Saturday, March 19, 2011
Friday, February 18, 2011
Friday, July 23, 2010
Facebook nation?
Haider Nawab
The past few days, media all over the world has been going on and on about facebook exceeding the 500 million mark.
The Economist published a piece on whether the future of global nationalism will be marked by virtual social networks, considering David Cameron recently sought advice on how to manage people's interests and rights from none other than Mark Zuckerberg.
Facebook is not a government, certainly not a representative one. At least, it did not set out with that notion. However, with so many people on board, there is a certain power the social network commands, one that cannot be left unnoticed.
With the introduction of currency, facebook credits, the organization may just have found a way to tax transactions in its domain. Otherwise, provisions of basic infrastructure are shared between the user and Facebook.
All of us must have a functional internet connection to log in to the network. Communication space, photos, video and interaction are all provided for by Facebook. In addition, it claims to look out for privacy and security of the user, something it hasn't quite been a 100 percent on.
One comment on the economist article below put the changing dimensions of global architecture. Over the past few years, the role of State and Citizenry had become that of Gulliver and little Lilliputians. The internet, the comment suggested, seems to be the net within which Gulliver is trapped.
What will happen in the years to come is a shot in the dark. But it sure is going be an exciting ride.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
DAWN.COM | Front Page | China says it needs no waiver for N-reactors
Good news on the way.
Perhaps this will ease the daily load shedding that we are subjected to.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Art - in all forms!
Every nation has a significant art contribution. An art form that exists in only two places in the world is that of truck art. The places -Pakistan and Mexico. The art consists of real paintings, varying from depictions of animals, to portraits of famous personalities. Every painting is hand painted, with intricate details, creating a hub of colour and wonderful tiny attractions and patterns all on a truck that roams the highways to the smaller streets of the cities.
The urban populations tend to enjoy the silly poetry written on the trucks/rikshaws as entertainment when stuck in traffic, some of us have become immune to it. However it still remains new to the newcomers. The outside world that is unfamiliar with this art form are in awe of the visual feast the trucks provide, along with the orchestra provided by the sputtering diesel in harmony to the clinking of the hanging truck chains. A positive coverage was given by the BBC News channel on the 18th of April 2010, here, have a look, perhaps this will show this art to you in a new light.
TRUCK ART PAKISTAN
The artists should be encouraged in more forms, perhaps to ask the Citizen Foundation to arrange for an annual competition where the winner receives a cash prize to further his skill?
SOURCES: Photo -http://weburbanist.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/truck-montage.png
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Fair trade? by AKV
A couple of years ago the supermarket chain TESCO, of the UK, was to begin a trial basis for the regular supply of Pakistani mangoes. The trial basis that TESCO had demanded was that of 50 tons per week. The deal did not pan out. Reasons are:
Infrastructure. When the airlines -PIA, Emirates, and two other airlines- were contacted the carriers were not able to accommodate the volume. That was not the root of it all. The problem was the infrastructure regarding the whole supply chain, from the mango orchards to the market. There was no structure. Not an efficient one that could arrange to get 50 tons every week to be exported to meet the demand of TESCO. It is not just that this was a hurdle for this one deal, it is a hurdle in allowing the positive promotion of one of our most profitable export goods.
Second, the fact that the farmer is unprotected in the whole scene is abysmal. The middleman -the guy at the sabzi-mandi- he is the one deciding what price shall be set, gaining most out of the first point (the farmer) and the final point in the chain *the customer*.
Out of the many ideas that have been sparked due to this lack of infrastructure, a good start I believe would be to strengthen the first point of contact with an organisation, NGO perhaps, that would represent the interests of the farmers. Creating a point of communication within the farmer community and a lobby of sorts that looks out for their interests, an organisation resembling that of FAIR TRADE.
It is just a beginning of an idea, all comments are welcome. My research shows me that no such organisation or union exists at this moment in time in Pakistan. All comments and suggestions are highly encouraged.
Let the farmer feel appreciated for feeding his nation.
Infrastructure. When the airlines -PIA, Emirates, and two other airlines- were contacted the carriers were not able to accommodate the volume. That was not the root of it all. The problem was the infrastructure regarding the whole supply chain, from the mango orchards to the market. There was no structure. Not an efficient one that could arrange to get 50 tons every week to be exported to meet the demand of TESCO. It is not just that this was a hurdle for this one deal, it is a hurdle in allowing the positive promotion of one of our most profitable export goods.
Second, the fact that the farmer is unprotected in the whole scene is abysmal. The middleman -the guy at the sabzi-mandi- he is the one deciding what price shall be set, gaining most out of the first point (the farmer) and the final point in the chain *the customer*.
Out of the many ideas that have been sparked due to this lack of infrastructure, a good start I believe would be to strengthen the first point of contact with an organisation, NGO perhaps, that would represent the interests of the farmers. Creating a point of communication within the farmer community and a lobby of sorts that looks out for their interests, an organisation resembling that of FAIR TRADE.
It is just a beginning of an idea, all comments are welcome. My research shows me that no such organisation or union exists at this moment in time in Pakistan. All comments and suggestions are highly encouraged.
Let the farmer feel appreciated for feeding his nation.
Friday, April 2, 2010
House of Wisdom -by Aiysha
In my last trip to London I had the good luck of revisiting the Science Museum. I walked in to find a great exhibition, 1001 Inventions. It was an exhibition in cooperation with the Jamil Foundation, exploring the impact of Muslim civilization on all kinds of aspects on various field and parts of our lives. In our every day life examples include the concept of having gardens, or the one thing we all have had - a three course meal, believe it or not comes from 9th century Muslim Spain.
I was caught in the moment enjoying every little detail, learning about the great contribution the Muslim civilization has done to the world -most of which is part of our daily lives without us knowing so. My position at that very instant seemed so feeble, here I was in London, in the middle of an exhibition informing me of a civilization I belong to. Why is it that our schools in Pakistan do not teach us anything relating to the positive image of Islam?
It is our duty to promote a positive image of our civilization, the most constructive way of countering the negative "terrorist" image that the Muslim identity is suffering from today, yet all we tend to do is talk. The mainstream needs to be informed of our true heritage, which is going to be a daunting task, fore we ourselves are unaware of the extent of contribution Muslim civilization has had. Our literature classes are occupied with teaching us Wandsworth's "Daffodils" while abandonning the likes of Rumi, Hafiz and Khalil Gibran.
It is time that someone point this out to our leaders, to begin promoting ourselves in a positive light, a step in the right direction to shed the coil of "terrorist" image that has become associated with the Muslim identity.
Source: Science Museum London
I was caught in the moment enjoying every little detail, learning about the great contribution the Muslim civilization has done to the world -most of which is part of our daily lives without us knowing so. My position at that very instant seemed so feeble, here I was in London, in the middle of an exhibition informing me of a civilization I belong to. Why is it that our schools in Pakistan do not teach us anything relating to the positive image of Islam?
It is our duty to promote a positive image of our civilization, the most constructive way of countering the negative "terrorist" image that the Muslim identity is suffering from today, yet all we tend to do is talk. The mainstream needs to be informed of our true heritage, which is going to be a daunting task, fore we ourselves are unaware of the extent of contribution Muslim civilization has had. Our literature classes are occupied with teaching us Wandsworth's "Daffodils" while abandonning the likes of Rumi, Hafiz and Khalil Gibran.
It is time that someone point this out to our leaders, to begin promoting ourselves in a positive light, a step in the right direction to shed the coil of "terrorist" image that has become associated with the Muslim identity.
Source: Science Museum London
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