Midwife: Bible.

When the matriarch Rachel is giving birth to her second son (Benjamin), she is attended by a midwife (Gen 35:17). The presence of such a health care professional, called meyalledet (“one who causes, helps birth”), was probably routine in Israelite and pre-Israelite society, and the explicit reference to her in this case is not necessarily related to the difficulty of Rachel’s labor.

Similarly, the presence of a midwife at the birth of Tamar’s twin sons seems routine (Gen 38:28). But the role of the midwife in this narrative is hardly routine. She witnesses and verifies the strange reversal of the birth sequence whereby Perez precedes Zerah, although the latter’s hand had appeared first and had been marked with a crimson thread. Further, the midwife apparently suggests appropriate names for the newborns, usurping a role usually played by one of the parents, often the mother. The remarkable reversal gives priority and recognition to Perez (“breach”), who becomes an ancestor of King David.

Midwifery is among the earliest and most ubiquitous specialized functions in human society. It virtually always is a woman’s profession: it involves women assisting other women in a natural biological process. As a profession, it involves the instincts and emotions of the practitioners as well as technical knowledge and clinical skill. The care of a midwife tends to be holistic, providing emotional as well as physical support and assistance, as the case of Rachel indicates. In her duress, Rachel evidently exhibits fear, and the midwife consoles her.

The existence of texts with rules and procedures for obstetrics in second-millennium b.c.e. Egypt, where midwives (and birth deities) were female, indicates that bodies of knowledge about obstetrical practice were collected and transmitted, whether in written or oral form. Very little direct knowledge about Israel’s health care system is available, but biblical clues and comparative research indicate the existence of a developed system with several consultative options. The midwife was the only one of those options outside priestly or prophetic circles. The professional aspects of midwifery meant that midwives had to train their successors. Informal associations of midwives helped maintain and add to the knowledge of delivery techniques, medications given to women in labor, and also prayers to be uttered at childbirth (Isa 46:16–18). Midwives in ancient Israel thus represent one of several female professions—others were wise women, musicians, and mourners—that afforded women the opportunity to meet with one another, instruct novices, and garner respect for their skills from the community. The status of midwives—and their power to transform childbirth from what might be a negative experience to a positive one—did not erode until the advent of modern, male-dominated medicine. (By Meyers, Carol. “Guilds and Gatherings: Women’s Groups in Ancient Israel.”)

http://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/midwife-bible

Like every occupation, the airline industry has its own lingo. Today we’ll be sharing some slang so you can be in the know, too. And know just how bad it could be if Blue Juice splashed all over a Lounge Lizard touching up her Landing Lips before sitting in the Sharon Stone Jumpseat.

1. BLUE JUICE, N.

The lavatory water is blue. So when we call the pilot to say, “The lavatory is out of blue juice,” you may want to hold it.

2. COMMUTER, N.

A crew member who lives in one city but takes a plane to their base city to get to work. These are tired crew members.

3. CONCOURSE SHOES, N.

High-heeled pumps flight attendants wear to walk through the airport, changed out for comfortable (usually ugly) flats once in the air. Would you believe there is a market for used flight attendant shoes on eBay? Now, I would love to sell my smelly old shoes but I find the idea… rather creepy.

4. CRASHPAD, N.

Commuters sometimes share an apartment with 20 or more other commuters so they don’t have to pay for a hotel room between trips. I’ve never had a crashpad because one bathroom for 20 people sounds icky.

5. DEADHEADING, V.

Flying as a passenger on company business to get to work. (Nothing to do with The Grateful Dead.) You may have to deadhead to New York to work a flight back to Los Angeles so you are deadheading to New York. We like deadheading!

6. DINOSAUR, N.

Really senior flight attendant. Just about every flight attendant starts off thinking they will only fly a few years. But as the years go by, the time off, and the flexible schedule and travel perks just get better and better, so you end up sticking around (forever and ever).

7. JUMPSEAT, N.

The uncomfortable fold-down chairs we sit on.

8. JUMPSEATER, N.

An off-duty crew member hitching a ride when there is no passenger seat available. This makes you sort of homeless and generally standing around the bathrooms in flight.

9. LANDING LIPS, N.

The snappy gorgeousness you see after we reapply lipstick before landing in order to look fresh for the “buh byes.”

10. LOUNGE, N.

The rooms downstairs where we have couches and computers and where we sign in and brief for trips.

11. LOUNGE LIZARD, N.

A commuter who doesn’t have a crashpad and doesn’t want to pay for a hotel between trips. They sleep on the couch in the lounge overnight. The lizard part is because they can’t take a shower. Glamorous!

12. MINI ME, N.

A small trash cart that is half the size of the big trash cart. Crew members have been known to climb into the big trash cart to scare passengers!

13. SENIORITY RULES, N.

Ever wonder why you see older flight attendants on longer flights? The airline industry is an odd duck in that we only get paid when we are in the air — not while boarding the plane or, worse, waiting to pull away from the gate to takeoff (we hate it just as much as you!). Most people prefer to get paid when they are at work, so junior flight attendants are stuck with the four or five short flights a day where they are only getting paid half of the day. So if you’re on a short flight you will have younger and cuter (and poorer) crew members. Like any occupation, you pay your dues and it slowly gets better and better — one reason why there are so many dinosaurs.

14. SHARON STONE JUMPSEAT, N.The jumpseat that faces the passengers. This goes back to the movie Basic Instinct, where the actress crosses and uncrosses her legs. Extra caution is required to sit here while wearing a dress.

http://theaviationweek.net/14-flight-attendant-slang-terms-explained/

‘Brexit’ Gives EU Airlines Bumpy Ride.

Airline stocks take a hit on concerns over a weaker British currency and a possible economic slowdown.

British Airways aircraft at Heathrow Airport. The airline’s owner, IAG, has issued a profit warning following the U.K.'s decision to leave the EU. Photo: Zuma Press

LONDON—European airlines were among the hardest hit by the market turbulence Friday, following the startling decision by Britons to leave the European Union.

Airline stocks fell sharply on concerns a weaker British currency and possible slowdown in the wider European economy would curtail demand for air travel. The result of the vote also puts into doubt international agreements governing air traffic rights to and from the U.K.

While much hinges on the broader economic fallout, the effect on business quickly became clear. International Consolidated Airlines Group SA, which owns British Airways, ICAGY 4.40 % Ireland’s Aer Lingus and Spanish carriers Iberia and Vueling, issued a surprise profit warning on Friday.

“In the run-up to the U.K. referendum during June, IAG experienced a weaker-than-expected trading environment,” the London-based company said, adding it no longer expected to reach its full-year target of an operating profit increase on par with last year’s. The operating profit target was around €3.2 billion ($3.6 billion).

The U.K. is one of Europe’s biggest aviation markets and home to some of the region’s largest airlines, including British Airways and EasyJet, Europe’s No. 2 discount carrier.

Europe’s largest airline, Irish discounter Ryanair Holdings RYAAY 2.35 % PLC, uses London Stansted airport as one of its main bases.

Prime Minister David Cameron said he would resign after the U.K. voted to leave the European Union. He said a new leader will be in place by October. Photo: Getty Images

“We expect airlines serving the U.K. market to face immediate weaker outbound leisure demand, as the pound weakens and business travel declines given economic and political uncertainty,” HSBC HSBC 1.35 % analyst Andrew Lobbenberg said.

The International Air Transport Association projected the number of air passengers traveling to and from the U.K. could drop by 3% to 5% from its previous forecast.

EasyJet Chief Executive Carolyn McCall said the company has asked the U.K. government and European Commission “to prioritize the U.K. remaining part of the single EU aviation market, given its importance to trade and consumers.”

Ryanair Chief Executive Michael O’Leary said ahead of the referendum the airline’s growth in the U.K. could be slowed if the country leaves the EU. Ryanair didn’t address the effect of the vote in its business plans, only saying a seat-sale linked to the referendum had drawn strong interest.

Peter Simpson, chief executive of bmi regional, a smaller carrier operating mainly from regional cities, signaled the airline may reconsider being based in Britain. “Our continued business domicile as a U.K. entity is less than clear at this point in time,” he said. The carrier had expanded heavily outside the U.K., he said, so it is wary of potential barriers to that growth.

The EU’s single aviation market, which allows any airline within the region to fly to any city in the bloc, has spurred air travel and profits for many of the region’s airlines. The agreement also governs traffic rights with countries overseas, including services from the U.S. to London, the single-largest destination for trans-Atlantic flights.

“All of this facilitates greater competition between airlines and, working effectively, results in lower fares and more choice for passengers,” lawyers at Eversheds said ahead of the referendum.

British politicians now will have to negotiate new rules for the skies. Options include becoming an adjunct member to the European single aviation market, like Norway and a few other non-EU countries. It could also pursue a bilateral agreement with the EU similar to that agreed by Switzerland; or a hodgepodge of separate deals with the EU, the U.S. and other countries, industry experts said.

Pablo Mendes de Leon, professor of air law at Leiden University, said adjunct membership in the European aviation market may be unlikely, because it would subject the U.K. to European regulations with little say to influence them. A more likely option would be establishing bilateral agreements with EU member states, he said, which may vary.

Traffic rights between the U.S. and Britain could revert to an old and highly restrictive bilateral agreement, called Bermuda 2, that limited flights and access to London Heathrow, said John Byerly, the former chief U.S. aviation treaty negotiator. Both sides would likely move quickly, though, to a more liberal deal, he said, which would preserve existing services and pacts such as those between American Airlines Group Inc. AAL 3.60 % and British Airways, and Delta Air Lines Inc. DAL 1.18 % and Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd… (By Robert Wall The Wall Street Journal). —Doug Cameron contributed to this article.

 http://www.wsj.com/articles/brexit-gives-eu-airlines-bumpy-ride-1466763652