Loud Thinking

Archive for 2013

Shame on Pakistani Ambassador who gave Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell Chivas Regal scotch valued at $480.

The PM Mian M Nawaz Sharif must order forthwith recovery of $480 from that Pakistani Ambassador.

Booze from Putin, a Basketball from Xi, and an iPad from the Saudis
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By Jacob Gershman

Associated Press
President Barack Obama got a personally autographed basketball from Chinese President Xi Jinping. Russian President Vladimir Putin gave former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton $560 worth of cognac. Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates each bestowed an Apple iPad.

These are among the foreign gifts that federal employees received from foreign governments in 2012, according to an annual list published in the Federal Register.

The diplomatic swag included more than 40 rugs, 21 necklaces, 19 bowls and three paperweights. American officials were also presented with 10 swords, eight daggers, six sabers, three AK-47s and one anti-tank gun. (The guns were a gift from the Afghan National Army to a lieutenant colonel.)

Most gifts were valued under $5,000. But there were also some real gems — literally. Mrs. Clinton flew home from a meeting with Saudi King Abdullah last year with white gold jewelry with teardrop rubies and diamonds valued at $500,000.

Other foreign leaders, like Mr. Putin, gave booze. Pakistan’s ambassador to the U.S. gave Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell Chivas Regal scotch valued at $480. (The scotch was “deposited with the Secretary of the Senate,” the report said. Mrs. Clinton’s cognac was “handled pursuant to the guidelines set forth by General Services Administrations.”)

In each case, the same reason was given for why the gift was not returned: “Non-acceptance would cause embarrassment to donor and U.S. Government.”

Article I, Section 9 of the Constitution prohibits U.S. government employees from accepting any present of any kind from kings, princes or foreign heads of state.

Congress, though, allows government employees to keep foreign gifts of “minimum value”, which at the moment is defined as less than $350. (The basketball from President Xi was appraised at $740.)

When it’s above $350, recipients can purchase the gifts at fair-market value or their agencies can hold on to them for official use, as outgoing Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano did with a “clear-glass perfume bottle with purple glass stopper” she received from King Abdullah II of Jordan.

But most are turned over to the GSA, which manages government property. Some gifts are then donated, and others are sold to the public.

Collusion of ICC and BCCI Against Pakistan’s Cricket..!

The news that the PCB is due to pay a staggering $1.6 million to their previous broadcasters Ten Sports, is a very serious matter for which the entire responsibility lies jointly on the ICC and the BCCI. (Detailed news item attached below).

In this regard, the PCB must sue both ICC and BCCI , for the Indian’s refusal to play cricket with Pakistan, as per the FTP of the ICC, neither in Pakistan nor on any neutral grounds.

At the same time, the BCCI invites Pakistani cricket team to play in India on its own terms (without paying a penny to the PCB), that too for T20 and ODI matches. India must be told that they can’t have cake and eat it too.

Moreover, India also plays against Pakistan in such tournaments, like the world cups and champions trophy, at Indian soil and on the neutral world venues. This attitude of the the Indians, clearly proves that the BCCI, in connivance with the ICC, intentionally follows a policy of causing financial loss to the PCB, for which these two organisations have no legal justification; and must be forced to redeem financial losses to the PCB.

The collusion of the ICC with the BCCI, in inflicting financial losses to the PCB and damaging cricket of the Pakistani nation, is clearly evident from the fact that the ICC never admonished and warned the BCCI, to not to bring in politics in sports. The ICC never told the BCCI that this is not cricket: that the BCCI plays cricket with Pakistan in a pick and chose manner, totally in violation of the spirit of the game and by sabotaging the ICC FTP, in a systematic and well thought out manner.

The silence of the ICC, in allowing the BCCI to discriminate with Pakistani players/teams, in the ICC approved IPL and CL tournaments, is another proof that both these organisations are hands in glove,against the valid and legal interests of the PCB and the Pakistani cricket.

Now, a stage has arrived where the PCB must tell categorically to the ICC, that Pakistani and Indian matches should be deleted from the FTP schedules (as Indians don’t want to play Pakistan, even on neutral venues), to settle the issue once for ever.

If India don’t want to play Pakistan, we are also not dying to play with India, as well.

However, PCB can not be made to bear the financial losses, just for the sake of ICC’s FTP.

As such, either the ICC should force India to make good PCB’s financial losses or the ICC itself, must pay this money back to Pakistan, because PCB had to make advance arrangements, as per FTP of the ICC.

————————————————–

News

PCB to pay hefty price for failing to host India

By Nabeel Hashmi
Published: September 6, 2013
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is set to pay a heavy price for not being able to host India either on home soil or at a neutral venue during the past few years.

The PCB is due to pay a staggering $1.6 million to their previous broadcasters Ten Sports.

PCB’s relentless efforts of holding a series with India on reciprocal basis never materialised and Pakistan could only clash against their arch-rivals in a Twenty20 and One-Day International (ODI) series in India.

According to ICC’s Future Tours Programme (FTP) contract, the PCB and Ten Sports had an agreement for a home series against India in Pakistan or at a neutral venue but it never happened.

Since the TV rights agreement has ended, the broadcasters are now demanding repayment of a substantial amount which has been utilised by the PCB.

“The TV rights agreement with Taj TV (Ten Sports) expired on June 30 and they’re pressing us hard for the refund of advance TV Rights amounting to $1,661,667,” reads a confidential document of the PCB made available to The Express Tribune. “The amount in question was given to the PCB for the Indian series that hasn’t taken place.”

The document further reveals that the PCB was reminded about this big sum when they asked Ten Sports for a late payment surcharge of $38,267 for the Pakistan-Australia series, which was played in 2012, as they received the payment after a considerable delay.

The broadcaster contested the matter of late payment surcharge, stating that the board has utilised the amount of TV rights fee for the India series, which did not take place for the past few years and that the PCB should have refunded the money much earlier.

Broadcasters finalised for SA, SL series

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has chosen two different broadcasters for the upcoming series against South Africa and Sri Lanka in the UAE later this year.

The sale process was conducted by a Bids Committee, headed by former ICC President Ehsan Mani and included another independent member, Justice (retd) Shabbar Raza Rizvi.

“Two bidders participated in the bidding process and both were evaluated,” said a PCB spokesperson. “The offer from Ten Sports for the South Africa series, being the highest and the offer of Geo for Sri Lanka series, also being the highest, was recommended to the Board of Governors of PCB for approval. Media rights for the two tours have accordingly been awarded.”

Published in The Express Tribune, September 7th, 2013.

Syed Nayyar Uddin Ahmad

Lahore.

Sent from my iPad3 4G LTE

Ashok Hindustani Janatawala, thank you for your kind words.

Kindly inform everyone in India that if at all we have to be friends, then that friendship must be in true sense and we must not act and behave with each other, in a hypocritical manner.

Also please assure all the Indians that even if we wanted we can’t conquer India.

At the same time even if India wanted, it can’t pull down Pakistan, without India being destroyed as well.

So why to waste time in an imaginary hatred policies? why to live like fools of the highest order?

Let us be friends in true sense, like all the European countries. Let us have a genuine peace. Let India remove all its strike forces corp from the borders of Pakistan,without any fear. Let us join hands to wage a war against poverty, hunger, disease and illiteracy.

Let us turn this subcontinent a bastion of peace and a heaven on earth. India and Pakistan just need a period of single decade of genuine peace to turn around its fortunes to emerge, as the most potent economic and cultural power house of this world. The only condition is genuine and authentic peace like the one which exists in between the EU countries.

Don’t be afraid and obsessed with the problems, because they will remain for ever, but we have to give priority to peace over the problems.

Hope Mr. Ishaq Dar knows that in India even the signals of Pakistani TV channels are not allowed.

Hope Mr. Dar knows that India sent back Pakistani hockey players who went to play IHL under legal contracts.

Hope Mr. Dar knows that just few months ago in this year during women’s cricket ICC World Cup matches our ladies team was refused stay in any hotel in India.

Hope Mr. Dar Knows that India cancelled Pakistani hockey teams visit in March,13 to India.

Hope Mr. Dar Knows that till today’s Indian government has not given permission to Faisalabad’s team to visit India for participation in the champions league cricket matches.

Hope Mr. Dar knows who who gave poison as a drink to the captain of Pakistan’s blind cricket team during World Cup matches recently in India.

Hope Mr. Dar knows who is behind the firings, bombings, destruction & killings in Karachi, Balouchistan, NA’s and destruction of Pakistan?

Hope Mr. Dar remembers he stated on the floor of the house that we will take IMF loans on our terms and that Mr. Dar will negotiate with IMF the terms of loans by looking straight into the eyes of the IMF officials?

Now read the following news published today by the daily “Dawn”.

MFN Status Will be Given to India. IMF assured by Ishaq Dar.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has assured the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to grant ‘most favoured nation’ (MFN) status to India and move towards eliminating the negative list on trade with the neighbour as part of its overall trade policy.

“We are moving forward with eliminating the negative list on trade with India and extending India most favoured nation status, and shifting to ‘sensitive list’ under SAFTA (South Asia Free Trade Arrangement) regime to facilitate increased regional trade,” Finance Minister Ishaq Dar assured the IMF in writing during negotiations for recently approved $6.64 billion economic bailout package.

The PPP government had decided in March last year to switch over from positive list of about 1,900 tradable items to a negative list of about 1,206 items, thereby allowing about 5,000 items to be traded between the two countries.

The PPP government announced that it would grant MFN status to India on Dec 31 last year by doing away with the negative list, but the commitment remained unmet because India did not move to remove non-tariff barriers on Pakistani products and some industrialists opposed the move. A large number of automobile, textile and pharmaceutical products form major part of the negative list of 1,206 items.

Interestingly, Finance Minister Dar said in a television talk show on Aug 12 that the MFN status for India was not under consideration. “There is no immediate consideration to grant MFN status to India. There is need to normalise relations on a number of issues,” he said during tensions over incidents on the Line of Control.

The Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies (MEFP), the finance minister submitted to the IMF on Aug 19, has spelt out the major contours of the trade policy with major focus on normalisation of trade relations.

Besides intentions to improve trade relations with neighbours, the minister said the government’s strategy would also be to take full advantage of trade preferences available from the European Union where Pakistan had autonomous trade preferences in 75 items. “In addition, the EU is currently considering our request for receiving GSP plus benefits (zero per cent duty) from January 2, 2014 on exports,” he said.

The minister said that trade policy reforms would ensure consumer welfare and stimulate growth via increased competition. “Simplifying tariff rates, eliminating the statutory regulatory orders (SROs) that establish special rates and non-trade barriers in some 4,000 product areas, and normalising trade relations should deliver the much needed competitive environment.”

The finance minister committed to working on simplifying the tariff structure to return to the 2004 framework, with 4 slabs and 0 to 25 per cent rates.

“Design of the new system would be completed by end-December 2013, with application of the revised tariff rates and begin the phase-out of trade SROs by June 2014. Implementation of the new trade framework would be completed by end-June 2016,” he said.

The minister said that for widening the tax base the government would prepare a comprehensive plan to separate existing SROs either by eliminating those granting exemptions or concessions by the end of December this year and introduce more taxation measures in the finance bill of fiscal year 2014-15.

“What we can or cannot do, what we consider possible or impossible, is rarely a function of our true capability. It is more likely a function of our beliefs about who we are.”

— Anthony Robbins

“I don’t want to get to the end of my life and find that I just lived the length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well.”

Diane Ackerman –
American writer

Name 2 Things Your Small Business Has Accomplished

Early-stage entrepreneurs often dread the question, “How’s it going?” Whether it’s a potential partner, a VC, or even just a friend asking, you want to communicate that things are going well – but you don’t want to be vague or rattle off a memorized litany of achievements. Next time this question comes up, be ready to respond with two recent accomplishments. Choose things that are concrete and easy to understand. For example you might say: “Things are great! We just crossed 900,000 monthly active users and brought Facebook on as a hiring partner.” Stick to two things. If you only name one, it comes off like you want your audience to be impressed by that one achievement. With two, they can choose which one they want to react to, and you come off less like you’re baiting them to compliment any specific aspect of your business.

Adapted by HBR from “Every Entrepreneur’s Least Favorite Question,” by Kathryn

In the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.”

– Mother Teresa

Give the best you have, and it will never be enough. Give your best anyway.

-Mother Teresa

The good you do today, will often be forgotten. Do good anyway.

– Mother Teresa