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1. Arthritis


Flickr / Riza Nugraha

Soak golden raisins in gin overnight (or however long it takes for them to soak it all up) and eat 10 a day. Don’t worry, you won’t get drunk, but the vitamins in the grapes and the anti-inflammatory effects from the gin’s juniper berries will help bring swelling down and ease your pain.

11 Bizarre Home Remedies Our Grandparents Taught Us That Actually Work

Jessica Catcher

When I was a little girl, probably only about 3 or 4 years old, I had the unfortunate luck of getting bitten by a nasty spider. Thankfully, the critter wasn’t anything too awful that I had to be rushed to the hospital, but it sure wasn’t fun.

But to tell you the truth, I quickly forgot all about the pain, and to this day only remember one thing: the strange home remedy my mom used, which she learned from her mom, to make the swelling go down and get me back in better spirits.

It might sound strange, but I can tell you firsthand that slicing up a raw potato and wrapping an Ace bandage around the affected area really does the trick! After sleeping with it on all night, I woke up to a barely noticeable and pain-free bump.

Take a look below to see even more amazing at-home cures for common afflictions!

Skin Changes

We’ve all heard that we ought to regularly check our moles and watch for changes in shape, size or texture, but there are other skin changes to look out for. Scaling, peeling or bleeding skin, or mouth sores, for example, can be cancer symptoms.

http://www.reinventingaging.org/

Fatigue

Fatigue is hard to pinpoint. It could be a sign of many illnesses, or simply a case of being overtired. However, if you are constantly tired, even when you are getting plenty of rest, then you should see a medical professional.

Dark Vertical Stripes Along The Nail

Fingernails can reveal some of the most dreaded diseases, some of which can be fatal if they are not diagnosed in the beginning stages. Dark vertical stripes along the nail is one of the most obvious and dangerous warning signals your fingernails can send, and the medical term for this condition is actually “linear melanochia”. Unfortunately, many people choose to overlook these dark stripes that emerge along their nails. Why… because it does not cause them any pain. But this can actually indicate a form of skin cancer that affects only the nail bed, known as “Subungal Melanoma”.

Sores That Do Not Heal

Skin cancers may bleed and look like sores that don’t heal. A long-lasting sore in the mouth could be an oral cancer. This should be dealt with right away, especially in people who smoke, chew tobacco, or often drink alcohol.

Bloating

Most women write off bloat as a symptom of menstruation, overeating, or just “having a fat day.” But frequent bloating could indicate ovarian cancer, which is sometimes referred to as a “silent killer” because of its vague cancer symptoms.

Irregular Bleeding

Blood in your urine or stool, or even bleeding from a cut or scrape that doesn’t clot, could be a sign of something wrong. If you’re bleeding excessively or from somewhere that doesn’t seem right, then it is best to see a doctor.

Breast Changes

Thanks to the media, these days, we are generally wise to the fact that a lump in the breast is something to get checked out, but swelling, redness, nipple changes or other breast abnormalities could all be early warning signs.

7 Unusual Cancer Warning Signs Women Shouldn’t Ignore

Most women know that regular pap smears and mammograms are important, but what many do not know is that recognizing cancer symptoms and warning signs could be just as key in early detection. And catching it early could quite literally save your life.

Sure, sometimes, a headache is just a headache, and a birthmark is just a birthmark, but knowing your body and recognizing changes can be crucial in identifying certain cancers. Before you become completely paranoid, read on for 10 possible warning signs that you as a woman shouldn’t ignore…

thanks, lol. i know how that feels. the last time i experienced a strong earthquake here, i thought i was going through a heart attack.

The upshot is that while undercutting Wahhabism and the practice of takfir are good things, they’re being pursued here by Putin for the most self-interested of reasons -- and against U.S. interests.

It would be nice to separate theology from politics, and embrace the Grozny conference’s version of the former while being skeptical of the latter. But when it comes to the Middle East today, that division is almost impossible.

1. One report says that Hatem al-Awni, a well-regarded scholar who teaches at the Saudi university Umm al-Qura, was invited. It’s unclear whether he attended; but in any case he has been a critic of what he calls “fanaticism in Wahhabi thought” in recent years.

2. Ashari and Maturidi.

3. Specifying four schools implicitly excludes the fifth, Jafari school of legal thought adhered to by most Shiites.

4. Muhammad Ibn Abd al-Wahhab may not himself have been wholly anti-Sufi, according to the scholar Natana J. Delong-Bas, “Wahhabi Islam” (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004), 83-84.

https://www.bloomberg.com/

Yet the Grozny conference can’t be taken as a cause for celebration. Kadyrov, the Chechen host, is a protege of Putin, who is himself following the thinking of his KGB mentor, the Middle East specialist Yevgeny Primakov. Putin is in the midst of a carefully calibrated, stepwise effort to re-establish Russian influence in the Middle East.

In Putin’s geostrategic vision, Saudi Arabia remains the crucial U.S. ally in the region. Putin isn’t content to be allied only with Alawite Syria and Shiite Iran. He’d like to make inroads among Sunni Muslims as well.

Criticizing Saudi exclusivism is a way for Putin to try to weaken Saudi Arabia’s regional influence -- while enhancing his own. Egypt and the Sheikh of Al-Azhar are tools to use in pursuit of the goal.

Muhammad Ibn Abd al-Wahhab, the eponymous father of Wahhabism, was notorious for excluding other Muslims from the reach of Islam. His followers burned Shiite shrines and destroyed grave sites that were part of ancient pilgrimage routes. In important ways, contemporary iconoclasts like Islamic State are followers of this aspect of Wahhabi teaching.

So there’s a wonderful irony to the idea that Saudis are afraid of being defined as heretics and made subject to a Muslim witch hunt.

The Muslim world badly needs a more inclusive, capacious set of answers to the question, “What is Islam?” as argued by the late scholar Shahab Ahmed.

According to some reports, el-Tayeb went further, asserting that Salafis and Wahhabis aren’t Sunnis at all. I highly doubt that he would have said either of these things, because they are not consistent with most reports of his statement. And King Salman of Saudi Arabia met el-Tayeb in April at Al-Azhar.

Much more likely, el-Tayeb simply repudiated Islamic State’s jihadism and criticized the practice of declaring other Muslims to be infidels, known as takfir.

But what really matters is that some Saudis reacted as though el-Tayeb had excluded them from the category of Sunni. One prominent Saudi imam said that “the Chechen conference should serve as a wake-up call: The world is getting ready to burn us.”

The punchline of the event was el-Tayeb’s proffered definition of a Sunni Muslim. Sunnis are by their own account, “the people of the Tradition (sunna) and Consensus.” El-Tayeb said this group included Muslims who adhered to either of two schools of theology and to any of four schools of legal thought and to Sufis of the mainstream orders.

The first two parts of the definition aren’t problematic for Saudi Arabia. The kingdom is officially committed to a theology and a school of legal thought that fall within el-Tayeb’s definition.

The inclusion of Sufis, however, was a rebuke to the Saudis, who are typically anti-Sufi, considering its mystical aspects as containing elements of prohibited “innovation.” El-Tayeb is descended from a long line of Sufis, and many Chechen Muslims, including Kadyrov himself, belong to Sufi brotherhoods.

The Geopolitics of Deciding Who Is Sunni

5SEP 25, 2016

By Noah Feldman

It’s delicious to watch the Saudi outrage at being excluded from a conference in Chechnya to define who counts as a Sunni Muslim. Wahhabism, the Sunni offshoot that dominates Saudi Arabia, has done more than any other movement in Islamic history to read other Muslims out of the faith, and turnabout is fair play. Unfortunately, the conference, organized by Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov, is actually part of Russian President Vladimir Putin's fiendishly clever plan to weaken Saudi Arabia, a U.S. ally. The entire episode shows how ideologically vulnerable the Saudis feel in the age of Islamic State -- and how good Putin is at affecting Middle Eastern politics.


INTERNATIONAL ALLIANCES AT PLAY. PHOTOGRAPHER: CHRIS MCGRATH/GETTY IMAGES

The conference, which took place in the Chechen capital of Grozny in late August, was notable as much for who wasn’t invited as for who was. More than 100 Sunni clerics attended -- but none from Saudi Arabia.

Ahmed el-Tayeb, the state-appointed grand imam of the Al-Azhar University in Cairo, was the event’s headliner. Although it has declined in recent decades, Al-Azhar was for centuries considered the most influential Sunni scholarly institution. Its head, known as the Sheikh of Al-Azhar, is by job description alone a major figure in the Sunni world.

the list, again:

Die Zhuang Jasmine Perfume Air Freshener (470ml green pressurized can)

Die Zhuang Lemon Perfume Air Freshener (470ml yellow pressurized can)

Stick On Car Air Freshener Lavender (35g plastic jar)

Wanjia Air Freshener Lemon (2×60g yellow plastic jar enclosed in cardboard packaging material)

Wanjia Air Freshener Jasmine (60g plastic jar with green cap)

Wanjia Air Freshener Lavender (60g purple plastic jar)

are these all chinese products?

It ordered its field regulatory operations officers to seize these products as it advised the public not to buy items which do not come with instructions either in English or in local dialects such as Tagalog, Cebuano and Ilokano.

“The product label should contain the name and place of business of the manufacturer, packer, distributor, the common or chemical name, the word “danger” for products that are extremely flammable, corrosive or highly toxic, and the words “warning” or “caution” for other hazardous substances,” the FDA said.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/

FDA: 6 air fresheners may be bad for your health

By: Tina G. Santos
Philippine Daily Inquirer
September 26th, 2016
 
THE FOOD and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a warning against six air fresheners being sold in the market, saying these may be hazardous to health.

In an advisory, the FDA said the products violated Administrative Order No. 311 issued in 1977, or the Labeling Requirements of Hazardous Substances.

The FDA identified the products as Die Zhuang Jasmine Perfume Air Freshener (470ml green pressurized can), Die Zhuang Lemon Perfume Air Freshener (470ml yellow pressurized can), Stick On Car Air Freshener Lavender (35g plastic jar), Wanjia Air Freshener Lemon (2×60g yellow plastic jar enclosed in cardboard packaging material), Wanjia Air Freshener Jasmine (60g plastic jar with green cap), and Wanjia Air Freshener Lavender (60g purple plastic jar).

obviously, the phrase need not be taken literally.

ISRAEL, which the jews (may) believe is the land of milk and honey, is also a land of territorial disputes and bullets

USA, which many believe is the land of milk and honey, has cows that need to be herded, tended and milked, and honey is extracted and harvested at the risk of being stung by bees

land of milk and honey

-an imaginary place where there is more than enough of everything

Etymology: from the Bible story in which the Lord promises to bring the Israelites out of Egypt and into a land flowing with milk and honey

as in everywhere, there's the underbelly. those who live in gated tony neighborhoods in makati, including expats who can afford the six-figure rents cannot imagine the philippines as anything but because they never set foot in esteros.

no damage i hope, loll?

we better put our act together because vietnam is fast catching up with us in economic terms. in asean, we're more or less in the middle, after indonesia and before vietnam. vietnam may overtake us soon.

whew! the title scared me a bit, knowing cats are experimented on by pre-med students. here are hopes that they use the computer soon. they don't have to kill cats to know human body parts, huh?

sick, sick, sick. never had i been so angry over bad news. 100 years? worse than a death penalty.

you're glad they came along, and now you dedicate this song of a blog... i feel your joy!

never had i come across a better read to describe our nation.

I prefer to see democracy as a process rather than a product; the aspiration can be as powerful as its actualization. This democracy is first formed by its assertion: by seeking democracy, we begin to achieve it, and this assertion is the task of our artists, writers, thinkers, teachers, and opinion makers, the imaginative shapers of our national identity.

The chatter of Filipino voices may sound like conflict or confusion to others, but I like to think that it’s the hallmark of a society where people have not stopped asking questions and seeking answers, as we encourage our students to doâ€"the best environment for education that we can hope for.

Thank you all for your attention.

-from facebook

We need nothing less than a new cultural revolution leading to our own understanding and acceptance of what it means to be a Filipino in this globalized world. We have to agree on who we are, what we want, and how to get what we wantâ€"and achieving that agreement is the task of culture.

Forging that identity is crucial to securing our future, again in a world and in a part of the world where our neighbors seem to have very clear ideas about their roles and capabilities. In this ocean of resurgent nationalisms, we Filipinos need to redefine ourselves as more than America’s students and surrogates. And again, it will likely be the educated Filipino, steeped in political and cultural discourse, who will lead in this enterprise.

In 2010â€"the last year for which I have solid figuresâ€"copyright-based industries or CBIs contributed more than $14 billion to the economy, according to the Intellectual Property Organization of the Philippines, over 7% of GDP for that year. Indeed, cultural talent has become one of our major exports. In an article I’m writing for Esquire magazine, I point to the fact that the animation industry in the USâ€"Pixar, for exampleâ€"is dominated by Filipinos, who also figure very prominently in the booming comics industry, at Marvel and DC. The Emmy award-winning animator of “The Simpsons” was a Filipino, an alumnus of our university. Clearly this is where we’ve taken advantage of our experience and position at the nexus of East and West, of tradition and technology. (I should also add that Filipino scientists and engineers have made key global breakthroughs in areas as diverse as graphics accelerators and microbial cellulose.)

But beyond the bottom line, of course, culture is a powerful instrument of social and political reform and modernization. Considering the contradictions and the gaps I mentioned earlier, culture can do much to bridge the divides, to forge and sustain a set of core values, of national interests that cut across family, class, and region.

We can see how this will happen. Tax reforms and increased spending on education, health, and infrastructure will grow the economy further in the coming years. The key will be consistency of policy and sustained implementation, political unity and will (admittedly not the easiest thing to achieve), and the willingness to adapt and to invest. In education, to align ourselves more closely with the rest of the world, we have adopted a K-12 program and even adjusted our academic calendar. Bucking decades of neglect, the government has also begun to invest massively in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education and research, particularly through the National Science Complex in my university.

But I’d like to draw special attention to one of my pet concerns: the emergence of what have been called the creative industries, which embrace a wide array of subsectors including advertising, animation, architecture, broadcast arts, crafts, culinary arts, cultural/heritage activities, design, film, literature, music, new media, performing arts, publishing, and visual arts. These are areas which tap into centuries of cultural talent and expressiveness in the Filipino, adapted to the digital and global age.

We value family and kinship very highly, but it’s that same love of family that has impelled millions of Filipinos to seek jobs abroadâ€"a temporary separation that sends home $30 billion a year. These remittances by our overseas workers remain the strongest driver of the Philippine economy. Not far behind is our BPO industryâ€"our call centers and back-office operationsâ€"which generated $22 billion in 2015 and directly employed 1.1 million Filipinos, among the best performances in the world. That draws directly on our colonial legacy of English-speaking education, which we never really abandoned despite the upsurge of nationalist sentiment.

As our economists have noted, these two factors have had tremendous multiplier effects, driving consumption expenditure and commercial and housing construction. Foreign direct investment is at a decade-long high, buoyed by the previous administration’s strong stance against corruption. A 2012 study by HSBC predicted that by 2050, the Philippines shall have risen 27 places to become the world’s 16th largest economy. According to that report, “The star performer [in the region] is the Philippines where the combination of strong fundamentals and powerful demographics gives rise to an average growth rate of 7% for the coming 40 years.”

On this note, from the things that have held us back, I’d like to move on to some of the things that are helping us move forward.

As I mentioned at the outset of this talk, the Philippines is full of sharp and often perplexing contradictions. But we have also managed to make many of those contradictions work to our strategic benefit.

Our Communist Partiesâ€"theoretically led by a vanguard of workers and peasantsâ€"have in fact been led by the middle class. The millions who massed on the streets and ousted the dictator Marcos in 1986 were predominantly middle class. In the aftermath of EDSA, as that event was called, the Philippines, with its newly reclaimed democratic space, became the seedbed for tens of thousands of NGOs that now form the core of one of the world’s strongest representations of civil society.

This is one of the bright spots of Philippine society todayâ€"the fact that civil society is very much alive, constantly on guard against governmental corruption or corporate wrongdoing, ever ready to uphold the rights of ordinary citizens and communities, and firmly rooted in those communities.

At this point I should note that one out of every ten Filipinos now lives and works abroadâ€"about three million in the US aloneâ€"in a decades-long diaspora that has kept the Philippine economy afloat through remittances amounting to about $30 billion in 2015. But they bring home not only money but new ideas, and I feel confident that, in the long run and for all its social costs, this diaspora will have salutary effects because that domestic helper in Milan or mechanic in Bahrain will no longer be simply a domestic helper or mechanic when they come home. Tourists bring home snapshots of pretty places and exotic food; foreign workers bring home real learning, lessons in survival and getting ahead, and raised expectations of their local and national leaders.

This exposure to global culture and its elevation of local aspirations will, I believe, be the one of the strongest forces in reshaping the Filipino future. And again, it is the middle classâ€"the denizens of the Internet and the Ulysses of this new centuryâ€"that will lead in this transformation, just as they have led the most important movements for political and social reform in our history.

We obviously cannot achieve political reform without achieving a better balance in our economic and social structure, and here I see the best hope for true democracy in the Philippines in the form of our enlarging, educated middle class. They may not yet have the economic and political clout of the elite, but coming from the poor and aspiring to become more prosperous, they have the most at stake in creating a new regime of opportunity and openness.

It is the middle class that has served as the voice of Philippine democracy, primed by its education to value freedom of thought and expression. It is the middle class that stands at the vanguard of modernization, having not just the desire but also the meansâ€"through education and entrepreneurshipâ€"to change the future. It is the middle classâ€"especially in the Philippinesâ€"that goes out in the world, works there, learns from the experience, and comes home with raised expectations.

Indeed, economically and politically, the Philippines has been largely ruled for more than a century by an elite, a roomful of families from the landed gentry and comprador capitalists who developed their wealth and power as agents and executors of colonization, and have taken turns at governing the country well into the present, with the quiet support of the postwar taipans. In that sense, our new President represents the counter-elite, which likely accounts for his popularity, but only time will tell if he and his family will join other budding dynasties in a new elite shaped less by election spending than by name recognition in the traditional and social media.

Philippine politics today can only be described as atrociously dynastic, with the members of one or two families alternating for political control of provinces, towns, and cities; in many places, we don’t have a two-party system, but a two-family system. Political parties do exist in the Philippines, but they’re largely flags of convenience, ideologically indistinguishable from one another, except for what remains of the old Left, which has now allied itself with the present administration. Not surprisingly, the judicial branch of government has been subject to the same pressures of power and patronage, which can trump the rule of law.

The word, of course, is inherently complicated, with variations of meaning throughout history and across political systems, from definitions that insist on the rule of the majority to others that emphasize the presence and promotion of alternatives to the prevailing regime.

It’s been suggested that what obtains in the Philippines today is a semblance or simulacrum of democracy, but not the thing itself. It’s an attractive proposition, but I can’t buy it wholesale, again because most Filipinos enjoy fundamental rights and freedoms absent in patently undemocratic societiesâ€"freedom of expression, of religious belief, of association, of mobility, of enterprise; the right to vote, and a presumptive equality under the law, which is probably the weakest leg our democracy stands on, undermined by gross economic and social inequalities in our society. Those inequalitiesâ€"which we can oversimplify by saying that 10 percent of everyone own 90 percent of everythingâ€"are the single most important factor defining the Philippines and its future today, and lends some credence to the argument that Philippine democracy is a democracy of style and spirit rather than one of substance.

Many Americans liked to believe that they had succeeded in parenting a bright young child halfway around the world; as late as 2003, George Bush was still holding up the Philippines as a model for what America was seeking to achieve in the Middle East, as a project in “liberation” and “democracy.”

And here we have to pause and wonder exactly what kind of democracy we have in the Philippines, and what needs to be done to achieve a fuller sense of the word.

In other words, we began seeing ourselves as having been created or recreated in America’s own image, and as a showcase of American-style democracy in what was called the Far East. We made Douglas MacArthur a Field Marshal, and allied ourselves squarely with the US in the First and Second World Wars, in Korea, and in Vietnam. We hosted two major military basesâ€"Subic Naval Base and Clark Air Force Baseâ€"which became linchpins of American defense policy in the Pacific, especially during the Vietnam War, until they were forced to leave in 1991 by a vote of the Philippine Senate.

America, of course, cherished its special partnership with the Philippines, for obvious economic and political reasons. Under the guise of free trade, we became a major source of raw materials and a market for US goods, and our location marked us as a strategic outpost overlooking China and Japan.

I don't mean to provide the whole history of Philippine-American relations here, but I raise these points to highlight the modeling and the patterning that marked the period of American colonial occupation, formally from 1898 to 1946, but with an influence that extends well into the present.

Over much of that period, whatever was Americanâ€"the term we used was “Stateside”â€"was deemed to be superior. Not only did we switch to English and largely forget Spanish within a couple of generations; aside from American fashions, we adopted American jurisprudence, and were given a Supreme Court which wasn’t supreme enough, because its decisions could be appealed before the US Supreme Court in Washington. We were given a bicameral legislature, with a Senate and a National Assembly that was the equivalent of Congress. We learned about and launched national political parties, and threw ourselves with gusto into the electoral process. The Philippine press became as active and as raucous as its American counterpart.

Public education in English was given special attention; the military governor, Gen. Arthur MacArthur, the father of Douglas, himself ordered the funding of schools as “an adjunct to military operations.”

Within a decade of American occupation, Filipinos were studying and publishing in America; the first known literary publication by Filipinos in English was a magazine put out by Filipino students in Berkeley in 1905. At home, the University of the Philippinesâ€"my universityâ€"was established in 1908, modeled in some ways after schools like Harvard and Michigan, with a strong emphasis on liberal education.

In other venues and especially in the US, I’ve often begun my presentations on the Philippines with this simple statement: “We were your first Vietnam.” And indeed we were. That complicated relationship began with a war of resistance that for the longest time was known only as the Philippine Insurrection, despite the fact that 20,000 Filipino soldiers and 200,000 civilians died in it, against just over 4,000 American deaths. Only in 1999 did the Library of Congress finally rename its Philippine Insurgent Records to the Philippine-American War.

The Muslims never did give in to Gen. John J. Pershing and his men. The Filipino Muslims led such fearsome charges that, according to contemporary American accounts, the US Army was forced to upgrade to the Colt .45 in 1902 for its stopping power. But most of the rest of us did, and it didn’t take too long before we fell in love with English, with Hollywood, and, inevitably, with that newfangled concept, democracy. This change of mind and heart was achieved not by the bullet but by the book.

When President William McKinley supposedly fell to his knees in 1900 to beg the Almighty for divine guidance about what do with the Philippine Islands, the Lord must have been in a wicked mood. According to McKinley, God whispered to him to “take them all, and to educate the Filipinos, and uplift and civilize and Christianize them.”

Today, more than a hundred years later, it’s clear that McKinleyâ€"or the Almightyâ€"had no idea what America was getting into.

Our ruling class saw Spain as the Mother Country and sought representation in the Spanish parliament, but Spain would have none of it, and so revolution became inevitable, with generals and ministers from the landed gentry leading battalions of the poor. Just when we were about to win our freedom in 1898, another invader stepped in to snatch it away. This was none other than the United States, which had gone to war with Spain, and which was therefore claiming the Philippines as collateral damage. Commodore George Dewey sailed out of Hong Kong with his Asiatic Squadron and easily overwhelmed a small and decrepit Spanish fleet in Manila Bay. The Spaniards surrendered and left, picking up a check for $20 million at the Treaty of Paris before handing over the Philippines to America.

And so began our next colonial adventureâ€"not even 50 years long, but no less indelible, and perhaps even culturally and politically more powerful, than all those centuries of Spanish domination.

What this all means is a recipe for cultural and political fragmentation, along regional and linguistic and perhaps even generational lines, a fragmentation exacerbated by centuries of colonial rule, which should have brought us together as a people, but rather estranged us from one another even as we broke free of our colonizersâ€"the rich from the poor, the north from the south, the Christian from the Muslim, the old from the young. The most important divisor, of course, is class, which cuts across everything else.

This brings to us our history, which has also been described, only half in jest, as having spent “350 years in a convent and 50 years in Hollywood.” When Ferdinand Magellan came to the Philippinesâ€"not yet so namedâ€"in 1521, he discovered a thriving society actively trading with its neighbors, with its own language and literature, and its own culture. He also met the sharp end of Chief Lapulapu’s sword. But we soon took to Roman Catholicism, and it was an embrace not only of a new God but of a mindset steeped in the virtues of suffering on earth for the rewards of heaven.

These contrasts are, of course, hardly unique to the Philippines in today’s globalized world, where traditional societies have been overlaid with growing patches of modernity and the mindsets that come with exposure to foreign shores. What distinguishes the Philippines is its cultural and political position as a gateway between East and West, a position asserted in its longstanding claimâ€"often made as a boastâ€"of being the “only predominantly Christian English-speaking country in Asia.” This, as we shall see, has upsides and downsides.

The Philippines is a country of over 100 million people. At 300,000 square kilometers, the Philippines is just about as large as Arizona or Germany; but unlike either, it’s an archipelago of over 7,000 islands, or three main island groups, broken down further into 17 administrative regions and 81 provinces. By one count, we have around 175 languages, with English and Tagalog, which forms the core of Filipino, the national language, widely spoken throughout the country. More than 80 percent of Filipinos are at least nominally Roman Catholic; about 5 percent are Muslim. There are also over a hundred indigenous groups struggling to preserve their culture and heritage against the onslaught of Manila and Hollywood. As of 2014, more than halfâ€"53%â€"of our population was below 25 years old.

By most reports, the Philippines is one of Asia’s brightest economic spots, with GDP growth averaging about 5 percent over the past decade, and even hitting 7.2% in 2013 despite the ravages of super-typhoon Haiyan; that growth rate stood at a pacesetting 7.0% this first half of 2016. And yet many millions of Filipinos continue be left behind by this growth surge, with about a fourth of the population remaining below the $2-per-day poverty line as of 2012. Within minutes, one can move from the poshest gated villages to the most squalid slums and from industrial zone to pristine farmland.

This is a country with one foot in the 19th century and yet another squarely in the 21st; about 22 million or a fifth of our population still live without electricity, but the Philippines has also been called the texting capital of the world, peaking at about 400 million SMS messages sent every dayâ€"four for every Filipinoâ€"or over 140 billion text messages a year. Just last year I saw a chart reporting that Filipinos are among the world’s heaviest users of the Internet, averaging 6 hours a day, most of it on mobile social media, where we ranked No. 2.

We respect our eldersâ€"senior citizenship in the Philippines has many pecuniary and honorific privilegesâ€"but we will not automatically defer to their judgment. Academic mentors are highly valued but not deified, and any kind of authorityâ€"government, Church, military, academicâ€"has had to face a longstanding tradition of protest and resistance.

Anyone who has been here will remark how easily our people smile, even and especially in the most difficult and awkward of circumstances. This is a country periodically ravaged by both natural and man-made disasters, with infernal traffic in Manila, whose international airport is reputedly among the most vexatious in the world, and a political system best described as feudal. And yet again, this is a country of the most resourceful and resilient people, a country blessed with such natural bounty and beauty that one wag once described it as “a rich country pretending to be poor.”

I’ll begin on what might sound like an unseasonably disconcerting noteâ€"we Filipinos have a penchant for self-flagellationâ€"but no worries, this will end well, as should the story of the Philippines itself. Let me open with the proposition that to understand the Philippines is to accept it as a nation of stark contrasts and contradictions.

For example, there’s freedom of expression aplenty in the Philippines, a freedom we’re told we often mistake for democracy itself. This is a society practically with no taboos, no sacred cows, and very little fear of authority, having had centuries of experience in dealing with colonizers, dictators, and despots. We have one of the freest presses in the world, amplified by totally unregulated social media. The flip side of all this is that, by some accounts, this is also one of the most dangerous and deadliest places in the world, after Iraq and Syria, for journalists (but hardly ever novelists and poetsâ€"I think oppressors prefer nonfiction, as no Filipino novelist has been shot for his beliefs since the Spanish executed Jose Rizal in 1896).

So this morning, at some risk of exaggeration, I’ll embark on a sharply angled view of Philippine affairs, and I hope you’ll pardon me if I make one too many references to the United States, as this talk taps into a paper I delivered last year on Philippine democracy and modernization as a Pacific Leadership Fellow at the University of California, San Diego.

Who, exactly, are we Filipinos? Two years ago, a Gallup poll revealed that Filipinos were the most emotional people on the planet. We laugh and we cry with equal facilityâ€"so don’t be too surprised if this talk descends from the sublime to the ridiculous within a paragraph of each other.

a very, very interesting read...

UNDERSTANDING THE PHILIPPINES
Dr. Jose Dalisay Jr.

(Delivered during the 14th Association of Pacific Rim Universities Senior Staff Meeting at the Crimson Hotel and Spa Mactan, Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu, Sept. 7, 2016)

Good morning, and a very pleasant welcome to all of you to the Philippines and to this historic island of Mactan, the site of a fateful (and, for some adventurers such as Ferdinand Magellan) a fatal encounter between East and West nearly 600 years ago.

I’ve been given the formidable assignment of helping you understand the Philippines todayâ€"something that I’m not entirely certain I do, myself. I could give you the safe Wikipedia version of contemporary Philippine history and politics, or alternatively the even safer Department of Tourism spiel. But I should forewarn you that on top of being an academic, I’m a creative writerâ€"a weaver of tales and fablesâ€"and as all governments and administrators know, creative writers can never be trusted with safe versions of the truth.

Other Tips and Tricks

You can help ease your way into better sleep with a few other tricks from Health and Huffington Post:

- Keep a sleep log. Make a note of how much caffeine you drink during the day (and when), how much exercise you get, what you eat and when you go to bed and wake up. You may be able to spot correlations (like too much caffeine before bed) and adjust accordingly.

- Keep it cool. Turn the temperature down. Many people fall asleep faster if their rooms are colder. Try setting your thermometer to 65 degrees F (about 18 degrees C) or snag a cooling mattress.

- If you can't fall asleep, get up and move for a few minutes. Sometimes the anxiety of not being able to fall asleep makes it harder to fall asleep. Skip the TV and phone, though; the bright screens could keep you awake.

- Turn on quiet music. Keep the music slow and quiet. Listening to classical music an hour before bedtime can make it easier to fall asleep (whether it's from boredom or relaxation, the outcome is the same).

Note: If you suffer from chronic sleep deprivation, you should speak with a medical professional, as it could be a symptom of something more serious.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gz4G31LGyog

http://remedydaily.com/

Close your mouth and breathe in through your nose for a count of 4. Hold your breath for a count of 7 and then blow all of the air out through your mouth forcefully for a count of 8 (you should make a whooshing sound when breathing out). Repeat for four cycles.

Dr. Andrew Weil recommends doing this at least twice a day for only four breath cycles each. After the first month or so, you can increase to eight breath cycles each session.

"After two months, three months of regular practice, there are very significant changes that happen with the physiology. This lowers heart rate, it lowers blood pressure, improves digestion," Weil says.

How to use the 4-7-8 technique to fall asleep in minutes

Angela Brown
Contributing Writer


REMEDY DAILY

If you aren't getting enough sleep at night, chances are other areas of your life are taking a hit too. Sleep deprivation has been linked to weight gain, slower brain activity and a weaker immune system, according to Healthline. The site also reports that regularly getting less than five hours of sleep per night increases health risks by 15 percent.

Many people have a difficult time falling asleep at night. Whether you're stressed about work, bills or family or your body just won't shut down, you may be able to get some relief with this breathing technique.

The simple breathing routine is called the "4-7-8" technique.
To start, touch the tip of your tongue to the roof of your mouth (and try to keep it there the entire time). Then, breathe out, completely emptying your lungs.

To help out the Malacañang bright boys, here is a selection of mild explosions that the “Bossing” can use as substitutes for his favorite but widely unappreciated p**tangina:

Nampucha, anak ng bakang dalaga, tinamaan ng kulog, anak ng pating, lekat, putragis, anak ng tinapa, lintik,  pinukpok na itlog, gardemet, che-let, lastima…

There are many more cusswords not unkind to the ears that we can add to this selection if we mine Ilocano, Bisaya and other Philippine languages and dialects. But I leave this chore to Digong’s image-makers, assuming they are serious about finding ways to make his colorful speeches startle-free, or which will send no one to paroxysms of vexation, just, at the very least, a cruise to a soft landing.

Mart del Rosario (martdelrosario@yahoo.com) is a retired advertising-PR consultant.

http://opinion.inquirer.net/

It’s futile to lead the “Bossing” to abandon his cussing habit. But we all know this is a disagreeable habit that hurts his presidential stature and can cause relationship complications in many areas of national concernâ€"business, diplomacy, etc. So is there a solution? There is. It’s simple, and it’s a small wonder why no one in the Presidential Communications Group has made an attempt to memo the President about it.

The solution is: Insert in Digong’s lexicon an array of invectives he can choose from, which you can listen to with half-open ears, print forward and in reverse, take out of contextâ€"yet will not make you or anyone else wince or feel sick.

The suggestion that Digong’s communications boys be equipped with super-duper adeptness and facility to “explain, translate and clarify” certain statements of his, especially those that are at the very least impolite and at the very most gross and offensive, is well taken. But this prescription does not cure the illness or solve the problem that their boss’ insults, demeaning words and cussing create. Because when you bellow “son of a bitch!” especially at a person, you can “explain, translate and clarify” till the cows come home and still the stink of the remark will remain and offend.

Is it really too late to change Digong’s style of expressing his thoughts by cleansing it of jolting cusswords? Of course not. What’s too late, and of faulty thinking, is to assume that in trying to convert his negative, tough-talking image into the positive image of a charming and tactful man, the way to go is make him talk out of character, mangle the English language perhaps, like what Erap did, and be mistaken for a buffoon. Anyone out there who’s got gumption enough to dare suggest this option to Digong?

A sometime PR manâ€"okay, guru, as some fans want to label himâ€"says it’s too late for any effort to reverse the image of a waterfront toughie that Digong is projecting.

Instead of tinkering with his foul-talking habit, which even the husband of Michelle recognized is ensconced in Digong’s DNA, the guru suggests that his spokespersons, both the appointed ones and the plain kibitzers, undergo crash training in the basic techniques of clearing up the rubble and debris left in the wake of another “colorful” speech by their man.

Well, that’s all water under the bridge now. Like what most poets and preachers say, a word, especially bad or ear-grating, cannot be recalled once it leaves your mouth. The best thing that can be done about the bad situation it creates is to bear it as best as you can and not make it any worse through panicky, damage-control efforts, such as making lame justifications and excuses and cop-outs for the faux pas, like the Malacañang rah-rah boys are doing. The other best thing is to work out a formulaâ€"a strategy, if you mayâ€"that something like this unhappy episode will not happen again.

How can we ensure that Digong does not anymore diminish our race by spouting expressions so utterly vulgar that they cannot be mistaken as to come from any other source but an uncouth and ill-mannered people just dropped from the trees? It looks like there is no way you can break his habit of lacing his impromptu, and even formal, speeches and asides with p**tngina  and other bleeps.

COMMENTARY

What ‘Bossing’ needs are new cusswords

By: Mart del Rosario
Philippine Daily Inquirer
September 23rd, 2016
 
For heaping on what the husband of Michelle calls “colorful words,” Digong threw away the opportunity for the hard-to-obtain, most-sought-after privilege of many heads of state: a power tête-à-tête with the commander in chief of the most powerful nation on earth.

P**angina, anyare? How could Digong be so careless with his mouth, uh, vocabulary, when any unfortunate thing he spews out would surely reverberate all over the planet and produce diplomatic complications?

“Thankfully there was no puppy drama, no accidents, and no dresses harmed in the making of the photos,” Logan said.

When the photos are done, the dogs can be taken away to a more comfortable, appropriate location while the humans go about their partying. “It’s kind of hard to have a dance party with a dog â€" although I’ve done it,” Olsen said.

If you’d like a pup or a grown-up dog of your own â€" for much more than a photo shoot â€" Pitties Love Peace is accepting adoption applications.

https://www.yahoo.com/

Should you decide to hop aboard this adorable trend, it’s wise to heed the advice of event planner Brita Olsen and consider the dog’s temperament. “If you have a dog that jumps up on the table, you shouldn’t bring it to your wedding,” she told Yahoo Style. “The dogs that do the best are the ones that are able to just sit at your feet and hang out and just stay close. If you worry about your dog running off, you shouldn’t even consider it.”

That’s actually why using puppies just for a separate photo shoot works well.

“While photographing six rambunctious puppies definitely brought an added challenge, it also caused the bridal party to be more at ease,” photographer Caroline Logan told Yahoo Style. “Having something to divert attention from that uncomfortable, ‘Oh my goodness, I’m getting my picture taken … what do I do with my hands?!’ feeling to pure puppy bliss made for relaxed photos where the bridal party was able to focus on interacting with the fun-loving puppies as I documented it all unfold.”


Photo: Caroline Logan Photography

In July, Shahr Nouraini and Peter Rushton, a couple who wed in Mexico, had the chance to “hire” local rescue dogs to film their wedding with GoPro cameras.

“Our guests absolutely loved the dogs, and a few have even said they would like to integrate something similar into their own weddings,” Nouraini said on her photographer’s blog.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbgfwxnE8UU

In September, bride Sarah Malouk Crain organized one of the cutest wedding shoots on record. The trainer and board member of Pitties Love Peace in central Pennsylvania asked her bridesmaids to set aside their bouquets and pick up an 8-week-old coon-hound-boxer pup. The puppies â€" named after first ladies Martha, Abigail, Dolley, Elizabeth, and Louisa â€" had been raised at Pitties Love Peace since they were a week old, according to the Dodo. Crain herself held a 9-week-old pit bull pup from Brooklyn appropriately named Biggie Smalls. The groomsmen also got a turn, because how could they not?


Photo: Caroline Logan Photography

“My days are spent rescuing, training, or rehabilitating dogs, so it only seemed fitting that I needed to include some on our big day,” Crain told the Huffington Post.

Not only did she bring extra attention to the shelter dogs in need of a home, but she also got some amazing photos out of the deal.

Shelter Puppies Are the Best ‘Bouquets’ for This Bridal Party

Sabrina Rojas Weiss
21 September 2016


Photo: Caroline Logan Photography

Dogs are becoming frequent features at weddings, as couples decide they need to feature these important family members in the celebration of their union. But recently we’ve also seen some couples incorporate animals that don’t even belong to them into the party. This is not just because they’re some cute must-have accessory, mind you, but because the couples wanted to help shelter dogs find their forever homes.

FIDH and its member organization Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates (PAHRA) provided a comprehensive briefer prior to the vote. The resolution echoes their concerns and recommendations, namely to guarantee protection for human rights defenders, trade unionists, and journalists. The resolution also condemns any proposal to reintroduce the death penalty and urges the EU to use all available instruments to assist the the Philippine government in respecting its international human rights obligations, notably through the Framework Agreement.

https://www.fidh.org/

The resolution calls for the launch of an immediate investigation into the reports of extra-judicial killings and urges the authorities to ensure respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with international human rights standards and international instruments ratified by the Philippines. It further calls on the authorities to set-up a national mechanism for the prevention of torture and ratify without delay the Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance and criminalize enforced disappearances and extrajudicial executions in its national legislation.

European Parliament votes urgency resolution on the Philippines

20/09/2016
IMPACT
European Union



(Brussels, September 20, 2016) The European Parliament resolution, adopted on 15 September 2016, condemns the current spree of extrajudicial killings by vigilantes and in police operations linked to the high-profile anti-drug campaign sponsored by President Rodrigo Duterte.

While these symptoms are all useful in predicting a future heart attack, getting the help you need is also vital for protecting yourself. Leading a more healthy, low-stress lifestyle is also extremely helpful for keeping heart attacks at bay. Hopefully, the signs and symptoms of heart attacks will be more widely known and can prevent future heart attacks from happening.

This video explains how a heart attack happens.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8P3n6GKBSY

Sources: Mercola, Livestrong, Healthy Life Star, Bright Side

http://healtheternally.com/

 
Fatigue

Are you constantly feeling tired? Fatigue is a big indicator for a heart attack because it's brought on by low blood flow to the heart. When the arteries narrow, your heart receives less blood, so it works a lot harder than usual. If you're left feeling overexerted and tired, you should get checked out by your doctor.

Shortness of Breath

Another indication that a heart attack may be on the horizon is shortness of breath. When the arteries narrow and blood flow is decreased, your lungs aren't able to get the blood flow they need to work properly. Your heart and lungs work together, and if one system isn't working properly, it affects the other. So, if you're experiencing shortness of breath, it could be a red flag that a heart attack is in the near future.

Chest Pressure

If you are having chest pressure, you'll want to get check out right away, as chest pain or discomfort is a major key that a heart attack could strike. The chest pain or pressure you may be experiencing will only increase as the potential heart attack nears. According to Livestrong, the pain can also drift into other areas of the body, such as the arms, back and shoulders.

Cold or Flu

If cold and flu-like symptoms are what you're experiencing, there's a good chance that a heart attack is on the way. Many people who have had heart attacks describe suffering from cold or flu-like symptoms just before having a heart attack.

Body Weakness

One of the key symptoms to look out for is body weakness. Your body feels weak because it is experiencing the arteries narrowing, meaning less blood flow and circulation. This leads to weakened muscles that could cause you to fall more easily. This symptom is a big red flag, so be careful if you're experiencing body weakness.

Dizziness and Cold Sweats

Dizziness and cold sweats are another sign something is terribly wrong, as poor blood flow in the body cuts off a portion of blood flow to the brain. This restricted blood flow is something to look out for, as your body will feel clammy and unwell. Your brain needs adequate blood flow to operate properly and keep you feeling healthy. These symptoms indicate that a heart attack could be right around the corner.

One Month Before A Heart Attack, Your Body Will Warn You - Here Are The 6 Signs

Rachel Sebastian
9/15/2016

Heart attacks are a huge concern in the United States. In fact, it's the number one cause of death, which means everyone should know what symptoms to look for before becoming a victim. The average American's sub-par diet paired with a stressful lifestyle is a catalyst for heart attacks, making them more prevalent in recent years. According to Mercola, stress not only increases inflammation, but it also triggers heart attacks.

Leading a healthy lifestyle - which includes less stress - is pivotal for protecting yourself from this deadly illness. However, knowing the key symptoms for a heart attack one month before it happens can play an important role in saving lives.

QuoteAn effective drug policy is far more complex than you portray it, and should include investments in drug prevention and treatment, harm reduction, public health, socioeconomic development, criminal justice reform, as well as in security. These measures will help address the root causes of drug use and trafficking, and not only respect the needs and rights of all individuals but will also be far more effective long-term than the brutal approach which you currently favor.

QuoteRepressive and punitive actions, based on the inhumane idea of sacrificing the lives of some to enhance the lives of the majority, are not only ineffective but also undermine the social fabric of your communities, with serious negative consequences: innocent victims killed on mere suspicion, orphaned children, fear of law enforcement and arbitrary justice even among law-abiding citizens, increased HIV transmission rates, and prison overcrowding.

QuoteMr. President, we believe that your current strategy also constitutes an unwinnable war, at a terrible cost to your population. It is not a question of choosing between human rights and the safety of your people, as you have claimed, but the means employed to address crime must not result in further crimes against individuals whose conduct often causes very little harm. We acknowledge that your people are concerned with high crime and corrupt institutions; there is little evidence to show, however, that drugs represent the root of the widespread corruption and insecurity which your countrymen are concerned about.

An effective drug policy is far more complex than you portray it, and should include investments in drug prevention and treatment, harm reduction, public health, socioeconomic development, criminal justice reform, as well as in security. These measures will help address the root causes of drug use and trafficking, and not only respect the needs and rights of all individuals but will also be far more effective long-term than the brutal approach which you currently favor.

http://www.globalcommissionondrugs.org/

Mr. President, we believe that your current strategy also constitutes an unwinnable war, at a terrible cost to your population. It is not a question of choosing between human rights and the safety of your people, as you have claimed, but the means employed to address crime must not result in further crimes against individuals whose conduct often causes very little harm. We acknowledge that your people are concerned with high crime and corrupt institutions; there is little evidence to show, however, that drugs represent the root of the widespread corruption and insecurity which your countrymen are concerned about.

Repressive and punitive actions, based on the inhumane idea of sacrificing the lives of some to enhance the lives of the majority, are not only ineffective but also undermine the social fabric of your communities, with serious negative consequences: innocent victims killed on mere suspicion, orphaned children, fear of law enforcement and arbitrary justice even among law-abiding citizens, increased HIV transmission rates, and prison overcrowding.

Indeed, four members of the Global Commission on Drug Policy were heads of state (Brazil, Mexico, Poland and Portugal) when the United Nations approved in 1998 a 10-year strategy to create drug-free societies. Ten years later, however, drugs produced, trafficked and consumed were more available than when the decision was takenâ€"and that upward trend has continued since. We now admit that a war on drugs will always prove unable to prevent drug supply and use in the long term, leading only to more pain and suffering.

For example, the levels of supply of “shabu,” of particular concern in your country, appear to be equally high in Thailand and Malaysia as in the Philippines, despite repressive policies. In contrast, countries as diverse as New Zealand, Canada, Mexico, Jamaica, Uruguay, Bolivia, Portugal, the Czech Republic, and West African nations are now considering and even implementing alternatives, including laws regulating the use, possession and/or production of drugs, with marked success in harm and crime reduction. Even the military regime in Thailand has recognized its failure to reduce drug trafficking, calling it “an unwinnable war.”

To the President of the Philippines

SEPTEMBER 12, 2016 

Commissioners Fernando Cardoso, former President of Brazil; Louise Arbour, former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Canada; and Sir Richard Branson, Entrepreneur, Founder of the Virgin Group write an open letter to President Duterte of the Philippines, published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer.



THE GLOBAL Commission on Drug Policy was born from the recognition that the prohibitionist and repressive “war on drugs,” which has persisted for the past 50 years, has failed. Drugs have always existed and have existed everywhere, and it is illusory to believe that their use can be eradicated completely, particularly through violent methods.

Compared with all that, the Christian tradition which links the shuttered gate to Mary's body seems less contentious, and indeed less likely to trigger a world war. But it all goes to show how a common love of the same people, places and texts has never been enough to make people love one another. Often, the opposite happens.

In Russian, one way of saying "the two of us have no reason to quarrel" is "U nas nechevo delit'" which could be translated "We have nothing to divide up" or "We have nothing to share out." For better or worse, Abrahamic monotheists do have much to share. So too, much to bicker about.

http://www.economist.com/

Then consider one of the readings laid down for the weekend's Christian feast: a passage from the Hebrew prophet Ezekiel, an exiled temple priest who had a vision of God's glory leaving, and ultimately returning to, the holiest site in Jerusalem. Ezekiel was told that the holy place's eastern gate "shall be shut, shall not be opened, and no man shall go in by it; because the Lord, the God of Israel, hath entered in by it, therefore it shall be shut." Many Christian teachers, from Augustine to Martin Luther, saw this passage as describing the virginity of Mary, both before and after the birth of Jesus. Her womb was the place that God had visited, but no earthly man had ever entered.

Other monotheists strongly disagree. For some Jews and some Protestants of a millenarian turn of mind, the passage has a more literal meaning. It foresees an apocalyptic time when the Messiah will come in glory, using an identifiable location in Jerusalem: the eastern entrance which is often known as the Golden Gate. The gate which now stands has had a chequered history since its construction in early medieval times. It was sealed by the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent in 1541 in what Jews saw as a hostile act, designed to stymie their prophecies. Meanwhile, some Muslims have eschatological traditions of their own concerning that entrance; they link it with the advent of the Mahdi, the end-time prophet who will join a returning Jesus in proclaiming the truth of Islam.

This narrative does not occur in the New Testament, but (as I mentioned briefly in one of our more unusual cover stories), a version of it clearly features in the Koran. It describes how Mary's parents, having dedicated their future child to God, were initially surprised to find that their offspring was a girl. But "the Lord accepted her graciously and made her to grow into a fine child" who was entrusted to the priest Zachariah, who later visited the young girl "in the sanctuary" and discovered that God was providing her with everything she needed.

Not many Christians, even learned ones, know about the Koranic story. For them, the narrative of Mary's childhood is rooted in a text called the Proto-Evangelium, ascribed to James, the first Christian bishop of Jerusalem, whose followers were mainly of Jewish origin. In reality the text we now have may not be that old, but the perceived link with Bishop James and his Christian-Jewish flock is significant. Early Christians saw the story of Mary's early years as a way of understanding both the connection and the disconnect between their faith and the older religion of ancient Israel. To most Jews however, the idea of Mary's body replacing the temple would make little sense; it is supercessionist, which has become a dirty word in Jewish-Christian dialogue.

Why monotheists quarrel

Abraham's children fight because they have so much in common

Nov 22nd 2015
BY ERASMUS



IT WAS a good weekend to reflect on why monotheists quarrel, despite (or more likely, because of) having lots of common reference points. As so many inter-faith meetings optimistically recall, there is a huge overlap between the people, places and stories revered by Christians, Jews and Muslims. Not just Abrahim/Ibrahim, but Noah/Nuh, Moses/Moshe/Musa, and so on. But commonality doesn't always make for friendship; in fact it can give people something to argue over.

On November 21st (or on December 4th on the old calendar, used in Russia), Christians of the east remember a haunting, mysterious story set in ancient Jerusalem. It describes how Mary, who would later give birth to Jesus, spent her childhood in the holiest part of the temple, a place that would normally be entered only by adult male priests. As the prayers prescribed for the feast day make plain, the symbolic meaning is that Mary, by bearing the son of God, becomes the temple or locus of holiness herself, carrying divinity within her body: something that all believers, male and female, are ultimately called on to do, albeit not in such a physical sense.

Other Traditions
Christianity: The writings of the early church fathers and ecumenical councils, including the Creeds.
Islam: The Hadith, a collection of traditions/sayings of the Prophet Mohammed. The Hadith functions as a supplement to the Quran, giving guidance to Muslims for daily living.
Judaism: The Talmud, an oral tradition explaining and interpreting the Tanakh. It includes the Mishnah - a code of Jewish law.

Examples of Rituals
Christianity: The Sacraments, including Baptism and Holy Communion(Eucharist). In Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism, five more are added, viz: Confirmation (Chrismation), Marriage, Penance, Holy Orders and Anointing of the sick. Prayer is also an important part of the faith.
Islam: Five important rituals (known as the pillars of Islam): 1) Shahadah - A profession of faith; 2) Salat - Prayer five times daily: 3) Zakat - alms giving; 4) Sawm - Fasting during the Holy month of Ramadan; 5) Hajj - Pilgrimage to the Holy city of Mecca.
Judaism: Rituals include the Circumcision of newly born Jewish males, Barmitzvah - a ceremony marking the 'coming of age' of Jewish Boys and observation of the Sabbath (Shabat). As in the other faiths, prayer is important. The Jewish prayer book is called the siddur.

Sin
Christianity: We inherit a sinful nature through our common ancestor Adam, who rebelled against God. Jesus Christ atoned for our sins through his death on the Cross (Romans 5:12-17).
Islam: There is no concept of original sin, nor vicarious atonement. All Humans are born sinless, but human weakness leads to sin.
Judaism: Judaism rejects the doctrine of original sin. Atonement for sins commited is made through seeking forgiveness from God in prayer and repentance. In addition, the day of atonement (Yom Kippur) is set aside specially for this purpose.

Salvation
Christianity: By grace through faith in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:8-9)
Islam: Achieved through good works, thus personal righteousness must outweigh personal sin (Quran 23:101-103).
Judaism: Through good works, prayers and the grace of God. There is no parallel to the Christian view of substitutionary atonement.

Hell
Christianity: A place of everlasting punishment for the unrighteous (Matthew 25:46). There is no crossover between Heaven and Hell.
Islam: A place of torment and fire (Quran 25:65, 104:6-7). In Islam, Hell is known as Jahannam. Jahannam has several levels and a person may not necessarily spend eternity there.
Judaism: Tradtionally, there is the concept of Gehinnom or Gehenna - those who die in sin may suffer temporary punishment, but certain sins merit eternal punishment. However, Judaism's ideas of the afterlife have varied widely among different groups and in different time periods. For the most part, Judaism does not emphasize the afterlife.

http://christianityinview.com/

Holy Book(s)
Christianity: The Bible (from the Greek:Biblos, 'books'), given by God to man. The Bible writers were inspired by God in their writings. Thus Christians refer to the Bible as the Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16).
Islam: The Quran or Koran (Arabic: 'recitation'), revealed to the prophet Mohammed over a period of about 20 years. The Quran is the final revelation given by Allah to mankind.
Judaism: The Hebrew Tanakh, similar to the Christian Old Testament, comprised of the Torah (Hebrew: 'Law'), Nevi'im ('Prophets') and Ketuvim ('Writings').

Jesus Christ
Christianity: The second person of the Trinity and born of the Virgin Mary. "...true God from true God" (Nicene Creed)
Islam: Isa (Jesus) was a prophet, sent by Allah and born of the Virgin Mary, but not divine (Quran 5:17).
Judaism: An ordinary Jew, not the Messiah nor a divine person.

The Mission of Jesus Christ
Christianity: To reconcile Man to God, through his death as a sacrifice for the sins of all mankind.
Islam: To proclaim the Injil, or gospel. This gospel has been corrupted over time by human additions and alterations.
Judaism: As Judaism rejects the idea of Jesus as Messiah, his mission is of no relevance.

The Death of Jesus Christ
Christianity: "...For our sake he was crucified...he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again...he ascended into heaven..." (Nicene Creed)
Islam: Jesus was not crucified (Quran 4:157), but was raised to Heaven by Allah (4:158).
Judaism: Jesus was crucified for his claim to be divine.

Holy Spirit
Christianity: The third person of the Trinity, truly divine: "....with the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified." (Nicene Creed)
Islam: Identical with the Angel Gabriel, who appeared to the Prophet Mohammed giving him the Quranic text.
Judaism: Not a distinct person, but a divine power which for example was given to the Prophets.

Differences and similarities between the three great monotheistic faiths: Christianity, Islam and Judaism

Origin of the Name   
Christianity: From the Greek christos, 'Anointed' - referring to Jesus Christ.   
Islam: Derived from an Arabic word for 'submission'. Also related to the Arabic word salaam, 'peace'.   
Judaism: From the Hebrew:Yehudim, 'Judah'.

Founder
Christianity: Jesus Christ (c. 4 B.C. - 30 A.D.)
Islam: Mohammed (570 - 632 A.D.); n.b. Muslims regard Mohammed more as the restorer of the true monotheistic faith, rather than the founder of a new religion.
Judaism: Abraham (First Patriarch, born c. 1800 B.C.)

Divisions         
Christianity: Three main groups: Orthodox, Protestant and Roman Catholic.
Islam: Two main groups: Sunni and Shia (The division occured due to a dispute as to the legitimate successor of the prophet Mohammed). There is also a mystical/ascetic movement in Islam known as Sufi.
Judaism: Several divisions, including Hasidic, Conservative and Reform Judaism. Ethnic groupings include Ashkenazi (the majority) and Sephardic Jews.

Followers (2009 estimates)
Christianity: 2.2 billion
Islam: 1.5 billion
Judaism: 14 million

Nature of God
Christianity: One God, who exists in three distinct persons (The Trinity): Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19).
Islam: One God (Arabic: Allah), who is not a trinity. The Islamic view of God is called strict Monotheism (Quran 112:1).
Judaism: One God (known in English as 'Yahweh' or 'Jehovah') - "...Hear Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is one." (Deuteronomy 6:4).

Second, as each religion developed, it sought the support of government. It often sought to be the government. Truth was to be reinforced by power. Basic competition over spiritual and philosophical truths spilled over into competition also for tax monies, office, land, and public acceptance of specific ritual and architectural symbols, and suppression of opposition. When they could, these religions marched through the world armed. The idea that the state and religion should be separated appeared as early as Augustine; but until recently, in the lands where these three religions predominated, the state and religion were usually intimately bound up with one another, and in many places, the religion of the leader of the state was excepted to be accepted as the religion of his subjects, or at least to be given preferred treatment over others.

http://chinese-school.netfirms.com/

Perhaps two factors can explain the hostility that has often characterized the relationships among these religions. First, all three have been proselytizing religions--although Judaism abandoned this practice early in the Christian era-- and their very closeness has made them bitterly competitive. Each has had some feeling that it has come the closest to the essential truths of God and the world, and that the others have somehow failed to recognize this. Both Christianity and Islam, for example, accuse Judaism of stubbornly refusing to accept later revelations that modify and update its original truths. Both Judaism and Islam accuse Christianity of a kind of idolatry in claiming that God begat a son who as actually a form of God and who walked the earth in human form. Both Judaism and Christianity argue that God did not give a special, final revelation to Muhammad. In each case these religions have looked at one another and said that, despite elements of deep commonality, there exist also fundamental heresies. Indeed within each of these religions, at various times, splits have turned one group against another amidst cries of heresy and calls to armed opposition. Truth was to be maintained, asserted, and defended through the force of arms. (Religions with less insistence on doctrinal correctness, such as Hinduism, and Buddhism, have had less, and less bitter, religious warfare.)

What Difference Does It Make?

As monotheistic religions, sharing common ancestors, belief in divinely given written scriptures, and common rituals and practices, such as regular prayer and charity; valuing pilgrimage and sharing many common holy places; promising that behavior will receive its proper rewards and punishments in the future, on earth and in an afterlife; balancing and integrating strands of mysticism, legalism, and pious devotion; the three religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam would appear to be naturally suited to co-existence and even to mutual reinforcement. And indeed at times, notably in Spain, during much, but not all, of the period from about 750 to about 1250, the three faiths coexisted and gladly learned from one another. But such warm, reciprocally beneficial coexistence has been the exception rather than the rule.

God's Guidance

God did not leave us without guidelines for behavior. God provided us with sound basic rules to live by as well as a rational mind to learn how and when to apply those rules to our everyday life. All three religions, for example, abhor murder, the arbitrary killing of innocent people. Likewise, God wants us to be telling the truth and not to take from others what rightfully belongs to them. We are to respect the dignity of every person and help especially those who are not capable of helping themselves, such as widows, orphans, and the poor. All three religions believe in Golden Rule: doing to others what we wish others do unto us. All three religions foster modesty, moderation, and honest work. We are to submit ourselves to the will of God.

All three religions closely link religion and morality. Religion is to be manifested by showing concern for the well-being and dignity of others, in a life of service to others, and in personal and social ethical behavior.

Divine Human Encounter

The three Abrahamic religions believe that God and human beings can and should communicate with each other. By revelation God communicates to people, among which the most important are revelation through prophets. These revelations are recorded in the Holy Scriptures of each religion. While the Holy Scriptures of the three religions are not the very same, nevertheless the younger two religions acknowledge God's truth as found in the previous religions, and encourage respect to the Holy Books. While each of the three religions does not merely focus on one set of writings, the key Scripture of Judaism is the Torah, the key Scripture of Christianity is the Bible, which consists of the Old Testament (Hebrew Bible) and the New Testament, and the key Scripture of Islam is the Qur'an.

The duty of people is to read or listen to God's Holy Writings and to respond with prayer, praise, and with an appropriate acceptance of God's commandments in our life-style.

The Future

No matter how difficult the past and present may be, the three religions are hopeful about the future. Evil and suffering cannot ultimately prevail. God has provided a condition (or state of being) for which our three religions have different names, but we agree on the term Paradise. This future will bring about God's unchallenged rule; unconditional bliss for all who live with God.

Children of Abraham: Understanding human beings

The three religions believe that human beings are the highest creatures here on earth. We are the children of Abraham.  God created us full of mystery, which means potential for continuous growth, both as a species and as individuals. We are capable of both good and evil. When we grow in goodness, righteousness, and love we become more like what God intended human goodness to be. When we abuse our freedom and do harm to other people, ourselves, and the environment it means that we are going against God's plans as we become evil-doers. Each person is capable, with God's help, to turn away from evil, repent, and do good. We owe God our devotion, glorification, and obedience.

Judaism, Christianity, and Islam

Similarities

There are a few common roots and many common elements to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam--the so-called Abrahamic religious heritage. Here are a few major ones that these religions share similarities:

Belief about God.

Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are monotheistic religions, namely they believe that there is only one God. Jews and Muslims greatly stress the oneness and unity of God. The affirmation of the oneness of God by Christians is sometimes misunderstood, because Christians believe that the one God is triune (the Holy Trinity). However, this is not a denial of monotheism but an affirmation of the complexity of the Divine Being.

All three religions believe that this God is the origin and source of all that exists. God cares about the entire creation and desires the well-being of all. God is just and has provided basic rules for our guidance so that we may be good and righteous, according to God's intention. God is also merciful; by means of God's grace we are given strength to be more like what we ought to be.

yes, it's a doctored image. how it went down in history as believable must have been started by those at the pinnacle of the advertising industry. accordingly, he banged his fist, then he picked up his shoe (according to his daughter) because it was tight. we better ask the shoe...