Obesity & Middle Age

The obesisty rate in America may have even be decling in some areas , but many in middle age are still carrying ariund their spare tires , according to the newly released Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index (WBI) . While the obesity rate in America fell in 2011 to 26.1 percent , from 26.6 percent in 2010 and 26.5 percent in 2009 , those aged 45 to 64 still have the highest obesity rate in the nation  ... a whopping 30.8 percent . The study found an even higher rate of obesity among middle-aged African-Americans and Hispanics ; 41.0 percent  and 34.5 percent respectively .

As you  age , a slower metabolism and muscle loss  may make burning calories more difficult  , so eating like you did in your 20s could result in weight gain. But obesity goes beyond  not being able to fit into your daughter's jeans  ... an obese person has an  excess amount of fat ,  with a BMI of 30 or greater . Health risks of obesity  include high blood pressure , type 2 diabetes , heart disese , sleep apnea and other serious issues . Obesity can also have a tremendous impact on your wallet .


"The obesity epidemic isn't just a public health issue ; it's also a financial burden on individuals , companies  and governments ," Ben Leedle , Jr. Healthways president and CEO , said in a stateman , "According to the national Institutes of Health , the annual incremental cost of healthcare per person due to obesity is $1,429."

What can you do to beat these statistics and shed extra pounds ?
*** Know what you should weigh ***
Sounds obvious , doesn't it ?  Surprisingly , many people who admit they could "maybe stand to lose a few pounds" actually have more serious weight problems than they are admitting to . Try this  body mass index calculator  to see where you fall , check with your doctor about what your ideal weight should be to advoid health problems .

Growing Organs - A Reality?

 

Surgeons in Sweden have carried out the world's first synthetic organ transplant.  But whether it is "level one" or "level four" organs, the basic premise is the same. You need a source of the patients’ own cells, and you need to coax them into growing in the right way. The cells can come from a patient’s own organs – even a sample the size of a postage stamp can be expanded to seed an entire scaffold. Stem cells, as used for Beyene’s windpipe transplant, provide an even more efficient source. And since 2006, scientists have been rapidly developing ways of reprogramming adult cells back into a stem-like state, providing a ready supply for aspiring organ-builders.

Once you have the cells, you need to steer the way they grow and specialize. That means getting the right balance of temperature, pH, hormones, and more. It also means exposing growing tissues to the forces they would normally experience inside the body. Engineered arteries need to experience pulses of pressure that simulate the blood that normally pumps through them. Engineered muscle needs to be stretched. Engineered lungs need to feel a regular flow of air. “Every cell has the right genetic information to create the organ. You just need to put them in the right environment,” says Atala.
We can build you
The cells also need to grow along the right shapes, so getting the right scaffold is essential. For simple organs, like Beyene’s windpipe, it is possible to fabricate the whole scaffold from scratch. But solid organs have more complex shapes, so some teams start with existing organs, taken either from cadavers or from animals. They use detergents to strip away the cells, leaving behind a natural scaffold of connective tissues and blood vessels, which can then be seeded with a patient’s stem cells. It is the equivalent of stripping a building down to its frame and filling the walls back in. Scientists have made livers, lungs and even beating hearts in this way, and some have started to transplant their organs into animals.
Some researchers are excited by the potential organ-building capabilities of three-dimensional (3-D) printers. These devices are modified versions of everyday inkjet printers that squirt living cells rather than drops of ink. Layer by layer, they can make three-dimensional structures such as organs and, as of September last year, the blood vessels they contain. Atala is developing this technique – he wowed the audience at a TED conference last year by printing a kidney on stage (although not a functional one). He says, “For the level four organs, it’s just a matter of time,” says Atala. “We’re still a long way from full replacement, but I do believe that these technologies are achievable.”

Even after scientists successfully devise ways of growing organs, there are many logistical challenges to overcome before these isolated success stories can become everyday medical reality. “Can you manufacture them and grow them on large scales?” asks Robert Langer, a pioneer in the field. “Can you create them reproducibly? Can you preserve them [in the cold] so they have a reasonable shelf-life? There are a lot of very important engineering challenges to overcome.”
Doing so will take time, perhaps decades. Laura Niklason from Yale University first described how to engineer an artery in 1999, but these lab-grown vessels are only now ready for clinical trials in humans. If these simple tubes – just level two in Atala’s hierarchy – took a dozen years to advance, it is a fair bet that solid organs will take much longer.
But advance they will, driven in part by a substantial and growing medical need. “We’re doing a better job of keeping people alive longer, and the more you age, the more your organs tend to fail,” says Atala. “The number of patients on our transplant lists continues to increase, but the number of transplants performed remains flat. The need is only going to become more prominent as time goes on.”

Chandra Bahdur Dangi : World's Shortest Man "OMG"

Katmandu, Nepal --- A 72-year-old Napalese man who is about the size of a toddler on Sunday became the world's shortest person ever recorded .

A doctor and Guinness World Records official measured Chandra Bahadur Dangi to confirm his height of 25.5 inches ( 54.6 centimeters).

Guiness official Craig Glenday presented Dangi with two certificates for being the world's shotest living man and the world's shortest person recorded in Guinesss' 57-year history .

"I am very happy . Now II want to travel across Nepal and to foreign countries ," Dangi told reporters afterward .

He said he had no desire to get married or have a family of his own , but would like to meet the prime minister of Napel soon .

Dangi lives is a remote mountain villege , Rhimkholi , about 250 miles (400 kilometers) west of Katmandu , with his youngest brother and his family . His five brothers are all average height .

Before being measured in the capital , Katmandu , on Saturday , he had never seen a doctor and his relatives say he has never been seriously ill or had any injuries . Rhe doctors who saw him at the clinic also found no immediate health problems . His family is not sure when he stopped growing .

Because of his height , he has never worked outside the house , doing only household chores .

Dangi has a normal size head and regularly shaves , but his body is small . He is able to walk and climb small stairs . He eats mainly rice and vegetables , and occasionally meat , but in small portions .

Dangi takes the shortest man record from Junrey Balawing of the Philippines , who is 3.5 inches (60 centimeters ) tall . He also beat the record of Gul Mohammed of India as the shorest adult human to have their height verified by Guiness . Mohammed , who died in 1997 , was 22.5 inches (57 centimeters) tall .

Since Dangi's village is so remote , it was only recently that Dangi gained notice . A forest contractor cutting timber in the village met him and told ocal media .

Aside from a Guiness certificate , the titles don't come with any cash award .

Keep'Em in Stitches "Rednecks & Good Ole Boys"

An old fellow was being interviewed on a radio program . He was asked what was the greatest invention ever invented .

"Well , I think the car was the greatest thing that amn ever came up with . You used to have to walk or ride a mule everywhere you went."

The next fellow was asked the same question .

He said , "The airplane is the greatest invention because you can get on it and go all over the world nowadays."

The next old country fellow was asked the same question .

And he said , "The thermos bottle was the greatest thing that was ever made.

The interviewer asked why he thought that .

And the old boy replied , "Well you can put something in it one morning hot , and it will keep hot all day . Then the next day you can put something in it cold , and it will keep cold all day .

Then the interviewer said , "What's so special about that ?"

He said , "How does the thermos know ?"

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The country boy got a job in the city . He thought group insurance meant the whole group had to get sick before you could collect .

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A duck hunter had a dog that he was very proud of , so he asked his neighbor to come over for a demonstration . He would shoot a duck , and the dog would walk across the water and bring back the duck . He did this several times , and the neighbor didn't seem to be impressed at all . He said , "That dog can't swim , can he ?"

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A man in town was very slow ; you might say his elevator didn't go all the way to the top floor . The town council felt sorry for him and gave him the job of shining the cannon that was down at the square . He worked hard at it for a number of months . Then he came in one day and said I quit .

The council said , "We thought you were doing a good job ."

He replied , "Yes , I been workin' hard and savin' my money . I finally decided to buy my own cannon and go into business for myself ."

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Two factory owners were in the office talking about the stupid men they had working for them . One said , "I'll show you just how stupid some of them are ." He called one of his men to the office , gave him a quarter and told him to go and buy him a new cadillac .

The worker took the quarter and went outside . The other owner said , That's nothing compared to one of my men ." So he called his man to the office and told him to go down to the bowling alley and see if he was there .

So that worker went outside and started talking with the first worker . The first worker said , "My boss is so stupid , he gave me this quarter and told me to go but him a new Cadillac . He knew all the time I couldn't drive ."

The other one said , "That's nothing . My boss told me to go down to the bowlimg alley to see if he's down there , and all he would have to do is pick up the phone and call down there to see for himself .

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Leroy : "What are you doing ?"

Darrell : "I'm writing a letter to a friend ."

Leroy : Don't try to fool me . You can't write ."

Darrell : "That's all right . He can't read either ."

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While driving in Pennsylvania , a family caught up with an Amish carriage . The owner of the carriage obviously had a sense of humor . Attached to the back of the carriage was a hand painted sign that read , "Energy efficient vehicle : runs on oats and grass . Caution : Do not step in exhaust ."

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An optimist is one who takes a frying pan on a fishing trip .

If you want someone to laugh at your jokes , tell them they have a good sense of humor .

If Satan knocks on your door , ask Jesus if He will get the door for you ... Satan will run like Hell .

Monkey Movie Time

Vatican Requests 1,500-Year-Old Bible Held in Turkey

* The Bible of William Hannay of Tundergarth , Dumfriessshire . * No Photos of the Bible are available at this time .*

The Valican has allegedly issured an official request to examine a 1,500-year-old Bible that has been held in Turkey for the past 12 years , the "Harriyet Daily News" reports .

The Bible reportedly contains early teaching of Jesus Christ and is written in gold lettering on animal hide in Syriac , a dialect of Aramaic , which was the native tongue of Jesus .

According to a reportly "National Turk," the Bible was seized from a gang of smugglers in a Mediterranean -area operation . The report states the gang was charges with smuggling antiquities , illegal excavations , and the possession of explosives .

"Today's Zaman" reports that the Bible is under high security and that a Turkish daily newspaper , the "Star," claims the book could be a copy of the "Gospel of Bamabas" ... a controversial text which Muslims claim is an addition to the original gospels ... Matthew , Mark , Luke and John ... that was suppressed .

In it , Jesus is said to have predicted the coming of the Prophet Muhammad .

Due to its value as a cultural and religious artfact , even photocopies of the pages could be worth between 3 and 4 million Turkish Lira ... or about 1,703, 233 U. S. dollars .

My Favorite Crusader Jenny and Her Helpers Sha, Jonny and Man

Music by native Eskimos

The Polar Bear is rapidly losing its battle against global warming. As its habitat continues to shrink, their chances of survival dwindle. These photographs were taken along one of the migratory routes that sees the highest concentration of bears anywhere on the planet. The numbers of bears have been dropping steadily each year (almost 25% between 2000 and 2004). Soon they will only be a distant memory.

They are magnificent, captivating, even magical. Churchill, Manitoba, Canada calls itself, “the polar bear capital of the world.”  On a wind-blasted, icy tundra hundreds of polar bears come out of their summer-long drowsiness and head to the shores of Hudson Bay waiting for the water to freeze over so they can go out on the ice to hunt seals.

But, sometimes a polar bear will come right into Churchill. Wayward bears who wander into town get “arrested” captured and taken to “bear jail.” After several days of incarceration, they’re taken out, tranquilized and blindfolded, in case they wake up too soon Then they’re air-lifted away to the wilderness.

“What’s happening is we’ve had successive years where the sea ice in the bay has melted much earlier, so bears are coming ashore much earlier in poorer condition and coming into town more often,” said Geoff York, a polar bear expert and head of arctic species conservation for the World Wildlife Fund, which is leading research into the bear’s habits and habitats. It is backed by a $2 million grant from Coca-Cola.

York said earth’s warming climate means it takes longer for the ice on Hudson Bay to form and it is thawing earlier meaning a shorter period when polar bears are out on the ice, feeding. Without enough to eat, they may not last the summer. “Polar bears are definitely threatened, and they’re threatened by habitat that now is shrinking on both ends,” York said. They’re hungry because they haven’t had anything to eat since coming off the ice last July. And once again this year, the ice has been late forming. Their meal window is shrinking on both ends."

WHERE DO POLAR BEARS LIVE?
Evolved from brown bear ancestors, the polar bear is the top predator in the Arctic marine ecosystem and the world’s largest land carnivore. It is also superbly adapted for survival in the Far North where winter temperatures can plunge to -50 degrees Fahrenheit. The polar bear can be found across five Arctic nations: the United States (Alaska), Canada, Russia, Greenland, and Norway. In fact, there are 19 subpopulations of polar bears in the circumpolar Arctic ranging from as far south as Northern Ontario to the high Arctic regions of Canada and Greenland. Most of the polar bear population lives in Canada.
These snow-white bears make their homes on the annual sea ice where they hunt, live, breed, and in some cases create maternal dens. This challenging habitat is shared with indigenous peoples, and animals such as ringed seals, arctic foxes, narwhal, beluga whales and millions of migratory birds.
But the sea ice is much more than a simple platform—it is an entire ecosystem inhabited by plankton and microorganisms. These tiny creatures support a rich food chain that nourishes seals that become prey for polar bears and food for local people. In this way, the Arctic sea ice is the very foundation of the arctic marine ecosystem.

WHAT DO POLAR BEARS EAT?
The polar bear feeds mainly on a diet of ringed and bearded ice seals, which are a particularly energy-rich food source. In fact, an average-sized ringed seal can provide up to eight days of energy for the polar bear. However, some bears also occasionally hunt beluga whales and walrus successfully and will happily scavenge on the carcasses of beluga whales, grey whales, walruses, narwhals and bowhead whales.
Often described as fat loving, the polar bear's physiology is specialized to acquire large amounts of fat from marine mammals, which contains the most calories and is easy to digest. As a consequence, the polar bear cannot derive sufficient caloric intake from available food on shore. However, when food is scarce, the polar bear may resort to feeding on land  food including muskox, reindeer, small rodents, waterfowl, shellfish, fish, eggs, kelp, berries, and human garbage.

The polar bear is estimated to spend well over 50 percent of its time hunting and tries to obtain most of its annual fat reserves between late April to mid-July, hopefully consuming enough calories to survive the summer and winter seasons when prey is harder to catch. Surprisingly, given their strength and agility, less than 2 percent of their hunts prove to be successful. It is reported that even in good hunting areas, a bear may only catch 1 seal every 4 or 5 days.

To find out more on how to help the polar bears, go to ArcticHome.com

Keep'Em in Stitches ' Doctors'

A new patient confided to a psychiatrist , "I'd better tell you before we begin ... I suffer from marked suicidal tendencies ."
"Very interesting ," nodded the psychiatrist , with his best professional nod of the head . "Under the circumstances then , I'm quite sure you wouldn't mind paying the bill in advance ."

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A man has a flat tire while driving down a desolate road in the middle of a dark and stormy night . After he gets out of the car , he curses in the rain and realizes he has stopped right next to a tall wire fence bearing a sign that reads Insane Asylum .
Though initially nervous , the man becomes really afraid when he notices that a light is on in one of the windows of the dark building and that someone is watching him . With shaking hands he begins to jack up the car and remove the tire , all the while looking behind his shoulder nervously, in a flash of lightening .. he sees a lone figure in pajamas and a bathrobe making his way toward him .
After a moment of tense , horrible silence , the lunatic says , "What's the problem , mister?" Stuttering with fright , the man burbles out , "Well I ... I got a flat tire and I ... lost all my hex nuts and now I can't even get the spare tire on ."
The lunatic answers , "Why don't you just take one hex nut from the other three tires ? That'll get you to the next town at least ." Surprised by the lunatic's apparent clarity , the man asks , "How'd you think of that ?" The lunatic answers , "Hey , I may br crazy , but I ain't stupid ."

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It's time for you to retire from Psychiatry when ...
1) You diagnose your pets with various mental conditions , making notes like , "Fluffy is exhibiting signs of denial."
2) You began to dream about treating imaginary patients , and when you're awake , you occasionally forget they're not real .
3) You start paying your own colleagues to have sessions with them .
4) You begin to wonder how you would treat easily angered fictional characters in a novel you're reading if you had them in an anger management setting.

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Patient : .... Doc , I have a morbid fear of thunder .
Psychiatrist :... That's silly . You shouldn't be afraid of a thing like thunder . Why don't you just think of it as a drum roll from heaven ?
Patient :... Will that cure me ?
Psychiatrist : ... Well , if it doesn't , do what I did : Stuff cotton in your ears , crawl under the bed , and sing "If You're Happy and You Know It."

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Wife : ... My husband thinks he's a refrigerator .
Psychiatrist : ... I wouldn't worry as long as he's not violent .
Wife : ... Oh , the delusion doesn't bother me . But when he sleeps with his mouth open , the little light keeps me awake .

Mandarin Chicken Stir-fry

Prep time : 25 minutes ... Cooking time : 20 minutes
1/2 cup club soda or beer
1/2 cup cornstarch
2 shinned and boned chicken breast halves (6 ounces each) cut across the grain into strips 2 inches long and 1/4 inch wide
5 tablespoons peanut oil (olive oil)
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
4 cups small broccoli florets
1/2 cup chicken stock or canned reduced-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup orange juice
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon minced ginger
1 clove galic , minced
1 teaspoon grated tangerine or orange zest
1 teaspoon dark sesame oil (optional)
1 can (11 ounces ) mandarin oranges, drained
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1) Pour club soda into a small shallow bowl and place cornstarch in a self-sealing plastic bag .Working in batches , dip chicken strips into soda , then dredge in cornstarch , shaking off excess . Set chicken aside on a rack .
2) Remove 1 teaspoon of the cornstarch from the plastic bag and combine with 1 tablespoon of the soda from the small bowl ; set aside .
3) In a deep heavy 12-inch skillet or wok over high heat ... heat 2 tablespoons of the peanut oil until almost smoking . Add 1/2 the chicken strips and stir-fry until golden ... about 3 minutes ; remove to paper toweling . Add 2 more tablespoons of the peanut oil to the skillet and stir-fry the same way.
4) Reduce the heat to moderate , add remaining 1 tablespoon peanut oil and stir in red pepper flakes . Cook , stirring , for 30 seconds . Add broccoli and stir-fry 2 minutes . Min in stock , orange juice , soy sauce , ginger , garlic , tangerine zest and sesame oil and cook uncovered , until broccoli is crisp-tender ... 3 to 5 minutes . Add oranges , reserved cicken and cornstarch mixture . Cook , tossing until sauce thickens and chicken and oranges are heated through ... about 1 minute .
Serve over rice .... makes 4 servings .... heart healthy

Monkey Matinee

Stem Cells Used to 'Heal' Heart Attack Scars

Damage caused by a heart attack has been healed using stem cells gathered from the patient's own heart, according to doctors in the US. The amount of scar tissue was halved in the small safety trial reported in the Lancet medical journal. The authors said there was also an "unprecedented" increase in new heart muscle.

The British Heart Foundation said it was "early days", but could "be great news for heart attack patients".  A heart attack happens when the organ is starved of oxygen, such as a clot blocking the flow of blood to the heart. As the heart heals, the dead muscle is replaced with scar tissue, but because this does not beat like heart muscle the ability to pump blood around the body is reduced.

Doctors around the world are looking at ways of "regenerating" the heart to replace the scar tissue with beating muscle. Stem cells, which can transform into any other type of specialised cell, figure prominently in their plans. This trial, at the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute, was designed to test the safety of using stem cells taken from a heart attack patient's own heart.

This is the second group of doctors to report using cells taken from a heart to heal a heart.

In November 2011, another safety trial showed the cells could be used to heal the hearts of heart failure patients who were having heart bypass surgery. The heart is not the only source for these stem cells and other fields are much further ahead. The largest ever trial of stem cell therapy in heart attack patients is about to get under way in Europe. The BAMI trial will inject 3,000 heart attack patients with stem cells taken from their bone marrow within five days of the heart attack.

Within a month of a heart attack, a tube was inserted into a vein in the patient's neck and was pushed down towards the heart. A sample of heart tissue, about "half the size of a raisin", was taken.

This was taken to the laboratory where the stem cells were isolated and grown. Up to 25 million of these stem cells were then put into the arteries surrounding the heart.
Twenty five patients took part in the trial. Before the treatment, scar tissue accounted for an average of 24% of their left ventricle, a major chamber of the heart. It went down to 16% after six months and 12% after a year. Healthy heart muscle appeared to take its place. The study said the cells, "have an unprecedented ability to reduce scar and simultaneously stimulate the regrowth of healthy [heart] tissue".

One of the researchers Dr Eduardo Marban said: "While the primary goal of our study was to verify safety, we also looked for evidence that the treatment might dissolve scar and regrow lost heart muscle. This has never been accomplished before, despite a decade of cell therapy trials for patients with heart attacks. Now we have done it. These cells have been proven to form heart muscle in a Petri dish but now they seem to be doing the same thing when injected back into the heart as part of an apparently safe procedure”

"The effects are substantial, and surprisingly larger in humans than they were in animal tests."

However, there was no increase in a significant measure of the heart's ability to pump - the left ventricle ejection fraction: the percentage of blood pumped out of the left ventricle.  Prof Anthony Mathur, who is co-ordinating a stem cell trial involving 3,000 heart attack patients, said that even if the study found an increase in ejection fraction it would be the source of much debate. He argued that as it was a proof-of-concept study, with a small group of patients, "proving it is safe and feasible is all you can ask".
"The findings would be very interesting, but obviously they need further clarification and evidence," he added. "It's early days, and this research will certainly need following up, but it could be great news for heart attack patients who face the debilitating symptoms of heart failure."

Keep'Em in Stitches ' Preachers'

One preacher had a bicycle , rode it down the street , and saw a boy with a lawn mower .The preacher said , "I need a lawn mower , and you need a bicycle ... why don't we swap ?" So they did . Later the boy was riding down the street , saw the preacher pulling on the mower , and he couldn't get it to start . The boy said , "If you'll cuss it , it'll crank ." The preac her said , "Son , I'm a preacher . I forgot how to cuss a long time ago ." The boy said , "Just keep pulling , and it'll come back to you ."
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The pastor was preaching his last sermon at a church , and afterward he was at the door greeting everyone . "I'm so sorry we're losing you." The preacher said, "That's all right ; they'll send you a good one nex t time ." The little lady replied , "Oh , they won't either . That's what they said the last time ."
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The blonde laughed out loud one Sunday as the preacher was speaking . Afterward the preacher asked her what she was laughing about . She said , "Well , I usually start telling myself jokes to keep me awake while you preach . This morning I heard one that I had never heard before ."
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A preacher was to speak on tithing the following Sunday , so he came down early in the week and ran some wires down the pews attached to three buttons on the pulpit . When he go up to preach he said , "If you want to give 10 percent stand up ." Then he pushed the first button , and the people on the first three rows jumped to their feet .
Next he said , "If you want to give 20 percent , stand up . "He pushed the second button , and the people on the next two rows jumped up .
Finally he said , "If you want to give 30 percent , stand up . "He pushed the third button , and the two people on the next two rows jumped up .
After the service , two deacons were found electrocuted on the back row .
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Pointing his finger at the congregation , the preacher said , "All you hypocrites who are snuff dippers , pipe smokers , liars and drunkards , I hope your tongue sticks to the roooooooof of your mouth.
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A preacher , a lawyer and a doctor went deer hunting together . They got into the woods and all of a sudden , a big buck came right across in front of them . They all shot and the deer went down . When they got to the deer , they began to argue about who had killed it .
About that time , a game warden came up and said , "I'll examine the deer and settle this argument ." After looking closely at the carcass he said , "The preacher shot the deer." They began to question him about how he could tell . He said , "Because the bullet went in one ear and out the other.
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A Mississippi man decided to visited mega churches across the country . He visisted on that had a pay phone in the lobby with a sign that said , "Direct Line to God ... $25,000." He made his way back to Mississippi and saw a phone in the lobby with a sign that said , "Direct Line to God ... 35 cents , "He asked the pastor why the amount was so small . The pastor replied , "From here , it's a local call."
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There is the story of a pastor who got up one Sunday and announced to his congregation , "I have good news and bad news . The good news is we have enough money to pay for our new building program . The bad news is it's still out there in your pockets ."

Monkey movie

Monkeys Movie



Polar Bear Facts....For My Favorite Crusader

 

Oldest Cave Art Found in Spain’s Nerja Caves

Six paintings of seals in a Spanish Cave are now thought to be the oldest works of art ever found, surpassing those in Chauvet Cave in southern France by 10,000 years.

Scientists dated organic residue found next to the paintings, found in the Nerja Caves in Southern Spain, at being between 43,500 and 42,300 years old.

Even more interesting is that these paintings are believed to be the first artwork of Neanderthals ever discovered, as all previously found art was attributed to Homo sapiens.

Already known for containing the world’s largest stalagmite at 32 meters (105 feet) tall, the Nerja Caves were once home to Neanderthals, before they became extinct, and later prehistoric Homo sapiens.

The next step is to date the paintings themselves in order to find the exact date they were created, however the researchers have been hampered by a lack of funds.

having fun in the snow

Green Peas and Onions

Prep time : 20 minutes .... Cooking time : 20 minutes
1 cup water
1 1/2 cups small onions , peeled or 1/2 package (16 ounces) frozen small whole onions
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups fresh or frozen green peas
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 tablespoon coarsely chopped fresh rosemary or 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary , crumbled
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
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1) In a large saucepan over high heat , bring water to boil . Add onions and salt and return to boil . Reduce heat to moderate and cook , cover 8 minutes .
2) Add peas , return to a boil and cook covered , 7 to 9 minutes more .
3) Meanwhile , in a small saucepan ov er low heat , melt butter . Add rosemary and steep 2 to 3 minutes .
4) Drain peas and onions , add butter and pepper ; toss lightly to mix . Makes 4 servings .
Use inside the crown roast recipe beneath ...

Crown Roast of Pork with Onions -Green Peas.

Prep time : 1 hour ... Cook time : 3 to 3 1/2 hours
1 (16 rib) crown roast of pork (6 to 7 pounds)
3 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary , crumbled
2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper
2 recipes for green peas and onions ( above post)
2 cups beef stock or canned reduced-sodium beef broth
I/4 cup unsifted all-purpose flour
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1) Preheat oven to 400*F . Sprinkle roast with 2 tablespoons of the rosemary , salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper . Stand roast , rib ends up on a rack in a large roasting pan . Cover ribs ends with foil to prevent burning .
2) Insert a meat thermometer between 2 ribs in the center , making sure it does not touch bone . Roast , uncovered for 10 minutes . Reduce the oven temperature to 325* F and continue roasting until the thermometer registers 160* F ... 2 1/2 to 3 hours . Remove roast to a platter and keep warm .
3) Fill crown cavity loosely with green peas and onions and keep warm while preparing the gravy.
4) Pour dripping from roast into a 1-quart glass measure . Skim fat from drippings into a 1-cup measure to total 1/4 cup (add olive oil or vegetable oil if needed to fill out measurement ).
5) Place roasting pan over moderate heat , add 1 cup of the stock and simmer for 1 minute , scraping up browned bits . Add to drippings in 1-quart measure to total 2 cups (add additional stock if needed to fill out the measurement )
6) Place sauce pan of reserved fat over moderate heat and heat until bubbly . Blend in flour and cook , whisking constantly , until smooth . Add the remaining 1 tablespoon rosemary and cook stirring constantly , until mixture thickens and boikls ... 2 to 3 minutes . Gradually add stock mixture and cook , stirring until thicken and smooth ... 3 to 5 minutes more . Whisk in remaining 1/2 teaspoon pepper and remove to a heated gravy boat .
Makes 8 serving .

Malcolm X Killer -Thomas Hagan Says He's Sorry

                                                                 Malcolm X

                                                             Thomas Hagan

Manhattan ---As his years went by in prison , Thomas Hagan came to realize that the things that motivated him to kill Malcolm X were completely wrong .

He left the Nation of Islam but remained a Muslin . He studied a lot of history and sociology . And he decided that he'd been lied to.

In an interview with state Parole Board officials earlier this month , Hagan said he was a "very young man , a very uneducated man," when he plotted to murder Malcolm X , according to transcripts obtained by DNAinfro .
And said he's sorry .
"I've had a lot of time , a heck of a lot of time to think about it ," Hagan said . "Being more educated in terms of social events and so forth , I understand a lot better the dynamics of movements and what can happen inside movements and conflicts that can come up , but I have deep regrets about my perticipation in that ."

After that March 3 interview , the board agreed to set him free . He is expected to be released from a minimum-security prison in Harlem on April 28 .

Hagan was a 22-year-old rank and file member of the Nation of Islam  when Malcolm X split from the group and went public with allegations that it's leader was fathering children out of wedlock .

Nation of Islam ministers responded with charges that Malcolm X was a lying hypocite , and was planning armed attacks against the group members . So Hagan and a couple others got together in New Jersey and planned to assassinate him.

On February 21, 1956 , they gunned Malcolm X down as he spoke at the Audubon Ballroom in Washington Heights.

"Of course , as we know history has revealed , a lot of what [Malcolm X] was saying was true ,"  Hagan said , according to the transcripts .

Parole won't change Hagan's life dramatically . Since 1989 , he has been allowed to leave prison on a work-release program in which he spends many days working and visiting his wife and children in Brooklyn .

In prison , Hagan obtained a master's degree in sociology . He hopes to become a substance-abuse counselor when he gets out . He has also been volunteering at a mosque.

State authorties would not reveal where exactly Hagan lives or works . That information was blacked out of transcripts  provided by DNAinfo.

In 2008 , Hagan was living in Sunset Park , Brooklyn , and working in a fast-food restaurant , according to the New York Post .

Hagan has maintained that the two other  Nation of Islam members who was convicted with him ... Muhammad Abdul Aziz and Kahill Islam ... was not part of the plot  . In his parole interview , Hagan repeated claims he made in a 1970s affidavit that his accomplices were two other men who were never charged .
Aziz and Islam was paroled years ago .

Harriet Tubman : The Underground Railroad

This is a short movie about Harriet Tubman , her life , the underground railroad  and Harriet Tubman's contribution to it .



Martin Luther King's Last Speech ..."I Have Been to the Mountain Top"

 

Remebering Black Wall Street : The True Story

"Mass graves holds the secerts of American race Massacre."

New  York --- Investigators are searching for the graves of up to 400 black Americans in an attempt to end the 78-year cover-up of one of the worst acts of mass slaughter in the country's history .

Dr. Clyde Snow , the worlds leading authority in forensic anthropology , is preparing to spend the coming months in his home state of Oklahoma , identifying the remains of hundreds of men , women and children believed buried in communal graves .

The dead are the long-missing casualties of the Tulsa race riot in 1921 , a little know chapter in American history which , if substantiated , would eclipse even the 1985 Oklahoma booming as the country's worst civilian atrocity .

1921 Tulsa Race Riot : Survivors & Decendants Recall

Camilla Williams , Black Opera Star , Dies At 92

Indianapolis --- Camilla Williams , believed to be the first African-American woman to appear with a major U.S. opera company has died . She was 92.

 

Williams died Sunday at her home in Bloomington , her attorney , Eric Slotegraaf , said Monday .She died of complications from cancer , said Alain Braker , a spokeman for the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music , where Williams was a professor emeritus of voice .

 

Williams' debut with the New York City Opera on May 15 , 1946 , was thought to make her first African-American singer to appear  at New York's more prestigious Metropolitan Opera.

 

In her City Opera debut , Williams sang what would bec ome her signature role , Cio-Cio-San , in Puccini's "Madama Butterfly." She displayed  "a vividness and subtlety unmatched by any other artist who has assayed the part here in many a year," according to a New York Times review of the performance .

 

She also appeared with the City Opera that season as Nedda , in Leoncavallo's "Pagliacci." The following year she performed the role of Mimi , in Puccini's "La Boheme," and in 1948 she sang the title role of Verdi's "Aida."

 

Williams first appeared overseas in 1950 in a concert tour of Panama , the Dominican Republic and Venezuela . She also appeared as Cio-Cio-San with  the London Sadler's Wells Opera in 1954 and later that same year as the first black artist to sing a major role with the Vienna State Opera .

 

Williams , the daughter of a chauffeur , was introduced to "Madame Butterfly," Mozart and other classical works at age 12 while growing up in Danville , Va. A Welsh voice teacher came to the segregated city to teach at a school for white girls  and taught a few black girls at a private home . By that time she had been singing at Danville's Calvary Baptist Church for four years .

 

"My grandparents and parents were self-taught musicians ; all of them sang, and there was always music in our home ," she wrote for her entry in the first edition of "who'Who in the World."

 

A graduate of Virginia State College , she was teaching third grade and music in Danville schools in 1942  when she was offered a scholarship from the PHiladephia Alumni Association of her alma amter for vocal training in Philadephia where she studied under Marion  Szekely-Freschi and worked as an usher in a theater /

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Alifetime member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People , she performed in her hometown of Danville in 1963 to raise funds to free jailed civil rights demonstrators and sang at the 1063 civil rights march in Washington,D.C. immediately before the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King , Jr. gave his "I Have A Dream" speech . She also sang at King's Nobel Peace Prize ceremony the following year . The Chicago Defended lauded her in 1951 for bringing democracy to opera .

 

In 1950 she married Charles Beavers , a fellow Danville native  and a defense attorney whose clients included Malcolm X . He died in 1970 . The couple did not have children .

 

Williams retired from opera in 1971 and taught at Brooklyn College , Bronx College and Queens College until becoming the first African-American professor of voice at Indiana University . In 1983 , as a guest professor  at Beijing's Central Conservatory , she became that school's first black professor . She retired from teachin g in 1997.

 

A memorial service has been scheduled at the First United Methodist Church in Bloomington On February 18 . 

In Honor of Black History Month

Just a sampling of famous African descendants from the twentieth century

 This is Peter, a slave from Baton Rouge louisiana who shows the scars of abuse routinely suffered by many slaves in America

 Notice the shackles on Wilson Chinn's ankles

Slave cabins in Savannah Georgia

 A gathering of plantation slaves

 Five generations of the same slave family represented in this picture

 Slaves preparing cotton for the cotton gin

Slaves escaping across the Rappahannock  River

Rediscovered Letter From '1865' Former Slaves Tells Old master to Shove IT

In the summer of 1865 , a former slave by the name of Jourdan Anderson sent a letter to his former master . And 147 years later , the document reads as richly as it must have been back then.

 

The roughly 800-word letter , which has resurfaced via various  blogs , websites , Twitter and facebook , is a response to a missive from Colonel P.H. Anderson , Jourdan's former master back in Big Springs, Tennessee, Apparently , Col. Anderson had written Jourdan asking him to come to the big house to work .

 

In a tone that could be described either as "impressively measured" or "the deadest deadpan comedy ," the former slave , in the most genteel manner , basically tells the old slave master to kiss his rear end . He laments his being shot at by Col. Anderson when he fled slavery , the mistreatment of his children and there "was never pay-day for the Negroes any more than for horses and cows.

 

Below is Jourdan's letter in full , as it appears on letterofnote.com . To take a look at what  appears to be a scan of the original letter , which appeared in an August 22 , 1865 edition of the New York Daily Tribune . As Letters Of Notes points out , the newspaper account makes clear that the letter was dicater .

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Dayton, Ohio ,

August 7, 1865

To My Old Master , Colonel P.H. Anderson , Big Spring , Tennessee

Sir , I got your letter , and was glad to find that you had not forgotten  Jourdan , and that you wanted me to come back and live with you again , promising to do better for me than anyone else can . I have often felt uneasy about you . I thought the Yankees would have hung you long before this , for harboring Rebs they found at your house . I suppose they never  heard about you going to Colonel Martin's to kill the Union soldier  that was left by his company in their stable . Although you shot at me twice before I left you , I did not want to hear of your being hurt , and I am glad you are still living . It would do me good to go back to the dear old home again , and see Miss Mary and Miss Martha and Allen, Esther , Green and Lee. Give my love to them all , and tell them I hope we will meet in a better world , if not in this . I would have gone back to see you all when I was working in the Nashville Hosiptal , but one of the neighbors told me that Henry intends to shoot me if he ever got a chance .

 

I want to know particularly what the good chance is you propose to give me . I am doing tolerably well here . I get twenty-fine dollars a month , with victuals and clothing ; have a comfortable home for Mandy ... the folks call her Mrs. Anderson , ... and the children ...Milly , Jane and Grundy ... go to school and learning well . The teacher says Grundy has a head for a preacher . They go to Sunday School , and Mandy  and me attend  church regularly . We are kindly treated . Sometimes we hear them saying  , "Them colored people were slaves " down in Tennessee . The children feel hurt when they hear those remarks ; but I tell them it was no disgrace in Tennessee to belong to Colonel Anderson . Many darkeys would have been proud , as I use to be , to call you master . Now if you will write and say what wages you will give  me , I will better able to decide whether it would be to my advantage to move back again .

 

As for my freedom , which you say I can have , it is nothing to be gained on that score , as I got my free papers in 1864 from the Provost-Marshal-General of the Department of Nashville . Mandy says she would be afraid to go back without some proof that you were disposed to treat us justly and kindly ; and we have conducted to test your sincerity by asking you to send us our wages for the time we served you . This will make us to forget  and forgive the old scores  , and rely on your justice and friendship  in the future .I served you faithfully for thirty-two years and Mandy twenty years . At twenty-five dollars a month for me and two dollars a week for Mandy , our earning would amount to eleven thousand six hundred dollars . Add to this the interest for the time our wages was kept back  , and deduct what you paid for our clothing , and three doctor's visits to me  , and pulling a tooth for Mandy , and the balance will show what we are in justice entitled tp . Please send the money by Adams Express , in care of V. Winters , Esq. , Dayton Ohio . If you fail to pay us for faithful labors in the past , we can have little faith in your promises in the future . We trust the good Maker has opened your eyes to the wrongs which you and your fathers have done to me and my fathers  , in making us toil for you for generations  without recompense . Here I draw my wages  every Saturday nught  ; but in Tennessee there was  never any pay-day for the negores  any more than fot the horses and cows . Surely there will be a day of reckoning for those who defraud the laborer of his hire .

 

In answering this letter , please state if there would be safety for my Milly and Jane , who are now grown up , and both good-looking girls . You know how it was with Matilda and Catherine  . I would rather stay here  and strave ... and die , if it come to that  ... than my girls brought to shame by the violence and wickness of their young masters . You will also please state if there has been any schools open                          ed for the colored children in your neighborhood . Tje great desire of my life now is to give my children an education , and have then form virtous habits.

Say howdy to George carter , and Thank him for taking the pistol from you when you were shooting at me .

 

From your old servant ,

Jourdan Anderson 

Mississippi Delta - Still America's Shame

Now

1967

 

Returning to the Mississippi Delta 44 years after an iconic photo documentary highlighted the poverty in the region.

The Mississippi Delta is known as the poorest corner of the poorest state in America. And what little economic opportunity the region does hold is just a few factory closures away from collapse. The Mississippi Delta has long been a byword for hard times. The region is the home of the blues, and it has never quite managed to shake off its reputation as a place of misery, poverty and racial inequality. When a young photographer, Al Clayton, documented the area in 1967, the images he captured - of malnourished children and people living in abject poverty - helped bring national attention to the region's plight. "There was a part of it that was so depressing and painful to live with," he says. The black and white pictures, collected in the book Still Hungry in America, shocked the country, and for Mr Clayton, the experience was shattering. "It was hard to get through," he recalls.  Although the particular nature of the region's poverty has changed a half a century later, the region remains in crisis.

Nationwide, 14.3% of Americans lived in poverty in 2009. In Mississippi, the figure was 22%, and in some counties in the Delta, it was 48%.  The Delta, where children's bellies were once distended from malnutrition, is now the fattest region in America, and it leads the country in teen pregnancy and single parenthood. Some corners of Belzoni, a town Mr Clayton visited with civil rights worker Kenneth Dean, seem barely to have changed. Third Street is still lined with ramshackle, draughty wooden shacks

Even though they now have running water and toilets, the dilapidated houses look just the way they did 44 years ago. Two in a field off Highway 49 have been turned into museum pieces. "They were old in 1967," Mr Dean says as he casts his eye over the scene today. But some things have changed since Mr Clayton first pointed his camera at scenes of grinding poverty.

In the 1960s, the houses were inhabited by single mothers struggling to feed their children. Some of Third Street's original inhabitants remain, but most residents now are unemployed men, some strung out on drugs and alcohol. Belzoni is still full of single women, but many of them live in low-income housing on the edge of town. Thanks to the Head Start programme which began in the 60s and expanded dramatically over the years, their children are fed and educated in nurturing environments, like the pre-school centre run by the Friends of Children of Mississippi. The need for such programmes is great, says executive director Marvin Hogan.

More than 93,000 Mississippi children under six years of age live in poverty, Mr Hogan says. "That's a lot of children," he says. Some of their mothers work at the catfish processing plant in nearby Isola.

In the 60s, catfish helped to fill the employment gap left by the end of sharecropping and the mechanisation of agriculture. But competition from Asia has shuttered some of the area's plants, and the industry's decline poses a grave threat to the region, says Dick Stevens, president of Consolidated Catfish Producers. "I don't see something coming in here to replace it," he says. "It's only a blink away from being nearly as bad as it was years ago. In this area, you either work in a catfish plant, education or healthcare, or you don't work. That's it. There's nothing else."
'Still regressing'
 
In an effort to exploit what meagre opportunities do exist, a small job training centre in Belzoni runs courses in nursing and computing. Marcus Dennard, born to sharecropping parents the year Al Clayton and Kenneth Dean first toured the region, is training to be a nurse's assistant. Little else is available, he says. "The younger generation don't have anything to do," he says.  "We have no public transportation to get back and forth to work. They're all just standing around, doing what they can to survive."
The Delta, he says, feels trapped. "Everyone else seems to be moving forward and we still seem to be regressing," he says, "so I'm doing what I can."

In one room at the job training centre, two students are studying phlebotomy. In the 60s, they might have helped to inoculate children against the infectious diseases which ravaged communities throughout the Delta. Today, those diseases are mostly eradicated, but health workers battle different epidemics: obesity and diabetes.
 
In one major respect, life has improved. The routine racial coercion and violence suffered by African-Americans has gone, and Belzoni has a black mayor and sheriff. But a fundamental problem, rooted in this region's painful history, remains. "This large population, created here through the introduction of slavery, is still here," says Mr Dean. "How does this population rise up to normative, middle-American values and assets when its relationship to the land is severed?"