Scrolling around...December 27, 2012

The Top Seven Regrets of Pastors
I recently interviewed more than twenty pastors who had been in ministry for at least 25 years. All of these men were over 55 years old. A few of them were retired, but most of them were still active in full-time vocational ministry.

The interview was simple. I asked one open-ended question: "What regrets do you have about the years you have served as a pastor?" Each of the men could provide as many responses as they desired. They could make the answers succinct, or they could elaborate upon them...

Sotomayor Refuses to Block Contraceptives Mandate
...In an order issued on Wednesday, Sotomayor said two for-profit companies controlled by Oklahoma City billionaire David Green and his family did not qualify for an injunction while they challenge the requirement in court.

Hobby Lobby Stores Inc, an arts and crafts chain with more than 500 stores, and Mardel Inc, a chain of 35 Christian-themed bookstores, said it violated their religious beliefs to require that their group health plans cover treatments that could induce abortions...

Six killed in Christmas church attack in Nigeria
Gunmen have killed six people at a church in Nigeria, making 2012 the third year that Christmas services have come under deadly attack in the country...

Iran re-arrests Pastor Nadarkhani on Christmas Day
The Iranian Christian pastor who had been imprisoned in Iran for converting from Islam to Christianity was taken into custody again on Christmas Day, according to several Iranian media sources and individuals close to the pastor and his family...

Germany 'exporting' old and sick to foreign care homes
Growing numbers of elderly and sick Germans are being sent overseas for long-term care in retirement and rehabilitation centres because of rising costs and falling standards in Germany.

The move, which has seen thousands of retired Germans rehoused in homes in eastern Europe and Asia, has been severely criticised by social welfare organisations who have called it "inhumane deportation"...

Math Is Coming
...Politicians have long ignored Math. And it’s no wonder: Math is unelected, unsympathetic, and highly biased toward the rich and keeps demanding cuts to spending and changes to entitlements that are politically infeasible. In a nation filled with obese poor people, we’ve discovered a long list of things everyone should be entitled to besides food, clothing, and shelter — things people need, like subsidized hybrids — but heartless, uncompromising Math keeps looking at our revenue and telling us we can’t have all of that...

Facebook Shifted $700 Million to Cayman Islands in 'Double Irish' Tax Reduction Strategy