Does school kills innovation?

Does School, colleges and universities really stop you from thinking big? Are they preparing you for an office job when you can aim higher and think way bigger? Let’s first hear 17 year old APICTA and Pasha Award winner Zayd Inam who according to some, is Pakistan’s Steve Jobs in the making.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-SCRhVPpGY&feature=player_embedded

So this young man believes that schools play a good part in killing innovation, as they are always about exams, grades and assignments. Knowledge is essential but without practical implications, an individual will lend up with an average job in some office. Now, something that took me 16 years of formal education and 2 years of working experience to understand came naturally to Zayd. It got me thinking about the number of courses that I took at school, colleges or at university level that never ever helped me in anyway, I am sure you share a similar experience. Now if you take those credit hours and subtract them with your educational period, the number that comes out will surprise you or make you angry in my case.

When I put up the same question on twitter, I got many interesting answers. Munir Usman (MVP and Entrepreneur) who by degree is a telecom graduate but pursued his career in the software industry on my question, whether schools are responsible of killing innovation among students replied:

“Ideally they are meant to kill innovation, but looking down at the quality of education. They are not only killing innovation but are responsible for destroying a good amount of time of the students. Instead of giving proper education to help innovation, they waste time and money in useless courses and activities, as a result students end up doing Ratta (memorizing course lectures) for exams.

When I asked Sabahat Zakariya the same question, she gave quite an interesting reply:

Schools only have meaning when an extremely rare teacher not yet jaded by the system and the administration comes and inspires you. All schools care about are grades for their quantifiable, abstractions’ no meaning in a school ‘system’.

On my question to Sabhat and Shahrzad (teacher from Iran) on how we can improve this situation in schools, their reply was:

Stop nurturing mediocrity in faculty. Stop ostracizing teachers with opinions, passion and a voice – Sabahat

Students should be motivated to discover, arousing sense of yearning to learn instead of giving them some formulas to pass the exams- Shahrzad

During my initial experience at work, I met a business man who used to teach entrepreneurship at Pakistan’s top business school; IBA. According to him once an individual passes early 20’s the chances of becoming an entrepreneur almost diminishes and sadly these top business schools are not making leaders but labors. This was a very strong statement coming from a teacher who was very much involved in the business market. On my question to Munir on whether Universities should encourage or teach entrepreneurship at graduation level, his reply was:

Yes the course should be mandatory in every degree but the million dollar question is, who will teach this subject? Most teachers won’t qualify to teach this subject

Muhammed Nawaz (Blogger/IT Professional) coined the following views on the same question:

Yes Of course they should. One thing important to understand is whether they consider self confidence a virtue or taboo Self confidence raises the chances of people actually taking decisions in their own hands and doing what’s right for them. At the same time, ensuring that with all this virtue comes the aspect of responsibility So when they take a decision, they know what the impact of their decision would be. Accordingly take a step forward.

So if Schools are not doing their jobs right why the parents are desperate to enroll their children in the most expensive of schools. But can you blame them for doing so? Their aim for getting their children admitted in popular schools is to get an admission in a good college or a renowned university, so their children end up with a secure future and a job that pays off well at the end of every month. Not every family can afford an entrepreneur in their house; somebody has to pay mortgage on regular basis. So it’s more about economics then learning or getting education.

Conclusion:

Dropping off from college or Universities is not a preferred option, not every kid is as bright as Zayd or Steve Jobs for that matter. A lot of us might start off slow but end up being a successful individual and professional. Having said that there should be a regular check on the curriculum of college and universities, considering the dropping standards of local educational boards like HEC. The need of having a quality educational body has become inevitable. This independent body will work like a bridge between educational institutes and business market.

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An-al-Haq – I am the truth!

I am a proud member of my Pakistani nation. For the past 60 years we have been under Ayub Khan, Zia ul Haq, Yahya Khan and Pervez Musharraf. But on 18th March we have proved one thing once and for all; this country will only be ruled by the ‘People of Pakistan’ and by no military or civilian dictator……….{to be continued}

Read more on: ammar.fuzedbulb.com

Weekend’s Post at ronin 2.0

1) 23rd March- Pakistan Day!

My message to you all is of hope, courage and confidence. Let us mobilize all our resources in a systematic and organized way and tackle the grave issues that confront us with grim determination and discipline worthy of a great nation.” read more ‘here’

2) Mind your language!

Few years ago I went to this party, it was one of those Bar b Que seasons when we karachiites lit fire in our basements, house roofs, gardens and try to roast something which tastes like rubber. Rubber? Well its meat originally but wanna be cooks like us end up with a dish which tastes like roasted rubber

 

Long story short, all the boys and girls were sitting around a born-fire trying to have some pseudo intellectual chit chat, a girl who was sitting besides me and to…………………..

Read more ‘here’

Is this how the Indian’s return a favor?

How many of you were actually planning of going to India for the upcoming Indian Premiere League this year?

More on ronin v-2.0

 

Verbal Abuse by Becca Nadir

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me….. (Anonymous)

Contrary to the common belief that only physical beating defines domestic violence is totally incorrect as verbal abuse is as damaging to an individual, if not more. Only healthy development of body is not enough as mental space is equally important. It is the psychological intrusion of the self that inflicts the major damage.

more on Ronin 2.0

 

 

Election Campaign 2008; Twist and Shout!!

As the day of elections is getting nearer the sound of the songs of political parties are getting louder and louder and louder. You walk out of your house and you will find young men shaking their thing not on the dance floor but on the main road 😛 Party workers find the songs and dances important, some people find it funny and normal people like me find it weird.

 

Today I would like to talk about the top songs that have (not) moved the nation off their feet and urged them to dance their breath out 😛

 

Topping the charts is the song that I have learned by heart like all the other Karachiites. Its;

1) Muzlomo ka Saaathi by MQM;

 

Its not that I love the song, or lyrics or the fact that the melodious music made me learn it by heart. But the place I use to live for the past 3 elections and the place where I am living right now is accidentally near the election office of MQM. The song starts with the word which suggests us of a certain product which should not be named in public for some reason. No wonder both our population and patients of AIDS are increasing with every minute. But it’s the most popular song of all election time. It’s like Dil Dil Pakistan of elections.

 

2) Jiye Bhutto benazir by PPPP;

Now this song makes you dance, the makrani ishtyle. You know what I am talking about right 😉 Yes it’s second on our charts and it rocks. When the late Bhutto was returning from exile and her party workers were all jubilant on her return. I saw a group of 20 odd dancing on main Shah rah –e- Faisal, one of the busiest roads of Karachi city. I dunno about any of you guys but right now I am dancing on this number; the makrani ishtyleeee 😉

3) Shair( Lion) Hamaraa by PML-N

 

By ‘Share’ the poet meant the lion, and not the stock exchange’s share market 😛 Now this song is brand new in comparison to the top 2 songs. But I like the song, especially the ‘aaaaaaaaaaah……aaaaahhhh..aaaaaaaahhhhhh’ in the background. You cant dance on this song though, but it makes you all ready to vote for the guy in the toupee (ie Nawaz and Shahbaz) 😀

 

4) Chacha wardi landaa kyun nahee byMusharraf

 

Uncle why don’t you take your uniform off!! This is a promotional song by Musharraf’s well-wishers. The title suggests other wise but don’t concentrate on the lyrics, images, video, or the fact that he was ill-leagally elected in uniform or what mess the country is in today thanks to Chacha Musharraf. Please ignore all the opposition propaganda; eat your chicken and drink your cold beer.

 

And you thought I didn’t get songs for PML-Q and MMA, think again. Just because they have little or no public support it doesn’t mean they don’t have the right to campaign and make songs.

 

Have a lovely election season. Those who don’t know how to dance tap their fingers and jump on one foot. Those who don’t have roti, can eat bread instead. Those who don’t have electricity can borrow it from China. This last video is rated and contains strong words and abuses. Watch at your own risk.

Tax your brain by Ahsan Zawar

 

 

 

 

“Amreeeca musalmano ki taqqat say darta hai jabhie unko larwana kii koshish karta hai (America is afraid of the power of Muslims so it make efforts to make them fight among themselves)”.

These are the words you hear from time to time from molvis and the fact is that they have successfully transferred this thought into some sections of society through their countless attempts. The questions definitely then arises Is America really afraid of Muslims? To answer it lets follow the reasoning which has given rise to this statement. According to molvis Muslims have long ruled the world and for reasons best known by them, they are the ones who can dethrone America from World’s only super power. What is that America is really afraid of, Muslim population, let get this correct by this fact that Christianity is the most popular religion of the world with most followers.

 

Then it could be Muslim Technical abilities or economy, well everyone knows the kind of state in which Muslim countries are in the world, I have to say that they possess the weakest representation on the world forum. Then again why and why America has a fear? Why not China that America should be more worried of, why not the again rising Russia.

 

Mr. A has a small shop in unknown locality which is the most successful shop in terms of business from 10 other shops in the same locality. Mr. A has constantly updated it to meet the demands of his customers but during the last few months it has faced stiff competition from Mr. C’s shop. Mr. C’s shop has made success by differentiating the products and that has make him a bitter rival of Mr. A. There is one Mr. M who everyone is the locality is feared off, he doesn’t have a shop of his own but if not happy he can disrupt everyone’s business with threats and attacks. Now logically everyone is afraid of M’s intentions but is this fear more too A than to loose its business to C through competition.

 

You get it right Muslims are only like a gangster at the corner of your street who may snatch your valuables but if once everyone decides to close his chapter, he will run away like anything. By terrorizing you may pose a threat but the threat of rivalry is always the biggest. The threat to loose your status, your earnings and your power can give you sleepless nights and that’s what America is going through these days. China has kicked America out on most of the international markets and this has affected America’s position at the top.

 

For long every super power in world has ruled with “Divide and rule” policy and that America too followed by igniting wars in Africa and in Muslim world, this has made the demands of weapons being produced by America high which has contributed more to its rule. For long it has used the Muslims as cannon fodder (in cold war with Russia and now with War on terror), it has used them as pawns on a chess board where the front liners always give their lives to save the king behind, now with the king on move and being checked on regular basis by its rival (China) we’ll see how long the king survives before being stalemate. Yes the pawn will take the credit for the downfall of the king but the new King would not mind that at all.

Old man is loosing it

 

 

I really don’t like to write against our dearly beloved President. But what can I do he’s out there and he’s making a fool out of himself. The other day when a much respected senior Pakistani journalist Ziauddin (Dawn, london); questioned the Retd. General about Rashid Rauf (a dangerous terrorist who some how managed to disappear from police custody). Pervez Musharraf promptly accused Ziauddin of ‘casting aspersions’ and ‘undermining our forces and your own country’. In a brief but furious tirade, he questioned Ziauddin’s patriotism and professionalism.

 

Later on, in another address to a public gathering of his limited but ignorant supporters he comically described the whole incidence and encouraged the audience that people like Ziauddin should be thrashed. I quote him, ‘Aisay logo ko do teen tika ne chayeh!!’ Hmm.. Surprised? Not me, once a dictator always a dictator. A man who can ban TV channels just because of four TV journalists; journalists whose words were more popular among masses then his whole propaganda machinery can descend to any level.

 

I wonder when will he be back from his honey moon or Europe Yatra 😛 while his Awam are crying for wheat, gas, power and justice.

 

NYPD blues…

 

For those who are following the US-election 2008 or those who just tuned into CNN this morning like me are aware of Hillary Clinton’s comeback in the state of Now Hampshire. While the rest who have little or no interest in US politics or politics at all can also read on as this post is not totally about politics

For those who don’t know these elections are party elections, yes the one that hardly happens in countries like Burma , Nepal , Jordan and Saudia. Pardon me if I am missing any country out as my eye sight is kinda weak Anyways the candidates that qualify from these party elections will run for President next year.

If I state; that this time elections in USA are quite interesting then it would not be an understatement. Total of 16 candidates (8 Democrats and 8 Republicans) showed their interest this time. Considering the fact, that if someone like Bush can make it to the white house twice then they surely had a shot. I myself had a similar feeling when Matt Damon was announced the new People’s magazine;” Sexiest men on Earth.

But the Democrats from the very beginning are making headlines. As this time there is a chance for the very first Woman or Black Presidential candidate. Yes, you heard me. A Black guy running for President, even Samuel L. Jackson was as surprised as you are when he first heard the news. I am sure many of you heard have heard about a Sen. Barrack Hussein Obama who preferred to be entitled as Sen. Barrack Obama or Daddy O. to make the battle more interesting talk show host Oprah Winfrey and Oscar Winner Denzel Washington are endorsing Obama. According to Oprah this is the very first time I am endorsing any Presidential candidate. When asked why this time? She exclaimed, two words, Nice Ass!! What did you think? Denzel saw this as an opportunity for another impersonation of a real life character that might take him to the Oscars again.

Are you talking to me??

No Mr. De Niro, phew! Close call.

If you look at the Ms. Clintons camp, she has Bill and his legacy [excluding Monica ;)]. Plus she’s a woman! So morally and ethically all the feminists should be supporting her. But do feminists have morals? What not is possible in this modern era of medical science? [Bad joke, I take it back Asma Jehangir aunty ]

So who’s winning? Daddy O! He has shown some tough time to his party mates. His win in the state of Ohio made the pundits declare that it would be checkers for Sen. Obama. But Senator Hillary Clinton used her super feminist’s power. And that was TEARS!! Yea she cried after loosing at Ohio and the next thing you know she won today at New Hampshire . Political pundits are surprised that how can some tears make the voters vote for her. Well political pundits were found to be unmarried and most of those fags didn’t date something similar to a woman in ages.

But it’s a close contest, and Ms. Hillary has to offer more than just tears to win this one. Most importantly; who will be better for us? Hmm… well considering the mess our country is in today. Only Captain Planet can save us, or the Genie from Aladdin’s Lamp.

Hum jo tareek raho mai maray gaye….

Three Prime Ministers, similar fate…

Tere honton ke phoolon kii chahat mein hum

Daar ki khushk tehni pe waare gaye

Tere haaton ki sham’on ki hasrat mein hum

Neem tareek raahon mein maare gaye

… Qatl-gaahon se chun kar humara alam

Aur nikleinge ushaaq ke qaafle

Jin ke raah-e-talab se humare qadam

Mukhtasar kar chale dard ke faasle

Kar chale jin ki khaatir jahan geer hum

Jaan gunwa kar teri dilbari ka bharam

        

Hum jo tareek raahon mein maare gaye !!

Who Killed Bhutto, again??

Blame Al-Qaeda! How convenient is that? Maybe the next time when the cookie jar will be empty; little Tommy will do the same. Blame Al-Qaeda, Mahsood etc. So who killed Bhutto?

The picture that was taken by ‘some’ amateur photographer explains it all. The man in the glasses is the shooter, as he is holding the gun in the second picture. And in the third picture you can’t see Ms.Bhutto. The third photo was taken seconds before the suicide attack. According to Dawn sources the amateur photographer also pointed out the man in the first picture whose face is half covered and is standing right behind the shooter. He is the suicide bomber.

 

In countries where authorities themselves aren’t responsible for suicide killings and mass murdering; evidences are not washed away. The man who killed Liaqat Ali Khan (first PM of Pakistan) was immediately shot by a police inspector without any attempt of arrest. No body saw Zulfiqar Ali Bhuttos dead body, he was buried by men in uniform and then army men sprayed his grave with some solution to put an end for any future investigation. In this case the authorities washed the place with the help of a fire brigade, just few hours after the incident. No fire brigade showed up in any other part of the country where factories, houses, offices, cars and other public property were set on fire.

 

The picture that was published in today’s Dawn proves the fact that it was neither a suicide bomb nor the lever of her car, that killed the ex prime Minister.

 

So why did Pervaiz Musharraf’s (Government) spokes man came up with a phony tale?

For obvious reasons;

 

• Benazir Bhutto was the most popular leader of Pakistan.
• Her Prime minister ship could have put a halt on army intervention once and for all.
• She was a symbol of anti establishment.
• Establishment can fall to any degree to achieve its targets.

 

 

If we look at the course of events and how they turned out, it appears to be all scripted. The citizens of the country were forced to live in a war zone. We are all helpless. If the Govt. can’t protect its citizens in emergency situations then what is the need of such a Govt. If you ask me who benefited from Benazir’s death the most? Its Musharraf and establishment, with Benazir in command he saw his end nearer. The only support that he had was from USA and even they found his replacement.

Whose the Hitler now??

How many of you have seen Godzilla? I can still recall the scene where the French spy was distributing weapons and uniforms of the American army among his fellow Frenchmen. He also gave chewing gums to every soldier. So that they appear hip or cool or fly 😛 Yes, that’s what we all have learn from Hollywood. That American action heroes and war veterans are fearless and valiant. Bruce Willis despite being a regular LAPD cop can hunt down international terrorists in the most crucial of the situations and at the same time can be so hip and utter cool dialogues like, ‘Yippi kai yeh’. In this media controlled world that we are living in perception has a wider and unfathomable effect then ground reality.

In 2006 a movie by the name ‘Rang De Basanti’ was released in India. The plot revolved around a group of friends and how they transformed in to the characters they were impersonating. Now we all know that Indian ideology revolves around Gandhi. But this film promoted Bhagat Singh’s version of justice. This was not only violent for some but absolutely opposite of the teachings of the peaceful Indian Mahatama. So after the huge success of the movie a new debate started among Indians that what should be the path to follow. Of course hardly anyone in any country follows the teachings of their Prophets, heroes, leaders as much as they claim. But even then they have some ideology which they pretend that they are following. Like every party by the name Muslim League in Pakistan claim that they are the party of the Quaid. (Just for the record there are more then 5 in total.)

 

 

Coming back to Rang De Basanti; the group of friends in the movie avenges the tragic death of their pilot friend and murders the defense minister (who was involved in the corruption scandal which led to the pilot’s death). This movie raised an imperative question that if someone as influential as a minister is involved in a murder or mass murdering and the system or Judiciary fails to punish that influential criminal then what should be done. Should the Janta, awaam or the people take the law into their own hands and award judgments on the streets?

But that was only a movie. Films are there to entertain you and make you feel good. They don’t tell you how to change the course of your lives. They might create an impression though; at the end of every feel good movie everything goes to superfine. The bad guy meets his catastrophic end and the good guys gets justice or the girl next door . But we all know in the real world the bad guy usually wins or goes unharmed. Like in Narrendra Modi’s case he won a phenomenal victory despite the genocide that was carried out under his tree. This is amazing, blame congress and Sonia Gandhi but somebody voted for him and they didn’t care much about the innocent killings.

 

So the fact remains that how big the crime be, if people like Modi or Bush play their cards well. Everything is possible, I am sure Adolph Hitler must be feeling quite over rated for his sins rite now.

 

Note: I previously wrote about Modi here

totally bekwaaasss post,news and views

Gone are the days when I use to blog about nothing and use to feel pompous about it 🙂 But now I have to think 100 times before writing and the result is no post at all. I still remember the period when I mostly use to write humorous posts. That stage was followed by the politically triggered posts (thanks to political crisis in the country today). And the phase that you are witnessing right now is full of confusion and anger.   

So I will write or blog about random bekwas stuff and feel good about it.

  I would like to start the post with the boring Indo-Pak series that is taking place in India rite now. Now like any other true Karachiite I hate watching test matches. I find no motive of wasting both time and energy on something that lingers for 5 whole days and results in a draw. Now I know how some of the self commended cricket experts will react on this one. But I will narrate what I saw yesterday. About 11,000 runs on the board and Mr. commentator was complaining about bad conditions for batting 😛  He went on saying and I quote, ‘I don’t like it, I don’t want such kind of a pitch.’ I knew that guy was high 😀 😛 lolz C’mon there is no other explanation fot such a brainless comment. They should also test both commentators and umpires for dope. Because some of them sound and act like real junkies.   

Talking of cricket and Pakistani cricket specifically, the ex-head of the Parchii Cricket Board aka PCB Retd Gen. Tauqeer Zia has joined the political party PPP and is running for elections on their ticket. According to him the late Zulfi Bhutto was his ideal back when he was a young cadet in the army. Yes the same army who hung Bhutto for the reason which is irrelevant to discuss here. Tauqeer Zia was the core commander of Mangla and was quite close to the President retd. Gen Musahrraf. His addition to PPP suggests something. Go figure!

   

In other news Bourne trilogy starrer Matt Daemon! Is the new Peoples Magazine sexiest Men on earth. Who cares 😛 I know but still Matt Daemon, I mean c’mon kids Matt Daemon???!  My goat for the big eid is sexier then him. But I guess, it’s not as bad as illegally being the President and Army Chief at the same time. Does it ring a bell?

  

Last but not the least the country that can not be named in Tel-Aviv ie Iran is in news again and this time they founded ‘em clean. Yes they declare that Iran might not be enriching uranium for nuke purposes. This concludes that they might not be attacking Iran in 2008 as well. So if Iran is out of the list for a while. so who might be  the next target?

  What? Why the hell you’re looking at me 😛