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A look at what CBD could do for you

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It’s safe to say that cannabidiol (CBD) has a more wide-ranging potential than typical strains of psychoactive cannabis. On its own, CBD is non-intoxicating and causes no mind-altering effects, which explains why so many people seem prepared to experiment with it. Indeed, most of the CBD products that you find on sale are actually made using industrial hemp extracts, rather than cannabis extracts – hemp has very low levels of THC, is not psychoactive and is therefore less restricted.

But is CBD just a passing fad, or does it have properties that could soon become a staple in our daily lives?

Different products for different ailments

Perhaps the most interesting thing about CBD is how its effects change depending on how it is consumed. For instance, taken in vape oil or e-liquid form, CBD becomes active after just a couple of minutes, and quickly begins exerting anti-inflammatory, anti-anxiety, analgesic effects and more, benefits which generally last for two to three hours. The speediness of vaping is particularly useful for people who suffer from sudden bouts of pain, that cannot afford to wait for relief.

However, when taken in edible or capsule form, you can be waiting for an hour or more before you experience any therapeutic relief. The positive with these products, however, is that the CBD is released more slowly into the body, meaning the effects can last all day or night. The relaxing and sedative properties of CBD have unsurprisingly made it a popular alternative sleeping remedy.

But CBD doesn’t even need to be taken into the body for it to have a positive effect, as the emergence of infused balms and creams have shown. The combined antibacterial, antimicrobial and antifungal qualities of the cannabinoid may be valuable for treating skin infections, both bacterial and fungal. These products work because of the presence of the endocannabinoid system in the peripheral nervous system, and therefore the skin.

This system contains endocannabinoids and cannabinoid receptors. Activation of the CB1 receptor can help to relieve pain, hence the popularity of pain creams from companies like Green Roads CBD. Meanwhile, activation of the CB2 receptor works to reduce and regulate inflammation, which may be the key to treating arthritis and the skin condition acne.

Using CBD for general wellness

The jury is still out on many of CBD’s claimed medical properties, and until comprehensive clinical trials are conducted in placebo-controlled, double-blind, randomized settings, little can be said for definite. That’s just the process that any new drug must go through before it can be medically approved. Indeed, for epilepsy this is already happening, with the Food & Drug Administration’s (FDA) recent approval of the CBD-rich oral spray Epidiolex.

However, companies aren’t selling CBD as a medicine, but as a health supplement, and there are a number of ways that CBD can be used to enhance general wellbeing and make life a little easier. Visit website.

cannabis fork

By making more of the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA available in the brain, CBD is perfect for helping you to stay mentally relaxed in challenging situations. Perhaps you’re starting a new job and are nervous about making a good impression, or maybe you struggle with anxiety and find social scenarios overwhelming. With CBD helping to stop the overthinking, and also combat high levels of stress, you can stay cool, calm and collected and always present the best version of yourself to others.

Want to know how to smoke? See direct vapor review and coupons

CBD can also help to smooth out any irregularities in your endocannabinoid system by boosting ‘endocannabinoid tone’. An optimal endocannabinoid system is essential for good immune system health, balanced mood and appetite, strong bone health, beneficial sleep patterns, controlled pain perception and more. To enhance endocannabinoid tone, endocannabinoid degradation must be slowed, and CBD is able to do this by inhibiting the FAAH enzyme’s breakdown of anandamide.

Enhance your workout with CBD

Strength training can be great for our mental health, not just because it helps us to bulk up and become stronger, but because of the release of antidepressant chemicals into the brain. However, to maximize our efforts in the gym, it’s vital that our stress levels, and concentrations of the hormone cortisol, are kept as low as possible. In contrast, higher levels of testosterone facilitate increased muscle growth.

Taking a CBD oil tincture, such as those sold by CBDistillery, helps to quickly reduce cortisol. The reductive effect that CBD has on cortisol was first shown in the 1990s.

Iceland’s new prime minister is 41-year-old environmentalist

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iceland Prime minister Katrin Jakobsdottir
Iceland’s new Prime Minister is green.

Iceland, made progressive or well at least famous by Bjork, has made some monumental strides by electing Katrin Jakobsdottir, the 41-year-old chairwoman of the Left-Green Movement, as Prime Minister. She is well liked and while a former education minister she is also an avid environmentalist.

Iceland, this is the country that slows down speed racers with 3D sidewalks.

In her role she has pledged to help Iceland become carbon neutral by 2040. She will be the fourth PM in two short years, but she might have the trust that the country’s citizens seek right now after a series of scandals.

She is the party leader who can best unite voters from the left and right,” said Eva H. Onnudottir, a political scientist at the University of Iceland, according to the New York Times. “Because this coalition includes parties from the left to the right, their work will be more about managing the system instead of making ‘revolutionary’ changes.”

Get suing for your environment

dead sea

A landmark law was just passed in Israel this year. The Israeli Parliament, known as the Knesset just passed a new law on January 1, that allows both public and non-profit organizations to file a civil suit against any person or organization that damages the environment in general. The law was put into effect after a disaster in 2017 when a fertilizer plant spilled toxic materials into a Dead Sea stream, according to Haaretz.

Until now the only civil suits that could be filed in Israel were ones that caused harm to people. Civil suits can now be filed if the environmental damage is to plants, animals or even just landscapes.

What prompted lobbyists and lawmakers to go ahead with this new law was a disaster in 2017 when the Ashalim Stream in the Judaean Desert and close to the Dead Sea was polluted when a pool at the Rotem Amfert fertilizer plant collapsed. It was called a toxic sludge deluge. High levels of toxic materials including acids seeped into the riverbed, now closed indefinitely to hikers and tourists.

Some animals, like the ibex below, died immediately.

Because, technically, no people were hurt that day, the public was not legally allowed to file a suit against the plant. The area was a popular hiking spot, so people were essentially cut off from nature.

The bill to change the law was initiated by the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel, Israel’s leading environment nonprofit, and was sponsored by Deputy Knesset Speaker Tali Ploskov (Kulanu), MK Yael Cohen Paran (Zionist Union), Nurit Koren (Likud) and Dov Khenin (Joint List). Some people, if you are an environment lover, you might wish to support.

The Dead Sea area in general is facing massive threats due to human greed and oversight. Very little water if any actually flows into the Dead Sea to replenish its natural balance causing it to shrink in size year after year. It’s an eyesore and a shame. One of the bigger blights and disasters to the Sea is the whole south section destroyed by a fertilizer company, the Dead Sea Works, previously known as the Palestine Potash Company.

As you can see below, the actual Dead Sea is severed now in two pieces, the lower region is now evaporation ponds for chemical extraction. How in the world a private company, owned by Israel Chemicals, can operate like this in today’s day and age is beyond me. Today Israel Chemicals is owned by Israel Corporation (52.3%), Institutional investors and public offering (33.6% and the rest (13.6% owned by Canadian company Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan (Wikipedia).

The Israel Corporation, if we dig into the details is in majority holdings by the Ofer Family Group which owns, according to them, 52%.

If you want to be educated on how in the world the Israel Government sells its natural resources to a few wealthy families, watch the movie The Shakshuka System. Posted below for your convenience, with English subtitles.

Blame Roundup For Celiac And Gluten Intolerance Symptoms

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image spraying crops herbicide

The gluten intolerance and celiac disease epidemic that’s spreading worldwide is related to herbicide residues on foods we eat, according to a study published published in the Interdisciplinary Toxicology journal in 2013.

The researchers are Anthony Samsel,an independent scientist who has worked as a consultant to the EPA on arsenic pollution and to the U.S. Coast Guard on chemical hazard response, and Stephanie Seneff, senior research scientist at MIT. They analyzed close to 300 studies on the relationship between glysophate, the active ingredient in the widely-used herbicide Roundup, and gluten intolerance/celiac disease. The scientists conclude that glyphosate residues in our food are responsible for this epidemic, which already affects 5% of the USA population.

In the 1980s, Scottish farmers discovered that spraying Roundup on their wheat and barley crops 7-14 days before harvest guaranteed their crops would dry evenly before starting the harvesting operation. This is known as dessicating the grain. The practice spread to major grain-growing areas in the US and Canada where a damp climate may hinder harvest. Now the list of common foods dessicated with Roundup includes wheat, oats, barley, many kinds of beans, lentils, corn, rye, flax, triticale, buckwheat, peas, sunflower seeds, canola, sugar beets, millet and potatoes. Drenched with the herbicide, those foods inevitably have dry Roundup residues on them. Most of our food is contaminated – yes, even animals and poultry, since the Roundup residues in their feed pass on to us.

No one paid attention to Samsel and Seneff’s study at the time it was published except for Mother Earth News and The Healthy Home Economist. But in 2015, glyphosate was recognized as “probably carcinogenic” by the World Health Organization. And in August 2018, Monsanto, Roundup’s manufacturer, was ordered to pay $289 million to a California groundsworker who was diagnosed with terminal non-Hodgkin lymphoma after having mixed and sprayed hundreds of gallons of the weed killer as part of his duties. Suddenly, glyphosate is on everyone’s lips.

But glyphosate has literally been on our lips since the 1990s, when spraying Roundup on crops became almost universal. The authors of the study note that the numbers of patients diagnosed with gluten intolerance/celiac disease has risen together with the agricultural use of glyphosate.

Comparing gluten antibodies in frozen immune serum obtained between 1948-1954 to those of the modern population, researchers found that celiac disease has quadrupled.

According to the Samsel and Seneff the symptoms of glyphosate exposure closely resemble the symptoms of gluten intolerance/celiac.

“Celiac disease is associated with imbalances in gut bacteria that can be fully explained by the known effects of glyphosate on gut bacteria,” they write. Also, deficiencies in enzymes, metals, and amino acids that characterize celiac disease are proved to appear with exposure to glyphosate.

“Celiac disease patients also have a known increased risk for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, which has also been implicated in glyphosate exposure,” they warn. “The incidence of non-Hodgkins lymphoma has increased rapidly in most Western countries over the last few decades. Statistics from the American Cancer Society show an 80% increase since the early 1970’s, when glyphosate was first introduced on the market.”

They wind up with a dire warning about the effect of Roundup residues on our families.

“Reproductive issues associated with celiac disease, such as infertility, miscarriages, and birth defects, can also be explained by glyphosate.”

So it doesn’t seem that gluten is the big culprit for celiac symptoms; it’s Roundup. Some farmers admit to feeling uneasy about spraying crops with Roundup, but it doesn’t look like agro-business is going to mandate stopping its use any time soon. Apart from dessicating the crops for an easier, ample harvest, Roundup kills weeds off. Without it, farmers will have to go back to plowing the land and digging weeds out by hand, which is they fear will set agriculture back by decades. Many also fear losing part of their crops to damp. Roundup is also widely used in managing fruit orchards and grape vines; even in managing forestry.

The solution: go organic. It’s the only way, these days.

Top Essential and Exciting New Year Gifts to Surprise Your Kids

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the middle east, fair trade, eco-stores, eco-shoping, sex shop, sustainable development, Christmas, holiday shopping,

Kids are always close to the hearts of their parents. They give from toddlers to teenage different happy moments with their cute activities in the family. Parents also want to be a part of their memorable events. All the parents try to give the best lifestyle to their loving kids. They never forget to celebrate kid’s memorable occasions. If you want to give some unique gifts for your kids, then you have to check their requirements. There may be different essential needs of your kids that you want to fulfill in life.

Here are some essential items that you can dedicate to your kids in this new year.

Gift Play Items:

 Kids love to spend their time playing and eating. You can give some unique indoor and outdoor games for your kids. Try to buy the games that help their mental and physical growth. Childhood is the best time to learn new things at home. You can dedicate some intelligent gifts to surprise your kids in this new year. The other idea is to buy some toy instruments to give the best items to play. Toys can be one of the perfect online new year gifts for your little ones. They will be happy to get such useful toys and games for playing at home.

Assorted Chocolates Hamper:

 For your kids, you can show your heartfelt feelings in different ways. Most of the kids like to eat their favorite chocolates. You can dedicate a hamper of some delightful chocolates to surprise your little ones. The other idea is to surprise them with assorted chocolates, which comes in the shape of toys, bells, and cartoons, etc. Kids will love to eat such designer chocolates on this memorable occasion. You can attach candies or lollipops to give them some pleasuring moments of the day.

Arts and Crafts Set for Kids:

 Childhood is the best time when you can guide your kids for choosing their passions. Another gifting idea is to dedicate the arts and crafts set for your lovely kids. It can be the best time pass and learning material for them at home. You can add all the items that they can use easily without your help. A complete kit of arts and crafts set is perfect for school going kids. It will help them to show their creativity by making some decor items.

Prepare a Photo Cake:

 Kids also love to watch cartoons and their favorite superhero movies. You can even personalize a delicious cake for your little ones in this new year. The best way is to select their favorite character’s photo to make unique online new year cakes. You can also select one of the best pictures of your kids to prepare a presentable cake. Try to garnish the cake by adding their favorite flavors and candies. It will be the best dessert to give them delightful moments of the celebration. Capture the cake cutting ceremony moments to create some beautiful memories of the day.

A trip to the Amusement Park:

A new year celebration for your kids can be unforgettable if you take them to visit a nearby amusement park. You can make this day special by going to the adventure park. It can be another essential gift to make them feel happy on this day. Your kids will have enough time to enjoy their favorite games and rides at the famous amusement park. They can also have tasty snacks in a lovely place. It will be the best idea to give them some happy hours to enjoy this new year. Your kids will always remember such a great fun idea on this day.
Above gifts will be surely perfect to make their new year celebration unforgettable. Your kids will be happy to receive all of these essential gifts from your side.

Farting cows directly linked to global warming

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Global warming and climate change weather patterns which may be causing monster hurricanes and typhoons are more than ever being brought to our attention as the dire results continue to wreck havoc the world over. This year’s COP24 Climate Change Conference ,being held in Katowice Poland, is bringing countries together again to try to find solutions to rising temperatures and severe weather patterns being caused by continuous dependence on fossil fuels and other human-caused factors.

One under-looked cause, now being considered as no less critical than fossil fuels, is beef and dairy cow farming; especially in affluent countries like Australia, the UK and the USA. Increasing fondness for beef in the USA, for example, is raising levels of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) and Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2) in the atmosphere as high as the use of fossil fuels. This increase is being caused largely by a very important natural phenomena: cows fart.

The unique food digestion process of a cow’s 4 chambered ruminant stomach actually ferments the cellular plant material it eats creating methane and other gas, including nitrogen and carbon dioxide. These gases are released from both the animal’s mouth during digestion when it chews its”cud”; and afterwards expelled in even larger amounts from the large intestine and anus, causing the flatulence or farts. In a way, you might consider this process as similar to a biogas manufacturing process. So much of this natural biogas is created during the digestion process that scientists now say that the amount involved to create just 225 grams of beef releases as much biogas into the air as the exhaust from 55 cars! The released biogas is now considered to be a definite contributor to the “greenhouse effect”  that causes global warming.

A recent program produced on CNN points this out more dramatically by illustrating the cattle farming industry in the American state of Texas, which has the distinction of being the USA’s top beef producing state. The program showed how cattle are raised there in giant feed lots and idolized by a college football team with its Big Bevo mascot: a giant longhorn steer. This particular species of cattle was once the State of Texas’ prime beef producing animal; and idolized as a colorful part of the Old West when massive herds of cattle were driven hundreds of miles overland to livestock markets in Kansas. There, they would then be shipped by rail to meat processing centers in Chicago and other locations.

According to the CNN featured program, cattle emit 10 times more greenhouse gases than other food mammals like pigs and chickens.

American fondness for beef remains high, however. Reducing the greenhouse gases emitted by cattle is now considered to be a primary objective to keeping the level of global warming within the 1.5 degrees C goal of the COP 24 conference. If the global temperature levels
exceed this threshold, catastrophic consequences to the earth’s environment will occur. Alternatives to naturally grown beef are currently being developed by scientists like Dr. Mark Post, one of the first innovators of laboratory produced “macro meat”. Dr. Post says that producing synthetic meat from stem cells may one day be commercially feasible and will be able to help satisfy people’s desire for beef, while dramatically reducing the amount of greenhouse gasses now being emitted by cattle.

It’s not just beef producing cattle that are causing the greenhouse gas problem, however. large dairy cattle herds also emit the same greenhouse gases as beef cattle. With this in mind, the only plausible solution will be less production of dairy products from cow’s milk, which will be much harder for most people to accept, myself included.

More articles on global warming and climate change:

Champagne production threatened in climate change

We need courage, not hope, to face climate change

Are monster hurricanes and typhoon fueled by global warming?

Photo of beef cattle feedlot by Farmers Weekly; Photo of Big Bevo longhorn University of Texas

Sustainable plastics that emerge from the sea

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red algae, agar-agar, agar, veganism, Morocco

A new Tel Aviv University study describes a process to make bioplastic polymers that don’t require land or fresh water — resources that are scarce in much of the world. The polymer is derived from microorganisms that feed on seaweed. It is biodegradable, produces zero toxic waste and recycles into organic waste.

The invention was the fruit of a multidisciplinary collaboration between Dr. Alexander Golberg of TAU’s Porter School of Environmental and Earth Sciences and Prof. Michael Gozin of TAU’s School of Chemistry. Their research was recently published in the journal Bioresource Technology.

Red gold seaweed harvest Morocco

According to the United Nations, plastic accounts for up to 90 percent of all the pollutants in our oceans, yet there are few comparable, environmentally friendly alternatives to the material.

“Plastics take hundreds of years to decay. So bottles, packaging and bags create plastic ‘continents’ in the oceans, endanger animals and pollute the environment,” says Dr. Golberg. “Plastic is also produced from petroleum products, which has an industrial process that releases chemical contaminants as a byproduct.

“A partial solution to the plastic epidemic is bioplastics, which don’t use petroleum and degrade quickly. But bioplastics also have an environmental price: To grow the plants or the bacteria to make the plastic requires fertile soil and fresh water, which many countries, including Israel, don’t have.

red algae seaweed morocco

“Our new process produces ‘plastic’ from marine microorganisms that completely recycle into organic waste.”

The researchers harnessed microorganisms that feed on seaweed to produce a bioplastic polymer called polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA). “Our raw material was multicellular seaweed, cultivated in the sea,” Dr. Golberg says. “These algae were eaten by single-celled microorganisms, which also grow in very salty water and produce a polymer that can be used to make bioplastic.

“There are already factories that produce this type of bioplastic in commercial quantities, but they use plants that require agricultural land and fresh water. The process we propose will enable countries with a shortage of fresh water, such as Israel, China and India, to switch from petroleum-derived plastics to biodegradable plastics.”

According to Dr. Golberg, the new study could revolutionize the world’s efforts to clean the oceans, without affecting arable land and without using fresh water. “Plastic from fossil sources is one of the most polluting factors in the oceans,” he says. “We have proved it is possible to produce bioplastic completely based on marine resources in a process that is friendly both to the environment and to its residents.

“We are now conducting basic research to find the best bacteria and algae that would be most suitable for producing polymers for bioplastics with different properties,” he concludes.

The research was partially funded by the TAU-Triangle Regional R&D Center in Kfar Kara under the academic auspices of Tel Aviv University, and by the Israeli Ministry of Energy and Infrastructures.

An ancient salad recipe from the Rambam

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image maimonides saladMaimonides, referred to as the Rambam, was a philosopher, codifier of Jewish law, and a renowned doctor in 12th-century Egypt. Israelis follow his startlingly modern-sounding health advice until this day. He wrote that the best breakfast is a big, leafy salad: it clears digestion and the kidneys and purifies the blood.

bagged salad unsafe

That’s not how I remember breakfast when I was growing up in the States. Half-asleep and in a rush to get out the door, my siblings and I would tip into a bowl some cold cereal extruded by machines into shapes designed to entertain kids. The artificially colored and flavored bits were loaded with different sugars. We’d pour plenty of milk straight from the fridge on top. Then we’d wait outside for the school bus, the cold milk inside us making us shiver, while the sugars made their way into our bloodstream and made us frantic. By the mid-morning, we were exhausted from the sugar crash.

Has it changed much? Judging from the packages on supermarket shelves, it doesn’t look like it. Cold cereals have made their way into Israeli supermarkets too, and busy families find them as convenient as mine did. Probably the kids experience the same sugar highs and lows, too.

But many Israelis still love salad for breakfast. Any “Israeli breakfast” in a cafe includes a choice of chopped tomatoes and cucumbers, or a mixed leafy salad along with your omelet, roll and butter. Housewives pride themselves on offering a variety of salads before serving the main hot dish at Shabbat lunch.

Did Rambam’s (Maimonides) ancient book of herbal recipes give clues to finding new anti-cancer vitamin?

The Rambam’s salad takes minutes to chop up, and it’s the kind of food that makes you feel like it’s going to be a good day. You’ll need plenty of green, leafy vegetables and a little fruit. The simple dressing consists of lemon juice, salt and olive oil, and one more important ingredient – sumac. Sumac trees bearing edible fruit grow wild in this part of the world. The wine-colored dried spice has a lemony flavor and lends an attractive deep color to any savory food.

I like to season chicken and fish with sumac, but hadn’t thought of it in salads until I learned the Rambam’s recipe.

Maimonides Salad

Serves 4

2 large celery stalks, with leaves

1/4 medium cabbage

1 large cucumber, unpeeled if possible

2 handfuls fresh dill or cilantro

A small handful of fresh parsley

Several dollops of olive oil

Juice of 1 large lemon

Salt to taste

2 teaspoons powdered sumac

Dried or fresh, sliced fruit to taste.

Slice everything thinly into a large bowl. Douse it all with fresh lemon juice and olive oil, salt everything to taste and dust generously with sumac. Add something sweet at the last – not too much – for balance: sliced dried fruit, a handful of dried cranberries, some pomegranate seeds, half a thinly sliced apple or sections of a fine fresh orange. Don’t add so much fruit as to overwhelm the vegetables.

Sumac, a popular Middle Eastern spice

That’s it. You can prepare the fresh ingredients beforehand, stash them, covered tightly, in the fridge, and pour the lemon juice/olive oil over it just before serving. Remember to sprinkle sumac generously over all.

Do’s and Don’ts of Liquidation

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For the savvy small business owner, the world of liquidation and returns can be a very lucrative one. When big businesses accept returns that they have no intention of restocking and reselling, or when businesses of all sizes quickly liquidate their assets at low prices in order to pay off creditors, they create opportunities for resellers to snap up those goods at rock-bottom prices and resell them for a big a profit.

A good liquidation and returns business can net big bucks for its owner, but there are always ways to streamline your business and improve your odds of making a great living. Here are the dos and don’ts that you should keep in mind as you guide your liquidation and returns business toward the biggest profits possible.

Do know who you’re buying from

Big companies like Target and Walmart are able to unload return pallets at low prices because the scale at which they operate makes that the most efficient thing to do. But not all companies are created equal. You want to buy lightly used and reliable goods, and you’re more likely to get those from certain trusted brands.

Be careful when you consider liquidation stock from companies you’re less familiar with. Make sure you know where your products are coming from, so that you can confidently say that you’re getting authentic brand name returns, and not the latest products from a knock-off factory somewhere. Always, always know who you’re actually buying from!

Don’t buy from just anyone

When big companies like Amazon, Target, and Walmart liquidate their stock, they work with certain reputable resellers. No, we’re not talking about individual resellers like you—we’re talking about online auction houses that turn the stock over in bulk, still at very low prices.

It’s important to turn to a trustworthy auction site for your purchases. Consider this a corollary to the rule that you should always know who you’re buying from. After all, you need to work with a reputable auction site if you’re going to be confident that the goods you’re reselling are really coming from the big companies that you think they are. Working with a trusted supplier means you’ll know for sure that your Target liquidation stock is really Target liquidation stock.

Do develop a specialty

The key to buying and reselling at a profit is knowing the value of what you’re buying and selling. Follow prices closely, and familiarize yourself with the market for your products. That’s easy enough to do, as long as you focus.

Working with one product or type of product will help you here. You’ll be better equipped to make fast and wise decisions about purchases and selling prices if you’re really immersed in a given market segment. Trying to track the prices and sales trends of a bunch of different products is going to get complicated fast. And flying blind by just buying and selling whatever you can get your hands on will be very inefficient because you’ll constantly find yourself being ripped off by savvy buyers who know about pricing trends that you don’t.

Don’t spread yourself too thin

Trying to focus on too many types of products at once is one way to get yourself confused and make your business inefficient. But it’s not the only way to spread yourself too thin, so be careful!

Make sure that you operation grows at the same pace as your acquisitions and sales. Remember, you’ll need room to safely and securely store your stock before you resell it. You may need help to post products on marketplaces and fulfill orders, and you may need funding. Bring in employees and partners as necessary, and make sure that your eyes don’t get bigger than your stomach. In other words, if your ambitions grow too much faster than your business, you’ll make mistakes and could end up losing money.

How it is to be an addicted Jew: A faith-based approach for addiction recovery

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The phrase ‘addiction doesn’t discriminate’ has been used for years as a reminder that drug and alcohol abuse can affect anyone. People from all spiritual backgrounds and religions can find themselves in a trap of addiction.

There’re many faith-based rehabs in the U.S., and many treatment programs are designed specifically for people from the Jewish faith. These programs offer the same treatment methods as traditional programs that have proven their effectiveness and also incorporate the revival of faith as an important part of recovery.

Judaism and Addiction

Alcohol and drug abuse is not something the Jewish community is vocal about. But the mere existence of a Jewish drug rehab makes it clear that the subject is ceasing to be a taboo.

Due to the tendency to deny the reality of addiction, there always was a lack of statistics on substance abuse among Jews. It was long believed that religious Jews couldn’t face this problem.

Nowadays, these approach and belief are things of the past. The community is becoming aware of the issue of drug and alcohol dependence.

Rabbi Dr. Abraham Twerski discards the myth that Jews never drink alcohol or use drugs. He worries about the “growing malignancy” of substance abuse. If it remains ignored, the consequences may be fatal not only for the abuser. It can ruin families and ultimately destroy a whole community.

Twerski wants the Jewish community to no longer sweep Jewish alcoholism and drug use under the rug, but to acknowledge that the disease exists. He also encourages religious leaders to establish training programs for Clergy and other Jewish professionals to teach them to help people with problems.

Recovery via Spiritual Enlightenment

Treatment for the multilayered problems of addiction is based on altering the thought and the behavior patterns of the addict. Jewish rehab centers usually provide pastoral counseling that addresses the spiritual sides of the disease. It helps the patient to break an addictive pattern and develop spiritually oriented thinking and behavior.

Addiction results from a spiritual void in one’s life. So, the pastoral caregiver deals with the problem within a spiritual framework by making references to the Bible and Midrash. For example, the Israelite Exodus from Egypt is presented as a model for the escape from addiction to substance-free life.

Egypt (in Hebrew, Mitzrayim) literally means a “place of narrowness.” The Hebrews lived there in the slavery that endured 400 years. The word “addiction” comes from a root of the Latin word “addictus” which means “to give oneself over.”

Someone who suffers from substance addiction is enslaved. A person in this state has no control over life and is powerless. For each addicted Jew, the story of the Exodus from Egypt symbolizes the personal story of breaking free from his or her narrow place. In spite of the repeated temptations to backslide, they struggle until they reach the promised land of spirituality and recovery.

What Is a Jewish Rehab?

Jewish rehab programs contain the components of a traditional treatment program but accommodate them to the principles of Jewish faith. The programs combine the tenets of the Torah and the 12-step philosophy.

Inpatient treatment programs usually require the patients to live in the facilities at least for a month. These 30 days are dedicated to working with detox specialists, licensed addiction therapists, and psychiatrists.

When addicts become the patients of a particular Jewish rehab, they undergo a medical detox, like in any other traditional rehab. Detoxification aims to rid the body of the harmful toxins that have accumulated in the body during the abuse. Medical professionals supervise this process as detoxing from some substances can be dangerous for health.

After that, patients are evaluated by the therapist and physiatrist. They check them for other diseases.

The majority of Jewish drug rehabilitation centers offer faith-based programs that comprise spiritual modalities centered toward Judaism. Patients attend individual and group therapy sessions run by professional therapists.

Group therapy helps the recovering addicts to share feelings and experiences. They see that they are not alone in their struggle with alcohol or drug dependence. The therapy can also cover such topics as codependency relationships, relapse prevention, and anger management.

Other services that enhance recovery process include:

  • A healthy diet and regular physical exercising
  • Spiritual guidance and direction for individuals and their families
  • 12-step program based on the Torah
  • Praying and meditation with religious scriptures
  • Alternative types of therapy, such as art or equine therapy.

Most addicts involved in recovery understand the role of meetings, support groups, therapy and spiritual counseling in combatting addiction.

The Benefits of Jewish Rehabs

Getting addiction treatment at Jewish rehabilitation facilities has its advantages:

  • Faith-based approach: This type of rehab attracts Jewish people that are suffering from the same problems. Thus, a feeling of belonging starts to emerge and deep connections are beginning to form. Moreover, the programs provide counseling sessions founded on religious philosophy and therapies that meet the special needs of addicted religious Jews.
  • After-care support: When a patient successfully completes a treatment program, this isn’t over yet. Recovery from addiction is a lifelong process. Ex-addicts need assistance as they reintegrate into their usual life. A “sober living” program is available for approximately half a year or more. People learn to live drug-free or alcohol-free life and better manage the stressful situations that caused their substance abuse.
  • Sponsorship and networking: When people return home, they have an opportunity to get assistance from outreach sponsors and specialists. They also can work with addicts that are on the path to recovery and share their own experience with them. It creates a sense of being part of the Jewish community and a feeling of being helpful, thus increasing the chances of staying sober.

So, a Jewish rehabilitation center is the best choice for Jewish people. They renew their faith and get rid of addiction while living in a safe environment and communicating with professional staff and patients that share the same religious views.

About the Author

Thanush Poulsen is a health columnist from Denmark who closely investigates the problem of addiction. As today it is an issue of a rising concern, Thanush aims to increase people’s awareness of it to prevent an increasingly growing number of drug deaths and drug crimes.

The Egyptian Academy in Rome Emphasizes the Value of Cultural Diplomacy

When wandering in the streets and piazzas of Rome, it is always a surprise to encounter Egyptian obelisks and Pharaonic monuments, reminders of the ancient links between Egypt and Rome. However, it is even more exciting to visit the prestigious Egyptian Academy, a cultural facility established near Rome’s Villa Borghese, next to a group of international fine arts academies representing various countries in the world.

Although the Egyptian Academy is one of seventeen fine arts academies that exist today in Rome, it is the sole representative of the African continent and the Arab world. In fact, only the Egyptian and Japanese academies represent the “East” among those academies. 

The Academy serves multiple objectives, hosting Egyptian art students in Rome while promoting Egyptian culture beyond its borders, also as a source of pride for Egyptian and Arab people. 

With this simple message, the Academy’s director Dr Gihane Zaki welcomed us. Her great charisma and passion bring an additional dimension to the visit. When Dr Zaki speaks with such depth of knowledge and experience, you feel you are speaking to a true ambassador of culture and the arts, especially when she talks about her role to convey the message of Egyptian culture to the world.

As we walked around the Academy, Dr Zaki spoke to us about her journey since her appointment as the Academy’s director in 2012, and her subsequent election to the Council of ICCROM (International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property) in 2013, representing Egypt.

Q: Dr Zaki, would you please tell us about the Egyptian Academy in Rome?

Gihane Zaki: The Egyptian Academy has been in existence since 1924 and came to the present location near the Villa Borghese in 1966. In addition to hosting Egyptian art students for a period of study in Rome, the Academy evokes the glory of Egyptian art and culture to people from Italy and the West, while encouraging Arab people from all corners of the Middle East to take pride in this rich heritage. Though there are many fine arts academies in Rome, the Egyptian Academy is the only one of both the Arab world and Africa.

Q: What is the importance of the Academy’s role today?

Gihane Zaki: Right now we are living in a real culture war. In a period of black-and-white thinking, the Egyptian Academy has a brand with a social role that has many dimensions, particularly when it comes to interpreting history. We want to show that experts have a role, and that when you interpret history, it’s important to put in a touch of tolerance. This is true even when history is written by the winners – maybe especially then.

The role of the Academy is also to show another image of the Arab world, both to Arabs and to the West. We want to show a positive image of the Arab world that is also real and genuine. The Arab world is not what they show on television, ISIS and terrorist attacks and guns and black masks. The Arab world is the great stars of Cairo cinema, glorious art, haunting music and delicate calligraphy. This is the cultural diplomacy of reducing tensions between East and West. And not just to the West but also to Arab people. The message is – I shouldn’t be shy about presenting myself as an Arab person. I present a positive image. This positive image shared through cultural diplomacy can become a locomotive.

I see my role as bringing the message of Egyptian culture to Europe. I want Arab people to be proud of their culture, and I want Europeans to appreciate it. Cultural diplomacy is key now to understanding and putting people together. And culture, heritage and history are its flag.

Q: Could you speak to the importance of cultural diplomacy?

Gihane Zaki: The persuasive or soft power of culture and the arts can be seen everywhere. Culture can be used to negotiate with and encourage a range of stakeholders, from the highest echelons of power to poor and at-risk populations. Culture and the arts appeal to people’s minds and hearts, and widen their perspectives. And if you’ve touched their hearts just once, they will come back a second and third time.

I see cultural diplomacy as a weapon in the culture war. The Academy is not political, but my role is also to use it with politicians and ambassadors. Their desire to understand culture is huge, and often it is not encouraged in the environments they live and work in. Yet they very much appreciate the chance for open dialogue through culture, and for connecting with groups that it may be difficult to approach in any other way. That is the value of cultural diplomacy. From this place, dialogue can start.

Q: Whom does the Academy reach out to?

Gihane Zaki: At the Egyptian Academy, we open our doors not only to diplomatic circles but also to the community of Egyptians living in Italy, of which there are many, particularly in Milan. I also invite school groups, particularly 9 to 12 year olds, both Italian and international. They come and learn about the magnificence of Egypt’s history. I can put a piece of Egypt inside their hearts that they will never forget. They may even go on to study Egypt and Egyptology, as I did!

Recently the Academy also opened its doors to a very different group – and here I mean young Egyptian illegal immigrants in Italy, mostly 18 to 21 years old with little or no education. Their families sent them on boats to come to Italy, thinking they would become rich. Now they are here with no awareness of what Europe is, or even what Egypt is.

I was recently contacted by a French non-profit that works with these young boys and men, and I said, of course they must come to the Academy. I showed them the gallery of Egyptian film stars and they don’t know who any of them are. I share with them the Tutankhamun exhibit and tell them, “Your grandfathers built this.” I invite them to movie evenings and they bring their friends. Afterward we all sit in the garden, I make dinner for them and we laugh together and have a wonderful time. They too will never forget it. And one day this may keep them from going to the other side.

Q: So this really is a line of defense in the culture wars?!

Gihane Zaki: The cultural mainstream, too often very elitist, has forgotten or neglected to do exactly this with at-risk populations – include them, engage them, show care for their welfare. That is exactly why ISIS has been so successful with this group. The social inclusion role cannot be forgotten by any institutions, especially cultural ones. If we do, we’ll lose the culture war, and we will not have the open and stable society we want. To have it, we must invest. We can have the beauty of culture, or we can have a flood of radicalism submerge the Arab world.

Q: What do you see as ICCROM’s role in the Arab region moving forward?

Gihane Zaki: ICCROM will continue to be a force supporting culture and society in the Arab region in many ways – especially in planning for the post-conflict period – with risk preparedness, with first aid, with community engagement. These conflicts will not last forever. We must think and plan for the future. ICCROM is always at its best when intervening in crisis situations, just as they did at the time of Abu Simbel and the Aswan High Dam in the 1960s. There will always be a role for ICCROM.

Q: Any final thoughts?

Gihane Zaki: Culture is a strength. I’ve seen it through my experience at the Egyptian Academy in Rome, and it’s not a small platform. We’ve worked for six years under very difficult conditions, not only in Egypt but throughout the Arab region. We’ve seen revolutions, wars, armed conflict, illicit trafficking in antiquities and many horrors. But deep down I have this confidence that culture matters – cultural education and art, but above all, everything that is human. If we can touch the masses that are suffering and drifting away, it’s through culture, by changing the minds of people. We have a duty, all of us who are culture workers, to really move forward on everything we see happening around the world and not give up.

NYC dance company commemorates Dance or Die hero

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We told the story to readers of Ahmad Joudeh over two years ago. We shared how, in the middle of the Syrian crisis, despite danger and dire straits, he continued to dance and teach dance to his young students.

With a special interest in the Middle East, after studying Arabic and also teaching dance to underprivileged children in Jordan, I was touched when I learned about Joudeh. Then around this time last year, in rehearsals for a modern dance show, I found out that one of the pieces I would perform centered around him. An excerpt from the documentary that introduced Joudeh to the world would play on the screen at the back of the stage. This good fortune moved me; I felt so lucky and eager to embrace his “Dance or die” spirit, to embody his movement, to give his story the spotlight it deserves – this time on a New York City stage.

In his documentary, there was one scene in which Joudeh dances on a barren concrete rooftop. It’s a beautiful day, a minaret and dome of a mosque visible beyond the roof’s border, but one inevitably fears that there isn’t much time before all of the structures pictured will crumble, the dust will block out the sun…

Joudeh ushers in a sense of hope to that roof, though, as he sweeps his leg around, tumbles to the floor but then reaches an outstretched hand to the sky. His movement is big; you can tell that he needs this art as much as it sustains him.

I, too, like to move big, and I know I dance better when I am emotionally charged. In this piece by the company Born Dancing, Inc., called Grey 5 because it was the fifth of a set of pieces dedicated to Syria, collectively called Grey, I started mimicking Joudeh’s movement pattern, dancing with him as I faced the back, looking at him on the screen. Three dancers joined and we danced in canon, and then it was complete accumulation: all six of us were flying and reaching alongside Ahmad Joudeh.

 

View the video on Facebook here.

The piece ended with pictures of Syrian children affected by the war flashing over the screen, and the dancers reacting to it. I remember that the director, Melissa van Wijk, did not choreograph our reactions; she let us feel the way we felt, and manifest that through movement, whatever it was. I appreciated that freedom awarded us, when usually dance is so exacting.

On the subject of freedom, I would like to give an update on Joudeh’s whereabouts. He is now dancing with the Dutch National Ballet. No doubt his technique and artistry have soared, and his future dance students will be all the more lucky to have him. Last month his first book, an autobiography, called Danza o Muori, Italian for Dance or Die, was published by DeA Planeta Libri. I have to brush up on my Italian, and then I’ll pick up a copy.

 

Tonight is opening night of Born Dancing, Inc.’s fourth production. Although we will not be showing all of Grey, and that means no Grey 5, there is a duet, Grey 2, that we have pulled to show, and I have the honor of dancing in it. I assume the role of a mother figure as I dance with an 11-year-old named Emily, who represents Syrian refugee children at large. We play, I support her, she supports me, and love is palpable.

 

This weekend, I bet Ahmad Joudeh is performing, too. Although we won’t be sharing the stage in person or thanks to digital technology, we will still be close: I plan to carry his love of dance in my heart, and that’s as close at it gets.

First photo courtesy of Born Dancing, Inc. Photo of Danza o Muori taken off Ahmad Joudeh’s Instagram page.

The state of fishing for the Mediterranean and Black Sea

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cormorands fishing

Although the main commercial fish species in the Mediterranean and Black Sea are still over-fished, pressure has reduced over the past years, raising hopes – for the first time – for the recovery of fish stocks, according to new FAO-GFCM report launched today.

The percentage of overexploited fish stocks decreased by 10 percent – from 88 percent in 2014 to 78 percent in 2016. More efforts are needed, however, to ensure long-term fish stock sustainability, warns The State of Mediterranean and Black Sea Fisheries.

This means more support for the small-scale fishing sector, which employs most fishers and causes least environmental damage; reducing bycatch and discards; and introducing more drastic measures such as significantly reducing fishing or establishing fisheries restricted areas  (areas where fishing activities are regulated).

The latter is particularly needed to safeguard the most heavily fished species, such as  European hake, which is fished nearly six times beyond its sustainable level.

“Fisheries provide the region with an important socio-economic balance and are essential to ending hunger and poverty,” said Abdellah Srour, GFCM Executive Secretary.

“Sustainability may be expensive in the short term, but there is nothing more expensive than running out of fish,” said Miguel Bernal, FAO Fishery Officer and one of the report’s coordinators.

Mediterranean and Black Sea fisheries are under threat in the long run because of the effects of increased pollution from human activities, habitat degradation, the introduction of non-indigenous species, overfishing and the impacts of climate-driven changes.

Most over-fished fish species

The European hake remains the species subject to the highest fishing pressure in the whole Mediterranean, followed by turbot in the Black Sea and horse mackerel in the Mediterranean.

Stocks fished within biologically sustainable limits mostly include small pelagic species (sardine or anchovy), and some stocks of red mullet and deep-water rose shrimp.

Catch levels – latest trends

Overall, fish catch levels have been stable for the last few years, but are significantly down from the record years of the 1980s – 1.2 million tonnes in 2016 versus 2 million tonnes in 1982.

The 1.2 million of tonnes comprise of 830 000 tonnes of fish caught in the Mediterranean and 390 000 tonnes of fish from the Black Sea. The bulk of catches consists of small pelagics (sardines, anchovies accounting for a third of all catches) although the catch is composed of a high number of species compared to other areas of the world.

Across, the region, the ranking of capture fisheries production in 2014-2016 continues to be dominated by Turkey (321 800 tonnes and 26 percent of total landings compared to 31 percent in 2013), followed by Italy (185 300 tonnes and 16 percent, similar to the 2013 percentage). Algeria (96 300 tonnes and 8 percent) and Greece (65 700 tonnes and 5 percent) also maintain the same (2013) percentages in landing contribution. Both Tunisia (185 300 tonnes) and Croatia (74 400 tonnes) show an increase compared to 2013 (from 7 to 9 percent for Tunisia and from 3 to 6 percent for Croatia). Total landings for Spain (78 200 tonnes) decreased from 8.5 percent to 7 percent of the total).

Among subregions, the Black Sea continues to provide the largest contribution to capture fisheries production, with a 32 percent of the total, followed by the western Mediterranean (22 percent of total), the Adriatic Sea (16 percent), and the central and eastern Mediterranean (15 percent each).

Discards and incidental catches of vulnerable species still of concern – 275 000 tonnes of fish discarded every year

Some 230 000 tonnes of Mediterranean fish is discarded every year – about 18 percent of total catches. In the Black Sea, discards are estimated at around 45 000 tonnes or around 10-15 percent of total catches.

Some sectors generate more discards than others – trawling, for example, accounts for over 40 percent in some areas, whilst small-scale fisheries tend to be below 10 percent.

According to the report, incidental catches of vulnerable species are relatively rare events but are important because the species caught are of conservation concern. Among the vulnerable species most affected by incidental catches, are sea turtles (which appear in 8 out 10 of reports on incidental catches) followed by sharks, rays, and skates (appearing in 2 out of 10 reports on incidental catches each). Seabirds and marine mammals represent the lowest number of incidental catches, and are only occasionally included on incidental catches reports.

The report was launched on the occasion of the first GFCM Forum on Fisheries Science (Fish Forum 2018) organized at the FAO headquarters from 10th to 14th December 2018, as a recognition of the instrumental role of science in improving knowledge towards sustainable fisheries management.

Other key facts and figures from The State of Mediterranean and Black Sea Fisheries

  • Marine capture fisheries in the Mediterranean and Black Sea produce an estimated annual revenue of $2.8 billion and directly employ just under a quarter of a million people.
  • Unlike other major fishing areas, Mediterranean and Black Sea fisheries lack large mono-specific stocks, and exploit instead a variety of benthic and pelagic stocks of fish, as well as molluscs and crustaceans.
  • The officially reported fishing fleet operating in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea in 2017 comprises around 86 500 vessels, 6 200 units less than in 2014.
  • Small-scale vessels make up by far the biggest proportion of the region’s fleet (83 percent in the Mediterranean and 91 percent in the Black Sea)
  • Small-scale fishing vessels generate most employment (59 percent) in the sector, but generate only 26 percent of total revenue. Workers on small-scale vessels only earn about 50% of what workers on trawlers/purse seiners earn.
  • The Mediterranean and Black Sea are one of the most carefully monitored regions in the world – the main commercial species, about 50 percent of the total catches, are scientifically assessed.

NASA and FAO launch Collect Earth Online to track land-use and landscape changes anywhere

forest bathing, woman hipster contemplating nature in dark green forest

Seeing both forests and trees is about to get easier, thanks to a new open-access tool developed by US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), with support from the Google Earth Engine Team and the US Government’s SilvaCarbon Program  – allowing anyone to track land-use and landscape changes anywhere.

Collect Earth Online (CEO) amplifies the power of FAO’s Open Foris Collect Earth tool, which for the past few years has enabled the collection of data on land use, deforestation and for other purposes with the help of satellite imagery. CEO will become a central technology supporting FAO’s global Remote Sensing Survey. The new platform is web-based, free of charge, open to all, requires no downloads or installation, and allows users to systematically inspect any location on the Earth with satellite data.

The next generation tool makes it easier to conduct surveys, collect samples and use crowdsourcing techniques. CEO can be accessed by simply clicking on a link http://collect.earth/ and registering on the platform.

“This innovation allows collection of up-to-date data about our environment and its changes in a more efficient and participatory manner using the local experts that know the landscape and the underlying ecology.  Thus, it helps us to obtain and upscale practical inputs at a time when environmental challenges are taking on urgent and unprecedented importance,” said Mette Wilkie, Chief, Policy and Resources of FAO’s Forestry Division.

“The CEO platform is a satellite-imagery based, crowd-sourcing platform that changes how we collect data about the Earth,” says SERVIR Global Program Manager for NASA Dan Irwin. “It leverages four decades of satellite data and can help countries around the world better map and monitor their forests.”

Collect Earth Online is now available through FAO’s Open Foris – a collection of tools and platforms that break existing technology barriers. CEO uses innovative forest and land monitoring tools and technologies and allows reference data for forest and other landscape assessments to be produced quickly.  CEO will be integrated into SEPAL (System for Earth Observation Data Access, Processing and Analysis for Land Monitoring), FAO’s powerful cloud-based platform, early in 2019, making it easier to link reference data directly to processing chains for generating accurate and transparent maps, data and statistics.

“The addition of Collect Earth Online to FAO’s Open Foris further strengthens the comprehensive set of innovative tools for measuring, monitoring and reporting on forests and Land use. Collect Earth Online when used in combination with SEPAL will allow countries to advance quickly in the fight against climate change,” said Tiina Vahanen, REDD+/National Forest Monitoring Coordinator at FAO.

SERVIR is a program jointly run by NASA and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) that co-develops state-of-the-art geospatial services to help improve environmental decision-making among developing nations in more than 45 countries, with regional hubs in Kenya, Niger, Nepal, Thailand – where much of the initial work of CEO was done – and soon a new hub in South America. The US Government’s SilvaCarbon Program also provided funding support and technical expertise in the development of CEO and is currently developing training materials.

More accessible and easier to use

CEO, which provides access to high-resolution satellite imagery from multiple sources as well as historical imagery and mosaics from NASA’s Landsat network and the European Union’s Sentinel system, can be used by anyone as a stand-alone application.

It will be integrated into SEPAL (System for Earth Observation Data Access, Processing and Analysis for Land Monitoring), FAO’s powerful cloud-based platform, early in 2019, making it easier to link reference data directly to processing chains for map creation.  In 2019, CEO will also integrate TimeSync, a Landsat time series visualization tool created by Oregon State University and the US Forest Service.

Monitoring the world’s forests has become an increasingly challenging and rewarding task, as their importance for timber and fuel is now enriched by awareness of their role in carbon storage, pest control and agriculture. FAO’s Locust Control Unit, for example, has used Open Foris tools to improve forecasts and control outbreaks.

Both FAO and NASA expect further innovative uses – in disaster management and glacier monitoring, for example  – will emerge as more people use the tool. Its open-source and cloud-based nature not only broadens access but is a buffer against data loss, a significant value when digital and computing resources are limited. That opens promising prospects for ventures ranging from trying to protect natural wildlife habitat to broader projects measure links between biomass and poverty.

The Islamic Bank seeks to innovate social causes

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On December 10, the Islamic Development Bank Launched IsDB Innovate, a groundbreaking
initiative that seeks to connect entrepreneurs in the science, technology, and innovation sectors
with funders around the world.

IsDB Innovate is an initiative of 8 crowdfunding platforms — one global hub, and seven regional
platforms. This is the first time a global development organization has launched multiple
crowdfunding platforms in multiple jurisdictions.

The platform launched with 14 projects, which range from low-cost solution to reducing enteric
diseases in Bangladesh to the world’s smallest glucose monitor to help diabetics monitor their
blood sugar.

You can find all the platforms here:
– hub.isdb-innovate.org
– turkey.isdb-innovate.org
– morocco.isdb-innovate.org
– bangladesh.isdb-innovate.org
– senegal.isdb-innovate.org
– kazakhstan.isdb-innovate.org
– indonesia.isdb-innovate.org
– malaysia.isdb-innovate.org

The platforms are translated into:

– English, French, and Arabic (the official languages of IsDB)
– Turkish
– Bengali
– Malay
– Kazakh
– Indonesian

The first cohort of projects on the platform have already raised thousands of dollars from the
crowd and have ~3 months to complete their fundraising efforts. The platform was built with help from AlliedCrowds, a tech and data firm focused on alternative finance in emerging markets.