Valentine's Day 2006

Love

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" John 3:16

Jesus says in Matthew 5:43-44 “You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you

One word frees us of all the weight and pain in life, that word is Love.
~ Socrates

Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into friend.
~ Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Whenever you are confronted with an opponent. Conquer him with love.
~ Mahatma Gandhi

Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
~ Deuteronomy 6:5

If you would be loved, love and be lovable.
~ Benjamin Franklin

There is more hunger for love and appreciation in this world than for bread.
~ Mother Teresa

Love cannot endure indifference. It needs to be wanted. Like a lamp, it needs to be fed out of the oil of another's heart, or its flame burns low.
~ Henry Ward Beecher

A heart that loves is always young.
~ A Greek Proverb

One is very crazy when in love.
~ Sigmund Freud

To get the full value of joy you must have someone to divide it with.
~ Mark Twain

A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.
~ John 15:34-35

Clarity of mind means clarity of passion, too; this is why a great and clear mind loves ardently and sees distinctly what it loves.
~ Blaise Pascal

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love I gain nothing Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away...And now these things remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. ~ 1 Corinthians 13:1-8, 13

Japanese women bitter at Valentine chocolate duty

Feb 14- TOKYO- Japanese women are fed up with a longstanding Valentine's Day custom requiring them to give chocolates to men without getting any in return...

...Nearly 60 percent said they felt unhappy as Valentine's Day approached, citing the cost and time it takes to shop for the gifts, which are finely calculated to express just the right emotions toward a boss, a colleague or a true boyfriend.

...A month later, on what is known as "White Day," men are supposed to return the favor, usually by giving sweets -- a task that they too are far from happy with, the survey found.

Fifty percent of men said shopping for a return present was bothersome, and they don't like to be compared with others...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060214/wl_nm/life_japan_valentine_dc

With Court's Permission, Children Can Hand Out 'Religious' Valentines

February 14, 2006- Today students in one Texas public school district are able to give their classmates Valentine's cards and gifts with religious messages -- the result of a district judge's ruling that protects the free-speech rights of students.

The temporary restraining order was issued against Katy Independent School District after a lawsuit was filed claiming years of discrimination against Christian children...The lawsuit claimed, among other things, that children were prohibited from drawing religious images in an art fundraiser and talking about Jesus with other children during free time. In addition, the district policy banned parents and children from bringing religious-themed items during class celebrations -- thus the request for the TRO so children would be permitted to distribute religious valentines to classmates without fear of disciplinary action from school officials...http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/2/142006a.asp

Couple Reunite After More Than 60 Years

Feb 13- Willard Mason and Ilah Ost are giving new meaning to the phrase: "Love is patient." More than 60 years ago, the couple were engaged to be married, but life's circumstances got in the way.

Now, after they each married others, raised families and their spouses died, the two are together again.

...in 1941, Mason moved to Ypsilanti to work at the Willow Run bomber plant. There, he met a woman named Helvi, and broke his engagement to Ost. He married Helvi in 1942...Ost later married her husband, Marvin, and had three children before he died in 1974.

Mason's wife died in 2003, and by chance, he ran into Ost's brother in Blissfield in 2004, and he encouraged Mason to call Ost.

..."We get along perfectly," Mason said. "We've never had an argument. She's a great cook, and she takes care of me."
http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/02/13/D8FOKHM02.html

Money really doesn't buy happiness, study finds (I'd be happy to take yours off your hands...)Feb 13 -Money doesn't buy happiness, and now there's a study to prove it. Australian researchers found that people in well-off Sydney are among the most miserable in the country, while those in some of the poorest areas are much more satisfied with their lives... http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/02/13/060213161821.uwwo6evl.html

Where Arab Americans Worship
Although many countries in the Arab world are almost entirely Muslim, the percentage of Arab Americans practicing Islam is said to be only 24 percent. Two out of every three Arab Americans practice Christianity, in one form or another.
(SOURCE: Arab American Institute)
http://www.cnsnews.com/ThisHour.asp#Sidebar:%20Where%20Arab%20Americans%20Worship

Great Video Site For Aviation Stuff
http://alexisparkinn.com/aviation_videos.htm#Videos

DePaul Investigates Mock Bake Sale for Possible 'Harassment'

February 13, 2006- ...The Chicago-based school is investigating whether senior Michael O'Shea may have violated the school's anti-discriminatory harassment policy with an "affirmative action bake sale" he organized with the DePaul Conservative Alliance (DCA).

Affirmative action bake sales, in which white and Asian students are charged more for baked goods than blacks and Hispanics, are popular among conservative activists on college campuses. They are designed to criticize affirmative action policies, not to raise funds.

...The DePaul anti-discrimination policy defines harassment as "any behavior (verbal, written, or physical) that abuses, assails, intimidates, demeans or victimizes or has the effect of creating a hostile environment for any person based on any of the above protected characteristics."

...The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), a group that promotes free speech on college campuses, is urging DePaul President Dennis Holtschneider to apologize for stopping the bake sale and end the investigation of O'Shea.

In a Jan. 23 letter to Holtschneider, FIRE Program Manager Robert Shibley defended the bake sale as "a form of satirical political protest" and criticized the "dismaying disregard for freedom of expression and open debate at DePaul."http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewNation.asp?Page=\Nation\archive\200602\NAT20060213b.html

The pot calling the kettle black...
Today, Sen. Clinton blasted President Bush for not finding "the tallest man in Afghanistan," Osama bin Ladin. (that is of course making the assumption that he is both alive and not in another country...)

On his talk radio show this evening, legal scholar Mark Levin said, "She should be talking -- she couldn't find the Rose Law Firm records that were in her own bedroom for three years," a reference to Clinton's trouble as First Lady complying with a subpoena for her law firm billing records. Clinton claimed she didn't know where they were, but the records were found in her bedroom.
http://www.sierratimes.com/06/02/11/152_163_101_8_17642.htm

Progress Varies On Global AIDS Plan

Controversial Strategy Credited For Improvement

Monday, February 13, 2006- In its first two years, the Bush administration's global AIDS plan has spent $5.2 billion to help prevent 47,100 infections in infants, bring drug therapy to 471,000 ill people and care for more than 1.2 million children orphaned by the disease.

Those were among the highlights of a data-heavy report submitted to Congress last week describing early results of the $15 billion five-year project, formally known as the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).

...Of the $294 million spent on prevention last year, $76 million, or 26 percent, went toward efforts to encourage sexual abstinence or faithfulness to a single partner. About $66 million was spent on the provision of condoms and prevention messages emphasizing their use.

This "ABC" strategy -- abstinence, be faithful, condoms -- is the program's most controversial aspect. Mark Dybul, a physician who is the program's deputy director, defended it in a State Department news conference.

"There are only three countries with generalized epidemics in Africa that have seen a decrease in [HIV] prevalence. In all three cases, the reason was exactly the same -- A, B and C," he said.

A study published in the journal Science about two weeks ago found that change in sexual behavior accompanied the recent drop in prevalence of HIV infection in Zimbabwe -- and probably helped cause it.http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/12/AR2006021201078.html

Ranking Democrat: NY Times Should be Prosecuted

Feb. 12, 2006- In a stunning break with her party, the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee said Sunday that the New York Times should be prosecuted for damaging national security by revealing the National Security Agency's top secret terrorist surveillance program authorized by President Bush.

"If the press was part of the process of delivering classified information, there have to be some limits on press immunity," Rep. Jane Harman told NBC's "Meet the Press."http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2006/2/12/122953.shtml?s=ic&s=lh

Monday, Feb. 13, 2006 6:27 p.m. EST

Al Gore Event Funded by Bin Laden's Family

The Saudi Arabia seminar that was addressed by former Vice President Al Gore over the weekend in a speech that criticized the U.S. for being too tough on Arabs was sponsored, in part, by Osama bin Laden's family.

On Saturday, the state-run Saudi news outlet Arab News reported that the Jeddah Economic Forum, where Gore spoke, was funded by "Saudi Arabian Airlines, the Saudi Binladin Group, Gulf One Investment Bank, Saudi Basic Industries Corp." and an array of other big companies with ties to the Middle East.

The Saudi BinLadin Group - which is Saudi Arabia's largest construction company - is run by Osama bin Laden's brothers and cousins. Jeddah, the site of the forum attended by Gore, is Osama bin Laden's hometown.

Although family members claim they've disowned bin Laden, his mother told reporters after the 9/11 attacks that she received advanced warning from him that something big was about to happen.

A wealthy bin Laden niece also reportedly abandoned her lower Manhattan apartment three weeks before the 9/11 attacks...http://newsmax.com/archives/ic/2006/2/13/182926.shtml?s=ic

US near full employment(If I remember my college economics 5% unemployment is considered "full employment)
Feb 13, 2006- The U.S. jobless rate is near historic lows and the economy close to full employment, a White House economic adviser said on Monday..."There's no law of physics that says what the exact equilibrium of unemployment is at which we're at full employment, but in January the unemployment rate was reported to be 4.7 percent, which is quite low by historic standards," he told a news conference after releasing the White House's annual economic report to Congress.

The drop in the unemployment rate in January to a 4-1/2 year low surprised most economists and sparked inflation concerns, as analysts speculated employers would have to bid up wages to attract increasingly scarce job applicants...http://today.reuters.com/news/newsarticle.aspx?type=businessNews&storyid=2006-02-13T214054Z_01_N13271437_RTRUKOC_0_US-BUSH-ECONOMY-EMPLOYMENT.xml&rpc=23

Retail sales surge

Feb 14, 2006- U.S. retail sales surged 2.3 percent in January, nearly triple the expected increase and the largest gain since May 2004, as post-holiday spending on cars, clothing, gasoline and furniture galloped ahead, a government report showed on Tuesday.

Excluding demand for cars and parts, retail sales were up 2.2 percent last month - the largest monthly gain in more than six years, the U.S. Commerce Department said.

Both overall sales and sales outside the auto sector were far stronger than Wall Street had expected. Economists had forecast a 0.8 percent overall increase and a 0.7 percent gain excluding cars...
...Non-store retailers - including electronic shopping and mail-order - were the only major category with declining sales, down 2.6 percent, the biggest drop since September 2001.http://today.reuters.com/news/newsarticle.aspx?type=businessNews&storyid=2006-02-14T140204Z_01_N13285876_RTRUKOC_0_US-ECONOMY-RETAIL.xml&rpc=23

Proof of warming? "Warm weather continues" -

"Since the warm weather rolled into Central New York on January 20, temperatures have averaged 45 degrees - the high being 69 on February 4 and the low 34 on February 10. There is no snow in sight, crocuses are in blossom, willow buds are in fully developed catkin stages, pansy plants are in full bud, lilac bushes are tinged with green, soft maple buds are turning red, men and women walk about without overcoats, street sweepers are at work and windows of houses and offices are open all day." (Utica Observer Dispatch)

Well, it might have been warming proof - at the time - only trouble for current warming advocates is that the February in question was in 1906 but what's a century among friends?
Hat tip Bill S., who comments: All this warming out on the shaft of the famous "hockey stick" and nobody at the time as smart as Al Gore to call for immediate reduction of all that methane produced by all of those horses pulling wagons.
http://www.junkscience.com/

Scientists slam Gore

February 13, 2006- Two scientists in the Philippines are slamming former Vice President Al Gore for making a visit to Manila and presenting both a global-warming doomsday scenario and an analysis of local environmental conditions they say were way off the mark.

...Archilla and Fernando Siringan, Ph.D., both from the University of the Philippines, lamented Gore's Thursday appearance, saying his "exaggerated" global warming scenario is being given more attention in the nation than solutions offered by Filipino environmental experts.

According to the local report, the scientists assert too much use of ground water by typical Manila households and businesses – not global warming – was the bigger reason the metropolis is sinking.

"The problem with these exaggerated and very general pronouncements about environmental doomsday scenarios is that they distract us from the real local problems which we can really do something about," Arcilla told the Inquirer.

He said that global warming was "a serious threat to humanity, (but) it is certainly not in the terms that Gore presents."

...The scientists urged officials to consider local analysis before falling for everything Gore presented. http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=48807

Students reject honor to 'Baa Baa Black Sheep' hero

Member of Marines not 'sort of person UW wanted to produce'
February 14, 2006The University of Washington's student senate rejected a memorial for alumnus Gregory "Pappy" Boyington of "Black Sheep Squadron" fame amid concerns a military hero who shot down enemy planes was not the right kind of person to represent the school.

Student senator Jill Edwards, according to minutes of the student government's meeting last week, said she "didn't believe a member of the Marine Corps was an example of the sort of person UW wanted to produce."

Ashley Miller, another senator, argued "many monuments at UW already commemorate rich white men."

Senate member Karl Smith amended the resolution to eliminate a clause that said Boyington "was credited with destroying 26 enemy aircraft, tying the record for most aircraft destroyed by a pilot in American Uniform," for which he was awarded the Navy Cross.

Smith, according to the minutes, said "the resolution should commend Colonel Boyington's service, not his killing of others."

...Brent Ludeman, president of the university's College Republicans, told WND in an e-mail the decision "reflects poorly on the university."

"Pappy Boyington went beyond the call of duty to serve and protect this country – he simply deserves better," Ludeman said. "Just last year, the university erected a memorial to diversity. Why can't we do the same for Pappy Boyington and others who have defended our country?"

The resolution points out Boyington, a student at the UW from 1930-34, served as a combat pilot in the 1st Squadron, American Volunteer Group – the "Flying Tigers of China" – and later as a Marine Corps combat pilot in charge of Marine Fighting Squadron 214, "The Black Sheep Squadron."

Along with the Navy Cross, Boyington was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Franklin D. Roosevelt for his heroism. He was shot down and spent 20 months in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp.

...Commenting on the decision, a blogger who says he met Boyington on numerous occasions at a museum and air show over the years noted the famous flyer "was no rich boy," having grown up in a struggling family in which he was forced to work hard to make it through school. The blogger, who hosts the website Paradosis, also pointed out Boyington was part Sioux.

...The blogger wondered, "have our Washington youth revised history so much as this? To compare Boyington – or for that matter any of our WW2 vets – to murderers? What are these kids being taught today? They don't deserve those 20 months Pappy spent being tortured and beaten in a Japanese prison camp ... they don't deserve any of what our grandfathers and grandmothers sacrificed to free Europe and the Pacific."

Boyington wrote a book in 1958 that reached the best-seller list, "Baa Baa, Black Sheep." In 1976, he sold rights to Universal, which aired a TV series for two seasons of the same name. http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=48808

City seeks safeguards on sale of bullets

Tracking technology is among possibilities

February 13, 2006- With firearm violence in Boston continuing to surge (where guns are banned), police and city officials are looking for new anticrime tools, potentially including limiting ammunition sales, recording who buys ammunition, and using a new technology that transfers a gun's serial number onto a bullet's shell casing any time the gun is fired, said two officials who know about the plans. (so obviously the criminals won't get ammo because they can't buy it in Boston city limits...)

''We want to tighten up how people can get ammunition," Police Superintendent Robert Dunford said. ''We're seeing loose rounds, a mix of ammunition. That might be a point of attack for us. . . . When you get the gun with ammunition and you fire it off, then you need to resupply. . . . That can be tough."

...Currently, vendors are not required to record who buys ammunition, and buyers can purchase as much as they want, said Sergeant Detective Ray Mosher, who supervises the Boston Police Licensing unit, which regulates ammunition sales in the city. Mosher also said the current law allows buyers with a license for one type of gun to buy ammunition for any type of gun.

...Horwitz said two members of Congress are preparing legislation that would require gun manufacturers to begin outfitting weapons with microstamping technology.

One of the most interesting features of microstamping technology is the ability it gives police to tap easily into existing databases, Horwitz said (would that be spying without a warrant?). In Massachusetts, buyers must list their name and the serial number of the weapon they're purchasing.

...But Andrew Arulanandam, a spokesman for the National Rifle Association, a gun rights advocacy group, said criminals will always find ways around systems such as microstamping.

''Schemes such as this do not work for a very simple reason: Criminals by definition don't follow the law," Arulanandam said. ''Therefore, the only universe of people who are affected by this are law-abiding. A criminal intent on committing a heinous crime is not going to be deterred by such laws."http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2006/02/13/city_seeks_safeguards_on_sale_of_bullets/

An experiment in tolerance
http://www.townhall.com/opinion/columns/mikeadams/2006/02/13/186126.html

Clinton domestic spying against Republicans did not shock nearly as many people as intercepting phone calls from terrorists.
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/Commentary/com-2_14_06_TS.html

David Bennett <><
http://home.hiwaay.net/~dbennett
http://www.freewill-predestination.com