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Align Yourself With Good Intention

 

 

I’m sure you've heard before that it’s important to set a clear intention when you want to accomplish something. But setting a clear intention is not only important when you want to accomplish a major goal, it’s important to understand the intention behind everything you say or do and to understand what kind of energy you are putting into something. It’s the intention and the energy behind it that determines the type of results that you get.

 

This affects everything that you do, so the more aware you are of your choices and your motivations for making those choices, the more easily you’ll be able to accomplish what you want because you’ll be in alignment with your intention. When you become more aware, you’ll also start to notice when the choices that you’re making are not helping you get what you really want.

 

For example, let’s say that your intention is to create a better life for yourself. So you work hard but it seems that no matter how hard you work, you cannot create the level of success you want and need in order to create the life that you want. Why isn't it working if your intention is a positive one? To understand this, you have to look at the energy you are bringing to the situation. What is the energy behind the intention? If you are feeling desperate because you are struggling to pay the bills, the energy that is behind your intention is that of desperation and fear.

 

So every action that you take, although it’s with the intention of creating a better life, is infused with that energy. What you will attract is more struggle, more reasons to feel desperation and fear. In other words, your actions have to be in alignment with your intention. The energy of your thoughts and your actions has to be in alignment with your intention. So if you push yourself to work hard, and won’t allow yourself any time off until you reach your goals, the energy behind what you are doing to yourself is not loving and compassionate, it is harsh, it comes from fear. It is not in alignment with creating a better life for yourself. If you want a better life, one of the first things to do is to start treating yourself better. Don’t push yourself so hard. Treat yourself gently and with compassion and respect.

 

If you find yourself working at three in the morning, or working through lunch, stop and ask yourself what is my intention in doing this? If the answer is, I’m doing this so I can make more money and create a better life for myself, then ask yourself what is the energy behind the action that you’re taking (working late)? The energy behind it does not come from love – you are not being loving towards yourself. It comes from fear. You’re afraid that if you don’t work that hard you won’t make it.

 

Even though the part of you that sets your positive intentions that wants the best for you, there are other parts of your personality that don’t agree with or... think you can’t have that, just like what I talked about earlier. These are the parts of your personality that are afraid, they operate from fear. Self awareness is always the key to transformation and if you want to really understand how to fulfill your intentions, pay attention to the energy behind what you do. When the energy behind your actions is fear based, you will attract more of that energy. When the energy behind your actions comes from love, then you will attract more love. The choice is yours and you’re already making those choices, but mostly unconsciously. When you make them conscious, then you come into alignment with what you really want.

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War Is a Racket is a speech and a 1935 short book, by Smedley D. Butler, a retired United States Marine Corps Major General and two-time Medal of Honor recipient. Based on his career military experience, Butler frankly discusses how business interests commercially benefit, such as war profiteering from warfare. He had been appointed commanding officer of the Gendarmerie during the United States occupation of Haiti, which lasted from 1915 to 1934.

"I spent 33 years and four months in active military service and during that period I spent most of my time as a high class muscle man for Big Business, for Wall Street and the bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism. I helped make Mexico and especially Tampico safe for American oil interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefit of Wall Street. I helped purify Nicaragua for the International Banking House of Brown Brothers in 1902-1912. I brought light to the Dominican Republic for the American sugar interests in 1916. I helped make Honduras right for the American fruit companies in 1903. In China in 1927 I helped see to it that Standard Oil went on its way unmolested. Looking back on it, I might have given Al Capone a few hints. The best he could do was to operate his racket in three districts. I operated on three continents."

"Beautiful ideals were painted for our boys who were sent out to die. The was the "war to end wars." This was the "war to make the world safe for democracy." No one told them that dollars and cents were the real reason. No one mentioned to them, as they marched away, that their going and their dying would mean huge war profits. No one told these American soldiers that they might be shot down by bullets made by their own brothers here. No one told them that the ships on which they were going to cross might be torpedoed by submarines built with United State patents. They were just told it was to be a "glorious adventure."

"Thus, having stuffed patriotism down their throats, it was decided to make them help pay for the war, too. So, we gave them the large salary of $30 a month!"

"All that they had to do for this munificent sum was to leave their dear ones behind, give up their jobs, lie in swampy trenches, eat canned willy (when they could get it) and kill and kill and kill...and be killed."

~Smedley D. Butler, War is a Racket: The Antiwar Classic by America's Most Decorated Soldier

 
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According to the Qu'ran, self-consciousness means realization of one's own self through nourishing or nurturing and reviving one's own inner and inborn talents and potentialities which are embedded followed by a profound understanding of the realities of the universe and divine attributes. Hence, self-consciousness means realization and restoration of man's essence which he likes and adores.
Thus, self-consciousness has various degrees and it is of different categories and types such as innate self-consciousness, universal self-consciousness and Gnostic or mystical [irfani] self-consciousness. The latter is the most perfect of them since it has a lot to do with man's relationship with the actuality and primacy of his own existence as the vicegerent of Allah on earth. In this study, we shall deal with the most important of them:

1. Innate Self-consciousness:

Man is self-conscious innately. It is in his nature to be self-conscious. It is not so that first man's ego is formed and thereafter he becomes conscious of it. This type of consciousness is not from the category of thinking, nor is it from the category of acquired knowledge. In fact, it is a kind of awareness and knowledge by presence. Consciousness by presence means that I am and that I am conscious of my existence and the inner potentials. This type of self-consciousness is real and equal to his personality. In this kind of self-consciousness, man realizes a reality called "ego" which is the same as his consciousness of his personality. There is no doubt that in this phenomenon, one cannot have direct knowledge of "ego", rather, first, the internal forces and activities are realized and then the "ego" is realized for self-consciousness by presence.
Referring to the stages of man's creation and his formation in the uterus as the last stage which is the most important stage of human creation, the Qu'ran says
Then We developed him into another creation."
This verse refers to the fact that matter subconsciously turn into a self-conscious spiritual essence.

In other words, He gifted him life, power, knowledge and an innate essence which he terms as "I".

2. Universal Self-consciousness:

It means the knowledge of self in its relation to the world - the knowledge of the answer to such questions as: Where have I come from? Where am I going to? In this kind of self-consciousness man discovers that he is a part of a whole called the world. He knows that he is not independent. That is, he has not come independently of others. He does not live independently or he does not leave this world on himself. He wants to determine his own situation in the entirety of this universe.
These significant words of Imam Ali visualize this sort of self-consciousness: "May Allah bless the man who knows wherefrom he has come; where he is and where he will go".
There are a lot of verses about man's origin and resurrection in the world after death. These verses call on man to have knowledge of the reality of life in this world and hereafter. It says, "We are from Allah and to Him do we return".
"He it is Who created you from clay, then He decreed a term; and there is a term named with Him; still you doubt."
"Allah is He Who created you, then gave you sustenance, then He causes you to die, then brings you to life."

3. Mystical Self-consciousness:

Mystic self-consciousness is the knowledge of self in relation to Allah. According to the mystics this relation is not of that kind which normally exists between two things existing side by side, such as the relation between a man and other members of his society. It is that kind of relation that exists between a main and a subsidiary, or a genuine and a figurative. In the terminology of the mystics themselves, it is the relation between the limited and the absolute. The anguish of the mystic is an inner consciousness of a spiritual need just as a physical pain is the warning of the existence of a physical need.
The anguish of a mystic, on the other hand, is the proclamation of the instinctive need of his sense of love which wants to soar and cannot be satisfied unless he touches the truth with his entire existence. A mystic believes that real self-consciousness is nothing other than having knowledge of Allah. According to him, what the philosopher calls the ego of man, is not the real ego. It may be man's spirit, soul or the factors determining his existence. The real ego is Allah. Only by breaking through the factors determining his existence, man can know his real self.
So according to the mystic, soul or life is not the ego, nor the knowledge of them amounts to self-consciousness. Soul and life are only the manifestations of ego and self. The real ego is Allah. When man annihilates himself and breaks the factors determining his existence, no trace of his life and soul is left. At that time the drop of water which had separated from the sea, returns to the sea and is obliterated there. That is the stage of real self-consciousness. At this stage man sees himself in everything and everything in himself. Thus he becomes aware his real self. "He loves them and they love him".

Mystical self-consciousness is the outcome of innate and universal self-consciousness. As per the Qu'ran, what runs counter to self-consciousness and causes hindrance is "self-oblivion" which is due to neglecting God. "And be you not like those who forgot Allah; and He made them forget their own souls! Such are the rebellious transgressors!"

Indeed, if a man forgets Allah, he will also forget divine attributes to which man's essential qualities are directly connected. If man does not seek self-consciousness and he does not revive it in himself, he will forget Allah and will be ready to commit any possible sin as well as to derail from the path of servitude to Allah.

 
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African Chiefs Urged To Apologize For Slave Trade


 

 

 

Traditional African rulers whose ancestors collaborated with European and Arab slave traders should follow Britain and the United States by publicly saying sorry, according to human rights organisations.
The Civil Rights Congress of Nigeria has written to tribal chiefs saying: "We cannot continue to blame the white men, as Africans, particularly the traditional rulers, are not blameless."


The appeal has reopened a sensitive debate over the part some chiefs played in helping to capture their fellow Africans and sell them into bondage as part of the transatlantic slave trade.
The congress argued that the ancestors of the chiefs had helped to raid and kidnap defenseless communities and traded them to Europeans. They should now apologize to "put a final seal to the history of slave trade", it said.


"In view of the fact that the Americans and Europe have accepted the cruelty of their roles and have forcefully apologized, it would be logical, reasonable and humbling if African traditional rulers ... [can] accept blame and formally apologize to the descendants of the victims of their collaborative and exploitative slave trade."


Estimates vary that between 10 million and 28 million Africans were sent to the Americas and sold into slavery between 1450 and the early 19th century.
More than a million are believed to have died in transit across the so-called "middle passage" of the Atlantic due to inhumane conditions aboard slave ships and the brutal crushing of any resistance.
Three years ago Tony Blair described Britain's participation as a "crime against humanity" and expressed his "deep sorrow". The US Senate voted for an apology this year.


Shehu Sani, head of the congress, said it was calling for traditional rulers to apologise now because they were seeking inclusion in a forthcoming constitutional amendment in Nigeria.
"We felt that for them to have the moral standing to be part of our constitutional arrangement there are some historical issues for them to address," he told the BBC World Service. "One part of which is the involvement of their institutions in the slave trade."
He said that on behalf of the buyers of slaves, the ancestors of the traditional rulers "raided communities and kidnapped people, shipping them away across the Sahara or across the Atlantic".
Many slaves captured inland in Africa died on the long journey to the coast.


The position was endorsed by Henry Bonsu, a British-born broadcaster of Ghanaian descent who examined the issue in Ghana for a radio documentary. He said some chiefs had accepted responsibility and sought atonement by visiting Liverpool and the United States.
"I interviewed a chief who acknowledged there was collaboration and that without that involvement we wouldn't have seen human trafficking on an industrial scale," said Bonsu, the co-founder of digital station Colorful Radio.


"An apology in Nigeria might be helpful because the chiefs did some terrible things and abetted a major crime."


The non-government organisation Africa Human Right Heritage, based in Accra, Ghana, supports the campaign for an apology. Baffour Anning, its chief executive, said: "I certainly agree with the Nigeria Civil Rights Congress that the traditional leaders should render an apology for their role in the inhuman slavery administration." He said it would accord with the UN's position on human rights.
But the issue was not a high priority for most African citizens, according to Bonsu. "In my experience it's mainly the African diaspora who want an apology. People aren't milling around Lagos or Accra moaning about why chiefs don't apologize. They are more concerned about the everyday and why they still have bad governance."

 


Fred Swaniker, the founder of the African Leadership Academy, said: "I'm not sure whether an apology is needed, but it would be worth looking at and acknowledging the role Africa did play in the slave trade. Someone had to find the slaves and bring them before the Europeans."
The shameful history of some traditional leaders remains an awkward subject on which many politicians prefer to maintain silence. One exception was in 1998 when Yoweri Museveni, the president of Uganda, told an audience including Bill Clinton: "African chiefs were the ones waging war on each other and capturing their own people and selling them. If anyone should apologise it should be the African chiefs. We still have those traitors here even today."

 
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Igbo People and the Atlantic Slave Trade

 

 

The Igbo in the Atlantic slave trade became one of the main ethnic groups enslaved in the era lasting between the 16th and late 19th century. Located near indigenous Igbo territory, the Bight of Biafra (also known as the Bight of Bonny), became the principal area in obtaining Igbo slaves. The Bight’s major slave trading ports were located in Bonny and Calabar; a large number of these slaves Igbo. Slaves, kidnapped or bought from fellow Igbos, were taken to Europe and the Americas by European slave traders. An estimated 14.6% of slaves were taken from the Bight of Biafra between 1650 and 1900, the third greatest percentage in the era of the transatlantic slave trade.

 


Ethnic groups were fairly saturated in certain parts of the Americas because of planters preferences for certain African peoples. The Igbo were dispersed to colonies such as Jamaica, Cuba, Haiti,Barbados, the colonies in the future United States, Belize, Trinidad and Tobago among others. Elements of Igbo culture can still be found in these places. In the United States the Igbo were commonly found in the states of Maryland and Virginia.


How slaves were acquired

The slave trade in this region really started to take off with the appearance of the first Portuguese Ships. There were multiple different ways that people were gathered or taken to be sold off to the Europeans. Most of the slaves that were taken were from the Igbo and the Ibibio peoples, as well as some of the smaller groups in the surrounding area. While some people were taken during raids and wars, it was not the most common way for people to become enslaves, contrary to popular belief. One of the more common ways for people to become enslaved were to be sold off. For example, if a thief was caught in a village, the person would be sold to the slave traders by the elders. The elders would then use the money for the betterment of the community. Another example is for people who were unfaithful to their spouse. Women who had committed adultery could be sold off by their husbands. Another common way to be brought into slavery was to be sold, or "pawned" to settle debts. Children were often used to settle these debts.

Kidnapping is also a common way to be forced into slavery. Slave traders would often seek out children who were alone, or small groups of people who were traveling and ambush them. This forced people to have to travel in rather large, armed, groups to protect themselves. Although this is similar to war and raiding, it is at a much smaller scale. Children who were home alone while their parents were working were especially easy targets for the slave traders.

Adults were the most common ones taken, amounting to roughly 85% of the total slave trade from this region, children only made up about 15%. The main reason for this was because adults were already capable of performing hard labor, and had better chances of surviving the grueling journey across the sea.

Effects

It is estimated that a total of 1.4 million Igbo people were transported (via European ships) across the Atlantic in the era of Atlantic slave trade. Most of these ships were British.

Dispersal

Some recorded populations of people of African descent on Caribbean islands recorded 2,863 Igbo on Trinidad and Tobago in an 1813 census; 894 in Saint Lucia in an 1815 census; 440 on Saint Kitts and Nevis in an 1817 census; and 111 in Guayana in an 1819 census.

Barbados


The Igbo were dispersed to Barbados in large numbers. Olaudah Equiano, a famous Igbo author, abolitionist and ex-slave, was dropped off there after being kidnapped from his hometown near the Bight of Biafra. After arriving in Barbados he was promptly shipped to Virginia. At his time, 44 percent of the 90,000 Africans disembarking on the island (between 1751 and 1775) were from the bight. These Africans were therefore mainly of Igbo origin. The links between Barbados and the Bight of Biafra had begun in the mid-seventeenth century, with half of the African captives arriving on the island originating from there.

Haiti

Some slaves arriving in Haiti included Igbo people who were considered suicidal and therefore unwanted by plantation owners. According to Adiele Afigbo there is still the Creole saying of Ibos pend'cor'a yo (the Ibo hang themselves). Aspects of Haitian culture that exhibit this can be seen in the Ibo loa, a Haitian

 
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Black Washitaw Nation of America

 

One of the saddest aspects of enslavement in the Americas, particular North America, is the fact that all forms of education was denied us and still is today. Blacks were forced to remain ignorant and told they have no history or culture. Well, here is the problem, most African-Americans are still void of historical knowledge particularly of their ownership to lands right here in the U.S.

 

Blacks owned about one million square miles of land in the Louisiana Territories and the South Eastern/Florida region, as well as California. In all these areas of the U.S., there were Black African-American nations before Columbus, who were targeted for enslavement due to the Papal Edict that gave the Christian nations of Europe the go-ahead to make slaves of all descendants of Ham found in the newly discovered lands This fact cannot be denied. The essay on Black Civilizations of Ancient America, published as the great book; Economics the History of Pan-African Trade, Commerce, Money and Wealth, tells a reality of this.

 

 


 

While many of Africans? ancestors were kidnapped in Africa, many were Africans who came from West Africa, had a number of kingdoms and empires in the Southern parts of the U.S., and who were captured, had their lands taken and their persons sold into slavery. These Africans were direct black ancestors and their had a continuing connection with West Africa which included trade and commerce on the very eve of the invasion of the Europeans to the Americas.

 

 

In 1991, the U.S. returned about 68,000 square acres of land to the Washitaw Nation of Louisiana, one of the prehistoric Black nations of the United States. This group of Blacks is the evidence of the Black ownership of land and the Black presence before English and Spanish/French colonization of North America.

 

Many Blacks living today are descended from the pre-Columbian Black nations and it is time that issue is included in the reparation discussion. They should locate who are the descendants of these
pre-Columbian African nations in the U.S. (perhaps the entire mixed African-American population, since most of these Black tribes were enslaved and shipped to plantations and mixed with Blacks from Africa).

 


When discussing reparations, they must realize that more than the actual performance of slave labor was involved. The taking of Blacks aboriginal lands in North America was also involved in this great trade, which was part of a grand conspiracy by the European powers, in which they used biblical mythology to promote their policies.


Black researchers should do the work necessary to find the documentation proving that as recently as the 1800?s, the U.S. fought with a Black nation in California called the ?Black Californians, and that that Black nation ended up on slave plantations in the U.S., while others were sent to salt mines in Mexico.

 

The French and Spanish have documentation on the Black Washitaw Nation who once owned much of the annexed Louisiana Territories. In fact, the Washitaw Nation regard the states of Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Mississippi as Washitaw Proper, and as of this very moment, the Washitaw Nation is recognized by nations around the world as one of the most ancient nations in the Americas.


According to the present leadership of the Washitaw Empire, the Wasitaw are the descendants of prehistoric African sea farers who settled in the Mississippi Valley Region and the Southern U.S., thousands of years Before Christ. They were boat builders, builders of pyramid mounds, Seafarers and practiced agriculture.

 

The Washitaw originally came from Africa and were Africans. The Washitaw are still African Negritic peoples and they, like many of the ancient Blacks who live in the Americas became victims of the Papal Edict which opened the way for the colonialization of the New World and the taking of people into slavery and occupation of their lands.

 

The Washitaw build hundreds of earthen pyramid mounds all over the southern and midwestern parts of the U.S. Some, such as the mound at Poverty Point in Louisiana is one of the most sacred sites of the Washitaw. Skeletons found in Washitaw gravesites from the pre-Columbian period show a tall people with characteristics similar to Africans.

It is time to get to do a thorough job on the reparation issue. What need to be done is not discussing how to parcel out the money we may receive, but how to gain lands taken from our ancestors and how to create a nation of independent minded people who will use their skills to rebuild the Black nation in America and return to the glorious renaissance Blacks had right here in the U.S., Mexico and Africa before European colonialism.

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Al-Jāḥiẓ  (real name Abu Uthman Amr ibn Bahr al-Kinani al-Basri) (born in Basra, 781 – December 868/January 869) was an Arabic prose writer and author of works of literature, Mu'tazili theology, and politico-religious polemics.
In biology, Al-Jāḥiẓ introduced the concept of food chains and also proposed a scheme of animal evolution that entailed natural selection, environmental determinism and possibly the inheritance of acquired characteristics.

 

Early life

Not much is known about al-Jāḥiẓ's early life, but his family was very poor. Born in Basra, He said in a book he wrote that he was a member of the Arabian tribe Banu Kinanah. However, his dark skin led some people to say thay he was the grandson of a black slave.He used to sell fish along one of the canals in Basra to help his family. Yet, despite his difficult financial troubles, that didn't stop him from seeking knowledge since his youth. He used to gather with a group of other youths at the main mosque of Basra, where they discussed various subjects of sciences. He also attended various lectures given by the most learned men in philology, lexicography, and poetry.
Al-Jāḥiẓ continued his studies, and over a span twenty-five years, he had acquired great knowledge about Arabic poetry, Arabic philology, history of the Arabs and Persians before Islam, and he studied the Qur'an and the Hadiths. He also read translated books of Greek sciences and Hellenistic philosophy, especially that of Greek philosopher Aristotle. His education was highly facilitated due to the fact that the Abbasid Caliphate was in a period of cultural, and intellectual revolutions. Books became readily available, and this made learning easily available.

While still in Basra, Al-Jāḥiẓ wrote an article about the institution of the Caliphate. This is said to have been the beginning of his career as a writer, which would become his sole source of living. It's said that his mother once offered him a tray full of notebooks and told him that he'll earn his living from writing. Since then, he had authored two hundred books throughout his lifetime that discuss a variety of subjects including Arabic grammar, zoology, poetry, lexicography, and rhetoric. The staggering number of books though, haven't all reached us, only thirty books survived.
He moved to Baghdad, the capital of the Arab Islamic Caliphate at the time, in 816 AD, because the Abbasid Caliphs encouraged scientists and scholars and had just founded the House of Wisdom. Due to the Caliphs' patronage, his eagerness to reach a wider audience, and establish himself, Al-Jāḥiẓ stayed in Baghdad (and later Samarra) where he wrote a huge number of his books. The Caliph Al-Ma'mun wanted Al-Jāḥiẓ to teach his children, but then changed his mind when his children got afraid of his boggle-eyes (جاحظ العينين), it's said that this is where he got his nickname.

Theory of Evolution

Al-Jāhiz was one of the first Muslim biologists to develop a theory on evolution.
He wrote on the effects of the environment on the likelihood of an animal to survive, and he first described the struggle for existence. Al-Jāḥiẓ was also the first to discuss food chains, and was also an early adherent of environmental determinism, arguing that the environment can determine the physical characteristics of the inhabitants of a certain community and that the origins of different human skin colors is the result of the environment. His Book of Animals states,
Animals engage in a struggle for existence; for resources, to avoid being eaten and to breed. Environmental factors influence organisms to develop new characteristics to ensure survival, thus transforming into new species. Animals that survive to breed can pass on their successful characteristics to offspring.
His book was a major influence on Arab scholars of the 11th to 14th centuries, and the Latin translations of their work in turn became known to Charles Darwin's predecessors, Linnaeus, Buffon and Lamarck.

Most important books

Kitab al-Hayawan (Book of Animals)
The al-Hayawan is an encyclopedia of seven volume of anecdotes, poetic descriptions and proverbs describing over 350 varieties of animals. The work was considered by the 11th-century Muslim scholar Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi to be "little more than a plagiarism" of Aristotle's Kitāb al-Hayawān, a charge that was once levelled against Aristotle himself with regard to a certain "Asclepiades of Pergamum". Later scholars have noted that there was only a limited Aristotelian influence in al-Jāḥiẓ's work, and that al-Baghdadi may have been unacquainted with Aristotle's work.
In the work al-Jāḥiẓ speculates on the influence of environment on animals, a concept considered by some to be a precursor to evolution. It is considered as the most important work of Al-Jāḥiẓ.


Kitab al-Bukhala (Book of Misers) also (Avarice & the Avaricious)
A collection of stories about the greedy. Humorous and satirical, it is the best example of al-Jāḥiẓ' prose style. It is an insightful study of human psychology. Al-Jāḥiẓ ridicules schoolmasters, beggars, singers and scribes for their greedy behavior. Many of the stories continue to be reprinted in magazines throughout the Arabic-speaking world. The book is considered one of the best works of al-Jāḥiẓ.


Kitab al-Bayan wa al-Tabyin (The Book of eloquence and demonstration)
Al bayan wa tabyeen, which literally means (eloquence and demonstration), was one of his later works, in which he wrote on epiphanies, rhetorical speeches, sectarian leaders, and princes.
Risalat mufakharat al-sudan 'ala al-bidan (Treatise on Blacks)
On the Zanj [ "Black Africans"]
Everybody agrees that there is no people on earth in whom generosity is as universally well developed as the Zanj. These people have a natural talent for dancing to the rhythm of the tambourine, without needing to learn it. There are no better singers anywhere in the world, no people more polished and eloquent, and no people less given to insulting language. No other nation can surpass them in bodily strength and physical toughness. One of them will lift huge blocks and carry heavy loads that would be beyond the strength of most Bedouins or members of other races. They are courageous, energetic, and generous, which are the virtues of nobility, and also good-tempered and with little propensity to evil. They are always cheerful, smiling, and devoid of malice, which is a sign of noble character.
The Zanj say to the Arabs: You are so ignorant that during the jahiliyya you regarded us as your equals when it came to marrying Arab women, but with the advent of the justice of Islam you decided this practice was bad. Yet the desert is full of Zanj married to Arab wives, and they have been princes and kings and have safeguarded your rights and sheltered you against your enemies.their environment that made them so. The best evidence of this is that there are black tribes among the Arabs, such as the Banu Sulaim bin Mansur, and that all the peoples settled in the Harra, besides the Banu Sulaim are black. These tribes take slaves from among the Ashban to mind their flocks and for irrigation work, manual labor, and domestic service, and their wives from among the Byzantines; and yet it takes less than three generations for the Harra to give them all the complexion of the Banu Sulaim.

The Zanj say that God did not make them black in order to disfigure them; rather it is their environment that made them so. The best evidence of this is that there are black tribes among the Arabs, such as the Banu Sulaim bin Mansur, and that all the peoples settled in the Harra, besides the Banu Sulaim are black. These tribes take slaves from among the Ashban to mind their flocks and for irrigation work, manual labor, and domestic service, and their wives from among the Byzantines; and yet it takes less than three generations for the Harra to give them all the complexion of the Banu Sulaim. This Harra is such that the gazelles, ostriches, insects, wolves, foxes, sheep, asses, horses and birds that live there are all black. White and black are the results of environment, the natural properties of water and soil, distance from the sun, and intensity of heat. There is no question of metamorphosis, or of punishment, disfigurement or favor meted out by Allah. Besides, the land of the Banu Sulaim has much in common with the land of the Turks, where the camels, beasts of burden, and everything belonging to these people is similar in appearance: everything of theirs has a Turkish look.


His death

Al-Jāḥiẓ returned to Basra after spending more than fifty years in Baghdad. He died in Basra in 869 AD. His exact cause of death is not clear, but a popular assumption is that an accident, where the books piling up his private library, toppled over and crushed him, caused his death. He died at the age of 93. Another version said that he suffered from ill health and died in Muharram.

 

 

 

 

 

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Al-Jahiz (in Arabic الجاحظ) (real name Abu Uthman Amr ibn Bahr al-Kinani al-Fuqaimi al-Basri) (born in Basra, c. 781 – December 868 or January 869) was a famous Arab scholar, believed to have been an Afro-Arab of East African descent. He was an Arabic prose writer and author of works on Arabic literature, biology, zoology, history, early Islamic philosophy, Islamic psychology, Mu'tazili theology, and politico-religious polemics.  
The Zanj say that the best green is the darkest green. God, may he be exalted said: And besides these there are two gardens. When describing them so as to make people long for them God called them dark green. Ibn Abbas said : they became dark green through irrigation. Black ebony is the most solid and most durable of woods. It s also most expensive , free of disease, best fit for art-work. It is so heavy that of all woods expensive and cheap ones only ebony sinks in the water. Remember that even certain stones do not sink while ebony sinks immediately. A person remains handsome as long as his hair is still black and in paradise everyone will have black hair. The pupils of the eye, too are black and are they not the most precious part of the human body. The most expensive kohl is made of antimony which is black. This is why a hadith of the Prophet states that God will have all the faithful enter paradise hairless (on their body) beardless, and their eyes blackened with kohl. Man doesn’t have anything more useful in him than his liver, which ensures the good operation of the stomach and the digestion of food and the good functioning of the unit maintains the life of the body; however, the liver is black. Man does not have anything more valuable, more expensive in him than the black bile of his heart, a clot of black blood situated in the folds of this internal organ; it holds in this heart the same place as the brain in the head. The woman does not have anything sweeter and more pleasant than her lips, for the kiss; however, they are all the more beautiful as they are as close to the black as possible. Du r-Rumma says (Basit): Sunk are its lips blood-colored and purple, Of the same are her gums, fine and bright her teeth. The most pleasant shade and freshest is the shade [well] black. The poet says (Ragaz): Jet black, similar to the shade projected by the stone. Humaid b. Tawr says (Tawil): We sought the shade of a cave, while our mounts Sought the wood shade shaded on which would fall the evening, trees in the major shades, like Ascetic nuns, who prohibit the wine. Allah created, the night for the rest and recovery, and the day for the profit and the labor. One can also say that black is associated with activity as scorpions and snakes come out at night and bring their poison into the night. This activity counts for most wild animals and also ghosts. All this happens during the night. The blacks say; we also resemble the night like this. They also say : the greatest of siestas that last the longest is in the darkness of the closed door and windows. They also say : no color is deeper and homogeneous then black. A proverb to say that something is very far: You will not see this until tar becomes white and the raven gray-haired. According to the philosophers, black is the accident that fills the area. Musk and amber are the best perfumes. Both are black; as are the hardest rock. Abu Daddil al-Jumahi said the following lines in praise of al Azzaq al Makhzumi who was called Abd Allah ibn Abd Shams ibn al Mughira: My gratefulness to you is boundless; as long as there are rocks in the valley of the Lebanon, you will be the object of praise and precious in value. Just as there is no fault in the Black Stone. The Arabs draw glory from the black color. If an objector advances; "On what is that based, as they say: Such is of a pure white, bursting of whiteness, white and of clear face? We will answer: By this, the Arabs do not mean the whiteness of the skin, but rather the nobility and purity of character. The Hudr (of Banu) Muharib draw glory from their dark color, and people with the black dye are called among Arabs the hudr. As-Sammah b. Dirar says (Tawil): The camels leave in the evening Zarud, and [the setting sun] covered Zubala with the coat of the night. The poet says (Ragaz); Until the moment when the morning draws me from a dark night, Like the valiant knight who takes from the sleeve the well soaked sword. The Arabs qualify the iron as dark, because it is hard, and that it is dark means black. Al-Harit b. Hilliza says (Munsarih): When we force our camels from the branches of palm tree of Bahrain, a race not stopped until Al-Hisau retains them. We then put to defeat the troop of the son of Umm Qatam, The ones with the dark weapons of Persia. Al-Muharibi said the following about his being a member of the Khudr clan. Every man of virtue knows I'm a member of the Khudr clan of the tribe of Qays. Not easily to command; not enduring any injustice, and mentally sharp. The clan of Mughira are the Khudr of the tribe of Makhzum . Al Makhzumi spoke the following lines, which were also from al-Fadl ibn al-Abbas al Lihbi: I am the famous Al Akhdar, very well known The dark one in the land of the Arabs. Those finding me in a contest as adversary, find a noble man. The one who fills the bucket to the knot in the rope. The Khudr of the Ghassan tribe are the royal house of Jafna. Al Ghassani said: According to Al Hakam I'm a descendent from the royal Khudr. Of those who paid the blood money to those of Baris. Some poet; maybe Hassan mentions the Khudr of the Ukaym tribe; saying; You are not from the nobles of the clan Hashim, neither from the Jumah, Khudri, and the other powerful. The ten sons of Abd el Mottalib the grandfather of Mohammed were all black and strong. The Amir ibn al Tufayl said that the Kaba was well guarded when he saw them on black camels going around the Kaba. Ibn Abbas was black and very tall. Those of Abu Talib's family , who are the most noble of men, are more or less black. The Zanj say: The Prophet (p.b.u.h.) said: I was send to the red and the black. And everybody knows that the Zanj, Abyssinians and Nubians or surely not white or red but definitely black. We know that Allah, the Most Powerful and Exalted, sent His Prophet (to the people), all of them: Arabs and non-Arabs (ajam) alike. And if he (Muhammad) said: I was sent to the ruddy (Al-ahmar) and the dark-skinned (al-aswad), then in his view we are neither ruddy nor light-skinned (bid); so he was sent to us. Indeed, his use of the dark-skinned refers to us, as the people (of our community) are in one of these categories (i.e. either ruddy or dark-skinned). Therefore, if the Arabs are ruddy, then they belong to the Byzantines (Rum), Slaves (Saqaliba), Persians and Khurasanis. But if they belong to the dark-skinned peoples, then they are a sub-category of our stock. So they are called medium-complexioned and brownish-black (sumr sud) when they are classified with us, as the Arabs use the masculine gender to refer to a group consisting of females and males and if the Prophet – may Allah be pleased with him – knew that the Zanj, Ethiopians and Nubians were not ruddy or light-skinned, rather dark-skinned, and that Allah Most High sent him to the dark-skinned and the ruddy, then surely he made us and the Arabs equals. Hence, we are the only dark-skinned people. If the appellation dark-skinned applies to us, then we are the pure Sudan, and the Arabs only resemble us. Therefore we are the first people to whom he was missioned. Thus the appellation of the Arabs is predicated on ours, since we alone are designated dark-skinned, and they are not so designated unless they are part of us. The Zanj also say: The Arabs think that the more people the better but we are the most numerous on this world, and have the most children. You can say there are two kinds of people among us (among the Zanj) the ants and the dogs. Trying to measure the amount of Arabs with the amount of ants you will see the ants are more numerous. Well then still add the dogs to that amount. You really have to add on the people of Abyssinia, Nubia, Fazzan, Marawa, Zaghawa and all the other black tribes. Qahtan is far from Adman. We are closer kin to the Abyssinians and our mothers are closer kin then those of Adnan are to Qahtan. When talking about languages the one from Ajuz of the Hawazin tribe is very different. Languages can be very different but still have the same origin; or have different origins but resemble each other anyhow. The language in the different regions of Khurasan differ as well as those of Jibal and Faris it all depends on the region but they have the same origin.. They say: You have never seen the genuine Zanj. You have only seen captives who came from the coasts and forests and valleys of Qanbuluh, from our menials, our lower orders, and our slaves. The people of Qanbaluh have neither beauty nor intelligence. Qanbaluh is the name of the place by which your ships anchor. The natives in the Bilad Zanj are in both Qambalu (Pemba) and Lunjuya (Unguja), just as Arabs are the descendants of Adnan and Qahtan in the Middle East. You have yet to see a member of the Langawiya kind, either from the coast (al-Sawahil), or from the interior (al-Jouf). If you would meet these, you would forget the issue of fair looks and perfection. Now if you refuse to believe this, saying that you have yet to meet a Zanji with the brains even of a boy or a woman, we would reply to you, have you ever met among the enslaved of India and Sindh individuals with brains, education, culture and manners so as to expect these same qualities in what has fallen to you from among the Zanj. Yet you know how much there is in India of mathematics, astronomy, medical science, turnery and woodwork, painting, and many other wonderful crafts. How does it happen that among the many Indian captives you have made there has never been one of this quality, or even a tenth of this quality? If you say, People of standing, intelligence and knowledge only live in the centre, near the seat of government; these are hangers-on uncouth types, peasants, people of the coast and swamps and forests and islands, plowmen and fishermen, we answer you; the same is true of those who you see and those you do not see of us. Our answer to you is as your answer to us. They say; If a Zanji and a Zanji women marry and their children remain after puberty in Iraq, they come to rule the roost thanks to their numbers, endurance, knowledge, and efficiency. On the other hand, the child of an Indian and an Indian woman, or of a Greek and a Greek woman, or of a Khurasani and a Khurasani women remain among you and in your country in the same condition as their fathers and mothers. The child of two Zanji parents does not remain thus after puberty, so that we do not find, among ten thousand, one who does what we said, except when a Zanji mates with a non-Zanji woman or a Zanji women with a non-Zanji man. Were it not for the fact that neither the Zanji man nor the Zanji women has much desire for people of other races, we would see an abundant progeny for Zanji men, while Zanji women hardly respond to non-Zanji men. They say: Likewise, you whites are not very active in seeking progeny from Zanji women, and the Zanji women falls pregnant more swiftly to a Zanji than to a white man. They say; it hardly ever happens among you that a man has a hundred children sprung from his loins, unless it is a Caliph, and then it is because of the large number of his women. You don’t find this among the rest of you. Among the Zanj so large a progeny would not be considered remarkable, for there are many such in their country. A Zanji woman bears about 50 times in about 50 years, each bird being twins, so that there are more then ninety. For it is said that women do not bear children when they reach 60, except for what is told of the women of Quraysh in particular. The Zanj are the most eager of all God’s creatures for their women, and so also their women for them. They are also better compared to other women. Please think about what we have said. We have used facts from history as arguments and explained or quoted poetry from Arabs and others. Al Farazdaq was the one specialist of women and he had tried all races and remained unsatisfied. So he finally married Umm Makkiya the Zanj women and stayed with her. Forgetting all others because of her qualities. He made the following verse: He quotes Arab poet Farazdaq (d730) How many a tender daughter of the Zanj walks about with a hotly burning oven as broad as a drinking bowl. Dananir the daughter of Kabawayh al Zanji lived with Asha Sulaym. She was extremely black. Once she dyed her hands with henna and her eyes with black kohl. He made the following verse of it. She dyes the palm of her hands, palms as if clipped off from her forearm. She dyes the henna with her black color. She seems with the kohl in her pencil, as if she is applying kohl to her eyes with part of her skin. She answered with the following poem: Uglier than my color is the blackness of his arse. Contrasting with his skin, which is like palm pith or even whiter. In the streets they started calling him black and the street kids yelled it and he divorced her. The day of their wedding he had said: Dinars are of poor metal; and her response was: A white head is worse then my black color. The worst however are gray eyebrows. He kept quiet for some time and then attacked again. When she finally brought disgrace on him he divorced her. They say; If white men look on black women without desire, so too do black men look on white women without desire, for passions are habits and mostly convention. Thus, for the people of Basra, the most desirable women are Indians, the daughters of Indian women and Ghuris; for the Yemenis the most desirable women are Ethiopians and the daughters of Ethiopian women; for the Syrians the most desirable women are Greeks and the daughters of Greek women. Each people has a taste for the women whom they import as slaves and captives, apart from the exceptions, and no inferences can be drawn from exceptions. The Negroes also have the sweetest breath and the greatest amount of saliva being in this respect like the dog as compared with other animals. The Zanj say: Black delights the eye. When the eyes hurt a common prescription is sitting in the dark with a rag over the eyes. Good eyesight is the most precious thing for a person. They say : The blacks are more numerous than the whites. The whites at most consist of the people of Persia, Jibal, and Khurasan, the Greeks, Slavs, Franks, and Avars, and some few others, not very numerous; the blacks include the Zanj, Ethiopians, the people of Fazzan, the Berbers, the Copts, and Nubians, the people of Zaghawa, Marw, Sind and India, Qamar and Dabila, China, and Masin... the islands in the seas between China and Africa are full of blacks, such as Ceylon, Kalah, Amal, Zabij, and their islands, as far as India, China, Kabul, and those shores. They say; Al-Ishtiyan the blind man used to say; There are more blacks than whites, more rocks than mud, more sand than soil, more saltwater than sweet water. They say; The Arabs belong with us and not with the whites, because their color is nearer to ours. The Indians are more bronzed than the Arabs, and they belong to the blacks. For the Prophet, God bless and save him, said; I was sent to the red and the black, and everyone knows that the Arabs are not red, as we already have stated above. He said; This advantage belongs to us and to the Arabs, as against the whites, if the Arabs want it. If they do not want it, then the advantage is ours alone against all the rest. The Zanj also say: If we are more numerous because of Zabaj alone we would still be far superior to you because of our merit. If it happens that the king of Zabaj has problems with the citizens, and they don't pay their taxes, he sends his army of thousands of people not with orders to beat and fight them. He does give orders for his soldiers to settle between them till they pay them. His army is bothering the people so badly by taking food and clothing from them that it is easier to pay the taxes. If they still don't pay he sends more regiments. The local rulers always wind up paying for fear he and his people will finally be destroyed by the army. Once a king of Zabay reached an estuary which is several parasangs long and wide. In his camp he heard a women crying. He interrupted his meal to go and ask what had happened. He was told that the son of the women was eaten by a crocodile in the swamp. The king got angry because a creature existed that just like him took the right to decide on live or dead of his people. He dived into the water, all his soldiers followed him. They finished every single crocodile in the place with their hands. The people of Zabay alone are half of the population on earth. On the ends of the inhabited world all are black people. These ends are more populated then the central area, just like the circumference of a windmill in the wind is bigger than the pivot of that windmill. It is like the balcony of a house; it is narrow but as it goes all around the house its total area is bigger then the house itself. After the land of Zabay there are no more white people as we have reached there the periphery of the world where all are black. This is a proof that we are more numerous then the whites and we have the right to be proud of it. One of the white poets said: You are not more then they in number and glory belongs to those bigger in number. The Zanj also say: The Copts too are blacks. Abraham the friend of God married one of them and so was born a big prophet the ancestor of the Arabs; Ismael. The Prophet (p.b.u.h.) also married one of them and Ibrahim was born. The angel Gabriel when addressing the prophet called him father of Ibrahim. The Zanj also say: The Black Stone is from paradise. The darker a piece of copper the more it is worth. To those who despise the color black, we would reply that the excessive lanky, thin, and reddish hair of the Franks, Greeks, and Slavs, the redness of their locks and beards, the whiteness of their eyelashes, are uglier and more loathsome. There are no albinos among blacks, but only among you. The Zanj also say : We also have philosophers from among us as well as theologians and we have fine manners. God may he be exalted , did not make them black in order to disfigure them; rather it is their environment that made them so. The best evidence of this is that there are black tribes among the Arabs, such as the Banu Sulaim bin Mansur, and that all the peoples settled in the Harra, besides the Banu Sulaim are black. These tribes take slaves from among the Ashban to mend their flocks and for irrigation work, manual labor, and domestic service, and they take their wives from among the Byzantines; and yet it takes less than three generations for the Harra region to give them all the complexion of the Banu Sulaim. This region is such that the gazelles, ostriches, insects, wolves, foxes, sheep, asses, horses and birds that live there are all black. White and black are the results of environment, the natural properties of water and soil, distance from the sun, and intensity of heat. There is no question of metamorphosis, or of punishment, disfigurement or favor meted out by Allah. Besides, the land of the Banu Sulaim has much in common with the land of the Turks, where the camels, beasts of burden, and everything belonging to these people is similar in appearance: everything of theirs has a Turkish look. The soldiers of the frontier garrisons on this side of the Awsim sometimes come across Byzantine sheep mixed up with sheep belonging to the local inhabitants, but they have no difficulty in distinguishing the Byzantine flocks from the Syrian by their Byzantinity. When one comes across the descendents of Bedouin men and women who have ended up in Kurasan it is immediately apparent that they are the barbarians of these parts. This exists in all things. Thus we see that locusts and worms on plants are green, and we see that the louse is black on a young man’s head, white if his hair whitens, red if it is dyed. Our blackness, O people of the Zanj, is not different from the blackness of the Banu Sulaym and other Arab tribes we have mentioned. And the very blackness of the Zanj is like the total whiteness of the white men. The same rules apply to the brown color of the children of mixed marriages, also on their appearance, their habits in eating and desires. A poet when talking about Usaylim ibn al Alnaf al Asadi mentioned the blackness of the people of Yemen. There is Usaylim, easily noticed by those searching . He belongs to the elite chiefs through his line of descent. Others then in fear of his royal birth clap their hands. Black musk is applied to his hair as well as perfumed oil. If the black Yemenites would make him a woolen cloak, they have to make it thin and wide. A slave of the Bana Jada; being laughed at because of his black color said: They ridicule me because of my black color. I answered that only very stupid men can do so. Because as much as my skin is black I am in character white. I help friends in their needs as well as women traveling in their litters. When I have to face a fight (litt: the lance) I am called father of Saraq. The wife of Amr ibn Sha treated Irar ibn Amr badly. Because he was the son of a black women. Because of this he said the following on the children of Abyssinian and Zanj women: Did she not notice that I'm grown up and humble, so that I do not answer anger with anger? Like the courageous I bow in silence. If a courageous man would find it proper he would bite deeply. Her aim was to humiliate Irar and those wanting to do so are very unjust. Although he is dark, he has a very good figure If you really are like me and have principles, then be for him like the date butter which smoothens the skin. If not get away even by horse, with provisions for 5 days without rest stops. As regards the Indians, they are among the leaders in astronomy, mathematics in particular, they have Indian numerals, and medicine; they alone possess the secrets of the latter, and use them to practice some remarkable forms of treatment. They have the art of carving statues and painted figures. They possess the game of chess, which is the noblest of games and requires more judgment and intelligence than any other. They make Kedah swords, and excel in their use. They have splendid music, including that of the kankala, an instrument with a single string mounted on a gourd, which takes the place of the many stringed lute and cymbals. They know a number of sprightly dances. To them belong the variety of arts from sword fighters to magicians and fumigators and medical skills. They posses a script capable of expressing the sounds of all languages as well as many numerals. They have a great deal of poetry, many long treatises, and a deep understanding of philosophy and letters; the book Kalila wa-Dimna originated with them. They are intelligent and courageous, and have more good qualities than the Chinese. Their sound judgment and sensible habits led them to invent pins, cork and toothpicks, the drape of clothes and the dyeing of hair. They are handsome, attractive and forbearing, their women are proverbial, and their country produces the matchless Indian aloes which are supplied to kings. They were the originators of the science of fikr by which a poison can be counteracted after it has been used, and of astronomical reckoning, subsequently adopted by the rest of the world. When Adam descended from Paradise, it was to their land that he made his way. The Zanj also say : Among our good qualities are our good singers. As you can find among the slave girls from Sind. Also nobody is a better cook then the black slaves from Sind. Also moneychangers will never entrust their money then to those from Sind or their descendents as they are found to be better in those affairs, more alert and worthy of thrusting . One hardly ever finds a Greek or a Khorassan in a position of trust in a bank. When the bankers of Basra saw the excellent affairs that Faraj Abu Kub, a Sindi, had negotiated for his master, each of them took a Sindi assistant. They all wanted to make the profit his master had made. Caliph Sultan Abdelmalik ibn Mcrwan often said, "El Adgham is a master among all the Orientals." This El Adgham is also mentioned by Abdullar ibn Khnazim, who calls him, "An Ethiopian, a black son of Ethiopia. And this is all that came to my mind about what the blacks could be proud about. In former books we wrote of the pride of the Qahtan and later on if God whishes I will write on the pride of the Adnam against the Qahtan in much of what they said.
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Al-Jahiz (in Arabic الجاحظ) (real name Abu Uthman Amr ibn Bahr al-Kinani al-Fuqaimi al-Basri) (born in Basra, c. 781 – December 868 or January 869) was a famous Arab scholar, believed to have been an Afro-Arab of East African descent. He was an Arabic prose writer and author of works on Arabic literature, biology, zoology, history, early Islamic philosophy, Islamic psychology, Mu'tazili theology, and politico-religious polemics.

 

 

In the name of the Almighty, Merciful God; May God protect and keep you; let He make you
obey Him and make you part of his favorites. You mentioned – may Allah protect you from
deception – that you read my treatise (kitab) on the refutation of the pure Arabs to
those of mixed parentage, the replies of the mixed ones and the answers of their maternal uncles.

 

But I did not mention in it anything about the boasts of the Sudan. So know, -
may Allah preserve you – that I postponed that intentionally. And you mentioned that you
would like me to write to you the boasts of the Sudan, so I have written what I recall of
their boasts. Al-Asma'I said : Al-Fizr, a slave of the Fazara, who had a pierced earlobe
is known to have said: Harmony arrives quickly in the creation. Because of that goats
stay away from the sheep as long as there are goats around. The lamb avoids the
predators, and also does not feel close to the ones with big hoofs. Abu Zaid al-Nahwi
recited the following verse: Without harmony, man perishes. Saddad Al-Hariti - with
erudite eloquence - tells: "I requested from a black slave of the desert steppe:

 

-To whom do you belong, O Black one?
-To the Lord of Hadr (sedentary settlement), O Bald person.

-Aren't you black?
-Aren't you a bald person?
-Does truth thus puts you so much in anger?
- It is this truth which puts you so much in anger! Do not insult and you will be
dreaded; really best is than you give it up completely ".
Saddad concludes: "In truth, at the time when I addressed the word to her, I thought to
be worth all the inhabitants of Nagd and, at the time when she left me, I had the thought
not to be worth my slave". Al 'Asma' i reports according to 'Isa b. 'Umar these words of
Du l-Rumma: "That Al1ah curses the black slave of the family of Such and Such! That she
speaks well and that she is eloquent!". I asked him: "How is the rain which falls at your
place?" She answered: "We received as far as we wanted it".

 

Qualities of the Blacks:


Among the Blacks, there is Luqman the Wise-one and it is him which said: "There are three
men who are known to us only into three (circumstances): he who preserves his control in
anger, the courageous one in the face of danger, the friend when you need him. He gave
his son the following advice: If you whish to remain with someone, make him angry before
that. You will learn in advance if he is just and good. This is the only quote of him we
regularly hear, because he had o to many sayings to chose from. More important then this
is that God called him "the Wise" in the Koran as well as his testament to his son.
Said ibn Jubair was also black. He got killed by Hajjaj at the age of 49 half a year
before Hajjaj himself died at the age of 53. Said was a very pious man highly esteemed
for his profound knowledge of the traditions of the prophet Mohamet and a companion of
Ibn Abbas. The Hadith-scholars doubt even all Hadith who come from the companions of Ibn
Abbas except those of Said ibn Jubair. His father was a marwa of the Asad tribe, and Said
himself was a marwa of the Umayads. After he was killed people felt the loss. Also among
the blacks was: the Ethiopian, Bilal, of whom Caliph Omar said that he alone was worth a
third of all Islam; Afga, the first to die in the holy wars of the Prophet; EI-Migdad,
the first to fight in the holy war as a horseman; El Wanshi, who killed the false
prophet, Musailima; known as "the Liar". He had the habit to say; I've murdered the best
one of all men; meaning Hamza ibn Abd al-Muttalib, may God's peace rest on him - and I
killed the worst out of men, namely Musailima the impostor ".

 

And another Black, Makhul the lawyer. And another Black, Al-Haiqutan the poet, who was
higher [then the others] through his personal judgment, his reason and by the size of his
insights. It is him who said in connection to friends: "the friend is recognized when one
shares intimacy of the heart and when one accompanies one on a journey ". And another
Black, Gulaibib, on whom the transmitters said how the Envoy of Allah - How the blessing
and the safety of Allah are on him! - left to carry out a raid and after it asked his
companions: "Do we not miss somebody?". They answered: "We seek Such and Such".

 

Then he left again and asked them [again]; "Do we not miss somebody? "

 

They answered: "We seek Such and Such". Then he left again and asked them [again]: "Isn’t there somebody missing?
" 'They answered for the third time: "We do not seek anybody". The Prophet said: "As for
me, I miss Gulaibib. Seek him!". They went to seek and found him lying in the middle of
seven [men], which he in fact had killed. The Prophet - That the blessing and the safety
of Allah are on him - said: "He killed seven (men) and they killed him. This man is of me
and me of him!" The Hadith specialists adds: "Then the Prophet held him in his arms until
one had dug for him a tomb, without him having no other bed than the arms of the Prophet.
We do not know if they were able to wash him before the burial.. One of the Blacks was
Faraj, the barber-surgeon, who was so just that he was often called by the judges for council.

 

He was a freedmen of Jafar ibn Sulayman. He served Jafar many years cutting his
hair and beard. Jafar had never found him making mistakes in what he did or said. So he
decided to test him. If it really turns out his behavior is the result of inner- wisdom,
I will make him free, find him a wife, and make him rich. If things turn different, I
will have to take other steps. And one day when Faraj was cupping him he asked: slave do
you cup yourself to?

 

-Yes.
-And when?
-When I need some.
-Do you know when you need some?
- I know it most of the time, but sometimes it happens to me to make an error.
-What do you eat?
- In winter of sweetened big Dakbirah and in summer Sikbaga bitter-sweet ".
Ga' far b. Sulaiman kept his promises. It is in connection to this that Abu Firun said
(Ragaz):
"Out of the way, my wife is in front of me, I am a very close friend of Farag the layer
of suction cups ".

 

One says: Farag had acquired such a reputation of impartiality, of nobility of heart of
piety and religious scruple, that his owners, the descendants of Ga' far and the notable
ones of Mirbad required his testimony only for healthy businesses and without dispute ".
As for El-Haiqutan, he is the one who wrote the poem used in Yemen when arguing with the
Quaresh and Mubar. The same poem the people from Persia and Ethiopia use against the
Arabs. When the white poet, Jarir, saw El-Haiqutan in a white robe on a feast day, he
remarked, "He looks like the penis of a donkey wrapped in white paper." El-Haiqutan
replied to him in a poem in which he said, "Though my hair is wooly and my skin black as
coal I am generous and my honor shines. My color does not prevent my being valiant with
my sword in battle. Know, you who would boast of your petty glory : The people of the
Negus have more reason for glory then you. In the days that Islam was offered to
El-Julanda, Ibn Kisra, Harith, Hawdha, the Copts, and Caesar they all refused. Off al
the kings only the Negus accepted. As a result his kingdom lasted long, unmovable and
prosperous. Loqman was one of them, so to were his son and his mothers son. As well as
Abraha, the most renowned king. Abu Yaksum's invasion threatened the existence of your
country, and yet, you were as numerous as the grains (of sand), and more still, Like
the water birds, when, on them, fall in a deserted country, the bird with the bent claws
and gray of color. If another than Allah had wished to push back 'Abraha. You would
have noticed. That one which has the most experience of men is closest to the facts.
There is no claim to fame, except that you live opposite the Sanctuary, and that you lit
fires in its vicinity. If one of your chiefs, concerned his honor, advances (against
us), Or we face him, or he turns the back to us and as for what you say, that it is
about a divine prophecy, You did not know to protect the Sanctuary surrounded by veils.
You claim to be a tribe never subjugated and never paying tribute, But it is simpler to
pay a tax than to flee. If a sovereign had wanted to seize it, Then the Himyar and their
Maqawil would have come there. One can not stay there neither in summer nor in winter;
and its water is far from spouting out as in Guata. There is neither place pleasant to
the eye nor hunting ground, but only the trade, and the trade is a disdainful thing.
Aren't you (Garir) a puppy (kulaib) and your mother is she not a ewe?

 

Fats sheep are the source of your shame and your vanity. As for the verses: Gulanda, the
son of Chosroes, Harit, Hawda, the Copt and the worthy Cesar said no to Islam, then he
is referring to the time when the Prophet (p.b.u.h.) wrote to the Bana Julanda, but they
refused to listen. As was the case with Chosroes, of Harith ibn Abi Shamir, of Hawdha ibn
Ali al-Hanafi, of the Muqawqis, the patriarch of the Copts and ruler of Alexandria, and
of the emperor of Byzantium; Caesar. However the Bana Mulanda became Muslim some time
later, there where the Negus became Muslim before the conquest of Mecca and so retained
his dominions while God took away the treasures (meaning provinces) from the others. The
emperor of Byzantium; his diminished empire still exist, but he has been driven from
every place where the hoofs of horses can tread. What rests him are bays, the high
mountains, the strongest castles, the cold places and the rainy-windery ones. The poet
also talks proudly of Loqman and his son. When the poet says: Abu Yaksum invaded the
very heart of your country, and this despite the fact that you were as numerous as the
grains of sand. He alludes here to the Lord of the Elephant whose army's attacked Mecca
to destroy the Ka'ba. The Poet says : You were as numerous as the grains of sand, so why
did you flee from him ? None of you withstanding him until he reached Mecca. Mecca is the
mother of the cities. The Arabian Peninsula is the homeland of the Arabs and Mecca is one
of its towns, but an important and ancient one. Because of that it is considered the
mother of the peninsula. That is why with the conquest of conquests is meant the conquest
of Mecca. Similarly the Fatiha of the Book is called the Mother of the Book. It happens
that the Arabs say of a thing that it is the mother of what it did not generate. Thus the
expressions: he hid him on the top (Mother) of his head, of the same; Mother of hell. The
host calls his hostess "my hospital Mother". A Bedouin, having been bitten by flees at a
woman of which he was the host, says (Ragaz):

 

O Hospital mother! That your face is saved to me; and that the supreme Master delivers
me from your residence and of the bites of flees which - I see it! - will make me die. I
spent the night to scratch me, to scratch myself as scrapes itself a scabrous camel,
during the rest. Allah - How He is exalted! - clarifies Mecca and the Temple, when He
says: "In truth, the first temple [which] was founded for people, is certainly that
located at Bakka, [temple] blessed and direction for the world ''. The poet wants to say:
when Mecca Mother of the cities, place of the Holy Temple and your claim to fame - was
the object of raids, it is you all which were the object of raids. As for the verses of
the poet: And as for what you say, it is about a divine prophecy; You did not know to
protect the Sanctuary, surrounded by veils.

 

You claim that your people have never been subjugated or paid tribute. But paying that
you will find easier then fleeing. This is why the poet Abid ibn al-Abras says: They
refused to submit to kings and are free-people. When they hear the call of war they go.
What he says means; you say you pay no tribute but paying is easier then fleeing and
surrender although you enormously outnumber your enemies. When the poet says: Your
country is not nice in winter or summer, nor is there the abundant water like Juatha (in
Bahrayn). He means conquering Mecca would never have brought profit, otherwise

Yemen and other countries would have. The climate is bad; in winter its people go to Taif; during
the heat to Jidda. And nothing in Mecca can compare with the lushness of Juatha. When
the poet says: There is no grazing for the male oryx, no hunting either; Only trading
places and trade is never a right occupation. He means Mecca has no lush green places,
hunting is prohibited. There are only merchants which have no good reputation. He also
says that the people of Mecca lack strength and kings refrain from taking their means of
living because they would not satisfy a king. Those from Mecca are unable to protect
themselves. Because of this the poet Muawiya ibn Aws said:

 

I bought, in a shop, more than one goatskin flask of wine, as swarthy as a man with the
dark skin, I folded back the opening of it on the neck, Folded back it resembled a
mutilated hand; I carried them to a greedy Arab merchant, or a wine merchant bearing
earrings and with cripple Arab. All these verses refer to the Quraysh. They say that the
Quraysh are merchants who seek the protection of the Sanctuary, and when they travel,
they carry the fruit of the palm tree and the bark of trees, so that they are recognized
and that nobody kills them.

 

The poet says: Are you not a member of the Kulayb tribe? Isn't your mother one of those
sheep?

 

Your fat sheep are both your pride and your shame. It is rumored that the Kulayd tribe is
having intercourse with their sheep just like the tribes of el-Araj and Sulaym. And the
people of the Ashja are rumored to have intercourse with goats. Al-Najashi said: If only
one of the tribes of the Quraysh had degraded me other then the goat buggers Sulaym and
Ashja.

 

Al Farazdaq said: As long as I live I will never be able to bring as sacrifice the milk
sheep that belonged to the Araj. After spending my money I may find the animal gives bird
to a boy. Another poet: If you want more money for your female donkey, just tell the
Darimi that you sell it. He will kiss its back, but for its dryness, would draw near to
its buttocks. The Darimi, when he copulates with the donkey wants his mouth to reach the
animals mouth. Abd ibn Rashid said: They are bad people, the best of them are still bad.
To the sheep they herd they are the male and the shepherd. When one of their women is
made ready for marriage; it will be the spotted sheep that weeps sincerely. This is why
Al 'Ahtal said (Kamil); Enjoy your ewes, O Garir. Because your heart encouraged you only
with the depravity in loneliness. This is why Al-Haiqutan says: Are not you not a puppy
(kulaib) and your mother is she not a ewe? Fat sheep are the source of your shame and
your vanity. As for shame, it is about their bad reputation in connection with the ewes.
As for their claim to fame: the poet makes it clear that, when they are prevailed of
something, it is ewes, if still they would arrive to the camels.

 

Among the claims to fame of the Blacks, of Zang and Abyssinians, in addition to the
fragment of the Al-Haiqutan poem, which we have mentioned, it is necessary to count,
after Garir b. Al-Hatafa who had turned against the Banu Taglib in (Kamil): Do not seek
really any maternal uncle at [Banu] Taglib, because Zang have maternal uncles nobler than
them [Banu Taglib], the verses of Sanih b. Ribah which, in anger, turns to Garir and,
against him, glorifies the Zang (Kamil): Why does this animal of the Kulayd talks bad
about us? Has he seen he is no match for Hajib and Iqal? Somebody who compares the donkey
called Maragha and her son (Jarir) to al Farazdaq is unreal and beyond understanding. If
you would meet Zanj in formation for battle, you would see noble heroes. Ask Ibn Amr,
when he sought out their spears, did he not find the Zanj spears to be long? They took
(killed) the son of Ziyad and they dismount their horses for battle. And when they have
dismounted to go to battle, what a battle. They left in their courtyards the horses of
war, while you had only sheep and lambs in your corals. Ibn Nadba, a warrior in your
ranks, was one of us blacks. So was Khufaf, who had many problems to take care of, and
the two sons of Zubayba, Antara and Harasa. We don't see other people like that in your
ranks . Ask Ibn Jayfar, when he marched against our homeland, How destructive they were
when they attacked him. Ans Sulayk, called the lion, or the respected Abbas, When they
attack, they all outshine you completely. Among them is also Ibn Khazim ibn Ajla. He
surpassed all tribes in courage and honesty. They were all sons of noble women, who were
on they turn descendents of noble women. They are the lions who bring up their little
ones.

 

One counts among ( the sons of theZang women) 'Abd Allah b. Hazim as Sulami, and the sons

of Al-Hubab: 'Umair b. Al-Hubab and his brothers. Al Jahhaf ibn Hakim was one of them to. They are also proud of Raban,
Bilal's brother, because of his piety also Amir ibn Fuhayra who was at Badr and died a
martyrs dead on the day of Bir Mauna, and those present saw him being raised up by God up
from the earth to the heaven, so he has no grave among us. Among the blacks is also
Yasir's family. They also say: El-Ghandaf who was with Ubayd Allah ibn al Hurr was one of
us, he was the most courageous among men. He would attack caravans single-handed. Also a
man with proverbial courage was Kabawayh who was with al Mughira ibn al Fizr. Marbah al
Ashram ; the young slave of general Abu Bahr was black to. He came here from Syria in the
days of Qutayba ibn Muslim. His reputation was so widespread that people tried not to
meet him. Also among them was El Maglul and his sons, who though slaves were very
generous and wise and were renowned among the people of the dessert about their knowledge
of it. Also among us was Aflah, who attacked caravans in Khorassan single handed for
twenty years. Malik ibn al-Rayb killed him after he had sodomized him in the middle of
the night, when he was to intoxicated and unarmed. The verses of his son testify about
this (Tawil): He Malik! If 'Aflah had not been drunk, you would have seen undoubtedly
that he is brother of the russet-red lion and even the eclipse!

 

The Blacks continue: coming from Abyssinia, we were Masters of the country of Arabia up to Mecca,

and on all the country our law reigned. We put to rout Du Nuwas, killed by the 'Aqyal Himyarites.
You, you never dominated our country. Your poet says (Tawil): They ruined Gumdan and
threw its roof down. Riyat and his troops, by an impetuous attack, with force. The
Abyssinians encircled it at night and threw down a construction built by the 'Aqyal at in
remote times, a multitude, of black color, coming from Al-Yaksum, such as the lions of
d’as-Sara, which would have been wearing a leopard skin. [Blacks] add: we count among us
Kabagila; no one of those who went up the Sulaiman channel and who fought in singular
combat did resemble him. They continue: also the forty are ours who revolted, at the time
of the qadi Sawwar b. 'Abd Allah, in the area of the Euphrates; they drove out their
dwellings the populations of this area and went on to an immense massacre of the
inhabitants of Ubulla. The one who did cut the head of Isa ibn Jafar in Oman with a
Bahrayni scythe when all were afraid was one of us.

 

Everybody knows that the Zanj are among the most generous of mortals ; a quality that is
found only among noble characters. These people have a natural talent for dancing to the
rhythm of the tambourine, without needing to learn it. There are no better singers
anywhere in the world, no people more polished and eloquent, and no people less given to
insulting language. All other peoples in the world have their stammerers, those who have
difficulty in pronouncing certain sounds, and those who cannot express themselves
fluently or are downright tongue-tied, except the Zanj. Sometimes some of them recite
before their ruler continuously from sunrise to sunset, without needing to turn round or
pause in their flow. No other nation can surpass them in bodily strength and physical
toughness. One of them will lift huge blocks and carry heavy loads that would be beyond
the strength of most Bedouins or members of other races. They are courageous, energetic,
and generous, which are the virtues of nobility, and also good-tempered and with little
propensity to evil. They are always cheerful, smiling, and devoid of malice, which is a
sign of noble character. Some people say that their generosity is due to their stupidity,
shortsightedness and lack of foresight, but our reply is that this is a scurvy way of
commending generosity and altruism. At that rate the wisest and most intelligent man
would be the most stingy and ungenerous. But in fact the Slavs are more stingy than the
Byzantines, and the latter more intelligent and thoughtful; according to our opponents'
argument, the Slavs ought to be more generous and open-handed than the Byzantines.
Likewise we see that women have less sense than man and children have less sense than
women, but are meaner than they are. If more sense meant greater meanness, then the child
should be the most generous of all. Yet in fact we know nothing on earth that is worth
than a boy, for he is the most untruthful of mankind, the most calumnious, the nastiest,
and the meanest, the least inclined to do good, and the most ruthless. Only gradually
does the boy leave these qualities as he gains in sense and gains in good deeds. How then
can the lack of sense be the cause of generosity in the Zanj? You have admitted that they
are generous, and then you make assertions which are untenable, and we have already shown
you the fallacy of your argument according to true reasoning. This opinion would mean
that the coward is wiser than the brave man, the treacherous wiser than the loyal, and
that the worrier is wiser than the patient man. This is something for which you have no
proof. These qualities in man are a gift of God. Sense is a gift, and good character is a
gift, and generosity and courage likewise. The Zanj say to the Arabs: You are so
ignorant that during the jahiliyya (the times of ignorance ) you regarded us as your
equals when it came to marrying Arab women, but with the advent of the justice of Islam
you decided this practice was bad. Yet the desert is full of Zanj married to Arab wives,
and they have been princes and kings and have safeguarded your rights and sheltered you
against your enemies. You even have sayings in your language which vaunt the deeds of our
kings--deeds which you often placed above your own; this you would not have done had you
not considered them superior to your own. Al Namr ibn Tawlab recited the following poem:
Bad luck came over his rule as over Tubba and the great king Abraha, placed him higher
then the princes of his own country. Labid ibn Radi'a recited the following: If a person
could reach eternity during his lifetime, Abu Yaksum would be among those. This kind of
virtue has never been ascribed to anyone before.

 

The (Zanj) also say: from Labid's verses it becomes also clear that you put our kings
higher then your own.
Darkness came over those who survived from Muharriq's family. Darkness that had done its
work with Tubba and Heraclius, Darkness that had vanquished Abraha, who was living in the
palace of Mawkal. So he prefers Abraha , but he would like the other kings to be his
equals. The (Zanj) say : The Ethiopian, Akym ibn Akym, was more eloquent than Eli-Ajjaj.
It is from him that the Syrians learnt the sciences and also from El Montagi ibn Nabhan,
who was a native of Negroland and had a pierced ear. He had come to the Arabian desert as
a child and left it with a complete knowledge of Arabic. Hakim ibn Ayash al Kalbi said:
Don't feel pride in the maternal uncle from the Asad tribe; because even the Zanj and
Nubians are more noble to have as uncles then they. Akym ibn Akym the Abyssinian made the
following response: On the day of the battle of Ghumdun we were like lions and on the day
of Yathrib we were the stallions of the Arabs. On the fearful day of the elephant the
hearts of the Arabs deserted them and they fled on their camels. The negus is one of us;
and Dhul Aqsayn is your brother in law. The grandfather of Abraha, the protector of Abu
Talib was one of us. I have to forgive Adnan if he makes fun with us ; because what can
be said of the genealogy of the Himyari? They are muleteers, assembled from everywhere,
gathered as a net gathers fish in the stormy sea. Gumdan, a fortress, ordinary the
residence of the king - then Persian - who reigned on Yemen. When Abyssinians seized
Yemen, they let remain only of the ruins which 'Utman b. 'Affan - That Allah satisfied
with him! - destroyed at the time of the coming of Islam, while saying: "It is necessary
to extirpate the vestiges of the gahiliya (the false prophet)". The fortress comprised a
cistern, capped by an asbestos roof, of which Halaf Al 'Ahmar said; and an asbestos
cistern, which demolished by the attacking Abyssinian, and his king. About it, Qudama,
the wise of the Moslem East and Master in alchemy, has said (Tawil); He lit its fire
there; nevertheless fire Would last indefinitely, the cistern does not disappear,
because asbestos, even if a fire burned there thousand years, would not heat. Those
which launch the naphtha coat themselves with some, when they want to penetrate into the
fire. Labid says (Wafir); O friendly, do you not see a flash illuminating the black
night, like the flame on the wick of the lamp? I could not find the sleep, while the
flash moved away towards Nagd in the motionless night, and when the companions were held
dormant on their saddles of wood. Its shoddy cloud illuminated the heavy clouds and there
cut out silhouettes of Abyssinians, Armed with small swaths and javelins.

 

"Labid," he says, "used this imagery because when the Ethiopians, splendid in the
blackness of their skins and in the vigor and strength of their superb bodies, attacked
with their spears, bows, and arrows they spread an unimaginable terror around them." When
Ukaym says : On the day of Yathrib we were the stallions of the Arabs. It is a reference
to Musrif ibn Uqba al Murri the general who gave the conquered city (Medina) over to the
troops for pillage and the Negroes cohabited with the captured women, which are mentioned
in the following verses of Mudar; Ask Musrif El Mwirri the general in question about the
morning when he gave the captured virgins over to his weather-beaten Negro soldiers. On
this occasion the Zanj fought you, Whites, in spite of your rage. Wahrig defended you
with his Persians, whilst the Ethiopian general commanded in the midst of destruction. It
was then the women of your race were enjoyed by a Negro, whose phallus was the size of a
donkey's. When the poet says: They are muleteers, assembled from everywhere, gathered as
a net gathers fish in the stormy sea. He here accepted what story tellers say about
Himyar.-That they used to be muleteers. The Negroes can also be proud of the fact that
the single dead person over whom the Prophet ever prayed was their ruler, the Emperor of
Ethiopia. He prayed for the Negus, while the Prophet was in Medina, and the tomb of the
Negus in Abyssinia. And also: "the Negus is who gave in marriage to the Prophet - That
blessing and the safety of Allah be on him! - 'Umm Habiba, girl of Abu Sufyan: he asked
Halid b. Sa' id to be the tutor of 'Umm Habiba, offering in the name of the Prophet - How
the blessing and the safety of Allah are on him! - a dowry of four hundred dinars. And
also: we made you three presents: the civet, the most sweet perfume, most exquisite and
noblest; the litter; it is the best defense for the women and best protection for what is
sacred for man; the codex: it preserves best its contents and ensure best preservation;
it is splendid and most handy. And also: we inspire the most fear in the heart and catch
most of the glances (of the onlookers), just as the carriers of black (Abbasid) inspire
more fear and fill up more the heart than the carriers of white (Umayyad), in the same
way the night inspires more fear than the day. And also: the color black always inspires
the most fear. The Arabs, to describe their camels, say: "the black horses are most
beautiful and most robust, the black cows best and most beautiful, and their skins are
most valuable, most useful and most durable. The black ewes give the fattiest milk and
creamy, moreover the dark brown ewes give more milk then the russet-red ewes". while
every stone and hill is dryer and harder the more it is black. The black lion is
invincible. The black date is the highest quality. Healthy date palms have black stems. A
hadith of the Prophet says : Follow the great black color. The poet al-Ansari says: I'm
in debt but I do not have to worry; because I own tall date groves, well pruned and every
heavy laden palm seems to have been smeared with the pitch of blood of sacrificed animals.

 

 

 
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25 rules of disinformation

Note: The first rule and last five (or six, depending on situation) rules are generally not directly within the ability of the traditional disinfo artist to apply. These rules are generally used more directly by those at the leadership, key players, or planning level of the criminal conspiracy or conspiracy to cover up.

Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil. Regardless of what you know, don't discuss it -- especially if you are a public figure, news anchor, etc. If it's not reported, it didn't happen, and you never have to deal with the issues.

Become incredulous and indignant. Avoid discussing key issues and instead focus on side issues which can be used to show the topic as being critical of some otherwise sacrosanct group or theme. This is also known as the 'How dare you!' gambit.

Create rumor mongers. Avoid discussing issues by describing all charges, regardless of venue or evidence, as mere rumors and wild accusations. Other derogatory terms mutually exclusive of truth may work as well. This method which works especially well with a silent press, because the only way the public can learn of the facts are through such 'arguable rumors'. If you can associate the material with the Internet, use this fact to certify it a 'wild rumor' from a 'bunch of kids on the Internet' which can have no basis in fact.

Use a straw man. Find or create a seeming element of your opponent's argument which you can easily knock down to make yourself look good and the opponent to look bad. Either make up an issue you may safely imply exists based on your interpretation of the opponent/opponent arguments/situation, or select the weakest aspect of the weakest charges. Amplify their significance and destroy them in a way which appears to debunk all the charges, real and fabricated alike, while actually avoiding discussion of the real issues.

Sidetrack opponents with name calling and ridicule. This is also known as the primary 'attack the messenger' ploy, though other methods qualify as variants of that approach. Associate opponents with unpopular titles such as 'kooks', 'right-wing', 'liberal', 'left-wing', 'terrorists', 'conspiracy buffs', 'radicals', 'militia', 'racists', 'religious fanatics', 'sexual deviates', and so forth. This makes others shrink from support out of fear of gaining the same label, and you avoid dealing with issues.

Hit and Run. In any public forum, make a brief attack of your opponent or the opponent position and then scamper off before an answer can be fielded, or simply ignore any answer. This works extremely well in Internet and letters-to-the-editor environments where a steady stream of new identities can be called upon without having to explain criticism, reasoning -- simply make an accusation or other attack, never discussing issues, and never answering any subsequent response, for that would dignify the opponent's viewpoint.

Question motives. Twist or amplify any fact which could be taken to imply that the opponent operates out of a hidden personal agenda or other bias. This avoids discussing issues and forces the accuser on the defensive.

Invoke authority. Claim for yourself or associate yourself with authority and present your argument with enough 'jargon' and 'minutia' to illustrate you are 'one who knows', and simply say it isn't so without discussing issues or demonstrating concretely why or citing sources.

Play dumb. No matter what evidence or logical argument is offered, avoid discussing issues except with denials they have any credibility, make any sense, provide any proof, contain or make a point, have logic, or support a conclusion. Mix well for maximum effect.

Associate opponent charges with old news. A derivative of the straw man -- usually, in any large-scale matter of high visibility, someone will make charges early on which can be or were already easily dealt with - a kind of investment for the future should the matter not be so easily contained.) Where it can be foreseen, have your own side raise a straw man issue and have it dealt with early on as part of the initial contingency plans. Subsequent charges, regardless of validity or new ground uncovered, can usually then be associated with the original charge and dismissed as simply being a rehash without need to address current issues -- so much the better where the opponent is or was involved with the original source.

 

Establish and rely upon fall-back positions. Using a minor matter or element of the facts, take the 'high road' and 'confess' with candor that some innocent mistake, in hindsight, was made -- but that opponents have seized on the opportunity to blow it all out of proportion and imply greater criminalities which, 'just isn't so.' Others can reinforce this on your behalf, later, and even publicly 'call for an end to the nonsense' because you have already 'done the right thing.' Done properly, this can garner sympathy and respect for 'coming clean' and 'owning up' to your mistakes without addressing more serious issues.

Enigmas have no solution. Drawing upon the overall umbrella of events surrounding the crime and the multitude of players and events, paint the entire affair as too complex to solve. This causes those otherwise following the matter to begin to lose interest more quickly without having to address the actual issues.

Alice in Wonderland Logic. Avoid discussion of the issues by reasoning backwards or with an apparent deductive logic which forbears any actual material fact.

Demand complete solutions. Avoid the issues by requiring opponents to solve the crime at hand completely, a ploy which works best with issues qualifying for rule 10.

Fit the facts to alternate conclusions. This requires creative thinking unless the crime was planned with contingency conclusions in place.

Vanish evidence and witnesses. If it does not exist, it is not fact, and you won't have to address the issue.

Change the subject. Usually in connection with one of the other ploys listed here, find a way to side-track the discussion with abrasive or controversial comments in hopes of turning attention to a new, more manageable topic. This works especially well with companions who can 'argue' with you over the new topic and polarize the discussion arena in order to avoid discussing more key issues.

Emotionalize, Antagonize, and Goad Opponents. If you can't do anything else, chide and taunt your opponents and draw them into emotional responses which will tend to make them look foolish and overly motivated, and generally render their material somewhat less coherent. Not only will you avoid discussing the issues in the first instance, but even if their emotional response addresses the issue, you can further avoid the issues by then focusing on how 'sensitive they are to criticism.'

Ignore proof presented, demand impossible proofs. This is perhaps a variant of the 'play dumb' rule. Regardless of what material may be presented by an opponent in public forums, claim the material irrelevant and demand proof that is impossible for the opponent to come by (it may exist, but not be at his disposal, or it may be something which is known to be safely destroyed or withheld, such as a murder weapon.) In order to completely avoid discussing issues, it may be required that you to categorically deny and be critical of media or books as valid sources, deny that witnesses are acceptable, or even deny that statements made by government or other authorities have any meaning or relevance.

False evidence. Whenever possible, introduce new facts or clues designed and manufactured to conflict with opponent presentations -- as useful tools to neutralize sensitive issues or impede resolution. This works best when the crime was designed with contingencies for the purpose, and the facts cannot be easily separated from the fabrications.

Call a Grand Jury, Special Prosecutor, or other empowered investigative body. Subvert the (process) to your benefit and effectively neutralize all sensitive issues without open discussion. Once convened, the evidence and testimony are required to be secret when properly handled. For instance, if you own the prosecuting attorney, it can insure a Grand Jury hears no useful evidence and that the evidence is sealed and unavailable to subsequent investigators. Once a favorable verdict is achieved, the matter can be considered officially closed. Usually, this technique is applied to find the guilty innocent, but it can also be used to obtain charges when seeking to frame a victim.

Manufacture a new truth. Create your own expert(s), group(s), author(s), leader(s) or influence existing ones willing to forge new ground via scientific, investigative, or social research or testimony which concludes favorably. In this way, if you must actually address issues, you can do so authoritatively.

Create bigger distractions. If the above does not seem to be working to distract from sensitive issues, or to prevent unwanted media coverage of unstoppable events such as trials, create bigger news stories (or treat them as such) to distract the multitudes.

Silence critics. If the above methods do not prevail, consider removing opponents from circulation by some definitive solution so that the need to address issues is removed entirely. This can be by their death, arrest and detention, blackmail or destruction of their character by release of blackmail information, or merely by destroying them financially, emotionally, or severely damaging their health.

Vanish. If you are a key holder of secrets or otherwise overly illuminated and you think the heat is getting too hot, to avoid the issues, vacate the kitchen.

False flag

False flag operations are covert operations which are designed to deceive the public in such a way that the operations appear as though they are being carried out by other entities. The name is derived from the military concept of flying false colors; that is, flying the flag of a country other than one's own. False flag operations are not limited to war and counter-insurgency operations, and have been used in peace-time; for example during Italy's strategy of tension. ...

Eight Traits of the Disinformationalist

Avoidance. They never actually discuss issues head-on or provide constructive input, generally avoiding citation of references or credentials. Rather, they merely imply this, that, and the other. Virtually everything about their presentation implies their authority and expert knowledge in the matter without any further justification for credibility.

Selectivity. They tend to pick and choose opponents carefully, either applying the hit-and-run approach against mere commentators supportive of opponents, or focusing heavier attacks on key opponents who are known to directly address issues. Should a commentator become argumentative with any success, the focus will shift to include the commentator as well.

Coincidental. They tend to surface suddenly and somewhat coincidentally with a new controversial topic with no clear prior record of participation in general discussions in the particular public arena involved. They likewise tend to vanish once the topic is no longer of general concern. They were likely directed or elected to be there for a reason, and vanish with the reason.

Teamwork. They tend to operate in self-congratulatory and complementary packs or teams. Of course, this can happen naturally in any public forum, but there will likely be an ongoing pattern of frequent exchanges of this sort where professionals are involved. Sometimes one of the players will infiltrate the opponent camp to become a source for straw man or other tactics designed to dilute opponent presentation strength.

Anti-conspiratorial. They almost always have disdain for 'conspiracy theorists' and, usually, for those who in any way believe JFK was not killed by LHO. Ask yourself why, if they hold such disdain for conspiracy theorists, do they focus on defending a single topic discussed in a NG focusing on conspiracies? One might think they would either be trying to make fools of everyone on every topic, or simply ignore the group they hold in such disdain.Or, one might more rightly conclude they have an ulterior motive for their actions in going out of their way to focus as they do.

Artificial Emotions. An odd kind of 'artificial' emotionalism and an unusually thick skin -- an ability to persevere and persist even in the face of overwhelming criticism and unacceptance. This likely stems from intelligence community training that, no matter how condemning the evidence, deny everything, and never become emotionally involved or reactive. The net result for a disinfo artist is that emotions can seem artificial. Most people, if responding in anger, for instance, will express their animosity throughout their rebuttal. But disinfo types usually have trouble maintaining the 'image' and are hot and cold with respect to pretended emotions and their usually more calm or unemotional communications style. It's just a job, and they often seem unable to 'act their role in character' as well in a communications medium as they might be able in a real face-to-face conversation/confrontation. You might have outright rage and indignation one moment, ho-hum the next, and more anger later -- an emotional yo-yo. With respect to being thick-skinned, no amount of criticism will deter them from doing their job, and they will generally continue their old disinfo patterns without any adjustments to criticisms of how obvious it is that they play that game -- where a more rational individual who truly cares what others think might seek to improve their communications style, substance, and so forth, or simply give up.

Inconsistent. There is also a tendency to make mistakes which betray their true self/motives. This may stem from not really knowing their topic, or it may be somewhat 'freudian', so to speak, in that perhaps they really root for the side of truth deep within.

I have noted that often, they will simply cite contradictory information which neutralizes itself and the author. For instance, one such player claimed to be a Navy pilot, but blamed his poor communicating skills (spelling, grammar, incoherent style) on having only a grade-school education. I'm not aware of too many Navy pilots who don't have a college degree. Another claimed no knowledge of a particular topic/situation but later claimed first-hand knowledge of it.

Time Constant. Recently discovered, with respect to News Groups, is the response time factor. There are three ways this can be seen to work, especially when the government or other empowered player is involved in a cover up operation:
ANYING posting by a targeted proponent for truth can result in an IMMEDIATE response. The government and other empowered players can afford to pay people to sit there and watch for an opportunity to do some damage. SINCE DISINFO IN A NG ONLY WORKS IF THE READER SEES IT - FAST RESPONSE IS CALLED FOR, or the visitor may be swayed towards truth.
When dealing in more direct ways with a disinformationalist, such as email, DELAY IS CALLED FOR - there will usually be a minimum of a 48-72 hour delay. This allows a sit-down team discussion on response strategy for best effect, and even enough time to 'get permission' or instruction from a formal chain of command.:
In the NG example 1) above, it will often ALSO be seen that bigger guns are drawn and fired after the same 48-72 hours delay - the team approach in play. This is especially true when the targeted truth seeker or their comments are considered more important with respect to potential to reveal truth. Thus, a serious truth sayer will be attacked twice for the same sins

Logical Fallacies

Formal fallacies are arguments that are fallacious due to an error in their form or technical structure. All formal fallacies are specific types of non sequiturs.
Ad hominem: an argument that attacks the person who holds a view or advances an argument, rather than commenting on the view or responding to the argument.
"Ad hominem (also called personal abuse or personal attacks) usually involves insulting or belittling one's opponents in order to attack their claims or invalidate their arguments, but can also involve pointing out true character flaws or actions that are irrelevant to the opponent's argument. This is logically fallacious because it relates to the opponent's personal character, which has nothing to do with the logical merit of the opponent's argument."
Appeal to probability: assumes that because something could happen, it is inevitable that it will happen. This is the premise on which Murphy's Law is based.
Argument from fallacy: if an argument for some conclusion is fallacious, then the conclusion is not credible.
Bare assertion fallacy: premise in an argument is assumed to be true purely because it says that it is true.
Base rate fallacy: using weak evidence to make a probability judgment without taking into account known empirical statistics about the probability.
Conjunction fallacy: assumption that an outcome simultaneously satisfying multiple conditions is more probable than an outcome satisfying a single one of them.
Correlative based fallacies
Denying the correlative: where attempts are made at introducing alternatives where there are none.
Suppressed correlative: where a correlative is redefined so that one alternative is made impossible.
Fallacy of necessity: a degree of unwarranted necessity is placed in the conclusion based on the necessity of one or more of its premises.
False dilemma (false dichotomy): where two alternative statements are held to be the only possible options, when in reality there are more.
If-by-whiskey: An argument that supports both sides of an issue by using terms that are selectively emotionally sensitive.
Ignoratio elenchi: An irrelevant conclusion or irrelevant thesis.
Is-ought problem: the inappropriate inference that because something is some way or other, so it ought to be that way.
Homunculus fallacy: where a "middle-man" is used for explanation, this usually leads to regressive middle-man. Explanations without actually explaining the real nature of a function or a process. Instead, it explains the concept in terms of the concept itself, without first defining or explaining the original concept.
Masked man fallacy: the substitution of identical designation in a true statement can lead to a false one.
Naturalistic fallacy: a fallacy that claims that if something is natural, then it is good or right.
Nirvana fallacy: when solutions to problems are said not to be right because they are not perfect.
Negative proof fallacy: that, because a premise cannot be proven false, the premise must be true; or that, because a premise cannot be proven true, the premise must be false.
Package-deal fallacy: consists of assuming that things often grouped together by tradition or culture must always be grouped that way.
Red Herring: also called a "fallacy of relevance." This occurs when the speaker is trying to distract the audience by arguing some new topic, or just generally going off topic with an argument.

Informal fallacies:
Informal fallacies are arguments that are fallacious for reasons other than structural (formal) flaws.
Argument from repetition (argumentum ad nauseam): signifies that it has been discussed extensively (possibly by different people) until nobody cares to discuss it anymore
Appeal to ridicule: a specific type of appeal to emotion where an argument is made by presenting the opponent's argument in a way that makes it appear ridiculous
Argument from ignorance (appeal to ignorance): The fallacy of assuming that something is true/false because it has not been proven false/true. For example: "The student has failed to prove that he didn't cheat on the test, therefore he must have cheated on the test."
Begging the question (petitio principii): where the conclusion of an argument is implicitly or explicitly assumed in one of the premises
Circular cause and consequence: where the consequence of the phenomenon is claimed to be its root cause
Continuum fallacy (fallacy of the beard): appears to demonstrate that two states or conditions cannot be considered distinct (or do not exist at all) because between them there exists a continuum of states. According to the fallacy, differences in quality cannot result from differences in quantity.
Correlation does not imply causation (cum hoc ergo propter hoc): a phrase used in the sciences and the statistics to emphasize that correlation between two variables does not imply that one causes the other
Demanding negative proof: attempting to avoid the burden of proof for some claim by demanding proof of the contrary from whoever questions that claim
Equivocation (No true Scotsman): the misleading use of a term with more than one meaning (by glossing over which meaning is intended at a particular time)
Etymological fallacy: which reasons that the original or historical meaning of a word or phrase is necessarily similar to its actual present-day meaning.
Fallacies of distribution
Division: where one reasons logically that something true of a thing must also be true of all or some of its parts
Ecological fallacy: inferences about the nature of specific individuals are based solely upon aggregate statistics collected for the group to which those individuals belong
Fallacy of many questions (complex question, fallacy of presupposition, loaded question, plurium interrogationum): someone asks a question that presupposes something that has not been proven or accepted by all the people involved. This fallacy is often used rhetorically, so that the question limits direct replies to those that serve the questioner's agenda.
Fallacy of the single cause ("joint effect", or "causal oversimplification"): occurs when it is assumed that there is one, simple cause of an outcome when in reality it may have been caused by a number of only jointly sufficient causes.
False attribution: occurs when an advocate appeals to an irrelevant, unqualified, unidentified, biased or fabricated source in support of an argument.
contextomy (Fallacy of quoting out of context): refers to the selective excerpting of words from their original linguistic context in a way that distorts the source’s intended meaning
False compromise/middle ground: asserts that a compromise between two positions is correct
Gambler's fallacy: the incorrect belief that the likelihood of a random event can be affected by or predicted from other, independent events
Historian's fallacy: occurs when one assumes that decision makers of the past viewed events from the same perspective and having the same information as those subsequently analyzing the decision. It is not to be confused with presentism, a mode of historical analysis in which present-day ideas (such as moral standards) are projected into the past.
Incomplete comparison: where not enough information is provided to make a complete comparison
Inconsistent comparison: where different methods of comparison are used, leaving one with a false impression of the whole comparison
Intentional fallacy: addresses the assumption that the meaning intended by the author of a literary work is of primary importance
Loki's Wager: the unreasonable insistence that a concept cannot be defined, and therefore cannot be discussed.
Moving the goalpost (raising the bar): argument in which evidence presented in response to a specific claim is dismissed and some other (often greater) evidence is demanded
Perfect solution fallacy: where an argument assumes that a perfect solution exists and/or that a solution should be rejected because some part of the problem would still exist after it was implemented
Post hoc ergo propter hoc: also known as false cause, coincidental correlation or correlation not causation. (ex: Thousands of experiments have conclusively proven that beating drums and clashing cymbals brings back the sun after a total eclipse.)
Proof by verbosity (argumentum verbosium) (proof by intimidation): submission of others to an argument too complex and verbose to reasonably deal with in all its intimate details. see also Gish Gallop and argument from authority.
Prosecutor's fallacy: a low probability of false matches does not mean a low probability of some false match being found
Psychologist's fallacy: occurs when an observer presupposes the objectivity of his own perspective when analyzing a behavioral event
Regression fallacy: ascribes cause where none exists. The flaw is failing to account for natural fluctuations. It is frequently a special kind of the post hoc fallacy.
Reification (hypostatization): a fallacy of ambiguity, when an abstraction (abstract belief or hypothetical construct) is treated as if it were a concrete, real event or physical entity. In other words, it is the error of treating as a "real thing" something which is not a real thing, but merely an idea.
Retrospective determinism (it happened so it was bound to)
Special pleading: where a proponent of a position attempts to cite something as an exemption to a generally accepted rule or principle without justifying the exemption
Suppressed correlative: an argument which tries to redefine a correlative (two mutually exclusive options) so that one alternative encompasses the other, thus making one alternative impossible
Well travelled road effect: estimates of elapsed time is shorter for familiar routes as compared to unfamiliar routes which are of equal or lesser duration.
Wrong direction: where cause and effect are reversed. The cause is said to be the effect and vice versa.

Propositional fallacies:
Affirming a disjunct: concluded that one logical disjunction must be false because the other disjunct is true; A or B; A; therefore not B.
Affirming the consequent: the antecedent in an indicative conditional is claimed to be true because the consequent is true; if A, then B; B, therefore A.
Denying the antecedent: the consequent in an indicative conditional is claimed to be false because the antecedent is false; if A, then B; not A, therefore not B.

Quantificational fallacies:
Existential fallacy: an argument has two universal premises and a particular conclusion, but the premises do not establish the truth of the conclusion.
Proof by example: where examples are offered as inductive proof for a universal proposition. ("This apple is red, therefore apples are red.")

Formal syllogistic fallacies: Syllogistic fallacies are logical fallacies that occur in syllogisms.
Affirmative conclusion from a negative premise: when a categorical syllogism has a positive conclusion, but at least one negative premise.
Fallacy of exclusive premises: a categorical syllogism that is invalid because both of its premises are negative.
Fallacy of four terms: a categorical syllogism has four terms.
Illicit major: a categorical syllogism that is invalid because its major term is undistributed in the major premise but distributed in the conclusion.
Fallacy of the undistributed middle: the middle term in a categorical syllogism is not distributed.

Faulty generalizations:
Accident (fallacy): when an exception to the generalization is ignored
Cherry picking: act of pointing at individual cases or data that seem to confirm a particular position, while ignoring a significant portion of related cases or data that may contradict that position
Composition: where one infers that something is true of the whole from the fact that it is true of some (or even every) part of the whole
Dicto simpliciter
Converse accident (a dicto secundum quid ad dictum simpliciter): when an exception to a generalization is wrongly called for
False analogy: false analogy consists of an error in the substance of an argument (the content of the analogy itself), not an error in the logical structure of the argument
Hasty generalization (fallacy of insufficient statistics, fallacy of insufficient sample, fallacy of the lonely fact, leaping to a conclusion, hasty induction, secundum quid)
Loki's Wager: insistence that because a concept cannot be clearly defined, it cannot be discussed
Misleading vividness: involves describing an occurrence in vivid detail, even if it is an exceptional occurrence, to convince someone that it is a problem
Overwhelming exception (hasty generalization): It is a generalization which is accurate, but comes with one or more qualifications which eliminate so many cases that what remains is much less impressive than the initial statement might have led one to assume
Pathetic fallacy: when an inanimate object is declared to have characteristics of animate objects
Spotlight fallacy: when a person uncritically assumes that all members or cases of a certain class or type are like those that receive the most attention or coverage in the media
Thought-terminating cliché: a commonly used phrase, sometimes passing as folk wisdom, used to quell cognitive dissonance.

Red herring fallacies:
A red herring is an argument, given in response to another argument, which does not address the original issue. See also irrelevant conclusion
Ad hominem: attacking the person instead of the argument. A form of this is reductio ad Hitlerum.
Argumentum ad baculum (literally "appeal to the stick" or "appeal to force"): where an argument is made through coercion or threats of force towards an opposing party
Argumentum ad populum ("appeal to belief", "appeal to the majority", "appeal to the people"): where a proposition is claimed to be true solely because many people believe it to be true
Association fallacy (guilt by association)
Appeal to authority: where an assertion is deemed true because of the position or authority of the person asserting it
Appeal to consequences: a specific type of appeal to emotion where an argument that concludes a premise is either true or false based on whether the premise leads to desirable or undesirable consequences for a particular party
Appeal to emotion: where an argument is made due to the manipulation of emotions, rather than the use of valid reasoning
Appeal to fear: a specific type of appeal to emotion where an argument is made by increasing fear and prejudice towards the opposing side
Wishful thinking: a specific type of appeal to emotion where a decision is made according to what might be pleasing to imagine, rather than according to evidence or reason
Appeal to spite: a specific type of appeal to emotion where an argument is made through exploiting people's bitterness or spite towards an opposing party
Appeal to flattery: a specific type of appeal to emotion where an argument is made due to the use of flattery to gather support
Appeal to motive: where a premise is dismissed, by calling into question the motives of its proposer
Appeal to nature: an argument wherein something is deemed correct or good if it is natural, and is deemed incorrect or bad if it is unnatural
Appeal to novelty: where a proposal is claimed to be superior or better solely because it is new or modern
Appeal to poverty (argumentum ad lazarum): thinking a conclusion is correct because the speaker is financially poor or incorrect because the speaker is financially wealthy
Appeal to wealth (argumentum ad crumenam): concluding that a statement is correct because the speaker is rich or that a statement is incorrect because speaker is poor
Argument from silence (argumentum ex silentio): a conclusion based on silence or lack of contrary evidence
Appeal to tradition: where a thesis is deemed correct on the basis that it has a long-standing tradition behind it
Chronological snobbery: where a thesis is deemed incorrect because it was commonly held when something else, clearly false, was also commonly held
Genetic fallacy: where a conclusion is suggested based solely on something or someone's origin rather than its current meaning or context. This overlooks any difference to be found in the present situation, typically transferring the positive or negative esteem from the earlier context.
Judgmental language: insultive or pejorative language to influence the recipient's judgment
Poisoning the well: where adverse information about a target is pre-emptively presented to an audience, with the intention of discrediting or ridiculing everything that the target person is about to say
Sentimental fallacy: it would be more pleasant if; therefore it ought to be; therefore it is
Straw man argument: based on misrepresentation of an opponent's position
Style over substance fallacy: occurs when one emphasizes the way in which the argument is presented, while marginalizing (or outright ignoring) the content of the argument
Texas sharpshooter fallacy: information that has no relationship is interpreted or manipulated until it appears to have meaning
Two wrongs make a right: occurs when it is assumed that if one wrong is committed, another wrong will cancel it out
Tu quoque: the argument states that a certain position is false or wrong and/or should be disregarded because its proponent fails to act consistently in accordance with that position

Conditional or questionable fallacies:
Definist fallacy: involves the confusion between two notions by defining one in terms of the other
Luddite fallacy: related to the belief that labour-saving technologies increase unemployment by reducing demand for labour
Broken window fallacy: an argument which disregards hidden costs associated with destroying property of others.
Slippery slope: argument states that a relatively small first step inevitably leads to a chain of related events culminating in some significant impact

Cognitive bias

Many of these biases are studied for how they affect belief formation and business decisions and scientific research.
Bandwagon effect — the tendency to do (or believe) things because many other people do (or believe) the same. Related to groupthink, herd behaviour, and manias.
Bias blind spot — the tendency not to compensate for one's own cognitive biases.
Choice-supportive bias — the tendency to remember one's choices as better than they actually were.
Confirmation bias — the tendency to search for or interpret information in a way that confirms one's preconceptions.
Congruence bias — the tendency to test hypotheses exclusively through direct testing, in contrast to tests of possible alternative hypotheses.
Contrast effect — the enhancement or diminishment of a weight or other measurement when compared with recently observed contrasting object.
Déformation professionnelle — the tendency to look at things according to the conventions of one's own profession, forgetting any broader point of view.
Endowment effect — "the fact that people often demand much more to give up an object than they would be willing to pay to acquire it".
Focusing effect — prediction bias occurring when people place too much importance on one aspect of an event; causes error in accurately predicting the utility of a future outcome.
Hyperbolic discounting — the tendency for people to have a stronger preference for more immediate payoffs relative to later payoffs, the closer to the present both payoffs are.
Illusion of control — the tendency for human beings to believe they can control or at least influence outcomes that they clearly cannot.
Impact bias — the tendency for people to overestimate the length or the intensity of the impact of future feeling states.
Information bias — the tendency to seek information even when it cannot affect action.
Irrational escalation — the tendency to make irrational decisions based upon rational decisions in the past or to justify actions already taken.
Loss aversion — "the disutility of giving up an object is greater than the utility associated with acquiring it". (see also sunk cost effects and Endowment effect).
Neglect of probability — the tendency to completely disregard probability when making a decision under uncertainty.
Mere exposure effect — the tendency for people to express undue liking for things merely because they are familiar with them.
Omission bias — The tendency to judge harmful actions as worse, or less moral, than equally harmful omissions (inactions).
Outcome bias — the tendency to judge a decision by its eventual outcome instead of based on the quality of the decision at the time it was made.
Planning fallacy — the tendency to underestimate task-completion times.
Post-purchase rationalization — the tendency to persuade oneself through rational argument that a purchase was a good value.
Pseudocertainty effect — the tendency to make risk-averse choices if the expected outcome is positive, but make risk-seeking choices to avoid negative outcomes.
Reactance - the urge to do the opposite of what someone wants you to do out of a need to reassert a perceived attempt to constrain your freedom of choice.
Selective perception — the tendency for expectations to affect perception.
Status quo bias — the tendency for people to like things to stay relatively the same (see also Loss aversion and Endowment effect).
Von Restorff effect — the tendency for an item that "stands out like a sore thumb" to be more likely to be remembered than other items.
Zero-risk bias — preference for reducing a small risk to zero over a greater reduction in a larger risk.

Top Ten Ways to Deal with Behavioral Biases

Focus on the Data. As I have said repeatedly (and I’m not alone in this), focus on the data. As my masthead proclaims, I strive for a data-driven perspective and a data-driven process. That isn’t easy to do, sadly. We relate better to stories and are all too willing to believe and concoct narratives of various sorts to support our latest nonsense, but it’s a worthy aspiration and commitment nonetheless.
Actively Seek Out Contrary Data and Conclusions. A remarkable universe of discoveries in psychology and neuroscience demonstrate that our preexisting beliefs skew our thoughts and even color what we consider our most dispassionate and reasoned conclusions. This tendency toward so-called “motivated reasoning” helps explain why we find groups so polarized over matters about which the evidence seems so clear. In other words, expecting people (including ourselves) to be convinced by the facts is contrary to, well, the facts. Factor in behavioral biases (such as the ever popular confirmation bias, optimism bias, in-group bias and self-serving bias) and it’s easy to see (at least conceptually) why we can get it so wrong so readily. Our tendency is to look for and consider only those views that correspond to our own – which goes a long way towards explaining the popularity of Fox News and MSNBC, for example, while also explaining why the viewers of each of those networks tend to think that only the other side has it all wrong. If we are going to be able to see things a bit differently, we need to seek out and consider sources that look at things differently.
Build-In Accountability Mechanisms. We need (relative) objectivity if we are going to succeed in investing and in life unless we are extremely lucky. Having an accountability partner or (better yet) a competent and empowered team is particularly important due to our great ability to spot what’s wrong with everybody else (if not ourselves). It also means taking and dealing with criticism seriously. Even welcoming and encouraging it. It shouldn't be surprising to see so many people who experience great investment success suffer indifferent performance or even failure subsequently (Bill Miller and John Paulson, for example). The more success and power we achieve, the easier it is to believe the hype. Accountability mechanisms that are maintained and honored can help to undercut that.
Focus on Process. Accountability is more effective when it’s part of a consistent, careful, clear and clearly defined process. We all recognize that the outcomes in many activities in life combine elements of both skill and luck. Investing is one of these. Especially troublesome is our perfectly human tendency to attribute poor results to bad luck and good results to skill. It’s a lead-pipe-lock that we’re going to err and err often in the investment world. If we are to succeed with any measure of consistency, we need carefully crafted plans with screw-up contingencies built-in together with a commitment to regular re-evaluation and a rescue plan in the event of major catastrophe.
Test and Re-Test. No matter how good our process is, we need also to assume that we have made errors and set out actively to find them by testing and confirming everything possible. Once we have decided that a given view is correct or committed to a particular course, confirmation bias has a tendency to take over. Planning to be lucky and believing that psychological realities don’t apply to us is a lovely (if arrogant) thought. But it’s not remotely realistic. Keep testing and looking for ways that you’re wrong.
Avoid the Noise. Distinguishing signal from noise can be agonizingly difficult. Given the sheer amount of stuff competing for our attention, eliminating distractions unlikely to provide substantive benefit will improve the likelihood of our success. CNBC is fun and all, but how often does it make us smarter or better?
Take a Tip from Attorneys. I often refer to myself as a recovering attorney, and there is a great deal about the practice of law that is frustrating and silly. But one excellent technique I learned from my time in that profession is to argue the other side’s case. Understanding and even appreciating a contrary point of view is helpful to our own thinking and can provide a good check on the coherence of our own viewpoints. Understanding and seeking support for the opposition’s best arguments is a powerful learning tool. We might even decide that – gasp – mistakes were made (almost surely by someone else, of course).
Keep Track of Your Mistakes as Carefully as Your Successes. We all tend to trumpet our successes and downplay our failures. I highly suggest that, at least within your circle of influence and with those to whom you are accountable, you carefully track and analyze your failures, readily apparent or not. Sometimes these mistakes will be the result of bad luck. But often you will find correctable errors or even errors in your process. Doing so also helps with #10.
Take Your Time. The more experienced and successful we are, the easier it is to take short-cuts. Experience is what allows us to apply useful short-cuts, of course, but it’s important to remember that all behavioral biases and ideologies provide mental short-cuts of a sort too. For big decisions, at least, make sure to take the time to connect each and every dot. When I was in law school I often refereed basketball games for extra money. Many situations were repeated time and again with the next action and the right call seemingly foreordained. It was always difficult to avoid anticipating the call — blowing the whistle based upon what was highly likely (perhaps almost surely) to happen rather than waiting to see what actually happened. Surprises happen on the basketball court with remarkable frequency. They happen in investing too.
Try to Stay Humble (no matter how successful you are). Even though it takes a healthy amount of self-confidence to be an investment success, arrogance and certainty are frequent enemies of continued investment success. Your accountability partners can and should help here, of course. Spouses are especially expert at promoting humility. You will screw up and screw up often. Remind yourself of that reality often as you continue to look for where your most recent failings took place.

Rules for Making Oneself a Disagreeable Companion

RULES, by the Observation of which, a Man of Wit and Learning may nevertheless make himself a disagreeable Companion.

Your Business is to shine; therefore you must by all means prevent the shining of others, for their Brightness may make yours the less distinguish'd. To this End,

If possible engross the whole Discourse; and when other Matter fails, talk much of your-self, your Education, your Knowledge, your Circumstances, your Successes in Business, your Victories in Disputes, your own wise Sayings and Observations on particular Occasions.
If when you are out of Breath, one of the Company should seize the Opportunity of saying something; watch his Words, and, if possible, find somewhat either in his Sentiment or Expression, immediately to contradict and raise a Dispute upon. Rather than fail, criticize even his Grammar.
If another should be saying an indisputably good Thing; either give no Attention to it; or interrupt him; or draw away the Attention of others; or, if you can guess what he would be at, be quick and say it before him; or, if he gets it said, and you perceive the Company pleas'd with it, own it to be a good Thing, and withal remark that it had been said by Bacon, Locke, Bayle, or some other eminent Writer; thus you deprive him of the reputation he might have gain'd by it, and gain some yourself, as you hereby show your great Reading and Memory.
When modest Men have been thus treated by you a few times, they will chuse[choose] ever after to be silent in your Company; then you may shine on without Fear of a Rival; rallying them at the same time for their Dullness, which will be to you a new Fund of Wit.
Thus you will be sure to please yourself. The polite Man aims at pleasing others, but you shall go beyond him even in that. A Man can be present only in one Company, but may at the same time be absent in twenty. He can please only where he is, you where-ever you are not.

The Pennsylvania Gazette, November 15, 1750
-- Benjamin Franklin

 

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The Effects of Consciousness on Reality.

Do this experiment for yourself. As far as consciousness effecting reality experiments this is so easy (and cheap) to do. Rice, jam jar and label. If you doubt this in any way DO the experiment for yourself. Spend 15 -- 20 seconds a day focusing 'love' energy at one and 'hate' at the other and see the results for yourself.

As a human being, you are participating in a “physical reality”, specifically on this planet we call Earth. Basically, who you really are is a stream of non-physical awareness that’s focused on this physical reality through this temporary physical form you identify as your human body. Before something becomes physical, it is non-physical – just like ice is the solid form of steam, in this analogy ice would be what I “physical” and steam would be what I call “non-physical”. So basically physical is created when non-physical “condenses” into solidity – scientifically, the vibration of non-physical energy condenses into solid matter by vibrating in a dense manner.


“Thought” is non-physical, and when thought is given awareness it starts condensing into physical – that’s how this world got created, through a thought/intention in the non-physical energy (who we essentially are) to manifest as this physical universe, including the living and non-living physical objects. Everything was a thought/intention at first, before it started condensing into solid reality, and it keeps moving forward in that intention – it’s a time line, a sequence of events, that has created our present physical reality as it is.


Non-physical realm Vs Physical realm


Though thought is non-physical, it can still be experienced and felt. Just think a thought, like for example imagine walking on the beach, and you can immediately “experience” it based on your past experience with it – however, the experience is not the same as what you would actually experience when you are “physically” at the beach. So, there is a difference between physical and non-physical experience of a thought, when a thought becomes a physical reality, which can be seen, tasted, heard and touched, it gives a totally different experience than when you experience it in “thought” by thinking about it.


In the “non-physical” realm, everything is experienced as “thought” in all its fullness (much deeper than we experience thought in this body), and if you are just a non-physical being you can keep experiencing different thoughts as per your wish while staying in your natural vibration of wholeness because there is no contrast present in the non-physical, and you will constantly feel satisfied in this experience because you don’t feel hunger, thirst, aging etc – you are rooted in wholeness and you can experience any thought you desire from this place, in a non-physical manner. When this body dies you will be privy to your consciousness returns to its non-physical wholeness from where your new intentions can bring forth new physical forms.

 

In the physical realm, you want your thoughts, of desire, to be manifest as a solid reality so that you can taste, see, smell, hear and touch it. To just experience a reality as a thought is not satisfying enough, and it cannot gratify your physical need. One wants to experience its “solid” form – that’s our deal as physical beings, we want “physical realities”, we can’t only be satisfied with its thought, because we feel a physical hunger, thirst and drive, which can only be satisfied with something physical. This is the basic difference between non-physical being and physical being – as this body, we are physical beings.

 


Thought takes time to manifest into Physicalness


Just like steam takes time to become ice (first it has to condense into water, and then it has to condense into ice), it takes time for a thought to become solid reality. And the time would also depend on the reality you wish to manifest – for example, the reality of this present earth, with all its internet technology, has taken a few years to manifest (compare it to where it was 5 years ago). In the same way, the realities that you desire (in thought) takes time to manifest into solid physical realities. And the less “resistant” you are, the more quickly it can manifest – but no matter how free of resistance you are, it will still take time to manifest.


Of course, there is such a thing called “instant manifestation”, I am sure all of you would have experienced at least a few instances when you desired something and it got manifested within a few minutes or a few hours. This happens because things were already in place for the manifestation, and a thought just got “placed” into your mind about it (this is done by the totality of your life stream just for your enjoyment of the physical reality, what we call small coincidences and surprises). The more aligned you are the more “small pleasantries” that take place every day.


Some realities are easy to manifest because things are already in place for it, like for example if you desire an empty parking space it can be manifested immediately if a possibility for it exists in that moment as per the sequence of events – small alterations are easier to make. But your other desired realities may take more time to manifest because they need to “fall in place” in the totality of things as they exist now. And if you stay resistance-free to your desires, they can manifest in the quickest time frame possible – so the best thing you can do is to stay resistance-free, so that your resistance is not delaying the unfolding further.


Some impatience is natural


As a physical being, when you are required to wait for a physical reality to manifest, it’s natural to feel impatient. This impatience can go into higher intensities and take the form of frustration, anger, irritation, restlessness, desperation, helplessness, worry, anxiety, stress and depression – if one is not conscious. This is the difference between someone who understands the principle of creation on this physical realm and someone who is unconscious of it. A person who is unconscious of the principle of creation, would unconsciously create a lot of “resistance” to his/her desired reality through staying identified with resistances, in the form of various faces of impatience mentioned above, and thus delay the manifestation further, sometimes for a life-time. Also their resistant vibration (lower vibration) would cause the creation/attraction of some negative reflections in their reality depending on the intensity of resistance.
Once you understand the working of physical realm, you can bring awareness to all the patterns of resistance in you and gradually dis-identify from them in a “conscious” way. This is how you become a deliberate “allower” of your desired realities. You will need to make peace with the “truth” that it will take some time for physical realities to manifest, and this period of waiting would only increase if you feel “negative” about it. This is the catch 22 of physical reality – if you feel negative about the time it takes for a physical reality to manifest, this negativity only serves to make the manifestation slower, which makes you even more negative leading to a catch 22 situation.


Some level of impatience, in the mind, is very natural and it’s totally fine, as long as it does not enter into higher intensity. The mind obviously wants to experience physical realities as quickly as possible, and no matter how enlightened you are, the mind, being physical, would naturally want to see physical manifestations happen more quickly. Of course, you can unnaturally suppress your mind, and pretend that you don’t care about manifesting physical realities for yourself, but that’s just a “fake” state of being and this suppression leads to a lot of resistance within, and also a loss of aliveness. So allow your mind its moments of impatience, but also be aware enough to not intensify its lower vibration thoughts, the more relaxed you are the faster your desired realities can unfold on this physical realm.


Also, though physical manifestations of your desired realities are absolutely essential for an enjoyable experience of physicalness, this journey is not “only” about manifestations – it’s also about “self-realization”. You can enjoy manifestations as they happen, but also realize that the wholeness of your being is present right now and it’s not dependent on a manifestation. Staying connected with your inner wholeness allows you to stay more resistance free, and thus allows for a faster manifestation of your desired realities – but in one sense you cannot fake this state of being, it just comes forth naturally when you understand the dynamics of physical realm and your true nature as the “conscious energy” being that you are (whose natural vibration is already rooted in wholeness/joy).

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Confucius

Confucius literally "Master Kong", (traditionally September 28, 551 BC – 479 BC) was a Chinese thinker and social philosopher. His philosophy emphasized personal and governmental morality, correctness of social relationships, justice and sincerity.…

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