“And unto Joseph were born two sons before the years of famine came, which Asenath the daughter of Poti- pherah priest of On (Heliopolis) bare unto him.”
(Genesis 41:50)
Unto Joseph Were Born Two Sons
Dear Friends
If you were to ask any Israeli or Jew anywhere in the world if the sons of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim, were part of the twelve tribes of Israel which conquered the promised land, Canaan, you would most likely be met with an incredulous response, “of course they were part of the twelve tribes of Israel that conquered the Promised land”.
Yet, under modern day Israel's “right of return”, Manasseh and Ephraim, would not have been allowed to return to Israel and claim Israeli citizenship.
The Law of Return, 5730-1970: 2nd Amendment
4B. For the purposes of this Law, "Jew" means a person who was born of a Jewish mother or has become converted to Judaism and who is not a member of another religion."
Why, because the right to return and to become an Israeli citizen is traced through the mother's lineage and blood line. Even if your father is Jewish and your mother is not you are not considered Jewish. This is of course contrary to virtually every major ethnic group in the world and contrary to how lineage was passed down in ancient Israel. Just look at the “begats” chapters in the Old Testament to see for yourself.
Wikipedia
“A person's lineage is his or her line of ancestors. So matrilineal means basically "through the mother's line", just as patrilineal means "through the father's line". Matrilineality is an important concept in anthropology; among other things, it usually determines who will inherit property on a person's death. Though families that follow the European model take the father's name and are therefore patrilineal, matrilineal societies have existed around the world, including among various American Indian tribes.” Merriam-Webster
“Matrilineality is the tracing of kinship through the female line. It may also correlate with a social system in which each person is identified with their matriline – their mother's lineage – and which can involve the inheritance of property and/or titles. A matriline is a line of descent from a female ancestor to a descendant (of either sex) in which the individuals in all intervening generations are mothers – in other words, a "mother line". In a matrilineal descent system, an individual is considered to belong to the same descent group as their mother. This matrilineal descent pattern is in contrast to the more common pattern of patrilineal descent from which a family name is usually derived. The matriline of historical nobility was also called their enatic or uterine ancestry, corresponding to the patrilineal or "agnatic" ancestry.
Matrilineality in Judaism or matrilineal descent in Judaism is the tracing of Jewish descent through the maternal line. Virtually all Jewish communities have followed matrilineal descent from at least early Tannaitic (c. 10-70 CE) times to Modern times. The origins and date-of-origin of matrilineal descent in Judaism are uncertain. Orthodox Jews, who believe that matrilineality and matriarchy within Judaism are related to the metaphysical concept of the Jewish soul, maintain that matrilineal descent is an Oral Law from at least the time of the Receiving of the Torah on Mt. Sinai (c. 1310 BCE). Conservative Jewish Theologian Rabbi Louis Jacobs suggests that the marriage practices of the Jewish community were re-stated as a law of matrilineal descent in the early Tannaitic Period (c. 10-70 CE).” Wikipedia
Let's take a closer look at some of the statements made in the Wikipedia definition of Matrilineality.
Orthodox Jews, who believe that matrilineality and matriarchy within Judaism are related to the metaphysical concept of the Jewish soul, maintain that matrilineal descent is an Oral Law from at least the time of the Receiving of the Torah on Mt. Sinai (c. 1310 BCE). Conservative Jewish Theologian Rabbi Louis Jacobs suggests that the marriage practices of the Jewish community were re-stated as a law of matrilineal descent in the early Tannaitic Period (c. 10-70 CE).” Wikipedia
Concerning the Oral Law
Many Jewish groups believe there was never an oral law given to Moses and refer to the book of Joshua.
“And he wrote there upon the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he wrote in the presence of the children of Israel. And all Israel, and their elders, and officers, and their judges, stood on this side the ark and on that side before the priests the Levites, which bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD, as well the stranger, as he that was born among them; half of them over against mount Gerizim, and half of them over against mount Ebal; as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded before, that they should bless the people of Israel. And afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessings and cursings, according to all that is written in the book of the law. There was not a word of all that Moses commanded, which Joshua read not before all the congregation of Israel, with the women, and the little ones, and the strangers that were conversant among them.”
If Matrilineality in Israel is correct this would certainly seem to imply that everything before this change which was instituted between 10AD-70AD would have been incorrect.
Basically from the time of the promise to Isaac, approximately 1898 BC, to, lets just say 50AD, would have been over two-thousand years of incorrect genealogies. If that is the case then who are the people who inhabited the Promised Land before Matrilineality was instituted? Scriptures such as Genesis 17:19 and many others it would seem would be wrong.
“And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, [and] with his seed after him.”
Perhaps this is why Paul advised Timothy:
“Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: [so do.” 1 Timothy 1:4
Back to Manasseh and Ephraim. Let's look at the verses below.
“And Pharaoh called Joseph’s name Anesthetization; and he gave him to wife Asenath the daughter of Poti- pherah priest of On (Heliopolis)”. Genesis 41:45
Joseph's wife was not a Hebrew, but an Egyptian, the daughter of a priest of On.
“And unto Joseph were born two sons before the years of famine came, which Asenath the daughter of Poti- pherah priest of On (Heliopolis) bare unto him. And Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: For God, [said he,] hath made me forget all my toil, and all my father’s house. And the name of the second called he Ephraim.” Genesis 41:50-52
Joseph's wife Asenath, bore Joseph two son's, Manasseh and Ephraim, two of the twelve tribes of Israel.
“And unto Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim, which Asenath the daughter of Poti- pherah priest of On bare unto him.” Genesis 46:20
Again, reiterating the previous verse.
“And now thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt before I came unto thee into Egypt, [are] mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine. And thy issue, which thou begettest after them, shall be thine, [and] shall be called after the name of their brethren in their inheritance.” Genesis 48:5-6
Jacob/Israel equating Ephraim and Manasseh with Reuben and Simeon his first two children
by Leah including them in the inheritance of the promised land.
“The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.” Genesis 48:15
Jacob/Israel blesses Ephraim and Manasseh saying they are the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
From these verses it is self evident that Joseph's wife, Asenath, was not descended from the genealogy of Abraham and Isaac. She was in fact the daughter of Poti-pherah priest of On (Heliopolis).
Some may argue that maybe Asenath converted to Judaism, but this is not possible as the term Judaism did not even exist at this time. They were Hebrews and had not even left Egypt or received the laws of Moses including the Levitical laws.
A little about Heliopolis:
Heliopolis, (Greek), Egyptian Iunu or Onu (“Pillar City”), biblical On, one of the most ancient Egyptian cities and the seat of worship of the sun god, Re. It was the capital of the 15th nome of Lower Egypt, but Heliopolis was important as a religious rather than a political centre. During the New Kingdom (c.1539–1075 BCE) its great temple of Re was second in size only to that of Amon at Thebes, and its priesthood wielded great influence, particularly during the 5th dynasty (c. 2465–c. 2325 BCE), when the worship of Re became the state cult.
Asenath being the daughter of Pot-pherah a priest of On, must have been very familiar with the religious aspects of the time. Poti-pherah also must have been an important priest in that his daughter was selected by Pharaoh to be the wife of Joseph as a reward for having saved Egypt from famine.
And Moses even married an Ethiopian woman:
“And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman.” Numbers 12:1
We are using the King James version of the Bible for our verse references. The King James Bible was translated from the Masoretic modern Hebrew Old Testament.
Some interesting thoughts to ponder!
Have a great week...
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RT
‘It’s not about race’: Israel’s Rabbinical courts under fire for using DNA to prove ‘Jewishness’
February 5, 2019
© REUTERS / Baz Ratner
Advocacy groups in Israel have criticized the increasing use of DNA tests to determine the ‘Jewishness’ of citizens, saying the practice disproportionately targets immigrants particularly those from the former Soviet Union.
In order for couples to be officially recognized as married in the state of Israel, they must go through the Orthodox-controlled Chief Rabbinate’s office. From there, couples can be referred to the rabbinical courts if insufficient documentation or certification exists proving the mother of the bride or groom was married through the Rabbinate.
“It is really terrifying thinking where this could lead,” Elad Caplan, the director of the advocacy center at ITIM, told Haaretz.
“Judaism is about belonging and community – it’s not about race and blood, as our worst enemies have claimed,” Caplan continued, explaining that, under Jewish religious law, or halakha, a Jew is defined as the child of a Jewish mother.
Over the past year, ITIM has received complaints from women forced to take DNA tests as they were born late in their mothers’ lives or long into their marriages. By this assessment, somewhere in the region of 400,000 Russian-speaking Israelis are not considered Jewish under halakha.
A 2006 study showed that roughly 40 percent of all Ashkenazi Jews are descended from just four Jewish women, dubbed the “founding mothers,” who lived more than 1,000 years ago. The researchers compared DNA sequences from approximately 2000 Jews with a control set of 11,500 gentiles in 67 populations around the world.
Many of those referred to the Israeli rabbinical courts for DNA tests to determine their ‘Jewishness’ were immigrants from the former Soviet Union, or their offspring, seeking to marry.
“Thirty years ago, during the massive wave of aliyah (migration of Jews to Israel) from the former Soviet Union, the attitude… was that if these people say they’re Jewish, we should take their word for it,” Caplan told Haaretz. “But ever since the bar of suspicions is constantly being raised, and this is just the latest example.”
ITIM aims to “help the Israeli public to meet with the religious establishment, and strive to play a significant role in shaping and influencing policy” and claims it has already “helped tens of thousands of people” in this capacity.
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WND
Jews complain: Rabbis now sound like Christians
February 5, 2019
New York’s extreme new abortion law has prompted rare public condemnation of the procedure by Jewish leaders.
Israel Today noted rabbis generally do not speak out against abortion, “at least not like Christians.”
But New York’s new law allowing abortion up to the moment of birth has caused two of the largest rabbinical councils in the United States to speak out.
“Jewish law opposes abortion, except in cases of danger to the mother,” said a statement by the Rabbinical Council of America, or RCA. “There is no sanction to permit the abortion of a healthy fetus when the mother’s life is not endangered.”
Israel Today said Jewish congregants were surprised by the public condemnation of abortion.
“This reads more like evangelical Christianity than Orthodox Judaism,” said a comment on the RCA website.
Rabbi Daniel Korobkin, vice president of the RCA, called abortion murder.
“The removal of any restriction from abortion access and the redefining of the word ‘homicide’ to exclude abortion, indicate a further erosion of the moral values of our society, where killing babies is no longer construed as immoral in any way,” he said.
Israel Today commented that traditional Judaism has tended to be more liberal on abortion than evangelical or Catholic Christianity.
The Reform movement, for example, has opposed any legislative limits on access to abortions.
In Israel, Orthodox Jewish political parties have yet to make any restrictions on abortion as part of their bargaining tactics.
WND
The writing is on the wall -- everywhere
Posted By Greg Laurie On February 1, 2019
We’ve heard the expression “the writing is on the wall,” which comes from the Old Testament account of a king who stood on God’s scales and came up short.
His name was Belshazzar, and he was the grandson of King Nebuchadnezzar. Belshazzar went out of his way to mock God, and he reaped the very heavy consequences of it. He saw the very hand of God writing on the wall of his palace with a very specific warning.
The Babylonians felt their city and nation were impregnable. No one could defeat them, they thought. After all, Babylon was surrounded by a complex series of walls, some as high as 300 feet. The mighty river Euphrates ran through the center of the city, so water was plentiful, and they had enough food stored up to feed their population for the next 20 years.
They weren’t really afraid of anyone. But the reality was that at that moment historically, the Medo-Persian forces under the command of Cyrus were right outside the walls of Babylon. And this was the moment when God effectively said to King Belshazzar, “Your number is up.”
By this time Nebuchadnezzar had died. Prior to his death he had a dramatic conversion after a long bout of insanity. He returned to his senses and put out a decree to the entire kingdom, telling everyone that he was a believer in the Lord God. Everyone knew the story of the mighty Nebuchadnezzar’s conversion.
Apparently, this message was not passed on to his son, whom he named Evil-Merodach. He was a wicked king and the father of Belshazzar, named after the god Bel. The Babylonians worshiped Bel, and there was a temple to this god in the city of Babylon.
So here was this young ruler, named after a false god, who went out of his way to insult God. He knew the story of his grandfather and how he had proclaimed his faith. But this king wanted to challenge God openly. And that never goes well.
Ancient kings loved to throw big feasts to show off, and of course Belshazzar was no exception. He went out of his way to take vessels that were used for the worship of God in Jerusalem, fill them with wine and drink from them.
Then the Bible tells us, “While they drank from them they praised their idols made of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone. Suddenly, they saw the fingers of a human hand writing on the plaster wall of the king’s palace, near the lampstand. The king himself saw the hand as it wrote, and his face turned pale with fright. His knees knocked together in fear and his legs gave way beneath him” (Daniel 5:4–6 NLT).
Not only did God tell Belshazzar and Babylon that the kingdom would end with Belshazzar as its ruler, but God also told them who would lead the invasion. While Belshazzar was having his giant party in honor of his false god, judgment literally was at the door.
Check out Greg Laurie’s books and movies in the WND Superstore
Gone was the smirk, the defiance of God. Suddenly this young man realized that his life was coming to an end. His banquet hall had been turned into a courtroom, and he was about to be declared guilty.
The writing was on the wall for Belshazzar, and I think the writing is on the wall for all of us right now. It’s in the news, on the internet and on social media. Everywhere we look, the writing is on the wall. We’re seeing Bible prophecies fulfilled before our very eyes.
One of the signs of the times is in our pockets or purses or hands. I’m talking about cellphones. The explosion of technology is significant, with artificial intelligence added to it today. We talk to these devices in our homes, and they give us an answer. If we buy anything online, targeted ads follow us around on various websites.
There is coming a day when a man will harness this technology for evil, and no one will be able to buy or sell without his mark. In the Bible that man is called the Beast and the Antichrist.
Last May the U.S. Embassy opened in Jerusalem, and violence broke out. What does this remind us of? The Bible tells us that Jerusalem will be the epicenter of end-time events. Why will Jerusalem, a little city on a little sliver of land, be at the very center of the world’s attention? The Bible is very specific in saying that it will be. And we’re seeing it happen.
China, an economic and military superpower, is flexing its muscles as never before. I think a pretty good case could be made for China being spoken of in the Bible. Certainly, I think the emergence of Iran as a nuclear nation, a nation intent on the destruction of Israel, is clearly spoken of in the Bible.
All around us are signs of the times.
Every nation has a life span. Ancient Babylon lasted around 86 years. The powerful Persian Empire did better at 208 years. The glory of Greece was eclipsed after 268 years. Mighty Rome ruled for nine centuries. The United States of America is 242 years old and counting. There is a beginning, a middle and an end of a nation, so we have to be very careful and prayerful about our own nation as we look toward our future.
The writing is on the wall, and here’s what the writing is saying: Jesus Christ is coming back.
“That very night,” the Bible says, “Belshazzar, the Babylonian king, was killed” (Daniel 5:30 NLT).
There will be a last night for every nation. There will be a last night for every person. There will be a last meal, a last statement, a last breath … and then eternity.
End Of The American Dream
The Pope And Islam’s Most Important Imam Just Signed A Covenant That Pushes Us Much Closer To A One World Religion
By Michael Snyder
February 6, 2019
A historic interfaith covenant was signed in the Middle East on Monday, and the mainstream media in the United States has been almost entirely silent about it. Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb is considered to be the most important imam in Sunni Islam, and he arrived at the signing ceremony in Abu Dhabi with Pope Francis “hand-in-hand in a symbol of interfaith brotherhood”. But this wasn’t just a ceremony for Catholics and Muslims. According to a British news source, the signing of this covenant was done “in front of a global audience of religious leaders from Christianity, Islam, Judaism and other faiths”…
The pope and the grand imam of al-Azhar have signed a historic declaration of fraternity, calling for peace between nations, religions and races, in front of a global audience of religious leaders from Christianity, Islam, Judaism and other faiths.
Pope Francis, the leader of the world’s Catholics, and Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, the head of Sunni Islam’s most prestigious seat of learning, arrived at the ceremony in Abu Dhabi hand-in-hand in a symbol of interfaith brotherhood.
In other words, there was a concerted effort to make sure that all of the religions of the world were represented at this gathering.
According to the official Vatican website, a tremendous amount of preparation went in to the drafting of this document, and it encourages believers from all religions “to shake hands, embrace one another, kiss one another, and even pray” with one another…
The document, signed by Pope Francis and the Grand Imam of al-Azhar, Ahmed el-Tayeb, was prepared “with much reflection and prayer”, the Pope said. The one great danger at this moment, he continued, is “destruction, war, hatred between us.” “If we believers are not able to shake hands, embrace one another, kiss one another, and even pray, our faith will be defeated”, he said. The Pope explained that the document “is born of faith in God who is the Father of all and the Father of peace; it condemns all destruction, all terrorism, from the first terrorism in history, that of Cain.”
There is a lot of language about peace in this document, but it goes way beyond just advocating for peace.
Over and over again, the word “God” is used to simultaneously identify Allah and the God of Christianity. Here is just one example…
We, who believe in God and in the final meeting with Him and His judgment, on the basis of our religious and moral responsibility, and through this Document, call upon ourselves, upon the leaders of the world as well as the architects of international policy and world economy, to work strenuously to spread the culture of tolerance and of living together in peace; to intervene at the earliest opportunity to stop the shedding of innocent blood and bring an end to wars, conflicts, environmental decay and the moral and cultural decline that the world is presently experiencing.
On top of that, the document also boldly declares that “the diversity of religions” that we see in the world was “willed by God”…
Freedom is a right of every person: each individual enjoys the freedom of belief, thought, expression and action. The pluralism and the diversity of religions, colour, sex, race and language are willed by God in His wisdom, through which He created human beings. This divine wisdom is the source from which the right to freedom of belief and the freedom to be different derives. Therefore, the fact that people are forced to adhere to a certain religion or culture must be rejected, as too the imposition of a cultural way of life that others do not accept;
In essence, this is saying that it is the will of God that there are hundreds of different religions in the world and that they are all acceptable in His sight.
We know that the elite want a one world religion, but to see the most important clerics from both Catholicism and Islam make such a dramatic public push for it is absolutely stunning.
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THE SUN
MUTANT MICE Aborted babies’ BODY PARTS fused with mice to ‘humanise’ them for grim ‘Frankenstein’ experiments in US labs
Abortion clinics have been supplying researchers in the United States with terminated fetuses, parts of which are then fused with rodents as part of a bid to stamp out diseases and save millions of people
By Patrick Knox
6th February 2019, 3:56 pm
Updated: 6th February 2019, 6:34 pm
ABORTED babies are being used in macabre experiments in the US that involve grafting dead fetus parts onto mice which are then used to test drugs.
Documents seen by Sun Online outline procedures that involve cutting out glands and livers of unborn children and then fusing them onto lab rodents.
A mouse during the 'humanisation' experiments using stem cells
The use of aborted baby body parts and stems cells has sparked anger among anti-abortion groups in the United States and it has been dubbed “Frankenstein” science.
And shocking undercover footage has led to the Donald Trump administration to reassess if the practice should be continued at all.
Clinics are supposed to ask if they would like to donate tissue but it is unclear whether the parents are aware their dead children's bodies are being used in this way.
But what is known is that abortion clinics are supplying the fetal body parts, although they are not allowed to sell them.
Phelim McAleer, who has produced the film Gosnell, about a rogue abortionist, told Fox News: “Aborted babies bodies are a very valuable commodity in today’s America.
“Research institutions, elite universities, medical centers pay a lot of money for baby parts."
Undercover footage in an abortion clinic run by Planned Parenthood shows dismembered aborted babies, with arms, legs and other parts.
They were being shown to pro-life activists from the Centre for Medical Progress who were posing as buyers.
The Sun Online has chosen not to show the graphic footage because it is too distressing.
Planned Parenthood has denied profiteering from the sale of body parts but it did say mums can give permission to donate their unborn fetus, which it said was common practice in such clinics.
Spokesperson Eric Ferrero said in a statement: "At several of our health centers, we help patients who want to donate tissue for scientific research, and we do this just like every other high-quality health care provider does.”
US GOVERNMENT BACKED RESEARCH
The controversial use of body parts is being spearheaded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which is part of the American government which is ploughing $98million (£75m) of taxpayers’ money into using aborted babies in the name of science.
But addressing Congress in December, NIH director Francis Collins defended the practice.
He said: “There is strong evidence that scientific benefits come from fetal tissue research, [which] can be done with an ethical framework.”
Ross McKinney, chief scientific officer at the Association of American Medical Colleges in Washington, D.C., insisted fetal tissue “an important resource for biomedical research”.
In Science magazine, he said: “Fetal tissue research is already subject to a robust ethical and legal framework and research that continues to meet those standards should be continued.”
But in December the Trump administration halted buying any more fetal material and is currently reviewing the practise.
Government backed research projects are now having to rely on frozen stocks.
The Department of Health and Human Services cites "serious regulatory, moral, and ethical considerations" for the move.
(“The sons of men in those days took from the cattle of the earth, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, and taught the mixture of animals of one species with the other, in order therewith to provoke the Lord; and God saw the whole earth and it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted its ways upon earth, all men and all animals.” Jasher 4:18)
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THE SUN
SOUNDS OF DOOM
Mystery booming sounds shake houses and terrify residents across America after ‘flashes of light’ spotted leaving experts baffled
Some homeowners even claim to have lost power as a result of the tremors
By Phoebe Cooke
February 7, 2019
MYSTERY booming sounds have been shaking houses and terrifying residents after "flashes of light" were spotted across America.
Experts have been left baffled by a spate of seismic booms from Arizona to New York that appear to have gathered pace over the past week.
The string of phenomena was first reported last Thursday morning when locals in three separate Tennessee counties reported hearing loud booming noises.
On the same day, North Carolinians contacted police reporting unexplained loud blasts and booms that kept them awake at night.
Two homeowners said the booms were so powerful that they briefly lost power as a result of the tremors, Mysterious Universe reported.
Similarly unexplained explosions have been reported happening in isolation over the past years, but rarely with this frequency.
On Saturday, loud bangs were reported in Rhode Island, where Jeremy Braza's doorbell captured a video and audio of a loud noise over a three minute period.
"The whole house shook," he told TurnTo10.com. "It woke my wife up, woke up all my children."
The following night an explosion was heard in New York, accompanied by a mysterious flash in the sky.
"What the heck was that boom or explosion in park slope Brooklyn?", asked Matt Wasowski on Twitter.
Another wrote: "Extremely loud boom in Brooklyn.....? Wtf??????"
'CANNON-LIKE SOUNDS'
Some speculated that the boom could have resulted from a manhole explosion, but the true origin is yet to be explained.
These booms were followed by "strange cannon-like sounds" in Harahan and River Ridge in Louisiana, where they have also kept residents up at night.
Residents say the sounds have been going on for weeks, and nobody seems to know what causes them.
While Philadelphians were rocked by a series of mystery booms a week ago, and again on Tuesday.
Mysterious Universe speculates that the phenomenon could be caused by cryoseisms or “frost quakes”, which could come about in extreme cold climates.
But the explanation doesn't wash in areas where temperatures don’t typically plunge low enough for that to happen.
"Could these anomalous sounds be sonic booms caused by undisclosed aircraft activity?," the author asks.
"Any guess is as good as any at this point."
(“And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels. And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not.”? Revelation 12:7,10:4}
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STRANGE SOUNDS
New volcanic eruptions: Karangetang and Merapi (Indonesia), Planchon-Peteroa (Argentina-Chile), Shiveluch (Russia) – 4th eruption of Steamboat Geyser in 2019 (Yellowstone National Park)
February 4, 2019
Natural News
No longer a conspiracy theory: MIT scientists confirm they possess technology to beam voices into your head
Wednesday, February 06, 2019 by: Vicki Batts
(Natural News) A crackpot theory no more, scientists from Massachusetts Institute of Technology just revealed they now possess the technology to beam voices into your head. For years , the mainstream media has been poking fun at anyone who actually believed the “powers that be” are desperately trying to usurp control over humanity — but some of the latest technological developments are clear indications that a totalitarian regime is brewing on the horizon.
At long last, scientists are now revealing the first wave of technology that could soon be used to bring the world at large to its knees. In 2018, we saw warnings of “pre-crime” policing systems come to pass, and video surveillance technology become more and more advanced.
Now, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researchers say they have developed the technology necessary to beam voices right into your head. What could go wrong?
Putting thoughts into your head
Scientists from MIT have found not one, but two ways to transmit sounds directly to an individual’s brain via laser beam. A paper on their exploits was published in the journal Optics Letters in January 2019.
In a press release, researcher Charles Wynn said, “Our system can be used from some distance away to beam information directly to someone’s ear.”
“It is the first system that uses lasers that are fully safe for the eyes and skin to localize an audible signal to a particular person in any setting,” he added.
As Futurism reports, a material’s absorption of light can actually produce sound waves. This is called the “photoacoustic effect,” and both methods of sound-beaming technology rely on it to transmit tones, music and recorded speech via laser.
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The MIT scientists used water vapor as their “material.” One of their chosen techniques was to “sweep” a laser beam at the speed of sound. By changing the lengths of the sweeping motion, they were able to “encode” different sounds.
As reported by Futurism:
This technique allowed them to transmit sound to a person more than 8.2 feet away at a volume of 60 decibels — about the loudness of background music or a conversation in a restaurant — without anyone between the source of the sound and the target hearing it.
The scientists also tried adjusting the laser beam’s power to encode a message. The team reported that this method produced a clearer response with lower volume.
A dangerous leap into the future
It is no surprise that proponents of this new technology are already promoting its virtues to the public. As usual, the powers that be are promising that the voice-beam technology will be used for “good” instead of evil.
While the MIT scientists say they hope to see the technology used to assist in dangerous situations, researcher Ryan M. Sullenberger disclosed that they also plan on commercializing their tech.
“We hope that this will eventually become a commercial technology. There are a lot of exciting possibilities, and we want to develop the communication technology in ways that are useful,” Sullenberger commented.
This voice-beam technology could be very useful for a variety of purposes — but that doesn’t mean it will be used for things that are “good” for the average person.
While this voice-beaming technology is an undeniably impressive feat, the fact remains that there are probably more “bad” uses for this technology than “good.” MIT researchers say it can be used by authorities to communicate covertly in delicate situations — perhaps during a school shooting event, they propose — but beyond a select few instances, it’s hard to imagine how mass commercialization of this technology is going to be possible without putting the freedom and privacy of the public at risk.
This kind of technology sets the stage for a number of unintended consequences — whether it’s having advertisements sent directly to your brain, or full-blown mind-control, it is painfully obvious that in the wrong hands, voice-beam technology can be used for a number of corrupt purposes.
See more coverage of the latest developments in mind control technology at MindControl.news.
Sources for this article include:
TheOrganicPrepper.com
Futurism.com
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Science Daily
Engineers translate brain signals directly into speech
Advance marks critical step toward brain-computer interfaces that hold immense promise for those with limited or no ability to speak
The Zuckerman Institute at Columbia University
In a scientific first, neuroengineers have created a system that translates thought into intelligible, recognizable speech. This breakthrough, which harnesses the power of speech synthesizers and artificial intelligence, could lead to new ways for computers to communicate directly with the brain.
In a scientific first, Columbia neuroengineers have created a system that translates thought into intelligible, recognizable speech. By monitoring someone's brain activity, the technology can reconstruct the words a person hears with unprecedented clarity. This breakthrough, which harnesses the power of speech synthesizers and artificial intelligence, could lead to new ways for computers to communicate directly with the brain. It also lays the groundwork for helping people who cannot speak, such as those living with as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or recovering from stroke, regain their ability to communicate with the outside world.
These findings were published today in Scientific Reports.
"Our voices help connect us to our friends, family and the world around us, which is why losing the power of one's voice due to injury or disease is so devastating," said Nima Mesgarani, PhD, the paper's senior author and a principal investigator at Columbia University's Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute. "With today's study, we have a potential way to restore that power. We've shown that, with the right technology, these people's thoughts could be decoded and understood by any listener."
Decades of research has shown that when people speak -- or even imagine speaking -- telltale patterns of activity appear in their brain. Distinct (but recognizable) pattern of signals also emerge when we listen to someone speak, or imagine listening. Experts, trying to record and decode these patterns, see a future in which thoughts need not remain hidden inside the brain -- but instead could be translated into verbal speech at will.
But accomplishing this feat has proven challenging. Early efforts to decode brain signals by Dr. Mesgarani and others focused on simple computer models that analyzed spectrograms, which are visual representations of sound frequencies.
But because this approach has failed to produce anything resembling intelligible speech, Dr. Mesgarani's team turned instead to a vocoder, a computer algorithm that can synthesize speech after being trained on recordings of people talking.
"This is the same technology used by Amazon Echo and Apple Siri to give verbal responses to our questions," said Dr. Mesgarani, who is also an associate professor of electrical engineering at Columbia's Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science.
To teach the vocoder to interpret to brain activity, Dr. Mesgarani teamed up with Ashesh Dinesh Mehta, MD, PhD, a neurosurgeon at Northwell Health Physician Partners Neuroscience Institute and co-author of today's paper. Dr. Mehta treats epilepsy patients, some of whom must undergo regular surgeries.
"Working with Dr. Mehta, we asked epilepsy patients already undergoing brain surgery to listen to sentences spoken by different people, while we measured patterns of brain activity," said Dr. Mesgarani. "These neural patterns trained the vocoder."
Next, the researchers asked those same patients to listen to speakers reciting digits between 0 to 9, while recording brain signals that could then be run through the vocoder. The sound produced by the vocoder in response to those signals was analyzed and cleaned up by neural networks, a type of artificial intelligence that mimics the structure of neurons in the biological brain.
The end result was a robotic-sounding voice reciting a sequence of numbers. To test the accuracy of the recording, Dr. Mesgarani and his team tasked individuals to listen to the recording and report what they heard.
"We found that people could understand and repeat the sounds about 75% of the time, which is well above and beyond any previous attempts," said Dr. Mesgarani. The improvement in intelligibility was especially evident when comparing the new recordings to the earlier, spectrogram-based attempts. "The sensitive vocoder and powerful neural networks represented the sounds the patients had originally listened to with surprising accuracy."
Dr. Mesgarani and his team plan to test more complicated words and sentences next, and they want to run the same tests on brain signals emitted when a person speaks or imagines speaking. Ultimately, they hope their system could be part of an implant, similar to those worn by some epilepsy patients, that translates the wearer's thoughts directly into words.
"In this scenario, if the wearer thinks 'I need a glass of water,' our system could take the brain signals generated by that thought, and turn them into synthesized, verbal speech," said Dr. Mesgarani. "This would be a game changer. It would give anyone who has lost their ability to speak, whether through injury or disease, the renewed chance to connect to the world around them."
(The thought police will love this one. Ed)
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RT
New MARS IMAGE shows river delta that once carried WATER
February 6, 2019
© Roscosmos / ESA / CaSSIS
A photo taken by the ExoMars orbiter presents a stunning view of the ancient river delta, proving that water once flowed freely over the surface of the Red Planet, scientists say.
The image, released by the European Space Agency (ESA) and Russian Space Agency Roscosmos on Monday, offers a panoramic view of the Eberswalde crater in the southern hemisphere of Mars.
The left side of the 31-km-wide snapshot shows a delta resembling that of Earth’s Nile river in Northern Africa.
While liquid water does not exist on Mars now, the new image gives enough evidence that was part of the planet’s development years ago. The yellow spots on the picture point to oxidized iron deposits which is a sign that the rocks comprising the delta have been altered by water some time ago, Roscosmos scientists said.
The image was produced aboard a Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) launched 2016 as a part of the European-run ExoMars program. The device searches for gases in the atmosphere that might point at some past biological or geological activity.
ESA has been studying the Red Planet since 2003 with the next mission scheduled for 2020, when an ESA-Roscosmos rover will be launched. It will drill down into the surface of the Oxia Planum plain just north of the planet’s equator in search of hints of past life on Mars.
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The Guardian
Major western brands pay Indian garment workers 11p an hour
Study reveals ‘unchecked’ exploitation of women and girls from marginalised communities
Rebecca Ratcliffe
February 1, 2019
A home-based worker in India applies the finishing touches to a product destined for sale by western retailers. Photograph: Blum Centre for Developing Economies/University of California
Most consumers don’t think twice about the buttons on their shirt, or the sparkles on their dress. But these finishing touches are sewn by some of the world’s most vulnerable women and girls.
A week on from revelations that women in a Bangladesh factory were paid the equivalent of 35p an hour to make Spice Girls T-Shirts sold to raise money for Comic Relief, a new report highlights the exploitative conditions facing millions of home-based garment workers in India.
Research by the University of California found that women and girls from the most marginalised communities toiled for as little as 15 cents (11p) an hour in homes across India. Child labour and forced labour were rife and wages regularly suppressed.
The study is thought to be the most comprehensive assessment of conditions facing home-based garment workers, whose work often involves applying the final touches to a garment, including embroidery, tasseling, beadwork and buttons.
“Every major brand, every boutique retailer and everyone in between who sources garments form India is touched by this issue,” said Siddharth Kara, the report’s author and a lecturer at the University of California. “It ends up on the shelves of every major brand in the west.”
Roughly one in five home-based garment workers in India are aged 17 and under, according to the study, which draws on interviews with 1,452 workers. The youngest individual interviewed was 10 years old, although researchers witnessed dozens of younger children.
In northern India, one in 10 people were trapped in forced labour. Almost 6% were in bonded labour, where a person is forced to work to pay off a debt. In all, three-quarters of those interviewed said they began the work due to some form of duress, with many citing family pressure or severe financial hardship. Two-thirds of child workers in the north were also out of school.
Across India, the vast majority of workers were women and girls from the most marginalised communities. None belonged to a trade union or had a written contract, leaving them with no way of seeking redress for unfair or abusive treatment.
Almost all workers – 99.2% – were subject to conditions of forced labour under Indian law, which means they did not receive the state-stipulated minimum wage. In most cases, workers received only a tenth of the minimum wage.
Payments were often late, with many workers reporting that they had been penalised for not completing hefty orders on time. Problems of this nature worsened in the run-up to busy periods such as Christmas, said Kara, as shops rushed to meet demand.
“Imagine you’re earning 13, 14, 15 cents an hour. Then imagine your payments are not even on time, they’re delayed by a month or two. Then imagine you’re given an order that’s going to take you five days to complete and you don’t complete it on time and you’re not paid,” said Kara.
Women were often unable to leave the home for weeks or months at a time, he added. “Their days amount to little more than running the home and working as many hours as they can to meet these orders, cooped up inside,” said Kara.
Injury and chronic illness, including back pain and diminishing eyesight, were common. Virtually none of the workers interviewed received any sort of medical care when they suffered an injury at work.
While the report does not name brands specifically, the vast majority of home-based workers, 85%, said they worked exclusively in supply chains for clothing shipped to the US or EU.
Some companies have made efforts to stop abuses in supplier factories, said Kara, but they have not yet felt motivated or pressed to address the treatment of home-based workers.
Big brands are best positioned to end such conditions, he added. “It’s not enough to say: ‘Well, my factory didn’t tell me they subcontract’, it’s up to [companies] to demand and require transparency and formality. In the absence of them requiring it, of course exploitation will go unchecked,” Kara said.
India’s garment industry is among the world’s biggest for manufacturing and export, employing 12.9 million people in formal factory settings, and millions more indirectly in informal, home-based settings.
The study added that clothing brands that source garments from India provide vital employment for women and girls who often have no other means of earning an income, arguing that companies should focus on improving conditions rather than shifting production or cutting off supplies.
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STRATEGIC CULTURE
‘Illiberal Democracy’: Why Viktor Orban’s Fan Base Keeps Growing in Europe
Tim Kirby
February1, 2019
The European Commission is going to start “legal procedures” against Hungary for criminalizing support for migrants within the nation’s borders according to Reuters. This presents an interesting case of both free speech and national sovereignty. Hungary is violating the concept of free speech and freedom of association by forcing individuals to not support migrants, while the European Commission is also against acting directly against these “Western values” by trying to force Hungarians to do the opposite and deliberately using force to change a nation’s opinion which brings the role of the nation-state in the EU back into question.
Hungary, despite being deep in the Postmodern Empire itself has many growing critical ideological differences with the bloc of nations that cannot be reconciled. Prime Minister Viktor Orban has many times called for the EU to return to its Christian roots in both rhetoric, and far more importantly, policy. And unlike many supposed “Euro-skeptics” Orban’s government has actually built a wall and routed the flow of migrants away from Hungary. This is action and not just populist words to pacify dissent. The European Commission finds this lack of support for migrants to be some sort of violation of human rights. However due to such actions by Orban “fan base” is growing in the European “silent majority”.
Furthermore, Orban himself is reputed to have coined the term “Illiberal Democracy” as the name for what he and many in especially Eastern Europe see as a possible new political theory for the 21st century.
As you might imagine the average ultra-Postmodern ultra-Liberal Brussels bureaucrat is not particularly thrilled with any of Orban’s moves (despite their massive popular support in Hungary) especially his desire to create some sort of competing ideology to the status quo. That in today’s medieval Europe is blasphemy. At times it seems as if the only thing that Hungary and the EU agree on (for now at least) is that Hungary is a European nation.
The only real punishment that could be enacted on Hungary by the European Commission, if found “guilty”, would be some form of sanctions. However, this means that if the organizers of the union have the power to punish members of said union then those members are actually subjects of it, not free willed “members”. Even if you are against Orban and his policies one has to admit that if the EU is to be a group of nations working together no one should have the power to punish “misbehavior”. Nor should they be able to economically attack the civilians (this is whom sanctions harm the most) of their so-called allies.
“The United States of Europe” would be a much better name for the “European Union” than its current branding because it is far more accurate, as the EU is beginning to resemble the US more and more. Ohio may have different speed limits than Massachusetts but it will not under any circumstances be allowed to go against Washington’s policies. Some conspiracy theorists say that some sort of Federalization is the ultimate goal for the EU. The threats coming from Brussels sure seem to make these conspiracy theories look more closer to conspiracy fact.
Besides the hypocrisy, one major question is just how will good Europe punish bad Europe with sanctions within the framework of a block of nations with total free trade and open borders? Sanctioning closed off Russia is one thing, but how does one go about economically striking realm of the Magyars?
One punishment that could actually be devastating for Hungary (in the short term) would be being ejected from the EU entirely. This would create a geopolitical nightmare of Hungary as the landlocked nation would be surrounded on nearly all sides by the EU with the exception of a small border with pro-European (yet also war-torn and collapsing) Ukraine to the East and economically limited but possibly friendly Serbia to the south. Serbia is a wonderful place with wonderful people but relying on it for an economic outlet will not work. Hungary getting the boot would give it the same destiny as many of the former Soviet Republics being torn from deep economic ties instantly then being forced to build new ones with absolutely no wealth to accomplish the task.
The threat of being completely removed from the European Union would force Orban to back down or at least make some concessions, however if they were to do this it could cause major blowback.
Orban and his popular policies did not come from out of nowhere or some sort of personal gripes. Orban hated Hungary being dictated to by Moscow during Communism and hates it being dedicated to from Brussels now. Discontent for the EU continues to grow and the “ejection” of one member could lead to further instability and a possible domino effect. In many ways economies live or die based on “confidence” in them, an ejection from the EU could create a crisis of said financial confidence.
We can see that surprisingly Orban actually has the strong hand for the moment. His policies feed his popularity, so as long as he keeps pushing hard for a more independent pro-Hungarian Hungary he will stay in power and so long as he is in power he can push for more independent Hungary (however, one cannot rule out a western-backed anti-Orban “color revolution”). The EU really has no means to punish him and any attempts to do so just show how restrictive and repressive the EU can be to the masses and trying to eject Hungary from the Brusselsreich could backfire violently.
Well played Mr. Orban
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RT
Brexiteers would ‘DIVIDE HELL’, says EU Parliament’s Brexit negotiator, gets roasted
February 7, 2019
Jan van Eyck Diptych Crucifixion & Last Judgment (detail) © Wikipedia
Guy Verhofstadt, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, is facing social media fire and brimstone after he quipped that Brexiteers would ‘divide hell’. His slight follows similar comments made by other Brexit-hating EU officials.
The EU parliamentarian apparently felt compelled to throw his support behind incendiary comments made by president of the EU Council, who wondered out loud on Wednesday what a “special place in hell looks like for those who promoted Brexit without even a sketch of a plan to deliver it safely.”
Verhofstadt tweeted in reply: “Well, I doubt Lucifer would welcome them, as after what they did to Britain, they would even manage to divide hell.”
The insult was met with an avalanche of angry comments.
“The utter stupidity and viciousness of these idiotic remarks is a timely reminder of why people voted for #Brexit. @guyverhofstadt and @eucopresident represent a political elite out of touch with the people they claim to represent. Roll on #Brexit!” wrote British MP Bob Seely.
“With every breath, this arrogant pair drive a bigger wedge between the UK and the EU, which they try to persuade us is a preserver of peace,” journalist David Wooding shot back at Tusk and Verhofstadt.
The remark even received a lukewarm reception from Remainers, with one netizen saying that Verhofstadt’s unconstructive comments were making him more pro-Brexit.
“Mate seriously, you’re starting to switch remainers (like myself) over to leave,” wrote ‘George P’.
The hellish imagery was sparked yesterday by European Commission boss Jean-Claude Juncker, who said that the Brexit deadlock had made his job in Brussels a living “hell.”
Only 50 days remain until the UK is slated to leave the European Union. Many are bracing for a “hard” or “no deal”departure from the bloc, after Prime Minister Theresa May’s withdrawal deal, which she signed with the EU, was canned by the UK Parliament.
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RT
Single Chinese women over 30 get ‘love leave’ to find partner – media
February 3, 2019
FILE PHOTO: Couples attend a group wedding ceremony in Hunan province, China © Reuters
Unmarried women over 30 have been offered extra time off by their employers in eastern China, during one of the longest public holiday periods, in order to give them an opportunity to date, according to local media reports.
Two companies operating one of the most popular tourist attractions in the region, Songcheng theme park in Hangzhou, which is dedicated to the heritage of the Song dynasty, made an unusual “present” for its single female staff nearly a fortnight before Chinese New Year, also called the Spring Festival.
Instead of the week-long break from 4-10 February, which the rest of the country is given, women over 30 will enjoy additional “dating leave,” extending their time off to 15 days. The vacation can be extended even further, according to local media citing the companies’ documents.
Moreover, a woman’s effort to use the time for finding love can really pay off. If she manages to get married before the end of 2019, the company will reportedly give her a salary bonus.
Female workers were pleased to receive the additional break, according human resources manager of Hangzhou Songcheng Performance, Huang Lei. He told the Zhejiang Online outlet that the number of men and women in his company is almost equal, but female employees “have less contact with the outside world” so the company came up with the idea to “give them more time and opportunities to be in contact with the opposite sex.” The firm is also considering extending the policy next year.
Earlier this month, a middle school in the same region offered its single and childless teachers to apply for “love leave” twice a month to enjoy life.
Single females over 30 are commonly regarded as “leftover women” in China as it is believed that after 25 they have less chance of attracting men’s attention and marrying. At the same time, more and more Chinese women tend to put off marriage to focus on their careers.
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RT
Indian man wants to sue parents for birthing him without consent
February 5, 2019
© Facebook / Nihilanand
A young Indian man has decided to sue his parents for giving birth to him without his consent. It may sound like satire, but “anti-natalist” Raphael Samuel is at the forefront of a social movement so new it barely has a name.
“I love my parents,” Samuel insists, “but they had me for their joy and their pleasure.” The Mumbai resident says his life has been “amazing” – he just doesn’t believe it should have been forced on him, and he certainly doesn’t want to inflict it on someone else.
“I don’t see why I should put another life through the rigmarole of school and finding a career, especially when they didn’t ask to exist,” he told Indian outlet the Print.
“Anti-natalism” – a conscious, morally-influenced choice not to reproduce – appears to be catching on in India, with multiple Facebook groups and real-life meetups springing up to serve this unusual outgrowth of the child-free movement. It has linked up with the decades-old Voluntary Human Extinction Movement, an environmentalist current that essentially posits the world would be a better place if humans quietly died out, and attracted “closeted” child-free Indian couples who say they’ve faced judgment, even persecution in their communities and families for choosing not to have offspring.
Posting as Nihilanand on Facebook, Samuel shares droll memes (“Isn’t forcing a child into this world and then forcing it to have a career kidnapping and slavery?”) featuring photos of himself sporting a billowing black beard.
While some child-free activists tout the environmental benefits of not reproducing, and a 2017 study proclaimed having one fewer child was one of the most effective ways to reduce one’s carbon footprint, environmental and population scientists point out that fertility rates are already declining – both in India and elsewhere in the world – and voiced skepticism that such a movement was necessary.
It’s tempting to blame Indian government policy for the rise of the anti-natalists: the world’s second-most-populous country has been encouraging small family sizes for generations, with door-to-door campaigns urging young couples to stop at two children and even doling out financial incentives to poor families who opt not to reproduce.
The anti-natalists – currently operating as “Stop Making Babies,” though the name is subject to change – plan to hold their first national conference on Sunday in Bengaluru. While the movement has reportedly been percolating among young Indians for some time, this is their first serious attempt to organize in real life. They say their goal is to establish a national-level organization to spread awareness about child-free living.
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THE SUN
WORLD OF WONDER
Incredible photos of freezing penguins, waterfalls and isolated communities reveal Earth’s stunning natural beauty
British photographers are among those shortlisted for Sony World Photography Awards which is one of the most prestigious in the world
By Patrick Knox
February 5, 2019
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NATURALLYSAVVY.COM
A dinner out will often be the kind of processed industrial food most of us would be better off avoiding. (Pablo Merchán Montes/Unsplash)
Food Then and Now: How Nutrition Has Changed
A loss of nutrients and processed food has transformed our diets
BY JILL ETTINGER,
February 4, 2019 Updated: February 4, 2019
Within the last half century, our food has drastically changed. Things we eat now are not the same as they once were. What happened? How has our nutrition changed?
Meat, Eggs, and Dairy
Factory farmed animal products, a huge industry today, were essentially inconceivable fewer than 100 years ago.
If you didn’t live in a rural setting where you likely raised your own animals, the milkman delivered dairy products from a not so far away dairy.
Meat and poultry could be purchased from a local butcher who may have even known the animals personally. Growth hormones, antibiotics, and genetically modified feed were never fed to animals. Our recent ancestors were eating the healthiest kinds of animal products, those raised on grass, outdoors and hopefully, with a lot of human love too.
Nowadays, of course, that’s not the case. More than 10 billion animals will be raised in American factories this year. Most will never see daylight, except on their way to slaughter. They’ll live in dark, tiny, and unsanitary conditions where diseases spread rapidly. They’ll eat unnatural foods, like genetically modified corn, that are then loaded with chemicals and drugs that directly impact the humans who eat those animals.
While some farm animals have been bred for “tastier” cuts of meat or sweeter milk, the drugs they are pumped with diminish their nutrient absorption which also decreases our ability to extract those nutrients. To eat like your grandparents, look for organic, grass-fed meat, eggs, and dairy. It’s even better if you can find a local source, too.
Fruits and Vegetables
Conventionally raised produce contains far fewer vitamins and minerals than it did a half-century ago. You can credit pesticides and chemical fertilizers with disrupting soil quality, and mono-crop industrial agriculture for depleting it of vital nutrients. Run-off from those gnarly animal factory farms pollutes soil and water making foodborne illness risks more severe, too.
Even organic options are still battling 50 years of depleted soil. It’s an uphill battle, but not a losing one. One farmer, Bionutrient Food Association director, Dan Kittredge, hopes to change the criteria for success in farming from high yield to higher nutrient content. He’s working with farmers directly to help them battle depleted soil while improving product yields and flavor.
Our grandparents and great-grandparents grew up when organic farming was essentially the norm. Crops were cycled to ensure the soil stayed healthy. Now farmers rely on chemical fertilizers, not healthy soil, to make crops grow. That’s why it’s so important that we support organic farmers, local growers and grow our own. Because dependence on these inputs isn’t just unhealthy, it’s also a food security risk.
Processed Foods
Meals were cornerstones of our culture in a much different way back in the old days, and you see a lot of that in old films. But what you don’t see is any junk food. Not in the sense that we eat it today. Even when there is a soda fountain scene—the drinks are considerably smaller, and you had to go to the pharmacy or soda shop to get one. People still ate real food. It was made from scratch. Ingredients were pronounceable.
Things began to change after the 1950s when the idea of shortcuts and faster foods became the norm. Today, our processed foods resemble anything but their original ingredients. Nearly 80 percent of all processed foods in the United States contain genetically modified ingredients. They’re also full of artificial colors, flavors, and sweeteners. They’re stabilized with trans fats (at least until a proposed FDA ban takes hold) and chemical preservatives and then packaged in plastics that have been known to cause cancer and birth defects.
In his book “Food Rules”, author and food expert Michael Pollan writes that the only junk food we should eat should be what we make ourselves. If we can make that type of commitment to eliminate processed/fast/junk food except for the occasion that we want to make a Twinkie from scratch, we should be able to maintain the healthy relationship with food our ancestors took for granted.
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Until next week...keep on believing.
Almondtree Productions