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Thursday, October 15, 2009
The Bible Code
We were recently hit by such an apologist on our AE TV list who wrote to give us "60 pages" of evidence for god's existence. Not that I'm not interested in giving evidence a fair review—but please have mercy and some sense. We get hit with loads of requests from theists and atheists to "please look at this and tell me what you think about it." Yes, we have a small team of people—but we are all volunteers with real lives outside of AE. And while most people understand and respect that, some seem to think that we're obligated to read (actually in most cases reread) anything they want to dump on us for their god. Fair enough that we should consider claims before dismissing them, but how about doing what Matt sometimes asks: Give me your very best argument or evidence.
This way we can start with what you think is most compelling and examine that first. Then, if I don't find it compelling, there is no reason for me to have to wade through the other 59 pages of crap that you admit isn't quite as compelling. Fair enough? At any rate you'd have to admit it would be a big time-saver that benefits both the apologist and the counter-apologist.
Well, this apologist wrote to some others on the list. Some things I read, some I didn't. But with me, she was very interested in the Bible Code. It had been a few years since I had encountered anyone serious about the Bible Code. In fact, it's so infrequently used by apologists who contact us (and for good reason), that I thought other counter apologists may or may not have ever had any reason to investigate this "code" for themselves. I had read a bit back when I was a theist, but I investigated it just enough to find it utterly uncompelling, and that was that. Since I already believed in god then, it really didn't matter.
So, I was a bit rusty in my responses to the latest claims, and had to do some refresher reading, which I did. And to be fair, I learned some things I didn't recall from my prior reading, which is always nice. To be honest, though, what I learned made me even less inclined to accept this code as anything but hogwash.
Torah Code?
My first complaint about the code is the actually name: Bible Code.
At least in the West, when we see the word "Bible," we think of books that contain basically what is contained in a standard King James anthology or, perhaps, a Catholic version. In fact, while I was dialoguing, I mentioned the New Testament more than once. She never corrected me to let me know that, in fact, the "Bible" Code has nothing to do with the Christian content of the "Bible"—it only applies to restricted portions of the Hebrew holy texts—the Torah (Genesis through Deuteronomy). This means that if there is any reason to think that a book containing codes is the handiwork of any god, nothing in the Christian "scriptures" would be demonstrated as text from god, due to this code. In fact, another name for the Bible Code is "Torah Code"—which I hold to be more honest. When a Christian calls it "Bible Code," that's misleading, unless they also clearly note that none of what has been considered compelling in any of the research—the codes in the main debate over what is generally considered the context of the "Bible Code" issue—applies to what they would usually mean when they use the word "Bible."
Where It All Began and the Koran Code
Although the idea of finding Bible codes goes back a ways, the real hot button came when, Doron Witztum, Eliyahu Rips and Yoav Rosenberg (WRR) published a paper titled: "Equidistant Letter Sequences in the Book of Genesis" in the journal Statistical Science. The main criticism from me is that we have no original manuscripts from which to work. So, we begin any such examination for divine codes with a copy, and with little means of demonstrating that copy's firm adherence to any original version(s).
Ironically, Muslims have noticed this same problem. There is also, not surprisingly, a Koran Code, and one of the reasons given for the superiority of the Koran Code by Muslim proponents is that the Koran text is closer to "original" than any Bible text could ever hope to be. While the Koran does have a history that leaves room for translation "adjustments," the claim that it is closer to "original" is not without a bit of merit. I should note that I do not claim the Koran Code is ELS-type code. It's somewhat variant. But as long as the Torah guys can make up their code rules, why not the Muslims? At any rate, it seems anyone can have some sort of superhuman, magical code in their holy book from god. But here is a link to a Muslim making his case for why the Koran Code beats the pants off any Bible Code:
And here is a load of info if you're interested in what impresses some Muslims about the Koran Code:
And here is an article in the Egypt Daily News, talking about the miracle of the Koran Code, in which Meer Hamza, who has a Ph.D. in software engineering from University of Paisley in Scotland, says it "will be one of the main reasons to make non-Muslims turn to Islam." In fact, the team who "cracked" the code claimed, "no person on earth, not even a computer software is capable of writing even one word abiding with the Quranic mathematical code":
I include this, not because I find it any more compelling that the Bible Code, but because I was told, by the apologist with whom I was dialoging, that they'd never heard of any such "Koran Code." Not only is it there, but it's hailed as an undeniable "miracle" by the Muslims who subscribe to it. And if you've ever argued with a Muslim, you know they have what can only be called "a thing," for number-play in the Koran.
Forgive me for one sideline. I know I go long. But I've heard people claim the Koran doesn't contain prophecy. (It's funny how many Christians make claims about the Koran, that are hotly disputed by Muslims I encounter.) As I was looking up the code material last night, I found a Koran prophecy for the Apollo Moon mission:
What makes me laugh is how much like Christian prophecy this Koran prophecy works. It predicts so much—after it has already happened. It's very rare to find someone hollering for extra security at some political event because Isaiah or Moby Dick or the Koran or Nostradamus predicted an assassination attempt. How many disasters have been averted by someone recognizing an embedded prophecy before such a prophecy took place? And as I toss this out as rhetorical, watch someone find me an example! It seems there's always someone.
Bible Codes, the Later Years
Believe it or not, there is a guy who came after WRR, Michael Drosnin, who says he found a prophecy in the Torah Code before it happened—the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin. Since Rabin was successfully assassinated, I have to note that this prophecy must not have been very clear, since it was of zero use in averting a tragedy it supposedly foretold. Drosnin claims he tried to report the threat. If so, that would be to his credit. It's too bad there wasn't sufficiently specific information in the prophecy to make a warning more useful. Armed beforehand with a name of the assassin, a specific date and a few more details, and someone in authority could have perhaps helped Rabin avoid being killed. How was this "prophecy" even helpful? And how many future events will be "found" in the text--like the name of Rabin's assassin, said to have been found after he was already identified? That's painting a target around my arrow after I've randomly hit some tree.
But Drosnin was so impressed with himself that he went back looking for other, unhelpful and useless, historic assassination prophecies, and—surprise, surprise—found them. Of course, they were all "encoded" in different ways—it appears there is no set method in this code of expressing that someone will be assassinated. You sort of have to know how to read it in various disguises. But, it's there, says Drosnin—if you know how to look. This sort of sloppy work is a trademark of Drosnin, though. It is examined in sufficient detail in Marvin V. Zelkowitz's research paper, "The Bible Codes," found at the University of Maryland website:
It's slightly painful to read Zelkowitz's responses, because it's hard to accept anyone could be as careless as Drosnin, and still be hailed as a hero by so many gullible followers. Drosnin, to be fair, doesn't claim to be either a scientist or a researcher. He's just a writer—selling books about the Torah Code. Nothing wrong with being a writer, unless your writing about something that rests upon research data, and you don't understand good research methods.
The first thing to understand about research with something like the Torah Code is how data can be bias. Here's a simple example of something you have to understand about numbers and how they impact interpretations of data:
Coin Experiment
I am going to do a study. In my study I have a subject who will flip a silver dollar. I won't tell him why (I want to keep it "blind," so my subject won't skew my results). I also want the coin to land on the floor—I don't want the subject to touch it after he's tossed it—in order to make my results as random as I can. After all, I want to be fair. My hypothesis, known only to me, is that I believe the coin toss experiment will reveal that I get "heads" as a result far more often than "tails." My subject tosses the coin into the air—and it lands, exactly as I predicted! Heads up! I thank my subject and write my paper demonstrating that "not only did I get heads more often than tails, but I actually achieved a much greater result than anticipated: I achieved heads 100% of the time!"
I did nothing to manipulate the data. I blinded the study and removed myself as a potential factor that could bias the data. And I inserted something in my method to make the result random. And I was very honest about the data I gleaned from my research.
I'm guessing you can see the problem with my conclusion that coins, when tossed, will most often (maybe even 100% of the time) land on heads.
Sample Size
Sample size impacts results. How many coin flips did I test? One. And that sample size invalidates my findings. Obviously I need more coin tosses. So, next time I do my research, I do two tosses. And I get heads both times. Have I fixed the problem? No, because we all know that it's possible to get what is called a "run" with things like this. Even though over an extended period of tossing the coin, I should get heads something close to 50% of the time, I could, theoretically, get heads for 100 tosses in a row. It would be funny, but not impossible.
What was the sample size in the original Torah Code experiment? How many books other than the Torah did they test? None. They ran multiple codes, but only on the Torah. They didn't run those codes on other similar samples. And, as we'll discuss, that's more of a problem than just "sample size." But to be fair, there is some debate from what I read about whether the results held up as "statistically significant," after other researchers ran the codes on other, similar books as samples. We'll address that later.
Repeatability, Part I
Beyond increasing sample size, repeatability is also good thing. Instead of doing one experiment where I toss the coin 100 times and calculate the rates, I now decide we'll do ten 100-toss experiments. As I increase my sample size to something more reasonable—100 tosses per experiment, rather than two—I will more and more start getting results closer to 50% heads. But since I recognize it's still realistically possible to get an anomaly like a 100-head-result run in one experiment, it's a good idea to do the experiment more than once. With the Torah Code, if there is demonstrated statistical significance, we still have to understand, this could be our 100-head run. So, I see high results found in one book, as potentially not even relevant. If I run the test on 100 books, I expect to see some hit high, some low, and some closer to center. If we can't explain how one book generated higher rates—the fact that it did so could be nothing more than our 100-head run. The simple fact is: Nobody knows.
The way to demonstrate that the high hit book is significant, and not just a possible anomaly, would begin by offering a plausible explanation for how it hits so much higher than the other books, something for which we could test. "God" could not be offered as a cause in a universe where no gods have yet been demonstrated to exist, since things that do not exist cannot be the cause of other things. To posit god as an explanation, would first require a study to demonstrate there are gods and that those gods would be inclined to produce book codes. A daunting task. But short of any actual plausible explanation available to us, we would be left only with a high hitter and no means demonstrate how it hits so high.
But I will share with you a statement from Robert Aumann. Aumann is a Game Theorist. He was impressed by the codes at the time he said, "for many years I thought that an ironclad case had been made for the codes; I did not see how 'cheating' could have been possible." However, when the research was critiqued by other researchers, Aumann had to admit that "Though this work [in reference to published criticisms of the code methods] did not convince me that the data had been manipulated, it did convince me that it could have been; that manipulation was technically possible."
What Is a Code?
Aumann's statement leads us into our next issue, which requires an understanding of how the codes are generated. A method known as ELS is used—but you could apply loads of different patterns. Any pattern could be a "code." But in ELS, the researcher gets to pick a starting point in the manuscript—which may or may not be the first letter. Then he gets to choose another number (so far the researcher has manipulated two variants) that he then "skips" until the next letter in the manuscript. So, let's say every tenth letter is selected after your chosen start number. The fact you can configure it however you like is a big part of the problem. There is no "prescribed" matrix that we know will work to find secret messages from god in books, so it's up to the researcher to start picking numbers. With no known "correct" matrix for finding secret messages from god in texts, we all have free reign over how we build out favorite matrices.
So, we end up with a string of random letters, which we then go over with a fine-toothed comb looking for words that we get to label as "meaningful" (to us) or not. Obviously we can expect to find loads of "words" or "strands" of words—but only the ones we decide "count" will be selected. So we get to keep and toss whatever we think fits.
As you might imagine, this is a big no-no. In relation to my coin toss experiment, let's say that 25 times out of 100, the coin bounces off a wall before it lands on the floor. Would it be a problem if I said, "anytime the coin bounces off the wall and lands on tails, I am going to say it doesn't count toward the final 100; but anytime it bounces off a wall and lands on heads, we'll count that"? The answer is "yes, it would be a problem." It would skew my results. Each time I hit the wall and don't get my desired heads, I get to do it over again, which increases the chance I'll get heads more often over tails. In these codes, whatever words the researchers find that don't mean anything to them, they don't have to report as a "miss." But whatever they find that they have predetermined will be "meaningful" to them—literally whatever they call meaningful—they get to report as "hits." So you ignore the garbage, and just report the positive findings.
If meaningful phrases are evidence of the existence of a code, then why isn't "noise"—random letters with no discernable meaning found in the code (to a large degree)— counted as evidence against the existence of a code in the text? In other words, if a bit of "not crap" = "coded," then why doesn't "crap" found all over in these codes demonstrate "not coded"? Why does this magical code include any crap at all? What's the crap for? Why doesn't it tell a cohesive story using all the code letters with no noise? I suggest something that starts with "Congratulations, you've cracked my secret god code! I have so much to reveal to you…" and on from there.
In the original study, though, the words that the researchers decided would be counted were words connected with biographical data about famous rabbis. The findings were interesting and the researchers claimed success. In subsequent criticisms, it was demonstrated that by manipulating the matrix settings, you can increase or decrease the level of significance. It would be along the lines of discovering that if you start your coin flip with the coin on tails, you are more likely to get heads as a result. As Aumann says, you may not have intended to start more of your flips on tails, but if you did, however unintentionally, it could still potentially skew your results. Even without meaning to, the moment you select which letters and numbers to use, you have already influenced the results. And this is only one way to subjectively, and problematically, "tune" your results. More later.
Repeatability, Part II and Statistical Significance
For now, let's go back to my Coin Toss experiment and the idea of "repeatability." Most likely I will get some variance if I increase my sample size to 100 tosses within my single experiment. For example, I may get heads 30% and tails 70% in one experiment. So, it's good to "repeat" the experiment. The second time, I get heads 48% and tails 52%. So, I repeat and repeat, and eventually I get 52% heads after 10 experiments of 100 tosses each, plus or minus a few points for error rate—which we would all recognize as a more realistic expectation for a Coin Toss result.
This "plus or minus" consideration is what determines something called "statistical significance." In other words, if we get 52%, that's still in line with results we would expect from random chance for a two-sided coin flip. The two percent is not considered "significant" to us. It is not be impressively outside the range of our expectations. If we had a good sample size, and we did the experiment repeatedly a good number of times, and somehow we kept getting heads "significantly" less than tails, like only 2% of the time, we'd consider something was not in line with "chance." Either our experiment was somehow biased, or there's something else influencing the flips that we must identify. But what is "significant"? Is there a way to determine whether the variance we're seeing is "chance" or something else at 53%? 55%? 60%? In fact, clever researchers have worked out methods of figuring this out. It's not a guess. You don't get to say, "Well I just can't believe we could get these results by chance—so it must be significant!" Your level (or my level, or their level) of credulity is not how statistical significance is measured:
What you find personally significant or impressive, as far as assessing results, is meaningless, because human beings are biased. What can be demonstrated as significant, in research, is something else entirely.
Using Controls
Sometimes you can figure out if something is beyond the norm with what is called a "control." "Controls" are handy. A control would be helpful, for example, in a drug trial. Let's say I make a drug to cure disease X. X kills 5,000 people each year in the U.S. within one year of infection. Nobody who dies from X lives past the first year. And anyone who survives it simply exhibits natural immunity and survives with no further detectible infection. But there is no known effective medical treatment currently for curing X once you contract it.
I take 100 subjects infected with X and give them my drug protocol within the first few days of diagnosed infection. At the end of one year, 50 of my subjects are still alive and show no signs of infection. I announced that of 100 people infected with X, I successfully cured 50 with my treatment.
Should we celebrate that we've made a dent in medical treatment of X? If you think "yes," slap yourself—very hard.
Before we pop the champagne, there's something we forgot to consider: Each year in the U.S. 10,000 people become infected with X. And if I would have used a "control" group—a group of people who weren't treated with my drug—I would have discovered 50 out of 100 subjects alive in that group as well at the end of the year—all with no signs of infection. And the study would have failed to demonstrate my drug helped anyone in that case. It's simply a fact that half the people who become infected with X are able to fight it off successfully through their own natural immunity. The other half die within a year. Unless we get better results in future research, my drug appears to be wholly ineffective.
A "control" in the case of the Torah Code would be using other books—the more the better—to run patterns to see what I get. And in fact, the lack of controls was not ignored by critics. In 1999, in a paper published in Statistical Science (Brendan McKay, Dror Bar-Natan, Gil Kalai, Maya Bar-Hillel [MBKB]) there were a list of criticisms against work done by Code proponents (WRR), that included a control test claim. The claim was that a Hebrew copy of War and Peace had been tested and achieved high levels of statistical significance. I won't lie to you. In this debate—as in all religious debate—there are claims and counter claims and counter-counter-claims. For every person I find claiming "statistically significant" data, I find someone else claiming they have demonstrated that same level somewhere else, or have demonstrated that the first level was achieved using faulty methods. I will let the "experts" hash that one out. All I can say is that the original data did not include controls, which other researchers had to add later. And the initial lack of control in the research should be counted as a demonstration of sloppy method.
How Do We Interpret the Data?
I said at the outset that I had learned this is about the "Torah" Code, and not the "Bible" Code. I was dismissive when the apologist on the list used an Old Testament verse in her examples, because there is something interesting about Old Testament manuscripts that I was already aware of, that, in my mind, makes them extremely suspect—if not entirely useless—in a setting like the code studies. The writing contains no vowels.
Why is this important? Consider this: Let's say we run our code on a regular book and we get a strand that includes these letters: T H E R A P I S T. The codes use no punctuation and you get to decide not only if this set of letters is "meaningful" in your greater context, but how to interpret it. Is it "the rapist" near a set of letters that look like "bundy"? Or is it "therapist" next to a set of letters that look like "freud"? Or if it is in close proximity to "bundy," do you only consider it as "therapist" (and fail to see the "rapist" possibility) and find no link to "bundy" (who was a rapist, but not a therapist) nearby—so you toss it out as a "miss"—instead of a "hit" or even an identified error in your code? If the code says "bundy" was a "therapist"—shouldn't that be reported as an error in the code? Does the code say erroneously that "bundy" was a "therapist"—but you manipulated it and made "bundy" a "rapist" and wrongly attributed a "hit"? What if in 10 years, a famous therapist arises named "Bundy"? Which "bundy" does the code mean? Maybe neither; maybe the "bundy" reference is just noise? How do we tell? Even with benefit of vowels, it's a subjective mess.
Speaking of undesired outcomes of the code—meaningful misses—it's hard to overlook the humorous work of Dr. James D. Price, professor of Hebrew and OT at Temple Baptist Seminary, Chattanooga, TN, who found repetitive "self-contradicting" codes, and "negative codes" with messages like "there is no god" and "Satan is Jehovah":
But back to the problem of "no vowels." Here's what happens when we don't have to deal with vowels: Using English as an example, let's say we find an "R" in the code. Just an "R" in a strand of letters. Since I get to add the vowels at will, here is a sample of what I can do with just an "R" and my choice of vowels:
And if I add an "S" after the "R" (R and S are, after all, common letters in English):
And so on.
I think you get my point. It's incredibly subjective and easy to manipulate. In fact, it isn't just the case that I can manipulate this data. Since there are no vowels, and I am trying to make words from this mess, I must manipulate this data. This is bad, bad, bad. I'm not just interpreting the results now—I'm actually creating the results I want. And this is called "bias," and it's every research paper's worst nightmare. If I can demonstrate reasonable room for bias in your methods, you have seriously compromised your right to label your results "valid."
Believers as Critics
As I wind this down, something interesting I also found was that some of the most damning critics of the Torah Code are religious people or, at least, people who are sympathetic toward it. Remember Zelkowitz, I mentioned earlier? He actually thinks there is something to the work done by WRR. He says in his Bible Code criticism, in fact, that WRR's results had yet to be "satisfactorily explained." But he still went on to shred Drosnin's claims from just about every angle imaginable. Again, I make no claims about WRR—you can read the debate on your own if you find any of this potentially compelling. Zelkowitz published the same year as MBKB's criticism of WRR—so I have no idea if he had a chance to read their criticisms by the time he published or not.
Also, remember Dr. Price, at the Baptist University? Here's a comment posted by him at an online list:
"In any segment of Scripture literally thousands of such codes can be found on thousands of words. One may pick and choose among them to imagine any message he desires. The same is true for secular Hebrew literature. Hundreds of false and self contradictory statements have been found. The alleged 'statistical' proof has been seriously challenged by expert mathematicians. In my opinion, the topic is not worthy of serious thought. It is a waste of one's time."
Some other religious folk who take the codes to task include the Web site "bibleonly.org," with their posting of "Does the Bible Code Bear the Signature of God?" by Ed Christian Ph.D., Department of English, Kutztown University, Kutztown, PA. Christian's answer is pretty clearly "no."
And at the scp-inc.org site (Spiritual Counterfeits Project), actually a religious site dedicated to the truth of god's word, they have a multipart shredding of the codes called "Bible Codes, or Matrix of Deception?" Again, after reading a bit of it, I'd say the conclusion I'm supposed to come to is "matrix of deception." Of course, religious people have their own bones to pick with why these types of Bible parlor tricks are blasphemous. I'll leave them to sort that one out as well.
Meanwhile one really uplifting tale I found on the Internet was the story of a current theist, Lori Eldridge. Lori is dedicated to the lord and runs a Bible study site. Lori used to be extremely dedicated to the defense and support of the truth of the Torah (Bible) Codes. At her site today, however, she has only this to say about her past as a defender:
"I used to be the owner of the Tcode mailing list where some of the top notch Torah Code experts in the world discussed the Bible Codes. The majority of us finally came to the conclusion that the codes cannot be of God because they were not statistically relevant and you can even fine 'bible codes' in the daily newspaper. And, most important, even Jesus' name (in Hebrew) was not found in any book of the Bible."
Well, if it doesn't say "Jesus," then it can't be from god, right? In jest, I have to ask, is it possible it doesn't say Jesus as a message from god? I guess what I find hopeful about Lori's statement is that she was finally able to see past a falsehood that would have supported her beliefs about god. She had every biased reason, any other believer would have, to hang on tightly no matter how ridiculous the claim or how sorry the "evidence," but ultimately somebody, somehow got Lori to understand how research works and how the Torah Code fails. While she is still a believer, she changed her mind about at least one piece of evidence when honestly confronted by other compelling evidence to the contrary. And I respect that and applaud her for it. That's a heck of a fine character trait in any human being—theist or not.
18 comments:
Minor note: Michael Drosnin claims that he tried to worn the Israeli government that Rabin was going to be assassinated but they didn't listen.
I have no idea if he did actually make any such warning before hand, but he's at least making a slightly stronger claim than you quote him here.
I'd be curious how many other highly controversial political figures he warned would be assassinated and then didn't tell us about after they didn't happen.Attempting to derive messages, by applying patterns to preexisting texts, is utterly vapid. If I created a pattern to apply to a large body of text, I could make it say almost anything I wished. Lets say I made pattern that predicted a "warring Earth", most would be inclined to attribute said 'prophecy' to WWI or WWII. Does that mean the world was at war? No, as even in those 'world wars' there were many countries not actively involved in or or even a part of said wars.
Prophecy is like a loose pair of pants, you can make them fit with a belt, but that does not make them the right size. You can make almost any prophecy fit any situation, but that does not mean it predicted it, only that the prophecy was ambiguous and vague enough to predict any number of possible actions.@ Joshua.
I find the claim hard to swallow. Imagine that I call and say I have damn good information that PRESIDENT OBAMA WILL DIE TOMORROW AT NOON!!!!!
See, probably just by typing that I'm on a watch list and being monitored! Call that in to any police local if said figure is showing up in that location, and at very least they'll consider that a 'threat' and be cautious. Sure they will also probably tack you down and then you'll get the bejesus slapped out of you for saying "my magical book told me so" but isn't a little embarrassment worth saving a life?
Hell, if he believed the claim and knew before hand...why didn't he go and try to stop it? If you know someone was going to kill the president, no one would listen, but you KNEW, wouldn't you go and do your best to either a) be the first to spot the shooter and try to derail the assassin, b) cause a scene so the event will be canceled/ruin the assassins plans, or c) try to stop and kill the assassin yourself. C is the action movie set up where inevitably your stray bullet will be the one to fulfill prophecy (THE IRONY, THE HAM FISTED IRONY!) but a and b are fairly sensible ways to try to prevent tragedy. If someone actually believes their prophecy before it happens I'd HOPE they would re-enact the end to The Dead Zone rather than just wait to say "I told you so" like a douche.Ing, as I understand it, Drosnin's initial message simply gave a year and for the assassination. It was only afterwords that he found Yigal Amir's name nearby and other helpful information.
So if God is giving messages with this, he's a bit of a dick.
(I'd try to track down sources to see just what is known about what Drosnin said when, but I have trouble taking him seriously enough to bother)- Anonymous10/16/2009 5:43 AM
Not minor at all. I don't want to erroneously malign anyone on this blog. And I want to be accurate. Thanks for your tip. I have corrected that section of the post. For some reason, I don't think Drosnin or anyone else deep into this crap even look for anything that could falisfy their claims. Actually I am betting that it is unfalsifiable. Say Rabin was never assassinated, Drosnin would not be proven wrong because he found Rabin in the code and how would they know about Yitzhak Rabin. If they find a name they don't recognize it will happen sometime in the unknown future. Unfalsifiable is the best reason to ignore it, if you ask me.
ReplyDeleteOK, Here is one that might be a little easier for everyone here.
Below is a list of all the evidence I have found for god. Feel free to argue any of my points:
And, don't forget, a separate piece of evidence for the validity of my "babble code" theory:
// as valid as any apologist's...@Tracieh
"And as I toss this out as rhetorical, watch someone find me an example! It seems there's always someone."
Here's one for you. If I drop a smooth rock or ball bearing from 4.9 meters high at sea level on earth, it will land 1 second later.
Bank on it.
Wait...You want me to list a prediction from a holy book? Well, I would consider Principa Mathematica to be a very prophetic book written by one of the ancients of the past, but most churchers won't call it a holy book.
Maybe because everything in there makes sense...If you are not bright enough to know how to create reality, it does make it difficult to understand the codes and why they came about.
It is somewhat similar to not being able to see a complex picture, due to it being displayed on a low resolution monitor.
Thus it is best not to reject that which is simply beyond you.Hahaha, is this FACTSANDFACTS guy for real? The Bible Code is simply beyond us? Wow. You're right, it is simply beyond us. Just like heomeopathy, we fail to see it's efficacy and explanation and instead reject it, even when the simple facts are staring us in the face. OR could it be that the facts are simply not impressive at all? As a couple people have pointed out, you get information of the exact same quality by doing this to any text of sufficient length, whether that be an owner's manual, a novel, or a holy book. The fact is that there is nothing beyond us, you, or anyone here, this is all simple math trickery being trussed up as a miracle that, even were it one, isn't even slightly impressive.
ReplyDeleteThanks for this, Tracie, great post.
This got me going enough to blog about it, too. Particularly because I recall back when I was a teenager and the impact that Chuck Missler had on me with his impressive sounding ELS repertoire.
If you want to look at his bible code stuff that he foists on people the globe over then its here:
Have a good one!I'm a committed Christian, servant of the Most High God and all that stuff. In all things I'm interested in knowing truth to the extent that it can be found. And I find this desire not inconsistent with my first statement above. Really.
I am not an apologist for the Bible Codes, but also do not reject them outright from what I have been able to establish for myself from reasonably careful consideration. (I am reasonably well technically educated experienced in related 'real world' matters. I understand the objections raised and the validity of a number of them. But I think the complaints are less well founded than the subject deserves).
You say that "Matt sometimes asks: "Give me your very best argument or evidence. ...""I strongly suggest that, rather than sniping at the system or the apparent shortcomings, you take the not inconsequential effort required in this case to examine some of the best evidence (in my estimation) already presented. I note that I have NOT examined this in the depth it deserves for reasons that seem good to me (unrelated to the issue at hand), but anyone wanting to prove or disprove the major claims made by Chuck Missler re Bible Codes would very possibly find this the best place to target.
In his Bible Codes book Chuck Missler identifies a *vast* cluster of clearly interrelated hits in Isaiah 53 (which is not in the Torah.(God is not limited to where to place codes should he choose to do so :-)). These relate to the crucifixion of Christ and include all the disciples names with duplicates where relevant and an omission which is also highly understandable. And much more related material as well. He also says that such a cluster does not occur anywhere else in the OT.
**** IF these claims are true and can be proven **** then I'd expect to see you all preaching on street corners from now on. If not, and it can be unequivocally shown that this explicit and very extensive claim is rubbish, then I will happily decry bible codes and personally talk about it to CM and any others who claim otherwise. And, of course, still remain as described in my opening sentence :-).
yours in truth and service to all
Interest only:
The categorization of a 2 to the 100th probability succession of coin tosses turning up all heads as 'runs happen' may be 'unwise'. (Correct answers: Any time this happens, get a new coin or join a monastery :-))
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When Tiger Woods is on there is no one who can beat him. He just might be the most dominant athlete in the history of sport. TGO
Refer to story below. Source: Associated Press
By DOUG FERGUSON (AP Golf Writer) | The Associated Press
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — The moment was vintage Tiger Woods, and so was his reaction.
Seconds after Rickie Fowler made a 40-foot birdie putt on the 12th hole to pull within two shots of the lead, Woods posed over his 25-foot birdie putt until he swept the putter upward in his left hand and marched toward the cup as it dropped for a birdie.
Fowler, standing on the edge of the green, turned with a slight smile as if to say, "What else can I do?"
Woods won the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Monday and returned to No. 1 in the world for the first time since October 2010, the longest spell of his career. After all that time, after so much turmoil with his personal life and his health, Woods looks as good as ever.
Maybe better.
"It's a byproduct of hard work, patience and getting back to winning golf tournaments," Woods said.
He essentially wrapped up his eighth title at Bay Hill with an 8-iron out of a fairway bunker on the par-5 16th that easily cleared the water and landed safely on the green for a two-putt birdie. Woods dangled his tongue out of his mouth as the ball was in the air, another sign of his swagger.
Just like his other two wins this year, Woods never let anyone get closer than two shots in the final round. With a conservative bogey he could afford on the final hole, he closed with a 2-under 70 for a two-shot win over Justin Rose.
Woods walked off the 18th green waving his putter over his head – truly a magic wand at Bay Hill – to acknowledge the fans who have seen this act before. His eighth win in the Arnold Palmer Invitational tied a PGA Tour record that had not been touched in 48 years.
This win had extra significance. He's back to No. 1.
"If I get healthy, I know I can play this game at a high level," Woods said. "I know I can be where I'm contending in every event, contending in major championships and being consistent day in and day out – if I got healthy. That was the first step in the process. Once I got there, then my game turned."
A year ago, he came to Bay Hill without having won in more than 2 1/2 years. He left this year having won six times in his last 20 starts on the PGA Tour.
Next up is the Masters, where Woods will try to end his five-year drought in the majors.
"I'm really excited about the rest of this year," Woods said.
Woods fell as low as No. 58 in the world as he coped with the collapse of his marriage, a loss of sponsors and injuries to his left leg. One week after he announced he was dating Olympic ski champion Lindsey Vonn, Woods returned to the top of golf.
"Number 1 !!!!!!!!!!!!!" Vonn tweeted moments after his win.
Asked if there was any correlation to his winning right after going public with his relationship, Woods smiled and said, "You're reading way too much into this."
Like so many other victories, this one was never really close.
Fowler pulled to within two shots with a 25-foot birdie putt on the 14th hole, but after he and Woods made bogey on the 15th, Fowler went at the flag on the par-5 16th and came up a few yards short and into the water. Fowler put another ball into the water and made triple bogey.
"I was swinging it well. I made a few putts, and trying to put a little pressure on them, let them know I was there," Fowler said. "Just would like to have that 7-iron back on 16. Just kind of a touch heavy."
Woods played it safe on the 18th, and nearly holed a 75-foot par putt that even drew a big smile from the tournament host.
Woods tied the tour record of eight wins in a single tournament. Sam Snead won the Greater Greensboro Open eight times from 1938 to 1965 at two golf courses. Woods tied his record for most wins at a single golf course, having also won eight times at Torrey Pines, including a U.S. Open.
"I don't really see anybody touching it for a long time," Palmer said while Woods made his way up the 18th fairway. "I had the opportunity to win a tournament five times, and I knew how difficult that was."
Rose, who played the first two rounds with Woods, closed with a 70 to finish alone in second.
He pulled to within two shots of Woods with a birdie on the 16th. Woods was in the group behind him in the fairway bunker on the par 5, and hit 8-iron over the water and onto the middle of the green for a two-putt birdie to restore his margin.
"He plays every shot like he plays them on Sunday," Rose said. "His intensity is the same on Thursday often as it is on Sunday, and that makes Sunday a lot less different for him. He plays in that kind of atmosphere far more regularly than a lot of guys do, and it's an adjustment for most of us. It's a known for him."
Fowler had to settle for a 73 and a tie for third with Mark Wilson (71), Keegan Bradley (71) and Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano (72).
Rory McIlroy had been No. 1 since he won the PGA Championship last August. He can reclaim the No. 1 ranking by winning the Houston Open this week. Woods heads home to south Florida for two weeks before the Masters.
Asked the last time he felt this good going to Augusta National, Woods replied, "It's been a few years."
This was the fourth time in his career that he already had three PGA Tour wins before the Masters – he didn't win a green jacket in any of the previous years (2000, 2003 and 2008). More telling, perhaps, is that Woods has won back-to-back starts for the first time since the Buick Open and Bridgestone Invitational in August 2009.
"I think it shows that my game is consistent," he said. "It's at a high level."
Woods finished at 13-under 275 and won for the 77th time on the PGA Tour, moving to within five of Snead's record.
Fowler, his first time playing with Woods in the final group, opened with eight pars when he needed to be making up ground. And when he finally had a few openings on the back nine, Woods refused to let him through.
Woods salvaged a two-putt par with a 7-footer on the 11th hole to keep a three-shot lead. On the next hole, Fowler looked to gain some momentum when he made a 40-foot birdie putt only for Woods to match him with that 25-foot birdie.
Woods produced some absurd statistics with the putter this week, making 19 of 28 putts from between 7 feet and 20 feet.
He walked off the green to share a handshake with Palmer, along with a big smile and some words that Woods said were best kept private. He left the course in that familiar blue blazer that goes to the winner.
And he left as the No. 1 player in the world.
It's the 11th time that Woods has gone back to No. 1, tied with Greg Norman since the ranking began in 1986. Still to be determined is how long Woods stays there this time.

subset: commoncrawl


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Find the sites you need: Looking for a site you visited in the past but can't quite remember? Use Full History Search to quickly find sites using even the sketchiest search terms. And when you click a web page in Cover Flow, it's because you've already recognized it as the site you were looking for. No more guessing. Innovative features like these show you how good browsing can be.
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text: Chris Hunt Chris Hunt is TU's national editorial director in charge of digital content. He is based in Idaho Falls, Idaho.Call Chris: (208) 406-9106Email Chris Randy Scholfield Randy Scholfield is TU's Southwest region communications director, covering Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico. He is based in Denver.Call Randy: (720) 375-3961Email Randy Shauna Sherard Shauna Sherard is the Northwest region communications director and the national communications coordinator. Shauna covers Montana, Idaho, Oregon and Washington, and coordinate national press efforts. She is based in southwest Montana.Call Shauna: (307) 630-0589Email Shauna Josh Duplechian Josh Duplechian is TU's video and creative director. He is based in Denver.Call Josh: (208) 241-4026Email Josh Jenny Weis Jenny Weis.jpg Jenny Weis is the communications director and digital advocacy specialist for TU's Alaska Program. She is based in Anchorage.Call Jenny: (952) 210-7095Email Jenny Kirk Deeter Kirk Deeter is the editor of TROUT Magazine. He is based in Pine, Colo.Call Kirk: (303) 838-8708Email Kirk Samantha Carmichael Samantha Carmichael is the deputy editor of TROUT Magazine. She is based in Washington, D.C.Call Samantha: (703) 284-9422Email Samantha Sam Davidson Sam Davidson is the California Communications Director. He is based on the Central Coast of California.Call Sam: (831) 235-2542.Email Sam Brett Prettyman xFXreYOK.jpg Brett Prettyman is the Intermountain region communications director, covering Wyoming, Utah and Nevada. He is based in Salt Lake City, Utah.Call Brett: (801) 209-5320.Email Brett Mark Taylor muskie.jpg Mark Taylor is the Eastern region communications director. He covers all states east of the Mississippi River, and is based in Roanoke, Va.Call Mark: (540) 353-3556. Email Mark


text:
WASHINGTON (AP) - U.S. home prices jumped in January, a sign the housing market is gaining momentum as it nears the spring selling season.
Home prices rose 9.7 percent in January from a year ago, according to data released Tuesday by CoreLogic. That's up from an 8.3 percent increase in December and the biggest annual gain since April 2006.
Prices rose in all states except Delaware and Illinois. And prices increased in 92 of the 100 largest metro areas, up from 87 in December.
Home prices also rose 0.7 percent in January from December. That's a solid increase given that sales usually slow over the winter months.
Rising demand combined with fewer available homes is pushing up prices. Sales of previously owned homes ticked up in January after rising to their highest level in five years in 2012, according to the National Association of Realtors. At the same time, inventories of homes for sale fell to a 13-year low.
The states with the biggest price gains were Arizona, where prices rose 20.1 percent, followed by Nevada, with 17.4 percent, and Idaho, with 14.9 percent. California and Hawaii rose 14.1 percent and 14 percent, respectively.
The cities with the biggest gains were Phoenix, Los Angeles, Riverside, Calif., New York, and Atlanta.
Nationwide, home values were still down more than 26 percent from their peak in April 2006 through January, CoreLogic said. But in some states prices have recovered a lot of lost ground. In 15 states, home prices are within 10 percent of their peak values, CoreLogic said.
There have been other recent signs that the housing market is going strong. A measure of the number of Americans who signed contracts to buy homes rose in January from December to the highest level in more than 2 ½ years. That suggests sales of previously occupied homes will keep rising in the coming months.
Steady increases in prices help fuel the housing recovery. They encourage some homeowners to sell homes and entice some would-be buyers to purchase homes before prices rise further.
Higher prices can also make homeowners feel wealthier. That can encourage more consumer spending, which drives 70 percent of the U.S. economy.
Written by CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER for the Associated Press. Click here to read the original article


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I don't have a K510i (I have a K800i) but most Sony Ericssons I've seen come with a USB cable. You'll need use that to connect your phone to your computer. At the computer end you'll need the Sony Ericsson PC Suite to upload all the contact information from the phone. If you get a new Sony Ericsson then you should be able to use the PC Suite to download to the new phone. If now then you'll have to find some other way!
If you have pictures and other information on your phone or memory card then you should also be able to save that as well.
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He has held his seat in the House of Representatives since 1991 But today Rep. Ed Pastor announced that he won't seek another term. Pastor, 70, announced his decision on Twitter, saying that it was time for him "to seek out a new endeavor."
"After 23 years in Congress serving the people of AZ, I have decided not to seek re-election this year. It has been an honor," he tweeted. "Thank you."
A miner's son who began his professional life teaching high school chemistry, Pastor represents a district that includes southern Phoenix and Glendale.
The Arizona Republic says there will be no shortage of candidates to fill his seat:
"The race for his safe Democratic seat is expected to become a free-for-all, drawing a host of candidates who have been preparing for his retirement for years. Minutes after Pastor's announcement, state Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Phoenix, announced on Twitter he would enter the race."
The newspaper adds that Maricopa County Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox is also considering a run for Pastor's seat.
In a list of accomplishments on his website, Pastor notes his work on transit issues such as light rail. He has also been honored by the National Park Conservation Association and the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda.
The website states that Pastor was the first Mexican-American to be elected to Congress by Arizona voters.
By deciding to leave Congress after this year, Pastor brought to 21 the number of House members who are retiring from office. Roll Call is keeping a tally of the "casualty list" from the current Congress; the site says 10 Democrats and 11 Republicans are retiring from the House, along with four Democrats and two Republicans in the Senate.
Another 17 members of Congress are seeking political seats other than their own, whether in the Senate or other levels of government, Roll Call says.
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


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- Video cleaning cassette
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- for a gentle and efficient cleaning of the sound/read buttons and tape guide by best dirt absorption
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Hama VHS/S-VHS
Meaning of the delivery status
Immediately available
The item is in stock and can be shipped at short notice.
The item is also in stock in our shop in Düsseldorf.
Am Außenlager. Lieferzeit 4-6 Werktage nach Zahlungseingang
Der Artikel ist vor Ort in unserem Hauslager nicht vorrätig und wird nach erteiltem Kundenauftrag am Außenlager/beim Hersteller bzw. Distributor bestellt. Die zu erwartende Lieferzeit beträgt 4-6 Werktage.
Item has been ordered
The item has already been ordered from the manufacturer or distributor. The delivery time is usually between 1 week and 2 months. As soon as a more precise delivery time is known, we will publish the details on our website. After placing the order, you will be informed regularly about the delivery time.
Available at a specified date
The item has already been ordered from the manufacturer or distributor. We have been informed of the expected delivery date.
This item is ordered exclusively for you
The item is currently not in stock and will be ordered for you from the manufacturer or distributor after you have placed an order. The delivery time is usually between 1 week and 2 months. After placing the order, you will be informed regularly about the delivery time.
Item has been ordered. Delivery time 1-3 months
The item is currently not available. We were not given a delivery time. Experience shows that the expected delivery time is 1-3 months.
Currently not available
The manufacturer or supplier cannot confirm a date, so we assume a waiting time of 2 to 9 months. You can still order the item and secure your place on the waiting list.
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text:
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — People don't just watch TV anymore; they talk about it on Twitter. From the comfort of couches, they share reactions to touchdowns and nail-biting season finales — and advertisers and networks are taking note.
Examples of Twitter's influence abound. The recent finale of "Breaking Bad" generated a record 1.24 million tweets. The conversation peaked at 22,373 tweets per minute according to analytics firm SocialGuide. People used the hashtag "GoodbyeBreakingBad" nearly 500,000 times. During this year's Super Bowl, sports fans generated 24 million tweets about the competition and nearly half of the game's nationally televised commercials contained hashtags that encouraged viewers to tweet.
Twitter, says Debra Aho Williamson, an analyst at research firm eMarketer, "creates a community, a bond between people that doesn't really exist without Twitter."
As Twitter prepares for its initial public offering, the San Francisco-based company is also working hard to insert itself into the TV advertising economy. In recent months, the social networking company has forged partnerships with television content owners such as CBS, MTV and the NFL through a program it calls Amplify. The platform lets content owners beam real-time video clips to Twitter users who may have seen —or could be interested in — their TV programming. It also allows marketers to communicate with viewers who saw their TV ads, extending commercial pitches to consumers' smartphones and tablets.
TV tie-ins allow Twitter to diversify its revenue stream beyond the relatively small niche of digital advertising campaigns, a move that should appeal to potential investors. On Thursday, Twitter unsealed documents for a Wall Street debut that could take place before Thanksgiving. While the company did not reveal how much money it makes from its TV partnerships, it touted its own "strength as a second screen for television programming."
Twitter wrote in its S-1 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that "45% of television ads shown during the Super Bowl used a hashtag to invite viewers to engage in conversation about those television ads on Twitter."
Twitter's public nature makes it an especially attractive platform for tracking live-TV conversations. So much so that Nielsen recently began using Twitter's data to measure online social activity around TV programming, starting with this fall's TV season.
Nielsen will release its first "Nielsen Twitter TV Ratings" report on Monday. The study measures TV-related conversations on the social network. Nielsen found that in the second quarter of this year, 19 million people wrote 263 million tweets about live TV events, up 38 percent from a year earlier.
Some 19 million people tweet about TV shows, a 24 percent increase from last year. The audience measurement firm also found that many people read tweets about TV shows while they watch them — even if they don't post anything themselves. As a result, Nielsen says the Twitter TV audience for an average episode is 50 times larger than the number of people who are Tweeting about a show.
Separately, Nielsen found that the "Breaking Bad" finale was by far the most tweeted-about program last week.
On Sunday, the NFL showed just how Twitter-enabled promotions work. Minutes after Cincinnati cornerback Adam Jones intercepted New England's Tom Brady, ending the quarterback's streak of 52 games with a touchdown pass, the NFL posted a video clip on Twitter. The clip shows Jones bobbling, and then snagging the ball before it hits the ground.
The 32-second clip was prefaced by an 8-second video ad for a Verizon Droid mobile phone. "Adam Jones ends the Pats undefeated season, Brady's TD streak AND a rainstorm. With 1 INT," the league tweeted.
By inserting itself into the online buzz, the NFL was able to remind people the game was going on live at its NFL Network channel. Meanwhile, it earned new revenue from Verizon, a longtime sponsor that wanted to showcase its NFL Mobile app.
The NFL has more than 5.1 million followers on Twitter. But its new partnership with Twitter means the tweet also went out to millions of other users who might be interested.
Hans Schroeder, the NFL's senior vice president of media strategy and development, says he expects promoted tweets will eventually reach tens of millions of fans, multiplying its reach.
"We think it'll drive tune-in to our games and drive more people into the experience through NFL Mobile," Schroeder says.
As part of the deal, Twitter shares some of the revenue from Verizon's advertising spend when the phone company pays for "promoted tweets." Previously, the money might have gone only to the league itself.
Twitter's projected 2013 revenue is about $582 million, according to research firm eMarketer. At the moment, the company generates tens of millions of dollars of revenue from all of its TV deals, including those with ESPN, Turner networks, CBS and others, according to Brian Wieser, an analyst with Pivotal Research Group.
That's not huge. However, says Wieser: "This year, it's about getting the foot in the door."
Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter estimates that Twitter gets just a small fraction of its revenue from the TV deals — around 1 percent. But by next year, the deals could amount to 5 percent, and 15 percent the year after, he says.
Twitter isn't alone in its quest to befriend TV content companies. Facebook, too, is recognizing the value of live TV chatter. Because of its sheer size — nearly 1.2 billion users versus Twitter's 218 million — Facebook has more conversations than any other social network. During the "Breaking Bad" finale, more than 3 million people generated 5.5 million "interactions," that is, status updates, comments or "likes."
For now, Facebook's TV partnerships are not intended to generate revenue, the company says. Rather, they are "focused on helping people discover great content," says Justin Osofsky, Facebook's vice president of media partnerships.
Over the past few months, Facebook has rolled out more Twitter-like features as competition between the world's leading social networks heats up. There are now hashtags on Facebook, and the company is encouraging celebrities to use its site to interact with fans — just as many of them do on Twitter.


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WWW Robots (also called wanderers, spiders, crawlers, or bots) are programs that crawl the Web continually retrieving linked pages. When a spammer's bot visits your website, blog, forum, etc, all pages and sites linked to it will be searched looking for email addresses.
Now you can fight back against their robots!
All you have to do is link to this page so that whenever a spammer's robot scans your page, it will be sucked into this one. To link to this page, just use this simple code:
Text : Fight Spam! Click Here!
How it works
These links will redirect email harvesting bots to trap sites that will feed it with an almost infinite loop of dynamically generated fake email addresses, mostly on known spammer owned domains! This will render their harvested lists practically useless and of no commercial value.


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Switzerland (also known as "Confoederatio Helvetica" or "die Schweiz", "la Suisse", "Svizzera", "Svizra") is a federal republic composed of 26 distinct cantons as well as 4 linguistic and cultural areas (German, French, Italian and Rumantsch). Consequently, it is not suprising if its cuisine is a reflection of the rich heritage and impressive inherant multiculturality that can be found in our island-like tiny kingdom. Each region and district has its very own traditional gastronomy and produces which they fiercely protect (at least in the countryside and amongs cooks or farmers).
Even if this tiny piece of land stuck between Germany, Austria, France, Italy has a very rich culinary identity, one cannot refute that each part of the Swiss Confederation has to a certain extent been influenced by its neighbors, and vice versa. For example, a Geneva delicatessen such as "Longeole" can also be found in Chablais (Haute-Savoie), a similar cheese to Valais "Raclette" is made in Savoie too, the Swiss German "Spätzli" seem to be of Swabian (Germany) origin, then "Polenta" or "Risotto" which evoke the Apennine Penninsula are far from being dishes rare to find in Ticino, and the list goes on. As it is the case with every place that is not in total isolation, the borders are quite permeable, so it is pretty understandable that ideas, information, arts and science transit across them.
This Friday, I am presenting a butter, milk and kirsch enriched braided bread that we generally eat on Sunday mornings (not only, though). "Butterzopf" is very similar to the Jewish "Challah" or to its German and Austrian cousin "Hefekranz/Hefezopf", minus the eggs and sugar. It is halfway between a Vienese pastry and a brioche. The name "Zopf" or "Züpfe" is derived from its shape and literally means "braid" or "plait" (hence "Butterzopf" meaning "butterbraid"). This treat is enjoyed throughout our land, but as we like to make things complicated, its appearance can vary slightly depending on the localities. In Eastern Switzerland it'll be long and pointed, in canton Bern bakers will make it look very large and round ended and in Central Switzerland it will be given a large and flat form.
The origins of it are fairly unclear and surrounded by many legends, some gloomy others cheerful. Apparently, in ancient times, women used to accompany their deceased husbands into the tomb and the spirit world in order for the married couple to be reunited in death. Thankfully that dark tradition was abanded and replaced by a new, less barbarian one. Instead of being forced to perish with her man, the widow only had to cut off her hair (usually a plait) and lay it in the grave, alongside the body of her late companion. Then, the practice of offering one's hair as sacrifice was abolished and a braided loaf was used in place of the tresses. But as there is no real evidence of that custom, it is more likely that "Butterzopf" saw the light of day in a less morbid way. In 1256, the first baker's corporation was created in Basel and not long after, a few more were formed around the Helvetic territory. During the 15th century this delicacy became very popular as people used to gift it on special occasions such as Christmas and New Year. It was even offered as a token of love or to seal a promise of marriage. Since its existence is attested since 1430, it is most probable that it is a Swiss invention. Nowadays, Swiss people still have the habit of bringing a "Zopf" to their hosts to mark special events (public holidays and feast days).
As the the 1st of August, our National Day is soon here I found that it would be very convenient to write a post coinciding with that celebration. When this date is approaching, there is not one supermarket newspaper, food magazine or leaflet that doesn't star this delightful goodie which is a part of our identity as much as the cliché-esque chocolate, cheese or watches are.
Unfortunately, I possess no family recipe for making this brioche, so the one I use faithfully and always with much success hails from the very first bread book I bought 13 years ago (wow, I'm feeling "old" suddenly LOL), "Ultimate Bread" by Eric Treuille & Ursula Ferrigno (see review here). The formula for it is quite straightforward and accessible, nothing tricky here. There is no need to stress or plan your baking session too much ahead as it'll take you only a few little hours to prepare (1/4 of an afternoon).
Their "Butterzopf" is perfect. It tastes and looks exactly as it should. Texture-wise, the crust is marvelously glossy, golden-colored as well as delicately crisp and its inside is exquistely tender, spongy, full of finesse in addition to being beautifully areated. Furthermore, its subtle flavor is just out of this world and incredibly gratifying. It is elegantly buttery and has fabulous heady hints of Kirsch that pleasantly mingle with the round, enthralling and ambrosial aromas of yeast. You should be there when my "Butterzopf" is in the oven. The smell that spreads through the apartment is dreamlike and instantly puts you in a good mood
This bread is utterly delicious that you don't need to dress up your slice with any fancy spread or accompany it with anything. Its taste alone is self-sufficient. Nonetheless, it pairs really well with butter, cheese, jams, curds, Nutella, Cenovis (the Swiss equivalent of Marmite and Vegemite), honey, dried meat, smoked fish or pate.
Come, try it. I promise you that you'll not be deceived!
Submitted to Yeastspotting!
~ Swiss Butterzopf ~
Recipe adapted from Eric Treuille & Ursula Ferrigno's cookbook "Ultimate Bread".
Makes 1 big loaf (or two medium loaves).
2 Tsp (7g) Dried yeast
1 Tsp Castor sugar
1 1/4 Cups (300ml) Full-fat milk, lukewarm (not over 50° C /122° F)
3 3/4 Cups (500g) Flour (high in gluten)
1 1/2 Tsp Fine sea salt
4 Tbs (60g) Unsalted butter, softened and creamed
2 Tbs Kirsch
1 Egg yolk + 1 Tbs Milk, mixed together (for glazing the bread)
1. Sprinkle the yeast and the sugar into 1/2 cup (120ml) of the milk. Let stand for 5 minutes and then stir to dissolve.
2. Put the flour in the bowl of your standmixer. Make a well in the center and pour in the yeasted mixture.
3. Using a wooden spoon, draw enough of the flour into the liquid in order to form a soft paste which's texture is similar to pancake batter.
4. Cover the bowl with a dish towel or plastic film and let "sponge" until frothy and risen, about 20 minutes.
5. Pour the remaining milk into the well, add the salt, butter and kirsch. Mix until you obtain a moist, but not tacky dough (if the dough is too wet addd a little flour our if it's too dry, add some milk).
6. Knead until the dough is smooth, shiny, elastic and passes the window pane test, about 4-6 minutes (10 minutes when kneaded by hand).
7. Oil a bowl and place the dough in it, turning to coat evenly with butter. Cover with some plastic film and then a dish towel. Let rise at room temperature, until doubled in size, about 1 1 ⁄2 to 2 hours.
8. Punch down, then let rest for 10 minutes.
9. Divide the dough into three pieces (or 6 if you are making two medium loaves), then roll out each of them into a 40cm (16-inch) long rope and make a (or 2) braided loaf (loaves) with them (see example here).
10. Place on a baking sheet covered with baking paper and cover with a dish towel.
11. Let prove until doubled in size, about 35–45 minutes.
12. Twenty minutes before the end of the proofing time, preheat the oven to 180° C (350° F).
13. Once the bread is ready to get baked, brush the top of the loaf with the egg glaze.
14. Bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes, until golden brown and hollow sounding when tapped underneath.
15. Let cool on a wire rack.
If you don't have any Kirsch, then use brandy or plum spirit/brandy.
You can freeze your bread without problem. In that case, you just have to bake it as instructed above and then to remove it from the oven 10 minutes before the end of its baking time, wrap it in a dish towel and let it cool completely before freezing. On the day you choose to eat your zopf, defreeze it for 15 to 30 minutes (in its freezer bag), then bake it for 10 minutes at 200° C (400° F) and let it cool on a wire rack.
Serving suggestions:
Serve for breakfast or brunch with cheese, jam or the spreads of your choice (perfect with cream cheese, lemon curd and Nutella).
You can also make wonderful French Toasts with the leftover bread.
Recette adaptée du livre "Le Pain" par Eric Treuille et Ursula Ferrigno .
Pour 1 grosse tresse (ou 2 moyennes tresses).
2 CC (7g) de Levure sèche
1 CC de Sucre cristallisé
300ml de Lait entier, tiède (en dessous de 50° C)
500g de Farine blanche pour pain
1 1/2 CC de Sel de mer fin
60g de Beurre non-salé, battu en pommade
2 CS de Kirsch
1 Jaune d'oeuf + 1 CS de Lait, mélangés ensemble (pour la dorure)
1. Verser 120ml de lait dans un petit bol, puis saupoudrer avec la levure et le sucre. Bien mélanger et laisser reposer pendant 10 minutes, jusqu'à ce que le mélange soit mousseux.
2. Dans un grand bol (ou dans le bol d'un robot électrique avec le crochet à pain), ajouter la farine et faire un puits. Y verser le mélange lait/sucre/levure.
3. A l'aide d'une cuillère en bois, incorporer assez de farine afin d'obtenir un mélange visqueux ressemblant à de la pâte à pancake.
4. Couvrir avec un linge ou du film plastique/alimentaire et laisser "lever/mousser" pendant environ 20 minutes.
5. Ajouter le lait restant, le sel, le beurre et le kirsch. Bien mélanger afin d'obtenir une pâte humide, mais pas collante (si elle colle, ajouter un peu de farine et si elle est trop sèche, ajouter un peu de lait).
6. La pétrir pendant 4-6 minutes (ou 10minutes à la main), jusqu'à ce qu'elle soit lisse, brillante, élastique et passe le test du vitrail.
7. Mettre la pâte dans un grand bol légèrement huilé/beurré et faites tourner la pâte dans le bol afin de bien l'enduire d'huile/de beurre. Couvrir avec du film plastique/alimentaire, puis avec un linge de cuisine. Faire lever à température ambiante jusqu'à ce que la pâte ait doublé de volume, pendant environ 1 1 ⁄2 à 2 heures.
8. Dégonfler la pâte et la laisser reposer pendant 10 minutes.
9. Diviser la pâte en 3 (ou 6 si vous faites deux pains) parts égales, former des longs "saucissons" de 40cm de longueur et les tresser ensemble (voir example ici).
10. Mettre la tresse (ou les tresses) sur une plaque de cuisson recouverte de papier sulfurisé et recouvrir avec un linge de cuisine.
11. Laisser lever pendant environ 35–45 minutes, ou jusqu'à ce que le pain ait doublé de volume.
12. Vingt minutes avant la fin de la période de levage, préchauffer le four à 180° C.
13. Une fois que le(s) pain(s) est(sont) prêt(s) à être enfourné(s), le(s) badigeonner avec le glaçage à l'oeuf.
14. Cuire pendant 40 minutes, jusqu'à ce qu'il(s) soi(en)t dorés et sonne(nt) creux.
15. Sortir le(s) pain(s) du four et le(s) faire reffroidir sur une grille avant de le(s) déguster.
Si vous n'avez pas de kirsch, vous pouvez aussi utiliser du brandy ou de l'eau-de-vie de prunes.
Vous pouvez très bien congeler votre tresse. Il vous suffit de la préparer comme indiqué dans la recette, puis de sortir votre pain 10 minutes avant la fin de la cuisson, de l'envelopper encore chaude dans un linge, puis de le laisser refroidir complètement avant de le mettre au congélateur. Après, vous n'aurez qu'à laisser votre tresse dégeler partiellement pendant 15 à 30 minutes dans son sachet de congélation et enfin de l'enfourner pour 10 minutes dans le four préchauffé à 200° C et de le laisser refroidir sur une grille.
Idées de présentation:
Servir à l'heure du déjeuner ou pour le brunch, avec du fromage, de la confiture, du cream cheese, du lemon curd ou du Nutella.
Avec le reste de pain, faites du pain perdu. Vous verrez, c'est merveilleux.


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Terms and conditions
Delivery Terms of Pisa Design Lifestyleshop Aito online store.
Applied as of 3.10.2022
Orders are packed next business day after recieving an order.
1. General
These general terms ("general terms") apply to you ("you" or "customer") when you make an order from Pisa Design Lifestyleshop Aito ("we" or "Pisa Design Lifestyleshop Aito") through our website at www.aitodesignshop.fi ("web shop"). We encourage you to carefully familiarize yourself with these general terms before making any orders in the web shop.
Any person making orders in the web shop must be at least 18 years old and he/she must hold a permanent delivery address within the delivery area of the web shop. For example, mail box addresses, hotels and other similar temporary addresses are not regarded as permanent addresses.
The customer must accept these general terms to be able to make any orders in the web shop. By accepting these general terms, the customer agrees to fully comply with these general terms and simultaneously accepts and gives his or her express consent for the processing of his/her personal data and Pisa Design Lifestyleshop Aito's use of cookies in accordance with the Privacy policy and the Cookie policy.
Please note that these general terms give you specific rights, and you may have other rights, which vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.
Pisa Design Lifestyleshop Aito Business ID 2887088-4. The web-shop sells products to individuals at least 18 years old). Product prices include VAT. We reserve the right to change prices and shipping costs.
2. Your contracting party
Your contracting party in all orders made in the web shop is Pisa Design Lifestyleshop Aito, whose contact details are:
Pisa Design Lifestyleshop Aito (Business ID 2887088-4)
Address: Matkailutie 312, 85100 Kalajoki, Finland
E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com
Telephone: +358 40 661 00 62
3. Product orders
Product orders are made in the web shop by adding the desired product(s) to the shopping cart (basket) and making the respective payment with web payment service. All customer information is handled confidentially. The contact information that required for the order will not be used for another purposes but delivery or to clarify any inaccuracies in the order, unless otherwise specifically indicated. When you make an order from the web shop you are required to become acquainted and to accept the terms of delivery.
4. Methods of payment
Paytrail is the payment service for the web shop and it includes such options as invoicing, payment in instalments, credit card and e-payment.
You can also make a choice to pay with by our partner Klarna. You can manage all your payments via Klarna.com or in the Klarna app and even pay with just one click.
You can also pay with PayPal.
By declaring details on the checkout you agree to the terms and conditions of Paytrail, Klarna AB or Paypal. By clicking the "Buy" button you agree to the general terms and conditions of the Pisa Design Lifestyleshop Aito web shop.
5. Order and payment confirmation
As we receive your order, we will send you order confirmation via email, which shows your order details. Making orders in the web shop requires that you provide us with a valid e-mail address. Please always check the content of the order confirmation. If you have any questions, contact our customer service immediately. Save an order confirmation if you need to contact customer service. If you contact a customer service, please keep your customer number and order number available for quicker identification. Please check as well that the contents of the package match the order confirmation.
The confirmation includes the price and the costs of delivery of the order, the ordered products, as well as other information required by applicable mandatory legislation.
Customer Service:
e-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com
telephone: +358 44 567 8463 (available as retail shop opening hours)
6. Delivery and delivery costs
All costs of delivery of products ordered in the web shop are inclusive of postage and packaging costs. The costs of different means of delivery are shown in the basket when the products have been chosen. We provide an estimation of shipping costs in the shopping cart on the web shop according to the primary delivery method. The exact delivery costs you will see after submitting payment and delivery methods. Delivery methods depend on the content and total weight of the order. You can choose an option that suits you best. The exact delivery costs are indicated in the delivery method. We provide free shipping for orders over 70,00 euros within Finland.
Delivery time
The particular delivery time within Finland varies depending on the order and delivery method. Usually the delivery time is 3-5 business days. In case a product you have ordered is not available at the moment, we may separately agree with you another delivery time or that we will deliver another product that is essentially similar to the original product, provided that the price of the replacement product does not exceed that of the original product. Is case of possible delivery delay we also notify you immediately after receiving the order.
Web shop is not responsible for the delays caused by force majoure or the indirect harm caused by delays. The web shop informs about exceptional delivery times on its website. If you have any special requests for delivery time, you can contact us by e-mail at: email@example.com so we can agree another delivery time.
7. Return policy
Pisa Design Lifestyleshop Aito web-shop has 14 days return policy. Regular price unused and undamaged products bearing all original product identifiers and tags can be returned. We charge a postage fee of 7,90€ (within Finland) and 25€ (for Priority Parcel shipments within EU) for the return and exchange of SALE and CAMPAIGN products. In case of returning product(s) without informing us about return via email, we charge a postage fee of 7.90€ or 25€ (as mentioned above).
The customer has a right to cancel from his/her distance sale contract by notifying Pisa Design Lifestyleshop Aito via the return form or other form of notice within fourteen (14) days after receiving the ordered products.
In case of making a return form, you have to indicate your name, address, order date and order number, and the details of the returning product(s) as well. The return form has to be sent by email to email@example.com or by post to the return address below. The product(s) has to be returned by post within 14 days from the cancellation notice in the original condition and original packaging. The first exchange and return is free of charge for customer and for the following returns within the same order the customer is in charge. Please attach a copy of the cancellation form to product you return. Is case the product was used we reserve the right to charge the depreciation from the customer. Sale-products cannot be returned or exchanged.
If you would like to return or exchange your order after the return period has expired, please contact us directly.
When returning the supplied order, please attach your contact details and order number as well as account number for a full refund.
If a product ordered from the web shop has been returned to us in accordance with the return policy, Pisa Design Lifestyleshop Aito shall make the respective repayment through respective payment service provider as soon as possible and in any event within fourteen (14) days after having received the customer's notice of withdrawal. The web-shop may however postpone the repayment, until we have received the product or the customer has provided us with a certification of the return.
Returm address:
Pisa Design Lifestyleshop Aito / Return
Matkailutie 312, 85100 Kalajoki, Finland
The return policy does not apply to a product(s) that was manufactured or modified for a customer as personalized products.
8. Unclaimed order
The situation if order has been sent by the web-shop but not collected by the customer cannot be defined as a return or exchange. If return or exchange notice has not been done by the customer, the web-shop reserve the right to charge delivery costs from the customer.
9. Controversial situations
If the order has been lost or damaged during transportation or otherwise does not respond to your order expectations, the customer has to inform us within 14 days by writing a letter to the return address (mentioned in Returm terms) or by calling to the customer service by the telephone number (mentioned in the contact details).
In case if the order package is obviously damaged during the transportation, the customer immediately has to make a complaint to the transportation company directly.


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Since everyone is trained at once, New Horizons team training reduces your overall costs.
With private classes, New Horizons Lebanon schedules classes when it is convenient for your team, and also provides all necessary equipment and training at its facilities.
New Horizons Lebanon's private classes will give your employees the hands-on experience necessary for them to use what they will learn right away.


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Iran says it successfully sent a monkey into space
January 28, 2013
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — A gray-tufted monkey strapped in a pod resembling an infant's car seat rode an Iranian rocket into space and returned safely, officials said Monday in what was described as a step toward Tehran's goal of a manned space flight.
The mission also touched on concerns that advances in Iran's rocket expertise could be channeled into military use for long-range weapons that might one day carry nuclear warheads. Iran says it does not seek atomic weapons.
Launching a live animal into space — as the U.S. and the Soviet Union did more than a half-century ago in the infancy of their programs — may boost a country's stature. But John Logsden, a space policy professor emeritus at George Washington University, said Iran's achievement should draw no concern.
"A slight monkey on a suborbital flight is nothing to get too excited about," he said. "They already had the capability to launch warheads in their region."
U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said the U.S. had no way to confirm the monkey's voyage, but that it was concerned by the reports because "any space launch vehicle capable of placing an object in orbit is directly relevant to the development of long-range ballistic missiles."
The U.N. Security Council has expressly forbidden Iran from such ballistic missile activity, Nuland added.
In June 2010, the Security Council banned Iran from pursuing "any activity related to ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons."
With its ambitious aerospace program, Iran has said it wants to become a technological leader for the Islamic world.
It's not the first time Iran has announced it had rocketed a live creature out of the Earth's atmosphere. The country sent a mouse, a turtle and some worms into space in 2010, officials said.
But the purported successful voyage of the small monkey, shown wearing a protective vest, put Iran among just a handful of nations that have sent a primate into space in a mission seen as a precursor of human spaceflight. No name was given for the monkey.
Earlier this month, the director of Iran's space agency, Hamid Fazeli, said Iran wanted to launch its first manned space mission in as soon as five years — a goal that stretches back to the shah's fascination with NASA years before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
"Iran is on its way to send a man into space," said Iran's Defense Minister Gen. Ahmad Vahidi in comments posted on the ministry's website.
He added that the capsule "returned to Earth safely at the expected speed, together with the monkey inside," without giving further details.
According to state TV, the rocket dubbed "Pishgam," or "Pioneer" in Farsi, reached a height of 120 kilometers (72 miles), pushing into the threshold of space.
Iran's state TV broadcast its first video pictures showing Iranian scientists fixing the seated monkey into the rocket before the launch. It did not give any details on the timing or location of the launch.
Still images also showed the monkey wearing a type of molded body protection and being strapped tightly into a red plastic seat. The monkey was shown immobilized with straps and his face poked through a purple shield that covered his head and upper body.
Fazel said the monkey parachuted safely with the remaining last stage of the rocket. The TV also showed experts walking to the site in the middle of a desert where the monkey landed.
Fazel told the state TV that Iran will launch a bigger rocket together with a larger animal to obtain greater safety assurances before sending a man into space.
For Iran, its aerospace program is a source of national pride at a time of slumping economic fortunes from Western sanctions. It's also one of the pillars of Iran's aspirations to be seen as the technological hub for Islamic and developing countries.
Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and others repeatedly describe scientific progress — including Iran's uranium enrichment labs — as a patriotic duty in response to Western economic and diplomatic pressures.
Iran's rocket technology alarms the West as giving it intercontinental reach for a possible arsenal. Already, conventional Iranian missiles are capable of reaching Israel and U.S. military bases in the Persian Gulf.
Iran insists it only seeks nuclear reactors for energy and medical applications. But authorities also say there can be no retreat from homegrown technological development in all fields — from peaceful nuclear research to military surveillance drones.
Tehran has announced several successful launches of satellites, dating back to 2005 in a joint project with Russia.
In November, the head of Iran's powerful parliamentary committee on security and foreign policy, Alaeddin Boroujerdi, warned that "no power can prevent Iran's progress in scientific and nuclear science fields."
Similar statements were made last year when Iran announced plans for a new space center.
Few details have emerged on the new facility, but Iran already has a major satellite launch complex near Semnan, about 200 kilometers (125 miles) east of Tehran. A satellite monitoring facility is located outside Mahdasht, about 70 kilometers (40 miles) west of the Iranian capital.
Iran says it wants to put its own satellites into orbit to monitor natural disasters in the earthquake-prone nation, improve telecommunications and expand military surveillance in the region.
The mission involving the monkey drew historical links to the earliest years of the space race in the 1950s when both the U.S. and the Soviet Union tested rockets with animals on board, including American capsules carrying monkeys and Moscow's holding dogs. Many of the animals on the early flights perished because of equipment failure or technology unable to cope with re-entry from sub-orbit.
Later in the 1960s, the U.S. and Soviets sent animals into orbit for further biological tests on space flight and other nations, including France and China, sent animals on rocket flights.
"They're following the path that we followed more than half a century ago," Logsdon said, adding that Iran is probably ahead of India in terms of space ability, but behind its arch foe Israel.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals said it was "appalled" by photos of what it described as a "visibly terrified monkey crudely strapped into a restraint device."
It said it had urged Iran in 2011 not to send a primate into space.
"Iran is repeating the wasteful and cruel mistakes that marked the darkest days of the space race," PETA said in a statement.