In a somber yet breathtaking photograph by Reuters Philippe Wojazer of Notre Dame Cathedral, the cross still stands! Notre Dame Cathedral caught fire in Paris on Monday, and it was up in flames for hours upon hours. As the dust settled, this photograph says it all. https://twitter.com/becket/status/1117919627642900480 In this holiest of weeks for the Christian…
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She world’s most fertile woman has had an incredible 44 children – and now has to raise her massive brood on her own. Mariam Nabatanzi had her record number of babies by the time she was just 36 and all with the same father. Now 39, Mariam has had three sets of quadruplets, four sets of triplets and six sets of twins. Sadly, her husband walked out on her three years ago and she is now solely responsible for her huge family. Mariam, from Uganda, was married aged just 12 to her then 40-year-old husband. Her first set of twins came along just a year later. Mariam’s life has been marred by tragedy and she and all of her children are forced to live in four cramped homes built from cement bricks with a corrugated iron roof. They are surrounded by coffee fields. After her first sets of twins were born, Nabatanzi went to a doctor who told her she had unusually large ovaries. He advised her that birth control like pills might cause health problems, so the children kept coming.
The fire that raged through Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris on Monday cause a massive amount of damage to the iconic building, though several of the structure’s historical features have remained intact. Some of those features include the cathedral’s three rose windows, which are massive round stained-glass windows that sit over the cathedral’s three main portals. They date back to the 13th century and are one of the building’s many focal points. There are three windows — North, South and West — with the North Rose having been built first around 1250. The largest is the South window, which measures around 60 feet high. All of the windows feature Biblical scenes from the Old and New Testaments, stories of the lives of the Twelve Apostles and the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the cathedral’s website calls them “one of the greatest masterpieces of Christianity.” (Photo: vadim kozlovsky / Shutterstock.com) Footage of the inside of the cathedral taken after the blaze shows that the windows have remained, as well as many of the church’s pews. “The large rose windows don’t appear to have suffered catastrophic damage,” Franck Riester, France’s culture minister, said in a news conference in Paris on Tuesday, via the New York Times . INSIDE NOTRE DAME: Footage shows smoldering interior of Paris’ iconic Notre Dame cathedral. Firefighters this morning declared success in their battle to extinguish the flames that engulfed the building. https://t.co/vrz8KstBE1 pic.twitter.com/mv7PGg6Jsv — ABC News (@ABC) April 16, 2019 Along with the windows, the cathedral’s Great Organ, which sits in front of the West Rose, also remains intact, as does its main sanctuary, facade and twin bell towers. The largest of the cathedral’s bells dates to 1681 and has been rung at several important events in history, including the end of the two world wars. Several historical artifacts were also saved after the blaze began, including the Crown of Thorns, believed to have been worn by Jesus Christ on the cross, the Tunic of Saint Louis, which is said to have belonged to King Louis IX, and other works. The artifacts will be transferred to the Louvre Museum for safekeeping, Riester said on French radio on Tuesday. The fate of other items, including a fragment of the True Cross, the cross that Jesus was crucified on, and one of the Holy Nails, believed to be from that cross, is unclear. Riester also noted that several of the cathedral’s large paintings appear to be unaffected but may have sustained water damage and have been harmed by smoke. Photo Credit: Luca Moi / Shutterstock.com
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The most popular milk worldwide comes out of goats. The U.S., where cow is queen, is an outlier. But new data shows that even in America, dairy goats are having a moment. Dairy goats herds expanded faster than any other major livestock group in the U.S. over the past decade. They’ve grown 61 percent between 2007 and 2017, according to the USDA’s latest Census of Agriculture, a once-every-five-years inventory of the nation’s farms. For context, broiler hens and beef cattle were relatively flat and numbers for specialty animals such as llamas, ostriches and emus fell off a cliff. The surge comes as goats have permeated pop culture. We’ve seen them frolicking and doing parkour while sporting adorable onesies on YouTube. We’ve maybe hoisted a 20-pound Nubian aloft in everybody’s favorite novelty yoga practice. And rent-a-goats are running amok in Boise and helping clear brush and prevent wildfires in California. Dairy-goat herds grew in all 48 states for which we have data. But the greatest increases came in the nation’s three biggest goat-dairy states: Wisconsin (up 47,000), Iowa (up 18,000) and Texas (up 20,000). Wisconsin’s growth came even as the number of goat dairies in the state shrank and the number of goats per dairy soared, a sign of increasing consolidation in the industry.
According to Janet Fletcher, publisher of the Planet Cheese blog and author of three books on cheese, small-time goat-milkers are being bought out by those with enough cash to compete on a global scale. She points to the 2017 sale of Meyenberg Goat Milk Products of Turlock, California, and the 2015 sale of Redwood Hill Farm in Sebastopol, California. Both were scooped up by Swiss dairy giant Emmi, which also bought Cypress Grove Chèvre, makers of the cult cheese Humboldt Fog. And at the end of 2017, Canadian dairy giant Saputo bought Wisconsin-based Montchevre for $265 million. It’s now one of the largest goat cheese producers in North America. Dairy goats’ gain may be dairy cows’ loss. The nation’s dairy herd grew just 3 percent from 2007 to 2017, with growth so concentrated in Texas, Michigan and Idaho that about three out of every five states actually ended the period with fewer cows. Studies show more than 3 percent of children have a cow’s milk allergy. It can cause gut symptoms and skin problems such as eczema. But allergies alone don’t explain the decline of cow’s milk. According to the USDA, an average American drinks about 18 gallons a year. In the 1970s, it was closer to 30. As cow’s milk loses the healthy reputation that once immunized it from competition, alt-milks like oat, almond and soy milks have swept in to claim market share. Goats aren’t far behind. Americans’ demand for goat’s milk has steadily risen since the late 1980s when chefs like Alice Waters at Chez Panisse blew our minds with fresh goat’s cheese on salads. Early goat cheese producer Laura Chenel became nearly a household name, but her product was still a specialty item you’d buy in a fancy gourmet shop or health food store.
Carrie Liebhauser, marketing director of LaClare Family Creamery in Malone, Wisconsin, says America is finally catching up with the rest of the world – at least in terms of milk from goats. “We are developing a palate for things that are more international and European, and there’s much more awareness of lactose intolerance. Goat’s milk isn’t free of lactose but it’s lower, and the fat globules in goat’s milk are much smaller and break down more easily.” Liebhauser says LaClare has grown 300 percent just in the past two years, with a full line of pasteurized milk, fresh chèvre and traditional cheeses like mozzarella, jack and cheddar made of goat’s milk. The LaClare story is typical. Larry and Clara Hedrich wanted to raise their kids on a farm. In 1978 they bought one that came complete with chickens, peacocks and two goats. They sold milk at the local farmers’ markets and in 2008 started experimenting with cheese. LaClare now processes milk from 7,000 goats. In goats as in many things, producers are pressed to grow big or get out. In 2006, as milk-goat growth was beginning to accelerate, Laura Chenel’s Chèvre rocked the artisan cheese world when it was sold to a French firm. Redwood Hill Farm used to make cheeses, but now leads a growing market for other cultured goat milk products. Helen Lentze, the company’s senior marketing director, says sales have risen more than 30 percent in the past five years as their goat’s milk yogurts and kefir (a fermented milk drink) found purchase among millennials and Gen Z.
While cows can be milked year round, goats are seasonal. There is often a surfeit of goat’s milk in the summer and a dearth in the winter, Lentze said. Business models have to support those seasonal fluctuations, either by producing products with different cycles and shelf lives, or by grouping producers together in a coop to ensure a steady supply. Redwood Hill sources from its own dairy as well as six others in California and Nevada. Lentze pointed out another phenomenon that rapidly becomes clear to anyone dipping their toe into the dairy goat world: It is dominated by women. “There are reports of women business executives dropping out to raise goats,” Lentze says, explaining their allure to women. “They are smaller and a gregarious social animal, and they are quite frankly easier on the environment and don’t produce as much methane. Their environmental hoofprint is a lot smaller.” Mary Keehn, the founder of Cypress Grove, is considered one of the four grand dames of American goat cheese. She acknowledges the meteoric rise in U.S. dairy goats, but says it’s not all easy street.
“America’s a cowboy country and cowboys look down on goats. To this day, banks have not wanted to loan to goat dairies. People think you can start as a hobby and scale up, but a small cow dairy is 250 cows and it takes 10 goats to equal the milk of one cow. You really need 1,000 goats to have a viable business, which means 2,000 babies you have to feed by bottle. The only path to success is having systems that manage larger quantities of goats.” There are other impediments, she says. Because there’s less money in it, fewer veterinarians specialize in goats and few pharmaceutical companies invest in goat-specific drugs. Nonetheless, she said, Cypress Grove has enjoyed years of double-digit growth. The booming industry is now attracting a different level of entrant. They aren’t hobbyists, they’re an elite group with ready capital who sit, as Keehn says, “at that intersection of business and agriculture.” The math will continue to be tricky, she says. A gallon of goat’s milk is $4.50 wholesale, while a gallon of cow’s milk runs from $1 to $1.50. Producers can’t charge four times as much for goat cheese and other products. Still, she said, cheese finds a way: At the first American Cheese Society competition in 1983 there were three card tables arrayed with cheeses. In 2018 there were more than 2,000 entrants.
In a further sick move, the sociologist used a school-age boy called Nayef to show how to deliver beatings “out of love” – so a woman can feel a “man’s strength”. And he disgustingly said that some women enjoyed being married to “violent and powerful husbands”. But he warned: “Some people punch her or slap her on the face… That’s not allowed.” Al-Ansari uploaded the sick footage to the Al-Mojtama YouTube channel.
In the guide he says: “The Prophet Muhammad… Look how merciful Islam is. The Prophet forbade striking the face. He forbade men from beating their wives on the face. Slapping the face, hitting the head, punching the nose – all of this is prohibited. The beating is for discipline.” World cup organisers FIFA are already under-fire for allowing the 2022 tournament to be held in a country where homosexuality is illegal. The video is a stark reminder about how women are treated in the strict Muslim nation. We must understand that the man is the leader of the house. A leader has authorities, just like a company manager Abd Al-Aziz Al-Khazraj
Al-Ansari begins the 3.30 tutorial by saying that the beating should be light and painless, and that it should make the wife feel her husband’s masculinity and strength, as well as her own femininity. Al-Ansari then demonstrated how to beat a wife on Nayef by slapping him on the shoulders, grabbing him and shaking him, and saying loudly: “I told you not to leave the house! How many times do I have to tell you?” He said: “Dear viewers, many people – especially people who are married – would like to know how to beat one’s wife. Is beating your wife necessary? Must a man beat his wife every day? No.
“First, we must understand that the man is the leader of the house. A leader has authorities, just like a company manager.
The leader of the house may decide to discipline the wife so life can move on.How does a husband beat his wife? He gives her a disciplinary beating out of love. He loves her
Abd Al-Aziz Al-Khazraj
“The leader of the house may decide to discipline the wife so life can move on.How does a husband beat his wife? He gives her a disciplinary beating out of love. He loves her. “Now, let’s see how Islam teaches how to beat your wife. Let’s imagine that Nayef here… Nayef is obviously a boy, but let’s imagine that he is the wife. How should a husband beat his wife? “First, he must admonish her – in other words, he should advise her. Then, he should refrain from sharing a bed with her. If all of this doesn’t help, we start the beating as a last resort. “This is a painless beating that does not leave bruises or cause bleeding. The beating I just gave Nayef is the true gentle beating in Islam.”
About 10,000 Baby Boomers turn 65 every dayOpens a New Window., according to data from the Government Accountability Office, and some who are retiringOpens a New Window. are packing their bags and relocating.
According to United Van Lines’ National Movers Study, which analyzed its nearly 27,000 customers’ state-to-state migration patterns over the past year, many retirees sought destinations in the West – meaning Florida surprisingly was not the top location.
New Mexico (43%):
This was the first year New Mexico topped the list. Forty-three percent of moves to New Mexico were related to retirement, while 60 percent of people moving there were between the ages of 55 and 74. The cost of living in the state is 3 percent less than the national average, while income taxes are low.
Florida (39%):
While it did not make the top spot this year, Florida ranked second with 39 percent of moves into the state being retirement related. Aside from the warm weather and beach communities, Floridians are not subject to state income taxes.
Arizona (37%):
Trailing Florida slightly, about 37 percent of moves to Arizona last year were made based on retirement-related decisions. Arizona has perpetually ranked high as a destination for retiring workers.
Here are the states that rounded out the top 10:
South Carolina (37%)
Idaho (34%)
Maine (33%)
Vermont (31%)
Nevada (29%)
Wyoming (27%)
Montana (26%)
They’re getting straight to the point.
Just days after the roof of Notre Dame cathedral went up in flames, France’s prime minister announced the country will invite architects from across the globe to submit designs for a new spire to top the Paris landmark.
Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said Wednesday the country is seeking “a new spire that is adapted to the techniques and the challenges of our era,” according to France 24.
The 12th-century Gothic cathedral’s spire — which was installed during an 1860s reconstruction — came crashing down when a fire broke out in the building’s roof Monday.
French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday pledged to rebuild the fire-ravaged house of worship within five years, saying he wants to make it “even more beautiful than before.”
Almost $1 billion has poured in from donors around the world to help fund the restoration.
Despite a majority of researchers questioning the accuracy of the Book of Exodus, some believe that Jews’s flight from Egypt did indeed take place – and that new evidence of this is poised to “seriously shift” the frame of discussion.
Researchers from the Doubting Thomas Research Foundation (DTRF), which investigates the historicity and evidence of Biblical accounts, say they may have found the route to the Promised Land taken by the Israelites under Moses’ leadership.
The Book of Exodus — the second book of the Old Testament and the Torah — provides an account of the departure of the Jews from slavery in Egypt and their journey through the wilderness.
According to the Biblical narrative, the Israelites fled the Egyptian army when Moses parted the Red Sea, with the waters later closing up again upon their pursuers. They are said to have later arrived at Mount Sinai, where Moses received the Ten Commandments from God, and ended up settling in what is now Israel.
The location of the biblical Mount Sinai is traditionally associated with Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. Near the foot of the mountain, St Catherine’s Monastery was built over what’s traditionally believed to be the site of the burning bush from which God first revealed himself to Moses.
Ryan Mauro believes, however, that the real Mount of Sinai is located over a hundred miles eastwards across the Gulf of Aqaba, which separates the Sinai Peninsula from Saudi Arabia.
“After three trips to Saudi Arabia, I’m fully convinced that the Israelites went into the ancient land of Midian when they fled slavery in Egypt.”
He also says there is evidence that Moses led his people across the Gulf of Aqaba from what is now the coastal town of Nuweiba in the east of the Sinai Peninsula, where the crossing would just be nearly 8 miles (12km) wide with a shallow depth of just 33 metres.
The mainstream scholarly consensus is that there is no archaeological evidence for the Exodus, and that the Bible represents the reflection of the Jewish people on their origins rather than details a specific moment in history.
“I would basically say to someone who’s sceptical about the Exodus to keep an open mind about the subject,” Mauro was quoted as saying. “There’s a reason why this tradition has been passed down in the three major world religions of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.”
“Perhaps these sceptics have doubted the historical account of the Exodus story because of a lack of evidence at the traditional site at St. Catherine’s, but what we have found appears to fit the ancient accounts.”
Late last year, his foundation released a documentary titled ‘Finding the Mountain of Moses’, which cited “undeniable archaeological evidence” of its presumed real location in Saudi Arabia.
In the film, he said he had discovered several pieces of evidence that the Exodus did occur, like a rock split by Moses and the remains of an ancient altar where the Israelites worshipped a golden calf while Moses was on top of the mountain.
“The golden calf, the split rock, Moses’ altar, the Red Sea crossing site; all of these pieces need to fit, and they fit at this site in a way that no other site does,” he added.
“We don’t necessarily believe in the same deities as the ancient Egyptians, Babylonians, and Assyrians did, but we still accept the evidence that these peoples existed and that there were major events during their respective existences.”
Two recent deaths in which men plummeted in the Grand Canyon follow dozens of apparently accidental fatal falls since the national park was established 100 years ago. Michael Obritsch, of Santa Rosa, California, died April 3 after falling from the edge of the South Rim in Grand Canyon Village, near the Yavapai Geology Museum. His body was found 400 feet (more than 122 meters) below the rim, according to park officials. A tourist from Macau, China, fell to his death on March 28. The man was at least 50 years old, park officials said. The man was trying to take a photo at Grand Canyon West’s Eagle Point — close to the Skywalk located on the Hualapai Reservation outside the park — when he stumbled and fell, The Arizona Republic reported earlier this week.
The body of a Japanese tourist was found March 26 in a wooded area south of Grand Canyon Village, away from the rim. All three deaths still were under investigation by the Investigative Services branch of the National Parks Service and the Coconino County Medical Examiner, according to park spokeswoman Vanessa Ceja-Cervantes. No amount of signage, railings or even verbal warnings will be enough to end the falls, said Michael P. Ghiglieri, author of “Over the Edge: Death in the Grand Canyon.” Sixty-four fatal falls have been recorded in the park’s history, Ghiglieri said. Forty-nine of the victims were male and 15 female. Many deaths involve someone going around a guardrail to get closer to the edge or accidentally driving off the rim. This number does not include any death that was ruled a suicide.
Park officials currently don’t plan to add increased railing or signage in light of the string of deaths, Ceja-Cervantes said. Ample signage is already commonplace in highly traveled areas of the canyon. Only one person fell to his death in the park in 2018. Andrey Privin of Illinois died in July after he climbed over the railing at Mather Point, a popular viewpoint at the South Rim. Some visitors said they saw Privin throw his backpack over the railing and onto an intended landing spot before jumping. He fell 500 feet (152 meters) to his death. About 12 people die each year within the park, Ceja-Cervantes said. The deaths can be attributed to everything from accidental falls, to heat-related deaths and drownings during rafting trips on the Colorado River.
While many street artists choose abandoned buildings and old train tracks as the canvases for their explosive masterpieces, Dutch street artist Jan Is De Man chooses to go another route – by realizing lively works for local communities who want to connect. His aim is to create projects ‘where everyone can identify themselves’ by asking for the involvement of the residents’ who commission him. Jan Is De Man’s most recent gift to a neighborhood – a whimsical tri-level trompe l’oeil mural bookcase on an apartment building in Utrecht, Netherlands. The artist was aided by fellow street artist Deef Feed who, he told Bored Panda, had worked on a few other murals with him and is the co-owner of their tattoo shop “Blackbook Tattoos” in the center of Utrecht.
The location for the mural came before the concept said Jan Is De Man, “I know the people who live on the ground floor very well. They’ve wanted a mural by my hand for a while. They also wanted to let me feel free in my design as long as it would bring something positive to their neighborhood. The first idea was to paint a smiley. A very big smiley. Because I believe people become more happy when they see a smiley every day. But this idea didn’t feel complete, it felt too simple.”