Congratulations Mrs Fernandes

Congratulations Mrs Fernandas Norma Fernandes worked as a teacher and later as Headmistress (Kindergarten/Junior Section) of the Karachi Grammar School from 1966 to 2009. In January 2006, Norma Fernandes moved to a new area of responsibility within the Karachi Grammar School, as Advisor, working with the Board, the Principal and the Internal Management Team and also giving confidential advice to parents. In 2009, she retired from the Karachi Grammar School after more than 50 years as a teacher. Mrs Fernandes recieved the Tamgha-i-Imtiaz by government of Pakistan on 23 rd march 2014 for her services to education. (It is the fourth-highest decoration given to any civilian in Pakistan ).

An open letter to defend Peshawari Chappals

An open letter to Mr Paul Smith Mr Paul Smith do you know : " Peshawari chappals or Kheris as they are called make up a small scale business that provide a living to many shoemakers who spend their days in making, stitching and fitting the shoes. This is a century old art taught from father to son then to grand son. There are many Chappal Walas and Chappal stores in Khyber Pakhtun who sell these chappals for an average 600 Rs ($6) . Bigger stores like Bata and Service sell them for approx 2000 Rs ($20) across Pakistan . Almost every Pakistani man has owned a pair of these sandals even little boys wear them with their shalwar suits to go for Friday prayers or on Eid day .It is a important corner stone of our identity and our culture. We Pakistanis take great pride in our heritage and our traditions. I am happy that you Sir Paul Smith a famous British designer has replicated the design and has introduced it in the world market for £300 .......30 times more than the cost of the same chappal bought in Khyber Pakhtun Province......BUT Sir why did you name them " Robert " it is certainly not your design it" s a Pakhtun design it's a Pakistani design . Why could you not give credit to the thousands of poor Chappal walas ........." Pakistanis all over the world are angry , a petition that was signed by 250 people was submitted to Prime Minister Cameron and Sir Paul Smith . Today in the morning the website PaulSmith.co.uk was still advertising the shoes and was still charging £300 only a sentence had been added which read: “Men’s high-shine black leather sandals with neon pink trims inspired by the Peshawari chappal.” I would label this as "modern day bullying " when a rich designer from the West can easily steal a piece of a poor third world country " s heritage .......... What next Ajrak being sold for £ 700 via a new name " Janet"!!!

Longest serving US congressman

LONGEST SERVING CONGRESSMAN JOHN DINGELL WILL RETIRE AFTER THE COMPLETION OF HIS PRESENT TERM The 87-year-old Michigan Democrat Mr John Dingell was first elected in 1955, filling the House seat vacated by his late father. He will complete almost 60 years at Capitol Hill. He became the longest-serving member of Congress last year on June 7 when he surpassed the record held by the late Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia. Dingell is the former chairman of the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee and has been a master of legislative deal-making and staunch advocate for the auto industry. Dingell has played a role in a number of major pieces of legislation, including President Barack Obama's health-care overhaul and Medicare. He jokingly says that he has served " with " not "under "11 US Presidents and has signed close to 25,000 bills in the congress as of 2011.

One story : two perspectives

ONE STORY : TWO PERSPECTIVES Palestine in and Israel out of Oscar race Some might call it a coincidence others might believe its art depicting life but fact is that both Israel and the Palestinian Authority choose the same story to make a movie on . Israeli Movie "Bethlehem " is the story, about a relationship between a Palestinian collaborator and his Israeli operator at the intelligence services. It is directed by Israeli Yuval Adler and written by Palestinian Ali Waked. It’s the kind of gritty, political drama about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict that tells the story of an Israeli secret service officer and his Palestinian informant . Two strong characters who are dealing with their moral demons . Powerful portrayal of "Human feelings and loyalties" set against the backdrop of war . Omar is a Palestinian movie directed by Hani Abu -Assad , it is a dramatic love story about Omar a baker arrested and beaten by Israeli intelligence agents following the murder of an Israeli soldier. He is later forced to act as a double agent for Israeli intelligence and help an Israeli secret service agent . He is in love with Nadja but the movie is quite tragic . It is shot in the city of Nazareth, which has the largest Arab population of any city in Israel. Much of the on-location shoot for Omar, inspired by a true story Abu-Assad heard from a friend, growing up in Nazareth .

A Skier"s fairy tale journey

Pakistani Skier "s fairy tale journey to the Olympics Mohammed Karim young skier’s story is an inspiring one .........it is true that given the opportunity, training and encouragement Pakistanis are capable of competing in any international tournament .He was born and raised in a small village near Naltar in Gilgit-Baltistan, young Karim learned to ski the slopes using wooden skis made by his uncle. His talent for the sport was spotted by an official of the Ski Federation of Pakistan, which helped train him for the game and sent his name for Olympic qualifiers. He proudly carried his country "s flag at the Sochi Opening Ceremony ,2014.

Lyceum School Karachi " s team won Model UN " Best International Award"

LYCEUM SCHOOL KARACHI "S TEAM WON MODEL UNITED NATION AWARD The Lyceum School ,Karachi " s Model United Nations team won the ‘Best International School’ Award at Harvard MUN 2014 in Boston, USA. Over 3,000 delegates were present from across 36 countries at the Harvard MUN this year. The Lyceum School team is the first team from Pakistan to win this prestigious award. This group of students also won four delegates awards and two notable mentions during the competition held in Boston , MA . The Lyceum School was established in August 1987 to meet a growing demand for quality Advanced level education. It has Science , Arts and Commerce departments .

Newspaper : no more......the only source of knowledge .......

NEWSPAPERS : NOT THE ONLY SOURCE OF KNOWLEDGE My earliest memories of reading newspaper is as an elementary school student early in the morning during breakfast, my parents always insisted on reading the newspaper as it is was considered the source of knowledge. We used to discuss the world happenings during the Social Studies Class at school and collected newspaper clippings of famous incidents. Now when I look at my kids they get knowledge from the internet, they read about social and political happenings in the world on the computer rather than reading it on a newspaper . “Never pick a fight with someone who buys ink by the barrel”, was Mark Twain’ advice to the masses during his time but it does not sound quite feasible for the world of today! The ink-stained publishing world is battling against companies that sell ads via Internet. According to my analysis there are several reasons for the decline of newspaper industry; most notably rise of the “cable news network”. Cable TV channels broadcast stories within few hours as it happens in contrast to the newspaper which comes only once a day. Internet is also a huge factor , news is reported on the Internet within few minutes and sometimes within few seconds , that makes the news reported in a newspaper “ old news” or “ news of yesterday “ . Another factor is money, printing presses need big offices , warehouses and salaried employees while E-books and online based newspapers require less overhead and large profits earned through advertisement revenue . It is also “impractical” to dig through a pile of newspapers to obtain a news story from last year; whereas with the internet, archives exist. Yes for sure the world of today has many different sources of information . Well when I look at my parents I see them enjoying the morning newspaper printed on paper while enjoying a cup of tea. On the other hand my kids read about the world issues on the Internet and they read books on various electronic educational devices. As for “me” I do click the computer several times during the day to get the world news, yet I also buy newspapers from grocery stores and book stores and enjoy reading every page . I think it’s not only the evolution of social media but it is also the evolution of human beings and it will continue on.