Hugo Chavez takes a swing at Golf... A security threat or just a good walk spoiled...

Scots must be shaking their heads. Fresh from nationalizing almost every capitalist enterprise that yields a profit (or used to anyway), Latin American strongman and de facto socialist dictator Hugo Chavez has found a new class enemy: golf. Declaring it a "bourgeois" sport, the Venezuelan leader has ordered the shut-down of some of the country's best-known golf courses.

Obviously golf isn't his sport because Hugo Chavez, like all dictators leads the life he wants to lead and demands that the country follow his lead. The man is clearly demented.

For a socialist like Mr. Chavez, banning golf might be considered, ahem, par for the course, even if he is, of course, a bit late to the game. The likes of China, Russia, and Cuba banned golf decades ago—although today they all enjoy practicing their swing. Perhaps this is exactly the historic precedent Mr. Chavez fears. The Soviet Union built its first golf course in 1988—and a year later, the Berlin Wall fell.

Or maybe Chavez—known for his paranoia about alleged Western plots to overthrow him—has read up on Scottish history. In 1457, King James II of Scotland banned the game from the hills on which it was created. He argued that golf was a danger to national security as it distracted his soldiers from practicing their archery.

Turns out, the king's fears may not have been entirely unfounded. Believing the threat of war had dissipated, his grandson, James IV, a keen golfer, lifted the ban in 1502. Eleven years later, in the Battle of Flodden against the English, Scotland suffered its worst ever military defeat. James himself was killed on the battlefield, along with a large contingent of Scottish nobles (many no doubt golf enthusiasts as well). Superior English archery played its part in the battle's outcome.

There could also be another reason a socialist like Mr. Chavez might dislike golf—the game is rich with religious overtones. Golf prompts many players to think about God—and not just because his name is so often (blasphemously) invoked on the course.

Players surrounded by the natural beauty the Lord created are reminded of the limits of man's ability to conquer it. Consider the elusive hole-in-one, the wind that ruins the otherwise near-perfect swing and the bunkers that upset a quick recovery. "The Calvinists' ideal testing ground," is how the late British-American journalist Alistair Cooke once described it. "The bunkers, the scrubby gorse, the heather and broom, the hillocks and innumerable undulations of the land itself, were all seen not as nuisances but as natural obstacles, as reminders to all original sinners that in competition with the Almighty, they surely would not overcome."

In that sense, golf threatens to undermine a dictator's personality-cult by reminding people of the true ultimate power. That's not the kind of message el presidente would probably like Venezuelans to hear—even if he once described Jesus as the world's first socialist.

Banning sports, though, can quickly spoil a strongman's game. Even the old Romans knew that panem et circenses were crucial to keeping Caesar in power. When English missionaries introduced Test Cricket (which takes place over several days) to Samoa, the natives loved it so much they stopped working in the Hamburg-owned sugar-cane fields. When the German consul-general banned the sport to restore productivity, it provoked a civil war.

Repressive regimes are thus usually smart enough to embrace most sports. They often even waste scarce resources on star athletes, citing their victories as evidence of their regime's superiority. Perhaps then, Mr. Chavez's attack on golf is a sign of serious deficits in Venezuela's golf talent. This explanation would fit with Mr. Chavez's attacks on the quality of the game itself.

"There are sports and there are sports," he stated on Venezuelan television. "Do you mean to tell me this is a people's sport?"

Just wait for him to echo Mark Twain's aphorism that golf is "a good walk spoiled."

Where is God, the ultimate question asked so many times before...

Where is God? Have you ever asked that question? Most of us have at one time or another. Its answer has more to do with His presence in our lives than with belief in His existence. We want to know -- where is God when I hurt, or where is God when something goes desperately wrong in my life? Our conclusions depend on what we rely on as a benchmark for truth in our lives.

Do you believe the Bible is true, and that it is what it claims to be? If you do, then you recognize that it is the very Word of God. What a great place to begin looking for His presence.
Where is God? How Can I Know He Exists?
Where is God? If this question still needs to be settled in your mind, consider the evidence for God in His creation. Genesis 1:1 says, In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Do you believe it? Look around at the evidence. Psalm 19:1-2 tells us: The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, And night unto night reveals knowledge. God wants us to know He exists. Where is God? We see Him in what He has created.

Do you believe that God wants you to see Him? The Bible says He does. He reveals Himself to us. Psalm 98:2 says, The Lord has made known His salvation; His righteousness He has revealed in the sight of the nations.

God reveals Himself to us through His creation (see Romans 1:20) and through His Word: All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16).

Finally, God desires us to know Him so much that He took on the form of a man, in the person of His Son Jesus Christ. Consider these words from Paul in Philippians 2:6-8: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

John, another apostle, helps us understand that Jesus is the same God who created the universe when he says In John 1: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men… And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

We can see God in what He has created; we can see Him when we read His Word; we can see Him in the person and character of Jesus Christ. Jesus came to help us understand God, and to assure us that God understands us. John goes on to say: No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him. (John 1:18). Jesus declares His existence and further reveals the truth about God.
Where is God? How Can I Relate to Him?
Where is God? There's a popular song that says God is watching from a distance. Or you may have heard Him referred to as a higher power, the man upstairs or a divine imminence. But the Bible tells us He is a person, and that He is near. James, a man history records as the brother of Jesus, tells us that if we draw near to God, He draws near to us (James 4:8). What more could we ask? Does that give you a picture of being cuddled? It should - God longs to cuddle you in His arms.

Have you believed God is waiting to judge you? The Bible says He longs to forgive you. Over and over throughout the pages of Scripture, we read of His longsuffering nature. From Genesis through Revelation, we see a consistent picture of a God who continues to offer forgiveness, up to the very end of time. He is not willing that any should perish, the Bible says, but that all should be saved. The reason He sent Jesus into the world is so that we could all be saved! (John 3:17). Religions teach us we need to earn God's favor. The Bible tells us God's favor is a gift. All He is waiting for is for us to admit our need. Once we confess our sin, His forgiveness is ours. (1 John 1:9)
Where is God? What Next?
Where is God? In today's world, it's easy for us to think that we suffer alone. But if you have wondered where God is, so has someone else. Now that you know who He is and where He is, you can help someone else know where God is, too.

Near the end of the Gospel of John, just before He was crucified, Jesus told His disciples about a comforter He would send, to remind them of all the things He had taught. That comforter, the Holy Spirit of God, came at Pentecost, just a short time after Jesus ascended into heaven. In the first chapter of Acts we read about that event as His disciples were filled with His Spirit and began declaring the Gospel message.

What this means for you and me is that once we confess our sins, receive God's forgiveness and accept the gift of salvation through Christ, we can know the presence of that Comforter, too. With His Holy Spirit living in us, His nature gradually overtakes our own. As that happens, others will begin to discover where God is by knowing you.

God is...

Chavez groping in the dark - Now says U.S. troops involved in Zelaya ouster...

Venezuelan de facto socialist President Hugo Chavez is now saying he has information indicating that U.S. troops were involved in removing deposed Honduran ALBA President Manuel Zelaya from power and putting him on a plane in his Mickey Mouse pijamas to neighboring Costa Rica.

According to the latest story, Chavez is saying that Zelaya told him that when he was awakened by armed Honduran troops on June 28 he was taken to the U.S. military base in Honduras and that a U.S. general made the decision to send him to Costa Rica in his Mickey Mouse pajamas. This is the new colorful story being told by Zelaya and Chavez two months after the supposed fact.

U.S. President Barack Obama doesn’t understand what is happening in the region, Chavez said, and should close military bases in Honduras and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Oh, and the new one’s being used in Colombia.

“I think Obama is lost, he’s confused,” Chavez said on his weekly television program. “We’re not asking him to intervene in Honduras. To the contrary, we’re asking him to take the empire’s hands off of Honduras and its claws out of Latin America, “ and allow me and my ALBA acolytes hands free access to intervening in the internal affairs of Latin American countries like before Obama’s recent policy change in the region.”

The U.S. Embassy in Caracas is currently reviewing Chavez’s remarks and may have an official comment tomorrow, said Larry Socha, the embassy’s assistant press officer. But is such silly gibberish hardly deserves a second thought much less and official response.

Zelaya has been seeking support to return to Honduras since he was kicked out of office for meddling and trying to restructure the Honduran constitution he swore to uphold. Roberto Micheletti, the former president of the Congress, and interim president, took over as the acting president when Zelaya was sent packing.

Obama, who met with leaders from Mexico and Canada on Aug. 10, said that democratic order must be restored to Honduras. He also said that the same Latin American countries that asked him not to intervene in the region are now asking him to take action to restore Zelaya.

It seems from Obama’s statement that everyone, including his own administration, has been undefined and flip-flopping on the issue of Honduras. But order seems now to finally be implemented thanks to the U.S. Foreign Affairs Committee, and U.S. policy toward Latin America for the 21st Century is again clear and in the best interests of democracy and prosperity.

Expected Swine Flu Outbreak - How-to tips for school vaccinations...

Giving injections to thousands of children — even something as easy and safe as influenza vaccine — is complicated. Parents should be aware that there are resources to help schools plan flu-vaccine clinics.

"It's not just going from desk to desk and giving a little polio vaccine on a sugar cube," warned Dr. William Schaffner of Vanderbilt University, a vaccine specialist who advises the federal government.

Early planning is key, added Robert Pestronk of the National Association of County & City Health Officials.

His group offers sample letters to parents explaining the vaccination process and also case studies of different ways school systems have successfully performed flu vaccinations. The group even provides a checklist to help officials be sure they've remembered every detail.

Health professionals have to administer flu vaccine, and typically local health departments do the job.

First decision: which to offer, vaccination against regular winter flu, swine flu or both? Health officials believe that swine flu inoculation will require two shots, three weeks or so apart, whereas vaccination against regular winter flu requires a separate jab.

Regardless, no kid can be vaccinated in school unless a parent or guardian properly fills out a permission slip that includes questions about the child's health history. For example, people with severe egg allergies aren't supposed to get flu vaccine, and certain conditions require that people receive the flu shot instead of the nasal-spray version.

Have someone check the consent forms ahead of vaccination day because many parents miss questions or forget to sign them, warned Jennifer Johnson of the Knox County, Tenn., Health Department, which has offered in-school FluMist vaccination for four years.

Flu vaccine side effects are generally mild, such as a sore arm or some fever. But Schaffner warns that weird things can happen, too — like the fact that adolescent girls sometimes faint when they get a shot. Health officials recommend observing children for 15 minutes after vaccination.

Navy SEALs' Simultaneous Headshots on Pirates ... Simple Procedure

A ransom demand has been received for the return of a Russian-manned freighter that went missing last month in the Atlantic, Finnish investigators said Saturday.

It was not immediately clear whether the ransom demand was legitimate, and the whereabouts of the vessel Arctic Sea, its 15 crew members and its $1.8 million cargo of timber remain a mystery.

Crew members had said they were attacked in Swedish waters four days before the ship disappeared July 28, but there has been no confirmation that the ship was actually seized.
"A ransom demand has been made. ... Let's say it's a largish amount of money," Markku Ranta-Aho, of Finland's National Bureau of Investigation, told national YLE radio. He said the demand was addressed to the Finland-based company that owns the Arctic Sea, but he would not give details or say where the ship might be located for fear of endangering the crew.

The French Navy said Saturday the ship was likely near Cape Verde. Widespread reports on Friday also had placed the ship near the island nation off West Africa.

Cape Verde authorities said they had no new information Saturday, though Russia's ambassador to the country, Alexander Karpushin, said there was no confirmation the ship had been found.
Russian maritime Web site Sovfrakht said the ship's tracking system had sent signals Saturday from the Bay of Biscay, about 2,000 miles north of Cape Verde. It cautioned, however, that the Arctic Sea's Automatic Identification System equipment may not be on the ship itself anymore. The signals disappeared after about an hour, it said.

The French Navy rejected the Web site's claim. Spokesman Capt. Jerome Baroe said the signals had come from Russian warships moving from the Mediterranean to the Baltic Sea.
The Arctic Sea had set out from Finland on July 23 and was due in an Algerian port Aug. 4. It vanished July 28 after passing through the English Channel.

Efforts to pinpoint its location have been difficult in the vast Atlantic and with no communication from the ship's 15-member Russian crew.

Crew members had reported the ship was attacked July 24 in the Baltic Sea off the Swedish island of Oland. They said a dozen masked men boarded the ship, tied them up, beat them, questioned them about drug trafficking and searched the freighter before leaving.

Such an attack would have been unusual in European waters, and raised questions because it was not reported until the freighter had passed through Britain's busy shipping lanes. There have been fears that some of the attackers might still be aboard, or that the ship came under attack a second time.

Speculation on what might have happened has ranged from suspicions that the ship was carrying secret cargo - possibly narcotics - to theories about a commercial dispute. Security experts have been wary of attributing its disappearance to bandits, noting that piracy is almost unheard of in European waters.

Money, especially big money has the trait of creating adepts. The world should realize that sometimes it's better to be right than politically correct.

The SEALS snipers did a great job hopefully for the world to emulate.

Ahmadinejad Reveals plans for Female Ministers in Iranian Cabinet...

In a precedent setting break with established Islamic culture, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran said on Sunday he would propose at least three female ministers in his new cabinet following Iran's recent election, an unprecedented move in the conservative Islamic state.

The hardline nationalist also said the West must be held to account for stoking unrest in Iran after the June 12 presidential vote, as the third mass trial of demonstrators accused of trying to overthrow clerical rule began.

The election and its aftermath have plunged Iran into its biggest internal crisis since the 1979 Islamic revolution, exposing deepening divisions within its ruling elite and also further straining relations with the West.

Ahmadinejad has until Wednesday to present a cabinet to parliament for approval but may get a rough ride from the conservatives who dominate the assembly, as well as from his moderate foes who see his next government as illegitimate.

He did not say who would be in charge of the Oil Ministry of the world's fifth-biggest crude exporter. But he said Industries and Mines Minister Ali Akbar Mehrabian, a close ally who had been seen as a potential candidate, would remain in his old job.

A semi-official news agency separately quoted a senior lawmaker as saying Ahmadinejad was expected to nominate chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili for the foreign minister's post.
Like Ahmadinejad, Jalili has taken an uncompromising stance in Iran's dispute with the West over its nuclear program, which the United States suspects is aimed at making bombs. Iranian officials say it is for peaceful power purposes.

Ahmadinejad's surprise announcement on state television that he would nominate several female ministers may be an attempt to shore up support among women. The president's moderate opponents campaigned on the need to enhance their position in Iran.

Activists working for more female rights say women face institutionalized discrimination in Iran, for example in legislation relating to divorce, child custody and inheritance, and have accused Ahmadinejad of neglecting such issues. It would be the first time a woman would hold a ministerial position in Iran since its 1979 Islamic revolution, even though a woman in charge of environmental issues was one of several vice presidents in Ahmadinejad's outgoing cabinet -- a relatively junior government position.

One female minister under the U.S.-backed shah, Farrokhroo Parsa, was executed after the revolution.

"With the 10th presidential election, we have entered a new era ... conditions changed completely and the government will see major changes," Ahmadinejad said.
He named two of his proposed female ministers: conservative lawmaker Fatemeh Ajorlou as social welfare minister and former member of parliament Marzieh Vahid Dastjerdi, a university professor and gynecologist, as health minister.

"At least one more will be added," Ahmadinejad said.

Among other planned cabinet changes, he said Heydar Moslehi, now a presidential adviser on clerical affairs, would become intelligence minister after his predecessor was sacked.
Economy Minister Shamseddin Hosseini would retain the post.

Ahmadinejad, who has been criticized by parliament in the past for sudden government reshuffles, said he had sought wide advice on the make-up of his next cabinet.
But the deputy head of parliament's national security and foreign policy committee, Hossein Sobhaninia, said the body had not been consulted on any of the four ministers it dealt with.
Sobhaninia also said Ahmadinejad was expected to nominate Jalili as foreign minister to replace Manouchehr Mottaki, the Mehr News Agency reported.

Moderate defeated presidential candidates Mirhossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karoubi say the June election was rigged to secure the re-election of Ahmadinejad. The authorities say the vote was the "healthiest" Iran has had in the past three decades.

Iran has accused the United States, Britain and Israel of inciting post-election protests in an attempt to topple the clerical establishment. But of course they deny the charges.

"You (the West) should be held accountable for your actions," Ahmadinejad said in a speech earlier on Sunday. "The Iranian nation would ... slap those with ill intentions so hard that they would lose their way home."

At Sunday's trial, no prominent moderate politicians were among the 28 accused named by media, which showed pictures of some of them sitting in a courtroom wearing light-colored prison clothes. A Jewish teenager was among those tried.

Iran has previously held two trials for more than 100 moderates, including senior politicians, for various charges including acting against national security which is punishable by death under Iran's Islamic law.

The West and human rights groups have condemned the mass trials, which analysts see as an attempt by the authorities to uproot the moderate opposition who perhaps were naively encouraged to go out into the street prematurally where they were easily photographed and idendified and anti government militant instigators.

Mousavi plans to set up a "Green Path of Hope" movement to preserve people's rights, media reported, a move signaling his determination to press on with his opposition activities. Green was the color of his election campaign.

We should remember that "change" from the bottom up is called revolution, and that "change" from the top down serves to strenghtens and consolidates the status quo.

Nahuatl - Aztec Warrior Clans .... Eagle and Jaguar Knights...

The Aztecs were constantly fighting and at war with their neighbours, either to increase the size of their empire or to take prisoners to be sacrificed to the gods at their temples. Young men joined the warrior clans at the age of 17. The most feared and famous of all Aztec soldiers were the eagle and the jaguar knights.

In this picture the Aztec warriors are fighting against neighbouring Tlaxcaltecs to maintain their power in the area and have an easy and close access to sacrificial victims for their gods. In order to maintain a state of war between the two nations, the Aztecs maintained a rigorous boycott of the Tlaxcaltecs access to salt supplies from the coast.

An Aztec warrior usually carried spears made of wood, with an obsidian edged blade, and a wooden maquahuitl (war club) which was about 76cm (30in) long. The maquahuitl had grooved sides set with sharp obsidian blades. Warriors also carried stabbing javelins and round shields with feather fringes. Flint and obsidian knives were also used and woollen slings to fire stones at their enemies. Body armor consisted of heavy tightly woven cotton breast plates.

The ideal warrior was noble, brave and had to serve and respect the gods. Warriors were so important to the Aztecs that new rulers had to start their rule on the battle field, adding cities and provinces to the empire, and capturing prisoners for ritual sacrifice, an essential part of the Aztec religion. Aztec soldiers who fought well could become eagle or jaguar warriors. The jaguar and eagle warriors were distinguished by their uniform and helmets, the jaguar warriors wore jaguar skins with their faces peering out of the animals head and the eagle warriors wore feathered helmets with a gaping beak. The jaguar warriors were stealthy and were specialized for night combat while the eagle warriors excelled in daylight combat like the soaring eagle.

By the time Montezuma the second became ruler in 1502, Tenochtitlan was a huge city and most of it's neighbouring cities were already part of the Aztec empire. Conquering new lands meant longer and longer journeys. As the empire expanded, merchants led the way with trade caravans that would bring back tales of lands and riches that lay beyond their borders. The warriors occupied fortified positions along these new trade routes to protect merchants from bandits and thieves, and to provide shelter for the trading caravans. Their priests also urged the leaders to conquer new lands to keep the gods happy with blood offerings. The ruler Ahuitzoltl payed tribute to the warrior clans for their service to the growing empire during peace and wartime. When he died, the empire was at it's most powerful, yet their was always danger of rebellion from those paying conquered nations forced to pay tribute.

The story of pre Colombian Mesoamerica and the conquest of Mexico are among the greatest documented human tragidies of recent human history. It's a story about us; the people of a new and old world comiing together as a new people.

The final verdict is still out, the dust is yet to settle.