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A New Year’s resolution or a commitment is done to make your new year a better one. If someone makes resolutions to reform a habit, then there are people who want to make changes in their lifestyle. These promises are made on New Year’s Day, the first day of a brand new year. These resolutions are supposed to be either fulfilled or abandoned by the end of that year.Here are 39 tips for the New Year 2010!

1. Drink plenty of water.
2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.
3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants, and eat less food that is manufactured in plants (factory).
4. Live with the 3 E’s — Energy, Enthusiasm, and Empathy.
5. Make Time for Prayers.
6. Play more games.
7. Read more books than you did in 2009.
8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day & meditate/pray.
9. Sleep for 7 hours.10. Take a 10-30 minutes walk every day — and while you walk, SMILE!
11. Don’t compare your life to others’. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
12. Don’t have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
13. Don’t overdo; keep your limits.
14. Don’t take yourself so seriously; no one else does.
15. Don’t waste your precious energy on gossip.
16. Dream more while you are awake.
17. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need..
18.. Forget issues of the past. Don’t remind your partner with his/her mistakes of the past.. That will ruin your present happiness.
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don’t hate others.
20. Make peace with your past so it won’t spoil the present.
21. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
22. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
23. Smile and Laugh more often.
24. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
25. Call your family often.
26. Each day give something good to others.
27. Forgive everyone for everything.
28. Spend time with people over the age of 70 & under the age of 7.
29. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
30. What other people think of you is none of your business.
31. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your family and friends will. Stay in touch. 32. Do the right things.
33. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.
34. God heals everything.
35. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
36. No matter how you feel; Get up, Dress up and Show up!
37. The best is yet to come..
38. When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it.
39. Your inner most is always happy, So be Happy!

Let us pray that
it will be a year with New Peace,
New Happiness
and abundance of new friends,
God bless you all
throughout the New Year.

By Mahtab Bashir

According to the report of Forbes Magazine 2012 edition, Pakistan is the richest country in the world, no politician has ever left the chance but it is still surviving.

Peshawar is the most bombed city in the world (Guinness Book of world record has added a new category)

Govt. of Pakistan is planning to shut down Privatization commission of Pakistan because nothing left to privatize.

Pakistan has become the top importer of world’s cheapest wood to provide its people with quality substitute of electricity.

Pakistan among the countries with lowest diabetes rate because sugar mills export all their sugar outside Pakistan.

Utility Stores have deployed vending machines outside utility stores to sale Atta (Flour), the unique feature of this vending machine is that it has a link with NADRA database one bori of Atta per finger print.

China has sent its first shipment of solar TVs to Pakistan, solar TV is the most awaited product because women of Pakistan were unable to see star plus due to shortage of electricity.

Govt. of Pakistan has introduced energy efficient and environmental friendly policies, major highlights are

- Shut down all industries, it will save immense amount of fuel and save ozone

- Industries which have been forced to stop production should import products from china according to their area of expertise.

- All imports will be from China because Govt. of Pakistan cannot afford to lose friendship with China.

- Toyota Motors Pakistan has launched the most energy efficient vehicle in Pakistan with the collaboration of Govt. of Pakistan, “Roller Skates with ABS”. Toyota Motors Pakistan claims that it will not only save fuel but it will also reduce traffic and road accidents.

Pakistan is planning to introduce new currency called “stones”, the idea behind new currency is, it will save paper and printing cost, globally it is not an accepted medium of exchange so it won’t lose value like rupees and it is heavy to carry so it is going to reduce a chance of theft.

Pakistan’s president has been given a Nobel Prize for “Controlling Pakistan according to American policies sitting in Dubai”.

Pakistan Army has given a new name by American Govt. “Pirates Killer”, pirates is the new globally accepted term for terrorists.

Pakistani film industry has stopped producing films (Cinemas don’t find a chance to run Pakistani films because of busy Indian films schedule)

Indian board of Cricket has rejected to include Pakistani cricket players in IPL 2012 for the fourth time.

Meera’s new scandal – Hanif ur Rehman claims to be Meera’s fourth husband.

That’s all for now – Keep watching AWAMI TV

A recent survey conducted by Nielsen group concluded that the majority Youth of Pakistan are deeply frustrated and feel abandoned by the government. As more and more urban centers of our country which hold the cream intellect of our nation get connected to the communication networks the epidemic of Pornography grows. In light of growing socio-economic pressures & eroding religious and moral values our strength our youth could well be on its way to a Demographical as well as Social/Morale Disaster.

The recent report commissioned by the British Council revealed that an overwhelming majority of young Pakistanis say their country is headed in the wrong direction, the report said, and only 1 in 10 has confidence in the government. They are now entering a work force in which the lion’s share cannot find jobs, a potentially volatile situation if the government cannot address its concerns.

The despair among the young generation is rooted in the condition of their lives. Only a fifth of those interviewed had permanent full-time jobs. Half said they did not have sufficient skills to enter the workplace. And one in four could not read or write a legacy of the country’s abysmal public education system, in which less than 40 percent of children are enrolled in school which is far below the South Asian average of 58 percent. The study interviewed 1,226 Pakistanis ages 18 to 29, from different backgrounds across the country, in March and April.

The combination of this increasing frustration among youth of our country and their growing access to World Wide Web and information unchecked is driving the youth of this country in a disastrous direction. In order to understand the growing epidemic of Pornography we need to consider the following information about this industry which sheds light on the magnitude of this growing problem:

REVENUE STATISTICS ON PORNOGRAPHY INDUSTRY

Global Revenue from Pornography Industry $ 57 Billion Worldwide (Greater than the combined revenues of all the world’s football, baseball and basketball franchises

Pornography Revenue – United States $ 12 Billion (Exceeds the combined revenue of ABC, CBC & NBC which is 6.2 Billion Dollars)

Adult Video Trade $ 20 Billion (To give clean fresh drinking water to all the people of this planet you only need $ 8 Billion)

Adult Magazines $ 7.5 Billion

Cable Pay Per View $ 2.5 Billion

Pornography Trade on Internet $2.5 Billion (12% of world wide websites are pornographic)

Pornographic CD ROMS $ 1.5 Billion

The pornography industry is 1 – 10th of the World’s Oil Industry and let us not forgets that oil is used in everything.

VIEWERSHIP STATISTICS ON PORNOGRAPHY

World Wide Pornographic Websites 4.2 Million Websites (12% of world wide websites are pornographic)
Pornographic Web-Pages 372 Million WebPages
Daily Pornographic Search Requests (Estimated) 68 Million (25 % of Total search engine requests are to search pornographic websites)
Daily Pornographic E-mails 2.5 Billion
Monthly Pornographic Downloads (Peer 2 Peer) 1.5 Billion (35% of all Downloads)

GENDER STATISTICS ON PORNOGRAPHY

Adults admitting to Internal Pornographic addiction 10 % (These are the ones who are admitting)
Female Vs Male visitors to Pornographic websites 72% Male, 28% Female

The above mentioned statistics are just some of the many that are available, this Information might vary in case of Pakistan due to our different social-economic and cultural condition yet we have to admit this fact that Pornography has started and gained a strong hold in the Pakistani society. There are numerous Public markets in major cities of Pakistan like Karachi, Lahore & Rawalpindi where this heinous trade is taking place.
Apart from this as the Teleco penetration increases and more and more people get access to faster more reliable means to gain information especially the internet this epidemic promises to pose a great threat to our society if allowed to go unchecked.

As we can clearly see from the Statistics above that internet has proven to be a huge medium of transfer for this industry therefore measures need to be taken to ensure that Young ones and Adults alike do not gain access to such information. Broadband companies need to develop Corporate Social Responsibility campaigns condemning this trade and they need to make sure that they take all measures to stop this process of degeneration from spreading.

The government also has heavy responsibility on it because it is the government which needs to develop policies which can obstruct the trade & sharing of pornography. The government needs to regulate the internet traffic and learn from partnering countries like China who have maintained a strong control over all the internet traffic coming into the country, one can argue that China uses these capabilities to enforce its totalitarian regime yet we need to remember that we only need this model to block pornographic websites, It is imperative that our society is shielded from this ill because such activities promote atheism and fearlessness towards God. The absence of one’s accountability on his or her actions towards a supreme being can have disastrous effects on the existence of societies.

Let us not forget that the worth of a civilization is not the tall buildings, roads and the economy they construct but in fact it is their religious belief, their morale values, their civic dealings, arts, culture and their ability to bring up good human beings not animals which are driven by their desires. If we fail to provide the youth of our country a strong religious and morale basis we will only end up raising a generation which is not only frustrated but also ethically and morally lost.

I know, I know you’ve heard this song one too many times. But I couldn’t help picking this topic. Depression is an early stage of neurosis. It is dark, dark world where the lost souls tread in woe.

Do you know someone who starts shedding tears at the onset of old talk and forbidden memories? Is a friend going through a rough stage? Do they keep to themselves all times and are very quiet and withdrawn? These, if not personality disorders, are some of the benign symptoms of depression.

Depression is a button found in our genetics, waiting to be coaxed if a situation of a certain severity arises. Once pushed, it starts a spiraling downward chain reaction. At first the person starts losing their concentration, then their interest in life in general, and then their roles and goals. The road takes the individual to a path that is lonely and weird in a sense not hitherto described. This place, amongst other things, has demons and angels that walk the path with you, forcing you to question your sanity. There are blacked out moments of life, which when you come out of, you find yourself in an absurd and ridiculing demeanor.

But although this world of ‘deep-ression’ suffers several hiccups, there are some notable experiences that make you wonder if it is really all that bad. You get to be in a fairy world, where trees talk, where spirits walk the twain world, you see God in a leaf, where you hear voices that speak but a different language.

The drugs that psychiatrist and therapists prescribe bring on their whole world of anew weirdness. The body reacts in ways unknown to the patient. There are drugged hallucinations, hovering darkness, consistent nausea, blinding headaches, soared anxiety, and a heart beat that would embarrass the train’s wheels.

Neurosis is all this and more. It is a hang up in which your soul is put to trials and you are to be the loser each time.

Fatima Abbas

Unless you have something other than to say “I am me,” you are in serious trouble. From the moment we are toddlers, we are put away to learn about the world around us. We learn about the Americas, of primitives, study languages and disciplines. But do we ever learn anything about ourselves. Can you answer the question “who are you?” without being repulsed at yourself for not knowing the answer to that?

You can define yourself keeping in view several spheres of thought. You can describe yourself in regard to the state. What your country is, and what principles it stands by. At the same time you can talk about yourself in association to the religion you follow. You are a Pakistani, governed by diplomacy. You are Muslim, sect so and so. You are a part of society which you make up by your presence and the workings of your tongue. You are him who follows a creed, is manifested by it, and lives by it.

You are intellect and feeling. You are consciousness and unconsciousness. You are a hallmark between understanding and knowledge. You are him who tips the scale of the world. The universe looks at you for advances, for the success of humanity is the success of the one individual who dared. You are disciplined as an individual and as a mass. You can shake the very earth with your fury and study. You are; human and divine.

Fatima Abbas

It goes to say that all of us have been infected by the disease of plastic money. The concept of carrying cash at all times is a nuisance and an ancient creed. Thanks to banks and their revolutionary idea of credit cards, citizens of all developed nations use plastic money for shopping.

You’re at a grocery store and it’s your turn to pay at the cash counter. Chances are that if you live in a third world country, like ours, you would still be struggling with cash. You might be seen in public being all messy with the Rs.5, Rs.10, Rs.50, Rs.100, Rs.500, Rs.1000 and Rs.5000 notes and not to mention the coins of Rs.1, Rs.2, and Rs.5. But if you are a lucky chap and living somewhere in Europe or the U.S.A. there are 98% chances that you would pull out your shiny credit card, have it neatly swiped, diligently sign a receipt, pick up your packages and smilingly be on your way.

Although there is a definite convenience with credit cards, still this plastic money comes with its price tag. At the end of every month, when your bill comes in the mail, it’s all woebegone! Because however dashy those credit cards look in your purse and howsoever cool you look in a crowd using them, the high financial charges come heavy. At the end of the day, you pay up more mark up than you actually did the shopping for.

To top it up, a credit card user is usually a spendthrift (I know I am!). The reasons of which are that it is so easy to buy whatever and whenever you like that you don’t stop to think if what you’re buying can be lived without. So, easily, with one expensive credit card you can buy a whole shop to your taste!

Still, ignoring the shortcomings of plastic money, the idea has not yet been topped with any better the world over. So, although burnt by the flare of credit cards, I’d still say to readers and friends that the addiction to them is full time ayashii!!

Fatima Abbas

Sometime ago there was a phase in my life when I was stretched to the limits. I was living a dark age and I could not find my way out. That was when like a saint, someone advised me to start practicing yoga. So far, I thought yoga was for fitness gurus and health obsessed individuals, but I learnt otherwise. I started reading on yoga and ended up finishing two books on it.

What I gained from the literature was the elixir of life. Yoga is a very profound and systematic manner of achieving fitness. Yet it is more than that. It is a process to unite the three trios; mind, body and spirit through a rhythmic stretch-out routine and making these into a one whole, and by thus gaining a higher consciousness of self and more so; a sense of alienated peace.

Through yoga, the mind is calmed and there are manners even to learn to stop it from its ramblings. Stress and tension are killed by performing the simple techniques like the neck exercise, body is calmed by performing the cobra, back is strengthened by the back stretch, mind is soothed with the breathing exercise, and complexion is made better by the head stand!

So, a higher level of fitness is reached not by a huffing and puffing work-out but by the graceful techniques of yoga. I know kids of today are not so excited by age old traditions as yoga, but trust me, once you get the hang of it; three days a week for yoga seem less!

Fatima Abbas

We live all wrapped and packed in our homes so much that we forget one of our Lord’s greatest blessings; the ‘sun’. If you look at our lives we have this day to day mundane routine of waking up, going to work, coming home, tv, house chores, some of us go out, and then we’re asleep again. No where in this entire schedule do we have time to sun bath and cleanse our hearts and souls and rinse our bodies off dirt.

The sun from ancient times has been a great healer for a lot of diseases and sicknesses. There is a reason why as kids we are told to go out in the sun as soon as we bathe. There is a reason why old people and sick people prefer being left alone in the sun. Sun bathing is as essential to the body as any food or energy drink.

Besides creating the essential Vitamin D in the skin, the sun creates a warming effect in the body. It makes the body feel at home. During sun bathing an individual feels that this is the place where he belonged all along, under the sun and its warm rays. There the individual would find himself gaining calm and becoming at harmony with the world, which he so loses in momentum by working in dingy offices with wire-full laptops and papered files. The amounting peace helps one to discover a serenity that no tranquilizer could ever bring.

Not all of us go straight to the doctor as soon as they sneeze or have a sore throat. Considering the expensive fees of doctors an average family does not have a family physician. Instead, in most cases if someone falls ill, the next best thing to do is to go to the chemist shop and ask the sales person their readily given advice. It is understandable that a sales person is just a sales person and not a physician. So, they advice what best they know doctors to prescribe from reading prescription slips and from what the masses of patients take in general from the shop.

Once home, content to have bought medicines off a sales person, the accused starts taking the medicines. He obviously believes that however he is medicating himself must be the best possible way of getting well. But surprise! A week’s course of medicine XYZ does not make him well; in fact it might even worsen the symptoms.

Self medication is a very common trend. It saves the doctor’s fee but at a grave price-‘health’. God knows only how inexperienced the sales person might have been, or if the medication advised was at all specific for the illness. If self doping does not make a person worse, it certainly prolongs the illness as the prescribed medication is not a perfect match for the disease.

Swallowing a random pill every now and then at the onset of an illness is no big deal for the short run, but in the long run it can cause serious damage to the body and can later arise in complications that one would be sorry for and even wished later that they had paid the petty doctor’s fee after all.

Fatima Abbas