Saturday, March 12, 2011

Pray For Japan

The spiritual needs in Japan are great. Japan is regarded as one of the most resistant countries in the world. The Japanese are the 2nd largest unreached people group in the world (Shaikh people of Bangladesh are the largest). There are still 1,700 towns & villages without a single church. True born-again believers represent less than one percent (this is less than some Muslim countries).

The number of new believers each year is almost completely offset by the number that fall away. There has been very little progress during the past 50 years in spite of intensive missionary efforts. The growth in the number of Christians has declined from 4.6% per year (following WWII) to less than 0.4% currently. At the current growth rate it would take 1,200 years to bring the percentage of Christians up to only 7% of the population. There has been a serious decline in interest & openess to the Gospel.

Most of the churches are very small. There is a shortage of Japanese pastors (86% of them are over 50 years old). There is a shrinking missionary force. The number of missionaries has shrunk by approx. 20% during the past 20 years.

"I have posted watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem;
they will never be silent day or night.
You who call on the Lord, give yourselves no rest,
and give him no rest till he establishes Jerusalem
and makes her the praise of the earth."
-- Isaiah 62:6-7

Friday, March 11, 2011

Magnitude 8.9 quake, Tsunami Leaves Japan Devastated

Huge earthquakes rocked northeastern Japan on Saturday, a day after a giant temblor set off a powerful tsunami that killed hundreds of people, turned the coast into a swampy wasteland and left two nuclear reactors dangerously close to meltdown.The United States Geological Survey said a strong earthquake struck just before noon in the sea in virtually the same place where the magnitude 8.9 quake on Friday unleashed one of the greatest disasters Japan has witnessed - a 23-foot (7-meter) tsunami that washed far inland over fields and smashed towns.



Saturday's magnitude 6.8 quake was followed by a series of temblors originating from the same area, the USGS said. It was not immediately known whether the new quakes caused any more damage.

All were part of the more than 125 aftershocks since Friday's massive quake, the strongest to hit Japan since officials began keeping records in the late 1800s. It ranked as the fifth-largest earthquake in the world since 1900 and was nearly 8,000 times stronger than one that devastated Christchurch, New Zealand, last month, scientists said. The official death toll stood at 413, while 784 people were missing and 1,128 injured. In addition, police said between 200 and 300 bodies were found along the coast in Sendai, the biggest city in the area of the quake's epicenter.

An untold number of bodies were also believed to be lying in the rubble and debris. Rescue workers had yet to reach the hardest-hit areas. "The flood came in from behind the store and swept around both sides. Cars were flowing right by," said Wakio Fushima, who owns a convenience store in this northern coastal city of 1.02 million people, 80 miles (125 kilometers) from the quake's epicenter. Smashed cars and small airplanes were jumbled up against buildings near the local airport, several miles (kilometers) from the shore. Felled trees and wooden debris lay everywhere as rescue workers coasted on boats through murky waters around flooded structures, nosing their way through a sea of detritus.

"The tsunami was unbelievably fast. Smaller cars were being swept around me and all I could do was sit in my truck," said truck driver Koichi Takairin, 34, who was pinned in his four-ton vehicle and later escaped to a community center. His rig ruined, he joined the steady flow of mud-spattered survivors who walked along the road away from the sea and back into city. Smoke from at least one large fire could be seen in the distance. But basic commodities were at a premium. Hundreds lined up outside of supermarkets, and gas stations were swamped with cars. The situation was similar in scores of other towns and cities along the 1,300-mile-long (2,100-kilometer-long) eastern coastline hit by the tsunami.

Japan also declared its first-ever states of emergency for five nuclear reactors at two power plants after the units lost cooling ability in the aftermath of the earthquake, and workers struggled to prevent meltdowns. Two of the reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi plant in Futaba town were in danger and could face a meltdown if all possible safety procedures fail. Authorities said the breakdown happened after the quake knocked out power, turning off the water supply needed to cool the system. Although a backup cooling system was being used, Japan's nuclear safety agency said pressure inside the reactor had risen to 1 1/2 times the level considered normal.

Authorities said radiation levels had jumped 1,000 times normal inside Unit 1 and were measured at eight times normal outside the plant. They expanded an earlier evacuation zone more than threefold, from 3 kilometers to 10 kilometers (2 miles to 6.2 miles). About 3,000 people were urged to leave their homes in the first announcement. Japan gets about 30 percent of its electricity from nuclear power plants. Authorities warned citizens to be prepared for severe power cuts. More than 1 million households across Japan, mostly in the northeast, still didn't have access to water.

In Sendai, as in many areas of the northeast, cell phone service was down, making it difficult for people to communicate with loved ones. The tsunami swept inland about 6 miles (10 kilometers), and beyond that most buildings appeared undamaged from the outside. TV footage showed several people standing on the roof of a three-story building in Miyagi prefecture (state), surrounded by mud. A man waved a big white flag, and a woman was lifting two pink umbrellas, signaling for help. Elsewhere, aerial footage showed military helicopters lifting people on rescue tethers from rooftops and partially submerged buildings surrounded by water and debris. At one school, a large white "SOS" had been spelled out in English.

"The energy radiated by this quake is nearly equal to one month's worth of energy consumption" in the United States, USGS scientist Brian Atwater told The Associated Press. The entire Pacific had been put on alert - including coastal areas of South America, Canada and Alaska - but waves were not as bad as expected.

President Barack Obama pledged U.S. assistance following what he called a potentially "catastrophic" disaster. He said one U.S. aircraft carrier is already in Japan and a second was on its way. A U.S. ship was also heading to the Marianas Islands to assist as needed, he said. Most trains in Tokyo started running again Saturday after the city had been brought to a near standstill the day before. Tens of thousands of people had been stranded with the rail network down, jamming the streets with cars, buses and trucks trying to get out of the city. The city set up 33 shelters in city hall, on university campuses and in government offices, but many spent Friday night at 24-hour cafes, hotels and offices.

Japan's worst previous quake was a magnitude 8.3 temblor in Kanto that killed 143,000 people in 1923, according to the USGS. A magnitude 7.2 quake in Kobe killed 6,400 people in 1995. Japan lies on the "Ring of Fire" - an arc of earthquake and volcanic zones stretching around the Pacific where about 90 percent of the world's quakes occur, including the one that triggered the Dec. 26, 2004, Indian Ocean tsunami that killed an estimated 230,000 people in 12 countries. A magnitude-8.8 quake that shook central Chile in February 2010 also generated a tsunami and killed 524 people.

90/10法则

自然法则宣称,在众多状况下,有80%结果都是因为20%的原因所造成的。举例来说,意大利80%的土地是由20%的人口所拥有,就是关键的少数。做生意时也可以参考这项规则,也就是80%的生意都来自于20%的客户,因此要好好地照顾这些人。

金钱的90/10法则。如果以高尔夫球为例,名列前10%的高尔夫球选手赚走了90%的奖金。今日的美国,大约90%财富也是由10%的人口所掌握。如果你想要在金钱的游戏当中获胜,你绝对不能做一般人,你必须把自己放到那10%的人群中。

为什么90%的人口在财务上表现平平!?其中有个原因是他们遵从着平凡的财务建议。举例来说:
1)好好上学
2)找份好工作
3)认真工作
4)好好存钱
5)你的房子是你个人最大的资产和投资
6)要量入为出
7)还清自己的债务
8)长期并多元化的投资于股票、债券,和共同基金的投资组合
9)放心退休,政府会照顾你
10)从此过着快乐的生活

从此过着快乐的生活,是因为上面那些财务建议称之为金钱的神话故事。唯有在童话故事里头,人们才有可能从此过着快乐的生活。第二次世界大战世代的人们也是相信以上这些童话故事,但是这些并非现实。有些人之所以面临财务上的困难,是因为他相信了这些童话故事。

今天很多大学生也非常担心在毕业后找不到工作。他们也相信童话故事的人们之一,特别是好好上学以及找份好工作这亮则故事。那些有钱的阴谋家就是希望我们相信这些童话故事。由于遵从这些童话故事,90%的人口就会成为这些有钱人游戏里头的棋子。许多人只听说过以上这些童话故事,完全不清楚金钱游戏的真相为何,因此只有极少数的人才知道这些人到底在玩什么样的游戏。

Thursday, March 10, 2011

五项新金钱法则

新金钱法则#1:知识就是金钱
今天,传统的资产不再能让自己富有,或者让你获得财务上的安全。你仍然可能会在事业、不动产、股票、债券、原物料,甚至黄金上头赔钱。知识才能让你富有,而缺乏知识则会让你贫穷。这是一个属于勇者的新世界,而在这个世界当中:知识才是新的金钱。

新金钱法则#2:学会如何运用债务
1971年后,美元从一项资产变成了一种负债,也就是债务。债务之所以呈爆炸性的成长,是因为银行可以藉著创造更多的债务,变出更多的钱来。次级房贷的危机,完全是因为那些申请次级房贷的人们,以及提供次级房贷的银行共同所造成的。很明显地,无论是有钱,还是贫穷的人们,都需要学习如何更聪明地运用债务。债务本身并不是件坏事。错误的运用债务才是坏事。债务可以让你变得富有,而债务可能让你一贫如洗。如果你想在财务上领先他人,你必需要学会如何利用债务,而不是去烂用它。

新金钱法则#3:学习如何控制现金流
自美元成为一种债务后,整个金融游戏的目的,就是要让你和我负债。而当你开始负债时,你的现金流就会自动流向他人。今天之所以会有这么多人面临财务上的问题,是因为有太多的现金流从他们的口袋流出,而只有稀少量的钱会再流回他们的身上。如果你想获得财务上的安全,你必须要学会如何创造更多的现金流来流入自己的口袋。再下一步,则是说明如何控制自己流入和流出的现金流。

新金钱法则#4:为最坏的打算做准备,生活才会越来越好
战后婴儿潮世代,一辈子都活在美好的时光里。许多人都没有为不好的局势做准备。由于为了最坏的情况做准备,将会在好的环境下拥有更佳的表现。

新金钱法则#5:用有钱人的速度思考
随着世界金融体系交易的速度越来越快,金钱也从以物易物的形式演进成数位式货币。今天,动作慢的人就被淘汰了。一个能卡到好位置的人,一天24小时,每周7天都可以开张做生意。与其每个月、每个月才能获得一笔收入,有些人分分秒秒都在赚钱。

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

四大经济力量

大致从个人财务上来看,总共有四种经济上的力量,会逼使人们辛苦地工作,并且不断地遭受财务上的磨难。这四种力量就是:

1.税务
-早期的美国根本是免税的。直到1862年为了打内仗时才开始微收所谓的所得税。而且美国高等法院于1895年还做出判决,表示向民众微收所得税是一种违宪的行为。但是在1913年,也就是联准会成立的那一年,第十六项修正法案获准通过,让所得税成为一种永久性的制度。当时之所以回复课微所得税,是为了提供美国财政部和联准会有足够的营运资金。从此之后,有钱人就能以所得税之名,永远地把他们的手伸进你我的口袋。

2.债务
联准会储蓄体系务予了政治家借贷的权利,且用不著提高税率。但是政府的债务就像是两面刃一样,终究会演变成向民众课微更高的税务,或者是通货膨胀的两种结果。美国政府为了避免向百姓课微更高的税务,因此藉著卖出政府公债来创造可以运用的钱(通货)。但是政府公债其实就是该国纳税人的借据,国家终究还是会产生所谓的通货膨胀。

3.通货膨胀
通货膨胀之所以会发生,是因为联准会和美国财政部不断地借钱,或者用印钞票的方式来应付政府的开支。这就是为什么通货膨胀经常被称为隐含税率。通货膨胀可以让有钱人变得更加有钱,但由于物价上涨,因此也会让中产阶级以及贫穷老百姓的日子越来越难过。印钞票的人会获得最大的利益。他们拿着新印出来的钞票,趁着这些新钱还没有稀释施原有流通货币价值之前,便可大量购买自己想要的产品和服务。他们享尽一切的好处,而且完全不用负担它的恶果。在他们这么做的同时,中产阶级和贫穷百姓就只能眼睁睁地看着自己的钞票越变越薄。

4.退休金制度
美国国会于1974年通过了受护人所得保障法。这个方案强迫美国人民要把自己的退休金(例如401(K))投入高手续费、高风险,以及低报酬率的股票市场之中,同时濒予华诬街控制全国百姓退休金的权利。

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

有钱人以及穷人如何运用金钱

学校:绝大多数的人在学校里面学不到任何有关于金钱的知识;有钱人则是在家里学习有关金钱的知识。

工作:绝大多数人都为有钱人工作。

税务:在政治圈里朋友的帮助之下,民众所缴纳的税金就可以利用纡困金的方式流入这些有钱人的公司之中。根据目前的估计,你我所缴的每千美元税金当中,只有不到200美元才会回贵到我们的身上。有钱人非常清楚要如何操控这个系统。他们拥有这些公司行号、赚更多的钱、然后比上班族缴纳更低的税务。

国债:当政府宣布上兆元的纡困案时,就代表了我们的后代子孙有好几个世代,都必须赏还这笔拿来挽救有钱人的纡困金。我们的孩子们将会背负更高税率以及更严重的通货膨胀,藉此清赏这些纡困金。

房屋:每个月的房贷都会汇到有钱人所开的银行之中。如果你申请年利率5%、100000美元的30年房贷,那么光是利息你就得支付93000美元。这还不包括手续费、佣金,以及其他服务费等。

退休金账户:许多人为了自己的退休而投资股票、债券,以及共同资金。这些钱绝大部分都拿去投资有钱人所开的公司。如果你投资失利,那么你就会赔钱;但是那些理财规划师、证券营业员,或者是不动产经纪人等,仍然可以保留自己的拥金。

日常生活开支:请问到底是谁取走了我们日常所需的保险金、汽油钱、电话费、电费,以及其他生活必需品的钱?答案就是有钱人。如果这些民生必需品的价格上涨,那么到底是谁会获得最大的好处呢?答案仍然是有钱人。

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Former Sarawak Rajah Muda Anthony Brooke Passes Away


Former Rajah Muda, Anthony Walter Dayrell Brooke, 98, passed away in Wanganui, New Zealand on March 2.

As the heir-apparent, he briefly administered Sarawak from 1939 to 1940 in the absence of his uncle Charles Vyner Brooke, the third and last White Rajah to rule Sarawak.

He is survived by his wife Gita, son James Lionel, daughter Celia and grandchildren Jason, Laurence and Sura.

In an email to Sarawak Tourism Federation’s Heritage Development Committee chairman Lim Kian Hock, Jason wrote that his grandfather passed away with his wife by his side at their home Rumah Brooke.

“His cremation took place yesterday (Thursday) at 3pm in Wanganui, in keeping with his wishes, with a memorial service to follow later this year,” said Jason.

Born in England in 1912 to His Highness the Tuan Muda of Sarawak, Anthony received his education at Eton and Magdalene Cambridge, before pursuing studies in Malay and Mohammedan Law at the School of Oriental and African Studies.

Anthony’s uncle Sir Charles Vyner Brooke was the third Rajah of Sarawak. Sir James Brooke became Rajah in 1841 and the Brooke family ruled Sarawak until the Japanese invasion in 1941.

As Sir Charles had no male heir, Anthony’s father, the co-ruling Tuan Muda was the heir-apparent. He, however, renounced his claim in favour of his son, duly appointed Rajah Muda (Crown Prince) and heir-apparent in his place.

Anthony had one son James (born 1940) and two daughters Celia (1942) and Angela (1944).

Anthony was the last member of the Brooke family to govern Sarawak (1939 to 1940).

After WWII ended, and with Sarawak liberated from Japanese rule, Anthony strongly opposed the annexation of Sarawak as a British colony in 1946, and responded to calls coming from the Malay National Union, Sarawak Dayak Association, Sarawak Youth Movement, Sarawak Women’s Association and other newly formed political groups in Sarawak to lead the independence campaign against British rule.

Campaigning vigorously for five years, he withdrew in 1951 only when the spread of Communism seemed a greater threat to stability in Sarawak.

Anthony then embarked upon a programme of world travel, speaking with groups large and small on the rights, responsibility and power of the individual in helping to bring about a democratic world order.

Co-founding with his wife, a charitable trust, Peace Through Unity, Anthony embarked upon a personal crusade that would span 60 years, meeting world leaders and spiritual thinkers from Chinese premier Chou En Lai to India’s Vinoba Bhave who dubbed him ‘shanty doot’ or Ambassador of Peace.

After Sarawak achieved independence through Malaysia, Anthony returned to the state as a guest on two occasions - in 1964 and 1983 - when he rekindled old friendships from the anti-cession days.

Source from thestar newspaper.

The Star Online: Nation

CNN.com

Apple Hot News

BBC News - UK