Loud Thinking

Archive for December, 2014

Prepping for Vacation Means Setting Email Expectations

The work of disconnecting begins before you leave for time off. You need to set expectations – and set up technology – to minimize work and get the most from your vacation.
Set up a vacation email address. Create an account to use during vacations, and share the address only with the people you really want to stay in touch with (e.g., your spouse, house-sitter, or traveling companions). Move any travel info to this email.
Set up a smart out-of-office reply. To avoid the dreaded backlog that awaits your return, let people know that they should email you again after X date for a reply. Or have them contact your assistant or a colleague.
Set up a check-in schedule. Maybe you’ll check email every morning, or twice a week after the kids have gone to bed. Let your colleagues and travel companions know ahead of time when you’ll be in work mode.

Adapted from “The Right Way to Unplug When You’re on Vacation” by Alexandra Samuel.

My article titled “PM’s attention invited to ODI World Cup” published today by the daily “Pakistan Observer”.
Link: http://issuu.com/pakobserver.net/docs/ep24dec2014_f6303ac6d8f5c5?e=1322770/10669622

Best ever quote..!

“Always reward your long hours of labor surrounded by your family. Nurture their love carefully, remembering that your children need models, not critics. And even if you have failed at all else in the eyes of the world, if you have a loving family, you are a success.”

—Og Mandino (1923-1996)
Essayist, Psychologist

“What I don’t like about office Christmas parties is looking for a job the next day.”

— Phyllis Diller

Turn Stress into an Advantage

While many of us look forward to the holiday season, it can be a stressful time of year. And when that stress seeps into the workplace, you have to know how to overcome it and regain control. Recognize your physiological signs of stress: Does your neck stiffen? Maybe your stomach clenches, your palms sweat, and your pulse races? Don’t think about why the task is stressful – think of it as an opportunity. Use the adrenaline and heightened attention to really apply yourself. If the voice in your head is saying, “I’ll never be able to do this,” talk yourself down. Respond in a logical, calm tone, and be positive. Take three deep breaths, lower your shoulders, and rotate your neck – try to relax. Find someone you trust who can listen and provide counsel. And make a to-do list prioritizing your most important tasks to combat feeling overwhelmed.

Adapted from “How to Handle Stress in the Moment” by Rebecca Knight.

Mr. Prime Minister is there anyone in the country to help an injured Pakistani labourer in Sharjah?

Pakistani construction worker Umer working in Sharjah fell from height while working on scaffolding which was collapsed. His arm has been broken.

His company is sending him to Pakistan with no compensation & treatment.

I request if any influential Pakistani from Sharjah or Dubai can help him to stress his Company, Pakistani Consulate or Labor department for his treatment & compensation.

Company has no insurance for his workers.

Pls coordinate with me to get his contact.

This noble deed will be rewarded by Allah SWT.

Thanks.

Eng. Shafiq Maitla,
Mob. 00966505288680

A clarion call to the Prime Minister Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif..! Dear Mr. Prime Minister and the Pat. http://t.co/y4hPJyiiIA

Dear Mr. Prime Minister and the Patron in Chief PCB,

AoA.

Sir,

I take this opportunity to bring to your kind notice that if seen in the perspective of the ODI World Cup, scheduled to start from 14 February, 2015 (exactly after 53 days) all is not well, with the Pakistan cricket.

In fact, Pakistan’s ODI cricket is going from bad to worse, since, Mr. Najam Sethi took over in June 2013; and even Mr. Shahryar Khan has failed to stem the rot (mainly because he is religiously following the policies of Mr. Najam Sethi and working on his dotted lines, as if Mr. Najam Sethi is still his boss).

Now, as per the latest ODI team ICC rankings, Pakistan stands at # 7. Pakistan is now just 1 point ahead of the West Indies and then we come in the league of the teams of the Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, Afghanistan and Ireland.

It is known for sure that you being yourself just not only a cricketer, but an ardent and passionate follower of the game as well, can not just wait and see the downfall of our team, which is mainly because of the nincompoop senior PCB leadership and team management.

Sir, you as the Patron in Chief of the PCB, would also never tolerate an early (but very much looming) exit of the Pakistan team from the World Cup 2015, as happened in the year 2007, 9th ODI World Cup held in the West Indies, when Pakistan failed to go past the group stage while Bangladesh, the lowest-ranked Test playing nation, and Ireland, an associate (non-test playing) nation, made it to the Super 8s.

Sir, just for your kind information other cricket boards are taking the World Cup 2015 so seriously that the ECB has dismissed its tested and tried ODI captain Mr. Alastair Cook and appointed Mr. Eoin Morgan as England’s ODI team’s captain. Even West Indian Cricket Board has also corrected their course midway, by appointing Mr. Jason Holder (23 years young) replacing Mr. Dwayne Bravo, as West Indies’ ODI captain.

I really appreciate the BCCI for their professionalism in going at the jugular of the Indian teams coaching staff for losing the Test match Vs Australia, due to an unrest in the dressing room.

However, the state of affairs at the PCB can be easily gauged by our team’s dismal performances in the last 8 ODI’s that Pakistan played in UAE (considered as home ground for Pakistan), where it only won 2 and lost 6 matches Vs Australia and NewZealand.

Sir, the reasons of our teams down hill trend can be found from the answers of the following questions:

1. Why our team management and defensive minded ODI captains (M/s Misbah & Afridi) are playing most of the matches with 4 regular bowlers, knowing very well that 50 overs must be completed by 5 regular bowlers? Why not take to task Messrs Moin Khan, Waqar Younis, Misbah ul Haq and Shahid Afridi for this cardinal blunder, constantly being repeated, since the series played in SriLanka?

2. Why the team management and ODI captains are not looking at the fact that even after including 7 batsmen in the playing eleven, we have failed mostly to score over 300 runs and also on many occasions we could not bat our quota of 50 overs?

3. Why our openers and rest of the batsmen play so defensively in the 1st 10 overs (when only 2 fielders are allowed outside the circle and where acres of space is available to score runs) that rarely our team scores above 50 runs in 10 overs? So much so that during the match played Vs NZ on the 19 December 2014, our team created a new world record, of scoring 50 runs with the help of ONLY one four.

4. Why Mr. Sarfraz is being given the duties of a wicket keeper, when even the foreign commentators talk about him as a below average wicket keeper, who keeps on dropping vital catches and thus contributing heavily in the defeats of the team?

5. No team allows unfit player (even if he is a captain) to have a joyride with the team. Why Mr. Misbah ul Haq was allowed to sit with the players and why he was not sent back home?

6. Why after announcing that Mr. Hafeez will not play the last 2 matches, he was included in the team?

7. Why Mr. Yaser Shah was not given the chance to play any ODI match, when he was sent from Pakistan as a replacement?

8. Why Mr. Sami Aslam originally selected for the ODI team, was sent back to Pakistan from the UAE to play in the A team?

10. Who selected Mr. Asad Shafiq for the ODI matches (where he miserably failed) when everyone in the country was laughing, at his out of merit selection?

11. Who dropped Mr. Fawad Alam from the team and why the chairman PCB kept mum, when this blunder (along with inclusion of Mr. Asad Shafiq) was pointed out by the experts, well before the final approval of the chairman PCB?

12. According to Mr. Waqar Younis the head coach of the team, our players are weak in fielding and also can not play bouncers. Firstly, these are no new findings and secondly, why not to dismiss the fielding and batting coaches for utterly failing to improve these VITAL short comings, in even a single player of the team?

13. Since, the buck stops at the top, why not ask the chairman PCB to immediately submit his resignation for 3rd consecutive ODI series defeat after his takeover, demotion of Pakistan’s ODI ranking to its lowest ever level and his failure in taking action (despite his own commitment) that he will not allow dressing room to be overcrowded and most importantly his impotence in taking back two positions of chief selector and manager, from Mr. Moin Khan.

Mr. Prime Minister, the existing PCB structure has failed to deliver, because it has collapsed, due to the incompetence and failure of its leadership consisting of its Chairman, BOG members, COO and senior directors. And to expect from a dead horse to run and win the race for you, is expecting the impossible. However, still Pakistani team has a chance to regroup and perform to its full potential if:

– Entire PCB echelon (top level command) is immediately replaced with NOT your FAVOURITES but true no non sense professionals like AVM Farooq Umar/ Mr. Razak Dawood/ Mr. Asad Umar and they should be given absolutely free hand to appointment the rest of the top PCB personnel.

– To aim for winning the World Cup 2015, we need to encourage innovation and risk at every level. The defensive minded old Mr. Misbah and spent force Mr. Shahid Afridi, at best can be retained as members of the team. PCB must appoint a new and young ODI captain of Pakistani team, as has been done by the ECB and the WICB.

– PCB must appoint a broader advisory committee with senior former cricketers, to submit a plan of action to win the World Cup 2015.
This plan should be a fool proof strategy with specific focus on winning the 2015 tournament, considering all risk factors, like sudden unavailability of any player due to various reasons, at least five umpiring decisions going against us (two in batting & three in bowling innings), dropped catches/missed run outs and failure of main bowlers and batsmen etc.
We should remember that plans never fail, we fail to plan. Moreover, this plan must state that “You were born to win, but to be a winner, you must plan to win, prepare to win, and expect to win.”

– PCB must not be afraid of changing the course at a time when the World Cup 2015, is not far away.
Nothing is impossible. However, in order to achieve the impossible, it is precisely the unthinkable, which must be thought.

Mr. Prime minister, let the posterity record the fact that you as the Patron in Chief of the PCB, did everything possible within your command, to see the Pakistan’s flag fly high, when InshaAllah, our team wins the ODI 2015 World Cup, repeating the history of the glory of the 1992 ODI World Cup victory.

Last but not the least, no one else knows better than you, Mr. Prime Minister, that after having suffered so much agony, distress and pains inflicted by the WOT, we as a nation are yearning for some moments of collective joy and happiness; and nothing equals the joys and nothing unites the nation than the celebrations of a cricket World Cup victory, for which we expect from you to even go out of the way, crossing over your party lines, for delivering this PRICELESS gift to our terror stricken nation.

With kind regards and best wishes.

Syed Nayyar Uddin Ahmad

Encourage Employees to Help Each Other

Company incentives are often tied to individual productivity. Workers feel pressured to focus on themselves and achieve their own goals because that’s how they’re judged and ultimately rewarded. But that makes them lose sight of the larger picture and hurts group productivity. For example, employees might be reluctant to help one another, because they don’t want their individual productivity to suffer. So it’s important to remind people that they’re working toward common goals. Restructure financial incentives to reward that behavior and create bonuses based on group targets. Promote people who are great enablers along with the high performers. Encourage people to share information and work together to help the entire company succeed — this can include things like having lunch together and taking coffee breaks. Companies should work to build sharing, relationships, and communication into their DNA.

Adapted from “Give Your Unsung Office Heroes a Raise” by Ben Waber.

What could be the next terror target?

Posted by: Makhdoom Babar

While authorities going hectic in securing Schools, RAW-TTP nexus deemed having contrary plans

RAW led TTP terrorists following historic terror blueprints for operation in Pakistan

Global terror trends emerging as major inspirations for RAW-TTP nexus of evil with majority coming from Maoists ‘terror attacks on security Forces in India
RAW-TTP Netwrok constantly practicing to stage mega hostage crisis, now turning to soft targets
Indians did try to rescue their TTP partners from the axe of Zarb-i-Azb by creating border hostilities during the operation to diver Pak army’s focus and energies.

Delay in execution of sentenced terrorists to allow RAW-TTP nexus make more and more hostage taking bids

By Makhdoom Babar
Editor-in-Chief

While the Pakistani security authorities, specially the Police and the provincial intelligence services, going hyper in ordering the respective school administration to ensure security measure at schools and have even forced them to announce early winter vacations, postponing several annual examinations and causing acute panic amongst the student s parent, The RAW-TTP nexus of evil is considered to be following some contrary plans, reveal the investigations of The Daily Mail.

The Daily Mail’s investigations indicate that the RAW-TTP Network of terrorists, operating from Kunnar , Nooristan areas of Afghanistan are very minutely following the global terror patterns and the operational blueprints .

These investigations indicate that ranging from the old terror incidents like the one that took place in Russia’s Beslan school in 2004 to the latest of Sydney café’ hostage crisis, the basic modus oprendi of the terror attacks have completely been remained as duplications of the global terror event or hostage crisis like situations. These investigations further indicate that in most of the terror attacks, TTP and its allied terror outfits have been following the blueprints of the terror and hostage crisis operations, executed in the recent years by Maoist or Nexal rebels in India.

The investigations indicate that since counter terror experts of Indian intelligence agencies including RAW and IB, while investigating these terror attacks, collected and secured all the execution details of all such terror attacks, carried out by Nexal insurgents, there seems to be no iota of doubts that that same details are continuously provided by RAW to TTP planners for execution of terror attacks across Pakistan.

The Daily Mail’s investigations indicate that after being thwarted in a number of terror attacks to create hostage crisis at hard targets like 2009’s attacks on Mannawan Police Academy in Lahore and attack on military headquarters, the GHQ in Rawalpindi and the attack on Karachi’s Mehran Naval Base, Karachi, Kamra Air Base and attack on Karachi airport earlier this year, the RAW-TTP Network has now turned to rather soft targets like the School at Peshawar.

In-depth analysis of the pattern and chronology of the RAW-TTP terror safari, it emerges that first of all the terrorists, after receiving quite an unexpectedly heavy punch from Pakistan army via Operation Zarab-i-Azb, are now desperate to regain some face-saving and thus have turned to soft targets and secondly, now they have indicated the clear intention of creating a hostage taking situation to bargain for the arrested and even sentenced colleagues of theirs. These analysis also clarify that in a desperate bid to rescue their TTP partners from Zarab-i-Azb, Indian did try to divert Pakistan army’s focus and energies by creating hostilities at the Line of Control in Kashmir region and across the Pak-India working boundary, right in the middle of Operation Zarb-i-Azab, yet this move couldn’t yield much and now the plan of hostage taking has been unleashed with all its comprehensions. These analysis indicate that with the pattern and chronology of the recent RAW-TTP wave of terror, it establishes that their next target could be some crowded shopping mall, some hi-fi movie theatre or even some Church and that dates for such a sinister act could be 25th of December or 31st of December, that dates signifying Christmas, founder of Pakistan’s Birth anniversary and the new year eve. It can be assumed that huge shopping malls in Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi etc and churches with heavy gatherings in the same cities could be in the minds of RAW-TTP operators.

Counter terror experts and security analysts are of the firm view that the best possible methodology , available to the government, apart from taking extraordinary measures at the above mentioned soft targets, is to carry out the execution of the arrest terrorists that are on death row in different prisons after being convicted from court, without losing any time. These experts comprehensively disapprove the government’s delaying tactic and taking of steps like executing just 17 such terrorists in whole even days. The believe that more time government would waste in executing the executors, more terror attacks with hostage taking aims could be expected. These global experts also do not appreciate the style of government under which it is giving bit by bit details about the upcoming executions of the handful of terrorists and that too with a rather glorification and portraying these killers of humanity as some war heroes. The3se professionals very strongly recommend that to minimize the chances of happening of any such tragedy, government must silently execute all the convicted terrorists with in no time and can publics the same later and should prove that the acts do speak louder than the words.

The Daily Mail’s inv3estigations indicate that since the RAW-TTP nexus of evil has constantly been following the global terror patterns, the next plan of the terror operators could be in accordance with hostage taking episode of 2013 that took place at Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi.

The Daily Mail here presents, with a comparison, a chronology of global terror incidents and their similarities with RAW-TTP nexus’s similar operations across Pakistan with a great synchronisation.

-In India’s worst Maoist attack ever, at least 75 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and a state police personnel were killed in an ambush in the thick Mukrana forests of Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada district. The dead include a Deputy and an Assistant Commandant of the CRPF, and a head constable of the district police.
(The same pattern has been used by RAW-TTP network at many occasions in Pakistan)
-24 personnel of the Eastern Frontier Rifles (EFR) killed as Maoists attack their camp in Silda in West Midnapore district of West Bengal in Feb-2010
-2010: Maoists trigger a landmine blast killing 11 security personnel of the elite anti-Naxal force Special Operations Group (SOG) in Koraput district of Odisha in April 2010

-Naxals kill BJP MP from Balaghat Baliram Kashyap’s sons at Pairaguda village in Jagdalpur (Chhattisgarh) in September 2009.

–10 paramilitary troops killed in eastern Odisha when Maoists attack a bauxite mine in Koraput district in April 2009
(The details of all these attacks show that each one of these has been replicated with hundred percent matching by RAW_TTP nexus in KPK, Waziristan Agencies and other Tribal Areas soon after these acts took place)
The Beslan school hostage crisis (also referred to as the Beslan school siege or Beslan massacre) began when a group of armed terrorists, demanding an end to the Second Chechen War, took more than 1,100 people, including some 777 children, hostage on September 1, 2004, at School Number One (SNO) in the town of Beslan, North Ossetia-Alania, an autonomous republic in the North Caucasus region of the Russian Federation
(The same blueprint was executed with amazing matching by RAW-TTP network for carrying out carnage at Peshawar’s Army Public School, despite only not being able to create a hostage taking situation)
The Kizlyar-Pervomayskoye Hostage Crisis

This crisis occurred during the First Chechen War when a raid made by guerillas against a military airbase became a massive hostage crisis that involved thousands of civilians. The assault, which destroyed 3 helicopters and killed 33 personnel and other soldiers, led the Russian military to pursue the Chechen guerrillas, who entered the town itself and took 2,000 to 3,400 civilian hostages. Fighting ensued and the rebels then fled to Pervomayskoye in a column of 11 buses and 2 trucks where they seized an additional 100 hostages from the village. Because the Russian army did not permit journalists access to the village, it is hard to determine the full extent of civilian casualties.
(The blueprint and execution plan and targeting during the RAW-TTO network was used great accuracy during attacks at Mehran Base in Karachai, Kamra Air Base attack and this year’s attack on Karachi airport were comprehensively derived out of this terror attack. Only the civilians’ factor was missing in these duplicate attacks of RAW-TTP network)
And here are some scenarios and plots out of which any could be followed as a master plan by the RAW-TTP network in coming days if the executions of their imprisoned, convicted partners are not carried out by the Pakistan government at jet pace and on war footings.
The Moscow theatre hostage crisis, also known as the 2002 Nord-Ost siege, was the seizure of a crowded Moscow theatre on October 23, 2002 by about 40-50 armed Chechen rebel fighters who claimed allegiance to the separatist movement in Chechnya. They took 850 hostages and demanded the withdrawal of Russian forces from Chechnya and an end to the Second Chechen War. The siege was officially led by Movsar Barayev. After a two-and-a-half day siege, Russian Spetsnaz forces pumped an unknown chemical agent into the building’s ventilation system and raided it. Officially, 39 of the terrorists were killed by Russian forces, along with at least 129 and possibly many more of the hostages (including nine foreigners). All but one of the hostages who died during the siege were killed by the toxic substance pumped into the theatre to subdue the militants.
( This bluprint could be used at any hi-fi movie thatre in the country and thus all such places ned extraordinary security untill the executions of the convitca are concluded and Zarb-i-Azab is completed)
On 15–16 December 2014, a gunman, Man Haron Monis, held hostage nine customers and eight employees of a Lindt chocolate café located at Martin Place in Sydney, Australia After a 16-hour standoff, during which areas of the Sydney central business district surrounding the site were cordoned off and nearby buildings locked down, police officers from the Tactical Operations Unit stormed the café upon hearing gunshots from inside. At least one hostage was shot by Monis, who himself was shot dead after police entered in response. Two hostages died, while three hostages and a police officer were injured during the police raid.
( This could also inspire the RAW-TTP network to execute with little more innovation and comprehensions and thus Police and other relevant security operates must keep such a situation in mind while making security arrangements)
The 2010 Baghdad church attack was an attack on the Our Lady of Salvation Syriac Catholiccathedral of Baghdad, Iraq, that took place during Sunday evening Mass on 31 October 2010. The attack left at least 58 people dead, after more than 100 had been taken hostage. The al-Qaeda-linked insurgent group the Islamic State of Iraq claimed responsibility.
(This episode could also motivate the RAW-TTP Network and thus security officials must keep this scenario while making the security arrangements at local Churches, especially in mega cities like Lahore, Karachi, Islamabad etc at least during the Christmas and New year eves )
On 21 September 2013, unidentified gunmen attacked the up-market Westgate Shopping Mallin Nairobi, Kenya. The attack, which lasted until 24 September, resulted in at least 67 deaths, including four attackers. Over 175 people were reportedly wounded in the mass shooting, with all of the gunmen reported killed.
Militant group al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the incident, which it characterized as retribution for the Kenyan military‘s deployment in Somalia. Many media outlets also suspected the insurgent group’s involvement in the attack based on earlier reprisal warnings it had issued in the wake of Operation Linda Nchi from 2011 to 2012.
Kenyan authorities arrested dozens of people in the aftermath of the attack, but had not announced any suspects directly related to the siege. On 4 November 2013, a Kenyan court charged four Somali nationals with harboring the slain gunmen in their homes, with each pleading not guilty.
( The global counter terror experts have been fearing such a situation in Pakistan as a creation of RAW-TTP Network as the merely the symbolic and modest security at the mega shopping malls in major citiei9s of countries make these place the most vulnerable to the terrorists to creat a hostage taking situation for days. Therefore Police and other relevant authorities should not only enhance security at such places but should also direct the managements of such shopping malls to take extraordinary measures)
With these conclusions, it is expected that the government must be focusing on these lines would take no time not only in enhancing the vsecurity at such likely soft targets of RAW-TTP Netwrok but also speed up the executions of the convicted terrorists and must finish the process within days, not weeks or months.