Friday 31 August 2007

The Little hut

The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, uninhabited island. He prayed feverishly for God to rescue him. Every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming.
Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect himself from the elements, and to store his few possessions. But then one day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, the smoke rolling up to the sky.
The worst had happened ~ everything was lost. He was stunned with grief and anger. "God, how could you do this to me?" he cried. Early the next day, however, he was wakened by the sound of a ship that was approaching the island. It had come to rescue him. "How did you know I was here?" asked the weary man of his rescuers. "We saw your smoke signal," they replied.
It's easy to get discouraged sometimes when things appear to be going badly. But we shouldn't lose heart, because God is at work in our lives, even in the midst of pain and suffering. Remember, next time your little hut is burning to the ground, it just may be a smoke signal that summons the grace of God.

For all the negative things we have to say to ourselves, God has a positive answer for it.
Believe me, there are some days when we all feel that our huts are burning...but the point is to be positive about life :)

Wednesday 29 August 2007

Are Credit Cards Haram?

A few days back I dined out, celebrating my cousins birthday at one of the renown restuarants of the city.My cousin payed the bill via her debit card. As she handed the card, the manager who was taking our feedback on the food etc, got a glimpse of it and immidiately expressed his happiness seeing it's a debit card and not a credit card.
You know how pathans can be, tooooo happy ik dum say :)
So in his pakhtoon accent,he went on and on and on telling us that credit cards are haram in Islam. I politely objected. I tried explaining to him that credit cards are haram if and only interest is hit. As long as one pays his\her dues in time, it's pretty much halal. I doubt if he got my point, he stood there similing away out of courtesy rather than amusement :), Anyhow, it got me thinking on the topic and just now I got some time off work, so i searched the web and it turns out that my point is valid.

Sunnipath says: It is permitted to use credit cards with the following main conditions:
1. One has the firm resolve and ability to pay the amount before any interest becomes due; and
2. One is sure that one will actually pay it off before any interest becomes due. That is, one has the funds to do so, and one’s habit and past experience shows that one will actually do so.

The musical sunset

The trees, the lake, the mountains and the sunset-wow--SubhanAllah

"There is nothing more musical than a sunset. He who feels what he sees will find no more beautiful example of development in all that book which, alas, musicians read but too little "- the book of Nature. Claude Debussy

Picture taken at BaniGala, Pakistan. To see more snaps click here

Monday 27 August 2007

?NOISUFNOC

"One who asks a question is a fool for five minutes; one who does not ask a question remains a fool forever"
Chinese Proverb

"I wanted a perfect ending. Now I've learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next. Delicious Ambiguity"
Gilda Radner

"People always seemed to know half of history, and to get it confused with the other half."
Jane Haddam

"Our Age of Anxiety is, in great part, the result of trying to do today's jobs with yesterday's tools."
Marshall McLuhan

"I know that you believe you understand what you think I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.”
Robert McCloskey

“Sometimes I'm confused by what I think is really obvious. But what I think is really obvious obviously isn't obvious”
Michael Stipe

“Sometimes in our confusion, we see not the world as it is, but the world though eyes blurred by the mind.”
Anonymous

"If you can't convince 'em, confuse 'em."
Harry S Truman

Sunday 26 August 2007

Which Friends Character Are You?

Which Friends Character Are You?

You are part Rachel. You're very selfish and pay great attention to image. Spoiled when you were young, you were always the popular and snobbish kid. Although you hang on to your adolescent attributes, you grow more responsible every year.
You are part Monica. You have a go-all-out nature. Your friends better watch out, because you play to win. Also, when it comes to order and cleanliness, you're a bit obsessive compulsive. Your best trait, however, is your thoughtfulness. You go to great lengths to care for your friends.
Find Your Character @ BrainFall.com

Saturday 25 August 2007

Changes

Time changes.....circumstances change.....people change..... hearts change....for better or for worse.....

Thursday 23 August 2007

Just Be You

The article Don't Worry, Be You imparts a significant message:
"...........Just be you. You are good enough. In the long run, any success you achieve, if you don't act like yourself, won't seem real anyway. You will just feel like an imposter or a phony.........
............If you have an idea that sounds good to you, go for it. Just be you. Do what is in your heart. You may fail, but at least you will have tried. Don't waste your life worrying too much about being normal. Lots of people are normal. It is more fun to be different. Just be you......."

Wednesday 22 August 2007

You know you grew up in the 90's when....

I can relate to 80% of the text below....good ol days :)

You know you grew up in Pakistan in the 90’s when:
• Evenings on STN/NTM were the highlight of your day.
• The Jetsons, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Captain Planet were dubbed in Urdu.
• If you were lucky, you had a dish, and you’d watch Disney Hour dubbed in Hindi on Zee TV and write to the host Vishaal. And you never missed "Hum Paanch" (Pa-Pa-Pa-PAANCH!) or Tu Tu Mein Mein either.
• You played “Kings” in school (the game where the first person to yell “Kings” would try to step on someone’s foot. Then that person would try to step on someone else’s foot and so forth).
• Playground feminism took form in the shape of “Queens” (essentially the same thing as “Kings”) and “Kish,” that weird jumping game that involved two teams and a loop of elastic (usually made out of a few shalwars’ worth of elastic tied together, snuck secretly because the mums would get sick of their daughters wasting a perfectly good roll of elastic.)
• Guys only ever played cricket and football, depending on what world cup was going on at the time.
• The only co-ed sport that was ever played was dodgeball (called Dodge the Ball) and girls were actually pretty good at it.
• You played Dark Room, Tilo-Express, Oonch Neech, Chor-Sipahi and Chupan Chupai.
• You decided conflicts not by rock-paper-scissors, but by Pugan-Pugaai, In Pin Safety Pin, or Akar-Bakar-Bambay-Bo.
• 5 words: Assoo-Panjoo-Haar-Kabootar-Doli.
• Anyone owning a real Barbie or Hot Wheels was a source of envy and admiration.
• “Bil Patori naasa chori aadhi mithi aadhi kori I’m sorry I’m sorry” means something to you. As do “ZAAAAAYYYMEEENAAAA!!!” and “Mein kon hoon, mein kya karoon, mein kiss ko khaaon” and “Ulloo ulloo hello, ulloo ulloo hello.”
• You wished you were Imran or Moattar from Ainak Waala Jin.
• You had nightmares about Bil Patori and Haamoon Jadoogar.
• You drank Frost juice with Super Crisp chips. And then when you were done, you’d chuck the juice box on the floor and jump on it to burst it.
• "Idiot," "Shut Up" or "Badtameez" was your first cuss word.
• There was never a line at the canteen. Instead everyone drove the canteen wala mad by screaming at the top of their lungs.
• You were cool if you could finish a whole pack of Crunchies or Slanties without showing any signs of weakness, including drinking water afterwards.
• You picked out only the chips from your mum’s Nimco.
• You remember RC Cola and how no one liked it.
• It was taboo for guys to drink Mirinda/Fanta because it was a GIRL’s drink.
• You idolized Imran Khan even though he was retired when you were 2 or 3, and wiped your face with your Pepsi bottle or Frost juice because he did it in that ad.
• Wasim Akram's "mein cigarette nahi peeta" ad made half ur generation vow to never smoke (the other half just missed out on good stuff).
• You had to ask “Ma’am/Miss may I come in” before entering a class, and you had to stand up to answer questions during a lesson.
• Cordless phones were the coolest things.
• You went crazy when your dad bought his first ever mobile, and you wouldn’t shut up about it to your friends.
• You carried around a cordless phone in your bag/pocket pretending it was a mobile phone, because heck, they both looked the same back then didn’t they?
• You begged your parents for a walkman and then bought tapes of Junaid Jamshed, or if you were really cool, Junoon.
• You went to a Junaid Jamshed concert in a PAF building or a Junoon concert in PC.
• You remember Fakhr-e-Alam hosting the Top Ten on NTM and his “Bhangra Rap” was always #1.• #2 was “Jaadoo Ka Charagh” by Awaz and #3 was “Dohlna” by Shehzad Roy.. #4 was “Mann de Moaj” by Hadiqa Kayani, the only cool female-singer in Pakistani (and that was her only song for a long time, till she sang Dupatta Mera Malmal Ka.”)
• You were really sad when Awaz split up. And later you took sides between Haroon and Fakhir, and if you liked one you had to hate the other.
• You remember waking up early in the morning on Saturdays and Sundays (back when they weren’t weekends) before school to watch English cartoons on Star Plus (before it got taken over by the Indians).
• You still hold a grudge against the Indianization of Star Plus after all those years.
• You remember celebrating when they changed the weekends to Saturday and Sunday because it meant Friday was a half-day.
• You remember crying because of it if you were older, since the schools would make you come on Saturday for a full day anyway.
• You played Sega-Mega Drive, Atari and Super Nintendo.
• You played Mario Brothers like there was no tomorrow.
• You remember the Nintendo game where you had to shoot ducks with an actual gun-shaped joystick and thought it was the most amazing thing ever.
• Your life was never the same again when your first Windows 95 was set up in your house.
• You played Dave 1 and thought level three was the hardest thing in the world. Then you upgraded to Lion King (probably from a Power Games CD bought out in the street).
• You shafted Polka Ice Cream when Walls became popular. And yes, admit it, you used to wait for the Ice Cream wala in the afternoon and bought Paddle Pops from him.
• Walls wasn't as good as the Challi Walla (end there were rumors that people loved them so much because there was chars in the masala).
• The boys watched Captain Majid (some daring girls did too) and the girls watched Jem (so did some guys, for that matter, and hid their interest under the pretext of making fun of their sisters).
• Cartoon Network showed good stuff like Johnny Bravo and Johnny Quest before crap like Cow and Chicken ruined everything.
• You had "kutti" (pinkie finger) with your enemies and "sulli" (index+middle finger) with your friends.
• Our idols were either the guys from Alpha Bravo Charlie or the guys from Teen Bata Teen.
• It's "copy," "rubber," and "dustbin." Or rather, "duss-bin." And "desk" was once "dex."
• Your childhood was over when they made you stop using pencils and start using fountain pens. And you always made a mess filling the ink.
• You watched Small Wonder, even after it was dubbed in Hindi by Star Plus.
• You wanted to be on the Crystal Maze, The Legends of the Hidden Temple and such game shows.
• The coolest clapping games were "Cham Cham Cham," "O Pillar," "Zig Zag Zoo."
• You were on the top of the food chain if you were made monitor (and you very easily abused the power too, by chucking chalk and dusters at people).
• Sit/Stand, Murghi, and sitting in the bad-kid section was the usual punishment. And the good girls would sit with the bad boys in a vain attempt to civilize them.

Tuesday 21 August 2007

I have realized


The best way to jugde a person is to see how he/she deals with somebody he/she isn't emotionally attached to.

Happy go Lucky?

You are never alone, Allah is there with you.

Be careful with what you say. There is always a good way of expressing bad news. Wounds will heal but harsh words remain unforgotton.

Sometimes the answer to our prayers is a No, Allah has something better in store for us then what we have asked for. (Efforts and prayers go hand in hand though)

chotha kharboza baray kharbozay say rung laita hai jee

Monday 20 August 2007

Battle at Kruger

Now thats what I call,Unity and brotherhood!If the weak stand united, they can come out strong in the toughest of battles.

Friday 17 August 2007

Dua--The Cure for Everything

Imam Bukhari, who was one of the greatest compilers of ahadith, became blind at a young age. He had recourse to many famous and skilled doctors of his time but their treatments made no difference. His mother was a pious worshipper and a righteous woman. She cried out for help in the court of Allah the Almighty, for her child and begged for the restoration of his eyesight. At last, "the river of mercy flowed over her," and Almighty Allah accepted her invocation. One night, she visited Ibrahim alayhis-salam in a dream and was told, "Allah has restored the sight of your son because of your intense and beautiful invocations." In the morning, as Imam Bukhari got up from his bed, glimmers of light reached out into his eyes. That is, his eyesight was fully restored.
Source: From the biography of Imam Bukhari (ra) located in the beginning of Sahih Al Bukhari 9 Volume English Translation. Additional details were provided by Shaykh al-Hadith Allama Ghulam Rasul Sa`idi.
Make use of salah and dua to solve any problem that even the best experts of this world cannot solve. Unfortunately, the Muslims are turning away from these deeds today when they need them the most. We pray for Allah to give us the true understanding of Islam.

Thursday 16 August 2007

Farwell..Binish Apa & Sundus


Nausheeen

woops

sorry sorry

just kidding

was just fooling around for old times sake :)

Sundus Jasmin :p I mean Sundus Yasmin (in the frame above)

hmmmmm..I have known her for over a year now..I vividly remember the first time I met her,she was with her best friend Nausheen, and both of them did a good job confusing me with their names :D...and for quiet some time I have been calling sundus-->nausheen and nausheen-->sundus...both of them would ask me to name them whenever we crossed ways at work..,and both even explained me the meaning of their names in hope of resolving the confusion but it didn't work because the meanings matched :D Just their luck :)

but finally I got the names right, thanks to maira(Office Coordinator) who put me in Sundus's Van and we became van fellows too.I got to know sundus more and her hillarious comments along with Binish Apa's jokes made our daily journey back home enjoyable.

When I joined Elixir, Binish Apa's warm personality made me feel at home. She was the first one to befriend me and welcome me into the Elixir family. Unprofessional as it may sound, I call her Binish "Apa" because of her sisterly traits :), she was always making sure I was comfortable with my work, the food, the surrounding and everything.I will always remember her kindness and her helping nature.

While I call binish, binish Apa, Sundus-the witty calls her Baby Binish :D

o i must say Binish Apa's spectacles frame simply Rocks!!! and adds to her unique style..I am a fan of her trousers collection...and it was on her farmaish I got hold of those stylish jeans ;)

One never gets bored with Binish Apa and Sundus around. They have the funniest of incidents to narrate and endless amusing stories. We, Elixirites will surely miss their charm and company.

I will always remember them with the fondest of memories and I wish them all the happiness and success in the world.

Sundus & Binish Apa, all the best to you for your future endevours.

May the forces be with you.

Ameen.

Wednesday 15 August 2007

Another point to ponder

"Have patience with everything that remains unsolved in your heart. Try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books written in a foreign language. Do not now look for the answers. They cannot now be given to you because you could not live them. It is a question of experiencing everything. At present you need to live the question. Perhaps you will gradually, without even noticing it, find yourself experiencing the answer, some distant day. "
Rainer Maria Rilke
Letters to a Young Poet

Tuesday 14 August 2007

Pakistan Zindabaad


Dear Pakistanies,
Haaaapppppppyyyy Independence Daaaayyy!!!
Well today we are celebrating Independence....are we? I am :)
Green is the color today and as usual there has been alot of activities,illuminations and fireworks and kiddies buying flags to put atop their houses and bicycles. I have got something to say here;Why is that the poor and underprivileged are always more enthusiastic about celebrating 14th August than those who have the best of everything our country has to offer. Flags can be seen on tongas, small shops, taxis, buses, and even on small congested housing areas but hardly ever from the big and luxurious vehicles and houses. WHYYY????
But chalo, atleast most of the ppl are in celebrating mood and can afford to buy a flag to express their feelings.We need to have this outpouring of patrioatism once in a while to boost up our spirits and remember the sacrifices made by all those who gave us OUR OWN COUNTRY.

Monday 13 August 2007

der Mond

The moon as seen from my window


"Shoot for the moon, even if you miss, you will get the stars"

Friday 10 August 2007

Car Allergic to Vanilla Ice Cream?

This is supposed to be a real story that happened between the customer of General Motors and its Customer-Care Executive. Read on.....

A complaint was received by the Pontiac Division of General Motors:
'This is the second time I have written to you, and I don't blame you for not answering me, because I sounded crazy, but it is a fact that we have a tradition in our family of Ice-Cream for dessert after dinner each night, but the kind of ice cream varies so, every night, after we've eaten, the whole family votes on which kind of ice cream we should have and I drive down to the store to get it. It's also a fact that I recently purchased a new Pontiac and since then my trips to the store have created a problem.
You see, every time I buy a vanilla ice-cream, when I start back from the store my car won't start. If I get any other kind of ice cream, the car starts just fine. I want you to know I'm serious about this question, no matter how silly it sounds "What is there about a Pontiac that makes it not start when I get vanilla ice cream, and easy to start whenever I get any other kind?"

The Pontiac President was understandably skeptical about the letter, but sent an Engineer to check it out anyway.
The latter was surprised to be greeted by a successful, obviously well educated man in a fine neighborhood. He had arranged to meet the man just after dinner time, so the two hopped into the car and drove to the ice cream store. It was vanilla ice cream that night and, sure enough, after they came back to the car, it wouldn't start. The Engineer returned for three more nights. The first night, they got chocolate. The car started. The second night, he got strawberry. The car started. The third night he ordered vanilla. The car failed to start.
Now the engineer, being a logical man, refused to believe that this man's car was allergic to vanilla ice cream. He arranged, therefore, to continue his visits for as long as it took to solve the problem. And toward this end he began to take notes: He jotted down all sorts of data: time of day, type of gas uses, time to drive back and forth etc. In a short time, he had a clue: the man took less time to buy vanilla than any other flavor. Why? The answer was in the layout of the store. Vanilla, being the most popular flavor, was in a separate case at the front of the store for quick pickup. All the other flavors were kept in the back of the store at a different counter where it took considerably longer to check out the flavor.
Now, the question for the Engineer was why the car wouldn't start when it took less time. Eureka - Time was now the problem - not the vanilla ice cream!!!! The engineer quickly came up with the answer: "vapor lock".
It was happening every night; but the extra time taken to get the other flavors allowed the engine to cool down sufficiently to start. When the man got vanilla, the engine was still too hot for the vapor lock to dissipate.

Even crazy looking problems are sometimes real and all problems seem to be simple only when we find the solution, with cool thinking.

Don't just say it is "IMPOSSIBLE" without putting a sincere effort....
Observe the word "IMPOSSIBLE" carefully....
Looking closer you will see, "I'M POSSIBLE"

Thursday 9 August 2007

Dua--to have good relations

Ibn Mas’ud reported that the Prophet taught him to say this supplication:

O Allah, bring our hearts together and make our relations good. Guide us to the paths of peace and bring us out of the darkness and into the light. Keep us away from lewdness, both hidden and open. O Allah, bless us in our hearing and our sight, in our hearts, our wives and our offspring. Turn unto us, for You are the Oft-Turning, the Oft-Merciful. Make us thankful for Your blessings and complete it upon us.”

(Related by Ahmad and Abu Dawud.)
Source: Fiqh-us-Sunnah, Volume 1, #161

Wednesday 8 August 2007

The Web As A Virtual World

Imagine being able to have a digital replica of yourself stroll from one site to another.

When Google Earth launched in 2005, users were exhilarated to type in their home address, see the earth as if they were floating in space, and then swoop down to view a satellite image of their house or apartment. These days users have moved on to upgrading Google Earth with their own photographs and three-dimensional digital replicas of buildings. But one day they'll be able to alight on a Google Earth street and meet someone else there--and even have a conversation.

That sort of encounter is still a few years off, but it's no pipe dream. Google, Second Life creator Linden Lab, IBM, and a bevy of additional companies are moving toward the day when you can stroll around a 3D Web--and not just their own sites--using a virtual replica of yourself that you've created. They are working to establish technical standards, open to all programmers, that would allow the entire Internet to become a galaxy of connected virtual worlds.

In this future scenario, you could go mall shopping with a gang of friends during a lunch break, even while you remain miles apart. In reality, you'd all be pinned to your work terminals, but on that screen you would be transported to a digital replica of the shopping center. As you walk by a sale at a virtual jeans store, Web cameras in the real store let you see how crowded it actually is, in case a popular item is selling out. Your avatar, set to your body's measurements, tries on the jeans and spins around to show them to your pals. You might buy the pants online or visit the physical store later. Either way, you'd have had a fun afternoon without leaving your cubicle.

for the complete article click here

Tuesday 7 August 2007

Genghis Khan and his falcon

..............One morning, the Mongol warrior, Genghis Khan, and his court went out hunting. His companions carried bows and arrows, but Genghis Khan carried on his arm his favourite falcon, which was better and surer than any arrow, because it could fly up into the skies and see everything that a human being could not. However, despite the group’s enthusiastic efforts, they found nothing. Disappointed, Genghis Khan returned to the encampment and in order not to take out his frustration on his companions, he left the rest of the party and rode on alone. They had stayed in the forest for longer than expected, and Khan was desperately tired and thirsty.

In the summer heat, all the streams had dried up, and he could find nothing to drink. Then, to his amazement, he saw a thread of water flowing from a rock just in front of him. He removed the falcon from his arm, and took out the silver cup which he always carried with him. It was very slow to fill and, just as he was about to raise it to his lips, the falcon flew up, plucked the cup from his hands, and dashed it to the ground.Genghis Khan was furious, but then the falcon was his favourite, and perhaps it, too, was thirsty. He picked up the cup, cleaned off the dirt, and filled it again. When the cup was only half-empty this time, the falcon again attacked it, spilling the water.Genghis Khan adored this bird, but he knew that he could not, under any circumstances, allow such disrespect; someone might be watching this scene from afar and, later on, would tell his warriors that the great conqueror was incapable of taming a mere bird.This time, he drew his sword, picked up the cup and refilled it, keeping one eye on the stream and the other on the falcon. As soon as he had enough water in the cup and was ready to drink, the falcon again took flight and flew towards him. Khan, with one thrust, pierced the bird’s breast.

The thread of water, however, had dried up; but Khan, determined now to find something to drink, climbed the rock in search of the spring. To his surprise, there really was a pool of water and, in the middle of it, dead, lay one of the most poisonous snakes in the region. If he had drunk the water, he, too, would have died.

Khan returned to camp with the dead falcon in his arms. He ordered a gold figurine of the bird to be made and on one of the wings, he had engraved:

"Even when a friend does something you do not like, he continues to be your friend."

And on the other wing, he had these words engraved:

"Any action committed in anger is an action doomed to failure".

Paulo Cohelo
Like a flowing river

Saturday 4 August 2007

NEXT

Earlier today I watched the movie NEXT. There was a dialogue in the movie that struck to me

"Here is the thing about the future,every time you look at it, it changes, because you look at it, and that changes everything"

Friday 3 August 2007

THE POWER OF ONE

A Poem I like,

ONE SONG CAN SPARK A MOMENT,
ONE FLOWER CAN WAKE THE DREAM.
ONE TREE CAN START A FOREST,
ONE BIRD CAN HERALD SPRING.

ONE SMILE BEGINS A FRIENDSHIP,
ONE HANDCLASP LIFTS A SOUL.
ONE STAR CAN GUIDE A SHIP AT SEA,
ONE WORD CAN FRAME THE GOAL.

ONE VOTE CAN CHANGE A NATION,
ONE SUNBEAM LIGHTS A ROOM.
ONE CANDLE WIPES OUT DARKNESS,
ONE LAUGH WILL CONQUER GLOOM.

ONE STEP MUST START EACH JOURNEY,
ONE WORD MUST START EACH PRAYER.
ONE HOPE WILL RAISE OUR SPIRITS,
ONE TOUCH CAN SHOW YOU CARE.

ONE VOICE CAN SPEAK WITH WISDOM,
ONE HEART CAN KNOW WHAT'S TRUE.
ONE LIFE CAN MAKE THE DIFFERENCE,
YOU SEE, IT'S UP TO YOU!!

~Anonymous

Thursday 2 August 2007

An Interesting Insight into Decision Making



A group of children were playing near two railway tracks, one still in use while the other disused. Only one child played on the disused track, the rest on the operational track.

The train is coming, and you are just beside the track interchange. You can make the train change its course to the disused track and save most of the kids. However, that would also mean the lone child playing by the disused track would be sacrificed. Or would you rather let the train go its way?

Let's take a pause to think what kind of decision we could make

.............................................................

.............................................................

.............................................................

.............................................................

Most people might choose to divert the course of the train, and sacrifice only one child. You might think the same way, I guess. Exactly, I thought the same way initially because to save most of the children at the expense of only one child was rational decision most people would make, morally and emotionally. But, have you ever thought that the child choosing to play on the disused track had in fact made the right decision to play at a safe place?

Nevertheless, he had to be sacrificed because of his ignorant friends who chose to play where the danger was. This kind of dilemma happens around us everyday. In the office, community, in politics and especially in a democratic society, the minority is often sacrificed for the interest of the majority, no matter how foolish or ignorant the majority are, and how farsighted and knowledgeable the minority are. The child who chose not to play with the rest on the operational track was sidelined. And in the case he was sacrificed, no one would shed a tear for him.

The great critic Leo Velski Julian who told the story said he would not try to change the course of the train because he believed that the kids playing on the operational track should have known very well that track was still in use, and that they should have run away if they heard the train's sirens. If the train was diverted, that lone child would definitely die because he never thought the train could come over to that track! Moreover, that track was not in use probably because it was not safe. If the train was diverted to the track, we could put the lives of all passengers on board at stake! And in your attempt to save a few kids by sacrificing one child, you might end up sacrificing hundreds of people to save these few kids.

While we are all aware that life is full of tough decisions that need to be made, we may not realize that hasty decisions may not always be the right one.

"Remember that what's right isn't always popular, and what's popular isn't always right."

Wednesday 1 August 2007