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Richard Schickel laughs that he has "no objectivity about Clint."
It isn't merely because the film historian and longtime Time magazine critic has written extensively about Hollywood icon Clint Eastwood.
"He's a great guy to hang out with, to have dinner with, talk about all kinds of things not necessarily movie stuff," says Schickel, who has created "The Eastwood Factor," an intimate documentary about the filmmaker-actor that is part of the extensive new box set "Clint Eastwood: 35 Films 35 Years at Warner Bros.," which is being released today on DVD.
For more than 50 years, Eastwood has had a tough-guy image but the author says a lot of fans don't "know a great deal about Clint in a funny way." They're still clinging to the "Dirty Harry" image from early in his career.
Schickel paints a portrait of "true likability. I don't think they get the intelligence of the man, the wit of the man. ... There is nobody on the planet that I'd rather have dinner with than Clint," he laughs. "He's just fun to be with and unpretentious. I mean he's a cool guy."
Cool guy, yes, but as Schickel points out, the star has always been aware of "the dark side of masculinity," which is a theme that has come out in a number of his films going as far back as the "The Beguiled" (1971), which was directed by Eastwood's mentor, Don Siegel.
"When he was doing movies like 'High Plains Drifter' (1973), he was largely playing a fairly toughish sort of guy," says the author, "but I think at that very time he was questioning the value of the characters he was playing in these genre movies."
Throughout his career that issue came to the fore and became urgent for the filmmaker.
This is evident in the later "Dirty Harry" films and in "Tightrope" (1984), a film he produced. "So by the time he's making 'White Hunter Black Heart' (the 1990 film about a movie director's obsession with killing an elephant on safari), there's a real questioning of macho values," says Schickel, which has continued up through the Oscar-winning "Unforgiven" (1992) and "Gran Torino" (2008).
The only Warner Bros. Eastwood film not included in the box set is the recent "Invictus."
While Eastwood will turn 80 on May 31, Schickel doesn't think the filmmaker is going to stop making films.
"Clint has said to me: 'I like to play golf, but I don't want to have to play golf.'
"He's really a gentle, ironic, humorous guy but he's also intellectually active. He's a reader, a guy who's always looking for a script to do or a book to adapt. Unlike many people of his age he's still interested. He just doesn't want to sit around.
"He's a healthy man and he doesn't see any reasons to stop and he sees a lot of reasons not to stop. He likes to be busy and be part of the world."
Schickel believes Eastwood will slow down on the acting part of his career because it becomes arduous to act while also directing a movie.
"Torino" – especially with all the young and inexperienced actors – was a challenge, and Eastwood hasn't acted in either "Invictus" or "Hereafter," the film he's currently shooting in Europe, starring Matt Damon and described as a supernatural thriller about three people touched by death.
At this point Eastwood will do pretty much what he wants even if the studio isn't always enthused. When he first brought Warner Bros. "Million Dollar Baby," the studio thought it was "a girls boxing picture" says Schickel. "And he kept saying, 'It's not. It's about a surrogate father and a surrogate daughter coming together to form a little family. That's the movie I'm going to make."'
Eventually, the studio reluctantly took half the movie, which went on to win four Oscars, including best picture, and make more than $100 million on a reportedly $30 million budget. "A big mistake," laughs Schickel, "because (the studio) could have made even more money."
"Incidentally," adds the author, "as a guy, Clint never disappoints you. He's a very dutiful man. He will do what he says he's going to do. ... If he says he's going to have dinner at 7:30 with you, he's going to be there.
"And that goes to larger things. If he says he's going to do a movie because he wants to do a movie, he's going to do that movie."
New films out today
"Law Abiding Citizen" (also on Blu-ray)
"Coco Before Chanel" (also on Blu-ray)
"Revanche (Criterion Collection)" (also on Blu-ray)
"Good Hair"
"Barnaby Jones: The Complete First Season"
"Claymore: Complete Series Box Set" (Blu-Ray only)
"Small Wonder: The Complete First Season"
"Cannon: Season Two, Vol. 2"
"Lincoln Heights: Season One"
"Bob & Margaret The Complete First Season"
Older films
"Lola Montes (Criterion Collection)" (also on Blu-ray)
"Hunger (Criterion Collection)" (also on Blu-ray)
"Goodfellas 20th Anniversary Edition" (Blu-ray only)
"Ran" (Blu-ray only)


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June 5, 2012
Inside-the-Beltway Ads Push for Global Polar Bear Protections
NRDC, IFAW, HSI and The HSUS urge the Obama Administration to lead on ban in polar bear parts trade
WASHINGTON - Readers of influential inside the beltway newspapers were met with eye-popping, full-page advertisements this morning that urged the Obama Administration to take a leadership role in protecting imperiled polar bear populations.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is currently considering whether the U.S. will propose to ban the international commercial trade in polar bear parts through the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). The ads, which highlight the high prices that skulls, paws, skins and other bear parts can fetch, can be seen here.
The Natural Resources Defense Council, International Fund for Animal Welfare, The Humane Society of the United States and Humane Society International placed the ads in The Hill and Politico to raise awareness and help direct public comments in support of a proposal to address the polar bear issue at the next international CITES conference. The federal comment period continues through June 11. Over 100,000 Americans have already written to support greater international protections.
While climate change is the species' main threat (the loss of Arctic sea ice is projected to reduce the total polar bear population by two-thirds over the next 40 years) polar bears are also threatened by unsustainable harvest in Canada, an issue that could be addressed at the next meeting of CITES.
Following are statements from the groups placing the ads:
"The ads are a message to Secretary Salazar and the Obama Administration: it is time to protect polar bears," said NRDC Lands and Wildlife program director Andrew Wetzler. "The plight of the polar bear has been one of the most visible and harrowing issues to emerge in the global effort to confront climate change. And, as if the species wasn't facing enough trouble with the rapid disappearance of the sea ice they rely on, threat of commercial hunting is just the sort of stressor we need to put an end to if we want to keep polar bears around. This is infinitely doable and Americans should take the lead to make sure it gets done."
"Polar bears are already standing on thin ice. Facing mounting threats including climate change, oil exploration and pollution, the unnecessary killing of these creatures for sport and trade in their parts will only accelerate their slide into extinction. Indecision is not an option. At the next CITES meeting, the U.S. must again lead the charge to offer greater global protection for polar bears against trade," said Jeff Flocken, DC Office Director, International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW).
"Demand for polar bear skins at auction has doubled in the past four years, as have the average and maximum skin prices," said Dr. Teresa Telecky, director of wildlife for Humane Society International, the global arm of The Humane Society of the United States. "Two-thirds of the world's polar bears will be lost by mid-century and apparently people want to get a piece of them before they are gone forever. The U.S. should take the lead in stopping people from cashing in on polar bears by submitting the CITES proposal and urging other countries to support it."
Further information available at:
- To sign an HSI action alert, click here.
- Additional IFAW polar bear information.
- Polar Bear and CITES posts on NRDC's Switchboard blog.
Media contact: Rebecca Basu, The HSUS/HSI, 301-258-3152
Follow HSI on Twitter.
Humane Society International and its partner organizations together constitute one of the world's largest animal protection organizations — backed by 11 million people. For nearly 20 years, HSI has been fighting for the protection of all animals through advocacy, education, and hands-on programs. Celebrating animals and confronting cruelty worldwide — On the web at hsi.org.
The Humane Society of the United States is the nation's largest animal protection organization — backed by 11 million Americans, or one of every 28. For more than a half-century, The HSUS has been fighting for the protection of all animals through advocacy, education and hands-on programs. Celebrating animals and confronting cruelty — on the Web at humanesociety.org.
Founded in 1969, IFAW saves animals in crisis around the world. With projects in more than 40 countries, IFAW rescues individual animals, works to prevent cruelty to animals, and advocates for the protection of wildlife and habitats. For more information, visit www.ifaw.org. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 1.3 million members and online activists. Since 1970, our lawyers, scientists, and other environmental specialists have worked to protect the world's natural resources, public health, and the environment. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Livingston, Montana, and Beijing. Visit us at www.nrdc.org and follow us on Twitter @NRDC.
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subset: commoncrawl


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The St. Francis College Men's Water Polo team came up big with three nail-biting victories to reclaim the CWPA Eastern Championship crown and a ticket to the NCAA Final Four in California beginning December 1.
In the quarterfinals, the #1 seeded Terriers found themselves down to Navy for the first three quarters before shutting down the Midshipmen in the fourth and outscoring them 5-1 for a convincing 14-10 win.
The intensity was heightened in the semifinals when St. Francis staked the Mercyhurst Lakers to a four goal lead in the third. But the Terriers rallied again and pulled out a 12-11 victory.
The final matchup against Bucknell could not have been closer. After a 4-4 first half, St. Francis raced out to what looked like an insurmountable four goal advantage. But the Bucknell Bison chipped away one goal at time, evening the match and sending the game into double-overtime.
Bucknell struck first in OT but St. Francis ran off two consecutive goals, including the game winner from Senior Marko Gencic for a 10-9 victory.
Gencic, who scored 15 goals over the three games, including 7 against Mercyhurst, was named the Tournament MVP. Two years ago his older brother Stefan was captain of the last Terrier squad to win Easterns. The team won its first championship in 2005.
By claiming the Eastern Championship, the Terriers also take one of four spots in the NCAA Final Four, held this year in Los Angeles, CA beginning December 1. Air Force has claimed a second spot but the last two teams have not been determined yet.


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Local runner achieves longtime goal
Local resident Tomas Rodriquez has won the National Masters half marathon championship, held in Melbourne, Florida, on Feb. 6, 2011.
He won the national title for his age group (55-59) with a time of 1 hour, 24 minutes, and eight seconds for the 13.2 mile course.
Rodriguez, who splits his time between Mammoth Lakes and Laguna Beach, came out of retirement two and a half years ago, after a 30-year break from distance running. Although very successful during his college running days, a national title eluded him. His highest NCAA finish was 11th.
Training with running coach Andrew Kastor, Rodriguez began his comeback and quest for a National Title in Mammoth. During his time with Kastor, Rodriguez has won every major marathon he entered, culminating in his national title.


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Blendium necesitaba un nuevo diseño de otro y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 20 diseños de 5 diseñadores freelance.
ecycler is a new way to recycle!
We are becoming more and more active on facebook and would like a well designed "face" to our fans in terms of a custom page. We currently have over 8000 followers.
Our website is a marketplace for the people giving away materials and the people who are collecting those materials: cans, bottles, newspapers, appliances, scrap metal, etc.
We are a green company that enhances the social value of recycling.
Anyone who visits our facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/ecycler
This includes anyone who recycles or wants to start recycling.
Green theme around the act of recycling.
We are looking for a custom graphic for our "Welcome" tab on facebook--an evolution to the current page. Maybe something retro. Or, maybe something avant-garde. Something that pops!
Current Page: http://www.facebook.com/ecycler?v=app_7146470109
Width: 520px
Length: no limit
Background: white (but, we expect to see some great color in the rest of the graphics, don't be afraid of gradients or borders)
We need space for our mission statement: "ecycler's mission is to create a new way to recycle and bring recycling to everyone."
We need space for our Ten Reasons to Recycle!
1. Recycling keeps waste out of landfills
2. It creates new use for old items
3. It's easy
4. It's fun
5. It generates income
6. It creates jobs
7. It's the right thing to do
8. It saves energy
9. It creates less pollution
10. Use ecycler to recycle and you'll provide income to someone in your community
We need space for a YouTube video (with a frame or without a frame, we'll leave that to you, the designer to decide)
We would love some sort of arrow and encouragement at the top of the graphic to "Join our Page" or "Like our Page"
Not too cluttered...
What we Don't want:
- No clouds or blue sky
- No grass or trees


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Ponder Not Practicing Friday
According to the Pioneer Press, Minnesota quarterback Christian Ponder is not practicing with the team Friday morning as he nurses sore ribs. The Vikings take on the Steelers Sunday afternoon in London, England.
It appears Matt Cassel will get the start for the Vikings at Wembley Stadium (WJON, 11 am) on Sunday.


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In schools throughout the Bellmore-Merrick Central District, many wooden doors are scratched up, and their handles don't latch properly.
In most bathrooms, one or more sinks and toilets are broken and covered over. In Mepham High School's football locker room, where the smell of sweat suffuses the air, the sink is sealed with plywood and the urinals are cemented over.
In science classrooms, black laboratory sinks are stained by chemicals and falling through in places. At Calhoun High, Bunsen burners have been disconnected in some classrooms because gas release valves no longer work. All that remains are the metal pipes that once sent gas to the rooms.
A number of ceilings at each of the district's five schools are covered by brown water stains from leaky pipes and roofs. The underside of Grand Avenue Middle School's front portico is full of cracks and chipped paint because of a leaky roof.
And grass playing fields, including practice fields, are worn down because of overuse, with dirt patches covering sections of the fields.
These were among the problems that were revealed during a more than two-hour tour of the district's schools –– Calhoun, Kennedy and Mepham high schools and Grand Avenue and Merrick Avenue middle schools –– that the Herald Life took on Oct. 18. John DeTommaso, the Central District superintendent, led the tour.
With a $49.89 million bond vote to repair the district's aging schools approaching on Dec. 2, the Herald Life took the tour to examine why school officials believe the bond is needed.
The Central District's youngest school –– Kennedy –– is 47 years old. Its oldest –– Mepham –– is 76 years old.
What the bond would do
A little more than half of the total bond amount –– $26.89 million –– would be returned to the school district in state building aid, which Bellmore-Merrick would receive over the bond's 15-year life.
If passed, the bond would cost local taxpayers $104 per year, or $8.67 per month. Work could begin next summer, if all goes as planned, and most of the renovations would be done over the next three summers.


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Chrysler Group once again grabbed a disproportionate share of the post-Super Bowl buzz this year with its national pep-talk commercial delivered by Clint Eastwood. (Count me among those scratching their heads at the "controversy.")
But was it the buzziest?
Not according to an ad-tracking tool created by Collective Intellect, a Boulder, Colo., marketing firm. The tool, co-sponsored by CNBC, says Chevrolet's commercials generated the most buzz among 51 Super Bowl advertisers.
Chrysler generated the second-most buzz among automakers and fourth-most overall, behind M&Ms and Doritos. Volkswagen was the only other automaker in the top 10.
The site tracks the social media universe (Twitter, Facebook and blogs) and splices the data to measure buzz while also rating advertisers on a number of categories, from funniest to most offensive.
For example, Chevy ranked No. 3 in the "funny" category overall and was tops among automakers. It also was a solid No. 2 in the "unfavorable" category that tracks negative mentions.
Those barbs might have come from Ford drivers panning Chevy's 2012 Mayan apocalypse commercial. The spot showed a group of Silverado owners surviving the world-ending cataclysm, while a Ford pickup driver "didn't make it."
Chevy also was atop the category that the site calls "the holy grail" of advertising: Getting viewers to consider an actual purchase. The site says 22 percent of the social-media mentions of Chevy contained "purchase focused language."
Whatever that is, it's a lot more than any other brand got: The closest of the 51 advertisers was Samsung's Galaxy Note tablet at 11 percent. Chrysler was third at 9 percent.
It's hard to know just how precise or meaningful these rankings are. But it's clear that Chevy is watching the scoreboard. Yesterday it put out a chest-thumping press release touting the results.


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Next Pressure Sounds Release 14 Feb 2005
10th January 2005
A scorching 5 track 10 inch kicks off 2005 from Pressure Sounds. This new 10inch is a taster for the album "Down Santic Way" due out at the end of February. There are two tracks that will only be available on this 10" and not on the album.
The Freddie McKay cut of "I'm a Free Man" is as soulful as anything he ever recorded. The Pablo "Hap Ki Do" is a funky clavinet version of the A Side.
All tracks are Santic Productions from 1973-75 era. A lovely way get into the new year groove.
A Side
1. I'm A Free Man - Freddie McKay
2. Santic Special (Version One) - Leonard Santic All Stars
3. Santic Special (Version Two) - Leonard Santic All Stars * Not on the album
B. Side
1. Hap Ki Do - Augustus Pablo
2. Hap Ki Do Version - Augustus Pablo * Not on the album


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You are here: Home Projects Cramlington Instructions Material Management
General Requirements
Material Management
Material Management
General Description
This specification describes the requirements for supplier information for the BWE Material Management system for the Cramlington Biomass Plant project.
BWE's material management system is known as MaTrax
The following abbreviations are used in the text:
The main objective for the Material Management system is to track and control the flow of materials from ordering to erection on construction site, and to plan the erection on large projects.
For each material, it shall be possible to:
Information required
The following information is required for the construction site to receive, unload and store a delivery
Each delivery must be equipped with a Delivery Note
Deliveries are defined as:
A delivery can consist of one, or more packages
Each package must be equipped with a Packing List.
Packages are defined as:
Each item that needs to be hooked, lifted by crane, by truck or by hand is a package. The packing list informs about size, weight, off-loading method and storage condition.
A package can consist of one, or more materials
Each material must be equipped with a MC label
A Material Code shall for instance be added to:
An assembly or skid mounted piece of equipment (one label per assembly)
Bulk material is defined as several identical items like bolts, nuts, hangers, rods etc. Identical machines are NOT defined as bulk. 3 identical dampers or 4 identical ducts must have independent Material Codes
Identification of equipment
The following identification nos. will be used:
A material code can as an example consist of a supplied assembly, a fully erected skid mounted oil lubrication station for a mill, a fan, a pump or the like.
The unit is supplied complete and thus has one Material Code no (included in dotted line), but several tag nos., several part nos. and several serial nos.
Wise versa a tag no. can contain several Material Codes as for a boiler, an APH or a filter.
The Material Code no. is the erection company's key no. as this represent the materials as supplied. The Material Code is a phantom no. meaning that it only exists until the material in question is erected. After that it exists no more.
The Material Code (and label) shall be added to all shipped items meaning each loose beam, each assembled equipment (as the oil station), each box of screws etc. If a material in bundled like 20 pipes bundled on a pallet, this shall only be equipped with on MC and label.
Material Code
The Material Code is assigned to the materials by supplier for purchased equipment and by BWE for own design. The material code number will be generated by the MaTrax system and will consist of a 7 digit numeric number
Each MC supplied to site must be marked with a label defined in the BWE Shipping Instructions
PLE No
The PLE number is assigned to the materials by BWE.
The PLE no is used for a break-down of the erection scope. A certain PLE is a group of equipment which can be erected in one activity or preassembled in one activity, e.g. a HP pipe line with hangers (according to a pipe iso), a straw feeder, a boiler support structure, a PA fan etc.
The detailed Break-down structure is defined by the erection company in coorporation with BWE based on erection documentation from the Supplier, i.e. assembly drawings and erection manual. The break-down will often be discussed with the Supplier and in coordination with BWE (go between). Best practise will be if the Supplier proposes an erection sequence (e.g. via his erection manual), the erector breaks these down into erection works and send these to the Supplier via BWE for review.
Supplier and erection company are obliged to work with BWE for the planning of erection sequences
The user interface will be a web-based frontend operating in a normal web browser.
Information's can be typed in directly into the system or uploaded to the system via the exchange file format .xml . Templates for exchange of data can be downloaded from the BWE project web-site.
All materials must be unambiguously identified in the system.
All items arriving to the gate must be identified with a Material Code no.
Supplier information's
In order to be able to track materials a certain amount of scope information's and supplier information's are required.
The most important documents are the Master Material List, the Tag & Material Code List.
Information's from these lists need to be imported to the BWE MMDB.
Material List
The Material List is required by the supplier for identification of the extent of the scope. The list shall include all materials supplied by the supplier.
Materials includes:
The purpose of the list is to evaluate if all equipment has been supplied and received on site. In other words, all materials in the list shall be included in a packing list as well.
The materials shall be filled in by the supplier as soon after the contract signing as possible. The materials will need to be updated on regular basis when detailed engineering reveals that new additional equipment is required and when equipment is sent to site.
The material list shall include the following information's per item:
The suppliers serial no is not included in material list. The reason is that this will complicate the database considerable as there will be no more quantities. Every single component will need its own line.


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Hurricane Sandy rolled through the East Coast last week and left a mess in her wake. Power outages, trees down, flooding. You name it. She brought it. But have no fear my bunker outside of Philadelphia was spared. We never lost power, no water damage and my beer fridge stayed cold. So the train keeps rolling.
This week I'm taking the advice of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, earlier this week he told NJ residents "Don't be stupid." Ok Chris, but sometimes the spreads are tricky, and picking winners isn't easy. But I'll do my best.
Week 8 picks limped in at 6-7, another week under .500. But after starting the day 2-7 in the early games (boooo!) I came back strong with 4 straight winners in the later games, including a sweep of Sunday Night and Monday Night. We are still above .500 for the season but we need to be on the winning side again. Let's hope this is the week we turn it around.
Stay in the loop. I usually tweet out some picks on Sunday morning, so follow me on Twitter (@Fantasource) to get the latest.
Let's try to get back in the groove with a winning week…
Last Week: 6-7
Season Record: 48-43-2
Denver Broncos at Cincinnati Bengals (+3 1/2, O/U 47 1/2)
Denver is one of the best offensive team in the NFL. But you already knew that. And yes, it is tempting to take the Bengals and the points at home coming off of the bye week, but I can't do it.
The Bengals defense can't stop the Broncos passing attack. The Broncos held Drew Brees to 213 passing yards last week. Do you think the Andy 'Red Rifle ' Dalton can do much better?
I'll say Peyton stays hot and the Broncos improve their record as favorites to 4-0.
Pick: Broncos -3 1/2
Arizona Cardinals at Green Bay Packers (-11, O/U 43 1/2)
Last week Green Bay was laying 15 points at home against a struggling Jacksonville team, they won but did not cover (I picked the Packers in that one). Now this week they come in as a double-digit favorite again, against a struggling Arizona team. Will I learn my lesson? No. I like the Packers.
You see, here's the problem. With this Cardinals team, they have no offense. Like absolutely none – 15.9 points per game, 2nd to last in the league, 289.9 yards per game on offense, 2nd to last in the league. And they are coming off a beat down on Monday Night where they lost to the 49ers 24-3, and the game wasn't even as close as the score says.
Last week the Packers had a scare against the Jaguars,that game was too tight for too long, and they won't let it happen again. I know they Cardinals have a strong defense, especially pass defense, but I expect the Packers to lay it all out this week and come away with a big win at home.
Pick: Packers -11
Miami Dolphins at Indianapolis Colts (+2 1/2, O/U 43)
I'm riding the Miami defense in this one. The Dolphins are a top ten defense and they are only a game out of first place in the AFC East.
The Colts have been playing well lately, 3-1 since head coach Chuck Pagano was diagnosed with leukemia. So they have been playing with extra motivation for the past month, but this week they will find themselves up against a very good Dolphins defense. The Colts will have a hard time moving the ball, while the Dolphins will take advantage of a Colts rush defense that is giving up 137 yard rushing per game. Expect a big game from Reggie Bush and the Dolphins should come out of Indy with a win and a cover.
Pick: Dolphins -2 1/2
Baltimore Ravens at Cleveland Browns (+3 1/2, O/U 42 1/2)
I don't know why, I just have a feeling that the Browns can win this game. Look, the Ravens have lived and died by their defense for the last 10 years, but this year is different. That defense is a little slower and older than we remember. The Ravens played the Browns back in week 4 and came away with a 23-16 win at home. Brandon Weeden had a decent game, throwing for 320 yards and no interceptions (but no TD's either) and the Browns held Ray Rice to only 49 yards rushing.
I expect the Browns to use RB Trent Richardson a lot this week and play some ball control offense to try to keep the Ravens offense off the field. In that type of game, I'll take the home team getting points. And who knows, the Browns might even get out of this one with a win.
Pick: Browns +3 1/2
Buffalo Bills at Houston Texans (-10, O/U 47 1/2)
Houston coming off of a bye week and probably still reeling from that beat down they got from Green Bay a few weeks ago. Their three home wins have been by margins of 30, 20 and 20 points.
Houston is averaging 140 yards rushing per game. The Bills rush defense? Well, I'm glad you asked. They give up a league high 177 yard per game on the ground. Buffalo has played two good teams this year, San Francisco and New England, and they gave up 45 points at San Fran and 52 points at home to New England. Good teams can score on the Bills.
I think the Texans will score, and score big. Can the Bills keep up? I don't think so. I'll say the Texans cover the double digits and move to 7-1.
Pick: Texans -10
Carolina Panthers at Washington Redskins (-3, O/U 46 1/2)
RGIII vs. Cam Newton – Battle of the two young guns of the NFL. And I like the younger gun.
I think Robert Griffin will have a big game this week. The Redskins pass defense is brutal. I know that. But Cam Newton isn't the type of QB to exploit that weakness. Newton comes in with a QB rating of 75, and a TD/Int ratio of 5/7. Yeah, only 5 TD passes on the season. So he may have a better than normal day against the Redskins, don't expect him to win the game with his arm.
The Panthers are not very good at stopping the rush, and I expect the Redskins to keep the ball on the ground consistently this week, with a combination of RB Alfred Morris and RGIII getting the yardage.
I'll lay the points at home and say the Redskins win by 7+ points.
Pick: Redskins -3
Detroit Lions at Jacksonville Jaguars (+3 1/2, O/U 44)
I love the Lions in this one. Last week the Jaguars went up to Green Bay as 15-point underdogs and gave the Packers a scare. Will they have anything left in the tank this week?
This is a matchup of 1-6 (Jaguars) vs. 3-4 (Lions) but the Lions are the much better team, especially on offense. Lions QB Matt Stafford put up 331 yards passing last week against a pretty good Seahawks defense and I expect him to do the same this week.
I like the Lions to win by 7 points or more in this one. I'll lay the 3 1/2.
Pick: Lions -3 1/2
Chicago Bears at Tennessee Titans (+3 1/2, O/U 43 1/2)
This game gets "Fishy Line of the Week". Bears come in with one of the top defenses in the league, one that has six defensive touchdowns already, 16 interceptions, 23 sacks, and they are only laying 3 1/2? Seems like this should be closer to a touchdown.
I'm taking the Bears in this one. I think they got a wakeup call last week at home against Carolina and they will come out blazing this week. The Bears D should be able to shutdown Titans RB Chris Johnson and beat the Titans by more than a field goal.
Pick: Bears -3 1/2
Minnesota Vikings at Seattle Seahawks (-5, O/U 38 1/2)
At first glance you would think Seattle would be the obvious play. Great defense, laying less than a TD, playing at home (3-0 this season) but I am going with the other side. I like the Vikings to cover.
I am looking at this game being a low scoring affair. The Vikings and Seahawks will both rely on their running game to control the tempo. Minnesota will do it to slow down the tempo and try to take the crowd out the game. Seattle will do it because they are really a one-man offense, RB Marshawn Lynch.
So in a low scoring game that will probably feature major running, I will take the five points.
Pick: Vikings +5
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Oakland Raiders (-1 1/2, O/U 46)
The Raiders are riding a two game winning streak, but those two wins are against the Chiefs and the Jaguars. So it's a nice streak, but it's not very impressive.
I like the Buccaneers to win this game, and it will be because of Doug Martin. The rookie RB is on fire lately, averaging 120+ yard of total offense over the past 3 games, including 135 yards rushing and two TD's against Minnesota last Thursday night.
Even though the Tampa pass defense is not great (309 yards per game, 31st in the league), I still think the Bucs should be able to handle the Raiders offense and win this one.
Pick: Buccaneers +1 1/2
Pittsburgh Steelers at New York Giants (-3 1/2, O/U 47 1/2)
Suddenly the Giants have moved to the top of the "best team in the NFL" argument. Yeah, we knew that they were good but now, after four straight wins, including last week's nail-biter at Dallas, the Giants are 6-2 and sitting with a pretty comfortable lead in the NFC East.
But I'm taking a different angle this week. Hurricane Sandy blew through New York City earlier in the week and I think that will impact the Giants.
And after that Cowboys game last week, a game that went down to the final seconds, and was only a Dez Bryant fingertip away from being a loss, the Giants are due for a letdown.
I think the Steelers can come in and pull the upset this week. The Steelers pass D is holding opponents to 182 yards per game, best in the league. They'll need that kind of number to beat Eli and the Giants, but I think they can do it.
Pick: Steelers +3 1/2
Dallas Cowboys at Atlanta Falcons (-4, O/U 47 1/2)
So, can we finally say that Atlanta is for real? I've been writing them off all season, just waiting for them to come back to earth. But 8 weeks into the season they are still rolling. They are 7-0 and looking good coming off of a road win at Philly.
The Cowboys have struggled, especially last week, they've lost 4 of their last 6 games, and the two wins were by 6 and 5 points. And you have to think Tony Romo is on a short leash. He threw 4 interceptions last week against the Giants, but miraculously almost pulled the Cowboys out of a 24-0 first half hole to win the game. But, as usual, the Cowboys couldn't get it done at the end.
I see the Falcons pass defense v. Tony Romo as the difference in this one. If they can frustrate him early and force him into bad throws and the Falcons should be able to win and cover this game.
Pick: Falcons -4
Monday, Nov. 5th
Philadelphia Eagles at New Orleans Saints (-3, O/U 52 1/2)
The big question from Eagles fans after last week's ugly loss to the Falcons was "Is Vick going to get benched?" Rumors were circulating all around Philly that Andy Reid decided to bench Vick in favor of rookie Nick Foles. And then Wednesday came and Andy Reid made it clear, Mike Vick is his quarterback, at least for now.
Yes, the Eagles are struggling, but so are the Saints. New Orleans is giving up a league high 474 yards of offense per game. That total is 50 yards higher than the next highest team. Wow.
I've been waiting for the Eagles to snap out of their funk all season, and I think this is the week they do it. Going up against a team with no defense whatsoever, I think Vick snaps back and the Eagles put up 30+ points and get a road win in the Big Easy. And, if only for one week, all will be right in Eagle-land.
Pick: Eagles +3


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Tonight we're gonna look at the destruction of the nations in the brief time that we have. In I Corinthians 10:32, the Bible indicates to us that our age, the people of our age, are divided into three groups: the Jews, the Church of God, and the nations. Now, in our study of prophecy we have already dealt with the Jews. Last Sunday night we dealt in great detail with what God has planned for Israel in the Tribulation. Prior to that, we studied the subject of the Church of God in the future plan of God and we recognized that the Lord is gonna take us out. We reviewed the catching away of the Church before the time of the Tribulation. We reviewed God's dealing with Israel during the Tribulation and that leaves only the other group: the nations. That's everybody other than Israel and the Church and that's a lot of people.
Now, tonight we're gonna begin to look at God's plan for the nations as it appears in eschatology or as it appears in prophecy for the future. And it's not very...it's not a very bright future, believe me, for the world. What we're going to see in our study is the downhill slide of the world to destruction. In fact, we could well call it the fall of the world.
I suppose the question that's kicked around politically as much as any question, if not more, is what's wrong with the world. And that's a loaded question. Why is there so much turmoil? Why is there so much strife in the world? Why is there so much unrest in the world? Why are there revolutions as we heard about tonight? Why is there an incapability on the part of man to live with himself? What's wrong with this world? There's political unrest. We read about conflict that is caused by capitalism as over against communism. We read about the continual conflict between nationalism and imperialism. And then there is racial unrest. We read about color crisis and culture crisis...a running conflict in almost every country of the world. We read about social unrest...crime on the increase, the inability of peoples to get along within the framework of their own government and to handle those who want to do their own thing at the cost of the security and the safety of others. We read about economic unrest. We're constantly made aware of the conflict between labor and capital, between union and management. We read about religious unrest. We live in a world of moral revolution. The mores are changing all the time. We read about theological unrest and even in our own country we've seen the growing tide of liberalism shifting and changing what was a static faith based on the Word of God. And all of these things are, all the time, thrown in our face.
But these are not the problem; these are the symptoms of the problem. You say, what's the problem? The problem is stated very simply and very concisely in Psalms 2. Listen to it. It even poses the question. Verse 1: "Why do the nations rage and the people imagine a vain thing?" Why is life such a turmoil and such vanity? "The kings of the earth,"...and here comes the answer..."set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together,"...what?..."against the Lord." That's the reason, because the world is living in rebellion against God. We are a world of not only ideological atheists, but practical atheists. We not only, some of us, think there's no God, most of us live as if there were no God. Men live in a world apart from the standards that God has set. If you were sitting in a position of leadership, say, you were the President of the United States, and you saw your entire country completely sweep into anarchy where nobody obeyed any laws, but everybody in the country was in rebellion, and then you sent certain people into that society to maintain order and all of those people rebelled, if you were sitting at the top of the pile watching that, you would have a small feeling like God has when He looks at the world. For the whole population of the world is in rebellion against God and God sent, quote, spiritual men into the world to keep spiritual order and they have rebelled. And so when God looks at this world, He sees unbelievable chaos.
In rejecting God, the nations, then, have rejected the Word of God. And when the nations rejected the Word of God, the ship of humanity cut off its anchor. The rejection of Scripture, you see, is the rejection of all God's solutions to all the problems. If you reject the solution, it's obvious; what is the result? You get nothing but the free run of Satan all over the world. In fact, Isaiah perhaps describes it in words that are as illustrative as any. Listen to this. Isaiah 57:19: "I create the fruit of the lips." Listen. "Peace, peace to him that is far off and to him that is near, saith the Lord, and I will heal him." Here's God offering salvation. "But the wicked are like the troubled sea when it cannot rest, whose waters churn up mire and dirt. There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked." Man lives in rebellion against God, consequently, he rejects the Word of God, consequently, he rejects all of God's solutions, which are the only solutions. And then you get unrest.
Well, I think the turmoil, as we see it in our day, seems to be coming to a boiling point as sort of signifying the end of everything. The nations reject God. They reject Christ. They reject the Bible and the result is chaos everyplace. And you know something? It is all setting the stage. The world, in all of its turmoil, in all of its unrest and in all of its chaos is getting ready for a one-world government that is going to end the chaos temporarily. There is coming a great worldwide government that is going to unify the world and bring about a superficial peace. And the world is crying for this right now. There's coming a man who will rule every nation. As we shall see, the Bible says, he will devour the whole earth under his rule. There will be unification, believe me. And there will be a superficial peace. And the world, in all of its turmoil, is begging for it. And that is only an inkling of the fact that we're close to the end.
But let me tell you something, friends; it won't last long. The Bible says that all of this unification and all of this peace is gonna last a few years and it's gonna end up in a world war called Armageddon. And all of those nations, which for a little while existed in peace, are gonna tear into each other in a war like no other war in the history of the world. And that war is gonna be ended by the return of Jesus Christ. And at that time, He will destroy the nations and judge the nations for their sin.
Now, in just a little nutshell, that's the panorama of the future for the nations. Turmoil solved by the world government and its ruler then deteriorates into a world war like no war, ended by the return of Jesus Christ who finally sets up true and everlasting union and peace in His Kingdom.
Now, we want to follow the sequence of these events as we study the nations in the Tribulation. And there are many features to this and it'll take us several weeks. But I want us to look at the times of the nations, the ruler of the nations, the alignment of the nations, the religion of the nations, the war of the nations and the judgment of the nations, starting to begin with, with he times of the nations. Now, this is a tremendously important subject and if we just get through this tonight, we'll have done well.
In Luke 21:24...just write it down; don't look it up...Luke 21:24, Jesus coined a phrase, "the times of the Gentiles." Now, the word "Gentile" means nations. And since that's what we're talking about, we'll use it that way. Jesus said there is such a thing, quote, as "the times of the nations," or the history of the nations. There is a segment of time cut out of eternity that belongs to the nations. In fact, Jesus further defined it in these terms. It is the time when Jerusalem is trodden down by the nations. The times of the nations or the history of the nations, as it's called by Jesus, is the time that Jerusalem is under...and by Jerusalem, we mean the land of Israel, all that Jerusalem should encompass...is trodden down by Gentiles.
Now, friends, this began about the year 600 B.C. Up until that time, you remember that God had led the children of Israel out of Egypt and He had brought them to the Promised Land. It was not easy, but He did it. He got them in the Promised Land. It was their land. They remained in the land until such a time as their sin rose to the nostrils of God to the extent that He couldn't tolerate it. And He said that's all I can take; that's all I can stand...and you remember Jeremiah was the one who was doing most of the announcing that God had had it...and I'm coming down and I'm gonna sweep you out of that land. I'm gonna turn it over to Gentiles. And what occurred was the captivity known as the Babylonian captivity around the year 600 B.C.
Now, that began the times of the nations. Now, I want you to notice something in Psalms 2 if you're still there. The nations will continue to rage against God. They've been raging against God since that time began and they're gonna keep it up. But in the end, God is going to take back the rule of Jerusalem and the world. Verse 4...oh, these people are, you know, fighting God and all this and it says, "He who sits in the heavens shall,"...what?... laugh. Their puny efforts are foolish. "The Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall He speak unto them in His wrath and vex them in His great displeasure." God's gonna move in in terrible judgment on the nations followed by 6: "Yet have I set my king upon the holy hill of Zion." Who's that? That's Christ. So they're gonna keep raging until God sets His King on the throne. Therefore, the times of the nations began about 600 and will go until Jesus returns. We are living in the midst of the times of the nations. It started, as I said, about around 600 B.C. for around a rough figure. And that was when the nations took the dominion of Israel.
Now, as we look at this, we're going to need to look at the book of Daniel because there are so very many important prophecies there. Daniel is probably a political science document second to none. And Daniel presents to us the times of the nations. Now, as I said, it began with the Babylonian captivity. And you remember the name of the king at that time? His name was Nebuchadnezzar. He was the king that really was the first monarch of the times of the nations. That is, after Israel had become a land and were removed and Gentiles took over, he was the first king. And you remember the sequence of what happens? You need to go back to the book of Ezekiel in your mind and you might jot this down. In chapter 10 and 11, the glory of God left Israel. Remember that? God had had it with Israel's sin. There were idols scribbled all over the walls of the temple. It was a blasphemous situation and God said I will not tolerate it; I'm leaving. And in Ezekiel 10 and 11, the glory of God departs and the glory of God represents His presence. God just leaves Israel. God says I'm getting out. And that was the beginning of the end. God left and then God allowed Gentiles to sweep in and remove Israel and the Gentile history began. In Ezekiel 21, verse 22, it says, "At his right...was the divination for Jerusalem, to appoint captains, to open the mouth in the slaughter, to lift up the voice with shouting, to appoint battering rams against the gates, to cast a siege mound and build a fort. And it shall be unto them like a false divination in their sight, to them that have sworn oaths. But He will call to remembrance the iniquity, that they may be taken." In other words, Jerusalem is going to fortify. They're gonna stockpile. They're gonna really build up. But it isn't gonna do them any good at all. Verse 24: "Because you have made your iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are uncovered, so that in all your doings your sins do appear, because I say you are come to remembrance, you shall be taken with the hand." In other words, God says because of your sin, you can fortify all you want, we're gonna move you right out. Israel's day had ended. And Israel's day will begin again when Jesus comes. In the meantime, it's not the history of Israel; it's the history of the Gentiles. Up until that time Jerusalem had been supreme. Assyria tried to knock it off, Egypt tried to knock it off, Babylon tried to knock it off and none of them were successful until God said, your sins have caused this fall. When the measure of the wickedness of Jerusalem was full, God said, Nebuchadnezzar is to be the first monarch of the times of the Gentiles. It was punishment for Israel.
Now, as we enter the book of Daniel...this is a fabulous book...as we enter the book of Daniel, we find that Israel is already captive in Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar is the king. They have been taken out of the land. Daniel, one of the young Jewish lads, has been taken with them captive, and he is now serving in the courts of Nebuchadnezzar, the court of the king of Babylon. Now, God is about to use Daniel for prophecy. And what God wants Daniel to do, and listen to this, He wants Daniel to reveal the course of the history of the Gentile takeover. You say, why? Well, you see, immediately, when God allowed all these Jews to be taken into captivity, the question that would come in their minds is this: Has God copped out on His covenant?...right? Has God forsaken us? We're out of our land, our beloved land, the Promised Land that God promised Abraham, Isaac, Jacob. We've been removed from our land. Is this the end? Is God finished with us? Has God violated His promises? And so immediately, at the very beginning, God calls out Daniel and Daniel spells out in detail that the times of the Gentiles is only temporary. It's long...already it's been almost 2,600 years...but it's temporary. It's temporary. God has not forsaken His covenant. In the end, He will restore Israel. He will bring the Messiah. He will fulfill every promise He ever made. And that's why the prophecy of Daniel was written, to show that there were limits to the times of the nations. You know, I ask myself the question and you do, too. Why does God let nations go like they go? Why does God let them do what they did those Christians in Burundi? Why does He do that? This is the times of the nations. This is the time that God has prescribed in history for them to have their day.
Now, look at chapter 2 and let's see the course of the times of the nations. And we're gonna go quick so hang onto your seat. "In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams and his spirit was troubled and his sleep went from him"...couldn't sleep; he was having too many nightmares. "Then the king commanded to summon the magicians and the astrologers and the sorcerers and the Chaldeans"...and the Chaldeans were supposed to be the wisest of everybody..."to show the king his dreams." He calls in all the demonic people and the wise men and everybody else. "So they came and stood before the king." Now, this king really was, he really took his authority seriously. "And the king said unto them, 'I have dreamed a dream and my spirit was troubled to know the dream.'" What is this dream that I'm dreaming? All you wise people tell me. "Then spoke the Chaldeans to the people in Aramaic, 'O king, live forever.'" Oh, they start softening him up a little bit. Oh, you wonderful old king, you (laughter). See. You just tell us your dream and we'll show you the interpretation, which is easy to do. They could just get in a circle and agree that they tell him what it was even if it wasn't. "The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, 'The thing is gone from me.'" I can't remember the dream. Can you imagine being bugged by the interpretation of a dream that you forgot? (Laughter) Then, listen to this. "If you will not make known unto me the dream with the interpretation, you shall be cut in pieces." The last part is strictly superfluous, "and your house shall be made a refuse heap." Having been cut in pieces, you wouldn't care a whole lot about your house (laughter). But he says, you better tell me what it was and what it means or I'll chop you all up. That's a little tough. Well, they were in no position to know that, obviously. Go to verse 10. And the Chaldeans were pretty wise. "The Chaldeans answered before the king and said, 'There is not a man on the earth that can reveal the king's matter. Therefore, there is no king, lord nor ruler that asked such things of any magician or astrologer or Chaldean.'" What are you doing? Nobody can read minds. What are you asking us? No king ever did that. Don't you know you're breaking historical precedent? "And it is a rare thing that the king requireth, and there is no other that can reveal it before the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh." You're fooling around with the supernatural. "For this cause, the king was angry and very furious and commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon." Boy! "And the decree went forth that the wise men should be slain and they sought Daniel and his fellows to be slain." Daniel was one of them, the smart guys in Babylon. Kill 'em all! "Then Daniel answered with counsel and wisdom to Arioch, the captain of the king's guard who was gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon. And he answered and said to Arioch the king's captain, 'Why is the decree so hasty from the king?' Then Arioch made the thing known to Daniel"...told him about it. "Then Daniel went in and desired of the king that he would give him time and that he would show the king the interpretation." Daniel goes in and says, now king, relax, and I'll show you the answer. "Then Daniel went to his house and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, his companions, that they would desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret, that Daniel and his fellows should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon." So they want to have a prayer meeting, the four of them. Lord, now is the time for you to reveal this to us (laughter). Well, God did. "Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision. And Daniel blessed the God of heaven." God told Daniel...listen to me...do you know something wonderful? Do you know who made that king forget that dream? God did! God made him have the dream, made him forget the dream. Why? So he could get Daniel in the right spot to reveal the whole deal to him, which sets up Daniel, God's prophet, in the right place. And Daniel is gonna reveal the dream. And he does that. He sought God and God revealed to him what it was and Daniel revealed the dream to the king. Now, you'll remember the dream had to do with an image. And we're gonna consider that. Look down at verse 31. This was the dream. In verse 24 it tells us that he was brought into the king so that he could reveal it and this is what he says to the king. Verse 31: "Thou, O king, sawest, and behold, a great image"...big statue..."This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee, and the form of it was terrible." Now, he says, oh, yes, he says, you saw this huge idol, this huge statue, and it was a fierce looking thing. "This image's head was of fine gold, its breast and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet part iron and part clay." Now, that's quite an interesting thing. It was a huge thing, a large image, and it had this fourfold characteristic, well, actually five, the feet being iron and clay mixed. Then he said, "Thou sawest until"... he was looking at his image, you know, in his dream..."and he saw a stone was cut out without hands." There he sees a stone cut out without hands. "Which smote the image upon its feet that were of iron and clay and broke them to pieces. Then were the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold broken to pieces together and become like chaff of the summer threshingfloor and the wind carried them away that no place was found for them. And the stone that smote the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth." Now that was his dream. That's a rough one. That is a very, very interesting dream. He saw this massive, huge man. His head was gold and his arms and shoulders and chest were silver and his thighs and mid-section were brass and his legs were iron and his feet iron and clay mixed. And here comes this stone out of nowhere and smashes the thing. It all crumbles and blows away with the wind and the stone grows up and fills the whole earth. You say, what is that? That, beloved, is the panorama of the history of the world. You say, what do you mean? Let me show you. And you'll have to follow these verses carefully beginning in verse 36.
"This is the dream, and we will tell its interpretation before the king. Thou, O king, art a king of kings, for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power and strength and glory. And wherever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art"...what?..."the head of gold." The first great world empire was Babylon. And Daniel said, you are the gold in that image. You represent the first great world power, and the gold, because it was the purest power. It was the most, oh, I should say, with the least deterioration; it lasted 43...well, Nebuchadnezzar ruled for 43 years. He was a king among kings. And the kingdom of Babylon was the purest monarchy. And so he says, you are that image. You see, that image pictures the history of the times of the Gentiles and it began with that great Babylonian empire. Then the deterioration began. It's interesting if you happen to be post-millennial to try to explain, if we're getting better and better to go into the kingdom, how come the image keeps getting worse and worse in terms of inferior metals? That's another subject.
Alright, the second feature that he sees is in verse 39. "And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee." Now, we'll stop there. There is coming a shoulders and chest and arms kingdom. Who was that? Medo-Persia. The Medes and the Persians conquered the Babylonian Empire. They came together in a common government. Isn't that interesting that on the idol there are two arms, two shoulders and two sides to the chest and that represents the two-fold unity between the Medes and the Persians that we know as the Medo-Persian Empire. That was a great world government. In fact, over in Daniel, chapter 5...one of the most fabulous accounts of how the Medes and the Persians took over the Babylonian government...the Babylonians were having a drunken brawl and it was being led by the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar whose name was Belshazzar. And while they were in there really hooping it up at this big orgy, remember, the handwriting appeared on the wall: Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin. And the interpretation of it in verse 26, "Mene: God hath numbered thy kingdom and finished it. Tekel: Thou art weighed in the balances and found wanting. Peres: Thy kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians." And there they are sitting in this big banquet hall, just really hooping it up and the writing right on the wall is announcing the end of the kingdom. And at the same time that that's going on, the Medes and the Persians have rerouted the Euphrates River and while the whole city is walled and slammed shut, they simply rerouted the Euphrates River and walked under the wall in the riverbed and took over the city while all these people were in a drunken stupor. And the Medes and the Persians took over. And verse 30: "In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain. And Darius, the Mede, took the kingdom." And you have the second great world empire, the empire of the Medes and the Persians. And this was a great one, although it wasn't as great as the first one...it was silver, not gold...it was still great. But you come to a third part of the image. Go back to chapter 2 again. It says the third kingdom is a kingdom of bronze. And here you have the thighs of bronze "which shall bear the rule" or "bear rule over all the earth." The third great world kingdom was the kingdom of...what?...Greece. And you remember the man who was instrumental in founding that kingdom was a man by the name of Alexander the Great who was killed when he was only 32 years old. Now there's an interesting record in Daniel, chapter 8. In chapter 8 and verse 5, it tells how he took this kingdom, how Alexander moved in on Medo-Persia. And there's another vision. It's the vision of a ram and a he goat. "As I was considering," Daniel 8:5, "behold a he goat came from the west over the face of the whole earth and touched not the ground." Isn't that beautiful? Here comes a he goat just whooof, see, just flying across. "And the goat had a notable horn between his eyes"...one horn, just sticking out between his eyes. Here comes this goat flying across the land, the swift, speeding Alexander the Great, one horn, a single kingdom. "And he came to the ram that had two horns." ______ all rams have two horns. What was the two-horned kingdom?...Medo-Persia. "And he ran into him in the fury of his power. And I saw him come close unto the ram and he was moved with anger against him and smote the ram and broke his two horns. And there was no power in the ram to stand before him, but he cast him down to the ground and stamped on him and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand. Therefore, the he goat grew very great. And when he was strong, the great horn was broken, and for it, came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven." Fantastic prophecy! He had this super horn and it smashed Medo-Persia, but soon it was broken and four other horns came out. You remember what happened at the end of Alexander's life? He died and gave over his kingdom to how many generals?...four generals. The Bible is exactly accurate at least 200 years before Alexander was even born. Now, you say, oh, MacArthur, you just made all that interpretation up. No, I didn't. Look at verse 20 (laughter). "The ram"...this is chapter 8..."the ram which you saw having two horns, these are the kings of Media and Persia. And the rough goat is the king of Greece. And the great horn that is between his eyes is that first king"...Alexander. See? He was the first king. And then he goes on, "Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nations, but not in his power." Isn't that a fabulous statement? Do you know those four divisions were weaker than Alexander's...not in his power? And so, there was to be a third and that was represented by the bronze.
Now, go back to Daniel 2 again. Verse 40: "And the fourth kingdom"...all right, we come to the fourth..."shall be strong as iron." Notice the metal is deteriorating. These kingdoms are not as great as the predecessor. "Forasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and subdues all things, and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided." Now, the fourth great world kingdom that followed the kingdom of Alexander was...what?...Rome. And was Rome divided? It says right there "the kingdom shall be divided." Absolutely...divided between the east and the west. "But there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. And as the toes of the feet were part of iron and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly broken. And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men, but they shall not adhere one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay." Fantastic! Do you know what the Romans did? They put their iron men in with the clay that they conquered. Remember that? They spotted their soldiers all over the place, but they never could really mingle and adhere. They were always hassling with little revolutions here and little revolutions here and little ones over there. Again, the Scripture is accurate to the very letter. The fourth great world kingdom, then, is Rome.
Now, watch. Oh, this is a shocker, let me tell you. "In the days of these kings shall"...verse 44..."shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom." Now, hold onto your seat because it says there that the kingdom is gonna follow what great rule?...Rome. You say, oooh, I think we blew it. That ended long ago. Did it? When God sets up his kingdom, verse 44, it "shall never be destroyed and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms and stand forever. Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountains without hands"...and that speaks, I believe, of the virgin birth of Christ, no human instrumentation..."and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold, the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter. And the dream is certain, the interpretation of it sure." You know what that stone is? It's Jesus Christ and He smashes the Gentile world and fills the earth with His own glory and His own kingdom. You know what? That king didn't have any idea what he was having in his dreams. And Daniel told him. Now, I want to pinpoint something for you. You will notice that there is much made in verse 42 of the toes. The indication is this, friends, that there are in normal circumstances, ten toes. Some of you could, perhaps, give testimony to varying figures, but that's the normal one (laughter). The indication is that the final form, then, of this image, the feet that are smashed, are going to be in a ten-fold kind of unity. A ten-nation confederacy is indicated. Now, I want to say this at the very beginning. Rome has never had that. Some people have tried to wiggle around and get that into Rome's history in the past. Rome has never, ever had a ten-nation confederacy. You say, well, you're speculating because it doesn't mention how many toes there were there. Well, let's be reasonable. And in case you want more, Daniel 7:7 says...and this is another vision that was the same thing, only this time it wasn't a big statue, it was a bunch of animals...it says, "After this I saw in the night vision, and...a fourth beast"...and here's the picture of the Roman kingdom under the term of a "beast"..."terrible, strong exceedingly great...iron teeth. It devoured, broke in pieces, stamped the residue with its feet...was diverse from all the beasts that were before it, and it had..." 13 horns (laughter). Is that what it says?...ten. And here you have again, an emphasis on a ten-fold kind of unity within the Roman Empire. Incidentally, go to verse 24 of Daniel 7. "And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise." There is going to be a ten-fold confederacy under Rome. And in Revelation, chapter 17 and verse 12...I'm just going to read that to you quickly...it says this: "And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet." There is ten future kings coming in the final form of this Roman world rule. You say, oh, there's...the Roman Empire is long ago conquered. No, you know, the Roman Empire was never conquered, was it? It fell into dormancy and abeyance because of its own internal decay. Oh, it was speeded on its way. The western half, you remember, was finally buried by the invasion of the barbarians; you know, the invasions of the Goths and the Vandals and the Moors and the Huns, Attila, particularly. And you remember that the eastern empire was kind of finally buried with the sweep of Mohammedanism and then the Turks came along spelling the final blow. But, basically, it just kind of deteriorated and no other empire ever conquered Rome. Now, you know, people who've studied the Bible for many years have been looking for the fact that there needed to come in the end times, a revival of the old Roman confederacy with ten nations involved in it. Now, let me tell you something. If you want to read prophecy carefully, how does this fourth kingdom end?...gradually, gradually deteriorating? How does it end?...smash! It gets splattered by a stone cut out without hands. That could never refer to the gradual fading away of the Roman Empire. It's going to be momentary when it comes. So there must then be a final form of the Roman government. And it must, then, have a ten-nation confederacy. That's never happened. That has never happened. And, beloved, it says in 2:44 that the kingdom will follow this immediately, verse 45, that the return of Christ is that which destroys this fourth phase. Now, I want you to look and we're just gonna go another step and then we'll be done. I want you to look at chapter 7 of Daniel. Verse 1: "In the first year of Belshazzar, king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream." Now, Nebuchadnezzar had one, so Daniel had one to go along with it. "And the visions of his head he had in his bed. And he wrote the dream and told the sum of the matters." So he wouldn't forget it, he wrote it down. "Daniel spoke and said, 'I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea. And four great beasts came up from the sea.'" The sea in Scripture, very frequently, in prophetic language is used to refer to the nations...to the nations. Four great beasts, all different, rising out of the nations. One, beast one: "The first was like a lion"...that's the king of beasts..."and had eagle's wings"...that's the king of birds. This was the kingdom of kingdoms...Babylon. "I beheld till its wings were"...what?..."plucked." "And it was lifted up from the earth and made to stand upon the feet as a man and a man's heart was given to it." It deteriorated and showed its humanness. It was conquered. And if you read Daniel 4 and 5, you can read about the humiliation of the Babylonians when they were conquered. And it was followed by another kingdom. "Behold another beast, a second, like a bear. It raised up itself on one side." Isn't that fantastic?...the Medo-Persian dual kingdom. Watch this. In that kingdom, Persia was the strength of the union and the conquering was done on the strength of Persia. The bear literally raised up on one side. Amazing accuracy of Scripture! Amazing! Alright, let's go on. "It had three ribs in the mouth of it between its teeth." That's hard to know what that is. Some say it refers to Persia, Media and Babylonia. "And they said thus unto it, 'Arise, devour much flesh.'" What it means is, expand, and it did. Medo-Persia just went west, just expanded west. "And I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard which had upon its back four wings"...and the leopard is swift and fierce..."four wings of a fowl"...this is the speed and it also, perhaps, refers to the four-fold generals that followed Alexander. "And the beast also had four heads and dominion was given to it." Here you have the sweeping leopard, Alexander, followed by his four who took over his kingdom. That's the kingdom of Greece. And in chapter 8 there's more detail on that as you read, as we read earlier, about the notable horn. All right, and then there was a fourth beast in verse 7 and this is the Roman Empire and it had ten horns at the end of verse 7. Now, let me say something, friends. You cannot read that kind of prophecy and be an intelligent skeptic...can't be done. God was exactly accurate. Now watch. If God said, this is what Babylon is like and here are the characteristics and He was right on; this is what Medo-Persia was like and He was exactly accurate; this is what Greece will be like and to the very letter, He was accurate, then when God says the final phase of the world and of Gentile nations will be a ten-nation confederacy of what was once Rome, and it will be smashed by Christ, believe me, that's exactly what's gonna happen. You believe that? Now, it's gonna come in three phases. First of all, the ten-nation confederacy is gonna be formed. That's the first step. Then you know what's gonna happen? Look at verse 24 of chapter 7. The second phase: "And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise." Okay, that's the first phase, a ten-nation confederacy. And when I say it's gonna be a revived Roman Empire, I mean it will be territorially where ancient Rome was and ancient Rome occupied south Europe, north Africa and west Asia. And that will be the territory of this final ten-nation confederacy. There's the first phase, ten kings. But watch. Out of these ten horns or ten kings...and a horn represents power..."another shall rise after them." Here comes another horn. You know what the second phase of this confederacy is? The rise of the strong man in that confederacy who's gonna rule the world, commonly called Antichrist. And he's gonna...it's interesting...he will be diverse and subdue three kings. He's gonna have to fight against three kings. Apparently, the other guys succumb willingly after they see what he does to the other three. And he takes over. "And he speaks great words against the most High" and wears out the saints and thinks to change the times and the laws. This is some kind of guy...gonna change everything, morals and everything. "They shall be given into his hand"...aaah..."a time, times and half the time." How long is that?...three and a half years...second half of the Tribulation. "But the judgment shall sit and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and destroy it in the end. And the kingdom and dominion and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom..." Three phases: One, the ten-nation confederacy; two, the ruler rises; three, it's destroyed and smashed and God sets up His kingdom.
Now, beloved, oh, it's exciting to be alive today. You know why? Have you been watching what's going on in Europe? Of course you have. People used to say, oh, all that ridiculous talk about our confederated Europe. Even in World War II they were saying that was idiotic. Right now we have in Europe what is known as the Common Market and they're dickering right at the level of ten, aren't they. Now, I'm not saying that's it. I'm simply saying that the spirit of Europe is such that can bring about this for the first time in history. I'm saying that what we are seeing now is certainly, at least, the birth pangs of this. It may change...don't say, oh, they've got 14 in, oh, oh, oh, my Bible, you know (laughter). Wait till the time of the Tribulation. That's the time...and you won't be around anyway, so don't worry about it. Don't want to stick around just to check it out (laughter)...no point in that. But we're seeing the right kind of attitude. A common currency in Europe, that's the next thing. December 27, 1971, KFWB radio reported these words, quote, "The biggest event to look for in 1972 is the rise of the European Common Market, which will become the greatest single economic power in the world." L.A. Examiner, October 29, 1971, quote, "The British decision to join the Common Market has brought Europe to the threshold of its strongest alliance since the nations involved were tied together as a part of the Roman Empire 15 centuries ago." That's the L.A. Examiner. And, supposedly, there are 10 nations involved...seven in and three applications. Now, when that thing comes, it's gonna be powerful, believe me. Verse 23 of Daniel 7...the fourth beast is gonna be so strong that it will "devour the whole earth, tread it down and break it in pieces." And you compare Revelation 13 and verse 7 and 8 and you find, again, the same indication that when this system gets rolling, it is really going to be powerful. Revelation 13:7,8 says this: "And it was given unto him to make war with the saints"...sounds like Daniel, doesn't it?..."and to overcome them. And power was given him over all kindreds and tongues and nations." This ten-nation confederacy will again rule the world. Now, isn't it interesting that secular newspapers are saying, we're seeing something we haven't seen since the Roman Empire? You say, how is that nation ever gonna get its power? How's it ever gonna rise to the place of power? The Bible doesn't say, but I got a good idea. You say, what's your idea? You remember Ezekiel 38 and 39...and this is just a footnote...you remember Ezekiel 38 and 39, Israel is dwelling in the land during the tribulation and the king of the north...who's that?...likely a Russian alliance. The king of the north comes down against Israel...right? But what happens to him?...wipe out. God wipes out the whole Russian army. You know what that means? That means that there's no other great world power left and I think it's at that moment that the western Roman confederated empire then realizes that it is in a position to dominate the world and it moves in and takes over. And the reason I believe that, is not only because it fits conveniently there, but because I believe that happens in the center of the Tribulation somewhere and I know that it's only in the last three and a half years that this system really gets going. So the time fits. The fact that the world empire begins at the mid-point in Daniel's last seven years is supported by the fact that the beast only has power for 42 months according to Revelation 13:5. So, sometime in the middle, he'll see the demise of Russia and that northern empire, and this system will then take over the world. Well, that's only the beginning, beloved. Out of that system is gonna rise a man and that's gonna be Satan's man, the counterfeit Christ. What he is and what he does will be the topic of our next discussion. Let's pray.
Our Father, tonight, again, our hearts have been brought to the attention of the Word of God. And our Father, we have seen, again, the marvelous accuracy of Scripture. Lord, God, we are so aware of the tragic future of the world. And Lord, tonight, in our fellowship together we have talked about evangelism and missions. God, when we look at the doom of the world, give us the vision that Paul had when he said, "knowing the terror of the Lord, we persuade men." God, help us even as we sung, to really love to tell the story. Help us to tell the untold. Help us to tell another and another and another until the chain is never broken. Whether it's here or Africa, help us to know that what the nations are in for is a hellish existence until such a time as God moves in in terrible judgment. And God, may we be able to realize that we're not just talking about large nations; we're talking about the individuals that make them up. God, give us a love for the lost. Give us such an overwhelming love for the honor of the name of Jesus Christ that we speak it and stand for it everywhere we go to the saving of souls. In Jesus' name, Amen.
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|Statement by Counselor Zhang Dan of the Chinese Delegation at the Interactive Thematic Dialogue of the 63rd Session of the General Assembly on "Taking Collective Action to End Human Trafficking"
May 13, 2009
Mr. President,
Chinese delegation would like to thank the president of the General Assembly Mr. Brockman for taking the initiative to convene this informal debate. We believe that this debate will give a powerful impetus to the concerted effort of the international community in combating human trafficking and will promote the comprehensive and effective implementation of the relevant legal instruments.
Human trafficking has complex political, economic and social causes. Abject poverty, racial discrimination, armed conflict and natural disaster are breeding grounds for this criminal activity. In recent years, thanks to the common efforts of the UNODC, the Working Group on Trafficking in Persons established by the Conference of State Parties to the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and the Inter-Agency Cooperation Working Group against Trafficking in Persons (ICAT) , positive progress has been made in the international cooperation in combating human trafficking, legislative work and law enforcement in this field have been enhanced, the awareness of the question of human trafficking has increased and international cooperation at the regional and sub-regional levels have achieved initial results. At the same time, it must be noted that countries differ in their legislative regulations which makes crime detection difficult; some countries are poorly equipped in investigation, prosecution and conviction; there is a lack of adequate law enforcement coordination within and among countries; and the exchange of information is unsatisfactory. All these factors have imposed a heavy constraint on the efforts of the international community to combat human trafficking.
The background paper prepared by the Secretariat summed up the current problems and challenges facing the international community and put forth targeted policy recommendations. As such, it has provided this meeting with a sound basis for discussion. China believes that in our endeavor to further combat human trafficking, attention should be given to the following two points:
First, responsibilities of various governmental departments and coordination among them should be enhanced. Combating human trafficking involves multiple aspects including prosecution, protection and prevention. Enhancing the responsibility of various departments and strengthening the coordination among them so as to advance in a balanced manner work in all relevant fields represent not only the practical need in combating human trafficking, but also what is required for the implementation of the relevant legal instruments. In December, 2007, China's State Council issued the National Plan of Action on Combating Trafficking in Women and Children (2008-2012); a system of holding joint meetings on actions in combating trafficking in women and children has been introduced; and an office on combating the crime of trafficking in women and children has been established within the Ministry of Public Security. At the local level, corresponding mechanisms for combating human trafficking have also been set up, especially in those areas where the crime of trafficking in women and children is particularly rampant, and local implementation programs or regulations formulated. These efforts have resulted in an effective curbing of human trafficking in China.
Secondly, bilateral and regional cooperation should be accorded sufficient importance. Since bilateral and regional cooperation provides an important platform for combating human trafficking, it is necessary to focus on law enforcement cooperation among countries of destination, transit and origin and on the timely exchange of information on the tendency and characteristics of human trafficking. Efforts should be made to ensure that such cooperation is carried out in a systematic and standardized way through concluding various cooperation agreements, holding regular meetings, carrying out joint actions to combat human trafficking and providing targeted training in law enforcement. In recent years, China has carried out a series of activities in cooperation with its neighbors, such as launching awareness raising campaigns on human trafficking, holding annual meetings of law enforcement agencies, implementing joint actions in specific cases of human trafficking and providing law enforcement training. These activities have proved to be highly effective. China has also set up in its border areas quite a number of law enforcement liaison offices for combating transnational human trafficking, thus further strengthening the cooperation with the countries concerned in information exchange, victim repatriation and transfer of suspects. As a state party to the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, China has effectively implemented its convention obligations and participated actively in the international cooperation within the framework of the UN to combat human trafficking. Since the signing in 2004 of the MOU on Cooperation against Trafficking in Persons in the Greater Mekong Sub-region, the governments of China, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam have formulated two consecutive plans of action for phase one and phase two and achieved visible results in the Greater Mekong sub-regional cooperation in combating human trafficking. While engaging in bilateral and regional cooperation, China supports efforts aimed at promoting international cooperation.
Mr. President,
Total elimination of human trafficking is a long and arduous task. The Chinese government is willing to continue to strengthen cooperation with governments, international organizations and NGOs under the principle of mutual respect and cooperation on equal footing, work towards more pragmatic and efficient international cooperation and make positive contributions to the ultimate elimination of human trafficking.
Thank you, Mr. President.


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February 1, 2006
Professor Daniel Magilow from the University of Tennessee and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum will be on campus Feb. 16 to give a talk entitled "Counting to Six Million: Collecting Projects and Holocaust Memorialization."
The Holocaust is the genocide of European Jews by Nazi Germany in the 1930s and 40s during World War II. About six million men, women and children were put to death in Nazi concentration camps. More than sixty years later, people around the world still commemorate this tragedy through various ways and events designed specifically for this memorial. One of those ways is the collection and accumulation of six million of a particular object, as a symbol for the six million Jews who were the victims of the Holocaust. This object can be a button, a paper butterfly, a penny, a shoe or a soft drink pull tab.
Professor Magilow will describe those efforts and projects to memorialize the Holocaust and will talk about a particularly interesting and inspiring one: The Children's Holocaust Memorial in Whitwell, Tennessee, for which students collected millions and millions of paper clips. In his talk, Professor Magilow will also closely consider all the aspects related to this way of commemorating the Holocaust, including its historical facts, its pedagogic values and its theoretical issues.
Magilow earned a B.A. in Comparative Literature at Columbia University in 1995 and his Ph.D. in Germanic Languages and Literatures from Princeton University in 2003.
His research and teaching interests include photography and literature, media theory, German-Jewish Studies, Weimar Germany and the Third Reich. He is currently working on a manuscript about photographically-illustrated books of 1920's Germany and another about photographs of Jews before and after the Holocaust.
Dr. Magilow is spending the academic year 2005-2006 at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum's Center for Advanced Holocaust Study as the center's Pearl Resnick Postdoctoral Fellow.
His visit is sponsored by the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures at Wabash College and by the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington DC. His talk is scheduled at 4:15 p,m., Feb. 16, in Detchon International Hall. Everyone is invited. Professor Magilow will be also visiting classes at Wabash and at South Montgomery High School.
Labaki is a Wabash College sophomore from Baabdate - El Metn, Lebanon.


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- Clicking on the embed icon opens up an info box with the iframe code for your map and three size options. The iframe code is for embedding your map onto external sites.
- To embed your map locally on your own community, and you are using the VisualEditor, you can add a map via the 'Insert' dropdown menu. Alternatively, using wikitext, all you have to do is add the following code to the page where you want the map to be displayed:
<imap map-id=MAP# />, where 'MAP#' is the map id number in the URL. (For example,
<imap map-id=15 />.)
Deleting a mapEdit
To delete a map, click on the 'Actions' button next to the title of the map. Click 'Delete map'. Are you sure? Yes/No.
Recent maps activityEdit
You can see changes that have been made to all maps by visiting 'Special:Log' and then, under 'Logs', filtering for 'Maps'.
Maps on mobile devicesEdit
For the time being, maps are available on mobile devices as 'display only'.
Please direct questions, comments, suggestions, etc. about the feature to Special:Contact.
Thanks and enjoy the feature!
See alsoEdit
- Help:Maps Extension - The MediaWiki Maps extension, separate from Wikia Maps, that can be enabled upon request.
Further Help and FeedbackEdit
- Browse and search other help pages at Help:Contents
- Check Help:Wikia Community Central for sources of further help and support
- Check Help:Contacting Wikia for how to report any errors or unclear steps in this article
- Learn how to use Wikia in {{#NewWindowLink:http://community.wikia.com/index.php?title=Wikia_University%7CWikia University}}: short how-to videos for all levels of experience
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