’d be if we actually had proper platforms and monetary incentives.
10. Our festivity: No need to elaborate. When it’s time to celebrate, we know how to do it. Good food, merry people, and our homeland – the combination is very joyous if you stop to think about it.

Survey Finds Cloud Computing Has Matured, But It Can Be a Pain

(Coutesy pcmag.com. Published online June 1, 2011) 

 
A survey conducted by Avanade finds that cloud computing has reached its first milestone as a mature technology.
Out of the 573 C-level executives, business unit leaders, and IT decision-makers surveyed, three key indicators of the maturing of cloud computing were made apparent: businesses have increased investments in resources to secure, manage, and support cloud computing, there is growing adoption and preference for private clouds, and a healthy interest in cloud computing for revenue-generating services.
Some other survey highlights:

74 percent of enterprises are using cloud computing; a 23 percent growth since Avanade's September 2009 survey. Of organizations yet to adopt cloud services, three-quarters say it's in future plans. 

60 percent of companies say cloud computing is a top IT priority for next year. The sentiment is even higher among C-level executives with 75 percent reporting cloud computing as a top priority.

43 percent of companies surveyed use private cloud services.

The United States has seen steady cloud computing adoption rates with a 19 percent increase since a survey conducted in 2009. The highest cloud adoption rates among those surveyed were in Italy, Canada, France, Germany, and Australia, respectively.

The survey also revealed cloud growing pains. One in five executives reports that it's impossible to manage all of the disparate cloud services within their organizations. About 60 percent are worried about unmanaged cloud sprawl.

The concerns about managing cloud services, especially employee access to public cloud services is well-founded. One in five respondents said they have personally purchased a cloud service without the IT department's knowledge. The reasons given were that many thought it takes too long to go through IT and that it's easier to provision cloud services themselves. About 27 percent say their company's cloud policy actually prohibits the cloud services they want to use.
While 60 percent of these companies do have corporate policies in place to prohibit such actions, those surveyed say there is no real deterrent for purchasing cloud services against policy guidelines. 29 percent reported there were no ramifications whatsoever and 48 percent say it is little more than a warning.

Pakistan in Summer 2011....an Odyssey of Life and Colors

When the hope fades...always remember, it never dies

The Beautiful Kaghan

Northern Areas

Karachi by Night

The Honorable Baluch

Islamabad by Night

Desert Cholistan

Mighty Indus

Post Morning in Punjab Village

Desert in its Galore

Yaa banda e Sehrai

It is a busy fruit market in summer here

Mangoessssss

Sea @ Karachi

Lahore by Night

Mulberry

Road to Murree

Eating @ Night in Food Streets

A Fruit Kiosk

Flowers in The Fields

Swat River

The Poor...Down but not Out

Land of Fairies