Straight From Pastor Ey

It is plain and simple greed. Without regard for human lives, unscrupulous dairy companies sold melamine-laced infant formulas that caused more than 53,000 infants ill (almost 13,000 hospitalized) and four confirmed deaths due to kidney failure. Melamine is an industrial chemical used to make plastic products such as tabletops, white boards, glues and fire retardants. If consumed, melamine can cause bladder or kidney stones, which can lead to organ failure and even cancer. Thus, the Philippine Daily Inquirer aptly dubbed it “White Death.” These dairy companies dilute milk with water to increase its volume. Then, they add melamine to make it appear that the milk has high protein content. They do that to fool government quality tests. An estimated 20% percent of dairy companies in China sell these tainted milk formulas. Now, there’s a worldwide scramble to ban milk and other dairy products from China. Because of globalization, it appears that every product that has milk in it is suspect.

We usually hear that when Wall Street sneezes, the whole world catches a cold. So, what happens when Wall Street catches flu? Last weekend Lehman Brothers, the fourth biggest US investment bank, filed for bankruptcy after it suffered an estimated $60 billion in bad real estate holdings. Then, Bank of America took over Merrill Lynch, the largest U.S. brokerage, for $50 billion. The fall of what was dubbed as “two of America’s most iconic investment houses” sent not just chills but convulsions throughout the world. Some financial planners downplay it as “just another panic Monday.” ABC News’ financial contributor Mellody Hobson said, “If you’re in the financial industry, there’s no question, it’s Armageddon, it’s a history-making day. [But] if you’re a regular individual, you should rest assured that 98 percent of banks in [the USA] are totally and completely sound. There’s nothing to worry about in terms of your individual account.” (Source: http://abcnews.go.com/) Time called it “b

Maybe she thought it’s the only way out of poverty. Janette Ponce, 32 years old from Magdalene, Laguna, may have decided she had enough. She forced three of her four kids to drink muriatic acid. Then, she drank the toilet bowl cleaner, too. Neighbors rushed them to hospital. Doctors declared her children, Marjorie (4 years old), Margarette (3 years old) and MJ (2 years old), dead on arrival. After a few minutes later, Janette also died. Thank goodness her eldest son, Mark Genesis (8 years old), slept in his grandmother’s house that night. Else he would have suffered the same fate. On the other hand, her husband Orly was working as a construction worker in Manila when the suicide happened. Simply heartbreaking… Expect the media circus and the teary-eyed politicians who would wag their accusing fingers at whomever they think should be held responsible for our economy that is so grim it would drive a mother to murder her children and herself… until the next big story comes. Then, Janette

Have you heard about the  online life expectancy calculator ?   It helps us measure our so-called virtual Age or health age. Supposedly, the lower our Virtual Age the healthier we are. The result of my recent virtual age test. Image source:  http://www.sonnyradio.com/ The calculator asks more than thirty questions on health factors. It computes those factors to determine our life span. It asks questions on the quality of our lives like close friendships, happiness in marriage and job satisfaction. (I just can’t understand how just being a male can affect one’s virtual age.) Then, it would give you an approximate on how long you can expect to live, not just in years but also even in days. So, you can now literally count your remaining days. Of course, the calculator can give us estimates only. It admits, “The science of aging cannot predict all events of one’s life.” But it gives us a new approach to Psalm 90:12. “So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.