اللي عنده موضوع writing أو بحث يمكن يحصل هنا

[إيليا]

حقوق الحيوان أو حماية الحيوانات

Animal rights, also known as animal liberation, is the movement to protect non-human animals from being used or regarded as property by humans. It is a radical social movement[2] insofar as it aims not only to attain more humane treatment for animals,[3] but also to include species other than human beings within the moral community[4] by giving their basic interests — for example, the interest in avoiding suffering — the same consideration as those of human beings.[5] The claim is that animals should no longer be regarded legally or morally as property, or treated as resources for human purposes, but should instead be regarded as legal persons.[6]

Animal law courses are now taught in 87 out of 180 United States law schools, [7] and the idea of extending personhood to animals has the support of some senior legal scholars, including Alan Dershowitz[8] and Laurence Tribe of Harvard Law School.[6] The Seattle-based Great Ape Project is campaigning for the United Nations to adopt a Declaration on Great Apes, which would see gorillas, orangutans, chimpanzees and bonobos included in a "community of equals" with human beings, extending to them the protection of three basic interests: the right to life, the protection of individual liberty, and the prohibition of torture.[9] This is seen by an increasing number of animal rights lawyers as a first step toward granting rights to other animals.[10][11]

Critics of the concept of animal rights argue that animals do not have the capacity to enter into a social contract or make moral choices, and therefore cannot be regarded as possessors of moral rights. The philosopher Roger Scruton argues that only human beings have duties and that "[t]he corollary is inescapable: we alone have rights."[12] Critics holding this position argue that there is nothing inherently wrong with using animals for food, as entertainment, and in research, though human beings may nevertheless have an obligation to ensure they do not suffer unnecessarily.[13] This position is generally called the animal welfare position, and it is held by some of the oldest of the animal protection agencies.


وصف لأفراد عائلتك في يوم ما
Eid ul-Fitr
often abbreviated as simply Eid, is an Islamic holiday that marks the end of Ramadan, the month of fasting. Fiṭr means "to break the fast" and therefore symbolizes the breaking of the fasting period. On the day of the celebration. As a family, we wake very early and then after praying the first normal everyday prayer, we are required to eat in a small quantity, symbolizing the end of Ramadan. Then, we attend special congregational prayers held only for this occasion in mosques, in large open areas, stadiums or arenas. The prayer is generally short, and is followed by a sermon (khuṭba). Worshippers greet and embrace each other in a spirit of peace and love after the congregational prayer. After the special prayers, festivities and merriment are commonly observed with visits to our home from relatives and friends to thank God for all blessings.

For us, Eid ul-Fitr is a joyous occasion with important religious significance, celebrating of the achievement of enhanced piety. It is a day of forgiveness, moral victory, peace of congregation, fellowship, brotherhood and unity. We celebrate not only the end of fasting, but also thank God for the help and strength that they believe he gave them throughout the previous month to help them practice self-control. It is a time of giving and sharing, and many of us buy new dresses in this holiday

[إيليا]

تحريم الخمر والقمار ولحم الخنزير
The matter of Halal and Haram meat has consensus in the scholars through the history of Islam. The issue has been addressed completely through the Holy Qur’an and Hadith. May Allah guide us towards making the right choices for ourselves in this regard, and May He protect us from all Haram.
Food and drink, being the basic needs of human beings, have been discussed in detail and clearly explained in the Holy Qur’an and Hadith. Especially, the issue of Halal and Haram meat is discussed quite extensively.

Unfortunately, we choose not to follow the established rules of Shari’ah based on the Holy Qur’an and Hadith. Instead, we make up our own rules to suit our needs and circumstances and do not seem to care if they are contradictory to the commands of Allah and His beloved Prophet (saws)

First of all, it should be kept in mind that in order to learn about any particular issue from the Holy Qur’an and Hadith, one muse be thoroughly well versed in the Arabic language. We must never attempt to understand and especially render a judgment about any issue of Shari’ah based on the translations of the Holy Qur’an and Hadith. Since translations are never totally accurate and generally do not reflect the true spirit of the message, one takes the risk of misunderstanding an issue based on the translator’s perception of it. Thus, the whole foundation on which we would base our interpretation will be wrong and if the foundation is wrong then the structure we erect on it will be wrong as well.

Secondly, it is essential that one knows the rules governing the interpretation of Qur’an and Hadith. Without this knowledge we are also very likely to misinterpret the commands of Allah and His Prophet (saws).

Someone may argue that Allah has mentioned in the Qur’an, “We have made the Quran easy”; then how come we have to learn this and that to understand the true meaning of Quran? It should be borne in mind that whenever and wherever Allah says in the Holy Quran “We have made the Quran easy”. He has also added the word, “To take advice from and remember”, and not to deduce interpretations of your own liking. If the Holy Quran was made easy for everyone to interpret and to deduce the commands of Allah and the practices of Shariah, there would have been no need for sending a prophet and there could not have been any uniformity in the practice of Deen. As Allah says in the Quran:

“And we have also sent down unto you {O Muhammad (saws) the Dhikr, reminder and the advice (i.e. the Qura’n)} that you may explain clearly to men what is sent down to them, and that they may give thought.” (16:44)

Imam Ghazali and other scholars have mentioned fifteen branches of knowledge which one must acquire in order to gain insight into any particular issue from the Holy Quran and Hadith. One of these branches of knowledge, for example, is the knowledge of the background and circumstances under which Quranic verses were revealed. Without this knowledge, it would be impossible to understand the meaning and rationale of many of the verses in the Holy Quran. Consider the following verse:

“Those who believe and do righteous good deeds there is no sin on them for what they ate if they fear Allah and believe and do righteous good deeds, and again fear Allah and believe and one again fear Allah and do good deeds with Ihsan. And Allah loves the good doers.” (5:93)

If one looks at the literal translation of the above verse, one gets the impression that whatever one eats, whether it is Haram or Halal, will not make any difference as long as one believes in Allah, performs good deeds and is mindful of his/her duties. It is only when we learn the background of and the circumstances under which the verse was revealed that we truly understand the meaning of the verse.

Let us examine the background of this verse. When the verse forbidding alcohol was revealed, some of the companion expressed their concern about those who died before the revelation of this verse. The above verse was revealed to this concern and to ensure the companions that as long as the person believed in Allah and was pious, God-fearing and mindful of his/her duties of Allah, he/she will not be punished for his previous drinking; if he is punished, it will not be because of his drinking but because of his lack of faith and fear of Allah.

The above example clearly demonstrates how essential it is to have the knowledge of the rules dealing with the interpretation of the Holy Quran. Without this knowledge one can easily go astray.

There are many such examples in the Holy Quran and Hadith. Suffice is to say that one must acquire the knowledge of the fifteen subjects mentioned by Imam Ghazali if one intends to deduce the rules of Shariah himself from the Holy Quran and Haidth. If one renders judgments from the Holy Quran and Hadith without this knowledge, he/she will lead himself and other innocent Muslims astray. May Allah protect us and guide us to the right path!!

Thirdly, one should remember that when we investigate an issue through the Quran and Haidth, we should look at all the Quranic verses and Hadith relating to the topic. Only then will we be able to see the total picture of what Allah and His Prophet (saws) have taught us about this particular issue.

Take for example alcohol, if one reads the verse, “Do not pray when you are drunk” (4:43). One may easily misunderstand and claim that drinking is permitted in the Holy Quran as long as one is not praying while drunk, because drinking is forbidden only at the time of prayer. This person will not be able to understand the rules of Shariah about drinking because of his lack of knowledge of other verses of the Holy Quran and Hadith dealing with the commands of Allah about drinking. He may not realize that this verse was revealed at eh beginning of Islam and that another verse forbidding it altogether was revealed later on. The verse read as follows:

“ O believers, wine, gambling, (ungodly) shrines and divining devices are all abominable works of Satan; therefore refrain from these so that you may attain true success. Indeed Satan intends to sow enmity and hatred among you by means of wine, gambling to prevent you from the remembrance of Allah and from Salah. Will you not, therefore, abstain from these things?” (5:90-91)

since the intent of this short article is not to discuss the rules of interpretation of the Holy Quran and Hadith, we will not go into the details of the fifteen branches of knowledge described by Imam Ghazali. Those who are interested in learning more about them may consult Imam Ghazali’s writings such as, “Ihya-Al-Uloom”.

Let us now return to the main purpose for which I started to write this little article.

Allah has mentioned in Surah Al-Baqarah,

“Those four things are forbidden from you: 1) Dead animal, 2) Blood, 3) Pork, and 4) any animal slaughtered in the name other than Allah.” (2:173)

As I have mentioned before, it is not enough to take only one verse from the Holy Quran to deduce the rules about an issue because we have to consider all the verses that may be directly or indirectly related to this issue. When we search the Holy Quran for verses related to the slaughtered animal (Zabiha) and Halal and Haram meat, we find that there are a number of other things, which are forbidden. Take for example verse #3 of Surah al-Ma’idah.

“ Forbidden for you are: 1) dead animal, 2) blood, 3) the flesh of pork, 4) any animal slaughtered in the name other than Allah, 5) or killed by strangling, 6) or through a deadly blow, 7) or by falling from a height, 8) or killed by (the goring of) horns, 9) or eaten by wild beasts, 10) or the one which has been sacrificed on altars (or at a shrine)” (5:3)

If we take only the first verse from Surah Baqarah mentioned above, we may believe that only three types of meat and blood are forbidden (Haram) and everything else is permitted (Halal). Even in the second verse quoted from Surah Ma’idah, all other forbidden animals, such as lion, dog, tiger, etc., have not been mentioned. Although every Muslim knows these beasts are also forbidden for consumption. We find these details only in Ahadith. For the animal to be Halal there are certain conditions that follow.

FIRST CONDITION: TO RECITE THE NAME OF ALLAH:

Similarly, according to the Holy Quran an animal slaughtered without reciting the Takbir (the Name of Allah) is also forbidden as stated in Quran:

“ And do not eat the flesh of an animal over which Allah’s name has not been mentioned at the time of Slaughter; this is indeed sinful. The Satan puts doubts and objections into the minds of their friends, so that they should dispute with you, but if you obey them , you are surely Mushriks.” (6-121)

It follows from this verse that it is essential to say the Takbir (reciting the name of Allah) when slaughtering the animal. If the Takbir was not recited, the meat becomes forbidden for consumption.

Imam Raghib Asfahani has mentioned seven verses from the Holy Quran in support of reciting the Takbir when slaughtering an animal for consumption.

1. “ So eat of that (flesh of the animal) over which Allah’s name has been mentioned, if you truly believe in His Revelations”. (6:118)

In this verse Allah clearly commanded us not to consume the animal upon which the Takbir was not recited at the time of slaughtering. It is; therefore, abundantly clear that if we believe in the Holy Quran, we must not eat of an animal that has not been slaughtered in the name of Allah.

2. “Why should you not eat of that over which Allah’s names has been mentioned, when he has already given you explicit knowledge of those things which He has forbidden for you except in a case of extreme helplessness? And surely many people lead others astray by following their own desires without any knowledge. Indeed your Lord best knows the transgressors.” (6:119)

In this verse Allah has once again made it very clear that those who eat the meat of animals not slaughtered in the name of Allah are ignorant, following their desires blindly.

3. “And do not eat the flesh of the animal over which Allah’s name has not been mentioned at the time of slaughter; this is indeed sinful..” (6:121)

In this verse it is clearly stated once again that the animal which has not been slaughtered in the name of Allah is forbidden for eating, and to do so is a great sin. It is further stated in the same verse:

“ And certainly, the Shayatin (devils) do inspire their friends (from mankind) to dispute with you, and if you obey them [by making al-Maitah (a dead animal) legal by eating it], then you would indeed be Mushrikun (polytheists);” [because they (devils and their friends) made lawful to you to eat which Allah has made unlawful to eat and you obeyed them by considering it lawful to eat, and by doing so you worshipped them; and to worship others besides Allah is polytheism]

Clearly Allah has warned us that Satan will inspire their friends in fabricating arguments and excuses to make Halal what Allah has made Haram for us. Obviously, these friends of Satan would be the ones who follow their own desires without knowledge. If we follow them, Allah says we would become Mushriks, because we associated these people with Allah in giving us commands.

4. “That they may witness the benefits made available for them, and mention the name of Allah on the appointed days over the cattle he has provided them”. (22:28)

In this verse where Allah has ordered us to sacrifice the animal, He has once again reminded us not to forget to mention the name of Allah when sacrificing the animal.

5. “And for every nation We have prescribed a way of sacrifice so that they should pronounce the name of Allah over the cattle which he has provided for them”. (22:34)

In this verse Allah has informed us of a very important fact, that He made it compulsory for the previous Ummahs as well to recite His name when slaughtering the animal. Therefore, it is also compulsory for the Jews and the Christians to recite the name of Allah when they slaughter an animal for consumption. This is whey we have been allowed to eat the meat of an animal slaughtered by the people of the Divine Books. This issue is discussed in more details in the next section.

6. "And We have included the camels (dedicated for sacrifice) among the Symbols of Allah, for there is much good for you in them. Therefore, mention the name of Allah over them when they are drawn up in lines (for sacrifice)." (22:36)

In this verse too, Allah impressed the need of reciting His name, when animals are slaughtered to offer sacrifice. Ordinarily a butcher slaughters an animal tor consumption, but during the Hajj season every one has to slaughter his own animal. This is why Allah is emphasising and reminding us not to forget reciting His name at the time of slaughter.

7. "They ask you what has been made lawful for them. Say, all the good and pure things have been made lawful for you. You may also eat of what the hunting animals, which you have trained lo hunt in accordance with the knowledge Allah has given you, catch and hold for you. You should, however, mention Allah's name over it and fear (to violate the Law of) Allah, for Allah is swift at reckoning." (5:4)

This verse deals with hunting for meat. Allah has commanded us to recite His name before letting loose the hunting animals (e.g., dogs, hawks, etc.) after the prey. Only then the hunted animal will be Halal; otherwise, it will be Haram. This law of hunting has been mentioned very clearly in many Ahadith as well. This is the only right way to make sure the hunt is Halal.

I will present the following two Ahadith as examples.

1. The Prophet (saws) said, "If you recited the name of Allah, then released one hound after the prey and another hound joined him, and the two dogs hunted the prey together; then the hunt will not be Halal because it is possible that the animal may have been killed by the dog on which Allah's name was not recited."

2. If an animal is hunted with an arrow and the prey fell in water after getting hit, then the animal will not be Halal because it is possible that his death may have been caused by the fall
or by drowning. There are many Ahadith on this subject in the authentic books such as Bukhari. Muslim, Abu-Daud, Tirmiz, Nasai, and Ibn-Majah etc. All of these Ahadith make it abundantly clear that an animal killed without reciting the name of Allah at the time of slaughter is Haram.

Therefore, reciting the name of Allah at the time of slaughter is the first condition for the meat to be Halal, Now, whoever tries to prove otherwise is ignorant and is following his own whims and desires; thereby, misleading himself and others.

SECOND CONDITION: SLAUGHTERING BY CUTTING THE THROAT

The second condition is that the animal should be slaughtered by cutting the throat, as it has been made clear in the following two Ahadith.

1. Abu Hurrairah (ra) narrated that the beloved Prophet (saws) once sent Budail bin Waraqah (ra) to Mina to announce and inform the pilgrims to slaughter their animals at the neck. (Dar Qutni. p. 544)

2. Abdullah bin Abbas (ra), Umar (ra) and Ali (ra) have all narrated that the Prophet (saws) instructed them to slaughter the animal at the neck. (Bukhari)

How and where should the neck be cut has been explained as well. Look at this Hadith:

1. Rafi bin Khudaij (ra) narrated that I asked the Prophet (saws) about slaughtering the animal: he (saws) replied, "That slaughtering the animal with any sharp object (with the exception of nail and teeth) makes it Halal." (Ibn Abi Shaibah, Zaila'i)

The word (Awdaaj) in this Hadith means the two blood vessels, the oesophagus and the windpipe. Out of these four, at least three must be cut for the animal to be Halal for consumption.

Now, regarding the question about the animals slaughtered by People of the Book, that is. the Jews and Christians, we find the following verse in the Holy Qur'an.

"This day We have made lawful (Halal) for you all the clean and pure things, and We have also made lawful (Halal) the food of the people of Scripture for you and your food for them." (5:5)

According to the above verse, we are allowed to eat the food of the people of the Book. But. does this mean that we are allowed to eat the meal of animals slaughtered by the Jews and Christian even if they do not follow the requirements of slaughter prescribed by Allah i.e., reciting the name of Allah and cutting the animal's throat as prescribed? Not at all. Interpreting the meaning of the verse in this manner will amount to abolishing these requirements, discarding all the verses in the Holy Qur'an and literally hundreds of Ahadith about them without any proof to the contrary.

. Under no circumstances are we allowed to discard, disregard any command of Allah in the Holy Qur'an and the Ahadith of Prophet Muhammad (saws) without any solid proof to the contrary.

Even a Muslim that kills an animal without the prescribed method, it will be rendered as Haram so how about the others. In this case, if we assume that the above mentioned conditions for the slaughter of animals are meant only for Muslims and not for Christians and Jews, then it means that no matter how they kill the animal, it will be Halal for them and for us. But if a Muslim slaughters an animal without meeting these requirements, the meat would be Haram for our consumption. Does this make sense? It may also mean that Allah 's more lenient with the Jews and Christians in this regard than He is with Muslims. Docs that make sense?

In fact, this is not the meaning of this verse. In order to understand the real meaning of this verse, we must first answer two questions.

1. What is meant by the word (Ta'aam)'?

And

2. Why did Allah make Halal for us the food of only the Jews and Christian and not of others?

Let us look at the first question. The Arabic word (Ta'aam) means "food or meal". Now if we take this literal meaning of the word, then, according to this verse, pork and wine will become Halal as well because both of these food items are regularly consumed by the Christians. And, no Muslim will ever agree to this interpretation of the verse because we know that both pork and wine have been clearly declared as Haram lor us by Allah. It, therefore, follows that lhe word "Ta'aam" here does not mean all types of food. In the
interpretation of this verse. Imam Qurtubi has explained, "all those food consumed by the Christian and the Jews, which are forbidden for Muslims, do not become Halal because of this verse." (Tafsir Al-Qurtubi, v.6, p.77).

There is a consensus among the scholars of the Holy Qur'an since the time of the Protphet (saws) that the word "Ta'aam" here means the meat of Halal animals slaughtered by Christians or Jews. Ibn-Kathir, Imam Jassas. Imam Aaiusi and others have derived this interpretation from the narrations by Abdullah bin Abbas. Abu-Darda, Abu-Umamah. Miijahid, Qatadah, Saeed-bin-Jubair, Ikrimah, Ala', Hasan Basri, Makhol Shami, Dhahhak, Ibrahim Nakhai. Imam Suddi, and Imam Muqatil, etc.)

Now then, why was the slaughtered meat of only Jews and Christians made Hala! for us and not of others?

The answer is quiie obvious. The Jews and the Christians used to slaughter their animals in exactly the same way as prescribed in Islam. They recited the name of Allah at the time of slaughter and cut the animal at the neck. So, their method of slaughter was exactly like ours. Allah had prescribed for them the same method of .slaughter as has been mentioned in Surah Hajj, verse 34. This can be confirmed through the Bible, Torah and the well established Jewish Dietary Laws. Look at the following quotations.

1. "You shall kill of your herd and your flock...as I have commanded you" (Deuteronomy 12.21)

2. The mammals and birds that may be eaten must be slaughtered in accordance with the Jewish law. (Dent. 12:21). We may not eat animals that died of natural causes (Dent. 14:21)
or that were killed by other animals. In addition, the animal must have no disease or flaws in the organs at the time of slaughter. These restrictions do not apply to fish; only to the
flocks and herds (Num. 11:22).

3. Ritual slaughter is known as shechitah and the person who performs the slaughter is called a shochet, both from the Hebrew root Shin-Chet-Tav, meaning to destroy or kill. The
method of slaughter is a quick, deep stroke across the throat with a perfectly sharp blade with no nicks or unevenness. This method is painless, causes unconsciousness within two
seconds, and is widely recognized as the most humane method of slaughter possible. Another advantage of shechitah is that it ensures rapid, complete draining of the blood, which is also necessary to render the meal kosher. The shochet is not simply a butcher; he must be a pious man, well-trained in Jewish law, particularly as it relates to kashrut. In smaller, more remote communities, the rabbi and the shochet were often the same person.

4. The humane laws of shechita probably go back to biblical times. The Torah itself implies knowledge of it: "You shall kill of your herd and your flock... as I have commanded you"
(Deuteronomy 12.21). And the moral basis of shechita was explained 800 years ago by Maimonides in his Guide of the Perplexed: "...the Law enjoins that the death of the animal
should be the easiest. It is not allowed to torment the animal by cutting the throat in a clumsy manner, by pole axing, or by cutting off a limb while the animal is alive. It is also
prohibited to kill an animal with its young on the same day (Leviticus 22.08). in order thai people should be restrained from killing the two together in such a manner thai the young is slain in the sight of the mother...."

5. In our time, the ethics of shechita were summarized by the noted Conservative rabbi. Samuel Dresner in the excellent booklet The Jewish Dietary Laws: "The laws of shechita
provide the most humane method of slaughtering animals. Great care is exercised that the knife to be used must be regularly examined before and after it is used to determine that it is perfectly smooth, without a notch that might tear the flesh. The cut severs the arteries to the head of the animal, thereby stopping circulation to the head and rendering the animal unconscious of all pain. This is not true when the animal is only stunned by a blow."

All of the above quotations have been taken from the web-page "Kashrut: Jewish Dietary Laws" on the internet at the site, whit.org/shofar/html/kosher.html/schechita.

It should be clear now why the slaughtered meat of the Jews and Christians was made Halal for us. If the Jews, Christians, or even a Muslim slaughter an animal without properly following the prescribed requirements; the meat will not be Halal for us.

There are lots of people these days who claim to be Jews and Christians, but their beliefs are not exactly in accordance with their faith. Can they be included in the definition of the People of the Book? Similarly, there are people who claim to be Muslims, but refuse to accept the basic tenants of Islam. Can they be considered Muslims? Certainly not. Besides, there are many Christians and Jews who do not even believe in God anymore.

In Summary, therefore, the first condition for their meat to be Halal for us is that they should be People of the Book (Jews or Christians), and secondly, they must slaughter according to their religious requirements (which are not different from Islam).

Generally, Jews and Christians do not slaughter their animals according to their religion with the exception of orthodox Jews who cat the Kosher; because they know that what is available in the market-place is not permissible for them to eat.

How unfortunate it is that there are Jews who still follow the commands of Allah , whereas the Muslims are looking for all kinds of excuses to violate them. May Allah give us the guidance.

It should also be remembered that all the butchers in the slaughter-houses may not necessarily be Jews and Christians: they could be persons from other faiths also.

Some people present the Fataawa (verdicts) of Islamic scholars from Saudi Arabia as a proof that we can eat the meat of an animal slaughtered by Christians and Jews. But this is merely another ploy to misguide the lay Muslims, because the fataawa of Saudi scholars deal with the packed meat they import from outside on which it is very clearly written that it has been slaughtered in accordance with the Islamic principles. Saudi Government has proclaimed a law that no Haram meat will be imported, and Saudi scholars keep this rule in mind when they render a Fatwa. Their faiaawa do not apply to the meat we get in the North American grocery stores and slaughter houses.

It is common knowledge that the meat sold in the grocery stores in North America and other western countries is neither slaughtered by the Jews or Christians necessarily, nor is it slaughtered in accordance with their religious requirement. It is, there-fore, clearly not Hlalal for our consumption.

By now, all doubts in our minds about which meat is permissible (Halal) and which is forbidden (Haram) should have been lifted. I pray to Allah for His protection from Satan and his human friends who are leading us astray from His straight path..

[إيليا]

ورق اليانصيب
lottery is a popular form of gambling which involves the drawing of lots for a prize. Some governments forbid it, while others endorse it to the extent of organizing a national lottery. It is common to find some degree of regulation of lottery by governments.

The first signs of a lottery trace back the Han Dynasty between 205 and 187 B.C., where ancient Keno slips were discovered. The lottery has helped finance major governmental projects like the Great Wall of China.

The first known European lottery occurred during the Roman Empire, and was mainly done as a form of amusement at dinner parties. Each guest would receive a ticket, and prizes would often consist of fancy items such as dinnerware. Every ticket holder would be assured of winning something. The first European lottery to award money was held in Florence, Italy in 1530. As with the earlier Roman style lottery, all ticket holders would be eligible for a small prize, such as a trinket, for playing.

The Dutch were the first to shift the lottery to solely money prizes and base prizes on odds (roughly about 1 in 4 tickets winning a prize). The lottery proved to be very popular, and was hailed as a painless form of taxation. In the Netherlands the lottery was used to raise money for e.g. supporting poor people, building dikes, construction of defense works for towns and to buy free sailors from slavery in the Arab countries. The English word lottery stems from the Dutch word loterij, which is derived from the Dutch noun lot meaning fate. The Dutch state owned staatsloterij is the oldest still existing lottery.

Lotteries come in many formats. The prize can be fixed cash or goods. In this format there is risk to the organizer if insufficient tickets are sold. The prize can be a fixed percentage of the receipts. A popular form of this is the "50-50" draw where the organizers promise that the prize will be 50% of the revenue. The prize may be guaranteed to be unique where each ticket sold has a unique number. Many recent lotteries allow purchasers to select the numbers on the lottery ticket resulting in the possibility of multiple winners.

Lotteries are most often run by governments or local states and are sometimes described as a regressive tax, since those most likely to buy tickets will typically be the less affluent members of a society. The astronomically high odds against winning have also led to the epithets of a "tax on stupidity", "math tax" or the oxymoron "voluntary tax" (playing the lottery is voluntary; taxes are not). They are intended to suggest that lotteries are governmental revenue-raising mechanisms that will attract only those consumers who fail to see that the game is a very bad deal. Indeed, the desire of lottery operators to guarantee themselves a profit requires that an average lottery ticket be worth substantially less than what it costs to buy. After taking into account the present value of the lottery prize as a single lump sum cash payment, the impact of any taxes that might apply, and the likelihood of having to share the prize with other winners, it is not uncommon to find that a ticket for a typical major lottery is worth less than one third of its purchase price.

The fact that lotteries are commonly played leads to some contradictions against standard models of economic rationality. However, the expectations of some players may not be to win the game, but the thrill and indulgence in a fantasy of possibly becoming wealthy become the goal. Even ignoring the thrill factor, there is the theoretical possibility that the purchase of a lottery ticket could represent a gain in expected utility, even though it represents a loss in expected monetary value, thus making the purchase a rational decision. Insurance, for instance, represents negative expected monetary value but is not considered to be a tax on stupidity because it is generally believed to deliver positive expected utility to the individual.

Lottery tickets are usually scanned in big numbers using marksense-technology.



حب قرأة الحظ أو معرفة البخت
Fortune-telling is the practice of predicting the future, usually of an individual, through mystical or supernatural means and often for commercial gain. It often conflates with the religious practice known as divination.

Common methods used for fortune telling include astromancy, cartomancy (fortune telling with cards), tarot card reading, crystallomancy (reading of a crystal sphere), and cheiromancy (palmistry, reading of the palms). The latter three have traditional associations in the popular mind with the Roma and Sinti people (often called "gypsies"). Various forms of fortune-telling appear throughout the world. Typical topics that fortune-tellers make predictions on include future romantic, financial, and childbearing prospects.

In contemporary Western culture, it appears that women consult fortune-tellers more than men: some indication of this comes from the profusion of advertisements for commercial fortune-telling services in magazines aimed at women, while such advertisements appear virtually unknown in magazines aimed specifically at men. Telephone consultations with psychics (charged to the caller's telephone account at very high rates) grew in popularity through the 1990s.

Chinese Fortune Telling better known as (Chinese: 算命, syun meng) have been through countless rituals and divination techniques throughout the dynastic periods. There are only 4 major methods still in practice between China and Hong Kong today due to accuracy and popularity by choice. Overtime, many of these concepts have gone into Korean and Japanese culture under other names. For example "Saju" in Korea is using the four pillar method.


Face reading - It is the interpretation of facial features of nose, eyes, mouth and other criteria within one's face. And convert those criteria into predictions of the future. This usually covers the phase of one's life, and reveal the type of luck associated with certain age range.
Palm reading - It analyzes the positioning of palm lines for love, personality and other traits.
Kau Cim - It requires the shaking of a bamboo cylinder, which results in at least one modified incense stick leaving the cylinder. The Chinese characters inscribed on the stick is analyzed by an interpreter. The prediction is short ranged as it covers one Chinese calendar year.
Zi wei dou shu - The procedure is sometimes loosely called (Chinese: 劈命, pik meng) or if someone seeks a advisor with a mastery of the Chinese calendar. The astrology is used in combination with Chinese constellation, four pillars of destiny and the five elements. The end result is a translation of one's destiny path. It is an interpretation of a pre-determined fate. The result of the details vary depend on the accuracy of the original four pillars information you provided. This method can also verify unique events that have already happened in one's life.

Scientists believe that several factors explain its popularity and anecdotal accuracy:

Predictions almost always use vague terms and do not lend themselves to falsification. Therefore, the prediction is never wrong, but a person's interpretation of it can always be wrong.
Confirmation bias predisposes people to look for cases where predictions can be interpreted as accurate more than they look to find inaccurate ones.
Consumers of fortune-telling services may also fail to realise that statements made about them might reflect reality, but would equally apply to most other people (for instance, the statement "you fought with your parents sometimes as a teenager" applies to a large majority of people). This is the Forer effect.
Fortune-tellers usually exhibit skills at reading people and telling them what they wish to hear (the technique of "cold reading").
A person who performs a divination for himself or herself may be using his or her reactions to the arbitrary stimuli (such as tarot cards) as a way of mentally organizing his or her own thoughts.
Predictions can be a source of amusement and diversion.
Predictions can reduce anxiety about the uncertain future.
When making a decision based on incomplete information, the fortune teller or oracle can reduce the anxiety associated with guessing.
It can be an external source of authority to invoke in support of a decision to be made, or in defense of a decision that was made.
The predictions themselves can cause the subject to alter his or her behaviour in a way that makes the predictions become true, see self-fulfilling prophecy.
Fortune-telling in the context of an individual's belief system has a good chance of being believed

[إيليا]

أهمية الأخلاق في تعاملنا

The Importance of Values and Morals
"The Importance of Values and Morals." Sounds like a no-brainer of an article for us, a people of faith. They are the code we live by in a civil and just society. They are what we use to guide our interactions with others, with our friends and family, in our businesses and professional behavior. Our values and morals are a reflection of our spirituality; our character. They are what we hope to model for our children and the children around us, because children do watch us as they develop their own sense of right and wrong. Everyone knows their importance, don't they?
Well, maybe not. One only has to watch Jerry Springer-type shows or the spate of "Reality TV Shows" to find evidence to the contrary. Every day in the news we hear about crooked politicians, greedy CEOs, insider trading, embezzling evangelists caught in "love triangles," "good Christians" doing very bad things. On talk-radio, news shows, at our churches, all around us, we hear about the decline of values, morals, ethics, civility, manners and, of course, common decency. People talk nostalgically about the "good old days" when Americans lived according to a set of standards of which they could be proud.

So have we really become a nation without values and morals? I don't think so. It's just that everyone has their own ideas about which values and morals are the ones we should follow. The choices are as varied as our country is heterogeneous. One only has to look inside the different church denominations to see the diversity of concepts regarding moral behavior. That realization doesn't stop each of us from believing that our particular values and morals comprise the "right" set-- the set everyone else should accept as well.

Another problem is that we, as human beings, are inconsistent in most things--including our morals and values. We tend to compartmentalize them; stressing one type while disregarding another. Some people seem willing to overlook unethical business practices while condemning ***ual behaviors and attitudes. Others overlook ***ual behavior and attitudes while crying foul over shady business practices. Turning a blind eye upon specific immoral activity seems to happen frequently in politics, sports and in the church. At times, it would appear that morals and values are morals and values of convenience.

But, as people of faith, aren't we supposed to have a clear sense of morals and values? Aren't we supposed to be above all that hypocrisy and compartmentalizing? After all, the Bible offers many examples of morals and values; behavior we should aspire to. But they, like us, often appear contradictory and inconsistent. Unfortunately, as flawed human beings, we often fall short in our pursuit of faith and "good, Christian conduct." The same can be said of our pursuit of consistency in our morals and values. It is a difficult task made more difficult by the world around us.

In the end, however, the importance of determining our values and morals is still imperative. They are reflective of our own sense of right and wrong, our character and, more importantly, our spirituality. While the world around us may spin out of control, children will continue to look to us for guidance in developing their own sense of what is important in life. And while we will never attain perfection and may never achieve consistency, a clear sense of moral and ethical standards is worth the effort.

After all, the children are watching

[إيليا]

مشاعر الحزن والسعادة
What is Happiness? What is Sadness?
Long ago in China there was a famous student of Zen Master Ma Jo named Han Ong. Everyone said to him, "You are lucky, you are happy." Then he said, "What is luck? What is happiness?" He always spoke like this.

He had a good horse, which he liked to ride every day. One day the horse disappeared, so everyone said, "Oh, are you unhappy? Are you sad?" He said, "What is sadness? What is happiness?" No feeling. His horse ran away, but he only said, "What is sadness? What is happiness?" Everyone said, "This man has no feeling.'' Usually, if someone is attached to something and it goes away, then he is very sad. But Han Ong only said, "What is sadness? What is happiness?''

A week later Han Ong got a very good horse; we say, jun me. This means it only has to see the shadow of the whip and it runs. This is a very clever horse. So everyone said, "You are happy. You are lucky." He said, "What is luck? What is happiness?" Only this. No feeling. Then everybody said, "This man is very lucky." His son liked the horse and rode it every day. He only had to mount the horse and it would go, so he rode around and around, very happy. Then one day while riding, he fell and broke his leg. So everyone said, "Ah, I am sorry your son broke his leg. Are you sad?" He said, "What is sadness? What is happiness?" No feeling.

Soon after this, there were many wars, with North China and South China fighting each other. All the young people had to go to the army. But Han Ong's son had a broken leg, so he could not go; he stayed at home and only helped his parents. His leg was not so bad, so he could work in the garden and help them with their chores. Everybody said, "You are lucky. You are happy." So he said, "What is luck? What is happiness?" This style speech.

This is Han Ong's famous, "What is happiness? What is sadness?" His whole life he used only this speech to teach other people. Outside, happiness appears, luck appears, sadness appears, but he is not moving. "What is true happiness? What is sadness?" Not moving. This mind is very important. Originally there is nothing. If you attach to something, then you have luck, happiness, sadness, suffering -- everything appears. If you don't attach, this is clear mind. Then there is no sadness, no happiness, no unhappiness -- they all disappear. So if you attach to name and form, if you attach to words, then your mind is also moving. Don't attach to anything. Then your mind is enough. Then appearing, disappearing, whatever happens outside doesn't matter. Then teaching other people is possible. So Han Ong's friends and all his students learned from him. Only one word: "What is sadness? What is happiness?" This means your mind moving is no good. If you make happiness, if you make sadness, that's no good. Don't make anything; don't attach to anything; don't hold anything. Then you are complete. This was his teaching.

So our Europe trip is almost finished. We too have had many kinds of happiness, appearing and disappearing. Put it all down, O.K.? Only go straight: "What is luck? What is happiness? What is sadness?" We have had a lot of luck, a lot of happiness, a lot of suffering, a lot of sadness. But what is happiness? What is sadness? What is luck? Only go straight.

[إيليا]

الاسترخاء واليوجا

The beauty of yoga exercise is that it can be enjoyed by all. No matter your age or fitness level, this gentle, yet powerful discipline offers a completely balanced workout, allowing you to develop strength with flexibility, while reducing stress and tension. Practicing yoga has been shown to improve overall health and cardiovascular fitness. And practitioners agree: this ancient art may slow and possibly even reverse the aging process.

First popular in the United States during the 1960s and '70s, yoga has now re-entered the mainstream. People today are rediscovering what yoga practitioners have known for thousands of years-that yoga's simple stretching exercises provide the opportunity for a lifetime of radiantly good health and inner peace. Health professionals now recognize that yoga's preventive, healing benefits can be the perfect antidote to the stresses of the modern world.

YOGA THROUGHOUT HISTORY

Yoga is an ancient philosophical system that originated in India over 5,000 years ago. Yoga means "to yoke" or "union" in Sanskrit-a bringing together to make whole the body, mind, and spirit. In approximately 2 A.D., the great Hindu sage, Patanjali, wrote down the principles of classical yoga in the Yoga Sutras. Since that time, yoga has evolved into four philosophical branches: Bhakti Yoga (cultivating devotion), Jnana Yoga (developing wisdom), Karma Yoga (the way of action), and Raja Yoga (inner concentration). The stretching exercises familiar to Westerners are hatha yoga, a small branch of Raja Yoga.

YOGA'S HEALTH BENEFITS

While a small dose of hatha yoga can result in a heightened sense of well-being, a regular regimen will reward you with a body that's lighter and more flexible. Scientific studies confirm many of yoga's benefits. In an article in Medicine, Exercise, Nutrition, and Health Journal, a team of Georgia Tech researchers concluded that a 32 minute yoga routine was a more efficient cardiovascular exercise than the same amount of time spent walking on a treadmill. According to the research team, yoga's cardiovascular value, along with its ability to enhance flexibility, strength, and coordination, qualifies it as an important form of exercise.

A plethora of healthcare providers, hospitals, and insurance companies confirm yoga's preventive benefits. Having a flexible lower-back and hamstring muscles can reduce your chances of becoming one of the millions of Americans afflicted with back pain, says physician and yoga teacher Mary Pullig Schatz, M.D. In her best-selling book, Back Care Basics, Dr. Schatz advocates a program of therapeutic yoga exercises for the prevention and rehabilitation of back pain. Studies on yoga exercise, relaxation and meditation techniques indicate that it can relieve high blood pressure, help chronic pain and illness, and neutralize the toxic stress of modern life. Kaiser Permanente, one of the nation's largest healthcare providers, offers a therapy program that teaches patients how to incorporate yoga and meditation into their daily lives.

YOGA

Daily yoga practice, meditation, relaxation and breathing techniques, and a low-fat vegetarian diet, are key components of Dr. Dean Ornish's innovative program for the non-surgical treatment of heart disease, described in his book, Dr. Dean Ornish's Program for Reversing Heart Disease (Random House, 1990). Dr. Ornish's program has proven so successful that medical insurance companies now reimburse individuals who participate in it.

YOGA POSTURES (Asanas)

Yoga stretching for flexibility has been recommended by exercise specialists to prevent injury and improve sports techniques. Exercise physiologists Dr. Frank Katch, Ph.D., and Dr. William McArdle, Ph.D., authors of Introduction to Nutrition, Exercise and Health, strongly suggest that yoga stretches be performed slowly, with each position held for at least 10 seconds to fully extend the muscle.

Over the centuries, different yoga poses have been developed to efficiently stretch every muscle in the body slowly and gently as a type of moving meditation. While weight training improves dynamic strength--in which muscles become shorter and thicker as a result of moving the weight they work against-holding yoga poses develops isometric strength. Muscles with this kind of power turn long, lean, and limber from pushing against resistance from a fixed position.

There are hundreds of yoga postures, called asanas, which belong to one of five basic movement categories: forward bends, backbends, twists, standing and inversions, as well as meditation poses. A balanced yoga class should have a series of postures that includes all five movement categories. Although yoga can be practiced at home, it's a good idea for beginners to attend a class to learn how to safely and properly perform the postures. If you have a medical condition, always consult your health professional before beginning an exercise program.

Whether you're 9 or 90, you can enjoy the many benefits of yoga. Its requirements are minimal: all you need are 30 minutes each day, a mat or blanket, and a small exercise space. Yoga addresses a wealth of different needs: it can teach children to quiet their minds while promoting strength and flexibility; provide healthy ways for senior citizens to slow down the aging process; and serve as a natural beauty aid by creating a more limber, graceful body and serene demeanor. Hatha yoga practice provides each of us an opportunity to reach our full potential physically, mentally and spiritually.

BREATHING AND MEDITATION

In yoga philosophy, prana is life force energy. Pranayama breathing is the conscious regulation of the breath that circulates revitalizing prana throughout the body. Research indicates that breathing slowly and deeply sends a message to the body and mind that all is well, thereby interrupting the stress cycle. Many different controlled breathing exercises are available in hatha yoga.

The following simple exercises can be performed anytime to promote calmness--

Sit comfortably in a chair, or on the floor in a cross-legged or half-lotus position, keeping your back straight and your neck and head aligned with your spinal column. Gently place both of your hands, fingertips touching, below the bellybutton. Then slowly breathe in and out from your stomach. You should feel your belly calmly rise and fall with each breath. Continue this basic breathing technique for ten breaths, allowing yourself to derive a joyous serenity.

Triange-Standing Position: (stretches and strengthens legs and lower back) Stand with legs three feet apart, right foot pointing right, arms extended out to the sides. Reach out with the right arm extending torso until right hand reaches right leg. Grasp the right leg as far down as you can (between the knee and ankle) while extending left arm upward. Turn head to look up at left hand. Hold the pose for 30 seconds. Come up slowly and repeat on the opposite side.

Sphinx-Backward Bending Posture: (back and abdominal stretch) Lie on your abdomen with legs hip distance apart. Bend down elbows and place beneath your shoulders, arms straight forward. Keep the shoulders down from your ears while tightening the buttocks. Hold the pose for 5 seconds.

Pose of a Child-Forward Bending Posture: (stretches the back, neck and shoulders) Sit on your heels with knees bent touching the floor together. Slowly bend your torso forward until stomach rests on thights and forehead is centered to floor. Place arms alongside your body, palms upward, and hands close to ankles. Relax deeply, breathing comfortable. Hold pose for up to one minute.

Half Candle-Inversion: (stretches and strengthens the back, shoulders, and arms) Do not do this pose if you have high blood pressure or are menstruating. Lay on your back then slowly raise your legs into the air, lifting the hips. Support the back of your hips with your hands, while your elbows are securely braced on the floor as close together as possible. Keep the legs straight with your feet at a 45 degree angle above your head. Hold the pose for 30 seconds.

Simple Twist-Twist: (stretches and strengthens the back muscles and spine) Sit on the floor in a cross-legged position keeping the spine straight. Slowly rotate your torso to the right and place the right hand on the floor behind the right hip. Grasp the right knee with the left hand and look over the right shoulder. Hold the pose for 10 seconds. Repeat the twist to the left.

Meditation Posture-Half Lotus (stretches hips, knees and ankles, improves posture) Sit cross-legged, right leg in front of the left, keeping the spine straight. Do not force this position, or it may injure the knees. Gently grasp the right foot with both hands and slowly bring it high up on the left thigh. Extend arms out to sides of knees, touching index finger to thumb, palms facing up. Breathe deeply and hold the pose for 10 seconds. Repeat with the left foot.

[إيليا]

المرأة هل ممكن أن تصبح رئيسة
Why Can't a Woman Run for President?
With the tone and substance of national policy in the United States in a seemingly bottomless downward spiral, threatening both the peace of the world and the freedom of Americans, it may be fair to ask, why talk about a woman running for president?

The simple answer is that the best promise for improvement may well be in calling on the talents of humanity's other half, so largely ignored in American politics (actually, humanity's more-than-other half since males on average die much younger).

I sincerely believe America has scraped the bottom of the barrel for male leadership talent with George Bush. Indeed, in some ways this is true of both parties since Al Gore, while a far more intellectually-capable man, threw away the election with a fatuous, me-too campaign and insisted on blaming Mr. Clinton's past activities for his loss. Hardly the stuff of great leadership.

When will a woman run for president? When this question is posed in op-ed opinion pieces, the answer frequently offered is something along the lines of "when one decides to run." A very reassuring bromide that injects "choice," that most pliable word of American corporate-speak, into the discussion.

Of course, the reality is that an apron-strings, cookies-and-milk mind-set still dominates much of American society's attitudes about women. People abroad likely find it hard to appreciate the truth of this when they think of America as a place of rapid change and advanced technology.

But not everything is technologically advanced in America. You have only to recall the incompetent mess of Florida ballots in the last election for an example of how a technologically advanced nation can be backward even in areas of technology.

And rapid change certainly does not occur uniformly through American society. This is a nation where millions of people look for signs of Satan in children's books and attend religious revivals where folks are slapped on the forehead to cure cancer. One of the largest fundamentalist Christian denominations in the United States proudly declares that the little woman's place is to support her husband as patriarch of the family. The role for women amongst American fundamentalist Jews is pretty much what one would expect to find in the mid-17th century.

America's South, with its cloying ideals of belles, cheerleaders, baton-twirlers and cotillions, represents patriarchal values in the raw. After all, it is the place that spontaneously generates people who speak in tongues and handle poisonous snakes as part of divine worship. Almost the nation's entire supply of fundamentalist preacher-entrepreneurs, people who make a fine living out of refusing to recognize what century they live in, are incubated and developed in the South. And the South, due to changing trends in population, is the part of the country that has risen to great new influence in American politics.

The treatment of Hillary Clinton set a standard of viciousness no other society on earth, claiming to be civilized, could match. An intelligent and independent-minded woman was harassed and insulted for eight long years simply because she was intelligent and independent-minded. Undoubtedly, it all served as an effective warning that the Barbara Bush image, the smiling granny serving cookies and milk while overseeing ghost-written books about her dog Fluffy is the preferred one for the White House.

In a very real sense, Elizabeth Dole, who did make a weak attempt at the Republican nomination, despite the benefit of a syrupy Southern accent, was never a serious candidate. Comments on Ms. Dole's abilities, reported in the mainstream press, included her skill at descending from a podium and the fact that her shoes coordinated with décor.

She was always a weak candidate, having held appointed offices, with no genuine experience in politics, and someone who long played public cheerleader to her morose and plodding husband's political fortunes (some would say that alone disqualified her), a gracious man who returned the favor by publicly disparaging her campaign early on (What else does one expect from someone who actually bawled at Richard Nixon's burial?).

The strong, lingering smell of anti-feminism in America, kept alive by people who believe we should be guided by principles that predate the Renaissance and the Enlightenment, certainly helps explain why the most capable women don't run. Christine Whitman, former governor of New Jersey, is an outstanding example, now safely tucked into a lesser cabinet post (lesser as far as the Bush Boys are concerned - after all, what's the environment but a name for a photo-op?) where she is free to say virtually nothing - a very dynamic governor, whether you agree with all her policies or not, reduced to a cipher.

Perhaps, "can't run" is the more appropriate expression, since money, steam-shovels full of it, from private sources drives the entire American political engine. George Bush provided the definitive proof that a candidate most people never heard of and who had never taken any interest in national policy can win, provided only he started his journey through the primary campaigns with $70 million stuffed in his pockets and received frequent top-ups as he glutted the airwaves with numbing pictures of vacuous benignity. The sources of this money still do not see fit to trust women with command over resources in business, so it is not surprising they do not trust them with command over resources in politics.

Something is very wrong with national politics when a country of America's stature can't come up with a better choice than George Bush or Al Gore (incidentally, has anybody noticed the increased role of inheritance in the great republic?). America's rotten system for financing elections is at the heart of the matter. What other nation holds to a mindless equivalency between money and free speech? Presumably, if you pushed this legalistic, anti-democratic notion to its limit, big-money contributors would be entitled to do all the speaking in elections. Everyone would still have a vote, but only those with money could talk to them. George Bush's campaign hinted strongly at the future possibility.

The party system is also at fault here. Despite the countless chamber-of-commerce testimonials we hear about free enterprise in America, it doesn't seem to have occurred to anyone to institute it into politics. We have a virtual monopoly situation (actually, what economists call a duopoly) with two parties using countless dodges, gimmicks, and unfair rules to keep out competitors. Just a little room is left around the edges of all the high barriers to entry so that some suggestion of a free market is maintained, much the way small independent bottlers of soda receive a few square feet out of an entire aisle dedicated to Coke and Pepsi products in a supermarket. The restrictions against a third-party candidate's even getting on the ballots of all fifty states would fill a book.

New parties bring new ideas and new blood. Why does anyone believe that two parties are any more capable of this than if there were only two banks doing all financial transactions? Republicans in particular love to blather about "creative destruction" in the economy. Did it ever occur to them that the same Schumpeterian principle applies to institutions like political parties? The national parties have crotchety old establishments that do not contain many women or other fresh-thinking people in influential positions.

Methods of national debate also are part of the problem. So long as argumentative nonsense is regarded as debate, an immature and intellectually-dull national politics will continue. Negative advertising is only a small part of this phenomenon. Many talented people are repulsed at entering a contest where lung-power and attitudes play a far greater role than ideas or wisdom. This was certainly the case for General Powell, and I suspect former Governor Whitman. One could make a joke about this form of debate appealing more to hormone-driven males than thoughtful women, but in fact it does not appeal to the thoughtful of either ***. Yet it dominates American politics, just as dominates the airwaves with public affairs programs that don't inform.

Change in the way America does the business of politics offers the best chance for escape from the intellectual and moral sinkhole represented by the Bush administration. Such change would bring more excellent people forward, and I have no doubt that at least half of them would be women. And America would take a big step forward in its promise to be a democratic society, rather than one run by money with a semblance of democratic institutions. But in saying these things, I fear I may be pointing towards solutions whose very impossibility now leaves a sense of a settled and depressing fate

[إيليا]

My best friend

Probably my best friend is one of my schoolmates. Her name is ..... and we have known each other since we were ...... years old. If I were to describe how she looks, I would say she is very pretty. She has short brown hair, brown almond-shaped eyes, a small nose and a small pointed chin. She is not very tall but not short either and she is quite slim. She doesn't like to dress up so I usually see her wearing jeans and a T-shirt or sweater.

It seems like she and I are always talking or laughing about something. She has a very nice personality and a wonderful sense of humor, but she can also get a little depressed from time to time. I can always count on her to be honest and to give me the best advice.

We are interested in many of the same hobbies. We both enjoy music, playing the guitar and singing. We like going to the cinema but sometimes can't agree on which movie to see. Sometimes we just walk around, trying to find a new area of the city to explore. We both like traveling, reading, and swimming. Sometimes during the summer, I go with her and her family to their summer house which is located next to a large lake. We usually spend most of the day swimming or exploring the area but sometimes we take a small row boat and go fishing. In the evenings, we might walk into town and see a movie or stay at home and watch television. Whatever we're doing, it's always fun to be with her.

I know I can rely on her. Even when our lives get busy, we still make time to see each other. I can't imagine going to school and not having her there. Since I am better in math and science and she is better in English and languages, we can always help each other if we get confused about a difficult homework and assignments. We are lucky that we complement each other so well, and that we get along so well. I hope that our friendship will continue and be just as strong after we graduate from high school. We would like to study at the same university.