Guest Blogger #1 - Bolly-wood you get over it!

While this blog may not attract many, it will certainly grab the attention of those people who (at one moment of their life- if not occasionally) love to dream about dancing in the rain, running in green fields hand in hand with their love, or even having love messages written on leaves delivered to them by a white dove…and what not!
Yes, I'm talking about those who are living in the world of BOLLYWOOD…

There are two kinds of people…
1st type: they can walk into a cinema and watch a movie, walk out...maybe even discuss it with friends and after that…well… its THE END. No point going on about it, okay if it was a good movie you’ll recommend it to others, but that’s about it!

This blog will however concentrate on the 2nd type, which for me is more interesting to talk about!

The 2nd kind, well maybe we can say they might be a bit more sensitive- or emotional even.
As soon as the movie starts, that’s the point where the comparison begins. They see the main hero or heroine, and start picturing themselves in the same position and start linking their own life with the characters’ one.

As we all know, Bollywood stories are mainly limited in genre, and just about every single movie is about love and romance. There must be at least 1 movie that reflects each and every stage of it!!

E.g
When strangers meet and fall in love: Hum Tum,
Friends falling in love: Kuch Kuch Hota Hai,
Arranged marriage: Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge. And the list goes on.

And another thing, I don’t think the Bollywood industry has discriminated against any kind of profession or certain groups, meaning that- yes we are all humans and can fall in love, whoever and whatever we work for…even if it means gangsters falling in love with a bar dancer, and a male refugee in love with a village girl..

So it won’t come as a shock when your friend comes up to you and tells you that she’s in love with the guy working at the local chip shop...
“Are you sssserious??
“I mean…at least he’s earning somefin’ man!”
“…Err okay but…”
“He loves me init!”
“But he’s working in a chip shop!!!”
“Yea and? Didn’t you watch that movie Ishq? Juhi Chawla was from a rich family but SHE FELL IN LOVE with Amir Khan’s character and he weren’t rich!...I fink Immy looks like him too!”
“…(no comment!)”

I’m sure you get my point!

A common comparison is from Kuch Kuch Hota Hai.
Best friends, and one of them fall in love with the other! If you haven’t been in this situation, you would probably know someone who has! Another movie quite similar is Mujhse Dosti Karoge.

These days’ people can’t get enough of trying to become their favourite actor/actress. Ok, so they are their role models, and we all look up to our role models to learn something new. And what is that? Well an example can be; making a big effort to look like them. I guess we all know that fashion trends come from the famous celebs, in movies and catwalks, down the high street, and finally in our own wardrobes. But watching people trying to become their favourite star, if you ever noticed, can sometimes be the funniest thing ever.

Case study 1: Aishwariya Rai in the movie Shabd.
It was hardly surprising to see that once this movie had been released you could notice all the Asian girls coming out with their scrunched up hair, silver nose rings (or fake ones) and thick eye liner hoping to look at least a tiny bit like Miss Aishwariya Rai herself.

Case study 2: Preity Zinta in Kal Ho Naa Ho.
This movie affected all girls that wear glasses. They decided that they wanted to look like Naina (the heroines name in the movie). So they first decide to get out their GHD’s (that’s a hair straightener in case you don’t know) to get the full-on sleek, straight hair, not to mention the red dress and also the infamous thick rectangular black-framed glasses; where every girl who bought a pair thought she’d look as intelligent and beautiful as the character in the movie… YEA RIGHT!

And as for the guys… Can you not get enough of those capped sleeve t-shirts, the ones that stick to your non-existent muscles?! I mean boys you’re never going to become Salman Khan so please don’t bother….
And how can we forget John Abraham.. Yes he might get all the girls, but just because his hair is long and may suit him (not that I think it does!) but what exactly, may I ask, makes Asian guys think its going to suit them? Hmmm! Well that’s an open question.

Anyway, it can be foreseen this Bollywood trend will go on for forever, as long as Bollywood may last. Are we, as they say “rinsing it out?”.. Your answer? Hell no! This is just the BEGINNING!

Frank-ness ©

Especially published for ‘Doctor’s Free Time’

Religion and culture

Today's guest blogger has assured me that they will have the blog ready by late this afternoon. In the meantime, as I yet again find myself with some time on my hands (surprise, surprise), I thought I'd continue the culture blog from yesterday and move onto the culture clash that occurs with religion as pointed out by Jughead in the comments section.

Yesterday I attempted to type about the culture clash that exists amongst Asians as they try to fit in often at the expense of their culture and identity. Often it is a failure as they will never truly fit in and no matter what they do, will always be seen as the outsider. A potentially more damaging clash is when culture competes with religion. Many times I've witnessed, for want of a better word, rituals, which have nothing to do with religion, carry far more importance than actual religious activities.

The most blatant example of this is at weddings. An true Islamic wedding need only consist of a nikkah which usually lasts about 10mins. Instead what we find are weddings stretched out over 3 or 4 days (and mine was no exception) with various activities which have nothing to do with religion. Obviously weddings are occasions of joy, happiness and fun and I'm not trying to take anything away from that and in fact, I strongly enforce those ideals, but certain items should definitely be removed as they serve no purpose.

Before the wedding we have the mehendi, an evening dedicated to fun and jokes, enabling the two families to get together and mix whilst enjoying some fun and games between each other. Culture dictates that the bride & groom cannot be at the event if they're not married (i.e. their nikkah has not yet been performed) and hence two separate events are held where the groom is missing from one and the bride from the other. Nothing about that is Islamic, if the bride & groom are due to get married, why is it a problem with having them present at one joint mehendi that they can both enjoy with everyone else?

Aside from the fun and games held at most mehendi's there is also time set aside for rituals and traditions which are purely Hindu in origin. I have no idea why these rituals take place and feel that there should be no place for them and yet a lot of time is wasted with them. Following on from this, there are further customs that take place after the wedding when the bride is taken back to the groom's home. Before the bride & groom can be left alone on their first night as a married couple, they have to perform yet more rituals which again are Hindu in origin. Some of them are absolutely ridiculous!

Moving away from weddings and another event when culture takes over is during majlises in the month of Muharrum. Majlises are Islamic events performed by Imam Hussain's family following the events of Karbala and were used as opportunities to mourn his death, to remember the values he stood for and the lengths he went to, to save Islam.

I see them as an opportunity to learn from Imam Hussain and to learn about my religion from the lecturers. However, yet again culture takes over and a lot of time is spent socialising, gossiping and having long marsiya's and nauha's which are difficult to understand at best of times. I used to attend majlises where the focus seemed to be on how long the majlis can run for rather than concentrating on what can be learned. Nowadays I'm much more selective and try to attend majlises based on who the speaker is, rather than who the host is, it's much more important to gain knowledge rather than just sit through long marsiya's and by the time the speech starts you're already struggling to concentrate.

These are just two events where I feel culture seems to takeover. Religion gets pushed to the back, often ignored altogether. A lot of day to day activities also seem to have culture taken over. We often meet up with extended family for dinner and all we seem to do is have full blown gossip sessions. Gossip is just a nice word for backbiting, something which is condemned in the Quran: "...and do not spy nor let some of you backbite others. Does one of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? But you abhor it; and be careful of (your duty to) Allah..." (Quran Surah 49, Verse 12), God equates it to eating the flesh of your dead brother. Just pause and think about that for a few seconds. The Prophet further adds that God can never forgive someone for backbiting, forgiveness can only be sought from the person spoken ill of, something we would all find very difficult!

The focus has to change towards Islam; it is not simply a religion but a way of life. All our actions must be based on Islamic principles and guidelines. There is room for culture to be incorporated into that but definitely not at the expense of Islam. Gradually I see a change occurring where religion is getting more and more prominence. This should be advertised more and we can continue to build on this. We can help each other to improve our behaviour and actions and feed off each other. Imagine gatherings we're we engage in such a way that there is no time for gossip or it becomes something that just feels uncomfortable. It has to come from within and cannot be forced and thankfully these changes are taking place slowly but surely.

It comes back to a point I've made in previous blogs about striving to improve ourselves. Constantly fighting to become a better Muslim, to increase our knowledge and our faith. If that happens then Islam takes over naturally and it becomes less of a struggle. Instead of consciously having to force ourselves to change, it happens subconsciously and soon becomes the norm. Certain behaviours are harder to get rid of than others but that shouldn't stand in the way of trying to change. For certain activities which are more ingrained in us, it has to be a slow process and hopefully by typing this blog, it will keep that progress ongoing.

I know I keep going on about it, but I guess I do as an exercise of self-criticism because I am not changing nearly as much as I would want to and by typing about it, it is kept at the forefront of my mind and can only help me continue to change. The secondary benefit is that hopefully those who read this blog and agree will also change and only then can we improve together and in today's case, reduce the hold culture seems to have over our religion.

Take care all,
Thoughts just flow, when do they have to make sense?

P.S. Hopefully there'll be another blog to look forward to today, at least that is what is meant to happen...!
P.P.S. You may have noticed a new Quote of the Day section on the right hand side. I added it from a website which updates daily. It's quite amusing to find that today's quote is from Abu Bakr!

Culture clash

I've finally got a few people to type some blogs this week and the next, inshallah starting tomorrow. Therefore today should hopefully be my last blog for awhile, although no doubt there'll be some late pull-outs and I'll have to fill in, got to make sure the readers have something to read about each day!

I can officially state that the 'flu season has started. Yesterday I saw 15 patients, 14 had a cold or cough! All were pretty similar in presentations but with different expectations. Some wanted advice, others wanted medications. I kept repeating the same spiel over and over again and by the end of the day I was handing out medicine at random! Some got simple painkillers whilst others got antibiotics depending on my mood! Not one of them was seriously ill, no one had a temperature or bad chest, indicating a bacterial infection, and yet some still received antibiotics simply to make them feel as if they're being treated. Even when I explain the cons of taking antibiotics for viral illness, they still want them. There's only so much I can explain, eventually they get what they want!

Over the weekend I saw Dhoom 2, the sequel to the successful original two years ago. It was the first ever Bollywood sequel I have seen and a concept that has only recently begun in Bollywood. I'm surprised it has taken so long, the industry produces over 500 films a year and only now are they turning their hand to sequels. Yet again much of its success will be down to the actresses exposing themselves far and beyond any reasonable need, a cheap attempt to appeal to the youth market.

There's a scene in the film when the main protagonists, Aishwariya Rai and Hrithik Roshan, engage in a kiss. Now to any non-Indian it would barely register as anything significant, but what was interesting was that the moment it happened, gasps could be heard throughout the cinema. People were surprised, if not shocked, by the simple kiss. Incidentally, the director then betrayed himself by quickly cutting away to the next scene, indicating a level of discomfort for him as well. Had the same audience been watching a Hollywood film and a similar scene had taken place, I doubt it would invoke a similar reaction. There's something about watching Indians engage in obvious romance that just sits uncomfortably with the community.

On a personal level I also felt uncomfortable watching such a scene take place, especially with my parents sitting next to me. However, I also felt uncomfortable with scenes of the actresses clad in bikinis and mini-skirts, but that seemed to receive only glances of approval from the audience. So showing skin is not a problem but kissing is, why such a difference?

It comes down to a culture clash. Slowly but surely Western culture has gnawed away at Asian values and is subtly replacing them over time. Scantly clad actresses used to be heavily condemned only 4-5yrs ago and it was often done by bad actresses looking to make a quick buck, but has now become a trend with leading actresses such as Aishwariya Rai and Kareena Kapoor joining in. Bollywood for a long time has copied storylines from many Hollywood films (in fact I and a friend have the plan of remaking Notting Hill one day in Bollywood, - finances permitting - and no doubt it would be a huge hit!) and I guess it was only a matter of time before it copied scenes and actions from Hollywood, only now it has gone beyond what Hollywood would do in so-called quality films.

It's not just the film industry which has witnessed this culture clash. For years Asian girls have been condemned for wearing revealing clothes or tight outfits and yet there is no problem with them wearing a sari, a revealing outfit in its own right. Asians are criticised for listening to English music and rap and yet actively participate in music parties singing Bollywood love songs.

Those who do engage in activities more suited to a Western person despite condemnation from their family, often, in my experience, feel the need to do so to fit in and often nothing changes. They are more often then not treated as the outsider regardless of what they do in an attempt to integrate. What is even more galling is the attempt to integrate by going even further, beyond what even many Westerners would do. That only serves to isolate them more; they are no longer accepted by their own family and were never going to be fully accepted by the very people they are trying to impress.

People go on about how multiculturalism is a big advantage and plus point about living in Britain and it is. Where it becomes dangerous is when people forget their own culture for the sake of another and lose their identity in the process. It is important to integrate and essential to communicate with each other across the cultural divide but not at such a personal cost.
There will always be certain activities, items, behaviours which will never be accepted by either culture and the ensuing clash is inevitable for those who try to cross that line. It is important to maintain that sense of personal identity within a multicultural society.

Having romantic scenes beyond the expectation or tolerance levels of Asian cultures crosses that very line I've been trying to type about. We shouldn't be so accepting of such changes and put our money were our values are by not watching such films. If the films weren't box office successes, then they wouldn't get made. It won't completely disappear but it can surely cut down. Dhoom 2 had scene after scene of scantily clad women and was totally unnecessary for the story and plot of the film. It was extremly disappointing to see Aishwariya Rai appear in such a film and expose herself and as for Bipasha Basu, once a tart, always a tart!

Upholding our values and culture is crucial to our day to day activities. They provide our identity, how we are recognised by other people. It's how we portray ourselves outside the confines of our homes which define how people interact with us. Maintaining our culture and interacting with Westerners is possible and enjoyable, but also preserves a sense of respect between cultures. By behaving appropriately and within ourselves, others feed off that and respond fittingly. We don't have to change in order to fit in; the cultures can co-exist and learn from each other. I don't remember many Westerners trying to integrate with Asians by adapting Asian culture, not here nor in India, so why does it happen the other way around?

At the other end of the scale is when culture begins to interfere with religion and seems to become more important. Unfortunately I'm running out of time today and I feel that particular issue deserves a blog of its own, so I will conclude by stating the obvious; please preserve your culture, there's no harm in it!

Take care all,
Thoughts just flow, when do they have to make sense?

Driving me insane

Unsurprisingly not many people responded to my call for Guest Blogging Week! Managed to get a few people to agree to type a blog later on in the week so in the meantime you'll have to make do with me! So much for getting a rest. For those who have agreed to blog this week, instead of giving you my password, it's probably better if you email me your blog and I'll then publish it.

As a friend pointed out, the main problem is that it's only a few family and friends who read this blog and therefore I shouldn't expect much from it. However, I'm quite keen to develop this blog further and in order to do that, it probably needs a consistent theme or themes which I can type about. Probably more topical than personal. As interesting as the personal blogs are, (!) the topical blogs on a wide variety of issues provide more information and perhaps could be publicised more. That way I could develop a wider readership and then take it from there. Having others type on my blog from time to time would fit into that, broadening the range of topics covered by the blog. So, no more personal stuff and to be fair, it's been awhile since I typed anything personal anyway. The themes I hope to focus on are medical, current affairs, political and religious, but inevitably I'll still have the odd rant about the football or cricket.

Speaking of cricket, what a predictably poor conclusion to the first Ashes Test. For the first four days, England's performance was worse then what you would expect from Bangladesh! With the next Test a mere 4 days away there's little time to make improvements, so I guess we can only expect more of the same. Disappointing but not surprising.

My drive to work requires me to take the A413 from Aylesbury to Buckingham. It's a good country road with plenty of straights and bends, making the drive really enjoyable. I should further qualify the statement by stating that it's enjoyable as long as there isn't an idiot in front driving along at 40mph when the speed limit is 60mph leaving a long queue behind them. Having so many bends makes it difficult to overtake, but that doesn't stop people from trying. Therefore because of these idiots, people are spending most of the time driving on the wrong side of the road as they try to overtake.

Throughout the 18mile stretch of road there are signs peppered on either side stating the number of casualties in the past few years between certain sections of the road. I'm certain that many of them could be avoided if people stuck to the speed limit instead of driving well below it. I often wonder what type of person purposely sticks to driving below the speed limit? How sad must that person be? They obviously have nothing better to do then sit in their cars and hence drive slowly to cherish every moment. If the most exciting thing they do is to drive their slow car as slow as possible then I think it's self-explanatory how sad their lives must be. If they are scared to drive too fast, then they should stop over on occasions to let the traffic behind them pass, but they never do. I excuse tractor and lorry drivers, as they have no choice but to go slow and often do stopover to let the queuing traffic pass.

A longtime ago when I had to study the Highway Code for my theory test, I came across a road sign which I've never seen on the road. Similar to the speed limit sign, it had the speed but in the blue filled circle which means the minimum speed of the road was the number on the sign, i.e. you had to drive at that speed at least. They should put up these signs all over the A413; at least therefore attempting to highlight to people that they can drive faster on the road.

Driving is becoming more and more irritating thanks to the government. Ridiculous speed limits, ridiculous bus lanes, ridiculous taxes, the list goes on. The amount of money they receive from us purely from driving (i.e. road tax, insurance, petrol tax, speed cameras, congestion charge etc) is in the hundred of millions and yet public transport is still a disgrace, the congestion charge zone is due to increase next year and road tax continues to rise. I paid £190 for my road tax this year and where is that money going?

The Independent Transport Commission released a report this morning highlighting the need to charge drivers for using certain roads to help fund further road building. How on earth can the government justify adding yet another tax - that too to use roads which are mostly in poor condition - in order to improve and build more roads? It is an outrage. The government is making millions from us and is now considering charging a further tax to drive on certain roads. I can't describe how absolutely appalled I am.

We are constantly badgered about using public transport as much as possible, but for the majority it is simply impractical, a car is the only solution. It takes me 50mins to travel 40miles from home to work in my car. If I was to use public transport it would take over 2 hours to take three separate trains and then the bus. Until public transport becomes a usable commodity, there is no reason I would use it. The Sunday Times recently did a test comparing public transport to cars. Two journalists were given a budget of £400 to buy a car and travel to a Cornwall beach and back and then to sell the car to see if it could be done cheaper than public transport. The train ticket would've cost £80 and yet they both managed to purchase a car, get to Cornwall and back and then sold the cars at a loss of less than £80. It's a pretty extreme comparison but at the same time quite damning to know that the car option was cheaper!

We need to know what happens to the money that the government receives from us purely from taxes related to motoring. I've searched on Google and haven't been able to find a breakdown of the taxes and where the money is spent. There can be no justification for charging yet more money to improve the roads. The congestion charge was meant to ease the chaotic driving conditions of central London where the average driving speed during traffic hours was and still is 3mph. Top Gear did a piece on traffic in central London: Jeremy Clarkson raced the new Fiat Panda along the London Marathon route in peak rush hour against a marathon runner and the runner won, enough said!

It is so infuriating (thesaurus getting used today!) to constantly hear about new plans, initiatives, taxes all with the intention of hitting the motorist. I love driving and yet it is such a tiresome activity in this country. Even for those who are anti-motorists, public transport simply doesn't provide a better alternative for a vast number of people and they have no option but to use the car. If the government does go ahead and try to introduce charges then we have to do all that we can to make sure it doesn't happen. In the meantime, I'll attempt to enjoy what I can as I continue on my drives on the A413, stuck behind a Micra at 40mph!

Take care all,
Thoughts just flow, when do they have to make sense?

Fresh ideas please

Anyone surprised by England's abject start to the Ashes series Down Under? Thought not, it was inevitable and chances of things getting better appear slim. England invented a wide range of sports including football, cricket, tennis, and golf and introduced them to the whole world during the time of the vast British Empire and now they are regularly beaten by everyone. Like I've said in the past, my one hope is that England win the World Cup just once in my lifetime!

The news on my way to work this morning was about the death of the Russian ex-spy Alexander Litvinenko. Now normally I would not have paid much attention to the story, but by keeping this blog I listen out more and more to the daily news, waiting to see what story has potential to type about. As you can tell, I've typed about some pretty random news stories and hopefully made them sound interesting.

Now the Russian spy has been claiming all along that he was poisoned by his colleagues in the Russian government because of his criticism of President Putin. Unsurprisingly Russia denies any involvement. It's the typical conspiracy. One that has occurred throughout history. Covert assassinations by governments who can then deny all knowledge. It happened earlier this week in Lebanon, with the murder of Pierre Gemayel, a Christian anti-Syrian Lebanese minister. Everyone knows Syria is involved, but it denies all knowledge and nothing can be done about it.

I think we've all watched enough television shows such as 24, Prison Break, Spooks or Sleeper Cell to realise that this kind of activity is rife. The shows may over exaggerate/glamourise the conspiracies, but I'm sure they're not that far off the actual truth. We'll probably never know whether Russia or Syria were directly involved in the killings and because there'll never be any proof; the governments will get away with it.

Watching the shows mentioned above is always a lot of fun because they take things to the extreme. In real life I'm guessing it's not as exciting or as dangerous but the basic principles remains the same. If someone needs taking care of, there are plenty of agencies setup to deal with the situation covertly and discreetly without ever being able to trace the perpetrator. 24 is easily the best show on television and returns for its 6th series in January, so I will definitely be typing about that in the New Year.

You maybe able to tell that the quality of my blogs have been going downhill over the past couple of weeks. I think my inspiration is fading. Therefore I think I'm going to take a break from typing the blogs. That way I'll have some time to think of some new topics, have some more interesting stories from work and feel re-invigorated to type the blog. However that does not mean the end of the blog in the meantime. Instead I invite the readers (basically my family and friends) to maintain the blog for the next few days. Each day I would like someone to post a blog on anything that takes their fancy. I'll give you the password to access the account and then you can post your blog for the day. If you'd like to post more than one blog then by all means do so, but each blog has to be at least 1000 words, which will allow you to explore your chosen topic properly.

So, next week will be the Guest Blogging Week. I'm hoping you will all be interested to type something and if not I'm going to nag everyone, and I mean everyone, to type something on the blog over the next few days and I'm looking forward to reading what other people have to type. So who would like to type the blog on Monday? Let me know soon.

Take care all,
Thoughts just flow, when do they have to make sense?

News coverage: a comparison

Apologies to my avid fans for not posting a blog yesterday. For the first time since I started this blog over two months ago I was unable to post a blog on a day I was at work for one simple reason - I was too busy! Can you believe it? For the first time in two months I was actually busy! And I have the cheek to complain about my job! My morning surgery actually finished at 12.45pm, then after a home visit I had lunch which finished at 1.30pm and straight onto my mid-term assessment from 2-4pm before my afternoon surgery which ended at 6pm, so as you can see, absolutely no time for the blog!

The mid-term assessment was quite funny actually. Prior to the actual assessment, my trainer had handed out forms to all the staff members of the practice asking for an evaluation of me. All the doctors and nurses gave me good evaluations, but the administrative staff all had one complaint, I didn't make the effort to speak to them. My trainer then went through all the administrative staff, their names and roles and I couldn't identify anyone, I knew a few names and a few faces but was unable to put them together - quite embarrassing!

The end of yet another surgery and that irate man from Monday has not returned, I can presume that his pain is getting better; I wonder if that will change his attitude in the future? Doubt it! One thing I've discovered is despite whatever I might say to my patients nothing changes their attitudes. I could spend hours calming them down or explaining the situation and whilst they may understand at the time, the moment something goes wrong I'm faced with the same problems, they don't seem to learn from past experiences.

I think, partly, this maybe down to their expectations of the NHS. It's easy to get an appointment with the GP, some may have to wait longer than others, but invariably, everyone can and will get seen. Therefore it's easy to behave in the same way, why change your actions if you can carry on doing the same things as before? Why follow advice from doctors when you know that should anything go wrong, you can always go back to your GP for more help? We are here to help regardless of what actions the patient takes. If they choose to improve their health then they can still see their GP's when things go wrong, and if they choose to ignore their health they can still see their GP.

There is no incentive. What if a 50 a day smoker was told that unless he tried to cut down on his smoking to prevent his lungs from giving up, he would not be seen by a doctor, would he then try harder to cut down? It's frustrating to see the same patients repeatedly simply because they refuse to help themselves. They have no reason to and therefore continue down the same path, leaving it to the NHS to pick up the pieces.

What's even more potentially worrying was a news report this morning about making cigarettes and alcohol available online from European countries at much cheaper prices. Thankfully, it has just been revealed that the EU has blocked low-duty alcohol online, which at least means the situation can't get even worse.

I actually had a rather ambitious plan for my blog today and have been conducting some research on the area for the past hour, but I don't know if it's going to work. For some time there has been quite extensive news coverage of Darfur, Sudan and the crises that have been developing in the area. I'm ashamed to say I know next to nothing about the conflict and so I thought I'd try an experiment. I looked at two British news websites and two American news websites and compare the coverage of the conflict. This way I get to find out about the crisis in Sudan and also compare the quality and nature of the coverage between the two countries. The websites I have used are the BBC News and Sky News websites for Britain and CNN and FOX news for America.

Starting with the BBC, they have a section dedicated to the Sudanese crisis which explores a range of issues about the conflict. To start with the best link is the Q&A site which concisely explains the situation in the nation. Infact the Q&A site neatly summarises the entire situation from the beginning in 1956 to the present day. The rest of the section describes views from various aspects of the conflict. All in all the news is well presented and seems to be balanced for both sides of the conflict.

Moving on to the Sky News website and although they do not have a dedicated section, a simple search for Darfur reveals over 30 links for news about the conflict. Most of the news seems to be about specific reports about the region with no discussion or viewpoints from leading experts which was evident on the BBC site. It appears very clinical, providing the news without opinion which at the end of the day is what news is all about, they should provide the information fairly allowing us to draw our own conclusions and opinions and the Sky News website seems to be good for that. However, sometimes reading the views of experts can help form our opinions, it's better to learn from people who are more knowledgeable about the situation than us and I can't seem to find any expert opinion on the website.

FOX news is the sister station to Sky News, both owned by Rupert Murdoch. The same search on the FOX news website reveals essentially the same results with a similar style of reporting. The CNN website is easily the worst, not one I would turn to if I needed some news. It's poorly presented and a search for Darfur shows loads of ad links before the actual news links lower down on the page. The actual coverage is again very similar to FOX and Sky News, as if they all work off the same template.

With this very crude method of research I have conducted this morning, it seems as if the BBC news website is the best place for good news reporting and also views from leading experts on the situation. Many of my links in my blogs have been from the BBC news website and I continue to use that as my main source of information on current affairs. The coverage seems to be fair on the other websites as well; it's just not as user-friendly as the BBC.

But what about the actual conflict itself. I now have a better understanding of the crises. For decades the Muslims in the north have fought for power against Christians in the south and it is still waiting to be resolved. In the meantime thousands of innocent people continue to lose their lives as the conflicts continue. Peace is hard to achieve because neither side can agree on anything and as usual the US is trying to establish peace with its own hidden agenda. As I type all this, it's all done with a feeling of 'been there, heard it all before' and there is nothing surprising about it all.

I have become so indifferent to these conflicts that it doesn't surprise me anymore. I have to force myself to think about what the conflict means. Actual people are dying, poverty is spreading and the whole situation is very serious and yet I'm left with a feeling of apathy. I should be ashamed of myself, but I'm not. Why is this? I have become so used to these news that my feelings have become deadened towards it. It just yet another crisis in a world of crises and I know I'm not the only one who feels like that! What can we do? I find myself going over the same thing again, previously it was about Iraq this time it's about Sudan, what can we do? I'm struggling to find an answer.

In the meantime I'll continue trying to at least change my attitude, be more aware of these conflicts so that I can talk to others about it, be better informed about it, I think at the very least it is my duty to be aware of what is going on around the world. Recognising the situation can perhaps lead to doing a little bit to help the situation. We'll have to wait and see.

Take care all,
Thoughts just flow, when do they have to make sense?

The job's not all bad

An anonymous reader left a very surprising comment to yesterday's blog, "seems as though you have an interesting life and lots to discuss." If you only knew me, you'd know my life is not interesting which is why I keep this blog. As it turns out I do have lots to discuss mainly because I'm constantly trying to think of topics to type about in this blog, and thanks for the comments, much appreciated.

I had a real irate patient yesterday who made my surgery run past 6pm. He came complaining of a severe earache convinced that he had an ear infection. The pain was similar to the pain with past ear infections and he was demanding antibiotics for the infection. No need for me to ask him what he thought was wrong or what he wanted from me, and when I examined his ears there were normal, at a push I could've convinced myself there was slight inflammation in his painful left ear but no way severe enough to indicate an infection.

I then asked him about what painkillers he was taking for the severe pain. He wasn't taking any, "I don't like taking tablets," so he had severe pain, but felt no need to take anything for it. I don't think I need to explain how irritating that was. As far as I could see there was nothing wrong with his ears, but what I did discover was a swollen lymph node behind his left ear which was extremely tender to touch, probably the source of the pain.

Over the next 20mins or so I explained to him why it wasn't an ear infection and what the node was and why it was causing so much pain. The solution wasn't antibiotics as he kept persisting for, but regular painkillers and to monitor the progress of the node. If it got bigger it would need further investigation, if the painkillers worked it would get smaller and disappear altogether. Even though he agreed to my recommendations, I could tell he wasn't happy and made sure there was a 'safety-net' in place.

A 'safety-net' is how doctors, especially GPs, cover themselves for any potential mistakes or worsening situations of a patient. It generally involves reassuring the patient to come back if their symptoms don't improve or if they get worse or if they have any other concerns at a later stage. In this case I told the patient to come back today or tomorrow if his pain didn't improve with the painkillers and I could then look at him again. As a general rule for most cases the safety-net tends to be 7-10days, but in this case I felt it more prudent to shorten the time so that hopefully he would feel more reassured. He hasn't come back this morning and I don't have an afternoon surgery, so I'll wait to see if he returns tomorrow.

In a few of my blogs I've complained a lot about my job. At one time of another I've mention how I find it irritating, mundane, boring etc etc. I think it's about time I talk about some of the better aspects of the job. Despite what I've typed in the past, there are a few features about my job that I actually enjoy. One is the general respect I get from the public and my own family. Being a GP, or at least becoming a GP means one thing: I am 'Jack of all trades, master of none' therefore I know a little bit about everything. I often get asked about a variety of health problems, some serious, some minor and I'm able to give some advice about it one way or another and I enjoy that ability. If I was a specialist in a particular field of medicine, I wouldn't have a clue about anything else. As a GP I'm not as well respected in the medical profession as I would be if I was a specialist, but then I'm not working for the medical profession, I'm working for the public and there opinion carries more weight.

I once read an interesting theory about the difference of generalists and specialists. As time goes by specialists become more and more specialised in a particular field, they know more and more about one subject which then breakdown further into smaller subjects. Generalists on the other hand keep expanding their range of knowledge to encompass more about more subjects. If you continue down that path, the specialist knows more and more about less and less, whilst he generalist knows less and less about more and more. I like this theory and fall on the side of the generalist, better to have a wide range rather than a narrow one.

Another interesting feature of being a GP is the challenge of extracting information from patients. Rather like a detective, people often come with hidden agendas and different ideas to what they present and I have to pick up on their interactions with me and try to develop a quick rapport with them in order to get to the root of the problem. When I qualify and work in a practice it'll be easier because I will know the patients for a longer period, but right now, I'm still meeting new patients on a daily basis.

Unlike working in a hospital where the patient comes with acute problems that require immediate attention, in a GP surgery the patient has more time and comes with a range of problems, some not even related to medicine and it's often a challenge to find out the problem. I've complained about having to do that in the past, but that is mainly targeted towards people who don't help themselves because of sheer laziness, for others though, certain circumstances mean that they are unable to help themselves and therefore it is very satisfying to draw out their concerns and then attempt to help them.

There have been a few patients who have come with specific symptoms and requests for treatment who with further questioning a wider range of problems have been explored and at the end of the consultation they are often grateful for talking about their problems and felt much better for it. In the 'touchy, feely' world of GPs I guess this is what it is all about and the fact that I've appreciated the experience would suggest that not all things are bad with my job.

I guess the solution is simply, focus more on the positives and less on the negatives. At the moment it's easier said than done, because the boredom and irritation levels of the job can become overwhelming. Having the opportunity to type about this all helps a great deal, although it may bore most of the readers, it provides some perspective for me and hopefully I can begin to complain less about this job and even begin to enjoy it! Who knows!

At the end of the day maybe my expectations are too high. Who actually enjoys their job? I'm guessing those people are in the minority. For the rest, it's all about earning a living to maintain a standard of life and that is exactly what I am achieving with this job. It is the best job on offer with my degree in medicine. It affords me decent pay, good hours and a positive personal life, so maybe that all I need from the job. What about you, do you enjoy your job? If so, why? Please leave some comments.

Take care all,
Thoughts just flow, when do they have to make sense?

Morning with a muslim family

Another weekend goes by as the end of 2006 draws nearer and nearer. I don't know about you, but this year has gone by really fast, it seems like only yesterday I was doing night-shifts in mid-January and here I am, nearly in December, relaxing between surgeries, typing a blog! A lot has changed during the year.

My wife visited the Indian Embassy last Friday to get a visa for our holiday to India in mid-December. Talk about an exercise in futility! You have to arrive between the hours of 8.30am and midday to collect a ticket and then return at 2pm to get inside the embassy. My wife arrived early hoping to avoid a queue, but by 1.30pm the queue was huge and she had to wait outside in the cold for ages. Eventually, after getting inside she was issued a further ticket and made to wait over 2 hours to submit the documents for the visa.

She wasn't granted the visa. She had to see the Public Relations Officer (PRO) because under occupation she had written graduate. When they asked her what job she did, she said she didn't because she had recently qualified and was looking for a job. Because of this they wanted proof of employment from me. It wasn't sufficient that it said I'm a doctor on my marriage certificate; they needed a letter from my employers. By the time she left it was 5pm, she had spent the entire day at the Embassy and didn't even get the visa!

The PRO was completely up himself, what an idiot! If I was unemployed, would that mean we wouldn't be allowed to visit India? Why the hell do they need proof of employment from me? Now my wife has to go back and queue yet again in the morning to get the ticket for the afternoon. She's been told that she won't need to queue again in the afternoon, but even after showing the proof of employment, it'll take 1-2 weeks for the visa to come through! It is so frustrating!

Switching to a much nicer topic, it was my wife's birthday over the weekend. Her family and mine got together and went out for dinner to celebrate. I ordered a cake from Patisserie Valerie in Kensington and had to collect it on Saturday afternoon. It was a chocolate, strawberry & banana gateau and was absolutely delicious. I somehow managed to finish the video of our trip to Pakistan despite Pinnacle continuing to crash but then got delayed in converting the film to DVD and was unable to show it. Such a waste of effort. Ironically, I managed to burn it to DVD five minutes after everyone had left at 1am!

At last I have a topic to discuss, no surprises it centers on Islam and Muslims. In fact today's topic is inspired from this morning's drive to work. 5Live breakfast was broadcasting from Altrincham, Cheshire. Nicky Campbell had taken up residence in a Muslim household to "experience what life is like for British Muslims." The idea came about following a debate on the show a few weeks ago with someone named Anjem Choudary, an Islamic extremist who basically condemned all Muslims living in the West for not upholding Shariah law. Dr Khalid Anis invited the BBC to spend some time with his family to view what moderate Islam is all about, something that has received very little coverage by the media who are only too keen to focus on the radical/extreme Muslims who do not represent the majority. So to coincide with Islamic Awareness Week, this morning's show came live from the Anis household.

A quick side issue, I've always hated the term moderate Muslim. What does a moderate Muslim mean? For me, it's either Muslim or non-Muslim, none of this 'moderate' business. There is a need to define the extremist and radical Muslims who take certain views outside the rules of Islam, but to call the rest of the Muslims as 'moderate' is a put down in my view. Am I a moderate Muslim? To some I am, but to others certain things I might do maybe termed as extreme. For example, take the debate regarding the hijab; soon it'll no longer be the moderate Muslim woman who wears hijab but the extremist. Using the term 'moderate' allows the definition to be changed as and when it suits the media and hence influence the general public, and I don't like it at all! It is not moderation to follow the religion of Islam, but it can be extreme to take it too far and perform acts which are condemned in Islam.

Anyway, for the hour that I listened during my drive to work I heard the Anis family discuss various issues presented by the Nicky Campbell. I don't really like Campbell. He goes on about trying to be impartial with all his questions and how he doesn't have an opinion, but you can tell by the tone in his voice what he really feels. He asked about the hijab and why Muslims wear it. He said with such indignation about how it's purely to prevent the lustful gaze of men and therefore surely should be seen as an insult to men. Dr. Anis' wife explained the reasons why Islam prescribes women to wear hijab and also clarified that there is no requirement to wear the nikab, but is something that is done by certain women for their own personal reasons. She explained the need for women AND men to dress and act modestly, and how the hijab is an indication of respect for women in Islam.

She also condemned Jack Straw for starting the debate about the nikab, because she felt, and rightly so, that it wasn't for a politician to comment, especially when it seemed as if it was only done with a hidden agenda. Similar to what I have stated in my blog last month, there was no coverage of any attempts made by Mr. Straw to discuss the issue; just a statement about how women shouldn't wear it and that was extremely inappropriate behaviour.

Campbell then went on to ask about homosexuality and why Islam condemns it so vociferously. Dr. Anis clearly explained that it is viewed as a wrong act and something that must be avoided at all costs. Campbell rather insultingly then claimed that God created homosexuals and that one the reasons homosexuals use is that it is in their genes. Dr. Anis denied the claim and explained that it is the result of nurture not nature and it can be changed. He then went on to argue that paedophiles or murderers could use the same excuse, so why condemn them and not homosexuals? Campbell completely avoided the issue by feigning offence to the attempt to bracket homosexuals with paedophiles and murderers.

Homosexuality is totally forbidden in Islam, but Dr. Anis also explained that they should not be treated differently as a result. Something I find difficult to do, but try nonetheless. Those Muslims who act differently to homosexuals should not be commended for their behaviour and it is the wrong thing to do. Only God can judge them. I've read reports which suggest their could be a genetic association with homosexuality, but there are also genes associated with anger, hate, violent behaviour, depression etc, and these qualities can be helped by nurturing, so why can't homosexuality? It's a weak excuse to use.

The last point discussed, before I reached work, was why Muslims pray 5 times a day, surely it's too much to ask? Why can't Muslims be more fluid like Christians and pray as and when they feel like. I was disappointed with the response to this question. Dr. Anis merely argued it's down to each individual and something that is required of all Muslims. There was no further elaboration. I've explained in a previous blog the blessing of prayer and the opportunities it provides and needless to say it is the command of God and something many Muslims follow and something we should be proud about.

On a humorous side note, Campbell also invited the local Imam to have a chat. Prior to that he had mentioned Dr. Anis’ DVD collection and how whether the Imam would approve with films like Harry Potter and Spiderman in his collection. The Imam then stated that he owned the Harry Potter collection himself. Although quite amusing, it was disturbing to hear Campbell feel the need to highlight such issues, as if it's not normal for muslims to enjoy films or other activities for that matter.

All in all I thought it was a useful exercise conducted by 5Live. I didn't like some of the questioning, especially the tone of the questions, because it was obvious what Campbell's agenda was, but overall I felt the Anis family gave a good account for themselves and hopefully the listening public's views of Islam might have changed for the better, although it's would need a lot more coverage of similar topics to reinforce such a change!

Take care all,
Thoughts just flow, when do they have to make sense?

Tiredness is killing II

It's been a weird week blogging wise. Actually, if I think about it, I've followed the main objective of these blogs i.e. random thoughts. Blogs this week have been very random, not following a set topic, which is how I started in the first place. I guess a combination of random thoughts and set topics of discussion works well and I'll continue down that road. Speaking of starts, tomorrow is the two month anniversary of the blog - I've surprised myself with how long it's lasted.

Looking back at the last 2 months, it's been an enjoyable task typing this blog every weekday. I've surprised myself with how much I've been able to type every day, with a word average easily over 1200 daily, and the range of topics I've covered in that time. I hope you'll agree that I have typed pretty much about anything and everything! The one disappointment has been the response. I incorrectly had the impression that all you had to do was start a blog and the readers would come. I haven't really advertised it and in fact my uni friends are still searching for it as I type, so I guess I should've expected that. Fortunately a few family & friends do read the blog but I guess not everyone has the time to sit down and leave comments. Not everyone has 4hrs spare on most afternoons! But the hit counter now shows over 700, with only 500 being myself, so that means at least 200 hits fro other people!

Like all Fridays, I'm feeling absolutely shattered. I'm currently working on producing a DVD of our Pakistan trip using video editing software called Pinnacle Studio 10. It's an amazing piece of software which basically lets you do anything with pictures and videos. However, it uses up tons of CPU and PC memory which makes it extremely unstable. It keeps crashing every 5mins which has made the process extremely tiresome. Thankfully it recovers what was being done after it crashes, but it's painstakingly slow. I've easily spent over 10hours on it so far, only managing 24mins of actual film.

It needs a lot of patience. My wife & I managed to create a film for my Dad's 50th birthday last year which turned out very well, but it took over 4 months to prepare and at the penultimate stage my computer crashed and deleted the whole thing, but we somehow managed to recover it. For it to work you need enormous amounts of computing power, and even then it's not guaranteed to work, which is a shame since it's really easy to use. After finishing work today I hope to finish the remainder of the holiday by tomorrow, but I'm not hopeful.

I'm really feeling the effects of a lack of sleep this week, so my mind is slowly but surely going numb, creating a lot of difficulty in typing this blog. I still haven't read the document on "How to sleep less and have more energy," I've just been too tired! With that in mind, I'm sure you'll excuse me for ending the blog now. Finished my surgery and after a home visit it's time to go home and collapse into bed!

Take care all, and have a good weekend,
Thoughts just flow, when do they have to make sense?

Inadvertant movie mode

Speaking to my wife and MTL yesterday, they both concluded that yesterday's blog was one of the more interesting ones; apparently my blogs are better when I don't have a set plan to follow. However, even for my topical blogs, I start with a random rant so I guess the response varies from topic to topic. Some are appreciated more than others.

Surgery this morning has yet again been uneventful. I used to feel certain kudos attached to being a doctor, but as time goes by it is being stripped away. People always associate doctors with making difficult decisions, working under pressure and saving lives. When I was working in hospital I experienced a bit of that, sometimes what I did actually made a difference to a patient’s quality of life. I helped improve severe infections or treat and prevent heart attacks. Nowadays the most difficult decision seems to be what to type about in my blog. Being a GP has taken away all the kudos.

I don't know why I'm complaining so much. After all, I could have stayed in hospital and felt more important but instead I choose to go down this path. Throughout medical school I was adamant that I wouldn't become a GP. Remember, I didn't want to be a dentist because I couldn't stand the thought of looking down people's mouths for the rest of my life, similarly I didn't want to be a GP because the idea of treating cold after cold, sore throat after sore throat was not appealing.

I've already highlighted in a previous blog the reasons for going into general practice, but I still can't help feeling a sense of failure in becoming a GP. It wasn't what I envisaged when I was at medical school. I enjoy the hours and the family/social life that the job affords me, but the more often than not after most of my surgeries I'm left feeling fed-up. Hopefully when I qualify as a GP I'll be able to branch out and develop some special interests, something that will let me feel as if I'm making a difference. One possibility would be to have day shifts in A&E, really get my hands dirty with some acute medicine, but until then, I guess I have to make do.

Sorry to keep going on about it, it just seems to be the overwhelming feeling I experience on a daily basis. It's not helped by the fact that I have such a long gap between surgery's with nothing but this blog to do. Being stuck in the middle of nowhere, 40miles from home means my options are severely limited. There is a cinema nearby, but I can't quite bring myself to go alone, something I've only done once and it was a sad experience. However I am tempted by the chance to watch Casino Royale this afternoon - alone or not alone, at least it'll be something to do!

Speaking of films, I saw The Prestige last night. An extremely intriguing film. Very well shot and all the actors performed well. The twist in the end was quite simple, but masterfully presented. It's been awhile since I saw a good film, infact a while since I saw any film in the cinema at all. A far cry from my uni days, when I averaged over 40 films a year, reaching my nadir in 2001 when I managed 53 films in one year, more than one a week! This year I think I've only managed 12 films; it's what a married and working life does to you!

Continuing with the movie theme for now, there are quite a few films in the pipeline which sound interesting. On top of the new James Bond, there's also a blast from the past in the form of Rocky Balboa. Rocky I-III were brilliant films, and along with the first Rambo, they have been Stallone's only decent films. However, Rocky IV and V were simply awful and killed the franchise. Although the thought of Rocky VI seems purely a money-making exercise, I'll be interested to see it nonetheless.

May 2007 is going to be a huge month for Hollywood. It sees the release of three sequels whose predecessors have absolutely minted the box office. First is the release of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, I really have trouble understanding why POTC has been so successful. I did enjoy the films, but I don't see why they have been such a huge success at the box office. What has been so special about them? Also released will be Spiderman 3, the first Spiderman broke all records for the highest opening weekend ever and Spiderman 2 wasn't far behind, the films themselves were really good, and I'm really looking forward to the 3rd installment. Lastly, also released in May is Shrek the Third. The Shrek series has proved immensely popular, the second film taking in over $900 million at the box office. It's my wife's favourite film and the third installment should hopefully be very funny. So all in all, May looks like a good month for everyone, there's something in all the three films for everyone to enjoy.

No movie discussion would be complete without mention of Bollywood, something which the major film magazines in the UK, namely Empire and Total Film, seem to repeatedly ignore. Only the BBC movie website has a section dedicated for Bollywood. That's extremely poor when you consider that many Bollywood films routinely make it into the top ten at the UK box office.

One star stands out from Bollywood, no surprises to know that he is Shah Rukh Khan. Unlike Hollywood, the success of Bollywood movies usually centres on the cast, not necessarily the story. Pretty much every single Shah Rukh Khan starrer since 1998 (when Bollywood started taking off in the UK) has made it into the top ten. You can argue that the films have been successful because of other stars as well, films such as Veer Zaara, which made it as high as no. 4 at the box office in November 2004, and Hum Tumhare Hain Sanam, (possibly one of the worst Bollywood films ever, although released in 2002, some of the scenes were shot in 1996) - upto no.7 at the box office - have succeeded because of the multi star cast. However, even Swades (a film purely based on Shah Rukh Khan) made it into top ten UK box office in December 2004, which just goes to show the power of the man.

It therefore comes as a surprise that his latest film, Don, has failed to enter the top ten. It only made it to number 11. Even Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna made it into the top ten, despite being a 192min bore. So has the light finally dimmed for Shah Rukh Khan? Have people become savvy and decided to watch films for their stories rather than their actors? I haven't seen Don, so I can't comment on how good it is, but I reckon it'll take more than one film before we can cast doubt on the power of Shah Rukh Khan.

At the end of the day, why would he care? He's made his millions so why would he care if his films flop? Infact, why would any successful actor care? Hollywood actors make millions upon millions of dollars for each film. Bruce Willis made $30million for The Sixth Sense, Tom Cruise $40million for M:I 2 and Tom Hanks over $50million for Forrest Gump. Whooping amounts of cash, so any subsequent box office failure would probably not even register on their radar!

How did this turn into a movie blog? A random rant if there ever was one if you ask me! I only wanted to mention the film I saw last night and look where it led me. Well, hopefully some of the thousands of readers of this site are movie fans and will find today's blog interesting! Then again, who am I kidding?

Take care all,
Thoughts just flow, when do they have to make sense?

The Blog Effect? II

Had a straightforward surgery this morning. All males, between the ages of 25-50 and with good, clean-cut problems. No faffing around, no time-wasting, just talked about the problem and I dealt with them directly. During my training, my trainer continues to speak about expectations of the patient and hidden agendas. Today there was none of that which is a relief. Sometimes having a hidden agenda can be interesting, but on other occasions I'd much rather prefer the straightforward patient - much easier on the brain especially since I'm so tired (as usual).

Speaking of hidden agendas, part of my training focuses on certain questions to ask each and every patient. The two questions I've been told to ask are "what do you think is the problem?" and "what were you hoping I could do for you?" This, apparently, is the easiest way to get to the bottom of the problem and discover whether there is anything the patient is not saying and provides the doctor (i.e. me) with a better understand of their expectations from the appointment.

Bearing this in mind, Jughead told me about an appointment with her GP recently. He was a GP Registrar, so similar to my position. Jughead had an earache, similar to ones she had had in the past due to wax build up. When she saw the GP she gave the history and how she'd like the doctor to check her ears for wax. Instead of doing the obvious, the doctor then started asking her "so what do you think the problem is?", "when you made this appointment, what were you hoping for?" When I heard this, I couldn't stop laughing! It seems I'm not the only one taught about hidden agendas, but surely a bit of logic needs to be applied and he should've realised that not every consultation requires those questions. Jughead was extremely perplexed and in the end he didn't even examine her ears, but simply prescribed some eardrops. By the end of the consultation the doctor knew what Jughead's expectations from the appointment were, but he didn't actually check to see the exact problem in the ears! What if it wasn't a wax problem?

I agree that these questions are extremely useful for a lot of patients because sometimes I don't have a clue why they made the appointment and other times the problems seem complicated and need these questions just to establish a certain expectation level. However, there are times when the problem is very simple and obvious and these questions are a waste of time, or in Jughead's case get in the way of a proper consultation! So the next time you visit your GP surgery and the new doctor starts asking these questions, stop him/her if it's inappropriate and be more direct. I told Jughead she should've just stopped the doctor and been direct with him.

Moving on and because I can't think of a particular topic to type about today, (similar to when I typed The Blog Effect?) instead I'll type about a few news reports I heard on my way to work this morning. The first was the report on the launch of the Al-Jazeera English news channel later today. This should make some interesting view; it should provide a better look at the Middle East from an Arab point of view. Unsurprisingly it will be banned in America where all the coverage from CNN, NBC, FOX etc is so bias it's not fit to be called 'news'. I'm expecting the channel to show the view from the Arab world, a view we hear very little about and it should be interesting, especially with people like Sir Robert Frost lined up to present.

Another interesting news story was the compensation for prisoners, detailing how drug addicted prisoners are suing the government for denying them their drugs causing them severe discomfort and pain! So basically, we are paying for their stay in prison and then they are asking for more money to be spent feeding their addiction. Absolutely farcical, (there's a new one for you Miss G2S) What's to stop other prisoners claiming that they're addicted to certain food or activities and demand that they receive compensation for that as well? Sounds like the opening of a can of worms.

Lastly, today’s Thought of the Day on the Today programme on radio 4 was pretty much a rethread of yesterday's blog! The lecturer from Lancaster University (I forget exactly what he lectures on) spoke about Iraq and how dire the situation is and how although recommendations have been made about Iran and Syria's involvement, whether they will be followed remains to be seen. Perhaps he read my blog! Highly unlikely I know, but a nice thought nonetheless.

Also, before I finish, just want to quickly state that I was able to exchange my camera I bought from Jessops yesterday without any hassle, despite there being a dent on the camera which must've been there when I purchased it as I had not dropped the camera. I exchanged it for the Canon Ixus-850IS camera which seems to be much better.

It's been a pretty boring blog today. I guess it was bound to happen. Admittedly some of the other blogs may have been boring, but today is probably the first blog that I've felt bored about whilst typing! Don't expect to receive many comments for today; perhaps instead you could suggest some topics you'd like me to type about?

Take care all,
Thoughts just flow, when do they have to make sense?

Permanent woe continues

It seems these blogs are becoming more and more fruitless. No-one appears to be reading them, or if they are they continue to ignore my requests to leave a comment. I should focus on why I started the blog in the first place - to fill in the long hours of nothingness that I have pretty much every day. Having people read it is just a bonus, so I better stop feeling disappointed by the lack of interest.

Looking back at my blogs, it's been over a month since I last typed about current affairs or politics. For one reason or the other, most of the blogs have been about personal or religious issues and of course my holiday. Perhaps it's time to type about some current affairs.

Since 2003, current affairs wouldn't be current affairs without some news about Iraq. That country has been a central pivotal point in world affairs practically since time began. From ancient times when it possessed one of the ancient wonders of the world, to the Byzantine Empire through to the time of Alexander the Great and then towards British rule before World War II (skipping a few generations in between). It was after WWII when many of the problems began for the country.

Its borders were redefined, although rule was handed over by the British, they appointed a king from another Arab nation to govern the country, made sure they had control of the billions of gallons of oil in the northern territories, thus preventing the creation of a nation for the Kurds as previously promised, and attempted to control the country. This was then overthrown leading eventually to the dictatorship of Saddam Hussain. At no point in time have the people of Iraq been able to govern their own country in a democratic way.

The current invasion of Iraq was meant to change all that. It was meant to get rid of Saddam and create a democratic government that would allow the population to vote and govern themselves. Such high hopes, make the current failings even more galling. Current estimates of civilian deaths seem to range from 100,000 to 655,000; either figure is a shocking statistic. Sure the situation was atrocious under Saddam Hussain, but is the current situation any better?

With casualties continuing to grow, more and more damage to the UK and US armed forces and insurgent groups continuing to cause death and destruction across the country, words fail me when attempting to describe how dire the situation is in the country. The point of the invasion seems to be long forgotten. Apparently Saddam had WMDs which were a threat to world peace and was causing mass casualties in his country. He had to be taken care of - 'regime change' was the catchphrase at one point.

People say it’s far too simplistic to say it's all because of the oil, but is it? There are other dictatorships across the globe, Zimbabwe, N. Korea, even China to some extent, but nothing is ever done about them. All the recent fur ore surround nuclear tests in N. Korea seems to have died down, no action is being enforced. It's in the pipeline, but no nation seems to pushing for it. If it's not oil then what is the reason for all this devastation? There are no WMDs; it has clearly been proved that Saddam was not a threat to world peace. He was a threat to his own country, but not the rest of the world. Sanctions imposed at the end of the first Gulf War had severely crippled him already.

The situation in Iraq continues to get bleaker and bleaker. Current news has been all about the Iraq Study Group (ISG). Before I go on, I think the ISG is quite an amusing name. It reminds me of the revision sessions I used to have at uni. I can just imagine a group of people in a quiet corner in the library studying the situation in Iraq, being told to keep the noise down!

The Iraq Study Group was formed at the request of the US Congress. Led by ex-Secretary of State, James Baker, the group gave suggestions regarding a phased withdrawal from Iraq and discussions with Iran and Syria with regard to attempting to maintain the peace in Iraq - if you can call it that!

No sooner was this idea bought forward, it was dismissed by George Bush. Whilst Iran continues to develop nuclear energy, and Syria interferes with Lebanon, talks would not be held. So basically the main suggestion of the ISG was squashed from the outset. Talk about a pointless exercise. Was it purely done for the sake of showing something is being done? Giving it a fancy name and appointing prominent people gave it some status, but to then dismiss their conclusions seems ridiculous. (Stop laughing Miss G2S!)

The state of affairs in Iraq gets worse day by day. There seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel. Innocent civilians continue to lose their lives for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I can't even imagine how it must feel knowing that just walking outside to get some bread and milk, may spell death from the local suicide bomber. News reports seem to indicate the presences of a suicide bomber at every corner! On top of that, the casualties in the armed forces continue to rise day by day. These are people sent by the government to do their dirty work and losing their lives for what?

It really frustrates me as I'm sure it does for others. All the reports of casualties have become so normal that we've become indifferent towards it. It's not just numbers being reported, but actual people being killed. The sheer arrogance of Tony Blair and George Bush is overwhelming. They are responsible for the death of upto 655,000 people in Iraq and they manage to convince themselves and then try to convince others that it's for world peace! If this is peace, what would war be like?

Yet again, I find myself walking down the same path. What can we do? What can I do? At the moment, apart from me typing about it from time to time, the answer seems to be not much! Nothing changes and I guess I will continue to type about the situation for the foreseeable future. Sometimes I wonder if the state of Iraq will be resolved in my lifetime. I'm not optimistic at all.

Take care all,
Thoughts just flow, when do they have to make sense?

Refresh yourself II

Yet another shambolic display by Liverpool yesterday. Thankfully I turned down the opportunity to see the game at the Emirates Stadium. The seat was amongst the Arsenal supporters and it would not have been a happy place! I have to stop being so bothered. Way back in September after defeat by Chelsea I spoke about giving up on the Premiership and yet my support has remained strong. What is the point now? 14 points behind Man Utd, there isn't a chance in hell of recovering that kind of deficit. Perhaps I should try supporting Chelsea again!

I did attend my friends wedding on Saturday. In fact it was the first of my uni mates to get married after myself, more than two years ago! Finally, I can meet up with someone who is also hitched. Since getting married I've only been able to meet up with my friend’s maybe 2-3 times a year, and there are some friends I haven't seen for over a year. Hopefully when they get married we can meet up more.

I also purchased a new digital camera from Jessops on Saturday. The Panasonic DMC-FX07 for only £187.26. The reason I'm typing about this is because Jessops were actually selling it for £269.99. They price matched the camera with the cheapest price I could find online and then cut a further 10% off the price. I thought I'd mention it so if you want/need to get a camera go to Jessops, I thought the deal was very impressive. Having said all that, I’m disappointed with the quality of the photos when the optical zoom is used, so may now try to exchange it for another camera, hopefully they'll let me do that as well!

Moving on to today's topic and now that Ramadan has finished a familiar pattern has returned. I spoke in the past about the need to refresh yourself and how in Islam there is constant recycling process which allows one to increase their faith and get closer to God, but what about the gaps in-between? Often what happens is that many people - and I include myself and others I know - become very religious in the months of Ramadan and Muharrum and sometimes Zilhajj, but then fall back into their usual ways afterwards. In the 'Refresh Yourself' blog I spoke of how although Islam blesses us with these opportunities, it is also important to make sure we continue to develop our faith outside of these months.

During Ramadan this year, I attended lectures by Hassanain Rajabali for two weeks, had Quran sessions on four occasions with the family, where we translated and explained certain surahs, and also performed the main requirements of the month, namely to fast, pray and abstain from forbidden acts during the month. Others I know also engaged in religious acts and increased thier knowledge and hopefully we all increased our faith that little bit more. So how have things gone since Ramadan finished?

To be honest, in a word, abysmal! It's coming up to three weeks since Eid and apart from my daily prayers (which I perform regardless) I haven't done anything to continue the development of my faith. People close to me have also gone down the same path. Our faith is apparently on pause! One week has been spent in Pakistan, but for the rest of the time, I've been guilty of sheer laziness.

It's the same old story, during Ramadan/Muharrum I feel refreshed, my faith increases and I'm determined to continue after the month finishes but it just remains a set of noble intentions. As predictable as the day is short, these changes simply don't happen. I settle back into the old routine. By typing about it, I'm hoping I maybe able to re-inspire myself and others to carry on what we started in Ramadan.

A good starting point is the Quran. The wealth of knowledge in there is immense and Ayatollahs and Professors of Islam are continuing to learn new information from it. During Ramadan as a family, we would all study certain surahs and then provide a translation and explanation of the surah to the rest of the family. I thought it worked really well, we all learned as a group and everyone was involved. I have to restart that again. It doesn’t help that Jughead and Scottish Dentist have moved to Scotland as they were active participants in the process, but I've heard certain other friends are moving nearby (not from my friend, but from others, he seems too busy to stay in touch anymore - thinly-veiled criticism or what!) so maybe I can involve them.

Besides that I need to re-start my morning prayers on time. At the moment it's easy because the time for morning prayers is after I wake up for work, but when that changes after winter, I have to start getting up. I managed to do so whilst I was a student for 2 consecutive years but ever since I started work I've been extremely poor at doing so.

Prayer is THE most important aspect of Islam. It is a daily opportunity to refresh yourself. If you take say 5 mins per prayer per day, it will only take up 25mins a day. I've never understood why people have such a difficult time praying regularly on a daily basis. Even if you don't understand the prayer, just the act of prayer is a good deed itself, obviously it's better to understand what is said, but that can be developed afterwards. It should be treated as a habit, something that just has to be done. Once the habit is developed it can be nurtured into more by understanding the prayer and gaining more from it.

For those people who don't pray, there can be no excuse; no-one can come up with any excuse. At the risk of sounding preachy and holier than thou, (sorry MTL), there cannot be any reason not to pray. We all have to pray, it's as simple as that. It's not a difficult act; it's a beneficial and merciful act, we are fortunate to have such a system. We are able to pray to God 3 times a day and ask him for help, why is it so difficult for some people? I may sound too simplistic, but when it comes to prayers, it is very simple so there is a need to be simplistic. We all HAVE to pray, end of story!

Hopefully by typing this blog, I can find the necessary inspiration to continue my faith building. The Holy Prophet has asked us to constantly seek knowledge and the Quran is an amazing source for that. Besides the Quran, there are numerous books which explore Islam in great detail which can also help develop knowledge and faith. All it requires are small adjustments here and there. I'm not trying to advocate a system whereby we all become reclusive overtly religious people who just indulge in prayer all day long! It just needs small changes. 25 mins for prayer is not asking for much. An hour a week reading the Quran is not difficult. It's all about motivation and I'm hoping this blog will provide the necessary motivation for me and maybe others.

It's about setting small targets. For me, inshallah, I will set aside one hour per week to read a surah of the Quran, translate it and understand it. On top of that I hope to restart the family Quran sessions and then take it from there. For those who don't pray on a regular basis, perhaps try setting a target - don't miss a prayer for one week, then two weeks etc and see how you get on. Inshallah God will help us to achieve these targets, after all, we are trying to get closer to him and he states "When My servants ask thee concerning Me, I am indeed close (to them) I listen to the prayer of every suppliant when he calleth on Me..." (Surah 2, Verse 186).

I know this blog has ended up sounds a bit preachy, but I guess with what I ended up typing about it was unavoidable. Please leave your comments on how to improve ourselves outside the holy months and how to strive to increase our faith. Hopefully this blog will be useful to me and I can continue to improve and not just continue down the same old path of self-indulgence and no substance!

Take care all,
Thoughts just flow, when do they have to make sense?

More motivation please

I think I can safely say the jet-lag has finally worn off, although getting back into the work routine means the tiredness has returned again, the weekend has come at the perfect time. Big game yet again this weekend and it seems I'm going back on my word! I'd like to not be such an avid follower of Liverpool, but I just can't help it - my wife is most displeased!

Carrying on from yesterday and one of the things about being a GP that irritates the most (and I've touched on this before) is the sheer volume of people who come with minor problems that they could treat at home if they had some common sense. Yesterday afternoon's surgery consisted of 8 patients, 7 of whom would not need to be there had they just tried taking some painkillers. I know I'm repeating stuff I've already typed about, but it's really frustrating, hence the repetition.

Why won't people take painkillers? When asked, majority state that they don't like taking tablets. So what on earth did they expect I would say? I'm a doctor; of course I'm going to prescribe some medicine. Then when I suggest they need to try some painkillers first they all agree. Why couldn't they do that in the first place? It really bugs me.

A classic case yesterday was a 20yr old guy who made an appointment because he had pain in his neck after sleeping in an awkward position the night before. He didn't want to take any painkillers and it wasn't getting any better. He was able to move his neck fully but had an aching pain when he looked left. My first option was always going to be painkillers and yet he had to make an appointment to see a doctor to be told that. Like I said, I've ranted about this all before, but I'm just in the mood to go over it again. It's becoming such a pain to continually prescribe painkillers. Where has the common sense gone?

On my drive to work I was listening to yet more reports of muslim extremism and terrorists and the struggle we are facing etc etc. Apparently MI5 are having to deal with more and more terror plots and the negative image of Islam continues in full-force. The veil issue has also cropped up again, this time with regard to rules for lawyers wearing the veil in court and every time I look at the BBC News website there always seems to be some report creating negative feelings and attitudes towards muslims and Islam. It is only a matter of time before the veil will be banned in public places, inevitably leading the way to the headscarf as well!

These continuous negative media reports are just so depressing. Similar to my feeling about work, there are so many times when I want to do something about it. I often drive to work or home thinking about what to do. I often have moments of motivation about wanting to make a difference (so clichéd). But what can I change? How can I change these situations?

There are two parts of motivation. One is for me, mainly focusing on how I can improve myself. This part of the motivation tends to be to improve my knowledge and faith in my religion, to improve as a person and cut down on my negative aspects. All are achievable and it is an ongoing process with ups and downs, hopefully reaching a flat line at a good level at some point. The second part is how I can improve the world, so to speak! Grandiose sounding I know, but often I reflect on how to change the opinions that exist towards muslims and how to change hospital conditions for doctors to make it more appealing. But in reality what can I actually do?

I guess looking at the bigger picture it's all insignificant in comparison to our personal lives. Understandably people (me included) are more interested in their social and family lives. People who can make a difference often have busy personal lives and don't have the time or inclination to try and make a difference. Perhaps I and others will have to wait until the later part of our lives when we have more time, but then the worry is by then it may be too late. It may get to a point were living in Britain will become untenable for muslims and that's why something needs to be done.

In the real world what can I do to make a difference? I am constantly thinking, waiting for a moment of inspiration. In the meantime I guess I'll continue to hear all the negative press about Islam and continue to feel disillusioned about my job! What options do I have? If you have any suggestions then please feel free to leave your comments. Reading this blog and it is a pure random ramble; I don't even know if much of it makes sense! Please excuse me, but it is Friday after all!

Take care all, and have a good weekend.
Thoughts just flow, when do they have to make sense?

Why am I a doctor?

This jet-lag situation is getting a tad ridiculous now. Yet again I was wide awake, this time at 4am, although I was initially disturbed by my wife, I couldn't get back to sleep for quite some time. Where is Sully? The day I told him about the blog he stayed up quite late reading all the previous entries and has been leaving comments on my blogs ever since. Over night he became my no.1 fan! However, since my return, there has been no sign of him.

Whilst I was out in Pakistan I managed to watch two Liverpool matches. I saw the two Saturday 3pm kick-off games live on TV. These are games which can't be seen live on TV in the UK, yet I was able to watch them abroad. I've discovered that it's possible to watch these games on the internet by taping into foreign broadcasts online, for more details on how to do this, feel free to leave a request on my comments page.

Often when I return from holiday, the first few days back at work are really miserable and this time has been no exception. The grind of a normal days work is really hard to get back into. It's at times like these were I really dislike my job. Why am I a doctor? I’ve been struggling to come up with an answer for quite some time, pretty much ever since I qualified.

Looking back, the reason I choose medicine was because it seemed like the only career to do with the A' Levels I had done, namely Chemistry, Maths & Physics. The reason I did those A' Levels was because science seemed to be the only subject I was good at. Other than dentistry there wasn't much else, I could have specialised in any of the 3 subjects but that was not appealing and I couldn't stand the thought of staring down peoples mouths for the rest of my life so medicine seemed to be the only choice! I now know people who have qualified as dentists round the same time as me and now work in private practices, drive fast cars and earn a huge salary. Suddenly, staring down peoples mouths all day doesn't seem so bad. A friend often jokes about how it's odd I have an aversion to people’s mouth when being a doctor means I have to go to far more disgusting places which is arguably much worse, but at the time I just couldn't see myself do it.

Sully is also a doctor who qualified a year before me. We often joke that the only reason I did medicine was because he did and there maybe some truth to that, but now we both regret not choosing dentistry. At the time it seemed like the course to do for people who couldn't get into medicine and to some extent it still is, albeit with a better career afterwards. How naive we were! If I had the choice again I would definitely have done dentistry.

Medical school was an absolute doss. It's actually quite an easy degree; being 5 years long means you have plenty of time. I constantly skipped lectures and my friends and I had the nickname as the 'Backbone of Doss,' we were the key dossers and others joined in at various times. We even intended to write the 'Dosser's Guide to Medicine' but decided that it would get in the way of our dossing, therefore, it would be a hypocritical book! Ironically having missed so many lectures, come revision for our final exams in the 5th year, we all paid over £300 for revision lectures, but so did everyone else.

The only time I didn't doss was when it came to actually working in hospitals as past of our clinical attachments, that's were I gained all my practical knowledge and clinical skills. The theory was all revised nearer the exam time, but the rest of the time was a big chill! My wife recently qualified in Pharmacology & Physiology at UCL and her degree was far tougher than mine, with lab work, coursework and dissertations.

Before you all get concerned about the quality of healthcare I provide, please be reassured that since I qualified I've taken my work seriously and feel that I am a competent doctor. I try not to take any risks and always turn to my seniors for advice whenever I need to. These two qualities have ensured that I remain a good doctor and mistakes have been very rare. Any mistakes I may have made, I have learned from and never repeated again. Thankfully I have never made any mistake which has resulted in a patient deteriorating or even dying.

Ever since I've qualified, I really haven't enjoyed working. Working in the NHS has been anything but enjoyable. From the moment I started working in hospital, the big problem has been the hours I've had to endure. Don't get me wrong, my predecessors of years gone by had it much worse and they've always reminded me of that, but the hours are still pretty gruesome. Apart from the usual 9-5 days, one day a week I would be on-call which would mean 9-9pm shift, in addition I worked one in four weekends, i.e. once a month and 2 weeks of nights in 6 months. A&E was even worse; it would be one week of nights a month and 2 weekends per month. A week of nights is horrible, for that one week your life is on hold. Working between the hours of 9pm to 9am is torture; 12hrs per day for 7 consecutive days is absolutely dreadful. After I finish my stint in the GP practice, I have a 6 month post in A&E and I am dreading it.

Take away the hour’s situation and out of all the jobs I've done, A&E has been the best. It's like an extreme GP practice. Sure I would see a lot of mundane stuff, but there would be a lot of cases requiring urgent medical attention. If A&E could be a well-paid 9-5 job then I would take it immediately. 'Well-paid' is the key phrase, because it just doesn't exist.

I haven't had much experience in surgery, but during medical school it was an area I was keen to specialise in. However, becoming a specialist surgeon takes ages of hard work and I just don't have it in me. After completing the house job, it's usually a 3 year rotation in various surgical specialties which means more long hours. Then after taking the MRCS exam (Membership of the Royal College of Surgeons) you can become a Specialist Registrar in any field of interest, although competition is extremely strong. The Registrar rotation can lasts upto 10 years, again more long hours and by the time you can start applying for Consultant posts you're already over 35yrs old. Fifteen years of long hours, weekends and night-shifts, and that's an optimistic estimate. Being Asian probably means it would take even longer.

With that in mind, how on earth can you have any sort of family life? Reluctantly GP seemed the best way to go. It requires only 3 years of training and after qualifying at the age of 27/28 there are no weekends, no on-calls and no night shifts and the pay is extremely decent. However, the work is so mundane. 90% of my time is seeing people with minor ailments, the majority of whom require the same advice repeated over and over again. It's really really boring.

Only my time in A&E was semi-enjoyable. The work was interesting but it was tempered by the long working hours. Other than that all my jobs so far have been a chore. It's too late to think about a change in career. I have to at least complete my training to become a GP, that way if I do consider a change I can at least fall back on being a GP. If I do consider a change, what can I do? My options are extremely limited. People mention how large corporate companies are often looking to recruit doctors, or perhaps I can look into the business side of the NHS, being a doctor should mean I have a better understanding of how a hospital runs, I just need a business degree of some sort! How long does a MBA take?

In the meantime, I guess I've just got to continue with what I have. Looking at the positives, I have a good salary, have a good home life with my wife and family and drive a decent car. I also need to buy a house but prices in the area I live are astronomical, and it'll also mean having to give up my car. I suppose one of the reasons I blog is because of how boring my job is; at least typing on here is interesting. I think that's what I need to focus on, being a GP, means I'll have a good quality of life outside of work which means I can concentrate on other things which should make the job bearable. I sure hope so.

Take care all,
Thoughts just flow, when do they have to make sense?