Pope Francis: A healthy environment is right of every human being – Vatican News
Pope Francis: A healthy environment is right of every human being – Vatican News

By Lisa Zengarini

Ahead of the COP-26 in Glasgow, the Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has convened a high-level panel and interactive debate on theme: “The environment and human rights” on Wednesday. The “right to a safe, healthy and sustainable environment” will be the focus of its Autumn Session taking place in Strasburg from 27 to 30 September 2021.

In a video message to the participants sent on Wednesday, Pope Francis commended the initiative and the Council of Europe’s efforts on this fundamental issue, reiterating his call for immediate action for the care of our common home.

He said that the Holy See, although an Observer nation, follows with particular attention all the Organization’s activity in this regard, “in the conviction that every concrete initiative and decision which can improve the dramatic situation facing our planet’s health must be supported and valued.”

Earth is greatest resource God has given us

He recalled his previous address to the PACE of 25 November 2014, in which he reminded that the earth “is the greatest resource which God has given to us and is at our disposal not to be disfigured, exploited, and degraded, but so that (…) we can live in this world with dignity.”

He also referred to his Encyclical Letter Laudato si’ highlighting the importance of caring for our common home, as “a universal principle that involves not only the Christians, but every person of good will who has the protection of the environment at heart.”

While commending the convening of the debate as a “valid contribution” to the COP-26, Pope Francis pointed out that any initiative of the Council of Europe should not be limited to the European continent, but “reach out to the whole world”.

This is why, he said, the Council’s determination to create of a new legal framework linking the care of environment to the respect of fundamental human rights is particularly appreciated by the Holy See.

Change of course urgently needed

The message further noted that “when the human being considers himself the master of the universe and not its responsible steward, he or she justifies any kind of waste and treats the other people and nature as mere objects,” denying “the fundamental right of every person to live with dignity and to develop integrally.”

The Holy Father therefore warned against modern consumerism, which has caused so much damage, reiterating his call for a “change of course”.

“Everything is connected, and as a family of nations we must have a common concern: to see that the environment is cleaner, purer and preserved. And take care of nature, so that it takes care of us,” he said.

A collective responsibility

He therefore insisted on the “individual and collective responsibilities” to ensure everybody’s right to a “safe, healthy and sustainable environment,” especially for the future generations.

Finally, Pope Francis expressed his hope that the Parliamentary Assembly and the Council of Europe will be able “to identify, promote and implement, with determination, all the initiatives necessary to build a healthier, fairer and more sustainable world.”

Pope to Youth4Climate: Education should foster care for environment – Vatican News
Pope to Youth4Climate: Education should foster care for environment – Vatican News

By Vatican News staff reporter

Technical and political solutions to humanity’s crises, such as climate change and the environment, are not enough unless there is a culture of care and responsible sharing, which is nurtured through an education that promotes development and sustainability based on fraternity. 

Pope Francis made the point in a video message to young people participating in a 3-day Youth4Climate event in Milan, northern Italy, in preparation for the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP26, scheduled from November 1 to 12 in Glasgow, Scotland.  

Youth4Climate

Some 400 young climate champions from the 197 member countries of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change are interacting with one another in the September 28 to 30 Youth4Climate event to help develop concrete proposals that will be presented to the ministers attending the Pre-COP26, Sept. 30 – Oct. 2, in Milan and COP26.  These initiatives are being sponsored by the Italian-British co-presidency of COP26. 

Among the participants is Greta Thunberg, the Swedish teenage environmental activist, who at the start of Youth4Climate demanded “we want climate justice, and we want it now”.  Noting that emissions continue to rise, she said, “We can reverse this trend, but drastic solutions will be needed.”

Challenging, listening, dialoguing

Speaking in Spanish, Pope Francis thanks the young participants for their “dreams and projects of goodness” and their concern for human relations and the environment. Their vision, he says, is capable of challenging the adult world, as they are prepared not only for action but are also willing to listen patiently and engage in constructive dialogue and to understand one another.

Importance of education

The Holy Father encourages them to join forces through a broad educational alliance to form generations that are steadfast in goodness, mature, capable of overcoming fragmentation and rebuilding the fabric of relationships, in order to make humanity more fraternal. 

Pope Francis regards young people not just as the future of the world but also its present, “who are building the future today, in the present”.  The Global Compact on Education, which was launched in 2019, he points out, is a step in this direction and seeks to provide shared responses to the historical change that humanity is experiencing and which the pandemic has made even more evident.

Harmony among people and with creation

A salient feature of Pope Francis’ pontificate is his concern for the created world, the environment.  In this regard, he released an encyclical in 2015, Laudato si.   Last year, he released another encyclical, Fratelli tutti, on fraternity and social friendship.

In his video message, he tells the young participants in Youth4Climate that technical and political solutions are not enough if they are not supported by the responsibility of each member and an educational process that promotes a cultural model of development and sustainability centered on fraternity and alliance between human beings and the environment.  He says, “There must be harmony between people, men and women, and the environment. We are not enemies, we are not indifferent. We are part of this cosmic harmony.”

Culture of care

The Pope believes that common ideas and projects can help find solutions to energy poverty and putting care of common goods at the center of national and international policies, promoting sustainable production, circular economy, the sharing of appropriate technologies.  Wise decisions based on experiences of past years, he says, help make a culture of care and responsible sharing possible.   

Pope Francis concludes his video message, encouraging young participants in the Youth4Climate event in their commitment to “the good of humanity”.

Western nations announce new sanctions on anniversary of Belarusian election
Western nations announce new sanctions on anniversary of Belarusian election

The United States and other western countries have imposed new sanctions on Belarus one year after a controversial presidential election that saw Alexander Lukashenko claim a sixth term as president of the former Soviet republic.

By Vatican News staff reporter

Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko claimed a sixth term as president following last year’s disputed presidential elections, leading to massive protests throughout the country.

In response, security forces launched a nation-wide crackdown, with more than 35,000 people arrested and thousands beaten and jailed.

On the anniversary of the election, US President Joe Biden announced new sanctions against Belarusian entities, including state-owned businesses, the Belarusian National Olympic committee, and private companies with ties to Lukashenko’s regime.

“It is the responsibility of all those who care about human rights, free and fair elections and freedom of expression to stand against this oppression,” Biden said in a statement. “The United States will continue to stand up for human rights and free expression, while holding the Lukashenka regime accountable, in concert with our allies and partners.”

In his statement, Biden called on Belarus to release all political prisoners and to begin talks with the opposition for a free and fair election that would be observed by the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).

Other nations, including Canada and the United Kingdom, also announced new sanctions. In response to a question from journalists specifically about the British sanctions, Lukashenko said, “You in Britain can choke on these sanctions.”

The anniversary was also marked by a statement by the European Union, describing the presidential elections as “fraudulent.” “On 9 August 2020, the people of Belarus saw their hopes to elect a legitimate leader of the country brutally dashed,” the statement reads. “Since then, the people of Belarus have continuously and bravely stood up for the respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms.”

The statement notes the regime’s crackdown on dissent, which it says is “consistently deepening the rift with the Belarusian people.”

It continues, “Together with like-minded partners, the EU has been vocal and united in calling on the Lukashenko regime to end its repressive practices. In line with its gradual approach, the EU stands ready to consider further measures in light of the regime’s blatant disregard of international commitments. The only way to end the political crisis is through an inclusive national dialogue.”

The European Union, it states, continues to support the Belarusian people. It “will continue to support a democratic, independent, sovereign, prosperous and stable Belarus”. The statement concludes, “The voices and the will of the people of Belarus will not be silenced.”

Cardinal Martinez Somalo dies at age of 94 – Vatican News
Cardinal Martinez Somalo dies at age of 94 – Vatican News

By Alessandro De Carolis

“Great dignity” and “solemn sobriety”: Those words offer a photograph of the qualities of the late Cardinal Martinez Somalo, in the words of Pope Benedict XVI.

Shortly before his 80th birthday, on 31 March 2007, Eduardo Martínez Somalo, then Cardinal Chamberlain (or Camerlengo) of the Holy Roman Church, wrote to Benedict XVI to offer his resignation from the post due to the age limit. The Pope sent him a letter that revealed his great esteem.

Pope Benedict, now emeritus, in his letter dated 4 April 2007, used a series of nouns and adjectives to describe the retiring Cardinal, including “diligence”, “competence”, and “love” spent in the service of the Holy See.

He also noted the attitudes of solemn sobriety and dignity shown by the Chamberlain at the time when, following the death of Pope St. John Paul II, he became the highest authority pro tempore of the Church. Everything in that letter confirms “sincere appreciation” towards a priest and a bishop who remained “intimately connected” to the mission in the Apostolic See.

From the world to the city

In fact, the story of Cardinal Martinez Somalo – who died late Tuesday morning in the Vatican -where he resided – often took him to and from Rome, ever since the dawn of his ministry.

Even before his priestly ordination he was sent from Spain – he was originally from Baños de Río Tobía, province of La Rioja – to complete his studies at the Pontifical Spanish College and the Pontifical Gregorian University, where he graduated with degrees in Theology and Canon Law.

The future cardinal was ordained a priest in 1950, afterwards returned to his native diocese of Calahorra y La Calzada-Logroño, and then returned to Rome again, this time to attend courses at the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, the school for future diplomats of the Holy See.

In August 1956, he became an official at the Secretariat of State, and was made responsible for the Spanish section. For this reason, he was at Pope St. Paul VI’s side in August 1968 during his Apostolic Journey to Colombia for the 39th International Eucharistic Congress.

Increasing responsibilities

He spent 14 years in the Vatican, then in April 1970 he was appointed counselor of the Apostolic Delegation to Great Britain.  But just six months later, in October, the Secretariat of State called him back as an assessor and then as a direct collaborator of the then-substitute, Archbishop Giovanni Benelli.

Another five years of service in the Vatican, during which Martinez Somalo always found a way to divide his time between the Vatican offices, where many also appreciated his sense of humor, and his closeness to the people, in particular to those who suffer.

Then, on 12 November 1975, Paul VI appointed him as a titular archbishop and sent him as Apostolic Nuncio to Colombia. He then returned to the Holy See after four years.

Cardinalate

The Pope who recalled him in May 1979 was John Paul II, who appointed him as substitute of the Secretariat of State, a position he held until 1988, when the Polish Pope created him cardinal.

In the same year he was also appointed Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, a post that Cardinal Martínez Somalo left in 1992 to dedicate himself to leading the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, of which he became Prefect Emeritus in 2004.

Scientology celebrated World Friendship Day
Scientology celebrated World Friendship Day

For World Friendship Day, the Church of Scientology Shares the Key to Lasting Relationships

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA • A new “Golden Rule” to kindle compassion, improve relationships, and empower happiness, from a common-sense, universal moral code

The Church of Scientology International extends an invitation to people of goodwill to join Scientology Churches and Missions in support of International Day of Friendship, a United Nations initiative that promotes “friendship between peoples, countries, cultures and individuals” and seeks to “inspire peace efforts and build bridges between communities.”


In observing this UN Day, Scientologists share two precepts from The Way to Happiness, the common-sense moral code written by L. Ron Hubbard, that hold the key to lasting friendships:

  • “Try not to do things to others that you would not like them to do to you,” and
  • “Try to treat others as you would want them to treat you.”

“Among many peoples in many lands for many ages there have been versions of what is called ‘The Golden Rule,’” wrote Mr. Hubbard. “The philosophic question concerning wrongdoing, the argument of what is wrong is answered at once on a personal basis: Would you not like that to happen to you? No? Then it must be a harmful action and, from society’s viewpoint, a wrong action. It can awaken social consciousness. It can then let one work out what one should do and what one should not do.”

As to the second and positive version of the rule, “One can get into a lot of conflicting opinions and confusions about what ‘good behavior’ might be,” Mr. Hubbard wrote. “If one were to think over how he or she would like to be treated by others, one would evolve the human virtues. Just figure out how you would want people to treat you.”

The full text of these precepts, available on The Way to Happiness Foundation website, provides know-how for an individual wishing to implement the guidelines personally or take them up with others to help them salvage or enhance interpersonal relationships. 

Putting these and the other 19 precepts of The Way to Happiness into action has everything to do with the purpose of International Friendship Day, because, as Mr. Hubbard points out:

“Aside from personal benefit, one can take a hand, no matter how small, in beginning a new era for human relations. The pebble, dropped in a pool, can make ripples to the furthest shore.”

Scientology Churches mark International Friendship Day with open house events and forums where they share successful application of The Way to Happiness in addressing issues of importance to the community. They also reach out with The Way to Happiness information stands and distribution events to share the booklet and its wealth of knowledge.

An interactive timeline on the Scientology website documents how the Church of Scientology Kansas City and Kansas City community activists partnered for Peace Rides, based on the effectiveness of Peace Rides in Los Angeles. The KC team distributed The Way to Happiness to promote a climate of unity and peace, counter violence and reverse the city’s climbing homicide rate. In honor of the event, Kansas City rapper and recording artist Kodde One wrote the anthem “Hold Yo’ Head High” to help spread the booklet’s message of brotherhood throughout the city. 

Other examples of the impact of The Way to Happiness are featured on the Scientology Network in episodes of the original series Voices for Humanity, which spotlights the work of humanitarians using the booklet to address societal needs. These episodes include the work of:

  • Rev. Father Teddy Sichinga, who uses The Way to Happinessto empower poverty-stricken farmers and villagers in Zambia; 
  • Diana Pedroni, who in partnership with the director of National Prevention and Citizen Security in the Dominican Republic distributed the booklet throughout the country resulting in a 21 percent drop in crime;
  • Rosalba and José Cordero and their Social Development and Recovery of Values Association, who not only educate young people with these precepts in schools, they also bring the program to inmates across Mexico’s entire prison system resulting in 99 percent of their graduates living lives free of crime. 

Those using The Way to Happiness in their communities share rave reviews of its effectiveness:

“I firmly believe that The Way to Happiness can change the perspective of many people to life and difficult situations that arise in it,” writes the coordinator of social rehabilitation and rehabilitation center for young offenders.

“Extremely motivating and inspiring. Moreover, in this world of intolerance and violence, the messages of peace and sharing can bring about a change in the world,” wrote a teacher.

“Two precepts really took my daughter’s interest,” wrote a parent. “‘Be Industrious’ and ‘Flourish and Prosper.’ She never looked back after that and has since carried a seemingly unkillable momentum and spirit about life. I have no doubt what started her turnaround. It was The Way to Happiness.” 

For more information on The Way to Happiness, contact your local Church of Scientology or visit The Way to Happiness Foundation website.

The Founder of the Scientology religion is L. Ron Hubbard and Mr. David Miscavige is the religion’s ecclesiastical leader.

Source: https://www.scientologynews.org/press-releases/for-world-friendship-day-the-church-of-scientology-shares-the-key-to-lasting.html

The European dilemma, to continue or to play
The European dilemma, to continue or to play

The Western world has dominated international relations. Ever since the appearance of capitalism, ”The West” has dictated the main mechanisms and laws that govern international conduct. Colonialism sealed the fate of many peoples while Woodrow Wilson reshaped the very notion of a free nation. The Marshal Plan shaped our view of the post-world war world in a way that is still visible today in the EU. The Western World, with its most evident incarnation of USA-EU military partnership, has fostered the strongest military alliance, NATO, the strongest economic force and has set the tone, principles, laws, and values for the entire globe.  

Yet 30 years on from its most glorious victory, the fall of communism, this world order has found itself contested by China and, episodically, by Russia. This contestation has seen many declinations in the form of military, economic, and even ideologic affairs (it has been said that authoritarian regimes have had a ”firmer” answer in the face of the pandemic). For the first time in a long time, the mechanisms governing the ”balance of power” have apparently started to produce effects of consequence for the establishment generically named The West.

Naturally, the rise of China and Russia has been quickened by the escalating dissensions between USA and the EU. These have been well exacerbated by the Angela Merkel phone scandal and have continued with tensions generated by the North Stream 2 project and, apparently hit rock bottom with the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).

Naturally, the American First model of conducting Trump Politics has tensioned relations with most European Union member states. Brexit was another clue that EU-USA destinies would be going on different paths.

Within this ”Ice Age” of EU-USA relations, Russia has dug further in deepening its relations with Germany, while China went all in its efforts to seduce, Hungary, Italy, and Greece

Russia and China figured out that attacking the EU-USA relationship is a core move against the current international establishment. Therefore, both states have worked for decades in order to undermine transatlantic relations, by stimulating Berlin-Moscow economic relations or by fueling the French military ego (and consequent anti-American and anti-NATO sentiment) running wild on the hallways of the Elysee.

Actions streaming from China or Russia seem to have a common source. However, in reality, they serve very different objectives, by operating on quite different channels. A truly functional Balance of Power alliance between Russia and China does not exist. Their actions are however overlapped, in a very punctual manner, on specific themes. Most of the time, these two counter players have their own interests to look after in Europe.

The new Curtain

The European Union is under siege and, apparently, more divided than ever. The economic games played by China and the tactic performance of Russian interests, often put into play by proxy, have already shaped an image of a weak European Union, often lacking perspective.  The old ideological conflict placing nationalism and globalism on the opposite sides of a truly representative cleavage is now overlapping the old Iron Curtain scheme. This is obvious in the way the European member states have positioned themselves in regard to Hungary’s anti LGBTQ law.

Foto - https://twitter.com/DaveKeating

What is genuinely interesting about this reshaping of old theoretical walls is the fact that Europe is undergoing a process of replicating the ongoing ideological conflict raging in the United States. As always, when dealing with radical arguments, both teams are right, and both are terribly wrong.

Viktor Orban and the Visegrad group seek to promote the vision of a European Project based on national states with full sovereignty. Of course, the issue with this sort of project is that it is equivalent with the destruction of the EU. Turning the EU into a mere alliance of states inconvenient for both Russia and China, since this means that the common Western EU project, of promoting a union of shared values and ideology, has failed, which leaves way for the reincarnation of Old Europe – easy to command, riddled with conflict and war.  

Europe has to face more tangible threats than ideology. The lack of proper military capacities in the face of dwindling relations with Turkey and the United States signals weakness. France, with all its efforts of portraying itself as the defender of Europe, is not at all a believable option. Because it lacks a sufficiently large army but also because France cannot guarantee peace of mind to the countries out East, in the improbable event of direct military conflict with Russia. Europe has, for an exceptionally long time, relied on military support from the United States. This may make some wonder if the European Union is or is not a great power, since it ”boroughs” the military potential of a third party. Europe undoubtedly remains an economic and, even more so, a cultural power irradiating values across the globe. But without a military power to match, it has remained far behind the United States, China and Russia.

The future of the European Union is played in Paris and Berlin

The new Biden Administration has been viewed by Brussels as a breath of fresh air. And even if this is the case, one has to take into account that the Trump phenomenon is not something intrinsically linked to Donald Trump. It is a mechanism set in place and validated, electorally, by a significant portion of the American citizens. So, to be sure, Trump’s major defeat and subsequent withdrawal should not be confused with the disappearance of his America First agenda.

So even if the European Union is looking forward for more relaxed diplomatic dialogue with Washington, it is clear that some continuity will be there. There are obvious signs to be seen already. The EU-China positioning will cause tensions and the 2% for defense is likely a win that the US will not want to step back on, since USA efforts are clearly disproportionately bigger in terms of NATO participation (it’s not just about the money, it’s about technology, military outreach, and presence). Biden is forced to keep addressing the uncomfortable China issue in Asia, where Beijing is growing in influence. In Europe, Washington will forever find friends in The Baltics, in Poland, and in Romania, states which are sure of the fact that American security guarantees are the only viable deterrents in the face of increased Russian assertiveness. Regardless of how Germany and France will play their hands, the US has firm support among EU states.

We should also remember that elections will be ongoing in Germany and France. The strategy adopted by the leaders in Paris and Berlin will show us if the European Union will bet on the band-wagoning game or if we’ll witness a new design of USA influence across Europe. If the European Union will play the Chinese or Russian card, the project will most probably drown in dissolution. Because the diverge interests of all three great players – USA, Russia, and China, will pull in irreconcilable directions, thus breaking the European fabric. Each power will seek to secure its zone of influence and the EU will become the mere turf in a foreign fight for dominance.

The EU has a tough decision to make. If it pushes for the continuation of the status quo, it knows the ropes: it will be safe, dependent upon American protection, but also free to occasionally play its cards when needed. If it decides to play the contender card, then she will have to deal with increasing nationalism, a strong sense of division, and a powerful conflictual perspective. Of course, the European nations have been decent at this game too. But even in the age of (re)nationalism, populations are weary in the face of war and fall-out conflict.

Russia returns to France the remains of Napoleon’s general
Russia returns to France the remains of Napoleon’s general

The gesture is on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of Bonaparte’s death

Russia returns to France the remains of General Charles-Étienne César Gudin de La Sablonnière (13 February 1768 – 22 August 1812), who fought in 1812 with Emperor Napoleon I near Smolensk, TASS reported. Negotiations between Moscow and Paris lasted for two years. The ceremony marked the 200th anniversary of Napoleon’s death on May 5, but a later date was set for the pandemic.

The general’s bones were discovered by archaeologists in 2019. Since his death on August 22, 1812, his tomb has been considered unknown. The remains were identified by the missing left leg, detached from a Russian cannonball. After he was wounded, doctors struggled for three days to save his life by amputating the rest of his left leg. But he died of gangrene at the age of 44. His heart was then removed from the field hospital to be buried in the Pere Lachaise Cemetery in Paris. His body remained unknown to historians, and two years ago his skeleton was found buried in a municipal park in Smolensk.

The Battle of Valutino, as the French call it after a nearby village (for the Russians it is the Battle of Lubino, after another village) took place on August 19, 1812 on the right bank of the Dnieper. 30,000 French clashed with 30,000 Russians from the rearguard covering Prince Bagration’s retreat. The casualties on the French side were 8,000, and on the Russian side – 5,000. After Smolensk, Napoleon continued to pursue the Russian army on August 25. General Gudin had been a close ally of Bonaparte’s since military school in Brienne. His name is inscribed on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris as a hero of France.

His remains were identified not only by the marks of the wound, but also by DNA examination compared to samples from the remains of his close relatives. They will be met in France at the Home for the Disabled (L’hôtel national des Invalides), where Napoleon’s sarcophagus is located, and their reburial will be at the Pere Lachaise.

Photo: Portrait of General Gudin (1839) by Georges Rouge and his remains as found in Smolensk

An initiative to achieve deforestation-free supply chains from Brazil
An initiative to achieve deforestation-free supply chains from Brazil

According to Proterra Foundation “Soy Protein Concentrate Brazilian industry announced end of 2020 that they are taking increased responsibility for the entire value chain of soy-production. The Brazilian soy suppliers, CJ Selecta, Caramuru and Cervejaria Petropolis-Imcopa, will implement a 100 percent deforestation and conversion free soybean value chain with 2020 as their cut-off date.”

Their press communication continues saying that it was the first time that companies in the animal feed industry have set such a voluntary and sector wide benchmark.

The cut-off date of soybeans that are already certified under the ProTerra Standard, abide to the provision that areas of native vegetation cannot be cleared or converted into agricultural areas, or used for industrial or other commercial purposes, after 2008. These companies source soy only from farmers who refrain from clearing forests on their property after the cut-off date of August 2020.

The commitment

The SPC and soymeal exporters CJ Selecta, Caramuru and Cervejaria Petropolis-Imcopa, are committed to stablishing an economical, environmentally sustainable and socially responsible supply chain. The commitment calls for:

• Promote a soy supply chain free from illegal and /or legal deforestation.

• Respect the rights of workers, indigenous peoples and local communities.

• Ensure that sourcing is fully compliant national and local environmental laws and regulations including Forest Code.

The plan to get there

Code of Conduct for soybean suppliers

The companies have developed a Code of conduct, motivating their suppliers to create and maintain a sustainable chain, to encourage good agricultural practices, to assure the protection of high conservation values, environment, and biodiversity, and in the meantime to respect rural workers and communities.

Monitoring based on a socio-environmental analysis

Processors and traders obtain farm-level traceability from all the soy direct sourcing of the company. Before every soy purchase, the trader’s origination team must check if the soy farm is compliant.

In addition, the suppliers are preparing a new sustainability sourcing policy for all their soy, GMO and non-GMO, which includes monitoring farms with satellite geospatial tools, preparing for audits and engaging their soy suppliers. 

The corporate system of the industrial processors shall comprise sufficient thorough tabular data about each supplier, such as the CAR (federal environmental registry).

To achieve this commitment risk assessment and additional mapping will be implemented:

  • Improving monitoring systems in direct soy purchase in order to achieve 100% of traceability in direct suppliers.
  • Start dialogue with indirect suppliers on risk assessment and action plans for the next steps.

In the case of indirect suppliers, complementary information may be gathered through field observations, community-based monitoring and stakeholder engagement. The definition of the level of monitoring for each supplier will be based on an assessment of the suppliers’ social and environmental risk and / or their location.

More about Proterra Foundation here.

A special anti-hiccup straw has been invented
A special anti-hiccup straw has been invented

Scientists have invented a special straw against hiccups

From holding your breath to being startled by someone next to you, there are countless different presumptive anti-hiccup medications. Scientists say they have a better solution, a special drinking straw.

When you relax, the diaphragm and the muscles around the ribs suddenly tighten. The rapid intake of air and the contraction of the diaphragm lead to the closure of the vocal cords in the larynx, which is due to the specific sound that is heard when hiccuping.

There are as many folk remedies as you want against this: holding your breath, drinking water in small sips, sudden fear …

However, scientists have come up with something a little more practical. Patented under the name “HiccAway”, the plastic tool is in the shape of the letter D. The special straw at the end, which enters the cup, has a valve that provides little resistance to suction.

The idea is that the increased effort required to suck fluid through the straw activates the diaphragmatic nerve and the contraction of the diaphragm, and subsequent swallowing activates the pneumogastric nerve.

Because both nerves are responsible for hiccups, scientists have devised a way to use them to prevent side effects.

“Act now,” said Dr. Ali Seifi, an associate professor at the University of Texas.

To test the device, a study was conducted in which 249 volunteers participated for several months.

The results published in the Jama Network Open show that the device stops hiccups in 92% of cases. Nine out of ten respondents say they like the new “straw” more than other ways to stop hiccups.

CCHR Testifies at Lake Alice Govt. Inquiry into Electroshock Torture of Children
CCHR Testifies at Lake Alice Govt. Inquiry into Electroshock Torture of Children

300 NZ children were tortured at Lakeside Psychiatric Hospital with electroshock, condemned by the UN. CCHR’s tenacity working with victims praised as heroic.

You have taken up a cause for so long, 45 years, and I just want to honor that and that you are among the heroes. Thank you very much.”
— Judge Coral Shaw, Chair of the hearing

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATS, June 17, 2021 /EINPresswire.com/ — A New Zealand Government Inquiry into Child Abuse at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital has heard evidence of 300 children—some as young as 10—being electroshocked without anesthetic to various body parts, including their genitals, as behavior modification.[1] In gut-wrenching testimony streaming live, former patients are testifying about the torture, physical and sexual abuse they commonly endured at the unit, until it was closed in 1978.[2] The Citizens Commission on Human Rights, a 52-year mental health industry watchdog, is acknowledged as being integral in exposing the horrors in 1976, eventually forcing the closure.[3]

When psychiatric organizations and the State failed the victims—over and over, as the Inquiry heard this week—CCHR persisted, helping Lake Alice survivor Paul Zentveld take the matter to the United Nations in 2019, which said the torture must be investigated. That is now happening and lead counsel for the inquiry, Andrew Molloy, speaking about CCHR, said: “There are not many lawyers, let alone laypeople, who have taken the matter to the United Nations, let alone have succeeded there.”[4] Judge Coral Shaw, Chair of the hearing, said the CCHR representatives are “heroes.” “You have taken up a cause for so long, 45 years, and I just want to honor that and that you are among the heroes. Thank you very much.”

CCHR International’s president, Jan Eastgate, had just joined the group in Australia when the Lake Alice electroshock assault on children had been exposed. Now based in Los Angeles, she said the hearing in NZ is relevant to the U.S. today: “Children have been electroshocked and a version of this brutal behavior modification in NZ is still used in at least one U.S. state today. Troubled youths in the U.S. are being killed by restraints in psychiatric facilities and also electroshocked. The fact that NZ is finally rectifying this torture sends a message to U.S. authorities to take the recent World Health Organization guidelines against coercive psychiatry and prohibit forced psychiatric treatment.”

The stories being told before the NZ inquiry have brought the authorities hearing them to tears. Central to the inquiry is now-deregistered psychiatrist Selwyn Leeks, 92, who fled NZ when the shock ward was shut down, moving to Australia where he continued to practice.[5]

Children were dragged kicking and screaming in the knowledge they were going to be given the shocks, sometimes lasting up to four minutes—without anesthesia.[6] Testimony includes:

• As a 10-year-old boy, electricity was blasted through Rangi Wickliffe’s brain. Leeks also moved the electrodes around Wickliffe’s head and upper body, telling him: “I think I can make you scream louder.” The shocks continued as punishment for alleged transgressions, such as not eating vegetables. The experience put him off going into hospitals, stating: “I get out of there as fast as possible knowing that the terror is coming… terrified of a smell, terrified of a sound. This is torture.” He was also sexually assaulted and gang raped. Now 59, he said emotionally: “My name is Rangi Wickliffe…The little boy inside me has spoken.”[7]

• Tyrone Marks, 11, was sexually abused on his first night before being subjected to electric shocks. Staff members walked around the unit with the electric box, saying: “It’s your turn. This could be you.” “[Leeks] was enjoying the pain that he was getting out of it, your reaction to it, and he would say things like, ‘You’re not going to get cheeky again. You’re not going to be disobedient….What he was doing with us, he was playing with our lives. He was electrocuting us.”[8]

• Hake Halo, 13, asked “Is it going to hurt?” “Yes, it is,” Leeks said. “Please, I don’t want it,” the youngster pleaded. “I am sorry, but it has to be done whether you like it or not,” Leeks replied. The electroshock machine was activated and Hake was knocked out. The next time he wasn’t so lucky. After that, the shocks were like “being hit by a sledgehammer on the head….Your body’s off the bed.” His screams echoed around the unit.[9]

Barry Parsonson, a clinical psychologist, told the hearing that the electroshock was torture. “The only people who did that were state organs of terror, namely the Gestapo….”[10] Patients were instructed to shock fellow patients using the ECT device.[11]

The NZ government issued an apology in 2001 and paid out a paltry total of NZ$10.7 million (US$4.9m) in compensation to 195 former patients—”less than $26,000 each for a lifetime of trauma and mental torture,” Eastgate says.[12]

Further, “The inquiry was established because justice was never served. The cover-up for decades included other Lake Alice psychiatrists, psychiatric associations and the medical council that failed to protect these children or believe them. We see the same thing happening in the U.S. today with restraint and electroshock, especially in the ‘troubled teen’ behavioral industry.”

CCHR is responsible for more than 190 laws worldwide that protect patients from psychiatric abuse, including prohibition of electroshock on minors. Sign CCHR’s Petition to Ban ECT.

Read the full article here.

[1] David Williams, “‘Prove it’: Lake Alice survivor after bombshell–Psychiatrist who gave electric shocks to children in the 1970s ‘incapable’ of responding to Royal Commission,” Newsroom, 15 June 2021, https://www.newsroom.co.nz/prove-it-lake-alice-survivor-after-bombshell?fbclid=IwAR2SUkbW2qsM7VOBZAn36yDtyQ4cU2h7_B4hF3pDLoR5um8paWpStutEo8U; Kethaki Masilamani, “State abuse inquiry: Royal Commission hears maltreatment patients at Lake Alice endured,” Newshub, 14 June 2021, https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2021/06/state-abuse-inquiry-royal-commission-hears-maltreatment-patients-at-lake-alice-endured.html; https://www.abuseincare.org.nz/

[2] Op. cit., David Williams, Newsroom, 15 June 2021

[3] Lake Alice Child and Adolescent Unit Hearing, Live Stream: https://www.abuseincare.org.nz/public-hearings/about/lake-alice-child-and-adolescent-unit-hearing/

[4] https://www.abuseincare.org.nz/library/v/266/statement-of-citizens-commission-on-human-rights-incorporated-at-lake-alice-child-and-adolescent-unit-hearing

[5] https://www.cchrint.org/2020/05/07/nz-police-renew-criminal-investigation-of-shock-torture-doc/

[6] Andrew McRae, “Abuse in Care inquiry: Children given electric shocks lasting four minutes,” RNZ, 15 June 2021,
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/444800/abuse-in-care-inquiry-children-given-electric-shocks-lasting-four-minutes?fbclid=IwAR2m0hdICaRn3vJeEn1ymeZFDzuomTmUlYo0TUUIHql527kSNcVPT4jXvNk

[7] Jimmy Ellingham, “Tortured boy turned to crime as he sought revenge for his ordeal,” Stuff NZ, 16 June 2021, https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/300333873/tortured-boy-turned-to-crime-as-he-sought-revenge-for-his-ordeal; https://www.abuseincare.org.nz/library/v/287/statement-of-rangi-wickliffe-for-lake-alice-child-and-adolescent-unit-hearing

[8] Jimmy Ellingham, “Boy thrown in with adults at Lake Alice sexually abused on first night,” Stuff NZ, 15 June 2021, Statement of Rangi Wickliffe for Lake Alice Child and Adolescent Unit hearing, https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/300333189/boy-thrown-in-with-adults-at-lake-alice-sexually-abused-on-first-night

[9] Op. cit., David Williams, Newsroom, 15 June 2021

[10] Andrew McRae, “Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital: Shock therapy like ‘state organs of terror’, inquiry told,” RNZ, 17 June 2021, https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/444911/lake-alice-psychiatric-hospital-shock-therapy-like-state-organs-of-terror-inquiry-told

[11] “Lake Alice Website,” http://www.lakealicehospital.com/history.html

[12] Phillip Hickey, Ph.D., “Torture at Lake Alice ‘Hospital,’ New Zealand,” Behaviorism and Mental Health, 2 Mar. 2021, https://www.behaviorismandmentalhealth.com/2021/03/02/torture-at-lake-alice-hospital-new-zealand/

Scientology Volunteer Ministers of Italy Help Croatian Villages Rebuild and Renew
Scientology Volunteer Ministers of Italy Help Croatian Villages Rebuild and Renew

Church of Scientology Padova’s Volunteer Ministers continue their monthly missions to the earthquake-ravaged region of Croatia.

For families living in Gvozd, Croatia, when the bright yellow van of the Scientology Volunteer Ministers pulled into town last month, it not only signaled the arrival of much-needed supplies, it also meant something even more important: Five months after the devastating December 29, 2020, earthquake, their plight has not been forgotten and there are people who care.

Volunteer Ministers of the Church of Scientology Padova and members of Pro.Civi.Co.S, the Civil Protection Volunteers of the Scientology Community, have continued disaster response missions to Croatia to help families recover from the 6.4 magnitude earthquake and numerous aftershocks that ravaged the region in December. They head east again May 21.

Their last trip to Croatia’s earthquake-damaged region was April 29. When they arrived in the town of Gvozd, in addition to long-life foods such as rice, tuna, beans and peas, they brought 1,000 seedlings and garden tools so families could replace vegetable gardens that were buried in rubble. They also brought work gloves and construction tools and equipment to help residents shore up their homes.

vm van in rural village
Scientology Volunteer Ministers and Pro.Civi.Co.S help Croatian communities ravaged by the December 2020 earthquake.
 

This weekend, they plan to visit other rural areas with donations including equipment to help rebuild destroyed stables and sheds so families can care for farm animals.

“Although the situation is improving, basic necessities are still lacking,” says Ettore Botter who oversees the Scientology Volunteer Ministers program for the Church of Scientology Padova. “We want to thank fellow Paduans who support our initiative by donating materials or funds that make our continued humanitarian response possible.”

The Church of Scientology Volunteer Ministers program is a religious social service created in the mid-1970s by Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard. It constitutes one of the world’s largest independent relief forces.

With the events of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York City, Scientology ecclesiastical leader Mr. David Miscavige called on Scientologists to redouble their efforts to aid their fellow man. He issued a directive entitled “The Wake-Up Call,” which inspired astonishing growth within the Volunteer Minister program. Volunteer Ministers of Italy formed Pro.Civi.Co.S, which was entered into the registry of the National Department of Civil Defense the following year. Over the past two decades, Pro.Civi.Co.S and the Volunteer Ministers of Italy have responded to disasters at home and abroad, including the L’Aquila and Amatrice earthquakes in Italy, the South Asian tsunami of 2004, the Haiti earthquake of 2010, and the 2019 Albania earthquake.

Scientology Volunteer Ministers: Looking Back—Ten Years After the Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami
Scientology Volunteer Ministers: Looking Back—Ten Years After the Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami

Despite the threat of nuclear disaster in the wake of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, Scientology Volunteer Ministers from Japan and across the globe responded to the needs of the devastated country.

First were the images of 30-foot walls of water wiping away entire towns and lifting 20-ton ships, propelling them 100 yards inland. Next was the news of the meltdown of three nuclear reactors. But with 20,000 people dead or missing and some 500,000 displaced, Scientology Volunteer Ministers immediately mobilized to help despite the danger.

A supply base was established at the Church of Scientology Tokyo to oversee the delivery of aid. Local Scientology Volunteer Ministers contacted officials to find out what assistance they needed.

A 17-man team of the legendary Mexican Los Topos search and rescue specialists, who have partnered with Volunteer Ministers disaster response teams since the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York, were immediately flown to Japan by International Scientology Volunteer Ministers headquarters in Los Angeles. Los Topos met with the Japanese army and began searching for survivors trapped beneath the wreckage—work memorialized in a National Geographic documentary.

los topos and vm
Los Topos founder and president Hector “Chino” Mendez (right), with lead Japanese Scientology Volunteer Minister as interpreter, coordinated with the military in the aftermath of the 2011 Japan earthquake and tsunami.  
 

Some 140 Volunteer Ministers from Japan, Australia, Canada, Mexico, Taiwan, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States helped run shelters in Kesennuma, Sendai, Watari, Onagawa, Ishinomaki and Idda. They organized delivery of food, water and supplies. They took part in the arduous cleanup of towns and villages that were destroyed.

In a city where elderly residents were stranded in their homes by floodwaters and impassable roads, Volunteer Ministers organized a fleet of bicycles loaded with supplies to bring vital provisions.

But while the physical needs were dramatic, the shock and loss survivors experienced was even more intense.

Volunteer Ministers are trained to provide Scientology assists—techniques developed by Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard that help address the spiritual and emotional factors in stress and trauma.

“I cannot believe I have received such a helpful service in a time like this,” said one person after his assist. “It eased my feeling of shock,” said another. A man whose inn was swept away in the tsunami began his assist in sorrow and walked away humming, telling the Scientology Volunteer Minister he planned to rebuild as soon as possible.

The Scientology Volunteer Ministers provided more than 12,000 assists and trained 1,500 volunteers from other relief organizations, community groups and schools in Volunteer Minister techniques. A Hashikami City Councilor told a Volunteer Minister that theirs is an important service the Japanese people can find nowhere else.

The official in charge of the Onagawa Town disaster effort expressed his appreciation for the help of the Scientology Disaster Response Team in a letter stating, “I have heard many disaster victims say they feel good, relaxed, relieved from body pain and healed from the trauma of this disaster after this group delivered the technology called assists developed by L. Ron Hubbard.”

Four years later, at the grand opening of the Church of Scientology Tokyo in Shinjuku, Mr. Masami Saito, then a member of the legislature for Miyagi Prefecture and recently elected mayor of Ishinomaki City, recalled his own experience with the Scientology Volunteer Ministers. “Following the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami that swept my city away, your members, the Volunteer Ministers, were there clearing away debris from our collapsed house in the hope that our family members were there,” he said. “Your humanitarian attitude was touching to the core. You even provided bicycles to people through the city that had this little message that meant so much to us: ‘Don’t give up, Japan!’”

The Church of Scientology Volunteer Ministers program is a religious social service created in the mid-1970s by Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard. It constitutes one of the world’s largest independent relief forces.

Janice Dean says ‘The View’ won’t book her due to criticism of Gov. Cuomo
Janice Dean says ‘The View’ won’t book her due to criticism of Gov. Cuomo

Fox News meteorologist Janice Dean said Tuesday that she’s been blackballed from appearing on “The View” — and suggested it was due to her outspoken criticism of embattled Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

Dean — who has blamed Cuomo’s coronavirus policies for the nursing home deaths of her in-laws — tweeted that her publicist has tried “several times” to schedule an appearance for her on the daytime talk show, to no avail.

Dean said she wanted to promote her recently published book, “Make Your Own Sunshine,” and also “talk about @NYGovCuomo and what I’ve been doing for 10 months to raise awareness and accountability for my husband’s parents’ deaths.”

“Guess what they said?” Dean said.

Dean also ripped into “The View” co-hosts Joy Behar and Sunny Hostin, tweeting that “seeing [them] yesterday saying they’d basically rather have criminal @NYGovCuomo than a Republican governor in office makes me sick.”

Hosts of "The View" Whoopi Goldberg, Candace Cameron Bure, Joy Behar, Sunny Hostin and Paula Faris seen on the popular talk show program.
Hosts of “The View” (from left) Whoopi Goldberg, Candace Cameron Bure, Joy Behar, Sunny Hostin and Paula Faris on the popular talk show.
ABC

She added: “I must say that @MeghanMcCain has been trying to shout for months about Cuomo, but when you have all the other women drowning her out and saying NO to her good friend who has been screaming for 10 months, it’s kinda telling where their loyalties are.”

In 2019, Dean previously appeared on “The View” to promote her memoir “Mostly Sunny,” which was a New York Times bestseller.

She’s also written a series of children’s books featuring the cartoon character “Freddy the Frogcaster.”

A publicist for ABC, which produces “The View,” declined to comment.

Scientology Volunteers Help Clean Up After a Massive Oil Spill—One of the Worst Ecological Disasters in Israel’s History
Scientology Volunteers Help Clean Up After a Massive Oil Spill—One of the Worst Ecological Disasters in Israel’s History

Volunteers from the Scientology Center of Tel Aviv join in the effort to remove tar from Israel’s Mediterranean beaches.

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES, March 4, 2021 /EINPresswire.com/ — With 14 kilometers of Mediterranean coast drawing surfers, swimmers, locals and tourists, Tel Aviv has been ranked by National Geographic as one of the top 10 beach cities in the world. But the beaches are in the news for a different reason this week. A serious oil spill has washed up an estimated 1,000 tons of tar onto the country’s shoreline. The Ministries of Health, Interior and Environmental Protection have asked the public “not to go [to the beaches] to swim, or do sports or leisure activities until further notice,” noting “exposure to tar could harm public health.”

Responding to a call from the Tel Aviv Municipality in Jaffa, volunteers from the Scientology Center of Tel Aviv took off to clean up a stretch of beach 20 miles to the north. Rough terrain makes the beach inaccessible to cars so they traveled by 4X4 SUVs. This beach will take them several more visits to complete and they plan to carry on there and in other sections of the more than 100 miles of the country’s Mediterranean coastline devastated by this environmental catastrophe.

Wearing their signature bright yellow T-shirts and protective masks and gloves, these volunteers have been active in the effort to help the city get through the COVID-19 pandemic, carrying out hundreds of hours of volunteer work each week to help the community.

Leave.EU donor Arron Banks loses data breach appeal
Leave.EU donor Arron Banks loses data breach appeal

The Leave.EU campaign and the insurance company owned by the political group’s key financial backer, Arron Banks, have lost an appeal against £105,000 of fines for data protection violations in the wake of the EU referendum campaign.

The companies were issued the fines two years ago, for including promotions for Banks’s GoSkippy insurance brand in emails to Leave.EU subscribers between August 2016 and February 2017.

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) had said then that the two organisations were closely linked, with “ineffective” systems for segregating the data of insurance customers from that of political subscribers.

Leave.EU was also fined £15,000 for using Eldon Insurance customers’ details unlawfully to send out almost 300,000 political marketing messages, before the referendum. An initial appeal against that ruling was withdrawn in May 2019.

In February 2019, when the fines and an audit into both companies’ use of data was announced, the information commissioner, Elizabeth Denham, said: “It is deeply concerning that sensitive personal data gathered for political purposes was later used for insurance purposes, and vice versa. It should never have happened.”

The fines against which Leave.EU and Eldon Insurance had tried to appeal in the latest case were for sending more than 1 million emails to Leave.EU subscribers, containing adverts for discounted insurance from GoSkippy, a brand name used by Eldon.

The information Commissioner, Elizabeth Denham. Photograph: ICO press office/PA

The campaign negligently disobeyed electronic marketing regulations in doing so, the ICO found.

The latest tribunal ruling noted findings of a previous court that both companies have a “confusingly two-faced approach to regulation” of personal data. It also noted that Banks had admitted being “untruthful”, and used a “bullying tone” in correspondence about the case.

“Mr Banks’s letter to the information commissioner admitting that he had been untruthful in the past was hardy likely to assuage all regulatory concerns, especially as it was followed by his letter of bullying tone,” the earlier ruling found.

Banks said Leave.EU and Eldon Insurance “will be appealing the fines to a higher court in due course”. He said the ruling would prevent newspapers and publishers from sending offers to subscribers.

The judges had addressed this argument, saying that Leave.EU’s privacy policy was so loosely drafted, it amounted to “signing a blank cheque”, and “frustrated the ability of its subscribers to consent to receive a political newsletter and nothing else”.

Because of this, the lower tribunal had been entitled “to find on the facts that subscribers did not ‘consent’, as that term is properly understood, to receiving direct marketing about Eldon’s insurance products”, the ruling said.

The judges also said that previous breaches of data protection law at Leave.EU and Eldon Insurance “should have put the parties on guard”.

The fines were initially announced as part of a wide-ranging investigation by the ICO into political uses of voters’ data, launched in 2017 following revelations in the Observer.

Denham, the commissioner, said it uncovered “a disturbing disregard for voters’ personal privacy”, and showed that the digital electoral ecosystem needed reform.

The ICO’s investigation involved 71 witnesses, 30 organisations with data practices under review, and more than 700 terabytes of data being assessed by investigators.

source: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/feb/14/leaveeu-donor-arron-banks-loses-data-breach-appeal

Louis Siciliano MUSIC MULTIVERSE EXPLORATION: A new Cosmology of Sound (Publisher: Magic&Unique Books)
Louis Siciliano MUSIC MULTIVERSE EXPLORATION: A new Cosmology of Sound (Publisher: Magic&Unique Books)

The MarketWatch News Department was not involved in the creation of this content.

   Dec 22, 2020 (AB Digital via COMTEX) --

On December 21, 2020, a historical date, Jupiter and Saturn aligned. These planets had not met for 800 years. On this not accidental date, the book by composer Louis Siciliano entitled MUSIC MULTIVERSE EXPLORATION: A new Cosmology of Sound (Magic&Unique Books) was released in 60 countries around the world in pre-order. 

The Neapolitan composer Louis Siciliano who lives between Los Angeles, New York and London took more than 20 years to develop this musical meta-language.

In the introduction of this precious book aimed at composers, instrumentalists and all music creatives who are looking for new musical territories to explore, one can read the following:

“Once, the great Wayne Shorter told me that Charlie Parkerlistened to a musician performing dodecaphonic music, took out his sax and began to play. Someone asked him: “What you’re playing?” He answered: “I’m playing lakes, rivers, trees, clouds, the sea.” Quantum physics and the latest scientific research have established that there is a sacred architecture, a harmonic law that underlies everything that happens in the Cosmos. In what we call the overtone series, there is the key to everything. Music contains the mystery of life and is connected to the sciences and the infinite dimensions in which all of us are immersed. I repeated to myself, “there must be a universal law that regulates the life of musical structures,” like the Einstein theory of relativity. “As above, so below,” the hermetics said. The law that permeates music is the same that moves and regulates the Universes. I began to deepen the immense didactic work of Slominsky, Schillinger, Hindemith and Messiaen, not to mention the works of the eternal J.S. Bach. From all these studies, I have been able to identify a fundamental concept in music: Symmetry. From the symmetry of intervalic structures, I then landed at MUSIC MULTIVERSE EXPLORATION. Through this meta-language, every architect-composer-performer will be able to freely build his own neighborhood, so to say, or an entire city, why not? Stravinsky said: “freedom for me is to be aware of the borders”. The peculiarity of MUMEx (MUSIC MULTIVERSE EXPLORATION) is that it will ensure that each neighborhood (structural element) is in harmony and in complete coherence with the other districts. MUMEx therefore, is a management model that serves to “freely organize” the melodic flow, counterpoint lines, sound agglomerates, rhythmic figures and the tonal microstructures created by the composers-performers.”

This book will be available on Amazon and in all specialized bookstores around the world starting January 2, 2021.

For more information, visit: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0578828693

Media Contact
Company Name: MAGIC&UNIQUE GROUP
Contact Person: JP Devera
Email: Send Email
Phone: +1 424 777 2283
City: LOS ANGELES
Country: United States
Website: https://www.magicandunique.com/

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‘Uttara Kaanda’ book review: Silent voices speak
‘Uttara Kaanda’ book review: Silent voices speak

Express News Service
A story is made up of events, but is both more and less than them. While the events may mean multiple things, the story forces them into specific interpretations and discards the rest. SL Bhyrappa deconstructs the classic Indian epic of the Ramayana into events, and back together into a different story in Uttara Kanda—one that focuses on Sita and the other women.

Bhyrappa is a well-known figure in Indian literature, and has never been one to hew to the mainstream. In his dozens of books written over decades, he has created a very individualistic—yet references-backed—vision of Indian spirituality and culture. It takes someone with a deep understanding of the storyteller’s art to notice the flaws in an epic, which is what Bhyrappa has done here.

The book begins with Sita in exile, struggling to manage her twin toddler sons. Her situation is dire, and were it not for her loyal maid with experience of bringing up children, and her sister Urmila, who sends over supplies, she would be worse off still. As she thinks back to her past days, and how she landed up here, we, the readers, begin a unique unseen narration of the entire Ramayana and beyond.

Unique—because, in addition to this being Sita’s viewpoint, it is also told completely in a limited first person. Epics are made easier to swallow by being, in writing terminology, third-person omniscient—the narrator knows everything happening everywhere—but Bhyrappa brings us the true terrors of Sita’s existence by narrowing the narrative. Information often comes to her days, or months later, through sources with their own bias. When Sita does not know what happened between Kaikeyi and Dasharatha, neither do we, until someone tells us. And when Sita is trapped in Raavana’s Ashok Vana, we have no idea of whether Rama knows about her, or whether he plans to do anything about it. And thence, we see that what sounds fair and just for the men in the story, sounds so unfair to the women. They’re expected to follow the conventions despite the whole picture never being made clear to them.

Indeed, none of the men in the cast come off looking good when examined closer. Whether it is Rama, who uses dharma as a crutch rather than an ideal, Sugreeva who lusts after his brother’s wife, or even Dasharatha who makes rash promises driven by lust again. Even Valmiki is a character here, and Bhyrappa points out how Valmiki, when writing his epic, is inclined to focus on the men’s story and end it at a point when things are looking good, instead of including the depressing aftermath.

Bhyrappa makes the story more believable by removing the traces of the supernatural from the tale. Hanuman, now, is a man named after the mythical Hanuman. The golden deer is just a deer and the disguised voice emanating is never explained. The magical bridge to Lanka is now replaced by rocks that were already there. It has the effect of making us look at the characters as more human and less literal Gods. A God may make his wife miserable to satisfy dharma, but how do we feel when a normal man does it?

The translation of the book by Rashmi Terdal is superb, achieving the twin goals of being fluent, and of bringing the native ethos to life. Rewriting epics has been a popular genre in Indian literature, with the regional influences adding extra colour to the plot. In Marathi retellings, for example, family members get called Dada and Mama—here, this is a Kannada version, so Terdal has retained the Anna, Appa, and Thaatha salutations. Characters eat millets and refer to them by Kannada names—navane, ragi, sajje.

This book is further proof of the riches in Indian literature—writers and books—that translation is bringing to new readers. An absorbing, thought-provoking read!

‘The Bhagavat Gita’ book review: Twin view of a sacred scripture
‘The Bhagavat Gita’ book review: Twin view of a sacred scripture

Express News Service
Let us begin with The Bhagavad Gita translation first. It is a verse-by-verse translation, with the Sanskrit shlokas on one page and the English translation on the facing page. There is no interpretation, no commentary; just a literal translation. With over 2,700 translations of the Gita between 1785 and 1979 in 50 identified languages, why do we need another translation? For several reasons. There is an inevitable loss when translating from Sanskrit to English—a loss of context, exact meanings, and of course, the beauty of the Sanskrit poetry which cannot be reproduced in English, no matter how hard one tries. Some words cannot be translated to English with complete fidelity. For example, ‘duty’ is at best a partial translation of the Sanskrit word ‘dharma’. Given these limitations, it becomes all the more important to not compound this loss by translating words without understanding their context.

Debroy tells us that some less than adequate understanding of Sanskrit leads to ‘Gudakesha’ (another of Arjuna’s names which means one who has conquered sleep, derived from ‘gudaka’—sleep, and ‘isha’—lord) being translated as someone ‘whose hair is in a bun’, which is etymologically possible, but contextually implausible. Then there are problems that arise from an incomplete reading of the Mahabharata itself.

Consider also what is lost in translations that substitute words for convenience or otherwise. For instance, in 1.36, Arjuna laments to Krishna, ‘O Janardana! What pleasure will we derive from killing the sons of Dhritarashtra? Although they are criminals, sin alone will be our lot if we kill them.’ To understand why the Kauravas are criminals, you have to read the footnote that tells us that according to the shastras, ‘there are six types of criminals—arsonists, poisoners, those who bear arms to kill you, those who steal wealth, those who steal and those who steal other people’s wives.’ If you substitute the word criminal with evil, you lose something in the translation.

This translation seeks to avoid all such pitfalls. If you want to appreciate Sanskrit, the shlokas are reproduced in Devanagri. In cases where the Sanskrit sentence flows to the next one, rather than combining the translations across all these shlokas, the translation sticks to a verse-by-verse cadence. That makes the job of a reader trying to match the shloka to the English translation easier. Given all this, this book should become a go-to reference for people wanting a faithful, accurate, and copiously footnoted English translation of the Bhagavad Gita. More than 800 footnotes, spread across 60 pages, provide additional notes and context without interrupting the flow of the translation.

The first book is a faithful, verse-by-verse translation. But a more fundamental question may arise in the mind of the reader: how should I read the Gita? Why should I read it? For that, we should turn to the second book—The Bhagavad Gita for Millennials. It seeks to, and succeeds in, introducing the reader to the world of the Gita in its various dimensions. The book also answers several questions as a typical reader may have about the Mahabharata and the Gita. Like, who composed the Mahabharata, why was Krishna Dvaipayana called Vedvyasa, what is the BORI (Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute) Critical Edition, was the Gita written by one or multiple authors, is the Gita a later interpolation into the Mahabharata, and so on.

Which leads to another natural question—the historicity of the Mahabharata. Or the historicity of the most famous character in the epic—Krishna. Archaeologist BB Lal answered the question on the historicity of the Mahabharata more than half a century ago when he led the excavation and found evidence of several Painted Grey Ware sites dating back to the second millennium BCE. We can rely on the evidence presented by the Chandogya Upanishad that references Krishna, the son of Devaki, the account of the Greek traveler Megasthenes, the Sanskrit grammarian Panini’s 5th or 6th century BCE work, Ashtadhyayi, and so on. The circumstantial evidence points to Krishna as a historical person. It is important to point out that it is the historicity of Krishna that is covered, not his divinity—an important distinction that should not be conflated.

But what makes this book unique is probably the second chapter. The author takes the reader on a whirlwind tour of why there is no substitute to reading the Gita in its original Sanskrit. Because translations cannot be completely recreated, they are often trans-creations, and no translation can capture the beauty of the Sanskrit poetry in the Gita. Having said that, we are told how to break up a Sanskrit shloka to rearrange it in a linear fashion. Several verses are thus subjected to the process of dissection, revealing the order in which the words are to be read, opening a pathway to understanding even seemingly difficult shlokas.

Having introduced the reader to the mechanisms of reading, rearranging, and understanding the shlokas in the Gita, the book then elucidates several shlokas and their concepts by taking the reader on a journey in the form of stories from the texts. Most are from the Mahabharata, for obvious reasons, but several from other texts also such as Upanishads and the Puranas.

What then is the suggested order of reading these books? For me, the answer is obvious—read the Millennials book first, keeping the translation as a handy reference. Start on it, but do not treat it as a weekend read. The translation is for a slower, more careful, more contemplative reading.

The book stops here
The book stops here

Express News Service

MYSURU: Clad in a white banian and a dhoti, holding a broom by its short wooden handle, he sweeps the huge hall filled with books and papers – looking at him, you won’t think he is a possessor of one million books. This has been a routine for Anke Gowda, 72, apart from buying books and magazines over the last five decades.

His Pustaka Mane (literally meaning Book house) boasts of over 10 lakh books of various genres. This book paradise, located at a small village called Haralahalli near Srirangapatna (Mandya district), has not remained a private library of Anke Gowda but a place for research scholars, teachers, writers, critics, competitive exam aspirants and people from all walks of life to refer the books free of cost.

From a tiny book of over 10 pages to those weighing more than 3-4 kg, Anke Gowda has all of them and more. Though Kannada books have a prominent place in his library, there are books in over 20 Indian and foreign languages. Pustaka Mane has books dating back to 1832 to a new book released last month.

A woman browses through books at the Book House

And from novels to  books on literature, science and technology, mythology. critiques, travelogues, research, astrology, women’s and children’s literature etc,  are housed in this huge library. Anke Gowda dusts all the books every day and makes every effort to organise them for the convenience of his visitors.
Born in a family of agriculturists in Mandya to Marigowda and Ningamma, Anke Gowda comes from a poor family, but had a great passion for reading books. An MA in Kannada literature, he worked as a time-keeper at Pandavapura sugar factory for about 30 years during which he spent nearly 80% of his salary on purchasing books.

Anke Gowda says, “When I was in college, I could not get access to books. This made me think and I wanted to have my own collection. I initially started reading and collecting books published by the Ramakrishna Ashram. My professor Anantharamu’s motivational words turned my passion for books into an obsession. Though I worked in a sugar factory, whenever I went out of town, I brought home books.’’
Anke Gowda started collecting books as a small venture when he was 21 years old. By early 2004, his entire house was full with over 2 lakh books.

After learning about Anke Gowda’s collection, Sri Hari Khoday, industrialist, helped him in build a huge building in an area of about 22 guntas, which has now become a must-see on every tourist’s itinerary.
Gowda visits major book sellers in Majestic, MG Road, Avenue Road in Bengaluru to buy books, besides getting those discarded by libraries and households.

Even today, he and his wife Vijayalakshmi, who has been supporting him, live in this book house, sleep on the floor and cook in a corner. “My collection has helped thousands of people, research scholars and PhD students,” he says. Mahadeshwara, a research scholar in history says rare books on history are available at this book house.

NEW BUILDING
Anke Gowda Jnana Pratishthana, the foundation, makes every effort to collect books. A new building is coming up next to his book house where Gowda hopes to make a classification of all the books and keep them in an organized way. As he is unable to employ the required staff for this, even today at the age of 72, he does it single-handedly. This, while more than 250 bags of books are yet to be opened and added to his collection.

10 lakh books of various genres
20 Indian and foreign language titles