Blog of Our Daily Life!

The Art of Negotiation

2020-12-11T05:16:00.000-08:00

You are always negotiating in life. Be it a 10 year old convincing his parents to go out with his friends or an experienced project manager convincing his client to prioritise some tasks. You can never learn negotiation tactics in a day but it takes years of experience and practice to master the art. I will layout some of the basics which will give you a good head start:

Plan your Negotiation:

The more you plan, the better. Always think about creating a win-win situation and make the pie bigger. This always helps in developing long term work relationships essential to business. If your counterpart starts thinking of you as a partner based on mutual trust and respect, sky is the limit.

Remember to identify the following points before your negotiation meeting:

Must get
Hope to get
Issues and their improvement areas

Take Control of the conversation:

It is always advised to set the environment of the conversation and define the agenda so that you focus only on the key areas. If the other person diverges to non-critical items, you can always request him politely to focus on the agenda only.

Be Diplomatic:

A negotiation is not a debating contest. You should try to listen more. If you do not agree to a particular idea, do not give negative statements like “I don’t not agree with you”, “I think you are wrong” etc. Instead have a positive discussion about the idea presented and ask questions. If the idea is not worth it, the other person will realize it himself. Sometimes it’s a good idea to use the 5 Whys approach in such situations.

Always be Forward Looking:

Give positive statements loud and clear to give a good vibe to the other person. There will always be issues. The main idea is that how do you get out of such situations. A very simple way is to construct your argument for explaining issues along following lines:

Problem Statement
Investigation Details
Short Term Solution
Long Term solution

Everyone appreciates if you solve an issue immediately, but people appreciate more if you discuss long term solutions as well which can help in eradicating the occurrence of an issue altogether.

Don’t answer everything:

You do not have to answer everything in the first meeting. A negotiation may span over a number of meetings. At such instances define an action item and request the other person that you will get back to him in the next meetings.

Summarize Clearly:

It is important to define action items and repeat the agreed upon items at the end of a conversation and get a verbal agreement. An even better idea is to email a summary of these items to the other person as well which will ensure both parties are on the same page.

These are some essential tips that have worked for me over the past years. It is very important to understand that there is no “one method fit all” negotiation tactic. Relationships are very subjective and tactics may vary from people to people. However, the crux is to emphathize with the other person and try to create a win win situation by being firm but not being a rollover at the same time.

Humanistic Approaches to Language Teaching

2014-07-02T11:32:00.000-07:00

Humanism gives importance to the inner feelings, thoughts and emotions of the human being; it focuses on the development of the self-concept of the student. Feeling good about oneself is the first and foremost factor. Maslow’s hierarchy of “Self-actualization” deals with all the levels of human emotions and needs. The individual is given a lot of importance.

The humanistic approach is a method of teaching language which lays great stress on humanism and considers it to be the essential element in the process of teaching. Some of the important principles in the humanistic approach are the development of human values, increase in self-awareness, sensitivity towards emotions and feelings and active student participation in the process of learning.

There are some affective factors in the language learning process which are divided into two types: individual factors which consists of self-esteem, inhibition, motivation, anxiety and extroversion-introversion; and rational factors that contain cross-cultural processes, empathy and classroom transaction.

The humanistic approach is a learner-centered approach where each and everything is done keeping the learner in mind. Humanists discourage both reward and punishment as the student will get used to praise and will simply work to be appreciated rather than making the effort because it is truly required.

What is Emotional Intelligence - Emotional Intelligence Children and Training

2014-05-26T15:23:00.000-07:00

At this point in time, everyone is obsessed with the idea of success. In the past, the idea of success was directly related to intelligence. However, it was noticed that despite being excellent performers in the field of academics, many individuals failed to be successful when they entered the professional life. After a detailed research psychologists came to the conclusion that in order to be successful in life we need to develop what is called, ‘Emotional Intelligence''.Now the question arises what is emotional intelligence?

In simple words emotional intelligence refers to the ability of a person to keep under control not only his own emotions but that of others too. It includes non-cognitive skills like self discipline, persistence and patience. According to Goldman,

''If your emotional abilities aren't in hand, if you don't have self-awareness, if you are not able to manage your distressing emotions, if you can't have empathy and have effective relationships, then no matter how smart you are, you are not going to get very far. ''

Thus in order to be successful in life we need to have both IQ and emotional intelligence. One must know how to keep oneself emotionally motivated. We should learn from our losses and not let them make us depressed or hopeless. Besides this, we should have such a strong and positive character that the others confide in us trust us. This goes a long way in winning healthy relationships in every field which is the biggest demand of the present day world.

Cooley's Theory: "The Looking Glass Self"

2010-11-02T22:28:00.000-07:00

You might have come across numerous people in life who will be of the view that the judgments of other people regarding them do not matter to them. Whatever people may say, their public image does affect their personalities. The reason is that people interact with each other every day and when they will come across something day in and day out; they will eventually accept it as reality. This reminds me of the Hitler’s saying which states that if you lie again and again, a time will come when people will start to believe in that lie.

Let’s compare two students: one is just an average student while other is really an extra ordinary genius. If the achievements of the average student are recognized by teachers and his peers, he will automatically develop self confident and eventually he may end up doing something extravagant for the world community. On the other hand, if the achievements of the genius students are constantly rejected, he may become dejected from life and may think of him as worthless and may end up as nothing but crap. You will come across such examples in your everyday life and its nothing but a proof that public image does matter to people.

To summarize this concept, I will mention three points.
1) One thinks how other people of him.
2) One makes judgments based on the judgments that other are people make of him
3) One develops a self image based on their judgements.

Freemasons Role in Independence of America

2010-10-26T21:07:00.000-07:00

Independence of America:

After, the French revolution freemasons realised that needed a country which should represent freemasonry in every possible manner. This brings us to the independence of America. When so called founding fathers of America landed in America, they brought Masonic elements from the Europe.

The injustices from which the fathers of America were escaping from Europe were also found in the new land in the form of tyrannical British. In order to gain the complete dominance of the new state, the Masons used the same method used to gain the control of France. Although the British monarchy was run by the masons themselves, the Americans’ war of independence was a necessary action. And the people involved in the war were expendable for the masons to fulfill their dreams. Emotions of the people were manipulated into anger and just like France anger turned into war. This time, however, previous mistake was not be repeated.

The near defeat, Masons faced against napoleon and his army, taught the Masons a lesson: Any forth coming leaders of the resistance must follow the Masonic agenda. Thus, the one who lead the war was a freemason himself and he was none other than, George Washington. On the 4th of July 1776, the declaration of independence was made. On 17th of October 1781, the British were finally defeated and surrendered the colonies to the Americans and world’s Masonic state was born, a nation that represents masonry in every way. The sign of Masonic presence in America was plainly visible on the dollar bill which carries a picture of George Washington, the first freemasonic president of the world and the symbol of one eye.

Role of Freemasons in French Revolution

2010-10-25T21:03:00.000-07:00

Napoleon declared himself the emperor of France and he decided to lead a bloody war against Europe. This created big problems for freemasons. A long time war with Napoleon was risky for freemasons as it could easily result in their bankruptcy. Help came from a very much unlikely source. Naphen Roffcharles was the head of a leading banking family, and because of his status in Jews he was forced to work from the shadows of others. Roffcharles saw the opportunity to liberate his people and offered a loan demanding in return the recognition of Jews as equal to their European counterpart and the right to openly do business. If Masons refused, the money could always go to Napoleon. The Masons had no choice but to accept. This really was an important juncture in history of freemasons because Jews got involved in freemasons at this time and later they used their influence to mix Jewish aims with that of freemasons.

Again, the tide turned in favour of freemasons. The Masonic armies of Britain and Dutch went at war with Napoleon in 1815. Napoleon was defeated and freemasons took full control of France. Historians made a little mention of the involvement of freemasons in French revolutions but facts show that French revolution was actually engineered by freemasons. This meant that freemasons had to reveal their shadowy movements during this revolution. In 1904, Macray Dacomber, a freemason said in front of a packed audience,

“Freemasonry had worked in a constant but hidden manner to prepare the revolution. Then, incomplete agreement, freemasonry was the only author of the French revolution. and the applause which I received from left and to which I’m a little accustomed proves gentleman that you acknowledge with me that it was the freemasonry that made the French revolution.”

Knight Templers rise by the name of Freemasons in 1717

2010-10-24T21:03:00.000-07:00

Knight Templers rise by the name of Freemasons:

In 1717, the Templers made their reappearance in Europe and by this time they had growth both in number and strength. They were ready to coin a new identity free from their reputation of the past and they were to be given credibility by the elite of England. The reason for choosing a name was that the name knight Templers was had been very much blacklisted in the public view.

They chose a name that would be known by many but understood by few. The name they chose for themselves was “Freemasons”. Prince Fredrick of Wales went on to become the first member of the freemasons and the latest members include prince Philip of England and the queen Elizabeth the second who herself is a grand patron to the masons. Behind closed doors freemasons were allowed to practise the rights and rituals handed over to them by their ancestors. These secret rights and rituals became the basis for the levels of their membership called degrees. This will be explained in the later posts.

Freemasons take Control of England in 1603

2010-10-23T21:02:00.000-07:00

Luckily for them, in 1603, the death of Queen Elizabeth the first left England without an heir to the throne. By virtue, the king James the fifth of Scotland became the king of England. In doing so, Scotland and England joined hands to form a kingdom and the power of Templers spread from Scotland to whole of the Great Britain. As the time passed by Templers faded into the background until they were little remembered. But all planning and regrouping for their future expeditions.

However, they did not seize to have a firm grip over Great Britain and they continued to consolidate their power by infiltrating key positions of power all over the kingdom.

Freemasons emerge again after being kicked out in 1307

2010-10-22T20:58:00.000-07:00

Independence of Scotland

Scotland was struggling for independence at that time and they had little hope of success as their leader, Wallace William, had died. At this important juncture, knight Templers decided to side with Scotland against the English. This gave a huge boost to the army of Scotland. Knight Templers had fought the might armies of Islam which made them experts in combat and warfare.

This helped Scotland to defeat the strong army of English and the dream of independent Scotland was finally achieved. The Templers had brought them from the verge destruction and now they were to control Scotland by controlling its kings. In order to preserve their secret order, they decided that the name “Templers” would have to die.

Freemasons kicked Out from France in 1307:

2010-10-21T20:58:00.000-07:00

Freemasons(new name for knight templers) kicked out from France:

In 1307, king Philip of France arrested them for denial of Christ, homosexuality, and idol worship as well as magic. In 1314, pope Claymont the fifth declared all Templers as heretics to Christianity. He ordered all of their properties to be seized their leader jack de molay was captured and burnt. At this point in time it seemed that knight Templers were going to be finished forever but the events taking place in Scotland gave them a glimmer of hope.

History of Freemasons

2010-10-20T20:53:00.000-07:00

The history regarding the birth of Freemasonry is still unknown in its true sense but in this post i have written the most popular view.

11th century Europe was ruled by church that had firm grip on the hearts and mind of people. This power and influence enabled pope urban the second to wage war on the Muslim caliphate and crusade, which he called the war of the cross. The main aim of this war was to recapture the land of Jerusalem which had been under Muslim since 637 A.D. This Muslim rule was brought to a bloody and a sudden end in 1099 A.D. In the name of cross, children were killed and women were raped at a large scale. It is said that this bloodshed was so fierce that blood ran in streets.

Out of this a group of men arose who would stop at nothing in achieving what they wanted. Twenty years after Jerusalem was captured, the dome of the rock was seized by a group of warrior monks calling them as knights of the temple of solemn. They began to be known as Knight Templers (ancient name of freemasons). Templers began to deviate further and further away from practises of Christianity; they learnt the secret art of kabala (an ancient of Jewish magic) along with its dark rights and rituals. Then from Jerusalem, they spread out to various countries in Europe.

World Problems Today? Why is there Confusion? Reason?

2010-09-12T23:11:00.001-07:00

Watch any news channel today and you will immediately know what am trying to point out here. Every day or perhaps every hour there is news coming in regarding nothing but violence such as blasts in Pakistan, blasts in Afghanistan and bla bla. Have you ever wondered that why we fail to understand the root causes of everything in today’s life?

If you ask an American, he will say Muslims are terrorists and they are causing all the disturbances in the world. If you ask a Muslim, he will be of the view that major democratic countries see Islam as a threat so they are trying to subdue it before it rises as a political system. The theories just go on and on.
So, who will guide us to the right reasons for the problems in life today? Politicians? Media? Internet? If you try to follow these very factions, you will end up in nothing but more and more confusion. Every politician has his or her own agenda which varies from country to country. Developed countries brag and boast about their free media but the fact is that the media might be free when it comes to their own countries but whenever it comes to any news regarding present wars or something, what we see is that they blame only one community that is Muslims. Muslim children being killed in wars, woman being raped and still the media says Muslims are the ones who are responsible for everything. If Muslims are responsible, why are woman and children being targeted? Who doesn’t know about the war crimes of the foreign forces in Afghanistan and Iraq?

Therefore, in the biased world of today, do not let these factions of community tame your minds. Just think with a cool mind and ask for reason and proof for everything. Once, you have the reason and proof, you will get the greater picture of what is happening in daily life today.

For example, Osama Bin Laden was responsible for 9/11. What is the proof of it? Do you have any solid reason? If not, why did US invade Afghanistan? Just ask yourself questions with reason and that is it!

Corrupt Societies Deserve Corrupt Politicians

2010-09-02T08:32:00.000-07:00

As I start to write this article, there is scorching heat outside with the sun shining above. There is no creature to be seen outside, be it a bird or some human being. There is silence and everybody is most probably locked up in their rooms.

This description shows the desperate situation for humans but nothing can be done, we cannot stop the sun from shinning. It is just the way nature is. One may argue that this desperate and painful experience of scorching heat just out of control of humans as I mentioned earlier.

But, have we done anything where we can stop the exploitation of human life? As I continue to write this letter, women and children are being killed and beaten up in Palestine, Kashmir, Iraq and Afghanistan; politicians are working on new schemes for plundering the wealth of their respective countries and etc etc.

A normal citizen of the world may argue with this as well, pointing out to the fact that politicians are powerful people and they can do what ever they want, it’s the public that suffers as always. One hears this argument day in and day out. Have our minds become so numb that we don’t see the crimes the general public commits such as students cheating in exams, a road side shopkeeper selling substandard goods, a milkman selling intoxicated milk and bla bla. The point here is that the general public commits crimes where it can. It does not matter to them if they are exploiting the rights of their lower class. All they know is that they are benefiting be it a milkman or a big business tycoon.

Therefore, be a it a big crime or a small crime, crime is a crime. Before, we abuse our politicians and the powerful people we need to look at ourselves as in what were are doing. Remember one rule in life, if majority of the general public ends up being honest, there is no way a corrupt politician could survive. Corrupt rulers are for a corrupt society. It is so simple!

Clash of Civilizations - The Real Truth

2010-08-25T03:15:00.000-07:00

What is going on in the world? Perhaps they are the simplest that can articulate this post of mine. Unprecedented events are unfolding on the stage of the global world that seem to nullify the sanctity of human life and relation.

In this regard, the mind boing events of 2001 had the most disastrous repercussions which have changed the world wide scenario. The root cause of this is nothing but the "clash of civilizations" which was correctly hypothesized by Huntington many years ago to be the basic source of conflict among the people in coming years. He very aptly said,

"In the post cold war world, the most important distinction among people are not ideological, political or economic. They are cultural."

This is the reason that today people are trying to answer the most basic question they can come across: WHO ARE WE? And the are answering this question in the traditional way as humans beings have answered it. People define themselves in terms of ancestry, religion, language, history, and culture. They identify themselves with cultural groups, tribes, religious communities and at the broadest level civilization.

Thus, in a global situation where cultural and conversational elements are paramount, the critical inquiry is: WHAT ARE YOU? This reason has not allowed the European union to accept Turkey as a part of it, despite the fact that Turkey being a Muslim country has sacrificed most of its Islamic principles.

This perspective, provides us a useful lens through which we can unveil the hypocrisy of the west that is proclaiming war against every single nation that is not ready to bend against their culture by giving up their identity. The harsh reality is that they are not waging war against terrorism but they are fighting for the implementation of their own socio political system.

Note: The general western public has got nothing to do with it. Its their elite who is involved in such stuff.

The Curse of Nationalism

2010-08-14T04:21:00.001-07:00

I am British, you are Indian, you are American, you are Pakistani, and you are French! This is what we do when it comes to nationalism. We just start to play the game I and you. It just goes on to show the nationalistic feelings which cause us to do this.

Nationalism is the root cause of the problems of this world. It is because of nationalism we see that Christian armies fighting Christian armies and Muslim armies fighting Muslim armies. So what to do?

There are over a hundred nationalities present on the face of the earth. What does it mean? Over a hundred different national interests which by no means can be common for each and every country. Even the countries of same religion are at loggerheads with each other.

The question remains how can we unite the or at least gather some of them in common terms. Here is the solution. Countries should unite on the base of their civilizational background. Islamic countries should unite based on their ideology; Christian countries should unite based on their ideology and so on.

The world will become a better place as there are only a few major ideologies. You decide for yourself. A world based on more than hundred nationalities is better or a world based on few ideologies is better?

What Teachers need to Understand about Teaching

2010-08-09T07:55:00.000-07:00

I simply do not understand one thing. How the educationalists around the world can be so dumb that when it comes to teaching students and making them the champions of different fields of life.

Let consider a student A. He studies day in and day out and does not even have a single clue of practical life. For example, he does not know how talk, how to deal with people and bla bla. All he knows is that tomorrow is a test and he has to score in it no matter what. What sort of life is this? Our educational systems are producing nothing but robots. One should be nerdy but not to the extent that he ignores the norms of life and enters some “bookticious”(my own word:) world of his.
If for the sake of argument we accept that well, we need crazy nerds for mind blowing inventions which make our lives easier. BUT! What if a person has an artistic personality? At the end of the day he will have to compete with a nerd who knows nothing but to study, study and study. Where will this lead us? This may result in loss of a great potential artist. Why? The reason is that he may become dejected on failing his damn calculus over and over again and loses confidence.

So what should the PHDs and the Montessori experts should do?

They should spend less time in ranking students and rather they should be keener in developing the strengths of students. If a person is artistic, then develop his artistic nature rather than teaching him the integral of sin xy *cos xy. And if a person is nerdy sort of a freak, then teach him all sorts of freakish mathematics theorems which will make him a good researcher. It goes without saying; these nerdy freaks should not be burdened with artistic stuff as they are not meant to do it.

Brainwashing: Subliminal Messages and our Brain

2010-08-07T13:12:00.000-07:00

Subliminal means without conscious perception. Subliminal messages go directly into the subconscious. They can be in the form of audio, visual or electromagnetic waves. These waves, either of low frequency or extremely low frequency, have various effects on the human body. They disrupt the brain wave patterns which has effects the nervous system profoundly.

The main aim of subliminal messages is to change the perception of an individual, resulting in modified behavior. These messages are used by some people to alter the thinking patterns or negative attitude. They help improve life easily, quickly and effortlessly. Listening to soothing music or the sound of nature such as ocean waves and raindrops can help a lot.

Brain waves help enhance effectiveness of subliminal messages. If the brain is in beta state, subliminal messages get lost as there is already so much going on in the mind and both the conscious and subconscious mind is engaged.

If the brain is in alpha or beta state, there is very little or almost no interference from the conscious mind so the subliminal messages go directly to the subconscious mind. The effectiveness of these messages increases when the theta and alpha brain waves are stimulated.

Is Fashion Really Important?

2010-08-07T03:15:00.000-07:00

'Fashion’ is a term used for creativity and art that shows. It could be something simple or elegant or a cluster of items and colors. People with no sense of fashion are considered dull and backward but everyone has a right to do it their own way.

There are various societies and groups for each type of fashion. Some of them include Hip-hop, Cultural, Rock, Elizabethan, Teenage, Free-style, etc.

Fashion is not necessarily about what one wears, but also one’s lifestyle. A person with an amazing house interior and impressive dressing is a way of fashion that’s portrays the personality. It is true that it hides the true of an individual making them feel inferior or superior according to their surrounding and social circle.

Fashion should be a part of life, not life itself. It could be used constructively or destructively depending on the negative and positive aspects.

One may lose their true identity and principles of life in the quest to top in fashion which should not be. People should not be rated for their beauty as pure beauty lies within. Everyone should be free to make fashion for themselves as best suited to them.

The Concept of Success in our Daily Life

2010-07-29T13:26:00.000-07:00

After reading the topic of this article, you will be thinking what sort of boring topic this is. But have you ever thought about it in your daily life? How do you define a successful life? Before, moving on the next paragraph take a minute or two think as to what success actually is.

I am 200% sure that most of you would have defined success keeping your profession or your life in mind. For example, if you are scientist, then your aim will be to invent or discover something new OR if you are a farmer, your success will depend on your annual crop yield. The point here is that if you interview people from different professions, each of them will come up with their own version of success and we will fail to draw any absolute definition of success.

However, the discussion gives you one conclusion for sure i.e. success is relative phenomena. The vision of success for one may prove to be an ultimate failure for others.

In my view success is not a relative concept but rather it is has an absolute meaning. Whenever we try to define success, we always keep the time frame in mind.

What if I was to tell you that there is a definition of success which is independent of time and space? You will be thinking am crazy but I am not. Most of the people around the world believe in some religion or the other. I am not talking about atheists because they are a separate story altogether. If you analyze, every religion defines success which is independent of time and space. The concept of success given by each religion does not span over a period of time but rather it extends to eternity.

Think again about the question I asked you at the start of the article. Am sure, most of you would have thought of definitions which would have been for limited period of time. So, does it mean we are having the wrong concept of success in our daily life? YES! For sure we are wrong.

The question arises there are numerous religions out there and again, there will be confusion in defining success. Therefore, I urge every reader to study every major religion and choose the right one. If you are sincere, God will certainly guide you the right path.

Daily Life in Iraq

2010-07-22T10:50:00.000-07:00

Life is definitely not the same as it was before. The wars have caused disaster and disturbance. Basic necessities in Iraq are still not provided to man. The ration food card is not a reliable source to get food anymore. The ministry only gives flour and oil to the people, other staples like tea and legumes were given previously but not anymore.

The situation here in Iraq is devastating. Many a times my children have to go to sleep hungry. There is no security of life, neither is there employment. The fight between these political parties will lead us nowhere. The politicians are simply fighting amongst themselves and have completely forgotten about us. They cannot feel our pain.

Since the fall of Saddam’s regime in 2003, nothing has been done for the people of Iraq. It is the summer season and in the scorching heat, we only have electricity for three to four hours a day and very scarce drinking water. We have lost all hope; our politicians will remain unsuccessful in forming a government. Politicians are only interested in their own profits and they can go to any extent for it, even kill us!

Daily life in the Arab World

2010-07-21T10:48:00.000-07:00

Most of the Arab countries are Islamic states whereas some are secular states. The biggest dilemma in these Arab states is the deviation from their religion, Islam. The young generation of these states have adopted the American culture and completely forgotten about their true identity.

This can be proved by many examples. Here one can see the youngsters hanging out with their friends most of the time, forgetting about their family. They go for clubbing and are also indulged in illegitimate relationships like having boyfriends and girlfriends. Alcohol and drugs is also becoming common. The worst part is that they don’t realize they are doing something wrong. It’s like their conscience is dead.

The parents are also at fault here. They fail to communicate to their children the system of Islam and its way of life. Therefore, life in the Arab world is not so different from that of the western world.

Moreover, these states are costly and prices are increasing by the day. It might seem that life in the Arab world is peaceful and successful but it too has its flaws. From the surface it may appear as a better world, but once you go deep down, you can see the reality.

Daily Life in China

2010-07-20T10:46:00.000-07:00

I am a fifty year old and had a very happy family once. My husband and I used to work to run the house which became very difficult when my son was born. I did not regret having a child, I always dreamed of the day I would become a mother and I wanted more children but could not have any because of China’s one-child policy to control over population.

Anyway I did not lose heart because I was blessed with a wonderful child who meant the entire world to me. Time went by fast; my son was all grown up and turned out to be a handsome young man who was soon to be married.

One day we were going to the supermarket to get some groceries. My son dropped me at the store and went to park the car when a truck crashed into him. My whole world was destroyed right there in front of my eyes.

My husband also died a few years after my son. Now I am an old lady with no family and nowhere to go. My life is a living hell. If only I had more children, things would have been a lot different.

Daily Life in Pakistan

2010-07-19T10:45:00.000-07:00

The situation in Pakistan is getting worse day by day. The bombings and terrorist activities have increased instead of decreasing. People mostly try to avoid public places now and areas which are very crowded. Educational institutions are attacked which has made the parents extremely worried.

Businesses are greatly suffering and recession has made living conditions a bit harsh. The law enforcement agencies are failing to do their job. Especially in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) were the situation is completely out of control.

The country’s resources have reduced. Load-shedding is done up to twelve hours a day. There is lack of pure drinking water. Generators used for producing electricity, run on petrol and diesel, add to the air-pollution and global warming.

Suicide bombings have become a regular thing. The most devastating was the blast at Lal Masjid where many innocent children were torn to pieces. Then there were many others in markets and hotels. These blasts have made people really scared.

The newspapers hardly contain news that is good to the ears. It is mostly just about theft, murders, killings, protests, increased prices, actions that the government will take to make life better (but they are never implemented).

Daily life in the Western World/ Europe/ America

2010-07-18T10:43:00.000-07:00

Many people in today’s world, especially the youth, consider the life of the western world as ‘utopia’. The ones, who are not part of the life in the western world, strive day and night for it. The biggest advantage of the western lifestyle is the freedom. Freedom to do anything that comes to your mind or what your heart desires.

This freedom that you get becomes dangerous. They destroy their own lives as well as lives of the people they are associated with.

A girl in my neighborhood regrets some of the decisions she has taken in her life. She left her family for a guy she loved and eloped with him in the hope that they would get married. The guy of course, like many others, did not marry her and left her stranded. She could not return to her family as she was pregnant and so started to work as a waitress in a club.

Her daughter is now seven years old and she is still single. She has met many men but most of them were not ready to accept her child. She misses her family greatly but cannot return to them because she is now suffering from AIDS.

Daily Life in Palestine

2010-07-17T10:42:00.000-07:00

Have you ever wondered what life in Palestine is like? Consider your worst nightmare coming true. Palestine has now become a land with no human rights. It is a country where man is treated worse than an animal.

One is not free to do anything and the people are always in a constant state of fear. The wretched conditions in which the people of Palestine are living are beyond one’s wildest imaginations. Life has no meaning there. How can it? There is no power of citizenship and no control over daily life. Checkpoints, electric fences, closed borders, road blocks and regular curfews only make life much more difficult. Missile firing is common, troops and tanks are sent to destroy any area, soldiers are allowed to harass or kill any man, woman or child. The ones fighting for their rights are imprisoned and tortured. Houses are bulldozed with people inside them if they are unable to escape in time. Crops that have been cultivated after going through a lot of hardships are destroyed at will without any reason.

People are deprived of basic necessities like health care, employment and education. Punitive taxes are imposed and no facilities are provided.