Nick Vujicic, No Arms, No Legs, No Worries! Do You Need Inspiration In Your Life? Then Watch This Man Give A Very Powerful Message! You Will Be Left With No Excuses...

www.LifeWithoutLimbs.org

Indescribable ~ by Chris Tomlin

I love this song by Chris Tomlin! God is TRULY AMAZING! God is the Universe. The Universe lives and breathes in each and every one of us! The Universe expands and contracts. The Universe breathes in and breathes out. If the Universe is made up of Energy, then God is energy and the source of ALL LIVING things. Connect to His Infinite POWER outlet and allow God to live and breathe LIFE into you. Jesus (Yehshua) IS the CONDUIT to our Source (God). Jesus (Yehshua) IS the LIVING BREATHING WORD of God, represented by the Holy Spirit that comes to LIVE INSIDE of you. God wants you to TRUST and BELIEVE in His WORD. Y'shua is the Creator God Himself - an omnipresent Spirit Being Who manifested Himself as a Human Being. When you receive Jesus (Yehshua) into your HEART, you are welcoming unspeakable joy into your life. Your creative LIGHT will emanate from the core of your being. Choose LIFE!

I also want you to think about this for a moment, God created us from the dust of the earth and when we die our bodies return to the dust of the earth. God breathed LIFE, His Spirit into us. God created ALL Living things on the earth. Therefore, wouldn't it make ABSOLUTE SENSE to RESPECT ALL living things INCLUDING the EARTH. I am NOT in any way indicating worship of the earth. I am however encouraging RESPECT. Afterall it is our ONLY HOME. When God told us to take dominion over the earth and everything in it, God means for us to be GOOD SHEPHERDS, CARETAKERS! Not destroyers! Dominion means home, domain, kingdom, sovereign authority, lordship. With this type of power granted unto us, comes great responsibility! NOT ABUSE!

UNI-VERSE = One Song

MeltingEarth created this great video interpretation of the song. I have taken the following from YouTube description from MeltingEarth to share with you.

The song is of course Chris Tomlin's version of Indescribable - and the lyrics are very literal (not very metaphorical - e.g. a river is a river, not freedom). i really tried to stretch the video story in new directions. Much of my inspiration is from Brian Green's Book "The Elegant Universe" (...if you can think of a more God-glorifying name for a book than that - let me know!!)... but also based on my own training. e.g. the cool looking formula's you see are "Maxwell's Equations", and they govern everything about light electricity and magnetism - or "electro-magnetic fields". I studied those four equations for two semesters in my undergrad engineering coursework, but didn't get a very good grade from my "fields" teacher.

Indescribable ~ by Chris Tomlin

From the highest of heights to the depths of the sea
Creation's revealing Your majesty
From the colors of fall to the fragrance of spring
EVERY CREATURE UNIQUE in the song that it sings
All exclaiming

Indescribable, uncontainable,
You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name.
You are amazing God
All powerful, untameable,
Awestruck we fall to our knees as we HUMBLY proclaim
You are amazing God

Who has told every lightning bolt where it should go
Or seen heavenly storehouses laden with snow
Who imagined the sun and gives source to its LIGHT
Yet conceals it to bring us the coolness of night
NONE can fathom

Indescribable, uncontainable,
You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name
You are AMAZING God
All powerful, untameable,
Awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim
You are AMAZING God
You are AMAZING God

Indescribable, uncontainable,
You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name.
You are AMAZING God
All powerful, untameable,
Awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim
You are AMAZING God
Indescribable, uncontainable,
You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name.
You are AMAZING God
Incomparable, unchangeable
You see the depths of my heart and You love me the same
You are AMAZING God
You are AMAZING God

Join Me Down The Rabbit Hole...

This is an 8 minute video clip taken from the movie, "What the Bleep Do We Know". Someone put together a compilation of different segments leading us all to a higher level of understanding and consciousness. Why are we here? Time and space? Enjoy!

I can only show you the door... YOU are the one that has to walk through it...

FREE your mind! Expand your level of awareness. Make an effort to remove the limitations that have been placed on you throughout your lifetime. We are finite beings living in an infinite Universe. Dare to step outside of the box of conventionality. You can only grow as a person if you choose to explore outside of your comfort zone and overcome your fears one at a time.

Fear, hate, and discrimination are forms of oppression and bondage. These emotions are what limit our evolution as human beings. They are forms of very low frequency. Meaning negative energy.

Our behavior is domesticated and our thinking is conditioned from birth. The authority figures I speak of and who influence us throughout our lifetimes are our parents, family, friends, teachers, community and government. All with the intent to maintain a standard. But who set the standard and which one is correct? Do we dare question the status quo?

Why don't you start first by talking directly to God. There is NO formal way for you to talk to Him. Just talk to Him in private just as you would another person. Trust me, you will start getting ALL of the answers you seek. Then God will reveal to you His standard and NOT the standards that have been set forth by MAN!

There have been several teachers throughout the history of man sent from up above to guide us to re-discover our Higher Self. However, it IS our responsibility to make that effort and re-connect 'WAKE UP' to the Source of our Being, our Existence. God = LOVE, Truth and Light

You have to wonder why HISTORY keeps repeating itself ?!?! People in positions of power will always use our weaknesses and our fears to manipulate, control and destroy the fabric of our Being! We keep looking to authority figures for answers, still unaware that the answers we seek, the TRUTH, lay dormant within ourselves.

Darkness can NOT exist where there IS Light

The Secret To You...

Save this video clip and use it to EMPOWER yourself daily! Begin your day by reading these declarations out loud. In effect, you are saying to the Universe I AM!

We must first learn to love, respect and value ourselves before we can love, respect and value others. Thereby being able to give to others unconditionally. It starts from the inside out.

Sure the current state of affairs may be in turmoil. However, you can choose to be at cause instead of effect. You can decide NOT to become a victim of your circumstances. But to see this as a challenge for you to overcome! Don't let the outside World dictate who you are or how you feel! Get to know yourself and strenghten your resolve. You are a unique and authentic person as God created you to be! Do NOT let anybody make you feel ashamed of who YOU are!!!

FEAR IS your greatest enemy and FEAR is another form of Oppression. People are taught to substitute fear for reason. DO NOT allow fear to seep into your spirit. CHOOSE to be happy and find peace in the midst of the storm no matter what. Try smiling even if you don't feel like it, listen to music that inspires you, watch a movie that inspires you or better yet, say out loud "I choose to BE happy". Watch and see how doing these things quickly changes how you feel. Surround yourself with positive forces!

The seeds of discouragement can not take root in a grateful heart.
What are you grateful for today?

The Secret of The Universe!

This is a 4 minute beautiful calming video that will help alleviate all of our angst and soothe our souls. God knows we need it right now. Enjoy!

You don't have to be defeated by life! Whether your situation was caused by bad choices or by forces beyond your control. Just know that you are NOT your possessions, your title or status. People place so much importance on these things that they don't realize they are in essence 'devaluing' themselves and void in spirit. There is so much more to life that is far more enriching than you can imagine!

God is ABLE to make ALL grace abound toward me; every favor and earthly blessing come to me in abundance, so that I may always and under ALL circumstances and whatever the need be self-sufficient! = meaning possessing enough to require no aid or support and furnished in abundance for every good work and charitable donation.

That IS God's promise to YOU! God loves YOU soooo much! God is just waiting for you to invite Him in... You can start by saying, "God I need you right now." God will NEVER abandon you. He IS always faithful.

Get to know God. Spend time with God by talking to Him... God will answer you in many different ways; a song on the radio, something someone says on television, a movie, a billboard, nature, a neighbor, a friend, a book you're reading, or even in a dream in the form of a message.

You'll be able to tell the difference between a dream and a message. Because you'll remember every detail, it feels real and you never forget it. It's kind of like the experience people who have near death experience (NDE) have, only you do not die! God will also speak directly to your spirit. But you have to be receptive and be able to discern His spirit.

Give yourself strength/confidence by declaring to yourself every morning, I know that - "I AM a child of the most high God" - "I AM God's perfect creation" - "I AM a victor and NOT a victim" "I WILL to will Thy WILL Lord, show me The Way" "No Weapon formed against me shall prosper!" - "God help me become a better person."

Visit my pre-Christmas post to hear God's Love Letter To YOU!

Somewhere In Time: My Favorite Movie! I Am An Avid Fan! I Know Every Little Bit Of Minutia About This Cult Classic. Highly Recommended...

This is one of my favorite scenes from this movie, "Somewhere In Time". This movie was not a big hit when it was first released. In fact, it was a flop. But years later, those who were deeply touched by this movie turned it into a cult movie and now have a huge following. Avid fans meet annually at The Grand Hotel in Mackinac Island, Michigan where this movie was filmed. The soundtrack is AMAZING too! I still want to cry when I hear Rhapsody by Rachmaninov. In this scene one of the main characters named Elise Mckenna has re-written the entire first scene from the play she is acting in.

"The man of my dreams is almost faded now. The one I have created in my mind. The sort of man each woman dreams of in the deepest and most secret reaches of her heart. I can almost see him now before me. What would I say to him if he were really here? Forgive me. I've never known this feeling, I've lived without it all my life. Is it any wonder, then, I failed to recognize you? You've brought it to me for the first time. Is there any way that - that I can tell you how my life has changed? Any way at all to let you know what sweetness you have given me? There is so much to say. I can't find the words, except for these... I love you. And that's what I'd say to him if he were really here."

10 Inspirational Quotes ~ By Horace

Quintus Horatius Flaccus, (Venosa, December 8, 65 BC – Rome, November 27, 8 BC), known in the English-speaking world as Horace, was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus. Horace is generally considered by classicists to be one of the greatest Latin poets and is known for having coined many Latin phrases that remain in use today, whether in Latin or translation, including carpe diem ("pluck the day" literally, more commonly used in English as "seize the day"), Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori (It is sweet and fitting to die for one's country), Nunc est bibendum (Now we must drink), and aurea mediocritas ("golden mean.").

His works, like those of all but the earliest Latin poets, are written in Greek metres, ranging from the hexameters which were relatively easy to adapt into Latin to the more complex measures used in the Odes, such as alcaics and sapphics, which were sometimes a difficult fit for Latin structure and syntax. [source: wikipedia]

10 Inspirational Quotes Made By Horace

1. Always keep your composure. You can't score from the penalty box; and to win, you have to score.
   
   
2. He is armed without who is innocent within, be this thy screen, and this thy wall of brass.
   
   
3. Begin, be bold and venture to be wise.
   
   
4. It is courage, courage, courage, that raises the blood of life to crimson splendor. Live bravely and present a brave front to adversity.
   
   
5. Mix a little foolishness with your serious plans. It is lovely to be silly at the right moment.
   
   
6. One wanders to the left, another to the right. Both are equally in error, but, are seduced by different delusions.
   
   
7. Sad people dislike the happy, and the happy the sad; the quick thinking the sedate, and the careless the busy and industrious.
   
   
8. You traverse the world in search of happiness, which is within the reach of every man. A contented mind confers it on all.
   
   
9. Suffering is but another name for the teaching of experience, which is the parent of instruction and the schoolmaster of life.
   
   
10. Few cross the river of time and are able to reach non-being. Most of them run up and down only on this side of the river. But those who when they know the law follow the path of the law, they shall reach the other shore and go beyond the realm of death.
    

BONUS

Wisdom is not wisdom when it is derived from books alone.

BONUS BONUS

Who then is free? The wise man who can command himself.

Note To Washington!!!!

I was just having an UGH moment after listening to politicians make their arguments for the policies this administration is proposing. This was the QUESTION that kept coming to mind. Are you smarter than a 5th grader? I'm simply not happy with how Washington is handling the policy making process PERIOD. They're acting like chickens who lost their heads. They are constantly REACTING to everything! They have NO BUSINESS SENSE! It seems like they NEVER stop to analyze if this expenditure or that project is COST EFFECTIVE. They NEVER stop to consider COST SAVINGS and QUALITY vs. quantity either. They have been focusing on SHORT TERM fixes and not once considering the LONG TERM BENEFIT. All this administration is doing is POSTPONING the economic crisis. I have absolutely NO CONFIDENCE in anybody in Washington right now. Many brilliant children could do a much better job than any of these BUFFOONS! You know I may not be a genius, but I have enough SENSE to know that if I'm struggling in an area of my life, whether it be business, sports or even relationships, I MUST FIRST PAUSE and acknowledge something is not working, then ask myself what is the cause? Then how can I improve that area - how can I make it work? Is there an ALTERNATIVE method or response that would prove beneficial? Just food for thought Mr. President.

Use Hindsight when Strategic Planning

[source: Planware]

Statements on vision, mission, objectives, values, strategies and goals are not just elements of future planning. They also provide benchmarks for a historic review. Most managers will find it exceedingly difficult to develop a future strategy for a business without knowing its current strategies and measuring their success to date.

Assess Current Position

The starting point must be to determine a company's (government's) existing (implicit or explicit) vision, mission, objectives and strategies. Then judge these against actual performance along the following lines:

• Is the current vision being realized?
• How has the company's (government's) mission and objectives changed over the past say, ONE year? Why have the changes occurred or why have no changes occurred? Identify primary reasons and categorize them as either internal or external.
• Describe the actual strategies followed over the past few years in respect of products/services, operations, finance, marketing, technology, management etc.
• Critically examine each strategy statement by reference to activities and actions in key functional areas covering such matters as:
• How has the company (government) been managed?
• How has the company (government) been funded?
• How has the company (government) sought to increase sales (tax revenue) and market share?
• How have productivity/costs moved?

Take each element and quantify by reference to actual performance. Ask of each "why not"?, "why only"?, or "why so"? and locate the reasons for differences between the actual and desired performance.

President Obama Finally Admits At The Millionth Town Hall Meeting That "Some Of The Provisions In The Health Care Bill Might Have Got Snuck In Violated His Pledge (PROMISE) That We Could Keep Our Health Insurance." No Sh*t

Way to go Glenn Beck!!! You totally ROCK! I heard this speech from President Obama's latest Town Hall gathering, but could not find the video! I too caught this little (BIG) admission from the President. His subconscious thoughts are beginning to seep through. Glenn Beck I'm glad that you played the actual video of him saying these exact words. That is the ONLY way my readers are ever going to believe it. If people would simply stop cheering and start LISTENING MORE INTENTLY, perhaps you too would be able to read between the lines. Only now the TRUTH is slowing being peppered throughout his speeches. President Obama told a crowd of supporters unscripted without teleprompters the following on January 29, 2010.

****************************************************************

President Obama said, "We said from the start that it was going to be important for us to be consistent in saying to people if you can have your - if you want to keep your health insurance you got, you can keep it, that you're not going to have anybody getting in between you and your doctor in your decision making. And I think that some of the provisions that got snuck in might have violated that pledge."

****************************************************************

Can you now understand why it is sooooooo IMPORTANT for us to read the legislative bills. Most importantly, the Health Care Reform bill they are so adamantly pushing through. Can you imagine had the Health Care bill in its current form passed into law?! Seriously think about that for a moment! What would the President's excuse be then? "Oh I'm sorry, I never took the time to read or ask what was in the Health Care bill. I just wanted to pass Health Care Reform." Would you as a taxpayer ACCEPT a COLOSSAL BLUNDER / APOLOGY after the fact? He's admitting now that certain PROVISIONS got SNUCK INTO the current Health Care bill that would VIOLATE his pledge (PROMISE) to us that we could KEEP our health insurance and doctor!!!

President Obama and the democrats were EAGER to pass this GARGANTUAN Health Care Reform bill before President Obama gave his "State of the Union Address". That is why Harry Reid (D-NV), the Senate Majority Leader kept everybody in Washington on Christmas Eve until the bill was passed. Had Scott Brown (R-Mass) NOT WON the Senate race in Massachusetts, the President would have SIGNED INTO LAW the Health Care Reform bill as it is currently written!!!

Oh and you and your people Mr. President did in fact make an effort to be CONSISTENTLY dis-honest with the American people. Yeah, keep telling the American folks what they want to hear RIGHT? All the while hoping that NOBODY would call you on anything, hoping that NOBODY would actually read the 2,000+ page legislative bills you keep trying to pass. You people figured the more legal mumbo jumbo and the longer the bill would make us call it quits and leave you alone RIGHT? Well guess what Mr. President that made people like me even MORE CURIOUS to find out what the heck Washington was trying to pull on the American people!!!

More Than Two Dozen Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) Employees Caught Porn Surfing While On The Government Payroll! Only Reprimanded NOT FIRED! ARGH! Right On Greta! Thanks For Exposing This Crapola!

OUR GOVERNMENT HARD AT WORK!!! This is the very agency created to OVERSEE the financial industry! And you wonder why our country was on the brink of financial collapse? If these knuckleheads would have been DOING THE JOBS they were being paid to do INSTEAD of getting their rocks off on naked pics, perhaps Bernie Madoff could have been caught and countless other sleezebags! This is just another INEFFECTIVE government AGENCY ill-conceived and poorly managed by the buffoons in Washington!

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Fox News

SEC Workers Investigated for Porn-Surfing

written by Staff /Reported by Greta Van Susteren

Tuesday February 2, 2010

More than two dozen SEC employees and contractors over roughly the past two years have faced internal investigations after they were caught viewing pornography on their government computers.

The work computer of one regional supervisor for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission showed more than 1,800 attempts to look up pornography in a 17-day span: "It was kind of distraction per se," he later told investigators.

But he wasn't alone. More than two dozen SEC employees and contractors over roughly the past two years have faced internal investigations after they were caught viewing pornography on their government computers, according to records obtained by The Washington Times through the Freedom of Information Act and other public documents.

The activities of porn-surfing SEC workers, a small fraction of the overall work force, have been serious enough to warrant a mention in each of the past four semiannual reports sent to Congress by the SEC's office of inspector general.

In response to the open records request by The Washington Times, the inspector general's office provided more than 150 pages of records and transcripts on the investigations, but declined to identify the employees involved. The office noted that disclosure of the employees' names "could conceivably subject them to harassment and annoyance in the conduct of their official duties and private lives."

Allan Bachman, education manager for the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, said such problems are hardly unique to the SEC. He also said the findings are troubling aside from "the egregious nature of what they're doing."

"They're simply just stealing time," he said. "They're getting paid to do something that they're not supposed to be doing."

Canadian Premier Danny Williams Comes To The United States For Heart Surgery! He Didn't Want To Have To Wait MONTHS To Be Treated And Has Money To Pay For The BEST SURGERY! MUST READ! This Is What You Want For AMERICA?!

Canada Free Press

Oh Danny Boy, the American Healthcare System is calling

written by Arthur Weinreb

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Earlier this week it was revealed that Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams was going to the United States for heart surgery. Like most Canadian politicians, Williams is a big proponent of Canada’s socialized health care system.

The premier’s office has been tight lipped about exactly what is wrong with Williams and has only said that whatever treatment that he needs is not available in his home province.

Apparently his doctors advised him to head south of the border for a necessary operation. The medical establishment is furious, arguing that even if what the premier requires is not available in Newfoundland and Labrador, treatment is surely available somewhere else in Canada. And it probably is.

Danny Williams is not the first high profile Canadian politician to champion Canada’s healthcare system and then go to the U.S. when he’s the one who needs medical attention. And unless Barack Obama completely restructures the American system, he won’t be the last. When King Hussein of Jordan died and leaders around the world flew to Amman to pay their respects, then Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien was one of the few not to attend. Chrétien was “skiing in British Columbia” and just had no way to get to Jordan. The region where the former PM was “skiing” was close to where the upcoming Winter Olympics are being held. But the Prime Minister of Canada, with his staff and private jets just couldn’t figure out how to get out of B.C. and go over to Jordan. Later on it was revealed that Chrétien hadn’t been skiing at all; he had been at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. But Danny boy made a big mistake; you’re not supposed to let anyone know where you are when you leave the country for medical reasons. Whatever can be said about Williams, one thing is clear; he’s no Jean Chrétien.

Canada has at least achieved one of the pillars of its healthcare system – equal access. As the head of a Canadian province, Danny Williams has no greater access to the system than a homeless person does. The problem of course is that we are not supposed to have a two-tiered healthcare system. But we do have one as long as people like Williams have enough money to leave the country and pay for medical treatment outside of Canada. Williams’ money is the real reason that many people are upset. The Toronto Star best expressed this outrage among medicare defenders in their headline, “‘Danny Millions’ Williams heads south for heart surgery”. The premier is resented because the former millionaire businessman can afford to go to the United States and pay for treatment while other Canadians can’t afford it. Williams should do the patriotic thing and sacrifice his life on a waiting list.

Canada’s one-tier healthcare system has always been a sham. Government run healthcare only covers services in a province that the provincial government deems medically necessary. When a province wants to cut expenditures, as Ontario did a couple of years ago, they simply delist certain procedures. What was medically necessary one day becomes medically unnecessary the next, forcing people to pay for treatment. The governments that praise the so-called one tier system don’t see anything wrong with that.

Canada is huge geographically but most of its 33 million people live in the south. Canada’s three major cities, Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver are less than a two hour drive from the American border. Canadians who can afford it and want better or at least quicker medical treatment often go to the United States. This only becomes a problem when a high profile person like Danny Williams lets it leak out that he’s having surgery in the United States.

Williams’ southern excursion is especially newsworthy in the United States where opponents of Obamacare have been handed another argument against those who favour a Canadian-style healthcare system. But in Canada, despite the whining and complaining, what Danny Williams did was not unique or extraordinary; we just prefer to keep the practice hidden.

Big Bang Breaking News: The Universe Is 13.75 BILLION Years Old! WOWEE! Humans Will Never Fully Understand The Universe. But It Sure Is Lot's Of Fun Watching Them Try To Figure It Out!

Wired Science News

New Look at Big Bang Radiation Refines Age of Universe

written by Ron Cowen, Science News

Wednesday February 3, 2010 at 3:41am

Six papers posted online present new satellite snapshots of the earliest light in the universe. By analyzing these images, cosmologists have made the most accurate determination of the age of the cosmos, have directly detected primordial helium gas for the first time and have discovered a key signature of inflation, the leading model of how the cosmos came to be.

The analysis, based on the first seven years of data taken by NASA’s Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe, also provides new evidence that the mysterious entity revving up the expansion of the universe resembles Einstein’s cosmological constant, a factor he inserted but later removed from his theory of general relativity. In addition, the data reveal that theorists don’t have the right model to explain the hot gas that surrounds massive clusters of galaxies.

Researchers studying the light, which was generated at the birth of the cosmos but was seen by the satellite as it appeared when it first escaped into space about 400,000 years later, unveiled the findings in six papers posted online January 26. The ancient light, known as the cosmic microwave background, is peppered with hot and cold spots, signs of the tiny primordial lumps from which galaxies grew.

To calculate the age of the universe, scientists including David Spergel of Princeton University and Charles Bennett of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore compared the size of those hot and cold spots today with the size of the spots when the radiation was first released into space. Using data from WMAP along with studies of distant supernovas and other phenomena, the team finds that the universe is 13.75 billion years old, give or take 0.11 billion. (By comparison, the team’s previous calculation, which used the same method but included only five years of satellite observations, had pegged the universe at 13.73 billion years, plus or minus 0.12 billion.)

Data from the WMAP satellite supports the idea that the early universe inflated rapidly, Bennett says. Inflation theory, which posits that the universe ballooned from subatomic scale to the size of a soccer ball during its first 10-33 seconds, has had great success in explaining the structure of the universe. According to the theory, fluctuations in the intensity of microwave background radiation over larger spatial scales should be slightly bigger than those on smaller scales. The satellite, which was launched in 2001 and will make its last observations this fall, has confirmed that behavior.

“This is a really strong endorsement for the theory,” says Scott Dodelson of the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia, Ill.

The standard model of cosmology — replete with inflation, invisible material known as dark matter and something called dark energy, which is believed to accelerate cosmic expansion—“is a wild idea,” admits Bennett. But with the newest analysis of the satellite observations “we have confronted the model against the data in a substantially new way… and this picture is holding up very well.”

Please click HERE to read the ENTIRE ARTICLE...

You Gotta LAUGH At The IRONY! This Is So Ridiculous It's Funny! Monuments To Freedom Aren't Free, But North Korea Builds Cheap Ones! What Shameless HYPOCRISY!

Wall Street Journal

Monuments to Freedom Aren't Free, but North Korea Builds Cheap Ones

written by Christina Passariello

Thursday January 28, 2010

DAKAR, Senegal—New York has the Statue of Liberty. France has the Eiffel Tower. Now Senegal is about to get the "African Renaissance"—built by North Korea.

This month, workers from Mansudae Overseas Project Group of Companies, a North Korean design firm, were putting the finishing touches on a giant copper sculpture of a family. Senegal President Abdoulaye Wade will inaugurate the African Renaissance Monument in April to mark the 50th anniversary of the country's independence from France, a ceremony he expects the president of North Korea's Parliament to attend.

"Only the North Koreans could build my statue," says Mr. Wade, sitting in a red velvet chair in his palace. Moreover, they offer monuments at a good rate, he says: "I had no money."

North Korea is mainly known for a totalitarian regime overseeing economic failure. But it has also produced a successful export business—building monuments to freedom and independence. The statues' selling point: They are big, simple and cheap.

Over the past decade, Mansudae has built dozens of statues and monuments for cash-strapped African countries. Botswana cut the ribbon on a memorial to three tribal chiefs in 2005. Neighboring Namibia boasts a bronze of its founding president wielding an AK-47.

The African Renaissance is Mansudae's biggest work yet, measuring 164 feet high and crowning two barren hills in Dakar called "Les Mamelles" at the westernmost point of Africa. That makes it taller than either the Statue of Liberty (151 feet) or Rio de Janeiro's Christ the Redeemer (100 feet). The statue depicts a father holding a baby in his left arm. The man's right arm is around the waist of the baby's mother. The three are reaching out to the sky and out to the ocean.

"Its message is about Africa emerging from the darkness, from five centuries of slavery and two centuries of colonialism," says Mr. Wade.

Africa's rash of nationalistic monuments, statues and shrines has made Mansudae's signature aesthetic of socialist realism fashionable. In Benin, for example, a statue of a 19th-century king holds his hand up, symbolically forbidding the French to enter.

Socialist realism is popular "because people can access it easily," says Mary Jo Arnoldi, curator for African Ethnology at the Smithsonian Institution. It is easy to understand for illiterate populations, she says. "But aesthetically, it's not going to win any prizes."

In Senegal, however, the statue has been a beacon of discontent, sparking angry newspaper editorials and protests from religious leaders. The statue's sultry mother figure, dressed in a wisp of fabric that reveals part of a breast and a bare leg, has offended imams in this majority-Muslim country.

Financing details for the project have been murky, and some taxpayers are outraged by the very idea of it when power outages occur daily and university students strike over rising fees. Mr. Wade had no budget for the African Renaissance, so instead offered a prime chunk of state-owned land in exchange, which North Korea has since resold at a large profit, he says.

However, a panel near the base of the monument lists the official budget as $25 million, though foreign government officials estimate its cost at around $70 million. Mr. Wade says he plans to keep 34% of the profit from entrance fees and merchandise for a personal foundation.

The North Korean role is of less concern, though labor unions do lament that Mansudae got the job when an estimated 49% of the population is unemployed: 150 North Koreans are building the statue, helped by just 50 Senegalese. Mamadou Diouf, the head of the Confederation of Autonomous Unions of Senegal, says the project doesn't look African.

"If [building the statue] was a priority for our country, it could have been done by Senegalese workers in a manner much more in line with our values," he says.

Please click HERE to read the ENTIRE ARTICLE...

Princess Mononoke Made The IMBD List Of The Top 50 BEST ACTION MOVIES! WooHoo! ♥Congratulations♥ Hayao4President

Only Good Movies Blog

Good Action Movies

written by Shane Rivers

Below, I have assembled a number of lists which detail the best action films ever made. Whether you agree or disagree, take a look around; you’re sure to find a few top action films that you’ve never heard of before.

Top Action Movies from IMDB

The Internet Movie Database enables members to rate any movie they desire. The films are then broken up into genres such as “action films” and “horror films.” According to the IMDB, here are their top 50 action movies.

  1. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)

  2. The Dark Knight (2008)

  3. Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

  4. Seven Samurai (1954)

  5. Star Wars (1977)

  6. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

  7. Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)

  8. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

  9. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

10. Fight Club (1999)

11. The Matrix (1999)

12. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)

13. Satya (1998)

14. The Professional (1994)

15. Apocalypse Now (1979)

16. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)

17. Last Crusade (1970)

18. Saving Private Ryan (1998)

19. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

20. Aliens (1986)

21. Metropolis (1927)

22. Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar (1992)

23. Some Like It Hot (1959)

24. Safety Last! (1923)

25. The Great Escape (1963)

26. The Wages of Fear (1953)

27. Full Metal Jacket (1987)

28. Sin City (2005)

29. Max Manus (2008)

30. The General (1927)

31. Back to the Future (1985)

32. Braveheart (1995)

33. Batman Begins (2005)

34. For a Few Dollars More (1965)

35. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)

36. Blade Runner (1982)

37. Yojimbo (1961)

38. Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983)

39. Ran (1985)

40. Princess Mononoke (1997)

41. Gladiator (2000)

42. Die Hard (1988)

43. Ivan Vasilievich: Back to the Future (1973)

44. Ben-Hur (1959)

45. The White Sun of the Desert (1970)

46. Heat (1995)

47. Platoon (1986)

48. Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)

49. The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)

50. The Wild Bunch (1969)

Please Join The Thank You Tibet! Campaign In Support Of The Dalai Lama!

The Dalai Lama Center

Join the Thank You Tibet! campaign in support of the Dalai Lama

written by Staff

Tuesday February 2, 2010

The Dalai Lama Center for Peace and Education is inviting you to join the Nobel Peace Laureates in the Thank You Tibet! campaign at http://www.thankyoutibet.org/. The campaign, which runs until March 1, is presented by the Tibet Fund in collaboration with the PeaceJam Foundation, the Nobel Women's Initiative and the DLC.

"What if the Dalai Lama had not crossed the Himalayas into India in 1959?" asks the DLC's founding director Victor Chan. "What if he had been able to spend the last 50 years in the dark, drafty thousand-room Potala Palace? Studying, meditating and looking through his telescope at Lhasa’s bazaars, wishing he could experience life simply as an ordinary Tibetan? The world might know of his and his people’s existence. But would they care?"

Chan points to the 12,000 centres scattered across the globe devoted to the spiritual and the contemplative, to pursuits that encompass meditation, therapy, yoga and other mind, body and spirit activities, which he attributes to the catalyzing influence of Tibetan teachers.

"If the Dalai Lama and his 80,000 followers had remained in Tibet, would this flowering of the spiritual have happened? I’d like to think that it would have. But perhaps on a much smaller scale. Other religious traditions embrace similar wisdom insights. But they don’t have any spokespeople with the profile of the Dalai Lama, and their practice is mostly confined within the rarified cloisters of religion."

The DLC and Thank You Tibet! invite you to send a message of support and appreciation to His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan people for sustaining their culture of wisdom and compassion over 50 years and for their steadfast commitment to nonviolence as the path to peace.

Create a message in any medium—video, music, visual art, photography, and/or text—to express the ways that Tibetan culture and spirituality have inspired you and changed your life.

Messages will be presented during a special program with the Nobel Peace laureates, Philip Glass, Robert Thurman, Michael Imperioli and others at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City on March 4, 2010. Messages will also be given to His Holiness the Dalai Lama and leaders of the Tibetan exile community at a later date.

Sign the Nobel Peace Laureates Statement of Support, which was delivered to His Holiness the Dalai Lama in October 2009 by Laureates Shirin Ebadi, Mairead Corrigan Maguire and Jody Williams. Sign the Statement at http://www.thankyoutibet.org/

By saying Thank You Tibet! you will be celebrating the Tibetan people's courageous spirit and Tibetan culture as a cherished part of our global heritage.

"Today, I’m tempted to say that for many, “that which makes life worthwhile” has been immeasurably enriched by 50 years of Tibetans living in our midst," says Chan. "For me, I have no doubt that this is the case."

China Warns The U.S. Against Meeting With The Dalai Lama And Selling Arms To Taiwan! That's What Happens When China Has Us By The Nuts In DEBT! How President Obama Responds Will Be VERY Telling!

Please click HERE to see a list of who owns USA Debt. The list was created by the U.S. Treasury Dept. Not A Pretty Picture!

MSNBC

China warns U.S. over Dalai Lama, Taiwan

written by The Associated Press

Tuesday February 2, 2010 at 1:39am PT

BEIJING - China said a possible meeting between President Barack Obama and the Dalai Lama would further hurt Sino-U.S. relations, and vowed to go ahead with sanctions against U.S. companies selling arms to Taiwan.

China has become increasingly assertive in opposing meetings between the Dalai Lama and foreign leaders, and a meeting between the exiled Tibetan leader and Obama would add to the litany of troubles between the world's biggest and third biggest economies.

Relations between the United States and China have soured over a range of issues from trade and currency policies to control of the Internet.

There has been widespread speculation that Obama will meet the Dalai Lama when the Tibetan Buddhist monk visits the United States in coming months. The White House has not publicly confirmed any such meeting.

'Strongly opposed'

Zhu Weiqun, a Vice Minister of the United Front Work Department of China's ruling Communist Party, said his government would vehemently oppose any meeting between Obama and the Dalai Lama, who Beijing deems a dangerous separatist.

"If the U.S. leader chooses this time to meet the Dalai Lama, that would damage trust and cooperation between our two countries, and how would that help the United States surmount the current economic crisis?" said Zhu.

Sanctions?

Even a brief symbolic encounter between the U.S. leader and the Dalai Lama would stoke ire in Beijing, already angered by U.S. proposals last week to sell $6.4 billion of weapons to Taiwan, the disputed island that China treats as an illegitimate breakaway province.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, Ma Zhaoxu, on Tuesday repeated Beijing's threat to impose sanctions against U.S. companies which sell arms to Taiwan.

Please click HERE to read the ENTIRE ARTICLE...

Gang Leader Who Planned Juárez Massacre Of 15 Students Celebrating A Birthday Party Was KILLED! Good Riddance You Human Parasite! You Were A Sorry Excuse For A Human Being!

Wall Street Journal

Slain Gang Leader Planned Juárez Massacre

written by Jose De Cordova

Wednesday February 3, 2010

A gang leader for the Juárez Cartel who was killed in a shootout with soldiers Monday planned and helped carry out the massacre of 15 students Sunday night, Mexican police officials said in Ciudad Juárez.

Adrian Ramírez, known as "El Rama" or "12" was killed in a shootout with Mexican soldiers the day after two squads of gunmen massacred 15 students who were celebrating a birthday party. The killings has shocked Mexico, and called into question President Felipe Calderón's war on the violent drug cartels who are fighting for control of profitable routes to the U.S.

Police interrogated José Dolores Arroyo, who is accused of being a lookout for the gunmen. Mr. Arroyo told police the gunmen, who worked for the Juárez Cartel, also known as La Linea, believed the students belonged to a rival gang known as the Artistic Assassins who work for Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, Mexico's most powerful drug lord. Mr. Guzmán has been battling to take over Ciudad Juárez from the hometown Juárez Cartel for the past two years. During that period, violence has spiraled out of control. Last year, more than 2,600 people were killed in drug related violence in Ciudad Juárez, up from 1,600 in 2008.

Israel Searches For Explosive Barrels In Sea And Palestinian Militants Promised More!

Wall Street Journal

Israel Searches for Explosive Barrels in Sea

written by Joshua Mitnick

TEL AVIV—Israel closed a stretch of beaches north of the Gaza Strip after two explosive-laden barrels washed ashore and Palestinian militants promised more, in revenge for what some in Hamas said was Israeli's assassination of a top Hamas leader last month.

Maritime authorities warned civilian vessels to be alert to possible dangers in the Mediterranean after the military linked the barrels to two explosions at sea Friday. At the same time, police deployed helicopters and mounted units to comb the length of Israel's coastline to the Lebanon border in search of additional explosive devices.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a news conference that Israel would respond to the explosives found on the beaches, and Israel launched airstrikes in Gaza shortly after that, officials on both sides said, according to Reuters. No injuries were reported. An Israeli army spokesman said the strikes targeted two sites where tunnels were dug to help gunmen infiltrate from Hamas-ruled Gaza into Israel and to smuggle in weapons from Egypt.

Tensions between Israel and the Palestinian Islamic militants have escalated over the past week after Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, a senior operative who Israelis say helped to smuggle weapons into Gaza, was killed in a Dubai hotel room.

Hamas officials initially accused Israel's Mossad spy agency of the killing, while Israeli officials refrained from confirming or denying involvement.

On Tuesday, Arab media outlets reported that Hamas officials were suggesting agents from Arab governments, rather than Israel, were responsible for the killing.

Israeli military Deputy Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Benny Gantz told reporters the explosive devices launched in recent days indicate that militant groups in Gaza are looking for new ways to carry out attacks on Israeli targets, but that they are hard-pressed to do so. The floating barrels may have been intended for Israeli navy patrol boats.

The army said that several Gaza militias outside of Hamas took responsibility for the barrels, including a militia affiliated with Hamas called the Popular Resistance Committee.

Police Spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld said a 25-milestretch of coastline from Gaza's northern edge to the port city of Ashdod would remain closed indefinitely while authorities continue to search.

"We are not taking any chances," Mr. Rosenfeld said. Some Israeli surfers, however, didn't comply with the ban.

The barrels contained about 22 pounds of explosives and landed near Ashdod and the city of Ashkelon, six miles from Gaza.

The attack in Dubai has spurred speculation that Hamas militants would seek revenge by targeting Israelis abroad for the first time.

Separately, Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Zahar said indirect talks had broken down with Israel on a swap of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in return for Israeli Sgt. Gilad Shalit, who has been held captive for 3½ years.

In an television interview with the British Broadcasting Corp., Mr. Zahar accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of scuttling the deal.

"After one hundred rounds, [the talks] reached backward too much. For this reason everything stopped," Mr. Zahar said.

In December, German and Egyptian mediators seemed to have maneuvered the sides to the verge of a historic prisoner swap.

Somalia's Al Shabaab to Ally With Al Qaeda! That's Just Wonderful... Who's Next? Sudanese And Indonesian Islamist Militants? These Patches Of Darkness Are Starting To Merge To Become One UGLY Force! We Better Wise UP!

Wall Street Journal

Somalia's Al Shabaab to Ally With Al Qaeda

written by Sarah Childress and Abdinasir Mohamed in Mogadishu

Tuesday February 2, 2010

NAIROBI, Kenya—The militant group al Shabaab said it would ally with al Qaeda in a drive to establish an Islamic state in Somalia and fight for Muslims across East Africa, offering a fresh test for U.S.-backed African peacekeepers struggling to defend a weak Somali government.

In a statement Monday, the group said it had agreed, among other things, "to connect the horn of Africa jihad to the one led by al Qaeda and its leader Sheikh Osama Bin Laden." The statement, written in Somali and Arabic, is believed to be the first explicit confirmation of what U.S. and Somali government have long suspected: Militants in one of Africa's least stable places are sharing resources and merging agendas.

It isn't clear whether this new resolution will result in funding or training from al Qaeda, or even if it will lead to an official endorsement from the global terror group. At the very least, the statement signals a tightening embrace with foreign fighters who have been supporting al Shabaab's efforts to topple the Somali government.

The cooperation also could spur Somali militants to assist al Qaeda elsewhere. Al Shabaab has sent fighters to Afghanistan to train with al Qaeda, according to the Somali government. Al Shabaab recently pledged to send fighters across the Gulf of Aden to Yemen, where al Qaeda is active.

Al Shabaab made its announcement a day after Somali President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed marked his first year in office. The past year has offered little respite from the violence that has rocked Somalia for nearly two decades. In the short term, a combined threat is likely to increase pressure on Mr. Sharif's tenuous government and those trying to stave off its collapse.

The U.S supports Mr. Sharif and is the biggest backer of an African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia, for which it has provided training and equipment. That support reflects concerns that al Qaeda is attempting to establish a base in Somalia to attack Western targets.

Overall, the Somali government has been frustrated with the lack of foreign support. Thus far, Western donors have provided only a fraction of the $213 million pledged in 2009 to the Somali government and the African Union mission.

A Somali government spokesman declined to comment on the statement from Al Shabaab. An African Union official dismissed the statement as a "non-event," given that the AU already assumed the two groups were working together.

Still, the announcement shows how the Somali militant group's identity is evolving, analysts say. Al Shabaab, which already controls much of the country, is increasingly split between Somali nationalists who oppose foreign leadership and want to establish Shariah law in their country, and those who seek a bigger role in the global terror network, these analysts say. Some warn too much foreign influence could backfire.

"The thing that gives Al Shabaab its punch is its national agenda," said Roger Middleton, an analyst who focuses on the horn of Africa, at London think-tank Chatham House. "That's key for it, in terms of recruiting and being able to control areas of territory. If they fail to respect that nationalist element of Shabaab, they're going to be in trouble."

Al Shabaab has struggled to hold the support of a population wearied by war in part by claiming not to kill civilians. But foreign fighters have introduced more vicious tactics, including suicide bombs and attacks on civilians. After a suicide bombing in December killed at least 19 people, most of them civilians, Somalis took to the streets in protest. Al Shabaab initially denied any involvement. It later admitted the bomber had been an al Shabaab fighter, and a foreigner.

Los Angeles City Council Moves To Lay Off Up To 1500 Workers Including Beaches & Harbors! Meanwhile, We Watch Washington PISS AWAY $100s BILLIONS Of Taxpayer Dollars On BS!

The Daily News

Council committee moves to lay off up to 1,500 workers

written by Rick Orlov, Staff Writer

Monday January 1, 2010 05:50:21 PM PST

Despite a chorus of complaints from community activists, a City Council committee advanced a plan Monday to lay off up to 1,500 workers and slash spending across the board - including the previously untouched Los Angeles fire and police departments.

The aim of the plan is to make $400 million in cuts to help close a massive budget deficit. While Los Angeles officials say some layoffs can be averted if unions agree to concessions, they say they must plan for the worst.

With that in mind, Councilman Bernard Parks moved to include police and fire departments on the list of agencies facing cuts.

"We are asking you to give us a plan with no restrictions," Councilman Bernard Parks, chair of the Budget and Finance committee, told City Administrative Officer Miguel Santana at a committee hearing.

"You cannot balance the budget when 70 percent is tied up in police and fire services. It is the elephant in the room that no one is talking about."

Santana is drafting the budget plan, which the City Council is expected to debate - and possibly decide - on Wednesday.

Parks, a former police chief, asked that the budgets of council members and the mayor also be considered for cuts, even though they have been scaled back in recent years.

The budget and finance committee heard from a parade of speakers who pleaded that neighborhood council and cultural affairs budgets remain intact. Some also opposed plans to merge the Disability Department into another agency.

But committee members and Santana said the city had few other options.

"We are facing difficult times and there are not many choices," Santana said. "If we don't act quickly, it will mean we need to cut more people."

In addition to the 1,000 to 1,500 layoffs, Santana said the city needs to look at developing a public-private partnership for its parking garages as well as developing a new arrangement for the operation of the Los Angeles Zoo.

Santana said the city has been fortunate compared to other cities that have been forced to lay off police officers.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has resisted efforts to cut police below the current level of 9,963 officers, saying public safety has to be the city's top priority.

Several members of neighborhood councils protested the proposal to cut in half the annual $45,000 subsidy that each group gets from the city, saying it would end many of the programs they now offer the community.

"These are a valuable resource for the city," said Shawn Simons of South Los Angeles. "We provide thousands of hours of volunteer work that the city will lose."

Barbara Monahan Burke of Studio City said any cut in the budgets would violate the spirit of the city's neighborhood council program.

"If they do this, they will eliminate what much of us can do," she said.

Councilman Paul Koretz said the city should ask voters to impose new taxes to help balance the budget.

"I think we can make a case that we can tax car rentals, oil drilling and billboards and there won't be a lot of opposition," he said.

Judith Rio of the Association of Deputy City Attorneys protested the proposed cut of 100 prosecutors from the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office and complained elected officials have not had any cuts.

Parks said both the mayor's office and that of council members took cuts in each of the last two years and would face reductions this year.