Happy birthday to Jesus of Nazareth, Mithra of Persia, Attis of Phrygia, Horus, Osiris, Krishna, Heracles, Dionysus, Tammuz, Adonis, Hermes, Bacchus, Prometheus and solar messiahs that were BORN on on December 25th
Happy Bday!
A series of news stories were published based upon a report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, (OECD), that showed that the United States spent the most on healthcare, yet was not doing well when compared to other wealthy nations in several key areas of health measurements.
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development issued a report on December 8, 2009 called the “OECD Health Data 2009: Statistics and Indicators for 30 Countries” which included a detailed study on the US healthcare system. The portion of the report specific to the US called, “OECD Health Data 2009, How Does the United States Compare”, has with it some telling statistics about the US healthcare system and the results we get for the money spent.
Some of the interesting facts uncovered by the report are the following:
The United States ranks far ahead of other OECD countries in terms of total health spending per capita, with spending of $7,290 . That represents almost two-and-a-half times greater than the other nations average of $2,964 in 2007. The next closest nation is Norway which follows, with spending of $4,763 per capita, followed by Switzerland with spending of $4,417 per capita.
The US spends 16% of its Gross Domestic Product on healthcare, compared with France, Switzerland and Germany, which allocated 11.0%, 10.8% and 10.4% of their GDP to health respectively.
The US pays a smaller portion of the health care bill from public funding than other nations. Only 45% of healthcare expenses are paid by public funds which is a much smaller amount compared to an average of 73% for other OECD nations.
Infant mortality in the US is at 6.7 deaths per 1,000 live births which is well above the average of 3.9 per 1,000 live births.
Life expectancy at birth in the U.S. was 78.1 years in 2007 which is a year less than the OECD average of 79.1, and puts the U.S. just ahead of the Czech Republic, Poland and Mexico. Norway and Switzerland have a 2 to 4 year longer life expectancy over the US.
The study also noted that drug spending has increased everywhere with the US leading the way. According to the report, per capita spending on pharmaceuticals rose by almost 50 percent over the last 10 years in OECD countries, reaching a total of $650 billion in 2007. The U.S. was the world’s biggest spender on pharmaceuticals, spending $878 per person, with Canada next at $691 per person and the OECD average at $461.
NPR reported today that the recession may be benefiting the environment. The International Energy Agency said greenhouse gas emissions have fallen sharply this year, mostly because of the downturn. This decline has been the steepest for almost half century. Most of the plunge is due to falling factory output. Delays in building new coal-fired power stations have also played a part.
The concern could be that once the recession is over, once we start to see economics pick up again, then we’re going to see emissions going up again.
The IEA says that for the first time, government moves to curb emissions in Europe, the U.S. and China are taking effect. They account for 25 percent of the fall in CO2.
While some amuse at the benefits of the downturn in bringing the CO2 emissions down for now, one can’t help but wonder what the ‘harmful’ impacts on the environment are.
Less buying power equals less production, less waist and more conserving of resources. However, people and industries strapped for cash may find ways to be more economical by disposing of waste in ways that are harmful to the environment or by extracting and harnessing natural resources without taking measures to counter the negative effects of such use.
Laws on pollution, the use of chemicals, clean air and clean water laws may be challenged by companies trying to improve their bottom line.
Finally, once the economy starts to improve, one would expect even a faster rate of green house gas production as the gears of industry start moving, moving faster to compensate for lost time, perhaps abusing natural resources at an accelerated rates as both industries and governments overlook the environment in their fixation at an economic rebound.
The recession will likely harm the environment not benefit it — if people and governments allow it.
I was fortunate enough to have grown up eating home made wholesome meals that my grandmother cooked. I have, however, had my share of fast food.
I ate burgers from every fast food chain that I can think of, not to mention the french fries, smoothies, hot dogs, fish or chicken sandwiches, tacos, just name a (pre-2007) fast food and I probably have eaten it.
After moving out of my college dorm, I lived on cheap hamburgers and other fast food diets for a couple months. I clearly noticed how my health declined, how I gained weight and had cravings often. I got sick, so I purchased the college meal plan. I didn’t get that plan because I was a smart kid, as I just said I did get sick. I give total credit to my doctor who advised me to eat at the cafeteria for a while until my health improved, so I did. I loved that decision; going to the campus cafeteria was often a relaxing and nutritional daily venture. I kept eating there until I graduated.
Had I seen this picture and had I known what I know now about fast food, I would have likely purchased that meal plan right away, without getting sick, without the doctor having to suggest it.
I am not comparing McDonalds to BurgerKing or DQ or …anything else. I put them all in the same bucket. Well, just imagine a KFC family meal bucket, close your eyes and reach in, grab the first greasy thing you touch, whatever you get, you would have gotten that same from any other fast food joint. I mean, you get bad food. Now that we established that ‘all’ fast food is the same, i.e. ‘bad for you’, you will love this one:
This lady has saved a McDonald’s hamburger from the year 1996. The 1996 McDonald’s hamburger is on the left side of the picture. A 2008 McDonald’s hamburger is on the right side. Do you notice anything strange about the picture? If you said that the 1996 burger looks quite preserved to be 12 years old at the time the picture was taken, then you win — sorry, no-prize!
If you eat home made food, or even restaurant food, you know that if you don’t eat something eventually it goes bad. We are all familiar with mold in all its colors and varieties. Then, how come this burger doesn’t go bad? Isn’t food supposed to go bad?
Had this food been natural, or nutritional, you’d expect to see so much mold, in fact we’d have a bona fide eco-system thriving on that burger.
I teach a workshop titled Healthy Choices for Children. It’s a class for parents seeking solutions to how to improve the way they eat. It’s about the alternative food market, organics, and the top ten food additives to avoid and why, menu planning and more. It’s a 3 session fabulously informative interactive class.
Below is my absolutely favorite prop.
People are always astounded when I share this.
I have used this as show and tell for a very long time.
Are corporations persons? Are they normal persons, do they get sick, die, go to jail, have emotions and human rights? Let’s see.
I will not say much here, I am quoting a few sources below.
Read this and make up your own mind. Are corporations normal persons or super-powered immortal multi-locational persons?
In 1886 the Supreme Court, in the case of Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad, was interpreted to have ruled that corporations were “persons”—before women were considered persons under the 19th amendment to have the right to vote.
Ever since, corporations have enjoyed most of the same constitutional rights granted to real people.
But corporations are not humans. They don’t vote. They don’t have children. They don’t die in Iraq.
The people who work for the corporations are of course real people, but the corporate “entity” should never be given equal constitutional rights to real human beings.
Even Business Week magazine, in a 2000 editorial, declared that “corporations should get out of politics.”
We cannot have equal justice under law between real people and corporations like Exxon Mobil.
Multinational corporations can be in 1000 places around the world at the same time obstructing governments, states, buying and renting politicians, and going to Washington to get bailed out by taxpayers.
Congress did not legislate corporate personhood. The courts performed this jolting display of runaway activism all by themselves.
The courts destroyed the semblance of equal protection under law because there is no way even an individual billionaire can approximate the raw power of these large corporations with their privileged immunities, and their control over technology, capital and labor.
The sovereignty of the people is subordinated to the sovereignty of the giant multinational corporations.
But the constitution still reads, “we the people”, not we the corporations.
Corporations were chartered in the early nineteenth century by state governments to be our servants, not our masters.
They are now our masters.
Time to restore the supremacy of real people.
A few days ago I wrote an article where I mentioned how I’ve been hearing more suicide news recently. Yesterday and today, it seems most the suicide news in the media is about Fort Campbell. Here you will see snippets from three recent news articles on this topic:
Fort Campbell holds ’suicide stand-down’
FORT CAMPBELL, Ky., May 27 (UPI) — Fort Campbell, Ky., home to the U.S. 101st Airborne, began a three-day ’suicide stand-down’ Wednesday after 11 soldiers took their own lives this year.
The “training event” is the second one in 2009, CNN reported. It began with a speech from Brig. Gen. Stephen Townsend to all the enlisted men and officers in the division, Kelly Tyler, a spokeswoman said.
With 64 suicides so far in 2009, the U.S. Army appears likely to pass the record of 133 reported last year. There were 115 suicides in 2007, the highest number since the Defense Department began tracking military suicides in 1980
Source: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2009/05/27/Fort-Campbell-holds-suicide-stand-down/UPI-73121243453994/
Despite prevention efforts, soldier suicides at Fort Campbell continue to rise
By Associated Press
3:03 AM CDT, May 27, 2009
FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. (AP) — Despite previous efforts to stop suicides, the number of Fort Campbell soldiers who have killed themselves has continued to increase.
Fort Campbell leaders have ordered the entire installation to stand down for three days starting Wednesday in response to the 14 suspected suicides since Jan. 1, including two this month.
The installation participated in an Army-wide suicide prevention campaign in March that included training soldiers and commanders to look for signs of stress and depression.
Source: http://www.whnt.com/news/sns-ap-tn–fortcampbellsuicides,0,6850567.story
Families Affected by Suicide Feel Sting on Memorial Day
Mary Clare Lindberg’s son, Army Sgt. Benjamin Jon Miller, was home in Minnesota on leave from Iraq in June when he shot and killed himself
In March, Lindberg made a pilgrimage to Fort Campbell, Ky., to visit the post where her son served with the 101st Airborne Division. While it was comforting to meet with the soldiers with whom her son had served, Lindberg was upset when she saw the unit memorial. The names of two soldiers from her son’s brigade who were killed in combat were on the memorial, but Ben Miller’s name was not.
“Because my son was a suicide home on leave, his name was not on the memorial wall at Fort Campbell, and that’s just not right,” said Lindberg, who said her son was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder from his experiences in Iraq.
Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/24/AR2009052402142.html?hpid=topnews
I’ve been hearing suicide mentioned often in the news recently so I thought I grab a few recent news articles and compile them here.
Suicide Headlines:
Missing soldier from Fairfield commits suicide in Santa Cruz
SANTA CRUZ — An AWOL soldier committed suicide in a car parked at an ocean overlook on Friday afternoon, three days after he was reported missing from Fort Carson in Colorado.
U.S. Army officials had issued alerts asking for the public’s help in finding Pfc. Roy Brooks Mason Jr., a decorated Iraq War veteran whose hometown is Fairfield, but had no luck finding the 28-year-old.
“We knew that he was missing and we were looking for him,” said Fort Carson spokeswoman Brandy Gill. “We were concerned for him.”
Source: http://www.mercurynews.com/crime/ci_12432747
Post sees second suicide in 2 weeks
The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office confirmed Thursday that a Fort Campbell soldier committed suicide Monday night on Dean Road, the second suspected suicide this month by a soldier.
MCSO spokesman Ted Denny did not identify the soldier, saying MCSO policy prohibits release of details about suicides. Fort Campbell said the cause of the soldier’s death is under investigation.
According to 911 records, a call was made just before 8:40 p.m. Monday night to dispatchers indicating a suicide in the 600 block of Dean Road.
Source: http://www.theleafchronicle.com/article/20090522/NEWS01/905220344
Triple killing a double murder-suicide
Authorities: Man killed wife and son before turning gun on himself
Neighbors in The Cedars neighborhood describe Billy and Jolyne Hardy as the typical all-American family.
Billy worked two jobs to provide for his wife and 3-year-old son, and Jolyne, who also held a full-time job, often was seen outside playing with the child, Bryce, and working in the yard.
“Anyone who knows Billy can tell you he was a hard worker and he loved his family,” said Reginald Autrey, neighbor and close friend of the couple. “They were nice people and always have been.”
Source: http://www.shreveporttimes.com/article/20090506/NEWS03/905060325/1002/NEWS
Dad sent a suicide text before killing his family
Adrian Dunne sent a suicide note via text message before killing his wife, two young daughters and then himself.
The misspelled message told exactly what was going to happen. “Ciara and Aidran are so very sorry. We nott going to Livepol. Instad we pick heaven. Please forgive”. (sic)
According to a new report released by the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD), happiness levels are highest in northern European countries.
Denmark, Finland and the Netherlands rated at the top of the list.
Outside of Europe, New Zealand and Canada also made the top 10. The U.S. did not.
The U.S. ranked the highest for child poverty and obesity among the western nations polled.
Other Very Interesting Findings include:
Adult height: Americans are not getting taller. The United States is the only country in the OECD where men and women aged 45-49 are no taller than those aged 20-24 years old, indicating no improvement in health and social conditions determining gains in height.
Health care: The United States spends the most per capita on health care, but despite their high levels of health spending the Unites States has relatively low life expectancy.
Net National Income: The United States is one of the richest countries in the OECD. In 2006, the United States had a per capita National Net Income in excess of USD 35 000. Only Luxembourg and Norway were higher.
Fertility: The United States has a much higher fertility rate than most other OECD countries of 2.1 children per mother, compared to an OECD average of 1.65.
Child poverty: Child poverty has fallen since the mid-1990s but one in five US children still live in poverty, a rate exceeded only in Poland, Mexico, and Turkey
Social protection: The United States is the fourth lowest in the OECD in terms of income shares of public social spending. However, when tax breaks for social purposes and private social spending are also considered, social spending in the United States rises above the OECD average of 28% to 31% of income.
Eating time: Americans spend around an hour and a quarter eating every day, slightly more than only Canadians and Mexicans but less than half the eating time spent by the French. Despite this limited time spent eating, their obesity rates are the highest in the OECD.
Leisure time of men and women: American men have nearly 40 minutes more leisure time than women per day.
Find the report here: http://www.oecd.org/document/24/0,3343,en_2649_34637_2671576_1_1_1_1,00.html
Let me ask you,
We may make more money per capita in the US but we spend most of it on health insurance and other ‘fees’ – These are what I call hidden taxes.
These hidden taxes go to corporations not to benefit other citizens; they suck money up the ranks to make the rich richer, making huge profits and paying CEO’s millions of dollars that are basically denied health care reimbursements to you.. In other words, money from your pocket to theirs.
Taxes are used by governments (i.e. we the people) to benefit the population at large, these fees are simply how some corporations (after lobbying congress) dip their hands in your pockets and ’steal’ your money.
I was very excited when I read a news article on March, 12 2009 about a new battery technology developed at MIT. Basically, these new battery cells can charge up very very quickly.
The EV1
This technology enhances Lithium Ion energy storage and speeds up charging to just a few seconds. The news was released in a letter written by Byoungwoo Kang and Gerbrand Ceder of MIT. The letter described their work on enhancing lithium iron phosphate electrodes. The letter was published in Nature.
With li-ion batteries it normally takes hours to fully charge. This new technology means that EVs (Electric Vehicles) that take all night to fully charge can now fully charge in only one hour. Further, cell phones could be charged in a few minutes.
Apparently charging this fast requires high levels of power that could require wiring changes at homes.
I was thinking WOOHA! Now we will finally have Electric Vehicles, they can no longer claim that battery technology is not good enough for 100% Electric Vehicles. But, it seems I might be wrong.
Later on, I found that batteries that can fully charge in a few minutes are not really news, they’ve been around for a while and have been used in EVs that are allegedly nearing commercial usage.
left: EV1 and right: Toyota RAV4-EV
A friend of mine that knows much more about Electric Vehicles (and has converted a few EVs) wasn’t so excited by the news when I told him. He said this was not the first time such good battery technology was developed. He doubts that this technology will ever make it to commercial use. Similar to the other battery technologies, he expects this one to never see the light of day and to be bought out and shelved. Sadly, I tend to agree with his opinion.
MIT claims that Kang and Ceder’s technology has already been licensed by two companies.
I guess, time will be the judge. Will this technology revolutionize everything that uses batteries? How long should we wait for an answer? Say a couple years before the streets are filled with EVs?
I hope so… But I seriously doubt it.
Shelved "Crushed" EV1 Vehicles
Here we go again with another food recall. On Tue Mar 31, 2009 a California pistachio processor issued a nationwide voluntary recall due to potential salmonella contamination.
Thus far, several illnesses have been reported by consumers that may be associated with the pistachios, the FDA said.
The pistachios are roasted and tested for quality, it is believed the cross-contamination occurred at the processing / packaging plan.
The FDA is advising consumers avoid all pistachio products
The last food recall due to salmonella contamination outbreak was with peanuts and peanut butter that has sickened more than 690 people in 46 states. The company in the news then was Peanut Corp. of America, the company behind the current outbreak is Setton.
Both Setton and Peanut Corp. of America are bulk provider of nuts to food manufacturers and wholesalers. That means that the contaminated pistachios could have ended up in a variety of processed foods, including ice cream, cookies, candies and trail mix.
I try to purchase and consume (i.e support) organic and small farm products when I can, I do not support large scale commercial factory farming and food processing.
When are we going to learn than small farms and smaller food manufacturers will provide better quality and be more socially and environmentally friendly?
News articles:
http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=103267
http://cancer.about.com/b/2009/04/01/fda-issues-pistachio-warning.htm
http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssFoodDistribution%20&%20Convenience%20Stores/idUSN3139386420090331
http://www.oregonlive.com/business/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/business/1238034318314750.xml&coll=7
An Oxygen Poll Reveals Young Women’s Conflict Between Inner And Outer Beauty
On March 24, 2009, Oxygen Media released a study, conducted by TNS, into the minds of women (18-34) and their personal relationship to outer beauty versus inner beauty.
The study interviewed more than 2,000 women. The study covered five themes in women’s lives – appearance, fame & fortune, friendships, relationships and current events/finance.
Here are some of the results that I found interesting:
Nearly 25% of women would rather win “America’s Next Top Model” than the Nobel Peace Prize.
88% of women would give up their cell phone, jewelry and makeup to keep a friendship.
26% of women said they would make their best friend fat for life, if it meant they could be thin.
22% of W18-24 who consider themselves attractive would rather lose the ability to read than lose their figure.
91% of W18-34 would rather live a long life and lose their looks than die young and beautiful
41% of W18-34 would be okay knowing they were chosen for a job on looks alone
50% W18-24 would marry an ugly man if he were a multimillionaire
78% of W18-24 think Cybersex is cheating,
80% of W18-34 think it’s cheating
66% of W18-24 values their hairstylists over their tax accountant, 70% of W 18-34 say their hairstylist is more important
Garlic, Good or Bad?
I came across this today, does anyone out there have more info on this?
From GARLIC – TOXIC SHOCK! Reprinted from Nexus Magazine, Feb/Mar 2001. Source: From a lecture by physicist Dr. Robert C Beck, DSc, given at the Whole Life Expo, Seattle, WA, USA, in March 1996.
The reason garlic is so toxic, the sulphone hydroxyl ion penetrates the blood-brain barrier, just like DMSO [a sulfoxide], and is a specific poison for higher-life forms and brain cells. We discovered this, much to our horror, when I (Bob Beck, DSc) was the world’s largest manufacturer of ethical EEG [electroencephalography] feedback equipment.
We’d have people come back from lunch that looked clinically dead on an encephalograph, which we used to calibrate their progress. “Well, what happened?” “Well, I went to an Italian restaurant and there was some garlic in my salad dressing!” So we had them sign things that they wouldn’t touch garlic before classes or we were wasting their time, their money and my time.
I guess some of you … are pilots or have been in flight tests… I was in flight test engineering in Doc Hallan’s group in the 1950s. The flight surgeon would come around every month and remind all of us: “Don’t you dare touch any garlic 72 hours before you fly one of our airplanes, because it’ll double or triple your reaction time. You’re three times slower than you would be if you’d not had a few drops of garlic.”
Well, we didn’t know why for 20 years later, until I owned the Alpha-Metrics Corporation. We were building biofeedback equipment and found out that garlic usually desynchronises your brain waves.
In the last few hours, with unusual speed, the Vatican has condemned Obama’s Jan. 23 repeal of the ban on U.S. funding for foreign family planning aid groups who support abortion services. This rule was first enforced under Regan, then Clinton repealed it only for Bush to reinstate it, now Obama is repealing this rule again.
This rule basically says that US funds will not be given to any international organization or any non profits that support the full scale of family planning that includes abortion, this rule tells other countries how to handle their own people’s family planning and removes funding from any groups that select to support abortion. As a result most the money goes to groups that are religious or teach abstenance and the money does not go to all the rest of the mainstream and sensible groups that offer a full range of family planning but just happen to support abortions as a womans choice.
It is “the arrogance of someone who believes they are right, in signing a decree which will open the door to abortion and thus to the destruction of human life,” Archbishop Rino Fisichella was quoted as saying by the Corriere della Sera daily.
To you, Vatican and Archbishop I say Shame On You!
Our creed in the US is the constitution. The real arrogance is for the US to think that we have the right to tell other nations how to do their family planning based on our own religious views. We in the US have a separation between church and state. Neither you nor anyone really knows when ‘life’ starts in a human being. Under our constitution we have the right for privacy, women deserve the right to make their choice.
To you Vatican I say, stay out of our union
To those of you who advocate abstinence and are anti abortion I say please stop the hypocrisy. If you want to avoid abortions then teach family planning and improve sex education, do not go after a dream called abstinence because no one is abstinent, face reality, wake up! People who only use abstinence for family planning end up being ignorant, and ignorance leads to unwanted pregnancies. Want to reduce abortions then teach people how to use condoms and support sex education.
Further, how come you say that you care so much about “kill babies” but once these same “babies” are born you don’t care if they get health care or if they live in poverty? Shame on You!!
To Obama I say, Kudos! Thank you for restoring the power to our constitution!
Recent news article
Senior Vatican figures criticise Obama
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/world/2009/0126/1232923365952.html
The Vatican Slams Obama Over Abortion
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1873904,00.html
I don’t think that ADD is a disorder nor a disease. I know many parents may disagree with me, however I believe that I’ve 
done enough research to reach this conclusion.
I started a discussion thread here. Feel free to join the discussion and contribute your opinions/experiences.
I know a few that agree that ADD is not a disorder or a disease, one example that comes to mind is Thom Hartman an author on the subject of ADD/ADHD.
I strongly oppose drugging children that are diagnosed with ADD or ADHD, If I had kids I won’t let them go on “medication” to treat this “disorder”.
Mood altering drugs, in my opinion, are not medications, and ADD is not a disorder, simply a personality type.
I am proposing renaming Christmas and calling it Shopathon because that is all what people do in preparation for xmas, they shop. Everybody agrees that Christmas has been highly commercialized in the U.S. Many say that it has lost its true meaning of celebrating Jesus’ birthday. I agree than Christmas has lost its meaning, the lost meaning is what I will debate here.
Christmas in the US and most the western Christian tradition does not fall on the correct date of Jesus’ birthday, so what are WE really celebrating? Are we celebrating a lie?
The fact is, no one knows for sure when Jesus was born. So where did Christmas come from? It is believed Jesus was born in the Spring, then why is Christmas in the Winter season?
Winter Celebrations
Why then does Christmas fall on Dec 25? Well, when Christianity spread in lands that practiced paganism, naturally pagan practices and traditions were not appreciated by christian leaders. Winter celebrations were major traditions that pagans would not abandon. They had to be re-named and adopted by the, then new religion, Christianity.
Winter Solstice falls on Dec 25th and was one major pagan holiday celebration.
Dies Natalis Solis Invicti means “the birthday of the unconquered Sun.” The use of the title Sol Invictus allowed several solar deities to be worshipped collectively, including Elah-Gabal, a Syrian sun god; Sol, the god of Emperor Aurelian; and Mithras, a soldiers’ god of Persian origin. Emperor Elagabalus introduced the festival, and it reached the height of its popularity under Aurelian, who promoted it as an empire-wide holiday. This day had held no significance in the Roman festive calendar until it was introduced in the third century.
The festival was placed on the date of the solstice because this was on this day that the Sun reversed its southward retreat and proved itself to be “unconquered.” Several early Christian writers connected the rebirth of the sun to the birth of Jesus. “O, how wonderfully acted Providence that on that day on which that Sun was born
From Wikipedia
You are probably seeing where this is going now. Rather than abolish these traditions they were allowed to remain only after re-purposing and re-branding them into a Christian tradition.
Winter festivals were common in ancient times due to less agricultural work, expectations of better weather in the summer and the celebration of the rebirth of the sun as the sun lasted longer in the sky (a countdown to summer).
The Roman Pagans
Roman pagans celebrated the holiday of Saturnalia. This was a week-long period of lawlessness celebrated between December 17-25. During this period, Roman courts were closed, and Roman law dictated that no one could be punished for damaging property or injuring people during the week-long celebration. This holiday featured some ‘bad’ behavior to say the least like drinking to get drunk, sexual indulgence, singing naked in the streets (later morphing into the modern caroling).
In what seems to be even more horrible, each Roman community selected a victim. This person was forced to indulge in food and other physical pleasures throughout the week. On December 25th (the festival’s last day), this person was brutally murdered. Roman authorities believed they were destroying the forces of darkness by doing so.
Saturnalia festival was a major festival that pagans would not abandon. In order to convert pagans to Christianity it was decided to adopt the Sturnalia festival. As a result a large numbers of pagans became Christian after being promised to be allowed to continue celebrating the Saturnalia festival.
Since there was no significance to that date of the year, Christian leaders named Saturnalia’s concluding day, December 25th, to be Jesus’ birthday replacing the original festival’s concluding day
The Scandinavian Pagans
Pagan Scandinavians celebrated a winter festival called Yule, held in the late December to early January period. As Northern Europe was the last part to Christianize, its pagan traditions had a major influence on Christmas. Scandinavians still call Christmas Jul. In English, the word Yule is synonymous with Christmas.
You see? We are not celebrating the real Christmas (Jesus’ b’day) on Dec 25.
Winter Festivals were very common! Here are but a few examples:
Brazilians
Brazilian archeologists have found an assembly of 127 granite blocks arranged equidistant from each other. They apparently form an ancient astronomical observatory. One of the stones marked the position of the sun at the time of the winter solstice and were probably used in religious rituals.
Egyptians
The god-man/savior Osiris died and was entombed on DEC-21. “At midnight, the priests emerged from an inner shrine crying ‘The Virgin has brought forth! The light is waxing” and showing the image of a baby to the worshipers.”
Greek
The winter solstice ritual was called Lenaea, the Festival of the Wild Women. In very ancient times, a man representing the harvest god Dionysos was torn to pieces and eaten by a gang of women on this day. Later in the ritual, Dionysos would be reborn as a baby. By classical times, the human sacrifice had been replaced by the killing of a goat. The women’s role had changed to that of funeral mourners and observers of the birth.
It is my opinion that not enough research has been done, and that financial interests have placed obstacles to hinder honest scientific research into wifi and cell phone signals and their effects on living tissue and humans. I came across this article today. You also may want to checkout this article to find nearby wireless antennas
The Original Article Below was Written by Geoffrey Lean – The Independent UK on Sunday 09 September 2007
People should avoid using Wi-Fi wherever possible because of the risks it may pose to health, the German government has said.
Its surprise ruling – the most damning made by any government on the fast-growing technology – will shake the industry and British ministers, and vindicates the questions that The Independent on Sunday has been raising over the past four months.
And Germany’s official radiation protection body also advises its citizens to use landlines instead of mobile phones, and warns of “electrosmog” from a wide range of other everyday products, from baby monitors to electric blankets.
The German government’s ruling – which contrasts sharply with the unquestioning promotion of the technology by British officials – was made in response to a series of questions by Green members of the Bundestag, Germany’s parliament.
The Environment Ministry recommended that people should keep their exposure to radiation from Wi-Fi “as low as possible” by choosing “conventional wired connections”. It added that it is “actively informing people about possibilities for reducing personal exposure”.
Its actions will provide vital support for Sir William Stewart, Britain’s official health protection watchdog, who has produced two reports calling for caution in using mobile phones and who has also called for a review of the use of Wi-Fi in schools. His warnings have so far been ignored by ministers and even played down by the Health Protection Agency, which he chairs.
By contrast the agency’s German equivalent – the Federal Office for Radiation Protection – is leading the calls for caution.
Florian Emrich, for the office, says Wi-Fi should be avoided “because people receive exposures from many sources and because it is a new technology and all the research into its health effects has not yet been carried out”.
I find this quote loaded with potential for thought. Please take some time and enjoy thinking about this quote:
It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.
J. Krishnamurti
The following brands contain high levels of toxic lead in them: L’Oreal Colour Riche “True Red,” L’Oreal Colour Riche “Classic Wine”, Cover Girl Incredifull Lipcolor “Maximum Red” and Dior Addict “Positive Red.”
L’Oreal had the highest lead results in the samples tested by a consumer advocacy group. You should be upset at L’Oreal, Cover Girl, Dior and other cosmetic companies, also at the FDA for not monitoring the substances that we use (and ingest) more carefully, and ultimately for corporations caring more about profit than the health of their consumers.
We live in a “Consumers, be Aware” world. But, how could we have known that lead existed in a product if lead isn’t listed as an ingredient? Consumers should always be cautious, but how could they make decisions if they are being deceived when information such as lead levels are not disclosed?
I came across a website today that uses Google maps and allows you to search for all the near by cellular, paging, microwaves and other antennas and towers.
Cell Tower
If you have any concerns about EMF, radio waves, micro waves, wifi, cell phone signals etc, take a look at this site to know what exists right in your back yard. I found 40+ towers and 300+ antennas in my 4 mile radius environment.
I highly recommend this website, it’s very eye opening. The site will show you existing registered and non registered towers along with future towers and other antennas. Not all towers are created equal nor are all types of wireless signals. This website just gives you a broad idea on what’s out there. If nothing else, you can have some fun using the tower and antenna maps, and perhaps try to go and find these towers and antennas once you’ve located them on the Google map.
Humanity is Devolving! … Not something you’re used to hearing friends talk about? A controversial issue? You bet.
I’ve been saying that humanity has been devolving, for a few years now.. It is my opinion that the human race has been experiencing reverse evolution.
Many experience devolution as they move from childhood into manhood or womanhood and into the world that we live in (and get blinded and dumbed-down by).
In this article I show you how to protect yourself from devolving.
Monsters and Magical Sticks: Or, There’s No Such Thing As Hypnosis by Steven Heller
Meditation For Dummies (Book and CD edition) by Stephan Bodian
Essential Buddhism: A Complete Guide to Beliefs and Practices by Jack Maguire
Relearning to See: Improve Your Eyesight — Naturally! by Thomas R. Quackenbush
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