27 Haziran 2012 Çarşamba

On his consecration as a Bishop: The worst day in his life.

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Today is the 250th Anniversary of the Episcopal Consecrationof 
St Alphonsus Maria De' Liguoriwhich on his own words wasthe worst day in his life.
The church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva, Rome."The consecration took place on 20 June 1762 in the Church of the Minerva at the hands of the Dominican Cardinal, Ferdinand de Rossi, assisted by Mgr. Innocent Gorgoni, Archbishop of Emesa, and Mgr. Domiinic Giordani, Archbishop of Nicomedia and Vice-Gerent of Rome.
Cardinal Ferdinando Maria de Rossi(1696-1775) The bishop subsequently avowed to his confessor that it was the most sorrowful day in his life. '... I had to struggle with myself, to accept in spite of my repugnance a charge, the responsibility of which made me tremble.'"(Life of St. Alphonsus, Berthe, Vol. 2, IV, I)
A true bishop.
At a later date he also wrote:"My hand trembles as I write this,for I remember that I too am a bishop,and that many bishops have proved false to their trust,have lost their souls and their God,who as private individuals
might have worked out their salvationwith greater ease.Without entering here into the question
as to whether an ambitious priestwho intrigues for a bishopric
is in a state of mortal sin or not,I cannot understand, I must confess,how any Christian with regard for his salvationcan desire the episcopate,and thus voluntarily cast himself
into the midst of the thousand dangersto which a bishop is exposed."(Ibid.)

Note: In his Will, Cardinal Ferdinando Maria de Rossi
had arranged for seven thousand Masses 
to be offered for the repose of his soul!
He too understood the dangers of his office. 

25 Haziran 2012 Pazartesi

Theme 72 - Silence

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From @KhushaliKF: Accident. Cacophony. Big fall. Blood flow. Eyes shutting down. Montage. Mother. Love. Father. Love. Wife. Love. Children. Love. Old age home. Love. Food. Love. Mirror. Love. Brain shutting down. Silence.

From @peanutbut: It is time I let you go. You will forget, I will forget. And there will be silence. Forever.

From @eternalscrewup: He gave her a dead stare. She watched him with stone like steady eyes. No word was spoken as he lay in his bed and she stood on the side. Both still. Silence had consumed their soul, for he was dead and she was just a statue of his lady love, his magnum opus at work and in romance.

From @teejavus: It was one of those days. She decided to visit the library. She sat there in silence, eyes closed, remembering the nightmare. She felt something hit her, she opened her eyes, saw a crumpled piece of paper. She unfolded it and smiled, "You're pretty, am sure you look prettier when you smile. - Jude " it read.

From @drun007: The court was adjourned. There was noise in every corner of the room.  Naseer was not capable of murder. It was a well framed case against him.  Everyone including the jury believed that.

It was time for the verdict.  The Chief Justice pronounced a death sentence.  Now the silence in the court room was deafening.

From @nimue_: Tired of the questions served to her every time a friend or cousin of hers got married , she started adding silent smiles to her plate. A trick she learned from him. His silent kisses silenced her questions but not the hurt she found in her plate every time she talked of their future.

From @richitaaswani: Alarm. Shower. Hair drier. Pressure cooker. Microwave. Washing machine. Dog. Rickshaw. Humans. Horns. Stray dogs. Train. More humans. Traffic. Whispers of office gossip. Exchanging pleasantries with loud co worker. DOT matrix printer. Telephone. BBM pings. Palindrome. Sleep for silence.

From @EatTweetBlog: "I still haven't got my periods. I think I'm pregnant", said Ritu. Mukesh wasn't shocked. He casually asked her to get a test done and get an abortion, if necessary. Ritu asked hesitantly, "Are we not even gonna consider having it?" "Are you in your senses, Ritu?" pat came the reply. Ritu left without saying anything.

From @IndianIdle: He was a big shot musician. His sounds were so different that people believed that he is not from this planet. But when he started he never found those tunes. He always failed to create a symbiosis of sounds. Until that one day, where he went to that place where there was only one sound,"silence".

From @TheBigDowg: He asked for dowry, she kept quiet. He insulted her family, she kept quiet. He slapped her, she kept quiet. He became an alcoholic, she kept quiet. He slept with other women, she kept quiet. He hit their children, she broke her silence. Today, she sits alone in a prison cell - quiet as before.

From @writingchalk: It wouldn’t go away, no matter how hard I tried. Like a vicious banshee, it kept screaming into my ears. I flapped my arms wildly, and even tried screaming myself. But all I could hear was a deathly stillness. The world was as good as a mute, irritating companion, now that I’d lost my hearing.

From @purplebrains: Arushi walked by the metal factory sounding the siren for lunch. Her home sat on the edge of the road. Decibel after decibel of noise buzzed past her ears. Among all the symphony of confusion, there was one characteristic sound missing. Without the welcoming bark of her beloved dog, the world stood still and silent.

From @sinpinklove: Every time he abused me he was even more apolegetic. He would get me expensive gifts and I would believe that everything would be alright but the scene would repeat itself, everytime. I called it hope but it was my biggest crime - my silence.

From @thefraudmallu: Silence was echoing in the darkness, anxious for they knew it was bound to happen. Nothing but his touch broke the silence, love was made. No words were uttered but sounds of passion filled the darkness. Legs wrapped around, lips against skin and they sighed together. Tired and once again they found themselves in silence.

From @JaaTeri:

The contestants sang. Every performance ended with applause.

Now it was her turn. The little girl smiled. Music started playing. She didnt sing! She rose her arms in stead.

She gestured. Her movements 'sang'.

They paused before applauding. A pause when they stopped to think, "Her silence can speak louder than our words."

From @vivekisms: We left. No words to console. No thoughts to provide solace. The relationship was hanging by a thread. It broke. Nothing was heard. Static perhaps.

From @BongBuffoon: The noise irked her. Everytime the music would scream, the TV would scream and the son would scream. She would then go and halt it all with a scream of her own. And then the silence would scare her. Is he alright? Is he asleep? Hope he’s not killed himself? The epiphany from the cacophony.

From @Writoholic_Gal: Had she fought with the male chauvinist world, would have hampered her identity, silence sealed lips she walked around with...

From @anjana_murali: In the silence of her house, she often imagined living in a huge bungalow. Today, she visualised her garden, breathtakingly beautiful with roses, dahlias, periwinkles and all the other flowers her teacher had taught her today. As always the loud din of her parents, fighting disrupted her from the reverie. Back to reality, she thought.

From @ScribblingOn: The language she conversed in with herself, lying peacefully in the lap of mother Nature-the clouds, sky, moon, stars, digging deep into her conscience. Enemy of the Day, companion of the Night. Her only way to retaliate when hurt by his words. What enabled her to hear his rhythmically erratic breathing. Ethereal bliss. Silence.

From @Crucifire:

He was sick and tired of listening to their constant nagging. His weak body and frail limbs could not take it any longer.

He fondly remembers the time he had to bear only 4. Now, it was 72.

As the cacophony rose, he let out a blood-curdling cry,

“SILENCE, I KEEEEEL YOU!”

From @oxymoronic_me: People were screaming. Talking. Making a noise about everything that was happening in the world. She heard them all. Her head spun with all the noise surrounding her. She wanted to speak out. Scream at them all. Yell. But no one would follow her. It was time to un-follow everyone. Time to silence her time-line.

From @shekhartripathi: It had hardly taken any effort to get him to school. But now he clung, not letting me go. My murmured words of encouragement failed to cheer him. Despite his enthusiasm, all he could come up with was silence. Apparently, only just then had he realised that his older brother sat in a different classroom.

From @melittlepixie: The earthquake was brutal. It had stripped the town of any semblance of life. Under a pile of debris, she breathed hard. The ghost town resounded with deafening silence. She strained her ears, praying that there might be someone else alive as well. But the only noise she heard were the voices in her head.

From @punvati: He had always been rather alarmingly practical. After the accident claimed his voice, his grief-stricken family gathered around him, preparing to console him. Brushing aside their platitudes, he shrugged and signalled to them, “Hey, now I’ll never get disqualified in dumb charades.”

From @hauntedhero: Echoes of words pass within the space, even as she just sits there and stares. Her lips remain sealed, but those eyes speak volumes. A story they tell, an emotion they express, a silent ride to her heart they offer. All in a moment of silence. Dedicated to @cheer_bubble

From @NeelSheth: Dinner done; Plates washed. She’s on TV; he’s on laptop. With each passing day what felt like a sanctuary in each other’s arms was turning into a void. Once the silence spoke; now it haunts them. What used to be the symphony of touch is now just heard in channel surfing and strokes of keyboard.

From @AbhiandNow: Silence, the only thing constant between us. As we fought, made violent love to each other, then with each other's best friends, and made up again. It's those moments of silence that kept us together, we found more comfort in each others silence than words. I guess, it's our way of saying, I love you.

From @shitgodamn: Let us be silent for those who lost their lives in the <tragedy>. The two minutes of silence we are asked to observe are the most stimulating. Imagination going wild, stepping into the shoes of people who lost their lives and the people that are left behind. Silent prayers, tears, sighs. Finally, calm takes over.

From @DementedArcher: Both couldn't speak anything. He stared in her eyes. A tear rolled down his cheeks;  "It's too late" she sighed .He kept quiet; She turned her face. Silence was killing them. Tears trickled down her face & she closed her eyes. "I Love You" He whispered; It was too late She had already died.

From @Marwaari: The game was on till she caught him stealing a glance this time. He looked down again. Those eyes were captivating, that smile alluring him to speak to her. He decided to go ahead and try his luck.

"Hi, I am Jake" He said.

"Ssshhhhhh, Silence please" The librarian replied.

From @anushreekejriwa: He lived in a house plagued with unhappiness and noise all over. He didn't know what silence was until the day he got locked in a gas chamber. Curiosity made him turn on the knob. His blood slowly absorbed the gas and made him suffocate. The silence around calmed him and he slept forever.

From @Itemboi: He was drunk. Her cleavage turned him on. As soon as she walked in the restroom, he pulled her inside the cubicle and covered her mouth. She couldn't scream... He went on thrusting harder. She bled. He forced himself more and left after 5 minutes. Ten years have past... she's still silent about her brother.

From @verturisarma: He knew how to deal with it. The best thing to do when her nostril flares up the inviting red.  He smiled to himself as he thought of those rewarding luscious lips . He waited all night but that day she wanted more than his silence. A conversation. He sighed.  Now that’s a different art.

From @Oven_Tikka: There was complete silence in the room. Not a sound except that of panicky breathing. No movement but that of furtive glances to the left and right. Heads bowed as if in deep prayer could be seen all around. And then a whisper cut through the air. “What’s the answer to question no 5 b?”

From @ibeingme: "I am leaving you," she waved her offer-letter for the position in north. He was half heatedly awake from sleep. Being dumped in the same interview was hardly ego crushing for him. "I might like the new city." She continued huskily. "Mountains, tamed and broad river banks. I am excited." He blinked, feeling heavy loss.

From @UrbanChick:

'Is he good in bed?' they inquired.
She remained silent.
It had been a day since the wedding but everyone's curiosity refused to lessen.
Only if they knew what happened last night.
'I'm gay' he confessed. 'Why this, then?' she asked.
Silence was all that he gave her.

From @bitchwanti: The thud of a raindrop she could hear. The flapping of the butterfly wings caressed her earlobes. The sigh of unfurling flowers was her symphony.There was black silence in her eyes, enough to shatter the peace of her ear drums.

Theme 73 - Moon

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From @aaroo4:

“Bright and round, like a ball of cheese
White and foggy, like a glass of milkshake
That is the moon,
Up in the sky, shining in the night
Fading away slowly, as the sun rises
That is the moon
I want to fly, to touch the Moon” , sang the little girl standing on the stage.

From @Oven_Tikka: The full moon was two days away and already he could feel his brothers look at him with fear. It had been years now, but the pain of transformation never got easier. Maybe if he accepted who he was, it would take away some of the constant ache. Oh how he hated being a wereman.

From @shekhartripathi: On a warm midsummer’s night, there I lay on my bed when something woke me up. A curvy silhouette stood by the window. She had magnificent long hair, fine as spun gold. A drop of sweat went down her shoulder shining like a pearl in the moonlight. Can the moon really play tricks with you?

From @m_saik: "I want to look at the moon first, doctor", I said as he removed the bandage covering my eyes. Appa told amma went to the moon after the accident. It must look so beautiful now, I thought. I opened my eyes, a painful memory returned a truck rammed into our car. The moon scares me.

From @blahberred: You look beautiful -He said, while parting- I will always remember you when i see this moon. She blushed in the moonlight. The trees, the full moon amidst them, the stray beetle, the crushed blue flower...she remembers all who witnessed the event, she remembers the pain, the numbness...His face is but a blur.

From @Crucifire:

“Look Ma, no gravity”, Joe said as he floated around in his suit.
“Dude, check out these half moons ”, said Jack and flashed his butt at Joe.
“Gross! You bastard!”

*Jack watched in horror as Joe transformed into a werewolf*

You, reading the story, this is still better than Twilight, no?

From @bhytu:

It was a full moon night. Both of them sat together holding hands in a romantic silence.
"I need to tell you something."
"What?"
"I am a vampire."
"Cool. It is in fashion. Even I am 'Robsessed'."
He smiled, his canines gleaming in the moonlight.
Twilight saga saved love.

From @writingchalk: His joy knew no bounds – he had just seen the sun at night! Imagine how jealous the others would be of his discovery! “Papa! Dekho! Raat ko suraj nikla hai!” His father took him by the hand to the terrace, and smiled. He then gave his son the heart-breaking news, “That’s just a lunar eclipse.”

From @Highheelswaali: She could see a tiny sliver of moonlight coming through the closed blinds. The windows were never opened, but she has learnt to tell the time from the rays which escaped inside. The yellow light was okay, but she loved the white light. It was comfortable. And it meant Daddy would come to love her.

From @chinmaynaik07: Since the evening they had met in the moonlight, moon had always been special to them. They used to talk from oceans apart over phones, looking at the moon to feel togetherness.But it was over now. Gifts locked away, messages deleted, music substituted, chat histories erased. Only left to be replaced.. was the moon.

From @RBtrary: Glitter of Bollywood wooed her and she ran away to become an actress. The superstar spotted her & promised to be her Godfather. Promise was never kept and she never made it to the silver-screen and ended-up becoming one-of-his-many mistresses.

She had once aimed for the moon, but even the “stars” had betrayed her.

From @vchatting: She was throwing the mother of all tantrums yet again! Yelling inconsolably, as he retreated more into his shell, refusing to engage. She hit a hard forceful punch across his frame. Decidedly, he drew her close, into his arms. Sobs suffused in him as the peeping moon smiled from the clouds that
night.

From @AmanjotKSandhu: They sat on the beach, her head resting on his shoulder."I love you." "I love you, too."Finally, she had admitted it. It was the best day of his life. He looked at the moon. It looked much brighter and more beautiful than ever. He smiled and held her closer.

From @bitchwanti: Resplendent, she stood laughing with her friends. Her smooth youth attracted many a lovelorn glances. Till he rode up to her and flung the little vial in her face. "Now you look like the moon, my moon. Only mine", he said tenderly as she cried out in pain, beauty forever marred.

From @madrasmad: Pirlo takes the corner for Italy. Half a kilometer away, Balotelli and other teammates wait to rush towards the goal. Here comes the kick! The ball is in the air. It’s expected to land in a minute. The English defenders are quickly deciding on a strategy. I only wish they were playing on Earth.

From @sinpinklove: The moonlight sparkled on her as she lay naked beside him.He could forever admire her. Slowly , he touched her lips and she quivered in excitement.His fingers began their downward journey but their gaze remained locked. She let out a shy smile and he made her his own for eternity.

From @melittlepixie:

 ‘There’s greed, conflict, passage of time. Let’s call it ‘Dark’, David said.

‘Does the moon have a dark side?’, Roger asked randomly, staring at the moon‘There’s no dark side of the moon. It's all dark’, David said.

David and Roger smiled knowingly. In two weeks, Pink Floyd launched ‘The Dark Side Of The Moon’

From @Greyllusionist: She stood centre stage, all the limelight on her, ‘twas a major achievement of their brand to start this philanthropy foundation.

Later in the night, he was called in, for celebration sex. A pitch dark room, that was the contract, he never knew who his client was.

There’s always a dark side of the moon…

From @Marwaari:

"Its frightening" She screamed.

"You have to be crazy enough to this. It takes you to an entirely different world. Try it once, come on. Don't be a pussy." He reasoned.

She put in her earplugs and it was playing 'I am flying to the moon and back'. "I am not a pussy" and she jumped out of the airplane.

From @TheBigDowg: She was the love of his life, the reason for his existence. She, however, didn't care for him. She was too busy circling her hot lover. Once in a while, he did manage to overshadow the hot-man & hog the limelight. And it remained his sole reason to continue loving her. From a distance. Forever.

From @iBeingMe: She gazed at the moon with longing eyes. Faraway she could imagine him looking at the sky, dreaming. The moon shimmered in the pond’s reflection. She smiled at herself. Then she thought of him and his eyes full of dreams. She remembers him telling stories while she secretly wishes to become his moon one day.

From @EatTweetBlog: On a particulate cold & lonely night, I sat at my window with a cup of coffee, overlooking a crowded street. Minutes later, I took out a blanket from an old trunk and went upstairs to the terrace. There I sat with the blanket embracing me, providing me the much needed solace, as I looked at the moon.

From @3nvinyatar: “Darkness is your friend.” The mantra taught to the regiment’s  best sniper oscillated in his mind. Camoflauged, laying perfectly still, he let his mind wander back to those days of training under The Master. They would have been together on this sensitive mission. If only he hadn’t planned that operation on a full moon night.

From @ScribblingOn: The sun of the night. Amidst twinkling stars, it sits in the night sky, glimmering, staring the world below. Lost in a trance, I gaze fixedly & wonder-'The Moon loses a part of himself everyday, only to regain it later. Is this love?' A drop of rain falls on my already wet cheek.

From @BongBuffoon: He liked giant leaps. He took a big gulp of Oxygen and jumped. And he was airborne. “Good thing I ate a light meal,” he thought. Every jump was an adrenalin boost accompanied by a shriek of delight. Suddenly, his 2nd officer says: “Neil, I don’t think you understand the gravity of the situation.”

From @divya_moorjani: She took a breath, but felt a chill sheath into her. She mouthed his name and her lips froze. She let out a tear, her eyes turned icy. Finally, she gave in, walked away, sat on her house-steps looking at it and thinking, May be that’s how the Dark Side Of The Moon feels like?

From @vivekisms: They told him that it would drive him crazy. It all depended on the tidal movements. He refused to believe. He fell in love that night. He could not be sane again. The low hung blue moon silently smirked.

From @parekhit: The last time he met her, it was a full moon night. She was wearing a white saree, looking nothing less than a goddess; deep blue eyes, magical smile. For the past 40 years, every full moon, he waits for her. After all, she was the only human he loved after he died. In a car crash.

From @BoozeSexSundry: She felt muted thudding. A woolen ball dripping with pain instead of a heart. An iron sponge instead of her lungs. She had the high jaw-line of her father. Pouty lips of her mother. Her longing eyes sobbing in the faint moonlight. Waiting for her parents to make up and deal with her poisoned gut.

From @nimue_: She always been in love with the moon. From tracing the various shadows on it , to following its path in the cloudy skies , there were various games she invented as she waited for his call. Meanwhile the moon added another of her games in his daily task. She had a long wait he knew.

From @_abeyaar_:

Calling...
Unknown number

He picked it up. No one spoke. All he could hear was sounds of birds singing and trees rustling with some scratches.
"Nature's call?," he giggled.

He turned back to his thoughts, back in his terrace, facing her face.
No. It's the moon.

From @NeelSheth: For 33 years, he lived in a sanctuary; felt the void in the silence of the nights. They met under the super-moon. With earthy smell; the world welcomed rain. He welcomed her, smelt her; her dark hair scattered like clouds. They longed for it always; to merge under the full-moon, melt and whisper “Happy Mooniversary!”.

From @oxymoronic_me:  The boy was painting the moon. Objects of space excited him. His mind kept repeating, “New-Moon, Waxing-Crescent, Waxing-Gibbous, Waning-Gibbous, Waning-Crescent Full-Moon”, as he intensely colored the white shaped circles. Satisfied, he left them to dry. He would submit it the next day. A rat cut it the same night. His moon shaped tears never stopped.

From @punvati: She finished her model of the solar system just in time. As she sat in bus, she realized she had forgotten all about the moon. After all that work… She was about to cry with disappointment, when the strange boy no one talked to walked up to her, handed her a cheeseball and smiled.

From @randomWhiz: The lovers looked at each other under the dim constant light of the stars.  In another time, there would have been a moon to accompany their flight of love. But man had gone too far ahead, and destroyed its only original satellite. Technology had left man with a vacant sky.

From @anushreekejriwa: She wanted to shine bright like a moon and be a ray of hope in the dark lives of people. She forgot that the strong rays of the sun not only overpower the moon but remove darkness as well. Her thoughts were eclipsed.

From @TheGhostWriterr: Two Immortal lovers were cursed with mortality, the husband found a way & found a herb to make them Immortals again. Instead of sharing the wife ate the whole herb, as punishment of betrayal she inflated & floated in the sky, illuminated to be the moon. Husband became the shape shifting wolf, calling her every full moon.

From @UrbanChick_:

"Where to, miss?' asked the taxi driver.
*silence*
 Looking at the sky, her eyes marveled at the beauty of the stars, the tranquility that came with it, what she was in dire need of and it was then that she spoke 'To the moon'

From @VishalShriyan: He loved the night sky. Tonight the moon looked especially beautiful as he idly played with the grass. He was at peace with life as he waited for the Express to go past. He loved when it thundered past three feet behind him everyday. This was heavenly, he thought as he squatted on the tracks.

From @laalfirangi: She: Nah, I don’t believe in the concept of love. These movies have just created a faux image which doesn’t exist. Just like Narnia.He: *smiles* I believe in you, hence I believe in love. You are my biggest reality.<insert background score> Chanda re, chanda re, kabhi toh zameen par aa, baithenge baatein karenge…

From @maruwahna: The cold night was upon, and the half moon was her only company. Looking at it, she was reminded of the golden days, her days of promise and love. Then, reality had struck and she was alone again. A tear with the moon for company, and then she jumped. Silence.

From @GayatriiM: The twilight zone was her greatest confidante. She wore the new dress and added kohl to her starry eyes. Sun was setting in,her wait shall be over soon... then the moon appeared lighting up the sky. She switched off the light and smiled. Hundreds of miles away,he too,looked up at the sky from his dark room and smiled.Twain met through the moon tonight.

Unemployment down but joblessness is up?

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There was a bit of interesting news that came out Friday--the nations unemployment rate actually declined, from 9.5% to 9.4%. This is true despite the fact that there was a net loss of jobs of 247,000 (see the NY Times article). How could this happen?

Well, the unemployment rate is calculated by taking the number unemployed and dividing by the labor force: Unemployment Rate= Number Unemployed / Labor Force.

The numerator in the equation, Number Unemployed, is defined as the number of people not employed minus anyone who hasn't looked for a job in the last 4 weeks. The denominator of the equation, Labor Force, is defined as the Number Unemployed plus the number of people currently working (either full or part-time).

Thus, if people give up (and giving up is defined as not looking for the last 4 weeks), they are no longer counted in either the numerator or denominator of the equation. And that is exactly what happened between June and July of this year. According to the BLS (bureau of labor statistics), 637,000 people left the labor force between June and July. Thus, even though the number of people employed fell (by a seasonally adjusted 155,000), the unemployment rate also fell, because the number of people looking for work fell also (267,000). The net result was a drop in unemployment even though fewer people were working and more people lost jobs than found jobs.

A note about the math. At first blush, you may wonder whether it matters, since the people not looking are removed both from the numerator (Number Unemployed) and denominator (Labor Force). But mathematically, it does matter. Suppose we have a ratio 2/10, which equals 20%. Subtract 1 from the numerator and 1 from the denominator and you have 1/9, which equals 11.1%. Thus we subtracted the same number from the numerator and denominator but we did not end up with the same 20%. Instead we ended up with far less (11.1%).

The general rule is that the ratio falls when subtracting the same number from the numerator and denominator as long as the ratio is less than 1. So, 2/10>1/9 but 20/10<19/9, for example. What this means for the unemployment rate (which is always less than 1 since 1 is 100% unemployment) is that when people leave the work force, the unemployment rate is somewhat artificially reduced. This is why we had more people losing their jobs but a decline in unemployment last month.

I would guess that the labor force drop-offs would be far higher during deeper recessions where many despair of getting work or decide to take a break from their search, and this guess is borne out by recent information on the BLS site, which cites the increase in discouraged workers this last year: "Among the marginally attached, there were 796,000 discouraged workers in July, up by 335,000 over the past 12 months. (The data are not seasonally adjusted.) Discouraged workers are persons not currently looking for work because they believe no jobs are available for them."

This NY Times chart of unemployment uses a more reasonable definition and shows unemployment far higher than the official 9.4% rate. It includes all those who have looked for a job in the past year as well as part-time workers who want full-time work as part of the unemployed, and the unemployment rate is between 10 and 20%, depending on the state.

Redskins are lucky to play bad teams, but how lucky?

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A recent article in Yahoo Sports pointed out that the Washington Redskins are the first team in history to play six winless teams in a row. Here is their schedule so far (also according to the article cited above):

Week 1 -- at New York Giants (0-0)

Week 2 -- vs. St. Louis Rams (0-1)

Week 3 -- at Detroit Lions (0-2)

Week 4 -- vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-3)

Week 5 -- at Carolina Panthers (0-3)

Week 6 -- vs. Kansas City Chiefs (0-5)

The author of the article, Chris Chase (or, as he notes, his dad-let's call him Mr. Chase), calculates the odds of this as 1 in 32,768. This calculation is incorrect and far too high for several reasons, which I get to below. But first, let me explain how the calculation was likely performed.

The calculation assumes, plausibly, that the Redskins have the same chance of playing any given team (unlike some college teams, who purposely make their schedules easy, this is not possible in the NFL).

The calculation also assumes, not plausibly, that teams that have thus far won no games have a 50-50 chance of winning each game. The implicit assumption there is that all NFL teams are evenly matched. The fact is that there are a few really good teams, a few really bad teams, and a bunch of teams in the middle. Thus, there are likely to be a bunch of winless teams after 5 games, and not, as the incorrect calculation below implies, only 1 winless team of 32 after 5 games.

Finally, the calculation, apparently in a careless error, assumes the chances of playing a winless team the first week are 50-50, when, of course, all teams are winless the first week.

So the Mr. Chase's (incorrect) calculation is
Week 1 chances: 50% ( 1 in 2)
Week 2 chances: 50% (1 in 2)
Week 3 chances: 50%*50%=25% (1 in 4)
Week 4 chances: 50%*50%*50%=12.5% (1 in 8)
Week 5 chances: 50%*50%*50%=12.5% (same as week 3 because the team they played had only played three games)
Week 6 chances: 50%*50%*50%*50%*50%=3.125% (1 in 32)

A law of probability is that the chance of two unrelated events happening is the product of their individual chances. Thus, if the chance of rain today is 50% and the chance of rain tomorrow is 50%, the chance of rain both days is 25%, if those chances are unrelated (which, by the way, they probably aren't). This is why the chances for multiple losses are multiplied together.

But back to the football schedule. To calculate the chances of 6 straight games against winless teams, Mr. Chase reasonably multiplied the 6 individual chances (again it assumed the 6 matchups were unrelated):
50% * 50% * 25% * 12.5% * 12.5% * 6.25% = .003%, or 1 in 32,768.
SO, the 32,768 is the number reported in the article.

The easy correction is that the chances of playing a winless team in the first game is 100%, so the calculation should be:
100% * 50% * 25% * 12.5% * 12.5% * 6.25% = .006%, or 1 in 16,384.
This error has been pointed out in comments on the article.

In addition, other comments point out the other major flaw: teams do not have equal probability of losing. Thus the chance that a team will be, say, 0-2 is not 25% (50%*50%) but something else, depending on the quality of the teams. At the extreme, half the teams lose every game and half win every game (this of course assumes losing teams only play against winning teams, but it is possible).

The reality is certainly not this extreme, which would imply a 50-50 chance each week of playing all losing teams (and thus a 1 in 32 chance of playing 6 in a row). So, how do we figure out the reality?

The easiest way is to look at, each week the percent of teams that are winless. If we assume the Redskins have an equal chance of playing each team, then we can compute the odds each week (click on the week to see the linked source). Note that everything is out of 31 teams instead of 32 because the Redskins can't play themselves.

Week 1: 31 out of 31 teams winless. Chances: 31/31=100%
Week 2: 15 out of 31 teams winless. Chances 15/31=48% (I am assuming no byes first week and I know redskins lost their first game).
Week 3: 8 out of 31 teams winless. Chances: 8/31=26%
Week 4: 6 out of 31 teams winless. Chances: 6/31 = 19%
Week 5: 6 out of 31 teams winless. Chances 6/31 = 19%
Week 6: 4 of 31 teams winless. Chances: 4/31 = 13%

So the actual chances, assuming the Redskins have an equal chance of playing each team each week and cannot play themselves, are: 100%*48%*26%*19%*19%*13% = 0.06%, or 1 in about 1,700. Much more likely than 1 in 32,000 but still pretty unlikely.

And after all these easy games, how are they doing? Unluckily for Redskins fans, not too well...they're 2-3 going into Sunday's game against the winless Chiefs.

Why Swine Flu is not a bunch of hogwash

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This updates my previous blog: "Why Swine flu is a bunch of hogwash?"

Things have changed a bit in the months since that blog, and the hysteria I cited has leveled off. President Obama did declare a swine flu emergency a couple days ago, but I think that was a good idea.

Here is what has changed:
1) Swine flu deaths have been at epidemic levels the last three weeks. The chart below (from the CDC) shows flu and pneumonia deaths as a percentage of all deaths. The upper black line indicates epidemic level, and the red line is the current level. The graph shows four years of weekly figures.While this graph doesn't look too serious, and 2008 levels were much further above the threshold at their peak, the scary thing here is that it is so early in the season. This graph serves as a reminder, too, that every year the flu kills thousands of people, and the flu vaccine could prevent a large number of those deaths.

2) Hospitals are already getting crowded. One of the big problems with a real epidemic is the overcrowding of hospitals. This means that the really sick people cannot get treatment, and that is part of the reason the emergency was declared. See this article in USA Today about over-crowding. ok, so it's USA Today, a paper that loves hyperbole, but, again, it's early in the season and any indication of overcrowding at this point is scary.

3) The vaccine is not yet fully available. The regular flu vaccine has been out for weeks. Unfortunately, almost none of the flu this year seems to be covered by that vaccine. The majority seems to be 2009 H1N1 (the swine flu). See this chart for a breakdown. Note the orange/brown is 2009 H1N1, and note the yellow means it is not tested for sub-type, so almost all typed flu is swine flu.
That's why I am worried. The other concern is that, even when the vaccine does come out, people won't take it. See my brother's blog about why you should and the crazies who say you should not.

24 Haziran 2012 Pazar

The "Other Purposes" of the Laws of God

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"The Laws of God are not imposition of will, or of power, or pleasure, but the resolutions of truth, reason and justice."
(Abdu'l-Baha, Paris Talks, p. 154)

In the Qur'an, the Prophet Muhammad enjoins the law of Pilgrimage. And unlike the Baha'i Pilgrimage which occurs throughout the course of the year, in the Muslim Pilgrimage, all the pilgrims go at one time. Social scientists more than a thousand years later have observed the effects of the hajj on the Muslim world, and they have discovered that the Pilgrimage served a unique and remarkable purpose.  It was a unique gathering-- there was nothing else like it on the face of the earth.  Pilgrims came from China in the East, and from Spain in the West, and everywhere in between.  And as a result of their being together for the period of Pilgrimage, it took a maximum of one year for news and inventions and social advancements of all kinds, to spread from one end of the Islamic Empire to the other.  And in those days, this was absolutely unique, and it set Muslim society above and apart from the rest of the world.  The annual hajj served as a kind of nervous system for the Islamic Empire, long before newspapers and telegraphs were invented.

Muhammad did not say in the Qur'an, "Go on Pilgrimage in order to establish a means of communication, which is necessary for the
advancement of society and the establishment of the nation-state."  No, He only presented this as having spiritual benefits to the pilgrims. But the Manifestation of God in each Age is the Physician for that age, and He brings what is needed for not only the spiritual, but also for the social and intellectual advancement of humanity. The revelation of Moses was to a tribal society.  The revelation of Christ, though primarily addressed to the individual, indirectly resulted in the establishment of the city-state. The Prophet Muhammad is the nation-builder, and He brought the essentials of what is needed for the nation. Baha'u'llah brought the essentials for the establishment of a world civilization - the promised Kingdom of God on earth.

In the late 1840's there was a Hungarian physician, named Ignaz Semmelweis, who was greatly concerned about the number of women and babies who died from complications of childbirth in his hospital in Vienna.  The number of women delivering babies who died in the hospitals was much higher than for those who gave birth at home.  Semmelweis observed that physicians often went from performing autopsies on dead bodies, directly to the maternity ward to deliver babies, without washing their hands.  Up to that time, germs had not yet been discovered by science.  Semmelweis instructed the medical students at his hospital to wash their hands in a weak bleach solution after performing
autopsies.  He then went to the Vienna Medical Society and presented his findings.  He produced scientific proof that the death rate among mothers and newborns plummeted from 30% to 3%, when the physicians simply washed their hands upon entering the maternity ward.  Semmelweis was laughed to scorn, and was later sent to an insane asylum.  Now, his contribution is recognized as one of the greatest advances in medicine, something we take for granted today.  And science "discovered" just 160 years ago that washing one's hands is beneficial to society.

Again, the Manifestation of God is the divine Physician for His day, and His laws advance the society, not only the individual.  The laws in the Bible have had a profound beneficial impact; there are many, many books and articles on this subject; here and here are two examples.

Likewise, one of Muhammad's laws revealed almost 1400 years ago, was the law of ablutions. And among the requirements of this law is that, five times per day, the believers would wash their hands and their forearms, all the way up to the elbow.  Five times per day the entire Muslim world washed its hands, and just across the Mediterranean, Western society didn't catch up for more than a thousand years.  And again, the Prophet Muhammad did not say, "Wash your hands for reasons of public health."  He simply made it a law, and couched it in spiritual terms, as a preparation for prayer.  
 ~ ~ ~
"...the primary purpose in revealing the Divine Law ... is to bring about happiness in the after life, and civilization and the refinement of character in this... "
(Abdu'l-Baha, The Secret of Divine Civilization, p. 46)

And now we come to the laws of Baha'u'llah, the Divine Physician for this Day, and one of His laws is the law requiring that a couple obtain the consent of their parents before they are allowed to marry. In the Kitab-i-Aqdas, or "Most Holy Book," His book of laws, Baha'u'llah says something very interesting about His law:

"... marriage is dependent upon the consent of both parties. Desiring to establish love, unity and harmony amidst Our servants, We have conditioned it, once the couple's wish is known, upon the permission of their parents, lest enmity and rancour should arise amongst them. And in this We have yet other purposes." (The Most Holy Book, paragraph 65)

Humanity will discover, over the centuries, as this law is eventually universally practiced by the human race, what these "other purposes" are.  Maybe it will take a thousand years for humanity to realize these other effects.  And just as the social benefits of the laws of the pilgrimage and of ablutions in Muhammad's time were great, likewise the laws of God for today-- Baha'u'llah's laws-- will also have profound beneficial effects on areas of society where today, we cannot see the connection.  Just as the Universal House of Justice pointed out in The Promise of World Peace that the establishment of peace requires a whole range of apparently unrelated principles to be carried out, such as the establishment of equality between men and women; perhaps economic matters, or health matters, or human mental health, will be found to be improved by adherence to the parental consent law.  And I do not feel that it is only this law of Baha'u'llah that has "other purposes."  His laws that are apparently "physical" in nature, will be found to have spiritual effects.  And who knows, but that the spiritual laws of prayer or fasting or ablutions in this day, will eventually be found to have economic and social effects.  All we know is that these laws -- commanding prayer and fasting, and burial of the dead in a stone or crystal coffin, and prohibiting adultery and homosexual acts and polygamy and the use of intoxicants, all of His major and minor laws, and all of the laws enacted by the Universal House of Justice under His inspiration, will be found to have effects beyond what we can presently conceive.  They are the product of Universal Mind. So it behooves us to practice them consciously, and wholeheartedly, because they are His remedy today; they are an important part of our work for the establishment of peace and justice in the world.  And as we practice them, then the Universal House of Justice will be able to tell the world, "Observe the effects of Baha'u'llah's laws on the Baha'is, and their families."

As Baha'u'llah revealed in His Work, "Gems of Divine Mysteries,"

O thou who art standing before My Throne and yet remain unaware thereof! Know thou that whoso seeketh to scale the summits of the divine mysteries must needs strive to the utmost of his power and capacity for his Faith, that the pathway of guidance may be made clear unto him. And should he encounter One Who layeth claim to a Cause from God, and Who holdeth from His Lord a testimony beyond the power of men to produce, he must needs follow Him in all that He pleaseth to proclaim, command and ordain, even were He to decree the sea to be land, or to pronounce earth to be heaven, or that the former lieth above the latter or below it, or to ordain any change or transformation, for He, verily, is aware of the celestial mysteries, the unseen subtleties, and the ordinances of God.(Baha'u'llah, Gems of Divine Mysteries, paragraph 30, p. 24)

For they have all arisen to proclaim His Cause and have established the laws of divine wisdom.
(Baha'u'llah, Gems of Divine Mysteries, paragraph 44, p. 33)
The Seat of the Universal House of Justice on Mount Carmel in Haifa IsraelCopyright © 1998, 2010 Vickie Hu Poirier
As Abdu'l-Baha told a gathering in New York City:

"The world of humanity may be likened to the individual man himself; it has its illness and ailments. A patient must be diagnosed by a skillful physician. The Prophets of God are the real Physicians. In whatever age or time They appear They prescribe for human conditions. They know the sicknesses; They discover the hidden sources of disease and indicate the necessary remedy. Whosoever is healed by that remedy finds eternal
health. For instance, in the day of Jesus Christ the world of humanity was afflicted with various ailments. Jesus Christ was the real Physician. He appeared, recognized the symptoms and prescribed the real remedy. What was that remedy? It was His revealed teaching especially applicable to that age. Later on many new ailments and disorders appeared in the body politic. The world became sick; other severe maladies appeared, especially in the peninsula of Arabia. God manifested Muhammad there. He came and prescribed for the conditions so that the Arabs became healthy, strong and virile in that time.      "In this present age the world of humanity is afflicted with severe sicknesses and grave disorders which threaten death. Therefore, Bahá'u'lláh has appeared. He is the real Physician, bringing divine remedy and healing to the world of man. He has brought teachings for all ailments -- the Hidden Words, Ishraqat, Tarazat, Tajalliyat, Words of Paradise, Glad Tidings, etc. These Holy Words and teachings are the remedy for the body politic, the divine prescription and real cure for the disorders which afflict the world. Therefore, we must accept and partake of this healing remedy in order that complete recovery may be assured. Every soul who lives according to the teachings of Bahá'u'lláh is free from the ailments and indispositions which prevail throughout the world of humanity; otherwise, selfish disorders, intellectual maladies, spiritual sicknesses, imperfections and vices will surround him, and he will not receive the life-giving bounties of God.      "Bahá'u'lláh is the real Physician. He has diagnosed human conditions and indicated the necessary treatment. The essential principles of His healing remedies are the knowledge and love of God, severance from all else save God, turning our faces in sincerity toward the Kingdom of God, implicit faith, firmness and fidelity, loving-kindness toward all creatures and the acquisition of the divine virtues indicated for the human world. These are the fundamental principles of progress, civilization, international peace and the unity of mankind. These are the essentials of Bahá'u'lláh's teachings, the secret of everlasting
health, the remedy and healing for man.      "It is my hope that you may assist in healing the sick body of the world through these teachings so that eternal radiance may illumine all the nations of mankind."(The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 204)

An Encouraging Letter from Shoghi Effendi to the Baha'is of California

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When the Baha'is went on Pilgrimage to the Holy Land they often brought gifts with them for the family of Abdu'l-Baha.  Abdu'l-Baha did not permit the family to keep most of these gifts-- sometimes clothing, jewels, home furnishings.  One gift He did accept was brought by William Randall -- the gift of a portable typewriter.  And with this typewriter, Shoghi Effendi typed out his translations of the correspondence addressed by the Master to the Baha'is of the West. Here is a photograph of Shoghi Effendi which I believe was taken during the last years of Abdu'l-Baha's life, probably just prior to Shoghi Effendi attending graduate school at Balliol College in England, perhaps around 1919:
Shoghi Effendi at his portable typewriterCopyright © 2010 Baha'i National Archives, WilmetteUsed with permission - Please click for larger image
Here is a close-up of Shoghi Effendi, probably taken around the same time, in the years immediately before he became Guardian of the Baha'i Faith

Shoghi Effendi as a young manCopyright © 2010 Baha'i National Archives, WilmetteUsed with permission
It was on this typewriter that Shoghi Effendi wrote all of his letters to the Baha'is of the West.  All of the lengthy letters in "Baha'i Administration" and "Citadel of Faith," all of the manuscripts of his translations of the writings of Baha'u'llah -- the Gleanings, the Book of Certitude, Prayers and Meditations, as well as his manuscripts of "The Dawn-Breakers" and "God Passes By" -- all were produced on this typewriter.  When he sent the manuscript of Baha'u'llah's Book of Certitude to the United States, he wrote:
Unable to find a good typist, I have had to do the work myself, and I trust that the proofreaders will find it easy to go over and will not mind the type errors which I have tried to correct. I would especially urge you to adhere to the transliteration which I have adopted. The correct title is, I feel, 'The Kitab-i-Iqan' the sub-title 'The Book of Certitude.' May it help the friends to approach a step further, and obtain a clearer idea of the fundamental teachings set forth by Baha'u'llah.(Shoghi Effendi, postscript to a letter published in Baha'i News #46, November 1930, p. 2)
Amatu'l-Baha Ruhiyyih Khanum, his wife, writes, 
"He typed, on a very small portable machine, by the two-finger method, all his own manuscripts..." (The Priceless Pearl, p. 201)How many hundreds of hours Shoghi Effendi spent on reading his sources and compiling his notes, how many days and months in painstakingly writing out in long hand - and often rewriting - the majestic procession of his chapters, how many more wearisome days he sat at his small portable typewriter, hammering away with a few fingers, sometimes ten hours on end, as he typed the final copy of his work! And how many more hours we spent late into the night, when the daily typing was over, seated side by side at his big table in his bedroom, each with three copies of the typescript before us, proof-reading, making corrections, putting in by hand the thousands of accents on transliterated words which Shoghi Effendi would read aloud, until his eyes were bloodshot and blurred, his back and arms stiff with exhaustion, as we worked on to finish the entire chapter or part of a chapter he had typed that day. It had to be done. There was no possibility of working at a slower pace. he was racing against time to present the Bahá'ís of the West with this inimitable gift on the occasion of the one hundredth anniversary of the inception of their Faith.  (The Priceless Pearl, p. 223)
"God Passes By" is really the only book Shoghi Effendi wrote; everything else was in the form of letters. Anyone who reads this magnificent book Shoghi Effendi labored so hard to give to us, will become much more aware of the grandeur of the Baha'i Faith, and more deeply familiar with its teachings.
Several times, Shoghi Effendi needed to retire to Switzerland, where he fought his spiritual battles, and prepared himself for his unimaginably demanding labors as Guardian of the Baha'i Faith.  Following his return in November, 1923 he wrote to the Baha'is:  
Upon my return, after a forced and prolonged absence, to the Holy Land, it is my first and most ardent wish to renew and strengthen those ties of brotherly love and fellowship that bind our hearts together in our common servitude to His sacred Threshold.
A few weeks later he wrote the following beautiful letter to the Baha'is in California, which he prepared on this same typewriter.  It is a model of encouragement and leadership.  In 1997 a copy of this letter was sent to all of the Baha'is in California, on the occasion of the establishment of the Regional Baha'i Council of the Western States. It is well worth reading and re-reading for the guidance and encouragement it provides.

Titles of the Baha'i Revelation

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"This Cause" -- Titles of the Baha'i Revelation, from the Baha'i Writings




1. this Revelation from the Most High

2. this most mighty Revelation.
 
3. this mighty, this glorious Revelation

4. this mighty, this transcendent Revelation

5. this sublime, this beauteous Revelation

6. this sublime and momentous Revelation

7. this sublime, this unique and wondrous Revelation

8. this mighty, this sublime, and most holy Revelation
  
9. this most sublime and momentous Revelation

10. this inestimable, this wondrous, and sublime Revelation

11. this most manifest, this lofty, this shining and glorious Revelation

12. this most manifest and all‑glorious Revelation

13. this wondrous Revelation

14. this most exalted, this most holy, this mighty, and wondrous Revelation

15. a Revelation direct from God

16. this God‑given, and ever‑enduring Revelation
  
17. this most potent Revelation

18. this Supreme Revelation

19.this Revelation whose influence hath pervaded all created things

20. this most effulgent, this most holy, and manifest Revelation of His Beauty



21. this holy, this glorious, and exalted Revelation

22. this new and wondrous Revelation

23. this wondrous and transcendent Revelation

24. This most wondrous and sublime Revelation

25. this mysterious and transcendent Revelation

26. this pre-eminent and glorious Revelation

27. this glorious, this august Revelation

28. this Most Great Revelation

29. so mighty a Revelation

30. so stupendous a Revelation

31. so transcendent a Revelation

32. so preeminent a Revelation

33. so tremendous a Revelation

34. so colossal a Revelation

35. so wondrous a Revelation

36. so sublime a revelation

37. so impetuous a Revelation

38. so overpowering a Revelation

39. so transcendent a Revelation

40. so stunning a revelation

41. so dazzling a Revelation

42. God's Revelation



43. apprehend the greatness of this Revelation, and perceive its stupendous glory

44. a momentous Revelation

45. a Revelation so incomparably great, so infinitely precious, so mightily potent, so manifestly innocent

47. a Divine Revelation

48. a Revelation of loving-kindness

49. this wondrous Revelation, this transcendent and divine Faith

50. this sacred, this mighty, and most exalted Faith

51. the changeless Faith of God, eternal in the past, eternal in the future

52. this, Thine inviolable Faith

53. His resistless, His irrefutable and most exalted Faith

54. the true Faith of God

55. this upright Faith

56. an immortal and infinitely precious Faith

57. this all‑compelling Cause

58. this pre-eminent Cause

59. this momentous Cause

60. this impregnable Cause, this glorious Announcement

61. this inviolable, this mighty and enlightened Cause

62. this wondrous and most exalted Cause



63. this wondrous Cause of God

64. this most wondrous Cause

65. this all-compelling Cause

66. this glorious Cause

67. My mighty and unassailable Cause

68. God's holy Cause

69. His great and mighty Cause

69a His glorious and resplendent Cause

69b His irresistible, His mighty and wondrous ause

70. this Most Great Cause  

71. His shining and glorious Cause

72. Thine irresistible Cause

73. a heavenly Cause

74. this most great and lofty Cause

75. this new and living Cause

76. this most great and lofty Cause

77. this great and glorious Cause

78. this wonderful Cause

79. this new Cause

80. this great and most holy Cause

81. this sacred Cause

82. this steadily-growing Cause

83. this glorious Cause

84. this Holy Cause

85. this Divine Cause

86. this most precious Cause



87. such a Holy Cause

88. such a great Cause

89. so challenging a Cause

90. so unique, so enduring, so precious a Cause

91. so noble a Cause

92. so transcendent and priceless a Cause

93. so mighty a Cause

94. so pre-eminent and meritorious a Cause

95. so glorious and mighty a Cause

96. this all-embracing and all-compelling Cause

97. This most mighty Sovereignty

98. this Scene of transcendent glory

99. this Seat of stainless sanctity

100. this divine and glorious Vision

101. This most resplendent Dispensation

102. This glorious Dispensation

103. This wondrous Dispensation

104. This wondrous and exalted Dispensation

105. This most mighty Dispensation

106. This new and wondrous dispensation

107. This sacred Dispensation

108. This great dispensation

109. This divine dispensation

110. This universal dispensation

111. This Most Great Dispensation

112. This shining and luminous Beauty

113.  My marvelous Revelation

114 a mysterious Faith 


115 This greatest of all Dispensations

 

(First five photographs copyright © 2006 Baha'i International Community used with permission; final photograph copyright © 2006 Michael Bernhard, used with permission)

REFERENCES
1. �qán p. 77 paragraph 84

2. Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 190
 
3. The Most Holy Tablet, Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p. 12

4. Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p. 240

5. The Most Holy Book, p. 61, paragraph 116

6. Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 14

7. The Most Holy Book, p. 71-72, paragraph 143

8. Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 10
  
9. Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 288

10. Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 183

11. Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 105

12. Prayers and Meditations by Baha'u'llah, p. 276

13. Proclamation of Baha'u'llah, p. 34

14. Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 117

15. The Most Holy Book, p. 32, Paragraph #37.

16. Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 82

17. Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 95

18. Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 97

19. Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 273

20. Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 294

21. Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 330

22. Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 324

23. Book of Certitude, p. 112

24. Summons of the Lord of Hosts, p. 67, Paragaraph 1.130

25. Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 325

26. Book of Certitude, p. 227

27. Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p. 247

28. Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 79

29. The Promised Day is Come, p. 118

30. Messages to America, p. 52

31. The Promised Day is Come, p. 13

32. The Promised Day is Come, p. 48

33. The Promised Day is Come, p. 78

34. The World Order of Baha’u’llah, p. 24

35. The World Order of Baha’u’llah, p. 62

36. The World Order of Baha’u’llah, p. 100

37. The World Order of Baha’u’llah, p. 103

38. The World Order of Baha’u’llah, p. 112

39. The World Order of Baha’u’llah, p. 123

40. God Passes By, p. 53

41. God Passes By, p. 103

42. Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 271

43. The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 236

44. God Passes By, p. 7

45. The Promised Day is Come, pp. 15-16

47. The World Order of Baha’u’llah, p. 124

48. The World Order of Baha’u’llah, p. 124

49. Book of Certitude, p. 252-253

50. The Most Holy Book, p. 36, paragraph 45

51. Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 136

52. Selections from the Writings of the Bab, p. 193.

53. Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 105

54. the Qayyumu'l-Asma, Selections from the Writings of the Bab, p. 41

55. the Qayyumu'l-Asma, Selections from the Writings of the Bab, p. 63

56. Messages to the Baha'i World, p. 101

57. Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, pp. 57-58

58. Tablet of Tarazat (Ornaments), Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p. 44

59. Tablet of Tarazat (Ornaments), Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p. 44

60. Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p. 260

61. Tablet to Siyyid Mihdiy-i-Dahaji, Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p. 201

62. Book of Certitude, p. 65

63. Book of Certitude, p. 77

64. Book of Certitude, p. 88

65. Tablet of Ishraqat (Splendours), Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p. 132

66. Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p. 235

67. The Most Holy Book, p. 62, Paragraph #117

68. Book of Certitude, p. 83

69. Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 83

69a Paragraph 154, The Most Holy Book

69b Paragraph 167, The Most Holy Book

70. Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 162

71. The Most Holy Book, p. 60, paragraph 113

72. Epistle to the Son of the Wolf p. 104

73. `Abdu’l-Baha, Japan Will Turn Ablaze! p. 6

74. `Abdu’l-Baha, The World Order of Baha’u’llah, p. 38

75. Selections from the Writings of `Abdu’l-Baha, p. 62

76. The Secret of Divine Civilization, p. 66

77. Paris Talks, p. 167

78. Tablets of `Abdu’l-Baha Abbas, Vol. I, p. 73

79. Tablets of `Abdu’l-Baha Abbas, Vol. I, p. 142

80. Tablets of `Abdu’l-Baha Abbas, Vol. II, p. 474

81. Baha’i Administration, p. 66

82. Baha’i Administration, p. 125

83. Citadel of Faith, p. 141

84. Unfolding Destiny, p. 170

85. Unfolding Destiny, p. 446

86. Dawn of a New Day, p. 134

87. Unfolding Destiny, p. 455

88. Baha’i Administration, p. 68

89. The Advent of Divine Justice, p. 3

90. Baha’i Administration, p. 61

91. Citadel of Faith, p. 93

92. Messages to America, p. 104

93. God Passes By, p. 409

94. Unfolding Destiny, p. 320

95. Letters to Australia and New Zealand 1923-1957, p. 11

96. The Summons of the Lord of Hosts, paragraph 1.98

97. Gleanings 180

98. The Summons of the Lord of Hosts, paragraph 1.97

99. The Summons of the Lord of Hosts, paragraph 1.97

100. The Summons of the Lord of Hosts, paragraph 1.98

101. �qán 222

102. Selections from the Writings of `Abdu'l-Bahá p. 30

103. �qán p. 173

104. �qán p. 105

105. Most Holy Book p. 109

106. Selections from the Writings of `Abdu'l-Bahá p. 112

107. Will and Testament of `Abdu'l-Bahá p. 13

108. Tablets of `Abdu'l-Bahá Abbas Vol. II, p. 449

109. Tablets of `Abdu'l-Bahá Abbas Vol. III, p. 647

110. Selections from the Writings of `Abdu'l-Bahá p. 145

111. Bahá'í Prayers 65

112. The Summons of the Lord of Hosts 29


113.  Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 325 

114. This Decisive Hour; Messages from the Guardian to America 1932-1946, paragraph 85.5 
 
115. This Decisive Hour; Messages from the Guardian to America 1932-1946,
paragraph 85.8


 

Abdu'l-Baha, and Saffa and Vafa Kinney

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Saffa and Vafa Kinney were pillars of the Faith, immensely blessed by the Master.  Edward was his birth name, but everyone knew him by the name the Master gave him, Saffa -- Serenity; and they called Carrie by the name the Master gave her, Vafa -- Certitude.

When Abdu'l-Baha's ship arrived in New York Harbor, and a multitude was awaiting Him on the dock, He asked Mr. Kinney to come on board, and He spoke with him.  Then He directed everyone to go to the Kinneys' home, and wait for Him there.  His first address on American soil was in the Kinney home:
How are you? Welcome! Welcome!
    After arriving today, although weary with travel, I had the utmost longing and yearning to see you and could not resist this meeting. Now that I have met you, all my weariness has vanished, for your meeting is the cause of spiritual happiness.
    I was in Egypt and was not feeling well, but I wished to come to you in America. My friends said, "This is a long journey; the sea is wide; you should remain here." But the more they advised and insisted, the greater became my longing to take this trip, and now I have come to America to meet the friends of God. This long voyage will prove how great is my love for you. There were many troubles and vicissitudes, but, in the thought of meeting you, all these things vanished and were forgotten.
    I am greatly pleased with the city of New York. Its harbor entrance, its piers, buildings and broad avenues are magnificent and beautiful. Truly, it is a wonderful city. As New York has made such progress in material civilization, I hope that it may also advance spiritually in the Kingdom and Covenant of God so that the friends here may become the cause of the illumination of America, that this city may become the city of love and that the fragrances of God may be spread from this place to all parts of the world. I have come for this. I pray that you may be manifestations of the love of Bahá'u'lláh, that each one of you may become like a clear lamp of crystal from which the rays of the bounties of the Blessed Perfection may shine forth to all nations and peoples. This is my highest aspiration.
    It was a long, long trip. The more we traveled, the greater seemed the expanse of the sea. The weather was brilliant and fine throughout; there was no storm and no end to the sea.
    I am very happy to meet you all here today. Praise be to God that your faces are shining with the love of Bahá'u'lláh. To behold them is the cause of great spiritual happiness. We have arranged to meet you every day at the homes of the friends.
    In the East people were asking me, "Why do you undertake this long voyage? Your body cannot endure such hardships of travel." When it is necessary, my body can endure everything. It has withstood forty years of imprisonment and can still undergo the utmost trials.
    I will see you again. Now I will greet each one of you personally. It is my hope that you will all be happy and that we may meet again and again.
Several important talks in the City of the Covenant recorded in The Promulgation of Universal Peace were in the Kinneys' home.

When the Master fell asleep on John Bosch's shoulder during an automobile drive in New York, that drive ended at the Kinneys' home.

When the Master told Howard MacNutt, who had followed Khayrullah and then came back to the Covenant, and for a bountiful reward was directed to compile all of the Master's addresses into The Promulgation of Universal Peace -- when the Master told Mr. MacNutt to go and tell the people, "I was like Saul, now I am Paul" -- that was at the Kinneys' house, as recounted here.

In the movie of Abdu'l-Baha at the MacNutt home in Brooklyn, Mr. Kinney and Mr. Getsinger at the beginning of the movie are together walking up the sidewalk after the Master does.

This experience of Howard Colby Ives was in the Kinneys' home:
Not long after that great first experience with 'Abdu'l-Bahá I was again talking with Him. It was in the beautiful home of Mr. and Mrs. Kinney, a family of the friends who seemed to feel that the gift of all which they possessed was too little to express their adoring love. Entering their home the roar of the city, the elegance and luxury of Riverside Drive, the poverty and wealth of our modern civilization all seemed to merge into a unity of nothingness and one entered an atmosphere of Reality. Those heavenly souls who thus demonstrated beyond any words their self-dedication had a direct influence upon my hesitating feet of which they could have had no suspicion. My heart throughout all worlds shall be filled with thankfulness to them.
    In this home I had become a constant habitue. I could not keep away. One day 'Abdu'l-Bahá, the interpreter and I were alone in one of the smaller reception rooms on the ground floor. 'Abdu'l-Bahá had been speaking of some Christian doctrine and His interpretation of the words of Christ was so different from the accepted one that I could not restrain an expression of remonstrance. I remember speaking with some heat:  "How is it possible to be so sure?" I asked. "No one can say with certainty what Jesus meant after all these centuries of misinterpretation and strife." He intimated that it was quite possible. It is indicative of my spiritual turmoil and my blindness to His station, that instead of His serenity and tone of authority impressing me as warranted it drove me to actual impatience. "That I cannot believe." I exclaimed. I shall never forget the glance of outraged dignity the interpreter cast upon me. It was as though he would say: "Who are you to contradict or even to question 'Abdu'l-Bahá!" But not so did 'Abdu'l-Bahá look at me. How I thank God that it was not! He looked at me a long moment before He spoke. His calm, beautiful eyes searched my soul with such love and understanding that all my momentary heat evaporated. He smiled as winningly as a lover smiles upon his beloved, and the arms of His spirit seemed to embrace me as He said softly that I should try my way and He would try His.
    It was as though a cool hand had been laid upon a fevered brow; as though a cup of nectar had been held to parched lips; as though a key had unlocked my hard-bolted, crusted and rusted heart. The tears started and my voice trembled, "I'm sorry," I murmured.
    Often since that day have I pondered on the tragic possibilities of the effect of an expression of the face. I have even thought I should like to write a book on The Glance that Saved the World, taking as a theme the way Jesus must have looked upon Peter after the three-fold denial. What could that glance have carried to the fear-stricken, doubting, angry Peter? Surely not the self-righteous, dignified look in the eyes of the interpreter for 'Abdu'l-Bahá. As surely it must have been something in the nature of the expression of all-embracing love, forgiveness and understanding with which 'Abdu'l-Bahá calmed and soothed and assured my heart.  ("Portals to Freedom," pp. 36 ff.)
Juliet Thompson records in her diary that during her Pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 1906, at which the Kinney family were fellow-pilgrims, these events occurred:
First, with a father's tender care, He came to the carriage with us and watched us start. At the house in Bahji He joined us in a cool, whitewashed room, its door and window-trimmings painted blue, the usual linen-covered divan lining its walls, under three wide windows. Outside stood wonderful trees, like still sentinels guarding the Tomb. Sanctity hung in the air, a brooding spirit. Nowhere else in the world is the beauty of nature so impregnated with the soul of Beauty, a reflection from another world. In the air of 'Akká and Carmel is -- Life.
    On a table was a single photograph, Lua's. Our Lord called me to sit by His side, then, pointing to the photograph, said: "Your friend!"
    I got it and placed it on a little table close to His elbow, between the couch where He sat and my own chair. As I did this His face lit up with a smile of heaven.
    Tea was brought in -- in the little clear glasses always used in 'Akká -- and He served us with His own hands. Then, seating Himself again on the divan, He called the four children who were with us: two of his own little grandsons (Shoghi Effendi and Ruhi) and the two Kinney boys, and with a lavish tenderness, a superabundance of overflowing love, such as could only have come from the very Centre and Source of Love, He drew all four to His knees, clasped them in His arms, which enclosed them all, gathered and pressed and crushed them to His Heart of hearts. Then He set them down on the floor and, rising, Himself brought their tea to them.
`Words absolutely fail me when I try to express the divine picture I saw then. With the Christ-love radiating from Him with the intensest sweetness I have yet witnessed, He stooped to the floor Himself to serve the little children, the children of the East and the children of the West. He sat on the floor in their midst, He put sugar into their tea, stirred it and fed it to them, all the while smiling celestially, an infinite tenderness playing on the great Immortal Face like white light. I cannot express it! In a corner sat an old Persian believer, in a state of complete effacement before his Lord, his head bowed, his eyelids lowered, his hands crossed on his breast. Tears were pouring down his cheeks.
Abdu'l-Baha and the Kinney family
Copyright © 2010 Baha'i National Archives, Wilmette
Used With Permission
During a meal during that Pilgrimage, Juliet writes:
He called Mr. Kinney's attention to the rice. "Rice. Rice," He said in English, "very good." Then looking at me and laughing: "She is smiling at My English!" "I smile because Your voice makes me happier than anything in the world."
    Soon, sensing my wish to speak to Him, only for the sake of speaking to Him: "Speak. Speak."
    But I had really nothing to say! I brought forth this: "Even this physical food is the best in the world."
"That is because of your intense love. A poison given by a friend is like honey. A Persian poet says: 'The poison which comes from  Thee to me is my antidote. A wound from Thee is remedy.' Certainly these physical dishes are tasteful to you because you have the greatest love."
    I supplicated that He might give me poison and wound me in His Cause, that I might be found worthy of this. "I will. When afflictions and bitter conditions taste sweet to man, this shows that he is favoured in the sight of God." Mr Kinney said: "I am not eating now, but my Master is feeding me." Our Lord: "I, Myself, am the Food." As He spoke His head was bowed, His hands upturned, like cups, in His lap. He sat, the embodiment of Divine humility. A great Mystery flooded the room, and a tremendous Power. "How like Jesus that sounds!" whispered Mr Kinney. "Jesus," said our Lord, His head still bowed, "was the Bread that came down from Heaven, but I am the Food prepared by the Blessed Beauty, Bahá'u'lláh."

Mr. Kinney recounted that the New York Spiritual Assembly met in the Kinney home: 
Mr Kinney: "The Board of Council has met for three years past in my studio and I am very proud of it."
Our Lord: "It is indeed worthy to be proud of. I hope your home may always be the place of the gatherings; that the beloved of God may always come together there, be engaged in commemoration of God, have heavenly talks and speak through the confirmation of the Holy Spirit. Your home will be one of the heavenly constellations, Insha'llah, and the stars will gather there."
Mr Kinney: "What could I ask for more?"
Our Lord: "There is nothing superior to this."

The Master permitted the Kinneys to remain as pilgrims in the Holy Land for eight months during 1906.  They asked Him for the privilege of returning the favor, imploring Him to visit America, and when He did, to stay as a guest in their home.  He did, and while in their home in New York He told Mrs. Kinney, "I am returning your visit, but while I am in your home I will be the host and you will be the guests."
SAFFA KINNEYCopyright © 2010 Baha'i National Archives, Wilmette
Used With Permission
On the occasion of Saffa Kinney's passing, Shoghi Effendi cabled to the Baha'i world:


GRIEVE PASSING DEARLY LOVED, HIGHLY ADMIRED, GREATLY TRUSTED, STAUNCH, INDEFATIGABLE, SELF-SACRIFICING TEACHER, PILLAR FAITH, SAFFA KINNEY. HIS LEONINE SPIRIT, EXEMPLARY STEADFASTNESS, NOTABLE RECORD SERVICES ENRICHED ANNALS CLOSING PERIOD HEROIC AGE OPENING PHASE FORMATIVE AGE BAHA'I DISPENSATION. BOUNTIFUL REWARD ASSURED ABHA KINGDOM BENEATH SHADOW MASTER HE LOVED SO DEARLY, SERVED SO NOBLY, DEFENDED SO HEROICALLY UNTIL LAST BREATH.  SHOGHI


"Saffa was so human."
(Statement by one of Saffa Kinney's friends after his passing.)

That beautiful scene recounted in Portals to Freedom (pp. 50 ff.), when Howard Colby Ives followed the Master up the stairs when the Master was so tired, and asked Him about Renunciation, was in the Kinneys' home.

One day the Master asked Saffa Kinney to walk with Him on Riverside Drive.  He stopped and looking deep in to Saffa's eyes asked in heart-piercing tones,
"Do you love Me?  Do you love Me?  Do you love Me?"


The next-to-last talk of the Master on America's shores was at the Kinneys' home:
I am greatly pleased with you all and rejoice that you have shown me the utmost kindness and affection. It is my desire that Bahá'u'lláh shall be pleased with you, that you may follow His precepts and become worthy of His confirmations. The requirements are that your minds must be illumined, your souls must be rejoiced with the glad tidings of God, you must become imbued with spiritual moralities, your daily life must evidence faith and assurance, your hearts must be sanctified and pure, reflecting a high degree of love and attraction toward the Kingdom of Abha. You must become the lamps of Bahá'u'lláh so that you may shine with eternal light and be the proofs and evidences of His truth. Then will such signs of purity and chastity be witnessed in your deeds and actions that men will behold the heavenly radiance of your lives and say, "Verily, ye are the proofs of Bahá'u'lláh. Verily, Bahá'u'lláh is the True One, for He has trained such souls as these, each one of which is a proof in himself." They will say to others, "Come and witness the conduct of these souls; come and listen to their words, behold the illumination of their hearts, see the evidences of the love of God in them, consider their praiseworthy morals, and discover the foundations of the oneness of humanity firmly implanted within them. What greater proof can there be than these people that the message of Bahá'u'lláh is truth and reality?" It is my hope that each one of you shall be a herald of God, proclaiming the evidences of His appearance, in words, deeds and thoughts. Let your actions and utterances be a witness that you are of the Kingdom of Bahá'u'lláh. These are the duties enjoined upon you by Bahá'u'lláh.
    Bahá'u'lláh endured the greatest hardships. He found neither rest by night nor peace by day. He was constantly under the stress of great calamity -- now in prison, now in chains, now threatened by the sword -- until finally He broke the cage of captivity, left this mortal world and ascended to the heaven of God. He endured all these tribulations for our sakes and suffered these deprivations that we might attain the bestowals of divine bounty. Therefore, we must be faithful to Him and turn away from our own selfish desires and fancies in order that we may accomplish that which is required of us by our Lord.
Abdu’l-Bahá seated in the Kinneys Home, New York City, 1912Copyright © 2010 Baha'i National Archives, Wilmette Used With Permission

Abdu’l-Bahá Farewell at New York Harbor, December 5, 1912
Copyright © 2010 Baha'i National Archives, Wilmette Used With Permission