Trust Deficit

A new phrase - Trust Deficit - coined by Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri, the ex Foreign Minister of Pakistan, can go onto become one of the most important words used in relationships.

Whats Trust?

It has several meanings. I would choose - to believe, to have confidence

Whats Deficit?

Once again - as with all English words - it has several meanings. I would choose - a lack or shortage

A Trust Deficit is nothing but a lack of confidence or a shortage of belief!!

On the sidelines of the meeting between the Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and the Pakistani Prime Minister Mr. Yousuf Gilani, this is what Mr. Kasuri had to say :

The biggest problem between Pakistan and India currently is the absence of trust. Anything that addresses this trust deficit is, therefore, helpful.

Read more here.

Addressing this "Trust Deficit" would need significant amount of effort from both India and Pakistan if both of them are interested in the peaceful resolution of the bilateral thorny issues. I just hope that we would succeed!!

Hakimullah Mehsud - Dead or Alive?

Know one knows this better than Mehsud himself.

Makes you wonder why?

Hakimullah is[ or was] the commander of the Pakistan Taliban.

More than 2 months back, around 10th Feb 2010, certain news reports claimed that Mehsud was killed in a drone strike.

His death was considered as a significant blow to the Taliban - and was supposed to increase the chances of the Taliban being wiped out from Pakistan.

The newspapers quoted something like below:

Pakistan confirmed yesterday that the Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud has died of wounds sustained in a US drone strike last month. 

The death of Pakistan's most feared militant commander with close links to Al-Qaeda is a serious blow to the Pakistani Taliban and has led to an intense battle over who will succeed him. 

However, news reports floating over the last couple of days indicate that he is very much alive.

To quote the newspapers again:

The Taliban leader in Pakistan, Hakimullah Mehsud, survived an American drone strike in January and is alive and well, a senior official with Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence agency told the Guardian today.

Today the senior intelligence official said he had seen video footage of the missile attack on Mehsud but other intelligence had since confirmed the insurgent leader survived. He declined to elaborate further.

"He is alive," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "He had some wounds but he is basically OK."

What next?

In a world of changing media reports, failed intelligence reports, it is very difficult to assess whether the guy is really dead or alive?

This blog has an interesting perspective on the resurrection of Mehsud. 

One line says it all - Miracles do happen!!

Latest Hairstyle For Miranda Kerr

Latest Hairstyle For Miranda Kerr

Alessandra Ambrosio, Candice Swanepoel and Miranda Kerr at the Victoria's Secret Heavenly Flowers Fragrance Launch at Victoria's Secret Soho in New York City, NY.
(April 24, 2010 - Photo by Photo Agency)

Parenthesis

Parenthesis has stopped being a punctuation mark!!

You can vouch for this when you read the conversation in the later part of the blog.

The dictionary gives several meanings to this word.

But two of them which I'm thinking about now are

a) a qualifying, explanatory, or appositive word, phrase, clause, or sentence that interrupts a syntactic construction without otherwise affecting it.

b) an interval.

Can someone be an interval, a break, in someone's life??

Yes, if you check out the scene below from the 2009 hit movie - Up In The Air

The conversation (on the cell phone) has Ryan (George Clooney) and Alex (Vera Farmiga) talking about their relationship.  

Ryan was in a casual relationship with Alex, meeting her at various airports across the US. 

Ryan had thought Alex was his special lady and had gone to her home on a surprise visit. It was he who got a surprise - when he saw that Alex was already married and had kids too.

Alex calls him up the next day and tells him that her family life should be unaffected, and that her husband and kids were part of her "real" life.

And this is how the conversation proceeded.

Ryan Bingham: I thought I was a part of your life.

Alex Goran: I thought we signed up for the same thing... I thought our relationship was perfectly clear. You are an escape. You're a break from our normal lives. You're a parenthesis.

Ryan Bingham: I'm a parenthesis? 

This makes me wonder whether affairs, and extra-marital affairs, would be labeled as "Parenthesis" in the near future!!

Air Pocket

I had heard about air planes flying through turbulent skies.This usually happens when the aircraft is going through a dense cloud or rain. The pilots generally advise the passengers to be seated with their seat belts on while flying through such turbulent skies.

But, What's an Air Pocket?

Air Pocket, I think is a slightly more dangerous version of such turbulent skies. 

The dictionary defines it as a downward air current that causes an aircraft to lose altitude abruptly.

At around 10.30 AM today, up above the skies of India, more than 360 odd people must have faced some of the most anxious moments of their lives. And the most luckiest!!

The incident? Well, an Emirates flight from Dubai to the south Indian city of Kochi suffered a drop of 200 feet (or 15000 feet?) while cruising over Goa.

The cause? The plane hit an air pocket and dropped an altitude of 15000 feet(if the article below is to be believed).

It is a real disaster situation if a flight cruising at 20000 feet loses 15000 feet in the air. The force of gravity in such situations must be very extreme. And people on board must have thought that they are having a free fall without any control.

Check out this article for more information on this incident. 

And some words from a guy who was on that very flight.

"Some of the passengers were shouting and crying for help. And for three minutes no one knew what was happening. Many were thrown out of their seats; some had their heads hitting the roof of the aircraft. A child was thrown out of the seat. We felt that everything was coming to an end," a relieved Elsy told reporters here. 

This just summarizes the panic situation on board when this must have happened.

I just wonder what would have gone through the minds of the flight crew when this incident must have happened. Usually before the flight is nearing its destination, the cabin crew walk through the craft - collecting the head phones, blankets etc. 

They must have had some really tense moments. Unless they were seated with their seat belts on, some of them must have been definitely thrown around, and some of them might have got injured too.

But two people, who can take credit for rescuing these people from certain deaths, are the pilots. 

These guys must have kept cool in those extreme moments, and tried to focus on the task of getting the plane back to normal flying in the best possible manner. This is where their entire training, their skills must have come to use. I think these guys must be awarded generously for their exemplary performance in trying conditions.

But one thing is for sure. This incident would make air travelers nervous and pilots extremely cautious.

Woman on Top

Well, does that get you thinking about Penelope Cruz, the Spanish actress who starred in a movie with the same name?

Well, you got me wrong.

I'm talking about women who have reached the top - the pinnacle - of the respective areas their of expertise!!

Guess, what got me thinking about them?

It was Sunanda Pushkar's statement today expressing her views about the IPL fiasco - which started with the "free sweat equity" being granted to her in the Kochi IPL franchisee.

This resulted in the resignation of "Junior" Minister for External Affairs in India, Shashi Tharoor, and a nationwide investigation into the franchisees of the IPL!! Sunanda claimed that the equity was rightfully hers, and she had earned it with her skill and expertise. She claimed to be a management and branding expert with years of experience.

But this is what the media thought about her - in her own words:

Sunanda said, "I have always been proud that I have made it alone — on my own terms — in a man's world. And here, in one minute, without bothering to find out any facts the media just turned me into a sl**, into some kind of brainless eye candy! I don't know why people find it so hard to understand this."

If Sunanda has expressed these thoughts from her heart without any falsified facts, then people might consider her to be a talented lady - whom the media got all wrong.

Well, she can draw some inspiration from the US Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin. 

People considered her to be a dumb bimbette when she said that Africa is a country. But now she is going so strong in the US political space that some people consider her to Obama's strongest competitor in the 2012 Presidential elections!!

Another lady who comes to my mind is Carly Fiorina.

Fiorina was the CEO of Hewlett-Packard for about 6 years. This earned her the distinction of being the first woman CEO of a Fortune 20 company - a historical achievement in itself!!

Sharing space with these ladies is J K Rowling, the creator of the all famous Harry Potter. 

She has written the exciting series of the Harry Potter, becoming one of the most read and most famous authors of recent times. And her net worth is close to 1 Billion US $.

If these new age women have earned a space on the pedestal with their skills, Royal Ladies have been on the top - literally - for ages, just because of their lineage. Queen Elizabeth 2 has "ruled" Britain for many decades. 

But the face of royalty is also changing. 

You have HM Queen Rania of Jordan. She is involved in a host of social causes and is making the best use of her Royal Status for the benefit of the people.

Next come our Sports Stars. Maria Sharapova comes to my mind.

She is a super star tennis player. And a super model. And a brand ambassador. And a face that has launched many a products. And she is all of 23 years.

Last but not the least is Megan Fox. Megan is just a year older than Maria but she is equally famous.

Her claim to fame? It was Transformers.

It seems all these gals, ladies and women have excelled in their domains. And they could easily give any guy a run for their money.

Men Haircuts Pictures 2010 Presents

Here are a lot of cool male hairstyles that you can choose from and decide to change your looks.You can go for emo or scene hairstyles as these hairstyles provide a way for creativity and adventure in hairstyling. You can experiment with cuts and colors that you think best characterize your personality.

Men Haircuts Pictures 2010_1

Men Haircuts Pictures 2010_2

Men Haircuts Pictures 2010_3

Men Haircuts Pictures 2010_4

Men Haircuts Pictures 2010_5

Best Long Haircuts and Hairstyles for Women in summer 2010

Ashley Tisdale has some of the most beautiful long hairstyles. You should wear your hair more naturally straight, curly, wavy, or witch kind of hair you have. Waves hairstyles are great this summer because you will feel great and cool during the hot summer months. A wavy hairstyle is easy to maintain and also easy to get. If you get a wavy style and if you are bored of it its very easy just use a flat iron and take them out. Straight hairstyles are also a great look for this summer. If you want bangs, cut them in a fringe or sweep them to the side. Long hair is always sexy indifferent of what style you get, check the long hairstyles trends photos here:

Best Long Haircuts and Hairstyles for Women in summer 2010

Best Long Haircuts and Hairstyles for Women in summer 2010

Generation Alpha

It's being some time since all of us had heard something about Generation X, or Generation Y or Gen Next and so on.

Reading an article about Generation Y made me think what these Generations are all about.

Checked up the ever reliable Wikipedia, which gave some interest definitions on these generations - including the ones from the past and the present.

Generation X, commonly abbreviated to Gen X, is the generation born after the baby boom ended, with earliest birth dates used by researchers ranging from 1961 to the latest 1981. 

Next came Generation Y.

Generation Y, also known as the Millennial Generation or Generation Next or Net Generation, describes the generation following Gen X. Commonly they are considered to be people born between the mid 1970s to the early 2000s.

Generation Z arrived after Gen Y.

Generation Z is one of the names used for the First World people born between the mid-1990s and the late 2000s.

And what do our innovative people do - when they see that Z is the last alphabet in English??

They come up with Generation Alpha - the set of people born in 2010 and beyond!!

Messy Short Haircuts Colors For Spring 2010

Short Hairstyles Trends presents Messy short haircuts styles for spring 2010

Short hairstyles need some maintenance because it have to be cut regularly.But this is a great advantage because hair damages are less and you can experiment with your hair colors.For short hair in 2010 the best hair colors are blonde, red and brown.For blonde hairstyles the best color is the sand blonde and it is great for any type of skin.If you want red hair color here you can chose from an wide range of red colors as you can see in the photos bellow:

Messy Short Haircuts Colors For Spring 2010_1

Messy Short Haircuts Colors For Spring 2010_2

Messy Short Haircuts Colors For Spring 2010_3

Messy Short Haircuts Colors For Spring 2010_4

Messy Short Haircuts Colors For Spring 2010_5

MultiTasking

Multitasking is the ability to handle and complete multiple tasks at the same time.

All of us - in our daily life - are being asked to multi task. While some of us manage to this well, others are not comfortable with juggling more than one task at a time.

This ability to multi task is after all decided by the capability of our brains.

As per this news article, our brain is capable of handling only 2 tasks at the same time.

A new study has found the mind may easily deal with two separate tasks at the same time as it can channel them into the two separate parts of the front of the brain; but when a third activity is introduced, the mind gets overloaded. Not only the accuracy declines but people are much less able to carry out tasks, the scientists say. 

"This finding suggests that the human frontal function is limited to accurately driving the pursuit of two concurrent goals at a time. This capacity limit places severe constraint bearing upon human higher cognition and may clarify several limitations in human decision making and reasoning abilities."  

Well, we can learn one thing here. If given more than two tasks, attempt to multi task only two of them at the same time. If this article is true, it would give you better results - without putting undue pressure on your brains.

Misleading People

What would you think if someone told you that extra-marital sex leads to earthquakes? Or a "pact with the devil" leads to an earthquake?

Any sane person would tell that such statements are misleading people!!

But as with all news, this news makes it to the headlines - for all the wrong reasons!! And they gain attention - when they shouldn't.

As you all know - earthquakes are commonly caused by physical movements of fault lines, or volcanoes, or mine explosions, or nuclear explosions and so on.

But this one particular cleric in Iran has some silly ideas on the cause of earthquakes.

This is what he had to say during Friday's prayers on 16th April 2010.

"Many women who dress inappropriately ... cause youths to go astray, taint their chastity and incite extramarital sex in society, which increases earthquakes," Ayatollah Kazem Sedighi told worshippers at Tehran on Friday prayer.

It's high time guys like these stopped misleading people. I just wonder how local people reacted to this preaching!!

And if you think he is the only one setting up these crazy theories, have a look at this theory from Pat Robertson.

This is what Mr. Robertson  - an American Christian Televangelist - had to say after the devastating earthquake in Haiti this year.

"Something happened a long time ago in Haiti and people might not want to talk about," Robertson said.

"They were under the heel of the French, you know Napoleon the third and whatever. And they got together and swore a pact to the devil. They said 'We will serve you if you will get us free from the prince.' True story. And so the devil said, 'Ok it's a deal.' And they kicked the French out. The Haitians revolted and got something themselves free. But ever since they have been cursed by one thing after another," Robertson said.

I strongly hope that people are intelligent enough to look through such such silly misleading statements!!

IPL Bidding Fiasco

Well, It was a week where some people from the sidelines made it to the center stage.

I'm talking about the IPL (Indian Premier League) bidding fiasco starring Shashi Tharoor, Lalit Modi and Sunanda Pushkar.  

The plot was cast a few days back when a completely unknown consortium - calling itself Rendezvous Sports - won the bid for the Kochi IPL team.

The name itself sounded fishy to me. And considering that they had paid almost 350 Million $ for a team in the South Indian state of Kerala (which has sent just one cricketer to the Indian national team) did raise my eyebrows - if not many more across the country!!

Shashi Tharoor claimed that he had mentored the group to bring IPL to Kochi - and that is where the trouble began.

What makes me say this?

Well, In India, a politician helping someone - without expecting something in return is a rarity. And considering that Tharoor has an ability to put his own foot in his mouth, something exceptional was bound to happen.

With all this attention around Tharoor, some enterprising journalist digged up some facts on Tharoor's personal life. News was that he was married twice and going onto the third!!

The third lady in Tharoor's life was identified as Sunanda Pushkar. 

A week back you would have asked - Sunanda Who?

The news claimed that she was a Kashmiri beautician!! Made me think what made Tharoor take interest in her. A diplomat and a beautician do make an weird couple!!

I thought this was just a tidbit on his personal life and would die soon. How wrong I was.

A few days later - the IPL commissioner - Lalit Modi decided to express some facts he was privy to on Twitter. 

He revealed that Sunanda Pushkar was a equity stake holder in the Kochi consortium. What made things complex was the revelation that she was given free equity!!

Suspecting people thought this was an indirect benefit to Tharoor. Politician's called for his resignation - though nothing was proven. Tax authorities started raids on the IPL offices putting Modi under tremendous strain.

All of this for the free "sweat equity" given to Sunanda. Overnight she went from being a beautician to a branding and a management expert.

The poor lady was in a bind  - between holding on to the equity  or causing trouble for her love.

Love they say is stronger than money - and looks like this is what made her give up the sweat equity today evening.

For the last seven days, these 3 people made headlines of all the national newspapers. Making me realize how ordinary people who are better placed on the sidelines make it to the center stage.

Hope Cricket takes over in the next week. After all, it's the last week of IPL3!!

Volcano in Eyjafjallajokull, Iceland

One thing thats made news all of last week is the volcano in Eyjafjallajokull (I never managed to spell it - but it's something like this - ay-yah-FYAH'-plah-yer-kuh-duhl).

This volcano in the southern Iceland has sent a large cloud of volcanic ash in the sky. The cloud is traveling across Europe sending flight schedules for a complete toss!! 

Needless to say, this will make the visibility poor for any flights traveling through it. And supposedly, it's not good for those mega plane engines.

These pictures of the volcano caught my attention!!

The first one is from someone on the ground.

The second one from someone when he was high up in the air!!

And if you want to have a look at how it is impacting Europe, check the map with the ash cloud below.

And last but not the least, this eerie looking picture which bears a close resemblance to a skeleton!!

Last but not the least, are you interested in knowing where the volcano ash cloud is at the moment? Or do you want to have an overview of the volcanic ash cloud map?

Courtesy the UK Met Office, get the required information at the links below

1. Iceland Volcano Press Office Release

2. 5 day volcano ash map projection. 

This is live data. It will help you plan your travel, in case you are a bit apprehensive of the volcanic ash.

Bedroom Inspiration

Thank goodness its friday! Man im so tired and ready for the weekend!

Im constantly lookng for new bedroom ideas and always changing it, this is my latest inspiration. Lets call it a wishlist.




List
-Boxes- Ikea
-Candle- Lilyflame coconut scented, yum
-Owl- Etsy, the cutest owl you shall ever see
-NYC canvas - Ikea, i simply have to it.
-Poster- Etsy
-Bedding(minus cat)- plus a dog, is from cath kidston( bought already)
-Bedside table- so cute, this is from ebay but similar to the one i have bought.
-Vase/jar thingy- Ikea,i plan to buy a few, fill one with flowers, one with candy and another with random things
-Fishbowl( shaped) filled with essie nail polishes ( im culling all of my opi's and essies )

Rachel Weisz Hair Style

Kiel James Patrick!

Im super excited to show you guys these products by https://www.kieljamespatrick.com/index.cfm

I truly believe in them. I was on twitter and mentioned to the designer how much i liked his products and how i was going to purchase one of his items! To my suprisal, he amazingly offered to send me a selection of his products for me to review!

Everything is Rhode Island, down to the material, handcraft and buttons, keeping that american brand! Kiel even lists on his website, where everything comes from, down to buttons and materials. The idea came from his summers where he would make a Turk's head knot rope bracelet and then sadly have to cut them off at the end of summer. However he decided to develop the idea a few years later, so it is fastened with their signature button, so that you'll never need to cut that bracelet off again!

When i opened the parcel, I found these amazing products and that they all smell SO good!

I received;



Crystal Carey Bliss Bracelet ( Cape and Brighton Beach), I adore the bracelet, it seems to go with everything. Infact i have hardly taken it off since! The button colour is yellow, which i would describe as mustardy. On the website you get to choose which button colour you would like. The material is gorgeous and really high quality, so you definitley get what you pay for with this brand! I cant stress how much i really do love this bracelet Link to Crystal Carey Bliss bracelet ! They retail for $35



Hoffy Dug Warner earrings, these are seriously cute! I would never think to pick these out for me, but they are adorable! I wear mine frequently. How cute is the packaging too! The quality on these are amazing due to being made of 100% custom woven silk. I could definitely see these being perfect present for someone! A pair retails for $28 Click to buy!!




Vicki Jerangle Carrick Headband, is similar style to the rope knot bracelet's. It gives a real classical feel to any outfit and is perfect for sweeping your hair back whilst still looking chic. I really do love this item and can see it looking great on everyone! The headband retails for $34 Click to buy !

This brand is really something special, the products have such an amazing quality and uniqueness about them. Easily becoming a signature item for yourself, i already have my eye on these products for my birthday! I think it shall become an addiction uh oh!

Mariner & Cap Poge Bay bracelet with either the brass or pink button.


Selvenex Anchorage Earrings!

East Matunuck Beach bracelet

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Nice Girly Hair Style

Nice Girly Hair Style

Nice Girly Hair Style

Nice Girly Hair Style

Cute Girly Hair Style