Jesus, the Alpha & the Omega
Poverty is an intriguing concept and its application goes beyond financial deficiency. In materialistic societies, a stranger is often deemed to be an enemy as we cling possessively to what we own. But if we have nothing to defend (our property and other acquisitions, our reputation and knowledge), for what we have also belongs to all, then this inward voluntary disposition of vulnerability where our defenses are removed liberates us from our self-centeredness.
Bible Verse for Today
Rings Around the Ring Nebula.
Image Credit: Hubble, Large Binocular Telescope, Subaru Telescope; Composition & Copyright: Robert Gendler. The easily visible central portion of the Ring Nebula (M57) is about one light-year across, but this remarkably deep exposure - a collaborative effort combining data from three different large telescopes - explores the looping filaments of glowing gas extending much farther from the nebula's central star. This remarkable composite image includes narrowband hydrogen image, visible light emission, and infrared light emission. In this well-studied example of a planetary nebula, the glowing material does not come from planets. Instead, the gaseous shroud represents outer layers expelled from a dying, sun-like star. The Ring Nebula is about 2,000 light-years away toward the musical constellation Lyra.
NASA Mars Exploration Programme 
The number of brains cells is close to 100 billion, according to some estimate.
American Psychological Association
Conservation International 
The Pataxó are an indigenous people with a population of about 11,800 individuals. They once spoke the Pataxó language, but now speak Portuguese. The Pataxó people live in several villages in the southern part of the state of Bahia and northern of the state of Minas Gerais. There is evidence that the village of Barra Velha has existed for nearly two and a half centuries since 1767. Tracing a history of contact with non-indigenous people that goes back to the sixteenth century and often forced to hide their customs, nowadays the Pataxó strive to enliven their language - the Patxohã - and rituals "of the ancient"
Global Disaster Alert & Coordination System CDC Travellers’ Health Notices 
The national flag of Mali is a tricolour with three equal vertical stripes. From the hoist, the colours are green, gold, and red, the pan-African colours. The green stands for the fertility of the land, gold stands for purity and mineral wealth, and the red symbolizes the blood shed for independence from the French. The current flag was adopted on March 1, 1961.
The U.S. Department of State Travel Warnings
The UK Foreign Service Travel Advice 
This flared Paris porcelain vase mounted on a gilt bronze stand (museum number 463-1844) is painted with a profusion of brightly-coloured flowers dramatically set off against a completely gilded background. It is most probably bought from the Escalier de Cristal retailer Lahoche, Boin & Cie at the 1844 French Industrial Exhibition. The acquisition of this vase actually pre-dated the building of the South Kensington Museum, which is where it is presently.
Idiom of the Day 
EXTREMISTS ARRESTED FOR ATTACKING COPTS. Click on image for more information.
