Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Processed Meats Cause Cancer, Says the U.N. Report



Different types of processed meats (Photo courtesy: timthumb.php)
Bacon (Photo courtesy: newsmax.com)


Sausage (Photo courtesy: lancastri.net)
Red Meat (Photo courtesy: home.bt.com)
Deli Meat (Photo courtesy: blogs.webmd.com)
The cancer research section of the World Health Organization (WHO) of the United Nations Organization, reported on October 26, has determined that "the consumption of processed meats like hotdogs, sausages and meat-based sauces causes colorectal cancer, while eating red meat like beef, pork and lamb is 'probably carcinogenic to humans,' " reports the UN News Centre in New York. 

The report also says, "After receiving the accumulated scientific literature, a working group of 22 experts from 10 countries convened by the IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer), processed meat was classified as carcinogenic to humans based on sufficient evidence in humans that the consumption of processed meat causes colorectal cancer." 

It further says, "Processed meat refers to meat that has been transformed through salting, curing, fermentation, smoking, or other processes to enhance flavour or improve preservation. Most processed meats contain pork or beef, but processed meats may also contain other red meats, poultry, offal, or meat by-products such as blood."

The agency said "examples of processed meat include hotdogs, or frankfurters, ham, sausages, corned beef, and biltong or beef jerky, as well as canned meat and meat-based preparations and sauces." 

For further reading on this subject, please visit the following websites:



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Monday, October 26, 2015

Justin Trudeau Elected New Prime Minister of Canada


Liberal Party leader Justin Trudeau is the new Prime Minister of Canada after October 19 election defeat of incumbent Prime Minister Stephen Harper
A post-election cartoon on Justin Trudeau and a long list of his electioneering promises that need to be realized now
Cartoon courtesy: National Post

Justin Trudeau's Liberal Party, in the October 19 election, won 184 parliamentary seats out the total of 338 and is now set to form the majority government. As the leader of this party Justin Trudeau will be the next Prime Minister replacing the incumbent Stephen Harper. 

The Conservative Party (PC) won 102 seats, New Democratic Party (NDP) 44 seats, Bloc Quebecois 10 seats, and the Green Party 1 seat. In the 2011 election, the Liberal Party was in the third position.

Trudeau is the son of Pierre Eliott Trudeau, who was Canada's Prime Minister twice -- once from 1968 to 1979 and again from 1980 to 1984. His father died in 2000. 

Many of the newly-elected Liberal Party MPs are brand new. These rookie members of the parliament will be like "kids in the candy store!" Justin Trudeau needs to give them a thorough orientation, training and mentoring so that they devote their work in the service of all people in their ridings rather than accumulate wealth and prestige, speak trash out of euphoria, and create scandals. 

For more on the election and Justine Trudeau, please read the following:



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Sunday, October 25, 2015

The Quotation of the Week (October 25 - 31, 2015)


A quotation of George Shultz on 'losing,' compiled by Jerome D'Costa
Photo (A passenger bus, covered with an advertisement poster, plying on the Airport Road of Dhaka, Bangladesh: January 10, 2012) © Jerome D'Costa

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Sunday, October 18, 2015

The Quotation of the Week (October 18 - 24, 2015)


A quotation of Pope Francis on 'modern economy,' compiled by Jerome D'Costa
Photo (Grand Bend Beach, Ontario, Canada: Sept. 8, 2013) © Jerome D'Costa

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Wednesday, October 14, 2015

CONVIVIUM: A Catholic Magazine


A 'Convivium' magazine cover
Image courtesy: http://conviviummagazine.ca/

It's a monthly Catholic magazine, published from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, bringing together "citizens of different convictions and religious confessions" and "promoting and defending faith in our common life."

It's print magazine, but also is partially available online at: Convivium Magazine


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Sunday, October 11, 2015

The Quotation of the Week (October 11 - 17, 2015


A quotation of C.S. Lewis on 'dreaming,' compiled by Jerome D'Costa
Artwork by Andrea Mary D'Costa (August 24, 2015)

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Sunday, October 4, 2015

The Ordinary Synod of Bishops on the Family Opens in the Vatican


Pope Francis inaugurates the Ordinary Synod of Bishops on Family in St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican, on Oct. 14
Photo courtesy: EPA, through USA Today

Pope Francis on Sunday, October 4, in a solemn Mass at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican, inaugurated the Ordinary Synod of Bishops on Family. 

The Pope in his homily reiterated that the Catholic marriage is between a man and a woman, but he pleaded for acceptance of and mercy on couples facing real life difficulties and challenges. The synod will run from October 4 to 25.

For details on the ongoing synod, please read the following:

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The Quotation of the Week (October 4 - 10, 2015)


A quotation of Raymond Salvatore Harmon on 'art,' compiled by Jerome D'Costa
Photo (A painted mural on the wall of a restaurant in Toronto: October 23, 2013) © Jerome D'Costa
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Saturday, October 3, 2015

Senior Vatican Priest Declares He Is a Homosexual With a Partner


Father  with his gay partner Edouard at the press conference in Rome
Photo courtesy: AFP

Forty-three-year-old Polish Catholic priest, Father Krzysztof Charamsa, in a press conference in Rome today, publicly admitted that he has been a gay (homosexual) and he has a regular partner, named Edouard. In spite of official Catholic Church teaching against homosexual acts, many Catholic priests practise homosexuality in secret, and this Polish priest, holding high Vatican posts, is a rare one coming out publicly. 

According to the Vatican Radio, Father Charamsa -- a theologian -- has been living in Rome for the past 17 years and has worked at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) since 2003. He was an assistant secretary of the Theological Commission and was teaching theology at two Pontifical universities in Rome -- Pontifica Universita Gregoriana (Pontifical Gregorian University) and Ateneo Pontificio Regina Apostolorum (Pontifical Academy of the Queen of Apostles). 

Father Federico Lombardi, the director of the Holy See press office in the Vatican, announced that Father Charamsa would no longer be holding the positions with immediate effect.

For more details on this subject, please read the following: 

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