An Alternative World View
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Is America a Democracy or a Republic?
Now, pure democracy does not exist anywhere, and pure democracy is definitely evil.
A simple illustration as proof of pure Democracy
Five people are stranded on a deserted island and decide to live under democracy. Three are men. One of them proposes a new law making it legal for a man to rape women (under certain circumstances, of course). The three men vote yes. What happens next is "democracy" in action.
Because pure democracy brings about despotic rules, to protect those not in the majority and marginal groups, the power of the ruling majority is curtailed by a limiting document called Constitution. The secular republic or Citizenship Republic is defined as: "a Representative Democracy limited by checks and balances called Constitution".
A Constitution nonetheless based on the tenets of men, and not on God's, in fact, God is out in a Citizenship Republic and the nation is secular. Divorce, Abortion, Homosexuality, etc are approved there.
America is a Citizenship Republic (not a democracy) and its Constitution is based partially on the Bible. The drafting of the American constitution did not involve only the Puritans, but unbelievers also, that at best were "deist" believing in some sort of god of their imagining, but not the God of the Bible. So we have a compromised Constitution with some godly input.
Monday, March 28, 2011
EarthQuake Facts!
1. Earth has been more seismologically active in the past 15 years or so, says Stephen S. Gao, a geophysicist at Missouri University of Science & Technology. Not all seismologist agree, however.
2. San Francisco is moving toward Los Angeles at the rate of about 2 inches per year — the same pace as the growth of your fingernails — as the two sides of the San Andreas fault slip past one another. The cities will meet in several million years. However, this north-south movement also means that despite fears, California won't fall into the sea.
3. March is not earthquake month, despite what some people believe. True, on March 28, 1964, Prince William Sound, Alaska, experienced a 9.2 magnitude event — one of the biggest ever. It killed 125 people and caused $311 million in property damages. And on March 9, 1957, the Andreanof Islands, Alaska, felt a 9.1 temblor. But the next three biggest U.S. earthquakes occurred in February, November, and December. The devastating major earthquake in Chile of 2010 struck on Feb. 27. And the huge 9.3 temblor that spawned the devastating Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004 occurred on Dec. 26.
4. There are about 500,000 earthquakes a year around the world, as detected by sensitive instruments. About 100,000 of those can be felt, and 100 or so cause damage each year. Each year the southern California area alone experiences about 10,000 earthquakes, most of them not felt by people.
5. The sun and moon cause tremors. It's long been known that they create tides in the planet's crust, very minor versions of ocean tides. Now researchers say the tug of the sun and moon on the San Andreas Fault stimulates tremors deep underground.
6. A city in Chile moved 10 feet in the massive 8.8 magnitude earthquake Feb. 27, 2010. The rip in Earth's crust shifted the city of Concepción that much to the west. The quake is also thought to have changed the planet's rotation slightly and shortened Earth's day.
7. There's no such thing as "earthquake weather." Statistically, there is an equal distribution of earthquakes in cold weather, hot weather, rainy weather, and so on, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Scientists say there is no physical way that weather could affect the forces several miles beneath the surface of the earth where quakes originate. The changes in barometric pressure in the atmosphere are very small compared to the forces in the crust, and the effect of the barometric pressure does not reach beneath the soil.
8. Earth's bulge was trimmed a little by the 2004 Indonesian earthquake, the 9.0+ temblor that generated the deadly tsunami on Dec. 26 that year. Earth's midsection bulges in relation to the measurement from pole-to-pole, and the catastrophic land displacement caused a small reduction in the bulge, making the planet more round.
9. The Pacific Ring of Fire is the most geologically active region of Earth. It circles the Pacific Ocean, touching the coasts North and South America, Japan, China and Russia. It's where the majority of Earth's major quakes occur as major plate boundaries collide.
10. Oil extraction can cause minor earthquakes. These are not the quakes you read about. Rather, because oil generally is found in soft and squishy sediment, when oil is removed other rock moves in to fill the void, creating "mini-seismic events" that are not noticeable to humans.
11. The largest earthquake ever recorded was a magnitude 9.5 in Chile on May 22, 1960.
12. Quakes on one side of Earth can shake the other side. Seismologists studying the massive 2004 earthquake that triggered killer tsunamis throughout the Indian Ocean found that the quake had weakened at least a portion of California's famed San Andreas Fault. The Chilean quake of 1960 shook the entire Earth for many days, a phenomenon called oscillation that was measured by seismic stations around the planet.
13. The deadliest earthquake ever struck January 23, 1556 in Shansi, China. Some 830,000 are estimated to have died.
The epicenter of the March 11 earthquake occurred near the east coast of Honshu, Japan.
CREDIT: USGS
CREDIT: USGS
The 8.9-magnitude earthquake that shook Japan early March 11 blew out the cooling systems of two nuclear reactors there. An inability to cool the reactors could cause radiation leaks, and both power plants are "bracing for the worst,” according to government officials.
Readings of the radiation in southern California are said to be far below levels which could pose a health hazard, however.
The largest recorded earthquake in the United States was a magnitude 9.2 that struck Prince William Sound, Alaska on Good Friday, March 28, 1964 UTC.
Before electronics allowed recordings of large earthquakes, scientists built large spring-pendulum seismometers in an attempt to record the long-period motion produced by such quakes. The largest one weighed about 15 tons. There is a medium-sized one three stories high in Mexico City that is still in operation.
The first “pendulum seismoscope” to measure the shaking of the ground during an earthquake was developed in 1751, and it wasn’t until 1855 that faults were recognized as the source of earthquakes.
Although both are sea waves, a tsunami and a tidal wave are two different unrelated phenomenona. A tidal wave is a shallow water wave caused by the gravitational interactions between the Sun, Moon, and Earth. A tsunami is a sea wave caused by an underwater earthquake or landslide (usually triggered by an earthquake) displacing the ocean water.
The hypocenter of an earthquake is the location beneath the earth’s surface where the rupture of the fault begins. The epicenter of an earthquake is the location directly above the hypocenter on the surface of the earth.
It is estimated that there are 500,000 detectable earthquakes in the world each year. 100,000 of those can be felt, and 100 of them cause damage.
Each year the southern California area has about 10,000 earthquakes. Most of them are so small that they are not felt. Only several hundred are greater than magnitude 3.0, and only about 15-20 are greater than magnitude 4.0. If there is a large earthquake, however, the aftershock sequence will produce many more earthquakes of all magnitudes for many months.
The magnitude of an earthquake is a measured value of the earthquake size. The magnitude is the same no matter where you are, or how strong or weak the shaking was in various locations. The intensity of an earthquake is a measure of the shaking created by the earthquake, and this value does vary with location.
Alaska is the most earthquake-prone state and one of the most seismically active regions in the world. Alaska experiences a magnitude 7 earthquake almost every year, and a magnitude 8 or greater earthquake on average every 14 years.
MARCH 28, 2011
The dispersion calculations show that today a potential radiation cloud of the southeast is transported to the Pacific, away from Japan. Tomorrow by rotation of the wind on the Pacific Southwest is espected to transport plume of radiation further and temporarily affect inland areas (see figures below).
Breaking News Flash: Multiple states across the US detect Japan Nuclear Radiation in the Rainwater.
Instead of downplaying the risks the Government should be educating the public on how to mitigate against the health risks
Breaking News Flash: Multiple states across the US detect Japan Nuclear Radiation in the Rainwater.
Instead of downplaying the risks the Government should be educating the public on how to mitigate against the health risks
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Moral Superiority
Robbery, larceny, murder, adultery and fraud have always been condemned. Slander, blackmail and bribery have never been regarded as wholesome social activities. Contrary to this, respectful treatment of the aged, loyalty to friends, helping one's kith and kin in times of need, concern for ones neighbours, assisting the weak, oppressed and nursing the sick are all activities that have been highly valued since the dawn of civilization.
People who are polite, sincere, upright, dependable, who are prompt in discharging their obligations to others, who live in peace and allow others to do likewise have always formed the core of any healthy society. Good and evil are not myths awaiting resurrection, they are a real part of our everyday lives and hence, Allah has blessed mankind with an inherent sense of right and wrong.
Allah says in the Qur'an:
"(Allah) has revealed to human nature the consciousness and the cognition of good and evil."
(Surah as-Shams: 8)
The questions that now arise are: If the basic values of good and evil are universally recognized, why then, do varying patterns of moral behavior exist in the world?
Why are there so many conflicting moral philosophies?
Where does the root of these differences lie?
What is the position of Islam with respect to other ethical systems?
How can we justify the claim that Islam provides us with a perfectly balanced moral system?
What is the distinctive contribution that Islam has made in the realm of ethics?
These questions are important and must be dealt with in a direct manner. However, given the limitations of space we shall only be able to touch upon these issues very briefly. The following points will serve to outline the answers to the above questions:
1. The present moral systems fail to integrate moral virtues and norms by prescribing specific limits and as a consequence of this, a balanced and coherent plan for social conduct has not been devised.
2. Each moral system presents a different interpretation of what is good and what is evil, hence moral standards differ. The vindication of a particular viewpoint is complicated further when we realize that the sanction or the authority behind it also differs from one system to another.
Likewise, the theories that are formulated to determine the motives that impel someone to follow one pattern of behaviour as opposed to another also differ
3. We find on deeper reflection, that these differences emerge from the conflicting views and concepts regarding the universe, man's place in that universe and man's purpose of existence on Earth.
The multitude of religions, philosophies, ideologies and theories that exist are a testament to and a reflection upon the diversity and the divergence of man's views in regard to these fundamental questions and others such as:
What are His attributes?
What is the relationship between man and God ?
Will man be held accountable for what he does in this life?
Why was man created?
A man's way of life and his patterns of moral behaviour will be determined by his response to the above questions.
Once more due to a shortage of space we find ourselves unable to consider in depth the various ethical systems that exist in the world today, to expound the solutions proposed by each in response to fundamental issues and describe what impact these solutions have had on the moral evolution of societies founded on such concept.
Therefore, in light of these limitations, we shall only consider the Islamic concept of morality.
According to Islam, the universe is Allah's creation. He is the Sovereign and Sustainer of the universe. He is All Wise, All-Powerful, Omniscient. His Godhood is free from injustice and impartiality. Man is the creation of Allah, His subject and servant born to obey and worship Him. Man has been commanded to live his life in total compliance to the laws of Allah.
Over the course of time, Allah sent prophets to mankind to guide and instruct them in these matters. Man is given a choice as to whether or not he wishes to follow the message of the prophets and adhere to their teachings, yet whichever path he chooses he will be held accountable for it and any consequent actions based upon it.
Hence, man's time on this earth may be perceived as an opportunity to prepare himself, as best he is able, for the life hereafter. Everyone is responsible for his own actions and no one will be made to bear the burdens of another. Judgement Day provides incentive for all believers to act in accordance with the teachings of Islam, in the hope that they may achieve salvation.
The previous exposition of the Islamic concept of life and morality has shown us that the aim of man is to seek the pleasure of Allah. In Islam, this is a standard by which a particular mode of conduct may be judged and classified as being either good or bad. This standard provides the nucleus around which moral conduct should evolve.
Man is not left like a ship without moorings to be tossed hither and thither at the mercy of the winds and the tides. Islam provides man with a stable and balanced set of values and norms for all morally-based activities. Moreover, in establishing the pleasure of Allah' as the objective of man's existence, windows of unlimited possibilities are opened for his moral evolution since, at no time will it be overshadowed by selfishness, bigotry, arrogance or pride.
Our knowledge of vice and virtue should not be based upon mere intellect, desire, intuition or experience, since these factors are subject to constant change, modifying themselves and evolving in accordance with the dictates of external influences. Thus, they are unable to provide us with definitive and categorical standards of morality.
Rather, Islam provides us with Divine revelation embodied in the Qur'an and the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). This source of knowledge prescribes a standard of moral conduct that is both permanent and universal, applicable to all times and circumstances.
The Islamic moral code covers the smallest details of domestic life and extends to accommodate the broader aspects of national and international modes of behaviour. These regulations free us from the exclusive dependence upon any other source of knowledge.
The Islamic concept of the universe and man's place therein furnishes the sanction that must support all morally-based injunctions. Islam presents powerful arguments, with the aim of inducing mankind to abide by its principles of morality and to construct a political system that would enforce the moral law through its legislative and executive powers.
Islam relies upon the inherent urge for good that resides in everyone's heart which in turn is based upon the love and fear of Allah, the awareness of accountability on the Day of Judgement and the promise of eternal bliss. Thus, before enforcing any moral injunctions Islam seeks to implant firmly in man's heart the conviction that all his dealings in this world, we relate directly to Allah.
A man may be able to conceal certain deeds from others, he may be successful in deceiving others but Allah is fully aware of that which has transpired. Allah is All- Knowing, All-Seeing, All-Wise. Allah knows man's innermost intentions and desires and thus, whatever man does in this life he cannot escape from the fact that one day he will die and be compelled to account for what has passed. On that Day there will be no advocation, no favours, no impartiality, fraud and deception will be of no avail; justice will be done.
Therefore, it has become clear that only a deep-rooted belief can motivate man to incorporate these moral injunctions into his everyday life. If popular opinion and the coercive powers of the state enforce these injunctions so much the better, otherwise the true believer must rely solely upon his faith in Allah.
Islam has furnished mankind with the highest possible standards of morality making Divine Pleasure one of man's main objectives in life.
Islam does not provide any novel moral virtues nor does it seek to minimize the significance of established moral norms. Morality is approached with a sense of balance and proportion assigning a suitable place and function to each moral virtue within the total scheme of life. Indeed, their scope of application is widened somewhat to cater for every aspect of man's life on both an individual and a collective basis from the cradle to the grave.
Islam enjoins upon man a way of life that promotes goodness and frees society from evil. Muslims are invoked not only to practice virtue but to actively establish it in their immediate environment and to eradicate vice and corruption. This task is the collective responsibility of the Muslims and it would be a day of mourning indeed if the efforts of a particular community were directed towards establishing evil and suppressing good.
By Abul 'Ala Al-Mawdudi
Thursday, March 24, 2011
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