All posts by nedhamson

Activist, writer, researcher, addicted to sharing information and facts.

What about Noah’s wife, and languages for empathy

Context, Thought, and Learning: ShiraDest Offers Project Do Better

This week’s Torah portion, called a Parashah, is the 2nd portion of the cycle, Parashat Noach and reminded me of a story I wrote, in a couple of different versions, a few years ago based on a question about some of those who stayed behind, in the Great Flood story. This image, btw, is an Islamic image of Noah’s Ark, which I found interesting.

Waves lapped at her breasts, the cold water raising goose bumps on her clammy chilled flesh. The matron shivered, lifting her head, drawing a deep breath from her belly, and pushing the words out with her diaphragm:

“Soon and very soon

we are going to see the King”

the others joined in, linking arms,

“Soon and very soon

we are going to see the King”

Was she seeing that right?

“What are they doing singing?!” tears stung her face as Naamah bellowed

“Get them in…

View original post 625 more words

Oil Spill in California- Bad for the Wildlife and the Environment

FunWritings

As minutes and days go by oil might seep into wetlands after the sea birds are covered with oil

The impacts of these oil spills have increased even though there are many worker who toil

It is heartbreaking to see the damage that is done after oil is released because the pipelines laid on the sea floor started leaking

You would believe these pipelines would be monitored and no anchor would damage them, but maybe after a while people stopped thinking

No one is able to tell when the water here will be clean again, the pollution was terrible

When beaches are destroyed, no one can go there and enjoy themselves, life for many is no longer incredible

The production of clean energy should be getting all our attention

We should be making more electric cars and looking forward to seeing other inventions

Photo by Mike on Pexels.com

More of…

View original post 161 more words

What you need to know about growing pomegranates in your garden – San Gabriel Valley Tribune

Pomegranate tree Punica granatum in bloom. (Photo credit: Joshua Siskin)

In a seminal 2010 study on the potential benefits of pomegranates in the prevention of breast cancer, the following conclusion was reached: “Pomegranate intake may be a viable strategy for the chemoprevention of breast cancer.” Specifically, pomegranate consumption inhibits the activity of aromatase, the enzyme that produces estrogen and its associated breast cancer cells, especially in post-menopausal women.

The conclusion of another 2009 peer-reviewed article about nutrition and cancer that addressed the cancer-prevention potential of pomegranates was more far-reaching: “Recent research has shown that pomegranate extracts selectively inhibit the growth of breast, prostate, colon and lung cancer cells in culture. In preclinical animal studies, oral consumption of pomegranate extract inhibited growth of lung, skin, colon and prostate tumors.”

The pomegranate is native to the Middle East. It is one of five fruits (along with grape, fig, olive, and date) indigenous to the Land of Israel that are mentioned in the Bible. Thus its ability to survive drought is embedded in its DNA, as years of drought in the Middle East are as common as they are in California.

Yet just because a plant species can survive a drought does not mean it will thrive with a minimum of irrigation following a dry winter. Where pomegranates are concerned, for example, the same water regime for growing citrus trees is recommended. That means a pomegranate tree should be deep soaked every 10 to 20 days during the summer, depending on how hot it gets. You can do this by moving a slowly trickling hose around the drip line or canopy circumference line, where water drips off foliage when it rains.

Source: What you need to know about growing pomegranates in your garden – San Gabriel Valley Tribune

New data suggests Canada’s ‘gamble’ on delaying, mixing and matching COVID-19 vaccines paid off | CBC News

New Canadian data suggests the bold strategy to delay and mix second doses of COVID-19 vaccines led to strong protection from infection, hospitalization and death — even against the highly contagious delta variant — that could provide lessons for the world.

Preliminary data from researchers at the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) and the Quebec National Institute of Public Health (INSPQ) shows the decision to vaccinate more Canadians sooner by delaying second shots by up to four months saved lives.

The researchers excluded long-term care residents from the data, who are generally at increased risk of hospitalization and death from COVID-19, in order to get a better sense of vaccine effectiveness in the general population — and the results were exceptional.

The analysis of close to 250,000 people in B.C. from May 30 to Sept. 11 found two doses of any of the three available COVID-19 vaccines in Canada were close to 95 per cent effective against hospitalization — regardless of the approved vaccination combination.

Source: New data suggests Canada’s ‘gamble’ on delaying, mixing and matching COVID-19 vaccines paid off | CBC News

Taliban say they will not cooperate with US to contain IS extremists | Afghanistan | The Guardian (Me: Misleading headlines give air to fear)

“We are able to tackle Daesh independently,” Shaheen said, when asked whether the Taliban would work with the US to contain the IS affiliate. He used an Arabic acronym for IS.
IS has carried out relentless assaults on the country’s minority Shia population since emerging in eastern Afghanistan in 2014.  Source: Taliban say they will not cooperate with US to contain IS extremists | Afghanistan | The Guardian

Lebanon hit by electricity outage expected to last several days | Lebanon | The Guardian

Lebanon has no electricity after the country’s two biggest power stations shut down because of a fuel shortage, a government official has said.

The power outage will continue for a few days, the official added.

“The Lebanese power network completely stopped working at noon today, and it is unlikely that it will work until next Monday, or for several days,” the official said.

Source: Lebanon hit by electricity outage expected to last several days | Lebanon | The Guardian

Russia reports record daily Covid death toll as Kremlin shrugs off new lockdown | Russia | The Guardian (Me: Covid-19 death cult stupidity appears to be nearly universal.)

Rosstat on Friday revealed the latest data showed more than 254,000 deaths of people with Covid-19 in the first eight months of this year compared with 163,000 deaths of patients who had the coronavirus for the whole of 2020.

A package of Sputnik V vaccine
Is Russia’s Covid vaccine anything more than a political weapon?
Read more

The coronavirus taskforce only counts the deaths of patients for whom Covid-19 was considered the main cause. Rosstat includes people who had Covid-19 but died of other causes, and those for whom coronavirus was suspected but not confirmed.

The Kremlin has shrugged off the idea of imposing a new nationwide lockdown, delegating the power to tighten restrictions to regional authorities. In some areas of the country, including Moscow and St Petersburg, life remains largely normal, with businesses operating as usual and mask mandates loosely enforced.

Source: Russia reports record daily Covid death toll as Kremlin shrugs off new lockdown | Russia | The Guardian

Russians flock to Serbia for Western-made COVID-19 vaccines | Euronews

When Russian regulators approved the country’s own coronavirus vaccine, it was a moment of national pride, and the Pavlov family was among those who rushed to take the injection. But international health authorities have not yet given their blessing to the Sputnik V shot.

So when the family from Rostov-on-Don wanted to visit the West, they looked for a vaccine that would allow them to travel freely — a quest that brought them to Serbia, where hundreds of Russian citizens have flocked in recent weeks to receive Western-approved COVID-19 shots.

Serbia, which is not a member of the European Union, is a convenient choice for vaccine-seeking Russians because they can enter the allied Balkan nation without visas and because it offers a wide choice of Western-made shots. Organised tours for Russians have soared, and they can be spotted in the capital, Belgrade, at hotels, restaurants, bars and vaccination clinics.

“We took the Pfizer vaccine because we want to travel around the world,” Nadezhda Pavlova, 54, said after receiving the vaccine last weekend at a sprawling Belgrade vaccination center.

Her husband, Vitaly Pavlov, 55, said he wanted “the whole world to be open to us rather than just a few countries.”

Source: Russians flock to Serbia for Western-made COVID-19 vaccines | Euronews

Covid: Anti-vax protestors intimidate teen outside jab centre – BBC News

A 15-year-old girl and her mum say they were intimidated by anti-vax protestors outside a Covid vaccination centre.

Grace Baker-Earle, who uses a wheelchair after contracting Covid, was confronted after receiving the jab at Cardiff’s Bayside mass vaccination centre.

Her mum Angela said protesters accused her of using Grace “as a lab rat”.

South Wales Police said officers attended a protest in the area at 10:50 BST and remained in attendance.

The force said no arrests had been made.

The vaccine has been offered to 12 to 15-year-olds in Wales since 4 October.

Source: Covid: Anti-vax protestors intimidate teen outside jab centre – BBC News