Malala, Nobel and Pakistan

As soon as the news was released that Malala did not win the Nobel Prize, many Pakistanis offered prayers of thanks since Pakistan was saved from a huge embarrassment of being awarded with a Nobel Prize.

Sign of Things To Come

"Lanat Hai wants to join you on FaceBook"

Totka To Make Children Walk

"You daughter is afraid of walking. You will have to do a totka", our maid's mother stated.


A totka is a household creative solution for variety of issues based on folklore and old wives tales.


My daughter started to walk at the age of 1. She had couple of incidents in which she fell while trying to walk and got afraid of this activity. So much so that she started to cry whenever we would let her stand independently. She would readily move around the house holding a hand but not independently. We tried every trick in our books but to no avail. Watching our dilemma, our maid's mother stated that she had a proven totka to make children walk, that they employ this totka on every child in their social circle. Hearing the solution, my wife and I just laughed. Who the hell does that we said. Illiterate people! And so 3 months passed further.


Now we really were in a quandary as to what the solution could be to take the fear out of her of walking. One day, we both laughingly agreed to use the totka as the last option available and see what happens. We were laughing when we were using the totka, we even feigned the same accent that our maid's mother uses and in their language. It was not going to work so what the heck, let it be fun.


And the totka. According to her, we were to tie a rope around the legs of our daughter - not tightening it but a symbolic gesture of legs being tied. Three twirls around the legs with that rope. Then we were to take a knife, my elder daughter was to be asked 'Shall I cut the rope?' and she was to reply 'Yes, cut the rope' and the first twirl would be cut. Three times this activity of question-answer and cutting the 3 twirls of rope. 'She will start running after this you will see', the maid's mother had claimed.


An hour passes...


My daughter gets up and starts to walk. She walks and walks all by herself so much so that she did not want to go to sleep that night out of excitement. We laughed before the application of this totka and laughed when we saw the result. This is totally bizarre. Had I heard it from someone else, I might have doubted it but I did it  myself and I saw the results.


Truly unbelievable.

PostMan's Commandment on Morality

Thou shall not link morality with the length of garment.

Colour Blind

I: (to my 5 year old daughter) hey wow! Your mother placed a new fruit soap. Orange!
She: Its Peach.
I: How can you tell?
She: Orange is dark. Peach is light.
I: uh huh.


Men just can't get it.

The Thing I Love These Days...

Poking my nose in your cheeks :) and you do not seem to mind at all.
Am losing my hair and you, it seems, are getting all of them... yours are so like mine!
And you love anda paratha!
You sleep with your legs placed on me.
Tight hugs.
Happy first Birthday :)
Love.
-Your Dad-

911

The unending tragedy.

A Conversation

Disclaimer:

The following is a conversation between two believers. If you are not one of them or think that muslims and people of certain are plain nuts.. please visit this site instead of wasting your time reading my post.

Peace.
------------------------------------------------------------------

X: So do u think the prophets had to believe in themselves being prophets to be muslims?

I: I think the question should be this “So do u think the prophets had to believe in themselves being prophets”

X: & then the answer would be?

I: i think they had this intoxicated feeling through which they could not find a away to escape. And they must have been too afraid to ‘let down’ their followers.

X: By the way I was serious!

I: I am not kidding!

Sometimes I think being a prophet was the worst job! I swear! Think of what it entails! Let me give you an example. One fine day, you are told to marry your adopted sons wife. How does that sound? easy eh?

X: My initial question remains unanswered! I am not talking about job complications nutcase!

I: That is why I answered the first question... it would have been totally difficult to deal with it. They cant escape the feeling that something unusual but in reality is happening to them, cant get away from it, cant run away from it. So kind of intoxicated feeling. ‘what the hell am I supposed to do now’ feeling. It must not have been about self belief.. I am totally sure of that.

X: So they just got stuck with the deal?!! Yani whether I believe im a prophet or not I have to go through this!?

I: I totally think so :) You think its a dream.. no it IS a dream and out pops Gabriel! ‘No my son this aint a dream!’

Now what the hell?! You are being told to ditch everything your ancestors have been told and you know you don't do drugs! That is trouble!

X: So … there isn’t a yes or no answer!! :p

I: It lies somewhere in between :) Definitely not ‘Self Belief’! cuz self belief cant make you marry your adopted sons wife!

X: Not self belief… but at some time u have to believe that u are the chosen one, the torch bearer… how else would u bring urself to marry ur adopted son’s wife

I: By being forced to! Torch Bearer makes you very conservative.

X: how

I: Every act you do must be in ‘accordance’ to the higher goals of social acceptability. Example of a torch bearer is pharoh, who has to maintain all the traits of royalty and continue to rule people. Torch bearer is your religious scholar.. no matter how pervert he is. He has to show that he is very religious. Prophet ‘discards’ everything. More like a cult.

Btw, people use Schizophrenia as the reason for the prophets :)

X: Yea… that’s when they’re being polite! :p

To My Friend

*salute*

if there is any definition, characteristic of an entity called friend... thats her.

Horrendous

I just received an email forwarding that contained pictures of burnt, charred dead bodies of passengers of flight AirBlue that crashed in Islamabad hills.

What the fuck is wrong with us?

Poker - A Game of Chance or Skill?

Some very nice articles in the Economist on gambling. Here is one on whether Poker is a game of chance or skill.

'Most experienced players insist that success at poker is not about luck. David Sklansky, author of “The Theory of Poker” writes that “expert players do not rely on luck. They are at war with luck. They use their skills to minimise luck as much as possible.” In poker, as in life, luck can happen to anyone; it is evenly distributed. Skilled players know how to take advantage of it when it happens to them, and get out of the way when it is someone else’s turn.'

This is not a theoretical point; it is at the heart of a dispute about poker’s future in America, the country of its birth and its largest single market. UIGEA (the enforcement mechanisms of which have only just come into effect, even though the act was passed in 2006) bans financial institutions from transferring funds for bets in which “opportunity to win is predominantly subject to chance.” Poker has been judged to fall into that category'

A 2009 study carried out by Cigital, a software consultancy, analysed 103m hands of one of the main varieties of poker, Texas Hold ’em, played at Pokerstars.com, and found that over 75% of them were decided before a showdown. They thus depended far more on the players’ betting decisions than on the cards dealt. The Poker Players’ Alliance, a million-strong group of aficionados, argued in the South Carolina Supreme Court that “the structure and rules allow sufficient room for a player’s exercise of skill to overcome the chance element in the game.”

Yet perhaps the clearest argument in favour of poker being skill- rather than chance-dependent comes from Mr Sklansky, and it has to do with losing rather than winning. Imagine trying intentionally to lose at a game of pure chance, like roulette or baccarat. It would be impossible. At the beginning of a deal or a roll you have to bet on something. You can no more deliberately play badly than you can deliberately play well. The same is not true for poker, which offers multiple opportunities to make sure you lose.

-Link-

Civil Uncivility

This is interesting.

America has a well-developed system for getting companies to pay for the damage they do; and BP long ago accepted that it would pay in full. But that was never going to satisfy the country’s corporate bloodlust. An outfit called Seize BP has organised demonstrations in favour of the expropriation of BP’s assets in 50 cities. Over 600,000 people have supported a boycott of the firm on Facebook. Several of BP’s gas (petrol) stations have been vandalised. (Link)

What would you call this act of people? Natural reaction? Compare the same reaction with muslim protests around the globe on Prophet Muhammad issue. Any similarities? or nothing at all?

When muslims protest, call for ban on FaceBook (or to ban facebook), arrange protests or vandalize... they are bigoted and uncivil. Why?

You might argue, and logically too, that the issue involved is different. That what BP did is material and tangible in form of damaging the coastal and sea life of Gulf of Mexico. On the other hand, muslim's protest of Prophet Muhammad issue was just an exaggeration of sentiment. How can one quantify a sentiment. Muslims take their religion way too seriously and since muslim societies do not believe in freedom of opinion, they cant take a opposite opinion. Hence the two issues just do not compare.

I agree.

But wait. What matters most do you think? The issue or the reaction to that issue? Suppose an act X results in reaction Y. Does your analysis rest on ferocity of Y or sensitivity of X?

Taking the case of BP. Since the act is sensitive thats why we accept a harsh and ferociuos reaction against them. Agree.

Taking the case of Prophet Muhammad issue, regardless of the sensitivity of the issue (since its subjective) the opposition camp would have agreed to 'just a protest by muslims' instead of 'muslims vandalizing property'. This should show that the reaction is more of a problem than the sensitivity of issue.

Since when muslims protest and they are called bigoted, ignorant and uncivil, should not everyone who protests be called bigoted, ignorant and uncivil? Or is it concerned with religion only?

Why am I writing this post?

Why Islamic Headscarf Should be Banned in Football

Ahem. The Iranian version of Islamic head scarf to be precise.

I had written a post sometime back when I heard the news that FIFA had banned the Iranian youth women soccer team from playing in a tournament because FIFA does not allow Islamic head scarf. I was pissed off seriously. How could FIFA do that? Racist was the only thing that came to my mind.

Out of no where a gentlemen called Ecclesiastes arrived on my blog and commented. He being an ex-football referee, shared with me some points as to why the head scarf was a danger to the players and had in fact nothing do with being associated to a particular religion. When I inquired him how head scarf was dangerous, he stated "A head scarf is not allowed because an opposing player's hand or foot could become entangled with it and snap the girl's (girl wearing head scarf) neck."

Makes sense doesn't it? Here is a picture of Iran's women soccer team in action.

(Link)

As a muslim woman, many would like to be involved in all sorts of activities that ladies without 'veil/ head scarf/ parda' get involved in - like playing soccer for example. Covering the body does not sound that complicated as they can easily do that. In fact, Nasim Hameed of Pakistan is the fastest woman in South Asia! and she did it wearing a long tights and a bit loose t-shirt. A ta girl!


The issue with head scarves is a bit tricky. Mind you, women dress differently across Islamic world and there could be stark difference in appearance of neighboring country's women as in case of Iran and Pakistan. Iran wont even allow the dress of Nasim Hameed. The Iranians focus on hair too as they believe it should be covered. A Pakistani woman football player can be allowed by FIFA but will ban her Iranian counterpart because of the head scarf.

So how to cover the hair and still be able to play a FIFA soccer match?! I honestly have no idea because I am not much in to women accessories. I can think of a covering for hair only, with probably elastic strings to keep it 'fixed' - lets say, and most importantly a covering that does not join the garment on body (below neck - even neck!) so as to be injurious in situation like getting entangled somewhere and doing the damage. Any suggestions? cuz hey.. I want to see the Iranian women soccer team play in a FIFA match.

And.. will the Iranians budge? I do not think so.

Solution for Drug Smuggling

"

I keep hearing about the street value of cocaine whenever trafficking or interdiction is talked about but I never get to hear the intrinsic value of the drug. If it were legal to manufacture, what would the price be? This is critical in understanding how to combat the trade and use of this drug.The street value of 1kg of cocaine is $500,000 (from the above text). If the cost to manufacturer (if legal) were say $500, it means that a smuggler can spend more that $400,000 per kg of cocaine in technology, bribes and other such costs and still generate a HUGE profit. That is what ultimately drives the cocaine business. If the profit margins are so huge, it behooves us to come up with better (smarter) techniques to combat cocaine usage (there can be no smuggling without usage).

For example, if say Germany were to setup its own cocaine production and allow addicts to purchase small quantities at a nominal profit, the entire supply-chain of cocaine smuggling would simply atrophy. Alas, we are so gung-ho at appearing to be "tough on drugs" that we have left our capitalist brains behind..."

-Heretic. A commentator on this article

Ensuing Discussion

X: Imagine if cocaine were available cheap how many would be addicted! Aur kuch nai tu $ consideration hi kitnon ko bacha laity hogi! :p (if nothing, the cost of it will make people think befiore using it)

I: Would you use cocaine if its cheap?

X: How many youngsters have u been able to prevent from smoking!? Morphine!?

I: And do you think increasing costs is stopping them with their use?

X: Im just saying the target market will be different & also the no. of users will increase drastically & do u honestly think we can deal with that many addicts!

I: The solution is that sale and production will be ‘legal’. That means reduced production and controlled use

X: As is the case with wines!?

I: I am not talking of pakistan! Nothing works proper here!

X: I was not talking of Pakistan either! V defy all logic!! :p

I: Holland is the country whre drug use is legal. Its no where in the list of drug abusers

X: That’s cuz its legal there!

I: Hence the argument.

How Much Math?

A quote in Economist, that led to the following 'inconclusive' discussion.

'Mandating more math and science in high schools when most of us never use trigonometry or calculus in our working lives takes away time from learning skills that are crucial in an innovative economy: how to listen and persuade, think independently and work collaboratively, for instance.' (link)

X: This is a wrong argument. instead of making us learn how to make use of these things in daily life, you are taking it out altogether. You want to make an illiterate out of even a person who is reading this. Develope the other skills independently but their importance you can never deny

I: ‘more of’ math and science when most of us ‘never use trigonometry or calculus in working lives’.

X: then tell people how to use them! not take them out of course!

I: you sound as if ‘math’ is being taken out… No

X: That’s what I am saying. whatever you have read, tell me about its applicability!

I: GRE test :p

X:We will stand nowhere if these are taken out of course. That is why it is wrong. Label your illiteracy as 'not needed' and finish everything.

I: Are you an illiterate you don’t know logarithms?

X: Of course I am cuz I don’t know how to use it.

I: No you are not because the maths you know covers most of the essentials of your life! You do not require to know logarithms! Its not needed! Its use is very specialized

X: But that doesn’t mean that they should not be taught to me. How am I suppose to know at school stage whether if it will be of some use in profession that I choose later?

I: You ‘should’ get to learn it where in case you need it in future!

Suppose now you switch a job and the new one requires that you know logarithms… although you have read them in school, you will still require to re-learn it. So whats the use learning it in school?

X: Now at this stage. What if I wanted to study the same field right after my school? No body would have given me admission in any school had I not learnt all that maths. And if I wanted to do BCS or go to any foreign school they would never give me admission anywhere without me having to know all this.

I: If you had required to learn logarithm then you would have been taught logarithms!

X: That’s why I was taught logarithms! :p

I: Logarithms should be removed from curriculum cuz they are not needed!
There is an understanding that a base level math (call it GRE level) should exist. More of it is not needed!

X: It is provided you can teach the use. Otherwise even this is of no use! :p

---------------------------

So how much Math should there be?

FIFA dress code bars Iran girls from Youth Games

Oh what a hogwash!




ZURICH: Iran's girls' soccer team was thrown out of the Youth Olympics because FIFA rules prevent players from wearing an Islamic headscarf.


Thailand replaces Iran in the August tournament, the governing body of Asian soccer said on its Web site Monday.


The hijab scarf — worn by girls and women to observe Islamic dress code — was not allowed under FIFA rules relating to on-field equipment, the Asian Football Confederation said. Iran's national Olympic committee had urged soccer's international ruling body and the International Olympic Committee to review the ban.


FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke rejected the Iranian Olympic panel's request in a letter to the national soccer federation. He said the FIFA executive committee had "no choice but to take the decision."


FIFA maintains that soccer's international rulebook contains a section on player equipment, stating that "basic compulsory equipment must not have any political, religious or personal statements."


(Link)


Understand this. There is a difference between practicing your beliefs and 'making' a statement. If I am in a foreign country and I say my prayers in a public area, I am not 'making' a statement but merely practicing my faith. Whether you are sporting a beard or not, FIFA should not worry because its none of their business. Players are allowed to wear logos of various brands - no one says that they are making statement. You allow them just because money has no religion?


From ugly to racist, take your pick. FIFA rules suck.


Related Post
- Why Islamic Head Scarf Should be Banned

What Matters Most?

It is not the mind that matters, it is the particular hormone at that time that does.

Which Object Are You

Don't like tags but the result made me do a post :p


cuz I like the result, and as always, I have been a fan of Volkswagen Beetle :)
-Link-
Thanks Leena

*Acting God*

*scene: an old man selling vegetables.*

He: please buy some vegetables from me as I have to feed my children
I: (Acting like God and taking out a currency note) 'here take this too. I'll buy vegetables as well'
He: sorry. I do not take charity. Buy vegetables.
I: *dumbfounded* its not charity. I am giving you from myself with no intentions like that.
He: No. I will not take it. Buy vegetables instead.
I: why so?
He: I once got money from a lady and my 3 kids fell ill. I am not taking this from you.
I: *quietly buying the vegetables from him*

Shahra e Faisal Alert!

All drivers plying on Shahra e Faisal beware! There is a serious 'distraction' these days and may result in any accident!

The advent of March has seen all sorts of colours blossom - and divas donning them! The intense lawn competition amongst textile mills, their designers and respective brand ambassadors has led to a color riot and beauties on billboards of Karachi. These may be heaven for eyes for some (including me perhaps :p) but its a very serious distraction for drivers! Keep your car and yourself under control!!

:p

Gul Ahmad Textiles

JOFA Group

Sitara Textiles

Firdous Mills

And the coup was made by Firdous Mills! I mean who would have thought that someone in the textile industry would bang in with an Indian model! and that too Kareena Kapoor! The move has for sure destroyed the competition (that is my personal opinion). It heralds a new trend in Pakistani textile and its good for sure.

As I was saying... be careful drivers!