To Invest or To Tighten

Life's so much fun with all the decision making ability given to us by God. For Christians, it's known as the "free will" though some would argue otherwise.

From people to organisations, countries to churches, we all have learn to make the best & right decisions. This of course includes financial decisions, which is quite an exciting challenge!

As a Malaysian Chinese, we're often taught to be thrifty, to save as much as you can and only start to spend it when you have a comfort "buffer". In another words, it's to tigthen up to survive.

After spending a decade in Melbourne, I come to regconize the pattern of Caucasians governance in some sense. It's very obvious during the GFC, most of the governments adopted the strategy of investing for growth.

Stimulus packages, grants, tax reliefs, etc. All are aimed towards futures prosperity and not just the short term.

So, it's a little culture shock when we started to see the governments spending like crazy in times of crisis! Billions are poured in multiple industries just to keep it going while from our background, we would have been cutting expenses as much as we can.

Having said that, they also did some costs cutting measures to keep the ball rolling. Even with billions spent, without proper restructuring, it wouldn't last as well. Billions would end up like cents!

So, as a church, what can we learn from this GFC?

We need to continue to invest into the future by laying out plans and goals for the short, medium and long terms. Then we can work out budget around it to achieve those plans. By injecting the proper resources (human, funds, etc) into the right ministry will help the church to continue to grow.

At the same time, we need to evaluate on our current ministries. Which ministries that we can afford to temporary lay off or shut down. There's a saying, "All things are good, but not all things are right".

By properly channelling our resources, we can ensure greater works being done in the church ministries. These are the core ministries that our church can never neglect. These are:

1) Mission & Evangelism

2) Christian Education

3) Small Groups

4) Prayer

If we're not investing more resources in those core ministries, I'd like to know what else could be more important? Day-to-day church admins? Spending on technologies & equipments?

I know some might say, "let's get our books balance first then we can plan" or the ever famous "we will wait for God Himself to lead".

Let us remind ourselves that, God has initiated His works. Are we spiritually sensitive enough to feel it or how are we going to respond? keep on waiting?

I have a funny feeling that our belts are too tight now. Perhaps we should increase our belt size and start to invest on what's right? Let's not choke ourselves to death!

Las Vegas - Victorian version

In another act out of desperations, the Victorian Govt has again breached the trusts of fellow Victorians.

Premier John Brumby has opened the door for a second casino in Victoria - just five months after the Government ruled out such a move.

In May Gaming Minister Tony Robinson told ABC Radio that the Government had no intention of allowing a second casino. ''It is not the Government's policy to have a second casino in Victoria,'' he said. ''We have a set policy on that.''

But yesterday Mr Brumby signalled a big shift in Government policy on a second casino following a proposal for a new casino complex in Mildura. More on The Age

Definitely, a new casino would create heaps of jobs and investments, which in turn will also boost tourism to Mildura and stimulate the local business.

Similarly, Las Vegas was just a piece of deserted land where birds won't even lay eggs before the building boom. We cannot deny the facts that Casino can bring in "prosperity" and developments but the question is, at what price?

Sin City is one of the famous nicknames for Las Vegas due to the acceptance of "adult entertainment". Whom but those sinners themselves would want their city to be labeled as Sin City? A place where people defiled themselves, breaking the moral standard to the lowest ever, and have no respect for the Greater Authority.

Will Victoria has its' own Sin City in the future soon? Are we going to sacrifice an innocent City for the sake of money? It's game of Money vs Moral and it's very obvious that Mr Moral doesn't stand a chance in hell against Ms Money.

Do they REALLY care about our next generation well being? They might have jobs but they'll be morally corrupted. What good will it be then? We're just encouraging a future full of individualistic and selfish greed minded people to emerge on a path of no return.

Ethically, the casino should not be built or any casino for that fact. The moral price is just too high to be beared by future Victorians.

A city that neglect God will be doomed. We need to do our part in preventing this from happening!!

There're a lot more better ways to earn money! Stop defiling ourselves!

God have mercy upon us!

NBA True Role Model

Just listen to his sharing....


A player after God's heart :)

Hope he'll continue to make big impacts in people's lives!

Mouse in Pepsi!

Source: here
Date: 31/7/09


ORMOND BEACH - Federal officials are investigating what an Ormond Beach couple found in a can of Diet Pepsi last week: the remains of a possible rodent.

The Food and Drug Administration is testing the can, which Fred Denegri popped open on July 23 and drank, only later to discover what was inside.

"It was unreal," said his wife Amy Denegri, who became suspicious of the can when she couldn't shake out the thing inside.

"It's big enough that it wouldn't come out."

The Diet Pepsi can was one of the last to be consumed from three dozen cans that the Denegris bought at the Sam's Club in Daytona Beach.

Pepsi officials said Wednesday that they traced the can back to the manufacturing plant in Orlando and didn't find anything amiss with the company's quality controls and soda sampling.

"It is virtually impossible for this type of thing to happen in a production environment," said Pepsi spokesman Jeff Dahncke, "We run about 1,250 cans per minute on these production lines. Their speed, along with the rigorous quality control systems we have in place throughout our manufacturing process, give us great confidence in the quality and safety of our products."

Fred Denegri has long been a Pepsi fan and is something of a "addict" to Diet Pepsi, said his wife Amy.

The 55-year-old man had pulled out the can of soda to enjoy with his dinner at the couple's outdoor tiki bar.

He took the first sip and had an awful reaction to it, she said.

"I can't describe his face but if you think about what he just drank, you can imagine," she said. "He said, 'This doesn't taste right. I don't know. It's disgusting.' "

They poured out the soda and a "pink slimy thing" was the first piece to come out of the can. They peered inside and saw what they believe was a mouse, or what was left of it.

They called poison control, but Fred Denegri didn't become sick. An FDA official retrieved the can for further testing.

"We take all complaints seriously and are moving quickly to investigate it," said FDA spokeswoman Susan M. Cruzan.

In the meantime, the Denegris are surprised by their sudden notoriety. "We felt it needed to be out there, that the public should know," she said.

And Fred Denegri is still drinking Diet Pepsi. "We buy the bottles now, though. And he pours it into a glass," she said.

I'm Watching You

Trying to break into a house and thinks nobody is home or nobody is watching you?

Most people would be saying God's watching, yes that's right but normally God doesn't intervene or prevent it from happening right away. God deals with the judgment later.

Are you "safe" at the present time because apart from God, nobody is watching?

Think again.....

With today's technology, someone can be 1000 miles away but they're still watching every corner of their house!

US authorities say a woman checking her video surveillance system from the internet while she was at work caught four people robbing her house.

Police say Jeanne Thomas logged on to the $US250 Wilife system and saw a person standing in her house. She quickly called 911. While talking to the operator, Thomas saw several other people. She pleaded with the dispatcher to send police, and 18 officers arrived and surrounded the house several minutes later.

Officers arrested Curtis Williams, Scott George, Jonathan Cruz, all 20, and 19-year-old Steven Morales. They were charged with burglary and attempted grand theft. More

Conficker/Downadup - WARNING!

Release Date: March 30, 2009

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
Contact: 202-282-8010

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced today the release of a DHS-developed detection tool that can be used by the federal government, commercial vendors, state and local governments, and critical infrastructure owners and operators to scan their networks for the Conficker/Downadup computer worm.

The department's United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) developed the tool that assists mission-critical partners in detecting if their networks are infected. The tool has been made available to federal and state partners via the Government Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams (GFIRST) Portal, and to private sector partners through the IT and Communications sector Information Sharing and Analysis Centers (ISACs). Additional outreach to partners will continue in the coming days.

Department cyber experts briefed federal Chief Information Officers and Chief Information Security Officers today, as well as their equivalents in the private sector and state/local government via the ISACs and the National Infrastructure Protection Plan framework.

"While tools have existed for individual users, this is the only free tool – and the most comprehensive one – available for enterprises like federal and state government and private sector networks to determine the extent to which their systems are infected by this worm," said US-CERT Director Mischel Kwon. "Our experts at US-CERT are working around the clock to increase our capabilities to address the cyber risk to our nation's critical networks and systems, both from this threat and all others."

In addition to the development of this tool, DHS is working closely with private sector and government partners to minimize any impact from the Conficker/Downadup computer worm. This worm can infect Microsoft Windows systems from thumb drives, network share drives, or directly across a corporate network if network servers are not protected by Microsoft’s MS08-067 patch.

US-CERT recommends that Windows Operating Systems users apply Microsoft security patch MS08-067 (http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/Bulletin/MS08-067.mspx) as quickly as possible to help protect themselves from the worm. This security patch, released in October 2008, is designed to protect against a vulnerability that, if exploited, could enable an attacker to remotely take control of an infected system and install additional malicious software.

Home users can apply a simple test for the presence of a Conficker/Downadup infection on their home computers. The presence of an infection may be detected if users are unable to connect to their security solution Web site or if they are unable to download free detection/removal tools.

If an infection is suspected, the system or computer should be removed from the network. In the case of home users, the computer should be unplugged from the Internet.

Instructions, support and more information on how to manually remove a Conficker/Downadup infection from a system have been published by major security vendors. Each of these vendors offers free tools that can verify the presence of a Conficker/Downadup infection and remove the worm:

Symantec:
http://www.symantec.com/business/security_response/writeup.jsp?docid=2009-011316-0247-99

Microsoft:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/962007
http://www.microsoft.com/protect/computer/viruses/worms/conficker.mspx

Home users may also call Microsoft PC Safety hotline at 1-866-PCSAFETY, for assistance.

McAfee:
http://www.mcafee.com/us/threat_center/default.asp

US-CERT encourages users to prevent a Conficker/Downadup infection by ensuring all systems have the MS08-067 patch, disabling AutoRun functionality (see http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/techalerts/TA09-020A.html), and maintaining up-to-date anti-virus software.

In addition, US-CERT recommends that computer users and administrators implement the following preparedness measures to protect themselves against this vulnerability, and also from future vulnerabilities:

• Keep up-to-date on security patches and fixes for your operating system. The easiest way to do this is to set your system to receive automatic updates, which will ensure you automatically receive security updates issued by Microsoft. If your system does not allow automatic updates, we recommend that you manually install the Microsoft security patch today through Microsoft Update at http://update.microsoft.com/microsoftupdate
• Install anti-virus and anti-spyware software and keep them up-to-date
• Enable a firewall which will help block attacks before they can get into your computer

To access the alerts for this vulnerability and for additional information on cyber security tips and practices, please visit www.us-cert.gov.

PIP

One of the greatest 50 players of all time, one of the most versatile player ever. However, today one of his record in the Bulls franchise just got broken.

Ben Gordon made three 3-pointers in the first quarter on Saturday night against the Atlanta Hawks to pass Scottie Pippen and become the Chicago Bulls' career leader in 3-pointers.Pippen made 664 3-pointers in 856 games with the Bulls.

Gordon, playing in his 346th game with the Bulls, began the night with 663 3-pointers. He had 15 points in the first quarter and made all three attempts from behind the arc.

Pip needed 856 games while Ben just needed 346th! Hmm...That's even less than 50%!
Ben greater than Pip? Well, in terms of 3 pointers yeah but in general, I think still far away!

Intersex

This morning while reading the news, was shocked to see an article about "Intersex". Read below:

THE Federal Government's human rights arm plans to invent a new official status called "intersex" adding it to male and female as a legally recognised gender. The Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Commission wants people to be able to change their gender on their passports and driving licences even if they do not undergo surgery.

And transgender lobby groups say that even this does not go far enough and are demanding a fourth legal gender called "other" for people who feel like their gender is indefinable or changes from day to day. The extraordinary proposals are contained in a discussion paper quietly issued to transgender and transexual advocates by the commission, a statutory body that advises the Government on such matters.

"Recognition of intersex: Persons who cannot or do not identify as either male or female would be able to choose to be identified on their birth certificate and passport as intersex," it says. "A person who cannot or chooses not to undergo surgery would not be automatically ineligible to request a change in their legal sex." More

As some of you might have already known, some people are born with 2 sex organs or doesn't fit the description of a male or female. It's very rare in our culture to hear such cases but apparently in the USA, it has quite a few cases. The numbers are around 1 in 2000!! The research into this matter has grown more around the late 20th century. Still pretty young!

Though we speak of intersex as an inborn condition, intersex anatomy doesn’t always show up at birth. Sometimes a person isn’t found to have intersex anatomy until she or he reaches the age of puberty, or finds himself an infertile adult, or dies of old age and is autopsied. Some people live and die with intersex anatomy without anyone (including themselves) ever knowing.

Not XX and not XY	one in 1,666 births
Klinefelter (XXY)	one in 1,000 births
Androgen insensitivity syndrome	one in 13,000 births
Partial androgen insensitivity syndrome	one in 130,000 births
Classical congenital adrenal hyperplasia	one in 13,000 births
Late onset adrenal hyperplasia	one in 66 individuals
Vaginal agenesis	one in 6,000 births
Ovotestes	one in 83,000 births
Idiopathic (no discernable medical cause)	one in 110,000 births
Iatrogenic (caused by medical treatment, for instance progestin administered to pregnant mother)	no estimate
5 alpha reductase deficiency	no estimate
Mixed gonadal dysgenesis	no estimate
Complete gonadal dysgenesis	one in 150,000 births
Hypospadias (urethral opening in perineum or along penile shaft)	one in 2,000 births
Hypospadias (urethral opening between corona and tip of glans penis)	one in 770 births
Total number of people whose bodies differ from standard male or female	one in 100 births
Total number of people receiving surgery to “normalize” genital appearance	one or two in 1,000 births

More

It's too complicated and hard for us to judge whether this is right or wrong. In fact, I think there's no immediate need to make a "blanket" decision and try to cover it to hope everything will be OK whether we go ahead with "intersex" gender or not.

More awareness & research needs to be put into this issue to find out the causes of it. We can't make decisions based on emotions or ignorance. A lot of medical issues and in this case - Intersex, I think have been a "human decide" factor more than nature's works.

I still strongly believe God created Man & Woman, and nothing more. What happened down the line, we humans played a part in it. Not saying whose fault it is right now but I'm saying we need the Truth to guide us in dealing in such matters. Likewise, we shouldn't condemn intersex people like how some have condemned homosexuals. We should try to understand them more and help them. God's unfailing love is not just for those who are healthy & "normal" but also for those homosexuals and intersexes.

Good websites for reference

• http://www.isna.org
• AIS Support Group Australia Inc
• AISSG-USA
  

Holy Sex Offender?

Let's look at http://truthofgodministries.org. It looks nice & tidy. Nobody would have doubt anything was wrong with it if we don't read carefully. Found an article regarding it today on www.wired.com

A convicted pedophile who turned up in MySpace's 2007 purge of sex offenders faces new charges of bank fraud for allegedly running counterfeit checks through a bank account he established for his online church, TruthOfGodMinistries.org.

It's not clear whether Courtright got any donations from his ersatz missionary work, but the indictment, filed in September in federal court in St. Louis, charges that he used the same computers on which he made child porn to produce $3,100 in counterfeit donation checks payable to his church. In February of last year, he allegedly deposited the checks and cashed them out through ATM and Visa Checkcard transactions before they were rejected.

When Regions Bank asked him about the apparent fraud, he wrote a letter as Pastor Carl assuring the bank that he'd cooperate in the investigation, and was looking forward to a continued business relationship. "Last year alone, our operating budget was $987,436.00," he boasted. More

Guess who is the founder? Pastor Carl A. Courtright a.k.a Carl Courtright III

Ouch! So don't simply believe in everything you see on the Internet! Some may argue and say he's repentant now but I wouldn't be so sure.

Another nice example of how God & religion has been abused by people for their own benefits.

By the way, we always think that Christianity has lots of cults & sects. What about others? Saw an Islam cult today from The Star newspaper.

Among the teachings of this cult is that the more members they pull in, the more solat (prayers) they can “settle”. Members would not need to pray or fast as they were considered “pure” for following in the footsteps of Prophet Muhammad. However, new members are required to pay RM2,000 each to the preacher to help them settle the prayers they need replaced. A follower who only wanted to be identified as Norah said members who did not bring in more members were labelled as “great sinners. The preacher asked me how many sins I had, and I said ‘a lot’. After calculating, he said the amount I had to pay was RM28,800. How­ever, I was given a discount. So I only had to pay RM2,000,” she said.

Norah said the cult had ambitions of setting up a true Islamic government known as the Mahad Al-Zaiton in Indonesia by 2015. More

This cult uses a tactic like "direct sales" method, which is quite creative! Heheh! Similar method has also been used by Christians in the dark ages.

The question for intellect Christians out there would be: why would we see cults in other religions as well?

Give you a clue to where the question is heading: As Jesus said, "Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall. If Satan is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand?"

Larger Than Life

It seems that I've underestimated our Social concern groups in my previous postings. Tonight during the service, they mentioned 10 things that they wanted to do. Some includes eradicate poverty, reform the health care system, fight for injustice, combat racism, tackle homelessness issues, etc. Perhaps Kevin Rudd should think of employing them?

They are basically "Larger than life". What I think made them even larger is they claimed that we can do it as long as we unite as a church. Maybe they are belittling the global problems that we have at the moment or their faith is even stronger than Apostle Peter.

The mighty Bu Pyeong Methodist Church in Korea wouldn't even declare to solve any one of the problems mentioned above by themselves nor even thinking to do it by themselves. Even developed countries like USA or Australia dare not. However, CLMC has the "greatness" to make such bold claim. How great thou art!

Bu Pyeong Methodist Church understands the seriousness of the problems and how big the scale of the problems are! Hence, they have been seeking partnership in tackling these issues. They seek partnership from other Annual Conferences, churches & non profit organisations.

For CLMC's Social Concern, what are their plans for the coming years? Will we see CLMC extending or accepting more partnership in ministries soon? Will it be another empty greatness talk or will we finally see some serious commitments to tackle the above 10 matters?

Celebrity Politicians

First it was the Terminator who became the mayor for California, who eventually voted as the top 100 people who help shaped the world. Nobody would have expected that when he was first voted into office. Good job!

Now, we have Kevin Johnson, former Phoenix Suns player, voted as the first black mayor of Sacramento, creating history together with Obama! Kevin has more a conservative social Democrat views. Let's see what's so special about Kevin:

In Phoenix, as president and CEO of The Kevin Johnson Corporation, Johnson oversees the operations of several subsidiary organizations specializing in real estate development and management, sports management, and business acquisition. A key component of The Kevin Johnson Corporation includes appearances and public speaking engagements for corporations, academic institutions, and community organizations. Johnson founded the St. Hope Academy in 1989 and served as its CEO until January 2008. St. HOPE is a nonprofit community development corporation whose mission is to revitalize communities through public education, civic leadership, economic development and the arts.

Johnson is a 2000 graduate of the Harvard Divinity School Summer Leadership Institute, a program that prepares students for work in faith-based urban economic revitalization. He also has a B.A. in Political Science from UC Berkeley that he completed after his initial retirement from the NBA.

In 2003, St. HOPE formed St. HOPE Public Schools, a pre-K-12 independent charter school system that provides education to nearly 2,000 students in seven small schools.^[3][4][5][6]

I believe Kevin Johnson's character is also mimic into a character in Slam Dunk, Ryota Miyagi (宮城良田)!

Anyway, with celebrities becoming politicians, who's next? Many think Paris Hilton! Oh My.....