Welcome to the weekend! Scroll through a few articles, videos and other interesting items as you enjoy the cold weather! From what I read this week, here are the most interesting items…

Let me start with a long article from the Miami Herald. You don’t have to read the whole thing to get the gist. It’s called ‘Plundering America: The Cuban Criminal Pipeline’. Key graph: “The federal government has long pointed to the prevalence of Cuban immigrants in Medicare fraud, as first reported in the Miami Herald, but authorities never quantified it. The Sun Sentinel analyzed court bookings data and found that Cuba natives, operating primarily in South Florida, are so prolific they account for less than one percent of the U.S. population but are responsible for 41 percent of arrests nationwide for health-care fraud.”

Also, as Parris and all of Europe have been shocked by the terrorist goings on in their own backyard (they even compare it to 9/11). Obviously there was some significant backlash when President Obama failed to attend the Parris march of solidarity. Here’s a video of the state department trying to explain why…its bad…Meanwhile, a much larger Muslim/Islamist terror threat has killed thousands in Nigeria (h/t David Clementson). The group carrying out the killing is called Boko Haram – here are some interesting things about them. And here are some fascinating satellite images of the destruction they’ve caused.

Here in America, the discussion over who will be running for President on the GOP side took an unexpected turn last Friday when Mitt Romney decided to dip his toe in the water. The reaction from political insiders has been almost unanimously bad, though Romney still holds high name recognition among the electorate.

Now for something more positive…on the 12th, John Piper posted a very good article called ‘What God Can Do in Five Seconds’. Definitely worth reading. 

Also, Corrie Mitchell asks us to ‘Stop Singing These 10 Worship Songs’…do you agree?

Book Alert: I just finished ‘Lit! A Christian Guide to Reading Books’ and I recommend it to anyone whose interested in reading better. Parents who want to encourage their kids to read will enjoy chapter 14 ‘Raising Readers’ which offers good suggestions on how to encourage your kiddos to enjoy reading. Favorite line from the chapter “Fill your home with a library of books. To save paper (or money), go to the library. The point is to make books visible and prominent, so your children will see books as worthwhile and enjoyable.” A question: Do your kids spend more time watching TV or playing video games than reading? Do you?

More Politics (oh goodie!)…Next week is the State of the Union Address. This article talks about President Obama’s different approach to the big speech this year.

Now for this important news item from the AP: ‘Cops: Suspect stopped for chicken and biscuits after heist’

Speaking of wacky items – check this new one out for your iPhone (h/t Alex Wenzel)

And…this is NOT from the Onion!

Arts and Crafts…Etsy is raising capital for a major IPO...what kinds of things do they sell? Stuff like this.

From tech world...there’s a story out this week about how researchers can use your “likes” on Facebook to figure you out.  It works…sometimes…

CONTROVERSY…And maybe you saw this already, but one of the boys who said he went to heaven and has been proclaiming ‘heaven is real’ etc. has now confessed that he made it all up…you don’t say? Phil Johnson Comments…Christianity Today article includes an updated statement from the publisher of his book (Tyndale), who is recalling the books. Apparently Tyndale hasn’t even paid the family for what books have sold…the SBC condemned all such false and Scripturally antithetical experiences a while back…(h/t Kate Wenzel & Tim Challies)

Finally, speaking of so-called Christian behavior…here are 10 horrific and hilarious ‘Christian’ pick up lines…(h/t Kate Wenzel)

That’s it! Enjoy your weekend!

PJW