Book of the Week

Referred to as the “Grand Prix of epidemiology” by The New York Times, this study examines more than 350 variables of health and nutrition with surveys from 6,500 adults in more than 2,500 counties across China and Taiwan, and conclusively demonstrates the link between nutrition and heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. While revealing that proper nutrition can have a dramatic effect on reducing and reversing these ailments as well as curbing obesity, this text calls into question the practices of many of the current dietary programs, such as the Atkins diet, that are widely popular in the West. The politics of nutrition and the impact of special interest groups in the creation and dissemination of public information are also discussed.

Purchase This Book

News Article of the Week

Marriage can curb terrorism, BYU professor says
By Sara Israelsen-Hartley
Deseret News
Wednesday, Mar. 31, 2010

PROVO — Real men don’t blow themselves up.

In fact, Islamic men who are husbands and fathers are the least likely terrorists, according to a new study by professors at Baylor University and BYU.

“It is exceedingly difficult to convince a married Muslim man with at least one healthy young son still in need of his protection to commit suicide,” according to the paper, “Sex and the Shaheed,” published by political scientists Bradley Thayer of Baylor University and Valerie Hudson of BYU. “That father will not want to fail his obligations as a Muslim man.”

The new study, published in International Security, points out that nearly all suicide bombers are single men, considered by society to be “reproductive losers.”

Rising dowry costs, polygyny and in some cases physical abnormalities are pushing these single men to become shaheeds, or martyrs for Allah, as a way to secure honor and reproductive prospects in the next life.

Shaheeds are promised forgiveness of sins, a place in paradise, 72 beautiful-eyed young virgins and jewels to adorn their crown, the article explains.

They will also be spared the torments of the tomb and the Day of Judgment, according to Islamic scripture.

In March 2004, a 16-year-old failed suicide bomber told Israeli intelligence officials he had been mocked at school for his dwarfism and was tempted by the promise of sexual relations with virgins in paradise, according to the article.

Men also become shaheeds because their death brings in money from terrorist organizations, which their family can then use for the dowry of another child.

In Afghanistan, the average wedding costs $12,000 to $20,000, and families of young adult males in Egypt often save for seven years to pay for a wedding.

For a third or fourth son, there may be no money left for a dowry, Hudson explained. Thus he is unable to officially become a man as the head of a household and is racked with feelings of emasculation and humiliation.

“You get an appreciation for how desperate these individuals are,” Thayer said. “If you put yourself in their shoes … they are individuals who think that people are going to be better off … when they’re gone.”

Some governments have stepped in to help reduce or subsidize wedding costs, such as Egypt, where they hold mass weddings in stadiums, and Iran’s “love fund,” which pays dowry costs of its soldiers, Hudson said.

“I had no idea how attentive, not just nations, but also terrorist groups, were to whether their young men were married or not,” Hudson said. “These leaders of terrorist organizations understand that marriage and family make a difference in the terms of the behavior of their adherents.”

In the 1970s, the Palestine Liberation Organization encouraged its members to marry, trying to tone down the more extreme Black September organization.

“When the men married, and especially when they had sons, their militancy waned dramatically,” the article explains.

“We see this (research) really as only one arrow in a quiver, really, of ways to combat the problem of terrorism,” Thayer said.

Recommendations from the article include promoting women’s rights in Muslim countries, which lessens the divide between men and women and reduces emotions like dishonor and emasculation, which can lead men to become suicide terrorists.

Government-controlled dowry costs, establishment of democratic, liberal governments and publishing anti-terrorism messages focusing on the shameful, dishonorable path of the terrorist are also crucial.

“This is the useful element that academics are able to do,” Thayer said, “Call attention to this, recognize a problem and identify a solution that individuals had not identified before.”

For more information visit belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/project/58/quarterly_journal.html.

E-mail: sisraelsen@desnews.com

Thriving Marriage-Book of the Week

“The Time Bind” by Arlie Russell Hochschild.

Though every mother and nearly every father said “family comes first,” few of these working parents questioned their long hours or took the company up on chances for flextime, paternity leave, or other “family friendly” policies. Why not? It seems the roles of home and work had reversed: work was offering stimulation, guidance, and a sense of belonging, while home had become the place in which there was too much to do in too little time.

Buy it Now!

Bankruptcy and Divorce: The Twin Terrors.

In America, there seems to be an increasing trend of Bankruptcies and Divorces. These twin terrors cause depression, heart-ache, and broken families. Is there any reason why these issues are so closely linked and what can be done to solve the problem?

According to the United States Department of Justice, bankruptcy filings have grown overall from about 110,000 in 1960, to over 1.4 million in 2009. This is about 32% of Americans. The percentage of divorce has also increased in this country from around 30% of first marriages in the 1970s, to over 51% in the late 1990s (US Census Bureau, 2002) . Why are both divorces and bankruptcies over the last 40 years growing at such ridiculously high rates?

According to Elizabeth Warren, (2002) 91% of bankruptcy filers have suffered a job loss, medical event or divorce. It is clear that divorces can contribute to causes of bankruptcy. So the question is, “Can bankruptcy cause divorce?”
The answer to this question is answered by Rachel Foley, a Bankruptcy Attorney in Kansas City, Mo in her article Does Bankruptcy cause Divorce?.

Foley says a high percentage of her clients were coming back after the bankruptcy to file divorce and she wanted to analyze why. “At this point I get two phone calls. The first is that they want to get out of bankruptcy and the second is they want to file for divorce because they blame each other for the current situation” (Foley, 2008).

Since most financial issues in marriage are caused by lack of communication, it is no wonder that so many couples go into far too much debt than they can handle before they are forced to stop and talk about it. Imagine adding on top of normal financial stress the weight of the bankruptcy proceedings, and stir in bad communication and presto, all the makings of a messy divorce.

Of course, Bankruptcy and Divorce are not always the wrong answer and may sometimes be the only choice for some couples. However, when over 1/2 of all first marriages end in divorce and nearly a 1/3 of the population filed for Bankruptcy last year, something is not right. What is missing in both of these cases is commitment.

Marriages that have strong commitment levels have a higher likelihood of success. In fact, those marriages that have commitments beyond the grave have fewer divorce rates, some as low a LDS temple marriage of only 6% (Lobdell, 2000).
Marriages that also have commitment to financial responsibility learn to communicate about it and make smarter financial decisions to prevent Bankruptcy. Dave Ramsey, (2007) in his book The Total Money Makeover, explains that bankruptcy is not the solution and instead just a symptom of people who are not committed to living financial responsible lives. He says that after bankruptcy it is then easier to go file again and again. The same is true for divorces that once you divorce the first time, the chances for divorce increase with each next marriage.

Remember that once a couple does file for bankruptcy their chances of divorce increase and vices versa. Decide to commit today to being a better spouse and to get your financial situation in order. We need to wake up and save this country from the Twin Terrors that Bankruptcy and Divorce leave behind and create a better future for the America of tomorrow.

For more information visit the Thriving Marriage Institute at www.travisparry.com.

Reference

http://www.womansdivorce.com/divorce-and-bankruptcy.html

http://www.bankruptcylawnetwork.com/2008/02/03/does-bankruptcy-cause-divorce/http:

http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/bankruptcy-filings-2009-1276.php

Ramsey, D., (2007). The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness. Thomas Nelson Inc. Nashville, TE.

Rose M. Kreider and Jason M. Fields, “Number, Timing, and Duration of
Marriages and Divorces: 1996″, U.S. Census Bureau Current Population Reports, February 2002, p. 18.

William Lobdell, Holy Matrimony: In an Era of Divorce Mormon Temple Weddings are Built to Last in Los Angeles Times, 8 April 2000;