You too - Arnold Schwarzenegger!

The picture shows Maria Shriver giving kiss to her husband Arnold Schwarzenegger on winning the elections as Governor of California.

"This is a painful and heartbreaking time. As a mother, my concern is for the children. I ask for compassion, respect and privacy as my children and I try to rebuild our lives. I will have no further comment."


The above statement was made by Maria Shriver after separating from a 25 years of married life with Arnold Schwarzenegger, who admitted that he fathered a child with of their household staff members and hid the secret for 10 years. The staff member worked with the family for 20 years, left the job only in January this year.

63 years old former governor and said that, "I understand and deserve the feelings of anger and disappointment among my friends and family. There are no excuses and I take full responsibility for the hurt I have caused. I have apologized to Maria, my children and my family. I am truly sorry."

He told media: "While I deserve your attention and criticism, my family does not ".

Lets see how media treats this news and for how long this remains focus of media attention in the US and internationally.

Old Dhaka – A city within the City

A city of massive traffic congestions and history! Over 20 million people it is the most thickly populated city in South Asia.

This is my second trip to Dhaka, capital city of Bangladesh. During my last stay, I did not find time to explore the city. But this time I was determined to do a bit of traveling in the old part of Dhaka.

After a busy day with board members and senior staff at Bangladesh Women Chamber of Commerce & Industry (BWCCI), the primer business association on South Asia serving over 2500 women entrepreneurs across Bangladesh, where I was working with them in developing a Strategic Plan, I hit the road on an auto-rickshaw (called CNG here because it uses compressed natural gas as fuel). My guide was Mehdi Hasan, Training and Capacity building Officer from BWCCI. Mehdi’s seven month old son was sick today, and he came to work a little late, but he happily took me on this trip to old Dhaka, where he lived during his childhood. He is after all a South Asian, you know, we are full of hospitality and respect.

CNG took us to the closest intersection to the old part, but due to a procession that was celebrating Hasina Wajid’s return to Bangladesh (it is an annual event), we got down and crossed the road to take a bicycle rickshaw. It was my first time in this environment friendly vehicle pulled by a skinny man, I asked him if he is a local resident. No, they come to Dhaka only to make some money, with an average income of about 300-400 Taka, of which 80 Taka goes to the owner of rickshaw; they hardly make enough to survive! But this is the most effective way of traveling short distances in the city.

So Old Dhaka – almost all residents of old Dhaka were Pakistanies, means non Bengalies. After separation from Pakistan in 1971, they opted to stay in Bangladesh and are still called Pakistani. This is not strange for me, because those Bengali families, which stayed back in Pakistan, are still called Bengali.

Crocked and narrow streets of old Dhaka reminded me of old Lahore, red brick tall buildings were quite similar to inner Lahore. One could smell Kacha Biryani from a distance (meat biryani, very similar to Palo Rice). Small shops were making puri and kachoori. Our rickshaw puller knew I am a foreigner, in expectation of reasonable reward; he gave us a big round of the area. We passed through wholesale markets selling auto parts, bicycles, food grains etc. I saw many small food vendors selling noodles and peeled cucumber, which were fully poised with dust and other pollutants!

It indeed was an experience. Old Dhaka is a different city within the city.

Most interestingly I was told to keep only little cash in the pocket, CNG rickshaw have doors that one needs to keep locked (fear of snatching!) and Mehdi said “You look different”!

It was a trip, I can never forget. My thanks to Mehdi for taking time out for this unforgettable experience.

Poor Service – Poor Rating

The secret ingredient for a successful airline is its service quality.

After having traveled in Emirates, Qatar, Thai, Itehad, you get used to a high quality Business Class experience. Nice, comfortable and modern seats, excellent meals, both in quality as well as quality.

However United Airlines is yet to learn the actual meanings of Business Class! Experience UA977, a 14 hours direct flight from Dubai to Washington DC. The flight leaves at mid-night Dubai and lands in the US at around 7am. You would like to get enough sleep to allow you going to work around mid-day.

Forget about this if you have taken UA977…. Business Class is comparable to an Economy+! Still operating with manual seat controls, the leg room and seat alignment does not provide Business Class comfort.

After the recently becoming a single company, Continental and United together with United Express, Continental Express and Continental Connection, operate an average of 5,820 flights a day to 373 airports on six continents. However US Airlines are not in good financial shape.

The US's eight largest airline companies (counting United Airlines and Continental Airlines as one and Southwest Airlines and AirTran Airways separately) incurred a collective 2011 first-quarter net loss of $1.01 billion, ATW calculated. The deficit was slightly widened from a net loss of $985.7 million in the 2010 March quarter as rising fuel costs offset strong revenue gains. With these financials, one should not expect any major service quality uplift program, at least in the medium term.

Choice is yours, but I would opt for other options!