Food that traves well

Food That Travels Well - New York Times

It all depends on how you wield the carbon calculator. Instead of measuring a product’s carbon footprint through food miles alone, the Lincoln University scientists expanded their equations to include other energy-consuming aspects of production — what economists call “factor inputs and externalities” — like water use, harvesting techniques, fertilizer outlays, renewable energy applications, means of transportation (and the kind of fuel used), the amount of carbon dioxide absorbed during photosynthesis, disposal of packaging, storage procedures and dozens of other cultivation inputs.

Incorporating these measurements into their assessments, scientists reached surprising conclusions. Most notably, they found that lamb raised on New Zealand’s clover-choked pastures and shipped 11,000 miles by boat to Britain produced 1,520 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions per ton while British lamb produced 6,280 pounds of carbon dioxide per ton, in part because poorer British pastures force farmers to use feed. In other words, it is four times more energy-efficient for Londoners to buy lamb imported from the other side of the world than to buy it from a producer in their backyard. Similar figures were found for dairy products and fruit

. READ ON

Reuters: Sleepy? Cut out late-night Internet and TV

Reuters Health Information (2007-08-23): Sleepy? Cut out late-night Internet and TV

NEW YORK (Reuters
Health) - People who spend more pre-bedtime hours using the Internet or watching television are more likely to report that they don't get enough sleep, even though they sleep almost as long as people who spend fewer pre-bedtime hours in front of a computer or television screen,survey findings show.
"While many people use electronic media, such as the Internet, it should be noted that the longer media use before sleep can trigger (self-perceived) insufficient sleep," lead
researcher Dr. Nakamori Suganuma, of Osaka University, Japan, told Reuters Health.
He and colleagues obtained data on self-perceived sleep problems and the use of electronic media prior to bedtime from a total of 5,875 Japanese respondents to two separate Internet-based surveys. Their findings are published in the journal Sleep and Biological Rhythms. Nearly half of the respondents associated their lack of sleep with electronic media use beforebedtime. Those reporting longer electronic media use were also more likely to report insufficient sleep. Overall, 29 percent of light users
(less than 1.5 hours) listed electronic media use as a possible cause of their insufficient sleep. By comparison, 40 percent of medium users (1.5 to 3 hours) and 54 percent of heavy users (more than 3 hours) said the same. READ ON

CSM: Islamic Spain history's Refrain

From Christian Science Monitor:

Washington - The past sometimes provides examples of glory and success that serve as models. Other times, as the philosopher George Santayana said, it warns of impending calamity for those who do not learn from it.

For the past several years, I've been immersed in a history that does both. As one of the producers for an upcoming PBS documentary on the rise and fall of Islamic Spain, I've witnessed its amazing ascent and tragic fall countless times in the editing room, only to go home and watch some of the same themes playing out on the nightly news.

Islamic Spain lasted longer than the Roman Empire. It marked a period and a place where for hundreds of years a relative religious tolerance prevailed in medieval Europe.

READ ON

Masjids and Halal Restaraunts

If you travel a lot for work like myself you need to know where the local halal restaraunts are and the mosques/masjids:

For masjids my favourite site is:

www.salatomatic.com

For halal restaraunts:

www.zabihah.com

Emotional Attachments in our lives...

Emotional Attachment. Thats a word not to uncommonly used in romantic relationships. However, I have been thinking (!) and I actually think this term has a wider application. In fact a little bit of research on the web and you find tat some advertisers to want to create an emotional attachment to their brands and some websites create emotional attachments with their readers.

How do you define emotional attachment? I personally define emotional attachment as attaching one self to someone or something based on emotion in such a way that your emotions have a big impact on how you might make your decision regarding that "Something" or "someone".

I think if you look around, there are many examples of emotional attachment. The following are a series of examples ( to my mind) of emotional attachment or the power of emotional attachment:

1. Client Service: Client service in the retail market is the service you get through the cashier or through the helpers who might help you decide on a product. In essence, the quality of the product is what might matter in the end, but when the products are the same at two different locations, you would probably go to the place where you had a more freindly and pleasant encounter with the employees.
   
2. Romance: the most obvious and common example of emotional attachment. To like someone people do have to have an emotional attachment with that certain person. A lot of books on marriage elude to the loss of emotional attachment between spouses as a big factor in the failure of marriages. The emotional attachment between spouses could be through their common interests ( like kids, hobbies, etc), could just be the constant emotional expression of love between them, could be the common experiences ( good or bad) they have been through together. In other words there has to be something that helps the couple connect emotionally. This is where the interesting concept of Emotional infidelity might come in as well where an emotional attachment to a third person by one of the spouses could dangerously lead to trouble. The emotional infidelity with the third person would basically result in emotional attachment outside the marriage eventually risking the whole marriage itself through extra martial affairs.
3. Brands: As already mentioned, emotional attachment to a brand is a common marketing ploy. Something to trigger this attachment could be the fact that a super star you admire actually promotes this brand during ads.
   
4. Other relationships: Relationships with friends and family have emotion as a major basis for them. The basis of emotional attachment with siblings is the fact that you have seen their 'personal history' and know what they went though in their earlier lives. Better emotional attachment between children and their parents could be through the bonding that they have created through time spent over their lives. The less effective parents maybe the ones who invested minimum time when raising their kids hence making kids forming bonds with "others". A good way to increase emotional attachment may be through giving someone a gift which would help make them feel that they are emotionally important to you.
5. Power: The emotional attachment to the luxuries and influence you had as a result of your power.
   
6. Money and materials; Attachment to money and glittery things may be a result of the fact that you think your elevation in the eyes of people is a result of what you have or how much money you have. The attachment may be a result of the emotional images implanted in your mind when you were younger by those around you who made you think that your importance is only a result of money and what you have.
   
7. Work: Emotional attachment to your work or a project at work maybe a result of the passion you have for your work or maybe the money that motivates you or maybe the attachment you have to your boss or to the power that might come at work as a result of your work. I guess here is where a showdown between emotional attachment for the family vs the emotional attachment for work would take place.
   
8. Religion: Emotional attachment to religion in Islam could be to a religious group who treated you well, a group of people you tend to agree with, a mosque where people treat you well and so on. The height of emotional attachment in Islam would be to be attached to Allah and Prophet Muhammad ( peace be upon him). This emotional attachment may be true in different ways for different religions.
   

You have therefore seen the importance of emotional attachment in our lives.

Of course there may be other categories which you could be attached with as well.

Regardless--the point has been made.--emotional attachments are important!

Hunger, disease stalk children hit by South Asia floods

Very sad...

BOCHAHA, India (Reuters) - Millions of malnourished Indian children are vulnerable to disease after South Asia's worst floods in years, officials and aid groups said on Wednesday, calling for urgent assistance.Hundreds of UNICEF workers rushed to immunize and supply rehydration fluid sachets to children in the impoverished eastern state of Bihar, where millions are stranded on embankments or living in primitive shelters on highways.They are exposed to sweltering temperatures, sudden downpours and filthy conditions, making them sitting ducks for infections. Hundreds of children have already caught diarrhea, reports say. READ
MORE

You can help by donating:

https://secure.unicef.ca/portal/SmartDefault.aspx?at=1209

https://www.oxfam.org.uk/donate/cat_fund.html?amount=&image.x=102&image.y=20

http://www.redcross.ca/article.asp?id=009755&tid=032

http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/en/41_2663.htm

Tips on dealing with heat ( and is Gatorade good for you?)

Web MD has some good tips here...

Dos and Don'ts for Extreme Heat

Do:
Drink a lot of fluids, even if you aren't thirsty.
Avoid caffeine, alcohol, or sugared sodas because they can make fluid leave your body faster.
Stay indoors if at all possible.
Go to a mall, movie, or friend's or relative's home if your air-conditioning goes
out. See if there are heat-relief shelters nearby for the night.
Buy a fan to move air around, even if it's air-conditioned air. But remember, air-conditioning is best above 90 degrees.
Wear light-colored, loose clothing. Don't overwrap babies; put a shade over them instead.
If you go out, do it early or after dark.
Cut down on exercise. Bonanno has shortened his workouts considerably. "It's not even really cool enough in the morning," he says.
Stay in the shade.
Move slowly.
Wear a wide-brimmed hat.
Check on elderly neighbors or relatives. ......READ MORE

Also I learnt that Gatorade is a poor substituie fro water in most cases..

"There are three words to take note of here: intense, duration and hot. If you are doing light exercise or doing nothing at all (couch-warming) - then Gatorade is a big waste of money. In this situation (and arguably in any typical workout) water is perfectly adequate. Gatorade provides sodium and potassium. If you are sweating heavily you will lose these two minerals in your sweat. However - I believe you would need to be doing a serious amount of exercise (hours) before loss of these minerals will become a problem (this is a different story if diarrhea and vomiting are involved). If you drink a whole bottle of Gatorade you are consuming about 56 grams of sugar -- this is not required in a normal sedentary lifestyle -- and in this situation it could be considered "bad" for you." READ MORE

Jonathan Cook: Israel's Jewish problem in Tehran

The article raises some good questions in regards to the Iranian Jews living in Tehran..

......But Netanyahu has been far from alone in making extravagant claims about a looming genocide from Iran. Israel's new president, Shimon Peres, has compared an Iranian nuclear bomb to a "flying concentration camp." And the prime minister, Ehud Olmert, told a German newspaper last year: "[Ahmadinejad] speaks as Hitler did in his time of the extermination of the entire Jewish nation."

There is an interesting problem with selling the "Iran as Nazi Germany" line. If Ahmadinejad really is Hitler, ready to commit genocide against Israel's Jews as soon as he can get his hands on a nuclear weapon, why are some 25,000 Jews living peacefully in Iran and more than reluctant to leave despite repeated enticements from Israel and American Jews?....READ ON

Punjabe wise saying 3

Annha anhee noon raah peyaa dassey
Dovyen toey wich ja phassey

A blind man lead a blind man, both end up in a ditch

Explanation: The blind man didnt know where he was going so how would he be able to guide another blind man. Hence with both people being blind, they came across a ditch and not seeing it they fell into it.

This saying emphasizes the importance of knowing whom we follow in our daily lives. If the person or trends we follow is/are not grounded in solidness then we might sink when they sink...
For example...This can be true for our teachers whom we gain our knowledge from.

Are you thankful?

I sometimes feel that we are oblivious to our surroundings and refrain from observing and reflecting on things we should be pondering about. If you look around there are many things that you should be thankful for.

The eyes through which you see are something to be thankful for. There are many blind people in this world.

The intellect with which you think and process what you see through your eyes is something to be thankful for. For there are many people devoid of sound thinking due to being mentally handicapped.

The legs which helped you walk and sit infront of your computer are something to be thankful for--there are many people in this world who cannot walk.

The computer and internet connection with which you can access so much information is something to be thankful for. There are many people in this world who do not have this kind of access.

The hands with which you type are something to be thankful for. For there are many people in this world who cannot use their hands.

The ears and the mouth with which you communicate with rest of the world are something to be thankful for. There are many people in the world that cannot hear or speak.

The peace and security in which most of you are living is something to be thankful for. There are many people who are in the middle of wars and leave homes not knowing when and if they will return.

This thought of being thankful is something to be thankful for itself.

Look around. There is a lot more to be thankful about. How do you express your thanks?
Abdul Qadir Jilani explains (taken from Sunnipath):

Moreover, thankfulness [shukr] can be subdivided into several categories,
namely:

1. Thankfulness expressed by the tongue [shukr bi'l-lisan]. This constitutes the acknowledgment of the benefaction [ni'ma] with an attitude of humble acceptance [istikana].

2. Thankfulness expressed by the body and the limbs [shukr bi'l-badan wa 'l - rkan]. This is the characteristic indication of loyalty and readiness toserve [al-wafa' wa 'l-khidma].

3. Thankfulness expressed by the inner feeling [shukr bi'l-qalb]. This requires a careful balance between the visible display of appreciation and the constant preservation of a sense of reverence.

It has also been said that thankfulness of the eyes [shukr al-'ainain] means that you overlook any fault you notice in your companion, while thankfulness of the ears [shukr al-udhunain] means that you ignore any fault you hear him accused of possessing.

Alhamdulillah!

Rumi: the water of life

From Jahane Rumi...

Though your life has almost passed, this present moment is its root:if it
lacks moisture, water it with repentance.Give the Living Water to the root of
your life,so that the tree of your life may flourish.By this Water past mistakes
are redeemed.By this Water last year’s poison is made sweet.
Rumi
(Version
by Camille and Kabir Helminski)