“I
am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should
not abide in darkness.”
(John 12:46)
Not abide
In Darkness
Abide
With Me
Henry Francis Lyte (1793–1847)
ABIDE with me! fast falls the eventide,
The darkness deepens: Lord, with me abide!
When other helpers fail, and comforts flee,
Help
of the helpless, O, abide with me!
Swift to its close ebbs
out life’s little day;
Earth’s joys grow dim, its glories pass
away;
Change and decay in all around I see:
O thou who changest
not, abide with me!
Not a brief glance I beg, a passing
word;
But, as thou dwell’st with thy disciples, Lord,
Familiar,
condescending, patient, free,
Come, not to sojourn, but abide with
me!
Come not in terrors, as the King of kings;
But kind and
good, with healing in thy wings;
Tears for all woes, a heart for
every plea;
Come, Friend of sinners, and thus ’bide with
me!
Thou on my head in early youth didst smile;
And, though
rebellious and perverse meanwhile,
Thou hast not left me, oft as I
left thee;
On to the close, O Lord, abide with me!
I need
thy presence every passing hour:
What but thy grace can foil the
tempter’s power?
Who like thyself my guide and stay can
be?
Through cloud and sunshine, O, abide with me!
I fear no
foe, with thee at hand to bless;
Ills have no weight, and tears no
bitterness:
Where is death’s sting? where, grave, thy victory?
I
triumph still if thou abide with me.
Hold thou thy cross
before my closing eyes,
Shine through the gloom, and point me to
the skies.
Heaven’s morning breaks, and earth’s vain shadows
flee:
In life and death, O Lord, abide with me!
***
Vatican Radio
Pope Francis: No religious or human justification for Paris attacks
Flags outside French Embassy in Rome after Paris attacks - ANSA
14/11/2015 12:23
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has called the attacks in Paris “a piece” of the “piecemeal Third World War.”
In a telephone interview on Saturday with the Italian Bishops’ Conference official television network – TV2000 – Pope Francis said the attacks are “not human.”
“I am close to the people of France, to the families of the victims, and I am praying for all of them,” Pope Francis said. “I am moved and I am saddened. I do not understand, these things hard to understand.”
When asked if this is part of the “piecemeal Third World War” the Holy Father has mentioned many times before, Pope Francis said “this is a piece of it,” adding “there is no religious or human justification for it.”
***
Arutz Sheva
SECURITY CAMERAS ON TEMPLE MOUNT MOVE FORWARD
Despite Arab threats to undermine project
Published: November 16, 2015
Dalit Halevi
Jordanian experts visit Temple Mount to determine best spot for placement of security cameras.
A project to install security cameras on the Temple Mount is progressing, despite Palestinian Arab threats to undermine it.
According to the agreement between Israel and Jordan, which was brokered last month by Secretary of State John Kerry, 24-hour security cameras covering all the site in the compound, which is sacred to both Jews and Muslims, will be installed.
A team of Jordanian experts is currently in Jerusalem and have completed the first phase of the project, which includes an examination of the premises. In the coming days, the team will determine the best places to install cameras so that they cover the majority of the area.
The footage of the goings on at the Temple Mount will be streamed live to the world via the Internet, as a Jordanian official recently indicated.
The project is moving ahead despite threats last week by a senior Palestinian Arab religious cleric, who declared that Muslims will break any camera is placed on the compound.
***
Ancient Origins
The Lost and Coveted Treasures of King Solomon
15 NOVEMBER, 2015 - 20:55
In the Hebrew Bible, the third king of Israel, Solomon, is depicted as a wise, powerful, and immensely wealthy king, who ruled between 965 BC and 925 BC. It is written that he reigned over a prosperous empire and commissioned magnificent palaces and fortresses in Jerusalem, also building the first temple to store the legendary Ark of the Covenant, a gilded case believed to hold the original Ten Commandments as handed down to Moses by God. But when his Temple was destroyed by the Babylonians in 597 and 586 BC, it is said that the Ark and his other treasures disappeared, never to be seen of again.
The Treasures of King Solomon
In historical records, Solomon is portrayed as a king with an extreme amount of wealth. For example, in the Book of Kings I (one of the two biblical books from which most of our knowledge of Solomon is derived, the other being Chronicles II), it is written that,
“Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred threescore and six talents of gold, / Beside that he had of the merchantmen, and of the traffick of the spice merchants, and of all the kings of Arabia, and of the governors of the country.”
Additionally, it has also been recorded that,
“King Solomon made two hundred targets of beaten gold: six hundred shekels of gold went to one target. / And he made three hundred shields of beaten gold; three pound of gold went to one shield: and the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon. / Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with the best gold.… / And all king Solomon's drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold; none were of silver: it was nothing accounted of in the days of Solomon…. / So King Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth for riches and for wisdom.”
The great wealth of Solomon has led many to believe that there is a great treasure hidden somewhere, awaiting its discovery. Yet, the exact contents of this ‘treasure’ are rather uncertain, and may range from gold and silver objects to the long coveted Ark of the Covenant.
The rich and powerful King Solomon with the Queen of Sheba, oil on canvas painting by Edward Poynter, 1890 (public domain)
The Treatise of the Vessels
In a Hebrew text called the ‘Treatise of the Vessels’, which was translated into English around two years ago, Solomon’s ‘treasure’ includes the coveted Ark of the Covenant, the Tabernacle, gold musical instruments, and the vestment of the high priest.
Other possible objects from the ‘Treasure of Solomon’ can be found in the numerous legends surrounding this king. One such legend speaks of Solomon being in possession of a seal ring on which the name of God was engraved. With this magical ring, Solomon was able to command demons to do his bidding.
Carrying the Ark of the Covenant: gilded bas-relief at the Auch Cathedral (public domain)
Solomon’s Golden Table
Another artifact belonging to Solomon is his table, which appears in a story surrounding the Islamic conquest of Iberia. In this story, the governor of Morocco, Musa Ibn Nasyr, was in command of the invading force, and ordered Tariq Ibn Ziyad, one of his Berber vassals, to lead the vanguard. Tariq’s landing place, incidentally, is what is now known as Gibraltar (this name is said to be the Spanish derivative of Jabal Tariq, meaning ‘Mountain of Tariq’.) Before his overlord had even crossed the Strait of Gibraltar, Tariq had already defeated Roderick, the king of the Visigoths, and captured his capital, Toledo. It was in this city that Tariq is said to have found a golden table rumoured to have been from the Temple of Solomon, and claimed it as his war booty.
When Ibn Nasyr arrived in Toledo, he heard of the golden table, and desired it himself, so that he could present it as a gift to the Caliph in Damascus. As a result, the table was seized from Tariq. The vassal, obviously angered by Ibn Nasyr’s action, broke one of the table’s legs, and replaced it with an inferior one. Tariq knew that he overlord was uncultured, and would not know the difference, whilst the Caliph would notice it in an instant. This came true when Ibn Nasyr presented the table to the Caliph. When he was asked to explain, Ibn Nasyr could only reply that he found it that way. Tariq, who was also present at Damascus, then took the actual leg, as proof that the table was seized from him. Tariq was rewarded, Ibn Nasyr was punished, and the table, which was kept by the Caliph, eventually disappeared from history.
One last story pertaining a possible object in the ‘Treasure of Solomon’ can be found in a colourful tale called the ‘Legend of Prince Ahmed Al Kamel, or the Pilgrim of Love’, which can be found in Washington Irving’s Tales of Alhambra, a collection of stories picked up whilst he was staying in the grand Moorish palace in Granada. Solomon is referred to a few times in this story. For instance, the prince is said to have learned the language of the birds, rumoured to have been taught to Solomon by the Queen of Sheba. Solomon is mentioned again, as the owner of a silken carpet kept in a sandalwood box in the treasury of Toledo. This carpet (said to have been brought to Toledo by the Jews who took refuge there after the fall of Jerusalem) had magical properties, and was used by the prince to fly back to Granada with his Christian princess.
The Disappearance of Solomon’s Treasures
In 589 BC, the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar II laid siege to Jerusalem, culminating in the destruction of the city and Solomon’s Temple in the summer of 587 BC. It is said that at this point in time, Solomon’s treasures disappeared, never to be seen of again.
According to the Treatise of the Vessels, the treasures were hidden by a number of Levites and prophets and “hidden in various locations in the Land of Israel and in Babylonia, while others were delivered into the hands of the angels Shamshiel, Michael, Gabriel and perhaps Sariel”.
Archaeologists and historians are not sure whether the Ark of the Covenant was stolen, destroyed, or hidden, and many continue to search for this long lost treasure.
Featured image: The mysterious whereabouts of the Ark of the Covenant has long captured the attention of archaeologists and treasure-seekers alike. Creative Commons
By Ḏḥwty
References
American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise, 2015. King Solomon. [Online]
Available at: https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/Solomon.html
The Bible: Standard King James Version, 2014. [Online]
Available at: http://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/
Irving, W., 1832. Tales of the Alhambra. Paris: Baudry's European Library.
Jacobs, J. & Seligsohn, M., 2011. Solomon, Seal of. [Online]
Available at: http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/13843-solomon-seal-of
yamatosaxon, 2013. Treasures of the Temple of Solomon. [Online]
Available at: http://thedailybeagle.net/2013/02/14/treasures-of-the-temple-of-solomon/
Zolfagharifarid, E., 2014. King Solomon's treasures revealed: Newly translated Hebrew text lists legendary riches - including the Ark of the Covenant. [Online]
***
The Telegraph
Secret Russian radioactive doomsday torpedo leaked on television
Top secret plans to build a torpedo-mounted, radioactive “dirty bomb” appear to have been inadvertently leaked by a careless Russian general
By Roland Oliphant, Moscow
12:50AM GMT 13 Nov 2015
Secret plans for a Russian long-range nuclear torpedo came to light after a state television cameraman filmed over a senior officer’s shoulder with a diagram on show.
The scheme involves the use of massive doses of radiation to render large areas of enemy coastlines uninhabitable and appeared on TV during a meeting with Vladimir Putin on Tuesday.
The images were quickly removed by Russia’s state owned broadcasters, apparently after censors intervened, but not before they were broadcast across the country and picked up by sharp-eyed YouTube users.
“It's true some secret data got into the shot, therefore it was subsequently deleted," said Dmitry Peskov, the Russian president's press secretary. “In future we will undoubtedly take preventive measures so this does not happen again.”
The screen shot shows a general studying a page headlined “Oceanic Multipurpose System 'Status-6'", and attributed to the St. Petersburg-based Rubin design bureau – the same office that has produced many of Russia’s most modern nuclear submarines.
The Kremlin says secret plans for a Russian long-range nuclear The Kremlin says secret plans for a Russian long-range nuclear torpedo called "Status-6" should not have appeared on Russian TV. Photo: Universal News & Sport
According to an introductory blurb, Status 6 is designed to “destroy important economic installations of the enemy in coastal areas and cause guaranteed devastating damage to the country's territory by creating wide areas of radioactive contamination, rendering them unusable for military, economic or other activity for a long time".
The page also shows a cross-section of the proposed torpedo, and two potential carrier submarines, the Project 09852 Belgorod, and the Project 09851 Khabarovsk, both new “special purpose" boats laid down at the Arctic circle Sevmash shipyard in 2012 and 2014 respectively, although the Belgorod makes use of an older hull for an earlier, never completed boat.
Status 6 itself appears to be a gigantic torpedo-shaped robotic mini-submarine – in other words an underwater drone – that can travel at speeds of 100 knots (115mph) and is so perfectly cloaked by stealth technology it would be invisible to acoustic tracking devices.
The notes on the torpedo diagram give it a range of up to 6,200 miles (10,000km), and a dive depth of 3,300 feet (1,000m) – far beyond that of most manned submarines.
The weapon, if genuine, would appear to be part of a move to modernise Russia’s nuclear deterrent.
The “accidental” leak came at a security council meeting where Mr Putin said Russia would develop new weapons to counter American plans that Russia says would upset the “strategic balance” between the world’s two nuclear super powers.
Russian defence officials have been particularly critical of an American missile defence system in Europe, which generals in Moscow worry eats into the creditability of Russia’s ICBM-borne nuclear deterrent.
Another US plan currently exercising Russian fears is something called Prompt Global Strike – a project that would allow US forces to deliver a conventional air strike anywhere on the planet with one hour’s notice.
That has prompted some analysts to suggest that the “accidental” leak was actually intended to signal that Russia has the means and intention to respond "asymetically" by creating devices the new American defences will not stop.
Rossiskaya Gazeta, the Russian government’s official newspaper, reported that the new “super weapon” may make use of a “cobalt bomb” – a hitherto mostly theoretical weapon designed to maximise nuclear fallout. The concept is so fearsome it was one inspiration for the “Doomsday device” in the film, Dr Strangelove.
As Dr Strangelove himself notes in the film, there is no point in building a “Doomsday device” – the ultimate deterrent – if you do not tell anyone about it. That consideration has left many observers suspecting the "inadvertent leak" was anything but.
Rossiskaya Gazeta also hinted it may well be intended purely as a deterrent. "Experts believe cobalt bombs cannot be used as strike weapons ... because of the risk of totally destroying the planet's biosphere," the paper noted.
"But it could be considered a deterrent ... guaranteeing a return strike with all the power of Russia's nuclear forces even if all command points and the country's leadership have been destroyed."
(“Except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened. Matthew 24:22)
***
***
THEWORLDPOST
Hollande: Fight Against ISIS Demands Constitutional Changes
“We are at war, this new kind of war demands a constitution that can manage a state in crisis."
Willa Frej
Reporter, The Huffington Post
Posted: 11/16/2015 02:07 PM EST | Edited: 11/16/2015 03:25 PM EST
During a rare trip to the Palace of Versailles Monday French President François Hollande called on lawmakers to change France’s constitution in order to better protect the country.
Hollande referred to article 36 of the charter as outdated, and asked that parliament change it to give the government greater power without needing to resort to a state of emergency.
“We are at war, this new kind of war demands a constitution that can manage a state in crisis," he said.
He announced that he is submitting a proposal to extend the state of emergency by three months and asked parliament to vote on it before the end of the week.
He also suggested enacting a law that would revoke French citizenship from anyone linked to terrorist attacks, however he didn't elaborate on how this law would be applied.
In a 45-minute speech to the French parliament, Hollande reinforced his message of solidarity and determination in the fight against radicalism. He juggled between emotional depictions of France's exceptionality and firm declarations on how the country will wage its war on terror.
"France is at war," he said. "The acts committed Friday night in Paris at the Stade de France are acts of war.
"We must respond with cold determination to the attack that our country was a target of."
He said that the Islamic State terrorists likely targeted France because it's a country defined by liberty and democracy. "Our democracy stands more true than these assassins," Hollande said.
"We are not engaged in a war of civilization, because the terrorists do not belong to any civilization," he added.
He repeated France's call to arms and applauded the resilience of the French people. "I'm calling again on our compatriots to take this opportunity to show our country's honor, lucidity, and dignity.
"[They] are ardent, courageous people who stand up every time."
Policemen have gone "beyond themselves" to protect the people, Hollande added.
French President Francois Hollande delivers a speech during an exceptional joint gathering of both of the French houses of parliament on Nov. 16, 2015, in Versailles, France. THIERRY CHESNOT VIA GETTY IMAGES
***
PRESSTV
Russia ready to support Lebanon in countering Daesh terrorists
Fri Nov 13, 2015 11:25PM
Russian President Vladimir Putin during a meeting on November 11, 2015 (AFP)
The Kremlin says Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed readiness to cooperate closely with the Lebanese authorities in countering the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group.
A day after two deadly bombings occurred on the outskirts of the Lebanese capital, President Putin sent a condolence message to Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and assured assistance to Beirut in its fight against Daesh terrorists, the Kremlin press service said on Friday.
Putin also said that Russia can help track down the perpetrators of the two massive explosions that hit a security post in the Borj al-Barajaneh area in a southern suburb of Beirut. Daesh claimed responsibility for the twin attacks that killed over 40 people and injured 240 others.
"Putin expressed hope that the perpetrators and actors of this crime will be punished, stressing that Russia is ready for close cooperation with the Lebanese authorities in the fight against terrorism, in particular, the ISIL extremist group," the Kremlin statement read.
Also on Friday, Putin ruled out claims that Moscow will imminently end its ongoing airstrikes against militants in Syria, saying the military action will continue until the objectives of the operation are realized.
Lebanon's Prime Minister Tammam Salam condemned the Beirut attacks as "unjustifiable", and called for unity against "plans to create strife" in the country. He also urged officials to overcome their differences.
International condemnations poured in over the attacks with United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon strongly condemning it and saying the perpetrators must be “brought to justice.”
Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hossein Jaberi Ansari also denounced the bombings on Thursday, expressing hope that the Lebanese people, the resistance movement Hezbollah and the army will stand united against terrorism.
A large number of people have lost their lives in terrorist attacks in the Lebanese capital and some areas in the country’s east over the past months.
***
RT
New Poland defense minister in hot water over Jewish conspiracy theory
Published time: 13 Nov, 2015 14:30
The Anti-Defamation League, devoted to combating anti-Semitism, has called on the Polish government to revoke the appointment of Antoni Macierewicz as new defense minister over comments he made over a decade ago about an alleged Jewish conspiracy.
During a radio talk show in 2002, Macierewicz was asked what he thought of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, a document which, historians believe, was forged in Tsarist Russia as a pretext for the persecution of Jews. Macierewicz replied that he had read them and found them “very interesting.” Acknowledging that there was a dispute over their authenticity, he noted: “Some say it’s authentic, some say it’s not. I am not a specialist. Experience shows that there are such groups in Jewish circles.”
The ADL national director, Jonathan Greenblatt, said earlier this week that even though Macierewicz's statement was made many years ago, “it indicates a profound and virulent anti-Semitism.”
“We trust that you would not allow anyone of such convictions to be a member of your government,” he wrote in a letter to Polish Prime Minister-elect Beata Szydlo, Arutz Sheva website reported.
The ADL asked Szydlo to ensure that Macierewicz, whose name was submitted for the position of defense minister on Monday, “clearly and publicly recants and apologizes for his statement.”
“If he is unwilling to do so, we hope you will draw the appropriate conclusions,” Greenblatt noted.
Macierewicz, a former member of Poland’s anti-communist opposition movement, is notorious for controversial statements. He told the European parliament in March that Russia was to blame for the plane crash that killed 96 Poles, including President Lech Kaczyński, in 2010. A leaked transcript of cockpit conversations in the Polish president’s plane meanwhile confirmed that members of Kaczynski’s entourage had pressured the pilots to land despite thick fog.
Dr. Charles Asher Small, director of the Institute for the Study of Global Anti-Semitism and Policy, has also slammed Macierewicz's comments, describing the Protocols of the Elders of Zion as “the most pernicious form of European anti-Semitism” which “led Europe into the catastrophe of the Second World War,” to the Jerusalem Post.
Polish author Rafal Pankowski wrote about Macierewicz's appearance on the radio in his 2010 book, entitled ‘The Populist Radical Right in Poland’.
"The political culture of Law and Justice seems strongly influenced by such discourse,” Pankowski told the Guardian.
"It is a sad time for Polish and European democracy if the promotion of conspiracy theories is rewarded with high-level appointments," he added.
Chairman of the Council of the Union of Jewish Communities Krzysztof Izdebski told the Jerusalem Post that Macierewicz later apologized for his remarks, stating that he “accepts with no doubts” that the Protocols are “false.”
The 67-year-old politician previously served as minister of internal affairs, head of the military counterintelligence service, and secretary of state in the Ministry of National Defense. He is currently the deputy leader of the largest party in the Polish parliament, Law and Justice.
***
***
WND
DEAR WHITE PEOPLE: YOUR DAYS ARE NUMBERED
Exclusive: Jesse Lee Peterson urges U.S. and Europe to 'stop the madness'
Published: November 15, 2015
JESSE LEE PETERSON
This has been a brutal couple of weeks for those with white skin.
It started with a three-ring circus at the University of Missouri, another landmark in the slow death of white America. And it drew to a close with the actual deaths of scores of French citizens.
The circus at the University of Missouri began after campus groups started protesting what they claimed was bad treatment of “minorities” on campus and an indifferent response to their complaints.
The black student-government president, Payton Head, whined on Facebook that someone called him the N-word from a passing pickup truck.
A few days before the school’s homecoming parade, members of the Legions of Black Collegians claimed that some unidentified person shouted racial slurs at them.
No names, no evidence, no actual harm – just petty accusations.
Angry black students blocked university system President Tom Wolfe’s car at the homecoming parade in a bizarre attempt to get his attention. When he wouldn’t get out of the car to chat with them, they were offended!
Student government President Head later posted that Wolfe “smiled and laughed” during the protest. “He laughed in our faces. This is your president. This is America. 2015.” What a dummy.
A graduate student, Jonathan Butler, went on a “hunger” strike, protesting “white privilege,” saying he wouldn’t eat until President Wolfe was replaced. It was later reported that his father, Eric L. Butler, is an executive at Union Pacific Railroad and made $8.4 million last year, with a net worth of $20 million. This is a spoiled child, pretending to make a stand for the “oppressed.”
Then the football team threatened not to play. And the white coach, Gary Pinkel, went along with them. Pinkel apparently values appeasement, and the money big-college football brings over what’s right.
So President Wolfe did what all self-respecting white liberal males do – he caved, and resigned. Not surprisingly, a black man, Michael Middleton, was named the system’s interim president.
The whole Missouri University circus is about the redistribution of power and wealth – from white to black. It’s about taking away from white decent people and giving to godless blacks who have not earned their way.
The white football coach, Pinkel, announced he was resigning at the end of the season for “health” reasons.
The chancellor, Bowen Loftin, announced he, too, was quitting at the end of the year.
The University of Missouri will never be the same now.
Weak, liberal whites have created monsters in their schools. The monsters are now eating them, and threatening to eat others.
By Thursday, chaos reigned across the country as students protested their schools and called for heads to roll.
The situation will not get better until white Americans put an end to it. In fact, it will only get worse.
Campus Reform reported that on Nov. 4, a group calling themselves the Afrikan Black Coalition revealed two shocking goals: Stop white people and overturn the Constitution. They probably don’t realize this “white man’s Constitution” protects their right to protest. Their charming motto is “New Constitution or the Bullet.”
Speaking of “getting worse,” the New York Daily News reported that two black teenagers (13 and 14-year-olds) allegedly killed a white woman in her car, and then went on a joyride with her dead body propped up in the front seat. No, you won’t see this story on the evening news (at least not with the races mentioned).
And with clear evidence that white Americans are standing by as their country is going down in flames, Friday evening we heard news of the Paris attacks and concert hall massacre of mostly white French by Muslim terrorists.
Somewhere along the way, whites in Europe and America have lost their connection to God and have decided to give up defending their communities and freedoms. Europe has been in the process of handing their continent over to Muslims. And white Americans are handing over their country to black malcontents – and Muslims. Friday it was reported that the first wave of Syrian immigrants had arrived in New Orleans. Where was Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal to stop this? Where are the protests from outraged Americans?
If you stand up against the bullies – whether they’re radical black bullies on campuses, or Islamic bullies, they will go sit down.
But if you act with fear, they will run over you and your children.
You can’t prove anything to angry people. You just have to speak up, be honest and live your life. Telling the truth and setting a living example is the only way to change anything for the better.
The greatest civilizations in the world are being destroyed by the godless.
The godless have not been raised by decent parents. They’re looking for love in all the wrong places, and in the wrong way. And now they’re destroying the free world.
It’s time for whites in America, and in Europe, to stop the madness. If it isn’t stopped, your way of life – and possibly your life itself – will be stopped.
***
Newsweek
STUDY: COFFEE REALLY MAY BE ELIXIR OF LIFE
Reduces risk for number of chronic health conditions
November 17, 2015
Jessica Firger
Another study in a growing body of research appears to suggest that coffee may do more than simply help us get through the day. The findings suggest that drinking a moderate amount of java significantly reduces a person’s risk for a number of chronic health conditions and could lead to longer life.
The large-scale study was published Monday in Circulation, a journal published by the American Heart Association. It involved 167,944 women from the Nurses’ Health Study and Nurses’ Health Study 2. The analysis also looked at data on 40,557 men from the Health Professionals Follow-up Study. The researchers tracked study participants for 30 years and collected data on daily coffee intake through food questionnaires.
After adjusting for a number of factors, including age, fitness level, body mass index, sugary beverage consumption and smoking status, the researchers found coffee consumption was associated with lower risk for death from cardiovascular disease, neurological diseases and suicide. Coffee consumption reduced overall risk by 9 to 15 percent.
Coffee drinkers are more likely to consume alcohol and smoke cigarettes, so the researchers opted to repeat the analysis after eliminating smokers from the data pool. The results of this re-analysis demonstrated that nonsmokers who drank moderate amounts of coffee had a 15 percent lower risk for all-cause mortality.
The researchers didn’t find any statistical differences in rates of diseases among participants who drank caffeinated versus decaffeinated coffee. This suggests there is an active component other than caffeine in the beverage that provides some productive benefit. Coffee is a rich source of antioxidants and B vitamins. The authors of the new study suggest that certain compounds present in coffee—including chlorogenic acid, lignans, quinides, trigonelline and magnesium—may have an anti-inflammatory effect and reduce insulin resistance. But more studies are needed to confirm coffee’s observed protective effect.
“Results from this and previous studies indicate that coffee consumption can be incorporated into a healthy lifestyle,” the researchers write in their study.
However, some studies find that excessive coffee consumption may have some adverse side effects. Superficially, too much coffee on a daily basis can lead to anxiety, jitteriness and insomnia. A recent study finds too much of the stuff may disturb a person’s circadian rhythm.
Another study, published in 2013 in Mayo Clinic Proceedings, suggests that coffee may actually be associated with an increased mortality. That two-decades-long study involved nearly 50,000 participants and found that men who drank more than 28 cups of coffee each week—four each day—had a higher mortality rate. The association between coffee consumption and increased mortality was also observed in men and women under 55.
The researchers in the new study point out their findings do have some limitations. “Given the observational nature of the study design, we could not directly establish a cause-effect relationship between coffee and mortality,” the researchers write. They also point out that the study participants—all health and medical professionals and predominantly white—may not reflect coffee’s effects on a more diverse general population.
***
***
Natural News
Natural ginger is up to 10,000 times more effective than chemotherapy drugs at treating cancer, study shows
Tuesday, November 17, 2015
by: David Gutierrez, staff writer
(NaturalNews) Ginger naturally contains a compound that is up to 10,000 times more effective than chemotherapy drugs at killing the cancer stem cells that make malignant tumors so dangerous, according to a study published in the journal PLoS.
The chemical, known as 6-shogaol, is produced when ginger roots are dried or cooked. The researchers found that 6-shogaol is active against cancer stem cells at concentrations that are harmless to healthy cells. This is dramatically different from conventional chemotherapy, which has serious side effects largely because it kills healthy as well as cancerous cells.
Cells responsible for 90 percent of cancer death?
Like other stem cells, cancer stem cells possess the ability to differentiate into various different cell types. In the case of cancer, stem cells differentiate into the various malignant cells that make up a tumor colony. Although they make up less than 1 percent of the cells in any given tumor, stem cells are impervious to nearly all known or experimental chemotherapy agents. These cells are also able to replicate indefinitely, and they are capable of splitting off from their originating colony to start new tumors elsewhere. They are key players in the process of metastasis, which is responsible for 90 percent of cancer-related deaths.
The persistence of cancer stem cells also explains why cancers can recur even after seemingly successful tumor eradication via chemotherapy, radiation or surgery.
"Cancer stem cells pose serious obstacle to cancer therapy as they can be responsible for poor prognosis and tumour relapse," the researchers wrote. "To add into the misery, very few chemotherapeutic compounds show promise to kill these cells."
Kills cancer cells on many fronts
The researchers found that 6-shogaol targets breast cancer stem cells along several different pathways, including reducing the expression of surface markers, altering the cell cycle to increase the rate of cell death, inhibiting tumor formation, directly inducing programmed cell death, and flat-out poisoning cancer stem cells (cytotoxicity).
The researchers then compared the cytotoxicity of 6-shogaol against human breast cancer stem cells with that of the widely used chemotherapy drug taxol. They found that while taxol did show cytotoxicity in a one-dimensional laboratory model of cancer ("monolayer"), it showed almost no effect in the three-dimensional ("spheroid") model that is now believed to be a more accurate model of real-world cancer tumors. 6-shogaol, however, was effective in both the monolayer and spheroid models.
The researchers then increased the taxol concentration by 10,000 times, but it still showed no effectiveness in spheroid model.
"[T]axol, even though was highly active in monolayer cells, did not show activity against the spheroids even at 10,000 fold higher concentration compared to 6-shogaol," the researchers wrote.
The promise of food-based cures
The fact that 6-shogaol naturally occurs in a widely consumed human food is promising for its safety profile, the researchers noted.
"Dietary compounds are welcome options for human diseases due to their time-tested acceptability by human bodies," they wrote.
Another food-based chemical that has shown promise against cancer stem cells is phenethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC). This chemical is produced from the reaction of a compound and an enzyme that occur in cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli and cabbage. This reaction actually takes place simply when the vegetables are chewed, which means that eating cruciferous vegetables causes the human body to be exposed to PEITC.
According to a May 2015 press release by researchers from the South Dakota State University Department of Health and Nutritional Sciences, PEITC has been successful at killing cervical cancer stem cells. The concentrations used in the study are actually achievable simply from a diet rich in cruciferous vegetables, the researchers said. The vegetables highest in PEITC potential are watercress and land cress.
This research suggests that PEITC, and possibly even a diet rich in cruciferous vegetables, could assist in the prevention of or recovery from cancer.
Sources for this article include:
GreenMedInfo.com
GreenMedInfo.com
NCBI.NLM.NIH.gov
ScienceDaily.com
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"Isaiah
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(2 Kings 20:7)