Jesus, the Alpha & the Omega
Nelson Mandela (1918 – 2013)
A wise and humble leader, who is cognizant of his own human and political capabilities. A man of principles and unafraid to stand up for the rights of the downtrodden, at the expense of his own life. A rare gift to the world of politics and diplomacy.
Bible Verse for Today
The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched - they must be felt with the heart. Helen Keller (1880 - 1968).
The Ainu, in the historical Japanese texts the Ezo, are an indigenous people of Japan (Hokkaido, and formerly northeastern Honshu) and Russia (Sakhalin, the Kuril Islands, and formerly the Kamchatka Peninsula). On June 6, 2008, the Japanese Diet passed a bipartisan, non-binding resolution calling upon the government to recognize the Ainu people as indigenous to Japan, and urging an end to discrimination against the group. Recent research suggests that the historical Ainu culture originated in a merger of the Okhotsk culture with the Satsumon, one of the ancient archaeological cultures that are considered to have derived from the Jōmon-period cultures of the Japanese archipelago. The Ainu economy was based on farming, as well as on hunting, fishing and gathering.
CDC Travellers’ Health Notices 
There are two sides to the human brain. Each side of the brain interacts with the opposite side of the body. The left side of the brain interacts with the right side of the body, and vice versa. The reason behind this way of interaction is still not understood.
Relief Web 
The Cave Nebula in Hydrogen, Oxygen, and Sulfur.
Image Credit & Copyright: Chuck Ayoub. The featured skyscape is dominated by dusty Sh2-155, the Cave Nebula, a stellar nursery 10 light-years deep. About 2,400 light-years away, the scene lies along the plane of our Milky Way Galaxy, towards the royal northern constellation of Cepheus. Astronomical explorations of the region reveal that it has formed at the boundary of the massive Cepheus B molecular cloud and the hot, young stars of the Cepheus OB 3 association. The bright rim of ionized hydrogen gas is energized by radiation from the hot stars, dominated by the bright star just to the left of the cave entrance. Radiation driven ionization fronts are likely triggering collapsing cores and new star formation within.
NASA Mars Exploration Programme
Conservation International 
The national flag of Nepal is the world's only non-quadrilateral national flag. The flag is a simplified combination of two single pennons, known as a double pennon. Its crimson red is the colour of the rhododendron, Nepal's national flower, while the blue border is the colour of peace. The inclusion of the celestial bodies indicates Nepal's permanence and the hope that Nepal will enjoy the same longevity as the Sun and the Moon. Additionally, the stylized moon represents the calm demeanour and purity of spirit of the Nepali people, while the stylised sun represents their fierce resolve. The current flag was adopted on 16 December 1962, along with the formation of a new constitutional government.
The U.S. Department of State Travel Warnings
The UK Foreign Service Travel Advice 
The Last Judgment is a fresco by the Italian Renaissance painter Michelangelo, covering the whole altar wall of the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City. It is a depiction of the Second Coming of Christ and the final and eternal judgment by God of all humanity. There are over 300 figures, with nearly all the males and angels originally shown as nudes; many were later partly covered up by painted draperies. The work took over four years, between 1536 and 1541. Michelangelo began working on it twenty-five years after he finished the Sistine Chapel ceiling, and was nearly 67 at its completion. It was commissioned by Pope Clement VII but was completed under Pope Paul III.
Idiom of the Day
