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30 septiembre Greco-Buddhist art
Gandhara Buddha, 1st-2nd century CE. Greco-Buddhist art is the artistic manifestation of Greco-Buddhism, a cultural syncretism between the Classical Greek culture and Buddhism, which developed over a period of close to 1000 years in Central Asia, between the conquests of Alexander the Great in the 4th century BCE, and the Islamic conquests of the 7th century CE. Greco-Buddhist art is characterized by the strong idealistic realism of Hellenistic art and the first representations of the Buddha in human form, which have helped define the artistic (and particularly, sculptural) canon for Buddhist art throughout the Asian continent up to the present. It is also a strong example of cultural syncretism between eastern and western traditions. The origins of Greco-Buddhist art are to be found in the Hellenistic Greco-Bactrian kingdom (250 BCE- 130 BCE), located in today’s Afghanistan, from which Hellenistic culture radiated into the Indian subcontinent with the establishment of the Indo-Greek kingdom (180 BCE-10 BCE). Under the Indo-Greeks and then the Kushans, the interaction of Greek and Buddhist culture flourished in the area of Gandhara, in today’s northern Pakistan, before spreading further into India, influencing the art of Mathura, and then the Hindu art of the Gupta empire, which was to extend to the rest of South-East Asia. The influence of Greco-Buddhist art also spread northward towards Central Asia, strongly affecting the art of the Tarim Basin, and ultimately the arts of China, Korea, and Japan.
Heracles depiction of Vajrapani as the protector of the Buddha, 2nd century Gandhara, British Museum. Artistic model Greco-Buddhist art depicts the life of the Buddha in a visual manner, probably by incorporating the real-life models and concepts which were available to the artists of the period. The Bodhisattvas are depicted as bare-chested and jewelled Indian princes, and the Buddhas as Greek kings wearing the light toga-like himation. The buildings in which they are depicted incorporate Greek style, with the ubiquitous Indo-Corinthian capitals and Greek decorative scrolls. Surrounding deities form a pantheon of Greek (Atlas, Herakles) and Indian gods (Indra). Stylistic evolutionStylistically, Greco-Buddhist art started by being extremely fine and realistic, as apparent on the standing Buddhas, with "a realistic treatment of the folds and on some even a hint of modelled volume that characterizes the best Greek work" (Boardman). It then lost this sophisticated realism, becoming progressively more symbolic and decorative over the centuries.
The Buddhist gods Pancika (left) and Hariti (right), 3rd century CE, Takht-i Bahi, Gandhara, British Museum.
Gandhara Poseidon (Ancient Orient Museum)
Maitreya, with Kushan devotee couple. 2nd century Gandhara.
A Buddha in Kamakura (Japan) (1252), reminiscent of Greco-Buddhist influences.
Bodhisattva Lokesvara, Cambodia 12th century. Cultural significance of Greco-Buddhist art Beyond stylistic elements which spread throughout Asia for close to a millennium, the main contribution of Greco-Buddhist art to the Buddhist faith may be in the Greek-inspired idealistic realism which helped describe in a visual and immediately understandable manner the state of personal bliss and enlightenment proposed by Buddhism. The communication of deeply human approach of the Buddhist faith, and its accessibility to all have probably benefited from the Greco-Buddhist artistic syncretism. 29 septiembre Falun Gong practitioner, Mr. Feng Gang Dies in Custody
Name: Feng Gang (冯刚) (Clearwisdom.net) (Correspondent from Dalian City) On July 4, 2009 at around noon, Falun Dafa practitioners Mr. Feng Gang, his wife Ms. Wang Juan, and twelve others were arrested at the home of practitioner Ms. Shi Guixiang by officers from the Huanghe Road Police Station, which is under the jurisdiction of the Xigang District Police Department in Dalian City. They were detained at the Dalian Detention Center. Afterwards the police took Mr. Feng's house key and ransacked his home. They stole a laptop, books and other personal belongings.
Police officer Li Hongqiao interrogated Mr. Feng repeatedly during his detention. On August 10, 2009, Mr. Feng was in a life-threatening condition. The guard at the Dalian Detention Center said that Mr. Feng was not to die at the detention center, and that the Domestic Security Division would deal with it. Three Dalian City Domestic Security agents then came and took Mr. Feng to the Military No. 210 Hospital in Dalian.
According to the hospital examination, Mr. Feng's gallbladder was swollen to the size of two fists. He could not eat or drink in case the gallbladder might explode. The doctor told the person from the National Security Team that he was in critical condition and he must be operated on immediately. The Domestic Security agents said that it was not necessary to operate that day and that the doctor could wait until the next day, after Mr. Feng Gang was released from detention. Hence, Mr. Feng would have to pay all the expenses. The doctor did not agree and said the patient would die if the surgery was put off until the next day. The three agents had to pay a deposit of four thousand yuan, and they left quickly thereafter.
Mr. Feng told the doctor that he could not undergo the surgery since his wife was also detained, and he could not afford the cost. The doctor had sympathy for him. Mr. Feng wrote a statement to the doctor declaring that after his discharge, the hospital would not be responsible for his life or death. The doctor gave him fifty yuan from the deposit so that he could take a taxi home.
On August 12, 2009, Mr. Feng's family members learned that he was home, so they went to visit him the next day. When they knocked on the door nobody answered. Mr. Feng had disappeared again. It was said that he went to a supermarket after going home and was arrested again.
On August 14, 2009, members of Mr. Feng's family went to the Dalian City Domestic Security Division to request his release. The staff said that all of the police officers were out, but they insisted on seeing an officer. After a long period of time, one officer showed up and said, "You have to talk to the person who arrested him." Mr. Feng's family members went to the police station on Huanghe Road. They saw Li Hongqiao, who was in charge, and asked him where Mr. Feng was. Li Hongqiao did not answer the question directly and said that Mr. Feng had either died or would die in a few days. Mr. Feng's family members said that they wanted to see the body if he was dead. Li Hongqiao then said that Mr. Feng was not dead.
Mr. Feng's family members said to Li Hongqiao, "Since Mr. Feng Gang is seriously ill, he should be taken care of by his wife, Ms. Wang Juan." Li Hongqiao said that Ms. Wang had been sent to the Masanjia Forced Labor Camp. After being persecuted for more than one month, Ms. Wang had become emaciated and lost her appetite. She also had symptoms of heart disease and hepatitis.
On August 17, 2009, Mr. Feng's family members went to the police station to request his release. Li Hongqiao showed a statement that Mr. Feng was released on the condition that he would serve his term outside of prison. The date on the statement was August 10, 2009, the same day Mr. Feng was taken to the No. 210 Hospital, but it was not signed by Mr. Feng. They asked Li Hongqiao why there was no signature. Li said that he had refused to sign.
On August 19, 2009, Ms. Wang's family members were informed by phone from the Police Station at Huanghe Road that Ms. Wang had been sent to the Masanjia Forced Labor Camp, and she would be detained there for one and a half years.
On September 16, 2009, Mr. Feng's family reported him missing to the Fuguo Street Police Station located in the Shahekou District. Officers told them Mr. Feng had died on August 14, 2009, and his body had undergone an autopsy at the Shahekou District Police Department. They asked the family to go to that department to have his body cremated. 28 septiembre Why eating broccoli may prevent strokes and heart attackshttp://www.dailymail.co.ukBy Jenny Hope 
Broccoli is high in sulforaphane, which helps to keep arteries unclogged This probably still won't encourage children to eat it, but the many healthy properties of broccoli include preventing a heart attack or stroke, say researchers. A chemical found in the vegetable boosts the body's defence system to keep arteries unclogged. Cauliflower, sprouts and cabbage can also keep the blood flowing freely. They all contain sulforaphane, along with rocket, kale and pak choi, but broccoli contains the highest levels. The discovery by scientists at Imperial College London could finally crack the code to using the vital vegetable ingredient in treating heart patients. Professor Peter Weissberg, medical director of the British Heart Foundation, which funded the research, said: 'As well as adding evidence to support the importance of eating "five a day", the biochemistry revealed in this research could lead to more targeted dietary or medical approaches to prevent or lessen disease that leads to heart attacks and strokes.' The researchers found bent or branched arteries are more susceptible to disease because they lack a protein called Nrf2. In contrast, straight sections of artery are protected by the protein, which prevents cells becoming inflamed, an early indication for the development of heart disease. The researchers discovered that Nrf2 was disabled by a protein in the bent or branched areas of arteries, stifling its protective properties. But sulforaphane reactivated Nrf2 in these at-risk regions of the arteries, restoring the ability of the arteries to look after themselves. The researchers believe the chemical could help these trouble spots remain disease-free for longer. The findings, from a study of mice, are published in the journal Arteriosclerosis Thrombosis and Vascular Biology. In their next phase of research, investigators will find out whether using sulforaphane as a treatment can reduce the progression of disease. Dr Paul Evans, from the National Heart and Lung Institute at Imperial College London, who led the research team, said 'We found that the innermost layer of cells at branches and bends of arteries lack the active form of Nrf2, which may explain why they are prone to inflammation and disease. 'Treatment with the natural compound sulforaphane reduced inflammation at the high-risk areas by 'switching on' Nrf2. 'Sulforaphane is found naturally in broccoli, so our next steps include testing whether simply eating broccoli, or other vegetables in their ‘family’, has the same protective effect. 'We also need to see if the compound can reduce the progression of disease in affected arteries.' The health effects of broccoli are already recognised - along with the characteristically bitter taste that puts off so many children and the former US president George Bush. Studies have shown a chemical in the vegetable boosts DNA repair i cells and may stop them becoming cancerous. Other evidence suggests eating broccoli helps reverse the damage caused by diabetes to heart blood vessels. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1211272/Eating-broccoli-prevent-strokes-heart-attacks-scientists-claim.html#ixzz0SQVY5iL3 27 septiembre "Wooden Clamp" Torture Being Used on Falun Dafa PractitionersBy a correspondent in China
(Clearwisdom.net) One torture method being used by the Chinese Communist Party to persecute Falun Gong practitioners is called the "wooden clamp." The clamp is about 50 to 80 cm (20-31 inches) long, 30 to 50 cm (12-20 inches) wide, and 10 to 15 cm (4-6 inches) thick and weighs about 20 to 60 kilograms (44-132 lb.). There are two holes in the middle of the clamp for the feet. The victim wearing the clamp has a difficult time moving around and has to crawl into bed, and usually has to sit or lie down, since standing can cause the feet to hurt and be injured. Without help, a person wearing the clamp can't even go to eat or to the bathroom. When getting out of bed and going to the bathroom, the clamp not only presses on the feet and heels, causing extreme pain, but the edge of it gets caught by the bed, preventing the person from getting back into bed. At night, the person is not able to turn over. In winter, a quilt is too short to cover the victim's feet. In summer, the person is not able to take his or her pants off.
In one instance when a practitioner was tortured with the clamp, it was early spring and the weather was still cold. The guards took away his quilt so he froze at night and could not even curl up. He needed other practitioners to help him get to meals or to the restroom. While he was enduring the pain involved in wearing the "wooden clamp," the guards continued forcing him to do hard labor and beat him when he refused. After wearing the clamp for a month, he lost all the hair on his feet, developed many rashes in that area, and lost 18 pounds. Even when the clamp was later removed, for a long period of time he was unable to climb into bed.
An even worse form of this torture is called "crawling with the wooden clamp." The guard puts the clamp on the person and orders him to crawl on a concrete floor. If he stops, the guard hits his back with a two-inch-wide baton. In an hour the person's fingers, toenails, and knees are all bleeding profusely, while his back is bruised from the beating. 26 septiembre Revolutions of 1989(wikipedia)
The Revolutions of 1989, sometimes called the Autumn of Nations, were a revolutionary wave that swept across Central and Eastern Europe in late 1989, ending in the overthrow of Soviet-style communist states within the space of a few months.
The largely bloodless political upheaval began in Poland, continued in Hungary, and then led to a surge of mostly peaceful revolutions in East Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Bulgaria. Romania was the only Eastern-bloc country to overthrow its communist regime violently and execute its head of state. The subsequent events that continued in 1990 and 1991 are sometimes also referred to as a part of the revolutions of 1989. The Soviet Union collapsed by the end of 1991. The Revolutions of 1989 greatly altered the balance of power in the world and marked the end of the Cold War and the beginning of the Post-Cold War era.
The advent of "new thinking" Although several Eastern bloc countries had attempted some abortive, limited economic and political reform since the 1950s (Hungarian Revolution of 1956, Prague Spring of 1968), the advent of reform-minded Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in 1985 signaled the trend toward greater liberalization. Though glasnost advocated openness and political criticism, at the time, it was only permitted in accordance with the political views of the Communists. The general public in the Eastern bloc were still threatened by secret police and political repression. Poland became the first Warsaw Pact state country to break free of Soviet domination. Taking notice from Poland, Hungary was next to follow.
Following Poland's lead, Hungary was next to revert to a non-communist government. Hungarians suggested that Soviet troops "go home" — an idea first suggested by Viktor Orbán at the re-burying funeral of Imre Nagy. Fall of the Berlin Wall After a reformed border was opened from Hungary, a growing number of East Germans began emigrating to West Germany via Hungary's border with Austria. Unable to stem the ensuing flow of refugees to the West through Czechoslovakia, the East German authorities eventually caved in to public pressure by allowing East German citizens to enter West Berlin and West Germany directly, via existing border points, on November 9, without having properly briefed the border guards.
Walking through Checkpoint Charlie, 10 November 1989 Hundreds of thousands of people took advantage of the opportunity; soon new crossing points were opened in the Berlin Wall and along the border with West Germany. The Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia The "Velvet Revolution" was a non-violent revolution in Czechoslovakia that saw the overthrow of the Communist government. With the collapse of other Communist governments, and increasing street protests, the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia announced on November 28 that it would relinquish power and dismantle the single-party state. Barbed wire and other obstructions were removed from the border with West Germany and Austria in early December. Upheaval in Bulgaria On November 10, 1989 — the day after the Berlin Wall was breached — Bulgaria's long-serving leader Todor Zhivkov was ousted by his Politburo.
People on the streets of Sofia (in front of the Parliament) during 1989 In February 1990 the Communist Party, forced by street protests gave up its claim on power and in June 1990 the first free elections since 1931 were held. The Romanian Revolution Unlike other Eastern European countries, Romania had never undergone even limited de-Stalinization. In November 1989, Ceauşescu, then aged 71, was re-elected for another five years as leader of the Romanian Communist Party, signalling that he intended to ride out the anti-Communist uprisings sweeping the rest of Eastern Europe.
Military and civilians fighting against Ceausescu's regime with the support of a BTR-60 armoured personnel carrier. Years of repressed dissatisfaction boiled to the surface throughout the Romanian populace and even among elements in Ceauşescu's own government, and the demonstrations spread throughout the country. At first the security forces obeyed Ceauşescu's orders to shoot protesters, but on the morning of 22 December, the Romanian military suddenly changed sides. Army tanks began moving towards the Central Committee building with crowds swarming alongside them. The rioters forced open the doors of the Central Committee building in an attempt to get Ceauşescu and his wife, Elena, in their grip, but they managed to escape via a helicopter waiting for them on the roof of the building. Although elation followed the flight of the Ceauşescus, uncertainty surrounded their fate. On Christmas Day, Romanian television showed the Ceauşescus facing a hasty trial, and then suffering summary execution.
20 February 1991. People in Albania tearing down and demolishing the statue of Enver Hoxha. Collapse of the Soviet Union
The Baltic Way, reflecting the peak of the Singing Revolution. As the Soviet Union rapidly withdrew its forces from Eastern Europe, the spillover from the 1989 upheavals began reverberating throughout the Soviet Union itself. Agitation for self-determination led to first Lithuania, and then Estonia, Latvia and Armenia declaring independence. Disaffection in other Soviet republics, such as Georgia and Azerbaijan, was countered by promises of greater decentralization. More open elections led to the election of candidates opposed to Communist Party rule. Overcoming legacies of socialism Decommunization is a process of overcoming the legacies of the communist state establishments, culture, and psychology in the post-Communist states. Compared with the efforts of the other former constituents of the Soviet bloc and the Soviet Union, decommunization in Russia has been restricted to half-measures, if conducted at all.
Having experienced horrors of socialism, including genocides and atrocities, many nations have taken tough measures against socialism. In several European countries, endorsing or attempting to justify Nazi or Communist genocide will be punishable by up to years of imprisonment.
25 septiembre Falun Gong practitioner, Ms. Chen Chujun Dies While in Custody at a Mental HospitalName: Chen Chujun (陈楚君)
Gender: Female Age: 30s Address: Unknown Occupation: Formerly Southern Station accountant of Huaihua City Railroad in Hunan Province Date of Death: March 2009 Date of Most Recent Arrest: May 10, 2008 Most recent place of detention: Huaihua City Brainwashing Center (怀化市洗脑班) City: Huaihua Province: Hunan Persecution Suffered: Sleep Deprivation, Electric Shock, Forced Labor, Brainwashing, Forced Injections/Drug Administration, Beatings, Hung Up, Torture, Extortion, Fired from Workplace, Physical Restraint, Mental Hospital, Detention (Clearwisdom.net) (Correspondent from Hunan Province) Falun Gong practitioner, Ms. Chen Chujun was arrested before the Beijing Olympics, detained, and taken to a forced labor camp. It was recently discovered that she died in March 2009 at the Huaihua City Fourth People's Hospital, which is a mental hospital. Ms. Chen's father is a divisional level official who worked in the army corp of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Ms. Chen took a ten-year legal absence from her job to study English in Beijing, and learned Falun Gong before the persecution started in July 1999. She appealed for Falun Dafa seven times after the persecution began, and her employer took her to the "Legal Education School" (a brainwashing facility) to go through forced brainwashing in Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province. In 2001, Ms. Chen was taken to Baimalong Forced Labor Camp, and in November she was taken from the "Production" Team to the so-called "Transformation" Team to undergo brainwashing. The day Ms. Chen was taken to the "Transformation" Team, the guards ordered administrators to push her down on the floor and tie her hands. They held her face against the floor and cut off her hair against her will. Ms. Chen protested this brutal mistreatment by going on a hunger strike. After six days, she was sent to the camp clinic for intravenous injections. After a couple of weeks the director ordered two officers to watch her. According to witnesses, the staff injected glucose, along with a nerve-damaging drug called Thorazine, into Ms. Chen. After being injected with this drug, a person will gradually suffer memory loss and sleep all the time. The punitive measures resulted in serious afflictions for Ms. Chen, such as severe brain and cognitive dysfunction. The guards also handcuffed the practitioners detained together in the same cell. They were hung up by their handcuffs and fixed in a position where the tips of their toes barely touch the floor. After this torture, Ms. Chen shivered so severely in bed that the whole bed shook. The guards would force the entire cell to stand all night, otherwise they would use electric batons to shock them, along with punching and kicking them. The camp used male guards in the women's cell overnight, and as soon as they found a practitioner doing the exercises, they would shock everyone with electric batons. All the practitioners were scarred. Prior to the 16th National People's Congress in October 2002, Ms. Chen went to Beijing again, attempting to clarify the truth about the persecution of Falun Dafa. Unfortunately, she was arrested and taken to a secret railway detention center and later sentenced to three years in prison by Huaihua Railroad Transportation Court in Hunan Province. Throughout the trial, two bailiffs held Ms. Chen by the arms to prevent her from collapsing. It appeared she still suffered from severe cognitive dysfunction, as she had lost the ability to speak. In June 2004, Ms. Chen was taken to the Strictly Controlled Ward in Hunan Province Women's Prison. Prisoners hung her and other practitioners up and beat them until they passed out. The guards would not allow them to sleep after doing 20 hours of labor in one day. In March 2005, Ms. Chen and four other practitioners went on a hunger strike to protest the hard labor and recited Falun Dafa teachings to encourage one another. The guards and prisoners tortured these five practitioners for more than 40 days with electric baton shocks, handcuffing them in different ways, forcing them to sit on stools with only one leg for 16 hours per day (except for three meals times), forcing to stand for a long time, brutally force-feeding them, and putting them in solitary confinement. After being on a hunger strike for more than 20 days, Ms. Chen was forced to run, and she was dragged from the fifth floor down to the first floor and locked in solitary confinement. She was once tortured until she could not see or walk. Other practitioners had to carry her to the toilet. Once when she could not walk, run, or do push ups, the guards ordered prisoners to drag her in circles on the floor, and then locked her in solitary confinement. Prisoner Zhang Genlin poked Ms. Chen's throat with a plastic tube several dozen times and said, "That was fun." Another prisoner said, "Then let me have some fun as well." Ms. Chen's throat swelled, and she was in such extreme pain that she could not even swallow water or talk. Another time when guard Li Ling shocked her with an electric baton and hung her up in the air by her handcuffs, Ms. Chen passed out. Prisoner Yan Meiying pinched her and said, "She is still alive, we can leave her hanging." Before the Beijing Olympics in May 2008, the Huaihua City 610 Office harassed and arrested several dozen practitioners. Around May 10, 2008, 610 Office agents arrested Ms .Chen on her way to a bus stop. She had just picked up her paycheck from her former employer and was heading home. She was detained in the Zhijiang County Detention Center, where she was beaten by drug offenders until her head was injured and bleeding. She was soon sent to Baimalong Women's Forced Labor Camp again, and then taken to the Huaihua City Brainwashing Center. A source indicted that she died in March 2009 when detained in Huaihua City Fourth People's Hospital, which is a mental institution. Important note on Thorazine: The psychotropic drug Thorazine (also known as Aminazin, Chlorpromazine, Largactil, Thorazine or Wintermin) is a drug used in the treatment of psychiatric patients. Thorazine may result in rather severe side effects, such as an irreversible neurological disorder afflicting the involuntary muscle movements, such as eyelids, tongue, arms, legs, mouth, lips, tongue, etc.; a global deterioration of mind and mental faculties; general dulling of awareness; emotional numbing; and cognitive dysfunction. According to Amnesty International medical advice, these drugs are not in themselves sinister. There are specific disorders for which they are prescribed, but only qualified doctors should administer them, and they must be monitored. Given that Falun Gong practitioners are subject to torture and maltreatment, and in the absence of evidence that they suffer from any psychiatric disorder, it is evident that the administration of such drugs are a punitive measure. In other words, Falun Gong practitioners have been inappropriately administered psychotropic drugs in order to punish them for their spiritual belief in Falun Gong. Related report: The Drug, Thorazine Used As Punishment - Practitioner Ms. Chen Chujun Suffers Cognitive Dysfunction as a Result of Forced Injections http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2003/12/29/43592.html 24 septiembre Experts concerned about dangers of antibacterial productshttp://www.theglobeandmail.com JENNIFER YANG Canadian Medical Association calls on the federal government to ban all antibacterial household products because of fears they cause bacterial resistance Antibacterial products are more popular than ever nowadays, thanks in part to fears over infectious diseases such as H1N1 and SARS. But this week, the Canadian Medical Association called on the federal government to ban all antibacterial household products because of fears they cause bacterial resistance. The motion was proposed by Ottawa family physician Kapil Khatter, who is also president of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment. He says he can understand the appeal of antibacterial products, but in reality they do more harm than good. The Globe and Mail talks to some experts concerned about the risks of antibacterial household products. Why are doctors worried about the growing popularity of antibacterial products? A growing body of research is showing that antibacterial products can cause bacterial resistance, thus decreasing the effectiveness of antibiotics. The most common ingredient in antibacterial products is a chemical compound called triclosan, which was invented more than 35 years ago and used by doctors during surgical scrubs. But as the chemical creeps into more and more household products, it's also causing bacteria to become more resistant - not just to triclosan, but also other antibiotics such as isoniazid, a drug used to treat and prevent tuberculosis. Researchers are also finding that the majority of women are now showing traces of triclosan in their breast milk, Dr. Khatter says. "We don't know what the potential impacts of that are," he says. "Breast milk is kind of the canary in the coal mine. It's the easiest way we can measure if something's building up in people." What are the environmental effects of chemicals like triclosan? Research has shown that over 95 per cent of products containing triclosan are disposed of through residential drains. Unfortunately, the compound is also extremely stable, so it tends to stick around in the environment. According to Mike Layton, program manager with advocacy group Environmental Defence, triclosan can react to chlorine in drinking water and form chloroform, which is a carcinogen. And when triclosan reacts with light, it can actually form poisonous dioxins, he says. Recent studies have also shown that triclosan is harmful to the development of frogs. This is a worrisome sign, says Mr. Layton, because the "repercussions just get amplified throughout the food chain." What kind of products contain triclosan? There are hundreds of products that contain triclosan nowadays, with everything from liquid soaps and toothpastes to deodorants, clothing, tissues and toys. Beyond Pesticides, a non-profit organization in the United States, has an extensive list of everyday products containing triclosan, such as Colgate Total, Old Spice High Endurance Stick Deodorant, Aveeno Therapeutic Shave Gel and J Cloth towels. What should I use instead to cut down on my risk of H1N1? When it comes to protecting oneself against the spread of infectious diseases, it's all about going back to the basics, doctors say. "Really all you need is soap and water and the alcohol rubs that are available," Dr. Khatter said. "There isn't any benefit to going to these other products - there's only potential harm." What about sanitizing gels like Purell? Are they safe to use? For Dr. Khatter, the answer is yes. In fact, he prefers using alcohol rubs to soaps because they're easier on the skin and every bit as effective. "We're not as worried about [alcohol rubs] causing bacterial resistance," he says. But the efficacy of alcohol rubs also depends on how they're being used, Dr. Khatter says. It's important that people rub alcohol gels on their hands long enough for them to work. "It's not just the product, it's the actual friction of when you're rubbing your hands and getting all of it on your skin for it to actually work," he said. "So, should it work for a virus like H1N1? As far as we know, yes, but only if you use it properly." 23 septiembre Falun Gong practitioner, Hou Shaohua Dies in Fall from Building During Arrest
Name: Hou Shaohua (侯少华) (Clearwisdom.net) (Correspondent from Hubei Province) Falun Gong practitioner Hou Shaohua died as a result of falling from an apartment building on September 15, 2009, during an attempted police arrest. The family is very angry, and they insist on finding out the cause of Hou's death. They have refused to allow the police to cremate the body.
The local police have tried to cover up the event, saying that Hou Shaohua gambled and that that is why they were trying to arrest Hou. The people who knew Hou Shaohua in the Sixtieth Factory of Dongfeng Company all commented, "Everyone knows that Hou Shaohua never gambled!"
As the October 1st National Day is approaching, the police are arresting a lot of Falun Dafa practitioners. Several dozen practitioners have recently been recently arrested in Shiyan City. Among these practitioners, some are being detained in a brainwashing center located in the Shiyan City Power Management Bureau. On September 8, 2009, another practitioner, Ms. Lin Xiuying, also from the Sixtieth Factory of Donfeng Company, was arrested. It is believed that she is detained in the brainwashing center. 22 septiembre Antonio Lucio Vivaldi- Autumn Portrait of Antonio Vivaldi, by François Morellon de la Cave
Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (March 4, 1678 – July 28, 1741), nicknamed il Prete Rosso ("The Red Priest"), was a baroque composer and Venetian priest, as well as a famous virtuoso violinist, born and raised in the Republic of Venice. The Four Seasons, a series of four violin concerti, is his best-known work and a highly popular baroque piece.
Here is the Autumn piece from Vivaldi's The Four Seasons violin concerti on YouTube, Herbert Von Karajan conducting:
Part 1 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRkBBGiQs70 (click here)
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbwBN2yO-Ww&feature=related (click here) 21 septiembre Energy saving light bulbs offer dim futureBy Richard Gray and Julia McWatt Soon they will be the only kind of light bulb allowed, but now officials in Brussels have admitted that energy-saving bulbs are not as bright as the old-fashioned kind they are replacing. Energy saving light bulbs are not as bright as their traditional counterparts and claims about the amount of light they produce are "exaggerated", the European Union has admitted. From tomorrow a Europe-wide ban on traditional incandescent bulbs will begin to be rolled out, with a ban on 100W bulbs and old-style frosted or pearled bulbs. Buyers of the main type of energy-saving bulb, compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), are told on the packaging that they shine as brightly as an old-fashioned bulb. For example, an 11W CFL is labelled as being the equivalent of a 60W incandescent bulb. However, the European Commission, which was responsible for the ban, has now conceded that this is "not true" and that such claims by manufacturers are "exaggerated". The Sunday Telegraph has conducted its own tests on level of illuminance provided by light bulbs from different manufacturers to see whether their claims stand up to scrutiny. We found that under normal household conditions, using a single lamp to light a room, an 11W low-energy CFL produced only 58 per cent of the illumination of an "equivalent" 60W bulb – even after a 10-minute "warm-up". On a website intended to answer consumers' questions about the switch to energy saving bulbs, the European Commission states: "Currently, exaggerated claims are often made on the packaging about the light output of compact fluorescent lamps. "For example, a 11-12 Watt compact fluorescent lamp would be the equivalent of a 60 Watt incandescent, which is not true. The light output of 15W compact fluorescent lamp is slightly more than the light output from a 60W incandescent." Under the regulations which are being implemented in the UK from tomorrow, it will be illegal for retailers to import 100W, frosted or pearled incandescent light bulbs, or to sell them once their current stocks have run out. Instead consumers will have to rely upon CFLs or low-energy halogen bulbs. From September 2011, 60W clear incandescent bulbs will be banned, followed by a ban on all remaining incandescent bulbs in September 2012. The Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs has said it intends to work with retailers to begin phasing out the traditional bulbs sooner. Many consumers complain that CFLs take time to "warm up", are too big for some lampshade fittings and are more expensive than the traditional bulbs. Special CFLs costing up to £15 each are required to work with dimmer switches. However, the new-style bulbs use up to 80 per cent less energy than traditional bulbs and can last far longer – up to eight years. In our test, we used a simple lamp with a light metre placed half a metre away, in an otherwise-darkened room, to measure the illumination provided by a range of clear and frosted 60W incandescent bulbs, as well as 11W CFLs said on their labels to be equivalent. After giving each bulb 10 minutes to warm up, a reading was taken in lux, a measure of illumination. Clear 60W bulbs provided around 120 lux of illumination while pearled 60W bulbs produced 101 lux. By comparison, the best performing energy efficient light bulb, an 11W CFL made by General Electric and handed out free to Southern Electric customers, rated 79 lux. The worst performing 11W CFL, an Eveready, produced just 60 lux. A Philips Softone 12W energy saving bulb also claimed to be equivalent to a 60W incandescent bulb, but it only produced 77 lux of illumination. A spokesman for Philips said that its Softone Energy Saver bulbs met international standards and were intended to provide the equivalent light output of a frosted incandescent bulb, but our test shows it still failed to perform as well as a frosted bulb. A spokesman for General Electric said all of their light bulbs were tested to meet international standards. She added: “Our test results are then verified independently before our products are approved by the Energy Savings Trust.” As part of the new European regulations, manufacturers will face tough new rules on labelling, and will be required to state their light emission in lumens as well as their power in Watts. Syed Kamall, the Conservative MEP who has campaigned against European interference in traditional measures, said the new regulations would create confusion among consumers. He said: "While lumens measure brightness, no one I have met understands these units." Ferran Tarradellas Espuny, energy spokesman for the European Commission, said: "The regulation is setting clear rules on how equivalence claims with incandescent bulbs can be made on the packaging of efficient lamps." A spokesman for the Trading Standards Institute, which regulates claims made about products sold in the UK, said it was not aware of any substantiated complaints about inaccurate labelling on low-energy bulbs. A Defra spokesman said: "The EU is reviewing low energy light bulb labelling to make sure they are easily understood by consumers and will be monitoring the accuracy of the wattage claims." How the energy saving bulbs compared to incandescent bulbs Traditional incandescent: Osram 60W (700 lumens) – 126 lux Philips 60 W (700 lumens) -114 lux Tesco 60W (700 lumens) – 122 lux Maxim Pearl 60W pearled (no lumen info) – 101 lux Energy Saving (all claim to be equivalent to 60W): Philips 12W T60 Softone (610 lumens) – 77 lux Southern Electric/GE 11W (610 lumens) – 79 lux Tesco Greener living stick 11W (640 lumens) – 70 lux Eveready Energy Saver 11W (no lumen info) – 60 lux Osram Duluxstar 11W (600 lumens) – 67 lux 20 septiembre Falun Gong practitioner, Ms. Wang Hongxia Dies as a Result of Torture in Labor Camp
Name: Wang Hongxia(王红霞) (Clearwisdom.net) (By a correspondent from Shandong Province) On July 9, 2008, before the Olympics in Beijing, 30-40 police officers from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) broke the windows to Ms. Wang Hongxia's home, entered and arrested her and her husband, Mr. Jiang Zhenbo. On August 8, 2008, Ms. Wang was taken to the Shandong Province Second Women's Forced Labor Camp located in the Wangcun area of Zibo City. Within six months, the torture she endured in the camp caused Ms. Wang to develop tumors of various sizes in her armpit and on her breasts.
Ms. Wang's husband, Mr. Jiang, was a high-ranking prison marshal in Weifang City Prison, and was fired at the end of 2000 for his persistence in cultivating Falun Dafa and adhering to the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. He is still being detained in the Shandong Province Second Men's Forced Labor Camp located in Zhangqiu City, Shandong Province.
Ms. Wang was assigned to the Fourth Ward in the Second Women's Forced Labor Camp. The guards in charge were Wu Xiuli and Li Qing. Wu was on duty the day that Ms. Wang arrived, and she tried to "transform" her immediately. Every time Wu tried to "transform" her, Ms. Wang either remained silent, or gave an answer that was not satisfactory to her. She would hit Ms. Wang's left breast, which caused her great pain. She had gone through special police training for fighting, and knew how to hit a woman.
One of the torture methods Ms. Wang endured was sleep deprivation. At first she was forced to sit up until after 11:00 p.m., and then it became after 1:00 or 2:00 a.m. She was then forced to get up at 4:00 a.m., which caused her to confuse day and night. Other methods included forcing her to stand for over twenty hours a day, even when eating meals, not letting her use the toilet or take showers, beatings and scolding.
On September 24, 2008, Ms. Wang was taken to the Shandong Province First Women's Forced Labor Camp in Jinan City. She was assigned to Ward VI to be brainwashed for a month. They tortured, threatened, and isolated her. They made her work like a slave. In December 2008, as a result of the brutal mistreatment in both of the labor camps, she began feeling a slight pain under her left armpit. On December 22, 2008, when examined with ultrasound in Jinan City Police Hospital, it was discovered that she had many tumors of different sizes under her left armpit and on her breast. The doctor wanted her to have an operation immediately, but the First Women's Forced Labor Camp would not pay the medical expenses. On January 9, 2009, they released Ms. Wang for medical treatment.
On January 15, 2009, her family took her to the Weifang City People's Hospital to have another examination, and it was found that along with the left side of her body, the tumors had also appeared on her right side. Ms. Wang Hongxia suffered for eight more months and died on September 15, 2009 19 septiembre Lack of Vitamin D in Children 'Shocking'http://www.livescience.com
"We expected the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency would be high, but the magnitude of the problem nationwide was shocking," said Dr. Juhi Kumar of Children's Hospital at Montefiore Medical Center. Cases of rickets, a bone disease in infants caused by low vitamin D levels, have also been increasing, other research shows. The new finding, from a nationwide study, adds to growing evidence that children as well as many adults also lack the vitamin. "Several small studies had found a high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in specific populations of children, but no one had examined this issue nationwide," said study leader Dr. Michal L. Melamed of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University. The cause? Poor diet and lack of sunshine, the researchers conclude today in the online version of the journal Pediatrics. Millions of children The researchers analyzed data on more than 6,000 children, ages 1 to 21, collected by the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2001-2004. The researchers found that 9 percent, or 7.6 million children across the country, were vitamin D deficient and another 61 percent, or 50.8 million, were vitamin D insufficient. Low levels were especially common in girls, African-Americans, Mexican-Americans, the obese, those who drank milk less than once a week, and those who spent more than four hours a day watching TV, playing videogames, or using computers. The deficiency was more common among the older children in the data set, too. Lighter skin is more efficient at producing vitamin D. So darker-skinned people produce less when exposed to sunlight. The decline in vitamin D levels in the United States was reported widely a year ago and has been underway for 20 years, Melamed said. "Kids have more sedentary lifestyles today and are not spending as much time outdoors," Melamed said. "The widespread use of sunscreens, which block UV-B rays, has only compounded the problem." The body uses UV-B sunlight to convert a form of cholesterol in the skin into vitamin D. What to do Melamed recommends that children should consume more foods rich in vitamin D, such as milk and fish. "But it's very hard to get enough vitamin D from dietary sources alone," she said. Vitamin D supplementation can help. In the study, children who took vitamin D supplements (400 IU/day) were less likely to be deficient in the vitamin. However, only 4 percent of the study population actually used supplements. The American Academy of Pediatrics, which recently updated its vitamin D guidelines, now recommends that infants, children, and teens should take 400 IU per day in supplement form. What else can parents do?"It would good for them to turn off the TV and send their kids outside," Melamed said. "Just 15 to 20 minutes a day should be enough. And unless they burn easily, don't put sunscreen on them until they've been out in the sun for 10 minutes, so they get the good stuff but not sun damage." Other experts caution that extended exposure to the sun — tanning and burning — increases the risk of deadly skin cancer. 18 septiembre First awesome pictures from refurbished Hubble telescope shows the universe in more detail than ever beforehttp://www.dailymail.co.uk
Space has never looked more beautiful. These stunning images - taken by the rejuvenated Hubble space telescope - have captured the jewel-bright colours of colliding galaxies, exploding stars and glowing nebulae. They are Hubble's first deep space photos since its repair mission in May and are sharper than any images taken before by the orbiting satellite. 
This celestial object - NGC 6302 - looks like a delicate butterfly but is far from serene: What resemble dainty butterfly wings are actually boiling cauldrons of gas heated to more than 36,000 degrees Fahrenheit The new views include colourful far-flung galaxies, a densely packed star cluster and a butterfly-shaped nebula - the eruption of gas from a dying star. Hubble's new suite of instruments, installed during five space walks, are more sensitive and allow it to see everything from ultraviolet light all the way to near-infrared light. 'This marks a new beginning for Hubble,' said Ed Weiler, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate.
'The telescope has been given an extreme makeover and is now significantly more powerful than ever - well equipped to last far into the next decade.' 
Stars bursting to life in chaotic Carina Nebula: These two images of a huge pillar of star birth demonstrate how observations taken in visible and in infrared light by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope reveal dramatically different views 
Closer to home: The planet, Jupiter. Its volume is equal to 1,317 Earths. Hubble snapped the impact zone after a collision with a possible comet. It is the dark blemish at the bottom Since Hubble was launched in 1990, its images have become some of the most iconic in the history of photography. Nasa says the telescope-should keep working until at least 2014, when it will be replaced by a more powerful observatory to be called the James Webb Space Telescope. The latest images show the Butterfly Nebula, an extraordinary cluster of gas released from a dying star which lies in our Milky Way galaxy around 3,800 light years away. 
Stephan's Quintet: A clash among members of a famous galaxy quintet reveals an assortment of stars across a wide colour range, from young, blue stars to aging, red stars. Stephan’s Quintet, also known as Hickson Compact Group 92, as the name implies, is a group of five galaxies 
Omega Centauri: NASA's Hubble Space Telescope snapped this view of a colourful assortment of 100,000 stars residing in the crowded core of a giant star cluster. The image reveals a small region inside the globular cluster Omega Centauri, which boasts nearly 10 million stars The butterfly stretches for two light years - about half the distance between the Sun and our nearest star Alpha Centuri. The wings of the butterfly are rolling waves of gas heated to more than 36,000F. The gas is tearing across space at 600,000 mph - fast enough to travel from the Earth to the Moon in 24 minutes. Hubble has also captured the Carina Nebula - a pillar of gas and dust - and a group of five galaxies called Stephan's Quintet which were first spotted in 1877. 
Barred Spiral Galaxy NGC 6217: This image is the first of a celestial object taken with the newly repaired Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) aboard the Hubble Space Telescope 
Gravitational Lensing in Galaxy Cluster Abell 370: The Hubble Space Telescope's ACS has peered nearly 5 billion light-years away to reveal intricate details in this galaxy cluster 17 septiembre My Experience at the Shandong Province First Women's Forced Labor Camp
(Clearwisdom.net) I was sentenced to one and a half years of forced labor in 2008 for practicing Falun Gong, and imprisoned at the Shandong Province First Women's Forced Labor Camp.
When I was taken to the labor camp, the guards locked me in a single cell, and had a "reformed" inmate monitor me. They forced me to sit on a short plastic stool and did not allow me to move, close my eyes, or use the bathroom. I ate, drank, excreted, and slept in the same room. They did not allow me to leave the room because I refused to be "reformed", nor would I write the "Three Statements". Friction burns occurred on my buttocks after sitting on the stool for a long time. My hands would feel wet after touching them. The "reformed" inmate kept slandering Falun Dafa. I did not listen to her. Then the guards sent in another one to slander Falun Dafa in front of me. I did not listen to this person, either. Seeing that this was having no effect, the guards changed their tactics to using regular inmates to monitor me, forcing me to march and recite the "Ten Principles" of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The guards also took turns talking to me. They woke me up very early in the morning, and kept me awake until very late at night. I slept on the floor and did not get adequate rest.
In the winter of 2008, the labor camp was overcrowded. The younger ones had to sleep on the floor. To use the bathroom at night, inmates had to step between the heads of others. The CCP imprisoned many people in the labor camp in order to make money through the free labor. The labor camp had many orders to fulfill. Some were for toys, some were for cell phone cases. Inmates had to work more than ten hours a day, seven days a week. Some inmates' wrists and fingers were injured by the repetitive labor. Some had friction burns on their hands, some had swollen legs. Inmates had to ask for permission before using the bathroom. Permission to use the bathroom was not granted if the permission request was not recited correctly. A practitioner was not allowed to use the bathroom because she did not recite the statement.
We got up around 5:00 a.m. in the winter, went to the workshop to work at 7:30 a.m., and worked straight through lunch without a break until 8:30 p.m. Sometimes, we had to work until 11:00 p.m. When we worked overtime in our cells to glue paper bags, the glue smelled horrible and made us sick.
We were worked past our physical limits, but were only paid 10-30 yuan, according to our productivity. We were given the cheapest food available.
One day in July 2008, the labor camp had visitors. Guard Sun Liqun told us, "If a visitor talks to you, do not answer, do not lower your mouth masks, pretend to be shy." Guards had us hide our badges from our chests, and our name cards from our beds in the cells. Guard Li Yu hid the productivity records and most of the products in the workshop, and left only one or two products in front of each of us. The badges and the bed cards had our names, forced labor terms and other information. The productivity records noted our intensive labor.
In the morning of the day of the inspection, the workshop was very quiet. Guards Sun Juan and Li Yu said, "There is no quota today. It is OK to do less." The second day, the labor camp went back to its old ways.
The most severe aspect of the labor camp was how it mentally devastated practitioners. Guards forced us to watch false news which slandered Falun Dafa, then forced us to write our "understanding." They forced us to write monthly, half year, and yearly summaries, praising the "greatness, glory, and rightness" of the CCP, and express appreciation for the CCP. The practitioners did not have any personal freedom. We were monitored even when using the bathroom, and were not allowed to do Falun Dafa exercises or mention Falun Dafa. 16 septiembre Science Behind Each Bitehttp://www.theepochtimes.comEpoch Times Staff
Chinese cooking based in yin-yang theory, medicine
Precision: Cutting technique is of utmost importance in Huaiyang cuisine, as illustrated in this tofu and vegetable dish. (Epoch Times Staff) Traditional Chinese cooking takes very seriously the theories of balance and seasonality. Its strict adherence to yin-yang theory rises from the idea that food is medicine, and different foods are closely tied with different parts of the body. Briefly, the theory of yin and yang states that all natural phenomena have opposites that complement each other. Generally speaking, foods that have higher water content are considered "cool," or yin, in nature. These are often foods that are boiled or steamed. Foods that have higher energy content, particularly from fat, are considered "warm," or yang, in nature. These are often foods that are fried or roasted. According to this theory, a diet that has a balance of yin and yang foods will help prevent illness and emotional problems. One should eat "cool" food when it is warm and "warm" food when it is cold. The Five ElementsAnother fundamental theory in Chinese cooking is the theory of the five elements. All matter in the universe is made up of the five elements fire, earth, metal, water, and wood. From this theory comes the idea of the five flavors—bitter, sweet, spicy, salty, and sour. The five elements also correspond to the colors red, yellow, white, blue, and green, which in turn correspond to the five main organs of the body (heart, spleen, lungs, kidneys, and gallbladder). Chinese scholar Yi Yin of the Shang Dynasty related the five organs to the five flavors, since it was believed that each food has specific properties to maintain health and harmony in the body. Food as MedicineIn Chinese culture, food, and medicine are closely related. The practice of traditional Chinese medicine places great emphasis on achieving balance in one's body for the regeneration of the body's systems and organs. Over 3,000 years ago, the Yellow Emperor wrote in his classic book on internal medicine, “Huangdineijing,” that if people wanted to obtain health and longevity, they should eat food with "five colors, five tastes, and five fragrances." Green (wood) food: Green is the color of life and impacts the liver. It is a fundamental link in the food chain, and green food is the food source of both people and animals. Black (water) food: Black impacts the kidneys. The kidneys are the fatal organs among the five organs, and the origin of life. Red (fire) food: Red impacts the heart. Eating more red-colored food can help one's immune system and prevent colds. Yellow (earth) food: Yellow corresponds to the spleen. The spleen transforms and transports the energy from food and drink throughout the body. Yellow foods also correspond to the stomach. Satellite channel New Tang Dynasty Television will host the 2009 Chinese Culinary Competition in New York on Sept. 26 and 27. The annual competition is the only global event to celebrate the art of Chinese cooking. 15 septiembre Falun Gong practitioner from Leshan City, Sichuan Province, Died of Persecution in 2003
(Clearwisdom.net, Correspondent from Sichuan Province) Falun Gong practitioner, Mr. Peng Guangrong, 61, was a resident of Liming Village, Luohan Town, Zhong District, Leshan City, Sichuan Province. He was an employee of the Bureau of Railway. After he suffered a head injury at work, he had difficulty using his hands. This forced him into retirement, however he had trouble taking care of himself. He began to practice Falun Gong in 1997, and in no time his injuries and illnesses went away. He was able to take care of himself and help with chores around the house. In July of 1999 when the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began to persecute practitioners, Mr. Peng went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong and to tell people that,"Falun Dafa is good." He was detained at the Quihua Building, Zhong District, Leshan City. In December 2000, he again went to Beijing to tell the public that "Falun Dafa is good" and was again detained at Shizhushan Detention Center of Leshan City. He actively told the truth about the persecution to his neighbors and villagers after he was released from detention. As a result, Wang Qinjun, a local official in Luohan Town, arrested him several times. He was taken to a Brainwashing Center, which is like a private prison, run by the township. He was mistreated in the center, and the local officials withheld his disability-retirement fund. He was detained until his health had deteriorated badly and he had lost a lot of weight. He was released only after his family demanded his release. After his return, Wang Qiujun constantly sent people to his house to harass him. Mr. Peng died in October, 2003 14 septiembre Edison's Black Maria(Wikipedia)
 The Black Maria was Thomas Edison's movie production studio in West Orange, New Jersey. It is widely referred to as America's First Movie Studio. History In 1893, the world's first film production studio, the Black Maria, or the Kinetographic Theater, was built on the grounds of Edison's laboratories at West Orange, New Jersey, for the purpose of making film strips for the Kinetoscope. In early May 1893 at the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences, Edison conducted the world's first public demonstration of films shot using the Kinetograph in the Black Maria, with a Kinetoscope viewer. The exhibited film showed three people pretending to be blacksmiths. The first motion pictures made in the Black Maria were deposited for copyright by Dickson at the Library of Congress in August, 1893. In early January 1894, The Edison Kinetoscopic Record of a Sneeze (aka Fred Ott's Sneeze) was one of the first series of short films made by Dickson for the Kinetoscope in Edison's Black Maria studio with fellow assistant Fred Ott. The short film was made for publicity purposes, as a series of still photographs to accompany an article in Harper's Weekly. It was the earliest motion picture to be registered for copyright — composed of an optical record of Ott sneezing comically for the camera. The first films shot at the Black Maria, a tar-paper-covered, dark studio room with a retractable roof, included segments of magic shows, plays, vaudeville performances (with dancers and strongmen), acts from Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, various boxing matches and cockfights, and scantily-clad women. Many of the early Edison moving images released after 1895, however, were non-fictional "actualities" filmed on location: views of ordinary slices of life — street scenes, the activities of police or firemen, or shots of a passing train. On Saturday, April 14, 1894, Edison's Kinetoscope began commercial operation. The Holland Brothers opened the first Kinetoscope Parlor at 1155 Broadway in New York City and for the first time, they commercially exhibited movies, as we know them today, in their amusement arcade. Patrons paid 25 cents as the admission charge to view films in five kinetoscope machines placed in two rows. Nearly 500 people became cinema's first major audience during the showings of films with titles such as Barber Shop, Blacksmiths, Cock Fight, Wrestling, and Trapeze. Edison's film studio was used to supply films for this sensational new form of entertainment. More Kinetoscope parlors soon opened in other cities (San Francisco, Atlantic City, and Chicago). Construction began in December 1892 and was completed the following year at a cost of $637.67. It closed in January 1901 and Edison demolished the building in 1903. The U. S. National Park Service maintains a reproduction of the Black Maria, built in 1954 at what is now the Edison National Historic Site in West Orange. A previous reconstruction had been built and dedicated in May 1940 when MGM held the world premiere of Edison, the Man starring Spencer Tracy in theaters throughout the Oranges (West Orange, East Orange, South Orange, and Orange). The Black Maria was, according to the staff who worked there, a small and uncomfortable place to work. Edison employees W. K. Dickson and Jonathan Campbell coined the name—it reminded them of police Black Marias, (also known as "paddywagons") of the time because they were also cramped, stuffy and a similar black color. Edison, however, called it "The Doghouse." The Black Maria was covered in black tarpaper and had a huge window in the ceiling that opened up to let in sunlight because early films required a tremendous amount of bright light. It was built on a turntable so the window could rotate toward the sun throughout the day, supplying natural light for hundreds of Edison movie productions over its eight year lifespan. When word spread about the new invention, performers flocked to the Black Maria from all over the country in order to be in the films. These silent movies featured dancers, pugilists, magicians, and vaudeville performers. Their appearances at the studio were used as publicity opportunities by Edison, who would often pose with the performers for newspaper articles. Selected films shot at the Black Maria
Here is Prof. Welton's Boxing Cats (1894) on YouTube : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qre61opE_g&feature=channel (click here) 13 septiembre Falun Gong practitioner, Ms. Wang Huilan Dies from Brutal Force-feeding Six Days After Arrest
Name: Wang Huilan (王会兰) (Clearwisdom.net) (Correspondent from Hebei Province) Falun Gong practitioner, Ms. Wang Huilan was arrested on September 1, 2009 by Zhuozhou City Domestic Security agents. On September 7, 2009, her family went to visit her, but they were not allowed to see her. That afternoon, the guards brutally force-fed her, causing her death.
On March 22, 2006, Ms. Wang was arrested by Zhuozhou City Domestic Security agent Yang Yugang and others from her family-owned store. They ransacked her home, detained her for seven days, and extorted 1000 yuan from her.
On August 31, 2009, Yang Yugang led a group of agents to arrest Ms. Wang Huilan again, but she was not home. When she came back with her friend Ms. Xie Haiying the next day, they were both arrested.
Ms. Xie Haiying was released, but she is currently under strict surveillance by the police.
Details of Ms. Wang Huilan's death following her recent arrest are still under investigation. 12 septiembre Suncream may be linked to Alzheimer's disease, say expertshttp://www.dailymail.co.uk
Suncream stops millions of people each year from burning their skin, but scientists are now looking for a link between suncream and Alzheimer's disease The frightening possibility of Alzheimer's disease being induced by suncream is being investigated by academics. Millions of British holidaymakers use block to protect their skin from the sun every year. Now the University of Ulster says two of its experts have been awarded £350,000 by the European Union to explore the possible links between the suncream and the brain disease. They are leading a groundbreaking three-year research project into whether human engineered nanoparticles, such as those found in sunscreen, can induce neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. It follows a 2003 study by British doctors that found some leading brands of sunscreen lotions failed to stop the sun's damaging rays penetrating the skin. They recommended staying out of the sun or covering up when outside as the best way to protect against skin cancer. Professor Vyvyan Howard, a pathologist and toxicologist, and Dr Christian Holster, an expert in Alzheimer's, are conducting the latest research as part of a worldwide project called NeuroNano. The University of Ulster experts will be specifically looking at nanoparticles present in chemicals found in sunscreens and an additive in some diesel fuels - titanium dioxide and cerium oxide - and their connection to Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. Professor Howard said: 'There is now firm evidence that some engineered nanoparticles entering intravenously or via lungs can reach the brains of small animals. 'Indeed they lodge in almost all parts of the brain and there are no efficient clearance mechanisms to remove them once there.' 
The University of Ulster's Professor Vyvyan Howard (left) and Dr Christian Holscher, who are leading the groundbreaking research There were also suggestions that nanoscale particles arising from urban pollution had reached the brains of animals and children living in Mexico City, he said. 'It has recently been discovered that nanoparticles can have highly significant impacts on the rate of misfolding of key proteins associated with neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. 'The brain itself is a very special organ. It cannot repair by replacing nerve cells, the ones you get at birth have to last all your life, which makes them peculiarly vulnerable to long term low dose toxicity.' The brain had built up some protective mechanisms but a major worry was that nanoparticles seemed to be able to circumvent them, he said. 'All this adds up to a new field of investigation. This research programme is deeply challenging and entails the gathering of entirely new knowledge in a field - neuronanotoxicology. 'It requires the marshalling of unique expertise, methodologies, techniques and materials, many themselves completely new and never before brought together in the required combination,'" said the professor. Latest figures show neurodegenerative diseases currently affect over 1.6 per cent of the European population, with dramatically rising incidence likely in part to the increase of the average age of the population. 'There is also some epidemiological evidence that Parkinson's disease is connected to environmental pollutants and it is often noted that, historically, reports of Parkinson's symptoms only began to appear after widespread industrialisation. 'The risk that engineered nanoparticles could introduce unforeseen hazards to human health is now also a matter of growing concern in many regulatory bodies, governments and industry,' said the professor. 11 septiembre Falun Gong practitioner, Ms. Liu Lanying, Died of Persecution
(Correspondent from Gansu Province) Falun Gong practitioner, Ms. Liu Lanying, 67, was a retiree from the Fu Food Company, in Lanzhou City. She felt fortunate to have learned about Falun Dafa in 1996. In June 2000, she went to Beijing to tell the public that "Falun Dafa is good," and she was detained at the Taoshuping Detention Center in Lanzhou City for 15 days. She went to Beijing again in late December 2000, but was stopped when she reached Longxi County, Gansu Province. The officers from the police station on Donggangxi Street, Chengguan District, Lanzhou City frequently harassed her so she was forced to hide from them. This created an enormous hardship to her life and her cultivation of Falun Gong. Her health gradually deteriorated. In 2007, she suffered from back pain and osteoporosis and could no longer stand up straight. She died on June 20, 2009. |
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