Please do your own thorough research.
18 November 2009
A Stupid Shortcut
Oops, they weren't logs after all!
See what happens the moment a crocodile takes a foolish shortcut across a herd of hippos
Bold move: The crocodile races across the backs of the hippos in a bid to escape after trying to snare a mother and her calves
But see what happens next : here
17 November 2009
Vitamin D Council: Arrest Swine Flu
NOTEWORTHY NEWS
H1N1 Swine Flu and Vitamin D
Watch this video of an interview with Vitamin D Council Executive Director Dr. John Cannell, where he explains vitamin D's effect on innate and adaptive immunity and what that means in relation to viral infections, such as the flu or the common cold.
The Vitamin D Newsletter
September 2009 — Special Report
Vitamin D and H1N1 Swine Flu
Dr. Cannell:
Your recent newsletters and video about Swine flu (H1N1) prompted me to convey our recent experience with an H1N1 outbreak at Central Wisconsin Center (CWC). Unfortunately, the state epidemiologist was not interested in studying it further so I pass it on to you since I think it is noteworthy.
CWC is a long-term care facility for people with developmental disabilities, home for approx. 275 people with approx. 800 staff. Serum 25-OHD has been monitored in virtually all residents for several years and patients supplemented with vitamin D.
In June, 2009, at the time of the well-publicized Wisconsin spike in H1N1 cases, two residents developed influenza-like illness (ILI) and had positive tests for H1N1: one was a long-term resident; the other, a child, was transferred to us with what was later proven to be H1N1.
On the other hand, 60 staff members developed ILI or were documented to have H1N1: of 17 tested for ILI, eight were positive. An additional 43 staff members called in sick with ILI. (Approx. 11–12 staff developed ILI after working on the unit where the child was given care, several of whom had positive H1N1 tests.)
So, it is rather remarkable that only two residents of 275 developed ILI, one of which did not develop it here, while 103 of 800 staff members had ILI. It appears that the spread of H1N1 was not from staff-to-resident but from resident-to-staff (most obvious in the imported case) and between staff, implying that staff were susceptible and our residents protected.
Sincerely,
Norris Glick, MD
Central Wisconsin Center
Madison, WI
This is the first hard data that I am aware of concerning H1N1 and vitamin D. It appears vitamin D is incredibly protective against H1N1. Dr. Carlos Camargo at Mass General ran the numbers in an email to me. Even if one excludes 43 staff members who called in sick with influenza, 0.73% of residents were affected, as compared to 7.5% of staff. This 10-fold difference was statistically significant (P<0.001).>
The problem is that I cannot get anyone in authority at the CDC or the NIH to listen. I need readers to email or call their senators and congresspersons in Washington.
Ask your senator or congressperson to contact the CDC and NIH to complain about CDC and NIH inaction on Vitamin D and H1N1. Also, ask your senators and representative to demand congressional hearings on Vitamin D and H1N1, before it is too late.
VITAMIN D AND AUTISM
Now a single theory answers the many unanswered questions surrounding autism. A theory that implies a simple prevention and raises the possibility of treatment. It's called the Vitamin D Theory of Autism—read about it in our section, Autism and Vitamin D.UNDERSTADING VITAMIN D CHOLECALCIFEROL
The high rate of natural production of vitamin D3 cholecalciferol (pronounced koh·luh·kal·sif·uh·rawl) in the skin is the single most important fact every person should know about vitamin D—a fact that has profound implications for the natural human condition.
Technically not a "vitamin," vitamin D is in a class by itself. Its metabolic product, calcitriol, is actually a secosteroid hormone that targets over 2000 genes (about 10% of the human genome) in the human body. Current research has implicated vitamin D deficiency as a major factor in the pathology of at least 17 varieties of cancer as well as heart disease, stroke, hypertension, autoimmune diseases, diabetes, depression, chronic pain, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, muscle weakness, muscle wasting, birth defects, periodontal disease, and more.
Vitamin D's influence on key biological functions vital to one's health and well-being mandates that vitamin D no longer be ignored by the health care industry nor by individuals striving to achieve and maintain a greater state of health.
SUNSHINE AND YOUR HEALTH
If well adults and adolescents regularly avoid sunlight exposure, research indicates a necessity to supplement with at least 5,000 units (IU) of vitamin D daily. To obtain this amount from milk one would need to consume 50 glasses. With a multivitamin more than 10 tablets would be necessary. Neither is advisable.
The skin produces approximately 10,000 IU vitamin D in response 20–30 minutes summer sun exposure—50 times more than the US government's recommendation of 200 IU per day!
HOW TO GET ENOUGH VITAMIN D
There are 3 ways for adults to insure adequate levels of vitamin D:
• regularly receive midday sun exposure in the late spring, summer, and early fall, exposing as much of the skin as possible.
• regularly use a sun bed (avoiding sunburn) during the colder months.
• take 5,000 IU per day for 2–3 months, then obtain a 25-hydroxyvitamin D test. Adjust your dosage so that blood levels are between 50–80 ng/mL (or 125–200 nM/L) year-round.
Links:
View & Hear Dr. Mercola here
Hear Dr. Leonard Horowitz here
Read about Vitamin Deficiency here
16 November 2009
Soul Smell
"And he shall smell with the awe of God"
“‘And he shall smell with the awe of God’—’he shall judge by smell’ (rather than by sight or hearing. Isaiah 11:3; Sanhedrin 93b). By his sense of smell (his ‘holy spirit’) the Mashiach will know how to connect each Jewish soul to its Divine root, and thereby identify its tribe (branch) in Israel.”
"The sense of smell is the most spiritual of all senses. The Hebrew word for "smell" (רֵיחַ) is cognate to the word for "spirit" (רוּחַ).
The sages teach us that smell is the one and only sense that "the soul enjoys and not the body." As noted, in Hebrew, "soul" is a permutation of Menasheh. The sense of smell is the only sense (of the five senses) that did not participate, and thereby was not blemished or polluted, in the primordial sin of man in the Garden of Eden.
It is the sense which saved the Jewish people in the time of Mordechai and Esther, who are called Mor veHadas ("myrrh and myrtle," the two primary sources of fragrance)." Authentic Kabbalah, Chassidus
Israeli Study explains how smells conjure strong memories.
Weizmann Institute scientists say bad odors make biggest first impression, but early pleasant scents also make imprint on brain. [….]
"We found that the first pairing or association between an object and a smell had a distinct signature in the brain," even in adults, Yaara Yeshurun of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, whose study appears in the journal Current Biology, said in a statement.
"This 'etching' of initial odor memories in the brain was equal for good and bad smells, yet was unique to odor."
One Huge Kiddush HaShem
International Conference of Chabad-Lubavitch Emissaries
Over Four Thousand Emissaries and lay leaders participating in this extraordinary event. Leaders of Jewish communities and dedicated catalysts of Jewish Renaissance from over 50 countries enjoying the largest farbrengen there ever was.
For sure their Wellsprings are overflowing throughout the entire World
Eimosai ko-osi mar l'ch'sheyofutzu mayonoshecho chutzo
Translation:
"When will the Messiah come?" [The Messiah responded:] "When your wells of Torah will overflow to the outside."
Adapted from the Talmud, Tractate Sanhedrin 98a
How do you squeeze 4000 Shluchim into ONE PICTURE:
And don't forget the FUTURE SHLUCHIM:
SPECIAL EVENT
Monday 8PM - Mumbai Memorial
with Chabad of the Upper West Side
Featuring a special address by Rabbi Nachman Holtzberg, father of Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg, of blessed memory.
15 November 2009
Antisemitism or Barbarity Dakota Style
Does anyone think that if he was Muslim that they would behave in such a disgraceful and antisemitic fashion; or do you know that a muslim would be guaranteed his 'rights' under Sharia law!
South Dakota USA:
- Reb Shalom Mordechai was taken by the US Marshals service to South Dakota State penitentiary in Sioux Falls pending transfer to Iowa. He was not allowed to make a phone call to inform his lawyers or his family
- As part of the entry process into the jail, Reb Shalom Mordechai was asked to disrobe and change into the prison uniform. He complied, but stopped short of removing his tzitzis and yarmulka
- as a religious Jew, he was required to wear these garments at all times, that it is permitted under federal law, and that he would not take them off.
- The staff immediately conferred with their superiors and confirmed that they would not allow him to wear his religious clothing. At this point, six burly, intimidating prison guards entered with riot shields. They took a video of this interaction.
- The warden at the prison then decided that he would be allowed to wear his yarmulka, but not his tzitzis. Reb Shalom Mordechai explained that although he had no interest in making trouble, he would not remove his tzitzis for religious reasons and his religion does not allow him to even walk around without tzitzis.
- The prison staff belligerently insisted that he nevertheless remove them or they would be removed by force and he would be placed in a disciplinary area alone.
- Reb Shalom Mordechai explained that he was not fighting with them, but he would not remove them himself. He was not trying to give them a hard time, but he was insisting on his religious rights. He also took the opportunity to inform them of his other religious needs, namely, the tallis and tefillin required for davening Shacharis, before which he would be unable to eat.
- They responded by yelling at him for threatening a hunger strike. “Do you know where you are?!” they shouted
- They then removed his tzitzis. He was given only a thin sheet to cover himself and they brought a wheelchair to move him, since he had said that he would not be allowed to walk without his tzitzis.
- The staff took him to the disciplinary area, where a woman asked him questions from a form, and then disregarded his answers, writing in whatever she wanted to over his objections.
- They left him to sleep with no clothes - only the thin sheet and his yarmulka and another sheet to cover himself.
- In the morning, they brought him papers to sign, which he would not do without his lawyers. The US Marshals arrived to transport him to Iowa, and they confirmed that he was allowed to wear tzitzis, which were then returned to him.
- Due to his commitment to strict kashrus, food was purchased by his family that met those standards, but the food was not allowed into the Iowa prison because it wasn’t packaged correctly. He did not eat at all from Thursday lunch until Motzoei Shabbos
Please daven for
Shalom Mordechai Halevi ben Rivkah
October 20, 2009:
FBI Raids Halal Slaughterhouse
“[…] more than 100 agents, police officers and even what one believed to be National Guard troops. ... the driveway was filled with more than 50 government vehicles. There was a helicopter flying overhead and a command center set up. On top of it were government sharpshooters with rifles at the ready.”
"Way too much overkill for immigration."
Coverage at cbs2 and VosIzNeias.
Let’s see how they treat these people , hmm, muslims.
Dear Rivki and Gabi
Rivki and Gabi I hope you see what your brothers and sisters have done for you. We miss you very much, but realize you are in a place of splendor. Little Moishe is waiting for Moshiach and the day he can be with you again, here in Eretz Yisrael.
6000 Chabad chassidim to welcome the Holtzberg Torah into 770.
13 November 2009
Shabbat Shalom - Parshas Chayei Sarah
Shabbat Shalom
Parshas Chayei Sarah
Rosh Chodesh Kislev
Tuesday - Wednesday, 17-18 November
12 November 2009
Another Glimpse Into Parshas Chayei Sarah
Rabbi Jacobson presents a fascinating twist to “the names of Ishmael’s sons in order of their birth” from this week’s Parsha Chayei Sarah:
Twelve Princes
It would not be a bad idea for contemporary descendants of Ishmael – and for all of us -- to reflect on the individual names of Ishmael's 12 sons, who all became princes and fathers of Ishmaelite nations. "These are the names of Ishmael's sons in order of their birth," records the Torah in this week's portion, Chayei Sarah, and it goes on to list them in three groups and in three separate verses :
"Ishmael's firstborn was Nebayoth, Kedar, Adbiel, Mibsam."
Then is the second group of sons: Mishma, Dumah and Massa.
Finally, the Torah lists the last five sons: Chadad, Tema, Yetur, Nafish and Kedmah.
The Torah then relates where they lived in the Middle East. It concludes its account – and the entire portion -- by stating these ambiguous words: "They fell in the presence of all their brethren ."
What’s the Relevance?
What is this episode telling us? Is it a mere incidental detail? The Torah does not include mere incidental details. We have no idea, for example, what Abraham, Sarah, Isaac or Ishamel looked like.
Though the Bible records many genealogical and historical facts, it is fundamentally not a book of history or genealogy, but as its very name “Torah” indicates, it is a book of instruction, a blueprint for human life.
The record of Ishmael's family members, then, is not merely a record of dry genealogical facts. Rather, like every sentence and word recorded in the Torah, it is part of a roadmap for our lives journeys. But what is the relevance of the 12 ancient names of Ishmael's children? And why did Ishmael give his sons these particular names?
One more question: Why does the Torah divide the 12 names into three distinct uneven groups: a group of four, a group of three and a group of five?
The First Twelve-Step Program
The writings of Jewish mysticism explain that these names represent Ishmael's 12-step program toward living a healthy and well-balanced life. His guide to good living covers the three primary components of life: health, relationships and work.
* * * * *
Before adopting this as a blueprint for living, please pay close attention to the last paragraph of the full article here.
11 November 2009
A Glimpse Into Parshas Chayei Sarah
A glimpse into Parshas Chayei Sarah:
The Arizal explains the following about the relationship between Sarah and Hagar:
Know that Sarah and Hagar correspond to the brain and its membranes, and just as the membranes precede the brain, so Hagar gave birth before Sarah…. Indeed, the gematria of Hagar [הגר ] is 208, the same as the gematria of Isaac [יצחק ], both of them represent judgment. For the membranes are harsh judgments. The ancient kings [the sefirot of the World of Chaos] died because they were not sweetened and they were from the root of evil, from Cain. Thus, Sarah placed an evil eye on Hagar’s [first] pregnancy and she miscarried, because that child was only from the aspect of evil…. Sarah wanted to sweeten [Hagar’s second pregnancy] with goodness and to augment the good and submit the evil, and so Abraham told her: “[Here is your maidservant,] do with her whatever you see to be good,” and the stress here is on the “good.” This was the reason that Sarah tormented Hagar, in order to submit the evil in her and to strengthen the good. And this is also why the angel told Hagar, “Return to your mistress and be tormented by her.”
We see from the Arizal’s explanation that even in the pregnancy of Ishmael, it was Abraham’s mercy that was able to sweeten the harsh judgment that was part of Sarah’s character. While at first Sarah had cast an evil eye on Hagar causing her to miscarry, the second time, thanks to Abraham’s merciful nature, she was able to use the harsh judgments in a constructive way so as to rectify Hagar (at least to some extent).
Salve ... Buongiorno ... Здравствуйте!
Eisav's Search for Alien Life
Award Winning Photographer Martin Pugh
[not from Hubble]
“The Pontifical Academy of Sciences is holding a conference on astrobiology, the study of life beyond Earth, with scientists and religious leaders gathering in Rome this week. For centuries, theologians have argued over what the existence of life elsewhere in the universe would mean for the Church: at least since Giordano Bruno, an Italian monk, was put to death by the Inquisition in 1600 for claiming that other worlds exist.
Among other things, extremely alien-looking aliens would be hard to fit with the idea that God “made man in his own image”.”
Geeky Gear: When E.T. Phones the Pope
The Vatican's five-day conference is chaired by the religious leader of the highly regarded Academy, Bishop Marcelo Sanchez Sorondo. Scientists (many of them nonbelievers) are offering presentations on subjects as varied as how life might have begun on Earth; what newly found "extremophile" microbes living in harsh places on our planet might tell us about possible life on others; and how life forms might be detected in our solar system, or how their bio-signatures might be found on and around the many distant exoplanets.
Having overcome the giggle factor of most things extraterrestrial, astrobiologists are telling a scientific story to an audience that may someday use it to defend -- or enhance -- its faith.
A Defining Moment in History
"And it came to pass after these things,
that G-d tested Avraham"
(Genesis 22:1)
One aspect that surfaces from the Parsha (Vayeira) this last Shabbos, is how Avraham Avinu successfully passed the Ten Tests that Hashem tested him with. You may have noticed that Parshas Lech Lecha (the previous week's sedra) and Parshas Vayeira are very similar in certain aspects: Pharoah and Avimelech; Leave your country/family and Leaving Eretz Canaan from a Famine; Sarah Imeinu being wrongly abducted and then released with gifts from foreign Kings. The one dividing moment between the two was Avraham's Bris Milah. After which the Final Test was the Akeida (the binding of Isaac).
These tests were important, and they created the defining moment in the History of the Jews.
The same is true today. Hashem is continually testing all of us. Each time an "obstacle" rises up to confound your plans, or prevents you from fulfilling some action - this "obstacle" demands your attention. This is a test that your "neshoma" must deal with and not one to ignore and hope it will go away.
I believe the entire world is being tested now, and your success is determined by how you deal with those challenges, obstacles, barriers that surprise you.
People that believe in G-d and are sincere in their moral outlook are also keen to what is happening in the world. The following article is written by a non-Jew, Nathan White from Atlanta, Georgia, on the subject of Globalization and the Tower of Babel, which appears on his blog.
I think it is worth reading and present it here, with minor editing [in brackets]:
The Tower of Babel
We’re all familiar with the story of the Tower of Babel found in Genesis 11. Essentially, the whole earth had one language, and all the world’s population had migrated to the same location. The whole world then joined together to build a great city, and had aspirations of building a tower that reached the heavens. Not much detail is given in regards to what exactly their great sin was, but [G-d] came down and confused their language, so that they no longer understood each other, thus the people of the city of Babel were dispersed throughout the earth.
Though the text isn’t explicit in regards to their sin other than God saying “this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them” (Gen 11:6), the greater theological implications of the story are many. I do not intend to explore the implications today, but I would like to consider the concept of globalization in regards to this narrative.
Globalization
I first studied cultural globalization in an anthropology course I took last year at Kennesaw State University. It was a topic that I found very interesting. According to Wikipedia, Globalization “can be described as a process by which the people of the world are unified into a single society and function together.”
Related to this globalization is acculturation, which is “the process of adopting the cultural traits or social patterns of another group.” Essentially, this is when one culture adopts the traits of another culture because of their exposure to it. Westernization, for example, is one clear form of this, as the western way of living –things like industry, technology, law, politics, economics, lifestyle, diet, language– spread from America and Europe into Eastern societies.
Globalization and the Tower of Babel
I think it is safe to say that human depravity and it’s outward manifestation of evil flourishes most in large cities, in the larger concentrations of population. This isn’t the case every time without exception, but with the concentration of a large population in one location, the influence and opportunity for evil is greatly multiplied. Add to this the prosperity provided by living in [a] location where work is plentiful, and there is soon little to restrain any and all outward manifestations of [a] sinful nature.
I think one aspect of the sin of the city of Babel was the fact that they were determined to all live in [one] location; one giant city, with one common culture. Forming one such culture, while rejecting the command to ‘be fruitful and multiply (spreading the knowledge and worship of G-d), would lead to such an abundant of sinfulness, that ‘nothing that they propose (sinfully) will be impossible’.
The City of Babel = The City of this World
If you haven’t noticed, in our day, the world is rapidly unifying in culture. One thing emphasized in the textbook that I studied was the unfortunate downside of all our technological advances in this day. It is unfortunate because pretty soon, anthropology, the study of social customs and human behavior, will will no longer have much to study given that we’re all becoming exactly alike! There won’t be any primitive tribes and their customs, or relatively unknown clans and their unique preferences of food; the entire world will be the same all over, and pretty soon we’ll find no group of people living out of reach of a local McDonalds.
This globalization started on a large scale with worldwide mail and the telephone, where we could almost instantly communicate with others all the way across the globe. Next it was air-travel, opening up global travel in a way like never before. Now, with the internet and 24hr news stations, we are experiencing a globalization at a growth rate unprecedented in all of human history (except, maybe, in the case of Babel). To put it simply: there is a breaking down of cultural distinct[ions], and we are rapidly moving toward a one-world, one-city, largely one culture society. We are becoming, quite frankly, a modern-day, worldwide, Tower of Babel.
Conclusion
[...] Simply put, I think the western influence on culture is largely a good thing. There are many aspects of globalization that are very good.... But, what I fear, and what I thought about while watching this video, is how this movement toward one-culture (notice that China will soon become the number [one] English speaking country in the world) will indeed multiply sin and the opportunity of sin on the earth. With the growth of the population, and the spread of information made possible by the internet and other media, there will be no shelter from all forms of wickedness for even the most remotest of people on the earth. Indeed, though the internet has been a great means of spreading [good], the accessibility of evil it has provided is enough to make any [person, parent] shudder.
Indeed, one unfortunate downside to our technology is the fact that “this is only the beginning of what WE will do. And nothing that WE propose to do will now be impossible“.
ADDENDA:
Was the Tower of Babel a Nuclear Powered Spaceship?
"And it came to pass when they traveled from the east, that they found a valley in the land of Shinar and settled there." (Gen. 11:2)
[...] Acording to Rabbi Eliezer Ben David ... they did not find a valley, a Bik'a; but rather they found a Bik'ia... The Hebrew word Bik'ia also means nuclear fission. Both the Torah text and our Sages commentaries seem to imply that the ancient technology ... later discovered by the Builders of Babel was nothing other than the secrets of nuclear technology... this might not be so wild and unnbelievable as we might initially think." Read on here
10 November 2009
Before Persia there was Egypt
Jewish genealogy traces Jews from Adam HaRishon to: fast-forward to Egypt, where they lived the Passover story. When the Jews were led out of Mitzrayim by Moses, others came along. Fast-forward to:
LONDON – MI6, Britain's Secret Intelligence Service, has established that the greatest living Holocaust denier, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, comes from a Jewish family whose genetic line stretches back hundreds of years and whose members came to Iran when Cyrus the Great liberated them from slavery in Babylon in 593 BC, according to a report from Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin.
The man who has spent his years in power calling for Israel to be wiped off the face of the earth has managed to keep totally secret his family history until now.
Family members worshipped at the synagogue in Aradan, a small country town where they were known as "Sabourjian" – a Jewish surname meaning cloth weaver.
The 52-year-old Iranian president was born in a small house above the family cloth-weaving workshop where he was introduced to the tenets of the faith. They baked their bread for Sabbath, and celebrated all the Jewish festivals.
By the age of four his friends were children of a mixture of Hassadin, Orthodox and Marmos Jews. Like his friends he was circumcised.
Keep in touch with the most important breaking news stories about critical developments around the globe with Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin, the premium, online intelligence news source edited and published by the founder of WND.
Since Ahmadinejad came to power he has taken extraordinary steps to hide his background as he shocked the world with his calls for Israel to be destroyed.
Some intelligence analysts have said that his determination to build nuclear weapons is rooted in his wish to hide the truth about his ancestry.
MI6 has discovered that Iran's ruthless Revolutionary Guards have posted their own agents in Aradan. Members of the family have been moved to an undisclosed area in Iran, said an MI6 source.
Full article at WorldNetDaily.
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