Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from July, 2016

HONEY BAKED CHICKEN BREAST RECIPE

This is a very simple and easy dish which is very tasty. Try it with steamed or roast vegetables. Serves 4. Ingredients: 3 or 4 chicken breasts, skinned 3 tablespoons of honey 3/4 cup water 1 packet of French onion soup Instructions 1.     Combine all the ingredients in a overproof baking tray. Cover with plastic wrap and marinate for as long as you can. Turn over. 2.     Cover with foil and bake at 160 C (320 F) for 1 hour. 3.     Remove foil and bake another 30 minutes. 4.     Remove from oven. Rest with foil on top for 10 minutes. 5.     Serve and enjoy.

ON THE EDGE PART 2

The July 2016 Australian federal election was volatile and took days to decide. Days before, the British electorate voted for BREXIT, despite the overwhelming support of the elite for BREMAIN. The US Presidential campaign is the most turbulent in history. Why is there such political volatility in the western world? How did a nation like Australia, with a reputation for political stability, get into this situation of having 5 prime ministers in 5 years and a knife’s edge election? There is a simple explanation: a lack of respect for the democratic process. As mentioned earlier, in 5 years, 3 prime ministers were replaced by a backroom party manoeuvres, not by the electorate. When an elected leader stands and falls because of his/her colleagues, rather than the voters, this is NOT democracy. The Australian voters, who elected the Rudd government in 2007, should have had a chance to vote for or against it in the 2010 Federal Election. The same applies to the Abbott

TURKEY IN TURMOIL

Oh, No! Another Coup? It was a horrible sense of deja vu. In 1960, 1970, 1980, and a soft postmodern version in 1997, Turkey had military coups. It was the Turkish government’s worse nightmare. Then, on 15 July 2016, it looked like Turkey was experiencing yet again another coup. This time, however, it failed. The toll, however, was high, with 290 people killed and 1,440 wounded. The Inevitable Crackdown: With great rapidity, the government of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan took strong action in a matter of hours and days to stamp out the ‘coup virus.’ Consider these statistics (courtesy of Incontext Ministries): •    22,000 people in education suspended; •    9,000 in the military arrested; •    2,700 in the judiciary arrested; •    50,000-60,000 government employees dismissed. A 3-month state of emergency has been declared in Turkey, giving President Erdogan sweeping powers. The purpose of the emergency, so the government says, is to ‘preserve freedom a

Renee’s Lebanese Rice

This buttery rice with golden noodles makes a wonderful addition to any dish. Makes 6 cups 3 cups short grain rice 1/2 cup butter Stock or stock cubes 1/2 cup egg noodles, broken up 1               Wash the rice and soak it for a least an hour, or 2 or overnight. The longer, the better. It will be more nutritious, too; 2               Melt the butter in the pot. Make sure the heat is not too high or it will burn. Lightly brown the broken egg noodles until golden 3               Quickly add the drained rice into the pot and stir until nicely coated with the butter and noodle mixture, add salt as desired and stir again. 4               Add cold stock or water (with stock cubes) until it is 2 cm above the level of the rice (or put your finger on top of the rice and make sure the liquid reaches your first knuckle). 5               Bring to a boil. Lower heat to a minimum.  Cover and  simmer 20 minutes. 6               Can be used aside any dish

On the Edge: Why is Australia Facing More Political Instability?

First, there was the UK ‘In or Out’ Referendum on European Union membership on June 23, 2016. Despite the support of business, media, major political parties, and the UK Prime Minister himself, the ‘Leave Campaign,’ popularly known as ‘BREXIT,’ prevailed. Immediately, the pound sterling dropped to a 30 year low, the stock market fell, and the global economy was shaken. On the other side of the world, Australia went to the polls on July 2nd in a ‘double-dissolution’ election. This means that all seats in the Australian parliament, the House of Representatives and the Senate, were up for grabs. By all accounts, the fact that the election was on a knife’s edge for days afterwards, and the prospect of continued political instability, does not bode well for the ‘land down under.’ The ruling Liberal-National Coalition government, led by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, asked to be returned to power for a second term. Mr. Turnbull, who was not originally elected as PM, successful

Could God Be Behind the Rise of Donald Trump?

When I broached the question: Could God behind the rise of Donald Trump,? I got an impassioned response from one of my readers - this could not be possible! The reader proceeded to list Mr. Trump’s outrageous words, actions, and that it was unthinkable that he could be God’s choice. Our friend has a point. Mr. Trump, age 70, is a flamboyant businessman who has made money on casinos, married three times, and even bragged about his extra-marital affairs. How could God be behind the rise of a man with such a lifestyle? These are fair questions. Yet, there is no question that Donald Trump’s rise thus far has stunned the world. In his quest for the US Republican Party nomination and the White House, Mr. Trump has knocked 17 other Republican contenders out of the race. More Republican voters have voted for Trump than any other candidate in any presidential primaries in history, including for the revered Ronald Reagan. He has received some impressive endorsements, including from 9

Blessing & Curses: Why Study the Book of Deuteronomy?

                                                                            Introduction It was a sobering scene. Location : The plain of Moab, near the Jordan River, at the back door of the ‘Promised Land,’ near the city of Jericho. Main character: Moses, the aged and faithful servant of God, was about to give his valedictory speech. The audience: A large group of Israelites: the younger generation, who were born in the wilderness (‘the wilderness generation’). The challenge: Moses would need all the God-given communications skills he could muster to reach this younger group of people who knew no other leader but him. After all, if Ronald Reagan, John Paul II and Bernie Sanders, all in their 70s, could connect with younger people, why not God’s anointed prophet? He apparently succeeded. The setting: It had been 40 years since he led the children of Israel out of Egypt by the power of God. The journey should have taken more or less 40 days. Yet, due to tem