Mezbauddin Mahtab's Blog, page 5

The Friends TV show ended its run on May 6, 2004.

The blog's first post was July 16, 2004.

I had been blogging for 17+ years. And yet, Friends is older than that.

Today, May 27, 2021 - 17 years to almost the day the show ended, HBO Max telecast a special Friends reunion show. Despite the hit-and-miss nature of the reunion show, with its mixed format of an interview, a behind the scenes look at the show, the actual eavesdropping of the casts' reunion, and the cast reading some of their favourite lin...

Let's talk about gays, homosexuality and Islam. 

One of the big, BIG, mistakes Muslims make is assuming our position is the SAME as that of fundamentalist (or Evangelical) Christians, or orthodox Jews. Similar to the debate on abortion, evolution - Islam has its own take. Some similarities, but also a LOT of differences.

First and foremost, Islam does not deny the existence of gays (unlike a former President of Iran).  Even during the time of Prophet Muhammad pbuh, there used to be people called M...

About 85 km north east of downtown Toronto, or about 40 km away from Scarborough, lies a small community in Scugog, Ontario called Port Perry. Port Perry serves as a hub for many small communities in the Scugog area. Located at the basin of the Trent-Severn Waterways is Lake Scugog, one of Ontario's largest man-made lakes. Port Perry was used briefly as a small town in New Hampshire during the sixth season of The West Wing.

On a warm, nice, sunny day, the marina and waterfront of Port Perry can b...

 Sibbald Point Provincial Park is a mid-size provincial park about 1 hour north of Toronto.

This week (from today, Thursday) the new provincial stay-at-home order comes into effect as Ontario fights the 'third wave'. Last weekend, my family and I decided to visit this park, given that it was a warm spring day (15C!) and there is nothing much else to do in these lockdown times as we wait for the vaccine and a return to normalcy. 

The attraction of this park is a large sandy beach on Lake Simcoe.

The...

In these Covid19 times, it is hard to schedule activities for children. We are home all the time; we cannot visit friends and relatives; in-person school is now closed. Wondering where we can take the kids, my wife stumbled upon Reptilia Zoo.

Reptilia is Canada's largest indoor reptile zoo, with 25,000 square feet of indoor exhibits featuring over 250 reptiles, amphibians and arachnids. 

Currently there are two Ontario locations, one in Vaughan and one in Whitby. We decided to visit the one at Vau...

Is it because these two countries are essentially islands which are far away from continent in the north?

No. It is just down to good common sense governance, something that eludes this current Liberal government. Let me show you a recent example.
Some time ago, it was announced that a security guard who was patrolling a quarantine hotel has been diagnosed with COVID. The highly contagious UK variant. He was the first person in 10 months in Western Australia to contract the virus.Based on this new...

Why East Pakistan Became Bangladesh (Part 4)

Part 1- Economic Exploitation of the East

Part 2: Language and Culture

Part 3: Cyclone Bhola

The Final Part (Part 4): Military and Politics

In this series of posts, I will highlight just a few of the many reasons why East Pakistan seceded from Pakistan and became Bangladesh. 

The Final Part (Part 4): Military and PoliticsWhen Pakistan came into being in 1947, it inherited 6 infantry divisions and 1 armored brigade from the British Indian army, ALL of which ...

Why East Pakistan Became Bangladesh (Part 3)

Part 1- Economic Exploitation of the East

Part 2: Language and Culture

Part 3: Cyclone Bhola

The Final Part (Part 4): Military and Politics

In this series of posts, I will highlight just a few of the many reasons why East Pakistan seceded from Pakistan and became Bangladesh. 

Part 3: Cyclone BholaIs it possible for a hurricane to physically split apart a nation? In this segment I want to highlight the effect of Cyclone Bhola on East Pakistan and the subsequ...

Why East Pakistan Became Bangladesh (Part 2)

Part 1- Economic Exploitation of the East

Part 2: Language and Culture

Part 3: Cyclone Bhola

The Final Part (Part 4): Military and Politics

In this series of posts, I will highlight just a few of the many reasons why East Pakistan seceded from Pakistan and became Bangladesh. 

Part 2: Language and CulturePakistan was an anomaly when the nation was created. Two wings, East and West, divided by 1000 miles of Indian territory. Yet, it wasn't just the vast land ...

Why East Pakistan Became Bangladesh (Part 1)

Part 1- Economic Exploitation of the East

Part 2: Language and Culture

Part 3: Cyclone Bhola

The Final Part (Part 4): Military and Politics

In this series of posts, I will highlight just a few of the many reasons why East Pakistan seceded from Pakistan and became Bangladesh. Today, I want to focus on the economic disparity between the two wings before Liberation.

Part 1- Economic Exploitation of the EastTake a look at the chart. In almost every year since t...