Loud Thinking

Author Archive

Racist ICC & FIFA..?

An eye opening letter published today by the daily “Daily Times”

ICC and Palestine
August 05, 2014
Comment

Sir: The International Cricket Council (ICC) took swift action against Moeen Ali who was wearing a wristband in support of Palestine against the apartheid of Israel. ICC argued that no one should bring politics into the game.

Well, ostensibly it looks like the ICC has no leniency against code breaking. But if we leaf through the pages of history this is not the case.

For instance, in 2003 it took ‘no action’ against the former English coach Andy Flower and his Zimbabwe team mate Henry Olonga when they wore armbands against Mugabe. Then why is Moeen Ali banned?

The same is the case with Malaysian cyclist Azizulhasni Awang.

Likewise, in football, FIFA took stern action against Lazio (an Italian top club) when the spectators demonstrated against Jews in a match against Tottenham Hotspur. Lazio fans also unfurled a ‘free Palestine’ banner.

As a result FIFA punished the club by forcing it to play in an empty stadium.

However, it did not take action against David Villa (a Barcelona player) when he ridiculed Islam in a match between Barcelona and Real Madrid.

It means players are free to abuse Islam and anti-west governments but cannot support innocent Palestinians.

Israel butchered over 1,700 people in Gaza and demolished over 3,000 homes and is constantly violating international law without stirring the conscience of the world leaders and here we have the ICC taking abrupt action against Moeen.

What kind of world are we living in? In a nutshell, there seems to be a total control of the Jewish lobby not only in politics but in every walk of life.

The west claims to be the champion of human rights, but perhaps Muslims are not humans in their eyes.

Muhammad Wajid Munir
Islamabad

“Freedom consists not in doing what we like, but in having the right to do what we ought.”

— Pope John Paul II

Change the Way You Start Your Day

What’s the first thing you do when you get to your desk? Check email and listen to voicemails? This is the worst way to start the workday. Instead of automatically going into reactive mode and focusing on other people’s priorities, begin your day with a brief planning session about what you need to get done. The moment you sit down, ask yourself: The day is over and I am leaving the office with a tremendous sense of accomplishment. What have I achieved? Thinking this through will help you distinguish truly important tasks from those that only feel urgent. Determine what to focus on, and then break down these tasks into specific actions and goals. Think about how to prioritize your list, and try starting your day with tasks that require the most mental energy.

Adapted by HBR from ” How to Spend the First 10 Minutes of Your Day” by Ron Friedman.

Dear Mr. Mohammad Zubair,

Minister of State and chairman Privatisation Commission.

Dear Sir,

As you have written on the fb that only 19 election disputes are left to be resolved. May be in these 19 cases the big wigs of PMLN are affected in the sensitive constituencies. But, then why the NADRA chief was removed and why the latest NADRA opening of bags with CCTV cameras shut down? What the government wants to hide from the public? Is there some thing black in the pulse or the whole pulse is black?

Mr. Zubair, things are not so simple, as you are pretending.

And remember, people are mostly fed up with the government because this government is providing electricity, even less, than provided by the PPP govt. (despite paying the circular debt), but the rates have been doubled.

With gas the situation is even worse; it is being provided in much less quantity, with double the rates.

Each and every items rate has been increased with a minimum of 100%.

All the taxes, specially car token tax has been increased by 100%.

Actually, PMLN is behaving with the people, as if they are their slaves, not voters.

The biggest failure has been on the economic front, where it has been ruined by taking huge loans (even at 8.25%) and increase of rates of utilities and taxes.

Sir, this is the WORST way of economic governance. If I was the PM, the finance minister would have been sacked at the earliest. But who cares about the public, in front of own close relative.

The biggest down fall reason of Nawaz Sharif is the conflict of interest in running of the government through the relatives, whom you can’t sack even if you want and this is a classic example of the conflict of interest.

So now please don’t expect any mercy from the public after you party disconnected it self completely from the interests of the masses.

A lesson of morality for all Pakistani leaders, set out by the father and founder of the nation, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah Sahab, in his his speech on 11 August, 1947.

““I shall always be guided by the principles of justice and fairplay without any, as is put in the political language, prejudice or ill-will, in other words, partiality or favouritism. My guiding principle will be justice and complete impartiality, and I am sure that with your support and cooperation, I can look forward to Pakistan becoming one of the greatest nations of the world.”

Pakistani leaders look what Quaid

“I really believe that everyone has a talent, ability, or skill that he can mine to support himself and to succeed in life.”

— Dean Koontz

I suggest the following statement to be adopted as a motto for the bureaucracy of Pakistan…!

“Recall the face of the poorest and the weakest man whom you may have seen and ask yourself if the step you contemplate is going to be of any use to him.”

“I am not an intellectual. An intellectual is someone who looks at a sausage and thinks of Picasso, whereas I just say ‘pass the mustard’.”

— Sebastian Horsley

Sethi and Co lobby for Arif Abbasi as next PCB chairman

By Mohammad Yaqoob
Published by Dawn about 9 hours ago

LAHORE: While Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has failed to follow the orders of the Supreme Court to appoint an ad hoc chairman at the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) within seven days and hold the elections for the top slot, former chairman Najam Sethi and his punters have started lobbying for Arif Ali Khan Abbasi as the new chairman of the Board.

On July 21 the double-bench of the Supreme Court, while disposing of different cases of the PCB, had ordered the prime minister as patron of the PCB to appoint an ad hoc chairman and an election commissioner within seven days to hold fresh elections inside 30 days. However, no announcement to the effect has been made by the premier so far.

Meanwhile, sources told Dawn that Sethi has put his weight behind ex-PCB chief Arif Abbasi and also met him in Karachi to offer him his support as the next chairman of the cricket board. Since Sethi is quite close to the PM, his recommendation for the next PCB chairman will carry a lot of weight.

The sources say that Sethi is quite keen to have such a person as the next PCB chairman who could endorse his policies and uphold the many decisions taken during his tenure. Sources further said Arif is most likely to accept all terms and conditions put forward by Sethi in order to get elected as the new chairman.

It may be mentioned that while Sethi has quit the PCB chairman’s post on July 21, he will continue to act as a member of the powerful Governing Board for the next three years.

The sources also said that former chairman Zaka Ashraf, who has been Sethi’s main rival during the tug-of-war over the chairman’s seat, will also not raise any objections to Arif’s appointment since he had himself appointed the Karachi-based bureaucrat as cricket consultant after he (Zaka) was restored as PCB chairman following a decision by the Islamabad High Court.

The sources said even the incumbent chief selector and manager Moin Khan and head coach Waqar Younis are also in the good books of Arif and hence no change is likely in the team management as well if Arif takes over as the next PCB chief.