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Worst attack in two years, Maoists kill 12 CRPF men in Sukma The Indian Express This is an area where a road is planned, and while there is no active construction at the moment, the CRPF moves around as a routine area-domination excercise. According to our information, a total of 110 men left the post, but this was something they ... and more »

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Worst attack in two years, Maoists kill 12 CRPF men in Sukma - The Indian Express

The Sermon on the Mount Carl Bloch, 1890 Wikipedia

Would your church cope with hearing preaching like Jesus? Has it ever struck you how very different the preaching of Jesus is to the preaching in the average church today? So much so, that if a young man came to your church to preach with a view like Jesus preached, I suspect he would be more likely to be politely thanked rather than asked to become your pastor.

In this post I will simply highlight some of the differences between the preaching of Jesus and many modern sermons. Im not suggesting that we simply ditch all our modern ways and preach exactly like him, but its definitely a useful excercise to think about these differences and whether our ways are always the best.

To begin with a minor difference of posture: Jesus almost always preached sitting down, most modern preachers preach standing up.

Jesus preaching focused on the felt needs of his audiences, often starting from a question he was asked and demonstrating how he had come to set the captives free. Preachers today always start with a Bible passage, and often focus more on the message than its hearers.

Jesus preached sermons which had no obvious structure. Preachers today usually announce three points, which sometimes feature clever alliteration.

Jesus preaching was simple and used common language. Modern preaching is often complicated, using theological terms, sometimes without even explaining them.

Jesus preaching was full of stories. Some preachers today believe illustrations are unnecessary padding.

Jesus sermons were intensely practical and filled with how tos. Much modern preaching is all about abstract theological truths or denouncing the things that society is doing wrong.

Jesus referred to the Scripture of his day in passing, often citing verses out of context to make his point. Modern preaching prides itself on being expositional and working systematically through Bible passages.

Jesus preached with authority. Todays preachers quote commentaries or other preachers as authorities to support their interpretations.

Jesus often used hyperbole and exaggeration designed to shock and not be taken literally. Our congregations like to hear preaching that is measured, calm, and doesnt raise eyebrows.

Jesus listeners would sit for hours to hear him raptly. Modern preaching tends to be limited to 45 minutes or less but still sends some people to sleep.

Jesus gathered crowds of thousands that would walk for miles just to hear him. Today we get suspicious of any preacher who can gather more than a couple of hundred people, suspecting he is being unfaithful in some way.

Jesus sermons changed lives. Our preaching fills notebooks.

Jesus sermons purpose was to save the lost. Our sermons are aimed at educating the saints.

Jesus crafted short memorable phrases that get his point across and can easily be used as tweets. Modern preachers often despise the age of soundbites as superficial.

Jesus preaching provoked both furious hatred towards him that got him killed, and adulation that spilled onto the streets. Many modern preachers are satisfied with a that was a lovely sermon, Vicar and rarely provoke anyone.

Jesus preaching laid out his personal unique claims, and calling people back to God through him. Our preaching often assumes all its hearers are already saved and rarely presses people for a response.

Jesus preaching was accompanied by dramatic miracles. Our sermons are followed by a rousing hymn or chorus.

Read more here:

Would preaching like Jesus be welcome in your church? - Patheos (blog)

Zumba was born in Colombia in the 1990s, quite by accident. A fitness instructor forgot to bring his usual workout music to class, so he grabbed some Latin albums from his car, ditched the constraints of a traditional workout and danced just like he would at a club. His class followed along, sweating to the salsa and rumba beats, and loving it.

Since then, Zumba has pitched itself as more of a party than a workout. Indeed, some research suggests it may be the very best workout for people who hate to exercise.

A Zumba class is like any other instructor-led workout, but with simple dance moves heavy on the hips and step counts. Those moves add up to a decent sweat, says John Porcari, a professor of exercise and sport science at the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse. He and his colleagues analyzed a group of women who were Zumba regulars and found that a 40-minute class burns about 370 calories, a little more than nine calories per minute. Thats roughly the same amount youd work off if you ran at a slow-ish pace or biked at 15 miles per hour for the same amount of time.

People worked hard in the class, too. We found that they exercised at about 80% of maximum heart rate, and 60% V02 max, which is a measure of oxygen used during exercise, he says. We found its a pretty good workoutsimilar to moderately intense exercises like step aerobics or cardio kickboxing.

But the most impressive part of Zumba is how much it appeals to people who stay away from exercise. A study in the American Journal of Health Behavior showed that when women with type 2 diabetes and obesity did Zumba three times a week for 16 weeks, they lost an average of 2.5 pounds and lowered their percentage of body fat by 1%. More importantly, the women enjoyed the class so much that they made it a habitvery unusual for an aerobic exercise program. After the study had ended, most the participants continued going, says study coauthor Jamie Cooper, an associate professor at the University of Georgia. It seems like most of them had fun, made friends and didnt see Zumba as hard work."

The workout-in-disguise has unique physical and mental health benefits. Another study linked Zumbas hip-swinging, stomach-gyrating movements to increased core and trunk strength and better balance in older overweight women. After just eight weeks, the womens quality-of-life scores jumped 9% and their self-esteem increased 16%. A related study on Zumbas psychological benefits found that people who practice it feel more independent and said that their lives seemed more purposeful.

Its not hard to see why the activity would be invigorating and freeing. You have to let go and have fun during Zumba, Cooper says. Just as some people with anxiety take improv classes to relieve their social skittishness, dancing around other people may help Zumba-goers feel less shy or self-conscious about their bodies.

The workout may be especially helpful for older adults who can't run or do more intense workouts (or for those who don't want to). One 2015 study found that even scaled-back versions of Zumba can help older adults keep up their cardiovascular fitness. More broadly, plenty of evidence suggests that dancing can help seniors maintain balance and coordination, lowering their risk for falls.

Zumba is never going to compete with workouts like CrossFit or high-intensity interval training when it comes to physical fitness gains. But not everyone is the type to sign up for CrossFit, Cooper says. Theres still a place for Zumba, because people really enjoy it.

Go here to read the rest:

Why Zumba Is Insanely Good Exercise - TIME

Aerobics Class Founded By Sandra Day O'Connor Leaves Supreme ... KTEP Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's exercise class is vacating its home of 35 years, the basketball court right above the court room at the U.S. Supreme Court. and more »

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Aerobics Class Founded By Sandra Day O'Connor Leaves Supreme ... - KTEP

The University at Albany students are finding the plant-based food options on campus to be inadequate. Many students would like to limit their consumption of animal products, whether for the health benefits or to avoid contributing to animal suffering and environmental degradation. The university should respect and support the ethical commitment of these students by providing sufficient plant-based options in the dining halls and Campus Center.

Plant-based foods can be varied and delicious. Favorites such as pizza, burritos, mac and cheese, and chocolate cake can be enjoyed without any animal-derived ingredients. Vegan food is increasingly available at restaurant chains such as Taco Bell, Blaze Pizza, Chipotle, and D.P. Dough. Mainstream supermarkets are selling vegan meat. Taste-testers on the Today Show couldnt tell that this meat wasnt from an animal.

Unfortunately for UAlbany students, plant-based food choices in the dining halls are scarce. On its website, UAlbany Dining claims to accommodate vegans, but in reality vegans living in the dorms have difficulty obtaining filling and nutritionally balanced meals. The options listed online are limited, and even those that are advertised are often not available. Some vegan dishes are mislabeled, making them difficult to identify.

The university has a responsibility to meet the needs of its students, including vegans; but the arguments in favor of providing more plant-based options go far beyond that. Plant-based foods are more environmentally sustainable: according to the United Nations report Livestocks Long Shadow, animal agriculture contributes more to global warming than does the transportation sector worldwide. Animal products come from an industry built on systematic animal abuse, and human workers in slaughterhouses and factory farms are frequently the victims of human rights violations. According to the American Dietetic Association, a well-planned vegan diet is healthful and nutritionally adequate at any stage of life, and is suitable for athletes. The ADA also states that following a plant-based diet may help treat or prevent certain diseases, a claim which is supported by countless studies on diseases such as heart disease and breast cancer.

With so many reasons to cut back on animal products, UAlbany Dining and Sodexo should be encouraging students to do it, not discouraging them. To make matters worse, students living on the quads are required to buy a dining plan, meaning that currently many of our vegan students are forced to pay for a service that is not meeting their needs. As a rule, freshmen must live in the dorms, so for them opting out is not an option. Some students resort to buying their own food off-campus to supplement the insufficient options in the dining halls; others, having paid the not-insignificant cost of a dining plan, cant afford to.

UAlbany should increase the quantity and variety of plant-based options available. By doing so, they would prove their commitment to the environment and to student health, and would enable students to make food choices consistent with their ethical convictions.

Go here to read the rest:

Oh Kale No! A Dearth of Vegan Options on Campus - Albany Student Press

Since 2009, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents have been allowed to search electronic devices carried by citizens or noncitizens as they cross the border into the United States from other countries. More recently, Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly suggested this digital vetting should also include harvesting social media passwords. Kellys proposal prompted legal and technology experts to respond with an open letter expressing deep concern about any policy that demands that individuals violate the first rule of online security: Do not share your passwords.

Travelers themselves responded, too, looking for ways to avoid surrendering their device passwords to federal agents. One approach what we might call the Nothing To See Here method tries to make a device unsearchable by erasing the hard drive before travel, uninstalling social media apps, letting the devices battery charge run out or even wiping the device if an emergency or duress password was entered.

The Id Love To Comply, But I Cant approach involves exotic solutions like installing two-factor authentication on the device or social media account, and then making the second factor (such as a passcode or digital key) available only in a remote location. Retrieving the second factor would require a warrant and travel outside the border crossing.

These methods are dangerous because they put an already stressed traveler in the position of defying law enforcement at the border, a legal environment that is designed to support the government and not the traveler. Following this advice properly also requires careful execution of technical skills that most travelers dont have. And the degree of advance planning and preparation required might itself be considered a sign of suspicious activity requiring deeper scrutiny by border officials.

But its tempting to wonder: Could computer scientists and software designers like me create a better password system? Can we make Id Love To Comply, But I Cant the only possible answer for every traveler? In short, can we create passwords even their owners dont know?

Developing unknowable passwords is an active area of security research. In 2012, a team from Stanford University, Northwestern University and the SRI research center developed a scheme for using a computer game similar to Guitar Hero to train the subconscious brain to learn a series of keystrokes. When a musician memorizes how to play a piece of music, she doesnt need to think about each note or sequence. It becomes an ingrained, trained reaction usable as a password but nearly impossible even for the musician to spell out note by note, or for the user to disclose letter by letter.

In addition, the system is designed so that even if the password is discovered, the attacker is unable to enter the keystrokes with the same fluidity as the trained user. The combination of keystrokes and ease of performance uniquely ties the password to the user, while freeing the user from having to remember anything consciously.

Unfortunately, in our border travel scenario, the agent could demand that the traveler unlock the device or application using the subconscious password.

Could this be the new way to log in online? Listening to headphones via shutterstock.com

A team at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, proposed a different solution in 2016. Their solution, called Chill-Pass, measures an individuals unique brain chemistry response while listening to her choice of relaxing music. This biometric reaction becomes part of the users log-in process. If a user is under duress, she will be unable to relax enough to match her previously measured chill state, and the log-in will fail.

It is unclear whether CBP agents would be able to defeat a system like Chill-Pass by providing travelers with, say, massage chairs and spa treatments. Even so, the stresses of daily life would make it impractical to use this kind of password regularly. A relaxation-based system would be most useful for people undertaking high-stakes missions where they fear coercion.

And just like with other plans to make CBP scrutiny impossible, this might end up attracting more attention to a traveler, rather than encouraging officers to give up and move on to the next person.

In 2015, Google announced Project Abacus, another solution to the Id Love To Comply, But I Cant problem. It replaces the traditional password with a Trust Score, a proprietary cocktail of characteristics that Google has determined can identify you. The score includes biometric factors like your typing patterns, walking speed, voice patterns and facial expressions. And it can include your location and other unspecified elements.

The Trust Score calculator constantly runs in the background of a smartphone or other device, updating itself with new information and recalculating the score throughout the day. If the Trust Score falls below a certain threshold, say by observing a strange typing pattern or an unfamiliar location, the system will require the user to enter additional authentication credentials.

Its unclear how a Trust Score authentication might affect a border search. A CBP agent could still demand that a traveler unlock the device and its apps. But if the agency couldnt disable the Trust Score system, the phones owner would have to be allowed to hold the device and use it throughout the agents inspection. If someone else tried to use it, the constantly recalculated Trust Score could fall, locking out an investigator.

That process would at least ensure a phones owner knew what information federal agents were collecting from the phone. That hasnt been possible for some arriving travelers, including U.S. citizens and even government employees.

But the Trust Score system puts a lot of control in the hands of Google, a for-profit corporation that could decide or could be compelled to provide government with a way around it.

None of these technological solutions to the password problem is perfect, and none of them is commercially available today. Until research, industry and innovation come up with better ones, whats a digital age traveler to do?

First, do not lie to a federal agent. Thats a felony and will definitely attract more unwanted attention from investigators.

Next, determine how much inconvenience you are willing to tolerate in order to remain silent or to refuse to comply. Noncompliance will have a cost: Your devices could be seized and your travel could be seriously disrupted.

Either way, if and when you are asked for your social media handles or passwords, or to unlock your devices, pay attention and remember as many details as you can. Then, if you wish, alert a digital civil liberties group that this happened. The Electronic Frontier Foundation has a web page with instructions for how to report a device search at the border.

If you think that sensitive materials might have been compromised in the search, notify family, friends and colleagues who might be affected. And until we figure out a better way change your passwords.

Megan Squire, Professor of Computing Sciences, Elon University. This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

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Why We Should Not Know Our Own Passwords - Government Technology

Singing bowls possess a mystical quality as mysterious as their ancient origins and varied uses through the centuries in both the eastern and western worlds.

In an upstairs yoga studio in downtown Culpeper, the musical objectsa type of bellare used to facilitate wellness, the objects haunting, relaxing reverberations rising and falling until reaching a crescendo so intense one might discern all the mysteries held within.

Or, as research has suggested, there is miraculous healing power in vibration.

Thats why when longtime wellness guru Margaret Leary, of Culpeper, wanted to convey her collection of seven crystal singing bowls to another keeper, yoga instructor and Pranapiloga studio owner Rebecca Elsen seized the opportunity.

I think it benefits the studio and our community, said Elsen, the Culpeper Chamber of Commerces Entrepreneur of the Year in 2016.

Leary began teaching yoga in 2000 as she approached 50, starting out in the same downstairs studio space on East Davis Street where Elsen launched Pranapiloga in 2015 before recently moving a few storefronts away. Leary acquired her set of singing bowls from California soon after, and has used them through the years to conduct workshops with students.

They are not bowls, they are beings, she said. They are absolutely tuned to healing.

Leary, who ran her studio for several years, is now a sometimes substitute instructor at Pranapiloga as she focuses more on a personal study of Jin Shin Jyustu.

I am more into the hands-on type of healing and these singing bowls need to be shared with more people, she said.

Sound is vibration and thats how the unique bells heal, Leary said. Each bowl is a different size corresponding with musical notes in line with a human beings major chakrasplaces on the body, from feet to head, that are considered sources of energy for spiritual power.

As you play it, your body seeks that sound in that particular spot in your body, Leary said. Your vibrations slow down when you are sick, bogged down, something is pulling at them. Energy can be blocked for all kinds of reasons.

The singing bowls enhances awareness of blocked energy, she said.

It makes them more aware. To me, the bowl tells you where to go, Leary said. Its a communication going on there.

For the past two years since opening Pranapiloga, Elsen has used just a single metal singing bowl in class in tune with the heart chakra. Getting the entire set opens new channels of possibilities for her clients.

I play the heart bowl and people come up to me after and say I had this most beautiful green color in my head. People report feeling champagne bubbles in their body, a lot of people cry, its a releasean energy release for them where theyve been stuck or built a barrier around their heart, she said.

On Saturday afternoon, Pranapiloga will host a Healing Sound Immersion Class led by musical alchemist Mark Torgeson who will play crystal and Tibetan singing bowls as well gong, meditative flutes & drums, tuning forks, bells and Didgeridoo. The goal of the class will be to update the vibrational frequencies in your energy system, release dated behavior patterns and clear the way for increased balance and flow, according to Torgesons website.

The most important use of music today, as I see it, is as a tool for healing and transformation, he said.

According to a 2013 article in Science Watch, Music as Medicine, about using music therapy to treat Parkinsons patients, it should not only be viewed as a cultural phenomenon but as a vibratory stimulus that has cognitive and memory dimensions.

Elsen and Leary are believers.

You dont have to believe any of these things and it still works, Leary said.

She hopes that passing on her collection to Elsen will help more people understand the importance of sound.

Not just loud blaring stuff, but the beauty, the richness of sound and how we need to cherish it more, Leary said.

Demonstrating how the singing bowls work, Elsen tapped the inside rim of a bowl three times with a mallet before moving it to the outside rim and sliding it around and around in a circular motion, keeping the striker upright and close to top as the musical tones built until the vibrations filled the room, spilling outside and through the chakras of everyone present.

Sound like that is needed to counterbalance the car alarms, the shouting, the sirens, the constant noise of modern life, she said.

Having beautiful sounds of music takes you back to that rest, Elsen said.

See the rest here:

Sounds of music: singing bowls heal - The Daily Progress

Researchhas found that while environment doesnt necessarily benefit, such foodstuffsare more profitable for poor farmers and can produce food with a higher nutritional value

ORGANIC food may be no better for the environment or consumers than standard fruit and veg, a study suggests.

The pricey produce is often thought of as better for the planet.

Alamy

But a study has found the environment doesnt necessarily benefit because of how many more resources it takes to produce the same amount as non-organic fare.

Researchers analysed organic crop farming across 17 criteria such as yield, impact on climate change, farmer livelihood and consumer health.

They found it typically has a positive influence on local biodiversity, is more profitable for poor farmers and can produce food with a higher nutritional value.

But it often produces yields that 19 to 25 per cent lower and leads to higher consumer prices.

This means some of the environmental benefits may be lost once the yield differences are taken into account.

Getty Images

A pack of six small bananas in one supermarket cost 90p but their organic equivalent are 1.39. A 400g bloomer loaf costs 70p or 80p for organic.

Researcher Verena Seufert, from University of British Columbia, in Canada, said: Organic is often proposed a Holy Grail solution to current environmental and food scarcity problems.

While an organic farm may be better for things like biodiversity, farmers will need more land to grow the same amount of food.

And land conversion for agriculture is the leading contributor to habitat loss and climate change.

We need to stop thinking of organic and conventional agriculture as two ends of the spectrum.

Instead, consumers should demand better practices for both so that we can achieve the worlds food needs in a sustainable way.

Getty Images

Her colleague, Professor Navin Ramankutty, said the health benefits are marginal in countries with strict pesticide regulations, such as the UK.

The only entirely unequivocal benefit of organic foods is reduced contamination from pesticide residues although this might not matter for consumers in high-income countries, where pesticide contamination on conventionally grown food is far below acceptable daily intake thresholds.

In a developing country, where pesticide use is not carefully regulated and people are micronutrient deficient, we think that the benefits for consumer and farm worker health may be much higher.

Getty Images

Organic farming covers approximately 1 per cent of agricultural land and is the fastest growing food sector in North America and Europe.

The findings are published in the journal Science Advances.

Read more here:

Organic produce may be no greener than standard fruit and veg, says study - The Sun

Oaktree, where value investing thought leader Howard Marks (Trades, Portfolio) is co-chairman, increased its stake last Friday in SunOpta Inc. (NASDAQ:STKL), a company where it is pushing for change as the biggest shareholder but where few other prominent value investors have been active.

Oaktree found opportunity to increase its position when a weak earnings report released March 1 precipitated a decline in the companys stock price. Shares of SunOpta dropped 15.3% from the markets close Feb. 28 through March 2, registering their lowest price since August at $6.10 a piece. On March 3, Oaktree bought 3 million additional shares, reflecting a 26.5% holding increase that built his ownership to 14,333,333 shares, or 16.7% of the company.

SunOpta joined Oaktree in reviewing its operations starting in October and constructed a Value Creation Plan to maximize profit for shareholders. The plan, which aims for $30 million in product-driven annualized EBITDA enhancements and $20 million in working capital efficiencies over the next 12 to 18 months, features four pillars: portfolio optimization, operational excellence, go-to-market- effectiveness and process sustainability.

As we implement the four pillars of our strategic plan, we will refine our product portfolio, improve execution, broaden our sales effort and build a sustainable platform for profitable growth, SunOpta President and CEO David Colo, appointed Feb. 6 in a management shakeup, said in a release. We believe SunOpta is well positioned to benefit from the growing trend for healthier foods and we are building the platform for long-term achievement of our strategic goals and increased returns for shareholders."

Parts of the plan, like divesting of non-core business lines and impairment charges, as well as weak beverage and fruit sales, impinged on the companys fourth-quarter earnings results which fell below its expectations.

SunOptas revenue declined 6% from the prior years fourth quarter to $297.5 million. Its net loss of $33.5 million, or 41 cents per share, deepened from $30.1 million, or 16 cents per share, for the same periods. It ended the quarter with $1.25 million on its balance sheet, down from $2.27 million, and $244.4 million in long-term liabilities and debt, down from $339.03 million.

Over the last five years, SunOpta grew revenue at a 0.7% growth rate, while EBITDA fell at a rate of 8.8% and book value at a rate of 4%. In addition, its gross and operating margins have been in decline.

Only three other investors tracked by GuruFocus hold shares of SunOpta: Chuck Royce (Trades, Portfolio), Mario Gabelli (Trades, Portfolio) and Paul Tudor Jones (Trades, Portfolio). Two, Chuck Royce (Trades, Portfolio) and Mario Gabelli (Trades, Portfolio), reduced their positions in the fourth quarter.

SunOpta shares have gained 39% over the past five years, including a 3.6% rise year to date.

See more buys and sells of investors who own more than 5% of a companys shares at Real Time Picks.

Continue reading here:

Oaktree Boosts Stake as Largest Shareholder in Organic Food Company SunOpta - GuruFocus.com

Dive Brief:

Grocery retailers are pushing organic and natural sales because those products provide more revenue thanks to higher prices. Plus, with consumers looking to eat healthier,demand has never been higher.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, organic products are now available in nearly 20,000 natural food stores and nearly 3 out of 4 conventional grocery stores. Produce makes up almost half of that.

Packaged Facts released a report that the organic and natural industry reached $69 billion in total sales last year, an 11% increase over 2015, and a 32% gain over the past five years.

Shoppers'interest in produce on the whole is skyrocketing. While stores should make organic produce available, they should also continue to stock lower-margin conventionally grown produce. Consumer research has shown some are confused about the benefits of natural and organic products and would rather buy conventional produce. Through signage and staff to provide information to shoppers, stores can work to educate shoppers on why they may want to choose organic products, as well as an explanation about what makes them different.

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How to encourage more organic produce sales | Food Dive - Food Dive