The Hajj (First two days) - Waqf al Arafa or Hajj Day then the Eid (sacrifice of Abraham)

from Religion and Ethics Newsweekly (PBS dot-org, Lilly Foundation is sponsor):

Hajj (Islam)
Hajj is the pilgrimage to Mecca, occurring on the 7th-12th days of the month of Dhu al-Hajja in the Islamic calendar. This is the largest annual pilgrimage in the world, and all able-bodied Muslims are required to participate at least once in their lifetimes. Several rituals are performed during this pilgrimage, including walking counter-clockwise seven times around the Kaaba, a cube-shaped building representing the Muslim direction of prayer, and drinking from the Zamzam well.

November 5

Waqf al Arafa – Hajj Day (Islam)
Waqf al Arafa is the Islamic observance day during Hajj when pilgrims pray for forgiveness and mercy. Pilgrims stay awake at night to pray on the hill of Arafat, the site where Muhammad traditionally delivered his last sermon.

November 6

Eid-Ul-Adha (Islam)
Concluding the Hajj, Eid-Ul-Adha is the Festival of Sacrifice held the day after the visit to Arafat, when pilgrims move to Mina. Those who can afford to do so sacrifice their best domestic animals, such as sheep or cows. This practice recalls Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son in obedience to God, and it commemorates God’s forgiveness.

Today is Guy Fawkes Day (Nov. 5) in British Isles

from Writer's Almanac (Garrison Keillor, Minnesota Public Radio):

Today is Guy Fawkes Day, or Bonfire Night, in the United Kingdom. It commemorates the failure of conspirators to blow up the Houses of Parliament in the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. At issue was the anger of Roman Catholics toward King James I, who refused to extend religious tolerance to the Catholics. The conspirators, led by Robert Catesby, planned to target Parliament at its opening ceremony, thereby killing the king and queen and clearing the way for a new era of Catholicism in England. Someone tipped off the authorities, and one of the conspirators, Guy Fawkes, was caught red-handed stashing explosives in the cellar on the night before the planned attack. Fawkes was tortured, tried, convicted, and executed for treason, along with any other conspirators who weren't killed when they resisted arrest.
The first observation of Guy Fawkes Day took place that same year, when bonfires were lit to celebrate the safety of the king, and has been going on ever since. It features fireworks, to represent the explosives, and bonfires, at which Guy Fawkes is burned in effigy. The Yeomen of the Guard also perform a ceremonial search of the Parliament buildings. Children carry the effigies around town for several days prior to the bonfire, asking passersby for "a penny for the Guy." They use their collection to buy fireworks.
Ironically, Guy Fawkes was really just a peripheral figure to the conspiracy. Born a Protestant in 1570, he had converted to Catholicism when he was 23. Catesby and the other leaders of the plot recruited Fawkes because he was a military man, and they thought his experience would serve them well. He was nowhere near the mastermind that tradition has made him out to be.

Charles Frazier of Asheville, NC -- born Nov. 4, 1950

from The Writer's Almanac (Garrison Keillor, Minnesota Public Radio):

Today (Nov. 4) is the birthday of Charles Frazier (1950), the author of Cold Mountain (1997), born in Asheville, North Carolina, where his family has lived for several generations. His father, who was researching the family's history, told him the story of an ancestor who had fought in the Civil War and made his way on foot back home to Cold Mountain. Frazier was looking for ideas for the plot of a novel, and knew that this was the story he was looking for. Details about his ancestor were few and far between, and the story his father told him was only about a paragraph long. He decided to write the tale as historical fiction instead, filling in things that he didn't know by reading Civil War diaries, studying the history of the period, and using what he remembered about Appalachian farm life, which was still relatively primitive even in the mid-20th century. But he didn't want to write a typical Civil War story about the battles. "I realized that there are two kinds of books about a war: There's an Iliad, about fighting the war, and about the battles and generals, and there's an Odyssey, about a warrior who has decided that home and peace are the things he wants," he said. "Once I decided that I was writing an Odyssey kind of book instead of an Iliad kind of book, I could move forward with it with some sense of happiness."
He's currently at work on his third novel, Nightwoods, set in the Appalachian Mountains of the 20th century.

Caregivers Month (National Proclamation) - Nov. 1

President's website -- whitehouse.gov/

Across our country, millions of family members, neighbors, and friends provide care and support for their loved ones during times of need.  With profound compassion and selflessness, these caregivers sustain American men, women, and children at their most vulnerable moments, and through their devoted acts, they exemplify the best of the American spirit.  During National Family Caregivers Month, we pay tribute to the individuals throughout America who ensure the health and well-being of their relatives and loved ones.
Many of our Nation's family caregivers assist seniors and people with disabilities to help improve their quality of life.  Their efforts help deliver short term comfort and security, facilitate social engagement, and help individuals stay in their homes and communities as long as possible.  This heroic work is often done while caregivers balance other commitments to their families, jobs, and communities.  As these remarkable individuals put their own lives on hold to tend to their family members, it is our responsibility to ensure they do not have to do it alone.
To ease the emotional and financial burdens that can accompany caregiving, my Administration has striven to support family caregivers for the crucial role they perform.  Vice President Joe Biden's Middle Class Task Force has focused on the importance or investing in respite care, counseling, and training for individuals who serve aging Americans.  These initiatives would give family caregivers a leg up as they continue to support their aging loved ones.
One of our Nation's greatest responsibilities is to ensure our veterans, their families, and their caregivers receive lasting and comprehensive support.  Last year, I signed the Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act, which helps fulfill this obligation by extending additional assistance to family members who care for severely wounded veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan.  Our military caregivers exemplify the heroism found not only on the fields of battle, but also in the hearts of those who tend to our wounded warriors when they come home.
As we observe National Family Caregivers Month, we honor the tireless compassion of Americans who heal, comfort, and support our injured, our elders, and people with disabilities.  This month and throughout the year, let the quiet perseverance of our family caregivers remind us of the decency and kindness to which we can all aspire.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim November 2011 as National Family Caregivers Month.  I encourage all Americans to pay tribute to those who provide for the health and well-being of their family members, friends, and neighbors.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/11/01/presidential-proclamation-national-family-caregivers-month-2011

Does Daylight Savings equal "Energy" Savings? (ABC News experts debate)

www.abcnews.com/

Does Daylight Saving Equal Energy Savings?

The seven-month period of daylight saving time is mandated by governments -- not biological clocks -- which began implementing the time switch during World Wars I and II to save energy and resources for the war effort. From World War II until recently, daylight saving in the U.S. ran from April until mid-October.

But in 2007, Congress adjusted daylight saving time to begin three weeks earlier and end one week later, a move they hoped would help save energy. At the time, they pointed to the fact that longer daylight in the evening hours reduced people's need to turn on lights in their homes at night.

Critics of the policy questioned the government's decision, wondering whether people would simply turn on as many lights in the morning hours instead. In response, the Department of Energy studied the energy savings in 2008. They found that during daylight saving time, U.S. electricity use decreased by 0.5 percent per day, which added up to 1.3 billion kilowatt-hours, enough to power about 122,000 average U.S. homes for a year.

Now, as daylight saving time comes to its November close, energy use will tick up again as the sun sets earlier in the evening.

In the early morning hours of Sunday, Nov. 6, the clocks will be set back an hour, from 2 a.m. to 1 a.m. For an individual who goes to bed at 10 p.m. on Saturday night and awakens eight hours later, they will wake up at 5 a.m. on Sunday morning. It will still be dark, of course, but the sun will come earlier than normal, at 6:30 a.m.

Daylight Saving Time Ends This Weekend, and It's Healthy

By NED POTTER and COLLEEN CURRY | ABC News 

USAID celebrates 50 year anniversary

http://www.state.gov/ (U.S. State Department, Washington, D.C.)

For 50 years, USAID has been helping communities and countries build a better future for themselves and their families, working to help others while also serving America’s own national interests. USAID is honoring 50 years of progress and celebrating an agency that is reinventing itself to become more innovative, more entrepreneurial, and more results-driven, so that it can continue to bring hope, opportunity, security, and prosperity to millions of people around the world.

At the website -- VIDEO statement -- former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright honors USAID’s vital mission and commends USAID employees for their work empowering women, promoting education and fighting poverty around the globe. Secretary Albright also reinforces USAID’s critical role helping America achieve friends across the world and calls attention to the link between development and freedom.
“Created in 1961, USAID embodies America’s commitment to helping people from across the globe to live in dignity and hope.” – Secretary Albright.

http://50.usaid.gov/former-secretary-of-state-madeleine-albright-recognizes-usaid%e2%80%99s-positive-impact/

On this day in History (Nov. 3, 1911): Founding of Chevrolet Auto Company

from M-Live dot-com press article:

Louis Chevorlet and William Durant co-founded the Chevrolet Motor Company on November 3, 1911. One hundred years later, General Motors is celebrating the brand's history while gearing up for its electric future.

"Everything we do is not to build the company for the next month or the next year," GM CEO Dan Akerson said this morning on WJR-AM 760, "it's for the next 100 years.

"When you look ahead, one of the things that we came out of bankruptcy with was a very strong balance sheet. And it couldn't have come at a better time for the company, because right now we need to invest for the future -- research and development, engineering -- because advance propulsion is going to be the key.” While Chevrolet already produces a hydrogen fuel-cell Equinox, Akerson said electric vehicles are the wave of the future, noting an all-electric version of the Spark is expected to go on sale stateside in 2013 and other EVs are in the works.

The Volt, meanwhile, has earned rave reviews but generated modest sales, begging the question: Is GM dragging customers into the electric future or meeting them where they want to go?

Akerson admitted the company is doing more pushing than pulling at this point, but he compared the Volt to the iPod, noting that consumer demand for new technology often builds over time.

"All great companies innovate," Akerson said. "In Steve Jobs' case, he innovated in technology. And I believe this company has the wherewithall and the technical ability to innovate into the 21st century so that it fundamentally changes how cars are made and how they're powered. I do think this is a game changer."
GM sold 1,108 Volts in October, more than any month since the vehicle's launch. But the all-electric Nissan Leaf is still outselling the Volt, and GM will struggle to meet its goal of selling 10,000 units this year.

Nonetheless, Akerson said the company is moving forward with plans to ramp up production at the Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Plant, hoping to ship 60,000 Volts next year.

"Developing this car took literally hundreds of millions of dollars," he said. "It was a huge bet. And it is different. But quite frankly, we needed to gear up."

http://www.mlive.com/auto/index.ssf/2011/11/as_chevrolet_celebrates_100_ye.html