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By  Ayesha Mehmood June 14, 2010 "Every second, someone in the world needs blood. And every step of the way, you have been there to fulfill that need. Your generosity has been the hope and courage for thousands of those patients who suffer from Thalassemia. Thanks to your support, those with Thalassemia now continue to lead complete and full lives. All barriers have been brought down, and continue to be brought down, and many Thalassemic patients go on to do extraordinary things! It is no doubt that blood is the vital need of all human beings. And this is most true for thalassemic patients. Thank you for saving the lives of countless people. Thank you for being their hope. Thank you for being an abundant fountain of courage and support." The above was a thank you card, sent to our regular blood donors to mark World Blood Donor Day. A little background : World Blood Donor Day builds on the success of World Health Day 2000 which was devoted to the theme "Blood ...

January 28th, 2008 Source: Dawn Op-Ed by Shahzad Roy When I was 10 years old, I saw on the nine o'clock news on PTV a woman with a dupatta draped round her head saying, "Pakistan tareekh kay aik naazuk mor say guzar raha hai." Then I turned 20 and again saw a woman, this time not wearing a dupatta on her head, saying with eloquence on the nine o'clock news, "Pakistan tareekh kay aik naazuk mor say guzar raha hai". Déjà vu… why? I tried to analyse the situation to find out how come Pakistan is still stuck at the naazuk mor even after the passage of many long years. I reached the conclusion that 50 per cent of our knowledge lies in asking the right question. Government functionaries, intelligentsia, armed forces, critics, human rights activists and, for that matter, all stakeholders ask questions. But they end up slinging mud at each other, for the simple reason that the questions they ask are never right in the first place. The question usually asked is:...

By Anthony H. Cordesman JUN 2, 2010 America's ties to Israel are not based primarily on U.S. strategic interests. At the best of times, an Israeli government that pursues the path to peace provides some intelligence, some minor advances in military technology, and a potential source of stabilizing military power that could help Arab states like Jordan. Even then, however, any actual Israeli military intervention in an Arab state could prove as destabilizing as beneficial. The fact is that the real motives behind America's commitment to Israel are moral and ethical. They are a reaction to the horrors of the Holocaust, to the entire history of Western anti-Semitism, and to the United States' failure to help German and European Jews during the period before it entered World War II. They are a product of the fact that Israel is a democracy that shares virtually all of the same values as the United States. The U.S. commitment to Israel is not one that will be abandoned. The Unit...

Some things should never be said ― like these phrases. Here, what to say instead. By Kristyn Kusek Lewis What Not to Say About Someone's Appearance Don't say:  "You look tired."  Why:  It implies she doesn't look good.  Instead say:  "Is everything OK?" We often blurt the "tired" comment when we get the sense that the other person feels out of sorts. So just ask.  Don't say:  "Wow, you've lost a ton of weight!"  Why:  To a newly trim person, it might give the impression that she used to look unattractive.  Instead say:  "You look fantastic." And leave it at that. If you're curious about how she got so svelte, add, "What's your secret?" Don't say:  "You look good for your age."  Why:  Anything with a caveat like this is rude. It's saying, "You look great ― compared with other old people. It's amazing you have all your own teeth." Instead say:  "You look grea...

Posted on  June 6, 2010  on Ruppee News ANKARA: Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was considering sailing to the Gaza Strip as part of an aid flotilla backed by the Turkish Navy. Lebanese newspaper al Mustaqbal quoted security sources as saying that Mr Erdogan was pondering the move in order to break the barrier imposed against Gaza by Israel. It said that "as part of the open conflict between Turkey and Israel following the massacre against the 'freedom sail' to Gaza and the protest sparked in the world, Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan is considering going to Gaza himself in order to break the blockade imposed on the Strip." The sources said Erdogan raised the option in discussions with associates. The report added that the Turkish leader also told the U.S. that he planned to ask his navy to escort another aid flotilla – but officials in Washington asked him to delay the plan in order to look into the matter. The move followed strong criticism of Israel by E...

  1 Jun 2010 Occupied Baluchistan:  Various sources from district Gwader and Dasht areas of Baluchistan reported that Pakistani armed forces have launched a massive military operation with the hardcore conventional forces, backed by Jet fighters, helicopters, tanks and armoured vehicles. Forces from Turbat , Mand and Gwader Camps have been dispatched to carry out the gory operation in Seyaji Mountains. New check posts have been set up on all outlet passage ways to strangle the local population, for not co operating with forces in Derwaar, Katrenz, SuntSer , Metsing and TeranDiska. According to the  Radio Gwank  report "the Pakistani armed forces have put all oil selling shops of border traders on fire in an attempt to punish the local traders collectively. The helpless unarmed people were forced to run for long distances, when asked, why this punishment? The army retorted that all Baluch are atheists, they should be killed and the killing of Baluch is purely a jihad in Islam"...

The Perverse Inhumanity of Fascist/Zionist Ideas   A UN Security Council resolution condemning Israel for its navy raid on an aid flotilla bound for the Gaza Strip, was  "unacceptable and did not advance peace and stability in the Middle East,  " Israeli Foreign Minister  Avigdor Lieberman  said Tuesday. A statement issued by the minister's office said Lieberman also told UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, in a telephone conversation, that the  "hypocrisy and double standards of the international community concerning Israel"  should be "regretted",  DPA  reported. Monday's pre-dawn raid by the Israeli navy commandos on the six-ship flotilla, which carried pro-Palestinian activists and tonnes of aid for blockaded Gaza , led to violent clashes on board one of the ships which left nine activists dead. Lieberman told Moon that while the international community remained silent during the past month when "500 people were killed in various incide...

As in Afghanistan, in northern India opium has become such a lucrative cash crop that many local farmers rely on poppy cultivation, seeing it as the only way to survive. The trend comes from neighbouring Nepal where parallels with Afghanistan are already frightening: corruption, lack of investment and poverty, with poppy fields completing the picture. The Indian police regularly discover fields of opium poppies growing in the northern state of Bihar on the India-Nepal border where the illegal crop is giving the administration a headache. The state shares a long border with Nepal, one of the largest markets for opium. No wonder, then, that this area is popular with opium cultivators due to the lack of security and awareness among the local people. Police official Ram Kumar noted that  "People are growing this [poppy] by fooling the local farmers. They are told they are growing sunflowers, but it turns out to be poppy." The lure of money stops residents from asking too man...

Israeli Spokesmen Continue To Defend "Right" To Use Deadly Force On Peaceful Protestors In International Waters Yamini Kaul – AHN News Contributor Tel Aviv, Israel (AHN) – Apparently upset over global criticism for its attack on an aid flotilla in Gaza, Israel took an unusual step on Wednesday and trained its diplomatic guns on India and Pakistan. Israel said that while the world continually "ignored" violent incidents happening in countries such as India and Pakistan, it was being criticized for its "unmistakably defensive actions." Citing incidents from the past one month, Israel said that almost 500 people were killed in violence in countries like India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Thailand and Iraq. According to a statement issued by the Foreign Ministry, "While the international community remained silent and passive, and generally ignored the occurrences, Israel is being condemned for unmistakably defensive actions." Israel's comments ha...