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Whole grains: Hearty options for a healthy diet
Find out why whole grains are better than refined grains and how to add more whole grains to your diet.By Mayo Clinic staff
Grains, especially whole grains, are an essential part of a healthy diet. All types of grains are good sources of complex carbohydrates and some key vitamins and minerals. Grains are also naturally low in fat. All of this makes grains a healthy option. Better yet, they've been linked to a lower risk of heart disease, diabetes, certain cancers and other health problems.
The healthiest kinds of grains are whole grains. The 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends that at least half of all the grains you eat are whole grains. Chances are you eat lots of grains already. But are they whole grains? If you're like most, you're not getting enough whole grains in your diet. See how to make whole grains a part of your healthy diet.
Types of grains
Also called cereals, grains and whole grains are the seeds of grasses cultivated for food. Grains and whole grains come in many shapes and sizes, from large kernels of popcorn to small quinoa seeds.
- Whole grains. These are unrefined grains that haven't had their bran and germ removed by milling. Whole grains are better sources of fiber and other important nutrients, such as selenium, potassium and magnesium. Whole grains are either single foods, such as brown rice and popcorn, or ingredients in products, such as buckwheat in pancakes or whole wheat in bread.
- Refined grains. Refined grains are milled, a process that strips out both the bran and germ to give them a finer texture and extend their shelf life. The refining process also removes many nutrients, including fiber. Refined grains include white flour, white rice, white bread and degermed cornflower. Many breads, cereals, crackers, desserts and pastries are made with refined grains, too.
- Enriched grains. Enriched means that some of the nutrients lost during processing are added back in. Some enriched grains are grains that have lost B vitamins added back in — but not the lost fiber. Fortifying means adding in nutrients that don't occur naturally in the food. Most refined grains are enriched, and many enriched grains also are fortified with other vitamins and minerals, such as folic acid and iron. Some countries require certain refined grains to be enriched. Whole grains may or may not be fortified.
(1 of 2)
- Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/DGAs2010-PolicyDocument.htm. Accessed June 30, 2011.
- Dole Food Company, et al. Encyclopedia of Foods: A Guide to Healthy Nutrition. San Diego, Calif.: Academic Press; 2002.
- Whole white wheat FAQ. Whole Grains Council. http://www.wholegrainscouncil.org/whole-grains-101/whole-white-wheat-faq. Accessed June 30, 2011.
- Maras JE, et al. Whole grain intake: The Baltimore longitudinal study of aging. Journal of Food Composition and Analysis. 2009;22:53.
- Choosing whole grains FAQ. Eat right Ontario. http://www.eatrightontario.ca/en/viewdocument.aspx?id=39. Accessed June 30, 2011.
- Duyff RL. American Dietetic Association Complete Food and Nutrition Guide. 3rd edition. Hoboken, N.J.:John Wiley & Sons; 2006.
- What foods are in the grains group? U.S. Department of Agriculture. http://www.choosemyplate.gov/foodgroups/grains.html. Accessed June 30, 2011.
- O'Neil C., et al. Whole-grain consumption is associated with diet quality and nutrient intake in adults: The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1999-2004. Journal of the American Dietetic Association. 2010;110:1461.
- Zeratsky KA (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. July 5, 2011.
- Nelson JK (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. July 7, 2011.


Job Description: To Explore the Unknown
Curiosity about how life might have evolved on Mars could help reveal more about our own planet.
Planetary studies can spark the imagination. We want to go to Mars. Humans have dreamed of going to another planet and looking for life throughout the ages. We want to better understand the nature of the Solar System and we want to know if we're alone.
We're finding out as much as we can about our nearest habitable neighbor in order to lay the groundwork for the eventual colonization of Mars. There is nothing scientifically stopping us.
A passion for exploration
The discovery of hundreds of worlds around other stars has shown that planets orbit at least 5 to 10 percent of all stars. But how many of these planets are Earth-size, and possibly Earth-like?


This speciesis classified as Vulnerable because remote-sensing data indicate that there has been a dramatic loss of lowland forest across its range and that it is therefore likely to be undergoing a rapid population decline.
Distribution and population
Ninox odiosa is endemic to the island of New Britain Papua New Guinea where although it is rather poorly known, it appears to be not uncommon in suitable habitat. It is suspected to have declined rapidly in recent years owing to ongoing clearance of lowland forest (Buchananet al. 2008).
The population is estimated to be in the band 10,000-19,999 mature individuals, equating to 15,000-29,999 individuals in total, rounded here to 15,000-30,000 individuals.
Buchanan et al. (2008) calculated the rate of forest loss within the species's range on New Britain as 33.8% over three generations. Hence, this decline is expected to continue.
It inhabits lowland rainforest up to 1,200 m. It is thought to tolerate some degree of habitat degradation.
Lowland forest clearance on New Britain for conversion to oil palm plantations has been intense in recent decades and the island accounts for approximately half of Papua New Guinea's timber exports (Buchanan et al. 2008). Over 30% of suitable habitat has been cleared in the last 10 years and this trend is ongoing (Buchanan et al. 2008).
Conservation actions underway
None is known.
Conservation actions proposed
Identify and effectively protect a network of reserves, including some containing large areas of unlogged lowland forest, on New Britain. Continue to monitor trends in forest loss. Research its tolerance of degraded forest. Monitor populations in a number of primary forest and degraded forest sites across the island.
Related state of the world's birds case studies
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London: No matter how bright you think your child is, until the age of seven, children are no brainier than the birds.
Researchers at the University of Cambridge during simple experiments found out that birds did just as well as children up until the age of seven, The Daily Mail reported.
By pitting birds against boys and girls using tests inspired by the Aesop's fable in which a thirsty crow is able to drink from a pitcher after using pebbles to raise the water level to within its reach.
In two of the three tests the birds, Eurasian jays, did just as well as the seven-year-old children.
After this, the human mind proved superior to the bird brain.
The experiments built on earlier work in which jays quickly learned that adding stones to a cylinder half-filled with water would bring a tasty treat floating on the surface within reach of their beaks.
In a second task the jays, colourful members of the crow family and about the same size as jackdaws, realized it was better to use pebbles, which sink, than corks, which float.
When Cambridgeshire children, aged four to ten, were set similar tasks, they did as well as the jays on the first, up to the age of seven.
From the age of eight, the pupils learned more quickly than the birds. The pattern was similar with the second task, except four-year-old children did worse than the jays.
However, a third, more complex, task separated the youngsters from the birds.
It again involved dropping objects into water to raise its level. But this time, a U-shaped tube was used, with the join at its bottom hidden; giving the impression it was two separate tubes.
This appeared to confuse the birds. However, the children did as well as before. The researchers said this shows children are better at putting preconceptions aside.
Lucy Cheke, a PhD student, said: "It is a child's job to learn about the world. They can't do that if they're limited by a preconceived idea about what is or is not possible. For a child, if it works, it works. The birds, however, found it much harder to learn what was happening because they were put off by the fact it shouldn’t be happening."
First Published: Thursday, July 26, 2012, 16:22


Photo: James Duncan Davidson
Drawn into controversy
Wearing his wide-brimmed hat, climate scientist James Hansen starts his TEDTalk by asking, ”What do I know that would cause me, a reticent midwestern scientist, to get arrested in front of the White House, protesting?”
Hansen studied under professor James Van Allen, who told him about observations of Venus — there was intense microwave radiation — because it’s hot, and it was kept that way by a thick C02 atmosphere. He was fortunate enough to join NASA and send an instrument to Venus. But while it was in transit, he became involved in calculating what would be the effect of the greenhouse effect here on Earth.
It turns out the atmosphere was changing before our eyes and, “A planet changing before our eyes is more important, it affects and changes our lives.” The greenhouse effect has been understood for a century. Infrared radiation is absorbed by a layer of gas, working like a blanket to keep heat in.
He worked with other scientists and eventually published an article in Science in 1981. They made several predictions in that paper: There would be shifting climate zones, rising sea levels, an opening of the northwest passage, and other effects. All of these have happened or are underway.
That paper was reported on the front page of the NY Times, and led to him testifying to congress. He told them it would produce varied effects, heat waves and droughts, but also (because warmer atmosphere holds more water vapor) more extreme rainfall, stronger storms and greater flooding.
All the global warming ‘hoopla’ became too much, and was distracting him from doing science. In addition, he was upset that the White House had altered his testimony, so he decided to leave communication to others.
The future draws him back in
The problem with not speaking was that he had two grandchildren. He realized he did not want them to say, “Opah understood what was happening, but he didn’t make it clear.”
So he was drawn more and more into the urgency.
Adding carbon to the air is like throwing a blanket on the bed. “More energy is coming in than is going out, until Earth is warm enough to raiate to space as much energy as it recieves from the Sun.” The key quantity is the imbalance, so they did the measurements. It turns out that continents to depths of tens of meters were getting warmer, and the Earth is gaining energy from heat. That amount of energy is equivalent to dropping 400,000 Hrioshima bombs every day, over a year, and there is as much in the pipeline as has already occurred.
If we want to restore energy balance and prevent further warming, we need to reduce the carbon levels from 391 parts per million to 350.
The arguments against
Deniers contend that it’s the sun driving this change. But Hansen notes the biggest change occurred during the low point of the solar cycle — meaning that the effect from the sun is dwarfed by the warming effect.
There are remarkable records in the Earth of what has come before, and we’ve studied them extensively. There is a high correlation between the overall temperature, carbon levels, and sea level. The temperature slightly leads carbon changes by a couple centuries. Deniers like to use that to trick the public. But these are amplifying feedbacks, even through it’s instigated by small effect, a cycle is set up that feed in on itself: More sun in the summer means that ice sheets melt, which means a darker planet, which means more warming. These amplifying feedbacks account for almost entire paleoclimate changes.
The same amplifying feedbacks must occur today. Ice sheets will melt, carbon and methane will be releaseed. “We can’t say exactly how fast these effects will happen, but it is certain they will occur. Unless we stop the warming.”
The view of the future
Hansen presents data showing that Greenland and Antarctica are both losing mass, and that methane is bubbling from the permafrost. That does not bode well. Historically, even at today’s level of carbon, the sea level was 15 meters higher than it is now. We will get least one meter of that this century.
We will have started a process that is out of humanity’s control. There will be no stable shoreline, and the economic implications of that are devastating — not to mention the spectacular loss of speices. It’s possible that 20-50% of all species could be extinct by end of century if we stay on fossil fuels.
Changes have already started. The Texas, Moscow, Oklahoma and other heat waves in recent memory were all exceptional events. There is clear evidence that these were caused by global warming.
Hansen’s grandson Jake is super-enthusiastic, “He thinks he can protect his 2 and a half day old little sister. It would be immoral to leave these people with a climate system spiraling out of control.”
The tragedy is that we can solve this. It could be addressed by collecting a fee for carbon emissions, distributed to all residents. That would stimulate the economy and innovation, and would not enlarge the government. Instead of doing this, we are subsidizing fossil fuels by $400-500 billion per year worldwide.
This, says Hansen, is a planetary emergency, just as important as an asteroid on its way. “But we dither, taking no action to divert the asteroid, even though the longer we wait, the more difficult and expensive it becomes.”
“Now you know some of what I know that is sounding me to sound this alarm. Clearly I haven’t gotten this message across. I need your help. We owe it to our children and grandchildren.”


Fluoride in Drinking Water: A Scientific Review of EPA's Standards (2006)Board on Environmental Science and Toxicology
Each report is produced by a committee of experts selected by the Academy to address a particular statement of task and is subject to a rigorous, independent peer review; while the reports represent views of the committee, they also are endorsed by the Academy. Learn more on our expert consensus reports.
Most people associate fluoride with the practice of intentionally adding fluoride to public drinking-water supplies for the prevention of tooth decay. However, fluoride can also enter public water systems from natural sources, including runoff from weathering of fluoride-containing rocks and soils and leaching from soil into groundwater. Fluoride pollution from various industrial emissions can also contaminate water supplies. In a few areas of the United States, fluoride concentrations in water are much higher than normal, mostly from natural sources. Because it can occur at toxic levels, fluoride is one of the drinking water contaminants regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In 1986, EPA established a maximum allowable concentration for fluoride in drinking water of 4 milligrams per liter (mg/L), a guideline designed to prevent the public from being exposed to harmful levels of fluoride. After reviewing research on various health effects from exposure to fluoride, including studies conducted in the last 10 years, this report concludes that EPA\u0092s drinking water standard for fluoride does not protect against adverse health effects. Just over 200,000 Americans live in communities where fluoride levels in drinking water are 4 mg/L or higher. Children in those communities are at risk of developing severe tooth enamel fluorosis, a condition that can cause tooth enamel loss and pitting. A majority of the report\u0092s authoring committee also concluded that people who drink water containing 4 mg/L or more of fluoride over a lifetime are likely at increased risk for bone fractures.
- A few studies of human populations have suggested that fluoride might be associated with alterations in reproductive hormones, fertility, and Down's syndrome, but their design limitations make them of little value for risk evaluation
- Assessing whether fluoride constitutes a risk factor for osteosarcoma is complicated by the rarity of the disease and the difficulty of characterizing biologic dose because of the ubiquity of population exposure to fluoride and the difficulty of acquiring bone samples in nonaffected individuals.
- Bone fluoride concentrations increase with both magnitude and length of exposure. Empirical data suggest substantial variations in bone fluoride concentrations at any given water concentration.
- Case reports and in vitro and animal studies indicated that exposure to fluoride at concentrations greater than 4 mg/L can be irritating to the gastrointestinal system, affect renal tissues and function, and alter hepatic and immunologic parameters. Such effects are unlikely to be a risk for the average individual exposed to fluoride at 4 mg/L in drinking water. However, a potentially susceptible subpopulation comprises individuals with renal impairments who retain more fluoride than healthy people do.
- Fluoride is an endocrine disruptor in the broad sense of altering normal endocrine function or response, although probably not in the sense of mimicking a normal hormone. The mechanisms of action remain to be worked out and appear to include both direct and indirect mechanisms.
- Gaps in the information on fluoride prevented the committee from making some judgments about the safety or the risks of fluoride at concentrations of 2 to 4 mg/L.
- Groups likely to have increased bone fluoride concentrations include the elderly and people with severe renal insufficiency.
- In light of the collective evidence on various health end points and total exposure to fluoride, the committee concludes that EPA�s MCLG of 4 mg/L should be lowered.
- Little data is available on immunologic parameters in human subjects exposed to fluoride from drinking water or osteoporosis therapy, but in vitro and animal data suggest the need for more research in this area.
- On the basis of information largely derived from histological, chemical, and molecular studies, it is apparent that fluorides have the ability to interfere with the functions of the brain and the body by direct and indirect means.
- On the basis of pharmacokinetic modeling, the current best estimate for bone fluoride concentrations after 70 years of exposure to fluoride at 4 mg/L in water is 10,000 to 12,000 mg/kg in bone ash. Higher values would be predicted for people consuming large amounts of water (>2 L/day) or for those with additional sources of exposure. Less information was available for estimating bone concentrations from lifetime exposure to fluoride in water at 2 mg/L. The committee estimates average bone concentrations of 4,000 to 5,000 mg/kg ash.
- Pharmacokinetics should be taken into account when comparing effects of fluoride in different species. Limited evidence suggests that rats require higher chronic exposures than humans to achieve the same plasma and bone concentrations.
- Studies of the effects of fluoride on the kidney, liver, and immune system indicate that exposure to concentrations much higher than 4 mg/L can affect renal tissues and function and cause hepatic and immunologic alterations in test animals and in vitro test systems.
- The committee did not find any human studies on drinking water containing fluoride at 4 mg/L where GI, renal, hepatic, or immune effects were carefully documented.
- The committee finds that the available epidemiologic data for assessing bone fracture risk in relation to fluoride exposure around 2 mg/L are inadequate for drawing firm conclusions about the risk or safety of exposures at that concentration.
- The committee's conclusions regarding the potential for adverse effects from fluoride at 2 to 4 mg/L in drinking water do not address the lower exposures commonly experienced by most U.S. citizens. The charge to the committee did not include an examination of the benefits and risks that might occur at these lower concentrations of fluoride in drinking water.
- The damage to teeth caused by severe enamel fluorosis is a toxic effect that the majority of the committee judged to be consistent with prevailing risk assessment definitions of adverse health effects.
- The degree to which moderate enamel fluorosis might go beyond a cosmetic effect to create an adverse psychological effect or an adverse effect on social functioning is also not known.
- The single most important contributor to fluoride exposures (approaching 50% or more) is fluoridated water and other beverages and foods prepared or manufactured with fluoridated water.


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Researchers have revealed a simple trick that may help athletes keep their cool during a game’s high-pressure moments. Their advice to avoid choking under pressure: Clench the fist of your non-dominant hand.
The findings appear in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General.
In the study, right-handed athletes who squeezed a ball with their left hand or clenched their left fist before a competition were less likely to choke in high-stress matches.
Here’s why: The left side of the body is controlled by the right side of the brain.
“Increasing activation in the right hemisphere decreases activation in the left hemisphere,” says study researcher Juergen Beckmann, PhD.
Choking under pressure seems to be caused by a dominant activation in the left hemisphere, which controls key areas of the brain that help us psych ourselves out when under the gun.
Clenching Technique May Reduce Choke Risk
Brain scans show that a decrease of activation in the brain’s left hemisphere boosts performance, says Beckmann. He is the chair of sport psychology at the Technical University of Munich in Germany.
The researchers conducted three studies involving soccer players, judo experts, and badminton players. They tested the athletes’ skills during normal practice and during important matches that took place before a large crowd or video cameras. The researchers only tested right-handed people.
The athletes were less likely to choke under pressure when they squeezed a ball in their left hand than when they squeezed it in their right hand.
This technique seems to work best in situations where movements such as kicking a ball are automatic. Overthinking them, however, can impair performance.
“So far, we know that the technique seems to work only with complex motor tasks which have become automated,” says Beckmann. “It should not only work with sports but also … could be helpful for elderly people to maintain balance when they are afraid that they might fall.”
Break the Thought Cycle
Beckmann and his team are now studying the technique among expert musicians.
“It might also be useful for surgeons or other professions in which precision, pressure, and highly automated tasks combine,” he says. To date, the team has conducted 13 studies, including one with gymnasts. “Whenever the specified conditions were given, the technique never failed.”
David Straker, MD, says some athletes start thinking the worst when they step up to the plate in a baseball game or need to take a foul shot on the basketball court — and then they choke.
“They have likely done this thousands of times. And 99% of the time, they do it perfectly, but still they choke,” he says. Straker is an adjunct assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at Columbia University Medical Center in New York City. He often recommends a short course of therapy to help people change how they think and overcome self-defeating thoughts.
“See a therapist and try to work on changing how you think in these situations,” he says. “When you start ruminating, take a step back and remind yourself that you have done this so many times and you do it well,” he says. “The fist- or ball-clenching technique used in the new study may also help distract people from the negative thoughts.”
In the Zone
And performance anxiety is not just an issue for athletes. “We know that elderly people are more likely to fall if they are thinking about it, and people also choke during exams even though they know the subject cold,” Straker says. Whatever the scenario, changing the thought process can make a difference.
Sports performance expert Todd Stofka puts it like this: “You think you can or think you can’t.” He is the founder of Philly Hypnosis Performance in Philadelphia and regularly helps athletes think that they can. “Your confidence dictates whether you do better or worse. It is more than positive thinking. It’s desired-results thinking.”
He often tells clients to visualize what they want in that high-stress moment. This process starts with breaking the initial connection.
“Think of it as a series of light switches,” he says. “You can pull your ear or adjust your shirt or do something to stop the negative thoughts, and from there can move toward visualizing hitting the ball out of the park.”
Being calm is also important. “Top performers play their very best when they are relaxed and in the zone,” he says. Getting in the zone starts with stopping anxiety-producing thoughts and anticipation.


CHOSEN PEOPLE.(Redirected from PECULIAR PEOPLE.)
Name for the Jewish people expressive of the idea of their having been chosen by God to fulfil the mission of proclaiming His truth among all the nations. This choice does not imply a superior claim, but a superior duty and responsibility on the part of the Jewish people, inasmuch as they have been pledged by the covenant which God concluded with Abraham, their ancestor, and again with the entire nation on Sinai, to testify, by precept and example, to the truth revealed to them, to lead a holy life as God's priest-people, and, if needs be, sacrifice their very lives for the sake of this truth. In this peculiar sense they are called God's own people; their religious genius, as manifested in their patriarchs, prophets, inspired poets, sages, and heroes, having rendered them the chosen people of religion to a far greater extent than the artistic and philosophical genius of the Greeks made that nation the chosen people of art and philosophy, or the juridical and political genius of the Romans made them the chosen people of law and politics.Consciousness of Selection.
Unlike any other nation, the Jewish people began their career conscious of their life-purpose and world-duty as the priests and teachers of a universal religious truth; and their whole history, with all its tragic sternness, was and to the end of time will be devoted to the carrying out of this purpose and the discharge of this duty. This view is expressed in all the Biblical and rabbinical passages referring to Israel as the chosen people, or to Abraham as their ancestor. "For I have singled him out [A. V., "have known him"] to the end that he may command his children and his house after him, that they may keep the way of the Lord to do justice and judgment" (Gen. xviii. 1, Hebr.; compare Neh. ix. 7, "Thou art the Lord, the God who didst choose Abram").Conditions of Choice.
That Israel's character as the chosen people is conditioned by obedience to God's commandments is stated in the very words of the Sinai covenant: "Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people; for all the earth is mine: and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation" (Ex. xix. 5, 6). "The Lord did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people; but because the Lord loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers" (Deut. vii. 7, 8). The great obligation imposed upon Israel as the chosen people is especially emphasized by the prophet Amos (iii. 2): "You only have I singled out [R. V., "known"] of all the families of the earth: therefore will I visit upon you all your iniquities." Compare Deut. xiv. 2: "Thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God, and the Lord hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all peoples that are upon the face of the earth," and ib. xxiv. 18, 19, R. V.God's Witnesses and Their Inheritance.
Particularly is the world-mission of the chosen people dwelt upon by Deutero-Isaiah, the seer of the Exile (Isa. xli.; xlii. 1-7; xliii. 10. "Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen"; ib. verse 21, R. V., "The people which I formed for myself that they might set forth my praise"; compare xliv. 1, 2; xlix. 6, 7).
As God's chosen people, Israel is also called His "inheritance" (Deut. iv. 20; ix. 26, 29; xxxii. 9; Ps. xxxiii. 12: "The people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance"; I Kings viii. 53, Jer. x. 16; and elsewhere). As the children of the Patriarchs they are His chosen ones (Ps. cv. 6).—In Rabbinical Literature:
According to the Rabbis, Israel has not been chosen as the people of the Law on account of its racial superiority. "Israel is of all nations the most wilful or headstrong one [
In the Jewish liturgy, praise is frequently offered to God for having chosen Israel from among all thenations of the earth: in Ahabah Rabbah, in the benediction before the reading from the Law, and in the seven benedictions of the holy days and New Moon; concerning which see Geiger's "Jüd. Zeit." vii. 55; and Einhorn, in "Protocolle der Zweiten Rabbinerversammlung," p. 75, Frankfort-on-the-Main, 1845.
"The character of Israel as the chosen people," writes Güdemann ("Das Judenthum," 1902, p. 44) "does not involve the inferiority of other nations. The universality of Israel's idea of God is sufficient proof against such an assumption. Every nation requires a certain self-consciousness for the carrying out of its mission. Israel's self-consciousness was tempered by the memory of its servitude in Egypt and the recognition of its being 'the servant of the Lord.' It was the noblesse oblige of the God-appointed worker for the entire human race."


run the given instructions
Major Section: PROOF-CHECKER-COMMANDS
Example: (do-all induct p prove)Run the indicated instructions until there is a hard ``failure''. The instruction ``succeeds'' if and only if each instruction in
General Form: (do-all &rest instruction-list)
instruction-listdoes. (See the documentation for
sequencefor an explanation of ``success'' and ``failure.'') As each instruction is executed, the system will print the usual prompt followed by that instruction, unless the global state variable
do-all ``fails'', then the failure is hard if and only if
the last instruction it runs has a hard ``failure''.
Obscure point: For the record,
(do-all ins_1 ins_2 ... ins_k) is
the same as
(sequence (ins_1 ins_2 ... ins_k)).


Tata teams up with Aussies for India’s first floating solar plant
The pilot project, which is due to start operations by the end of the year, is based on a Sunengy patented Liquid Solar Array (LSA) technology which uses traditional concentrated photovoltaic technology - a lens and a small area of solar cells that tracks the sun throughout the day, like a sunflower
LSA inventor and Sunengy executive director and chief technology officer, Phil Connor, said that when located on and combined with hydroelectric dams, LSA provides the breakthroughs of reduced cost and "on demand" 24/7 availability that are necessary for solar power to become widely used.
Floating the LSA on water reduces the need for expensive supporting structures to protect it from high winds. The lenses submerge in bad weather and the water also cools the cells which increases their efficiency and life-span.
According to Connor, hydro power supplies 87 percent of the world's renewable energy and 16 percent of the world's power but is limited by its water resource. He said an LSA installation could match the power output of a typical hydro dam using less than 10 percent of its surface area and supply an additional six to eight hours of power per day. Modeling by Sunengy shows that a 240 MW LSA system could increase annual energy generation at the Portuguese hydro plant, Alqueva, by 230 percent.
"LSA effectively turns a dam into a very large battery, offering free solar storage and opportunity for improved water resource management," said Connor. "If India uses just one percent of its 30,000 square kilometers of captured water with our system, we can generate power equivalent to 15 large coal-fired power stations."
Construction of the pilot plant in India will commence in August 2011. Sunengy also plans to establish a larger LSA system in Australia's Hunter Valley by mid-2012 before going into full production.


Smartphones have been around for at least several years now, but they still have certain limitations. Despite having a plethora of wireless technologies built-in--Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 3G, etc.--there's no simple way to transfer "clippings" of data from one device to another. But a new research project at MIT called Sparsh is aiming to fix that oversight.
Sparsh (the Hindi word for "touch") isn't an app, at least not in the way we generally use the word. It's a tool that's supposed to be part of a mobile operating system, like "undo" or "select all," running within apps at all times. It creates a virtual cloud-based clipboard where any data, like a phone number or photograph, can temporarily live until it's "pasted" to another device.
For it to work, at least two devices need to be Sparsh-enabled. A user wanting to share data becomes, in concept, an avatar for a copy-and-paste-like function. The person touches data on a device, such as a photo or text, and Sparsh sends it to the cloud. The same person then touches another device, and presto! The relevant information is pasted in as if it had been copied from the same machine.
Sparsh isn't the only tool for transferring small amounts of device-to-device data on the scene. Indeed, a popular iPhone app called Bump allows people to trade photos, apps, contact info, and even music from one phone to another simply by bumping the devices together.
Bump is very cool, but it requires both the sender and recipient to be running the app. In addition, it's not open with what it can send or where it can send it--it only works from phone to phone, and while there are many options for things it can send, there are more things it simply can't. Sparsh aims to live in the devices we use at the operating-system level, meaning it would seem intuitive to use and be available within any app for almost any type of data. … Read more


Fuel cells and the electric motor are examples of highly-efficient, electric drive trains. Electric vehicles are expected to one day outstrip sales of combustion engines vehicles. Innovative technologies such as fuel cells, electric motors and electric vehicles will influence our future mobility. The market for electric vehicles boasts the most potential.
Fuel cells, electric motors and electric vehicles are currently experiencing a breakthrough. Fuel cells are being used in new applications such as automobiles or laptop computers. Like electric vehicles, fuel cells are still in the development phase however. The potential is far from being exploited. Because a genuine fuel cell boom is anticipated, mass production is already underway. Like fuel cells, the application potential for electric motors and electric vehicles is still in its infancy stage. The discovery of the relationship between magnetic fields and electricity laid the foundation for the electric motor, and thus the electric vehicle. The electric motor that eventually resulted from this discovery is driven by the Lorentz force, which is the force on an electric charge as it moves through a magnetic field. The development of traditional technologies such as fuel cells and the electric motor has led to a rise in environmentally-friendly electric vehicles. Hybrid vehicles are still dominating the market in the segment for environmentally-friendly automobiles however. Utilizing a combination of combustion and electric motors, hybrid vehicles are slimmed-down versions of the electric vehicle.
Fuel cells are based on the principle of a galvanic process. The composition of a fuel cell is influenced by both electrodes. The fuel cell energy stems from the electrode potential, which is created by the charging of the anode and cathode. The charging results in a potential difference in the fuel cell, which is eventually transformed into electric energy. From its discovery, to today's high-technology status, the fuel cell has experienced an astounding development. Fuel cells are already being used in a variety of applications today. But its impressive career is far from over. Because of their simple operation, the use of fuel cells in electric vehicles represents the market of the future.
Theelectric motor began as an electromechanical transformer. As the description implies, the electric motor is capable of transforming electricity into mechanical energy. The electric motor functions by transforming its mechanical force into motion. Like fuel cell technology, the electric motor is a popular drive train alternative in electric vehicles. The development of the electric motor as a drive train for electric vehicles is still a work in progress however. The first genuine electric motor was produced as early as 1834. Today, state-of-the-art, innovative technologies are still based on discoveries made by researchers nearly 200 years ago, as illustrated by the examples of the fuel cell, electric motor and electric vehicle.
While electric motors and fuel cells were originally used in industrial machine applications, electric vehicles are the technology of the future. At the beginning of their development, electric motors were initially used in locomotives . At this point, the focus is on the development of roadworthy electric vehicles. The key drivers of modern research into the electric vehicle are the electric motor's high degree of efficiency and low CO2 output, two factors that are behind current efforts to combat energy resource and climate change issues. The major issue is energy storage , which is the why researches are focused primarily on this aspect. For this reason, hybrid model electric vehicles - the combination of electric and combustion motors - are still in their infancy stage.
Automotive Engineering highlights issues related to automobile manufacturing - including vehicle parts and accessories - and the environmental impact and safety of automotive products, production facilities and manufacturing processes.
innovations-report offers stimulating reports and articles on a variety of topics ranging from automobile fuel cells, hybrid technologies, energy saving vehicles and carbon particle filters to engine and brake technologies, driving safety and assistance systems.
Fraunhofer-Institut für Werkstoffmechanik IWM13.08.2008 | Read more
The National Academies21.07.2008 | Read more
Fraunhofer Institute for Information and Data Processing IITB11.07.2008 | Read more
Du Pont de Nemours (Deutschland) GmbH11.07.2008 | Read more
University of Portsmouth02.07.2008 | Read more
DOE/Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory06.06.2008 | Read more
Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS04.06.2008 | Read more
Fraunhofer-Institut für Betriebsfestigkeit und Systemzuverlässigkeit LBF09.05.2008 | Read more
Fraunhofer Institute for Open Communication System02.05.2008 | Read more
Du Pont de Nemours (Deutschland) GmbH09.04.2008 | Read more
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)04.04.2008 | Read more
University of Stuttgart17.03.2008 | Read more
DOE/Argonne National Laboratory26.02.2008 | Read more
DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory25.02.2008 | Read more
Du Pont de Nemours (Deutschland) GmbH20.02.2008 | Read more
Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM)14.02.2008 | Read more
A fried breakfast food popular in Spain provided the inspiration for the development of doughnut-shaped droplets that may provide scientists with a new approach for studying fundamental issues in physics, mathematics and materials.
The doughnut-shaped droplets, a shape known as toroidal, are formed from two dissimilar liquids using a simple rotating stage and an injection needle. About a millimeter in overall size, the droplets are produced individually, their shapes maintained by a surrounding springy material made of polymers.
Droplets in this toroidal shape made ...
Frauhofer FEP will present a novel roll-to-roll manufacturing process for high-barriers and functional films for flexible displays at the SID DisplayWeek 2013 in Vancouver – the International showcase for the Display Industry.
Displays that are flexible and paper thin at the same time?! What might still seem like science fiction will be a major topic at the SID Display Week 2013 that currently takes place in Vancouver in Canada.
High manufacturing cost and a short lifetime are still a major obstacle on ...
University of Würzburg physicists have succeeded in creating a new type of laser.
Its operation principle is completely different from conventional devices, which opens up the possibility of a significantly reduced energy input requirement. The researchers report their work in the current issue of Nature.
It also emits light the waves of which are in phase with one another: the polariton laser, developed ...
Innsbruck physicists led by Rainer Blatt and Peter Zoller experimentally gained a deep insight into the nature of quantum mechanical phase transitions.
They are the first scientists that simulated the competition between two rival dynamical processes at a novel type of transition between two quantum mechanical orders. They have published the results of their work in the journal Nature Physics.
“When water boils, its molecules are released as vapor. We call this ...
Researchers have shown that, by using global positioning systems (GPS) to measure ground deformation caused by a large underwater earthquake, they can provide accurate warning of the resulting tsunami in just a few minutes after the earthquake onset.
For the devastating Japan 2011 event, the team reveals that the analysis of the GPS data and issue of a detailed tsunami alert would have taken no more than three minutes. The results are published on 17 May in Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences, an open access journal of ...
22.05.2013 | Life Sciences
22.05.2013 | Ecology, The Environment and Conservation
22.05.2013 | Earth Sciences
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08.05.2013 | Event News


Located 2,341 feet beneath the surface, in an old iron mine, the lab is deep enough that particle physics experiments see less than 100,000 times the cosmic radiation than on the surface, allowing sensitive searches for exotic particles like neutrinos and dark matter.
The MINOS neutrino experiment and the CDMS2 dark matter search are the two largest projects supplemented by several smaller experiments taking advantage of low background radiation to search for dark matter, measure neutron background underground, and assay experimental equipment to ensure radiopurity.
Summer visitors take tours of the lab and learn about particle astrophysics, and during the school year field trips are popular with Minnesota science classes.
The only operational deep underground lab in the US. Space and infrastructure available for a wide range of neutrino, dark matter, and low background counting experiments.


Human nature and the nature of war
Twenty years ago, Canadian military historian and journalist Gwynne Dyer fascinated the public in 45 countries with his award-winning television series on the nature of war. He followed up that success with an equally remarkable book that grew out of the research that went into the television series. Now Dr. Dyer has published, in his words, "a completely rewritten and updated new edition" of War.
People who have never read the book should certainly do so, but should people who read it back in the 1980s reread it? Yes. It cannot be said too often that modern warfare threatens the very existence of human life on this planet.
Dr. Dyer argues that, with the proliferation of nuclear weapons, there is every reason to suppose that sooner or later a country made desperate by its fear of defeat in a conventional war will resort to the ultimate weapon. In so doing, that country has the potential to destroy or contaminate much of the rest of the world. Every adult needs to understand the nature of war, its evolution into an all-engulfing process, why it is so difficult to stop once it has begun, and what our best hopes are for ending war or at least limiting its dangers.
Several important developments have taken place since Dr. Dyer published the first edition. The Cold War has ended, and the United States is now the world's only superpower. However, the author notes that it won't be long before China and India develop into superpowers, and the danger of an all-out war is bound to increase when some powers are in decline while others, hitherto excluded from the inner circle, are coming to the fore. Nuclear proliferation, the development of chemical and bacterial weapons and the spread of ballistic missile technology means that poor nations or even guerrilla groups can now be a threat to world peace. Finally, the U.S. government decision to adopt unilateral measures, bypassing the United Nations and the International Court of Justice, has jeopardized the slow, tentative process of creating a world body that can prevent war or limit its destructiveness.
New social developments also played a role in Dr. Dyer's decision to write a new edition of War. Recently published findings on primates and the nature of early man, especially the behaviour of hunter-gatherer societies, have caused him to change some of his views about the nature of modern man. The new research has overturned previous assumptions that early man was an essentially peaceful fellow who respected his environment, and the prospect of changing our ingrained behaviour patterns now appears more difficult and challenging. But, he writes, we have to understand the nature of that beast, man, if we are to avoid the path to extinction. For the moment, extinction seems to be the route we have chosen.
Several chapters shed light on today's situation. One chapter describes how the U.S. Marine Corps trains young recruits to become killers and willingly offer themselves up as cannon fodder. Even mature men, given the right kind of indoctrination, will put themselves in the forefront of battle.
Despite such pessimistic accounts of how easy it is to train people to do what is irrational, Dr. Dyer argues that human beings do not enjoy the prospect of killing their fellow humans. Humans have a strong egalitarian, democratic streak; if it's allowed expression, we opt for rational solutions to the disputes that inevitably crop up between nations, ethnic groups, religions and clans.
Consequently, Dr. Dyer believes that spreading democracy is one way of checking the tendency to go to war, since democracies generally do not wage war on other democracies. He argues that those who best understand the problem - diplomats and soldiers - are the ones most likely to see the value of strengthening international bodies like the UN and the International Court at the expense of national sovereignty.
The problem is to convince the peoples of the world and the politicians in charge that this is what we must learn to do. The end of the Cold War has given us a temporary reprieve. But if we do not use this opportunity to strengthen the UN, we may not be able to avoid the doom that surely awaits us.
War by Gwynne Dyer, Toronto, 2004, 484 pages, $39.95, cloth.
Dr. Benazon is a retired English professor from Champlain Regional College, Quebec.


Safety in the gym begins with the design and equipping of the gym. In order to do everything possible to ensure the safety of gymnasts, certain design concepts must be incorporated into the building and layout or redesign of any gymnastics facility.
Emergency Response Equipment and System
While we plan to make sure the safety of all gymnasts is so aggressively protected that no serious injury will ever occur, it is a prime responsibility of a gym designer to design and provide an emergency response system. A proper emergency response system will include both emergency response equipment and hardware and safety plans and safety training for all staff.
Emergency Situations to Plan for and Provide Emergency Response Equipment for
- Emergencies when the coach is alone in the gym (no other coaches or office staff)
- Emergencies when no other staff person notices the problem.
- Emergencies when the coach cannot leave the accident area at all
- Emergencies in the waiting areas or other parts of the facility other than the gym
The concept of clear pathways to emergency exits is a commonly ignored gym design problem. In any emergency, especially in case of fire, clear, quick access to exits is necessary. Clear pathways are also needed to provide easy access to all gym areas for emergency personnel. When gym areas are not separated for age groups, walkways provide safe passage for preschoolers and other young gymnasts through areas where larger, older gymnasts are working out.
Separate Cordoned-Off Preschool Areas
Mixing small inexperienced preschoolers with older larger gymnasts in the same areas can be a prescription for accident and injury. Separate areas can still be a problem when preschoolers must travel from preschool area to preschool area but must travel through areas with older larger gymnasts. It is also probably a very good idea to provide separate areas for younger beginner gymnasts as well as preschoolers.
Pits are one of the biggest safety feature innovations in the history of gymnastics and sports training. As a minimum there should be pits available for training bar dismounts and release moves and also vault and tumbling pits. Pits for beam dismounts, p-bar dismounts, ring dismounts should also be available for maximum safety.
Training pits should logically be longer and wider than competition matting requirements. Since gymnasts have not yet mastered the skills they are performing, like they would be in competitions, they need a larger margin of safety in the size of the safe landing areas. Gymnasts landing in pits may fall backwards or sideways striking the edge of the pit if the pit is not wide or ling enough.
8″ Pit Side Mats
For the same reasons as above, falls backwards or sideways, the sides of the pit should be fully padded with mats soft enough to really cushion a fall against them. The commonly used inch and a ¼ mats over concrete are not really enough protection.
Type of Pits Must Match Training Style and Systems
There are loose foam bungee pits, loose foam pits, bungee resi-pits and resi-pits. It is extremely common for coaches to place 8″ foam or competition mats over loose foam pits for more stable landings as gymnasts progress. Ideally all of those pits would be available for training progressions providing the full range of landing and release move safety progression. If only one pit type is available, it should likely be the softest landing, the loose foam bungee pit. The style of training progressions normally used by the coaches should match the type of pit being used. More gymnast skill and experience is required for safe landings on the harder pit surfaces as opposed to the softer ones.
Unless gymnasts are training for competitive trampoline competition, it is much safer for all trampolines in the gym to be sunk in the ground with the bed level with the rest of the floor. Then, in case an athlete should fly off of the trampoline, the fall is to a level floor (suitably matted) and not down and additional four and a half feet fall from an above ground trampoline.
Open View of Whole Gym for General Supervision Visibility
All gyms should have at least one person or more designated with responsibility for general supervision of the gym at all times. General supervision means that someone should be watching the entire gym, not just one class to look for possible dangerous situations, like wandering preschoolers or non-class members, accidents, etc. In order for this to happen the gym must be completely open so that one person can see the whole gym.
View into Gym from all Offices and other Rooms
For the same general supervision reasons as above, ideally all offices and other rooms in the gym should have a view into the gym so as much supervision as possible occurs, including from staff members not in the gym itself. Windows or other openings into the gym from all, or as many as possible, rooms in the building make general supervision of the gym easier and more effective.
Available Hydration and Air Conditioning for Safe Summer Workouts
In certain climates or during certain seasons of the year, heat stroke or heat exhaustion are things all coaches should be aware of and taking precautions to prevent. From a design perspective, this means that where applicable, air conditioning should be available in the gym to lessen the possibilities. Equipment or a system should be in place to allow proper hydration for gymnasts. This would show up in gym design by having a sufficient number of water fountains or water sources, spread throughout the gym.
Complete Matting and Safety Margins
One of the most important safety measures for gym design, in terms of gym equipment layout is allowing sufficient space for safe matting and allowing for a sufficient matting margin of error. To us, that means that matting should extend to any and all places that might even possibly need to be padded against a fall from the equipment. Sufficient space for and sufficient matting should always be designed into any gym design.
Fire Control Detection and Suppression System
Considering the dangers from the smoke from burning foam and smoke inhalation in general, smoke detectors or a smoke detector system should be a requirement for gymnastics facilities. In addition, because of the flammability of foam, it would be good policy to have a fire detection and suppression system throughout the entire gym.
You can learn much more about designing a safer gym in our Secrets to Gymnastics Gym Design e-book.


Office of Environment and Energy
The Energy web site describes HUD energy initiatives, policies and how federal government wide energy policies affect HUD programs and assistance.
HUD faces many challenges when it comes to energy policy. For an overview, see Implementing HUD's Energy Strategy, a report to Congress dated December 2008, that includes a summary of progress toward implementing planned actions .
First, utility bills burden the poor and can cause homelessness. There is a Home Energy Affordability Gap Index based on energy bills for persons below 185 percent of the Federal Poverty Level. The gap was $34.1 billion at 2007/2008 winter heating fuel prices . The burden on the poor is more than four times the average 4 percent others pay.Twenty-six percent of evictions were due to utility cut-offs in St. Paul, MN.
Second, HUD programs are affected by energy costs. HUD's own "energy bill" - the amount that HUD spends annually on heating, lighting, and cooling its portfolio of public and assisted housing and section 8 vouchers - reached the $5 billion mark in 2007 . Public Housing utilities cost more than $1 billion per year.
Third, energy costs affect economic development. Importing fuel drains millions of dollars from local economies .
Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency (DSIRE)
Information on state, local, utility and federal incentives and policies that promote renewable energy and energy efficiency from a database funded by the U.S. Department of Energy.
Edison Electric Institute’s Electric Company Programs
Information on energy efficiency and low-income assistance programs offered by various utilities across the nation.
HUD’s Public and Indian Housing Environmental and Conservation Clearinghouse
Sources of funding for energy conservation and utility cost reduction activities from HUD’s Public and Indian Housing Environmental Clearinghouse.
Promoting Energy Star through HUD’s HOME Investment Partnerships Program
Resources for promoting Energy Star through the HOME program.
Additional HUD Resources
Useful documents, publications, and information related to resource conservation in public housing from HUD’s Public and Indian Housing Environmental Clearinghouse.
Energy Star For New Construction Assisted By The Home Program
HUD has worked with EPA to promote the use of ENERGY STAR standards in construction of houses. Here are the results of that production by the HOME Program for Fiscal Year 2009.
Energy Star for Grantees
Energy Efficiency with CDBG HOME
Energy Star Awards for Affordable Housing
Regional Energy Coordinators reviewed applications for Energy Star Awards for Affordable Housing in 2008, 2009, and 2010.
HUD CHP Screening Tools
HUD's 2002 Energy Action Plan committed HUD to promote the use of combined heat and power (cogeneration) (CHP) in housing and community development. HUD developed a Q Guide explaining CHP to building owners and managers. HUD and DOE Oak Ridge National Laboratory then developed a Level 1 feasibility screening software tool to enable them quickly to get a rough estimate of the cost, savings and payback for installing CHP. The Level 1 screening tool requires only monthly utility bills and a little information about the building and its occupants.
PDF | Download Software | more...
HUD and ORNL have now produced a Level 2 Combined Heat and Power (CHP) analysis tool for more detailed analysis of the potential for installing combined heat and power (cogeneration) in multifamily buildings. Level 2 works from hourly utility consumption and detailed information about the building and its equipment.
ORNL Level 2 Tool
"HUD CHP Guide #3 Introduction to the Level 2 Analysis for Combined Heat and Power in Multifamily Housing" explains how it was developed and provides links to ORNL for downloading the tool, its Users' Manual and training material. It also provides an exercise to demonstrate how it works. The tool is complex and calls for analysis by those with advanced ability to understand building energy use and simulation.
Green Homes and Communities
This website has very good energy information, including references to Sustainable Communities, DOE EECBG funding etc.
Energy Efficiency in CPD Programs
 - See Table on page 13 for planned actions developed by the Energy Task Force.
 - See Fisher, Sheehan and Colton, On the Brink 2008; The Home Energy Affordability Gap
 - See Table B-1, in "Implementing HUD's Energy Strategy"
 - See Energy and Economic Development Phase I | Phase II.


Project looked at massive mobile launch platform, shuttle transporter
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Sandia National Laboratories recently conducted a series of tests to help NASA understand the fatigue on the space shuttle caused during rollout from the Kennedy Space Center assembly building to the launch pad - a four-mile trip.
The tests are part of NASA's return-to-flight mission, with the first flight scheduled between May 15 and June 3.
Sandia, a National Nuclear Security Administration laboratory, helped NASA design the test and instrumentation to measure the dynamic vibration environment during rollout. Sandia also computed the input forces the crawler applies to the Mobile Launch Platform (MLP). These computations are being used by Boeing and NASA to determine the fatigue life for critical shuttle components.
Sandia engineer Tom Carne assisted in a series of tests beginning in November 2003 to develop the data necessary to understand the environment and the response of the space shuttle vehicle during rollout.
"NASA requested Sandia to assist them in this project because of our expertise in planning and conducting structural dynamic tests on very large structures," Carne says.
Sandia's solid mechanics/structural dynamics group has done numerous structural analysis projects on large structures including the I-40 Rio Grande bridge in Albuquerque, large wind turbines up to 110 meters tall, and the Department of Energy's Armored Tractor. One of the group's main missions is analysis and testing of the shock and vibration environments for weapons.
The three-million-pound shuttle sits on the eight-million-pound mobile launch platform, which is carried by a six-million-pound crawler. The crawler transports the vehicle and platform four miles from the Vehicle Assembly Building to the launch pad.
Moving the shuttle that distance, which normally takes five to six hours at 0.9 mph, had been considered a relatively low-stress process during most of the life of the shuttle system. As the equipment ages, however, more emphasis is being given to understanding how the rollout may fatigue the transport system.
Data were collected for rollouts of the MLP-only and the MLP with the two solid rocket boosters, at five different speeds ranging from 0.5 to 0.9 mph. For the tests more than 100 accelerometers were placed on the MLP, crawler, and solid rocket boosters. A data acquisition system installed inside the MLP for the road test measured and recorded the accelerations. The data were analyzed so that the character of the rollout environment is understood and can be analytically imposed on the shuttle using a finite-element computer model to predict fatigue damage to critical components. Even though these stresses are much lower than those seen during the launch, the five- to six-hour duration of the transport and the low-frequency vibration could cause fatigue in components within the orbiter.
Carne says the rollout analysis team determined that there are two families of forcing harmonics caused by the crawler drive train that vibrate the platform as a function of crawler speed, in addition to the random inputs induced by the road bed. Fortunately, he says, the harmonic forcing frequencies can be adjusted by merely changing the drive speed of the crawler, resulting in less damaging frequencies.
The team used a Sandia-developed algorithm, the Sum of Weighted Accelerations Technique (SWAT), to estimate the applied forces. Carne says the SWAT results were beneficial in choosing a new rollout speed that will extend the fatigue life of the shuttle components that were affected by rollout.
The SWAT-generated input forces have subsequently been used as the force input for NASA's NASTRAN structural analysis of the mobile launch platform, emulating the test conditions. The correlation between the rollout-measured data and the predictions from the NASTRAN analysis has engendered confidence in both the SWAT-computed forces and the NASTRAN model of the MLP and solid rocket boosters, he says.
The analyses showed that the shuttle's vibration response can be much reduced when the driving frequencies are shifted away from the shuttle's own resonant natural frequencies. They helped NASA determine that merely reducing crawler speed from 0.9 mph to 0.8 mph would significantly reduce the vibrations in the shuttle by shifting the impact frequency of the crawler treads.
Source: Eurekalert & othersLast reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 21 Feb 2009
Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved.
Affirmations are like prescriptions for certain aspects of yourself you want to change.
-- Jerry Frankhauser


This coin represent King Eukratides I of Bactria, a land in central Asia (Afghanistan) that was conquered by Alexander. The adoption of the title 'Great King', implying imperial rather than merely royal status, followed some years after Eukratides' consolidation of control over Bactria. He established himself as king of "the thousand cities of Bactria" and set out to enlarge his kingdom in all directions. While returning from one of his campaigns, he was killed by one of his sons, who seized the throne. Bactrian coins were made to the Greek Standard, and this is one of the most beautiful coins of the late Hellenistic period. Known for their strongly realistic portraits, this tetradrachm of Eukratides is no exception. He is depicted as a formidable warrior, wearing a cuirass and a bronze helmet over his diadem. His features are individualized, his expression stern. On the reverse, his parents, Heliocles and Laodice, have been memorialized.
How many hands have touched a coin in your pocket or your purse? What eras and lands have the coin traversed on its journey into our possession? As we reach into our pockets to pull out some change, we rarely hesitate to think of who touched the coin before us, or where the coin will venture to after us. More than money, coins are a symbol of the state that struck them, of a specific time and place, whether contemporary currencies or artifacts of long forgotten empires. This stunning hand-struck coin reveals an expertise of craftsmanship and intricate sculptural detail that is often lacking in contemporary machine-made currencies. This coin is a memorial an ancient king and his kingdom passed from the hands of civilization to civilization, from generation to generation that still appears as vibrant today as the day it was struck. - (LC.025)


Robert Bridges, ed. (18441930). The Spirit of Man: An Anthology. 1916.
From Pulvis et umbra
Robert Louis Stevenson (18501894)
POOR1 soul, here for so little, cast among so many hardships, filled with desires so incommensurate and so inconsistent, savagely surrounded, savagely descended, irremediably condemned to prey upon his fellow lives: who shd have blamed him had he been of a piece with his destiny and a being merely barbarous? And we look and behold him instead filled with imperfect virtues: sitting down, amidst his momentary life, to debate of Right and Wrong and the attributes of the Deity .. To touch the heart of his mystery, we find in him the thought of Duty; the thought of something owing to himself, to his neighbour, to his God: an ideal of decency, to which he would rise if it were possible; a limit of shame, below which, if it be possible, he will not stoop .. It matters not where we look, under what climate we observe him, in what stage of society, in what depth of ignorance, burthened with what erroneous morality; by camp-fires in Assiniboia, the snow powdering his shoulders, the wind plucking his blanket, as he sits, passing the ceremonial calumet and uttering his grave opinions like a Roman senator; in ships at sea, a man inured to hardships and vile pleasures; in the slums of cities, moving among indifferent millions to mechanical employments,.. a fool, a thief, the comrade of thieves, even here keeping the point of honour and the touch of pity, often repaying the worlds scorn with service, often standing firm upon a scruple, and at a certain cost rejecting riches:everywhere some virtue cherished or affected, everywhere some decency of thought and carriage, everywhere the ensign of mans ineffectual goodness:ah! if I could show you this! if I could show you these men and women, all the world over, in every stage of history, under every abuse of error, under every circumstance of failure, without hope, without help, without thanks, still obscurely fighting the lost fight of virtue, still clinging, in the brothel or on the scaffold, to some rag of honour, the poor jewel of their souls! They may seek to escape, and yet they cannot; it is not alone their privilege and glory, but their doom; they are condemned to some nobility; all their lives long, the desire of good is at their heels, the implacable hunter ..


Bonding, Sealing and Gasketing
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Many soldiers fighting in the First World War suffered from trench foot. This was an infection of the feet caused by cold, wet and insanitary conditions. In the trenches men stood for hours on end in waterlogged trenches without being able to remove wet socks or boots. The feet would gradually go numb and the skin would turn red or blue. If untreated, trench foot could turn gangrenous and result in amputation. Trench foot was a particular problem in the early stages of the war. For example, during the winter of 1914-15 over 20,000 men in the British Army were treated for trench foot. Brigadier-General Frank Percy Crozier argued that: " The fight against the condition known as trench-feet had been incessant and an uphill game."
Arthur Savage pointed out that trench foot had serious consequences: "My memories are of sheer terror and the horror of seeing men sobbing because they had trench foot that had turned gangrenous. They knew they were going to lose a leg." Brigadier-General Frank Percy Crozier explained how the officers tried to solve the problem: "Socks are changed and dried in the line, thigh boots are worn and are dried every four days when we come out."
The only remedy for trench foot was for the soldiers to dry their feet and change their socks several times a day. By the end of 1915 British soldiers in the trenches had to have three pairs of socks with them and were under orders to change their socks at least twice a day. As well as drying their feet, soldiers were told to cover their feet with a grease made from whale-oil. It has been estimated that a battalion at the front would use ten gallons of whale-oil every day.
The trenches were wet and cold and at this time some of them did not have duckboards and dug-outs. The battalion lived in mud and water. Altogether about 200 men were evacuated for trench feet and rheumatism. Gum boots were provided for the troops in the most exposed positions. Trench feet was still a new ailment and the provision of dry socks was vitally important. Part of the trench was reserved for men to go two at a time, at least once a day, and rub each other's feet with grease.
If you have never had trench feet described to you. I will tell you. Your feet swell to two or three times their normal size and go completely dead. You could stick a bayonet into them and not feel a thing. If you are fortunate enough not to lose your feet and the swelling begins to go down. It is then that the intolerable, indescribable agony begins. I have heard men cry and even scream with the pain and many had to have their feet and legs amputated.
My memories are of sheer terror and the horror of seeing men sobbing because they had trench foot that had turned gangrenous. They knew they were going to lose a leg. Memories of lice in your clothing driving you crazy. Filth and lack of privacy. Of huge rats that showed no fear of you as they stole your food rations. And cold deep wet mud everywhere. And of course, corpses. I'd never seen a dead body before I went to war. But in the trenches the dead are lying all around you. You could be talking to the fellow next to you when suddenly he'd be hit by a sniper and fall dead beside you. And there he's stay for days.
Some of their feet were horrible to look at: raw skin and bleeding blisters and big, angry sores. Their army boots rarely fitted comfortably. They were made in a few standard sizes, and a man was lucky if he got a pair that was neither too big nor too small. To march all day in them with blistered feet must have been a torment... The men marched like beasts of burden with heavy packs on their backs, rifles and bandoliers of ammunition slung across their shoulders. Sometimes they would break into a marching song to ease the misery, but now and then, as I marched at the head of my platoon, I would hear a clatter behind me and turn to see a man lying prostrate in the road.
The sergeants were instructed to prod them and order them to get up. There was always the possibility that the man had decided that he had taken as much as he could bear and had staged his collapse to get out of it. But most of them were genuine - down and out.
The fight against the condition known as "trench-feet" had been incessant and an uphill game. However, science and discipline had conquered, and now we seldom have a case, and if we do there is trouble. Socks are changed and dried in the line, thigh boots are worn and are dried every four days when we come out. Things are better, but the weather gets worse.


Image: Blazing volcano
"This is an erupting volcano, showing the process of releasing lava and smoke. Volcanoes erupt because heat within the Earth melts rocks and creates a substance called magma. Magma rises and pushes through the Earths surface and the volcano erupts. Once out of the volcano, magma is called lava. Volcanoes are one of the landforms of the Earth"
- Brix Orolfo, age 12yrs.
- © Brix Orolfo
Winner, Geology rocks drawing competition 2011, secondary school category


Understanding SQL's underlying theory is the best way to guarantee that your SQL code is correct and your database schema is robust and maintainable. On the other hand, if you're not well versed in the theory, you can fall into several traps. In SQL and Relational Theory, author C.J. Date demonstrates how you can apply relational theory directly to your use of SQL. With numerous examples and clear explanations of the reasoning behind them, you'll learn how to deal with common SQL dilemmas, such as:
- Should database access granted be through views instead of base tables?
- Nulls in your database are causing you to get wrong answers. Why? What can you do about it?
- Could you write an SQL query to find employees who have never been in the same department for more than six months at a time?
- SQL supports "quantified comparisons," but they're better avoided. Why? How do you avoid them?
- Constraints are crucially important, but most SQL products don't support them properly. What can you do to resolve this situation?
Database theory and practice have evolved since Edgar Codd originally defined the relational model back in 1969. Independent of any SQL products, SQL and Relational Theory draws on decades of research to present the most up-to-date treatment of the material available anywhere. Anyone with a modest to advanced background in SQL will benefit from the many insights in this book.


How will the technology and policy changes now sweeping through the industry affect the architecture of the utility grid? Will America build an increasingly robust transmission infrastructure, or...
Unforeseen consequences of dedicated renewable energy transmission.
Growth in renewable electricity (RE) generation will require major expansion of electricity transmission grids, and in the U.S. this could require building an additional 20,000 miles of transmission over the next decade—double what’s currently planned. To facilitate this, government policymakers are planning to build what are sometimes called “green” transmission lines that are restricted to carrying electricity generated by renewable sources, primarily wind and solar.
However, state and local jurisdictions are resisting siting of transmission unless it serves local constituents and existing power plants. If such transmission is built and local access is allowed, then the major beneficiaries of the added transmission might be existing power generation facilities, especially coal plants. Many of these facilities have very low electricity generating costs and their capacity factors are transmission-constrained. Their access to added transmission lines could enable them to sell electric power at rates against which RE can’t compete.
20,000 Miles of Wire
JP Morgan studied a possible federal renewable energy standard (RES) and its impact on the growth rate of RE. 1 We used JP Morgan data to estimate the potential impact of an RES and the transmission required to facilitate it on the existing fleet of power plants. The analysis focused primarily on coal plants because they can increase their capacity factors, whereas U.S. nuclear plants already have capacity factors above 90 percent. Given the location of the coal plants throughout the U.S. and their current capacity factors, we estimated the impact of expanded electricity transmission lines on RE generation and costs and on conventional electricity generation and costs.
The locations of the RE central station technologies and their distances from major load centers largely determine the new transmission that will be required. Geothermal will be installed in a small number of Western states, 2 while biomass will be installed primarily in the northern Great Plains, the Pacific Northwest, and perhaps parts of the South. Solar thermal (ST) and photovoltaics (PV) will be installed in some Western and Southwestern states, and wind will be installed primarily in the northern Great Plains.
The major load centers are primarily metropolitan areas in the coastal states, the Boston-Washington corridor, the West Coast corridor, and major Midwestern cities. In general, increased transmission capability is desirable, because a robust interstate electric transmission system is in everyone’s interest—consumers, power producers, and governments. An expanded transmission network will allow for power system growth, provide greater flexibility in expanding generation at existing plant sites, and facilitate construction of new generating plants at optimal locations.
However, there’s a mismatch between RE resources and load centers: Most of the best RE sites are west of the Mississippi river, but most of the load centers are east of the river or on the West Coast. Even West Coast load centers are far from the best RE sites. We estimated how much new transmission needs to be built to


05-11-2009 / Fluvirin – Fighting Against Influenza
04-30-2009 / Fluzone For Children
04-14-2009 / Flu Vaccines And Protein Chemistry
04-10-2009 / X Ray, Viral Structure And Flu Vaccines.
04-07-2009 / The History Of Influenza
04-06-2009 / Flu Vaccine Contamination And Quality Control
03-22-2009 / Egg Allergies And Flu Vaccines
03-12-2009 / Australian Discovery May Improve Existing Vaccines
03-06-2009 / How Humidity Affects Flu Outbreaks
03-05-2009 / Preservative-Free Flu Shots
03-04-2009 / Flu Strains Developing Resistance to Tamiflu
03-03-2009 / The History Of Influenza
02-23-2009 / Preservative-Free Flu Vaccines
Egg Allergies And Flu Vaccines
The majority of flu vaccines are made using processes that employ fertilized hen eggs. This process of manufacturing causes the vaccines to pick up small amounts of egg proteins. Even the nasal mist flu vaccine has as much or more egg protein as the injectable variety.
For most people, this is no problem. The majority of us pick up hundreds of times more egg protein from our diet than in a flu shot. Even excluding the obvious source, eggs, we get exposed to egg proteins from baked goods or foods processed with eggs on a regular basis. But there is a small, yet real section of the population that has an allergy to eggs. For those individuals, the flu shot can be a serious problem.
This is not a matter of one manufacturer against another: the fertilized hen's egg method is used throughout the vaccine industry. There are some different vaccine development methods on the horizon, however, that will use bacteria that have been genetically engineered to make flu vaccines. But until that day, the egg method and the egg protein in flu vaccines are here to stay.
The amount of egg protein varies from one vaccine manufacturer to another. If you are concerned about allergic reactions, you should talk with your doctor and request a vaccine with the least egg protein available. A skin test to determine whether or not you will have an allergic reaction to the vaccine is a good idea before getting a flu shot. If it is determined that you can have the vaccine, the best course of action is not to leave the medical facility for at least 30 minutes afterwards, so that the staff can observe you and respond promptly to any distress that you may have.
If your allergies are too severe for vaccination, there’s still a way to minimize the effects of the vaccine. You can have the vaccine administered in small doses over a period of time, instead of getting the full dose in one sitting. This, of course, should also take place under close medical supervision. In the cases of the most severe egg allergies, it will probably be safer to not have the vaccine at all and take antiviral medications if you are exposed to or catch the flu.
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June 1st 1584
Perth's HammermenThe Hammermen’s Incorporation of Perth embraced a whole collection of crafts including silversmiths, goldsmiths, clocksmiths and watchmakers, gunsmiths, locksmiths, blacksmiths and others. At the head of the organisation was the Deacon who was responsible, not only for the testing and quality of the articles made by the various crafts, but also for such matters as the employment of apprentices and the times and places of public selling. He had the authority to punish either by fines or in extreme cases by expulsion.
Another important member was the boxmaster or treasurer who had responsibility for ‘Saint Eloyis Box’, a wooden chest which contained money, valuables and securities of all kinds. As a rich and powerful organisation, the Hammermen were able to safeguard the interests of their group and also to provide welfare and education for the widows and orphans of their former members. This was considered to be an important aspect of their work.
From 1584 all transactions and business transacted by the Hammermen were recorded in the Hammermen’s Book. The book itself was provided by “William Lauder, burgess of Perth, as maister joynit with the Craft of the Hammermen as buik binder and pearchment maker.” From 1589, the Hammermen had their own seats in the gallery of St John’s Kirk.
There are few records of the early work of silversmiths or goldsmiths and the unsettled political conditions of the time were not conducive to the production of fine silverware. It was not until the late 18th Century that there was something of a boom in the trade. Even so it continued to be strictly functional, plain communion cups, plain spoons and teapots with the minimum of decoration.
It was early in the 19th Century before more ornate work appeared. This came in particular from Robert Keay the elder and his nephew Robert Keay the younger who between them carried on business for sixty five years, until 1865. Other well known names were John Pringle, John Hogg, Charles Murray, John Scott, Charles Sheddon and David Greig the elder. But already there were two factors which between them were to kill the craft of silversmithing in Perth. In 1836 an Act was passed requiring all silver to be essayed in Glasgow or Edinburgh. This had the effect of concentrating production in these cities. Then by 1850 the new cheaper process of electro-plating took over much of the cheaper end of the market.
Perhaps the last successful Perth silversmith was David MacGregor who was active from 1860 until his death in 1908.


Author:Inam Abidi Amrohvi
“The tyrant dies and his rule ends, the martyr dies and his rule begins.” — Soren Kierkegard
The straight path or the right path is always the most difficult one to travel but one that rewards the most, and so we are told when young. This battle of good versus the evil is an age old phenomenon. Every religion has some story or the other to show us the ‘right’ path from the ‘wrong’ one.Hinduism celebrates the victory of Lord Krishna over the demon Narakasura (among other stories) as Diwali, Christians remember the crucification of Jesus Christ as a supreme sacrifice in the way of God, and so do Muslims observe Moharram (the month in which the tragedy of Karbala took place) to commemorate the supreme sacrifice of Imam Husain, the grandson of the Prophet [PBUH].
“Think not of those who are slain in Allah’s way as dead. Nay, they live, finding their sustenance in the presence of their Lord.”—Surah Aal-e-Imran (Chapter 3), Verse 169
The tragedy of Karbala took place some 49 years after the death of Prophet Mohammad [PBUH] in 61 Hijri (AD 680).
The Events Leading Up To Karbala
The Muslim Caliphate briefly came to Imam Hasan (elder grandson of the Prophet [PBUH]) after the martydom of Ali bin Abi Talib (son-in-law of the Prophet [PBUH] and the Fourth Caliph of Islam). Sensing a possible split in the Muslim empire Hasan entered into a peace treaty with Amir Mu’awiyah, the son of Abu Sufyan and father of Yazid.
“Hasan agreed to relinquish all authority to Mu’awiyah in exchange for an agreement not to harm any of the supporters of Ali, and to govern by the book of God and the examples of the Prophet. This he would do by letter and by word, explaining to the congregation in the Kufa mosque that he had ceded his right to rule ‘for the best interest of the community and for the sake of sparing blood’. Mu’awiyah acknowledged that ‘the reign would belong to Hasan after him’ (though this would soon be quietly forgotten) and that to avoid all future strife the next Caliph was to be decided by a formal council.”
—The Heirs of the Prophet Muhammad and the roots of the Sunni-Shia Schism, Barnaby Rogerson
All the first four Caliphs had first been acclaimed by the people of Medina but this right and duty had now been brushed aside in favour of the courtiers at Damascus. The solemn pledge to hold a ’shura’ was broken. None of the previous Caliphs had thought to impose their own sons on the community, and had looked beyond the narrow loyalties of a family, towards their brother in faith. When Mu’awiyah died, Yazid was acclaimed as the Caliph. It marked the decisive emergence of dynastic monarchy triumphing over the religion of God.
The moment Yazid came to power he started demanding the oath of allegiance (bay’ah) from everyone using unfair means. Paying allegiance was an old Arab practice which was carried out in important matters such as that of rulership and authority. Those who were ruled, and specially the well known among them, would give their hand in allegiance, agreement and obedience to their king or the one in authority and in this way would show their whole-hearted support for his actions without any opposition to him. The approach of Yazid was proof enough of the kind of Muslim he was. He showed complete disregard for the tenets of Islam.
*Ibne Aseer (A renowned historian Allamah Ali bin Abil Karam more famous as Ibne Aseer Jazari) in his Tareekhe Kamil has this to say for Yazid, “Yazid was notorious and well known for his love of numerous musical instruments, passion for hunting and play with young boys, dogs, monkeys, etc. Every morning he rose still drunk. His monkeys and young boys wore gold caps. If a monkey died, he spent a considerable time in mourning it.”
“Traditions inform us that Yazeed loved worldly vices, would drink, listen to music, kept the company of boys with no facial hair, played drums, kept dogs, making frogs, bears and monkeys fight. Every morning he used be intoxicated and use to bind monkey with the saddle of a horse and make the horse run.”
—Al Bidayah Wal Nihayah, Ibn Kathir
Yazid’s message was delivered to Imam Husain as well but he said a firm no. Acknowledging Yazid’s authority by the Prophet’s [PBUH] grandson at this point would have meant confirmation of his evil deeds and Caliphate. For Yazid, Husain’s seal of approval was the one most needed.
*Abul Hasan Ali bin Husain Mas’oodi in his Muroojuz Zahab wa ma’adinul Jawahir reported, “Whoever accepted the slavery of Yazid by swearing fealty at his hands was spared, otherwise he was subjugated. Thus the meaning of allegiance to Yazid was not merely the acceptance of a new caliph, but it meant to sell one’s Religion and faith in slavery to a tyrant.”
The Kufans urged Husain in Medina to ride north and lead them against the usurpation of the Islamic world by Yazid, and to reclaim his rightful place as the head of the Muslim nation. Husain, encouraged by the chief men of Medina, decided to respond and rode out of the oasis to assume the leadership of the true army of Islam. But not a soul left the garrison city to join him on the desert trail. The Kufans too would betray him! When Husain settled at a land devoid of water or vegetation named Karbala (‘Karb’ in Arabic means grief and ‘bala’ is for trials) he had just 72 loyal soldiers with him.
Battle For Truth
The battle of Karbala finds great similarity with the one at Badr – Islam’s first battle. It was the holy Prophet [PBUH] at Badr who fought with 313 die-hard supporters against a formidable army of some 1000 men. That day against all odds the small group won a decisive victory, and paved the way for a future Muslim empire. 56 years later it was his grandson with just 72 loyal men, who fought against an impossible opposition of several thousands to save Islam from the clutches of tyranny.
Karbala was a battle of truth against falsehood, humanity against villainy, righteousness against evil, justice against corruption. The much loved grandson of the Prophet [PBUH] stood in the scorching heat of Karbala along with his companions, devoid of water but determined. His loved ones, including his six month old son, fell martyr one after the other. In spite of this he repeatedly invited the other party towards righteousness and forbade them from evil and immorality, but it all fell on deaf ears. When the time arrived for him to march ahead all alone, he did it in a fashion which was reminiscent of his illustrious father Ali.
One of those who fought the battle of Karbala against him says, “I have never seen a person bereaved of his sons, menfolk and his companions more Lion-hearted than him. The foot soldiers were scattering to his right and left like goats when a wolf come upon them.” —–Ibne Aseer, Tareekh Kamil
Husain fell in the desert of Karbala on that fateful Friday, the 10th of Moharram 61H. Worse was to follow. The bodies of the martyrs including the Imam were not only refused a proper burial but were trampled under the horses’ hooves and were left for the birds. The Kufan army looted the belongings of Husain. Imam’s family including his women-folk and tender children were humiliated and taken captives after burning down their camps. The women were paraded with uncovered heads. It wasn’t Islam!
“If Hussain fought to quench his worldly desires, then I do not understand why his sisters, wives and children accompanied him. It stands to reason therefore that he sacrificed purely for Islam.” —Charles Dickens
The severed heads of the martyrs including Husain were raised on spears. How Yazid played with Husain’s head and the emotions of Imam’s family is a well documented fact. Karbala to this day remains a heart-wrenching story of exemplary courage and bravery to uphold the real principles of Islam.
“In a distant age and climate, the tragic scene of the death of Husain will awaken the sympathy of the coldest reader.”—Edward Gibbon
Abdullah Yusuf Ali, the famous English translator of Qurán, has beautifully summed up the whole essence of this epic battle.
There is of course the physical suffering in martyrdom, and all sorrow and suffering claim our sympathy, —- the dearest, purest, most outflowing sympathy that we can give. But there is a greater suffering than physical suffering. That is when a valiant soul seems to stand against the world; when the noblest motives are reviled and mocked; when truth seems to suffer an eclipse. It may even seem that the martyr has but to say a word of compliance, do a little deed of non-resistance; and much sorrow and suffering would be saved; and the insidious whisper comes: “Truth after all can never die.” That is perfectly true. Abstract truth can never die. It is independent of man’s cognition. But the whole battle is for man’s keeping hold of truth and righteousness. And that can only be done by the highest examples of man’s conduct – spiritual striving and suffering enduring firmness of faith and purpose, patience and courage where ordinary mortals would give in or be cowed down, the sacrifice of ordinary motives to supreme truth in scorn of consequence. The martyr bears witness, and the witness redeems what would otherwise be called failure. It so happened with Husain. For all were touched by the story of his martyrdom, and it gave the deathblow to the politics of Damascus and all it stood for.
Lessons From Karbala
Karbala stands for courage, self-sacrifice, integrity, honesty, vision, and bravery beyond words. It symbolises all that is pure and true. Karbala teaches us that real battles are always fought in the minds and not on ground. Yazid was powerful and yet he lost the battle for truth.
“I learned from Hussain how to be wronged and be a winner.” —Mahatma Gandhi
Also, being in the majority need not necessarily make you right.
“The best lesson which we get from the tragedy of Karbala is that Hussain and his companions were the rigid believers of God. They illustrated that numerical superiority does not count when it comes to truth and falsehood. The victory of Hussain despite his minority marvels me! —Thomas Carlyle
As the old adage goes, “Nothing lasts for ever.” Husain and his followers made sure that their martyrdom gave a fatal blow to Yazid’s oppressive rule. Karbala haunted Yazid till his eventual death two years later.
“Imam Husayn uprooted despotism forever till the Day of Resurrection. He watered the dry garden of freedom with the surging wave of his blood, and indeed he awakened the sleeping Muslim nation. Husayn weltered in blood and dust for the sake of truth. Verily he, therefore, became the bed-rock (foundation) of the Muslim creed; la ilaha illa Allah (There is no god but Allah).”—Sir Muhammad Iqbal
It also teaches us to be patient and stand up against any form of wrong treatment. We curse Yazid and his army for their inhuman treatment of people, yet the cruel treatment of captives by the so called jihadis meets little protest. Muslims must recognize and protest against the savagery of inhuman treatment at all times, no matter who does it and where it takes place.
“If a man kills a believer intentionally, his recompense is Hell, to abide therein (For ever): And the wrath and the curse of Allah are upon him, and a dreadful penalty is prepared for him.”— Surah An-Nisa (Chapter 4), Verse 93
The best homage that we can pay to the great tragedy is to do some soul-searching. Do we have the right to be called the followers of the Prophet [PBUH]? Have we really understood the message of Imam Husain? Are the tears for Husain drawn merely by the scenes of mere butchery? Would we ever stand up to the false narrations of the events at Karbala by some maulanas to generate excessive grief? Was Karbala a political war or a struggle for true faith? Are we ready to shed aside our differences and respect each others’ view during our religious discourses during Moharram?
And when we finally have all the answers then we would understand the real message of Karbala.
“Shah ast Hussain, Badshah ast Hussain,
Deen ast Hussain, Deen e Panah ast Hussain,
Sar dad, na dad dast, dar dast-e-yazeed,
Haqaa key binaey La ila ast Hussain”
“It’s Hussain the Prince, it’s Hussain the king,
He is Faith, and Faith’s Defender most daring,
He preferred death to Yazid’s allegiance,
With his blood, Islam has verily been living.”
—Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti