Jodha Akbar and Goal to be unveiled at Cannes Film festival 2007

On May 18, UTV will curl up curtains to showcase two of its tent pole upcoming projects - Jodha Akbar and Goal. The two films will be unveiled for the very first time at Cannes 2007, which is scheduled to release across the world in 2007.

Present at the Cannes unveiling of Jodha Akbar would be the director of the film Ashutosh Gowariker and actors Aishwarya Rai and Hrithik Roshan. The second film Goal based on an Asian soccer league team and shot entirely in the UK, is a sports action drama starring John Abraham & Bipasha Basu, who would be present at the unveiling of the film at Cannes.

Says Siddharth Roy Kapur, VP marketing and Sales “Indian films have always raised the curiosity factor in the west. With the new wave of Indian cinema has been widely acknowledged and welcomed across the globe which is a great positive for us. This year we would unveil two of our upcoming movies both of which have been positioned as international projects with a universal appeal.”

UTV will also display its entire film catalogue at Cannes. This includes blockbusters like Swades, Parineeta, Viruddh, Chup Chup Ke, Don, Blue Umbrella and Rang De Basanti all from UTV’s archetypal collection.

Woolmer was poisoned before murder

London: Pakistan's cricket coach Bob Woolmer was incapacitated by drugs before he was strangled, a British Broadcasting Corp. investigative program said on Monday.

Preliminary toxicology tests, due to be given to Jamaican police next week, indicated that Woolmer had been incapacitated by a drug, the BBC's Panorama programme said. The programme did not identify the drug or the source of its information.

Woolmer, a 58-year-old former England test batsman, was found unconscious in his room and later declared dead on March 18, the day after his squad was upset by Ireland and eliminated from the World Cup. Police said he was strangled. Woolmer's body was returned to his family in South Africa on Sunday.

"Surf The net anonymous"Free proxy Servers list

If you are looking to see a gambling site at work or any site where you do not want to be tracked or you can't access, try a free proxy. Anonymous proxy servers hide your IP address and thereby prevent your from unauthorized access to your computer through the Internet. They do not provide anyone with your IP address and effectively hide any information about you and your reading interests. Besides that, they don't even let someone know you are surfing through a proxy server.

http://www.hidemyass.com

http://www.letsproxy.com

http://www.browseatwork.com

http://www.cgi-proxy.net


You can also find a great list of public proxy servers here.

Court asks for probe into 'KBC fraud'

The Delhi High Court on Friday directed the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission (MRTPC) to probe allegations of malpractices by producers of the popular 'Kaun Banega Crorepati' (KBC) game show on Star TV.
A division bench of Justices Vikramajit Sen and J.P. Singh said: "Keeping in view the contentions of the parties, importance and gravity of the allegations and larger interest of the general public, we deem it fit that the matter be referred to and investigated by the MRTPC, particularly its finances, chances of winning, element of allurement, misrepresentation, fraud and other related allegations."
The court directed petitioner Anuj Kumar Bhati and the respondents - producer of KBC, Star TV and the information and broadcasting ministry - to appear before the MRTPC on May 8 for further hearing.
Bhati, in a petition, alleged that Star TV and the producer of KBC have duped the participants of millions of rupees and were indulging in foul play by selecting their own people to win cash at the show.
It said that some show advertisements like "Rs.2 crore is just a telephone call away" were so alluring that entire families were doing nothing but trying to reach the so-called "hot seat" of the show, said the petition.
Citing examples, Advocate A. Guneshwar for the petitioner said India TV news channel on June 26, 2006, Pioneer and Hindustan newspapers subsequently had highlighted the bungling in the media.
Star TV and the producers of the show had allegedly allowed their employees and associates to participate in the show violating their own rules, alleged Bhati.
Fixing prima facie responsibility on the respondents, the judges said: "The Star TV and producer have given some evasive replies to the allegations labelled by India TV and newspapers."

‘Ta Ra Rum Pum’ Movie review

Yash Raj created magic with speeding bikes 'Dhoom. Now's the turn of speeding cars 'Ta Ra Rum Pum'.
The West has often made films depicting the rise, fall and subsequent rise of sportspersons. 'Rocky' [Sylvester Stallone], 'Days of Thunder' [Tom Cruise] and 'Cinderella Man' [Russell Crowe] are films that cross your mind as you watch director Siddharth Raj Anand's second outing 'Ta Ra Rum Pum'. It wouldn't be erroneous to state that Siddharth borrows from the above-named films, but he garnishes the material with desi emotions that work well with Indian moviegoers.
There's no denying that 'Ta Ra Rum Pum' is a well-crafted fare that provides entertaining moments and also succeeds in its goal as a feel-good experience. One of the prime reasons why 'Ta Ra Rum Pum' works is because it's not about car racing only. It involves a couple, their two kids, the family's riches to rags story, their highs and low.Now let's get down to the basics: What works and what doesn't? If the car racing sequences are awe-inspiring, the emotional quotient in the second hour is worth acknowledging as well. A number of sequences make you moist-eyed, especially the high-octane climax that not only gives you goose bumps, but also makes you jump with joy.
However, 'Ta Ra Rum Pum' isn't a flawless film. You can't turn a blind eye to the aberrations in those 16 reels. Fortunately, the pros outweigh the cons in the final tally.
To sum up, Siddharth Raj Anand comes up with a worthy follow up to his directorial debut, the immensely likable Salaam Namastey. 'Ta Ra Rum Pum' easily ranks amongst Yash Raj's better films in terms of style as also substance.

Gilchrist stars in Aussie World Cup win

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados: Australia won an unprecedented third straight title and fourth overall when they beat Sri Lanka by 53 runs under Duckworth & Lewis method in the rain-curtailed final of the World Cup 2007 here at the Kensington Oval on Saturday.They earlier won the cricket’s mega event in 1999 and 2003, having also won the World Cup in 1987. It was also their fourth successive appearance in the final, having been beaten by Sri Lanka in 1996. Sri Lanka played their second World Cup final following their win 11 years ago. This was the ninth World Cup final since its inception in 1975, and the first staged in the Caribbean.The match was reduced to 38 overs a side because of rain and after winning the toss, captain Ricky Ponting decided to bat in wet conditions. Openers Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist put on a huge 172 for the first wicket in just 22.5 overs before Hayden fell after giving a fine support to his partner with a patient 38 off 55 balls. He was caught by skipper Mahela Jayawardene off Lasith Malinga.On the other end, vice-captain Gilchrist continued the onslaught and completed his fifty from 43 balls and his 15th ODI hundred off 72 balls. He added another 52 with his captain for the second wicket. However, Gilchrist’s hurricane innings came to an end when he pulled a short-length ball from Dilhara Fernando only to get a top edge and Chamara Silva took a good catch at short mid- wicket. His blazing 149 came from 104 balls with the help of 13 fours and eight sixes. This was the highest individual score in a World Cup final. The previous record was 140 not out by Ponting against India at Johannesburg in the 2003 World Cup final.Gilchrist also reached the 9000-run mark in One-day International career. He is the second Australian after Ricky Ponting and the 11th batsman overall to reach this milestone.Later, Ponting was run out at the score of 261. He made 37 off 42 balls. Five runs later, Shane Watson was clean bowled by malinga. However, Australia finished 281 for four at the end of the 38th over. Andrew Symonds was not out at 23 from 21 balls and Michael Clarke at eight runs.Malinga claimed two wickets for 49 and Dlihara Fernando took one wicket at a high cost of 74 runs.Chasing a rather difficult target, Sri Lanka lost their opener Upul Tharanga in only the third over but veteran opener Sanath Jayasuriya and wicketkeeper-batsman Kumar Sanagakkara played sensibly and gradually accelerated the score. Both completed their fifties and added 116 runs for the second wicket before Sangakkara fell to Brad Hogg for 54. This was his 40th ODI fifty and in all he faced 54 balls and hit six fours and one six.Later, Jayasuriya was bowled by Clarke and Sri Lanka lost the hope of winning the title.Jayasuriya, in his final appearance in the World Cup he was playing since 1996, scored 63 off 67 balls with nine fours. This was his 64th ODI fifty. He also completed 12000 runs in the record 390 One-day Internationals. Then another short rain interruption revised the target to 269 in 36 overs. But wickets were falling at regular intervals. They were 206 for seven in 33 overs when bad lights stopped play and Australia thinking the match had been called off began celebrating the victory. But umpire Aleem Dar asked the players to resume the game in the dark to complete the remaining three overs.However, Sri Lanka finished at 215 for eight to lose the final by 53 runs under D/L rule.Adam Gilchrist was declared the man-of-the-match and Glenn McGrath the man of the tournament as the ninth edition of the World Cup ended with colourful celebrations at the ground.

Facebox Becomes Netlog; Raises €5M

Netlog, previously known as Facebox, is relaunching (again) under their latest new brand name, with €5 million ($6.8M) in their pocket from a round of funding backed by Index Ventures.
Netlog has an extensive, and confusing, history. Feel free to delve deeper into their story here. Netlog has created a network of interactive communities that span Europe in nine different countries, all operating in their respective languages from English to Dutch to Portuguese. The funding from Index Ventures, who has also funded Last.fm, eBay and Skype, will allow Netlog to continue their expansion, entering more countries in more languages, and also build up their commercial operations. Their network community offers a broad reaching opportunity for advertisers, and Netlog also earns revenue from users that purchase credits to increase the alloted space for their content.
Other global social networks include MySpace, Facebook, and YouTube . As far as enabling users to communicate with each other, irrespective of language barriers, proves a unique challenge, but one that has seemingly brought success for Netlog.

From: mashable

Google's desktop search application is now available in 29 languages, including Hindi

Google Inc. took a step closer on Thursday to being able to search everything: its desktop search application is now available in 29 languages, including Hindi, the company announced.
Seven weeks after launching the English-language version of Google Desktop 5, the company localized the software in 29 languages, including French, Spanish, German, Dutch, Japanese, Chinese, Russian -- and Hindi, the first time a version of the application has been offered in that language.
Google Desktop 5 is an application for Windows Vista, XP or 2000 that, once installed on a PC, can be used to search the hard disk for documents using an interface similar to that of Google's Internet search engine. Like its Internet counterpart, it can be used to preview the contents of documents without having to launch the application used to create them. Version 5 also includes updated "gadgets," small applications that can display new email, weather forecasts, diary entries or a to-do list.
The company faces renewed competition on the desktop since Microsoft Corp.'s introduction of new desktop search functionality in Vista, its latest Windows upgrade. Microsoft also offers desktop search for Windows XP as a free download.
With Version 5, Google tried to play on users' fears about the security of Microsoft's browser and OS, introducing an early warning system designed to protect users from phishing attempts and Web sites harboring malicious code.
Google Desktop was itself the subject of two warnings by security researchers in February. However, Google software engineer Xiyuan Xia gave no indication in his posting to the official Google Desktop blog on Thursday whether the new localized versions patch all the reported flaws.
Google also released a version of the desktop search application for Apple Inc.'s Mac OS X operating system three weeks ago.

From: Pc World

Xbox 360 Elite

The $480 Xbox 360 Elite, which comes dressed in matte black with metallic details, has several improvements over its predecessor. It packs a roomy 120GB hard disk (up from 20GB), a High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI), and a wireless controller. Like the previous version of the Xbox, the Xbox 360 Elite plays regular DVDs, stores music ripped from audio CDs or digital photos, and connects to a PC to enable digital content streaming.

From: Pc World

Atif Aslam's new Single Chupke Se Aaye

Chupke Se Aaye.mp3

Atif Aslam new Single from his new unreleased album.Awsome song.

Atif Aslam rocks.

Linkin Park - What I've Done

Linkin Park - What...

Linkin Park's new single for Minutes to Midnight.

Fotowoosh - 2D to 3D within seconds!!!!

TechCrunch has a brand new article about a brand new service named Fotowoosh, which is said to make a 2D image into a 3D visualization!

It is a service from Maryland based startup - Freewebs. Fotowoosh will turn ANY image (better with outdoor images) into a 3D visualization. The 3D image is constructed in Virtual Reality Modeling Language(VRML), a format which may require you to have a VRML reader, but hopefully later browsers will integrate it into their systems.
A good VRML client(or the only one I could find) is Cortona. Its free to use, and the 2MB extension is available for all major browsers - IE, Firefox, Netscape, Opera etc.
I’ve applied for a beta tester invite… Hope I receive it so that I can really check this thing out Meanwhile, you can check out the demos they have on their site… Freewebs raised $11 million in venture capital last August. I’ve used Freewebs before, and found it to be crap Fotowoosh might be a great venture to bring up their reputation among the more experienced cycle, and not just newbies.
TechCrunch also reports that Microsoft has been working on something similar, christened Photosynth. Ofcourse, this has been in the news for around 1 and a half years now

3 great ways to use Google as a proxy - surf anonymously

Yesterday I had made a post about anonymous surfing. Today, I came across a couple of sites which listed a few ways to use GOOGLE to surf anonymously.










1) Use Google Translate Use any language in the Translate From field, and English in the Translate To field, even if the page is in English. Ta daaaa… A proxified page brought to you by Google Inc Only problem is, the images arent routed via Google… Woops…
2) Use Google Wireless Transcoder(GWT) GWT is a service for mobile users to strip a website of all formatting and display it on their mobiles. It can, as usual, be misused from a PC. Just type in the URL into the field, and Google downloads the page, strips page formats, makes it into a single column document, and shows it. Yet again, anonymousity, thanks to Google Inc.
3) Use Google Cache Search for the required page on Google. Check out the small link to the side which says “Cached”. Click it. Yet again, the page displayed without really visiting the site… Thanks to, Googleplex
Thanks to : Hackzine, and O’Reilley.

Thunderbird 2 starts flying

The much awaited version 2 of the popular mail client Mozilla Thunderbird has been released! Boasting of faster service, live search, better graphics, tagging and more, this beauty has become my favourite!

A “What’s New” list from the Mozilla website -
Message Tags: Create your own tags for organizing email. Messages can be assigned any number of tags. Tags can be combined with saved searches and mail views to make it easier to organize email.
Visual Theme: Thunderbird 2’s theme and user interface have been updated to improve usability and maximize screen real estate.
Session History Navigation: Back and Forward buttons allow navigation through message history.
Advanced Folder Views: Customize the folder pane to show favorite, unread or recent folders.
Easy Access to Popular Web Mail Services: Gmail and .Mac users can access their accounts in Thunderbird by simply providing their user names and passwords.
Improved Support For Extensions: Extensions can now add custom columns to the message list pane in addition to storing custom message data in the mail database.
Improved New Mail Notification Alerts: New mail alerts include information such as the subject, sender and message preview text.
Folder Summary Popups: Mouse over a folder with new messages to see a summary of the new messages in that folder.
Saved Search Folder Performance: Search results for saved search folders are now cached, improving folder loading performance.
Find As You Type: Finds and highlights message text as you type.
Improved Filing Tools: Recent folder menu items for moving and copying messages to recently used folders. Move / Copy again functionality.
Updates to the Extension System: The extension system has been updated to provide enhanced security and to allow for easier localization of extensions.
New Windows installer: Based on Nullsoft Scriptable Install System, the new Windows installer resolves many long-standing issues.
Windows Vista Support: Many enhancements and fixes for Windows Vista.
Reportedly, very many bugs have also been fixed.
You can download Mozilla Thunderbird 2 at the Mozilla Website.

Need a Windows Serial key? Simple… Google it…

In a potential security threat, we find that people from all over the net are posting their Belarc Advisor Current Profile on various sites. The big problem is, these reports contain their Windows serial keys.

So a simple search term, and Googling for it, will get you a series of keys!
Try it yourself. Search on Google for

“Windows XP Professional” “Belarc Advisor Current Profile” key:

Or just click here to open up the page.
Microsoft REALLY needs to do something about this. You dont need a hack or crack for pirated Windows now! Just Google…

Belarc Advisor Current Profile Software Licenses

I have no idea how in the world Belarc Advisor and its user manage to misplace their html report, we know that it is not Belarc Advisor’s fault because the program simply generate the report without uploading it to any online server, which means it is the end user that accidentally uploaded their own reports and somehow search engines like Google and Yahoo manage to crawl and archive these pages. Therefore revealing to the entire world your Windows Vista original key or serial.

Is this something bad for the end user? Well, not really, we do know that most of these original Windows XP serial or key are OEM versions, which literally means it doesn’t work on those pirated version even if the key is valid, reason being that these valid windows key only applies to the OEM version of windows, not the professional versions.

Below is a snapshot of the results from Google:
For more information on how to search for these keys online, visit the source of this information at LiewCF. Belarc Advisor Current Profile Software Licenses.

Source : geckoandfly

Serial and Key seekers, just use "Belarc Advisor"

I don't claim to understand what kind of people post their private keys and information online - but apparently they use Belarc Advisor which (automatically?) put their information online! If you need Windows XP serials, just use Google and search for Belarc Advisors and key: http://www.google.com/s...%22+key%3A In fact, you can see a lot of other keys, such as Office and other desirable softwares.

Microsoft "Genuine Advantage" cracked in 24hours

AV sez, "This week, Microsoft started requiring users to verifiy their serial number before using Windows Update. This effort to force users to either buy XP or tell them where you got the illegal copy is called 'Genuine Advantage.' It was cracked within 24 hours."
Before pressing 'Custom' or 'Express' buttons paste this text to the address bar and press enter:
javascript:void(window.g_sDisableWGACheck='all')
It turns off the trigger for the key check.

Vista upgrade invalidates your XP key

If you choose to purchase an upgrade version of Windows Vista to upgrade XP, you will no longer be able to use that version of XP. Either on another system, or as a dual-boot option. The key will be invalidated, preventing activation.
For many people this may not be a problem, but it’s a change from earlier versions of Windows.

The Best Vista Notebooks

Right now could be a great time to splurge on a laptop, given that many come with Microsoft's Windows Vista operating system to sweeten the deal. But is the new OS reason enough to jump now, or should you hang on to your trusty Windows XP laptop for a while longer?
To find out, we rounded up 15 Vista-equipped laptops from Acer, Asus, Dell, Fujitsu, Gateway, HP, Lenovo, Micro Express, and Toshiba, in two categories: desktop-replacement models powerful enough to serve as your Primary PC, and ultraportables weighing less than 5 pounds. We tested speed and battery life and carefully evaluated screens, keyboards, and other vital features.
We ranked the best five notebooks in each category and awarded Best Buys to the $2301 HP Pavilion dv9000t, a desktop replacement, and the $2150 Dell XPS M1210, an ultraportable. The jazzed-up dv9000t is a snazzy multimedia laptop with a 17-inch screen and designer exterior, while the M1210 is Dell at its best in a 4.9-pound package complete with a dedicated entertainment interface, smoking speed, and great battery life.
This roundup also marks the debut of WorldBench 6 Beta 2, the latest version of PC World's test suite for computers. Our PC World Test Center team refreshed the benchmark with Vista support and expanded tests that give multicore systems a workout. We also improved our battery test with a new automated script that rotates simulated typing with full-screen DVD-quality videos. (In view of its various updates, of course, WorldBench 6 Beta 2 scores are not comparable to previous WorldBench 5 results.) Visit PC World Test Center InfoCenter for more information.
So what can you expect from this first batch of Vista-enabled portables? Though graphically busy and a memory hog, Vista and its Aero 3D environment look great and run well on these suitably powerful laptops; most models in our roundup came with 2GB of memory. If you buy a Vista notebook now, however, you'll encounter more problems with hardware and software compatibility than you would have with an early Windows XP laptop; for example, some docking stations currently disable Aero. But most sources of incompatibility are identical to those you'd run into with a Vista desktop PC, and they should soon fade as vendors update their drivers and software applications

Search Engine Shoot-Out

Not many brands become verbs, as in "I googled [fill in the blank] last night." Nielsen/NetRatings' January 2007 report found that more than half of all Web queries in the United States in that month went through Google. The second-most-popular engine, Yahoo Search, garnered less than half that amount.
Which led us to wonder: Does Google deserve all that traffic, or is it living off its reputation? Are people using it because they're not aware of other, potentially better search engines? To find out, we pitted Google against its big-name competitors, Yahoo and Microsoft Live Search, as well as against smaller challengers such as AlltheWeb, AltaVista, and Ask.com--plus a couple dozen of the specialty search services, including Blogdigger, Picsearch, and TubeSurf.
Our verdict? Google is indeed the best search engine, even though two other services topped it--barely--in our text-search tests. Google's index proved to be the most accurate, comprehensive, and timely of the bunch. It also bested the majority of the specialty-search sites we tried, meaning those that focus on a category or file type, such as videos, images, news, blogs, or local info delivered on a mobile phone.
Recent enhancements to Live Search's mobile component moved that service into the lead in our test searches for local information, although you have to navigate manually to its mobile-optimized site rather than being redirected automatically when you log in from a cell phone or other handheld device (see our charts throughout this story for details).
That said, the competition is fierce--and Google had better stay on its toes. Its challengers are implementing some innovative tools and interface upgrades (Ask.com is particularly impressive in this area) that enhance the user experience and deliver more relevant information than do the standard ten blue links on a results page. We also like several useful tools that can help you go beyond the basics of search.

Wikipedia on CD | Print Magazine for Blogger

wikipediaondvd.com announced the released of static Wikipedia on CD with around 2,000 articles from the English Wikipedia. The CD can be browse online, download, or buy ($13.90 USD exclude shipping).
Blogger & Podcaster announce print subscription for the magazine “Blogger & Podcaster”. While the magazine is available for online viewing, the print magazine subscription is $99 USD per year for International readers.

Accessing Blocked Websites in Internet Censored Countries

Psiphon is a software that allows citizens in uncensored countries to provide unfettered access to the Net through their home computers to friends and family members who live behind firewalls of states that censor.

How to Search ANY Software License Keys using Google

Warning: It is illegal to use non-genuine software. This article is published as a security alert.
A google search query is found to reveal software license keys of one’s computer. The softwareincluding Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Office, Adobe products, and more.
How does it work?
The Google query searches for all web pages with page titled “Belarc Advisor Current Profile” and contain “Software Licenses”. The “Belarc Advisor Current Profile” is a HTML report generated by Belarc Advisor, a free PC audit software.
Belarc Advisor builds a detailed profile of your installed software and hardware, missing Microsoft hotfixes, anti-virus status, etc and create a HTML report to display in your web browser.
On the product page, the company ensures that “All of your PC profile information is kept private on your PC and is not sent to any web server.” If that’s truth, the Google search results means that the users accidentally or purposely uploaded their profile reports.

Google for Free Software License Keys
Submit the following search query to Google and you will receive a list of search results that reveal the computer profiles with installed softwares’ license keys.
intitle:”Belarc Advisor Current Profile” “Software Licenses”
Here is the screenshot of sample search results returned:

Image: screenshot of google search that returns software licenses
My two cents
With powerful search engine like Google, nothing is secured after putting it online. Users should be extra careful when uploading files that might contain sensitive data. Belarc Advisor could be an useful tool if using it cautiously .

Teri Yaad Aati Hai’ by Adnan Sami

Video of a song ‘Teri Yaad Aati Hai’ by Adnan Sami from his album ‘Kisi Din’. Most of the people in Pakistan will easily recognize this famous song. As this is a very old song from his album ‘Raag Time’ which was released in Pakistan in 1991.



There is no Yana Gupta as it was told before instead this video introduces new face ‘Avanne ‘. This beautiful and mysterious woman is a newcomer Avanne who came by this offer quite accidentally. This lady was quite anxious initially and really wasn’t very keen on doing albums. Even when she was selected to do the video, she was in two minds, she admits. “I was told that it would be a nice sweet video. But when I realized it was Adnan Sami’s song, I was floored.”

Nakheel to invest $68 billion in Karachi for Sugar Land City

Nakheel, (Palm Island builders in UAE), will develop a mega real estate project in Karachi, Pakistan’s financial capital, where a new waterfront project, Sugar Land City, involving an investment exceeding $68 billion has been approved by the Pakistan government last week.
“The master plan to develop Sugar Land City at Hawkesbay on Karachi outskirts has been finalised,” Syed Mustafa Kamal, the Karachi Nazim (Mayor), has been quoted by media reports as saying. According to Pakistan media reports, the project will spread over 60,000 acres.
Briefing reporters about a meeting held in Islamabad to review the waterfront project, Kamal said an agreement would be signed with Nakheel Group next month. Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf had given the approval for this project.

Watch "Ye Aakhri Alvida na ho" a promotional video of "Shoot out at Lokhandwala"

Remember the haunting track 'Yeh Hai Meri Kahani' that popular Pakistani band STRINGS crooned for Sanjay Gupta's 'Zinda' ? The song became quite popular when released, especially due to the fact that Sanjay Dutt and John Abraham participated in the music video too that was based on studio setting.
Now for Sanjay Gupta's upcoming release ' Shoot out at Lokhandwala,' STRINGS have been roped in again for a promotional music video. Titled 'Ye Aakhri Raat Na Ho', the song again comes with a haunting feel since it narrates the dark theme of the film which revolves around a real life incident of a shootout that happened in Lokhandwala years back.
The video is unique too since it has shots interspersed from the making of the film with STRINGS strolling around the sets and taking the viewer through the film making journey.

Yeh Hum Naheen - Say No to Terrorism

Yeh Hum Naheen (This is NOT us) is an NGO headed by Waseem Mahmood and a number of like minded popular Pakistani vocalists have choosen to join hands and raise their voice on behalf of the Muslim world coming together in the form of a an amazing soul touching sound track, featuring names like Haroon, Ali Haider, Ali Zafar, Shufqat, Strings, Shuja Haider and Hadiqa Kiani.Since the tragic events of 9/11 which shook the world to the core the world has started to label all Muslims as terrorists, the veil, the beard and other Islamic symbols have come to be recognized more as a threat to the world rather then a symbol of a peaceful Islamic religion. The movement aims to address the issues of the growing radicalization of the Pakistani youth and the rise in terrorist activities breeding locally as well as on the international front, the long term objective of this organization definitely remains to address the negative image of Islam in the West.Yeh Hum Naheen is geared to become an unprecedented musical movement. Featuring the vocal talents of some of Pakistan’s biggest music artists, including Haroon, Ali Haider, Ali Zafar, Shufqat, Strings, Shuja Haider and Hadiqa Kiani, uniting to sing out the message the world needs to hear. (MP3)

Written by Ali Moeen, composed by Shuja Haider, the central message of the song that has compelled so many people to become involved. It is a message of reconciliation, a message of peace and a message of truth. Capturing the imagination of people across the board, Yeh Hum Naheen has given a voice to the silent majority, those in the Muslim world who have for too long been mis-represented. These are the people who although not appearing on our television screens are saddened and shocked at the high-jacking of Islam by terrorists, and want to stand up and shout “This is Not Us”.
We as concerned Muslims must join hands to promote this message of peace and love to the entire world.

From: Teeth maestro

Abhi- Ash: A fairy tale wedding

Colour, confusion and crowds... It was every bit the grand filmy wedding as Abhishek Bachchan, astride a horse, wearing an off-white sherwani and a white turban bedecked with flowers, arrived to wed Aishwarya Rai.

Bollywood's power couple finally tied the knot in a grand ceremony that held much of the nation in thrall - never mind if the only details of the closely guarded event that filtered out were grainy zoom shots from TV cameras stationed across the road.

Aishwarya reached the Bachchans' Juhu residence Prateeksha in a silver Mercedes decorated with flowers along with her mother and brother. At almost the same time, the barat left the other Bachchan bungalow Jalsa nearby, with a visibly anxious Amitabh Bachchan, complete with a saffron turban, ushering his guests into the waiting Volvo buses that would take them to the wedding venue.

His face covered with a sehra of white flowers, Abhishek did a small jig before getting off the bus and waving cheerily and then getting on to his horse again at Prateeksha. While photographers scrambled to train their cameras at the goings-on, curious stargazers climbed up trees, railings and even hoardings to get a first-hand view.

22 Things You Should Know about Windows Vista

Vista is hot news that it is launching to market on 30^th January but many of us don’t know what Vista is going to bring for us more than windows XP. These are the things a consumer should know about Vista:

1- Microsoft has spent 5 years to replace Windows XP with new OS Windows Vista. It has 6 editions includes Vista Starter, Vista Home Basic, Vista Home Premium, Vista Business, Vista Enterprise and Vista Ultimate.

* Vista Starter: Much like Windows XP Starter Edition, this edition will be limited to emerging markets such as Colombia, India, Thailand, and Indonesia, mainly to offer a legal alternative to using unauthorized copies
* Vista Home Basic: Similar to Windows XP Home Edition, Home Basic is intended for budget users not requiring advanced media support for home use
* Vista Home Premium: is the one most consumers will want.This edition is comparable to Windows XP Media Center Edition. This edition will also support more advanced features aimed for the home market segment, such as HDTV support and DVD authoring. Extra premium games, mobile and tablet PC, network projector, touchscreen, and auxiliary display (via Windows SideShow) support, and a utility to schedule backups are available in this version.
* Vista Business: is Comparable to Windows XP Professional and Windows XP Tablet PC Edition. This edition includes all the features of Home Premium with the exception of Windows Media Center and related technologies, Parental Controls, and Windows DVD and Movie Maker HD.
* Vista Enterprise: This edition is aimed at the enterprise segment of the market, and is a superset of the Business edition. Additional features include multilingual user interface support, BitLocker Drive Encryption, and UNIX application support. This edition will not be available through retail or OEM channels, but through Microsoft Software Assurance
* Vista Ultimate: This edition combines all the features of the Home Premium and Enterprise editions, a game performance tweaker (WinSAT), and "Ultimate Extras".

2- Vista is much prettier than prior versions of Windows. It has got updated graphical user interface. For example, windows, menus, radio buttons, check boxes and icons look much prettier and items in the taskbar and in folders can display little previews of what they contain.

3- Vista’s features are grouped in three themes includes Clear, Confident and Connected.

Clear: covers the significant work that's been undertaken on the Windows user interface like Aero interface, Virtual Folders and the Desktop gadgets.
Confident: contains the enhanced security features and the long-overdue backup facility.
Connected: is the umbrella term for features such as the rejuvenated networking facilities, laptop- and tablet-specific features and innovations such as Meeting Place that promise to end the tedium of photocopying handouts before meetings.

Image link: Advertising Age

4-Vista offers DirectX 10 which is “the latest version of Microsoft's graphics technology that will enable more realistic images, such as rippling water, billowing smoke and lighting effects.”

5- Updated visual style dubbed Vindows Aero. It is the new hardware-based graphical user interface in Windows Vista and supposed to be a cleaner, more powerful, more efficient and more aesthetically pleasing user interface, it also includes new transparencies, animations and eye candy- is most remarkable for its visual appeal. So, Aero puts a more beautiful face on computing.

The critics says that Vista's Aero interface and visible new features in Vista are already available in Apple’s operating system, called Mac OS X,

6- Vista has got new Windows shell which is different than Windows XP. This new shell offers a new range of organization, navigation, and search capabilities.

7-Vista has got improved searching features. Windows Vista features system-wide integrated search throughout the Explorer user interface, Start menu, Open/Save dialog boxes etc. Beyond searching for files, search works with Help, Control Panel, Networking, and more.

There is also the ability to save searches as Saved Searches where opening a folder will execute a specific search automatically and display the results as a normal folder. These virtual folders are also distributable via RSS.

8-Windows Sidebar is a new panel on the right-hand side of the screen.Users can place Desktop Gadgets, which may be used to display information such as the system time, Internet-powered features such as RSS feeds, and to control external applications such as Windows Media Player.
Also, Desktop Gadgets can also run on the Windows desktop, separate from the Sidebar.

9- Windows Vista includes the latest version of Internet Explorer, Internet Explorer 7 which adds different supports like tabbed browsing, Atom, RSS, internationalized domain names, a search box, a phishing filter and an anti-spoofing URL engine.

10- There is upgraded Windows Media Player 11 in Windows Vista Home Premium and Ultimate Editions natively supports playback of HD DVD. Specifically, Windows Vista supports the MMC-5 commands. One of the good quality of Media Player 11 is Media Sharing which allows one to share their Media library and make it accessible to other PCs running Windows Vista, Xbox 360, or networked Media Receivers. Also, it supports for other Media Center Extenders.

11- Vista has Windows Mail that is a replacement for Outlook Express. It has Phishing Filter like IE7 and a Junk mail filtering.

12- Vista has upgraded Windows Photo Gallery, Windows Calendar, Windows DVD Maker, Windows Meeting Space (replacement for NetMeeting) and Windows Media Center for Home Premium and Ultimate editions.

Also, it has got new Windows Mobility Center, a new control panel that centralizes the information related to mobile computing. Vista’s Parental controls gives you a strong hand to control how often your kid uses the PC. You can monitor where he goes and what he does. You can set hours where he can log on and where he can't log on. You can tell him to visit only certain Web sites.

Vista provides Windows SideShow, Speech recognition, new control panel of Problem Reports and Solutions, and Backup and Restore Center.

13-windows Vista security: Some of the most significant and most discussed security features included with Windows Vista include User Account Control, Kernel Patch Protection, BitLocker Drive Encryption, and address space layout randomization. In addition to features intended to improve the security of Windows, Vista includes a range of parental controls, which give owners of a computer a set of tools to limit what other accounts on a computer can do. The problem with Vista security is that the user has to run, and keep updating, security programs, which can be annoying and burdensome. Another problem is New parental controls can limit access to mature games, or allow games to be played only during certain times. For example, Every time a user downloads a game, Vista will warn that it could be harmful, and will require the administrator password if the user continues anyway.

14- In Windows Vista, 'Stand By' and 'Hibernate' have been combined into an additional 'Sleep' function which is active by default. When user chooses the 'Sleep" mode, it saves information from the computer's memory to the hibernation file on disk, but instead of turning off the computer, it simultaneously enters Standby mode. After a specified amount of time, it shuts down (hibernates). The time defult is 3 hours.

Also, Vista allows users to play a video instead of displaying a static photograph as the "wallpaper" on their everyday desktop.

15- For using Vista, high quality laptops and computers are needed. The computers are capable for vista Premium have to be powered by GHz processor, 1 GB RAM memory. Their GPUs should support DirectX 9 with Hardware Pixel Shader v2.0 and WDDM driver support.Also GPUs must have minimum 128 MB dedicated RAM supports up to 2,756,000 total pixels (e.g. 1920 × 1200). Hard Drive must be minimum 40 GB with 15 GB HDD free space. The Optical drive has to be minimum DVD-RW.

16- The license of Vista is so strict on retail buyers. First, the licensing terms for Vista only allowed buyers of retail copies of Vista to transfer their software to a new machine one time. Since then, Microsoft has responded to the complaints and has modified the EULA to read: "You may uninstall the software and install it on another device for your use. You may not do so to share this license between devices.

17- Some people believe it is the best version of Windows that Microsoft has produced. But the best way of using Vista is buying a new PC with the new operating system preloaded.

18- Vista's most basic upgrade will sell for $99.95, although the home premium version will sell as an upgrade for $159. The two versions, when sold with new PCs, will go for $199 and $239, respectively, and business versions start at $199 for an upgrade and go up to $399 for the "ultimate" edition.

19- Many old software programs won't work on Vista. Even it can create some problems with some websites like uploading a video to YouTuble may become some difficult with Vista.

20-downloadable Upgrade Advisor program tells you how ready your XP machine is. It’s available at: www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/getready/upgradeadvisor.

Also, Vista blog is the appropriate place that users can get updated information about Vista. You can check this blog here.

21. Vista has come to the market after a long delay than originally anticipated.

22. The delay in Vista has decreased the income of Microsoft in 2006.

The Sony VAIO G11 Series Notebooks: Drop Proof Ultaportable laptops, Second VAIO Notebooks with Vista

*In this entry I am going to talk about three VAIO Notebook series includes Sony VAIO G11 Series, Sony VAIO TX-5 and Sony VAIO AR30. All of them are pricy laptops.

Sony released Sony VAIO VGN-UX50 UMPC as its first Vista- based VAIO notebook few days ago. Now, it is launching ultraportable VAIO G11 series notebooks in UK with Vista.

Business travelers can enjoy these VAIO G11 notebooks as they are very light and weigh only about 1.12kg; they have sturdy fiber carbon chassis and resistant dropping up to 90cm height when switched off, or 72cm when it's on; they have a battery life of 9 hours; and they are equipped with strong security utilities includes fingerprint recognition and TPM security.

Image link: pocket-lint

Sony VAIO G11 Series come with strong features too:

Latest Intel Ultra-Low Voltage (ULV) U1500 Core Solo processor; Gigabit Ethernet for super-fast network connections, shock protected 100GB hard drive, up to 2GB RAM, an integrated multi-format Dual Layer DVD±RW/RAM optical drive and 12.1-inch XGA with 1,024 x 768 native resolution and a 4:3 aspect ratio rather than widescreen formatalso it has Sony XBRITE technology.

One thing that a consumer should notice is that the keyboard of these VAIO notebooks are 90 percent smaller than the average laptop's and could take some getting used to.

VAIO G11 notebooks can be compared with Asus U1F as it is Vista-based ultraportable laptop and has its own impressive parts like11.1" LED Blacklight screen, a webcam and its high performance and good wireless connectivity like Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. Also it is sleek back piano chassis that has made it stylish.
You can read Via Cnet, trustedreview and pocket-lint.

Sony has upgraded other its two laptops with Vista OS too: Sony VAIO TX-5 and Sony VAIO AR30.

Sony VAIO AR30 series notebooks are the latest version of the first notebook with an integrated Blu-ray Disc optical drive. Now they are upgraded with Vista operating system too.

As you know VAIO AR series notebooks are desltop-replacement laptops for multimedia and gaming.

They come with 17" widescreen display with Sony’s original XBRITE Hi-Color LCD technology, Intel Core 2 Duo processor; an optional 80GB7 HDD Bay Unit (5400 rpm SATA) and NVIDIA GeForce Go 7 series graphics cards. Also, they have got plenty ports slots and good network connections includes 4 USB ports, DVD-D out, VGA out, S/PDIF out, headphone jack, RCA Video out, S-video out HDMI output, built-in TV tuner, ExpressCard, fast PC card and Gigabyte Ethernet connection, Integrated 802.11 a/b/g wireless LAN and Bluetooth technology.

Sony VAIO TX-5 series notebooks are ultraportable laptops and some similar to VAIO G11.
They are preinstalled with Vista Business. Also, they are just 1.25kg, with a battery life of up to 7 hours.
VAIO TX-5 notebooks come Intel Core ULV U1500 processor; 1GB RAM, 80GB, 4200-rpm hard drive, biometric fingerprint reader, and "sensor-based hard disk drop protection."
Their 11.1" WXGA X-black LCD comes "illuminated by low power consumption LED technology. They are equipped with two memory card slots, for SD card and a Memory Stick Pro, and two USB, built-in WWAN networking to connect to Sprint's Mobile Broadband EV-DO network (which requires a monthly fee after a 30-day free trial); 802.11 b/g and Bluetooth connectivity; and a handy Sony software tool for switching between wireless connections.
These series are more near to Asus U1 series.
(Read more via mobilemag and pcworld).

Windows Vista

Windows Vista is a line of graphical operating systems used on personal computers, including home and business desktops, notebook computers, Tablet PCs, and media centers. Prior to its announcement on July 22, 2005, Windows Vista was known by its codename "Longhorn". Development was completed on November 8, 2006; over the following three months it was released in stages to computer hardware and software manufacturers, business customers, and retail channels. On January 30, 2007, it was released worldwide to the general public, and was made available for purchase and downloading from Microsoft's web site.The release of Windows Vista comes more than five years after the introduction of its predecessor, Windows XP, making it the longest time span between two releases of Microsoft Windows.

Windows Vista contains hundreds of new features; some of the most significant include an updated graphical user interface and visual style dubbed Windows Aero, improved searching features, new multimedia creation tools such as Windows DVD Maker, and completely redesigned networking, audio, print, and display sub-systems. Vista also aims to increase the level of communication between machines on a home network using peer-to-peer technology, making it easier to share files and digital media between computers and devices. For developers, Vista includes version 3.0 of the .NET Framework, which aims to make it significantly easier for developers to write high-quality applications than with the traditional Windows API.

Microsoft's primary stated objective with Windows Vista, however, has been to improve the state of security in the Windows operating system. One common criticism of Windows XP and its predecessors has been their commonly exploited security vulnerabilities and overall susceptibility to malware, viruses and buffer overflows. In light of this, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates announced in early 2002 a company-wide 'Trustworthy Computing initiative' which aims to incorporate security work into every aspect of software development at the company. Microsoft stated that it prioritized improving the security of Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 above finishing Windows Vista, thus delaying its completion.^[5]

Windows Vista has been the target of a number of negative assessments by various groups. Criticism of Windows Vista has included protracted development time, more restrictive licensing terms, the inclusion of a number of new Digital Rights Management technologies aimed at restricting the copying of protected digital media, and the usability of other new features such as User Account Control.

Introducing the New Home Theater

The center of most living rooms is the entertainment system. In a normal home these typically include a television, stereo, cd player, dvd player, vcr, cable box, tivo, etc. With all of these devices come complexity. Each one has their own remote control, power cord, and video and audio outputs. It only seems logical to combine them all into a single device: the Apple TV.

Now that computers have hit the mainstream, we've begun consolidating our media onto our workstations and laptops. Originally people mainly stored music on their computers, mostly in MP3 formats. As digital photography became more popular people starting storing their pictures there as well. Lately we've seen more movies stored in digital formats on people's computers. With the increasing size of harddrives it has become trivial to compress a DVD to store on one's machine to watch later.

With all of this media stored in one place, it makes perfect sense to create a gateway for this to be shared with the rest of the owner's house. With the Apple TV someone can browse their photo selection, pick a track to listen to, or watch a movie at will, as long as its stored somewhere on their computer. The Apple TV makes home theater more about entertainment and less about juggling media, remotes, and hardware. It is a great addition to anyone's living room.

At least 33 dead in rampage at Virginia college

BLACKSBURG, Va. - A gunman killed 32 people in two shooting incidents Monday at a Virginia university in the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history. The gunman also was killed, and at least 15 other people were injured.

The shootings, which rang out just four days before the eighth anniversary of the Columbine High School bloodbath near Littleton, Colo., spread panic and confusion at the college, where students and employees angrily asked why the first e-mail warning did not go out to them until the gunman had struck again.

Nearly 50 victims
Federal law enforcement officials said the gunman killed himself after he shot dozens of people at two locations at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, in southwest Virginia. Thirty-two people plus the shooter were confirmed dead.

In addition to the 33 dead, hospitals reported that 15 people were injured. Five were in stable condition; the conditions of the others were not immediately reported.

It was not immediately clear that all of the injured people had been shot. Some may have been injured when they leaped to safety from the fourth floor of a classroom building.

Investigators told NBC News that they had so far been unable to positively identify the gunman, whose face was disfigured when he was killed. He carried no ID or cell phone, and an initial check on his fingerprints came up empty.

Witnesses described him as a man in his 20s, wearing a maroon cap and a black leather jacket. A spokesman for the FBI in Washington said there was no immediate evidence to suggest that the incident was a terrorist attack, “but all avenues will be explored.”

“Today the university was struck with a tragedy that we consider of monumental proportions,” said Charles Steger, the university’s president. “The university is shocked and indeed horrified.”

President Bush said in a brief televised statement: “Schools should be places of sanctuary and safety and learning. When that sanctuary is violated, the impact is felt in every American classroom and every American community. Today, our nation grieves with those who have lost loved ones at Virginia Tech.”

Warnings came too late
Steger and law enforcement authorities gave this account of the day’s events in public statements and comments to NBC News:

The rampage began about 7:15 a.m. ET at West Ambler Johnston, a coeducational residence hall that houses 895 people. The gunman, armed with a 9-mm pistol and a .22-caliber handgun, killed two people there before making his way to Norris Hall, an engineering classroom building on the opposite end of the 2,600-acre campus.

About 9:15, the gunman chained the doors of the classroom building so his potential victims could not escape and police could not enter. There, he shot as many as 46 more people.

Not until 9:26 did the first warning to students and employees go out by e-mail, according to the time stamps on copies obtained by NBC News. By then, the classroom shooting was well under way.

The first e-mail had few details. It said: “A shooting incident occurred at West Amber Johnston earlier this morning. Police are on the scene and are investigating.” The message warned students to be cautious and contact police about anything suspicious.

Maurice Hiller, a student, told The Associated Press that he went to a 9 a.m. class just two buildings away from the engineering building and that no warnings were coming over the outdoor public address system on campus at the time.

Steger said at a briefing for reporters that administrators and police initially believed the first shooting was an isolated domestic incident and did not see a need to close the university. Steger said they believed the gunman had fled the campus.

“We can only make decisions based on the information you had on the time. You don’t have hours to reflect on it,” he said.

Inside the engineering building, an “unreal” and bloody scene was unfolding.

“None of us thought it could have been gunshots,” a student who identified himself as Trey Perkins told MSNBC’s Chris Jansing in a telephone interview. “... I’m not sure how long it lasted. It seemed like a really long time.”

Perkins said the gunman never said a word. “He didn’t say, ‘Get down.’ He didn’t say anything.” He just started shooting.”

The gunman left that classroom and then tried to return, but students kept him out by bracing the door closed with their feet. “He started to try to come in again and started shooting through the door,” Perkins said, but hit no one.

“I got on the ground and I was just thinking, like, there’s no way I’m going to survive this,” Perkins said. “All I could keep thinking of was my mom.”

Until Monday, the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history was in Killeen, Texas, in 1991, when George Hennard plowed his pickup truck into a Luby's Cafeteria and shot 23 people to death, then himself.

The deadliest previous campus shooting in U.S. history took place in 1966 at the University of Texas, where Charles Whitman climbed to the 28th-floor observation deck of a clock tower and opened fire. He killed 16 people before he was gunned down by police.

Neelofer Bakhtiar's Pictures

These are the pictures of Pakistani minister "Neelofer Bakhtiar".I know you all have heard about these pictures.So just Watch,decide & Comment.Click Here to enlarge image

Sony Looking to Put PS3 Grid to Commercial Use

Many people were just tickled to be part of the Folding@home project, in which PlayStation 3 owners could lend some of their spare processing power to a distributed computing effort to fight disease. However, they just might be a bit fazed by the recent news out of Tokyo. With the success of Folding@home -- Sony Computer Entertainment CTO Masa Chatani says that there are 11,000-12,000 Folding@home participants at any given moment -- corporate interests have expressed interest in harnessing that kind of computing power for their own uses.

The problem, of course, is that it's one thing to ask people to donate computing time to a university project that can potentially help people with cancer or Alzheimer's (raise your hand if you don't know anyone affected by either. Hello? Anyone?) and another entirely to help a corporation turn a profit that much more efficiently. (Then again, companies like, say, pharmaceutical firms are always controversial. If Pixar wanted help to speed calculations for their next feature, would you say no?)

Chatani already recognizes that people might be reticent to let companies use their PS3s for free, so he mentions the possibility of incentives like free products in exchange for computing time. Still not a deal-maker for some people (as "free product" usually means something like "cheapie MP3 player" instead of "new sound system"), but that doesn't mean this kind of plan won't eventually happen, with more companies or other organizations looking to borrow time from consoles or desktop computers. How commonplace do you think this will be in ten years?

India successfully tests Agni-III missile

Balasore: Marking a new milestone in missile technology, India successfully tested its home-grown nuclear capable Agni III ballistic missile, with a range of over 3,000 km, from a defence base in Orissa.

The missile was test-fired at 10.52 a.m. from launching complex No. 4 of the Inner Wheeler Island, a new launch site of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at the Chandipur defence base, 230 km from the state capital Bhubaneswar.

The first test of the missile from the same defence base on July 9, 2006 had failed -- the second stage of the rocket had failed to separate from the missile quickly and fallen short of its target.

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), which developed the missile, had attributed this failure to a "material-related fault", besides problems with the protective heat shield, design and propulsion.

However, the initial feedback from the Thursday test indicated that it was successful, a senior defence official said.

Agni-III, one of the Agni series missiles, is capable of carrying warheads weighing up to 1.5 tonnes, is 16 metres tall and weighs 48 tonnes. With an improved guidance system, this latest variant of the Agni series of missiles, Agni-III had a diameter of 1.8 metres and length of 16 metres.

While Agni-III is capable of reaching strategic targets deep inside China like Beijing and Shanghai, it, however, falls short of being an ICBM (inter-continental ballistic missile) that has ranges of over 5,000 km, a scientist said. Agni-III will become the missile with the longest reach in South Asia and more powerful than any missile in Pakistan's arsenal. However, China has missiles with a longer reach than Agni-III.

Remembering the Ojhri Camp Incident

Nineteen years ago, today, on April 10, 1988 the military ammunition depot at Ojhri Camp, Rawlapindi, blew up and unleashed an inferno that sent all sorts of rockets all over Rawalpindi and into neighboring Islamabad. It also let to a sequence of events that led to the ouster of then Prime Minister Mohammed Khan Junejo and, depending on which conspiracy theorist you believe, to the death of then President General Mohammad Zia ul Haq.

Reader Dilnawaz of Bradistan Calling forwarded me an article by Tariq Mehmood on the Ojhri blast. Some excerpts worth reproducing:

19 years ago, on the 10th April 1988 Ojhrii dump in Rawalpindi was blown up. This was a deliberate act of destruction. Hundreds upon hundreds of missiles rained down on Rawalpindi and Islamabad. Over 5000 people were killed. Many, many thousands more were injured.

The Lal Masjid Assault on Islamabad

“The pictures coming out of Islamabad are not good. Not good at all.” Since then, they have only gotten worse.
The city that I spent so many of my formative years in is under siege from within. But more than that the capital of the country is under assault from self-righteous zealots who not only believe that they and only they can determine who is right and who is not but are bent to enforce their will on others.

And a military government that has otherwise not been shy of using force but whose legitimacy has been shattered by its recent misuse of force, sits on the sideline like a tamashai. Either the cynics are right in believing that it prefers the distraction, or it has actually realized that the fabric of society is now so torn and divided that mistimed action could wreck inimaginable - and uncontainable - havoc… not only on the government’s longevity but on the nation’s survival.

And a military government that has otherwise not been shy of using force but whose legitimacy has been shattered by its recent misuse of force, sits on the sideline like a tamashai. Either the cynics are right in believing that it prefers the distraction, or it has actually realized that the fabric of society is now so torn and divided that mistimed action could wreck inimaginable - and uncontainable - havoc… not only on the government’s longevity but on the nation’s survival.

Following the kidnapping of an alleged ‘brothel’ by the women students of Jamia Hafsa - who still hold a children’s library hostage - the leaders have not only declared victory but have upped the ante by announcing the establishment of a ‘Shariat Court’ of their own and, according to Dawn, “vowed to enforce Islamic laws in the federal capital and threatened to unleash a wave of suicide bombers if the government took any action to counter it.