Because of restrictions on the number of birds he could fly with, a Saudi prince boarded 80 of his own birds onto a commercial flight, each in its own seat. The few spaces not taken by a bird were occupied by humans, one of whom snapped the scene and posted it on social media.

According to its boarding policies, Qatar Airways allows a maximum of six falcons on board per plane (one falcon in the Economy Class cabin of an aircraft, and a maximum of six falcons are permitted within the Economy Class cabin of any one aircraft), and Etihad Airways allows falcons in the main cabin or as checked baggage. The falcon is the national bird of the UAE, which may explain why several Gulf airlines are equipped to transport them.

Hermes falcon stand, Dubai, Petit h — *Hermes pop-up shop Petit h creates a falcon stand for Dubai mall shop*

Falcons who fly must be issued an animal passport, valid for three years, for air travel in the UAE in order to protect them from smugglers, which is a serious problem in the Middle East. No photo is required (say cheese? can a bird smile), but the birds must be fitted with a leg ring with an ID number corresponding to its passport.

It’s not readily apparent which airline transported the birds, but several Gulf state carriers do allow falcons in their cabins as a concession to their two-legged passengers who are passionate about falconry, a popular sport among the the privileged class in the Middle East.

Seasoned falconers commonly train multiple birds at once, much like nurturing a stable of fine race horses. The birds travel with their owners for racing and hunting events.

Falcons with passports

In 2013, Gulf News reported that over 28,000 falcons had received passports since 2002 as part of an effort to combat the illegal trade of the birds. Travel is restricted to nine nations: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Morocco, the United Arab Emirates, and Syria. Abu Dhabi and Dubai are hubs for the ancient and gentlemanly sport.

Checklist for flying with falcons

No first class flights
Tied with chord or chain
Valid health certificate
Wearing hood
Falcon passport

We already known that Qatar Airways permits up to six birds on board. Etihad and Emirates allow birds on board, as does Royal Jordanian on limited occasions, provided they sit in economy class, be secured to their seat with a cord or chain, and carry valid health certificates.

In every instance, each bird must be hooded, and carry a pet passport. The airlines provide protective covers for the seat upholstery. In every instance, these airlines allow more falcons in their cabins than they do dogs or cats.

Though 80 birds on one plane is unusual, the human travellers appear nonplussed. Modern day flying really is for the birds.

Crowdsourcing nature reserves to save the yellow-tailed woolly monkey

Health

Karin Kloosterman

January 29, 2017

We did this when I was a kid at high-school: raise hotdog money or donations to buy rainforest in the Amazon. Researchers from Israel are now crowdsourcing the idea and turning Peruvian jungle into a nature reserve. Great ideas like this may save our planet. We reported on this initiative it in 2015, and now it’s happened, with questions answered.

The Israeli-founded organization called Time, has crowdsourced funds to purchase the first area of land to become a nature reserve. The goal is to preserve biodiversity and save endangered species around the world. But this first plot, 80 hectares in size, contains over 300 species of animals, many on the brink of extinction.

“Within less than a year, we’ve managed to show that it’s possible to save species and protect the earth through crowdsourcing, thanks to lots of caring people,” says Time founder Prof. Uri Shanas from the University of Haifa.

TIME which stands for This is My Eart) was established by Shanas and the renowned environmentalist and lawyer Alon Tal of Tel Aviv University, about 18 months ago. Any person that donates to the organization, whether a dollar or a million has equal voting rights.

Once a year members choose at least three threatened habitats from different parts of the world selected by the organization’s scientific committee. Each of the habitats is home to a diverse range of endangered species. The selected habitat is then bought by TIME and becomes a nature reserve. The sale is undertaken through local organizations responsible for managing the new nature reserve following its purchase.

The first habitat chosen is in the Peruvian Andes is home to over 300 species of birds, lizards, and mammals, many of which appear on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, such as the yellow-tailed woolly monkey and the long-whiskered owlet.

The owner of the site placed it on the market and TiME will buy the land for $30,000. Of this sum, $25,000 was raised by crowdsourcing while $5,000 was donated by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, which supports environmental protection projects, among other areas.

“According to Peruvian law, the land can only be sold to locals and accordingly, the land will be purchased in the community’s name by a local conservation organization, Neotropical Primate Conservation, managed by the researcher couple Sam and Noga Shani.

“The Shanis have lived in the area for years, working to help save species in danger of extinction. They will manage the site together with the local community, and in the spirit of TIME, research and educational activities will be integrated in the purchased area,” said Tal.

“The rate of deforestation in the rainforest is among the highest in the world,” Prof. Shanas concludes. “This specific site serves as an important corridor between two existing reserves. Breaking the chain of forests in this area could dissect the region, leaving small animal populations unable to survive.

“Although this is a small area of land, we have been motivated by this success. We really hope that this proof of concept will help us recruit more supporters and members over the coming year.”

Natural ways to look beautiful without injections and surgery

Health

Bhok Thompson

January 20, 2017

Natural ways to look beautiful without injections and surgery

Egor Gribanov — Woman in Field of Flowers

There is a reason why our all natural sugar wax recipe is an all-time high post at Green Prophet, racking in hundreds of thousands of views. We already understand the nature of beauty and that if you still a gorgeous older woman somewhere on the planet chances are her beauty secrets are an 8-hour sleep and something simple like olive oil to moisturize her skin. Even the most natural products have something in them to preserve or keep the product that’s why I shy away from endorsing almost any beauty product.

Some older women, may need hormone replacement therapy to stave off the effects of menopause, and these hormone injections can make you look younger by a decade. But they are not a lifestyle choice if you are on them more than 5 years. My mother was on hormone replacement therapy for 10 years and was then diagnosed with endometrial cancer, a common effect with long-term use of hormone therapy. It was doctor prescribed!

For women in their 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s+ large breasts used to be the thing. But now that anyone can pay $10,000 for a breast augmentation surgery, small breasts look best and a big behind is the most sought after feature on the beach.

But now the latest fad is a big rear-end. This is good news for women who are naturally fuller, as larger back ends counteract eating disorders. The two can’t really go together… unless you opt for surgery.

Behind-surgeries are as unappealing to us if not more than breast enhancement. Any kinds of unnatural fillers or surgeries you do to your body can put you at risk for auto-immune diseases. Any time you go under the knife you put your body at risk for infection. Ask any doctor about this, but not plastic surgeons.

If you want to look hot on the beach, consider the most natural routes possible, and you might not like our suggestions because they will require a bit of work. Like anything in life, when you work for it, it will be the best result.

Here are our beauty tips:

For the healthy skin glow: eat fruits like mango and papaya. Take the rinds of the fruit and run the remaining fruit on your skin. Wash off after 15 minutes. Forget buying expensive beauty creams. Spend that money on activities to make you a better person.
Use olive as a moisturizer and in your food. It’s good for everything
Avoid exposure to the sun, or limit it each day.
Buy some hiking boots and get a naturally pert derriere by walking up and down natural paths. You might meet some great people along the way.
Kick off the running shoes and go somewhere warm. Run barefoot along the beach.
Don’t fight your genetics. Work with it. Accent your strong points, downplay your weak.
If anyone is going to love you, it won’t be for your body. Work on your interests and reading list. Get out into the world and build something great. Do good things for others and your beauty will shine through on your face and body. This is the healthiest advice we can give you.

Getting a good night’s sleep in winter

Cities
Health
Lifestyle

Bhok Thompson

January 17, 2017

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is something everyone should aspire to. After all, the benefits of it are myriad – from aging more slowly to being increasingly active and attaining general longevity. However, there’s more to it than simply having a regimented exercise program and a healthy diet.

In recent years there has been a growing trend towards living a slower paced life, and this includes getting more rest and sleep, something a lot of city dwellers, hard workers, and young professionals neglect. This is crucial to maintaining a balanced and healthy lifestyle, along with diet and exercise. However, it’s not something everyone is able to achieve; as many as 150 million people worldwide suffer from a chronic sleep disorder.

On top of that, the rigorous demands of a career and busy lifestyle are a constant drain on our ability to get adequate rest. Below, we’ll discuss a number of tips for getting a good night’s sleep.

Invest in a quality mattress

Seeing as we spend almost a third of our lives sleeping, having a poor quality mattress seems counterintuitive to a comfortable lifestyle. After all, you wouldn’t buy cheap running shoes if you were competing in a marathon. The benefits of a good mattress – for example, those found at a company like Panda – can result in a decrease in stress, a better quality of sleep, improved memory and even weight loss, all of which are composite parts of a complete healthy lifestyle.

Set a sleep schedule

Maintaining constant and set times that you go to bed and rise each day is crucial to achieving good quality sleep. This means going to bed at the same time every night and feeling refreshed and rejuvenated in the morning – even on weekends. The logic behind this is the same with any discipline, you’re putting constant time and dedication to build a habit that eventually will grow into a routine.

Relax before bed

Make sure you set some time aside before you go to sleep to let your body truly relax. This means shutting down your computer, putting your cell phone aside and dimming the lights. Get rid of anything stimulating that might jar you awake. Consider taking a relaxing bath, engaging in some meditation, listening to some music or reading a book. All of these will calm both your body and mind and allow you to ease more naturally into sleep.

A Wind Tree for the future

Energy

Karin Kloosterman

January 10, 2017

Imagine a beautifully designed tree that you can place outside your house or look at in public spaces and that, when blown by the wind, produces enough energy to light your place up. That’s right; wind turbines can now have a different size and be harmonically integrated within the landscape. So instead of the huge wind turbines we are used to imagine when we think of the machines that create this type of energy we can now think of something different: a beautiful green and white tree that has its own small leaf-shaped turbines and a power output of 3.1 KW. Inspired by nature and its wisdom, this Wind Tree is the new option to fight climate change and other negative effects that conventional fuels have on our environment.

Led by Jérôme Michaud-Larivière, French company NewWind has conceived a design that brings together sustainable energy with beauty and emotion. Made with 72 turbines containing “Aeroleafs”, “L’Arbre à Vent” measures 8 to 11 meters and is capable of lighting 15 streetlights, 100 meters of space office, 71 parking spots, an electric car or the filtration system of a pool for a whole year. And so, with an engaging biomimetic design, these wind trees last close to 25 years, are completely silent – thus not invasive – and close to no permits are needed to install them.

[brid video=”105288″ player=”7642″ title=”A Wind Tree for the future”]

To imagine that a single three represents 864kg of coal and 15 15-litre jerry cans of fuel is reason enough to consider it a fantastic option to slow down the inevitable effects that energy based on carbon-based fuels are having on our environment. As a matter of fact, these Wind Trees have already been installed in Paris, in Place de la Concorde. Allegedly, Michaud-Larivière actually got inspiration from real trees he saw in a Parisian plaza, which leaves kept shaking despite the absence of wind. Small wind currents seemed to him enough to produce energy, and the L’Arbre à Vent have proved this right.

Although the amount of trees needed to produce the same output as huge wind turbines is high, the truth is that if propagated in the right time frame, soon many households could depend on these bio designed Wind Trees, and the mid-term positive results of these would be outstanding. Also, they are designed in a way that if a turbine stops working the rest will continue to produce energy.

Wind energy is a clean fuel source, so its benefits are uncountable when we compare it to other types of fuels. Moreover, all countries have wind, which means that each nation has the ability of producing its own wind energy. It is also cost effective. So, in addition to other ways of protecting the environment we live in, including finding ways to stop fracking (many stars have actually come together against it on the platform Artists Against Fracking), using solar-powered panels in our households, or simply by having vegetarian diets like top celebrities do, also in an attempt to raise awareness about how this can have a positive impact on climate change (by reducing greenhouse gas emissions generated by cattle), a wind-energy powered city is an attainable dream that could help fix many of the environmental issues we are currently facing.

NewWind expects to be installing its trees around Europe soon, both in public and privates spaces. We can also hope that this new sustainable technology arrives to the Middle East, where many countries included more turbines over the last year. A future in which we can breathe fresh air and enjoy nature without having to give up the comforts of modern society is no longer an impossible dream.

Sustainable investing, not just a dream for 2017

Energy
Lifestyle

Karin Kloosterman

January 8, 2017

Today’s smart investors can tell you the difference between a seed bank and an investment bank.

Eco banking, or green investing. It seems to have reached the top of its hype around 2008, or around the time when Coldplay said it would plant a tree for every album sold or downloaded. It was also around the time when the notion of carbon credits would work for our system –– that companies would pay others to make their businesses carbon neutral, and less damaging to the atmosphere by way of greenhouse has emissions.

But since then the topic has petered away. Did those trees that Coldplay planet ever grow? Who thought about the cost of maintaining those $1 trees every year? Then there was the catastrophic losses in clean tech investment, making cleantech a pariah for the has-beens or could have beens green energy companies. Solar energy investments tanked. Wind, ethanol and all the other promises made by a bandwagon of companies didn’t hold true, so investors held off.

Why did this happen? And what can we learn? Should all bets be off and business be as usual? Of course not! We can learn that the 2007 era was a time when companies were being built by stock brokers and hedge fund managers, many of them money men, hoping to cash in on the lucrative grants and feed-in tariff guarantees that governments and cities offered to help them go green. They had no clue about the environment on a deep level.

But the green or clean tech companies that survived until today are different. These ones are led by a more educated group of people who understand what triple bottom line means. They read books. They make news and they know who Rachel Carson is and they know what Cradle to Cradle means. Ask a solar energy/clean tech someone in the 2007, and you’d be surprised to see how little any of these guys knew about sustainability. I know because I was there. And I say guys because a strong majority of them were men. One company I interviewed didn’t know what greenhouse gases were. No joke.

But we shouldn’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. It’s 2017 and we are a lot smarter about investing today. But so are the companies changing our world for the good. We are also a lot smarter with technologies (like core banking) and the way we manage our portfolios.

According to numerous reports, including a recent one in Forbes, green or sustainable investing can help you meet your portfolio goals without sacrificing your bottom line return on investment. The investment magazine cites a newly published report from the US SIF (The Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment), which found that every dollar invested in sustainable, responsible and impact (SRI) assets – and that amounts to $8.72 trillion as of 2016 – is 33% higher than it was in 2014. What this means is that every $1 out of every $4.6 under professional money management in the US is now invested in SRI strategies.

This approach, the report concludes includes environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors or a mission in investing in sustainable areas. And being a part of this mission will not affect your returns. Here’s why. According to the Forbes’ article:

“Firms that pursue better ESG practices have higher quality management and better stock performance.

“Modern portfolio theory says that if an investor limits the pool of possible securities to choose from, the probability of maximizing returns for a given level of risk is reduced. But limiting the pool of possible securities based on ESG criteria has the opposite effect. The reason is that ESG criteria are key indicators of management quality, which helps avoid stock specific risk in a market with imperfect and asymmetric information.”

Other factors that mitigate risk is management quality and services. Today’s managers demand jobs with meaning and higher purpose which affects their operational efficiencies. They simply are motivated to make more money so they can keep making the world a better place. It’s motivating!

And the research coming out of academia supports this theory was well, including a 2014 paper from Oxford University that according to Forbes, “concluded that 90% of the studies demonstrated that sound sustainability standards lowered companies’ cost of capital, 80% of the studies observed that stock performance and good sustainability practices are positively correlated, and 88% of the studies showed that robust ESG practices improved companies’ operational performance.”

Arctic ice melt is rocking world weather

Cities
Lifestyle

Maurice Picow

January 8, 2017

Arctic ice melt is rocking world weather

Polar vortex, the term attributed to the recent frigid weather patterns that recently put much of North America, Europe and even the Middle East into the deep freeze, is now slated to become even more frequent, due to the increasing melt-down of the earth’s Arctic ice cap. The polar bears are moving south and if you are living in a warm or tropical country, now might be a good time to get a second citizenship!

This phenomena is caused by a weakening of the normal jet stream air currents that encircle the earth’s arctic regions, due to higher than average summer temperatures. As a result, these “meandering” jet stream air currents are now dipping into the more southern regions, bringing with them frigid Arctic air.

Fortunately, these polar air dips usually last only a week or two; but they are intense enough to make northern American cities like Chicago, Detroit and New York City experience frigid temperatures of well below zero; often combined with heavy snowfall and strong winds. Many European cities experience intense these winter weather bouts as well. Climatologists and other scientists studying the adverse weather patterns are now tying these jet stream dips to faster than expected melting of Arctic ice, especially in the polar region.

Melting polar ice fields are exposing more of the dark Arctic Ocean surface, which absorbs more sunlight, resulting in an even more accelerated melting factor. The result are increased ocean temperatures, which cause the newer layers of Arctic ice to melt even faster.

Many climatologists are now attributing this to mankind’s continued reliance on fossil fuels, combined with other human influenced depletions of the earth’s natural environment. In regions such as the Middle East, people now experience more adverse weather patterns, including crazy summer “heat domes” that will make many areas (like Jerusalem above) uninhabitable by 2100.

“We are now in “uncharted territory,” says Prof Jennifer Francis, an Arctic climate expert at Rutgers University in the US. “These rapid changes in the Arctic are affecting weather patterns where you live right now.”

New UAE Food Bank aims for full bellies and zero waste

Cities

Faisal O'Keefe

January 6, 2017

New UAE Food Bank aims for full bellies and zero waste

Green Prophet recently posted about 2017 being the Chinese year of the monkey, but the Vice President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has instead declared it the ‘Year of Giving’. H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, ruler of Dubai and UAE VP, has launched the non-profit UAE Food Bank, which will distribute unused food from commercial sources to those in need. It aims to make Dubai the first Middle East city to reach zero food waste.

Continue

UAE bans private ownership of wild and exotic animals

Cities

Faisal O'Keefe

January 6, 2017

UAE bans private ownership of wild and exotic animals

Starting January 28, it will be the year of the monkey as per the Chinese calendar, but in the United Arab Emirates it will be time for cheetahs, leopards and many other exotic animals to celebrate. A newly passed law renders possession of “all types of wild and domesticated but dangerous animals” as a pet illegal, according to Dubai-based Gulf News.

Effective immediately, The Law on Regulation of Ownership of Dangerous Animals requires that only licensed zoos, wildlife parks, circuses, breeding and research centers may keep wild or exotic animals.

[brid video=”103780″ player=”7642″ title=”SHEIKH HAMDAN WITH TIGER CUB”]

May seem intuitive that wild, and often carnivorous, large animals vulnerable to unpredictable behavior are best cared for by professionals. But throughout the Gulf nations, owning exotic pets is seen as a symbol of power and wealth. Who hasn’t seen images on social media of a lion riding shotgun in a young Saudi’s gold-plated luxury car? Look at the Instagram account of the Crown Prince of Dubai, shown below, who often posts pictures of his adorable baby big cats.

In March, a tiger was spotted weaving through bumper-to-bumper traffic on a busy Doha, Qatar highway (image below). A commuter filmed the animal’s antics and posted it on Twitter, garnering its own hashtag (@DohaTiger), and prompting one viewer to complain, “This obsession of keeping wild animals by rich kids in the Gulf has gone too far.” In Qatar, it is illegal to keep a tiger as a pet, and social media users were quick to point out the owner would be in trouble once officials uncovered his identity. But, according to the Convention on the Illegal Trade of Endangered Species, complaints of wild animals as pets in Qatar are on the rise.

Back in the UAE, officials urge the public to report cases of pet wild animals. Get caught with a leopard on a leash or a cougar on a chain, or any other kind of exotic animal at home or in public, and face a jail term of up to six months, or a fine of up to $136,000, or both.

Penalties are more severe for anyone who uses an animal to frighten or attack another person, including a jail term up to seven years for an attack resulting in physical disability, and life imprisonment if the victim dies.

The new ruling also requires all imported animals to be registered and carry official Cites (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) certificates as well as standard UAE veterinary certificates. Beginning in June, dog owners must keep their pets leashed when in public, and hold valid animal permits indicating that the animals are up-to-date in required vaccinations.

World’s first hydroponic community garden for refugees

Gardening

Karin Kloosterman

January 4, 2017

No matter where you roam, by choice or for political reasons, food brings us all back home. It’s like a time machine that transports us backwards to memories of our mothers and fathers. Or forwards when we share food traditions: A new project in a troubled neighbourhood of Tel Aviv, Neve Sha’anan, is attempting to connect people to their food traditions using hydroponics, a novel and sustainable way for community gardening.

The neighborhood is problematic as is it’s low-income and has attracted dozens of thousands of refugees and migrants from East Africa. It’s causing political tension in the city by Israelis who believe the refugees are bringing crime into the city. Some “refugees” are seeking political asylum. Others are legal migrant workers and others in the hood are native Israelis born into a hard scrabble life.

The idea of the new project Rooftop Gardens, is to connect all the parts of this troubled community to one common denominator: real food from home.

Leading the project is Lavi Kushelevich (pictured above). He’s an urban farming consultant leading more than a handful of projects to rejuvenate Tel Aviv – including Green in the City – and to turn it into a food-producing engine.

There are many benefits to this, Lavi will explain.

It is possible to grow food close to where we live, even when home is a concrete jungle or apartment building.

Since urban soil is contaminated with lead and other heavy metals, the best solution for growing food sustainably in cities is using a soil-less system, also known as hydroponics. Hydroponics requires treated water and a basic circulation system to work well. It’s actually a fast way to grow tasty, fresh food if you know how to handle some parameters like water chemistry and other environmental factors.

We spoke with Lavi about the project.

The first hydroponic garden has been built in the most difficult neighbourhood of Tel Aviv, on the most difficult street. The building is mixed with many cultures: Eritreans, Nigerians, Sudanese, Chinese, people from Darfur, Israelis – many languages and cultures. The objective is to make the apartment a food garden with tastes from home to connect residents to each other as a community, Lavi explains.

“It’s like the Tower of Babylon. They speak so many languages in that building and now they have a reason to communicate,” says Lavi.

The group currently meets formally on Saturdays, and showing up is also volunteers from the City of Tel Aviv to those from NGOs, and anyone interested in learning about this way of community gardening.

“Now these people who are outsiders are given a chance to talk and the Israelis can see that they aren’t monsters,” says Lavi. “That’s so beautiful. And it’s fun being on the roof.

“We have now given the residents tools to grow their own food. And taught them about hydroponics, while we bring them seedlings with tastes of flavours from all over the world where these people once called home.”

Learn more here on their Facebook page

Sundrop Farms grows tomatoes with seawater

Tech

Karin Kloosterman

January 2, 2017

Saltwater greenhouses can save the Middle East and humanity from drought and climate change. Three cheers to Sundrop Farms in Australia for pioneering saltwater greenhouses in Australia: they are now harvesting tomatoes for a leading grocery store called Coles. And Sundrop is producing what they say is a “better product, better for the people, better for the planet –– all year round.”

Sundrop Farms is using hydroponics, a method of growing plants on a treated water medium, without soil. It’s an extremely efficient way for growing plants, and it’s now becoming a leading choice for growing food in difficult climates, in urban centers or in areas where water is poor and lacking. In China for instance where the soil is contaminated with cadmium and lead, people are very eager to buy organic food grown hydroponically.

Sundrop says it’s the first farming system of its kind to have reached commercial scale. The 65-hectare facility was made possible with an investment of 200 million Australian dollars ($148 million) which paid for a desalination plant, greenhouses and other installations needed to grow the tomatoes.

It’s a bet worth betting as we see the rise in agricultural crops in Australia and the world.

The Sundrop greenhouses are powered by sunlight, using 23,000 mirrors that reflect rays toward the top of a 127-meter high receiver tower that turns the sun into electricity.

This power is used to pump seawater from 5km away. Beyond producing tomatoes, the facility also produces 1 million liters of fresh water every single day.

Sundrop Farms CEO Philipp Saumweber, a former investment banker, says the agriculture model as “innovative” in that it harnesses only seawater and sunlight.

A number of companies are leading technology in this area, including BrightFarms (US), Phillips (Holland), Aerofarms (US) and my startup flux, which has created artificial intelligence and a product named Eddy to understand the language of plants. Watch this market of vertical farming grow into trillion dollar opportunities.

Baharat blend – flavor your life with this classic Arabian curry

Health

Karin Kloosterman

January 1, 2017

*Baharat can be a different flavor depending on what Middle East or Arabian country you come from.*

I live in the Middle East. Whenever my mom comes to visit she freaks out over the new flavors. Middle East cuisine has its own distinct curries and flavors for vegetables, fish and meat. There aren’t thousands of varieties, but like Indian cuisine the flavor of a good spice blend depends on its source, blend and freshness.

Baharat is a new spice trend in the western world but its an old Arabian favorite. It’s essential if you want to make makluba or mafroum. If you haven’t tasted either of these dishes you haven’t lived.

Bahārāt (Arabic: بهارات‎‎) is just an Arabic word for spices and it’s usually used to season lamb, fish, chicken, beef, and soups. It can also be used as a condiment. I’ve been taught by my Arab-Israeli friends how to use it on chicken (season it very, very lightly – sprinkled on top before the oven), and it’s also essential in the Palestinian favorite maklooba (see recipe here). But if you are vegan you can sprinkle it on tofu or seitan. Why not?

Since I live in Jaffa, close to amazing spice shops, I just buy my own baharat.

If you don’t live near an Arabian market that will blend its own fresh spices, make your own. Because old spice mixes don’t work well for any kind of food. When it comes to spices, fresh is best.

Maqlub is a traditional Palestinian, one-pot meal that feeds dozens.

There is different baharat according to where you live. The Turkish baharat includes mint, while in Tunisia, baharat is a mixture of dried rosebuds, pepper and ground cinnamon. In the Arab Gulf, loomi (dried black lime) and saffron may also be used in kebsa, also called Gulf baharat.

Since I live in the Levante, I am going to give you the baharat I know, one used by Arabs in Israel. I’d be happy to know how it’s different in places near by.

Here’s how you make your own baharat:

Baharat Recipe

1 tbsp ground cardamom pods (the black seeds inside)
1 tbsp ground dry ginger
½ tbsp ground nutmeg
1 tbsp ground black pepper
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
½ tbsp allspice*

*Like me, if you don’t have an allspice on hand, you can simply make your own by combining 2 parts cinnamon, one part ground nutmeg and one part ground cloves.

You can simply mix all together, and store in a dark airtight jar for use on all foods that need a little Middle Eastern kick. I prefer to buy some spices like nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon and cardamom – the dried spices, and grind them whole in my Vitamix machine (which also makes a killer ice-cream).

You can also use a mortar and pestle as shown in the video below.

The dry container that you use for grinding flour is the one you use for making baharat. Enjoy!

How can you find your (green) spiritual path

Lifestyle

Bhok Thompson

December 21, 2016

In the past, your 1st identity used to be your affiliation to a tribe. Your personal identity or your name was only secondary. Your beliefs are only expressions of your tribal beliefs. The idea of carving out a unique identity for yourself, based on the way you understand reality, was something which was considered quite absurd.

As people started awakening to spirituality in the new era, they recognized that they were members of a much larger tribe known as the universe. There are many meaningful groups of families and various like-minded individuals, and they have a very important area. But what will happen when spiritual explorations take you beyond the regular categories of peer group or family?

As you go deeper and deeper in your spiritual quest, you learn that your basic spiritual links are cosmic consciousness.But this doesn’t mean that you’re supposed to express vague universal consciousness.

In fact, the exact opposite of this is actually true. This is since the intelligence of our universe is multifaceted and vast. The universe is served best whenever you contribute your unique presence, your soul vibration, and personality. Your vision of reality is the highest contribution of yours to humanity. It’s your gift to this universe.

For centuries now people have been defining themselves as members of one religious group or another. This is still possible if you want, but there are also other options available if you are looking at creating your true spiritual path. You don’t have to define yourself as a member of any one religion anymore. You do not have to substitute these new-age definitions or specific teachings in order to define yourself either.

Your multifaceted, eclectic approach doesn’t even need to have a name. You should simply choose to align yourself with the highest truth; that’s enough. Naturally, since you’re you, the right path for you might be different from the right path for someone else. These beliefs aren’t conflicted, just as a couple of people with various shoe sizes aren’t conflicted.

When you study spiritual teachings from the temple of love, you’ll be free to study all aspect of the teaching which resonate with the greatest truth. You don’t even have to become an official member of the group to do this. You will also be free to combine the best from multiple teachings.

Some people claim your multifaceted approach isn’t focused or real based on their definition of reality. People who have such restricted views do not recognize anything which transcends the simplest of categories which they’re familiar with. This is the reason why your varied path, which has no label, may get misunderstood by the people who just understand various categories.

So what’s the answer to the question of choosing your spiritual path? You do not have to follow just one teaching. Simply find a psychic reader near to you, and they will help put you in contact with the type of teachings you require.

You could choose to go on the path which explores to most truth, presented in different forms. This will put you in contact with all of the teachings you require. This path, even though it has no name, will be your own spiritual path.

What if you’re feeling comfortable with the group you’re associated with, and still, you search for a greater understanding of the truth? You can then follow your inner-directed spiritual path while remaining affiliated with specific metaphysical or religious groups.

It’s very important for you to learn how to tune into the highest of teachings no matter which path you choose to follow.

In your regular practice, you should cultivate a connection with your own soul. Let your cosmic soul be the source of your guidance, unity, and healing with the truth. This practice is what will give you confidence to release the labels and definitions which might have limited your understanding of your potential.

You will quickly come to realize that your inner divine presence is the best teacher. This will let you see the many teachers, and the many spiritual paths, all are created for backing your own wisdom. They are nothing more than mirrors to the teacher inside you, who guides you on your spiritual path.

Speaking of things to do the highest goal of all spiritual paths is to surrender. Even though you might associate this word with weakness or defeat, it’s actually the most powerful action, giving you infinite possibilities and freedom. Surrender means trusting that the Universe or God, or some sort of higher intelligence can do anything, even if you cannot foresee the outcome of particular situations.

When it comes to the spirit, everything unfolds perfectly; you don’t need to force or struggle any situation to go your way. It’s just your ego which thinks you’re isolated and trying to live in a world that is hostile. But the truth is you’re a spiritual being. Whenever you surrender to the Spirit and hear your deeper intelligence, you will end this struggle completely. You will also free yourself from all sorts of doubt and let go of all the obstacles which have been created by your ego.

The spiritual path can be described as figuring out how to let go. But this isn’t possible all at once. This is path which includes multiple steps. Here are some guidelines which may be able to help you get there:

Know your intentions

Your destiny’s to move with your soul the fuel which helps you move this way is intention. Every day, you need to intend on doing a little more. But having false intentions is something which can be very elusive; you can recognize them by the tone carried including greed, fear, hopelessness, rage, or weakness. Sense this feeling and do not buy into it. Stay aware until you locate this intention underneath.

Set high intentions

You should set a goal of becoming a miracle worker or a saint. Why shouldn’t you? If your goal for inner growth is acquiring mastery, then you should ask for it. Do not strain while trying to work wonders but do not deny them either. The start of mastery is a vision, seeing the miracles near you and this will make it much easier for you to grow greater miracles.

Get into the light

Your ego will retain its grip by making you feel powerless and needy. This sense of lack is what lets a hunger grow inside you that acquires everything in front of it. Power, money, pleasure, sex, etc. are all supposed to help fill this emptiness up, but they just can’t. You could try escaping this illusion if you can get into the light.

See everyone in the light

All of us live in one light. When you get tempted to judge other humans, it doesn’t matter how obvious it is that they deserve it, you should remind yourself that they are doing the best they can at their own consciousness level.

Reinforce your intentions

Life is kind of like chaos, the ego is entrenched in these demands. You should remind yourself, all the time, of your purpose. Some people may find it helpful if they can write their intentions down. For others, regular prayer or meditation can prove to be quite helpful. You need to find your middle, look very closely at yourself and don’t let go of the intention unless you feel it centred in yourself.

Forgive yourself

Everyone falls into traps of delusions and selfishness when they expect it the least. It’s important to learn to forgive yourself in such situations. Apply the same theory to yourself you apply to others. You are doing to best you can from your level of consciousness.

Learn to release

The paradox when you’re spiritual is that you’re always right and wrong together. You could try to get to know God, but you will be wrong to think things will remain the same tomorrow. All stages of inner growth is nurtured and good by God. But when you need to move on, you shouldn’t hesitate.

Revere the holy

You might have been brought up being sceptical about the sacred. In the society of today, there are very few people who spend time delving on the wealth of scripture here. The human representatives and saints of God are infinite treasures. Dipping into these treasures are only going to help you open up your heart. The words of saints or sages might just be the perfect fertilizer when your soul is trying to blossom.

The Sixth Mass Global Extinction has arrived

Animals

Maurice Picow

December 20, 2016

The Sixth Mass Global Extinction has arrived

Whether it’s disappearing elephant herds in Botswana (or ones smuggled in suffering at the Abu Dhabi zoo), dying coral reefs in Australia, or near silence of small tropical tree frogs in a Central American rain forest, the vanishing of animal and plant species all over the world is finally being directly attributed to manmade causes. This mass nature depletion, despite previous “wake up call warnings” is now occurring at an even faster rate than biologists and climatologists had previously imagined.

A recent CNN program, Vanishing, dealt with a variety of creatures presently in danger of simply vanishing from the face of earth due to direct and indirect influences of global warming, climate change; and human caused decimation. Ranging from some of the earth’s smallest animal species, such as coral and bees, all the way to the earth’s largest land mammal, the African elephant, the program gives a graphic account of how many of these animal species are in danger to becoming extinct.

Starting with African elephants living in Botswana, one of Africa’s largest remaining concentration of the species, the number of elephants remaining have dwindled dramatically in the past 10 years; and by more than 20% in the past few years alone: “If present elephant depletions continue at this rate, the entire elephant population here could be gone in the next 20 years,” said a Botswana based zoologist.

Although elephants and other large animal species like giraffes are more noticeable as being severely endangered, the fate of many small creatures are mentioned as well. These include Oregon bumble bees, Central American rain forest amphibians like tree frogs; and coral reefs off the coast of Madagascar. These animal species in particular appear slated to become part of the Sixth Mass Extinction, according to the CNN program.

As pointed out in the program, the resident bumble bee populations of many areas have declined so dramatically in recent years that local farmers are now importing bees to be used to pollinate their crops.

One of the most graphic examples of mankind’s adverse influence on natural habitats, according to the Vanishing documentary, takes place on the Pacific Midway Island atoll. Located virtually midway between the continental USA and Japan the atoll is home to large colonies of albatrosses and other marine birds. It is also a “collection point” for huge quantities of plastic wastes that wash up on the island’s beaches from the ocean. Located in the vicinity of what is known as the Great North Pacific Gyre, this plastic waste is often ingested by the birds, eventually killing them.

The tragic result are large number of dead birds; their gullets literally filled with this plastic material the birds thought to be food. Studies of the large “plastic island” waste patch in the Pacific Gyre estimate it to be larger than the American state of Texas.

In a region closer to home, the Middle East, the demise of animal species is no less alarming. The last lion was killed in Palestine more than 150 years ago; and the few remaining leopards in Israel and Jordan are now on the critically endangered list. This also goes for the once common Syrian bear; now seen more in zoos than in the wild. Hoofed animals such as the oryx and Nubian Ibex are also on the endangered list. These are only a few of formerly indigenous mammals that have either become extinct or are in danger of becoming so due to human encroachment and climate change.

It may be already too late to significantly reverse these disturbing trends. But at least we need to make a more concerted effort to save what’s left of the world’s animal species. If not, humankind will be directly affected by this Sixth Mass Extinction as well.

Reuse – a buzz word for the telecom industry for years

Cities
Design

Bhok Thompson

December 16, 2016

Reuse – a buzz word for the telecom industry for years

Reduce, reuse and recycle. This is a very well-known axiom in our day that summarizes the waste management hierarchy in three easy to remember alliterated words. It is little known, however, that the second ‘R’ of this triptych is a principle that has been widely used by the telecommunications industry since its inception. The motive behind the principle of reuse for telecommunications is less than virtuous. Nevertheless, the green benefits it provides are immense and often overlooked. The reuse of infrastructure is a very vital part of telecommunications and network design and although it was not initially employed for environmental purposes, has resulted in a vast reduction of pollution and adverse environmental impact.

Telecommunications requires cabling – and lots of it. The world’s undersea fibre optic network alone is estimated to be composed of almost 900,000 kilometres of cable! Add to that all the land based fibre optic cabling and the traditional copper cabling that connects homes and businesses to telecommunications providers all over the world and you get tens and hundreds of billions of kilometres of cabling.

All of this cabling has to be physically placed somewhere. Early on, in order to keep it out of the way, it was either strung on what we traditionally call telephone poles, or more expensively, was buried underground – out of sight and out of mind. But as this infrastructure has continually been expanding for over one hundred years, engineers quickly found ingenious methods of installation: install it near other similar infrastructures that span long distances such as roadways, water mains, power cables and natural gas lines.

For example, when building or upgrading a railway, the right-of-way of this infrastructure can be reused by the laying down of cabling such as telecom and rail cable and installing both the railway and the telecom infrastructure in one go. In this way, costs are drastically reduced – and this is the main motivation for such endeavours. A side effect, however, is the reduction of pollutants that would result from having the telecom infrastructure installed as a separate project and the mitigation of the environmental impact on the areas of construction.

Today this concept has been brought several steps further. When a new road, railway, water mains or any other such infrastructure project is being developed, it can very inexpensively include accommodation for telecom cabling. This is usually in the form of specially designed pipes that are laid down along the new infrastructure being constructed that can house telecom cabling. Enough pipes are installed so that if additional cables are needed, these can be relatively easily and cheaply added using a cable blowing machine which can blow several kilometres of cabling into the pipes in one go. No heavy machinery is necessary, no digging up of roads and no repairing roadways with asphalt is required, and thus there is less impact on the environment.

Other notable cases of reuse in telecommunications include the development of xDSL technology to reuse the ubiquitous copper telephony infrastructure for higher Internet speeds. Similarly, regions of the world where extensive coaxial cable TV networks exist have reused this infrastructure for the same purpose. No digging is necessary and no carbon producing heavy equipment need be deployed. Just change the devices on either end of the cable and there you go. Reuse in action.

All in all, the telecom industry is very familiar with the reuse of infrastructure which results in a greener world for all of us.

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