Thanksgiving is coming up in November of 2023. For years, we know that Thanksgiving-type holidays and celebrations have existed for thousands of years among many cultures of humanity. It is a time of the year when reflection is made known. It has been celebrated in modern times in America, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, Brazil, the Philippines, and other areas of the world. Thanksgiving means to honor the sacrifice of our ancestors and heroes today along with connecting with family, friends, and loved ones. Many people celebrate football games, eat foods (like turkey, stuffing, yams, sweet potato pie, greens, etc.), and visit relatives. The Thanksgiving in America deals with the Thanksgiving that deals with New England and North America in general. This history is rooted in the Protestant Reformation, Native Americans, and other issues. The common lie is that Native Americans never experienced any form of genocide by imperialism. The other lie is that every believer in God is an abhorrent genocidal murderer. So, we have to put history into truth and context. For centuries and millennia, Native Americans created their own complex, advanced cultures with languages, creeds, calendar systems, roads, sports, celebrations, and other facets of civilization. These items of contributions to humanity were found in the Aztec, Inca, Olmec, the Mound cultures, and other civilizations in the Americas. Native Americans came from Asia (i.e. Siberia) over 10,000 years ago.
Thanksgiving was celebrated in 1588, in 1605, and in other times like in 1619 in Virginia. In America, there is the common story of the Pilgrims and Puritans. It started long ago. Inside Europe by the 17th century, there was massive political and religious upheaval. Europe was controlled by mostly monarchical rule and religious oligarchs who wanted to centralize control over the people. The dominant religious institution in Europe during the 1600's was the Vatican. This time period existed for about 100 years after the Protestant Reformation (which challenged the heresies of the Roman Catholic Church like purgatory, indulgences, the Inquisition, Papal infallibility, the veneration of images, viewing Mary as an Ever-Virgini, and transubstantiation). There is nowhere in the Bible saying that we must do the Rosary, that religious clergy must be forced to not marry, and that the Pope is the Holy Father or the Vicar of Christ (which is outright blasphemy). Erasmus tried to make reforms in the Roman Catholic Church. Erasmus was a great religious scholar and a prominent intellectual. Martin Luther made his 95 Theses to protest the Roman Catholic Church's policies. The Roman Catholic Church refused to change, and the Reformation existed by 1517. The Vatican created the Counter-Reformation (with support from the Jesuits too) to counteract the influence of the Protestant Reformation. Major wars among Protestants and Catholics existed well into the 1600s and beyond in places like Ireland. Obviously, we can agree to disagree on religious matters without being violently disagreeable as religious freedom including the separation of church and state are hallmarks of a progressive society. The fruit of the Jesuit-inspired Counter-Reformation is the Ecumenical Movement (which is promoted by the leaders of the Vatican and some Protestant movements to develop a compromise on theological matters explicitly). Even some Protestants were wrong to persecute Baptists and Anabaptists centuries ago (because the Baptists and Anabaptists rightfully rejected infant baptism. Infant baptism has no basis in scripture or logic as an infant can't make a conscious decision to join a church or religious organization).
Many Pilgrims were in conflict with the English King James I. He believed in the divine right of kings heresy, which is very similar to the Pope falsely claiming divine authority over all believers of God. King James I was right to disagree with many of the doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church. King James I was right to disagree with witchcraft as he wrote literature in opposition to it. His error was that King James I made it his business to persecute Baptists and other separatists who didn't want to submit to the state church. I believe in the separation of church and state. Back then, human beings, who disagreed with state church institutions, were imprisoned or killed during the early 1600's in Europe. To disagree with a government authority back then was equivalent to treason (according to extremists). That is why many Baptists, Puritans, and other Protestant separatists left the UK and came to America. These dissidents made errors too, so that will be shown later. For now, we know that the Anglican Church was nearly identical to the Catholic Church in its ecclesiology. Also, William Schaw worked with King James VI of Scotland. William Schaw (who was accused of being a suspected Jesuit and holding anti-English views during the 1590’s. We know about the pro-Jesuits zealots involved in the evil Gunpowder terrorist plot in England against King James I and his government. The plot was led by Roman Catholic Robert Catesby) who helped to build castles and palaces.
The Pilgrims and Puritans emigrated from England to America 1620's and the 1630's. Many of them wanted to enjoy religious freedom. The Pilgrims wanted total separation from the Church of England, and the Puritans hoped for a reconciliation with the Church of England. Back then, many Baptists, Pilgrims, and other religious groups were persecuted by the Catholics and the Church of English. The Pilgrims wanted voluntary democratic congregations. It was against the law in England to resist many policies from the Anglican Church, so many Pilgrims escaped into the Netherlands to Leiden, Holland to escape persecution. William Brewster taught English at Leiden University. Later, the Pilgrims left the Netherlands as their language and customs were difficult for them to ascertain. They left on the Mayflower to America. They came to America in November 1620. The Native Americans including Squanto helped the Pilgrims to survive literally. Previously, many British forces enslaved many Native American tribes unjustly. The Pilgrims realized that a king in Europe, especially in the UK, having authoritarian powers is antithetical to democratic rights. Now, many of them did the wrong thing in murdering Native Americans and enslaving innocent black Africans. I want to make that perfectly clear. The English Pilgrims was led by William Bradford. They experienced religious persecution in England (they lived in the village of Scrooby near East Retford, Nottinghamshire). By 1607, Archbishop Tobias Matthew raided homes and imprisoned several members of the congregation. The congregation left England in 1608 and emigrated to the Netherlands, settling first in Amsterdam and then in Leiden.
The Mayflower Compact was created while people were on the ship. It was signed on November 1620. The compact was about them forming their own government while showing allegiance to the Crown of England. The settlers showed allegiance to the king. It was a social contract that settlers would consent to the community's rules to survive and have order. Early on, the Pilgrims struggled to survive. Peregrine White was born being the first child born to the Pilgrims in America by Susanna White. They searched for corn to plant. As early as December 6, in their third expedition, they took the Native Americans' corn and fired upon them in the First Encounter near Eastham, Massachusetts. By December 21, 1620, a brutal winter caused the Pilgrims to suffer at Plymouth. Native Americans literally saved their lives. One such Native American was Samoset. On March 16, 1621, the Pilgrims had more contact with Native peoples. Samoset learned some English from fishermen and trappers in Maine. He said, "Welcome, Englishmen!" The Pilgrims learned that many Natives died of an epidemic. They also knew of a great leader in the region who was the Wampanoag chief Massasoit. Also, they learned about Squanto (Tisquantum) who was the sole survivor from Patuxent. Squanto had spent time in Europe and spoke English quite well. Samoset spent the night in Plymouth and agreed to arrange a meeting with some of Massasoit's men. There is the statue today of the sachem Massasoit (Ousamequin). The sachem or leader of the Wampanoag confederacy. Massasoit means Great Sachem. Squanto has a large importance in history.
The 1621 Plymouth, Massachusetts Thanksgiving was promoted by a good harvest. They celebrated with the Wampanoags Native American tribes along with the Patuxent. They formed an alliance against the rival Narragansett tribe. This situation didn't last. Native American leader Massasoit was ill by the winter of 1623. The colonists nursed him back to health. In 1632, the Narragansetts attacked Massaiot's village in Sowam. The colonists helped the Wampanoag to drive them back. The Puritans later destroyed the Pequot Confederation.
Massasoit and Squanto were apprehensive about the Pilgrims, as several men of his tribe had been killed by English sailors. He also knew that the Pilgrims had taken some corn stores in their landings at Provincetown. Squanto himself had been abducted in 1614 by English explorer Thomas Hunt and had spent five years in Europe, first as a slave for a group of Spanish monks, then as a freeman in England. He had returned to New England in 1619, acting as a guide to explorer Capt. Robert Gorges, but Massasoit and his men had killed the crew of the ship and had taken Squanto. Samoset returned to Plymouth on March 22 with a delegation from Massasoit that included Squanto; Massasoit joined them shortly after, and he and Governor Carver established a formal treaty of peace after exchanging gifts. This treaty ensured that each people would not bring harm to the other, that Massasoit would send his allies to make peaceful negotiations with Plymouth, and that they would come to each other's aid in a time of war. Many Plymouth settlers died during that winter.
In November 1621, the surviving Pilgrims and some Native Americans celebrated their First Thanksgiving. The celebration involved the 53 surviving Pilgrims, along with Massasoit and 90 of his men. Three contemporaneous accounts of the event survive: Of Plymouth Plantation by William Bradford; Mourt's Relation probably written by Edward Winslow; and New England's Memorial by Plymouth Colony Secretary (and Bradford's nephew) Capt. Nathaniel Morton. The celebration lasted three days and featured a feast that included numerous types of waterfowl, wild turkeys and fish procured by the colonists, and five deer brought by the indigenous people. After the departure of Massasoit and his men, Squanto remained in Plymouth to teach the Pilgrims how to survive in New England, such as using dead fish to fertilize the soil. For the first few years of colonial life, the fur trade was the dominant source of income beyond subsistence farming. Colonists were buying furs from Natives and selling them to Europeans. Governor Carver suddenly died shortly after the Mayflower returned to England. William Bradford was elected to replace him and went on to lead the colony through much of its formative years. Many Native Americans came to Plymouth in the middle of 1621 to promise peace. On July 2, a party of Pilgrims led by Edward Winslow (who later became the chief diplomat of the colony) set out to continue negotiations with the chief. The delegation also included Squanto, who acted as a translator. After traveling for several days, they arrived at Massasoit's village of Sowams near Narragansett Bay. After meals and an exchange of gifts, Massasoit agreed to an exclusive trading pact with the Plymouth colonists. Squanto remained behind and traveled throughout the area to establish trading relations with several tribes. By July 1621, the missing boy John Billington almost ended the peace, but the peace existed for a time. The Nausets found him. The Pilgrims reimburse the corn that they unwittingly stole from them for the return of the boy.
During their dealings with the Nausets over the release of John Billington, the Pilgrims learned of the troubles that Massasoit was experiencing. Massasoit, Squanto, and several other Wampanoags had been captured by Corbitant, sachem of the Narragansett tribe. A party of ten men under the leadership of Myles Standish set out to find and execute Corbitant. While hunting for him, they learned that Squanto had escaped, and Massasoit was back in power. Standish and his men had injured several Native Americans, so the colonists offered them medical attention in Plymouth. They had failed to capture Corbitant, but the show of force by Standish had garnered respect for the Pilgrims and, as a result, nine of the most powerful sachems in the area signed a treaty in September, including Massasoit and Corbitant, pledging their loyalty to King James.
In my view, the man (including many other people) responsible for the breaking of the treaties, the ruin of tons of Native American lives, and the changing of an era was Myles Standish. He was a murderer and the breaker of the peace in the region. The settlement of Wessaguessett north of Weymouth, Massachusetts was short-lived (by colonists from the ship The Sparrow in May 1622). Reports reached Plymouth of a military threat to Wessagussett, and Myles Standish organized a militia to defend them. However, he found that there had been no attack. He (i.e. Myles Standish) therefore decided on a pre-emptive strike, an event which historian Nathaniel Philbrick calls "Standish's raid." He lured two prominent Massachusett military leaders into a house at Wessagussett under the pretense of sharing a meal and making negotiations. Standish and his men then stabbed and killed them. Standish and his men pursued Obtakiest, a local sachem, but he escaped with three prisoners from Wessagussett; he then executed them. Within a short time, Wessagussett was disbanded, and the survivors were integrated into the town of Plymouth. After Standish's raid, many Native Americans fled the area, and many left their villages. The Pilgrims lost trade in furs. Standish's raid had disastrous consequences for the colony, as attested by William Bradford in a letter to the Merchant Adventurers: "...we had much damaged our trade, for there where we had most skins the Indians are run away from their habitations." The closest Pilgrim ally in the region that increased their power who was the Massasoit-led Wampanoag tribe. In November 1621, the Fortune ship camped in Plymouth. Among the passengers of the Fortune were several of the original Leiden congregation, including William Brewster's son Jonathan, Edward Winslow's brother John, and Philip Delano (the family name was earlier "de la Noye") whose descendants include President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Myles Standish was the military leader of the Plymouth Colony.
The Pequot War existed in 1637. The war's roots go back to 1632, when a dispute arose between Dutch fur traders and Plymouth officials over control of the Connecticut River Valley near modern Hartford, Connecticut. Representatives from the Dutch East India Company and Plymouth Colony both had deeds that claimed that they had rightfully purchased the land from the Pequots. A sort of land rush occurred as settlers from Massachusetts Bay and Plymouth colonies tried to beat the Dutch in settling the area; the influx of English settlers also threatened the Pequot. Other confederations in the area sided with the English, including the Narragansetts and Mohegans, who were the traditional enemies of the Pequots. The murder of John Oldham in 1636 was blamed on allies of the Pequots. In April 1637, a raid on a Pequot village by John Endicott led to a retaliatory raid by Pequot warriors on the town of Wethersfield, Connecticut, where some 30 English settlers were killed. This led to a further retaliation, where a raid led by Captain John Underhill and Captain John Mason burned a Pequot village to the ground near modern Mystic, Connecticut, killing hundreds of Pequots. Plymouth Colony had little to do with the actual fighting in the war.
The 1637 Massacre in Mystic caused at least 700 Native Americans to be murdered by Europeans. Men, women, and children Native Americans were burned alive, and their buildings were destroyed. William Bradford or the Governor of Plymouth praised the massacre in sick terms by the following words: “…Those that escaped the fire were slain with the sword; some hewed to pieces, others run through with their rapiers, so that they were quickly dispatched and very few escaped. It was conceived they thus destroyed about 400 at this time. It was a fearful sight to see them thus frying in the fire...horrible was the stink and scent thereof, but the victory seemed a sweet sacrifice, and they gave the prayers thereof to God, who had wrought so wonderfully for them, thus to enclose their enemies in their hands, and give them so speedy a victory over so proud and insulting an enemy."
“This day forth shall be a day of celebration and thanksgiving for subduing the Pequots," read Governor John Winthrop’s proclamation.
In 1637, Plymouth Colony Governor William Bradford described the massacre of a community of Pequot people by white settlers:
“Those that scraped the fire were [slain] with the sword; some hewed to [pieces], others [run] [through] with their rapiers, so as they were quickly [dispatched], and very few [escaped]. It was conceived they thus destroyed about 400 at this time. It was a fearful sight to see them thus frying in the [fire], and the streams of blood quenching the same, and horrible was the [stink] and [scent] thereof, but the victory seemed a [sweet] sacrifice, and they gave the prayers thereof to God, who had wrought so wonderfully for them, thus to [enclose] their [enemies] in their hands, and give them so speedy a victory over so proud and insulting an [enemy]."
You couldn’t make this stuff up. This is real and these massacres against Native Americans are totally evil plus disgusting. Later, Pequots prisoners were executed. Pequot women and children were sold into slavery in the West Indies. The Pequot War killed most of the Pequot people.
In 1643, the Mohegans defeated the Narragansetts in a war with support from the colonists. When Massasoit died, then more problems happened. His brother Phillip (Metacom was the sachem or leader of the Wampanoag. Philip wanted the colonists gone. He formed an alliance with many Native American tribes. Then, Native American John Assamon was murdered. King Philip's War existed when the colonists brutally defeated the Native American forces. Philip's wife and child were kidnapped by colonial terrorists and made into slaves in the West Indies. Philip was murdered by August 12, 1676. Then, the colonists exterminated most of the Native Americans in the region.
The music of the 2000's saw massive changed vocally, digitally, and technologically. The music of the early 2000's was different than the late 2000's. Signs of the movements of the music of this decade existed by the late 1990's. Rock, pop, R&B, EDM country, gospel, indie, metal, and other genres of music witnessed the digital age reach into a new level. This decade saw Napster being gone. CD sales declined by the end of the 2000's, and people saw diverse genres shining their influence in the world. Also, new genres existed like nu-disco and post-punk revival. There was a teen pop movement from the 1990's that carried over into the 2000's like *NSYNC, Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, and Christina Aguilera Comebacks were abundant from Michael Jackson, Madonna, Mariah Carey, Brandy, Monica, Mary J. Blige, and other others. Michael Jackson released Invincible, Mariah Carey released The Emancipation of Mimi (being one of the greatest comebacks in music history), and Madonna released Music. Contemporary R&B was very popular with artists like Usher, Alicia Keys, Beyonce, Rihanna, Toni Braxton, Amerie, Mya, Ashanti, Anthony Hamilton, Jennifer Hudson, Fantasia, and other legends. In 2004, the Billboard Year-End Hot 100 had 15 of its top 25 singles as contemporary R&B. Rock and roll music saw diverse artists like Oasis, Coldplay, U2, The Foo Fighters, Linkin Park, Limp Bizkit, Green Day, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, and other artists. Hip Hop grew into the mainstream and organized more into a business empire with Nas, Jay Z, Outkast, 50 Cent, the Game, Eminem, T.I., Missy Elliot, Busta Rhymes, Diddy, Black Eyed Peas, Timbaland, Souja Boy, Unk, D4L, Ludacris, Lil Wayne, Young Jeezy, Kanye West, etc. Country music excelled. New artists started their careers with Corrine Bailey Rae, Adele, etc. By the end of the decade, a pop, dance sound existed with Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, and Miley Cyrus existed. Electronic music would be very popular. By the end of the decade, J-Pop and K-pop would flourish along with Indian pop music. With autotune, Reggae, Reggaeton, and Narcocorrido music, the music of the 2000's saw experimentation as the order of the day. The 2000's saw trauma like 9/11, Katrina, the Iraq War, and the economic recession (which caused thousands of innocent lives to be lost and mayhem globally) Also, the 2000's saw a lot of opportunities where artists expressed their talents to the world in creative, fruitful designations also.
The 2000s saw a massive pop culture revival in the musical scene. By early January 2000, Christina Aguilera's song of What a Girl Wants was one of her most successful records. Savage Garden had the song of I Knew I Loved You. Mariah Carey worked with Joe and 98 Degrees with the romance song of Thank God I Found You. Lonestar had the song of Amazed. Later, Destiny's Child had the anthem of Say My Name which was shown everywhere. Santana with The Product G&B had the song, Maria Maria. Aaliyah by June of 2000 had the hit of Try Again from the Romeo Must Die soundtrack. Music was shown by Enrique Iglesias, Vertical Horizon, Matchbox Twenty, NSYNC, Sisqo (with the song Incomplete with Lisa Raye), Madonna, Creed, and other artists. Janet Jackson released the great dance song of Doesn't Really Matter. Destiny's Child had the hit song of Independent Women (part of the Charlie Angels movie soundtrack). The year of 2000 had many fun songs too. Mary Mary released the song of Praise You in gospel. Jennifer Lopez had the pop hit of Waiting for You. Samantha Mumba released the song Waiting for You being an Afro-Irish singer. Aaliyah had the hit of I Don't Wanna. The Chicks had the hit of Cowboy Take Me Away. Sisqo in the year of 2000 had the song of Thong Song when Sisqo was a superstar. Deborah Morgan had the song of Dance with Me. Pop songs like Alice Deejay with Better Off Alone was high on the charts. Tim McGraw had the song of My Best Friend and How Do You Like Me Now? Where I Wanna Be from Donnell had some of the most sentimental music. Pink had the pop song of Most Girls and There You Go before going into the Rock route in 2000. The Real Slim Shady by Eminem was released in 2000. Blue (Da Ba Dee) from Eiffel 65 was known by me in the year 2000 including Smash Mouth's hit of Then the Morning Comes. Faith Hill had the song of Breathe too.
In 2001, everything was different. Shaggy released the song It Washn't Me with Ricardo Ducent. Crazy Town had the song Butterly. Angel was the song with Shaggy and Rayvon. Lady Marmalade was made with Christina Aguilera, Lil' Kim, Mya, and Pink to show an ode to LaBelle's song of the same name in the 1970's. Hits were found galore with Destiny's Child with the song Bootylicious (and Survivor). Alicia Keys had the song Fallin' that changed her life. Keys can sing, play instruments, and write music. Nickelback had the song how You Remind Me. Music from Afroman was popular. Hero was the song from Enrique Iglesias that was popular. In 2001, Nelly had E.I., Dido, O-Town, LeAnn Womack, Moby, Gwen Stefani, Willa Ford had music, and Mariah Carey released the song Loverboy. Ja Rule mixed hip-hop and R&B music too. U2 had the music of Beautiful Day. In 2002, Nelly Furtado made tons of music at the start of her career including 3LW. Jessica Simpson, S Club 7, Toya, Enya, Ricky Martin, Missy Elliot, and other musicians expressed massive talent. In 2002, Ja Rule and Ashanti had the song of Always on Time. Jennifer Lopez's career grew. In terms of hip hop, Nelly, Eminem, Nas, Jay Z, and other artists made music. Kelly Clarkson had the song of A Moment like This. Vanessa Carlton had the song of A Thousand Miles, Michelle Branch had music, and Christina Milian had music. There was pop music from Gareth Gates, Lenny Kravitz, Britney Spears, Phil Collins, Kosheen, A1, Kylie Minogue, and Christina Aguilera (with Dirty featuring Redman). Pink in 2002 went into rock. Robbie Williams, Enrique Iglesias, Moony, NYSNC, Daniel Bedingfield, No Doubt, Anastacia, and Ronan Keating made music. Celine Dion with the song of I'm Alive was popular. Shawna Twain had hits too. Sugababes made music like Round Round.
In the year of 2003, Beyonce dominated that year with songs like Crazy in Love in 2003. 50 Cent and G unit blew up in popularity, Jennifer Lopez had her run with All I Have with LL Cool J. B2K with Diddy had Bump Bump Bump. There was Clay Wiken making music and Nelly. Ludacris worked with Chicago hip hop artists Shawnna in the song of Stand Up. Sean Paul, Nate Dogg, Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera, and other people released songs. Outkast's Hey Ya! song changed music forever. Andre 3000 and Big Boi were a duo of artists in Outkast that went into movies and other facets of their entertainment career. 2003 saw many underrated music too. There were groups and people like Outlandish, REM, Delta Goodrem, Sarah Connor, Blu Cantrell, Evanescence, Moloko, Maroon 5, Blue, Johnny Cash with Hurt, and Mariah Carey (with Busta Rhymes). Avril Lavigne, Sylver, Tomcraft, Seal, and Lumbidee had a great following. Mis-Teeq, White Stripes, Black Eyed Peas (with the political song of Where is the Love?), Girls Around, Holly Valance, Dido, Kelly Rowland, John Mayer, and Stacie Orrico made music too. Jamelia had the song of Superstar and Rachel Stevens had music too. Shania Twain had the song of Thank You Baby. By 2004, R&B and hip-hop dominated the popular music landscape. Outkast, Sleepy Brown, Jamie Foxx, Twista, and Kanye West grown. We have Yeah! being the popular song by Usher with Lil Jon and Ludacris. Usher had the hit of Burn too. In 2004, Fantasia loved music as shown by her song of Burn. Juvenile, Soulja Slim, Eamon, and Terror Squad had music. Ciara with Petey Pablo had the song of Goodies. By 2004, Ciara was in the music industry at the next level. My Boo was the song with Usher and Alicia Keys. Snoop Dogg and Pharrell had songs in 2004 too. 2004 was when I was 21 years old. Kenny Chesney had the song of I Got Back. Beanie Sigel had the song with Miss Thing. Lloyd with Ashanti had the song of Southside. Britney Spears had the song of Everytime. Kanye West's Through the Wire also made him a household name in the industry.
There is a new study about how to eat to live longer on this Earth as human beings. There is a study that people can use to reduce a person's risk of early death for any reason by nearly 20%. It is done by just eating more from your choice of four healthy eating patterns. The study says that people who share a focus on consuming more whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts and legumes — were also less likely to die from cancer, cardiovascular illness, and respiratory and neurodegenerative disease. The results of the study, published Monday in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine, show “there is more than one way to eat well and derive the attendant health benefits,” said Dr. David Katz, a lifestyle medicine specialist who was not involved in the study. People often get bored with one way of eating, study coauthor Dr. Frank Hu said, “so this is good news. It means that we have a lot of flexibility in terms of creating our own healthy dietary patterns that can be tailored to individual food preferences, health conditions, and cultures.
“For example, if you are eating healthy Mediterranean, and after a few months you want to try something different, you can switch to a DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet or you can switch to a semi-vegetarian diet,” said Hu, a professor of nutrition and epidemiology and chair of the department of nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. “Or you can follow US dietary guidelines and create your own healthy eating plate.” The study followed the eating habits of 75,000 women participating in the Nurses’ Health Study and more than 44,000 men in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study over 36 years. None of the men and women had cardiovascular disease at the start of the study, and few were smokers. All filled out eating questionnaires every four years.“This is one of the largest and longest-running cohort studies to examine recommended dietary patterns and the long-term risk of premature deaths and deaths from major diseases,” Hu said. Hu and his team scored participants on how closely they followed four healthy eating styles that are in sync with current US dietary guidelines.
One diet is the Mediterranean diet, which stresses eating fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, legumes, fish, and a high amount of olive oil, Hu said. “This dietary pattern emphasizes healthy fats, especially monounsaturated fat, in addition to plant-based foods and moderate alcohol,” he said. The next is healthy plant-based diet with plant products. “The highest quintile of diet quality as compared to the lowest was associated with a roughly 20% reduction in all-cause mortality,” said Katz, president and founder of the nonprofit True Health Initiative, a global coalition of experts dedicated to evidence-based lifestyle medicine. Participants who improved the health of their diet by 25% could reduce their risk of dying from cardiovascular disease by a range of 6% to 13% and dying from cancer by 7% to 18%, he said. There was up to a 7% reduction in the risk of death by neurodegenerative diseases, such as dementia. “Respiratory disease mortality reduction was actually much greater, reducing risk by 35% to 46%,” Hu said. “It’s never too late to adopt healthy eating patterns, and the benefits of eating a healthy diet can be substantial in terms of reducing total premature deaths and different causes of premature death,” Hu said.
“People also have a lot of flexibility in terms of creating their own healthy dietary pattern. But the common principles — eating more-plant based foods and fewer servings of red meat, processed meats, added sugar and sodium — should be there, no matter what kind of diet that you want to create.”
There is another study saying that ultra processed foods like burgers and fries, could raise your risk for cognitive decline if it's more than 20% of your daily calorie intake, a new study found. The study followed over 10,000 Brazilians for up to 10 years. Just over half of the study participants were women, White or college-educated, while the average age was 51. Cognitive testing, which included immediate and delayed word recall, word recognition, and verbal fluency, was performed at the beginning and end of the study, and participants were asked about their diet. “In Brazil, ultraprocessed foods make up 25% to 30% of total calorie intake. We have McDonald’s, Burger King, and we eat a lot of chocolate and white bread. It’s not very different, unfortunately, from many other Western countries,” coauthor Dr. Claudia Suemoto, an assistant professor in the division of geriatrics at the University of São Paulo Medical School, told CNN when the study abstract was released in August. “Fifty-eight percent of the calories consumed by United States citizens, 56.8% of the calories consumed by British citizens, and 48% of the calories consumed by Canadians come from ultraprocessed foods,” Suemoto said. In addition to the impact on cognition, ultraprocessed foods are already known to raise the risk of obesity, heart and circulation problems, diabetes, cancer, and a shorter life span. “Ultraprocessed foods in general are bad for every part of us,” said Katz, president and founder of the nonprofit True Health Initiative, a global coalition of experts dedicated to evidence-based lifestyle medicine. Ultraprocessed foods are high in sugar, salt, and fat which can promote inflammation in the body. It can cause serious aging in the body and brain. Eating fruits, vegetables, and whole grains is good for you.
The landing on Juno Beach was delayed because of choppy seas. The men arrived with lax supporting armor. That is why many causalities were there while disembarking. Most of the offshore bombardment had missed the German defenses. Several exits from the beach were created, but not without difficulty. At Mike Beach on the western flank, a large crater was filled using an abandoned AVRE tank and several rolls of fascine, which were then covered by a temporary bridge. The tank remained in place until 1972 when it was removed and restored by members of the Royal Engineers. The beach and nearby streets were clogged with traffic for most of the day, making it difficult to move inland.
Major German strongpoints with 75 mm guns, machine-gun nests, concrete fortifications, barbed wire, and mines were located at Courseulles-sur-Mer, St Aubin-sur-Mer, and Bernières-sur-Mer. The towns had to be cleared in house-to-house fighting. Soldiers on their way to Bény-sur-Mer, 3 miles (5 km) inland, discovered that the road was well covered by machine gun emplacements that had to be outflanked before the advance could proceed. Elements of the 9th Canadian Infantry Brigade advanced to within sight of the Carpiquet airfield late in the afternoon, but by this time their supporting armor was low on ammunition, so the Canadians dug in for the night. The airfield was not captured until a month later as the area became the scene of fierce fighting. By nightfall, the contiguous Juno and Gold beachheads covered an area 12 miles (19 km) wide and 7 miles (10 km) deep. Casualties at Juno were 961 men.
On Sword Beach, 21 of 25 DD tanks of the first wave were successful in getting safely ashore to provide cover for the infantry, who began disembarking at 07:30. The beach was heavily mined and peppered with obstacles, making the work of the beach clearing teams difficult and dangerous. In the windy conditions, the tide came in more quickly than expected, so maneuvering the armor was difficult. The beach quickly became congested. Brigadier Simon Fraser, 15th Lord Lovat, and his 1st Special Service Brigade arrived in the second wave, piped ashore by Private Bill Millin, Lovat's personal piper. Members of No. 4 Commando moved through Ouistreham to attack from the rear a German gun battery on the shore. A concrete observation and control tower at this emplacement had to be bypassed and was not captured until several days later. French forces under Commander Philippe Kieffer (the first French soldiers to arrive in Normandy) attacked and cleared the heavily fortified strongpoint at the casino at Riva Bella, with the aid of one of the DD tanks.
The 'Morris' strongpoint near Colleville-sur-Orne was captured after about an hour of fighting. The nearby 'Hillman' strongpoint, headquarters of the 736th Infantry Regiment, was a large complex defensive work that had come through the morning's bombardment essentially undamaged. It was not captured until 20:15. The 2nd Battalion, King's Shropshire Light Infantry began advancing to Caen on foot, coming within a few kilometres of the town, but had to withdraw due to lack of armor support. At 16:00, the 21st Panzer Division mounted a counter-attack between Sword and Juno and nearly succeeded in reaching the Channel. It met stiff resistance from the British 3rd Division and was soon recalled to assist in the area between Caen and Bayeux. Estimates of Allied casualties on Sword Beach are as high as 1,000.
The aftermath of the Normandy landings (D-Day) was very important. The Normandy landings were part of the largest seaborne invasion in human history, with nearly 5,000 landings and assault craft, 289 escort vessels, and 277 minesweepers participating. Nearly 160,000 troops crossed the English Channel on D-Day, with 875,000 men disembarking by the end of June. Allied casualties on the first day were at least 10,000, with 4,414 confirmed dead. The Germans lost 1,000 men. The Allied invasion plans had called for the capture of Carentan, Saint-Lô, Caen, and Bayeux on the first day, with all the beaches (other than Utah) linked with a front line 10 to 16 kilometers (6 to 10 mi) from the beaches; none of these objectives were achieved. The five beachheads were not connected until 12 June, by which time the Allies held a front around 97 kilometers (60 mi) long and 24 kilometers (15 mi) deep. Caen, a major objective, was still in German hands at the end of D-Day and would not be completely captured until 21 July. The Germans had ordered French civilians other than those deemed essential to the war effort to leave potential combat zones in Normandy. Civilian casualties on D-Day and D+1 are estimated at 3,000.
The Allied victory in Normandy stemmed from several factors. German preparations along the Atlantic Wall were only partially finished; shortly before D-Day Rommel reported that construction was only 18 percent complete in some areas as resources were diverted elsewhere. The deceptions undertaken in Operation Fortitude were successful, leaving the Germans obliged to defend a huge stretch of coastline. The Allies achieved and maintained air supremacy, which meant that the Germans were unable to make observations of the preparations underway in Britain and were unable to interfere via bomber attacks. Infrastructure for transport in France was severely disrupted by Allied bombers and the French Resistance, making it difficult for the Germans to bring up reinforcements and supplies. Some of the opening bombardment was off-target or not concentrated enough to have any impact, but the specialized armor worked well except on Omaha, providing close artillery support for the troops as they disembarked onto the beaches. Indecisiveness and an overly complicated command structure on the part of the German high command were also factors in the Allied success.
Marci Scott has been one of the wisest fitness experts of our generation. She helps tons of men and women in health issues via her Phoenix Tribe Fitness movement. She wants people to lose body fat, have more energy, and enjoy healthy habits for life. Marci Scott has worked in fitness culture for years. Her Facebook account shows many jewels about the dangers of too much sugar (like harming the liver and harming the heart). She is right to write that protein is key in developing health as protein can maintain muscle mass, support bones, improve skin, have weight management, and provide energy. Marci Scott encourages women to lift weight because lifting weights can decrease muscle loss, increase bone density, develop functional movement, and develop a greater quality of life. Strength training helps any human being in many ways. She has a full understanding of macros or macronutrients (of proteins, fats, and carbohydrates). She is right that HIIT workouts and swimming, cycling, walking, gardening, and dancing can improve mental health. Marci Scott loves her child and her family.
One of the most historical music tours of all time has been the Beyonce Renaissance World Tour. This is the ninth tour from the singer Beyonce. Now, we know that this tour is her highest-grossing tour to date. It was announced on February 1, 2023, to support her seventh studio album Renaissance (which came out in 2022). The tour concert existed and started on May 10, 2023, in Stockholm, Sweden, and concluded on October 1, 2023, in Kansas City, Missouri. It was her first solo tour since The Formation World Tour in 2016. The concert lasted between two and a half and three hours and was split into six or seven acts, with Beyoncé performing the tracks of Renaissance in order, interspersed with songs from across her discography. The stage consisted of a giant screen with a large "portal" in its center, and featured sculptures, robotic arms, and ultraviolet technology.
The tour broke ticket sales records worldwide, becoming the eighth highest-grossing concert tour of all time, the second highest-grossing tour ever by a woman artist, and the highest-grossing tour by a black artist, and achieved the two highest monthly tour grosses in history. The show received critical acclaim, with particular praise for the production value and Beyoncé's vocal performance. The tour boosted both local and national economies and was a sociocultural phenomenon. Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé, which chronicles the creation and execution of the tour and its associated album, will be released in cinemas on December 1, 2023. The tour marked the debut live performances of all sixteen tracks on the Renaissance album, as well Savage (Remix), Black Parade, My Power, and Lift Off. The tour was talked about on October 23, 2022, when Beyonce auctioned a ticket for an unspecified show. It was sold for $50,000 in a charity auction at the Wearable Art Gala to support the WACO Theatre. It included two tickets to the concert, first-class airfare, a three-night hotel stay, and a personal backstage tour led by Beyoncé's mother. On February 1, 2023, Beyoncé announced the tour via her Instagram account. In April 2023, Beyoncé rented Europe's largest indoor arena, Paris La Défense Arena, in Nanterre, to rehearse for the tour. Khirye Tyler and Dammo Farmer are credited as the tour's music directors, with Damien Smith as head of the music production and Tiffany Moníque Ryan as Vocal Director. Producer Amorphous assisted with the tour's musical arrangements. Composer Emily Bear is the featured pianist for the tour.
Alongside the announcement of the tour, it was also announced that a public on-sale for the North American leg would initially not happen, with all initial ticket sales for the leg using Ticketmaster's Verified Fan system. In addition, all the cities in the North American leg of the tour would be split into three different registration groups that would all have different registration periods and on-sale times.
Jay Peters of The Verge noted that this spreading out of demand appeared to be an attempt by Ticketmaster to prevent an incident identical to the 2022 Ticketmaster fiasco of Taylor Swift's Eras Tour that had occurred less than three months earlier, in which the website crashed during the Verified Fan presale. Peters questioned how effective the strategy would be since people could sign up for each of the registration groups instead of just one. In light of the mismanagement of Swift's concert ticket sales, and the U.S. Senate hearing it sparked, the Senate Judiciary Committee tweeted from their official Twitter account, "We're watching, @Ticketmaster," in reference to the Renaissance World Tour.
In light of this, Ticketmaster has implemented new policies to try and combat difficulty for concertgoers and to "create a less crowded ticket shopping experience for fans". Registration does not guarantee a ticket. Instead, a "lottery-style process" affects who is placed on the waitlist and who is given a unique access code after registering as a Verified Fan. Tickets bought in European markets also cannot be resold on Ticketmaster for more than their original price.
There have been staging and lighting designs too. The design process took about 18 months. It has a stage with a circle-shaped cavity in the middle of a giant, flat screen. The B stage is subdivided into a circumference structure surrounding the so-called VIP section "Club Renaissance", with an extension of the ramp acting as the radius of the layout. It also features monumental sculptures and metallic tanks, mannequin horses, robotic arms, pyrotechnics, and ultraviolet technology. Es Devlin Studio and Stufish Entertainment Architects were in charge of the stage design along with Beyoncé and her creative team, Parkwood. There were diverse costume designs that Beyonce wore in the tour. Siona Turini styles the wardrobe.
The wardrobe features a silver beaded Alexander McQueen catsuit, a white bell-sleeved Anrealage gown that transformed into a multicolored masterpiece underneath a UV light, a custom silver Courrèges bodysuit with a striking circular cutout, a pearl-embellished Balmain bodysuit, hat, and sunglasses, a metallic feathered frock courtesy of Coperni, a colorful mesh minidress by David Koma, a bejeweled Loewe bodysuit, and a bee costume by Thierry Mugler. Additional accessories and jewelry were custom-made by Tiffany & Co. Among the collection of designer pieces, MYKITA sunglasses are also part of the variety of ensembles showcased in the show. Beyonce wanted to honor local designers at each stop of her tour. For example, she wanted to honor Jacquemus in Marseille, Robert Wun and Stella McCartney in London, Iris van Herpen in Amsterdam, and a Fendi design inspired by the artist Antonio Lopez in Barcelona. For the June 18 show in Amsterdam, Beyoncé celebrated the Juneteenth holiday by wearing exclusively Black designers, including Feben, Maximilian Davis for Ferragamo, Olivier Rousteing for Balmain, Ib Kamara for Off-White, LaQuan Smith, and her own Ivy Park collection.
Women's Wear Daily reports that the Renaissance World Tour generated $187 million in "media impact value" for the various brands that Beyoncé has worn at the various stops along the tour, including $7.7 million for Alexander McQueen, $7.2 million for Tiffany & Co., $5.6 million for Balmain, and $3.7 million for Valentino. In the show, it lasts from 2.5 to 3 hours. Most of the songs from the Renaissance tour are played. The SMPTE color bars are shown representing the Progress Pride Flag. While the tour was not advertised with an official opening act, guest DJs have occasionally performed sets before the start of the show in various cities, including surprise guest appearances by Arca in Barcelona and MikeQ in East Rutherford. The robotic machine in the performance is akin of Fritz Lang's 1927 sci-fi Metropolis. This robot-themed segment of the show is interspersed with spoken word interludes from legendary commentator Kevin JZ Prodigy in an homage to ball culture. As the voice asks if the audience is 'ready to serve' and 'ready to slay', Beyoncé performs the first track from Renaissance, "I'm That Girl". Beyoncé then performs "Cozy" with two mechanical arms holding silver frames interacting with her as she dances. She then performs "Alien Superstar", with elements of "Sweet Dreams", followed by "Lift Off." The French dance duo Les Twins perform a dance break to "7/11. The parts of the tour performance are Renaissance, Motherboard, Opulence, Anointed, Memories Run Through My Wires, Mind Control, and Encore. Beyonce sits on a shiny life-size horse mannequin with a sparkly silver dress to perform Summer Renaissance as the Encore. The horse is lifted above the crowd and flies Beyoncé in a circle as a victory lap, while silver confetti is released into the stadium. She then thanks the crowd and exits the stage as the screen is left with a photo of her mother Tina and her uncle Johnny, a major inspiration behind the Black, LGBTQ+ sounds of the Renaissance album. The Renaissance tour has broken records that could gross up to $2.4 billion. According to Ticketmaster, the ticket demand exceeded the number of available tickets by more than 800% in Toronto, Chicago, East Rutherford, Summerfield, Atlanta, Inglewood, and Houston, to all which additional shows were added consequently. In the Mercedes Benz Stadium (in Atlanta, Georgia), the tour was the highest-grossing box score report in the stadium's history. The tour boosted the economies of many places of the world allowing an additional $10 million in revenue for local businesses. Hotels were booked in Stockholm and London. Amtrak launched a new program to help concertgoers travel to the tour's US stops.
At the September 4, 2023, show in Los Angeles, Diana Ross joined the Pure Honey singers onstage for their performance of "Love Hangover" and led the audience in singing "Happy Birthday" to Beyoncé. Kendrick Lamar also joined Beyoncé onstage to perform his verse on the "America Has a Problem" remix. At the September 23 and 24, 2023, shows in Houston, Megan Thee Stallion joined Beyoncé onstage to perform "Savage Remix."
As with previous tours, Beyoncé is supporting communities in the cities she performs in. Throughout the tour, Beyoncé's BeyGOOD Foundation provides 1,000 small business owners from marginalized communities with grant opportunities, celebration luncheons, and resources to support entrepreneurship. Beyoncé is also donating scholarships worth $1 million to students in colleges and universities in cities along the tour.
Tour tickets will be distributed to local community initiatives in cities across the US. Free tickets to current and previous members of Women of Tomorrow, a group that works with at-risk young women, were also distributed. On October 1, 2023, the concert film Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé was announced. It is reported to have an "ambitious scope" that will incorporate highlights from the full run of the tour, Renaissance's visual companion, and documentary footage of the development of both the album and the tour. The film is scheduled for release to theaters worldwide on December 1.
By Timothy
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