Turkey has recently made a significant decision to lower gas prices for places of worship, including cemevis, and industrial consumption. This move, which will take effect from the first day of 2023, aims to provide financial relief and stability to these sectors. The announcement was made by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on December 31, 2022, through his official Twitter account, according to DuvaR.
Under this new policy, gas prices for places of worship, including cemevis, will be reduced by 42.73 percent starting from January 1, 2023. This reduction will also apply to industrial consumption. Additionally, gas prices used for electricity production will be lowered by 12.73 percent, while electricity prices for industrial consumption will see a reduction of 16 percent.
The decision to lower gas prices comes in the wake of Russia’s postponement of a payment worth 20 billion dollars owed by BOTAŞ, the state-owned gas importer and distributor in Turkey. This postponement is believed to have influenced Turkey’s move to lower gas prices as a means of stabilizing the economy and preventing the weakening of the Turkish lira against the dollar. It is worth noting that Turkey heavily relies on Russia for 40-45 percent of its natural gas needs, with the remaining supply coming from countries such as Iran, Libya, and the United States.
By reducing gas prices for places of worship and industrial consumption, the Turkish government aims to alleviate the financial burden on these sectors and support their operations. This decision is particularly significant for places of worship, including cemevis, as it recognizes their importance and provides them with economic relief. Furthermore, lowering gas prices for industrial consumption can contribute to the growth and competitiveness of the industrial sector in Turkey.
Overall, this move to lower gas prices demonstrates the government’s commitment to supporting key sectors of the economy and ensuring stability. It is a strategic decision that takes into account both domestic considerations, such as the upcoming elections in 2023, and external factors, such as the postponement of the payment by Russia. By providing financial relief and stability, Turkey aims to foster economic growth and maintain a favorable business environment.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama blessing a model of the proposed building before taking his seat on stage at the the Foundation Stone Laying Ceremony of the Dalai Lama Centre for Tibetan & Indian Ancient Wisdom in Bodhgaya, Bihar, India on January 3, 2023. Photo by Tenzin Choejor
Bodhgaya, Bihar, India, 3rd January 2023: Under a wintry sky this morning, His Holiness the Dalai Lama drove out past the Magadh University to the prospective site of the Dalai Lama Centre for Tibetan and Ancient Indian Wisdom. There, as monks of Namgyal Monastery chanted prayers, accompanied by the Hon’ble Kiren Rijiju, Minister for Law and Justice, Government of India, Shri Sushil Modi, MP, Dr Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, President of Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) and Ambassador Kumar Tuhin, Director General ICCR, he unveiled the foundation stone. He closely examined an architectural model of the proposed buildings before taking his seat on the stage.
Interim director of the project, Tempa Tsering, greeted everyone present and welcomed the special guests. He announced that the Centre was being established to fulfil His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s vision that if awareness of ancient Indian wisdom, particularly with regard to the workings of the mind and emotions, could be revived and shared more widely, it would contribute to the creation of a more peaceful, more compassionate world. He expressed gratitude to the Government of Bihar and the Government of India for their support. He declared that the Centre will be open to everyone who wishes to learn about Tibetan and Ancient Indian Wisdom.
Interim director of the project, Tempa Tsering, welcoming those attending the Foundation Stone Laying Ceremony of the Dalai Lama Centre for Tibetan & Indian Ancient Wisdom in Bodhgaya, Bihar, India on January 3, 2023. Photo by Tenzin Choejor
In a speech delivered in Hindi, Prof Samdhong Rinpoché recalled that many years ago Vinobha Bhave suggested that a time would come when Indian culture would take a leading role in the world. His prediction was widely dismissed, but in retrospect it seems he was a far-sighted visionary. Rinpoché went on to say that since the materialistic outlook associated with science and technology has failed to bring peace and satisfaction to the world, ancient Indian knowledge and values may fill the gap.
Prof Samdhong Rinpoché speaking at the Foundation Stone Laying Ceremony of the Dalai Lama Centre for Tibetan & Indian Ancient Wisdom in Bodhgaya, Bihar, India on January 3, 2023. Photo by Tenzin Choejor
In the past, Rinpoché asserted, Indian schools of thought were mutually enriched when they engaged in an exchange of ideas founded on reason and logic. Tibetan tradition has kept this approach alive. With the establishment of this Centre, these traditions will be restored to India.
Kumar Sarvjeet, MLA for Bodhgaya and Minister of Agriculture in the Government of Bihar spoke next on behalf of the Chief Minister, Nitish Kumar. He informed the gathering that the Chief Minister is completely supportive of His Holiness’s vision. He has made clear that he and the Government of Bihar will do whatever they can to help bring the project to fruition. He disclosed that the Government and people of Bihar, and the local people especially, are grateful that the Centre is being established in Bodhgaya.
Kumar Sarvjeet, MLA for Bodhgaya and Minister of Agriculture in the Government of Bihar speaking on behalf of the Chief Minister, Nitish Kumar at the Foundation Stone Laying Ceremony of the Dalai Lama Centre for Tibetan & Indian Ancient Wisdom in Bodhgaya, Bihar, India on January 3, 2023. Photo by Tenzin Choejor
Hon’ble Kiren Rijiju, Minister for Law and Justice in the Central Government, who hails from Arunachal Pradesh, paid his respects to His Holiness, the Sakya Throne-holders and other honoured guests. He stated that whenever he comes to Bodhgaya and reflects that 25 centuries ago the Buddha actually walked in this locality, he feels at peace. This is what makes Bodhgaya a sacred place and now His Holiness reinforces that status by his presence. The Buddha showed the world how to attain enlightenment and, in our time, this is what His Holiness does too.
“His Holiness has made India his home and has committed himself to helping to revive awareness of ancient Indian wisdom,” he said. “People from around the world come to India to pay their respects to him. His Holiness refers to India as the guru and Tibetans as the students, but I say that it is he, an apostle of peace, who is the guru to world. On behalf of the people and government of India I express gratitude to him. It’s a privilege for us to have him among us here in India.
“I’m honoured to have been able to take part in laying the foundation stone for this Centre for Tibetan and Ancient Indian Wisdom. His Holiness states that the wisdom of Nalanda nurtured by such masters as Nagarjuna, Aryadeva and Chandrakirti, a tradition grounded in reason and logic, was kept alive in Tibet. It was concerned less with religion and more with a science of the mind. A centre to study along these lines is being established and people from around the world will be able to come and study here.
Hon’ble Kiren Rijiju, Minister for Law and Justice in the Central Government addressing the audience at the Foundation Stone Laying Ceremony of the Dalai Lama Centre for Tibetan & Indian Ancient Wisdom in Bodhgaya, Bihar, India on January 3, 2023. Photo by Tenzin Choejor
“His Holiness is committed to extolling such human values as compassion and tolerance, forgiveness and self-discipline. He is pledged to work to preserve Tibetan culture and protect the natural environment of Tibet.
“The Government of India is committed in turn to supporting this centre, which will encourage us to look within. The Centre will be a world-class institution, a gift to humanity, where it will be possible to discover the link between peace of mind and world peace.”
“Today, we’re all gathered here out of our admiration for the Buddha’s teaching,” His Holiness observed. “We all wish for peace, so we need to cultivate compassion and the practice of doing no harm. The Buddhadharma not only reveals peace and happiness to the world, it shows us how to overcome suffering.
A view from the stage during His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s talk at the Foundation Stone Laying Ceremony of the Dalai Lama Centre for Tibetan & Indian Ancient Wisdom in Bodhgaya, Bihar, India on January 3, 2023. Photo by Tenzin Choejor
“Indulging in wishful thinking is not enough, we have to look at the causes of suffering, which are rooted in our self-cherishing attitudes and destructive emotions, and put an end to them. Peace in the world depends on individuals achieving peace of mind.
“Shantideva has made the situation abundantly clear in his work, ‘Entering into the Way of a Bodhisattva’:
All those who suffer in the world do so because of their desire for their own happiness. All those happy in the world are so because of their desire for the happiness of others. 8/129
Why say more? Observe this distinction: between the fool who longs for his own advantage and the sage who acts for the advantage of others. 8/130
For those who fail to exchange their own happiness for the suffering of others, Buddhahood is certainly impossible – how could there even be happiness in cyclic existence? 8/131
Proceeding in this way from happiness to happiness, what thinking person would despair, after mounting the carriage, the awakening mind, which carries away all weariness and effort? 7/30
“If you’re warm-hearted and determined to help others, it will make you happy. Therefore, we can be grateful to the Buddha for his teaching.” His Holiness continued.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama addressing the gathering at the Foundation Stone Laying Ceremony of the Dalai Lama Centre for Tibetan & Indian Ancient Wisdom in Bodhgaya, Bihar, India on January 3, 2023. Photo by Tenzin Choejor
“India is a land where, because of the fundamental and long-standing traditions of ‘karuna’ and ‘ahimsa’, many different spiritual traditions flourish. To ensure peace in the world we need to encourage the notion of non-violence or doing no harm— ‘ahimsa’. Tibetan refugees are fortunate to have been able to come to live in a land that explicitly upholds ‘ahimsa’.
“I don’t have much more to say. I thank the Government of Bihar and the Central Government for their support, without which it would be difficult to bring this project about. We are grateful.
“We need to think of the welfare of others and continuously cultivate a warm heart; to be of service to others is a practical and realistic way to lead our lives. Thank you.”
Karma Chungdak offering words of thanks at the conclusion of the Foundation Stone Laying Ceremony of the Dalai Lama Centre for Tibetan & Indian Ancient Wisdom in Bodhgaya, Bihar, India on January 3, 2023. Photo by Tenzin Choejor
Karma Chungdak offered words of thanks. He first of all expressed gratitude to His Holiness for inspiring the establishment of this Centre for Tibetan and Ancient Indian Wisdom and for taking part in the laying of the foundation stone today. He thanked representatives of Tibet’s several spiritual traditions, monks and nuns, for their attendance. Finally, on behalf of the Dalai Lama Trust, he offered thanks to Hon’ble Kiren Rijiju, for representing the Government of India, and Kumar Sarvjeet, for representing the Government of Bihar, as well as Sikyong Penpa Tsering and Speaker Khenpo Sonam Tenphel, for representing the Central Tibetan Administration, on this great occasion.
The European Parliament adopted three resolutions on the respect for human rights in China, Chad and Bahrain.
Chinese government crackdown on the peaceful protests across the People’s Republic of China
MEPs express their support for protesters fighting for fundamental rights who are being persecuted by the Chinese government, notably in the context of the zero COVID-19 policy. They are concerned about violations of freedoms of expression, association, assembly, press and media in China – intensified by the use of mass surveillance – and demand that human rights be guaranteed.
All the victims of the Urumqi fire on 24 November 2022 were Uyghurs, MEPs point out, deploring the systematic repression of this ethnicity, notably in the Xinjiang region. In addition, MEPs highlight the arrest of a foreign journalist covering the protests and demand unhindered access to China for independent journalists, international observers and investigative bodies.
The resolution calls for sanctions against those responsible for crimes against humanity to be intensified, for better coordination regarding Chinese overseas police service stations and for addressing freedom of expression during official talks with China.
The resolution was adopted by show of hands. For more details, it will be available in full here. (15.12.2022)
Military Junta crackdown on peaceful demonstrations in Chad
Parliament condemns the restriction of the fundamental right to demonstrate and the use of violence against pro-democracy protesters and civil society in Chad during the protests of October 2022. In their resolution, MEPs call for all protesters held by the Chadian government to be released and granted legal protection. They condemn their prosecution in mass trials that failed to adhere to international standards on transparency and justice.
According to MEPs, the regime in Chad has failed to uphold its commitment to a democratic transition, causing a protracted crisis in the country. They highlight the need for new, transparent, inclusive and credible presidential elections to be organised as soon as possible, in order to facilitate a political transition that guarantees respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.
Finally, the resolution demands an independent and impartial investigation by the UN and the African Union into the reported violence, including reports of torture in Chadian prisons. MEPs want to prosecute and hold accountable those responsible for the violence and killings of individuals and civil society, and urge the EU and member states to raise these concerns directly with the Chadian authorities.
The resolution was adopted by show of hands. For more details, it will be available in full here. (15.12.2022)
The case of human rights defender Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja in Bahrain
Parliament demands the immediate and unconditional release of Danish-Bahraini citizen Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja and all other political activists. Al-Khawaja, who is the cofounder of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR), has been in prison for twelve years serving a life sentence for leading peaceful protests during the 2011 Arab spring protests for democratic reforms.
He suffers from a series of chronic and degenerative health problems and requires timely, expert medical treatment, warn MEPs. Parliament calls on EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell, the European External Action Service and member states — in particular the government of Denmark — to raise the case of Al Khawaja and all other human rights defenders in the country both publicly and privately.
MEPs strongly condemn the continued use of torture and mistreatment in the Gulf country. Furthermore, they argue that Bahrain should restore citizenship to the almost 300 individuals — notably human rights defenders — who have been stripped of it and end the ongoing practice.
The moratorium on capital punishment, which had been in place until 2017, should never have been lifted, MEPs say. Bahrain has executed six people since then, in what the UN has referred to as extrajudicial killings, and 26 more are currently on death row in the country.
The resolution was adopted by 316 votes in favour, 6 against with 38 abstentions. For more details, it will be available in full here. (15.12.2022)
Researchers demonstrated high-visibility quantum interference between two independent semiconductor quantum dots — an important step toward scalable quantum networks.
Last year’s Nobel Prize in Physics celebrated the fundamental interest of quantum entanglement, and also envisioned the potential applications in “the second quantum revolution” — a new age when we are able to manipulate the weirdness of quantum mechanics, including quantum superposition and entanglement. A large-scale and fully functional quantum network is the holy grail of quantum information sciences. It will open a new frontier of physics, with new possibilities for quantum computation, communication, and metrology.
One of the most significant challenges is to extend the distance of quantum communication to a practically useful scale. Unlike classical signals that can be noiselessly amplified, quantum states in superposition cannot be amplified because they cannot be perfectly cloned. Therefore, a high-performance quantum network requires not only ultra-low-loss quantum channels and quantum memory, but also high-performance quantum light sources. There has been exciting recent progress in satellite-based quantum communications and quantum repeaters, but a lack of suitable single-photon sources has hampered further advances.
What is required of a single-photon source for quantum network applications? First, it should emit one (only one) photon at a time. Second, to attain brightness, the single-photon sources should have high system efficiency and a high repetition rate. Third, for applications such as in quantum teleportation that require interfering with independent photons, the single photons should be indistinguishable. Additional requirements include a scalable platform, tunable and narrowband linewidth (favorable for temporal synchronization), and interconnectivity with matter qubits.
A promising source is quantum dots (QDs), semiconductor particles of just a few nanometers. However, in the past two decades, the visibility of quantum interference between independent QDs has rarely exceeded the classical limit of 50% and distances have been limited to around a few meters or kilometers.
As reported in Advanced Photonics, an international team of researchers has achieved high-visibility quantum interference between two independent QDs linked with ~300 km optical fibers. They report efficient and indistinguishable single-photon sources with ultra-low-noise, tunable single-photon frequency conversion, and low-dispersion long fiber transmission. The single photons are generated from resonantly driven single QDs deterministically coupled to microcavities. Quantum frequency conversions are used to eliminate the QD inhomogeneity and shift the emission wavelength to the telecommunications band. The observed interference visibility is up to 93%. According to senior author Chao-Yang Lu, professor at the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), “Feasible improvements can further extend the distance to ~600 km.”
Lu remarks, “Our work jumped from the previous QD-based quantum experiments at a scale from ~1 km to 300 km, two orders of magnitude larger, and thus opens an exciting prospect of solid-state quantum networks.” With this reported jump, the dawn of solid-state quantum networks may soon begin breaking toward day.
Reference: “Quantum interference with independent single-photon sources over 300 km fiber” by Xiang You, Mingyang Zheng, Si Chen, Run-Ze Liu, Jian Qin, Mo-Chi Xu, Zheng-Xuan Ge, Tung-Hsun Chung, Yu-Kun Qiao, Yang-Fan Jiang, Han-Sen Zhong, Ming-Cheng Chen, Hui Wang, Yu-Ming He, Xiu-Ping Xie, Hao Li, Li-Xing You III, Christian Schneider, Juan Yin, Teng-Yun Chen, Mohamed Benyoucef, Yong-Heng Huo, Sven Höfling, Qiang Zhang, Chao-Yang Lu and Jian-Wei Pan, 27 December 2022, Advanced Photonics. DOI: 10.1117/1.AP.4.6.066003
Alexander Novopashin is a well-known archpriest in the country who oversees the Cathedral of St. Alexander Nevsky in Novosibirsk, Western Siberia, and is a member of the Russian Orthodox Church, Moscow Patriarchate.
For his support of the Russian “special military operation” in Ukraine and his anti-cult actions, Sergey Kiriyenko, a representative of the Russian presidential administration, presented him with the Order of Friendship this year, on behalf of Vladimir Putin himself.
Drawing drawing on the sermons of St. John of Kronstadt (a Russian Archpriest who died in 1908). The archpriest reminds us that God has given the tough duty of “keeping and multiplying the priceless talent of the only saving Orthodox faith” to the Russian people because they are “God’s chosen people“.
And then:
“Let’s hear what the great prophet John of Kronstadt has to say: “Russia is disturbed, suffering, tormented by a bloody internal battle, by impiety, and by a severe moral degradation. Not good! Humans have evolved into monsters and even demonic spirits. Sins of various types abound in daily life. Blasphemy, disbelief in God, and apostasy have virtually become widespread in the educated class. Daily debauchery has become the norm, and literature and the media are filled with temptation.“
The archpriest continued, “This is precisely what Russian society is going through right now”.
Actually a few days earlier on December 30, Novopashin was interviewed by the newspaper Russian Folk Lineage (a Russian newspaper advocating autocracy, orthodoxy, and Russian nationality). Answering the questions of the journalist about the “Special Operation in Ukraine”, he said:
“I hope and believe that the Lord will not leave us. We are doing a good deed: we are not fighting Ukraine and Ukrainians, but the cannibalistic Nazi ideology, which has enslaved the minds of many people. I do not only support it, but I am convinced that the liberation battle was simply necessary. And perhaps much earlier.
(…)
The country is cleaned of the dirt that, unfortunately, was on a pedestal. I hope that this will continue further.
(…)
We pray to God and strive to make our Homeland triumph over the evil spirits that have spread throughout the world. And our society, alas, was seriously saturated with ideological and physical evil spirits. The task is to cleanse us of evil spirits so that it becomes easier to breathe.“
Cleansing Russia of evil spirits is of course a very important act for the Kremlin today. We would just like that they apply the famous USSR “self-criticism” to themselves… Then maybe the cleansing would be salutary revival.
Roman legion – German scientists conducted a chemical analysis of artifacts found at the site of the probable death of Roman troops during the battle in the Teutoburg Forest in the ninth year of our era. Research has confirmed that the Germans destroyed the XIX Legion in the settlement of Kalkrise, the first archaeological evidence of which was discovered in 1987. This is reported on the website of the Bergbau-Museum in Bochum.
In September of the ninth year of our era, three Roman legions (XVII, XVIII and XIX), three cavalry units and six cohorts of infantry led by Publius Quintilius Varus, accompanied by slaves, servants, artisans and women, moved through Germany from summer to winter you camp During this march, Varus and his troops were persuaded to turn off the wide paved road into the Teutoburg Forest, where they were attacked by Germanic tribes led by the Cherucian leader Arminius.
As a result of this unexpected attack, all three legions, together with the commander, died, and the battle itself led to a long struggle between the Empire and the Germans, who eventually managed to defend their independence. According to historians, about 15-20 thousand Roman soldiers, officers and civilians died in the Teutoburg Forest.
One of the most controversial moments of this battle is where it took place. Until the 1980s, scholars only had data from written sources, from which it was problematic to establish this. At that time, about 750 different hypotheses had been collected. But in 1987, an English amateur archaeologist found material evidence of the battle between the Romans and the Germans not far from the city of Osnabrück (Lower Saxony), in the settlement of Kalkrise, after which professional scientists took up the work.
Although many were initially skeptical of the scientific discovery, today Calcrise is considered by most researchers to be the site of the death of Varus and his legions. At the same time, there are enough critics of this version of the development of events.
Scientists from three German organizations have joined together in a scientific project to study Roman artefacts found in Kalkrise, where, according to the prevailing hypothesis, the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest took place. With the help of chemical analysis, the researchers decided to establish to which of the Roman subdivisions the discovered items belonged. Each legion had forges where weapons, equipment and personal items were given for repair.
During this work, the products received side micro impurities, the analysis of which makes it possible to distinguish one workshop from another. In total, over two years of research, the scientists examined about 550 bronze and brass objects. They elucidated the distinctive features characteristic of the belongings of different legions by analyzing artifacts whose association with specific legions is known from written sources.
As a result of the study, the scientists came to the conclusion that the artifacts associated with the XIX legion differ significantly from the belongings of other Roman units that were located in Germany. In addition, the finds from Dangstetten, where this part was located before the battle, and the artifacts from Kalkrise turned out to be identical in impurities. At the same time, the artifacts from the camps of the legions that did not die in the battle differ significantly in their composition. Scholars have concluded that this serves as additional evidence in favor of the demise of the XIX Legion at Kalkryse. This casts doubt on the argument of critics of the hypothesis that numerous Roman objects found in this territory may be related to the campaign of the general Germanicus in AD 15.
Photo: German soldiers attack (Otto Albert Koch / Public Domain)
Milk thistle is an ancient plant with a pinkish purple flower that was used historically as medicine. Today, it’s a popular supplement for supporting liver health. The high levels of antioxidants, including the flavonoid silymarin responsible for many of milk thistle’s disease-preventing benefits. You can take milk thistle as a capsule or herbal extract, though you can also brew milk thistle tea. Here are five health benefits of milk thistle proven by research:
1. Supports Liver Health
As detoxifier of your blood, the liver is constantly processing toxins. These toxins can damage the liver if it’s not protected by antioxidants. Antioxidants neutralize free radicals, which are damage-causing molecules from toxins. Some antioxidants, such as glutathione, are produced naturally by your liver, though this production declines with age. In addition to supplying antioxidants itself, milk thistle has also been found to boost the liver’s own production of glutathione.
The most powerful active substance in milk thistle is silymarin — an antioxidant shown to protect liver cells against mutation and damage. It acts as a toxin blockade by preventing toxins from binding to receptors on liver cell membranes.[1] These findings suggest milk thistle could be a useful agent in helping to prevent liver cirrhosis, liver disease, and potentially liver cancer.
2. Protects the Aging Brain
Amyloid plaque buildup in the brain is the major cause behind the progression of dementia and <span class=”glossaryLink” aria-describedby=”tt” data-cmtooltip=”
Alzheimer’s
Alzheimer’s disease is a disease that attacks the brain, causing a decline in mental ability that worsens over time. It is the most common form of dementia and accounts for 60 to 80 percent of dementia cases. There is no current cure for Alzheimer’s disease, but there are medications that can help ease the symptoms.
” data-gt-translate-attributes=”[{“attribute”:”data-cmtooltip”, “format”:”html”}]”>Alzheimer’s disease. As the brain ages, the natural detoxification mechanisms can fail to remove all the amyloid plaque buildup during sleep. Milk thistle may be able to help by reducing amyloid plaque in the brain, as it’s been shown to do in animal studies.[2]
While there are no human studies on milk thistle’s effects on people with neurodegenerative diseases, the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties of milk thistle could assist in mitigating the effects of aging on the brain.
Traditional milk thistle extract is made from the seeds.
3. Supports Healthy Blood Sugar Levels
The active substance in milk thistle known as silymarin can also help control blood sugar levels. A review published in the Journal of Diabetes Research looked at five clinical trials involving 270 patients. It concluded that silymarin significantly reduces blood sugar levels and could potentially help diabetics and prediabetics with glycemic control.[3] Drinking milk thistle tea with a meal may help prevent blood sugar spikes, and supplementing with milk thistle regularly could lower your risk of developing diabetes.
4. May Help Fight Cancer
The silymarin in milk thistle may help in preventing the development of cancer. It works by supporting the body’s natural immune response against cancer cells and by directly inhibiting tumor growth. In test tube studies, silymarin has been shown to protect against breast, prostate, bladder, skin, colon, kidney, and lung cancers.[4] Human trials are lacking, but antioxidants like silymarin found in milk thistle show promise in research done outside the body.
5. Increases Breast Milk Production
Silymarin in milk thistle is a galactagogue, which means it increases the production and flow of breast milk in lactating mothers. In a 2-month study, mothers taking 420 mg of silymarin daily increased their breast milk production by 86% compared to mothers taking a placebo. The study also confirmed silymarin supplementation did not affect the quality of the milk supply, which means it’s a great remedy for lactating mothers struggling with low milk supply.[5]
6. Improves Acne
Acne treatments are typically topical products applied to the face. Interestingly, oral supplementation with milk thistle has been linked to improved acne symptoms. In one study on 56 patients, just eight weeks of milk thistle intervention reduced acne lesion count by 53%. The researchers attributed these results to the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of milk thistle.[6]
7. Supports Bone Health in Postmenopausal Women
Supplementing consistently with milk thistle could help menopausal and postmenopausal women prevent osteoporosis — the thinning of bone density that puts your bones at high risk of fracturing and breaking. Postmenopausal women are at the highest risk of osteoporosis because the loss of estrogen is linked to a loss of bone density.
The silymarin in milk thistle makes it a phytoestrogen, which means it acts on estrogen receptors and has estrogen-like effects when estrogen levels are deficient. In a mouse model of osteoporosis caused by estrogen deficiency, oral administration of milk thistle was found to reduce bone loss.[7]
Milk Thistle for Liver Health and Beyond
While milk thistle is best known for its liver health benefits, it’s also a natural remedy that can help with acne, low breast milk supply, high blood sugar, and potentially even age-related cognitive decline. Milk thistle also helps prevent cancer, osteoporosis in women, and illnesses of the liver. Some milk thistle supplements are concentrated in silymarin, while other capsules contain the whole powder ground. As with any herb, it’s important to stay within the recommended daily dose written on the product label.
References:
“Milk thistle in liver diseases: past, present, future” by Ludovico Abenavoli, Raffaele Capasso, Natasa Milic and Francesco Capasso, 7 June 2010, Phytotherapy Research. DOI: 10.1002/ptr.3207
“Silymarin Attenuated the Amyloid β Plaque Burden and Improved Behavioral Abnormalities in an Alzheimer’s Disease Mouse Model” by Nakaba Murata, Kazuma Murakami, Yusuke Ozawa, Noriaki Kinoshita, Kazuhiro Irie, Takuji Shirasawa and Takahiko Shimizu, 23 November 2010, Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry. DOI: 10.1271/bbb.100524
“Silymarin in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials” by Luminita Voroneanu, Ionut Nistor, Raluca Dumea, Mugurel Apetrii and Adrian Covic, 1 June 2016, Journal of Diabetes Research. DOI: 10.1155/2016/5147468
“Silibinin – A Promising New Treatment for Cancer” by Catherine Wing Ying Cheung, Norma Gibbons, David Wayne Johnson and David Lawrence, 2010, Anti-Cancer Agents in Medicinal Chemistry. DOI: 10.2174/1871520611009030186
“Clinical efficacy, safety and tolerability of BIO-C (micronized Silymarin) as a galactagogue” by Francesco Di Pierro, Alberto Callegari, Domenico Carotenuto and Marco Mollo Tapia, December 2008, Acta Biomedica Atenei Parmensis. PMID: 19260380
“Effects of Oral Antioxidants on Lesion Counts Associated with Oxidative Stress and Inflammation in Patients with Papulopustular Acne” by Ahmed Salih Sahib, Haidar Hamid Al-Anbari, Mohammed Salih and Fatima Abdullah, 2012, Journal of Clinical & ExperimentalDermatology Research. DOI: 10.4172/2155-9554.1000163
“Antiosteoclastic Activity of Milk Thistle Extract after Ovariectomy to Suppress Estrogen Deficiency-Induced Osteoporosis” by Jung-Lye Kim, Yun-Ho Kim, Min-Kyung Kang, Ju-Hyun Gong, Seoung-Jun Han and Young-Hee Kang, 28 May 2013, BioMed Research International. DOI: 10.1155/2013/919374
Miviludes had some troubles due to its long-term association with anti-Ukrainian Russian extremists, and recently Miviludes has seen its operational chief resigning,
For more than two decades, the French governmental “anti-cult” agency Miviludes (acronym for French Inter-ministerial mission for monitoring and combating cultic deviances) has been making money hand over fist by calling some religious minorities “cults”, “cultic movements”, “sectarian aberrations’ type movements” and other sorts of names.
We already covered the fact that Miviludes had some troubles due to its long-term association with anti-Ukrainian Russian extremists, and more recently Miviludes has seen its operational chief (Hanene Romdhane) resigning, amid internal disagreements quite not precisely identified.
But besides all scandals that may touch the anti-cult French institution, largely criticized internally and externally, the fatal blow may come from the European Court of Human Rights. Indeed, in a decision rendered on December 12, 2022, the ECHR convicted Bulgaria for violation of article 9 (freedom of religion or belief), after 3 evangelical Churches had been stigmatized by a circular letter as “cults” (“Tonchev and Others v. Bulgaria.”)
The circular letter had been sent to all public schools by the City of Burgas. It asked the schools to explain to all pupils that the groups mentioned in the text were “cults, should not be confused with the legitimate Bulgarian Orthodox Church, were “dangerous,” and exposed their members to “mental health problems.” And mentioned, inter alia, the three Evangelical Churches who complained to the ECHR.
While the Bulgarian State tried to defend itself by saying that this was an isolated act, that it was justified because they received “reports” that some evangelical Churches were acting wrongly, that no negative consequences had affected the three Evangelical churches because of the letter, and that “sekti” (cults) in Bulgarian had no negative connotations, the Court considered, in alignment with its precedent decision “Centre of Societies for Krishna Consciousness In Russia and Frolov v. Russia” (2021), that the use of such derogatory and hostile terms by governments “can be analysed as an infringement of the rights guaranteed by Article 9 of the Convention”.
The ECHR decision
The decision adds: “the Court considers that the terms used in the circular letter and the information note of 9 April 2008, which described certain religious currents, including Evangelicalism to which the applicant associations belonged, as ‘dangerous religious cults’ that ‘contravene Bulgarian legislation, citizens’ rights and public order’ and whose meetings expose their participants to ‘psychological disorders,’ may indeed be perceived as pejorative and hostile. It notes that the documents in question were distributed by the town hall of Burgas, the town in which the applicant associations and pastors were operating, to all the schools in the town, which were invited to bring them to the attention of the pupils and to report on the way in which the information was presented and the way in which the children reacted. In these circumstances, and even if the measures complained of did not directly restrict the right of the applicant pastors or their co-religionists to manifest their religion through worship and practice, the Court considers, in the light of its case law, that these measures may have had negative repercussions on the exercise of religious freedom by the members of the churches in question.”
It’s interesting nevertheless to make a comparison between the attitude of the Bulgarian authorities and France. While the circular letter in question was, per the Bulgarian state, an isolated and local incident, and that the Parliament and the Ministry of Interior had expressed their disagreement with the letter, in France the stigmatisation and discrimination against minority religions is utterly endorsed by the State. Miviludes is a government agency belonging to the Ministry of Interior, and its mandate is national, not local.
Maybe it’s time for France to reconsider its anti-minority religions policy and to align with ECHR standards, once for all.
The head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, during a direct line broadcast for the first time in English and Arabic, addressed the Arab world and all Muslims with an offer to participate in the war in Ukraine “against the Satanists”, reports EA Daily.
“Whoever does not want to live under the LGBT flag, we will give the opportunity to participate in the ‘special military operation,’” suggested Ramzan Kadyrov.
He noted that now Muslims have an opportunity to protect their spiritual values.
“Today, we are fighting on the territory of Ukraine against fascism, Nazism, Satanism, which impose non-traditional values on us. And we will never accept this,” emphasized the head of Chechnya.
A recent study of mice conducted by researchers at The University of Texas at Dallas found that short-term consumption of a high-fat diet may be linked to pain sensations, even without a preexisting injury or condition such as obesity or diabetes.
The study, published in <span class=”glossaryLink” aria-describedby=”tt” data-cmtooltip=”
Scientific Reports
Established in 2011, <em>Scientific Report</em>s is a peer-reviewed open-access scientific mega journal published by Nature Portfolio, covering all areas of the natural sciences. In September 2016, it became the largest journal in the world by number of articles, overtaking <em>PLOS ON</em>E.
” data-gt-translate-attributes=”[{“attribute”:”data-cmtooltip”, “format”:”html”}]”>Scientific Reports, compared the effects of different diets on two groups of mice. One group was fed normal chow, while the other was given a high-fat diet that did not cause obesity or high blood sugar, both of which can lead to diabetic neuropathy and other types of pain.
The researchers found that the high-fat diet induced hyperalgesic priming — a neurological change that represents the transition from acute to chronic pain — and allodynia, which is pain resulting from stimuli that do not normally provoke pain.
“This study indicates you don’t need obesity to trigger pain; you don’t need diabetes; you don’t need a pathology or injury at all,” said Dr. Michael Burton, assistant professor of neuroscience in the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences and corresponding author of the article. “Eating a high-fat diet for a short period of time is enough — a diet similar to what almost all of us in the U.S. eat at some point.”
Dr. Michael Burton (from left), Calvin D. Uong, and Melissa E. Lenert found that a type of fatty acid called palmitic acid binds to a particular receptor on nerve cells, a process that results in inflammation and mimics injury to the neurons. Credit: University of Texas at Dallas
The study also compared obese, diabetic mice with those that just experienced dietary changes.
“It became clear, surprisingly, that you don’t need an underlying pathology or obesity. You just needed the diet,” Burton said. “This is the first study to demonstrate the influential role of a short exposure to a high-fat diet to allodynia or chronic pain.”
Western diets are rich in fats — in particular, saturated fats, which have proved to be responsible for an epidemic of obesity, diabetes, and associated conditions. Individuals who consume high amounts of saturated fats — like butter, cheese, and red meat — have high amounts of free fatty acids circulating in their bloodstream that in turn induce systemic inflammation.
Recently, scientists have shown that these high-fat diets also increase existing mechanical pain sensitivity in the absence of obesity and that they can aggravate preexisting conditions or hinder recovery from injury. No studies, however, have clarified how high-fat diets alone can be a sensitizing factor in inducing pain from nonpainful stimuli, such as a light touch on the skin, Burton said.
“We’ve seen in the past that, in models of diabetes or obesity, only a subsection of the people or animals experience allodynia, and if they do, it varies across a spectrum, and it isn’t clear why,” Burton said. “We hypothesized that there had to be other precipitating factors.”
Burton and his team looked for saturated fatty acids in the blood of the mice fed the high-fat diet. They found that a type of fatty <span class=”glossaryLink” aria-describedby=”tt” data-cmtooltip=”
acid
Any substance that when dissolved in water, gives a pH less than 7.0, or donates a hydrogen ion.
” data-gt-translate-attributes=”[{“attribute”:”data-cmtooltip”, “format”:”html”}]”>acid called palmitic acid — the most common saturated fatty acid in animals — binds to a particular receptor on nerve cells, a process that results in inflammation and mimics injury to the neurons.
“The metabolites from the diet are causing inflammation before we see pathology develop,” Burton said. “Diet itself caused markers of neuronal injury.
“Now that we see that it’s the sensory neurons that are affected, how is it happening? We discovered that if you take away the receptor that the palmitic acid binds to, you don’t see that sensitizing effect on those neurons. That suggests there’s a way to block it pharmacologically.”
Burton said the next step will be to focus on the neurons themselves — how they are activated and how injuries to them can be reversed. It is part of a larger effort to understand better the transition from acute to chronic pain.
“The mechanism behind this transition is important because it is the presence of chronic pain — from whatever source — that is fueling the opioid epidemic,” he said. “If we figure out a way to prevent that transition from acute to chronic, it could do a lot of good.”
Burton said he hopes his research encourages healthcare professionals to consider the role diet plays in influencing pain.
“The biggest reason we do research like this is because we want to understand our physiology completely,” he said. “Now, when a patient goes to a clinician, they treat a symptom, based on an underlying disease or condition. Maybe we need to pay more attention to how the patient got there: Does the patient have diabetes-induced or obesity-induced inflammation; has a terrible diet sensitized them to pain more than they realized? That would be a paradigm shift.”
Reference: “High-fat diet causes mechanical allodynia in the absence of injury or diabetic pathology” by Jessica A. Tierney, Calvin D. Uong, Melissa E. Lenert, Marisa Williams and Michael D. Burton, 1 September 2022, Scientific Reports. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-18281-x
The study was funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, the UT System STARS (Science and Technology Acquisition and Retention) program, the American Pain Society, and the Rita Allen Foundation.
