Jan 5: Israel’s Capital

The World Should Recognise Jerusalem As Israel’s Capital

Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel has sparked outrage around the world. The Palestinian ambassador to London claims Trump’s move amounts to ‘declaring war on 1.5 billion Muslims’, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has warned that the US could ‘plunge the region and the world into a fire with no end in sight’.

But why all the fuss? According to many of Israel’s supporters, it’s no secret that Jerusalem has been the de facto capital of Israel since its creation. Jerusalem is home to Israel’s Parliament and Supreme Court. It’s where both the Israeli Prime Minister and the President reside. But more than that, Jerusalem has been the spiritual and cultural capital of the Jewish people for thousands of years. Sure, there might be some disputes over a few neighbourhoods and holy sites. But every other country across the globe has the right to choose their own capital. Why not the world’s only Jewish state?

Others warn, however, that symbolic recognition of Jerusalem would be a mortal blow for the currently frozen Israeli-Palestinian peace process. According to the 1993 Oslo Accords, the final status of Jerusalem is meant to be discussed in the latter stages of peace talks — so Trump’s move stalls further progress and rules out US involvement in any future deal. And let’s not forget that East Jerusalem has been occupied by Israel for over fifty years, giving Israel dominion over hundreds of thousands of Palestinian residents and some of the most fiercely contested holy sites in the world. Why should the world recognise Israel’s sovereignty over land that doesn’t belong to it? The Palestinians insist that any two-state peace agreement must also include East Jerusalem as their own capital. So not only would it be a bad move for peace and stability — recognising Jerusalem as Israel’s capital would be a denial of the fundamental right of the Palestinian people to their own homeland.

Sunday survey 26 Jan

Sunday Surveys- 26 Jan 2020

Deadly virus accelerating, warns Chinese president.

A deadly virus spreads in China overwhelming hospitals,the government is urged to make physical health a priority.

US airline fined for discriminating against Pakistani couple.

American airline fined $50 000 for two discriminating incidents against Muslim passengers, but the airline disagrees.

Marriyum raps PTI for resorting to cheap ways.

Marriyum says PMLN wont respond to the cheap ways of PTI to target its opponents and that Imran Khan and his team are corrupt.

Two boys get their fathers booked for getting their heads shaved.

Two boys registered a case on their fathers for shaving their heads as a punishment but the police remains inactive.

Call to evolve strategy to thwart world economic crisis

Conference participants want counter strategy to thwart economic crisis arising in the islamic world and Pakistan.

Jan 4: Who's Counting

Who's Counting? Marilyn Waring on Sex, Lies and Global Economics

In this feature-length documentary, Marilyn Waring demystifies the language of economics by defining it as a value system in which all goods and activities are related only to their monetary value. As a result, unpaid work (usually performed by women) is unrecognized while activities that may be environmentally and socially detrimental are deemed productive. Waring maps out an alternative vision based on the idea of time as the new currency.

Waring’s book If Women Counted, uses as its springboard Waring’s consideration of unpaid female labor throughout the world, which is officially discounted as being “unproductive” because it generates no capital gain, no “growth” to the economy. Waring’s argument, however, is holistic rather than gender-partisan, surveying a wide range of matters, including the “productivity” that wars generate, through the prism of the dismissal of the value of women’s work at home. This official view, Waring and Nash contend, is nuts. Who’s Counting? The question holds a double meaning, referring to who fixes value, according to what set of priorities, and to who and what in this scheme is being “counted” as having value or not.

     Nash, who has also edited, interweaves two strands of material, one following Waring’s argument about global economics, and the other providing information about Waring herself as a single fabric, since Waring’s sensitive experience of the world informs her views.     

Waring and, through her, Nash address the “invisibility of women’s work,” which goes unpaid and is officially “of little or no importance,” referring to postwar rules that the international economic system imposes on all countries through the U.N. Any country that does not “conform to these rules of economic measurement” cannot belong to the U.N. Waring summarizes: “This system cannot respond to values it refuses to recognize. It is the cause of massive poverty, illness and the death of millions of women and children, and it is encouraging environmental disaster. This is an economic system that can eventually kill us all.”

     Waring also takes up “the international trade in arms,” which she describes as “the biggest growth industry of all.”

     

     Nash concludes by showing Waring as a warm-hearted farmer among her goats—a scene that connects with the love of animals that infuses the earlier passage and completes the opening of the film.

Jan 3: Activist Greta

“We Are Striking to Disrupt the System”: An Hour with 16-Year-Old Climate Activist Greta Thunberg

In her first extended broadcast interview in the United States, we spend the hour with Greta Thunberg, the 16-year-old Swedish climate activist who has inspired millions across the globe. Last year she launched a school strike for the climate, skipping school every Friday to stand in front of the Swedish parliament, demanding action to prevent catastrophic climate change. Her protest spread, quickly going global. Hundreds of thousands of schoolchildren around the globe have participated in their own local school strikes for the climate. Since her strike began in 2018, Greta has become a leading figure in the climate justice movement. She has joined protests across Europe. She has addressed world leaders at the U.N. climate talks in Poland and the European Union Parliament. She has even met the pope. And now she is in New York to join a global climate strike on September 20 and address the U.N. Climate Action Summit on September 23. Greta has refused to fly for years because of emissions, so she arrived here after a two-week transatlantic voyage aboard a zero-emissions racing yacht. She is also planning to attend the U.N. climate summit in Santiago, Chile, in December.

 Greta’s message to the young people of the world was of the existential crisis,the climate and ecological crisis, and its massive impact on our lives in the future, but also now, especially in vulnerable communities. And  that we should wake up and we need to hold the people in power accountable for what they have been doing to us and future generations and other living species on Earth. And we need to get angry and understand what is at stake.

Sunday Surveys

Sunday Surveys -19 Jan 2020

5000 prisoners across country suffer from fatal diseases, IHC told.

Jails are over crowded and inmates suffer from disease, justice Minallah remarks that government should take care of them. 

Dolphin man shoots shopkeeper taking him for robber.

An innocent trader was shot and injured during an anti robbery operation, but the police hasn't taken any action against the dolphin team yet.

Supply of wheat, flour to KP allowed.

The Punjab government eased restriction on the supply of wheat and flour to KP, and the KP province assures to cooperate.

US diplomat Alice Wells due today.
Ms. Wells reaches here on a short trip to talk about bilateral and regional issues.

GB residents warned of snow avalanches.
GB authorities warn about landslides and snow avalanches, giving ration and assistance to the affected families.

Brian Tracy productivity

(100 words) Brian Tracy's first, second & third ideas for improving one's productivity...

First, make a decision. Positive change is an outcome of making the correct choice, whether you like it or not. Decisiveness is essential and perfected through practice until it becomes a habit. For this discipline is required. Make a decision today as it will determine the future that lies ahead. 

Secondly, develop clear goals and objectives. Clarity is essential or else frustration builds up. Decide what you want exactly and do what needs to be done to achieve it. But before receiving, first give. Write down specific goals on paper. Set deadlines to encourage/ motivate. Work towards it. Follow a goal setting formula. Prioritize then take small steps every single day towards your goal.

Thirdly, plan every day in advance. Practice 6P formula. Writing goals sharpens your thinking, solidifies plan and saves time. Have a master list then break it down into daily goals. Write it down beforehand. Cross off as you go as it motivates and increases productivity. 

Jan 2: Dan Roam

Dan Roam: "Show and Tell" | Talks at Google

In this presentation Dan Roam starts off by introducing his book Show and Tell. He gives the audience a story about public speaking involving 3 celebrities Micheal Bay, John Trivolta, Adele and a businessman Warren Buffe. The similarity between the 3 celebrities is that they are not skilled at presentations and public speaking, in spite of being the pioneers of the entertainment industry. However Warren Buffe is very good at it. Warren did it by practicing and overcoming his fear. Dan went on to show that 74% of American said they would rather die than give a speech. This is all due to fear.

He tells the audience that fear can be used constructively and in one’s favor. He lays down 3 rules:1. Tell the truth (Lead with the truth and the heart will follow) .2. Tell it with a story (Lead with a story and an understanding will follow). 3. Tell the story with pictures (Lead with the eye and the mind will follow).

If one follows these rules they can make any presentation amazing. Rule no 1 explains that there is no faster way to establish trust with our audience than to tell the truth. There are 3 kinds of truth: facts, what’s in your head, and what’s in your heart.

Rule no 2 states stories are the way we tame confusion. What a story does is that it takes a complexity and makes it into a line. There is a beginning, an end and something in between.

Jan 1: 110 Techniques of Communication

 110 Techniques of Communication

 David JP Phillips has spent 7 years studying 5000 speakers, amateurs and professionals in order for the first time in history to detail every single skill a communicator from stage or in a presentation uses in order to deliver their message. 

David JP Phillips starts off by welcoming the audience. He speaks about his journey which included analyzing 5,000 public speakers from all over the world to understand the qualities of an accomplished speaker. 

This resulted in finding 110 core skills of communication and public speaking. The more of the skills one fulfills the better a public speaker they are. He picked a few he wanted to show the audience. He goes on to demonstrate them. Namely, vertical movement, horizontal movement, empowering head angle, volume decrease, tempo decrease and effect pause. 

He stated that communication skills are not a talent; they are learned and acquired through life. David emphasizes on body language, how an open body language increases the effectiveness of speech delivery. He demonstrates gestures and how equally important they are along with verbal communication. How slow pace makes listeners more intrigued and attentive, rather than a high pace. Next he demonstrated the importance of pauses during speaking. How silence is better than an ‘uuhhhh’. He finally displays the ‘ducain smile’ (Smiling with the whole face) and finishes the speech off with a combination of few of the core skills.

Sunday Surveys.

Sunday Newspaper Surveying 12 Jan 2020.

DUBAI AIRPORT FLIGHTS DELAYED DUE TO HEAVY RAIN.

Due to heavy rainfall several flights delayed in the busiest airport of Dubai.

WWII BOMBS PROMPT DORTMUND MASS EVACUATION.

Around 13000 people evacuated on Sunday in German city, confirming the existence of bombs.

OMAN'S SULTAN QABOOS PASSES AWAY, SUCCESSOR VOWS TO PURSUE PEACE.

Haitham bin Tariq al-Said became the new leader of Oman after his cousin passed away on Friday 10 Jan 2020. 

TWO KILLED IN NOWSHERA ROAD ACCIDENT.

Collision with a tractor killed two people riding on the motorcycle and injuring one severely.

SNOWFALL, RAIN HIT HIGHWAY TRAFFIC

Heavy snowfall on Saturday morning in Quetta suspended traffic between highway and the provincial capital.

My Experience learning English.

MY EXPERIENCE LEARNING ENGLISH.

I came into contact with English for the first time back when I was in Dubai, UAE (my home country). Every school begins from home as parents are always our first ever teachers. My mother, being a very bright and intelligent individual, was the first one who familiarised me with English. She has a great command over English language thus remains to be my very first and best teacher ever!
Dubai was where my first official schooling took place. There i started learning my alphabets. I was known as a bright student. However my class teacher was very strict and a lttle mean, hence as a small child i was intimidated by her.

However, soon we decided to move to England, UK. This was a place where I was able to really enhance my English skills, and then could actually practice it with the local British people. I also acquired my basic education from England. All my teachers were qualified from Britain, therefore I had the opportunity to write, read, learn and speak proper English with the correct British pronunciation.
We interacted every single day in English. My teachers here were the best! They were very warm, welcoming and wonderful teachers. They focused on each child individually.

However, once again life took its turn and brought me to Pakistan. Here I completed my O levels and A levels. English language skills here range from person to person. Not everyone has a very good command in English as its not their native language and the initial school learning is a bit weak. However, in my case I was lucky to have very dedicated teachers. They weren't as strong as my British teachers but tried their best, which I loved about them.

Therefore, my journey learning English still continues. I have been studying it for 20 years so far and am currently learning it again in my university. My current teacher's fluent and speaks good English but gives us tons of assignments! I really hope he lightens the load as English is my favourite subject and I enjoy its classes.

The only thing I miss the most in my journey is the strong british accent I once had. Over the time I had to speak more slowly and clearly so people in Pakistan could actually understand me and not just admire my accent. Though I realised that it is more important that people actually understand what you are trying to say.