CDL denies clearing medicine found lethal by foreign lab

Karachi: The Central Drug Testing Laboratory (CDL), Karachi, has denied Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s allegations that the CDL had cleared a medicine, Isotab, manufactured by Efroze Pharma and declared it fit for patients, saying they had not so far tested the medicine.

“The CDL received five drugs and raw material of two drugs from the Punjab and our analysis found one of the medicines, Alfagril (Clopidogril) of Alfa Pharma substandard,” Deputy-Director of the CDL Dr. Obaid Ali told The News on Wednesday.

“The medicine, Isotab-20, was not among the medicine samples sent to CDL by the Punjab government,” he clarified. Dr. Obaid Ali said initially, they received samples of five medicines and raw materials for two on January 19 and they completed the tests and sent the report to Punjab Drug Inspector and Quality Control Board on January 27, 2012.

ìThe medicine of Alfa Pharma, Alfagril, was found substandard as the medicine had dark spots on it and was discoloured. Analysis showed that it was substandard and not up to the international standardsî Dr. Obaid Ali disclosed.

He denied that CDL cleared Isotab of Efroze Pharma, saying that they received its samples later and they were currently analysing the drug on priority basis.

ìWhen we have not tested the medicine, how can we clear it and declare it safe for useî, the CDL official queried.

In reply to a query, he said that the CDL had refused to accept samples of another 12 medicines from the Punjab government that were sent to CDL for analysis as CDL did not work for the Punjab government.

ìFirst the Punjab government would have to notify that they were sending us the medicines for analysis and then they should send them to us as per rules prescribed under Drug Act, otherwise we canít accept any samples from any provincial governmentî, he said.

OS X Lion Update 10.7.3 (Server)

The 10.7.3 update is recommended for all servers currently running Lion Server. This update includes general operating system fixes that enhance the stability, compatibility, migration and security of your server and improvements of the following services and applications:

File Sharing pane in the Server application

display number of connected userslist connected usersdisconnect specific AFP users with a messagesend a message to specific AFP usersset a login greeting message for AFP usersaccess to advanced ACL controls

VPN pane in the Server application

choice of enabling L2TP or L2TP and PPTP protocolssharing of address ranges between L2TP and PPTP (if PPTP is enabled)configure DNS name server addresses and domain names provided to VPN clientsoption to save L2TP or PPTP settings as a configuration profile

Web pane in the Server application

enable .htaccess overridesedit web sites' domain namesmap multiple domains into a single web siteconfigure redirects and aliasesspecify custom index fileschoose SSL certificates for individual websites

Wiki Server

support for editing Wiki pages from an iPad running iOS 5 or latersupport for Active Directory groupsimproved reliability for certain timezonesimproved support for an administrator-specified custom tag, protocol and inline style whitelist

Profile Manager

updated Exchange, Mail and Restrictions payloads for iOS clientsupdated Dock payloads for OS X clientsperformance improvementsallow VPN payloads to be used by both iOS and OS X clientssupport for External Account home folder locationsimproved support for managing enterprise applications

The update also includes specific fixes for:

iCal Server auto-acceptance of meetings during free timesauthenticated directory binding to Open Directory servers with Directory Utilityimproved reliability of setting up Open Directory replicascorrectly create podcasts when bound to an Active Directory server using Podcast Publisherimproved support for different certificates used for IMAP/POP and SMTP in the Server applicationimproved searching of logs in the Server applicationweb password reset support when using the Internet Explorer 9 browser

For detailed information on this update, please visit this website: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5049.

For detailed information on security updates, please visit this website: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1222.

 SHA1 = 55a9571635d4ec088c142d68132d0d69fcb8867d

Govt committed for uplift of education sector

QUETTA: The provincial government is making all-out efforts to ensure maximum facilities to the educational institutions in order to improve standard of education across the province.

Additional Secretary Education Balochistan said during his visit to a private college in Sibi Monday that the improved condition of schools would certainly cast positive impact on standard of education by ensuring conducive educational environment to students.

He said the provincial government provided furniture worth over Rs. 20 million to schools in the district and assured that the provincial government is committed to resolve problems of schools. (APP)

JUI-F wants opposition parties to unite for polls

PESHAWAR: Considering early elections a panacea for all problems faced by the country, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) has urged all opposition parties to join hands to work out a plan for polls and pressure the government accordingly.

“We think free, fair and transparent election at the earliest is the solution to all the problems. It should be done in a legal and constitutional way. We would never support any extra-constitutional step for change,” said Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri, the JUI-F central secretary general, while addressing a hurriedly called press conference here on Monday evening.

The JUI-F wants to celebrate 2012 as the year of election, but for the purpose all the opposition parties would have to unite and work out a unanimous solution with regard to the month and date for the elections, he said, adding that the JUI-F had contacted other opposition parties, mainly the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, for this purpose.

The Maulana said the government had failed on all fronts. “Robberies are taking place on national highways, law and order situation is presenting the worst picture in the country’s history, the economic situation has worsened and corruption has broken all records,” the JUI-F leader said. “One of the main reasons of the challenges facing the country is the support to the US-led alliance in the so-called war against terror. Even now there is time for the rulers to take the right decisions, otherwise it would become difficult for them to present the next budget,” he stressed. Ghafoor Haideri was in the provincial capital to condole the death of the sister-in-law of Abdul Jalil Jan, provincial secretary information of JUI-F who was present at the news conference. Ghafoor Haideri said the JUI-F had supported the government in the All Parties Conference convened by Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani, but the decisions taken in that conference for national security and sovereignty haven’t been implemented. He said the government made a welcome decision after the attack on check-posts in Mohmand Agency by cutting off supply line to the Nato troops in Afghanistan. The government is still sticking to that decision, he said, adding that the JUI-F would never allow resumption of the supplies. “We can even burn the Nato containers if the government dared to resume the Nato supplies,” he declared.

Pakistan Blog Awards 2011

Madiha Ishtiaque on 25, Dec 2011 | 7 Comments | in Category: Limelight

Blog Awards 2011 with all their ho-humness were all about youth and encouraging their voices to be heard across. With the aim of providing a platform to the views that usually go unheard or are stifled owing to the prevalent intolerance in the Pakistani society today, Google, PC World and Telenor came together under a common banner of Pakistan Blog Awards and arranged a two day event, Unconference and Gala Night.

The modestly glitzy Gala Night at Regent Plaza Hotel had all the right ingredients to not only make the event a big success but also to provide an incentive and a moral boost to the people who make significant efforts in bringing about a change- a common rhetoric these days.

In the backdrop of PTI’s massive success in Lahore, the idea of using social media as an effective tool in contributing to spread awareness and enlightenment is rapidly catching on. It has also brought some very talented people glutted with the art of articulation, to the limelight, so they could employ their skills to raise voices on the issues generally tuned out as Taboos. With so many bloggers revving up and social media activities on their upswing, Blog Awards served to acknowledge and honor these efforts and bring them to another level.

Some of the prominent bloggers and twitteratis present on the occasion were: Faisal Qureshi, Beena Sarwar, Ali K Chishti, Awab Alvi, Faisal Kapadia, Badar Khushnood, Rabia Gharib, Abdul Hameed Kath, Abid Beli, Jehanara .

While the event was still catching its momentum after recitation, opening speech and a tableau, Imran Khan’s sudden appearance phenomenally stoked the fire to the event. In his brief appearance, he commended the efforts of the bloggers and asserted that youth and bloggers have supported him a lot in his movement and his presence was purely with the intent of appreciating and supporting them.

Out of 25 nominations from each category, some of the blogs that won awards were:

Aisha Aijaz’s ‘My Bit for Change’ – for the Best Social Activist BlogBeena Sarwar’s (The News, Jang Group)  BlogSpot – Best Journalist BlogAli K Chishtie’s BlogSpot Best Political Coverage Blog

Pakistan Blog awards surely stand in the league of their own. Promoting the freedom of meaningful expression, such events are surely set to bring out the much needed positive change in our society.

Final Cut Pro X 10.0.3, Motion 5.0.2, and Compressor 4.0.2: Require Mac OS X 10.6.8 or OS X 10.7.2

var enableAppleInstant = 'yes';var modelValue = 'SupportApple';var akamaiUrl = "http://km.support.apple.com";Final Cut Pro X 10.0.3, Motion 5.0.2, and Compressor 4.0.2: Require Mac OS X 10.6.8 or OS X 10.7.2Final Cut Pro X 10.0.3, Motion 5.0.2, and Compressor 4.0.2 have specific system requirements that you should be aware of.

"> ACUtil.setPOD('us~en'); var articleId = "HT5090"; var ACStaticText = { 'more': '…more', 'less': 'less' };KmLoader.akamaiUrl = 'http://km.support.apple.com';//function sendRead()var locale = 'en_US';Event.observe(window, 'load', function() {ACHistory.addKbView('HT5090', 'Final Cut Pro X 10.0.3, Motion 5.0.2, and Compressor 4.0.2: Require Mac OS X 10.6.8 or OS X 10.7.2', 'en_US', 'unknown');ACUtil.getMultipleOffers('133280', 'HOWTO_ARTICLES', 'en_US', 'false');ACUtil.reportView('HT5090', 'en_US');// Apple Instant Feed statistics code if(locale.indexOf("en")!=-1 && (enableAppleInstant == "yes")){var store = new Persist.Store('FeedStats');if (store.get('resultActivity')=='true'){var time = new Date();setReadTimer = setTimeout(function(){var feedStats = new ACFeedStatistics();feedStats.updateRead('HT5090', store.get('position'));store.remove('HT5090');store.remove('position');}, 3000);store.set('HT5090', time.getTime());}} });Event.observe(window, 'beforeunload', function(){// Apple Instant Feed statistics code if(locale.indexOf("en")!=-1 && (enableAppleInstant == "yes")){ var store = new Persist.Store('FeedStats'); if (store.get('resultActivity')=='true' && store.get('HT5090') !== null){ var time = new Date();var timeDiff = time.getTime() - store.get('HT5090');if (timeDiff Final Cut Pro X 10.0.3, Motion 5.0.2, and Compressor 4.0.2: Require Mac OS X 10.6.8 or OS X 10.7.2 Summary

Final Cut Pro X 10.0.3, Motion 5.0.2, and Compressor 4.0.2 have specific system requirements that you should be aware of.

Products Affected

Final Cut Pro X

These applications require these operating systems:

Mac OS X Snow Leopard v10.6.8 OS X Lion 10.7.2 or later

Important: OS X Lion 10.7 and 10.7.1 are not supported. these applications will only run on Mac OS X 10.6.8 and OS X Lion 10.7.2 or later.

Additional Information

Complete system requirements for Final Cut Pro X are available at apple.com/finalcutpro/specs/. 

Related articles:

 

Final Cut Pro X, Motion 5, Compressor 4: Graphics card compatibility Final Cut Pro X, Motion 5, Compressor 4: Using OpenCL-enabled graphics cards $('articlecontent').select('img').each(function(element) { if(element.width > 640 ){ var imageDiv = document.createElement('div'); imageDiv.setStyle({ 'display':'block', 'width':'660px', 'overflow':'auto', 'border':'1px solid #dedede','margin-right': '15px'}); element.parentNode.replaceChild(imageDiv, element); imageDiv.appendChild(element); } }); Rate this article:Not helpfulSomewhat helpfulHelpfulVery helpfulSolved my problemOne Moment PleaseThanks for rating this article Not helpful Somewhat helpful Helpful Very helpful Solved my problem Share this article Twitter Facebook Last Modified: January 31, 2012 Article: HT5090 Views: 2196 Rating: 1.0/5 Stars
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US hopes shift in its Afghan role by 2013

ABOARD A US MILITARY AIRCRAFT: The United States hopes to shift its military role in Afghanistan from combat to training during the second half of 2013, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said on Wednesday.

But he said the US administration wanted to see all the NATO allies in Afghanistan — including France — “respect” a strategy adopted at a summit in Lisbon in November 2010, which calls for handing over security duties to Afghan forces by the end of 2014.

“Hopefully by the mid-to-latter part of 2013, we’ll be able to make a transition from a combat role to a train and advise and assist role, which is basically fulfilling what Lisbon was all about,” Panetta told reporters aboard his plane en route to Brussels.

“We all went in here together and we’ll all go out together, but we have to do it on the basis of a strong alliance and a strong commitment that was made in Lisbon,” said Panetta, who was due to meet NATO defense ministers in his visit to Belgium.

The NATO-led coalition this year needed to cement battlefield gains against the Taliban insurgency and to build on progress in strengthening the Afghan army and police, he said.

He said 2013 would be a “crucial” year for the final transfer of remaining areas to Afghan security forces.

“2014 becomes a year of consolidating the transition,” he said.

Panetta’s comments reaffirmed signals from President Barack Obama’s administration that after a decade of war, America’s military mission in Afghanistan will soon evolve into a supporting role with Afghan forces taking the lead in the fight against the Taliban.

It was unclear how the planned shift from combat to a mainly advisory role would affect planned troop levels for US forces.

With nearly 90,000 US troops now in Afghanistan, Panetta said that “no decision has been made with regards to the level of forces we’ll have in 2013.”

By the end of September, the number of US troops is due to drop to 68,000, following the scheduled withdrawal of a “surge force” that deployed in 2010.

The Pentagon chief sought to play down the effect of last month’s surprise announcement from French President Nicolas Sarkozy to withdraw French combat forces in 2013, a year earlier than planned under the NATO strategy.

“With regards to France, I understand why they made their decision,” Panetta said.

Despite the French withdrawal plans, he said he was “pleased” that France had indicated it would retain a longer-term military presence with troops training and advising Afghan forces.

“My hope is at that at this ministerial (in Brussels), we can discuss their decision and hopefully find a way to make sure we bring them back into the Lisbon strategy,” he said.

A senior US defense official told reporters it was possible that there was no serious gap between the French stance and NATO‘s timeline, depending on the precise details of what Paris planned.

“I think the discussions will reveal whether there’s a serious difference or not,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

“What we need to discuss with the French is exactly what role they envisage playing in 2013 and 2014, whether there’s a serious difference in terms of the milestones that they envisage,” the official said. (AFP)

Samples sent to London for medical investigation

LAHORE: Punjab government has sent five types of samples of parts of bodies after autopsy and three types of samples of cardiac patients, admitted to different city hospitals with complaints of drug reaction, for laboratory examination in London, UK.

Sources told The News that five types of samples including bone marrow, blood, tissues and viscera (internal organs of the body, specifically those within chest or abdomen) of two out of four bodies, whose autopsy was performed at the mortuary of King Edward Medical University, had been sent for examination in forensic labs of three different teaching institutions in London.

The initial reports of post-mortem performed on four bodies till Monday revealed that one of the patients had shown signs of internal bleeding and other showed symptoms of pneumonia as the cause of death, while the reports of remaining two bodies were yet not known. The detailed reports will be compiled after necessary tests.

Besides, the sources said the samples had also been sent to Chemical Examiner, Punjab, for necessary investigation in this regard. Similarly, sources said, the samples of bone marrow, blood and skin, along with the history of patients, were also sent for laboratory tests to ascertain the reason and effect of the reaction from medicines among the cardiac patients in the internationally-recognized laboratory of Royal Free Hospital, London. “The samples of at least 48 affected patients have been acquired and sent abroad,” a member of the technical committee said and added that the reports of laboratory tests were expected to be received in a week’s time. The experts believed that, after drug reaction, the skin of the cardiac patients had darkened three to five per cent.

Punjab Health Secretary Capt (retd) Arif Nadeem also confirmed that samples of patients and deceased persons had been sent for laboratory tests in London. He said the Technical Committee, constituted by the Punjab government, was in constant touch with experts in foreign laboratories. “We are expecting reports of samples of medicines, patients and bodies in a few days, which will be made public through media,” he added.

About reports of fitness of drugs from local laboratories, he said all laboratories pinpointed a common finding of presence of active ingredient in all seven medicines, suspected to have caused the drug reaction.

Allama Iqbal Medical College/Jinnah Hospital Lahore Principal Prof Dr Javed Akram told The News the probe committee had recommended action against the EDO Health, Lahore, and drug inspectors for conducting inspection without prior intimation in the absence of head of the institution and subsequently sealing of the stocks of WHO-donated medicines at the drugstore of AIMC/JHL. He termed the act of sealing of medicines an attempt to change the course of inquiry into the scandal of drug reaction. It also created a sense of distrust among the World Health Organisation and other international donor agencies, he added. “Only the poor patients will be the ultimate sufferers in the whole episode,” he believed.

Punjab Parliamentary Secretary Health Dr Saeed Elahi said all eight sub-committees (technical, review & inspection, retrieval, legal, ethical, clinical, amendment & reform and disciplinary) constituted to investigate the crisis, had been working, saying that the government was aiming to change the procurement procedure of medicines, necessary amendments in Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to streamline the affairs of the public sector hospitals in the province.

He said the Review & Inspection Committee had de-sealed Tablet Section of Mega Pharma to collect raw material and to inspect the procedure of manufacturing on Monday and sealed again. “The sample of raw material will also be examined in Drug Testing Laboratory to check its quality,” he added.

Weather gets chillier after snowfall in NWA

MIRAMSHAH: Weather has become chillier with heavy snowfall in certain areas of North Waziristan Agency on Monday.

Shawal Valley, Razmak and Dattakhel in North Waziristan near the Pak-Afghan border had received heavy snowfall during the past two days. Some of the link roads in these areas were blocked after the snowfall.

The residents in Dattakhel, Shawal and Razmak complained of severe cold in the areas. Besides mountains which received five to seven feet snow, the tribesmen said, two feet snow was recorded in villages in plain areas of the tribal region.

Meanwhile, hours long power outages multiplied hardships of the tribemen. Apart from villages, the tribesmen have complained of shortage of drinking water in Miramshah and Mirali, the two major towns of North Waziristan, because of no power for the past two days.

“Earlier, there was 15 to 25 hours unannounced loadshedding but now the power supply has been suspended for the past two days, leaving the poor tribesmen to suffer in cold,” a tribesman Sharafat Khan complained.

Taliban deny holding talks in Saudi Arabia

KABUL: The Taliban militia leading a 10-year insurgency in Afghanistan on Wednesday denied that they would soon hold talks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s government in Saudi Arabia.

“There is no truth in these published reports saying that the delegation of the Islamic Emirate would meet with representatives of the Karzai government in Saudi Arabia in the near future,” the Taliban said on their website.

Afghan officials, requesting anonymity, had suggested that the two sides would hold talks in Saudi Arabia separate from planned negotiations in Qatar between the Taliban and the United States.

But it was never clear whether the Taliban, who have so far resisted talks with the Afghan government, or the Saudis, who have conditioned involvement on the Taliban renouncing al-Qaeda, would come on board.

Taliban negotiators have begun preliminary discussions with the United States in Qatar on plans for peace talks aimed at ending the decade-long war. They have also announced plans to set up an office in Doha.

On Wednesday, the Taliban said they had not yet “reached the negotiation phase with the US and its allies”. A day earlier, a government spokesman in Kabul cautioned that no steps had been taken to start talks in Saudi Arabia. “The Afghan government is very clear on talks — we have always preferred Saudi to Qatar,” Akim Hasher, head of the Government Media and Information Centre, told AFP. “There is a possibility that the talks will take place in Saudi as well — Qatar is definitely not the only option.”

Protest in National Assembly, Senate

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly and Senate on Wednesday echoed with harsh voices against the raise in prices of petroleum products as the government allies also joined the opposition in protest, staging walkout from the two houses of parliament, leaving the petroleum minister to defend the decision with no solid reasons.

The government and its petroleum minister came under fire from the parliamentarians for acting against the recommendations of the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) while announcing the increases in the prices of petroleum products.

PML-N member Ahsan Iqbal sought permission from the Deputy Speaker Faisal Karim Kundi to move a joint resolution to demand of the government to withdraw the exorbitant increase in the prices but the proceedings of the National Assembly were adjourned till Thursday evening.

Members from PML-N, JUI-F,group have signed the joint resolution. The PML-Q members, however, did not join the token walkout. The resolution would now be moved in the house on Thursday if the prices of petroleum products are not withdrawn.

The opposition parties and MQM separately walked out of the house while ANP member Dr Bushra Gohar also spoke against government’s decision.

Chairman of the National Assembly standing committee on Petroleum and Natural Resources Sardar Talib Nakai also registered his resentment as head of the committee and on behalf of PML. He also protested against statement of the petroleum minister in which he disclosed raise in prices, five days earlier.

Wasim Akhtar of MQM was the first to raise the issue in the National Assembly saying that it was decided to establish a committee comprising members from all the parliamentary parties on this issue. “The committee was not taken into confidence while increasing prices,” he said demanding immediate withdrawal in raise.

He also protested against re-start of target killings saying that the authorities knew as to who were the miscreants, but they were not taken to task. “We walk out of the house against raise in prices of petroleum products and target killings in Karachi,” he said.

Speaking on separate points of order, Ahsan Iqbal and Chaudhry Birjees Tahir of PML-N said the government had buried poor people alive by giving yet another raise in petroleum products.

Ahsan Iqbal said the government’s decision has come as a shock as for the first time, per litre price of diesel had crossed Rs100 mark while petrol also does not seem to lag behind and may well cross the Rs100 mark soon.

He said that Ogra in its recommendations had warned the federal government that increase in prices of petroleum products would skyrocket prices of daily use but the government paid no heed to the advice.

Chaudhry Birjees said that increase in prices of petroleum products and CNG and LPG would bring a new flood of price hike, making life of the poor more miserable.

Professor Khurshid Ahmad of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) and PML-N senator Ishaq Dar raised issue of raise in petroleum prices on identical adjournment motions after which members from JI, PML-N, MQM and JUI-F staged walk out from the house.

Responding to adjournment motion, Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Dr Asim Hussain has offered that it is for the parliament to withdraw GST or Petroleum Development Levy (PDL) on POL products and gas to bring their prices down.

The Chairman held the motions in order and the House would hold a debate on the matter. He said the members could also suggest alternative financial resources if they want subsidy on these products.

The minister said the decision to raise prices of petroleum products and gas was unfortunate but the situation is not in the hands of the government. He said Pakistan is producing only 70,000 barrels of oil per day as against requirements of 380, 000 barrels saying the country is heavily dependent on import of crude oil and domestic prices have to reflect any change in the international market.

He said the Ogra calculates prices on the basis of change in the world fuel oil prices and rupee-dollar parity. Senator Ishaq Dar, however, said that the government could take administrative decision to decrease GST and PDL on petroleum products to facilitate masses.

Expensive govt land on Murree Road allotted illegally

ISLAMABAD: Government land costing billions of rupees on the Murree Road has allegedly been allotted.

While widening the Murree Road in 1998-99, the then Punjab chief minister, who also holds the post now, had decided to allot alternate land instead of financial compensation to some of the affected persons.

Working swiftly, the Highways Department first got transferred six acres of land on the main Murree Road owned by the Agriculture Department in their own names and then transferred it illegally to fake victims.

The Revenue department had also declared the allotment illegal six years back. After probe, it was learnt that land was provided to Raja Abdul Latif without any legal justification ignoring the legal claimant Zia Rashid.

Likewise, Raja Shafqat, son of Raja Mohammad Siddiq, was also allotted land while the actual claimant, Mohammad Hashim Khan, son of Haji Manzoor Hussain, was ignored. Two other real claimants Mohammad Usman and Jamila Akhtar were also not included in the list.

A six-member committee consisting of officials of the Revenue and Highways departments in the light of a detailed report of tehsildar Rawalpindi had ruled that all bogus allotments may be cancelled and the land illegally allotted maybe got vacated. The committee had also ruled that the genuine affected persons may be given alternate lands elsewhere.

San Francisco airport unveils yoga room for travelers

SAN FRANSISCO: Just cleared airport security and in need of a little deep breathing and stretching relaxation?

San Francisco Airport has opened what it calls a first of its kind yoga room, and while it's not quite a mountaintop in Tibet, airport officials say the low lights, and soothing blue walls aim to afford travelers, stressed out or sanguine, an oasis of calm in which to flex, twist and decompress.

"As far as we know it's the first (yoga room) at an airport anywhere in the world," said Michael C. McCarron, director of community affairs for the airport.

He said the idea for the room, in the newly refurbished Terminal 2, came from a passenger suggestion at an open house. It joins the Berman reflection room, a space intended for silence and meditation located before Terminal 2 security.

Airport Director John L. Martin called the room, which opened last week, "another leap forward in providing our travelers the opportunity and space to relax and decompress on their own terms."

The architects, Gensler Design, set the lights low and warm in contrast to the light, bright concourse, according to a statement, and a floating wall was constructed to symbolize "a buoyant spirit and enlightened mind. "

Large felt-constructed rocks will be installed in the Spring in a nod to the Zen gardens of Japan.

John Walsh, duty manager at San Francisco Airport, said the room is already attracting its share of travelling yogis, many equipped with their own props.

"I've seen people using it. They do yoga," Walsh said. "We have mats, but some people actually bring their own." There are also folding chairs, popular in many senior yoga sessions. So far there are no plans to hold classes.

Located just past security, it's a particular draw for people with time to kill before their flight, Walsh said.

Santa Monica-based yoga teacher Tamal Dodge believes the yoga room at the airport will be the first of many yoga spaces to be attached to airports and public transportation venues.

"How amazing will it be to stretch out and meditate before you get on a plane for a 12-hour flight," said Dodge, who is featured in the "Element: Hatha & Flow Yoga for Beginners" DVD.

"You are now given the opportunity to really relax and prepare your body for something as taxing as sitting in an airplane seat for hours on end," he said.

Airport yogis are directed to their room by the usual method-- the pictograph: this one of a figure seated in full lotus position. (Reuters)

PM wins Shujaat�s support for 20th Amendment

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani Wednesday won the support of PML-Q President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain for the 20th constitutional amendment bill, who assured his party support for the passage of the constitutional amendment from both the houses of the parliament.

Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani held a meeting with Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain Wednesday to take him into confidence about the proposed 20th constitutional amendment. The meeting was held after a team of PPP ministers, led by Syed Khursheed Shah, failed to get the PML-Q support for the proposed amendment bill that relates to legalise all the bye-elections held after the passage of the 18th constitutional amendment.

PM to be indicted if immunity not proved: SC

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Syed Yusaf Raza Gilani, who is facing contempt of court proceedings before the Supreme Court for not implementing the court’s verdict on the controversial National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO), is now totally at the mercy of his counsel Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan.

Supreme Court Judge Justice Nasirul Mulk observed on Wednesday that the prime minister would be charged for contempt of court if his counsel failed to satisfy the court that the president had immunity (from criminal prosecution) under Article 248 of the Constitution.

His remarks came during the hearing of a contempt case against the premier by a seven-member larger bench of the apex court headed by him.

The Supreme Court had issued the premier a show-cause notice to explain as to why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against him for non-implementation of the court’s earlier order on the NRO as well as his failure to write a letter to the Swiss government for reopening the cases against President Asif Ali Zardari.

Justice Nasirul Mulk asked the counsel to conclude his arguments by today (Thursday), adding there was no need for contempt proceedings if the counsel proved the matter of immunity before the court. He said the premier had told the court that he did not write the letter to the Swiss authorities as he believed that the president had immunity under Article 248 of the Constitution.

The counsel contended thatthe prime minister could not read the detailed verdict of the court thus he had to act on the advice of aides. “The law minister and secretary advised the prime minister,” he added.

Aitzaz Ahsan submitted that the President of Pakistan has immunity both in and outside the country. “My opinion was there is no issue in writing the letter,” Aitzaz said.

Justice Asif Khosa however asked the counsel as to whether the premier did not violate the court order by declining to write the said letter. “He acted on advice of aides, not on the orders of the court.” “Is this sincerity that your client doesn’t write letter?” he observed.

Aitzaz told the bench that different benches of the apex court had taken up the matter of implementation of court’s order on NRO however the prime minister was not held responsible for not abiding by the court order.

He contended that the case regarding implementation of NRO case should have gone to the high court. Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa reminded to Aitzaz that the prime minister had stated in Davos that he was ready to go to jail, but would not write the letter. “Is it not disobedience of the court order,” Justice Khosa asked.

He said the prime minister was acting on the advice of his subordinates, but was not ready to obey the court orders. Aitzaz replied that the matter of implementation of the court order should have been referred to the high court. He said there was no harm in writing the letter to Swiss authorities, but at the same time it did not warrant contempt of court, if not written.

Justice Nasirul Mulk observed that Article 204 of the Constitution empowered the apex court to take action against those who did not implement its orders. “You are saying that the implementation of the apex court order should have been ensured through the high court. Whether your client will not write the letter. Is it your bona fide intention,” Justice Khosa asked Aitzaz.

“17 judges have unanimously passed a crystal clear order on NRO. Do you want another order,” Justice Khosa asked Aitzaz, adding that the order could not be changed. Aitzaz stated that the action on the order, pertaining to writing a letter to Swiss authorities, was not possible currently. He said prime minister’s statement before the court on Jan 19, 2011 was informal. He said if prime minister had obtained advice, there was no harm, but if he did not, it did not warrant a crime. He said the order of writing a letter could not be implemented until the president was in his office.

The judge further asked the counsel that his client, the PM, was totally unaware of the court’s order regarding implementation on NRO adding that he was declaring his client as an ordinary person.

“PM was a seasoned parliamentarian and make legislation than how could you call him an ordinary person,” Justice Khosa asked Ahsan. Aitzaz Ahsan submitted that PM had immunity from the court proceedings in lieu of discharging his responsibilities.

Justice Asif Khosa however said that the court had held that personal matter could not be linked to the government responsibilities. Justice Nasirul Mulk observed that violating the court order would also be considered in the PM office responsibilities.

“The premier had not approached the court, telling that he was facing any difficulties under the law to write letter or he could send a reference to the court as well,” Justice Khosa said.Aitzaz contended that the apex court had not directed the high court to implement the NRO verdict as required under Article 187 of the Constitution.

Justice Nasirul Mulk however said that Article 187 does not mean that implementation was not only possible without high court. Ahsan replied that the role of high court as required in the Constitution was necessary for implementation.

“The apex court should have sent the matter to Islamabad High Court regarding implementation of the order for writing a letter to Swiss authorities,” Aitzaz contended. During the hearing Justice Athar Saeed inquired as to who would be responsible if Rules of Business were used wrongly. Aitzaz said no one was responsible for it as the prime minister also enjoyed immunity under Article 248 of the Constitution. “We don’t want to punish, but want implementation of the court orders,” Justice Khosa remarked.

Justice Athar Saeed reminded Aitzaz that the prime minister had been his student. He asked Aitzaz that if the prime minister was still a common man, then what he had taught him. Aitzaz said Jahangir Badr was also his student. “What you had been teaching him,” Justice Sarmad Jalal Osmany asked Aitzaz.

Aitzaz Ahsan replied that he had been teaching him ‘Rules of Business’. He told the court that judges’ remarks will be in the headlines, but there will be no reaction over them. “Should we not pose questions due to headlines,” Justice Khosa said. He said the court had not made any mind in the case, thus he suggested media to exercise restraint. “Why this case is discussed in TV talk shows, despite it being sub judice,” Justice Osmany said. The court adjourned the hearing till today (Thursday) and asked Aitzaz Ahsan to conclude his arguments the same day.

Afghan govt, Taliban to hold talks in S Arabia: envoy

RIYADH: Afghan government officials and representatives of the country’s former Taliban rulers are to hold peace talks in Saudi Arabia, a Riyadh-based Afghan diplomat said on Monday.

“An Afghan government delegation and a Taliban delegation will hold talks in Saudi Arabia,” the diplomat told AFP on condition of anonymity, but he could not give a timing. He said the talks in Saudi would be separate from the US-brokered meetings held in Qatar and be the first such talks to take place there.

Taliban negotiators have begun preliminary discussions with the United States in Qatar on plans for peace talks aimed at ending the decade-long war in Afghanistan. A member of the Taliban’s leadership council, the Pakistan-based Quetta Shura, said Sunday “the idea that the Taliban should have a point of contact in Saudi is pushed by the Pakistan and Afghan governments.”

Pakistan was feeling “sidelined” from the US-brokered talks, he said. The Afghan diplomat, however, said there were no plans for a third party to attend the negotiations in Saudi Arabia. “So far, there is no third party that will be present at the talks,” he said. A senior Afghan government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, acknowledged on Sunday that the Saudi talks would take place but also did not say when.

73 dead in Egypt soccer riots

CAIRO: At least 73 people were killed and 1,000 injured in a riot at a soccer match in the Egyptian city of Port Said, the worst disaster in the country’s soccer history, health officials said.

“This is unfortunate and deeply saddening. It is the biggest disaster in Egypt’s soccer history,” deputy health minister Hesham Sheiha told state television. The game was between Al Ahli, one of Egypt’s most successful clubs, and al-Masry, a team based in Port Said. Live television footage showed fans running onto the field and chasing Ahli soccer players, throwing rocks, bottles and fireworks at the Al-Ahly fans

Some of the deaths were the result of stab wounds, the doctors said. A security official said the violence erupted as soon as the referee blew the final whistle in the match between Al-Ahly and Al-Masri clubs.

Meanwhile in the capital, a fire broke out at Cairo Stadium during the first half of a match between Zamalek and Ismaili clubs, prompting officials to cancel the match. Emergency services have managed to control the blaze, a security official said. The military also flew in helicopters.

Egypt’s state prosecutors have ordered an investigation into the pitch invasion and the violence that ensued, judicial sources said. Egypt’s football federation indefinitely delayed premier league matches after the violence. Egypt’s parliament would hold an emergency session on Thursday, according to state media reports.

Final Cut Pro X: Version 10.0.3 release notes

Treason no more?

Mehreen Zahra Malik on 30, Jan 2012 | No Comments | in Category: Insight

You can’t pin your heart on something until it’s a completely done deal and Pakistani politics has a penchant for throwing up nine-day wonders, but from the looks of things, the sullied rags of the memo have come together in a patchwork quilt of all the dull colours – khaki, black, pale shades – spread out across one big happy bed. The crisis stands resolved, it seems.

The federal government had called the memo a “pack of lies.” The DG ISI said the “unadulterated truth” was the right of the people of Pakistan. Mansoor Ijaz claimed nothing could stop him from visiting Pakistan and putting the facts on record. Nawaz had happily volunteered to play petitioner-in-chief. Justice Khawaja quoted his biblical cliché and said “ye shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.” And of course, many in the media said the memo was treasonous before anyone even had a chance to read the full text.

Fast-forward to a few weeks later and the grand crisis is proving to be damn squib.

Mansoor Ijaz is no-show. Last we heard, Nawaz is in Germany en route to the UK. The prime minister says there’s nothing unlawful about the generals’ previously ‘unconstitutional’ replies before the court. In fact, he’s all palsy-walsy with the bosses now and their Tuesday meeting ended on quite the happy note. The spy chief who personally travelled to London to collect ‘evidence’ from Mansoor Ijaz is not willing to personally take on his security now. Mansoor Ijaz could have had the safest arrival and departure in Pakistan but the indispensables seem ready to dispense with him now. Even the judicial commission refused to give express directions vis-à-vis the army taking charge of Ijaz’s security and thus allowed him to play the ‘I don’t trust Rehman Malik’ card.

So how did this apocalyptic crisis abate? The government was smart. It knew it couldn’t take on the khakis, or the robes for that matter, on the question of the contents of the memo. Saying there was nothing wrong with the idea – no matter how fantastical – of disbanding the ISI’s S-wing, sacking the generals and stealing the nuclear programme from right under their noses, at the behest of the Americans at that (!), wouldn’t have gone down too well.

So what did the government do instead? It made an issue of ‘form.’ Everyone knows that in affairs of government, an order from the prime minister becomes a request from the defence ministry, then a recommendation from some minister of state, and finally just a suggestion from a random federal secretary running around with a summary. If it ever gets that far. In essence, “A unique situation in which things were overlapping and there was no clarity,” as our dear prime minister explained.” Which is why the defence secretary said the government had no operational control of the army and ISI. And here are his marching orders, thank you very much.

The government’s problem with the army’s response was also couched in the language of ‘procedure.’ The boys didn’t follow the proper protocol, we were told; they submitted their replies directly to the Supreme Court Registrar instead of routing it through the ministry of defence as per “rules of business.” No worries that the boys had pushed for the ‘reality’ of the memo to be interrogated or accused that it had directly affected the morale of the armed forces. That wasn’t important. What was important was that the substance hadn’t been transmitted following the proper procedure.

In sum, the government’s exit strategy has been all about form. It’s much easier, after all, to haggle over process than open the front over the contents of a ‘treasonous’ memo that has already seen the sacking of one of Zardari’s darlings.

In the end, here’s the principle that prevailed: in government, ultimately, the hornets’ nests should be left unstirred, cans of worms should remain unopened, and cats should be left firmly in bags and not set among the pigeons. Translation: do everything in your power to keep things going and still be here tomorrow. If that means backtracking on a statement or two, then so be it.

So this is what we’re left with: a prime minister who must be allowed to panic because that’s his only substitute for achievement. An opposition that isn’t really an opposition but just the government in exile. A government that couldn’t care less about the truth and only wants something it can tell the president. And an army and judiciary acutely aware of the dangers of telling the whole truth.

And so, for now, there is respite from confrontation.

Should we be grateful? Maybe. But the traitors are still moving among us freely, their sly whispers heard in the highest halls of the state itself.

Let’s never forget that treason is often an excuse made by the winners to hang the losers.

Govt plans Rs160 bn TFCs to resolve circular debt issue

ISLAMABAD: The federal cabinet Wednesday expressed its serious concern over the latest increase in the prices of petroleum products and directed the finance ministry to formulate a strategy in coordination with the provincial governments to minimise its effects on the common man. It, however, stopped short of taking any step to review these prices.

The cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani decided to issue term finance certificates worth Rs160 billion to resolve the circular debt issue.

According to sources the issue of recent hike in the prices of the petroleum products and CNG was raised by minister for port and shipping Babar Ghuari and minister of state human resource development Sheikh Waqas Akram. They asked the cabinet to review the decision but the prime minister only directed the finance ministry to minimise its impact on the people.

Briefing the media after the meeting information minister Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan justified the hike saying this was the result of steep rise in the prices of oil in the international market. She however said that the government in consultation with the stakeholders including the provincial governments would chalk out a strategy to offset its impact on the prices of daily use items.

She said the National Assembly has approved Rs120 billion as petroleum levy for the current fiscal year but in the first six months the government has collected only Rs20 billion instead of Rs60 billion. “The government initially did not transfer the impact of rise in the petroleum prices to the people but had to do so now to avoid further revenue deficit,” she added.

The minister severely criticised the Punjab chief minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif saying he is politicising the fake drugs issue. Shahbaz Sharif should play his constitutional role as he is not only the chief minister of Punjab but also looking after the provincial health ministry.

She said that it was not the responsibility of the federal government to supply drugs to hospitals. She said that a mechanism exists where the provinces have to register medicines and they should identify those who involved in the supply of spurious drugs.

The minister said the that the prime minister has convened a meeting of the Council of Common Interest on February 9, which would discuss, among other things, the issue of drug regulatory authority. She said an impartial inquiry should be conducted into the matter.

She said that the government is striving hard to ensure uninterrupted gas supply to domestic consumers. In this regard all avenues, including import of LNG, are being utilised.

The minister said the cabinet endorsed the decisions of the Economic Coordination Committee. It has directed the Zarai Taraqiati Bank to provide loans to farmers on easy instalments for tractors. She said that the Bank has also been directed to ensure execution of other pro-farmers programmes.

The cabinet noted the difficulties faced by the growers of sugarcane and the prime minister has directed the concerned authorities to implement, in letter and spirit, the Sugarcane Act to ensure payments to the growers.

The ministry of finance apprised the cabinet about the prices of essential commodities. It said recently the prices of 18 items have witnessed upward trend while those of 12 have come down. The ministry said food inflation level has come down.

The minister informed the media that the cabinet approved two MoUs for cooperation with Qatar in the fields of energy and development of national highways and motorways in Pakistan. These agreements will be signed during Prime Minister Gilani’s visit to that country.

She said the MoU between WAPDA and the ministry of energy of Qatar will Qatari investment in the hydel power generation projects and rehabilitation of existing power plants.

The cabinet decided to bolster cooperation with Qatar and gave a go-ahead to launch comprehensive capacity building and skilled development programmes in the country so that the people could get suitable jobs in the Gulf countries including Qatar.

The cabinet also approved signing of MoU between Pakistan and the Russian Federation on scientific cooperation. It also approved Charted Accountant Amendment Bill, 2011.

The prime minister also took the cabinet into confidence about the legislation to be carried out to validate the by-elections.

The federal cabinet gave instructions to the ministries of interior and states and frontier regions to take initiative on war footing for the repatriation of Afghan refugees to Afghanistan.

The information minister said the prime minister also asked the Interior Division to ensure that the Afghan refugees remain confined to the designated sector I-12 of the federal capital and their activities in that sector and other designated areas should be monitored.

The prime minister also asked the interior ministry to expedite work for setting up of Madrassa Welfare Authority for introduction of uniform syllabus, registration of foreign students and also look into funds being received by them. Secretary interior informed the cabinet that the proposal would be finalised in consultation with all stakeholders.

The cabinet reviewed the status of implementation of its decision vis-a-vis Interior Division and expressed satisfaction that out of 78 decisions, action has already been taken on 69, showing 88% progress in implementation.

The meeting directed interior, law, states and frontier regions and provincial coordination ministries to finalise draft of the National Counter Terrorism Authority bill for presentation in Parliament.

The interior ministry assured the cabinet that it would finalise Islamabad Safe City project at the earliest after consultation with all stakeholders.

The cabinet also decided to observe Eid Millad-un-Nabi and Kashmir Solidarity Day with zeal and enthusiasm.

Painfully Humane

Ilmana Fasih on 31, Jan 2012 | 1 Comment | in Category: Lifestyle

A couple of days ago I met a neighbour outside the house, walking her two cute cocker spaniels.  We exchanged New Year Greetings and as a ritual I asked: “So how did you spend your new years eve?”

“Oh I spent my evening feasting with my girls.” she replied

“Lovely, so they all came over to be with you.”

Her face changed color, “Oh no, these girls Sasha and Mori pointing at the two cocker spaniels, picking up the little ones in her arms.

Embarrassed I replied: “Yeah couldn’t be a better new years eve than with one’s pets. I did it too, when the rest of my family went to see the fireworks at midnight, I sat with my cats on the sofa watching TV.”

This triggered off  the talk on how we undermine animals and use terms like ‘animal’ or ‘beast’ with a derogatory hint while using words like ‘humane’ as a symbol of compassion.

“I see those TV anchors calling suicide bombs that go off in Pakistan as ‘inhumane’ acts, when in reality they’ve been done by humans themselves, especially those who aspire to be superhuman so that they get a special place in Paradise.”

I could just nod in agreement.

She went on, “Isn’t this all very ‘human’ to kill, for no rhyme or reason?”

Her words echoed for hours.  Don’t we use the same terms ‘insaniyat’ for compassion while ‘janwar’ or ‘haiwaaniyat’ for cruelty in Urdu too.

Although, it is common knowledge that even the most dangerous of animals do not harm unless they are hungry or provoked.

Perhaps our ‘hunger’ has gone beyond filling our stomachs. We ‘attack’ others to fill our egos, the egos which never get filled, because there is no bottom. Yes no bottom, because, we do not have any limit to how low we can stoop to gratify our egos.

Often we see and hear of stories where two pets that could have naturally been predator-prey, coexist as friends and in fact the predator acts as a protector of its erstwhile prey.

I saw this live for years in my own home between our cat Nelson and the grey parrot Shakespeare. Shakespeare learnt to mimic the mewing and growl of Nelson.  And Nelson would come running to him. They would simply mew, looking into each other’s eyes. No t even once did the cat attempt to attack or touch the grey parrot. The day Nelson passed away and went missing from home, Shakespeare mewed for hours, as if calling out for him, adding to the gloom and shedding tears like a bereaved kid.

It is a bigoted myth that empathy is a higher cognitive function that only apes and humans are blessed with. Perhaps we are more loaded with narcissism than with empathy. Studies on whales show they are extremely emotional. Whale brains have specialised spindle cells which are important for empathy, and rapid gut reactions. Previously, only humans and apes were considered to possess them. An interesting practical example of this is when a 50-foot, 50-ton humpback whale was caught in a net off California’s coast. After rescuers untangled it, the whale swam up to each one of the rescuers, and winked before swimming off. The researchers confirmed this was a gesture of gratitude from the whale.

To study empathy, neuroscientists in McGill University injected acetic acid in the paws of mice causing them pain. The mice who watched their friend writhing in pain became more sensitive and reacted more violently to pain, when injected with the same chemical.

Studies on animals called ‘humans’ show that children who are cruel to animals, are likely to turn to violence later in life. 75% of prison inmates are known to have past history of animal cruelty, says a study.

We need to revisit or swap the meanings of ‘humane’ and  ‘beastial’, or ‘insaniyat’  and ‘haiwaniyat’.

It is a saving grace that we do not understand animal language, otherwise it would be very embarrassing to know that every time a suicide bomb, target killing or even animal poaching occurs we would have heard animals scream “What a painfully humane act!”

Parliamentary body confirms seven LHC, SHC judges

ISLAMABAD: The Parliamentary Committee on Judicial Appointments on Monday approved the Judicial Commission’s recommendations for the confirmation of four judges of the Lahore High Court and three judges of the Sindh High Court as regular judges, and one-year extension to a Sindh High Court judge.

The Parliamentary Committee met here on Monday with Syed Nayyer Hussain Bukhari in the chair at the Parliament House. The Lahore High Court judges who were confirmed as a Mamoon Rasheed, Justice Yawar Ali, Justice Farrukh Irfan and Justice Mazhar Ali Naqvi.

The judges of Sindh High Court who got confirmation include Justice Muhammad Tasneem, Justice Hussain Azhar Rizvi and Justice Dr Muhammd Mazhar Ali while one-year extension was given to Justice Nisar Sheikh.

Talking to newsmen after the meeting, Chairman of Parliamentary Committee on Judicial Appointment Syed Nayyer Hussain Bukhari said that the decision of the confirmation of four judges was made with consensus. He said the recommendations of the committee would be sent to the prime minister for the final approval and subsequently for issuing the notification by the President.

Treason no more?

Mehreen Zahra Malik on 30, Jan 2012 | No Comments | in Category: Insight

You can’t pin your heart on something until it’s a completely done deal and Pakistani politics has a penchant for throwing up nine-day wonders, but from the looks of things, the sullied rags of the memo have come together in a patchwork quilt of all the dull colours – khaki, black, pale shades – spread out across one big happy bed. The crisis stands resolved, it seems.

The federal government had called the memo a “pack of lies.” The DG ISI said the “unadulterated truth” was the right of the people of Pakistan. Mansoor Ijaz claimed nothing could stop him from visiting Pakistan and putting the facts on record. Nawaz had happily volunteered to play petitioner-in-chief. Justice Khawaja quoted his biblical cliché and said “ye shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.” And of course, many in the media said the memo was treasonous before anyone even had a chance to read the full text.

Fast-forward to a few weeks later and the grand crisis is proving to be damn squib.

Mansoor Ijaz is no-show. Last we heard, Nawaz is in Germany en route to the UK. The prime minister says there’s nothing unlawful about the generals’ previously ‘unconstitutional’ replies before the court. In fact, he’s all palsy-walsy with the bosses now and their Tuesday meeting ended on quite the happy note. The spy chief who personally travelled to London to collect ‘evidence’ from Mansoor Ijaz is not willing to personally take on his security now. Mansoor Ijaz could have had the safest arrival and departure in Pakistan but the indispensables seem ready to dispense with him now. Even the judicial commission refused to give express directions vis-à-vis the army taking charge of Ijaz’s security and thus allowed him to play the ‘I don’t trust Rehman Malik’ card.

So how did this apocalyptic crisis abate? The government was smart. It knew it couldn’t take on the khakis, or the robes for that matter, on the question of the contents of the memo. Saying there was nothing wrong with the idea – no matter how fantastical – of disbanding the ISI’s S-wing, sacking the generals and stealing the nuclear programme from right under their noses, at the behest of the Americans at that (!), wouldn’t have gone down too well.

So what did the government do instead? It made an issue of ‘form.’ Everyone knows that in affairs of government, an order from the prime minister becomes a request from the defence ministry, then a recommendation from some minister of state, and finally just a suggestion from a random federal secretary running around with a summary. If it ever gets that far. In essence, “A unique situation in which things were overlapping and there was no clarity,” as our dear prime minister explained.” Which is why the defence secretary said the government had no operational control of the army and ISI. And here are his marching orders, thank you very much.

The government’s problem with the army’s response was also couched in the language of ‘procedure.’ The boys didn’t follow the proper protocol, we were told; they submitted their replies directly to the Supreme Court Registrar instead of routing it through the ministry of defence as per “rules of business.” No worries that the boys had pushed for the ‘reality’ of the memo to be interrogated or accused that it had directly affected the morale of the armed forces. That wasn’t important. What was important was that the substance hadn’t been transmitted following the proper procedure.

In sum, the government’s exit strategy has been all about form. It’s much easier, after all, to haggle over process than open the front over the contents of a ‘treasonous’ memo that has already seen the sacking of one of Zardari’s darlings.

In the end, here’s the principle that prevailed: in government, ultimately, the hornets’ nests should be left unstirred, cans of worms should remain unopened, and cats should be left firmly in bags and not set among the pigeons. Translation: do everything in your power to keep things going and still be here tomorrow. If that means backtracking on a statement or two, then so be it.

So this is what we’re left with: a prime minister who must be allowed to panic because that’s his only substitute for achievement. An opposition that isn’t really an opposition but just the government in exile. A government that couldn’t care less about the truth and only wants something it can tell the president. And an army and judiciary acutely aware of the dangers of telling the whole truth.

And so, for now, there is respite from confrontation.

Should we be grateful? Maybe. But the traitors are still moving among us freely, their sly whispers heard in the highest halls of the state itself.

Let’s never forget that treason is often an excuse made by the winners to hang the losers.

20th Amendment Bill deferred

ISLAMABAD: The Constitution (20th Amendment), Bill, 2012 which was to be taken up by the National Assembly to validate bye elections, was deferred on request of PPP chief whip and federal Minister Syed Khurshid Shah on Wednesday.

Chairman of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Begum Nasim Akhter Chaudhry, however, laid report of the committee on the Constitution (20th Amendment) Bill, 2012 in the house.

An amendment in Article 219 of the Constitution says that ‘provided that till such time the members of the commission are appointed in accordance with Article 218 (2) (b), the Commissioner shall remained charged with duties enumerated in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of this Article’.

The bill would come into effect from April 19, 2010. The statement of objects and reasons of the bill says that in judgement of the Supreme Court of Pakistan given on April 4, 2011 in a constitution petition, direction was given to the federation for constitution of an election commission in accordance with amended provisions of the constitution and certain observations were also in the course of hearing of another constitution petition particularly with reference to bye elections which had been conducted by the chief election commissioner in interregnum. “In order to give legal cover it has become necessary to amend the constitution for this purpose,” the statement said.

The bill was okayed by the National Assembly Standing Committee on Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs on Tuesday in absence of PML-N members who boycotted proceedings of the committee.

Meanwhile, Khurshid Shah told the house that consultations were in progress with the Punjab province to create a federal drug regulatory authority, saying that three other provinces had already given their consent in this regard.

He maintained following passage of the 18th amendment, the federal government could not interfere in provincial matters. Nadeem Afzal Chan of PPP raised issue of deaths of over 100 patients who used medicines taken from the Punjab Institute of Cardiology saying that a judicial commission had been established to probe into the matter but the province earlier had not implemented reports of commission on flaws in results of examination boards and conspiracy to murder then chief justice of the High Court Khawaja Muhammad Sharif.

The Mansoor Ijaz Matrix

Wajahat.S.Khan on 30, Jan 2012 | No Comments | in Category: Debate Desk

Modern militaries call it net-centricity: the ability to look at and control a battle-space as an interconnected entity where primary approaches as well as several alternatives could all lead to the desired objective, along with achieving other collateral results. As Memogate stalemates, a theoretical resupply is in order, as such an approach could be relevant for understanding the man and the plan that is Mansoor Ijaz.

Exhaustive is the analysis that Ijaz is a rogue freelancer – a knavish diva who moonlights in raunchy videos, frequents strip clubs and hacks for Fox News – and thus makes a good living of distasteful means. Also done to death is the theory that Pakistan’s highest elected officials are essentially guilty, for why would they not take on the high rise of the Financial Times and recover those Blackberrys by now?

However, two under-represented approaches to Memogate – that Ijaz works for Langley and/or the Fortress on 7th Avenue – need to be revisited under the auspices of a netcentric logic. Here’s how.

Option 1 – Mansoor Ijaz is a CIA agent: If you were the Central Intelligence Agency, Ijaz could serve a larger, peaceful purpose. Given the volatility you’ve been experiencing with your Pakistani counterpart of late, he could be the deliverer of the olive branch you would extend to the ISI.

Think of the possibilities: Every grad student in Washington knows that the honourable Husain Haqqani was tough on the Pakistani military. At dinner parties and power lunches, Haqqani was overheard privately sniping at, if not taking on, the Pakistani brass. Though he was a sober defender of the order in public, Haqqani was reputedly tongue-in-cheek about the army, especially regarding the intellect levels of the warriors of Rawalpindi. He was oft quoted for a popular introductory quip: “No relation to the other Haqqani”, referring to Sirajauddin and gang.

Thus, as the CIA, you and every other operator in DC know that Pakistan’s khakis are displeased at Haqqani. And in the aftermath of the Raymond Davis/OBL turbulence, they’re also displeased with you. And in the larger scheme of things, you see that the Haqqanis of the world will rotate out and the PakMils of the world will stick around in permanence.

Thus, you deliver a guy who’s already at the end of his diplomatic cycle and of little use to you, considering he’s so disconnected with the stakeholder muscle in his own country. As for making Pakistan’s elected government look bad and get pressured, so what? What good have they done of late for you?

Now, the operational linkages for packing off the GHQ’s major Washingtonian irritant through a well-imagined counter-coup could be of several varieties: Ijaz would get recruited and approach Haqqani to deliver the idea. Or a senior/known/trusted Pak-centric agent would deliver the idea to Haqqani in Washington (or even the ‘highest authority’ in Pakistan), suggesting Ijaz be the deliverer of such and such memo as he can be easily disclaimed and bashed, given his dubious history (as well as the ‘Orange Flag’ your analysts have given him for his inability of being a heavyweight).

Either way, someone in the Pakistani government’s chain of command would buy the idea, after which Ijaz would deliver, and then go public with the memo. Alternatively, Ijaz would still go public if no one brought the idea but if he had enough circumstantial evidence to prove that he was discussing such matters with important Pakistani government officials. The bottom-line: the man closest in circumstantially evident proximity to Ijaz (Haqqani) and the man high on the GHQ’s Unhappy List (Haqqani) would overlap and blip red, and effectively be served to Pindi in time for Thanksgiving.

Alternatively, if you’re the CIA and want to teach those PakMil good-for-nothings a lesson, you follow the same strategy but hope that the ISI/GHQ bite. In this case, your psychoanalysts project that the minute your man Ijaz goes public, General Kayani of the Baloch Regiment and General Pasha of the Frontier Force Regiment shed the decorum of their combined seven stars, become the good old chaps of the infantry and declare war on their own system.

Suddenly, the already scandalised and cornered PakMil now becomes the coup-making nuclearised Republican Guard of South Asia – a hated, suppressive entity that you can bash with sanctions under the Leahy Amendment and wither into nothingness with international isolation (as recommended by your own Bruce Riedel). Not bad for a few months’ work! And yes, you cover your own government’s tracks by ensuring that Ijaz goes public at a time when the two ‘recipients’ of the memo, James Jones and Mike Mullen, have honourably retired from their positions and don’t necessarily need to be defended/spoken for by the White House or its arms. Game, set and a sitting-duck PakMil.

Option 2 – Mansoor Ijaz is an ISI agent: As the Inter-Services Intelligence, you’ve expected better from Haqqani in all these years. You haven’t forgiven him for that darned book he wrote about you loving the mullahs more than you should have, and he has taken the high road of civilian development versus the tunnel for military funding with the entire Kerry-Lugar-Berman saga.

In your perspective of his ‘patriotism’, you would rather have Sachin Tendulkar as your ambassador to Washington. So you hire Ijaz, a publicity hound who’s tried to squeeze your foreign office in the past for jet deals after the Brown Amendment/played at convincing Benazir Bhutto of imaginary coups involving military intelligence/attempted to ink a ceasefire pact between the Kashmiri Mujahideen and the Indians/maintained that you have the right to keep your nuclear weapons after the AQ Khan debacle/connected Daniel Pearl with Khalid Khwaja etc. Thus, you know that Ijaz has been wishy-washy about his opinions and goes where the action (or the money) is.

So you engage him with a similar strategy to the CIA: Ijaz goes public at a politically opportune time for you to start pressuring this government for a variety of reasons, but the leading among them being that you don’t want Haqqani in the driver’s seat in Washington any longer as you begin to redefine your ‘red lines’ with D C. Nor do you want him about in Islamabad where, prior to Memogate, word had started to flow that the good ambassador had been green-lit as prime minister material for the next government or maybe even this one).

Thus, at the end of the day, you come across as looking good: Mature enough to not fire from the hip and launch a coup, and sober enough to let the honourable justices of the Supreme Court figure out what to do with the memo, as the law so requires.

Either way, a sleepy kleptocratic government and its ambassador look bad, shaken and stirred: always a good drink to order at the bar of spooky dreams.

Drugs ban: world media creating

KARACHI: Several countries imposed ban forthwith on the import of medicines from Pakistan after the report of London laboratory on Pakistani medicine, Isotab.

According to the sources of pharma industry the export of medicines had been increasing rapidly for the last five years leading to 35 percent annual growth of this industry. According to estimates, an investment of over $200 million has been made in the industry so far.

However, according to the London report the World Health Organisation (WHO) has banned Pakistan-manufactured medicine, Isotab, due to the recent deaths caused by medicine reaction in Punjab. Following the ban, the world media, especially Indian, has continuously started a hue and cry that the WHO imposed ban on import of all kinds of medicines from Pakistan despite the fact that the organisation has banned only one medicine. People are of the opinion that political conflicts have ruined the speedily growing pharma industry.

Final Cut Pro X: Multicam editing tips and tricks

Final Cut Pro X: How to remove the Final Cut Pro X Trial

var enableAppleInstant = 'yes';var modelValue = 'SupportApple';var akamaiUrl = "http://km.support.apple.com";Final Cut Pro X: How to remove the Final Cut Pro X TrialWhen the Final Cut Pro X Trial expires, you can remove it from your system.

"> ACUtil.setPOD('us~en'); var articleId = "HT5127"; var ACStaticText = { 'more': '…more', 'less': 'less' };KmLoader.akamaiUrl = 'http://km.support.apple.com';//function sendRead()var locale = 'en_US';Event.observe(window, 'load', function() {ACHistory.addKbView('HT5127', 'Final Cut Pro X: How to remove the Final Cut Pro X Trial', 'en_US', 'unknown');ACUtil.getMultipleOffers('133280', 'HOWTO_ARTICLES', 'en_US', 'false');ACUtil.reportView('HT5127', 'en_US');// Apple Instant Feed statistics code if(locale.indexOf("en")!=-1 && (enableAppleInstant == "yes")){var store = new Persist.Store('FeedStats');if (store.get('resultActivity')=='true'){var time = new Date();setReadTimer = setTimeout(function(){var feedStats = new ACFeedStatistics();feedStats.updateRead('HT5127', store.get('position'));store.remove('HT5127');store.remove('position');}, 3000);store.set('HT5127', time.getTime());}} });Event.observe(window, 'beforeunload', function(){// Apple Instant Feed statistics code if(locale.indexOf("en")!=-1 && (enableAppleInstant == "yes")){ var store = new Persist.Store('FeedStats'); if (store.get('resultActivity')=='true' && store.get('HT5127') !== null){ var time = new Date();var timeDiff = time.getTime() - store.get('HT5127');if (timeDiff Final Cut Pro X: How to remove the Final Cut Pro X Trial Summary

When the Final Cut Pro X Trial expires, you can remove it from your system.

Products Affected

Final Cut Pro X

When the Final Cut Pro X Trial expires, you can move the Final Cut Pro X Trial app from the Applications folder to the Trash. You can also remove additional files and folders that were installed by the Final Cut Pro X Trial. To do so, follow the steps below for the version of Mac OS X that you are using.

OS X Lion

In Finder, hold down the Option key and choose Library from the Go menu. In the Library folder that opens, open the Application Support folder. Move the Final Cut Pro Trial folder and the Apple Qmaster folder to the Trash. Return to the Library folder and open the Caches folder. Move the "com.apple.FinalCutTrial" folder to the Trash. Return to the Library folder and open the Preferences folder. Move the following files to the Trash:
com.apple.FinalCutTrial.LSSharedFileList.plist
com.apple.FinalCutTrial.LSSharedFileList.plist.lockfile
com.apple.FinalCutTrial.plist
com.apple.FinalCutTrial.plist.lockfile
com.apple.motionapp.plist
com.apple.prokit.plist
Mac OS X Snow Leopard

In Finder, choose Home from the Go menu. In the Home folder that opens, open the Library folder. Open the Application Support folder and move the Final Cut Pro Trial folder and the Apple Qmaster folder to the Trash. Return to the Library folder and open the Preferences folder. Move the following files to the Trash:

com.apple.FinalCutTrial.LSSharedFileList.plist
com.apple.FinalCutTrial.plist
com.apple.motionapp.plist
com.apple.prokit.plist Additional Information How to purchase Final Cut Pro X, Motion 5 and Compressor 4 Final Cut Pro X Trial FAQ 

 

$('articlecontent').select('img').each(function(element) { if(element.width > 640 ){ var imageDiv = document.createElement('div'); imageDiv.setStyle({ 'display':'block', 'width':'660px', 'overflow':'auto', 'border':'1px solid #dedede','margin-right': '15px'}); element.parentNode.replaceChild(imageDiv, element); imageDiv.appendChild(element); } }); Rate this article:Not helpfulSomewhat helpfulHelpfulVery helpfulSolved my problemOne Moment PleaseThanks for rating this article Not helpful Somewhat helpful Helpful Very helpful Solved my problem Share this article Twitter Facebook Last Modified: January 31, 2012 Article: HT5127 Views: 1790 Rating: 5.0/5 Stars
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Punjab govt terms PM�s statement about DRA wrong

LAHORE: The Punjab government spokesman has declared the statement of Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani about setting up Drug Regulatory Authority as contrary to facts.

The spokesman said in a statement issued here Sunday that the factual position is that after the passage of 18th amendment, the federal government, vide its notification No. 4-9/2011-Min dated 29th June 2011, assigned the functions pertaining to administration of Drug Act 1976 to the proposed Drug Regulatory Agency.

At the time of issuance of this notification, the DRA did not exist and could only be established after consensus of all provincial governments, he said and added developing consensus among provinces is role of federal government, not of Punjab government. He further said the provincial government asked the federal government, vide letter No. SO(DC)6-48/2008 dated 4th July and 5th August 2011, to lawfully continue to perform its function under the existing Drug Act 1976 till the said law is adopted by provincial assembly of Punjab in terms of article 270-AA(6) of the constitution. The Punjab government has drafted a bill to adapt this act in case no consensus is reached in establishing DRA.

Setting up iTunes and DVD Player for digital surround sound

var enableAppleInstant = 'yes';var modelValue = 'SupportApple';var akamaiUrl = "http://km.support.apple.com";Setting up iTunes and DVD Player for digital surround soundLearn how to set up a Mac for surround sound playback using DVD Player or iTunes.

"> ACUtil.setPOD('us~en'); var articleId = "HT4072"; var ACStaticText = { 'more': '…more', 'less': 'less' };KmLoader.akamaiUrl = 'http://km.support.apple.com';//function sendRead()var locale = 'en_US';Event.observe(window, 'load', function() {ACHistory.addKbView('HT4072', 'Setting up iTunes and DVD Player for digital surround sound', 'en_US', 'unknown');ACUtil.getMultipleOffers('PP13,PF4,133333', 'HOWTO_ARTICLES', 'en_US', 'false');ACUtil.reportView('HT4072', 'en_US');// Apple Instant Feed statistics code if(locale.indexOf("en")!=-1 && (enableAppleInstant == "yes")){var store = new Persist.Store('FeedStats');if (store.get('resultActivity')=='true'){var time = new Date();setReadTimer = setTimeout(function(){var feedStats = new ACFeedStatistics();feedStats.updateRead('HT4072', store.get('position'));store.remove('HT4072');store.remove('position');}, 3000);store.set('HT4072', time.getTime());}} });Event.observe(window, 'beforeunload', function(){// Apple Instant Feed statistics code if(locale.indexOf("en")!=-1 && (enableAppleInstant == "yes")){ var store = new Persist.Store('FeedStats'); if (store.get('resultActivity')=='true' && store.get('HT4072') !== null){ var time = new Date();var timeDiff = time.getTime() - store.get('HT4072');if (timeDiff Setting up iTunes and DVD Player for digital surround sound Summary

Learn how to set up a Mac for surround sound playback using DVD Player or iTunes.

Products Affected

DVD Player, OS X Lion, iTunes

To play movies that contain digital surround sound-encoded audio on your Mac, use DVD Player or iTunes. You will need the following to connect your Mac to a home theater receiver:

A TOSLINK (optical digital audio) cable connected to a Mac that has an optical digital audio port, which looks like this: A TOSLINK (optical digital audio) cable with mini-TOSLINK connector or mini-TOSLINK adapter to connect to a 3.5 mm optical digital audio jack (for use with portable Macs) An HDMI cable (for use Mac Mini models that use HDMI)

Setting up iTunes to play content in surround sound

Movies purchased or rented from the iTunes Store frequently have both stereo audio and digital surround sound tracks. By default, your Mac will playback the stereo audio tracks. If you want to experience the digital surround sound, you will need to connect your Mac to a home theater receiver via a TOSLINK (optical digital audio) cable.

In iTunes, click the "speech bubble" icon to view different audio choices, such as "English (Surround)". If the surround sound choice is dimmed, or if the icon does not appear, make sure you are using the appropriate hardware and content that is encoded with digital surround sound.

 

Setting up DVD Player for surround sound output

You can easily set the output on your Mac for your surround sound hardware using the DVD Player application. Open DVD Player (from the Applications folder, or by inserting a movie disc), then choose the Preferences from the DVD Player menu. Click the "Disc Setup" icon and change the sound output to your surround sound speakers:

 

Make sure you have only one playback application trying to use digital surround sound (open) at the same time.
 

Setting the sound device output in System Preferences

Make sure your Mac's audio output is set to use a digital connection in the Output pane of Sound preferences, especially if setting the output didn't work using DVD Player, and/or you frequently change your audio output settings. To access the settings:

From the Apple (?) menu, choose System Preferences. From the View menu, choose Sound. Click the Output pane.

For example, if you only hear audio being played via the internal speakers, you will need to change your output setting to the surround sound device. If you're using iTunes to play Dolby Digital content, it may output audio through the surround sound speakers automatically.

You can also adjust the balance control and overall volume level in the Output pane of the Sound system preferences.

If you notice that some speakers play most of the surround sound audio, the balance control may need to be adjusted to the center position. The LFE (or subwoofer) may not always play audio when the other speakers do; this is expected behavior since that speaker is only designed to play low frequency sounds that may not always be present.

Troubleshooting

If you encounter particular media that you believe to be surround sound-encoded, but that is not playing in surround sound, consider connecting a surround sound-compliant AV receiver between the Mac and the speaker hardware (using the appropriate digital connector) to rule out decoding issues.

Additional Information

Background

Digital surround sound is the result of multichannel digital audio and data compression technology, such as Dolby Digital, which enables the use of more than one channel of sound output over a single connection. Not all music and movie content is encoded with surround sound when it's produced. Examples of content that's frequently encoded with surround sound are DVDs and movies purchased or rented from iTunes. When music and movies are not encoded with surround sound, their sound will play as conventional two-channel stereo instead.

The common practice of digital surround sound playback is to utilize a 5.1-channel home theater receiver to decode the multi-channel audio, reproducing the surround sound experience. There are many versions of digital surround sound, however most are based on a five-channel (or speaker) surround sound setup. This consists of a left and right front speaker, a left and right surround (rear) speaker, and an LFE (or subwoofer) speaker.

Using surround sound with Apple professional applications

To learn more about using surround sound with Apple's professional audio applications, such as Logic Pro and Soundtrack Pro, see this article.
 

Using TOSLINK cables

A TOSLINK (optical digital audio) cable is used to make a digital audio connection between your Mac and your surround sound (or third-party audio hardware devices). The cables use an orientation that only allows them to be correctly inserted in one direction into your Mac or another sound device. A small, protective cover is used on many Mac models that have Toslink ports to keep dust out. Simply pushing the cable slowly into the port will automatically open the protective covering and allow the cable to be properly seated. 

Tip: You may need to remove a plastic protective covering from the end of your cable before using it. In some cases, the cable may not appear to properly insert into the optical digital audio port (despite being inserted using the correct orientation) until the small plastic protective shielding is removed from the end of the cable. It's recommended that you utilize the protective covering if the cable is not actively connected to prevent dust (or accidental damage) to the end of the cable.

$('articlecontent').select('img').each(function(element) { if(element.width > 640 ){ var imageDiv = document.createElement('div'); imageDiv.setStyle({ 'display':'block', 'width':'660px', 'overflow':'auto', 'border':'1px solid #dedede','margin-right': '15px'}); element.parentNode.replaceChild(imageDiv, element); imageDiv.appendChild(element); } }); Important: Information about products not manufactured by Apple is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute Apple’s recommendation or endorsement. Please contact the vendor for additional information. Rate this article:Not helpfulSomewhat helpfulHelpfulVery helpfulSolved my problemOne Moment PleaseThanks for rating this article Not helpful Somewhat helpful Helpful Very helpful Solved my problem Share this article Twitter Facebook Last Modified: January 31, 2012 Article: HT4072 Views: 18427 Rating: 3.0/5 Stars
(50 Responses) LanguagesDanskDeutschEnglishEspañolSuomiFrançaisItaliano??????NederlandsNorsk BokmålPolskiPortuguês (Brasil)PortuguêsP??????Svenska???????? Event.observe(window, 'load', function() { new KmLoader('2', 0, 0, 'Setting up iTunes and DVD Player for digital surround sound', 0, 0, 'en_US', 0, 0, 'support_site.related_articles.HT4072',undefined,undefined,'HT4072');}); Event.observe(window, 'load', function() { new KmLoader('1', 0, 0, 'Setting up iTunes and DVD Player for digital surround sound', 0, 0, 'en_US', 0, 0, 'support_site.related_discussions.HT4072'); }); Related Discussions More discussions Related Articles Start a Discussionin Apple Support Communities Wait... See all questions on this articleSee all questions I have asked Still need help?

Islamabad receives rocket attack threats

ISLAMABAD: A terrorist outfit has a plan to stage a missile attack on Islamabad from the Margalla Hills, in the manner terrorists attacked the Pakistan Military Academy (PMA), Kakul, last week, security agency sources disclosed.

Inspector General of Police Islamabad Bini Ameen when contacted by this correspondent confirmed that Islamabad was facing PMA Kakul-like attack threats but comprehensive security measures had been taken to counter such threats. Secretariat and Kohsar police stations have been declared the most sensitive and under-threat areas, the sources said.

Sources said that two terrorists involved in PMA Kakul attack were nabbed by intelligence agencies from Taxila during a crackdown against the terrorist outfit. They disclosed during the investigation that they had a plan to target sensitive buildings of Islamabad from the Margalla Hills. They even told that there could be some terrorists still hidden in the jungles of Margalla Hills to execute the plan.

iAd Producer 2.0.2: Release notes

var enableAppleInstant = 'yes';var modelValue = 'SupportApple';var akamaiUrl = "http://km.support.apple.com";iAd Producer 2.0.2: Release notesiAd Producer makes it easy for you to design and assemble rich interactive iAd content without any programming.

"> ACUtil.setPOD('us~en'); var articleId = "HT4464"; var ACStaticText = { 'more': '…more', 'less': 'less' };KmLoader.akamaiUrl = 'http://km.support.apple.com';//function sendRead()var locale = 'en_US';Event.observe(window, 'load', function() {ACHistory.addKbView('HT4464', 'iAd Producer 2.0.2: Release notes', 'en_US', 'unknown');ACUtil.getMultipleOffers('PL261', 'HOWTO_ARTICLES', 'en_US', 'false');ACUtil.reportView('HT4464', 'en_US');// Apple Instant Feed statistics code if(locale.indexOf("en")!=-1 && (enableAppleInstant == "yes")){var store = new Persist.Store('FeedStats');if (store.get('resultActivity')=='true'){var time = new Date();setReadTimer = setTimeout(function(){var feedStats = new ACFeedStatistics();feedStats.updateRead('HT4464', store.get('position'));store.remove('HT4464');store.remove('position');}, 3000);store.set('HT4464', time.getTime());}} });Event.observe(window, 'beforeunload', function(){// Apple Instant Feed statistics code if(locale.indexOf("en")!=-1 && (enableAppleInstant == "yes")){ var store = new Persist.Store('FeedStats'); if (store.get('resultActivity')=='true' && store.get('HT4464') !== null){ var time = new Date();var timeDiff = time.getTime() - store.get('HT4464');if (timeDiff iAd Producer 2.0.2: Release notes Summary

iAd Producer makes it easy for you to design and assemble rich interactive iAd content without any programming.

Products Affected

iAd Producer

iAd Producer 2.0.2

This update improves the reliability of banner rendering in various orientations on older versions of iOS.

 

iAd Producer 2.0.1

This update contains various improvements, including the following:

Corrects an issue in which resize handles of on-screen objects did not display correctly after editing text in labels or buttons. Addresses issues with incorrect presentation of objects' z-axis after editing operations in the code editor and basic editing view. Improves performance and correctness of the Video Player object. Updates behavior and improves performance of video on Preroll pages. Improves performance and correctness of iAd content generated by iAd Producer. Provides more robust support for repairing unusable project files on load.iAd Producer includes:

A single-window interface for viewing and editing ad layouts and settings. Project templates with pre-built ad structure including banners, splash pages, and menus. An extensive library of page layouts, controls, and interactive elements. Sophisticated object animation tools with precise control over event timing and object properties. The ability to create custom, reusable elements for use in iAd advertising. Advanced JavaScript code editing and debugging. iAd simulation for Mac and iOS devices.

 

iAd Producer 2.0

A single-window interface for viewing and editing ad layouts and settings. Project templates with pre-built ad structure including banners, splash pages, and menus. An extensive library of page layouts, controls, and interactive elements. Sophisticated object animation tools with precise control over event timing and object properties. The ability to create custom, reusable elements for use in iAd advertising. Advanced JavaScript code editing and debugging. iAd simulation for Mac and iOS devices.New features in iAd Producer 2.0 include:

New animation tools with pre-built effects as well as precise control over object position, scale, opacity, and other attributes. New page objects: Map View, Mosaic View, Multi View, Store View, and Zoetrope. Improved tools for validating iAd projects and identifying optimization opportunities. Page-by-page controls for image pre-loading. Code editing improvements. iAd Producer 1.2

iAd Producer 1.2 improves overall stability and performance and includes these new features:

Automatic loading indicators when navigating between pages in an iAd Support for TrueType fonts on devices running iOS 4.2 or later Smaller, more efficient banners Support for creating custom analytics in the iAd Producer inspector Support for multiple users editing a project maintained in an external version control system Improved stability and performance for both iAd Producer and generated iAd contentiAd Producer 1.1

iAd Producer 1.1 improves overall stability and performance and includes these new features:

Support for full screen banners in ads that target an iPad running iOS 4.3 Creation of ads with multiple banners Improved compatibility between iAd Producer project files and version management systems Support for importing and editing JavaScript (JS) and CSS files Sample projects and plug-ins that demonstrate iAd Producer and iAd JS capabilities iAd JS is updated to version 1.3.1 and includes numerous bug fixes and enhancements, including the following:
TransitionController now provides notifications that the view will disappear when the visible view controller is changed, rather than when the animation starts

Known issue

In iAd Producer 1.0, the built-in "Purchase" template accesses the US iTunes store by default. For details, refer to iAd Producer: Unable to find music or album from iTunes Store outside of US.

 

 

$('articlecontent').select('img').each(function(element) { if(element.width > 640 ){ var imageDiv = document.createElement('div'); imageDiv.setStyle({ 'display':'block', 'width':'660px', 'overflow':'auto', 'border':'1px solid #dedede','margin-right': '15px'}); element.parentNode.replaceChild(imageDiv, element); imageDiv.appendChild(element); } }); Rate this article:Not helpfulSomewhat helpfulHelpfulVery helpfulSolved my problemOne Moment PleaseThanks for rating this article Not helpful Somewhat helpful Helpful Very helpful Solved my problem Share this article Twitter Facebook Last Modified: February 01, 2012 Article: HT4464 Views: 15603 Rating: 3.0/5 Stars
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