The peace process has been dealt a death blow. Netanyahu has bowed to his right-wing and discontinued the ten months moratorium, that had halted new building. The religious zealots, and Palestinian haters, have begun a new land grab and Abbas is left with no choice but to withdraw from the farcical "peace talks". 
     There will be no peace agreement, so long as Israel allows itself to be held hostage by these gun-toting, religious spouting freeloaders(they get cheap/subsidized housing, living in lush comfort, protected by the Israeli military, while they drive on paved highway, that separate the deprived and dispossessed Palestinians from their farms, work, schools and all other means of daily life).
     Israel lacks the leadership (Rabin was murdered for his courageous efforts), and the acumen. The Israeli political system has been hi-jacked by zealots and their allies, especially the recent-arrivals from the former Soviet states. Former president Clinton, is correct in saying that the 1-million member community of Jews from the former Soviet states are more opposed to the creation of a Palestinian state, than other Israelis. This is the "new tail wagging the dog". This is detrimental to both Israelis and Palestinians, and the price to be paid wil be a very heavy one. 
....Israel spends too much on its security (especially on the "settlers"), and thus other sectors are deprived of much needed investments. Also, the continued insecurity.  devastates both sides, socially, psychologically and economically. Destruction rather than production, hate rather than friendship, insecurity rather than security, despair rather than hope, deprivation rateher than plenty, stagnation rather than growth. GIVE P        

     HEART ATTACKS INCREASE DURING WINTER. A British study le by Prof. Niroshan Siriwardena of Lincoln University of more than 78,700 patients, who were atleast 40 years old and living in Englang and Wales, suggests that flu shots reduce heart attacks. Shots received between September and mid-November led to a 21%decrease of heart attacks as opposed to later vaccinations(12%). There is a link between influenza and respiratory infections. Heart attacks increase dramatically in winter, when people develop pneumonia or the flu. People with flu tend to have blood vessels that narrow, making them more likely to rupture. Thus, preventing influenza with a "simple vaccine would stop this occurence", says Siriwardena. The vaccine will not prevent heart attacks that are triggered by strenuous exercise, high cholesterol, high blood pressure or a history of heart problems.
     Cold weather makes it easier for the body to form blood clots, leading to heart attacks. Previous studies had shown that as temperature decreases, blood thickens. blood temperature goes up and the heart has to work harder to circulate blood. " In Canada, U.K. and U.S., people are already at higher risk of heart attack, or stroke and they are already recommended to get a flu shot", noted Siriwardena. It is estimated that there are 70,000 heart attacks and more than 16,000 deaths in Canada each year, according to the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada. SO, GET YOUR SHOTS AND GET THEM 
EARLY.
     World wide cost of treating dementia will reach $604 billion in 2010, according to an Aizheimer's Disease International report, and will skyrocket, as sufferers triple by 2050. There are more than 35.6 million people with Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, and  "world governments are woefully unprepared for the social and ecenomic disruptions this disease will cause" ADI's chairman Daisy Acosta. This is a brain-wasting disease..Alzheirmer's, affects memory, thinking behaviour and the ability to handle daily acyivities....."Alzheimer's is not normal aging. It is not just a little memory loss.It is a progressive, degenerative disease....with the high risk factor being age. As that unfolds. we're going to see dramatic increases in Alzheimer's", says Harry Johns, president of the Chicago-based Alzhweimer's Association.
      ADI predicts that as populations age, dementia cases will rise by almost double every 20 years to about 66 million by 2030 and 115 million by 2050, with much of the rise in poorer nations. Low-income nations spend about 1% of world-wide costs, and have about 14% of cases. Middle-income nations account for 10% of costs and have about 40% of cases and rich nations spend 89% and about 40% of cases....70% of costs occur in Western Europe and North America. "This is a disaster that is already happening. It's not like the kind of thing that catches us off guard. Governments really need to wake up to this", said Martin Prince of Britain's King's College London Institute of Psychiatry, who with Anders Wimo, of Sweden's Karolinska Institute of Stockholm, prepared the report....combiming the most up-to-date global data on dementia prevalence, with added studies from Latin America, China and India.  .........Read my previous article of how to try and prevent, or at least delay the onset, of this most debilitating disease. 


   

  

Research has once again shown that the brain needs to be exercised, in order to ward of dementia in the golden years. Whether it is reading, playing cards, doing crossword or suduku, listening to the radio, visiting museums etc., you must keep your neural circuits active throughout life. The brain is a mucsle, use it or it becomes flabby. However, it is also revealed that while cognitive decline was less likely, once dementia sets in, mental deterioration tends to be faster, compared to people who did not engage in mentally stimulating activity. What it means is that while brain exercises can hold off the symptoms of neurological disorder for a while (think of all the fun things and fulfillment), it does not address the root cause.
 Breast feeding is good for babies, but the latest research (2,233 women age 40-78) show that it has lasting benefits for the mother as well. Those who breast feed are half as likely to develop type 2 diabete 30 years later, as those who used formula. Breast feeding help new mothers shed their pregnancy pounds, that build up in the abdomen.......belly fat is known to contribute to such chronic conditions as diabetes and heart disease. Lactation can boost the body's response to insulin, helping, to break down glucose in the blood. "We have to consider lactation as part of the pregnancy experience" says Dr. Eleanor Schwarz of the  University of Pittsburg.
The World Health Org. and the American Academy of Pediatrics, both recommend that women exclusively breast-feed their infants for at least six months. Consider the wide-ranging benefits....protection from diabetes and heart disease; weight loss...getting rid of stomach fat and the joy of nurturing and bonding with your child. Such Bliss.


Dr. Riamon Panikkar, scholar, priest/theologian, died on Aug.16 at the age of 91. Born to an Indian Hindu fatfer and a Spanish Catholic mother and educated by the Jesuits, he "set the Catholic world astir", by insisting that Christianity could learn from Eastern religions. From his teaching posts at Harvard and U. of California, Santa Barbara, and his writings, he argued that non-western religions could provide insights into Christian beliefs. He drew connections between religious traditions and downplayed their differences. On his first visit to India, he felt "deeply changed"by the spiritual wisdom he found there"...."I discovered that I was a Hindu and returned as a Budhist without ever having ceased to be a Christian."In these troubled times of religious conflicts and intolerance, his words/thoughts, are more than ever needed.

     The measure of any democracy is how the majority treats the minority. Limits on or denial of rights are everywhere. In France, in Switzerland, in the United States, Muslims are targeted. In France where in Europe the Roma are collectively expelled. In Canada Tamils are viewed with suspicion and in Quebec, the linguistic and educational rights of the non-Francophone citizens are severely restricted.
     Laws against the wearing of the hijab/niqab have been passed. Minarets are banned and the building of a community centre for Muslims is opposed and the burning of the Koran is threatened. The Roma are collectively punished, racially abused and expelled in France (the new Vichy?), and racial profiling in Arizona and Quebec are rampant...Hispanics and Blacks are the main targets.
     Whenever there is an economic downturn....depression, job loss etc. minorities. irrespective of whether they are citizens are picked upon, with the "political right" leading the hate and hysteria.....Sarkozy in France and the Republicans in the USA are prime examples. Ignorance is the order of the day, and fear follows, exploited by self-serving politicians.

     The Bush adventure in Iraq has been a disaster, both for the USA AND MORE SO FOR THE iRAQI PEOPLE. 4400 kiled and 0ver 35,000 wounded American soldiers, many brain damaged and without legs and arms and all deeply traumatised. Almost 1 million Iraqis killed and so many more injured, suffering from all manner of wounds, with little or no medical facilities to help them $700 bILLION WASTED ON THIS, BUSH'S FOLLY. Billions in infrastrucrure damages, to hospitals. electric grid, roads and highways, airport, rivers polluted and whole cities destroyed and lives shattered, FOR WHAT?
     50,000 troops remain to protect American interests, a government still not in place, 6 momths after an election, and the killings continue unabated. There is no peace, no security, no clean water, medical care is limited and electricity is still lacking.
     Saddam was a brutal dictator, but he was not a threat to the USA. His military capability was limited due to the heavy losses in the Iran/Iraq war, in which America "helped" both sides. The beneficiaries of this 8 years of bleeding, and of the Bush invasion (he was known as "Bandar Bush",  so -named after the Saudi ambassador in the USA) was Israel and Saudi Arabia. Iran has grown in military strength and has become the regional power, and trying to develop its own nuclear arsenal.
    A hornet's nest has been roused in Iraq. Saddam kept bin Ladin (whose family had close ties to the Bushies) and al Qaeda out of Iraq, but the instability created by the illegal American invasion has created a fertile ground for mayhem, not only in Iraq but beyond its borders.
     The 50,000 American "non-combatant" troops will be drawn in. This is inevitable and Obama will be faced with his own dilemna.....TO GO BACK IN OR NOT TO GO BACK IN. 2012,  is around the corner and Obama will have to show that he is not a "wuss"  
............ and he still has Afghanistan on his plate.