Blog about the Net, Pakistan and more

Pakistan Blogging

After the recent blogging meetups around Pakistan, which proved to be very successful, some of us felt the need for a central platform where Pakistani bloggers could communicate with each other. I especially wanted to get regular meetups going around the country and this would have been an ideal place.

Thanks to Teeth Maestro, a bloggers.pk forum is now up and running. bloggers.pk already provides an aggregator for Pakistani blogs and is an excellent tool to stay updated. Check it out and let's join hands in building a national blogging community.

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Posted at 16:33pm PKT  Comments(2) | ¶

General

For the last few days, I have been wanting to say something about the terror that is still being brought down on the people of Gaza by the state of Israel, yet I am too appalled, too shocked to come up with words that can do any sort of justice.

It is easy for us to condemn a single suicide bomber or mastermind behind an act of terror. How do you condemn a "cleansing" such as this? The world did nothing to stop the Holocaust. The world again did nothing to stop the Rwanda massacre. And it is still too crippled to do anything about the innocent civilians being killed.

Are we doomed to repeat history until we can no longer call ourselves human?

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Posted at 17:16pm PKT  Comments(1) | ¶

General

2008 ends and 2009 begins. 2008 hasn't been the stable and prosperous year I had hoped for, but what can be done besides hoping for a better future. It is hope that keeps telling me that 2009 can't get any worse than 2008 was.

The biggest tragedies to scar my year included President Musharraf's removal, our new prez unelect, the Marriott hotel bombing in Islamabad, Israel's ongoing campaign of terror in Gaza, and a couple of personal ones.

Right now, the only positive events of 2008 that I can recall and think are worth mentioning are Obama's victory in the US presidential elections and the successful implementation of daylight savings time in Pakistan.

2009 is starting off pretty tough, with the global financial crisis still as troubling as ever and chances of outright war (in various parts of the world) increasing. However, there is hope. If we can survive through these troubling times (and I'm hopeful that we will), within a year, the world will be a far better place. Hope to see you all in a better future.

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Posted at 11:57am PKT  Comments(4) | ¶

Islamabad Blogging

Last night's meetup of Islamabad bloggers went splendidly well. I really wasn't expecting such a large turnout for a blogging event in Islamabad and it was great to see so many bloggers and people interested in blogging. There must have been at least 70-80 people attending the event which is a pretty impressive number for something that hasn't quite reached the mainstream Pakistani public yet.

A pleasant surprise was finding out that one of my former employers is also an avid blogger and another, who was once quite critical of my blogging, actually forwarded me the invite and accompanied me there. I finally got to meet Mansoor (of Word of Mansoor fame) as well as a number of other people that so far, I have only known online.

My worn-out laptop isn't too happy to be away from my home or office for long so I hadn't planned on doing any live blogging, but there were others who had. The All Rounder has an excellent live coverage of the event. Here's a Slide show, courtesy of Abdul Wahid, and also a few more write-ups at Pro Pakistan and Future BElls.

We have Badar, Bahria Uni and the rest to thank for organizing and hosting the event (and to Red Bull for the free supply of drinks). Though the focus of this particular meetup was earning money through blogging and Google Adsense, I think there should be more such events for those that do it as a passion. After all, you are more likely to succeed in getting traffic and readers if your motive is more than simply to make money.

The most successful bloggers usually do it because they love it and that's the mindset we should be aiming to cultivate. I hope we can get together on a more regular basis, in a less formal atmosphere, and develop a closely-knit community of bloggers. Let's plan one for January.

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Posted at 21:45pm PKT  Comments(4) | ¶

Blogging

A number of readers have expressed dissatisfaction with sajjadzaidi.com's design (or the lack of it, to be more precise) which has been around for a couple of years now (check out the Wayback Machine for older layouts).

I have been pretty much satisfied by the site's functionality, but even I am now put off by the template. Also, sajjadzaidi.com is starting to lag behind in terms of features (AJAX, proper moderation etc.). It could be one of the reasons I don't blog here as often as I used to.

Admitting my lack of design skills, and also with Zeb absent from the scene ever since he got married, I'd like you, yes you there, to recommend some good, simple yet elegant CSS design. I'm looking for something trendy, though light on graphics. Preferably a unique design that sets this blog apart from the rest.

I'll take care of customizing it to my scripts (or updating my scripts to work with it) and optimizing the graphics and load times. All you have to do is recommend a good design. Am willing to pay a little for an original and worthwhile work, though apart from that, all I can offer is my gratitude and a mention on my blog.

Thank you all. Hope to have a new template for the new year.

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Posted at 11:36am PKT  Comments(2) | ¶

Pakistan

December 27th, 2007, was a fateful day in the history of this country. Whether you were a supporter of the Pakistan People's Party or not, the death of its charismatic leader, Benazir Bhutto, has no doubt changed the fate of this nation.

A number of her followers mourned her death and the PPP government, which came to power mainly due to sympathy votes after the assassination, has declared the day as a national holiday. This honor was not even given to Liaquat Ali Khan, Pakistan's first Prime Minister who was gunned down at the exact same spot that Benazir was. Even the State Bank has announced that it is issuing a 10 rupee coin in her name with her image on it.

Teeth Maestro has posted an interesting and detailed article about the circumstances surrounding Benazir's death and why we still have no clue as to who was responsible for it. One day we may know, but for now all one can do is witness the consequences.

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Posted at 11:18am PKT  Comments(3) | ¶

Blogging Islamabad

After successful sessions in Karachi and Lahore, a bloggers meetup is being arranged in Islamabad on Monday, 29th December, 2008. It has been quite a while since I got together with other bloggers so am definitely planning to attend this.

Below is the info posted on Facebook and other blogs. Hope to see more of you there.

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Posted at 03:53am PKT  Comments(2) | ¶

Internet

Just under a year ago, multiple undersea cable cuts around the Middle East left a number of countries in this region without adequate connectivity to Europe and the Americas.

On Friday, the cuts struck again and this time the damage is to three different cable systems. This has crippled the bandwidth for countries spanning the Middle East and a large part of Asia. The Maldives appear to be the worst affected with a total Internet outage. India is suffering from a 82 percent loss of connectivity while Qatar and the United Arab Emirates are only slightly better at 73 and 68 percent respectively.

On a positive note, Pakistan has only lost about half of its connectivity, though it is still devastating for businesses that are unable to function with degraded bandwidth. The call center industry must be in ruins and the rest of us just have enough connectivity to do some blogging.

Repairs have started on the cables, and the article goes into details of the possible causes and what is involved in the repairs. Sea Me We4 is expected to be operational as early as 25th December while Sea Me We3 may take longer.

As someone suggested, we should be using the eastern corridor to reach the Americas and the rest of Asia, especially in times like these. However, a network trace that I ran showed that just to get to a nearby Asian country such as Singapore, my request first goes to Europe, then to the States and after circling almost the entire globe, finally reaches the destination.

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Posted at 23:20pm PKT  Comments(3) | ¶

Pakistan

Severely damaged by a fire that started late Friday night, Gakhar Plaza, one of Rawalpindi's iconic shopping places, has collapsed.

I had only been to Gakkar plaza a couple of times in the past, but my last visit was just around a week ago and I quite enjoyed eating at the rooftop restaurant. Sad to see it destroyed.

More on The News and Pro Pakistan.

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Posted at 22:22pm PKT  Comments(1) | ¶

General

Muntadhar al-Zaidi, the Iraqi TV journalist who aimed his shoes at President Bush during a press conference in Baghdad, is still in custody. There are reports that he has been beaten and is suffering from a number of injuries.

Both of the shoes that Zaidi threw missed their intended target, but for many, the symbolism marked a befitting end to a presidency that leaves behind a legacy of aggression, deceit and carnage.

Ever since the incident, the blogosphere has been abuzz with details of the throw and those involved. I first learned about the whole affair from Teeth Maestro and rumors that the shoes were made in Lahore or Gujrat, right here in Pakistan, have spawned some interesting conspiracy theories.

Just to put the above rumors to rest (sorry to burst the bubble), from the above BBC article:

Dargham al-Zaidi told the BBC that his brother deliberately bought Iraqi-made shoes, which were dark brown with laces. They were bought from a shop on al-Khyam street, a well-known shopping street in central Baghdad.

There's also this Facebook event that aims to support Zaidi and have people send their old boots to the White House as a parting gift for dubya.

Quite inspiring to see what a Zaidi armed only with a pair of shoes can achieve. I pray that he is released soon without further harm inflicted on him.

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Posted at 04:47am PKT  Comments(4) | ¶

Islamabad

I'm hoping to make it to this event tonight. Even if you can't, do try and spread the word. We really need to stand up against terrorism in all forms and do what we must to spread the message of peace.

Date: Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Time: 6:30pm - 7:30pm
Location: Civil Junction cafe, Street 8, F-7/3, Islamabad

Please join a peace vigil. Stand up against aggression of all kinds, stand up for Pakistan, condemn terrorism in Karachi and Mumbai, pay respect to innocent victims of these shameful incidences of violence. Please bring your own candles, it is December 3, 2008, at 6:30 onwards. Civil Junction cafe, Street 8, F-7/3, Islamabad. Numbers are important. Lets show the world its not us, and we do stand against it, we are one for Pakistan!

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Posted at 17:02pm PKT  Comments(2) | ¶