Crow's Nest...

It is so damn tedious that I have to dedicate one whole post to this section in my Kaplan Physiology book. It has been almost a week now, since I set to read it and be done with it. Initially my speed was deterred by frequent episodes of TGD then it moved on to lapses in concentration due to household chores. Now it is just psychological barrier that is standing like a giant in my way. I mean if you look at it the section is nothing but a hundred or so pages of respiratory physiology, that, I happen to know pretty well, otherwise. Perhaps the best in my whole physiology course. Just 100 pages! I have to do as much as possible in as little a time as possible. But while I am at it I have to do it in the very best way possible. Afterall USMLE is no child's play and the hefty fees that are involved in taking this exam make it much more a one time affair for doctors like myself. Almost all my friends are going to take this exam in near future. We are all hoping to do good in it...

The earthquake disaster in Pakistan is still not over. My estimate is that more than 25 hundred thousand people displaced a safe figure for those dead would be about 5 hundred thousand. The estimates given by the govt. are both illogical and incorrect. So I advise all of you to go by my estimates.    I was going through MSN's top five searches and I am surprised to see how little interest this earthquake has generated in a usual net surfer. There you can see Janet Jackson , Pumpkin carving , Sheryl Swoopes , Lizzie Borden , Nicollette Sheridan . No Pakistan no earthquake no relief. Sad.

Your Power Color Is Red-Orange At Your Highest: You are warm, sensitive, and focused on your personal growth. At Your Lowest: You become defensive and critical if you feel attacked. In Love: You are loyal - but you demand the respect you deserve. How You're Attractive: You are very affectionate and inspire trust. Your Eternal Question: "Am I Respected?" What's Your Power Color?

Home is like a heaven where you are served the best in available cuisine after almost every hour or after every fifteen minutes, if you are malnourished like I am. Mothers, I guess, are universally tuned to look at their child and exclaim with a sure touch of compassion about his depleting health. Well in my case my mother's concern is pretty much valid. I have never been bothered by my physique really. I have always belonged to the group of people who eat to live and not those who live to eat. but recently I have started taking special interest in my diet. so much so that I have carved out a diet plan to keep myself fit and busy at the same time. the emphasis is now on gathering and accumulating good portion of nutrients for later times. Let us see what I can do in this regard in the ensuing 4 to five months. After all eating healthy is no crime is it!

I tell the tale of a force that has powers beyond your wildest imagination. I came to know of this Army about a year or so ago when one day I was idling in my room and thinking, most probably, some perversion. A foot soldier on a spy mission caught my eye. It was moving with agility, yet was camouflaged to the sorroundings and made itself inconspicuous. The motion spoke volumes of the confidence that this soul held in its ability to silently explore its enemy's territory. It stopped and paused time and again to gather samples from the territory and to gather further field intelligence. The general of this army of foot soldiers must be a proud existence. Since that day I have had frequent skirmishes with the conscripts of this army and if I had a lucky day then I would be rewarded with the death of artillery men amongst my loot. But these soldiers are one resilient force. They are driven by the sin of gluttony and are active around the clock in gathering whatever blood samp...

Today I paid a few debts that were outstanding...or atleast I made an effort towards it.

The doctor that I am I had started to get used to it. Time is flying by and so are my feelings of compassion for the victims of this earthquake. I guess this has something to do with me being a doctor. We are trained to feel the pain and suffering of our patients at one hand and on the other we are taught, through gradual process of acclimatizing, to suppress the emotional aspect of human suffering. Thus in times of extreme pain we act not on the vim of our emotions and epinephrine but rely on the working of our brains. This they say promotes higher levels of output.    I was almost all set to write a long post about the recent burning of Taliban corpses by the American army in Afghanistan which, by the way, is in complete disrespect to the Geneva convention. But then I tuned my TV for the latest update on quake. The scenes were mind shattering, the suffering is immense, the pain unrelieving, the cold uncompromising and the access to help still unavailable. This ...

I could have expected this from the president of the ruling party in Pakistan. He packed old and worn clothing into very nice packages and donated it to the effectees of the earthquake. In the proces got some nice media coverage and good pictures for publication in newspapers.

Sheila Musaji has this to say about the donations made by the world in geeral and the Muslim countries in perticular. It is pretty shameful that Muslim countries offered over a billion dollars in aid money for Katrina relief whereas they have donated about 210 million dollars. The earthquake catastrophe is much bigger i magnitude and suffering than Katrina. It is such a shame indeed.

Transparency International has issued this year's Corruption Perceptions Index . Pakistan scores 2.1 amd is ranked 144 th .

Just came across some standard of ethics for journalists and newspapers as followed and published by Washington Post. There were some interesting claims. I would quote some here, We accept no gifts from news sources. We accept no free trips. We neither seek nor accept preferential treatment that might be rendered because of the positions we hold. Exceptions to the no-gift rule are few and obvious invitations to meals, for example. Free admissions to any event that is not free to the public are prohibited. The only exception is for seats not sold to the public, as in a press box. Whenever possible, arrangements will be made to pay for such seats.    Although it has become increasingly difficult for this newspaper and for the press generally to do so since Watergate, reporters should make every effort to remain in the audience, to stay off the stage, to report the news, not to make the news. In gathering news, reporters will not misrepresent their identity. They will not...

Pak Quake is doing an excellent job. This is what a volunteer had to say .

I was reading the latest series of opinion articles in this month's NEJM when i came across experiences of medical staff during the gushing winds and pouring water of hurricane Katrina. Ruth Breggren M.D. writes about the experience in these words I was never afraid of wind, water, fire, hunger, or disease. My moments of fear came when I was confronted by agitated, fearful human beings bearing firearms. My husband was exposed to sniper fire twice while helping to evacuate the emergency-room dock. People with guns shut down an entire hospital evacuation for many hours. The real Katrina disaster was not created by the elements but by a society whose fabric had been torn asunder by inequality, lack of education, and the inexplicable conviction that we should all have access to weapons that kill.    In the end, we were kicked off the ward by armed men and shouted at by people herding us with bullhorns as they shoved bound, violent psychiatric patients past us on gurneys in ...

God's wrath shall fall on them soon. They are eating out of the flesh of their own brothers. Please dont buy any products of Ready meat.

My chacha has returned from the Northern areas just this afternoon. He has a very shocking and devastating story to narrate. He was there to rescue my other chacha and his family who were caught unawares in the tragedy in Kaghan Shogran road. My chacha is otherwise a man of quite strong wits but today while he was narrating the story his face told more than half of it in expressions of agony and pain. He tells us that there is no one left alive in Balakot. The whole city has been reduced to rubble. There are dead lying everywhere and struggling here and there are a few injured who to date are stuck and crying for help till their energies last. The scene of devastation is immense, he says. He was on helicopter sorties over the Shogran area while looking for my chacha and he saw people occupied in excavating dead in the day and sitting with polythene bags as shelter in the open during the night. He saw multi million rupee Pine Park Hotel reduced to a mound of mud and wood. ...

Them Them Them Them Them Them Them Especially her . She is real filth of this society. the spew that machinery throws out every once in a while.

Indian soldiers cross LOC to help Pakistani soldiers rebuild a bunker. Huh??? Pakistan accepts aid from Israel. Nice to know we are eating out of the blood of our muslim brothers. Great.

On a lighter note (yes i can manage lighter notes under these circumstances) i have been saying my 'Taraveeh' quite regularly these days. Mostly there are no more than 3 or 4 people in the salah. One of them is myslef and the other one is our servant. the poor chap doesn't know how to pray but still he has been attending all salah congregations very religously. Almost all the time he is preeking through the corner of his eye towards the ohther three and follows them in his actions. that is so cute. He is so enthusiastic about the whole affair that just today he came in 30 minutes ahead of time to call me for prayer. While iam there thinking all kinds of absurd thoughts while saying my 'taraveeh' he i am sure is trying to concentrate hard on what the imam is saying out loud inspite of the fact that he doesn't understand a word of it. The reason being he thinks that his doing so will bring him real salvation. He thinks that he should do his duty and God w...

There is so much to write that if I pick up my pen and start writing I will end up writing a complete novel in one sitting. This disaster has been a changing experience for me and I am sure for many of my friends. For many of my dear friends. We have learnt , I am sure, that we have entered a phase of life where we are able to make decisions that bear influence over not only our lives but lives of many. we have learnt that we are agents of change in this society. We have learnt that we are acting and thinking in the right direction. Most of all we have learnt to have confidence in ourselves and the way we think. I think this is an important step in our development. A necessary step in our development.    It gives certain air of confidence when we know that we can bring some good into this society. Until now we have only thought over all this in theory but now Allah has given us a chance to convert theory into practice. I am glad that we have been able to do our ...

Mean and Women of the Legion, I have been told a nother team from AKU will be leaving for north soon. Please find place in there. Mujtaba could you please eleborate on the news and try to send the latest through channels. We are not alone all of you are with us. I see legionnaires Zaraq Khan and Amir Ahmed forming a great part of the team. They are, as i speak, on their way to Mansehra with lots of relief aid. I have similar news about Syed Shahzad Kazmi . Bravo Gentlemen. Similalry Syed Mujtaba Rizvi is in action in Karachi along with other members of the Legion. Yet on the other hand the great women of the legion have contributed generously to the effort. For my Punjabi Legionnaires CMH murree needs paramedics. Call at 051-34192033. Regards Abdul Moiz Khan Proud legionnaire of Class of 2005

Dear men and women of the Legion, My heart weeps and my eyes shed tears for there is no end to the casualties of the horror that has befallen our land of the pure. Many a paople have lost their lives and those who haven't have loss of some loved one to lament. As Usman so pleadingly exclaimed ot me late last night on a phone conversation the death toll maybe as high as 30,000 dead. Still many more are stranded under open merciless skies of the north for the fear of calamity to strike again. I saw no light. I saw darkness around me. But lo and behold i see a shimer. I see dust rising in the horizon. I see figures in the distance. I see them calling unto us. I see honour. I see dignity defined. I see determination. I see men of the elite legion approaching fast with their faces covered not in dust but glory that times rarely witness. Ah yes i see Usman tanveer Malik, I see Hussain Mehmud, I see Muhammad Ali Khan and who else do i see... yes i see bearded fellow Uzer Sherdil Khan her...

Doctors of the legion, No one asks for it no one likes it but it happens. Disasters strike at most inconvenient hours and leave many stranded and perplexed. The unfortunate circumstances arising from the natural disaster herald our active participation in the relief work. We might not realize this but we are certified doctors capable of providing health care services of basic level to all those who ask for it. With casualties rising into thousands (some early estimates fear 18,000 dead and 45,000 wounded) it is our duty to help the unlucky lot. Afterall we are all one under one God and part of humanity at large. Therefore i request thee, most capable men and women of this honoured legion, to come forth and help out the vicitms of this quake. We can work on four lines, 1) Try and contribute monetarily into the president's Fund. 2) Those who are closest to the destruction can offer their voluntary services for relief work and health care services. 3) Pray for the loss to be minimal. ...

ISLAMABAD, October 11: It was 9.30 am, just 40 minutes after the tragic earthquake hit Islamabad on 8th of October 2005, when this scribe reached the tragic scene of F-10/3 Margalla Towers where three blocks of the huge building had collapsed burying more than 100 families alive under tons of debris. After the strong jolts, I was pushed towards Margalla Towers as an elderly friend living along with his son and wife was not responding on his cell. I stayed there for almost the whole day and saw scenes which raise umpteen number of serious questions about our authorities' attitude and their state of preparedness to deal with a catastrophe like this. At times it appeared that the law enforcement agencies had no clue, no equipment and no desire to help the hundreds of people trapped under the tons of rubble. They just wanted to get pictured on TV and get away with anything valuable they could pick up from the debris. When I arrived there was a group of young lads of the local vicinity ...

Go to Quake help.

It was terrifying to say the least. We have often heard the proverb being used again and again but this one was a real earth mover. It occurred at about 52 minutes past 8 in the morning while most of our urban population was still asleep in their homes. The jolts kept on coming for about a minute and 10 seconds and then there were lighter jolts in the evening. I was fulfilling my new found glory in the field of gardening when our tractor started shaking like mad. It was literally heaving its huge heavy body sideways like some shaky pendulum.    Then my father called in and told me that the quake had been hard on Rawalpindi and Islamabad. I talked to my relatives there to ensure that they were safe and away from harm's way. Afterwards I switched on the Television. Thus starts my cynicism for the whole event!    The anchor on the TV was so disturbed that he could not even tell the story right. At one point in time he is telling us all the reports fro...

This is an amazing piece from the comedy King of our time US President G.W.Bush

We have very recently inaugurated a mosque complex in our area. I have the honour of saying first 'Takbir' for the very first prayer offered in the mosque. This statement undermines my earlier criticism, which stands tall still today, on the construction of this mosque complex by my family. I have always felt that there are sufficient number of mosques in the area and not so sufficient number of mosque goers. Yet there is a large number of patients and not a single unit to take care of their health. Similarly there is a large population that grows up without any significant education and still just one small school in the area that I would regard as a shame for the society. Under these circumstances building another mosque in the area is completely uncalled for and and under my judgement unwarranted.    Anyhoo! The only benefit that I have had from this construction is that I am saying all my prayers at time and within the mosque. Stand tall with me in prayers are...

I came across this information, while reading for my USMLE prep, that I thought I must share with everyone. 1- The divorce rate has been rising steadily over the past 40 years. In 1998: 52 divorces for every 100 marriages. Best estimate: half of all marriages today will end in divorce. 2- US has the highest divorce rate among western nations. However there is no correlation between industrialization and divorce rate. 3- This higher rate is due to changes of the basis for marriage from economic to "love match," increased mobility and distance form family supports, fewer legal and religious constraints and the lessening of economic dependence of women. 4- Marriage has a better chance of success if both partners are of similar backgrounds, race, intelligence and education. 5- Divorce rates are higher for children of divorced parents, couples who marry young, lower Socioeconomic status (SES), very high SES. 6- Divorced persons have the highest rates of hospitalization fo...

NOTE: z No smoking around Crows Nest.... Thankyou for your co-operation. Username: From Go-Quiz.com

As Umsan pointed out through this news item appearing on the world edition of BBC News there are gay marriages taking place in Pakistan.    This link further talks about the happy experiences of a gay man in Pakistani society. This man is all hush hush with the extreme level of acceptance that he enjoys towards his attitude. He tells us that he is accepted by not only his friends but also his family. He thinks that it is easier for gay men to live in Pakistan. What this gay (and I have a hint who he is) forgets to tell his readers is his social class. By the looks of it he belongs to the upper 5% of the extremely rich society who by no means share social and cultural values anywhere near the rest of Pakistan. The bane of third world countries with distraught nations such as ours is that we don't have a culture of our own. The rich do what even a westerner would think twice before attempting. The middle class follow or atleast try to follow rich and the lower cl...

I have been reading a lot of newspaper recently. Have been doing so just because i have nothing better to do. I must admit i have been painted a very gloomy pictures of our economy. The recent hikes in petrol prices which were completely uncalled for have been a serious blow to the middle class of our society. And what more can be done than giving this gift at the eve of Ramadhan. I thank the day when my dad decided to get CNG fitted in our car or we would have been completely paralyzed. I mean what the heck the prices of petrol have risen more than 15 ruppees in just last one year. My trip to Islamabad cost me Rs. 400. Four hundred for 369 Kilometers. Where in the world would this happen.    Only thing that has amazed me is the absolute quiet that prevails in all circles. The comfort with which this price hike has been absorbed in this society speaks volumes of the state of affirs in this part of the world. No one really cares what happens around. This can on...

This is the million dollar question looming in my head right now. Its been almost one week since I left AKU and I am pretty much settled in my home (or so I like to believe). Interestingly I haven't had a very bad depression as was expected or as some of my friends have had. Inspite of the fact that I am the only one in this city all cut from the rest of the world or should I say adequately buffered from the modern living standards that have dictated my life for the past five years. What is still more amazing is the fact that I am the only one who seems to have suffered the most prominent social change of us all dudes. But I am having the least feeling of depression or remorse or I don't know what. It could be that I am so used to living in lowest of low moods that this change of environment has become a happy change for me. One thing is definite and that my parents have been pretty helpful in making me feel at home I guess. The other and much nearer to truth fact could...

There is nothing beyond reason in this physical world. Not even insomnia. You can't just have insomnia for no reason. There has to be some trigger or some other factor that has to be there to make you a chronic insomniac. I think the biggest deterrent to sleep is lack of hope. Yes I think it is lack of hope that makes you sleepless. You sleep to dream. You sleep to see things that you hope will pass by you in the times to come. You sleep to rest before next day's hard work which will bring you closer to the goal of your life. You sleep to get tired again and again and still again. You sleep to enjoy the comfort of doing nothing while simultaneously thinking of getting spent up again. But what if you have no hope? What if all vanishes in thin air? What if you can't dream of your future? What if all lay blank in your eyes never making them heavy enough to put them to sleep? What if you loose the only lullaby to sleep _ future!    Certainly there will be no sl...