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Not long ago I considered working for a random Christian organization but quickly learned that doing so would make us [at best] strange bedfellows. On the application they asked: We believe that Christians are called to take the initiative to share the gospel even when there is no pre-existing friendship or relationship. Do you have any theological objections to this kind of evangelism?I could have simply answered with one word: Yes! But I thought I'd actually try to answer the question in a manner that neither communicated my "are-you-crazy?" sentiments, nor was simply dismissive. Here was my response:Given the question, I would imagine that I would understand 'share the gospel' differently than some involved in your ministry. I affirm that Christians are to go into all the world to

Here are the responses from the Democratic candidates regarding McCain's Healthcare plan.From Clinton:John McCain is proposing a radical plan that would mean millions of Americans would lose their job-based coverage: The McCain plan eliminates the policies that hold the employer-based health insurance system together, so while people might have a ‘choice’ of getting such coverage , employers would have no incentive to provide it. This means 158 million Americans with job-based coverage today could be at risk of losing the insurance they have come to depend upon.While Senator McCain touts the choices his plan offers, people who are older or sicker would actually have no choice under his new proposals. Older Americans or those with pre-existing conditions would be allowed to get only one

Allergy season is upon us again - a time for itchy eyes, runny nose and headaches. The good news is that allergies can respond very well to natural therapies without leaving you drowsy or wired. Before we start the discussion of natural remedies, let’s begin by looking at what happens to the body during an [...]

It’s the same nurse who let me do this the last time; April 22, 2008 — Photo by Me. . I’ve been getting lost in conversations with myself. A lot. I’ve spent more time outside over the past ten days than I did all winter and I’m finding myself moving my hands, arms and even mouth all [...]

Nas, Kweli & Mos Def discuss the acquittal of the 3 police officers involved in Sean Bell's shooting on 106 & Park. Nas Calls 106 & Park (Clip courtesy of MorrisVideos.com) Talib Kweli On 106 & Park Mos Def Calls 106 & Park

about joelle's discomfort after giving birth to megan... not that i don't wanna blog about it... just don't wanna scare those who are married and do not have baby yet... oh well, since teresa asked, i might as well do it... keke... with joelle beside me, here we go: 1. it is very scary to be pushed into the operation theatre. especially with those stadium-spotlights shining on you... 2. it is very stressful not being able to produce milk the first few days when your little one is wailing for food... 3. it is even more stressful when you can produce milk but your little one is used to bottle feed and is lazy to latch on... 4. you'll feel extremely lost when you reached home with your baby and there is no one else to help or advise you on what to do... 5. you'll feel even more extreme

Candidates respond to voters economic fears (Reuters) Reuters - Facing job losses, rising mortgage rates and higher gasoline prices, U.S. voters in 2008 want their next president above all to listen to their anger and fix the economy. addthis_url = [...]

From: Some Scientists Argue We Are Built to Coo At the Sight of a Baby   Using a technique called magneto-encephalography that measures brain signals, the Oxford researchers found that a baby's face can seize our attention in milliseconds, activating an unusual mental organ called the fusiform gyrus that responds to human faces. Moreover, these distinctive infant features, unlike the mature features of an adult, trigger a sense of reward and good feeling in a seventh of a second. Picture Bambi's saucer-size eyes or those of Mickey Mouse.   The researchers concluded that the parental instinct is present in all of us. "It suggests we are probably all hard-wired to respond and care for babies, to help us perpetuate the species," said Oxford child psychiatrist Alan Stein,

I wanted to post a couple of the responses I received from male readers in response to the following questions:What do you, as Black men, need or want from Black women that you are not getting? Do you feel that we, as Black women, are holding up our end of the bargain in terms of male/female interactions and relationships? Or are we leaving much to be desired? How can we make this better?You can click this link right here to read the other comments. Those who are privy to my Myspace page can see what my other homies on that side of town had to add as well. From a well-loved Howard man, who is married and in his early 60's:I think there is nothing more that Black women need to or should do to address Black men. (I am excluding from this that small minority of gold-diggers, who need to stop

The controversial Dutch film "Finta" by Geets Wilder, a member of parliament, has been released in English and is causing quite a stir. This includes the expected outcry from many quarters, including many Muslim groups. Riots are predicted in Pakistan, Afghanistan and elsewhere. There are many flaws in the 15-minute show, to be sure. It is jammed with the worst and most atrocious of radical Islam and offers no hint that there are other, valid interpretations of the religion, followed by millions,...(read more)

Story from here on Politico. Though it’s not exactly an accurate representation of McCain’s views, Democratic strategists view the “100 years” remark as the linchpin of an effort to turn McCain's national security credentials against him by framing the Vietnam War hero as a warmonger who envisions an American presence in Iraq without end. Both Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama began citing McCain’s remark in Democratic debates not long after he made it, and their campaigns have stepped up the focus in recent weeks. On a recent conference call with reporters, Howard Wolfson, Clinton’s bulldog operative, mentioned four times in two minutes that John McCain “wants to be in Iraq for 100 years.” “Instead of offering an exit strat

By JAY LINDSAYAssociated Press WriterMarch 27, WiredBOSTON -- Call them Pavlov's fish: Scientists are testing a plan to train fish to catch themselves by swimming into a net when they hear a tone that signals feeding time.If it works, the system could eventually allow black sea bass to be released into the open ocean, where they would grow to market size, then swim into an underwater cage to be harvested when they hear the signal.What's next, teaching them to coat themselves in batter and hop inside a fryer?"It sounds crazy, but it's real," said Simon Miner, a research assistant at the Marine Biological Laboratory at Wood's Hole, which received a $270,000 grant for the project from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.Miner said the specially trained fish could someday be us

Until I reached a certain level in my own personal development, I never paid much attention to the educational work that has been done on hypnosis. It dawned on me that one of my biggest obstacles was how much influence I had on my own interactions with others. I wanted to change that, and [...]

Look, it’s fun to speculate on how this or that piece of hardware is so revolutionary that it will forever change the landscape of all that follows. Who knows, some of it might even come true. But when you’re playing Nostradamus with the future of technology, you might want to consider every practical [...]

you may need me more than you think you will electric feel mgmt [oracular spectacular, 2007] the eraser (xxxchange_mix) thom yorke [unofficial, 2007] forever heavy black moth super rainbow [dandelion gum, 2007] blind (ft. antony hegarty) hercules & love affair [self-titled, 2008] weight of the world patrick watson [close to paradise, 2007] simple x andrew bird [armchair apocrypha, 2007] brainy the national [...]

The Clintons want the “angry Obama” and he needs to be very careful about not giving it to them. He will win Mississippi today, and his speech yesterday was strong, but he needs to dial it back just a little. “So I don’t want to anybody here thinking that I, somehow well I can get [...]

If you have a sales team or call center, you may already be using or have heard of a power dialer to contact leads. With the generation of the internet, sales teams can receive more qualified leads from websites. This advanced technology should also equate into a more technologically advanced dialer. Here [...]

EDS' Next Big Thing Blog: Read and Respond to What the EDS Fellows Say About TechnologyFor centuries the workers of the world have had to locate within commuting distance of their work. It was necessary because their work could hardly travel to where they lived. Not anymore. The paradigm of moving work to people rather than moving people to work is being adopted more and more by progressive companies who understand that there are benefits that devolve both to the enterprise as well as to employees.For the employee working at a remote location, telework provides for a choice in lifestyle, living where they want to live, as well as reduction in time (and energy) spent commuting. According to the US census, the average worker spends more than 100 hours a year commuting. During this time they

What is going on when in less than 3 hours 3,290 PB&J sandwiches are made for the hungry and homeless of Atlanta; 500 Easter Eggs are filled for St Philip UMC to host a community Egg Hunt; one playground and fence are cleared so St Philip can have fields to use for recreation as [...]

Mobile satellite communications are key to ensuring business continuity, responding to disasters and emergency situations where terrestrial communications may be disabled or nonexistent. This article provides information to consider when selecting a commercial satellite service provider. More: continued here

It’s important to remember that your clients’ reactions to a trauma can be short, or it can be long-lived. Regardless of their reaction time, it’s important to remember most of them will react. Keep in mind how your clients respond to trauma depends on a few things: • How severe was the trauma? • How long did the trauma last? • How strong (physically and/or emotionally) were they before the traumatic event? Your clients’ answers to these questions will help you determine how they will respond to a traumatic event. Remember, your clients can have both physical and emotional reactions to trauma. Some of the more common emotional reactions clients tend to exhibit include:

Kelly O'Connor Feb. 7, 2008 Not all Christians are supercilious, of course. Many are content to live and let live, and some even grant that science (despite its lack of supernatural entities) does some good. But Christianity as an organized, evangelizing movement has been on the offensive lately. Witness the new wave of evangelicals and their leaders such as Rick Warren, Lee Strobel, and William Lane Craig with their aggressive stance against scientific materialism and their bestselling books attempting to refute science. So, assuming you're an atheist, what do you say to the theist who asks, "You don't (chuckle) believe in a god (snicker)?" Anybody familiar with the original article will see that the preceding paragraph is the same paragraph as the open

The week after the so-called “truce” between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama was full of more implicitly racist language by both Hillary and Bill Clinton. It is shocking that even after the Obama camp and media personalities called the Clintons on their implicit racist rhetoric that they actually stepped up their racist attacks while campaigning in South Carolina – a state with a large black voting population. The tactics backfired in South Carolina, where more than half of the voters in Saturday’s Democratic primary were black, and three-quarters of those black voters supported Obama. The result: the largest landslide in any nominating contest this year for Obama. But the results might obfuscate the reality of what appears to be the Clintons’ strategy – to make

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: lakshmi_agarwal@mindtree.com < lakshmi_agarwal@mindtree.com> Date: 16 Jan 2008 12:08 Subject: Senior Networking job opportunities with... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

PACE, Waves Respond to Blogger’s Blue Screen, and a Promise from CDM - WAVES and PACE defend their anti-piracy hardware protection and respond to allegations of technical difficulties from a blog entry … and why, if this discussion really matters, we should look at it a different way.At the beginning of the month, we pointed to a blogger who posted what was essentially a rant about why he [...] More: continued here Other Review: Taming the Dragon (Audio CD)

Set-Top Box Manufacturers Respond to Increasing Risks - The status of the STB (Set-Top Box) within pay-TV households faces significant risk from the development of two-way, digital-cable–ready TVs, media centers, and residential gateways, among others. And STB manufacturers are responding in several ways. More... More: continued here Other Review: The Cambridge Companion to the Saxophone (Cambridge Companions to Music) (Paperback)

Book Description ISBN-0749443669 "Go ahead and pick it up ... the book will give you a competitive advantage." Recall and persuasion are today's primary measures of ad effectiveness. Du Plessis makes the case that emotion is actually the foundation of both, a major shift that he says today's advertisers are reluctant to accept. The Advertised Mind is certainly one of the most interesting... [

How shall I respond if you ask me, What are you? Do you believe in God? If not, What do you believe in? Don’t you believe in anything? Shall I make a list and carry it around Lest you judge me for not having any beliefs? “Judge not, that ye be not judged” I wonder who said that? Oh yeah, It was the same guy who judged Those who didn’t like his preaching and said: “Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, How can ye escape the damnation of hell.” How civilized. How tolerant. What a gentleman. I shall respond civilized. I shall respond with tolerance. I shall rise above the fear, which controls you, The fear, which holds you prisoner and, I shall proudly say: I am a Humanist, a Free Thinker A Naturalist, a Skeptic A Secularist, a Scientist at heart, An Agnostic, a Nontheist A Rationalist, an Empiricist, and a Positivist. And Last I am an Atheist. “For I am a destroyer of Gods In a world of Demons, A giver of hope to those who know not, For I am Huma

The Duke/Ambient relationship is ongoing and continues to be Ambient’s largest field deployment to date. Regarding SDG&E, please refer to the shareholders letter of Sept 26. From jamiedryer —–Original Message—– From: XXXX[mailto:XXXXXX@yahoo.com] Sent: Saturday, November 03, 2007 9:49 AM To: jamie@otcfn.com Subject: XXXX. Question about ABTG.OB “Both Duke and SDG&E dumped ABTG. ABTG has no more paying customers.” Is this true? Recently, I have heard about people saying that Both Duke and SDG&E dumped ABTG. And I tried to reach the ABTG and ask for a comfirm. That’s the email I have received today.

Before his press conference today, President Bush met exclusively with a group of GOP congressional leaders. According to Fox News, which spoke with some of the members at that discussion, Bush unequivocally promised that he would attack Iran if Iran “were ever to attack Israel.”read more | digg story

About a week ago, rapper T.I. and his bodyguard were arrested when the bodyguard was caught attempting to purchase machine guns and silencers. The bodyguard admitted to purchasing 26 guns for T.I. and his posse. It seemed like things couldn't get more outrageous. But now, a blogger from Atlanta named Sandra Rose claims she is being intimidated by T.I.'s people because of recent posts on her blog. Here is what Rose had to say

This one really needs to be sent over to our friend at Hot Chicks With Douchebags. I believe this one highly qualifies on his douchemeter and making fun of poetry style that he brings. Other than that what can I say? Well one thing is for certain. If this dude actually had sex with this girl? That’s grounds for me committing suicide…seriously.

Well ….. 24 hours have passed and the coder who charged me the $250 deposit and left me with a pile of crap coding has decided not to respond to my email. Who is this guy who screwed me? (more…) Share This

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- After becoming the targets of online threats, some students at the University of Louisville are finding their own way to react.Comments and threats were posted on a white supremacy website. The messages were in response to Monday's rally for six African-American teens accused of beating a white classmate in Jena, Louisiana.Instead of responding to the online posts, the Association of Black Students used them to open a dialog at Thursday night's meeting. Leaders for the student group said they plan to continue to use the comments as a spring board to discuss race issues.This from WLKY.com. (with Video)

View it as a challenge. You simply cannot grow without some sort of chaos and yours may be just a little chaos, not enough to warrant a transformation. Nevertheless, a little chaos at a time will transform you gradually.The trick to survive this chaos lies in the way you respond. And that is just what responsibility means.It does not matter that you do not remember having chosen this challenge for yourself. It is now here and it is here for a purpose - to help you grow. No point in fighting against it, instead, use your energy to respond to it.Before you feel like a knight facing your enemies, about to go into a battle, do this:How would I feel if that problem no longer exists?(Don't want to read? Listen instead.)All you need is 3 minutes and some sincerity to put the Power Pause 3 step fo

Will EUR/USD Or The Dow Respond To PlummetingUS Pending Home Sales? Pending Home Sales (MoM) (AUG) (10:00 EST; 14:00 GMT) Expected: -2.1%Previous: -12.2%How Will The Markets React? After US pending home sales for the month of July plummeted 12.2 percent - the most since the National Association of Realtors started keeping records in 2001 - to an index reading of 89.9, traders will be keeping an eye on the August report to see if even worse levels are yet to come. This could certainly be the case, especially as mortgage lending standards didn't start to tighten significantly until August. As a result, the number of Americans entering into contracts to buy previously owned homes during the month could prove to be more disappointing than the expected decline of 2.1 percent. While it is very clear that the housing sector is in a dismal state, this leading indicator of existing home sales activity will only highlight that fact. Meanwhile, we

Emerging wireless technologies such as WiMax and other mobile communications are increasingly being deployed in Uganda to enable connectivity among remote areas and refugee camps. The WiMax deployment by Motorola would serve as an important ground to test and optimize the performance of future WiMax solutions and services. More info: Warid Telecom Uganda Selects Motorola for WiMAX Deployment Ericsson to enable mobile voice and data connectivity in Ugandan refugee camps Share This

If you suffer from lower back pain you might find that six months of acupuncture gives you superior results to conventional therapy, says a report in Archives of Internal Medicine (JAMA/Archives), September 24th issue. However, the study also indicates that sham acupuncture seems to be effective as well. The authors explain “Low back pain is a common, impairing and disabling condition, often long-term, with an estimated lifetime prevalence of 70 percent to 85 percent. It is the second most common pain for which physician treatment is sought and a major reason for absenteeism and disability.” Although acupuncture is becoming increasingly popular as an alternative therapy, to date its usefulness as a treatment for low back pain has been unclear, say the researchers. Michael Haake, Ph.D., M.D., University of Regensburg, Bad Abbach, Germany, and team carried out a randomized clinical trial with 1,162 patients, their average age was 50. They had all had chronic low back pain for

The battle between the iPhone hackers and Apple is now out in the open and seems to getting more interesting. After approximately three months of uneasy silence Apple had yesterday finally released an official statement warning users that "unauthorized iPhone unlocking programs" could cause "irreparable damage to the iPhone's software". But the folks at iPhone Dev team that developed the free GUI based iPhone unlock tool have issued a statement today condemning Apple and promising a tool soon which will restore your iPhone to factory-settings.

The final post on the trade pipelines and shenanigans in my high stakes league. Carl von Clausewitz, in his amazing book On War, discussed one of the key theses in understanding war. He wrote that with the potential unlimited application of force, one side is compelled to respond in kind. Without limits, what occurs is a a race to the extremes. If one side uses force without compunction, the

Vitamins and antioxidants in my crisps? Hang on a minute- we’re talking about snacks here- not health food. It’s time for those distinctions to blur- we’re now in the age of guilt free snacking. Snacking between meals is something all of us do: crisps, biscuits, chocolate, you name it. The only downside is, after a [...]

Hardbeatnews, BROOKLYN, NY, Weds. Aug. 29, 2007: Caribbean nationals in New York are being urged to donate to the hurricane relief effort for the region as the countdown to the conclusion of Caribbean Hurricane Relief Week begins.

Wellcome Trust scientists have identified for the first time how our brain's response changes the closer a threat gets. Using a "Pac Man"-like computer game where a volunteer is pursued by an artificial predator, the researchers showed that the fear response moves from the strategic areas of the brain towards more reactive responses as the artificial predator approaches.When faced with a threat, such as a large bear, humans, like other animals, alter their behaviour depending on whether the threat is close or distant. This is because different defence mechanisms are needed depending on whether, for example, the bear is fifty feet away, when being aware of its presence may be enough, or five feet away, when we might need to fight or run away.To investigate what happens in the brain in such a situation, researchers at the Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging at UCL, London, created a game where subjects were chased through a maze by an artificial predator -- if caught, they would rece

Ok I received a respond from the Viscount Anthony of Alexandria in less than 24 hours about the Duchess of Alexandria inquiry email I sent to her and it seems that some people are so bothered by my logic questions , already I do not know who is the Viscount Anthony of Alexandria , it seems those people are distributing titles as they like , well nothing wrong in that but they should not associate it with my country or its town , one is Alexandria another one is Aswan, not to mention that even in time of Monarchy we did not have these titles Anyhow here is the respond of the Viscount Dear MrsTo begin I do not of a Mrs Liala but I do know of a Princess Liala.  The Royal Council and I do know who SHE is but we do not know who you are and if you are at all legitimate.  You might want to correct your email address as it suggests that you live in the UK not EGYPT.The Council and I wish not to waste any of our precious time regarding Princess Liala or about any correspondence

You know it has happened to you, someone tells a racist joke in your business or maybe even at a networking event. What do you do? Carmen Van Kerckhove at Race in the Workplace provides some great advice on how to handle this touchy situation tactfully with impact. The best response to a racist joke should accomplish 3 things: 1) Communicate that you find this behavior unacceptable. 2) Demonstrate that the joke is racist. 3) Inflict as little damage as possible to your working relationship with the joker. Read more on Responding to Racist Jokes

I am pleased to announce that my mouth no longer contains any wisdom teeth. I also just misspelled wisdom as widoom three times in a row, so the codeine is definitely working it's wonders on my brain. I better stop typing while I'm ahead, so here are a couple of stories that people have sent in for you to read. Thank you, people! Check out the first installment. Here we go:Steve wrote in to say, "I think it's fair to say that they're [SSRIs] the best thing that's ever happened to me." Well, I've got to share the love for my antidepressant of choice, venlafaxine (a. k. a. Effexor), which is actually an SNRI (it affects norepinephrine as well as serotonin). Before, I was chronically depressed, rock-bottom self-esteem, apathetic, anxious, the whole shebang. Now -- well, I feel like things are going to turn out all right. Ordinary, everydayhopefulness. Gooooo drugs!- apP. S. Ironically, one of Effexor's most dangerous side effects is suicidal ideation -- which is why it's most defi

I was just down in the "business" center of my apartment building to do some printing, and while I was waiting I decided to log on and look at the site. At seems that all the images I have hosted at photobucket were cut off on the right side. You should see a black border that completely surrounds the photo in the preceding post, for example. Do you see that or is it cut off?I'd never noticed. On my screen it's always looked fine. But it's obviously a big problem if some of my photography has about 1/3 or it lopped off. Let me know what you see via e-mail or comment, please.

We are experiencing a drought in East Tennessee, apparently all over the South. It is difficult for me to discern, being a westerner. It is always so hot and dry in the West that we often drink Spam.Nevertheless, water is an issue. Thanks to First Presby, Patti with this report:Alabama, Kentucky & Tennessee are so dry that: The Baptists have started sprinkling. The Methodists are using a wet wash cloth. The Presbyterians are giving rain checks and, the Catholics are trying to turn wine back into water.

Last week I ran an article on the ThermaClear and then received a good question from a reader: "How does this differ from Zeno? Does anyone know? The FAQ on the Thermaclear website was less than helpful." Well I decided to go straight to the source and asked Therative to comment. Here is what Ted Simon, Vice President of Marketing for Therative, the company who makes ThermaClear had to say: “

The Workbook Project has posted a very informative video interview with consultant and speaker Peter Broderick, who started Next Wave Films (now apparently dormant). The interviewer is Scott Kirsner from CinemaTech, a blog that is always full of useful current events and info for the filmmaker trying to make some money off his or her work using current technology.The first thing that really jumped out at me was that the basic rules of shooting a multi-camera interview aren't followed here, making for a slightly off-kilter experience. If you watch the video, both Kirsner and Broderick are looking in the same direction (camera left). Kirsner is framed properly, but when we go to Broderick, the camera "crosses the line" and is in the wrong spot. Both parties should appear to be looking at each other, right-to-left (Kirsner) and left-to-right (Broderick). Only Broderick is also looking right-to-left here.There is an imaginary line that runs from left to right (not pictured her, but imagin

The Workbook Project has posted a very informative video interview with consultant and speaker Peter Broderick, who started Next Wave Films (now apparently dormant). The interviewer is Scott Kirsner from CinemaTech, a blog that is always full of useful current events and info for the filmmaker trying to make some money off his or her work using current technology.The first thing that really jumped out at me was that the basic rules of shooting a multi-camera interview aren't followed here, making for a slightly off-kilter experience. If you watch the video, both Kirsner and Broderick are looking in the same direction (camera left). Kirsner is framed properly, but when we go to Broderick, the camera "crosses the line" and is in the wrong spot. Both parties should appear to be looking at each other, right-to-left (Kirsner) and left-to-right (Broderick). Only Broderick is also looking right-to-left here.There is an imaginary line that runs from left to right (not pictured her, but imagin

See my previous post for the lowdown. Much thanks to all who emailed me. If you have not, you are still welcome to do so. I'll keep posting these things until the cows come home. And trust me, cows do not come home. They just wander around and eat grass. And excrete. Anyway, dig these drug/poison stories:When hospitalized for a serious (and ill-gotten) ankle injury that had required immediate surgery, I was given Demerol. To cut a long and disgusting story involving a rather bothersome absence of renal function short, that night I threw up 22 times before I lost count. It took the hospital staff approximately 6 hours to notice, and when they finally did, they switched me to morphine. Morphine caused me to feel as though there were ants crawling all over me under my skin, and also caused the dots on the ceiling (I still don't know if those were even real) to pulse and move around a bit. That made counting them difficult.- Toaster---I love reading your blog... I'm a freak that way.Les

See my previous post for the lowdown. Much thanks to all who emailed me. If you have not, you are still welcome to do so. I'll keep posting these things until the cows come home. And trust me, cows do not come home. They just wander around and eat grass. And excrete. Anyway, dig these drug/poison stories:When hospitalized for a serious (and ill-gotten) ankle injury that had required immediate surgery, I was given Demerol. To cut a long and disgusting story involving a rather bothersome absence of renal function short, that night I threw up 22 times before I lost count. It took the hospital staff approximately 6 hours to notice, and when they finally did, they switched me to morphine. Morphine caused me to feel as though there were ants crawling all over me under my skin, and also caused the dots on the ceiling (I still don't know if those were even real) to pulse and move around a bit. That made counting them difficult.- Toaster---I love reading your blog... I'm a freak that way.Les

Throughout the time I've been writing on this blog I've been fortunate not to have encountered any trolls lurking in my comments section. Instead, most comments from theists have been thoughtful and productive. Recently, I just received a extremely thoughtful comment from Jesse V. in response to my recent post concerning evidence. In that post, I was mostly concerned with evidence in the purely scientific sense. However, Jesse's argument is from the historical perspective, using the available sources concerning particular events. Luckily, I majored in history, so I feel more than up to the challenge of debating Jesse's points.Before getting into the history, Jesse says:For example, can you prove what word I said yesterday at 12:52pm? No, not by the scientific method. The best you can do is ask those who were around me, IF there was anyone around me. At that point you are relying on the testimony of witnesses, which is not perfect, since someone may have forgotten what I said,

In wake of the recent Olympic logo chaos, a friend of a coworker of mine made this lovely logo. While less creative than imagining Lisa Simpson giving head, it's still to be one of the many user-generated-content to come.

I’ve actually been avoiding the Message Board over on the Official Site lately, more because I just don’t have the kind of time it would take to really take to read through all of the comments. But, I did notice that there’s a section of the board that has many comments left from the cast and crew of Jericho, talking about the cancellation and I think left in a way to placate the rabid fans over on the board. Some of the comments have been left by Jon Steinberg, Skeet Ulrich, Lennie James, Alicia Coppola, Shoshannah Stern, Brad Beyer, Candace Bailey and Michael Gaston, and I do hope to see even more of the cast and crew to comment on the board. See the listing of comments here. On an administrative note, I’ll be posting only once or twice a week here from now on, until there is no more news to be had on the show or I just start seeing a drastic reduction in visitors. I don’t want to give up on Jericho, but there’s only so many times I can tell y&rs

Within four hours of the deadly tornado that struck this town under the cloak of darkness, Kansas National Guard servicemembers were called to duty to bring relief to their devastated neighbors. Before the sun rose May 5 to allow responders to clearly see the extent of damage, 15 security forces personnel from the Kansas Air National Guard in Wichita were on the scene, providing law enforcement assistance to local authorities. "We arrived to utter devastation," said Master Sgt. Frank Cook, one of the first-wave responders with the 184th Security Forces Squadron, 184th Air Refueling Wing, Kansas Air National Guard, McConnell Air Force Base, Kan. "We worked to make a difference and protect what little property these people have left." The Air Guard security forces were joined by about 30 soldiers from the Battery E, 161st Field Artillery, Kansas Army National Guard, from Great Bend, Kan. The state's new C2V Mobile Incident Response Vehicle was mobilized early May 5 and placed next to th

Critically-acclaimed group, B-Side Players are known for addressed political matters affecting the Latin community in the United States and the world in their music. The band’s latest message to politicians (see below), community leaders and police in light of the May 1 violent clash between police and pro-immigrant rights demonstrators has taken a new artistic form: a video. The band has taken their support for immigrant rights by creating a powerful video featuring footage of various clashes between protestors and police for their song, “Nuestras Demandas.” (see below) The song/video also outlines B-Side’s demands for new immigrant legislation and overall respect for human rights by law enforcement.Leader Karlos Paez included footage of clashes as visual reminders that violence between demonstrators and police has been a part of the American experience. Also, he wanted to show how the Constitutional right for people to assemble peacefully to express their grievances has been

There is an interesting essay question from an old AQA AS paper.Should the Government leave house prices to market forces, or actively intervene to prevent a house price crash? Justify your answer. (15 marks AQA Jan - 2006)View: Suggestions on how to answer this Essay on the Housing MarketBasically, a house price crash would have serious economic consequences for the UK economy. (Effects of house prices on UK economy) Therefore it is best for the government to prevent a house price crash, if possible. However, if house prices are fundamentally overvalued, as some suggest, there is little the government can do to prevent them falling.Also, not everyone will be displeased to see house prices fall. Especially, those first time buyers who have been priced out of the market.The rise in House prices has led to a dramatic shift in wealth from the younger generation to the older generation. There is also little political will to do anything about it.Related Posts:Why House prices have risen in

Stressed out? No Need to Resort to Binge Eating! From the moment the buzzing alarm clock jolts us out of a sound sleep, most of us whiz through the day under stressful conditions. Finally, after everyone else has gone to bed, curling up on the couch with a pint of ice cream seems to be the best way to unwind. Yet even when we know in our minds that ‘comfort foods’ won’t solve our problems, many of us still find ourselves overeating when we’re under stress. There are reasons for this and ways you can resist the urge to binge. Responding to Stress Why does feeling stressed cause us to overeat? For one, eating is an effective way to temporarily forget about our problems. When we focus on food, we escape from our problems, at least for a little while. We’ve probably learned from past situations that food enables us to do this. And so eating distracts us during times of stress, and it feels good. Think about it, how many times have you run out of the office t

I guess I'm not sure what to think about Ann Coulter's recent indulgence in hate speech. Well, I guess that is not entirely true. I know what I think about her calling John Edwards a homophobic slur. The part I'm not sure about is how the rest of us should respond in this and similar cases. I have addressed this topic before and will almost certainly continue to do so in the future.Anyone who was surprised by Coulter's statement has not been following her very closely. Her hatred of gays is well known, and she has made similar statements before. Thus, I think it is safe to say that any organization which invites Coulter to speak is explicitly condoning this sort of bigotry.Case in point, after her comments at the Conservative Political Action Conference, she was an invited speaker at the Center for Reclaiming America, an organization affiliated with Christian extremist D. James Kennedy and his Coral Ridge Ministries. Coulter was there for the Center's "Reclaiming America for Chris

Foreign investors have responded negatively to the Indonesian government's decision to disband the Consultative Group on Indonesia (CGI), a forum of countries and organizations granting loans.Some investors are worried that the disbanding of the forum will result in their losing a reference point from which to evaluate investment in Indonesia.

Bush said today that if Tehran increases their military actions in Iraq and causes any harm to Iraqi citizens or any American troops then “we will respond firmly.”  This is just another move in the latest public battle between the United States and Iran. The United States already accuses Iran of supporting terrorism and for also supplying Iraqi militia with weapons to kill American soldiers.  Even the National Security Council spokesman, Gordon Johndroe, said “If Iran wants to quit playing a destructive role in the affairs of Iraq and wants to play a constructive role, we would certainly welcome that,” and that “We’ve seen little evidence to date and frankly all we have seen is evidence of the contrary.” The Ambassador of Iran, Hassan Kazemi Qumi said in an interview that Iran is willing to assume a major role in helping reconstruct Iraq.  He also says “We have experience of reconstruction after war,” and that Iran is “read

The Clipse respond to Lil Wayne's comments(Link) by saying hes a Fag for kissing men. Audio Article on Nas about his career as of late. Link , Nas has added a second NY concert Presale password is... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Dem Franchize Boyz- We F'In Up Hip Hop Seems with Nas saying Hip Hop is Dead, Dem Franchize Boyz were near the top of the list of suspects for the murder. You guys must admit, they had you leaning... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Until I reached a certain level in my own personal development, I never paid much attention to the educational work that has been done on hypnosis. It dawned on me that one of my biggest obstacles was how much influence I had on my own interactions with others. I wanted to change that, and so I started working with conversational hypnosis.

Charlie Murphy, Katt Williams, Vivica A. Fox, Paul Mooney, Ice T and more respond to recent comments made by comedian Pauly Shore. Say We Been Had. Courtesy Of Element 9 Hip Hop

journal by Joy, your friend Paul Darwynn's colleague "Every disappointment, every rejection, every dream that doesn't come true leaves a wound in a person's soul.  Major setbacks...  leave permanent scars.  Small disappointments... leave smaller wounds, but wounds nonetheless. The question is not, Can I get through with life without some failures and rejections? because you can't, and the more you aspire to in life, the more you yearn for, the more scars you will accumulate along the way. The real question is, How will you respond to disappointments?  Will you respond with bitterness, envy, and self-doubt, or with resilience and wisdom?"--  Harold Kushner, Overcoming Life's DisappointmentsPhoto Credit:  Nonoi Maralit 

No, it's not Heidi Fleiss talking. It's a different kind of prostitute: Florida Governor Charles "Charlie" Crist. I kid, I kid. But that's Charlie's ultimate justification for hopping on the summer gas tax holiday bandwagon (there's got to be a Cliff Richard joke in there somewhere). Speaking to the The New York Times, Charlie says he's been "struggling" to cut 10 cents a gallon from the Sunshine State's gas taxes. And yes, he knows it doesn't mean shit, moneywise. But that's not the point. "'It’s about trying to serve the people and trying to understand and have caring, compassionate hearts for what they’re dealing with at the kitchen table,' said Mr. Crist, a Republican." Wow! A Republican said that? And no