tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30510524408983382072024-03-07T22:04:20.824-08:00shahidzainAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16509609274883223428noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3051052440898338207.post-80981711208342583642012-11-02T18:55:00.002-07:002012-11-02T18:55:47.876-07:00Take Your Senses on a Stimulating Tour With Historical Attractions of Dhaka<div id="article-content">
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We truly understand that you are one of the ardent rovers who
can't sustain without hopping from one location to another. You must be a
globe trotter who takes a deep sense of pride in travelling as covering
various places is certainly not a cakewalk. It requires time and
effort. So, what have you decided? Where would you head to for an
unspoiled holiday?<br />
You
perhaps have covered most of the exciting destinations by now and taken
a plunge into a wealth of its appealing spots that were worth paying a
visit to. How about visiting one of the Asian countries? Have you ever
deemed taking up a vacation in Bangladesh?<br />
Bangladesh is the
country in the Asian continent where you would not find much tourists
hailing from other countries. It is the country that even foreigners
find pretty hard to locate on a map and it's the place foreigners are
treated with respect and courtesy.<br />
Let's take a journey together to the country's capital, shall we?<br />
Dhaka
- Recognized as the capital of Bangladesh the world over, Dhaka is of
the prime cities of South Asia. The city is known to have attracted so
many tourists from far and within the country. It is purely steeped in
the historical tales that yet live to expose the varied facets. History
buffs would love to add the classic tales to their savvy as they tend to
get acquainted with the historical forts and monuments. You can book
flights to Dhaka if you want to soak yourself in the times gone by which
truly exist in the city.<br />
Located on the banks of Buriganga River,
Dhaka is known as the "city of mosques." It may hit you as a surprise
that the capital of Bangladesh is well-known as the producer of the
finest "muslin" on the planet. Nothing can deny the fact that Dhaka is
the centre of commercial, cultural, political and industrial activities
of the country.<br />
You can visit some of the below mentioned highlights that are truly remarkable:<br />
<b> » </b> Lalbagh Fort<br />
<b> » </b> 1857 Memorial<br />
<b> » </b> Baitul Mukarram Mosque<br />
<b> » </b> National Zoo<br />
<b> » </b> Central Shahid Minar<br />
Dhaka
was founded way back in 1608 AD and was known as Jahangir Nagar when
one of the great Mughal Emperors, Jahangir was in extreme supremacy. The
city has been under the influence of various emperors who erected
historical attractions during the times of yore. Take cheap flights to
Dhaka from Manchester and feel the verve of the city.<br />
</div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16509609274883223428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3051052440898338207.post-76999412860089724492012-11-02T18:53:00.003-07:002012-11-02T18:53:46.894-07:00Kaminey Movie Review<div id="article-content">
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<strong>Kaminey Plot</strong><br />
Kaminey
kicks off with Charlie, a henchman for three Bengali brothers who fix
races, explaining how this world has gone from bad to worse. It's the
same story that we have heard a million times but Charlie's lisp makes
it interesting!<br />
Charlie has lost big money as the jockey double
crossed them. Following up on the jockey's lead about the man who paid
him, Charlie runs off with his money and all the freebies in the hotel
room where he confronts the man.<br />
On the run Charlie unknowingly
bumps into two corrupt narcotics cops and takes off in their car. As
soon as he realizes the truth he hurriedly starts cleaning off his marks
and while doing so notices a guitar case. Curiosity gets the better of
him and he finds cocaine worth crores in the guitar case. He wants to
walk away but then he knows this is his chance to move from the fhotcut
of life to the chota fothcut. He gets in touch with his best friend,
Mikhail, to help him move the coke.<br />
In a parallel universe Guddu's
life has taken a drastic turn with his girlfriend telling him that she
is pregnant. She wants to abort, Guddu isn't too keen on that but then
Guddu isn't too keen on marrying her as well for this would disrupt his
planned out life.<br />
Sweety finally tells him that she is Bhope's
sister and her two bit-of-local-goon-aspiring politician brother would
kill him. That pretty much decides it for him.<br />
Tashi, the Goa
based drug czar gives the two cops a few hours to deliver the coke which
has to be passed on to some African dealer. The cops catch Guddu
thinking him to be Charlie while Bhope kills Mikhail and nabs Charlie to
get to his twin.<br />
The cops and Bhope broke a deal wherein they
switch the brothers. Charlie kills the cops and tells Tashi to pay up
while Guddu decides to pay off Bhope with the cocaine to fuel his
political ambitions in order to live in peace with Sweety. The brothers
once again come face to face and confront secrets of their past that
Charlie wants to forget.<br />
The film steps on the gas to reach a
thrilling climax! Shahid Kapur's double take--the lisping Charlie and
the stuttering Guddu--is the main stay of the film and is matched step
for step by Priyanka Chopra's spoilt Sweety.<br />
<strong>Final Verdict on Kaminey</strong><br />
The
entire cast stands up and delivers especially Chandan Roy Sanyal as
Mikhail. Written and directed by Vishal Bhardwaj, Kaminey has some
excellent scenes like the cops forcing a stuttering Guddu to sing and
spill the beans on his brother or the one where Charlie interrogates the
jockey as the three Bengali brothers fire bullets while testing some
weapons.<br />
One of the better films to come out in ages, Vishal
Bhardwaj's take on Mumbai's very gray underbelly replete with a whole
bunch of quirky characters and crazy situations is a roller coaster ride
on the wild fide. Don't miss this one for the world!<br />
Kaminey Rating: 4½ out of 5<br />
Kaminey Cast: Priyanka Chopra, Shahid Kapoor, Amol Gupte<br />
Kaminey Genre: Drama / Action<br />
Kaminey Director: Vishal Bhardwaj<br />
Kaminey Producer: Rekha Bhardwaj, Ronnie Screwvala<br />
Kaminey Music Director: Vishal Bhardwaj<br />
</div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16509609274883223428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3051052440898338207.post-70572602226744329762012-11-02T18:51:00.003-07:002012-11-02T18:51:38.735-07:00Pakistan Cricket Team Captain and His Double Talk Post World Cup 2011 Semi-Final<div id="article-content">
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A very gracious Shahid Afridi not only kept his cool for a better
part of the semifinal clash with India in the recently concluded ICC
Cricket World Cup but was a beacon of cordiality when he congratulated
the Indian Eleven for outplaying them. Even after he landed in Pakistan
he was calm and requested his nation to look forward from the great
experience his young team garnered in its World Cup campaign. So, what
happened in a matter of hours when he gleefully confessed to a lady
reporter that his team suffered at the negativity spewed by the Indian
media and the malevolence of Indian players is what makes them greater
sportsmen?<br />
Needless
to say Afridi's interview triggered off a domino effect across India.
From social media networks, to mainstream newspapers and television news
debates just about everyone was more shocked than surprised at Afridi's
two-faced statements. Was he being a sore loser or was there something
else to his outburst? We have said in the past that there was immense
strain on the two neighbors when they clashed at Mohali but from the
looks of it one thing was clear--the team that lost was the first to
crack under pressure. But the fact of the matter remains that had India
lost the match the emotions of the Indian fan would have compelled them
to do crazy things but the eleven Indian players who played the match
wouldn't have resorted to the two lines that Afridi towed.<br />
Afridi
later told an Indian news channel during a live interview that he has
been 'quoted out of context', which is the oft repeated answer to squirm
out of any tight spot. The first time around he blasted Pakistani media
for making every clash with India a matter of national pride, a war of
sorts while the truth is that Pakistan loves all things Indians right
from films to songs to television soaps and the second time around he
said that Indian media is negative and Indian players aren't as
large-hearted as they were.<br />
Both these interviews are out there
and Afridi can see them a million times like he told the Indian news
anchor that he'd like to see the videos again to see what he said but
the truth is as simple as this--he's damned if he speaks and damned if
he doesn't.<br />
There has been great criticism of the manner in which
Pakistan played against India and perhaps with the passage of time
relevant questions would have haunted Afridi and other senior players
like Younis Khan. So could this be Afridi's ploy to ensure that everyone
gets busy with his tirade and forgets asking him about the lives they
showered on Sachin Tendulkar, his decision to delay the batting power or
bat so low down the other that it felt like he wasn't even playing.
With the Indian Premier League (IPL) kicking off in a matter of days no
one in India would be interested how this issue progresses and perhaps
that is what Afridi would be aiming for. One look at how India outplayed
Australia, Pakistan and then Sri Lanka in order to become the World
Champions and no one in the right mind would question Afridi and his
team irrespective of the bizarre tactics employed by them during the
semifinal.<br />
The thing with Pakistan when they play India is that
ever since the frenzied six that Javed Miandad smashed off Chetan
Sharma's last ball in the final of the Australasia Cup in 1986 at
Sharjah, everyone's hoping for a miracle. In the last 19 years India and
Pakistan have squared off five times in World Cup matches and with each
victory the memory of that six fades away. Match fixing, substance
abuse and a bunch of other blemishes have marred Pakistan's image in the
world of cricket. Can you imagine any Indian Minister 'warning' the
team of match fixing hours before their biggest challenge? It's true
that they have more prodigious talent than India but somewhere the
Indian system, flawed as it may be imparts a greater sense of
professionalism unto its players that transforms them into better
players.<br />
Even if Afridi had not said what he said things would
have been fine. This Shahid Afridi double talk is nothing more than lip
service for a nation that is bereft of things to look forward to; this
is a desperate ploy on a talented cricketer's part to divert the
attention of his countrymen till they ignore him once they start rooting
for Indian city based teams in IPL!<br />
</div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16509609274883223428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3051052440898338207.post-48095744363375890112012-11-02T18:50:00.001-07:002012-11-02T18:50:05.579-07:00ODI Batsmen Rankings 2007 (All Teams)<div id="article-content">
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Well January in back, and so is the second edition of Vineet's
Cricket Rankings! And though there are some surprises the top of the
heap is captured by none other than two of the most competitive
cricketers of 21st century - Ricky Ponting followed by Matthew Hayden.<br />
Ricky
Ponting scored 1424 runs in 27 matches at an amazing average of 79.11
at a very high strike rate of 91.79!! He smashed 5 centuries and 8
half-centuries on the way to achieving this. Not to be left behind,
Matthew Hayden scored 1601 runs in 32 matches at a very high average of
59.29 at a good strike rate of 89.19!! He smashed 5 centuries and 6
half-centuries on the way to achieving this.<br />
Graeme Smith, Andrew
Symonds and Sachin Tendulkar follow at 3,4 and 5. So the year 2007 was
heavily dominated by Australian Batsmen, and the same way the Australian
Team dominated the World Cricket.<br />
Well, now for some surprises,
Ten Doeschate remains in Top 20 (remember this site had picked him to be
a player to watch last year). Shahid Afridi continued to dazzle with an
annual strike rate of 161. A player like Haddin who has a position of
No. 7 in the table continues to languish on the fringes of the
Australian team (Does the Australian team also have a Seniorphilia like
the Indians?). AB deVillers continued to be in the Top 10, a feat only
Yuvraj could manage besides him. So we can certainly take deVillers and
Yuvraj to be the players of the future!!<br />
But the biggest surprise
in Top 10 was DJ Reekers (Netherlands), and if you combine him and
Doeschate you have a team to look out for - Netherlands!<br />
Some surprises to watch for are LOB Cann (Bermuda), JM Davison (Canada), Robin Utthappa (India).<br />
1 RT Ponting (Aus)<br />
2 ML Hayden (Aus)<br />
3 GC Smith (SA)<br />
4 A Symonds (Aus)<br />
5 SR Tendulkar (India)<br />
6 Shahid Afridi (Pak)<br />
7 BJ Haddin (Aus)<br />
8 AB de Villiers (Afr/SA)<br />
9 DJ Reekers (Neth)<br />
10 Yuvraj Singh (Asia/India)<br />
11 Mohammad Yousuf (Asia/Pak)<br />
12 V Sehwag (Asia/India)<br />
13 SB Styris (NZ)<br />
14 Salman Butt (Pak)<br />
15 LOB Cann (Ber)<br />
16 AC Gilchrist (Aus)<br />
17 HH Gibbs (SA)<br />
18 S Chanderpaul (WI)<br />
19 RN ten Doeschate (Neth)<br />
20 JM Davison (Can)<br />
21 RR Sarwan (WI)<br />
22 Imran Nazir (Pak)<br />
23 JH Kallis (SA)<br />
24 MS Dhoni (Asia/India)<br />
25 SR Watson (Aus)<br />
26 KP Pietersen (Eng)<br />
27 BC Lara (WI)<br />
28 LPC Silva (SL)<br />
29 S Matsikenyeri (Zim)<br />
30 RV Uthappa (India)<br />
<strong>Where are the top 5 batsmen of the year 2006?</strong><br />
Well
RN Ten Doeschate whom this site had predicted as a hidden gem,
continued his exciting run by remaining in Top 20. While Nathan Astle
and Mark Trescothick faded into oblivion, Gilchrist continued to be a
good bet, though Jayasuria was quite subdued this year.<br />
40 ST Jayasuria (SL) (1)<br />
19 RN Ten Doeschate (Neth) (2)<br />
232 NJ Astle (NZ) (3)<br />
retired ME Trescothick (ENG) (4)<br />
16 AC Gilchrist (AUS) (5)<br />
*These
rankings are based on Players who've played 5 matches or more. These
rankings are prepared solely by myself based on owned algorithms.<br />
</div>
Vineet Raj Kapoor is one of the early entrants to the world of
web. He left his high profile job as a Commercial Manager with Hutch in
1996 to start his own companies VirtualSoft Technologies &
VirtualCity Informatics. Today his interests range from Animation, to
New Media & Visual Communications - and supplemented with his high
skills in creative writing he's already a leading expert in the field of
e-branding!<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16509609274883223428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3051052440898338207.post-87891109981107098992012-11-02T18:48:00.002-07:002012-11-02T18:48:23.158-07:00Fitness in Bollywood and the NRI Connection<div id="article-content">
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Where do we see the latest fitness craze? Probably in Bollywood,
the East Indian film industry based in Mumbai, India. In actual fact,
long after we have grown numb listening to the latest Hollywood fitness
fads, now Bollywood is constantly talking about the infamous "six-pack
abs", having devoted the hype over recent films (Om Shanti Om) to this
fact alone. What other fitness fads do we see in the Indian cinema
arena? Actresses have taken up the famous "zero look" which is now a
common feature of Hollywood actresses. This is the flat abs look that
the Western world has grown weary of hearing about. For a long time, the
infamous flat abs look has become symbolic of fitness. However, it is
important to take a look at some of these extreme fitness crazes from a
more serious standpoint. To sum up this very fact, we should take a look
at a good quote from the Bollywood actor Shahid Kapur who was asked
about getting into the "six-pack abs" look. He answered, "It is not a
question of a six-pack. It is more a question of fitness and health and
getting your body there. If I have to sport a lean look for a film, I
will get my body there". Now doesn't this make sense? Any fitness
trainer will tell you it's not how many hours you spend in the gym that
is important. It is what you do while you are there and the other hours
when you are not in the gym.<br />
The
world is getting polarized over the fitness mindset. There is the
factual evidence of increased obesity the world over. Then there is the
craze for super-fitness and thinness, thinking that these two symptoms
are synonymous. Nothing could be further from the truth. While the work
of an actor does demand extreme amounts of unrealistic fitness levels
which are work related, it is not necessarily a sign of good health and
health maintenance. Practicality rules when you are talking fitness and
health. For example, vegetarianism is a big topic in the fitness arena
incorporating differing mindsets. East Indian style of vegetarianism,
which is actually lacto vegetarianism, does not include eggs. There is
always the question of adequate protein intakes. In actual fact, a
scientific analysis of this diet has indicated that the consumption of
lentils in many forms actually makes the diet complete in protein.
Lentils are consumed in large amounts, cooked in their original form
with vegetables, or soaked and blended into cakes. However, it is true
that a protein shake can compensate for any deficiencies in the eating
patterns and that is what many Bollywood vegetarians resort to.<br />
A
fitness expert in nutrition can advise on adequate levels of nutrients
in the diet, given the activity level of the individual. Getting your
body where you want it to be and assigning it work to do is the job of a
fitness trainer. Why would you guess on your prescription for
medications? You would go to a trained physician or pharmacist for such
advice. Similarly, it is disastrous to experiment with your fitness. It
is the expert's job to determine your ideal attainable and maintainable
fitness level. Don't take a guess and get into trouble with
experimentation. Ask an experts advice. Most trainers give free
consultations. Just ask and walk away if you feel you are not
comfortable with the advice or with the trainer. Otherwise, there is no
harm in trying out a session or two with a trainer and seeing what the
possibilities are. Remember that you should always interact with your
trainer. If you don't want to be pushed to the heights they want to push
you, then let them know that you should take down your workout program a
notch or two for now. This is the best in any relationship, of course,
but more so when you are working actively with a fitness trainer. So go
ahead and get started with a free assessment. What is holding you back?
You have nothing to lose.<br />
The Bollywood connections have put up
another aspect which has loomed large recently in the minds of the
Western world. What do Preity Zinta, Shahid Kapur and the Telugu actress
Meena have in common? They have all acted as NRIs (Non-resident
Indians) in East Indian films. The NRI connection seems to be the new
box office draw. It looks like someone did some census arithmetic over
the stats on NRI cinema-going numbers and came up with good dollar
figures. This current generation of NRI is different than their father's
generation. We want it all. A little bit of home and our feet firmly
planted overseas. We speak our native languages with a bit of an accent
although it is not apparent to us. It is apparent to any shopkeeper over
in the homeland. Trust us on this one. Plus, we speak English with an
overseas accent, which could be Canadian, American or European,
depending on our home turf. This is where the filmmakers seem to
overlook a dominant factor of NRI life. Our accents do differentiate us.
I am waiting for Bollywood to do its casting call to include real NRI
accents. I think that aspect of realism will have to wait.<br />
Preity
Zinta did a good job of her representation as an NRI in Kal Ho Na Ho.
Her speech did not betray her character's long years in the US. Kabhi
Alveda Na Kehna doesn't count because the characters grew up in India
and were living in NYC for a short time, or so it seemed in the film.
Plus there was a lot of natural style English in the movie which really
made the characters believable as NRIs. Shahid Kapur , who looks a lot
like John Ritter from Three's Company, has just finished working in a
film which is due to be released soon. We will see if this film, Kismet
Konnection, has the right NRI accent or not. Having just seen the promos
to go on at this point, it doesn't look like the filmmakers paid any
attention to this aspect. Our accents and manner of speaking betray us
every time we go to our homeland that it is a big part of our lives. It
is too big to be ignored. However, it would be the director's job to
understand that and portray it. Would I really say " gaadi chalega"? Or
in the Kismet Konnection trailer, I would probably say "am I the only
one whose car doesn't start?" I haven't heard the word "gaadi" in a
long, long time on this side of the pond. I think the word 'car' and
other English expressions have really taken over. What were the
filmmakers thinking on this? Perhaps scriptwriters could do more
research on how NRI's talk, walk and behave. It really is a different
world and we all get picked out when we go to India because of these
very facets of our behavior.<br />
To be believable, filmmakers must
constantly think about their actors' accents. That is one of the basic
aspects of a film's believability. Meena, who acted in Seetharamaiah
Gari Manavaralu (1991), was clearly speaking English with a thick Indian
accent in the film. This is highly unbelievable for an NRI. Her ability
to speak Telugu however is not surprising as many who grow up abroad
are taught the language by their mothers. If they learn it from birth,
their ear will not create an accent when they speak their mother tongue.
So the ability to speak the native languages without a huge non-Indian
accent is believable. However, English has to be learned. I have seen
interviews of the most recent crop of Bollywood actors and they all have
real definite Indian accents in their English. Some of their language
is also strange English to a foreign raised person. One glaring example
of this is the use of the phrase "you must be knowing". English has a
lot of grammar that remains unused by the majority of the English
speaking population. I wish they would change the use of this expression
to be "you must know".<br />
While the newly found "extreme fitness"
craze of "six-pack" abs and "zero" looks are not unexpected and healthy
for the industry, it is time the East Indian film scene explored the
proper English accents for their characters, especially if they are
trying to portray the NRI population and make it seem believable to us. I
am hoping we can look past these glaring deficiencies when Kismet
Konnection opens July 18. One great thing these days is that we don't
have to wait months for the DVD to come out so we can see it too. We can
see it the same day (actually the next day because of the time
difference). Thanks to increasing populations, new films are opening up
in local theaters everywhere. They, however, do play at the weirdest of
times, like Thursday afternoon at 12:30pm only. Maybe a few more years
of NRI based films and we will be able to catch these films in theaters
on Sunday afternoons, like other mainstream Hollywood films.<br />
</div>
For the past 20 years Hema has worked with many individuals,
including executives at large corporations, to reduce stress, improve
general health and workplace productivity. A variety of personal
interests and professional paths have led Hema to her current role as a
certified personal trainer, yoga instructor and nutrition and wellness
specialist. Hema is listed in Who's Who in the World and is an author,
lecturer and Can-Fit-Pro certified personal trainer who specializes in
body-mind-spirit consulting and training women.<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16509609274883223428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3051052440898338207.post-47394742249012306542012-11-02T18:44:00.003-07:002012-11-02T18:44:47.273-07:00Is Liquidation The Only Solution?<div id="article-content">
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INTRODUCTION: CORPORATE INSOLVENCY<br />
There
has always been a difference of opinion as to who is to be taken care
of the most, while a company gets insolvent: the creditors, the
insolvent, the public, or the other stakeholders? This is the critical
question. Certain theories are there to advance their answers as to
which stake holder should be preferred to others. These theories
include: The Creditors' Bargain Theory, Communitarian Theory and
Multiple Values Approach. These theories differ in preferring to the
interests of different types of stakeholders, but none of them insists
on immediate liquidation of the insolvent companies, because, 'In most
liquidations creditors are going to receive only a small percentage of
what they are owed'.(1) So, what to do with the insolvents?<br />
PICKING UP AN OPTION:<br />
Liquidation:<br />
In
the event of insolvency, the liquidation has been the most common
solution to the problem of insolvency of a company. Insolvency,
nevertheless, is not the only reason for liquidation of a company. A
company may be wound up for a number of reasons, even if it is not
insolvent. However, winding up of an insolvent company may be carried
out either voluntarily or compulsorily. Voluntary winding up is the one
where the share-holders, believing that the company is unable to pay its
debts, decide to wind up the same. On the other hand, compulsory
winding up is executed under the orders of the court. These orders are
passed on the request of the creditors, contributories, the Official
Receiver, or the Department of Trade and Industry; or if the court
itself is of the opinion that it is just and equitable to wind up the
company. Upon winding up, the yield generated by the sale of assets of
the company is distributed among the charge holders, in order of
preference and according to the principle of pari passu (equal treatment
of the creditors of the same class).<br />
Though winding up is the
fate of most insolvent companies, it is not every insolvency that leads
to liquidation.(2) At one time winding up was the only real option
available when a company was insolvent, but as companies became more
critical to commercial life and legislation developed, provision has
been made for forms of insolvency administration other than winding up
.(3) An insolvent company, instead of going directly into liquidation,
can choose any of the alternate options. These options include:
receivership, administration and voluntary arrangements. These aim at
avoiding, or at least minimizing the would-be losses inevitable in the
event of liquidation. First preference of any of them is to save the
company by having a chance of its rehabilitation. However, if the
conditions are hopeless, then, as a last resort, they would go for
winding up the company in the most suitable manner, with minimum
possible losses.<br />
Receivership:<br />
A secured creditor of an
insolvent company, usually a bank, may, instead of going for
liquidation, appoint a Receiver to enforce the security. If the security
or loan agreement, referred to as 'debenture', covers the entire or
almost entire assets of the insolvent company, the receiver steps into
the shoes of the directors and administers the affairs of the company,
so as to realize its assets to pay off the amount due. In such a case,
he or she is called an 'administrative receiver'. An administrative
receiver tries to sell the company as a going concern, to get more value
of the assets. Some researches shows that about 44% of companies in
receivership are sold as going concerns.(4) Sometimes, his efforts to
reach a more beneficial solution bear so much fruit, that a rescue
becomes possible. Nevertheless there is evidence that receivers do
continue to run businesses and on occasions incur a trading loss.(5)
But, primarily, the role of a Receiver is to look after the interests of
the secured creditor and ensure the satisfaction of the debts by the
proceed of the assets that becomes available after their realization.
Once appointed, he or she acts as the agent of the company, and has
power to incur trading liabilities on its behalf, or to procure the
breach of its contracts. The company's directors and other creditors
have few rights to involvement in the decision-making process. Yet the
administrative receiver's primary duties are owed to his appointing
debenture-holder, rather than to the company, and this is the main
disadvantage of receivership as a major corporate rescue procedure.(6)
Furthermore, the appointment of an administrative receiver greatly
restricts the operation of other, more collective insolvency
procedures.(7) Then, the receivership is not a collective insolvency
process, and is largely contractual, arising out of a charge/security
given by a company to a creditor, usually a bank, often over the whole
or substantially all of the company's assets.(8)<br />
Administration:<br />
An
insolvent company, instead of going into liquidation, can also choose
the option of administration by an external manager. The administration
was primarily a procedure for the companies where no secure creditor
held as much a charge as amounted to cover the whole or nearly the whole
of the undertaking of the company. An external administrator was
appointed by the court of the relevant jurisdiction on the satisfaction
that a company is, or likely to be, unable to pay its debts. This, too,
was an arrangement to dispose off the assets of a company and pay off
the debts to the creditors, with the proceeds of the sale, through a
neutral person. But, "the primary purpose of the administration now is
to rescue the company."(9) While passing an order of administration, the
court takes into account: the possibility of survival of the company or
one or more of its components, probable voluntary arrangement between
the creditors and the company, prospective compromise of the creditors
on their claims, or at least, better prospects of realization of the
assets prior to going for liquidation. Administration, now, is in
essence, a temporary measure which either lays down the foundations for
the rescue of the company or for its winding up on a more favourable
basis.(10)<br />
"It involves the appointment by the court of an
administrator to manage the company for the benefit of creditors
generally with a view to securing the survival of the company as a going
concern, the approval of a voluntary arrangement under Part I of the
Insolvency Act 1986, the sanctioning of a compromise under section 425
of the Companies Act 1985 or a more advantageous realization of the
company's assets than would be effected on a winding up."(11)<br />
Administration
order brings about an automatic stay order: moratorium, dismissing any
winding up petition, removing any administrative receiver and placing an
administrator with the full authority and powers of the directors to
manage the company, and take all appropriate decisions about its future.
The moratorium provides the administrator with an opportunity to take
and execute the decisions about the fate of the company, whether for its
rescue or to make some other more beneficial arrangement for its
winding up, without any pressure or harassment by the creditors. An
administrator is usually an Insolvency Practitioner, officer of the
court, or representative of the Department of Trade and Industry; and an
administrator owed a duty to a company over which he was appointed to
take reasonable care to obtain the best price that the circumstances as
he reasonably perceived them to be permitted, including a duty to take
reasonable care in choosing the time at which to sell the property.(12)
Insolvency Act 1986 requires an administrator to act with the purpose of
(i) rescuing the company as a going concern, or (ii) achieving a better
result for the company's creditors as a whole than would be likely if
the company were wound up, or (iii) realizing property in order to make a
distribution to one or more secured or preferential creditors.(13)<br />
Voluntary Arrangements:<br />
In
most jurisdictions insolvent companies can enter into a voluntary
arrangement with the creditors. There are many different forms of
agreement and these possess a bewildering variety of names: composition,
compounding, compromise, arrangement, scheme of arrangement, voluntary
arrangement, moratorium, workout _ in the case of an individual
insolvent, an assignment (to trustees) for the benefit of his
creditors.(14) However, these are categorized in two types: Formal
Voluntary Arrangement, where an arrangement is made with the involvement
of the court, under the cover of law _ in UK, a company can opt for a
Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) _ and Informal Arrangement, where
the debtor reaches an agreement with the creditors outside the court,
without an appropriate shelter of law. In the event of any type of
arrangement, if a company seems to be unable to run as a going concern,
then a voluntary arrangement would usually require the creditors to
compromise over the quantity of amount due as debt (though, at a rate,
better than what would be expected in case of liquidation); and if it
has a potential of rehabilitation, then it would normally require
negotiation on time for repayment of the debt, for example, a break for a
certain period of time, or payment in installments spread over a longer
period. The purpose, again, is to save the company from liquidation, or
at least, liquidation with minimum loss.<br />
Informal arrangements
could be more efficient, time saving and cost effective, if, however,
they can work. To persuade the creditors to come to a new agreement may
be a bit difficult, though in benefit of all the concerned. While it is
not too difficult to make the creditor understand that ultimately get
much more than is likely in case of winding up, it is nonetheless, not
easy to maintain such a deal with a relatively larger number of
creditors for a longer period of time.<br />
Formal arrangements are
provided in the law, hence more workable, under the auspices of the
court after the company goes into administration, or even prior to that.
CVA is a significant feature of UK insolvency regime. A company in
administration can achieve the object of rescue by approval of CVA.(15)
Before order of administration, the directors, and after that the
administrator or receiver have to make a proposal for rehabilitation of
the company or rescheduling the debts of the company etc. The proposal,
after the approval of the court is to be put up before the creditors in a
meeting. If 75% of the creditors agree _ in some jurisdictions the
number may vary, like 66% in USA _ it becomes binding on everyone else.
The whole idea of pushing through a CVA is to prevent the creditors
putting the company into winding up.(16) CVA, once agreed, becomes
binding on all who had notice of and were entitled to vote at the
meeting.(17) Case law has described it as 'statutory binding,'(18)
'commercial agreement'(19) and a 'trust'(20) . This legal status makes a
CVA more workable than an informal arrangement.<br />
All the above options are available prior to going for liquidation of an insolvent company.<br />
CORPORATE RESCUE:<br />
There
is increasing scope for business rescues through restructuring and
reorganization where the enterprise is fundamentally sound and has good
prospects of being restored to profitability. The so-called "rescue
culture" has developed significantly in recent years.(21) 'The purpose
of business rescue is not necessarily to prevent a company from being
wound up or liquidated,' says University of Pretoria associate professor
David Burdette. 'But even if the business cannot be restored to a
solvent and profitable status, business rescue has shown that the return
to creditors in the long run will be higher'.(22) It is very difficult
to argue against the concept.(23) Certain measures can be adopted to
attempt a rescue. In addition to negotiations with the creditors,
company's rescue may require some other measures to be adopted. A change
in management, sometimes along with other measures can help a company
survive. Turnarounds are often accompanied by management changes, asset
sales, and new finance or directors' guarantees. There is evidence that
these changes significantly influence the bank's response and the
likelihood of a successful outcome.(24) An insolvent company that wishes
to raise working capital urgently can opt, after careful analysis, for
issuance of shares at a discount, but it would require approval from its
shareholders and the relevant regulatory body.(25)<br />
Transnational Legal Scene:<br />
Currently,
companies facing difficulty in Hong Kong have little choice other than
liquidation or receivership. An effective rescue procedure exists in
other jurisdictions, such as the US (Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Act),
UK and Australia (the process of "Administration"). In the case of
Australia, the introduction of the corporate rescue regime has led to a
marked decrease in the number of receiverships (from 380 cases in the
year ended March 1997 to 240 the following year) and a rise in the
number of "administrations" (from 421 in 1997 to 503 in 1998).(26)<br />
Although,
practically, in New Zealand liquidation is the primary ( and strictly
speaking the only) collective legislative procedure for dealing with
distribution and realization of assets of an insolvent company, yet
aspects of statutory management procedure could be preserved in any
rescue procedure, such as the moratorium and the powers of the
manager.(27)<br />
While there is no developed practice regarding
informal corporate rescue processes in Pakistan, formal corporate rescue
processes that are available to corporate debtors and creditors are
almost similar to those of the UK. The Federal Government of Pakistan
has also set up a Task Force for Revival of Sick Industrial Units. The
issue in Pakistan is not the lack of an adequate and comprehensive
legislative framework, but rather the lack of a speedy and efficient
implementation process.(28)<br />
South Africa is one of the most
competitive countries in which to do business, it has an unhealthy
number of liquidations. Though SA was one of the first countries to make
provision for business rescue - through the judicial management
provisions in the Companies Act - there hasn't been much success in
implementing it.(29)<br />
UK insolvency procedures are highly creditor
oriented. Contractual rights are strictly enforced, and the courts have
no power to intervene in the way the bank exercises its rights, say, to
sell the business as a going concern, or sell the assets piece meal.
However, where there is a possibility of a rescue being implemented, the
courts will make a space, sometimes being most reluctant to help a
judgment creditor to obtain execution.(30)Still there exists an
elaborate rescue process outside formal procedures. About 75% of firms
emerge from rescue and avoid formal insolvency procedures altogether
(after 7.5 months, on average).(31)<br />
Chapter 11 Regime:<br />
It is
commonly acknowledged that no other jurisdiction currently has a
statutory procedure as effective as the US' chapter 11 in supporting
business restructuring.(32) Rescue procedures are available to
struggling companies immediately, at their instigation and timing, and
at a far earlier stage in the process than would be the case in many
other jurisdictions.(33) In many jurisdictions in Europe, including in
the UK, France and Germany, insolvency proceedings are usually only
capable of being implemented where the entity is, or is on the brink of
insolvency. From management's perspective, the main driver in
instigation insolvency proceedings in these jurisdictions is likely to
be (at least in part )defensive - the directors will be motivated in
starting proceedings by a desire to ensure that they are not personally
(and in some case criminally) liable in respect of the company's
indebtedness. In contrast, management in the US can plan for a chapter
11 restructuring, usually without the fear of personal liability and
preferably at a point when rescue and rehabilitation of the company has
good commercial prospects of succeeding .(34) It is no surprise to see
the influence of chapter 11 on recent or prospective reforms to
insolvency laws world wide as many jurisdictions move towards a more
debtor-friendly approach.(35) The debtor friendly nature of Chapter11
suggests that less distressed firms (or even profitable ones) may enter
Chapter 11 thereby increasing the incidence of going concerns compared
with the UK sample.(36)<br />
Complete harmonization of insolvency laws
worldwide is not currently regarded as feasible.(37) However, most of
the jurisdictions are aiming at the Chapter 11 model of insolvency
regime.<br />
CONCLUSION:<br />
Liquidation of insolvent companies is
comparatively an easier phenomenon. Court, liquidator or administrator
has to assess the assets and liabilities of the company. Assets are sold
out. Preferences of the creditors are determined. After making payments
to the preferential and secured creditors, residual amount generated by
materialization of assets is distributed among the unsecured creditor,
and the company gets buried. An already dying company's affairs involve
no risks, as such. No challenges are to be faced. No big decisions are
to be made. Creditors, already prepared to face the consequence, get
pacifies without causing much trouble to the persons involved in the
process of administration. There are least uncertainties, actually,
about the time to come. No liabilities of future results are there on
the shoulders of the people responsible for the process, except for
performing the immediate duties. An attempt to rescue the company is
like one of treatment of a dying patient. If, despite putting all
possible efforts, life could not be brought to him, the relatives would
blame the doctor. Then, what is the need to get into such an exercise?
Why not to let the leaving souls leave?<br />
Needless to say, rescue is
not always guaranteed under rescue processes, but there may be an
opportunity for companies to revive the business, for jobs to be
preserved, for debts to be satisfied, and in the event that liquidation
is inevitable, for a better return to be provided for creditors.(38)<br />
The
resources used and the risks involved in an attempt to save a company
from liquidation might be a matter of concern, yet even only small
success rate would be desirable, as in the event of liquidation the
percentage of recovered money does not reach the double digit, for most
of the creditors.<br />
From communitarian point of view, that attracts
me the most, a single instance of successful rescue would be more
beneficial to the society than tens of efficient liquidations.<br />
REFERENCES<br />
1-
Keay, A (1998) "Preferences in Liquidation Law: A Time for a Change"
Company Financial and Insolvency Law Review: Vol. 2 pp 216<br />
2- Goode, R. M. (1997) Principles of corporate insolvency law 2nd ed London : Sweet & Maxwell p14<br />
3-
Keay, A. R. & Walton Keay, A. R. & Walton P. (2003) Insolvency
Law: Corporate and Personal, Harlow: Pearson Longman pp 9<br />
4-
Franks, Julian and Sussman Oren (2000) "The Cycle of Corporate Distress,
Rescue and Dissolution: A Study of Small and Medium Size UK Companies"
http://facultyresearch.london.edu/docs/306.pdf><br />
5- Ibid<br />
6-
Ministry of Development , New Zealand (2004) "Current New Zealand Law
in Context of Rescue" p3 7- Armour, John and Frisby, Sandra (2001)
"Rethinking Receivership" Oxford Journal of Legal Studies: OJLS
2001.21(73)<br />
8- Op. cit. Ministry of Development , New Zealand: p2<br />
9- Op. cit. Keay, A. R. & Walton P. pp95<br />
10- ibid<br />
11- Op.cit.Goode pp 22-23<br />
12- Re Charnley Davies Ltd (No 2) [1990] BCLC 760, [1990] BCC 605<br />
13- Para 3(1)<br />
14- Op. cit. Goode pp 20<br />
15- Op. cit. Keay, A. R. & Walton P. pp 126<br />
16- ibid pp 127<br />
17- Section 5 of Insolvency Act 1986<br />
18- RA Securities Ltd v Mercantile Credit Co Ltd ([1994] BCC 598)<br />
19- Burford Midland Properties Let v Marley Extrusions Ltd ([1994] BCC 604)<br />
20- Re Halson Packaging Ltd ([1997] BCC 993)<br />
21- Op cit. Goode pp 15<br />
22- Pile, Jacqui (2004) "Liquidation Industry: Overview" Financial Mail:<br />
23- Milman, David, (2000) "Corporate Rescue: Principles and Pragmatism" Insolvency Lawyer Vol. Jan.<br />
24- Op.cit. Franks et al.<br />
25- Rizvi, Isa (2001) "Legal Issues: Pakistan"<br />
26- Hong Kong Coalition of Service Industries (1998) "Position Paper on Corporate Rescue"<br />
27- Op. cit. Ministry of Development, New Zealand<br />
28- Op. cit. Rizvi<br />
29- Op. cit. Pile<br />
30- Op. cit. Milman pp 12<br />
31- Op. cit. Franks et al<br />
32- Mallon, Christopher (2004) "Chapter 11: Relevant Beyond the US"<br />
33- Op. cit. Mallon<br />
34- Op. cit. Mallon<br />
35- ibid<br />
36- Op. cit. Franks et al<br />
37- Op. cit. Mallon<br />
38- Op. cit Hong Kong Coalition of Service Industries<br />
</div>
<div id="article-resource">
M Shahid Usman, Advocate<br />
shahid.clc@gmail.com<br />
m.shahid04@members.leeds.ac.uk<br />
[http://www.clc.org.pk]<br />
[http://www.flag.org.pk]<br />
- LLM (2005) University of Leeds, UK<br />
- LLB (2003) Punjab University, Lahore<br />
- MA Urdu (1989) Punjab University, Lahore<br />
- Visiting Lecturer, Centre for Actuarial Science, Institute of Statistics, University of the Punjab, Lahore<br />
- Visiting Lecturer, Superior College of Law, Lahore.<br />
- Partner of Commons Law Company, Nawa-e-Waqt Building, 4-Queens Road, Lahore<br />
- Director Programs, FLAG _ The Foundation of Law And Governance _ A Trust for Research, Capacity Building and Advocacy<br />
</div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16509609274883223428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3051052440898338207.post-35291656204005364872012-11-02T18:42:00.002-07:002012-11-02T18:42:23.924-07:00SEO - The Best Ways To Make Money Online With Your Internet Business<div id="article-content">
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Search engines are the best way to find your website and make
more traffic to your website. There are also other tips and technique to
capture your visitors which are Google analytics, link exchange,
referring websites but the one and major thing to keep in mind that your
website should be Optimize enough which maintain your visitors flow to
your website. Here are few things I have discussed which are very
important during optimization and making money online from your new
online business point of view.<br />
1- Optimize your content - unique or at least good content<br />
First
of all try to compare your target and goal of your business with the
visitors who will read your website content. If you are making a off-set
printing website then try to use history of its off-set printing
process. Latest technologies used for this process. Current major issues
for this process. Why this printing process is cost effective for your
clients. What are your features offers for off-set printing. This will
add value to your website for the visitor.<br />
2- Optimizing Landing pages - Optimize your website for business opportunity<br />
You
should optimize your each landing pages of your business separately, so
that your different hundreds of keywords and key phrase optimized and
increase its numbers. SEO experts thoughts that your meta description
and keywords tag does not add much values these days but they just add
some value to the keywords and phrases. Try to optimize your whole
website pages separately so that they can be found different landing
pages in the search engines.<br />
3- Internal Links of your website can be benefits for your online products<br />
Search
engineers agree on this point that you must add links to your website
internally and externally. These are called inbound and outbound links.
Try to anchor those texts which are in your keywords and key phrase.
This will give the value to your keywords.<br />
Use some good header and footer by linking some more important pages of your website. Use your main keywords in the anchor text.<br />
4- Avoid a Common mistake<br />
Do
not use the words like " about us " , " click here" , " read more" as
the anchor text. These words do not help your products for optimizing
them at all.<br />
5- Link Building<br />
You need to focus much on your
website optimization. Search engine optimization is not a single action
to do all this activity. It requires considerable knowledge, practice,
and time to increase and get top search engine position.<br />
6- Importance of a Keyword<br />
Keywords
are the main role of this all plan. If your site has right keywords and
significant keywords and key phrases then it is the key of success for
your online business. Used mostly searchable keywords and keyword
phrases in this Meta keywords tag. Use different no of relevant
keywords.<br />
</div>
<div id="article-resource">
To find out more on Search Engine Optimization and how to make
your website Google friendly, visit Shahid Hussain's How to make your
website pages Google friendly at [http://www.shabee.info]<br />
About
The Author: Shahid Hussain is the webmaster of Systems Limited
(www.systemsltd.com) - the first Software House of Pakistan. A Creative
Head of Visionet Systems (www.visionetsystems.com)- the World's leading
IT consulting company providing Apparel, IT, Mortgage and Insurance
solutions and consulting services. Shahid is also the author of the
leading Search Engine Optimization Guide in Pakistan and numerous
Marketing Tips.<br />
Publishing Rights of the Article: Republishing of
this article in any web site, newsletter, or ebook is only acceptable if
you agree to leave the article, author's signature and photograph, and
all links completely intact.<br />
</div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16509609274883223428noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3051052440898338207.post-922144976545597402012-11-02T18:40:00.002-07:002012-11-02T18:40:27.624-07:00Younis And Misbah Should Be Separated By Umar Akmal And Shahid Afridi<div id="article-content">
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Pakistan has found a perfect balance to their team after the loss
against New Zealand and eventually defeated Australia quite
convincingly. They did strike the balance between aggression and
stability by dropping Ahmad Shahzad and retaining Asad Shafique for the
Australia game. Pakistan is the most versatile team in this tournament
and the only thing they needed to do is to use their resources
judiciously.<br />
There
is still one issue that the Pakistan team management needs to address.
They needed to rethink the batting position of Yunis and Misbah. Yunis
and Misbah coming to bat after each other would not work in most of the
situations, especially while chasing the target. If both of them are at
the wickets together, they will find it difficult to rotate the strike,
and would give up their wickets as they have done in the game against
New Zealand and Australia. The role of Yunis and Misbah would be stay at
the wicket rather than up the ante. So there has to be one of them at
the wicket with some aggressive bat, while the other one is waiting in
the dressing room to take charge if there is further batting collapse.<br />
Yunis
Khan should be followed by Shahid Afridi and Umar Akmal. While Yunis
Khan play the game at his own pace scoring on easy balls, the batsmen
like Shahid Afridi and Umar Akmal can take a few risk. That would also
mean that Pakistan have a proper batsman in Misbah-Ul-Haq down the
order, and there is Abdul Razzak who can score briskly at the other end
if needed.<br />
The bottom-line is that Yunis and Misbah should be
separated by Shahid Afridi and Umar Akmal. Misbah can be quite handy
down the order as he can bat according to the situation.<br />
1. Kamran Akmal
<br />2. Mohammad Hafeez
<br />3. Asad Shafique
<br />4. Yunis Khan
<br />5. Shahid Afridi/Umar Akmal
<br />6. Shahid Afridi/Umar Akmal
<br />7. Misbah
<br />8. Abdul Razzak
<br />9. Umar Gul
<br />10. Wahab Riaz/Shoib Akhtar given that he does not bowl short balls and full tosses
<br />11. Rehman/Saeed Ajmal<br />
Shoib Akhtar can be given a chance if
he gives the assurance that he will not bowl full tosses and short
stuff. Whenever he has bowled short and full tosses, he has been hit for
a lot of runs. If Shoib Akhtar can bowl straight on the wickets and hit
unplayable spots, he could provide Pakistan extra edge in Semi-Final
and Final and help Pakistan in their mission to win the World Cup.<br />
</div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16509609274883223428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3051052440898338207.post-66393280357297713252012-11-02T18:38:00.002-07:002012-11-02T18:38:27.534-07:00Jammu and Kashmir - The Country Without a Post Office<br />
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Since the dawn of independence, Kashmir is the main cause of
disagreement between India and Pakistan. The only difference today from
what it was in 1947 is, that the state seems to be more divided and
communalized. Regular attempts by both countries took place to resolve
the dispute through various means: from bilateral talks, wars and state
sponsored militancy but the crisis sustained as the major source of
tension and dispute between them. Today the divide among the Hindu and
Muslim communities has enormously widened up in the region, credit goes
to the intensified promotion of religious politics by major political
parties from both sides. When one side desires to justify the 'Two
Nations theory' that emphasizes that Muslims and non-Muslims cannot live
together, the other side promotes jingoistic nationalism and demands
Muslims to be treated as second-class citizens. Religious sentiments are
repetitively injected to both communities, as it is a well-known fact
that religion is the only topic that can easily rouse the ordinary
people to fight against each other. History confirms again and again the
famous Karl Marx maxim <i>"Religion is the opium of the masses"</i>. An
elderly Muslim shopkeeper in Udarana, a mixed Hindu-Muslim village near
the town of Bhaderwah, expresses this enormous divide "Now we hardly
visit each other's homes or patronize each other's shops. ...We really
don't have love in our hearts for each other." From the early nineties,
Hindu-Muslim relations have rapidly been diminished in the state.<br />
Jammu
and Kashmir's first political party, the 'Muslim Conference' was
founded in 1932 with Shaikh Abdullah as its President. While a student
at Aligarh Muslim University, Shaikh Abdullah was influenced by liberal
and progressive ideas. He became convinced that the feudal system
existing in the land was to blame for the miseries of Kashmir, which was
ruled in an oppressive and autocratic manner by a Hindu monarchy.
'Muslim Conference' changed its name to 'National Conference' in 1938 on
the objective to create a broader platform and allow people from all
communities to join the struggle against the monarchy of Maharaja Hari
Singh. At the time of partition, when the Maharaja was hesitating over
the choice of acceding either to India or to Pakistan, Shaikh Abdullah
supported India. He was appointed Prime Minister of Kashmir on March 17,
1948. Until the monarchy existed, most Muslims in the region were
landless laborers. Along with the Dalits, they were also treated as
untouchables by the 'upper' caste Hindus. Under Shaikh Abdullah, radical
land reforms were introduced in the state, through which sharecroppers,
mainly Muslims and Dalits, got land previously owned by Rajput and
Brahmin landlords. His effort made him a hugely popular mass leader. In
1953, the Indian government betrayed Shaikh Abdullah by sacking him from
the Prime Minister's post. He was accused for conspiring against the
State and jailed from 1953 to 1975. Meanwhile, the Indian Constitution,
vide Article 370 had granted a special status to the state guaranteeing
it autonomy except for defense, foreign affairs and communications.
After his release, he had sworn in as the Chief Minister in 1977 with a
massive mandate. For the next five years, until the death of Shaikh
Abdullah in 1982, Jammu and Kashmir was politically calm and stable. The
separatist movement in the Kashmir Valley restarted from April 1988.
The movement gathered momentum through a close nexus between Jammu &
Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) and Pakistan, which reached its peak in
the mid nineties. The present controversy on the Amarnath Shrine Board
land transfer and the subsequent incidents must be read based on this
history.<br />
<b>Amarnath Shrine Board land transfer fiasco</b><br />
The
Amarnath Caves are one of the most famous Hindu shrines located in the
Himalayas at the altitude of 12,760 feet. The caves are about 88 miles
away from Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir (Jammu is
the winter capital). It is one of the most significant pilgrimage
destinations for the Hindus and attracts about 400,000 pilgrims (Yatri)
every year. In the year 2000, the 'Shri Amarnath Shrine Board' was set
up to take care of the pilgrims passage (Yatra) to the caves that was
previously conducted jointly by tourism department of the state
government and Dharamarth Trust. The Yatra and Yatris were largely
assisted by the local people of the region, who are Muslims. Apart from
the obvious gesture of religious harmony, the Amarnath Yatra is also
economically important for the local people.<br />
On 26 May 2008, the
Congress-led coalition government of Jammu and Kashmir decided to
transfer 100 acres of forestland to the 'Shri Amarnath Shrine Board' to
set up temporary shelters and facilities for the pilgrims. The
government decision snowballed into a huge public outcry in the Kashmir
valley. During protests, six people were killed and 100 injured in
police firing at Srinagar. The coalition partner PDP pulled out its
support and the government was reduced to a minority. Keeping in mind
the coming state election and under pressure from different quarters,
the government revoked the order on 1 July. Immediately, violent counter
protests sparked off in the Jammu region spearheaded by 'Shri Amarnath
Yatra Sangharsh Samiti', a conglomeration of several Hindu chauvinist
groups but with a large mass support. Here also at least three people
were killed by police firing. Questions are raised by the 'Samiti',
which was formed around the Hindu sentiment, that if the decision to
transfer the land was revoked after the protests in the Kashmir region,
why not it is further restored after the more aggressive Jammu counter
protests? On 7 July, Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad resigned after
losing the trust vote in the state assembly and Governor's rule was
imposed in the state.<br />
In this political chaos, the role of the PDP
(Jammu and Kashmir People's Democratic Party) was the most to condemn.
The decision to transfer the forestland to the Shri Amarnath Shrine
Board was a unanimous cabinet decision cleared by the state forest
ministry and the deputy chief minister, both top notches from the PDP
leadership. PDP president Mehbooba Mufti's remark that she came to know
about the decision only from newspaper reports were a full-size lie. The
fact is that the PDP leadership could not foresee the huge public
protests following the order and when the situation turned worst did a
volte-face to safeguard its political ambitions in the coming election.
After the government revoked the land transform order, PDP started
demanding a credit for it. This is a clear example of the politics of
opportunism being played by political parties jeopardizing the life of
the ordinary people of Jammu and Kashmir.<br />
<b>The aftermath</b><br />
The
present turmoil has clearly shattered the myth of Jammu and Kashmir as a
single entity. The deep-rooted religious and social divide prevailing
in the region is entirely exposed now as a 'Jammu versus Kashmir'
dispute. In the Jammu region, the Muslims are a minority compared to
Kashmir where the Muslims are the majority. Therefore, while protesters
in Jammu enforced an economic blockade of the Kashmir Valley by stopping
traffic on the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway, on 11 August separatist
leaders of the Kashmir region instigated a march to Muzaffarabad (the
capital of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir referred as PoK) bypassing Jammu.
The intention was to explore new trading options by crossing the Line of
Control, the temporary border dividing Kashmir between India and
Pakistan. The march violated the imposed curfew, clashed with the
security forces leading to ten more deaths including All Parties
Hurriyat Conference (APHC) leader Sheikh Abdul Aziz. The polarization in
the state became absolute and there is no space of suppleness visible
from either side now.<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16509609274883223428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3051052440898338207.post-14869140394681023812012-11-02T18:35:00.002-07:002012-11-02T18:35:53.706-07:00Shahid Ali Khan - Pakistan Hockey Goalkeeper<div id="article-content">
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Shahid Ali khan ( Born: December 16, 1964 ) is a retired field
hockey goalkeeper from Pakistan, who later became the Pakistan's goal
keeping coach. Shahid Ali khan represented Pakistan for about twelve
years from 1981 to 1993. From 1986 to 1989 he was dropped from the side
because of his poor form. He made his comeback because of his absolute
firmness of courage and was able to succeed Mansoor who was the number
one custodian in the year 1990. His great match temperament helped him
once again to become the goal keeper for the Pakistan Hockey team. His
memorable performance of stopping a Dutch penalty stroke in 1982 world
cup semifinals at his age of 17 that too in his second international
match was commendable.<br />
During
Shahid Ali Khan's days because of the fast and true synthetic surf,
attempts and attacks on the goal was more. Shahid Ali Khan (Weight 60kg,
Height 5.7) played about 135 matches and he was considered as one of
the best goalkeepers of field hockey. He was one of the players of
Pakistan Hockey team that won the gold medal in the 1984 Olympics in Los
Angeles California. He was also responsible for winning a bronze medal
in Barcelona, Spain in the year 1982 when he was just 18 years old.<br />
In
earlier days Pakistan goal keeping was considered as the weakest, there
was no technical perfection and their performance was purely based on
their courage and bravery. Shahid Ali Khan was one of those technically
perfect goal keepers like Mansoor Ahmed and Saleem Sherwani. Shahid Ali
Khan became a prominent hockey goal keeper when Indian Junior hockey
team visited Pakistan in Feb 1982. He has won many gold medals in
various competitions. He has seven silver medals and three bronze medals
to his credit and he was rated as the goal keeper of highest class.
Some of his shows have helped Pakistan in winning vital matches in the
International competitions. Recognizing his outstanding performance he
was awarded the Presidents' pride of Performance medal in the year 1993.<br />
The
concept of a goalkeeper coach in field hockey has been the trend these
days because it is more important to provide expert guidance to the goal
keeper to improve technical performance. He has been the goal keeper
coach for Pakistan because goal keepers play a very important role. He
insisted the goal keeper to come forward and attack during penalty
corners unlike the European method of staying back. He is a strong
believer of home coaches than foreign coaches for the Pakistan hockey
team. He felt that the foreign coaches will find it difficult in local
conditions and communication will become a major problem.<br />
Pakistan's
goal keeper coach Shahid Ali Khan successfully turned Khairul Nizam the
Pakistan goalkeeper who was not moving between the posts and changed
him to a more flexible and reliable goalkeeper. When he was appointed as
Malaysia hockey team's goalkeeper coach he improved Malaysia goalkeeper
Kumar's performance. Kumar and Shahid Ali Khan had a wonderful
understanding which is incomparable. Kumar's willingness to work hard
and Shahid Ali Khan's dedication made the pair very successful.<br />
</div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16509609274883223428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3051052440898338207.post-36595314158324894222012-11-02T18:34:00.000-07:002012-11-02T18:34:02.923-07:00Shahid Afridi, a Hero for Cricket Fans<div style="text-align: left;">
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Shahid khan Afridi, a great hero of Pakistani cricket team, was
born on 1st March in the year 1980 in Khyber Agency, the area of (FATA)
Federally Administrated Tribal Areas. Shahid Afridi passed his childhood
days in Karachi and played cricket for the street teams. This attacker
of the ball, was brought forward by Imran Khan in a match against Kenya,
at Nairobi on October 2nd 1996. He played the first world cup of his
life in 1996. However, he made his test career debut two years later in
the match against Australia in Karachi.<br />
One
of the greatest records, due to which Shahid Afridi is well known
amongst cricket fans, is that he has the record of making fastest one
day international century in just 37 balls. A reason why Shahid Afridi
is famous, especially among Pakistanis is that he has hit the maximum
number of sixes in one day international matches. Afridi's career, at
the beginning, was cool and calm, but as he gained experienced, he was
given many responsibilities, and he proved himself as a good leg spin
bowler.<br />
Afridi commonly known as boom boom, was given this name by
India commentator Ravi Shastri, when he made the record of third
fastest century against India. Shahid Afridi is a player for the format
of limited players as he can not resist for too long. His debut in T20
cricket was against England in 2006. He was the key player in T20 world
cup 2009, which was won by Pakistan. Shahid Afridi had been handed
captaincy recently, after the resignation of Younis Khan, when Pakistan
won the world cup of T20 under his captaincy. Shahid Afridi is currently
the captain of Pakistan cricket team in 20 overs cricket, as well as 50
overs.<br />
There is a number of questions related to Afridi's married
life, but it is for sure that, Sahibzada Shahid Khan Afridi has married
a girl name Nadia, and he has two daughters. His marriage year is a
question mark for all his fans.<br />
Shahid Afridi is trying to lead
Pakistan cricket team towards success, and for this purpose, he is
working hard day and night to finish the controversies Pakistan cricket
team and board is facing. He is the hero, and ideal for many cricket
fans. Shahid Khan Afridi has been made the captain of Pakistan cricket
team, in the upcoming world cup 2011. The career of boom boom Afridi is
at its end.</div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16509609274883223428noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3051052440898338207.post-85026511871089594342012-11-02T18:29:00.001-07:002012-11-02T18:29:26.383-07:00Shahid Kapur: A Destiny's Child or Not?<div id="article-content" style="text-align: justify;">
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://i.ytimg.com/vi/4hWHv8hZpaM/0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://i.ytimg.com/vi/4hWHv8hZpaM/0.jpg" width="200" /></a> "I guess, I am destiny's child. Tell you why. A friend of mine
was going for an audition and I'd dropped in there. One of the
assistants there insisted that I too should queue up. I did it just for a
lark. Two days later, I learnt that I was shooting with Shah Rukh Khan,
Rani Mukherjee and Kajol for the Pepsi ad." Any guesses who could be
this destiny's child? It's Shahid Kapoor also known as Sasha, especially
the ones who think he's cute. From wooing the teenage girls in his
chocolate boy romances like 'Ishq Vishq' and 'Vivah' to sweeping the
critics off their feet in 'Kaminey', Shahid has undoubtedly come a long
way. Speaking of his films, the highly lauded "Jab We Met" deserves a
special mention. Experts believe that the blockbuster movie in which he
starred with his then-girlfriend Kareena Kapoor proved to be the turning
point in his career.</div>
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As
a child, Shahid acted with Ayesha Takia in the Complan ad "I'm a
Complan boy". His next notable ad was the Pepsi super starrer ad
featuring Shahrukh, Rani and Kajol. Thereafter, he was seen in music
videos and commercials. Does the song 'Aankhon Mein Tera hi Chehra' by
'Aryans' featuring Hrishita Bhatt and Shahid Kapur ring a bell?</div>
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His
parents, mother Neelima Azeez and father Pankaj Kapoor, are actors.
Well, Neelima is still remembered as Shehnaz from the 1980s Doordarshan
serial Phir Wohi Talash where as Pankaj Kapur is a 3 times national
award winner and is known for his roles in Office Office, Maqbool and
Karamchand Jasoos.</div>
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Though his parents divorced when he was only
three, Shahid maintains that the news of his parents' separation did not
affect him much, owing to the love and affection he received from his
maternal grandparents, "Thanks to the care and concern of my
grandparents, I was never so affected by my parents separation. My mum
and I lived with them in Delhi's Press Enclave (Saket). My nana Anwar
Azim, was the editor of Sputnik brought out by Urdu Blitz", Shahid had
said in an interview with Zeenews in 2008.</div>
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Industry insiders say
that Shahid Kapoor loves to maintain a low-profile, has a boring life
and is shy. It was an enamoured Kareena Kapoor who 'pursued' the shy
Shahid! It's been also said that Shahid doesn't mind the numerous
link-ups with his co-actresses and good-looking celebrities. He has been
linked up with Priyanka Chopra, Vidya Balan and Sania Mirza.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Recently
Shahid was in the news for flying an F16 in Bangalore on Feb 12 at the
Aero India 2011 for his movie 'Mausam' which is being directed by his
dad Pankaj Kapur. He flew in the Lockheed Martin F-16 fighter aircraft
as a copilot with Paul 'Bear' Wendell up to 6G speed, did a loop and
also had a mock drill with F16. 'Mausam' where Shahid is playing a
fighter pilot is touted to be one of the biggest romantic movies in 2011
and judging by the posters of the movie it appears that the movie is
set in a different era. With "Jab We Met" considered as Shahid's best
romantic performance till date, I wonder whether his role in Mausam can
surpass his fondly remembered role as Aditya Kashyap.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16509609274883223428noreply@blogger.com0