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July 29, 2006
Healthier, older people than ever before (but fatter)
The Keller family illustrates what may prove to be one of the most striking shifts in human existence — a change from small, relatively weak and sickly people to humans who are so big and robust that their ancestors seem almost unrecognizable.
New research from around the world has begun to reveal a picture of humans today that is so different from what it was in the past that scientists say they are startled. Over the past 100 years, says one researcher, Robert W. Fogel of the University of Chicago, humans in the industrialized world have undergone “a form of evolution that is unique not only to humankind, but unique among the 7,000 or so generations of humans who have ever inhabited the earth.”
...
Mr. McClendon is right. Men living in the Civil War era had an average height of 5-foot-7 and weighed an average of 147 pounds. That translates into a body mass index of 23, well within the range deemed “normal.” Today, men average 5-foot-9½ and weigh an average of 191 pounds, giving them an average body mass index of 28.2, overweight and edging toward obesity.
So Big and Healthy Nowadays That Grandpa Wouldn’t Even Know You - New York Times
Posted by thdyck at July 29, 2006 | Comments (0)
July 28, 2006
Menno Simons on children of peace
The regenerated do not go to war, nor engage in strife. They are children of peace who have beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning forks, and know no war. ... Our weapons are not weapons with which cities and countries may be destroyed, walls and gates broken down, and human blood shed in torrents like water. But they are weapons with which the spiritual kingdom of the devil is destroyed. ... Christ is our fortress; patience our weapon of defense; the Word of God our sword. ... Iron and metal spears and swords we leave to those who, alas, regard human blood and swine’s blood of well-nigh equal value.
Menno Simons - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Posted by thdyck at July 28, 2006 | Comments (0)
All Pilgrims Lucky Stop First United Church of the Rock and Burning Bush of Souls Harbor: The Meaning of Congregational Names
Is the name of your church invitational, exclusive, aversive, or perhaps just benign?
I pass legions of church signs during my travels—and I’ve noticed that many places beckon me to worship. I’m extraordinarily curious about where and how other people practice their faith, and I have noticed that some churches appear much more welcoming than others.
I continue to wonder about a possible correlation between the names of churches and other variables. If perception is related to reality, what might be an outsider’s perception of the name of your place of worship?
If I think of life as a pilgrimage, then the name All Pilgrims Christian Church seems a reasonable fit. If on the other hand, I think about being rooted, I am drawn to a small church in the mountains of Kentucky named Church of the Rock. The metaphor is solid, and the church building was appropriately situated on a rocky bluff.
DreamSeeker Magazine Autumn 2004: Donald E. Kraybill
Posted by thdyck at July 28, 2006 | Comments (0)
The desire for payback
'Good payback'
Cpl. Christopher Barber, who was himself wounded in March, said the mission was very successful: "We got some good payback, really good payback." After being attacked for five months, "we got a lot of guys. It felt really good."
Canadians killed about 100 Taliban fighters during the operation, the military estimated.
CBC News: Canadians scorn 'cowardly' Taliban attacks
Posted by thdyck at July 28, 2006 | Comments (0)
Let's Get Jesus Back
Let’s get Jesus back.
The Jesus who inspired a Methodist ship-caulker named Edward Rogers to crusade across New England for an eight-hour workday. Let’s get back the Jesus who caused Frances William to rise up against the sweatshop. The Jesus who called a young priest named John Ryan to champion child labor laws, unemployment insurance, a minimum wage, and decent housing for the poor—ten years before the New Deal.
Let's Get Jesus Back by Bill Moyers
Posted by thdyck at July 28, 2006 | Comments (0)
July 14, 2006
Fairer disaster aid funding call
A fairer system for funding global emergency relief is needed, a Tsunami Evaluation Coalition report concludes.
For every person affected by the 2004 tsunami 3,850 GBP was raised but for those caught in the 2004 Bangladesh floods the figure was 1.64 GBP, a study has said.
BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Fairer disaster aid funding call
Posted by thdyck at July 14, 2006 | Comments (0)
July 10, 2006
Coral deterioration in Belize
Billy Leslie, who runs a diving operation and is the son of a commercial fisherman, took me down to see the damage the coral is suffering.
Billy is a cheerful fellow. You will note, from the grin on his face as he peruses the trophy line of discarded bikini bottoms festooned above his bar, that his employment reward package is not merely financial.
But he does not laugh when he describes the state of the reef.
BBC NEWS | Programmes | From Our Own Correspondent | A people dependent on coral
Posted by thdyck at July 10, 2006 | Comments (0)
July 2, 2006
Juice 'can slow prostate cancer'
Drinking a daily eight ounce glass of pomegranate juice can significantly slow the progress of prostate cancer, a study suggests.
Researchers say the effect may be so large that it may help older men outlive the disease.
Pomegranates contain a cocktail of chemicals which minimise cell damage, and potentially kill off cancer cells.
The study, by the University of California in Los Angeles, appears in the journal Clinical Cancer Research.
BBC NEWS | Health | Juice 'can slow prostate cancer'
Posted by thdyck at July 2, 2006 | Comments (0)