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5. Passover – Pentecost Connection I
An important part of the celebration of Passover and the seven days of Unleavened Bread was the day on which the high priest waved the עמר (omer) of freshly cut grain in front of the altar of Yahweh as an offering.
This event occurred on the first day of the 50-day count to the חג שבעות (Khag Shabuath; Festival of Weeks).
As a result, for the Jews and later the Christians, the events associated with the 50 days of the Festival of Weeks (also called Pentecost) were regarded as an important facet of the Passover celebration.
The divergent opinions over exactly which day the omer wave offering took place proved to be the source of much debate among the various Jewish religious factions.
For this reason, no discussion of the Passover and seven days of Unleavened Bread can be complete without addressing the issues surrounding the day of the omer wave offering, the 50-day period, and the celebration of the Khag of Shabuath (Festival of Weeks; Pentecost).
In the present post we shall examine the scriptural commands and statutes regarding Pentecost. This investigation will allow us later on to examine the different interpretations used by the various Jewish and Christian schools and analyze their merits.
This 50-day period is in Hebrew called המשים יום (ha-massim yom; the 50 days),1 a phrase translated into Greek as πεντήκοντα ἡμέρας (pentekonta hemeras; the 50 days).2
The thanksgiving harvest festival of the 50th day, meanwhile, is referred to as the חג השבעות (Khag ha-Shabuath; Festival of the Weeks),3 Aramaic
חגא דשבועיא (Khagga di-Shebuaya), because one must count seven full weeks (49 days) from waving the omer offering.4
The next day after the seventh week (i.e., the 50th day) is a sacred convocation, a high Sabbath, and a festival.5 It is also called the Festival of Harvest and the Festival of Firstfruits.6
The khag of the 50th day, accordingly, is in Greek named πεντηκοστὴ (pentecoste), meaning "50th,"7 "Pentecost" in English, taking "its name from the number of the intervening days."8
The Jewish priest Josephus, for example, on several occasions calls this festival "Pentecost (πεντηκοστὴ; pentecoste),"9 as does Philo,10 Tobit,11 and 2 Maccabees.12
The Khag of Weeks is listed as one of Yahweh's three moadim (appointed times) to be celebrated during the year.13 It is specifically referred to in the Torah as a "חקת עלם (khoquth olam; world-age lasting statute)."14
The first written command to observe the Festival of Weeks (Pentecost) is found in the marriage covenant made with Israel at Mount Sinai.15 The fact that it is mentioned with no explanation as to how one was to celebrate it points to the fact that its tenets were already well-established.
As demonstrated in the publication by Qadesh La Yahweh Press titled The Festivals and Sacred Days of Yahweh, with the discussion of the seven days of Unleavened Bread, the original covenant at Mount Sinai was a written codification of the commandments and age-lasting statutes already required in the verbal agreement of the Abrahamic Covenants.16
In support of this pre-Exodus requirement, the ancient Jewish book of Jubilees claims that not only did Isaak, Ishmael, and their father Abraham celebrate this festival but so did Noah and his sons before them and Jacob after them.17 Even present-day scholars acknowledge that the Festival of Weeks bears the signs of a pre-Exodus agricultural festival.18
Three Aspects
Under the handwritten Torah there are three aspects to this important scriptural festival:
• The waving of an omer offering on the first day.
• The festal period lasting 50 days.
• The high Sabbath, sacred convocation, and wave offering on the 50th and last day.
Both the first and last day of these 50 days are marked by a תנופח (tenuphah; consecrated wave offering).19
The difference between the two wave offerings is that the first consisted of an omer of freshly cut grain while the last was represented by two loaves of freshly baked bread, each loaf made with two-tenth parts of an ephah of leavened flour.20
Day of the Omer Wave Offering
Under the Torah, on the first day of the 50 days an עמר (omer), or "sheaf," wave offering is required. An עמר (omer) is a dry measure or gathering of "newly cut grain,"21 as in "a heap."22 An omer equals about four pints and is calculated as one-tenth of a Hebrew ephah.23
This wave offering of newly cut grain is a gift to Yahweh of the firstfruits of the land from each year's harvest. The offering occurs in the spring and is directly connected with the Promised Land. This offering is described in detail in the book of Leviticus:
When you come into the land (of Promise) which I am giving to you, and have reaped its harvest, and have brought in this omer, the beginning of your harvest, to the priest, then he shall wave this omer before Yahweh for your acceptance. On the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it.24
As we shall see, what is meant by the phrase "on the day after the Sabbath" proves to be a point of serious contention among the various sects of Judaism. Connected with the omer wave offering was also a burnt offering of a perfect lamb as well as a food and drink offering.25
Under the guidance of this statute, no one could harvest or eat any of the new year's crop until the offering had been made by the high priest at the altar:
And you shall not eat bread, and roasted grain, and new grain until the self-same day; this until you have brought the offering of your eloahi. It is a world-age lasting statute for your generations in all your dwellings.26
Philo, the first century C.E. Alexandrian Jewish priest who belonged to the Pharisaic sect, had a great deal to say about the omer wave offering. To begin with, he uses the Greek term ἑορτὴν (heorten; festival) to describe the type of day for this offering.
We must keep in mind that the Greek term ἑορτὴν (heorten) has a much broader connotation than the Hebrew term khag (festival).27
It includes any celebration, banquet, sacrifice, or time of offering.28 Yet, Scriptures never specifically refer to the day of the omer wave offering as a khag, sacred convocation, or high Sabbath.
Philo, on the other hand, includes under his definition of an ἑορτὴν every day, the Sabbath day, and the day of the new moon.29 Therefore, for Philo's purpose, a "ἑορτὴν (heorten; festival)" simply means a special observance.
Philo continues by noting that the fifth of the ten Jewish ἑορταί (heortai; festivals) or special observations "is the offering of the first ears, the sacred δράγμα (dragma; handful),"30 dragma being his Greek translation of the Hebrew word omer.31
In another place, he refers to this day as a special heorten for the "hand-grip of corn."32 Philo adds definition for dating this event when he writes that "within the festival (of Unleavened Bread)," which he calls a "springtime festival,"33 there is "another ἑορτῇ (heorte; festival)."
He then describes the omer wave offering in the following way:
This (festival) is called the δράγμα (dragma; Handful), a name given to it from the ceremony which consists in bringing it to the altar as a firstfruit, both of the land which has been given to the nation to dwell in and of the whole earth, so that it serves that purpose both to the nation in particular and for the whole human family in general.34
Philo remarks that in the first century C.E. the "handful (= omer) thus offered was of barley." He continues:
The Torah ordained that the firstfruit offerings should be made of barley, a species of grain regarded as holding the second place in value as food. For wheat holds the first place and as the firstfruit of this has greater distinction, the Torah postponed it to a more suitable season in the future.35
As we shall see below, wheat, holding the first place in value as food, was the primary firstfruit offering for the last day of the 50-day festival; wheat being a New Testament symbol for the righteous who will be harvested by Yahweh.36
Philo further notes that this omer cereal offering can only come from the sacred land (i.e., the Promised Land), and must be a gift fit for the deity alone.37 He then adds what he believed to be the higher meaning of this offering.
While defining the symbolism of these "firstfruits of your reaping," he writes that they are "not of the land but of ourselves, that we may mow and reap ourselves, by consecrating every nourishing, excellent and worthy growth."38
The first century Pharisee and Jewish priest Josephus also describes the grain used in his day as barley and the time of this offering as during the days of Unleavened Bread. At that time, he writes:
. . . our people partake of the crops which they have reaped and which have not been touched until then, and esteeming it right first to do homage to the deity, to whom they owe the abundance of these gifts, they offer to him the firstfruits of the barley in the following wise. After parching and crushing the little sheaf of ears and purifying the barley for grinding, they bring to the altar an assarona (= omer)39 for the deity, and, having flung a handful thereof on the altar they leave the rest for the use of the priests. Thereafter all are permitted, publicly or individually, to begin to harvest.40
Scriptures provide a specific method for counting the 50 days for the Festival of Weeks. We find this method first mentioned in the book of Leviticus:
And you shall number for yourself from the day after the Sabbath, from the day you bring in the omer of the wave offering, they shall be seven complete Sabbaths, until the day after the seventh Sabbath. You shall number 50 days.41
Similarly, the book of Deuteronomy states:
You shall number for yourself seven weeks. From the sickle beginning to cut on the קמה (qamah; growing stalks of grain)42 you shall begin to number seven weeks.43
Josephus comments on these instructions:
When the seventh week following this sacrifice has elapsed—these are the 49 days of the "Weeks" . . .44
Philo, meanwhile, writes:
The Festival of the Handful, which has all these grounds of precedence (privileges), indicated in the Torah, is also in fact anticipatory of another greater festival. For it is from it that the day of Pentecost is reckoned, by counting seven sevens, which are then crowned with the sacred number by the monad, which is an incorporeal image of the deity, who it resembles because it also stands alone.45
Philo considered seven the number of completion and full perfection.46 Seven sevens, accordingly, were an expression of complete perfection, crowned with the 50th day.47
Just how one is to utilize the count of seven complete Sabbaths became a matter of much dispute among the various Jewish factions. We shall examine their different approaches in detail in a later post.
The 50th Day
The 50th and last day of the celebration was the Festival of Weeks (Pentecost). It was the greatest day of the 50-day period, being designated a high Sabbath and sacred convocation. Leviticus, for example, states:
And you shall make a proclamation on this same day, a sacred מקראי (miqrai; gatherings for reading, convocation) it is to you. You shall not do any laborious work. It is a world-age lasting statute in all your dwellings in your generations.48
Similarly, Numbers states:
And on the day of the firstfruits, as you offer a new food offering to Yahweh, in your weeks a sacred מקראי (miqrai; gatherings for reading, convocation) shall be for you, you shall not do any laborious work.49
The 50th day was also a khag. In Exodus the command was given to observe it as the "Khag of the harvest, the firstfruits of your labor of what you sow in the field."50
Likewise, Deuteronomy states:
And you shall perform the Khag of Weeks to Yahweh your eloahi, according to the measure of the free-will offering of your hand, which you shall give, accordingly as Yahweh your eloahi has blessed you.51
Under the Torah, another type of תנופה (tenuphah; consecrated wave offering) of food, along with other sacrifices, was made. The book of Exodus specifically names wheat as the firstfruits.
And you shall observe for yourself the Khag of Weeks, the firstfruits of the wheat harvest.52
The ceremony is described in Leviticus:
And you shall bring near a new food offering to Yahweh; you shall bring in bread out of your dwellings for a wave offering, two (loaves); they shall be of two-tenth parts of flour; they shall be baked with leavening, firstfruits to Yahweh.53
Along with these two loaves were provided seven perfect year-old lambs, one bullock, and two rams for burnt offerings, with a food offering, a drink offering, and a fire offering of sweet fragrances to Yahweh.54
Besides these, there was one he-goat for a sin offering and two one-year-old lambs for a peace offering.55 The priest was also required to wave these offerings.56
The Pharisaic priest named Philo labels "the Festival of Sevens or Weeks" as the seventh of his ten ἑορταί (heortai; festivals) or observances of the Jews, seven for him being the perfect number.57 He describes this festival as follows:
The festival which is held when the number 50 is reached has acquired the title of "first-products." On it is the custom to bring two leavened loaves of wheaten bread for a sample offering of that kind of grain as the best form of food. One explanation of the name, "Festival of First-products," is that the first produce of the young wheat and the earliest fruit to appear is brought as a sample offering before the year's harvest comes to be used by men.58
Philo notes that the offering takes the form of loaves instead of wheaten meal.59 Wheat is used because all other crops are second in ranking as food.60 The offering itself was given as a thanksgiving.61
Josephus, meanwhile, writes:
Pentecost—thus the Jews call a festival which occurs seven weeks after (Passover), and takes its name from the number of intervening days.62
He describes the festival as follows:
When the seventh week following this sacrifice has elapsed—these are the 49 days of the "Weeks"—on the Pentecost day, which the Hebrews call "Asartha, (Closing Assembly),"63 the word denoting "50th," they present to the deity bread of two assarons (omer portions)64 of flour of wheat made with leaven and, as a sacrifice, two lambs. These are by ordinance to be offered to the deity, but are made up into a repast for the priests, and it is not permitted to leave any portion of them over for the next day.65
The name ἀσαρθὰ; (Asartha), Hebrew עצרת (Atsarth; Closing Assembly), is used to describe the day ending a festival period.
For example, the last day of the seven days of Unleavened Bread as well as the last day of the Festival of Tabernacles are both referred to as an Atsarth.66
Time to take a break everyone. When you are ready you can move on to the next part: 6. Passover – Pentecost Connection II.
1 Lev. 23:16.
2 LXX Lev. 23:16.
3 Deut. 16:16; 2 Chron. 8:13; cf., Exod. 34:22, חג שבעת Deut. 16:10, חג שבעות.
4 B. Men., 65a.
5 Lev. 23:15-21; Num. 28:6; Deut. 16:9.
6 Exod. 23:16; Num. 28:26.
7 The Greek word πεντηκοστός (pentecostos) means "fiftieth" and in the NT it is used to refer to "the fiftieth day" of the Festival of Weeks (GEL, p. 620; SEC, Gk. #4005).
8 Jos. Wars 2:3:1.
9 Jos. Wars 1:13:3, 6:5:3, Antiq. 3:10:6, 13:8:4, 14:13:4, 17:10:2.
10 Philo Cont., 8 §21, Decal. 30 §160, Spec. 2:30 §176.
11 Tob. 2:1.
12 2 Macc. 12:31-32.
13 2 Chron. 8:13; Lev. 23:1-4, 9-21.
14 Lev. 23:21; cf., Deut. 4:12-14; Mal. 4:4. Jer. 5:24, also indicates that this period is by statute. Jeremiah tells us that Yahweh keeps for us "the חקות (khoquth; statute) of the weeks of the harvest."
15 Exod. 23:14-17, being part of the covenant found in Exod. 20:1-23:32.
16 See FSDY, Chaps. IV, VI, VIII.
17 Jub. 6:17-22, 16:13, 22:1-4, 44:1-4.
18 E.g. NCE 2, p. 105.
19 Lev. 23:15, 17. The Hebrew word תנופה (tenuphah) means, "a brandishing (in threat); by impl. tumult; spec. the official undulation of sacrificial offerings:—offering, shaking, wave (offering)" (SEC, Heb. #8573); "waving, shaking . . . bread for consecration (in wave-offering)" (CHAL, p. 392).
20 Lev. 23:10, 15, 17; Deut. 16:9. Also see below n. 23.
21 CHAL p. 277, "(newly) cut ears of grain (not sheaves; the stalks were cut off right under the ears."
22 SEC Heb. #6014, 6016.
23 That an omer is about four pints, see NBD, p. 1323. One omer equals one-tenth of an ephah (Exod. 16:36). One-tenth portion of flour also equals one-tenth of an ephah (Num. 28:5). Therefore, one-tenth portion of flour equals one-tenth of an ephah. The two-tenths portion of flour in Lev. 23:17, as a result, equals two omer portions.
24 Lev. 23:9-11.
25 Lev. 23:12-13.
26 Lev., 23:14.
27 Scriptures deal with three khag periods (Exod. 23:14-17, 34:18-23; Deut. 16:16; 2 Chron. 8:13): First, "the Passover shall be to you a khag of seven days" (Ezek. 45:21); the same period is at other times defined as keeping "the Khag of Unleavened Bread seven days"(2 Chron. 30:21; Ezra 6:22). Second, there is the 50th day called the "Khag of Weeks" (Pentecost) (Deut. 16:9-10, cf., 2 Chron. 8:13, and Lev. 23:15-21), though the entire 50-day period is often treated as an observance.
And third, "the Khag of Tabernacles, seven days" (Lev. 23:34, 39, 41; Num. 29:12; Deut. 16:13, 31:10, cf., Neh. 7:73-8:18; 1 Kings 8:2, 65, cf., 2 Chron. 5:3, 7:8-9; Neh. 8:18).
The only festival period that is specifically subdivided into individual khagi by the Torah is the seven-day Khag of Passover and Unleavened Bread. On these occasions, the Passover of the 14th is called "a khag" (Exod., 12:14, 34:6) and the 15th, the first day of the remaining seven days, is made to be "a khag" (Num. 28:17; Lev. 23:6). The seventh and last day of the seven days of eating unleavened bread is also individually called "a khag to Yahweh" (Exod. 13:6). By implication, these details show that every day of that seven-day festival is a khag. We must also be careful to notice that in the often disputed verses found in Num. 28:17, and Lev. 23:6, it does not reference the 15th as the beginning of "a khag of seven days," as often assumed and as we find, for example, with the Khag of Tabernacles (e.g. Lev. 23:34, 39, 41; Num. 29:12; Deut. 16:13). The phrasing used in these passages is importantly different. What they actually provide is a mere closing statement about the entire period of Passover and Unleavened Bread, i.e., "you shall eat unleavened bread seven days." This phrasing was deliberate, for both passages begin with the statement that Passover was on the 14th (Lev. 23:5; Num. 28:16), and on the 14th one was required to eat unleavened bread (Exod. 12:18).
The late Samaritans give as the seven moadim the Passover, the seventh day of unleavened bread, the Festival of Weeks, the Memorial of blowing Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, the Festival of Tabernacles, and the eighth day following the seven-day Festival of Tabernacles (SHDL, pp. 165-168, 178; BCal, p. 6). Philo, meanwhile, gives ten ἑορταί (heortai; festivals): each day, each Sabbath, each new moon, Passover, the Handful wave offering, Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Weeks, the sacred first day of the seventh moon, the fast of the tenth day of the seventh moon, and the Festival of Booths (Philo, Spec., 2:11). The inclusion of every day, the Sabbath day, and day of the new moons by Philo's use of the term ἑορτὴν (heorten) proves that he goes well beyond the idea of a khag.
28 The Greek word ἑορτὴν (heorten) means "a feast or festival, holiday" but in general is used to mean "holiday-making, amusement, pastime" (GEL, p. 277). For example, the "family זבח (zebakh; slaughter or sacrifice)" used by Jonathan as an excuse for David's absence at King Saul's dinner on the second day of the month (1 Sam. 20:24-29, esp. v. 29) is in the Greek text of the LXX also literally translated as the "family θυσία (thusia; sacrifice)." Yet in the Greek works of Josephus, more oriented toward a Greek speaking, pagan audience, the same thought is referred to as an ἑορτὴν (heorten; festival) (Jos., Antiq., 6:11:9).
29 Philo, Spec., 2:11. For his discussion of each of these celebrations see Philo, Spec., 2:12-14, every day, 2:15-16, the weekly Sabbath day, 2:26, the new moons.
30 Philo, Spec., 2:11 §41.
31 The Greek term δράγμα (dragma) means, "as much as one can grasp, a handful, truss of corn . . . uncut corn" (GEL, p. 211). The LXX also uses δράγμα (dragma) as a translation of the Hebrew term omer (e.g. LXX Lev. 23:12, 15).
32 Philo, Som., 2:11 §75.
33 Philo, Spec., 2:28 §160.
34 Philo, Spec., 2:29 §162. Philo further argues that this sacrifice was required only from the Israelites living on the sacred land because "the nation of Judah is to the whole inhabited world what a priest is to the State" (Philo, Spec., 2:29 §163).
36 Matt. 3:11-12; Luke 3:15-17. Also see Matt. 13:24-30, 36-41, esp. v. 25, 29, 30; and Luke 22:31-32.
39 Jos., Antiq., 3:1:6, with MT Exod. 16:16; and Jos., Antiq., 3:9:4, with MT Num. 15:4, and MT Exod. 16:36. An assarona = an omer = one-tenth part of an ephah.
42 The Hebrew term קמה (qamah) means, "something that rises, i.e. a stalk of grain" (SEC, Heb. #7054); "standing grain" (CHAL, p. 319).
43 Deut. 16:9.
45 Philo, Spec., 2:30 §176f.
47 For example, Philo writes of these 50 days, "by counting seven sevens, which are then crowned with the sacred number by the monad" (Philo, Spec., 2:30 §176f). Similarly, he sees the eighth day after the seven days of the Festival of Tabernacles as a day that crowns (Philo, Spec., 2:33 §211).
48 Lev. 23:21.
49 Num. 28:26.
50 Exod. 23:16.
51 Deut. 16:10.
62 Jos., Wars, 2:3:1.
63 The Greek name ἀσαρθὰ (Asartha) is from the Aramaic form עצרתא (Atsartha) (B. Pes., 42b) a form of the Hebrew name עצרת (Atsarth) (Hag., 2:4) meaning, "an assembly, espec. on a festival or holiday" (SEC, Heb. #6116), "festive assembly" (CHAL, pp. 281f). It is derived from the word עצר (atsar), "to inclose; by anal. to hold back; also to maintain, rule, assemble" (SEC, Heb. #6113). J. J. B. Segal argues that an atsarth is "a formal reunion at the shrine," serving as a tempus clausum or ending assembly that closes or places a seal on the festival period (THP, pp. 208–213). Thackeray refers to it as "closing (festival)" (Thackeray, Jos., iv, p. 439, n. d), as does JE, 9, p. 592. This concept also agrees with Philo's interpretation that the eighth day of the Festival of Tabernacles and the 50th day of the Festival of Weeks act as a "crown" on those festivals (Philo, Spec., 2:30 §176f, 2:33 §211). The Hebrew name עצרת (Atsarth) is often utilized as a substitute for "Weeks" by the Talmudists in reference to this festival (JE, 9, pp. 592, 593).
64 One assarona = one omer = one-tenth part of an ephah, see above ns. 23 & 39. Therefore, two assarons of flour equal two omer portions.
66 Deut. 16:8; Lev. 23:36.
Posted on 01/08/2013 04/24/2022 by Yahu RangerPosted in Calendar, Easter, Feast Days, High Sabbaths, Holy Days, Passover, Pentecost, Religion, Scriptural Calendar, Unleavened Bread, Yahshua, Yahushua, YahwehTagged Omer, Passover, Pentecost, Shabuath, Unleavened Bread, Wave Sheaf Offering, Weeks, Yahshua, Yahushua, Yahweh.
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LAWYER GOES TO EXTREMES TO DEFEND THE POWERLESS
On behalf of TJC • ESQ posted in Firm News on Sunday, August 8, 1999.
By S.I. Rosenbaum
Globe Correspondent
PROVIDENCE - Attorney Timothy Conlon is waging a war. For 17 years, Conlon has been taking on Rhode Island's Department of Children, Youth and Families, representing former DCYF charges in more than 40 lawsuits.
His clients range from 12-year-olds still in the system to adults seeking restitution for the shambles they say their childhoods became under DCYF's care.
Often, Conlon will take cases no other lawyer wants to touch. ''These cases,'' Conlon said, ''are like grenades.''
Throughout his career, Conlon, 44, has made a name for himself as a grenade launcher.
He has been after DCYF since 1982, when as an assistant public defender he shut down one of their facilities. He tells horror stories about children sleeping in offices, being strip-searched in locked facilities, handcuffed to furniture, and sexually abused.
DCYF officials say their agency is doing the best it can with damaged children and limited resources.
Director Jay G. Lindgren Jr., 56, calls DCYF the ''closest-watched system I've ever seen.''
Of Conlon he says: ''He's an advocate, and advocates need to be extreme sometimes. Sometimes you need to exaggerate a point to make it.''
Conlon's passion doesn't always make his work easy for him, however. Two weeks ago, he brought a case to trial at Rhode Island Superior Court. Conlon's client, Shawn Gill, 28, sued DCYF for neglect, saying he was raped by staff members at the St. Aloysius orphanage between 1979 and 1982.
To Conlon, Gill is a product of a deeply flawed system. To the jury, Gill was a manipulative convict out to make a buck. The jury found against him in just three hours on July 20.
Gill's case came down to a matter of trust. Gill has been out of prison for years, is off drugs, and holds two jobs. But during the trial, he admitted that his past includes auto theft, drug abuse, prostitution, and perjury. In 1990, Gill said, he recanted testimony against his allegedly sexually abusive stepfather in return for $1,000, which he spent on cocaine. In the end, the jury simply didn't believe him.
''Conlon had a sellable story,'' said William Poore, who represented the former orphanage in the trial.
''Social reform, doing good for kids - it tugs at the heartstrings. But his client had a serious, serious credibility problem.''
Conlon says that even cases like Gill's - cases that seem unwinnable - are worth the fight.
''Almost all wards of the state have horrific backgrounds. Almost all wards of the state have made incredibly stupid choices,'' he said. ''If all you did was take the cases you knew you could win, what would that make you?''
Successful, some might answer. By his own admission Conlon has lost tremendous amounts of money representing former DCYF wards. Yet he says he regrets nothing. Could his clients be manipulating him?
''So be it. I'll accept that,'' he replied. ''Better 100 guilty persons go free than one innocent man go to jail. Should my clients be denied representation because I'm afraid I'll be suckered by one of these kids?''
Bearded and bespectacled, Conlon keeps a copy of Chinese general Sun Tzu's ''The Art of War'' on his desk. He has been known to go beyond the call of duty for his clients, finding therapists for them, tracking down runaways, even getting a court order so that one young client could spend Thanksgiving with Conlon and his family. He sends holiday cards to clients years after their cases are over.
Both his enemies and his friends agree: Conlon believes in his work and his clients.
''Tim will go in there and do whatever it takes to hold whoever is accountable, accountable,'' said Nicholas Colangelo, 49, a lawyer who has also tangled with DCYF.
''I think his reputation - and I mean this as a compliment - is as a very zealous advocate for men and women who are victims of abuse,'' said James Murphy, a lawyer who will oppose Conlon in upcoming cases.
In some of Conlon's cases, he sues for injunctive relief, directly forcing DCYF's facilities to change their practices. But more often he sues for damages.
He says that the money talks, that it forces DCYF to pay attention to its wards. Some of his colleagues, however, question whether a litigation lawyer can effectively change a system.
''To sue someone for money damages in order to change an institution perverts the legal system,'' said Murphy. ''Conlon believes in his cases with every fiber of his being. Don Quixote believed in his cause with every fiber of his being as well.''
Conlon's cases can also have serious repercussions for the accused. In Gill's case, one of the DCYF workers accused of abuse came forward voluntarily to clear his name.
''My personal life has been sheer hell with that stigma over my head,'' Gene Wigginton told the court, according to the Providence Journal-Bulletin.
But Conlon says his sympathies stay with his clients.
''I don't think Tim is blinded by the light,'' said Colangelo. ''He doesn't have a vendetta against DCYF. ...There's unfortunately a lot of horror stories people don't want to hear.''
Conlon says the defeat in the Gill case has not discouraged him. He is preparing to bring six more cases against the former St. Aloysius orphanage.
''This wall is all St. Aloysius kids,'' he said, pointing to a corner of his office where the shelves are packed floor to ceiling with hardback binders.
On July 20, while the victorious defense lawyers gathered for drinks, Conlon stalked around his office, burning off energy.
''Of course I'm disappointed,'' he said. ''Seven years of effort have gone into this case.''
He said he is thrilled that during the trial Judge Thomas Needham ruled that the state was not immune to liability suits from its wards, and was obligated in a ''special duty'' to them.
It's a duty he will try to ensure the state upholds. He will keep on engaging DCYF, as long as he feels there's cause.
''I've managed 20 years to survive and pay my bills chasing after the state department when the state department's dropped the ball and the ball is a kid,'' he said last week, as he sat at a conference table in his office. ''And I have to believe that the chase itself serves a purpose.''
This story ran on page C11 of the Boston Globe on 08/08/99.
© Copyright 1999 Globe Newspaper Company
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Annual statistical report provides current and historical trend data for box office receipts, admissions, attendance, and average cinema ticket prices in the U.S. and Canada, and also includes information on moviegoer demographics (e.g., age, gender, ethnicity, and technology products owned), changes in movie attendance, and number of U.S. screens by type and venue. Report is available free online.
Monthly trade journal and online resource features news, information, and analysis for motion picture professionals, with topics covered in each issue including industry news, cinema trends and events, new product releases, and technology updates, and special features including the "Numbers" online section which provides box office grosses on a daily, weekend, weekly, monthly, and quarterly basis.
Data section provides current and historical trend data for U.S. and Canadian box office grosses and admissions, average U.S. ticket prices, number of U.S. indoor and drive-in screens and sites, top 10 U.S. and Canadian chains ranked by number of movie screens and cinema sites, and top 20 movies by MPAA film rating (e.g., G, PG, PG-13, and R) for each year. All information is available free online.
Semiannual publication provides an extensive selection of information on the film exhibition business, with information provided in the publication including current and historical data on box office grosses and admissions, moviegoer trends, screens and sites, and film grosses and MPAA rating information. Publication is available free online to association members and by paid subscription to nonmembers.
Frequently asked questions section includes a discussion of things to consider in constructing a new operation or reopening an existing location, with topics discussed in this section including community acceptance, zoning concerns, potential competition from indoor theater operators, and land, building, and equipment requirements and related costs and expenses. All information is available free online.
Statistics section provides current and historical statistics on the number of permanently constructed commercially operated drive-in locations and screens by state, and also includes specific information on new constructed, reopened, and subsequently closed drive-in facilities by city and state that were constructed or reopened since the early part of the 1990s. All information can be viewed free online.
Consumer research report provides in-depth analysis of the U.S. motion picture theater market, with topics covered in the report including historical revenues and forecasts by revenue source (e.g., box office admissions, concessions, and advertising), movie attendance, reasons for attending, attitudes toward movie theater experiences, and moviegoer demographics, characteristics, and opportunities.
Financial benchmarking section of this report provides an analysis of industry income and expenses as a percentage of sales by expense category for companies that offer first-run screenings of newly released films along with food and beverage concession sales and/or may also show screenings of second- or third-run films at heavily-discounted ticket prices after the movies leave first-run venues.
Free online service provides median salary, bonus, and hourly rate data for job positions in this sector such as operations manager, theater manager, usher, lobby attendant, ticket taker, counter attendant, and cashier, with employers for which salary or hourly wage rate data is provided including Cinemark USA Inc., AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc., Carmike Cinemas Inc., and Regal Entertainment Group.
Annual employment and wage survey provides hourly and annual wage data on a national, state, and metropolitan area basis for personnel employed by companies that offer first-run screenings of newly released movies along with food and beverage concession sales and/or may also offer screenings of second- or third-run films at heavily-discounted ticket prices after the films leave first-run film venues.
Topics covered in this detailed valuation guide include an overview of the industry, analyzing financial statements and operations, valuing the business using the adjusted book value, market, and income approaches, and valuing the tangible asset components (real estate and equipment) of the business. Detailed table of contents and selected excerpts from each of its chapters can be viewed free online.


Meet Raymond Carey and his 1963 John Deere 420. I saw him plowing his driveway right off Highway 137 in Albion Maine. For Mainards, clearing snow with a large piece of machinery is as satisfying as popping the air pockets on protective wrap.
Raymond enthusiastically let me take photos of him doing his daily task and we chatted for some time. He was quick to say that he had recently turned 89 and he was wearing his fifteen-year-old Carhartt jacket .


After over 35 years, the business has grown to over 50 acres of late model vehicles available for parts. We also specialize in late model rebuildable vehicles. Be sure to stop by our new Rebuildable Vehicles sales lot at the former Watkins Chevrolet building. We have a completely computerized parts inventory system with 10 salesmen to serve you.


"You're a natural. A beating heart of stone. You've got to be so cold to make it in this world."
I'd say I apologized for the video, but I'm really not sorry. It makes me ridiculously happy and I have to share it with the world.
I am not a nice man. I am not even a good man. But one of the cold, unspoken truths of this world is that outside of childrens' stories, it is not always the good men who stand against the onslaught of evil.
It is always a shock to realize that however cynical, however jaded you believe yourself to be, there is a darkness waiting to drag you deeper. I thought, at twenty-five, that I understood the evil in this world. It was my job to hunt human trafficking rings. When I wasn't actively on a job, I drank until the eyes of those I hadn't saved or those whom I had come for too late did not haunt my dreams, or until I was deadened enough not to flinch in nightmares of them, and stumbled over empty liquor bottles as I found my way to the coffee pot the next morning. I brought home one night stands who were out the door in the morning- enforced by me- the most I would tolerate was use of my shower. I did not date and I did not kiss. My sister in law, when she visited, described my flat as something out of a haunted house movie- old dog-eared classics piled in stacks against the wall in lieu of bookshelves, scarves hanging over the mirrors, even the bathroom one except when I meant to shave, since I had long since grown tired of the flash of my own reflection out of the corner of my eye.
You think, as I said, that there is no further depth the soul can sink to, nothing darker than the underbelly of human misery, of man devouring man with, as the bloody musical about the demon barber says, the crunching sound heard over the world. But there is still a pit that can open, a knowledge that can tear the scales from your eyes. There is an ancient, bottomless evil that exists outside of this world and has always sought to annihilate it. All it took was a letter, a will deeded me by a distant cousin, bequeathing me a manor house lately turned into an abattoir of my thrice-removed relatives, a ring bearing the crest of an ouroboros, and a responsibility to stand against that yawning force of Unbeing with every breath left in my lungs.
Understandably nonplussed at receiving a deed, a ring, and the details of a horrific and unsolved mass murder, I dragged my heels on examining the property. I had work to do, important work, and it didn't involve hopping the pond to check out what I expected, from the general air of gloom and despair lingering in a stench around each letter I received. But the longer I held off, the more the reality I had come to know and understand, however much I despised the brutality of it, seemed to turn upon its side. Things scratched, even clawed, at my third storey window. The scarves flung themselves from my mirror and worse things than my own reflection peered back from the corner of my eyes. My nightmares grew worse, a ponderous darkness crouched across my chest, and twice as I prepared to descend the stairs from my flat I felt a rough push at the base of my spine and had to use all the agility of daily training to keep from a vicious tumble.
The turn was when I saw the... thing... feeding. I turned a shortcut across a small park, midnight blue sky still light enough to see clearly with minimal lamps, the streets shedding soft yellow leaves in the brisk breeze. A bulky figure crouched over the prone form of another, just outside the pool of the lights. I could hear a weird, wet noise, like... sucking.
Had they merely been enjoying a frolic in public I'd have wrinkled my nose and moved on, but the body underneath was unresponsive, and a black pool spread on the ground, uncomfortably like some of the worst things I'd seen in my career. I was not wearing a pistol, though I often did within my profession abroad, but I did have a powerful stun gun weighting down the coat pocket opposite my gloves and my keys. I darted forward and pressed it against the figure's neck. That sort of voltage ought to have rendered even such a big fellow unable to respond as I took a more physical method of binding him for the arrival of law enforcement, but to my astonishment he howled and flung me back with such force that my head cracked upon the concrete path. I saw him then, long distended fangs red with fresh blood. I could do nothing but raise a hand, feebly, to ward him off.
That the ring shone suddenly, that it was the only thing that saved my life in that moment, convinced me to look into this family mystery after all.
This house of mine stands strong.
*turns to see a male* Le gasp Sir!
Asher Crown just failed at stealing money from you!
Josie Nathan 10/28/18 Josie watched the man curiously as she waited for his reaction. Her mommy might be upset with her for saying hi to random strangers, but she liked making friends! Besides, the Realm was a big place. She had to learn to know how to protect herself too, like Valentin had been teaching her.
At the mention of chocolate her eyes widened, giggling as she did her best curtsy like a good princess does. "Thank you, sir. My name's Josie!" Pausing she frowned as she pushed Helix out from in front of her, as he tried to eye up what the man was offering. "Chocolate is yummy! I promise I won't eat too much and give myself a tummy ache too."
"I don't take drinks from strangers."
Josie Nathan 10/25/18 Humming as she skipped around the Realm, Josie held onto her trick or treat bag (actually her pillow case), looking to see if she could snag any treats before the actual day of Halloween. Helix, her black feline familiar followed at her side, keeping an eye on her for her mother's sake. Not that Josie couldn't handle herself. She had given that Little Girl plenty of beat downs.
Coming across a new face she hadn't seen around, she figured would be the best chance at candy. Skipping up to the man she gave a bright smile, holding out her bag. "Trick or treat!" Giggling, she gave a twirl in her fairy costume before facing him. "Happy Halloween Eve Eve Eve Eve Eve Eve!"
Giovanni De Luca 10/24/18 "Oh, I'm not sympathetic. I just replied as any other would. Sympathy is a feeling I am not all that familiar with, I am simply trying to be social."
"We can agree on that. Slavery is an atrocity no creature should suffer."
Genesis 10/23/18 ~chuckled a bit~ "The times, places and faces will reveal themselves to you eventually. I suggest you focus on training. One must always be in training for what lies in wait."
Genesis 10/23/18 ~quirked a brow~ "Oh, how so?"
"Name's Beaudoin Theroux, but you can call me Beau."
Giovanni De Luca 10/23/18 "That's rough, buddy."
"I'm sure it would have been nice if the circumstances had been different. Alas, it was not. It was an endless struggle under the thumb of another being. I do not recommend it."
"I don't fancy women too much these days so their advances are ignored. Maybe after another hundred years or so. You have been warned, though."
Beau Theroux 10/23/18 "You are hardly making me uncomfortable! The fact that you haven't tried to eat me or threaten me is already a breath of fresh air! I probably do hit harder, with the lycan strength and all that, but I can probably show you a thing or two! No need to apologize. I like helping people. It's a blessing and a curse."
Giovanni De Luca 10/23/18 "When you live as long as me, some things just aren't shocking anymore. The 'supernatural' is a daily occurrence for me."
"Yes. Not all, mind you, but a lot. Homicidal. Manipulative. Lustful. Possessive."
"The people are rather peculiar. Especially the women."
Beau Theroux 10/23/18 "Different, but the same. It's hard to differentiate unless you speak one or the other. Listen to it enough, and you might be able to pick up a few tid bits! A magic 8-ball ring, huh? And here I just got spirits whisperin' in my ear! As for the sparrin'..."
"I ain't the best fighter, more of a scrapper. I'm self taught so no real technique, just getting hit a lot and hitting back harder."
Giovanni De Luca 10/23/18 "Welcome to the Realm."
Beau Theroux 10/23/18 "You may understand me now, but if me and my sister start to talk you might get lost. With the accent, some slang, and some French tossed in there, most can't keep up.
"Well, I don't think there is an instruction manual no matter what! With witches on one side of my family, and wolves on the other, I'm still a bit clueless! If you need your future told or need advice from the other side, though, I gotchu."
Beau Theroux 10/23/18 "Nah, we got plenty going on here! Mine is a deep Cajun from the bayou of New Orleans. I'm a bit hard to understand at times."
"I got a decent understanding of such things. I come from a family of witches so I was graced with plenty of knowledge of the things that go bump in the night."
Genesis 10/23/18 Welcome to the realm!
Beau Theroux 10/23/18 "It can be a bit... much, at first. After the first few days or so things start to make more sense. I know I'm just some random, bearded guy with a funky accent but I'm a helpful guy. If ya need anythin', give me a holler."
Beau Theroux 10/23/18 "Welcome to the Realm!"


For the dog lover, the Dog Fauna Grand Cup from Sir/Madam makes a wonderful gift. With a delightfully detailed illustration of a dog taken from a vintage metal etching plate, the mug also has a repetition of the word dog in four languages on the interior rim in contrasting green. This is sure to become your new favourite mug, especially as its larger size is perfect for not only hot drinks, but soups, cereal and desserts too.


Over the past four decades, Kronos Quartet has collaborated with such diverse artists as Tom Waits, Nine Inch Nails, Natalie Merchant, Amon Tobin and Philip Glass. Now the musical combo is looking to add another couple of acts to the list: NASA, the sun and the moon. And it's all thanks to the total solar eclipse of Monday, Aug. 21.
As NASA points out in this delightful post, there aren't a whole lot of eclipse-related tunes to blast during a totality. Aside from Pink Floyd's "Eclipse" and Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart," what do you have? So they've teamed up with San Francisco's Exploratorium and Kronos Quartet — the prominent contemporary string quartet established in 1973 — for a grand conjunction of astronomy and music.
The following video from the San Francisco museum Exploratorium does a great job of breaking down the process, but it essentially boils down to a hybridization of live musical improvisation and data sonification: the transformation of inaudible data oscillations into audible soundscapes.
Humans have turned astronomical data into sound for years, from such commercial projects as 1992's "Symphonies of the Planets" to science communication efforts such as the University of Sheffield's 2010 sonification of solar oscillations to Kronos Quartet's own 2002 "Sun Rings" project.
"MP3 programs like iTunes use visualizers that pulse with the music," he said. "Imagine if you could only see those flashes of light on the screen and couldn't hear any of the music. If you took those flashes of light and measured the oscillations of the waves, then you could convert the visualization back into some sort of measurable sound."
In the Aug. 21 Exploratorium performance, audience members will view live footage of the solar eclipse transmitted from an observatory in Casper, Wyoming. The Exploratorium will run this high-definition image through sonification software to create a live sonic translation of the sun's disappearing act. Exploratorium composer Wayne Grim and Kronos Quartet — currently David Harrington (violin), John Sherba (violin), Hank Dutt (viola) and Sunny Yang (cello) — will improvise a unique collaboration. The musicians will react to the sounds of eclipse sonification in what promises to be a unique merger of human musical creativity and computer-assisted stellar sounds.
Grim, who previously headed sonification performances for the 2012 transit of Venus and the 2016 total solar eclipse, has written roughly half of the composition in advance, with the rest to be determined entirely by photons, algorithms and improvisation. He recently shared his "score" for the performance and it looks as delightfully alien as you might expect. Far from traditional sheet music, it lays out the intended structure of the piece and aligns it with the phases of the eclipse.
Tickets for the event are already sold out, but interested viewer-listeneres can still catch the performance on the Exploratorium's eclipse website or Total Solar Eclipse app on the day of the eclipse. And to delve deeper into space music, check out the HowStuffWorks podcast Stuff to Blow Your Mind.
NASA's suggested eclipse playlist omits Einstürzende Neubauten's "Total Eclipse of the Sun" and Marylin Manson's "Antichrist Superstar," which has some fun, apocalyptic references to totality.


text:
New measurements reveal differences between stem cells for treating retinal degeneration
Jul 7, 2015 | AMD Research, Latest News | 0 comments
Scientists used new methods to show that one type of stem cell is superior to another for treating retinal degeneration in research that could significantly advance such treatments
Source: St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
Summary: By growing two types of stem cells in a '3-D culture' and measuring their ability to produce retinal cells, a team of researchers has found one cell type to be better at producing retinal cells.
By growing two types of stem cells in a "3-D culture" and measuring their ability to produce retinal cells, a team lead by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital researchers has found one cell type to be better at producing retinal cells.
The research not only reveals which stem cell type might be better for treating retinal degeneration, but it also demonstrates a standardized method for quantifying the effectiveness of different stem cells for such therapies.
The research was led by Michael Dyer, Ph.D., a member of the St. Jude Department of Developmental Neurobiology and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator. The findings were published in the July 2 edition of the journal Cell Stem Cell.
Stem cells are immature cells that can differentiate into more specialized cells in the body. In early clinical trials, researchers are testing whether stem cells can be differentiated into cells to replace those that are defective and die off in diseases such as age-related macular degeneration, retinitis pigmentosa and Stargardt's disease. Such degeneration is the leading cause of vision loss, affecting more than 10 million people in the U.S.–more than cataracts and glaucoma combined.
While such clinical trials have shown early promise, there are many scientific questions to be answered. "One important question is whether it makes a difference where the stem cells come from," Dyer said. "Our research sought to explore that question and also to learn more about the biology of these stem cells."
The researchers compared two types of stem cells called "induced pluripotent stem cells," which can be generated from adult cells. The stem cells they compared were fibroblast-derived cells generated from skin, and those generated from mature eye cells called rod photoreceptor cells.


text:
Bitwa morska pod Chalai - bitwa stoczona na morzu w okolicach miasta Chalai leżącego na Cejlonie 30 marca 2009 roku.

Bitwa rozpoczęła się atakiem zaraz po północy 4 łodzi Morskich Tygrysów na okręt marynarki wojennej. W sześciogodzinnej bitwie morskiej zatopiono wszystkie jednostki separatystów i zginęło 26 Tamilów. W walce zginął jeden lankijski marynarz, trzech zostało rannych. Rebelianci używali w walce pistoletów, karabinów, a także granatów.

Do podobnych zdarzeń dosyć często dochodziło na morzu. Jednak rzadko kiedy morska potyczka miała tyle ofiar co ta. Bitwa wydarzyła się podczas wielkiej ofensywy wojsk rządowych. W wyniku tej operacji Tamilowie tracili swoje pozycje co doprowadziło do zakończenia 18 maja 2009 niemal 26-letniej wojny domowej na Sri Lance.

Zobacz też
 Ofensywa na Sri Lance (2008–2009)
 Bitwa pod Chalai
 Bitwa pod Mullaitivu
 Bitwa morska pod Pedro Point (2007)
 Bitwa pod Delft

Bibliografia
 Artykuł poświęcony bitwie Reuters

2009 na Sri Lance
Bitwy morskie

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


days to come up with something.
former intelligence official close to the agency.
President Dmitry Medvedev visited here in June.
conducts electronic intelligence gathering and code-breaking.
counterintelligence agents are involved in the search.
official said. "NSA is convinced that at least one is at NSA."
helped service Russian agents working inside the U.S.
intelligence community, the former official said.
information to provide regarding your query."
highlights China's role in the U.S.-led war on terrorism.
transit base at Manas in exchange for $3 billion in cash.
The Feb. 13, 2009, cable signed by Ambassador Tatiana C.
of 'respect and understanding.' "
counterbalance Russian and U.S. influence.
intelligence presence is very large in the country.
Mr. Zhang advised the U.S. ambassador on how to keep the base.
have the base," he said.
economy failed to improve and millions remain unemployed.
stave off political pressure for democratic change.
test launches or possibly another underground nuclear blast.
Wednesday, said intelligence sources familiar with the region.
military is set to counter any further artillery strikes.
counterattacks against any new strikes.
Koreans of a covert uranium-enrichment program.
carried out an artillery barrage before the Yeonpyeong attack.
their colleagues, gay or straight, with dignity.
already exist within each service."
transfer, reports special correspondent Rowan Scarborough.
strong, sincerely held, moral or religious beliefs."
results present a different story.
believed to be gay, 46 percent said it had a "mostly negative"
repeal will have a positive, mixed or no effect on the force.


1. In terms of natural wonders, we have it all. You name it, beautiful sandy beaches, strong sturdy volcanoes, cultural attractions, historical sites. And you know what, we also have snow!
2. It's cheap, cheap, and cheap. For a dollar you can get a full meal (rice, veggies, chicken, drink and even a side dish) in traditional food stalls all over the country. The price may vary from one city to another, but your dollar certainly worth a long way.


Foreign Ministers from EU member states condemned Russia over its alleged attempted poisoning of an ex-spy and his daughter in the UK, as they gathered for a council meeting in Brussels on Monday.
Sergei Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia remain in critical condition after being reportedly poisoned by a substance believed to be Novichok, a type of nerve agent developed by Russia, an event which has caused a rift between Moscow and London as each accused the other of being behind the alleged attack.
"The EU is shocked at the offensive use of any military-grade nerve agent, of a type developed by Russia, for the first time on European soil in over 70 years," the European Council said in a statement cited by Efe news.
Just before a meeting chaired by EU's foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said Russia's explanations were "growing increasingly contradictory and absurd", which was "a common Russian strategy of trying to conceal their needle of truth in a haystack of lies and obfuscation".
Moscow would at one moment claim they never had Novichok or that they had some in the past but it had been destroyed, or that some had been secretly saved and smuggled to Sweden or the Czech Republic or even the US and the UK, he said.
Russian authorities had even accused the UK of preparing the attack on its own soil to promote anti-Russian sentiments in the West, but Johnson insisted that, after the poisoning of former spy Alexander Litvinenko in London in 2006, "they are not fooling anybody anymore".
Spain's top diplomat Alfonso Dastis said a common declaration was set to be prepared during the council meeting to show support for the UK and ask Moscow to clarify how the substance made it to the country, but there were still many details that needed to be cleared up.
He refused to clarify whether his country would back applying sanctions on Russia, saying: "We will see that when the whole situation is cleared up We think now the time is for an extended examination of all the elements involved with the participation of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)."
Technicians from the OPCW were set to travel to Salisbury later on Monday to collect samples of the substance used on Skripal and several EU countries have insisted that their investigation was central to any decision-making related to a response to Russia.
UK Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday ordered the expulsion of 23 Russian diplomats who were identified as "undisclosed intelligence officers" in retaliation for the alleged poisoning, a move that Moscow mirrored a few days later.
Mogherini said the meeting would also include debriefings on potential upcoming talks between the US and North Korea and the situation in Syria as well as a discussion on Iran.


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Britney Spears' Lawyer Resigns From Conservatorship Case
Samuel Ingham III has been representing Spears for the entirety of her 13-year conservatorship.
By Zenger News Desk July 8, 2021
Britney Spears' long-time court-appointed attorney, Samuel Ingham III, will resign from the pop star's conservatorship case. (Britney Spears/Facebook)
WASHINGTON — Singer-songwriter Britney Spears' long-time court-appointed attorney, Samuel Ingham III, will resign from the pop star's conservatorship case.
As per the reports, on July 6, Sam Ingham III asked to resign after serving as Spears' attorney since the start of her conservatorship 13 years ago.
Ingham did not explain why the documents tendered to the court as to why he and his firm Loeb and Loeb, LLP, no longer wish to represent the singer.
He and the firm asked that their resignation goes into effect "upon the appointment of new court-appointed counsel."
Ingham filed paperwork on July 6, asking the Los Angeles Superior Court to dismiss him as Spears' legal representative.
"Samuel D. Ingham III hereby resigns as court-appointed counsel for Britney Jean Spears, conservatee, effective upon the appointment of new court-appointed counsel," the court filings read.
Ingham has been representing Spears for the entirety of her 13-year conservatorship. In 2008, the court put the arrangement in place, with her father, Jamie Spears, as her sole conservator.
The attorney and Spears' working relationship came into question last month when the singer gave an explosive testimony, calling her conservatorship "abusive" and addressing the court for the first time in her 13-year conservatorship.
As per the reports, several weeks after, Spears told the court that she never knew she could file to end the conservatorship.
"I want changes, and I deserve changes. I was told I have to be sat down and evaluated again," she said on June 23, going on to address Judge Penny directly.
"Ma'am, I didn't know I could petition the conservatorship to end. I honestly didn't know that," said Spears to the Judge.
"Honestly, I don't think I owe anyone to be evaluated," she said. "I've done more than enough."
She also spoke directly about her attorney during the hearing and mentioned that she wanted to choose her attorney.
"My lawyer, Sam (Ingham), has been very scared for me to go forward because he's saying if I speak up, I'm being overworked in that facility of that rehab place. He told me I should keep it to myself," Spears said, referring to a rehab facility she was put in several years ago.
"I would personally like to — actually, I've grown with a personal relationship with Sam, my lawyer, I've been talking to him like three times a week now, we've built a relationship, but I haven't had the opportunity by myself to handpick my lawyer by myself. And I would like to be able to do that," said Spears.
Ingham's resignation also comes a day after her long-time manager Larry Rudolph resigned as her manager, citing Spears' desire to retire from music.
"It has been over two years since Britney and I last communicated, at which time she informed me she wanted to take an indefinite work hiatus," said Rudolph in the note.
"Earlier today, I became aware that Britney had been voicing her intention to retire officially," he said.
"And as her manager, I believe it is in Britney's best interest for me to resign from her team as my professional services are no longer needed."
Last week, Bessemer Trust, selected as a co-conservator of Spears' estate back in November 2020, resigned from their post, citing Spears' desire to end the conservatorship overall.
As per the reports, Spears' legal situation, family law attorney, and former psychologist David Glass said Ingham was a "well-regarded" attorney in the probate court.
"Sam Ingham is well-regarded in Los Angeles in the probate court world. He's one of the top people," said Glass.
"Looking over the pleadings on the docket, he's been cautious for her, but she's asking to replace him with private counsel, and he's reported to the court; if Ms. Spears asks me to do this, I will do it," said Glass.
(With inputs from ANI)
(Edited by Anindita Ghosh and Ojaswin Kathuria)
Jimmy Smits Shines In Hollywood»Next Post
Western Australia Mining Inquiry To Probe FIFO Culture


Now to the rough: The editor had an eye-opening moment after reading details on the U.S. Supreme Court's 5-4 decision allowing family-owned Hobby Lobby, under the Affordable Care Act, to opt out of having to offer insurance coverage for certain contraceptives the company believes cause abortions.
In the 1980s, Richard Berry's pallet business was a part-time venture out of his garage while he spent his days working at his full-time job. Now, 25 years later, Berry Pallets has grown large enough to warrant its own assembly building and offices. Berry oversees 36 employees and turns out 8-10,000 pallets a week, offering about 30 types of pallets to clients across the state.
Brian Mathiowetz is a gambler. Instead of dice, he rolls with the weather. At the time of his Connect Business Magazine interview this summer, Mathiowetz Construction Company was halfway through a three-month contract to build two roundabouts in Mankato, despite excessive rain in June.
In agriculture, we feature 25-year industry veteran Roger Kienholz, 57-year-old general manager of $375 million Crystal Valley, which serves customers and members in its four business segments of grain, energy, feed, and agronomy.


text:
/* Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
 * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
 * You may obtain a copy of the License at
 *
 *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
 *
 * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
 * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
 * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
 * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 * limitations under the License.
 */
package org.flowable.form.engine.impl.cmd;

import java.io.Serializable;
import java.text.SimpleDateFormat;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.Collections;
import java.util.Date;
import java.util.HashMap;
import java.util.Iterator;
import java.util.List;
import java.util.Map;

import org.apache.commons.lang3.StringUtils;
import org.flowable.editor.form.converter.FormJsonConverter;
import org.flowable.engine.common.api.FlowableException;
import org.flowable.engine.common.api.FlowableObjectNotFoundException;
import org.flowable.engine.common.api.delegate.Expression;
import org.flowable.engine.common.impl.el.VariableContainerWrapper;
import org.flowable.engine.common.impl.interceptor.Command;
import org.flowable.engine.common.impl.interceptor.CommandContext;
import org.flowable.form.api.FormInstance;
import org.flowable.form.api.FormInstanceQuery;
import org.flowable.form.engine.FormEngineConfiguration;
import org.flowable.form.engine.impl.persistence.deploy.DeploymentManager;
import org.flowable.form.engine.impl.persistence.deploy.FormDefinitionCacheEntry;
import org.flowable.form.engine.impl.persistence.entity.FormDefinitionEntity;
import org.flowable.form.engine.impl.persistence.entity.FormInstanceEntity;
import org.flowable.form.engine.impl.util.CommandContextUtil;
import org.flowable.form.model.ExpressionFormField;
import org.flowable.form.model.FormField;
import org.flowable.form.model.FormFieldTypes;
import org.flowable.form.model.FormInstanceModel;
import org.flowable.form.model.FormModel;
import org.joda.time.LocalDate;
import org.slf4j.Logger;
import org.slf4j.LoggerFactory;

import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.JsonNode;
import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.ObjectMapper;

/**
 * @author Tijs Rademakers
 */
public class GetFormInstanceModelCmd implements Command<FormInstanceModel>, Serializable {

    private static final Logger LOGGER = LoggerFactory.getLogger(GetFormInstanceModelCmd.class);

    private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;

    protected static final SimpleDateFormat DATE_FORMAT = new SimpleDateFormat("d-M-yyyy");

    protected String formInstanceId;
    protected String formDefinitionKey;
    protected String parentDeploymentId;
    protected String formDefinitionId;
    protected String taskId;
    protected String processInstanceId;
    protected String tenantId;
    protected Map<String, Object> variables;

    public GetFormInstanceModelCmd(String formInstanceId, Map<String, Object> variables) {
        initializeValues(null, null, null, null, null, null, variables);
        this.formInstanceId = formInstanceId;
    }

    public GetFormInstanceModelCmd(String formDefinitionKey, String formDefinitionId, String taskId,
            String processInstanceId, Map<String, Object> variables) {

        initializeValues(formDefinitionKey, null, formDefinitionId, null, taskId, processInstanceId, variables);
    }

    public GetFormInstanceModelCmd(String formDefinitionKey, String parentDeploymentId, String formDefinitionId, String taskId,
            String processInstanceId, Map<String, Object> variables) {

        initializeValues(formDefinitionKey, parentDeploymentId, formDefinitionId, null, taskId, processInstanceId, variables);
    }

    public GetFormInstanceModelCmd(String formDefinitionKey, String parentDeploymentId, String formDefinitionId, String taskId,
            String processInstanceId, String tenantId, Map<String, Object> variables) {

        initializeValues(formDefinitionKey, parentDeploymentId, formDefinitionId, tenantId, taskId, processInstanceId, variables);
    }

    @Override
    public FormInstanceModel execute(CommandContext commandContext) {
        if (formInstanceId == null && (taskId == null && processInstanceId == null)) {
            throw new FlowableException("A processtask id or process instance id should be provided");
        }

        FormDefinitionCacheEntry formDefinitionCacheEntry = resolveFormDefinition(commandContext);
        FormInstance formInstance = resolveFormInstance(commandContext);
        FormInstanceModel formInstanceModel = resolveFormInstanceModel(formDefinitionCacheEntry, formInstance, commandContext);
        fillFormFieldValues(formInstance, formInstanceModel, commandContext);
        return formInstanceModel;
    }

    protected void initializeValues(String formDefinitionKey, String parentDeploymentId, String formDefinitionId, String tenantId,
            String taskId, String processInstanceId, Map<String, Object> variables) {

        this.formDefinitionKey = formDefinitionKey;
        this.parentDeploymentId = parentDeploymentId;
        this.formDefinitionId = formDefinitionId;
        this.tenantId = tenantId;
        this.taskId = taskId;
        this.processInstanceId = processInstanceId;
        if (variables != null) {
            this.variables = variables;
        } else {
            this.variables = new HashMap<>();
        }
    }

    protected void fillFormFieldValues(FormInstance formInstance, FormInstanceModel formInstanceModel, CommandContext commandContext) {

        FormEngineConfiguration formEngineConfiguration = CommandContextUtil.getFormEngineConfiguration();
        List<FormField> allFields = formInstanceModel.listAllFields();
        if (allFields != null) {

            Map<String, JsonNode> formInstanceFieldMap = new HashMap<>();
            if (formInstance != null) {
                fillFormInstanceValues(formInstanceModel, formInstance, formInstanceFieldMap, formEngineConfiguration.getObjectMapper());
                fillVariablesWithFormValues(formInstanceFieldMap, allFields);
            }

            for (FormField field : allFields) {
                if (field instanceof ExpressionFormField) {
                    ExpressionFormField expressionField = (ExpressionFormField) field;
                    Expression formExpression = formEngineConfiguration.getExpressionManager().createExpression(expressionField.getExpression());
                    try {
                        field.setValue(formExpression.getValue(new VariableContainerWrapper(variables)));
                    } catch (Exception e) {
                        LOGGER.error("Error getting value for expression {} {}", expressionField.getExpression(), e.getMessage());
                    }

                } else if (FormFieldTypes.UPLOAD.equals(field.getType())) {

                    // Multiple docs are stored as comma-separated string ids,
                    // explicitly storing them as an array so they're serialized properly
                    if (variables.containsKey(field.getId())) {
                        String uploadValue = (String) variables.get(field.getId());
                        if (uploadValue != null) {
                            List<String> contentIds = new ArrayList<>();
                            Collections.addAll(contentIds, uploadValue.split(","));
                            field.setValue(contentIds);
                        }
                    }

                } else {
                    Object variableValue = variables.get(field.getId());
                    if (variableValue != null) {

                        if (variableValue instanceof LocalDate) {
                            field.setValue(((LocalDate) variableValue).toString("d-M-yyyy"));
                        } else if (variableValue instanceof Date) {
                            field.setValue((DATE_FORMAT.format((Date) variableValue)));
                        } else {
                            field.setValue(variableValue);
                        }
                    }
                }

                field.setReadOnly(true);
            }
        }
    }

    protected FormDefinitionCacheEntry resolveFormDefinition(CommandContext commandContext) {
        DeploymentManager deploymentManager = CommandContextUtil.getFormEngineConfiguration().getDeploymentManager();

        // Find the form definition
        FormDefinitionEntity formDefinitionEntity = null;

        if (formInstanceId != null) {

            FormInstanceEntity formInstanceEntity = CommandContextUtil.getFormEngineConfiguration().getFormInstanceDataManager().findById(formInstanceId);
            if (formInstanceEntity == null) {
                throw new FlowableObjectNotFoundException("No form instance found for id = '" + formInstanceId + "'", FormInstanceEntity.class);
            }

            formDefinitionEntity = deploymentManager.findDeployedFormDefinitionById(formInstanceEntity.getFormDefinitionId());
            if (formDefinitionEntity == null) {
                throw new FlowableObjectNotFoundException("No form definition found for id = '" + formDefinitionId + "'", FormDefinitionEntity.class);
            }

        } else if (formDefinitionId != null) {

            formDefinitionEntity = deploymentManager.findDeployedFormDefinitionById(formDefinitionId);
            if (formDefinitionEntity == null) {
                throw new FlowableObjectNotFoundException("No form definition found for id = '" + formDefinitionId + "'", FormDefinitionEntity.class);
            }

        } else if (formDefinitionKey != null && (tenantId == null || FormEngineConfiguration.NO_TENANT_ID.equals(tenantId)) && parentDeploymentId == null) {

            formDefinitionEntity = deploymentManager.findDeployedLatestFormDefinitionByKey(formDefinitionKey);
            if (formDefinitionEntity == null) {
                throw new FlowableObjectNotFoundException("No form definition found for key '" + formDefinitionKey + "'", FormDefinitionEntity.class);
            }

        } else if (formDefinitionKey != null && tenantId != null && !FormEngineConfiguration.NO_TENANT_ID.equals(tenantId) && parentDeploymentId == null) {

            formDefinitionEntity = deploymentManager.findDeployedLatestFormDefinitionByKeyAndTenantId(formDefinitionKey, tenantId);
            if (formDefinitionEntity == null) {
                throw new FlowableObjectNotFoundException("No form definition found for key '" + formDefinitionKey + "' for tenant identifier " + tenantId, FormDefinitionEntity.class);
            }

        } else if (formDefinitionKey != null && (tenantId == null || FormEngineConfiguration.NO_TENANT_ID.equals(tenantId)) && parentDeploymentId != null) {

            formDefinitionEntity = deploymentManager.findDeployedLatestFormDefinitionByKeyAndParentDeploymentId(formDefinitionKey, parentDeploymentId);
            if (formDefinitionEntity == null) {
                throw new FlowableObjectNotFoundException("No form definition found for key '" + formDefinitionKey +
                        "' for parent deployment id " + parentDeploymentId, FormDefinitionEntity.class);
            }

        } else if (formDefinitionKey != null && tenantId != null && !FormEngineConfiguration.NO_TENANT_ID.equals(tenantId) && parentDeploymentId != null) {

            formDefinitionEntity = deploymentManager.findDeployedLatestFormDefinitionByKeyParentDeploymentIdAndTenantId(formDefinitionKey, parentDeploymentId, tenantId);
            if (formDefinitionEntity == null) {
                throw new FlowableObjectNotFoundException("No form definition found for key '" + formDefinitionKey +
                        "' for parent deployment id '" + parentDeploymentId + "' and for tenant identifier " + tenantId, FormDefinitionEntity.class);
            }

        } else {
            throw new FlowableObjectNotFoundException("formDefinitionKey and formDefinitionId are null");
        }

        FormDefinitionCacheEntry formCacheEntry = deploymentManager.resolveFormDefinition(formDefinitionEntity);

        return formCacheEntry;
    }

    protected FormInstance resolveFormInstance(CommandContext commandContext) {
        FormEngineConfiguration formEngineConfiguration = CommandContextUtil.getFormEngineConfiguration();
        FormInstanceQuery formInstanceQuery = formEngineConfiguration.getFormService().createFormInstanceQuery().formDefinitionId(formDefinitionId);
        if (formInstanceId != null) {
            formInstanceQuery.id(formInstanceId);

        } else if (taskId != null) {
            formInstanceQuery.taskId(taskId);

        } else if (processInstanceId != null) {
            formInstanceQuery.processInstanceId(processInstanceId);

        } else {
            return null;
        }

        List<FormInstance> formInstances = formInstanceQuery.orderBySubmittedDate().asc().list();
        if (!formInstances.isEmpty()) {
            return formInstances.get(0);
        }

        return null;
    }

    protected void fillFormInstanceValues(FormInstanceModel formInstanceModel, FormInstance formInstance,
            Map<String, JsonNode> formInstanceFieldMap, ObjectMapper objectMapper) {

        try {
            JsonNode submittedNode = objectMapper.readTree(formInstance.getFormValueBytes());
            if (submittedNode == null) {
                return;
            }

            if (submittedNode.get("values") != null) {
                JsonNode valuesNode = submittedNode.get("values");
                Iterator<String> fieldIdIterator = valuesNode.fieldNames();
                while (fieldIdIterator.hasNext()) {
                    String fieldId = fieldIdIterator.next();
                    JsonNode valueNode = valuesNode.get(fieldId);
                    formInstanceFieldMap.put(fieldId, valueNode);
                }
            }

            if (submittedNode.get("flowable_form_outcome") != null) {
                JsonNode outcomeNode = submittedNode.get("flowable_form_outcome");
                if (!outcomeNode.isNull() && StringUtils.isNotEmpty(outcomeNode.asText())) {
                    formInstanceModel.setSelectedOutcome(outcomeNode.asText());
                }
            }

        } catch (Exception e) {
            throw new FlowableException("Error parsing form instance " + formInstance.getId(), e);
        }
    }

    public void fillVariablesWithFormValues(Map<String, JsonNode> submittedFormFieldMap, List<FormField> allFields) {
        for (FormField field : allFields) {

            JsonNode fieldValueNode = submittedFormFieldMap.get(field.getId());

            if (fieldValueNode == null || fieldValueNode.isNull()) {
                continue;
            }

            String fieldType = field.getType();
            String fieldValue = fieldValueNode.asText();

            if (FormFieldTypes.DATE.equals(fieldType)) {
                try {
                    if (StringUtils.isNotEmpty(fieldValue)) {
                        LocalDate dateValue = LocalDate.parse(fieldValue);
                        variables.put(field.getId(), dateValue.toString("d-M-yyyy"));
                    }
                } catch (Exception e) {
                    LOGGER.error("Error parsing form date value for process instance {} and task {} with value {}", processInstanceId, taskId, fieldValue, e);
                }

            } else {
                variables.put(field.getId(), fieldValue);
            }
        }
    }

    protected FormInstanceModel resolveFormInstanceModel(FormDefinitionCacheEntry formCacheEntry,
            FormInstance formInstance, CommandContext commandContext) {

        FormDefinitionEntity formDefinitionEntity = formCacheEntry.getFormDefinitionEntity();
        FormJsonConverter formJsonConverter = CommandContextUtil.getFormEngineConfiguration().getFormJsonConverter();
        FormModel formModel = formJsonConverter.convertToFormModel(formCacheEntry.getFormDefinitionJson(),
                formDefinitionEntity.getId(), formDefinitionEntity.getVersion());
        FormInstanceModel formInstanceModel = new FormInstanceModel(formModel);
        formInstanceModel.setId(formDefinitionEntity.getId());
        formInstanceModel.setName(formDefinitionEntity.getName());
        formInstanceModel.setKey(formDefinitionEntity.getKey());
        formInstanceModel.setTenantId(formDefinitionEntity.getTenantId());

        if (formInstance != null) {
            formInstanceModel.setFormInstanceId(formInstance.getId());
            formInstanceModel.setTaskId(formInstance.getTaskId());
            formInstanceModel.setProcessInstanceId(formInstance.getProcessInstanceId());
            formInstanceModel.setProcessDefinitionId(formInstance.getProcessDefinitionId());
            formInstanceModel.setSubmittedBy(formInstance.getSubmittedBy());
            formInstanceModel.setSubmittedDate(formInstance.getSubmittedDate());
        }

        return formInstanceModel;
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
:See [[Islamic Terms borrowed from Judaism]]
==Second Revision==
This is the shortest Arabic account we have. We proceed to translate the most important part of the narrative given in the '' 'Araisu'l Majalis''. There we read that Abraham was brought up in a cave without any knowledge of the true God. One night he came forth and beheld the glory of the stars, and was so impressed that he resolved to acknowledge them as his gods. The account then proceeds as follows, incorporating as many as possible of the passages of the Qur'an which deal with the subject:—
"''When therefore the night overshadowed him he saw a star. He said, 'This is my Lord.' Then when it set, he said, 'I love not those that set.' Then when he saw the moon rising, he said, 'This is my Lord.' And when it set, he said, 'Verily if my Lord guide me not I shall assuredly be of the people who go astray.' Then when he saw the sun rising, he said, 'This is my Lord, this is greater,''' for he saw that its light was grander. ''When therefore it set, he said, 'O my people! verily I am guiltless of the polytheism which you hold, verily I turn my face to him who hath formed the heavens and the earth, as a [[حنيفا|Hanif]]''<ref>This term will be explained in Chapter vi</ref>, ''and I am not one of the polytheists<ref>''The italicized passages are from Surah VI., Al An'am, 76-9</ref>.' They say his father used to make idols. When therefore, he associated Abraham with himself, he began to make the idols and to give them over to Abraham to sell. Abraham (Peace be upon him!) therefore goes off with them and cries aloud, 'Who will buy what injures and does not benefit?' Hence no one purchases from him. When therefore they proved unsaleable to him, he took them to a river. Then he smote them on the head and said to them, 'Drink, my bad bargain!' in mockery of his people and of their false religion and ignorance, to such an extent that his reviling and mocking them became notorious among his people and the inhabitants of his town. Therefore his people disputed with him in regard to his religion. Then he said to them, '''Do ye dispute with me about God? and He hath guided me,' &c. ... And that was Our reasoning which We brought to Abraham against his people: We raise (many) steps whomsoever We will; verily thy Lord is all-wise and all-knowing<ref>''Surah VI., Al An'am, 80-3</ref>. So that he vanquished and overcame them. Then verily Abraham invited his father Azar to embrace his religion. Accordingly he said, '''O my father, why dost thou worship that which heareth not nor seeth nor doth profit thee at all?<ref>''Surah XIX., Maryam, 43</ref>' &c. Then his father refused assent to that to which Abraham invited him. Thereupon verily Abraham proclaimed aloud to his people his abjuration of their worship, and declared his own religion. He said therefore, '''Have ye then seen that which ye worship, ye and your fathers the ancients? for verily they are hostile to me, except the Lord of the worlds.<ref>''Surah XXVI., Ash Shu'ara, 75-7</ref>' They said, 'Whom then dost thou worship?' He said, 'The Lord of the worlds.' They said, 'Thou meanest Nimrod.' Then said he, 'No! Him who has created me, and who therefore guideth me,' &c. That matter accordingly was spread abroad until it reached the tyrant Nimrod. Then he called him and said to him, 'O Abraham, hast thou seen thy God, who hath sent thee, and to whose worship thou dost invite men, and whose power thou recordest and on account thereof dost magnify Him above all other? What is He?' ''Abraham said, 'My Lord is He who preserveth alive and causeth to die.''' Nimrod said, '''I preserve alive and cause to die.''' Abraham said, 'How dost thou preserve alive and cause to die?' He said, 'I take two men to whom death is due in my jurisdiction, then I slay one of them, thus I have caused him to die; next I pardon the other and let him go, thus I have preserved him alive.' Accordingly Abraham said unto him thereupon, '''Verily God bringeth the sun from the East, do thou therefore bring it from the West<ref>''Surah II., Al Baqarah, 26</ref>' Thereupon Nimrod was confounded and gave him no answer."
The story goes on to inform us that the custom of the tribe to which Abraham belonged was to hold a great festival once every year, during which everyone for a time went out of the city. (This may contain a confused reference to the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles, for the ''forte'' of the Qur'an is undoubtedly the number of its anachronisms, and Muhammadan tales regarding the patriarchs and prophets are in general distinguished by the same characteristic.) Before leaving the city, we are told, the citizens "had made some food ready. Accordingly they placed it before the gods, and said, 'When it shall be time for us to return, we shall return, and the gods will have blessed our food and we shall eat.' When therefore Abraham<ref>He had remained at home on the plea of being ill, Surah XXXVII., As Saffat, 87.</ref> beheld the idols and the food which was before them, he said unto them in mockery, '''Will ye not eat?''' And when they did not answer him, he said, '''What is the matter with you? will ye not speak?' Then he turned upon them, striking a blow with his right hand<ref>''Ibid. vv. 89-91</ref>, and he began to dash them in pieces with an axe which he held in his hand, until there remained none but the biggest idol, on the neck of which he hung the axe. Then he went out. Such then is the statement of the Honoured and Glorified One: '''So he broke them into pieces, except the largest of them, that perchance they might come back to it''' (and find what it had done<ref>Surah XXI., Al Anbiya, 59; and Jalalain's Commentary</ref>). When therefore the people came from their festival to the house of their gods, and saw them in that condition, ''they said, 'Who hath done this to our gods? verily he is one of the unjust.' They said, 'We heard a youth who is called Abraham make mention of them.'' It is he, we think, that hath done this.' Then that matter reached Nimrod the tyrant and the nobles of his people. They said therefore, '''Bring him then to the eyes of men, that perchance they may bear witness'' against him that it is he that hath done this.' And they disliked to arrest him without poof. ... When therefore they had brought him forward, they said unto him, '''Hast thou done this unto our gods, O Abraham?''' Abraham said, '''On the contrary, the biggest of them did it:'' he was angry at your worshipping these little idols along with him, since he is bigger than them, therefore he dashed them in pieces. ''Do ye then inquire of them, if they can speak.''' The prophet — may God bless and preserve him! — hath said, 'Abraham told only three lies, all of them on behalf of God Most High: when he said, ''"I am sick,"'' and when he said, ''"On the contrary, this the biggest of them did it,"'' and when to the king who purposed to take Sarah, he said, ''"She it my sister."'''
But even if, for the sake of argument, we admit that reading and writing were arts unknown to Muhammad, that admission does not in the slightest degree invalidate the proof that he borrowed extensively from Jewish and other sources. Even if he could read Arabic, it is hardly likely that he was a student of Aramaic, Hebrew, and other languages. The parallels which we have drawn between certain passages in the Qur'an and those resembling them in various Jewish writings are close enough to show the ultimate source of much of the Qur'an. But in no single case are the verses of the Qur'an ''translated'' from any such source. The many errors that occur in the Qur'an show that Muhammad received his information orally, and probably from men who had no great amount of book-learning themselves. This obviates the second assumption of the Muslims. It was doubtless for many obvious reasons impossible for Muhammad to consult a large number of Aramaic, Zoroastrian, and Greek books; but it was by no means impossible for him to learn from Jewish<ref>In fact, in Surah X., Yunus, 94, Muhammad is bidden to ''ask'' the People of the Book for information to clear up his doubts</ref>, Persian, and Christian friends and disciples the tales, fables, and traditions which were then current. His enemies brought against him in his own time the charge of having been assisted by such persons in the composition of the Qur'an, as we learn both from the Qur'an itself and from the admissions of Ibn Hisham and of the commentators. Among others thus mentioned as helping in the composition of the book is the Jew spoken of in Surah XLVI., Al Ahqaf, 9, as a "witness" to the agreement between the Qur'an and the Jewish Scriptures. The commentators 'Abbasi and Jalalain in their notes on this passage tell us that this was Abdu'llah ibn Salam, who, if we may believe the Raudatu'l Ahbab, was a Jewish priest or Rabbi before he became a Muslim. In Surah XXV., Al Furqan, 5, 6, we are told that Muhammad's enemies said, "Others have helped him with it," and stated that he had merely written down certain "Tales of the Ancients," which were dictated to him by his accomplices morning and evening. 'Abbasi states that the persons thus referred to were Jabr, a Christian slave, Yasar (also called Abu Fuqaihah), and a certain Abu Takbihah, a Greek. In Surah XVI., An Nahl, 105, in answer to the accusation, "Surely a human being teacheth him," Muhammad offers the inadequate reply that the language of the man who is hinted at was foreign, whereas the Qur'an itself was composed in plain Arabic. This answer does not attempt to refute the obvious meaning of the charge, which was that (not the style of the language used but) the stories told in the Qur'an had thus been imparted to Muhammad. 'Abbasi says that a Christian named Cain was referred to, while Jalalain's Commentary again mentions Jabr and Yasar. Others suggest Salman, the well-known Persian disciple of Muhammad, others Suhaib, others a monk named Addas. We may also note the fact that 'Uthman and especially Waraqah, cousins of Khadijah, Muhammad's first wife, were acquainted with the Christianity<ref>See the quotation from Ibn Ishaq, pp. 264, 265 below</ref> and the Judaism of the time, and that these men exercised no slight influence over Muhammad during his early years as a prophet, and perhaps before. Zaid, his adopted son, was a Syrian, according to Ibn Hisham, and must therefore have at first professed Christianity. We shall see that other persons were among Muhammad's friends, from whom he might easily have obtained information regarding the Jewish, Christian, and Zoroastrian faiths. The passages borrowed from such sources are, however, so disguised in form that it is quite possible that those from whom Muhammad made his inquiries may not have recognized the imposture, but may have really fancied that these passages were revealed, as they professed to be, to confirm the truth of the respective creeds, at least so far. If so, Muhammad adroitly employed the information he obtained from these men in such a manner as to deceive them, though he could not deceive his enemies. Hence, despairing of silencing the latter, he finally turned upon them with the sword.
==See AlsoNoahide Muslims==[[Image:Noahide Islam.jpg|right]]Some followers of Islam, who also believe in the truth of the teachings concerning Noahide Law, believe that if it could be shown that Islamic teachings have been based in part on earlier Jewish teachings this could be proof of their contention that Islam was indeed the faith of Adam and a reaffirmation and renewal of the Covenant of Nuh. ==External links==*[http://web.archive.org/web/20080516185655/http://answering-islam.org.uk/Books/Tisdall/Sources0/p011-012.htm Jewish Sources of the Qur'an]*[http://web.archive.org/web/20061012111723/http://www.answering-islam.org.uk/Books/Tisdall/Sources/chap3chapt3.htm Influence of Sabian and Jewish ideas and practices.]
[[Category:Sabian Religions]]


text:
The Hanneke Cassel Band
The Hanneke Cassel Band features Mike Block on cello and alternating guitarists Keith Murphy and Christopher Lewis. Fusing influences from the Isle of Skye and Cape Breton with Americana grooves and musical innovations, this group creates a cutting-edge acoustic sound that retains the integrity and spirit of the Scottish tradition.
Go to Hanneke Cassel Band press kit
Mike Block
Mike Block is a pioneering multi-style cellist, singer, composer, and educator. Hailed by Yo-Yo Ma as the "ideal musician of the 21st-Century", Mike is part of the Grammy-award winning Silk Road Ensemble, a graduate of the Juilliard School, and an Associate Professor at the Berklee College of Music.
Keith Murphy
Newfoundland-born guitarist Keith Murphy began absorbing his native musical languages – folksongs, ballads and dance music – from an early age. A proficient multi-instrumentalist, he has long applied considerable energy to the rhythmic side of music, becoming a valued band member and highly sought-after sideman on guitar, mandolin and foot percussion.
Canadian native Christopher Lewis provides the driving guitar sound in the band. Also a Berklee College of Music alum, Chris has been involved with album production and performance in the Boston indie rock scene.


Discussion Can xb273k downscale to 1440p @ 144hz? Which cable type?
I'm just confused from reading reviews.
Can I downscale this monitor to 1440p @144hz? if I do this - will it look worse than just getting a 1440p monitor? How much worse?
Do I need to use either the DP port or HDMI port to achieve this?
You probably are asking - why downscale?
I intend to game at 1440p but do my photo and video editing at 4k.
And I don't necessarily mean 144hz specifically, I mean 120 works too. I'm just asking if I can get a choice in refresh rate at 1440p.


text: My father (87), is founder-owner of his retail clothes & readymade shop in Pune & still runs the shop for 12 hrs a day. My younger brother joined him as a partner at his age of 25 in 1982. I, the undersigned, was employed in Mumbai since 1979. My father & Younger brother both running the shop jointly as a partner since 1982, when he ie my brother has also got married. There is no written partnership between them. But according to me, my father has 50% share & at least 10% goodwill over the business profit. The business has grown multi fold since then. I & my four sisters were married before that. Out of this business income my father & younger brother acquired neighbouring & other immovable properties & extended/expanded the shop, home & the business. But surreptitiously without the knowledge of the father & us, he acquired them in his name & his wife. So far nobody suspected any foul play & not questioned. He also spent income from this business for his two daughter's marriage & his son's education abroad ie MS (IT) from USA. Recently my father wished to divide his property between us so that there is no dispute between us in future. However to our astonishment, my brother says all the properties acquired through this business are his. My father was also shocked to know this because he was kept in the dark & was not shown the documents & fed with the false information. He further said he will not allow the partition of this property acquired thru this business. When i pointedly asked then where are the earnings of the father of last 32 yrs. He says only the stock in the shop is his earning. He has nothing in his name. Thus he has committed a fraud by cheating the father & all the rest of us and grabbed all the earnings of my father. I asked my father what is this? He said that he has stopped asking what he does about the cash since he & his wife started abusing & ill-treating him as well as my mother. They are not taking care of my parents health & even he complained about not serving the food properly. He says he had no choice but to work in his own shop /creation to maintain his body & soul together. He used to come to my place in Mumbai but could not adjust Mumbai life & weather and used to go back to his shop after just a week's stay. We were not aware of these issues at all. Although, he is so old he still serves the customers in the shop. He has a sharp mind, does calculations correctly, is attentive. He puts 12 hrs a day in the shop while in his own words my brother works in the shop for only half the time. He fears his younger son & his wife because they abuse him & do not respect. The total area of acquired land is 3000 sqft of plot & the structure over it, just adjacent to our old house. He is planning to redevelop the whole property & sent plans for municipal approval. Under such circumstances,: 1. Should i give notice to get the details of all immovable & movable properties in his & his wife's name, cash deposits circulating w/ traders, gold/jewellery, etc. 2. Should i give notice to get all the business account books for last 5 yrs at least. 3. My brother, who is keeping all the accounts, is not disclosing any financial details. Once my father knows about all his properties ie Immovables/cash/gold & jewellery etc, then he can gift them as he wishes to all his childrens ie (we two brothers & 4 sisters). But the question is how to make the affair smooth.