DELL Eid Gala at Hyperstar
For all you computer enthusiasts out there, Dell Pakistan is celebrating Eid at Hyperstar on the 12th and 13th of September. They are offering amazing discounts plus lots and lots of prizes for participants and visitors. So if you want some free juice (techy type), hop in to their stalls at Hyperstar with friends or family or both.
Further details of the event can be seen on their Facebook Event page: Dell Pakistan Eid Gala 2009.
Telenor launched one stop online solution for all its Persona subscribers. The new package, Telenor Persona Weblounge, allows the freedom of purchasing a number of your own choice (any number including Golden Numbers), port your number from any other network to Telenor with convenience, make payments online or subscribe for exciting add-ons, special offers and value added services and all this power packed sim will be delivered at you door step through TCS.
The service was introduced to a group of local bloggers in a session held at Telenor’s office here in Lahore.
The company aims to bring convenience and ease to the daily user experience of its subscribers. Those who are interested in Telenor’s service can either buy a new Telenor number online with ad-dons of your own choice or you can port your existing number to Telenor in a few easy steps. Make sure you have a credit card to place this order. The process is very easy and self explanatory.
I believe this initiative will invite competition in the online one stop solutions by all mobile companies; which is direly needed by a rapidly increasing community of internet users in Pakistan.
Ever-changing scenario of the global economy and evolving needs of our own country require development of a new breed of enterprising managers, marketers, entrepreneurs and global business leaders. In order to provide an opportunity for business graduates of Pakistan to exercise their expertise on innovative solutions to business problems, students at the Suleman Dawood School of Business, Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) present Synergies ’09.
Now into its second year, the annual Synergies event held under the auspices of the Global Management Club at SDSB LUMS, strives to provide an exponential platform, monetary rewards, wide exposure and opportunities for those who dare to accept real challenges of the corporate world.
Synergies ’09 is a three day event to be held from the 3rd – 5th of April at LUMS. With focus on “Collaborative Excellence” in information technology, energy, agribusinesses and other sectors, the event comprises of the following four main events:
Deadline for Kaavish registrations has been extended to February 20, 2009
This year, in addition to a sizable corporate presence, prospective participants from over 60 universities and business schools in Pakistan are expected to attend and take part in different activities.
Further details and information regarding pre-requisites, requirements, conditions, how to apply and most importantly, the deadlines, can be found out at the event’s website: http://synergies.com.pk/
So, if you think you have what it takes to become a global business leader, go ahead, spread the word, sign up and register yourself as soon as possible…
The power of entrepreneurship, the spirit of free enterprise and taking that first step towards self-achievement; all define the scope of Startup Insiders, an joint initiative by P@SHA (Pakistan Software Houses Association) and VahZay Ltd that has benefited many and propelled positive vibes about IT entrepreneurship in this country.
This time, Startup Insiders will be hosting a session with Mr. Carlos Cashman covering the following major topics:
1. Raising Funds
2. Surviving in a tough environment and
3. B2B Sales
Mr. Cashman is a guru at starting and funding ventures and has been a card counter in his MIT days (Remember “21”??). Details of the event are as follows:
Date: February 13, 2009
Time: 3:00 PM
Venue: A13 – PICIC Auditorium, LUMS
More information on the event and Mr. Cashman’s profile can be read at Jehan Ara’s blog.
In audience will be,
Imran Zia, CEO, VahZay Ltd (Chairman P@SHA)
Zafar Khan, Founder, Sofizar
Dr. Umar Saif, Founder, Bumpin
Fahd Bangash, CEO, Amaana
Monis Rahman, CEO, Naseeb Networks
Jehan Ara, President, P@SHA
Registration is FREE but essential. All are welcome. Please register by emailing at president@pasha.org.pk.
So, see you there!
This might be a scary movie for rest of the world. But Pakistan and Pakistani may learn from it. Cuba after collapse of soviet union faced two major issues.
This is a story of how Cubans, who were an educated nation of doctor and engineers, stood up against all odds and survived gracefully. people believed that sharing what little they DID have (food, land, resources) with each other was more important and for the greater good than hoarding it for themselves. Also the government was very encouraging, and allowed all unused urban land to be turned into incredibly productive gardens.
Click on the image to see the video
With shortage of fertilizers and power cuts, We are also as vulnerable to a sudden collapse of our current agricultural systems. Watch this one for some inspiration on how to get our Pakistan out of the current Mess!
Also, in last couple of weeks, I have fallen in love with TED.com again. There are some really inspirational videos over there. have a nice day!
'G' for Generator; 'W' for Wapda
Although the incidence of unannounced loadshedding has been reduced since Mr.Zardari chaired a meeting in near past over rising public unrest; things are still worse for business and end consumers.
Most of the shop owners, who could afford one, have installed Generators who are now their primary source of power putting the Government utility, WAPDA, only as an occasional, optional way of lighting bulbs…
The Piaf-Founders Alliance swept the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) polls 2008-2009, by winning all the 30 seats of Corporate and Associate class.
The ruling Piaf-Founders Alliance was challenged by The Founders-Azad Alliance which took part in chamber elections after 2 years.
The elections for 15 seats of Corporate class were held on November 18 whereas the elections for 15 seats of Associate Class were held on November 19.
Votes are being counted in the conference hall of LCCI, whereas; the candidates and members of both parties are present.
For Corporate class, there were total 30 candidates who were contesting for 15 seats. Total 1105 votes were polled out of which the candidates of Piaf-Founders Alliance Mian Muzaffar Ali got 769, Tahir Javed Malik 737, Mohammad Imran Khan 702, Haroon Shafiq Chaudhry 726, Syed Mohammad Umair 695, Mirza Javed Iqbal 736, Kashif Younas Mehr 714, Syed Mehmood Ghaznavi 687, Shahzad Azam Khan 719, Munir Ahmad Bhatti 689, Kh. Imtiaz Ahmad 708, Arshad Baig 619, Siddiq-ur-Rehman Rana 645, Shakeel Mehmood 579 and Tariq Mehmood got 617 votes.
Whereas; the candidates of Founders-Azad Group Munir Ahmad Khan got 416, Tahir Manzoor Ch 360, Asif Rehan Dar 378, Mohammad Hashim 339, Abdul Sami 416, Aizaz Mansoor Sheikh 394, Kamran Khan 441, Kh. Ahmad Usman 441, Salim Ullah Ghauri 390, Mian Asad Hameed 354, Khalid Naeem 353, Bakhtiar H. Wain 325, Mian Sultan Mahmood 303, M. Imran Aslam 260 and Tariq Fiazi got 263 votes.
For Associate Class, total 1424 votes were polled out of total 3545 votes and the voters turnout was about 40.16%. The PIAF-Founder Alliance got 833 panel votes while, the rivals, The Founders-Azad Alliance secured only 225 panel votes.
The candidates of Piaf-Founders Alliance Irfan Iqbal Sheikh got 1005, Hassan Amjad 1003, Sheikh Mohammad Irfan 1030, Nasir Saeed 1016, Usman Ghani 1017, Faisal Iqbal Sheikh 1030, Malik Ikhlaq Ahmad 1011, Mohammad Yousaf Shah 1011, Mudassar Masood 1022, Mohammad Usman 1037, Khalid Pervaiz 1027, Mohammad Ashraf Bhatti 1037, Faheem Ur Rehman 1005, Sohail Shamshair Ali 1002 and Anwar A. Sheikh got 968 votes.
Whereas; the candidates of The Founders/Azad Group Mohammad Asif got 369, Mohammad Rizwan Akhtar Shamsi 349, Mazhar Iqbal Hai Butt 353, Usman Masoud 331, S.M. Arshad 346, Mohammad Yaseen 348, Qadeer Saigol 325, Khalid Mahmood 319, Tahir Mahmood But 314, Ayyaz Ahmad 322, Mohammad Raheel Arif 308, Mohammad Shahid 313, Mohammad Ashfaq Sethi 286, Mian Shabbir Ahmad 286 and Raja Hassan Akhtar got 266 votes.
Group photo of Piaf-Founders Alliance after the victory.
In Associate Class, four independent candidates Mohammad Ilyas got 17, Zafar Ahmad Kamal got 19, Syed Abdul Mujtaba Sherazi 26 and Chaudhry Zahid Bashir got 90 votes.
Soon after the results, in the first phase, the newly elected Executive Committee also elected Ms Nabeela Intisar and Asia Sial Khan on two reserved seats for women. In the second phase President, Senior Vice President and Vice president would be elected on November 24, whereas; the Annual General Meeting would be held on November 27.
Presiding Officer Sheikh Salim Ali made formal announcement of the results of the elections 2008-2009.
The LCCI President Mohammad Ali Mian, Senior Vice President Mian Muzaffar Ali and Vice President Shafqat Saeed Piracha thanked the voters for showing confidence in PIAF-Founders Alliance.
No untoward incident occurred in two day whereas; The Founders-Azad Alliance alleged that Piaf-Founder Alliance was involved in poll rigging and instigating the voters to stamp on their names and demanded to halt the election procedure but the election commissioner rejected the claims. The Founders-Azad Alliance has the option to move its application to Director General Trade Organization (DGTO).
McClatchy reports on an upcoming U.S. intelligence assessment on Pakistan:
“A U.S. official who participated in drafting the top secret National Intelligence Estimate said it portrays the situation in Pakistan as “very bad.” Another official called the draft “very bleak,” and said it describes Pakistan as being “on the edge.” The first official summarized the estimate’s conclusions about the state of Pakistan as: “no money, no energy, no government.”
I am in bahawalpur at the moment, Power only comes for half hour after every 4 hours. Its torture…
Still, Dil yeh kehta hay “We will survive this” but “Dil to pagal hay”
We are vegetables. Give us our food and we will be green, some of the colorful amongst us being red and pink to add variety. There may be some people who are as sophisticated as, say, an onion with their layers of insulation, indifference, intellect or some other induced protection. Some, the real gems, may even be fruits. But all in all, we as countrymen are no more than plants that have accepted their fate of either withering out with time, or being really luck and be served on a ‘china’ platter to the highest bidder (pun definitely intended).
Our country really has a great threshold for pain. We should be proud of that. No, really we should. Not physical pain, but extreme mental torture to our collective intelligence (remember, we are vegetables). The dollar is at its highest ever to the rupee. Zardari, now a teenager without the pimples, thinks that India was never a threat. The biggest money-makers for us, the farmers, are the lowest in the food chain. We essentially now do not have a food chain as such. Inflation has put balloons to shame and our government is perhaps making the animal kingdom proud.
Did you know that the farmer was to be paid Rs 950 per maund for his wheat crop? This was rightly hailed as a sensible decision to first, produce surplus wheat and secondly, to inject billions to the rural economy. A great sign, some would think. No, not really. I have been a farmer for the last three years. The input costs in the form of fertilizers and diesel has grown not linearly, but exponentially. The seemingly large increase from the Rs 650 to Rs 950 per maund does not bring the percentages at par. No one seemed to care about that, of course. We were, being lettuces and onions, overjoyed at the increase in support price. No one cared that the international rate is somewhere at Rs 1200, no one cared that the smuggling will not be stopped, no one cared. Lettuces and pea-pods are not supposed to think about things like that. So, the animals that rule the plant kingdom, hit us with an absurdly crude weapon; they increased the fertilizer prices from Rs 3,100 to Rs 5,500. So, you get 350 per maund increase in wheat price. National average of wheat production is dismal 20 something maund per acre. Let us make that 29 mnd/acre. With 350/mnd increase, the farmer stood a chance of making an extra 350*29= Rs 10,150 per acre from his anticipated wheat crop. The vegetables rejoiced at this higher mathematics. The animals, cool as a cucumber (ha!), saw the anticipated surplus, so they increased the input fertilizer prices. Who cares about the sky-high diesel rate? And water, who needs water for crops? Let our friendly India have some, they are hardly a threat of course. What, you have electricity to take water from wells? Double the electricity rate so your threshold for mental torture stays exercised. ‘Give me some of that 10 thousand now, why don’t you. Although you will be making that in April next year, why don’t you just give some of that cash to me now?’
And as farmers go, they will complain, they will complain some more. You and I will not hear about it, but they will complain. It will not fall on deaf ears, only trained ones. Lahore will have its food on the table. It will a little less, but who cares. Who notices? How many of us know how much lentils cost? Heck, how many know the difference between masur and channa?
Remember, farmers are more than 70 percent of Pakistan. Out of the other 30 percent, a whopping 90 percent or so have their income directly tied to this wonderful sector. Who in his right mind say that Pakistan’s economy is dependent on Agriculture, on wheat, milk and rice? Pakistan is a country of vegetables.
Take the power back, why don’t you.
Suicidal Sale Offer
After all, this is what capitalism is all about i.e. whatever the circumstances be, one who exploits the right opportunity wins and makes good money. So what if we donot have ample electricity, hail those who manufacture and market generators, UPS systems; what if the security situation is deteriorating, it is benefiting the manufacturers of ‘bomb proof’ glass. Similarly, why can’t the kapra farosh shop-walas in Liberty, Shah Alami or Siddiq Trade Centre use ‘Suicide Sale Offers’ to lure more customers in…
