Archive for August, 2009

In this nation we love, evil is personified on television before our eyes. From colorful bad guys with a yearning for wickedness to the real life dramas of serial killers, this evil saturates our lifestyles. Daily we also see on headline news, stories that bring bad tidings. Murder, violence, kidnappings, hurricanes, tornado’s, war, famine, plagues, and more are the menu around the clock. This diet of mayhem comes from the high avenues of New York a famed Times Square news bureau, to the hallowed halls of most internet surfers, news is in. We get a lot of it.

As a result, people have learned to be distrustful. Gone are the days when kids would respect their elders. Now they are fearful, distrustful, and even spiteful toward other adults. Many kids are raised to “not talk to strangers”, being taught these strangers are axe murderers, kidnappers, and molesters. The problem however, there are those bad guys in the mix, evil men that will harm innocents. The sad thing is, many young kids miss out on knowing other adults who simply love kids and want to help them. As a result, adults today don’t even pay attention to kids. They leave that to their parents; unless, of course something happens to bring them to the point of getting involved with the kids, say an accident or something.

Even women today, sparked by more rapes and murders of females than ever before are keeping an eye out for those bad people. As a man, I know a woman who is fearful a block away. For those women, seeing a man, especially when a crowd is not around brings total fear. They advance to the other side of the street way before they would pass by any man on the same sidewalk, supposing that the man would throw the woman down in broad daylight and rape her. The problem, again, is not all men are rapists and murderers. Many have wives and daughters. Many have not been unfaithful to their spouses. In one incident on a street, I saw a young woman approach me. She smiled and said in nice friendly voice, “How are you today”? I was shocked, but smiled back and said, “Fine, how about you”? We passed by each other and went our separate ways.

In another part of the country we find the secular humanists, nihilists, and the like, according to author Mark Ames of nypress.com, an alternative newspaper. His distrust is of conservative Christians. He looks upon them as having an evil agenda, per say. Mark speaking of the agenda of conservative Christians and their belief of end time events says “Currently 65 million American cultists are using everything in their power, from prayer to politics, to make this Helter Skelter scenario come true.” Speaking of Christians as cultists, Mark is viewing with distrust of a certain segment of society. That part of society is the part, I personally follow. Even though, my doctrinal views may differ from other conservative believers, Mark has lumped us all together.

As we walk the narrow corridor of life, it contains many pitfalls. The major pitfall here for the believer is how to be a “light” shining in the darkness. Jesus spoke to us in Mathew chapter five, verse sixteen saying “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” As a follower of Christ, I am to let my light shine. That means, letting the love of Christ flow through me to those around me. Paul was commissioned by Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus in Acts chapter twenty six and verse eighteen being told “To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.” This verse reveals to us that there is a power of light and a power of darkness. This darkness is equated to the power of Satan. It is in the grip of Satan that people in this world find themselves. It is a grip that doesn’t want the individual to find forgiveness of sins or be sanctified by faith in Jesus Christ. So begins the battle. One side is in darkness the other in light.

It is here that the “love quotient” needs to be inserted. In John chapter three verse sixteen it says “for God so loved the world that he gave”. Yes, God so loved, he gave His only Son on the cross. But in John chapter three verse eighteen it says that “He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” The word believe here in the Greek, means to trust in, rely on, and cling too. This is like a life preserver in the ocean and you’re adrift without one, until you see the life saving preserver. You have to cling to it to be saved. On the reverse course, the words “believeth not” mean that person stands condemned and guilty before God. Further, John in chapter three, verse nineteen says that this condemnation means that “light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” John explains further in verse twenty that “every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.” Thus, we find the “love quotient” here in the world. You must accept this “love quotient”, which is Jesus Christ; believe on Him, to stand guiltless and not condemned. For many in the world, however, their love of evil things separates them from this. They simply do not want to give up those things they do.

So the battle is raging today. On the one side, people that think everyone on the conservative side, people that believe in the “saving of the soul” found in Hebrews 10:39 form a religious cult. Jesus warned us in John chapter fifteen and verse eighteen “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.” Yet, as believers, we are as it says in Matthew chapter five, verse forty four saying “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.” By doing this, Love conquers hate and unbelief. A lawyer asked Jesus what were the greatest commandments. Our Lord replied in Matthew chapter twenty two, verses thirty seven to forty saying “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with thy entire mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

To love thy neighbor, this fulfills the law. This love propels the believer to testify what God has done for him through Jesus Christ. This love means the Christian stands for light and what it is. This love brings the believer to give his life to share the gospel. For the world, it means, the believer will not give up or shut up. For the world, it means, there is only one way to salvation. That is, through the Lord Jesus Christ. For those who tire of hearing the good news or about the need to be saved, it won’t stop. That is our calling to love, to share, to bring the good news of salvation to every person.

In the end, there will be those who will hate the message and the messenger. But, there will always be those who needed to hear the message. This message speaks of a loving savior who says “come unto me, all ye who are weak and heavy laden. Take my yoke upon you, for my yoke is light.” There are those who even in this tossed and turbulent world, even up hearing a message of love, will hate and despise those who are bringing it to them. For those who follow the Lord, let us not forget the “love quotient” amidst a perilous world and tough times. For as Jude said in verses twenty one to twenty three “Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And of some have compassion, making a difference: And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.”

Dana Smith
http://www.articlesbase.com/motivational-articles/living-as-lights-in-a-world-of-distrust-and-evil-10659.html

To all of us, we wish a wonder-filled 2007. May we all be there in Oneness at the Last Supper of the Night we are traveling together as The One, and enjoy the delights of its manifold tastes before Light breaks open and wide in the unfolding of the Morning of our REAL existence as the IS.

Greetings to all, and many blessings. The cusp of W-In-t(o) (h)er has infolded the Sun of our Existence in its freezing grip again, and during the long nights of our new winter, we need to pause and take account and hold of our inner strengths, weaknesses, and stores of reserves, in trying to bridge our Fall as Mankind to our possible Spring back into a blazing and radiating Summer Sun, revived and born again from our inner hearts.

I went yesterday into a deep meditation within the One Light, and received a message from the Oneness, which I will share with you below.

This year’s New Year’s celebrations were luring me as I watched them taking millions across the globe into a spirit of hope, wishes, and happiness spreading its magnificence in a contagion of smiling faces. For one day, no dark events, disasters, or lack of inner spirit darkened the magnificent faces of Humanity. I watched, partook in the smiling energy, and remembered.

I remembered when only 6 years ago on the Eve of the Millennium, all nations on the face of Earth, from the mightiest countries to the tiniest of islands, went into common and heart-felt celebrations of the great adventure of being part of the multi-faceted Kaleidoscope which we project as Man-kind when we feel the Great Spirit of Oneness which is at the very core of our beings.

As midnight January 1, 2000, spread its gentle presence across the world, broadcasts were following the magnificent celebrations offered by each and every nation as a gift to its brethrens in the adventure which Life is.

What a moment frozen into the eternity of The One this was! Veils of doubts, old programs and associated passions, had been brought down by Oneness, in order for us to experience in advance what our future IS to be when we all know ourselves as One and united within the flagship of joy of having reunited a divided family originating from the same Father and Mother as One.

And very shortly after that, darkness attacked again, when we least expected it. Surreptitiously at first; ensnaring us all into old beliefs of separateness. And then more violently so, causing us to lock ourselves again into a Dark Age’s mentality. We had started the Exodus from slavery of old oppressive beliefs and grasped Light, but had lost our understanding that all movement into a direction of Oneness causes an automatic counter-movement reacting to it, for such are the laws by which our inner and outer reflected Nature were created in the wheel of Life.

At first we were all stunned; shocked back into old reflexes. Nationalisms, old beliefs in the One Energy Source being different and opposing gods called by different names, and all the aspects which promote separateness and differentiation amongst us were the first instinctive refuge for so many. Armies were rumbling the trumpets of war everywhere. The earth was shaking again with their robot-like heavy steps. The darkness of fear was greeted with vengeful battle cries. And the explosion happened again.

At first, its resolution was touted as obvious. The many would conquer by the sheer force of multitudes and accumulated power that this illusion gives us the One’s lesser fortunate ones in number or capacity. All opposing sides were taking count of their quantity of accumulated consciousness. The many would conquer the One, was the battle cry!

The One, through so many ways again, was trying to first forewarn the many that they were erring again on the path of separation and belief in the conquest by the many of the lesser and of the Idea of One. Little credence was given to it. Mankind blindly again walked into an ever repeating trap. Because of the nature of its misconceptions, much of what was needed and was starting to be healed bled again, and the wounds became deeper. The rift between man and man was becoming ever increasingly, and in an exponential way, greater. And so was the gap between man and his Mother Nature.

Many at first saw the ploy and danger, but as more and more of man attacked its Self, many got tired of the pain of destroyed hopes and turned a blind eye to the pillaging and raping that the spoils of the conqueror were inflicting upon the natural world, and their human brethrens.

Peace, if it were to be achieved, would again come from the final exhaustion of the protagonists, until the next round. Or so it was perceived.

Whole generations were becoming at risk. This was unprecedented in human history. There was an inner revelation and undertaking that not only a tribe, country, culture, religion, or color were threatened but that future generations getting evermore closer to our own, would be at risk of not surviving or be decimated. The idea of the end of all of mankind became part of the gestalt conscious awareness of man, first expressed almost rejoicingly so by some distorted minds corrupted within the grips of false degenerations of old spiritual belief systems, and then within a much grimmer reality when wave after wave of scientists realized that we were really on the brink of annihilation or impending great disasters of a magnitude which defies existence. The force within mankind which for eons cherishes such events, was telling us “I told you so!’ “It has been already written.” “It is in a book.” “Holy Fate!” “Karma!” “You deserve it!“ “The future is already inscribed and static, not a game of probabilities which you can change!” “You have no individual power, no real input!” “Watch the horror show I have prepared for the sinners or the un-this and un-that!” “You and yours will be saved and elevated in this glorious fight, so why care?”

Man started believing that the future was only a reality show that he would watch on a screen, and not experience in his own flesh-and-blood. The Trickster had done well Its job, for so It is programmed to do. The dice were thrown. We were slowly sinking into un-consciousness. Our inner Light was extinguishing itself. Most chose the way of inner denial within their own created world, not realizing that All IS One and interconnected. Nothing can escape that One and Only Reality, as the “Nothing” of SepAraTedNess threw us into a false and powerful sense of separation. The reality was that when one Light was plunging into unconsciousness, it was affecting all the lights of humanity: for The One was sinking with it.

Many parts of Humanity were already suffering, and in great pain. Others were falling into non-being through numbing their senses of awareness. Chemically or naturally produced and pushed drugs and alcohol were helping the process of dimming the Inner Light of awareness.

Problems were piling up. The balance of Mankind and Nature was swaying dangerously close to a perceived precipice. So why not rejoice and enjoy the day, one day at a time, and try to forget what you cannot control or see?

The One was trying to speak to our inner heart, for that is where its Kingdom lies. Most were deaf to its Small Inner Voice.

The children of our future Dream were becoming aware that theirs was the generation which would most probably have to bear the brunt of the Madness of their parents. They were remaining much more aware than their heavily adulterated parents, as we were slowly killing their future. The pain was too great to bear for many, so that they instinctively sought refuge in the same immediate solution of immediate pleasures and gratification, sensing as instinctive parts of Mother Nature, the necessity to enjoy life when they still could. Our spiritual and political leaders were inept and uninspiring, mostly ignorant of Oneness and misguided. We were slowly losing faith in the belief of a possible future.

Night was slowly engulfing Creation, and night-mares were everywhere, either as potentials or already felt realities.

Have you ever heard the story? Do you really want to continue and experience its unfolding? Do you want to experience the end as a REAL end?

You have read books and volumes about it. You have watched TV shows and movies about all the possible ending destructive paths. You were already born into it and programmed, religiously so – as small innocent children – into its beliefs.

Do you want to experience your darkest nightmares? In your flesh, with the pain which your senses give you? Have you lost your senses? Have you gone mad?

Are we all going mad?

Has A-DAM as the One Higher Consciousness of ALL of mankind fallen into an inverted tree, as A-MAD-Man?

As you are all watching the lives of Hollywood stars as the little lights of your reality TV-like life, please stop and ponder if the real show of LIFE-as-we-know-it is unfolding its tentacles without you having a say in it, while you are stuck watching cartoon-like characters. For that is what is happening, and ONLY because YOU AGREED to become asleep at the wheel, or drunk on reality alteration stories, and are inviting a crash. You hold the ultimate power, which is to wake up to One and to Oneness Itself.

Are you going to fight the wars of the No-thing about nothing? How long are you going to watch the political and spiritual pawns of Nothing and their dramas about NO-Thing which only serve separation and may engulf us into the No-Thing, if we allow it, by not waking up and shaking it loose?

You are the only and real Stars of your show. Please look at yourselves. Care about yourselves, for you inner core Selves know themselves as One.

Do you remember the eve of the New Millennium? How long ago was it? Can’t we all bring that feeling amongst ourselves back and let go of all our inner demons, once and for all? Of course we can, and we will!

Starting right now.

You make the choice. That is your free-will. I know my decision, and frankly I also know yours, for we all originate from the same One Seed, and, deep in your self, you long for that moment of recognition of your Light, as you then start the inner great fire of Real Passion for Life and not Passion for Death, and express it as total Love – a Love which will burn all barriers and frontiers; a Love which we are definitely going to experience soon as One Creation as we all awake.

Enough of repeating His-Story! Time to start Our-Story, and enjoy it to its fullest and brightest potential.

Time to bring about our co-creative potential which is immense and infinite, and reboot the old programs from the Nothing fighting-and-dying-about-nothing. Eat from the Tree of Life and not from the Tree of Death. So say I, and in that act you shall not die anymore.

Unless you are so obsessed with the INTIMATE knowledge of the Tree of Good and Evil that you do not realize that this very obsession which you have with destroying and killing what YOU perceive as Evil is the very root which spreads Death and Destruction amongst your interconnected Selves.

You can do it. It is your right as part of One.

Don’t let your old beliefs blind you. Don’t let old programs assail you.

You are revisiting the Old Genesis of your Life backwards, back to its One-And-Only Source.

No-THING can exists outside of One, the rest is only reality TV which you make your reality as you watch its empty and dangerous show, throwing you into a sleep-like state.

The force of the Nothing fighting about nothing is only there because YOU give it force and attention. It is NOTHING, as long as you make it what it is as the ultimate illusion in the One Show of the One: Creation. It has no power and dies, as you pull away from its intoxicating drink. Time to sober up!

Please stop this tube of emptiness which is ruling your life, or, at the very least, start by changing the channel and watch loving shows in order to remember that you are that Love, you are that laughter, you are that Life, you are that Romance, and then finally shut the old stories off, and Create your OWN.

Happy Creation 2007!

Before I share the message I want to below, let me state that starting in the next 10 days and going on henceforth, for the ones who are really ready to challenge and absorb material which may allow them to de-program themselves once-and-for-All from old forms of thoughts proven again and again to be self-destructive, I will share some knowledge which is part of the start of my attempt to lighten up the load and baggage we carry, and make us at the very least question our beliefs about Truth. The Truth is that it is the questions which motivate us to change. The Answer to All is in the Question! Do not stop questioning for that is what will propel you to new vistas, new frontiers breaking infernal cycles of painful revisiting of His-story.

Nevertheless, you have free-will. Free-will to stay static, or to enter a dynamic of real change. Nevertheless, if you decide to stay static within your belief systems, I beg you for One’s sake to pause and truly state that you feel that the path you are within now will ensure your present and your probable future as a reality which you really want to EXPERIENCE, intimately so and with full awareness. And if it is so, then you would have made a Real Creative act in choosing that probable future and making it you reality.

This is why only individuals who want to be exposed to the material, which I will start to reveal, and make their own inner direct judgment about it and integrate it in their own Creative ways within their existence, as Conscious Beings, will be exposed to it. For the Real World is a world of Ideas. That is all the One Mind can Be. That is why only the ones who desire to question ideas will be given a link to the restricted (for now) area of our website, so they can climb back the Tree of their deep Inner awareness.

And it should be so, for you must understand that just by being exposed to an idea for even a moment will make you change and evolve as you give it emotions and energy. Remember New Year 2000 and what you felt then!

This is a message from the Oneness, received on December 31, 2006, which I want to share with you now.

This is a Holy year. In this year much of what mankind considers to be Reality will be decided. There has been a big gap between reality and its perception.

Much of what is happening below the feet of man, above his head, and within him, has gone unnoticed, to the real dismay of The One who has been trying to send warnings through many direct channels and through a multitude of events. Even though the One knows Himself to Be One, that notion is so far remote from His Creatures that the mere mentioning of it often brings great discomfort to them.

In the next period of Creation, a time limit needs to be set to the perception of non-interference by the Godliness in the affairs of mankind. When that moment is reached, the dice would have been thrown.

This is the beginning to the end of His-Story, and the beginning of Your-Story.

Much of what you believe in and have been taught as being real, has been but created by the Godliness in advance, in order for you to have a support in which you will be able to express your Creative potential.

Time, as we know it, is about to take on a different dimension which many of you shall experience soon.

Truth is where you will all be.

In this process of Creative endeavor, The Godliness shall be experiencing it with you as you, for you, so that you can all potentially reach the Beginning of Time.

Great responsibilities lie upon each of your shoulders, each and every one of you, and you need to become soon sentient and aware of what your real purpose is as a Creation, which is to Create and improve upon the original program that The Godliness has prepared for you as Himself to experience, and hopefully enjoy, as He travels within each and every one of you the path of His Creative processes in the infinite lattice of possibilities that he has Created in advance, so that He experiences His Being in the many.

The One is asking the many to slowly, patiently, pay attention to much of the guidance that He will tend to project from within their inner selves.

He wishes often that the unfolding of events be smoother. Nevertheless, He has allowed Himself to be restricted by His original plan and program as a challenge to Him, as the many facets operating within His gigantic Mind.

There is still a small window of opportunity to soften the blow of the awakening process, and it is The Godliness’s dream and wish that mankind shall invite within its heart the attention it needs now in order to show Oneness of purpose and existence to all and resist the temptation to slowly extinguish its inner Light as challenging events, which will call upon the inner resources of the many, will try to start happening to project Oneness within the One Heart of ALL.

Gerald O\\\’Donnell
http://www.articlesbase.com/self-help-articles/truth-new-year-2007-message-88186.html

The majestic stag stands watching over his harem of females looking out for their safety. The silence is shattered with the sound of horse’s hooves crashing through the trees. The deer are startled and run. The Royal Hunt is afoot with the hunt master William the Conqueror at its head. The time is the eleventh century and the place is Windlesora – known today as Windsor.

Since the Norman Kings built their defences here it has been the home of Kings and Queens of England. For some, including Charles1, HenryV111 and Jane Seymour, it is their final resting place.
Windsor Castle is the oldest castle residence still in use today. When Her Majesty the Queen is in residence the Royal Standard is raised. When she is out of town the Union Jack is hoisted.

Parts of the castle are open to the public including:-

Queen Mary’s Dolls House
This remarkable labour of love was made for Queen Mary in 1924. Everything in the house works – even the plumbing. Many famous people contributed to the design and articles within. The library contains original leather-bound books. The cars in the garage can run 20,000 miles to the gallon. You wonder if a child ever played with this masterpiece!

Eton College
About a mile north from Windsor Castle is the famous Eton College founded by HenryV1 in1440. Originally built to educate poor students it is one of the most exclusive schools in the world. Lists of past and present pupils read like a who’s who of people that have shaped and will continue to shape the world we live in.

Guildhall
Sir Thomas Fitz originally designed the building but died before its completion. Famous architect Sir Christopher Wren continued his work and completed it in 1689. From here you can watch the changing of the guards passing by complete with red tunics and bearskins. Inside you can view a collection of royal portraits dating back to Elizabeth 1. and a series of dioramas depicting historical events and places.
Interestingly, the columns, which seem to be supporting the roof of this building, actually carry no weight at all. More recently pictures of the Guildhall were beamed around the world, as this was the venue for the civil wedding of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles.

The Cavalry Museum
Anyone with an interest in all things military will be delighted with this collection. Exhibits date from the seventeenth century to the present day including armour weaponry and battle models.

Windsor Great Park
‘The Long Walk’, ‘Savill Gardens’ and ‘Virginia Water’ are highlights of this huge park covering 4800 acres. The Long Walk covers a distance of 3 miles from the castle to the statue of George 111 on horseback. Savill Gardens offers you a spectacular array of plants and flowers all year round. You can stop and buy your favourite plant or have a bite to eat in the restaurant. Towards the south is Virginia Water – a large lake surrounded by beautiful gardens and sprawling lawns. Look out for some curiosities including a 100 foot totem pole.

A visit to Royal Windsor will take you on a journey back through one thousand years of English history and tradition. This is a place that continues to inspire and excite the imagination. If visiting Royal Windsor has left you with a thirst to know more then a trip of six miles will take you to Runnymede where the Magna Carta was signed laying down the foundations of our present day democracies.

Windsor is also the headquarters of Morgan Crucible http://www.morgancrucible.com , probably the most successful engineering company in the world. Their Technical Ceramics and Carbon divisions provide a wide range of materials, products and services to customers from around the world.

Ann Coveney
http://www.articlesbase.com/travel-articles/visiting-windsor-england-when-her-majesty-the-queen-is-in-residence-the-royal-standard-is-raised-70218.html

The cost of education is on the rise. States are spending less on higher education, forcing colleges and universities to pass the extra costs onto students. Tuition and fees have nearly doubled at some institutions, and there is no relief in sight. That’s the bad news. The good news is that there are several ways to help allay the rising cost of college. Here they are, in no particular order.

Accelerate Your Degree
Essentially, accelerating your degree means cramming a semester’s worth of material into a six-or eight week session. Many schools are now offering these accelerated sessions, and while classes can be intense, the benefits are that they allow you to take classes more quickly and thereby move up your graduation date. By accelerating your degree, you spend less time in college and can start your career sooner, which saves you time and money.

In addition to these accelerated sessions, you should also consider summer school or evening classes, which are often cheaper than regular classes and which also speed up the learning process.

Become a Transfer Student
One of the best kept secrets in higher education is that of transferring. The idea here is to earn as many credits as possible at a low-cost community college before transferring to a pricy, elite school prior to graduation. This way you can still get a diploma from a prestigious university but at a fraction of the price.

Furthermore, because community colleges are less competitive, you will be a better candidate for scholarships and other financial aid. What’s more, by attending your local community college, you can also reduce room-and-board costs by bunking at your parents house.

Go Where You’re Wanted
Conventional wisdom says you should go to school you want. But if you are trying to cut costs, maybe you should consider going to the schools that wants you. In other words, find the college or university that is dying to have you as a student, fire off an application, and then watch the discounts roll in. Star students get discounts on tuition as well as housing and other fees. The trick is to find the school that thinks you’re a star. Start by checking out the smaller, regional colleges in your area. Chances are you may be exactly the kind of student they’re looking for.

Apply For a Pell Grant
Every year, the U.S. Government provides millions of dollars worth of grants to help students finance their college education. A grant is an ideal way to help pay for college for two reasons: first, grants do not have to be paid back, and second, grants are awarded based on need. What this means is that depending on your financial need you can receive a federal grant or Pell Grant worth anywhere from $400 to $4000 dollars. Typically, Uncle Sam sends the money directly to your school of choice to apply directly to tuition. However, if your tuition is already paid for through scholarships or other financial aid, the money is dispersed directly to you to cover other expenses such as housing, books, and transportation.

To apply for a Pell Grant all you need to do is fill-out a Free Application For Federal Student Aid or FAFSA, which you can do online at fafsa.ed.gov . The application will take about an hour, but you will need your Social Security Number, driver’s license, income tax return, bank statements, and investment records.

Never Give Up On Scholarships
Many students think you need a 4.0 GPA to land big scholarships. But that’s not always the case. Even with strictly academic scholarships, you have a fighting chance so long as your grades make the cutoff, which may be as low as 2.75. What have you got to lose? Furthermore, there are plenty of non-academic scholarships you can apply for, including scholarships for athletics, military service, community service, and leadership.

Also, in addition to college or departmental scholarships, there are thousands of private organizations and religious organizations who also offer scholarships. And don’t forget about local or community-based awards. Although these scholarships are typically more modest, they are easier to win. What is best is that you can apply for (and receive) multiple scholarships, which means if you don’t land a big, ultra-competitive, academic scholarship you can still get the same amount of money through a combination of smaller, less-competitive scholarships.

When it comes to paying for college, the important thing to remember is that education is an investment. And like the old adage says, you’ve got to spend money to make money. That being said, there are ways to curb the amount you’ll have to spend to get a quality education. You just have to be creative.

Mahesh Mhatre
http://www.articlesbase.com/careers-articles/5-creative-ways-to-help-pay-for-college-133732.html

What countries were formed after World War Two?
Was there anything special about World War Two that I should know in that special, oh so dreaded case of exams?

Israel was formed after WW2. Germany was divided into East and West Germany (they are back together since 1991) Czechoslovakia was created but later split into Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

WW2 had VE day (Victory in Europe) and VJ day (Victory in Japan.) The weapon that won the war in Europe was radar. The main reason we won is that Hitler was stupid and decided to attack Russia therefore causing a war on two fronts.

The weapon that won the Pacific part of the war was the nuclear bombs used on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. We bombed because it appeared that Japan would not surrender and we wanted to save American lives. Truman didn’t really know the extent of nuclear fallout back then.

I don’t know much about this war and am curious about its history. Anyone know some books on it? Or websites? If you understand anything about it, a summary would do.

Here is a good reference:

The Iran–Iraq War 1980–1988 by Efraim Karsh

See the web-link below for the book.

are there any really good series of books out their involving persons in the military besides those about Sharpe and the series master and commander is based on ???
ive never read any Tom Clancey books but they seem to be mostly about the military have any of you read an enjoyed any of his books ?

I’m not sure about series, but two books I liked are "Sands of Sakkara" by Glenn Meade, and "Crisis Four" by Andy McNabb

I would like the US military of sponsor social acitivies for active and retired veterans of the US military located overseas. The activities could be on and off base locations.

Contact the USO and the bases MWR. The MWR programs do a lot for those both CONUS and OCONUS which can be really helpful. USO also sponsors the tours singers, celebs, comedians, etc.. do.

Does anybody know of any revolutionary war books?

Das Kapital from Karl Marx

Jerusalem-On June 26, 2006 this reporter attended a world wide satellite linked Interfaith Peace Conference at Jerusalem’s Notre Dame Cathedral. Dan Rather moderated from Washington DC and the Holy Land interfaith panel were all moderates attempting to reclaim the battlefield of ideas from extremists on both sides.

Rev. Theodore Hessburgh, President Emeritus University of Notre Dame began the evening with a pledge and a summons: “The Peace of the world begins in Jerusalem.”

Dr. Tsvia Walden, Board of Director of the Peres Center and Geneva Initiative stated, “There is a need for a third party in the negotiations that could enable both sides to trust each other. There are more people in this region interested in making concessions, they all want peace so desperately.”

The Coordinator of World Bank emergency services to the Palastinian Authority, Rania Kharma commented, “We all need to be the bridges to our leaders that justice, equality, and human rights will bring peace. Give people justice and they will reward you with peace.”

Sheik Imad Falouiji warned, “Religions must go back to their origins. God commands us to love each other and live together. This Holy Land was given to all people. This land is on fire. There is an occupation that musty be removed. The language of peace cannot succeed without justice for all.”

President Bush in his second inaugural address promised, “In the long run, there is no justice without freedom, and there can be no human rights without liberty…. All who live in tyranny and hopelessness can know the United States will not ignore your oppression or excuse your oppressors. When you stand or liberty we will stand with you.”

The Rt. Rev. Bishop Riah Abu Assal affirmed, “Peace is an act. Blessed are the peacemakers not the peace talkers. Peace is possible in the Holy Land. The root cause for the lack of peace since 1967 is the occupation. For peace to make progress in the Middle East we need to deal with the root cause…Religion was not meant to bring death. All those involved in searching for peace should commit themselves to work for justice and truth.”

On November 1, 2006, Jeff Halper, American Israeli, Founder and Coordinator of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions/ICAHD and a 2006 Noble Peace Prize nominee informed this reporter:

“It has been said that the Israeli’s do not love this land, they just want to possess it. There have been three stages to make this occupation permanent. The first was to establish the facts on the ground; the settlements. There are a quater of a million Israeli’s and four million Palestinians here. They have been forced into bantusan; trunkated mini states; prison states. It is apartheid and Bush and Hillary are both willing collaborators. In 1977, Sharon came in with a mandate, money and resources to make the Israeli presence in the West Bank irreversible. The second stage began in April 2004 when America approved the Apartheid/Convergence/Realignment Plan and eight settlement blocs. This is just like South Africa!

“The Bush Sharon letter exchange guaranteed that the USA considers the settlements non-negotiable. The Convergence Plan and The Wall create the borders and that is what defines bantusans. Congress ratified the Bush plan and only Senator Byrd of West Virginia voted no and nine House Representatives.”

With the turnover in Congress the words of Tom Paine come to mind, for in solidarity “we have it in our power to begin the world again.”

The gospel of Jesus Christ can become relevant in the 21st century if all who claim to be Christian’s follow his philosophy. Thomas Jefferson weeded out the miracle stories from the gospels and clarified the teachings of Christ in “The Jefferson Bible: The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth” which clarify what Christ was really all about:

To be just and justice comes from virtue which comes from the heart. To treat people the way we want to be treated. To always work for PEACEFUL resolutions, even to the point of returning violence with COMPASSION. To not judge others and bear no grudges, and those who think they know the most are the most ignorant.

“Soon after I had published the pamphlet “Common Sense” [on Feb. 14, 1776] in America, I saw the exceeding probability that a revolution in the system of government would be followed by a revolution in the system of religion. The world is my country, all mankind are my brethren, and to do good is my religion.”-Tom Paine

Christ’s other name is “The Prince of Peace” and he walked and preached the good news that God is within all people. To truly follow Christ means one will rise up, [in Arabic the word is "intifada"] for the oppressed, the outcast, the widow, the orphan, the poor, the prisoner and refugees. Christ taught that we are to pursue justice, and justice is the only way to security and peace.

The Christian population of the Holy Land has decreased from 20% of the total population to less than 1.3% since 1948. 90% of Christian pilgrims to the Holy Land never even meet any Palestinian Christians; thus they are known as The Forgotten Faithful.

Prior to 1948, 70% of West Jerusalem was Palestinian. From ‘48 to ‘67, Jerusalem was divided into Israeli West Jerusalem and Palestinian East under Jordan’s control. When Israel captured and occupied the West Bank in 1967, the municipal boundaries of Jerusalem were also redefined. Israel annexed the greater Jerusalem area but did not ‘adopt’ the Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem as Israeli citizens.

Today, Palestinians living in Jerusalem are classified differently from those in the West Bank. They are called permanent residents, they can vote in local elections but not in Israeli national elections. Most do not bother to vote as a statement against the occupation.

Today, West Jerusalem in nearly 100% Jewish. The Palestinians in East Jerusalem pay the same taxes as those on the West side, but receive only 8% of the total municipal budget. Orthodox Jews pay no taxes. Palestinians make up 1/3 of the total Jerusalem population, but pay over 40% of the taxes. One is immediately aware when one walks from the East to the West that one is truly in two different worlds. On the West side of town there are many parks, the roads and streets are well maintained and sanitation pick up is predictable. Twenty-six of the thirty-one City Council members of Jerusalem are Orthodox Jews. The East side of Jerusalem resembles the lower east side of New York.

While the Israeli government considers Jerusalem the capitol of Israel no foreign country does. There are no international embassies in Jerusalem, except for a fundamentalist International Christian Zionist one.

The Wall that was begun after the Second Intifada/Rise Up, has expanded the municipal boundaries established in 1967 and the Israeli settlements/colonies are growing unabated.

According to International Law all the settlements are illegal and the world is silent. In the 1930’s Ben Gurion said that the settlements will define the boundaries of Israel.

In 1973, Ariel Sharon told Winston Churchill III, “We’ll make a pastrami sandwich of them. We’ll insert a strip of Jewish settlement, in between the Palestinians, then another strip of Jewish settlement, right across the West Bank, so that in 25 years time, neither the United Nations, nor the United States, nobody, will be able to tear it apart.”

But all things are possible and miracles do occur.

God has always spoken through Jewish prophets and Jeff Halper is one. On November 1, 2006 he informed this reporter, “Israel has set up a matrix of control; a thick web of settlements guaranteed to make the occupation permanent by establishing facts on the ground. Israel denies there is an occupation, so everything is reduced to terrorism. It is our job to insist upon the human rights issue, for occupied people have International Law on their side.”

While International Law guarantees the rights of the occupied to rise up with violence against their occupiers. But, prophetic organizations such as ICAHD, Anarchist’s Against the Wall, International Solidarity Movement and Sabeel all promote Creative Nonviolence.

Jeff stated, “When Jerusalem was controlled by Jordan, the East side was 6 sq. km. Since 1967, Israel has added 64 km. The West side was 38 sq. km until ‘67 and is now 108 sq. km’s. Israel plans to develop 17 settlements. Israeli policy is to maintain a 72% Jewish and 28% Arab population. Palestinians cannot get building permits to build upon their legally owned land. The Arab land has been re-zoned as green space, and the green space will be re-zoned for the settlements.

“Every single Palestinian home in Jerusalem has a demolition order. The entire West Bank has been zoned as agricultural land by Israel, and that will also be re-zoned again for more settlements.

“It has been said that the Israeli’s do not love this land, they just want to possess it. There have been three stages to make this occupation permanent. The first was to establish the facts on the ground; the settlements. There are a quater of a million Israeli’s and four million Palestinians here. They have been forced into bantusans; trunkated mini states; prison states. It is apartheid and Bush and Hillary are both willing collaborators. In 1977, Sharon came in with a mandate, money and resources to make the Israeli presence in the West Bank irreversible. The second stage began in April 2004 when America approved the Apartheid/Convergence/Realignment Plan and eight settlement blocs. This is just like South Africa! The Bush Sharon letter exchange guaranteed that the USA considers the settlements non-negotiable. The Convergence Plan and The Wall create the borders and that is what defines bantusans.Congress ratified the Bush plan and only Senator Byrd of West Virginia voted no and nine House Representatives.”

Orwellian doublespeak has also been employed in the USA to turn the illegal colonies into “neighborhoods”. A new highway has already begun to link all the settlements. The Eastern Ring Road will have bridges for Israelis but is just another wall against the Palestinians. The settlements-and all settlements are considered illegal under international law- will ring around the Old City of Jerusalem.

Jeff concluded with, “I don’t just have a political problem with this Judiaization of the Old City, it is ecologically and environmentally offensive.”

I add it also is spiritually impoverished. The raping and pillaging of what is claimed holy ground refutes and denies the biblical meaning of dominion. The ancients understood dominion meant to nurture, love and protect and the destruction of Palestinian homes, the stealing of their legal property, their water is an abomination.

On May 14, 1948 The Declaration of the establishment of Israel stated:

“One the day of the termination of the British mandate and on the strength of the United Nations General Assembly declare The State of Israel will be based on freedom, justice and peace as envisaged by the prophets of Israel: it will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion it will guarantee freedom of religion [and] conscience and will be faithful to the Charter of the United Nations.”

“What does God require? He has already told you o’man! Be just, be merciful and humble.”-Micah 6:8

“The greatest menace to freedom is an inert people.”-Supreme Court Justice Louis D. Brandeis

The “fierce urgency of now”-Rev. MLK, Jr should compel we the people of the United States to rise up and demand Congress hold President Bush to the promise in his Second Inaugural Address:

“In the long run, there is no justice without FREEDOM. There can be no human rights without LIBERTY. All who live in tyranny and hopelessness can know the United States will not ignore your oppression or excuse your oppressors. When you stand for liberty, we stand with you.”

The “war on terror” must be fought at the root and all roads lead to Jerusalem.

Eileen Fleming
http://www.articlesbase.com/religion-articles/we-can-begin-the-world-again-76476.html