Reaction From Gigi Re: The Todd Bentley Fiasco

I've been depressed for the past 24 hours of my life, for some reasons that I still cannot define. But right after I read this, and Gigi called my attention to her comment on my other post on this 'series,' "A Dose Of My Own Barbs," I felt a bit of release, vindication, if you will, about the matter of what we've been wasting pixels of letters on...

There you have it. Straight from a woman who's met Todd Bentley. I rest my case.

vjamelarin wrote on Oct 24 Lorie, I never have written in reply to your posts. This time though I will put my two cents' worth in. I'm peeking at your can of worms. =) Having met Todd Bentley in person (albeit briefly) and actually seeing him in action, I can assure you of his gifts as being from GOD (some of it, anyway). BUT. The gifts of the SPIRIT & the fruit of the SPIRIT are different. Being sufficiently renewed in the mind through the washing of the WORD - this he may have lacked. He is a believer who shot up into prominence & power without sufficient grounding and accountability to keep him in line & stable. " Be careful when you stand lest you fall..." A person's spiritual gifts means squat when we talk about truth & lies. GOD's gifts are irrevocable and unfortunately, the devil can use them through us when we allow him to. However, we can choose what we use them for & how we use them. We can deceive & destroy or operate in truth & bring life. This fiasco has revealed two things - that Bentley had lacked the character & truth to contain what was given to him, and, how sad it is that some Christians will gobble up almost anything without discerning rightly. Because of the dearth of GOD's power & holiness as exhibited in many of our personal lives, demonstrations of power can be very appealing. On the other hand, others will go to the other extreme of shunning everything they do not understand because it is "from the devil". His fall also serves as a warning to all of us, especially to prideful people who think that they are always right regarding their opinions of spiritual matters, who see other peoples' motes but not the planks in their own eyes. Hypocrites - that's what the LORD calls them. We have to test ourselves always to see if we are in truth. FYI for all of us... It is actually possible not to have an opinion regarding things we don't necessarily understand. Also, GOD is always in control, even when it appears that the devil seems to be having a heyday. We are not always right, only GOD is able to do that. Not matter how much of the Bible we know, we do not know everything nor understand everything. Let us not think more highly of ourselves than we ought to. Let us remember that we can & should reject unscriptural teaching but we should not reject the man teaching it. He is NOT the enemy. We are called to be humble, not to judge others yet to shun evil. We are called to love, not to join the devil in skewering a man who, in spite of his sin (don't we ALL sin?), is somebody who Jesus died for too (false prophet or not). It is our choice when we decide to join hands with evil & destroy for the sake of "righteousness" as the Pharisees have done in the past. We are called to restore men from sin (in this I thank Rick Joyner), to build up and not tear down. If anybody says that he was never a Christian - How do they know that? Has GOD made them judges of men's hearts already? Please, let us not hand Todd Bentley over to the devil in a silver platter. In spite of everything, he has been and still is our brother. After all, we would like the same to be done for us when we stumble & fall. JESUS said that we shall be known as HIS because of our love for one another. HE didn't say that it is by our truth. Not to belittle truth in any way but just to remind us that even truth means nothing if there is no love. They have to go together. Love truth & love the man but hate the sin. GOD bless all of you...

F.Y.I.

Gigi is a member of Vineyard Cincinnati, the church headed by Bob Sjogren, writer of Cat And Dog Theology. She is an active member of the Intercessory Team, and while she doesn't care for titles, and she cares more for the love of God and of people's character, the credentials I mentioned ought to tell you of what stuff she's made of.

She used to go to church in Victory Iloilo, and she also attended Alliance in her hometown in Pagadian City, Zamboanga del Sur. She is no stranger to prophecy, and neither is she a stranger to controversy. Her life is a testimony of God's redemptive power, God's redemption, and His extreme mercy and grace. She knows what it feels like to have fallen, and she knows how sweet it is to be restored to Jesus. I personally have avoided the biggest temptations that could have rendered me irrestorable for decades, thanks to the mistakes she's fallen into and gotten up from. For a big part of my own healing, restoration, and protection and learnings, I give God credit for using her.

Yes, she called my attention to the way I worded my previous posts. It's too late to recant and edit it, but I truly admit that I was too red-in-the face and too extreme in my wording. Thankfully, hers is a more level-headed and more true-to-life account of who Todd Bentley is. According to her, in our conversation over the phone, "I don't care if Todd Bentley committed murder, since I know that he is a brother, it is my duty to protect him."

I second that. Again, it's not the human being who is our enemy. And our weapons ought not to be the barbs of accusation and criticism. Rather, we were called to use the godly weapons of love, peace, patience, gentleness, kindness and goodness.. and all the other fruits of the spirit.

I pray that you'll finally understand where I was coming from. And that it'll hit you that it's actually those critical radio pastors whom you need to be wary of.

I maintain the position that I am tabula rasa/neutral regarding the phenomena that they experience in the United States. Until Jesus comes to clear things, I maintain the attitude to suspend judgment until I've experienced these things I don't understand myself.


God bless your weekend, friends!

Todd Bentley: Clarifications

I was wondering why so many people had reacted to the matter on Todd Bentley. I think that was a rather impassioned post that had been more seeing-red than logical. So here are a couple of points I'd like to stress, before my comments reach to heaven... Or hell. :p


1. I do not believe in NEVER questioning TEACHINGS. In the previous post, I never mentioned anything about TEACHINGS... I only talked about the lynch mob against the PERSON of the pastor.

As regards how to treat teachings, I personally question the existence of the angel "Emma," and I'm still neutral about the issue. I'll allow God to shape my opinions about that as the days go by. As far as I'm concerned, there really are no female angels in the Bible, and I'm rather distrustful of female spirits, especially if they tend to call attention to themselves. My personal opinion is that this surely reminds me of the Marian apparitions in the past.

Whether the Marian apparitions are the counterfeit and this is the real thing, or satan has evolved his strategy and permutated it to the Charismatic/Pentecostal paradigm, is not really something I want to preoccupy my brain cells with, at the moment.

2. As regards questions of doctrine regarding strange spiritual phenomena, all I know is that if the fruit is ugly, like idolatry, or the focus is on us, on the entity, and doesn't glorify God at all, it's definitely not of God.

Regarding angelic activity of late, I know that the time is ripe. God is coming soon, and I'm not surprised about the increased spiritual activity. I have not reached to a full conclusion of the matter of the Angel Emma yet, and I don't want to bother about it. But I do know, that this video stirs some questions.

On one hand, they do give the glory back to God. The worship is back to God. And this seems to me like a reminder of Revelation 21.

On the other hand, these things are never recorded before, and Jesus did say that angels do not marry in Heaven. Whether they are gender-less or restricted to the male gender is beyond our knowledge, as of the moment.

3. I do not promote a sheepish all-embracing attitude. But neither do I promote a too-critical and too-judgmental approach to matters like revivals and the spiritual realm, as well as prophecy. I would rather that the person would talk to God himself, and examine the truth himself.

Use logic, use anecdotal evidence, use research. But remember that with God, the only currency revolves around FAITH, HOPE, and LOVE. Skepticism wasn't in His vocabulary, even.

4. There is one trick to discerning what is of God and not: you will know the source by its fruit.

If the focus deflects from God, if the focus shifts from worshiping JESUS and The Father, and turns the focus of worship to the angel, or the prophet, then it's not of God.

If the healings are counterfeit and are not long-lasting and results in further trouble, it's not of God.

If the teaching results in confusion, it's not of God.

If the Word/rebuke/exhortation/encouragement encourages arrogance/anger/rebellion or anything else negative, it's definitely NOT of God.

If the teaching/voice in your head urges or encourages you to sin against God, of course, it's NOT of Him..

If the result is of a Martha-like attitude, wherein you need to do more to prove you are of worth, it's not of God.

5. The bottom line really is to take all questions to God. The Holy Spirit and the Word will show you into all truth and knowledge. Guard your quiet time and your walk with Jesus with a tenacity unlike any other. Mind your own walk, NOT other people's. Be careful lest you fall.


I encourage independent thought. I would rather that people researched on these matters on their own than to get it from me. I encourage that people bump into truth in their own way, at their own pace, in their own time. NOT this way, wherein they need someone else to teach them how to swallow their food.

I encourage making mistakes, and I encourage giving each other mercy to the extreme. I encourage people to allow for others to make mistakes, and to forgive themselves and others every time they, or someone else who's a Christian, falls into sin or error...

***

I srsly don't know why y'allz reacted so severely to my previous post, but I just know that YOU should be more responsible for YOUR OWN walk. Mind your own business regarding others' mistakes, and if you are so affected and grieved, go ask God. Don't look to other people for your answers. It's more painful to everyone else involved, as well as for the rest of the Body of Christ, when discord and chaos result from conflicting opinions of church leaders.

Go talk to God on your own, and ask Him all your deepest, most pressing questions. Only HE can satisfy all your deepest questions.


And for all else. Matters like these really should't occupy your brains and mine too much. FOCUS on what you need to do at the moment!

And with that, here's hoping everything's clear now. If not, post your questions, else PM me. :p

On Todd Bentley

I happened by two blogs regarding the Todd Bentley issue earlier today, 10/16/08, and I'm truly disappointed in Christians.

I was initially disappointed when some people from my current church had denounced Todd Bentley and lynched him for committing adultery.

I am currently fed up with all the talk flying about him, so I'm posting my manifesto once and for all.

If we care enough about the people around us, we pray for them and we restore them when they do wrong, right? We restore them lovingly, right?

Todd Bentley, had he been your friend, would have needed restoration, caring, love and understanding. Instead of slicing him to bits via shredding him through gossip and statements of "that serves him right!" you could have said a silent prayer and moved on.

How would you like it, if, you were the prophet, and in the thickness of satan's temptations and attacks on you, you fell into severe sin because the headiness of your own achievements and the power with which God had rewarded you with actually rendered you a little too drunk in the spirit that blinders had fallen upon your eyes.

Ohoo, don't think you're impervious to pride! Don't think you're so right all the time that you will leave no room for other people's errors!

I battle with pride on a daily basis, and these are just "secular," non-churchy, non-spiritual achievements! It takes a loss or two for me to understand that this is God's way of anchoring me, as opposed to flying off in self-deception!

Understand satan's schemes: he aims to steal, kill and destroy. He aims to strike the shepherd so the sheep scatter. And who are our temporary shepherds until the Bridegroom comes?! OUR PASTORS! So when a pastor like Todd Bentley is struck down, who are you to kick a reeling man?!

Understand satan's schemes: rebellion for the sheep, control for the shepherd, immorality for the unbeliever, love of money for the achiever, division among human beings to sow mass pandemonium.

We do not battle against flesh and blood, folks! We ought to fight with LOVE! With PRAYER!

WHO ARE YOU TO CRITICIZE A RECOGNIZED MAN OF GOD?!

And either way, again, we are not to fight against each other. We are here to restore each other, to help each other up. NEVER to tear each other down.

I'm just correcting those who are sowing more discord by criticizing this man of God.

A pastor I revere once mentioned, "God honors a stupid pastor even more than a rebellious intercessor."

Better heed now, as opposed to heeding when you are toasting in the fires of hell.

Comfort From My Mom

Thanks, Nay, I certainly needed this.

One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a well.

The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do.

Finally, he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway;

it just wasn't worth it to retrieve the donkey.



He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him.

They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well.

At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly.

Then, to everyone's amazement he quieted down.

A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well.
He was astonished at what he saw.

With each shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing.

He would shake it off and take a step up.

As the farmer's neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal,

he would shake it off and take a step up.

Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey

stepped up over the edge of the well and happily trotted off!

MORAL :

Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt.

The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up.

Each of our troubles is a stepping stone.

We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping, never giving up!
Shake it off and take a step up.

Remember the five simple rules to be happy:

1. Free your heart from hatred - Forgive.

2. Free your mind from worries - Most never happens.

3. Live simply and appreciate what you have.

4. Give more.

5. Expect less from people but more from God.

You have two choices...smile and close this page,

or pass this along to someone else to share the lesson ....... I did!!


GOD BLESS YOU....!

23 Minutes in Hell

Bill Wiese was allowed by Jesus to experience Hell. I doan wanna go thar. Period.

OMG. Stocks Fall. Massive Pandemonium in Markets Across the World. Calling for Bailout Plan. OMG. Prophecies Coming TRUE!

Eep. I'm sitting on bleeding-edge news every time I close any of my 4 main emails. So forgive me if I'm floodin' yer inbox.

The Link That Started It All.

Do I hear a Dirge in the background, and a solemn call for prayer across all the stock market trading centers across the world? Let's hope they call JESUS and not the Martians this time.

Boy am I happy I don't have anything in the bank. Hahahahahhahhahaha! (for the first time)

(Sheesh. :p)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081009/ap_on_bi_st_ma_re/wall_street


While the rest of the world groans in agony.......

What is this? Like a ray of sunlight splashing through BLACK skies?!

Galoc starts producing oil

By Abigail L. Ho, TJ Burgonio
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 02:29:00 10/10/2008

MANILA, Philippines—After numerous delays, the Galoc oil field off northwest Palawan has finally produced oil, boosting the country’s hope to become 60-percent energy self-sufficient by 2010.

First discovered in 1981 and appraised in 1988, the Galoc field was left undeveloped due to the risks associated with its development and the then low price of oil.

Delays in the delivery of the first oil mean that its operators have missed this year’s oil price rally. Global crude oil prices are now around $89 a barrel, well off highs near $150 a barrel in mid-July.

In a joint statement, Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes and Jeff Davison, chief operating officer of service contract operator Galoc Production Co. (GPC), said the first well opened at 10:45 a.m., with first oil on board the vessel by 11:20 a.m.

GPC had repeatedly missed its first oil targets this year due mainly to bad weather.

Based on the consortium’s timetable, flow testing would be conducted over the coming weeks to stabilize production. Upon stabilization, production is expected to reach 20,000 barrels a day from the two wells.

6 percent of oil demand

For the remainder of 2008, production should average around 17,000 barrels a day.

“We are expecting to get 20,000 barrels a day in the first 90 days of commercial production. That will provide for 6 percent of the daily oil demand of the country,” Reyes said.

Independent appraiser Gaffney, Cline and Associates had estimated the production rate at the Galoc field to reach 23,000 barrels a day, on average, for the first year of production.

The Galoc field, 65 km northwest of Palawan, holds oil reserves estimated at 10 million barrels.

The new crude will raise the Philippines’ domestic oil output by some 70 percent to 42,500 bpd, a welcome addition to the country, which imports nearly all of its requirements.

But Galoc’s crude, also called Palawan Light, could find it hard attracting customers as it has a higher sulphur content than most Asia-Pacific grades, at 1.64 percent.

It is also coming on stream at a time of weakening oil demand in Asia, even as Vietnam has started selling first cargoes of its new light sweet Song Doc crude.

Reduction in imported oil

In June, Reyes said Galoc’s output would be aimed at local refineries.

Malacañang officials hailed the extraction of oil from the Galoc field saying this would reduce the country’s dependence on imported oil and save the country millions of dollars.

“The President is optimistic that this new development will positively impact on the administration’s efforts to reduce the country’s annual oil importation of $6 billion, and in turn will also contain the increasing cost of food and other commodities,” Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said, reading from a statement.

This, he added, would translate into $1.4 billion foreign exchange savings for the Galoc oil well’s lifetime of three to five years.

The country imported some $8.8 billion worth of oil last year, up from $8 billion the previous year. The total imports reached 120.1 million barrels in 2007.

GPC owns 58.29 percent of the Galoc contract area covered by Service Contract 14C, while Australian firms Nido Petroleum Ltd. and Otto Energy Ltd. hold 22.28 percent and 18.28 percent, respectively.

Other shareholders include local companies The Philodrill Corp. (7.03 percent), Oriental Petroleum and Minerals (4.96 percent), Linapacan Oil, Gas and Power (2.61 percent), Forum Energy (2.27 percent), Alcorn Gold Resources (1.53 percent), and PetroEnergy Resources (1.03 percent).

Vitol and European trader Trafigura will be the two main marketers of Palawan Light.

The Philippines also wants to drill oil from its Malampaya gas field off the Palawan coast and expects to start producing oil from its largest hydrocarbon discovery in less than two years. With a report from Reuters

Start Prayin' like you never had before!

Whom Do I Work For?

I actually wanted to write this instead of the other one I posted.

I was saying in my previous post that "then, I would be working for God when that time comes" (when the end of days is nigh)..

But then I re-realized that everything I do today would be building upon what I would need to do tomorrow.

Remembering my previous post on my Lifehacks blog, I better take my own advice, and work the hardest I can, in order to do this:

Revelation 22:12

Between the street of the city and the river there was a tree of life visible from both sides. It produced 12 kinds of fruit. Each month had its own fruit. The leaves of the tree will heal the nations.

I believe that WE are the leaves of this tree. Jesus is that tree, and we are His leaves. He is the Vine and we are the branches of that vine... We are to be sent out into the world to heal the nations. America to the Philippines, Philippines to America, Philippines to China, China to Europe, and wherever and whomever else God will use to heal these nations that have agreed to disagree with HIM.

So yeah, this gives me the inspiration to work hard, whatever is in my hands. Because my purpose is to create wealth that would enable me to go out into the world and do what I need to do, without partnering with anyone for ministry. I would rather be the one to partner with you in the future.

But even if my desires would be diametrically opposite to what God wants, and His reality would be that He would make me dependent on Him to the full, then so be it. Either way, this is no time to sleep!

Awake, sleepers! Awake!

Biblical Inspiration for This:

1 Timothy 4:10
Certainly, we work hard and struggle to live a godly life, because we place our confidence in the living God. He is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.

1 Timothy 6:17-19
Tell those who have the riches of this world not to be arrogant and not to place their confidence in anything as uncertain as riches. Instead, they should place their confidence in God who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. Tell them to do good, to do a lot of good things, to be generous, and to share. By doing this they store up a treasure for themselves which is a good foundation for the future. In this way they take hold of what life really is.

Whom Do I Work For?

I actually wanted to write this instead of the other one I posted.

I was saying in my previous post that "then, I would be working for God when that time comes" (when the end of days is nigh)..

But then I re-realized that everything I do today would be building upon what I would need to do tomorrow.

Remembering my previous post on my Lifehacks blog, I better take my own advice, and work the hardest I can, in order to do this:

Revelation 22:12

Between the street of the city and the river there was a tree of life visible from both sides. It produced 12 kinds of fruit. Each month had its own fruit. The leaves of the tree will heal the nations.

I believe that WE are the leaves of this tree. Jesus is that tree, and we are His leaves. He is the Vine and we are the branches of that vine... We are to be sent out into the world to heal the nations. America to the Philippines, Philippines to America, Philippines to China, China to Europe, and wherever and whomever else God will use to heal these nations that have agreed to disagree with HIM.

So yeah, this gives me the inspiration to work hard, whatever is in my hands. Because my purpose is to create wealth that would enable me to go out into the world and do what I need to do, without partnering with anyone for ministry. I would rather be the one to partner with you in the future.

But even if my desires would be diametrically opposite to what God wants, and His reality would be that He would make me dependent on Him to the full, then so be it. Either way, this is no time to sleep!

Awake, sleepers! Awake!

Biblical Inspiration for This:

1 Timothy 4:10
Certainly, we work hard and struggle to live a godly life, because we place our confidence in the living God. He is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.

1 Timothy 6:17-19
Tell those who have the riches of this world not to be arrogant and not to place their confidence in anything as uncertain as riches. Instead, they should place their confidence in God who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. Tell them to do good, to do a lot of good things, to be generous, and to share. By doing this they store up a treasure for themselves which is a good foundation for the future. In this way they take hold of what life really is.

An Exhortation To The Bride

It's funny how world events have unfolded before my very eyes. Israel has sealed the pact with the devil by giving in to Hollywood-style soft core porn for its tourism industry, Iceland declared bankruptcy, California is in need of monetary "backups" for its budget (being Federal means that their funding is within the state, and not centralized, like here in the Philippines), the earth is getting depleted of oil the way an emergency case is hemorrhaging from a puncture wound, we are seeing the plummeting of the world's economies, and we still don't get it.

Artists create concerts like Save the Earth, asking for help... From whom?! From the Martians?! From other people?! OTHER PEOPLE CAN'T SAVE YOU! Oil can't save you! MONEY can't save you!!!

And neither does conserving the owls. Or the crocodiles.

Only JESUS can create new OWLS. Only Jesus can bring back the crocodiles and let them be restricted to areas where they won't eat people.

Why can't we get it?! The very PERSON we spurn, JESUS, is the ONLY person who can save us!!!

Oh yeah, so while the world parties on to the one world economy, and people forget to be wary of the RFID chips and the one-world citizenship, I pray that we Philippine Christians will rise up for JESUS and take hold of our destiny as MISSIONARIES WHO WILL GO OUT INTO THE REST OF THE WORLD AND WIN IT FOR JESUS, WITH JESUS, AND BY JESUS!

And if, in the event that we have gone out there and we get missing-in-action, martyred, or, be happy about it, RAPTURED, it's a glorious thing, because GOD will welcome us with a martyr's honor when we reach Heaven.

Gird your swords and shields, kids, now is the time to walk this world with an aching awareness. Awake, sleepers, for your Bridegroom is at the door. Tremble with fear of Him and how He moves, because He comes in His full glory, and it to the world, the BRIDE's walk will be a path of thorns. But to us, the Bride, we will be walking on flowers.

Remember Stephen as he beheld Jesus' glory and took the stones. Remember Peter as he got crucified upside down. To those who have dreams of following God and marching after Him, only JESUS can give you the anesthetic you need.

You won't feel the pain, though it would look painful to most, because Jesus holds you throughout what you will go through. It will be a season of joy, as we battle for our destiny's worth.

Fight with honor worthy of the GOD who called you. These are the days where Biblical truths will be retranslated into our context. These are the days when the apostles will be martyred as Paul, Stephen, Peter, and the rest of them were martyred and persecuted.

Rejoice, because the end-of-days battles are beginning. The Bride is stirring, and the Bridegroom is eager to fight for her as He awaits receiving her.

ANOTHER BREAKING NEWS: CALIFORNIA IS IN A BUDGET DEFICIT!!!

Ehem. Gird ourselves with the Word of God?!

States That Can't Pay for Themselves

by Prashant Gopal
Wednesday, October 8, 2008provided by

The Golden State, which recently scrambled to fill a $15 billion budget gap, still may not be able to meet its payroll without help.

California is going to Washington, D.C., to ask for $7 billion to cover its budget shortfall. Otherwise it won't be able to pay for its teachers, cops, firemen, and other essential services. Unfortunately, California won't be alone. A number of other states are experiencing a huge dive in tax revenue and could be going cap in hand to Uncle Sam alarmingly soon. How bad could it get? The potential cost for all the 31 states facing both major and minor shortfalls could be as much as $53.4 billion.

More from BusinessWeek.com: • Towns That Will Be Hit Hardest by Financial Crisis • America's Most and Least Affordable Housing Markets • Most Expensive Real Estate Markets in the U.S.

The data is based on a study by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities released at the end of September and shows the states that have seen the biggest shortfalls in tax revenue in their fiscal 2009 budgets.

California
Budget gap (as a % of the total budget): 22%
Gap: $22.2 billion

Wikipedia: Public Domain

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger warned this week that the state might need to borrow $7 billion from the federal government, if credit markets don't ease, to pay for salaries and other operating costs. The state, which has been battered by falling home prices and foreclosures, enacted a budget that imposed cuts to the state's health insurance program for the poor and other social service programs.

Arizona
Budget gap (as a % of the total budget): 19.9%
Gap: $2 billion

Arizona was hit hard by the subprime crisis, and its economy has slowed significantly since mid-2006. Lawmakers, who had to make up a $2 billion budget shortfall for fiscal 2009, reduced the Medicaid rolls, put a freeze on hiring, and cut funding for community health centers and state universities.

Florida
Budget gap (as a % of the total budget): 19.9%
Gap: $5.1 billion

The Florida housing slump is one of the worst in the nation and only appears to be getting worse. The $66 billion Florida budget for the coming year is about $6 billion less than the one approved the previous year. It includes a $332 million reduction in public school spending and cuts to state hospitals, nursing homes, and various social programs.

Wikipedia: Public Domain

Nevada
Budget gap (as a % of the total budget): 16%
Gap: $1.2 billion

Nevada has the worst foreclosure rate in the nation, and its economy has slowed dramatically this year. The governor capped the state's children's health program and increased children's health-care premiums, and cut funding for K-12 education, higher education, and welfare.

Rhode Island
Budget gap (as a % of the total budget): 13.1%
Gap: $430 million

Rhode Island's economy has been weakened by its housing market, one of the worst in the nation. Lawmakers are trying to make up for a $430 million shortfall in their budget with proposed cuts to the public college system and aid for municipalities, as well as tighter limits on welfare benefits.

New York
Budget gap (as a % of the total budget): 9.8%
Gap: $5.5 billion

New York, which had a $4.9 billion budget gap, faced an additional $630 million shortfall after the budget was enacted. The state made cuts to the health insurance program for low-income families, froze hiring, and enacted tax and fee increases.

Anivron: Wikipedia

Alabama
Budget gap (as a % of the total budget):
9.5%
Gap: $784 million

Alabama closed some corporate tax loopholes, and made cuts to colleges and universities.

Georgia
Budget gap (as a % of the total budget): 8.7%
Gap: $1.8 billion

The state's economy has been impacted by a slowing housing market. The governor has asked state agencies to cut 4% to make up an expected shortfall in the $21 billion budget for the coming fiscal year.

New Jersey
Budget gap (as a % of the total budget): 7.7%
Gap: $2.5 billion

The state's economic slump is due to the weak housing market and rising inflation. The state legislature passed a $32.8 billion budget that is $600 million less than last year's budget. New Jersey plans to trim the budget by offering early-retirement incentives for state employees and through attrition.

BobDrzyzgula: Wikipedia

Maryland
Budget gap (as a % of the total budget): 7.2%
Gap: $1.1 billion

Maryland enacted a $1.35 billion tax increase in late 2007, which (along with $277 million in budget cuts passed by the General Assembly) is designed to help address the state's deficit. However, a continuing economic weakness has led to an additional $270 million gap, which is likely to be addressed by further spending cuts.

See a slide show of the states with the biggest budget shortfalls.

Source: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

Editor's note: The budget gaps include the shortfalls before the budget was adopted, along with any additional midyear gaps.

Copyrighted, Business Week. All rights reserved.

ICELAND DECLARES ITSELF BANKRUPT. Earth's Days Are Numbered, Baby!

Mehn. We just don't get it, do we? All I can say is, we're headed for Apocalypse, baby! So what's a kid like you and me to do? Pray, seek God, be fruitful, love, go on living. It'll be like in the days of Noah, the Bible says: They were drinking, marrying, laughing.

I wish the culmination of history were a more painless journey for humanity. Alas, it's all about HIM and not about us.

Mehn, gird your sword and get ready to fight! The Final War is about to start!!!

(Why on earth am I so excited about this?! Maybe because it only means that I don't need to work for money anymore. It would mean that I would be working for God then. Nyehehe! Woohoohooey! Bring it on, baby! Let the last battles of the Big War begin!)


Iceland teeters on the brink of bankruptcy

By JANE WARDELL, AP Business Writer Tue Oct 7, 3:40 PM ET

REYKJAVIK, Iceland - This volcanic island near the Arctic Circle is on the brink of becoming the first "national bankruptcy" of the global financial meltdown.
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Home to just 320,000 people on a territory the size of Kentucky, Iceland has formidable international reach because of an outsized banking sector that set out with Viking confidence to conquer swaths of the British economy — from fashion retailers to top soccer teams.

The strategy gave Icelanders one of the world's highest per capita incomes. But now they are watching helplessly as their economy implodes — their currency losing almost half its value, and their heavily exposed banks collapsing under the weight of debts incurred by lending in the boom times.

"Everything is closed. We couldn't sell our stock or take money from the bank," said Johann Sigurdsson as he left a branch of Landsbanki in downtown Reykjavik.

The government had earlier announced it had nationalized the bank under emergency laws enacted to deal with the crisis.

"We have been forced to take decisive action to save the country," Prime Minister Geir H. Haarde said of those sweeping new powers that allow the government to take over companies, limit the authority of boards, and call shareholder meetings.

A full-blown collapse of Iceland's financial system would send shock waves across Europe, given the heavy investment by Icelandic banks and companies across the continent.

One of Iceland's biggest companies, retailing investment group Baugur, owns or has stakes in dozens of major European retailers — including enough to make it the largest private company in Britain, where it owns a handful of stores such as the famous toy store Hamley's.

Kaupthing, Iceland's largest bank and one of those whose share trading was suspended last week to stop a huge sell-off, has also invested in European retail groups.

Thousands of Britons have accounts with Icesave, the online arm of Landsbanki that regulators said was likely to file for bankruptcy after it stopped permitting customers to withdraw money from their accounts Tuesday.

To try to wrest control of the spiraling situation, the government also loaned $680 million to Kaupthing to tide it over and said it was negotiating a $5.4 billion loan from Russia to shore up the nation's finances.

The speed of Iceland's downfall in the week since it announced it was nationalizing Glitnir bank, the country's third largest, caught many by surprise despite warnings that it was the "canary in the coal mine" of the global credit squeeze.

Famous for its cod fishing industry, geysers, moonscape and the Blue Lagoon, Iceland was the site of the Cold War showdown in which Bobby Fischer of the United States defeated Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union in 1972 for the world chess championship. Last year, Iceland won the U.N.'s "best country to live in" poll, with its residents deemed the most contented in the world.

No more.

Despite sunny skies Tuesday after three days of unseasonably cold weather, Reykjavik's mood remained grim — cafes were half-empty, real estate agents sat idle, and retailers reported few sales.

"I'm really starting to get worried now. Everything is bad news. I don't know what's happening," said retiree Helga Jonsdottir as she headed to a supermarket.

Icelanders are also beginning to question how a relative few were able to generate the disproportionate wealth — and associated debt — that Haarde has warned puts the entire country at risk of bankruptcy.

Iceland's reinvention from the poor cousin in Europe to one of the region's wealthiest countries dates to the deregulation of the banking industry and the creation of the domestic stock market in the mid-1990s.

Those free market reforms turned Iceland from a conservative, inward-looking country to one of a new generation of internationally educated young businessmen and women who were determined to give Iceland a modern profile far beyond its fishing base.

Entrepreneurs become its greatest export, as banks and companies marched across Europe and their acquisition wallets were filled by a stock market boom and a well-funded pension system. Among the purchases were the iconic Hamley's toy store and the West Ham soccer team.

Back home, the average family's wealth soared 45 percent in half a decade and gross domestic product rose at around 5 percent a year.

But the whole system was built on a shaky foundation of foreign debt.

The country's top four banks now hold foreign liabilities in excess of $100 billion, debts that dwarf Iceland's gross domestic product of $14 billion.

Those external liabilities mean the private sector has had great difficulty financing its debts, such as the more than $5.25 billion racked up by Kaupthing in five years to help fund British deals.

Iceland is unique "because the sheer size of its financial sector puts it in a vulnerable situation, and its currency has always been seen as a high risk and high yield," said Venla Sipila, a senior economist at Global Insight in London.

The krona is suffering in part from a withdrawal by a falloff in what are called carry trades — where investors borrow cheaply in a country with low rates, such as Japan, and invest in a country where returns, and often risks, are higher.

After watching the free-fall for several days, the Central Bank of Iceland stepped in Tuesday to fix the exchange rate of the currency at 175 — a level equal to 131 krona against the euro.

Haarde said he believed the measures had renewed confidence in the system. He also was critical of the lack of an Europe-wide response to the crisis, saying Iceland had been forced to adopt an "every-country-for-itself" mentality.

He acknowledged that Iceland's financial reputation was likely to suffer from both the crisis and the response despite strong fundamentals such as the fishing industry and clean and renewable energy resources.

As regular Icelanders begin to blame the government and market regulators, Haarde said the banks had been "victims of external circumstances."

Richard Portes of the London Business School agreed, noting the banks were well-capitalized and had not bought any of the toxic debt that has brought down banks elsewhere.

"I believe it is absolutely wrong to say these banks were reckless," said. "Quite the contrary. They were hugely unlucky."

Tomorrow, Another Chance At The Quest for The Philippines' First Oscar Begins

Fresh from a night out with high school classmates, face still unwashed from the amazing rollercoaster ride I had on my way home, I got this in one of my primary email addresses:

To those who support Panoramanila Pictures' and the rest of the Philippines' desire for acclaim in the realm of film, please do say a prayer.

It may not be as earthshaking as, say, the presidential elections, but it's still important to our national/collective esteem, pride in our people, and a (healthy) pride in our heritage, as well.

Mabuhay ang pelikulang pinoy!

For God and country!

Prayer for California (Request from Lou Engle)

Just came in through email:

Urgent Summons to California - A Message from Lou Engle:

Dear Friends of TheCall,

Once again, as you know, we are in a moment of extraordinary crisis in America. These elections will shape the future of our nation for the next 40 years. The future of millions of unborn children and wounded mothers is at stake. The judges that will be appointed by the next president will help determine whether or not America will fully turn away from the fixed moral standards of God's loving laws.

If that were not enough, California has now legalized same-sex marriage and the implications of this ruling are so far-reaching that it demands an immediate and urgent response from the church. I am emailing our entire email list this most profound video describing a true incident that has taken place in Massachusetts, the only other state that has legalized same-sex marriage. When you watch it, you will understand that we are in a spiritual battle that calls for desperate fasting and prayer.

On November 1, we are summoning the church from across California and the nation to gather together in united fasting and prayer at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego to take a stand for marriage in California.

As California goes, in many ways, so goes the nation. A major prayer leader from Egypt spoke to me and said that he had been weeping over California because he knew that if this law is not reversed by the vote of Californians on November 4, a spirit will spread across the world that will be stronger than Islam. It is a spirit of lawlessness, and that spirit will affect every nation. He said, "Lou, please call the whole world to pray for California on November 1 through God TV."

Mybrothers and sisters, many of my friends are saying that TheCall California will be the most significant Call we have ever done. It is not just about California it is about the whole nation.

I am appealing to you who have stood by TheCall these years to drop everything to come to Qualcomm Stadium and join this mighty prayer battle that is going on. Nehemiah, in a time of spiritual warfare said, "We are widely divided along this wall, when you hear the sound of the trumpet, gather to me there, and there the Lord will fight for us." There are certain spiritual powers of darkness that will not be restrained unless we are willing to gather. God promises if we will do that, He will fight for us. "This kind does not come out but by prayer and fasting."

Please do not skip over this email lightly right now. Please, watch the video now and be stirred to take a stand.

Consumed by TheCall,

Lou Engle

Click here to watch this important video >>