A recent drop in the international price of unleaded fuel, coupled with a soaring Australian dollar should be good news for motorists but instead they are being subjected to record fuel margins with the current average price standing at one-dollar- thirty-two a litre. So are we getting ripped off at the pump?
To find out more Peter spoke with Evan Knapp Manger of Policy and Research from the RAA on Breakfast with Peter Godfrey.
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Sanaullah Baloch, Central Secretary Information of the Balochistan National Party – Mengal. — File
As tensions flare in Balochistan and the government alleges foreign involvement in the nationalist movement there, Dawn.com talks to Sanaullah Baloch, the Central Secretary Information of the Balochistan National Party – Mengal.
Your name was placed on the Exit Control List (ECL) and your brothers were reportedly abducted by the agencies during the Musharraf government. Have you considered filing charges now that the judges have been reinstated?
My entire family, including my parents, was placed on the ECL. Our assets were frozen, my brother was abducted and kept in an illegal detention centre for six months, and I was physically attacked by Musharraf’s agents during a conference in London. My website and 36 other Baloch websites were blocked by Pakistan Telecommunications Authority.
As for filing charges, several Baloch political parties tried to file charges against Musharraf, but the country’s institutions lack the will or courage to accept our plea against him.
You advocate a non-violent, political struggle to accomplish BNP (Mengal)’s goals, but it was the Balochistan Liberation United Front that succeeded in pressurising Islamabad…
Unfortunately, our deaf regimes and policy makers are not used to logical arguments. They only understand the language of power, force, guns and canons. That is why several resistance movements in Pakistan have taken on an increasingly violent character. Unfortunately, this becomes the culture in states governed by dictatorial regimes.
However, I don’t think that the non-violent aspect of the Baloch struggle has been nonproductive. Our political struggle, media campaigns, diplomacy, extensive inquiries on Baloch deprivation and its expression has widened our support beyond Balochistan and Pakistan.
In that case, why did you resign from the Senate?
From 2002 to 2006, as an active member of the Senate, I did my best to highlight the Baloch people’s plight. I was elected by the people to protect their rights, but we could not stop Islamabad’s assault on Balochistan. We could not protect the innocent Baloch from disappearances, torture, displacement and we could not stop our resources’ unabated exploitation. That is why we decided to quit the parliament. It is better to be among the people and tell them the truth as opposed to giving them false hope.
You have previously said that the National Security Council (NSC) can ensure that Balochistan has greater autonomy over its resources. But you also emphasise on electoral politics. If the NSC is the deal-breaker, why bother with political deliberations?
Unfortunately, it is a reality in Pakistan that the corridors of power are outside the Parliament. The NSC is basically the visible face of the establishment that consists of civil-military elites. They approved the military operation against Balochistan and, without their consent, no political regime can undo their policy of continued suppression.
In Swat, the government has negotiated a deal with the Taliban. What message does this give to groups aspiring to a more autonomous Balochistan?
The establishment in Pakistan has always felt comfortable with religious groups as they do not challenge the centralised authority of the civil-military establishment. The demands of these groups are not political. They don’t demand economic parity. They demand centralised religious rule which is philosophically closer to the establishment’s version of totalitarianism.
Islamabad’s elite are stubborn against genuine Baloch demands: governing Balochistan, having ownership of resources, and control over provincial security.
Some people believe that Baloch nationalist groups are materially supported by India in its bid to destabilise the Pakistani federation. How do you respond to this allegation?
Unfortunately, this has been the culture in Pakistan that all legitimate political movements against injustice have been labeled as foreign machinations and leaders of those movements have been called traitors and agents. Even the credibility of the lawyers’ movement was questioned by the establishment. Human rights defenders have also been labeled foreign agents. These are old tactics that all despotic regimes use to undermine legitimate political movements.
The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has promised resolving the Balochistan issue and President Asif Zardari recently announced a Rs 46.6bn package for Balochistan. Can the government shift the current Balochistan policy?
I am not optimistic about the PPP’s Balochistan policy. Musharraf promised and even spent more money to expand Islamabad’s strategic control over Balochistan. He pumped billions and officially decentralised corruption at all levels in the province to buy artificial sympathy, but failed. Millions were spent on media campaigns to prove that the central government is spending billions to develop Balochistan, but years of defective policies have further deteriorated the masses’ lives. Poverty only increased in Balochistan during Musharraf’s rule. According to one study, rural poverty in Balochistan increased 15 percent between 1999 and 2005. The only ‘development’ Balochistan has witnessed during Musharraf’s rule is the 62 percent increase in police stations.
Meaningful development can only occur if there is political empowerment, adequate healthcare, educational and employment opportunities and peace. At this moment, there is no spending in these sectors.
You have listed eight confidence-building measures that the federation can adopt to ease political tensions with Balochistan. Have any been implemented?
No. Displaced people are still living in appalling conditions, disappearances are still occurring, the military operation has only intensified and more senior Baloch nationalists are being intimidated, harassed and killed.
In a more autonomous Balochistan, how might the life of an average Baloch improve?
Political and economic empowerment will bring positive social change. It is unfair to blame the Baloch or tribal system for illiteracy, violations of women’s rights and poverty. How can people benefit from the existing system when there are more soldiers than teachers, more military cantonments and naval bases than universities and colleges, more police stations than vocational training centres?
In December 2008, a group in Quetta circulated pamphlets directing women to observe purdah. How will the BNP-M ensure security and respect for women?
We condemn all kinds of discrimination against women. Historically, Baloch society has been liberal when compared to other groups settled in and around the region. We have maintained a moderate identity since 1920 and have never used religious slogans to gain public support. However, the establishment has used religious groups to change Balochistan’s social fabric. There is no restriction and control on the Taliban in Balochistan, but agencies continue to intimidate Baloch nationalists.
Some analysts say that Baloch groups have been inconsistent in their struggle…
I can call it a gap or a pause rather than inconsistency. There has been suspension in the movement for many reasons. But as compared to other nationalist movements the Baloch struggle is surviving after continuous state suppression. Moreover, there are forged nationalist groups that have recently been created by the agencies to continue their policy of dividing and ruling.
Instead of always blaming Islamabad, why don’t Baloch leaders claim some responsibility for the current state of Balochistan?
There has been no fair opportunity for Baloch nationalists to govern Balochistan. The first Baloch government headed by Sardar Ataullah Mengal was toppled in 1973 just before completing nine months. The second coalition government of Nawab Bugti worked for 18 months. The third, of Akhtar Mengal, was removed after 14 months. Not a single Baloch government was allowed to continue for a complete parliamentary period. That is why we hold Islamabad responsible for the Baloch people’s plight. Without giving authority to genuine Baloch leaders, we cannot blame them for the appalling state of affairs in the region.
Source: http://www.balawaristan.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1728%3Asanaullah-baloch-interview&Itemid=64
Well, as some of you know from us, Maddyfiren was deleted later last night, one exactly 6:09:00, which is a coincidence, because SierraTheGreat was banned for spamming “69″…
Well, here’s how it went:
Q – If you met the mod who deleted you in real life, what would you do to him/her?
A – I wouldnt hurt them or anything…i would smile and shake their hand…and probably plot their doom
Q - Why do some people seem to hate you? Why do they tend to have problems when they hear or see you?
A – I guess people hate me because im an annoying *bisquit*.
Q – Who is j00r best forum buddy?
A – I dont have one
Q – Who do you tend to flame with, or who tends to flame YOU often?
A – SierraThe*Cup*.
Q – If you could meet her IRL, what would you do to HER?
A – I would become her friend and then trick her into going into a dark bedroom with me and then lock and barricade all doors and windows
and beat and *rap* her yes i would.
to death
Q - What is your favorite Internet meme? Or least, whichever j00 want.
A – do like team fortress 2 and left 4 dead stuff count
Q – Yesh. PILLZ HERE!
A - then that
Q – If you could be a mod of OT, what would you change?
A – everything
Q - Like…?
A – oh well i couldnt change anything if i became a mod anyways
Q – Yeah… then an admin?
A – i still couldnt change what i wanted to
Q – Why not?
A – reasons
And that was our interview!!!
-Cool33333
We all know mobile phones have slowly taken over from the traditional landline, but could the old dog-and-bone soon disappear completely? That’s the consensus the Australian Communications and Media Authority have come to after research has found mobiles now outnumber fixed lines by more than two-to-one.Although previous studies have shown this transition has been relatively slow, this new research has found as many as one in five consumers have considered dropping their fixed line subscriptions completely. Communications professional Lee Hopkins helped to shed some light on the subject.
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After hearing feedback from a fellow Java geek on recent interviews attended, I have to ask myself – Where did all the good interviewers go?
Interviewing a candidate for a technical role, or in fact any role which requires some sort of brain function, is an art. Just because a guy is good at his job, it does not mean he will be good at finding other good people. To start with, let us consider what makes a good employee. There are two main kinds of ‘good’ employees – those that do what they know well and those that can do anything well. The former have an abundance of what I call “book knowledge”. The stereotype went to university, graduated with good marks and enjoys debating on topics they are well read on. The latter are adaptable and are able to figure out an elegant solution rather than rely on something they read. They are open to new ideas, not scared to explore new possibilities and can think a problem through. They often had to learn what they know themselves and may not have a formal education or score well in tests. There are a people that fall into both categories. The important thing to decide is which kind of guy do you want to employ? The former typically do really well in interviews whilst the latter excel on the job.
One of my first mentors was absolutely brilliant yet he failed his Sun certification (SCJP) multiple times – even after I had passed it! There could be a number of reasons for this – English was his second language, he didn’t do well at school so lacked confidence when it came to tests etc… but I would rather work with him than a number of people I have met who have aced their certifications.
It is easy to figure out if someone has book knowledge. Set up an interview and ask them a couple of questions like “How do you implement a hash map?” or “Name and compare the standard implementations of a List in Java”. Generally these questions you can google and find the answer in under 5 seconds. A person who can answer these is as useful is a 5 year old who has learnt to use a search engine. I’m not saying that the people who can answer these questions are bad candidates – I’m saying they are bad questions which test nothing of the candidate’s actual abilities.
A good question is a question that the candidate has to think through and show you some of their thought process. At a previous company we regularly asked candidates to implement a double-linked list. However, we never said “Please implement a double-linked list” – in fact the word “List” was never mentioned. We provided the candidate with the following pseudocode:
class Node {
Node prev;
Node next;
Object data;
}
We would then ask them to implement a method in Node perhaps last() which returns the last Node (ie. the Node where next == null). If they seemed a bit apprehensive, we’d often draw a diagram (or encourage them to draw one) to show how the nodes were linked. We ignored the little stuff (”Oh My Word! That guy left out a ;!! How could he!”) and sometimes even help out with the coding. If we helped out a lot or wanted to further evaluate the candidate, we might then ask a slightly more difficult question like to implement the method reverse() which reverses the order of all the nodes and returns the new first node. We could then tell if they learnt anything from the help we gave them on the first question. Another common question was asking the candidate to reverse a String.
Perfectly acceptable answers in our interviews were “I would check the Javadocs” or “I would google it”. If it was a little info they were missing that they could easily find online that was stopping them answering a question then we would give it to them – in the real world they would always be able to find that info – it’s what they do with it that’s important.
This is also why I honestly believe that face-to-face interviews for technical assessment is crucial! You can draw diagrams and interact in a way that is impossible over the phone. Phone interviews should be kept strictly for getting a feel of the person and perhaps trying to suss out good questions to ask them in a face-to-face. I was asked in the hash map phone interview (see previous post) to discuss one of the most complex problems I had worked on. If the most complex problem I had worked on could be easily explained over the phone, then it really wouldn’t be that complex would it?
It is also important that the interviewer does not have a definite answer to their question in mind. So often there are multiple solutions but because the interviewer is so keen on hearing their specific keywords or solution that they dismiss any other answer. Often the question is ambiguous but the interviewer is so focused on guiding the candidate to their answer that they are not evaluating what the candidate is saying.
Think about what knowledge the candidate can bring to the team. Interviewers generally are so focussed on providing the perfect match for their role that they look for a clone of their current employees rather than adding a fresh dimension to the team. The candidate may not have experience in what you currently work with but your current employees can easily pass that knowledge on and the candidate might just have some other tidbits that help with some of the less common functionality. Don’t forget that anyone’s knowledge will be outdated within a few years and it is more important to find someone who is intelligent enough to learn new things and adapt with the latest technology. Use the opportunity of a new hire to expand the expertise of the team as a whole.
Don’t judge a candidate by their interview manner. I am the perfect example of this. I am an introvert (hello, geeky computer person ) and get very nervous in situations where I need to meet a lot of new people – even more nervous when I know they are meeting me purely to judge me and how they judge me might seriously affect my future (though to be honest if they can’t see my brilliance then their loss and I probably wouldn’t want to work for them anyway ). I have studied Linguistics at a university level yet somehow when I enter an interview room, I lose words and can barely pronounce my own name. I have very little confidence in the interview situation but some people equate this to not having confidence in my work or abilities. If you want to see if a person is a good fit then organise another more informal interview – best way is out of the office. Chat over coffee or a beer – perhaps bring up some controversial topic for a bit of lively technical debate.
Cooking oil – apparently it’s not just good for cooking your chipswith. You may have heard it can also be used to power cars and motorbikes, but if you haven’t seen it in action, head down to Adelaide Uni later this morning, as author and former offshore oil rigger, PAUL CARTER will begin his ride on the BioBike.
His trip will take him all around Australia using only about 650 litres of vegetable oil for the whole trip.
But before his begins his ride, we’re talking to the brains behind the bike – Senior Lecturer in the School of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Adelaide, Dr COLIN KESTELL…
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