Lets not be a victim

I was supposed to do this post on the 25th of November but since a few days life has been spinning at lightning speed right in front of me and I have been trying only to make out some sense of it.

Anyways this post is about this international campaign called “Take Back The Tech!” which is a 16 day action plan against women harassment over the new media, which includes mobile phones, internet (E-Mails, Blogs, websites, social networks) Television or any other electronic media which has been or can be used for gender based crime/violence against women. The campaign’s main initiative is to spread global awareness and educate people to take full advantage of the social networks and the new media technology fearlessly without giving the sick minded culprits a chance to victimize them.

A fake facebook female account created to study people’s behavior over social networks revealed some disturbing trends.

Women from almost all age brackets but mostly teenagers from around the globe would often add people they don’t even know and when asked why they did so their replies were:

1) some of their friends were already friends with you so I had thought you might know me.

Well as I was adding people randomly, I did add most of a person’s friends. And since I was posed as a girls boys often agreed being friends with me without even a single question. Now I have most of your friends and hen I add you are under an impression that I may be one of your friend’s friend and you would gladly add me.

2) “You where a girl so I thought I might know you from school or somewhere.”

although I don’t have a face on my display picture my name strikes familiar and you think I may be someone you know and you add me without thinking twice.

3) I don’t share much personal information so it doesn’t matter who I add.

Yeah you may not be sharing much of your personal information but your friends are constantly adding information about you on your profile, you are commenting of your friend’s images and you are even talking about what you have been doing at school and what school you are going to.

4) because You knew the names of both my parents (This was a case of a girls who is a performance artist and both her patents are also countries well known artists.

Don’t you think 70% of the whole country knows this information, would you actually be adding all of them ?

In all the cases above no one asked a single question before adding a complete stranger, they don’t question my legitimacy and they don’t suspect any foul play. And even if they ask question it is only after they have already added me to heir profile which actually gives me enough time to scan through their data, images, personal information and save it all for a later use.

Now Social networks have become an essential part of our daily lives. They are an incredible tool to make friends and socialize but you have to practice caution before you add anyone to your social network.

When a person adds you verify who that person is. If s/he has a common friend mail your friend and ask him/her If s/he personally knows this person, if you don’t have anyone common ask why this person has added you, and how do you think he knows of you.

While being on a social network always make sure you don’t upload any of your personal photographs or those of your friends. Any pictures taken with a plain background can possibly be photo shopped and the background can be easily altered. Remember anything you put up on a social network is visible to public so don’t post anything that may comeback to haunt you later in life.

Do not reveal where you are exactly located, even giving out an approximate area of your residence or the place you frequent like your school or workplace or a café you hangout with friends can be potentially dangerous.

Restrict your social network from publishing information of photos you leave your comments on as you may also be allowing someone else to see your friends photos.

If you find out that someone is impersonating you on a social network, inform the social network administration and all your friends. Put a notification on your social network page your blogs and on as many places as you can .

You must be careful no to mention your exact location until really necessary while updating your status, keep privet information to your self, keep your tagged photos from appearing to everyone and you will be just fine on any social network.

Depressing Times

Each morning if you open your television for the day’s latest thasedays you get a red breaking news ticker running some news of violence, blood shed or bomb blasts accompanied with even more disturbing imagery running in the background and mind numbing audio commentary.

The news papers are no better option they too carry equally disturbing imagery and news items.

Obviously i have been avoiding any contact with the above mentioned news resources, for at least right after i wake-up simply because i cant take it, first thing in the morning, day after day, after day.

When The Cactus Talked.

When at times I come out of the Illusions that I live in, I realize the thorns that grow all over my green skin, hard, sharp and red at the tip. They are there to protect me from being hurt but they also keep friends at a certain distance. No wonder I grow in deserts, and I am glad I do grow there because in any other place, I may end up hurting so many.

What! you worry of my thirst ? Stop being a fool, You know I take the moisture from the air and the occasional rain brings enough for me stay alive. Yes Of course I grow flowers, and you may also pluck them off my spiky body and take them to the comforts of your home, and they last longer then regular flowers, actually I do like you to take them away from my thorny existence because you know it’s never too pleasant living among thorns.

Oh yeah, there are some fool who find me beautiful and at times even take me home, and I often end-up hurting them even without wanting to, so I don’t want them to do this, I am good where I am and they too should look for some better things then me.

Yeah, I love growing alone in the desert, and I have seen some lucky ones of my kinds who got rid of their thorns with time, but I don’t think I am one of those kinds, because I would have shed my thorns by now if I was that lucky. So I yeah its always better to leave me here, in the desert.

Now if you may allow, I would like to ask you just one little Question young lady. What channel would this interview be shown ? Oh, Nat-Geo yeah that is the one for animals and things like me, thank you for taking out your time to extend my thoughts and views to your fellow human beings.

Sensitively Insensitive

Waking up after a good night sleep and with the tender nascent cold morning breeze, even before my first cup of coffee I hear people shrieking of pain and misery. Some somewhere have bombed them, some one shot bullets at them some one today had locked them in an air tight container with a promises of a better life ahead, some has burned their homes, killed their parents, their loved ones.

The tender morning breeze, instantly turns heavy, with stench of last night’s bloodshed, and starts mourning over the misery and sufferings of the innocent. And the ocean screams and shouts begging us humans to stop – ” For God’s Sake Stop” .

But we humans are dead – so dead that although we hear all those deafening painful screams we conveniently turn a deaf ear to it all, turn up our iPods drowning to death any traces of feelings, what so ever is left in us and carry on nurturing a growing our selves while we know thousands more will suffer for our inhumanity today – too selfish to care for any of it.

My first cupper is empty now, enough time I have devoted for the day being sensitive, Ill just get dressed up and have a brunch at that fine expensive hotel, will drink the evening away and will dance till late night. I have a busy day ahead I better get going.

Celebrity Gossip

Sad and sorry was how I exactly felt when I saw a picture of “Lindsay Lohan” crying when her handbag went missing, I really don’t understand what’s the fun in enjoying to see celebrities specially female celebrities in misery or in odd postures or situations. And it’s not just in the US, just few nights back, in Karachi I spotted an amateur photographer at a concert trying to capture one of the female performers when she bent down to pick up a piece of paper, there was nothing to see but he did try his best to capture “something”. And indeed we have seen personal pictures of celebrities and even politicians and there sons and daughters poured out on the internet just to have maximum clicks on someone’s stupid Google ad.

What surprises me more is the fact that not a single person asked any of these sick people to have a life and learn to behave instead people add spice to such websites and blogs by leaving their cheap remarks and comments.

Our sick behavior of treating them as some sort of a public property leaves them no privacy in life, we keep them under a keen observation and take advantage of anything, the slightest of it the moment we get a chance. How insensitive it is that the very celebrities we otherwise claim to adore, love and respect get disrespect, hatred and humiliation in return from the very people they spent there whole lives entertaining.

Is that what our celebrities deserve from us ? This is the question we shall all be asking our selves today.

Freedom !

A lock on my gate , and a lock on your gate, the occupants of your home free in there’s and mine in ours but yet to visit one another they need us to unlock the gates.

I refuse to choose war over peace.

Star Voice of India, a music program, a final episode of which aired a few moments ago was turned into a patriotic drama today. It is not bad to say how much you love your country, but at a time like this, and with songs which say we will not take this sitting down, with visuals of war and the song with lyrics which are to provoke the nation to raise up and go to war… Ironically the songs have a similar effect and response on this (Pakistani) side of the border too.

For once would this commercial media learn to spread harmony, love and talk about fighting the terrorists and not another whole country which they think is their enemy. And do they think if they nuke A bordering country they will actually achieve something .. ? I mean if today it is Pakistan then tomorrow it might be china or Taiwan or the Tamil Tigers from Nepal. ?

Seriously we still love the talented people who participated in the Star voice of India, we cried when Hashmeet Singh died, we all were shading tears when we were looking at the dead bodies and blood splattered all over in Mumbai terror attacks. We were all with India and the victims of the terror attack, we are still and a few fools cant change our sympathy for those innocents who lost their lives.

The terrorists wanted us to fight, they wanted to start a chain reaction by killing about 300 people, a chain reaction which might take countless innocent lives both in India and Pakistan, hundreds and thousands might just die on a flick of a button, we all know those who will die will only be normal peace loving people, who would never raise their hands to hurt anyone on either side of the border. Yet we are engrossed with the idea and proudly promoting it that on that side of the border live all demons…

Yeah I know such ventures do cash in very well for the media but I must warn that such practices do backfire with catastrophic results. We must understand that to kill a hand full of terrorists a full blown war is not a solution, it is it’s self a problem. I hope they would understand.

When I looked at Aishwarya and Anvesha singing today, despite the choice of songs, despite the tone of the program despite every single sentence which talked of hating Pakistan, which talked of war, my love and affection for Aishwarya, Anvesha, and the common people of India and Pakistan was undeterred, unchanged because I refuse to surrender to the plots of those terrorists who know nothing but to spread war, terror, and hatred.

Is that all so difficult to see ?

How can we ever thank you enough…

Yesterday was Saturday night, I had been up chasing after my playful cat, commenting on a picture featuring some of my friends, reading a few serious blogs over the blogosphere, and designing an application form for KMB all night.

So obviously I woke up at noon, and as usual for a technology geek, still in bed I picked up my cell phone to check my emails, but instead an sms which had arrived an hour or so back caught my attention. It was an invitation to join a few old school friends most of them “December Pakistanis’ to visit out beloved school principal Madam Najmi. I haven’t met most of these friends in years so seeing them together was an offer tempting enough not to say no to and to top it all a visit to our dear principal, this was an occasion I wouldn’t want to miss for anything.

I had a few unimportant plans for the evening, which were quickly moved, and I was all set to be carpooled to our destination.

During our drive from Gulshan to Clifton to our destination, the old school crowd, all six of us backed like the sardines in a tin gossiped and talked of the old days, the silly questions we asked our teachers and even sillier crushes, the stupid games and mischievous activities we indulged in while at school and all the memories of the silly us kids were refreshed.

For a moment we were not who we are but the same silly kids wrapped in a sense of nostalgia, back at school but with a realization ” Oh! God How silly of us it was”. I guess that is the part of being grownup.

At our principals home, we were greeted with great love and affection, a strong feel of warmth I am sure we all deeply felt. And Madam Najmi’s bright eyes were even more brighter, full of affection and love, glittering with a contentment, for her hard work and the love and knowledge she had given us has nurtured us into fine gentlemen.

For Madam Najmi, it has never been about money, she wanted to bring out the best in every single one of her students, she wanted them to be intellects, different from the crowd. Of course the school also won for her some bread and cheese, but had had to survive, and yes she could have been a multimillionaire only if she would have commercialized education in her institution but rightfully this she never did, which was a very bold decision, because she always remained focused and never lusted for money.

In the end when we were leaving her place to head back home, I realized that this fine old lady has given us something that we cant ever repay for, she has given us that fine personality, that fire to continue, that passion to look minutely into the finer details of thing in life. She is the person responsible to bring that fineness in us which set us apart, she has brought the best out of us. We were fortunate to have her as a principal and even more fortunate to have her with us today.

Right now I am at a total lost of words, my true feelings cant simply be described by mix of some 24 alphabets. I could only but say thank you, but we can so not thank her enough all our lives for what she has given to us. May her love and affection always be with us.

Boss with brains, the size of a pea.

I am totally sleep deprived and too tired right now for anything but I have to get this out of my system, I just have to tell this to some one or I wont be able to sleep.

Well I was at this beautiful art exhibition yesterday when I noticed a reporter, his press card boasted his employment with one of the cities leading English daily and he was asking people their opinion about the exhibition I noticed he didn’t had a photographer with him so I asked him what visuals would he be using for his news report of this opening of the exhibition. At which he replied that he has a CD of the images on display and a printed catalogue of the art work, pictures out of which would be used for the purpose. So I replied that the visuals will then be only about the art work and not the opening of this exhibition, I then showed him this image which was in my digital camera at the moment and asked him wouldn’t this image, or something similar would make a better visual shot for the story at which he said something that totally shocked me. He said ” after looking at this picture my boss will say half of the image is out of focus, and he cant use it”. At this statement I decided to remain silent because after that anything said to guy would have been useless.

Shehair (The City)

Shehair

Makaan ke dewaraoon per bhayanak shakloon ke nishan din raat khoof ka manzar keh rahay hain, yeah itnee khoon ke piyasee hain key chuoo to khaal cheelay daalteen hain.

Chaet khaasta hai jiss say din raat khoon tapakta hai aur zameen say guzray hua maaasoom, mazloom insanoon kee dill hila daynay walee cheekhain din raat ubharteen rehteen hain.

Koi bhee darwaza kholo to insanoo ke lashain, jin say sardnay kee boo umandte hoo, Suit boot main liptee, dono bahain pheylaey mugh say baghal geer hoonay ko kehteen hain.

Hava boghal hai, is kay paas dainay ko siraf ghuthan hain, asmaan hai key sooraj ke tapish say lal hooraha hia, badal bhee is shehair say guzartay ghabratay hain aur agar kabhee guzar bhee jaeen to un say siraf lahoo he barasta hai… aur barish man boondain seesay ke, jo barood kay zoor per zinda loogon ko maut kay ghaat utarnay per tulee rahteen hain

Bahar lagay hua darakhtoon main bhee aab patoon ke jaga zehrelay Khaar ugg aeen hain, agar kaheen koi phool in kntoon kay dermain ugg bhee jata hai too us tak pohanch na too door ke baat, khushboo ko mahsoos kerna bhe namumkin hai, aur aysee matee main ugay ga bhee kiya jo barsoon masoomon ka khoon pee pee ker lal hoo chukee ho –

Is shahar main wehshat ka raaj hai aur kahen kaheen jo zindage kay chand aasaar hain who bhee aab akhree saans laytay dikhtay hain.

English Translation :

The city

The walls of the house, laced with haunting figures, so thirsty of the blood that they would scrape your skin off the moment it’s touched.

The ceiling so worn-out that it drips of blood and the floor, from beneath which the deafening shrieks of the oppressed and innocents of the past seeps out day and night shattering my soul.

Behind the doors, the corpses, rotting and stinking, wrapped in suits and boots, ready to embrace with open arms, thirsty of fresh, warm blood.

The air outside dense, heavy to breath. The sun’s heat baking the sky red hot and the clouds too shy to visit the city, and even if they ever do all they shower is blood. And the rain drops are lead powered by gunpowder, thirsty of blood with determination to eliminate any signs of life.

Even the trees and plants have now grown poisonous thorns instead of leaves, and among them if any flower bloom one cant imagine even to reach close enough to feel it’s fragrance. But what else can be expected to grow in such a soil which has been absorbing the blood of poor innocents since many a years and has now turned red.

Darkness and Horror rules the city, and the few vague signs of life too seems to be on the verge of death.