text:
An Enlightening Commentary into the Light of the Holy Qur'an vol. 19
What is a 'Commentary'?
The Current Commentary
Attributes Needed for Working on This Kind of Commentary
The Problems in Translating
Translators Note
Arabic, Farsi Commentaries
English Translations of Qur'an
Supporting Technical References
Phraseological and Philological Sources
A Presentation to Muslims
Surah al-Insan Chapter 76
Contents of the Surah
Was the Surah Revealed In Medina?
The Virtue in Studying Surah al-Insan (man)
Surah al-Insan, Verses 1-4
Explanation: The Fetus and its Development
Surah al-Insan, Verses 5 – 11
The Occasion of Revelation
The Great Reward for the Righteous
Feeding the Starved is of the Greatest Good Deeds
Surah al-Insan, Verses 12 - 22
Great Rewards in Heaven
Five Great Instructions for the Fulfillment of Allah's Command
This Is An Admonition; But It Is You Who Choose the Way
Surah Mursalat, Chapter 77
The Virtue of Studying this Surah
Surah Mursalat, Verses 1-15
Allah's Promises Surely Befall! Woe to the Rejecters of Truth!
Contents of the Oaths
Surah Mursalat, Verses 16-28
They See These Signs of Power, Yet They Reject the Resurrection!
They Can Neither Defend Themselves Nor Escape
What Statement Will They Believe In, If They Do Not Believe in Holy Qur'an?
Surah Nabaa, Chapter 78
The Virtue In Studying Surah Nabaa
Surah Nabaa, Verses 1-5
The Great News!
Explanation: The Proposition of 'Vicegerency' and '/naba'‑in‑'ażim/ (The Great News)
Why is the Resurrection Emphasized On So Much?
Surah Nabaa, Verses 6-16
Explanation: The Relation Between These Verses and the Resurrection
Surah Nabaa, Verses 17-20
Finally, the Promised Day Will Come
What are the meanings of 'be opened' and 'gates'?
Hell is a Great Ambush!
Some Great Rewards for the Righteous
Explanation: The Rewards of the Righteous and the Recompense of the Rebels
The Pure Drinks in Heaven
The Clear Solution For Fatalism and Free‑will
Surah Nazi'at, Chapter 79
The Virtue in Studying this Surah
Surah Nazi'at, Verses 1-5
By The Angels Who Try Hard
Surah Nazi'at, Verses 6-14
The Resurrection Will Happen with a Single Great Blast!
Surah Nazi'at, Verses 15-26
Pharaoh Used to Say: I Am Your Lord, Most High
Explanation: A Small Sample of the Elegance of Holy Qur'an
A Reason For the Resurrection: Are You More Difficult to Create or the Heaven He Built?
Those Who Restrain Their Soul From Low Desires
What is the meaning of "the Presence of the Lord"?
The Relation Between the Rebels and Worldliness
There are only Two Groups
Only Allah knows the Final Hour, the Resurrection.
Surah 'Abasa, Chapter 80
Surah 'Abasa, Verses 1-10
Harsh Admonition For Heedlessness Shown to a Truth‑Seeking Blind man
Surah 'Abasa, Verses 11-23
Only the Purified Ones Can Touch the Qur'an
Man Should Look At His food!
Explanation:Wholesome Nutriments
The Resurrection Cry!
Explanation: Self-Perfection
Surah Takwir, Chapter 81
The Virtue in Studying Surah Takwir
Surah Takwir, Verses 1-9
The Day When All the Universe Will be Dissolved
Explanation: The Practice of Female Infanticide
Surah Takwir, Verses 10-14
Explanation: The Order of the Verses
Will the Solar System and the Stars Darken?
Gabriel, the Bringer of Allah's Message Descends to him
Explanation: The Characteristics of a Qualified Messenger
O Neglectful Ones! Where Are You Going?
Surah Infitar, Chapter 82
Surah Infitar, Verses 1-5
The Disturbance in Order and Symmetry
Surah Infitar, Verses 6-12
O man! What Has Seduced You?
Explanation: The Angels; the Scribes
Surah Infitar, Verses 13-19
On That Day, No One Does Anything for Anyone
Surah Mutaffifin, Chapter 83
The Virtue in Studying the Surah
Surah Mutaffifin, Verses 1-6
Woe to Those Who Deal in Fraud
Explanation: 'Dealing in Fraud' is One of the Factors of Mischief in the Land
Surah Mutaffifin, Verses 7-10
What Informs You What 'Sijjin' Is?
Surah Mutaffifin, Verses 11-17
Sin Works as Rust Upon the Heart
Why Does Sin Work As Rust Upon The Heart?
A Curtain Over The Spirit
'Illiyin is Anticipating the Righteous
Explanation: Who are 'the Righteous' and 'the Ones Nearest to Allah'?
Heavenly Drinks
Once They Used to Mock the Believers But, Today…
Surah Inshiqaq, Chapter 84
Surah Inshiqaq, Verses 1-9
A Hard Struggle Towards Absolute Perfection:
A Surprising Narration!
This Life is Full of Pain and Labour
Surah Inshiqaq, Verses 10-15
Those Who Hold Their Record Behind Their Back!
You Are Continuously Changing.
Surah Buruj, Chapter 85
Surah Buruj, Verses 1-9
The Believers and the Pyres
Expbnations
Who Were 'The Makers of The Pit of fire'?
Resistance in Keeping Faith
Surah Buruj, Verses 10-16
Allah's Punishment for the Persecutors
Did You See What Happened to the Forces of Pharaoh and the Tribe of Thamud?
Surah Tariq, Chapter 86
Surah Tariq, Verses 1-10
O man! Consider of What You Are Created!
Surah Tariq, Verses 11-17
We Destroy the Enemies' Plans
Surah A'la, Chapter 87
Contents of Surah A'la
Surah A'la, Verses 1-5
Glorify Allah, The Most High
Surah A'la, Verses 6-13
We Will Make Everything Prepared For You To Do Good
Surah A'la, Verses 14-19
All Divine Books Contained A Definite Law
Surah Ghashiyah, Chapter 88
Contents of Surah Ghashiyah
Surah Ghashiya, Verses 1-7
They Are Weary, But With No Gain
Surah Ghashiyah, Verses 8-16
A Perspective of the Blessings in Heaven
Surah Ghashiyah, Verses 17-26
Look at the Camel; a Sign of Allah
(The Rending Asunder)
Number of Verses: 25
(After reading certain verses of Qur'an it is an obligation to do prostration after their recitation, so we have chosen this mark * to help you find these verses within the text.)
بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيمِ
This Surah, like many other Surahs of the last part of the holy Qur'an, talks about the Resurrection. First, there are some references to the awful events of the time when this world ends and the New World begins.
Then, it speaks about the resurrection and The Reckoning of the good-doers and evildoers and their ultimate end. Further, it refers to the deeds and beliefs of the disbelievers which bring about Allah's punishment on them. And then, after some oaths, it touches on the different stages man goes through during and after his life. Finally, it returns to speaking about the good and evil actions of man and his rewards or punishments on That Day.
There is a tradition from the Prophet (S) which says:
"He who studies Surah Inshiqaq Allah will make him safe from being given his Record from behind his back (on the reckoning Day)".
There is a narration from Imam Sadiq, written in the book 'Thawab-al-A'mal', which says:
"He who recites those two Surahs: Infitar and Inshiqaq, and considers them present before his eyes in his obligatory and optional prayers, nothing will separate him from Allah. He will be in he continuous presence of Allah and Allah will be looking over him until all of the accounts he has with others are settled."
إِذَا السَّمَاءُ انْشَقَّتْ
وَأَذِنَتْ لِرَبِّهَا وَحُقَّتْ
وَإِذَا الْأَرْضُ مُدَّتْ
وَأَلْقَتْ مَا فِيهَا وَتَخَلَّتْ
يَا أَيُّهَا الْإِنْسَانُ إِنَّكَ كَادِحٌ إِلَىٰ رَبِّكَ كَدْحًا فَمُلَاقِيهِ
فَأَمَّا مَنْ أُوتِيَ كِتَابَهُ بِيَمِينِهِ
فَسَوْفَ يُحَاسَبُ حِسَابًا يَسِيرًا
وَيَنْقَلِبُ إِلَىٰ أَهْلِهِ مَسْرُورًا
1. "When the Sky is rent asunder,"
2. "And obeys its Lord, and it must;"
3. "And when the Earth is flattened out,"
4. "And casts forth what is within it and becomes empty,"
5. "And obeys its Lord, and it must;"
6. "O man! Surely you are ever toiling on towards your Lord; painfully toiling, until you meet Him."
7. "Then he who is given his Record in his right hand,"
8. "Soon he will be reckoned with by an easy reckoning,"
9. "And he will return unto his people in joy."
As it was said in the description of the content of the Surah, at the beginning of the Surah it talks about the awful and amazing events which will happen at the end of this world.
It says:
"When the Sky is rent asunder,"
(and the celestial bodies burst asunder and lose their order and regularity).
An idea similar to that is mentioned at the beginning of Surah Infitar, No. 82, verses 1-2 where it says:
"When the Sky is cleft asunder,"
"When the planets are scattered",
and this is an announcement for the destruction and the end to this material world.
"And obeys its Lord, and it must;"
No one might suppose that the Sky, which is great and seemingly vast and limitless, would have the least resistance against this divine order. It, like an obedient person, resigns to the Order, perfectly.
The term /athinat/ is derived from /uthun/ 'ear' meaning 'to listen to'; and here, metaphorically means 'to obey the Command'.
The term /huqqat/ is based on /haqq/ and means 'fit, need, or deserve'.
How can the earth and the sky not obey when they are created things and they must necessarily obey their Creator since their very nature as a created being requires that they must hearken to the call of their Creator, and they not only did so from the beginning as Surah Fussilat, No. 41 verse 11 says:
"...they said 'we do come (together), in willing obedience'",
but they also obey Allah's' command for their dissolution.
Some have also said that the purpose of the term /huqqat/ is that the fear of the Hereafter is so terrible that the Sky deserves to be cleft asunder. However, the first commentary seems more fitting.
Then it points to the state of the earth and says:
"And when the Earth is flattened out''.
Many verses in the Qur'an say that mountains will be uprooted, totally, and left as plains; smooth and level, and the earth will be flattened and large enough for all human beings to gather on.
This is said in Surah 'Ta-ha No. 20, verses 105-107:
"They ask thee concerning the Mountains: say, 'My Lord will uproot them and scatter them as dust;'"
"He will leave them as plains smooth and level;"
''Nothing crooked or curved will thou see in their place".
And the Great Judgment, where all human beings, from the beginning to the end, are gathered, needs such a large and level place.
Some commentators have said that on That Day Allah spreads the present earth, much larger than it is now, in order to make room enough for all of His creatures.
"And casts forth what is within it and becomes empty."
The consensus of scholars say that the meaning of the verse is that the Earth will suddenly cast forth what it has within its soil, of dead bodies, who will then have a re-birth for the eternal life.
This is the same idea set forth in Surah Zilzal, No. 99, verse 2:
"And the Earth throws up her burdens (from within)."
And, it is also similar to what is said in Surah Nazi'at, No. 79, verses 13-14:
"But it shall be only a single blast,"
"When, behold, they shall be in the awakened state."
Some commentators have said that besides human beings, mines and treasures, hidden within the soil, will erupt.
It is also probable that the verse refers to the idea that molten lava, within the earth, will be carried out by violent and terrible earthquakes which then covers the surface of the earth and makes it level. Thereafter, the interior of the earth will be empty and quiet.
All of the above three commentaries, combined, are also possible.
"And obeys its Lord, and it must."
These events, which correlate with the submission of all creatures, indicate the destruction of the universe: the earth, the sky, treasures which, all-in-all, come to an end and give way to a new stage of life; the Eternal life.
Moreover, as signs, they make it clear that Allah domain is over everything, especially the Resurrection.
Verily, man will be faced with the result of his actions; good or evil, when these events occur.
Then, addressing mankind, it tells them of the fate on their path:
"O man! Surely you are ever toiling on towards your Lord; painfully toiling, until you meet Him."
The term /kadh/ means ' toil ' and 'labour', or 'striving hard'.
In the commentaries of 'Kashshaf ' and 'Fakhr-i-Razi' and also 'Ruh-al-Amin' the term has been meant as 'a scratch on the skin of the body'. That is why it is used for the struggles which affect man's spirit.
This verse points to a great principle throughout everyone's life. It says that this life is perpetually saturated with pain and labour, when it is for obtaining the articles of this world, and even more so for the eternal happiness and for gaining Allah's favour. This is the nature of this world. Even those who live a very good life are not at all free from pain and labour.
The term
'meet'
used in this verse refers to either the meeting at the Gathering Place, in the Hereafter, before the throne of Allah's Absolute Judgment for all, or meeting His Reward or Punishment, or meeting Him through one's intuition, and shows that the pain and the labour will continue until That Day. When it finishes, one meets his Lord after death, with one's pure and good deeds, of course.
man, in the sense of all human beings, and stressing on the humanity of the human, is addressed by the verse, and this tells us the fact that Allah has created the required faculties in man to pave the way from the beginning to the end.
The emphasis on the term
'Lord'
points to another fact. That is, that this troublesome effort of life is a part of the Divine program towards man's development.
Verily, we are travellers, from nothing, who have entered the realm of existence and are going to the Abode of Love with the hope that we shall meet Him.
This idea is mentioned in some other verses, of the Qur'an.
For example, in Surah Najm, No. 53, verse 42 it says:
"That to thy Lord is the final Goal".
And also in Surah Fatir, No. 35, verse 18 it says:
"...and the destination (of all) is to Allah."
And there are also other verses, in the Qur'an, all of which denote that the permanent process of development for all creatures is unto Almighty Allah.
But, here, men are divided into two groups, as it says:
"Then he who is given his Record in his right hand,"
"Soon he will be reckoned with by an easy reckoning,"
"And he will return unto his people in joy."
This group of people are those who act and use their gifts in the same way that Allah has guided man to do. All their efforts and endeavours are for the sake of Allah and their entire movements are always unto Allah.
There, they are given their Records in their right hand and that shows the purity of their deeds, the correctness of their faith, and their deliverance in the Hereafter that will bring them joy and happiness; an honour to all human beings gathered there.
When they stand in front of the Scale (for reckoning), that which is very just, Allah reckons with them easily: He forgives them of their faults and, because of their strong faith and good acts, changes their sins into good deeds.
Some commentators have said that the meaning of 'an easy reckoning ' is an account which is taken easily and not with accuracy and severity; in which sins are forgiven and good deeds are given reward.
"Allah takes the account easy of he who has three characteristics and lets him go into Heaven with His Mercy."
"What are they?"
They asked, and he answered,
"To be generous to the person who deprived you; to join to the one who ceased from you; and to forgive those who hurt you".
This matter is also understood from some narrations that accuracy and severity with reckoning, in the Hereafter, depends on one's wisdom and knowledge, as a narration from Imam Baqir (as) says:
"In the Hereafter and on the Day of Judgment, Allah, the Almighty, will exact a detailed account from his servants, in exact proportion to the reason with which He has endowed them in the worldly life".1
The opinions for the commentary about /ahl /are divided. Some commentators have said that the objective meaning is 'one's believing wife and children' that only believers will obtain in Heaven. The very thing, that a person meets his beloved members, in Heaven, and is with them there, is a great blessing in itself.
Some other commentators have said that it means 'the angels belonging to the believing servants in Heaven'. Still others have meant /ahl/ as the believing persons whom were loved by one in this life and they were on the same level with him.
All of them combined are also probable.
It is narrated from Amir-al-Mo'mineen Ali (as) who commented about the verse:
"When the Sky is rent asunder"
and said:
''The skies will separate from the galaxy".
This narration is meaningful and noteworthy. It is considered among the miracles of science. It opens a secret which none of the scientists of that time knew.
But, nowadays astronomers, with the help of their observations through their great and powerful telescopes, have proven that the universe is a collection of galaxies, each of which is in the form of many systems and stars, and that is why they are called 'star cities'. The Milky Way, a known galaxy, is visible at night and is a great collection of these very systems and stars.
One side of it is so far from us that its stars seem to be only a massive white cloud, but actually it is a group of lights close together, indeed.
The other side of it, which is nearer to us, is formed by visible stars; the same stars which we see in the sky at night. Then, our solar system is a part of this galaxy; the Milky Way.
According to the above narration, Hazrat Ali (as) says that at the threshold of the Hereafter the stars that we primarily see in the sky will separate from the galaxy and lose their order completely.
In those days, no one knew that the stars we see in the sky were really parts of the Milky Way, but only he whose heart was connected to the unseen world and whose knowledge was derived from the divine source could know.
The term /kadih/, used in the verse, denotes that every effort and endeavour is with pain and trouble. The verse addresses all individuals and states the fact that the nature of life, in this world at any stage, is full of toil and misery, bodily, mentally or both, combined, and no one is an exception.
There is a very meaningful tradition narrated from Imam Ali-ibn-al-Hosain (as) which says:
"There is no ease and comfort in the world for the people of this world. It is found only in Heaven and for the people of Heaven. Toil and labour are in this world and for the people of this world.
Each one of them who gets a share of it, has doubled the greed. And those who have more property and things of this world are more needful, because they need other people and some tools to keep and protect the things that they have accumulated. Then, there is no comfort in the wealth of this world."
So Imam (as) adds at the end that:
"Nay, the friends of Allah never bear pain in this world for this world, but they bear it in this world for the Next World."2
وَأَمَّا مَنْ أُوتِيَ كِتَابَهُ وَرَاءَ ظَهْرِهِ
فَسَوْفَ يَدْعُو ثُبُورًا
وَيَصْلَىٰ سَعِيرًا
إِنَّهُ كَانَ فِي أَهْلِهِ مَسْرُورًا
إِنَّهُ ظَنَّ أَنْ لَنْ يَحُورَ
بَلَىٰ إِنَّ رَبَّهُ كَانَ بِهِ بَصِيرًا
10. "But he who is given his Record behind his back,"
11. "Soon he will cry for Perdition,"
12. "And enter a Blazing Fire."
13. "Truly, he was (erstwhile) joyful among his people!"
14. "Truly he thought that he would never return (to his Lord)"
15. "Yes indeed! Surely his Lord was (ever) watchful of him"
In contrast to the aforementioned verses, which were about those who are given their Record in their right hand, these verses are about the unbelievers and how they are given their Records.
At first, it says:
"But he who is given his Record behind his back,"
"Soon he will cry for Perdition,"
"And enter a Blazing Fire."
The commentators have delivered different ideas about this verse which says
'They are given their Records behind their back',
and those verses which say
'Their Records are given to their left hand'.
Some commentators have said that their right hand is tied to their neck with chains so, that is why their Records are given to their left hand from their back and it is a sign of degradation and shame.
Some others have said that their hands are not free; they are tied behind their back like those of captives and, thus, they can only receive their Records in their left hand behind their back.
Then, still others have said that by noting Surah Nisa. No.4, verse 47 which says:
"...before We alter faces then turn them on their back...",
it can be understood that the faces of this group of wicked ones have been turned to their back and they have to read their Records themselves; the Records are given to their left hand behind their back.
It is more agreeable to say that the doers of good take their Record happily in their right hand and call, with pride and boasting to others in the Hereafter:
"Ah here! Read ye my Record!"3.
But, when the wicked are given their Record in their left hand, they will keep it behind their back shamefully in order for it not to be seen by others, but unfortunately it is of no use, because nothing is hidden there.
They cry for perdition, but it will be in vain and they will receive the command:
"And enter n Blazing Fire";
that is, they will arrive at the blazing fire of Hell.
Then, the cause of this awful case is described and it says:
"Truly, he was (erstwhile) joyful among his people."
It was a joy of pride, and the pride originated from neglect and being forgetful of Allah. His self-complacence and self-conceit, in his lower life, will now give way to weeping and misery.
It is clear that joy or happiness is not naturally blamed or forbidden, but a believer should be hopeful and happy of Allah's Grace, and be always rejoicing and good tempered with others when interacting with them. That joy is blameworthy which makes people forgetful of Allah, and entangles them only in their lusts.
"Truly he thought that he would never return (to his Lord)!".
In fact, the true source of his misery and corrupted idea was his denial of the Resurrection, that which made him proud and exaltant and, thus, he became drunk with lusts and far from the Reality; Allah, in so far as he mocked the Mission of the prophets, and when he went to his people he was happy with this mockery.
This very idea is mentioned in Surah Mutaffifin, No. 83, verse 31:
"And when they returned to their people they returned jesting ,"
and also in the story of the wealthy Qarun who was doubtful of Allah, some of his people told him
"...Exult not, for Allah loveth not those who exult (in riches)"4.
/lanyahur/ 'he would never return'
is based on /haur/ which originally means 'go to and fro' whether in deed or in thought.
The term /mihwar/ 'axis', /muhawarah/ 'answers for answers, dehate', /hiwar/ 'a loud voice in dialogue', /tahayyur/ 'astonishment', and
/hawariyun/ 'companions of Jesus'
are from the same root.
But, on the whole, this word which has been used in this verse means 'return' and 'resurrection'.
Meanwhile, this verse shows that the lack of belief in the Resurrection is the origin of carelessness, pride, and corruption.
In the last verse of this portion of the verses, for the negation of their false belief, it says:
"Yes indeed! Surely his Lord was (ever) watchful of him",
and recorded all of man's acts, totally, and kept the Record for the coming Reckoning Day.
The idea, in this verse, is an evidence for the Resurrection, as verse 6 was:
"O man! Surely you are ever toiling on towards your Lord; painfully toiling, until you meet Him".
Both of them emphasize on the term
'Lord',
because the process of man's development towards his Lord can never end with his death. The final goal is beyond the only life in this world.
Allah's watchfulness over man's actions and the record of the deeds are not done in vain. They are certainly primary to the final Judgment and, consequently, to the Reward and the punishment.
فَلَا أُقْسِمُ بِالشَّفَقِ
وَاللَّيْلِ وَمَا وَسَقَ
وَالْقَمَرِ إِذَا اتَّسَقَ
لَتَرْكَبُنَّ طَبَقًا عَنْ طَبَقٍ
فَمَا لَهُمْ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ
وَإِذَا قُرِئَ عَلَيْهِمُ الْقُرْآنُ لَا يَسْجُدُونَ
بَلِ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا يُكَذِّبُونَ
وَاللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا يُوعُونَ
فَبَشِّرْهُمْ بِعَذَابٍ أَلِيمٍ
إِلَّا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ لَهُمْ أَجْرٌ غَيْرُ مَمْنُونٍ
16. "But nay! I swear by the glow of the sunset,"
17. "And by the night and that which it gathers together (in one herd)".
18. "And the moon when it grows full,"
19. "That you shall most certainly enter one stage after another."
20. "What then is the matter with them that they do not believe?"
21. "And when the Qur'an is recited to them they do not fail prostrate" *
22. "Nay, those who disbelieve reject (it)."
23. "And Allah knows best what they keep secret (in their breasts)."
24. "So announce to them a painful punishment,"
25. "Except those who believe and work righteous deeds: for them is a reward unending."
After the description of man's development, stage by stage, unto his Lord that we had discussed in the former verses, we will see a conformation of the same fact, with more details, in the following verses.
"But Nay! I swear by the glow of the sunset,"
"And by the night, and that which it gathers together (in one herd)".
"And the moon when it grows full,"
"That you shall most certainly enter one stage after another."
The word /la/ in the term /fa-la-uqsimu/ is expletive and is used for emphasis, here.
The term /ŝafaq/, here, as Raqib cites in Mufradat, means 'redness' of the sky after sunset which mixes with the darkness of nightfall.
Fakhr-i-Razi believes that the term /ŝafaq/ originally means 'thinness', and therefore, a very thin dress is called /ŝafaq/ and /ŝafaqat/ is used in the case of one having a 'thin' heart. (But, Raqib's statement seems to be more appropriate).
In any case, Allah swears by it to make everyone think about this beautiful natural phenomenon, because 'sunset' announces a deep revelation in the world, that is, the day ends and the night begins, and also, it is the time of the sunset prayer; 'Maghrib'.
To swear by the night is for the reason that night is a hiding place for secrets and mysteries.
The term /wasaq/, conveying the meaning of 'to gather together (in one herd)', points to one of the great secrets of the night. At nightfall all the wandering flocks and herds come home. The men that had scattered abroad, for their livelihood, return home to rest and sleep.
The night collects them in their homes.
This idea is also carried in Surah Mo'min, No. 40, verse 61 when it says:
"It is Allah who has made the Night for you, that you may rest therein..."
The moon and its glorious silver light, especially when it is full at night, is one of Allah's signs and that is why He swears by it.
It is interesting to note that these four parts point to the cases and varieties that continually occur in the created world: the sun sets, its redness appears in the sky, living creatures rush to their home, and the moon rises in full.
It should be noted that on the night before the fourteenth day of the month, the moon rises from the beginning of the night, by which these oaths are said, and that is a basis for the verse:
"That you shall most certainly enter one stage after another",
which illustrates the different states in the life of man.
There are various commentaries for this sentence. Some of them are as follows:
1. Man travels and ascends, stage by stage, towards the Absolute perfection. He strives hard; first in this world, then in the partition and then in Resurrection, with the different states that they have.
2. Man has different stages of development, from the time he is the sperm form, until death. They are considered about thirty seven stages by some people.
3. Man bears various opposites in his life: health and sickness, chess and happiness, hardship and ease, war and peace.
4. Man will face many different hard situations in the Hereafter until he receives the consequence of his reckoning; Heaven or Hell.
5. In ancient times people had many varieties of pleasant and unpleasant adventures; or that the unbelieving people among the Muslim community displayed various denials and rejections of Islam. This idea is said to be narrated from Imam Sadiq (as).
All the above commentaries are possible, of course, and the verse may refer to all of them together.
In any event, the occurrence of these states to man and the lack of constancy in his position, on the one hand, is an evidence to the fact at he is 'a created thing' and necessarily has a Creator, because every changeable thing is a creature and all creatures have a Creator; and on the other hand, it is an evidence to the lack of immortality for this world; also it is a sign for man's constant movement and development toward his Lord, to the Resurrection; as was mentioned in verse 6:
"O man! Surely you are ever toiling on towards your Lord; painfully toiling, until you meet Him."
Then, as a general consequence it inquires:
"What then is the matter with them that they do not believe?"
How can they ignore the immense gifts and benefits they have from Allah? They have clear evidences and signs for theism, theology and Resurrection, both in outer nature like day and night, sun and moon, light and darkness, sunrise and sunset with its redness; and inner nature from the mother's womb in the form of sperm; to other stages one after another until death, but they do not believe. Why do they not accept of Allah's grace instead of disputing about it?
Then it turns from the creation to the revelation and says:
"And when the Qur'an is recited to them they do not fall prostrate." *
The Holy Qur'an is so bright and clear that it is a good evidence for itself and that its content is from the Divine source.
'Prostrate',
here, means 'humble gratitude to Allah', and
'to fall prostrate'
which is the act of putting the forehead on the ground for the prayer, is one of the examples of this general sense. Perhaps for the same reason, as it is narrated, when the Prophet (S) recited these verses he fell prostrate.
"Nay, those who disbelieve reject (it)."
The verb form used in the Arabic text, which is usually applied in a continuous case, shows their constant rejection. That constancy was not because of the revelation being inadequate, but it was based on their blind imitation of their father's behaviour and following their own interests and their lusts.
"And Allah knows best what they keep secret (in their breasts)".
Allah is aware of their thoughts and aims, and, also, of the motives causing those constant rejections. Then, whatever more they keep secret, finally He will punish them.
The term /yu'un/ is derived from /wi'a'/ 'container'. The very word is used in a statement narrated from Hazrat Ali (as) in Nahj-ul-Balagha which says:
"Verily these hearts are containers. The best of them is that which has a better ability to preserve its contents and a bigger capacity to hold more".
"So give them tiding of a painful punishment".
The term /baŝŝir/ is usually used for 'announcing good news' but, sometimes, it is used ironically. The believers are informed of the immense blessings of Heaven while blame is put on the unbelievers and causes them to be regretful and begrudging.
In the last verse of this Surah, the fate of those good-doers from among the believers is again mentioned as an exception where it says:
"Except those who believe and work righteous deeds: for them is a reward unending."
The term /mamnun/ is derived from /mann/ which means both 'cease' and 'decline' and also 'indebtedness'.
/manun/ 'death'
is, also, based on it. All these senses may be understood from the term, in this verse, because, inspite of the blessings in this human world, which are diminishable and ever changing and often mixed with undesired consequences or indebtedness given by this person or that person, the blessings of that spiritual world are followed by no indebtedness, declension or undesired consequences.
This exception is apparently joined to the earlier descriptions, about the unbelievers in the former verses, in order to give a way to the disbelievers and to say that certainly that painful punishment will be removed from those who repent and believe and do good and they will given a Reward that will never fail.
The late 'Tabarsi' in 'MaJma'-al-Bayan' has rendered the last verses of this Surah to mean 'free-will', since it is not praiseworthy for Allah, the Wisest, to blame those who do not fall prostrate and believe, when they are forced to.
And, when it says:
"What then is the matter with them that they do not believe?",
"And when the Qur'an is recited to them they do not fall prostrate", *
is a clear evidence for 'free-will'. Again, blame for leaving the prostration is a reason for the fact that the disbelievers should not only follow the primary Principles of religion, but, also should perform the secondary precepts of religion, as well.
O Lord! Take our reckoning easy on the Day when all attend at Your Judgment.
O Lord! Help us to go the Right Path when all human beings are ever toiling on towards You until they meet You.
O Lord! We have obeyed Your Message, the Holy Qur'an, bestow on us the grace to act accordingly.
1. Nur-uth-Thaqalayn, vol. 5, p. 537.
2. Khisal-i-Saduq, vol. 1, Chapter: 'This World and the Next World'
3. Surah Haqqa, No. 69, verse 19
4. Surah Qasas. No. 28, verse 76
‹ Surah Mutaffifin, Chapter 83
Surah Buruj, Chapter 85 ›

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Inheritance tax generates big bucks for the UK Treasury. According to the ONS, the total pocketed in the tax year from April 2013 to April 2014 was a whopping £3.4bn, yes that's billion! In spite of this, in the run-up to the UK election in 7th May 2015 the Tories are hoping to woo retirees and property owners with the promise of a cut in inheritance tax (IHT). They have set their stall out stating that inheritance tax should be levied purely on the rich, although at present their election pledge on this issue is light on details. Some have speculated that the current threshold of £325,000 could rise to £2mn.
Under the current regulations increasing numbers of middle-class individuals are liable to pay tax at a rate of 40% on any assets over the threshold. One reason for this is rising property prices. In some parts of the country the mere fact of owning your own home will bring you over that threshold – according to figures from Right Move the average price of a property in the south east is £326,163, with a London average of £523,953. While house prices have been rising over the last five years, the IHT threshold has stayed the same.
It seems reasonable that individuals should be able to pass the family homes they have worked so hard to own on to their loved ones after their death and indeed that is the line that David Cameron is spinning as he hopes to win middle-class votes. The difficulty for the Conservatives is how they would plug the hole this would leave in the finances while still delivering on their election pledges of eradicating the deficit by 2018, cutting income tax and raising the higher tax rate.
There is a sense of déjà vu here. The Tories made the same promise to cut IHT prior to the 2010 election but were thwarted by their coalition partners, the Lib Dems. Given that this year's election result is far from clear it would be folly to pin your hopes on the IHT threshold rising. A far better plan is to look at ways of reducing your own personal liability and this is easily achievable with specialist advice.
Options include regular gifting up to specified annual limits to pass some of your legacy to your loved ones during your lifetime and setting up a trust to protect assets and reduce the tax burden for your beneficiaries. In addition, certain stock and property investments could be exonerated from IHT.
Everyone's circumstances are different which is why seeking the help of a professional on this issue is essential, in particular for expats who may have assets in several different countries. It is folly to leave the future financial security of your family in the lap of the gods. Take action now and contact one of our advisers for further information.


I am trying to find out the equation that models the entire tree. Also, if possible, could someone tell me where to find the finite difference implicit discretization of this equation along with some sample Initial and Boundary condition values and the constants used to try out this equation solution properly.
Your answer awaits you in the scientific literature of the 1970s and early 1980s. Rall was an author on some of them, but not all. Tell us what you find.


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Located in the heart of downtown Newmarket on the historic Main Street, Hungry Brew Hops Public House & Eatery (HBH) opened its doors in February 2014. As the first gastropub in Newmarket – and York Region for that matter – HBH has been proudly serving its patrons ever since. Our mantra: to serve really good, honest food with some really good, craft beer.


text:
Jack Quarter
Ancien chercheur et responsable du centre régional Ontario
Organismes à But Non Lucratif; Bénévolat; Coopératives; Développement Communautaire.
Institution/Organisation
Jack Quarter était professeur au OISE, Université de Toronto, et était le co-directeur du Centre de Recherche Sociale. Il était le président de l'Association for Nonprofit and Social Economy Research (ANSER). Il était le co-directeur du Hub de l'Ontario du PhiLab.
Livres: Sept dernières années
(2018). J. Quarter, Laurie Mook and Ann Armstrong. Understanding the Social Economy: A Canadian Perspective. 2ndedition. University of Toronto Press.
(2015). J. Quarter, S. Ryan & A. Chan (eds.). Social Purpose Enterprises: Case Studies for Social Change. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
(2015). L. Mook, J. Whitman, J. Quarter, & A. Armstrong. Understanding the social economy of the United States. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
(2015). Mook, L., Ryan, S., Maiorano, J., Armstrong, A., & Quarter, J. (Eds.) (2015). Measuring Social Value in Social Enterprises: Six Case Studies. Nonprofit Management & Leadership, 26(2)
(2012). L. Mook, J. Quarter & S. Ryan (Eds). Businesses with a difference: Balancing the economic and social. (University of Toronto Press).
(2010). L. Mook, J. Quarter, and S. Ryan (Eds). Researching the social economy. (University of Toronto Press).
Chapitres de livres: Sept dernières années
Quarter, Jack & Laurie Mook (2018, in press). The social economy in international comparison. In Bruce Seaman & Dennis Young (Eds.), Handbook of Research on nonprofit Economics and Management: The State of Research, Second Edition. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing.
(2016).Vieta, M., Quarter, J., Spear, R.,&Moskovskaya,A.Worker co-operatives: Differing manifestations and challenges. In D. H.Smith, R. A.Stebbins, and C. Rochester (eds.), The Palgrave Handbook of Volunteering, Civic Participation, and Nonprofit Associations(pp. 36-53).London: Palgrave.
(2015). Quarter, J., Ryan, S., & Chan, A. Social Purpose Enterprises: A Conceptual Framework. J. Quarter, S. Ryan & A. Chan (eds.). Social Purpose Enterprises: Case Studies for Social Change (pp. 1-16). Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
(2015). Quarter, J., Ryan, S., & Chan, A. Social Purpose Enterprises: A Modified Social Welfare Framework. In J. Quarter, S. Ryan & A. Chan (eds.). Social Purpose Enterprises: Case Studies for Social Change (pp. 214-222). Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
(2015). Chan, A., Hoogendam, R., Frampton, P., Holeton, A., Pohl Weary, E., Ryan, S., & Quarter, J. Wellbeing of childcare workers at the Learning Enrichment Foundation, a Toronto community economic development organization. In J. Quarter, S. Ryan & A. Chan (eds.). Social Purpose Enterprises: Case Studies for Social Change (pp. 115-133). Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
(2012). J. Quarter, L. Mook, & J. Hann. Non-financial Co-operatives in Canada: 1955 to 2005. In L. Mook, J. Quarter, and S. Ryan (Eds). Businesses with a Difference: Balancing the Social and Economic (pp. 64-97). (University of Toronto Press).
(2012). Mook, L., Quarter, J., & Ryan, S. Introduction: Businesses with a Difference. In L. Mook, J. Quarter, and S. Ryan (Eds). Businesses with a Difference: Balancing the Social and Economic (pp. 1-26). (University of Toronto Press).
(2012). J. Hann, L. Mook, J. Quarter, & U. Sengupta. Community University Research: The Southern Ontario Social Economy Research Alliance. In Peter Hall & Ian MacPherson (Eds.), Community-University Research Partnerships: Reflections on the Canadian Social Economy experience (pp. 99-116). Victoria: University of Victoria).
(2010). With Laurie Mook and Sherida Ryan. What's in a name. In L. Mook, J. Quarter, and S. Ryan (Eds),Researching the social economy (pp. 3-24). University of Toronto Press. (co-author)
(2010). With Laurie Mook and Sherida Ryan. Conclusion. In L. Mook, J. Quarter, and S. Ryan (Eds),Researching the social economy. (pp. 330-335). University of Toronto Press. (co-author)
Articles de journaux à arbitrage: Sept dernières années
Chan, A., Ryan, S., & Quarter, J. (2017). Supported social enterprise: A modified social welfare organization.Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 46(2), 261-279.
Maiorano, J., Mook, L., & Quarter, J. (2016). Is there a credit union difference: Comparing credit union and bank branch locations. Canadian Journal of Nonprofit and Social Economy Research, 7(2), 40-56.
Mook, L., Ryan, S., Maiorano, J., Armstrong, A. & Quarter, J. (2015). TurningSocialReturn on Investment (SROI) on ItsHead:TheStakeholderImpactStatement. Nonprofit Management & Leadership, 26(2), 229-245.
Mook, L., Mairorano, J., & Quarter, J. (2015). Market niche or market accommodation? A case of U.S. credit unions. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 44(4), 814-831.
Chum, Antony, Sara Carpenter, Eddie Farrell, Laurie Mook, Femida Handy, Daniel Schugurensky & Jack Quarter (2015). A multilevel study of contextual determinants for volunteering to improve employability—the role of area-level material insecurity. The Canadian Geographer 59(3), 354-368.
Mook, L., Farrell, E., Chum, A., Handy, F., Schugurensky, D., & Quarter, J. (2014). Individual and organizational factors in the interchangeability of paid staff and volunteers: Perspectives of volunteers. Canadian Journal of Nonprofit and Social Economy Research, 5(2), 65-85.
Chum, A., Mook, L., Handy, F., Schugurensky, D., & Quarter, J. (2013). Degree and direction of paid employee/volunteer interchange in nonprofit organizations. Nonprofit Management and Leadership, 23(4), 409-426.
Mook, L., Chan, A., & Quarter, J. (2012). Self-Help and the social economy: A synthesis. International Journal of Self-Help & Self-Care, 6(2) 129-149.
Mook, L., Hann, J., & Quarter, J. (2012). Understanding the rural tilt among financial co-operatives in Canada. Canadian Journal of Nonprofit and Social Economy Research, 3(1), 42-58.
Quarter, J., & Mook, L. (2010). An interactive view of the social economy. Canadian Journal of Nonprofit and Social Economy Research, 1(1), 8-23.
2017 Finalist, SSHRC Impact Award, Partnership, 2017
2015 Distinguished Service Award, Association for Nonprofit and Social Economy Research
2009 Outstanding Achievement Award, Ontario Co-operative Association
2007 Nominated by the President of the University of Toronto as University of Toronto's representative for the annual Trudeau Foundation competition (2007).
2007 Canadian Foundation for Innovation Leaders Award
2006 CASC/ACÉC Merit Award. For Exemplary Contributions to Co-operative Studies. Presented at the CASC/ACÉC Annual Meeting and Conference, Toronto, May 2006 (Learned Societies, York University)
2004 Book, What Counts(with Laurie Mook and Betty Jane Richmond) nominated (independently) for 2004 Terry McAdam Book Award on nonprofit management.
2003 Book, What Counts (with Laurie Mook and Betty Jane Richmond) is runner-up for the 2003 Independent Sector best publication award in nonprofit research.
2003 Book, Building a community controlled economy short listed for Harold Innis Award
2002 Merit award from the Canadian Worker Co-operative Federation
1997 Book Building a community controlled economy nominated for an SSHRC award
1986 Co-operative College of Canada, Special Achievement Award
Co-fondateur et président de l'Association for Nonprofit and Social Economy Research (ANSER), 2008 to 2014; président antérieur 2015
Co-fondateur et co-directeur du Social Economy Centre, 2006; séries de conférenciers et ateliers mensuels et certificat
Co-fondateur du Centre for Learning, Social Economy & Work (CLSEW), 2014
Co-fondateur et membre du comité de rédaction du Canadian Journal of Nonprofit and Social Economy Research, 2010 à aujourd'hui


Authors: Miller, R., Zwyns, N., Otte, M., Stevens, C. and Stewart, J.
The site of Trou Al'Wesse has been interpreted as a site of possible contact between Mesolithic and Neolithic populations, given the discovery of Neolithic ceramics and Mesolithic tools in stratum 4. However, recent excavations have also revealed the presence of three Early Mesolithic facies overlain by a Neolithic layer, while a Late Mesolithic presence is suggested for a fourth facies at the base of the terrace slope. Lithic and faunal analyses, as well as spatial analysis of the stratigraphic position of material recovered, indicate a clear separation of Mesolithic and Neolithic occupations. We present a new interpretation of the sequence of Holocene human occupations at Trou Al'Wesse in light of these data, arguing that the site was regularly occupied during the Early Mesolithic, forming a palimpsest of these visits, followed by an occupational hiatus and then reoccupation during the Late Mesolithic. The Early Neolithic is a separate occupation clearly unrelated to the Early Mesolithic underlying it, but ongoing fieldwork may recover data concerning the Final Mesolithic and its relation to the Early Neolithic at the site. © 2012 Elsevier Masson SAS.


It looks like we do not have any campgrounds in our database for camping in North Bath, Maine.
We did however find 26 campgrounds within 25 miles of North Bath. You can also find a list of cities with campgrounds or RV Parks near North Bath in the left hand column.


Last night Sue, Kris and Laura attended the Liverpool City Region Tourism Awards at St George's Hall in the Centre of Liverpool. Shore Cottage Studio was in the running for Small Visitor Attraction of the Year 2015 and we were very exited.
Here we are at the drinks reception outside St George's Hall feeling slightly uncomfortable outside our usual jeans and jumpers attire but nonetheless having a great time. Kris took this selfie on his camera phone of us with the complimentary Gin with watermelon from the Liverpool Gin Company.
Unfortunately it wasn't long before the posh high heels started to take their toll on our feet and so we managed to sneak inside a little early for a bit of a sit down! The hall was breath taking and swathed in bright pink light wihich was to set the tone for the evening. The meal was superb but we were almost wishing it away eager to find out the results of our category. The full list of awards and winners can be found by clicking here. We were up against the Port Sunlight Museum, Mersey Tunnel Tours and Darkstar Laser Tag. So with such big names to compete with we were very happy just to be nominated, but even so we were nervous as our category approached.
When it came to Small Visitor Attraction of the Year it was announced that as judging was so close for this category that the judges had decided to offer a 'Highly Commended' award (as well as the main winning award) which we were astounded to win!
Here is the framed certificate we received on the night snapped on a camera phone.
And look we get a logo to add to the website – but that will be another day as we need a little lie down!
CONGRATULATIONS to all the team at Shore Cottage Studio on yet another Tourism Award. Wow! And you lot do scrub up well 🙂 – you looked every bit the part. SO please for you and delighted you're going from strength to strength – very well deserved. Long may it continue! YAY!


I've finally got round to editing my website. Weebly has a better mobile interface now so should be better. Been a strange start to the year, either awful or leading! Have been working hard on consistency. The LET for the first time has had a qualifier for the US Open and I got through. Pinehurst in one weeks time, I can't wait to get there and experience it. I hope this is going to be an event of leading not awful!! It has been a very slow start to the year, it's june and I've only played three events, at the start of 6 in a row now, and I feel I'm ready to play like I know I can. Come on 2014, be nice to me!
Congratulations on qualifing and good luck in the States and for the rest of the season.
The verification program does have a very useful intent. Twitter brims with bogus or parody accounts. So when users are sifting via a list of opportunity usernames, it can help to own indicators to aid discover the true particular person they want to comply with.


Milhao's production process is carefully monitored, from seed selection to final quality testing. Our mix has more than 28 products derived from corn, which stand out widely in the market for their safety and quality free of GMOs.
Our process relies on state-of-the-art industrial resources that serve even the most sensitive demands of the food industry, such as baby food. Yes, in addition to adults, newborns and children from all over the world consume our corn products.
That is why quality, safety and health are part of Milhao's DNA. Aware of the market, it has long recognized other suppliers of corn derivatives and, at the same time, the lack of industries for top quality ingredients capable of generating greater productivity and competitive advantages for its products. Since then, Milhao has been a highlight in the healthy food market, which has been growing exponentially.
The growth of the most natural food trade impresses the country. In the last five years, sales have advanced at an average rate of 12.3% per year. The Brazilian market for healthy products is expected to grow 4.4% annually by 2021. Mintel research shows that four out of five Brazilians are willing to spend more if the food has higher nutritional value. The document also reveals that 79% of respondents already replace products with healthier ones.
Million's industrial solutions can produce natural, transgenic-free, dye-free, preservative-free, antioxidant-free, gluten-free, allergen-free and no chemical additives in general. This dialogues with the new nutritional trend of the world market that is the, "clean label".
Clean Label has emerged with the need for consumers looking for real food to recognize ingredients present in the products they purchase. The current scenario, characterized by the growing demand for healthier and tastier, represents an important innovation opportunity with added value for the industry. Today's consumers, more than ever, are interested in what kind of food they are eating, what are the ingredients that are part of this food and what implications these ingredients will have on your health.
This topic addresses the discussion and movement of ANVISA regarding the change in food labels, which is intended to help the consumer to make healthier choices at the time of purchase. Thus, the adequacy (reformulation) of existing products and / or a clearer and more transparent communication are mandatory items for the consumer to re-consider processed foods as part of a healthy diet.
Million will be present at the FISA 2018 Fair. Visit us and get a closer look at the best of GMO-Free corn ingredients for the industry.


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Professor Piotr Piecuch named distinguished fellow
Piotr Piecuch
Professor Piotr Piecuch has been elected a Distinguished Fellow of the Kosciuszko Foundation Collegium of Eminent Scientists, which honors scientists of Polish origin and ancestry who have achieved recognition in the United States. Professor Piecuch joins an impressive group of Kosciuszko Eminent Scientists that includes four Nobel laureates as well as MSU Professors Robert Bandurski, Richard Lenski, and Timothy Zacharewski.


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Physicians Not Always Informed of Harmful Drug Recalls
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration reviews a wide variety of health care products. When a drug is ineffective or harmful, the FDA recalls the drug and issues a notice to health care providers. New York health care providers and consumers have reason to be concerned, though, about the adequacy of the FDA's warning system.
FDA Recalls Tallied
In a recent study, researchers counted 1,734 FDA drug recalls occurring over an eight-year period. Included were 91 Class I recalls, the most serious type, covering drugs likely to cause death or serious adverse health consequences.
A significant portion of Class I recalls, 40 percent, were due to contamination. For example, contaminated heparin was recalled after dialysis patients had serious reactions, including some deaths. One-fourth of Class I recalls involved dosage, and the rest were for packaging issues like mislabeling which can lead to serious adverse drug interactions.
Drug Alerts Missed
Physicians and hospitals subscribe to an electronic system to receive messages from the FDA. The FDA used the Recall Alert System and the MedWatch system during the years covered by the survey. Between the two systems, the FDA sent providers notices announcing 73 out of the 91 Class I Recalls. Startlingly, notices for 18 of these serious recalls were not sent out.
An FDA spokesperson tried to excuse its poor performance, saying the recall program depends on manufacturers to take responsibility for their products.
Besides one fifth of the Class I notices not being sent out at all, there is the additional concern that recalls of truly dangerous medicines could get lost amid a flood of other notices. During the survey period, Recall Alert alone sent a total of about 2,900 notices to its subscribers. Information overload could result in a recipient ignoring or overlooking an important notice.
System Needs Improvement
An effective notice system should include every Class I recall, but may not need to include all the less important warnings. Missing a recall notice, a physician might continue to administer a harmful drug. The results could result in wrongful death. Over a third of the Class I recalls covered more than 100,000 units of the drug, and almost two thirds of the recalled drugs were distributed all over the country.
Patients are helpless if a physician administers a dangerous drug. If medical negligence causes harm, or death, patients and their families should retain an experienced personal injury attorney as they may be entitled to compensation for their injuries.
Source: ABC News, "U.S. Has Drug Recall Problem, Study Says," Carrie Gann, June 4, 2012


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Parking Ticket Diplomacy: The Giuliani Approach
Ishan Sawai 15 November 2016
Rudy Giuliani, the former Mayor of New York City, is President-elect Donald Trump's top choice for Secretary of State, the Associated Press reported on Monday night. Giuliani is an interesting choice for a president who, unlike any of his predecessors, will enter office without a day of government or military service to his name. Having faced criticism from members of both parties about his lack of experience, Trump was widely expected to pick a foreign policy heavy-weight – such as former UN Ambassador John Bolton or Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker – as his chief diplomat to compensate for his lack of experience in the field. But Giuliani, who spent most of his career in the Justice Department, is also relatively inexperienced in international diplomacy. So what can we expect from U.S. foreign policy under Secretary of State Giuliani? One incident in particular may shed light on Giuliani's approach to diplomacy.
In 1997, during Giuliani's mayoralty, New York City was embroiled in a battle over diplomatic parking tickets. For years, United Nations diplomats in New York City have flouted parking restrictions, knowing that they could legally not pay under their diplomatic immunity. In the first three months of 1997 alone, 35,000 parking tickets issued to diplomats went unpaid. The issue reached in breaking point in 1997 when NYPD officers attempted to tow a double-parked bus filled with Russian diplomats and their families, desisting only when the Russian Mission agreed to pay the tickets in full. UN diplomats responded by threatening to send the matter to the World Court at The Hague.
What is most enlightening about this incident is that Giuliani, as the State Department rushed to broker a solution, had just one suggestion: if they don't like it, they can leave town. In a statement at New York City Hall in April 1997, Giuliani said, "If they would like to leave New York over parking tickets, we can find another use for that area of town. It happens to be just about the most valuable real estate in the world," and urged the State Department to not appease the angered diplomats. When the crisis was eventually resolved after two weeks of negotiations between State Department and UN lawyers, Giuliani accused the State Department of caving in to the demands of "the worst kind of deadbeats."
The incident shows a clear – and somewhat troubling – picture of how Giuliani, as Secretary of State, might respond to international crises. His initial response was to refuse to negotiate. While the State Department rushed to avoid an international incident, Giuliani refused to cooperate and mocked the proceedings from the sideline.
Giuliani based his decision on the presumption that he was negotiating from a position of strength. In his view, the UN had two choices, both of which were equally acceptable to him: either pay the parking tickets, or leave New York City and allow Giuliani to "find another use for that area of town." This absolutist approach left no room for compromise, and it was only through the efforts of the State Department that the matter was settled.
Giuliani has taken a similar "all-or-nothing" approach in his statements on the campaign trail this year regarding the Iran nuclear deal. Calling it "one of the worst deals America ever made" at this year's Republican National Convention, Giuliani pledged that the Trump administration would reject any agreement that did not result in a "non-nuclear Iran."
These tactics are in line with Trump's own statements on statecraft. In his book, The Art of the Deal, Trump writes that negotiators must "be willing to walk away" if the price isn't right. And throughout the course of his campaign, Trump has repeatedly criticized the Obama administration for its apparent "desperation" in negotiating a settlement with Iran. "I mean [John Kerry] has to immediately say this is what we want and if he doesn't get it, he's got to walk," Trump told Fox News host Bill O'Reilly in March 2015.
The absolutist approach that Giuliani and Trump favor carries the great risk that the other party will walk away. And when that happens, the consequences can be disastrous. Had the Obama administration pressed for a "non-nuclear Iran" – as Trump and Giuliani called for – it is possible, if not likely, that Iran would have walked away from the table entirely, as they rely heavily on nuclear energy to meet their growing demand for electricity. This might have led to Iran continuing its nuclear weapons program. And, without the watchful eye of IAEA inspectors, Iran could have developed a nuclear bomb within just 2 months.
Additionally, Giuliani has clearly displayed his view of negotiation as an adversarial process. In a 2007 essay, he wrote, "Those with whom we negotiate – whether ally or adversary – must know that America has other options. The theocrats ruling Iran need to understand that we can wield the stick as well as the carrot, by undermining popular support for their regime, damaging the Iranian economy, weakening Iran's military, and, should all else fail, destroying its nuclear infrastructure."
Trump and Giuliani share this view of negotiation as a competition between two antagonistic parties, rather than a forum to find common ground on issues of mutual interest. And while Trump views himself as a business expert, leading negotiation experts have criticized his tactics. Bob Bordone, the founding director of the Harvard Negotiation and Mediation Clinic, wrote that "Trump perfectly embodies the techniques and stances we do not advocate. His behavior suggests that negotiations are always played out on win/lose terms; that the party who prevails does so by smiting or crushing the other; that any effort to make an agreement a good deal for the other party is 'weak' negotiating."
The underlying problem with this, Bordone writes, is that "bullying is a bad strategy." A successful negotiation results from "engaging others where they are at, finding ways to use the considerable clout of the U.S. to advance our national interest and to present choices that are easy for our allies and our enemies to say yes to."
It's easy to dismiss Giuliani's remarks on the Iran nuclear agreement as campaign bluster and his position vis-à-vis the United Nations' parking issues as political expedience; indeed, his hardline stance was met with widespread approval among New York City drivers. But these incidents offer insight into how a potential State Department under Giuliani would operate. They suggest that, as our Secretary of State, Giuliani would opt to look tough rather than compromise to reach a mutually-agreeable solution. For Giuliani, the goal of diplomacy would be to win, not to solve the problem at hand. And that is a dangerous trait to have in our nation's chief diplomat.
Tagged #United Nations, Diplomacy, parking tickets, Rudy Giuliani, Secretary of State
Author: Ishan Sawai
Ishan Sawai is a sophomore from Boston, Massachusetts, double-majoring in International Affairs and Economics with a concentration in International Economics. This is Ishan's second year on The Compass, and his first as Director for Online Content. Ishan is also staffs each of GW's Model UN Conferences, WAMUNC for high school students and GWCIA for middle school students. In his spare time, Ishan enjoys hiking.
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Cameroon's language war, explained
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President Rouhani's visit to Iraq, explained
The Boeing 737 Max 8 and international aviation precedent
Copyright © 2020 The Globe


Welcome to Sundrop's first blog post!
As many of us here are avid readers, we thought that we would kick-off our blog by asking our C.E.O, Philipp, for his favourite books of 2016.
A fascinating biography of the Tesla and Space-X entrepreneur, chronicling his life from tough early beginnings in South Africa through to his plans to change the future.
Indispensable advice for anyone involved in the world of start-ups. It is written by a co-founder of the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz and is at once funny and erudite.
Tackling the huge problems of climate change and scarcity head on, Andrew Winston's book emphasises that the 'business as usual' approach is no longer an option.
A wonderfully off-beat tome containing everything you could ever wish to know about one of the body's most mis-undertood organs.
Now made into an equally brilliant TV series, 'Cooked' charts human history through various cooking processes. Michael Pollan is a big favourite in the Sundrop office, and we would highly recommend that you also check out 'In Defense of Food' and 'The Omnivore's Dilemma'.
What do you think of Philipp's list? Have you got any recommendations for him or any other member of the Sundrop team? If so, get in contact on any of our social media channels.


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11 Moments From "The Recruits" - NCIS: New Orleans S1 E4
After a Navy Seal is found murdered in a sorority house, the NCIS team must determine if the motive pertained to one of his classified missions or collegiate foul play.
1. "The Recruits" - NCIS: New Orleans S1 E4
After a Navy Seal is found murdered in a sorority house, the NCIS team must determine if the motive pertained to one of his classified missions or collegiate foul play. Meanwhile, Pride's daughter, Laurel, pays the NCIS office a visit, on NCIS: NEW ORLEANS, Oct 14 (9:00-10:01, ET/PT), on the CBS Television Network. Pictured L-R: Lucas Black as Special Agent Christopher LaSalle, Zoe McLellan as Special Agent Meredith "Merri" Brody, Daryl Mitchell as NCIS Special Agent Patton Plame, Shanley Caswell as Laurel, and Scott Bakula as Special Agent Dwayne Pride Photo: Skip Bolen/CBS ©2014 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved
After a Navy Seal is found murdered in a sorority house, the NCIS team must determine if the motive pertained to one of his classified missions or collegiate foul play. Meanwhile, Pride's daughter, Laurel, pays the NCIS office a visit, on NCIS: NEW ORLEANS, Oct 14 (9:00-10:01, ET/PT), on the CBS Television Network. Pictured: Scott Bakula as Special Agent Dwayne Pride Photo: Skip Bolen/CBS ©2014 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved
After a Navy Seal is found murdered in a sorority house, the NCIS team must determine if the motive pertained to one of his classified missions or collegiate foul play. Meanwhile, Pride's daughter, Laurel, pays the NCIS office a visit, on NCIS: NEW ORLEANS, Oct 14 (9:00-10:01, ET/PT), on the CBS Television Network. Pictured L-R: Lucas Black as Special Agent Christopher LaSalle, Vanessa Marano as Natalie Lane, and Scott Bakula as Special Agent Dwayne Pride Photo: Skip Bolen/CBS ©2014 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved
After a Navy Seal is found murdered in a sorority house, the NCIS team must determine if the motive pertained to one of his classified missions or collegiate foul play. Meanwhile, Pride's daughter, Laurel, pays the NCIS office a visit, on NCIS: NEW ORLEANS, Oct 14 (9:00-10:01, ET/PT), on the CBS Television Network. Pictured L-R: Shanley Caswell as Laurel and Scott Bakula as Special Agent Dwayne Pride Photo: Skip Bolen/CBS ©2014 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserve
After a Navy Seal is found murdered in a sorority house, the NCIS team must determine if the motive pertained to one of his classified missions or collegiate foul play. Meanwhile, Pride's daughter, Laurel, pays the NCIS office a visit, on NCIS: NEW ORLEANS, Oct 14 (9:00-10:01, ET/PT), on the CBS Television Network. Pictured L-R: Scott Bakula as Special Agent Dwayne Pride, Lucas Black as Special Agent Christopher LaSalle, and Zoe McLellan as Special Agent Meredith "Merri" Brody Photo: Skip Bolen/CBS ©2014 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved
After a Navy Seal is found murdered in a sorority house, the NCIS team must determine if the motive pertained to one of his classified missions or collegiate foul play. Meanwhile, Pride's daughter, Laurel, pays the NCIS office a visit, on NCIS: NEW ORLEANS, Oct 14 (9:00-10:01, ET/PT), on the CBS Television Network. Pictured: Zoe McLellan as Special Agent Meredith "Merri" Brody Photo: Skip Bolen/CBS ©2014 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved
After a Navy Seal is found murdered in a sorority house, the NCIS team must determine if the motive pertained to one of his classified missions or collegiate foul play. Meanwhile, Pride's daughter, Laurel, pays the NCIS office a visit, on NCIS: NEW ORLEANS, Oct 14 (9:00-10:01, ET/PT), on the CBS Television Network. Pictured L-R: Scott Bakula as Special Agent Dwayne Pride and Daryl Mitchell as NCIS Special Agent Patton Plame Photo: Skip Bolen/CBS ©2014 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved
After a Navy Seal is found murdered in a sorority house, the NCIS team must determine if the motive pertained to one of his classified missions or collegiate foul play. Meanwhile, Pride's daughter, Laurel, pays the NCIS office a visit, on NCIS: NEW ORLEANS, Oct 14 (9:00-10:01, ET/PT), on the CBS Television Network. Pictured L-R: Daryl Mitchell as NCIS Special Agent Patton Plame, Lucas Black as Special Agent Christopher LaSalle, Zoe McLellan as Special Agent Meredith "Merri" Brody, and Scott Bakula as Special Agent Dwayne Pride Photo: Skip Bolen/CBS ©2014 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved
10. "The Recruits" - NCIS: New Orleans S1 E4
Behind the scenes on the set of the CBS series NCIS: NEW ORLEANS, Oct 14 (9:00-10:01, ET/PT), on the CBS Television Network. Pictured L-R: Daryl Mitchell, Zoe McLellan, Director Oz Scott, and Scott Bakula Photo: Skip Bolen/CBS ©2014 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Behind the scenes on the set of the CBS series NCIS: NEW ORLEANS, Oct 14 (9:00-10:01, ET/PT), on the CBS Television Network. Pictured L-R: Scott Bakula, Lucas Black, and Zoe McLellan Photo: Skip Bolen/CBS ©2014 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved


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Intel unveils new 'Ruler' form factor for SSDs, supports up to 1 petabyte of storage
Aug 8, 2017 at 9:58 GMT 2 years ago
Intel today announced new memory technologies to advance data center storage solutions. Intel unveiled "Ruler", a new form factor for SSDs enabling up to 1 petabyte of storage in a 1U server rack. Unlike the traditional 2.5-inch and 3.5-inch form factors of hard disk drives, these new "ruler" SSDs are long and skinny shaped. It also takes advantage of PCIe card slots eliminating constraints on shape and size. Intel claims that this enables the most storage capacity for a server, with the lowest required cooling and power needs.
The next-generation "ruler" form factor SSDs using Intel 3D NAND technology will enable up to 1PB in a 1U server – enough storage for 300,000 HD movies, or about 70 years of nonstop entertainment.
Intel today also announced Intel Optane technology dual port SSDs and Intel 3D NAND dual port SSDs that offer critical redundancy and failover, protecting against multiple paths to failure for mission-critical and high-availability applications. Dual port Intel SSD DC D4500, D4502 and D4600 Series will be available starting in 2017's third quarter.
The new "ruler" form factor for Intel SSDs will be available in the near future.
data center storage
Dual Port SSDs
Intel SSDs
ruler form factor


Rugged ankle boots by BOSS, crafted in Italy from deeply grained calf leather. Featuring a cemented construction, lightweight EVA outsole with a lug finish and a rubber welt, these zip-up boots are designed for optimum comfort and traction. Supplied with a protective dust bag and spare laces, this pair is built to last you through the seasons.


Sorry, you missed Haywyre Tickets (16+ Event) at Catalyst Club.
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It's that time of the month....no, not that time ladies... time for polish days! You know, that uber cool day when awesome nail gals from around the world post a mani based on a theme at the same time on the same day? Yeah, that day! Well this months theme is "Seven Deadly Sins." Lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, pride, whoever came up with these had no intentions on me living right, I'm convinced of that. With the recent April Fools joke from Scope for bacon flavored mouthwash I got to thinking, when did the craze for bacon begin, how far will it go, and when will it stop! Take a look after the jump at just a small representation of the 50leven bacon products on the market and my bacon mani representing GLUTTONY!
Still not convinced we're taking the bacon craze too far? Well check this out.
Are you a bacon lover? What's the wildest bacon inspired food or product you've tried?
Don't forget to check out all the other ladies and their take on the 7 deadly sins.
we have bacon candy on the shelf...yet to find the courage to try it!
ah, so awesome! love the bacon mani. I've got bacon jerky at home that I'm not yet brave enough to try.
Oh the endless possibilities. Lol thank you!
Mmmmm bacon! Haha this is a really cute bacon-y mani :D I love bacon, only if its super crispy though so I can live in denial about the fat.
Such a fun mani! I love anything pig related. So I love your index design!


The GMAT verbal section presents a unique challenge. While many test-takers spend hours and hours mastering the strategies and formulas necessary to do well on the quant section, the verbal section can often seem more opaque and intimidating. In this guide, I'll give you concrete, actionable strategies that you can use to demystify and master the GMAT verbal section.
First, I'll talk about what's on the GMAT verbal. Next, I'll talk about the three question types on the GMAT verbal section, and give sample questions for each. Finally, I'll give you some strategies for preparing for the GMAT verbal and for acing the verbal section on test day.
Author Laura DorwartPosted on October 23, 2017 October 25, 2017 Categories GMAT QuantitativeTags explainers, gmat formatLeave a comment on GMAT Calculator: What Is It? When Can You Use It?
Author Laura DorwartPosted on October 2, 2017 April 16, 2018 Categories GMAT PrepTags gmat format, preparing for the gmat, study tipsLeave a comment on Expert Guide: How Hard Is the GMAT?
If you've decided to go to business school, you're probably started to think about studying for the GMAT. Preparing for the GMAT can be overwhelming. Where do you start? What should you buy? What should your study plan look like?
In this GMAT study guide, I'll walk you through the GMAT study process from start to finish. First, I'll talk about why studying for the GMAT is worth the time and effort. Next, I'll talk about the GMAT itself – the format of the test and what it covers. Then, I'll give a brief overview of each of the sections of test, discussing the content and format of each.
After that, I'll move into talking about how to set a goal score, create your GMAT study plan, and stick to it. Finally, I'll talk about the practice itself. I'll tell you where to find study materials and give you some tried and true study strategies for both the test as a whole and each individual section.
By the end, you'll have a clear idea of where to start to study for the GMAT.


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Rapper and Singer Juice WRLD Dies at 21 After 'Medical Emergency' at Chicago Airport
by: Associated Press, Carlos Saucedo
Rapper Juice WRLD, who launched his career on SoundCloud before becoming a streaming juggernaut and rose to the top of the charts with the Sting-sampled hit "Lucid Dreams," died early Sunday after a "medical emergency" at Chicago's Midway International Airport.
The rapper, whose legal name was Jarad A. Higgins, was 21. Authorities have not released details about his cause of death.
Rapper Juice WRLD performs at Power 105.1's Powerhouse 2018 at Prudential Center on Oct. 28, 2018, in Newark, New Jersey. (Credit: Bennett Raglin/Getty Images for Power 105.1)
He was pronounced dead at a hospital around 3:15 a.m. and taken to the Cook County medical examiner's office several hours later, according to office spokeswoman Natalia Derevyanny, who said an autopsy would take place Monday.
Chicago police launched a death investigation after a 21-year-old male experiencing a "medical emergency" was transported from Midway to an area hospital. Police said there were no signs of foul play and those aboard the aircraft were cooperating with authorities. Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford said the man experienced cardiac arrest and was taken to a hospital from a hangar operated by Atlantic Aviation at Midway, away from the main terminal, where private planes land. Atlantic didn't return a message Sunday.
The rapper, who was named top new artist at the 2019 Billboard Music Awards in May, lived in the Chicago suburb of Homewood where he stood out as a musician early on.
Juice WRLD turned 21 only days earlier. He was only two years out of high school.
Like a good number of young hip-hop performers, Juice WRLD blended rapping and singing on his songs, sometimes mumbling words and focusing more on melody. His hit "Lucid Dreams," which heavily samples Sting's 1993 song "Shape of My Heart," was a six-times platinum success and reached No. 2 on the all-genre Hot 100 chart. It reached No. 1 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Rap Songs charts.
"I was very impressed by what he put on top of (my version)," Sting told The Associated Press this year. "It's a really good song."
Juice WRLD got his start on the music sharing platform SoundCloud before signing to a record label and finding major success on streaming services. His major-label debut album, "Goodbye & Good Riddance," was a platinum success. It featured the hit "All Girls Are the Same," which gained platinum status, alongside seven more platinum hits including "Armed & Dangerous," "Robbery," "Fine China" and "Legends," which features the lyrics: "What's the 27 Club?/We ain't making it past 21."
He's had 10 songs reach gold status and also had success with 2018's "Wrld on Drugs," a collaborative album with rapper-singer-producer Future.
Rest In Peace young legend. @JuiceWorlddd pic.twitter.com/8uJiJFaksY
— SoundCloud (@SoundCloud) December 8, 2019
His second album, "Death Race for Love," debuted on top of the Billboard charts this year and his most recent single, "Bandit" with YoungBoy Never Broke Again, reached the Top 10 of the pop charts in October.
Juice WRLD graduated in 2017 from Homewood-Flossmoor Community High School outside Chicago, where he gained a reputation as a talented musician among the nearly 3,000 students. School officials said Sunday that they would offer counseling services for students affected by his death.
"He is remembered by his teachers and staff as being a brilliant and creative student. Jared was extraordinarily talented in music and played many instruments," said school spokeswoman Jodi Bryant. "He was a caring and outgoing person who always tried to reach out to others while at the same time he was introspective and had a great sense of humor."
Juice Wrld dropped "Legends" last year to pay tribute to XXXTentacion and Lil Peep after their passings.
We miss you all so much. pic.twitter.com/kV9lAsaUGp
— XXL Magazine (@XXL) December 8, 2019
damn bro i can't even believe this, rest in peace @JuiceWorlddd 💔
— Yung Pinch (@yungpinch) December 8, 2019
Wow, I can not believe this. Rip my brother juice world 😭😭😭
— caliginous boat (@lilyachty) December 8, 2019
I can't believe it… you were such a sweet soul. I'll always remember meeting you and your family on the video set and thinking how close you were. You had so much further to go, you were just getting started. You'll be missed Juice 💔
— Ellie Goulding (@elliegoulding) December 8, 2019
Noooo way not juice wrld somebody say this not real 🤦🏽♂
— BOSS MAN (@richthekid) December 8, 2019
really shocked and sad to find out juice wrld passed away, … and so young too…
a reminder that life can be over any moment…
be kind to one another.
— Zedd (@Zedd) December 8, 2019
JuiceWRLD was so happy to have made it. Spoke about his era confidently, gave credit where it was due, and knew his impact would outlive him. No one knew we'd find out this soon. RIP young king. #juicewrld pic.twitter.com/H3T1pTuPHC
— speedy morman (@SpeedyMorman) December 8, 2019
by Cindy Von Quednow / Jan 19, 2022
A woman is in custody following a pursuit in the San Fernando Valley Wednesday afternoon.
Los Angeles police officers began chasing the driver in the area of Osborne Street and Bradley Avenue after the vehicle was believed to be stolen.


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An Investment in Peace: EU Unveils a New Plan to Support Education During Emergencies
September 24, 2018 By Anuj Krishnamurthy
Last May, the European Union announced an ambitious plan to dedicate 10 percent of its 2019 humanitarian aid budget to education during emergencies. At the same time the European Commission released its first policy on education in emergencies, observing that "access to quality education is being denied to millions of children by increasingly protracted conflicts, forced displacement, violence, climate change and disasters." As a result, the Commission notes, "uneducated, lost generations" have been forced "to embark on perilous journeys to Europe and other regions of the world, affecting their stability and development." The European Union's announcement is a welcome development for global education, which has received scant attention from international aid agencies and languished at the margins of the international humanitarian agenda.
Education and Human Security
The international community has long made ambitious commitments to education, deeming it a core component of human dignity and development. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, signed in 1948, enshrines the "right to free, compulsory elementary education." The UN reaffirmed the value of education in its 2015 Sustainable Development Goals, one of which pledges to "ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and effective learning outcomes."
But the divide between this aspirational rhetoric and humanitarian reality is stark. While the EU has laudably taken a step in the right direction, other donor countries have been reluctant to follow suit. For example, the United States will spend only 1.8 percent of its US$27.7 billion foreign assistance budget on basic and higher education. Overall, there is a US$26 billion shortfall in financing for global education. When UNICEF requested US$932 million to conduct educational programming in disaster settings in 2017, it received less than US$115 million, or just 12 percent of its initial target. In light of these disheartening figures, the current state of global education may constitute, as some have noted, a "humanitarian emergency."
In 2014, 263 million children and youth were not enrolled in school
In recent years, this emergency has shown few signs of abating. In 2014, 263 million children and youth were not enrolled in school. In southern Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, more than half of secondary school-age youth do not attend school. Of the 17.2 million refugees under the supervision of the UN refugee agency, nearly half are children—and 3.5 million did not receive a single day of schooling in 2016.
In redoubling its commitment to education during emergencies, the EU has drawn much-needed attention to the profound importance of education to human security. According to Save the Children, 30 percent of people victimized by humanitarian emergencies rank education as their most important need—more than any other basic service, like food and water. A survey of children found similar results: 38 percent ranked education as their highest priority and 69 percent ranked it in their top three priorities.
The dearth of funding for emergency education has real, devastating costs for people all over the world—especially those in conflict-stricken environments, where educational institutions and personnel are often among the first casualties of violence. In those places, the scarcity of educational opportunities is especially acute. Conflict-affected countries normally constitute only 20 percent of the world's primary school-aged population, but are home to 50 percent of the out-of-school population of schoolchildren. Armed conflict can also reduce the number of years of schooling available to young people and reverse any progress made in low-income countries' educational systems. In Afghanistan, civil conflict between 1978 and 2001 resulted in the loss of 5.5 years of schooling, on average, for Afghan individuals.
Conflict can also impede the physical security of educational systems, harming students, teachers, and school facilities. Because schools represent state authority, they are often the targets of anti-government violence. Unrest in East Timor in September 1999, for example, resulted in the destruction of 80-90 percent of its schools. During the civil war in Mozambique, damage to educational infrastructure left the majority of the country's two million primary school-aged children without access to schooling. In the past five years alone, 300 schools in the Middle East operated by the UN have been destroyed. Afghanistan, Colombia, Pakistan, Somalia, Sudan, and Syria have all experienced 1,000 or more attacks each on schools, universities, students, and teaching staffs.
Education in Emergencies Is an Investment in Peace
For the resolution of conflict and the provision of basic safety, education—during emergencies and periods of relative normalcy—is critical. In the near term, education in disaster or conflict settings can save lives. In November 1998, the Oslo/Hadeland conference on child protection found that "education has a preventive effect on recruitment, abduction and gender based violence, and thereby serves as an important protection tool."
The personal security afforded to young people by educational facilities must not be underestimated
The personal security afforded to young people by educational facilities must not be underestimated. Schools and the recreational opportunities they offer allow children to play, access nutritious meals, and avoid harmful behavior under the supervision of adults. Education can also promote psychosocial well-being, giving children the chance to adhere to a reliable routine, interact with peers in a respectful environment, and express themselves constructively. And, in terms of safety, literacy and numeracy can prepare children to protect themselves and seek out assistance for themselves and their families.
In the long term, education can help prevent humanitarian tragedies and reduce the frequency of conflict. Each year of education available to a population reduces the risk of conflict by 20 percent. If a country's secondary school enrollment rate exceeds the global average by just 10 percentage points, the risk of war breaking out falls from 11.5 percent to 8.6 percent.
Investments in education can pay substantial dividends in economic and human development as well. In low-income countries, every dollar spent on education yields benefits in earnings and health outcomes worth $10. And the rapid decline in adult mortality since 1970—a drop of roughly one-third—can be attributed in large part to the education of young girls and women.
Over time, support for classrooms, instructors, and students in regions beleaguered by disaster and underdevelopment can facilitate the realization of a more stable, more equitable world.
Funding for education is "a strategic investment in global peace and prosperity," said Christos Stylianides, the European Commission's chief of humanitarian aid and crisis management. "I think it's the most important strategic objective for peace."
Anuj Krishnamurthy is a student at Brown University studying international relations and economics.
Sources: Brookings, Devex, The Education Commission, European Commission, Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack, The Guardian, Huffington Post, Humanitarian Practice Network, Save the Children, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, UN News, UNESCO, UNICEF, World Bank
Photo Credit: Syrian primary school children attending catch-up learning classes in Lebanon, July 2014, courtesy of the UK Department for International Development
Topics: development, featured, Guest Contributor, security


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9 in 10 Americans Are Stressing Over Holiday Meals
Marija Kovachevska
We all know that the holiday season is much trickier than just spending perfect moments with family and friends. A Kerrygold survey exposes one of the biggest stressors during end-of-the-year festivities—prepping holiday meals.
Surprisingly, as much as 89% of the surveyed Americans said activities related to holiday meals made them stressed or nervous. This made cooking the most stressful holiday-related activity, even more so than shopping, gift-giving, sending out cards, etc.
However, this stat is not that surprising after all. Namely, cooking stats tell us that only around 14% of the US adult population cooks because they have a strong passion for cooking.
But what exactly is stressing American adults when the holiday kitchen is in question?
According to the survey results, 44% were preoccupied with worries about making delicious meals. Then, they were concerned about providing the right amount of food (43%) and about meal preparation timing (42%).
Only 29% of the surveyed encountered troubles when deciding what holiday meals to prepare. However, what proved most complicated was cooking for those that follow particular diets or avoid specific food groups.
Approximately 21% of the survey participants were concerned about cooking gluten-free meals, 20% feared preparing lactose-free food, and the same share said this about vegetarian diets. Finally, about 11% of them said keto meals were problematic.
This may be why, during last year's holiday season, many chose to order delivery food on New Year's Eve. Right after Mother's Day, it was the second most profitable holiday for some of the most popular food delivery services in the US.
Aware of the amount of stress the holidays can impose on cooks all over America, Kerrygold started its Holiday Calm campaign that uses Irish recipes, sounds, and visuals to make Americans de-stress during this tense time of the year.
Marija is a content writer, biochemist, and communications associate for several nonprofit organizations. After earning her bachelor's, she worked as a scientific writer before engaging in the world of nonprofits—first as an English translator and an activist, and later, as head of communications. In content writing, she finds the perfect stimulus for her curiosity and aptitude for research, as well as a way to deploy her linguistic creativity for the purpose of better understanding.
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Unlocking your plant's full potential is imperative to maximizing your return on investment. Leveraging the newest in automation innovation, Novaspect and our knowledgeable and experienced engineers can help you devise a long-term life cycle strategy utilizing our DeltaV Distributed Control System (DCS) and Safety Instrumented System (SIS) to help protect your investment while improving overall plant performance and safety.
Our systems and expertise keep your plant running at maximum efficiency. When you team up with Novaspect, you can rest assured that we will deliver on everything we promise.
Our easy-to-use automation system mitigates project risk and simplifies operational complexity. Although what lies under the hood is complex, the system is easy to operate and maintain with intelligent controls.
The DeltaV DCS suite of controls scales to any business, large or small, but doesn't change in operational efficiency. The integrated DeltaV DCS can handle change management, advanced controls, engineering tools and diagnostics, among other aspects.
Embrace a modern approach to plant safety with our DeltaV SIS, which increases safety integrity and improves process availability. Novaspect's DeltaV SIS manages the monitoring of all your plant's safety systems down to the component, while also keeping an eye on overall system health. Moreover, electronic marshaling technology reduces the cost of operation across the board and also decreases the amount of safety equipment employed plant-wide.


" Increasing temperatures, changing precipitation, rising sea level, more intense and frequent extreme weather events and melting glaciers, ice sheets and Arctic sea ice are some of the challenges for Europe already triggered by global climate change, says a report released today by the European Environment Agency, the World Health Organisation Regional Office for Europe and the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission.
The report 'Impacts of Europe's changing climate', based on 40 key indicators, stresses the consequences of both observed and projected changes, including an increased risk of floods and droughts, losses of biodiversity, threats to human health and damage to economic sectors such as energy, transport, forestry, agriculture, and tourism.
" The report presents past and projected climate change and impacts in Europe by means of about 40 indicators and identifies sectors and regions most vulnerable with a high need for adaptation. The report covers the following indicator categories: atmosphere and climate, cryosphere, marine biodiversity and ecosystems, water quantity (including river floods and droughts), freshwater quality and biodiversity, terrestrial ecosystems and biodiversity, soil, agriculture and forestry, human health. Furthermore the report shows the need for adaptation actions at EU, national and regional level and the need for enhanced monitoring, data collection and exchange and reducing uncertainties in projections. The report is a joined effort of the European Environment Agency (EEA), the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC-IES) and the World Health Organisation Europe (WHO). "
" In a HARDtalk programme broadcast on 6 October, Stephen Sackur talks to the Danish minister for climate and energy, Connie Hedegaard.
With the world economy faltering and fears of a global recession growing, do politicians have the stomach for action on global warming? "


Comedian Jeff Dunham Coming To Casper!
Jeff Dunham is coming back to Casper, February 22nd, 2017, at the Casper Event Center to share his special brand of comedy with the Cowboy State!
International comedy sensation Comic/Ventriloquist Jeff Dunham, has performed in front of sold out audiences worldwide showcasing the undeniable power of induced laughter. Dunham along with his cast of hilarious characters are set to embark on the second leg of their hugely successful "Perfectly Unbalanced" Tour. The show is packed with new surprises and old favorites.


The Structure Repair shampoo is for damaged, dry and chemically treated hair that moisturises and strengthens the hair structure. Repairing algae extract helps hair regain its natural strength, softness and shine. Colour Guard Complex protects and maintains the colour in colour treated hair.