Members of the STS-88 crew (from left) Pilot Rick Sturckow, Mission Specialist Nancy Currie, Commander Bob Cabana and Mission Specialist Jim Newman pose with the Node 1 of the International Space Station in the high bay of the Space Station Processing Facility.
Recently, Israel has issued a statement about recognition of Palestine, arguably under pressure from the US, and as a part of President Obama’s initiative for peaceful relationship between the US and the countries in the Middle East. By now all the right thinking people all over the world, including American citizens, understand and underline the need for a lasting settlement of all the unresolved issues centered on the Middle East.
During his March 2000 visit to the region ‘in the footsteps of Jesus’ on the 2,000th anniversary of the traditional date of Jesus' birth, Pope John Paul II also emphasized the need for peace in the region. The Biblical sites he visited include Galilee (near the site where Jesus Christ is said to have preached the Sermon on the Mount), Bethlehem, Nazareth and Jerusalem.
On that occasion Pope John Paul II told Palestinians that they had the right to a homeland, visited a refugee camp in Bethlehem where he made a powerful statement condemning their treatment. He also visited the northern Israeli town of Nazareth where Christian-Muslim tensions had erupted over a mosque on the disputed land next to the Church of the Annunciation, and the old city of Jerusalem, which is occupied by Israel but is claimed by Palestinians as the capital of their country.
Let us see how the UN views the situation. In May 2009, the UN had accused Israel of restricting development of Bethlehem in the West Bank. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said just 13% of land around Bethlehem was open for use by the Palestinian population. The traditional birthplace of Jesus Christ is hemmed in by Israeli settlements and military zones as well as Israel's West Bank barrier.
The Palestinian governorate is home to about 175,000 people, including some Christians. Two-thirds of the governorate's land (660 sq km or 255 squire miles) is under Israeli control and about 86,000 Israelis live in settlements and outposts in the governorate, OCHA said.
Israel occupied the West Bank in the 1967 war and it is regarded as illegal under international law, although Israel disputes this.
"Israeli measures have radically reduced the space available to the inhabitants of Bethlehem, compromising the future economic and social development of the governorate," the OCHA report said.
The West Bank barrier cuts through Bethlehem's western edges blocking off grazing and agricultural land. "As a result, Bethlehem's potential for residential and industrial expansion and development has been reduced, as well as its access to natural resources," the report said.
Israel says the West Bank barrier is to keep out Palestinian attackers and suicide bombers, but the Palestinians call it a land grab since it juts into the West Bank. OCHA report cited more than 20 cases of new Israeli buildings on occupied territory since January.
Former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon promised the previous US administration that he would evacuate all unauthorized outposts built after March 2001, but according to some observers, the outposts still remain.
The Middle East was the centre of the old world, consisting of Africa, Asia and Europe where most of the human settlements, cultures, religions, etc. developed from the ancient times. One of the oldest religions and two major religions in the world has its origins here. People of all the three religions have their religious roots and pilgrimage centers in this region. Even to those who do not believe in these religions, the places and countries in this region are very important because they were once the centers of learning, trade, scientific developments and great libraries. So, it is in everyone’s interest to keep this region without wars and conflicts so that everyone can visit this area fearlessly, for religious purposes or otherwise.
Look at the map above (CLICK ON THE MAP for large size) containing some of the Biblical sites. Do you find any place that evokes some kind of sentiment? Yes, most of you will find places that are dear to you for one reason or the other, whatever may be your religion or political interests. So, don’t you want this region to remain peaceful, developed and thriving, as they once used to be?
Barika, a female gorilla at the Calgary Zoo, holds a knife accidentally left in her enclosure by a zookeeper in this picture taken on Tuesday June 16, 2009. Zoo officials say that gorillas don't understand the idea of using tools as weapons and would have picked up the knife out of curiosity. A keeper carried the paring knife into the enclosure to help prepare food for the gorillas, said Cathy Gaviller, the zoo's director of conservation, education and research. The keeper stuck the blade in his pocket, but it slid out unnoticed and was left behind.
What is being claimed as the world's first compressed natural gas-powered (CNG powered) custom chopper is on display at Chesapeake Energy Corp. in Oklahoma City on Wednesday, June 17, 2009. "American Chopper" stars Paul Teutul Sr. and his sons, Paul Jr. and Mikey, built the custom chopper for Chesapeake Energy Corp.
This female gorilla in San Fransisco zoo is still bitter about not being cast as the "love interest" in "Mighty Joe Young".
Angels & Demons, the upcoming film adaptation of Dan Brown's novel of the same name, has raised considerable interest in antimatter. In the story CERN summons Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) to investigate a murder victim branded with the ambigram of the secret society, Illuminati. Langdon discovers the secret society's plan to kill four Roman Catholic cardinals and destroy St. Peter's Basilica with stolen antimatter during a papal conclave.
Dan Brown’s books (and films based on them) have a tendency to pick up historical facts; both disputed and acknowledged, and mix them with religion, faith, science, history, etc. in such a way that they create controversies, confusion and finally ignorance. Sometimes, it is quite difficult for even the informed reader to separate fact from fiction. This is the selling USP of Dan Brown books, and later, the films based on them. But, attacking established faiths like Christianity, the life and realities of Jesus Christ, twisting Jesus’ relationship with Mary Magdalene, churches and priests, and twisting other facts create a lot of misinformation and disharmony in the society at large. Destructive elements always pick up the misinformation and harmful factual errors in Brown’s stories to harm the human society in all possible ways.
The reference to antimatter as a weapon to kill four Roman Catholic cardinals and to destroy St. Peter's Basilica is an example of spreading ignorance even about science. According to scientific sources, the quantity of humanly produced antimatter, especially at CERN, is not enough to energize even a light bulb for a few seconds. It would take billions of years to produce enough antimatter for an antimatter weapon, using the technology available today, i.e., two billion years to produce 1 gram or 1 mole of antihydrogen (1 mole of antihydrogen = approximately 6.02×1023 atoms of antihydrogen). As hydrogen is the simplest matter to produce, currently the research is on more on antihydrogen. Further Brown may be unaware of the fact that antimatter is the costliest substance in existence, with an estimated cost of $62.5 trillion per gram. According to CERN, it has cost a few hundred million Swiss Francs to produce about 1 billionth of a gram.
Though Dan Brown refers to antimatter in Angels & Demons, claimed to be fiction, it is a highly improbable possibility. One does not need antimatter to do the job Brown alludes antimatter to do. Click here to tead more and view more photos.
About the image and the author: The image above is the photograph of a painting, Sermon On The Mount by Carl Heinrich Bloch, (birth May 23, 1834 and death February 22, 1890), a Danish painter. He was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, and studied as a student of Wilhelm Marstrand at the Royal Danish Academy of Art (Det Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi). From 1859 to 1866, Bloch lived in Italy and this period of his life was important for the development of his historical style.
Photo 1: Mary Magdalene at the foot of the Cross, she was the only one to remain there. All the male followers of Jesus fled the scene.
Photo 2: "Noli me Tangere" by Hans Holbein the Younger, a German artist and printmaker who worked in a Northern Renaissance style. He is best known as one of the greatest portraitists of the 16th century
“Noli me tangere” means "don't touch me" in Latin, the words spoken by Jesus to Mary Magdalene after his resurrection, according to John (20:17). These words were a popular trope in Gregorian chant, and the moment in which they were spoken, in the Life of Christ, was a popular subject for paintings and the phrase “Noli me tangere” used to be the usual title given by most of the painters in the medieval period.
In Biblical accounts Mary of Magdala (Mary Magdalene) was a Galilean disciple of Jesus Christ. She was a witness to the crucifixion of Jesus. And she was a witness to the mystery of Jesus Christ's resurrected body.
As per gospels, along with the other women followers of Jesus, Mary had accompanied Jesus on his journey to Jerusalem and witnessed the crucifixion. Mary remained at the cross until Jesus’ body was taken down and laid in a tomb. In the early dawn, when the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, along with other women, came to the sepulcher with spices to anoint the body. But they found the sepulcher empty.
Mary's epithet, the 'Apostle to the Apostles', comes from her ascription as the first witness to the empty tomb. Mary then shared the good news with Jesus’ other close disciples.
According to John she was the first witness of the Resurrection of Jesus. At first, she did not recognize him. But when Jesus called her name, she recognized him. She wanted to cling to him, but he forbade her, "Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God’”.
Luke adds to Mary's persona by alluding that Jesus had cast seven demons cast out of her. Some writers have taken this to signify a perfect status for Mary within the movement.
The last mention in the canonical Gospels of Mary Magdalene refers her to have returned to Jerusalem. She is probably included in the group of women who joined the Apostles in the Upper Room in Jerusalem after Jesus' ascension.
According to various accounts that the faithful people read, discuss and believe, Mary Magdalene is the only person to witness the empty sepulcher and the Resurrection of Christ. Still, ironically, Mary is referred to as a prostitute, wife of Jesus Christ, Mary of Bethany and "the woman sinner", by many, including popular books, films and even the earlier Church versions of her including in the sermon Pope Gregory I gave in 591.
References: Acts 1.14, John 19.25-30, John 19.41, John 20.1-2, John 20.17, Luke 8.2-3, Luke 23.44-49, Luke 23.53, Luke 23.55-24.1, Mark 15.33-41, Mark 15.46-47, Mark 16.1-2, Matthew 27.45-56, Matthew 27.59-60, Matthew 28.1, and Peter 12.
The above photograph of ‘The Penitent Mary Magdalene’ is of a much reproduced composition by Titian (Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio, born probably in 1488/1490 and died on 27 August 1576), who was a very famous painter of the 16th century Venetian school of art of the Italian Renaissance.
Titian was a very versatile painter, whose works include portraits, landscape backgrounds, and mythological and religious subjects. He had a lifelong interest in experimenting with colors. His later works may not contain the vivid, luminous tints of his early pieces, but the loose brushwork and subtlety of polychromatic modulations are without precedent in the history of Western art.
