I attended a picnic in a park today with a group of friends from church.
They were quite amused by my insistence on keeping my picnic blanket a shoe-free zone. In fairness to me, they did acknowledge that my picnic blanket was a lot nicer and more comfy. The others had blankets made of rough wool, while mine was a soft, fluffy blanket.
It did get stepped on quite a few times by some of the energetic children, but those people who sat on it with me did remove their shoes or flip flops.
A picnic blanket is for eating off. You don't put your shoes on the kitchen table and you shouldn't put your shoes on a picnic blanket.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Open Access Journal: The Palestinian strategic report
The Palestinian strategic report.
Publisher: Beirut, Lebanon : Al-Zaytouna Centre for Studies & Consultations.
Other Titles: Strategic report, Palestinian annual strategic report, Taqrīr al-istirātījī al-Filasṭīnī.
Issued also in Arabic as : التقرير الاستراتيجي الفلسطيني
Frequency : Annual
Alphabetical List of Open Access Journals in Middle Eastern Studies
Publisher: Beirut, Lebanon : Al-Zaytouna Centre for Studies & Consultations.
Other Titles: Strategic report, Palestinian annual strategic report, Taqrīr al-istirātījī al-Filasṭīnī.
Issued also in Arabic as : التقرير الاستراتيجي الفلسطيني
Frequency : Annual
"The Palestinian Strategic Report is a highly academic annual report that assesses the Palestinian situation. It rigorously studies the developments of various aspects of the Palestinian issue, i.e., internal political affairs, economic development, demographic indicators, the Arab, Islamic and international stands and the Israeli attitudes and policies, all within an academic, well-documented context that is supported with the most recent statistical data..."
Alphabetical List of Open Access Journals in Middle Eastern Studies
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Open Access Journal: Tasavvuf
Tasavvuf: İlmî ve Akademik Araştırma Dergisi
ISSN: 1302-3543
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Alphabetical List of Open Access Journals in Middle Eastern Studies
Germs Are Not Necessarily the Issue
re-post
A lot of people think those who ask for shoes-off in their homes are 'germaphobes.' It is certainly true that a lot of people who have a shoes-off policy are parents of small children who are concerned about germs being walked in on peoples' shoes. This is a quite legitimate concern.
This concern is often countered by the so-called 'hygiene hypothesis.' This holds that allergies are currently on the rise because peoples' homes are too clean and modern children are not sufficiently exposed to bacteria. There is evidence to support this theory, even if the jury is still out.
Even assuming that the 'hygiene hypothesis' is correct, there is no obvious way to decide how much dirt is healthy. Very few parents would be happy about cooking in a dirty kitchen, or having their children sleep in filthy rooms. While some bacteria is good and healthy, some bacteria can cause all sorts of diseases.
More importantly, there are some things that your shoes pick up that are not germs, but very much in the unwanted category: lead, pesticide, weed killer, dog excrement, roundworms, dust, pollen, plant sap, mold, toxoplasmosis (a parasite which is transmitted through animal excrement and which can survive in infected soil), cigarette ash, arsenic, mecury, asbestos, cadmium and thallium.
Simply put, your shoes can pick up anything. Please keep them out of the house.
A lot of people think those who ask for shoes-off in their homes are 'germaphobes.' It is certainly true that a lot of people who have a shoes-off policy are parents of small children who are concerned about germs being walked in on peoples' shoes. This is a quite legitimate concern.
This concern is often countered by the so-called 'hygiene hypothesis.' This holds that allergies are currently on the rise because peoples' homes are too clean and modern children are not sufficiently exposed to bacteria. There is evidence to support this theory, even if the jury is still out.
Even assuming that the 'hygiene hypothesis' is correct, there is no obvious way to decide how much dirt is healthy. Very few parents would be happy about cooking in a dirty kitchen, or having their children sleep in filthy rooms. While some bacteria is good and healthy, some bacteria can cause all sorts of diseases.
More importantly, there are some things that your shoes pick up that are not germs, but very much in the unwanted category: lead, pesticide, weed killer, dog excrement, roundworms, dust, pollen, plant sap, mold, toxoplasmosis (a parasite which is transmitted through animal excrement and which can survive in infected soil), cigarette ash, arsenic, mecury, asbestos, cadmium and thallium.
Simply put, your shoes can pick up anything. Please keep them out of the house.
Monday, June 20, 2011
Translations of Shaykhi, Babi and Baha'i Texts
Translations of Shaykhi, Babi and Baha'i Texts
"Translations of Shaykhi, Babi and Baha'i Texts is a Digital Publication Series of H-Bahai. Authors publishing here grant H-Net the right to maintain this draft of their translations in electronic form on this site in perpetuity.
The authors retain print publication rights as long as further publication in print form does not prevent H-Net from continuing to display this draft in digital form on this site."
Open Access Journal: Online Journal of Bahá’í Studies
Online Journal of Bahá’í Studies (OJBS)
The Online Journal of Bahá’í Studies is an international open-access peer-reviewed journal within the field of Bahá‘í studies.
ISSN 1177-8547
Alphabetical List of Open Access Journals in Middle Eastern Studies
The Online Journal of Bahá’í Studies is an international open-access peer-reviewed journal within the field of Bahá‘í studies.
ISSN 1177-8547
Alphabetical List of Open Access Journals in Middle Eastern Studies
Open Access Database: Congressional Monitor Database
The Congressional Monitor Database - A Project of the Institute for Palestine Studies"The Institute for Palestine Studies’ Congressional Monitor project, launched in 2006, tracks every legislative initiative introduced in the U.S. Congress that mentions Palestine or Israel or has bearing on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict."
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