Interesting Facts

14th August 1947 - Colonial rule in India ended, and the country of Pakistan was created.

According to a UN-backed global study, Sweden is the best place in the world to be old. (Sweden, Norway and Germany headed the list, whilst Britain was rated 13th, one place behind Ireland. So, I guess I won't be moving any time soon.  Sorry to say Afghanistan, Tanzania and Pakistan ranked lowest, but don't worry, the only way is up.) Source: The Global AgeWatch Index is the first-ever overview of the wellbeing of older people around the world. http://www.helpage.org/global-agewatch/global-rankings/

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority has banned 1,600 words it deems to be obscene. (The words and phrases banned include 1,109 English words and another 568 in Pakistan’s national Urdu language, which in itself is interesting - do Pakistani people prefer swearing in English? (I know they do in Wales.) Now, I realise that there is a ban list on the forum, but it's limited to indecent language, and there certainly aren't 1,600 words on the list! In addition my list doesn't include everyday words like “idiot” (try imbecile) or “barf" (try throw up - I'd like to see them ban throw and up).) Here's a list of the banned words - Parental Advisory.

The Pakistani government has announced it's going to monitor the internet for 'blasphemous' content (My goodness they're going to be busy. I remember the good old days, when a simple bolt of lightning, or a plague of frogs was considered ample. I guess they figure they need to lend a helping hand, or maybe they think God isn't being proactive enough, which in itself is a bit blasphemous really.)

According to a poll by the BBC World Service, only 11% of people from 27 countries thought free market capitalism is working well. (In the United States (25%) and Pakistan (21%) of people agreed that capitalism works well in its current form. Luckily 51% of the people surveyed believed the problems can be solved with more regulation and reform, so there's hope for us yet.)