NICOTINE IN CIGARETTES LINKED TO BREAST CANCER

NICOTINE IN CIGARETTES PROMOTES
BREAST CANCER, RESEARCHERS MAKE PUBLIC

www.telegraph.co.uk - Nicotine is the chemical in cigarettes which causes addiction and has now been linked to the development of breast cancer. Previously smoking was not thought to be a major cause of breast cancer although it is known to increase the risk of several other forms of the disease. Yuan-Soon Ho of the Taipei Medical University, and colleagues found that human breast cancer cells consistently over-expressed the alpha 9 subunit of the nAChR (nicotinic acetylcholine receptor). The expression was higher in advanced-stage breast cancer compared with early-stage cancer. They also found that reducing the levels of nAChR inhibited tumour growth in laboratory experiments, whereas increasing its levels or treating more normal breast cells with nicotine promoted the development of cancer characteristics.
These researchers at Taipei Medical University examined 276 samples from human breast cancer tumours and found the cells had large numbers of receptors which nicotine was able to attach to when compared with normal cells. These scientists also found that when normal cells were treated with nicotine, it promoted the development of cancer characteristics.

Because the findings were linked to nicotine and not the usual carcinogenic chemicals in cigarettes, it raises questions over nicotine gum, inhalers and patches that many people use to help them quit the habit. The findings are published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. In an accompanying editorial, Dr Ilona Linnoila, of the Center for Cancer Research at the National Cancer Institute, writes that the study “suggests not only that smoking could be causally related to breast carcinogenesis but also that nicotine could directly contribute to the molecular mechanism of carcinogenesis in addition to indirectly contributing by promoting addiction to smoking.”


The substance that makes cigarettes addictive may also cause the growth of cancer tumours, scientists revealed. It is hoped that this research has a negative impact on companies that make nicotine gum, patches and electronic cigarettes that are promoted as a 'healthy alternative' for smokers, who are helpless victims, and they run towards smoking like moths attracted towards fire.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

The trout is caught by the fisherman’s lure, the mouse by cheese. A tragic irony of the struggle for existence is that living beings are often destroyed by what they desire. But at least the fish and the mouse have excuses: the bait and the cheese look like sustenance. Also the fish and the mouse do not know in advance that they will be trapped. Humans seldom have either of these excuses. ... A question naturally arises: how does an intelligent human being embark on such a destructive course? Most people know that when they start, say, smoking, they are treading into a danger zone. ... Till smoking becomes an irresistible demand, a compulsive need, an addictive habit. ... Regular meditation on the Holy Names enables one to experience happiness streaming down from the spiritual dimension. This spiritual pleasure is so satisfying that it soon frees one from the craving for perverted mundane pleasure like drugs, alcohol etc.

Śrīpad Caitanya Caran das (BE E&TC) :
“The Tragedy of Self-Destruction”
“The Spiritual Scientist” - Vol. 1 Issue 16.
Bhaktivedanta Academy for Culture and Education (BACE), Pune
http://thespiritualscientist.com/

MEXICO: PRIESTS ARE TRAINED AS EXORCISTS

MEXICAN EXORCIST PRIEST RECEIVES
20 DAILY CALLS FOR SPIRITUAL HELP

MEXICO (AP) - Father Pedro Mendoza Pantoja, exorcist of the Archdiocese of Mexico City, said today that he receives “from 15 to 20 calls a day” from people looking for help, but many he has sent to the psychologist. In the press conference given at the closing of the Exorcists and Auxiliary Congress 2010 that was held this week in Mexico City, the cleric said that a considerable proportion of those people who come to him, believe they are possessed by the devil due to a “mental obsession” or because “someone had told them.” “So, in those cases, the one who should help them it is a psychologist,” said Mendoza.

This priest, 75, added that he can take out real devils rather than mental ones. “Some say that we’re charlatans, but nobody knows how a person who gets influenced by the devil suffers, you should be in his or her shoes,” he said. To detect that someone is a victim of demonic possession and not just under demonic influence, there must be some symptoms such as understanding of Latin, knowledge of events that happen long-distance or the fact that it is physically impossible to control the patient even with the help of more than ten people.

An interview should be arranged with the affected, and it is a kind of medical history, which includes his life story, the psychological status and even if there is any kind of family history.
Father Pedro Mendoza Pantoja referred to consumerism, overcrowding cities and family breakdown as some of the ills of modern society. “We are acting against Nature herself, and we forget that nature is beginning to set and restore any imbalances that we drive in it,” said Mendoza. The human being acts as if he were God, putting aside the principles of nature", such as the climate change: "These natural disasters and earthquakes in which many people have suffered are the result of human sin."

In Mexico, belief in possession and exorcism predates the arrival of the Spanish. Aztec healers burned herbs and prayed to ward off spirits. Also the Hymns and Rituals of the Atharva-Veda prescribe charms to cure demons of desease's posession. Other people think they are possessed, but they are not. So the best enchantment is the maha-mantra Hare Krishna.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

Mistaking the sea for the Yamunā River, He (Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu) jumped into it, hoping to see the water pastimes Krishna enjoyed with Śrīmatī Rādhārānī and the other gopīs. ... a fisherman, thinking that the Lord’s body was a big fish, caught Him in his net and brought Him ashore. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was unconscious, and His body had become unusually transformed. As soon as the fisherman touched the Lord’s body, he became mad in ecstatic love of Krishna. His own madness frightened him, however, because he thought that he was being haunted by a ghost. As he was about to seek a ghost charmer, he met Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī and the other devotees on the beach, who had been looking everywhere for the Lord. ... Since the fisherman was afraid of being haunted by a ghost, Svarūpa Dāmodara gave him a slap and chanted Hare Krishna, which immediately pacified him. Thereafter, when the devotees chanted the Hare Krishna mahā-mantra loudly, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu came to His external consciousness. Then they brought Him back to His own residence.

Śrīla A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda :
Śrī Caitanya Caritāmrita - Antya-līlā
“Rescuing the Lord from the Sea”
Purport in Summary Chapter 18

AHMADINEJAD UNVEILS LONG-RANGE BOMBER DRONE

IRAN UNVEILS ITS FIRST DOMESTICALLY BUILT
LONG-RANGE, UNMANNED BOMBER AIRCRAFT

TEHERAN (AFP) - Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Sunday unveiled a long-range bomber drone called the Karar, designed to operate at high speed, state television reported. State television footage showed the president applauding as a blue cloth covering the Karar (assailant) was removed to reveal a short aircraft marked “bomber jet” in military-green. The broadcast showed the aircraft in flight, while Fars news agency quoted Defence Minister Ahmad Vahidi as saying the drone had a range of up to 1,000 kilometres (620 miles). “This jet, before it heralds death for enemies, is the messenger of salvation and dignity for humanity,” Ahmadinejad said in his speech at the unveiling in a hall at Tehran’s Malek Ashtar university. State television said the drone was built to “carry and fire four stealth cruise missiles... and, depending on the mission, it can carry two bombs of 250 pounds (115 kilos) each or a precision missile of 500 pounds (230 kilos).”

Ahmadinejad said Iran’s defence abilities “should reach a point where we can cut off the aggressor’s arm before he acts, and if we miss, we should destroy him before he hits the target.” “The message of Karar bomber is to prevent any kind of aggression and conflict” against Iran. It was unveiled on Iran’s annual Defence Industry Day, and two days after the Islamic republic test-fired a domestically built surface-to-surface missile, the Qiam (rising). Iran is expected to follow up with series of military announcements as the nation also marks “government week,” a period to tout its achievements. Karar’s unveiling came days after Iran took delivery of four domestically-built Ghadi mini-submarines, a “stealth” vessel designed to operate in shallow waters such as the Gulf. The moves coincide with Iranian warnings against any attack. Its arch-foes, the USA and Israel, have not ruled out military action over Iran’s controversial nuclear programme.


Yesterday, Iran began to load nuclear fuel in its first nuclear power plant. Soon, the country is also expected to test-fire a third generation Fateh (conquerer) 110 missile. We should realice that we have a poor fund of understanding, our scientific equipment is imperfect, and as our vision is limited, is dangerous and self destructive to try to handle nuclear weapons.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

Material science is only increasing the circumference of the mortal world. ... This so-called scientific research is a wild goose chase. It is suicidal. The atomic researchers will soon prove that this kind of science devours itself; it sucks its own blood. It will live, feeding on its own flesh and the flesh of its friends. Material scientific knowledge is no knowledge. ... Science means not to extend the jurisdiction of exploitation, knowing full well there will be a reaction. By extending the space of exploitation, we will also surely be exploited. If one knowingly commits an offense, then he is charged with more punishment. So, so-called scientific advancement is suicidal. And it is clearly proven: presently the leading countries of the world are threatening each other with atomic weapons, the highest product of the scientists.

Śrīla Bhakti Raksaka Sridhara Mahārāja :
“The Search for Sri Krsna - Reality the Beautiful”
3rd Chapter: “Fossilism vs. Subjective Evolution”
http://bvml.org/SBRSM/index.htm
http://bvml.org/SBRSM/books/

YOGA PROTECTS THE BRAIN FROM DEPRESSION

YOGA PRACTICE BETTER THAN FITNESS WALKING
FOR DRIVING AWAY MOOD AND ANXIETY DISORDERS

www.living.oneindia.in - Good news for people who practice Yoga! A new study had proved that Yoga is superior to other exercises in checking mood swings, anxiety, depression and other stress disorders. Practicing yoga really does relax your mind as well as your body more than other types of exercise, a new study claims. Researchers have found that three sessions of the exercise a week can help fight off depression as it boosts levels of a chemical in the brain which is essential for a sound and relaxed mind. Scientists found that the levels of the amino acid GABA (brain Gamma-aminobutyric) are much higher in those that carry out yoga than those do the equivalent of a similarly strenuous exercise such as walking. The chemical is essential to the function of brain and central nervous system and which helps promote a state of calm within the body. Low GABA levels are linked to depression and other anxiety disorders. The GABA levels of the people who have taken up Yoga and others who took up walking as an exercise were compared.

Scientists from the Boston University School of Medicine, USA, spent 12 weeks monitoring two groups of healthy individuals, half of whom walked for three hours each week, while the other half spent the same time doing yoga. Participants brains were scanned before and after the study using magnetic resonance spectroscopic (MRS) imaging, while they were also asked questions about their psychological wellbeing throughout the study. One group practiced Yoga for an hour, three times a week, wile the other resorted to walking for fitness for the same duration. At week 12, the researchers compared the GABA levels of both groups before and after their final 60-minute session. The participants of Yoga showed a significant decrease in anxiety and stress and an increase in checking mood swings when compared to those who walked. "Over time, positive changes in these reports were associated with climbing GABA levels," said lead author Chris Streeter. He also considered the practice of Yoga as a potential therapy for mental disorders. The findings appear on-line at Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine.


Yoga soothes and tones the nerves. When we bend, stretch, rotate and shrink our bodies, the internal organs are bathed in blood and vitality. Yoga also regulates our endocrine system, improves digestion and evacuation, strengthens our respiratory system and is the most effective tool to relieve stress and depression, “the scourge of modern society.”

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

Today we live in a world of constant stress, always facing the outside, which prevents us from knowing our essence or inner nature. This makes us feel frustrated, anxious, tense and thus, ill. From the Yoga point of view, the disease is a lack of vitality and the important thing is to discover its causes. When a problem arises we take drugs to hush those signals that the body emits and then we do not realize that just by stretching out, relaxing, a conscious living, refusing to negative influences, breathing in a slow and controlled manner, having a natural and healthy diet, we can restore our health and prevent diseases. Well, yoga is to implement a series of techniques that help us to get that full health. These techniques include relaxation exercises, body positions or asanas, pranayama or breath control exercises and techniques of internalization and concentration that lead us to a fullness.

Yoga Inbound :
“Hatha Yoga - Overall Benefits of Asanas: Full Health”
http://www.yogainbound.org/ws/hatha-yoga
http://www.yogainbound.org/ws/hatha-yoga/30-articulos-interes/
http://www.yogainbound.org/ws/hatha-yoga/30-articulos-interes/213-salud-plena

FRANCE CONTINUES ROMA DEPORTATIONS

EXPULSION OF (GYPSIES) ROMA PEOPLE
TO ROMANIA RAISES QUESTIONS IN FRANCE

PARIS (New York Times) - The French government has started a major push to crack down on crime and illegal immigration. This effort, championed by President Nicolas Sarkozy as imperative to preserve public order, has targeted several groups living on the fringes of French society. One of these groups is the Roma. The Roma come largely from Romania and Bulgaria in search of work. They are widely called Gypsies, though they dislike the name, considering it a slur. Many end up living in makeshift camps, like this one in La Courneuve, a suburb of Paris. About 100 French riot police - fully padded, but without helmets - swooped down on this encampment of Roma, taking names and filling out expulsion orders. The Roma are EU citizens, and therefore are legally permitted to move freely within the grouping’s nations, however, they are not permitted to stay in France for more than three months without a work permit or proof that they can support themselves financially.
The government says that many have left willingly upon request. The government paid for flights of 100 Roma to leave, also giving them a resettlement payment of about $385.

Whether leaving voluntarily or facing a possible forced eviction, the instability of the Roma existence appears to lead to poor health in the population. The Roma population has an average life expectancy of 60, 15 years lower than the average in France. The death rate among their newborns is higher than the national average. Residents of the camps are beyond the country’s generous social welfare net. Parents find it hard to feed their children. They take abandoned refrigerators and stoves to sell as metal scrap, and repair junked televisions and computers. They also pool money to buy gasoline for electrical generators and use municipal bathhouses. The expulsion campaign has been attacked as racist for singling out ethnic or racial groups rather than individual criminals.


Under the French law, Romanian citizens are given three months upon entering the country to find full-time employment. If they do not obtain a full-time work within that period, they can be expelled. If we do not perceive that God is in the very center of all existences, then love for our country becomes pride and we underestimate and reject to every foreigners.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

The nations of the world, irrespective of race and religion, can only be truly united in love and harmony by following the path of prema-bhakti (love of God) as laid down by Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Love (prema) is even greater than the concept of non-violence (ahimsa). To 'not harm others' is a negative; that is to say, it means to refrain from doing something rather than doing it. On the other hand, love or prema is a positive action; it is the effort to do good towards others. ... Since we are all infinitesimal parts of the One Supreme Entity, our true happiness lies in union, in the completion of the incomplete. If you water the roots of a tree, all the branches and leaves are automatically nourished. If you eat via the mouth and stomach, your whole body is nourished. Analogously, if you serve and please Śrī Hari, everyone will become satisfied, for all are in Him and He is in all.

Śrīla Bhakti Dayita Madhava Mahārāja :
"Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and International Peace"
Lecture at Religious Convention at Balaji Bhavana
in Hyderabad from August 5 through 7, 1961.
http://www.sreecgmath.org/scgmtimes/scgmsbdm.php
Bhaktivedanta Memorial Library - www.bvml.org/SBDMM/

BULL LEAPS OUT OF RING AND CHARGES AT CROWD

SPECTATORS HAVE RUN FOR THEIR LIVES
AS BULL JUMPED INTO STANDS AT SPAIN ARENA

MADRID (AP) - Forty people were injured when a bull leapt into the packed grandstands of a Spanish bullring and ran amok, charging and trampling on spectators, regional officials said Thursday. Video shown on Spanish media outlets showed the bull jumping several meters (yards) high out of the ring, clearing two barriers before landing in the stands and raising a panic as he lurched through the screaming crowd, charging and tossing everything he could. Spectators were watching a contest where people dodge the bull as it runs around the arena when suddenly a bull jumped into the stands at a bullring in northern Spain injuring up to 40 people, according to officials. It happened in Tafalla, when the animal leapt over the fence and climbed up the stairs of the stands, knocking people over. TV footage shows spectators trying to restrain the animal - one fan grabs its tail - as it careers through the stands. The animal was brought under control after several minutes and was later killed.

Spectators were watching a contest of “recortadores”, where participants attempt to dodge the bull as it runs frantically around the arena. Most of the injured were treated for cuts and bruises in Tafalla, officials said, but nine people were taken to hospital in nearby Pamplona. Among them was a 10-year-old boy who apparently suffered stomach wounds and multiple bruising when the bull fell on him, and a 24-year-old who was gored in the back. The other injuries were minor.
Officials later tied a rope around the bull to bring it under control. The animal was removed using a crane and later killed. Analysts say bulls occasionally leap security fences at bullrings but they rarely make it into the crowd. The incident comes as the country is split over whether bull fighting should be completely outlawed. Last month Catalonia became the first major Spanish region to ban the deadly sport.

A bull has injured 40 people after jumping out of the arena at a Spanish bullring. The crowd went to enjoy some animal tortures behind a safety fence and got in panic when the things have turned around. This is a clear example of the reactions that cause the cruel actions of those who claim to love bullfighting.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

The Spoon Revolutionaries reject anything that is harmful to our health and general health of the planet. ... There is no doubt that during life there are situations of defense against insects and animals where it is inevitable to kill some living creatures, but this fact does not justify at all the indiscriminate killing of animals for food. Nothing gives us the right to deprive the animals of freedom and subject them to live tortured existences, or to experiment with them for medicines, and exploit them in circuses and fun events like bullfights, roosters, dogs and many other perversions that men have invented in order to have fun by making others to feel pain. Before complaining about the injustice of the world, we decide to look at the pain that we cause to others. The crime committed against animals, has consequences that we must pay in ourselves. ... We want to see a world where animals and humans live in harmony and where individuals develop a sense of responsibility.

Śrīla Bhakti Aloka Paramadvaiti Mahārāja :
http://www.spoonrevolution.com/
http://www.vedic-wisdom.org/
http://www.larevoluciondelacuchara.org/
http://bhaktipedia.org/espanol/index.php

ISRAELI SOLDIER POSES WITH PRISONERS

A FORMER ISRAELI SOLDIER POSTED PHOTOS ON
FACEBOOK SMILING BESIDE PALESTINIAN PRISONERS

www.abc.net - A former Israeli soldier who posted on Facebook controversial photographs of herself posing with blindfolded Palestinian prisoners has said she did nothing wrong. Eden Abergil, from the Israeli port city of Ashdod, has been the target of withering criticism from both at home and abroad after she uploaded the photos to the website under the title, ‘‘The Army … the Most Beautiful Time of My Life’’. The images were taken while she was serving her compulsory two years in the Israel Defence Forces. The IDF immediately condemned the photographs which provoked outrage from Israeli commentators who accused Ms Abergil of damaging Israel’s reputation abroad. Yishai Menuchin, the director of the Israeli advocacy group Public Committee Against Torture, said ‘‘The horrible pictures demonstrate a norm of treating Palestinians like objects instead of human beings - treatment that disregards their feelings as humans and their right to privacy.’’

The former soldier, Ms Abergil said “I received death threats from all over the world on Facebook. I’m sorry if anyone got offended, I actually took care of the detainees.” Abergil felt she was being victimized. “We always treated the Palestinians well, we always provided them with food and drink and would laugh with them. We never cursed, spat on or touched them. The few photos I put on Facebook are part of my military experience. It was innocent. People blew it way out of proportion. I have respect for all human beings … I served the country”, she explained. Abergil admitted that she had made a mistake in putting the photographs on Facebook, but refused to consider the act as immoral. “I don’t know how to deal with the comparison [of photographs of U.S. soldiers abusing Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghreib prison], this is terrible and I do not deserve this. ... Anyone who serves in the territories takes pictures near Palestinian prisoners, so stop taking things out of context,” the former soldier added.


In fact, there are other pictures and videos of almost all armies of the world, showing soldiers who are behaving in an appalling manner. In this world, there are many situations in which we are exposed to receive attitudes of others that dishonor us and violate our privacy. We have to engage ourselves in devotional service in order to tolerate and forget the offenses.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

When a living entity stays in this material world embodied by the material body, it is to be understood that he is under the control of one of the three modes of material nature. ... The materially situated person is affected by so-called honor and dishonor offered to the body, but the transcendentally situated person is not affected by such false honor and dishonor. He performs his duty in Krishna consciousness and does not mind whether a man honors or dishonors him. ... He takes everyone as his dear friend who helps him in his execution of Krishna consciousness, and he does not hate his so-called enemy. He is equally disposed and sees everything on an equal level because he knows perfectly well that he has nothing to do with material existence. Social and political issues do not affect him, because he knows the situation of temporary upheavals and disturbances.

Śrīla A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda :
“The Bhagavad-gītā As It Is”
Purport in Chapter 14 - Verses 22-25.

‘MIRACLE’ IN JET CRASH: 1 DIES, 130 LIVE

‘MIRACLE’ COLOMBIAN PLANE CRASH?
PILOT SKILL PRAISED FOR MINIMAL INJURY

BOGOTA (AP) - The crash landing of a Boeing 737 in the Caribbean is being called a “miracle” by the region’s governor. The jetliner broke into three parts on the runway, but remarkably all but one person survived the crash of an aircraft known for its improved design and relatively clean safety record. Officials in Colombia called it a “miracle” that the plane crash on a Colombian island early Monday morning resulted in just one death. Even as authorities work to determine what caused the Boeing 737 to go down, deft piloting is being pointed to as a key factor in saving the lives of the 130 other people aboard, including at least five American citizens. “The pilot’s professionalism prevented the plane from going off the runway,” Gen. Orlando Paez of Colombia’s national police told Caracol Radio. Officials are investigating whether the plane, which belonged to Colombian carrier Aires and was on its way from the capital, Bogotá, had been hit by lightning as it neared San Andres, a Caribbean resort island off the east coast of Nicaragua.

Colombian national police, in a statement, said the plane broke into three parts as it landed. There were at least 121 passengers aboard, including four children, plus six crew members. The sole death could have been caused by a heart attack, a doctor treating the patients has said. The damage could have been far worse, according to Robert Sanchez, director of the hospital Amor de Patria, which was treating many of the injured. “It’s incredible. For the dimension [of the accident], there should be more,” he told the Associated Press. The incident called to mind the US Airways flight that landed in the Hudson River in 2009, dubbed the “Miracle on the Hudson.” Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger was credited then with saving the lives of all 150 passengers when the plane made an emergency landing on the river. Another example is the 1989 crash in Honolulu that killed nine people, of 355 aboard.


The jetliner was hit by lightning as it approached the landing area of the airport and it broke into three pieces as it slid onto the runway. Despite the serious accident only one person died. This is being called a “miracle” by some people, and others speak about “good” or “bad” luck. However, the real Good Luck is to meet a self-realized soul and by his instruction gets rid of the nescience of material existence.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

The finite self or Jiva-atma in the stage of God-forgetfulness is incapable of generating Bhakti in itself by its unaided individual effort. ... Just as the sacred river Ganga issues from the mouth of the cow shaped cave in the snow-clad Himalayas and descends on the plain and flows uninterrupted into the sea, sanctifying all the lands through which she passes, so is it with this Bhakti-Rasa of the Nectar of Devotion and Devotional Love of the Supreme Lord that emanates from the Lord’s Swarupa-Sakti and revealing itself through an uninterrupted Chain of Spiritual Preceptors or Guru, appears at last in the heart of a self-forgetful and God-forgetful mortal who has the good fortune by accident to come in contact with one of these saints while floating in the current of time, just like a piece of straw accidentally stuck to the shore while being carried adrift in the fast stream of a river.

Śrīla Hridaya Bon (Vana) Mahārāja :
“Sri Rupa Goswami’s Bhakti-Rasamrta-Sindhuh”
Commentary in Second Wave: Sadhana-Bhakti, Text 2.
Bhaktivedanta Memorial Library
http://bvml.org/SHBM/index.htm