Killer of American Missionaries Executed

Please remember to pray that the work of Martha, Bill and Kathy will continue to grow from their sacrifice:

"The Ibb Appeal Court executed this morning by a firing squad Abed Abdul-Razzak Kamil, who killed three American missionaries in Jibla, 5 km to the south of a southern province of Ibb in 2002.

The execution took place in the yard of the central prison of Ibb, which was attended by prison, police and judicial officials.

Some staff of American embassy in Sana’a attended the execution, however, no confirmation made from the US embassy in Sana'a.

Kamil, 30, had been convicted of opening fire on a staff meeting at a Baptist hospital in the southern town of Jibla in December 2002, killing obstetrician and surgeon Martha C. Myers, 57, hospital director William Koehn, 60, and purchasing agent Kathleen A. Gariety, 43.

The death sentence was approved yesterday by President Ali Abdullah Saleh, president of the Supreme Judicial Council, according to Saba News Agency."

The Daily Chew - Killer of American Missionaries Executed

Point Break Live Tickets

Finally, theater has taken a bold step forward to reach out to a new demographic. Have you ever been watching the latest Hollywood blockbuster and thought, "I could act better than Keanu Reeves . . ." Now is your chance:

"The Cult Hit That's Sweeping the Nation!

Length: 1 hr 15 mins
Intermission: None
Seating: General Admission
You choose your seats when you get to the theater.

Point Break LIVE!, the absurdist stage adaptation of the 1992 Keanu Reeves extreme-sports blockbuster, surfs into Galapagos for an exclusive one-month engagement.

The show, which garnered a “Seattle P-I Best of Seattle 2004” award, as well as rave reviews across the nation, tells the story of former College football star Johnny Utah—Keanu Reeves in the film—in pursuit of the bankrobbing, skydiving, bare-hand-fighting adrenaline-junkie-cum-Zenmaster Bodhi Sattva (Patrick Swayze—here played by Gearick Matthies), and features armed robbery, big-wave surfing, car chases, explosions, and no less than two extended skydiving sequences.

Best of all, the starring role of Keanu will be selected at random from the audience each night, and will read their entire script off of cue-cards!"

Point Break Live Tickets

Turkish will be the language of the 21st century

This was soooo funny!

"Although Turkish is among the world’s significant languages, it does not receive much interest."

"Reporter-writer Ali Bulac emphasized in his assessment of the schools that the 21 st century will be the century of Turkish. He said, "The 19th century was the century of French and the 20th century was the century of English."
ZAMAN DAILY NEWSPAPER (2006022029989)

IMB president speaks plainly with state editors about private prayer language - (BP)

Interesting . . .

"International Mission Board President Jerry Rankin answered questions about recent IMB trustee actions regarding a private prayer language and local church baptism practices in a Feb. 17 question-and-answer session with Baptist state paper editors."
IMB president speaks plainly with state editors about private prayer language - (BP)

The Run Around

I went to have my vehicle inspection today and I thought I would share my experience with the red tape runaround:

I hadn't done this before, so I did my usual research of looking on the internet and asking a few friends where it was and what I needed and I was able to find it with no problem at all, but that is when the fun really started.

1. Moved my car into a long line of cars to wait
2. Waiting . . .
3. Finally getting close enough to see what is going on and I notice some people getting out of their cars, going to a building on the side and returning with pieces of paper. Should I do the same? Nah!
4. I'm next, and I notice everyone is showing a piece of paper that I don't seem to have to the man doing the inspections. We'll see if I get by without it.
5. Nice man examines my car and notices I'm from Oklahoma in the car book.
6. He's about to let me go when the guy behind me points out to him that I don't have the paper. Grrh!
7. The inspector is nice enough to explain to me that I need to go to the long building first and get a receipt, then to the little building and get some stamps and then come back to get a signature.
8. I go to the long building and see that nothing is labeled out of 10 desks except the cashier.
9. I ask a lady behind a counter where I can get my receipt and she looks at my paperwork and tells me I have a traffic fine I need to pay. She directs me to the cashier.
10. The cashier is a 2 stage process, where first a man looks up your record (He concurs that I do in fact have a fine) and hands a slip of paper to the man who takes the money.
11. I pay the man and receive my receipt, heading out to the smaller building that was indicated to me previously.
12. When I get there he takes my car book and the receipt, but tells me with disapproval that I need a "clean paper" that will show that I don't owe anything. I point out that I just paid and have a receipt and he tells me I must have the "clean paper", signed and stamped.
13. I head back to the long building where I ask a man behind a counter if I can get a "clean paper" from him. He says no, you have to get them from my friends (pointing to people behind the same counter as him, all of them with no labels).
14. I go to the next lady and she gladly takes my receipt, checks on the computer and prints out my "clean paper"! She even signs it.
15. I hurry back to the little building only to be told with a stern look that the "clean paper" must be stamped. I ask him who has to stamp it and he says the boss.
16. I head back to the long building, where I look around for "the boss". I ask a lady who has to stamp the "clean paper" and she points to an office in the corner.
17. I head into the office where a man sits behind a desk. He takes my paper, stamps it, signs it, and brings out a press seal to seal it. Now, that's official!
18. I walk back to the little building to see my friends again. They gladly take all of my papers and one guy signs my book, another puts metallic stickers in it and signs those, and the last guy stamps it and signs that.
19. I go back to the inspector and he says that I have to go to the inspector next to him to get the final signature.
20. This is it, one final signature and I'm free. I return to my car and drive out of the lot in a record time of just under 2 hours!

Bedrock of a Faith Is Jolted

Yet another problem in this made-up faith. Lucky for them, the head of the church can just have another "revelation" and change it. It must be convenient to have inerrant and infallible scriptures that can be changed for convenience sake:

"For Mormons, the lack of discernible Hebrew blood in Native Americans is no minor collision between faith and science. It burrows into the historical foundations of the Book of Mormon, a 175-year-old transcription that the church regards as literal and without error."
Bedrock of a Faith Is Jolted - Los Angeles Times

Cartoon

Cartoon
Originally uploaded by TurkeyNEWZ.

Pun, Pu, Pun, Pun.

Boycott Egypt!

This is classic! Months ago the infamous cartoons were reprinted in an Egyptian newspaper, and nary a negative word was shared. Oh, the hypocrisy!
Rantings of a Sandmonkey: Boycott Egypt

HSBC - the untold stories . . .

We've learned some interesting things from HSBC bank employees here in Turkey:

1. Bank accounts aren't just for putting money in and taking money out. I was trying to open an account at our local branch when the lady helping me asked what I was opening the account for. I told her I needed it for depositing money for a conference coming up and that I would be putting money into it for paying some bills. She informed me, "We don't like to open accounts for people who are just going to use them to put money in and take money out!" I sat dumbfounded for a few seconds staring at her. I asked her what I was supposed to do with an account. She consulted with her manager and they decided they would let me open an account. What exactly are bank accounts for?

2. To open an account you need a document that you can't get unless you have an account. To live legally in Turkey, you have to obtain a residence permit. Part of the process we use for doing this is we open a bank account and deposit money in it to establish a presence in the country. Many different people I know have done this without difficulty, but two friends had the same problem at HSBC. They went to open an account and were informed that they needed a residence permit to open an account. They explained that they needed an account to get a residence permit, but the service rep. wasn't dissuaded. She sent them away without an account. They went to another bank and opened an account without difficulty.

It really seems like HSBC doesn't want our money.

Find Music You'll Love - Pandora

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Find Music You'll Love - Pandora

Hollywood Execs Wonder: 'Why Didn't I Think of That?' | NewsBusters.org

I'm sure the American media types are eating this up and waiting to honor this movie in any way possible:

"In the most expensive film ever made in Turkey, "Valley of the Wolves Iraq," American troops are depicted as savages who indiscriminately kill Muslims."

"The film may be too late to be considered for Oscar nominations."
Hollywood Execs Wonder: 'Why Didn't I Think of That?' | NewsBusters.org

Bugmenot.com - bypass compulsory registration with these free passwords

An Essential Site

Don't you hate it when you go to a site to read more of an article or to access a forum and they want your personal info in a registration form? I do to, which is why I use Bugmenot. Never register again!
Bugmenot.com - bypass compulsory registration with these free passwords

Solution to the Trustee problem?

Maybe this Texas baptist pastor has a real solution: clean house! It would be like what Tom Clancy did when he wiped out the government and let Jack Ryan in charge of everything:

"ARLINGTON, Texas (ABP) -- As debate escalates over the Southern Baptist International Mission Board's effort to remove one of its trustees from office, a Texas Baptist pastor has warned that he might seek to have the entire board dismissed.

Benjamin Cole, pastor of Parkview Baptist Church in Arlington, Texas, issued an open letter to IMB trustees in response to their proposal to remove trustee Wade Burleson from office.

Trustees voted Jan. 11 to seek Burleson's removal due to "broken trust and resistance to accountability," according to IMB trustee chairman Thomas Hatley.

Burleson was criticized by trustees for his frequent Internet blogs expressing concern about recent IMB actions. According to Burleson, trustee leaders accused him of violating board confidentiality. Burleson denied that accusation. He said "the real issue is crusading conservatives vs.
cooperative conservatives," warning that dogmatic trustees are excluding too many Southern Baptists from missionary service and meaningful participation in the Southern Baptist Convention.

Because denominational trustees are elected by SBC messengers, they can be removed only by action of the SBC, which meets June 13-14 in Greensboro, N.C. If the IMB proposal to remove Burleson is adopted, it reportedly would be the first time a trustee has been dismissed in the SBC's 160-year history.

In his open letter to trustees, Cole -- whose church is a member of the conservative Southern Baptists of Texas Convention -- said he has "scoured Rev. Burleson's website for evidence of his wrongdoing, and my net has returned empty."

"If there is information regarding acts of impropriety on his part that are not publicly available, then I will wait to hear the rationale for his removal when offered by the trustee chairman at this year's annual convention in Greensboro, N.C.," Cole wrote. "If no adequate rationale is provided, I will consider offering a substitute motion to vacate the board of trustees of the International Mission Board altogether."

Warning that bringing the issue "to the floor of the convention . will divide us all," Cole emphasized that each IMB trustee "is individually accountable to the convention."

"While I choose to give the benefit of the doubt to both Rev. Burleson and the trustees who would move his ouster," Cole wrote, "I am suspicious that your unprecedented decision to recommend the termination of his term, whether successful or not, has brought irreparable harm to the confidence Southern Baptists will have in your suitability for continued service."

Burleson, pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Enid, Okla., was elected last June by SBC messengers to a four-year term as an IMB trustee. He is immediate past president of the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma."