Pope Benedict XVI's Prayer for Grandparents

Lord Jesus,
you were born of the Virgin Mary,
the daughter of Saints Joachim and Anne.
Look with love on grandparents the world over.
Protect them! They are a source of enrichment
for families, for the Church and for all of society.
Support them! As they grow older,
may they continue to be for their families
strong pillars of Gospel faith,
guardian of noble domestic ideals,
living treasuries of sound religious traditions.
Make them teachers of wisdom and courage,
that they may pass on to future generations the fruits
of their mature human and spiritual experience.
Lord Jesus,
help families and society
to value the presence and roles of grandparents.
May they never be ignored or excluded,
but always encounter respect and love.
Help them to live serenely and to feel welcomed
in all the years of life which you give them.
Mary, Mother of all the living,
keep grandparents constantly in your care,
accompany them on their earthly pilgrimage,
and by your prayers, grant that all families
may one day be reunited in our heavenly homeland,
where you await all humanity for the great
embrace of life without end. Amen!

WARNING! Bird flu or Avian Influenza

Bird flu or Avian Influenza is a contagious disease of birds ranging from mild to severe form of illness.

The outbreaks affecting some Asian countries caused by influenza A/H5N1 virus may also cause severe infection in humans.

Bird Flu is transmitted to humans through inhalation or contamination with infected discharges or feces of sick chicken.

Signs and Symptoms

• Fever
• Body weakness or muscle pain
• Cough
• Sore throat
• Sore eyes and/or diarrhea
• In severe cases, difficulty of breathing in a week’s time from onset

Treatment

Treatment of Bird Flu in humans is the same as the treatment for other influenza viruses. Antiviral drugs like Oseltamivir halt the progress of the illness if given within the first two days from the onset of fever.

Prevention

• Wash hands thoroughly with soap and water before and after handling live and dressed chicken.
• Cook chicken thoroughly.
• Do not put live chicken, ducks, and pigs together in one cage or pen area.
• Do not catch, get near or keep in captivity wild birds.
• Do not handle sick or dead birds with bare hands. Use facial masks, goggles, and gloves or plastic material for the hands.
• Report to the nearest agricultural or veterinary office any unusual death or illness of chicken and other birds.
• Report to the nearest local health centers any case of respiratory illness with history of exposure to sick chickens and other birds.

Pope Benedict XVI discusses condoms and the spread of HIV

Pope Benedict XVI discusses condoms and the spread of HIV

Book Excerpt An excerpt from Light of the World, Peter Seewald’s book-length interview with Pope Benedict XVI From Chapter 11, "The Journeys of a Shepherd," pages 117-119: On the occasion of your trip to Africa in March 2009, the Vatican’s policy on AIDs once again became the target of media criticism.Twenty-five percent of all AIDs victims around the world today are treated in Catholic facilities. In some countries, such as Lesotho,for example, the statistic is 40 percent. In Africa you stated that the Church’s traditional teaching has proven to be the only sure way to stop the spread of HIV. Critics, including critics from the Church’s own ranks, object that it is madness to forbid a high-risk population to use condoms. The media coverage completely ignored the rest of the trip to Africa on account of a single statement. Someone had asked me why the Catholic Church adopts an unrealistic and ineffective position on AIDs. At that point, I really felt that I was being provoked, because the Church does more than anyone else. And I stand by that claim. Because she is the only institution that assists people up close and concretely, with prevention, education, help, counsel, and accompaniment. And because she is second to none in treating so many AIDs victims, especially children with AIDs. I had the chance to visit one of these wards and to speak with the patients. That was the real answer: The Church does more than anyone else, because she does not speak from the tribunal of the newspapers, but helps her brothers and sisters where they are actually suffering. In my remarks I was not making a general statement about the condom issue, but merely said, and this is what caused such great offense, that we cannot solve the problem by distributing condoms. Much more needs to be done. We must stand close to the people, we must guide and help them; and we must do this both before and after they contract the disease. As a matter of fact, you know, people can get condoms when they want them anyway. But this just goes to show that condoms alone do not resolve the question itself. More needs to happen. Meanwhile, the secular realm itself has developed the so-called ABC Theory: Abstinence-Be Faithful-Condom, where the condom is understood only as a last resort, when the other two points fail to work. This means that the sheer fixation on the condom implies a banalization of sexuality, which, after all, is precisely the dangerous source of the attitude of no longer seeing sexuality as the expression of love, but only a sort of drug that people administer to themselves. This is why the fight against the banalization of sexuality is also a part of the struggle to ensure that sexuality is treated as a positive value and to enable it to have a positive effect on the whole of man’s being. There may be a basis in the case of some individuals, as perhaps when a male prostitute uses a condom, where this can be a first step in the direction of a moralization, a first assumption of responsibility, on the way toward recovering an awareness that not everything is allowed and that one cannot do whatever one wants. But it is not really the way to deal with the evil of HIV infection. That can really lie only in a humanization of sexuality. Are you saying, then, that the Catholic Church is actually not opposed in principle to the use of condoms? She of course does not regard it as a real or moral solution, but, in this or that case, there can be nonetheless, in the intention of reducing the risk of infection, a first step in a movement toward a different way, a more human way, of living sexuality.

Pope Benedict and the Condom Question

By Fr. Joel O. Jason, SThL

(Fr Joel is a diocesan priest of the Archdiocese of Manila. He is currently Dean of Studies at San Carlos Seminary in Guadalupe Makati and teaches Fundamental Moral Theology, Sexuality and Integrity and Bioethics. He also heads the Commission on Family and Life of the Archdiocese of Manila)

This article seeks to clarify the perceived confusion and surprise that greeted the whole Catholic as well as non-Catholic world. International as well as local journal headlines read:

“Pope says condoms are justified in fight against HIV”

“Pope says condoms are acceptable in some cases”

“Pope softens on teaching on Condoms, Aids and Contraception”

“Pope: Condom use OK for fight against AIDs”

The whole controversy started from a supposed “leaked” German interview the Pope granted to journalist Peter Seewald in an upcoming book yet to be released entitled “Light of the World: The Pope, The Church and the Signs of the Times”. For the sake of intellectual integrity, let us see what the Pope really said from this excerpt of the transcript of the interview connected with the condom question: Here is that portion in it’s entirety:

From Chapter 11, “The Journeys of a Shepherd,” pages 117-119:

Peter Seewald:

On the occasion of your trip to Africa in March 2009, the Vatican’s policy on AIDs once again became the target of media criticism. Twenty-five percent of all AIDs victims around the world today are treated in Catholic facilities. In some countries, such as Lesotho, for example, the statistic is 40 percent. In Africa you stated that the Church’s traditional teaching has proven to be the only sure way to stop the spread of HIV. Critics, including critics from the Church’s own ranks, object that it is madness to forbid a high-risk population to use condoms.

Pope Benedict:

The media coverage completely ignored the rest of the trip to Africa on account of a single statement. Someone had asked me why the Catholic Church adopts an unrealistic and ineffective position on AIDs. At that point, I really felt that I was being provoked, because the Church does more than anyone else. And I stand by that claim. Because she is the only institution that assists people up close and concretely, with prevention, education, help, counsel, and accompaniment. And because she is second to none in treating so many AIDs victims, especially children with AIDs.

I had the chance to visit one of these wards and to speak with the patients. That was the real answer: The Church does more than anyone else, because she does not speak from the tribunal of the newspapers, but helps her brothers and sisters where they are actually suffering. In my remarks I was not making a general statement about the condom issue, but merely said, and this is what caused such great offense, that we cannot solve the problem by distributing condoms. Much more needs to be done (emphasis mine). We must stand close to the people, we must guide and help them; and we must do this both before and after they contract the disease.

As a matter of fact, you know, people can get condoms when they want them anyway. But this just goes to show that condoms alone do not resolve the question itself (emphasis mine). More needs to happen. Meanwhile, the secular realm itself has developed the so-called ABC Theory: Abstinence-Be Faithful-Condom, where the condom is understood only as a last resort, when the other two points fail to work. This means that the sheer fixation on the condom implies a banalization of sexuality, which, after all, is precisely the dangerous source of the attitude of no longer seeing sexuality as the expression of love, but only a sort of drug that people administer to themselves (emphasis mine). This is why the fight against the banalization of sexuality is also a part of the struggle to ensure that sexuality is treated as a positive value and to enable it to have a positive effect on the whole of man’s being.

There may be a basis in the case of some individuals, as perhaps when a male prostitute uses a condom, where this can be a first step in the direction of a moralization, a first assumption of responsibility, (The preceding is the only sentence the secular media focused on to reach their conclusions) on the way toward recovering an awareness that not everything is allowed and that one cannot do whatever one wants. But it is not really the way to deal with the evil of HIV infection. That can really lie only in a humanization of sexuality (emphasis mine).

(The next question and answer was totally ignored by the secular media)

Peter Seewald:

Are you saying, then, that the Catholic Church is actually not opposed in principle to the use of condoms?

Pope Benedict:

She of course does not regard it as a real or moral solution (emphasis mine), but, in this or that case, there can be nonetheless, in the intention of reducing the risk of infection, a first step in a movement toward a different way, a more human way, of living sexuality (emphasis mine).

So with the full text in question now presented, what conclusions can we derive?

First things first. There is a principle in Biblical interpretation that goes:

“A text, out of context, is pretext.”

It means that every text of the Bible should be understood in its integral context: in the unity of the whole message of a chapter, of a series of books, of the theology of the writer, and even the unity of the whole Biblical message. Taken in isolation, a text in the Bible can be reduced to a pretext, i.e., a half-truth or at worst, a misleading misinterpretation.

The headlines we read above, regarding the supposed change Benedict proposes on the consistent sexual ethics of the Church connected with condoms and HIV, are clear examples of a text taken out of context. As you can see, Pope Benedict gave a long answer to a rather short question. I highlighted the parts that spell out clearly Benedicts’ convictions as well as that of the Church’s. What some interpreters took out in isolation was that part where it says, “There may be a basis in the case of some individuals, as perhaps when a male prostitute uses a condom, where this can be a first step in the direction of a moralization, a first assumption of responsibility…”. They did not even finish the whole sentence.

With these laid out, so what now did Pope Benedict NOT say?

1. First of all, this is a personal interview. Pope Benedict is not speaking here in his capacity as the Supreme Teacher of the Catholic faith. What you find in the book are not proposed as official teachings nor pronouncements being sent out to the Catholic faithful. Some of the things we can read here can even fall in the category of personal opinions and therefore do not and cannot present themselves as official Magisterial teachings. If the Pope wants to hold out a new teaching based on his reasoned discernment as the Successor of Peter, a personal interview is not the place to do it. Everyone who knows basic Catechism understands this, much more the Pope. And so headlines claiming, “Pope changes teaching on Condoms, Contraception and HIV”, or “Pope: Condoms OK in fight Against AIDS” are totally way out of line.

2. Nowhere in the text of Pope Benedict’s response can we find a summary justification of the morality of condom use. This is clear in the texts I highlighted. Let me highlight them once again: “…that we cannot solve the problem by distributing condoms. Much more needs to be done,” ; “…But this just goes to show that condoms alone do not resolve the question itself” ; “ This means that the sheer fixation on the condom implies a banalization of sexuality, which, after all, is precisely the dangerous source of the attitude of no longer seeing sexuality as the expression of love, but only a sort of drug that people administer to themselves” ; “…But it is not really the way to deal with the evil of HIV infection. That can really lie only in a humanization of sexuality.”

I don’t see how the quotes above translate to “Pope OKs Condom Use”. On the contrary, the above quotations reflect the consistent conviction of the Church regarding condom use vis a vis HIV/AIDs: that condoms are not the solution. If at all, they contribute to the perpetuation of the problem. Condoms can only reduce the risk of infection. And with the fatally serious threat of HIV/AIDs, risk reduction is not acceptable. Prevention is the only acceptable option. And prevention is only served by abstinence (for the unmarried)  and monogamy and fidelity (for the married).

In the first place, Pope Benedict’s response was not even a direct commentary on the possible moral justification of condom use, clearly not for contraception. He was making a moral speculation on what may be going on in the heart of one (a male prostitute) who uses the condom in a homosexual or heterosexual sex act.

What did Pope Benedict intend to say?

Pope Benedict was specific in his response. He spoke of a “male prostitute” who uses a condom. What the Pope stressed was not that condom use is OK in the case of a male prostitute engaged in heterosexual or homosexual acts. He merely said that “this can be a first step in the direction of a moralization, a first assumption of responsibility…” Perhaps an analogy can help us appreciate what the Pope is saying (for this point I will modify a principle I picked up from lay moral theologian Janet Smith).

There are two robbers. One uses a real knife with a real intent to kill and harm. The other uses a plastic knife because he has no real intention of killing. He only intends to frighten and intimidate. Both men will be committing an evil act. But obviously, between the two, it is the one who employs a toy knife that shows at least a hint, a semblance, a little amount of moral responsibility which hopefully, can still mature to a real and correct kind of moral responsibility that will let him realize that robbing people is an evil option to take. Does this mean the Church will teach that it is “OK” and moral to rob people using a fake knife? No. The Church simply says that between the two, the one with the fake knife is the one that manifests a semblance of an “assumption of responsibility”, immature it may be.

The same logic can be applied to Pope Benedict’s example. Obviously, the mere fact that the person used a condom indicates a “semblance of responsibility.” One who engages in prostituted sex without a condom, shows a total absence of moral responsibility, for himself or for the other. Compared to this one, one who uses a condom at least shows a hint of “assuming a responsibility” which Benedict hopes can be  a “first step in the direction of a moralization” i.e., hopefully it can develop to a more correct kind of responsibility, not in the direction of regular condom use, as secular interpreters assumed, but, as Benedict finished his sentence, (which the secular media left out), “on the way toward recovering an awareness that not everything is allowed and that one cannot do whatever one wants. But it is not really the way to deal with the evil of HIV infection. That can really lie only in a humanization of sexuality.”

As we see here, Pope Benedict is too deep a theologian and a thinker to be presented from a shallow and surface level interpretation. The Pope and the Church’s consistent ethical teachings deserve more than that. We pray that the media may also assume responsibility in reporting matters related to faith and morals. We pray that intellectual integrity and professionalism may not be sacrificed for the sake of ideology, sensationalism and paper sales.

Oct 19 Weather Update: Typhoon Juan

Weather Update, as of 5:00pm today, Oct 19, PAGASA announced that Typhoon “Juan” has maintained its strength while slowly moving in a northwestward direction.

Typhoon Juan (international codename: Megi) could be pushed back to the Philippines by two weather systems in the vicinity of China which were holding the typhoon back from its northwesterly track.
Science Undersecretary Graciano Yumul, Pagasa officer-in-charge, said Juan had become “quasi-stationary” as it moved away from the Philippine area of responsibility because of the two high-pressure areas northwest of the archipelago.
“Is there a possibility that this typhoon would come back? There’s always this kind of possibility and this is the reason why every hour on the hour we are watching the typhoon,” Yumul said at a news briefing in Malacañang.

Safety reminder: Always take extra precautions when travelling during this kind of weather conditions.

Safety Reminders: Tropical Storm Megi

Further on the monitoring of Typhoon Storm “Megi” (International Name), PAGASA announced as of 12pm today, Oct. 15 that:

“Tropical Storm Megi further intensified as it approaches the country and is forecast to enter Philippine territory late Friday night or early Saturday morning. The storm is also expected to bring Ondoy-like rains to affected areas.

Officials from the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) also said at a press conference in Quezon City that Megi will make landfall between Isabela and Cagayan provinces Monday afternoon.

Megi, which will be codenamed "Juan" once inside Philippine territory, was spotted 1,300 kilometers east of southern Luzon as of 10 a.m.

The storm, the tenth to hit the country this year, was monitored to be packing maximum winds of 105 kph near the center and gustiness of up to 135 kph.

Nathaniel Servando, PAGASA deputy director for research and development, said Megi is expected to intensify into a typhoon in the next two days, with winds reaching beyond 150 kph.”

Please take necessary precautions when travelling and avoid going to flood-prone areas / landslide-prone areas starting this weekend.

            Other Contact Details:

            NDCC (National Disaster Coordinating Council – NCR)

                        Tel. No: 467-3749     

            PNRC (Phil. National Red Cross)

Hotline: 143

Trunkline: 527-0000

           

7 things You Need to Stop Doing on Facebook

7 Things to Stop Doing Now on Facebook

by Consumer Reports Magazine

1.  Using a Weak Password

Avoid simple names or words you can find in a dictionary, even with numbers tacked on the end. Instead, mix upper- and lower-case letters, numbers, and symbols. A password should have at least eight characters. One good technique is to insert numbers or symbols in the middle of a word, such as this variant on the word "houses": hO27usEs!

2.  Leaving Your Full Birth Date in Your Profile 

It's an ideal target for identity thieves, who could use it to obtain more information about you and potentially gain access to your bank or credit card account. If you've already entered a birth date, go to your profile page and click on the Info tab, then on Edit Information. Under the Basic Information section, choose to show only the month and day or no birthday at all.

3.  Overlooking Useful Privacy Controls

For almost everything in your Facebook profile, you can limit access to only your friends, friends of friends, or yourself. Restrict access to photos, birth date, religious views, and family information, among other things. You can give only certain people or groups access to items such as photos, or block particular people from seeing them. Consider leaving out contact info, such as phone number and address, since you probably don't want anyone to have access to that information anyway.

4.  Posting Your Child's Name in a Caption

Don't use a child's name in photo tags or captions. If someone else does, delete it by clicking on Remove Tag. If your child isn't on Facebook and someone includes his or her name in a caption, ask that person to remove the name.

5.  Mentioning That You'll Be Away From Home

That's like putting a "no one's home" sign on your door. Wait until you get home to tell everyone how awesome your vacation was and be vague about the date of any trip.

6.  Letting Search Engines Find You

To help prevent strangers from accessing your page, go to the Search section of Facebook's privacy controls and select Only Friends for Facebook search results. Be sure the box for public search results isn't checked.

7.  Permitting Youngsters to Use Facebook Unsupervised

Facebook limits its members to ages 13 and over, but children younger than that do use it. If you have a young child or teenager on Facebook, the best way to provide oversight is to become one of their online friends. Use your e-mail address as the contact for their account so that you receive their notifications and monitor their activities. "What they think is nothing can actually be pretty serious," says Charles Pavelites, a supervisory special agent at the Internet Crime Complaint Center. For example, a child who posts the comment "Mom will be home soon, I need to do the dishes" every day at the same time is revealing too much about the parents' regular comings and goings.

Fastest Job to Grow in the next decade

Fastest Growing Jobs in America

by:  John Bedecarre and Scott Olster

 

How will the job market evolve in the next decade? Fortune takes a look at some of the fastest growing professions in the U.S.

1.  Nurses

The number of registered nurses is expected to swell to 3.2 million by 2018, accounting for approximately 581,500 new jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That's up from 2.6 million today, and it represents the largest overall growth projection out of all occupations in the U.S. economy, for good reason.

Americans aged 65 and older will make up 19% of the population in 2030, up from 12.4% in 2000. As the population ages and the growth of the working-age population slows down, there will be an increased demand for health care services in general, and home health care services in particular. In the past year, the home health care services industry has experienced sales growth of 11.2%, making it the fastest growing industry in the U.S., according to Sageworks, a financial analysis company.

Along with registered nurses, Sageworks projects that home care aids, physician assistants, pharmacists, and other medical professions will be in high demand for the foreseeable future.

2.  Network Systems and Data Analysts

This occupation's full title is "network systems and data communication analysts." And while it's a mouthful, it is worth remembering as it's the second-fastest growing occupation in the U.S., according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In simpler terms, these analysts are the folks who design and build the systems that we use to connect to the web, from work or home.

In many ways, these are the folks that make communication possible in our Internet-centric world. So perhaps it's not so surprising that they are in high demand, and will be for the foreseeable future. BLS's latest employment outlook report estimates that the profession will grow by 53.4% to almost 448,000 workers between 2008 and 2018.

3.  Software Engineers

What would all that planning and design by network and data analysts be worth without software? Not a whole lot, which explains why the BLS expects the cadre of software engineers and application developers to swell to 689,900 by 2018 (up from 514,800 in 2008). Whether they are building business software, constructing an operating system, developing games, or designing mobile apps, software engineers have a wide array of career avenues to consider.

And it surely does not hurt that the worldwide smartphone market grew by 50% between the second quarter of 2009 and 2010, according to the market research firm IDC. The impressive growth of the smart mobile industry over the past few years will only add fuel to the fire of the impressive job prospects for application developers, as smartphone users have come to expect increasingly advanced software applications to justify the increased expense of their phones.

4.  Biomedical Engineers

Biomedical engineering is expected to be the fastest growing occupation, with a whopping growth project of 72% between 2008 and 2018, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It's not much of a surprise, given that this field lies at the nexus of technology and health care, two ballooning industries within the U.S. economy.

The immense growth of biomedical engineering will be driven by the demand for new treatments for diseases and the increasingly higher expectations of aging patients to maintain an active lifestyle. Indeed, the pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing industry experienced 11.1% sales growth in the past year, according to Sageworks.

From developing artificial organs, medical devices like pace makers, or refining imaging technology that allows doctors to examine patients in more precise ways than ever before, biomedical engineers will have plenty to work on in the coming decade.

5.  Accountants and Auditors

While number crunching and bean counting has certainly not fallen out of style in recent memory, the economic fallout of the past few years has placed renewed focus on financial regulation. And with the passage of the federal financial reform bill in June, companies will need an even larger cohort of auditors and accountants to parse through new regulations to make sure they are in compliance.

The accounting profession is poised to experience 22% growth between 2008 and 2018, with an anticipated 279,400 new jobs in the field by 2018, according to the BLS.

6.  Veterinarians

Our love for the dogs, cats, and fish in our lives truly knows no bounds. Pet care was one of the only sectors of the retail industry that grew during the recession.

According to the 2009-2010 National Pet Owners Survey, 62% of U.S. households owned at least one pet in 2008, accounting for approximately 71 million households. And the American Pet Products Association estimates that pet owners will spend almost $48 billion on their pets. Just under $24 billion of that will be spent on medicine and veterinary care, as more Americans than ever before open their wallets to spring for treatments for an ailing animal family member.

It's no surprise, then, that veterinarians are listed as one of the fastest growing professions in the U.S. -- the number of vets is expected to expand by 36% between 2008 and 2018.

6 Things You Should Never Reveal on Facebook

by Kathy Kristof

The whole social networking phenomenon has millions of Americans sharing their photos, favorite songs and details about their class reunions on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and dozens of similar sites. But there are a handful of personal details that you should never say if you don't want criminals — cyber or otherwise — to rob you blind, according to Beth Givens, executive director of the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse.

The folks at Insure.com also say that ill-advised Facebook postings increasingly can get your insurance cancelled or cause you to pay dramatically more for everything from auto to life insurance coverage. By now almost everybody knows that those drunken party photos could cost you a job, too.  You can certainly enjoy networking and sharing photos, but you should know that sharing some information puts you at risk. What should you never say on Facebook, Twitter or any other social networking site?

1.  Your Birth Date and Place
Sure, you can say what day you were born, but if you provide the year and where you were born too, you've just given identity thieves a key to stealing your financial life, said Givens. A study done by Carnegie Mellon showed that a date and place of birth could be used to predict most — and sometimes all — of the numbers in your Social Security number, she said.

2.  Vacation Plans
There may be a better way to say "Rob me, please" than posting something along the lines of: "Count-down to Maui! Two days and Ritz Carlton, here we come!" on Twitter. But it's hard to think of one. Post the photos on Facebook when you return, if you like. But don't invite criminals in by telling them specifically when you'll be gone.

3.  Home Address
Do I have to elaborate? A study recently released by the Ponemon Institute found that users of Social Media sites were at greater risk of physical and identity theft because of the information they were sharing. Some 40% listed their home address on the sites; 65% didn't even attempt to block out strangers with privacy settings. And 60% said they weren't confident that their "friends" were really just people they know.

4.  Confessionals
You may hate your job; lie on your taxes; or be a recreational user of illicit drugs, but this is no place to confess. Employers commonly peruse social networking sites to determine who to hire — and, sometimes, who to fire. Need proof? In just the past few weeks, an emergency dispatcher was fired in Wisconsin for revealing drug use; a waitress got canned for complaining about customers and the Pittsburgh Pirate's mascot was dumped for bashing the team on Facebook. One study done last year estimated that 8% of companies fired someone for "misuse" of social media.

5.  Password Clues
If you've got online accounts, you've probably answered a dozen different security questions, telling your bank or brokerage firm your Mom's maiden name; the church you were married in; or the name of your favorite song. Got that same stuff on the information page of your Facebook profile? You're giving crooks an easy way to guess your passwords.

6.  Risky Behaviors
You take your classic Camaro out for street racing, soar above the hills in a hang glider, or smoke like a chimney? Insurers are increasingly turning to the web to figure out whether their applicants and customers are putting their lives or property at risk, according to Insure.com. So far, there's no efficient way to collect the data, so cancellations and rate hikes are rare. But the technology is fast evolving, according to a paper written by Celent, a financial services research and consulting firm.

9/11 Attack, looking back after 9 years

Nine years after the attacks of 9/11, how safe is America?

ground zero

 

ground zero

 A new report says Al Qaeda and its allies still have the capacity to kill many Americans, and that the threat today is more complex and more diverse than at any time since the attacks of 9/11.

• 

A US soldier shields his eyes from dust as a Blackhawk helicopter UH-60 lands at the US base in Arghandab Valley in August. A new report says Al Qaeda and its allies have the capacity to kill many Americans in a single attack, and that the threat today is more complex than at any time since the attacks of 9/11.

In the nine years since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, America has been fighting two deadly wars aimed at destroying Al Qaeda. The cost has been very high, especially for the US military personnel and their families who have endured multiple combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.

 

Gains have been made, but it’s been a long military and political slog. Meanwhile, the US (and other countries) have experienced lower-level attacks inspired or directed by Al Qaeda, and more such attacks and plots have been disrupted.

So is the US safer as a result of these efforts? According to a sobering new report by the heads of the former 9/11 Commission and other national security experts, it’s a mixed picture.

Although it would like to do so, Al Qaeda does not have the capability of launching an attack on the scale of 9/11, when hijacked airliners flown by suicidal Islamist terrorists slammed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, killing thousands.

But Al Qaeda still could carry out attacks against symbolic American targets such as the New York subway system or a passenger jet – two plots that were thwarted last year and could have killed hundreds of people. And, according to the report, “This level of threat is likely to persist for years to come.”

Al Qaeda and its allies also have established the beginnings of a terrorist recruitment, radicalization, and operational infrastructure in the US, according to “Assessing the Terrorist Threat” by the Bipartisan Policy Center. (The center is a nonprofit organization established in 2007 by former Senate Majority Leaders Howard Baker, Tom Daschle, Bob Dole and George Mitchell – two Republicans and two Democrats.)

“Last year was a watershed in terrorist attacks and plots in the United States, with a record total of 11 jihadist attacks, jihadist-inspired plots, or efforts by Americans to travel overseas to obtain terrorist training,” the report states. “They included two actual attacks (at Fort Hood, Texas, which claimed the lives of 13 people, and the shooting of two US military recruiters in Little Rock, Arkansas), five serious but disrupted plots, and four incidents involving groups of Americans conspiring to travel abroad to receive terrorist training.”

Two things in particular are worth noting, say the report’s authors: The increasing role of US citizens in planning and attempting to carry out terrorist attacks. And the increasing diversification of US-based jihadists, who do not fit any ethnic, economic, educational, or social profile.

“We are seeing more Americans turning on their country, going abroad and making common cause with terrorist groups,” said Bruce Hoffman, one of the report’s authors. “The array of perpetrators and the nature of their plots against America are remarkable and there is no single government agency responsible for deterring radicalization and terrorist recruitment. The terrorists may have found our Achilles heel – we have no way of dealing with this growing problem.”

Given the number of incidents involving domestic perpetrators – homegrown radicals, lone wolves, or trained recruits – the report’s authors conclude that “the U.S. is arguably now little different from Europe in terms of having a domestic terrorist problem involving immigrant and indigenous Muslims as well as converts to Islam.”

In the immediate wake of 9/11, many elected officials and national security experts predicted that another such mass attack on US soil would happen very soon.

That did not happen then and is unlikely to happen now, a subject of vigorous discussion and debate among expert analysts. But the threat to US security from Al Qaeda-inspired and directed terrorism remains.

“The American people have lost their focus on the threat and while we’re not trying to make people panic, this report reminds us that we cannot be complacent,” said former congressman Lee Hamilton, who headed the 9/11 Commission along with former New Jersey governor Tom Kean.

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By Brad Knickerbocker, Staff Writer / September 11, 2010

Motivator: PEACE INSIDE

Peace has no boundaries.

To be truly at peace with anything is to be fully at peace with everything.

But how can you be at peace when the world is so relentlessly demanding and complicated?

How can you offer peace when you get none in return?

Understand that peace is not a transaction. It is a choice.

Peace is the way you can choose to be, whatever the situation.

You can be peaceful while still being ambitious and fully engaged with life and its many complications.

You can be peaceful by following your own authentic purpose and living true to your highest values.

Peace is yours not to force upon others, or to negotiate, but to choose.

Choose peace inside.

-- R. Marston

Safety Topic: About Dengue

Dengue is a disease more common during rainy season. Dengue cases in the entire country have risen to about 75% more from January to August of this year (54,659 cases) compared to last year of the same period (31,248 cases). There were 429 deaths recorded in the last seven months and almost 80% of the cases recorded belonged to the 1-20 year old age bracket.

This is now a “serious concern” as reported by the Department of Health

On this note, we wish to remind everybody about proper sanitation in our homes and taking extra care in our surroundings.

Here are facts and guidelines to prevent and control mosquito and mosquito bites:

DENGUE HEMORRHAGIC FEVER is an acute infectious disease manifested initially with fever.
Transmission
Aedes aegypti, the transmitter of the disease, feed during the day, mostly during the early morning and late afternoon. It lays eggs in clear and stagnant water found in flower vases, cans, rain barrels, old rubber tires, etc. The adult mosquitoes rest in dark places of the house.
It is not transmitted from person-to-person.
Signs and Symptoms

<![if !supportLists]>·        <![endif]>Sudden onset of high fever which may last 2 to 7 days.

<![if !supportLists]>·        <![endif]>Joint & muscle pain and pain behind the eyes.

<![if !supportLists]>·        <![endif]>Weakness

<![if !supportLists]>·        <![endif]>Skin rashes - maculopapular rash or red tiny spots on the skin called petechiae

<![if !supportLists]>·        <![endif]>Nosebleeding when fever starts to subside

<![if !supportLists]>·        <![endif]>Abdominal pain

<![if !supportLists]>·        <![endif]>Vomiting of coffee-colored matter

<![if !supportLists]>·        <![endif]>Dark-colored stools

Prevention and Control

<![if !supportLists]>·        <![endif]>Eliminating pockets of stagnant water that serve as mosquito breeding sites at home, workplace and their vicinity

<![if !supportLists]>·        <![endif]>Cover water drums and water pails at all times to prevent mosquitoes from breeding.

<![if !supportLists]>·        <![endif]>Replace water in flower vases regularly.

<![if !supportLists]>·        <![endif]>Clean all water containers once a week. Scrub the sides well to remove eggs of mosquitoes sticking to the sides.

<![if !supportLists]>·        <![endif]>Clean gutters of leaves and debris so that rain water will not collect as breeding places of mosquitoes.

<![if !supportLists]>·        <![endif]>Old tires used as roof support should be punctured or cut to avoid accumulation of water.

<![if !supportLists]>·        <![endif]>Wearing protective clothing like long-sleeved shirts, long pants, socks and shoes when outdoors, if at all possible.

<![if !supportLists]>·        <![endif]>Collect and dispose all unusable tin cans, jars, bottles and other items that can collect and hold water.

<![if !supportLists]>·        <![endif]>Don't apply insect repellent underneath clothing, only on exposed skin

<![if !supportLists]>·        <![endif]>Using mosquito nets at home

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CANCER KILLING FRUIT

Please read about this miracle fruit that can kill cancer cells 100,000 times, more effective than chemo that gave you side effects. Guyabano,... The SourSop Fruit The SourSop or the fruit from the Graviola tree is a miraculous natural cancer cell killer 10,000 times stronger than Chemo. Why are we not aware of this? Its because some big corporation want to make back their money spent on years of research by trying to make a synthetic version of it for sale. So, since you know it now you can help a friend in need by letting him know or just drink some soursop juice yourself as prevention from time to time. The taste is not bad after all. It’s completely natural and definitely has no side effects. If you have the space, plant one in your garden. The other parts of the tree are also useful. The Next Time You Have A Fruit Juice, Ask For A SourSop. How many people died in vain while this billion-dollar drug maker concealed the secret of the miraculous Graviola tree? This tree is low and is called Graviola in Brazil , Guanabana in Spanish and has the uninspiring name "Soursop" in English. The fruit is very large and the subacid sweet white pulp is eaten out of hand or, more commonly, used to make fruit drinks, sherbets and such. The principal interest in this plant is because of its strong anti-cancer effects. Although it is effective for a number of medical conditions, it is its anti tumor effect that is of most interest. This plant is a proven cancer remedy for cancers of all types. Besides being a cancer remedy, graviola is a broad spectrum antimicrobial agent for both bacterial and fungal infections, is effective against internal parasites and worms, lowers high blood pressure and is used for depression, stress and nervous disorders. If there ever was a single example that makes it dramatically clear why the existence of Health Sciences Institute is so vital to Americans like you, it's the incredible story behind the Graviola tree. The truth is stunningly simple: Deep within the Amazon Rainforest grows a tree that could literally revolutionize what you, your doctor, and the rest of the world thinks about cancer treatment and chances of survival. The Future Has Never Looked More Promising. Research shows that with extracts from this miraculous tree it now may be possible to: * Attack cancer safely and effectively with an all-natural therapy that does not cause extreme nausea, weight loss and hair loss * Protect your immune system and avoid deadly infections * Feel stronger and healthier throughout the course of the treatment * Boost your energy and improve your outlook on life The source of this information is just as stunning: It comes from one of America 's largest drug manufacturers, the fruit of over 20 laboratory tests conducted since the 1970's! What those tests revealed was nothing short of mind numbing... Extracts from the tree were shown to: * Effectively target and kill malignant cells in 12 types of cancer, including Colon , Breast, Prostate, Lung and Pancreatic cancer.. * The tree compounds proved to be up to 10,000 times stronger in slowing the growth of cancer cells than Adriamycin, a commonly used chemotherapeutic drug! * What's more, unlike chemotherapy, the compound extracted from the Graviola tree selectively hunts down and kills only cancer cells. It Does Not Harm Healthy Cells! The amazing anti-cancer properties of the Graviola tree have been extensively researched-- so why haven't you heard anything about it? If Graviola extract is as half as promising as it appears to be-- why doesn't every single Oncologist at every major hospital insist on using it on all his or her patients? The spine-chilling answer illustrates just how easily our health-- and for many, our very lives are controlled by money and power. Graviola- -the plant that worked too well One of America 's biggest billion-dollar drug makers began a search for a cancer cure and their research centered on Graviola, a legendary healing tree from the Amazon Rainforest. Various parts of the Graviola tree--including the bark, leaves, roots, fruit and fruit-seeds- -have been used for centuries by medicine men and native Indians in South America to treat heart disease, asthma, liver problems and arthritis. Going on very little documented scientific evidence, the company poured money and resources into testing the tree's anti-cancerous properties-- and were shocked by the results. Graviola proved itself to be a cancer-killing dynamo. But that's where the Graviola story nearly ended. The company had one huge problem with the Graviola tree--it's completely natural, and so, under federal law, not patentable. There's no way to make serious profits from it. It turns out the drug company invested nearly seven years trying to synthesize two of the Graviola tree's most powerful anti-cancer ingredients. If they could isolate and produce man-made clones of what makes the Graviola so potent, they'd be able to patent it and make their money back. Alas, they hit a brick wall. The original simply could not be replicated. There was no way the company could protect its profits--or even make back the millions it poured into research. As the dream of huge profits evaporated, their testing on Graviola came to a screeching halt. Even worse, the company shelved the entire project and chose not to publish the findings of its research! Luckily, however, there was one scientist from the Graviola research team whose conscience wouldn't let him see such atrocity committed. Risking his career, he contacted a company that's dedicated to harvesting medical plants from the Amazon Rainforest and blew the whistle. Miracle Unleashed When researchers at the Health Sciences Institute were alerted to the news of Graviola, they began tracking the research done on the cancer-killing tree. Evidence of the astounding effectiveness of Graviola--and its shocking cover-up--came in fast and furious..... ....The National Cancer Institute performed the first scientific research in 1976. The results showed that Graviola's "leaves and stems were found effective in attacking and destroying malignant cells." Inexplicably, the results were published in an internal report and never released to the public... Since 1976, Graviola has proven to be an immensely potent cancer killer in 20 independent laboratory tests, yet no double-blind clinical trials- the typical benchmark mainstream doctors and journals use to judge a treatment's value- -were ever initiated.. A study published in the Journal of Natural Products, following a recent study conducted at Catholic University of South Korea stated that one chemical in Graviola was found to selectively kill colon cancer cells at "10,000 times the potency of (the commonly used chemotherapy drug) Adriamycin.. " ....The most significant part of the Catholic University of South Korea report is that Graviola was shown to selectively target the cancer cells, leaving healthy cells untouched. Unlike chemotherapy, which indiscriminately targets all actively reproducing cells (such as stomach and hair cells), causing the often devastating side effects of nausea and hair loss in cancer patients. ...A study at Purdue University recently found that leaves from the Graviola tree killed cancer cells among six human cell lines and were especially effective against prostate, pancreatic and lung cancers... Seven Years Of Silence Broken--it's Finally Here! A limited supply of Graviola extract, grown and harvested by indigenous people in Brazil , is finally available in America . The full Graviola Story--including where you can get it and how to use it--is included in Beyond Chemotherapy: New Cancer Killers, Safe As Mother's Milk, a Health Sciences Institute FREE special bonus report on natural substances that will effectively revolutionize the fight against cancer. From breakthrough cancer and heart research and revolutionary Amazon Rainforest herbology to world-leading anti-aging research and nutritional medicine, every monthly Health Sciences Institute Member's Alert puts in your hands today cures the rest of America --including your own doctor-is likely to find out only ten years from now. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For your information..... AFTER YEARS OF TELLING PEOPLE CHEMOTHERAPY IS THE ONLY WAY TO TRY AND ELIMINATE CANCER, JOHNS HOPKINS IS FINALLY STARTING TO TELL YOU THERE IS AN ALTERNATIVE WAY .... Cancer Update from Johns Hopkins 1. Every person has cancer cells in the body. These cancer cells do not show up in the standard tests until they have multiplied to a few billion. When doctors tell cancer patients that there are no more cancer cells in their bodies after treatment, it just means the tests are unable to detect the cancer cells because they have not reached the detectable size. 2. Cancer cells occur between 6 to more than 10 times in a person's lifetime. 3. When the person's immune system is strong the cancer cells will be destroyed and prevented from multiplying and forming tumors. 4. When a person has cancer it indicates the person has multiple nutritional deficiencies. These could be due to genetic, environmental, food and lifestyle factors. 5. To overcome the multiple nutritional deficiencies, changing diet and including supplements will strengthen the immune system. 6. Chemotherapy involves poisoning the rapidly-growing cancer cells and also destroys rapidly-growing healthy cells in the bone marrow, gastro-intestinal tract etc., and can cause organ damage, like liver, kidneys, heart, lungs etc. 7. Radiation while destroying cancer cells also burns, scars and damages healthy cells, tissues and organs. 8. Initial treatment with chemotherapy and radiation will often reduce tumor size. However prolonged use of chemotherapy and radiation do not result in more tumor destruction. 9. When the body has too much toxic burden from chemotherapy and radiation the immune system is either compromised or destroyed, hence the person can succumb to various kinds of infections and complications. 10. Chemotherapy and radiation can cause cancer cells to mutate and become resistant and difficult to destroy. Surgery can also cause cancer cells to spread to other sites. 11. An effective way to battle cancer is to starve the cancer cells by not feeding it with the foods it needs to multiply. WHAT CANCER CELLS FEED ON: a. Sugar is a cancer-feeder. By cutting off sugar it cuts off one important food supply to the cancer cells.. Sugar substitutes like NutraSweet, Equal,Spoonful, etc are made with Aspartame and it is harmful. A better natural substitute would be Manuka honey or molasses but only in very small amounts. Table salt has a chemical added to make it white in colour. Better alternative is Bragg's aminos or sea salt. b. Milk causes the body to produce mucus, especially in the gastro-intestinal tract. Cancer feeds on mucus. By cutting off milk and substituting with unsweetened soy milk, cancer cells are being starved. c. Cancer cells thrive in an acid environment. A meat-based diet is acidic and it is best to eat fish, and a little chicken rather than beef or pork. Meat also contains livestock antibiotics, growth hormones and parasites, which are all harmful, especially to people with cancer. d. A diet made of 80% fresh vegetables and juice, whole grains, seeds, nuts and a little fruits help put the body into an alkaline environment. About 20% can be from cooked food including beans. Fresh vegetable juices provide live enzymes that are easily absorbed and reach down to cellular levels within 15 minutes to nourish and enhance growth of healthy cells. To obtain live enzymes for building healthy cells try and drink fresh vegetable juice (most vegetables including bean sprouts) and eat some raw vegetables 2 or 3 times a day. Enzymes are destroyed at temperatures of 104 degrees F (40 degrees C). e. Avoid coffee, tea, and chocolate, which have high caffeine. Green tea is a better alternative and has cancer-fighting properties. Water--best to drink purified water, or filtered, to avoid known toxins and heavy metals in tap water. Distilled water is acidic, avoid it. 12. Meat protein is difficult to digest and requires a lot of digestive enzymes. Undigested meat remaining in the intestines become putrified and leads to more toxic buildup. 13. Cancer cell walls have a tough protein covering. By refraining from or eating less meat it frees more enzymes to attack the protein walls of cancer cells and allows the body's killer cells to destroy the cancer cells. 14. Some supplements build up the immune system (IP6, Flor-ssence, Essiac, anti-oxidants, vitamins, minerals, EFAs etc..) to enable the body's own killer cells to destroy cancer cells. Other supplements like vitamin E are known to cause apoptosis, or programmed cell death, the body's normal method of disposing of damaged, unwanted, or unneeded cells. 15. Cancer is a disease of the mind, body, and spirit. A proactive and positive spirit will help the cancer warrior be a survivor. Anger, unforgiveness and bitterness put the body into a stressful and acidic environment. Learn to have a loving and forgiving spirit.. Learn to relax and enjoy life. 16. Cancer cells cannot thrive in an oxygenated environment. Exercising daily, and deep breathing help to get more oxygen down to the cellular level. Oxygen therapy is another means employed to destroy cancer cells.