My Greatest Act Of Revolt Against This Meaningless World Is The Happiness I Feel Because Of You.
My greatest act of revolt against this meaningless world is the happiness I feel because of you.
Albert Camus
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The statement is worth nothing if it is not finally implemented.
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D.R.I. - Suit and Tie Guy
Outer space, Planet Earth, and the International Space Station (ISS) photographed on 4 October 2018 “by Expedition 56 crew members from a Soyuz spacecraft after undocking” from the ISS. Photo credit: NASA and Roscosmos [6048 x 4032]
Major South African banks are providing funding for the Palestinian Hamas terrorist group, according to an investigative report Wednesday in the Jerusalem Post that also names a former Muslim community leader as a key figure in the financing operation.
The Post reports:
Research conducted by The Jerusalem Post staff and several sources uncovered what appears to be a network of several South African organizations and straw man companies deeply involved with funding Hamas activities through the Al-Quds Foundation, an international group sanctioned by the US and outlawed by Israel, using accounts registered in major local South African banks: Standard Bank, Nedbank, and Absa. … Sanctioning by the US and Israel notwithstanding, the foundation continues its operations across the globe, featuring roughly thirteen branches in different countries, sometimes holding different names. In South Africa, a registered organization named “Al-Quds Foundation SA” also exists which openly admits on their new website that they are “a branch of Al-Quds foundation with headquarters in Lebanon.” The organization itself boasts about its fundraising activities, claiming funds would be transferred to the needy in Gaza. The foundation’s website lists Sheikh Ebrahim Gabriels as its director, leading the South African branch since 2019.
Gabriels was once the head of the Muslim Judicial Council, the umbrella body for Muslims in South Africa, with authority over religious matters as well as communal affairs. The Post describes Gabriels as closely connected to leading Hamas officials.
Nedbank, the one bank that replied to the Post‘s queries, would not confirm the identity or existence of the Hamas accounts, while maintaining that it complies with international sanctions. South Africa’s banking sector is viewed as one of the few remaining repositories of expertise and competence in a country plagued by corruption, crime, and an ongoing brain drain.
Hamas’s apparent funding in South Africa could help explain why the country has led the charge against Israel in international fora such as the International Court of Justice, where South Africa is pursuing a case of “genocide” against Israel. The ICJ said Wednesday that it expects to issue a preliminary ruling on Friday, just two short weeks after oral arguments by both sides.
Blink! The Link between Aerobic Fitness and Cognition
Although exercise is known to enhance cognitive function and improve mental health, the neurological mechanisms of this link are unknown. Now, researchers from Japan have found evidence of the missing link between aerobic fitness and cognitive function. In a study published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, researchers from the University of Tsukuba revealed that spontaneous eye blink rate (sEBR), which reflects activity of the dopamine system, could be used to understand the connection between cognitive function and aerobic fitness.
The dopaminergic system is known to be involved in physical activity and exercise, and previous researchers have proposed that exercise-induced changes in cognitive function might be mediated by activity in the dopaminergic system. However, a marker of activity in this system was needed to test this hypothesis, something the researchers at the University of Tsukuba aimed to address.
"The dopaminergic system is associated with both executive function and motivated behavior, including physical activity," says first author of the study Ryuta Kuwamizu. "We used sEBR as a non-invasive measure of dopaminergic system function to test whether it could be the missing link between aerobic fitness and cognitive function."
To do this, the researchers asked healthy participants to undergo a measure of sEBR, a test of cognitive function, and an aerobic fitness test. They also measured brain activity during the cognitive task using functional near-infrared spectroscopy.
"As expected, we found significant correlations between aerobic fitness, cognitive function, and sEBR," explains Professor Hideaki Soya, senior author. "When we examined these relationships further, we found that the connection between higher aerobic fitness and enhanced cognitive function was mediated in part by dopaminergic regulation."
Furthermore, activity in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (l-DLPFC) during the cognitive task was the same or lower in participants with higher sEBR compared with lower sEBR, even though those with higher sEBR appeared to have greater executive function, and thus higher neural efficiency.
"Although previous studies have indicated that aerobic fitness and cognitive function are correlated, this is the first to provide a neuromodulatory basis for this connection in humans. Our data indicate that dopamine has an essential role in linking aerobic fitness and cognition," says first author Kuwamizu.
Given that neural efficiency in the l-DLPFC is a known characteristic of the dopaminergic system that has been observed in individuals with higher fitness and executive function, it is possible that neural efficiency in this region partially mediates the association between aerobic fitness and executive function. Furthermore, physical inactivity may be related to dopaminergic dysfunction. This information provides new directions for research regarding how fitness affects the brain, which may lead to improved exercise regimens. For instance, exercise that specifically focuses on improving dopaminergic function may particularly boost motivation, mood, and mental function.
(Image by Balkonsky/Shutterstock)
שבת שלום
May this weekend be peaceful and safe. And a quiet and calm Shabbat to all the people of Israel.
Parashat Metzora: Leviticus 14:1 - 15:33
The short clips — none of them longer than two and a half minutes — offer poignant insights into day-to-day life in the Strip, an area that most outsiders cannot reach and whose residents directly suffer from the consequent lack of understanding.
We meet ordinary people telling authentic stories about common problems that are drastically exacerbated by Hamas’s control, ordinary people with expectations and aspirations and dreams — from running a pharmacy to working as a journalist to simply dancing — that they are forbidden from realizing.
All names have been changed, and CPC employed animation and voice-altering technology to protect speakers’ identity.
The participants consented to be interviewed for the sake of relaying their ideas and experiences to an international audience, noted CPC president Joseph Braude, adding, “They want these stories to be heard.”
You can watch the entire first week’s playlist of eight videos here.
