“In my view, freedom of speech means the freedom to say things to other people that they don’t want to hear. And if that causes offence to them, then that’s partly their problem and partly mine. Freedom of speech is the right to be wrong, basically. Sometimes I’m wrong……..I come from a free country and I’m not going to let anybody silence me.” 
            David Irving, a British historian who was jailed in Austria for denying the Holocaust took place.

“I agree that the freedom to publish things doesn’t mean you publish everything…. Jyllands-Posten would not publish pornographic images or graphic details of dead bodies; swear words rarely make it into our pages….on occasion Jyllands-Posten has refused to print satirical cartoons of Jesus……The newspaper’s goal was simply to push back self-imposed limits on expression that seemed to be closing in tighter…..Jyllands-Posten has apologized for that” but insisted that “we cannot apologise for our ‘right to publish material, even offensive material.’ You cannot edit a newspaper if you are paralysed by worries about every possible insult……(i was offended by) things in the paper every day: transcripts of speeches by Osama bin Laden, photos from Abu Ghraib, people insisting that Israel should be erased from the face of the Earth, people saying the Holocaust never happened. But that does not mean that I would refrain from printing them as long as they fell within the limits of the law and of the newspaper’s ethical code. That other editors would make different choices is the essence of pluralism.”
                      Flemming Rose, the Culture Editor of the Jyllands-Posten  who initiated the cartoon controversy by publishing blasphemous sketches in a Danish newspaper.
 Irving is sentenced to 3 years in prison. Flemming is just using his right to speak out.

 

Sorry people about not posting anything here this last one week. But Jamal i am not going to put up your results here anyway so what are you waiting for ….

I have beeen quite busy lately. Not that i mind! We had another ACLS (Advanced Cardiac Life Support) course this weekend. I took the course last year in April and since then i have been assisting them as an instructor. Doctors from Shifa Hospital have been conducting this course in association with American Heart Association for quite a few years now teaching doctors, medical students, paramedics and laymen how to provide Basic Life Support (BLS) as well as advanced cardiac support. I personally feel doctors should not be allowed to practice unless they are ACLS certified. So when they asked me to help them as an instructor, i didn’t think twice. We arrange this course once every month or two  for 3 days (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) from 8 to 5 and there goes my weekend ….. But at the end of the day i feel good and satisfied. Firstly it helps me improve my own skills as i am not practising and secondly i feel i am actually saving many lives indirectly. No i am not trying to pretend that i am some i-love-humanity kind of doctor but once you are actually helping somebody and he calls you an angel only then you will realize what it feels like.

This time i even took a lecture on ventricular fibrillation. I think i wasn’t too bad considering that it was a very diverse group of young students, trainees and some consultants as well (although i felt they dont really like the idea of having an instructor who looks more like a student). In fact one of the consultants was even rude to me just because i told him that his jaw thrust manoeuvre wasn’t exactly right. Egos!!!

Yesterday some friends invited me over to Bahria Town. They have a minigolf club there that i didn’t know of. They have 18 holes and for a beginner like me it wasn’t bad at all. That’s another thing that Noman and I lost in the end but it wasn’t about winning anyway CDA leased out this park space in Jinnah Market, F-7/2 for a minigolf course but apparently all the constuction work has been stopped as the Court decided that it was a public property so it should be open to everybody. And considering how class-conscious we are here in Islamabad, it wouldn’t be ‘chic’ to go to a place where everybody can afford to go …… so i guess they decided it was not worth it!!! I don’t mind. I don’t believe in class segregation anyway….. or military imperialism for that matter! (there i go again..)

I guess i should post this post now before it gets too political So there it is… my life all updated and upgraded (for those who know what i’m talking about ) Enjoy this shit till the next shitbit….. ciao…..

 

And we are celebrating the wonders of love/lust today

So yield to your temptations if you want to get rid of them and have a happy valentine’s day.

 

A few months back some Danish newspaper published some blasphemous cartoons. A French newspaper reprinted them sometime back. The rest we all know.

Today there were supposed to be peaceful and unaggressive demonstrations against these cartoons all over Pakistan. I was just watching TV and i am totally horrifed by what i see. The demonstrators burned down the assembly building and KFC in Lahore, killed two people and burned several cars, motorcycles and other property.

When i took a closer look all of these agitators with guns and sticks in their hands were not some maulvis straight from the muddrassahs but young college and university students wearing jeans. I didn’t see any beards or green and white turbans. They were the kind of people you would consider moderate and educated. But the demonstrations were anything but peaceful. Scared women and children were running out of these burning  buildings. Hundreds of cars and motorcycles were destroyed. What did they think they were doing? Burning their own buildings, harrassing their own people, destroying their own properties! Have we lost our minds? Where is all this violence going to lead us……

So next time somebody hurts your feelings, you go burn your own house and kill your own people …… I wonder who is more of a sinner here…….

 

Islamabad is a small place. You want to go for a long drive and within half an hour you have driven from one end (F-11) to the other (F-6) and then back to F-11. Although i have lived here all my life, yet i manage to find one thing or another about this place that i fall in love with. This time its the hills of Pir Sohawa in the evening. We always went there for lunch and never stayed there to see the sunset and the city lights. Well i finally did. The twilight colors. The Faisal mosque amidst the hills and the street lights. Trying to find your house (yes i know you can not see it from there) and playing with the monkeys…… i wish i had a more professional camera. At the moment i have olympus u500. Not professional at all. But it still helps me capture the happy moments of my life. That’s one of the zillion things i have to do in life. Be good at photography. I will try to upload the pictures next time when i am not feeling too lazy.

I guess life is good when its simple.

Hey mortals. This was Rehan’s idea. A couple of days back i told him that i am a secret blog reader and he came up with this idea. I guess he wanted to know what the teachers/ instructors are thinking. Well Rehan most of them are not thinking. Those who are thinking, are too busy to write blogs. And the one who is thinking and has nothing to do is here…. I will need sometime to figure it out….  and to get people to read it …. and to upload pictures … Rehan you can sneak in now Henceforth I open my diaries …..