SHAFAQNA

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) – What a break for us parents: Any bad money habits we might have are not passed down genetically.

Kids all have their natural tendencies as savers and spenders, but they’re totally teachable. You just have to talk to them to make sure they understand some basic things about money, jobs and the economy.

A non-profit group called the Canadian Foundation for Economic Education has declared Wednesday to be Talk With Our Kids About Money Day. The foundation has encouraged teachers, especially those with Grade 7 classes, to teach a lesson on a money topic, and it’s inviting parents to pitch in as well. Here’s my contribution to youth financial literacy – some conversation starters for parents and kids of all ages:

1. Saving versus spending

Start a dialogue, not a lecture. Ask your kids to tell you whether they see themselves as savers or spenders, and then offer your comments. Encourage the natural savers, and explain to the natural spenders that almost everything in life worth buying will require saving. You might also want to discuss savings rates. A basic rule is to save 10 per cent of disposable income, but kids may want to accelerate that to reach their goals faster.

2. Delayed gratification

Encourage your kids to save up for things they want. Then, when it’s time to buy, suggest they take an extra 24 hours to think about spending a big chunk of their savings.

3. The cost of moving out on your own

Teens will be keenly interested in this topic, but they naturally won’t have a clue how much rent and utilities cost. Browse the apartment rentals in your city on Kijiji.ca, and then compare the costs to what a minimum wage job would pay. Be sure to look at the cost of Internet and cellphone service, as well as hydro, water and heat.

4. (a) The cost of college or university (part one)

Statistics Canada says the average tuition for undergraduate university programs was almost $5,600 last year. Books and other costs can add $1,000 to $2,000 a year, and attending a school out of town adds another $10,000 to $12,000 – or more. The numbers won’t mean much to most kids, so put them in context. One year of university away from home equals two years’ worth of groceries for the family, six years’ worth of family vacations or the better part of a new car. For older kids, explain that a well-chosen university or college program is an investment that can help them get a good job.

4. (b) The cost of college or university (part two)

Have a talk about how the family will afford the cost of school. Mention your contributions to registered education savings plans if you’re able to make them, and then calculate how much extra cost there might be for your child to make up through working and student loans. Assure your kids that a gap year is A-okay as a way to earn money and gain experience before going to college or university.

5. How banks work

Explain that banks are profit-making businesses that look after your money at a cost. Whatever transaction you do with a bank, find out what fees are involved and whether there are any ways to avoid them. I recently had to explain to my 18-year-old that banks don’t let you withdraw money from a competitor’s ATM without steep fees.

6. How to save

Piggybanks for coins, bank accounts for paper money. If your kids are tall enough to see the numbers on an ATM keypad, they’re old enough to have a bank card.

7. How much cars cost

I’ve owned cars since I was 16 – that’s how I know what a money pit they are. If you have a car-minded kid, tell him or her about the cost of a licence, insurance and maintenance that can easily run from a $50 per oil change to a $600 brake job. Make sure older kids know about car-sharing services.

8. The benefits of entrepreneurialism

Even part-time jobs are hard to come by these days. So encourage your kids to consider earning money on their own by cutting grass, clearing snow, baby-sitting or pet-sitting.

9. Junk food is bad for you

It clogs your arteries and drains your bank account. Is there an expense that brings less lasting value than a fast-food meal?

10. Don’t feel sorry for yourself

However much money you have, there will always be people who have less and more than you.-www.shafaqna.com/English

Source: The Globe and Mail

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) – The Material Issues of the House and the Family

O ye people! Eat of what is on earth, lawful and good; and do not follow the footsteps of the Evil One, for he is to you an avowed enemy. [Holy Quran: Baqara 2:168]

The Virtues and Vices of Wealth

A man's need for property and wealth to manage his life's affairs, and especially with the burdensome responsibility of managing a family, is a completely natural need. Wealth and property, business and commerce are not in any way connected with virtue or vice when they are not related to man. For example, iron is a type of property and may be molded into many shapes. Many tools are made from it, but until man gains control over it, it is simply a material having no benefits and no evilness. Iron is beneficial when managed by a polite, dignified and noble believer. When iron falls into the hands of a rude, forgetful, lustful rogue, it becomes an evil material.

When Ibn Muljam had a sword, he could kill the Imam of the Lovers- Imam Ali (Pbuh) in the mosque. Thus, he became the worst of all people and this can be traced back to his bad spirit: And this damage is irreplaceable. When Imam Ali (Pbuh) had a sword he established and spread guidance: the reward of one time of stabbing as the Prophet Muhammad (Pbuh) says is superior to the all of the worship of the genie and Adam. One stroke of the sword on the day of the Battle of Khandag is superior to all the worship of the Quran and the Prophet's Household.

For those adorned with divine etiquette and the Lovers of God, money and commercial goods act as a take-off platform towards Heaven and a means for acquiring His Mercy and Blessings and attaining an eternal and great reward. Truly, wealth is the commerce for heavenly trade for believers who are noble, kind, generous, compassionate and have divine ethics. For such people, wealth serves as a vehicle driving them towards God's eternal blessings. And it is a means to obtain the good of this world and the Hereafter. That is why God has called the property of one who has died "his good leftovers" in the blessed chapter of the Quran entitled Baqara. God considers the wealth and property of a believer to be a manifestation of the belief of that believer, his nobility, generosity, mercy and passion. One-third must be spent in a good way according to his will and the remaining two-thirds are to be distributed amongst his inheritors according to the Quranic verses. Imam Sadiq (Pbuh) has said the following in interpretation of a verse in the Quranic chapter Baqara. "Our Lord! Give us good in this world and good in the Hereafter..." (verse 201) The good in the Hereafter is God's Pleasure and Heaven, and the good in this life is a good temper and bountiful daily bread. [Bihar al-Anwar, v.71, p.383]

Thus, we can conclude that the believers wealth and property are similar to a factory in which God's Pleasure and a musk-scented Heaven are produced. Believers earn their income through legitimate business transactions, abiding by the law and avoiding unlawful transactions. In short, they earn money through continuous lawful transactions and by obeying God. They spend their income for the expenses of their household, paying the alms-tax and the one-fifth levy. They spend the rest to help the deprived, the oppressed, the weak and to aid relatives and friends. Spending legitimately earned income in these ways is natural and lawful and is in fact considered to be worship and obedience: Or as the Holy Quran has said - It is the good of this world and the Hereafter.

It is for this reason that wealth and property has been interpreted to be good and blessed in God's Book. Earning and spending it is considered to be worship for the believers and a cause of great reward and infinite divine gifts. It is interesting to hear the viewpoint of the Commander of the Faithful (Imam Ali) about wealth in the hands of irreligious, lustful people: Property is the material of lust, is subject to catastrophes, strengthens aspirations and entertains the inheritors. Wealth will raise the status of the owner in this world and lower it in the Hereafter. [Mizan al-Hikmat, v.9, pp.277-78]

The Prophet (Pbuh) said: Gold and silver destroyed those before you and will destroy you, too. [Ibid]

He also said: For each nation there is a calf and for this nation the calf is silver and gold. [Ibid] (the calf refers to the golden calf idol made by the Israelites). Truly, wealth enslaves those of weak faith with illegitimate lusts and excitement of their aspirations. They become base in this world and in the Hereafter, and as the Prophet of Islam (Pbuh) has commented: people began to worship the calf in the form of the worship of wealth.

The Forbidden and the Unforbidden

Undoubtedly, whatever a person earns from working and from his business affairs is lawful. Concerning lawful earnings, God has issued many orders and the Prophet's Household has completely described the religiously legal ways to earn money. Any money gained in illegal ways such as bribery, usurpation, theft, deceit, looting and usury is illegal. Whoever tries to make lawful money is worshipping God and God will reward him. Whoever tries to illegally make money is sinning and God will punish and curse him. If one makes money illegally and does not listen to anybody's advice saying God has desired so, then he has insulted God, speaks satanically and has lied.

There are many Quranic verses stating God has provided lawful daily bread for everyone. The Quran invites everyone to make a lawful daily living and has given no illegal earnings to anyone, since thinking in the wrong way causes one to make illegal money. Saying that God allows forbidden actions is an insult and a great sin which will cause one to be punished on the Day of Judgment.

Man's intellect dictates that it is illogical to say God gives illegal provisions to man, but rather He has placed emphasis on benefiting from lawful and completely legally earned money. It is paradoxical for God to give illegal earnings to man and there are no paradoxes concerning God. Stupid people foolishly and ignorantly insult God. Imam Baqir (Pbuh) has stated: God has ordered all men to make a lawful living. This money will cause man to be healthy. It is not God's fault that some make an illegal living: The forbidden way to earn a living is not the Right Way. Satan is the designer of the forbidden ways to make money. If one illegally makes money, his lawful daily bread will be lessened to the same extent. If we consider lawful and legal means of earning money, God respects us a lot. [Bihar al-Anwar, v.5, p.147]

Don't Deprive Yourself of the Lawful Things

Imam Ali (Pbuh) entered the mosque and told a man to keep an eye on his camel. The man stole the camel's bit in Imam Ali's (Pbuh) absence. When Imam Ali (Pbuh) came out of the mosque to pay the man two Durham's (coins), he saw his camel without the bit. He gave the money to his servant and asked him to go and buy a bit. The servant went and bought the same bit from the thief without knowing who he was and took it to the Imam (Pbuh). When he saw the bit the Imam said that a servant deprives himself of lawful daily bread due to his impatience, but he does not get more than is determined for him by God. [Mizan al-Hikmat, v.4, p.123]

Provide Your Family's Needs Through Lawful Means

There is a sequence of outward and inward effects for using lawful or unlawfully obtained property, and no one can avoid them. Lawful goods result in the pleasure of God, spirituality, energy to worship, pacification of the heart and the curing of illnesses. However, the opposite holds true for the unlawful goods. The necessity of providing for the family by the man of the house is one of the most important issues in Islamic jurisprudence and is extensively discussed in the Holy Quran and traditions of the Prophet's Household. As much as possible, a man is religiously bound to provide housing, food, clothing and transportation for his wife and children.

In addition to this, the man is required to obtain his family's expenses through lawful means. The man of the house should whole-heartedly thank God for these two requirements. By attending to the needs of the family, moral realities will blossom. By working to obtain lawful income which is similar to a Holy War (Jihad) in God's way, man can get a lot of divine rewards. The heavenly and positive effects of using lawfully obtained goods will appear in the family, and this will substantially aid mental and spiritual peace and security for the family.

The Prophet of Islam and Lawfully Obtained Food

Consider the following tradition. A man came to the Prophet (Pbuh) with a bowl of milk and asked him to break his fast with the milk. The Prophet (Pbuh) asked him who had sent the milk. The man said it was a gift from a woman and the Prophet (Pbuh) told him to return with the milk and ask her where she had got it from. So the man went to the woman’s house to ask her. The woman said she had obtained it from her own sheep. The man returned to the Prophet (Pbuh ) to tell him. He was told to return and ask her where she had got the sheep from. He returned to ask her and she replied she had bought the sheep by working hard. The man returned to the Prophet (Pbuh ) and explained. Then the Prophet (Pbuh ) said he would break his fast with the milk. The following day the owner of the milk came to him and asked the reason for returning the milk several times. He said God the Almighty had ordered the Prophets to partake of only lawfully obtained food. This must be a lesson for all Muslim people to pay enough attention to the issue of what is lawful and unlawful, so that they do not pick up a burden which is either too difficult or impossible to bear. The Prophet (Pbuh) said: Seeking the lawful is obligatory for each Muslim man and woman [Bihar al-Anwar, v.103, p.719; Mizan-al-Hikmat, v.4, p.119]

Seeking the lawful is obligatory for each Muslim. [Ibid]

Seeking the lawful is a form of Jihad (Holy War). [Ibid]

The gates of Heaven are open to anyone who obtains lawful food through hard work, and he can enter Heaven from any gate he wishes.[Ibid]

There are ten parts to worship. One is seeking the lawful.[Ibid]

Imam Reza (Pbuh) said: The reward of one who seeks his daily bread from God's Grace to provide for his family's needs is greater than that of the one who fights in God's way. [Bihar al-Anwar, v.78, p.339]

Imam Baqir (Pbuh) said: Whoever seeks worldly goods to protect his family, and to be kind to his neighbors will meet God in Heaven with his face shining like a full moon. [Vasa'il al-Shiaa  ,v.12, p.11]

The sixth Imam (Pbuh) said: There is no good in one who is not interested in saving money to protect his honor and pay back his debts. [Bihar al-Anwar, v.103, p.7]

The Prophet (Pbuh ) said: The one who falls asleep at night being tired from hard work because of seeking the lawful, is forgiven his sins by God. [Bihar al-Anwar, v.103, p.2]

God likes to see His servant working hard to seek the lawful. [Mizan al-Hikmat, v.4, p.119]

In the traditions it is stated the increase or decrease in one's daily bread is simply a test for God's servants to obtain a holy rank from God. The woman who is patient in the face of shortage of her daily bread, does not commit any sins to obtain more, and is grateful for the increase of her daily bread has successfully passed the test. [Nahj-ul-Balaghah, Sermon 91].

A believer does not become base in the face of shortage of his daily bread, and does not get drunk when his daily bread increases. He is content with the low amount of his daily bread; and when his daily bread increases, he eats, feeds others and rushes to pay the necessary dues.

How to Increase One's Daily Bread

There are some ways in the Holy Quran and the Prophetic traditions to increase one's daily bread, which will also improve people's morality and affection in the family and the society. The Commander of the Faithful (Pbuh) said: Good temper is the treasure of daily bread. [Bihar al-Anwar, v.77, p.389]

To be too strict spoils your temper, and to go easy on others increases your daily bread. [Mizan AI-Hikmah, v.4, p.117]

Co-operation and helping your Muslim brothers increases your daily bread. [Bihar al-Anwar, v.74, p.395]

Being trustworthy increases one's daily bread. [Bihar al-Anwar, v.75, p.172]

Imam Sadiq (Pbuh) said: One who treats his wife and children kindly will get an increase in his daily bread. [Bihar al-Anwar, v.69, p.407]

Good deeds increase one's daily bread. [Bihar al-Anwar, v.74, p.81]

Good temper increase one's daily bread. [Bihar al-Anwar, v.71, p.396]

Imam Ali (Pbuh) said: Attract your daily bread to yourself through charity to others. [Bihar al-Anwar, v.78, p.60]

Imam Baqir (Pbuh) said: Pray for your brothers and this act will bring in your daily bread. [Bihar al-Anwar, v.76, p.60]

The Fifth Imam (Pbuh) said: Giving alms will increase your daily bread. [Bihar al-Anwar, v.66, p.15]

The Commander of the Faithful (Pbuh) said: The daily bread of one with good intentions will be increased. [Bihar al-Anwar, v.103, p.21]

Unlawful Property

The Prophet (Pbuh ) said: God said, If one does not care how and where he gets his money from, I do not care by which gate I will let him enter into Hell in the Hereafter. [Bihar al-Anwar, v.103, p.11]

God will make the one who earns unlawful money poor. Whatever one earns unlawfully becomes provisions for the Hell Fire. Wealth from which religious dues are not paid is considered to be property containing unlawful property. Its use is not allowable and giving it to the family or others is another wrong act. The Commander of the Faithful (Pbuh) said: The worst property is that from which God's dues have not been paid. [Mizan al-Hikmat, v.9, p.308]

Imam Baqir (Pbuh) said: There are people who shall leave their graves with their hands tied to their necks, lacking any power to get anything - even as much as an ant can. They are seriously blamed by the angels saying: These are people upon whom God bestowed wealth but they did not pay God's dues. [Bihar al-Anwar, v.7, p.197]

Imam Hassan Mujtaba (Pbuh) said: One of the signs of generosity is to legally earn your property. [Bihar al-Anwar, v.103, p.6]

O' dear brothers who are responsible for the financial expenses of your family and their spiritual training, and also you who shall marry later: your wife and children only deserve their rightful dues. However, they are not responsible for your job or business, and will not accept the responsibility for unlawful property which you brought home and they knew nothing about. The punishment in Hell for unlawful property is for the one who earns it. There are two punishments: one for earning unlawful property and the other is for giving it to others. Then be content with lawful property given by God, and be careful about how you earn your income. Avoid obtaining unlawful property and pay the lawful dues, so that you can prosper in this world and in the Hereafter.

One Who Repents is Loved by God

During a visit to Mashhad, I met a man one night at the time of the call to prayers. It seemed he had known me for many years. He asked me to accompany him to his residence, so after a few minutes of talking I accepted his invitation even though that was the first time I had met him. Then I found out that he was one of the people who had attended my lectures during the mourning ceremonies in the months of Muharram and Saffar. He knew me but I did not know him. I asked who he was from one who had accompanied him when he left us for a few minutes. I recognized him when the man told me his name. When he was younger, he was a man who was strong and brutish, so much so that the strongest men of Tehran were afraid of him. His activities included taking bribes from the casinos and banks, smuggling and distributing wine. No one in Tehran could confront him. He had earned a lot of wealth unlawfully.

God guided him and his conscience bothered him. His pure nature and his intellect brought him down from his previous position. He then converted all his property into cash and put it all in a suitcase. Immediately he went to Qum to meet the Grand Ayatullah Boroojerdy. The noble Shiite authority kindly accepted him when he was informed about that man’s past. The man told the Ayatullah that what was in the suitcase was all absolutely unlawfully earned. He said he could not bear the reckoning on the Day of Judgment and asked the Ayatullah to relieve him of this heavy burden. The Ayatullah told him that if he really wanted to repent he should take off his outer garments and return to Tehran wearing just his pajamas. The man took off his clothes, and the Shiite authority was really impressed.

Boroojerdy found his repentance to be a serious one, returned his clothes, paid him five thousand Tumans from his personal property, and gave him the good news of a brilliant future. The repenter returned to Tehran with that lawfully earned money. He quit all his past deeds and started to work with his new capital. He settled down, really changed, and guided his wife and children towards the Right Path. He then founded one of the most fruitful religious meetings in Tehran.

At the end of his life in 1992A.D., he talked to Imam Husayn (Pbuh) while he was crying one Friday night a few minutes before he died. He said: I spent most of my life in your service, and now I hope I can gain your favor. His wife and children said that suddenly he stared at the corner of the room, respectfully greeted Imam Husayn (Pbuh) and passed away with a smile on his face.

Thus everyone can repent. Repentance will purify one's soul, illuminate one's heart, improve one's temper, cleanse one's wealth and all aspects of life of impurity. Why not benefit by repenting and spend the rest of your life moving from darkness into light? Let's repent since God loves those who repent and it is not worth the whole world to stay sinful.

For God loves those who turn to him constantly...[Holy Quran: Baqara 2:222]

The Prophet (Pbuh ) said: There is nothing dearer to God than a believing man or woman who repents. [Mizan al-Hikmat, v.1, pp.540-541]

I swear to God, God is more pleased with one who repents than a man who is pleased when he gets his food. [Ibid]

God is more pleased with the repentance of his servants, than an infertile man who becomes a father, or one who has lost something and finds it, and one whose thirst is quenched by water. [Ibid]

One who repents is just like one who has never committed any sin. [Ibid]

Repenting will purify the soul and wash away the sins. [Ibid]

Repentance actually has consequences which the Prophet of Islam (Pbuh ) has pointed out. One can be sure of the acceptance of his repentance if these consequences are manifested. If not one must repent again. If the consequences of repentance do not show up, then the repentance is not accepted. The consequences of repentance include gaining the satisfaction of those involved; performing undone prayers; humbleness with people; protecting the soul against lust; and losing weight through fasting. [Bihar al-Anwar, v.6, pp.35-36]

The Commander of the Faithful (Pbuh) said: Repentance holds the uppermost place in Heaven, and consists of six parts:

1- Regretting the past

2- Determination to stop sinning in the future

3- Returning people's rights to them

4- Performing undone duties

5- Losing all the weight gained during the period of sinning

6- Exposing the body to the trouble of worship, and asking for God's forgiveness [Ibid]

`Allamah Husayn Ansariyan

www.shafaqna.com/English

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) – The side effects John-Peter Bradford endured four years ago as he underwent radiation therapy and surgery for throat cancer were, he says, “barbaric.” Still, the potent treatment worked, eradicating the tumour and saving his life.

As his family confronts the shock of another, more advanced malignancy today, however, the Ottawa management consultant is agonizingly aware that many cancers remain incurable, despite 40 years of hugely expensive research into the disease and how to treat it.

“This thing called a war on cancer … has been an utter failure with metastatic cancers,” estimates Mr. Bradford, 70, author of a book about his own experiences as a patient. “We have to try different things, and we have to try them differently.”

His sobering view is not exactly embraced by the disease’s most public face: cancer charities and hospitals, which still confidently promise to “outrun cancer,” while exhorting donors to walk, cycle or even play road hockey “for the cure.”

Yet some scientists believe the quest for an antidote to the world’s number-one health risk is indeed being lost, even as research costs surge well past $100-billion.

Though the per-capita cancer mortality has fallen, the total number of deaths continues to soar, as the rate of new cases also climbs. Jim Watson, the Nobel-winning discoverer of DNA’s double-helix structure, caused a minor sensation recently by arguing that curing most metastatic cancers — cancers that spread in the body — remains more daunting than ever, while researchers pursue scientific dead ends.

Lamenting a “conservative” research establishment that he suggested is reluctant to take scientific risks, he urged scientists to follow new, unexplored, yet more promising directions.

Of all the much-hyped and pricey new cancer drugs entering the market — the most tangible results of so much research — a few have worked wonders, but the benefits in many cases are minimal, some doctors complain, with serious side effects downplayed.

“It’s been a very, very chaotic process of looking for cancer cures, and it’s not been tremendously successful,” said Jack Siemiatycki, a prominent cancer epidemiologist at the University of Montreal, who suggested that there is little co-ordination among the myriad cancer labs and clinics. “There have been successes, but it’s a modest success story.”

Michael Pollak, an oncologist and internationally recognized treatment researcher across town at McGill University, maintains that cancer science has, in fact, made great strides in the last 40 years. But even he admits that well-meaning scientists often leave patients with an exaggerated sense of their achievements.

“The researchers are always announcing fantastic progress and breakthroughs — and the patients are still getting sick and dying,” said Dr. Pollak. “The people who are announcing cancer breakthroughs, I’d like them to walk through the cancer ward. … You see all these thin and kind of desperate patients.”

The “spectacular” volume of knowledge accumulated about the disease is one of science’s great accomplishments, said Dr. Ian Tannock, an oncologist and researcher at Toronto’s Princess Margaret Hospital. Asked about his cancer centre’s own slogan “conquer cancer in our lifetime,” though, Dr. Tannock is more cautious. He said he doesn’t believe that widespread cures will come in his or his children’s time on earth, foreseeing a series of small advances, but no dramatic breakthroughs.-www.shafaqna.com/English

Source: Nationalpost

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) – The side effects John-Peter Bradford endured four years ago as he underwent radiation therapy and surgery for throat cancer were, he says, “barbaric.” Still, the potent treatment worked, eradicating the tumour and saving his life.

As his family confronts the shock of another, more advanced malignancy today, however, the Ottawa management consultant is agonizingly aware that many cancers remain incurable, despite 40 years of hugely expensive research into the disease and how to treat it.

“This thing called a war on cancer … has been an utter failure with metastatic cancers,” estimates Mr. Bradford, 70, author of a book about his own experiences as a patient. “We have to try different things, and we have to try them differently.”

His sobering view is not exactly embraced by the disease’s most public face: cancer charities and hospitals, which still confidently promise to “outrun cancer,” while exhorting donors to walk, cycle or even play road hockey “for the cure.”

Yet some scientists believe the quest for an antidote to the world’s number-one health risk is indeed being lost, even as research costs surge well past $100-billion.

Though the per-capita cancer mortality has fallen, the total number of deaths continues to soar, as the rate of new cases also climbs. Jim Watson, the Nobel-winning discoverer of DNA’s double-helix structure, caused a minor sensation recently by arguing that curing most metastatic cancers — cancers that spread in the body — remains more daunting than ever, while researchers pursue scientific dead ends.

Lamenting a “conservative” research establishment that he suggested is reluctant to take scientific risks, he urged scientists to follow new, unexplored, yet more promising directions.

Of all the much-hyped and pricey new cancer drugs entering the market — the most tangible results of so much research — a few have worked wonders, but the benefits in many cases are minimal, some doctors complain, with serious side effects downplayed.

“It’s been a very, very chaotic process of looking for cancer cures, and it’s not been tremendously successful,” said Jack Siemiatycki, a prominent cancer epidemiologist at the University of Montreal, who suggested that there is little co-ordination among the myriad cancer labs and clinics. “There have been successes, but it’s a modest success story.”

Michael Pollak, an oncologist and internationally recognized treatment researcher across town at McGill University, maintains that cancer science has, in fact, made great strides in the last 40 years. But even he admits that well-meaning scientists often leave patients with an exaggerated sense of their achievements.

“The researchers are always announcing fantastic progress and breakthroughs — and the patients are still getting sick and dying,” said Dr. Pollak. “The people who are announcing cancer breakthroughs, I’d like them to walk through the cancer ward. … You see all these thin and kind of desperate patients.”

The “spectacular” volume of knowledge accumulated about the disease is one of science’s great accomplishments, said Dr. Ian Tannock, an oncologist and researcher at Toronto’s Princess Margaret Hospital. Asked about his cancer centre’s own slogan “conquer cancer in our lifetime,” though, Dr. Tannock is more cautious. He said he doesn’t believe that widespread cures will come in his or his children’s time on earth, foreseeing a series of small advances, but no dramatic breakthroughs.-www.shafaqna.com/English

Source: Nationalpost

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) – Organic fruits and vegetables may not be as big and beautiful as regular produce, but appearances can be deceiving. A study of organic tomatoes found they are packed with a much higher concentration of healthy compounds than the conventionally grown variety. And that suggests being smaller and less attractive can sometimes be better for you – at least when it comes to the food supply.

For the study, the researchers selected tomatoes from an organic farm and a conventional operation located 1.5 kilometres apart in northeastern Brazil. So the plants were raised in roughly the same weather and soil conditions.

The organic farm used animal manure for fertilizer and a naturally based fungicide, while the conventional farm relied on a chemical fertilizer and pesticides.

From outward appearances the organic tomatoes did not do so well – they were roughly 40 per cent smaller than those grown conventionally. But a detailed analysis, published in the online journal Plos One, revealed the organic variety contained elevated concentrations of vitamin C and other phenolic compounds.

“The contents in phenolic compounds and in vitamin C were 139 per cent and 55 per cent higher, respectively. That is quite a lot,” one of the researchers, Laurent Urban of the University of Avignon in France, said in an e-mail interview.

The researchers, led by Raquel Miranda of the Federal University of Ceara in Brazil, concluded that the additional “stress” of an organic farming operation makes the plants boost their production of phytochemicals.

In other words, the plants must cope with greater challenges from natural insect predators and disease so they respond with a higher output of defensive compounds, which can benefit people, too.

For instance, vitamin C and phenolic compounds act as antioxidants, neutralizing free radicals that can cause cell damage. Previous studies have shown that a plant-rich diet is associated with a lower risk of cancer, heart disease and other illnesses.

The researchers noted that the agricultural sector has been primarily focused on increasing crop yields.

“This might be all right for staple food, but as far as fruits and vegetables are concerned, it may be argued that gustative and micro-nutrient quality matter more than energy supply,” they write in their study.

“Our observations suggest that, at least for fruits and vegetable production, growers should not systematically try to reduce stress to maximize yield and fruit size, but should accept a certain level of stress as that imposed by organic farming with the objective of improving certain aspects of product quality.”

In the meantime, Urban pointed out that many people don’t eat enough fruits and vegetables to reap their potential benefits. Those grown organically at least contain more nutrients per mouthful. What’s more, this type of agriculture isn’t associated with the same level of pesticide residues found in some conventionally grown crops, he added.-www.shfaqna.com/English

Source: the Globe and mail

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) -- Have you seen those ads that seem to be all over the Internet these days? They say something like "make $1,000 per week from the comfort of your own home." Now it should go without saying that such schemes are not very reliable and should be avoided in most cases. But that still leaves the question: Can you really make money from home?

The truth is, you actually can. But you first have to understand what your skills are and how to market them effectively.

With the economy still struggling and many people faced with underemployment or unemployment, it's understandable that many would show an interest in building an income on their own terms. And even those who currently have work would often prefer to create a career that would allow them to work from home.

[Related Article: 5 Ways to Get Out of Debt: Which Will Work for You?]

So for anyone in those circumstances, here are four of the best ways to make money from home:

1. Become a virtual assistant
What does "virtual assistant" mean? Well, it can refer to any person hired part-time or full-time to provide remote assistance -- usually in a role similar to a traditional administrative assistant. Often, you will work for one person who is very busy -- too busy to handle it all on their own.

And that's where the opportunity is for you. The tasks of a virtual assistant will often include things like screening your boss's e-mail, booking travel, making appointments and phone calls on behalf of your boss, managing his or her calendar, and taking care of other things that come up.

This is a field that is growing surprisingly quickly, and there are many websites where you can find work as a virtual assistant, including Indeed,WAHM and Elance. In most cases, you will need to present a resume and/or show some experience that would prove your ability to handle these types of tasks well.

2. Tap into your creative strengths
Many people enjoy some type of creative outlet, and with the wide availability of opportunities on the Internet, you can frequently turn your creative streak into a source of income. For example, if you like to make crafts then you can use Etsy to build a devoted audience of customers who are willing to pay for your handmade items.

Another obvious option is for people who enjoy writing. There are countless requests on sites like Elance for all different types of writing. Polish your writing ability and then start bidding on some of these writing jobs. At first, you'll be doing this a few hours a week, but over time, you can build up a dedicated clientele and make a full-time living off your writing.

There are some really unexpected ways you can use your creativity to make money from home. One of the more surprising ways to make money would be to look for work as a voice actor -- meaning that you would lend your voice to narrate videos, radio ads, or any other type of media. These freelance jobs can actually pay pretty well. And there are countless other surprising ones like these listed at the sites above.

[Related Article: 3 People Who Dug Out of Deep Debt]

3. Share your skills locally
Sometimes it is necessary to change your perspective in order to see all the skills that you truly have. Do you play an instrument? If so, you could no doubt teach music lessons to young people (or anyone) in your community. All you'd need to do beforehand is a bit of lesson planning. You can even offer a discount for the first 10 people who sign up in order to get your name out there and help spread the word.

Along the same lines, if you have patience and basic knowledge of high school math, science or literature, you could easily work as a tutor for students in your community. If so, that can be a great way to make money from home. And remember, you can always get the textbook and brush up a little before you do your tutoring!

4. Use the assets you have
This last possibility will seem like the easiest or the hardest way to make money from home, depending on your particular circumstances. Do you have things laying around your house that you no longer need? If so, then you can make extra money by selling them on eBay!

And these days, it has become much easier to make money by renting out a spare room in your house -- or even renting out your car. If you want to rent a room, AirBnB is probably the first place you'll want to start. And Getaroundis a great site for renting your car, although it's only available in certain cities right now. Of course, there is always some risk with letting a stranger stay in your house (or use your car) but if you are looking to build your income from home, this is one of the quickest ways.

No matter what you decide to try, give it some time and ask for advice from people who have some experience with it. And if you want more insights, check out our Career Tips resource center. Good luck!

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SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) – Tunisia’s Foreign Minister Rafik Abdessalem, from the ruling Islamist Ennahda party, has found himself at the center of an embarrassing scandal following accusations of public money embezzlement and involvement in an extramarital affair.

According to documents published by Tunisian journalist and blogger, Olfa Riahi, the Islamist minister spent several nights at the Sheraton hotel in Tunis with a woman and paid for his stay from the government’s coffers.

Riahi she obtained the receipt and the billing information bearing names of the minister and his alleged mistress. In an interview with alchourouk.com, Riahi said it took her two and half months to verify the authenticity of the documents and trace the bill payments.

“I have the bank account of the foreign ministry and I am certain the documents are authentic,” calling on the authorities to open a probe into the “scandal.”

The minister appeared in the state television dismissing the allegations as part of a plot against his Islamist government. He said he expects similar accusations to be leveled against other ministers.

But he admitted staying at the Sheraton hotel “because he does not own a house in the capital and because the hotel was near his office.” He also admitted that the woman mentioned in Riahi’s documents was true, but said she was a “relative” who came to see him at the hotel.- www.shfaqna.com/English

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) - Feeling sad could cost you money, according to Sadness leads to a phenomenon known as "present bias" where we prioritise instant gratification and ignore opportunities that could benefit us more over the longer term, a study found.

Harvard University researchers showed a group of volunteers a video designed to make them feel sad, before carrying out three experiments where a wider group of participants had to make financial decisions.

They found that people who had previously watched the video were more inclined to make choices which gave them higher short-term gains, but lower profit overall in the long term.

The sad participants earned significantly less across the experiments than those who had not been shown the film, and valued long-term rewards 13 per cent to 34 per cent less than other volunteers on average.

Findings from the experiments were published in the Psychological Science journal.psychologists who claim that people make worse financial decisions when they are miserable.

The researchers, led by Dr Jennifer Lerner, explained: "These experiments, combining methods from psychology and economics, revealed that the sadder person is not necessarily the wiser person when it comes to financial choices.

“Instead, compared with neutral emotion, sadness — and not just any negative emotion — made people more myopic, and therefore willing to forgo greater future gains in return for instant gratification.”

Greater understanding of how our mood affects the financial decisions we make could help tackle the economic problems cased by the growing use of credit cards, they added. - www.shfaqna.com/English

Source: The Telegraph

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) – Europe's biggest bank, HSBC, will reportedly pay $1.9bn to settle a money-laundering probe by authorities in the United States.

The probe of the British bank has focused on the transfer of billions of dollars on behalf of nations like Iran, which are under international sanctions, and the transfer of money through the US financial system from Mexican drug cartels.

According to a law enforcement official, HSBC will pay $1.25bn in forfeiture and $655m in civil penalties. The $1.25bn figure is the largest forfeiture ever in a case involving a bank.

Under what is known as a deferred prosecution agreement, the financial institution will be accused of violating the Bank Secrecy Act and the Trading With the Enemy Act.

"It's a huge slap on the wrist for HSBC, the biggest fine of its kind, and a warning to other banks that they can't do the same," Al Jazeera's Alan Fisher, reporting from Washington, DC, said.

The London-based bank said it was co-operating with investigations but that those discussions are confidential.

The law enforcement official said an announcement of the agreement could come as early as Tuesday.

'Violating Trading with the Enemy Act'

In July, the US Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations released a report saying HSBC allowed clients to move shadowy funds from Mexico, Iran, the Cayman Islands, Saudi Arabia and Syria.

The same month, HSBC admitted to poor anti-laundering controls.

The reported settlement would resolve investigations by the US justice and treasury departments and other federal agencies, as well as the Manhattan district attorney.

As part of the HSBC settlement deal, it will admit to violating the Bank Secrecy Act and the Trading with the Enemy Act, the Wall Street Journal said, citing a government official.

In early November HSBC said it had increased the amount set aside for fines linked to money-laundering in the US to $1.5bn.

The report of the HSBC settlement came the same day the US Treasury announced that another British bank, Standard Chartered, would pay $327m to settle charges it violated US sanctions on Iran, Myanmar, Libya and Sudan.

For Standard Chartered, the fines from the Treasury and other US federal and local regulators brought to $667m the total it has been charged for sanctions violations.- www.shfaqna.com/English

Source: Al Jazeera

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) -  Walk into any American conversation, and there are two volatile issues that could make it explode at any moment: race and money.

Combine the two, and spontaneous combustion is guaranteed.

Which is why no one ever talks about it. But given the rapidly rising number of interracial marriages in this country, perhaps it is time to discuss how coming from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds can sometimes lead to disparate attitudes toward money and security.

After all, one in 10 American marriages is now interracial, an all-time high. That is up 28 percent since 2000, according to Census figures, and translates to 5.4 million couples nationwide. That number looks primed to spike even higher, given that 18 percent of unmarried, opposite-sex couples identify as interracial.

So how do our unique backgrounds shape our understanding of money? On the subject, there is perhaps no better person to talk to than Carmen Wong Ulrich. The personal finance expert was famously satirized on the television comedy series "30 Rock" as Carmen Chao, a TV personality of indeterminate ethnicity who skipped effortlessly between multiple languages.

In real life, Ulrich is the author of books including "Generation Debt" and "The Real Cost of Living." She had her own personal finance show on CNBC, and was raised by a Latina mom and a Chinese stepfather. She also married a white guy from Michigan; they have since split.

While many old stereotypes are wrongheaded, cultural backgrounds do tend to shape our attitudes toward money and security -- and it would serve most marriages well to understand where our partners are coming from, Ulrich said.

"People have very strong cultural and ethnic beliefs that we all carry with us, and a lot of those can have to do with money," she said. "For instance, I was raised as a Latina, where family is everything, and there's no thinking twice about it. I once gave my sister an apartment full of furniture, but my ex was appalled. He couldn't believe that I wanted to give away all that stuff for nothing."

Communities of color talk about money a lot, added Ulrich. "Within the majority culture, you have the option not to talk about it until it becomes an issue. Now, with so many interracial marriages, it's become an issue."

Every individual is different, of course. Suggesting that all members of a particular group have similar attitudes toward money is patently silly. But look broadly at the retirement saving numbers, as some major studies have, and trends begin to emerge. Understanding those trends can help us chart a course forward -- especially within a marriage, where compromises already need to be struck every single day.

For instance, the ING Retirement Research Institute recently looked at the average retirement savings of different minority groups. What it discovered: Cultural attitudes sometimes feed in to those numbers. For instance, while the savings of Hispanics were relatively low (an average of $54,000 in retirement plans), that was partially explained by underlying cultural attributes.

"Hispanics feel less prepared for retirement than other groups," said Fabian Gonzalez, vice president of multicultural sales for ING U.S. "To some extent that reflects the priorities of the Hispanic community, such as living with an extended family and taking care of elderly relatives, or sacrificing one's own wealth in order to give greater opportunities to one's children."

The Great Recession may have also exacerbated our different experiences of money, since it seems to have affected some pockets of American society more than others. A study by Ariel Investments and Aon Hewitt, "401(k) Plans In Living Color," surveyed the retirement savings of 2.4 million employees at 60 large organizations. It found that 8.8 percent of African-Americans had to take hardship withdrawals from their 401(k)s as the recession hit full-force in 2010, compared with 1.7 percent of whites and 1.2 percent of Asians.

Experts say that one's background is only one part of a much larger picture. Even if spouses enter into a marriage carrying their own cultural attitudes toward money, they are often trumped by other factors that are even more deeply entrenched.

"I've come across many marriages with spouses from different cultural backgrounds, and I've noticed that isn't the biggest factor in differing attitudes towards money," said Ann Minnium, an adviser with Concierge Financial Planning in Scotch Plains, N.J. "More often it's upbringing. People who come from a family that had to watch every penny are often that way themselves."

To understand how cultural background can shape one's money views, I need look no farther than my own marriage. My wife is of Haitian heritage, I am a white Canadian, and we are making it work in the multiethnic stew that is Brooklyn, N.Y.

Early in our relationship,  we had divvied up the bill paying; she would take care of some, I would tend to others, and I never thought twice about it. But in a premarital counseling session, I discovered this was a major source of stress for her. Since she had grown up in rural Haiti, one of the poorest nations on Earth, she had absorbed the notion that wealth and long-term security were never guaranteed. It could all go away at any moment.

The juggling of bills brought up those fears that we might not have enough, every single month. Understanding where she was coming from, I simply took over the monthly bill-paying and paperwork, and she tries to put those deeply harbored financial fears out of her mind.

"It shouldn't be about Me versus You," Ulrich said. "It's about how much respect you have for each other's culture, and about where you can find common ground. Respect the culture enough to talk it through."

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