light gazing, ışığa bakmak

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Sohaib Athar, my hero

paquistanês, informático, que se mudou com a família para uma localidade mais calma, supostamente, longe dos atentados semanais e da confusão de Lahore. para (eu) ter uma ideia, são dez milhões em Lahore. Sahaib  tem um sentido de humor fantástico, lucidez e, neste caso, representa-me a mim e a todos os outros "homem comum". twittando em directo enquanto outros fazem o trabalho sujo de 'apanhar' e matar Bin Laden. não estou com os outros, estou com ele.


@ReallyVirtual Abbottabad Lahore Pakistan
An IT consultant taking a break from the rat-race by hiding in the mountains with his laptops.

Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
A request to the msm: I am not milking you for money. Please don't milk me for news. I need to write that FAQ. (cont) http://tl.gd/a8e35p
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
@samadk I just woke up. There's no power at home, so I will post the pics from the shop, when I get there.W
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
Thank you for your encouragement. I hope a few of you will still be around in the 16th minute, and we can have some actual conversations :-)
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
I will post more pictures taken by @samadk later, if electricity at home allows. I am working on an FAQ to save us all a lot of time.
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
I am sorry I can not take any more phone calls or interviews. Really sleepy. The images I uploaded (from my cellphone) can be used freely.
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
The guy with the cap was asking the reporter to show proof of OBL's death before he'll answer any questionshttp://yfrog.com/h79lxzadj
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
http://yfrog.com/h3jrrrdj Where they go to relax after training hard at the Rocks Academy
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
http://yfrog.com/h7iokqzj Where they go to learn how to live amongst the rocks and caves.
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
http://yfrog.com/gyql3kvj just a reminder (I hope)
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
http://yfrog.com/h87z4gfuj The area behind the hideout in Bilal Town.
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
http://yfrog.com/gzk0nnqj The street behind the hideout. More smiles than frowns.
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
http://yfrog.com/h2ljwywj A guy who used to live in la Den gave this bunny (two in fact) to a neighborhood kid.
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
@AlbinaSportelli I've been tweeting in Urdu as well.
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
The Stream from Al Jazeera is being rerun again at >http://english.aljazeera.net/watch_now/
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
My cellphone is finally out of juice and Abbottabad is out for the last two hours. I may not be able to talk to anyone over Skype :-(
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
Stuck in traffic and unpaved lanes with a 10% battery remaining :-\
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
Coming back from laDen, yet again
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
One more thing, the 'other Sohaib Athar' is not me, and vice versa. He is @sohaibgulbadan
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
@moliesre1981 No, I am not taking any money for the interviews - just losing sleep - a lot of it. "Monetization" is not really on my list.
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
Just talked to NDTV - last stop, CNN - before sleep. I did have a very interesting visit to the operation site, will upload pics in a few.
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
Oh so this is how they do it. http://twitpic.com/4sp9lh
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
Watching the watchers watching the watchmen watching the compound ... or something like that ... http://twitpic.com/4sp184
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
The last picture, btw, was a Reuters guy probably uploading a feed.
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
At last, somebody was seen hiding behind a rock!http://twitpic.com/4soux1
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
@harisn @ahmedbilal Nah, I'm still sitting online, there's still no electricity here, and the wars haven't ended. The world hasn't changed.
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
Good morning! It is back to life as usual in this part of Abbottabad today. I hope there are no repercussions. http://twitpic.com/4sm287
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
Half the emails answered. I guess I have a blog post (or three) to write when I wake up. Peace. Out. [SPONSORED MESSAGE: (Nah, just kidding)
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
Thanks for your 'stay safe' messages - folks. This area of Abbottabad has finally gone back to its quiet/dark/peaceful night.
Description: Ahmer Mumtaz
Rahat Ahmer Mumtaz 
 by ReallyVirtual
Wondering what Abbottabad looks like? Here are some lovely picshttp://bit.ly/jZQhMR
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
Spoke to Al Jazeera a few minutes ago - its a good thing they don't use a 3-letter-acronym - and they are not as biased as the rest of 'em
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
and a video of OBL's hideout in Abbottabad - after the incident (shared by friend) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlWMsApBOws
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
Here's a picture of OBL's hideout in Abbottabad, as shared by a friend @Rahat http://yfrog.com/h7w4izmj
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
I apologize for reporting the operation 'unwittingly/unknowingly' - had I known about it, I would have tweeted about it 'wittingly' I swear.
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
I just woke up and need to take care of some business before I (re)start blogging - please don't call me just yet. Thank you!
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
Fact: I don't own a TV set and stopped watching TV many years ago. Sorry three-lettered-big-tv-news-channels for not replying to your emails
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
Bin Laden is dead. I didn't kill him. Please let me sleep now.
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
Reuters got to me before I could go to sleep.
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
Need to sleep after talking to @mosharrafzaidi and @OmarWaraichas they got to me first in person.
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
@latikambourke It is Suhayb
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
I'm sorry to all the MSM journalists trying to reach me via phone/email etc. for not being able to reply to their queries individually.
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
@ahmedbilal Not yet not yet
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
@jovensclaudio The gunfight lasted perhaps 4-5 minutes, I heard. That was around 10 hours ago. There are no other gunfights that I know of.
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
Thank you Google, thousands of email reduced to a few dozen.
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
I guess an 'is now following you' GMail filter is the next logical step
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
For the people who are trying to email me to reach me, I simply can't filter out the notifications from the emails :-(
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
Interesting, I didn't think my name would trend on twtter before releasing a couple of rock albums and a few award-winning software....
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
@saidation D saidation People don't use twitter here, hence they don't realize the attention they're getting. Ignorance is bliss.
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
@ahmedbilal Yea now I'm waiting for the bounty money ;-)
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
@ahmedbilal I am working. On the PC. The coffeeshop staff can't reach here due to traffic blocks, so tell me how I can manage that? lol
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
It is a good thing my blog server is infected with malware today, I guess :-/
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
@ahmedbilal nah, can't handle the rush at the moment ;-)
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
@ExecSkelton I was at least 2-3 km away from that area. Planning to stay alive, if they let me live, lol.
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
I am JUST a tweeter, awake at the time of the crash. Not many twitter users in Abbottabad, these guys are more into facebook. That's all.
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
@sabahat24 Irony follows me everywhere I go :-/
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
@bweixlmann Thanks for the concern, I'm alive so far :-)
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
@saidation People who dream about twitter follower counts need a shrink, seriously
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
And the big question is - now that OBL does not live in Abbottabad, is it open to terrorist attacks too?
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
The shopping plaza I'm in is almost entirely closed, probably mainly because the traffic is blocked in a few places
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
Uh oh, time to log out of Skype, this is insane
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
For the curious, here is life in abbottabad two minutes agohttp://twitpic.com/4s8nfq
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
@cszrom The area is offlimits to everyone - and I have other commitments... #binladen
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
Ok, I give up. I can't read all the @ mentions so I'll stop trying.
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
@FauziaBurke neither is OBL. lol
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
@solomonchik too fast to count or care...
Description: Saad Hussain
saadhussain Saad Hussain 
 by ReallyVirtual
ABBOTTABAD IS TRENDING. Who wouldve thought.
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
@bunduboots A *tiny* coffee shop , that I set up because I couldn't find any real coffee here, but you're welcome to visit #Abbotabad#win
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
At least the power is back... two shots of robusta is what I need now
Description: Steve Farnham
stevofarnham Steve Farnham 
 by ReallyVirtual
Abbottabad instantly becomes to absolute coolest word to pronounce
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
@ahmedbilal not really...
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
@ahmedbilal I need to find a large rock first, before the cameras arrive, lol
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
Time to turn on the generator
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
oh I forgot, one needs electricity to make coffee, which, we don't have right now in Abbottabad. :-/
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
@ahmedbilal lol @ dead = very puny
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
@MahaRafiAtal lol not just you, and nothing to be sorry about (I think) :-) I guess I'll go drink a couple of espresso shots to keep me up
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
and here come the mails from the mainstream media... *sigh*
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
Uh oh, now I'm the guy who liveblogged the Osama raid without knowing it.
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
I need to sleep, but Osama had to pick this day to die :-/
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
Damn its getting hard to RT some funny Abbottabad tweets, they're scrolling so fast :-(
Description: Chris Hoy Poy
kryanth Chris Hoy Poy 
 by ReallyVirtual
how long before the "Call of Duty : Abbottabad, Pakistan" expansion hits the stores?
Description: Bradley Burgess
BradleyK8Olsen Bradley Burgess 
 by ReallyVirtual
Abbottabad just became a sexy new spring break destination.
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
@harisn we are both right outside Islamabad :-)
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
I guess I should unsubscribe from the #abbottabad search on twitter before it kills my machine. Leave Abbottabad alone, Osama and Obama...
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
@kursed so, not that hard anymore I guess?
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
Wondering what would be the right music to play in the coffee shop today...
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
RT @ISuckBigTime: Osama Bin Laden killed in Abbottabad, Pakistan.: ISI has confirmed it << Uh oh, there goes the neighborhood :-/
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
I guess Abbottabad is going to get as crowded as the Lahore that I left behind for some peace and quiet. *sigh*
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
@kursed I think I should take out my big blower to blow the fog of war away and see the clearer picture.
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
@kursed Well, there were at least two copters last night, I heard one but a friend heard two, for 15-20 minutes.
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
Report from a sweeper: A family also died in the crash, and one of the helicopter riders got away and is now being searched for.
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
@kursed True, but stranger things have happened. I just hope they don't find my giant helicopter swatter. Must hide it :-/
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
@ahmedbilal @kursed Sadly. We should start learning how to spread believable stories and recreate a reality that suits us.
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
@kursed Another rumor: two copters that followed the crashed one were foreign Cobras - and got away
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
@kursed What really happened doesn't matter if there is an official story behind it that 99.999% of the world would believe
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
Report from a taxi driver: The army has cordoned off the crash area and is conducting door-to-door search in the surrounding
Description: Munzir Naqvi
naqvi Munzir Naqvi 
 by ReallyVirtual
I think the helicopter crash in Abbottabad, Pakistan and the President Obama breaking news address are connected.
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
Interesting rumors in the otherwise uneventful Abbottabad air today
Description: Ibrar Ali
ibi2010 Ibrar Ali 
 by ReallyVirtual
1 dead and 1 injured in Abbottabad for heli crashed
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
@raihak The day there is uninterrupted electricity in Lahore for a whole month, I will start packing my bags, until then, Abbottabad is home
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
And now, a plane flying over Abbottabad...
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
and now I feel I must apologize to the pilot about the swatter tweets :-/
Description: Terminal X
terminalxpk Terminal X 
 by ReallyVirtual
The Major also says no "missiles" were fired and all such exaggerated reports are nothing but rumours #Pakistan
Description: Terminal X
terminalxpk Terminal X 
 by ReallyVirtual
A Major of the #Pakistan #Army's 19 FF, Platoon CO says incident at #Abbottabad where #helicopter crashed is accidental and not an "attack"
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
Two helicpoters, one down, could actually be the training accident scenario they're saying it was >> http://bit.ly/ioGE6O
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
Here's the location of the Abbottabad crash according to some people >>> http://on.fb.me/khjf34
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
@smedica 'safer' is a relative term that has lost its meaning in Pakistan
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
@smedica I live near Jalal Baba Auditorium
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
@smedica It must have been more, I started noticing the helicpoter when the noise got irritating - which part of Abbottabd are you in?
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
@tahirakram very likely - but it was too noisy to be a spy craft, or, a very poor spy craft it was.
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
@smedica people are saying it was not a technical fault and it was shot down. I heard it CIRCLE 3-4 times above, sounded purposeful.
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
@wqs figures, if they have the right to shoot planes flying over the president house, the must have the same instructions for PMA
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
The abbottabad helicopter/UFO was shot down near the Bilal Town area, and there's report of a flash. People saying it could be a drone.
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
@tahirakram they're not saying anything
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
@kashaziz technically, it is unidentified until identified, and it is a flying object, so year, why the hell not, we have seen weirder stuff
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
@tahirakram yea. *hides his giant swatter*
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
@raihak yep, the mad power cuts have reached abbottabad - 14 hours daily - luckily I have a generator AND a UPS at the coffee shop
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
Since taliban (probably) don't have helicpoters, and since they're saying it was not "ours", so must be a complicated situation#abbottabad
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
@raihak Funny, moving to Abbottabad was part of the 'being safe' strategy
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
@raihak I try, man, I try
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
@m0hcin the few people online at this time of the night are saying one of the copters was not Pakistani...
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
@m0hcin http://bit.ly/ljB6p6 seems like my giant swatter worked !
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
@m0hcin all silent after the blast, but a friend heard it 6 km away too... the helicopter is gone too.
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
A huge window shaking bang here in Abbottabad Cantt. I hope its not the start of something nasty :-S
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
Go away helicopter - before I take out my giant swatter :-/
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
Helicopter hovering above Abbottabad at 1AM (is a rare event).
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
18 hours per day is not loadshedding, it is a load of bullshit :-(
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
Why are the Pakistani subjects so happy about seriously, our rulers take us through what comes after a 'royal wedding' every other day ...
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
Abbottabad had power for 6/24 hours or so today, still waiting for the power brokers to have pity on us :-\
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
@aem76us what is this 1947 which you speak of?
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
@raihak I am following the whole jungle actually
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
@sharjeelq I am sure the answer lies in a hastily clicked 'I agree' TOS button :-)
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
Why are the pakistani twerps talking about a royal wedding? Is it HRH papa zardari, or baby Bhutto who is getting married? * confused *
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
Nigeria sure is filled with ultra-rich people with tragic life stories :-/
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
Question to the Lahoris: Where in Lahore does one find imported shisha tobacco from brands OTHER THAN Al Fakher? Please share.
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
LOL @ "Its a hard time on Pak comedians. Firstly Liaqat Soljer, Mastana, Babbu Baral & now Moen Akhter. Worried about Altaf Bhai"
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
One man's breakfast is another man's dinner :-/
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
Probably the most widely recognized Jazz tune in Pakistan >>http://youtu.be/39gOCSEPLoQ
Description: Sohaib Athar
ReallyVirtual Sohaib Athar 
Another victim of time. http://twitpic.com/4li07n
16 Apr




- - -
* my bold :)

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