My travel map in July

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Here's a travel map for the month of July. ;)

"Purity Ring" Schoolgirl goes to High Court

This article can be found at Reuters.

LONDON (Reuters) - A teenage schoolgirl will appeal to the High Court on Friday to overturn a ban on her wearing a "purity ring" at school to symbolize her decision to abstain from sex before marriage.

Lydia Playfoot, 16, from West Sussex, says the silver ring is an expression of her faith and should be exempt from the school's rules on wearing jewellery.

"It is really important to me because in the Bible it says we should do this," she told BBC radio. "Muslims are allowed to wear headscarves and other faiths can wear bangles and other types of jewellery. It feels like Christians are being discriminated against."

Playfoot's lawyers will argue that her right to express religious belief is upheld by the Human Rights Act.

There have been a series of rows in schools in recent years over the right of pupils to wear religious symbols or clothing, such as crucifixes and veils.

Last year, the Law Lords rejected Shabina Begum's appeal for permission to wear a Muslim gown at her school in Luton. That case echoed a debate in France over the banning of Muslim headscarves in state schools.

Lydia Playfoot's parents help run the British arm of the American campaign group the Silver Ring Thing, which promotes abstinence among young people.

Members wear a ring on the third finger of the left hand. It is inscribed with "Thess. 4:3-4," a reference to a Biblical passage from Thessalonians which reads: "God wants you to be holy, so you should keep clear of all sexual sin."

Lydia's father, Phil Playfoot, said his daughter's case was part of a wider cultural trend towards Christians being "silenced."

"What I would describe as a secular fundamentalism is coming to the fore, which really wants to silence certain beliefs, and Christian views in particular," he said.

Leon Nettley, head teacher of Millais School in Horsham, denies discrimination, saying the ring contravenes the school's rules on wearing jewellery.

"The school is not convinced pupils' rights have been interfered with by the application of the uniform policy," he told the Brighton-based Argus newspaper. "The school has a clearly published uniform policy and sets high standards."

Sometimes I wonder whether it really is good to do this sort of thing. It is right to stand up for what you believe, but the ring only symbolises what you already believe in. It is not a charm that will prevent sexual immorality. I think that if Lydia believes in remaining pure before marriage, she does not need the ring. Her inner conviction is enough. And if she wants to share her conviction with her friends, why then, she only has to tell them so! The Bible also says that we are to obey our authorities. By placing Lydia in Millais School, the parents are giving authority to the teachers and the Principal. Lydia has to obey them UNLESS their commands/rules contravenes God's higher commands.

Man set for execution wants to die laughing

By Jim Forsyth from Reuters

SAN ANTONIO, Texas (Reuters) - A Texas man scheduled to be executed on Tuesday wants to die laughing.

Patrick Knight, 39, has been soliciting jokes on the Internet and plans to tell one of them before receiving a lethal injection, Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokeswoman Michelle Lyons said on Monday.

"He says he wants to keep his execution light," she said.

Knight was sentenced to die for the August 1991 murder of his two elderly neighbors in Amarillo, Texas.

Lyons said a friend of Knight's set up a page on the social networking Web site MySpace.com to solicit jokes, and "hundreds" of suggestions have arrived in the mail.

"I'll be enjoying my last days on Earth," Knight wrote on the Web site. "I'm not asking for pen pals, but I'm asking you to spread the word that I am holding a contest. I want people to send me their best jokes, and to keep me and others with (execution) dates laughing."

Texas leads the nation with 396 executions. None of those put to death have ever joked about it, Lyons said.

"We've certainly had some people who have recited a poem or a Bible verse, some people who have asked forgiveness or who pray," she said. "This is, to my knowledge, the first time anybody has told a joke as their last words."

While she says Knight will be allowed to tell his joke, none of his executioners in the state death chamber at the Walls prison unit in Huntsville, Texas will be laughing, Lyons said.

"Everybody who is there takes it very seriously and will not be participating in the joke," she said. "So knock-knock jokes are out."

Your laugh won't last very long, Knight.... I wish I could advise you to put your search to something of far greater worth.

Sigh...

Time to celebrate

I made it safe and sound through the very 1st semester of University! That's cause enough for celebration. :D

Yesterday, after my last exam, I got permission to go Garden City with 2 of my uni friends! hehe we had lunch there, and went shopping for souvenirs for one of them to bring back to Singapore... I had such a great time wandering around the mall aimlessly. lol. It was good to relax again. :D We found this pair of cute pig slippers in Granny May, my friend got that for his sisters. It was so cute. Then we visited Darrell Lea and bought some chocolate.

I was looking at the display window from INSIDE the shop, and the chocolates looked so real and so yummy at first glance, so I said aloud, "Are they real?" It was directed at my friend beside me, but the lady at the counter overheard and said yeah, but their old. lol. It was said a split second after my friend pointed out the layer of dust covering the chocolates. haha... A thief will think twice about stealing anymore display chocolates after he/she ate the first!

I'm gonna go on a book reading spree... I love them. book after book after book till I get groggy. :D I love it. That's how I'm going to celebrate: a pile of books, and a box of chocolates. :D (Otherwise a 1 kg jar of Nutella and a spoon will do.) lol.

You have got to try this!


At the end of this message, you are asked a question.

Answer it immediately. Don't stop and think about it.


Just say the first thing that pops into your mind.


This is a fun "test"... AND kind of spooky at the same time! Give it a try, then e-mail it around (including back to me) and you'll see how many people you know fall into the same percentage as you. Be sure to put in the subject line if you are among the 98% or the 2%. You'll understand what that means after you finish taking the test".


Now... just follow the instructions as quickly as possible.



Do not go to the next calculation before you have finished the previous one.



You do not ever need to write or remember the answers, just do it using your mind.


You'll be surprised.



Start:


How much is:


15 + 6






















3 + 56



























89 + 2

























12 + 53





































75 + 26



































25 + 52





























63 + 32

































I know! Calculations are hard work, but it's nearly over..


Come on, one more!




























123 + 5























































QUICK! THINK ABOUT A COLOR AND A TOOL!










































Scroll further to the bottom....












































A bit more...




















You just thought about a red hammer ! , didn't you?

If this is not your answer, you are among 2% of people who have a different, if not abnormal, mind.

98% of the folks would answer a red hammer while doing this exercise.

If you do not believe this, pass it around and you'll see.

Be sure to put in the subject line if you are among the 98% or the 2% and send to everyone, including the person that sent it to you.

P.S. I can't believe it!! I actually thought of a red hammer! Guess I'm not so unique anymore... ;)