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The latest SAG Awards join the Oscars and the Golden Globes in the rule change in the middle of closing Up News Info – Up News Info

Posted on May 15, 2020 by Danzig

A letter sent this week by the organizers of the SAG Awards to film studios confirmed that the annual program will join the Oscars and the Golden Globes in reviewing their film eligibility guidelines this year as the coronavirus closes. has closed all theaters across the country.

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SAG's rules, to be finalized next month, will allow titles with a planned theatrical release to be eligible if they air first or air on VOD, according to the letter, a copy of which has been obtained by Up News Info.

The other major guild awards are expected to follow suit in this unusual year, when films that generally must qualify for a theatrical release in Los Angeles, or in Los Angeles and New York, are unable to do so due to the closure. Most major studios have taken their summer and fall movies into fall and winter, and even through 2021, as the prognosis for reopening of multiplexes remains nebulous at best.

Below-the-line workers who did not qualify for health benefits due to closure get another extension

The Up News Info has reached representatives of the PGA Awards, WGA Awards and DGA Awards to ask about their plans.

On April 28, both the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Oscar organizer and the organizers of the Golden Globes, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, revealed changes in the film eligibility requirements for their ceremonies in honor of to the best movies of 2020.

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For the Oscars, the eligibility rules for movies that open on streaming and video-on-demand services were changed "temporarily" to allow them to qualify, even if they don't appear first with the standard seven-day theatrical qualification race, or the day and date. Films will still have to qualify as they are available on the Academy exclusive streaming site within 60 days of the launch of the streaming or VOD and must have been previously intended for a theatrical release.

The Academy also for the first time expanded the number of eligible theaters to include some outside of Los Angeles County and in other areas and multiple cities to make this much easier for dealers.

Changes to HFPA rules state that movies that had a good-faith theatrical release planned to begin in Los Angeles during the period of March 15 to the date that will be determined by HFPA when theaters in the Los Angeles area Angels have reopened, instead released first in a television format (eg, subscription broadcast service, subscription cable channel, television broadcast, etc.) and will continue to be eligible for the Golden Globe Film Awards " The group made similar concessions for entries in foreign languages.

The Oscars of 2021 are still scheduled for February 28. The Golden Globes haven't set a date for 2021, but if everything goes back to almost normal, it would probably be Sunday, January 10.

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The latest SAG Awards join the Oscars and the Golden Globes in the rule change in the middle of closing Up News Info - Up News Info

6 ways to be a happy working parent – Echo Live

Posted on May 15, 2020 by Danzig

BEING a working parent has never been easy, but a new level of difficulty has been added - now many mums and dads are working from home and trying to look after their children at the same time.

Many parents will simply be managing the best they can, and planting young children in front of the TV or leaving them with an iPad to do their school work, in order to buy time to get on with their work. But it doesnt have to be that way, says child development expert Anita Cleare.

Cleare runs the Positive Parenting Project (anitacleare.co.uk/positive-parenting-project) and has just written.

She says: Working parents have been told the way to be successful is to be hyper-organised, buy five years worth of birthday cards at once and batch-freeze meals. But that goes against the grain of what children really need from us. Good relationships with children are built on quality moments, not on constantly chivying our kids from task to task.

To create a happy family life, working parents need to step out of our hyper-efficient work mindset and be playful and curious instead, so we can tune in to our childrens signals and understand the world from their point of view.

Here, Cleare suggests six ways to be a happy working parent:

The biggest challenge for working parents is learning to switch between two different mindsets - work-mode and parent-mode - and now that so many parents are working from home, learning to switch seamlessly between them is even more essential.

When were in work-mode, we tend to be very goal-focused and task-oriented. Doing well at work means sticking to schedules, getting through tasks efficiently, focusing on outcomes and always keeping up the pace. But when it comes to family life, children need us to deploy different strengths. They need emotionally-attuned parents who are curious and playful and empathetic, who can slow down and prioritise connecting and listening over getting the job done. Children are naturally chaotic and focused on the moment. If we approach them stuck in our efficiency-focused work-mode, we quickly get frustrated with them.

Playfulness is an essential ingredient in happy families. Children and adults need it. If you take the playfulness out of parenting, all youre left with is drudgery.

Playfulness isnt the same as doing lots of activities. Cajoling a herd of children in and out of the car to ballet rehearsals and football matches when lockdown is over doesnt add up to a fun family life. Similarly, while we might be stuck indoors a bit more at the moment, a bit of silliness is good for everyone.

Playfulness is the pixie dust that makes our lives feel lighter. It fuels childrens development, makes parenting enjoyable, strengthens family bonds and boosts everyones wellbeing.

Creating more space for playfulness will give you room to breathe, to relax, to laugh a little more (and shout a little less) and enjoy being a member of your family.

When were stuck in get-the-job-done work-mode, we tend to focus on all those tasks that need completing during family time. Feeding, washing, laundry, spellings homework, reading, telling off, chasing down lost items...

But families are made up of relationships, not tasks. If we shift our thinking about parenting away from a list of activities to be completed or a project to be undertaken and see our job as parents in terms of building relationships with our children, that opens the door to a very different dynamic.

Building a relationship isnt a job that can be ticked off a To Do list. Its about small choices we make on a day-to-day level. Its about chatting and laughing and slowing down for a few minutes to listen when our child has something to say - really listen with all our attention, not just half our brains. Because its through listening that we connect with our children on a deeper level and get to know them. Building relationships isnt about large quantities of time, its about quality moments.

Mustering the energy to manage wayward children on top of working is a big challenge. When were busy, its easy to slip into the trap of ignoring children when theyre being good and overreacting to behaviour we dont like. Your attention means everything to your children, and theyll do pretty much anything to get it.

Working parents are often racked with guilt about not being able to give their children enough attention. But its not how much attention we give thats the crucial issue, its where we direct it. Creating a happy family dynamic isnt about finding extra hours (or minutes), its about parenting smarter by targeting your attention towards the behaviour you want to encourage.

Avoid constant firefighting by setting some clear, simple and positive ground rules. Children are used to having golden rules at school or nursery, so have some at home too.

The best rules help children focus on what good behaviour looks like so they can do it more often. If the kids are constantly bickering, introduce a ground rule like be a team to encourage alternative behaviour. If mean comments are the issue, then use kind words might be a good rule. Or, if physical aggression is the problem, be gentle. Use praise and attention smartly to positively reinforce the behaviour you want to encourage.

Parental involvement is a great thing. But taking over and doing too much for our children isnt good for them. And it also risks stretching parents beyond whats humanly possible. In order to develop good self-esteem and life skills, children need to do things for themselves, to make mistakes and to learn from their failures.

Running around picking up after children who are old enough to do things for themselves is not an act of love, its an act of developmental sabotage. And it means youll never have enough time to enjoy being a member of your family. Sometimes, when it comes to parenting, less really is more.

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6 ways to be a happy working parent - Echo Live

Photos of the longest drive-thru lines in Los Angeles are a sight to see – The Takeout

Posted on May 15, 2020 by Danzig

Photo: AaronP/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images (Getty Images)

Brace yourself: Eater Los Angeleshas published drone photos of the long, long lines of cars in the drive-thru lanes at some of LAs popular fast food spots, and the images are fascinating but almost viscerally unpleasant. From Krispy Kreme to Raising Canes, Hollywood to Gardena, each scene depicts an orderly, cone-riddled one-way vehicular rats nest.

I lived in Los Angeles near one of the citys most popular In-N-Out Burger locations well before any pandemic, and I can attest that, whether ordering at the counter or the drive-thru, you were never In-N-Out in under 40 minutes. Hell, even Randys Donuts is a half-hour ordeal at the best of times. I can only imagine how much longer its taking now. No burger or fritter in the world is this good, is it?

Truthfully, I cant possibly knock the residents of Los Angeles for their fast food fervor. Before its closure in 2014, it was a summer ritual of mine to spend hours in line at beloved Chicago institution Hot Dougs. When the weather forecast was good, Id pick up an iced coffee just before 8 a.m., walk the two miles to the hot dog emporium, and grab a spot near the front of the ever growing line until it opened at 10 a.m. (or maybe 10:30?). There was true camaraderie in the waiting: youd ask, and be asked, if it was a first-time visit, and whether todays order might include the duck fat fries. I had a friend who always brought Yahtzee dice and wed play right on the pavement until our butts fell asleep. The hot dogs were an occasion, and the anticipation was a key part of the proceedings.

I suppose its the same principle if you head to an LA drive-thru with a roommate or significant other. As you inch forward in line, you can blast music, play games on your phone, maybe even invite the dog along for the rideEater even photographed a couple of savvy customers playing Nintendo Switch on their dashboard. Together but apart is the golden rule, and a packed fast food parking lot might be the image of our new normal.

As Eater points out, Pandemic or not, dining in cars is a California tradition and as these hour-long lines show, one not likely to go away any time soon.

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Photos of the longest drive-thru lines in Los Angeles are a sight to see - The Takeout

Talking about LSD sounds funnier than taking it in ‘Have a Good Trip’ – messenger-inquirer

Posted on May 15, 2020 by Danzig

Nick Offerman wears a white lab coat as he introduces the documentary Have a Good Trip: Adventures in Psychedelics, but the faint smile that the actor playing a nameless scientist struggles to suppress betrays the lack of solemnity of this film. As goofy as it is good-natured, Good Trip aims to entertain, not educate, as it presents a star-studded parade of celebrity reminiscences about taking hallucinogenic drugs. Mostly, it succeeds.

The famous folks who have been brought in front of the camera by filmmaker Donick Cary, a writer and producer known for his work on Late Night with David Letterman, The Simpsons and Parks and Recreation, come mainly from the world of comedy, and include Sarah Silverman, Nick Kroll, Rob Corddry and Paul Scheer (with the last two playing each other, in re-enactments of their drug trips). Along with some amusing animations, such re-enactments include a scene featuring Brett Gelman as a talking acorn, in a story told by the late actress Carrie Fisher. Other subjects include musicians (Sting, A$AP Rocky and others); pioneering LSD researcher and LSD user Timothy Learys son Zach Leary; doctor, author and advocate for alternative medicine Deepak Chopra; the late chef, author, raconteur and TV host Anthony Bourdain; and, in a perfunctory nod to the world of non-boldface names, psychiatrist Charles Grob.

Its Grob who talks about the potential of psychotropic drugs in medicine, especially as a treatment for depression and other mental illness. Sting seconds that notion, calling his overall experience with tripping both the good and the bad kind valuable.

More often, however, the stories range from the crazy if less than consistently hilarious, as Offerman promises at the top of the film to the downright scary at times. Bourdain spins a wild tale in which a young woman drops dead, from drugs he and his friend provided. That unhappy ending is an outlier: For the most part, the stories in Good Trip end without incident or long-term damage. Overall, the gist of the film is that media coverage of hallucinogen use is often hysterical. A running gag is a satire of an Afterschool Special in which teens (played by Maya Erskine of Pen15 and other actors) are shown taking drugs and immediately jumping out of the window.

In addition to all the anecdotes, the film offers a handful of tips for safe tripping too, some useful, and some not so useful:

Dont do acid and drive.

Control your set (i.e., the people youre tripping with) and setting.

Dont ever look in the mirror or, alternatively, do look in the mirror.

And, as Marc Maron says he was once told, during a bad trip: Just hang in there, man. According to Maron, thats advice he still gives people today, although it sounds pretty banal.

Is tripping for everyone? Clearly not, says A$AP Rocky, who tells one of the films funniest stories and the one most inappropriate for a family newspaper. According to Ben Stiller (whose frequent comedy collaborator Mike Rosenstein is the films producer) the actor has only ever tripped once, and that was more than enough. Probably could have just watched this, he jokes.

Two and one-half stars. Rated TV-MA. Available via Netflix streaming. Contains lengthy discussion of drugs, a little sex talk, and one story about an overdose, with some strong language sprinkled in. 85 minutes.

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Talking about LSD sounds funnier than taking it in 'Have a Good Trip' - messenger-inquirer

Inspired by her health battle, Andover’s Kennedy pursuing career in sports medicine – Eagle-Tribune

Posted on May 15, 2020 by Danzig

Before Mackenzie Kennedy became a volleyball star for Andover High and Endicott College, doctors wondered if her health would allow her to live a normal life, let alone play sports.

And even as she excelled for the Golden Warriors and Gulls, Kennedy was waging a battle to remain on the court.

I suffer from a neurological condition that causes seizure-type episodes, said Kennedy. Given that the seizures are caused by my autonomic nervous system, Im not considered an epileptic because the episodes cant be triggered in a clinical setting. The unique diagnosis made the treatment and management difficult.

With my illness, there was a lot of doubts if I would be able to participate in any sport, let alone collegiate athletics. My college sports medicine staff worked tirelessly with me to ensure that I obtained and maintained eligibility to play.

Now, inspired by those that allowed her to follow her dream, Kennedy (Endicott class of 2020) is pursuing a career in sports medicine. She is scheduled to begin work as a graduate assistant athletic trainer at California State University in the fall.

I decided on sports medicine as a career goal because of my struggles with illness, said Kennedy (AHS, 16). My college sports medicine staff was always so kind to me and supported me in my endeavors, no matter how challenging the road got. They were my lifeline.

Without them, college volleyball probably would not have been a possibility for me. I know how much it meant to me for them to be there. Now, I so desperately want to be that resource for someone else.

EARLY STRUGGLES, ANDOVER STAR

I first started suffering with my illness during middle school, said Kennedy. The condition escalated quickly during high school before doctors were able to get it under control. For a while. I couldnt attend public school for liability reasons.

While my doctors worked tirelessly to figure out medications and treatment that my body would respond to, I became hyper sensitive to my lifestyle habits that I could modify to help limit the episodes. I focused on hydration, nutrition, sleep, acupuncture, and other forms of alternative medicine to help control my disorder. Having sports taken away from me so abruptly gave me a new appreciation for the game.

A two-year captain for Andover High (2014-15), Kennedy moved from libero to setter as a senior and earned Eagle-Tribune All-Star honors. She averaged team highs with 9.0 assists and 3.8 digs while leading Andover to the Division 1 state title game.

Playing for Andover High was one of the highlights of my adolescence, she said. Though the state championship didnt go our way, beating a powerhouse like Barnstable, in a gritty, home, five-set (regular season) match was incredible.

ENDICOTT, CHOOSING PATH

Kennedy continued to star on the court at Endicott as a defensive specialist. As a senior this past fall, she was Commonwealth Coast Conference Libero of the Year, first team All-CCC and National Strength and Conditioning Association All-American.

While it was often a challenge to keep going, Kennedy said her passion only grew, both on the court and off.

I was playing not only for myself and my love for the game, but I was also playing for all of the kids I met during my medical workups that wouldnt have the chance to pursue the same opportunities, she said.

I learned how challenging sports medicine is, and how creative and important these medical personnel are. Seeing the amount of investment the staff had in the athletes, and the relationships they built with them during challenging times was amazing. My first-hand experience truly inspired me to pursue the sports medicine field.

WORKING AT BC

Andovers Mackenzie Kennedy, an athletic training major at Endicott College, spent the fall and winter as an intern with the Boston College athletic program.

I knew that I wanted to work with a Division 1 program, she said. I reached out to the Boston College sports medicine staff on my own. I went after the mens ice hockey, mens basketball and football teams because of the level of challenge associated with the sports. Not only was I dealing with high injury sports and athletes much larger than myself, I also was stepping into sports that do not commonly carry female athletic trainers.

My days consisted of leaving Endicott at roughly 4:30 every morning and going into BC for 5:45 a.m. treatment and a 7 a.m. practice. I would then drive back to Endicott around noon to go to class, then the practice or games for my own sport (volleyball).

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Inspired by her health battle, Andover's Kennedy pursuing career in sports medicine - Eagle-Tribune

Can Complementary and Alternative Medicine Help Fight Covid-19? – stopthefud

Posted on May 15, 2020 by Danzig

Rajgopal Noidamboor in this Madras Courier piece:

If you have cold, put some turmeric in hot millk, add some ground pepper, cardamom and honey, froth it and drink it. It will make your throat feel good. Alternately, you can make some hot pepper rasam, mix it with rice and slurp it. To get rid of that darn cold, you coulf also mix ginger, lemon and honey to hot water and drink it. These are age-old recipes passed down from generations. Most of us remember getting these lessons from our grandmother.

Today, turmeric mixed in milk is called Turmeric Latte and sold in fancy cafeterias. But why does turmeric work? Thats because it is the one ingredient which has curcumin natures antiviral, antiseptic, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant. Similarly, Ashwagandha(Withania somnifera)is a natural, preventative intervention.

In the fight against COVID-19, the Ministry of Healths Ayush has creted a task force to look into how preventative complementary and alternative medicine can help fight COVID-19.

We have commissioned an independent scholar to produee a report that looks into the science behind natural alternatives.

Todays storyby Rajgopal Noidamboor looks at the role of complementary and alternative medicine in fighting COVID-19.

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Can Complementary and Alternative Medicine Help Fight Covid-19? - stopthefud

Empower Clinics and EuroLife Brands Close Definitive Agreement and Sign Multi-Year Multi-National Licence Agreement – GuruFocus.com

Posted on May 15, 2020 by Danzig

Empower Clinics to power online education platform for patients, retail locations, national tele-medicine platform and their expanding network of franchisees with EuroLife's Cannvas.me

VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / May 15th, 2020 / EMPOWER CLINICS INC. (CSE: CBDT) (OTC: EPWCF) (Frankfurt 8EC) ("Empower" or the "Company"), a vertically integrated life sciences company, is pleased to announce that further to the letter of intent announced on February 25, 2020 it has signed a definitive agreement with EuroLife Brands ("EuroLife"), a vertically integrated enterprise focused on the pan-European hemp, cannabinoid, and health and wellness sector. The agreement grants Empower an exclusive license to EuroLife's "Cannvas.me" cloud based online educational platform in certain international jurisdictions. Empower will use the web-based education technology platform to deliver brand, product, and industry knowledge to employees and over 165,000 patients across Empower's six corporate clinics in Arizona, Oregon, its first franchise in Oklahoma and nationwide tele-health platform.

Under the terms of the agreement, Empower has been granted an exclusive license of the Cannvas.me platform in the United States and Mexico with an option to expand to other jurisdictions. The agreement includes a three-year term with a three-year renewable option. A licensing fee will be paid over the life of the agreement, consisting of a mixture of cash and stock totalling $460,000 CAD and includes comprehensive service level agreements from EuroLife and ongoing support from EuroLife team roles including VP of Technology, Senior Developer, Quality Assurance, Creative Designer, Program Management, Account Management and regular support from EuroLife's CEO.

"We needed a robust platform to reach our growing network of owned and franchised locations across the United States and EuroLife's Cannvas.me education platform exceeds all of our requirements," said Steven McAuley, chairman and chief executive officer of Empower. "We now have the ability to reach our employees and the patients they serve through a safe, secure and informative online education portal. I believe the ability to deliver consistent product education quickly and efficiently is a competitive advantage that we will leverage as we continue to grow our patient count and number of locations."

"I am very pleased to announce the agreement with Empower to license our Cannvas.me education portal to reach both employees and medical and retail consumers on an incredibly efficient basis," said Shawn Moniz, Chief Executive Officer, EuroLife Brands Inc. "I look forward to working with Steven and his incredible team at Empower as they expand their footprint across the United States."

Cannvas.me is a consumer education portal launched in 2018 for medical and recreational cannabis consumers. Through many discussions with industry stakeholders the management team discovered there was significant demand for a cloud-based education portal for licensed producers, retail dispensaries and other large to mid-sized companies in the cannabis sector.

ABOUT EMPOWER

Empower is a vertically integrated health & wellness brand with a network of corporate and franchised health & wellness clinics in the U.S. The Company is building its first hemp-derived CBD extraction facility and produces its proprietary line of cannabidiol (CBD) based products. The Company is a leading multi-state operator of a network of physician-staffed wellness clinics, focused on helping patients improve and protect their health, through innovative physician recommended treatment options. The Company has commenced activity on how to connect its significant data, to the potential of the efficacy of alternative treatment options related to hemp-derived cannabidiol (CBD) therapies, psilocybin and other psychedelic plant-based treatment options. The Company now offers COVID-19 testing options in the United States and physician-based consultations, to address COVID-19 concerns.

About EuroLife Brands Inc.

EuroLife Brands is a leading global markets cannabis brand empowering the medical, recreational and CPG cannabis industry worldwide through a data-driven CBD marketplace supported by exclusive and unbiased physician-backed cannabis education and detailed consumer analytics.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS:

Steven McAuleyChief Executive Officer

CONTACTS:

Investors: Steven McAuley

CEO

[emailprotected]

604-789-2146

Investors: Dustin Klein

SVP, Business Development

[emailprotected]

720-352-1398

For French inquiries: Remy Scalabrini, Maricom Inc., E: [emailprotected], T: (888) 585-MARI

DISCLAIMER FOR FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This news release contains certain "forward-looking statements" or "forward-looking information" (collectively "forward looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws.All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements and are based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release.Forward-looking statements can frequently be identified by words such as "plans", "continues", "expects", "projects", "intends", "believes", "anticipates", "estimates", "may", "will", "potential", "proposed" and other similar words, or information that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. Forward-looking statements in this news release include statements regarding: the Company's expected timing of filing of its Annual Filings, the Company's intention to create psilocybin and psychedelics divisions, that market research on advancements in psilocybin and psychedelics in North America and globally will create greater shareholder value, the Company's intention to open a hemp-based CBD extraction facility, the expected benefits to the Company and its shareholders as a result of the proposed acquisitions and partnerships; the effectiveness of the extraction technology; the expected benefits for Empower's patient base and customers; the benefits of CBD based products; the effect of the approval of the Farm Bill; the growth of the Company's patient list and that the Company will be positioned to be a market-leading service provider for complex patient requirements in 2019 and beyond; the ability of the Company to complete or execute phases One, Two, Three or Four of COVID-19 test programs, and Psychedelic substances remain illegal in most countries, so please reference your local laws in relation to medical or recreational use. Such statements are only projections, are based on assumptions known to management at this time, and are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, performance or developments to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements, including; that the Company may not open a hemp-based CBD extraction facility; that legislative changes may have an adverse effect on the Company's business and product development; that the Company may not be able to obtain adequate financing to pursue its business plan; general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; failure to obtain any necessary approvals in connection with the proposed acquisitions and partnerships; and other factors beyond the Company's control. No assurance can be given that any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will occur or, if they do occur, what benefits the Company will obtain from them. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements in this release, which are qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements. The Company is under no obligation, and expressly disclaims any intention or obligation, to update or revise any forward-looking statements in this release, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required by applicable laws.

SOURCE: Empower Clinics Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com: https://www.accesswire.com/589992/Empower-Clinics-and-EuroLife-Brands-Close-Definitive-Agreement-and-Sign-Multi-Year-Multi-National-Licence-Agreement

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Empower Clinics and EuroLife Brands Close Definitive Agreement and Sign Multi-Year Multi-National Licence Agreement - GuruFocus.com

Anti-Vaxxers Have a Dangerous Theory Called Natural Immunity. Now It’s Going Mainstream – Mother Jones

Posted on May 15, 2020 by Danzig

For indispensable reporting on the coronavirus crisis and more, subscribe to Mother Jones' newsletters.

On April 26, two California physicians posted a video on YouTube about what they said was a potentially deadly side effect of social distancing: Our immune systems will get weaker because of lack of exposure to germs. They werent the only ones to make this argument. In a May 4 video, a controversial and outspoken Dr. Shiva Ayyaduraian engineer who claims to have invented emailalso embraces this idea. In a May 3 YouTube video, heannounced, Viruses do not harm or kill us. Instead, he argues, Your body is an amazing beingit knows how to take care of itself, and thats how we get immune health. But these politicians, the CDC and the NIHtheyre not talking about any of this. Shame on them, its criminal. An article from the Minnesota-based conservative think tank the Charlemagne Institute titled COVID-19 Lockdowns May Destroy Our Immune Systems is currently making the rounds, too.

Its not hard to see why this content took off. The ideaor the basic contours of it, at leasthas some elements of truth. Immunologists have shown that, in general, we strengthen our immune systems by exposing them to pathogens. In the last few decades, researchers have amassed evidence to suggest that some chronic conditions that are common in the developed world but rare in poorer countriesincluding asthma, allergies, and autoimmune illnesses like Crohns diseasecould be the result of an environment that doesnt have enough germs, causing the immune system to go haywire.

But the coronavirus is not a chronic immune condition; its a novel virus that attacks the bodys systems in ways not yet completely understood. Experts roundly reject the idea that social distancing will dangerously weaken the immune system. A broad-based immunity weakening because of social distancing? Definitely not, said Saad Omer,a Yale University epidemiologist and infectious disease specialist. Jennifer Reich, a sociologist who studies the spread of misinformation about health, agreed. In order for our immune systems to be harmed by social distancing, we would have to live in sterile settings for a long time in which no bacteria or germs could affect us, she wrote to me in an email.

But the experts I talked to werent at all surprised to see these discredited ideas making the rounds; theyve seen them before in the anti-vaccination and extreme holistic medicine communities. This is the coronavirus edition of their pervasive belief innatural immunity. Rupali Limaye, a Johns Hopkins epidemiologist who has studied the movement against mandatory vaccines, told me, We have heard from those that are concerned about vaccines the argument that they prefer to allow their immune system to be naturally exposed to a specific pathogen to gain immunity, she wrote to me in an email. Its a spinoff of previous theories weve seen, concurred Omer, who has written extensively about anti-vaccination groups. This is all the usual stuff.

Indeed, anti-vaccination groups on Facebook have referenced the idea constantly in recent posts. One widely shared meme lists, Things that suppress our immune systems: Masks, gloves, no sun, fear, vaccines, washing hands with synthetic soaps. In response to an article about the decline in childhood vaccination rates as a result of coronavirus, one member of the group Michigan for Vaccine Choice commented, God, I would love for my kids to catch chicken pox, my body could use a little exposure to keep the shingles away lol plus you know them developing actual immunity would be nice.In recent weeks, in response to calls for social distancing, several of the groups posted a 2016 New York Post article titled, We Need to Stop Sanitizing Everything and Let Bacteria Back Into Our Lives.

Meanwhile, alternative medicine groupspromote the idea that eating the right foods or taking certain vitamins and supplements will strengthen the immune system so that it can successfully fight off coronavirus. Like any virus, coronavirus is no match for someone with a strong immune system, writes Sally Fallon Morell on a blog affiliated with the holistic nutrition group the Weston A. Price Foundation. Coconut oil, bone broth, and raw milk are among the foods she recommends to bolster the immune system against coronavirus. Just to be clear: This idea is patently false; humanity has never seen the virus before, therefore our immune systems have no natural defenses against it.

Given the holistic community and anti-vaccination groups fixations on natural immunity, its not surprising that the belief that we can end the pandemic through herd immunitydeliberately exposing everyone to the virus until we develop enough immunity that it dies out on its ownhas gained traction. The sooner well, able-bodied people get back to work, the sooner natural immunity will occur and we will have a fighting chance against the virus, reads one post on Indiana Coalition for Vaccine Choice. An April 22 post on VaxChoiceNH says, We know from decades of medical science that infection itself allows people to generate an immune responseantibodiesso that the infection is controlled throughout the population by herd immunity.

Infectious disease expertsall agree that the herd immunity approach would be catastrophicmillions of Americans would die in the process. It would be one thing if it were just fringe groups promoting this dangerous idea. But there are signs that this dangerous and flawed line of thinking is making its way into the mainstream. Over the past few months, Omer has watched in horror as the musings from armchair epidemiologists have gone viral on social media. He pointed to several influential op-edssome of them by physicians in fields having nothing to do with infectious disease or epidemiologypromoting the herd immunity approach. In a sprawling March 20 New York Times op-ed, David Katz, a Yale preventive medicine specialist who focuses on diet, wrote thatthis approach could allow us to return to life as usual and perhaps prevent vast segments of the economy from collapsing. Healthy children could return to school and healthy adults go back to their jobs. When Omer read the piece, he was appalled. These people are putting forth these theories without checking with people whose job this is, who specialize in it, he told me. This is not a debate societythere are actual consequences here. People are dying in hospitals alone.

Omer isnt the only expert concerned that misguided ideas about the immune system will flow from the fringe into the popular imagination. Devin Burghart, vice president of the anti-white-nationalism think tank the Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights, has been studying the nascent co-mingling between the anti-vaccination community and groups that stage coronavirus shutdown protests. He has noticed that the protest groups have begun to repeat the natural immunity talking points, and that both groups have embraced the herd immunity approach. These people are really gaining a lot of traction, and that is worrisome, he says. We worry about these ideas making it into the mainstream.

Omer cautions that if these ideas take hold, they could persist even after the coronavirus pandemic dies down, noting, Those of us in this field will be cleaning up these messes for years to come.

See the original post:

Anti-Vaxxers Have a Dangerous Theory Called Natural Immunity. Now It's Going Mainstream - Mother Jones

Toronto Zoo pivots to ‘drive-thru experience’ as safe alternative in COVID era – Medicine Hat News

Posted on May 15, 2020 by Danzig

By The Canadian Press on May 14, 2020.

TORONTO The Toronto Zoo is planning to reopen as a drive-thru experience once the province gives it the green light.

A spokeswoman for the zoo says a pre-booked driving route will allow visitors to see the animals from the comfort and safety of their own vehicle.

She says visitors will travel along a 3.4-kilometre route through the park.

Pivoting to drive-thru is one of numerous options zoos and aquariums are eyeing as they figure out how to safely reopen now that the spread of COVID-19 is slowing across much of Canada.

The executive director of Canadas Accredited Zoos and Aquariums says the organizations members are also looking at providing masks to visitors and having them walk along a predetermined route.

Jim Facette says roughly two-thirds of accredited zoos and aquariums have made use of government assistance, and this weeks federal announcement on help for the tourism sector is expected to bolster the industry.

But zoos have also had to make some compromises, including asking for donations from the public to make sure they can feed their animals while continuing conservation work.

And the Calgary Zoo announced this week it will be returning two giant pandas on loan from China because the COVID-19 pandemic has caused problems with getting enough bamboo to feed them.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 14, 2020.

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Toronto Zoo pivots to 'drive-thru experience' as safe alternative in COVID era - Medicine Hat News

PM asks chief secretaries to name those involved in smuggling – DAWN.com

Posted on May 15, 2020 by Danzig

ISLAMABAD: To ensure strict implementation of anti-smuggling measures, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday asked provincial chief secretaries to prepare lists of those found involved in smuggling and submit the same as soon as possible to take action against such elements.

The directive came at a meeting in which issues of smuggling, hoarding and profiteering were discussed. He also asked all relevant departments to submit a report fortnightly about actions taken against smuggling and the people involved in it.

At the outset, the premier showed his displeasure over the slow progress on the implementation of the measures to control smuggling, price hike and hoarding. We have introduced historical strictest penalties for discouraging hoarding and smuggling, he said, adding he wanted its impact on prices in domestic market now.

He pointed out that prices went up immediately with an increase of Re1 per litre in petroleum products. However, he said, he did not see a decline in commodities prices after the recent huge cut in petroleum products prices. The premier directed the relevant quarters to look into the issue and ensure that benefit of oil price cut reached common people.

The premier said that the government took drastic measures to control smuggling and no compromise will be made on it.

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has already notified the anti-smuggling powers to Frontier Corps Balochistan, Frontier Corps Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan Rangers (Punjab and Sindh), Officers of Pakistan Coast Guard, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police, Balochistan Levies, Inter-Services Intelligence, Military Intelligence, Intelligence Bureau, Federal Investigation Agency and Frontier Constabulary.

These powers were extended until Dec 31, 2020. All these agencies will submit a monthly report to the customs departments about a seizure. The officials will exercise these powers within a distance of five kilometres from any international border or within the premises of all airports.

The items that will be covered within the purview of smuggling are foreign currency, gold and silver, precious stones, sugar, onions, pulses, salt, potatoes, gur, rice, wheat, flour of all sorts, chemical fertilisers of all sorts, livestock, maize, edible oil, hydrogenated or otherwise, therapeutic goods drugs or alternative medicine or medical devices or biological or other related products.

The premier was updated regarding policy level measures to implement the measures of the ordinance. The law also authorised enforcement agencies to take into custody people involved in smuggling of goods and currency.

The premier remarked that smuggling was a nuisance for the countrys economy. He said smuggling threatens food security and causes irreparable loss to the countrys industrial sector.

Under the ordinance, the government has also elaborated the role of district administration in terms of containing smuggling. Any official not below the rank of BPS-17 can communicate information to customs officials with regards to any contravention. The customs officials are bound to process such information and take appropriate action.

The authorised officer can arrest a person without warrant and detain by [issuing] an order in writing against those who are engaged or are likely to get engaged in any act of transaction of smuggling or facilitate such an act or known as a habitual smuggler. The deputy commissioner will issue a detention order. The detained person can make a representation to the commissioner. The maximum detention period is three months.

Published in Dawn, May 15th, 2020

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PM asks chief secretaries to name those involved in smuggling - DAWN.com

Give African medicines a chance – The Herald

Posted on May 15, 2020 by Danzig

The Herald

CorrespondentThe world is scrambling to get a treatment for Covid- 19. To date, save from the Madagascar cure claim, the world has not discovered anything to treat Covid-19. Sad is that whatever comes from Africa is dismissed with contempt exposing the world for its hypocrisy.

Developed countries are the only ones who claim to have a God-given power to research, find, produce and sell the treatment for any ailment.

The announcement by Madagascar that they found the treatment of Covid-19 infuriated global super powers.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) also warned Madagascar and in a statement said it did not recommend self-medication with any medicines . . . as a prevention or cure for Covid-19.

The world is in a time of crisis, and it needs all nations to first find an urgent solution to curb the rate of damage whilst looking for permanent solution.

If Madagascar was in America or Europe, their medication would have been approved.

As long as it is an African nation and regarded as less human no country will be allowed to use that medication.

WHO instead of being an impartial body seems to be controlled by the powers that be. It is high time for WHO to ask Madagascar how they made it possible.

In Africa, herbal medicines have been saving lives since time immemorial even before the emergence of Covid-19.

Recent events make it clear that Africa will always be looked down upon, while other continents jump to experiment their findings on Africans.

WHO describes traditional medicine, as the sum total of the knowledge, skills, and practices based on the theories, beliefs, and experiences indigenous to different cultures, whether explicable or not, used in the maintenance of health as well as in the prevention, diagnosis, improvement, or treatment of physical and mental illness.

Most traditional medicines systems are passed down from generation to generation through verbal teaching.

To date, in some parts of the world, the majority of the population continue to rely on their own traditional medicine to meet their primary health care needs.

When adopted outside of its traditional culture, traditional medicine is often referred as complementary and alternative medicine.

Among others, the most widely used traditional medicine systems today include those of China, India, and Africa.

African traditional medicine can further be described as a form of holistic health care system organised into three levels of specialty, namely divination, spiritualism, and herbalism.

Past research papers prove that the traditional healer provides health care services based on culture, religious background, knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs that are prevalent in his community.

According to a research by Ezekwesili-Ofili et al, illness is regarded as having both natural and supernatural causes and thus must be treated by both physical and spiritual means, using divination, incantations, animal sacrifice, exorcism, and herbs.

Herbal medicine is the cornerstone of traditional medicine, but may include minerals and animal parts.

Major obstacles to the use of African medicinal plants are their poor quality control and safety. The safety issue is determined by none Africans for Africa.

Because those who suffer from superiority complex scorn traditional medicine, its practices are still shrouded with much secrecy, with few reports or documentations of adverse reactions.

African medicine has a very bright future if viewed in the context of service provision, increase of health care coverage, economic potential, and poverty reduction. Formal recognition and integration of traditional medicine into conventional medicine will hold much promise for the future.

Because traditional medicine is frowned upon most people will use it, but will not record its success.

How can the Western world take our medicine seriously when we fail to do so ourselves?

In order for our medicine to be accepted we need to allow pharmacognosy. This is the study of the physical, chemical, biochemical, and biological implications of natural products for medicinal or health benefit purposes.

Specifically, this area must encompass the study of secondary metabolites, including alkaloids, glycosides, phenolic compounds, tannins, phytosterols, and terpenoids that are derived from nature, and is inclusive of plants as well as marine and terrestrial microbes and animals.

These compounds have potential medicinal applications for the prevention and treatment of numerous conditions and diseases, and may also serve as natural pesticides and herbicides.

Recently, Zimbabwe legalised the medical cannabis which would see our health system develop and which will bring millions in our economy.

Stakeholders have garnered new interest pertaining to a sustainable approach to cannabis and natural product research and drug development, an area now legalised for the benefit of the nation.

On the cannabis field some investors pretend to be very clever and try to outsmart their local partners. This happens when people think they are more clever than others.

Drugs of natural origin, which have roots in many medical traditions, are of inordinate significance due to the substantial growth in usage around the world.

In addition, nature-based medicines are the topic of increased inquiry in the quest for novel pharmacophores that hold the prospect of enhanced therapy.

Covid-19 has not moved at a fast rate in Africa than it has done in Europe and China. This should show the world that a cure maybe found in Africa.

The Madagascar Covid-19 cure must be taken to the lab, tested and developed at a larger scale to benefit everyone.

The award of the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine went to a professor who used African nature drugs to produce nature-based drugs Avermectin and Artemisinin, used in the treatment of infections caused by roundworm parasites and malaria, respectively, underscores such trends, and highlights, in particular, the potential value of naturally derived medicines in targeting neglected tropical diseases.

Which means a virus like Covid- 19 can be treated in Africa. If we treat this without prejudice a cure from Murehwa in Zimbabwe known as zumbani and the same zumbani found in Madagascar will have been taken to laboratories and more lives will have been saved.

As humans exploit natures unique gifts for alleviating disease, this should be achieved with safety, sustainability, and equitable benefit-sharing considerations in mind.

It is high time Africa must stand up and shame the devil.

Our medicine should be accepted without segregation or discrimination.

Read the rest here:

Give African medicines a chance - The Herald

LBB Pacing Positioned to Join Arsenal of CRT Alternatives in HF – Medscape

Posted on May 15, 2020 by Danzig

Biventricular (BiV) pacing was a game-changer for heart failure management, and it's the only kind of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) backed by randomized trials a vast number of randomized trials.

But other, more physiologic versions of CRT have been gaining traction at some centers, including His-bundle pacing (HBP), ventricular septal pacing, and in a newly reported study direct pacing of the left bundle branch (LBB).

More than 70% of the study's 325 patients with heart failure and reduced ejection fraction responded to LBB pacing for CRT clinically and echocardiographically, and about 30% of the total were considered super-responders.

The current series shows that LBB pacing can provide CRT at "remarkably low and stable pacing thresholds," suggesting that it's an "excellent alternative option" compared with conventional BiV pacing, said Pugazhendhi Vijayaraman, MD, when formally presenting the results online May8 as part of the Heart Rhythm Society 2020 Scientific Sessions virtual presentation.

His-bundle pacing has received a lot of attention recently as a BiV-pacing alternative; its pacing effect is more physiologic than with BiV pacing, and possibly also LBB pacing, researchers say. But pacing thresholds are generally higher with HBP than with LBB pacing, which can increase battery drain, and achieving HBP tends to be more technically challenging so the learning curve for operators is steeper than it is for LBB pacing, said Vijayaraman, of Geisinger Heart Institute, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.

Although LBB pacing "addresses a lot of the limitations of His bundle pacing," he told theheart.org| Medscape Cardiology, it's not seen as a replacement. Having both techniques available to operators "gives us the best chance to provide the best outcome for the patient."

Conventional BiV pacing is considered a nonphysiologic approach to achieving CRT, but "the data is solid that it consistently benefits patients with wide QRS intervals," Roderick Tung, MD, University of Chicago Medicine, said in an interview. But many patients with heart failure aren't eligible or don't respond to BiV pacing, so CRT achieved by conduction-system pacing for example, either HBP or LBB pacing may be an alternative for them, he proposed.

"This is a moment to celebrate that we have more methods to access the conduction system" for providing patients with CRT, said Tung, who is principal investigator for the His SYNC study, a small randomized comparison of HBP and coronary sinus pacing for CRT.

Tung was not associated with the study presented by Vijayaraman but had praise for it. The study, he observed, suggested that 85% of patients appear to respond to LBB pacing, "and most importantly, the thresholds were less than 1volt. That's much lower than we see with His bundle pacing."

The study, Tung said, "shows that left bundle-branch pacing is viable for CRT."

Left bundle-branch pacing for CRT was attempted in 325 patients with left-ventricular ejection fractions (LVEF) less than 50% at four centers in the United States and one center in each of Brazil, the Netherlands, India, and Spain. The study used 3830 SelectSecure pacing leads (Medtronic).

Left bundle-branch block (LBBB) was identified in 42% of patients, right bundle-branch block in 18%, and interventricular conduction delay (IVCD) in 12%.

Compared with the 48 patients in whom LBB pacing could not be engaged, the 277 patients successfully treated were significantly more likely to have LBBB, nonischemic cardiomyopathy, smaller left ventricular dimensions, and shorter baseline QRS intervals and were less likely to have IVCD.

The pacing threshold for achieving LBB capture was 0.6volts at baseline and remained stable at 0.7volts 6 months later, "which is much lower than previously reported thresholds for His bundle pacing," Vijayaraman said during his presentation.

There were seven lead dislodgements, for a rate of 2.5%, also lower than reported rates for HBP, he said.

Left bundle-branch pacing was associated with significant QRS interval narrowing and improvement in LVEF (P< .0001 for both results).

The benefits of LBB pacing were more pronounced in patients with vs without LBBB, and in those with nonischemic compared to ischemic cardiomyopathy.

Clinical response, defined as improvement in NYHA functional class without heart-failure hospitalizations, was achieved by 72% of patients.

An echocardiographic response, defined as at least a 5% improvement in LVEF, occurred in 73% of patients. And 31% of patients achieved a super-response, defined as at least 20% gain in LVEF or, for patients with baseline LVEF no higher than 35%, a greater than 50% LVEF increase.

In multivariate analysis, independent predictors of an echocardiographic response included:

LBBB at baseline (odds ratio [OR], 3.90; 95% CI, 1.64- 9.26; P< .01)

Left ventricular end-diastolic dimension (OR, 0.62; 95% CI, 0.49- 0.79; P< .01)

Not independently predictive were QRS duration, age, sex, or heart-failure etiology (ischemic vs nonischemic).

Vijayaraman said currently, conduction-system pacing can be a first-choice CRT strategy for "anybody with a narrow QRS or right bundle-branch block," a group that doesn't meet criteria for CRT by BiV pacing in the guidelines.

However, he said, "left bundle-branch block patients do well with both forms of therapy," BiV or conduction-system pacing. If such patients don't respond well to standard BiV pacing, conduction-system pacing can then be an option.

"We start with the His bundle and try to get the best thresholds," less than 1.5volts, Vijayaraman said. If the pacing threshold is higher, "we move on to left bundle-branch pacing. We don't have to settle for a high threshold like we did in the past."

Vijayaraman discloses receiving fellowship and research support from; serving as a speaker or consultant for Medtronic; and consulting for Boston Scientific, Biotronik, Abbott, and Eaglepoint. Tung has previously reported no relevant financial relationships.

Heart Rhythm Society (HRS) 2020 Scientific Sessions: Late Breaking Clinical Trials2. Presented May8, 2020.

Follow Steve Stiles on Twitter: @SteveStiles2. For more from theheart.org| Medscape Cardiology, follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

LBB Pacing Positioned to Join Arsenal of CRT Alternatives in HF - Medscape

Edited Transcript of INO earnings conference call or presentation 11-May-20 8:30pm GMT – Yahoo Finance

Posted on May 15, 2020 by Danzig

BLUE BELL May 13, 2020 (Thomson StreetEvents) -- Edited Transcript of Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc earnings conference call or presentation Monday, May 11, 2020 at 8:30:00pm GMT

Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. - Director of IR

* J. Joseph Kim

Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. - CEO, President & Director

* Kate E. Broderick

Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. - SVP of Research & Development

* Peter D. Kies

Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. - CFO

H.C. Wainwright & Co, LLC, Research Division - MD of Equity Research & Senior Healthcare Analyst

Good day, everybody, and welcome to the Inovio First Quarter 2020 Financial Results Conference Call. (Operator Instructions)

Please note today's event is being recorded.

I would now like to turn the conference over to Ben Matone, Senior Director of Investor Relations. Please proceed, sir.

Ben Matone, Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. - Director of IR [2]

Thank you, operator, and thank you, everyone, for joining the Inovio First Quarter 2020 Earnings Call. With me today are Dr. J. Joseph Kim, President and CEO; Peter Kies, our Chief Financial Officer; Dr. Prakash Bhuyan, Vice President of Clinical Development and Head of Inovio's Clinical Programs to treat HPV-related precancers; and Dr. Kate Broderick, Senior Vice President of Research and Development and Project Lead for Inovio's infectious disease programs, who together will review our corporate, financial and development progress for the first quarter 2020. Dr. Jacqueline Shea, our Chief Operating Officer, is also with us and will be joining for the Q&A session following prepared remarks.

Today's call is being webcast live on our website, ir.inovio.com, and a replay of today's call will be made available shortly after the call is concluded. Following prepared remarks, we will conduct a question-and-answer segment which will be reserved for equity research analysts. During the course of this conference call, we will be making certain forward-looking statements regarding future events and the future performance of the company.

In particular, these events which relate to our business include plans to develop Inovio's integrated platform of DNA medicines, clinical and regulatory developments and timing of clinical data readouts, along with capital resources and strategic matters, as well as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Inovio's business operations. All of these statements are based on the beliefs and expectations of management as of today. These statements involve certain assumptions, risks and uncertainties and could cause actual results to differ materially. We assume no obligation to revise or update forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Investors should read carefully the risks and uncertainties described in today's press release as well as the risk factors included in today's 10-Q filing with the SEC.

Thank you for your attention. And with that, I would now like to turn the call over to Joseph.

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J. Joseph Kim, Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. - CEO, President & Director [3]

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Thank you, Ben. And good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for joining us on the call today. Inovio had a productive first quarter with developments across multiple clinical programs continuing to demonstrate the differentiating value and broad applicability of our DNA medicines platform. Please see the press release we just issued less than an hour ago for first quarter financial results and an extensive list of corporate highlights. I'm going to keep our remarks -- prepared remarks brief so that we have plenty of time to address your questions.

But before we delve into updates for each therapeutic program, I want to first provide an update on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our programs in progress. First, recognizing the importance of patient safety and adhering to the global stay-at-home government orders during the COVID-19 pandemic, our clinical operations and development teams have gone to great lengths to ensure patients participating in our clinical programs continue to be able to receive our DNA medicines and vaccines within a safe environment.

I personally cannot thank them enough for their dedication and focus during these challenging times. While we do not anticipate -- while we do anticipate various impacts on every clinical trial as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, as of today, our clinical catalysts for 2020 that we outlined at the beginning of this year remain on track.

Beyond 2020, it is still difficult to clearly project the exact impact the continuing COVID-19 pandemic will have on our clinical development programs. That said, we do anticipate that the enrollment rate for REVEAL 2, which has been at about 50% for the months of March and April during the pandemic lockdown will likely impact REVEAL 2 time line. Prakash will speak to this during his remarks on VGX-3100. But at this time, we are not changing guidance for our BLA anticipated timing and we will continue to work with the sites on REVEAL 2 accordingly to ensure both patient safety and data integrity.

Inovio remains on track and well positioned to have 2020 to be a transformative year for the company. We remain confident that this statement was true even in the midst of this global pandemic. Our team continues to be diligent and resourceful to ensure we are on track to deliver key data milestones in 2020, which include REVEAL 1 Phase III top line efficacy data from our lead asset, VGX-3100, in the fourth quarter. Overall survival at 12 months data or OS12 data from INO-5401 for our GBM therapy being presented at ASCO and abstracts available this afternoon, followed by OS18 data in the fourth quarter. And you'll hear more from Peter during his financial update, but Inovio remains well capitalized, having a strong balance sheet which is essential for properly executing our product development and business objectives and the continued global uncertainty related to COVID-19.

While our 200-plus employees are not working all physically side-by-side, our R&D and manufacturing teams in San Diego are in our facilities relentlessly driving the development of our immunotherapies and vaccines, including INO-4800, while practicing social distancing and taking all measures necessary to keep our team safe. Rest of our team is working remotely and seamlessly together in our shared mission to urgently develop our DNA vaccine that we believe will play a significant part in addressing this global health crisis. As we highlighted in today's press release, Inovio has validated the speed and versatility of our DNA medicines platform by rapidly entering the clinic with our novel DNA vaccine candidate, INO-4800 and the fight against COVID-19. Kate will elaborate more on this shortly, but I want to profess that our INO-4800 development effort has truly been a global and collaborative one. Since we began developing a COVID-19 vaccine in January, we have been forging and expanding collaborations with government entities and premier private funders, including the U.S. Department of Defense, CEPI and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Inovio is collaborating with leading labs around the world to test the vaccine and is working with a team of existing and new contract manufacturers to scale up the manufacturing capacities. These relationships have helped Inovio expedite vaccine development, access untapped resources and prepare to massively scale up our device and plasma manufacturing processes to potentially create hundreds of millions of INO-4800 doses to satisfy the urgent global demand for a safe and effective vaccine. We plan to update you in more detail in the coming months.

To speak more on our infectious disease experience and where we are with INO-4800, I would now like to turn the call over to Dr. Kate Broderick. Kate?

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Kate E. Broderick, Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. - SVP of Research & Development [4]

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Thank you, Joseph, and good afternoon, everyone. It's a pleasure to be here today. As Joseph expressed during his opening remarks, our team has been exceptionally productive during these exceptionally challenging times. And I'm so honored to be working with such a brilliant and dedicated team. Our dedication alongside our infectious disease expertise and preexisting collaborations have allowed us to be in a position to rise to this emerging public health challenge, being one of the first and few companies to be initially called on to develop a vaccine. In fact, when we first embarked on this development back in January, the name COVID-19 didn't exist, and the virus, in fact, was not deemed a pandemic for another 5 to 6 weeks. And yet here we are, nearly 4 months later, and I'm very pleased to share with you our progress to date on our COVID-19 DNA vaccine and what you should expect to see over the next few months.

In 83 days, we went from a vaccine design to first human dosing. That is a remarkable speed. And last month, we completed the first of 2 doses in all 40 healthy volunteers in our Phase I clinical study with INO-4800 against COVID-19 disease. For this Phase I study, we enrolled at sites at the University of Pennsylvania and a clinic in Kansas City, Missouri. As of today, we are on track for all 40 volunteers to complete the second round of dosing by the last week of May. After which, we expect to have preliminary safety and immunogenicity data by late June in support of advancing rapidly to Phase II/III efficacy trial which is planned to potentially initiate in the July, August time frame and frontline health care workers in multiple major medical centers in the U.S.

Concurrently, we also expect our partners Advaccine and IVI to initiate 2 separate Phase I clinical trials of INO-4800 this summer in China and South Korea, respectively. Speaking of our previous MERS vaccine work, we will be presenting new positive data from our Phase I/IIa trial providing a great foundation for the current COVID-19 work at the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy Conference this week. As already published in the conference abstract, for the study participants receiving the 0.6 mg of INO-4700 intradermally with the CELLECTRA device, 88% demonstrated 0 conversion after 2-dose regime at 0 and 8 weeks, while those receiving a 3-dose regime giving at 0, 4 and 12 weeks, 84% 0 converted after 2 doses and 100% after 3 doses as measured by a binding antibody assay against the full-length spike protein. Additionally, 92% of the vaccine recipients in both groups displayed the ability to neutralize the virus using a neutralization assay. Robust T cell responses were observed in 60% of the vaccine recipients after the 2-dose regime, and 84% of those in the 3-dose group. Interestingly, after a single dose of 0.6 mg of INO-4700, intradermal vaccination resulted in 74% binding antibody response rates and 48% neutralizing antibody response rate. We have designed our COVID-19 vaccine, INO-4800, using the same strategy as we did for INO-4700, including the selection of the full-length spike protein as the target and the use of intradermal CELLECTRA delivery device. We are both hopeful and optimistic that the ongoing Phase I clinical trial with INO-4800 who generate a similar level of clinical immune responses and safety data as we have just reported for INO-4700. Furthermore, this latest data demonstrated both the power of the intradermal delivery and the strength of our coronavirus experience. Furthermore, I'm really proud to say that while Inovio has been able to bring a new vaccine from construct design to Phase I clinical trials in record times, we were still able to confirm the robust immune responses of INO-4800 in multiple animal models that we typically test all our vaccine candidates in, including small animals, all the way up to nonhuman primates. In fact, our preclinical data has been accepted for a peer-reviewed publication in Nature Communications, demonstrating robust T and antibody responses, including neutralization antibody responses in several animal models with INO-4800 vaccination. Over the next couple of months, we will also expect to attain and report data from several animal challenge studies being conducted collaboratively at some of the world's leading laboratories.

Leveraging these preclinical results and continued work with our animal challenge studies, along with our expected Phase I data in June, we anticipate having the necessary immune response and safety data to support our plan to move into a large, randomized Phase II/III efficacy study.

And finally, another important advantage of Inovio's platform technology I wanted to state here is that our DNA vaccines do not require the challenging deep frozen cold chain storage. In fact, our vaccines are stable at room temperature for at least 1 year. And for 5 years at 2 to 8 degrees Celsius, which, of course, is normal refrigeration temperature.

In comparison, most messenger RNA and viral vector vaccines are not temperature stable and are often have to be maintained in a freezer cold chain as low as minus 80 degrees Celsius. This is an important differentiator and key advantage of Inovio DNA vaccines.

And with that, I'll now turn it back over to you, Joseph. Thank you.

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J. Joseph Kim, Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. - CEO, President & Director [5]

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Thank you, Kate. Appreciate that update, really amazing work. Again, I can't thank you and the team enough for all the dedication and hard work that you have been doing in the midst of this pandemic. To reiterate, we are aiming to be in a Phase II/III efficacy study by the July, August time frame, where we will be targeting health care workers on the front line. We estimate the high side of the study size to be around 2,000 health care workers and our capable regulatory and clinical operations teams are confident that we could fully enroll this number of participants in about 1 month. Again, the actual size of the study will largely depend on the infection rate at that time. In addition to our plan to determine the true efficacy of our vaccine in a large well designed, randomized Phase II/III study we're also planning to pursue the Emergency Use Authorization path to achieve emergency approval of INO-4800. We plan to utilize immunogenicity and safety data from our Phase I trial as well as from an early subset of Phase II/III participants, along with our anticipated preclinical efficacy data from our ongoing animal challenge studies to form our EUA submission being planned for potentially fourth quarter of this year.

Now let's move our update to our mid- and late-stage clinical programs. In fact, in less than 48 hours from now, the overall survival at 12 months data for our INO-5401 immunotherapy in 52 newly diagnosed GBM patient study will be available to the public as our abstract has been accepted for presentation at ASCO. Abstracts will be available this Wednesday at 5:00 p.m., followed by a virtual presentation at the end of this month. We had previously presented very exciting progression-free survival at 6 months in this study last winter. So naturally, I know you are all really excited to see this early promising data fully translate to the OS12 data. You will not have to wait too long for this data.

Before I turn the call over to Prakash for an update on VGX-3100, I want to provide a brief update on INO-3107, which targets the rare orphan HPV-associated disease, RRP, or recurrent respiratory papillomatosis. Given the progressive nature of this rare, debilitating and potentially life-threatening disease, patients are eager for an alternative treatment so they can avoid repeated invasive surgery.

As we stated in our last call, the FDA accepted Inovio's IND application to evaluate INO-3107 in a Phase I/II trial for the treatment of RRP. We expect to enroll approximately 63 patients in this Phase I/II trial to evaluate the efficacy, safety, tolerability and immunogenicity of INO-3107 in patients with high-risk HPV-6 and/or 11 associated RRP and who have needed at least 2 surgeries annually for the last 3 years or to remove the papilloma tumors. While the COVID-19 pandemic has thrown a curveball at this trial, we anticipate to begin dosing patients this summer.

So we have so much to look forward to the summer on top of our progress in INO-4800. Now I'd like to turn over the call to Dr. Prakash Bhuyan, M.D., Ph. D, who will provide an update on multiple targets and studies we have ongoing for VGX-3100. Prakash?

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Prakash Bhuyan, [6]

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Thank you, Joseph, and hello, everyone. As you know, our lead asset is VGX-3100, which targets HPV-associated diseases. Despite the negative impact of COVID-19 upon our clinical programs, we still plan to report top line efficacy data from REVEAL 1, which is our pivotal Phase III trial for HPV-related high-grade cervical dysplasia patients and that will be in the fourth quarter of this year. For REVEAL 2, recruitment is still underway at our sites around the world, and the COVID-19 pandemic has certainly had an impact upon our patient recruitment since March. We are hopeful in getting back to the pre-pandemic rates as soon as possible as various countries and regions begin to open back up.

As a reminder, REVEAL 2 has the same design and target patient enrollment of 198 subjects as in REVEAL 1. The main difference is the safety follow-up time of 1 month for REVEAL 2 versus 1 year for REVEAL 1.

Turning now to our positive interim data that we reported in March at ASCCP. We continue to validate the broader applicability of VGX-3100 and our HPV platform in general. So specifically, in our Phase II trial in anal dysplasia, we've reported that of the 20 patients with data available, 50% showed clearance of their HPV-16/18 positive precancerous lesions and 75% of the subjects showed a reduction in the HPV-16/18 positive precancerous lesion number just 6 months after the first dose. We do believe these data are extremely encouraging. Not only do they build upon the previously reported efficacy in our cervical dysplasia Phase IIb trial. But as further context to this, only 1 in 5 people with HPV-16 associated precancerous dysplasia would be expected to exhibit spontaneous resolution at 1 year.

Without adequate treatment, precancerous anal dysplasia would typically progress to anal cancer. Having a DNA medicine that can clear these lesions without the burden of repetitive, multiple and painful surgical or invasive treatments would change the standard of care and provide patients with a true meaningful benefit. Demonstrating VGX-3100's broad applicability, we also reported encouraging Phase II initial data in our vulvar dysplasia trial, where 12 of the 22 subjects completed their primary endpoint evaluation at 6 months following the treatment with VGX-3100.

The results were shared at ASCCP in March and demonstrated that 80% of treated women had an overall decrease in the lesion area 6 months after treatment. Two trial subjects completely resolved their HPV-16 vulvar dysplasia. And to put this into context, spontaneous regression for these patients is expected to be very low, about 2% to 5% and typically takes 1 to 2 years.

So taken together, these data build the case for VGX-3100's broader potential to treat HPV-caused precancers and further proof-of-concept for our DNA medicine approach. We look forward to providing full study results for both the vulvar and anal precancers dysplasia trial later this year.

And with that, I'll turn it back over to you, Joseph.

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J. Joseph Kim, Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. - CEO, President & Director [7]

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Great. Thank you, Prakash. Running a large global Phase III study is challenging enough. And working in the wake of a pandemic is unprecedented, you and your team have been truly rockstar through all this, showing your tireless dedication to work on providing a therapeutic alternative to surgery and improve the quality of life for these patients. Thank you again.

Now I will ask our CFO, Peter Kies, to provide a financial update. Peter?

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Peter D. Kies, Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. - CFO [8]

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Thanks, Joseph, and good afternoon, everyone.

First, I will provide a summary of our capital resources for the first quarter of 2020. The company ended with 20 -- with $270 million in cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments as of March 31, 2020. To this cash position, we added an additional $121.7 million through the ATM in April. Given the uncertainties associated with the macro impact that the pandemic may have on the global economy, we have been both prudent and proactive in maintaining a strong financial position, providing Inovio with multiyears worth of cash runway.

As both Kate and Joseph mentioned during their prepared remarks, the company anticipates to continue to receive external funding to support Inovio's advancement of INO-4800.

Turning now to revenue and net income, or net loss in our case. We reported total revenue of $1.3 million for the 3 months ended March 31, 2020. Inovio's net loss for the quarter ended March 31, 2020, was $32.5 million or $0.26 per share basic and dilutive. Lastly, R&D expenses for the 3 months ended March 31, 2020, were $19.1 million compared to $24.4 million for the same period in 2019. The decrease in R&D expenses was primarily related to a decrease in employee compensation expenses due to lower employee head count accompanied by a decrease in clinical trial expense timing, and there was an increase in our contra R&D expense recorded from grant revenues. A complete summary of our financial statements for the first quarter of 2020 can be found in today's press release and in our Form 10-K filed with the SEC. This can also be accessed on our website under Investor Relations financial reports.

With that, I'll turn it back to you, Joseph. Thanks.

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J. Joseph Kim, Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. - CEO, President & Director [9]

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Thank you, Peter. Before we turn to the analyst Q&A, I'd like to list all of the events we expect before our next earnings report in August. Here are the list: we expect to report on 12 months overall survival efficacy data from INO-5401 in GBM to be presented at ASCO in late May: Second, preliminary safety and immune responses data from our U.S. Phase I trial for COVID-19 vaccine INO-4800 in 40 healthy volunteers; next, data from our COVID-19 animal challenge studies; fourth, additional external funding to support INO-4800 development; fifth, either started or be poised to start our large, randomized Phase II/III efficacy trial upon regulatory approval; sixth, start of additional clinical trial for INO-4800 in China and in South Korea; seventh, start of patient dosing for Phase I/II clinical trial of INO-3107 to treat RRP, a lot of milestones to look forward to.

Now I look forward to taking your questions. Operator, please open the line for the analysts.

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Questions and Answers

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Operator [1]

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(Operator Instructions)

Our first question today will come from Stephen Willey with Stifel.

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Stephen Douglas Willey, Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated, Research Division - Director [2]

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I think, Joseph, you mentioned in your comments a couple of times regarding your ability to secure external funding. I believe there was a CEPI grant handed out to a competitive program here after market hours today. And that's obviously an organization that you have a pre-existing relationship with. They gave you, I think, $60 million for the MERS vaccine. So I'm not sure what you can say about the funding process itself, but I guess, anything you can say just with respect to active dialogues you may be having, whether this involves some kind of formal application process and to what extent the need to scale a device is potentially viewed as a rate-limiting step here by some of these agencies.

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J. Joseph Kim, Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. - CEO, President & Director [3]

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Well, thanks, Steve. Great question. And I guess, a great thing for Novavax and CEPI. As I stated before, there are extensive amount of fundings available for promising vaccine candidates as we all have seen BARDA contracts to both J&J and Moderna and now CEPI funding to Novavax. There's probably at least $15 billion to $20 billion in total funding available in both BARDA and CEPI, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, each have said they will each support up to 5 or 6 for CEPI and BARDA's case. And both CEPI and BMGF both have stated that they will support up to 8 different candidates in rapid scale up. So I think there are -- congratulations to Novavax, and Moderna and J&J have already received theirs. So I think the potential of additional funding for Inovio, I think, is great. I do think there will be a total of 10 to 12 viable candidate vaccines, which will be heavily invested by these various funding agencies.

So as we make progress, I think the potential of Inovio's receiving these external funding, as we mentioned in our prepared remarks, is very good. Lastly, touching on your question about the devices. We received already funding from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation earlier this year to help accelerate our commercial vaccine device, and we're on good track for doing that. So I don't believe the devices and arrays are going to be a rate limiter for us to both scale up and also receive this external funding.

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Stephen Douglas Willey, Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated, Research Division - Director [4]

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Okay. That's helpful color. And you talked about the desire to pursue an Emergency Use Authorization path and I think maybe even referenced the submission here before the end of this year. Can you maybe just talk a little bit about how that process logistically works? And I believe the EUA is under the auspice of HHS, not FDA. So what kind of submission actually needs to be made? Is that analogous to, I guess, an NDA filing? Or how is that different, I guess, when you're submitting something to an agency that's outside of FDA?

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J. Joseph Kim, Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. - CEO, President & Director [5]

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Yes. I mean certainly, the secretary of HHS has the authority to provide EUA authorization. But of course, the FDA reports through the HHS. So as we have seen numerously in therapeutics and diagnostics case, there's been dozens of EUAs provided for those 2 areas. For vaccines, there hasn't been any, ever. So the clarity on how and when those may occur, is something that we and our team, our regulatory team, our clinical team are working through. But here's what [Spence] communicated to us and others publicly. One is the vaccine has to demonstrate some level of safety and immune responses and especially if you can tie those immune responses to any challenge model data, if they're relevant. So I think we would be at Inovio to be in position with our Phase I primary data readouts in June with multiple animal challenge studies, including nonhuman primates, ferrets and mice to be reported in the next couple of months that we will be in a great position to collect those data, evaluate and prepare a proper submission to the FDA for an EUA. So I think the exact mechanism and the process will be clarified in the next couple of months, but we should be in a great position to apply for that.

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Operator [6]

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Continue reading here:

Edited Transcript of INO earnings conference call or presentation 11-May-20 8:30pm GMT - Yahoo Finance

Organ-on-a-Chip Industry Assessment 2019-2026 – Increasing Demand for Personalized Medicine, Emergence of OOC as an Alternative to Animal Testing -…

Posted on May 15, 2020 by Danzig

Dublin, May 14, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Organ-on-a-Chip Global Market - Forecast To 2026" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

Organ-on-a-Chip is gaining popularity as they are rendered crucial for prognosis and monitor disease progression; personalized medicine along with playing a vital role in discovery and development of target molecules and drug toxicity testing also to cut cost and time of drug development.

According to analysis, the Organ-on-a-Chip global market is estimated to reach $193,316.9 thousand by 2026 growing at a very high double-digit CAGR from 2019 to 2026. The Organ-on-a-Chip market is classified into product, application, material type, end-user, and geography.

The factors driving the market are rising use of organ-on-a-chip in early detection of drug toxicity, increasing demand for personalized medicine, the emergence of OOC as an alternative to animal testing, the significant increase in research funding and venture capital investments for the development of different types of organ-on-a-chips, whereas, factors such as technical uncertainty within the pharma companies, the lack of scaling and standardization, biological and technical challenges involved are restraining the market growth.

Market Segment Insights

The Organ-on-a-Chip product market is further classified into chips & services. The services segment accounted for the largest revenue in 2019. The Chips market is further segmented into liver, lung, kidney, tumor, multiple-organ-on-a-chip, and others. Among these, liver-on-a-chip accounted for the largest revenue in 2019 and is expected to grow at a strong double-digit CAGR from 2019 to 2026. The factors driving the market are increasing use of Liver-on-a-chip in drug discovery as a disease model (NASH) and also in toxicity screening of drugs, cosmetics, environmental pollutants, etc.

The growth is also attributed to the increased interest shown by regulatory agencies, by the top pharma companies, other government organizations and venture capitalists for the development of the technology, whereas, factors such as lack of scaling and standards, the uncertainty of how regulatory bodies will adapt to technological changes, as OOC is in its infancy stage, they are still not efficient to replace the current methods followed, but, are used as an additional test for accuracy, complexity in the establishment of organ models, challenge to explore sample associated data requirement of ethical clarity, need for the establishment of well understood single mixed-cell models using universal media combined with the flow and supporting matrix are restraining the market growth.

Based on the application, the market is segmented into drug discovery, toxicity screening, and personalized medicine. Among this toxicity, screening accounted for the largest revenue of in 2019 and is expected to grow at a high double-digit CAGR from 2019 to 2026 due to increased failure of drugs due to their toxicity had lead to the accelerated use of organ-on-a-chip involving human-derived cells to check their toxic effects. Further engagement of various chips in environmental toxicity testing, cosmetic toxicity is driving the growth of the market.

The market by material type is segmented into PDMS, polymers, glass, and silicon, among these, polymers commanded the largest revenue in 2019 and is expected to grow at a high double-digit CAGR from 2019 to 2026. Factors such as ease of access and inexpensiveness, optically transparent, biocompatible, inert, rigidity are the factors favoring their usage. The silicon segment is expected to grow at a strong CAGR from 2019 to 2026.

Based on End-User, the market is segmented into Pharma & Biotech, Academic & research institutes, and other industries. Among the end-users, Pharma & Biotech accounted for the largest revenue in 2019 growing at a strong double-digit CAGR from 2019 to 2026 due to extended research and development activities in biologics, drug development, and manufacturing.

Based on geography, the market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Rest of the world. Among these, the North American region dominated the Organ-On-A-Chip accounted for the largest revenue in 2019 growing at a high double-digit CAGR from 2019 to 2026. This is due to the accelerated technological advancements in analytical and informatics field, presence of major players, increased funding from both private and government agencies, growing awareness about benefits of Organ-On-A-Chip in development of personalized medicine, presence of advanced research institutes with specialized technologies, pharma biotech companies, government & private agencies concentrating on accelerating Organ-on-a-Chip research. The Asia-Pacific region is the fastest-growing region with a strong CAGR from 2019 to 2026. This might be attributed to increasing government funding towards Organ-on-a-Chip research, and the emergence of this region as the manufacturing hub for biologics drugs.

Some of the companies are coming up with new technological advancements to maintain their leadership status in the Organ-on-a-Chip, for example, Mimetas BV launched assay ready product line: OrganoPlate Caco-2 which serves customer to receive a fully quality-controlled, ready-to-use tissue model to ADME, safety-, toxicology- and mechanistic studies for drug development, but also in the food and dairy industry.

The key players in Organ-on-a-Chip Global Market include Mimetas BV (The Netherlands), Emulate, Inc. (U.S), TissUse GmbH (Germany), Hesperos, Inc. (U.S.), Insphero AG. (Switzerland), CN Bio Innovations Ltd (U.K.), Nortis Inc ( U.S.), AlveoliX AG (Switzerland), Organovo Holdings, Inc. (U.S.) and others.

Drivers and Opportunities

Restraints and Threats

Companies Mentioned (A-Z)

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/y1reei

Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research.

Organ-on-a-Chip Industry Assessment 2019-2026 - Increasing Demand for Personalized Medicine, Emergence of OOC as an Alternative to Animal Testing -...

Faith in the Vortex – SpokaneFVS – spokanefavs.com

Posted on May 15, 2020 by Danzig

By Sophia Maggio

Recently, one of my friends and I enjoyed a winding discussion about the concept of vortexes: specifically, what our personal vortexes might look like.

By vortex, I think we just meant our make-believe worlds or multiverses that we hope to inhabit some distant day in the future when we are no longer lady babies, as we jokingly call ourselves. On this day, I imagine that well each enter into our respective vortexes, no longer reliant on microwaves or the affirmation of peers; suddenly, well become real adults, strutting around the world with an air of certainty and competence.

On this day, we will stop pitter-pattering around the questions of whether were good enough, smart enough, strong enough. Well suddenly feel settled in our bodies and our souls, able to recognize and articulate our emotions as soon as they bubble to the surface, and will bid sayonara to self-deprecating humor, ridiculously hesitant emails, and self-sabotage in the romantic sphere. On this day, Ill stop embarrassing myself by accidentally waving to people I dont know, or pretending to not know people I do know because Im worried that I actually dont know them, and will therefore wave at them. On this day, I will perfect the body roll and use it at a post-pandemic dance club gathering.

Perhaps most importantly, Ill gain my adult phone voice, the one Ive been waiting on since the days of fake (plastic) phone calls with fake debt collectors. Beautifully rounded words will gracefully fall out of my mouth into the ear of the other caller, who will be so impressed with my articulate, smooth voice that theyll offer me an unrelated yet alluring job on the spot.

On this day, Ill be so spiritually, emotionally, and financially secure that I wont need this job, and so Ill relay the caller to another young woman, a budding lady-baby, who will accept the job offer and enter the long-awaited vortex of self-assuredness, glitter, body rolls, perfect pancakes, and spiritual enlightenment.

This day will never come. Still, when Im lying on my bedroom floor, taking a moment of respite from the assorted struggles of life, I sometimes try to enter into my vortex. I imagine that I might ascend into the vortex by climbing a bare tree that extends from my forehead, where most of my imagination and stress is concentrated. I envision bubbles of pain, annoyance, frustration, self-doubt, and sadness rising from my forehead and leaving my body as I scan to the tip of the tree, where I visualize a better or even best version of myself. Still, I have an intuitive sense tied to my heart that in this particular stage in my life, my purpose is to simply nurture and support this spindly, rapidly-growing tree not recklessly climb it like a crazy person. Im lying on the ground right now, and I may always be on the ground, supporting this tree. I also have an intuition that Ill never gain my adult phone voice, nor will I reach spiritual enlightenment or feel entirely self-assured. Yet lying on the ground grants me the ability to spend time refining my values, honoring my roots, and cultivating my sense of belonging and connectedness to others in an unruly, virus-y, awkwardly unpredictable world.

It seems as though were all working from the heart right now, with little control over anything else. Personally, it feels like my contacts have fallen out of my eyeballs; I havent worn hard pants in weeks, and we are all clearly integrated into a system far more powerful than our physical bodies. What I can do is choose to remain rooted to this tree, which challenges me to aspire to the vortex version of myself. In this moment, I also choose to remain connected to my fellow humans: who, in a time of crisis, have been revealed to be just as awkward, stumbly, and skeptical as I am just more brazenly so.

To me, this realization is as humanizing as it is endearing: the realization that were all sprawled on the ground like potato bugs, working from our hearts, endeavoring to climb into these bright, glittery, otherworldly vortexes that may or may not even exist. Like any religion, however, perhaps the existence of the thing isnt quite what matters. Rather, its the act of declaring faith in that thing, the thing that keeps you going. Hopefully, this supports a mission to simply connect to yourself and to other humans, and to one day rise from the ground, doubtless and maybe still clueless, yet carrying on bravely with a questionable interpretation of the body roll.

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Faith in the Vortex - SpokaneFVS - spokanefavs.com

The history of yoga in a readable book – The Hindu

Posted on May 15, 2020 by Danzig

In his book The Story of Yoga: From Ancient India to the Modern West, the author, Alistair Shearer answers a simple question: How did a time-honoured road to enlightenment turn into a $25 billion-a-year wellness industry? He answers it across 357 pages, the first few chapters having a scholarly density, the sources being from history excavations from Mohejodharo (c. 3000 BC - 1500 BC), and texts like the Vedas (2500 BC - 500 BC). It eases up soon enough with insights on what pushed yoga from meditative practice to physical mat work. In a nutshell, Shearer tells us that the original practice was always meant to be what he calls mind-yoga, the purpose of which was to look inward, but what weve turned it into is body-yoga, the purpose of which is fitness or a secular healing remedy.

Past Patanjalis Yoga Sutra, wherein he says only three short verses are devoted to physical postures; the Hatha Yoga Pradipika that has only four asanas; and various other texts, Shearer establishes that the purpose of yoga was never to tone our bodies, but as the way to transcend its irksome limitations altogether. The physicality of the practice, he says, began with the British Rajs clever fusion of gymnastics with yoga as promoted in the YMCA. Along the way, we meet the Theosophists, Swami Vivekananda, BKS Iyengar, and encounter various movements and alliances, like the number of hours of teachers training, the types of yoga that have come up over the years, and Western medicines stamp of approval all of which have contributed to the way yoga is seen today.

In an email interview, Shearer, who has in the past translated the Yoga Sutras, and co-created Neeleshwar Heritage in Kerala, talks of his own interest in yoga, its past, present and future. The book took three years to write, and needed to be pruned of 40,000 words, thereby leaving out some parts of the history of yoga, like the Bihar School. A lot of interesting material had to be jettisoned. Itll be in the next book, says Shearer.

Why a book on yoga was it an idea that came to you because of the huge interest in it, or was it something you had always wanted to do and the time was right?

Well, Ive been interested in Indian culture all my adult life, first studying Indian religions and Sanskrit academically and then teaching courses on Indian art and architecture at various institutions in the UK, including the British Museum and London University. At the same time, on the practical level, mind-yoga has been a constant source of nourishment for me since I studied with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi over 40 years ago, and I have been practising and teaching meditation ever since then.

The extraordinary growth of global yoga as a commercialised and secular exercise routine, rather than a path leading to spiritual enlightenment, has boomed in the last 20 years, sparking in turn a huge increase of academic investigation into the origins of the practice in India itself. So three or four years ago, it seemed to me to be the right time to bring all these different strands together and weave them into a story in a way that was accessible to the general reader, as well as those engaged in teaching and practising the discipline. Hence the book.

What does yoga mean to you?

I suppose my whole life revolves around it. Ive had a daily routine for many years that consists of a simple set of asanas, some pranayama and meditation, as well as pursuing my interests in the philosophies of yoga and Vedanta. Then there are the retreats I lead for my students every couple of months or so. Recently though, the physical side of my practice has given way to longer daily periods of meditation. I keep meaning to get back to doing asanas but given that I also have a busy working life, it doesnt look likely at the moment. There is only so much time each day one can devote to self-improvement!

The book is quite dense in the first few chapters and it gets easier to read as it goes along? Did you discuss this with your editor, and why did you decide to do this?

The content dictated it, really. The book proceeds chronologically, and to examine the early roots of yoga, you have no choice but to delve into the history of ancient India and get to grips with a very different society that had a very different way of seeing the world than we do today. Much of the specific evidence comes from a handful of highly esoteric Sanskrit texts, such as the Upanishads and Patanjalis Yogasutra, that deal with the nuances of altered and uncommon states of consciousness brought about by prolonged meditation. So for the non-specialist, this is really very unfamiliar territory that has to be trod slowly and with some care. Theres no way round it. But persevere, dear reader! As the narrative moves out of the dense forests and dark caves inhabited by those early yogis, we emerge towards modern times, where there is more room for recognisable markers, anecdote, irony and humour and so the tone automatically lightens. Then, by the end of the book, I come back to discussing yogic spirituality, but in its contemporary setting and in modern terms, with the scientific evidence and so on.

If you were to pick just the main milestones on the road to the rise of yoga, what would they be in the context of it becoming a part of the multi-billion dollar wellness industry?

One silent seed of the modern scene was the work of Shri Yogendra, who presented yoga as a secular, scientific discipline with measurable health benefits, both preventative and curative. He opened his pioneering Yoga Institute, the first in the world, in suburban Bombay in 1918. It is still flourishing today and has become effectively the official spokesman of medical yoga for the Indian Government.

But the most important, albeit unwitting, milestone was probably the great Vaishnava scholar and yoga master, TM Krishnamacharya of Mysore. In the 1930s, he ran a yoga school in the palace of his patron, Maharajah Krishna Wodeyar IV, and he mixed Scandinavian gymnastic exercises, then becoming very popular in Europe, into his regime. TMKs two most successful pupils were K Pattabhi Jois and BKS Iyengar. The former went to America and developed his vigorous Ashtanga system, while BKS conquered Europe with his eponymous method that pioneered the use of props. Both these highly physical approaches ignored the interiority that Patanjali calls the heart of yoga. Significantly, Krishnamacharya also accepted a female disciple, Indra Devi, because he felt that as Indian men were being seduced from traditional brahmin values by the desire to make money, the future of yoga lay with women. Indra went to California and introduced many of the leading ladies of Hollywood to posture work as a way to lose weight, keep fit and combat the effects of ageing. Such concerns have shaped much modern yoga, which is a 90% female phenomenon.

Then came the yogic supermarket countless DVDs, videos, apps, books, clothes, fashion items and assorted accessories that promotes yoga as an image-conscious and celebrity-endorsed pastime.

How did yoga move from the North of India to the South?

This is an interesting and, as far as I know, little researched question. My feeling is that yoga was a pan-Indian phenomenon from early times, though most records of it are in the North. It is widely held that the great Vedic rishi Agastya brought sacred knowledge to the South, perhaps establishing his main ashram at modern Thanjavur. In other centres of Tamil culture, such as Kanchipuram and Kumbakonam, Jain, Buddhist and Hindu yogis lived and taught alongside each other from at least the beginning of the common era. The renowned Vedantin, Adi Shankaracharya, who was born in modern-day Kerala, of course, travelled extensively around the South in the 8th Century AD, establishing monasteries and teaching. He advocated jnana yoga, the most advanced type of mind-yoga, and wasnt interested in postural work, but we do have depictions of physical yoga from the Pallava capital of Mahabalipuram dating from the same period. Then, in medieval times, the most important group of yogis, the Naths, established a powerful centre at the Kadri-Manjunath temple, South of Mangalaru, that dates from the 13th Century, possibly earlier.

Do you ever see yoga going back to what it was originally meant for, or do you see it evolving into something quite different altogether?

I think it will develop in both directions simultaneously. There will be a growing hunger for a return to a yoga that is more profound, more spiritual than mere Instagram flexibility. The devastation caused by COVID-19 may help this. But at the same time, the relentless advances of technology will develop lucrative human-machine interfacing that will result in a type of cyborg yoga, developed by, and for, techno-nerds.

What are some of the most outrageous things people have said to you about yoga, and who has said them?

I remember a public talk I gave several years ago when a serious young man stood up shouting that yoga was the work of the devil and I would go to hell for promoting it. I replied that the pipe he was smoking would do him far more damage than yoga ever could. Thankfully, nowadays, theres far less ignorance and prejudice around the subject.

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The history of yoga in a readable book - The Hindu

Alton Masons Debut Short Film Is an Ode to the Creative Spirit of Lagos – Vogue

Posted on May 15, 2020 by Danzig

The song hes referring to is Masons first single, titled Gimme, Gimme and produced by Kevin-Dave, that is the soundtrack to a coming-of-age short film titled Rise in Light, codirected by Nigerian-American filmmaker Amarachi Nwosu and the Persian-Canadian artist and cinematographer soof Light. The video was initially planned as an introduction to Masons nascent career as a musician, though as the current pandemic began to spread globally, both Mason and Nwosu decided to use it as the foundation for a fundraising effort to support the Khan Foundation, a Lagos-based nonprofit that is currently providing relief supplies to some of Nigerias most vulnerable communities.

Ive worked with the Khan Foundation for two years now, and I have actively seen them change the course of many of these childrens lives in a way that has brought the light out of them, says Nwosu, who is based between Washington, D.C., and Lagos and is the founder of Melanin Unscripted, a creative platform and agency focused on dismantling cultural stereotypes. We wanted to use art and this film as a vessel to do so and lend a supporting hand. For Mason, too, the timing of the release feels strangely apt as an opportunity to help those less fortunate during this time of crisis. Many of us are losing loved ones and businesses, but also our faith and hope, he adds. The film is a call for change, and an expression of love and joywe just hope it can inspire and uplift.

The songs gently rhythmic, laid-back groove feels reflective of Mason himself, who is softly spoken but articulate, deliberate with his choice of words. Writing has been something that I have cherished ever since I was in grade school, Mason explains. Ive always loved poetry and spoken word and kept journals with me wherever I traveled to, so writing music felt natural. The video, meanwhile, begins with Mason playing with a white lion cub in a Lagos apartment before walking the citys streets in a dazzling purple crushed velvet suit designed by the cult Nigerian label Orange Culture (also serving as a wink to one of his musical heroes, Prince). The purple suit represented the aura that was exuded while on the mainland, Mason explains of his collaboration with stylist Ugo Mozie. A purple aura symbolizes healing, spiritual enlightenment, cleansing, and freedom, which are all elements that I felt during my entire trip in Nigeria.

While the films core purpose wasnt about fashion or clothing, we really wanted to represent African designers through this film and spotlight them, Nwosu continues. These designers dont get nearly enough recognition in mainstream media, so this was a chance to place them at the same level you would see other high-end brands and designers. In this sense, the video acts not just as a reflection to the thriving fashion scene at work in Lagos today, seen in the rising profile of the citys annual Arise Fashion Week and the international success of labels like Orange Culture, Kenneth Ize, and Maki Oh, but, with its charitable element, as an act of giving back to the city and its people.

Excerpt from:

Alton Masons Debut Short Film Is an Ode to the Creative Spirit of Lagos - Vogue

We deciphered Matt Corral and Grant Tisdales closely-timed tweets from over the weekend – Red Cup Rebellion

Posted on May 15, 2020 by Danzig

It has yet to be seen which Ole Miss quarterback Lane Kiffin will tap to start for the Rebels in 2020, but the first-year head coach inherits a stacked depth chart of three uniquely talented athletes who are chomping at the bit.

Grant Tisdale and Matt Corral both were on the sidelines for most of 2019 after John Rhys Plumlee took the starting job and ran away with it. Tisdale hit the transfer portal mid-year but returned when Kiffin was announced and whispers surrounded Corral, hinting that he may not have been far behind. Both guys supported their teammates and remained dignified, but now that the season approaches its go time.

On Sunday night, both No. 14 and No. 2 tweeted out vague, inexplicit thoughts. Corral posted at 5:58 p.m. and Tisdales came eight minutes later. Notice neither has a profile picture.

Are the tweets related? What do they mean? Were on the case.

Corrals tweet is 27 characters. The number 27 is oriented to spirituality and combines creative capacity and a strong imagination. This intersection creates an interest in the unknown. As a composite number, the number 27s root is 9. 9 refers to love, faith, spiritual enlightenment, and awakening. When you factor in these two ideas, it would seem that Corral is bringing positive vibrations to something of uncertainty.

This could include his status at quarterback or reach to a broader theme of the times in which we live. Corral has knowledge of something brewing throughout the NCAA and it is soon that he will retire from football to become an ESPN insider. SPORTS ARE BACK BABY!!

Or, maybe he has opened his third eye, allowing him to know more than the normal person. When one opens the third eye, it gives the ability to communicate telepathically and gives clairvoyance. It is only logical to assume that Corral can now read minds and will know the defenses intentions before the play begins. He will never throw an incompletion again.

Hopefully he is not actually hanging out with the Nkemdiche brothers and his tweet comes from a more logical place.

Proceeding with the notion that Corral has not lost his mind, he can only be talking about one thing NASAs 2020 Mars Exploration mission. The Perseverance Rover is planned to launch for the fourth planet from the sun on July 17th and will touch down on the Jezero crater in February. While there, the Rover will investigate the surface the habitability of the planet and search for signs of previous life. This would include the presence of water, or a like substance. Corral must believe water on Mars is a realistic idea, and it will be known.

Should he not be discussing Mars, it is simply a mind game. The SoCal kid tweeted this to trick us all. Soon we will find out that the thing to be known is actually that there is nothing to be known and its just a big prank. You cannot out-smart me, Corral!

Eight minutes later came an equally as unclear post and it would appear that the Ole Miss quarterback room is full of geniuses. Tisdale is referring to the economy and its ability for resurgence while it is headed for recession during a pandemic.

Well, Mr. Brown, you havent met Grant. He is not playing the nice guy role and Wall Street will return to a bull market shortly. Dont doubt him.

Perhaps he is referring to a budding career as a Tik Tok influencer. In one of the most popular viral challenges on the internet, a Drake lyric plays I just flipped a switch as two people are seen dancing in the mirror. When the switch flips, they have swapped clothes.

Tisdale is retiring from football, joining an influencer house and becoming a Tik Tok star. You heard it here first. Please credit.

If he is not talking business and economics or the latest internet craze, he is quite literally talking about a switch. As in a light switch. He is turning on off the lights and thought the world should know that he is turning on or off the lights. Yep, thats it.

Corral was letting us know that it would be known very soon that Tisdale turned his lights either on or off. Nailed it.

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We deciphered Matt Corral and Grant Tisdales closely-timed tweets from over the weekend - Red Cup Rebellion

We will gather in the glow – Aspen Daily News

Posted on May 15, 2020 by Danzig

Many distinguished people come through Aspen and the valley. Some to play. Some to think or teach. Some to misbehave. Some to raise big money, throw a party or celebrate a cause. I've played with some, partied with some and even misbehaved with a few of them.

If we had a wall of fame that featured all the big names of those who have crossed the Maroon Creek Bridge it would stretch from Ajax Mine to the Starwood Hills.

In 2008 the Dalai Lama came to the Aspen Institute with a simple message urging compassion. Among other things, the Dalai Lama suggested that being compassionate and practicing compassion is actually good for the person giving and receiving it.

This message represents the distillation of mind that comes with long hours of contemplation and meditation. So simple. The Dalai Lama has already done all the heavy lifting for us. He refined the message to one word, compassion, and all we have to do is practice.

Practice? Why?

According to science [practicing compassion] makes the body better and the immune system stronger. So many people spend their money on medicine and sleeping pills. People that have compassion dont need these, he said in a lecture in Aspen.

So the Ambien, the Zoloft, the purple and blue pills, the scotch, the white wine, the coffee, the weeds, tinctures, powders and preparations can all be replaced with compassion? This is going to take us some time.

Wouldnt it be cool if the Dalai Lamas message got equal billing on TV? The ad warning of possible side-effects include stomach bleeding, lightheadedness, itching, heart palpitations, suicidal tendencies, and, on rare occasions, dryness of mouth, could be followed by four hours of compassionate silence with a whispered warning at the end: Side effects of compassion include peace on earth, the end of poverty, a good nights sleep and spiritual enlightenment.

These days of panic, division and mayhem are ripe for some compassion. I wish it for you.

A lot of the world's religious leaders preach a variation on that theme. So people get to believe whatever they want. In theory, regardless of the religion, as long as we get the message and then practice, we could all get along. A dream.

My mom took me to church when I was a kid. Through my trainings and teachings and ministrations at the altar I learned a lot. I'm sad to admit that I was often let down by the effect of those words on some of my co-worshippers once the services wrapped up.

Believe it or not, some people, even some in my own family, would not heed the words of love and compassion that they just heard in that house of worship. This might shock you but some people bathe in the glow of Gods word and go right back to being shabby without a second thought.

The rules of the spiritual road often seem simpler when they have one-word names like, compassion, love and unity. You can contemplate the meaning of those words for days and never get caught up in collection baskets, post-life promises and pompous posturings.

Stevie Wonder even sang words of love, hope and compassion in Aspen. I saw James Brown sing songs like Sex Machine in Snowmass. John Denver gave us all a reason to celebrate a Rocky Mountain High.

Despite the current situation it is possible that we will gather again in the glow of the world's biggest singers and thinkers.

Now that we are avoiding each other like the plague, small encounters that we once took for granted carry new weight. It gives us a chance to practice. We are even practicing over the internet in Zoom meetings. I have noticed a bit of compassion creeping into some of these interactions.

There's still plenty of animosity, misinformation, hostility and abject terror to go around. But is there a glimmer of compassion?

Reach Steve Skinner at nigel@sopris.net.

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We will gather in the glow - Aspen Daily News

PART 3 My Search for the One True God – Block Island Times

Posted on May 15, 2020 by Danzig

PART 3 My Search for the One True God

Chapter 4

Religions Story

What is the basic story that most of the mainstream religions are based on? It goes something like this

God created the universe, including the solar system, as well as heavenly beings called angels, some of whom rebelled against Him. They were to receive punishment for their transgression, and some people believe that an opportunity was given for them to acknowledge their transgression and receive pardon, but they refused. The punishment would be residence in a place of eternal torment.

It is believed that they questioned Gods judgment, thinking that if he were to create another type of being who also rebelled, he wouldnt send them to this place of torment.

So, God made new beings, human beings, in the Garden of Eden. The first two were the man and woman, Adam and Eve. Eventually, they also disobeyed God by eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, the one tree in the entire garden that God had prohibited. Like the angels, mankind was also placed under judgment.

Human history is centered on Gods intervention in the affairs of mankind by providing an opportunity for them to return to a right relationship with Him. Eventually, as the population of the human race increased, He would reveal himself to mankind with the hope that they would believe in who he is. Gods attempt to restore this fractured relationship with mankind is additional evidence to the fallen angels that He is just and fair, and that the sentence he imposed on them is justified.

Gods plan to reveal himself to the many nations that would come and go over time was put into motion when He made himself known to Abram. If this man would believe in Him as the one true God and obey his directives, then eventually a nation would be formed and would reside in a particular geographical area. God made a covenant with Abram that all He promised would come to pass if he and his descendants would be faithful to Him.

As time went on, Abram had a son named Isaac, Isaac had a son named Jacob, and Jacob had 12 sons. As the 12 sons married and had children, and their children married and had children, the people became known as tribes, with each tribe named after one of Jacobs sons. Eventually, a severe famine caused these descendants to relocate to the land of Egypt where they were under the jurisdiction of a Pharaoh who welcomed them. But after his death, a new Pharaoh placed them into slavery, a situation that lasted for about 430 years. Finally, a man named Moses was appointed by God to lead the people out of their Egyptian slavery.

They set out on a journey that should have only taken about 11 days but ended up lasting 40 years as they wandered in the wilderness, eventually crossing over the Jordan River into the land of Canaan, known as the Promised Land. After arriving at Mount Sinai, God delineated to Moses commandments, judgments, testimonies, and statutes, which in their totality are known as the Mosaic Law. If the people faithfully followed Gods directives, they would conquer all of their enemies and possess the land.

As the years went by, many governmental changes occurred. The people followed Moses as they wandered through the desert, were under the direction of Joshua as they entered the land, and then guided by a succession of judges who were men or women that God raised up when Israel would cry to Him for help. There came a time when the people chose to be ruled by kings, and eventually the kingdom was split into the ten tribes of the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the two tribes of the Southern Kingdom of Judah.

Because of apostasy, the Northern Kingdom went into captivity to Assyria, followed years later by the Southern Kingdoms captivity to Babylon. When Cyrus, King of Persia, defeated the Babylonians, the Jews were allowed to return to their homeland. A short time later, the Roman Empire came into power and the Jewish people fell under its jurisdiction.

As a central theme of their faith, the Jews were waiting for the arrival of their Messiah, an expected world ruler who would establish a government and preside over the entire world. According to their faith, they would be able to recognize his arrival because he would be born as a human being; and they expected that he would win battles and deliver them from Roman oppression.

When Jesus Christ began his public ministry and proclaimed himself as their Messiah, he was rejected, charged with blasphemy for proclaiming himself to be equal with God, and hung on a cross to die. But heres where many of the faiths diverge.

Differences of opinion regarding the person of Jesus Christ exist in various faiths, including:

He:

~ Was born of a virgin, having been conceived by God the Holy Spirit.

~ Lived a sinless life, exhibiting the characteristics of Godliness by growing in wisdom, speaking and doing that which he heard/saw from the Father, and was empowered by the Holy Spirit.

~ Paid the debt owed by all mankind through his death; satisfying the justice of God for their sins and resulting in the removal of all record of this debt (this is known as forgiveness).

~ Resided in hell (Hades) for three days and then rose from the dead, his spirit and soul re-entering his body to become a resurrected glorified body.

~ Remained on earth for 40 days, during which time more than 500 people were eye witnesses of his resurrected body.

~ Ascended into heaven to be seated at the right hand of the Father.

~ Fulfilled his promise of sending the Comforter, as heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit came upon his disciples on the Day of Pentecost, marking the beginning of the New Testament church.

The faiths that we will examine are Judaism, Catholicism, Episcopalian, Christianity (born again), Seventh Day Adventist, the Church of Latter Day Saints, Buddhism, Jehovahs Witnesses, Christian Science, Islam, and Unitarian. The ones that adhere most closely to Religions Story are Catholicism, Episcopalian, Jehovahs Witness, Christianity (born again), Seventh Day Adventist, and the Church of Latter Day Saints.

Judaism adheres to the Old Testament teachings that were written before Christ. However, they are still waiting for their Messiah, who they believe will be born as a human being. When he arrives, he will rebuild the temple in Jerusalem that was destroyed by the Romans; re-establish the institution of the Mosaic Law; restore the Jewish court system; and establish a government that would preside over the entire world.

The Buddhism story is based on the spiritual journey of a man named Siddharta Gautama in the 5th century BC. His journey involved abstinence and contemplation. At some point during his meditation, he obtained enlightenment. This faith emphasizes the journey of an individual to attain enlightenment or awakening for oneself. This is the process by which one seeks to obtain freedom from suffering, pain, and misery; and involves following an eightfold path that results in inner peace, wisdom, and love.

The Christian Science story is based on the writings of Mary Baker Eddy, which teach that God is an incorporeal Spirit-creative Principle, supreme, omnipotent Father-Mother, omnipresent, omniscientthe only intelligence and all that actually exists. God is Mind, Spirit, Soul, Principle, Life, Truth, Love, and All in All.Everything is God, and God is good. This faith emphasizes the journey of an individual developing spiritually toward Truth (bringing oneself in harmony with ones true nature as Gods reflection) until all evil (defined as error), destroys itself.

The Islams story is about an angel named Gabriel, who revealed to Muhammad the knowledge of how to please Allah, their name for God.

Even with all of their differences, most of these religions believe in an afterlife; though opinions vary as to where certain people will go. Quite interesting!

Now that you know in a very simplistic way the basic story line of these mainstream religions, lets look at some general information about each faith. This will provide an awareness of their basic beliefs, or theology. Testimonies of either a member or leader of each faith will help us understand how they came to and why they continue in their faith. Just how varied these faiths differ will become obvious, and will form the basis for determining which faith or faiths follow the one true God.

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New Covenant Ministries - Ministerios NuevoPacto

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Harbor Church, Block Island

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PART 3 My Search for the One True God - Block Island Times

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