My white hair is longish and scruffy and for the first time I've grown a long beard, which resembles...Think of Chewbacca's beard, but make it white...you know the huge co-pilot from Star Wars. When I go to town I get all these delightful looks from small kids and I wink back at them. They all think I am Mr. Claus. A few of the older ladies wink at me and I flash my wedding ring and we both laugh and I run for the tool aisle. Very few women in the tools. Of course I hardly know the difference between a wrench and a set of pliers. My wife works with all the tools, she or my son, John Alex. I tend to break things, but I've told you about that before.
I was wrapping presents since I last wrote to you and I enjoy wrapping the presents we are going to hand out. But everyone knows Dad or Oppa has wrapped this gift. It will looks as if a 5-6 year old took a role of wrapping paper, tape and scissors and attacked the target. I always believe in using a lot of tape and there has been a few Christmas's when we had run out of tape and I produced our ready supply of duct tape. I had to keep a sharp knife handy for when the time to open presents came. I've still got to finish up some shopping on the 23rd, when we get paid. I dislike going out during these last minute rushes, but I bring along two of my old nightsticks to keep an opening in front of me. Tap to the knee, ankle bone and I've got 10-feet of clear path. Thinking about makes me remember I've got only a couple days to practice with my sticks... I love Christmas, but I want my snow.
News:
U.S.: Farmville, North Carolina, part of the well-known "Bible belt", is teaching this new Common Core and where no form of Christianity, Jewish faith, Hindu, Buddhist and other religions is allow to be taught or to show its face on school grounds. Yet, recently under Common Core, an Islamic Vocabulary Test, showing the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad, was assigned to the high school seniors. Copes of same were brought home to parents, where those who was upset sent them on to Fox Journalist Todd Starnes, who began investigating this. Todd asked to be provided by the school district the vocabulary worksheets that promoted Jewish, Hindu and Christian faiths, but the school failed to reply. One parent said the material was classwork disguised as Islamic propaganda. A spokesman for Pitt County School District came out in defense of the program, pointing out the it came from a state-adopted supplemental workbook and met with "Common Core" standards for English Language Arts. Todd asked for other documentation, but again the school failed to reply. ( I read some of the quotes highlighted in the worksheet and you are in effect reading the Prophet Muhammad's quotes from the Quran, leaving a single blank spot for you to fill in verb, adverb or adjective. This is simply another example of the growth of Islam in the US. I've been around the Christian faith over half my lifetime and I have lived for a time with the Buddhists, though I did not practice it, but I find it ironic how many women are drawn to Islam. Women in the United States have fought for equality for over a century in the U.S., and still they do not have equal wages. But they are willing to join a faith where they are considered a second class creature. The whole faith of Islam is about men, with women serving them. Women are only good for enjoyment-when the man wants it, procreation in hopes of male children and it is acceptable for husbands to abuse their wives and daughters with beatings, as it is considered a teaching. It is just hard to believe American women wanting this. Now the are some Muslim men who, when they are along with their family, will behave much as any American family man will. But if other Muslim men come around, he will will change, because of Sharia Law- the Muslim Law and a part of it has to do about how to treat your family. Still, the church in America grows.)
China: A few days ago the US announced the sale of 2 Perry-class missile frigate to Taiwan for the price of $176 million dollar. It was mentioned by the Obama Administration they did not feel China would be in objection to the sale. Will now China has objected and the Pacific nations are watching to see if we're going to play lap dog to China and cancel a sale we've already signed a contract for. China, will they sell ships, planes and armor all over the world and do not seem worried about our objections. ( President Obama's administration is now a paper tiger and sadly, he's taken the reputation of the U.S. with him. The number of countries no longer afriad of us has grown.)
China: Announces the US thaw with Cuba is seen as an advantage for China, making it now a better place to do business. ( Is this one of the reasons we did this, to make China happy?)
China: Chinese Vice Premier urges U.S. to treat China with "Strategic Foresight," to pursue cooperation rather than confrontation for the benefits of both countries.
U.S.: China's yuan has weakened by 10 basis points, now down to 6.1205 against the US Dollar, according to China Foreign Exchange Trading System.
Russia: Military doctrine to remain defensive, although NATO is building up its military presence in Eastern Europe. (NATO, with all of its current numbers of troops, fighter aircraft and armor units, would be like a mouse standing up to the Russian lion. Russia continues to keep multiple divisions of tanks in Eastern Europe, ready for the event if NATO or the U.S. crossed the borders. Russia would overwhelm the US and NATO forces, nuclear weapons would be required.)
U.S.: President Obama signs new Executive Order to appoint/establish the "President's Task Force on 21st Century Policing". 11 dignified Americans to be appointed by the President, who have expertise in law enforcement, civil rights and civil liberties. To be recommend Crime Reduction, while building Public Trust and recommending crime reduction. They will be solely advisory in nature, to hold public meetings and engage with federal, state, local and tribal officials. ( Now this could be great IF it works/handle correctly and providing a face the public can see and voice their complaints and concerns. This may stop the protests and the riots. But if handled poorly, ignored and all a political sham for votes, another attempt to flim-flam the public- watch out there is going to be repercussions.)
WHO and UN: Ebola Statistics. Some numbers differ, but not much. In the last 21-days there have been 1,660 new cases in the 3 most infected African state: Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone. Sierra Leone has 1,261 of those cases, of which 687 have died. Total are only being reported for the 3 major states, which now show a total of UN- 18,569 or WHO, who reports 19,000 cases. But both report 6,900 deaths from this group.
U.S.: Once again Russian TU-95 Bear H Bombers conducted another flight near the U.S. Pacific Island of Guam, Alaska and Europe. Complaints were made.
Cambodia: 100-plus people in one village have been diagnosed with HIV. Prime Minister now seeks investigation.
U.S.: Caramel apple death/illnesses spreading across 10-states. Packaged caramel apples blamed for 5 deaths and more than two dozen illnesses. Consumers being warned to avoid purchasing these sweet treats. Danger-Danger! My Pretty.
Russia: Oil crash could threaten President Putin's power base among the elite leading to possibility of a palace coup. Talks of splits in the Kremlin elite that could undermine Putin's power. Putin was asked about this during a recent press conference and he replied, "I can assure you that we don't have palaces, so a palace coup isn't really possible." Western sanctions and falling oil prices have joined to create Putin's worst econommic crisis in his 15 years of office. Putin can lawfully remain in power until 2024, but some of the elite and the poor are now looking to Mikhail Khodorkovsky, formally the richest man in Russia, but now exiled and living in Switzerland. He would be subject to arrest if he reentered Russia. Time will be the judge for Putin.
Taiwan: Chinese military expansion means the U.S. would have to fight, "harder, quicker, nastier, deeper and longer," to protect Taiwan," said by former U.S. Government Defense Official Elbridge Colby. He wrote that such a conflict could quickly go nuclear. He added, "In the past, most defense analysts and planners envisioned a Sion-American conflict in Maritime Asia, starting and remaining a conventional fight for Taiwan." Adding, "The US was seen as able to handle any Chinese attempts at power projection solely by relying on conventional forces." Colby further explained, "The US would have been able to defeat the Chinese attack on Taiwan with relatively limited means and on Washington's terms."... "Nuclear weapons, if they were to become involved, were seen as most likely to be introduced in limited numbers by the Chinese in a desperate attempt to stave off defeat..." (Colby's lengthy Intel report shows how fast the war for Taiwan could quickly destroy the South China Seas, Eastern China, Taiwan and Southern Russia, with assorted smaller countries along the coast lines. But nuclear weapons would continue to grow, with US missiles bein sent deeper into China to destroy Beijing and Beijing out to destroy D.C.. China's nuclear arsenal has also become larger and once the missiles fly and the mushroom clouds can be seen, additional buttons could or WILL be pushed. Other countries, our supposed allies, now viewing us as weak or possibly see us as a fair-weather friend and possibly a sometimes ally to China... until Taiwan or Japan come under attack and we recall our treaties. South Korea, Japan, Australia surprise China by showing up with their own limited supply of nuclear missiles, or submarines now equipped with ICBM nukes, all purchased from greedy Russian generals through third parties. Remember those 100 missing warheads reported stolen 20 years ago, but who know how many truly vanished? How many of our own went buried under backyard storage sheds, lowered into retired officer's bomb shelters. There's just too many books written about the selling of nukes and where they might have gone. Also, lets not forget North Korea, who is trying so hard to become a nuclear power and all of a sudden, now thumbing their nose at everyone, including China. If these countries now see America weak, a limp wrist-ed retired sheriff missing his teeth and half blind, and now weakened by Evil cattle baron- China, they may elect to pursue a nuclear option and light up the Pacific and possibly the American western coastline. I wonder how many nukes it would take to cause a series of monster tsunamis to rise up over San Francisco, San Diego and Los Angeles, Portland and Seattle, making the Mojave Desert, Palm Springs and on north the new coastline. World War III is up and running and you can say so long to the Hawaiian Islands. No, everyone has got to be fearful of pushing that red button. Just look at the photos the Mars Rover is taking, think sci-fi and maybe that red planet could've been God's first creation before earth. Hey, I'm just telling a story, but imagine. Mars actually resulted from nukes as God's creation failed him and went to war. There is also the Asteroid Belt, where some people feel a planet had blown up, but that might have been a comet impact- big comet or asteroid. I'm not saying I have any insight, but as I writer I like to wonder and on this subject I've seen other books written on this thought. Anyhow, we have to keep from causing our own destruction, or try our best. One third of us have to be around. Unsure- Read your Bible.
Quakes: (13) quakes of 4.0 or higher. (6) in Alaska, (1-4.4) in Pakistan, (4) in Oklahoma,
(2) California, (1) Oregon, (1-5.4) in Philippines, (1-4.6) North India Ocean, ((1-4.3) Canada,
(1-5.0) Indonesia, (1-4.7) Guam, (1-4.4) Fiji, (1-4.8) Nicaragua, (2- 4.8/4.9) Japan,
(3- 4.5/4.8/5.9) El Salvador, (1-4.4) Guatemala
I'll be back in 2-3 days. I do hope these next few days are happy ones for you. Tomorrow is Sunday, so I am blessed with church and fellowship. I pray all of you a blessed day and if you have no church, visit one. Visit several. Not interested yet, okay. I'm not a Bible thumper, someone who keeps hitting you over the head with a 20 lb family Bible, but you are sure to come across one at some point. The Lord has taken me and my wife through a lot of things, and the Lord has brought healing and we'd like people to feel this love and forgiveness. Must be Saturday night, I'm here doing a sermon. I wish you a good night, happy trails and pray for snow for Moose Pass. Good night. Lord Bless you all. BILL