Crow's Nest...

Eid Mubarak!

Car Fanatics. A recent(well not so recent) study concludes that men use same circuitary to identify their favourite cars as they use for identifying faces. Well thats kind of cool. This might mean that men see cars in a feminine frame. Compare both in terms of sleek looks, carved curves, leather interiors, deep penetrating lights, steamy radiators, blinking indicators and romantic shades etc. etc. etc.    "...alternative interpretations of the electrophysiological signals are possible. Even in the short time available, some suggest that the subjects' brains could be performing a more complex perceptual process, assigning a sociological meaning to the images seen." Via New scientist.com

Euthanasia. Yes thats the subject of our study in CHS(Community Health Sciences) rotation. Euthanasia is something surrounded by clouds of controversy. We intend to shed a little light on it in a Pakistani population. Never before has it been studied in Pakistan so we are the pioneers; the trend setters. Having said all this I must say it is not an easy task that lies ahead of us. We are already running short of time due to Eid holidays. Adding to this is the absence, be it in person or interest, of many of my group mates. I don't understand why we the muslims are so lazy and otiose. Always looking for excuses to run away from work, thats our attitude towards life. Responsibility as a concept is missing from our lives.Anyways adversities are there to deter us but we must learn to fight them.    Our project is basically a Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices of Euthanasia in the Physicians and medical students of The Aga Khan University. We would like to know what ...

Take your pick. "Like a petulant 8-year-old, we keep asking why, why, why, why. In the end, the answer is either "just because" or "for God made it so." Take your pick." The article talks about the tedious question, "Can science Prove the existannce of God?" I think putting all the burden of proving God's existance over science's shoulders would be asking too much out of it. And that is where faith comes in. Either you believe or you don't. At my level of understanding i would say i am content with the former option.

Unsafe Injections. Unsafe injections pose a great deal of threat to the health of the people. They are a major cause of spreading sinister diseases like AIDS, Hepatitis and many more. The use of used syringes maybe cheap for some but it is a matter of life and death for the recipient. But the world is so engorged in making money that it wouldn't care. To get rid of the curse I method was introduced in which the metal syringe was cut, after use, from its stump, making its reuse impossible. But the 'innovators' in Pakistan found a way to overcome this hurdle by glueing the needle and the stump together. And thus it happened that a boy received an injection through one of such syringes and the needle broke in his buttock. All went unnoticed till the parents brought the crying soul back the next day with a swollen butt.    A WHO study claims that of all the injections administered in the year 2002 about 40% were given through used syringes. Astonishingly African sh...

We have this issue being debated, with keen interest on class mail of beliefs and rituals. The problem in question was brushing teeth while fasting. Some are of the view that it is permissible on the basis that brushing teeth is imperative as we have lots of public contact in the day when we deal with patients and we must not be smelling like rotten rats from our mouths. Also these people believe that actions are judged by the intentions behind them. Since the intention behind brushing is not to nourish hungry bellies thus it is permissible.    Now there is another group of self acclaimed philosophers who have struck back on the above notion with full force. They site fat'tawa in support of their notion claiming that tooth paste contains sweet taste and thus is not permissible while one is fasting. They have a point of view that one must not come up with reasons when adhering to islamic injunctions and follow them in full without any exception whatsoever.  ...

Americans can't win Iraqi hearts this way     "They came here and they told us to help them catch resistance fighters or their planes would destroy our homes and we would be arrested," said Ahmed Mohammad, 30. "I am a farmer, not a policeman. What can I do?" detailed news here via Daily The News

I was going through one of these blogs by Shi'a Pundit and came across something that to me accounts the true definition of Jihad.     "Don't start war, but when attacked, win. Then show mercy and be sure your enemy sees the wisdom in being your friend. If they don't get it, though, educate them on what it means to be your enemy."    Although jihad is a vast term and entails struggle not only through the use of force yet also struggle through other available means, against the evils of the society. And if you ask me this one we need much more bitterly than the former.

Matrix Revolutions .    Its out and i have seen it just last night! And i don't know why i watched the whole movie in one go. It was such a shame for its prequels. The whole movie was all about visual effects and no story which is unlike the first matrix. All i know is that the first matrix had a strong story line which kept you guessing and that is what made it my favourite. Matrix revolutions was more of a matrix revealed before it was supposed to be. All the ordinary stuff of an action movie with bullets flying here and there and people dying without any point what so ever. Adding up to all this was the death of trinity near the end. Neo's final fight was a bit of a treat in the whole movie. And the worst of all is the end result of all this struggle is nothing more than peace with the machines huh. I wanted to win, defeat those mechanical sloths, kill 'em all! moiz's rating 2/5.

"We should not be ashamed of recognizing truth and assimilating it from whatever source it may reach us, even though it may come from earlier generations and foreign peoples. For him who seeks truth there is nothing of more value than truth itself. It never cheapens or abases him who searches for it, but ennobles and honours him."-- Al Kind i

Lessons of life I have learnt many things today but most important of them all i would like to share, I have learnt that it is not always that your efforts will bear to their maximum. Some times it so happens that part of the result to the effect is withheld for later events. Since i believe in one Allah and his last messenger i believe that this is by the will of Allah and done so for our own greater good. We will be paid either in this life or the life hereafter, for every deed of ours__ good or bad .

Leprosy I happened to visit Marie Adelaide laprosy center as a part of my curriculum requirement in the dermatology rotation. This visit to the center has not been of much interest to some of the groups who went there before us so naturally we were not looking forward to the visit too. But as it turned out once again liking and disliking is a completely relative term that for me it was an interesting insight into one of the least known disease even to the people of medical pofession. Which is quite sad actually. We were shown around the center and its different wards, pharmacy, laboratory and the out patient clinics. Here i would like to jot down some of the new things that i learned there about the disease and also the efort to cure that disease. --The journey of leprosy conrol began in Pakistan in 1956 in Karachi under the guidance of a young Maxican sister. She was later joined by a young German lady doctor named Ruth Pfau. This effort later took shape of the National Lepros...

Traffic light Gadget Now if you have 300 bucks to spend nowhere useful you can use them to buy this freaky gadget that can turn red traffic lights to green simply at a push of a button. Whats more its small and can be installed on the dashboard of the car. As long as you have the gadget its all smooth sailin' but it wouldn't remain fun when everyone on the road has one. This gadget was actually designed for the use by police cars and fire engines but its copies are now available for general public. Authorities fear that if its sold on a large scale it can cause hevoc on the road and will mean big trouble for all. Well i guess authorities here in Pakistan don't have to worry about this problem as we have not been blessed with traffic lights in most parts of the country and where they do occur no one really cares to stop at their command. So keep sleeping our proud policemen.