text:
Nana Asma'u, Muslim Woman Scholar: Excerpts from One Woman's Jihad
See: Nana Asma'u, Muslim Woman Scholar
Source: Mack, Beverly B. and Jean Boyd. One Woman's Jihad: Nana Asma'u, Scholar and Scribe. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press, 2000.
[Chapter 1, pp.1-2]
Nana Asma'u and the Scholarly Tradition
ONE This book focuses on a nineteenth-century Muslim woman in West Africa who was a legend in her own time. Nana Asma'u (1793-1864) was a respected public figure of significant authority. She was active in politics, education, and social reform; she was a prolific author, popular teacher, and renowned scholar and intellectual. Asma'u did not accomplish her work in isolation; she was actively involved with her family and the wider community of which it was a part. She managed a household of several hundred in an age when technology was restricted to what could be rendered by hand for the growth, production, and processing of food or material goods. During warfare, she was an eyewitness to battles about which she reported in her written works. Throughout the period of the Sokoto jihad, a series of battles in a campaign to reform Islam (1804-1830), and long after, Asma'u was an active teacher of both men and women. In addition to teaching students in her own community, she reached far beyond the confines of her compound through a network of itinerant women teachers whom she trained to teach isolated rural women. An accomplished author, Asma'u was well educated, quadrilingual (in Arabic, Fulfulde, Hausa, and Tamachek), and a respected scholar of international repute who was in communication with scholars throughout the sub-Saharan African Muslim world. Asma'u pursued all these endeavors as a Sufi of the Qadiriyya order, but the driving factor in her own life and that of the community was their concern for the Sunna, the exemplary way of life set forth by the Prophet Muhammad. With the Sunna orchestrating the lives of its members, Asma'u's Qadiriyva community sought to serve through teaching, preaching, and practical work, focused on a spiritual life in the world, while rejecting materialism.
Asma'u was a pearl on a string of women's scholarship that extended throughout the Muslim world. This chain of women scholars originated long before Asma'u's lifetime and stretched over a wide geographic region from the Middle East to West Africa. The network of women's scholarship contemporaneous to Asma'u is but the tip of the iceberg. It did not spring forth fullblown, but was nurtured over successive generations as an integral part of the aim of Islam: the search for communion with God through the pursuit of Truth. Education and literacy have been hallmarks of Islam since its inception. Any society that impedes equitable access to salvation by controlling or limiting who can get an education eschews the tenets of Islam; so for the Qadiriyya community to which Asma'u belonged, to deny women equal opportunity to develop their God-given talents was to challenge God's will.
This book has two aims. The first is to bring to life a nineteenth-century Muslim West African woman of renown. There is no doubt that Nana Asma'u was exemplary in her character and accomplishments. Her story speaks for itself, without question. The second aim is to suggest that there may be women in other Sufi communities bordering the Sahara who also performed an important part in their societies. Nana Asma'u is exceptional in her achievements but may not be unique in the role she played. This task can be only begun here, by motivating readers to seek further sources in other languages and other places, and mine them more deeply.
[Chapter 6, pp.76-91]
Caliphate Women's Participation in the Community
SIX A certain number of women in the Caliphate community, like their descendants in contemporary Sokoto and nearby towns, were teachers and writers. In the predominantly oral culture of the Caliphate, teachers were effective in transmitting works through the spoken, chanted word. Repetition and memorization of these popular poems resulted in their reaching a far wider audience than originally intended, as voices echoed beyond the open-air class area and recitations passed well beyond the first learners to the extended family and neighbors alike. Asma'u established a cadre of literate, itinerant women teachers (jajis) who disseminated her instructive poetic works among the masses. Trained by Asma'u, these women were extension teachers, using Asma'u's works as lesson plans and mnemonic devices through which they instructed secluded women in the privacy of their homes. The tradition of educating women, and of women themselves writing tracts as practical guides to both rudimentary life skills and pious behavior, was an integral part of the Sokoto Caliphate community. The practice continues into the twenty-first century. In nearly every case, contemporary women cite Nana Asma'u as their exemplar in seeking knowledge as a necessary pursuit in their lives. This was a matter which she said could be undertaken only if they behaved like respectable married women.
Nana Asma'u's training of jajis and the 'yan-taru was community work whose primary tool was the spoken word. In keeping with the attitude of reverence for the word that lies at the heart of Islam, her scholarship and dissemination of it were expressive of the spirit of Islam in both content and form. Not all her poetic verse was theological tract, but all of it was relevant to some layer of the community, whether scholarly or unschooled. Captured Hausa men and women were new in the Caliphate, and needed to know practical things: how to dress, how to pray, how to reshape the common details of their lives into Islamic form. Asma'u's works not only informed women on these matters, but also reinforced Sufi characteristics and the principles of the Sunna by outlining in praise poems the spirituality and moral characteristics that made a person noteworthy. It was not a person's wealth or political achievements that were significant, but faith and right living. Asma'u cites the asceticism and teaching skills of long-dead Sufi women, and the benevolent characteristics of her brother Bello, the caliph, as examples to be followed. The message she conveys in these works is that worldly greatness is not a worthy aim, but personal goodness—patience and generosity—is what makes a person pious.
Al-Ghazali's (A.D. 1058-1111) treatise On the Duties of Brotherhood, a classic work with which Asma'u was familiar, advises the devout Muslim on eight specific obligations toward his or her community members: material assistance, personal aid, holding one's tongue, speaking out, forgiveness, prayer, loyalty and sincerity, and affording relief from discomfort and inconvenience. Concern for the material, psychological, and spiritual welfare of the community was incumbent upon every individual, and was the guiding principle of society. Attention to these issues was integrated with the advocation of the Sunna, the right mode of behavior, as the focus of the community. In short, there was much that a woman not only could do, but was obligated to do in the promotion of the good of the community, and for the good of her own soul. These are the principles that Asma'u and her students promoted in the community, and women's roles were central to their promotion. By teaching women, Asma'u was by extension training whole families in orthodox Sufi practices that focused on following the Sunna and the Qur'an, the two guiding lights of the Caliphate.
Growing up as she did during the jihad instilled in Asma'u an activist spirit that gave no quarter to elitist approaches to literary works. Each of her long poems is functional well beyond the promotion of the aesthetic. The works discussed here demonstrate the kinds of "lesson plans" she created for 'yan-taru. As mnemonic devices, these works could be memorized by teachers and students and then explained in fuller detail during instruction. The Path of Truth, A Warning,Il, and Sufi Women are some of the best examples of the ways in which Asma'u used her scholarship to spread knowledge and provide benefit to the entire community. Lamentations for Aisha, I & II and elegies for Zaharatu, Hawa'u, and Fadima describe exemplary lives of women.
These works function in different yet complementary ways. They share attention to the community of women, whether Fulani or Hausa, whether seasoned scholars or novices. The Path of Truth provides both basic and theologically sophisticated instruction in Islam that is useful to either women or men. A Warning, II couches instruction in terms of advocating proper behavior, in both practical action (the pillars of Islam) and attention to the spirit behind activity, such as attending classes outside the home. Sufi Women connects the community of caliphate women to Muslim women scholars and Sufis throughout history, confirming a tradition of women as active members of the devout Muslim community over twelve centuries, while Lamentations for Aisha I & II and elegies for various women present examples of women whose characters bear imitation.
The Path of Truth
When a jaji left Asma'u to return to her home village, she walked in the midst of her group of women students, her distinguishing headgear lending utmost respectability to the group. She probably carried a copy of Asma'u's latest work, which may well have been at one time The Path of Truth. Written in Hausa in 1842, it has one hundred thirty-two verses, divided into sections treating obligatory religious duties, resurrection, sinners, salvation, and Paradise, which merits three consecutive sections at the end. All this is framed by opening and closing prayer doxologies. Each couplet's end rhyme provides a mantra: the repetition of "Ahmada" or "Muhammada" every two lines keeps the work focused on the need to follow the Sunna, the example of the Prophet Muhammad.
Following the opening doxology (nine verses), the next section describes in detail the obligations of the pillars of Islam, as well as outlining the obligations and attitudes of Sufi living. Throughout these twenty verses neither male nor female is mentioned. Rather it is emphasized repeatedly that these obligations are incumbent upon every Muslim:
You should always be clean and wear clean clothes.
Look well to the details of your religion so that we may all
be united with Ahmada.
You should seek religious knowledge and stop straying from
The Path. Do not be one of the lost in the next world.
Ahmada.
Such knowledge enables you to follow God and the
Prophet.
Insight into the Sunna will carry us to Ahmada.
Wishing for a Muslim everything that you
Wish for yourself is [in keeping with] the character of
Muhammada. (vv. 19-21, 28)
One can well imagine this section being used to instruct those new to the orthodox practice of Islam, informing them of the practical details of daily Muslim behavior.
In the next section, eleven couplets describe examples of inappropriate behavior. Like every culture, this one had to deal with usurers, adulterers, slanderers, hypocrites, liars, show-offs, frauds, and intriguers. These sinners are described like figures in a Hieronymus Bosch painting, suffering the fates they have earned:
The usurers will see their bellies swell bigger than gourds
In size and exposed to Ahmada.
They will rise on the Last Day as if possessed of the Devil
The Qur'an told their fate, Ahmada.
The stink of the adulterer is worse than the stench of
carrion:
He will be driven away, so that he is far from Ahmada.
The slanderer, the hypocrite
And he who gives false witness will not see Ahmada.
With their tongues hanging down to their chests, they will
be exposed
For they will not get salvation from Ahmada. (vv. 40-44)
Likewise the arrogant, the tyrannous, the intriguer, the fraud, the embezzler and briber, the ungrateful child, the backbiter, the envious, thieves, and infidels will receive punishments appropriate to their sins. Asma'u makes clear that this plan, guaranteeing that "what goes around comes around," is not hers, but derives from the word of God, for the Qur'an told their fate (v. 41). This section aims to scare students into right behavior, reinforcing the instruction that precedes it with the sure result of failing to follow Muslim obligations.
The next thirteen verses are an instruction manual for the Day of Salvation. A series of events will signal the end of the world, beginning with Muhammad's return to earth:
Muhammad will return and our deeds will be weighed
while we stand
Some will be saved only through the salvation of Ahmada.
Those whose [good] deeds exceed
The bad ones will be saved only through the salvation of
Those whose bad deeds exceed
On that day will perish, unless they are saved by Ahmada.
Papers will be given to some in the right hand, to others
In the left hand: the latter will be far away from Ahmada.
The meritorious will be saved because they followed
The way of the Sunna and helped Muhammada.
(vv. 60-64)
The plan is clear: it remains only for the student, the aspiring good Muslim, to follow the right path.
The second half of this work describes Paradise, its approach bridge, its pools, and those who will be lucky enough to populate it. To individuals in the Sokoto Caliphate, immersed in dusty, hot, difficult days, such a work had to be a welcome reprieve from the toils of the day, offering hope in the distant future, and the assurance that certain behavior in the present guaranteed the contentment Paradise had to offer:
Let us dwell there and drink milk and honey
And enjoy bliss together with Ahmada.
For there is no illness, no aging, no poverty
No death: we remain forever
Forever in enjoyment, relaxation and pleasant talk
We walk in Paradise, we have seen Muhammada.
Throughout each section of this long poem, there is a noticeable absence of gender bias. This perspective is in keeping with the belief in Sufism of the equitable position of men and women; the "soul has no gender." It is clear from other works by Asma'u that she is well aware of the importance of describing women's roles when appropriate, as will be discussed below. But this work is a carefully balanced account aimed at the good Muslim, and it is significant that she eschews the opportunity to use gender-specific pronouns. Indeed, the only ones used are in relation to the Prophet Muhammad; otherwise she speaks directly to you, i.e., her Muslim audience, without gender. Yet this work is not devoid of personal touches. At the end of the work, Asma'u wove into the verses the seal of her authority, speaking directly to her audience again as "friends":
If anyone asks who composed this song, say
That it is Nana, daughter of the Shehu, who loves
Muhammada.
You should firmly resolve, friends, to follow her
And thus you will follow exactly the Sunna of
Muhammada. (vv. 125-126)
Generations of women learned this poem by heart, and in doing so they internalized the message that right living is the aim of every Muslim; the Sunna is the Way, the Path of Truth.
A Warning, II
Other times created other needs. A Warning, II was written in 1856, in Hausa, for the benefit of the sections of the population needing resocialization and instruction in the guiding principles of the Caliphate. The Prophet instructed teachers to "speak to the people according to their understanding"; Asma'u would have been familiar with this advice. This work is appropriate to the time in terms of its message, its form, and its mode of delivery. The message is a simple, direct outline of the tenets to be followed by orthodox Muslims; the form is the couplet, and the language is that of the masses, Hausa. As in the longer work The Path of Truth, Asma'u explains here—in only twenty-seven couplets—the basic principles of Islam for anyone whose level of devotion was questionable: follow the pillars of Islam and the Sunna. The first nineteen couplets are a distillation of the longer work in setting forth the obligations of devout Muslims.
It is significant that Asma'u focuses on women in the next five verses, spending nearly a fifth of the entire work directly addressing women who are new to the Muslim caliphate community. These "women's verses" are liberating. This may surprise feminists who are "apt to be suspicious towards Islam which they consider a sexist tool of oppression" (Coulon 1988: 114) and those historians who believe the Shehu "insisted on secluding Muslim women.:" We know from the Shehu's own writings on the subject that many of the educated elite wanted their wives to stay at home but failed to teach them anything, treating them "like household implements which became broken after long use and which are then thrown out on the dung heap."' In this context, therefore, Asma'u's words are very significant for she says that women have a duty to seek knowledge, which by implication means taking the initiative and acting according to their consciences. She said, "Seek," not "Wait until someone does something for you," and, yes, she said women must obey their husbands, but only their lawful demands.
Women, a warning. Leave not your homes without good
You may go out to get food or to seek education.
In Islam, it is a religious duty to seek knowledge
Women may leave their homes freely for this.
Repent and behave like respectable married women
You must obey your husbands' lawful demands.
You must dress modestly and be God-fearing.
Do not imperil yourselves and risk hell-fire.
Any woman who refuses, receives no benefit,
The merciful Lord will give her the reward of the damned.
But wherever there are obligations there are also rights. This work states clearly that if a woman wants freedom it has got to be in the context of behaving as an exemplary Muslim. Discreetly dressed women may "leave their homes freely" for education; in fact, they "must" go out to seek education—it is their religious obligation to do so. The work's emphasis on seeking religious knowledge is significant in promoting among women the ethos of spirituality based on intellectual pursuit of an understanding of God, and the intention is that such spiritual knowledge will benefit the entire community. Indeed, the last verse before the closing doxology confirms that this is Asma'u's intention in this poem:
I have written this poem of admonition
For you to put to good use in the Community. (v. 25)
Women were required to contribute to the promotion of the socio-spiritual needs of the Sokoto Caliphate.
Sufi Women
That women have had such an active role to play in the Muslim community was not a new idea to Asma'u. Educated in a classic Islamic mode, she was familiar with works such as thirteenth-century Ibn al-Jawzi's Sifat al-safwa, which lists Sufi women saints of exemplary character. Asma'u's brother Bello wrote on the topic in an effort to remind people of the Sufi foundation of the Qadiriyya community, warning women to harken back to the Sufi principles and urging them to eschew their acquisitiveness. His work is founded on older works, such as that of al-Jawzi, which described Sufi women saints as "blessed anonymous women who gave themselves over to perpetual worship" (Chodiewicz 1994: 18).
With evident enthusiasm, Asma'u seized Bello's composition, translating it into both Hausa and Fulfulde verse within a few months, thus making it available to as wide an audience as possible, but Asma'u's poem is not simply a reworking of earlier sources, for she makes it relevant to her community in several ways. It includes transmogrified versions of the Arabic names of women, making them more accessible to her own community. For instance the historical Habiba 'Adawiyah becomes Habibatu Adawiyyatu in Asma'u's version, and the famous eighth-century Sufi woman saint Rabi'a of Basra appears as Rabia'tul in the Hausa-Fulani version of her name. It is certain that Asma'u was aware of the original Arabic names—so well known was al-Jawzi's work, and so classic was Asma'u's education. Therefore, Asma'u's decision to localize them indicates her intention of making this work relevant to her own audience. Asma'u describes the wives of the Prophet (vv. 11-15, 21), his mother and daughters, and also the women of the community of her father, the Shehu. Two of his wives were still alive at the time of the composition of the poems; she described them as exceedingly pious, unworldly, good-natured, and generous. Other Caliphate women were renowned scholars:
The teacher of women, Habiba
She was most revered and had great presence.
I speak of Aisha, a saint
On account of her asceticism and determination.
And Joda Kowuuri, a Qur'anic scholar
Who used her scholarship everywhere....
There were others who were upright
In the community of the Shehu; I have not listed them.
Very many of them had learned the Qur'an by heart
And were exceedingly pious and zealous.
(Sufi Women, vv. 68-70, 73-74)
These images indicate a continued, accepted presence of women teachers in the Caliphate community. More importantly, such a presence is modeled on women's roles that extend back to the period of the establishment of Islam, and Asma'u weaves into her work evidence of the historical precedent for such roles.
The poem Sufi Women emphasizes that pious women are to be seen in the mainstream of Islam, and to warn against excessive attachment to worldly gain. It could be memorized by teachers for instructional purposes. Its intended effect was to mobilize women in promoting the Muslim ethos over all other authorities. Thus, in response to the application of political or patriarchal pressure, women could cite this poem as support for their insistence on spiritual over human laws.
Asma'u's versions of Sufi Women are, in the Islamic world, rare examples of "popular" women's history. Written for ordinary housewives, the poems had the potential to transform their lives by giving them a sense of identity and ridding them of the despair which rootlessness brings. Importantly, Asma'u affirmed her personal belief in the power of the great saints of womankind. In a remarkable and possibly unique way she said she looked to them, personally, for help.
For their majesty will wipe away my sins
And because of them I will escape the burden of my
wrongdoings.
In this world and the next, where souls await judgment
I will rely on them for my salvation. (vv. 59-60)
In this she speaks for all women who might have heard this work, placing herself among the ranks of ordinary women of the caliphate, subject to the same doubts, worries, and burdens.
Lamentations for Aisha, I & II
The elegy was a standard genre of poetic expression, in which Asma'u excelled, proving to be one of the most prolific lament writers of her time. She wrote between sixteen and twenty elegies. Some are in praise of revered figures like Bello, her uncle Abdullahi, or the famed scholar Mustapha, but six focus on the lives of women who might otherwise have remained unknown to history. She held deep respect for everyone who lived a useful life in the context of Islam and expressed her appreciation of their efforts in what she wrote. To her, Halima, "a kind neighbor," and Zaharatu, who with willingness "attended women in childbirth," made contributions which were necessary and highly valued.
The two works that she wrote for Aisha, her lifelong friend and eventual sister-in-law, should be read as a pair because they express complementary perspectives on mourning. The first describes Aisha's accomplishments as a devout Muslim who cared for orphans and widows, promoted community harmony, and possessed the piety of one who has memorized the Qur'an. In this work Asma'u appeals to God to preserve Aisha's soul and welcome her into His eternal light. The second work is more heartfelt. In it Asma'u offers insight into the ways in which these women related to one another, neither isolated nor under the domination of men. The depth of Asma'u's grief is evident in this work:
This poem was written because there is no one else like her
from among the Brethren. How long my nights dwell
on her.
How often she helped me to forget my own grief
and how often she helped me most kindly.
The depth of my sadness and loneliness after her death has
O the multitude of my sorrows, the deepening of my
gloom! (Lamentation for Aisha II, vv. 5-7)
Asma'u notes that although wild expressions of grief are eschewed, crying and like mourning is not forbidden in Islam: "I cry for her with tears of compassion / and of longing and sympathy for her, and loving friendship" (Lamentation for Aisba, II, v. 14).
Asma'u's loss is also a loss for the community, because Aisha so active and contributed so much to it: "She was a guardian of orphans and widows / a pillar of the community, ensuring harmony" (Lamentation for Aisha I, v. 8). Having memorized the Qur'an and by implication being as learned as many a judge, Aisha was as able to clarify the inheritance rights of widows and orphans as to find them shelter, food, and clothing. As wife of the Caliph she was able to champion any cause from a position of strength. She was accessible to women in need, and listened to what they had to say.
In the second work lamenting Aisha's death, Asma'u is colloquial and heartfelt:
Oh my eyes weep liberally for my loved one
as a consolation for my grief and a companion for my
gloom.
Shed copious tears for the loss of Aisha
the noblest of my dear ones of my age group, my
friend....
O the multitude of sorrows, the deepening of my gloom!
Know you not that love, when firmly established, is
priceless?
There is no child who could make me forget that love
and no brother, nothing which could soothe me, not even
all sorts of riches.
Therefore my heart withers from worrying:
sigh after sigh rises up from my grief;
Tears have continued to flow constantly
as if they would never dwindle or cease....
I cry for her with tears of compassion
and of longing and sympathy for her, and loving friend
ship. (vv. 1-2, 7-11, 14)
Not only does Asma'u reveal her own humanity in mourning so deeply, but she also accepts Aisha's frailties: "[May God] forgive her lapses and reward her / for the good things she did for me gladly and graciously" (v. 17). Taken together, these two works on Aisha describe her many aspects, from formal to casual, and draw her fully as a three-dimensional woman whose pretence is a loss to the community as well as to the individuals who knew and loved her.
Elegies for Fadima, Zaharatu, and Hawa'u
These are short works (23, 28, and 21 verses, respectively) in which the best-known traits of each woman are lauded. Each is praised in remembrance of the positive contributions she made to the community. The emphasis is not on who she was, but on how her actions defined the depth of her character. In each case, her actions are in accord with the spirit of the Sunna and the aims of the Muslim Sokoto community.
Fadima was Muhammad Bello's full- and Asma'u's half-sister and seems to have inherited the same kind of energy that he had:
She succored the Community with her many acts of
charity, feeding people.
Relatives and strangers alike: she showed no discrimination.
She gave generously; she urged people to study.
She produced provisions when an expedition was
mounted. She had many responsibilities.
She sorted problems and urged people to live peacefully, and forbade
squabbling. (vv. 7?10)
Fadima married the army Commander in Chief, (the amir al-jaish), Aliyu Jedo; hence, her involvement with organizing the production of "hardtack" food for the army. Two principal items were murje and kilishi, the former a kind of muesli, the latter dried meat. Both were high-protein foods, light in weight and long-lasting. Murje was produced by first threshing and milling millet seeds, then cooking the millet flour, drying it, soaking it in butter and honey, drying it again, and finally rubbing it into granules which could be stored by a horseman in his saddlebags and either eaten as it came or reconstituted into porridge by the addition of milk. To prepare food like this would entail negotiations with all manner of suppliers, as well as the workforce. Fadima linked these activities with her famed hospitality, which had nothing to do with entertainment and everything to do with providing food on a daily basis for anyone who, at nightfall, was at the gates of the house and was hungry
Asma'u did not just confine her praise to women such as Fadima who performed prodigious tasks, but, as we have already stated, she also encouraged women by praising those who did quite mundane jobs. Zaharatu was such a person, who worked indefatigably for the community: Asma'u gave credibility to her accomplishments, noting:
She was a fine person who benefitted the Muslim Community.
She gave religious instruction to the ignorant and helped
everyone in their daily affairs.
Whenever called upon to help, she came, responding, to
lay out the dead without hesitation.
With the same willingness she attended women in childbirth
All kinds of good works were performed by Zaharatu.
She was pious and most deserving: she delighted in giving
and was patient and forbearing. (vv. 6-10)
It may well be that when more documents come to light, elegies will be found that were written by "princes" in praise of pious barbers who circumcised boys, or bone setters who tended broken limbs. However, it remains true to say that literature of this kind is rare.
Hawa'u was a jaji, or leader of the bands of women students known as 'yan-taru, or "those who congregate together, the sisterhood." Asma'u relied on each jaji to act as a mentor and to bring groups of women to her. To each she gave a large malfa hat made of fine silky grasses. Usually worn by men, the hats have a distinctive balloon shape because they are intended to be worn over turbans. The late Waziri of Sokoto always wore one on formal public occasions. A malfa was also (and remains) one of the marks of the office used by the lima of Gobir, the chief of women devotees of Mbori. Asma'u deliberately took up the symbol, and by giving each jaji a malfa, she at once devalued its uniqueness and transformed what it stood for. From being symbolic of bori, it turned into an emblem of Islam. Asma'u ceremonially bestowed a red "turban," or strip of red cloth, on each new appointee. Tied round the brim of the hat, the turban was further proof of the wearer's authority and may have been ceremoniously wrapped round the hat by Asma'u herself.
When students reached Asma'u, they went to her apartments and were given refreshments. She talked to the older women, who relayed to her the problems sent by the women left at home. Through listening to her they learned how to apply the law and make commonsense assessments. She received the young girls too, smoothing her hands over their heads and praying that they would marry good husbands and bring up their children in the Faith. By passing her hands over their heads a special kind of transfer of blessing-power was effected.
She became very attached to her devoted jajis, especially the subject of this poem, Hawa'u. This elegy is more a remembrance of what Hawa'u represented than of the individual:
I accept what has happened and remember Hawa'u who
loved me, a fact well known to everybody.
During the hot season, the rains, the harvest, when the
harmattan blows and the beginning of the rains, she was
on the road bringing people to me.
She warned them to journey in good faith, for she said
intention was important.
As for myself, I taught them the religion of God in order
to turn them from error, and instill in them the knowledge of their obligatory
Like ritual ablution, prayer, alms, pilgrimage and the fast,
all of which are compulsory for adults.
I taught them what, in the Faith of Islam, is permissible
and what is forbidden so they would know how to act.
I said they must distance themselves from sins such as
lying, meanness, hatred and envy,
Adultery, theft and self-esteem. I said they should repent
because these things lead to perdition.
The women students and their children are well known for
their good works and peaceful behavior in the community (vv. 5?13)
It is clear that the educational network of which Hawa'u was a major part was central to the success and unity of the community. Thus, Hawa'u represents the generic woman, whose intellect and active promotion of education hold the community together.
Asma'u was not isolated, nor was she ever a lone voice. When she wrote, she addressed her contemporaries about shared problems. In addition, her works demonstrate how she went about organizing, educating, and reconciling the women of the Caliphate. To help her she had the relatives and friends with whom she had grown up and the activists she had recruited.
Contrary to what many imagine to be the case, educated women did not "enter purdah," disappearing into subordinate anonymity, when the new Islamic state was established. In the Caliphate there existed a world of women's Islam whose leaders held prestigious and powerful positions in the hierarchy of the Caliphate, a world which Asma'u's works reveal. It was well organized and efficiently run; it had clear objectives and a wide membership; it recruited from all ethnic groups and all age levels. Its political objectives were the conversion of women to Islam, education within Islam, and the harnessing of their talents to the development of the state. The potency and power of the 'yan?taru movement has been borne out by its continued existence to the present day.
All this contradicts the views of those who have talked of the men being Muslims and the women pagans" or women being "on the periphery of the periphery of the Muslim world," or women silently subverting the Islamic rules which keep them in an inferior position."'" Such perspectives have contributed to negative stereotypes about Muslim women, in which they are depicted as different from active, independent African women of other ethnic, sociopolitical groups solely because of religious constraints. Those views derive from a paucity of women's voices in recorded history. The corpus of Asma'u's works can redress this situation, providing firsthand testimony to the active, necessary participation of women in Caliphate society.
[Poems by Nana Asma'u, pp.166-167]
Wa'azu
A.D. I856/A.H. 1273
LANGUAGE OF ORIGINAL: HAUSA SOURCE OF TEXT: WAZIRI JUNAIDU
1 I give thanks to God the Merciful
Who created me; the Generous King.
2 He is One, to Him belongs everything,
He has no beginning because He began everything.
3 He hears, just as He sees:
He knows all mysteries, He is omniscient and patient.
4 But He does not hear with ears,
Nor does He see with eyes.
5 Trust in Him and His existence.
There is no King except God the Bountiful,
6 And trust in Muhammad His Messenger,
Then you will be an upright Muslim.
7 Do not innovate. Keep strictly to the Sunna
For the Sunna will suffice you till you reach Heaven.
8 Repent, for repentance purifies the worshiper
So he can escape from sin which leads to Hellfire.
9 Safeguard the proprieties of ritual ablution,
And on the Bridge over the Fire, you will feel no pain.
10 If you are ill, procedures can vary,
For God gives his servants concessions.
11 What God wants most
Is work that is willingly done.
12 From God we should all seek
Forgiveness and His trust.
13 The Everlasting never dies
Forever and ever and ever He exists.
14 Listen to my warnings, brethren,
And heed them: admonition is good for you.
15 Let us repent because repentance
Is the gateway to God the Merciful.
16 Give the alms you must and those you wish, and pray
For the sake of the Prophet, our Leader.
17 Say your prayer beads in the mornings
And in the evenings and say extra prayers in the night.
18 To love the Qur'an is to love God:
For the Prophet's sake, read it constantly.
19 This is the Path of the Almighty.
He who follows will never turn.
20 Women, a warning. Leave not your homes without good reason
21 In Islam, it is a religious duty to seek knowledge
22 Repent and behave like respectable married women
23 You must dress modestly and be God-fearing.
Do not imperil yourselves and risk Hellfire.
24 Any woman who refuses, receives no benefit,
The merciful Lord will give her the reward of the
damned.
25 I have written this poem of admonition
For you to put to good use in the community.
26 I end with thanks to God. I invoke His peace On the Prophet and
his companions.
27 The year of the Hijra is 1273.
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Home WarZone Democracy Now Controlled Opposition towards the Messianic Plan
Democracy Now Controlled Opposition towards the Messianic Plan
by Ann Diener for Veterans Today
With no discussion that Eastern Aleppo is a terrorist stronghold, Democracy Now had Professor Yasser Munif on this morning attempting yet again to propagandize the "alternative media" about the conflict in Syria towards the goal of divide and conquer of a secular, Middle Eastern country.
The segment even featured video from the "War diary" from AMN, where viewers saw conflicting messages, Yasser Munif on camera discussing supporting the opposition in Syria while seeing Daesh on the ground in the background. Perhaps this was the most accurate depiction of the broadcast, and what we will get based on our current level of propaganda, more Daesh, more divide and conquer and more conflict.
This segment this morning is much like coverage that is being shown on every major media outlet in support of the enemy we are supposedly fighting against, Daesh.
While his stance on the "opposition" and those in civil society rebelling against an "oppressive regime" is appealing to Democracy Now viewers, they neglect to mention the full scale terrorist operation going on in Eastern Aleppo, where the rebels as seen in the background video, are aligned with terrorists who would be happy to bomb or kill Westerners, as they have recently said directly to US Special Forces.
These are not people with laptops working on democracy building, these are radical, brainwashed, Islamists, paid for by radical Islamists and now supplied by the West through the "Free Syrian Army."
It is interesting that Democracy Now did not have anyone on from the US Peace Council that recently visited Syria on to discus their views on the conflict.
Henry Lowendorf of the US Peace Council said while speaking to the UN,
"We are fighting a mass of propaganda that has demonized the Syrian government, demonized its leaders, an effort that precedes every other intervention that the United States has made over the course of many, many decades in order to convince people that its OK for humanitarian reasons to overthrow a government and to replace it with what ever the United States prefers, a government that is not independent, that is a willing participant in whatever US policy is."
Amy Goodman has become part of this propaganda machine and is now controlled opposition. What does she think will happen in Syria, if the Syrian Government and Russia do not win the war? It is clearly seen in the background who will take over.
It will be an Islamist Caliphate with its eyes on the West. This divide and conquer strategy has been a goal of the Messianic Likudist faction, to create both Greater Israel and a radical Caliphate from which to operate from.
This is not democracy building as Goodman so prominently advertises in the title of her show. Democracy building would have been participation for the "opposition" and activists in the most recent Syrian Parliamentary elections in April 2016. That was democracy building.
Henry Lowendorf of the US Peace Council
With all of the focus on Syria today, would it not be better for Democracy Now to question, rather than support the mainstream narrative? This is her "Iraq war" as nothing is said about Eastern Aleppo and who is on the ground. One thing is known, that it is clearly seen in the background of the video.
Thinking about this in depth, if Daesh was to win in Aleppo and Syria, and then use Syria as a base of operations, the mainstream media, the UN, the US government and Democracy Now could be said to provide support to this conclusion and hand victory to Daesh.
Who is going to stop the radical Islamists? The civil society activists or the US military, that is already providing them with arms through the "Free Syrian Army" that can in the future be used against the US military?
Before Russia entered the conflict, we can see how well the US performed against Daesh in this video. It is clear the captured huge amounts of territory. We have not stopped them, as they still appear in the background. Goodman and her colleagues continue to push for this divide and conquer in Syria rather than seeing the story on the ground as a real story of sovereignty in the face of extreme pressure globally to become a radical Islamist base counter to Greater Israel.
The Caliphate then will probably be attacked to kill more Arabic people and radical jihadis will penetrate Europe and US to kill westerners. The war machine will have a consistent power base and profit stream without the fear of peace looming in the background.
Lowendorf, who did indeed visit Syria, said,
"that while the Unites States would like to divide the Syrians up by religion or within a religion, by the different beliefs within that religion, there wasn't a Syrian around who would accept that. We spoke to the Grand Mufti and he said people ask me how many Muslims there are in Syria and his response was always 23 million, that's the population of Syria and when we talk to the bishop of one of the Orthodox churches, he answered the same thing, 'the number of Christians is 23 million.
We will not allow ourselves to be divided up the way the Unites States has divided up the people of Iraq or Libya or Afghanistan or so many other countries, we won't allow that.' That unity I believe this has led to the ability of the Syrians to withstand an invasion by the most powerful country in the world and its most powerful allies in Europe, its most powerful allies in the Middle East, with what is a vicious attack on the Syrian people."
Why is Democracy Now supporting this Messianic plan?
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Q: Parse XML from String using Python I'm pulling XML from a URL, which is behind a login screen.  I can enter my credentials and grab the XML just fine, but I'm having trouble parsing this string.  I think it's a list of XML tags.  Anyway, the XML looks like this:
<Report Type="SLA Report" SiteName="Get Dataset Metadata" SLA_Name="Get Dataset Metadata" SLA_Description="Get Dataset Metadata" From="2018-11-27 00:00" Thru="2018-11-27 23:59" obj_device="4500" locations="69,31,"><Objective Type="Availability"><Goal>99.93</Goal><Actual>100.00</Actual><Compliant>Yes</Compliant><Errors>0</Errors><Checks>2878</Checks></Objective><Objective Type="Uptime"><Goal/><Actual/><Compliant/><Errors>0</Errors><Checks>0</Checks></Objective><Objective Type="Response Time"><Goal>300.00</Goal><Actual>1.7482</Actual><Compliant>Yes</Compliant><Errors>0</Errors><Checks>2878</Checks></Objective><MonitoringPeriods><Monitor><Exclude>No</Exclude><DayFrom>Sunday</DayFrom><TimeFrom>00:00</TimeFrom><DayThru>Sunday</DayThru><TimeThru>23:59</TimeThru></Monitor><Monitor><Exclude>No</Exclude><DayFrom>Monday</DayFrom><TimeFrom>00:00</TimeFrom><DayThru>Monday</DayThru><TimeThru>23:59</TimeThru></Monitor>

I want to get everything between the  tags and everything between the  tags.  I want to load this into a Data Frame.  That's it.  How can I do that?
I thought I could use tree and root, like this:
REQUEST_URL = 'https://URL'
response = requests.get(REQUEST_URL, auth=(login, password))
xml_data = response.text.encode('utf-8', 'ignore')
tree = ET.parse(xml_data)
root = tree.getroot()

But that just gives me NameError: name 'tree' is not defined & NameError: name 'root' is not defined.  I'm hoping there is a one-liner or two-liner, to get everything tidied up.  So far, I haven't come across anything useful.
print(response.text) gives me:

<?xml version='1.0' standalone='yes'?><Report Type='SLA Report'
 SiteName='Execute Query'
 SLA_Name='Execute Query'
 SLA_Description='Execute Query'
 From='2018-11-27 00:00'
 Thru='2018-11-27 23:59'
 obj_device='4500'
 locations='69,31,'
>
<Objective Type='Availability'>
<Goal>99.93</Goal>
<Actual>99.93</Actual>
<Compliant>Yes</Compliant>
<Errors>2</Errors>
<Checks>2878</Checks>
</Objective>
<Objective Type='Uptime'>
<Goal></Goal>
<Actual></Actual>
<Compliant></Compliant>
<Errors>0</Errors>
<Checks>0</Checks>
</Objective>
<Objective Type='Response Time'>
<Goal>300.00</Goal>
<Actual>3.1164</Actual>
<Compliant>Yes</Compliant>
<Errors>0</Errors>
<Checks>2878</Checks>
</Objective>
<MonitoringPeriods>
<Monitor>
<Exclude>No</Exclude><DayFrom>Sunday</DayFrom><TimeFrom>00:00</TimeFrom><DayThru>Sunday</DayThru><TimeThru>23:59</TimeThru>
</Monitor>

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


We woke to heavy rain so having remained in the hostel for as long as we could we headed to Cruachan power station visitor centre for a look around the exhibition and some lunch. By the time we had returned to Oban and bought some food the weather started to improve. Therefore we opted for a short stroll on the beach at Ganavan Bay and the coast to the north. Again there were excellent views across towards Mull and Lismore.
Later that afternoon we took our first CalMac ferry of the trip, to Colonsay. The weather was now sunny and there were excellent views of the many islands that we passed on route to Colonsay.


text:
The Shrine of Our Lady of Europe
Europa Point, Gibraltar
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Although the history of the Rock of Gibraltar stems back 100,000 years ago to when primitive man and Neanderthals inhabited the area, it was the Moors of Tarik ibn Ziyad that first settled on the Rock back in 711AD, officially naming it Jebel-Tarik, the mountain of Tarik.
The years passed as they do, and a mosque had been built to offer up prayers, a place of worship for themselves. The mosque was built, or so it seems to historians, sometime prior to 1309, at the most southerly tip of the land of Gibraltar.
The Shrine of Our Lady of Europe in Gibraltar with the Virgin Mary and Jesus sitting on her lap.
August of 1462 saw the Spaniards of Don Rodrigo Ponce de Leon capture Gibraltar from the Moors and they left with finality this time. The small mosque was converted post haste into a shrine to the Lady, to honor Our Lady as Patroness of Europe, with the firm intent to devote all of the continent to their God. A large chapel was built near the mosques eastern wall and the entire area became the "Shrine of Our Lady of Europe."
Not long after this, there was installed a statue of the Virgin and her child, diminutive in nature, just two feet tall, carved from wood and colored royal blue, gold and red. Seated with the baby Jesus on her lap, the Virgin mother held a scepter with three flowers, each given a different meaning, Love, Justice and Truth.
Sailors asked, and were granted that a light could be kept burning for them, not just in the front of the image of Mary and the Baby, but also in the tower, and the ships between them made provisions that the small chapel never be without oil, a constant supply guaranteed to them for their lights. The mariners and others were also, according to the writings of the time, given special favors when they "invoked her name".
The Shrine of Our Lady of Europe became very famous. Over the centuries it was revered by soldier, sailor and pirate alike for what it offered to them. It became so popular for the light that it afforded the ships that the men who sailed past stopped to salute the Lady and very often gave gifts to those who were in residence as they sailed past Europa Point.
It was, as has been noted, a time of unrest for the area, and of multiple sieges for Gibraltar, as well as piracy and other such events in these waters. Each year Gibraltar would take many raids from pirates, primarily Turkish, but also others, and among the most famous, or perhaps infamous is a better word, was that which took place on the 10th of September in 1540.
Outside photograph of the tower of the Shrine of Our Lady of Europe in Gibraltar.
The corsair, Hali Hamat, commanded by one of a captains of the Pirate Barbarossa who was guided there by an Italian named Caramanli, took the shrine, robbing it of every valuable item that was in the possession of the shrine, and then, moving into the town, captured many people to be sold as slaves.
They then tried to enter the cathedral but found it well guarded by a priest, Francisco Saavedra. They sailed away without the cathedral goods, but did have many treasures from the shrine as well as their captives.
The Spanish fleet, at that time under the command of Bernardino Mendoza, pursued and clashed with them near Cartegena. The pirates were defeated, and Caramanli was killed in this battle. The razing of the shrine led to a letter being sent to the King of Spain, Charles V, by a hermit who lived at the shrine.
Charles V, as history recalls, did exactly nothing, but the letter was answered, when his son Phillip II had very thick tall walls installed around it, making it a refuge for the towns people when there was a need for it. A Spanish historian, Portillo, in the 17th century, tells of how richly decorated and well cared for the shrine was and how many miracles were said to have taken place there.
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The fourth of August in 1704, saw Gibraltar captured by the British, commanded by Admiral Rooke. The Shrine of Our Lady of Europe was stripped completely of every valuable by the landing Marines and the Virgin and Child were flung down to the rocks below, but oddly enough, or perhaps not, as it was made of wooden construction, the pieces were found by a fisherman, having floated, and taken to father Figueroa, who placed the pieces of the statue in Algeciras where it was safeguarded.
The shrine was not now a place of worship, but instead, nearly decayed, being damaged badly during the Great Siege, but the Gibraltar people continuously requested the return of the statue, so a model of it was made, and decorated by the people with various gemstones and taken to the cathedral. That model still holds multiple small holes that held the gems in place on the neck of the Lady.
Depiction of the mass exodus from Gibraltar in August 1704 by Jose Antonio Valdes.
Also around this time, the devoted to the shrine formed a group of sorts and organised treks to the shrine, and offered money for those who had died without enough to be buried. 1779 during the great siege, the caretaker, Father Mesa, who saw that the Cathedral was on fire, took the statue to Windmill Hill flats were numerous towns people had sought shelter.
The original of course still remained in Algeciras, until 1864 when the Bishop Scandella, assisted by Pope Pius attained permission to replace the image in Gibraltar. On the day that it was returned to the Shrine, the entire route was lined with the army as the procession moved from Waterport to the Franciscan Convent, opposite what is now the Government House.
Gibraltar's issues too, were taken an interest in during the First Vatican Council, when that same Bishop Scandella won the Pope's enthusiastic in the shrine of Our Lady of Europe and he offered to see built a temporary chapel which was completed in May 1866. The Pope donated the marble for the altar. The front piece of the altar depicted the coat of arms of Pope Pius IX and Bishop Scandella, along with a monogram of Our Lady. As the war ensued, in 1939 the image was taken to the Cathedral to be safeguarded.
The shrine, in the meantime, had been further decimated by being used as a storehouse for oil for the army. In 1910, E.R. Kenyon described the shrine, in a book about Gibraltar, as "an ugly little building which stands among the army barracks."
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Records state that in 1928 it was being used as a library for the garrison of Gibraltar. In the Second World War it again became a store house.
The Marian Year –1954– on the evening of Sunday 15th August, the Feast of the Assumption, a torch-lit procession took place and the image of Our Lady was moved from the Cathedral to St Joseph's Church, which was at the time the nearest parish church to the shrine.
Photograph of inside the Shrine of Our Lady of Europe in Gibraltar.
1959 saw the military with no more use for the Shrine building and it was decided to demolish it, and it would nearly have been accomplished, had it not been for the efforts of just a few. It was saved by being named an ancient monument and was preserved for those reasons.
The restoration began in 1962 and on the 28th September of that same year, Bishop Healy celebrated the first Mass at the shrine after 258 years. The first Baptism was held in November 1966 and the first wedding was celebrated in July 1976.
On the 7th October 1968 the statue of Our Lady was restored to the shrine, in a public procession from St Joseph's Church.
On the Tenth of September 1995, Gibraltar's National Day, plans were revealed for more renovation and further refurbishment of the Shrine.
Those plans included building an extension, an office, museum and a tower. The restoration was funded by the European Commission and the Gibraltar Government. Additionally, for fund raising, a set of gold, silver and nickel commemorative medals were produced to be sold.
The Pope, is said to have taken a particular interest in the proposed renovation and sent the following letter to the Bishop.
From the Vatican, 6th September 1995
My Lord Bishop,
The Holy Father was pleased to be informed of the ceremonies to be held at the Shrine, set up by King Ferdinand IV in the year 1309 and dedicated to the Mother of Christ under the title of Our Lady of Europe. He has noted with particular interest that the venerable building is currently being extended and refurbished as a more worthy focus of the Marian devotion of the people of Gibraltar and of the many pilgrims from elsewhere in Europe and beyond.
At a time when the unity of the continent of Europe is being fostered and strengthened, it is indeed appropriate that Gibraltar should house such a potent symbol of such unity, which belongs not only to the civil and political level but is also and specially a reality in the spiritual sphere.
It is the prayer of His Holiness that the Shrine will be an ever effective centre of unification, a place where, under the patronage of Mary, the human family will be drawn ever more closely into fraternal unity and peaceful coexistence.
With these sentiments the Holy Father invokes abundant divine graces upon those gathering for the religious observances, and with affection in the Lord he imparts his Apostolic Blessing to you and to the whole Church in Gibraltar.
With fraternal best wishes, I remain
Yours in Christ
G.B.RE
Gibraltar's Shrine of Our Lady of Europa has seen vast changes, vast decay trials and sieges, watched as they all passed with time. She sits now, restored to her former glory, offering testament to Gibraltar's spirit. The Shrine now shines as it once did, watching over the tip of the continent.
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Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom Crosses $1 Billion Dollars Worldwide
Jurassic World blew away everyone's expectations when it broke the (then) record for the biggest opening weekend at the box office, raking in $208 million dollars domestically. It went on to make $1.6 billion dollars worldwide, and currently sits as the fifth highest grossing film of all time. So when Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom was set to come out, we all knew that, even though it wouldn't be as big as the first one, it was still going to be a massive movie. It opened to $150 million, which may seem like a big dive from the first film, but it is still a considerable amount of money considering it was coming off the $180 million debut of Incredibles 2 the previous weekend. I really like Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. If you don't like the direction of these new movies, you probably won't enjoy this one. But I'm a fan of these films, and I think Fallen Kingdom is a nice addition to the franchise. You can read our full, spoiler-free review here. And now comes the news that Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom has crossed $1 billion dollars worldwide, making it the third 2018 movie to do so, joining Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War, the latter of which also joined the two billion dollar club.
This isn't too much of a surprise. When early projections were saying that Fallen Kingdom would only take in about $120 million dollars in its opening weekend, I had my doubts if it could actually cross a billion. But after its $150 million dollar debut, and the major success it's had overseas, this doesn't surprise me. When it's all set and done, I think Fallen Kingdom will have made roughly $1.2-1.3 billion, which is a great number for Universal. It's a drop from the first one, but considering the original over performed as much as it did, these numbers show that people are still really interested in these movies and want to see more of them. Looking ahead, what other 2018 movies can also join the billion dollar club? Incredibles 2 has slowly but surely been climbing up the ranks. I don't think it will cross a billion, but it's not entirely out of the question. It's something we'll have to keep our eyes on. Outside of that, I don't think anything else really has a chance. Some of the other big blockbusters coming up like Mission: Impossible- Fallout, Venom, Aquaman, Bumblebee, don't have enough momentum to do it. There's always a chance that one of these movies will be electric at the box office and will cause people to go out in droves to see it, but the likelihood of that happening is incredibly slim. The one I think has the strongest chance to do that is Bumblebee. We know that Transformers movies can be giant, billion dollar movies, but people have lost interest in them since Michael Bay has run the franchise into the ground. If Bumblebee is a breath of fresh air for the series, there is a possibility that it could get everyone into the theaters and become a giant success. However, even if that were to happen, I really don't see it crossing a billion dollars. But, you never know.
What do you think? Are you surprised Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom has crossed $1 billion dollars worldwide? Do you think there are any other 2018 films that can also join the billion dollar club? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.
2018 billions billion dollar club box office bryce dallas howard chris pratt colin trevorrow j.a. bayona jurassic park jurassic world jurassic world fallen kingdom nate universal worldwide box office
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text:
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990) – Movie Review
Movie Review • Before I start this article…why didn't anyone tell me the same guy that voice Elmo also voiced Master Splinter?! Thought ya'll were my people! YOU DISGUST ME! You don't disgust me as much as the 3rd TMNT movie but that's another discussion. Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo, and Raphael would never betray me like that & that's why they will always be a childhood favorite.
Named after the creators favorite Renaissance artists, these brothers were already a household favorite in the late 80's with their cartoon. Once the independent film dropped it became the highest grossing independent film until 1999. Although they started as a cartoon, I feel like the movie made us look at them as if they were real, at least for me. When I watch it, I never think to myself "talking turtles is so unbelievable." Their brotherhood & personality made you want to actually kick it with them. You would always be safe, there would be non-stop laughing & you will never go hungry eating pizza.
Mickey is of course the star of the family. He had the best personality & was always down to have fun. He had the youngest sibling trait & got on his brothers nerves every chance he could get, but he was also the charmer. Although the turtles all hatched at the same time, Leo gave the oldest sibling vibes. He was the responsible one who kept things in tact with his brothers. Donny & Ralph gave middle child vibes, but we loved them all for different reasons.
If you ask me why I love this movie so much, there really isn't a detailed explanation for it. It's honestly just a fun movie that no matter how old I get it will always be enjoyable. The acting was great, & the special effects were on point for a 90s film. TMNT had me outside thinking I was a ninja doing roundhouse kicks in my backyard, just incase somebody son wanted this smoke.
Master Splinter was the definition of "cool as a cucumber." He probably took 10 steps the entire movie & still took Shredder down. Shredder is one of my favorite series villains because he had a legit reason of why he hated Splinter. He cut that man face & left a scar that he can't get rid of, I'd be mad too. Although the original April O'Neil didn't reprise her role in future TMNT sequels due to her own complaining, she was my favorite. Her character just felt genuinely good with the turtles & she was funnier.
Personally, TMNT is a classic & I wasn't even into their comic books. The movie pulled me in & has had a chokehold on me since. "GOD I LOVE BEING A TURTLE!!"
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text:
Q: How to draw on the entire area of a resized TImage in Delphi? I've narrowed a problem I have drawing on TImage.Canvas in Delphi 2009 down to the following reproducible case:
Given: a form, a TImage, TLabel and TButton on it. The TImage is anchored to all four edges so that resizing the form will resize the TImage. What I want to be able to do is draw on the maximal area of Image1 available to me after resizing. So in my test case I have the following code in my the Button's OnClick handler:

procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
begin
  Label1.Caption:= IntToStr (Image1.Width)+' x '+IntToStr(Image1.Height);
  Image1.Canvas.Pen.Color:= 0;
  Image1.Canvas.Rectangle(0,0,Image1.Width, Image1.Height);
end;

You'll see that if the form is resized, Image1.Width and .Height change as expected, however the rectangle that is drawn if the resized form is larger than the original one, will be incomplete, only drawing on the same area that was there previously.

How do I get it do use the entire resized area?
For what it's worth, in my original problem I had played with Image1.Stretch, which allows me to use more of the area upon resizing but will result in my drawings being distorted (not desired). If I also use Image1.Proportional, then it's better but I still can't use the full area available. Image1.AutoSize doesn't seem to be doing anything useful to me either.
Any help appreciated.

A: Add an OnResize-event to your form:
procedure TForm1.FormResize(Sender: TObject);
begin
  Image1.Picture.Bitmap.Width := Image1.Width;
  Image1.Picture.Bitmap.Height := Image1.Height;
end;

Also, if you are using the component to draw on, rather than displaying images from file etc, consider using the TPaintBox rather than TImage.

A: Maybe you have to also adjust Image1.Picture.Width/Height or Image1.Picture.Bitmap.Width/Height.


Prior to the course we will request you complete a health questionnaire to enable us to individualise the course content specifically for the attendees. Lee believes yoga can create space in the body and mind, letting you participate in life fully with enjoyment and purpose. She enjoyed how it made her feel physically but also noticed the changed in her mental mood finding herself calmer and more at ease. Jude McLaughlin Jude discovered yoga when a comical attempt at snowboarding led to a bad back and the need to seek out some back and core strengthening moves. This resulted in the inclusion of modern principles of exercise science and spinal rehabilitation, making it one of the safest and effective methods available.
These may be your golf swing, your tennis backhand, your running or cycling style through to how you climb the stairs or simply help you understand why you always feel tension through your neck and shoulder muscles. In these classes we use extremely effective, whole body exercises that develop stability, mobility and physical stamina in a wide range of positions, movements and holds, with a distinct emphasis on core balance. In addition to its physical benefits, the physical, breathing and relaxation techniques practised in yoga class provide an invaluable set of tools and techniques to enable the individual to counter stress, anxiety, deal with bereavement and loss and many other issues. Oli Milroy Oli has a background in running marathons which naturally led him on to finding the benefits of yoga. Please bring a water bottle and wear comfortable clothing. For beginners classes to advanced run by qualified teachers on Pilates Near You. The 19-year-old started his youth career with West Ham United before joining Arsenal in 2014, quickly rising through the ranks in North London.
I have coached in a gymnasium and taught exercise to music and body conditioning classes. Not only will you improve muscle strength, you will also improve tendon, ligament and joint strength, as well as flexibility, becoming far less prone to injury and pain. The Oov helps to activate core stabilizing muscles while also gently extending the spine. Lee Sutton After playing sport to a high level for a number of years Lee was introduced to Hotpod yoga to help with his flexibility. Please check out my weekly schedule and latest workshops — all Yoga and Pilates events will be advertised on this website and social media so please sign up to my newsletter or call back soon so I can help you on your path to Yoga or Pilates, wellness and health. Get quotes Receive fast, free Pilates Classes quotes from the best Pilates Classes near West Bridgford.
Once the course has started, no refunds are possible however we will do our best to accommodate you in alternative classes. Her teaching style is motivational, dynamic, with clear instruction and a down to earth attitude. Pilates Classes and Pilates Studios in North And West London, Central London. Level 2: A progression of both Pilates mat work and equipment, to increase the level you are working at. Search — Kirkwood Community College Continuing. Ladies post-natally, anyone up to 12 months after having your baby Why? If your due date is during the dates of the course please contact me directly for booking details.
These sessions can be arranged as a one-off or regular basis e. The Pilates Lab is an intimate, friendly and professionally run home studio based in Mill Hill, Barnet, North London, offering small group matwork pilates classes maximum 9 in a group and one. Now, looking forward to my new pregnancy Pilates class starting next week, and of course the biggest challenge of all in January!! Gráinne takes a mind-body approach to Pilates believing the practice of Pilates to reduce stress, improve mental focus and sense of wellbeing in addition to its physical benefits. To improve core strength, pelvic floor muscles, general fitness and a chance to socialise with other new mum's in a relaxed environment. There is also no class on Wednesday 18th October. Pilates is a slow, controlled, fluid form of exercise which really targets the muscles which lie deep into your abdominals and back.
You will develop effective exercises that will rapidly improve the strength and function of your core, back, legs and upper body. Pilates is a class that can help you achieve this. Postnatal women can come along to the Beginners Pilates classes from 6 weeks after a natural birth, or 10 weeks following a c section, but these are not suitable for pregnant women to attend. This combination of strengthening and stabilising with fluid Pilates work and holding positions from gymnastic body work makes for a true full body workout with physical intelligence. Pilates focuses on building your body's core strength and improving you posture through a series of low repetition, low impact stretching, and conditioning exercises. She experimented with a variety of styles before finding the perfect practice that focused on strength and flexibility.
Matwork: If you prefer to exercise without the use of large pieces of equipment then this is the class for you. The team at a Hitchin Pilates studio turned their passion into cash with. Don't forget to bring plenty of water with you in order to keep hydrated during your session. I understand that classes may be physically strenuous and I voluntarily participate in them with full knowledge that there is risk of personal injury, property loss or death. My coach was always on hand sending me extra works of encouragement through the app! Looking forward to tomorrow's 11am Pilates class.
Just a little update regarding my classes, I will be stopping teaching classes ahead of my maternity leave at the end of October. Our studio is equiped with Pilates specific equipment including a Trapeze table, Reformer, Core Align, Combo Chair, Ladder Barrel, Baby Arc, Orbit, Foam Rollers, Magic Circles and a multitude of soft and weighted balls. Our studio is equiped with Pilates specific equipment including a Trapeze table, Reformer, Core Align, Combo Chair, Ladder Barrel, Baby Arc, Orbit, Foam Rollers, Magic Circles and a multitude of soft and weighted balls. Everyone has made such amazing progress so far which hopefully you will be able to keep up and build upon. This makes the classes a very good experience, one I would recommend. Find professionals We will find Pilates Classes in West Bridgford and do the legwork to contact them on your behalf. The programme aims to develop your strength and control throughout the 8 week course, each week building on the skills you have gained on the previous.


The Eastern Cape march towards a fiscal cliff continues without the MEC for Finance and Provincial Expenditure spelling out clear plans on how to deal with the escalating wage bill. MEC Sakhumzi Somyo correctly identified the provincial wage bill of 65% of the total budget as a key problem that needs to be dealt with.
Another investigation into this matter is simply not good enough. This has been promised for years by Premiers and previous MECs for finance. What is required is tough leadership. Until we get to grips with our bloated bureaucracy the resources for actual service delivery will be under constant decline. I have warned about this problem for years: last year the percentage for the civil servant wage bill was 64% of the total budget.
In the current adjustment of R1. 446-billion, R555-million is to supplement the wage bill.
We welcome the additional R200-million for electrification projects in municipalities as well as the R100-million for the human settlements development grant for Nelson Mandela Bay for housing and the R18.330-million for NSFAS-funds.
It is unusual for an adjustment bill to be tabled based on funding that will come from the national parliament, before parliament has actually approved the Division of Revenue Amendment Bill (DORA) that will officially allocate those funds. It would be unlawful to pass this Bill prior to the DORA being approved in the national assembly. I did raise the matter by point of order in the sitting of today.
The citizens of the Eastern Cape are looking for hope, fresh opportunity and the belief that things will change for the better. Unless bold leadership is exercised the province will continue on its current path.


Place two cotton balls in the center of one of the coffee filters .
Hold the coffee filter with your fingers, gathering the cotton balls in the center to create the angel's head.
Place a second coffee filter onto the open end, tucking the filter in a bit into the head area. This will produce the layered effect on the dress .
While still holding the filter together, tie a piece of gold or silver ribbon around the "neck" and tie a tight bow. Trim ends and set aside .
Take the third coffee filter and fold it in half, then fold the filter up length-wise accordion style. Wrap a white chenille stem around the center, and then fan out the wings . Fold the excess chenille into a loop for your hanger and twist together at the end.
Have an adult hot glue the halo to the back of the angel so that it is positioned above the head.
Glue the wings in place behind the angel, hiding the gold chenille from the halo.


I'm linking up with Amber Haines for her weekly Concrete to Abstract writing assignment. As usual, her piece is stunning and the others linked to hers are excellent as well. Please go check them out and join up with us if you like.
My girls love horses. They have friends who let them ride. A dear family friend closed a betrothal deal with my youngest gal and his least fella, with a horse. Molly loves that horse. The fella, she said, "suits her fine." My girls have always begged to ride, to take lessons and they have been graciously offered many such experiences. They so love the horses.
Number One Son and I have a little different view of the sometimes still wild beasts.
It started for me when I went to work. A sweet family let me stay half way with them many days on my longish commute to and from the college where I worked. I had their daughter in a class. She liked me and they adopted me, and well, I stayed at their farm many dark, cold nights.
They had horses. Not, slow-moving trail horses, the kind used to transport kiddos and old folks. HORSES. The daughter, 19, was a national champion barrel racer. Their horses didn't look or run like any horses I had ever been near. They were Maserati's on legs. They had two speeds: GO! and STOP! I only rode them once or twice with her. When I would go watch her race, I never stopped praying – they churned the ground they ran upon, it flew high as their backs. She, my student, nearly flew off them on every turn. The race of seconds felt an eternity.
Horses became wildness and fury and strength that might be pled a direction, if it seemed good to the horse.
In Costa Rica, we flew above birds and monkeys in the tree-tops and bounced down rapid rivers that we would rate higher here. We explored volcanoed paths and slept nearly uncovered in dark, deep jungles. I roared laughter and delight in all of it, until our little jaunt on the horses. Here, my intrepid son and I broke ranks with adventure. Our trail ride was 3 hours, 3 hours of knee-deep mud and then rocky climbs, now made muddy as well. Our steeds were small and sure-footed and forever fond of the trot. They beat us and then for sport had us clinging to their manes to stay somehow aboard as we climbed. I might have uttered a few French words at the little Spanish speakers. I thought that trip would never end, we would never return to the relative safety of the jungle.
Those horses did as they pleased, well. Unfortunately, their pleasure and ours seemed worlds apart. Their bodies made for those places and spaces, constantly pulled at us – trying to slow them to a gentle walk, to let them on out, away. They tossed their heads and pulled through our reigning in. It seemed a battle where they were stronger and wiser and we weak and full of fear.
Horses became the strength and certitude of One who would not explain, but would deliver us, if beaten and bruised, anyway.
For my mother's 70th birthday, she took us, don't you love that? to Cumberland Island, the largest and least populated isle off the Georgia Coast. A few families hold it, now in trust, as it has been ceded back to the state and ultimately all of us in these states, united. To say people hardy populate it is an understatement…I stood several times on a beach nearly twenty miles in length, not one other soul upon those soft sands. It is primal and pristine. The oldest sons of the isle are not the Carnegie Clan whose granddaughters authored the Trust. The oldest line are the horses the Spanish brought as early as 1500. They have the run of their station and they take such seriously. They: browns, grays, whites and dappled, appear from nowhere: rush through a thicket, careen around the corners of the few homesteads and houses we visitors stay within. They look tranquil as they graze a far off on the moon and star lit dunes, but they fly at will and never cease to surprise in their nearness, their sudden appearing.
Horse became the Inheritor, always near, even if obscured… always ready to charge, bursting forth, coming quickly, not at our bidding, but in pursuit of his own purpose.
How powerfully horses speak to our persons. I have not seen them as a pet to parade or an always gentle beast, but I have come to love them, too.
I went to Meg's track meet today and ended up helping judge/measure the long and triple jump. That meant that I was down on the old field, not the 100 gillion dollar field that rivals the Dallas Cowboys'. The old field was grass, not Bermuda or Zoysia or anything specifically planted for the purpose of our events. It was just good, freely growing grass. And along the edge of it, was a wild wood.
The day was heavy, the air seemed especially so, with a cool humidity that hung about, cloud-like. But Spring cried out through it, with the crisp, sweet, high and bright smells of life gaining ground. Green perfumed the air. All manner of plants were pushing up powerfully, taking their place for the long haul of summer. Just under the falling stands, grew volunteer beets, probably first planted 50 years ago and wild spring greens. There was a lacy carpet of white flowers astride blood-letting stems and leaves – blackberries.
The wood about us seemed an old one, long undisturbed saved for a few boys' wanderings with bb guns. The trees are larger than they are now allowed to grow in our suburbia. The steepness of the property probably protected it and its trees from the developers. It was my kind of wood.
I wandered ( as I am want to do) the periphery and dreamed of following those signs and sirens of life on in. I really thought about vacating my volunteer post, (I truly volunteered, I was not assigned the duties that I took up) to make my way across the berries, and down the tangle, to the stand of oaks just beyond the greening vines. I was not dressed for such, I was surrounded by children, not born of the woods like me, and parents who would have frowned. But that did not dissuade me. Only the need of the volunteered parents ( I have been there) did so. So, I watched the line and the landings and decided that, next time, I would dress to go in and meet up with what has too long been alone.


text:
Quick Chat MMA Fighter Michele Gutierrez
Fighter Girls, July 8, 2011 , Uncategorized, women's martial arts news, 0
Quick Chat MMA Fighter Michele Gutierrez They call her diabalita (the devil) because of her dark and damaging nature inside the ring. But outside Michele Gutierrez is a good natured, proud mother of a two year old girl who found MMA as a way off a destructive path.
Why did you start fighting?
When I was younger I got into a party scene after college, hanging around with the wrong crowd. I woke up one morning and felt like sh*t so I looked in the phone book and the first page it landed on was a place called The Boxing Club. My first day there they told me I had the fastest hands they'd ever seen. So, I got hooked and never turned back to drugs or drinking. It basically saved my life.
Where are you currently training?
I recently left Vaderlei Silva's gym. Right now I'm at Throwdown in Las Vegas under Tony Strickland. He used to be Jens Pulver's trainer. He's basically taken over my life right now.
What is your current schedule like?
Every Monday he gives me a print out and it has my schedule on it. 9:30 to 11:00 is conditioning. I go home and rest then return at 4. We'll work on wrestling or takedowns one day or muay tai. They are always split up.
Where did your nickname come from, Diabalita?
When I was at The Boxing Club the trainer told me I was the sweetest and most innocent real girl he knew. But after I sparred for the first time I got evil in the ring. He thought diabalita fit me.
When is your next fight?
Right now we are looking hard for a fight. We want someone I can test myself against. A trained MMA fighter who will challenge me.
So you're not looking for a rematch with Amanda LaVoy?
By now everyone knows what really happened in that fight. It's all over the place. She pulled my head down while holding my hair. I was trying to pull my head back up and creep out but she had my hair and caught me with a knee. It opened an artery on my head that's why there was so much bleeding. My trainers and I agree that we don't need to step back in the ring with her. She's no on my level. I want a win over someone who can move me up the ranks. That night she took female fighting four steps back."
Where do you want to see female fighting go?
I'd like us all to train hard, to have us all look like real athletes. Nothing shady, nothing catty. I want to cooperate with the promoters to put on good fights and prove all the doubters wrong.
How do you feel about the new Fighter Girls Tank Top featuring your picture?
I think it's absolutely awesome! Debi Purcell is amazing. I will only ever wear FighterGirls clothing no matter what. My daughter wants it. She wants like five different ones. She wears it all the time.
Cynthia Vespia is a certified personal trainer through the National Federation of Personal Trainers (NFPT) and National Council on Strength and Fitness (NCSF). Vespia is also a published author, creative design specialist, award-winning video editor. Find out more at https://www.fightergirls.com
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The baby Antarctic penguins being frozen to death by freak rain storms
By Sharon Churcher, Mail on Sunday Chief American Correspondent
Updated: 18:44 EST, 12 July 2008
Tens of thousands of newly-born penguins are freezing to death as Antarctica is lashed by freak rain storms.
Scientists believe the numbers of Adelie penguins may have fallen by as much as 80 per cent – and, if the downpours continue, the species will be extinct within ten years.
And the Emperor penguin – made famous in the Oscar-winning documentary March Of The Penguins – is also under threat.
Rain has soaked this Adelie penguin chick before its feathers are capable of repelling water
Temperatures on the Antarctic peninsula have risen by 3C over the past 50 years to an average of -14.7C and rain is now far more common than snow.
Adelie penguins are born with a thin covering of down and it takes 40 days for them to grow protective water-repellent feathers. With epic rains drenching their ancestral nesting grounds, their parents try to protect them. But when the adults leave to fish for food, or are killed by predators such as seals, the babies become soaked to the skin and die from hypothermia.
'Everyone talks about the melting of the glaciers but having day after day of rain in Antarctica is a totally new phenomenon. As a result, penguins are literally freezing to death,' said Jon Bowermaster, a New York-based explorer who has recently returned from Antarctica.
Miserable start to life: Cold, wet and dying antarctic penguins try to eke out an existence
'In the past five years, torrential rains have become increasingly common there. We saw Adelie penguin chicks shivering during nearly six days of continuous storms.
'If it had been snow, like in the old days, their down would be perfectly equipped to cope. But they can't take rain. It's like wearing a down jacket that gets soaking wet.
'At night, the temperature would dip and the next morning we'd find them dead from hypothermia.
'Other marine creatures like seals in the Antarctic are born with fur, but penguin chicks have nothing to protect them.
'It is all very well talking theoretically about how the ice cap could disappear – but watching penguins walking among the skeletons of their young is the most powerful evidence of climate change I have seen.'
Explorer Jon Bowermaster: 'Watching penguins walking among the skeletons of their young is the most powerful evidence of climate change I have seen'
Biologist Professor P. Dee Boersma, of the University of Washington in Seattle, has published a study in the magazine BioScience in which she says that the warming climate is also threatening the Emperor penguin.
She visited East Antarctica in December 2006 – less than two years after March Of The Penguins was shot – and says it would be unrecognisable to anyone who saw the film.
'I saw no Emperor penguin chicks, no sea-ice and fewer than a dozen small icebergs.
I was just shocked,' she said.
'It was the first time our expedition leader had seen the area free of ice since he started going there in the Eighties.
'There was no way chicks could have survived. In late September, when they would have been little more than half grown, we were told a large storm had hit the area. Emperor chicks are similar to the Adelie – they are downy and not waterproof and could not survive in the cold sea for any period of time.
'These penguins are sentinels who are showing we really are looking at big changes in the world's climate.'
Athena Dinar, a spokeswoman for the British Antarctic Survey, said that 50 years ago two days of snow were recorded for every one day of rain at the region's Faraday meteorological station. 'Now, in the past few years, the trend is two days of rain to every one day of snow.'