Pope Benedict XVI attacked by spider

Source: Yahoo News, Associated Press



PRAGUE – President Barack Obama had his fly. Now Pope Benedict XVI has his spider.

A large arachnid appeared on the pope's white robes as he addressed politicians and diplomats in Prague on Saturday afternoon. The pope didn't seem to notice at first — but journalists following the speech on a large screen flinched as the spider inched toward Benedict's neck.

It disappeared from view for a moment, but then could be seen crawling up the right side of the 82-year-old pontiff's face.

When it reached his ear, Benedict gave it a swat. But it didn't go away — it reappeared on the pope's left shoulder and scampered down his robe.

As the pope left the medieval Prague Castle's ornate Spanish Hall, the spider could be seen hanging from a piece of web.

In June, Obama now famously swatted and killed a fly that intruded on an interview for CNBC at the White House.

The Dalai Lama prays at Martin Luther King's remembrance site

Source: Yahoo News, AFP



MEMPHIS, Tennessee (AFP) – Tibet's exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama bowed his head in prayer on the site where American civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968.

The 74-year-old monk was in Memphis for the first time to be honored by the National Civil Rights Museum, which encompasses the Lorraine Motel where King was shot.

"Indeed, a very moving tour," he told reporters after placing a white shawl over a wreath that marks the spot where King was assassinated.

"At the same time, historical events give us conviction."

The Dalai Lama said people everywhere struggle against the same injustices and inequalities but "despite difficulties and obstacles, we can win."

The tour kicked off a two-week visit to the United States and Canada where he will be giving a number of spiritual talks but is not expected to meet with President Barack Obama.

China, which sent troops into Tibet in 1950 and clamped down on protests last year, strenuously opposes international meetings of the Dalai Lama.

It accuses him of being a "splittist," although the Dalai Lama says he is seeking greater rights for Tibetans under Chinese rule.

While Obama recently sent a high-level delegation to the Dalai Lama's home-in-exile in northern India who voiced support for the Tibetan leader, he is not expected to meet with the Nobel Peace Prize winner until after he pays his first presidential visit to China in November.

The Dalai Lama received a warm welcome in Memphis, where he accepted the International Freedom Award at a packed luncheon before addressing over 2,000 people at a public forum.

"As a living example of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Gandhi's non-violence in the face of political oppression and suffering, the Dalai Lama demonstrates lifelong peaceful struggle against brutality and injustice," said museum chair Benjamin Hooks.

"As the Tibetan people mark their fiftieth year in exile, the Dalai Lama's struggle serves as an inspiration to social justice movements everywhere."

Latino Jews

Source: CNN - By Dana Rosenblatt



Every Friday evening, the Nunez family sits down to a traditional religious dinner. Like most families in their Crown Heights neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York, their Jewish Sabbath meal includes blessings over the wine and bread, the company of family and friends and excellent food.

But for the Nunez family, the Sabbath table would not be complete without salsa picada and jalapeno dip.

Moshe Nunez, an information technology consultant and motivational speaker, was born to a Mexican father and American mother and raised in Guadalajara, Mexico.

His wife, ChanaLeah, grew up in Panama, the daughter of a Salvadoran mother and American-born father.

"Our home is a Latin American home," Nunez says.

"We bring into our home a mixture of the American and Latin culture, and that's reflected in the way we eat. We also enjoy hosting guests, so it's a very Hispanic thing, and a Jewish thing."

The couple and their two children moved to Brooklyn's Crown Heights area about five years ago so their son, Michael, 17, and daughter, Simcha, 18, could have "the best Jewish education available," Nunez says.

Crown Heights is the headquarters of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, a branch of Hasidism that is itself a form of Orthodox Judaism. Among the thousands of Hasidic families in the neighborhood, a significant number are also Latinos, Nunez says.

"There are a lot of Latin American Jews here," Nunez says. "Some of them have moved from countries like Venezuela, Colombia and Argentina, where there's political unrest. We make a life here, settle down and become part of the fabric of American society, but we still don't lose our roots." Join the conversation: How has America changed Latinos?

Many non-Jewish Latinos are surprised to see Orthodox Jews in Brooklyn who speak Spanish, carry on their Hispanic traditions and even keep up with soccer scores from their home countries, Nunez says.

Although Moshe and ChanaLeah Nunez were raised in Christian homes, they believe that Moshe's family name is proof that his ancestors are Marranos -- Jews who were forced to denounce or abandon their faith centuries ago in Europe.

Moshe Nunez began studying his family genealogy about 13 years ago, while the family was living in Atlanta, Georgia.

He met Lorraine Nunez, a woman raised as a Christian who believed she was a direct descendant of Samuel Nunez, a Portuguese physician who fled Europe in the early 1700s to help start one of the oldest Jewish synagogues in the United States, Congregation Mikve Israel in Savannah, Georgia.

Like other Marranos living in Europe, Samuel Nunez pretended to be Catholic and practiced Judaism in secret, according to Chabad.org, the Chabad-Lubavitch movement's Web site.

Meeting Lorraine Nunez inspired Moshe Nunez -- who was still going by his Christian name, Marco -- to further explore his own genealogy.

ChanaLeah -- who was going by her Christian name, Jacqueline -- had already known that her grandfather, a well-known army colonel in El Salvador, was Jewish. Like many Jews of his time, he hid his Judaism and married a non-Jewish woman.

Marco and Jacqueline believed that their descendants were also Marranos from Spain and Portugal who had to hide their Judaism for fear of persecution.

"The Nunez family started as a Jewish name," Moshe Nunez says. "During the Inquisition they were forced to convert or practice their faith in secret. Most of the Nunez family... like mine assimilated and lost their Judaism."

While researching his genealogy, Moshe Nunez also began to study the Bible more closely, including the Torah, the first five books of the Old Testament.

"When I began studying the Torah, I saw that the Sabbath was on Saturday and not Sunday," he says.

"That opened [a] Pandora's Box," he says, figuring that "if the Jews had the Sabbath right, maybe they have other stuff right, too."

Around that time, the Nunez family relocated to Milan, Italy, for Nunez' work as a consultant. Marco and Jacqueline -- who changed their names to the Hebrew Moshe and ChanaLeah while in Italy -- continued their Judaic studies under the tutelage of Orthodox rabbis and decided to undergo an Orthodox conversion to Judaism.

"When I got to Italy and continued to research our family name and studied the Torah, I decided we were going to live a Jewish life," Nunez says.

The Jewish community in Milan welcomed the family "with open arms," Moshe said. "The rabbi said to me, 'Moshe, you are Jewish, you were always Jewish.'"

Moshe says he and ChanaLeah "took every step together," going through a formal conversion process. As part of the process Moshe and his son had ritual circumcisions. (They had both been circumcised at birth.)

The final step was for the family to appear before a Beit Din, or religious council, to approve the conversion.

"We decided we had to make our full return to Judaism, and we had such good mazal (luck) because the rabbis made it relatively easy. They saw that we were serious people that had studied the religion," Nunez says.

The Nunez family's story is not out of the ordinary, says Rabbi Shea Rubenstein, an Argentine rabbi who leads the Jewish Latin American Connection at The Shul in Surfside, Florida.

"We have a very vibrant synagogue, and a very large percentage happen to be from Spanish background from countries such as Venezuela, Peru, Argentina, Mexico and Cuba," the rabbi says.

Rubenstein says that quite a few non-Jewish Hispanics come to The Shul to learn more about Judaism, and while they may not be able to prove they are Jewish, they believe they are descendants of Jews and seek to reconnect with their Jewish roots.

If a person wants to practice Judaism but cannot verify their Jewish roots, Rubenstein recommends they go through a formal conversion as the Nunez family did.

"It's difficult to verify because there's some 400 or 500 years of history that people cannot trace, especially since Judaism is passed through the mother and the last name reflects that of the father," Rubenstein says.

Inspired by their experiences, Moshe and ChanaLeah -- both songwriters and musicians -- wrote a song called "Jews of Spain," with lyrics in Spanish, English and Hebrew. Nunez recorded the song, part of the album "Kol Haneshema (Every Soul)."

Aside from his work as a consultant and musician, Nunez leads seminars, conducts a weekly program called Quality Life Now at the Empire State Building and teaches weekly Webinars from his Brooklyn home. His seminars, taught in both Spanish and English, focus on seven core values found in the Old Testament.

The seven values are often referred to as the Noahide Laws. According to the Bible, the laws were given from God to Noah to serve as a moral code for all humankind.

"I've taken the seven Noahide Laws and I teach them as universal core values, so everyday people can apply them to their lifestyle," Nunez says.

He says he hopes to share his teachings with all of mankind, regardless of religion, to help them lead a more meaningful life.

"Sharing the knowledge of Torah to the world through education, songs and acts of kindness will help ensure that what happened to the Marranos during the Inquisition will never happen again."

Hugo Chavez Brings another book to the U.N. headquarters in New York 2009

Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez holds up a copy of the book, "Mas alla del Capital" (Beyond Capital) by Istvan Meszaros











To order book click on the link: Beyond Capital

Federal court rejects religious discrimination suit from inmate

Source: The Michigan Messenger

By Ed Brayton 9/23/09

A judge for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan has rejected a lawsuit filed by a Michigan inmate against prison officials for refusing to recognize his religious name. Simone Jordan, a member of the Moorish Science Temple of America, Inc. (MSTA), prefers the name Jordan-El, a name required by his religion, but prison officials refused to put that name on his cell, opting instead for the legal name under which he was committed.

Jordan filed the lawsuit pro se, which means he represented himself. He argued that the prison’s decision not to use his religious name violated the First, Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution as well as the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA). RLUIPA requires prisons to accommodate an inmate’s religious beliefs under many circumstances. Judge Paul Borman rejected all of those claims.

Relying on precedent from the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, Judge Borman ruled that “an inmate has no constitutional right to dictate how prison officials keep their prison records.” He also dismissed all of the claims against individual prison officials because those officials have immunity from civil suit for actions taken pursuant to their official duties except under very narrow circumstances.

Chicago's Black P. Stone Nation member speaks

Google Books - Classic Books Available by the Espresso Book Machine

Source: Google youtube channel, Yahoo News, Associated Press

Over 1.5 million public domain books that have been digitized by Google will be available for purchase from any Espresso Book Machine at bookstores and libraries around the world. Brandon Badger, Product Manager on Google Books, and Dane Neller, CEO of On Demand Books, talk about the Espresso Book Machine.




Report by MICHAEL LIEDTKE, AP Technology Writer:

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. -

Google Inc. is giving 2 million books in its digital library a chance to be reincarnated as paperbacks.

As part of a deal announced Thursday, Google is opening up part of its index to the maker of a high-speed publishing machine that can manufacture a paperback-bound book of about 300 pages in under five minutes. The new service is an acknowledgment by the Internet search leader that not everyone wants their books served up on a computer or an electronic reader like those made by Amazon.com Inc. and Sony Inc.

The "Espresso Book Machine" has been around for several years already, but it figures to become a hotter commodity now that it has access to so many books scanned from some of the world's largest libraries. And On Demand Books, the Espresso's maker, potentially could get access to even more hard-to-find books if Google wins court approval of a class-action settlement giving it the right to sell out-of-print books.

"This is a seminal event for us," said Dane Neller, On Demand Books' chief executive, as he oversaw a demonstration of the Espresso Book Machine Wednesday at Google's Mountain View, Calif., headquarters.

In the background, some of the books that Google spent the past five years scanning into a digital format were returning to their paper origins.

"It's like things are coming full circle," Google spokeswoman Jennie Johnson said. "This will allow people to pick up the physical copy of a book even if there may be just one or two other copies in some library in this country, or maybe it's not even available in this country at all."

On Demand's printing machines already are in more than a dozen locations in the United States, Canada, Australia, England and Egypt, mostly at campus book stores, libraries and small retailers. The Harvard Book Store will be among the first already equipped with an instant-publishing machine to have access to Google's digital library.

The books published by The Espresso Machine will have a recommended sales price of $8 per copy, although the final decision will be left to each retailer. New York-based On Demand Books will get a $1 of each sale with another buck going to Google, which says it will donate its commission to charities and other nonprofit causes.

The high-speed publishing machine itself sells for about $100,000, although On Demand Books is willing to lease the equipment to retailers instead.

For starters, Google is only allowing The Espresso Machine to publish from the section of its digital library that consists of 2 million books no longer protected by copyright.

These "public domain" books were published before 1923 — an era that includes classics like "Moby Dick" and "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" as well as very obscure titles. The paperbacks churned out in Wednesday's demonstration of the Espresso included "Lathe Work For Beginners," "Dame Curtsey's Book of Candy Making," and "Memoirs of A Cavalier," a Daniel Defoe novel that never caught on quite like his most famous work, "Robinson Crusoe."

Millions more titles could be added to On Demand's virtual inventory if Google gets federal court approval of a class-action settlement that would grant it the right to sell copyrighted books no longer being published. Google estimates it already has made digital copies of about 6 million out-of-print books.

The settlement terms include a provision that could authorize republishing the books with a machine like the Espresso. Some of Google's rivals and a long list of other critics are hoping to block the settlement, mainly because they believe it will give Google a monopoly on the digital rights to out-of-print books and make it too easy to track people's reading preferences.

The Justice Department is investigating the monopoly allegations and is scheduled to share some of its preliminary thoughts with U.S. District Judge Denny Chin in a brief due Friday.

Neller of On Demand Books is thrilled just to have the right to publish selections from Google's digital library of public domain books. Neller thinks it could help him reach his ambition to turn the Espresso machine into the book industry's equivalent of an automated teller machine.

"It's more efficient for everyone involved and readers are the biggest beneficiaries of all," Neller said

Elizabeth and Mary Profit - The Future of Pro Tennis

"Don Lemon profiles two sisters from South Central Los Angeles, who are working to achieve their tennis dreams.

The story
Elizabeth and Mary Profit will not be taking center court at the U.S. Open women's doubles final to face Venus and Serena Williams, but they share many of the athletic qualities that have made Venus and Serena the most dominant sisters in tennis history.

Elizabeth is 13 years old and holds a top ten ranking among 14-year-olds in Southern California. She is already defeating top-ranked players in the 18-year-old division. Her sister Mary, at 11, is also a top-ranked player and dominating her age group. Mary won her first tournament at the age of 6.

Both girls started playing tennis as infants by hitting balls of socks across their living room. Their mother, Yvonne Profit, recognized their talent and saw it as an opportunity to develop sportsmanship and character and help them earn athletic scholarships at top national universities. So far, they have exceeded her expectations."

A company name OnePure makes pork free Muslim cosmetics

Source: Yahoo News, AFP

by Ola Galal



DUBAI (AFP) – For Muslim women who feel they are violating Islam's teachings by using skin creams with alcohol and pig residues, Layla Mandi has the answer: religiously-correct "halal" cosmetics.

The Canadian makeup artist who converted to Islam is marketing cosmetics called OnePure, which she says have the luxury feel of international brands minus the elements banned under Islamic law.

"There are pork derivatives and alcohol in most cosmetics products, so Muslims should really use something else," Mandi said.

From Islamic banking to alcohol-free hotels, products tagged as halal have become popular among devout Muslims -- who pray five times a day and perform other rituals.

Under the concept of halal -- which means "lawful" in Arabic -- pork and its by-products, alcohol and animals not slaughtered according to Koranic procedures are all forbidden.

Strict Muslims the world over only buy halal food but the market for halal cosmetics is still in its infancy in Asia and a mere novelty for Muslims in the Arab world.

Such products are not usually sold across the counter but can be bought on the Internet from online stores in Malaysia, Jordan and Britain.

"Muslims don't want to go around and pray five times a day having pork residues on their body," said Mandi, in her early thirties and swathed in a slim black abaya, or cloak, with wisps of blond hair sticking from under her head scarf.

"I came to the Middle East to learn more about people's needs. Most were pretty shocked when I told them there were pork products in their skin care items so they were very interested."

According to Mandi, fatty acids and gelatin used in moisturizers, shampoos, face masks and lipsticks as well as other items are often extracted from pigs.

Determined to create a halal product, Mandi brought together a dermatologist and a chemist and told them the deal: cosmetics and skin-care products free of pork and alcohol.

OnePure is guaranteed to be just that, she said. And to get a foothold in the highly competitive business, Mandi is offering products that come in glitzy wrappings.

"I wanted the packaging to be really luxurious, to speak to young people and old people, to everyone. I didn't want people to say I'd really like to buy a halal product but the packaging doesn't look cool,'" she said.

Touted as the first halal cosmetics brand in the Middle East, OnePure products are certified in Malaysia by an Islamic body that also certifies meats and other consumer goods for Muslims.

So far Mandi has been selling them online, on Saudi Airlines -- her first customer since July -- and a small boutique in the upscale Souk al-Bahar in the Burj Dubai complex that houses the world's tallest tower.

"It's most specifically designed for women in the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council). I plan to launch a line for men but for now, it's just women," Mandi said. "There is appetite for it in this region."

But some in the make-up industry have expressed skepticism about halal cosmetics, dismissing ideas such as Mandi's as marketing ploys that feed on the need of some for religiously-correct products.

"I feel it's more about marketing," said Noura Hamdi, marketing manager at a Body Shop boutique in Dubai.

"We are not using any animal products in our products anyway," said Hamdi, adding that the alcohol contained in the cosmetics and skin-care products sold in her shop "is not pure alcohol."

"The customer is not going to drink it. It's something to apply on your body or clothes so it's not related to halal or haram or religion," Hamdi said. "The issue is not whether it's halal or haram, it's more about the benefits of the product."

But a senior cleric at the United Arab Emirates' Dar al-Iftaa, which issues fatwas, or religious edicts, disagreed.

"If any of the cosmetic products contained pig derivatives or alcohol they should not be used because this is contaminated and one does not want to apply contaminated (products) on one's body," said the cleric, who is not authorized to identify himself in his task in answering Muslims' queries by telephone.

New Texas law give exonerated inmates compensation

Source: yahoo News, Associated Press

By JEFF CARLTON, Associated Press Write



DALLAS – Thomas McGowan's journey from prison to prosperity is about to culminate in $1.8 million, and he knows just how to spend it: on a house with three bedrooms, stainless steel kitchen appliances and a washer and dryer.

"I'll let my girlfriend pick out the rest," said McGowan, who was exonerated last year based on DNA evidence after spending nearly 23 years in prison for rape and robbery.

He and other exonerees in Texas, which leads the nation in freeing the wrongly convicted, soon will become instant millionaires under a new state law that took effect this week.

Exonerees will get $80,000 for each year they spent behind bars. The compensation also includes lifetime annuity payments that for most of the wrongly convicted are worth between $40,000 and $50,000 a year — making it by far the nation's most generous package.

"I'm nervous and excited," said McGowan, 50. "It's something I never had, this amount of money. I didn't have any money — period."

His payday for his imprisonment — a time he described as "a nightmare," "hell" and "slavery" — should come by mid-November after the state's 45-day processing period.

Exonerees also receive an array of social services, including job training, tuition credits and access to medical and dental treatment. Though 27 other states have some form of compensation law for the wrongly convicted, none comes close to offering the social services and money Texas provides.

The annuity payments are especially popular among exonerees, who acknowledge their lack of experience in managing personal finances. A social worker who meets with the exonerees is setting them up with financial advisers and has led discussions alerting them to swindlers.

The annuities are "a way to guarantee these guys ... payments for life as long as they follow the law," said Kevin Glasheen, a Lubbock attorney representing a dozen exonerees.

Two who served about 26 years in prison for rape will receive lump sums of about $2 million apiece. Another, Steven Phillips, who spent about 24 years in prison for sexual assault and burglary, will get about $1.9 million.

The biggest compensation package will likely go to James Woodard, who spent more than 27 years in prison for a 1980 murder that DNA testing later showed he did not commit. He eventually could receive nearly $2.2 million but first needs a writ from the state's Court of Criminal Appeals or a pardon from the governor.

McGowan and the others are among 38 DNA exonerees in Texas, according to the Innocence Project, a New York legal center that specializes in overturning wrongful convictions. Dallas County alone has 21 cases in which a judge overturned guilty verdicts based on DNA evidence, though prosecutors plan to retry one of those.

Charles Chatman, who was wrongly convicted of rape, said the money will allow him some peace of mind after more than 26 years in prison.

"It will bring me some independence," he said. "Other people have had a lot of control over my life."

Chatman and other exonerees already have begun rebuilding their lives. Several plan to start businesses, saying they don't mind working but want to be their own bosses. Others, such as McGowan, don't intend to work and hope to make their money last a lifetime.

Some exonerees have gotten married and another is about to. Phillips is taking college courses. Chatman became a first-time father at 49.

"That's something I never thought I'd be able to do," he said. "No amount of money can replace the time we've lost."

The drumbeat of DNA exonerations caused lawmakers this year to increase the compensation for the wrongly convicted, which had been $50,000 for each year of prison. Glasheen, the attorney, advised his clients to drop their federal civil rights lawsuits and then led the lobbying efforts for the bill.

Besides the lump sum and the monthly annuity payments, the bill includes 120 hours of paid tuition at a public college. It also gives exonerees an additional $25,000 for each year they spent on parole or as registered sex offenders.

No other state has such a provision, according to the Innocence Project.

Exonerees who collected lump sum payments under the old compensation law are ineligible for the new lump sums but will receive the annuities. Whether the money will be subject to taxes remains unsettled, Glasheen said.

The monthly payments are expected to be a lifeline for exonerees such as Wiley Fountain, 53, who received nearly $390,000 in compensation — minus federal taxes — but squandered it by, as he said, "living large." He ended up homeless, spending his nights in a tattered sleeping bag behind a liquor store.

But after getting help from fellow exonerees and social workers, Fountain now lives in an apartment and soon will have a steady income.

Fountain's story is a cautionary tale for the other exonerees, who meet monthly and lately have been discussing the baggage that comes with the money.

Chatman said he's been approached by "family, friends and strangers, too."

"It takes two or three seconds before they ask me how much money, or when do I get the money," he said. "Everyone has the perfect business venture for you."

Though appropriately wary, the exonerees say they are excited about having money in the bank.

"You're locked up so long and then you get out with nothing," McGowan said. "With this, you might be able to live a normal life, knowing you don't have to worry about being out on the streets."