AMERICAN WOMANHOOD!

The Debauchery of American Womanhood
By Henry Makow, Ph.D.

I received this as an email a while ago and then again yesterday its very interesting so I thought to share it with you all. I dont know anything about the author but the article is good read on... The Debauchery of American Womanhood By Henry Makow, PHD.

On my wall, I have a picture of a Muslim woman shrouded in a burka.Beside it is a picture of an American beauty contestant, wearing nothing but a bikini.

One woman is totally hidden from the public; the other is totallyexposed. These two extremes say a great deal about the clash of so-called "civilizations."

The role of woman is at the heart of any culture. Apart from stealing Arab oil, the impending war in the Middle East is about stripping Arabs of their religion and culture, exchanging the burka for a bikini.

I am not an expert on the condition of Muslim women and I love feminine beauty too much to advocate the burka here. But I am defending some of the values that the burka represents for me.

For me, the burka represents a woman's consecration to her husband andfamily. Only they see her.

It affirms the privacy, exclusivity and importance of the domestic sphere.

The Muslim woman's focus is her home, the "nest" where her children are born and reared. She is the "home" maker, the taproot that sustains the spiritual life of the family, nurturing and training her children, providing refuge and support to her husband.

In contrast, the bikinied American beauty queen struts practically naked in front of millions on TV. A feminist, she belongs to herself.In practice, paradoxically, she is public property. She belongs to noone and everyone. She shops her body to the highest bidder. She is auctioning herself all of the time.

In America, the cultural measure of a woman's value is her sex appeal.(As this asset depreciates quickly, she is neurotically obsessed with appearance and plagued by weight problems.)

As an adolescent, her role model is Britney Spears, a singer whose act approximates a strip tease. From Britney, she learns that she will beloved only if she gives sex. Thus, she learns to "hook up" rather than to demand patient courtship and true love. As a result, dozens of males know herbefore her husband does. She loses her innocence, which is a part ofher charm. She becomes hardened and calculating. Unable to love, she is unfit to receive her husband's seed.

The feminine personality is founded on the emotional relationship between mother and baby. It is based on nurturing and self-sacrifice.Masculine nature is founded on the relationship between hunter and prey. It is based on aggression and reason.

Feminism teaches woman that feminine nature has resulted in"oppression" and that she should convert to male behavior instead. The result: a confused and aggressive woman with a large chip on her shoulder, unfit to become a wife or mother.

This, of course, is the goal of the social engineers at the NWO:undermine sexual identity and destroy the family, create social and personal dysfunction, and reduce population. In the "brave new world,"women are not supposed to be "nest" makers, or progenitors of the race. They are meant to be neutered autonomous creatures that indulge in sex forphysical pleasure, not for love or procreation.

At his press conference on Sunday, Donald Rumsfeld said that Iranian women and youth were restive under the rule of the Mullahs. He impliedthat the US would soon liberate them. To Britney Spears? To low-rise"see-my-thong"pants? To the mutual masturbation that passes for sexuality in America?

Parenthood is the pinnacle of human development. It is the stage when we finally graduate from self-indulgence and become God's surrogates:creating and nurturing new life. The New World Order does not want usto reach this level of maturity. Pornography is the substitute formarriage. We are to remain stunted: single, sex-starved andself-obsessed.

We are not meant to have a permanent "private" life. We are to remain lonely and isolated, dependent on consumer products for our identity,in a state of perpetual courtship.

This is especially destructive for woman. Her sexual attraction is a function of her fertility. As fertility declines, so does her sexappeal. If a woman devotes her prime years to becoming "independent,"she is not likely to find a permanent mate.

Her long-term personal fulfillment and happiness lies in making marriage and family her first priority.

Feminism is another cruel New World Order hoax that has debauched American women and despoiled Western civilization. It has ruined millions of lives and represents a lethal threat to Islam.

I am not advocating the burka but rather some of the values that it represents, specifically a woman's consecration to her future husbandand family, and the modesty and dignity this entails.

The Trust!

Subhana'Allah this ayah of the Qur'an to me seems so powerful! I am not a scholar of tafseer but its one of those ayahs when you read it you stop and think woah! I wish I had the ability to do so with every ayah I read insha'Allah with time ill get there! I was wondering if anyone has read any tafseer on this ayah in particular? Im going to look it up later when I get a chance insh'Allah... The Heavens and the Earth and the Mountains refused the 'trust' but we have taken it on!! What could this trust be?? Is it the message of Islam... if so are we taking care of it as a trustee should do. I mean do we take care of our own Islam meaning to we live, breath and do our every day practises in accordance to the Quran and Sunnah, do we aid our families in doing so, do we help spread the true message of Islam to our communities by being role model Muslims??? When asked about the character of the Prophet (saw), Aisha (ra) replied it was the Qur'an meaning he acted upon the commands of Allah and refrained from what Allah had forbidded... the Qur'an is a text for us to live our lives by.... the prophet (saw) acted that out as an example to us all at his time and for all times! If this ayah is referring to the message of Allah the final message of Allah our creator to Mankind Al Islam and then we are the trustees lets take care of it as we should do as the prophet (saw) did. Lets worship our creator in all ways from the moment we wake till we go to sleep. We can do this in sooo many ways... praising Allah, being good to people, when we see something in creation which astounds us remember it came from Allah and so praise Him, when we receive something nice remember its by the Will of Allah and its a blessing from Him so praise Him, when we accomplish anything good remember we only did so by the permission from Allah as He is the One who allowed us to do so praise Allah as He is most deserving... when you fall into sin remember its only Allah who can forgive so turn to Him alone and sincerely repent verily Allah loves to forgive His slaves!
Subhana'Allah!

Baby Its All Good!

I came across this poem and thought to share it with you all! Its a nice addition to all the posts on hijab ive recently been putting up quite nicely! Maybe some of you have read it before even so its a nice read so enjoy...

Baby, it's all good!

Author unknown

What do you see when you look at me?

Do you see someone limited, or someone free?

All some people can do is just look and stare

Simply because they can't see my hair

Others think I am controlled and uneducated

They think that I am limited and un-liberated

They are so thankful that they are not me

Because they would like to remain 'free'

Well free isn't exactly the word I would've used

Describing women who are cheated on and abused

They think that I do not have opinions or voice

They think that being hooded isn't my choice

They think that the hood makes me look caged

That my husband or dad are totally outraged

All they can do is look at me in fear

And in my eye there is a tear

Not because I have been stared at or made fun of

But because people are ignoring the One up above

On the day of judgment they will be the fools

Because they were too ashamed to play by their own rules

Maybe the guys won't think I am a cutie

But at least I am filled with more inner beauty

See I have declined from being a guy's toy

Because I won't let myself be controlled by a boy

Real men are able to appreciate my mind

And aren't busy looking at my behind

Hooded girls are the ones really helping the Muslim cause

The role that we play definitely deserves applause

I will be recognized because I am smart and bright

And because some people are inspired by my sight

The smart ones are attracted by my tranquility

In the back of their mind they wish they were me

We have the strength to do what we think is right

Even if it means putting up a life long fight

You see we are not controlled by a mini skirt and tight shirt

We are given only respect, and never treated like dirt

So you see, we are the ones that are free and liberated

We are not the ones that are sexually terrorized and violated

We are the ones that are free and pure

We're free of STD's that have no cure
So when people ask you how you feel about the hood Just sum it up by saying, 'Baby its all good'

VA VA VOOM with renault!

Just a quick note for those people who are deluding themselves into thinking that any other F1 team apart from Renault will win this year! Allah willing it will be Alonso with Renault winning as they are after all the best!

Fitrah of a Child!

I have not posted for a while... Ive been trying to concentrate on preparing for Ramadan as its not too far away... I cant wait... insha'Allah Ill see if I can come up with some interesting posts on Ramadan! My little baby nephew is not too well either he has a terrible throat infection and was rushed to hospital the other night as his temp hit 102!!! Make dua he gets better soon insha'Allah!

Anyways the other day I had gone to a shop to buy some hijabs... its a really cool shop which is divided in half... half sells hijabs, jilbabs, thowbs, prayer hats, bukhur all Islamic stuff and the other half sells normal high street clothing such as jeans, tea shirts etc!
Anyways I was in there buying a few hijabs and some bukhur when this lady came in with her daughter... They were from Brazil! The lady was very very friendly. She was dressed in a very small skirt and a half bikini top which was so revealing that it literally barely covered anything at all. Anyways she had popped in and was trying on some of the dimonte jewellry the shop sells. She came and asked me and the sister who works there if it looked nice. Anyways in the mean time her little daughter who was about 6 years old had also been browsing the shop... she came up to her mum and asked if she could have something she wanted for so long... she then produced a small packet which contained an all in one childs hijab... ALLAHU AKBAR!
The lady then explained that her daughter has been asking for one for so long as she wants to cover her head Subhana'Allah I could not believe my ears! Despite the example she was being set this child whose face was shining as most kids do her natural instinct her fitrah was telling her that the hjjab was the correct way to go! Her mother had no problem at all and agreed to getting her the hijab... the sister who was working in the shop was also touched and gave the hijab as a gift to the little girl who was sooo delighted that she poured and showered kisses and hugs to us in the shop!
May Allah guide her and her family and us all to the truth ameen!

Being Merciful to Animals!

I came across this picture and subhana'Allah I was so upset and thought of the different sayings of the prophet (pbuh) about the importance of being kind to animals... this poor donkey is so over loaded and reminded me of the hadith about the camel who complained to the prophet (pbuh) this also shows a miracle of the prophet (pbuh):

Once the Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wasallam, was passing by a farm in Madinah when he came across a camel. The camel approached the Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wasallam, as if it was telling him something. The Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wasallam, asked about the owner of of the camel and called upon him and told him, “Your camel is complaining that you overburden him with work, and gives him too little to eat.” [Narrated by Abu Daud, Al-Hakim, Imam Ahmad, and others and it is an authentic hadith]

Imagine if the prophet (saw) was here today what would this donkey say about his/her owner? Perhaps they will complain to Allah who knows Allah knows best... IF any of us do have pets we really need to take a lesson from this and make sure we look after them properly, treat them with kindness and mercy, feed them give them water. They are a responsibilty on us from Allah and we will be asked about them so its of utmost importance that we look after them properly!

We should also remember that we should not harm those animals which are in the wild for example birds in a tree.

Once while the prophet (saw) was with his companions he found a bird making a greaving sound. The Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wasallam, immediately said: “Who has frightened this bird by taking its offspring?” Then he commanded: “Return back her offspring.” In another hadith the Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wasallam, warned Muslims not to harm animals. He said: “A lady was put into the hellfire because of a cat. She tied up the cat and did not give her anything to eat nor did she allow it to look for food.”

From these ahadith we can see how important it is for us to look after animals and have mercy on them as it could literally lead us to paradise or hell! Dont be like the person who owns the donkey above rather be like someone who owns this little cat which is so well looked after, loved and fed (I know because its my sisters cat)

The Mercy of Allah in Regard to Forgiveness

Im glad that those of you who read the last post on death appreciated it and insha'Allah will keep it in your minds and remember the important lesson of sabr and realisation that we will all return to Allah only He knows when and He has more right over us than anyone on this Earth. I also mentioned how important it is for us to prepare for death. This can be done in so many ways...Of course by fulfilling the 5 pillars, then you have the chance to gain more reward by doing extra optional fasts, extra prayers, giving charity subhana'Allah so much can be done this list is endless! However many of us forget (now im not trying to give you guys the easy way out please still do try and do extra fasts, prayers etc) many of us forget one of the most essential and simplist ways of pleasing Allah by doing an act which is loved by Him which shows our complete dependancy on Him which shows how we have realised out wrong doings... yes its by simply asking for forgiveness. At the end of the day we are not angels we are human beings so we are not perfect and do make mistakes... the trick is NOT TO FALL IN DESPAIR and to remember the Mercy and Forgiveness of your Lord Allah which has no bounds! I happen to also have some proof of the divine Mercy of Allah which is from a hadith Qudsi.
"O son of Adam, as long as you call upon Me and put your hope in Me, I have forgiven you for what you have done and I do not mind. O son of Adam, if your sins were to reach the clouds of the sky and then you would seek My forgiveness, I would forgive you. O son of Adam, if you were to come to Me with sins that are close to filling the earth and then you would meet Me without ascribing any partners with Me, I would certainly bring to you forgiveness close to filling it."
In this Hadithi Qudsi, Allah gives hope to mankind reminding and encouraging us to turn to Him in repentance. It displays the quality and attribute of Allahs mercy. No doubt its is Allah who is ar-Rahman, the Most Compassionate, and ar-Raheem, the Most Merciful. Allah is reminding us all of the greatness of His forgiveness and mercy so that no one would despair due to the amount of sins he may have committed Subhana'Allah how great is that! This is supported by the following verse of the Holy Quran:
Say: O My servants who have transgressed against their own souls, despair not of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Truly, He is Most Forgiving, Most Merciful. (Surah az-Zumar 39:53)
This hadith teaches us the importance of realizing Allahs mercy, having faith and hope in Him especially when making dua, calling to Allah alone for forgiveness, and the importance of repentance in the life and faith of a believer. Its is an excellent way to prepare for death as would not we all love to meet Allah and He greets us with His Mercy and Forgiveness? Many a time we listen to lectures where we are told about rules we must do and alhamdulillah this is very beneficial and I hope that myself and all others are able to learn more about the rulings of Islam. But let us not forget the Mercy of Allah the Forgiveness of Allah do not fall into despair and instead remember that sincerely asking for Allahs forgiveness is a great way to prepare for death and be sure that Allah hears all our sincere duas and accepts them! Please remember me in your duas and ask Allah to forgive me His slave who is continous awe of Him ameen!

Finding Contentment after the Death of a Loved One

Death is one of those things that will affect each and everyone of us at some point in our lives and one day only Allah knows when it will also happen to us, it is the only guarantee we have in life so the wisest of us would be the ones who prepare for it. We spend alot of time preparing for so many different things and we are also right in doing so as only a fool would expect to eat for example a roast dinner but then sit on a chair all day doing no preparation expecting it to be there. So preparing for things is of utmost importance... preparing for death is of the greatest importance as it WILL happen to us all its only a matter of time and when the clock stops ticking for us I pray for Allah to have Mercy upon us and forgive us our sins ameen!

For those of who have lost loved ones, that could be parents, children friends, relatives even pets we know how much it hurts, how much our hearts yearn for them but let us also remember in our grief this wise hadith found in The Muwattaw of Imam Malik.

Hadith - Al-Muwatta 16.43

Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said that al-Qasim ibn Muhammad said,

"One of my wives died and Muhammad ibn Kab al Quradhi came to console me about her. He told me of one among the Bani Israil who was a diligent, worshipping, knowing and understanding man who had a wife that he admired and loved, and she died. He grieved over her intensely and lamented her until he withdrew into a house and locked himself in, hidden from everyone, and no-one visited him.
A woman heard about him and went to him, saying, 'I need him to give me an opinion. Nothing will satisfy me except what he says about it.' Everyone went away, but she stuck to his door and said, 'I must see him.' Someone said to him, 'There is a woman who wishes to ask your opinion about something,' and she insisted, 'I will only talk to him about it.' When everyone had gone away, and she still had not left his door, he said, 'Let her in.' So she went in and saw him and said, 'I have come to ask your opinion about something.' He said, 'What is it?'
She said, 'I borrowed a piece of jewellery from a neighbour of mine, and I have worn it and used it for a long time. Then they sent to me for it. Should I let them have it back?' He said, 'Yes, by Allah.' She said, 'I have had it for a long time.' He said, 'It is more correct for you to return it to them, since they have lent it to you for such a long time.'
She said, 'Yes. May Allah have mercy on you. Do you then grieve over what Allah has lent you and then taken from you, when He has a greater right to it than you?' Then he saw the situation he was in, and Allah helped him by her words."

Allahu Akbar so for anyone who has lost a loved on or for those of you who may do so in the future only Allah knows when remember that the loved one has returned to the who has more right over them than any of us and we should thank Allah for the time He allowed us with them!

Thought of the Day!

I was reading an interesting aritcle by Gai Eaton and although the whole article was very interesting I thought to share this comment with you all... lol who you all are is very few as is evident with the almost non existent comments lol but its cool for anyone who feels to be enlightened read the words of wisdon ahead.... Gai Eaton on anger...bismillah....

'Anger is a form of drunkenness. Alcohol is prohibited because it makes us drunk but we often forget that there are many forms of drunkenness and they all have something in common. The drunkenness of anger is just as misleading as the drunkenness of alcohol. It is just as liable to upset judgement, to make us incapable of effective action, because effective action relies on sober judgement. In practice, those who are seized by such anger, lose logic and rationality. They become ineffectual and less effective in achieving their ends.'

Free women or Slaves to Society?

This is a slight continuation from the post about hijab. The more I think about it the more bizare it seems to me that its the practising Muslim women who are seen as oppressed and dress the way they solely because its the wish of oppressive men...hmmm! I think comments like this coming from the much developed, sophisticated and open minded Western society is an issue which is much closer to home than some people choose to admit or think.

In Islam yes woman should cover and be modest but this is the same for men as well although they are not required to cover their heads and entire bodies they also legally in Islam must cover at least between their navel and knees and any more they choose to do it better for them. Their are valid reasons for this as men and women are made differently and are attracted to different things... insha'Allah maybe I could go into more detail about this on another post. But the point is this is not the desire of men for the women to cover or vice versa its the decree of our Creator Allah who has commanded for men and women to dress in a certain way. So its not the desire or command of men forcing women to cover its the command of God and the acceptance of women to choose or not to choose to obey!

However can the same be said for women who feel compelled to dress the way they do in society today? What makes some women wear shorter skirts when they are being interviewed by a man, what is the reason behind so many young and old women falling critically ill due to starving themselves to the point of being placed in a rehabilitaion centre solely to fit into the man/male made society that skinny is the way to be? Why is it that in so many music videos its the women who are portrayed as prostitutes barely clothed degrading themselves? Who is it that makes them believe this is they to look beautiful and to earn respect? Its certainly not our creator Almighty God, I think we all know the answer is Man! I could go on and on about the problems this has caused in society today but I think we all know too well how many marriages this has affected, how many young girls have been raped, how many children have been abused, how many women have been murdered all because this sick pornographic image has polluted the minds of people in the society we live in today!

I did some research on this issue and found some interesting comments of people who may I add are not Muslims on this matter. By far the most interesting comment was from the famous Rap Star LL Cool J who has also come to realise the danger this nudety and showing women as strippers etc is posing for the youth today...

'Rapper LL COOL J is urging his peers to stop degrading women in their music videos, because he fears they are setting a bad example to the younger generation.

He says, "I think that there's more room in the videos for women to be portrayed in a better way, like, classy. "I don't think that every woman has to be a stripper in every video.

"When you have three daughters and you're sitting there watching the video channel and every girl that's on there is like a stripper... I don't think that we have to tell them that this is all there is for you to do in order for you to make it."

Notice how LL Cool J mentioned 'degrading women' he also has realised that this image women are portrayed in degrading to them.

I feel for the women who are slaves to the men in this society who are slaves to fashion who have let themselves believe that in order to succeed they must give up their rights to be respected to be modest to be like a precious pearl rather they have given in to being like a piece of meat in a market on display for every person to see!

The more I think about it the more obvious to me it seems that its the men in the western society who are using women as their slaves for their own personal pleasure and gain! Look at the TV commercials where cars are advertised where you hardly see the latest car as the whole advert it focused on barely covered backsides of women???

Years ago I knew a girl who so badly wanted to become a model she went from agency to agency and did get signed up for small deals here and there. Then one day she told me how unhappy she was the price she had to pay...the things she had to do with the men who were in charge in order to be given the small chance of hitting the top... depression hit her so hard, she lost alot of her friends for many different reasons one of which was and im quoting her words 'I was made to feel so dirty by my manager who blackmailed me into sleeping with him that the only way I felt I could possibly feel clean was if I was with someone who was away from this business'... this was her response for having an affair with her best friends fiance!

Now many people say... yes but some women like to be seen they like to show their bodies they like to be the attention of men my question to all of that is WHY? Yes this may be true but its because they have been made to believe that this is how to be loved, to be wanted, to be needed, to be popular, to be succesful! Any man who claims to be in love with one of these models, strippers, actresses ask him how he would feel if his daughter, wife, sister, mother were to do the same would he still admire it!

Women are precious they are the core of human development, they should have an honoured state, their role should be elevated, they should be respected by men not degraded and used as sex slaves, advertising tools in this sick society!

So again I say Alhamdulillah that I am a Muslim in which Islam has given me so many rights where I truely feel respected, am made to feel like a protected precious jewel and rose by my husband and where my religion has shown me that to be loved to be beautiful to be respected is to be modest, to be truely free to be able to use my brain rather than my body to achieve! I chose to wear hijab myself and the only regret I have is that Oh how I wish I had understood Islam and the hijab much sooner and started wearing it many years before I did!

So to anyone out there who reads this if your a women learn the real meaning of freedom and respect just give it a try see how comfortable you feel walking past those perverted builders when your modestly covered.
To any men who read this give the women in your life the respect they deserve, the honour which is their right and let them live in dignity and treat them like a precious stone/jewel like a beautiful rose!

I have not meant or intended to offend anyone in the above post so please forgive me if I have!

The Power Of Subarussss!

Its been a few days since my last post I was having trouble getting anything loaded up plus one of my best friends got married so was busy in party mode lol!
I mentioned how me and my husband had gone to Europe for a last minute road trip and had a wickeddd time masha'Allah! What I didnt mention was the high light of out trip on the way home! When we were queing for the Euro tunnel on the way home 4 beautiful Subarus kitted in rally gear pulled up all roaring like Lions .... Simba!!!! As I clicked away trying to get a few good shots they drove ahead of us into the train. The funniest thing was as soon as the 4th one drove in all the alarms went off as they could not take the force and power of these super cool engines of these super cool cars. Luckily we managed to squeeze in behind them before they had to stop any more cars entering while they figured out what to do... obviously they had not experienced this before and my husband said they will prob have to revise their handbooks of loading cars now for cases like this. Anyways we did not get delayed too much and they decided that when leaving the subarus would have to start their engines one by one and leave one by one so they did not set of any more alarms! We found this so cool especially as all 4 Subarus were fit into 1 carriage!
Have a look at the pics I did try to get a pic with all 4 in but only managed to get like 3.5 lol! For those of you who like cars will surely like this post and for those fo you who dont will be bored but look and admire these pics and soon enough you will become petrol heads like the rest of us!

Hijab...degrading or an honour for women?

This is something which is discussed time and time and time again... Muslim women... are they oppressed? Do they wear the hijab, the veil because their fathers or their husbands made them? I myself chose to start wearing the hijab with out any encouragment, force from my father and at the time I was not even married so there was no husband to force me into doing so. It was something I had decided to do myself after learning more about my religion and how the hijab rather than being a sign of oppression is actually a symbol of dignity, honour and suprising for some is actually a true sense of freedom!Before wearing hijab and im sure others can sympathise with me here I would cringe and hesitate if I was passing by a building site with builders in progress especially if I was on my way to visit friends therefore dressed up slightly. Id feel like a piece of meat while walking past hearing the filth coming out of their mouths... they did not like me as a person, they did not respect me for who I was they were just disgusting perveted men who thought they had the freedom to gape and stare shouting out filthy comments at the cost of mine and other womens feelings, feedom and honour. I remember when the real sense of freedom came to me and I truly understood what it meant. While I was at uni I sometimes used to walk to the station at the same time every day. Like most other students Id be in my jeans and a nice top at the time I would spend time in the mornings doing my make up fixing my hair etc...Every morning while I was walking to the station at a particular point the same mini bus would drive past carrying disabled people...and although the passengers were innocent unfortunately the driver certainly was not. Every day he would slow down as he passed and would shout out things Id rather not remember. I remember every day trying to hurry so as to miss him on the road but would fail and Id cringe every time he drove past. Anyways some time past and uni had finished and I had started to wear the hijab alhamdulillah. One morning I was up early and off somewhere so again I was walking to the station and low and behold I saw the same mini bus with the same driver coming down the road... my heart started to thump and I started to cringe thinking 'oh no I really dont want to hear his uncomfortable comments'... however he simply drove past not slowing down, not shouting any comments! What had happened? ... take a guess... yes the Hijab had happened and suddenly I felt the real sense of freedom, I felt a huge sense of relief and dignity I felt honoured to be a Muslim woman protected by this simple piece of cloth alhamdulillah! I will never forget that day and when ever I hear people say... Hijab is a sign of oppression, Muslim women are oppressed I remember that day and think... if only you knew its so the opposite... as hijab is the true sense of liberation, freedom and honour for women Allahu Akbar!