Earthquake Hits Taiwan

Yesterday, a 6.5 magnitude earthquake hit the southeast coast of Taiwan. This was based on the reports made by the U.S. Geological Survey. Initially, the earthquake was reported to have a magnitude of 6.9, but was then brought down to 6.5. The Taiwan earthquake caused buildings to sway for about 20 seconds but fortunately, there were no reported deaths nor damages. 

The earthquake struck Taiwan at exactly 10:59 in the morning (local GMT time). The specific location of the shaker is 195 miles or 295 kilometers from Tai-tung City, which is located at the southern portion of Taiwan. The earthquake’s depth is 6.2 miles or 10 kilometers. 

Taiwan is frequently hit by earthquakes (aside from typhoons that serve as regular visitors) although the shakers that pass by the small country often cause just minor or no damage at all. The most disastrous earthquake that struck Taiwan came during the year 1999. This was a 7.6 magnitude earthquake that hit central Taiwan and killed a total number of 2,300 people. Taiwan, along with the Philippines, sit on top of the Pacific Ring of Fire and because of this, seismic and volcanic activities are often experienced by the two neighboring countries.

STAPLES, WORKSHEETS…AND THE DREADED 15 MINUTES

“I want the presentation by the 14^th class along with the reports, the topics for the final will be decided then only”…alas! It is the time we wait for the most…or dread. Whichever it may be we know that sooner or later we have to face it…reports, finals and the presentations. I thought a lot before writing this down, assuming that a lot of people would be on the verge of a panic attack like I always am when exams come up and piles of paper start smacking my head in dreams that turn into nightmares filled with ink pots, stacks of notes, feverish revisions and the ever famous what- would- mom- say- if- I- didn’t- get- a- job (this one’s for our graduating students).

Well the scenario in SZABIST before the semester ends is not quite different from anywhere else. First we have our classic nerds who can’t wait for the exams to start so that they can test their amazing skills and see how the magic of their pen builds a relation with their Einsteinic mind, leaving us lower human life forms to crawl behind praying for the marks that might be left for us.

Next we have the still- not –finished- with –my- work types who want to study for the exams for unfortunately cannot as they are in too much debt, completing not only their work but of others around them too. You see these people running from the photo copier to the computer lab and back again, fighting with the canteen guy for not having stable coffee to keep them calm and repeatedly cursing the printers.

Lastly we have the never- have- and- never- wills. The coolest group of people who don’t let trivial matters like final exams that would either make or break their gpa affect them in anyway whatsoever. We see these types lounging away the time texting their friends, talking about the latest trends or smoking away casually just two minutes before the exam, claiming to have not studied a bit. But whether they openly show it off or hide it behind dark shades, it is a well known fact that every student here at SZABIST is tensed whether they like it or not.

Oh but it’s not just the students who are tensed. It’s our administration that has to be on their toes too. I mean its not easy screaming repeatedly in the auditorium “do your paper, do your paper” while invidulation, or changing the seats of overly excited students who not only want to do their paper but fully assist others in theirs as well. Arranging tables and chairs even in the farthest corner of the room trying to cram everyone in while getting suggestions from students that drive you up the wall.

Our dear professors have a hard time on their own. The popularity of every teacher at SZABIST which throughout the year is reduced to snide remarks, creased eyebrows and grinded teeth from the students, rises sharply when the finals loom in. Every where we see students following their teachers around, asking the never ending last minute questions with their little friends tagging along till the prof’s have to take refuge in the bathrooms. Long lines outside offices and the occasional “please don’t fail me sir!” during exams. Our teachers enjoy being on the throne and if you have one’s like I do then you would be banging your head against the wall trying to remember that last point while you hear them snickering behind you, giving you lordly looks that confuse you till you just want o rip you sheet off.

But whether it is students, teachers or the administration everyone here knows that in the end we would be going back home with good memories…oh who am I kidding? We would still be biting off our remaining nails till the results come. BEST OF LUCK everyone.

Death of two top Al-Qaeda figures

The U.S. and Iraq claimed a major victory against al-Qaida on Monday, saying their forces killed the terror group's two top figures in this country in an air and ground assault on their safe house near Saddam Hussein's hometown.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki announced the killings of Abu Omar al-Baghdadi and Abu Ayyub al-Masri at a news conference and showed photographs of their bloody corpses.

U.S. military officials later confirmed the deaths, which Vice President Joe Biden called a "potentially devastating blow" to al-Qaida in Iraq.

Al-Qaida in Iraq has remained a dangerous force as the U.S. prepares to withdraw most of its troops. The terror group has launched repeated attacks on civilian targets in Baghdad in an attempt to sow chaos and exploit political deadlock in the wake of the inconclusive March 7 parliamentary elections.

Monday's announcement comes at a critical time for al-Maliki, who has staked his reputation on being the man who can restore stability to Iraq after years of bloodshed. The prime minister is locked in a tight contest with secular challenger Ayad Allawi to see who will form the next government.

Sascha Arora Akhtar- The notable 20th century poet

Sascha Arora Akhtar was born in Pakistan but then left for England to do her studies. She has done her B.A in liberal arts from Bennington College where she has done filmmaking, photography and English literature. She then did her masters in creative writing. Akhtar has been regarded as one of the most promising new writers and poets of the 20th century by the Guardian. Her work appears in the Shearsman anthology on UK women’s poetries, “Infinite Difference.”  She also works as a literary reviewer and arts journalist and is the first Pakistani woman writing in English to be published in the Western “avant garde” tradition.

She presented a collection of her works along with her readings on Saturday 24^th April 2010 at The Second floor T2F. A gathering sat down and listened to her as she recited some of her famous poems. The event ended at a performance by some of the local folk song group and to numerous applause.

Okinawa Pact

Following the Battle of Okinawa, the U.S. occupied Okinawa, and Okinawa become a U.S. territory until control of Okinawa was reverted to Japan in 1972. Many U.S. bases remained in Okinawa (“Okinawa Japan,” n.d.).

Today, Okinawa, accounting for less than one percent of Japan’s land, hosts two-thirds of the 40,000. American bases in Japan. U.S. bases in occupy 18 % of the available land on Okinawa’s main island. (“Okinawa prefecture,” 2010).

Sumida (2009) reports “A large segment of the [Okinawan] population believes the U.S. took their land at the end of World War II at the point of ‘bayonets and bulldozers,’ costing many families their homes and farms” and “[w]hen the prefecture was returned to Japan in 1972, many Okinawans felt betrayed because many U.S. military bases remained, and the Japan Self-Defense Forces took other bases given up by the Americans. Some Okinawan critics continue to argue that they bear an unfair burden by hosting 75 percent of the land solely used for U.S. bases in all of Japan.”

Brook (2005) also explains “Okinawa’s trauma over what happened after 545,000 U.S. troops attacked this small archipelago is still deep. People on Japan’s southernmost islands want more recognition from Japanese society for their sufferings.”

In 2006, the U.S. and Japan agreed to move Futenma base to another part of Okinawa. The decision was made in reaction to Okinawan outrage at the rape of a 12 year-old Okinawan girl by three U.S. soldiers. Stressing the importance of reducing “the burden of Okinawa residents”, Japan’s new Prime Minister Hatoyama, has been trying to move the Futenma base outside of the prefecture. But, the Hatoyama administration is caught between the pressure to maintain the U.S.-Japan agreement of 2006, and also Okinawans’ wishes to reduce the U.S. military presence in Okinawa.

Twitter vs. Facebook...Who wins the battle?

When it comes to reaching out to your social graph for help or answers to questions, Facebook leans towards a very “traditional marketing” approach in the way that it lets you communicate. You can either directly contact someone with your message or post something in your status or profile.

As echoed many times throughout the course of 2007, business professionals are adopting the use of Facebook at a rapid pace. That still doesn’t change the mostly passive way it operates as a communications tool. For the business professional, Facebook is a fun, great less formal alternative to LinkedIn. It allows you to build an online calling card of sorts and it provides the ability to keep your contacts up to date on the latest happenings in your life through photos and video. True conversation can be found through discussion threads within Facebook groups. Finding groups that both match your interests - and that are consistently active - can be a hit or miss situation.

On the other hand, Twitter does one thing and it does it well. It’s all about the conversation and there is always someone there to who will see your message. From the outside looking in, it’s often hard for people to understand the value that Twitter brings to the table. Plus twitter give you access to academic journals and researches.Its value is directly related to the quality of the people that you choose to follow. My Twitter network has grown substantially faster than my friends on Facebook. In fact, a good portion of my friends on Facebook are folks who I originally connected with on Twitter. It’s all about increasing your tweets.

In the end, I don’t think either Facebook or Twitter can be deemed better than the other. They both server different purposes and provide different mechanisms for communicating with your peers or target audiences. Facebook is feature-rich and offers passive and indirect communication tools. Twitter focuses specifically on the conversation and enables more immediate and direct communication with your all of your “Followers.” What do you think? If you have a Twitter or Facebook success story, we’d love to hear about it!

Press Release

Provincial Disaster Risk Management plan was launched Mr. Ghulam Ali Pasha a senior member of board revenue at a local hotel on August 12. 


This plan has been organized to benefit in times of disaster or natural calamity. he hoped that it would help the government with solving some major problems like lack of labor,emergency response etc.


The plan would also provide help to the civilians who were needed to be put into hospitals or had to be restored financially. Mr. Pasha in his speech thanked the UND[P for aiding him in this project and hoped taht it would come as a success for the people of Pakistan.