kiwipete

The British might be taking Christianity out of Christmas to inanely appease the minority immigrant population, but not little young New Zealand.

Its the two fingered salute to radical Islam!!

Immigrants to our country have to learn and appreciate our customs and traditions - and they do too!

Traditional Christian scenes will remain on New Zealand stamps again this year, despite Britain moving away from religion for fear of offending some bearded Moslem.

NZ Post stamps have been well received in the past and last year's set of Three Wise Men were extremely popular, so they will continue the traditional way for Christmas issue stamps in the foreseeable future despite what immigrants are perceived to consider as appropriate.

Perhaps if immigrants had been treated with a bit more condideration and respect in the past, the British wouldn't find themselves in a conscience bind.

This year thousands of New Zealand children submitted stamp designs in a contest - ten of which were chosen for use.Entries depicted traditional designs and others were more Kiwiana - such as Kiwifruit wearing a Santa hat. No PC for our Kiwi kids! The 2007 Christmas issue will no doubt be along similar lines to 2006.

A Merry Christmas from New Zealand!

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The following has proven very popular at other blogsites. Please read on!

Should we believe in the Trinity - the Trinity debate? Write your opinion. Put your money where your mouth is.Blog up a storm!

Do you personally believe in the Trinity? I was actually brought up to believe in it from my earliest days at Sunday School, so many decades ago, when most of my generation attended regularly every Sunday morning.

It appears to me that it has always been a central doctrine of the church.I believe that it has always been there, just like the Cross. Should it be a subject that is more than just a passing interest? So I looked for some information from an organisation that obviously knows a little bit about the subject.The following is from The Watchtower magazine, with thanks!

Various Trinitarian concepts exist. But generally the Trinity teaching is that in the Godhead there are three persons, Father,Son and Holy Ghost; yet together they are but one God. The doctrine says that the three are co-equal, almighty, and uncreated, having existed in the Godhead.

Others, however, say that the Trinity doctrine is false, that Almighty God stands alone as a separate, eternal, and all-powerful being. They say that Jesus in his pre-human existence was, like the angels, a separate spirit person created by God, and for this reason he must have had a beginning.They teach that Jesus has never been Almighty God's equal in any sense; he has always been subject to God and still is.They also believe that the Holy Ghost is not a person but God's spirit, his active force.

Supporters of the Trinity say that it is founded not on religious tradition but also on the Bible.Critics of the doctrine say that it is not a Bible teaching, one history source even declaring:" The origin of the Trinity is entirely pagan." - THE PAGAN IN OUR CHRISTIANITY.

If the Trinity is true, it is degrading to Jesus to say he was never equal to God as part of the Godhead. But if the Trinity is false, it is degrading to Almighty God to call anyone his equal, and even worse to call Mary the " Mother of God". If the Trinity is false, it dishonors God to say as noted in the book of Catholicism: "Unless people keep their faith whole and undefiled without doubt they shall perish forever- lastingly.And the Catholic Faith is this: we worship one God in Trinity."

How is the Trinity explained?

The Roman Catholic Church states: The Father is God,the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God, and yet there are not three Gods but one God, In this Trinity...the Persons are co-eternal and co-equal: all alike are uncreated and omnipotent - the Catholic Encyclopedia. Nearly all other churches in Christendom also agree.

But wait a minute there, Jesus is the Son of God, not God the Father. How can he be the Father of Himself?

Furthermore,Islam believes that Jesus was but one of the great Prophets, not the Son of God, just to throw another spanner in the works!

What do you believe?

DD

Fiji's fourth coup is now a grim reality and will not help the average Fijian - this is all about political power, money and corruption. Who are the shadowy figures behind the scene - the real corrupt ones? Who is to gain from all this intrigue?

Probably for the first time it wasn't really racially inspired with the intent of removing Indo- Fijians from power.The motive appears to be around a corrupt administration? Gun-power, money and corruption! Who are the shadowy figures behind the scenes?

The leader of the Fijian Defence Force, Commodore Bainimarama finally took over power at the point of a gun - after days of a "phoney war" - the takeover was actually delayed until after a rugby game between the Army and the Police. The farcical almost Disney- like situation became grim reality. Now comes the reality of the corruption, money and political power seekers!

The Prime Minister was deposed, put under house arrest and the administration was sacked and given a month's salary. Soldiers stormed the gate of the PM's house and demanded the keys to his official vehicles. He has fled to his home island by private plane, after refusing a ride home by boat from the military. Do you blame him?

Commodore Bainimarama has appointed a 77 year old Army doctor with no political experience as acting prime minister. The doctor has accepted the possibility of future actions because of their illegal actions, but he was quite philosophical about things and mentioned his age - 77 years. A new administration will be appointed soon.Then we will see the source of the corruption, the money- men and the political power seekers!

There is a defiant mood emanating from this bunch of rebels: New Zealand, probably Fiji's closest friend, has been told to mind their business; New Zealand, along with Britain and Australia have threatened withdrawal of all aid. All Fijian military, their families and sports teams (apart from the international IRB sanctioned New Zealand Sevens tournament in Wellington, early in 2007)have been banned! Some military personnel and their families have already been deported.The United Nations could dismiss the Fijian peacekeepers around the globe. This would have economic ramifications in the future for that country, because it is a significant proportion of their income. Just where will the money come from then? Indonesia, Taiwan or China?

As if to put the economic boot into Fiji, the owners of a privately owned Gold Mine in Fiji which employs 1,700 people, have announced the closure of the mine because it is no longer economically viable; and had nothing to do with the political situation in that country; actually I think it does have something to do with the existing corruption, the money-men and the political power seekers. The Commonwealth Secretary-General has announced that Fiji has been expelled from the Commonwealth again - they won't get back in again in a hurry!

It is,indeed, a sad day in paradise. The tourist promotion used to say: "Fiji, the way the world should be!" Yeah right! Now welcome to a classic example of a banana state? Gun-power, money and corruption!

Your mum may have been quite wrong you know - it may be alright to slouch. You may be able to put money on that too!

Were you told to sit up, stiffbacked and upright - because its good for your bones, posture, digestion, health and your alertness!

Using a new form of magnetic resonance imaging(MIR)British radiologists have found that sitting up straight is not good for your health after all because it puts unnecessary strain on the spine, and could cause chronic back pain from trapped nerves or slipped discs.

An ideal way for office workers is a reclined angle of about 135 degrees - it may be impractical to actually work at computers that way,but it puts less pressure on the spine than sitting hunched up.

The study at Aberdeen's Woodend Hospital involved 22 healthy volunteers with no history of back pain or surgery.

Their posture was adjusted while being scanned by a mobile MRI machine assuming three different positions: a slouch,the body hunched over a desk or video game console, and a relaxed position reclining at 135 degrees but with feet flat on the floor.

Radiologists found the rest position best preserved the spine's natural shape.The study author said that pressure on the spine misaligned it.The sitting position was proved to be the best biomechanical position in the study, which was presented to the Radiological Society of North America in Chicago.

Back pain causes one in six lost days off work - about 80% of Britons have it at some stage in their life - particularly in middle age.

There could well be similar results in North America and Australasia if such studies were held there.