For anyone out there going through a rough time!!! Strength … hold steadfast!!
EYE OF THE TIGER
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Daily Archives: December 12, 2013
Word Press Facebook sharing group, share your blog
A great group!!!
Fukushima pollutes environment and civil liberties
Seems there will be no end!! Ripple effect …
This video says about itself:
Life after disaster…still a disaster: Fukushima refugees trapped in tent cities
9 Dec 2013
When Japan was hit by a giant tsunami in 2011, the hundreds of thousands forced to flee literally saw their lives washed away. Promises were made that it would only be a matter of time before their homes were rebuilt. But as Aleksey Yaroshevsky found, they’re still waiting.
See also here.
By Harvey Wasserman, EcoWatch:
Japan’s new ‘Fukushima Fascism’
December 12, 2013
”Fukushima continues to spew out radiation. The quantities seem to be rising, as do the impacts.
The site has been infiltrated by organized crime. There are horrifying signs of ecological disaster in the Pacific and human health impacts in the U.S.
But within Japan, a new State Secrets Act makes such talk punishable by up to ten years in prison.
Taro Yamamoto, a…
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The Lighthouse Award
Thank you!!! Brilliant award with a very deep meaning!! Honored!!
WARNING!!! Very graphic video ….. Meat.org
IF SLAUGHTER HOUSES HAD GLASS WALL, EVERY ONE WOULD BE VEGETARIAN
Animals are being abused for profit.
How?
1. the way they are raised/farmed
2. the way they are transported
3. the way they are slaughtered
I am not a vegetarian. The more that I research and post about animal abuse in the food industry, the more that I’m leaning to become one, though. I have always known that it would be a deal breaker if I actually had to slaughter an animal to eat … that would be the deciding factor. I feel now that I don’t have to go that far …. every day, I lean more and more, to stop eating meat. I don’t know if I will be able to do so …. but my intent is growing.
WHY DO People Become Vegetarians?
For much of the world, vegetarianism is largely a matter of economics: Meat costs a lot more than, say, beans or rice, so meat becomes a special-occasion dish (if it’s eaten at all). Even where meat is more plentiful, it’s still used in moderation, often providing a side note to a meal rather than taking center stage.
In countries like the United States where meat is not as expensive, though, people often choose to be vegetarians for reasons other than cost. Parental preferences, religious or other beliefs, and health issues are among the most common reasons for choosing to be a vegetarian. Many people choose a vegetarian diet out of concern over animal rights or the environment. And lots of people have more than one reason for choosing vegetarianism.
Vegetarian and Semi-Vegetarian Diets
Different people follow different forms of vegetarianism. A true vegetarian eats no meat at all, including chicken and fish. A lacto-ovo vegetarian eats dairy products and eggs, but excludes meat, fish, and poultry. It follows, then, that a lacto vegetarian eats dairy products but not eggs, whereas an ovo vegetarian eats eggs but not dairy products.
Getting Some Guidance
If you’re thinking about becoming a vegetarian, consider making an appointment to talk with a registered dietitian who can go over lists of foods that would give you the nutrients you need. A dietitian can discuss ways to prevent conditions such as iron-deficiency anemia that you might be at an increased risk for if you stop eating meat.
Also, remember to take a daily standard multivitamin, just in case you miss getting enough vitamins or minerals that day.
Tips for Dining Out
Eating at restaurants can be difficult for vegetarians sometimes, but if you do eat fish, you can usually find something suitable on the menu. If not, opt for salad and an appetizer or two — or ask if the meat can be removed. Even fast-food places sometimes have vegetarian choices, such as bean tacos and burritos, veggie burgers, and soy cheese pizza.
Vegetarians can opt for pasta, along with plenty of vegetables, grains, and fruits. You may also find that the veggie burgers, hot dogs, and chicken substitutes available in your local grocery store taste very much like the real thing. Try the ground meat substitute as a stand-in for beef in foods like tacos and spaghetti sauce.
Regardless of whether you choose a vegetarian way of life, it’s always a healthy idea to eat a wide variety of foods and try out new foods when you can.
For full read/article: http://teenshealth.org/teen/food_fitness/nutrition/vegetarian.html#
Paul McCartney’s “Glass Walls” – Official Video
Uploaded on Oct 17, 2011
Paul McCartney narrates powerful documentary about factory farmed animals and how we can help animals and the environment by adopting a plant-based diet.
For more information please visit peta.org
Produced by Hayden Fowler
WWW.MEAT.ORG ……
~~The Website the Meat Industry Doesn’t Want You to See~~
We ALL are ONE!!
We ALL are connected to NATURE!!
Song for today – 12/12/13 – Billy Joel, The River of Dreams
Excellent song!!
Hunger Games reviews: Catching Fire to Capitalism
Is there an analogy between our times and “Catching Fire” … seems like it!!
Occupy The Hunger Games
In order to provide moral uplift, whenever he caught my brother and me watching Saturday morning cartoons after 10 o’clock, my father would turn off the TV and tell us both a story.
He was an 18-year-old private serving in the U.S. Marine Corps at the tail end of the Korean War. “Korean kids your age were lazy and filthy,” he told us. “I used to watch them digging in garbage cans for food. They didn’t want to work.” He would then hand my brother a mop, me a bottle of Windex, and assign us both chores around the house.
At night, sometimes, when he was drunk, he would tell a more disturbing story.
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Stella Gets Her Groove! …. Humane Society
~~Watch Stella’s incredible story~~
Then become a Humane Hero for animals.
Stella was found in the second building of a puppy mill, forgotten about when she wasn’t good for business anymore. She was neglected and suffering and desperate for attention — until we rescued her.
Today, she finally has a family and all the love a dog deserves. She even spends her days with Ricky Bobby, another dog saved from that sad place.
Your ongoing support will be used to help animals like Stella, shut down puppy mills, end dog fighting, stop the Canadian seal hunt, reduce the suffering of animals on factory farms, and so much more. Plus, you’ll receive updates and action alerts so you can take quick, simple actions for animals each week.
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Stella Gets Her Groove!
Published on Dec 9, 2013
http://www.humanesociety.org/stellahero
Forgotten about when she wasn’t good for business anymore, Stella was suffering — until we rescued her. Meet Stella, and then donate to help all animals.
WWW.HUMANESOCIETY.ORG/STELLA
We ALL are ONE!!
We ALL are connected through NATURE!!
FYI …..
Our Lady of Guadalupe, “Patroness of the Americas” ….. Queen of Mexico!
Our Lady of Guadalupe (Spanish: Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe), also known as the Virgin of Guadalupe (Spanish: Virgen de Guadalupe), is a title of the Virgin Mary associated with a celebrated pictorial image housed in the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in México City.
Official Catholic accounts state that on the morning of December 12, 1531, Juan Diego saw an apparition of a young girl at the Hill of Tepeyac, near Mexico City. Speaking to him in Nahuatl, the girl asked that a church be built at that site in her honor; from her words, Juan Diego recognized the girl as the Virgin Mary.
Diego told his story to the Spanish Archbishop of Mexico City, Fray Juan de Zumárraga, who instructed him to return to Tepeyac Hill, and ask the “lady” for a miraculous sign to prove her identity. The first sign was the Virgin healing Juan’s uncle. The Virgin told Juan Diego to gather flowers from the top of Tepeyac Hill.
Although December was very late in the growing season for flowers to bloom, Juan Diego found Castilian roses, not native to Mexico, on the normally barren hilltop. The Virgin arranged these in his peasant cloak or tilma. When Juan Diego opened his cloak before Bishop Zumárraga on December 12, the flowers fell to the floor, and on the fabric was the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe.
Juan Diego was canonized in 2002, and his tilma is displayed in the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the most visited Marian shrine in the world. The representation of the Virgin on the tilma is Mexico’s most popular religious and cultural image, and under this title the Virgin has been acclaimed as “Queen of Mexico“, “Patroness of the Americas“, “Empress of Latin America“, and “Protectress of Unborn Children” (the latter three given by Pope John Paul II in 1999).
Under this title, she was also proclaimed “Heavenly Patroness of the Philippines” in 1935, a designation revised by Pope Pius XII in 1942.
| Our Lady of Guadalupe | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Location | Tepeyac Hill, Mexico City |
| Date | 12 December 1531 |
| Witness | Saint Juan Diego |
| Type | Marian apparition |
| Holy See approval | 25 May 1754, during the Pontificate of Pope Benedict XIV |
| Shrine | Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Tepeyac Hill, Mexico City, Mexico. |
In the earliest account of the apparition, the Nican Mopohua, written in the Nahuatl language around 1556, the Virgin Mary tells Juan Bernardino, the uncle of Juan Diego, that the image left on the tilma is to be known by the name “the Perfect Virgin, Holy Mary of Guadalupe.”
Scholars do not have a consensus as to how the name “Guadalupe” was ascribed to the image. Some believe that the Spanish transcribed or transliterated a Nahuatl name, as the site had long been an important sacred spot. The second is that the Spanish name Guadalupe, like the Spanish Our Lady of Guadalupe, Extremadura, is the original name.
The first theory to promote a Nahuatl origin was that of Luis Becerra Tanco. In his 1675 work Felicidad de Mexico, Becerra Tanco claimed that Juan Bernardino and Juan Diego would not have been able to understand the name Guadalupe because the “d” and “g” sounds do not exist in Nahuatl. He proposed two Nahuatl alternative names that sound similar to “Guadalupe”, Tecuatlanopeuh [tekʷat͡ɬaˈnopeʍ], “she whose origins were in the rocky summit”, and Tecuantlaxopeuh [tekʷant͡ɬaˈʃopeʍ], “she who banishes those who devoured us.”
Ondina and Justo Gonzalez suggest that the name is a Spanish version of the Nahuatl term, Coātlaxopeuh [koaːt͡ɬaˈʃopeʍ], meaning “the one who crushes the serpent,” and that it may be referring to the feathered serpent Quetzalcoatl. In addition, Mary was portrayed in European art as crushing the serpent of the Garden of Eden.
The theory promoting the Spanish language origin of the name claims that:
- Juan Diego and Juan Bernardino would have been familiar with the Spanish language “g” and “d” sounds since their baptismal names contain those sounds.
- There is no documentation of any other name for the Virgin during the almost 144 years between the apparition being recorded in 1531 and Becerra Tanco’s proposed theory in 1675.
- Documents written by contemporary Spaniards and Franciscan friars argue that for the name to be changed to a native name, such as Tepeaca or Tepeaquilla, would not make sense if a Nahuatl name were already in use, and suggest the Spanish Guadalupe was the original.
Our Lady of Guadalupe December 12
(USA)
When we reflect on the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe we learn two important lessons, one of faith and one of understanding.
Missionaries who first came to Mexico with the conquistadors had little success in the beginning. After nearly a generation, only a few hundred Native Mexicans had converted to the Christian faith. Whether they simply did not understand what the missionaries had to offer or whether they resented these people who made them slaves, Christianity was not popular among the native people.
Then in 1531 miracles began to happen. Jesus’ own mother appeared to humble Juan Diego. The signs — of the roses, of the uncle miraculously cured of a deadly illness, and especially of her beautiful image on Juan’s mantle — convinced the people there was something to be considered in Christianity. Within a short time, six million Native Mexicans had themselves baptized as Christians.
The first lesson is that God has chosen Mary to lead us to Jesus. No matter what critics may say of the devotion of Mexicans (and Mexican descendants) to Our Lady of Guadalupe, they owe their Christianity to her influence. If it were not for her, they would not know her son, and so they are eternally grateful. The second lesson we take from Mary herself. Mary appeared to Juan Diego not as a European Madonna but as a beautiful Aztec princess speaking to him in his own Aztec language.
If we want to help someone appreciate the gospel we bring, we must appreciate the culture and the mentality in which they live their lives. By understanding them, we can help them to understand and know Christ. Our Lady of Guadalupe is patron of the Americas.
Source: http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=456
Symbol of Mexico
Flag carried by Miguel Hidalgo and his insurgent army
Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe is recognized as a symbol of Catholic Mexicans. Miguel Sánchez, the author of the first Spanish language account of the vision, identified Guadalupe as Revelation’s Woman of the Apocalypse, and said:
“…this New World has been won and conquered by the hand of the Virgin Mary … [who had] prepared, disposed, and contrived her exquisite likeness in this her Mexican land, which was conquered for such a glorious purpose, won that there should appear so Mexican an image.”[21][page needed]
Throughout the Mexican national history of the 19th and 20th centuries, the Guadalupan name and image have been unifying national symbols; the first President of Mexico (1824–29) changed his name from José Miguel Ramón Adaucto Fernández y Félix to Guadalupe Victoria in honor of the Virgin of Guadalupe.
Father Miguel Hidalgo, in the Mexican War of Independence (1810), and Emiliano Zapata, in the Mexican Revolution (1910), led their respective armed forces with Guadalupan flags emblazoned with an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Source: http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=456
Our Lady Of Guadalupe
Uploaded on Mar 22, 2008
in 1531 on December 9 Our Lady appeared to Juan Diego.
Here is the story.
We ALL are ONE!!!
“The Elf on the Shelf” ….. a Christmas tradition!
The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition is a 2005 children’s picture book, written and self-published by American author Carol Aebersold and daughter Chanda Bell and illustrated by Coë Steinwart, featuring a Christmas-themed tale, written in rhyme, that explains how Santa Claus knows who is naughty and who is nice.
On 26 November 2011, the book aired on CBS as a 30-minute animated TV show An Elf’s Story: The Elf on the Shelf, directed by Chad Eikhoff.
So much tender, loving care apparently went into “The Elf on the Shelf.
Plot
The story dictates that the elf’s main priority around the family’s household is to keep watch over the children’s behavior during the day and return to the North Pole overnight to report their behavior to Santa Claus, detailing any acts of obedience or misdeeds performed by a child during that particular day, returning home by the following morning. Starting from the day following Thanksgiving to Christmas Eve, the elf remains with its family to ensure that they behave properly throughout the holidays.
However, the top policy regarding the Elf on the Shelf is to refrain from touching the creature, as doing so could permanently erase any Christmas magic with which the elf had been bestowed upon being named by the family.
It is no longer capable of fulfilling its duties of recounting the events of the day to Santa Claus, cautioning that he may or may not learn about a child’s behavior should the Elf on the Shelf be stripped of its holiday enchantment.
Every day, the elf’s position changes, providing the family with the responsibility of locating its current perch before its departure for the year on Christmas Eve.
| The Elf on the Shelf | |
|---|---|
.jpg) |
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| Author | Carol Aebersold Chanda Bell |
| Illustrator | Coë Steinwart |
| Genre | Picture book |
| Publisher | CCA and B Publishing |
| Publication date | 2005 |
| ISBN | 978-0-9769907-9-6 |
The Elf on the Shelf story was created in 2004 by Carol Aebersold and daughter Chanda Bell over a cup of tea. Bell suggested they write a book about their own family tradition of an elf sent from Santa who came to watch over them at Christmas time. Aebersold’s daughter, Christa Pitts, was recruited by the family to share her expertise in sales and marketing. Together, the trio devoted the next three years promoting their self-published book and attending book signings and trade shows.
The Elf on the Shelf has gone on to win numerous awards including Best Toy Award by Learning Express in 2008, 2009 and 2010 Book of the Year Award from Creative Child Awards, and National Best Books 2008 Award sponsored by USA Book News.
In 2012, The Elf on the Shelf made its first appearance in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade alongside fellow parade newcomers Hello Kitty and Papa Smurf.
Elf on the Shelf Touched – Saving Henry
~~Published on Dec 4, 2014~~
What do you do when your Elf on the Shelf is touched by a child? This is our story. The youngest member of our family touched our Elf on the Shelf, Henry. He was badly wounded when we found him. He had lost a lot of his magic life blood. Luckily we found him in time…
Please remember to never touch your Elf on the Shelf!
The Elf on the Shelf®
Related articles:
1. http://amyspartyideas.com/2012/11/elf-on-the-shelf-ideas/
2. http://www.raininghotcoupons.com/50-easy-creative-elf-shelf-ideas/
4. http://www.gwinnettpl.org/adults/elf-shelf-author-visit.html
~~Let’s start our “Elf on the Shelf” tradition on Facebook~~
Move it around your page and your friends’ pages.
It should be fun!!
Elf On The Shelf Caught On Tape … AGAIN!
We ALL are ONE!!!
CHRISTMAS SPIRIT …. ALIVE AND WELL!!
It Is What It Is 