Media Officer Job in Islamabad

A Diplomatic Mission in Islamabad is seeking a qualified person to fill the position of "Media Officer"
for its office in Islamabad. The following minimum qualifications and experience are required:
Education: University degree (16 years of education) in English, journalism, Mass Communication,
Political Science, International relations or defense and strategic Studies.
Experience: Minimum 3 years of working  experience is required.
Contact: Interested candidates can submit dully-filled/completed DS-174 (which are accecssible on the website) to the following GPO mailing address and should clearly mark the position title they are applying for on the envelop.
Address: Human Resource Office, U.S Embassy, Islamabad Postbox 1048, GPO, Islamabad
Email: HROIslamabad@state.gov for detailed position description and posting please visit
http://islamabad.usembassey.gov/employment_opportunities.html
Apply Before: 8th November,2011

QAU opens School of Politics and International Relations

Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU) has inaugurated its new School of Politics and International Relations (SPIR).  Director General Strategic Plans Division, (SPD) Lieutenant General Khalid Ahmed Kidwai (r) inaugurated the new building of SPIR. Addressing the inauguration ceremony QAU Vice Chancellor Dr Masoom Yasinzai praised the SPD for its contribution and assistance in fully furnishing and equipping the building of SPIR and bringing the school to its present shape.


The VC said that at present Pakistan was facing a huge challenge regionally and globally in the context of its image. “The focus of the school is to promote Pakistan’s perspective on crucial issues facing the country in foreign policy domain as well as at the national and regional level,” he said.

Earthquake Of 7.2 Hits Turkey causing Death & Damage

CNN reports that a 7.2 earthquake has struck Eastern Turkey, making it the most powerful earthquake to hit the country in ten years. The quake was felt in the provinces of Diyarbakir, Erzurum, Siirt, Mus and Agri, according to Bloomberg News.

'We're Not a Costume': Student Campaign Targets 'Racist' Halloween Costumes

A worthy initiative and a commendable effort, yes it is students again who have taken it up. Read on!

Courtesy of Students Teaching Against Racism

ERIN SKARDA, Time

You may be able to hide behind a mask this Halloween, but what if that mask is an offensive representation of someone else's culture?

A student group at Ohio University has started a campaign asking people to think twice before choosing Halloween costumes that openly project cultural stereotypes — from wearing blackface to dressing as Native Americans or "terrorist" Muslims.

The group, Students Teaching About Racism in Society (STARS), has only 10 people, but that hasn't stopped their small movement from going viral. The students have created a collection of five posters that show students of different ethnicities holding pictures of an offending costume. Above, the slogan simply declares, "We're a Culture, Not Costume. This Is Not Who I Am, And This Is Not Okay."

"We wanted to highlight these offensive costumes because we've all seen them," STARS president Sarah Williams told ABC News. "We just wanted to say, 'Hey, this is not cool. This is offensive and this shouldn't be taken lightly.' It's offending a culture and people should be aware."

This awareness is spreading fast across social networks and blogs — but not everyone is a fan. While the group has had its fair share of support, it's also sparked chatter that they're being overly sensitive — you know, about the fact that their cultural identities are being turned into caricatures.

On Williams' Tumblr blog, she notes, "I am so overwhelmed from the responses from the posters," yet she had to remove comments from her page due to the vast amount of responses — many of them negative.

While we understand that Halloween is supposed to be about fun, after looking at these posters, it's impossible to argue that the value of these costumes outweighs their insulting message. And you know who agrees? Dogs and robots. They just want some respect, too.

Female Staff required in Rawalpindi Based Medical Laboratory

Experienced female staff is required  in a medical laboratory for the following positions

• Outdoor Marketing
• Computer Operator for Telemarketing

Contact: Please send your resumes at House no. 13-B, 1-A, Block B, 4th B road, Satellite Town,
                Rawalpindi.
Phone: 0334-5854822

Snake Bites Student During P.E. Class

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. : A high school student was bitten by a snake during an outdoor physical education class at Huffman High School in Birmingham. The snake is reportedly believed to be nonpoisonous.

Earthquake In Turkey Hits Close To Home For Turkish Student

As a student about to sit her GCE exams in a week's time, I still remember vividly what happened on that fateful day six years ago. October 8 2005 remains entrenched in my mind and the minds of thousands of other students belonging to Pakistan. No one can relate to you better and at this time of distress we, the students of Pakistan, stand by you!

Despite the rescues, the death toll from the Sunday's earthquake in Turkey continues to climb.

Nearly 400 bodies have been pulled from the rubble, with hundreds more missing. The quake hit close to home for one student here in mid-Michigan who survived another earthquake in 1999.

When Baburhan Uzum was a senior in high school he woke up one night to a scary scene.

"Like a cradle, the whole room was shaking. And all my books are falling down," said Uzum.

While he and his family were ok, several of his friends' parents were killed.

When he woke up this past Sunday morning to news about the earthquake, he immediately set into a moment of panic, thinking of the losses he experienced after the 1999 earthquake.

"All those flashbacks, I was thinking about all those days again. How many people? What is the magnitude? How big is this thing? ... and immediately I tried to call my family because I didn't have the facts yet. Where did it happen, and one thing that breaks down immediately is the phone lines and I couldn't get ahold of them," said Uzum.

Fortunately this time around all his friends are family are safe after happening to be in the right place at the right time.

"People are only expecting to hear bad news, but there are miracles happening," said Uzum, "Today I read the news of a 14-day old baby recovered with his mom. So we're just praying for those now to happen."

While he's thousands of miles away from the destruction, Baburhan's keeping a close watch on the part of the world where his heart belongs.

About 1,300 people were injured in the quake. At least nine people were rescued Tuesday. Strong aftershocks continue to rattle the area. -6 News

Turkey Earthquake: Student Rescued

Turkey: After staying buried under the rubble of an apartment building for almost 3 days , an 18-year old student has been rescued alive.

Half of Malta's 12-year-olds freely access Internet from their bedrooms

Half of the 12-year-olds in Malta can freely access the Internet from their bedroom, while another quarter have cable TV in their sleeping area, according to fresh research. Traditional media barely features in the lives of 12-to-15-year-olds.

The ability to surf the net from the privacy of their bedroom rises with age to 62 per cent for 13-year-olds and 63 per cent for 14-year-olds.
These figures emerge from the preliminary nationwide research of Velislava Hillman as part of her postgraduate work.
The study took a sample of 744 youngsters aged 12 to 15, with a small percentage of 16-year-olds, with a proportionate representation of students in state, Church and private schools.
Research abroad has shown the time young people spend with new media technologies is equivalent to a full-time job, and this is reflected in Malta, where children as young as 12 own a mobile phone (96 per cent), an iPod or MP3 player (73 per cent), a smartphone (43 per cent), and video games (43 per cent).
Children aged 12-16 spend between two to 13 hours with some form of media on a typical day and none of this media use is in any way related to schools projects or homework.
The study revealed a correlation between how students scored in school and their level of media use. Heavy media users (three hours and more in a day) are more likely to perform poorly and get grades of 50 per cent and less, when compared with moderate (30 minutes to one hour) and light (up to 30 minutes) users.
A similar correlation exists between media use and the level of youngsters' personal contentment. Heavy users said they were often bored (45 per cent compared with 23 cent of light users), got into trouble a lot (49 per cent compared with 22 per cent), and were often sad or unhappy (43 per cent compared with 25 per cent).
Light users tended to have more friends (37 per cent compared with 28 per cent of heavy users), get along with their parents (43 per cent compared with 27 per cent) and are happy at school (40 per cent as opposed to 26 per cent)
Multitasking – reading, while listening to music and browsing the internet – has also become a way of life for youngsters, and the older they are, the more they indulge in this habit. Those aged 12-14 are equally split, but 15- to 16-year-olds are predominantly multi-taskers – 52 per cent and 75 per cent respectively.
Ms Hillman believes gaining knowledge about media use and exposure plays a vital role in the effort to build and maintain a healthy environment for young people.
"We cannot isolate children from media because it's such an integral part of our lives. What we all need to focus on is striking the eternal balances," she said.

Times of Matla

The "DREAMS" That Were Not Fulfilled Made Me Wiser

As I spent a year looking back, it became clear to me that the things that I thought I wanted that did not happen and the "dreams" that were not fulfilled made me wiser and pointed me in the direction of my true calling. I looked at my longings and they became guideposts to go inside myself and find inner wealth and strength. I recognized how there was a master plan for my life, and that in fulfilling that plan I was not alone -- and none of us are ever alone.

Agapi  Stassinopoulos /  Author and motivational speaker

FEW BITS FROM HISTORY

Nancy Astor: "Sir, if you were my husband, I would give you poison."


Churchill: "If I were your husband I would take it."

GPS shoes for Alzheimer’s patients to hit US

WASHINGTON: The first shoes with built-in GPS devices — to help track down dementia-suffering seniors who wander off and get lost — are set to hit the US market this month, the manufacturer says
GTX Corp said the first batch of 3,000 pairs of shoes has been shipped to the footwear firm Aetrex Worldwide, two years after plans were announced to develop the product.
The shoes will sell at around $300 a pair and buyers will be able to set up a monitoring service to locate “wandering” seniors suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease.
Andrew Carle, a professor at George Mason University’s College of Health and Human Services who was an adviser on the project, said the shoes are likely to save lives and avoid embarrassing and costly incidents with the elderly
Carle said studies indicate more than five million Americans suffer from Alzheimer’s, a number expected to quadruple in the coming years. He said 60 per cent of sufferers will wander and become lost and up to half of those lost who are not found within 24 hours may die, from dehydration, exposure or injury
Provided this the makers say the market for such shoes is growing, given the soaring costs of Alzheimer.

Polio cases linked to heat-affected vaccines

KARACHI, Oct 24: Health authorities in Sindh have expressed doubts about the efficacy of polio vaccines provided by the World Health Organisation for use during immunisation campaigns against the dreaded disease, which has affected 27 children in Sindh so far this year, it emerged on Monday
Reports say that the OPV with a late stage VVM (indicating that a vaccine has been exposed to heat for long) have also been used during campaigns due to inconsistent cold chains, low-level education of workers or for other reasons
According to experts, each vial of OPV has a VVM having four stages that indicate if the vaccine has been exposed to heat, which can make it ineffective. The VVM comes in stage one, which remains constant as long as the vaccine is not exposed to heat. With continued exposure to heat, the VVM moves to stages two, three and finally to stage four.
The health high-ups wanted that polio vaccines with VVM stage 2 should not be supplied to the towns and talukas as it might move to stage 3 or 4 when used.so the WHO had been asked to provide zero-VVM vaccines to prevent them to move to stage 3 or 4.
Experts maintained that there was a margin of safety built into the VVM so that even a late stage VVM might be potent, but the vaccine had had enough exposure to heat that it should be discarded because it was potentially weakened. Using a vaccine with a late-stage VVM is not harmful, but it might not offer immunity.
The provincial director for the expanded programme on immunisation, Dr Mazhar Khamesani, said the three-day campaign, which could not take off on Oct 24, would be launched on Oct 25. During the campaigns about 21,000 teams of vaccinators and volunteers would administered OPV to about 6.5 million children aged up to five years, he said, adding that parents of children aged from six months to five years should also ask the teams to give vitamin A doses to the children as well

Mohammad Amir denounced by Salman Butt's lawyer in spot-fixing trial

Bowler Mohammad Amir had been heavily involved in the fixing and possibly Mohammad Asif was also - though not Butt, Southwark crown court heard on Tuesday.

Ali Bajwa, the lawyer of former Pakistan Test captain Salman Butt, told a jury that  Mohammad Amir was no "naive and innocent teenager" but was probably involved in fixing events at cricket matches on his own, and without the involvement of his captain, Salman Butt. "This isn't some naive and wholly innocent 19-year-old," he said.

His allegation proofs, defending Butt against charges of cheating at gambling and accepting corrupt payments, included the texts that goes right back to 17 August. He said, "Amir sends a text to Pakistan saying: 'How much and what needs to be done?' Later he sends another saying: 'Yes, but what needs to be done?' Then he says: 'This is going to be too much mate.' His final text to the number is: 'So in first 3, bowl however you want, and in the last 2, do 8 runs?'"

Earlier Asif told the court he was pressured before the delivery because his captain had told him, "run faster f*****, have you slept". Bajwa labelled the excuse "ludicrous". 

The stone throwing seems to be the last moves from the alleged traitors. The trial continues.

STUDY - Sweet Foods Makes People Sweeter

Does having a sweet tooth make a person more agreeable and friendly?


New research suggests there could be a link between taste preferences and disposition.
Scientists in the United States found that a liking for sweeter foods is an indication that a person is more agreeable and helpful, but not extroverted or neurotic


In one of five studies involving more than 500 people researchers from Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania, St. Xavier University in Chicago and North Dakota State University showed that people who ate a piece of chocolate rather than a non-sweet food were more likely to volunteer and help another person in need.
In another study they found that people also associate having a sweet tooth with a pleasant disposition. The participants were shown photos of people with neutral facial expressions, but with comments under the pictures that would say, for example, that they liked eating chocolate.
“People rated those associated with sweet food higher in agreeableness,” Meiers, , a psychology professor at Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania said.
The research, which is published in the Journal of Personality Social Psychology, focused on sweetness and agreeability. The scientists said they could not comment on the other tastes such as bitterness or spiciness.

BEATLE MARRIES

Paul McCartney marries Nancy Shevell  an American heiress to a MOTOR-FREIGHT FORTUNE. This is the former BEATLE'S THIRD WEDDING.

OH, YOU POOR, DEAR !

In a 19 year study, the Scientists have concluded that older women taking MULTIVITAMINS AND SUPPLEMENTS are more likely to die than non-users. WHY? Supplements may deliver too much of a good thing since NUTRIENTS can be toxic at high doses.

VITAMIN E TRUTH !

Science now believes that

PROSTATE CANCER
Vitamin E users have a 17% higher risk of CANCER than those not taking vitamin E.

BREAST CANCER
Vitamin E users do not have lower risks of the disease.

SCIENCE SUPER

Scientists have found a tiny tooth which they have established to be 41 million years old. The tooth belongs to the oldest RODENT FOSSIL found in South America. Scientists think that this is the ancestor of the modern guinea pig and porcupine that hitched a ride from AFRICA on a RAFT made of VEGETATION. AMAZING !!!

THE GOOD VIRUS

US PREDATOR & REAPER DRONES hat have been raining hell in AFPAK and YEMEN are infected with a COMPUTER VIRUS that has hit both classified  and unclassified machines, records enemy key stroke of the pilot. Even though there have been no reports of STOLEN DATE or DRONE MISSION gone totally wrong the CIA stands deeply concerned. So far all attempts to WIPE the VIRUS have failed.

FACEBOOK FORTUNE

New design/timline of facebook profile

F8, Facebook developer Conference was held on Sep 22 to announce yet another redesign of its site alongwith new rules for sharing with friends. The network's new redesign aims to get you to provide more info which they can use to serve you ads - and to make more money. Previously info was disclosed by default  without any user interaction. But henceforth "TREKERS" and their "TIMELINES"  will have you consent to give info. What it practically means is getting users to pay for content with their data instead of with money. So it may be in the best interest of the STUDENTS to understand fully the new design and consent 

POWER DARKNESS

The power sector is broken. Make no misake about it ! Power Shorages have already STUNTED GDP growth by upto 3 %. And the energy shortfall is esimated up and beyond 6500 Mega watts. The critical problem is CIRCULAR DEBT. Every component of the "generation to Distribution to recovery" is at odds with each other and owe money to each other. From 2003-7 the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority estimated all tariff revision requests. Later, an incoherent governance structure failed and the operations turned dysfunctional. Pure NATIONALIZATION NOW is a nightmare. Demand Supply gaps are widening. Fresh capital will be hard to come by. And conservation proposals at this stage weak and silly. Fresh approaches and tough decisions are needed to recover or darkness will prevail.

Over Twelve Schools In Gujranwala likely to close

Over twelve government boys and girls primary schools in Bajwat-Sialkot are likely to be closed next year due to the unavailability of teachers and poor facilities.
 
According to a teacher at the Government Primary School for Girls, Misbah Hayat, she has been teaching over 36 students for three years without access to a class room or chairs. “The only other option was for me to quit as well. So many other teachers have quit already and the school would have been shut down so I stayed. I have been taking classes outside under a tree for years,” she said.

The Sialkot Education Department had appointed as many as 30 male and female educators teachers for Bajwat schools in 2010 but many of the teachers posted to work in remote areas and rural villages have asked for transfers or resigned from their posts. Punjab Teachers Union (PTU) Sialkot district office bearers have expressed grave concern over the situation.

Coutesy Express News

Libyan Students Face Possible Termination Of Education Program

19 Libyan students face possible cessation of educational programs at Michigan State University after Libyan officials announced closure of the Visiting International Professional Program at the university. Instead, the program is going to be consolidated at the American University owing to budget concerns. The students' scholarships were suspended earlier this year when nation-wide revolution took toll leading to tremendous violence and bloodshed.

No decision has been taken by the American University so far.

SPORTS SHAME

The trial of 3 Pakistani cricketers in UK has held the World attention. Prosecution lawyer Aftab Jaffarjee estimated the size of illegal betting industry at $ 40-50 billion. Agent Mazhar Majeed confessed that he also conspired with KAMRAN AKMAL, UMAR AKMAL, WAHAB RIAZ, IMRAN FARHAT, WASIM AKRAM, WAQAR YUNAS, MOIN KHAN, IJAZ AHMED. The trial and naming of these cricketers has hurt every fan and brought SHAME all around.

OH, BOY !

 In 2006 people sent 50 billion emails. In 2010 people sent 300 billion emails. The internet was officially born in 1982. Just in 1993 only 1 % of 2 way telecommunication went thru. By 2000, it registered 51 %. And now it is above 97 %.

JOIN NUST Entrepreneurship and Innovation Society

APPLY HERE

BBQ NIGHT IN SEECS

FACEBOOK PAGE


NCSC in its on going efforts to raise fund for the Noble Cause of helping lessen the sufferings of FLOOD AFFECTEES now brings
BBQ-NIGHT
A chance to shake off all the tensions,work loads and assignments and just enjoy a night out with your friends. A chance to come together and join hands with NCSC to help the FLOOD AFFECTEES. A chance to enjoy a good meal with zeal, zest and enthusiasm and at the same time a chance to play your role as for the betterment and well being of the less fortunate.
Just for one night forget your own tensions and problems and just try to feel the pain of those who have been, against their will,uprooted from their homes and separated from their families and friends due to the wrath of nature. Come and join NCSC in this noble cause. All you have to do is to come and enjoy a good meal and barbeque and thus help us raise fund for the AFFECTEES.

Venue: SEECS-Ground

Ticket Price: Rs 100(only the entrance fee)
Rs 250(Entrance + Barbeque Feast)


28th October 2011
Time: (1800-2100) hrs

IEEE : THE HUNT IS ON

REGISTER HERE

Are you ready to have some fun? Then come and join IEEE for an amazing experience, filled with some awesome thrills, adventure, mysteries and most importantly, battling against the ever-ticking clock, in The Scavenger Hunt 2011.
This competition is restricted for the participation of Batch 10 and 11 only. Registrations will start on Monday, 24th October. Only 25 teams can participate, so be the first ones to register! : )
Send in your team member’s names,roll numbers and a unique team name to: ieee.scavengerhunt@gmail.com

(do not forget to give a contact number) For queries,contact
Fahad Lodhi
0323-4357785

Death of QAU student: Driver sent to jail

NESCOM Hospital Director Wasim Iqbal, has been sent to jail on a 14-day remand. He was accused of allegedly hitting a QAU student Zaheer Ahmed Lakho near Bari Imam while driving a Suzuki Alto (RIA 2607) on Saturday.Zaheer was taken to Shifa International Hospital where he died of fatal injuries. QAU students handed over the suspect to Police before leaving for funeral prayers.


However,when they returned to the Secretariat police station to pursue the case the police had already released the suspect, allegedly after being influenced by some his relatives in the army and civil service. The QAU students in retaliation besieged the Secretariat police station for over 18 hours till the suspect was arrested on Sunday evening.

BISE IT Consultant fired over results fiasco

Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has fired Dr Majid Naeem, information technology consultant for Boards of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE) over the large number of errors in the intermediate results compiled.
Dr Umar Saif will replace Dr Majid on his seat and has been directed to correct all errors and produce authentic results within 45 days.

Winners:Second phase of the WWF – Pakistan’s Nation-wide Spellathon 2011.

Young Students from around 25 schools participated in the spelling Contest held at Dawood Public School, organised by WWF.
The theme this year was water hence the contest included questions regarding water pollution,water conservation and floods. The theme was in accordance with the crisis the country is currently facing and the was meant to enhance vocabulary, spelling skills of students along with creating awareness amongst these little angels.

Express Reports:

The winners of the first phase came from Beaconhouse School System, Foundation Public School, Army Public School, Dawood Public School, Haq Academy, Falcon House Grammar School, The Pinnacle School, DA Shaikh Ziauddin School, DA Neelum High School, Clifton School, Karachi Grammar School, Lahore Grammar School among others. They came to participate in the second phase.
Each student was given a spellathon pack to prepare for the event. Each pack contained carefully crafted, innovative and child friendly compendiums and stationery, designed by the WWF for grades one till nine. Each student was also given a test paper with word puzzles. They had to fill in the missing letters or arrange the letters properly to spell the words.
Kanza Memon, a student of Beaconhouse School System, was a little disappointed. “I did not know the spelling of zooplankton,” she said. “I spelt it ‘zooplanckton’ in the paper.”
She was afraid that her friends might have performed better because she did not give enough time to studying for the competition because of her tests and exams.

 

Safeguard partners with Design for Change Pakistan to lead one of the largest school challenges in the country

From P&G Pakistan Website

Safeguard, Procter & Gamble’s leading anti-bacterial soap is collaborating with Design for Change (DFC) in Pakistan to foster a new generation of hopeful Pakistanis who can be change-makers and future leaders of the country.

The global Design for Change School Challenge is the world’s largest movement for change initiated by children. As part of DFC, children use the simple 4-step process of ‘Feel, Imagine, Do, Share’ to design and implement solutions to the world’s greatest challenges. Pakistan, alongside 22 countries across the globe joined the challenge in 2010 for the first time, leading the largest school challenge that the world has ever seen, seeking to engage thousands of schools and children nationwide and around the world. Together Safeguard and DFC aim to reach at least 35000 children in 7000 Schools in Pakistan over the next three months. Children will in the first phase share their vision of how they intend to bring about a change in their community. As a second step, these children will organize a movement with the intention of realizing their vision.

Sharing her thoughts, Mubashara Khalid, Brand Manager, Safeguard Pakistan said, "Safeguard is committed to the long term prosperity of the country. Over the last 7 years, Safeguard has been running the Sehat – o – Safai school program, one of the largest private sector health and hygiene awareness programs in the country which has empowered over 7.5 million children in more than 20,000 Pakistani schools. By partnering with Design for Change we are aiming to furnish more opportunities to school children to solve critical problems surrounding our society, and hope to secure the next generation of thought leaders and role models.”

“Design for Change Pakistan is an extremely relevant movement for Pakistan and its children today.” said Nida Alavi, DFC Global Partner for Pakistan. "By engaging our young children to feel out a problem, imagine possible solutions, do what they can to make a difference and share their stories of change, Design for Change Pakistan is an emphatic step towards nurturing proactive, positive Pakistanis everywhere. In this spirit, our outreach is embracing a broad spectrum of schools including public and private, rural and urban as well as schools serving children with special needs. It is a mutual commitment to enabling children to make their childhoods and communities responsible and happier that has brought Safeguard and Design for Change Pakistan together in this very exciting collaboration.”

READ MORE ABOUT P&G, ABOUT DESIGN FOR CHANGE