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Sunday, August 8, 2010

Governor Punjab Salmaan Taseer Praises Coke Studio


So, Coke Studio has finally ended and there has been a lot of criticism about the content produced in thethird season of it. In my opinion, a lot of that is because of the experimentation that has been put into this season. This height of experimentation has resulted in mixed responses by the audiences unlike the last season where almost everyone appreciated and praised the performances. However, this season has grabbed attention of some high profile fans, including Governor of Punjab Salmaan Taseer, who praised Coke Studio by tweeting last week:
“Coke Studio is the greatest ambassador of moderate Pakistan. I watch it in my free time especially ‘Jugni’ (by) Arif Lohar and Meesha. Great music.”
Salman Taseer Praises Coke Studio
Coke Studio Season 3 journey hasn’t ended yet, they said:
Dear friends, thank you very much for sharing the journey of Coke Studio with us this season. Our journey does not end here. Coke Studio will feature special singles in the days ahead. Your feedback is essential to us so do keep sharing your feelings.
From everyone here at the Coke Studio team, thank you for your love, support and feedback. We love you all! :)
So that means they will be releasing some more electrifying performances in the days to come.

Current floods more devastating than 2005 quake: Gilani

 Updated at: 1936 PST,  Sunday, August 08, 2010
Current floods more devastating than 2005 quake: Gilani SUKKUR: Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani said here Sunday that the losses being caused by seasonal floods are beyond the country’s resources however the government will not leave the flood affected people alone.

He said this while talking to the media during his visit to Sukkur Barrage. He said the unprecedented devastation caused by the current flood exceeds the destruction wreaked by the earthquake in 2005.The Prime Minister said all possible resources will be utilised for the rehabilitation of the flood affectees who will not be left alone.

The government will seek assistance from the international community after detailed estimation of the losses once the flood is over, the Prime Minister said.

Gilani appealed to the international community to stand by Pakistan in this hour of trial. Prime Minister Gilani also directed the government organisations and activists of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) to fan out and zealously participate in rescue, rehabilitation and help of the flood affectees.

Earlier at the office of Executive Engineer Sukkur Barrage the Prime Minister was given an elaborate briefing by Provincial Irrigation Secretary Shuja-uddin- Junejo about flood position, measures taken for the rescue and assistance of the flood affectees.

Talking to the media the Prime Minister said it is believed that three districts of Sindh will be affected by the breach which occurred in a bund on Friday, as a result of which many more areas could submerge in water.

Prime Minister Gilani said firstly the provinces of Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa, Balochistan as well as Gilgit-Baltistan were badly affected by the flood. The government he said is striving its best to accelerate the rescue operation and not to spare any effort in their rehabilitation.

The devastation and loss caused by the flood is irrecoverable and the country has been pushed back by many years, the Prime Minister said.

He said he therefore appeals to the people of the world to extend their assistance to Pakistan.

“There is no dearth of national enthusiasm,” he said adding “this government is your government, government of the people and its resources are national resources.”
He said “Whatever we can do within our resources we are doing and will continue to do. However, the loss is far too stupendous.”

Prime Minister Gilani informed that he had spoken to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and apprised her that the country has suffered a tremendous loss. It can not be estimated for the time being as the flow of flood water is continuing and more water is pouring in. The number of affectees could end up in millions.

The Prime Minister said one of the reasons for losses occurred so far and the loss still expected is that the amount of water flow from behind is increasing in addition to increase in silt and rains. Besides, a second series of monsoon has also started. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank will be asked to make an estimate of losses once the flood subsides, the Prime Minister said adding the estimation will be shared with the world and the loss will be jointly surmounted.

He said for expeditious rescue work directives have been issued to all relevant organisations including the army, navy, air force and Disaster Management Authority that no effort should be spared.

Gilani said the immediate need is of food, water, medicines and camps for which the federal government will do everything possible. Arrangement will be made for food and tents will be dispatched, he added.

The Prime Miister said he appeals to everyone to enthusiastically help their brothers, sisters and children in this hard time and not to leave them alone.

Those present on the occasion were Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah, Interior Minister Abdul Rehman Malik, Federal Labour Minister Syed Khurshid Ahmed Shah, Federal Minister for Water and Power Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Federal Sports Minister Ijaz Jakhrani, Provincial Irrigation Minister Jam Saifullah Dharejo, Sindh CM’s Advisor Jamil Ahmed Soomro, Rai Naz Bozdar MPA besides other prominent persons.

Bad Days in the Office


There are times in the professional life of everyone when one finds himself/herself 'Out of Work', while in a job'. These are strange conditions when you find yourself continually flabbergasted at your place of work and in a confused state of mind. You tend to think that you may be fired any day but you are neither asked to put in your papers nor given the responsibilities to make you feel as a part of the team.



The verbal communication from the top slowly dries up, your e-mail inbox indicate no new mails, you eagerly await peons to brings papers to you for your approval, your subordinates regularly route themselves to your desk through your boss's cubicle. You are left with no challenging work except for some procedural work. Suddenly the routine work becomes much more monotonous than it actually is. You then spend the major part of your duty hours sitting idle grazing at the screen saver of your computer monitor or watching others at work.

Such days are 'Bad days' in the office.

You must recognize possibilities of such days as early as possible, prepare your own self to mentally fight out this tough time and maintain yourself in perfect order, so that you are back to churning out the best when the bad days are over in the office.

How can you recognize the bad days in the office?

Let us examine the conditions due to which the days become genuinely bad at the office.

1. When there is absolutely no work for you.
2. When work is much less than the time available to you.
3. When you are not involved in jobs which have some bearing on your main work area.
4. When you are given some work but of lesser importance just to prevent you from thinking that you are an excess baggage for the company.
5. When information is regularly extracted from your subordinates even when you are available.
6. When your immediate superior is bent upon side-lining you in meetings.
7. When you realize that there are major differences of opinions about you amongst your seniors.
8. When you feel there is a significant change in the communication mode or tone of people while communicating with you.
9. When all of a sudden a section of people stop taking advice from you on official matters.
10. When you get an inherent feeling that your company is preparing to do without you.


What should then be done?

1. Analyze the reasons for the changes that occurred. Change yourself for the better, if the situation demands.
2. Try to understand / realize the real truth behind the happenings. It could be a part of your company's short-term strategy.
3. Make yourself stronger in at least one segment of your work in which your company has no option but to involve you.
4. Locate an un-tapped issue related to your company's business and try to device methods to solve it.
5. Utilize the relatively 'free period' during such 'bad times'� in increasing your knowledge base.
6. Try to engage yourself individually as a helping hand in some creative work related to your company's business, even if such a work does not fall directly in your scope.
7. Avoid giving justifications to your peers or subordinates about reasons of lack of assignments for you.
8. Recognize & make a selection of the people at your work place with whom you can team up anytime to accomplish some special assignment proposed by you or by any one else. Keep your eyes & ears open and jump to seize the first opportunity.
9. Open your old forgotten files & refresh yourself by going through your departments past records, data, communication etc. Try to extract some mileage from that with respect to the then existing scenario in the office.
10. Keep a corner of your mind open to explore possibilities of a new job.

Saif Ali Khan to celebrate birthday without Kareena Kapoor



For more than two years, Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor have been inseparable on the days that have been special for either of them. Kareena particularly takes charge of things on Saif’s birthday which falls on August 16.
In 2008 she had taken personal pains to host a party at a hotspot in Mumbai. Last year, she whisked Saif away to an undisclosed location for undisturbed TLC. This year, however, the couple may not be together as work is keeping them busy.
Saif is going to be busy with his shoot of Agent Vinod in Latvia, while Kareena is in London, shooting with Shahrukh Khan for the superstar’s Ra.One. She will fly to Mumbai soon to promote her upcoming film We Are Family but then return back to London to resume the shoot of Ra.One.
Though rumour has it that she has asked SRK to relieve her for a few days to join Saif in Latvia on his birthday, Kareena denies having done so.
In fact, she says she’s unsure if she’ll be with Saif on his birthday.
In that case, Saif may well have to celebrate his birthday without Bebo.

‘Jialas’ also wear a pair of shoes, warns Babar Awan

 Updated at: 1738 PST,  Sunday, August 08, 2010
‘Jialas’ also wear a pair of shoes, warns Babar Awan ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Law and Justice, Babar Awan has said that ‘shoe politics’ must come to an end and that people should now that workers of Pakistan People’s Party – the ruling party of Pakistan – also wear a pair of shoes.

He was talking to journalists after attending a program here at International Islamic University on Sunday.

Babar Awan accused Lahore (government of Punjab) of attempting to gain political mileage on the current flood situation in the country. People will not stay silent in case they (PML-N) go ahead and breach the policy of reconciliation, he added.

“Harsh statements from some people have dented the process of reconciliation,” he maintained.

Baba Jee who threw Shoes at Zardari must watch

Shameem Khan while Talking to Geo News Said he did this great job in protest against Zardari’s Visit to Europe.


The man who made the iPhone 4 is out

Two years after fighting in court to hire him, Apple has let IBM's Mark Papermaster go
Mark Papermaster. Photo: Apple Inc.
It was one of the most contentious hires Apple (AAPL) ever made.
In November 2008, Steve Jobs hired Mark Papermaster, IBM's (IBM) top microprocessor executive, to replace Tony Fadell as head of the iPod and iPhone division. IBM promptly filed a complaint in federal court to prevent Papermaster from leaving, arguing that he possessed highly confidential IBM trade secrets. The dispute -- which made headlines for weeks -- wasn't settled until the following January in a deal that required Papermaster to wait until the following April to join Apple.
Sixteen months later, Papermaster is out, replaced as head of the iPhone division by the man who originally recruited him, Bob Mansfield.
The news was reported by the New York Times and confirmed by Steve Dowling, head of Apple PR.
Papermaster, Dowling told the Times, "is leaving the company and Bob Mansfield, senior vice president of Macintosh hardware engineering, is assuming his responsibilities."
Papermaster's sudden departure immediately set off speculation that it was somehow related to the iPhone 4's widely publicized antenna problems. Given that he was the head of the division that produced the phone, it's a conclusion that's hard to avoid.

Nimbuzz sees huge jump in Blackberry users from Saudi Arabia


Following the ban on Blackberry services by the Saudi Arabian government (due to go into force today), Dutch startup Nimbuzz said new registrations from that country have increased dramatically — from 200 a day before the announcement of the ban to 35,000 per day today and Thursday.
Nimbuzz gives users access to free mobile calls and instant messaging via services like Skype, Facebook, MSN, Yahoo, and Google Talk. Unlike BlackBerry-maker RIM, Nimbuzz does not offer any additional security on top of the services it aggregates, supposedly dodging the issues that that caused Rim’s troubles in Saudi Arabia. RIM encrypts email and Blackberry messenger communications and routes the data via its own servers in Canada. This brought RIM into conflict with the Saudi Arabian government which wants to monitor communications for security purposes.
We asked Nimbuzz if this means Saudi Arabian users’ communication could be spied on by the country’s government. US general manager Tobias Kemper responded:
We use the same protocols as Google for Gtalk and Facebook for FB Chat, since we are using XMPP as our messaging platform. Our users trust us with their login data and we are protecting this accordingly and are not selling any of the information.
It is in our best interest to keep it this way as we depend on our user’s trust to use our service and for us to stay in business. Since we do not encrypt our data with our own protocol like RIM do it, we comply with government demands, just like Google Talk, which you can use on your BB in Saudi.
There are about 700,000 Blackberry users in Saudi Arabia, of whom 80 percent are consumer rather than business users. Nimbuzz couldn’t give me a precise figure on the total number of Blackberry Nimbuzz users in Saudi but estimated that is it now more than 100,000. The company is also seeing a jump in registrations from other countries that have imposed or considered a ban, such as the United Arab Emirates.
RIM is currently negotiating with the Saudi government to resolve the issue by, for example, siting some of its servers in the country. The United Arab Emirates will block Blackberry email and text messaging from October 11. Algeria, Lebanon, India and Indonesia are among other countries said to be considering a ban.
Nimbuzz has 23 million users worldwide and is popular throughout the Middle East. The company is based in Rotterdam in the Netherlands, has 100 employees and funding of over $25 million dollars from various VCs.

Katrina Kaif to launch her sister Isabelle opposite Salman Khan


Katrina Kaif’s sister Isabelle is making Bollywood debut and guess who is going to star opposite her. It is none other than the ex-flame of Katrina Kaif and Bollywood hunk Salman Khan. Despite, Kat’s repeated rejection of Sallu’s proposal, he has decided to help Isabelle in firming her foot in Bollywood.

According to the latest buzz, Katrina is busy to launch Isabelle in her debut production. The film is assumed to be directed by Farah Khan. The film will roll from 2011.

Another rumor is spreading wings that Isabelle will be launched by Dharma Productions in a film to be directed by Karan Johar.

Karisma Kapoor’s wedding video leaked online


Seven years after Karisma Kapoor and Sanjay Kapur’s wedding, their marriage video was leaked online and as assumed it was viewed like a hot product. Karisma’s fans are quite excited to see their favorite actress dressed in bride. Karisma was looking stunning in the marriage outfit and so her life partner Sanjay Kapoor. It is a 8-part video, starting from mehendi, marriage, reception and bidaai.

Another attraction of the video was sizzling Kareena Kapoor. She was looking awesome.Karisma’s parents Babita and Randhir Kapoor was seen in upbeat mood, interacting with the guests. Bebo also actively took part in welcoming the guests.

Bollywood’s who’s who was present in the wedding. Boney Kapoor with his wife Sridevi and two children graced the wedding. Arbaaz Khan and Sohail Khan with their family were seen in the video. Even Vivek Oberoi turned up to congratulate the newly wedded couple.

Other celebrities include BJP leader Shatrughan Sinha, his wife Poonam, Sangeeta Bijlani and Sheeba.

Hrithik Roshan has decided to quit smoking


Hrithik Roshan who is badly addicted to smoking for his character in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Guzaarish has finally decided to quit the butt. In Guzaarish, he plays a paralytic patient who is hooked to wheel chair. His character demands heavy dose of nicotine and hence while portraying his role, he is addicted to smoking but now when the filming is over, he is destined to quit smoking.

Hrithik who was on two month break from Twitter for filming Zoya Akhtars Zindagi Milegi Na Dubara along with Farhan Akhtar and Abhay Deol in Spain is back to the social networking site. Hello tweeple!! Giving up smoking today! Any of u disgusting smokers wanna join me?? Love to the rest of u non smokers!! (sic), Hrithik wrote on his Twitter account.

It was earlier reported that he will kick the butt in June but the actor denied. Read news that I`m trying 2 use nicotine patches 2 quit smoking. Not true. I smoke 2-5 cigarettes a day now- not d best thing but if well balanced wth exercise n diet, not too bad either. will let u know when I decide to quit cold turkey!which should be verry soon!!

His last film Kites was a box office disaster. Hrithik will be next seen in Guzaarish oppositeAishwarya Rai Bachchan and Zoya Akhtars Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara.

Sushmita Sen breaks up with Pakistani cricketer Wasim Akram


Five months of togetherness and then break up. Actress Sushmita Sen and former Pakistani ace cricketer Wasim Akrams relationship was very short-lived. They met, fell in love and then separated. Wasim Akram and Sushmita Sen came closer while judging a dance reality show. But both mutually decided to call off their relationship. Sush’s growing closeness with Indian Premier League (IPL) chief Lalit Modi is said to be the reason of their separation.

After Wasim’s wife Huma passed away in Oct 2009, Akram found solace in Sush’s company.Sush made him to live life again. Another reason of their break up is said to be the long distance relationship. Wasim spend most of his time in Pakistan and Sushmita is not ready to move with him to Pak. She wants to stay in India. They discussed and then decided to settle down in Dubai but as time passed Sush did not agree to move to Dubai also.

Many times, they had argument on settlement issue. Finally, they decided to call it off.