بِالسَّنَدِ المُتَّصِلِ إلَى ثِقَةِ الإسْلامِ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ يَعْقُوبَ الكُلَيْنِي عَنْ عَلِيِّ بْنِ إبْرَاهِيمَ عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ خَالِدٍ الطَّيَالِسِيُّ عَنْ صَفْوَانَ بْنِ يَحْيَى عَنِ ابْنِ مَسْكَانَ عَنْ أبِي بَصِيرٍ قَالَ: سَمِعْتُ أبَا عَبْدِاللهِ عَلَيْهِ السَّلامُ يَقُولُ: لَمْ يَزَلِ اللهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ رَبَّنَا وَالعِلْمُ ذَاتُهُ وَلا مَعْلُومَ، وَالسَّمْعُ ذَاتُهُ وَلا مَسْمُوعَ، وَالبَصَرُ ذَاتُهُ وَلا مُبْصِرَ، وَالقُدْرَةُ ذَاتُهُ وَلا مَقْدُورَ. فَلَمَّا أَحْدَثَ الأَشْيَاءَ وَكَانَ المَعْلُومُ، وَقَعَ العِلْمُ مِنْهُ عَلَى المَعْلُومِ وَالسَّمْعُ عَلَى المَسْمُوعِ وَالبَصَرُ عَلَى المُبْصِرِ وَالقُدْرَةُ عَلَى المَقْدُورِ. قَالَ: قُلْتُ: فَلَمْ يَزَلِ اللهُ مُتَحَرِّكاً؟ قَالَ: فَقَالَ: تَعَالَى اللهُ عَنْ ذِلِكَ، إنَّ الحَرَكَةَ صِفَةٌ مُحْدِثَةٌ بِالفِعْلِ. قَالَ: قُلْتُ: فَلَمْ يَزَلِ اللهُ مُتَكَلِّماً؟ قَالَ: فَقَالَ: إنَّ الكَلامَ صِفَةٌ مُحْدِثَةٌ لَيْسَتْ بِأَزَلِيَّةٍ، كَانَ اللهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَلا مُتَكَلِّمٌ.
In the statement لَمْ يَزَلِ اللهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ رَبَّنَا, ربّنا is apparently the predicate (khabar) of زال , and the phrase والعلم ذاته is the adverb of condition (hall) for it. However [such an assumption] does not give smooth (salis) meaning, nor does it achieve the purpose. Because the purpose is not to affirm the eternity of [God's] Lordship, but to affirm the pre-eternity of His Knowledge and its precedence over the knowable. It may be said the phrase ربّنا is in the nominative case (marfu') and is appositive to the noun (ism) of زال with the predicate (khabar) being omitted (mahdhuf), as indicated by the phrase والعلم ذاته. Assuming the ellipsis, the sentence would be like this: لَمْ يَزَلِ اللهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ رَبَّنَا وَالعِلْمُ ذَاتُهُ. And it is possible that زال is a perfect verb (tammah), sufficing with the nominative case, on the basis of which it would be زال يزول not زال يزال for the past tense of يزال is always defective (naqis), contrary to يزول which is always perfect.
And in the phrase وكان المعلوم, كان is here complete, meaning that 'when He created the things and the knowable came into existence.
In the phrase محدثة بالفعل it is probable that the expression بالفعل is opposed to بالقوة and maybe in the sense of verbal noun, meaning that an Attribute that is realized with creation cannot be God's Attribute. There are some noble topics that have been referred to in this hadith, and we shall discuss some of them to an extent appropriate to this discourse.
It should be known that there is a reference in this noble tradition to God's Sacred Essence being identical to His true Attributes of perfection, like Knowledge, Power, Hearing and Sight. This is one of the important topics (of philosophy and kalam) whose elaborate treatment is, however, outside the scope of this treatise. Here we will refer to the true position in this regard in accordance with firm metaphysical proofs' of the philosophers (hukama') and the way of the people of gnosis (ahl al-ma'ri fat).
It should -be known that it has been clearly established in its appropriate place that that which belongs to the categories of perfection and beauty derives from the mainspring of existence and the root of the reality of being, and that in the realm of existence there is no more than one noble principle, which is the mainspring of all perfections and the source of all goodness, and that is the Reality of Being (haqiqat al-wujud). And were the totality of perfections not the same as the Reality of Being, and were there some kind of duality in the context of concrete reality; of whatever form, or separation from It, that, would 'imply that there are two principles in the domain of Being, which in turn implies many inadmissible conclusions. Hence whatever that is perfection, is not such on the basis of meaning and essence, but by virtue of its actualization and realization in the context of concrete reality, and that which is real in the context of concrete reality is one principle, which is existence. Hence, all perfection derives from one principle, which is the reality of existence.
It has also been clearly established that the reality of existence is sheer simplicity in all aspects, and composition is absolutely precluded from its sacred precincts, as long as it retains its essential and original sheerness and purity of its own reality. However, when it descends from its original reality, it assumes composition in an accidental manner, at the plane of the intellect a s well as external reality, in accordance with its planes and stations (mashahid wa manazil). But in respect of its essence (dhat), it remains single, and composition is something alien to it and accidental.
First, that which is simple in all aspects is the totality of perfections in one and a single aspect. And in the same aspect that It is existent, It is also Knowing, Powerful, Living, and Willing and all the other names and Attributes of beauty and glory are true of It. He is Knower in the [same] aspect that He is Powerful, and Powerful in the [same] aspect that He is Knower, without there being any difference of consideration (i'tibar) even on the plane of the intellect. And as to the difference of the concepts of the Names and the words that are used to represent them, which are unconditioned (la bi shart) intellectual concepts, it does not correspond to a difference in concrete reality, and it has been clearly established that numerous concepts of perfection are abstracted from one thing.
Rather, that which is implied by the foregoing explanation is that all the concepts of perfection are abstracted from a single aspect (haythiyyat al-wahidah). And if the concepts of perfection were to be abstracted from different aspects, as in the case of some contingents, this is accidental, and that is due to the descent (tanazzul) of the reality of existence and its accidental mingling with non-existences.
The second principle is that that which is perfect in all aspects and is absolute perfection and goodness must be simple in all aspects. And from these two, another principle is inferred, that that which is composite, in whatever manner, is not perfect in all aspects and is subject to deficiency and nonexistence as well, and that which is deficient is not absolutely simple.
وَالعِلْمُ ذَاتُهُ وَالقُدْرَةُ وَالسَّمْعُ وَالبَصَرُ ذَاتُهُ.
And Knowledge is His Essence, and so are Power, Hearing, and Sight His Essence.
Second, the absolutely relative Attributes (sifat idafiyyah mahdah), such as [the Attributes of] being the Originator, Provider, Merciful, Omniscient, Omnipotent, and the like.
Third, the absolutely negative Attributes (sifat salbiyyah mahdah), such as Unlikeness [to creatures] (quddusiyyah), Oneness (fardiyyah), Transcendence (subbuhiyyah), and the like.
This author does not consider as valid these divisions, along with the identification of the 'true Attributes' [with the Essence] and the consideration of the relative and negative Attributes as additional, as mentioned by them with their proofs, and he considers them neither in conformity with the firm metaphysical proofs nor with the correct conceptions of gnosis. That is because none of the Attributes are to be considered as being identical with the Essence-when dealing with the concepts of the Names and the Attributes from the viewpoint of conceptual multiplicity. And should we regard the Essence as being identical with the relative or the negative Attributes, that would imply that God; the Exalted, is pure relation and identical with the negative aspect.
Similarly, if He is regarded as being identical with the true Attributes, that implies that God, the Exalted, is the same as derivative conceptions (mafahim i'tibariyyah) and rational ideas (ma'ani' 'aqliyyah), and He is exalted above' that. And should we consider the realities of the Attributes and the concrete instances of the Names and the Attributes, then all the Names and the relative as well as the true Attributes are found to be the same as the Sacred Essence, and the difference between 'knowledgeability' ('alimiyyah) and knower ('alim), and 'powerfulness' (qadiriyyah) and powerful (qadir) is only that of conceptual consideration, and all the relational Attributes derive from His Essential Mercifulness (rahimiyyah) and Beneficence (rahmaniyyah), even the Attributes of being the Provider (raziqiyyah) and Creator (khaliqiyyah), and the rest.
Also, with respect to their reducing all the negations to the negation of contingency and all the relations to a single relation, and their abstaining from reducing the true Attributes to anything, it may be remarked that should we consider the matter from a conceptual viewpoint, none of them derives from another, neither the negations, nor the relations, nor the true Attributes. But if the realities are taken into view, all the true Attributes also refer to the One Necessary Reality.
The true position concerning the Attributes, in the idiom of theoretical philosophy (hikmat al-nazari), is that the true and relative Attributes are absolutely different from a conceptual viewpoint, and none of them is the same as the Sacred Essence. From the viewpoint of reality, all of them are the same as the Sacred Essence. However, there are two planes of the Attributes: one is the plane of the Essence and Attributes of the Essence (awsaf dhatiyyah) from which we can abstract Knowledge and Knowledgeability, Power and Powerfulness. The other one is the station of the Attributes of Act (awsaf fi'liyyah), from which, too, one can abstract the concepts of Knowledge and, Knowledgeability, Power and Powerfulness.
As to the negative Attributes, such as His Unlikeness to creation (quddasiyyah) and His Transcendence (subbuhiyyat) and the Names of tanzih (negation of the finite characteristics of the creatures with respect to God), they are implied by the Sacred Essence, and the Sacred Essence is an accidental instance (misdaq bi al-'arad) in relation to them.
They do not consider the manifestation at the plane of the sacred emanation as 'other' [than the Essence], in the same way that they do not consider it to be the same (ayn) [as the Essence] either. A discussion around this topic will lead up to a discussion of the Names and the Attributes in accordance with their way, and that will take us beyond our present purpose.
And some have referred Divine Attributes to privative matters, considering 'Knowledge' as the non-existence of ignorance and 'Power' as the non-existence of inability. And among the people of ma'rifah, someone whom I have seen insisting on this matter was the august gnostic marhum Qadi Said Qummi,4 who, in the course of a discourse mentioned in Sharh al Tawhid5 has apparently followed his teacher, the marhum Mullah Rajab 'Ali. Aforetime we had given a reply, based on metaphysical reasoning, to his argument, replying as well to his recourses to the literal meanings of some traditions.
Among the noble issues referred to in this sacred tradition is that knowledge with its knowables precedes creation in pre-eternity, a matter which itself as well as its character-as to whether it is detailed or non-detailed-are subjects of a great controversy. There is also a controversy as to whether it is additional to the Essence (dhat) or the same, whether it precedes creation or accompanies it, with all the related details, which are in their books? We will confine ourselves to establishing the truth of the matter and refrain from criticism or refutation of other opinions.
فَإذَا أَحْدَثَ الأَشْيَاءَ وَكَانَ المَعْلُومُ، وَقَعَ العِلْمُ مِنْهُ عَلَى المَعْلُومِ.
So when He brought the things into being and the known came into existence, His knowledge pertained (corresponded) to the known.
That is because His knowledge did not obtain a new subsistence after creation, but pertained to the known after its acquiring subsistence. Now we shall explain the meaning of the Knowledge pertaining to the known.
The explanation of this noble faith-related theme, on the basis of the approach of the authorities among the philosophers, is that, as known from the preceding section, God, the Exalted, is absolute existence and absolute perfection. Absolute existence, with its complete simplicity and unity, encompasses all perfections and all existents, to utmost perfection.
According to the approach of the gnostics, God, the Exalted, encompasses all the Names and the Attributes at the plane (hadrat) of wahiddiyyah and the station of nominal inclusiveness (jam' asma'i). The fixed archetypes (a'yan thabitah) of all existents are implied in the Divine Names at the plane of inclusiveness prior to creation in pre-eternity, and the absolute manifestation of the Essence (tajalli-ye mullaq al-dhat) from the plane of ahadiyyah and the ghayb of ipseity is the disclosure of all the Names and Attributes and all their implications, which are the fixed archetypes of all the existents, with a single manifestation and disclosure that is absolutely simple (kashf al-basil al-mutlaq).
These two approaches possess utmost firmness and sublimity, but as they are extremely subtle and based on multiple principles, until these preliminaries are not learnt and as long as there is complete and consummate intimacy and thorough immersion, as well as perfect good will towards those who possess Divine gnosis (ulama billah), one can not derive anything from philosophy and the terminology of the men of God and the people of the heart and from these discourses, which pile bewilderment on bewilderment.
Accordingly, it is preferable to give a simpler explanation that is closer to the understanding of the common people. And so we say that the causality and creativity of the Necessary Being, the Exalted, is not like the causality of natural agents which combine or dissociate the existing matters, such as the carpenter who brings about changes in an existing material by arranging and separating, or like the mason who combines the existing materials.
To offer a clearer explanation, the knowledge of the complete cause of a thing implies the knowledge of that thing. For example, the astronomer's knowledge of the timings of solar and lunar eclipses is due to his knowledge of their causes. By recording the movements of the sun, moon, and the earth, he calculates the time when the earth will be positioned between the sun and the moon, or the moon between the earth and the sun. And should his records be correct his forecast will not fail by a single second. And since the entire chain of causes and effects terminates in the Sacred Essence, the Source of all sources, and since God, the Exalted, has the knowledge of His own Essence, which is the cause of all existents, being the cause He has also the knowledge of the effects.
From among the above-mentioned explanations, everyone adopts one which corresponds to his plane, and some of them are firmer and more adequate in meeting the purpose than others.
Each of them has offered an explanation in this regard whose mention will take us beyond the requirements' of brevity: We will explain the predominant view and approach with an explanation that Will clarify the truth in regard to the Names and the Attributes in general.
It should be known that most of the philosophers and major thinkers, in order to disregard some 'aspects, have reduced some of the Names and Attributes to some others. As it is well known and established among them, the Will of God; the-Exalted, consists of His Knowledge of what is 'appropriate (salah) and of the perfect 'order, like the controversy in relation to Hearing, Sight and Knowledge and reducing each of them to the other, as mentioned: This matter is contrary to the truth and amounts to disregarding these aspects. Because, if what is meant by reducing Will to the Knowledge of what is appropriate, or by reducing Knowledge to Hearing, or Hearing to Knowledge, is that God, the Exalted, does not possess a will or that He does not possess hearing or sight and that Knowledge is considered by them to include Will, Hearing and Sight, it is an invalid position and an unseemly statement.
That is because it implies that God, the Exalted, is the Source of existence without possessing a will or the power of choice. Moreover, the criterion in regard to ascription of the Attributes of perfection to God is that the attribute should be an attribute of perfection for existent qua existent, and that it should be an attribute of the very reality of existence and from among the perfections of the very essence What) of existence. And there is no doubt that will is one of the attributes of perfection of the absolute reality of being.
Accordingly, the more existence descends to the lower planes, the weaker it is in respect of will, until it reaches the point where it become totally devoid of it whereat it is consider by all to lack will, like the natures, such as minerals and plants. And the more it rises towards perfection and the higher horizon, will becomes more manifest in it and stronger.
Accordingly, we observe that in the chain of natural existents, when they cross the stages of prime matter, body,-element, mineral, and plant, will and knowledge become manifest in them, and the higher they rise the more this noble faculty becomes perfect, so that the Perfect Man possesses such a perfect will that by his mere will he transforms one element into another and the world of nature is subject to his will. Thus we find that will is an attribute of perfection of existence qua existence, and this meaning is affirmed concerning God's Sacred Essence without being referred to another meaning.
Similarly, Hearing and Sight are, in accordance with confirmed truth, among the perfections of the absolute existent, and the reality of hearing and sight is not one dependent on physical organs and they do not constitute modes of cognition limited to organs and instrumental means. Rather, the need for organs is for manifestation of the soul's hearing and sight in the realm of nature and the mulk of the body, even as it also needs the pia mater for knowledge to be manifested in the realm of physical nature.
And this deficiency pertains to the world of nature and mulk, not to knowledge, hearing and sight as such, which observe the realities of the world of the Unseen (ghayb) and hear the malakuti speech of the angels and the higher spirits, as in the case of Moses, the Kalimullah (God's interlocutor), who would hear the speech of God in his intimate supplications (munajat), and the Noble Ultimate Prophet; who spoke with the- angels and would see Gabriel in his malakuti form when no other ear would hear what he heard nor any eye see what he saw, though they would be in the same gathering with the Messenger at the time of the descent of the revelations (wahy).
Moreover, hearing and sight are among modes of cognition which are additional to the principle of knowledge and are other than the' reality of knowledge, and they are among the perfections of absolute existence. Hence their affirmation in relation to God, the Exalted, Who is the very reality of existence and the mainspring of the perfection of being, is necessary.
And should the purpose of those who reduce Will, Hearing, and Sight to Knowledge, or Knowledge to them, be that Knowledge and Will are posited of God in a single aspect (haythiyyat al-wahidah) and that Hearing, Sight, and Knowledge do not have different aspects in the Sacred Divine Essence, this is true and in accordance with metaphysical proof. However, there is no reason to limit the matter to these Attributes, for all Attributes reduce to the reality of sheer existence, and this matter is not contrary to positing different multiple Attributes for the Divine Essence, or rather it corroborates it.
That is because, as has been clearly established, the nearer an existent is to unity and farther it is from the horizon of multiplicity and freer, it is more inclusive in relation to the names and attributes, so that That which is pure existence, the simple, necessary Reality, glorious is His majesty and majestic is His power, is ultimate unity and simplicity and inclusive of all perfections and possessing all Names and Attributes, and to Him literally apply all concepts of perfection, glory, and beauty, and their applicability to the Sacred Divine is worthier and prior, with all the degrees of worthiness and priority.
To sum up, the stronger and more complete is the unity (wahdah) [of an existent], the applicability of the concepts of perfection to it is greater, and the greater is the number of [its] names and attributes. Conversely, the closer an existent is to the horizon of multiplicity, the lesser is the applicability of the concepts of perfection to it, and this applicability also becomes weaker and closer and similar to metaphor (majaz). And this is because unity (wahdah) is concomitant (musawiq) with existence and is a perfection of being qua being. The meaning of concomitance here is that although unity and existence are conceptually different, but in external reality the reality of existence is the same as the reality of unity.
Wherever there is multiplicity, there is also to be found deficiency, nonbeing, evil, weakness and disability, and this is for the reason that the lower that existence descends through the planes of deficiency, multiplicity is greater than at all the other planes of existence. The station of the Lord and the Sacred Divine Being, Glorious and Exalted, which is sheer existence, is absolute unity and simplicity, and there is no way that multiplicity and compositeness should find way into Him.
We have pointed out earlier that existence is the principal reality of perfection and the mainspring of glory and beauty. Hence, sheer existence is sheer unity and sheer perfection, and, therefore, sheer unity is sheer perfection. Thus all the Names, Attributes and perfections are true of That which stands at the highest' plane of unity, and the applicability of each of them to It is more justified and prior. Conversely, that which is closer to multiplicity has more of deficiency in it, and the applicability of the concepts of perfection and the names and attributes is deficient in its case and the quality of their applicability is also weak. Hence, God, the Exalted and the Glorious, possesses all the perfections and encompasses all the Names and Attributes without any of them being reducible to another. Rather, each of them is true of His Sacred Essence in the literal sense, His Hearing, Sight, Will, and Knowledge, all are in their true literal sense without implying multiplicity in the Sacred Essence in any respect whatsoever.
فَلَهُ الأَسْمَاءُ الحُسْنَى وَالأَمْثَالُ العُلْيَا وَالكِبْرِيَاءُ وَالآلاءُ.
To Him belong all the Beautiful Names and the highest metaphors, and all majesty and bounties.
One should know, as pointed out earlier, that all existents, qua existents, with their aspects of ontological perfection, qua aspects of perfection, are known and disclosed to the Sacred Essence of God, the Exalted, with His simple essential knowledge ('ilm al-basil al-dhati) and a single pre-eternal disclosure (kashf al-wahid al-azali). This disclosure, with its very simplicity and complete unity, is detailed so that not an iota of the heavens of spirits nor a particle of the earths of corporeality is outside the realm of His knowledge from pre-eternity to eternity (azalan wa abadan).
فَلَمَّا أَحْدَثَ الأَشْيَاءَ وَكَانَ المَعْلُومُ، وَقَعَ العِلْمُ مِنْهُ عَلَى المَعْلُومِ.
And when He brought the things into being, and the known came into being, His knowledge pertained to the known.
It is probable that this statement refers to active knowledge ('ilm al-fi'li) which is obtained by manifestation (tajalli) through the sacred emanation (fayd muqaddas), and that which is meant by the 'knowables' are the knowables-by-essence (ma'lumat bi'l-dhat), which are existential entities (huwiyyat wujudiyyah) which are existential entities (huwiyyat wujudiyyah) related to the sacred emanation and the light of manifestation.
فَلَمَّا تَجَلَّى بِفَيْضِهِ المُقَدَّسِ وَظَهَرَ الكَوْنُ بِالعَرَضِ وَقَعَ العِلْمُ عَلَى المَعْلُومِ: أيْ ظَهَرَ الفَيْضُ فِي مِرْآةِ المُسْتَفِيضِ بِالعَرَضِ.
When He manifested Himself through His sacred emanation and the accidental being appeared, the knowledge pertained to the known; that is, the emanation appeared in the mirror of the receiver-by-accident of the emanation.
فَلَمَّا تَجَلَّى بِفَيْضِهِ المُقَدَّسِ وَظَهَرَ وُجُودُ الكَوْنِ بِالذَّاتِ: أيْ بِلا حَيْثِيَّةٍ تَقْيِيدِيَّةٍ وَقَعَ الفَيْضُ عَلَى المُسْتَفِيضِ بِالذَّاتِ.
When He manifested Himself through His sacred emanation and the existence of the existents-by-essence became manifest-that is without the limiting aspect-the emanation pertained to the receiver-by-essence of the emanation.
On the basis of both the interpretations, this manifestation through the sacred emanation is not subject to temporal events and changes, and the creation of God, the Exalted; is free from and above any trace of temporality and change, or, rather, from all conditioning and limitation. And since the essential Knowledge ('ilm al-dhati) is simple in all aspects and encompasses all aspects, active Knowledge (ilm al-fi'li), which is the real sign of God and the manifestation of the essential Knowledge and its mirror, is completely simple and absolutely one, encompassing the entire circle of existence without there being any conditioning, change, or composition in it.
At the most it is sustained in its essence (mutaqawwam bi al-dhat) by the Sacred Divine Essence and is the very sheerness of dependence, and, in this respect, is annihilated (fani) in Divine Majesty and is the very presence before the Lord of Glory, and therefore it is considered God's knowledge, in the same way that the very creation by the rational soul of intelligible realities in the realm of the intellect and of the imaginary images in the tablet of imagination, are the active knowledge ('ilm al-fi'li) of the soul and annihilated (fani) in its essence (dhat).
The metaphysicians have said that the relation of the tablet of reality to God is like the relation of the forms of knowables to the soul. Due to this encompassment, simplicity, and influence they have said that God, the Exalted, knows the particulars with His universal knowledge ('ilm al-kulli); that is, the particularly, limitation, and being contained of the known does not cause limitation in [Divine] knowledge.
Hence [Divine] knowledge is encompassing, pre-eternal (qadim wa azali) and unchanging, while the known is contained, limited, temporal, and changing. Those who are unfamiliar with the manner of their speech have been led to imagine that they have- negated God's knowledge of the particulars, taking (kulliyyah) and particularly (juz'iyyah) in the sense current in the jargon of logicians and lexicographers, ignorant of the fact that these terms have another meaning in the terminology of the people of gnosis (ma'rifah) and at times speculative philosophers (ahl al-nazar) have followed them in this regard. Rather, this conception pertaining to the topic of the knowledge of the Necessary Being, glorious is His Name and exalted is His station, has been borrowed by the metaphysicians from the gnostics.
The criterion relating to the positive and negative Attributes of the Sacred Essence of the Necessary Being, glorious is His Name, is that every attribute pertaining to the attributes of perfection and excellences of beauty that applies to the Principle of the reality of being and the absolute essence of existence, without any dress of conditioning or change from one realm to another, and refers to the actual haecceity and luminous essence of being, is among the Attributes that are necessarily subsistent and necessarily realized for the Sacred Essence, exalted is Its station.
That is because should it not subsist, it would imply either that the Sacred Essence is not sheer existence and absolute being, or that sheer existence is not sheer perfection and absolute beauty. Both of these are false conclusions from the viewpoint of the path of gnosis as well as the way of metaphysical reasoning, as stands established in its own place.
And no attribute and excellence is established for an existent except after its decent to one of the stages of conditioning and its assumption of one of the forms of limitations and its embracing one of the planes of deficiency with its accompanying limits of finitude and feebleness, and, in brief, that which does not pertain to the essence (dhat) of being and derives from limits and essences (mahiyyat) is from attributes whose negation is necessary and whose realization is impossible in respect of the absolutely perfect Essence. That is because in the same way as the absolutely perfect Essence and Absolute Being is the instance of sheer perfection, it is also the instance of the negation of deficiency, limits, non-existences and essences (mahiyyat).
And that which is well-known among the authorities, that the negative Attributes reduce, to a single negation, which is the negation of contingency, does not appear to be correct to this author. Rather, in the same way that the Sacred Essence is the essential instance (misdaq dhati) of all attributes of perfection, and none of them reduce to another; as clarified, above, so also it is the accidental instance of the negation of each of the deficiencies.
And one cannot say that non-existences 'and defects make' a single aspect and that there is no distinction between, non-existences (la mayza fi al a'dam); because if one were to consider the matter in the context of actual reality; in the same way that absolute non-existence is a single 'aspect while representing all non-existences, so also absolute existence has a single aspect and is possessor of all perfections.
Hence, from this viewpoint, which is the consideration of ahadiyyah and of the Unseen of the Unseen (ghayb al ghuyub), one cannot posit any attribute, neither the real positive, attributes, nor the negative Divine attribute.
But from another viewpoint, which is the consideration of the station of wahidiyyah and the inclusion of the Names and Attributes, as there is a multiplicity of positive attributes of perfection, every attribute of perfection implies a negation of the deficiency opposed to it. And in the same aspect that the Sacred Essence is the essential instance of Knower. It is the accidental instance of 'not ignorant,' and as it is 'Powerful,' it is 'not powerless. And as it is established in the science of the Names that among the Names and the positive Attributes there is a relationship by virtue of which some of them encompass and dominate others, which are encompassed and overlooked by them by implication these concepts also apply to the negative Names and Attributes.
Now that we know the criterion of the positive and negative Attributes, we can understand that motion-.which subsists through potentiality and prime matter, and temporality and renewal are in its very essence-does not apply to the Sacred Divine Essence, the Glorious and the Exalted.
And 'speech' (takallum) in the ordinary sense, about which the narrator poses the question, is an attribute that is time-bound and subject to renewal and so does not apply to the Essence of God, the Exalted. But this does not preclude the positing of 'essential speech' (takallum dhati) for God, the Exalted, on the plane of the Essence, in a sense that is free from temporality and renewal (huduth).
To put this noble topic briefly, the reality of speech does not depend on the vocalization of speech from certain organs. This limitation, pertaining to ordinary language and general usage, derives from habit and familiarity as well as thoughts and ideas. Otherwise there is no limitation or conditioning in the meaning [of speech] itself. 'Knowledge' comprises of sheer cognition and the manifesting of a thing to the knower and it is not confined to being cognized through some material means such as the brain, or through such non-material means as the common sense (hiss al-mushtarak) or the tablet of imagination, for instance.
If, supposedly, one were to acquire the knowledge of something through his hand or foot, or see or hear something, it would still be knowledge; hearing, and sight. Similarly, when someone sees, hears and speaks in the world of dreams, all these concepts apply to that [that which is, heard, seen or spoken in dreams] without any trace of metaphor, although none of the specific sense organs is employed.
Hence, the criterion of cognition as such depends on the applicability of these meanings and concepts. The reality of speech is the expression of that which is in one's mind and consciousness with or without the mediation of any special organ. Even if, supposedly, it should be metaphorical in accordance with language and usage, these limitations do not exist in the concepts and meanings themselves and are applicable in accordance with reason. We do not have any philological discussion on the topic of the Names and Attributes, and the purpose here is affirmation of the meanings themselves, though language and usage should not be helpful to their affirmation.
Accordingly, we say that the reality of speech is the expression of one's intent whether or not it occurs through sensible means, and regardless of whether it belongs to the category of sound, words, or aspiration. 'Speech' in this sense is among the attributes of perfection of existence, for [self]manifestation and expression belong to the reality of existence and subsist through the reality of existence, and the more existence ascends towards perfection and strength, its [self-]manifestation and expression become greater, until it reaches the highest horizon and the exalted station of Necessity, which is the Light of lights, and light upon light, and manifestation upon manifestation, expressing that which lies in the Unseen (ghayb) of the station of wahidiyyah (Unity, i.e. at the plane of the sacred emanation), through the unconditioned sacred emanation (fayd al-muqaddas al-itlaqi) and the existential word 'Be!, and expressing, through the most sacred emanation and the essential ahadi manifestation, the absolute ghayb and the stationless station of ahadiyyah (Unity, i.e. at the plane of the most sacred emanation).
فَإذَا قَالَ لِكُلِّ عَيْنٍ أَرَادَ إيجَادَهَا: كُنْ، فَيُطِيعُ الأَمْرَ الإلَهِيَّ، فَيَكُونُ وَيَتَحَقَّقُ.
And there are many traditions, which we have not mentioned, that may be cited as evidence on this topic. And all Praise belongs to God firstly and lastly.
1. Usul al-Kafi, i,107, "kitab al-tawhid" "bab sifat al-dhat" hadith 1.
2. Al-Asfar al-arba'ah, vi,118, safar 3, mawqif 2 on the discussion of the Sifat. See also Sabzawaris gloss at this place.
3. Misbah al-uns, 130-131; Naqd al-Nusus, fasal 2, p 38.39.
4. Muhammad Sa'id ibn Muhammad Mufid Qummi, known as Qadi Said, was an eminent Shi'i Scholar well versed in hadith, philosophy, and literature and strongly inclined towards 'irfan. A pupil of Mulla Muhsin Fayd Kashani Mulla 'Abd al-Razzaq Lahiji and Mulla Rajab 'Ali Tabrizi, he held the office of judgeship in Qum and so came to be known as 'Qadi'. He died in 1103/1691-2 at Qum. Among his works are, al-Arba'un hadith, Asrar al-salat, Hashiyah Uthululjiya, a hashiyah on al-Isharat, Haqiqat al-salat, a sharh of al-Tawhid by al-Shaykh al-Sad'uq (r), al-Bawariq al-malakutiyyah, and Kelid al-behesht.
5. Sharh al-Tawhid iii, 54; MS. in Ayatullah Mar'ashi Public Library, Qum.
6. Al-Afsar al-arb'ah, vi, 263-277, safar 3, mawqif 3, fasl 12.
9. Sharh Hikmat al-ishraq, 358-366; al-Asfar, vi, 423, safar 3, mawqif 6.


text:
Exclusive: US counterterrorism operations touched 85 countries in the last 3 years alone
The U.S. is still aggressively tackling terrorism, Costs of War data shows — perhaps in farther reaches of the globe than many Americans realize.
George Petras, Karina Zaiets and Veronica Bravo, USA TODAY
Published 10:36 am UTC Feb. 25, 2021 Updated 3:07 pm UTC Oct. 5, 2021
Nearly 20 months after the Sept. 11 attacks, President George W. Bush stood on an aircraft carrier under a giant "Mission Accomplished" banner and declared "major combat operations in Iraq have ended." Nearly 18 years later, the U.S. is still entangled in military action in the Middle East and beyond.
After the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq following 9/11, much of the U.S. military activity has been focused on counterterrorism efforts, either in direct combat, through drone attacks, border patrols, intelligence gathering or training other nations' security forces.
These globe-spanning operations have cost the U.S. in blood and treasure and had a massive impact on populations around the world. Newer nonmilitary threats from climate change to cyberattacks raise questions about the utility of holding on to hundreds of foreign bases and deploying tens of thousands of troops overseas.
The US conducted counterterrorism operations in 85 countries from 2018-2020
Though Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria were once top of mind for the American public, the footprint has been much larger — and more recent — for the American military. New data from researcher Stephanie Savell for the Costs of War project at Brown University's Watson Institute shows that over the last three years the U.S. has been active in at least 85 countries.
An expanding US military
The Costs of War data shows the extent of recent activity abroad, but the United States has been the world's dominant military power since the end of World War II. Here you can see when and where bases opened, including the expansion after 2001.
Meanwhile, China — considered by many to be the greatest competitor and threat to the U.S. — has only one official overseas base, in Djibouti, a country in eastern Africa. The Pentagon says China is building bases in Pakistan and in the western Pacific.
Beyond the battlefield
A closer look at the number of U.S. military and civilian personnel deployed around the world shows large concentrations of U.S. military personnel in Europe, partly reflecting the legacy of World War II, and in Asia since the Korean War and North Korea's belligerent regime.
Data is from the U.S. Department of Defense.
Echoes of Sept. 11
America's war on terror has claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of civilians and thousands of U.S. troops, according to Brown University's Costs of War project.
More than 37 million people have been displaced or become refugees
It has lasted nearly two decades and cost about $6.4 trillion.
While some military experts say the benefits to U.S. security outweigh the costs, other say it's time for a reassessment.
Cyber attacks aren't the future of warfare. They're already happening
China and Russia lead in online attacks against private and government U.S. computer networks. The Pentagon has acknowledged that cybersecurity is a growing risk with potential for mass disruptions.
Meanwhile, American domestic extremists, not foreign terrorists, present the gravest terrorism threat to the U.S., according to a report from the Department of Homeland Security issued in October. Pandemics, extreme weather due to climate change, and economic or infrastructure instabilities are also risks to national security, experts say.
U.S. leads world in military spending
The U.S. spent more than $731 billion on its military in 2019. While defense allocations are lower than in 2010, military spending is starting to increase.
The U.S. dollar amount in 2019 is more than the next 10 nations combined, including China and Russia.
Supporters of overseas bases say they allow the U.S. to rapidly respond to events in remote areas, including international disease outbreaks. But rising costs and changing threats may force the new Biden administration to consider changes in overseas deployments.
Up to 800 overseas military bases
America's vast reach illustrates why it has been called the "world's police" — a country, critics say, that seeks global hegemony through a military empire despite emergent nonmilitary threats. There are up to 800 overseas U.S. military bases, according to data from the Pentagon and David Vine, an expert at American University.
This map shows around 350 bases for which USA TODAY has determined the opening dates and locations.
Read more: 'A reckoning is near': America has a vast overseas military empire. Does it still need it?
SOURCE: USA TODAY reporting and research; Council on Foreign Relations; Costs of War Project, Watson Institute, Brown University; Stockholm International Peace Research Institute
Contributing: Stephen Beard, Mitchell Thorson, Janie Haseman, Kim Hjelmgaard, Anne Godlasky, Javier Zarracina, and Shawn Sullivan.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
US Senate Kills Two Govt Funding Bills, One With Wall Funds, One Without
© REUTERS / Shannon Stapleton
Both spending bills put forth in the US Senate to end the current government shutdown, which is on day 34, fell short of the votes needed to proceed on Thursday, squashing the hopes of federal workers hit hard by the impasse between US lawmakers and US President Donald Trump.
The Trump-backed ended up with a vote of 50-47. It would have needed 60 votes to proceed to a full floor vote.
Over the weekend, Trump unveiled his proposal to end the shutdown, announcing that he would be willing to give recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and those holding Temporary Protected Status (TPS) a three-year reprieve from deportation in exchange for $5.7 billion in border security funds, the amount requested to build his promised wall along the US' southern border.
© AP Photo / Pat Sullivan
George W. Bush Wades Into Government Shutdown Chaos as Pizza Delivery Guy
Democrats largely rejected the offer, stressing that they were not willing to trade a temporary extension for a permanent wall at the US-Mexico border. Critics of the wall have repeatedly called it immoral and ineffective in handling illegal immigration.
The Trump administration announced in 2017 that it would begin to phase out the DACA program and rescind TPS protections; however, they have been repeatedly challenged in the court systems.
The second spending bill, backed by Democrats, would have reopened government agencies until February 8, giving US lawmakers and Trump additional time to negotiate over border security. But just like the Trump-backed spending bill, the Democratic bill also failed this Senate hurdle, earning only 52 aye votes to 44 nay.
The latest attempts to get government agencies reopened come just one day before 800,000 federal employees are expected to miss their second paycheck since the partial closure began on December 22, 2018. In an effort provide some assistance to federal workers, the Office of Personnel Management took to Twitter days after the shutdown began to share letter templates that employees could use to explain their situation to creditors, mortgage companies and landlords.
Ninety Percent of US Voters Not Affected By Government Shutdown - Poll
Delta Air Lines Expects $25 Million Drop in Revenue Due to Government Shutdown
Trump Furious Over Dems 'Having Fun' Amid Government Shutdown
Hillary Clinton Weighs In as Government Shutdown Drags On
US Government Shutdown Appears as Surreal Reality TV in Washington
vote, Government Shutdown, Congress, US Senate, Donald Trump, United States


LATE physicist and novelist, Elechi Amadi, is best known for his play, Isiburu, a warrior character and wrestler and his famed exploits in that sport in ancient times. Performance of the play formed part of activities held to celebrate Amadi's passing last year in Port Harcourt, aged 82. But Peppersoup is obviously Amadi's less known play with serious dramatic and comedic import.
Its recent performance was at the instance of Lagos Book and Art Festival (LABAF) 2017, held at the amphitheatre, Freedom Park, Lagos. Directing the play was Toju Ejoh for Royal House of Gold Productions. It is billed for a repeat performance at the same venue on December 3, 9 and 10.
In Peppersoup, a young man, Ichela (Stanley Otulaka), latches onto the hope that a white woman he met on a music tour in London, would be his ticket out of poverty if only he could lure her to Nigeria and marry her. But the idea does not belong to him. His friend, Oti (Seun Kentebe), is the brain behind it all. After a failed music tour in London, Ichela returns to the familiar environment of poverty, strumming his guitar on an empty stomach. He has switched bands after Ori advises him so he could be on his own.
So, Oti leads him on; he asks Ichela to propose marriage to Mavis (Osarehia Oransaye), his London catch, but Ichela is not so sure of himself. He does not know how to properly conduct himself before a white woman, with all those foreign mannerisms and etiquettes. But Oti is ready to give him all the coaching he needs to land his London wife, who will come to Nigeria and work also for his own upkeep.
But Ichela's long time girlfriend, Ineba (Tessy Brown), is lurking in the background as an obstacle. How does he sack her with a straight face? Oti provides him the perfect plan, but things go awry when Ineba announces she is pregnant. However, Oti steadies Ichela's hand towards the golden prize, Mavis, who is on her way to Nigeria. With Oti's help, Ichela learns the mannerisms needed to woo a white woman, the lies he needs to tell to maintain his chieftaincy status and such ridiculous posturing.
But a pregnant Ineba is a looming factor. When Mavis arrives, things soon fall apart for Ichela, who finds himself in a love triangle, with Mavis and Ineba pulling him either ways. Mavis will not hear of sharing her man with another woman just as Ineba wants her man to herself. Of course, there is the initial fight between the two women. One explosive incident, however, changes the colouration of the affair and brings the two women together until things begin to fall into place again, with Wirie (Eriakha Edgar) providing the connecting dots.
Indeed, Amadi is easily a master of the comedic act, as he weaves a hilarious tale of love, its duplicity, a friend as prank master and how a man caught in messy love triangle manages to ride the storm and find a semblance of peace; Amadi shows a deft hand in managing two women, caught out in a man's mesh of lies, manage to make the best of a bad situation. Credit for the performance thrill also goes to the director, Ejoh.
However, the play comes alive with the expert skills of Oti (Kentebe), who must egg Ichela on to contemplate the seemingly unthinkable. And when Mavis (Oransaye) arrives, the scenes literarily light up. Indeed, between Kentebe and Oransaye, Peppersoup takes a life of its own; they held the ace to its performance beauty.


When we walked into the space where Frame Denim was presenting its fall collection this season in New York's Meatpacking, the lights were down. And the models were all in…black. Black jeans (think coated denim with a velvet tuxedo stripe, faded boyfriends, overalls), black shirts (Frame has added shirts to the line! More on that in a bit), black-and-white Tabitha Simmons Alexa flats and Hayden heels. The Frame guys – Creative Directors Jens Grede and Erik Torstensson, and Design Director Nico Peyrache – had gone to a dark place. But we liked it. We liked it a lot.
It wasn't totally a surprise, because they'd very kindly had us over the afternoon before to preview it all during their model fittings with stylist Ludivine Poiblanc (her take on the black jean: "It's like a uniform." So true). Right off the bat, they'd told us the theme of the season is "back to black," – not the song; sorry if it's stuck in your head now – and not back in a retro way. "Frame is all about the future," Jens told us. Which is why Frame is moving beyond jeans with a collection of shirts, from a white silk tuxedo top to a blue denim Western style – "more modern, less cowboy," says Nico – which will no doubt sell out in about, oh, a second once it hits stores.
Also cool for fall: a new pencil skirt silhouette and the use of zippers as embellishment (ie. on that skirt or around the waistband of a skinny jean). "We design for women we're attracted to," Jens told us at the presentation. "And things we want to wear." Yes, that's correct. Frame is also introducing men's jeans this fall. Which means Erik can switch over from the Dior denims he's worn to death (there was a ripping incident at the fitting, in fact), and Jens can trade in the Acne Hexes he's been devoted to for ten years. It's a new frontier.
The looks at Frame's fall '14 presentation in New York on February 6, 2014.
Photograph courtesy of Adrian Mesko.


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CARL AZUZ, CNN 10 ANCHOR: Hi. I'm Carl Azuz.
An urgent warning from the United Nations leads off today's show.
The organization's humanitarian coordinator says more than 20 million people are threatened by famine and starvation. They're concentrated at four countries, the African nations of Nigeria, Somalia and South Sudan, and the Middle Eastern nation of Yemen. The U.N. says this constitutes the world's greatest humanitarian crisis since 1945, when the U.N. was founded.
What are these countries have in common? Conflict.
In Nigeria, it's the fighting against the Boko Haram terrorist group, combined with potential famine that has devastated parts of the country.
In South Sudan, fighting between government troops and armed groups, combined with a famine, have left more than 40 percent of the population in need of food, farming help and nutrition.
In Somalia, attacks by the Islamic militant group al Shabaab, plus a worsening drought are taking their tool and in Yemen, a two year old civil war has left roads blocked, reduced imports, left markets damaged and left millions hungry.
So, what can be done about this?
The United Nations wants funding, $4.4 billion by this summer that would go toward fighting hunger and disease in these countries.
Used of war have also destroyed parts of Iraq and Syria, and helped give rise to the ISIS terrorist group. ISIS, an acronym for Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. That's what the terrorists wanted, based on their severe interpretation of Islam.
But their two major strongholds in those two countries are now the targets of international efforts to destroy ISIS. A battle is looming over Raqqa, ISIS's self-declared capital in Syria, and the terrorists are losing their hold on the Iraqi city of Mosul after months of fighting there.
But will all these rid the world of ISIS? What would that take?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It began slowly from the ruins of two groups of wars in Iraq and Syria, but when will ISIS truly began?
SUBTITLE: Can ISIS ever be eradicated?
WALSH: As U.S. and allied firepower honed on their final strongholds, they may almost fall as fast as they rose, when they emerged in 2014 and declared their leader, Abu Bakr al Qaeda, head of their caliphate in Iraq and Syria.
Their territory grew in Iraq, exploiting the suffering of the Sunni minority and in Syria, offering a savage sense of order among the indiscriminate murder of the civil war. Their brutality became ubiquitous, yet also appealed to warped minds globally.
In Libya, a franchise on the coast, in Afghanistan, in the east, in Egypt, around Africa, even southern Russia, pledges of allegiance were made because to be part of ISIS, all you have to do was make a video or a phone call during an attack, and you were part of the global branded enterprise of horror. Paris, Brussels, Orlando, Nice, Istanbul, the lists have to be a lot longer to include all those who claimed to act on their sick name.
As they wane in Iraq and Syria, and lose their Libyan stronghold altogether, they're not over yet. Their idea lives on. The virus of their perverted version of Islam now contagious perhaps forever for anyone on the Internet.
The challenge going forward: how do you make ISIS lose its appeal to those drawn to something so deliberately vile?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ (voice-over): Ten-second trivia:
Which of those words describe a time when day and night are about the same length?
Solstice, Allegro, Equinox or Invicta?
A vernal and autumnal equinoxes or spring and fall equinoxes are when day and night are all equal all over the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: The spring equinox is on March 20th this year, less than a week away. It's the first official day of spring in the northern hemisphere and it feels like it in many parts of the U.S. From Washington, D.C. to Massachusetts, blizzard warnings are in effect, with up to 18 inches of snow in the forecast for Boston and New York City.
Schools were closed. Thousands of flights were cancelled for airports in the path of the late winter storm, it's already slammed the Midwest and this system could bring the Northeast its heaviest snowfall of the whole winter.
Residents stocked up on food and supplies. State governments stockpiled sandbags, pumps and generators, in case there's flooding or the power goes out. Meteorologists say this was all caused when two low pressure weather systems came together, forming a potentially potent nor'easter.
In cold weather in general is affecting a large part of the U.S. population, almost a third of all Americans are under some sort of winter weather alert this week. Many of them live near a lake.
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Let's talk about lake-effect snow. As a boy growing up in Buffalo, New York, I knew it as a day off of school. My dad knew it as a day he may not get home from work as it was just snowing too hard.
SUBTITLE: Lake-effect snow.
MYERS: But how does it work? Well, first of all, you need a lake, because it's called lake-effect snow. And the lake needs to be unfrozen, 35, 40, 45 degrees is great. And then the air that blows across it from the north or from the west can be 10 degrees.
All of a sudden, the moisture from the lake mixes in with the cold air from the north, and you get big clouds and you can get big snow. When it goes on land and goes uphill, all of a sudden, you get significant lake-effect snow. It can be two to three inches per hour.
And depending on where you are, if you're just south of it or north of this lake-effect band, it can look like a wall of snow was coming down. And so, that's why you can be anywhere from a two to three-inch snow fall in one county, and just a few miles south, you can get 30 inches in one day.
AZUZ: Nominations are open for the 2017 CNN Heroes. These are everyday people. You may know a potential hero, who's making an incredible impact on a community. The 2016 Hero of the Year, Jeison Aristizabal, was born with cerebral palsy and he's helped give a brighter future to more than a thousand Colombian children with disabilities.
After accepting his award from CNN, he visited another Colombian hero who's made it his life's work to help others.
SUBTITLE: In December, he was honored as a Top 10 CNN Hero -- but that's not all.
KELLY RIPA, HOST: The 2016 CNN Hero of the Year is Jeison Aristizabal.
ANDERSON COOPER, HOST: Jeison Aristizabal.
SUBTITLE: While in New York, Jeison visited fellow Colombian and 2009 Top 10 CNN Hero Jorge Munoz.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
SUBTITLE: Every single night, Jorge brings free meals to hungry people in Queens, NY.
Jeison helped Jorge prepare meals to be distributed that very night.
JEISON ARISTIZABAL, CNN 2016 HERO OF THE YEAR (translated): I'm very inspired by how Jorge fights. His manner, his tenacity, the enthusiasm that he brings.
The food multiplies here.
JORGE MUNOZ, 2009 TOP 10 CNN HERO (translated: Yes, it's really nice.
ARISTIZABAL: It inspires me do something for others every day.
SUBTITLE: They also got the chance to swap stories.
MUNOZ: I mean, it was very special, I felt very proud of being Colombian when I saw you there.
ARISTIZABAL: What a joy to be part of this CNN family! I'm very pleased, very proud, very happy.
CROWD: Jeison! Jeison! Jeison! Jeison!
AZUZ: Agility events test the dog's athleticism, its training, its connection with its owner, charging over A-frames, hurdles, through tunnels and between weave poles makes for good TV. But when an animal isn't particularly skilled at these things but competes anyway, that makes for great TV.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look at this. Ooh, what a nose dive and he couldn't care less.
SUBTITLE: This dog might be the worst competitor ever.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here we go! That's one of the best shots I've seen in a long time.
SUBTITLE: But when it comes to pure hilarity, he's a big winner. Olly the Jack Russell terrier has become a viral star -- thanks to a comically-bad obstacle course run at the 2017 Crufts Dog Show.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, he's a little bit confused. Some people think he sould have -- oh!
Little Jack Russell here Olly with Karen from the Blue Cross, closes out the group, this last of the small (INAUDIBLE)
He's all over he place and so he should be. Olly and Karen here, Olly was from (INAUDIBLE)
SUBTITLE: His hilarious performance is trending on YouTube.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some people think he should have stayed as lucky (INAUDIBLE). Olly is totally crazy.
AZUZ: So, maybe he's not on course on the concourse, more energetic than synergetic and more vigorous than rigorous. But agility is not beyond his abilities. He's still more agile than fragile, more boss than draws, and he's super. He's able to Olly over A-frames in a single hound.
I'm Carl Azuz.
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The aim of this project is to analyze the workings of decentralized markets both theoretically and empirically, and to draw lessons on the effectiveness of market design by an intermediary or a regulatory authority. We study price determination and contracting arrangements. In particular, we extend existing search theory to account for learning about market conditions. We also extend the existing theory of relational contracting to multilateral settings. We plan to utilize data from online marketplaces to test the theory and to evaluate and suggest changes to market design and regulatory policies.
Decentralized markets are ubiquitous: Housing, labor, online markets, over-the-counter asset markets. Search models are central tools in economics for the analysis of decentralized markets. Uncertainty and learning about market conditions as well as informal contracting arrangements are critical characteristics of decentralized markets. Inequality of opportunity and inefficient allocations may arise due to differential access to markets, differential contracting possibilities or differential information.
New market designs, especially concerning informal contracting and search with learning, raise questions about product and financial market regulation: Does uncertainty about market conditions imply market failures? Is there a need for transparency-increasing regulatory interventions to enhance information about market conditions? Theoretical and empirical evaluation of the market design employed by (online) intermediaries: Do intermediaries choose transparent or opaque markets? Is there a need for consumer protection policies?
Develop tractable models of individual search with learning; utilize tools from the literature on experimentation with multi-armed bandits.
Study the magnitude of distortions induced by incomplete information about market conditions, in terms of the distance of prices from market clearing, the extent of price dispersion, and the reduction of liquidity.
Analyze the incentives for a private market designer (intermediary) to choose a transparent or opaque market structure.
Analyze the influence of uncertainty about market conditions and of learning on entry and sorting into markets, and especially on sorting by prior expertise and information.
Use the theory of relational contracts to analyze interactions in anonymous goods markets.
Extend the theory to trading between one (or several) long-lived and many short-lived agents.
Study conditions under which decentralized relational contracting can solve classical efficiency problems related to moral hazard and adverse selection.
Model traders' incentives for voluntary and unbiased evaluation of trades.
Key: Reputational concerns through "ratings" designed by the platform.
Use cooperation with researchers at firms to access data and possibly run field experiments in online markets (eBay, Airbnb, Thumbtack).
Test for influences of the organization of search results by platforms.
Test for searchers' limits in information processing.
Test for searchers' or bidders' learning.
Test for agents' incentives to build reputation and the effect of reputation on trading outcomes.


In a climate that's more competitive than ever, you can't afford digital tools that hinder creativity.
Duncan Hewett explores massive fintech disruption in Asia and the strategies needed to stay competitive in the rapidly evolving industry.
Retailers can meet aggressive holiday hiring goals this year by providing potential seasonal workers with better technology.
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What's next for IT in 2019? Bask Iyer shares his top 10 CIO predictions, from CIO leadership trends to the impact of emerging tech on IT.


Texans for Better Science Education is a misleadingly-named creationist organization that wants students in Texas to learn their "both sides" of the debate between creationism and the theory of evolution Their website lists apparent "weaknesses" of the theory of evolution (many of which sound suspiciously like creationist arguments), but does not list any of evolutionary theory's strengths (or creationism's multiple weaknesses).
Their work is challenged by Texan Citizens for Science.
The extreme improbability of obtaining any specific amino acid sequence needed for the proteins of life systems.
Sure, at any given place at any given moment. But, like the lottery, you're rolling the dice often enough that it's almost certain that some improbable things will happen.
The high probability of breakdown by hydrolysis of amino acid chains if they were to form in the first place.
Amides are actually quite difficult to hydrolyze; otherwise, the proteins of a body would "fall apart." The body requires specific enzymes to do so. Probability and facility are confused here. Also, is this not a problem for the designer as well?
No known way to achieve 100% left-handed amino acids in proteins or the 100% right-handed sugars in RNA and DNA - all of which are universal to life systems.
All natural processes are known to produce a 50-50% mixture of left-handed and right-handed molecules.
There is no way to account for left-handed amino acids in an "origin of life" theory, but once life evolved, there is no problem with maintaining chirality, especially if amino acids of one organism, do not interact with amino acids of another, discrete organism. Again, there is still no mechanism for a designer-creator to design chiral amino acids and no explanation as to why such a designer-creator would want one chirality favored over another.
Photodissociation of water vapor has been a source of oxygen since the Earth formed, and there is substantial geologic evidence that a significant amount of oxygen existed in the atmosphere prior to the advent of photosynthesis. Oxygen breaks down amino acids and sugars that are postulated to have formed!
There's a difference between oxide minerals (the geologic evidence) and free, molecular O2 in the atmosphere, and mineral evidence shows that metals that normally form insoluble precipitates in the presence of oxygen were mobile and able to accumulate in large bodies of water (Banded Iron Formations). Furthermore, this is a problem for the designer-creator that is not a problem for evolution, as organisms naturally selected mechanisms to deal with oxidative processes. While the details are not known as to how these processes developed, neither is it for the creator-designer.
There is no known natural source of the information that is present in all life systems. Random processes are never known to produce information.
That's because nature doesn't deal with information. Random, natural processes cannot create it because it only exists in the perception of the human mind. What nature does produce are random genetic shifts, and those that create useful amino acid sequences get to be preserved and passed on to future generations.
Also, like most cdesign proponentsists making arguments from information theory, the author doesn't specify whether the mystical "information" that's so problematic is Shannon information or Kolmogorov information, which are not interchangeable. It actually doesn't matter which, though, as an information source in information theory is simply a random process that outputs symbols from a fixed alphabet at a given rate with all symbols being equally probable as output. So yes, random processes are known to produce information.
The Cambrian explosion quickly produced all of the basically different body structures, and some of these have since become extinct. This is very different from the evolutionary tree of life, which suggests a slow and gradual increase in body structures.
As pointed out on this blog, this is a patently false statement. Evolutionary theory has no problem with rapid, episodic change.
Even if it did, the Cambrian explosion appears to have lasted between 70 and 80 million years. This is fast in geologic time but it's still a mind-bogglingly long time by the standards of any life form.
Many life forms persist through large expanses of geologic time with essentially no change. Evolution theory suggests that mutations occur randomly over time and are selected to produce continuing change as the environment continually changes.
Another false statement. If there is no environmental pressures for evolution, a species can remain constant.
Most major proposed transitional forms are problematic and controversial. Rarely does the whole organism fit into the proposed developmental path. For example, birds are often said to have transitioned from reptile- hipped dinosaurs like Velociraptor. But these have a different kind of hip structure than birds. Birds have the same kind of hip structure as the dinosaurs like stegosaurus and the horned dinosaurs.
Transitional fossils are only controversial if you are a creationist, and many are known. Furthermore DNA/genomic evidence for evolution is quite strong.
As pointed out by this blog, the teosintes are an example of new structures occurring over a relatively short time span.
Induced mutations followed by selection in laboratory experiments have not produced any beneficial structural changes.
Talk to Richard Lenski. Before then, please define the word "beneficial".
Most all mutations are detrimental, a few are neutral, and extremely few if any are clearly beneficial.
Most mutations are neutral, not detrimental. We'll give the author the benefit of the doubt here and assume he was misinformed on this point. Natural selection works perfectly fine with detrimental mutations: they are selected against and soon disappear. That's sort of the whole idea.
The fact is that beneficial mutations do happen and are selected for, regardless of how frequently. Also, the effect of a mutation is not necessarily an "on-off switch".
Small changes resulting from natural selection are observed, but are not observed to accumulate to produce structural changes.
This is likely an ID argument—an irreducible complexity argument—that has been debunked before. Languages evolve in much the same way as populations, just (usually) much faster. Small changes in speech eventually add up to big changes until there's enough difference between, say, two dialects to classify them as separate languages—which is analogous to the process of speciation.
It is extremely difficult for scientists to propose in detail how the structural or biochemical systems of life could change from a more simple form that was functional.
It is impossible for creationists to propose a mechanism for their creator. Also, just because a part of science is in its infancy does not mean it is incorrect—the argument from ignorance is poor here given the tremendous amount of evidence for evolution.
When fossils are illustrated, the illustration should indicate which parts of the skeleton are actually present in the fossil material and which parts are inferred. This may be done for example by color, shading, or outline weight.
There is no weakness with evolution here. Many texts already do this. Maybe they should have included a dotted-line creator-designer as well.
Fossil abundance versus geologic period diagrams should be shown for all life forms discussed in the text or presented in tree of life or cladogram interpretations. One large diagram might be presented at an early point in the discussion of fossils. Where little intact fossil material is known, fine lines or dotted lines should be used to indicate inferred or hypothesized connections or relationships.
Again, many texts deal quite well with this. If many examples are given, one uber-diagram will be hard to digest. This is a stylistic difference that does not deal with a weakness to evolution.
If evolution is compared to the change over time of the product of any human endeavor, then the role of intelligence and purpose in that human endeavor must also be clearly recognized and discussed.
Few books use this sort of comparison as real examples of evolution are much more concrete. In fact, we'd advocate that books rid of this sort of analogy because it is incorrect and misinterpreted by IDers and creationists.
This page was last modified on 5 February 2019, at 22:10.


Dry mouth is the common name for xerostomia. It can be due to several different conditions, such as smoking, diabetes or dehydration. Dry mouth is also a side effect of certain medications, such as antihistamines. Regardless of the reason for your dry mouth, it can cause problems with your oral health.
One of the quickest ways to alleviate dry mouth is by drinking water. The water not only moistens the tissues of your oral cavity, it helps you stay hydrated. When dry mouth is caused by dehydration, your body attempts to conserve water by producing less saliva. Rehydrating your body can help increase the amount of saliva in your mouth.
Oil pulling can help improve your oral health by decreasing the amount of oral bacteria in your mouth, but it can also stimulate saliva production. When you oil pull, you swish a healthy oil, such as sesame oil or coconut oil, in your mouth for about 20 minutes before releasing it. The oil traps oral bacteria, but the mechanical action of swishing the oil about the mouth also stimulates your salivary glands.
When you eat a spicy food, your mouth and eyes typically water, but so does your mouth.
To take advantage of Cayenne, the spice that causes the heat, you can place a bit in a cup of water or sprinkle it over your food. If you are comfortable with a fiery mouth, you can even dip your finger in the spice and place it directly on your tongue.
Cayenne not only increases saliva production; the spice is anti-inflammatory and improves circulation.
If you suffer from dry mouth, there are home remedies available to help increase your saliva production. Still, there are prescription medications available to treat dry mouth. In addition, there are mouth rinses that serve as artificial saliva. If you believe that you have chronic dry mouth, schedule an appointment with a dentist, like Aurora Dental Clinic, to have the condition properly diagnosed. In addition, the dentist can prescribe solutions to help with your condition.