A Happy New Year.

If celebrating tonight, please act responsibly and do not put yourself or others in danger.

Peter Abelard.

Dearest Greeks ...

... in the light of what has happened to the French economy DO NOT INSTALL A LEFTIST Government! Please DO NOT GIVE OPPORTUNITY TO THE HARD RIGHT GOLDEN DAWN.

PICK any centre or centre right party which advocates withdrawal from the EU - or at the very least, withdrawal from the Euro which got you into all this trouble in the first place!

Greece set for snap elections, far-left tops polls - 29/12/2014.
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Greece will hold early elections on 25 January, triggering fears that the far left Syriza party will win and derail negotiations on how to end the EU-IMF bailout programme.
http://euobserver.com/political/127059

Labour Mayor Joins UKIP.

Nice one, Harjit!

BBC Radio Glos‏@BBCGlos    NEWS: Former Mayor of Gloucester Harjit Gill who was a Labour councillor for 8 years has defected to UKIP.

Where Would We Be Without T'Interweb?

Peter Yates - Letter In The Derby Telegraph. Pass It On To Your Friends.

I AM writing about the article on December 10 by Saros Kavina, "Is this a resurgence of Powellism in Britain?" I've always been interested in politics and in recent years have attended meetings where I could listen at grassroots level to the view of Labour, the Greens, Conservatives and Lib Dems.

If you had heard some of their ideas, you would not let them run a bath, let alone the country.

So, to see what the new kids on the block were like, I attended a local UKIP meeting.

If I had based my preconceptions of "Kippers" on the Powell article by Saros Kavina I would have been a bit nervous but there was not a racist or "little Englander" in sight.

If there is such a thing as the "average Brit", well I can now let you know where to find some, together with a whole lot of common sense.

I don't think they know the meaning of left or right. Having researched about Saros Kavina's work, the sentiment appears very caring.

But what I would recommend is to engage with a few "Kippers" before reaching conclusions based on what the chattering classes say.

The reality is very different and much of this party's thrust is aimed at changing the wasteful ways of worn-out politics.

That alone would bring huge benefits to the electorate in the most deprived parts of Derby or any other city for that matter.

So why not give them the benefit of the doubt; there's precious little to lose.

Peter Yates

Read more: http://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/saw-racists-little-Englanders-UKIP-meeting-ndash/story-25768062-detail/story.html#kGVhrG9Oyrj2CR9V.01#ixzz3NN3rf4i2 
Follow us: @DerbyTelegraph on Twitter | derbytelegraph on Facebook

How To Win When You Are Losing.

EU Hammers MORE Small Businesses.

EU forces online SMEs to 

register for VAT from Jan 1st 2015

From January 1st all small business entrepreneurs 

who sell online to the EU will be forced to register 

for VAT.

The new regulations were designed to take more 

VAT from online giants such as Amazon but will 

now load new regulations and burdens onto small businesses. Online microbusinesses which sell anything to EU customers will be forced 

to register for VAT even if their turnover is under the £81,000 threshold.

Margot Parker MEP, UKIP's spokesman for small business, said: "The EU, 

in its relentless desire to increase its take from VAT, is determined to 

load more VAT demands on the shoulders of British entrepreneurs. 

This new Brussels tax grab will without doubt force thousands of 

micro-businesses to shut down."

Mocking Atheists?

Hmm. Not convinced the Proverb is being well used.

Benefit Cheats and IDS.

Iain Duncan Smith: 'We’ll root out the benefits cheats who pretend to be ill for money'.

Brilliant news? But it does rather depend on what the role of ATOS will be. I do not want to see more genuine people have their lives wrecked as IDS tries to undo the damage done by the Major and Blair governments which permitted - nay, encouraged - people 'onto the sick' in order to conceal unemployment figures. Numbers on sickness benefits doubled!

Blair Says Ed Will Lose In May Because ...

... he and Labour are now too left wing.

Wycliffe.

Poverty: 2006/8 - And What Precisely Has Changed?

The EU adds to world poverty.

EUROPEAN ECONOMIC WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION TO AFRICA 
Posted by SG on May 25, 2008 . [THANKYOU.]
The West’s hypocrisy is a major crime against Africa
Story by MUTUMA MATHIU Publication Date: 5/25/2008
Rich countries want to go to food heaven, but they don’t want to die.
The European Union, for example, would like Africa to regard it as a friend out to help it crawl out of endemic poverty, violence and death.
But the policies of the European Union, particularly in agriculture, can only be described as economics of mass destruction.
What do you think is the single biggest item in the EU budget? Defence? Environment? -
It is farm subsidies.
They take 40 per cent of the EU budget, the small matter of some 40 billion euros, or Sh4 trillion, a year.
They pay their farmers to produce mountains of butter and lakes of milk, as one BBC report put it, then dump the whole lot on the international market and make it very close to impossible for farmers in the poor countries to put a square meal on the table. He is correct.
Article 87 of the Consolidated Treaty was blamed by Oxfam some four/five years ago for being behind the worsening conditions in many countries as this concentrated in ensuring that poorer nations could not export their produce to us if it was something already produced in the EU. 
This meant that competition was lost, their nations remained poor and our consumers got 'subsidised' produce from within the EU which was more expensive than on world markets.
Add the EU's nonsensical bio-fuel policies into the equation and we are truly doing evil to the poorest in the world.
LINK::http://chamachamwananchi.wordpress.com/2008/05/25/european-economic-weapons-of-mass-destruction-to-africa/

Professor Collier On Immigration.

There was an interesting article in The Spectator by Professor Paul Collier of Oxford University, discussing immigration, and making some important points showing it is not entirely true to claim the economy needs mass immigration. He argues:

Inchoately, many people sense that ever-rising population would threaten our environment, while ever-rising diversity would threaten our cohesion. Trotting out exaggerated claims of the economic benefits of immigration talks past these concerns. In doing so, it plays into the corrosive populist idea that political elites are disconnected from reality.

He argues that immigrants, over their whole lives, will receive more from the state than they pay in taxes, unless they earn above-average incomes, and consequently a snapshot taken early in their working lives, when they are not receiving pensions and other expensive forms of care, does not show that such people will, over their whole lives, “contribute”.

Storms - Just An Attitude of Mind.

The Cold.

It's a good job that I did not pay any attention to the crazy outpourings of the tabloid press who insisted that last night - 'the coldest of the year' - would see temperatures everywhere of -10.
After the BBC Online debacle of Boxing Day for Steel City, I decided not to follow the ravings and consequently did not put on my central heating overnight. Lowest temperature here in Sheffield-where-the-sun-always-shines was a relatively acceptable -3. Better weather here on New Year's Day to melt all the leftover snow - if I dare to believe the Beeb Online ever again, that is.

Prayer 24-7.

http://www.24-7prayer.com

Looking Back And Wondering Why You Ever Said It, Paul?

Downton expects Cook to stay captain

ECB managing director Paul Downton says he would be surprised if Alastair Cook is not captain at the World Cup.

Money - To Be Respected But Do Not Make It Into An Idol.

Paul Nuttall On Mighty Form In Strasbourg.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2xQaeA8T6E

Elephants.

Miliband Doing Nowt On Immigration Crisis.

Ed Miliband - busy doing 

nothing on immigration.

“Ed Miliband’s “big” immigration speech lasted a sum total of seven minutes today", said Steven Woolfe MEP, the UKIP Migration spokesman.

"Miliband is highlighting the fact that Labour really has nothing to say, and has no wish to say anything to the British people on this issue – especially not “sorry” for opening the doors to Europe in 2004.

UKIP's Louise Bours MEP On Training Nurses.

More must be done to 

train nurses in this country

Published Dec 17, 2014

More must be done to train nurses in this country - 
and urgently, said UKIP Health spokesman Louise 
Bours today.

Her comments come in the wake of a shock report 
from the Health Service Journal showing almost 
three-quarters of hospital trusts have been driven 
to recruiting overseas.

"While we have always had some foreign nurses 
working in the NHS it is now getting out of control 
and we cannot go ignoring the situation," said Ms Bours, 
North West MEP.

"This shortage of home grown registered nurses 
should never have been allowed to develop and 
cutting 10,000 training posts since the last General 
 Election has plainly been a massive mistake. I 
believe one of the ways to address this is to scrap the 
insistence on university degrees.

"We need to go back to learning on the job backed 
up with classroom training which would help tackle 
this staffing crisis. Nursing is about caring and practical 
experience on the wards dealing with real patients is 
worth its weight in gold.

"A survey earlier this year revealed that more than 
half of nurses are so unhappy that they want to quit 
to work overseas for countries such as Australia where 
they can often earn at least £10,000 a year more.

"Morale among nursing staff is very low as they 
feel their essential work is undervalued so it is no 
wonder that we have staff shortages in this country. 
 It is a crisis and swift action is needed," she said.

Latest figures show in the 12 months ending in 
September last year 5,778 nurses from abroad were
 recruited compared with 1,360 the previous year.

"Recruiting staff from abroad carries the inherent 
risk that poor English skills could lead to 
misunderstandings and mistakes. It also adds to the 
costs of recruitment, money which should be spent on 
training and paying British nurses.

"Because our hands are tied by EU rules on freedom 
of labour about 75% of nurses from overseas are allowed 
to register to work here without any checks on their 
language or competence. That is plainly wrong and 
dangerous," she said.

Attacks On Christian Girls In The Punjab.

Release partners report a sharp rise in the number of Christian girls being raped – as they support two families in Punjab whose daughters have been attacked.

In the most recent assault, two Christian sisters, aged 14 and 16, were attacked as they went out into the fields to go to the toilet in a village in Jaranwala district on November 28. The girls’ family allege that three males assaulted them repeatedly overnight.

The girls’ family say they have been threatened and warned not to press charges. They also allege the police have obstructed attempts to gather medical evidence. Release partners are ensuring the girls get the medical care and legal assistance they need.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in Punjab, other Release partners are supporting the family of a 14-year-old girl believed to have been abducted on November 26, forcibly converted to Islam and married to her kidnapper. Local Christians and Muslims in Thatha Gondal have been involved in negotiations to return the girl to her family.

Release partners say Christians who are forcibly converted to Islam are at high risk of extremist attack – if they are seen not to adhere to Islamic codes. Release Int.

How NOT To Discover Scriptural Truth.

Cult - Order Of The Solar Temple.

This strange cult is based upon the ancient belief that the Knights Templar still exist and that salvation is only available to converted worshippers who would ascend into heaven. It was founded in 1984 by Joseph Di Mambro and Luc Jouret. The group’s activities are extremely secretive, but in 1994 cultists brutally murdered an infant because they believed it to be the anti-Christ. What followed was a series of mass suicides (including one in Switzerland, where inner-circle members were poisoned to death, and second one in Canada.) Cultists were shot, poisoned, burned, and suffocated. In the end over 100 people died, mostly by their own hand or at the hands of their leaders.

The Lord Our Banner.

Idiocy of TWO Centres For The EU Parliament!

But don’t worry, in 2014 the EU gravy train trundled on costing the EU taxpayer roughly €114 million just to get MEPs from Brussels to Strasbourg. This “travelling circus” also results in around 20,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions

Crowns And Cloths And Priests And Wycliffe.

Humanitarian Relief - Speech

http://www.jonathanarnott.co.uk/2014/12/parliamentary-speech-humanitarian-relief-speed-is-of-the-essence/

So - Why Don't I Care All That Much, I Wonder?

Conquered World.

Well, Santa - Didya Do It?

EU expecting 'huge gift from Santa', said UKIP's

 EU Budget Spokesman, Jonathan Arnott,

The EU is expecting a ‘huge gift from Santa’, 
according to UKIP’s EU Budget Spokesman, 
Jonathan Arnott, as EU leaders gather in Brussels 
to discuss a €315 billion investment fund proposed 
by EU President, Jean – Claude Juncker.

The fund, unveiled towards the end last month, 
is planned to result in €315bn investment in the
 EU economy in the forthcoming years, using a 
guarantee of €16 billion from the EU budget and 
€5 billion from the European Investment Bank (EIB). 
Getting from €21bn to €315bn represents a leverage
 ratio of 15, a figure that has triggered fierce criticism 
that the European Commission is merely using figures 
 which ‘don’t add up’.

UKIP’s EU Budget Spokesman, Jonathan Arnott MEP, 
said "In the run-up to Christmas, the European Council 
will be holding a meeting about Juncker's proposed 
€315 billion investment Plan for Europe. With the 
European Union contributing just €16 billion and 
the Investment Bank €5 billion, the only way that 
this will work is if they receive a huge gift from Santa 
because the economic reality is that the figures just 
don't add up. "Private companies aren't going to 
contribute 15 times what's put in by Europe unless 
 there's an incredibly sweet deal for them, which means 
a bad deal for the taxpayer. After the recent British 
experience of the disaster which was Labour's PFI 
initiative in the NHS, I don't expect people in the UK 
to warm to Mr. Juncker's Ponzi scheme."

Agnosticism Debate. William Lane Craig.

http://www.apologetics315.com/search/label/Agnosticism

Not So Many Sermons Like That In Real Evangelical Churches!

Prisoners of Faith.

 Powerful new song by Welsh folk-rock band highlights plights of Christian prisoners of faith

A Welsh folk-rock band has released a powerful new song to support persecuted Christians around the world who will be behind bars this Christmas.

Bridgend-based Written in Kings have recorded a new version of their song War in Me. Available to download, War in Me highlights the plight of many Christians around the world who are persecuted for their faith.

The new song ties in with the 10^th anniversary of Release International’s Prisoners of Faith ministry, which gives pastoral care and practical support to imprisoned Christians and their families. Release helps persecuted Christians worldwide.

‘We wanted to support Christians who are jailed for their faith,’ says vocalist Nathan Beaton, ‘because we have the privilege of freedom. Freedom to believe in the God who created us and the free will to live our lives as Christians. We wanted to give a voice to the voiceless and thought it’d be great to support Release International.’

In countries such as Burma, China, Eritrea, North Korea, Pakistan, Vietnam and many others, Christians are in prison today simply for standing up for their faith. Release Int.

Geoff Pullar - RIP.

Former Lancashire and Gloucestershire batsman Geoff Pullar, who played 28 Tests for England, dies aged 79.

I have been struggling to remember the earliest test team from when I was about seven years old. As best as I can recall, it would have looked something like this: Pullar, Subba Row, Barrington, Dexter, Cowdrey, Graveney, Murray, Lock, Allen, Trueman & Statham.  Shackleton was always in the mix too.

'Conservative' Here Does Not Mean 'Tory.'

Heaven's Gate - Cult.

Followers of this cult believe that enlightenment and salvation can only be achieved by fleeing Earth before the “great recycling.” Since leaving Earth is somewhat problematic, the leaders of this cult preached suicide as the answer to leaving your body and reaching enlightenment. Marshall Applewhite and Bonnie Nettles were the leaders behind this strange cult. They prepared videos on how to leave your earthly flesh behind and distributed them to members. Then, in 1997, Haley’s Comet arrived and Applewhite convinced his followers a spaceship was trailing the comet and those who followed him into death would be saved. Applewhite then ordered 38 people to commit suicide in San Diego when he claimed Haley’s Comet was the sign they’d been waiting for. Jerimy Grafinstein.

Environment Agency And Green Fools.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/11314341/How-the-Green-Blob-got-its-man.html
The Greens are not fit to be out on their own!

N. Wales Police.

11,000 breath tests over the holiday and only 45 were positive. Are the traffic officers working on commission?

I Shiver Just Looking At It.

Red Squirrels? - (Personally, I Wouldn't Bring Up Their Politics.)

After 140 years, red squirrels are fighting back.

The number of red squirrels is on the rise after 140 years while foreign greys are declining, a survey has disclosed. Telegraph report in 2013. (The Mail caught up on the story today!)

No Comment.

Zambian man jailed for two years for torching buildings during the London riots can't be kicked out of Britain because he 'would not be welcomed' in his homeland. Mail.

David - Many Thanks For Your Honesty.

I'd find it a challenge if Roma gipsies moved into my street, admits Blunkett - the Home Secretary who opened Britain's borders to new EU members

As he prepares for his retirement, former Home Secretary David Blunkett said he would be distraught if gypsies moved into his street in Sheffield. Mail.

ROSLA - Twice!

Just how stupid you had to be to want to raise the school leaving age to 18, I really cannot imagine. It would be naive in the extreme to believe that this was implemented for sound educational reasons.
There were already many tens of thousands of disaffected youths of 14, 15 & 16 desperate to leave an education which was not designed for them but was merely created to engineer the destruction of grammar schools. In the 60s the left and their acolytes voiced the slogan "A grammar school education for all!"
Folly to think that such an education would suit all youngsters, many of whom have already peaked well before 14. You were offering the kind of liberal education for which a particular brain pattern and level of intelligence were both required.
The comprehensives were born out of a false premise and their primary intention was always to combat 'social elitism' rather than to improve education. Education at its best should always be attempting to give the most appropriate learning base. Fail on this - fail on everything.
A number of studies - not least from the LSE - have shown that social mobility has actually deteriorated in the comprehensive system.
Raising the leaving age to 18 compulsorily was the final admission that the system had failed completely.
[Would you fancy teaching a class of disaffected 17 & 18 year old youths in a school or college of F.E.? No! Me neither. 14 year olds are quite bad enough.]
Can't recruit enough teachers now? Well, see how hard it will be to recruit new staff and keep existing ones when this all kicks in fully.

Inerrancy.

Book Review: Inerrancy and Worldview by Vern Poythress.

The past few years have seen the rise of inerrancy—an issue that many thought was resolved come to the forefront of current theological debate, once again. Inerrancy is an important theological truth that while not directly tied to the Gospel itself nevertheless affects how one will ultimately understand issues directly related to the Gospel such as redemption, sin, justification among a host of other issues.  For this reason, the issue of inerrancy while not “of first importance” certainty ranks way up there on the priority of Christian doctrine.

It really shouldn’t surprise Christians that inerrancy is becoming an issue again at all—since the issue of inerrancy is directly tied to the question of who is authoritative: God or man. Theological liberalism has convinced many parts of Christianity today that inerrancy is unimportant because according to them the Bible is a book full of errors. The sad thing is when one looks at the churches of those who deny the inerrancy of the Scriptures it becomes readily apparent who is in “charge”—man and not God. Making much of man is not the church’s mission, but making much of Jesus and spreading His fame to the nations is the Church’s mission. This is exactly why the issue of inerrancy is so important because it deals definitively not just with whether the text of Scripture is with or without error but rather with the larger question of who is authoritative, God or man. This is also the reason why I was excited when I heard about Dr. Vern Poythress new book Inerrancy And Worldview: Answering Modern Challenges To The Bible, because in the past few years I’ve been spending more time studying the doctrine of inerrancy. Through my study, I have become increasingly convinced that this issue will be one of the biggest theological battles in our generation.