"Out-Numbered?" No, my dear Rush, that's "Democracy!"

The man who claims to have talent on loan from God and who conducts his talk show with half his brain tied behind his back blames the Sandy and its aftermath squarely on Obama (even tho Rush is the one claiming half the talent from God) and calls the exit polls "BS". BTW, these exist polls are the true reflection of the reality on the ground in a democracy as opposed to those Gallup polls with samples chosen scientifically with "margin of error" disclaimer written all over them. :)

A must see reaction to US Elections results the morning after!

Fiscal Cliff?

What?! A "fiscal cliff"?  Okay... Here is what Thelma and Louise would say: "My dear House and Senate: Y'all jump first!!"

 

The "U-Haul" of AppCloud Where You Don't Haul Anything!

That's right!  You leave the hauling to the pros!  And the pros at Uhuru AppCloud certainly haul azz!

I always complained of how little time I have for the things to do on my plate day in and day out.  However, with Uhuru AppCloud, setting up services and apps is such a breeze that I was able to get my database services up and running in no time.  And a WordPress blog site setup in seconds to boot.

In addition to apps such as joomla,drupal and WordPress in a list of out-of-the-box apps that I expect to grow even more by the time they go commercial later this year, I gather, the services backbone is extremely solid with such messaging platforms as RabbitMq at your disposal.

The ease of use is so profound that I ignored all the "How To..." videos, which are great no doubt but - you guessed it -  for lack of time, and jumped right into hanging services from my newly created cloud.  The interface is extremely intuitive and clutter free.  The website itself is indicative of a cloud that scales and adapts to an enterprise's needs as they grow.

In the coming days and weeks, I look forward to spending more - or should I say "less" - time with hanging more and more apps and services in a variety of dimensions that this well designed hosting site makes available for us.

There are a few minor issues here and there (the app name sometimes clips in the setup pages - I used Chrome), and I expect these rough edges shall be smoothed out by the time they go commercial, but overall with Uhuru AppCloud, the sky certainly is the only limit!

Sandy

It was Sandy
It was windy
It was deadly
It was scary
As we rebuild
We have hope
We turn to our Lord
And beg His Mercy

http://news.yahoo.com/photos/sandy-from-above-slideshow/damaged-houses-covered-sand-aerial-view-hurricane-sandy-photo-190653445.html

O'er the Land of the Philly Cheese...

She'd probably not pass the TOEFL exam herself. But, she could probably ace the SAT and GRE Analytical Questions.  

I had extinguished any inspiration I had squeezed out of listening to Reagan's second inaugural address and decided that I shall stay after all. Especially since they set aside a permanent place on the shelf for my beloved Philly Cheese at the international grocery market in Jeddah. Great! I could get my Philadelphia Cream Cheese right here closer to home.  Problem solved!

My TOEFL confirmation card came in the mail and I looked at it for a spell and then dismissed it.

She picked it up and marked the date on the calendar.  And the night before the exam she reminded me to be on time for the 8 AM test at the Taj Mahal Hotel the next morning.  There was no point arguing with her, once she is convinced what she wanted from us.  She had a vision.  She could definitely ace the GRE and SAT Analytical Questions. Because one, she knew I could excel in TOEFL even without any preparation.  So, my excuse about not having studied up for it did not fly with her. And two, after giving it a good thought, she was convinced that she would support - and push for fulfilling - my dream of going to America - even though I had abandoned it since.  But once she is convinced, there was no point arguing with her.

Behind every successful man there is a woman.  And judging from how much my fellow Pakistanis regarded getting an American Student visa as a grand success, it was fair to look for one behind this success as well. Indeed, my success too wasn't without a woman behind it.  My late mother.  I thank our Lord for her and pray that He Showers His Mercy on her.  If it wasn't for her I wouldn't be where I am right now.  The opportunities that my children now have in excelling in this land of opportunities wouldn't be possible had I not listened to my Mummy (as she loved to be called).

I couldn't evade her nagging me all the way to the TOEFL exam centre.   But, I figured I could probably duck my way out of the visa interview appearance at the US Consulate several months later and that'll be the end of it.  I had just gotten back from the tour of Pakistan with my school and embarking on another journey was no where near my radar.  In fact I had switched off and unplugged myself and was ready for a month long sleeping extravaganza at home after the most tiring tour across the country.  But she was there to remind me again of my appointment at the US Consulate the following week.

You guessed it.  I had figured out a way to get out of this one too. I had resigned myself to failing the visa interview.  I mean, how difficult could it be to fail the interview?

The guy sitting - actually "pacing" is the right word to describe it - next to me in the waiting room was constantly reviewing answers from a cheat-sheet that he probably got from another successful interview.  I hadn't plugged myself in yet so my arithmetic was still a bit rusty: But I could have sworn that the guy could have circled the Earth at least once with the amount of pacing back and forth he did in that waiting room.

But I was resigned.  I didn't care.  I wanted to stay.  I could buy a tub of my favorite cheese right here at home.

The visa officer had other ideas though.  He was impressed with my papers.  My marks sheets, my casual, almost matter of fact, answers and more importantly the financial support documents that my Mum and Dad had lovingly attached  - duly notarized - to the application.  He jarred my arithmetic rustiness loose some more by asking me the exchange rate between the Saudi Riyal and the US Dollar.  And even though I purposefully rounded off the Saudi Riyal to the nearest high number, he was still impressed.

You guessed it again: I got the visa.  A mother's prayers seldom go un-answered, I was convinced of that right there and then.

I loved Philadelphia Cream Cheese as much as Wallace does Wensleydale.  But I didn't realize how much I associated it to the USA until the departure date came nearer.  I had made it a point to pick a new block of the Philly Cheese from the international super market in Jeddah before running out - it wasn't available in all the stores.  Just the big super markets carried it. So, the love affair with the Philly Cheese went way back.

I had decided that the first thing I am going to buy in the USA is a tub of Philly Cream Cheese. Although, the fact that I had to spend every loose change in my pocket upon arrival at the JFK to calling home is the topic of another blog.

The rest, as they say, is history.

Today, our fridge is filled with all kinds of different varieties of Philly Cream Cheese.  There is the full cream cheese, there is the 1/3 less fat, and then there is the fat free cream cheese.

I am thankful to God for bringing us to this great land.

Happy Birthday USA!

God Bless America!

Give Pakistan a Break!

Facts:
Pakistan did NOT create Osama Bin Laden. CIA did.
As for Osama and other Al-Qaeda operatives found in Pakistan: Well, most of the 9/11 hijackers got their training right here in the US of A.  Heck, INS even issued a visa to Mohammed Atta AFTER 9/11!  Pakistan's border with Afghanistan is porous and it is easy for people to cross it and once they are in Pakistan, they can get on a bus or a train and just about go anywhere inside Pakistan.  And if you have some connections and money for bribe, then even Osama can hide anywhere in Pakistan.

So, please get off the Pakistan case, will ya?

First "Droned", then Drowned! Who Shall Help the Flood Victims in Pakistan?

While the scope of the destruction caused by the floods in Pakistan is heart-wrenching, the relief efforts are even more frustrating.  The way the worst crisis in Pakistan was handled by the government, especially, our President, Mr. Zardari, you'd know that they are simply not competent to deal with the scale of the disaster.

I am afraid our leaders are politicizing this disaster and some are probably even drooling over the prospects of more riches as international aid arrives in a country where the corruption runs deeper than the rising water of the worst flood in its history.

Today, Mr. Zardari vowed to take the country out of this grave challenge, adding: “I know the losses suffered by growers because I am also a farmer.”

Just for the record, Mr. Zardari is NOT a farmer.  He is a wadera - a landlord who collects whatever the farmers harvest! While the real farmers are the ones who have lost their homes as well as their livelihoods, waderas like Mr. Zardari will resume their earnings the next season after the water recedes.  Historically, the waderas' job was simply to collect taxes from farmers on behalf of the government, a remnant of the colonial era.

And where is the international community?  It seems that we have become desensitized to natural disasters that have swept across the globe in recent times.

“This has been a heart-wrenching day for me,” UN Secretary General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, said after visiting the flood-hit areas in Punjab with President Asif Ali Zardari.

“I will never forget the destruction and suffering I have witnessed today. In the past I have witnessed many natural disasters around the world, but nothing like this.”

The world body has appealed for an initial $460 million to provide relief, but only 20 per cent has so far been promised.

The people of Pakistan have found themselves between rock and a hard place following the Afghanistan war  - with all the deadly drone attacks.  But what is ironic is that one of the first organizations to have pledged meals for the displaced victims is Jamaat-ud-Dawa - an organization that features on the UN terrorism blacklist.

When the international community is slow to respond to a calamity that is more devastating than the 2004 tsunami, the victims have every right to feel betrayed by both the government and the international community at large.

http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/pakistan/un+chief+pledges+to+speed+up+pakistan+aid