World Affairs And Beyond

Seemed a bit scary though! (1:30 AM, 3rd December, Peshawar)

"A strong, successful man is not the victim of his environment. He creates favorable conditions. His own inherent force and energy compel things to turn out as he desires." — Orison Swett Marden (Founder of Success magazine)

After reading the sign board, for a moment I was shocked too ! ;) Especially when it's standing in the middle of workshops.

O ignorant fool out there, taking innocent lives You ought to stop it all, before your turn too, arrives Misinterpreting “Jihad” and giving it a wrong meaning Spreading extremism and the youth you are misleading You think you’ll get away with causing all the trouble? Don’t be surprised when ultimately truth will burst your bubble This world that you so dearly hold, is only an illusion Your strife and toil to own it, is merely your delusion You plan to wipe off other souls, by illicit tactics You think you are supreme, thus carrying on with your tricks The lust, the craze, to capture territories all around Destroying the peace and harmony on this earth, on every ground Have you ever asked yourself O terrorist, where you’ll end? What will you be left with, only, right in the end? Entangling different nations in wars with one another Within a nation, training boys blow themselves up; with a thousand others You think you’re so perfect and your plans are foolproof That’...

"I challenge you to make your life a masterpiece. I challenge you to join the ranks of those people who live what they teach, who walk their talk." — Tony Robbins People are ever ready to judge you. Without monitoring, they evaluate you; but do they apply to themselves what they ask of you? How would you tell the men of merit from the ill mannered dogs? Judging someone is not right, and passing your verdict on someone is not right. Whatever you give, is what you shall get in return. Anyone speaking highly of you is actually representing himself and speaking of himself. Men of merit will always say good things about you, not on your face but behind your back. Positive speaking is a virtue, negative a vice.

Friday the 13th, Began with a blast !

Weird Cloud !  Snapshots, I took today in Peshawar.

Blackwater Accused of Bribes Posted using ShareThis

It is generally believed that the palm of your hand holds your destiny. You may have been to palmists who might have told you all kinds of things that your hand says about your future, and then later on, you may have ended in disappointment, when none of the good things you were told came true. These lines on our hands keep changing from time to time. You might have noticed the change yourself. Your hand does tell you about which way you are heading in life at a particular time, but that may not be true for long. Because, as we change our course in life, with time, these lines change too, revealing where we are heading. So it is not the lines that determine our fate, it is our actions that make up these lines, which in turn only indicate or interpret the results of our actions in the near future. There may be some good palmists out there, who even might have some mystic powers, who can take a peek into the future and tell you what lies ahead. Have you ever been ...

Today at around 3:00 PM in Peshawar near Pak-Afghan border, I saw this "something" in the sky. I thought it was a shooting star, but it looked like a shuttle, yet, it headed toward the ground after travelling a parabolic trajectory for some time. That reminded me of "projectiles travelling along parabolic trajectories" and parabolic time-travel. If that were a jet or a plane, it wouldn't look like a shuttle, and wouldn't fall to the ground as it was. If that weren't a rocket fired, then was it "parabolic time-travel"? What do you think that could be?

The moon is dancing to the sound of traffic in Peshawar !

"Don't be reckless with other people's hearts, don't put up with those who are reckless with yours. ~ Mary Schmich written by: Patricia Sawyer Read the post by visiting the link below Patsy's Words of Wisdom.: Three Word Wednesday.. My one Word~ DON'T!

The term "Talib" means, "Desirous", "eager to obtain" or "seeker". "Taliban" is a plural of "Talib". "Talab" means "want". "Talib-e-Ilem" means a "student" or someone who seeks knowledge. The term "Taliban" used for the terrorists does not mean they are the "Taliban" of some religion or knowledge. From what we have seen so far, they appear to be the "Taliban" of "power". No religion on the face of this earth and to my knowledge suggests the killings of innocent unarmed people. The "Taliban" operating in Pakistan, therefore do not belong to any religious group or atleast to no religion known to be a religion. They have deviced their own religion and thus are following that. We cannot blame these "Talibans" alone for their state of mind. They are a derailed group of individuals, who seek power, but they are hired and backed by yet...

When I moved to live with my parents in Rawalpindi, grandpa used to write letters to us, almost everyday. I'd seek his guidance. I still have his letters and read them whenever I need help with something. He was a great person. He was always caring. He passed away in May '99. Reading his letters still feels like grandpa is there.

“Our society is run by insane people for insane objectives. I think we're being run by maniacs for maniacal ends and I think I'm liable to be put away as insane for expressing that. That's what's insane about it.” Suits us today ! Don't you think so?

I've been receiving loads of messages from people all around trying to tell me Pakistan was in a real bad shape as now the Kerry- Lugar Bill was going to put Pakistan's reigns in the US hands. First of all, for those people. "Just stop whining and sit back". Pakistan is totally in safe hands. Not even your political leaders can bring any harm to Pakistan. Now... According to John Kerry, there are no strings attached to the Bill for the Pakistani people. The Bill does not threaten Pakistan's sovereignty. The Bill does not require US oversight on promotions and other internal operations of the Pakistani military. It does not expand drone attacks on targets within Pakistan. The Bill has nothing to do with how the private security firms operate in Pakistan. The Bill does not aim for an expanded US military footprint in Pakistan, but all of the money authorised in this Bill is for non-military, civilian purposes. So The Kerry- Lugar Bill authorizes $ 7.5 billion fun...

Just a little something I recorded on the cell phone, and added those wall papers to it. It's recorded with an embedded mic, and a lot of noise. I was short of breath ! It's probably one of those songs, where you have to sing without pausing for breath. So, whose voice is heavier, mine or Darren Hayes's? ;) Comments...? Bring 'em on ! :D

From the windows of my solitude, in deep isolation I look back at my life, my mistakes and the lessons It was beautiful and still is as its supposed to be Sorrows and grief are a part but no lesser glee Don't have no regrets about the path on which i've been I enjoyed my path and in understanding it i've been keen When started, I wasn't aware of the path or me My fingers were in some hand and those kept walking with me Donno when that grip left me or I myself let go the hand I was now wild and free, I thought and on that the view was grand I spread my wings and realised I could fly And with that realised, I had questions deep inside I was flying but I forgot I was, and searched for answers I never knew I searched and found, as the wings grew large Donno how much I'd known, and how much more was there to know I was flying high in my space alone, and could see so much from there which was totally unknown whether I wanted or not, this would stay till the very last I th...

Somewhere at a distance The sky touches the earth Somewhere in the sea You can see the stars reflecting Somewhere on the prairies The winds blow by And in the morning birds Singing to the sunrise The pleasant breeze gently whispers Some secrets in my ear There’s beauty all around me The sky, the earth and in the air © Sobia Nosheen (7th September 2008) From, my 2nd book, "The Self, You and I" You can buy the second edition of my first book HOPE on Amazon .

Every exercise is doing you some good. Exercise is overall a very helpful and healthy activity. Whether its body fat that you want to lose, or want to become psychologically strong and be able to cope with stress, Exercise can help a lot. Exercise can help you lose weight, and it can help the skinny ones gain weight. It can also help you defeat stress, depression, and disappointment. Exercise is the best remedy. The easiest exercise is “walk”. It is very much effective, even for the Olympic athletes. You can walk for a minimum of thirty minutes, and a maximum of 1 hour every night after dinner. You need to keep a balanced diet schedule, with your exercise; otherwise, it would not be much effective. Exercise makes your blood circulate faster, so your body needs more oxygen and your metabolic rate increases. Your body starts burning fat. You should drink lots of water, at least 3 liters a day and eat a little of everything everyday. Water is good for your skin too, and it helps...

There was a bomb blast in Peshawar Saddar moments back. My little sister, who is one of the contributors' on this blog, studies in a highschool in saddar, and she is still there. The blast was near that place, on the main Saddar road, Peshawar. These cowardly acts by the so-called talibans is never going to scare our fearless and brave Pashtoon nation. So far, 6 people are reported to have died in the blast and some over 30 injured. I hope they recover soon. There have been several such attacks in peshawar, by these multi-national terrorists, in the past few months. These coward terrorists will never succeed in their evil plans, and we will never surrender. They pretend to be some religious groups, but, in real, religions have got nothing to do with spreading terrorism. So I guess this is the "terrorists" vs. "Pashtoons". These multi-national terrorists are only trying to spread chaos, but it will take them much more than that to defeat the brave Pashtoo...

Buner is a district in the N-W.F (Pukhtoonkhwa) Province of Pakistan. Some of its union councils were severly damaged by the talibans, and during the Operation "rah-e-rast", in the battle against the terrorists. Here are some pictures of the damaged houses (taken by Gohar Jamal) in the union council "Kauga" which has a total population of 28,000 where 8 houses were completely destroyed, while 60 partially. Union council Nawagai has a total population of 20,900 where 10 houses were completely destroyed while 20 partially damaged, and union council Gagra with a total population of 30,000 people, was left with 8 houses completely destroyed, while 105 were partially damaged. In union council Dewana Baba, having a total population of 15,000, had 8 houses completely destroyed while 18 partially damaged. According to our correspondent, Gohar Jamal, most houses were only partially damaged, and a few were destroyed. Though there were many casualties, yet, since most o...

Picture taken by Gohar Jamal. The remains of a truck carrying cattle was hit by a missile in Buner. Following are the other unfortunate vehicles' remains hit by the Taliban missiles and mortars.        Pictures taken by Gohar Jamal .

Ayla sent me a letter thanking those who commented on her sketches.

At the park outside the "Army Stadium", there were only a few people, when I was passing by. The next two, you've got to guess. (Fireworks???) This was outside Chaman Ice-cream. This below, is not a ghost town, it's the road outside Chaman Ice-Cream. But we had a lot of fun, I bet we were probably the only people out that night.

Ever felt like the most precious ideas pour out of your head only when you are having that "moment of solitude"? Tell me about it.

The Prophet (PBUH) said, Whoever stands the nights of Ramadan in prayer out of faith and seeking reward shall have their previous sins forgiven. (Al-Bukhaari and Muslim) I'tikaf is a great experience, it's like therapy, for your mind and soul. The way a student confines himself/herself to his/her study room, and stays there during preps for exams, to avoid unnecessary contact with the world, allowing him/her to concentrate a 100% on his/her preparation for exams. Similarly, the sole purpose of Seclusion, for prayers, is better concentration, better communication. When you confine yourself to one place, be it for a few minutes, or for hours or be it days, and with all your concentration, offer your salāt, and perform zikr/dhikr. It will benefit you, in many ways. It will connect you, to your inner self and to Allah. Distractions and preoccupations corrupts the heart. These moments of solitude help you find and rediscover yourself. The Prophet (PBUH) sa...

Ayla Nisar, a 14 year old student at Presentation Convent School, ninth science, is a God gifted girl. She has made these and many more beautiful sketches. They are really very impressive.