It is no shocker that it is usually the most popular candidate in a democracy would get voted in to a government position. It happens all of the time. It the election isn’t fixed then the candidates try to sway the votes to their side. They do this through publicizing their so-called good deeds. They may even continue these good deeds after they are elected to keep on with their promotions.

With these types of deeds, you will notice there are two major times that they occur. They happen if they are at the end of their term and want to be re-elected; they occur if they are running but aren’t already in office and it happens to be a few months before the election.

Major Elections vs. High School Elections

All of these elections are just larger versions of popularity contests. We have seen them in school growing up – remember those elections? Usually the most popular kids won. They had rehearsed policies and they really worked to get the funds for their own kind. This is the normal thing. It might not be one hundred percent of the time but it is quite expected.

Creating the Good Reputation

Getting back to the big time politics, the good deeds that are used for promotion unfortunately for most candidates don’t really last after the elections are over. If they don’t win, they may have a few events that are publicized. Otherwise you don’t really see them around much with these events. For those who do win, every event that they help out is publicized. This is how they get the good reputation. Anything that is corrupt is usually hidden until after they are in office or for that matter, out again – depending on the person. (This is not to say that all politicians are corrupt, but there are a fair share.)

The Positives behind the Popularity

Yes, this is just the politics of it all. This is how it works. However, there are a couple of ways to look at this. Sometimes, everyone once in a rare time, there is the true genuine person who is involved in the public who decides to run for office to get the most for their area. It’s always a refreshing chance when this happens. They accomplish deeds that aren’t necessarily promoted on television but that are so great that people will spread the news by word of mouth. This is how they gain their popularity.

There is another positive. For those individuals who only promote the events to get the publicity, wrong motive or not, others do benefit from it. This might be through a food drive, soup kitchen, housing renovations, money for the sick, and so on. Whatever the case, if there weren’t some form of motivation behind it, this probably wouldn’t happen.

What Do We Do about It?

So while politics are usually just large popularity contests in those countries where the elections aren’t fixed and are free, there might actually be some good that comes out of them at times. At least it’s a good way to look at it. If you can’t change it, then why complain, right? Or maybe it can be changed…

Our society has become so caught up with punishment these days, that it has simply decided to judge people without asking “why” things happen anymore. It seems if you are accused of making one mistake, you are already judged as evil with no hope for redemption, simply because an action has been deemed “unforgivable” by the masses or an ineffective law.

By no means am I making excuses for people who do wrong or break the law, but when did we as a society become so entertained by drama that we stopped looking for “causes” and started rushing to judgement about the “effect”? It’s simply too easy these days for a person to say something about another that is “unacceptable” or “cliche’” and everyone harmoniously  goes “Awwww…. poor thing, I totally understand even though I don’t know anything about the backstory.

I just feel when someone has a real motive to solve issues, they do not seek the sympathy of their peers or strangers, and when they do, it seems more like they are rallying support for a noticeably “weak” cause from people who know, either too little, or nothing except what they are being spoon-fed by the sympathy seeker.

So before you go “liking” the status update of someone who is pouring their heart out about how they were wronged in real life via a Facebook update, stop to consider what it is you are supporting and whether or not a public forum is an appropriate place for mature, intelligent individuals to hash out real life drama or just a place for “drama queens” to put on a show & make themselves feel better by throwing themselves a pity party.

The next time you see someone doing this, go look at their friends list. I bet 99% of the people who do this have around 500+ friends and actually know or talk to about 5% of those on their list. This is because they have very few friends, but love performing to a huge audience. Drama Queens love attention and putting on popular performances on Facebook is an easy way to offset their failed performances in life.

Other links:
What is a “GPT” Site?

The latest hot news is about these snaps. The parents and the girl herself have got unwanted publicity. This issue brings to light about the misuse of cameras. Many innocent lives are shattered because of social miscreants. Cyber laws should ban such public display of personal snaps and heavy regulations should be exercised. Then only the  excess of such sites and photographs will be removed and our children [ really means the parents can be sure] can safely surf the web.

He’s most certainly cashing in from all of this publicity, despite being sacked from the job he is famous for, with charges of up to $750 for meet and greet tickets on his tour. Whilst you may wonder who would want to go and see this car crash, his thousands of followers on twitter, and the 82,000 applicants he had for the role of his social media intern may make up a large part of the audience.

But why has no-one around him told him to stop? His true family, not the porn stars he parades around on his arms nowadays who are purely there for publicity and money. His antics may be amusing to watch for a while, after all it’s not everyday someone claims they are a “bitching rockstar from mars”, but it’s just getting a bit sad now. Whether his actions are due to alcohol, drugs a mental disorder or a mix of all three they need to be addressed and stopped. It’s been going on long enough now that somebody has to be responsible and say that it needs to stop.

If one of your own family members started to act like this you’d think it was out of the ordinary and try and get them help, yet because this is somebody “famous” the media cash in on it and the public sits back and laughs with him. The ride can only go on for so long, because these are not the actions of a well-minded man, and be it his publicists or his family somebody needs to step in and get the man help. Before it’s too late.

Modern society has come to idolise singers and reality stars and raise them to an unprecedented level. Moderately attractive men become irresistable, and pretty girls become models. But why?

I don’t mean to take away from any achievements of “celebrities”. I, as much as the next person, like to put some music on, or go and see the latest blockbuster. But I wouldn’t scream any of their names in the street. I don’t aspire to just be famous for nothing like many girls do when looking at Jordan or her (long gone) clone Jodie Marsh. Yes Jordan now has countless ranges of low-end tat, but what was she initially famous for? Having big breasts if I remember correctly.

Singers and actors provide us with entertainment, stop our lives being quite so hum-drum and a Saturday night would be nothing without either a good tune blasting or a tub and Ben&Jerry’s in front of the box. However these people are, let’s face it, just doing a job. Be it one they’re exceptional at or have just stumbled into (Jordan your name is being called again). They may have a beautiful voice, but can they change a car tire? Probably not. If I wanted a mechanic I’d call the AA, if I wanted a new album I’d pop down to Tesco and pick up a bit of Rihanna (sorry Justin). Both of them doing a very fine job in their chosen field. Yet I’m sure the mechanic doesn’t bring cities to a standstill, and if he chose to get a hair cut he wouldn’t sell the clippings for an extortinate amount of money. In fact he’d probably be called a bit strange for trying.

Yes celebrity can do good. Selling hair clippings (just PLEASE not to me) and old dresses raises a lot of money for charity. Many are spokespersons for various charities. But lets just keep a bit of reality about us. They’re doing a job! If you swapped for a day, yes you’d be quite bad at their job no matter what your hairbrush says, but it’s highly likely they’d be rubbish at yours. A 16 year old boy is NOT gorgeous, except maybe to 16 year old girls. And maybe not even then, especially if said teenage boy has a bowl cut. If we retain a bit of perspective perhaps we’ll realise that our contribution to society may be less publicised and shouted about, but it’s not insignificant. And we need young girls and boys dreaming of being accountants just as much as we need dreams of superstardom.

So whether you’re a mechanic, a binman, an accountant or a photographer, be proud of the job you do and who you are, and be thankful you can step outside of your hotel without being arrested for causing a public riot.

LETS PLAY SPOT THE STRIPPER, SPOT THE MODEL

Can you honestly tell which girls the stripper and which one is the model?

Take a guess.

Both are promoting sex,  using thier body, for money and publicity. And for money and publicity some not all will have sex or do other things out of character.  Just because some not all strippers are a little more open about their sexual exploits doesn’t make the undercover model any better. And let me just say I’m not applying this to all models or all strippers. Their are a lot of models and strippers that have a very good head on their shoulders. The stripper is look at the way she does because she actually takes the clothes all the way off while performing her show. Now I’m not saying that we should refer to strippers as models or vice versa just pointing out some very similar, similarity’s.  

What do you think??

In two previous columns, we talked about how quality management attracts Publicity, or PR. Practically every organization is constantly trying to attract the attention for the media. What brings the media to a company’s doorway? Which is what each and every public relations man or woman would really like to understand. For this is what PR people today get paid to obtain for their clients.

High quality management is surely a key motivation in attracting a reporter’s attention. This assists persuade the reporter or a radio/TV producer that the proposed interview isn’t heading to become with someone who has “nothing to say” or just rehashing a cliché or tired, aged adventure. The higher the title and the more desirable known a provider, the higher the “impingement” a PR pitch (that’s what publicity folks use to sell a reporter) impacts upon a member in the media. If a person from the publicity department at Microsoft calls Fortune magazine to ask about profiling Bill Gates, the pitch will have significant impingement worth. Few names have this type of clout, either personally or corporately.

In any function, the senior editor within the serious magazine will still inquire about the anecdote angle. The editor will want to know, “What are we going to talk about?” Ultimately, it really is the outstanding memoir that sells magazines or newspapers, not just the big identify. Not all this kind of stories involve a major name talking or spouting his thoughts for the day. Typically, greater reports evolve when there’s a strong newsworthy angle. Let’s take a look at two recent testimonies – an individual which entails a uranium organization and a further 1 about a coalbed methane (CBM) firm, which we’ve covered within this column.

On Thursday, Pacific Asia China Power (Pace) was featured from the Financing section of Canada’s Globe and Mail newspaper. Headlined “High-Energy Performer,” the opening sentences told us why the reporter was interested: “PACE holds contracts to assist China explore for and create its coalbed methane (CBM) resources – fuel China requirements to assist satisfy its strength demands.”

The large narrative, which drew the newspaper to Pacific Asia China Strength, was China. Speed piggybacked that sage considering the corporation may perhaps be helping to offer you a legitimate remedy towards the country’s electrical power combination. Component within the enormous memoir would be the feasible measurement from the recoverable fuel, estimated in a very technical report by Sproule Worldwide to become as massive as 11.2 trillion cubic toes of gasoline.

Those two items enhanced the reporter’s interest in Pace. China requirements option power sources, this sort of as CBM, to improve their electricity blend – from a near total dependence upon coal. And, Pace has a potentially enormous resource, which could last a great amount of many years. These kinds of a gas source could possibly be sufficiently huge to produce an affect on China. After all, China has proven reserves of a little a lot more than 30 trillion cubic feet. One other eleven trillion cubic ft, really should the possible be proven up, would represent a substantial raise of accessible gas in the especially substantial country. By itself, this could later produce into a main international power account, reported upon by an incredible quantity of press media. One more impingement concerning the reporter is having the satisfaction of reporting upon an excellent account, very well prior to other individuals write the narrative. 

Chatter in the newsroom: 

“Did you hear about PACE’s fuel discovery in China, Bob?” 

Bob’s Reply: “Oh that a single. Yeah, I wrote about it eight months ago!”

As a result, there are several impingement points on this tale. Each “draw,” or a cause to attract eyeballs for the memoir, is one other point the account need to score, for that reporter and his editor, to overcome the hurdles of being featured inside of a important publication. China is actually a draw. The measurement within the Speed coalbed methane gas source may be a draw. The probable affect upon China’s electrical power combination is really a draw. Writing about it earlier than the rest from the pack jumps on the bandwagon? Which is a draw, too. Within this case, four draws sufficiently attracted media coverage from this modest CBM advancement business.

Sometimes, the timing is just excellent, and also overpowering “big story” accidentally introduces a lucky guy onto the world’s stage. Around the exact Thursday, the Pace memoir was carried while in the Globe and Mail, the Chief Govt of the tiny Canadian uranium corporation impinged on a Russian press service reporter in Hong Kong. This type of was the great fortune for Craig Lindsay, a Certified Monetary Analyst, who has spent even more than 16 many years in corporate finance, investment banking and small business enhancement, according for the web site of Magnum Uranium, for which he now serves as Chief Executive.

Although Magnum includes a markets capitalization of about $15 million, and Lindsay is neither a geologist nor engineer, RIA Novosti press company touted him like a “well-known energy expert.” Admittedly, Lindsay gave an awesome speech at the Hong Kong Club for foreign correspondents. Cleverly, he announced, “Uranium may well be the next oil,” throughout his speech. As a lot of other sector experts have predicted, Lindsay also forecast uranium “may hit $50/pound by the finish within the year.” So several are now announcing this it really is likely to turn out to be a self-fulfilling prophesy.

What elevated Lindsay’s publicity was not what he says in his speech. Most of his commentary has been by now been noted in quite a few publications, including in our columns. (What reporters seriously hate is rehashing outdated thing to give an individual publicity!) It was to whom Lindsay was talking, and especially the “timing” as to when it was explained. Here is how Craig Lindsay received his “15 minutes of fame.”

About six hours earlier, the extremely exact same Russian thing agency reported that Russia and Kazakhstan had signed a uranium deal worth $1 billion. The images of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev appeared as the photo op which goes with this type of seriously big testimonies. This was a key celebration involving two extremely big names, and amongst the biggest names and countries inside the uranium sector. This was also Russia’s initially contract to import uranium; Kazakhstan stands out as the world’s third largest uranium producer. All of this is “big news.”

The clever Russian freelance reporter, who attended the Lindsay speech in Hong Kong, probably text-messaged or emailed his editor by Blackberry, tried to piggyback the Russian-Kazak account with his personal adventure. Yes, that is how timing works. As soon as being a serious function requires place, other journalists rush to piggyback the event with “their” account. The Russian reporter scored factors with his editor and received his narrative filed (slang for published).<p>

Two cunning gentlemen, the Russian stringer (slang for freelance reporter), and Craig Lindsay (whose title was spelled Kreig Lindsay with the post), both equally accomplished their purposes. Mr. Lindsay obtained his company into the world’s spotlight. The Russian stringer obtained an ideal sage. The reporter threw up a softball question, for which Mr. Lindsay supplied the desired solution.

What was the question the reporter asked Lindsay? That is pretty obvious from what the reporter published in his document. Right here is really a clip from the Moscow Information report:

Foreign investors are ready to invest in Russia’s uranium trade, if Moscow wants this to come about and establishes a required legal base,” Lindsay reported. “I think that Russia is 1 for the most promising directions for this variety of investments, it really is an undeveloped current market, full of opportunities. My provider will probably be the to start with to come to Russia, if the needed conditions are produced,” he added.

Nowhere in Lindsay’s speech did Magnum Uranium’s Chief Government discuss investing in Russia. Even so, the reporter Required a great quote. It had to tie-in with “investing in Russia for uranium growth.” Lindsay accommodated. He didn’t commit to investing in Russia, but he kept the doorway open. Magnum Uranium recently announced the acquisition of a 1,080-acre land package in Converse County, Wyoming. The service is also exploring for uranium in each Wyoming and then the Athabasca Basin. Its finances are probably previously stretched from equally exploration and acquisition activities. Magnum’s industry capitalization would probably be insufficient to launch investments into Russia, at this time.

On the other hand, Lindsay did an amazing job receiving his company this caliber of publicity. And he bought the uranium sector wonderful publicity. He capitalized upon an impinging narrative – a narrative that did show up to the world’s radar – by properly supplying an answer the Russian journalist was wanting to prod out of him.

That is the essence of how journalists and publicity-seekers work together. If the PR person gives the journalist the tale angle he is in search of within the bigger adventure, chances are it’ll show up in print. Piggybacking a “main event” is by far the most typical approach to grow one’s impingement worth to a reporter. And by currently being a cunning interviewee for his Russian reporter, Craig Lindsay just received Magnum Uranium into this column as nicely!

But rather than discussing the credentials of the website, let’s take the claim on face-value: that the ISO has to its credit crumbling the former superpower Soviet Union into pieces and no on camera defectors. Although these claims alone could be harshly scrutinized, let’s just weigh them against its admitted failures.

On the external front, ISO has been blamed for the botched military operations against India; namely Operation Gibraltar of 1965 War and the Karil War of 1999. ISO also planned and led the failed 1989 Battle of Carlsbad, with intent of installing a pro Pakistan radical militant group in Afghanistan. And the fifteen year long attempt to stir armed uprising in Indian held Kashmir, with no fruits.

On the internal front, ISO is one of the few agencies in the world to have carried out killings of its own people. The failure to outdo rebel Mufti Behan sabotage and the reprisal killings of Bengali civilians in the 1971 Civil War, extra judicial killings of ethnic Ba lochs in 20 years of armed conflict (intermittent) in Baluchistan, 5 years of military operations against ethnic Mohawks in Karachi, and last but not the least, the failure to contain the rise of religious terrorism, failure to provide security in public life against the ominous threat of suicide bombing, and the classic case of the Lalo Mastoid uprising right under ISI’s nose.

Among the agencies rated by the website, ISO is the only one retaining a “political cell” with an official intent of keeping an eye on anti federation elements (read politicians). Far from debating the merits of a security agency meddling into politics, the potential of such cell being misused by those in power is massive.

With such credentials, one can’t help but think of alternate explanations: “a ‘failed’ publicity stint by a ‘failed agency,’” makes sense. 

Moreover, sectarian rivalries between the majority Sunni population and the minority Shiites, Ahmadis and various non Muslim groups, have also contributed to the degeneration of the state structure. While the ethnic conflicts are rooted in economic deprivation and grievances over state neglect, sectarian frictions are ingrained in hatred and lack of tolerance patronized by the state.

This paper builds on the assumption that the Pakistani society has failed to function as a cohesive whole largely due to failure of the state to perform its most basic role: that is to provide people with security and the right to economic opportunity. And it’s these two steps, along with fixing a broken governance structure and reinventing the foreign policy that this paper focuses on.

Pakistan today is a country torn by political and religious conflict, and peace building in Pakistan requires post conflict recovery of system, institutions, security and above all the economy.

Although the nature of conflict in Pakistan is ethnic as well as religious, its roots lie in chronic deprivation of various segments of society, whether economic or political, by an increasingly disconnected elite that has come to rule the country. The elite consist of a nexus between civil and military bureaucrats on one hand, and powerful feudal turned politicians on the other. A fundamental transformation of Pakistani society requires uplifting of those chronically deprived, which can only come at the expense of breaking the current power structure and status quo which only serves the interests of a small but extraordinarily powerful and rich ruling class.

Globally, post conflict recovery has often failed out of one fear: the fear of civil war. The process of recovery can only start once all groups have reconciled and been brought back into main stream.  The conventional approach is to hold an election with an aim to provide representation to each group, but election alone cannot be the key. Election does not produce a legitimate and accountable government. What it does produce is a winner and a loser. And the loser is left unreconciled.  What we need to do is to build on the foundation of security and economic development. After years of stagnation and decline, the mentality of politics has turned into a zero sum game, where one group can only win if the other loses. Therefore, building peace can only come with an inclusion agenda. Hence, the government needs to provide an economic reform and a post conflict compact among all stake holders. The process can start with providing jobs. More than fifty percent of our population falls in the age group of 18 – 35, and young men with no jobs can return to violent means unless their grievances are looked after.

STEP NO. 1: FIXING THE SECURITY APPARATUS:

The first step in political and social reconciliation is to rebuild prosperity. And in order to build prosperity we need to rebuild security.

With around three thousand deaths in terrorist attacks in the last two years[3], the façade of a strong security apparatus has faded. Terrorists have been successful in targeting almost everybody and nobody: from the assassination of a former Prime Minister to the attack on General Headquarters of the military, from bombings of Sunni mosques and Shiite rallies to attacks on Sufi Shrines and Ahmadi worship houses, and from blasts in wedding ceremonies in Peshawar to bazaars of Lahore and hospitals in Karachi, no body no longer feels safe.

Terrorism has not only put an end to the public life, it has also caused foreign investment to erode dramatically. When the 6th largest military in the world fails to protect its people, everybody knows that something is gravely wrong. Hence it has become imperative that people’s confidence in the security apparatus be restored. This can only happen if the grievances of those who have resorted to terrorism be listened and redressed to, and in this way the hardliners among them be either sidelined or isolated, and then be taken head on.

Next comes the issue of rebuilding regions worst affected by a decade long terrorism. Apart from reconstruction and rehabilitation, there is also the job of peacekeeping which ensures that the terrorists are not allowed to return or given a sanctuary.

On a social level, there is also a problem of societal attitude change. People, who for a long time have condoned violence against the ‘other’, need to understand that it does not take long for violence to come home.  

And that it is not always an external hand that seeks to destabilize the country, but rather people from within who for a very long time have waged war based on their own intolerant agenda. Truth and reconciliation commissions like the ones formed in civil war torn African countries should be formed where political and religious leaders who have used violence as an instrument of asserting their power should come forward and acknowledge their abuse of power, in order to allow the society to move forward together. Also, people who can challenge the extremist point of view intellectually should be given more space in public life, hence laying foundations of a more tolerant future.

STEP NO. 2: FIXING GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE

But the failure of state is not just rooted in ethnic and sectarian conflict; rather, for the most part of the sixty three years of independence, Pakistan has failed to provide its citizens with basic services like education, health care and employment. For a country with large mineral deposits, natural resources and great agricultural potential, a population of 62 million out of 180 million living under the poverty line doesn’t quite add up.[4] Napoleon is often credited with the statement, “Never ascribe to conspiracy that which is adequately explained by incompetence.” But clearly incompetence is any easy scapegoat; 180 million people can’t all be incompetent. Look more closely, and you realize that a history of nepotism, kleptocracy and corruption among the ruling class has eaten away the structure of governance. Military dictators or civilian governments, everybody has used whatever power at his or her disposal to accumulate wealth for personal benefit, while gobbling up whatever foreign aid and grants have come in for infrastructure development.

 Anywhere in the world, the rot of corruption always starts with government but it afflicts the entire society. There’s no point investing in a business because the government will not protect you against thieves. (So, you might as well become a thief.) There’s no point in paying your phone bill because nobody can successfully take you to court (so there’s no point being a phone company). There’s no point getting an education because jobs are not handed out on merit (and in any case, you can’t borrow money for school fees because the bank cannot collect on the loan, and the government doesn’t provide good schools). There’s no point setting up an import business because the customs officers will be the ones to benefit (and so there is little trade, and so the customs office is underfunded and looks even harder for bribes).

The small amount of education and technology and infrastructure that Pakistanis do have could be much better used if the society was organized to reward good, productive ideas.[5]

Hence the first and foremost step is to establish rule of law, and invest in infrastructure building. At a time when donors from all over the world are ready to step in and help in rebuilding the country, they should also make sure that the money makes it way to projects it is intended for. A young population is a huge human resource but if left unskilled and unemployed it can also turn into a dangerous liability.

Next step is to build institutions. Building democratic institutions does not only mean holding elections. Not only do people have a right to cast their votes and elect a representative, but they also have a responsibility to keep criticizing him and making him accountable. Also, military intervention in politics victimizes the crooked politicians, who go home before completing their term and cry foul, rather than being voted out of politics for their corruption. There should be no doubt that in the long run, the dictatorship of a strong man is an unsustainable solution because it has no connection to the people. Fatima Ali Jinnah, when contesting against the military dictator Ayub Khan, said “Mr. Ayub says that he is indispensible for the system. No man is indispensible, nobody can live forever, but the country has to live on. Then why not should we do away with the system of indispensables, and replace it with a system where the institutions rule and not individuals?” [6]

But implementing democracy also requires making political parties themselves democratic. Parties that have ruled until now come from a narrow base and are geared towards gaining power. Making all pillars of state functional, where an independent judiciary and a free media can keep checks over the action of government and exposes mismanagement and corruption is also vital. Even with small amount of fixing, the marginal returns of good governance can begin to make big differences. 

STEP NO. 3: FIXING THE ECONOMY

The third but most important step for long term peace building is restructuring and rebuilding the economy. With a government spending of $20 billion and revenues of $13 billion, and taxes to GDP ratio of 10%[7], the growing budget deficit has left the economy in shambles, with repeated bail outs from the IMF. Still, those in power prefer to protect the interests of the influential feudal lords who not only refuse to pay taxes on income from agriculture, but also eat away a sizeable chunk of budget through subsidies and grants.

Agriculture, which is 26% of our economy, is virtually tax exempt. Similarly, the Capital market and real estate also go untaxed. Apart from tax exempt sectors, it is estimated that revenues of $6 billion to $8 billion are lost in tax leakages[8]. Hence, it is the state level protection of vested interests that has allowed this emerging Asian economy to fail.

Hence, whenever the IMF steps in, the axe falls on the consumer rather than the powerful special interests, causing high rates of inflation that further crumble the economy.

Another stunning loss of government finances is through the disaster called state owned enterprises. The Govt. of a third world country with a current account deficit of $16 billion[9] cannot afford to run corporations worth billions of dollars. Hence, in order to ease the pressure on the economy, the public sector should be privatized. Although the argument for privatization is always controversial, the past privatizations in the banking and telecom sector stand as an example of how profitable a free market mechanism coupled with regulation can be.

Next step in fixing the economy is to open up markets for trade. Geographically, Pakistan has enormous potential for trade. We have not been able to fully harness our synergies with Iran; Iran has an energy based economy, lagging in agriculture, where we excel.

Similarly, removing tariffs and opening trade with India will also work in Pakistan’s benefit; a sack of cement sells for half the price in Lahore than it does in Amritsar, just 20 miles across the border. In the same vein, Pakistan has a great opportunity to serve as a corridor for trade between Central Asian Countries and South Asia.

But fixing the economy is not just about opening borders for trade. An industrial base with a high rate of unskilled labor can be very uncompetitive in the global market. Hence, while government needs to show fiscal austerity by axing subsidies that only benefit the rich, it also needs to fund Research and Development and start large scale training programs for the work force. And until the industries become globally competitive, exploitation of available natural resources like gas and marble can become a viable attraction for foreign investment.

STEP NO.4: FIXING THE FOREIGN POLICY

All developed countries have a foreign policy tailored to their economic interests while also focusing on national security. Sadly, Pakistan’s foreign policy is one which is hostage to its national security, while the economic interests have been relegated to those powers that bail out our economy from time to time.

But in order to form an independent foreign policy, we need to be economically independent. By becoming a security state in a perpetual arms race with its traditional rival India, Pakistan has consistently allocated 25%[10] of its federal budget to defense, yet still failing to protect public lives against terrorism. In a way Pakistan has allowed its development to become hostage to India, failing to realize that India is a much larger country that can afford tinkering with its defense capabilities.

Another foreign policy failure of Pakistan has been refusal of duty free access by friendly Western countries. A focused image building policy that help market and promote Pakistani goods & services abroad should be an integral part of the foreign policy.

In the same vein, relationship with global powers like USA and China should not be an either-or win-lose game, which can make the foreign policy heavily dependent on one power. Rather, balanced politics at home and abroad, can help change things for the better.

Political struggles, whether resources or identity based, only turn violent when public grievances are allowed to go unchecked.

But neither the ethnic nor the sectarian conflict is an impossible one to solve. The job of the Federation is to create a situation in which none of these minorities feel marginalized enough to ask for secession. It has to create a situation in which people realize that it is better for them to stay a part of Pakistan than not, Which incidentally was also the justification for the creation of Pakistan; that the rights and interests of the downtrodden among the Muslims of India could be protected and provided for. That the state has failed to perform its basic job has caused Pakistan to become what it is today: a state of failures.

” The world is yours to build or destroy, the power is in your hands “

Environmentalist: Someone who works to protect the environment from being destroyed or polluted.

Ideology

We focus on:

• global warming
• deforestation
• overfishing
• commercial whaling
• nuclear power and toxic waste

Moreover, in Canada, we focus on

• Protecting the environment unless there is an absolute need to develop an environmental hex. We do not believe in developing the hexes for personal profit, only if they citizens of Canada will be left out on a necessity such as food and shelter. Commodities such as insurance and art and entertainment we feel are a luxury and even if there is a shortage, no environmental hexes should be developed.
• We believe that everyone who cannot support their family receive welfare. Every family deserves a fair opportunity to purchase what they need for their family and they should not have it just because they made the wrong choices in life.

Mission Statement:

Our main objective is to ensure that the environment is kept safe from being destroyed or polluted. We can work together to protect it and keep it from being harmed, without it humans would not be able to survive. Today is tomorrow’s future.

Fund-raising:

We get money from some of the members in our group and businesses that sponsor us.

 Political Party Associations & Policies

Some of the policies that we would like to see and are trying to change are:

- hex laws: we are trying to make it so that environmental hexes cannot be developed

- unless necessary, the environment shouldn’t be destroyed to make new businesses

We are associated with the green party of Canada.

We share the same views with the Green Party in, but not limited to:

    * making flex hours for working parents

    * providing no more grey‑industry bail‑outs

    * having a lower payroll and lower income taxes

    * having higher taxes on polluting industries

    * making a national childcare plan

    * creating a Charter of rights to clean air and water

    * and restoring power to local members of parliament

Awareness Campaigns & Publicity

To get publicity, we go door to door to all houses in the Greater Toronto Area and simply talk about our group and about public events that they can attend. We put posters up, broadcast daily on the TV and radio and post ads in the newspaper.

This year, we have 3 organized events to promote awareness, which include:

A parade that will take place in the fall. The floats are based on what we are trying to achieve and kids will be given community hours for their participation.

A GREEN carnival. It is free to get in, and what we have is a setup of rides that are powered by renewable resources. It is free to get in and the food is free as well.

Our final publicity is the lottery. We sell lottery tickets, and we advertise our tickets throughout Ontario. Tickets can be bought for $1 each, and the lottery resets every week with an automatic balance of $100 000.