Part 1:
Category: Video Page 6 of 15
From the Independent: The demise of the dollar:
“In the most profound financial change in recent Middle East history, Gulf Arabs are planning – along with China, Russia, Japan and France – to end dollar dealings for oil, moving instead to a basket of currencies including the Japanese yen and Chinese yuan, the euro, gold and a new, unified currency planned for nations in the Gulf Co-operation Council, including Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait and Qatar.
“Secret meetings have already been held by finance ministers and central bank governors in Russia, China, Japan and Brazil to work on the scheme, which will mean that oil will no longer be priced in dollars.
“‘These plans will change the face of international financial transactions,’ one Chinese banker said. ‘America and Britain must be very worried. You will know how worried by the thunder of denials this news will generate.'”
(For the record, just because I’m posting this video doesn’t mean I’m necessarily endorsing the site at the end or the campaign. I don’t think it’s bad, just haven’t checked it out to see exactly what all they are promoting or encouraging.)
Some of you may have already seen this or something like it, but it really made me sad to see what the Madison Avenue-ites are doing to both men and womens’ perception of humanity via all forms of entertainment and marketing. Everyone knows this is going on, but the video makes the difference between knowing about something that is going on and experiencing it, feeling it in your heart.
This represents a behind the scenes snapshot of what we are bombarded with everyday on television, in magazines, on billboards, that really gives us all a skewed perception of the reality of our looks. The fact of the matter is, most people (including myself) just look average. And guess what? That’s okay! That is exactly how God intended it by His good design and pleasure, for His own glory.
The Grand Demythologizer: The Gospel and Idolatry (Video) – Tim Keller
Once again, I have to be reminded of truths I’ve forgotten. It is so easy to forget things that should constantly be flowing through your mind. One is the fact that the heart (my heart), as Martin Luther said, is an idol factory. I listened to Tim Keller’s talk on The Gospel Coalition’s website entitled The Gospel and Idolatry and was once again confronted with my idols, that is those things I’m staking my ultimate hope in besides Christ. How quickly we turn from Him to less satisfying, less glorious things and exchange Him for lesser gods that don’t deliver what we most desperately need! “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” – Romans 7:24-25
- A million march to US Capitol to protest ‘socialism’ – (Univ. of Illinois spacial image mapping estimated it at 1.7 million, highest estimate is 2 million)
- NY Times Buries Massive Conservative D.C. Rally, Hails Smaller Liberal Protests
- Also: 912 Project Fort Worth protests the federal government (estimated between 10,000 and 20,000)
I think this movement is just getting started. Combine the prospect (and likelihood) of more excessive taxes and government control on the unemployed and already burdened, and you get a large group of ticked off people. Are these the roots of a revolution if things don’t start reversing? I don’t know, depends on what happens in the next year or two from now with legislation, the economy and next years’ elections. If things get worse as some economists are predicting (who rightly predicted last years’ crisis), the numbers could grow significantly.
As Gerald Celente said in predicting this trend earlier this year, “When people lose everything and they have nothing to lose, they lose it.” Hopefully that will not happen. So far, it is a non-violent movement. But if people get pressed far enough, anything is possible. I’m not saying I condone such a thing if it turned to that. I would decline to participate. I’m just pointing out the possibility.
Most Republican politicians don’t seem to have the fight in them that many of these protesters do. So could a third party, a truly conservative group of honest politicians get elected? It would be nice, but as one political commentator said recently on a show I was listening to, we need to first get competent politicians elected who know how the machine of economics and politics works.
Just check out the sea of people in this video, it’s really quite amazing:
From Calculated Risk:
This is happening all across the country: falling demand [for commercial real estate] and still more office supply coming available as large commercial real estate projects are completed. This means falling rents and property values. And as the construction loans come due, there will be more and more losses for lenders.
From WashingtonPost article cited in Calculated Risk’s blog:
“We may see the commercial version of the subprime situation,” said Steve Silverman, director of the Montgomery County Department of Economic Development.
This was predicted earlier this year by Gerald Celente, founder of Trends Research Institute. The question is, will the effects of this and other situations prove to be as dire as he predicted? We’ll have to see I guess.
Parents upset over ‘leftist propaganda’ video (Archive)
Many of the things each celebrity lists in this video are inherently good things. I’m absolutely an advocate of looking after my neighbor’s interests and not only my own, though of course not through a government mandate, but willingness of heart. Loving our neighbors as ourselves is part of the summing up of the entire law, according to Jesus Himself. And just on its face, this is a virtue any society should uphold. I’m also in favor of building stronger communities in which we do help each other, although of course I believe the church should be a strong, influential, integral member in the community as well, in order that the Gospel may spread to those who don’t know Christ.
What I primarily negate in this video (even before the political aspect) is the worldview and theological perspective this understanding of serving others springs from: it is secular, postmodern humanism, that is, the exaltation of humanity. Some version of this can be seen in history in Genesis 11:1-11 at the Tower of Babel. Humans were made (dare I say designed) to worship. And if we don’t worship the Lord, the true God, and refuse to make Him the center of our lives through Christ alone, we will worship something else, of necessity. Martin Luther called the human heart an “idol factory.” And rightfully so.
I listen to Glenn Beck occasionally and think he comes unhinged a lot. And I obviously don’t agree with his assessments concerning “faith” in these videos. But these are absolutely valid questions and concerns he raises, many of the same one’s I have based on a lot of the same evidence and information I have been researching as well. And it has zero to do with race … good grief, come on MSNBC.