T. G. I. F. Solitude

Very, Very Old

On the outskirts of Jerusalem (above), archaeologists have discovered the remains of a 2,300-year-old rural village that dates back to the Second Temple period, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) announced.

Trenches covering some 8,000 square feet (750 square meters) revealed narrow alleys and a few single-family stone houses, each containing several rooms and an open courtyard. 

Among the ruins, archaeologists also found dozens of coins, cooking pots, milling tools and jars for storing oil and wine.

"The rooms generally served as residential and storage rooms, while domestic tasks were carried out in the courtyards," Irina Zilberbod, the excavation director for the IAA, explained in a statement.

Archaeologists don't know what the town would have been called in ancient times, but it sits near the legendary Burma Road, a route that allowed supplies and food to flow into Jerusalem during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.

The Second Temple period (538 B.C. to A.D. 70) refers to the lifetime of the Jewish temple that was built on Jerusalem's Temple Mount to replace the First Temple after it was destroyed. 

Archaeological evidence suggests this provincial village hit its peak during the third century B.C., when Judea was under the control of the Seleucid monarchy after the breakup of Alexander the Great's empire.

"The phenomenon of villages and farms being abandoned at the end of the Hasmonean dynasty or the beginning of Herod the Great's succeeding rule is one that we are familiar with from many rural sites in Judea," archaeologist Yuval Baruch explained in a statement.

 "And it may be related to Herod's massive building projects in Jerusalem, particularly the construction of the Temple Mount, and the mass migration of villagers to the capital to work on these projects."

Muslims Warned Not to Live on Mars

Muslims have been warned in a Fatwa not to go and live on Mars because it would pose "a real risk to life", according to a Dubai news organization.

A fatwā

(Arabic: فتوى‎; plural fatāwā Arabic: فتاوى‎) 

in the Islamic faith is the term for the legal judgment or learned interpretation that a qualified jurist or mufti can give on issues pertaining to the Islamic law. The person who issues a fatwā is called, in that respect, a Mufti.  

This is not necessarily a formal position since most Muslims argue that anyone trained in Islamic law may give an opinion (fatwā) on its teachings. If a fatwā does not break new ground, then it is simply called a ruling.

The General Authority of Islamic Affairs and Endowment (GAIAE) in the United Arab Emirates said that anyone making such a "hazardous trip" is likely to die for "no righteous reason".  They would therefore be liable to a "punishment similar to that of suicide in the Hereafter", the Khaleej Times reported.

Vision of The GAIAE 

is a UAE leading entity promoting social awareness and progress according to the tolerant teachings of Islam that recognize the current realities and understand the future challenges. 

Mission of The GAIAE 

works on enhancing religious awareness by building and maintaining mosques and memorization centers, managing Haj and Umra affairs and investing in Waqf (endowment) for the good of society.

The Fatwa was apparently issued in response to the proposal from the Dutch company Mars One last year to send four people on a one-way journey to the red planet in 2022.

"Such a one-way journey poses a real risk to life, and that can never be justified in Islam," the committee said. "There is a possibility that an individual who travels to planet Mars may not be able to remain alive there, and is more vulnerable to death."

"Protecting life against all possible dangers and keeping it safe is an issue agreed upon by all religions and is clearly stipulated in verse 4/29 of the Holy Koran: Do not kill yourselves or one another. Indeed, Allah is to you ever Merciful," the committee, chaired by Professor Dr Farooq Hamada, said.

Over 200,000 people have applied to be civilian-astronauts on the Mars One mission. Experts have questioned both the financial and practical viability of the mission.

The Mars One website states: "It is Mars One's goal to establish a human settlement on Mars. Human settlement of Mars is the next giant leap for humankind.  Exploring the solar system as a united humanity will bring us all closer together. Mars is the stepping stone of the human race on its voyage into the universe."

Hezbollah and Syria

The twin bombings that killed at least five people outside of an Iranian cultural center recently were a particularly pointed assault on the Shiite party Hezbollah and Iran, both key allies of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime.

"They're essentially going after [Hezbollah's] boss," said Phillip Smyth, who researches Hezbollah at the University of Maryland. "You don't get any more direct than that."

But if the attack was aimed at driving Hezbollah out of Syria's civil war, Smyth suggested that the Iranian-supported militia is unlikely to relinquish its role. "I seriously doubt that," he told The WorldPost, saying that Hezbollah leadership had recently "doubled down" on its statements in support of fighting in Syria.

The bombings Wednesday were the sixth such attack to hit Lebanon this year and the first since the country announced a new government on Saturday. Many of the attacks have targeted majority-Shiite areas in south Beirut and the town of Hermel near the Syrian border, in what is widely seen as an effort to pressure Hezbollah.

The group has sent thousands of fighters to Syria to boost the Assad regime's military strength, and Iran has lent vital support to both Hezbollah and the Syrian government, including diplomatic backing and military aid.

The Abdullah Azzam Brigades, an al-Qaeda linked jihadi group that claimed responsibility on Twitter for the attacks, called the bombings a "response to the killings of the Iranian party [Hezbollah] alongside the criminal Syrian regime" and said it would continue launching attacks until Hezbollah withdraws. 

The group also claimed responsibility for an attack in November at the Iranian embassy, which sparked a string of increasingly frequent bombings in Lebanon.

At the scene of the bombings, Hezbollah politician Ali Ammar insisted that his party would stay in Syria regardless of the attacks, telling reporters that Hezbollah would "not withdraw from a strategic battle."

In a speech in Beirut earlier, Hezbollah chief 

Hasrallah expressed the same sentiment, saying 

the deaths and damage caused by recent bombings 

would not drive his party out of Syria.

"This blood and wounds and patience and perseverance are part of the battle," Nasrallah said. "And yes, it is worth it so that we do not lose our land, so that our children are not slaughtered and our property stolen."

Hump Day Art

Modern

Art

Domestic Violence is Overrated

Lloyd Oliver, a Democratic candidate for district attorney in Harris County, Texas, has a problem with domestic violence: He thinks it's prosecuted too much.

Oliver told the Texas Observer Wednesday that domestic violence is "so, so overrated." If elected, he indicated he'd redirect resources away from family violence to focus on other issues.

Harris County has the highest rate of domestic violence homicides in the state. According to a report by the Texas Council on Family Violence, 30 women were murdered by intimate partners in 2012.

Oliver lost the district attorney's race in 2012 narrowly. After winning the Democratic primary, he came within five points of winning the district attorney's seat.

This isn't the first time Oliver has come under fire for comments on domestic violence.

In a 2012 appearance on "Reasonable Doubts," a weekly call-in show sponsored by the Harris County Criminal Lawyers Association, Oliver said domestic violence victims should "maybe learn how to box a little better."

Later, when asked to clarify, he suggested domestic violence is part of some couple's sexual routine.

"There are some people -- I don't understand it -- but part of their making love is to beat one another up first," he said. "Why do we want to get involved in people's bedrooms?"

This is an Ostrich mentality…

From the standpoint of sticking one’s head in the sand to avoid seeing an obvious reality albeit painful, and even though the Ostrich does not do this, it is still a very good graphic illustration of this kind of stupidity.

DomesticViolence Statistics

• Every 9 seconds in the US a woman is assaulted or beaten.
• Around the world, at least one in every three women has been beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused during her lifetime. Most often, the abuser is a member of her own family.
• Domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women—more than car accidents, muggings, and rapes combined.
• Studies suggest that up to 10 million children witness some form of domestic violence annually.
• Nearly 1 in 5 teenage girls who have been in a relationship said a boyfriend threatened violence or self-harm if presented with a breakup.
• Everyday in the US, more than three women are murdered by their husbands or boyfriends.
• Ninety-two percent of women surveyed listed reducing domestic violence and sexual assault as their top concern.
• Domestic violence victims lose nearly 8 million days of paid work per year in the US alone—the equivalent of 32,000 full-time jobs.
• Based on reports from 10 countries, between 55 percent and 95 percent of women who had been physically abused by their partners had never contacted non-governmental organizations, shelters, or the police for help.
• The costs of intimate partner violence in the US alone exceed $5.8 billion per year: $4.1 billion are for direct medical and health care services, while productivity losses account for nearly $1.8 billion.
• Men who as children witnessed their parents’ domestic violence were twice as likely to abuse their own wives than sons of nonviolent parents.

Bars, Churches, Schools, and Guns

On February 18, 2014, Georgia lawmakers voted to allow bars and churches to decide for themselves whether to let gun owners carry weapons into their buildings.

The measure heads for the state Senate after the members of Georgia's House of Representatives approved the legislation with a 119-56 vote, according to the chamber's Twitter account.

The rights of gun owners became a major political issue in 2012, when the United States experienced a rash of mass shootings, including a massacre that claimed the lives of 20 first-graders and six adults in Newtown, Connecticut.

Gun-control and gun-rights advocates have turned their respective efforts to statehouses after gun control legislation stalled in the U.S. Congress.

Under the Georgia bill, churches and bars would be allowed to decide whether to allow weapons inside their buildings, according to the legislation's sponsor, Rep. Rick Jasperse, a Republican.

"We don't need to be penalizing law-abiding citizens and taking away their Second Amendment rights," Jasperse said, referring to the U.S. Constitution's right to bear arms.

The legislation would also allow secondary schools to decide whether to allow teachers and administrators to carry weapons.

"The legislation does not represent the majority of people of Georgia, but only a small number of gun advocates," said Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver, a Democrat who voted against the bill.

If the bill passes, gun owners will also be able to take their weapons into governmental buildings if security screenings are not in place, but guns would remain prohibited in courthouses and prisons. 

Sounds like to this writer that we are moving backwards, back into the Wild West.

The Wild West holds a special place in American history—Western films depict it as a place where the rules didn't apply, and where scores were settled with gun slinging and shootouts. The colorful characters who made up the old West were men, women, cowboys, Indians, sheriffs just plain outlaws.

But, what bothers me more is allowing firearms in bars, churches, and possibly schools where our young minds go to learn about American justice and freedom and dream about universal brotherhood.

We are all

... just another link on a chain...

Becoming Mentally Strong

Here are 9 essential habits and practices of mentally strong people that can help you get through any challenge or hardship.

I.  See things objectively.

There's a maxim in the ancient philosophy of Stoicism, "There is no good or bad, there is only perception," which was later echoed in Shakespeare's famous line, "There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so."

The way we perceive a situation has a tremendous power to either help or harm us. So often, we react emotionally and project negative judgments onto a situation, when the first key to overcoming a challenge is to see things objectively.

So the elements of that are:

• Your perception.
• Can you see things clearly and evenly?
• Can you think creatively?
• Can you think out of the box kinds?
• What is your determination?

II.  Let go of entitlement.

We all deserve happiness, but we don't deserve a life free from obstacles or setbacks. An attitude of entitlement -- thinking that we deserve to get what we want most or all of the time -- can make it much more difficult to deal with challenges when they come around and take you by surprise.

Mentally strong people recognize that their entire life plans, and life itself, could be derailed at any moment -- and they don't waste their effort feeling wronged by destiny when things don't quite go their way.

III.  Keep an even keel.

Emotional stability and the ability to keep a cool head is an enormous asset when it comes to dealing with challenging situations. Fortunately, emotional stability tends to increase with age -- and it should come as no surprise that we become happier as a result.

IV.  Don't aspire to be happy all the time.

Excessive preoccupation with happiness can actually lead to an unhealthy attitude towards negative emotions and experiences. Mentally strong people don't try to avoid negative emotions -- rather, accepting both positive and negative emotions and letting different feelings coexist is a key component of resiliency.

Australian social researcher Hugh Mackay argues that our cultural obsession with happiness can be dangerous, and that instead of worrying about being happy, we should concern ourselves with being whole.

V.  Be a realistic optimist.

Mentally tough people make a habit of getting up after they fall. Instead of getting upset, feeling hopeless and giving up in the face of obstacles, they take the opportunity to put on their thinking caps and come up with a creative solution to the problem at hand. Mentally strong people tend to be realistic optimists -- they have the hopefulness of optimists and the clarity of pessimists -- which gives them both the motivation and the critical thinking required to come up with creative solutions.

VI.  Live in the present moment.

Being present -- rather than dwelling on the past or anticipating the future -- allows you to see things as they really are. Whether or not they have a formal meditation or mindfulness practice, mentally strong people tend to have a mindful, attentive way of engaging with the world.

The science has demonstrated that mindfulness really can boost your brain power. Mindfulness practice has been linked with emotional stability, reduced stress and anxiety, and improved mental clarity.

VII.  Be persistent in the pursuit of your goals.

We've all heard inspiring stories of amazingly successful people who overcame significant hardships and failures to get there. They're exhibiting one of the most fundamental qualities of resilient people: Perseverance, or as psychologist Angela Lee Duckworth puts it, grit.

"In all those different contexts, one factor emerged as a secret to success, and it wasn't social intelligence, good looks, physical health or IQ. It was grit," Duckworth said in a TED talk. "Grit is passion or perseverance for very long-term goals. Grit is having stamina. Grit is sticking with your future, day in and day out -- not just for a day, not just for a month, but for years -- to make that future a reality."

VIII.  Know when it's time to let go.

Just as important as perseverance is the ability to recognize that you can control only your own actions -- not the results of those actions. Accepting this fact allows us to resign to the things that are beyond our power.

Stoicism, is yielding to the things that you can't change and making the best of them, rather than allowing them to upset or frustrate you. We need strength, determination and perseverance, but these aren't the answer in every situation. The mentally strong person lives by the Serenity Prayer -- they change what they can control, accept what they can't control, and know the difference between the two.

IX.  Love your life.

Amor fati is a Latin term that translates to "love of fate," a concept derived from the ancient Greek and Roman Stoic philosophers that later reemerged in the work of Nietzsche. And it's perhaps the single most important key to mental strength.

Mentally strong people are grateful and appreciative of obstacles because of the simple fact that obstacles are life itself…  

they are one’s path.

Grow Your Brain

We know all about the upsides of fresh air and a bit of scenery – but according to a study, going for a walk could also make your brain grow.

Researchers found that an energetic stroll three times a week increased the size of the hippocampus, the brain’s memory hub, which is one of the first areas to be destroyed by Alzheimer’s disease.

They asked 120 men and women aged between 55 and 80 to go for a brisk 40-minute walk three times a week.

Normally, the brain shrinks with age. But scans done after a year showed participants’ key regions – including the hippocampus – had grown by up to 2 per cent, the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s annual conference heard.

Scientists explained that the growth took up to two years off the brain’s age – a change they said marked an ‘enormous’ improvement. However another group who had been asked to do a series of simple stretching exercises over the year saw the same brain regions shrink by around 1.5 per cent.

Lead researcher Dr Kirk Erickson, from the University of Pittsburgh, said: ‘You don’t need highly vigorous physical activity to see these effects. This may sound like it is a modest amount but it’s like reversing the age clock by a couple of years.’

Dr Erickson explained that while exercise isn’t a magic bullet when it comes to fighting dementia, it seems to be one of the best ways of keeping the mind sharp.

He told the Chicago conference: ‘Most of the population is still very sedentary and it’s very difficult to get people up and moving.

‘We aren’t training older people to run marathons. We are getting them up and moving at a moderate exercise level several times a week and seeing enormous improvements over a period of several months.’

He added: ‘The brain remains modifiable well into late adulthood. Even though brain shrinkage and cognitive decline occurs, it doesn’t seem to be as inevitable as we once thought.

‘Physical activity seems to be one of the most positive approaches for affecting cognitive brain health and cognition in late adulthood and throughout lifespan.’

He went on to say that combining physical activity with mental exercise – such as solving puzzles – is also beneficial.

Elizabeth Stine-Morrow, professor of psychology from the University of Illinois, stressed that it is never too early to start doing mental or physical exercise.

She said: ‘The earlier you change your everyday habits, the better off you are. But by the same token, it’s never too late.’

Dr Erickson said different types of exercise boost the brain in slightly different ways – the key is to find one you like.

He said: ‘Most of the population is still very sedentary and it’s very difficult to get people up and moving but there are a few things that we have learned.

‘One thing is that you have to do something that you enjoy.

Avoiding Questions

Recently, on a college championship round of Jeopardy, it seemed three white college students avoided the "African American History" category until they had absolutely no other options.

During the second round, rather than being asked about black history, the contestants gladly chose from categories like "International Cinema Showcase," "Weather Verbs," and "Kiwi Fauna."

The students in question only answered three out of the five questions in the category correctly. Although they knew the answers for clues on Martin Luther King Jr., Apollo Theater and Phyllis Wheatley, they missed questions on the Scottsboro Boys and the 1st Rhode Island Regiment.

So, how could this happen with all the emphasis we have placed on racial equality, Black History Month, MLK Jr. Holiday, and understanding Black heritage?

Fewer than one in three black Americans and not even half of whites say the United States has made “a lot” of progress toward achieving racial equality in the half-century since the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. declared he had “a dream” that one day freedom, justice and brotherhood would prevail and that his children would “not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

Blacks and whites generally agree that the two races get along well, but about 7 in 10 blacks and more than 1 in 4 whites also concur that blacks are treated unequally by the criminal justice system. 

A majority of blacks also say they are treated less fairly than whites in public schools and in the workplace. Fully 1 in 3 blacks, 1 in 5 Hispanic Americans and 1 in 10 whites said they were treated unfairly within the last year because of perceptions of their race.

In 1960, black men were five times as likely as white men to be in local, state or federal prison. Fifty years later, black men are six times as likely as white men to be incarcerated and Hispanic men three times as likely.

Unfortunately, this is our current status 50 years after King’s march on Washington DC.

And, it is no wonder that college students avoid questions about black history…  as pretty much, nothing has really changed other than superficial posturing and political correct statements being made.

Eye Opener

An Opinion   
by Alex Hutchins

Do or Not Do, There is no Try...

The above comment was said by the character Yoda in Star Wars Sagas and has no doubt been repeated many times by consultants and professors of Leadership classes many times since then; but, the phrase is easy to do and very difficult to put into practice because most people, including this author, unconsciously use the words, “I’ll try.”

Try

to make an effort to do something 

to attempt to accomplish or complete something

to do or use (something) in order to see if it works or will be successful

to do or use (something) in order to find out if you like it

Do

to bring to pass  carry out

to  perform, execute

to  commit or to  bring about, effect

to bring to an end :  finish

While Do is more proactive than Try, doing puts you into a mind-set of completion and even if one does not reach one’s goal straight away, then there is always the concept of continuous improvement and ultimate accomplishment.

If you were to talk to a successful person and ask them if they should “try” or “do,” the odds are that they would say the latter, without even having to think about it.

If you look at the explanations of “try” you will see that all of them give the person a backdoor of escape which should only be used, in this author’s opinion, as a last resort and not as a launching point.

Presidents Day Leadership Advice from Former Presidents

1. George Washington:  Don’t doubt your own authority
2. Andrew Jackson:  Build on what makes you unique
3. Abraham Lincoln:  Balance idealism with pragmatism
4. Teddy Roosevelt:  Embrace innovation for the sake of innovation
5. Woodrow Wilson:  Consider the needs of others as well as your own
6. Franklin Roosevelt:  Focus on how you communicate change
7. Dwight Eisenhower:  View your rivals as partners
8. Lyndon Johnson:  Don’t lose sense of your priorities
9. Richard Nixon:  The cover-up is always worse than the crime
10. Ronald Regan:  Bring a sense of optimism to everything you do.

Note:  While this list/comments were found online and therefore represent someone else’s opinion, I am still disappointed that John F. Kennedy was not included.                     

During a recent conversation with a  Navy SEAL commander, tangible advice that can be applied to almost any business was offered:

     1. Teamwork is your top priority.

     2. Early leaders are good leaders.

     3. Excel at ethics.

     4. Stay calm.

     5. Hard times help you adapt--quickly.

     6. Ambush the competition

     7. Study Darwin.

Leadership lessons from Nelson Mandela

• Never give up on seemingly impossible ideal
• Choose collaboration over retaliation
• Leadership is behavioral, not positional

à The main Leadership lesson from Steve Jobs is:  Staying Focused

And what is truly amazing in all of this is that it takes a SciFi writer, George Lucus and his ghost writer Alan Dean Foster to break down a fundamental truth of leadership into one simple, easy to remember phrase, around which all other concepts revolve…  and yet, if one truly reflects upon these all these Men of Wisdom statements, one cannot help but realize that DO is embedded in the heart and soul of all of them... 

Less is indeed more!