It is said that every decade or so our world creates a new global order – as generations shift, leaderships transform, visions change, and creativity and innovation force us all to live our lives better, longer, differently and certainly with more challenges. Today's global landscape is much, much different than the one in 1946, when Winston Churchill graced these halls and charted a way ahead out of troubled waters for the international community. We are living in extraordinary times as world challenges are increasingly more daunting, but equally so are the enormous opportunities to make a positive difference.
What does the New Global landscape Look Like?
So, what does the new global landscape look like; what role do you want to play in that landscape? What are the things you may want to change? And, What are the challenges you might face? I thought I would share some of the things that would be on my mind – based on what I know -- if I were in your shoes today.
Who are the New Emerging Leader Nations?
So let' start with answering the question – who are the new emerging leading nations that are on the scene today and what they mean for the United States as strategic political or economic partners. And, then turn to those I would put into the group of nations I call "different drummer nations," (or adversaries) which present challenging relationships for us based on past and present geo-political issues.
One thing for certain is that the player nations that you might put on either your emerging list, or different drummer ledger -- will change all the time (so you will need to keep an eye on the globe), and there will be times when countries will flip slides of the ledger on specific geo-political issues.
-- Are there changes we all need to embrace or do our utmost to fight against?
Who would I Put on My Emerging Leader Nation List (ELNL)?
In the category of new strategic political and economic partners, I would include the BRICs or what I prefer to call BRICA nations. I know most of you know the term – BRICs – meaning Brazil, Russian, India, China, and South Africa – as these nations have taken political and economic global leadership roles in last 10 years – whether we as the US agree with them or not. They have developed and forged new ties among themselves and with other nations in key sectors, and international fora. I prefer to use the acronym BRICA, a term I mentioned in an article of mine last year -- because outside of South Africa -- there are 7-8 other nations in Sub-Saharan Africa with GDP's at 6-8 percent, greater than South Africa's 3.5%, and they are pushing forward on their global political and economic prowess. Hence, the "A" in BRICA represents for me these other high-GDP African countries, in addition to South Africa, leaving room for others Africa nations to be included in this club as they progress forward.
Of course, Russia's GDP has had its ups and downs during the 10 year period when the BRICs group first emerged, and we already see China's economy slowing down. We have issues with both on Human Rights, and closed society internal politics. Regardless, they are on my list for their shear global influence; and, they do have influence. In fact, the G-20 will be held in Russia this year.
In addition to the BRICs/BRICA grouping, there are also more south-south international and political groupings of which the U.S. is not part, (Arab League, Organization of Islamic States, China-Africa Summit, Group of 77, etc.), except sometimes as an observer, or an invitee to give a single speech. Even the BRICs held their own summit in India last year for the first time, and the Durban Summit this year will mark the 5th global meeting of the grouping. The bottom line is that all of these groupings are beginning to have an impact on what their members think and do. They have "new-think" approaches to global -- political, trade, and development and are building new strategic alliances.
Although the United Nations General Assembly is not a new sub-organization, more and more geo-political views – such as the recent positive vote on the recognition of Palestine -- get played out there as a result of the closed society that makes up the permanent members of the UN Security Council, -- where that membership has not changed since the creation of the UN. Many emerging nations continue to press for a change in the UNSC permanent membership. The U.S. still remains against this; I think we are on the wrong side of history to do so in today's changing global landscape.
-- We need to better understand their "new think" in order to truly manage and control our own strategic interest and geo-political relationships. Using both China and Russia as examples again -- we need to find ways to work with them on some of our overall strategic goals. We were able to bring Russia along on Libya, but not yet on Syria. On North Korea sanctions, both China and Russia got on board in support of our position on the issue.
-- I do not believe we need to be constant allies on every issue, but we need to understand their human cultural issues and their "new global think" enough so that when we do need their allegiance on key international issues, we have a better idea of how to achieve our goals. And, how to work with them in times of disagreement. In some cases it will be like keeping our "frienimies" close. For example on the cyber-attack issues, I would argue we need to keep a close eye on both China and Russia.
-- On trade and development, how do we compete differently with these emerging nations – but keeping our fair and transparent goals in place so that we continue to build relationships for our businesses, goods and services? Clearly, we have issues with how China and Russia do business around the world as their businesses are not required to follow transparent practices in securing deals -- making the landscape unfair for our private sector that have to follow the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
-- Brazil's and India's private sector are playing a bit fairer, but just do business differently with special support from their governments -- requiring less than "perfect" environments with developing countries, especially in Africa. We tend to want everything to be perfect before we go into some developing countries. As a nation, we are beginning to change this, as can be seen with our economic relationships with Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, even now with Burma, and of course the number of U.S. businesses that have been in China and Russia for years.
-- The good news , however, is I still believe, and evidence does support that they many developing world nations still prefer U.S. goods for their quality, innovation, and our overall best practices approach.
-- Staying on the economic side, there are a few key sectors today that the "new think" nations are focused on because of high global trade, investment, and development demand: agriculture, infrastructure development, information communication and technology, environment, including renewables, energy (oil, gas), timber, and fisheries. I mention these because you too as new leaders will need to keep a mindful eye of what the key important sectors are as part of your strategic thinking.
In this new global landscape there are both challenging factors, and challenging (or adversarial) geo-political relationships that would be on my list if I was a new global leader.
What are the Challenging Factors?
They are all wrap-up, in my view, in global demographics: What do I mean by demographics – everything that impacts outcomes and geo-political relationships – from economic disparity to population sizes and breakdowns by age and gender; world resource locations (where is the oil, timber, jobs, lack of jobs, etc., land and water resources; religious differences or groups that might impact world views, produce conflicts, affect perceptions of an action or statement (look at the positive impact the naming of Pope Francis has had on the Catholic Church) -- in essence what are the human, or country cultural differences of which you need to be aware.
All of these things are elements in my demographic umbrella and as global leaders you may need to take these or others into account.
-- What regions of the world have the most arable land and available water resources? Africa and Latin America.
-- Where is the most economic income disparity today (despite our own economic challenges in the US)? Africa, Latin America, and Asia, with South Africa leading the way as the country with the world's greatest inequitable income distribution.
-- On women, if women as a demographic world group were a nation, it would be the third largest nation in the world behind China, and India.
-- Poverty, food security, corruption, lack of good governance, lack educational and employment opportunities are also top of the list for Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, and Asia. 43 percent of the world's population lives on less than $2.50 per day, and in most of Africa it is less than $1.00 a day. By 2020 1 million more people in the world will be pushed into poverty on top of the current 3 billion; globally 22,000 children die each day due to poverty; 1.1 billion children in the developing world don't have access to clean water, and live in poverty; and 75 per cent of the world's -- wealth is in the hands of 20% of the world's population.
-- All of these demographics are important because they do affect geo-political and economic relationships, and world views which can be very different from our own.
-- Examples today of cause and effect of some of the above demographics: the Arab spring and its redo or continuation in fragile states like Libya, Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain, Yemen, and so on. Rising extremism and Al Qaeda-affiliates across the Sahel region of Africa, remaining conflicts in Iraq, the Taliban resurgence in Afghanistan, and ongoing terrorist attacks in Pakistan, lots of uncertainty in Syria, and our negative sum game relationship with Iran. I have already mentioned North Korea.
-- On Iran, even if we are not dialoguing with them other countries are, including Russia. The worry and question on Iran that I have is how much political influence they might be garnering today that they may be storing up to use later as it continues its outreach in Africa and Latin America. It was not missed that Ahmadinejad attended Hugo Chavez's funeral.
-- Are we in the United States leaning forward, or looking out ahead enough at these demographics and the array of different drummer countries to deal with the geo-political issues they might present for us? We are looking at some, but certainly not all -- and we need to.
-- You as global leaders will need think about these issues; Think about building relationships; Think about the strategic long term with both emerging leader nations and different drummer countries.
So How do We Engage?
We must engage differently than we have in the past; we must listen more; and, understand each country may have its own path to democracy. The question is how we assist, if asked to help, while also taking care of some of the same issues right here at home. We can seek to share our values and principles without appearing heavy-handed, and unconcerned about the plight that everyday people face with the searing demographics I just mentioned.
I do believe that there are global human values that most people hold dear: they want to be able to feed, clothes and house their families; live with dignity and respect for human rights; access to health systems, have affordable education for their children; a living wage through job creation or through entrepreneurial expression, providing voice for the voiceless, encouraging free press and good governance within a recognized legal, tax and transparent framework, and a reduction/elimination in corruption.
There are key activities we need to support more than we do such as increased vocational and entrepreneurial training, providing more assistance in basic primary and secondary education; and, innovation in food security.
-- Although we have improved a bit over the last several years, we need to continue to move away from providing our tacit support for some oppressive governments, encouraging peaceful transition to change from closed to open societies. The world is interconnected and what happens elsewhere will eventually affect us.
-- You as future leaders have an opportunity to play a role in these changes in almost any way you choose – but have some sense of the global landscape you are facing: seek to understand these human cultural differences that each country has, pay attention to the array of possible demographics, and be innovative on how we might help address them.
At Westminster, you have this wonderful tradition of walking through the sacred original six columns that use to be part of Westminster Hall. At graduation you walk back through those impressionable pillars, knowing that the intervening years have provided you with the building blocks to become a global leader.
You have learned in the midst integrity, fairness, and respect. I would add then to your list the need for a better appreciation of human and country cultural values (what I have been calling in my lectures -- human cultural communication), and demographics that go with them. It is a complicated, tough global environment, and players and challenges will constantly change. You will need to understand and try to address these changes without losing the sense of who were are as a nation.
We must fight enemies whenever and wherever we can, but not pick fights unnecessarily. This includes being tolerant of others who see the world different as long as they do not choose to do us harm. We do not always have to agree but in the first order seek ways to work for the greater good. President Eisenhower in the 1950s use to call this "thinking in time;" meaning -- thinking strategically about the times in which you live; thinking smart about the global environment you are in. You are the new global leaders. So, Educate, Lead, and Inspire in shaping the new global landscape; I will be counting on you to do this. Thank you.
Sources: Blogitrrs.blogspot.com; twitter/#rrsafrica; Nigeria's Finance Minister Okonjo-Iweala; CCTV; www.statisticbrain.com; The Global Human Development Report – research date 7.23.2012.


For investments in enterprise architecture to pay off, they must be based on a clear understanding of the organization. Whatever approach you choose to implement your enterprise strategy, an understanding of Conway's Law can help to make your alignment efforts successful.
Those faced with the task of building enterprise architectures for large and even not-so-large organizations are likely to find information systems whose fuzzy boundaries and complex interconnections are matched by the organizations from which they came. The challenge of the task expands exponentially as size and complexity grows. Federal agency CIOs (pressured by Congress and the Office of Management and Budget) and industry CIOs (themselves pressured by corporate boards of directors) are no longer interested in funding duplicative, incompatible, or just plain antiquated IT projects. Both Federal agencies and commercial firms find themselves very much aware of demands to align information technology investments and business objectives. So, what do you do when you find yourself in an architecture leadership role?
In a landmark 1968 article, Melvin Conway stated that the structure of a system reflects the organization that designed the system [Conway68]. This has come to be known as "Conway's Law" [Jargon02][Copelien95]. There is no shortage of aging stovepipe information systems that reflect Conway's insight. On the surface, Conway's insight suggests a "clean slate" approach to alignment: 1) Define the business mission; 2) Learn the business processes from business owners; 3) Re-engineer these business processes to fit the mission; and 4) Structure the IT organization to support the reengineered business processes. Then, if the theory holds, IT systems will naturally align themselves to support the business mission. A number of organizations have tried to implement enterprise architecture using a similar process. However, this approach does not always yield the expected results.
According to the Office of Management and Budget, enterprise architecture describes and documents the current and desired relationships among business and management processes and information technology, and lays out a blueprint for incremental change to both business and technology [OMB00]. Done well, enterprise architecture can transform an organization. However, you don't have to look very far to find organizations that have been through three or more unsuccessful multi-million dollar efforts reflecting a surface understanding of Conway's Law.
It's not hard to see why the clean slate approach has so much appeal. For example, you could easily spend 40 person years modeling just the applications used within some Federal agencies. So, why not clean up—re-engineer the IT organizational structure? Doesn't Conway's Law say that [software] system structure reflects organization structure? Why not capture the business rules from those involved in carrying out the business of the organization, and re-engineer accordingly? Then, build a new set of systems to meet their needs.
Many organizations have tried this clean slate approach: identifying goals, gathering business rules from business owners, and then restructuring the IT organization. A particularly significant problem is that "business owners" don't always know all the business rules. Some very important business rules are often embedded within the software and within the IT culture. Similarly, IT owners don't always know about all IT applications—this is often because business owners get frustrated with long delays and build their own solutions. All too often, a lot of money, effort, fanfare, and pain produce few positive results—everyone keeps doing what they always did. So why does it appear that Conway's Law does not work in these cases?


My heart broke a little bit yesterday.
Firstly, whoever coined the phrase 'sleep like a baby' needs a good kick in the shins. For the uninitiated, babies sound like pygmy hippos when they sleep. They grunt, they groan, they snuffle, they fart, they shart and they sigh. Sleeping right next to that is reminiscent of a night camping in the wilds of Africa. I'm a very light sleeper, but even with earplugs I could hear KiKi's eyelashes fluttering.
With both my precious babies I had dreams of rooming in for 6 months of cuddles and getting to know each other. It didn't happen with D Man, in fact after three short weeks I was forced to stretch our imaginary umbilical cord to another room, and yesterday, after a shocking night before, four week old KiKi and my rooming came to an end. I can feel our umbilical cord pulling at my core but I know in just a few days we'll be used to it. I got even less sleep last night as my ears were awake all night straining to ensure I wouldn't miss her if she needed me. Alas, our house is not actually that big so we were fine!
D Man and I recently went to a monster playgroup over in North Sydney that was run by the Early Childhood Dept of the TAFE. It rocked. It was seriously playgroup on steroids. There were so many stations set up, many with an Early Childhood Development students sitting there ready to interact with the kidlets and potentially realise that they were seriously insane to covet a career in childcare and have a lifetime of childhood illnesses and other people's children's poo.
D Man was practically speed dating in his haste to try all of the available activities in our time there…..and there were so many, it was hard do them all. He totally loved the play dough table. He sat there for the longest time, happily squishing, rolling and cutting the play dough. I loved watching him discovering the textures and the shapes. He also started flirting with the student monitor girl and soon she was putty in his hand, if you'll excuse the pun.
Naturally, I sat down with him and got into the moulding of the dough and realised how incredibly therapeutic it was to repeatedly squish the dough in my hands. This is a win:win activity. Quiet toddler, Mama stress relief. Perfect for rainy days. perfect for any day for that matter.
It's easy to make, incredibly economical and your kid will think you're really cool when you hand over the colourful, doughy balls of joy.
I make half portions of this recipe to get two colours out of one batch. It's still a good handful of each.
Split the ingredients over two bowls and stir, combining well. Place one of the bowls into a saucepan over a medium heat and add your colouring, stirring well. A chemical reaction happens all of a sudden and your gloopy mess will become quite sticky, then clumpy, and then ball up into your Play Dough. Repeat with remaining mixture and a different colour.
There you have it. Instant Fun + Destressed Mum.
Hi, Im interested to know where the playgroup is located in North Sydney? Can anyone attend? It sounds like a great place.
It's at Nth Sydney tafe on West st. Anyone can go and I think it's a couple of mornings a week- we went Friday. It's about $8 and you must register at the front office first. Give them a call for times. It really was super cool!
You just gotta be a bit relaxed about these things these days, huh?!
What a good sport you are for eating it…. Or perhaps you're a secret salty dough fiend!


text:
Q: Is regex in liquid possible? On my Shopify page I have a bunch of products that have weird characters in their description that I assume got there from importing from a CSV. It would be too much work to go through each one and remove these characters manually.
I have this regex script to get rid of them on the client-side:
$(function() {
    var regex = /\?ÕÌ_|_Œ'|[ŠŽÀÁÂÃÄÅÆÇÈÉÊËÌÍÎÏÑÒÓÔÕÖØÙÚÛÜÝÞßðÿ_]/gi;

    $('.rte').html(function(i, oldHTML) {
        return oldHTML.replace(regex, ' ')
            .replace(/[^\x00-\x7F]|\?/g, '');
    });
});

But I would like to move something like this server side and possibly recreate it with liquid. Is this even possible to do with liquid? How can I use this regex server-side?
Edit:
I wrote this hacky code
{{ product.description | replace: '?Íí_' | replace: 'Œæ' | replace: 'äó»íˆí_í'_' | replace: 'í_Œ'í__' | replace: '̴Ì_' | replace: '?ÕÌ_' | replace: '?í´íë_' | replace: 'Ì_åÇÌ__' | replace: 'åÊ' | replace: '?'«íëí__' | replace: '?í_ŒÇí_í'_' | replace: 'í«í_' | replace: '?í?í__' | replace: ''Çíë_' | replace: 'íë_í«íˆíë__' | replace: 'íëí__'Çíëíæíëí___' | replace: ''Ç', '' }}

But this only works if I know what the specific strings are I need to replace instead of searching from a group of strings like in my javascript regex.

A: You can use jekyll-regex-replace Ruby Gem, or write your own plugin if you need to tweak it further. I'm not 100% sure about your use-case if this matches it 100%, but something along this line:

*

*Add to your _config.yml:

plugins:
  ...
  - jekyll-regex-replace

*In your Liquid template:

{{ product.description | regex_replace: '\?ÕÌ_|_Œ'|[ŠŽÀÁÂÃÄÅÆÇÈÉÊËÌÍÎÏÑÒÓÔÕÖØÙÚÛÜÝÞßðÿ_]', '' }}

If you are with a host which limits Jekyll plugins (https://pages.github.com/versions/) then I can only advise to move to another free provider which does not, for example GitLab, that's what I did as well.

*In case of GitLab you also need to add into your Gemfile:

group :jekyll_plugins do
  ...
  gem "jekyll-regex-replace", "~> 1.1.0"

Notes for GitHub: you maybe able to define your own custom Jekyll build with a GitHub Action. That's also a possibility instead of moving.

A: If you have weird characters in your product descriptions, that stem from your CSV, why don't you just clean up your CSV, and then re-import clean description text? Save yourself the grief. Removing weird characters is an indication you messed up the encoding of your data. UTF-8 is your friend here.
Using a Liquid replace filter will work for you, but that is uber-hackey... best to find the source of the error, and fix that. Removing those characters is going to be risky as in some cases you might be fixing the display of some words, but in others mangling will still likely be there.
Note that the Liquid replace filter is all you get to work with server-side, it is your regex option, even though it is far from the usual regex capability.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


If you love entertaining, an excellent way to elevate your hospitality is with a bar cart. These classic furniture pieces hold spirits and wine bottles on a top shelf and lower apron shelf, both of which include rails to hold bottles in place. Bar carts and cabinets provide a simple organization solution by creating a station where guests can gather to refresh and enjoy.
The bar cart that's best for your home depends on your entertaining style. Do you like to throw glamorous cocktail hours where everyone mixes and mingles in a decorated area of your home? Or are your events indoor-outdoor and full of people coming and going?
Wooden mid-century designs look great in a home with lots of modern furniture. When your party is all about high-style and sophistication, a wooden cart is a traditional touch that's bound to impress your friends.
Metal carts are perfect for transitional spaces in your home. They can bridge the design between two rooms and make a convenient hallway bar station while you mix drinks in the kitchen or pour wine in a dining room.
Wheeled carts make it easy for you to move them around. If you know you like to throw different kinds of events at home, choose a cart with four wheels. Two-wheeled styles move easily when empty, but still look stationary thanks to two solid legs.
Stationary bar carts blend in with your furnishings. These are the carts that belong in a dedicated dining area or as an annex to an in-home or outdoor bar.
You always want your party decor to look natural. Your home should look like your home, just a little more festive. Bar cabinets create a stylish baseline for your furnishings while satisfying some very important party functions.
Hold spirits or wine bottles behind cabinet doors. The sideboard-inspired style of these cabinets offers a clean look while storing enough for everyone.
Use bar cabinets as credenzas or accent tables. The upper surface space can hold decorative accessories, table lamps or other artwork. During a party, you can make room for napkins and coasters.
Use your cabinet as storage for other things, like extra candles or quick-use cleaning supplies, between parties.
Cabinets work in tandem with bar carts when you know a lot of people are coming over. Move bottles to your cart or use the cabinet as back stock as the night continues.
Once you decide which arrangement of carts and cabinets works for you, be sure to have enough glasses on hand for all those bottles.


Welcome! These leagues are a part of Fellowship Church. Whether you have been around church your entire life or this is your first peek into it, Fellowship Church has something for you. Pastors Ed and Lisa Young hope you will take the next step into this community of people led by Christ to bring hope, strength and change to the world—one life at a time.


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Liquid error (sidebar-cart line 10): Cannot render sections inside sections
LUFTWAFFE IN THE NORTH AFRICAN CAMPAIGN 1941-1943
Werner Held Ernst Obermaier
This classic photo volume on the North African campaign is a gripping study of one of the major campaigns of the Second World War. From the point-of-view of Luftwaffe pilots and crews the reader is shown the campaign from its outset - from the initial victories, to the final battles in Tunisia.
Each arm of the Luftwaffe is presented - from the Stuka and "Zerstorer" units to the fighter units JG 27 and JG 53 "Pik As." The various Fallschirmjager (Paratrooper) units are also covered, as is the "Hermann Goring" Division which was totally destroyed in the final battles in Tunisia.
This volume includes many action and up-close photographs of all of the aircraft used by the Luftwaffe - from the Messerschmitt Bf 109's and Junkers Ju 87's, to the Messerschmitt Me 323 "Gigant" transport planes - and also covers the many personalities, includding Hans-Joachim Marseille whose 151 aerial victories over the desert are legendary.
Werner Held is the author of many books on the Luftwaffe including German Fighter Units Over Russia, The Messerschmitt Bf 110 (with Holger Nauroth), and German Fighters in World War II - The Day Fighters & The Night Fighters (with Holger Nauroth), all from Schiffer Military History. Ernst Obermaier is the author with Karl Ries of Luftwaffe Rudder Markings 1936-1945, available from Schiffer Military History.
Size: 7 3/4" x 10 1/2" | Pages:248 | 0
Binding: Hard Cover
Hard Cover - $29.95 USD
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This classic photo volume on the North African campaign is a gripping study of one of the major campaigns of the Second World War. From the point-of-view of Luftwaffe pilots and crews the reader is shown the campaign from its outset - from the initial victories, to the final battles in Tunisia. Each arm of the Luftwaffe is presented - from the Stuka and "Zerstorer" units to the fighter units JG 27 and JG 53 "Pik As." The various Fallschirmjager (Paratrooper) units are also covered, as is the "Hermann Goring" Division which was totally destroyed in the final battles in Tunisia. This volume includes many action and up-close photographs of all of the aircraft used by the Luftwaffe - from the Messerschmitt Bf 109's and Junkers Ju 87's, to the Messerschmitt Me 323 "Gigant" transport planes - and also covers the many personalities, includding Hans-Joachim Marseille whose 151 aerial victories over the desert are legendary. Werner Held is the author of many books on the Luftwaffe including German Fighter Units Over Russia, The Messerschmitt Bf 110 (with Holger Nauroth), and German Fighters in World War II - The Day Fighters & The Night Fighters (with Holger Nauroth), all from Schiffer Military History. Ernst Obermaier is the author with Karl Ries of Luftwaffe Rudder Markings 1936-1945, available from Schiffer Military History.
Our other reads you may enjoy!
B.B. KING: FROM INDIANOLA TO ICON
RUSSIAN WRISTWATCHES
GLAMOUR ROAD
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text:
Q: Confused over variable necessity What does the obj=lists[0] do in the following code?
lists = []
infile = open(path, 'rb')
while True:
    try:
        lists.append(pickle.load(infile))
    except EOFError:
        break
obj=lists[0]
while len(lists) > 3:
    lists.pop(0)
print(lists)
infile.close()

I have tried to understand it but I cannot seem to see any reason for it.

A: Nothing.
obj is never referred to after its initial assignment, so it has no effect on anything.
The only possible way I could see that line doing anything, is if lists was some strange class whose __getitem__ call has a side effect. For example,
class StrangeList(list):
    def __getitem__(self, idx):
        self[idx] = 23
        return 23

def a():
    x = StrangeList([1,2,3])
    print x

def b():
    x = StrangeList([1,2,3])
    obj = x[0]
    print x

print "Calling a"
a()
print "Calling b"
b()

Result
Calling a
[1, 2, 3]
Calling b
[23, 2, 3]

Here, doing obj = x[0] does do something, even though obj is never used. But this is a contrived example; for your current code and for 99.9% of the classes you're likely to use in the future, __getitem__ won't behave this way.

A: Assuming this is all the code there is, there is no use for it and, as @Daniel Roseman mentioned, it must be a left over from some refactoring.
If there is more code in your program, I would suggest that the variable obj is being used to preserve the first value of the list. The loop below it consumes all elements in the list (except the last three), so if you are going to need the original first object in the list, you need to preserve it - hence, the obj attribution.


I am a biologist (PhD in Molecular Biology) and a freelance copywriter specialising in Biomedical Science and educational content. My writing appeared in Science (Careers), The Scientist, Her View From Home, Brainchild, and biotech companies blogs and websites as well as in Russian and Belarusian media outlets.
Introduction into a technical biological method.
Top 5 of the most commonly used cell lines!
Do You Lock Up Your Liquor Cabinet?


text:
Marine Mammal and Seabirds Observation for Survey of North Falkland Basin
MRAG provided observers for marine mammal observations and seabird surveys carried out during a 3D seismic survey in the North Falkland Basin by the survey vessel Polarcus Asima on behalf of Argos Resources and Rockhopper Exploration.
The monitoring effort was carried out to ensure compliance with the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) Guidelines for Minimising the Risk of Disturbance and Injury to Marine Mammals from Seismic Surveys, February 2010. Each marine mammal sighting was detailed, including behavioural descriptions where interaction with the vessel or the seismic gear was apparent.
A survey of seabird abundance and distribution over the prospect area was specifically requested as part of the MMO remit on board the Polarcus Asima. This survey provided a spatially specific dataset that would act to strengthen knowledge of seabird activity within the licence area during the summer exploration season. Survey methods were based upon standardised protocols developed by the JNCC Seabirds at Sea Team (SAST UK).
During 2 deployments, there were over 1,310 hours of visual marine mammal observation carried out. There were 142 encounters of 12 different marine mammal species seen. The seabird survey was comprised of 242 separate survey periods, totalling 308 hours and 1,350 km of surveying effort. Over 7,300 sightings comprising of some 10,500 individual birds were recorded. These were made up from 38 individual species / species assemblages.
Argos Ltd
01/Nov/2010 - 31/Oct/2011
Protected, Endangered and Threatened Species


Something unique to our practice that is rare in these times of rapid change is the longevity of our team. Dr. Kelstrom has been working with some of the same highly trained and experienced dental professionals for over two decades. Patients love seeing a familiar face every time they come in, and they appreciate that they are greeted by name, that we know their dental history, and that we have invested in their long-term oral health and overall well-being. We go out of our way to ensure a positive experience for every patient regardless of what they are being seen for. We take as much time and attention as necessary, whether you are here for a routine checkup and cleaning or an extensive cosmetic makeover.
Dr. Kelstrom shares the Vancouver community with his patients, and this is where he has spent his entire career and raised his family. He and his wife have three adult children, Jeremy, Jared, and daughter Lindsay.
Dr. Kelstrom graduated with a dental degree from Loma Linda University in 1976 and began practicing in the Hazel Dell area almost immediately. He remains proud of the fact that he has many patients he began caring for fresh out of dental school that are still patients to this day. He has always made a long-term investment and commitment to every patient, and he truly cares for each one as a unique individual.
When he is not caring for patients or learning about the latest technology and treatments in dentistry, you will find Dr. Kelstrom staying fit and active by jogging, playing tennis, and sailing. He also likes to relax doing crossword puzzles, going on cruises with his wife, and just being a husband, dad, and granddad to his three grandsons, Caden, Jude and Liam.
Originally from Dallas, Texas, Linda has worked with Dr. Kelstrom for over two decades. Before moving to Vancouver, Washington, she also lived in Modesto, California for twelve years. She initially got into dentistry by filling in for her step father-in-law who was a dentist. When one of his assistants went on vacation for an extended duration, Linda worked in the back as well as the front office. She enjoyed working in a dental office so much that she applied for a job with Dr. Kelstrom. Linda loves living in the Pacific Northwest and enjoys traveling, hiking, movies, car shows and spending time with her family.
Born in Longview, Washington, Kelly has been a dental assistant since 1990. She often can be found upfront in our office working with Linda. Kelly has worked with our practice for over fifteen years. She began her Dental Assisting program immediately after graduating from Columbia River High School in 1989.
Kelly is the youngest of five children. She has been married to her husband for 10 years and has a 16-year-old son Kody. Outside of dentistry, Kody is her world.
Originally from Portland, Or, Michelle has been working with Dr. Kelstrom for 17 years. Her education includes course work at Concord college. Michelle enjoys working with patients and is proud to be able to utilize her skill so that when people leave the office they are happy and satisfied with the work that has been accomplished on their behalf.
Michelle's hobbies include gardening, classic cars, and doing anything out doors from hiking and boating to camping. She also loves spending time with her family, especially her seven grandchildren. Yes, you read that right seven grandchildren!
Melissa is originally from the south but has been living in the pacific northwest for almost four decades. She graduated from Clark college in 1990 and is licensed to work in Washington and Arizona. She loves working with the public. In her free time, Melissa can be found visiting the Oregon coast beaches. She is a fan of the Oregon ducks and the NFL. Melissa loves to hunt for treasures at the local thrift stores but what she treasures the most is the time she spends with her family and friends.
Before she graduated as a hygienist from Clark College in 2016, Ana was a stay at home mom to her son, Jamison. Her favorite part about dentistry is helping who are anxious feel more at ease and comfortable. She aims to leave every patient with a big smile (and healthy gums)! Originally from Portland/Vancouver, Ana now enjoys a gorge view from her home in Stevenson, WA. Her varied interests include taking hikes, crocheting Afghans, belly dancing and journaling.


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»Cases of Alien Abductions
The number of cases of aliens abducting people are not only one or two. Often after such events, there is physical proof left over, proving their reality.
One such case is with 37 year-old Peter Kauri, who lives in Australia. After living through an alien abduction, a unique piece of evidence was left over in his body, which was subsequently sent for DNA analysis.
This had not been his first abduction. He had lived through this type of terrifying event back when he was 7 years old. His next abduction would happen 17 years later. He awoke paralyzed in the middle of the night and glimpsed strange beings surrounding his bed.
One of these beings – tall, thin, with a bronze-colored face and large black eyes, stuck a long needle in Peter's temple and he lost consciousness. When he awoke, he found nothing except the wound on his temple.
Four years later he had another unexplained encounter. He woke due to an uncomfortable feeling and saw that he was in an unfamiliar room, laying on a white bed. At the edge of it were seated 2 unknown naked women.
One of them – a tall blond with white skin and blue eyes – a Nordic, and the other – an Eastern type – with a dark complexion, dark-haired, with the same large eyes, except they were dark.
Suddenly, the blond woman jumped up, grabbed Peter's head and placed it to her breasts. Panicking, he freed himself, but she grabbed him once more. Peter managed to bite her ear and she let him go.
Her appearance showed that she felt no pain, but rather, perplexity. Abruptly, he began coughing violently, and once this had passed, the women were gone.
However, a hair from the blond had been left over on Peter's body. He decided to keep it, placing it in an airtight plastic bag.
Four years on, Peter was once more a victim of abduction. He became determined to seek the aid of a psychiatrist. Under deep hypnotic regression, he included details, which he otherwise did not remember.
Peter's case became rather famous and he received an offer for the strand of hair to be examined, which he still kept for proof. After analysis in the lab, it became evident that it belonged to a being, which was very similar biologically to humans.
But according to the studies, the being belonged to an unusual anthropological species – an extremely rare Chinese-Mongoloid group, one of the most uncommon offshoots out of all known genealogies of man.
Analysis of the root of the hair showed that it had an extra type of DNA, illustrating similarities with Celtic offshoots.
These results suggest a connection with civilizations of ancient times, whose histories reveal accounts of the appearance of such types of people, who were perceived as gods. They could have shared their knowledge with us, and returned to the sky once again.
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Seeta aur Geeta
Posted on March 17, 2012 by Heather Wilson
Seeta Aur Geeta is a classic dual role movie so common in Bollywood, but for a change it's the heroine who has the double part to play and Hema Malini excels as both characters in this tale of separated sisters. This is my favourite film with her as she flawlessly provides drama, action and comedy and looks totally stunning throughout. It's a pleasant change to have a heroine-centric film and although Dharmendra keeps trying to sneak a piece of the action, Hema always gets the last word. You go girl!
The film opens by explaining how the twin sisters get separated at birth and brought up by different families. But there are no mystical songs, lockets or other identifying objects needed because the two just happen to be identical, which means of course that there will be confusion between the two when they grow up.
First of all we meet Seeta and her family. Her parents are dead and Seeta is living with her Aunt Kaushalya, Uncle Badrinath and their two children. Also living in the house is Kaushalya's brother Ranjeet (Roopesh Kumar) and Seeta's grandmother.
Kaushalya and her daughter Sheila treat Seeta as a slave and she is constantly abused and overworked. Seeta is the weak-as-water type of heroine I usually want to slap and tell to pull herself together, but since her rather pathetic and hopeless character is the whole point of this part of the film, I can live with it. Anyway, the focus at this point is much more on Kaushalya who is the best wicked aunt ever. Manorama is outstanding in her role as Kaushalya and has the best selection of grimaces I have seen outside of a gurning competition. Here is just a selection of some of her expressions which she uses to excellent effect.
Honey Irani appears in front of the camera in one of her first roles as an actress playing the mean and spoilt mommy's girl Sheila. I love the way she stands and screams as an iron burns her sari rather than just lifting out a hand to move it away. She really does seem to believe she is the delicate flower her mother calls her and she wonderfully nasty towards her cousin. Ranjeet is appropriately sleazy and obviously the villain once he turns up in a selection of increasingly bad shirts and terrible scarves.
After Seeta's trials and troubles have been established we are introduced to Geeta. What a difference! Seeta is introduced in a scene where she is scrubbing the floor and her evil aunt is yelling at her. Geeta is introduced by a song – upbeat, full of life and fun, it's an apt description of Geeta and her outlook despite her humble status.
Geeta lives with her mother and works as a street performer with Raka (Dharmendra) and Jhumroo (Master Ravi). She's loud, vivacious, a bit of a crook and nothing at all like her twin sister. There is much made of the differences between the two: Geeta's fiery nature and her loving relationship with her mother for example, compared to Seeta's meek obedience and her constant craving for her lost parents. It all sets the scene for the inevitable switch between the two sisters.
After further abuse and inappropriate attentions from the slimy Ranjeet, Seeta finally escapes from the house and Kaushalya reports her as missing to the police. However Geeta happens to be at the local police station where she is 'recognised' as the missing Seeta and picked up by her 'aunt' and 'uncle'.
On the way home Geeta decides she doesn't want anything to do with the crazy fat lady and escapes, ending up hiding in a car with Dr Ravi (Sanjeev Kumar) in a coincidence that is only ever possible in Bollywood. Dr Ravi has already met Seeta as a possible marriage candidate and at the time wasn't impressed at the way Kaushalya presented her niece, but he finds the new 'Seeta' intriguing and the two end up falling in love.
Since she feels sorry for the grandmother, Geeta ends up back in the mansion living with Seeta's family, but she doesn't appreciate the idea of being their servant and certainly won't put up with any abuse. It's a shock for everyone in the family when their previously docile slave lashes out and forces everyone else to work instead. Geeta is hilarious as she pretends to be Seeta and turns the tables on Kaushalya and Ranjeet. There is so much to laugh at, but also plenty of drama and a good balance between the two. It all works so well because of the excellent performance by Hema Malini as the two different sisters. Geeta is a strong and determined character and Hema conveys this resolution with body language and expression just as much as by the dialogue. Seeta is quieter and more submissive, keeping her eyes downcast and her voice softer, but in her own way is just as determined to get what she wants once she breaks free of her restrictive family. It's hard to believe that no-one seems to question the identity of the two sisters, especially since Hema makes them two very different people but no-one ever seems to consider the possibility and that allows the chaos to continue.
While Geeta is busy reforming Seeta's family, Seeta is found by Raka who naturally thinks she is Geeta and takes her back to Geeta's foster mother Leela (Radhika Rani). Seeta blossoms with the love of her new 'mother' while Leela is amazed to have a daughter who can cook, sew and volunteers to visit the temple.
Despite her abysmal attempts at street performing, Raka falls in love with Seeta while for no real apparent reason, Seeta falls in love with him. Although to be fair he is probably the first person she has met who is as self-absorbed about his orphan status as she is, and their shared misery does create a bond. Their wedding is set, as is Geeta's to Dr Ravi but of course the path of true love never runs that smoothly and there is still the confusion between the two sisters to sort out. Although Raka tries to save the day, in the end it's Geeta with a little help from her sister who proves that anything a Bollywood hero can do, a heroine can do even better. It's all totally crazy, over the top and Hema seems to have an excellent time beating up all the bad guys in the fight scenes.
The cast here are all excellent and they are perfectly cast to fit well into their roles. Sanjeev Kumar is effortlessly charming and debonair as Dr Ravi. His assertion that he wants a good Hindustani girl as his ideal wife did make me groan, but despite his initial statement he doesn't seem to mind when Geeta dresses in more Western style clothes and he positively encourages her to go roller-skating (which may actually be something that good Hindustani girls do considering the number of times it happens in films). I'm often quite ambivalent when it comes to Dharmendra, but since he is rather overshadowed by Hema Malini and his over acting goes almost totally unnoticed beside the caricature of Kaushalya, I really enjoyed his performance. Both Pratima Devi as the long-suffering grandmother and Satyendra Kapoor as Kaushalya's hen-pecked husband provide excellent support, as do the various other members of the cast. But it's Hema and Manorama who are the two essential elements to the film and their scenes together still make me laugh every time.
The music is by R. D. Burman and his songs are lovely and well-integrated into the story. Asha Bhosle and Lata Mangeshkar provide beautiful vocals for Hema while Kishore Kumar and Manna Dey provide the male voices for Sanjeev Kumar and Dharmendra. The songs are all pictured on Geeta rather than Seeta which is perhaps a shame, although there is one solo song with Dharmendra which works well. I love this famous song with Geeta pretending to be drunk to dissuade Dr Ravi from marrying her. It's funny but very sad too and while Hema is excellent, Sanjeev Kumar provides excellent backing for her drama.
Javed Akhtar, Satish Bhatnagar and Salim Khan have done a great job adapting the 'Prince and the Pauper' storyline to suit a Bollywood audience and the dialogue is well written and very funny. Director Ramesh Sippy keeps everything moving along and despite knowing the switch is going to happen he still builds plenty of suspense into the story. This is a total Bollywood classic for me – great performances, good songs and excellent comedy, all delivered with such style by Hema Malini. I absolutely love this film and I've lost count of the number of times I've watched it. A full 5 stars!
Temple says:
I like Seeta aur Geeta, but I don't love it. I first saw it several years ago and I really liked it at the time. I've watched it a couple of times since, and each time I enjoyed it a little less and fast forwarded a little more. I can't quite warm to Hema Malini, Sanjeev Kumar is not my idea of hero material and I lack the Dharmendra Swoon gene. So it all comes down to the story and the characters.
I really like the way the story plays with the masala tradition of twins separated at birth, and there are lots of fun moments as Geeta impersonates Seeta. But it does drag on a bit once the twin swapping starts, and Seeta is such a wet dishrag that I get restless whenever she is at centre stage. Geeta is more lively but as with so many filmi heroines, she can only get a husband when she pretends to be something else – in this case, a demure young lass like her sister. So that detracts from the 'you go girl' mood as it turns into 'you go girl and put on a nice sari and a long-sleeved high-necked blouse'. I also found the roller skate scene stupid and not in a good way – Geeta was a tightrope walker and acrobat and all of a sudden she can't work out how to balance or control her body? Yes she was on wheels, but it was just a lazy way of asserting the hero's superiority when there was no real need. Kickarse girls can only kick so much before decorum demands they are put in their place. And then to have Sanjeev Kumar as the vision of young love…oh dear. The romances didn't grab me in the slightest as neither couple seemed to be well suited or even mildly interesting. There wasn't really enough of a threat or menace to keep the dramatic tension either, as most of the 'bad' characters were more slapstick than villainous.
Overall, I like this enough to say see it as a good timepass. It's colourful, the music is pleasant although I don't think it's great, the mood is generally upbeat (apart from all the attempted rapes and beatings). But it's not a film that rewards repeated views and there are many other masala favourites I would rather see again. 3 stars.
This entry was posted in Bollywood and tagged Asha Bhosle, Dharmendra, Hema Malini, Honey Irani, Javed Akhtar, Kamal Kapoor, Kishore Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar, Manna Dey, Manorama, Pratima Devi, R. D. Burman, Radhika Rani, Ramesh Sippy, Ratnamala, Roopesh Kumar, Salim Khan, Sanjeev Kumar, Satish Bhatnagar, Satyendra Kapoor, Seeta aur Geeta. Bookmark the permalink.
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11 thoughts on "Seeta aur Geeta"
Pulkita says:
Hi Heather and Temple! =)
This one is a nice change from the usual male twin stories in Bollywood….I agree with some views of both the reviewers on the movie….a movie, according to me, which is just "timepass" at some times and 'really great" at other times…repeated viewings do have their effect after all! Dharmendra, surprisingly, could not create the magic of his on-screen chemistry with Hema Malini in this movie…but Sanjeev Kumar did make a good pair with her…overall….for the acting, comedy, music, drama and all….3.5 stars from me!
I would like a review of the following movies at CinemaChaat….
1. Agni Natchathiram 2. Apoorva Raagangal 3. Geethanjali
Eagerly waiting for reading your valuable views on the movies mentioned above….
Pulkita=)
Heather Wilson says:
Hi Pulkita,
I think this was the first Bollywood film I saw which had a more active role for the heroine, and certainly the first where the heroine gets to take part in the fight scenes. 🙂 That may be why it made such an impression on me, and why I enjoy it as much as I do.
Hema Malini looks absolutely stunning in this and I do like Sanjeev Kumar as her romantic hero.
I don't think there is much opportunity for her to have such a good rapport with Dharmendra though as Seeta doesn't have quite as much screen time as Geeta and has a more reserved character overall. The romance between Seeta and Raka isn't as convincing on a number of levels but Dharmendra is good as Geeta's friend and that's a more convincing relationship as well.
It's the relationship between Kaushalya and Geeta though that really makes this film work for me – I love Manorama in this and the scene in the police station, and later on when Geeta meets with the lawyer to take the money are my favourite 2 in the film. 🙂
Thanks for the film suggestions as well. I have been trying to find a copy of Apoorva Raagangal with English subtitles but not had any luck so far 😦
stuartnz says:
I only got around to seeing this a month or so ago, and I loved it for its heroine-centric focus. It was a very different film, especially for its era. Although I can see the validity in some of Temple's comments, especially regarding the roller-skating scene, I'm prepared to cut the movie quite a bit of slack because of how it compares to other films of its era. It WAS a progressive film, with an approach that was ahead of its time. If it hadn't entirely ditched the patriarchal baggage, I don't think that detracts from the fact that it made much more of an effort than almost any other film of the time. Especially given the fact that it was a masala entertainer. A movie like Teesri Kasam was very heroine-centric in another way, and was less in step with the male-oriented norms of the time, but it tanked at the box office. I'm sure an argument could be made for saying that Seeta aur Geeta did a better job of showing the possibilities open to women precisely because it was a big starrer commercial film, even if that entailed some compromises. Either way, it was a perfect candidate for Adam's Rib, and Heather & Temple both did a bang up job reviewing it. Thanks!
Thanks! I love this film primarily due to Hema Malini's performance so the flaws in the story don't really bother me 🙂
Geeta was shown as a working girl – even if it was as a street performer (and she was also the one in charge of the money 🙂 ), so I think that she was portrayed as a strong, independent woman, who just happened to fall in love. I agree with you that the way Geeta stood up for herself and her grandmother was novel for a heroine in the main-stream masala films of the time and the low-key roles for the heroes were also quite unusual. Even the romance wasn't standard masala fare with Geeta making it quite clear that she wasn't happy with Ravi flirting with other girls 😉
I also found the comedy very funny and I liked that it was mainly centred on the heroine(s) as well. No annoying comedy uncles or servants (the bane of my movie-viewing experience) but instead a very amusing comedy aunt!
Hema did make quite a few films where she played a more confident and often comedic heroine role, but from the ones I've seen I do think that this is the best. Watching Seeta aur Geeta again for this review has inspired me to go back and hunt out more of her films. I'd forgotten just how good she was 🙂
Suja says:
Hi Heather and Temple, you have quite a difference in rating the film, dont you? I think I would rate it four, squarely in between the two of you 🙂
Temple, I never knew that any female was immune to the Dharm swoon factor!!! I am amazed!!! I am of course, just a puddle whenever he appears on screen, so objective criticism goes straight out of the window 🙂
For me this film will always remain special because I went to see it with my mum as a 13-year old and I remember her giggles and snorts of laughter – oh how I miss that! She had such an infectious laugh! A film which brings back lovely memories..
BTW I too had done a music review of this film a while back http://sujamusic.wordpress.com/2011/05/30/listening-to-seeta-aur-geeta1972/
Hi Suja,
Lovely review of the songs 🙂 I didn't mind Manna Dey's voice for Dharmendra, but hadn't really thought about it until you mentioned it in your review, so I guess it can't have sounded too out of place to me. But then I haven't watched a huge amount of Dharmendra to really think about his voice match in the songs. Sometimes I like him and sometimes I don't so I'm a bit wary when it comes to his films. I've mainly seen the ones with Hema I have to admit 🙂
I did like Abhi To Haath Mein Jaam though, and Dharmendra was a convincing drunk in this! Two drinking songs in one film does seem a lot though 🙂 I like the other songs too but my favourite is actually Zindagi Hai Khel which is the one I associate most with this film. I was about a year into learning Hindi I think and this was one of the first songs where I could understand most of the lyrics without resorting to the subtitles so it has some good memories for me. Plus I love Hema's opening moves as she dances around the circle 🙂
And just for fun – I found this when I was looking for clips of the songs on Youtube. It's a video with some of Hema's best moments from the film set to 'These boots were made for walking'. Even though she isn't wearing boots at all I think it suits her facial expressions here really well (plus it's another song I like 🙂 )
Great video, made me laugh 🙂
Temple Connolly says:
Hi Suja. I am completely immune 🙂 He does nothing for me. He can deliver a good performance, and I enjoyed his ridiculous outfits in Dharam Veer but I find him quite unappealing. I feel the same way about Hema. It's a shame they had to get together and spawn Esha Deol 😉 Temple
Hehehehe So no going google-eyed with Dharam, hey? How sad for you hehehehe I abs. agree with Esha 🙂 Poor girl!!
I like 'Seeta aur Geeta' in comparison to the other twin sister movie by Sridevi (Chalbaaz?). Hema was so much better than Sri in showing the fiery gal part.
I second the request for the reviews of all three movies suggested by Pulkita above. Although, I suppose one has to be a teenager to truly appreciate 'Geetanjali'.
Hi Violet,
I've never seen Chaalbaaz (even though I do love Sridevi) as I'm really not a fan of Sunny Deol. I do have a copy though, so really should watch it at some stage. I just need to psych myself up for Sunny – which may take some time!
Thanks for endorsing Pulkita's recommendations as well 🙂 It can be very difficult to find the older films, and it's often impossible to find copies with subtitles, but I am trying to track down copies of these and a number of other films that have been suggested.
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Tom Wallace
Contradictions In The Qur'an
It is important to remember that the only source of Islam is Muhammad. No one else can validate what he said, and no one else received any revelation from Allah.
There is no claim in the Bible that it was given all at once. We know that it was given by different people over a long period of time. There are some 400 years between the end of the Old Testament and the beginning of the New Testament.
The problem in the Qur'an is that it contradicts itself. Here are two different verses out of the Qur'an that claim it was given all at once:
Surah 2:185 – Ramadan is the month in which we sent down the Qur'an to be a guide to mankind.
Surah 44:1-7 – By the manifest book [the Qur'an], we sent it down on a blessed night in the month of Ramadan.
Here we have two verses that very clearly teach that the Qur'an was given all at once in the month of Ramadan. This poses a major problem because Muhammad claims that he got different revelation when he was in Mecca from what he received some 10 years later in Medina. Surah 102 says the older verses were abrogated (superseded) by the later verses.
Surah 17:105-106 says:
We sent down the Qur'an in truth, and in truth it is descended. We sent thee but to give glad tidings to sinners. It is a Qur'an which we have divided into parts in order that thou might site it to men at intervals. We have revealed it by stages.
Surah 24:32 – And those who disbelieve say, why is not the Qur'an revealed to him all at once? Thus that we may strengthen your hearts thereby, and we have revealed it to you gradually in stages.
The Qur'an says that it was given to Muhammad during the month of Ramadan in one night, and verses that say it was given in stagers over time. It is hard to believe that all 4 of these verses are true.
We must ask if the Qur'an or the Sunna give an explanation for these contradictions. There is nothing that clarifies this problem. Today there are Muslim scholars who try to explain it away by saying that Allah gave revelation from the higher heaven to the lower heaven. They say it was revealed in one night from the higher heaven to the lower heaven. It was held in the lower heaven, and the angel gave it to Muhammad gradually over time.
When we have such a great contradiction, it leads us to believe that it is all false. This is the only reasonable conclusion because surly Allah would know how he revealed his word. If he can't get this right, how can we trust him for anything else. Muhammad, himself, supported the fact that it was given in pieces.
Concerning the changing of Allah's precepts by abrogation, the change was quite great. They went from the peaceful verses of Mecca to the verses of the sword from Medina. They went from, "there is no compulsion in religion," to there is compulsion by the sword. The later verses say the Muhammad must subdue all the unbelievers by force if necessary.
The contradictions in the Qur'an are a major flaw. They can only lead to one conclusion, and that is the revelations received by Muhammad were not from God. When we remember that Muhammad, himself, thought he was demon possessed, it strengthens the conclusion that these revelations did not come from God.
Manuscript Evidence
It is amazing how God preserved the Bible over thousands of years. We have more than 5,000 ancient copies of the Bible. This includes both the Old Testament and the New Testament. More than 95% of these manuscripts are in agreement. Let's compare this with the Qur'an.
We do not have the actual original autographs that were penned by the prophets and apostles. We do have a multitude of manuscripts that were copied from the originals. They fall into several families with some variations. In the Old Testament there were professional scribes charged with the coping of the Scriptures. They were exceptionally careful in the handling of God's Word. For example, when they came to the name of God they would take a bath to cleans themselves and take a new pen before writing it down. They were so afraid of profaning God's name that they would use substitutes.
The Dead Sea Scrolls prove the accuracy of the coping process by the Jewish scribes. The Essenes fled into the area of the Dead Sea. It happens that this area has a perfect climate for preserving the ancient manuscripts. They sealed the scrolls in clay jars for their preservation.
They were discovered by a shepherd boy who threw a stone into a cave and heard something break. The hill sides in the area are full of caves. It was found that these ancient copies of the Old Testament were the same as those from which our King James Bible were translated even though they were nearly 1,000 years older.
Islam -The Religion
Islam & Terrorism
Muslims - The People
Evangelizing Muslims
Apologetic Responses
Copyright © 2017 Fortress of Faith


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First, you have to place your order and tell us what case study research you need. Make sure to inform our writing experts about your topic, discipline, deadline, number of pages and sources, formatting style, language, academic level, quality level, and other aspects.
Use your credit card (MasterCard, Visa, American Express) to pay for your order.
A couple of minutes and an academic writer with a matching degree in your particular subject is assigned to work on your project. All of our experts have gained their Master's and doctoral degrees in the best institutions of the United Kingdom, The United States of America, Australia, and Canada. You can even choose the writer with your native language when placing the order.
You helper is writing a case study paper for you. Feel free to contact your writer using the messaging system available on your personal account. You also have an opportunity to send additional files to your writer or track the order progress at any time.
Once the job is done, you will receive an email notification with a link to your paper. Follow the link, review your work and download it directly to your computer if everything is fine. If you have any concerns about the overall quality or relevance of the content – just ask for a free revision, and we will fix everything. Remember, you have 14 days to request a free revision of your paper. We only provide free revisions in case your initial instructions were not followed. If you would like to change those instructions, make sure to provide them to a writer and pay additionally for a revision.
Academic problems can be solved smoothly when you have a professional educational service by your side! We can provide you with a type of work you have been looking for. So hurry up and place your order with us!