Because citizens need effective and protective governance, just as governments need stability and security. Because society and individuals prosper through cooperation. Because poverty and crime only deteriorate our COLLECTIVE conscience and success. Whatever your answer may be, either emotional obligation or obscure cultural kinship, all connections to our humanity excite and invite compassion. Because we are all connected. BECAUSE WE ARE ALL IN NEED. I believe we all want to make the world a better place. Being aware of what social responsibility is, is a first step. - Mary M. Purcell
y’all better hype this up because this is BIG and is evidence that the berlin patient wasn’t a fluke, and this could revolutionize medicine (there’s already cases of cancers where methods similar to these have worked), and while you’re at it, please join a bone marrow registry!! (especially poc bc these therapies usually only have been done on white patients due to genetic similarities, and the more poc we get in registries the more access poc patients can have to this for cancers, SSS, etc)
Western popular concepts of Jews that people here take as the extent of our tribe:
The reality:
Boys from the Jewish population of Yemen, which has been around for 2500 hundred years but has been slowly massacred over the past few generations.
The Lemba of South Africa and Zimbabwe (Zimbabwe in particular has a large and VERY long history with their Jewish Community)
The Abayudaya of Uganda, some of the great Jewish musicians
The Beta Israeli of Ethiopia
Igbo Jews of Nigeria
Cochin Jews of India
Baghdadi Jews
Kaifeng Jews of China, who go back to the 7th or 8th century. Unfortunately, during the 20th century much of their culture was almost wiped out and the Kaifeng are currently working to rediscover their Jewish heritage and culture.
Jewish Children in Puerto Rico (Jews have been in Puerto Rico since the 15th century, many fleeing from the Inquisition)
The Beit Shalom Choir in Japan
Kosher comes in all colors, from all over the world, and in a variety cultural groups. We’re a small portion of the human population, but we have EVERYONE. We are all members of this tribe.
“Fear robs you of your freedom to make the right choice in life that can bridge the gap between where you are and where you want to be. On the other side of fear, lies freedom. If you want to grow, you need to be brave and take risks. If you’re not uncomfortable, you’re not growing.”
For one thing, the population of young kids is increasing, even as the country struggles with low birth rates.
PONTEVEDRA—Once a city with narrow streets invaded by traffic and city squares more like parking lots, the roads of Pontevedra, Spain, are now often filled with baby strollers and children playing. Kids carry their toys in small backpacks and spread them on the pavement to share with other kids. Playgrounds with swing sets and slides are deliberately unencumbered by fences. “We want children to play all over our city, and to play whatever game comes to mind,” said Cesar Mosquera, the Urban Councilor of Pontevedra.
By restricting traffic and eliminating physical barriers, the city council has redesigned Pontevedra from the sight line of a child. Doing so, Mosquera believes, helps the city address everybody’s needs, especially the disadvantaged. “Where there are children, there are healthy adults,” Mosquera said. The policy, which has been expanding for almost two decades now, has had many impacts on the community. One of the most tangible: The once-languishing historic city center has become a friendlier space for kids and their caretakers.
[…]
“Here you don’t have to hold your child’s hand all the time. In any other city that would only happen inside a mall,” said Willy García, father of three-year-old Mauro, standing at the pedestrian “Children’s Fountain” square, once an intersection with 25,000 cars passing daily.
[…]
Pontevedra has continued to expand the pedestrian area from the center to the outskirts, liberating a total 669,000 square meters previously dominated by cars, and the transformation is still ongoing. Car use in the inner city has dropped by 77 percent, and CO2 emissions have dropped by 66 percent, according to the city council. The crime rate has gone down, too, adding to the feeling that the city is safe for unattended kids. In 2010, Pontevedra reached its lowest crime rate in a decade with 34 offenses per 1,000 citizens, and last year it reached a new low of 27.
Surprisingly, cars are not strictly banned inside the city. Residents with a private garage can bring their cars in, and traffic is open to delivery services, emergencies, and even to private drivers who need to stop by the center for a pick-up or drop-off.
One of the most impactful policies on human behavior has actually been removing most of the street parking space inside the pedestrian-priority area. “We found that almost 60 percent of vehicles circulating inside town were actually going around in circles trying to find a parking spot. Now, since they know they won’t be able to park, they have stopped bringing their cars in and they use the outer parking areas,” Mosquera explained.
“It is a very safe environment. With no cars, you don’t have to worry about them being run over,” Otero said. “And since there are a lot of parents with kids, and we all end up knowing each other. Sometimes you can even ask a friend to look after your kids while you quickly run errands.”
For Ferrás, the demographer, this might be Pontevedra’s key to success: a social and urban environment that makes parents feel supported by the community. In Pontevedra, 80 percent of kids age 6 to 12 walk alone to school every morning, and in case they need help, they can report to volunteering local businesses, where they will be looked after.
“Cities must be designed so citizens can afford being a parent—an urban model that favors work-family reconciliation. They need to feel accompanied through the process and [that they are in] an ecosystem that values childhood and teenhood.”
[…]
The early resistance of neighbors and local businessmen who feared the absence of cars would mean an absence of customers are well over. Even for the opposition parties challenging BNG’s 20-year dominance, reversing pedestrianization is now likely out of the question. Still, some of those living outside the flourishing pedestrian area are the ones who have the most criticism of the policy, saying they’ve been excluded from Pontevedra’s urban improvements, and that the lack of a working public transit network has forced them to either take their car and deal with the limited parking space available or simply stay away from town.
As part of the city’s strategy for work-family balance, schools are kept in the city center and the maternity and pediatric services have been moved from the big hospital complex outside town to a smaller facility right in the pedestrian area. Families with children in Pontevedra also benefit from a wide range of cultural activities tailored for kids. The local theater offers a play every Sunday for children under 12, the central food market hosts workshops for kids on Saturday afternoons, and the city libraries have a year-round activity program for them. During the summer, public urban boot camps take care of the kids while their parents work.
“It is like building a nest,” said Carmen Fouces, Pontevedra’s culture councilor. “If you put some fluff and straws on a branch, a bird will soon make it its home.”
People are gonna get tired of constantly reaching out to you, and you not reciprocating. If you haven’t, call the person who always checks on you. Ask them how they are doing. Begin to appreciate the people who care about you. Acknowledge selfish behavior and strive to correct it.
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