Thursday, 17 March 2011
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..."
Wednesday, 16 March 2011
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.
Friday, 11 March 2011
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.
Tuesday, 8 March 2011
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?
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’.
Monday, 7 March 2011
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.
Friday, 4 March 2011
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.Wednesday, 2 March 2011
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..
Tuesday, 1 March 2011
Allah
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)
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