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mariacallous · 9 months ago

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Bank of Japan scraps radical policy, makes first rate hike in 17 years

TOKYO, March 19 (Reuters) - The Bank of Japan (BOJ) ended eight years of negative interest rates and other remnants of its unorthodox policy on Tuesday, making a historic shift away from its focus on reflating growth with decades of massive monetary stimulus.

While the move was Japan's first interest rate hike in 17 years, it still keeps rates stuck around zero as a fragile economic recovery forces the central bank to go slow on further rises in borrowing costs, analysts say.

The shift makes Japan the last central bank to exit negative rates, and ends an era in which policymakers around the world sought to prop up growth through cheap money and unconventional monetary tools.

"We reverted to a normal monetary policy targeting short-term interest rates, as with other central banks," BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda said at a press conference after the decision.

"If trend inflation heightens a bit more, that may lead to an increase in short-term rates," Ueda said, without elaborating on the likely pace and timing of further rate hikes.

In a widely expected decision, the BOJ ditched a policy put in place since 2016 by former Governor Haruhiko Kuroda that applied a 0.1% charge on some excess reserves financial institutions parked with the central bank.

The BOJ set the overnight call rate as its new policy rate and decided to guide it in a range of 0-0.1% partly by paying 0.1% interest to deposits at the central bank.

"The BOJ today took its first, tentative step towards policy normalisation," said Frederic Neumann, chief Asia economist at HSBC in Hong Kong.

"The elimination of negative interest rates in particular signals the BOJ's confidence that Japan has emerged from the grip of deflation."

The central bank also abandoned yield curve control (YCC), a policy in place since 2016 that capped long-term interest rates around zero, and discontinued purchases of risky assets.

But the BOJ said it will keep buying "broadly the same amount" of government bonds as before and ramp up purchases in case yields rise rapidly, underscoring its focus on preventing any damaging spike in borrowing costs.

In a sign future rate hikes will be moderate, the BOJ also said it expects "accommodative financial conditions to be maintained for the time being."

Japanese shares rose after the decision. The yen fell below 150 per dollar, as investors took the BOJ's dovish guidance as a sign the interest rate differential between Japan and the United States likely will not narrow much.

'A NORMAL COUNTRY'

With inflation exceeding the BOJ's 2% target for well over a year, many market players had projected an end to negative interest rates either in March or April.

Expectations for a shift this week heightened significantly after unions' annual wage talks with major firms delivered the biggest pay hikes in 33 years.

The end of the Kuroda era stimulus now swings the focus for markets, analysts and the wider public to when the BOJ will raise rates further.

Already on Tuesday, commercial banks flagged plans to raise some of their deposit rates for the first time since 2007. Nomura and BNP Paribas both expect the BOJ to hike rates again before the end of the year.

"Essentially we're a normal country," said Bart Wakabayashi, State Street Tokyo Branch Manager.

"How does this impact households locally and their spending power? I think that's going to be the next big discussion and with an eye to that I don't think the BOJ can do anything beyond what they've announced."

Under Kuroda, the BOJ deployed a huge asset-buying programme in 2013, originally aimed at firing up inflation to a 2% target within roughly two years.

The central bank introduced negative rates and YCC in 2016 as tepid inflation forced it to tweak its stimulus programme to a more sustainable one.

As the yen's sharp falls pushed up the cost of imports and heightened public criticism over the demerits of Japan's ultra-low interest rates, however, the BOJ last year tweaked YCC to relax its grip on long-term rates.

There are still risks. A spike in bond yields would boost the cost of funding Japan's huge public debt which, at twice the size of its economy, is the largest among advanced economies.

An end to cheap funds could also jolt global financial markets as Japanese investors, who amassed overseas investments in search of yields, shift money back to their home country.

Even as it rolled back stimulus, the BOJ downgraded its assessment on the economy and warned of consumption weakness.

Ueda said inflation expectations have yet to be anchored at 2%, which means the BOJ can raise rates at a slower pace than other central banks did in recent years.

"If our price forecast clearly overshoots or, even if our median forecast is unchanged, we see a clear increase in upside risk to the price outlook, that will lead to a policy change," Ueda said on the likely threshold for further rate increases.

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ahopkins1965 · 21 days ago

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What is a Caste System? By Anthony Hopkins

What is meant by caste system?

A caste is a class structure that is determined by birth. Loosely, it means that in some societies, if your parents are poor, you're going to be poor, too. Same goes for being rich, if you're a glass-half-full person.

The Origins of the Caste System

According to one long-held theory about the origins of South Asia's caste system, Aryans from central Asia invaded South Asia and introduced the caste system as a means of controlling the local populations. The Aryans defined key roles in society, then assigned groups of people to them.

What is an example of a caste system?

A caste system, then, is a social structure in which people belong to such social categories; historically, an example is the caste system of India. ... Interaction between people of different castes is restricted; for example, commonly people must practice endogamy (marriage within their own caste).

Who Created The Caste System?

Aryans

Hierarchy:

It comprises four varnas or castes. These in descending order of ranking are Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras. There are many castes between the two extremes-the Brahmins and the Shudras. Their social status depends upon their distance from the Brahmins.

What is class and caste system?

A caste system is one in which social standing is based on ascribed status or birth. Class systems are open, with achievement playing a role in social position. People fall into classes based on factors like wealth, income, education, and occupation.

What are the basic principles of caste system?

According to him, the six main features of the caste system are: segmental division of society, hierarchy of groups, restriction of feeding and social intercourse, allied and religious disabilities and privileges of the different sections, lack of unrestricted choice of occupation, and restriction on marriage.

What is the US caste?

Caste is a form of social stratification characterized by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultural notions of purity and pollution.

Does caste system still exist?

The caste system as it exists today, is thought to be the result of developments during the collapse of the Mughal era and the rise of the British colonial regime in India.

Does Christianity have a caste system?

Caste system among Indian Christians. The caste system among Indian Christians often reflects stratification by sect, location, and the castes of their predecessors. The caste system today is beyond Hinduism (Hindu society) and it exists in most religions in India.

Does Caste Systems Still Exist in The United States?

The answer to this question is yes. This is simply because it has a whole lot to do with a person’s socioeconomic status. However, a person can change their status by getting a very good job, and a decent education. A person in America status has a lot to do with his way of doing things. I begin to realize that there are 45.7 Million African Americans that are currently living in the United States. This is based on Census Bureau statistics from the end of last year. There are 150 Million Caucasians that currently live in the United States. There are 50 Million Mexican Americans who live in the United States. Due to the 2016 U.S. Election Results, only 25% of the USA Population only voted.

How Can This Come To An End in America?

Job Creation and Neighborhood Revitalization is the key to resolving this serious problem. This means that the majority culture, will have to assist those, who are in need. I know that it is not very easy in a fast paced society. It is very important that we pay attention to what is really going on all around us. I know that it will take Jesus Christ to come back to earth; just to resolve our problems that millions are facing every single day of the week. I understand that it takes a lot of work to make a change for a positive progression in the United States. This means that modern indentured servitude will have to come to a complete end.

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zvaigzdelasas · 2 years ago

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WaPo - Pentagon opens sweeping review of clandestine psychological operations

Complaints about the U.S. military’s influence operations using Facebook and Twitter have raised concern in the White House and federal agencies.[...]

The Pentagon has ordered a sweeping audit of how it conducts clandestine information warfare after major social media companies identified and took offline fake accounts suspected of being run by the U.S. military in violation of the platforms’ rules.

Colin Kahl, the undersecretary of defense for policy, last weekinstructed the military commands that engage in psychological operations online to provide a full accounting of their activities by next month after the White House and somefederal agencies expressed mounting concerns over the Defense Department’s attempted manipulation of audiences overseas, according to several defense and administration officials familiar with the matter.

The takedowns in recent years by Twitter and Facebook of more than 150 bogus personas and media sites created in the United States was disclosed last month by internet researchers Graphika and the Stanford Internet Observatory. While the researchers did not attribute the sham accounts to the U.S. military, two officials familiar with the matter said that U.S. Central Command is among those whose activities are facing scrutiny. Like others interviewed for this report, they spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military operations.

The researchers did not specify when the takedowns occurred, but those familiar with the matter said they were within the past two or three years. Some were recent, they said, and involved posts from the summer that advanced anti-Russia narratives citing the Kremlin’s “imperialist” war in Ukraine and warning of the conflict’s direct impact on Central Asian countries.[...]

Centcom, headquartered in Tampa, has purview over military operations across 21 countries in the Middle East, North Africa and Central and South Asia. A spokesman declined to comment. [...]

Spokespersons for Facebook and Twitter declined to comment.

According to the researchers’ report, the accounts taken down included a made-up Persian-language media site that shared content reposted from the U.S.-funded Voice of America Farsi and Radio Free Europe. Another, it said, was linked to a Twitter handle that in the past had claimed to operate on behalf of Centcom.

One fake account posted an inflammatory tweet claiming that relatives of deceased Afghan refugees had reported bodies being returned from Iran with missing organs, according to the report. The tweet linked to a video that was part of an article posted on a U.S.-military affiliated website.

Centcom has not commented on whether these accounts were created by its personnel or contractors. If the organ-harvesting tweet is shown to be Centcom’s, one defense official said, it would “absolutely be a violation of doctrine and training practices.”

Independent of the report, The Washington Post has learned that in 2020 Facebook disabled fictitious personas created by Centcom to counter disinformation spread by China suggesting the coronavirus responsible for covid-19 was created at a U.S. Army lab in Fort Detrick, Md., according to officials familiar with the matter. The pseudo profiles — active in Facebook groups that conversed in Arabic, Farsi and Urdu, the officials said — were used to amplify truthful [sic] information from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about the virus’s origination in China.

The U.S. government’s use of ersatz social media accounts, though authorized by law and policy, has stirred controversy inside the Biden administration, with the White House pressing the Pentagon to clarify and justify its policies. The White House, agencies such as the State Department and even some officials within the Defense Department have been concerned that the policies are too broad, allowing leeway for tactics that even if used to spread truthful information, risk eroding U.S. credibility, several U.S. officials said.

“Our adversaries are absolutely operating in the information domain,” said a second senior defense official. “There are some who think we shouldn’t do anything clandestine in that space. Ceding an entire domain to an adversary would be unwise. But we need stronger policy guardrails.” [Editor's Note: Lolling & Lmaoing]

A spokeswoman for the National Security Council, which is part of the White House, declined to comment.

Kahl disclosed his review at a virtual meeting convened by the National Security Council on Tuesday, saying he wants to know what types of operations have been carried out, who they’re targeting, what tools are being used and why military commanders have chosen those tactics, and how effective they have been, several officials said.

The message was essentially, “You have to justify to me why you’re doing these types of things,” the first defense official said.

Pentagon policy and doctrine discourage the military from peddling falsehoods, but there are no specific rules mandating the use of truthful information for psychological operations. For instance, the military sometimes employs fiction and satire for persuasion purposes, but generally the messages are supposed to stick to facts, officials said.

In 2020, officers at Facebook and Twitter contacted the Pentagon to raise concerns about the phony accounts they were having to remove, suspicious they were associated with the military. That summer, David Agranovich, Facebook’s director for global threat disruption, spoke to Christopher C. Miller, then assistant director for Special Operations/Low Intensity Conflict, which oversees influence operations policy, warning him that if Facebook could sniff them out, so could U.S. adversaries, several people familiar with the conversation said.

“His point‚” one person said, “was ‘Guys, you got caught. That’s a problem.’ ”[...]

With the rise of Russia and China as strategic competitors, military commanders have wanted to fight back, including online. And Congress supported that. Frustrated with perceived legal obstacles to the Defense Department’s ability to conduct clandestine activities in cyberspace, Congress in late 2019 passed a law affirming that the military could conduct operations in the “information environment” to defend the United States and to push back against foreign disinformation aimed at undermining its interests. The measure, known as Section 1631, allows the military to carry out clandestine psychological operations without crossing what the CIA has claimed as its covert authority, alleviating some of the friction that had hindered such operations previously.

“Combatant commanders got really excited,” recalled the first defense official. “They were very eager to utilize these new authorities. The defense contractors were equally eager to land lucrative classified contracts to enable clandestine influence operations.”[...]

Last year, with a new administration in place, Facebook’s Agranovich tried again. This time he took his complaint to President Biden’s deputy national security adviser for cyber, Anne Neuberger. Agranovich, who had worked at the NSC under Trump, told Neuberger that Facebook was taking down fake accounts because they violated the company’s terms of service, according to people familiar with the exchange.

The accounts were easily detected by Facebook, which since Russia’s campaign to interfere in the 2016 presidential election has enhanced its ability to identify mock personas and sites. In some cases, the company had removed profiles, which appeared to be associated with the military, that promoted information deemed by fact-checkers to be false, said a person familiar with the matter.

Agranovich also spoke to officials at the Pentagon. His message was: “We know what DOD is doing. It violates our policies. We will enforce our policies” and so “DOD should knock it off,” said a U.S. official briefed on the matter.

In response to White House concerns, Kahl ordered a review of Military Information Support Operations, or MISO, the Pentagon’s moniker for psychological operations. A draft concluded that policies, training and oversight all needed tightening, and that coordination with other agencies, such as the State Department and the CIA, needed strengthening, according to officials.

The review also found that while there were cases in which fictitious information was pushed by the military, they were the result of inadequate oversight [sic] of contractors and personnel training — not systemic problems [sic], officials said.

Pentagon leadership did little with the review, two officials said, before Graphika and Stanford published their report on Aug. 24, which elicited a flurry of news coverage and questions for the military.

The State Department and CIA have been perturbed by the military’s use of clandestine tactics. Officers at State have admonished the Defense Department, “Hey don’t amplify our policies using fake personas, because we don’t want to be seen as creating false grass roots efforts,” [sic] the first defense official said.

One diplomat put it this way: “Generally speaking, we shouldn’t be employing the same kind of tactics that our adversaries are using because the bottom line is we have the moral high ground [sic]. [...] We promote [our set of] values around the world and when we use tactics like those, it just undermines our argument about who we are.”

Psychological operations to promote U.S. narratives overseas are nothing new in the military, but the popularity of western social media across the globe has led to an expansion of tactics, including the use of artificial personas and images — sometimes called “deep fakes.” The logic is that views expressed by what appears to be, say, an Afghan woman or an Iranian student might be more persuasive [!] than if they were openly pushed by the U.S. government. [...]

A key issue for senior policymakers now is determining whether the military’s execution of clandestine influence operations is delivering results. “Is the juice worth the squeeze? Does our approach really have the potential for the return on investment we hoped or is it just causing more challenges?” one person familiar with the debate said.[...]

Clandestine influence operations have a role in support of military operations, but it should be a narrow one with “intrusive oversight” by military and civilian leadership, said Michael Lumpkin, a former senior Pentagon official handling information operations policy and a former head of the State Department’s Global Engagement Center. “Otherwise, we risk making more enemies than friends.”

19 Sep 22

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blogforfauna · 2 years ago

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Canis anthus and Canis aureus

African golden wolves, Canis anthus, were believed to be an African subspecies of the Eurasian golden jackal, Canis aureus, until 2015 when genetic tests showed that they were more closely related to grey wolves. That makes them the first “new” canines to be discovered in 150 years.

Photos show golden jackals on the left and African golden wolves on the right

Golden jackals are widespread in Europe and Asia. They are most common in southern Eurasian countries ranging from Myanmar (Burma) to Greece, but they are spreading further into European countries. Within the past 20-30 years they have spread into Italy and Ukraine, and there was even a sighting of one in Norway last year.

African golden wolves, also known as African wolves or golden wolves, are found in all North African countries and some of West, Central, and East Africa. Generally found in grasslands, they also live in forests, savannas, and desert environments. Golden jackals are rarely found anywhere besides grasslands.

Golden jackal ^

Small animals including rodents, reptiles, birds, and insects make up roughly half of the golden jackal’s diet, the other half consisting of fruits and other vegetation. They are also known to follow tigers to scavenge off large animals they kill. Golden jackals are very social and do almost everything in pairs, including hunting and scavenge.

Golden jackals are good hunters due to an amazing sense of smell. Because of this, people bred them with huskies and spitz dog breeds to create the sulimov dog. Sulimov dogs have one of the strongest senses of smell of any dog breed and are used for this reason as sniffer dogs.

Wild boars make up most of the African wolf’s diet, but they also frequently hunt small animals like ground squirrels, hares, and insects like the golden jackal. Also like golden jackals, African wolves are pretty social. They rarely form large packs like grey wolves, who they are more closely related to than to golden jackals, but their adult offspring will often stay with the parents to help care for pups.

I rate the golden wolf and jackal 15/10. One hid as a jackal for many years and the other steals from tigers. Amazing

African wolf ^

Photo credits:

(1) Jan Ebr (2) Lee R. Berger (3) Carlo Galliani (4) Vinay Narayana Swamy (5) Cécile Bloch (6) Mourad-Harzallah

#jackal #wolf #golden jackal #golden wolf #african wolf #african golden wolf #wolves #jackals #animals #biology #nature #science #wildlife #zoology #animal #dog #dogs #wild

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antoine-roquentin · 4 years ago

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In the aftermath of World War II, America’s Cold War leaders had a clear understanding that their global power, like Britain’s before it, would depend on control over Eurasia. For the previous 400 years, every would-be global hegemon had struggled to dominate that vast land mass. In the sixteenth century, Portugal had dotted continental coastlines with 50 fortified ports (feitorias) stretching from Lisbon to the Straits of Malacca (which connect the Indian Ocean to the Pacific), just as, in the late nineteenth century, Great Britain would rule the waves through naval bastions that stretched from Scapa Flow, Scotland, to Singapore.

While Portugal’s strategy, as recorded in royal decrees, was focused on controlling maritime choke points, Britain benefitted from the systematic study of geopolitics by the geographer Sir Halford Mackinder, who argued that the key to global power was control over Eurasia and, more broadly, a tri-continental “world island” comprised of Asia, Europe, and Africa. As strong as those empires were in their day, no imperial power fully perfected its global reach by capturing both axial ends of Eurasia — until America came on the scene.

During its first decade as the globe’s great hegemon at the close of World War II, Washington quite self-consciously set out to build an apparatus of awesome military power that would allow it to dominate the sprawling Eurasian land mass. With each passing decade, layer upon layer of weaponry and an ever-growing network of military bastions were combined to “contain” communism behind a 5,000-mile Iron Curtain that arched across Eurasia, from the Berlin Wall to the Demilitarized Zone near Seoul, South Korea.

Through its post-World War II occupation of the defeated Axis powers, Germany and Japan, Washington seized military bases, large and small, at both ends of Eurasia. In Japan, for example, its military would occupy approximately 100 installations from Misawa air base in the far north to Sasebo naval base in the south.

Soon after, as Washington reeled from the twin shocks of a communist victory in China and the start of the Korean war in June 1950, the National Security Council adopted NSC-68, a memorandum making it clear that control of Eurasia would be the key to its global power struggle against communism. “Soviet efforts are now directed toward the domination of the Eurasian land mass,” read that foundational document. The U.S., it insisted, must expand its military yet again “to deter, if possible, Soviet expansion, and to defeat, if necessary, aggressive Soviet or Soviet-directed actions.”

As the Pentagon’s budget quadrupled from $13.5 billion to $48.2 billion in the early 1950s in pursuit of that strategic mission, Washington quickly built a chain of 500 military installations ringing that landmass, from the massive Ramstein air base in West Germany to vast, sprawling naval bases at Subic Bay in the Philippines and Yokosuka, Japan.

Such bases were the visible manifestation of a chain of mutual defense pacts organized across the breadth of Eurasia, from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in Europe to a security treaty, ANZUS, involving Australia, New Zealand, and the U.S. in the South Pacific. Along the strategic island chain facing Asia known as the Pacific littoral, Washington quickly cemented its position through bilateral defense pacts with Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, and Australia.

Along the Iron Curtain running through the heart of Europe, 25 active-duty NATO divisions faced 150 Soviet-led Warsaw Pact divisions, both backed by armadas of artillery, tanks, strategic bombers, and nuclear-armed missiles. To patrol the Eurasian continent’s sprawling coastline, Washington mobilized massive naval armadas stiffened by nuclear-armed submarines and aircraft carriers — the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean and the massive 7th Fleet in the Indian Ocean and the Pacific.

For the next 40 years, Washington’s secret Cold War weapon, the Central Intelligence Agency, or CIA, fought its largest and longest covert wars around the rim of Eurasia. Probing relentlessly for vulnerabilities of any sort in the Sino-Soviet bloc, the CIA mounted a series of small invasions of Tibet and southwest China in the early 1950s; fought a secret war in Laos, mobilizing a 30,000-strong militia of local Hmong villagers during the 1960s; and launched a massive, multibillion dollar covert war against the Red Army in Afghanistan in the 1980s.

During those same four decades, America’s only hot wars were similarly fought at the edge of Eurasia, seeking to contain the expansion of Communist China. On the Korean Peninsula from 1950 to 1953, almost 40,000 Americans (and untold numbers of Koreans) died in Washington’s effort to block the advance of North Korean and Chinese forces across the 38th parallel. In Southeast Asia from 1962 to 1975, some 58,000 American troops (and millions of Vietnamese, Laotians, and Cambodians) died in an unsuccessful attempt to stop the expansion of communists south of the 17th parallel that divided North and South Vietnam.

By the time the Soviet Union imploded in 1990 (just as China was turning into a Communist Party-run capitalist power), the U.S. military had become a global behemoth standing astride the Eurasian continent with more than 700 overseas bases, an air force of 1,763 jet fighters, more than 1,000 ballistic missiles, and a navy of nearly 600 ships, including 15 nuclear carrier battle groups — all linked together by a global system of satellites for communication, navigation, and espionage.

Despite its name, the Global War on Terror after 2001 was actually fought, like the Cold War before it, at the edge of Eurasia. Apart from the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, the Air Force and CIA had, within a decade, ringed the southern rim of that landmass with a network of 60 bases for its growing arsenal of Reaper and Predator drones, stretching all the way from the Sigonella Naval Air Station in Sicily to Andersen Air Force Base on the island of Guam. And yet, in that series of failed, never-ending conflicts, the old military formula for “containing,” constraining, and dominating Eurasia was visibly failing. The Global War on Terror proved, in some sense, a long-drawn-out version of Britain’s imperial Suez disaster.

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wisdomrays · 3 years ago

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QUESTIONS & ANSWERS: What Happens to People Born and Living in Non-Islamic Countries?: Part 2

Today, Muslims cannot provide security even in a small area for just their own community. Given this, the achievements of early Muslim administrations can be seen in their true light and greatness. In return for their security, reliability, wisdom, subtlety of mind and piety, the doors of many castles and cities were opened to them-not as honorary title-holders or visitors, but as governors and rulers.

When the Muslims took over Syria and Palestine, the commanders asked for the keys to Masjid al-Aqsa. The Patriarch told them that he would give them only to the person described in their holy books, for only that man was worthy to receive them. While they were disputing, Caliph 'Umar and one of his servants set out from Madina. No one knew how he would travel. But the Patriarch and priests knew how the rightful holder of keys would come.

'Umar borrowed a camel from the state treasury, and he and his servant took turns riding it. When the Muslim commanders heard of this, they prayed that 'Umar would be riding when they had to cross the Jordan river. They thought that, as the Byzantines were used to pomp and magnificence in their rulers, 'Umar might shame himself if he were leading the camel upon which his servant was riding, and crossing the river with rolled-up trousers.

In fact, most political pomp is injustice and inequity, and 'Umar was trying to avoid it. What his commanders feared came to pass. 'Umar's garment, worn and battered by the journey, also had many patches on it. When the Patriarch saw 'Umar, he cried out: "This is the man whose description we have in our books! Now, I shall give him the key." Because of the special knowledge obtained from their books, the priests knew how 'Umar would look and how he would cross the river. Handing the key and Masjid al-Aqsa to the Muslims caused many people to embrace Islam.

With whole-hearted ardor, 'Uqba ibn Nafi' set forth to spread the word of Islam. The conquest of Africa fell to his lot. After successive victories, some people envied his fame and misinformed the Caliph about him. The Caliph was provoked, and 'Uqba was dismissed from his post, arrested, and kept from spreading Islam. Imprisoned for 5 years, his only sorrow and great longing were expressed thus: "I wish I could have spread Islam all over Africa. I was prevented from achieving this. That is the only thing I regret."

Freeing and then appointing 'Uqba governor of Africa, Yazid made it possible for him to relaunch the conquest of Africa and spread Islam. 'Uqba reached the Atlantic Ocean in a single campaign. He could not help riding his horse into the ocean and crying out: "O God! If this dark sea had not prevented me going further, I would carry Your Holy Name overseas!"

I relate these historical accounts to remind us of how Islam was represented in the past and how it is now. The early Muslims took present-day Azerbaijan, Iran, Iraq, North Africa, Bukhara, Tashkent, Samarkand-places that would produce Bukhari, Muslim, Tirmidhi, Ibn Sina, al-Farabi, Biruni-within 25 years. These early Muslims carried Islam to almost every part of the then-known world, and made the glorious flag of There is no god but God, Muhammad is His Messenger wave over many lands.

As for ourselves, we scarcely can speak the Truth to our neighbors, let alone go to foreign lands and tell the people there. Some of our neighbors may be willing to listen, but we cannot persuade even them. Our words come back to us cold, as if from walls of ice. They leave our mouths but do not penetrate the hearts and souls of people.

We point this out only to draw attention to immeasurable distance between ourselves and the Companions. They conveyed Islam to all peoples and lived only to do this. When they could not do so, they felt sorrow and pain for the lands and people unaware of the Truth. By contrast, we cannot represent Islam fully in our individual lives, and still less can we convey its message to people abroad. We have neither abandoned our personal needs and preoccupations, nor given the highest priority to working in the way of God. We remember the ways to our homes, our jobs, and our worldly lives only too well. Those of us who went to non-Muslim countries did so for economic reasons, not to take the name of God to those lands. That is why we are so unable to spread Islam among them.

If non-Muslims are now lost in deviation, corruption, and unbelief due to our own ignorance, laziness, and incompetence, we shall be called to account for it. Giving lectures and organizing seminars and panels can be considered moving toward being on the way of God, not true service to Islam. If true service to Islam is likened to a great palace, we are still wandering around the first entrance. Because we have not yet entered upon the task, many people are going astray. Sometimes we speak to them of Islam, but we have not saved ourselves from futile internal disputes and conflicts.

We are nowhere near representing Islam at the level of 'Umar, 'Uqba ibn Nafi', and others of that caliber. Who knows how their opponents were struck with fear at seeing their determined courage, their indomitable devotion to God; or struck with wonder by their reliability, generosity, justice, and humanity, all of which moved them to wonder about and then embrace Islam. The fact that many of the countries in which Muslims now live were conquered by these early Muslims shows what absolute sincerity in the way of God can achieve.

Considered from this angle, the question of non-Muslims, especially those living in non-Islamic countries, takes on a different aspect. We need to see them with a greater tolerance, and say: 'Shame on us! We have not been able to convey Islam to them so that they can leave the darkness in which they live." It will help to narrate here the true story of a German family.

A Turkish worker lived with a German family. He paid great attention to his religious duties, and performed them sensitively. Except for working hours, whenever he was with the German family he told them about Islam. After a while, the father became Muslim. His wife said to him, as did the wife of 'Amir ibn Tufail: "We have always been together so far. Let's be together in the future, too, together on the Sirat Bridge and also in Paradise. If Islam really makes one reach heavenly realms, as you said, why should I stay back from such a blessing while you enjoy it?" So she embraced Islam. The children followed her, and the family group of Islam was completed and the home became an outpost of Paradise.

Several days later, the husband came and said these startling words to the Turkish worker: "I could not express my love and gratitude to you, because you have been an honored guest to us. However, sometimes I get very angry and wish to beat you up. You came and the Qur'an, the Prophet, and God followed you. My home became a heavenly abode. But I had a father. He was a very straight, good man. He passed away a few days before you came. Why couldn't you have come a bit earlier and told him of Islam as well?"

These words indeed represent the voice, the complaint, the rebuke of the whole non-Muslim world. We have failed to take Islam to them. Even in our own countries we have been unable to exert enough effort or support the cause of Islam to make our own people know it properly.

Another aspect of the question is this: Those who took us away from Islam always promised a Western standard of life. But 150 years later we are still beggars at the doors of the West. Little has changed, and we cannot say that we have progressed in any important sense. The West continues to treat us as servants who leave their countries in return for poor wages. Even if we presented its people with the golden principles of Islam, the message that will open the gates of Paradise for them, they will reject both Islam and us. In part, this is because we are despised laborers at their disposal. As usual, the rich have difficulty imagining that they need anything from the beggars at their doors.

Muslims have been defeated in so many fields many times over, and remain dependent on the West. Why should the West listen to us? Only if we can live and represent Islam thoroughly, go to the non-Muslims with a commanding confidence in our own honor, dignity, and greatness and only for the sake of God, can we hope that they will listen to us and accept Islam. We cannot continue to accept our negative image in their eyes, but how can we change this unless we regain and reassert our former identity?

In the Hereafter they will be asked why they did not embrace Islam, and we will be asked why we did not convey it to them. So, the responsibilities of both Muslims and non-Muslims should be considered equal. Any judgments about non-Muslims should be made justly and uprightly. We cannot condemn non-Muslims to Hell simply for being non-Muslims, nor can we dream that people will embrace Islam just because we ask them to do so.

We believe that the global balance will change in the near future. Especially in Turkey, Central Asia, Egypt, Pakistan, and some other places, Muslims will regain their consciousness and raise up strong individuals who will resemble the early Muslims in their desire to establish Islam and its high values in other lands. Only through sustained and sincere effort will Islam once again become a major and respected factor in the world, and will the voices of its followers be heard. This is not impossible. Those who will realize it will be Muslims of good character whose souls have bonded with Islam, not those inconsistent and inadequate Muslims who follow their bodily needs and desires and only concern themselves with Islam once in a while.

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former-leftist-jew · 11 months ago

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Doesn't this thumbnail just say it all?

youtube

Also, Hamas itself admits that "Palestine," Syria, Iraq, and all other Muslim territories were results of violent colonial conquests. (Article 11, bolded by me.)

Hamas Charter 1988: "Palestine is an Islamic Waqf land... the same goes for any land the Moslems have conquered by force, because during the times of (Islamic) conquests, the Moslems consecrated these lands to Moslem generations till the Day of Judgement.

It happened like this: When the leaders of the Islamic armies conquered Syria and Iraq, they sent to the Caliph of the Moslems, Umar bin-el-Khatab, asking for his advice concerning the conquered land - whether they should divide it among the soldiers, or leave it for its owners, or what? After consultations and discussions... it was decided... the real ownership of the land and the land itself should be consecrated for Moslem generations till Judgement Day."

I'd argue Jews coming back is a sign of decolonization.

“Your land”

First of all, if Israel was committing genocide, this war would be over by now and the Palestinians people wiped out.

“Your people started in 1948” we were there for thousands more years than you “Palestinians”

We didn’t force them out of your house, you were to stupid to try kick us out, we were just to strong so we won. You’re ignoring that there was a genocide when all the Arab world expelled its Jews from the Islamic world.

Fuck Fuck Palestine

#leftist antisemitism #leftist hypocrisy #palestinian hypocrisy #hamas is isis #i stand with israel #jumblr #islam is evil #islam is cancer #islam is colonialist #islam was founded on colonial conquest #from the prophet leading his private army against mecca a year after they dared to kick him out for constantly badmouthing polytheism #to violently conquering the entire arabian peninsula within 20 years #to violently conquering the entire middle east north africa and central asia within 150 years #islam conquered 2/3 of the entire known world at the time within a century and a half #through sword and bloodshed #Youtube

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gemsofgreece · 5 years ago

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10 Greatest archaeological discoveries in Greece the previous decade (2010 - 2019)

*You can see original Greek article by Pengy Riga here. This is a summary of what I read there translated in English and closer to my personal tone.

10. Possibly the oldest Homo sapiens skull in Europe (2019).

The skull was found in the caves “Apedema” in Mani and it was estimated to be 210.000 years old, five times older than any other Homo sapiens skull found in Europe. According to another research the skull comes from a transitive phase between Neaderthals and Homo erectus. This discovery invites the reexamination of the time the first men left Africa and spread to Europe and Asia as it might have happened way before we thought.

9. Ancient wooden artifacts (2011, 2013, 2014).

These include a wooden statue of a woman found in the Temple of Artemis in Brauron (5th Century BCE), the coffin of a young person from the Archaic Era (610 - 480 BCE), a small statue of Hermes and more than 550 other wooden artifacts and objects from the Hellenistic Era (150 - 86 BCE) in Piraeus. What is so important about all these findings is that they are made of wood, which naturally decomposes easily and quickly, so wooden archeological findings are very rare.

8. Neikó, the possessed lady of Síkinos (2018).

In the remote island of Sikinos there is an impressive mausoleum of the late antiquity. It was turned into a church during the Byzantine Era and remained a functional church till recently, when it closed for the public because it needed extensive restorations. During the restoration project, archaeologists found for the first time the unlooted tomb of a high-class woman, to whom this mausoleum was apparently dedicated. The woman was buried with all her dearest and most precious belongings but the tomb was so well hidden that it escaped all three known invasions throughout the centuries and was found accidentally when a wall collapsed in 2018. The tomb was not in the regular crypts of the mausoleum but hidden in a blind spot between two walls within the building. Her tomb was also sealed tightly, her skeleton was found in an unusual position and sulphur and tar were placed on her chest. It seems that she was believed to be possessed so they had taken precautions to ensure she wouldn’t rise after death. Nevertheless, she was loved by her family, judging from the beauty of her Mausoleum as well as the memorial scripts found in the monument. Her name was Neikó.

7. Ceramic plaque with verses from Homer´s Odyssey (2018)

The plaque was found in Ancient Olympia and has 13 verses from the Odyssey. It is estimated to originate from the Roman Era, before the 3rd Century AD. It might be the oldest Homeric text of that length found in the Greek territory and the only one carved into pottery. It was included in “Archaeology” magazine’s list of the 10 most important discoveries for 2018.

6. Tomb of Casta in Amphipolis (2014)

Easily the discovery that drew the most attention worldwide and a neverending archaeological and political thriller to this day. This is the largest burial monument ever found in Greece, in east Macedonia. It has a perimeter of 500 meters, four underground rooms, sphinxes in the entrance, two big Caryatids that would block the intruder from entering the last room with their arms, a beautiful large mosaic that depicts Hades kidnapping Persephone and finally four skeletons, belonging to two men, one old woman and a child. The excavation drew so much attention that it was abused for political reasons and it basically happened livestream, as the entire nation would watch the progress in the news every day. This inflamed the war between the two leading political parties, it messed up the excavating process itself and it caused unprecedented animosity amongst archeaologists and historians. The greatest reason for the fights was the initial disagreement for the dating of the monument as well as the identity of the dead found in it. Depending on their political affiliations, half the politicians and scientists would jump to wondrous conclusions without evidence while the other half would downgrade the importance of this discovery beyond belief. When the government changed, the Tomb of Casta was inexplicably and mysteriously abandoned. Only the local people kept protesting and pushing the authorities to continue the excavations. Since then, the leading party has changed again and the new government promises to continue the work as quickly and efficiently as possible so that the monument will open to the public until 2022. The scientific community has at least agreed that the tomb dates back to the late 4th - early 3rd Century BCE. There are many extremely optimistic estimations about the identity of the dead and equally many counter-arguments. Hopefully, we’ll eventually get some objective answers as the excavations continue. It’s been realised that excavations should continue in all the area as it is suspected that the Tomb of Casta is not the only monument waiting to be unearthed there.

5. Daskalió of Keros (1963 - 2018)

Daskalió is a settlement on the westmost cape of Keros island. Multiple excavations have taken place there from 1963 to this day by the University of Cambridge and the British School of Athens. The excavations have revealed a prehistoric shrine and settlement, densely and skillfully built. The shrine and the artifacts found in the excavations date to the 3rd millenium BCE, which makes Daskalió according to Cambridge professor Colin Renfrew the oldest known coastal shrine in the world. The findings suggest this was the work of an expert architect and the infrastructure on the location was based on a well planned project. Furthermore, there are indications that Daskalió was an important center of metallurgy. However, they imported the metals they used from other islands which also suggests nautical expertise.

4. The eternal couple of Dirós (2015)

The skeletons of two young adults, a man and a woman, were found in an embrace in a hill in Dirós. Double burials with the dead embracing are extremely rare and this one is one of the most ancient found, if not the oldest, dating back to 6000 - 3800 BC.

3. The Underground of Thessaloniki (1986 2013 till forever)

If Amphipolis is a political thriller, then the underground of Thessaloniki is the national comedy. Thessaloniki is the second largest city in Greece and thus has a bad need for a subway. The creation of a subway began in the 80s and... it’s still in the process, making the (future) subway of the city a Greek meme and a joke everyone at this point understands. However, there is a solid reason for this delay. Back in 2004 the archaeologists warned that the subway routes that were planned to be dug under the city’s central part should be modified because the area was of extreme archaeological interest. They were ignored and eventually the works were interrupted by the unavoidable discovery of Ancient Thessaloniki. Some of the most impressive findings are the largely intact main roads of the city, such as the Roman built Decanus Maximus and the Byzantine built Middle Avenue, which survived till the 18th century. Crossroads, houses, shops, graveyards and monuments have also been found. Scratches on the roads made by carriages can be seen. More than 300,000 artifacts were discovered, such as statues, jewels and other small objects. Now the fate of the underground has also become a political game as the two leading political parties fight on whether the artifacts should remain on their spot undisturbed which would make the subway’s creation harder and more dangerous or they should be removed until the subway is complete and then returned to their original place with a claimed accuracy of 90%. What’s certain is that when (or if) the subway is complete, the ancient city will be easily accessed via the metro, visible from its windows and there will also be the option to walk on the ancient roads.

2. The Tomb of the Griffin Warrior (2015)

A grand tomb was found next to the Mycenean palace of Nestor in Pylos. A skeleton was discovered in the tomb along with no less than 3500 burial gifts. The gifts were weaponry, jewels and other objects exclusively made of valuable metals and stones. Not a single plain object was found, such as a ceramic amphora for example. Many of the artifacts are made in typical Minoan style which invites a reevaluation of the relations between the Minoans and the Myceneans. The monument took its name from an ivory plaque depicting a griffin, a power symbol for both Pylos and Minoan Crete. The tomb dates back to 1500 BC and it is the best evidence of wealth in prehistoric Greece found in the last 63 years. The most important finding however is that of a tiny seal, which is unique because it’s a masterful work of miniature art that resembles the much later classical Greek art. Archaeologists deem impossible the creation of this gorgeous piece of art without a magnifying glass. The art depicts two warriors, one slitting the other’s throat with his sword. The imagery has elements that suggest an event resembling those from the Iliad - which suggests that this event depicted on this tiny seal in the Griffin Warrior’s tomb was part of the inspiration of the oral lore of the Homeric epics that began in the following centuries. It is obvious that the dead man was a most influential figure of his era.

1. Necropolis of Fáliron (2012-2016)

The most macabre discovery makes it to the first place. The largest part of the necropolis, a mass graveyard, was found already in 1913. Numerous people were executed there with the violent method of Apotymbanismós (Αποτυμπανισμός) that might have inspired the Roman crucification. A century later, in 2012, the excavations expand and unearth thousands of different burials spanning from the 8th - 4th century BCE. The most sensational discovery would happen in 2016 though; a mass burial of no less than 80 prisoners, tied and placed next to each other. All were young men of good health and were not executed with the method of apotymbanismos. Based on the evidence, the mass execution took place in the middle of the 7th Century BCE and these men must have tried to take over the rule of Athens. This was an unstable political era in the Athenian history indeed. This discovery was included in the 10 Greatest Discoveries for 2016 in the magazine Archaeology.

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fatehbaz · 4 years ago

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wild how the Caspian tiger, with what appears to have been pretty specific habitat preferences and limited distribution range, living between the Altai in the east and the Black Sea and Anatolia in the west, was able to survive and continue living throughout millennia of extreme human modificiation of land, the ascent of Sumer; when Assyria actively burned many regional forests; the harvesting of most eastern Mediterranean cedar; the rise of Parthia and Achaemenid Persia; the Greek-Persian warring; the thriving Scythian influence across most of the tiger’s distribution; all the Persian satrap geopolitics in Khwarazm; Rome’s imperial management across Southwest Asia; Russian and Viking activity in the Black Sea and Caucasus; the time when Genghis Khan’s followers occupied the majority of the Caspian tiger’s core habitat and harvested much of the critical woodlands of the area; over 150 years of Mongol occupation; centuries of horsemen riding around the steppe near tiger habitat with possibly over 150,000 horsemen in the region active at once; the construction of Timurid and Safavid empires; centuries of the Ottoman Empire.

then in the late 1800s, “modernization” happens, rice and wheat monocultures are installed in Central Asia’s steppes and river valleys, and within decades the Caspian tiger is extinct

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tomasorban · 5 years ago

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Sophia: The Gnostic Goddess

Below is more background on the Judaic and Kemetic forms of Wisdom (openly revered as a goddess in Egypt, more symbolically female in Judaea) that contributed so much to the syncretic Gnostic cosmologies

Khokhmah, Isis, and Sophia

The ancient Hebrew name for Wisdom is Khokhmah, a feminine noun. In Jewish scripture, it was Khokhmah who personified the female Divine. She is understood as an emanation of God, yet she resonates with the Hebrew Goddess who is otherwise assailed in the Bible, especially Asherah, she of the sacred Tree. Proverbs 3:18 calls up an image of Khokhmah that originates in the oldest core of Jewish culture: “She is a Tree of Life to all who lay hold of her.” In the same book, Khokhmah sings, “The one who finds me, finds life.” Like the goddess Asherah, regarded as the partner of Yahweh by the ancient Hebrews, Khokhmah is linked to the pillar. “My throne was in the pillar of cloud,” she declares in Ben Sirach (24:4). In Proverbs 9:1 she builds a house of seven pillars. Asphodel Long’s book A Chariot Drawn by Lions offers profound insights into the survival of the Hebrew Goddess. She points out that Wisdom is another form of the Shekhinah, the divine Presence. Both are “expressed in light and glory,” both involved in creation, enthroned in heaven, intermediaries between god and the world, ascending and descending, and winged. The Book of Wisdom of Solomon, written by Alexandrian Jews in the Hellenistic era, renames Khokhmah as Sophia, the Greek word for Wisdom. In this text, as Long points out, Sophia “takes over the powers and function of God” and the creation story is told using the word “she.” The ancient author is careful to qualify this audacity by describing Wisdom as God's breath and emanation, but still praises her at length in her own right as “holy” and “all-powerful”:

For in her there is a spirit that is intelligent, holy, unique, manifold, subtle; mobile, clear, unpolluted, distinct, invulnerable, loving the good, keen, irresistible, Beneficent, human, steadfast, sure, free from anxiety, all-powerful, overseeing all and penetrating through all spirits that are intelligent and pure and most subtle. For wisdom is more mobile than any motion; because of her pureness she pervades and penetrates all things. [Long, 46-7]

Another beautiful passage likens Wisdom to “a flame of stars through the night.” [Allegro, 171] The praise-names in the Book of Wisdom of Solomon resonate deeply with those in the goddess litanies of India. The most celebrated of these is the Sri Lalitaa Sahasranama, an invocation of Goddess under a thousand names, including Intelligence, Holy, Unique, Multiformed, Subtle, Pure, Beyond All Danger, Loving the Good, Beneficence, Steady, Without Anxiety, Great Power, and All-Pervasive. Long’s illuminating exegesis of the Alexandrian Wisdom litany brings forward the little-known fact that the Greek name monogenes (“unique, singly born”) began as a title of female divinities. It originates in a Kemetic title of Neit, Hathor and Isis: “self-born, self-produced,” and later appears in Orphic hymns to Demeter, Persephone and Athena. Christians subsequently applied it to Yeshua of Nazareth who was cast as the “only-begotten son” of god. [Long, 49] In late antiquity other titles arose in the Judaic tradition: Shekhinah (Divine Presence) and Matronit (the Mother). Kabbalists redefined Khokhmah as a masculine power, and assigned Binah (Understanding) to the feminine sphere. Torah became to some extent a personification of Wisdom, and Jews in many countries invited Shabbat to enter their homes as the bride of god and the essence of peace and joy. There is not room here to enter the Egyptian Stream of Wisdom, but what follows can only be understood in the light of the veneration of Auset, known in Hellenistic culture as Isis. This goddess had come to be worshipped beyond the borders of Egypt, first in west Asia and north Africa, then in Europe. Isis aretalogies (praise-songs based on the affirmation “I am”) emphasize creative Wisdom as one of her divine qualities:

I am Isis, mistress of every land I laid down laws for humanity and ordained things that no one may change... I divided the earth from the heavens I made manifest the paths of the stars I prescribed the course of the sun and moon I found out the labors of the sea I made justice mighty... —Aretalogy of Isis from Cyme, circa 200 CE [Drinker, 114]

A syncretic ferment of Egyptian, Greek and Hebrew traditions occurred in Alexandria and the eastern Mediterranean during the Roman empire. Jewish writers appear to have initiated a Greek series of Oracula Sibillina which begin to appear around 150 BCE. Philo Judaeus of Alexandria identified Sophia as Mother of the divine Logos and as Isis, mother of Horus. But Philo followed Biblical tradition in according primacy to the father-god as creator, treating the divine mother—Sophia — as his attribute or emanation. Nevertheless, he described this god as the husband of Wisdom. [Long, 46, 162; Patai, 98]

The pagan priest Plutarch agreed that Isis was the same as Sophia, creator of all. [Allegro, 157] Pagan mystery religions equated Isis with Demeter, Kybele, Juno Caelestis, Bona Dea, Tyche and other Mediterranean goddesses, mixing their attributes and titles. Isis was sculptured wearing the mural crown of the Asian goddess Tyche and holding the cornucopia of the Italian Fortuna and Terra Mater. (These statuettes have been found in distant Kazakhstan and Pakistan.) Multitudes of molded figurines of Isis seated on the basket of the Eleusinian Mysteries were mass-produced for home altars within Egypt itself. Most of these Hellenized terracotta statuettes shrink the horned solar crown of the ancient Kemetic goddess and flank it with ears of wheat, assimilating her to Demeter in a historical double rebound. The Knot of Isis that was for millennia tied around her belly moves up to her breast in a tied Grecian shawl. Other terracottas show Isis Baubo with skirts pulled up around her hips and legs opened wide. Still others look to the headwaters of the Nile, as the goddess Besit, linked to the BaTwa peoples, socalled "pygmies," or perhaps to other little people (“dwarves”). In the midst of this syncretism, many Isis terracottas retain the Egyptian convention showing her suckling her son (now represented as a sketchy afterthought). She also appears as Isis Bubastis -- Ermouthis to the Greeks -- with the lower part of her body in the form of a snake. This form of Isis has turned up as far east as Iraq. Some Egyptian Jews engaged in ecstatic forms of worship. Philo wrote that the Therapeutae (“healers”) became “transported by divine enthusiasm.” They danced and sang hymns in harmonies and antiphonies, women with women and men with men. Then, says Philo, they feasted and drank wine, and at last all joined together in one assembly:

Perfectly beautiful are their motions, perfectly beautiful their discourse; grave and solemn are these carollers; and the final aim of their motions, their discourse, and their choral dances is piety. [Drinker, 159-160]

The Therapeutae were among the Jewish sects in which women “conducted the Sabbath services and provided influential commentaries on the scriptures.” [Long, 38] Philo described their practice as a form of spiritual healing, which in fact gave this community its name:

Inasmuch as they profess to the art of healing better than that current in towns, which cures only the bodies, they treat also souls oppressed by grievous and well-nigh intolerable diseases. [Contemplative Life, in Allegro, 109]

The biggest community of Therapeutae lived near the Mareotic lake in northern Egypt. Their huts had little prayer alcoves, and they gathered in a central building for communal meals. Like Philo, they seem to have syncretized Isis with Wisdom and called upon her for healing: “She was reckoned to cure the sick and to bring the dead to life, and she bore the title 'Mother of God.'“ This was an ancient name of Neit, Isis, and other Kemetic goddesses. The Torah uses the word “hovering,” as with beating wings, to describe the divine Presence that Talmudic writers had begun to call the Shekhinah. Her image resonates with the ancient veneration of doves as sacred to Canaanite, Syrian, and Cypriot goddesses. Christians adopted this imagery, picturing the Holy Spirit as a winged radiance and a hovering dove. She flutters above Mary in innumerable scenes of the Annunciation, and above the consecrated chalice and bread. As for Khokhmah, she remained a presence within the Hebrew Scriptures. Thousands of years after her praises were embedded in the Book of Proverbs, medieval christian mystics were attracted to this female image of Wisdom. Hildegarde of Bingen knew her as Sophia, Scientia Dei, and Sapientia of the seven pillars. One of her manuscripts even shows her wearing the mural crown of the ancient goddess of Asia Minor. Hildegarde’s profoundly animistic poetry sings the praises of Life endowed with Wisdom, as a goddess in all but name:

I am that supreme and fiery force that sends forth all living sparks. Death hath no part in me, yet I bestow death, wherefore I am girt about with Wisdom as with wings. I am that living and fiery essence of the divine substance that glows in the beauty of the fields, and in the shining water, and in the burning sun and the moon and the stars, and in the force of the invisible wind, the breath of all living things, I breathe in the green grass and the flowers, and in the living waters...

[Book of Divine Works, circa 1167, in Partnow, The Quotable Woman, 48]

#sophia #gnostic #gnosticism #metaphysics #esoteric #goddess #divine feminine #kabbalah #isis #egypt #ancient #history

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the-gloomth · 5 years ago

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The plague doctor mask is instantly recognizable with its elongated beak and emotionless expression. It’s not just an item from fiction and film, actual “doctors” wore these masks during a terrifying time in human history.

Plague Doctors were medical physicians who treated people suffering from the Black Death/bubonic plague (which killed between 75-200 million people in 1347-1351).

“When the rats and fleas carrying Yersinia pestis surreptitiously hitched a ride down the Silk Road with merchants and soldiers, no one could have predicted the toll this taste for spices and the latest in luxury goods would have on the population of Europe. After decimating tens of millions starting in China, it raced though central Asia and northern India. The bubonic plague made official landfall in Sicily in 1347. Within five years, it had spread to virtually all of Europe, Russia and the Middle East.” –“Doctors of the Black Death”, Rosenhek

There was no cure for the plague so their primary purpose was to keep record of how many people were infected and death tolls in an area. They were considered separate from “general practitioners” and didn’t offer any other medical aid or services, many were untrained as doctors or failed as medical professionals before accepting the role as “community plague doctor” or “empiric”.

Despite being paid by the townships they represented these “doctors” were often charlatans selling false hope and cures for additional payment from the families they treated (anyone want to call Ms.Paltrow or Dr.Oz? They’re missing out on their true calling!).

The mask itself has an elongated “beak” which was stuffed with aromatic items (straw, herbs, perfume, and spices) to mask the smell of death and purification, and which were also considered a protection from illness. The masks also featured glass eye covers to keep illness from entering that way. Often they wore a long cloak which was made of a wax treated fabric to keep stains and fluids from sinking in, brimmed black hat, gloves and a hood fastened close to the body, and carried a cane or walking stick to keep from direct contact with plague bearing patients. This outfit certainly didn’t lessen their creepy reputation!

Without a cure for the plague it swept through Europe killing millions and destroying the economy of vast areas. Desperate townships gave plague doctors the permission to complete autopsies in search for a cure, which were outlawed at the time.

As the grip of plague lessened on Europe and humanity returned to a less terrifying existence these masks have endured as a symbol of illness and fear. You can still find them in Carnivale masks of Venice, horror movies, fashion, and more.

-Taeden

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Sources/Additional Reading:

http://www.doctorsreview.com/history/doctors-black-death/

https://academic.oup.com/jhmas/article-abstract/XX/3/276/779506

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Death

The Plague Doctor The plague doctor mask is instantly recognizable with its elongated beak and emotionless expression. It's not just an item from fiction and film, actual "doctors" wore these masks during a terrifying time in human history.

#black death #costume #creepy #gothic plague doctor #history #inspiration #plague #plague doctor #plague doctor mask #victorian plague doctor

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ahopkins1965 · 10 months ago

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What is a Caste System? By Anthony Hopkins

What is meant by caste system?

The Origins of the Caste System

What is an example of a caste system?

Who Created The Caste System?

Aryans

Hierarchy:

What is class and caste system?

What are the basic principles of caste system?

What is the US caste?

Does caste system still exist?

The caste system as it exists today, is thought to be the result of developments during the collapse of the Mughal era and the rise of the British colonial regime in India.

Does Christianity have a caste system?

Does Caste Systems Still Exist in The United States?

How Can This Come To An End in America?

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evilelitest2 · 4 years ago

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So the islamic world was generally fairly ok with mlm because they inherited that from the mesopotamian and hellenic worlds, or there is also an actually islamic element of tolerance to it?

yes, though I should have mentioned that in the case of Central Asia, there was already a really long term tradition of homosexual relationships that long predates Islam.

Within Islam itself its super complicated because even by the standard of Abraham religions, Islam is very difficult to pin down in terms of values because the Quran itself is a giant poem which is mostly non narrative. SO you have to rely on the Hadiths, the Sunnahs, the various Islamic judicial schools, and a ton of mystical traditions (Sufi). In the first 150 years or so of Islamic history, as far as I can tell (which is admittedly pretty limited, Islamic history is not my specialty and I don’t know arabic) but at least the oldest form of Islamic didn’t seem pro homosexuality (as it was generally puritanical towards premartial sex). However, lacking the Christian focus on original sin, this seemed to have drifted as the Caliphates emerged. So within traditional islamic Jurisprudence, Homosexuality was often seen as a crime, like in Christendom, but a crime that doesn’t seem to have been consistently enforced, at least to the upper classes, intelligentsia, or the nomadic tribes. Part of this is that within Islamic law, a lot of crimes needed to have multiple witnesses to be brought to trial, and it is unlikely you are going to have 4 islamic men witnessing a guy hooking up with his boyfriend. There are some theological justifications for homosexuality within Islamic, but the generally, the faith is anti homosexuality, but the culture was pro it until the 19th century and the embrace of conservative fundamentalist.

#ask EvilElitest #Islam #Islamic law #Hadith

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sciencespies · 4 years ago

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Invasive shrubs in Northeast US forests grow leaves earlier and keep them longer

https://sciencespies.com/nature/invasive-shrubs-in-northeast-us-forests-grow-leaves-earlier-and-keep-them-longer/

Invasive shrubs in Northeast US forests grow leaves earlier and keep them longer

The rapid pace that invasive shrubs infiltrate forests in the northeastern United States makes scientists suspect they have a consistent advantage over native shrubs, and the first region-wide study of leaf timing, conducted by Penn State researchers, supports those suspicions.

With the help of citizen scientists spread over more than 150 sites in more than 20 states, researchers collected thousands of observations over four years of exactly when both invasive and native shrubs leaf out in the spring and lose their leaves in the fall. The study area was expansive, stretching from southern Maine to central Minnesota south to southern Missouri, to North Carolina.

“Eastern North America is the recipient of more invasive shrub species into natural areas than any other geographic region of the world,” said lead researcher Erynn Maynard-Bean, postdoctoral researcher in the College of Agricultural Sciences, working under the guidance of Margot Kaye, associate professor of forest ecology. “Invasive shrubs are growing in both abundance and in the number of species established at the expense of many types of native species.”

The researchers reported in Biological Invasions that invasive shrubs can maintain leaves 77 days longer than native shrubs within a growing season at the southern end of the area studied. The difference decreases to about 30 days at the northern end of the study area. At the southern end of the study area, the time when invasive shrubs have leaves and native shrubs do not is equally distributed between spring and fall; in the northern reaches of the study area, two-thirds of the difference between native and invasive growing seasons occur in fall.

The longer period with leaves gives invasive plants an advantage in acquiring more energy from sunlight and their leaves create shade in early spring and late fall that may limit growth of native species, such as forest ephemeral wildflowers, Maynard-Bean explained. “This helps explain their negative impact on native tree regeneration, plant diversity and abundance,” she said. “But invasive shrubs also have a negative impact on communities of animal species sensitive to light and temperature, such as bees, butterflies and amphibians.”

Small, local studies in Northeast forests have shown that invasive shrubs have leaves longer than native shrubs. However, because the phenomenon — known as extended leaf phenology — varies geographically, the degree to which it benefits invasive shrubs across the region had previously been unknown.

The difference between native plants and invasive plants having leaves is not consistent, Maynard-Bean noted. It varies, depending on latitude, species studied and weather for the study period.

“But with the help of citizen scientists with USA National Phenology Network watching plants with us from around the eastern U.S., we found a pattern of greater extended leaf phenology as you move south,” she said. “This provides a unified framework for connecting local-scale research results from different parts of the eastern U.S. that had previously not agreed with one another.”

With the goal of understanding on-the-ground implications for eastern deciduous forest ecosystems, the researchers chose common, widespread species that co-occur in forest understories. Native shrubs followed in the study included alternate-leaf dogwood, flowering dogwood, gray dogwood, spicebush, mapleleaf viburnum, southern arrowwood, hobble-bush and black haw. Invasive shrubs native to Europe or Asia followed in the study included Japanese barberry, burning bush, multiflora rose and several species of honeysuckles and privet.

About 800 citizen scientists collected more than 8,000 observations of leaf timing for 804 shrubs at 384 sites, from 2015 through 2018. In addition, Maynard-Bean made observations at three sites in Pennsylvania.

The patterns of extended leaf phenology for invasive shrubs compared to native shrubs found in this study have important implications for policy and management, according to Kaye, whose research group has been evaluating invasive shrubs in Northeast forests for more than a decade. She pointed out that invasives included in this study are still commonly used for horticultural purposes in some states but are banned in others.

“The presence of this phenomenon may serve as a predictive trait for the invasion potential of new horticultural specimens,” Maynard-Bean said. “From a management perspective, extended leaf phenology makes invasive shrubs an easier ‘green target’ in the spring and fall for detection, removal and treatment, which can protect dormant, non-target native species.”

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Materials provided by Penn State. Original written by Jeff Mulhollem. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

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agrojayyworld · 4 years ago

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FARM PRODUCTION: ARE WE GROWING ENOUGH PULSES?

We are moving towards independence. The yearly pulses creation found the middle value of 23.7 million tons in the previous three years, an 80% expansion over the normal of the three-year time frame finishing 2003-04. This was driven by chickpea, whose share in beats creation is 43%

Are we independent in pulses?" Peter Carberry, the executive general of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), the Hyderabad-based establishment, asked Narendra Pratap Singh, the chief of Kanpur's Indian Institute of Pulses Research (IIPR), during his introduction prior this month. Singh answered we are moving "towards" independence. Despite the fact that there has been a stage up in the creation of heartbeats to a normal of 24 million tons in the previous three years, Singh gauges the interest at around 32 million tons, which is the reason we import 5.5-6.5 million tons every year.

Carberry's was an appropriate inquiry on the grounds that the lack of pulses was intensely felt in 2015 and 2016. Creation fell pointedly because of the terrible climate. That and (suspected) cartelization of dealers helped costs. Pigeon pea (tur) sold for '8,798 for every quintal, discount, towards the finish of 2015, almost twofold the cost winning in the last quarter of 2014. That of a dark gram (urad) rose 80% between the two-time frames. Chickpea or chana was less influenced however its cost at '8,553 for each quintal toward the finish of 2016 was 87% higher than in the last quarter of 2015.

With buyers getting unsettled and costs turning into an issue in state assembly elections, the government stepped in with strategy support. Seed center points were built up in the primary 150 pulses developing locale. Central agricultural examination organizations and state agricultural colleges ventured up the creation of reproducer seeds. These were multiplied by seed companies and augmentation offices called KVKs available to be purchased to farmers. The subsidy was given uniquely for under 10-year-old seed assortments. These were high-yielding, yet in addition vermin and malady safe. Seed accessibility convinced ranchers to supplant old with new.

Support costs for beats went up. They have ascended by 46% for chickpea, 52% for mung bean, and 30% for pigeon pea in the course of recent years. The government began acquiring pulses. That of pigeon pea rose from 45,000 tons in 2015-16 to 9 lakh tons the following year. It tumbled to 2.58 lakh tons in 2017-18 as costs directed. Chickpea obtainment by the Center was an unassuming 60,000 tons in 2017-18 and an equivalent sum the earlier year. Seven states secured 3.64 lakh huge amounts of chickpea in 2014-15 under their value support plans.

As a result of these measures, yearly pulses creation has arrived at the midpoint of 23.7 million tons in the previous three years, an 80% expansion over the normal of the three-year time frame finishing 2003-04. This was driven by chickpea whose share in pulses production is 43%. Its yield multiplied from 5.14 million tons to 10.27 million tons during these two periods.

With 63% of worldwide production, India leads in the development of chickpea—a harvest developed in 52 nations. Madhya Pradesh contributes the most to the nation's chickpea creation. It is the "chickpea bowl of the world," says Pooran Gaur, ICRISAT's Research Program Director for Asia, and a chickpea reproducer.

A report in this space on April 19 (https://bit.ly/2UrzBeE) detailed how chickpea, a winter season harvest of north India, elbowed out of that area by the Green Revolution in rice and wheat, and adjusted to Andhra Pradesh, in spite of its warm climate. While normal efficiency is the most elevated in that state, Madhya Pradesh is the biggest maker. It has demonstrated ceaseless increments in zone, creation and yield. The territory under chickpea in the state has expanded eight-overlay from a yearly normal of 64,700 hectares somewhere in the range of 1971 and 1980 to more than 3 million hectares.

The help that the administration gave for pulses creation after their costs spiked four years prior wouldn't have been compelling if seed innovation wasn't accessible. Mohammad Yasin, head researcher at the Rafi Ahmed Kidwai College of Agriculture in Sehore close Bhopal, qualities Madhya Pradesh's interest for chickpea to the 54 improved assortments that were discharged since the 1960s, of which 21 are present in the seed creation framework and 15 are well known. The majority of the lines were created at ICRISAT and adjusted to neighborhood conditions at the horticultural exploration stations in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra before discharge. They are high-yielding and have developments running from 85-120 days. The early developing ones, which are reaped in March, can get away from the summer heat at the unit filling stage. The greater part of them are impervious to wither. The state's farmers can easily grow two yields every time of soybean and chickpea.

SK Rao, vice-chancellor of the state farming college in Gwalior, and a chickpea breeder says great administration rehearses are important to bridle yield gains from hereditary upgrades. The reception of line-planting with seed drills has brought about better germination (than when communicated) as seeds are put at right profundities, get the necessary moisture and the plant population is denser. In the Malwa area, producers of additional strong seed Kabuli chana, the main assortment permitted to be sent out, have embraced incorporated bug the executive's practices and give water and supplements in exact amounts through trickle pipes, as they get premium costs. A hundred grains of these assortments weigh 45-50 gm, contrasted with desi chana assortments that weigh

The state's approaches have been useful. In Karnataka, assortments discharged somewhere else need the support of an official panel for nearby planting. In Madhya Pradesh, there is no such limitation. It additionally has a decent seed creation framework, becoming out of a 25-year-old program at the agricultural college in Jabalpur which was financed by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).

About 60% of the chickpea assortments planted in the state are as good as ever, says Gaur. In Andhra Pradesh, practically 100% of the assortments are new, however chickpea is a moderately new harvest there.

The soybean-chickpea cycle, while gainful, has had harmful outcomes, as well. In parts of Madhya Pradesh where it's rotated with soybean, the soil has been exhausted of molybdenum, a component that empowers leguminous plants to actuate catalysts in their knobs, which help assimilate and store nitrogen from the air. Studies by SC Gupta, head researcher (soil science) at Rafi Ahmed Kidwai College of Agriculture, have indicated that by covering 1 kg of seed with only 1 gm of ammonium molybdate—an additional expense of '400 for every hectare—chickpea yield can go up by 3 quintals. This advancement was acknowledged and the legislature provided the micronutrient at a markdown for a long time under the National Food Security Mission. Be that as it may, ranchers couldn't get it in the last planting season in light of the administration's inability to contract supplies in time.

Madhya Pradesh's normal chickpea efficiency is 1,160 kg for every hectare, higher than the national normal of 972 kg. Inside the state, normal yields are higher in Chhindwara region (CM Kamal Nath's voting demographic), however the 16 locale of the Malwa and Vindhya levels, of which Indore and Bhopal, individually, are most popular, have bigger zones under chickpea and higher creation. Chickpea is remarkable among beats, in that solitary 15% of the yield is utilized as dal, says Singh. About 60% is devoured as besan or added to atta to strengthen it with fiber and protein. The rest is utilized as seed—it takes 80-100 kg of seed to plant a hectare.

The creation of pigeon pea has additionally multiplied—from 2.36 million tons in 2003-04 to almost 5 million tons in 2016-17. In any case, it has not balanced out.

The advancement of a mid year assortment, which develops in 55-60 days, has extended the mung bean territory in Punjab and Haryana as a result of the forbiddance on early planting of rice, to save groundwater. The harvest is developed after wheat, and being a vegetable yield, improves soil richness. Summer mung bean creation has multiplied in the course of recent years, however the yield of the stormy season (kharif) crop has been declining for a lot of that period.

To balance out costs, higher heartbeats yield should be supplemented with better stockpiling advancements. Entire heartbeats don't keep long. Within the sight of dampness, they get swarmed with bruchids (lice-like nuisances) called ghun in Hindi. These enter during the blossoming arrange and get embodied in the seed coat. Singh suggests lighting entire heartbeats with low portions of gamma beams. The IIPR has discovered the machines utilized by Kanpur tanneries to purify calfskin to be compelling. Gaur says triple-layer sacks, created by Purdue University of the US, are a minimal effort, compelling, and bug spray free strategy for putting away heartbeats. They cut off oxygen flexibly and forestall bug pervasion. Created under an undertaking financed by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the packs have been utilized adequately to store cowpea (lobia) in Africa. The Odisha government has given 60,000 of these sacks to ranchers in the express this year for putting away groundnut. ICRISAT has suggested these for pulses too.

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