Sleepy Dogs

Glenn Beck talked to Vatican officials and warned Catholics to prepare for battle - good vs. evil.

Thought For The Day: Be the Best You!

"Be the kind of woman that when your feet hit the floor each morning, 

the devil says - 'Oh crap, she's up!'" 

Hero dog draws sympathy

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines—The one-year-old dog here whose face was horribly disfigured when she saved her young masters from being hit by a speeding motorcycle two months ago, has become a celebrity of sorts.

Kabang, a white-and-black “aspin” (short for asong Pinoy or native dog) shielded Dina Bunggal, 11, and cousin Princess Diansing, 3, from harm when she jumped into the path of the motorcycle. But her head got caught in the spinning front tire, causing her to lose her entire upper snout, including her nose and lower part of her eyelids.

Her deed has been described as heroic and her resulting plight has drawn a wave of sympathy. Despite the still open wound on her face, Kabang (a Visayan term that means spotty) is not showing any sign of trauma.

UPDATE:  ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines— The courageous canine who saved two girls from harm when she blocked the path of a speeding motorcycle here in December, is US-bound.

“Kabang,” a female aspin (short for asong Pinoy or native breed), will undergo major surgery to reconstruct her upper snout, which was mangled and ripped off in the accident, according to veterinarian Dr. Anton Lim.

“Kabang is going to the US with the help of many kind-hearted individuals and donors, who would like to see the dog … live longer. Her story inspired many people especially animal lovers,” Lim said, citing a confirmation from Ramona Consunji of the Animal Welfare Coalition.

Lim said among those helping in Kabang’s trip to the US, which could take place next month at the latest, aside from local veterinarians and humanitarian groups and individuals, was Animal Welfare Coalition US coordinator Karen Kenngott.

In an e-mail to the Inquirer, Kenngott said that they wanted Kabang flown to the US as soon as possible.

“The more time that goes by, the more Kabang is at risk of infection,” Kengott said. “Fungal infections can be especially difficult to eradicate and any infection in the bone can be a lengthy process to treat at best. Her chances are better the sooner she can get those wounds closed,” she said.

Lim agreed by saying that Kabang is losing one of her remaining upper molars–which is very important for chewing and grabbing food–because of a previous infection.

Kenngott said Kabang would be operated on at the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital of the University of California in Davis, “under a team of multi-disciplinary doctors and surgeons led by Dr. Boaz Arzi.” Arzi is a maxillofacial and dental surgeon.


LATEST UPDATE (09/12/12): click here for Update on Kabang, The Hero Dog 

Lawsuit: KFC Franchisee Fired Employees For Refusing To Serve Expired Chicken

A former manager at a KFC eatery in Oregon alleges that the owner of his franchise not only ordered employees to serve expired chicken, but also that employees who refused to do so were fired.

According to the lawsuit filed yesterday in a state Circuit Court, KFC policy requires that all fresh chicken be served or discarded within 12 days of the "kill date" stamped on the box.

The lawsuit alleges that in 2010, a different manager had been ordered by the franchise owner to serve chicken that was "turning green and was several days beyond the expiration date." Instead, that manager threw away the chicken, against orders of her bosses. After the owner discovered the chicken had been tossed away, that manager says she was fired.

The plaintiff in the lawsuit alleges that he was directed by the franchisee to serve expired chicken as early as August 2010.

In Feb. 2011, he says one of his bosses changed the label on a box of fresh chicken to make it look like the chicken had been shipped frozen and thawed, and thus okay to serve.


Click here to read the rest of the article.

The Virtue of Patience

Excerpt from "10 Things Pope Benedict XVI Wants You to Know":


"Probably without being conscious of it, Pope Benedict XVI is teaching the world something through his own behavior.  He is exceedingly humble and gentle, which stands in stark contrast to the bluster and braggadocio often associated with global titans in the worlds of politics, finance, and culture.  He is living proof that one does not have to be an exhibitionist to lead and to inspire.

Perhaps more important, he's teaching a microwave world that expects instant results to slow down a bit, to catch its breath, and to look before it leaps.  Upon Benedict's election, there were fevered expectations of swift and dramatic action in many quarters.  Some expected a root-and-branch reform of the Roman Curia, the Catholic Church's central organ of government.  Others anticipated a sweeping crackdown on dissident theologians and liberal activists within the Church.  To this day, many pundits and commentators are still waiting for the "real" Benedict to emerge from beneath his patient, gentle facade; what they don't seem to appreciate is that what they regard as a facade is, in fact, the real pope.

Benedict is a man of deep faith, which means he realized that, ultimately, the vicissitudes of the Church and of the world are in God's hands, not his.  There's a serenity about him, a lack of what the Germans call angst, rooted in his belief that the final act of the story in which all of us are involved has already been written, and it ends well. Thus he does not feel the need to lurch from one initiative to the next or to resolve all the Church's problems in a single bound.  He understands better than most the complexities of those problems, both intellectually and pastorally, and he also grasps the importance of thinking carefully before taking steps that may have unforeseen consequences.

In an impatient world, Benedict XVI is a very patient man.  To paraphrase Saint Augustine, occasionally his very lack of deeds is an important "word" for the harried women and men of his time".

Thought For The Day: Gossip

"Careless talk against and about people can be like quicksand! 

Not only have such mistakes of tongue destroyed innumerable friendships 

but they have ruined marriages and cost many people their jobs and their future.”

- Jean E. Laird

The Untold Story Of The Titanic’s Catholic Priests Who Went Down Hearing Confessions

"May all Christians be found worthy of either the pure white

 crown of a holy life or the royal red crown of martyrdom"

- St. Cyprian

All three of the European-born priests – Father Juozas Montvila of Lithuania, Father Josef Peruschitz, O.S.B. of Bavaria, and English rector Father Thomas Byles – are said to have declined lifeboats in order to offer spiritual aid to travelers who perished in the shipwreck.

Fr. Thomas Byles

Source:  Lifesitenews

Amidst all the tales of chivalry from the Titanic disaster there is one that’s not often told.

It is that of Fr. Thomas Byles, the Catholic priest who gave up two spots on a lifeboat in favour of offering spiritual aid to the other victims as they all went down with the “unsinkable” vessel.

A 42-year-old English convert, Fr. Byles was on his way to New York to offer the wedding Mass for his brother William. Reports suggest that he was reciting his breviary on the upper deck when the Titanic struck the iceberg in the twilight hours of Sunday, April 14th, 1912.

According to witnesses, as the ship went down the priest helped women and children get into the lifeboats, then heard confessions, gave absolution, and led passengers in reciting the Rosary.

Agnes McCoy, one of the survivors, says that as the great ship sank, Fr. Byles “stood on the deck with Catholics, Protestants and Jews kneeling around him.”

“Father Byles was saying the rosary and praying for the repose of the souls of those about to perish,” she told the New York Telegram on April 22, 1912, according to the website devoted to his memory, FatherByles.com.

In the words of the priest’s friend Fr. Patrick McKenna, “He twice refused the offer of a place in a boat, saying his duty was to stay on the ship while one soul wanted his ministrations.”

Nearly two weeks after the disaster, The Church Progress in St. Louis, Missouri wrote this moving tribute to the heroic priest:

In almost every line that has been written, and in every sentence that has been spoken, there stands boldly out above every other expression a picture of sublime heroism that will be copied into the pages of history. And well it may, for it is deserving of that honor.

But when it is, mention should be made of one whom pens and tongues have almost forgotten in their accounts of this awful sea tragedy. Among those who safely reached the land again no one seems to have been aware of his presence on the ship, but we may hope that many who meet him in a blissful eternity will praise God that Father Thomas Byles was there to administer absolution unto them.

Thought For The Day - Science And Religion

"Science develops best when its concepts and conclusions are integrated into the broader human culture and its concerns for ultimate meaning and value. Scientists cannot, therefore, hold themselves entirely aloof from the sorts of issues dealt with by philosophers and theologians. 

By devoting to these issues something of the energy and care they give to their research in science, they can help others realize more fully the human potentialities of their discoveries. They can also come to appreciate for themselves that these discoveries cannot be a genuine substitute for knowledge of the truly ultimate. 

Science can purify religion from error and superstition; religion can purify science from idolatry and false absolutes. Each can draw the other into a wider world, a world in which both can flourish." 

- Pope John Paul II

Spectacular Solar Flare Erupts From the Sun

Video and News courtesy of Space.com and Yahoo News.

The sun erupted in an amazing solar flare today (April 16), unleashing an intense eruption of super-heated plasma that arced high above the star's surface before blasting out into space.

The powerful solar flare occurred at 1:45 p.m. EDT (1745 GMT) and registered as a moderate M1.7-class on the scale of sun storms, placing it firmly in the middle of the scale used by scientists to measure flare strength. The storm is not the strongest this year from the sun, but photos and video of the solar flare captured by NASA spacecraft revealed it to be an eye-popping display of magnetic plasma.

"Great eruption happening on the sun now," scientists with NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) wrote in a Twitter post.

The solar flare erupted along the sun's eastern limb (its left side) from an active region that may also be responsible for solar storm activity observed on Sunday, SDO mission officials said. The flare kicked up a massive amount of solar plasma in an explosion known as a coronal mass ejection, or CME.

"Such eruptions are often associated with solar flares, and in this case an M1 class (medium-sized) flare did occur at the same time, though it was not aimed toward Earth," officials with NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., explained in an image description. The Goddard center oversees the sun-monitoring SDO mission.

When aimed at Earth, strong solar flares and CMEs can supercharge the planet's auroras, also known as the northern and southern lights. Extremely powerful CMEs can pose a danger to astronauts and satellites in space, as well as power grids, navigation and communications systems on Earth.

Astronomers measure solar flares on a letter scale, with the strongest events falling into three categories: C, M and X. C-class solar flares are the weakest events, with the X-class sun storms marking the most powerful events on the sun.

The sun is currently in an active phase of its 11-year solar weather cycle and is expected to reach its peak activity in 2013. The current solar weather cycle is known as Solar Cycle 24.

Loyal Dog Refuses To Leave Her Friend After She Was Run Over

Taken from Daily Mail Reporter:

A black Labrador retriever that braved traffic to stay by another dog that was fatally struck by a car has been hailed for its loyalty.

A concerned motorist who saw the dogs on a La Puente street in Los Angeles, California, on Wednesday morning put down traffic cones to alert other drivers and shot a video of the dogs. 

The footage released on Saturday showed the female Labrador lying next to a motionless, yellow Labrador as vehicles pass dangerously close to them.

Blood can be seen around the injured dog's head while the Labrador waits by its side. Animal control officials responded to the scene and took the frightened but unharmed dog to a shelter.

The Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control (DACC) said the two-year-old dog, who animal shelter staff and volunteers have named Grace, appears to have been well cared for. But nobody has come forward to claim her,  so she is up for adoption.

Thought For The Day: Dogs

"This soldier, I realized, must have had friends at home and in his regiment;
yet he lay there deserted by all except his dog.
I looked on, unmoved, at battles which decided the future of nations.
Tearless, I had given orders which brought death to thousands.
Yet here I was stirred, profoundly stirred, stirred to tears. And by what?
By the grief of one dog."

-Napoleon Bonaparte 
(on finding a dog beside the body of his dead master, licking his face
 and howling,on a moonlit field after a battle.) 

"To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden,

where doing nothing was not boring

- it was peace."

~Milan Kundera

The great pleasure of a dog is that you may make a fool of yourself with him and not only will he not scold you, but he will make a fool of himself too.

~Samuel Butler, Notebooks, 1912




"You can say any fool thing to a dog, and the dog will give you this look that says,
`My gosh, you're RIGHT!  I NEVER would've thought of that!' "

- Dave Barry

"My dogs forgive anger in me, the arrogance in me, the brute in me.
They forgive everything I do before I forgive myself."

~Guy de la Valdene

Strictly Come Dancing Underwater - BBC Sport Relief 2012

The absolutely magnificent dance sequence starts from mark 4:40 to 6:15

The 10 most destructive tsunamis in history

Excerpt from Australian Geographic:

Here are the 10 worst tsunamis of all time, before the Japan tsunami:

1.    Sumatra, Indonesia - 26 December 2004
The 9.1 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Sumatra was estimated to occur at a depth of 30 km. The fault zone that caused the tsunami was roughly 1300 km long, vertically displacing the sea floor by several metres along that length. The ensuing tsunami was as tall as 50 m, reaching 5 km inland near Meubolah, Sumatra. This tsunami is also the most widely recorded, with nearly one thousand combined tide gauge and eyewitness measurements from around the world reporting a rise in wave height, including places in the US, the UK and Antarctica. An estimated US$10b of damages is attributed to the disaster, with around 230,000 people reported dead.


2.  North Pacific Coast, Japan - 11 March 2011
A powerful tsunami travelling 800km per hour with 10m-high waves swept over the east coast of Japan, killing more than 18,000 people. The tsunami was spawned by an 9.0 magnitude earthquake that reached depths of 24.4km- making it the fourth-largest earthquake ever recorded. Approximately 452,000 people were relocated to shelters, and still remain displaced from their destroyed homes. The violent shaking resulted in a nuclear emergency, in which the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant began leaking radioactive steam. The World Bank estimates that it could take Japan up to five years to financially overcome the $235 billion damages.


3.    Lisbon, Portugal - 1 November 1755
A magnitude 8.5 earthquake caused a series of three huge waves to strike various towns along the west coast of Portugal and southern Spain, up to 30 m high, in some places. The tsunami affected waves as far away as Carlisle Bay, Barbados, where waves were said to rise by 1.5 m. The earthquake and ensuing tsunami killed 60,000 in the Portugal, Morocco and Spain.


4.    Krakatau, Indonesia - 27 August 1883
This tsunami event is actually linked to the explosion of the Krakatau caldera volcano. Multiple waves as high as 37 m were propagated by the violent eruptions and demolished the towns of Anjer and Merak. The sea was reported to recede from the shore at Bombay, India and is said to have killed one person in Sri Lanka. This event killed around 40,000 people in total; however, as many as 2,000 deaths can be attributed directly to the volcanic eruptions, rather than the ensuing tsunami.


5.    Enshunada Sea, Japan - 20 September 1498
An earthquake, estimated to have been at least magnitude 8.3, caused tsunami waves along the coasts of Kii, Mikawa, Surugu, Izu and Sagami. The waves were powerful enough to breach a spit, which had previously separated Lake Hamana from the sea. There were reports of homes flooding and being swept away throughout the region, with a total of at least 31,000 people killed.


6.    Nankaido, Japan - 28 October 1707
A magnitude 8.4 earthquake caused sea waves as high as 25 m to hammer into the Pacific coasts of Kyushyu, Shikoku and Honshin. Osaka was also damaged. A total of nearly 30,000 buildings were damaged in the affected regions and about 30,000 people were killed. It was reported that roughly a dozen large waves were counted between 3 pm and 4 pm, some of them extending several kilometres inland at Kochi.


7.    Sanriku, Japan - 15 June 1896
This tsunami propagated after an estimated magnitude 7.6 earthquake occurred off the coast of Sanriku, Japan. The tsunami was reported at Shirahama to have reached a height of 38.2 m, causing damage to more than 11,000 homes and killing some 22,000 people. Reports have also been found that chronicle a corresponding tsunami hitting the east coast of China, killing around 4000 people and doing extensive damage to local crops.


8.    Northern Chile - 13 August 1868
This tsunami event was caused by a series of two significant earthquakes, estimated at a magnitude of 8.5, off the coast of Arica, Peru (now Chile). The ensuing waves affected the entire Pacific Rim, with waves reported to be up to 21 m high, which lasted between two and three days. The Arica tsunami was registered by six tide gauges, as far off as Sydney, Australia. A total of 25,000 deaths and an estimated US$300 million in damages were caused by the tsunami and earthquakes combined along the Peru-Chile coast.


9.    Ryuku Islands, Japan - 24 April 1771
A magnitude 7.4 earthquake is believed to have caused a tsunami that damaged a large number of islands in the region; however, the most serious damage was restricted to Ishigaki and Miyako Islands. It is commonly cited that the waves that struck Ishigaki Island was 85.4 m high, but it appears this is due to a confusion of the original Japanese measurements, and is more accurately estimated to have been around 11 to 15 m high. The tsunami destroyed a total of 3,137 homes, killing nearly 12,000 people in total.


10.    Ise Bay, Japan - 18 January 1586
The earthquake that caused the Ise Bay tsunami is best estimated as being of magnitude 8.2. The waves rose to a height of 6 m, causing damage to a number of towns. The town of Nagahama experienced an outbreak of fire as the earthquake first occurred, destroying half the city. It is reported that the nearby Lake Biwa surged over the town, leaving no trace except for the castle. The Ise Bay tsunamis caused more than 8000 deaths and a large amount damage.

The Power Of Love!

Taken from Immaculee Ilibagiza's e-newsletter:

Next Saturday April 7, will mark the 18th anniversary of the genocide in Rwanda. I still remember it like it was yesterday. In 1994, it was 3 days after Easter; this year, it will fall on the Saturday before Easter. While I miss my parents greatly, I can’t help but to feel the joy of knowing that even in the darkest hour, God’s love is even more palpable. Suffering has a way of opening your eyes to another level.

Few years ago, I met a fellow survivor who shared her story and it deeply touched me. When the war started,Rosette and her family run to a nearby church. Soon after, the killers attacked the church and killed most of the thousands of people hiding inside. A few people were able to escape, including Rosette and her father who was badly wounded. They went to hide in the nearby forest, but they didn’t have any food or medical supplies to help the father. Then her father looked at her and told her, "My daughter you must live, I won't make it but you have to go on. I am going on the road, and I will get you food to eat." Then the father crawled to the road and begged people who were passing by from the market to give him food. Some were merciful and gave him food, dry and cooked. At night he called his daughter from the hiding behind the bushes, to come and take the food. The daughter asked him to eat with her and the father said, "I am dying, my child, you need to eat to live. I want to make sure you have enough food to last you until the war lasts." 

When the killers found him on the road, they wanted to kill him at once but he begged them not to finish him since he was already dying. So instead of taking his life, they hit him and broke his bones so he could no longer move. He thanked them and he started begging for food again after they left. At night he called to his daughter to take the food. Before he died few days later, he told his daughter, "My journey is over on earth and you must continue yours, we will be waiting for you on the other side."

This is a Holy Week, tomorrow is Good Friday. Jesus died on the cross for us. Rosette’s father died for his daughter. Both stories teach me a great deal about love, and I realize how much my love has a long way to grow. Sometimes I wonder, "If I lived in Jesus’ time, could I have been the one to shout Him to be crucified or would I have defended Him even if I might not have been sure He was God or not." The idea of betraying Him breaks my heart now that I know Him, but who knows what I could have done. However, everyday I choose what I can do in the similar situation. With this, I challenge you my dear sisters and brothers, to look inside your heart and see if there is anyone being crucified by your attitude, your words, your actions or your rejection and know that, that can easily be Jesus. And if so, please decide to be kinder towards that person.

URGENT: One Day of Fasting on Good Friday to Prevent One World Currency

Excerpt taken from TheWarningSecondComing.Com:

My child ask my children to do one day of Fasting on Good Friday to prevent the one world currency from being introduced. Your prayers and fasting can do this.

As soon as this prayer is said during your Fast, My Eternal Father will stop these people from inflicting the austerity they are planning so that they can control you.

These same people want to abolish Christianity so it is important that you stop this from happening through special sacrifices.


Crusade Prayer (42) Pray of fasting to stop One World Currency

O God Most High
I offer you my gift of fasting
So that you will stop the grip of evil in the world
Being planned to starve my country of food including the bread of life
Accept my offering and listen to my pleas for other nations to prevent them from
The suffering being planned by the anti-christ
Save us Dear Lord from this wickedness and protect our faith
So that we can honour you with the freedom we need to love and adore yu
Forever and ever. Amen.


My child, one day of fasting on Good Friday will bring much freedom to nations from the evil one and those who follow his wicked desires to control the finances of all nations.


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Urgent: Five Fridays of Prayer for Peace and Protection To Avert Nuclear War in Iran

“Five Fridays of Prayer for Peace and Protection”

A repetition of the worldwide “Day of Prayer" for Peace and to avert nuclear war in Iran on 5 consecutive Fridays:                                                                                                  
                                                             

March 16

March 23

March 30  (Friday before Palm Sunday)

April     6   (Good Friday)

April   13   (Friday before Divine Mercy Sunday and the 8th day of the Divine

                   Mercy Novena)

                  

We invite you to pray with us on all FIVE consecutive Fridays  
                                                           

1. FOUR MYSTERIES of the ROSARY: The Joyful, The Luminous, The Sorrowful, The Glorious  and
2. THE CHAPLET OF DIVINE MERCY in preparation for Divine Mercy Sunday
3. ACT OF CONSECRATION to the IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY - in reference to Fatima

Act of Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary

I, (your name), a faithless sinner – renew and ratify today in thy hands, O Immaculate Mother, the vows of my Baptism; I renounce forever Satan, his pomps and works; and I give myself entirely to Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Wisdom, to carry my cross after Him all the days of my life, and to be more faithful to Him than I have ever been before. In the presence of all the heavenly court I choose thee this day, for my Mother and Mistress. I deliver and consecrate to thee, as thy slave, my body and soul, my goods, both interior and exterior, and even the value of all my good actions, past, present and future; leaving to thee the entire and full right of disposing of me, and all that belongs to me, without exception, according to thy good pleasure, for the greater glory of God, in time and in eternity. Amen.

The Blessed Virgin Mary said that Her Holy Rosary can, when recited by saying all the Mysteries in one prayer, prevent war. She has asked that they be said one Mystery after the other,  i.e. say each Mystery as you would normally say it, starting with the Joyful. Then go on to the next Mystery, the Luminous, and so on.

The 2 highlights will be: Easter Weekend AND the Friday before Divine Mercy Sunday.


Click here to read the full message.

Coke, Pepsi Change Recipe to Remove Carcinogen

Excerpts from ABCNEWS:

Coca-Cola Co. and PepsiCo Inc. are changing the way they make the caramel coloring used in their sodas as a result of a California law that mandates drinks containing a certain level of carcinogens come with a cancer warning label. 

A representative for Coca-Cola, Diana Garza-Ciarlante, said the company directed its caramel suppliers to modify their manufacturing processes to reduce the levels of the chemical 4-methylimidazole, which can be formed during the cooking process and, as a result, may be found in trace amounts in many foods.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest, a consumer advocacy group, in February filed a petition with the Food and Drug Administration to ban the use of ammonia-sulfite caramel coloring.

A spokesman for the Food and Drug Administration said the petition is being reviewed. But he noted that a consumer would have to drink more than 1,000 cans of soda a day to reach the doses administered that have shown links to cancer in rodents.

The American Beverage Association also noted that California added the coloring to its list of carcinogens with no studies showing that it causes cancer in humans. It noted that the listing was based on a single study in lab mice and rats.

Solar Storm Headed Towards Earth

Photo Courtesy of NASA

Earth braces for biggest space storm in five years

WASHINGTON - A pair of scorching explosions on the Sun's surface is sparking the biggest radiation and geomagnetic storm the Earth has experienced in five years, space weather experts said Wednesday.

The storm, expected to hit Earth early Thursday US time and last through Friday, may disrupt power grids, GPS systems and satellites, and has already forced some airlines to change their routes around the polar regions. In addition to possibly garbling some of Earthlings' most prized gadgets, the event will likely give nighttime viewers in parts of Central Asia a prime look at the aurora borealis, or northern lights, on Thursday night.

The fuss began late Sunday at an active region on the Sun known as 1429, with a big solar flare that was associated with a burst of solar wind and plasma known as a coronal mass ejection that hurtled in Earth's direction at some four million miles per hour (6.4 million kilometers per hour). Another solar flare and CME followed at 0024 GMT on March 7, setting off a strong geomagnetic and solar radiation storm, both at level three on a five-step scale.

NASA said the second flare -- classified in the potent X class -- was one of the largest of this cycle known as the solar minimum which began in early 2007, and fell in just behind a slightly stronger one which erupted in August. "The current increase in the number of X-class flares is part of the Sun's normal 11-year solar cycle, during which activity on the Sun ramps up to solar maximum, which is expected to peak in late 2013," the US space agency said. The solar flares alone caused brief high frequency radio blackouts that have now passed, according to NOAA.

Geomagnetic and radiation storms will grow more frequent as the Sun leaves its solar minimum period and moves into a solar maximum over the coming years, but people on Earth are generally protected by our planet's magnetic field.

Click here to read full text.

Solar storm headed toward Earth may disrupt power

WASHINGTON (AP) — The largest solar flare in five years is racing toward Earth, threatening to unleash a torrent of charged particles that could disrupt power grids, GPS and airplane flights.

The sun erupted Tuesday evening, and the effects should start smacking Earth around 7 a.m. EST Thursday, according to forecasters at the federal government's Space Weather Prediction Center. They say the flare is growing as it speeds outward from the sun.

The solar storm is likely to last through Friday morning, but the region that erupted can still send more blasts our way.  Another set of active sunspots is ready to aim at Earth right after this. But for now, scientists are waiting to see what happens Thursday when the charged particles hit Earth at 4 million mph. The storm is coming after an earlier and weaker solar eruption happened Sunday.

This newer blast of particles will probably arrive slightly later than forecasters first thought. That means for North America the "good" part of a solar storm — the one that creates more noticeable auroras or Northern Lights — will peak on Thursday evening. Auroras could dip as far south as the Great Lakes states, but a full moon will make them harder to see.

But there is the potential for widespread problems. Solar storms have three ways they can disrupt technology on Earth: with magnetic, radio and radiation emissions. This is an unusual situation when all three types of solar storm disruptions are likely to be strong.

The magnetic part of the storm has the potential to trip electrical power grids.Power companies around the Earth have been alerted for possible outages. The timing and speed of the storm determines whether it will knock off power grids.

In 1989, a strong solar storm knocked out the power grid in Quebec, causing 6 million people to lose power. Solar storms can also make global positioning systems less accurate, which is mostly a problem for precision drilling and other technologies. There also could be GPS outages.

The storm also can cause communication problems and added radiation around the north and south poles  which will probably force airlines to reroute flights. Some already have done so.

Click here to read full text. 

Archbishop Tagle urges removal of frivolities from weddings

In the words of His Eminence, drop all those ka-ek-ekan (roughly translated frivolities).

Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle on Saturday urged the faithful to avoid practices that embellish or depart from sacred Catholic rites, like having dogs as wedding ring bearers or wedding planners telling priests what to do and where to stand.

Tagle noted that some Filipino Catholics had been treating the sacraments as if they were merely venues for “social gatherings or cultural traditions,” thus losing the deeper spiritual meaning of these events and rituals.

“This is one great challenge for us during this year of faith because our liturgy and sacraments, sad to say, sometimes are no longer considered as celebrations of faith,” Tagle said during the Manila Archdiocesan General Pastoral Assembly held at Paco Catholic School auditorium in Manila.


Stand-up comedy
“Sometimes, the faith is the last thing we focus on in the sacraments. The sacraments sometimes become mere social events or just cultural traditions with the faith being the last thing we consider,” he added.


Church dress code
“Once, I received a letter from someone who was getting married and who was asking permission if they could have their dog as their ring bearer,” the prelate recalled. “The dog had been with them for a long time, but what had the dog got to do with our faith? What has become of marriage?

Tagle said he once had to remind a bride about the dress code inside the church, but the bride retorted: “Why does the Church still interfere with that? You are not the one who’s going to pay for my gown.”

“But what you are wearing should speak of your faith. The symbols that you use should speak of your faith,” Tagle explained to his audience.

He also noted that it had become a trend in weddings for church doors to be closed before the bride walks down the aisle.

“The groom and the escorts had entered but when the bride is about to go in, the doors are closed. There are many weddings like that today. Why close the door? You’ll spend the rest of your married life closing doors,” Tagle said in jest.

“That is no longer faith. That’s a gimmick. Paborloloy, ka-ek-ekan na lang yan (Nothing but embellishments and frivolities). Imagine, closing the door on your bride? Hay naku!” he added.



Best punch line
But Tagle reserved his best punch line for the most modern feature of marital rites: the wedding planner.

“There was this wedding I attended that was already 45 minutes late,” Tagle recalled. “I approached the groom and asked:  ‘Why haven’t you started. Is the bride already here?’ Yes.  ‘Are the godparents already here?’ Yes.  ‘So why haven’t you started?’”

Finally, the wedding planner told him the reason for the delay: The butterflies had not yet arrived. “What butterflies?!” Tagle recalled asking the planner.

The answer he got was simple: “Because as the bride walks down the aisle, we will let fly those butterflies.”

“What had those butterflies got to do with our faith? The union is just starting, and you already have all these flying away and separations. Do you know their meaning?” he then said.


Who’s the boss?
This prompted the wedding planner to remind him who was really running the show. “ ‘I am the coordinator. You will start when I say so,’” Tagle recalled the planner as telling him pointblank.

“So, I stood up and said  ‘I am the official witness of the Church here and I am now starting this wedding.’

...

Kirk Cameron Tells Piers Morgan Homosexuality Is 'Unnatural,' 'Ultimately Destructive'

Excerpt from Huffington Post:

During a new interview with Piers Morgan the "Growing Pains" heartthrob who transitioned from a "teen-idol-atheist in Hollywood and became a devoted follower of Jesus Christ in the middle of [his] career" explained that he believes homosexuality is "unnatural... I think that it's detrimental, and ultimately destructive to so many of the foundations of civilization."

On the issue of marriage equality Cameron remarked, "Marriage was defined by God a long time ago. Marriage is almost as old as dirt, and it was defined in the garden between Adam and Eve -- one man, one woman for life till death do you part. So I would never attempt to try to redefine marriage. And I don't think anyone else should either. So do I support the idea of gay marriage? No, I don't."

When asked what he would do if one of his six kids told him, "Dad, bad news, I'm gay," Cameron responded, "I'd sit down and I'd have a heart to heart with them, just like you'd do with your kids."

Morgan shot back, "I'd say, 'That's great, son! As long as you're happy.' What would you say?"

Cameron offered, "I wouldn't say 'That's great, son, as long as you're happy.' There are all sorts of issues we need to wrestle through in our life... Just because you feel one way doesn't mean we should act on everything we feel."

Excerpt from Advocate:


Kirk Cameron was "pretty brave" to stick to his beliefs and make antigay remarks, CNN talk show host Piers Morgan tells TMZ.


The former star of TV's Growing Pains appeared on Morgan's show Friday and when asked his views on homosexuality, stated, "I think that it's unnatural. I think that it's detrimental, and ultimately destructive to so many of the foundations of civilization." The remarks created an uproar among equality advocates and the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation quickly took action.


Asked if Cameron's opinions are outdated, Morgan replies. "I think he was pretty brave to say what he said. Many would argue (it's) an antiquated view."


Morgan says he thinks many of Cameron's remarks, including saying he wouldn't allow his daughter to have an abortion if raped, were strange and he understands why GLAAD is upset.

Important Prayers for Seal of Protection and Redemption of Our Sins

Excerpt from The Warning Second Coming
Daily Messages - February 29, 2012


Never forget to pray to My Father as often as you can for the Seal of the Living God in order to protect you and your families.  Crusade Prayer (33) to ask for the Seal of the Living God and accept it with love, joy and gratitude.

O My God, My loving Father
I accept with love and gratitude
Your Divine Seal of Protection


Your Divinity encompasses my body and soul for eternity
I bow in humble thanksgiving and offer you my deep love and loyalty
To you my Beloved Father


I beg you to protect me and my loved ones with this special Seal
And I pledge my life to your service forever and ever
I love you Dear Father
I console you in these times Dear Father


I offer you the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of your dearly beloved Son
In atonement for the sins of the world and for the salvation of all your children.


Amen.


Ensure also that you encourage others to pray the seven day Crusade Prayer (24) to seek redemption for your sins.

O My Jesus you are the light of the earth
You are the flame that touches all souls
Your mercy and love knows no bounds
We are not worthy of the sacrifice you made by your death on the cross
Yet we know that your love for us is greater than the love we hold for you
Grant us O Lord the gift of humility so that we are deserving of your New Kingdom
Fill us with the Holy Spirit so we can march forth and lead your army
to proclaim the truth of your Holy Word and prepare our brothers and sisters
For the Glory of Your Second Coming on earth


We honour You
We Praise You
We offer ourselves, our sorrows, our sufferings as a gift to you to save souls
We love you Jesus
Have Mercy on all your children wherever they may be.
AMEN. 

... I request that  you accept My gift of absolution for the benefit of those who cannot receive the Sacrament of Confession or for those who are not members of the Roman Catholic Church.

  

...Even if they never read My messages given to  you, My daughter, every sinner has the right to ask Me to forgive them once they show true remorse in their souls.

Open your hearts and pray for the gift of humility.

Don’t you know that the Holy Spirit cannot and will not enter the souls of those with hardened hearts?

Urgent: Wednesday 29 Feb worldwide day of prayer to avert nuclear war

URGENT ! 29th February 2012: worldwide day of prayer to avert a nuclear war in Iran.

Because of the urgent message of the Holy Virgin Mary to the Seer Divine Mercy, we call all brothers and sisters to a global day of prayer,to prevent a nuclear war.

The 29th February was recommended by the visionary Mary Divine Mercy. On this day
all should pray ALL of the Mysteries of the Holy Rosary,to avert a nuclear war in Iran.



For more informations, see the message: http://www.thewarningsecondcoming.com/virgin-mary-pray-that-nuclear-war-can-be-averted-in-iran/

Something to Grin About

The quake: Chaos and civility

Excerpt taken from ManilaTimes  :


Last year, a friend e-mailed us some reflections in the aftermath of the disastrous earthquake and tsunami in northern Japan. We wish we could cite his source but he could not remember, when asked, but he said the material came from the Internet. The message was about the civility, discipline and grace the victims showed after the disaster. We quote some of the lessons we could learn from Japan:

“The Calm. Not a single visual of chest-beating or wild grief. Sorrow itself has been elevated.”

“The Dignity. Disciplined queues for water and groceries. Not a rough word or a rude gesture.”

“The Grace. People bought only what they needed for the present, so everybody could get something.”

“The Sacrifice. Fifty workers stayed back to pump sea water in the nuclear reactor. How will they ever be repaid?”

“The Tenderness. Restaurants cut prices. An unguarded ATM was left alone. The strong cared for the weak.”

“The Order. No looting in shops. No honking and overtaking on the roads. Just understanding.”

“The Conscience. When the power went off in a store, people put things back on the shelves and left quietly.”

And the media?

“They (the media) showed magnificent restraint in the bulletins. No silly reporters. Only calm reportage.”

Something to Smile About

Filipino of the Year 2011: The Volunteers

Were an artist to piece together a collage of the names and faces of the rescuers, relief workers, volunteers and donors who stood and delivered during and in the aftermath of Tropical Storm “Sendong” and other calamities in 2011, the resulting artwork would look, without doubt, lit from within. A good heart beating at its core would cause the collage to glow.

There is no master list of the volunteers and donors, none tracking their names, their hours, their deeds or their gifts (in the future, there should be an effort at keeping one). But they were there—when and where they were needed.

It was in the last quarter of 2011 that the most destructive typhoons hit the country. “Pedring” and “Quiel” blew into Luzon in September and October and left 101 dead. The first affected 3.03 million people in 35 provinces and the latter, 1.11 million people in 18 provinces. Then one night in December, Sendong unleashed an unprecedented amount of rain on places in Visayas and Mindanao so unfamiliar with such fury that, instead of keeping watch, the villagers went to sleep as the rivers were swelling. The cities of Dumaguete, Cagayan de Oro and Iligan were the hardest hit.

At last count, 1,268 people were dead, 6,071 were injured and 52,435 houses were ruined, with almost 15,000 totally destroyed. The damage to infrastructure and agriculture was assessed at P1.71 billion.


Everyday people

The timing could not have been worse for a nation that was expecting Christmas in two weeks.  Caught in the throes of preparation for the holidays, people could not spare the time to help with calamity relief work. But not everyone, thank heavens.  There were those who responded to the call for aid.

Everyday people took time off from their lives and loved ones to search for survivors, comfort the grieving, treat the wounded, bury the dead, pack relief goods, feed and shelter evacuees, tutor kids, haul away muck, gut and rebuild houses, fill in expected and unexpected roles in response to the crisis at hand.

Facebook denizens started pages for detailing what the storm victims needed, where to drop them off, where to volunteer manpower, where to deposit funds and other details that could help keep the crisis at bay...

Amateur photographers posted grim photos on the Internet and worried the world to weeping because the lifeless bodies were mostly of children. The emotional reaction to those images rippled out to move folks abroad to do the next best thing to “reaching out and being there”—they wrote checks.

According to reports, the Philippines received P1.12 billion from other countries, separate and apart from over P322 million that the United Nations had raised from its member nations.

College students postponed their trips home for the holidays to help pack goods at instant relief centers on campuses. Some even made a detour to Cagayan de Oro or Iligan to help distribute the same to Sendong survivors.

The University of the Philippines (UP) had a system-wide relief operation manned by faculty, staff, students and other volunteers. Although UP Mindanao was at the forefront, volunteers repacked hygiene kits over at Diliman in three shifts, from 6 a.m. to midnight.


Generous guard

A guard on the Loyola Heights campus of Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) donated the Christmas pack he had received from his employers containing two tins of canned goods, instant noodles and some rice, even before the university could officially launch its relief drive.

ADMU synched its emergency operations with other Jesuit campuses, in particular Xavier University, which served as an evacuation center for Cagayan de Oro residents left homeless by the storm.

Xavier offered  5 hectares of its property to serve as a relocation site for the homeless survivors. Tents were put up at the relocation site in Barangay Lumbia to temporarily shelter displaced families. In time, according to the university spokesperson, materials for constructing homes would be provided.


Hurting, homeless

Dynamism animated most of the relief and evacuation centers. At Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology, students organized thousands of evacuees into clusters. A leader was appointed for each cluster to maintain order, with the evacuees expected to look after their respective groups.

The clusters made mealtimes easier without having to ask the evacuees to form lines three times a day.  Sometimes, lining up for food can be demeaning, especially when you are hurting and homeless.

Many companies decided to forego their office Christmas celebrations and instead deposited their party funds into the Sendong accounts set up by the banks.

Some even gave their employees leave for volunteer work, in addition to starting a pot for cash donations. Various businesses gave goods, from coffins to tents to underwear.  Water companies delivered their product.

The Inquirer initiated a relief drive and distributed donations it received in kind on Christmas Eve through the Philippine Red Cross.

Other companies offered services.  Airlines picked up and dropped off donations. Doctors and nurses volunteered medical services. Psychologists held debriefing sessions for both victims and volunteers.

Employees of the companies under San Miguel Corp. (SMC) organized soup kitchens in over 21 evacuation centers, serving thousands of families in the cities in crisis. SMC also donated bottles of purified water and food packs to affected families.


‘Drop in the bucket’

All that would have been good enough, but SMC topped its donations with a P500-million check for the construction of houses for Sendong victims, in cooperation with Gawad Kalinga.

Now people will say that amount is a drop in the bucket for a conglomerate as big as SMC.  That is true, but it is also a drop in other companies’ buckets, yet none of them other than SMC gave in such proportion.

Although not quite as large, a Filipino-Chinese businessman, who wished to remain anonymous, offered to bankroll the building of initially 300 houses in Calaanan for Sendong victims in CDO and eventually 700 more.

An Inquirer columnist teamed up with the Rural Missionaries of the Philippines-Northern Mindanao Region for the “Yakapin: Batang Hilagang Mindanao (YBHM)” because she believed stuffed toys were comfort givers in times of trauma and could help heal the “children who have lost almost everything.”  From 12 drop-off centers, YBHM collected thousands of teddy bears and other plush animals.


Good begets good

As Cathy Babao was wrapping up the donations, a friend forwarded to her a YouTube video that showed Sendong images and a 7-year old American girl named Bronte pleading for 3,000 stuffed toys for the children affected by flash floods in the Philippines. “They have to be clean, lovable, plush and, most of all, they need to be there before Valentine’s Day,” appealed Bronte. Good, as they say, begets good.

The damage to schools wrought by Sendong totaled P114.93 million in 60 schools. It affected close to 37,000 students and almost 2,000 teachers and school officials in the razed towns of Mindanao.

Teachers—some of whom lost loved ones to the floods, many of whom lost homes—set aside  personal grief to cook at evacuation centers and to get the students back into the classrooms. Bayug Elementary School, of which only the flooring was spared by Sendong, had a 60-percent attendance on the first day of class after the calamity, thanks to the efforts of its principal and teachers who conducted classes at another site.


Regular guys turned titans

For the 1.17 million people affected by Sendong, these men, women and entities made up the rainbow that broke through after the storm and made a difference. But even as the waters were raging during Sendong, there were people who, in the words of psychologist Philip Zimbardo, “moved from passive observers to take heroic action.”

Media photos and videos showed ordinary men who seemed to grow instant nerves of steel, regular guys who all of a sudden looked like titans, as they saved people from the perilous currents onto safety.

That the first contact with fellow human beings for these survivors was compassionate is an enormous blessing and a hopeful beginning.


Forever grateful

“We’ll be forever grateful,” said a barangay chair in Iligan, who was roused from sleep and saved with his family by four men just minutes before their home submerged and logs rammed through it. “Pray to God but row to the shore,” goes the famous adage. This year’s Filipinos of the Year did more than that.  They helped others to the shore.  They gave time, strength, kindness, goods and money. Best of all, they gave of themselves.

The recent losses in this country has suffered will have far-reaching effects on the nation. Because the scope of destruction is so vast, rehabilitation will take a long time. This means volunteer activity will also have to continue.

It is time for the rest of us to roll up our sleeves and pick up where the first responders left off.  That will be the best tribute we can pay these Filipinos of the Year. 

Comets Zipping by Earth ... Now What?

Lately, we've been seeing an increase in frequency about reports of comets passing by and missing earth by a hair's breath, it makes us sit up and think that there must be something more to these events than meets the eye.

And it also makes us wonder: What's going to happen in the very near future if this keeps up?

This will be the scenario:  Two comets will ultimately collide in the sky. "The sky will turn red it will look like a fire & then you will see a large cross in the sky to prepare you first."


Click here to read more.

Asteroid to Miss Earth on 27th Jan 2012 - 9pm IST

A newly discovered Asteroid (space rock) called "Asteroid 2012 BX34" is expected to flyby Earth on 27th Jan and miss Earth by 77,000 km. So there is no danger of collision.

This size of this space rock is 14 meters and will be cutting/moving across the area between earth and moon tonight at 8.55pm IST being closest traveling at speed of 9 km/sec . This object will also miss Moon on 28th Jan at 6.15 a.m. being closest... This object revolves/orbits around sun every 242 days. However it was first observed only on 25 Jan 2012.


See also Comets Zipping by Earth ... Now What?

Dogs Barking To The Tune of Darth Vader’s Imperial March

Back Row: C-3PO, Obi-wan Kenobi, Storm Trooper

Middle Row: R2D2, Han Solo, Chewbacca, Darth Vader

Front Row:  Princess Leia, Luke Skywalker, Yoda, Ewok

Click here to see the "meow side" (response to the bark side).

Thought For The Day: Today

Look well to this day, for it is life, the very best of life.

In its brief course lay all the realities and truths

of existence - The joys of growth, the splendour

of action, the glory of power.

For yesterday is but a memory, and tomorrow

is only a vision.

But today, if well lived, makes every yesterday

a memory of happiness, and every tomorrow

a vision of hope.

Look well to this day.

- Found on a clay tablet in the ruins of babylon.

Korea's Got Talent - Homeless Boy Steals Talent Show

Coca-Cola: Where Will Happiness Strike Next (The OFW Project)

For years, I've never been a fan of the local Coca-Cola ads here, because they've ranged from highly forgettable to just plain insignificant and silly. But now this local ad (Where Will Happiness Strike Next - The OFW Project) is worth praising.  Its content is relevant and best of all, it has heart.  Advertising-wise, it's a right step towards rebuilding product association.

 

Tweet and text for seniors

BUSINESS MATTERS (BEYOND THE BOTTOM LINE) 
By Francis J. Kong (The Philippine Star) 


Reporters interviewing a 104 year-old woman: “And what do you think is the best thing about being 104?” “No peer pressure,” she answered.

Young people today, the generation X’ers-digital natives, use codes like OMG (Oh my Gosh!) or LOL (laugh out loud!) in their text and Facebook messages, and also in their tweets. On the other hand, it takes great effort for the graying population, the digital immigrants, to shift from rotary type telephones to cell phones, and now to smart phones. Nevertheless, more and more digital immigrants are found to be texting, Facebooking and even tweeting! And this material from the internet suggests that should have their own codes too!  ...

If qualify for the senior citizen discount, then these STCs (Senior Texting Codes) are for you. Pass this along to your children and grandchildren, so they can better understand you!


ATD: At The Doctor’s
BTW: Bring The Wheelchair
BYOT: Bring Your Own Teeth
CBM: Covered By Medicare
CGU: Can’t Get Up
CUATSC: See You At The Senior Center
DWI: Driving While Incontinent
FWB: Friend With Betablockers
FWIW: Forgot Where I Was
FYI: Found Your Insulin
GGLKI: Gotta Go! (Laxative Kicking In)
GGPBL: Gotta Go! (Pacemaker Battery Low)
GHA: Got Heartburn Again
IMHO: Is My Hearing-Aid On?
LMDO: Laughing My Dentures Out
LOL: Living On Lipitor
LWO: Lawrence Welk’s On
OMMR: On My Massage Recliner
OMSG: Oh, My! Sorry – Gas.
ROFL & CGU: Rolling On the Floor Laughing And Can’t Get Up
TTYL: Talk To You Louder
WAITT: Who Am I Talking To?
WTP: Where’s The Prunes?
WWNO: Walker Wheels Need Oil

Growing old can be better. It doesn’t have to be bitter. You don’t stop laughing because you have grown old but you have grown old because you have stopped laughing.  And everybody grows old, but not everybody grows up. Grow old gracefully, and always find ways to help make this world a better place. Old age is a blessing from God. And just like every other blessing, it is intended to be used to bless others as well.

50 Ugliest Athletes Of All Time

From Bleacher Report, featured columnist Ethan Norof  had quite a thing or two to say about each of the athletes, hehehe.  Click here for the slideshow.

Thought For The Day: Physicians

"Honor physicians for their services, for the Lord created them, and their gift for healing comes from the Most High.  The Lord created medicines from the earth, and the sensible person will not despise them.  By them physicians heal and take away pain, and through them healing spreads over all the earth.  My child, when you are ill, do not delay, but pray to the Lord to be healed.  Give up your faults and direct your hands rightly, and cleanse your heart from all evil.  Offer a sweet-smelling sacrifice, and pour oil on your offering, then give the physiicians their place, for the Lord has created them.  Do not let them leave you, for you need them.  There may come a time when recovery lies in the hands of physicians, for they, too, pray to the Lord to grant them success in diagnosis and in healing, for the preservation of life."  

- Sirach 38:1-14

Jon Bon Jovi's charity restaurant opens in NJ

RED BANK, N.J. (AP) — In three decades as one of the world's biggest rock stars, Jon Bon Jovi has eaten in some of the world's best restaurants, savoring the best food the planet has to offer. Yet there's no place he'd rather have dinner than The Soul Kitchen, a "pay-what-you-can" restaurant he and his wife Dorothea established in a former auto body shop near the Red Bank train station in central New Jersey.

The restaurant provides gourmet-quality meals to the hungry while enabling them to volunteer on community projects in return without the stigma of visiting a soup kitchen. Paying customers are encouraged to leave whatever they want in the envelopes on each table, where the menus never list a price.

The restaurant is the latest undertaking by the New Jersey rocker's Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation, which has built 260 homes for low-income residents in recent years.  "When I learned that one in six people in this country goes to bed hungry, I thought this was the next phase of the Foundation's work," he said.

The restaurant now rivals any of its competitors in trendy Red Bank, with entrees like cornmeal crusted catfish with red beans and rice, grilled chicken breast with homemade basil mayo and rice pilaf, and grilled salmon with soul seasonings, sweet potato mash and sauteed greens, many of which were grown in the herb and vegetable garden right outside the restaurant's doors.

"This is not a soup kitchen," he emphasizes. "You can come here with the dignity of linens and silver, and you're served a healthy, nutritious meal. This is not burgers and fries.

"There's no prices on our menu, so if you want to come and you want to make a difference, leave a $20 in the envelope on the table. If you can't afford to eat, you can bus tables, you can wait tables, you can work in the kitchen as a dishwasher or sous chef," he said. "If you say to me, 'I'm not a people person,' I say, 'That's not a problem. We'll take you back to Lunch Break to volunteer with those people. If you don't want to volunteer with that, we'll take you to the FoodBank."

After volunteering at one of those places, a person will be given a certificate good for a meal at The Soul Kitchen.

"If you come in and say, 'I'm hungry,' we'll feed you," Bon Jovi said. "But we're going to need you to do something. It's very important to what we're trying to achieve."

That includes making people feel part of a larger community that cares about them, while still expecting them to contribute to society at large.

"This is not an entitlement thing," Bon Jovi said. "This is about empowering people because you have to earn that gift certificate."

 Click here to read the full article

Useful Dog Tricks by Jesse

dog