Mango benefit

Mangoes are full packed with vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants and contain like all fruits very few proteins, fats and calories. They are perfect to replenish salts, vitamins and energy after physical exercise.





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Mangoes are full packed with vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants and contain like all fruits very few proteins, fats and calories.



Mangoes are perfect to replenish salts, vitamins and energy after physical exercise.


The famous Unani physician Hakeen Hashmi teaches that mangoes strengthens and invigorates the nerve tissues in muscles, heart and brain and other parts of the body.


The enzymes of the Mango, such as magneferin, katechol oxidase and lactase, clean the bowel of the "filth" within and are an ideal antidote for all toxic effects inside the body. They provide also sufficient resistance to fight any germs and afflictions.


Hartwell claims in his book "Plants Against Cancer," that the phenols in mangoes, such as quercetin, isoquercitrin, astragalin, fisetin, gallic acid and methylgallat, as well as the abundant enzymes, have healing and cancer-preventing capacities. In gall bladder cancer a protective effect of mango consume has been proven (Pandey).


Mangos contain also a lot of tryptophan, the precursor of the "happiness-hormone" serotonin.


A pap made of Finger millet (Eleusine coracana), kidney beans (Phaseolus vulgaris), peanuts (Arachis hypogoea), and mango (Mangifera indica) has been proven to be a good complementary food for children of weaning age. It meets the vitamin and energy requirements of children of 6-24 months of age at three servings a day and at the FAO average breast-feeding frequency (Mbithi-Mwikya)


Mangiferin from the leaves has been reported to possess antiinflammatory, diuretic, chloretic and cardiotonic activities and displays a high antibacterial activity against gram positive bacteria. It has been recommended as a drug in preventing dental plaques.

Mangiferin shows antiviral effect against type I herpes simplex virus which could be useful in anti-herpes ointments (Unani Herbalist).


The bark of the mango tree contains 16 - 20% tannin and also mangiferine. It acts ad stringent and is believed to possess a tonic action on the mucous membrane. It is anathematic, useful in hemoptysis, hemorrhage, nasal catarrh, diarrhea, ulcers, diphtheria, rheumatism and for lumbrici. It is also used in diphtheria and rheumatism (Unani Herbalist).




The average content of one Mango (250 g) is (compared with other fruits):


1,5 g protein


1 g fat


30 g carbohydrates


3 g carotenes (only muskmelons have more). One Mango supplies more than the daily need of this precursor of Vitamin A


110 g vitamin B1


125 g vitamin B2 (only passion-fruit has more)


2 mg vitamin B3 (only passion-fruit and guava have more)


90 ?g folic acid (only oranges and grapes have more)


90 mg vitamin C (only orange and papaya have more)


30 mg calcium (only mandarine and orange have more)


45 mg magnesium (only papaya and banana have more)


1 mg iron (granadilla, grapes, banana, guava and apricots have more)


295g zinc (muskmelon, watermelon, papaya, guava, granadilla and bananas have more)


0,5 g potassium (muskmelon, granadilla and banana have more)


Vitamin A deficiency  

The FAO estimates, that about 250 Million people - mainly small children and pregnant women - are threatened by vitamin A deficiency. Lack of vitamin A is associated with malnutrition and leads to break down of body defense and partial or full blindness (Xerophthalmia). Dysenteria or measles complications and mortality decreases significantly when vitamin A is given. The WHO advices the supply of vitamin A in every case of measles.


Vitamin A plays an important role in the development of the placenta and the fetus. It influences the growth, the metabolism of skin, mucus membranes, teeth and retina.


Mango is an excellent natural source for pro-vitamin A; the content rises even after being picked before ripening (Aina). Improving the consumption of mangoes would cover the needs of the population in third world countries (Favaro). The content of carotenes is very high also in the dried fruit, and retains high levels over at least six months after harvest (Pott).


The FAO and the WHO use three strategies to fight lack of Vitamin A:


Food fortification - e.g. margarine containing vitamin A in the Philippines


Supplementation: Administration of high-dose vitamin A-capsules twice a year


Food based projects - e.g. in Bangladesh (vines, beans, pumpkins, bottle-gourds), in Thailand (ivy gourd) an in many African countries (dried mango slices).


Carotenes are a strong antioxidants and scavenges radicals which otherwise could lead to cancer.


Anemia from lack of iron

The vitamin C in the mango enhances the absorption of iron from vegetable food like e.g. rice, and so prevents anemia in vegetarians (Ballot)


The following mango remedies are partially adopted from the Unani medicine system:


Beauty Aids

Taking Mango regularly makes the complexion fair and the skin soft and shining


Bleeding

Because of it's content in Vitamin C and Calcium the Mango tightens the capillary vessels and prevents oder cures bleedings of inner parts.


Burns

Burnt ashes of Mango leaves applied on the burnt parts give quick relief


Children's eating soil

Feeding the powder of dried kernel of Mango seeds with fresh water cures the habit of eating soil in kinds


Diarrhea

Sun dried Mango leaves powdered, 2-3 x a day half a teaspoon with water


Dry cough

Roast a ripe Mango on hot sand in a pan. Draw out the the juice of this Mango eliminates all the bronchial congestion and gives relief in cough. According to Hakeem Hashmi sucking the juice and not eating cut mangos is better for health and some note of caution about Mango eating


Fever

Paste of Mango roots applied on palms & soles cures fever


Gall & Kidney Stones

Dried and powdered Mango leaves, 10g a day in water (kept overnight in a tumbler) helps throwing stones out


Gastritis

In India a decoction of the mango peel is given to people with inflammation of the stomach mucus membranes.


Mental Weakness over come with mango juice

Mango contains a lot of glutamine acid - an important protein for concentration and memory. Taking _ cup sweet Mango juice with 25 grams curd and tsp. Ginger juice 2 or 3 times a day controls loose motions. Boil 20 grams powder of Mango bark in a liter of water and reduce it to 250 gram. Taking this decoction with 1 gram of black salt cures diarrhea.


Pregnancy

A pregnant woman should eat at least one mango a day - the calcium and magnesium of the mango relaxes the muscles, relieves stress and prevents abortion.


Teeth Problems


Dried Mango seeds is a good toothpaste, strengthens the gums and helps in curing dental problems foul smell pyorrhoea


Some say that the fruit which Eva picked from the tree of recognition was a mango. Couldn't it be like that?

ROYAL WEDDING Prince William and Kate Middleton

Prince William and Kate Middleton are set to marry on Friday April 29, and Britain hasn’t seen a royal event like it for 30 years. The last comparable event was the marriage of Prince Charles and the then-Lady Diana Spencer. Hundreds of guests are expected at the ceremony, thousands will line the wedding route in London... and millions of pounds will be spent by the crown and the British taxpayer. FRANCE 24 takes a look at the key numbers of the wedding of the century to give you a clue of the scale of this wedding.


The ceremony


* 1,900 guests at Westminster Abbey.
* 600 guests at the reception at Buckingham Palace.
* 300 guests for dinner, followed by a dance at Buckingham Palace.

Security

* 5,000 police officers and military personnel deployed on the streets of London. This is fewer than the number which policed the wedding of Prince William’s parents, Prince Charles and Princess Diana.

Costs and benefits

* 32 million pounds (36 million euros) will be spent on the entire event. Kate Middleton's parents, who made their multi-million pound fortune by creating a party supply company, are contributing nearly 100,000 pounds (113,000 euros). Some of this will be spent on the luxury central London hotel where Kate will spend her last night as a single woman. The hotel – famed as one of the most discreet – was a favourite of the Queen Mother. The wedding dress is expected to cost at least 30,000 pounds (33,000 euros).
* 107 million pounds "commercial benefit" for the London economy, according to a PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP survey.
 * Six billion pounds is being touted as the figure that the extra bank holiday will cost the British economy. 


 




The buzz

* At least two billion television viewers expected worldwide.
* More than 8,000 journalists, photographers and technical staff will be in London to cover the royal wedding.
* 800 BBC employees to cover the event.
* 600,000 tourists expected in London. This number, combined with Londoners, should see approximately 1.1 million lining the route on the big day.

Bashar al-Assad

Bashar al-Assad (Arabic: بشار الأسد‎, Baššār al-ʾAsad; born 11 September 1965) is the President of the Syrian Arab Republic, Regional Secretary of the Ba'ath Party. He became president in 2000 after the death of his father Hafez al-Assad, who had ruled Syria for 29 years, and had notably ordered the Hama massacre of 1982. Bashar is a controversial figure both in Syria and internationally: human rights groups have stated that Bashar's secret police routinely tortures, imprisons, and kills political opponents, and those who speak out against his regime.

His family has filled security organs with loyal members of his own religious group with the purpose of retaining his power. His military, ruling elite, and secret police are closely interweaved. 

Moin Akhtar

 
Moin Akhtar (Urdu: معین اختر, also spelled as, Moeen Akhtar, Pride of Performance, Sitara-e-Imtiaz, 24 December 1950 - 22 April 2011) was a Pakistani television, film and stage actor, as well as a comedian, impersonator, and a host. He was also a play writer, singer, film director and a producer.

A highly dynamic and versatile performer from Karachi, the largest city of Pakistan, he made his debut for television on 6 September 1966, in a variety show held on PTV to celebrate the first defense day of Pakistan‎. Since then, he has performed several roles in TV plays/shows, later making a team with Anwar Maqsood and Bushra Ansari.

He was beloved for providing humor for people of all ages, and with an etiquette that remains unmatched. His attempts to avoid vulgarity in his humor rendered him a favorite amongst family audiences. Akhtar was fluent in several languages, including English, Bengali, Sindhi, Punjabi, Memon, Pushto, Gujarati and Urdu. He performed not only in Pakistan but played in several stage shows like Bakra Qiston Pe and Buddha Ghar Pe Hai with Umer Sharif in India too.

Moin Akhtar rose to the national spotlight and gathered critical acclaim for his performance in the drama Rosy /Rozy (روذی), in which he played the role of a female TV artist. Rozy was an Urdu adaptation of Hollywood movie Tootsie starring Dustin Hoffman. Moreover, in a talk-show namely Loose Talk, which began in 2005 on ARY Digital, he appeared as a different character in each and every of over 400 episodes interviewed by Anwar Maqsood, the writer and the host of the program.

He passed away on 22 April 2011 at about 6:15pm in Karachi after suffering from a heart attack.[

USA viewpoint drone attacks in pakistan

The United States government, led by the Central Intelligence Agency's Special Activities Division, has made a series of attacks on targets in northwest Pakistan since 2004 using drones (unmanned aerial vehicles). Under the George W. Bush administration, these attacks are part of the US' War on Terrorism and sought to defeat the Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants who have found a safe haven in Pakistan. Most of these attacks are on targets in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas along the Afghan border in Northwest Pakistan.



These strikes are carried out by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) operated remotely from Creech Air Force Base and have increased substantially under the Presidency of Barack Obama. Generally the UAVs used are MQ-1 Predator and more recently MQ-9 Reaper firing AGM-114 Hellfire missiles. The drones have become a weapon of choice for the United States in the fight against al-Qaeda. Some media refer to the series of attacks as a "drone war". Pakistan's government publicly condemns these attacks but has secretly shared intelligence with Americans and also allegedly allowed the drones to operate from Shamsi Airfield in Pakistan.

The Brookings Institution suggests that drone strikes may kill "10 or so civilians" for every militant killed. However the Pakistani military has stated that most of those killed were hardcore Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants. 





US viewpoint

In 2009 Barack Obama authorized the continuation of these strikes after he became US president. Top US officials consider these strikes very successful and believe that the senior al-Qaeda leadership has been 'decimated' by these strikes. A list of the high-ranking victims of the drones was provided to Pakistan in 2009. Obama has broadened these attacks to include targets seeking to destabilize Pakistani civilian government and the attacks of February 14 and 16, 2009 were against training camps run by Baitullah Mehsud. On February 25, 2009 Leon Panetta, the director of the CIA indicated the strikes will continue. On March 4, 2009 The Washington Times reported that the drones were targeting Baitullah Mehsud. Obama was reported in March 2009 as considering expanding these strikes to include Balochistan

On March 25, 2010 US State Department legal advisor Harold Koh stated that the drone strikes were legal because of the right to self-defense. According to Koh, the US is involved in an armed conflict with al-Qaida, the Taliban, and their affiliates and therefore may use force consistent with self-defense under international law.

Former CIA officials state that the agency uses a careful screening process in making decisions on which individuals to kill via drone strikes. The process, carried out at the agency's counterterrorist center, involves up to 10 lawyers who write briefs justifying the targeting of specific individuals. According to the former officials, if the briefs' arguments are weak, the request to target the individual is denied. Since 2008 the CIA has relied less on its list of individuals and increasingly targeted "signatures," or suspect behavior. This change in tactics has resulted in less deaths of high-value targets and in more deaths of lower-level fighters, or "mere foot soldiers" as the one senior Pakistani official told the Washington Post.

US officials stated in March 2009 that the Predator strikes had killed nine of al-Qaeda's 20 top commanders. The officials added that many top Taliban and al-Qaeda leaders, as a result of the strikes, had fled to Quetta or even further to Karachi.

Some US politicians and academics have condemned the drone strikes. US Congressman Dennis Kucinich asserted that the United States was violating international law by carrying out strikes against a country that never attacked the United States. Georgetown University professor Gary D. Solis asserts that since the drone operators at the CIA are civilians directly engaged in armed conflict, this makes them "unlawful combatants" and possibly subject to prosecution.

US military reports asserted that al-Qaeda is being slowly but systematically routed because of these attacks, and that they have served to sow the seeds of uncertainty and discord among their ranks. They also claimed that the drone attacks have addled and confused the Taliban, and have led them to turn against each other. In July 2009 it was reported that (according to US officials) Osama Bin Laden's son Saad bin Laden was believed to have been killed in a drone attack earlier in the year.

During a protest against drone attacks, in an event sponsored by Nevada Desert Experience, Father Louie Vitale, Kathy Kelly, Stephen Kelly, SJ, Eve Tetaz, John Dear, and others were arrested outside Creech Air Force Base on Wednesday April 9, 2009.

In May 2009 it was reported that the USA was sharing drone intelligence with Pakistan. Leon Panetta reiterated on May 19, 2009 that the US intended to continue the drone attacks.

On July 14, 2009, Daniel L. Byman of the Brookings Institution stated that although accurate data on the results of drone strikes is difficult to obtain, it seemed that ten civilians had died in the drone attacks for every militant killed. He suggested that the real answer to halting al-Qaeda's activity in Pakistan will be long-term support of Pakistan's counterinsurgency efforts.

In December 2009 expansion of the drone attacks was authorized by President Barack Obama to parallel the decision to send 30,000 more American troops to Afghanistan. Senior US officials are reportedly pushing for extending the strikes into Quetta in Balochistan against the Quetta Shura. Speaking at a news conference in Islamabad on January 7, 2010 Senators John McCain and Joe Lieberman stated the drone attacks were effective and would continue but stated that US would make greater efforts to prevent collateral damage. In an effort to strenghthen trust with Pakistan 'US sharing drone surveillance data with Pakistan, says Mike Mullen ' US defence budget for 2011 asked for a 75% increase in funds to enhance the drone operations.

The Associated Press (AP) noted that Barack Obama apparently expanded the scope and increased the aggressiveness of the drone campaign against militants in Pakistan after taking office. According to the news agency, the US increased strikes against the Pakistani Taliban, which earned favor from the Pakistani government, resulting in increased cooperation from Pakistani intelligence services. Also, the Obama administration toned down the US government's public rhetoric against Islamic terrorism, garnering better cooperation from other Islamic governments. Furthermore, with the drawdown of the war in Iraq, more drones, support personnel, and intelligence assets became available for the campaigns in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Since Obama took office, according to the AP, the number of drones operated by the CIA over Afghanistan and Pakistan doubled. A May 2010 Reuters report quoted unnamed counterterrorism officials who speculated that the Obama administration's closure of the secret CIA interrogation centers and intent to close the Guantanamo Bay prison was a direct influence on the expansion of the drone targeted killings. According to the officials, the killings are necessary because there is no longer any place to put captured terrorists.

A study called 'The Year of the Drone" published in February 2010 by New America Foundation found that in a total of 114 drone strikes in Pakistan between 2004 and early 2010 approximately between 834 and 1,216 individuals had been killed, about two thirds of whom were thought to be militants and one third were civilians.

truthful: President Hosni Mubarak has been hospitalized

truthful: President Hosni Mubarak has been hospitalized: "CAIRO An Egyptian security and health officials say former President Hosni Mubarak has been hospitalized in the Red Sea resort..."

President Hosni Mubarak has been hospitalized

CAIRO   An Egyptian security and health officials say former President Hosni Mubarak has been hospitalized in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.

The 82-year-old Mubarak was forced to give up power on Feb. 11 after an 18-day popular uprising against his rule. He has kept a low profile since, living in Sharm el-Sheikh. Near the end of his rule, he had been suffering from a number of health problems and had undergone gallbladder surgery.

Mubarak had been expected to be questioned by investigators for the first time on Tuesday in connection with corruption allegations and violence against protesters during the uprising.

Asma al Assad

Asma alAssad born 11 August 1975; née Asma Fawaz al-Akhras is the First Lady of Syria. She was born in Acton, London after her family had immigrated to the United Kingdom from Homs, Syria. She married President Bashar al-Assad in December 2000, having previously pursued a career in investment banking.

Asma is the daughter of consultant cardiologist Fawaz Akhras and retired diplomat Sahar Otri al-Akhras. Asma grew up in Acton where she went to her local Church of England school. She finished her schooling at Queen's College in London. She then attended King's College London and graduated in 1996 with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and a Diploma in French Literature. After university, Asma started work at Deutsche Bank Group in the Hedge Fund Management division with clients in Europe and the Far East. In 1998, she joined the Investment Banking division of J. P. Morgan, specializing in mergers and acquisitions for biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. During her time at JP Morgan, she worked primarily from the New York office where she executed four large merger transactions for both European and American clients.

Asma returned to Syria in November 2000 and married the president in December. They have three children: Hafez, Zein and Karim.

BEST PTC SITES

The Best PTC Sites  

 



   




 




 

SWOT analysis ...

SWOT analysis is a strategic planning meth...: "SWOT SWOT analysis is a strategic planning method used to evaluate the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats involved in a pro..."

SWOT

SWOT analysis is a strategic planning method used to evaluate the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats involved in a project or in a business venture. It involves specifying the objective of the business venture or project and identifying the internal and external factors that are favorable and unfavorable to achieve that objective. The technique is credited to Albert Humphrey, who led a convention at Stanford University in the 1960s and 1970s using data from Fortune 500 companies.

A SWOT analysis must first start with defining a desired end state or objective. A SWOT analysis may be incorporated into the strategic planning model. Strategic Planning has been the subject of much research.[citation needed]
Strengths: characteristics of the business or team that give it an advantage over others in the industry.
Weaknesses: are characteristics that place the firm at a disadvantage relative to others.
Opportunities: external chances to make greater sales or profits in the environment.
Threats: external elements in the environment that could cause trouble for the business.

Identification of SWOTs is essential because subsequent steps in the process of planning for achievement of the selected objective may be derived from the SWOTs.

First, the decision makers have to determine whether the objective is attainable, given the SWOTs. If the objective is NOT attainable a different objective must be selected and the process repeated.

The SWOT analysis is often used in academia to highlight and identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. It is particularly helpful in identifying areas for development.

Earthquake Japan

Huge tsunami kills hundreds in Japan, sweeps across Pacific 

Friday, March 11, 2011

 TOKYO: The biggest earthquake on record to hit Japan rocked the northeast coast on Friday, triggering a 10-metre tsunami that killed hundreds of people and swept away everything in its path, including houses, ships and cars.

The Red Cross in Geneva said the wall of water was higher than some Pacific islands and a tsunami warning was issued for almost the entire Pacific basin, although alerts were lifted for some countries, including Taiwan, Australia and New Zealand.

Up to 300 bodies were found in the coastal city of Sendai, media said. NHK television said the victims appeared to have drowned. The extent of the destruction along a lengthy stretch of coastline suggested the death toll could rise significantly.

Some 3,000 residents living near a nuclear plant in Fukushima prefecture, north of Tokyo, were told to evacuate but the government said no radiation was leaking. It said the evacuation was a precaution after a reactor cooling malfunction.

Other nuclear power plants and oil refineries were shut down after the 8.9 magnitude quake, while one refinery was ablaze. A major explosion hit a petrochemical complex in Miyagi prefecture after the quake, Kyodo said.

Political leaders pushed for an emergency budget to help fund relief efforts after Prime Minister Naoto Kan asked them to "save the country", Kyodo news agency reported.

Stunning TV footage showed a muddy wall of water carrying cars and wrecked homes at high speed across farmland near Sendai, home to one million people and which lies 300 km (180 miles) northeast of Tokyo. Ships had been flung onto a harbour wharf, where they lay helplessly on their side.

The quake, the most powerful since Japan started keeping records 140 years ago, sparked at least 80 fires in cities and towns along the coast, Kyodo news agency said.

A ship carrying 100 people had been swept away by the tsunami, Kyodo said. One train was unaccounted for.

In Tokyo, residents who had earlier fled swaying buildings jammed the streets trying to make their way home after much of the city's public transportation was shut down.

Electronics giant Sony Corp , one of the country's biggest exporters, shut six factories, as air force jets raced toward the northeast coast to determine the extent of the damage.

The Bank of Japan, which has been struggling to boost the anaemic economy, said it would do its utmost to ensure financial market stability as the yen and Japanese shares fell.

"I was terrified and I'm still frightened," said Hidekatsu Hata, 36, manager of a Chinese noodle restaurant in Tokyo, where buildings shook violently. "I've never experienced such a big quake before."

The tsunami alerts revived memories of the giant waves which struck Asia in 2004. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued alerts for countries to the west and across the Pacific as far away as Colombia and Peru.

The earthquake was the fifth most powerful to hit the world in the past century.

There were several strong aftershocks. In Tokyo, there was widespread panic. An oil refinery near the city was on fire, with dozens of storage tanks under threat.

Around 4.4 million homes were without power in northern Japan, media said.

"People are flooding the streets. It's incredible. Everyone is trying to get home but I didn't see any taxis," said Koji Goto, a 43-year-old Tokyo resident.

NHK television showed flames and black smoke billowing from a building in Odaiba, a Tokyo suburb, and bullet trains to the north of the country were halted. Thick smoke was also pouring out of an industrial area in Yokohama's Isogo area. TV showed residents of the city running out of shaking buildings, shielding their heads with their hands from falling masonry.

TV footage showed boats, cars and trucks tossed around like toys in the water after a small tsunami hit the town of Kamaichi in northern Japan. An overpass, location unknown, appeared to have collapsed and cars were turning around and speeding away.

"The building shook for what seemed a long time and many people in the newsroom grabbed their helmets and some got under their desks," Reuters correspondent Linda Sieg said in Tokyo. "It was probably the worst I have felt since I came to Japan more than 20 years ago."

The U.S. navy said its ships had been unaffected by the tsunami and were ready to provide disaster relief if needed.

China offered to provide earthquake relief.

The quake struck just before the Tokyo stock market closed, pushing the Nikkei down to end at a five-week low. Nikkei futures trading in Osaka tumbled as much as 4.7 percent in reaction to the news.

The disaster also weighed on markets elsewhere.

GREAT KANTO QUAKE

The quake surpasses the Great Kanto quake of Sept. 1, 1923, which had a magnitude of 7.9 and killed more than 140,000 people in the Tokyo area.

The 1995 Kobe quake caused $100 billion in damage and was the most expensive natural disaster in history. Economic damage from the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami was estimated at about $10 billion.

Passengers on a subway line in Tokyo screamed and grabbed other passengers' hands during the quake. The shaking was so bad it was hard to stand, said Reuters reporter Mariko Katsumura.

Hundreds of office workers and shoppers spilled into Hitotsugi street, a shopping street in Akasaka in downtown Tokyo.

Crowds gathered in front of televisions in a shop next to the drugstore for details. After the shaking from the first quake subsided, crowds watched and pointed to construction cranes on an office building up the street with voices saying, "They're still shaking!", "Are they going to fall?"

Japan's northeast Pacific coast, called Sanriku, has suffered from quakes and tsunamis in the past and a 7.2 quake struck on Wednesday. In 1933, a magnitude 8.1 quake in the area killed more than 3,000 people.

Earthquakes are common in Japan, one of the world's most seismically active areas. The country accounts for about 20 percent of the world's earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater.

About Raymond Davis

About Raymond Davis
Strangely, the more we get to know about the case of Raymond Davis, the less we seem to know. Even more strangely, the fact that the entire incident happened in broad daylight and in front of dozens of witnesses seems to confuse the facts further. The reason for this maybe because no one seems to want to get much clarity; although different parties may want different parts of the story to ‘disappear’, everyone seems keen that the story goes away. However, we may all live to regret it, if it actually does.

Here is what one does know about Raymond Davis. He is a staff member of the US consulate in Lahore, shot dead two Pakistani men  in a crowded part of Lahore (Mozang Chowk); according to him in self-defence. A vehicle of the US consulate rushed to Mr Davis’ ‘rescue’ ran over a third person, who also died. A murder case was registered against Raymond Davis, who was handed into police custody. A case has also been registered against the driver of the US consulate vehicle that ran over a third person, but the driver has yet to be apprehended.

After a fair deal of scrambling by both US and Pakistani officials on what to do or say, their positions have now started becoming clear and they have taken the stance that is usually taken in such cases: the US is asking that Raymond Davis, as a diplomatic functionary, should be handed back to them; Pakistan seems to be responding that the matter is sub judice and that the law should take its course.

Beyond that, there are more questions than answers. For most part, these questions fall into three categories: (1) Who is Raymond Davis? (2) What exactly happened at Mozang, Lahore? (3) What should happen now?

The answer to the first question is: the earliest reports suggested that Raymond Davis was a “technical adviser” and a “consular” official. More recently, US Embassy officials have described him as a “functionary” of the Embassy assigned to the US consulate in Lahore and carrying a US Diplomatic passport. Reportedly he was hired at the US consulate in Lahore as a security contractor from a Florida-based firm Hyperion Protective Consultants.

All of this has material relevance to whether he is entitled to diplomatic immunity or not, but even more because of the apprehensions of many Pakistanis that he could be linked to the CIA or to the infamous firm Blackwater (later renamed XE Services).

And that leads squarely to the second question: what exactly was happening at Mozang? In line with the immediate knee-jerk reaction of many Pakistanis, an early commentary by Jeff Stein in The Washington Post seemed to suggest rather fancifully that the shootout could have been a “Spy rendezvous gone bad”? That could be a conspiracy theory, but not an entirely implausible one. Mozang is not a part of town that you would expect too many foreigners, let alone a US official, visiting; and certainly not in what was reportedly a rented private vehicle. And while Pakistan today is clearly an unsafe place, the question of just why an embassy official was carrying a firearm be wished away.

On the other hand, however, Mr Davis claims that he shot in self-defence as the two men on the motorcycle were trying to rob him at gun point. Anyone who knows Pakistan knows all too well that this, too, is entirely possible. TV footage and reports coming immediately after the incident showed one of the young men lying dead with a revolver and wearing an ammunition belt. And certainly, the question of why at least one of the two young men on the motorcycle was carrying a loaded firearm cannot be wished away just because of enmity

Indeed, serious questions need to be asked about just who the two young men on the motorcycle were, just as they need to be asked about who Raymond Davis is. There just seems to be too many unnecessary weapons in too much proximity in this story. All of the many explanations that are floating around are very disturbing, but also very plausible. This is exactly why this story is even more dangerous if left unresolved.

Finally, the third question – which is now getting the most attention – about what should happen now. Much is being made – maybe too much – about the Vienna Convention and its implications for diplomatic immunity. Familiar diplomatic games about the minutia of vocabulary are being played and will in most likelihood result in all too familiar results. That is exactly what one would expect in any such situation anywhere.

But this is not ‘any’ situation’; and this is not ‘anywhere’. This is about US-Pakistan relations: A relationship that is so jaundiced that there is just about nothing that the US can say or do which Pakistanis are likely to believe, and there is just about nothing that Pakistan can say or do which Americans are likely to trust. Which is why getting stuck in the intricacies of the Vienna Convention of 1963 is the exact wrong place to get stuck. This is a time for public diplomacy: certainly from the US and maybe even from Pakistan. It is not in America’s interest to be seen to be standing in the way of justice and due process. And it is not in Pakistan’s interest to be seen to conducting a flawed process of justice.

There are too many people on the extreme in both countries who will not and cannot change their opinion and apprehensions about the other. But there are even more people in both countries who could all too easily be swayed to the extremes on distrust if this delicate case is not handled with clarity and transparency by both sides. Doing so will probably bring with it more than just a little diplomatic embarrassment. Not doing so can only bring worse in the tinderbox that is US-Pakistan relations.



The writer is a professor of International Relations at Boston University and founder of the blog ‘All Things Pakistan’.

History of Beauty and home made useful tips

History of  Beauty

There is evidence that a preference for beautiful faces emerges early in child development, and that the standards of attractiveness are similar across different genders and cultures. Symmetry is also important because it suggests the absence of genetic or acquired defects[citation needed.

Although style and fashion vary widely, cross-cultural research has found a variety of commonalities in people's perception of beauty. The earliest Western theory of beauty can be found in the works of early Greek philosophers from the pre-Socratic period, such as Pythagoras. The Pythagorean school saw a strong connection between mathematics and beauty. In particular, they noted that objects proportioned according to the golden ratio seemed more attractive[citation needed]. Ancient Greek architecture is based on this view of symmetry and proportion.

Classical philosophy and sculptures of men and women produced according to these[which?] philosophers' tenets of ideal human beauty were rediscovered in Renaissance Europe, leading to a re-adoption of what became known as a "classical ideal". In terms of female human beauty, a woman whose appearance conforms to these tenets is still called a "classical beauty" or said to possess a "classical beauty", whilst the foundations laid by Greek and Roman artists have also supplied the standard for male beauty in western civilization[citation needed].

Human beauty

 Main article: Physical attractiveness

The characterization of a person as “beautiful”, whether on an individual basis or by community consensus, is often based on some combination of Inner Beauty, which includes psychological factors such as personality, intelligence, grace, politeness, charisma, integrity, congruence and elegance, and Outer Beauty, (i.e. physical attractiveness) which includes physical factors, such as health, youthfulness, facial symmetry, averageness, and complexion.

Standards of beauty are always evolving, based on what a culture considers valuable. Historical paintings show a wide range of different standards for beauty. However, humans who are relatively young, with smooth skin, well-proportioned bodies, and regular features, have traditionally been considered to be the most beautiful throughout history.

A strong indicator of physical beauty is "averageness", or "koinophilia". When images of human faces are averaged together to form a composite image, they become progressively closer to the "ideal" image and are perceived as more attractive. This was first noticed in 1883, when Francis Galton, cousin of Charles Darwin, overlaid photographic composite images of the faces of vegetarians and criminals to see if there was a typical facial appearance for each. When doing this, he noticed that the composite images were more attractive compared to any of the individual images.

Researchers have replicated the result under more controlled conditions and found that the computer generated, mathematical average of a series of faces is rated more favorably than individual faces. Evolutionarily it makes logical sense that sexual creatures should be attracted to mates who possess predominantly common or average features.

A feature of beautiful women that has been explored by researchers is a waist-to-hip ratio of approximately 0.70. Physiologists have shown that women with hourglass figures are more fertile than other women due to higher levels of certain female hormones, a fact that may subconsciously condition males choosing mates.

People are influenced by the images they see in the media to determine what is or is not beautiful. Feminists and doctors have suggested that the very thin models featured in magazines promote eating disorders, and others have argued that the predominance of white women featured in movies and advertising leads to a Eurocentric concept of beauty, feelings of inferiority in women of color, and internalized racism.

The black is beautiful cultural movement sought to dispel this notion. Mixed race children are often perceived to be more attractive than their parents because their genetic diversity protects them from the inherited errors of their individual parents.

The concept of beauty in men is known as 'bishōnen' in Japan. Bishōnen refers to males with distinctly feminine features, physical characteristics establishing the standard of beauty in Japan and typically exhibited in their pop culture idols.

Effects on society

Beauty presents a standard of comparison, and it can cause resentment and dissatisfaction when not achieved. People who do not fit the "beauty ideal" may be ostracized within their communities. The television sitcom Ugly Betty portrays the life of a girl faced with hardships due to society's unwelcoming attitudes toward those they deem unattractive. However, a person may also be targeted for harassment because of their beauty. In Malèna, a strikingly beautiful Italian woman is forced into poverty by the women of the community who refuse to give her work for fear that she may "woo" their husbands.

 Chinese Jade ornament with flower design, Jin Dynasty (1115-1234 AD), Shanghai Museum.

Researchers have found that good looking students get higher grades from their teachers than students with an ordinary appearance. Furthermore, attractive patients receive more personalized care from their doctors.[citation needed] Studies have even shown that handsome criminals receive lighter sentences than less attractive convicts.[citation needed] Studies among teens and young adults, such as those of psychiatrist and self-help author, Eva Ritvo, show that skin conditions have a profound effect on social behavior and opportunity.

How much money a person earns may also be influenced by physical beauty. One study found that people low in physical attractiveness earn 5 to 10 percent less than ordinary looking people, who in turn earn 3 to 8 percent less than those who are considered good looking. Discrimination against others based on their appearance is known as lookism.[citation needed]

St. Augustine said of beauty "Beauty is indeed a good gift of God; but that the good may not think it a great good, God dispenses it even to the wicked."

A Natural Way To Exfoliate

Sea salt removes dry, flaky, dead skin.

Wet face (or anywhere on the body), apply a couple of tablespoons of sea salt, then GENTLY massagewith a wet washcloth or fingers. Focus on the T-zone and cheeks, but avoid the eye area.

After one or two minutes, rinse with cold water to tighten the pores. It is important to do this regularly, or face-creams will not penetrate.

You can do this maximum once per week.

Fruity Lip Gloss

2 Tbls solid shortening

1 Tbls fruit-flavored powdered drink mix

35 mm film container

Mix shortening & drink mix together in a microwave safe bowl till smooth!

Place in microwave on high for 30 seconds until mix becomes a liquid!

Pour into clean film container, or any other small airtight container!

Place mix into fridge for 20-30 minutes or till firm!

Dark Circles Under Eyes...

To lighten dark circles under your eyes, wrap a grated raw potato in cheesecloth and apply to eyelids for 15-20 minutes.

Wipe off the residue and apply an eye cream.

Home made Facial Mask

Face mask for dry skin

1. Take 1 tbsp olive oil and mix with 2 tbsp of fresh cream, leave it on the face for 10 minutes and then wash your face with warm water.

2. Mix 1 tbsp of honey with 15 drops of orange juice and 1 tbsp of fuller’s earth and add 1 tbsp of rose water. Mix well and apply on the face, wash off after 10 miuntes.

Face mask for oily skin

1. Mix a tbsp of honey with 1 egg white and apply thickly on the face and neck. Leave for 10 minutes and wash off.

2. Mix 2 tbsp of papaya pulp with 10 drops of lemon juice and leave it for 20 minutes and then rinse well.

3. Take fresh juice of any of the fruits (orange, sweet lime, watermelon or papaya) and apply on the face as a mask. This is very relaxing, it cleanses the skin, closes pores and stimulates blood circulation.

Carrot Facial Mask

Ingredients Needed:

2-3 large carrots

4 1/2 tablespoons honey

Directions:

Cook carrots, then mash. Mix with honey. Apply gently to the skin, wait 10 minutes. Rinse off with cool water.

Glowing Facial Mask

You will love your radiant skin after using this recipe...

All you need is:

1 tbsp fuller's earth

1 tbsp honey

1 tbsp mashed papaya

Mix and put on face for 20 minutes then rinse off.

Honey Facial Mask

Perhaps the best facial mask is honey.

Place a cloth in warm water and apply to your face to open the pores. Smear on honey, and leave on for 15 to 30 minutes.

Rinse off with warm water, then use cold water to close the pores.

Use once a week.

Mysterious Triangle Bermuda

 

 Something about Bermuda Triangle

The Bermuda Triangle, also known as the Devil's Triangle, is a region in the western part of the North Atlantic Ocean where a number of aircraft and surface vessels allegedly disappeared mysteriously. Popular culture has attributed these disappearances to the paranormal or activity by extraterrestrial beings. Documented evidence indicates that a significant percentage of the incidents were inaccurately reported or embellished by later authors, and numerous official agencies have stated that the number and nature of disappearances in the region is similar to that in any other area of ocean.

History Origins

The earliest allegation of unusual disappearances in the Bermuda area appeared in a September 16, 1950 Associated Press article by Edward Van Winkle Jones. Two years later, Fate magazine published "Sea Mystery At Our Back Door", a short article by George X. Sand covering the loss of several planes and ships, including the loss of Flight 19, a group of five U.S. Navy TBM Avenger bombers on a training mission. Sand's article was the first to lay out the now-familiar triangular area where the losses took place. Flight 19 alone would be covered in the April 1962 issue of American Legion Magazine. It was claimed that the flight leader had been heard saying "We are entering white water, nothing seems right. We don't know where we are, the water is green, no white." It was also claimed that officials at the Navy board of inquiry stated that the planes "flew off to Mars." Sand's article was the first to suggest a supernatural element to the Flight 19 incident. In the February 1964 issue of Argosy, Vincent Gaddis's article "The Deadly Bermuda Triangle" argued that Flight 19 and other disappearances were part of a pattern of strange events in the region. The next year, Gaddis expanded this article into a book, Invisible Horizons.

Others would follow with their own works, elaborating on Gaddis's ideas: John Wallace Spencer (Limbo of the Lost, 1969, repr. 1973); Charles Berlitz (The Bermuda Triangle, 1974); Richard Winer (The Devil's Triangle, 1974), and many others, all keeping to some of the same supernatural elements outlined by Eckert.

Natural explanations

Compass variations

Compass problems are one of the cited phrases in many Triangle incidents. While some have theorized that unusual local magnetic anomalies may exist in the area, such anomalies have not been shown to exist. Compasses have natural magnetic variations in relation to the magnetic poles, a fact which navigators have known for centuries. Magnetic (compass) north and geographic (true) north are only exactly the same for a small number of places - for example, as of 2000 in the United States only those places on a line running from Wisconsin to the Gulf of Mexico. But the public may not be as informed, and think there is something mysterious about a compass "changing" across an area as large as the Triangle, which it naturally will.

 

about iran weapons

History 

The United States and Western European governments actively encouraged and participated in Iran's nuclear program, through the Atoms for Peace program, and under the Iranian monarchy of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Iran signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty on July 1, 1968 and ratified the treaty on February 2, 1970.[3] The monarchy was replaced by the Islamic republic in 1979, but Iran remains legally bound to the NPT and to state its support for the treaty.

There are various estimates of when Iran might be able to produce a nuclear weapon, should it choose to do so:

A 2005 assessment by the International Institute for Strategic Studies concluded "if Iran threw caution to the wind, and sought a nuclear weapon capability as quickly as possible without regard for international reaction, it might be able to produce enough HEU for a single nuclear weapon by the end of this decade", assuming no technical problems. The report concludes, however, that it is unlikely that Iran would flatly ignore international reactions and develop nuclear weapons anyway.[

A 2005 US National Intelligence Estimate stated that Iran was ten years from making a nuclear weapon.

In 2006 Ernst Uhrlau, the head of German intelligence service, said Tehran would not be able to produce enough material for a nuclear bomb before 2010 and would only be able to make it into a weapon by about 2015.

A 2007 annual review the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London stated that "If and when Iran does have 3,000 centrifuges operating smoothly, the IISS estimates it would take an additional 9-11 months to produce 25 kg of highly enriched uranium, enough for one implosion-type weapon. That day is still 2-3 years away at the earliest."

The former head of the IAEA, Mohamed ElBaradei, said on 24 May 2007 that Iran could take between 3 and 8 years to make a bomb if it went down that route.

On 22 October 2007, Mohamed ElBaradei repeated that, even assuming Iran was trying to develop a nuclear bomb, they would require "between another three and eight years to succeed", an assessment shared by "all the intelligence services.

In December 2007, the United States National Intelligence Estimate (representing the consensus view of all 16 American intelligence agencies) concluded with a "high level of confidence" that Iran had halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003 and "with moderate confidence" that the program remains frozen as of mid-2007. The new estimate says that the enrichment program could still provide Iran with enough raw material to produce a nuclear weapon sometime by the middle of next decade, but that intelligence agencies "do not know whether it currently intends to develop nuclear weapons" at some future date. Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said 70 percent of the U.S. report was "true and positive," but denied its allegations of Iran having had a nuclear weapons program before 2003. Russia has said there was no proof Iran has ever run a nuclear weapons program. The former head of the IAEA, Mohamed ElBaradei, stated that he had seen "maybe some studies about possible weaponization", but "no evidence" of "an active weaponization program" as of October 2007. Thomas Fingar, former Chairman of the National Intelligence Council until December 2008, in reference to the 2007 Iran NIE and using intelligence to anticipate opportunities and shape the future, said intelligence has a "recently reinforced propensity to underscore, overstate, or 'hype' the findings in order to get people to pay attention" and that the 2007 NIE was intended to send the message "you do not have a lot of time but you appear to have a diplomatic or non-military option".A National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) is the most authoritative written judgment concerning a national security issue prepared by the Director of Central Intelligence.

The U.S. Director of National Intelligence said in February 2009 that Iran would not realistically be able to a get a nuclear weapon until 2013, if it chose to develop one.,and that US intelligence does not know whether Iran intends to develop nuclear weapons, but believes Iran could at least be keeping the option to develop them open. Mossad Chief Meir Dagan was more cautious, saying recently that it would take the Iranians until 2014. German, French, and British intelligence say that under a worst case scenario it would take Iran a minimum of 18 months to develop a nuclear weapon if it chose to build one, and it would have to first purify its uranium and weaponize its uranium.An anonymous source in the German Foreign Intelligence Service (BND) whose rank was not provided has gone further and claimed Iran could produce a nuclear bomb and conduct an underground test in 6 months if it wanted to and further asserted that Iran had already mastered the full uranium enrichment cycle, and possessed enough centrifuges to produce weapons-grade uranium. Physicists say that if Iran were to choose to develop a nuclear weapon, it would have to withdraw from the International Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and expel International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors from the country.George Friedman, head of the global intelligence company Stratfor, has said Iran is "decades away" from developing any credible nuclear-arms capacity.

On February 12, 2010 US think tank expert David Albright claimed that Iran was seeking to "make sufficient weapons-grade uranium", which was criticized by former chief U.N. weapons inspector Scott Ritter..

Allah

                   In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful           

                                

                                                  

                                              

                                                       

     ALLAH 

It is a known fact that every language has one or more terms that are used in reference to God and sometimes to lesser deities. This is not the case with Allah. Allah is the personal name of the One true God. Nothing else can be called Allah. The term has no plural or gender. This shows its uniqueness when compared with the word god which can be made plural, gods, or feminine, goddess. It is interesting to notice that Allah is the personal name of God in Aramaic, the language of Jesus and a sister language of Arabic.

The One true God is a reflection of the unique concept that Islam associates with God. To a Muslim, Allah is the Almighty, Creator and Sustainer of the universe, Who is similar to nothing and nothing is comparable to Him. The Prophet Muhammad was asked by his contemporaries about Allah; the answer came directly from God Himself in the form of a short chapter of the Quran, which is considered the essence of the unity or the motto of monotheism. This is chapter 112 which reads:

"In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate.

Say (O Muhammad) He is God the One God, the Everlasting Refuge, who has not begotten, nor has been begotten, and equal to Him is not anyone."

Some non-Muslims allege that God in Islam is a stern and cruel God who demands to be obeyed fully. He is not loving and kind. Nothing can be farther from truth than this allegation. It is enough to know that, with the exception of one, each of the 114 chapters of the Quran begins with the verse: "In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate." In one of the sayings of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) we are told that "God is more loving and kinder than a mother to her dear child."

But God is also Just. Hence evildoers and sinners must have their share of punishment and the virtuous, His bounties and favors. Actually God's attribute of Mercy has full manifestation in His attribute of Justice. People suffering throughout their lives for His sake and people oppressing and exploiting other people all their lives should not receive similar treatment from their Lord. Expecting similar treatment for them will amount to negating the very belief in the accountability of man in the Hereafter and thereby negating all the incentives for a moral and virtuous life in this world. The following Quranic verses are very clear and straightforward in this respect:

"Verily, for the Righteous are gardens of Delight, in the Presence of their Lord. Shall We then treat the people of Faith like the people of Sin? What is the matter with you? How judge you?" (68:34-36)

Islam rejects characterizing God in any human form or depicting Him as favoring certain individuals or nations on the basis of wealth, power or race. He created the human beings as equals. They may distinguish themselves and get His favor through virtue and piety only.

The concept that God rested in the seventh day of creation, that God wrestled with one of His soldiers, that God is an envious plotter against mankind, or that God is incarnate in any human being are considered blasphemy from the Islamic point of view.

The unique usage of Allah as a personal name of God is a reflection of Islam's emphasis on the purity of the belief in God which is the essence of the message of all God's messengers. Because of this, Islam considers associating any deity or personality with God as a deadly sin which God will never forgive, despite the fact He may forgive all other sins.

 

[Note that what is meant above applies ONLY to those people who die in a state wherein they are associating others with God. The repentance of those who yet live is acceptable to God if He wills. - MSA of USC]

The Creator must be of a different nature from the things created because if he is of the same nature as they are, he will be temporal and will therefore need a maker. It follows that nothing is like Him. If the maker is not temporal, then he must be eternal. But if he is eternal, he cannot be caused, and if nothing outside him causes him to continue to exist, which means that he must be self-sufficient. And if the does not depend on anything for the continuance of his own existence, then this existence can have no end. The Creator is therefore eternal and everlasting: "He is the First and the Last."

He is Self-Sufficient or Self-Subsistent or, to use a Quranic term, Al-Qayyum. The Creator does not create only in the sense of bringing things into being, He also preserves them and takes them out of existence and is the ultimate cause of whatever happens to them.

"God is the Creator of everything. He is the guardian over everything. Unto Him belong the keys of the heavens and the earth." (39:62, 63)

"No creature is there crawling on the earth, but its provision rests on God. He knows its lodging place and it repository." (11:6)

God's Attributes

If the Creator is Eternal and Everlasting, then His attributes must also be eternal and everlasting. He should not lose any of His attributes nor acquire new ones. If this is so, then His attributes are absolute. Can there be more than one Creator with such absolute attributes? Can there be for example, two absolutely powerful Creators? A moment's thought shows that this is not feasible.

The Quran summarizes this argument in the following verses:

"God has not taken to Himself any son, nor is there any god with Him: For then each god would have taken of that which he created and some of them would have risen up over others." (23:91)

And Why, were there gods in earth and heaven other than God, they (heaven and earth) would surely go to ruin." (21:22)

The Oneness of God

The Quran reminds us of the falsity of all alleged gods. To the worshippers of man-made objects, it asks:

"Do you worship what you have carved yourself?" (37:95)

"Or have you taken unto you others beside Him to be your protectors, even such as have no power either for good or for harm to themselves?" (13:16)

To the worshippers of heavenly bodies it cites the story of Abraham:

"When night outspread over him he saw a star and said, 'This is my Lord.' But when it set he said, 'I love not the setters.' When he saw the moon rising, he said, 'This is my Lord.' But when it set he said, 'If my Lord does not guide me I shall surely be of the people gone astray.' When he saw the sun rising, he said, 'This is my Lord; this is greater.' But when it set he said, 'O my people, surely I quit that which you associate, I have turned my face to Him Who originated the heavens and the earth; a man of pure faith, I am not of the idolaters.'" (6:76-79)

The Believer's Attitude

In order to be a Muslim, i.e., to surrender oneself to God, it is necessary to believe in the oneness of God, in the sense of His being the only Creator, Preserver, Nourisher, etc. But this belief - later on called "Tawhid Ar-Rububiyyah" - is not enough. Many of the idolaters knew and believed that only the Supreme God could do all this, but that was not enough to make them Muslims. To tawhid ar-rububiyyah one must add tawhid al'uluhiyyah, i.e., one acknowledges the fact that is God alone Who deserves to be worshipped, and thus abstains from worshipping any other thing or being.

Having achieved this knowledge of the one true God, man should constantly have faith in Him, and should allow nothing to induce him to deny truth.

When faith enters a person's heart, it causes certain mental states which result in certain actions. Taken together these mental states and actions are the proof for the true faith. The Prophet said, "Faith is that which resides firmly in the heart and which is proved by deeds." Foremost among those mental states is the feeling of gratitude towards God which could be said to be the essence of 'ibada' (worship).

The feeling of gratitude is so important that a non-believer is called 'kafir' which means 'one who denies a truth' and also 'one who is ungrateful.'

A believer loves, and is grateful to God for the bounties He bestowed upon him, but being aware of the fact that his good deeds, whether mental or physical, are far from being commensurate with Divine favors, he is always anxious lest God should punish him, here or in the Hereafter. He, therefore, fears Him, surrenders himself to Him and serves Him with great humility. One cannot be in such a mental state without being almost all the time mindful of God. Remembering God is thus the life force of faith, without which it fades and withers away.

The Quran tries to promote this feeling of gratitude by repeating the attributes of God very frequently. We find most of these attributes mentioned together in the following verses of the Quran:

"He is God; there is no god but He, He is the Knower of the unseen and the visible; He is the All-Merciful, the All-Compassionate. He is God, there is no God but He. He is the King, the All-Holy, the All-Peace, the Guardian of Faith, the All-Preserver, the All-Mighty, the All-Compeller, the All-Sublime. Glory be to God, above that they associate! He is God the Creator, the Maker, the Shaper. To Him belong the Names Most Beautiful. All that is in the heavens and the earth magnifies Him; He is the All-Mighty, the All-Wise." (59:22-24)

"There is no god but He, the Living, the Everlasting. Slumber seizes Him not, neither sleep; to Him belongs all that is in the heavens and the earth. Who is there that shall intercede with Him save by His leave? He knows what lies before them and what is after them, and they comprehend not anything of His knowledge save such as He wills. His throne comprises the heavens and earth; the preserving of them oppresses Him not; He is the All-High, the All-Glorious." (2:255)

"People of the Book, go not beyond the bounds in your religion, and say not as to God but the truth. The Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, was only the Messenger of God, and His Word that He committed to Mary, and a Spirit from Him. So believe in God and His Messengers, and say not, 'Three.' Refrain; better is it for you. God is only one God. Glory be to Him - (He is) above having a son." (4:171)