Jerusalem News (12 December, 2013, 9 Tevet, 5774)
Contents:
1. Males and females have Complementary Minds!
2. Netherlands and UK Again Display a Treacherous Attitude towards Judah.
Dutch Water Company Cuts Israel Ties, UK Warning
3. Comments on Mistakes in US Foreign Policy by IVAN. They Pushed Russia too Much!
====
====
1. Males and females have Complementary Minds!
Male and female brains wired differently, scans reveal
Maps of neural circuitry show women's brains are suited to social skills and memory, men's perception and co-ordination
Ian Sample, science correspondent
http://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/dec/02/men-women-brains-wired-differently
The Guardian, Monday 2 December 2013 20.40 GMTÂ Â
Extracts:
Scientists have drawn on nearly 1,000 brain scans to confirm what many had surely concluded long ago: that stark differences exist in the wiring of male and female brains.
Maps of neural circuitry showed that on average women's brains were highly connected across the left and right hemispheres, in contrast to men's brains, where the connections were typically stronger between the front and back regions.
Ragini Verma, a researcher at the University of Pennsylvania, said the greatest surprise was how much the findings supported old stereotypes, with men's brains apparently wired more for perception and co-ordinated actions, and women's for social skills and memory, making them better equipped for multitasking.
"If you look at functional studies, the left of the brain is more for logical thinking, the right of the brain is for more intuitive thinking. So if there's a task that involves doing both of those things, it would seem that women are hardwired to do those better," Verma said. "Women are better at intuitive thinking. Women are better at remembering things. When you talk, women are more emotionally involved - they will listen more."
The scans showed greater connectivity between the left and right sides of the brain in women, while the connections in men were mostly confined to individual hemispheres. The only region where men had more connections between the left and right sides of the brain was in the cerebellum, which plays a vital role in motor control. "If you want to learn how to ski, it's the cerebellum that has to be strong," Verma said. Details of the study are published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Male and female brains showed few differences in connectivity up to the age of 13, but became more differentiated in 14- to 17-year-olds.
"It's quite striking how complementary the brains of women and men really are," Ruben Gur, a co-author on the study, said in a statement. "Detailed connectome maps of the brain will not only help us better understand the differences between how men and women think, but it will also give us more insight into the roots of neurological disorders, which are often sex-related."
====
====
2. Netherlands and UK Again Display a Treacherous Attitude towards Judah
Dutch Water Company Cuts Israel Ties, UK Warning
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/175019#.UqlqRJvxsdU
Vitens cuts ties with Israeli company Mekorot over presence in Judea and Samaria; British gov't warns against business involvement.
By Ari Yashar, Arutz Sheva Staff
First Publish: 12/10/2013, 10:04 PM
Extracts:
Vitens, the largest drinking water company in Holland, announced on Tuesday it would cut business ties with the Israeli water company Mekorot due to its presence in Judea and Samaria.
The announcement by Vitens, published by the company's management, noted that the decision was reached after consultation with Holland's Foreign Ministry. Vitens provides water to more than 5 million residents of Holland, and in the past has cooperated with Mekorot.
The move follows friction on Sunday. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, while visiting Israel, was to inaugurate a Dutch scanner on the Gaza border to verify contents of Hamas exports to the Palestinian Authority (PA) in Judea and Samaria.
However, the inauguration was put off after "the Dutch suddenly imposed political conditions, notably on the percentage of merchandise destined for the West Bank or abroad," according to an unnamed Israeli official.
[]
In a similar move, the British Department of Trade and Investment on Tuesday warned British citizens not to be involved in business activities connected to Israeli communities over the 1949 Armistice lines.
"European citizens and businesses need to be aware of the reputational risk that may be caused due to financial involvement in settlements," the warning states.
The British warning adds "investment, acquisition, holding businesses, tourism in the settlements or any financial activity that bears benefits to the settlements creates financial and legal risks because according to international law they were built on occupied territory, and they aren't a legitimate part of Israel."
In August, Holland became the second European Union (EU) nation after Britain to issue a directive to retail chains telling them to label "settlement" products.
====
====
3. Comments on Mistakes in US Foreign Policy by IVAN. They Pushed Russia too Much!
The USSR was composed of different nations amongst whom Russia was pre-eminent. In ca. 1991 the USSR broke up with Russia inheriting a good portion of it.
The Communist Party of the Soviet Union was banned in Russia in 1991-1992. Russia had been a powerful country for centuries. The USSR Communist interlude was effectually a continuation of
Russian history. The USSR had collapsed due to weaknesses in its social and economical policies. The Russians decided that they had had enough. It may be that President Reagan and others helped them reach a decision but the decision was theirs.
Russia was not defeated in war. Russia did not surrender. It should not have been treated like a conquered enemy.
The Baltic Nations (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania) had been unwilling members of the USSR.
Upon becoming independent they turned to the west and were accepted into NATO.
The USA is the primary force in the NATO alliance.
NATO is a western defensive organization that primarily had been intended as a barrier to the USSR. It still retains something of its anti-Russian orientation.
Other former Soviet satellites, in addition to the Baltic States, also became members of NATO i.e. Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Albania.
NATO and the USA had acted as the inheritor of Germany.
What Germany would have done in the past the USA continued.
This in effect may have been in some cases more to the benefit of Germany more than to that of the USA.
In the USSR era the nation of Yugoslavia had been a federation of Serbia, Slovania, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro.
These peoples had previously often fought against each other and been enemies one to another.
Serbia traditionally had been close to Russia. The Germans historically had backed the Croats and other elements. In the conflict between Serbia and its neighbors US President Clinton had Serbia bombed into submission. This strengthened the Muslims in Bosnia and elsewhere, empowered the Croats, strengthened Germany, and humiliated Russia.
The USA also gave its support to Georgia in its border disputes with Russia and to the Ukraine against Russia.
The USA also created bases and domains of access in Kazakhstan and other regions in what formerly had been the eastern USSR.
The overall impression is that the USA had exploited the weakness of Russia to create barriers against her and to infringe on its traditional sphere of influence.
Some aspects of this policy may have been justified and in line with descendants of Joseph gaining control of the "gates" of its enemies.
On the whole however it could be that it was overdone.
It may that no matter what happens Russia will always be the enemy. Or it may not.
Britain in the past had been a rival with Russia but usually tried to leave her with living space of her own.
Perhaps the USA should have done the same?