Features
Where are the Feminists Decrying the Hamas Assaults on Israeli Women?
By HENRY SREBRNIK (posted Nov. 21) Jewish women are outraged that so many feminists, many of them prominent academics they have always known and liked, don’t seem to mind or may even condone the rapes and brutality visited on Israeli women Oct. 7.
But how many gender studies departments at universities have spoken out? On the contrary, Syracuse University’s Women’s and Gender Studies Department, for example, explicitly linked a pro-Palestinian position to its academic mission.
A few days after the massacre, Professor Jemma Decristo, a University of California, Davis, specialist in “the interplay between sound, race, gender, and embodiment,” tweeted a message to “zionist journalists” in the United States: “They can fear their bosses, but they should fear us more.” She punctuated her tweet with a knife, a machete, and three drops of blood.
Yale University professor Zareena Grewal, whose research focuses on race, gender, religion, and nationalism among American Muslims, asserted that “Israel is a murderous, genocidal settler state and Palestinians have every right to resist through armed struggle.” When a journalist pointed out that she was talking about the deaths of innocent civilians, Grewal was dismissive: “Settlers are not civilians. This is not hard.”
George Washington University professor Lara Sheehi, whose scholarship focuses on “decolonial and anti-oppressive approaches to psychoanalysis,” deemed the massacre a justified response to “Israel’s genocidal intent.”
According to a statement by 122 Columbia University professors, 37 of whom hold endowed chairs at the institution, one could regard the events of October 7th “as an occupied people exercising a right to resist violent and illegal occupation.” The signatories included gender and sexuality scholar Katherine Franke.
In an interview with the news organization Truthout Oct. 31, the prominent philosopher Judith Butler, distinguished professor in the Graduate School of the University of California, Berkeley, maintained that “a genocide is surely taking place” in Gaza. “Zionism has from the start engaged in a racist project,” she added. “What that meant was that the Palestinians there were not regarded as people — they literally could not be seen as human forms.”
Also at the end of October, nearly 150 American scholars in feminist, queer and trans studies released an open letter demanding an end to “Israel’s genocide and occupation in Gaza.” Calling Israel’s “cynical employment of feminist language to cover up or justify its military atrocities,” they added that “We will not be silent when the bells of genocide ring. Silence is complicity.”
To stand in solidarity with Israeli women, they asserted, is to give in to “colonial feminism.” There was no concern for the abducted Israelis that Hamas dragged off to Gaza, roughly 100 of whom are believed to be women, or the sexual assaults that took place on October 7.
The left-wing anti-war organization CODE PINK: Women for Peace had no problem supporting Hamas’ massacre: “The U.S.-backed Israeli apartheid regime inflicts daily settler violence and terror on Palestinians. Israel is an occupying force. Palestinians have every right to resist it,” they informed us.
UN Women, the organization “dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women,” condemned “the attacks on civilians in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories” but its statement didn’t mention Hamas at all.
One academic went further. Laura Mullen, the Kenan Chair of the Humanities in the English and Creative Writing Department at Wake Forest University, sparked outrage with a social media post just days after Hamas’ surprise attack, tweeting that “if you turn me out of my house plow my olive grove and confine what’s left of my family to the small impoverished state you run as an open air prison I could be tempted to shoot up your dance party yeah even knowing you will scorch the earth.” She then announced she felt like a victim because the school refused to stand by her.
Some feminists are even questioning the gruesome stories because they don’t want to shake their blind support for the Palestinian cause. In such a climate, perhaps it’s no wonder that Samantha Pearson, the woman running the University of Alberta’s Sexual Assault Centre, no less, was fired Nov. 18 after she signed an open letter calling reports of sexual violence during Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel an “unverified accusation.”
Phyllis Chesler, an Emerita Professor of Psychology at City University of New York, has lectured and organized political, legal, religious, and human rights campaigns in the United States, Canada, Europe, Israel, Central Asia, and the Far East.
“Sadly, I must conclude that what was once a diverse and independent-minded movement has become hijacked by a ‘woke’ death cult,” and “has lost its moral compass,” she wrote Oct. 19 in an article for the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy. “I note a terrible silence, a moral failure, among those women, including women activists, who live in freedom in America.
“The failure to even grapple with this subject speaks volumes,” she said. The few who spoke out were defriended, bullied and excoriated; one was called a “Zionist” – the worst word that came to mind.
Now that we have seen feminists effectively supporting Hamas and virtually apologizing for them in their raping of Jewish women, these academics are little different from those who were members of women’s groups in Nazi Germany, which — obviously — didn’t include Jews.
Henry Srebrnik is a professor of political science at the University of Prince Edward Island in Charlottetown.
Features
Skipping breakfast: Does it help you lose weight or is it bad for your health?
Breakfast is known to be an important meal – and yet many people leave the house without it. But what are the consequences for your health if you skip breakfast?
Whether it’s because of time pressure, to lose weight or because you’re not hungry yet – many people skip breakfast in the morning. There are different opinions. But to really have full energy for your next round at Betamo casino Canada you better not skip this very important meal.
Skipping breakfast: A good idea to lose weight?
Skipping breakfast is a common weight loss tip. Provided that you save the calories for breakfast and don’t eat them with another meal. This assessment is supported by studies:
A meta-analysis from 2023 found a significant correlation between skipping breakfast and a reduction in body weight.
A study from 2020 shows similar results: Skipping breakfast had a slightly positive effect on weight loss.
Another analysis from 2019 also shows that the study participants who skipped breakfast had a small – but significant – weight reduction of just under half a kilo.
However, these studies only show slight effects on weight and appetite. What’s more, some of the scientists also point to negative effects.
Skipping breakfast: What speaks against it
There are many voices that clearly speak out against skipping breakfast. For example, Anja Bosy-Westphal, President of the German Society for Nutritional Medicine, told Zeit magazine that skipping breakfast does not help to maintain lost weight in the long term. “People who skip breakfast for a long time are more likely to be overweight,” explains the expert. The effect persists even if other unhealthy habits are ruled out as the cause.
Skipping breakfast increases the risk of diabetes and obesity
In order to maintain your weight and eat healthily, you should therefore eat breakfast. Bosy-Westphal goes on to explain that glucose and energy metabolism work less efficiently in the morning. “If I eat the same meal once for breakfast and once for dinner, the blood sugar level rises less in the morning.” On the other hand, more calories are burned immediately after eating.
In the evening, the effect is reversed and we store more energy. The expert is generally in favor of never skipping a main meal. However, if someone “absolutely” wants to do this, for example because they are intermittent fasting, she says it should ideally be the evening meal.
Eating breakfast regularly has a positive effect on blood sugar levels and prevents diabetes. Conversely, according to Bosy-Westphal: “The more often you skip breakfast, the higher the risk of developing diabetes”. This is because eating early in the day helps the body to adjust the metabolism correctly and reduces the risk of obesity and metabolic diseases.
Increased risk of cardiovascular disease
Another negative effect associated with skipping breakfast is an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. A study from 2023 shows: A late first meal of the day (for example, by skipping breakfast) is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Every hour later (9 a.m. instead of 8 a.m.) increased the risk by 6 percent.
Skipping breakfast to lose weight: A good idea?
Whether skipping breakfast really helps you lose weight is controversial – some experts even suspect the opposite. At the same time, the scientists point out that breakfast is not the only thing that matters. This is because the participants who ate late drank more alcohol, went to bed later and ate more irregularly compared to those who ate early.
Skip breakfast: This is the recommendation of the DGE
The overall study situation is not clear. The results are partly limited by methodological weaknesses such as small study sizes and the fact that physical activity was not recorded. The German Nutrition Society (DGE) therefore does not currently give a clear recommendation as to whether skipping breakfast helps with weight loss or not:
At present, no scientifically validated statement can be made regarding the relationship between meal frequency and body weight regulation in healthy adults, so the German Nutrition Society (DGE) makes no recommendation in this regard. The energy balance is decisive for the development of body weight.
Features
How often you should cycle per week to get fit
Cycling is an excellent way to get or stay fit. But how often, how long and how intensively should you cycle to achieve this?
What does it actually mean to be fit? The word “fit” means nothing more than “suitable”. However, we generally understand “fit” as a certain level of training that is not only healthy, but also makes many everyday things easier for us – for example, just catching a streetcar or playing tag with the children. Last but not least, basic fitness can be a basis for more ambitious training or sporting goals (a long bike ride, a 10-kilometer run or similar).
Cycling is basically a very good way to get or stay fit, as it trains our endurance and most major muscle groups, is easy on the joints and, in terms of intensity, is easy to control. Numerous studies also show that cycling is healthy and a good option for building up fitness. But who should cycle how often and for how long is very individual and depends above all on the current state of training and health. So you will be calm after and can focus completely on National Casino.
This is how often and how fast beginners should (be able to) cycle
Let’s assume that you want to do something for your fitness again after a long break from sport. The best way to start is to take stock: grab your bike and go for a ride to see how long you can keep going and at what pace. If you haven’t exercised for a very long time or have never done so regularly and/or suffer from pre-existing conditions, you should check with your doctor beforehand whether and how much strain you can put on your cardiovascular system.
After taking stock, you should start training slowly. In the beginning, it is enough for beginners to cycle on flat terrain for 20 to 30 minutes about three times a week.
Now for the right intensity and the right pace: For (re)beginners, the following applies: If you still have just enough air to keep yourself entertained while riding, then you’re on the right track. If you want, you can of course also train with a heart rate monitor, where the target heart rate for most people is around 120 to 130 beats per minute. However, as the exercise heart rate is very individual and depends on many factors such as age, training condition, etc., intensity control via the “conversation test” works at least as well.
If you are riding on flat terrain, you will probably reach a speed of around 18 to 20 kilometers per hour in calm conditions.
Building fitness means building new habits
This training area is called the foundation area, by the way, and this is precisely your most important goal: laying a solid foundation for your fitness. Continuity is crucial, especially at the beginning – so really try to cycle three times a week – even if it’s only 15 minutes, that’s still better than not cycling at all. This will help you get into a steady rhythm and each time you cycle it will be easier for you to get going.
According to studies, it can take up to three months for new habits to become so integrated into your life that you find them as easy as brushing your teeth – so keep at it!
If you then have no problem sticking to the basics for around 30 to 40 minutes three to four times a week, you will have built up a solid base level of fitness. This will also help you achieve the WHO’s recommended exercise target of at least 150 minutes of exercise per week. Once you have reached this basic level of fitness, you can of course always increase your training, depending on your goals.
Combining cycling with strength training
Cycling is very good endurance training. However, it is also important for our health and fitness to train our strength. Otherwise, as we get older, we lose muscle mass, which can lead to back pain and the like, but also promotes weight gain – because muscles use energy and therefore calories even at rest. Strength training also improves your performance on the bike.
All it takes is 10 to 15 minutes two to three times a week. And you don’t have to go to the gym or buy any equipment. Classic exercises such as push-ups or squats are very effective and anyone can easily do them at home.
Tip: There are many practical apps with short workouts that strengthen the entire body, for example the free app Seven – 7 Minute Workout (for Apple or Android devices). It gives you suggestions for exercises and – especially important for beginners – shows you the correct exercises to do.
Features
Sleepmaxxing: Sleep better with these tips
Sleepmaxxing is trending on social media: targeted tricks and habits are designed to make your sleep as restful as possible. We explain what the hype is really about.
If you’re active on social media, you’ve probably heard the term “sleepmaxxing”. At the end of 2024, this tag already had 98.6 million posts on TikTok. This term, which literally means “maximizing sleep”, i.e. “getting the most out of your sleep”, is all about getting the perfect night’s sleep. From an optimized sleeping environment to the ideal evening routine, nothing is left to chance with Sleepmaxxing – all for the purpose of perfect nightly rest for your next round of TonyBet Canada.
Sleepmaxxing – what really works?
As is so often the case with health tips on social media, the Sleepmaxxing methods should also be taken with a grain of salt. Most of the popular tips for better sleep are not scientifically proven and will definitely not be the panacea they are promoted as on TikTok and the like.
However, some behaviors can actually help you improve your sleep quality or fall asleep faster. Here are some tips that can help you sleep better.
1. evening routine for better sleep
Fixed bedtimes and other rituals can benefit the quality of your sleep. Regular rituals help your body to adjust better to sleep. You can try out these methods, for example:
- Fixed bedtimes: If possible, go to bed at the same time every day and get up at the same time – even at the weekend. This stabilizes your sleep rhythm and the hormone balance that controls your tiredness.
- Avoid screens in the evening: The blue light from cell phones, laptops and televisions inhibits the production of the sleep hormone melatonin. Put your cell phone away at least an hour before going to bed and try using blue light filters if you like.
- Relaxation rituals: Reading, meditation or a warm shower can help you to calm down more quickly.
- Sleeping tea instead of caffeine: Avoid coffee or energy drinks in the evening. Instead, opt for herbal teas with valerian or lavender.
2. create the ideal sleeping environment
Your sleeping environment can have a major impact on the quality of your sleep. Your environment has a big impact on the quality of your sleep. With a few adjustments, you can significantly improve the conditions for restful sleep:
- Darkness: Sources of light at night disturb your internal clock. Darken your bedroom as much as possible or use a sleep mask.
- Quiet: Noise can interrupt your sleep. Earplugs or a white noise app can help combat noise.
- Cool temperature: The optimum sleeping temperature is between 16 and 19 degrees Celsius. You should briefly air your bedroom twice before going to bed.
- Comfortable mattress and pillow: A sagging mattress or the wrong pillow can massively affect your quality of sleep. Make sure your back and neck are well supported and find the right type of mattress for you.
3. diet and exercise for better sleep
Those who live healthily also sleep better: diet and exercise can influence your sleep. Diet and exercise also have a major influence on your sleep. The following tips can contribute to a healthier sleep:
- No heavy food before sleep: fatty or highly seasoned foods can put a strain on your digestion and disrupt your sleep.
- No alcohol to help you sleep: Although alcohol makes you tired, it worsens the quality of your sleep and makes for restless nights.
- Regular exercise: Exercising helps you to sleep better – but intensive training directly before bedtime can keep you awake. It’s therefore better to schedule your workout for the morning or afternoon.
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