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Why Eating Meat Was Banned in Japan for Centuries

Even before Buddhism, meat wasn’t an essential part of the Japanese diet. As a nation of islands, Japan has always relied on fish and seafood as staples. Additionally, writes historian Naomishi Ishige, “protein was ingested from rice rather than from meat or milk.” Raising animals is resource-intensive, so Japanese farmers working with limited space in their mountainous island nation largely avoided it. It was also in the best interest of the country to discourage the eating of useful farm animals, since there were relatively few of them in Japan. article-image

On February 18, 1872, a group of Japanese Buddhist monks broke into the Imperial Palace to seek an audience with the emperor. In the ensuing fight with the guards, half of them were killed. At issue was something the monks considered an existential spiritual crisis for their country. A few weeks earlier, the emperor had eaten beef, effectively repealing a 1,200-year-old ban on consuming animals. The monks believed the new trend of eating meat was “destroying the soul of the Japanese people.”

For both religious and practical reasons, the Japanese mostly avoided eating meat for more than 12 centuries. Beef was especially taboo, with certain shrines demanding more than 100 days of fasting as penance for consuming it. The story of Japan’s shift away from meat began with the arrival of Buddhism from Korea in the 6th century. At that time, the Japanese were meat eaters. Venison and wild boar (which was sometimes called yama kujira, or “mountain whale”) were particularly popular. Aristocrats enjoyed hunting and feasting on deer entrails and wild fowl.

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Yet Buddhism teaches that humans can be reincarnated into other living beings, including animals. Meat eaters run the risk of consuming their own reincarnated ancestors: not a very palatable thought. Buddhist principles of respect for life and avoidance of waste, especially in the case of food, slowly began to shape Japanese culture and seep into native Shinto beliefs.

In 675 A.D., Emperor Tenmu issued the first official decree banning consumption of beef, horse, dog, chicken, and monkey during the height of farming season from April to September. As time went on, the practice would be solidified and expanded into a year-round taboo against all meat eating.

But the meat ban also had secular roots. Even before Buddhism, meat wasn’t an essential part of the Japanese diet. As a nation of islands, Japan has always relied on fish and seafood as staples. Additionally, writes historian Naomishi Ishige, “protein was ingested from rice rather than from meat or milk.” Raising animals is resource-intensive, so Japanese farmers working with limited space in their mountainous island nation largely avoided it. It was also in the best interest of the country to discourage the eating of useful farm animals, since there were relatively few of them in Japan.

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While all meat was considered corrupt and unclean, eating wild animals wasn’t completely unheard of. Plus, the Japanese aristocracy never completely gave up the practice. There are records of taxes paid and gifts sent to emperors in the form of pork, beef, and even milk. Meat was still taboo among the upper classes, but it was often treated as a special food with medicinal properties. (Even Buddhist monks could occasionally consume meat on doctor’s orders.) In the 18th century, the Hikone Clan sent their annual gift of beef pickled in sake to the shogun in packages labeled as medicine. Birds were more acceptable as foodstuff than mammals, and dolphin and whale was frequently eaten, as they were considered fish.

Some mammals were more forbidden than others. According to Ishige, “the Buddhist concept of the transmigration of souls and the taboo on mammal meat became linked, and the belief spread that a person who ate the flesh of a four-legged animal would after death be reincarnated as a four-legged animal.” One government decree stated that anyone who’d eaten wild goat, wolf, rabbit, or raccoon dog (tanuki) was required to repent for five days before visiting a shrine. Those who’d eaten pork or venison, however, were required to repent for 60 days. For eaters of beef and horse meat, it was 150 days. On the rare occasions that they did eat meat, Japanese people cooked it on fires outside the home and avoided looking directly at their altars afterwards so as not to contaminate them.

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When Portuguese missionaries arrived in Japan in the early 16th century, they had been counseled that the locals considered drinking milk to be like drinking blood and that eating beef was unthinkable. Even the warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi supposedly questioned Portuguese missionaries on their practice of eating beef, as cows were so useful as farm animals. Nevertheless, the Portuguese were able to spread some of their cuisine to the locals, including sweets, tempura, and beef, which Kyotoites called waka, from the Portuguese vaca.

Dietary customs began to change faster in the late 19th century. After Emperor Meiji assumed power in 1868, the Japanese government moved to end their two centuries of isolation and adopt Western practices and technology as quickly as possible. Plus, many believed “that one reason why the Japanese had poor physiques compared to Westerners was that they did not eat meat or dairy products,” writes Ishige.

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The Meiji government began to chip away at the ancient dietary taboos. They set up companies to produce meat and dairy products. When the emperor himself ate meat to ring in the New Year in 1872, it went a long way toward convincing the Japanese to abandon their meatless customs. It wasn’t an easy transition. Devout Buddhists, such as the monks who attempted to break into the Imperial Palace and rural peasants who relied on their animals for farm work, had long accepted the idea that eating meat was a sin. One prefectural decree from 1872 reads “Although beef is a wonderfully nutritious food, there are still a great number of people barring our attempt at westernization by clinging to conventional customs,” adding, “Such action is contrary to the wishes of the Emperor.”

In the end, the wishes of the Emperor prevailed. As Japan opened up to the world, it began to absorb meat-based dishes from Korea, China, and the West. Soon, expensive Western-style restaurants serving meat popped up in cities, followed by affordable Japanese restaurants serving a medicinal beef stew, which would evolve into the dish sukiyaki. Today, the Japanese eat almost as much meat as they do seafood. While it took a few decades, meat is now as much a part of Japanese cuisine as sushi.

This Christian, Anti-Abortion Clinic Is Rebranding as the New Planned Parenthood

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On March 23, the Associated Press reported that three Texas healthcare providers had applied for tens of millions of dollars of federal Title X funding from the Department of Health and Human Services. Like other organizations that receive such funding, the centers, which are affiliated with Obria Medical Clinics,…

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‘Political correctness’: How Trump wages psychological warfare to elevate his toxic blend of white supremacy and fascism

‘Political correctness’: How Trump wages psychological warfare to elevate his toxic blend of white supremacy and fascism:

feelingbluepolitics:

“[t]rump minimized and downplayed the threat to the United States and the world represented by white supremacists and other right-wing terrorists, a hive mind of hate that national security experts are now describing as ‘White ISIS.’

…”[T]his clash of cultures is weaponized as propaganda campaigns designed to delegitimize whole classes of peoples:  Blacks and civil rights and voting rights; women and reproductive rights; the LGBTQ and gay rights; workers and labor rights; environmentalists and environmental laws and science.

…“We are watching, in real time, a new right discourse come to define the American presidency. The term ‘alt-right’ is too innocuous when the new political formation we face is, in truth, neo-fascist, white-supremacist, ultranationalist, and counterrevolutionary. Too few Americans appear to recognize how extreme [t]rump has become.

…”It is true that [t]rump is a nadir in the history of the American presidency and the country’s democracy. However,  his regime is not an emptiness or a void but rather the embodiment of everything wrong with America’s political culture, society, collective values and psyche, as well as the personal and moral failings of too many millions of its citizens.”

سيوا… نسيها الخلق فسواها الخالق

سيوا… نسيها الخلق فسواها الخالق

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قد يكون اسم سيوا اسما يسمع لأول مرة للكثيرين ، كما واحة سيوا من اسمها تبدو وكأنها جزء من مكان اخترعه مؤلف الف ليلة وليلة .

وهذا ليس بغريب اذا ما عرفنا ان سيوا تقع على بعد ٨٣٠ كم من القاهرة ، وفي قلب الصحراء الغربية بالقرب من الحدود الليبية. يعيش بها ما يقارب ال٣٥ الف نسمة من الأمازيغيين. وقد يكون هذا اهم ما يميز سيوا قبل التكلم او التطرق عن الثروات الطبيعية التي حطها الخالق بإبداع في هذه الواحات .فسيوا غنية بالثروات الطبيعية، والآثار منذ الفراعنة ومرورا بالإسكندر الأعظم ووقوفا عمد محمد علي . تشتهر بنخيلها وزيتونها وبحيرات املاحها الطبيعية والبرك الكبريتية وتشتهر بموسم دفن الرمل للعلاج الطبيعي.

كثرت السياحة الى سيوا في السنوات الاخيرة ، وما من زائر ذهب الى هناك وعاد بانطباع سيء. تتحمل مشاق الطريق وعبئها مقابل كم الجمال الذي تستقبلك فيه تلك الواحة المنعزلة.

شعور بالطمأنينة يصاحبك مع اول لحظة تلتقي فيها سيوي. شعور غريب صعب وصفه ، خصوصا اذا ما كنت متذكرا انك في مصر. ففي مصر بشكل عام ، يشوه المستغلون للسياحة قيمة الكنوز المصرية في التاريخ والحضارة والآثار المترامية امام ناظر السائح. ولكن في سيوا تصدق بالفعل عندما يعرض عليك الرجل خدماته بلا مقابل ، وعندما تفاصل التاجر على سلعة وعندما يضيفك مضيفة في الفندق او المرشد او السائق المرافق.

طمأنينة حقيقية تبدو وكأنها مركبة في ارواح اهل هذه الواحة. اعترف انني كدت اصدق ان العلة تبدو في التركيبة العربية ، فهؤلاء بالرغم من اعتزازهم بهويتهم المصرية ولسان عروبتهم الا انهم ليسوا عربا ، ولا يزالوا يحتفظون بكل ما يبقي هوياتهم العراقية بدء من اللغة ووقوفا عند ثقافتهم وتراثهم . والطيبة جزء من موروثهم بكل تاكيد.

وان كانت الطيبة معدية ، فلا بد ان من يأتي الو هذا المكان يصاب بعدوى الطيب الو الأبد فيصبح سفير سيوا في كل مكان .

لا يمكن الا تستوقفك محاولات احياء الإرث والمحافظة على البيئة في سيرا فيتردد الى مسامعك اسم الدكتور منير في كل مكان تتوجه اليه. من الفندق الصغير الذي أقمنا به الذي تبين انه يملكه ، الى الفندق البيئي المسمى بجعفر ( نسبة الى سيدي جعفر المدفون على ذلك الجبل) على بعد ثلاثين كيلو مترا من بلدة شالي وباب انشال التراثية. اسم الفندق الرسمي أدرار املال اَي الجبل الأبيض .كعادتي توجست لفكرة رجل الأعمال والأب المخلص بين البسطاء ، ولكني كنت بانسجام مطلق مع كل ما يجري معي ، الفندق الصديق للبيئة الذي أقيم به والبساطة الرائعة في كل تفصيلة وبين كل أفراد من يعملون حتى في الشارع المقابل . رحلة السفاري في الصحراء التي يدهشك فيها السائق بقدر ما تدهشك الصحراء والأصداف وبقايا الأسماك في عمقها. عالم من الكون لا نفهم منه الا ذرات الرمل المتطاير أمامنا . سحر يملؤه سحر.

فندق جعفر او ادرار املال كان المحطة الاخيرة ، بدعوة على العشاء من صاحب الفندق الذي لم نره ولم نتعرف عليه. فندق صديق للبيئة ، ابداع لا يمكن الا تركيب الخيال فيه عند رؤيته في دمج عبقري رائع متجانس بموسيقى بين روعة الطبيعة وابداع تتملكه البساطة.

ما اصعب البساطة فكرت طوال الطريق . ابداع يجعل المرء يقترب من الكمال …. فقط عندما يتماهى مع ما خلق الله له من نعم ويحاول الحفاظ عليها.

وصلت الكهرباء الى سيوا منذ ٣٥ سنة فقط وكانت تأتي لعدة ساعات . كانت اقرب نقطة حياة لهم مرسى مطروح وكان الوصول أيها يحتاج سفر ثلاث ايّام ، فمنحهم انور السادات طيارة مرتين بالأسبوع بسعر تذكرة الاوتوبيس ١٧٥ قرش.

حتى بداية التسعينات اقتربت سيوا الى الاندثار ، فلا اهتمام ولا خدمات. وكأن زيارة الدكتور منير للمنطقة وهو بيئي ومهندس أبنية قديمة ، كانت النور الذي بعثه الخالق لينير هذه الواحات.فعمل من سيوا راحته الخاصة واستثمر بكل امكانياته لإعادة احيائها والحفاظ على تراثها .

تستقبل اليوم سيوا السياح بشكل لافت اكثر. سكانها لا يتذمرون ، نسبة البطالة لديهم صفر. مرتاحون ، يستمتعون بقدوم الزائر ويحتفون به. يتكلمون عن الحفاظ عن البيئة وينتجون ويصنعون ويحيون ما يستطيعونه من إمكانيات ارضهم ومتمسكون بإيمان وحب بتراثهم .

أهي الأمازيغية التي تستدعي هذا الاحترام ؟

لا اعرف … فمنير في هذه الحالة ليس امازيغيا. ولكن الجواب يكمن في الإخلاص وحب الارض والإيمان بنعم الطبيعة ، مع خلطة من الصدق والبساطة والأصالة …. تجعلك تتمنى لو عالمك اليومي يصبح سيوا…

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Waiting For ISIS To Die

The barbarous group known as ISIS is cornered in a small village in Eastern Syria…..they are being pounded by the Kurds and the SDF and yet they hang on to life and fight back viciously….

As we sit and wait for ISIS to die there are a few thoughts that we need to consider…..

The U.S.-allied Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) launched an operation March 1 backed by U.S. artillery and air support in an effort to defeat the remnant core fighters of the Islamic State in the last sliver of the militant group’s self-declared “caliphate,” the term it used to describe the territory in Syria and Iraq it conquered and governed under its austere interpretation of Sharia. With the destruction of the so-called caliphate imminent, many have begun to wonder if the jihadist group could ever recover. But this is the wrong question. Instead of asking whether the Islamic State core can recover as many — including Stratfor — did when the group was on the ropes in Iraq in 2010, the proper question is whether the Islamic State core will be permitted to recover again. The difference between these two questions is subtle, but vitally important

 
The West has fought this extremism but is it possible we may have gotten somethings wrong?
 
The ‘clash of civilizations’ thesis has become fashionably outdated but still shapes the way we understand the connection between Islam, terrorism and the Middle East.  In 2019, it is time to ‘forget the Middle East’ and change the way we perceive Islam.  Vera Mironova, in ‘The New Face of Terrorism’, claims that the way Westerners think about ‘Islamist terrorism has grown dangerously outdated’, and the terrorist attacks at Western targets have been increasingly coming from militants of the former Soviet Union, not the Middle East. Following on these insights, I argue that it is time not only to ‘forget the Middle East’ but also stop essentializing Islam in the Middle East.
 
 
They, ISIS, may be suffering staggering losses in Syria and could possibly be defeated (not destroyed) but they will raise their ugly head once again in Southeast Asia….
 

Across the islands of the southern Philippines, the black flag of the Islamic State is flying over what the group considers its East Asia province.

Men in the jungle, two oceans away from the arid birthplace of the Islamic State, are taking the terrorist brand name into new battles.

As worshipers gathered in January for Sunday Mass at a Catholic cathedral, two bombs ripped through the church compound, killing 23 people. The Islamic State claimed a pair of its suicide bombers had caused the carnage.

The lesson we should learn is one that is being overlooked with all the glad handing for victory…..we cannot defeat an idea and ISIS will rise again to continue their push for extremism…..

It’s Official, This Is the Oldest Known Astrolabe in the World

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In 1503, on the way back from a violent escapade in India, part of Vasco da Gama’s 4th Portuguese India Armada went down in a storm off the coast of what is now Oman. The wreck was discovered more than 20 years ago, but is now being newly recognized for its exceptional assets. Guinness World Records, ever the archaeological authority, has now confirmed that the wreck’s astrolabe and bell—retrieved in 2013 and 2014—are the oldest known examples of either nautical device, after research published yesterday in the International Journal of Nautical Archaeology explained the science behind the analysis.

Though astrolabes are known from written sources to date to the 6th century—predating da Gama’s Armada by roughly a millenium—few have ultimately survived. “It’s a dream” to recover an astrolabe, especially the oldest ever found, says David L. Mearns, one of the study’s authors and the project director for the wreck’s recovery. The rare artifacts went out of production in the 18th century, he says, and those that were not lost to shipwrecks were likely melted down and repurposed.

Astrolabes are used to measure the altitude of an object with respect to the horizon. With a chart of bright stars, it can be used to calculate latitude, or it can be used to measure the height of a mountain. This oldest astrolabe was likely made between 1496 and 1501. The portion recovered from the wreck measures less than seven inches in diameter and weighs less than one pound, and carries Portugal’s royal coat of arms. In a press release, the researchers explained that the object dates to a transitional moment in the tool’s history, and that it combines aspects of the older “planispheric” astrolabes with features of the “open-wheel” astrolabes that were not yet in use.

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Astrolabes are neat, but you’d be hard-pressed to find one on a boat today. Bells, such as the example found on the da Gama ship, on the other hand, are still common nautical equipment—though mostly decorative today, says Mearns. They’re neither technical marvels nor rare, but bells have also played important roles on ships since the late 15th century, according to the U.S. Navy. That makes this one, cast in 1498, particularly significant.

Their primary historical function has been to help sailors on watch duty keep time. Within every four-hour shift, for example, the bell would be rung every 30 minutes to indicate how many half-hours had elapsed. (At the end of a shift, in other words, a bell would be rung eight times.) The Brits, however, had to introduce a seemingly convoluted twist to this exercise after the 1797 Nore Mutiny. The ringing of five bells at 6:30 p.m. had been the sailors’ signal to begin the mutiny, so from then on, British ships rang their bells just once at that point in the watch.

Bells also played vital safety roles, as fire and fog alarms, for instance. And they could lead to trouble: In July 1779, during the American Revolution, an American unit was caught in a Newfoundland fog and overheard enemy bells. Once the fog lifted, the prepared Americans proceeded to capture 10 British ships worth more than a million dollars. Both bells and astrolabes had their limitations, even when they were state-of-the-art.

Abstinence Activist and HHS Official Valerie Huber is Now Pushing Her Message on a Global Stage

Self-delusion when combined with official power is a very dangerous thing. ui39fxgx0buqvzmdq5i3.png

The United Nations Commission on the Status of Women—described as the world’s “single largest gathering dedicated to women’s rights”—is meeting this week to draft its annual document, and the delegates from the U.S. are already royally fucking things up, continuing the Trump administration’s work of attacking…

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