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I found a rugged quartz crystal in our garden yesterday and brought it to my writing table, to gaze at its beauty and reveal its mystery as I write, like gazing into a crystal ball.

The five crystals in the center of it are perfect, in their own wild way, like the days I spent in total conflict with myself, with society and the world.

It brings to mind one of my favorite Alphia stories, my golden German Shepard Collie of the 1960’s, the pre-Funk commune years, occurring several months after the communal caravan arrived in San Francisco.

We found our large Victorian house after several weeks of illegal camping around the jagged Pacific shore hideaways and in the many untamed parks for which the city is famous.

The caravan people had remained disgruntled in spite of the constant dog/God guidance surrounding us.

A chasm developed between those who wanted to join the ranks of the work-a-day world, and the four of us who went on to establish the Funky Farm community and knew that going to work was antithetical to living creatively by the seat of our pants.

I had come to a place within myself where I needed to live outside of the mainstream, established 9-5 ho-hum I’m beaten down, kill me now style of existence I imagined my father ascribing to for his thirty-five working years, at the same place, doing the same job, everyday. I’d think of an exhilarating alternative, bet on that.

My life as a rip off artist now began in earnest.

One day, I took Alphia Lee for a walk in Golden Gate park. A squirrel distracted her from the beloved stick, and damn it if she didn’t run in front of a fast moving car. She crawled back to the side of the road.

I remember crying and kneeling beside her, going over her body, getting a sense of how badly she was hurt. A car pulled over and a young man asked to take me where ever I wished to go.

He had an old blanket and we carefully laid her on it.

Then he drove Alphia and me to the big rambling Victorian house that was our temporary abode.

We prepared a bed for her with old blankets and rags.

She’d look at us with a forlorn Muki eye, the dog who joined me 28 years later to show me true love.

That look inspired me to slip into the meat department of a local Safeway, and steal one steak a day for her, and for her only.

Then we’d sit with her for hours, stroking her neck and body and encouraging her to come back to us.

The long intimate times we spent with her were patient and happy. We did not desperately plead with her to live rather than die. Rather, we coaxed her gently, showing her our love, and gave her the great option of living with a handful of rogues completely alienated from society.

She opted to spend a few more years with us in our experiment of living–dangerously.

Throughout history the Greyhound has been the darling dog breed of royalty and nobility. From the ancient Egyptians, who often mummified and buried favored dogs with their owners; to the English nobility who enacted a law banning so fine a beast from being owned by mere commoners. Even the Bedouin (who as devout Muslims shun dogs in general for supposedly being unclean) since time immemorial have so revered the Greyhound (or its derivative or ancestor) that not only was contact permitted, they even allowed the consumption of game caught by such dogs.

Fast forward to today and it is hard to believe that this dog breed once held such an esteemed position. Currently over 100,000 Greyhound dogs are destroyed each year worldwide, as a result of the cruel sport of dog racing!

In times long past a messenger carrying both good news and bad always supplied the good news first in order to lessen the effect of the bad news and thereby increase his chances of living to see another day (hence the expression: Don’t shoot the messenger!) So borrowing from that tactful approach, this article shall address the Greyhound’s glorious past first before covering its dismal present:

The Greyhound is a dog that stands apart from the other dog breeds not only for the fact that it happens to be the speed champion of the dog world but also because it holds an unparalleled array of records which include:

1. The fastest dog in the world across short distances: the Greyhound dog can attain speeds in excess of 40 mph (64km/h)

2. It has the longest stride of any dog breed whilst it is in full flight. One Greyhound dog is on record of having covered a distance of 30 feet (9.14m) in a single leap. The Greyhound’s sprint is described as a double flight gait which involves the dog at some point having all of its feet off the ground. When a Greyhound dog is sprinting it propels itself first with its hind legs and then momentarily lands on its front feet before cantilevering off those while reaching forward with its hind feet (at which point for an instant all four feet are off the ground).

This double-flight gait is extremely fast but also very unstable which explains the many injuries that befall racing Greyhounds. The Cheetah which is the fastest mammal on earth has a somewhat similar sprint pattern which also entails the Cheetah’s four limbs being fully off the ground at some point. The Greyhound however is no match for the Cheetah which can attain speeds of 70 mph (114 km/h) and maintain that speed for 3.5 miles!

Though the Greyhound cannot match the Cheetah’s speed, it obviously is no slow coach either and the reason why this dog breed can attain such speeds (other than its obvious aerodynamic-enhanced morphological structure and muscle mass) is because it packs so much hemoglobin in its blood. Those elevated levels of hemoglobin ensure the transfer of more oxygen to the tissues which also bestows the Greyhound dog’s blood with a sludge-like quality (thick blood). If the human heart were to attempt pumping such a thick mixture of blood it would most likely go into failure.

3. The Greyhound boasts the longest documented history of any dog breed. Ancient drawings and records place the Greyhound dog as a distinctive breed over 6000 years ago.

4. The Greyhound is the most expensive dog breed; it is not unusual for champion racing Greyhounds to command a price tag in excess of $70,000!

5. The Greyhound dog is the one breed that has been most favored by royalty and the aristocracy throughout all of dog history. In fact so much so was this dog breed viewed as the epitome of canine excellence that a law was passed in England in 1014—part of the Forest Laws—which categorically forbade commoners to own a Greyhound dog! Those persons other than nobility who were permitted to own a Greyhound, such as Freemen, could only do so, so long as the dog was deliberately maimed if they lived within 10 miles of a royal forest.

Interestingly enough, royal households used to employ select dog-mutilators whose job was to rove around the countryside ensuring that nobody not born of noble birth or titled by the king was in illegal possession of a greyhound dog that was not lamed! However, as the acreage of the great forests dwindled, and with the rising importance of agricultural and domestic livestock food sources, the function of the Greyhound dog declined correspondingly! Even so the Greyhound still remained the favorite dog of the landed gentry especially as the popularity of hare coursing grew. By the 1800s hare coursing had become a favored pastime of the upper classes in England.

Greyhound Dog: Origins & History

The Greyhound dog is evidently a breed of antiquity stretching back thousands of years. There are several references from many ancient cultures citing the Greyhound throughout history. Although many dog books note the Greyhound dog as having originated in Britain this is very unlikely. It would be more accurate to concede that the Greyhound in its modern form most closely resembles the dog that was selectively gene-trait refined according to English standards.

Historical data tends to suggest that the Greyhound evolved from early Sighthounds that existed in ancient Egypt. Paintings, decorations, and other artifacts from early Egyptian culture celebrate a dog very similar in appearance to the Greyhound. Indeed several pharaohs are known to have owned Greyhound-looking dogs. Some of the pharaohs included: Cleopatra (yes the seductive femme fatale), Tutankhamen, Queen Hatshepsut, to name but a few. The Greyhound also so happens to be the only dog breed to be mentioned by name in the Bible (Proverbs 30:29-31, King James Version). Ancient Greek and Roman mythology is rife with tales describing Greyhound-like dogs.

It is not unreasonable to speculate that the ancient Greeks attained their first Greyhound specimens (or at least its progenitor) from Egyptian merchants. In Greek mythology their gods were often portrayed with Greyhounds. The Romans in turn probably first stumbled across the Greyhound via their interaction with the Greeks. However it is equally possible the Romans got their original hounds from the Celts, seeing as the well regarded Roman authors, Ovid and Arrian often referred to the Greyhound as a Celt Hound. However, whatever the Greyhound’s origins, what is known is that since its earliest affiliation with humans, this dog breed has wowed mankind the world over with its speed and agility, most notably through the sport of coursing. Hare coursing is an old sport practiced since the time of the Romans who probably exported it to Britain when they invaded.

Strangely enough it appears that the Romans were much more sporting than their modern dog-racing counterparts, with respect to the welfare of both the dogs and hares involved in the coursing event, as amply illustrated by the following excerpt written by Roman Flavius Arrianus (Arrian) in 124 AD: “The true sportsman does not take out his dogs to destroy the hares, but for the sake of the course and the contest between the dogs and the hares, and is glad if the hare escapes…whoever courses with greyhounds should neither slip them near the hare, nor more than a brace (two) at a time.” Simply put, no more than two dogs were to be used in the chase and they were not to be released too close to the hare!

The Many-Named Dog

Across the breadth of time the Greyhound dog has been designated almost as many names as the number of years for which the breed has existed (okay…I’ll admit that’s a bit of an exaggeration but you get the point). In the English language alone, the Greyhound has had at least 50 names. Unsurprisingly there has been considerable debate concerning the meaning of the various names:

1. Grewhound; the “Grew” portion of the word meaning “Greek.” A similar but variant school of thought postulates that the “Grew” was actually “Graius” which still means Greek; again these old English names tend to lend credence that the Greyhound originated elsewhere other than Britain.

2. Greyhounds are certainly anything but grey so it is highly unlikely that the word ever reflected the breed’s color. Some believe that the “grey” in Greyhound was once “grei” which meant beautiful.

3. Great Hound; another school of thought speculates that the Greyhound was once known as the Greathound (the name evidently reflecting the dog’s exalted status in gentrified society) but as time progressed the term somehow mutated into “greyhound.”

The few examples above are a minuscule sampling of the various names the Greyhound has been called at one time or another during history in some variation of the English language.

The Harsh Unforgiving World Of Greyhound Dog Racing

It truly is hard to imagine how so exalted a dog breed could end up where it is today—slaughtered in the thousands each year. This is all the more shocking when one considers that at some point in Greyhound dog history it was a crime punishable by death to kill one (during the reign of King Canute). However currently each year thousands upon thousands of Greyhounds are destroyed, a good number before they’ve even attained the tender age of 2 years!

The reason for this mass slaughter can be defined in 3 words: Greyhound Dog Racing! Every year the Greyhound dog racing industry breeds several thousand dogs, far more than the number that get to compete. The reason for this over breeding—ambitious Greyhound dog breeders looking for that elusive but ever so lucrative champion dog racer! The dogs that don’t make the cut are typically destroyed or in some cases actually subjected to a fate worse than death!

The Greyhound dog racing industry certainly pulls no punches with respect to the maltreatment of animals. Since the inception of modern dog racing around the 1920s, the Greyhound (and affiliated industry animals that act as live bait) has suffered unimaginable cruelty; in this industry there is no reprieve or second chance and the vast majority of dogs never get to live anywhere near their expected life expectancy! Instead most dogs are befallen by anyone of the following fates:

1. Killed;

2. Experimented upon as a laboratory animal; the Greyhound’s superb physiology makes it a prime lab candidate for cardiovascular research;

3. Shipped abroad to countries such as China where animal cruelty laws are extremely lax (to say the least); and let’s not forget that dogs often end up on the dinner table there; and

4. Used as food fodder in commercial dog feed (euthanized pets are commonly recycled as commercial dog chow).

A very small percentage of lucky dogs eventually make the transition from Shelters/Rescue Home, to permanent adoption! One need only conduct a cursory search through online Greyhound Adoption centers to see just how bad the problem really is. And perhaps the most tragic aspect of this tragedy is that the Greyhound dog truly is a sweet-tempered and loving dog that some have described as the “speediest couch potato!”

Greyhound Dog Breed

The cats that we know today have a long history dating back millions of years. Paleontologists discovered evidence of a cat with a retractable claw, Miacis, who lived about 50 million years ago. Most scientists believe that the descendants of Miacis and other prehistoric cats divided into three separate groups nearly a million years ago; the big cats (lions and tigers), the cheetahs, and the small cats (ocelots, bobcats and lynxes).

Cats come in many shapes and sizes, but the fur coat found on each feline is a big part of how they are classified. They usually fall somewhere in the categories of long-haired, short-haired, or “hairless”. Long-haired breeds include Persian, Himalayan, Maine coon, Norwegian Forest Cat and Ragdoll. Short-haired breeds include American Shorthair, American Wirehair, Siamese, Burmese, Korat and Singapore. “Hairless” cats, such as Sphinx, merely appear to be hairless. The breed actually does have a thin layer of hair covering its body.

Cats first started living with people approximately 6,000 years ago. Ancient Egyptian and Mesopotamian farmers domesticated the African wildcats, Felis hybica, a natural hunter, to keep grain storage areas rodent free. Egyptians worshipped Bast, or Bastet, the cat goddess of fertility, happiness and the moon. Impressed with the cat’s natural beauty, Egyptian artists painted and sculpted them, making them cultural icons.

Although ancient Egyptians are known for their love of cats, they are not the only people who worshipped them. In Thailand, Siamese cats were sacred temple cats. In Japan, thse animals kept Buddhist temples free of mice. In Norwegian mythology, Freya (the goddess of fertility) rode in a chariot pulled by two white cats. Cats made their way to China in 5,000 BCE and to India in 100 BCE.

Throughout history, sailors and other explorers helped spread cats across the world. They realized that keeping them abroad their ships was a good way to rid their living quarters of mice. In time, it was considered lucky to keep cats on board.

When cats came to Europe in 900 BCE, they crossbred with native cat found in the British Isles, Felis silvestris. By the middle Ages, however, cats fell out of favor with most of Europe. The Catholic Church connected them and those who loved them with paganism, devil worship, and witchcraft. Superstitious people believed that cats (especially black cats) had diabolical powers. They were feared because of their nocturnal hunting habits, their ability to see in the dark and their “glowing” eyes.

In 1484, Pope Innocent empowered the Inquisition to burn all cats and cat lovers. As a result of the drastic drop in the cat population, the number of rodents increased. Millions of rats carrying fleas infected with bubonic plague spread the Black Death across Europe. When the persecution of cats ended, they began hunting rats again, and Europeans saw the advantage of having these natural hunters keep their towns’ rodent free.

In Victorian times, they were once again warmly welcomed into the home and were seen as loving companions’ pets. Victorian cats impressed artists, writers, scientists, and philosophers of the day. Queen Victoria loved cats, and because of this. Their good reputation was reaffirmed; there it remains to this day.

You can’t wait! You remember the chocolate-brown eyes peering at you when visited the breeder’s for the first time. How can you forget those tiny paws and the energetic wagging of the tail? You’ve fallen in love with that special one who has already melted your heart. It’s only a few weeks before you take your new and very cute puppy home. But how ready are you?

There are some essential items you need to consider purchasing before your new addition arrives. You may want to invest in a small bed straightaway but this isn’t necessary to begin with. Instead a cardboard box and towels will do the trick.The box can be padded out with old newspapers. There will be lots of ‘accidents’ from new puppy so at least newspapers can be thrown away. Be aware that urine does stain the carpet and grass – buy lots of disinfectant.

Purchase a water bowl and feeding bowl. When your puppy arrives you will probably have to show him or her where the bowls are.

After three to six weeks dogs can be taken for regular walks. You might want to invest in a roman harness, which straps round the animal. In fact most veterinarians now recommend a harnesses, instead of collars, for smaller dogs.

Think also about investing in a dog ramp. By introducing a dog ramp at an early stage it will encourage your dog to realise that they can’t be lifted into your car when being taken out. A dog ramp can be a godsend when the dog gets bigger. It can help avoid muddy paws and save your back.

It will take new puppies a while to settle in and they will pine for their mothers. Make sure you have an old fashioned ticking alarm clock, a hot water bottle and a towel. The idea is that this will help simulate the dog’s mother.

Dogs, like babies, love toys to play with. They need rubbery toys to chew on from the start, which will help with oral hygiene. You may also want to consider buying a crate and your vet or pet supplies can advise on the size of the crate. It needs to be large enough for the pet to stand up and turn around when full size.

By getting ready beforehand with essentials such as leads, bowls and a dog ramp, you can help make your new puppy settle in quickly.

This is a new series (1-30) of Verse No. in the Bible versus the Quran.

Verse No. 30 in the Old Testament says: And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so.

Verse No. 30 in the New Testament says: They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:

Verse No. 30 in the Noble Quran says: and if ye are in doubt concerning that which we reveal unto our servant (Muhammad), then produce a Surah of the like thereof, and call your witness beside Allah if ye are truthful.

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The verse No. 30 in the Old Testament is Genesis 1:30

In the article 29, Genesis 1:29 says: Then God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you;

Consequently, the Bible determines man’s food; it is every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it.

In the verse Genesis 1:29, Herbs and fruits must be man’s food, including corn, and all the products of the earth; it seems likely that the Bible is in favor of the vegetarians.

Furthermore, Genesis 1:30 determines also the food of all the animals and all the birds, the verse says:

And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so.

This indicates that the food of all the beasts of the earth, all the birds of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life are the green plants.

It is clear then that the green plants are the food of all the animals and all the birds.

Because birds have a high temperature and use lots of energy, they need to eat a lot of food, compared with their weight.

Birds eat different foods. Some birds eat green plants. Other birds eat fish, insects, small reptiles and mice. Birds of prey eat mammals and other birds. Some birds are scavengers and eat the bodies of creatures that have died.

But the Bible in Genesis 1:30 determines the food of the birds, that is “every green plant”.

As for the beasts, every kid knows what they eat.

But the Bible too decides that the food of ALL the beasts is “every green plant”.

However, and to be honest, in Ezekiel 39:17 God will have birds and beasts eat human flesh and drink human blood…

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The verse No. 30 in the New Testament is Matthew 2:5

The verse No. 29 in the New Testament is Matthew 2:4

In the articles 26-29, Matthew 2:1-4 say:

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying: Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born.

In this article, Matthew 2:5 says:

They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:

This is the second prophet who is unidentified and not mentioned by name; Matthew 2:5 mentions without his name. The first prophet is found in Matthew 1:22

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Verse No. 30 in the Noble Quran is 2:23,

Chapter 2 is Surah AL-BAQARA (THE COW),

Verses 2:1-5 are talking about the believers. (articles 8-12)

Verses 2:6-7 are talking about the disbelievers. (articles 13-14)

Verses 2:8-20 are talking about the hypocrites. (articles 15-27)

The address of verses 2:21-24 is general to mankind.

In articles 28, verse 2:21 says:

O mankind! worship your guardian-lord, who created you and those who came before you, that you may have the chance to learn righteousness(so that you will be cautious)

In articles 29, verse 2:22 says:

Who (Allah) made the earth a resting place for you and the heaven a canopy and (who) sends down rain from the cloud then brings forth with it subsistence for you of the fruits; therefore do not set up rivals to Allah while you know.

In this article, Verse 2:23 says:

and if ye are in doubt concerning that which we reveal unto our servant (Muhammad), then produce a Surah of the like thereof, and call your witness beside Allah if ye are truthful.

The meaning of verse 2:23:

And if you are in doubt, in uncertainty, concerning what Allah has revealed through the Archangel Gabriel unto His servant, Muhammad, whom you accuse of fabrication of the Quran, that it is from Allah, then bring a Surah like it, then produce a Surah like it in its eloquence, fine arrangement and its bestowal of knowledge of the Unseen.

And call your witnesses, seek help from those other gods that you worship, it is said that this refers to their leaders that they follow, besides Allah, that is, other than Him, so that it can be seen, if you are truthful, in your claim that Muhammad speaks it from himself, that Muhammad invents the Quran.  So do this, for you are also fluent speakers of Arabic like him. When they could not do this, Allah said… (See next article).

A Surah of the Quran is a chapter (a passage) with a beginning and end made up of a minimum of three verses)

It is fruitful to know that Chapter 108, Surah AL-KAUTHER (ABUNDANCE) is composed only of 10 Arabic words.

It follows that Allah challenges mankind by producing 10 Arabic words like it (like the Quran) in its eloquence, fine understanding and its assignment of knowledge of the Unseen.

As far as I know, this is the First Linguistics Challenge in the History of Mankind.  No author (s) in the history of mankind has the courage to generate a challenge like that. Thousands of scholars came from the Western countries to the East, they have studied thoroughly the Arabic language, some of them wrote books and encyclopedias in Arabic. However, none of them tried to produce 10 Arabic words to beat this unbeaten challenge.  Also, they did not tell the people in the West about this unbeaten challenge.  Have you ever heard about it?

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Verse No. 30 in the Old Testament, the New Testament in four different versions of the Bible; and in the Noble Quran in Four different Translations

Verse No. 30 in the Old Testament

Genesis 1:30

New International Version:

30] And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.

New American Standard Version:

30] and to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the sky and to every thing that moves on the earth which has life, I have given every green plant for food”; and it was so.

English Standard Version:

30] 30And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so.

King James Version:

30] And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.

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Verse No. 30 in the New Testament

Matthew 2:5

New International Version:

30] In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:

New American Standard Version:

30] They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written by the prop
het:

English Standard Version:

30] They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:

King James Version:

30] And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet,

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Verse No. 30 in the Noble Quran

Chapter 2:23

Surah AL-BAQARA (THE COW)

QARIB: if you are in doubt of what we have sent down to our worshiper (prophet Muhammad), produce a chapter comparable to it. call upon your helpers, other than Allah, to assist you, if you are true.

SHAKIR: and if you are in doubt as to that which we have revealed to our servant, then produce a chapter like it and call on your witnesses besides Allah if you are truthful

PICKTHAL: and if ye are in doubt concerning that which we reveal unto our slave (Muhammad), then produce a Surah of the like thereof, and call your witness beside Allah if ye are truthful.

YUSUFALI: and if ye are in doubt as to what we have revealed from time to time to our servant, then produce a Surah like thereunto; and call your witnesses or helpers (if there are any) besides Allah, if your (doubts) are true.

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It is very premature to ask this question:

Is the Quran quoted from the Bible?

Wait and you will see.