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Energy For Man

2009-02-26T17:55:00.001-08:00

Beat Your Stress By Building Your Self Esteem: Part 2

2009-02-19T19:31:00.000-08:00

This post will focus attention on your physical uniqueness.

Low self-esteem can result from focusing too much on how you look on the outside. Once you take a look inside you will be amazed what you discover.

Move your little finger. Wave it in the air. Simple, isn’t it! Yet the world’s most sophisticated computer can’t do that.

The retina of the human eye has about 100,000,000 light-sensitive cells capable of transmitting an impression. The human eye has the capacity to distinguish 340,000 different colours (unfortunately we don’t have names for all of them).

Modern technology cannot produce one single solitary working human eye.

Within each of us a trillion perfect machines carry on the work of a life, a cycle of creation and renewal, an orchestration of tissues and fluids into a functioning body. The machines are called CELLS.

Inside each cell is a nucleus containing tightly packed coils of thread-like molecules called deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA - the carrier of our genetic blueprints.

The strands of DNA in a single human cell are less than a trillionth of an inch thick, but if unravelled would stretch out almost two metres.

DNA has a vivid memory which time does not dim. It stores a vast number of directions and blueprints which it issues at the right time and place to trigger the building of all the cells and structures in the body, make them grow and synchronise their operations at every second during their allocated life.

As you read these words thousands of billions of specks of DNA peppered through your body are carrying out operations essential to your very survival.

DNA basically consists of two intertwined, tape-like coils, connected at bonds at regular intervals - like a spiral staircase.

There is surprising logic in the long, slender form of DNA which gives it a capacity, like magnetic recording tape, for storing all the vast amount of information needed in a lifetime.

The ladder contains a genetic message detailing the blueprint for each individual protein that makes up our complex physical chemistry.

To spell out the blueprint on one single piece of DNA from one single cell in your body would require a set of notes equivalent in size to 490 Telephone Directories!

You Are Awesome.

There is only one word that can adequately describe a human being. That word is Awesome.

Awesome means “to behold with wonder”.

Our reflexes reveal that we have the ability to move our muscles with incredible speed.

Have you ever touched something hot? The pain message reaches the brain in lightning speed and then triggers a muscle movement that removes our finger from the source of heat.

We have an amazing sense of taste. With concentration your taste buds can detect the flavour in one single grain of sugar.

Your mechanical ability is so advanced that you can actually place a grain of sugar on your tongue and then lift it in a majestic balancing act to place it on your teeth where you can proceed to crush and grind it.

(Imagine the technical problems involved in creating a machine with a similar mechanical capacity).

A few grains of salt can also produce a strong taste sensation.

The aroma of perfume or after-shave can set off a chain reaction that affects our entire body occasionally to the point of distraction.

Our noses can detect between two and ten thousand different smells.

A tiny splinter, no longer than half a millimetre can cause us considerable discomfort if it happens to lodge itself under our finger nail.

The average person can run their hand across an apparently smooth surface and detect projections 1/2,500th of a millimetre high.

If all the veins, all the arteries and all of the tiny capillaries in your body were stretched out into one continuous straight line then the length would be sufficient to circle the earth at the Equator twice.
To make an artificial placenta that could supply all the nutrients and remove all the wastes from a developing embryo would, it has been calculated, require the equivalent in cost and complexity to building a small oil refinery.

Every word that you speak requires the co-ordination of 72 muscle movements. (Little wonder that politicians have sagging faces!).

Occasionally we read that the chemicals which constitute the human body cost about $12.

But our bodies are much more complex than the raw chemicals that make us the awesome
physical machines that we really are.

It is the molecular arrangement of the human body that gives it its unique qualities. It has been calculated that it would take $ 20 million to buy the correct molecular constituents from chemical supply houses to make up one human being.

But even then we could not mix those chemicals together and have a human being emerge from the jar.

Your body is an awesome complex machine.

Beat Your Stress By Building Your Self Esteem: Part 1

2009-02-18T18:54:00.000-08:00

The purpose of this post is to remind you of some scientific facts that are very relevant to an understanding of your self worth.

I promise you if you print out and read the series of articles I have written on self-esteem you will see yourself in a way you never thought possible.

Low self esteem can aggravate many medical conditions and is often a contributing factor and/or side effect of mental illness. It also contributes to social isolation thereby limiting personal growth through adequate social support. Social isolation has been shown to contribute to stress.

Read these scientific facts to enhance your personal identity and beat stress.

You Are Special.

Before life began you were in two parts. One part of you was an egg inside your mother’s womb. The other part was a tiny sperm cell that would fertilise that egg.

Consider the role played by the tiny sperm cell. It was one of millions of sperm cells all trying to get to that egg. There was only one winner. You were the winner!

You managed to get a “berth” on that little multi-cellular space ship that delivered you down to planet earth.

The head of that sperm contained a precious cargo of 23 chromosomes, just as there were 23 in the tiny nucleus of the egg. Each chromosome was composed of jelly-like beads closely strung together. Each bead contained hundreds of genes with your heredity blueprint.

Your mother and father represented the culmination of over two billion years of victory in the battle to survive.

You were born a CHAMPION.

You overcame enormous odds to win the gift of life. Every breath that you take; every heartbeat confirms that you are still a winner.

Whatever difficulties life may produce for you to overcome those difficulties will be nowhere near as great as the obstacles that you overcame at your moment of conception.

The population of the earth is estimated to be 7 billion people. The earth is part of a Solar System that has nine planets revolving around a central star called the Sun.

The Sun and the Solar System are part of the Milky Way Galaxy which contains between 200 to 400 billion stars.

The Milky Way Galaxy is only one Galaxy in a known Universe consisting of 500 billion other Galaxies of equivalent size.

There are more stars in the Universe than all the grains of sand on all the beaches and deserts in the world. (There are approximately 10,000 grains in a handful of sand!)

The planets, stars and galaxies have been in a state of birth and death for trillions of centuries.

Even if we destroy this planet there is every likelihood that the Universe will go on forever.

We live between two infinities. On the one hand we have the infinity of outer space and, on the other, the infinity of inner space.

The Atomic World.

Inner space represents the world of atoms, neutrons, protons and beyond.

A typical atom is a universe in itself surrounded by a galaxy of electrons which determine the chemical property of the atom (the difference between the glitter of glass and gold).

Deep inside the atom is the nucleus consisting of protons and neutrons.

If you were to place 100 million atoms end to end then they would occupy the space taken by the word successful.

The nucleus of an atom is 100,000 times smaller still.

Most of the mass of the atom is in the nucleus - atoms consist mainly of empty space.

Theoretically it is possible to keep splitting neutrons and to keep splitting the split neutrons forever and forever.

We live in a context so awesome that our minds are unable to comprehend the distances involved.

Close your eyes for a moment and imagine that you are on a spacecraft moving out into the Universe near the speed of light. Now think of that journey as going on - and on - and on - and on …FOREVER!! Mind boggling isn’t it. That is the context in which we live.

Yet in the midst of all this vastness we are all UNIQUE. Within the context of this infinite forever and before there will only ever be one of you.

You are a one-off. Look around you - you are looking at unique, very special “one-off” human beings. There is a hidden awe in your uniqueness.

No one will ever see or experience the world like you. Your outlook on life may be similar to others but it is, in reality, truly unique.

There is no such thing as identical thought. We all respond to words, sound, images and stimuli in ways that have subtle differences.

For example, if I ask you to write down a visual description of a “cat” then the picture that comes to your mind will be different to the image that other people produce in their minds.

Have you ever taken a series of photographs of a person over a 30 minute period? The camera has the capacity to freeze life so that the person appears different from pose to pose. The camera only takes a small slice of life … perhaps 1/250th second. It is the same person, but the life-freeze process of the camera brings out the subtle differences.

You have distinctive and unique physical features. You have a unique set of fingerprints; unique voice patterns; unique hair formations and so on.

You are unique - you are VERY SPECIAL - you are the only one of your kind who will ever exist in the entire history of the Cosmos.

The Sixth Seal

2009-02-14T02:51:00.001-08:00

Rev 6:12-17 I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?"

Rev 7:9-12 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, saying, "Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!" All the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying:

"Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom,
Thanksgiving and honor and power and might, Be to our God forever and ever.
Amen."

Rev 7:13-17 Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, "Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?" And I said to him, "Sir, you know." So he said to me, "These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them. They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat; for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."

Matthew 24:29-31 "Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. "Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. "And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Ten Things You Can Say to Make Someone's Day

2009-02-10T19:28:00.000-08:00

For most people life has its share of disappointments. Fatigue from a demanding schedule, financial difficulties, a failed endeavor at work or school, health problems, difficulty getting along with a family member or friend-these are times when a person can feel frustrated and discouraged.

Our words can be a valuable tool to cheer up and encourage a person who is down. Proverbs 25:11 tells us, "Like apples of gold in settings of silver, is a word spoken in right circumstances" (New American Standard Bible). By offering some words of encouragement, we can help discouraged people face their present and future with courage and a positive outlook.

Yet often that's easier said than done. Sometimes we want to help, but we've never been in a situation similar to what the discouraged person is facing and are at a total loss for words. Maybe we don't know the person's circumstances well enough to comment on specifics, but we still want to show our concern. When you want to give someone a word of encouragement and don't know what to say, here are 10 phrases that help bring new perspective to a discouraged person's life.

"Let me know if you ever need to talk."
One way to help is by letting the other person know you're available to listen if he or she ever wants to talk about the problem.

"You've made progress."
People who are discouraged rarely see their own achievements—in their personal lives, in their careers or educational goals, or in their lives as Christians.

"You're not alone."
You can remind a person who is discouraged that he or she is not alone—you are choosing to face his problems with him and certainly others are also rallying behind him.

"I really admire you for ..."
A person who is depressed often has lost sight of his good qualities. You can encourage that person by pointing out his genuine strengths.

"The present is not the future."
Those who are discouraged tend to see their present problems as overwhelming and can't envision their future as being any better.

"You're not a failure."
Another way to get a handle on discouragement is to remind others that they're not a failure just because they're at a low point and experiencing negative feelings.

"I want to help in any way I can."
Offer to help your friend and provide assistance in any way you can. Doing so will take some burdens off your friend so that he or she can focus on solving the problem at hand.

"There are solutions."
Discouraged people often feel they are in a hopeless situation and cannot see what resources are available to solve their problems.

"You did really well."
A discouraged person is often preoccupied with a specific failure or mistake. One way to help is by finding something about the person that you can sincerely applaud.

"You are a special person."
No other person has your friend's unique opportunities in life or thinks the same way your friend does.

Top This Talent ~!

2008-05-23T06:06:00.001-07:00

Crash Course in Cards 1 - Brad Christian

2008-04-14T05:51:00.000-07:00

Crash Course 2 Ambitious Card

2008-04-14T05:42:00.000-07:00

The Illusionist Of Brad Christian-Ninja 2 : Weapons

2008-04-11T05:11:00.000-07:00

Book Says Da Vinci Hid Biblical Images

2008-04-10T01:43:00.000-07:00

Was Da Vinci's Mother a Slave?
Rossella Lorenzi, Discovery News

April 9, 2008 -- Leonardo Da Vinci, regarded by many as the greatest genius of the Renaissance, was the son of a humble slave girl and had at least 21 half-siblings, according to compelling new evidence unveiled in Florence, Italy, on Wednesday.

Newly discovered documents published in two books ("Was Leonardo's Mother a Slave?" and "Leonardo's Family Tree," both edited by da Vinci scholars Agnese Sabato and Alessandro Vezzosi) have made it possible to reconstruct da Vinci's little-known family tree.

"Da Vinci's family was indeed a large one. His father Piero married not his mother, but four other women. His mother Caterina was married off to another man and had five children of her own. That's what you would call an enlarged family," Alessandro Vezzosi, director of the Museo Ideale in the Tuscan town of Vinci, told Discovery News.

Very little has been known about da Vinci's mother and the circumstances of his birth. The only account dates to a 1457 tax record in which the artist's grandfather listed the members of his family and briefly described his grandson:

"Lionardo, aged 5, the illegitimate child of Ser Piero and Caterina, who at present is married to Acchattabriga di Piero del Vaccha da Vinci."

Beyond this, scholars had very little to go on. While Ser Piero was easily identified as a Florentine notary, nothing was known about Caterina. As legend has it, she was a peasant girl from Vinci.

Now, 30-year-old research conducted by the late director of the Leonardo Library, published by his son Francesco, suggests a completely different scenario.

"Archival research has shown that there isn't any Caterina in Vinci or nearby villages that can be linked to Ser Piero. The only Caterina in Piero's life seems to be a slave girl who lived in the house of his wealthy friend Vanni di Niccolo di Ser Vanni," Cianchi wrote.

Evidence for "the slave Caterina" comes from Vanni's newly discovered will. The wealthy banker named his friend Ser Piero the executor of his will, and left most of his estate to a religious order. He left the slave girl to his wife Agnola and his Florentine house in via Ghibellina to Ser Piero.

D.R.C- I Only Bleed For You

2008-04-09T05:02:00.001-07:00

Phone Angelina! There’s a New “Hacker” Around!

2008-04-04T02:53:00.000-07:00

Phone Angelina! There’s a New “Hacker” Around!

According to NewsFactor, “AKILL,” otherwise known as 18-year-old Owen Thor Walker, was charged Tuesday for his involvement with a network that is being accused of hacking into 1.3 million computers and skimming millions of dollars from unknowing victims. Hackers like Walker are taking over computers and gathering them into centrally controlled clusters known as “botnets.” Once these clusters are formed, hackers can use the computers to steal credit card information, tweak stock trades, and even crash industry computers.

A crack down on “botnets” has been going on since June of 2007, and eight people have been indicted, pleaded guilty, or have been convicted since then. Another thirteen people have warrants out for their arrests in the United States and overseas.

Walker pleaded guilty to two charges of accessing a computer for dishonest purpose, two charges of accessing computer systems without authorization, one of damaging/interfering with computer systems, and one of possessing software for committing crime, all of which add up to a maximum penalty of several prison terms of up to five years.

Walker had no computer training whatsoever, and also suffers from Aspergers Syndrome. He also received $40,000 for his partaking in the scams, and was responsible for the collapse of a computer server at the University of Pennsylvania. According to Stuff.co.nz, Walker was reportedly bullied at school and left. Sounds like a hacker's remake to me!

What do you think about the new Ryder Mansion?
2008-04-04T01:15:00.000-07:00

What do you think about the new Ryder Mansion?

Imagine living in a house like this in just months from now!!! It’s completely possible… You just have to take action and believe you can.

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Halo Phenomenon (02/04/2008)

2008-04-03T04:54:00.000-07:00

Happening in sibu,sarawak.Malaysia Country.

Income Cloner

2008-04-02T01:52:00.000-07:00

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1 Comment »

06
03
2008

How much should I Charge for my Products?

Posted by: admin in Info Products

Determining the price you should charge for your products can be difficult. You don’t want to charge too much or consumers won’t buy it. Yet you don’t want to charge too little or they will view that as your product not being something well made or that offers them quality information.

Having the lowest price out there isn’t necessarily the way to go. This is because you are going to be working hard to build up a solid reputation with your target market. They will come to see the value of what you have to offer that is more than your competition.

It is for that reason that they will be willing to pay more for it. There is peace of mind that comes with buying from someone you can trust. If you have done your part to offer a great product and to show that you are going to stand behind it there is no reason why they won’t pay for it.

With that being said, don’t be afraid to set your price where you think it should be. You will of course need it to be high enough for you to make a profit on each sale. Take the time to crunch numbers so you have a realistic idea of how much it is costing you to produce each item.

You will be surprised at how many people out there are working hard and then not generating very much profit at all. Why? Because their selling price is too close to the cost of producing the product. You want to have as high of a profit margin as you possibly can.

This is something to really think about when you decide what you will be selling. For example if you choose to offer informational products you will mainly have your time involved. You won’t have too much involved in materials. Therefore you can sell this type of product at a decent price with almost all of it being profits.

You may want to test out your prices in order to figure what consumers are going to pay. You can have it offered at two different prices and see which one is getting the most results. You may be surprised though to find it isn’t always the cheaper price that gets the results.

Test out your website as well so you can see where you are losing consumers. If they are taking their time to look around at your site but then leaving it when they see the price you will know that you need to make an adjustment to that price.

Supply and demand are important factors to consider when you are setting prices for your products. If there is a high demand for it but very few people offering it, you can ask more money for it. Consumers will pay the going rate in order to get their hands on it.

Yet there will also be plenty of entrepreneurs out there that decide to sell the same or a similar product. They are able to see the potential for them to make profits as well. Therefore it isn’t going to take long before there is more of the supply that is needed. As a result prices are going to begin to drop.

Should there be more products out there than a demand for them; the prices will be very low. You definitely want to be able to sell products that continue to be in high demand. Try to choose a niche market where you will never have a problem with having a demand for your products.

It is a good idea to have a general ballpark figure of what your competition is charging as well. Yet if you have additional features with your product that they don’t, yours will warrant a higher price. Just make sure you make these additional features known to your customers. That way they will be willing to pay for your product instead of someone else’s.

There are definitely many factors that go into setting your price for your products. You want to be able to offer consumers a good value for what they will get in return. At the same time you will want to ensure you are able to make a good profit. Be flexible with your prices and pay attention to what customers are responding well to.

You will need to conduct your own research of the market to figure out where to start. Don’t be afraid to set your own price though based on what you think you have of value. You also need to consider what you need to make in order to be a profitable business.

There is often a great deal of trial and error that goes into pricing products. If you pay attention to the results of your testing strategies though you will be able to fine tune the cost as you go until you are very happy with the results.

Million Dollar Office

No Comments »

03
03
2008

Use Effective Tools to Manage your Business

Posted by: admin in Random Blurbs.., Internet Marketing

There are plenty of tools out there you can use to manage your business. Yet many people don’t use them because they aren’t sure how. All of the data you collect about your business won’t do you any good if you aren’t able to effectively interpret it.

Testing is one of the main ways to figure out what is working for you and what should be looked at closer. The only way you will be able to determine the value of those tests is by knowing what the responses you get mean. If you are using a software program to assist you with collecting that data then take the time to know how to read the information.

There are no right or wrong tools out there to assist you. The key is to grab a handful of them that can assist you with moving forward. They should readily allow you to see where you are and what you need to do in order to achieve your goals. Be willing to try new tools too so that you can continue to benefit from new features as they become available.

Text Messaging as a Method of Marketing?

Texting has certainly become an extremely popular method of communicating in our society. It has also started to be used by some as a way of marketing their business. However, you need to make sure you have the individuals permission before you start sending materials to their phone.

One way to do so is to give them the chance to include their phone number for text messages when they opt in. Not everyone has texting as an option on their phone. There are many packages that include it though. Yet you don’t want to be sending advertising to a consumer and then they get charged for it. That won’t encourage them to buy what you are selling.

The verdict is still out as to how big text messaging as a method of marketing will become. If you are looking for a way to reach your customers instead of just by email you may want to give it a shot. Since it is still relatively new you can capture the attention of those that will be open to the material coming to them in a new way.

Give your Customers a Voice

All of the marketing tactics you come up with are to allow your customers to hear what you have to say. Yet at the same time you need to make sure you give your customers a voice. As with any relationship, this one will fail if it isn’t a two way street.

There are many different ways you can make sure your customers have a voice. One of the easiest is just to make sure they know how to contact you. Try to have several options available so they can choose the one that is the most convenient for them. If you are offering a newsletter, include questions, comments, and concerns from your customers.

The fact that you are willing to publish such information shows that you really do care what your customers have to say about your business. Chances are they are going to be sharing their feelings with people they know and even on various online sites. It is best that you get that information from them too so that you can make your business the very best.

How to Use Peter Answers

2008-03-30T03:58:00.000-07:00

How to Use Peter Answers
from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit

Peter answers is a fun little website in which "Peter" appears to read your mind. Use it to prank your friends or to just have a little fun.
Steps

Visit http://www.peteranswers.com where there are two text boxes: "Insert Petition" and "Insert Question."

Ask your audience for a question. If it's a question you know the answer to, proceed to the next step. If it's a question you don't know the answer to, you can ask them for the answer, telling them that if they say the question and answer out loud, Peter will hear them with his psychic powers. If you don't know the answer, you won't be able to follow the next step, and Peter will answer with a very generic statement like "You shall not doubt of me at all, keep trusting on me and soon I'll answer." In other words, the trick won't work!

Enter text into the petition box. The directions tell you to type in either "Peter, please answer the following question:" or "Peter, please answer:" in the petition box. What your audience doesn't know is that you're telling Peter the answer...

Note the colon ":" at the end of each of these queries. This is essential because without it, you will not be able to proceed to the question box. Once you type the phrase and enter the colon, your cursor will automatically move to the question box.
Instead of typing "Peter, please answer the following question:" or "Peter, please answer:" start off your petition with a period followed by the answer you're looking for. For example, if you intend to ask "Why is wikiHow the best how-to manual ever?" then in the petition box you would type.Because it's a group effort
As you type the answer you're looking for, that's not what you will see showing up in the text box. You will see the standard petition being typed, even though you're typing something completely different. Your audience, however, will have their eyes on the screen and will never suspect that you're giving Peter the answer.
Your answer should be shorter than one of the standard petitions. When you finish typing the answer, the standard petition will still need to be finished on the screen. In the following screenshot, all that has been typed is ".Because it's a group effort."
So, after you type the answer, end it with a period. The period will show up as another character of the petition. After the period, however, anything you type will show up on the screen as you type it. Finish whatever is left of the query and send it off with a colon. In this screenshot, the actual typing was ".Because it's a group effort.owing:"

Type in the question. Be sure to end it with a question mark "?". As soon as you enter the question mark, a box will appear with some warnings about privacy. For Peter to answer the question, you'll need to click the "I Accept" button.

Watch as Peter thinks for a second and then displays the answer that you typed. If your audience doesn't know that you typed in the answer, they will be flabbergasted. You can probably keep them amazed for quite a while as long as they don't start paying close attention to what your fingers are actually typing.

Tips

When you're typing in the petition box, it helps to NOT look at the screen, because it can throw you off and make you forget what you're typing. Instead, look down as you type the answer. Only look up after you've typed the period to check how much of the query is finished.

Peter is only as accurate as you are, so if you enter a typo, Peter will answer with a typo, and people will get suspicious pretty quickly. If you think you made a mistake, you can backspace and start again at any point. If you delete all of what you entered, remember to enter a period again to signal to Peter that you're entering the answer. But, deleting everything you entered is not a good idea because people will wonder why you're erasing a perfectly good petition.

If you're typing a short answer, you can save time by completing only the shorter petition phrase (Peter, please answer:)

You can also tell your viewers to stare at the screen so that they can correct any spelling errors that you might make.

Warnings

Peter will accept and display answers that are longer than the petition phrase, but it will be pretty obvious something is up if you continue to type after the screen displays the entire petition phrase. Nothing more will show up once you've reached the end of the phrase. Once in a while, at the bottom instead of the repeating "Peter answers:..." it will say "Emily answers" or another name. No one knows for sure what happens at that point.

As soon as you type a colon ":" the cursor will automatically jump to the question box, even if you haven't finished typing out the petition. This will likely ruin the illusion, so don't accidentally type that colon too soon.

Sources and Citations

PeterAnswers.com

Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world's largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Use Peter Answers. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

Passion

2008-01-13T00:55:00.001-08:00

Her arms crossed in front and she took hold of her shirt by the hem with both hands. A cheeky grin revealed her pleasure. She raised the hem slowly, her narrow waist twisting side to side in deliberate seduction. One breast, covered in powder-blue lace, revealed itself, disappeared momentarily then reappeared, this time with its twin. The shirt climbed higher and higher, eventually sliding over her head and then falling on the carpet. There was no need for an exchange of words; actions and expressions spoke far more eloquently.

She leaned forward, just a little, pushing her rear out, then resumed, wiggling more provocatively as she slowly pulled her slacks and panties down together. They cleared her creamy buttocks and came to a stop at her upper thighs. She then proceeded to slowly slide the slacks and panties down her long legs until they lay on the floor at her feet.

She straightened and stepped away from the heap of clothes. Her hand went down to her pubic area, fluffing the soft thatch of hair before her fingers uncurled on their own accord and slid between her dampened petals. The pleasure took her unexpectedly; her eyelids drooped, her head rolled back, and she moaned in her pleasure.

She shook her head and squinted her nose, giggling at her folly, then grew serious once more. Combing her fingers through her thick curls, she reached back and arching, unsnapped the hook of her bra. The satin straps slid off her round shoulders and she discarded the lacy restrictor with a hearty sigh of liberation.

She stood naked, her hands falling to her sides. She is aroused. Her breasts tightened and grew heavier, her pink nipples hardening like two bullets. Heat unfurled low in her belly and her breath quickened with desire.

She is ready to be taken!

Sensual story

2008-01-13T00:54:00.000-08:00

She was extremely attractive. I was a lucky man. She was slim, had a cheeky smile, long dark brown hair and was slim with small perfect breasts.

She would simply lie in her favourite blue bikini made of thin silky shinning material that showed her curves so well and couldn't hide her pert hard nipples that could be easily seen pushing the material into little peaks.

I released the catch of her bikini top and raising herself to her elbows she let it fall forward and I took the straps over her shoulders. Then I pulled down her bikini bottoms and she lifted her tummy so I could slip them off.

She looked so good with the light glistening on her breasts and her neat pubic patch catching the sunlight. It was so erotic.

Then spreading a little cream on her tummy she began to massage her breasts, one in each hand in a gentle circular motion as she rubbed in the cream. She would pause now and then at her nipples, which she would spin between her fingers making them stand up like dark hard acorns on her small tits. I could tell by the ever so slight movement in her legs that she was becoming very aroused.

She rubbed herself like this for three or four minutes and then lay very still, although I could see her chest pounding as the beating of her heart betrayed her excitement. Slowly she sat up, raised herself off the sun bed and walked into the house and into my arms.

Love, Tess

Take Off My Panties

2008-01-10T01:08:00.000-08:00

(Take Off My panties) - Watch more free videos

Borneo, Indonesia and Malaysia

2007-12-25T21:43:00.000-08:00

Credit Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA/GSFC
These true-color images of Indonesia were acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer in mid-May 2002. Fire season was not fully underway in the region, and skies over the large island of Borneo, with Malaysia at its northwest coast, are cloud-covered, but not hazy with air pollution. The horizontally situated island of java appears to be experiencing some haze at its western end, and a few scattered fires (red dots) were detected. These images were acquired on May 17 and 19, 2002.

Does Jesus Christ Really Understand?

2007-12-14T22:16:00.000-08:00

Our fast-paced world is far removed from the dusty roads Jesus walked in first-century Palestine. Can He really understand our needs and sufferings? Can He empathize with our worries?
by Graemme Marshall
The Bible tells us Jesus can "sympathize with our weaknesses" and that He was tempted in every way, just as we are (Hebrews 4:15). Yet we know He was not crippled or handicapped. We know He did not live to old age. Nor was He forced into unemployment or retirement. He never had to make ends meet on a pension. He didn't go to war or face a veteran's life, nor was He a victim of modern-day pollution, road rage or disease.

How, then, can Jesus understand the difficulties and challenges we face?

Could a 33-year-old single male with "legions of angels" at His command (Matthew 26:53) understand a woman's needs? What of the trauma of a divorcée or someone facing bankruptcy, paying child support or eking out a living while drawing social security?

What of the myriad temptations and problems we face? Jesus didn't live in a society quite like ours—with satellite television, video games, movies and smart bombs. If we are to come with confidence to the throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16), how can we be sure Jesus understands what we suffer? After all, He is the glorified Son of God—an immortal spirit being—while we are weak, fleshly humans. If Jesus never experienced the human frailties we experience, how can He understand our personal needs in His role of Intercessor with the Father? (Hebrews 7:25).

Paul's explanation that we are not alone in our trials can be comforting (1 Corinthians 10:13). If you attend a Christian fellowship, you find others going through similar experiences (2 Corinthians 1:3-6). This is strengthening. Yet each of us has his own pain, trial and anguish that we may think no one else can properly understand.

We may wonder whether God can feel our pain. Can God appreciate the depth of human despair? Peter wrote that Jesus suffered for us, leaving us an example (1 Peter 2:21). In what ways did Jesus lead the way? What confidence can we have that He understands the personal trauma of every one of His people? Read on to appreciate Jesus' unique trials and find comfort in them.

Weariness and limitations
Can Jesus understand the limitations of a human body? Isaiah was inspired to write that Christ's physical appearance didn't make Him especially attractive or desirable (Isaiah 53:2). He was apparently average looking, and at times His body got just plain tired. He rested at the well of Samaria because He was physically weary and thirsty (John 4:6-7).

Like any other human, He needed time to recuperate from the stress of heavy responsibility, for the weight of the world really was on His shoulders. After periods of hectic activity, He withdrew to areas of solitude to refresh Himself and recuperate (Mark 6:31).

Our unjust society
Can He understand life today? The plagues of government inefficiency and abuse, injustice and violent crime were just as much a part of His world as they are ours. His life was regulated by an oppressive system of at times foolish laws and regulations, just like ours.

Jesus knew the burden of oppressive taxation and the sting of racism. He lived in Judea under the occupation forces of the mighty Roman Empire, which treated the populace as subjugated peoples and harshly enforced its requirements. One of Rome's rules was that Jews could be commandeered anytime to carry a Roman soldier's equipment for a mile. Simon of Cyrene was grabbed out of the crowd and made to carry the wooden beam on which Jesus would be crucified. Jesus was too weakened by a scourging to carry it further Himself (Matthew 27:32).

Jesus encouraged His followers not only to comply with this rule, but to go above and beyond. By carrying a burden for two miles, they would carry the load for some other passerby and fulfill the Golden Rule of doing to others as you would have them do to you (Matthew 5:41; Luke 6:31).

Jesus also spoke of the hypocritical leadership of the religious authorities of His day: "The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do" (Matthew 23:2-3).

He was personally insulted: accused of being illegitimate, "born of fornication" (John 8:41).

Family conflict and people problems
Many of our problems concern relationships with members of our own family and close friends. We must try to get along with people we are near constantly—fellow workers, employees, neighbors and school officials—even though they sometimes oppose us at every turn. Jesus had to face similar difficulties. His own brothers did not believe in Him (John 7:5). He had gathered a group of novice disciples around Him who at times vexed Him with their vanity and visions of grandeur (Luke 9:46).

The established religious community criticized Him for His lack of formal education in the Scriptures (John 7:15). Because He hailed from the small town of Nazareth in Galilee, Jesus endured slurs. Even one of His future disciples, on hearing where Jesus had grown up, asked, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" (John 1:46).

In the hour of His greatest distress, His closest friends deserted Him. In the Garden of Gethsemane His disciples fled when they saw Jesus would be arrested, leaving Him alone to face the religious authorities and their soldiers. The next day many of His disciples were still too frightened to be publicly seen as He was beaten and executed. "But all His acquaintances, and the women who followed Him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things" (Luke 23:49).

What about other people relationships? Jesus wasn't married, so can He understand marriage problems? How can Jesus understand what it is like to live with an unconverted mate?

Actually, He can. He was symbolically married to the nation of Israel. She was a selfish, unfaithful spouse who caused Him a great deal of grief and unhappiness (Jeremiah 3:6-14). He is not only prepared to take her back, He will receive her once again—when she repents and wants to be a faithful bride.

Illness and pain
Can Jesus understand the physical and psychological pain of child abuse, rape, disease or physical infirmities?

Many people suffer from illness or accidents. Christ understands the depths of their suffering. The Gospels reveal that in His last hours as a human being He was falsely accused, mocked, reviled, sworn at, spat upon and slapped in the face. He suffered a brutal beating before His crucifixion, which in itself was an extremely painful and humiliating way to die.

Isaiah tells us of Jesus: ". . . There were many who were appalled at him—his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man and his form marred beyond human likeness" (Isaiah 52:14, New International Version). Apparently Jesus was barely recognizable as a human after the awful beating He suffered. As God in the flesh, did He want to live physically any less than we do? No. He didn't want to feel the agony of crucifixion and death. But, faithful to the plan of God, He obeyed because of the necessity of His dying on our behalf (Matthew 26:39, 42).

Grief and anguish
Have you ever been stolen from by your acquaintances, convicted without a hearing, suffered racial slurs, betrayed by a friend or had your money embezzled by a close associate? Jesus had all those things happen to Him.

But someone might say: "Well, Jesus never suffered the things I do." Perhaps the best response would be that what Jesus went through in 33 years of human existence the overwhelming majority of people have never duplicated. He experienced numerous attempts on His life, had a crown of thorns thrust down to gash into His scalp, was scourged and crucified and willingly gave His life to pay for the sins of others.

A few people have endured indignities on a similar level. Many were crucified in those years. None, though, lived without ever sinning. In this Jesus stands head and shoulders above everyone else: a real, flesh-and-blood, 33-year-old thoroughly masculine male who never sinned, not even once.

As Creator of all things, including humanity, God has through eons of time experienced depths of emotion about what humans do to other humans. This was even before Jesus became God in the flesh. In the same way, He was "grieved in His heart" before the flood (Genesis 6:6), so we can know that Jesus grieves about the state of our world.

If you can sympathize with some of these examples, then rest assured that you can know with certainty that you have a faithful High Priest who walked this physical life ahead of you. He knows what it means to suffer. He is fully qualified on your behalf to express the depth of your personal, private suffering to the Father.

Christ meant it when He told us in His Word: "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light" (Matthew 11:28-30).

Approach God boldly and confidently, knowing with every pain you suffer that Jesus is the High Priest who hears, knows and understands how you feel. GN

World News and Trends

2007-12-13T21:30:00.000-08:00

An overview of conditions around the world.
by John Ross Schroeder and Jerold Aust

Nations around the world gang up on America

Late last year, Harvard historian Niall Ferguson labeled America as "the nation that fell to earth." In terms of dwindling domestic and international support, the war in Iraq has many parallels with Vietnam. In addition, what is currently occurring elsewhere on the international stage greatly augments the overall problem.

Russian President Vladimir Putin recently traveled to Iran and concocted a pact with five countries bordering the Caspian Sea. This pact states that no other country should interfere militarily or politically in the affairs of this Caspian bloc of nations. Some observers understand this pact as a clear warning that the United States should not carry out any military action against Iran.

In turn, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been invited to Moscow for further talks. Only a short time ago the Iranian president was allowed to vent his anger against America from the UN headquarters in New York City. As U.S. News and World Reporteditor-in-chief Mortimer Zuckerman observed, "Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, came to America to stick his thumb in our eye and deliver a sanitized version of 'Death to America!' and 'The Holocaust Never Occurred'" (Oct. 8, 2007, emphasis added throughout).

Russian aid to Iran is nothing short of astonishing. For example, it is a massive supplier of arms to Tehran, including a $700 million air-defense system.

Naturally both Russia and Iran oppose the eastward expansion of NATO. Iran is counting on both Russia and China to oppose any future sanctions from the UN Security Council.

According to The Guardian (Oct. 12, 2007), a resurgent Sino-Russian political embrace is already well under way: "Moscow and Beijing are closer now than in the Communist period . . . They have frustrated Western hopes for sanctions or other tough action on disputes ranging from Burma and Darfur to Iran. They are blocking a solution on Kosovo." Tensions between Russia and America are clearly on the rise, alarmingly so.

Another diplomatic setback has been a cooling of the normally stable Anglo-American alliance. The new British prime minister, Gordon Brown, is no Tony Blair. Increasingly Britain is being sucked into Europe with more concessions of British sovereignty in the offing. Brown has agreed to the new EU treaty without giving the British people a referendum. Yet only an independent Britain can fully stand shoulder to shoulder with America as new and more deadly challenges to Western civilization present themselves.

In 1940 Winston Churchill warned that unless the English-speaking countries triumphed over Nazism, the world would "sink into a new dark age." How much more would this be the case if the West should fail in its war on terrorism? America and Britain eventually prevailed in two world wars in the last century. Yet our present century is not without its own civilizational showdowns. Recent trends showing America and Britain gradually being boxed into a corner should deeply concern us all.

Most do not understand the importance of the origins of the English-speaking peoples around the world. The historic and prophetic implications will yet prove to be enormous. To understand just how, request or download our free booklet The United States and Britain in Bible Prophecy. (Sources: The Guardian, The Times, Financial Times[all London],U.S. News and World Report.)

Newest Middle East peace proposal in jeopardy

According to a report from Jerusalem published in the International Herald Tribune, "Hamas has now sent hundreds of its fighters, most of them to Iran. . . Israel is watching as Hamas, in control of Gaza, is building an army there on the model of Hezbollah in southern Lebanon—constructing positions and fortifications." Some of their longer-range rockets are being held in reserve for future action against Israel.

Almost simultaneously, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (standing beside Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas) called for a Palestinian state as an integral part of the solution to the overall conflict. She continues her periodic meetings with both Israeli and Palestinian leaders. The United States will host a Middle East conference in November designed to put the peace process back on track. It was reported by The Economist that "diplomacy has yet another fleeting chance."

But the realism of U.S. News and World Report editor-in-chief Mortimer Zuckerman must be taken seriously. He wrote, "A renewed push to find an Israeli-Palestinian solution faces some profound problems as the head of Iran reminded us last week [in his UN address]." Mr. Zuckerman pointed out that the Iranian president's purpose was "to undermine the legitimacy of the state of Israel." This farseeing editor reminded us about "the refusal of the Palestinians to this day to acknowledge the right of Israel to exist."

Yet the League of Nations in 1922 and the United Nations in 1948 supported a Jewish homeland. Winston Churchill stated that "the Jews are in Palestine by right, not sufferance."

Mr. Zuckerman noted the Palestinian use of religion to achieve their political purposes. He recalled that "it was Arafat who invoked the Islamic terms of jihad and shahada . . . It was Arafat who introduced children to radical Islamic thinking so that they could become terrorists and suicide bombers." He also observed that the Palestinians "wish to rule not just in the West Bank and Gaza, but in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Haifa" ("Denial and Hope in the Mideast," Oct. 8, 2007).

Before the biblically prophesied peace finally comes to this troubled region, the future will prove far more crisis-prone than even the troublesome past. To truly comprehend both its historic and prophetic significance, request or download our free booklet The Middle East in Bible Prophecy. (Sources: The Times [London],USA Today, U.S. News and World Report, International Herald Tribune. )

American-Turkish relations on the edge

Turkey , a longtime U.S. ally, is on the point of hindering American plans and intentions in Iraq. A large-scale Turkish incursion into northern Iraq to thwart Kurdish rebels may be imminent. Clearly it would complicate Washington's plans in that strife-torn country.

At this crucial time of policy differences between the United States and Turkey, the Democratic Party-controlled House of Representatives tried to formally condemn the World War I-era massacre of Armenians by Turks as genocide. However valid the facts may be, the timing is highly inopportune. So President Bush has asked the House to think again. These are not the easiest days for American diplomacy.

Stark implications of Israeli strike against Syrian reactor

According to The New York Times, "Israel's air attack on Syria last month was directed against a site that Israeli and American intelligence analysts judged was a partly constructed nuclear reactor, apparently modeled on one North Korea had used to create its stockpile of nuclear weapons fuel, according to American and foreign officials with access to the intelligence reports" (Oct. 14, 2007).

A somewhat similar Israeli raid on Iraq took out the Osirak nuclear reactor in 1981, putting a sudden halt to Iraqi nuclear efforts. Yet since the Syrian reactor apparently would have required some years to actually produce bomb-grade plutonium, this latest raid was seen by one senior Israeli official as intended to "re-establish the credibility of our deterrent power."

Some American officials saw it as a clear signal to Iran. Several months earlier another senior Israeli source had said, "We are the product of a Holocaust in Europe and we will do everything . . . to prevent another holocaust recurring in Israel. If the Americans do not act, then we will act" (The Sunday Times).

What is also highly disturbing is the desire for nuclear weapons in several Middle Eastern nations, a somewhat natural reaction given the current Iranian threat. The year 2006 was labeled "The year of the nuke" by Newsweekin terms of increased nuclear proliferation around the globe.

Most countries say they want to avoid a nuclear Armageddon. The late Ronald Reagan wrote in his diaries while still U.S. president that "we have to do all we can . . . to see that there is never a nuclear war" (quoted in Scientific American,October 2007). However, a few rogue countries and suicidal terrorist groups seem inclined to provoke the unthinkable. (Sources: The Sunday Times[London], The New York Times, Newsweek, Scientific American.)

Birth control pills for 11-year-olds?

Controversy and confusion surrounded the decision by King Middle School in Portland, Maine, to offer birth control pills to children as young as 11, without their parents' knowledge. Oral contraception and condoms have been available for years in Portland's high schools, but extending this policy to middle schools is seen by some as encouraging underage sexual activity.

This practice is also viewed as possibly covering up sexual and other forms of abuse in families. It also provides the potential for a pregnant 11-year-old child to be diagnosed and then to have an abortion without parental awareness or consent.

Some parents were ambivalent or even favored the school's independently operated clinic taking over this important aspect of child care. However, others are worried about the long-term health issues resulting from taking oral contraception at such an early age and the potential for future psychological difficulties when children and young teenagers become involved in sexual relationships or have abortions—all without parental knowledge or counsel.

On Oct. 19, the principal of King Middle School published a letter on the school's Web site explaining the rationale for the decision: "To prevent pregnancy the Health Center needs to have contraception as an option when a student admits being sexually active. Contraception would only be prescribed in rare cases after counseling about abstinence and postponing sexual behavior was not productive. Every effort is always made to encourage the student to join with her parents in making this decision."

This all appears to be treating the effects of a problem and not the root causes. Surrounded by a culture that no longer allows children to be children, is it possible that a child of 11 or a teenager of 14 or 15 would even recognize that she or he was being coerced into sexual activity?

Without a strong moral society or, failing that, strong family values in setting a right example of abstinence before commitment (commitment within a biblical marriage), how are children to learn what is right and what is wrong where sexuality is concerned?

For information on God's purpose for marriage and families, request or download our free booklet Marriage and Family: The Missing Dimension. (Sources: Detroit Free Press, The New York Times, King Middle School Web site.)

Staph infections proving more deadly than the AIDS virus

Both The Washington Post and the Associated Press (AP) recently highlighted the emergence of a drug-resistant staph germ that is greatly increasing fatalities. ThePost stated that "a dangerous germ that has been spreading around the country causes more life-threatening infections than public health authorities had thought and is killing more people in the United States each year than the AIDS virus."

According to the AP, "more than 90,000 Americans get potentially deadly infections each year from a drug-resistant staph 'superbug,' the government reported in its first overall estimate of invasive disease caused by the germ." These infections, in both mild and invasive forms, "affect 46 out of every 1,000 U.S. hospital and nursing home patients."

Most staph cases tend to be relatively mild skin infections, but invasive infections that enter the bloodstream can easily become deadly. Apparent overuse of antibiotics has severely limited the effectiveness of countermeasures. Hospital and nursing home patients, mostly senior citizens, are the main victims, but deadly staph infections also strike the very young.

ThePost further stated: "Studies have shown that hospitals could do more to improve standard hygiene to reduce the spread of the infections." The AP report concurred, suggesting that "the results underscore the need for better prevention measures curbing the overuse of antibiotics and improving hand-washing and other hygiene procedures among hospital workers." So biblical hygienic and cleanliness ordinances set forth in the Bible are up-to-date even in our modern world.

According to Bible prophecy, the four horsemen of the apocalypse will ride in ever-increasing intensity. The pale horse signifies disease epidemics. For further understanding, request or download our free booklets The Book of Revelation Unveiled and Are We Living in the Time of the End? (Sources: Associated Press, The Washington Post.)

What's Behind the Magnetic Pull of the Christmas Season?

2007-12-13T21:26:00.000-08:00

Millions observe Christmas because it's a feel-good time with holiday music filling the air, brightly decorated trees, Santa Claus for the children and family togetherness. But does the Christmas season have a strong, commercially motivated magnetic pull that goes unnoticed by most?
by Jerold Aust

Justin and Dena were married shortly before Christmas. They had grown up in families that celebrated the Christmas holidays. This was a special time for them with thoughts of falling snow, a glowing fireplace, holiday songs and colorful gifts placed around the well-decorated tree. The winter holiday season was exciting and alluring, as it is to millions.

They badly wanted to invite their families for a sumptuous Christmas Day dinner and the traditional exchanging of gifts. Everything seemed to work out all right except they were short of money to pay for the obligatory gifts. So they went shopping armed with their credit cards.

As they shopped around from store to store, the atmosphere of the music, colorful gifts and inviting decorations lured them into spending much more than they could reasonably afford.

Then in late January, the bills started coming in. They had precious little money set aside to pay them. They struggled to keep enough food on the table, pay the house rent and make the car payment. They realized too late they had succumbed to all the Christmas advertising—ending up with a painful financial hangover.

Could this story also describe your circumstances?

Christmas is big business

Those Christmas bells chiming during the holiday season might be likened to cash registers ringing up millions of dollars in retail sales. Christmas is very big business and is thought to be great for the national economy. But has anyone thought to ask whether this type of wild spending is really in people's best interests, either now or, more importantly, for their long-term spiritual well-being?

Should we be buying gifts others frequently don't want or need with money we don't have? It's a logical question.

Yet people will defend observing Christmas by countering that it's a celebration honoring Jesus' birth. If that's true, why buy gifts for others and not Jesus Christ? Is Christendom behind the presumptive trappings of a pre-Christmas season or is it being promoted by secular businesses for their own gain?

Purdue University professor Richard Feinberg understands the commercial value of the Christmas shopping season. He found the retail forecast of the 2004 Christmas season to be at least 75 percent of yearly profits. He predicted that 2006 Christmas holiday shopping would total an incredible $450 billion or more in America. Barring an economic downturn, it could be even higher this year.

Ironically, Christmas is so popular that millions of atheists and people of other religions celebrate the holiday. Why don't people, those who claim to be Christians or otherwise, resist the commercial aspect of the season?

What's behind the magnetic pull of Christmas?

Clearly the Christmas season has a strong magnetic pull, but most people don't fully realize it or know how powerful it is. Every year a Christmas advertising onslaught tries to influence the public to spend, spend and spend some more.

Some sociologists and social critics research and analyze why groups unknowingly do what they do. We'll focus on two.

Noted American journalist and best-selling author Vance Packard wrote a number of thoughtful books about how business advertisers motivate and manipulate the public. His groundbreaking 1957 book The Hidden Persuaders explores the use of consumer motivational research and other psychological techniques, including what he calls depth psychology and subliminal tactics by advertisers to induce desire for products.

As Packard explains, his book is about "the large-scale efforts being made, often with impressive success, to channel . . . our thought processes by the use of insights gleaned from psychiatry and the social sciences. Typically these efforts take place beneath our level of awareness" (p. 3). Packard was ahead of his time in describing advertising methods still commonly used today.

His book continues: "The use of mass psychoanalysis to guide campaigns of persuasion has become the basis of a multimillion-dollar industry. Professional persuaders have seized upon it in their groping for more effective ways to sell us their wares—whether products, ideas, attitudes, candidates, goals, or states of mind . . .

"The sale to us of billions of dollars' worth of . . . products is being significantly affected, if not revolutionized, by this approach . . . Two thirds of America's hundred largest advertisers have geared campaigns to this depth approach by using strategies inspired by what marketers call ‘motivation analysis' . . .

"What the probers are looking for, of course, are the whys of our behavior, so that they can more effectively manipulate our habits and choices in their favor" (pp. 3-4).

Writing about a Chicago research firm that conducted psychoanalytically oriented studies for merchandisers, Packard states: "Motivation research . . . employs techniques designed to reach the unconscious or subconscious mind because preferences generally are determined by factors of which the individual is not conscious . . .

"Actually in the buying situation the consumer generally acts emotionally and compulsively, unconsciously reacting to the images and designs which in the subconscious are associated with the product" (pp. 7-8).

With far more technological advances than Packard could imagine in 1957, marketers and advertisers have a much greater capacity for influencing people to unthinkingly buy more and more during the Christmas season and at other times.

Manipulating our behavior

Dr. Robert Cialdini, a professor at Arizona State University, may be the most cited social psychologist in the world today. His book Influence: Science and Practice (1993) is a staple text in the academic world.

Cialdini writes: "It is odd that despite their current widespread use and looming future importance, most of us know very little about our automatic behavior patterns. Perhaps that is so precisely because of the mechanistic, unthinking manner in which they occur . . . They make us terribly vulnerable to anyone who does know how they work" (p. 9).

Do we imagine that today's advertising gurus don't know about human behavioral patterns?

Cialdini states: "Our automatic tapes usually develop from psychological principles or stereotypes we have learned to accept. Although they vary in their force, some of these principles possess a tremendous ability to direct human action. We have been subject to them from such an early point in our lives, and they have moved us about so pervasively then, that you and I rarely perceive their power. In the eyes of others, though, each such principle is a detectable and ready weapon, a weapon of automatic influence" (p. 10).

Observing Christmas because "everyone does it" is a trigger feature. Other triggers include the music, the lights, the decorations and the sentimental store displays, each of which can cause us to respond automatically—rendering us nearly helpless as we part with our money. But do we really honor God by uncontrolled spending during the Christmas season?

How should we honor Christ?

You can research the entire Bible and nowhere will you find Christ instructing His followers to remember His birthday. (However, He did teach them to remember His death through observing the annual Passover service—see Matthew 26:26-30 and 1 Corinthians 11:23-26.)

The Bible itself never mentions Christmas, nor does it instruct Christians to observe the holiday.

The reason becomes obvious when we understand the holiday's distinctly non-Christian origins. "Christmas has its origin in two ancient pagan festivals, the great Yule-feast of the Norsemen and the Roman Saturnalia. The Saturnalia involved the wildest debauchery. Naturally it came under heavy censure from the early Church and despite the fact that Jesus Christ and the saints gradually replaced pagan deities, it was long considered completely out of character with the Christian ideal.

"However, the festival was far too strongly entrenched in popular favour to be abolished, and the [Catholic] Church finally granted the necessary recognition, believing that if Christmas could not be suppressed it should be preserved in honour of the Christian God.

"It was only in the 4th century that 25 December was officially decreed to be the birthday of Christ, and it was another 500 years before the term Midwinter Feast was abandoned in favour of the word Christmas" (Man, Myth & Magic, 1983, Vol. 2, "Christmas," p. 480). Even secular history speaks the truth about the origins of Christmas.

God gave ancient Israel His annual Holy Days and festivals to observe (Leviticus 23). Though few realize it, they embody God's spiritual blueprints for the salvation of all humankind.

Jesus showed how people could act "righteously" without being truly righteous: "These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men" (Matthew 15:7-9). This clearly applies to much of modern Christianity.

Jesus Christ honors those who honor Him: "If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor" (John 12:26; compare 1 Samuel 2:30).

The Father honors Christ's disciples with eternal life: "Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life [eternal life], and may enter through the gates into the city [the New Jerusalem from heaven]" (Revelation 22:14).

If you still choose to observe Christmas apart from Christ and the Bible's injunctions, then know that vested commercial interests have already planned to use your deeply embedded associations with Christmas, working the trigger features already conditioned in you over many years.

Indeed there is a great magnetic pull during the Christmas season, but it has nothing to do with the real Jesus Christ. GN

... And Children Are From Pluto

2007-12-13T21:24:00.000-08:00

If men are from Mars and women are from Venus, sometimes it seems children are from even farther out. What can parents do to improve interplanetary relations?
by Mike Bennett

A few years back a popular book said men and women can't communicate very well because men are from Mars and women are from Venus. It was an interesting concept that helped many people focus on the differences between men and women that affect how we relate to one another. The image of aliens from different planets was a powerful one, if too stereotypical. Still, anything we can do to help us understand each other is good.

Along the same lines, if men are from Mars and women are from Venus, sometimes it seems children are from Pluto—even harder to understand (consider the gross humor, the computerese, the strange music, etc.).

Sometimes kids seem too swayed by crass commercialism and materialism. (Marketers of products such as toys, clothing and music seem to know how to speak their language and push their buttons—but often they should be ashamed of themselves.) Other times young people seem to really see this world's problems and solutions more clearly than adults.

We can learn a lot from these creatures from Pluto. Jesus Christ took time for children, and even said we are to be like them. They are a gift, on loan from God. They really are out of this world!

But to learn from them, we must start by learning to communicate with them—learning their language.

I used to work for a company that published information about languages and technology. My shelves at work were filled with software to help people learn Spanish, Japanese, Swedish, Vietnamese—but nothing on Pluto.

The software contained audio, speech-recognition playback, full motion video, interactive sessions and games. There are many ideas about the best way to learn a language. But still the biggest factors are the desire of the student and the time spent listening and speaking. If you really want to understand these aliens from Pluto, you'll make progress.

Focused attention

Over the years, a lot has been written about rearing children. A few years back a good book was published titled How to Really Love Your Child by Dr. Ross Campbell. It stressed the importance of giving our children love through eye contact, physical contact and focused attention.

"What is focused attention?" Dr. Campbell wrote. "Focused attention is giving a child our full, undivided attention in such a way that he feels without doubt that he is completely loved. That he is valuable enough in his own right to warrant parents' undistracted watchfulness, appreciation, and uncompromising regard. In short, focused attention makes a child feel he is the most important person in the world in his parents' eyes" (1977, p. 55).

More than a century ago, the book Gentle Measures by Jacob Abbott recommended, "I think there can be no doubt that the most effectual way of securing the confidence and love of children, and of acquiring control over them, is by sympathizing with them in their childlike hopes and fears, and joys and sorrows—in their ideas, their fancies, and even in their caprices."

And more than 3,000 years ago Moses wrote: "These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up" (Deuteronomy 6:6-7, New International Version).

Quality vs. quantity

Learning a language and communicating takes time. Years ago there was a big debate about spending quality time with kids versus quantity.

The debate seems to have died down, partly, I'm afraid, because parents are too busy and burned out to feel they can do either. But sometimes we have to make changes to allow both kinds of time.

Quality time is still important. When my children were younger, most nights I didn't get home from work till after 7 p.m., and they needed to be in bed by 9. The time was pretty packed with getting supper on the table, eating, cleaning up, sometimes playing a short game, getting ready for bed, brushing and flossing teeth, brushing hair, reading a story and a Bible story and praying.

It went by fast, and there wasn't always a lot of time for talking. But if I sat in front of the TV instead of reading to the girls, I think it would have widened the rift between the planets. As it was, some nights after the glass of water and tucking in came the deepest discussion of the day (much to my wife's chagrin as she knew they needed their sleep!).

Quantity time is important too. I know I need it. A couple of minutes on the phone doesn't cut it when I'm on a trip. One of the hardest times of my life was when I took a job five or six weeks before the rest of the family could join me. Maybe people from Venus and Pluto can survive that, but this Martian was at wits' end.

Planetary-alignment time

There's a lot more to rearing Plutonians than spending time, talking and listening. But it's a start.

Every year 50,000 people in Spokane, Washington, put on jogging shoes and run about 7.5 miles in a race called Bloomsday. I'll never forget the year my 8-year-old daughter Heather and I "ran" it together. Over the previous couple of months we had the chance to train together a few times (not nearly as many as we wanted because of sickness, business trips and a busy life).

I'll always treasure those times. We may not have done a lot of running, but walking and talking about the things on her mind gave me a much greater grasp of what things are like on Pluto.

We didn't set any speed records in the Bloomsday "race" itself—though Heather did take off like a bullet when she saw the finish line! But far more rewarding than finishing the race itself was spending the time together beforehand. As a parent I've learned to look for and appreciate such opportunities to do a little cosmic engineering—moving Mars and Pluto just a little closer to each other. GN

Are We Living in a '9/10' Economy?

2007-12-13T21:21:00.000-08:00

Global financial markets were rocked recently following rising defaults affecting mortgage-backed securities. What does this mean for the world’s money supply and confidence in Western financial institutions? Are we on the verge of a major upheaval in the world economy?
by Beyond Today host Darris McNeely

On Sept. 11, 2001, Islamic terrorists attacked America, and overnight everything changed. The signs and warnings of such an attack were there the day before (9/10), but were ignored, misunderstood and glossed over by those charged with protecting the security of the nation. Had they been properly analyzed and acted on, the tragedy could have been averted.

But it wasn't, and much has changed for America and the West since that fateful day. Now come signs of a looming financial crisis that could completely change the global economy and have a dramatic impact on America's role as the world's dominant economic power.

Subprime lending crisis

The world's financial markets experienced a crisis caused by falling confidence in what is called the "subprime lending market." Banks, brokerage houses and mortgage lenders in America and Europe were stung by the rising defaults on risky loans made to home buyers of limited means on reckless terms.

Many buyers took out loans on the gamble that housing prices would continue to rise. Lenders extended credit to them on a gamble that the buyers would not default on the loans. These adjustable loans, often with low initial interest rates that can rise sharply, were made to many people who weren't really able to afford owning a home at the inflated prices in many areas.

These mortgages were then resold to other financial institutions that offered the potential for high returns to investors willing to take a high risk.

That risk was spread among many to the point that no one could really identify where the risk was. The result was fear in the markets, and the money that banks needed to do daily business began to dry up.

Many people who took these loans and were unable to pay have suffered the loss of housing, money and their credit rating. Many thousands who worked in mortgage lending have lost their jobs as companies shut down or reorganized this part of their business. The Federal Reserve quickly took steps to lower interest rates and to loosen the money supply. At the time of this writing, the dive has leveled off and markets seem to be returning to normal.

A worldwide system

Even if you neither had a subprime mortgage nor work in the industry, could this crisis affect you?

The Western world's financial markets have created a major problem that threatens the bedrock of global finance. The system is so precarious that it threatens the financial security of all citizens, regardless of their exposure to financial markets. You may be completely free of debt and still be impacted by this latest trouble.

Foreign investors have taken on hundreds of billions of dollars of American debt. In essence, they are the ones who have borne the risks; they have financed the unrealistic housing boom and irresponsible consumer spending of recent years.

China is one of the major creditors that hold this debt. This can work as long as America is the major market for goods made in China. But one report says that soon the European Union will become China's largest export market.

Now we have seen significant default in a major segment of the American economy. The confidence other nations have in the American economy has been shaken. And confidence is a key ingredient of financial markets. When confidence is lost in a currency, all the "good money" flees to other currencies thought to be more secure. No one backs a loser in the high-stakes game of global finance.

For this and other reasons, the Western economies have a real problem that could lead to some major corrections, thus impacting jobs, income and growth in America and Great Britain. America has fewer dollar reserves than other emerging nations such as India, and the United States has the largest trade deficit in the world. Britain has the world's third-largest trade deficit.

There exists the potential for an unprecedented financial meltdown. Many experts see this problem and predict a major shift in investment toward other nations that seem to be healthier and a better investment.

An approaching fiscal hurricane

America faces a number of financial challenges beyond this most recent subprime issue. The coming retirement of the baby boomer generation will swamp the Medicare and Social Security system in the coming decades. The money promised to fund these programs is not there, and the cost of these entitlements will overwhelm the federal budget.

In 2008 the leading edge of the boomer generation will begin retirement. Those covered by Social Security are expected to grow to 69 million by 2020. By 2030 Social Security spending as a share of the budget will rise to 40 percent. These obligations will have to be borne by fewer workers.

America's health care is facing its own crisis. Medicare's prescription drug coverage, which took effect in 2006, is expected to cost more than $700 billion over 10 years. By 2050, expanding at current rates and adjusted for inflation, the whole Medicare program is expected to cost $2.6 trillion. That is the size of the entire federal budget today.

Budget deficits another problem

Add continuing budget deficits to this. The American government spends hundreds of billions of dollars more than it brings in. In recent years increased tax revenues have helped keep the national debt from growing as fast as it did in 2003 and 2004.

Some economists argue that deficits don't matter, especially since they are a small percentage (less than 3 percent) of the entire national economy. Given the enormous size of the economy, this can be managed. Funds have been easily borrowed from foreign investors, such as China, to postpone a day of reckoning. But what happens if the day comes when other nations do not want to lend or invest on the same terms as in the past?

China holds more than $1 trillion. What would happen if China chose to dump those dollars on the world market? This would cause a devaluation of the dollar and loss of confidence in the U.S. economy.

Of course, it is in China's short-term interest not to see the dollar devalued. They would lose their investment, and the resultant slump in the American economy would harm the Chinese economy. But it would be a mistake to think this could not change—indeed, China has already threatened similar actions.

What if OPEC decided it would no longer price its oil in dollars but instead switched to the euro? Such a move would lead to higher fuel prices in the United States. Some oil-producing countries want to see this change. If confidence in the American economy took a serious hit, the movement toward such action could accelerate.

No matter how one looks at America's national economy, the fact is it has generated an enormous amount of debt—more than this generation, or future ones, can ever hope to comfortably repay.

For now the country prints more paper strips with colored ink, calls them dollars and puts them out to creditors with the hope they will continue to have confidence in the American government and its economic policies. The day that changes will see Americans and many other nations paying a lot more for the basics of life we have come to take for granted.

Living beyond its means

The United States has written checks that cannot be cashed. It is shielded temporarily from the consequences by political leadership that appears unwilling to face the moral and fiscal consequences of greed, indifference and self-indulgence.

And the fault does not lie just with leadership. Every citizen must come to see his or her role in creating a society that cannot pay its bills and chases after the gods of consumerism and mammon while others finance our extravagance.

Both the nation and many of its citizens have been living beyond their means for too long. Other countries see this and are beginning to take steps to try to protect themselves from market volatility caused by this behavior.

Last December the European Central Bank raised its key interest rate in the wake of a declining dollar. This made the euro more attractive to international investors. The decline in the value of the dollar was seen as a threat to the European economy.

In the wake of the recent crisis in credit markets, interest rates could rise again to keep liquidity strong and confidence high. Jean-Claude Trichet, the president of the European Central Bank, keeps a close eye on potential risks and "concerns regarding possible uncontrolled developments triggered by global economic imbalances" ("How Dangerous Is the Dollar Drop?," Der Spiegel, Dec. 12, 2006).

Isaiah the prophet said of ancient Israel, in a message that resonates into our modern world: "Alas, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity . . . They have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked to anger the Holy One of Israel . . . The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faints. From the sole of the foot even to the head, there is no soundness it" (Isaiah 1:4-6).

Unless the United States as a whole understands and accepts the root causes of its current dilemma and its people come to deep, heartfelt repentance, Americans will stumble blindly forward till a day of accounting is required for the great sin of forgetting where our blessings originated.

It is a trait of the descendants of Jacob to forget the source of their wealth and abundance. God foretold this when He brought the tribes of Israel into the land of promise. "So it shall be, when the Lord your God brings you into the land of which He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give you large and beautiful cities which you did not build . . . then beware, lest you forget the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage" (Deuteronomy 6:10-12).

That is why I ask whether we are living in a 9/10 economy. The signs of economic change have been in front of us for many years, but we go blindly on as if nothing will change.

This current crisis will likely stabilize. But because the fundamental problems remain, unless there is significant change a worse crisis will follow. Obviously, greed is an underlying factor in all facets of the subprime crisis. God is ever merciful, but there will be a day of judgment if America does not repent.

Don't let complacency lull you to sleep when it comes to world events. The Good News will continue to keep you informed. GN