Vatican's Screen

VATICAN CITY, Oct 31 — The Vatican issued new psychological screening guidelines for seminarians yesterday — the latest effort by the Roman Catholic Church to be more selective about its priesthood candidates following a series of sex abuse scandals.

The church said it issued the new guidelines to help church leaders weed out candidates with "psychopathic disturbances." The scandals have rocked the church in recent years, triggering lawsuits that have cost hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements.

"(The guidelines) became ever more urgent because of the sexual scandals," Monsignor Jean-Louis Brugues told reporters. He stressed, however, that psychological testing was used in some seminaries as far back as the 1960s — or at least a decade before the sexual abuse scandals exploded in public.

"In all too many cases, psychological defects, sometimes of a pathological kind, reveal themselves only after ordination to the priesthood," the guidelines said. "Detecting defects earlier would help avoid many tragic experiences."

The guidelines said problems like "confused or not yet well-defined" sexual identities need to be addressed. The church is struggling to provide enough priests for parishes in many parts of the West because of waning vocations. But Pope Benedict XVI has said it is more important to have good priests than a greater number of priests. More

Salute to the Pope! Though it might have taken them nearly 50 years to actually tackle this matter in a more practical way, late is better than never. How effective will this screening be, nobody knows yet. It's just so hard to read what's inside the heart of the people as most of them would cover it up really well.

This problem is really a serious "disease" that has affect the Roman Catholics. A lot of questions have pop out like "If they claimed to be the only true church, how could their priest be indulging in such acts?" What about other denominations like Baptist, Methodists, etc. Why aren't they facing the same problem like the RC do? Well, they do, just not as publicized! Maybe because RC is the biggest denomination in Christianity, hence the big publicity.

The Roman Catholic Church, officially known as the Catholic Church^{[note 1]} is the world's largest Christian Church representing over half of all Christians and one-sixth of the world's population.^[5][6] It comprises 2,782 dioceses grouped into 23 particular rites - the Latin Rite and 22 smaller Eastern rites. The pope, currently Benedict XVI, is the Church's highest earthly authority in matters of faith, morality and Church governance.^[7] The community is made up of an ordained ministry and the laity; members of either group may belong to organized religious communities.^[8]

Big doesn't mean they are immune to attacks from exterior, in fact, they are going to get more attacks from exterior & interior. So, those who didn't get attacks, don't be too happy yet! Either you are not there yet or you are not worth the trouble of getting attacked.

We need to plan for the rainy days but sometimes the rain is more than what we can take. The dam might break! About 5 years ago, I've told one of the "elders" that we are going to face a really bad time where the church will "fall" because of the way things are run in the church: Lack of training for new leaders, weak bible teaching, dull sermons, members only know how to enjoy themselves, etc. Sadly, this is happening now. Some might asked, "Why you are doing nothing about it?". I can only say, I've done my part but the whole thing is beyond me. It's like the world economy these days, it's very very hard to stop the recession. Everything just headed South. The Feds tried, the EU tried but all in vain.

The question is, when will we see reversal? The world economy is predicting 2 years to recover, what about us?
I'm not pushing away my responsibilities as a member of the church but I'm not going to dwell in the mess either. I'm already on plan B, what about you?

p/s: We should really listen to what Pope has mentioned above (bold & italic)

Gentlemen, start your tash!

November is just around the corner, which also mean Movember is too! For most of us Asian kids, we don't know what is Movember. I only knew it about it a few weeks ago when my colleague asked to join it.

Let's see what's Movember:

Movember (the month formerly known as November) is an annual charity event held during November.
At the start of Movember guys register with a clean shaven face. The Movember participants, known as Mo Bros, have the remainder of the month to grow and groom their Mo, raising money along the way to benefit men's health - specifically prostate cancer and male depression.

I was quite reluctant to grow it at first as it's quite....disgusting..."er xin"....ewww. However, I promised them after much persuasion by them. It's for charity anyway so why not!

Let's see why those people are so wu liaw to think of Movember:

Men lack awareness about the very real health issues they face. There is an attitude that they have to be tough - "a real man" - and are reluctant to see a doctor about an illness or go for regular medical checks.

Movember aims to change these attitudes and make men's health fun by putting the Mo back on the face of fashion and in the process raise some serious funds for key men's health issues, including:
Prostate Cancer: because every year 2,900 Australian men die from prostate cancer and over 18,000 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer. [ FIND OUT MORE ].

Depression in Men: because one in six men experience depression at any given time but most don't seek help.[ FIND OUT MORE ].

Prostate cancer is a disease in which cancer develops in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system. It occurs when cells of the prostate mutate and begin to multiply out of control. These cells may spread (metastasize) from the prostate to other parts of the body, especially the bones and lymph nodes. Prostate cancer may cause pain, difficulty in urinating, erectile dysfunction and other symptoms.

Now, which style would suit me? My mustache grows very slowly, so I don't think i can be too picky in terms of styles! Just let it grow naturally! Haha! I think my style will just be "Major". So, don't be too surprised if you don't see me shaving for the next few weeks!

Also, please remember to donate for it! By the way, donations are tax deductible if over $2! So rich guys & girls, help minimize your tax by donating for charity!

You can donate on http://www.movember.com.au. If you do it online, you can pay via credit card or PayPal.
My ID is #1663391
First Name: Shawn
Last Name: Lu


By the way, let's look at the difference between Male & Female depression:

Female depression	Male depression
Blame themselves	Feel others are to blame
Feel sad, apathetic, and worthless	Feel angry, irritable, and ego inflated
Feel anxious and scared	Feel suspicious and guarded
Avoids conflicts at all costs	Creates conflicts
Always tries to be nice	Overtly or covertly hostile
Withdraws when feeling hurt	Attacks when feeling hurt
Has trouble with self respect	Demands respect from other
Feels they were born to fail	Feels the world set them up to fail
Slowed down and nervous	Restless and agitated
Chronic procrastinator	Compulsive time keeper
Sleeps too much	Sleeps too little
Trouble setting boundaries	Needs control at all costs
Feels guilty for what they do	Feels ashamed for who they are
Uncomfortable receiving praise	Frustrated if not praised enough
Finds it easy to talk about weaknesses and doubts	Terrified to talk about weaknesses and doubts
Strong fear of success	Strong fear of failure
Needs to "blend in" to feel safe	Needs to be "top dog" to feel safe
Uses food, friends, and "love" to self-medicate	Uses alcohol, TV, sports, and sex to self medicate
Believe their problems could be solved only if they could be a better (spouse, co-worker, parent, friend)	Believe their problems could be solved only if their (spouse, co-worker, parent, friend) would treat them better
Constantly wonder, "Am I loveable enough?"	Constantly wonder, "Am I being loved enough?"

Does some of the symptoms looks familiar on some people that we know? He He!

Red Alert III

It's back!! One of the best strategy games for PC!
One of the nice feature this time is you can play 2 players against computer A.I! Cool!

There's a lot to love in Red Alert 3. The campy videos and eclectic story that made the series so popular are alive and well -- this time, the Soviets have built a time machine to kill Einstein, which leads to the rise of the Japanese Empire of the Rising Sun, an Emperor-worshiping technological superpower. More

Might go & buy it soon!

Here are some screenshots from http://www.ea.com/redalert/index.jsp

Failed Delivery

First of all, my deep deep apology to Oliver Loo whom I "80%" promised to share my Korean experiences on Wednesday night prayer meeting. When I woke up, which is roughly "now" (8.15pm), it's already too late to go! Shouldn't have taken nap after work!

Oliver, so sorry!! Please forgive me!! I really was planning to go & share my experiences. Sorry if I made the night hard for you!

I've already prepared my sharing, so I'll posted it online.

Below is my sharing that failed to be delivered on Wed prayer meeting. Whoops! :S

======================================================================
Last Sunday, Rev Justin Tan preached about the downfall of numbers for Chinese theological students and Chinese churches around the world, except China. During my Korea trip experience, we learned about why the Chinese churches are so lacking behind as well. He said they still do not understand why the interest level has dropped for theological students’ intake, however, he already has the answer, perhaps he didn’t realise it? For his 1st sermon point, that’s already one of the answers: there’re no good role models in the current church to learn from.

A lot of Chinese pastors are lacking behind in terms of theological knowledge, administration skills, desire for God, level of faith, experience of the Holy Spirit, etc. Young Chinese theological students these days are also not taking theological courses because it’s God’s calling, rather it’s more of a parents’ calling. I’ve heard some people say to their kids, “your studies are not good, hard to earn a living next time, go be a pastor. At least you can support yourself”. So, obviously, these types of theological students wouldn’t be very impressive pastors in the future hence causing other members to lose interest of becoming a pastor in the future.

Let’s look at the Korean churches. They have serious unemployment rate in the pastoral field. Each year, they have on average 500 graduates from theological college but only have about 100 vacancies to fill. So, that’s like 400 unemployed graduates from theological college each year alone! They have to study 3 or 4 years of degree in University first, then another 3 years of theological studies, then 2 years of internship (either establish a new church themselves or do missionary works for 2 years overseas), and then 2 years as a pastor before becoming a Reverend. It’s almost 11 years of proper training before being ordained as minister.

Korean pastors generally are more intellectuals, humble, always improving themselves, have experience the power of the Holy Spirit personally, has very consistent & strong prayer life, etc. Korean pastors have higher society status as well. They are almost as equal to lawyers or doctors in their society. Korean churches do not have pastor assignment system as CMCA. Each pastors are to “gain” a position in a church ministry by proving they are capable of bring glory to God in the highest level. With pastors with such attitudes, they are excellent role models in their church. Most members are encouraged to study theology by looking at their pastor. This is also relate to Rev Justin Tan’s 2nd sermon point (Pastors’ salary package is not as attractive to other professions). The Senior Pastor of Bu Pyeong Methodist Church, Rev Hung also told me that the respects from members need to be earned, not gained. It’s hard and it’ll take a long time to earn it.

Let’s now look at the individual side of things. We have heard news or legends that Korean Christians are prayer addicts! Their dawn prayer meeting at 5am is 365 days a year without a miss! Their dawn prayer meeting is a lot simpler compared to ours. They sing a hymn in the beginning, and then followed by 15 minutes sharing by a Reverend. After which, they sing a hymn, then shout “Lord, Lord, Lord!”, their prayer session starts with music in background. It lasts for 30 minutes. The strange thing is, nobody is there telling people what to pray about. The even stranger thing is, they can pray easily 30 minutes non stop! How long can we pray without being told of prayer items for the night? Maybe 5 minutes for most of us, maybe a bit longer for Rev Loi. Don’t forget, that’s once a week and we struggle to pray for things. They meet every single day and pray without being told of prayer items for 30 minutes each day. Now, that’s what I called the Holy Spirit intercedes and tells you what to pray. During the first day, I was waiting for prayer items to pray about but I get none. So I started to pray for Holy Spirit to come, and I can pray for 30 minutes non stop! Prayer items just flooded me! So, for the near 2 weeks there, I’ve been experiencing that power of Holy Spirit who guides me in prayer! I pray for church, Rev Loi, Uncle John, LCEC, church members, Sunday service, Melbourne, my parents, my wife, etc. For those who follow my blogs, you can also see how God answers my prayers in very short time as well. Thank God for that. By the way, their singings of hymns are also very energetic. They have more old people than us but their hymns are more energetic than us singing songs from SOP.

Now that we know Korean Christians are great prayer warriors, let’s see what made them great Christians. There’re a few reasons for it. One of them is because they have experience God personally. They are not like us who claims we experienced God but in reality, we are not sure whether we truly experience God or not. We experienced God when God help us pass our exams, get a job, etc. They experienced God when their lives are on the line, when they are living the day not knowing what will happen tomorrow, etc. Hence their grip on God is very strong. Their attitude towards God is like a song that we always sing, “When we see treasures, we hold it strong and not wanting to lose it”. For us, we took it for granted; it’s not as precious as it is to us when compared to what the world has to offer.

Second reason is they receive vision from God. God tells them what God wants them to do, either directly or via their pastors. For example, when Bu Pyeong Methodist Church was going to buy a new building, next to their old building, it was a school land. In other words, it’s impossible for the land to be sold even to a church. However, the whole church sees the vision that the land will be theirs, almost like the land of milk & honey (Canaan). So, they prayed earnestly, walk round the land, shaking the gates of the school (some get too carried away), etc. Finally, the school closed down and the land was sold to the church. I can’t remember how long it took but it wasn’t a very long time. At times when their church was lacking of fund to pay for the new buildings (costs about USD 15 million or 150 Million or USD 1.5 Billion, forgot), God speaks to every one of them, telling them what to do. Some are given specific tasks like donate USD 10,000 or USD 100,000, sell your land & donate everything, etc. They all just obey and submit before God. Their whole building was wholly funded within 3-5 years. They started with no money in the bank but a bank full of faith.

Third reason is they give faithfully. They practise great hospitality not only to us as special VIP guests but to the whole community. Their 1/10 offering is a minimum, not a maximum. Each time they come to church, they would be a minimum 1 cup of rice to be donated into a “ricebox”, where it’ll be distributed to the poor. Some even borrowed money from the banks to give offering because they don’t have cash on hand. They are willing to give it back because they experienced how God gave it to them when they are poor. In fact, most of them are only average Koreans, not too rich. Their great hospitality practise has enabled them to achieve a much higher “standard” of spiritual lives. They actually live out their beliefs, not just knowing in the mind but nothing in actions.

There’re many more reasons why we should learn from the Korean Christians however, due to time constraints, I can only share as much.

As a conclusion, let me share what Rev Hung has said. About 30 years ago, he saw a vision from God calling him to do spread the gospel to the Chinese. He saw God’s hand wrote “中国传教” (China, Mission). He has been praying for this for over 30 years. He said one of the reasons Korean Churches exists is to assist the Chinese Churches, not to be big brother of Chinese Churches though they are much stronger than us at the moment. He also urge strongly for Chinese Churches to wake up from their sleep and catch the gospel baton which is passed to us, Chinese people now.
So, what are you going to do about it? Satan is doing his thing at the moment, he’s trying to be more pro-active than us. He’s causing us to be “asleep”, to be greedy, to be selfish, etc. He’ll make us failed in not getting the gospel baton. Sit there & wait for others to run the race? Want to be a spectator? A “kay leh fei”? Or do you want to wake up & run the race?

====================================================================
I guess Satan really succeeded in causing me to over slept on Wed evening! :P

打工皇帝

During the time of recession, what's the most important thing for most people? Money? Gold? Shares? Properties? I don't think so. I think it's a stable job that's what matters during the time of recession.

Money can easily be devalued (just look at AUD), Gold (prices have plunged), Shares (do i need to mention it anymore? ), etc. The best way to survive the recession is to keep your job!

At least a job keeps your income flow in. Try not to get into more debts during recession period. However, if you have "extra" pocket money, you can look for bargains to buy. I recently tried 3 new things as well: House, Forex & Shares. He he! Take it as a learning experience!

Keeping a job may not be as easy as it seems. A lot of companies are cutting costs by retrenching staffs, production plants shut down, etc. Australian working hours have also increased to increase productivity but in a costs cutting way.

Australians work some of the longest working hours in the developed world, a study has found. About one in five Australians, or two million people, work more than 50 hours a week, the University of Sydney study shows. The study tracked 8000 workers over five years, through to the first half of the year.

Full-time employees work an average of 44 hours per week and about one in three people want to work less. Despite the long hours, about 85% of workers have debts to pay, the report said. Employment standards have also deteriorated, and many workers are worried about job insecurity and work-life balance. Casual employees face job insecurity but many permanent employees work very long hours.

Paradoxically, many people enter self-employment in order to gain some control over their work but this is the group who are working the longest hours (50 hours a week on average)." More

So, what's the key to be able to last the long boring hours in the office? As Sam Hui would say, 最緊要好玩!

What about those unemployed people now? It's going to be a hard time out there. However, don't be so picky these days. Just get a job first and worry about tomorrow later. It's a matter of survival & gaining experience now.

Now we'll see how the Australian Governments handle the crisis and maintain the high living standards of Australians. We could learn a few things from them! Keep your eyes open people!

By the way, for Christians, make sure your offering do not drop during recession! Keep it up! I've channeled my offering towards the small group ministry previously, perhaps now it's time to move it into a different area. Been looking in sponsoring a child now. Maybe will choose World Vision. The money should be better spent than for our own pleasure yeah? In my opinion, the most important thing is to keep the offering level up, where you offer it is up to you! :D

Honestly, what have been done with the offering monies they received from us? I haven't seen anything yet? No mission, no sponsor, no outreach, nothing. What's more bewildering, we still need to raise funds or put in extra offerings if we are going to do something. For example, printing more flyers, buying multimedia projector, buy bibles, etc. Maybe someone should enlighten us?

Gotong-Royong!

Lately, I've been thinking of ways to "penetrate" into the community. I have to be honest, it's not easy at all especially in a developed country like Australia, not to mention one of the most livable city in the world: Melbourne!

I always remember I phrase that someone told me back in high school times, "It's very hard to give a present to someone who has everything". Each time I think of something to do, the phrase just pops up. So hard man!!

Today, I came across an article about a church cooperating with the City Hall & DAP to clean Pudu area.

The enthusiastic participants gathered at the church area on Jalan Sayor as early as 8am for the big clean-up. The DBKL provided the equipment and trucks to collect the garbage.

About 150 church members, both old and young, were divided into groups to clean up various segments of Pudu, accompanied by some 50 DBKL workers.

“Pudu is located in the heart of the city and plays an important role in the overall image of Kuala Lumpur as the capital city,” he said.

“At the same time, the project also trains our young people to be conscious and caring of their community,” he said. More

Things are so much easier in less developed or developing countries where there're many more opportunities for us to give something back to the community. In Melbourne, it's almost nothing we can do with what we have now.

We are either under-qualified or less funded when compared to other organisations. Even those who are in needs dare not to accept our assistance. We are dispensable!!

So what does that mean for us? We should do nothing & keeps our heads down? After all, there're really nothing much we can do now that won't be breaking the rules (car wash, gotong-royong in the city, etc) or putting ourselves at risk (child care, aged care, etc)! All those things need special permits or requirements, which we don't have or not eligible to get.

However, Shawnism says we should equip ourselves even more. We are already left behind, we shouldn't be left behind even more! We need to get more certifications, short courses, skills, build more relationships with other non-profit organisations, etc. We need to catch up to the pack and be able to make a difference in the community once again. We need to be significant enough to make a difference. We need to gather our strengths and combine them together!

Next year, I'll be planning to take a few short courses or certificates to do something in the near future. Don't have any concrete plans yet but anything is possible now. Anyone care to join me in this mission to equip ourselves? As for funding, it'll be self-funded for now. Might try to ask from the LCEC? No guarantee. Don't let money stops you!

If necessary, we could even establish a non profit organisation to provide the services to the community. It looks like a big task but all I can say is, it's within reach! So, anyone interested? Let me know!

Remember, the Gospel baton is right in front of our hands, are we going to take the baton or are we going to let it slip through?

Shooting In the US again!

Guess what! Another shooting in the US! This time in the University of Central Arkansas.

Oct. 27 (Bloomberg) -- A shooting on the campus of the University of Central Arkansas in Conway yesterday left two students dead and one person injured.

Gunshots were reported at about 9:19 p.m. local time outside the Arkansas Hall dormitory, the university said on its Web site today. One victim was pronounced dead at the scene and another died later at Conway Regional Medical Center, the university said. A third person, who wasn't a student, was treated and released from the hospital. The victims weren't identified.

Residence halls were locked down, and classes today have been canceled. Police were questioning a possible suspect, though no one has been arrested, the university said in the statement. More

Arkansas is considered one of the main Christian cities in the US, with 86% of them called themsleves Christians, mainly Baptist background. For more info on Arkansas, click here

The University of Central Arkansas is also where Scottie Pippen studied back in his university days.
Anyway, we pray that God will be with the victims' families & friends to comfort them. May God forgive the shooter as well, let Holy Spirit trigger the guilt in him so he would repent & surrender!

The world is not a safe place people. Live everyday like it could be your last. Make full use of your day, don't waste it. Don't think "this won't happen to me".

Happy Deepavali!

Greetings to all Hindus out there! (I don't think I have Hindu readers here but nothing to lose!)

Hope all is well! Hope everyone can enjoy the festival of light!

Also hope those in Malaysia (particularly West M'sia) to visit their Hindus friends to keep the relationship alive!

Say no to racism.

Peace!

先斩后奏

One of the famous righteous official (清官) in Chinese history, Bao Zheng (包拯) has a very special privilege that most officials would dream of having. It's the "先斩后奏 " (Execute first, inform later) privilege. It's one of the most effective "tool" against corrupted Government officials in his time.

Today I've the honour to experience the special privilege as well. Something was announced to the public without my consent, in a way, give me no other choice but to conform with the "order". I was definitely not expecting it nor I have any intention to go previously.

Sure, I did go to South Korea for the Evangelism Experience trip with Bu Pyeong Methodist Church. To read my experience there, click here. There're few parts for it. And yes, I should share my experience & gains from Korea. However, what happen to a common thing we called "respect others' decisions"? By the way, there're 3 others from our church that went. Why me? I believe others are in a better place to share than myself. I'm the least suitable person to share publically in the church right now.

Last week, I was approached regarding this matter but my answer was a simple "not really, see first" as I don't want to make any commitments to it. I myself have not attended the Wednesday prayer meeting for quite some time now, so I may not be the best person to share it during Wednesday prayer meeting. If I'm there encouraging others to join Wed prayer meeting and myself not joining in the future, wouldn't I be called a hypocrite?

I only understand today, "see first" is actually a "yes". So people next time you say "see first", beware!

Oh bugger! Now I have to think about what to share. It's not easy to share everything you learned in 2 weeks in just 10-15 minutes!

Lao Zha Bor - SG New Hit!

Her blog is http://laozhabor.blogspot.com/

So funny@!

The Happenings

Been reading the news (as usual) again today, found a few very interesting article. Let's have a look:

Police detained a man accused of chopping off the head of a tenant in his apartment today and then parading with it in the streets of Bangladesh's capital shouting, "I've killed my wife," officials said.When he returned home today his wife was not there, and he burst into the room of the 22-year-old tenant, Tuli, and severed her head with a sharp kitchen knife, Islam said. He then paraded with the head on the streets outside, he said. More

How scary was that? And you thought this could only happen in movies like Scream. It's happening all right, and it's REAL. Which reminds us, don't share a house with strangers! When you do get housemates, check his/her background properly first! Preferably only share with someone you knew for quite a bit of time! Not only for safety sake, but sometimes it can be habits that can really piss you off! Life's too short to get into such troubles.

In Malaysia:

KOTA BARU: The National Fatwa Council has ruled that tomboyism, where a girl behaves or dresses in a boyish manner, is forbidden in Islam.

Its chairman Datuk Dr Abdul Shukor Husin said the decision was prompted by recent developments as there had been cases of young women inclined to behave like men and indulging in homosexuality. More

Sometimes I wonder whether Christians should really thank the Muslims for being daring enough to do something that Christians wouldn't have the guts to do. Here we are proclaiming we are worshiping the only one true God in the whole universe but we don't even have the guts to stand for what we believe in. We too often compromised with the pressure by the public or trying to be politically correct!

I'm not sure how exactly will the above rule would help curb the tomboyism or homosexuality matters but certainly it's about making a point that Islam rejects it totally. I'm not a scientist or expert in this field so I couldn't comment too technically on those issues. However, from my personal belief, I do believe those behavior can be due to the environment of them growing up, their own mental desire or even naturally inherited. Having said that, I do not accept that by something that seems naturally inherited, it may be considered as something that's the "truth" or right in the eyes of God. I believe strongly, by the power of God, it can be fix and return to normal. The mess of the world needs to and can be restored one day (perhaps 2nd coming?). But, what's our Christian brothers doing about it? Quite a few are still debating among themselves whether this is acceptable or not, debating whether homosexual clergies can be ordained, etc. We should learn from the Muslims!

In Australia:

THE Federal Government is preparing an emergency plan to cope with the possibility that ABC Learning, the nation's biggest chain of child care centres, collapses. Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard yesterday said the Government was "working through contingencies" and closely monitoring the situation relating to ABC Learning, whose 1100 Australian centres provide care to 100,000 children. More

Child care centres might be closing soon. Smells like trouble! Some might say, another of Shawnism's idea to propose child care centres will be gone in ashes, ha ha!

Will it really be so? Not if you are a follower of Shawnism (He he! :P).

I'd be asking for more people to take up courses in child care management, early child hood teaching, etc to equip ourselves now. Long term plans should be drafted out and we should be looking for those who are willing to commit in this field be it professionals or volunteers. Of course, as a church, we need to listen to God's calling on whether we should go ahead with such heavy commitments. Then again, I couldn't see why not. I'd only be asking "When is the time".

As said in the Art of War, opportunity exists in time of crisis (危机). 危 - danger 机 - opportunity. So what better time to think about it than now? I believe we as Chinese especially needs to improve our skills & strengths in this area as we have been so lacking behind others. Let's bring glory to God!
In England:

The Britons who built the first car to break the sound barrier are back with plans to shatter their own record in a jet-powered land-rocket they're betting will be the first car to top 1,000 mph.

Royal Air Force pilot Andy Green will make his run for the record strapped into the Bloodhound SSC, a 42-foot-long missile powered by a rocket bolted to a jet engine. With 45,000 pounds of thrust available at full throttle, Bloodhound will hit 1,050 mph in just 41 seconds and cross the salt faster than a speeding bullet. More

Seriously, is there anything men can't do these days? It's just a matter of time before the record is broken. The question then is, will men have enough basic wisdom to first seek God's kingdom before it's too late?

====================================================================
Translation by Google:

阅读新闻（一如往常）今天再次发现，一些非常有趣的文章。让我们看看：

警方拘留了一名男子被控削除负责租客在今天他的公寓，然 后游行与它在街上孟加拉国首都高喊： “我已经杀我的妻子， ”官员said.When他今天回国他的妻子是没有，他冲进房间的22岁的租客，图利，并断绝了与她的头急剧菜刀，伊斯兰教说。然后，他标榜的头部以外的 街道，他说。更多

如何可怕的是什么？你认为这只能发生在像呐喊电影。它发生的所有权利，它的真实。这提醒我们，不同意房子与陌生人！当你 真的合租，检查他/她的背景妥善第一！最好只与某人分享你知道的相当多的时间！不仅为安全起见，但有时它可以习惯，才能真正小便你了！生命太短，无法进入 等问题。

在马来西亚：

哥打讯：国家法特瓦安理会裁定， tomboyism ，其中一个女孩的行为或礼服在孩子气的方式，禁止在伊斯兰教。

其主席拿督阿都拉Shukor胡辛说，这个决定是由于最近的事态发展是有例年轻女性倾向于表现得象男人和沉迷于同性恋。更多

有时候，我想知道是否真的基督徒应该感谢穆斯林正在大胆足够做一些基督徒不会有胆量这样做。我们在这里宣布，我们崇拜的只有一个真正的上帝在整个宇宙中，但我们甚至没有胆量立场，我们相信我们也往往与压力的公共或试图在政治上是正确的！

我 不知道到底如何将上述规则将有助于遏制tomboyism或同性恋的问题，但肯定它是一个点，伊斯兰教完全拒绝。我不是一个科学家或专家在这一领域，所以 我不能发表评论技术上也对这些问题的。然而，从我个人的信仰，我相信这些行为可能是由于他们的环境成长，自己的心理愿望，甚至自然继承。话虽如此，我不接 受的东西，似乎自然继承，它可能被认为是这是“真相”或右的眼神中的上帝。我坚信，由上帝的力量，它可以修复并恢复正常。混乱的世界需要和能够恢复一天 （也许是第二次来了吗？ ） 。但是，什么是我们的基督教兄弟做什么呢？不少仍然在它们之间进行辩论，这是否接受与否，讨论是否同性恋clergys可祝，等我们要学习的穆斯林！

在澳大利亚：

联邦政府正准备一项紧急计划，以应付可能学习美国广播公司，全国最大的连锁幼儿中心，倒塌。副总理朱莉娅吉拉德昨天表示，政府“工作通过应急”和密切留意有关情况，有关美国学习，其1100年澳大利亚中心提供护理100000儿童。更多

幼儿中心可能会很快结束。气味一样麻烦！有些人可能会说，另一个Shawnism的想法提出幼儿中心将消失在灰烬，哈哈！

它会不会真的会这样吗？没有如果你是一个追随者Shawnism （他他！ ：对） 。

我 会要求更多的人拿起课程幼儿管理，幼儿教学罩等，作好现在。长期计划应起草和我们应该寻找那些谁愿意致力于在这一领域无论是专业人员或志愿者。当然，作为 一所教堂，我们需要倾听上帝的要求，我们是否应该继续这样沉重的承诺。再说，我不明白为什么不能。我只能问： “是什么时间” 。

至于说，在孙子兵法，机遇存在着危机时刻（危机） 。危-危险机-机会。那么更好的时间来考虑这个问题比现在？我相信，我们作为中国特别需要提高我们的技能和长处在这方面我们已经落后，使缺乏等等。让我们带来荣耀的上帝！
在英格兰：

英国人是谁打造了第一台汽车，以突破音障又回到计划打破自己的纪录，飞机供电土地火箭他们投注将是第一个汽车前1000公里。

英国皇家空军飞行员安迪绿色将使他的竞选纪录绑到警犬南南合作， 42英尺长的导弹采用螺栓火箭的喷气发动机。随着四点五○○万磅推力可在全油门，警犬将达到1050英里每小时只需41秒和跨盐速度比子弹。更多

严重的是，有什么男人不能做这些天？这只是一个时间问题的记录被打破了。接下来的问题是，将男人有足够的基本智慧，首先寻求上帝的王国之前，为时已晚？

Melbourne's Crazy Weather

I thought I was the only one feeling the chill last night. I had to wear socks to keep my feet warm! Luckily I got it from SIA during my trip to Korea, I lost the ones I got a few years ago from SIA. It turns out that the temperature was way below average for the month of October!

Victoria has awoken to a chilly start this morning, with temperatures falling to as low as minus 6 degrees in the alpine regions.

While Melbourne recorded a minimum of 6.6 degrees overnight, other areas failed to nudge zero.

The town of Dartmoor, near the South Australian border, recorded its coldest October temperature in two years, reaching just minus 4 degrees, while notoriously chilly Ballarat only reached minus 2 degrees.

Weatherzone meteorologist Jessica Trevena said Victoria's alpine areas were six to seven degrees below average overnight, with Mt Buller reaching minus 4.

Coldstream, in Melbourne's north-east, was still only 1.5 degrees about 6am, and in Melbourne's north, temperatures at Tullamarine were 1.5 degrees about 6.30am.

Just as we are nearing to Summer, it suddenly just drops like how the share market is today. What it normally means is it's a warning sign for us that hot days in waiting for us ahead in the Summer!

Meanwhile....

Temperatures are set to warm up towards the weekend, with a forecast of 25 degrees for Melbourne tomorrow, increasing to 30 degrees on Saturday.

For those who doesn't have A/C at home, tough luck people! It's going to be another HOT HOT Summer ahead! Need to be careful of the UV rays as well!
It seems that we are unlikely to be doing outdoor BBQ in the summer now. Total fire ban all over the place. Maybe we need to organise cold drinks gathering ;)

Deaths by heatwave are pretty common in the pre-50s era here in Melbourne. It's not something very common these days in Australia. Sources can be found here.

In 2003, the death by heatwave in Paris was huge! Refer below:

PARIS (AP) — The death toll in France from August's blistering heat wave has reached nearly 15,000, according to a government-commissioned report released Thursday, surpassing a prior tally by more than 3,000. More.

However, if the temperature do get unbearable, do let us know! Maybe we can open our house for everyone to enjoy the A/C or we could go to the beach together to enjoy the cool water! Let's all have an enjoyable summer! Chinese New Year celebration will be on 24th Jan 2009 in Box Hill, with this year is going to be bigger than ever! Let's come to Box Hill!

THE Chinese New Year celebrations are coming back to Box Hill and organisers hope it will be “bigger and better than ever”. A funding row scuppered the event this year, but the dragon is set to roar through Box Hill again on January 24 for celebrations expected to attract more than 60,000 people.

====================================================================
Translation by Google:

我想我是唯一的一个感觉寒冷昨晚。我不得不穿袜子让我的双脚温暖！幸好我从新航在我访问韩国，我失去了的我在几年前从新航。原来是这样的温度低于平均水平10月份！

维多利亚已经苏醒了这个寒冷的早晨开始，气温下降到低至零下6度的高寒地区。

虽然墨尔本录得的最低6.6度，一夜之间，其他地区没有推为零。

镇达特穆尔，附近的南澳大利亚州边界，记录10月寒冷的温度在两年内，达到公正零下4度，而众所周知的寒冷巴拉瑞特只达到零下2摄氏度。

Weatherzone气Jessica Trevena说维多利亚的高山地区有6至7度，夜间低于平均水平，与布勒山达到零下4 。

科尔德斯特里姆，在墨尔本东北部，仍只有1.5度，大约早上6点，并在墨尔本的北部， Tullamarine温度为1.5度，大约上午06时30 。

正如我们正在接近夏季，它突然像刚才滴如何股市场的今天。它通常是指它是一个警告信号，我们认为热天的等待着我们未来的夏季！

与此同时....

气温也将热身，争取在周末，预计25度，明天墨尔本，增加至30度，星期六。

对于那些谁不拥有的 A/C 的家庭，艰难的运气的人！这将是另一个热点夏热未来！需要小心的紫外线以及！
看来，我们是不可能这样做户外烧烤在夏季现在。共计禁止一切火灾的发生。也许我们需要举办冷饮收集; ）

热浪死亡人数相当常见的前50时代在墨尔本。这不是很常见这些天在澳大利亚。来源可以在这里找到。

在2003年，死亡的热浪在巴黎是巨大的！参见如下：

巴黎（道琼斯） -死亡人数在法国从8月份的起泡热浪已达到近1 5000，根据政府委托周四公布的报告，超过先前统计的超过3 000个。更多。

但是，如果温度真的无法忍受，这样让我们知道！也许我们可以打开我们家的人人享有的A / C或我们可以去海滩一起享受凉爽的水！让我们所有有一个愉快的夏天！中国新年庆祝活动将在2009年1月24日在博士山，今年将是有史以来规模最大的一次！让我们来博士山！

在中国新年庆祝活动都回来盒希尔和组织者希望这将是“更大，更好比以往任何时候都” 。融资连续6-1活动今年，但龙将通过信箱轰鸣声再次希尔1月24日的庆祝活动预计将吸引超过60000人。

Soft Porn?

From this month Australian airports will have a new technology to play with, the "Virtual Strip Search". It's a practise that's banned in Europe however being trial currently in US, Netherlands, etc.

What does this thing do?

The system works by using millimetre wave technology that projects a low-level radio frequency energy around the passenger, creating a three dimensional image of their body.

The device strips away all layers of clothing, revealing an idealised holographic image of the person, making visible any concealed objects such as weapons or explosives.

Sounds like superman with the "see through" superpower. It's really amazing how human developed their technology! What else is impossible in the future?

What will this thing produce?

The faces are automatically blurred and ... it's only a chalk-style outline, it's not as invasive as some of the other equipment that we've got, the security officer that's looking at it is located away from the screening lane, so there's no comparison of the person walking through and the image. The images are not saved, you literally walk through, the screener hits a button to say clear and the image goes.

However, many are not convinced yet. They worry their body image might be on Facebook! Or even get laughed at by bored security officers in a room who has nothing else do to except looking at chalk like images!
So, is this virtual strip search really necessary? Let's look at how many aeroplane suicide or used in terrorist bombing. On average, there're about 2-3 cases each year in the US. Over the 15 years, there're about 30+ reported cases.

That's quite a substantial figure! Let's compare with car bombing. The reports can be found here.

As we can see, the number of car bombing cases greatly outnumbered the air plane bombing or suicide. At the moment, I don't think we have a solution for car bombings yet! Perhaps just dogs sniffing?

The attack on the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad should tell us a couple of things: For a start, no one and nothing is safe from a car bomb. Or, as in the Marriott's case, a truck bomb. As hotels go, the Marriott was a fortress. It had fairly good "standoff" — the distance between it and the street; luggage and guests were X-rayed before entering; the hotel was located in one of the best policed capitals in the world. The only thing that could have been done to make the Marriott even safer was to have completely shut down Islamabad's traffic — something obviously not practical. Pakistan is as dependent on the internal combustion engine as any other city. More

Perhaps, the super smart geniuses should create something to prevent car bombing too? We might be able to save more lives and make the roads safer!

However, looking at how things are going in the world, morals plunging, crime rates increasing, terrorist activities as active as a volcano, the trial just came at the right time to prevent something really bad from happening in the future! So, I think the Australian Government made a good move to start the trial phase for it now.

The key to success would be to prevent abuse of this system. Proper selection of staffs and training is a must.

I don't mind to get scanned the next time I pass through Melbourne Airport! Might be cool!

====================================================================
Translation by Google:

从本月澳洲机场将有一个新的技术发挥， “虚拟地带搜索” 。这是一个信奉这在欧洲被禁止但是目前正在试验在美国，荷兰等

这是什么东西怎么办？

该系统使用的作品毫米波技术，项目，低水平的无线电频率能量客运周围，建立一个三维图像的机构。

该设备带以外的所有层面衣服，揭示了理想全息图像的人，使有形物体的任何隐藏，如武器或爆炸物。

听起来像是超人的“看穿”的超级大国。这真是令人惊叹人类发展自己的技术！还有什么是不可能的未来呢？

什么这件事产生？

脸上会自动模糊...这只是粉笔风格的大纲，它不是作为侵入的一些其他设备，我们有，安全人员是看它位于远离筛选车道，因此没有比较的人走过的形象。这些图像无法保存，你走过字面，筛分点击一个按钮，说清楚，不用的形象。

然而，许多人不相信没有。他们担心自己的身体形象可能会在Facebook ！甚至让笑的无聊保安人员在一个房间里谁也没有别的做，除非看粉笔一样的图像！
所以，这是虚拟脱衣搜查真的有必要？让我们看看有多少飞机自杀或使用的恐怖爆炸事件。平均而言，即将有2-3例，每年在美国。 15年来，有大约30是报告的案件。

这是相当大的数字！让我们比较汽车炸弹爆炸事件。该报告可以在这里找到。

正如我们可以看到，一些汽车炸弹爆炸案件大大超过了飞机轰炸或自杀。此时此刻，我不认为我们提供了一个解决方案汽车炸弹爆炸事件尚未！也许只是嗅探犬？

攻 击万豪酒店在伊斯兰堡应该告诉我们几件事：首先，没有一个与安全无关的汽车炸弹。或者，在万豪酒店的情况下，卡车炸弹进行袭击。至于去酒店，万豪酒店是一 个堡垒。它已相当不错“对峙” -之间的距离，并在街头;行李和客人是X光检查才能进入;酒店设在一个最佳首都治安的世界。只是，本来是可以这样做，使万豪更加安全是完全关闭伊斯兰堡的 交通-这显然不切合实际。巴基斯坦是依赖于内燃机任何其他城市。更多

也许，是超级聪明的天才应该创造的东西，以防止汽车炸弹爆炸事件吗？我们或许能够拯救更多的生命，并使道路更安全！

然而，在研究如何事情在世界上，道德下降，犯罪率增加，恐怖活动活跃的火山，审判刚刚在合适的时间，以防止不好的东西真的发生在未来！所以，我认为，澳大利亚政府提出了很好的举措，开始在审判阶段，现在。

成功的关键是防止滥用这一制度。选择适当的人员和培训是必不可少的。

我不介意扫描得到的下一次我通过墨尔本机场！可酷了！

Oz! Oz! Oz! Oi Oi Oi

For many, Australia seems like heaven on earth. First class infrastructures, top educations, excellent health care systems, strong economy, diverse, etc. Melbourne has been voted "Most livable city in the world" in 2003 & 2004. What more can you ask for?

I really enjoyed my time in Melbourne and sure many shares the same. Not sure if I'll be getting the citizenship though, might ask Yuen Li to get it instead. I still would like to keep my Malaysian citizenship.

However, I came across 2 articles in the papers today. Let's look at some of the excerpts.

AUSTRALIA'S young people are more likely than their overseas peers to live in a jobless household, smoke daily, become pregnant, die in a car crash and spend less quality time with their families, a new report has revealed.
Compared with the best-performing countries, Australian youth are 12 times more likely to die from road deaths, only 50 per cent spend time "just talking" to their parents, less likely to move into work or further study after school, and more than double the number of 15-year-olds feel "out of place" at school. But indigenous Australian youth fared worse than non-indigenous Australians, and most teens in other countries.More

And...

SINGLE elderly Australians are struggling to survive, facing daily battles with poverty and declining standards of living.
For singles aged over 65, the income poverty rate in Australia is 50 per cent - the highest in the Organisation for Economic Development (OECD).More

Sometimes we just have to wonder, will modernization bring prosperity, health, wealth and relationships to us? Or will it makes things worse?

Surely modernization has improved our standard of living throughout the years but what made it a threat to our quality of living today? We cannot deny the fact that without modernization, the information growth wouldn't be in today's pace. Something must have gone wrong here. Something that was supposed to help us has negatively affected us.
What's the missing link? I think it's the Divine connection. As we can see, a lot of people are turning into New Age Movements to see what it can offer. As much as we hate to accept it, we cannot deny that the Divine force attracts every single one of us. Everyone needs a Divine connection every once a while.

The question then is, who is this Divine force? It's really not easy these days to distinguish who is the real God. Christians claimed their God is the only true God, Muslims claimed the same, etc. So how can we find out?

One easy way to find out: Experience it, tell the Divine force, "I want to experience you are real!"

However, make sure you know the "exit clause". You don't want to be attached to the consequences of "breaking the lease".

====================================================================
Translation by google:

对于许多人来说，澳大利亚好像地球上的天堂。一流的基础设施，最高学历，良好的医疗保健系统，强大的经济实力，多样化，墨尔本等被选为“最适宜居住的城市中的世界”在2003年和2004年。还有什么更多可以要求？

我真的很享受我的时间在墨尔本和相信很多相同。不知道我会获得公民权不过，可能会问李元朗得到它代替。我还是想继续我的马来西亚公民。

然而，我碰到2条在今天的论文。让我们来看看一些摘录。

澳大利亚的年轻人更有可能比他们的同龄人在海外生活在一个失业的家庭，每天吸烟，怀孕，死于一场车祸，并花费更少的时间与他们的家庭，一份新的报告显示。
与 表现最好的国家，澳大利亚青年的12倍更有可能死于道路死亡，只有百分之五十花时间“只是谈论”他们的父母，不太可能进入的工作或进一步研究放学后，超过 人数的两倍，年满15岁感觉“出位”在学校。但是，澳大利亚土著青年的表现不如非土著澳大利亚人，而且大多数青少年在其他国家。更多

和...

单身老人的澳大利亚人都在艰难度日，每天面临战争与贫穷和下降的生活水准。
对于单打65岁以上，收入贫困率在澳大利亚是百分之五十-最高的组织，经济发展组织（经合组织） 。更多

有时候我们只是想知道，将现代化建设带来繁荣，健康，财富和关系呢？或将它使事情变得更糟？

当然，现代化建设改善了我们的生活水平在整个年，但为什么它威胁到我们生活质量的今天？我们不能否认的事实，没有现代化，信息增长将不会在今天的步伐。一定已经错了这里。这是要帮助我们产生了负面影响我们。
什么是缺少的环节？我认为这是神圣的连接。正如我们可以看到，很多人正在变成新时代的运动看看它可提供。正如我们不愿意接受它，我们不能否认，在神圣的力量吸引了每一个我们。每个人都需要有一个神圣的每一个方面，而一次。

接下来的问题是，谁是这神的力量？这真是不容易这些天来区分谁是真正的上帝。基督徒声称他们的上帝才是真正的上帝，穆斯林人相同，等等所以我们怎样才能找到？

一个简单的方法来寻找：经验，告诉神圣力量， “我想经验，你是真实的！ ”

但是，一定要知道的“退出条款” 。你不想被重视的后果“打破了租赁” 。

Time To Buy

With all that has happened over the last few weeks, it seems now could be the right time to step into the market and get some bargains, especially in shares & properties. I'm not so familiar with shares trading yet, haven't got time to play around with it, hopefully will be able to do so in the next few weeks.

Let's look at the property for now. At least it's in my field, I know a little bit more than shares.

The Government has increased the First Home Owner Grant to $14K for existing houses and $21k for new houses! Add with the First Home Buyer Bonus, you can get up to $17K to 26K depending on the property types! For more info, go here

Interests rate has been cut as well, and expected to go even lower. Some experts are also predicting a 0% interest rate for Australia! I'm not so sure it'd go to 0% but it could go very low within these 2 years if conditions do not improve.
All seems bleak & dark for the days ahead! However, as Warren Buffett says "Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful." There couldn't be any better time to buy properties! However, not recommended for your to lock in your mortgage interest rates now though!

For those who are capable of buying, now could be the best time to dip into the market! However, those who couldn't afford to do so with ease, please think twice. The market could prove too be too volatile for you to get in.

Some tips before you buy:

1. Know your financial situation
2. Know what you want to achieve
3. Know the areas you want to buy
4. Talk to more than 1 agent
5. Do your own research
6. Never be the first to bid in auction, have it passed-in if possible
7. Don't be too emotional

For more information about buying properties, Somersoft Forum is a very good forum to learn from.

Some common questions I get are, where to buy? What to buy?

Well, like I said, it will depend on what your goals are. For example, for higher capital gains, then you would generally go for something with land. However, lands in the Eastern & South Eastern suburbs are quite high when compared to Northern or Western suburbs. So if I were you, I would be aiming at the West more than any other suburbs. Surely West is the suburb to gain in the next 20 years or so. It's not too far from the water, a lot new residential areas developed, new commercial zones, and has a few freeways compared to Northern suburbs.

I wouldn't buy apartments if I have a choice mainly because of the Owners Corporation fees. With inflations, labour costs & all prices going up, it's unlikely for the fees to stay flat or lower. It could only go higher, which means less profit for investors! One could argue the land in the City is sacred, there're no more lands to build apartments. Well, true however, just not very impressed with the upkeep costs though!
Anyway, good luck to all the investors out there! Let's get ready for the next wave!

====================================================================
Translation from google:

与所有发生在过去的几个星期，现在看来可能是合适的时机进入市场和获得一些便宜，尤其是在股票和物业。我不熟悉的股票买卖然而，还没有时间玩它，希望将能够这样做在未来数周内。

让我们看看在现在的财产。至少这是我在外地，我知道有点多万股。

政府已增加了首次置业者格兰特至十四K为现有的房屋和$ 21k的新房子！新增的首次置业买家奖金，你可以站起来为17K至26万色不同类型的财产！如需详细资讯，请浏览

利益率已减少，以及，预计到甚至更低。一些专家还预测， 0 ％利息澳大利亚！我还不确定它想要去0 ％ ，但可能会非常低的在这些2年，如果条件不改善。
一切似乎暗淡与黑暗的日子！然而，正如巴菲特说： “要当别人恐惧是贪婪的，并且当别人贪婪是可怕的。 ”就不可能有任何更好的时间来购买性能！然而，不建议你锁定你的抵押贷款利率虽然现在！

对于那些有能力谁买，现在可能是最好的时候动用市场！然而，这些谁不能这样做方便，请三思而后行。市场可以证明过于太不稳定，你进去

之前的一些提示你买：

1 。知道您的财务状况
2 。知道你想达到的目标
3 。知道的领域你想买
4 。对话超过1剂
5 。你们自己的研究
6 。不首先拍卖的出价，它通过在可能的话
7 。不要过于感情用事

如需购买物业， Somersoft论坛的是一个非常好的论坛，学习。

一些常见的问题是我，哪里可以买到？买什么？

嗯，正如我所说的，这将取决于你的目标。例如，对于更高的资本利得，那么你一般去一些土地。然而，土地的东欧和东南欧郊区相当高相比，北方或西方 郊区。所以，如果我是你的，我将针对西方国家比任何其他郊区。当然，西方国家的郊区争取在未来20年左右。这不是太远的水，有很多新的住宅区发展，新的商 业区，有一些高速公路相比，北部郊区。

我不会购买公寓，如果我有一个选择，主要是因为业主立案法团的费用。随着通货膨胀，劳动力成本与所有价格上升，这是不可能的费用持平或更低。它只 能继续走高，这意味着减少对投资者的利润！有人可能争辩的土地在城市是神圣的，是有没有更多的土地建造公寓。那么，真正然而，不是非常深刻的印象，保养费 用虽然！

总之，好运气的所有投资者有！让我们准备好下一波！