FRIENDS' GAZETTE July edition

FG NEWS! 23 JULY 2014

There is nothing better than a friend, unless its a friend with chocolate - Linda Grayson" 1

FRIENDS

GAZETTEY O U R V I T A L A L T E R N A T I V E

ISSN: 2053-4426

SIR COLINS ASHES SHOCKT H E G R A N D -DAUGHTER of Sir Colin Garbett, lecturer, author and mystical pioneer, has spoken to FG about her grandfathers legacy.

Company director Julia Long, 69, was contacted by a journalist after her grandfathers ashes were found languishing on a rubbish skip in Surrey.

Now she has given the remains a proper interment along with those of her mother, Susan, Sir Colins daughter.

She told FG: They were interred with his daughters ashes who had died that year [2004] in London.

Theres a very nice headstone there [in a London crematorium] in memory to him.

Suzanne my mother was cremated and I had the three names, her mother, her father [Sir Colin] and hers put in.

Sir Colin, who was born in Castletown in the Isle of Mann in 1881, attended King Williams College on the island for ten years before leaving to study at Cambridge University.

He joined the Indian Civil Service becoming secretary to the High

Commissioner of Iraq from 1920 to 1922. His career continued with several government posts in India until 1945 and brought him several awards including a knighthood in 1941. Sir Colin was also an author and lecturer in mysticism.

His book The Ringing Radiance, published in 1968, saw him initiated by Sawan Singh, known as great master, into the Sant Mat philosophy (Radha Soami Satsang Beas).

His lectures included one to Durbans Arabic Study Circle on the poems of Sufi mystic Jalalul-din Rumi.

But after his death in 1972 his ashes were dumped in a skip and found by shocked workers at a Surrey recycling centre as they sorted

through the contents.The casket bore a simple metal

plaque with the name Sir Colin Garbett. The recycling firm, Britannia Crest, contacted a local newspaper after the shock discovery and asked for help tracing Sir Colins relatives.

After weeks of detective work by Horley and Gatwick Mirror reporter Mark Davison, who has relatives in the Island, Sir Colins family was traced and details of his distinguished career were uncovered.

Julia who lives in County Meath, Eire, got in touch after appeals in the Isle of Mann paper.

She knew little of Sir Colins life as h e h a d s e p a r a t e d f ro m h e r grandmother many years before he died and spent most of his life abroad. She only found out about the discovery of his ashes after a funeral director in Croydon who organised her mothers funeral saw the piece in the newspaper.

She told FG: It was very strange. It was a series of most incredible coincidences. You couldnt make it up.

Surrey reporter Mark said the casket was probably dumped in the skip during a house clearance following the death of Sir Colins second wife. He said he was delighted to be able to reunite Sir Colins family with his ashes.

Grand-daughter acts after remains of mystic pioneer found languishing on a rubbish skip

Ringing Radiance . . . Sir Colin Garbett



THIS will go up on the notice board.

That was the message when lucky school bursar Lesley Levenson met up with top restaurant executive in fashionable Covent Garden recently.

Reason for Lesleys visit, along with work colleague and friend Lorriane Harris, was to pick up her 50 voucher for free curry at Masala Zone, the popular Indian restaurant chain.

She won the voucher for answering some tricky questions about the restaurant and being the first correct entry to be picked out of the hat by marketing manager Joe Sripitana.

After the presentation at the chains busy Floral Street flagship in Covent Garden, Lesley told FG editor, Steve Ward: This will go up on the notice board at school.

And she added: It makes you feel really good winning something.

Now I have been introduced to the wonderful flavours [at Masala Zone] Ill definitely be back for more.

And Joe added: Congratulations to Lesley for winning the prize and thank you for supporting Mazala Zone.

Hopefully you can spread the word about all the excellent vegetarian dishes we have available at our restaurants.

Lesley who has been vegan for three years and a vegetarian for more than 20 works as a school bursar at nearby Christopher Hatton Primary School.

Her friend Lorraine is an admin officer there.

The non-denominational school in Laystall Street takes boys and girls from 3 to 11 and was classed as outstanding in its Ofsted report.

Masala Zone is set to introduce a new salad to its already diverse menu later this month.

The dish, which has not yet been

officially named, comes as summer heat grips the country and diners are looking for lighter and more refreshing eating.

Masala Zone branches can be found at Bayswater: 75 Bishops Bridge Road, W2 5BG Tel: 020 7221 0055. Camden Town: 25 Parkway, NW1 7PG Tel: 020 7267 4422. Covent Garden: 48 Floral Street, WC2E 9DA Tel: 020 7379 0101. Earls Court: 147 Earls Court Road, SW5 9RQ Tel: 020 7373 0220. Islington: 80 Upper Street, N1 0NU Tel: 020 7359 3399. Soho: 9 Marshall Street, W1F 7ER Tel: 020 7287 9966. Selfridges: Garden Cafe, 4th Floor, Selfridges, 400 Oxford Street, W1U 1AT.

NEWS

50 prizeLesley gets noticed

Stab the cabbageAN FG reader has scooped a top job - as the sound effects and composer on an Agatha Christie crime spree!

Alexander Bermange who lives in London told this magazine: I will be performing my music in a new, speedily-assembled, tour of Murder On Air, which will be visiting theatres across the UK between July and September.

Murder on Air comprises staged versions of three Agatha Christie radio thrillers, one of which contains half-a-dozen songs for which I composed the music.

And I not only get to play the piano but also to act as the Foley artist, which involves (amongst other delights) slamming doors, smashing wine glasses and decimating cabbages.

The show is due to visit Glasgow, Cambridge, Milton Keynes, Richmond, Woking, Windsor, Brighton and Salford. Please Google Murder on Air for further information.

Winning ways . . . Lesley picks up her prize from Joe with Lorraine and Steve



ISSN: 2053-4426

PAELLA, torti l las and other Spanish meat and fish dishes are taking a back seat to vegetable curry, mattar paneer and tarka dhal l as Indian restaurants mushroom up and down Spanish high streets, FG can report.

Leading the trend are seaside towns like Malaga, Benalmadena and Torremolinos along the Costa Blanca on the Mediterranean.

FG reader and strict vegetarian, Lorna Tarn, who visited the area in April, said: Just had an excellent Indian meal in Torremolinos.

On the InterNations - A Place for Indians in Malaga website the home page reads: Namaste (greetings) to all Indians in Malaga! Would you like to meet fellow Indian expats in Malaga?

Would you like to get insider suggestions from other Indians, e.g. where in Malaga your hometown teams next match is shown on TV or where to get bhakri? (unleavened

Indian bread snack). We would like to invite you to become a member of InterNations Malaga. A s a m e m b e r o f InterNations, you will have access to an active group of Indian expats, hailing from New Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai and all regions of India. While business is the main reason for moving to Spain many Indian expats have set up home in the country for religious reasons. The International Society for Krishna Consciousness Hare Krishna (ISKON) has temples in Barcelona, Madrid, Malaga, Tenerife and Brihuega along with a Krishna restaurant in Barcelona.

The sect maintains a pure lacto-vegetarian diet and does not take garlic or onions.

With a reputation for hard work and responsible citizenship ex-pat Indians are valued by the host nation.

The Indian community in Spain enjoys a good reputation, according to Wikepedia.

Indians are considered hard working, non-political and peaceful.

The Indian community has integrated well with Spanish society.

Sindhis and Sikhs form the majority of the Indian community.

Spain gets a veggie boost as Asians flock to costas

Spanish meeting opens upIN a surprise move UK followers of RSSBI have been invited to next spring's meeting in Malaga expected to be attended by the groups leader Gurinder Singh.

Previously UK residents were not allowed to attend even if they belonged to the same (extended) family.

It is thought the change comes in order to address this issue, prevalent among some Asian members.

Radha Soami Satsang Beas India (RSSBI) centre in Malaga, Spain

Bhaji on the beach . . . Jaipur Palace restaurant, Malaga, Spain



PLANT based living is on the rise in London (writes Tom Micklewright).

Its evident everywhere - from large vegan-friendly stores like Wholefoods and Veganz popping up, the word vegan now appears in restaurant menus and the other day @southwarkvegans tweeted a picture of a vegan section in Tesco (see below).

There are vegan festivals galore, internet group London Vegan Meet-up is more popular than ever and Hackney and Hammersmith now have veggie societies.

The big three supermarkets are getting involved in a big way - Tesco even sponsored The Vegetarian Societys National Vegetarian Week.

Business is where the real change will come - with so many people looking to live healthier lives, the market for veggie food is bigger than ever. Sales of soya milk have risen by 155%. Bill Gates and Twitter founders, Dorsey, Williams, Stone and Glass are

investing millions in mock-meat companies like Beyond Meat and Beyond Eggs so we can expect to see the range of veggie options expand massively in the next ten years.

We have seen a rise in support at the London Vegan and Vegetarian Societies too.

Every day I receive emails from people wanting to get involved and make their community greener and healthy. We exist to achieve two aims across Londons 32 boroughs.

Firstly, to have monthly local social meet-ups where people can socialise, enjoy food and share tips about veggie stuff in their local area.

Secondly, by 2025, we aim for every borough to have started a meat free Monday programme.

Im creating a guidebook to help volunteers implement this, detailing how one goes about working with local businesses, councils, schools, media and faith groups to make our community eat healthier and live greener lives.

Southwark Council is meeting this month to decide how to implement meat free Monday - a success we hope to r e p l i c a t e a c r o s s t h e boroughs of Hackney and Lambeth in 2015. I hope youll join us to celebrate this rise in plant based living at our Pizza night in Hackney on Thursday 31st July at Black Cat Cafe, London E5 8HB from 7pm. Well also be at London Vegan Festival on 17th August and the London Vegfest in Olympia on 27th and 28th September - so come along, eat some freebies and have a chat about how you can make your local community greener and generally more veggie friendly! Tom is founder of the London Vegan and Vegetarian Society.

Plant based living grows

News in Brief

IT WAS a case of Wot, Yes Dairy for a vegan pudding recently when milk was discovered in the ingredients.

The startling revelation concerns the popular Wot, No Dairy dessert from VBites Foods.

As a result both the raspberry and black cherry flavours have been withdrawn from supermarket and health store shelves.

The fact that the products contained milk was not mentioned on its labels.

IF GOING veggie and/or vegan is good for the environment then Carluccios seems to be getting it right.

For environmental icon Jonathan Porrett was recently spotted tucking in at the Brunswick Square branch.

The upscale Italian chain recently introduced separate vegetarian and vegan menus!

They come on separate laminated sheets and you can get them on request. Not sure which if either, Jonathan (plus friend) was using!

LICKING the bowl clean after mum (or dad) has mixed up a delicious vegan cake neednt be the only cooking experience on offer to youngsters these days, thanks to Indian Vegan caterers Shambhus.

For the company, to be spotted at any and every self-respecting vegan event these days, is putting on its own childrens plant-based cookery course! Its on next month from Monday 4th until Friday 8th in Queensbury, north-west London. Kids(?) between 9 and 17 only allowed.

SOUTH African veggies (converted) will be glad to hear they dont have to give up one of their favourites now that theyve stopped eating meat!

Boerewors were always popular over the braaivleis (barbeque) with their delicious spicy-sausage flavour.

Now you can get something similar from vegan company Vegusto, FG is reliably informed, even if they do use the rather English monika farmhouse sausage!

Tesco goes vegan friendly



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FRIENDLYCOMMENT

When devils lie with angels . . .

WITH a guru on almost every street corner, a month-long holy fast and mendicants wandering up-and-down the countryside, India must surely be right up there in the most spiritual country in the world stakes.

Yet, it seems, bloodshed, violence and mayhem arent very far away even in that serene sub-continent.

Partition and the slaughter which came in its wake broke the Mahatma's heart and finally killed him. Wanton murder of the innocent was the macabre feature of the horrific Mumbai attacks. And as reported in this issue (see Murder in the Punjab on p.6) even pilgrims on their way to see their leader arent immune. Our hearts go out to devastated families left behind.

It seems the devil shares a bed with angels, even in the country of God!

Ashes to ashes . . .BEING buried alive haunts us (pun intended) to this day.

Scratching at the lid of your coffin whilst screaming: Hey, Im still alive get me out, is the stuff of nightmares and many a horror movie.

In Victorian times, premature burial was one of the main reasons for bringing in cremation.

These days the remains of loved ones mean a lot.

So hats off to Julia Long who, after more than two decades, found the ashes of her late grandfather, and had them interred along with those of her mother and grandmother. (See our lead story).

A fitting way of fulfilling both traditions! ED

ISSN: 2053-4426

Published by Stephen Ward Publications, London, England.

THE way animals are treated in the factories which produce 95% of the worlds meat are abysmal, and abhorrent, and should offend the sensibilities of any religious person. (Top US rabbi goes vegan - FG June)

The very first conversation recorded in the Torah between God and human beings has God saying eat plants and only plants.

The laws of Kosher meat dont mean that God condones the killing of animals for food; the laws were drawn up by rabbis over a thousand years ago, in a society which demanded only a tiny amount of slaughter when compared to todays numbers.

However you can definitely be a great Jew and not be a vegetarian but while eating meat is definitely permitted it does not conform to the highest ideals of the religion.

The Jewish Vegetarian Society of North America is just one group which believes that not eating meat fulfills a great number of the teachings of the Torah and the Talmud, including respecting Gods creation in its entirety and preserving the natural environment, as well as human well-being.

Nachmanides, the 13th century Jewish philosopher, is quoted as having said: Living creatures possess a moving soul and a certain spiritual superiority which in this respect make them similar to those who possess intellect.

Dominion doesnt mean the right to kill for food.

Thats perfectly clear in the Bible.

Jeffrey Cohanexecutive director of the Jewish Vegetarian Society of North America was speaking to regular FG contributor Sophie Shao; (see her latest article on page 11).

Raw milk available at Borough market

NICE article about raw milk. (Clash over milk claim - FG April)

You know you can get it from Hooks Farm stand at Borough Market on Thursday-Saturday.

Steve, owner of Hooks was there [at Food Standards Agency meeting] speaking and is one of the biggest forces for good in the movement.

Gratefully,Hari Karam SinghLondon

COMMENT

The Bible is perfectly clear . . . dominion doesnt mean the right to kill for food

THE ARTICLE headlined Shaw comes on board in the FG (June) page 5 read: The pivotal scene is the last in a short teaser for the filmNothing and Everywhere for which funding is being sought.

This should have read: The pivotal scene is the latest in a short teaser for the film Nothing and Everywhere for which funding is being sought.

We apologise for the error which occurs in the last paragraph which was added to the contributors work.

CORRECTIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS



NEWS

Murder in the PunjabRuthless terrorists mow down spiritual group volunteer as he flees for his lifeRU T H L E S S t e r ro ri s t s mowed down a pilgrim on his way to see his guru and killed the driver of the vehicle in which he was travelling in an horrific attack, the FG can reveal.

Ajit Singh was doing building work in Thandi Khuie in Vijaipur, Uttar Pradesh, as part of his devotions.

He was hoping to travel to see the spiritual leader of his group just a few miles away.

But he never made it.Instead he was gunned down in

cold blood after being turfed out of his van and callously told to run for his life.

Fellow devotee and driver Tarsem Singh was found later on the roadside with his hands bound behind his back and his throat cut.

A man who claimed to be the spokesperson of the Al Shohada Brigade, believed to be a shadowy proxy of the Lashkar-e-Toiba, called news organisations in Srinagar and claimed responsibility for the attack, it was reported.

Survivor, Kamaljeet Singh, said: They [the terrorists] told us to start running away from the vehicle.

As we did, they opened fire, killing one of us and injuring the others.

The bloody killings happened in the early hours in driving rain at Dayalachak on the Jammu-Kathua national highway in north west India.

Ajit and others, including Kamaljit,

had left nearby Vijaypur around 4 am to go to the Radha Soami Satsang group headquarters in Beas for darshan (sight) of their spiritual leader Gurinder Singh.

They also needed to pick up materials for the ongoing works at nearby Thandi Khuie, part of their volunteer work.

Other devotees caught up in the incident which happened in March this year were fellow travellers Sahib Singh, 50 and Gurpreet Singh, 35.

T h e y w e r e t a k e n t o t h e government medical college hospital in Jammu.

They had been travelling together in an army truck on their way to the spiritual meeting in the Punjab.

Their vehicle was stopped by three men in army uniform at a bridge on

the Tarnah nullah in Dayalachak.The attack, which began in driving

rain before dawn, was similar to last Septembers attack on the Hiranagar police station and army camp in Samba, in which ten people, including an army lieutenant-colonel, three soldiers and four policemen, were killed, the Indian press has reported.

It was carried out no more than 20 kilometres from the location of the attack six months earlier.

All three terrorists were killed by security forces in a gun battle. See Friendly Comment p5

Tarsem Singhs wife Gurdeep Kaur (above); and daughter Simranjit Kaur and father Thoru Ram (right) remain inconsolable during his cremation at Kotli Mirdian village in RS Pura.

AN INQUEST set for this month into the death of a volunteer worker at a spiritual centre in the UK has been postponed, the FG has learnt.

Amrit Blaggan, 57, of Broad Street, Kidbrooke, south east London, suffered severe head injuries in an incident at the Radha Soami Satsang Beas Indias UK

headquarters in Haynes Park in south Bedfordshire in April.

He was taken to Addenbrookes hospital in Cambridge by Magpas Helimedix the helicopter ambulance service where he died two days later, the day after his birthday.

A spokesperson for central Bedfordshire coroners office told FG: A new date has not yet been set.

Inquest into birthday death postponed

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THE FORMER Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams admission that he practices Buddhist meditation has sparked concern among fellow Christians.

Speaking to a UK national daily Williams (pictured right) admitted that his experiences as a priest lead to an inner respect for the practice.

Over the year s i nc rea s i ng exposure to and engagement with the Buddhist world in particular has made me aware of practices not unlike the Jesus prayer and introduced me to disciplines that further enforce the stillness and physical focus that the prayer entails, he told the Daily Telegraph.

The regular ritual to begin the day when Im in the house is a matter of an early rise and a brief walking meditation or sometimes a few slow prostrations, before squatting for 30 or 40 minutes (a low stool to support the thighs and reduce the weight on the lower legs) with the Jesus Prayer: repeating (usually silently) the words as I breathe out, leaving a moment between repetitions to notice the beating of the heart, which

will slow down steadily over the period.

But an article on the Christian Today website downplays the revelations.

Re ferr i ng to sensa t iona l i s t headlines and wild claims the article points out: Williams insisted that he is merely drawing on practices long held by the Greek and Russian Orthodox churches.

And the CT article draws parallels with the Queens speech last year.

The UK monarch bears the title Defender of the Faith and Supreme Governor of the Church of England.

For Christians, as for all people of faith, reflection, meditation and prayer help us to renew ourselves in Gods love, as we strive daily to become better people, she declared, the article reports.

Top churchmans Buddhist admission sparks concern

NEWS

THE beating heart of Anglicanism in the UK and a centuries-old pilgrimage site was the venue for a Catholic requiem mass this month.

The mass, one of Romes most traditional ceremonies, was said in Canterbury Cathedral in remembrance of Thrse Vanier, founder of the learning difficulties charity Larche Communities which began in Kent.

The very reverend Robert Willis, dean of Canterbury, welcomed the congregation and remained near the altar throughout the service.

Rome meets the CoE in Canterbury



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MALAYSIA Airline passengers were considering their travel plans this month after news that one of the operators planes had been shot down over Ukrane killing all 298 passengers.

The horrific news came in the wake of the mystery of MH370 which disappeared from the skies in July with 239 passengers on board.

FG contributor and reader Maggy Ng said: I have definitely lost confidence with Malaysia Airline but if the air fare has a massive discount due to all these disasters I might still consider flying with [them].

Writing on an Australian online

news portal an unnamed travel reporter writes: I wrote an article about why I still chose to fly Malaysia Airlines despite the ongoing mystery of disappearing flight MH370.

However waking up to this mornings news that Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 had been shot down over Ukraine airspace, killing all 298 presumably innocent passengers on-board, including 27 Australians, left me shocked.

Was now the time to cancel my existing reservation?

And later in the same article Larni Whetton, a 23 year old from New South Wales is ecstatic after getting a full refund on her ticket to Europe. Im so relieved. Im over the moon, she enthuses on the website.

Brian Shields told the site: If I was waiting for a flight on Malaysia Airlines I would probably cancel it. And Ryan Toner said: I think Im just gonna go ahead and cancel my November flight on Malaysia Airlines. Shares in the company have plummeted since the two disasters and speculation about Malaysia Airlines future in the press and on social media has been rife. Malaysia Airline flight MH17 was on its way from Amsterdam to Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur on Thursday, July 17th when it

hurtled to the ground in what has been described as a fireball leaving a trail of black smoke behind in the sky.

It is believed to have been shot down with a Buk surface-to-air missile and plummeted to earth near Hrabove an area under military control of the Donbass Peoples Militia in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine about 40 km (25miles) from the Ukraine-Russia border.

According to the International AIDS Society a number of colleagues and friends were on the plane, on their way to the 20th International AIDS Conference in Melbourne, Australia.

Flight MH370 was a scheduled international passenger flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing that lost contact with air traffic control and disappeared on March 8th.

Despite a huge international search operation no trace of the plane has been found to date.

According to a recent BBC report: [Malaysia Airline] has been losing money for many years and its market value has fallen by more than 40 per cent in the past nine months.

Reports suggest that state investment firm Khazanah Nasional, the major shareholder in the airline, is looking to take the carrier private.

The firm has invested more than $1bn into the airline in recent years and had previously indicated that a major restructuring was on the cards.

Analysts said further investment was needed if the airline was to survive in the short term.

NEWS FEATURE!

Ill still fly . . .

Malaysian

Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370 - vanishes one hour after take off from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March

8th - 239 dead.Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 - shot down by terrorists over Ukraine on its

way from Amsterdam to

Kuala Lumpur on July 17th - 298 dead.FG special

reportWreckage at the Ukranian crash site

RESIDENTS of Thailand are being urged to report misbehavior by unruly Buddhist monks on a new 24-hour hotline.

The move comes in the wake of reports of monks taking drugs and drinking and five defrocked abbots being accused of sexually abusing boys.

A spokesman for the national office of Buddhism told The Daily Telegraph: We dont have enough staff to check every monk so we need to mobilise the general public.

Thai public set to shop monks

FEATURE! 23 JULY 2014


GREEK folklore has it that honey bees gathered on the lips of the infant Plato while he was sleeping, prophesying the sweetness of his future works, and Hannibal is said to have given it to wounded troops while crossing the Alps, suggesting that ancient people also knew of honeys antibacterial properties.

Despite all its uses, however, honey (and other substances obtained from bees such as beeswax) is still a product made from animal labour, and so some vegans steer clear of it.

Jennifer and Nathan Winogradfrom All American Vegan (see illustration right) say that the idea of beekeeping as a mutually beneficial operation is a false assumption, and ask us to consider how such thinking would apply to other kinds of conservation work.

They told FG: Imagine that those who run sanctuaries or reserves would only do so if they were allowed to cut off and sell ivory tusks for profit . . . they would be helping to perpetuate the very notion that is at the heart of why those animals were under threat in the first place: the view that elephants are commodities and that their value comes from our ability to get something from them [is unacceptable].

Even so, there are those who would argue that although vegans abstain from eating animal products as a matter of principle, theres nothing particularly wrong with eating honey.

One dedicated beekeeper claims he is helping honeybees survive. Theres hardly anything of the honey bees natural

habitat left now, says Michael, who has been keeping bees for five years, and currently has thirteen hives, each with between fifty and seventy thousand bees.

The hollow tree trunks and caves where bees used to make their hives simply arent there anymore, and as such, the safe homes which beekeepers provide for swarms are the key factor in keeping the honeybee population up in the UK, he told Friends Gazette.

Independent beekeepers necessarily have to take excellent care of their swarms, he points out. Its a well observed fact that honeybees only produce lots of honey when they are satisfied with their living conditions; otherwise, theyll simply leave and look for somewhere else to live. Therefore, smalltime beekeepers spend huge amounts of time meticulously taking care of their swarms by warding off predators, treating them for diseases and parasites, supplementing their nectar supplies with sugar syrup if the workers fail to collect enough, and much, much more. But that just doesnt buzz with Jennifer and Nathan.There are many common practices, for example the

business of breeding, transporting and artificially introducing queens which they object to.

They point out that the inadvertent smashing and stepping on of bees that occur when beekeepers remove or replace honeycomb trays, place lids and traps on parts

Honey - are you really a vegan?Humans have been plundering the honey bees hives for almost as long as theyve been around. Evidence of humanitys love for the sweet, long-lasting liquid throughout history has been found all over the world, from the preserved Iron Age apiaries in Israel, to paintings in the Araa caves of eastern Spain. Although honey does not involve killing some vegans reject it. Why? Sophie Shao (pictured right) finds out and asks our opinion.



of the hive, not to mention the bee stings that can occur from defensive bees, disprove the humane argument. Whats more, although theyre likely to have found their way here eventually anyway, the arrival of some of those aforementioned diseases was actually sped up by beekeepers importing foreign strains of bee in

attempts to strengthen their own swarms, they claim.Being vegan and eating honey is nonsensical, they say. It

perpetuates the very idea that is at the heart of the

exploitation. The idea that non-humans do not have a right to an autonomous existence, free of human exploitation and interference is unacceptable to them. So, are Jennifer and Nathan right? Is eating honey and veganism inherently incompatible?Are people who do everything a vegan does, except not eating honey, impostors?Or should vegans consider revising their blacklists? Let us know what you think.E-mail me on friendsgazette@ gmail.com marking your subject matter as Sophie.

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Queen Bee There is only one queen per hive. The queen mates only once with several male (drone) bees, and will remain fertile for life.

Worker Bee All worker bees are female, but they are not able to reproduce. Worker bees live for 4-9 months in winter, but only 6 weeks in summer. The worker can only

sting once. She has a barbed stinger which means her insides get torn out as she flies away from her victim.

Drone Bee These male bees are kept on standby during the summer for mating with a virgin queen. Drones have a barbed sex organ, mating is followed by death. The drones are expelled from the hive in the autumn.

TO BEE OR NOT TO BEE(the caste-system of the bee world)



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ISRAEL will rise and will remain erect until Islam eliminates it as it had eliminated its predecessors.

The prophet, prayer and peace be upon him, said: The time [universal Islam] will not come until Muslims will fight the Jews (and kill them); until the Jews hide behind rocks and trees, which will cry: O Muslim! there is a Jew hiding behind me, come on and kill him!

There is no solution to the Palestinian problem except by Jihad (struggle). The initiatives, proposals and International Conferences are but a waste of time, an exercise in futility.

The Zionist invasion is a mischievous one. It does not hesitate to take any road, or to pursue all despicable and repulsive means to fulfill its desires. It relies to a great extent, for its meddling and spying activities, on the clandestine organizations which it has established, such as the Freemasons, Rotary Clubs, Lions, and other spying associations.

All those secret organizations, some which are overt, act for the interests of Zionism and under its directions, strive to demolish societies, to destroy values, to wreck answerableness, to totter virtues and to wipe out Islam.

Israel, by virtue of its being Jewish and of having a Jewish population, defies Islam and the Muslims.

Under the shadow of Islam it is possible for the members of the three religions: Islam, Christianity and Judaism to coexist in safety and security.

Safety and security can only prevail under the shadow of Islam.AS conflict rages in Gaza the FG publishes here extracts from the Hamas Charter which lays bare the motivation and radical thinking behind one of the highest-profile activist organisations in the world and currently the governing body in the Gaza strip. In our next issue well look at the Israeli raison detre.

EXTRACTS FROM THE HAMAS CHARTER (1988)The Charter of Allah: The Platform of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas)



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AN INVESTIGATION into practices which may allow fruit and vegetables to carry food poisoning bugs and spread animal diseases to humans is underway by the UK food watchdog.

The research comes as a tracker study reveals the general public is

concerned about food hygiene when eating out, food poisoning in general and the use of additives in food products.

Results wont be known until next summer when boff ins at food po i son i n g re s e a rch company Hutchison Scientific will report back to the UK Food Standards Agency.

The main areas of concern are: contaminated manure deposited

on to root crops like carrots and turnips contaminated water used to wash root vegetables before and after harvest mixing infected crops with uninfected ones and farm workers handling crops without washing their hands after going to the toilet. Consumption of fresh fruit and vegetables is associated with good nutrition because they provide an important source of vitamins, minerals and biochemical, the Agency said. In recent years, however,

there have been a number of high-profile food-borne illness outbreaks that have been traced back to fresh produce.

A common issue with trying to trace the source of an outbreak is that the contaminated food may have been consumed or spoiled and disposed of before the outbreak is even identified.

In 2011 an investigation concluded it was likely that contaminated soil on the surface of root vegetables was the source of an outbreak, the FSA said.

The work will be separated into a study of pre-harvest and post-harvest contamination.

The pre-harvest studies will involve growing experimental spring-planted crops at Harper Adams University in the Midlands and dousing them with infected water and manure.

The post-harvest work will look at how animal diseases can be carried to mainly root crops mainly through handling procedures.

The Food Standard Agencys tracker study into public attitudes to food hygiene took place in May when a representative sample of 2,483 adults in the UK was interviewed face-to-face.

It showed that the top three food safety issues of concern were food hygiene when eating out (36%), food poisoning (28%) and the use of additives in food products (28%).

The top wider food issues of total concern were food prices (51%), the amount of sugar in food (48%), and the amount of salt in food (47%).

This study was the eighth wave of a biannual tracker, which started in November 2010.

Veggie food poison probe

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