Problems of Philosophy
Chapter 5 - Knowledge by Acquaintance and Knowledge by Description
After distinguishing two types of knowledge, knowledge of things and knowledge of truths, Russell devotes this fifth chapter to an elucidation of knowledge of things. He further distinguishes two types of knowledge of things, knowledge by acquaintance and knowledge by description. We have knowledge by acquaintance when we are directly aware of a thing, without any inference. We are immediately conscious and acquainted with a color or hardness of a table before us, our sense-data. Since acquaintance with things is logically independent from any knowledge of truths, we can be acquainted with something immediately without knowing any truth about it. I can know the color of a table "perfectly and completely when I see it" and not know any truth about the color in itself. The other type of knowledge of things is called knowledge by description. When we say we have knowledge of the table itself, a physical object, we refer to a kind of knowledge other than immediate, direct knowledge. "The physical object which causes such-and-such sense-data" is a phrase that describes the table by way of sense-data. We only have a description of the table. Knowledge by description is predicated on something with which we are acquainted, sense-data, and some knowledge of truths, like knowing that "such- and-such sense-data are caused by the physical object." Thus, knowledge by description allows us to infer knowledge about the actual world via the things that can be known to us, things with which we have direct acquaintance (our subjective sense-data).
According to this outline, knowledge by acquaintance forms the bedrock for all of our other knowledge. Sense-data is not the only instance of things with which we can be immediately acquainted. For how would we recall the past, Russell argues, if we could only know what was immediately present to our senses. Beyond sense-data, we also have "acquaintance by memory." Remembering what we were immediately aware of makes it so that we are still immediately aware of that past, perceived thing. We may therefore access many past things with the same requisite immediacy. Beyond sense-data and memories, we possess "acquaintance by introspection." When we are aware of an awareness, like in the case of hunger, "my desiring food" becomes an object of acquaintance. Introspective acquaintance is a kind of acquaintance with our own minds that may be understood as self-consciousness. However, this self-consciousness is really more like a consciousness of a feeling or a particular thought; the awareness rarely includes the explicit use of "I," which would identify the Self as a subject. Russell abandons this strand of knowledge, knowledge of the Self, as a probable but unclear dimension of acquaintance.
Russell summarizes our acquaintance with things as follows: "We have acquaintance in sensation with the data of the outer senses, and in introspection with the data of what may be called the inner sense—thoughts, feelings, desires, etc.; we have acquaintance in memory with things which have been data either of the outer senses or of the inner sense. Further, it is probable, though not certain, that we have acquaintance with Self, as that which is aware of things or has desires towards things." All these objects of acquaintance are particulars, concrete, existing things. Russell cautions that we can also have acquaintance with abstract, general ideas called universals. He addresses universals more fully later in chapter 9.
Russell allocates the rest of the chapter to explaining how the complicated theory of knowledge by description actually works. The most conspicuous things that are known to us by description are physical objects and other people's minds. We approach a case of having knowledge by description when we know "that there is an object answering to a definite description, though we are not acquainted with any such object." Russell offers several illustrations in the service of understanding knowledge by description. He claims that it is important to understand this kind of knowledge because our language uses depends so heavily on it. When we say common words or proper names, we are really relying on the meanings implicit in descriptive knowledge. The thought connoted by the use of a proper name can only really be explicitly expressed through a description or proposition.
Bismarck, or "the first Chancellor of the German Empire," is Russell's most cogent example. Imagine that there is a proposition, or statement, made about Bismarck. If Bismarck is the speaker, admitting that he has a kind of direct acquaintance with his own self, Bismarck might have voiced his name in order to make a self-referential judgment, of which his name is a constituent. In this simplest case, the "proper name has the direct use which it always wishes to have, as simply standing for a certain object, and not for a description of the object." If one of Bismarck's friends who knew him directly was the speaker of the statement, then we would say that the speaker had knowledge by description. The speaker is acquainted with sense-data which he infers corresponds with Bismarck's body. The body or physical object representing the mind is "only known as the body and the mind connected with these sense-data," which is the vital description. Since the sense-data corresponding to Bismarck change from moment to moment and with perspective, the speaker knows which various descriptions are valid.
Still more removed from direct acquaintance, imagine that someone like you or I comes along and makes a statement about Bismarck that is a description based on a "more or less vague mass of historical knowledge." We say that Bismarck was the "first Chancellor of the German Empire." In order to make a valid description applicable to the physical object, Bismarck's body, we must find a relation between some particular with which we have acquaintance and the physical object, the particular with which we wish to have an indirect acquaintance. We must make such a reference in order to secure a meaningful description.
To usefully distinguish particulars from universals, Russell posits the example of "the most long-lived of men," a description which wholly consists of universals. We assume that the description must apply to some man, but we have no way of inferring any judgment about him. Russell remarks, "all knowledge of truths, as we shall show, demands acquaintance with things which are of an essentially different character from sense-data, the things which are sometimes called 'abstract ideas', but which we shall call 'universals'." The description composed only of universals gives no knowledge by acquaintance with which we might anchor an inference about the longest-lived man. A further statement about Bismarck, like "The first Chancellor of the German Empire was an astute diplomatist," is a statement that contains particulars and asserts a judgment that we can only make in virtue of some acquaintance (like something heard or read).
Statements about things known by description function in our language as statements about the "actual thing described;" that is, we intend to refer to that thing. We intend to say something with the direct authority that only Bismarck himself could have when he makes a statement about himself, something with which he has direct acquaintance. Yet, there is a spectrum of removal from acquaintance with the relevant particulars: from Bismarck himself, "there is Bismarck to people who knew him; Bismarck to those who only know of him through history" and at a far end of the spectrum "the longest lived of men." At the latter end, we can only make propositions that are logically deducible from universals, and at the former end, we come as close as possible to direct acquaintance and can make many propositions identifying the actual object. It is now clear how knowledge gained by description is reducible to knowledge by acquaintance. Russell calls this observation his fundamental principle in the study of "propositions containing descriptions": "Every proposition which we can understand must be composed wholly of constituents with which we are acquainted."
Indirect knowledge of some particulars seems necessary if we are to expressively attach meanings to the words we commonly use. When we say something referring to Julius Caesar, we clearly have no direct acquaintance with the man. Rather, we are thinking of such descriptions as "the man who was assassinated on the Ides of March" or "the founder of the Roman Empire." Since we have no way of being directly acquainted with Julius Caesar, our knowledge by description allows us to gain knowledge of "things which we have never experienced." It allows us to overstep the boundaries of our private, immediate experiences and engage a public knowledge and public language.
This knowledge by acquaintance and knowledge by description theory was a famous epistemological problem-solver for Russell. Its innovative character allowed him to shift to his moderate realism, a realism ruled by a more definite categorization of objects. It is a theory of knowledge that considers our practice of language to be meaningful and worthy of detailed analysis. Russell contemplates how we construct a sense of meaning about objects remote from our experience. The realm of acquaintance offers the most secure references for our understanding of the world. Knowledge by description allows us to draw inferences from our realm of acquaintance but leaves us in a more vulnerable position. Since knowledge by description also depends on truths, we are prone to error about our descriptive knowledge if we are somehow mistaken about a proposition that we have taken to be true.
Critics of this theory have held that Russell's hypothesis of knowledge by description is confusing. His comments when defining sense-data, that the physical world is unknowable to us, contradict his theory of knowledge by descriptions. He implies that "knowledge by description" is not really a form of knowledge since we can only know those things with which we are acquainted and we cannot be acquainted with physical objects. Russell's theory amounts to the proposition that our acquaintance with mental objects appears related in a distant way to physical objects and renders us obliquely acquainted with the physical world. Sense-data are our subjective representations of the external world, and they negotiate this indirect contact.
While innovative, Russell's theory of knowledge by description is not an attractive theory of knowledge. It is clearly unappealing because our impressions of the real world, on his view, are commensurate with muddy representations of reality. Though we have direct access to these representations, it seems impossible to have any kind of direct experience of reality. Reality, rather, consists in unconscious, inferential pieces of reasoning.
Readers' Notes allow users to add their own analysis and insights to our SparkNotes—and to discuss those ideas with one another. Have a novel take or think we left something out? Add a Readers' Note!


In terms of their breadth, we can describe plans as strategic or tactical. Strategic plans are plans that are organization-wide (apply to the entire organization). The plans establish overall objectives, and position an organization in terms of its environment. Strategic plans drive the efforts of an organization to achieve its goals, and they serve as a basis for the tactical plans.
Tactical plans often referred to as operational plans. Tactical plans are plans that specify the details of how an organization’s overall objectives should be achieved. Unlike strategic plans that tend to cover long periods of time, tactical plans tend to cover short periods of time. Some examples of tactical plans are an organization’s monthly, weekly, and daily plans.


An illustration of NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Spirit. Credit: NASA JPL
NASA’s Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, have been trekking across the Martian surface for the past half decade, surviving dust storms, sand traps, and three freezing winters with only minor setbacks.
Now Spirit, having just received much
fanfare in celebration of its five-year anniversary on the planet, appears to
be running awry, and its operating team is concerned. It plans to conduct
diagnostic tests on the rover later this week.
Engineers first noticed Spirit’s peculiar behavior on Sunday. The rover had radioed to say that it had received its driving commands for the day, but strangely, it had not moved. While NASA says that this can happen for a number of reasons, the rover also failed to record its day’s activities to its nonvolatile memory–storage that is retained even when the rover is powered off. The next day, the team asked the rover to determine its orientation by locating the sun. Spirit found the sun, but it inaccurately reported its location.
The Spirit team does not yet have an explanation for why the rover may be a little out of whack, but one hypothesis is that it could be suffering the fleeting effects of cosmic rays hitting its electronics. Diagnostic tests should provide a more definitive answer soon.
Spirit, like Opportunity, is a warrior of the Red Planet. Both rovers, launched in January 2004, were scheduled to last a minimum of three months and a maximum of six. Now, after five years, the rovers have turned Mars into what seems like a next-door neighbor–not the alien planet that it once was.
Since landing, the rovers have made important scientific discoveries. Spirit discovered deposits of salts and minerals such as sulfur and silica, which only form with water. This happened when it inadvertently dug a trench behind itself while dragging a broken right front wheel. This video highlights Spirit’s adventures:
crater-exploring rover, was fortunate to land on exposed bedrock that was
determined to be laid down in water some 3.5 to 4 billion years ago. This was the first
evidence of ancient surface water. It also discovered tiny balls of material
that appear to have formed in the presence of water. This video highlights Opportunity’s activities:
Scott Maxwell, a rover driver at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, says that “the mission just keeps getting better and better the longer it goes.”
“Mars is such a
complex place, and these are such capable vehicles that there will never come a time when we’re done; five years
from now there is going to be some wonderful, tantalizing thing just beyond our
reach that we didn’t quite get to,” adds Steve Squyres, principal investigator of the rovers at Cornell University.
Videos by NASA
Smaller design teams can now prototype and deploy faster.


Pricing Carbon Emissions
A bill before Congress may prove a costly way to reduce greenhouse gases.
- Friday, June 5, 2009
- By Kevin Bullis
Experts are applauding a sweeping energy bill currently before the United States Congress, saying that it could lead to significant cuts in greenhouse-gas emissions and improve the likelihood of a comprehensive international agreement to cut greenhouse gases. "It's real climate-change legislation that's being taken seriously," says Gilbert Metcalf, a professor of economics at Tufts University. But many warn that the bill's market-based mechanisms and more conventional regulations could make these emissions reductions more expensive than they need to be.
The bill, officially called the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, is also referred to as the Waxman-Markey Bill, after its sponsors, Henry Waxman (D-Ca.) and Edward Markey (D-Mass.). The legislation would establish a cap and trade system to reduce greenhouse gases, an approach favored by most economists over conventional regulatory approaches because it provides a great deal of flexibility in how emissions targets are met. But it also contains mandates that could significantly reduce the cost savings that the cap and trade approach is supposed to provide.
In a cap and trade system, the government sets a cap on total emissions of greenhouse gases from various industrial and utility sources, including power plants burning fossil fuels to generate electricity. It then issues allowances to polluters allowing them to emit carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases; total emissions are meant to stay under the cap. Over a period of time, the government gradually reduces the cap and the number of allowances until it reaches its target. If companies' emissions exceed their allowances, they must buy more.
Economists like the system because companies can choose to either lower their emissions, such as by investing in new technology, or buy more allowances from the government or from companies that don't need them--whichever makes the best economic sense. It is meant to create a carbon market, putting a value on emissions.
In the proposed energy bill, the government will set caps to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions by 17 percent by 2020 (compared with 2005 levels) and by 80 percent by 2050--targets chosen to prevent the worst effects of climate change. Setting caps will make electricity more expensive, as companies turn to cleaner technologies to meet ever lower caps or have to spend money to buy allowances from others with lower emissions. But the bill has some provisions for cushioning the blow, especially at first. For one thing, it gives away most of the allowances rather than charging for them, and it also requires that any profits gained from these free allowances be passed on to electricity customers. It also allows companies to buy "offsets" that permit them to pay to reduce emissions outside the United States.
If the program is designed right, there are fewer allowances than the total emissions when the program starts. At first, when the caps are relatively easy to meet, the prices for allowances on the carbon market will be low. But eventually, they will get higher as the allowances become scarcer. In an ideal world, companies will predict what the price of the allowances will be, and plan accordingly.


We hear so much about toxins in fish, you’re probably wondering – what exactly is safe to eat? According to Health magazine, experts say that most seafood is healthy to eat twice a week. It contains high-quality protein, heart-healthy omega-3s, and low levels of saturated fat. Some types also contain pollutants such as mercury, which could harm developing babies. It is important to avoid these. Luckily, it’s pretty easy to do. Here’s how.
- Think small. Tim Fitzgerald is a scientist and senior policy specialist with the Environmental Defense Fund. He says that the best way to reduce exposure to contaminants is to cut back on eating big fish. Pollutants from the atmosphere regularly settle into the ocean, and fish that grow large - like shark, marlin and Chilean sea bass - accumulate more contaminants in their bodies during their long lives.
- Also: Mix it up. You want to eat a variety of seafood to lower the risks of contaminants. For example, if you like tuna, eat it only once a week because it’s a bigger fish. Then choose something smaller, such as shrimp, for your next meal.
Whatever you do, don’t stop eating all seafood out of fear. Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian is a director with the Harvard School of Public Health. He says that eating fish is the single best dietary change you can make to reduce your risk of heart disease. Studies show that the abundant omega-3 fats in seafood help your heart by lowering blood-fat levels, slowing the buildup of plaque in your arteries, and lowering blood pressure. Also, the Environmental Defense Fund has come up with a new “Super Green” list of seafood that’s both low in contaminants, great sources of omega-3s, and easy on the planet – meaning they’re not caught by trawls and dredges, which damage the ocean floor. This list includes farmed muscles, oysters and trout, wild Alaskan salmon, pole-caught Albacore tuna, and wild Pacific sardines. So go ahead and enjoy them.


Is the U.S. Ready for Human Rights? :: Discussion Guide
The articles mentioned below are available on our website: see our Focus index to our Human Rights issue. You are welcome to download and photocopy the articles free of charge. If you would like to purchase multiple copies of YES! or subscriptions for your class or group, please phone 800/937-4451.
The United States has been proud of its leadership in human rights. Many times throughout history, we have amended our constitution to answer demands for increased tolerance and equal treatment of all citizens. Yet now we find uncharged captives held indefinitely in Guantánamo Bay, reports of torture in Abu Ghraib, limits on prisoners' access to habeas corpus, and other violations.
In order for any great nation to progress, it must reflect upon itself, celebrating its accomplishments, addressing areas of concern, and working towards improvement. One of the key goals of this issue of YES! is to present such a “look in the mirror” for the United States.
This discussion guide will focus on the following articles:
- Sometimes a Great Nation by Eric Foner
- Check Your Rights at the Border by Justin Akers Chacon
- Who's Afraid of Economic Human Rights? by Carol Estes
- Mere Justice by Jesse Wegman
- Yes. We're Ready. by Larry Cox & Dorothy Thomas
- The Universal Declaration of Human Rights with footnotes by the YES! team
Sometimes a Great Nation
SEE ARTICLE ONLINE :: Sometimes a Great Nation by Eric Foner
The United States has sometimes been the world leader in human rights. Yet as Thomas Jefferson warns, “the price of liberty is eternal vigilance.” Has our record of courage and decency led us to assume that we are still the gold standard of human rights enforcement? Foner urges us to examine our true history—one made up of both justice and injustice, of honor and cowardice. Can we reclaim our right to call ourselves a truly great nation in terms of human rights? Foner says yes.
- In your opinion, what are the some of the U.S.'s greatest achievements in human rights? What are some of the times the U.S. has fallen short of its ideals?
- Consider a time when someone discriminated against you based on your gender or the color of your skin, or something more abstract, like your faith or level of education. Discuss this experience. Were you treated with less dignity than you deserve? How did it make you feel?
- Throughout history, various groups have been denied equal opportunities for reasons that seem justified at the time. In examining past differences that were once intolerable, but are now accepted, perhaps we can learn something. Do you see any commonalities among groups of the past and present that have been excluded and oppressed?
- Sometimes, we are a great nation. With concentrated effort, we can reclaim a national identity associated with upholding human rights. What steps can you as an individual take to advance this change?
Check Your Rights at the Border
SEE ARTICLE ONLINE :: Check Your Rights at the Border by Justin Akers Chacon
U.S. trade policy is one of the factors contributing to the immigration of people from Mexico and Central America seeking work in the United States. Free trade agreements have lowered tariffs and undermined traditional economies. Chacon says that human rights are among the many things immigrants leave behind while making the journey north.
- Part of eliminating stereotypes is identifying and addressing them. What words or images come to mind when you think of the word “immigrant?” Where did these associations come from?
- Consider your own heritage. If your ancestors immigrated to the United States, what stories have they passed down in your family? Did they experience economic, cultural, social, or other kinds of discrimination?
- What role do immigrants play in our country? What are the advantages and disadvantages of easing the limitations on international migration? What effect would that have in your own life, neighborhood, and job?
- What distinguishes “beneficial” immigration from “harmful” immigration?
Who's Afraid of Economic Human Rights?
SEE ARTICLE ONLINE :: Who's Afraid of Economic Human Rights? by Carol Estes
Evidently, the U.S. government is. Even though 155 of the world's nations have ratified the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which recognizes economic rights for all, the United States has not. Carol Estes argues that people who live in the richest country in the world should be entitled to housing, food, and medical care.
- “If you're homeless, you must have done something wrong to end up there, and you alone are responsible for getting yourself out of that situation.” Have you seen or heard messages like this? If so, where have they come from? Do you agree or disagree with them?
- The UDHR recognizes that every human being has economic rights. Do you think that in the United States we treat basic economic security as a right, or something to be earned?
- Does having a population of permanently poor people serve to sustain, or even benefit, an economic system?
- How would your life be different if our government provided the basic economic security outlined in the UDHR to all its citizens? What might you lose? What might you gain?
SEE ARTICLE ONLINE :: Mere Justice by Jesse Wegman
In his article, Wegman discusses the obstacles faced by prisoners who seek review of their cases using habeas corpus. He explains the origin of AEDPA, the Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act, which dramatically hinders access to this right. The Act speeds up the process by which death-row inmates are pushed to executions, and simultaneously restricts all other prisoners' ability to appeal for justice.
- Do you think prisoners have too much access to court review of their cases, or too little?
- Wegman mentions that many politicians crack down on prisoners' rights because they are afraid of being perceived as “soft” or “sympathetic” towards criminals. How do you feel about this? What does this tell us about our society?
Yes. We're Ready.
SEE ARTICLE ONLINE :: Yes. We're Ready. by Larry Cox & Dorothy Thomas
Larry Cox, the executive director of Amnesty International, and Dorothy Q. Thomas, senior program advisor to the U.S. Human Rights Fund, say that human rights are a powerful unifying force for activists, and many groups are drawing on human rights theory to make change.
- Think of a cause about which you feel strongly. Does this cause share values with those promoting human rights? Could you imagine forming a meaningful connection with someone working towards a cause different from your own, based on human rights?
- How might you expand the human rights network within your own community?
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
SEE ARTICLE ONLINE :: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights with footnotes by the YES! editorial team
In 1948, the UDHR was birthed into the world through the efforts of Eleanor Roosevelt and the newly formed United Nations. The document was the first of its kind. Its 30 articles define the basic rights we all own, simply by virtue of being human. The UDHR has been translated into hundreds of languages, yet its contents are unfamiliar to many. Examine your rights. Then consider the YES! footnotes, showing a U.S. position on each article.
- Had you seen the UDHR before? Do any of the 30 articles surprise you? If so, which ones, and why?
- The YES! team debated long and hard over whether to include the footnotes about the U.S.'s position on each article. How did you feel about these interjections? Did they make the document more meaningful, or take away from its inherent beauty?
- How do you feel about this document? Is it just a case of one group imposing norms on others, or are there such things as “universal human rights”? If such rights exist, does this document capture them? What rights do you feel are missing from the document, if any?
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Sole, Lemon – UK
Lemon Sole is a medium sized flatfish found along the northern European coast on coarse gravelly and rocky bottoms at depths ranging from 40 to 200 m. They mature relatively quickly and live up to nine years.
Lemon Sole appear to be at medium levels of abundance, although information about population size is somewhat limited. In the United Kingdom, they are generally taken by beam and otter trawls as bycatch in mixed whitefish fisheries that target Cod, Haddock, and Whiting. Bottom trawls can damage the seafloor. Management of Lemon Sole in the United Kingdom is limited and bycatch levels are mostly unknown.
This fish may have high levels of PCBs that could pose a health risk to adults and children. More contaminant info here.


Brock student launches interactive children’s book for iPad
Published on February 05 2013
A Brock PhD student’s idea for an interactive children’s book has grown into reality.
Danielle Beckett, a certified classroom teacher who now studies learning and cognition in the Faculty of Education at the University, created The Gingerbread Man storybook for the iPad through her start-up company GroDigital.
And this is no ordinary touch and flip e-book for children. Beckett’s creation also doubles as a reading assessment tool because of groundbreaking voice-recognition technology developed by computer science students from Brock.
“The voice recognition allows for the child to be assessed while reading and providing feedback to improve their reading performance,” says Beckett. “With this project, we’re spearheading voice recognition technology.”
The interactive choose-your-own-adventure e-book is based upon the popular 19th-century fairy tale, The Gingerbread Man, and is designed for children ages 4 to 8.


Initial surveys began this week and are focusing on the collection of water samples for eDNA analysis. Electroshocking and netting survey efforts will also be conducted starting next week. The eDNA surveys will occur in the Sandusky River and Bay, and the Maumee River and Bay. Samples will be collected in the areas where positive eDNA samples were collected in 2011 and at additional locations believed to provide suitable bighead and silver carp habitat. MDNR Research Program Manager Tammy Newcomb said, "Our coordinated sampling efforts with partner agencies are very important in order to revisit areas where positive samples were collected last year, and to expand sampling to areas that may be reproductively favorable for bighead or silver carp. These are the areas where we can be most effective in preventing expansion of these species should they be present."
MDNR and ODNR requested assistance from the USFWS to develop and implement this assessment effort. The USFWS is contributing significant technical and logistical expertise, as well as personnel, survey equipment and vessels. The US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) will analyze the collected eDNA water samples.
Access the joint release with additional details and links to information including videos and images (click here). [#GLakes]
32 Years of Environmental Reporting for serious Environmental Professionals


Lice are tiny insects that do not need wings.
They are brownish coloring and they're very small when they are born. That’s exactly why it is really not easy to see them. Full grown head lice are usually about the size of a little sesame seed. Head lice can not fly or swim and they only by individual touching another person.
How do the lice reproduce
It begins with a female louse laying eggs near the hair roots to keep the eggs comfortable and warm. The eggs hatch about a week later and baby lice are born. The nits or the vacant eggshells remain glued on the hair. When your hair grow out the eggshells end up being detectable and you may notice that there is something white-colored stuck to your head. Then you'll definitely know that you almost certainly have lice. It takes them about seven to 10 days for being fully grown. If they are grown they start to move from 1 head to some other, usually searching for a brand new home.
Lady lice may lay eggs already after the 6th day after she came into this world. So to get rid of lice you have to act immediately and get rid of all the lice before the sixth day. If you don’t then the cycle starts all over again given that sole head lice could lay up to 10 eggs each day.
To discover these tiny pests you need to search really carefully. You must search your entire head by a single small area of hair at a time. You will need to do this in a very good light or you will miss out on them. The eggs are extremely small however you can easily spot them because they're very white-colored. You can only see the eggs very close to the scalp. The eggs are glued on your hair with a highly effective material.
Who should you treat
Only people who have head lice should be technically treated, however it is a good idea to look at your whole family for lice. Especially when a kid is carrying lice, since you are in close contact with the kid. The best method is to wet the hair and use a thin hair comb to go through the hair very carefully. When your child has lice then it'sbest if you inform all other parents of youngsters that your kid is in contact with and also the school. Without treating everyone the kid might be in touch with the head lice are going to be back again.
Tips on how to avoid lice from coming back again?
The first thing to do is to clean every thing which you've had contact with. Ensure that you use high temperature. You really need to thoroughly clean covers, hats, clothing, scarves and headwear to be sure. On the other hand do not need to clean the entire residence, because the lice aren't able to live for an extended time without humans. It's going to take them just a few days to pass away from hunger.
Hope it helped on how to get rid of lice.


October 20 2008
Position Paper No. 611: Peeking Behind the Blue Ribbon
Download the complete report below.
The No Child Left behind Act of 2002 (NCLB) was enacted to shine more light on student performance previously hidden by school-wide, aggregate achievement results. NCLB makes important progress toward that goal by requiring states to report the performance of various student sub-groups, including minority children, students with disabilities, and non-native English speakers. One of the country's most prestigious distinctions is to be named a U.S. Department of Education No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Blue Ribbon School.
In 2007, only 133 public schools nationwide were honored as Blue Ribbon Schools for scoring in the top 10 percent on state assessments. "These schools are proving that when we raise the bar our children will rise to the challenge," according to Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings.[i] These schools also did not enroll many from disadvantaged backgrounds, and a closer look at these award-winning schools reveals that many of them do not live up to that touted "Blue-Ribbon" label.
On average, just 11 percent of students at those 2007 Blue-Ribbon schools came from impoverished backgrounds, three percent of students were classified with limited English proficiency (LEP), and only eight percent of students had disabilities.[ii] The median home value in the schools' neighborhoods exceeded $300,000 on average, and the median family income approached $100,000. Yet at one in three of those Blue-Ribbon schools, at least 25 percent of students in at least one grade were not proficient in at least one core subject tested.
On average, more than a quarter of students in two grades scored below proficiency in two subjects at those underperforming 2007 Blue-Ribbon schools. Specifically, at underperforming award schools, the percentage of students in at least one grade who did not score proficient ranged from 26 to 62 percent in reading, and from 26 to 56 percent in math. Many Blue-Ribbon schools that underperformed in those core subjects also had similarly poor performance in at least one grade in science.
This analysis finds many states are engaging in NCLB accountability-avoidance, unwittingly aided by the Blue-Ribbon award designation. Such avoidance is likely to increase as the 2013-2014 school year deadline for 100 percent student proficiency approaches, making a U.S. Department of Education blue ribbon an increasingly unreliable indicator of academic quality in the coming years, absent necessary reforms. Instead of piling on additional, expensive federal mandates, this analysis recommends improved public accountability through greater transparency to preserve the delicate balance between flexibility for states and accurate information for parents.
Specific recommendations include reporting grade-level student proficiency in all core subjects tested as a condition for receiving federal NCLB funds. State proficiency results should also be reported alongside nationally-representative proficiency results to make declines in state standards more apparent. To ensure universally rigorous assessment, states should publicize annual passing scores on their tests and their annual student proficiency targets. The best accountability assurance of all-better than any blue ribbon-is for the U.S. Department of Education to provide parents with information that is both accurate and actionable, then enforce their children's right of exit from underperforming schools.


Our Baby Parrots
All of our baby parrots are left with their mother for the first three weeks of their lives. Doing this ensures a strong immune and gut flora system develops. At three weeks of age, the babies are taken from the nest, are handfed and the socialization period begins.
At around eight weeks old, the babies have a complete examination by a licensed avian veterinarian to make sure they are healthy and doing fine. At the same time as the checkup we have them DNA-sexed. As the babies start the weaning process, we introduce them to a great variety of pellets, fruits, rice, pasta, eggs, vegetables and even some chicken.
This usually begins at approximately five to six weeks of age, but they are also still being handfed. We gradually start to cut back on the handfeeding as the babies grow and mature. We let the babies let us know when that time arrives. When they are not hungry, they will spit the formula back out or they just won’t open their beaks. It is very common for a baby parrot to lose some of their body weight at this point.
All our babies are raised in our home, in a family environment. Our house is a very busy place, with lots of ongoing activity. We are Foster Parents, so we have children of all ages playing with, cuddling and just talking to the baby parrots. Running around the house also are two tiny Yorkshire Terriers and a Toy Maltese. Needless to say, our babies are exposed to many different faces and voices. The babies get to run around our kitchen for large periods of time throughout the day – this is their time to play together and get acquainted with their siblings and friends.


What are managed lanes?
Highway facilities or a set of lanes where operational strategies are proactively implemented and managed in response to changing conditions.
Transportation agencies are faced with growing challenges of congestion and a limited ability to expand freeway capacity due to construction costs, right-of-way constraints, and environmental and societal impacts. Transportation officials are taking advantage of opportunities to address mobility needs and provide travel options through a combination of limited capacity expansion coupled with operational strategies that seek to manage travel demand and improve transit and other forms of ridesharing. The managed lanes concept is gaining interest around the country as an approach that combines these elements to make the most effective and efficient use of a freeway facility.
The distinction between managed lanes and other traditional forms of freeway lane management is the operating philosophy of "active management." Under this philosophy, the operating agency proactively manages demand and available capacity on the facility by applying new strategies or modifying existing strategies. The agency defines from the outset the operating objectives for the managed lanes and the kinds of actions that will be taken once pre-defined performance thresholds are met.
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United States Department of Transportation - Federal Highway Administration


Croatia should apologize for World War II genocide before joining the EU
Croatian fascists murdered hundreds of thousands of victims as part of a campaign against Serbs and Jews.
Croatia is nearing the finish line of a multiyear race to join the European Union. Its accession has been pushed along by traditional ally Germany, and by the United States, which has encouraged the EU’s southwest expansion to include all of the Balkans and even Turkey.Skip to next paragraph
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Croatia has complied with most of the formal entry requirements and is expected to join in 2012.
However, there is another – moral – requirement Croatia should have to meet for its own sake before being admitted.
It should fully and publicly acknowledge its role in World War II as a loyal ally of the Nazi cause, and its ardent participation in genocide against its Serbian, Jewish, and Gypsy (Roma) populations. The scattered, vague, and half-hearted denials masking as apologies that Croatia has used to improve its image in recent years don’t count. The country should come to grips with its genocidal role in the same way Germany has come to grips with its Nazi past.
Just this week, the Serbian parliament apologized for its role in the infamous Srebrenica massacre of 1995 that killed some 7,000 Bosnian Muslims. Such an apology was considered unthinkable even a few years ago, yet the pressures of joining the EU helped nudge that nation to account for this war crime.
It’s time Croatia did the same. Croatia has more than its share of apologies to make for crimes it committed during the Balkans conflict of the 1990s, but it can start with the massive killings it unleashed during World War II.
Although estimates vary, between 300,000 and 700,000 victims were murdered by Croatian fascists during the war.
When Hitler’s forces invaded Yugoslavia in the spring of 1941, Croatian right-wing extremists, under the leadership of Ante Pavelic and his fascist “Ustashi” movement, were given control of Croatia. Pavelic aligned the country enthusiastically to the Nazi cause and immediately launched a horrific onslaught against the Serbian minority. The official policy was popularly expressed as: Kill one-third of the Serbs, convert another third to Roman Catholicism, and expel the remaining third from Croatia.
The Roman Catholic Church insists it condemned the atrocities, but the record suggests a mix of official responses, ranging from weak condemnations to tacit support. While the killing was under way, the Croatian archbishop, Aloysius Stepanic, blessed the new regime and Pavelic was granted an audience with Pope Pius XII. A number of Franciscan monks participated in the killing. After the war ended, the Vatican helped Ustashi criminals evade capture and flee to South America.


The benefits of exercise are many, from producing physically fit bodies to providing an outlet for fun and socialization. When added to a weight control program these benefits take on increased significance.
We already have noted that proper exercise can help control weight by burning excess body fat. It also has two other body-trimming advantages:
1) Exercise builds muscle tissue and muscle uses calories up at a faster rate than body fat and
2) Exercise helps reduce inches and a firm, lean body looks slimmer even if your weight remains the same. Additional benefits may be seen in how exercise affects appetite. A lean person in good shape may eat more following increased activity, but the regular exercise will burn up the extra calories consumed. There are other physical benefits of regular exercise as well.
Regular physical activity helps you feel better because it:
• Increases your strength, movement, balance, and flexibility.
• Helps control blood pressure and blood sugar.
• Helps build healthy bones, muscles, and joints.
• Helps your heart and lungs work better.
• Boosts energy during the day and may aid in sleep at night.
The psychological benefits of exercise are equally important to the weight conscious person. Exercise decreases stress and relieve tensions that might otherwise lead to overeating.
• Exercise builds physical fitness which in turn builds self-confidence, enhanced self-image, and a positive outlook. When you start to feel good about yourself, you are more likely to want to make other positive changes in your lifestyle that will help keep your weight under control.
• In addition, exercise can be fun, provide recreation and offer opportunities for companionship.
The exhilaration and emotional release of participating in sports or other activities are a boost to mental and physical health. Pent-up anxieties and frustrations seem to disappear when you’re concentrating on going that extra mile.


The word Diwali has its origin from the Sanskrit word "Deepavali" which means "rows of light". Diwali is the festival that falls on the night of “Amavasya” (no moon) but the “diyas” we light gives us the message of spreading light and driving the darkness away. On Diwali day, shops are packed with people buying fire crackers; mothers are busy preparing special dishes for family feasts. Late evening is the time for a special Pooja at home, and illuminating the houses with rows of oil lamps, candles and colourful lanterns.
Each day of the festival has a significance in life -
Balipadyami - “Truth alone wins”
Healthy eating is not about strict nutrition philosophies, staying unrealistically thin, or depriving yourself of the foods you love. Rather, it’s about feeling great, having more energy, and keeping yourself as healthy as possible. As the saying goes “Truth alone wins”, it’s mostly the kind of food that makes the person you are.
Here are a few ways to eat healthy -
- Eat enough calories but not too many
- Eat a wide variety of foodsespecially vegetables and fruits
- Keep portions moderate, especially high-calorie foods
- Don’t be the food police, you can enjoy your favorite sweets and fried foods in moderation
- An excellent way to add healthy sweetness to your meals is by using sweet vegetables like sweet potatoes or yams and reduce your craving for other sweets
Naraka Chaturdashi - "Burn the evil"
Burning the evil need not be burning the idols of evil powered Gods only. This can be about burning evil thoughts in our minds and the unhealthy foods that have made their way into our lives.
Let’s make a conscious effort to give up the unhealthy eating pattern -
- Do not rush through your meals. Take time to chew your food slowly, savoring every bite… Reconnect with the joy of eating.
- Avoid stress while eating. Try taking some deep breaths prior to beginning your meal, or light candles and play soothing music to create a relaxing atmosphere.
- Listen to your body; ask yourself if you are really hungry. It actually takes a few minutes for your brain to tell your body that it has had enough food, so eat slowly.
- Start your day with a healthy breakfast to jumpstart your metabolism.
- Eating small, healthy meals throughout the day can help you ward off snack attacks.
Lakshmi Pooja - "Wealth is Worship"
Life is not merely to be alive but to be healthy and wealthy. A Spanish proverb says "A man who is too busy to take care of his health is like a mechanic too busy to take care of his tools". Health and Wealth decides the quality of life we lead. If you want to lead a happy life, wealth and health are both important.
Here is a gentle reminder of all the wonderful benefits of healthy eating -
- A long life is worth living only when there’s quality, and good eating patterns provide a good quality of life
- Happiness need not be temporary, but can be a permanent one. By eating healthy foods you'll suffer less from those terrible ups and downs that make you moody
- Vitality can be achieved by healthy eating along with exercise
- The better you sleep, the more rested you feel when you wake up
Sesame Seed (Til) - Khoya laddu
2 cups khoya
1 1/2 cups of coarsely powdered roasted sesame seeds (til)
Powdered sugar to taste
Kesar, chopped almonds and pistas for decoration
- Roast the khoya on low flame till it is very light golden yellow in color.
- Let it cool for a few minutes.
- Then add coarsely powdered roasted sesame seeds and mix it.
- Add powdered sugar when the above mixture is luke warm.
- Mix well and shape into small balls. If the mixture is too hot, then the sugar will melt, so care has to be taken that mixture is not hot.
- Arrange in a plate and decorate with kesar, chopped almonds and pistas.


Contact: Science Press Package
American Association for the Advancement of Science
Caption: In this audio file, a University of Oregon archaeologist provides an overview of his research at Oregon's Paisley Caves since he began excavating there in 2002. He refers to much earlier work at the site by archaeologist Luther Cressman, who died in April 1994 after 35 years on the UO faculty. This audio file relates to a paper that appeared in the July 13, 2012, issue of Science, published by AAAS. The paper, by Dennis L. Jenkins at University of Oregon in Eugene, Or., and colleagues was titled, “Clovis Age Western Stemmed Projectile Points and Human Coprolites at the Paisley Caves.”
Credit: [Audio courtesy of University of Oregon]
Usage Restrictions: Please cite the owner of the audio file when publishing. This audio file may be freely used by reporters as part of news coverage, with proper attribution. Non-reporters must contact Science for permission.


Dengue Fever in India
04 March 2013
Dengue fever is a growing concern in India. In 2012, 247 deaths were recorded as a result of dengue fever nationwide.
Latest data on disease prevalence released by the Health Ministry shows a significant rise in the incidence of dengue fever from 18 860 cases in 2011, to 49 606 in year 2012.
Around 1700 dengue cases were reported from Delhi in 2012.
Advice for Travellers
India is a popular tourist destination and travellers should be aware of the risk of dengue fever. Avoidance of mosquito bites, particularly during daylight hours, by covering up with clothing, the use of bite avoidance measures such as repellent and bed nets is advised. Elimination of breeding sites around hotel rooms/houses is advised for longer term stays.


|Updated: 4/10/2007 10:12 am
||Published: 4/10/2007 10:12 am
For your car's engine to be able to start, several things have to happen. The flywheel needs to turn the crankshaft, which moves the pistons up and down, which in turn makes the valves draw air into the combustion chamber to mix with fuel to ignite. The process starts when your car's starter motor connects gears with the flywheel after the key switch is turned to start. The starter motor will disengage after the engine is started. Your car's battery provides electricity to turn the starter, and your car's alternator keeps the battery charged and powers all the accessories in your car once it's running. The alternator generates more electricity the faster your car's engine runs. The voltage regulator in your car controls the amount of current to the battery and prevents damage from overcharging. Contact a qualified mechanic in your area for more information on your car's starting system.


Story and photos by Nikki Carlson
On THE MILK RIVER - Water sloshing against the river banks and bending around rocks gives the Milk River a fine-tuned heartbeat. This rhythmic dance whispers the river's past and future.
USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service watershed specialist Warren Kellogg says the Milk River is a precious "jewel in our back yard" and its legacy should continue for future generations.
"You feel like you've gone back in time" when you're on the river, Kellogg said.
NRCS's mission is to educate people about conservation, management and improvement of the environment and natural resources. Last Friday, 15 nature enthusiasts - including three members of the Hill County Conservation District board of supervisers, staffers, family members and guests - grabbed their paddles and floated an 8-mile stretch of the Milk River. Among them was conservation district administrative assistant Shannon Patterson.
"We just wanted to keep (the float) educational for the supervisors and people who might find it interesting," Patterson said.
The weather was sunny and complimented the 5-hour float.
As they moved downstream, they noted improvements that can be made in the areas of safety, wildlife habitat and conservation. They observed pump sites, bank erosion and weeds.
"Having a waterway like this 100 years ago was very important for other reasons than right now," Kellogg said. "Right now, the importance is community recreation, tourism, municipal water and irrigation."
Rows of rusty antique cars lining parts of the riverbank are one issue the conservation district and NRCS are concerned about. The cars were initially placed on some riverbanks about 50 years ago, Kellogg said, as a preventative measure against erosion. Kellogg said the car bodies should be replaced with rock as a safer and more attractive alternative.
"People used to use them a long time ago as riprap. Aesthetical and water quality-wise, this isn't a practical practice." Conrad Nystrom, conservation district chairman, said the state Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks is planning to remove the car bodies this fall when the water level drops.
"(The cars) are an eyesore, pollutant to the water, a hazard for recreationists, rafts, and there's erosion going on behind the car bodies," Nystrom said. "It really didn't solve the problem as well as people thought it would."
Another topic was a non-native shrub known as Russian olive that's growing along the riverbanks. Why all of the shrub talk? Kellogg said this particular shrub "invades and crowds out native plants" in the area.
"They're very adaptive to dry areas, but it's also on river water and it's kind of a nuisance," Kellogg said. "If it's allowed to go, eventually you could have 100 percent Russian olive on this river bottom."
On a positive note, the cottonwood tree is also making a comeback along the Milk River. At a stopping point, Kellogg pointed out young cottonwoods along the bank.
"They're starting to come back now due to a change in management over the years," he said.
Years of erosion have left the roots of some cottonwoods naked along the riverbank, clearly suggesting that they will eventually fall over into the water. In order to prevent that, Kellogg suggested the trees be cut down and the roots left alone so even more erosion will not occur.
Barbed wire fences gliding down the slopes beneath the river's surface were another cause for alarm for the supervisors because of the hazard they create for boaters.
After the guided canoe tour, the group had gained a lifelong experience on the Milk River.
So what's in store for the Milk River? Now its whispers are being heard.
"I think it's a beautiful trip, beautiful day, and nice company," said Nystrom. "I appreciate Warren being here and giving us lots of good information."


To finish Aladdin's Window—i.e. to attempt to complete something begun by a great genius, but left imperfect. The genius of the lamp built a palace with twenty-four windows, all but one being set in frames of precious stones; the last was left for the sultan to finish; but after exhausting his treasures, the sultan was obliged to abandon the task as hopeless.
Tait's second part of Dryden's Absalom and Achitophel is an Aladdin's Window.
Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894
More on Aladdin's Window from Infoplease:


Islamic slavery has been the most horrible, yet the least known slavery in history. So, author M. A. Khan decided to publish the chapter "Islamic Slavery" from his book "Islamic Jihad: A Legacy of Forced Conversion, Imperialism and Slavery". This part contains: 1) INTRODUCTION, 2) THE QURANIC SANCTION OF SLAVERY, 3) THE PROPHETIC MODEL OF SLAVERY. (Part 2)
"Allah sets forth (another) Parable of two men: one of them dumb, with no power of any sort; a wearisome burden is he to his master; whichever way he directs him, he brings no good: is such a man equal with one who commands Justice, and is on a Straight Way?" --- Allah, in Quran 16:76
"(Allah) brought those of the People of the Scripture… and cast panic into their hearts. Some (adult males) ye slew, and ye made captive some (women and children)." --- Allah, in Quran 33:26–27
"It is written in the Quran that all Nations who should not have acknowledged their (Muslims’) authority were sinners; that it was their right and duty to make war upon whoever they could find and to make slaves of all they could take as prisoners; and that every Mussulman who should be slain in battle was sure to go to Paradise." --- Tripoli’s London ambassador Abd al-Rahman to Thomas Jefferson & John Adams (1786) on by what right the Barbary States enslaved American seamen.
The cover image shows Muhammad & his followers on a
Jihad raid, in which he used to plunder and capture the
women and children as slaves.
Slavery is a socio-economic institution, in which some human individuals, called slaves, become property of others, called masters or owners. Devoid of freedom and liberty, slaves are expected to provide loyal and diligent service for the comfort and economic well-being of their masters. Deprived of any human rights, slaves are the unconditional possession of their owners: mere chattels, having no right to leave, refuse work, or receive compensation for their labor. The position of slaves in society in many respects is akin to that of domesticated animals. Just as cows, horses and other beasts of burden are trained and utilized for economic advantage, such as for pulling carts or plowing fields—slaves are exploited for the benefit, comfort and economic well-being of the owner. Slave-trade, integral to slavery, involves buying and selling of human beings as a commodity like any other commercial transaction. Slavery, in essence, is the exploitation of the weak by the strong and has a very long history.
One major criticism of the West by all, and particularly by Muslims, pertains to the trans-Atlantic slave‑trade by European powers and their mindless exploitation and degrading treatment of slaves in the Americas and West Indies. Muslims are often quick to point fingers at the European slave-trade; they often claim that the exploitation of slaves enabled countries like the United States to amass the huge wealth they enjoy today. One young Muslim, born in America, wrote: ‘Do you know how the American slave-hunters went to Africa, seized the black people and brought them to America as slaves? America’s economic power owes a great deal to the labor of those slaves’ (personal communication). Terming the 350-year trans-Atlantic slave-trade ‘the worst and most cruel slavery’ in history, the Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan claims that some white Americans do not know that ‘they are in the privileged position… today based on what happened to us (Blacks)’ in the past. An overwhelming majority of Muslims believe that Islamic history is devoid of the abhorrent practice of slavery. Rocky Davis (aka Shahid Malik), an Australian Aboriginal convert to Islam, told the ABC Radio that ‘Christianity were the founders of slavery. Not Islam.’ When Muslims in India talk about the practice of slavery in the subcontinent—they talk about the harrowing tales of how the Portuguese transported slaves from coastal areas of Goa, Kerala and Bengal in terrible conditions. It is already noted that history books in Pakistan teach that before Islam, there was exploitation and slavery, which vanished with the coming of Islam. They will never talk about the slavery that Muslim invaders and rulers practiced on a grand scale in India.
This Muslim silence about the widespread practice slavery under Islamic rules, such as in India, likely results from their ignorance of historical facts. In modern history writing in India, there is extensive whitewashing of the atrocities that took place during the Muslim invasions and the subsequent Islamic rule. Such distortions of the true picture of Islamic history compound Muslims’ ignorance about Islamic atrocities in medieval India and create an erroneous perception amongst them about the extensive slavery practised by Muslim rulers. As recounted throughout this book, slavery was regrettably a prominent institution throughout the history of Islamic domination everywhere. It also had unique features, namely large-scale concubinage, eunuchs, and ghilman (described below).
THE QURANIC SANCTION OF SLAVERY
The institution of slavery in Islam was formalized in the following Quranic verse, in which Allah distinguishes free human beings or masters, who exercise justice and righteousness, from the dumb, useless and burdensome ones, the slaves:
Allah sets forth (another) Parable of two men: one of them dumb, with no power of any sort; a wearisome burden is he to his master; whichever way he directs him, he brings no good: is such a man equal with one who commands Justice, and is on a Straight Way? [Quran 16:76]
Allah warns the believers against taking the slaves as equal partner in status and in sharing their wealth, lest they have to fear them as anyone else:
…do ye have partners among those whom your right hands possess (i.e., slaves, captives) to share as equals in the wealth We have bestowed on you? Do ye fear them as ye fear each other? [Quran 30:28]
Allah recognizes some human beings, namely the masters, as more blessed by Himself than the less favored slaves as part of His divine plan. He warns Muslims against sharing His gifts to them equally with their slaves. Those who would take slaves as equal, warns Allah, would deny Him:
Allah has bestowed His gifts of sustenance more freely on some of you than on others: those more favoured are not going to throw back their gifts to those whom their right hands possess, so as to be equal in that respect. Will they then deny the favours of Allah? [Quran 16:71]
Allah does not only sanction the institution of slavery, He also gave divine blessing to masters (Muslim men only can own slaves) to have sex with the female slaves:
And those who guard their private parts, Except in the case of their wives or those whom their right hands possess—for these surely are not to be blamed [Quran 70:29–30]
And who guard their private parts, except before their mates or those whom their right hands possess, for they surely are not blameable [Quran 23:5–6]
Therefore, if there are women amongst the captives or slaves, Muslims are divinely sanctioned to have sex with them as they do with their wives. This verdict of Allah founded the institution of sex-slavery or slave-concubinage in Islam, which was widespread in the pre-colonial Muslim world and continued well into the mid-twentieth century. As far as legal marriage is concerned, there is a limitation of four wives for a man at one time [Quran 4:3], but no such limitation on the number of sex-slaves.
Allah also gave a divine sanction to Muslims for acquiring female slaves for sexual engagement by waging wars against the infidels:
O Prophet! surely We have made lawful to you your wives whom you have given their dowries, and those whom your right hand possesses out of those whom Allah has given to you as prisoners of war… [Quran 33:50]
Muslims can engage in sex with the captured slave women even if they are married, but not with the married free Muslim women:
Also (prohibited are) women already married, except those whom your right hands possess… [Quran 4:24].
There are other verses in the Quran that talks approvingly of slaves and capturing them in wars. Thus, according to the divine commands of the Islamic God as enshrined in the holy Quran, Muslims are allowed to keep slaves. They can amass slaves by waging wars, have sex with the female slaves, and of course, use them as they wish. For Muslims, having sex with female slaves is as legal as having sex with their married wives. Slavery appears to be one of the most desired divine privileges in Islam, since Allah took the pain of reminding Muslims about this divine right time and again in so many verses.
THE PROPHETIC MODEL OF SLAVERY
Allah did not rest with repeatedly reminding Muslims to engage in slavery, but also took the initiative to guide Prophet Muhammad on how to enslave the infidels, such as in the following verse:
And He (Allah) brought those of the People of the Scripture (i.e., Banu Qurayza) who supported them (i.e., the Quraysh) down from their strongholds, and cast panic into their hearts. Some (adult males) ye slew, and ye made captive some (women and children)… [Quran 33:26–27]
In this verse, Allah charged the Banu Qurayza Jews with supporting the Quraysh of Mecca "from their strongholds" against Muslims in the battle of the Trench (627). Based on this unsubstantiated accusation, Allah commanded that some of the Jews, the adult males, were to be slain, and the rest, the women and children, enslaved. The Prophet duly complied with this divine command. He distributed the enslaved women and children among his disciples, himself acquiring one-fifth of them. The young and pretty ones amongst the female captives were made sex-slaves; the Prophet himself took beautiful Rayhana, whose husband and family members had been slain in the massacre. He took her to bed on the same night.
After conquering Khaybar the following year, Muhammad carried away their women and children as slaves. In many other attacks, the Prophet and his followers enslaved and carried away the women and children of the vanquished. Therefore, after aggressively attacking and defeating the infidels, enslaving the women and children became a model of Muhammad’s wars. Some of the slaves could be sold or ransomed for generating revenues. The young and pretty ones amongst the female captives became sex-slaves.
Since emulating Muhammad in action and deed is central to living a good Muslim life in Islamic thought, Muslims duly embraced his model of slavery (comprising enslavement, slave-trade and slave-concubinage) and perpetuated it during the later centuries of Islamic domination. Muhammad’s example of dealing with the Jews of Banu Qurayza or Khaybar became the standard template for capturing slaves. This led to a massive rise in enslavement, sex-slavery and slave-trade in medieval Islamdom. After Muhammad’s death, Muslims—armed with sanctions of the Quran and Sunnah—embarked on an unbridled mission of waging holy war to conquer the world for the purpose of spreading Islam and expanding Islamic rule. As Islam burst out of Arabia, Muslim invaders became adept at capturing the vanquished infidels, particularly the women and children, in large numbers as slaves.
In Islamic thoughts (as noted already), the civilizations preceding and outside of Islam are jahiliyah or erroneous in nature, invalidated with the coming of Islam. Only Muslims were in the sole possession of truth in the form of the true faith of Islam. In their thoughts, the world outside the boundary and religion of Islam, notes Bernard Lewis, ‘was inhabited by the infidels and barbarians. Some of these were recognized as possessing some form of religion and a tincture of civilization. The remainder, polytheists and idolaters, were seen primarily as sources of slaves.’ Muslims captured slaves in such great numbers that slave-trade became a booming business enterprise; markets across the Muslim world became teeming with slaves. Accordingly, ‘it goes to the credit of Islam to create slave trade on a large scale, and run it for profit like any other business,’ writes Lal.
(Complete bibliography will be posted in the last part)
. Farrakhan L, What does America and Europe Owe?, Final CalL, 2 June 2008
. ABC Radio, Aboriginal Da’wah - "Call to Islam", 22 March 2006; http://www.abc.net.au/rn/talks/8.30/relrpt/stories/s1597410.htm
. Famous scholar Abu Ala Maududi in his interpretation of this verse notes: “When you do not make your own slaves partners in your wealth, how do you think and believe that Allah will make His creatures partner in His Godhead?” [Maududi AA, Towards Understanding the Quran, Markazi Muktaba Islami Publishers, New Delhi, Vol. VIII]. In other words, associating partners with Allah, which is the most abhorrent thing to do in Islam, is tantamount for a man to take his slaves as equal partner.
. Ibn Ishaq, The Life of Muhammad, Oxford University Press, Karachi, p. 461-70
. Lewis B (1966) The Arabs in History, Oxford University Press, New York p. 42
. Lal KS (1994) Muslim Slave System in Medieval India, Aditya Prakashan, New Delhi, p. 6
written by Cyril Methodius , September 04, 2011


New Smell Discovered
A newly discovered smell is the olfactory equivalent of white noise, scientists report in the journal Proceedings of the National Academies of Science
CREDIT: MrGarry, Shutterstock
Scientists have discovered a new smell, but you may have to go to a laboratory to experience it yourself.
The smell is dubbed "olfactory white," because it is the nasal equivalent of white noise, researchers report today (Nov. 19) in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Just as white noise is a mixture of many different sound frequencies and white light is a mixture of many different wavelengths, olfactory white is a mixture of many different smelly compounds.
In fact, the key to olfactory white is not the compounds themselves, researchers found, but the fact that there are a lot of them.
"[T]he more components there were in each of two mixtures, the more similar the smell of those two mixtures became, even though the mixtures had no components in common," they wrote.
Almost any given smell in the real world comes from a mixture of compounds. Humans are good at telling these mixtures apart (it's hard to mix up the smell of coffee with the smell of roses, for example), but we're bad at picking individual components out of those mixtures. (Quick, sniff your coffee mug and report back all the individual compounds that make that roasted smell. Not so easy, huh?)
Mixing multiple wavelegths that span the human visual range equally makes white light; mixing multiple frequencies that span the range of human hearing equally makes the whooshing hum of white noise. Neurobiologist Noam Sobel from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel and his colleagues wanted to find out whether a similar phenomenon happens with smelling. [7 New Flavors Your Tongue May Taste]
In a series of experiments, they exposed participants to hundreds of equally mixed smells, some containing as few as one compound and others containing up to 43 components. They first had 56 participants compare mixtures of the same number of compounds with one another. For example, a person might compare a 40-compound mixture with a 40-compound mixture, neither of which had any components in common.
This experiment revealed that the more components in a mixture, the worse participants were at telling them apart. A four-component mixture smells less similar to other four-component mixtures than a 43-component mixture smells to other 43-component mixtures.
The researchers seemed on track to finding the olfactory version of white noise. They set up a new experiment to confirm the find. In this experiment, they first created four 40-component mixtures. Twelve participants were then given one of the mixtures to sniff and told that it was called "Laurax," a made-up word. Three of the participants were told compound 1 was Laurax, three were told it was compound 2, three were told it was compound 3, and the rest were told it was compound 4.
After three days of sniffing their version of Laurax in the lab, the participants were given four new scents and four scent labels, one of which was Laurax. They were asked to label each scent with the most appropriate label.
The researchers found that the label "Laurax" was most popular for scents with more compounds. In fact, the more compounds in a mixture, the more likely participants were to call it Laurax. The label went to mixtures with more than 40 compounds 57.1 percent of the time.
Another experiment replicated the first, except that it allowed for participants to label one of the scents "other," a way to ensure "Laurax" wasn't just a catch-all. Again, scents with more compounds were more likely to get the Laurax label.
The meaning of these results, the researchers wrote, is that olfactory white is a distinct smell, caused not by specific compounds but by certain mixes of compounds. The key is that the compounds are all of equal intensity and that they span the full range of human smells. That's why roses and coffee, both of which have many smell compounds, don't smell anything alike: Their compounds are unequally mixed and don't span a large range of smells.
In other words, our brains treat smells as a single unit, not as a mixture of compounds to break down, analyze and put back together again. If they didn't, they'd never see mixtures of completely different compounds as smelling the same.
Perhaps the next burning question is: What does olfactory white smell like? Unfortunately, the scent is so bland as to defy description. Participants rated it right in the middle of the scale for both pleasantness and edibility.
"The best way to appreciate the qualities of olfactory white is to smell it," the researchers wrote.
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Frederick Starr: Anthropologist Lost from the History Books
You probably haven’t heard of Frederick Starr. Like his contemporary Franz Boas, Starr was an anthropologist coming to fame while the discipline of anthropology was still being formed. Throughout his career, Starr studied people and cultures on three different continents, and still found time to make a name for himself as a lecturer at the University of Chicago. But unlike Boas—who is considered the father of American Anthropology—you won’t find Starr’s name in many textbooks. The tale of how Frederick Starr was nearly forgotten is one full of controversy and ideology.
Starr’s Early Life and Career
Frederick Starr was born in 1858 in Auburn, New York, to the Reverend Frederick Starr Jr. and Helen Mills Starr. As a child, Starr was a strong student and an avid collector of fossils and minerals. He explored that interest further at the University of Rochester, where he studied geology; two years later, he transferred to Lafayette College in Pennsylvania and graduated in 1882. He received a doctorate in geology from Lafayette College in 1885.
In the late 1800s, anthropology was still a new and growing discipline, so Starr didn't study it formally. It wasn’t until after his schooling, while teaching at Coe College, that Starr discovered his interest in the subject. He conducted both ethnographic and archaeological fieldwork among the local Sauk and Fox Indian tribes and reputedly taught the first anthropology course in Iowa while at Coe. It's not clear who or what specifically spurred Starr’s interest in anthropology, but he pursued it avidly, leaving his studies of geology behind. Following his work at Coe College, Starr held several short-term positions, including working with the ethnological collection at the American Museum of Natural History, before finally accepting a long-term faculty position at the University of Chicago in 1892.
During his time at the University of Chicago, Starr became a very influential public speaker, frequently giving lectures on anthropological subjects that were open to the public through the University’s extension program. After attending an extension course about prehistoric and primitive art, W.R. French, the director of the Art Institute of Chicago at the time, wrote that Starr’s lectures were “both authoritative and agreeable,” and that “Professor Starr has eminently the art of making scientific truth interesting to intelligent but unprofessional academics.”
An Anthropologist is Born
According to Donald McVicker, author of Frederick Starr: Popularizer of Anthropology, Public Intellectual, and Genuine Eccentric, Starr engaged in an incredibly varied anthropological career at the turn of the 20th century. He conducted notable research in Mexico, among many Native American tribes in the United States, with the Ainu people of Japan, and in several regions of Africa.
The World’s Fairs that took place in the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries seemed to provide Starr with the perfect opportunities to put his work on display. Much to his dismay, however, Starr was not allowed an influential position at the famous World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. He was excluded by better known anthropologists like Boas and Frederic Ward Putnam, director of Harvard’s Peabody Museum. Starr was commissioned to collect data about and artifacts from the Eastern Cherokee people in North Carolina for Putnam and Boas, but contributed little else to this fair.
At the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis in 1904, however, Starr’s work made a much bigger splash. The anthropologist brought nine Ainu people and a translator back with him from Japan to be part of an exhibit at the fair. These Ainu, members of a Japanese indigenous group from Hokkaido in the northern part of the country, were to be displayed as part of a literal representation of the evolutionary stages of humanity towards civilization; along with several other indigenous groups assembled by other anthropologists, they were on display as “barbarous and semi-barbarous peoples.” While this is unquestionably offensive to today's sensibilities, the visitor response to the exhibit at the time was overwhelmingly positive, as most people had never before heard of the Ainu and were intrigued by their appearance and practices. In a 1993 article about the Ainu exhibit, anthropologist James W. Vanstone reports the reactions from writers and visitors to the exhibit:
One enthusiastic writer referred to the Ainu as "mysterious little Japanese primitives" and noted that visitors were impressed by their cleanliness and polite manners, but somewhat disappointed that they were no "man-eaters, dog-eaters or wild men."
In addition to contributing to these World’s Fairs, Starr produced several publications in conjunction with his fieldwork. These publications included many scholarly and other articles, as well as books like The Truth about the Congo, about his studies in that region; Indians of Southern Mexico: An Ethnographic Album; and In Indian Mexico: A Narrative of Travel and Labor, about the performance and findings of his extensive work with Indian tribes in Mexico.
Starr’s Methods and Misconduct in Mexico
His appearance in St. Louis with the Ainu may have been Starr’s most publicly recognized work, but if he is remembered at all today, it's for his fieldwork in Mexico. Starr recalls his purpose there in In Indian Mexico:
The work I planned to do among these indian towns was threefold: 1. The measurement of one hundred men and twenty-five women in each population, fourteen measurements being taken upon each subject; 2. The making of pictures,—portraits, dress, occupations, customs, buildings, and landscapes; 3. The making of plaster busts of five individuals in each tribe.
The primary goals in making such recordings were to observe the differences between various Mexican tribes and to establish the placement of such people, and their race and culture, on the same scale that he had placed the Ainu, from barbarous to civilized. It was assumed at the time that there were physical characteristics, such as cranial shape and size, that could mark such distinctions between races (a theory that has long since been disproved).
In his book, Starr refers to the Mexican people he is studying as “ignorant, timid, and suspicious.” He also makes regular references to them being too drunk to allow their measurements to be taken. All of these characteristics assigned to these Mexican Indians by Starr explained, in his point of view, the difficulty he often had in securing subjects for measurement, and justified the forceful methods he felt compelled to use. Starr took advantage of the fact that prisoners could not refuse his requests to measure them, and regularly photographed and measured imprisoned subjects for his work. What’s more, if there were individuals he wished to measure who did not acquiesce, he would threaten them with arrest and jail time so that they could no longer refuse. The authorities did not object to these methods, instead providing support for Starr by collecting subjects and keeping order. Starr even recounts a specific incident where policemen stopped a bullfight in progress in order to obtain a young man taking part in the fight for Starr’s research.
Starr Fading from View
Over time, Starr’s brutish, unethical methods and offensive ideas became questionable in the eyes of the anthropological community. The theories of his contemporary Boas, however, began to amass a great deal of support from other anthropologists and academics.
Boas, born and educated in Germany, moved to the United States in 1887 and proceeded to make substantial contributions to the methodology of American anthropology. By incorporating the methods of natural science into the discipline of anthropology, Boas emphasized the importance of conducting research before developing theories, as well as approaching studies in the most ethical and unbiased ways possible. What’s more, he developed the modern interpretation of culture, viewing it as learned behavior and a product of a people's history, rather than a hierarchical measurement of civilization that would place the western world on top.
While most anthropologists, inspired by Boas, began to recognize the people they studied as part of the larger, equal human race, Starr continued to regard them as primitive and inferior, demonstrated by his attitude towards his subjects in Mexico. Soon, Starr’s methods of fieldwork were widely considered unethical and his ideas about culture outdated.
Starr’s charisma and ability as a speaker managed to keep him relevant in public education spheres toward the end of his career. In this capacity, Starr overshadowed Boas, who preferred not to address the general themes of anthropology necessary in public lecturing and was nervous about his skill in speaking English, which was not his first language. The academic discipline of anthropology, though, became dominated by Boas’ methods and, over the years, Frederick Starr and his methods were phased out. Today, his work is rarely read, or even mentioned, in discussions or classes on anthropological history.
After 31 years at the University of Chicago, Starr retired from his post in 1923. True to form, he continued to travel the globe and engage in public speaking events until his death; he died unexpectedly of pneumonia while in Japan in 1933.