HEARD IT AND READ IT

Prepared by Bassam Mechammel

March, 2014

For comments, please email Mechammil@aol.com

 

هل "يستشهد" مئة ألف مسيحي في العالم سنويا؟

الثلاثاء، 12 نوفمبر/ تشرين الثاني، 2013،

 

اعتبر الفاتيكان أن رقم المئة ألف يتمتع بمصداقية

غالبا ما تثار مزاعم بمقتل 100 ألف مسيحي سنويا على مستوى العالم لأسباب تتعلق بانتمائهم الديني. وفي وقت سابق من العام الجاري، اعتبر الفاتيكان أن هذا الرقم يتمتع بالمصداقية. لكن هل الأمر كذلك بالفعل؟

ويبرز تساؤل هو إلى أي مدى ينتشر العنف المناهض للمسيحيين؟

"الحقيقة هي أن ثلثي عدد المسيحيين في العالم والبالغ عددهم 2.3 مليار مسيحي اليوم يعيشون في أحياء تتسم بالخطورة. فهم فقراء في العادة وينتمون إلى أقليات عرقية ولغوية وثقافية. ودوما ما يواجهون خطرا."

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من أقوال الحكماء سمعتها أو قرأتها
أخي لن تنال العلم إلا بستة ..... سأنبيك عن تفصيلها ببيــــان

ذكاء وحرص واجتهاد وبلغة ..... وصحبة أستاذ وطول زمان
 

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ربما يتفاجأ البعض من العنوان ولكن بعد الخوض في القراءة قد ينجلي الغموض:
سأناقش الفكرة انطلاقاً من مهنتي في طب الأسنان ولن أدخل في مجال أمراض الجهاز الهضمي فلنفترض شخص مريض مصاب بأحد الفيروسات الكبدية وخاصة  أو بالأيدز أو بأي مرض آخر يمكن أن ينتقل عن طريق الدم وهذا المريض مصاب بالتهاب لثوي حاد أو مزمن أو سحجات في الأنسجة المخاطية الفموية متأتية عن سبب ما أو قلاع نازف أو تشققات في الشفة المهم أن مفرزات دموية ممزوجة بلعابه ( كثير من الناس عندما يبصق يرى بالعين المجردة الدم في بصاقه وخاصة في الصباح) وهذا الشخص يشرب المتة مع سخص آخر سليم ولكنه مصاب أيضاً بقلاع أو التهاب لثوي وجيوب لثوية أو سحجات في الأنسجة المخاطية لسبب ما أو تشققات في الشفة وأظن أن هذه الفرضية قد لا تكون شائعة ولكنها موجودة بنسبة ما تستحق الوقوف عندها فما هي احتمالات انتقال العدوى أيها السادة وخصوصاً الأطباء وهل هذه النسبة كافية لتدفعنا للتخلص من عادة شرب المتة بمصاصة واحدة وهل هذه النسبة كافية لجعلنا متيقظين أكثر لطريقة من طرق انتقال العدوى لتلك الأمراض .
رب قائل يقول ولكن الأدب الطبي لم يذكرها وهذا حقيقي ولكن هل يخطر في بال كتاب الأدب الطبي من أطباء ومعدين ومؤلفين غربيين كانوا أم شرقيين أن هناك عشرة أشخاص يشربون المتة ( هذا إن عرفوا المتة أساساً) بمصاصة واحدة ؟
أشيع يوماً أن عدوى السل انتقلت في حادثة معينة من خلال شرب النرجيلة بنربيش واحد وإن تغير المبسم أو البز كما يقال .فلنستفد من تلك الإشاعة ولنعكسها على المتة مع فارق الطريق التنفسي والهضمي والدموي.
المتة هي الشراب الأول والمفضل لدى أهل البلدة ولدي أنا شخصياً وهي تخلق نوعاً من الإلفة والمحبة بين شاربيها ويمكن أن يستغني البيت الصددي عن الخبز لكنه لا يستغني عن المتة( وخصوصاً متة بعد الحفلات فهذه أصبحت طقساً لابدّ منه لغاية التقييم)
نعود إلى موضوع المتة :
لن أذكر فوائدها الصحية فليست هي مجال الحديث حالياً ولن أذكر الأمراض البسيطة التي يتنبه لها الناس والتي تنتقل من خلال شرب المتة كالكريب والرشح وسواها والتي يتوقوها من خلال غسيل المصاصة ولكن هذا غير كافي للفيروسات الخطيرة وأهمها الفيروسات الكبدية المذكورة .
فلننتبه إلى موضوع مصاصة المتة ولنحاول أن نشيع عادة المصاصة الشخصية والله من وراء القصد .

د روضان عبد اللطيف

 

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تحياتي للجميع-لقد وصلتنا أنباء كثيرة وعديدة عن إصابات خطيرة جداً بسبب إستعمال الأرجيلة السامة،منها الوقعان بدوخة ومنها زيادة إرتفاع الضغط،وأخيراُ السعال الشديد المؤلم إنه ممزوج بالدم،وغيرها وغيرها،دراسة الدخان -السيجارة-وأضراره أخذت سنين طويلة حتى جرى ما نراه ،أما الأرجلية فالدراسات كلها تقول أنهل أخطر من السيجارة،ليس من التبغ فقط ولكن من إحتكاك حرارة الفحم بمعدن الأرجيلة،والمياه فيها لا تعمل أي شئ، إتركها إتركها

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New California state laws for the new year

December 31, 2013

 
 

Below is a partial list of new California laws signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown that go into effect Jan. 1, 2014, or later as noted.


 

Employment

 

AB 10 – Increases California's current minimum wage (of $8 per hour) in two $1 increments: to $9 per hour on July 1, 2014, and from $9 per hour to $10 per hour on Jan. 1, 2016. This is the first minimum wage increase in California in five years. Increasing the minimum wage will also increase the minimum salary amount employees must earn to qualify as "exempt" employees under California state law executive, administrative, or professional exemptions. One of the requirements for employees to be exempt from overtime and other requirements for hourly-wage employees is that their monthly salary must be at least twice the state minimum wage for full-time employment. Under current law, the earnings threshold for exempt employees is $2,773.34 per month. Under AB 10, the minimum monthly salary for exempt employees will increase to $3,120 on July 1, 2014, and $3,466.67 on January 1, 2016.

 

Some California cities and counties have already increased their minimum wage above the current $8/hour. In San Francisco the minimum wage is $10.55/hour, and in San Jose it is $10/hour.

 

AB 218 – Employment applications: criminal history. Existing law prohibits both public and private employers from asking an applicant for employment to disclose (either in writing or verbally) any information concerning an arrest or detention that did not result in a conviction. AB 218 will prohibit a state or local agency, as of July 1, 2014, from asking an applicant to disclose information regarding a criminal conviction, except as specified, until the agency has determined the applicant meets the minimum employment qualifications for the position.

 

AB 556 – Adds "military and veteran status" to the list of categories protected from employment discrimination under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), and also provides an exemption for an inquiry by an employer regarding military or veteran status for the purpose of awarding a veteran's preference as permitted by law.

 

SB 288 – Employment protections: time off. Existing law prohibits an employer from discharging or in any manner discriminating against an employee for taking time off to serve on a jury, an employee who is a victim of a crime for taking time off to appear in court as a witness in any judicial proceeding, or an employee who is a victim of domestic violence or a victim of sexual assault for taking time off from work to obtain or attempt to obtain prescribed relief.

 

SB 390 - Employee wage withholdings: failure to remit. Existing law makes it a crime for an employer to fail to make agreed-upon payments to health and welfare funds, pension funds, or various benefit plans. Such crime is punishable as a felony if the amount unpaid exceeds $500, and as a misdemeanor if the amount is less than $500. SB 390 extends the definition of a crime to include an employer's failure to remit withholdings from an employee's wages that were made pursuant to state, local, or federal law.

 

SB 400 – Employment protections: victims of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking. Existing law prohibits an employer from taking adverse employment action against a victim of domestic violence or sexual assault who takes time off from work to attend to issues arising as a result of the domestic violence or sexual assault, as long as the employee complies with certain conditions. It also provides protections to employees who are discharged, or discriminated or retaliated against.

 

SB 666 – Suspends or revokes an employer's business license for retaliation against employees and others on the basis of citizenship and immigration status, and establishes a civil penalty of up to $10,000 per violation.

 

SB 770 – Unemployment compensation: disability benefits: Paid Family Leave program. Under existing law, the family temporary disability insurance program (aka Paid Family Leave) provides up to six weeks of wage replacement benefits to employees who take time off work to care for a seriously ill child, spouse or domestic partner, or parent, or to bond with a minor child within one year of the birth or placement of the child in connection with foster care or adoption. These benefits have been in effect since July 2004. SB 770 expands the scope of the family temporary disability program to include time off to care for a seriously ill sibling, grandparent, grandchild, or parent-in-law. Effective July 1, 2014.


Transportation laws

 

AB 60 – Requires the California Department of Motor Vehicles to issue a driver license to illegal aliens who can prove identity and California residency and meet all other licensing requirements, such as passing the written exams and driving tests. The DMV will design a special driver license that complies with the U.S. government's Real ID Act. AB 60 also makes it a violation of law to discriminate against anyone on the basis of having this new license, and the law explicitly prohibits using the new license for criminal investigation, arrest or detention based on immigration status. New law fully effective on Jan. 1, 2015.

 

Amber Alert expansion - This law requires law enforcement to request activation of the Amber Alerts after receiving a report that a child has been taken by anyone, including a custodial parent or guardian, who may cause serious bodily injury or death to the child.

 

AB 1371 - Bicycles: Passing Distance - This law prohibits motorists from passing a bicycle with less than three feet between any part of the vehicle and any part of the bicycle or driver. When three feet is not possible, the motor vehicle must slow to a reasonable and prudent speed and only pass when no danger is present to the bicyclist. Failing to do so can incur a fine, regardless of a collision or not. This law will go into effect Sept. 16, 2014.

 

Charter Bus Carriers: Limousines: Emergency Exits : By Jan. 1, 2016, every limousine that has been modified or extended to accommodate additional passengers shall have two rear doors and one or two internally removable rear emergency windows.

 

Hit and Run: Statute of Limitations: This law extends the statute of limitations for hit-and-run collisions in which death or permanent, serious injury was a result. A criminal complaint may be filed within three years of the offense, or one year after the person was initially identified by law enforcement as a suspect in the commission of the offense, which ever comes later, but in no case more than six years after the offense.

 

Registration Fees: Vehicle Theft: This law authorizes counties to increase registration fees by $1 for passenger vehicles and $2 for commercial vehicles to fund programs related to vehicle theft crimes in those counties.

 

Search Warrants: Chemical Tests: This amendment to current law authorizes the issuance of a search warrant to draw blood from a person in a reasonable, medically approved manner, to show that the person violated misdemeanor DUI provisions when that person has refused an officer's request to submit to, or has failed to complete, a blood test. This law has been operative since Sept. 20, 2013.

 

Teen Drivers: This law prohibits a person who is under 18 years of age from using an electronic wireless communications device to write, send, or read a text-based communication while driving, even if it is equipped with a hands-free device.

 

SB 251 – (Calderon) – Insurance: notice: electronic transmission. SB 251 allows insurance companies to transmit notices electronically instead of by postal mail, with a customer's consent.

 

SB 353 – (Lieu) – Requires health plans and health insurers to translate coverage documents in the same language they use to market or advertise their products, if existing law does not already require that language to be translated.

 

 


 

 

Privacy & security

 

AB 658 – Personal information: disclosure. Existing law (the Confidentiality of Medical Information Act) prohibits a provider of health care, a health care service plan, contractor, or corporation and its subsidiaries and affiliates from intentionally sharing, selling, using for marketing, or otherwise using any medical information for any purpose not necessary to provide health care services to a patient, except as expressly authorized by the patient. Violations of those provisions are subject to a civil action for compensatory and punitive damages, and, if a violation results in economic loss or personal injury to a patient, it is punishable as a misdemeanor.

 

SB 282 – Confidential medical information: required authorization to disclose. Existing law (the Confidentiality of Medical Information Act) requires, among other things, that a demand for settlement or offer to compromise issued on a patient's behalf prior to the service of a complaint in any action arising out of the professional negligence of a physician and surgeon be accompanied by an authorization to disclose medical information to the persons or organizations insuring, responsible for, or defending the professional liability of the physician and surgeon in order to allow an evaluation of the merits of the demand for settlement or offer of compromise.

 

SB 568 – Privacy: Internet: minors. California Internet Eraser Law. As of Jan.1, 2015, prohibits an operator of an Internet Web site, online service, online application, or mobile application from marketing or advertising specified types of products or services to a minor. Also prohibits an operator from knowingly using, disclosing, or compiling the personal information of a minor (or allowing a third party to do so) for the purpose of marketing or advertising specified types of products or services.

 

 


 

 

Covered California and the Affordable Care Act

 

AB 422 – Requires information on Covered California's health care coverage and the continued availability of Medi-Cal options to be included on the National School Lunch Program notifications that school districts provide to students.

 

SB 332 – Requires transparency for California's contracts and rates of payment to vendors, contractors, board and staff. Such contracts must be available for public inspection under the California Public Records Act, except for health plan contracts and their rates, which are made public in three and four years respectively.

 

 


 

 

Other

 

AB 362 – (Ting) – Until Jan.1, 2019, excludes from gross income any amounts received by an employee from an employer to compensate for additional federal income taxes incurred by the employee on employer-provided health-care benefits because (for federal income tax purposes) the same-sex spouse or domestic partner of the employee is not considered the spouse of the employee. (The exclusion from gross income will only apply for domestic partners now, since the Supreme Court ruling on same-sex spouses in the Windsor case.)

 

AB 1266 – Pupil rights: sex-segregated school programs and activities. – "California Bathroom Bill" – Controversial law allowing transgender students in public schools to choose which restrooms they use and whether they participate in boy or girl sports. Forces all California public schools to permit biological boys in girls' restrooms and showers, along with biological girls in boys' restrooms and showers.

 

AB 1308 – Authorizes a midwife to directly obtain supplies and devices, obtain and administer drugs and diagnostic tests, order testing and receive reports that are necessary to his/her practice of midwifery and consistent with his/her scope of practice. Expands the disclosures required to be made by a midwife to a prospective client to include the specific procedures that warrant consultation with a physician and surgeon.

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Myths vs. reality

Wine has a rich mythology, including how it should be chosen, stored, and served. Much of that information is limited or downright wrong. Here's a rundown.

Myth: Wine improves with age.
Reality: Only certain wines may benefit from a few years of aging.

Wines that have a good balance of acidity, a lot of tannins, and intense fruit flavor may well improve with age. Candidates include some red wines (including most of the better cabernet sauvignons we've tested) and some heartier white wines, such as certain Burgundies and chardonnays. But even a wine with staying power will typically improve for no more than two to three years from the vintage year if it's white, three to five years if it's red; after that, quality might actually decline.

Myth: White wines go best only with fish and fowl; reds with meat and spicier fare.
Reality: A wine's color isn't always the best guide to the foods it will complement.

It's a rule of thumb, but experiment. It's as important to focus on the meal's spices and sauces as on its primary ingredients. As a rule, richer dishes go best with full-bodied wine, including most cabernet sauvignons and zinfandels, and many chardonnays. Good choices for spicy foods include pinot grigios and semi-dry whites such as gewόrztraminers and rieslings. Lighter fare generally pairs nicely with lighter wines, including many bottles of the red varietals such as gamay (used to make Beaujolais) and pinot noir, and of white varietals such as sauvignon blanc, pinot grigio, and dry riesling.

Myth: Wine needs special storage facilities.
Reality: Wine can be safely stored in almost any home.

A trend is now to store wine in a temperature-controlled cellar or custom refrigerator. But unless you're collecting very expensive wines, any spot in the house that is out of direct sunlight, remains cool (less than 70 degrees F) at all times without temperature fluctuations, and isn't subject to vibration will hold wine safely for a year or two. Most basements fit the bill. Store cork-finished bottles on their side. Screw cap bottles may be stored upright.

Myth: White wines should be served well chilled, red wines at room temperature.
Reality: For reds and whites, ideal serving temperature varies by wine type.

To get maximum flavor from the bottle, rich white wines, including most chardonnays, should be served cool, not chilled (limit them to about an hour in the refrigerator). Only lighter whites, including most sauvignon blancs, should be well chilled (about two hours in the fridge--longer and they might become too cold). Lighter reds, such as pinot noirs, should be served cool. Only "big" reds--such as most cabernets and zinfandels--are best served at about 60 to 65 degrees F. For more see Serving and storing wine.

Myth: Wine should be opened before serving to allow time for breathing.
Reality: Not all wines improve when exposed to air--and wine in a bottle with an opening the size of a dime rarely improves.

Opening a bottle a few minutes early does no harm, and certain wines will improve somewhat after they're exposed to air. But merely uncorking a bottle and letting it sit exposes too little of the wine to make a difference. The best way to fully enjoy a wine before you drink it is to swirl it around in your glass and sniff.

Myth: Each wine varietal demands its own glass shape.
Reality: One glass for reds and one for whites will suffice.

Wine snobbery now urges a different glass for almost every varietal. Two types will do: A set of wide, 12-to-16-ounce glasses for reds, and more slender, 8-to-12-ounce glasses for whites.

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Top Wines around USD$10


 

Top Wines around USD$20


 

Top Wines around USD$40