Obscene Pay for Church Pastor

Though the AFP report did not mention who was the one employee paid between 500,001 and 550,000 dollars in the financial year ended March 31, 2008. I feel it was a dead giveaway when New Creation's honorary secretary, Deacon Matthew Kang, said that it was the church's policy to "recognise and reward key contributors... and Senior Pastor Prince is the main pillar of our church's growth and revenue."

Coming from a Christian church that so often loves to accuse mainstream Catholicism as an erroneous religion, I find Pastor Prince and Deacon Kang's non-adherence to basic biblical following rather disturbing.

According to [Lk. 18:18-23]: "A certain ruler asked him, 'Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?' Jesus said to him, 'Why doyou call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: 'You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; Honor your father and mother.' He replied, 'I have kept all these since my youth.' When Jesus heard this, he said to him, 'There is still one thing lacking. Sell all that you own and distribute the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me. Jesus looked at him and said, 'How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!'"

While Jesus did not condemn wealth (He had MANY rich friends), He did feel rather strongly about the possession of wealth. Christ constantly pointed out the danger of riches, which, He says, are the thorns that choke up the good seed of the word (Matthew 13:22).

Not to mention [Acts 4:32-5]: "Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common. With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold. They laid it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need."

Sure, I don't begrudge charitable organisations the T.T. Durai standard of self-serving high salaries (hey, if the leader can craft new ways to milk millions for charities, they do deserve that amount of pay for the greater service performed). But really, when a church leader starts to get paid like a private sector employee, I really wonder as to his principles and "virtues" stand.

Japan gets the cool stuff: Terminator Salvation exhibition

It's so unfair. Japan gets all the cool stuff! Like an exhibition before the May 2009 premiere of Terminator Salvation. The exhibition features all the cyborgs from the Terminator series over at Miraikan (National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation) Tokyo.

Terminator Exhibition - Battle or Coexistence? Robots and Our Future- features all the Terminator models from the motion pictures Terminator, Terminator 2 & Terminator 3:Rise of the machines and includes the series- Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles. Visitors will also catch a glimpse of a "prequel" Terminator- The T-600. A precursor to the T-800 "Arnold" model.

The T-600 is a an early Terminator prototype. Unlike the T-800, the T-600 features an 8ft tall metal endoskeleton covered in synthetic skin instead of living human tissue.

T-800 "Arnold Schwarzenegger" cyborg consists of "living tissue over metal endoskeleton". As the movie unfolded across Terminator and Terminator 2, we learnt that the T-800 possessed excellent learning capabilities, enabling it to understand and adopt human behavior and phrases. It can also mimic voices once it hears them. A slightly improved version of the T-800 — the T-850 — appears in Terminator 3 when it's forced to face off with the T-X.

T-X aka “Terminatrix,” is embodied by babelicious Kristianna Loken incorporating a variety of weapons into its endoskeleton similar to the T-1000 "liquid metal" Terminator. As depicted in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, the T-X can conduct DNA analysis by tasting blood, possessing shape-shifting abilities like the T-1000 and can also remotely control other machines and Terminators.
In yet another sneak peak at Terminator Salvation, the Moto-Terminator is on display as well. A motorcycle-based death machine, I look forward to watching it in action during the movie. And finally- Terminator: Sarah Chronicle's Cameron Philips (TOK715), a reprogrammed Terminator.
Terminator Salvation will be out May 2009.

Weekend Wishlist

This is the coolest gift idea since Dancing Toasters. I want one. :)

Snowy Relaxed

I have a $2000 dollar Le Corbusier Lounger at home. It's now the exclusive property of my "son". He showers on it, he sleeps on it. If you sit on it, he gives you a dirty stare.

It's his. And he's completely relaxed on it. Snowy- It's yours.

Marijuana: The possible solution to aid the economy

John Gilliam for the Huffington Post:

Today, in the historic first online town hall, President Obama fielded questions from nearly a hundred thousand people online. One of the most popular questions, and indeed, one of the most popular questions in any forum that lets people vote on what matters to them, was about whether legalizing marijuana would help improve the economy and job creation.

Chuckling, the President said: "I don't know what this says about the online audience, but [laughing] this was a fairly popular question, we want to make sure it was answered. The answer is no, I don't think that is a good strategy to grow our economy."

How many ministers does it take screw in a lightbulb?

2 Senior Ministers, 2 Deputy Prime Ministers, 1 Minister Mentor, 3 Ministers and the Prime Minister.

Things you wished you saw more of in Mainstream Media

You know, if our nation building press had carried more headlines like these (ahem.. like during minister salary debates etc), you might actually enjoy a spike in readership.

Nobody enjoys listening to public relations spin. Especially when it's force fed through all possible mainstream media outlets that we have to pay $110 annually for.

Like advertising, it's eventually screened by the brain and finally just plain ignored. You won't even be able to "build the nation" anymore because folks just discount everything you print/broadcast period.

My advice: CARRY REAL COMMENTARY. Occassionally slip in a piece of propaganda as required by the government.

The best lies are hidden between two truths.