For “Scripture Sunday”:
How do you lose $2 billion?
May 15, 2012 - “A lesson in financial stewardship in the wake of the massive trading loss at JP Morgan.”
Transcript at: http://www.ucg.org/beyond-today-daily/christian-living/how-do-you-lose-2-billion
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A Coming "German" Empire? by Darris McNeely. Submitted June 6, 
2012
Source: Photos.com
“Is a tough German-style fiscal union on the horizon for Europe? We're closer today than a month ago.
Signs that Germany is open to consideration of a "Euro bond" as one means of managing the debt of member states in the EU are beginning to show. Germany has been reluctant to back the creation of these instruments while it has maintained that stricter control over national budgets was a non-negotiable starter for any talk about turning the tap on a system wide bond. A bond is a common financial instrument issued by the state to finance its debt. The EU has not used bonds because it lacked the means to create, manage and guarantee them. If other countries are willing to give up a measure of state sovereignty it now appears Germany is willing to discuss this as a solution for the current economic crisis which threatens to derail the entire European project.
The Wall Street Journal today quotes a German official close to the ongoing discussions. "The more that other member states get involved with this development and are prepared to give up sovereign rights to get European institutions more involved, the more we will be prepared to play an active role in developing things like a banking union. You can't have one without the other."
There is a lot of behind the scenes talk to bring about a "grand plan" to solve this crisis and prevent it from happening again. Fundamental changes would have to occur in all the treaties that currently govern relationships within the EU.
Germany is driving the efforts to change the rules and transfer more control to a European structure with the centralized power to control budgets and the fiscal affairs of member states. Since this is the strongest economic and political power in Europe it would naturally control any larger entity created - what some have called a new German empire would effectively be created. This would fundamentally change the way Europe, and Germany has seen itself since the end of World War II.
Recently international financier George Soros gave a speech with his take of what the outcome of the current Eurozone crisis would be. Soros is as knowledgeable as anyone on what is happening throughout Europe. He too sees a German led Europe on the horizon.
But the likelihood is that the euro will survive because a breakup would be devastating not only for the periphery but also for Germany… So Germany is likely to do what is necessary to preserve the euro – but nothing more. That would result in a eurozone dominated by Germany in which the divergence between the creditor and debtor countries would continue to widen and the periphery would turn into permanently depressed areas in need of constant transfer of payments. That would turn the European Union into something very different from what it was when it was a “fantastic object” that fired peoples imagination. It would be a German empire with the periphery as the hinterland.
We here at Beyond Today continue to watch this developing crisis with the additional perspective of Bible prophecy. This current period of crisis will pass. A new European power will emerge, stronger than before and likely it will be ready to take on an even larger role in the world. Europe is too big to "fail".” From: http://www.ucg.org/blog/coming-german-empire/
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The Long View of the Greek/Euro Crisis
May 17, 2012 – “The Greek debt crisis is threatening to reshape the EU. Keep in mind what Bible prophecy tells us. An ancient poet once wrote, "Beware of Greeks bearing gifts." Well, the Greeks are still bearing gifts in Europe. Greece is having a major impact upon the current state of the European Union. They're in debt and it's a possibility that very soon they may have to withdraw from the European Union.”
More about Greece at: http://www.cnbc.com/id/47434632/Greeks_Withdraw_Nearly_1_Billion_From_Local_Banks
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Would Jesus Have An App?
“Churches around the world use apps and social media to spread their message. Do these methods do a complete job?”
“While Christ walked the earth, what did He do? How did He preach His message of the Kingdom of God? Well, He met people at the well where they were. He went into the temple where people were. He went into the synagogues and the places where they worship. And He even used the means of the time—the stories of parables—to convey His message, which was a very popular form of teaching and communication. So, in His own day when He was here in the flesh, He used the media that was available to Him and the means to contact people to get the message of the Kingdom of God out.”
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The program on WGN, Beyondtoday.tv : “Would Jesus Attend Your Church”
“Are Christ's original teachings about the coming Kingdom of God being faithfully taught in the church you attend?”
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On This Day:
Franklin flies kite during thunderstorm, Jun 10, 1752:
“On this day in 1752, Benjamin Franklin flies a kite during a thunderstorm and collects a charge in a Leyden jar when the kite is struck by lightning, enabling him to demonstrate the electrical nature of lightning. Franklin became interested in electricity in the mid-1740s, a time when much was still unknown on the topic, and spent almost a decade conducting electrical experiments. He coined a number of terms used today, including battery, conductor and electrician. He also invented the lightning rod, used to protect buildings and ships.
Franklin was born on January 17, 1706, in Boston, to a candle and soap maker named Josiah Franklin, who fathered 17 children, and his wife Abiah Folger. Franklin's formal education ended at age 10 and he went to work as an apprentice to his brother James, a printer. In 1723, following a dispute with his brother, Franklin left Boston and ended up in Philadelphia, where he found work as a printer. Following a brief stint as a printer in London, Franklin returned to Philadelphia and became a successful businessman,. The Poor Richard's Almanack, which Franklin first published in 1733 under the pen name Richard Saunders, included such wisdom as: "Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise." Whether or not Franklin followed this advice in his own life, he came to represent the classic American overachiever. In addition to his accomplishments in business and science, he is noted for his numerous civic contributions. Among other things, he developed a library, insurance company, city hospital and academy in Philadelphia that would later become the University of Pennsylvania.
Most significantly, Franklin was one of the founding fathers of the United States and had a career as a statesman that spanned four decades. He served as a legislator in Pennsylvania as well as a diplomat in England and France. He is the only politician to have signed all four documents fundamental to the creation of the U.S.: the Declaration of Independence (1776), the Treaty of Alliance with France (1778), the Treaty of Paris (1783), which established peace with Great Britain, and the U.S. Constitution (1787).
Franklin died at age 84 on April 17, 1790, in Philadelphia. He remains one of the leading figures in U.S. history.”
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Alcoholics Anonymous founded, Jun 10, 1935:
“In New York City, two recovering alcoholics, one a New York broker and the other an Ohio physician, found Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.), a 12-step rehabilitation program that eventually helps countless people cope with alcoholism.
Based on psychological techniques that have long been used in suppressing dangerous personality traits, members of the strictly anonymous organization control their addictions through guided group discussion and confession, reliance on a "higher power," and a gradual return to sobriety. The organization functions through local groups that have no formal rules besides anonymity, no officers, and no dues. Anyone with a drinking problem qualifies for membership. Today, there are more than 80,000 local groups in the United States, with an estimated membership of almost two million people. Other addiction support groups patterned on A.A. include Narcotics Anonymous and Gamblers Anonymous.”
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Paul Newman finishes second in 24 Hours of Le Mans, Jun 10, 1979:
“Paul Newman, the blue-eyed movie star-turned-race car driver, accomplishes the greatest feat of his racing career on this day in 1979, roaring into second place in the 47th 24 Hours of Le Mans, the famous endurance race held annually in Le Mans, France.
Newman emerged as one of Hollywood's top leading men in the 1960s, with acclaimed performances in such films as "The Hustler" (1961), "Cool Hand Luke" (1967) and "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" (1969). Also in 1969, he starred in "Winning" as a struggling race car driver who must redeem his career and win the heart of the woman he loves--played by Newman's real-life wife, Joanne Woodward--at the Indianapolis 500. To prepare for the movie, Newman attended racing school, and he performed many of the high-speed racing scenes in the movie himself, without a stunt double. In 1972, Newman began his own racing career, winning his first Sports Club Car of America (SCCA) race driving a Lotus Elan. He soon moved up to a series of Datsun racing sedans and won four SCCA national championships from 1979 to 1986.
Newman's high point at the track came in June 1979 at Le Mans, where he raced a Porsche 935 twin-turbo coupe on a three-man team with Dick Barbour and Rolf Stommelen. His team finished second; first place went to two brothers from Florida, Don and Bill Whittington, and their teammate, Klaus Ludwig. Drama ensued during the last two hours of the race, when the Whittingtons' car--also a Porsche 935--was sidelined with fuel-injection problems and it looked like Newman's team could overtake them to grab the win. In the end, however, they had trouble even clinching second due to a dying engine. The Whittington team covered 2,592.1 miles at an average speed of 107.99 mph, finishing 59 miles ahead of Newman, Barbour and Stommelen.
After the race, The New York Times quoted the 54-year-old Newman as saying he might not race at Le Mans again: "I'm getting a bit long in the tooth for this. And my racing here places an unfortunate emphasis on the team. It takes it away from the people who really do the work." In fact, he continued racing into his eighties, making his last start at the Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway in 2006. He also found success as a race car owner, forming a team with Carl Haas that became one of the most enduring in Indy car racing. Newman died in September 2008 at the age of 83.”
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Yesterday:
I felt like I have had to discover the workings of my Bobbiecat’s mind like Jackson Galaxy does on the “My Cat From Hell” TV show. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Cat_From_Hell . Bobbiecat has not peed on my bathroom floor since I have kept Prime out of my bathroom. Prime is learning that she is not allowed in there anymore, though she liked to sit on Bobcat’s favorite bed in there and look out of that window.
So Bobbiecat is old and just wants ‘her’ bathroom, bed and box to herself. Thankfully, it was not her bladder crystals acting up again. She has been on a very good diet, Wellness canned, since that happened all those years ago, as it is caused by store-bought cat food, especially dry food. When I left for church, I just closed her in my bathroom, so Prime couldn’t get in there, and Bobcat was good while I was gone.
Misty and I went to get Jay, so she could have her walk-about down there. She showed off her new ‘do’ to Muffie and Maddie.
After I dropped her off at my house, Jay and I set out down the wiggle-waggle roads to the Church of God in Cut-N-Shoot. The sermon was about the right roads we must travel, and to take the narrow path that is good.
It was a very nice day.
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