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Blue Letter Bible offers several daily devotional readings in order to help you refocus on Christ and the Gospel of His peace and righteousness.
Recognizing the value of consistent reflection upon the Word of God in order to refocus one's mind and heart upon Christ and His Gospel of peace, we provide several reading plans designed to cover the entire Bible in a year.
Tonight we want to look at the Song of Songs which is Solomon's. By the title it indicates that Solomon felt that this was the finest of the one thousand and five songs that he wrote. This is the excellency of the songs that he has written. Of the thousand and five songs, this one is it as far as Solomon is concerned.
In Ecclesiastes, we had a theme: vanity of vanities. In this we have, song of songs. The vanity or the emptiness of the world apart from God. The emptiness of the world in achievement, any achievement that is apart from God. Now he speaks of the song of songs which is Solomon's and the song of songs is a song of love.
Now there are some people who consider the Song of Solomon no more than just an erotic, oriental love song and feel that it has no place in the scriptures. But others have found tremendous inspiration in the Song of Solomon by looking at a spiritual allegory, seeing it as a spiritual allegory. Now to the Jews, it became a spiritual allegory of God's special relationship to the nation Israel. As God is seen in the figure of Solomon the king, and Israel as the favorite choice wife, and as they express their love of each other, so God's expressions of His love for Israel and Israel's expressions of their love for God.
And of course, through a lot of the prophets we find the same theme as God addresses Israel as His wife. And God tells of His love, His deep love for His people. And the espousals of the youth. "When you first discover Me. Where is that love that we had in the beginning?" God said. "Why have you turned away from the love? Who has drawn you away?" And as Israel turned their hearts from God and began to worship Molech and Mammon and Baal and some of the gods of the Canaanites, God spoke out against it as having forsaken Me, your first love, the true love. And you've taken up with these other paramours that are going to leave you desolate. And so to the Jew it became a beautiful spiritual picture of the relationship of the nation Israel, the special relationship the nation Israel experienced with God.
To the church, because the church is often seen in the New Testament as the bride of Christ, it became a picture to the church of the bride of the church, her relationship to Jesus Christ, her bridegroom, her coming King who we look forward to. And so the spiritual allegories are then made applicable to Christ and His love for the church and the church's response to His love.
John Gill, one of the great Puritan preachers, preached to his congregation a hundred and twenty-two sermons out of the Song of Solomon. So for those that are looking for sermon material, seeking to find it in the spiritual allegories, there's just a lot of material here. He preached a hundred and twenty-two sermons out of this book. Bernard of Clairvaux preached sixty-two sermons to his congregation just out of chapter 1. So the book is filled with imagery and possible allegorical applications.
Now, I am not one who really goes into the mystic allegorical applications of the scripture. Though I do see here many beautiful allegories, and you can take the text and spiritualize upon them, that just hasn't been my method of ministry of taking a text and seeking to spiritualize the text. Because different people can see different things in an allegory. And even in the Song of Solomon, there have been various interpretations of the Song of Solomon.
The basic interpretation of the Song of Solomon is that this is a young Shulamite girl that Solomon has fallen deeply in love with. And she is in love with him. And he addresses himself to her declaring his love and declaring her beauty, and she responding to him. While the daughters of Jerusalem are there asking questions of the young girl concerning her love for him, asking Solomon of his love for her, and so the... Actually, again, it's a song, so you see it's set up in a dramatic kind of an opera. You have Solomon standing there singing in his rich baritone voice of his love for his bride. And she with her high soprano answering him and singing, "Come, my beloved into my garden and drink. Taste of its fruits," and so forth. And then you have the chorus over here, the women's chorus, the female chorus. And they every once in a while sing in, "Tell us of thy beloved. Where is he grazing his flocks and so forth at this time?" And they are interjecting.
Now there is another interpretation of the Song of Solomon, basic overall interpretation. And this one is followed in the Amplified Bible and suggested in the Amplified Bible. And that is, that here is the same beautiful young Shulamite girl that Solomon has fallen madly in love with. And he is seeking to make her a part of his harem, for Solomon had a harem second to none. And he is seeking by his wealth, by his grandeur, by all of the gifts and the wealth to cause her to become a part of his vast harem. Seeking to woo her and to seduce her. And she is brought in with the other virgins and she is telling them, they wonder why she isn't responding to his love and she is telling them that she has a true love, a shepherd. And she doesn't respond really to Solomon's love because her heart is after another, her shepherd lover who she longs for, who she seeks after.
And in the spiritual allegories to this other way of looking at the Song of Solomon, Solomon in this other allegory represents the world. The Shulamite woman, the Christian, and how the world is seeking to allure the Christian away from her love for her Shepherd, Jesus Christ. And she has this deep fervent commitment to her shepherd, even Jesus Christ, and cannot be allured by all of the wealth and the glory and the grandeur of Solomon as he seeks to seduce her and draw her into his harem and all.
And so this is another possible interpretation. But this is the problem, the basic problem of spiritualizing the text and seeing it in an allegorical sense, because as you go through the book, either one fits. But surely they are diametrically opposed to each other as far as an interpretation goes. And yet, you can see and you can read it so that either way it fits. Solomon is the one she loves and they are expressing their love for each other. Or, she is sort of rejecting the love of Solomon because of her true love for her shepherd lover.
The Song of songs, which is Solomon's (Sgs 1:1).
It begins with the first singer who is this young Shulamite, beautiful girl, and she sings.
Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth: for thy love is better than wine. Because of the savor of your good ointments [or your perfume] thy name is as ointment [or perfume] poured forth, therefore do the virgins love thee. Draw me, we will run after thee: the King hath brought me into his chambers: we will be glad and rejoice in thee, we will remember thy love more than wine: the upright love thee (Sgs 1:2-4).
Now speaking of herself, she said,
I am black, yet beautiful, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, and as the curtains of Solomon. Look not upon me, because I am black (Sgs 1:5-6),
It doesn't mean that she was an Ethiopian, but she says,
because the sun hath looked upon me (Sgs 1:6):
She was well tanned.
my mother's children [my step brothers, actually] were angry with me; they made me the keeper of the vineyards; but my own vineyard [or my own complexion and so forth] I have not kept (Sgs 1:6).
I'm ruddy and tan and so forth.
Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest, where you make your flock to rest at noon: for why should I be as one that turneth aside by the flocks of thy companions? (Sgs 1:7)
So her opening declaration of having been brought into the king's chambers. Her addressing the daughters of Jerusalem concerning her own unkept condition because of being outside, keeping vineyards. Sort of a Cinderella kind of a story, the wicked sisters made her do all of the work and she wasn't able to keep up her own cosmetics and all.
Now the king responds to her.
If thou know not, O thou fairest among women (Sgs 1:8),
And the question is where you feed your flocks. "If you know not, O fairest among women,"
go thy way forth by the footsteps of the flock, and feed thy kids beside the shepherds' tents. I have compared thee, O my love, to a company of horses in Pharaoh's chariots. Thy cheeks are comely with rows of jewels, thy neck with chains of gold. We will make thee borders (Sgs 1:8-11)
Now these are the daughters of Jerusalem, the virgins, the chorus responds. "We will make thee borders,"
of gold with studs of silver (Sgs 1:11).
And the bride responds.
While the King sits at his table, my spikenard sendeth forth the smell thereof. A bundle of myrrh is my wellbeloved unto me; he shall lie all night betwixt my breasts. My beloved is to me as a cluster of camphire in the vineyards of Engedi (Sgs 1:12-14).
The camphire trees or cypress trees, and just that beautiful smell of the out of doors and trees in blossom there in Engedi.
Behold, thou art fair, [the king answers] my love; behold, thou art fair; you have doves' eyes (Sgs 1:15).
She responds to him.
Behold, thou art fair, my beloved, yea, pleasant: also our bed is green. The beams of our house are cedar, and our rafters of fir (Sgs 1:16-17).
So you have the opening of this love drama, the Song of Songs of Solomon.
Chapter 2
I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys (Sgs 2:1).
The bridegroom responds.
As the lily among the thorns, so is my love among the daughters (Sgs 2:2).
The bride responds.
As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste. He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love. Stay me with flagons, comfort me with apples: for I am sick (Sgs 2:3-5)
And it probably should be translated "sick with love" because we have a thing of sick of love. We think that, you know, I'm sick of it. But that isn't the meaning here. I'm sick because of it. I'm sick and like I would say I'm smitten of a bad malady or something. Well, I'm sick of love. Love is the cause of my sickness. I'm sick with love. I'm just lovesick, we would say.
His left hand is under my head, his right hand doth embrace me. I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please (Sgs 2:6-7).
And then the bride goes on to speak.
The voice of my beloved! behold, he comes leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills. My beloved is like a roe or a young hart: behold, he stands behind our wall, he looks forth at the windows, showing himself through the lattice. My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away. For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; the flowers appear on the earth; and the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land; The fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grapes give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away. O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs, let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is beautiful. Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes. My beloved is mine, and I am his: and he feeds [his flocks, actually] among the lilies. Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, turn, my beloved, and be thou like a roe or a young hart upon the mountains of Bether (Sgs 2:8-17).
She continues to speak. Or sing, actually, because it's a song.
Chapter 3
By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loves: I sought him, but found him not. I will rise now, and go about the city in the streets, and in the broad ways I will seek him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not. The watchmen that go about the city found me: to whom I said, Did you see him whom my soul loves? It was but a little that I passed from them, but I found him whom my soul loved: I held him, and would not let him go, until I had brought him into my mother's house, and into the chamber of her that conceived me. I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please. Who is this that cometh out of the wilderness like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, and with the powders of the merchant? Behold his bed, which is Solomon's; there are three (Sgs 3:1-7)
And that would be the marriage chariot that he made, the nuptial bed. "Behold his bed, which is Solomon's; there are,"
sixty valiant men around it, the valiant men of Israel. They all hold their swords, being expert in war: and every man has his sword upon his thigh because of the fear in the night. King Solomon made himself a chariot of the wood of Lebanon. He made the pillars thereof of silver, the bottom thereof of gold, the covering of it of purple, the midst thereof being paved with love, for the daughters of Jerusalem. Go forth, O ye daughters of Zion, and behold king Solomon with the crown wherewith his mother crowned him in the day of his espousals, and in the day of the gladness of his heart (Sgs 3:7-11).
Chapter 4
And now the bridegroom speaks.
Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; thou hast doves' eyes within thy locks: thy hair is as a flock of goats, that appear from mount Gilead. Thy teeth are like a flock of sheep that are even shorn, which came up from the washing; whereof every one bears twins, [and you're not missing any] there is none is barren among them (Sgs 4:1-2).
Now I don't know that if you would try to express your love to your girlfriend like this how well she might take it. "Your teeth are like sheep that are all evenly shorn, that just came up from their washing; and every one bearing twins." Well, that means your teeth are matched, you know, as you go across they're even. They match and so forth, which is important, I guess.
Thy lips are like a thread of scarlet, and thy speech is comely: thy temples are like a piece of pomegranate within thy locks. Thy neck is like the tower of David builded for an armory, whereon there hang a thousand bucklers, all the shields of mighty men. Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins, which feed among the lilies. Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, I will get me to the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense. Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee (Sgs 4:3-7).
And people, of course, is a bridegroom speaking of his bride and as you make the spiritual analogy of Christ to the church. Which, of course, is a correct and proper analogy, Christ's view of the church, "Thou art all fair, there is no spot in thee." The Bible speaks of the church as being without spot or blemish or any such thing. The way the Lord views us, and that's to me a glorious thing that the Lord views me that way, because He views me through love. And the Bible says that love covers a multitude of sins. And God sees us through the eyes of love, and as He sees us through the eyes of love, He sees us not in our imperfect state, but He sees us in that completed, perfect state in Christ Jesus. And it's so comforting for me to realize that God looks upon me and sees no fault. Sees no sins. Sees no blemish. Looking upon me through love, seeing me in Christ Jesus. I stand before Him without fault in Christ.
Come with me from Lebanon, my spouse, with me from Lebanon: look from the top of Amana, and from the top of Shenir and from Hermon, from the lions' dens, and from the mountains of the leopards. Thou hast ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse; thou hast ravished my heart with one of thine eyes, with one chain of thy neck. How fair is thy love, my sister, my spouse! how much better is thy love than wine! and the smell of thine ointments than all spices! Thy lips, O my spouse, drop as the honeycomb: honey and milk are under thy tongue; and the smell of thy garments is like the smell of Lebanon. A garden enclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed. Thy plants are an orchard of pomegranates, with pleasant fruits; camphire, with spikenard, Spikenard and saffron; calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; myrrh and aloes, with the chief spices: A fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, and streams from Lebanon (Sgs 4:8-15).
All right. The bridegroom is very expressive. It's like the French say, "You Americans are so... you have only one way to tell a woman you love her. We Frenchmen have a hundred ways." And it would seem that we macho American men are poor lovers, I guess, as far as really expressing our love, our adulation for our wives.
This Song of Songs which is Solomon's, as he expresses his love, uses figures of speech that I would never think of in seeking to express the beauty that I see in my wife. I just...she says, "Honey, do I look all right?" And I say, "Yeah, you look fine, you know." And, "Well, are you sure I look all right?" "Sure, you look great, you know." "Well, do you like this?" "Yeah, I like the dress, it's nice." "Well?" And I say, "Well, you're beautiful!" She says, "Well, thank you." And we go out, you know.
I think that we could probably take some lessons from Solomon and learn a little bit about how to express. It's interesting how that women, wives, do need a constant assurance of love. "Do you love me, Honey?" "Sure, I told you last year I love you, you know. I haven't changed. I still come home." But it doesn't satisfy. They need a continual assuring of that love. The continual assuring of their attractiveness to us, our love for them, that our desire is for them. And it's a smart husband who will give to his wife that continued assurance that she needs. It's a dumb cluck that tells her once a year he loves her and thinks that she'll be satisfied.
So he has just described now, "Oh, she's like a garden. The fragrances that come forth from her body are like spices. It's just glorious." And so she, picking up his phrases of love and the garden concept, sings back.
Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; and blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out. Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat his pleasant fruits (Sgs 4:16).
Beautiful response to the declaration of the bridegroom as he describes the beauty of his bride. A garden kept for itself has little value. The work of God in our lives is never just subjective. The real purposes of God are not really accomplished in us until there is a flowing out. "Awake, O north wind; come, thou south." Those who see now the spiritual allegories here, seeing the spirit, which in the Hebrew the word wind and spirit are, or in Greek the word wind and spirit are the same. In Hebrew the word breath and spirit are the same. But in Greek, pneuma, which is wind or air or spirit.
That through the Spirit there might come the outflow of the beauty of the work of Christ in our lives that it might touch others. That others might benefit from the work that God has done in me. And that is always the purpose of God--objective. Subjective first, He wants to work in you, but then He wants that work that has been accomplished in your life to flow out and be a benefit to others. "Let the spices flow out and then let my beloved come into his garden and eat of his pleasant fruits." The invitation of Christ into the church that He might come into our midst and partake of the pleasant fruit of His garden, as we bear forth and bring forth fruit unto Him.
Chapter 5
Chapter 5, the bridegroom replies,
I am come into my garden, my sister, my spouse: I have gathered my myrrh with my spice; I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk: eat, O friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved (Sgs 5:1).
Now the bride responds, and she said,
I sleep, but my heart is awake: it is the voice of my beloved that knocks, saying, Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled: for my head is filled with dew, and my locks with the drops of the night. I have put off my coat; how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet; how shall I defile them? My beloved put his hand by the hole in the door, and I was moved for him. I rose up to open to my beloved; and my hands dropped with myrrh, and my fingers with sweet smelling myrrh, upon the handles of the lock. I opened to my beloved; but my beloved had withdrawn himself, and was gone: my soul failed when he spake: I sought him, but I could not find him; I called him, but he gave me no answer. The watchmen that went about the city found me, they smote me, they wounded me; the keepers of the walls took away my veil from me. I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if ye find my beloved, that ye tell him, that I am sick with love (Sgs 5:2-8).
And so the daughters of Jerusalem, the chorus now responds and answers her.
What is thy beloved more than another beloved, O thou fairest among women? what is thy beloved more than another beloved, that you do so charge us? (Sgs 5:9)
She charged them, if she finds him, tell him that she's just sick with love. And she answers now concerning her beloved as she describes him.
My beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand. His head is as the most fine gold; his locks are bushy, and black as a raven. His eyes are as the eyes of doves by the rivers of waters, washed with milk, and fitly set: His cheeks are as the bed of spices, as sweet flowers: his lips like lilies, dropping sweet smelling myrrh: His hands are as gold rings set with the beryl: his belly is as bright ivory overlaid with sapphires: His legs are like pillars of marble, set in sockets of fine gold: and his countenance is as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars: His mouth is most sweet: yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem (Sgs 5:10-16).
As she describes her lover. And thus again, in seeing the allegory of Christ in the church, as Jesus Christ has come to us to be the fairest of ten thousand. As He is become to us the all-together lovely One. And our love for Him.
Chapter 6
Now the daughters of Jerusalem respond to her, the chorus sings back.
Where has your beloved gone, O thou fairest among women? whither or where is your beloved turned aside? that we may seek him with you (Sgs 6:1).
And she answers,
My beloved is gone down into his garden, to the beds of spices, to feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies. I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine: and he feeds among the lilies (Sgs 6:2-3).
Now the bridegroom responds to her and he says,
Thou art beautiful, O my love, as Tirzah, as comely as Jerusalem, terrible or awesome as an army with banners. Turn away your eyes from me, for they have overcome me: your hair is as a flock of goats that appear from Gilead. Thy teeth are like a flock of sheep which go up from the washings, where every one bears twins, and not there is not a barren one among them (Sgs 6:4-6).
He says the same thing to her so he isn't that...you know, after a while you got to repeat, you know. I mean, you can only say so much.
As a piece of pomegranate are thy temples within thy locks. There are sixty queens, and eighty concubines, and virgins without number. My dove, my undefiled, is but one (Sgs 6:7-9);
She is one among them all.
she is the only one of her mother, she is the choice one of her that bare her. The daughters saw her, and blessed her; yes, the queens and the concubines, and they praised her (Sgs 6:9).
So he's declaring all of this praise for his beloved and the daughters of Jerusalem, the chorus now responds. As he is declaring again of her beauty and her glory, and they say,
Who is she that looketh forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, as awesome as an army with banners? (Sgs 6:10)
And as you see this in the spiritual allegory as representing the church, "Who is she who looketh forth as the morning?" The history of man has been dark and bleak. We are still living--the world in darkness. It's been a long night, sorrow, pain, suffering, anguish, tragedy that man has brought upon himself by his wars, by his greed, by the atrocities, by the inhumane treatment of fellow man, by the oppression and the exploitation of the weak and of the poor. It's been a long, dark night of history. But the church looketh forth as the morning. And the church declares to the world that is wrapped in its darkness, there's a new day about to dawn. And that is always the consistent message of the church. New opportunity that God gives to man. Not only to the world is a new day going to dawn very soon, but a new day can dawn in your life. And that darkness in which your life has been held can turn into a new day. God's work is always that of a new beginning. Letting you start all over again. "For if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. The old things are passed away, all things become new" (II Corinthians 5:17). Looking forth as the morning. Always the anticipation. Living in the anticipation of the new day that is going to dawn for man.
"Fair as the moon." The moon's light is reflected light, the light of the sun reflected in the moon. And so the church's light is a reflected light. It is the light of Jesus Christ, who said, "I am the light of the world. And if any man walk in Me, he will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life" (John 8:12). John, testifying of Jesus Christ said He is the true light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world. But man put the light out. They hanged him on a cross. They put him in a tomb and rolled the stone over the door of the sepulcher. And as far as the world is concerned, they had extinguished the light. But the third day He rose again. And He lives today. And even as the light of the moon declares to you that the sun is still shining, though you cannot see the sun, but as you look at the moon and see the reflected light of the sun, you know that the sun still shines. So the world who cannot see Jesus Christ knows that He lives as they see the reflected glory of Christ from our lives. The light of Jesus Christ shining forth from us. "Ye," He said, "are the light of the world. And man doesn't light a candle to put it on a under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that it might give light to the whole house" (Matthew 5:14-15). The moon was the lesser light to rule the night, to rule in the darkness. And thus, in the darkness of man's history, God has a light. "Fair as the moon." His light, His witness as we reflect the light and the glory of Jesus Christ to the dark world around us.
In order to properly reflect that light of Jesus Christ, we must live above the world. For if we live in the world, if we partake of the worldly things, if we are living as the world, then we do not reflect the light to the world. You've got to live above the world. By a higher standard than the low standards of man around us. There is always the peer pressure. There is always the mores of a society that would seek to draw you down to a lower level of living. There is always the rationale, "But everybody's doing it." To encourage you and to draw you into a lower level of experience and life. But living on a low plane, you'll never reflect the glory of the Son. It's only as we live above it that the world can see the light reflecting from us.
"Clear as the sun." Again, there needs to be a slight change in the word sun. Instead of spelling it s-u-n, capitalize and spell it S-o-n. Clear as the Son. The church. We are to be pure as He is pure. We are to be holy as He is holy. God said, "Be ye therefore holy, for I am holy, saith the Lord" (I Peter 1:16). Jesus said, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect" (Matthew 5:48). "And he who has this hope purifies himself, even as He is pure" (I John 3:3). Christ is our standard for righteousness, which immediately eliminates all of us. Because none of us are as pure as Christ. None of us are as holy as Christ. None of us are as perfect as God. Christ, our standard for righteousness. But it is a righteousness that I cannot attain by works, by rules, by regulations, by laws. "For if righteousness could come by the law, then Christ died in vain" (Galatians 2:21).
But God has established a new basis of righteousness which is not a new basis of righteousness. It is the same basis by which Abraham was accounted righteousness. For Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness four hundred years before the law ever came by Moses. The law was never intended to make a man righteous, but only to show man his sin and his guilt in order that we might be driven to a righteousness that is apart from us, the righteousness which is of God through our faith in Jesus Christ. So we read in Galatians, "The law was a schoolmaster to force us to Christ" (Galatians 3:24). To drive us to Christ. To make us realize that we can't do it ourselves. We need help. And God has provided that help. And thus, we become clear as the sun, because it's His righteousness that has been imputed to us by our believing and trusting in God.
And so that's why the bridegroom could say, "Hey, she's without spot." That's why God looks at you and says, "Hey, you're without spot. You're without blemish. You're pure. You're righteous." Because He sees you in His Son and the righteousness of Christ having been imputed or accounted to your account.
And finally, the church is seen as awesome as an army with banners. And this is what God intends the church to be to the enemies of Jesus Christ. That we might be a terror to the enemies of God, even as an army with banners was a very terrifying thing to behold. To stand in front of or to try to withstand. So the church should be a terror to the enemies of God.
The bridegroom continues his song.
I went down into the garden of nuts to see the fruits of the valley, and to see whether the vine flourished, and the pomegranates budded. Or ever I was aware, my soul made me like the chariots of Amminadib. Return, return, O Shulamite; return, return, that we may look upon thee (Sgs 6:11-13).
The chorus responds.
What will you see in the Shulamite? (Sgs 6:13)
And he answers.
As it were the company of two armies (Sgs 6:13).
Chapter 7
Now the daughters of Jerusalem address themselves to the Shulamite and they say,
How beautiful are thy feet with shoes (Sgs 7:1),
Or within thy sandals.
O prince's daughter! the joints of thy thighs are like jewels, the work of the hands of a cunning workman. Thy navel is like a round goblet, which wanteth not liquor: thy belly is like a heap of wheat set about with lilies (Sgs 7:1-2).
And I suppose that was complimentary to them. I'm not that kind of an expressive person, and it doesn't do much for me.
Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins. Thy neck is as a tower of ivory; thine eyes like the fishpools of Heshbon (Sgs 7:3-4),
I imagine blue, pretty.
by the gate of Bathrabbim: thy nose is like the tower of Lebanon (Sgs 7:4)
Now I don't know that I would appreciate that.
which looketh toward Damascus (Sgs 7:4).
Solomon built this tower in Lebanon after he had completed his palace. So some twenty years after he was married to the daughter of Pharaoh. There are some who believe that the one he speaks of is Pharaoh's daughter, but this sort of precludes that because the song evidently was written after twenty years of marriage to her, and it seems that a new interest has taken in with the Shulamite.
Thy head upon thee is like Carmel, and the hair of your head like purple; the King is held in the galleries (Sgs 7:5).
Or he is bound by that beauty.
How fair and how pleasant art you, O love, for delights! This thy stature is like unto a palm tree, and thy breasts to clusters of grapes. I said, I will go to the palm tree, I will take hold of the boughs thereof: now also thy breasts shall be as clusters of the vine, and the smell of thy nose like apples; And the roof of thy mouth like the best wine for my beloved, that goeth down sweetly, causing the lips of those that are asleep to speak (Sgs 7:6-9).
The bride responds.
I am my beloved's, and his desire is toward me (Sgs 7:10).
Now think of this in the church and Jesus Christ and it becomes very beautiful indeed. He loves me. "I am my beloved's, and his desire is toward me." He desires me. Christ desires you. Your love, your response. He desires me. That to me is just uncanny.
Come, my beloved, let us go forth into the field; let us lodge in the villages. Let us get up early to the vineyards; let us see if the vine flourishes, whether the tender grape appears, and the pomegranates bud forth: there will I give thee my loves. The mandrakes give a smell, and at our gates are all manner of pleasant fruits, new and old, which I have laid up for thee, O my beloved (Sgs 7:11-13).
Chapter 8
The bride continues her song.
O that thou wert as my brother, that nursed upon the breasts of my mother! when I should find thee without, I would kiss thee; yea, I should not be despised. I would lead thee, and bring thee into my mother's house, who would instruct me: I would cause thee to drink of spiced wine of the juice of my pomegranate. His left hand should be under my head, his right hand should embrace me. I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, until he please (Sgs 8:1-4).
And the bridegroom speaks.
Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved? I raised thee up under the apple tree: there thy mother brought thee forth: there she brought thee forth that bare thee. Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is as cruel as hell: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which has a most vehement flame. Many waters cannot quench love (Sgs 8:5-7),
Oh, speaking, of course, very picturesque and very powerful declaration of how strong love is. Like coals of fire, most vehement flame. And many waters cannot quench love.
neither can the floods drown it: if a man would give all of his substance of his house for love, it would be utterly contemptible (Sgs 8:7).
In other words, this kind of love cannot be bought. Men are always trying to buy love. And there is a certain kind of love that can be bought. But not true love. Not this kind of love. This is a true love of Christ for us. You can't purchase it. And an endeavor to purchase it only cheapens it. It's utterly contemptible for people to try to buy their way with God.
If you gave tonight hoping that you could sort of buy your way with God, please ask the ushers for your refund when you leave. It's contemptible to think that you can buy your way with the Lord. That you can buy His love. God's love for us is uncaused by us and it just comes flowing forth to us. You can't buy that kind of love. You can't quench that kind of love. God's love for us is unquenchable. And it just comes flowing out to us and it is just ours to accept and ours to receive.
Now the bride responds.
We have a little sister, who is not developed: what shall we do for our sister in the day when she shall be spoken for? (Sgs 8:8)
And the bridegroom responds.
If she is discreet, we'll build upon her a palace of silver (Sgs 8:9):
We'll display her.
and if she be brash, [we'll build a wall around her] we'll enclose her in boards of cedar (Sgs 8:9).
We'll fence her up.
And then the bride speaks. And she answers.
I am a wall [or discreet], and my breasts are like towers: then was I in his eyes as one that found favor. Solomon had a vineyard at Baalhamon; he let it out to the vineyard to the keepers; and every one for the fruit thereof was to bring a thousand pieces of silver (Sgs 8:10-11).
Or he leased out the vineyards for a thousand pieces of silver.
My vineyard, which is mine, is before me: thou, O Solomon, must have a thousand, and those that keep the fruit thereof two hundred. Thou that dwellest in the gardens, the companions hearken to thy voice: cause me to hear it. Make haste, my beloved, and be thou like to a roe or to a young hart upon the mountains of spices (Sgs 8:12-14).
"Make haste, my beloved." This takes us to the last of the book of Revelation when Jesus said unto John, "Behold, I come quickly." And John responded, "Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus" (Revelation 22:20). And so the final word of the bride is significant, "Make haste, my beloved, to come." And our prayer today is, "O Lord, come. Come quickly that we might enter in to that fullness of Thy love in Thy kingdom. That you might bring us into Your banqueting house. Place your banner of love over us. That we will be there forever with Thee in Thy glorious kingdom. Make haste, come quickly, Lord Jesus."
Shall we pray.
Father, we thank You for that love that we have experienced through Jesus Christ. We thank You, Lord, that we know the beauty, the glory, and the blessing of Thy love. And now, Lord, let us go out to declare Thy love to a needy world and to share Thy love with others. Let our lives, O God, become a fit witness of Thy love. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.
Shall we stand.
Now you that are romanticists and true sort of mystics, you can take that Song of Solomon and you can find all kinds of exciting things in it. As I say, I'm not much of one to make allegories or to get involved in that because, again, you can read so many things. I think, though, that it is good. I think though that here is a bit of, in a sense, existentialism that you need to experience it personally. What does the Lord say to you in it? And I think it's good to give God an opportunity to speak to you in it. And because you are different in many ways from me, in temperaments or whatever, some of you will find all kinds of beautiful, exciting things in the Song of Solomon where God will just speak to you in just a very beautiful special way.
But I think that there is something that is very intimate and personal with love. And thus, as the expressions of love are here, I really don't think that they do stand well in a public expression, because it makes it sort of a general impersonal thing. In a public expression, I think that the deepest expression of it does come in your own personal devotions as you let God unravel the book to your own heart and make the applications of the love to you individually. And as you read it in your own personal kind of devotion, being open with the Spirit of God, He can make many beautiful applications of the song to your relationship with Him. And you'll find it exciting indeed as He declares His personal love for you. And as you are able to relate and express your love for Him. So don't just pass by the song of Solomon, go back and read it with an open heart that God might minister to you on an intimate, personal basis His deep, fervent, fiery love that cannot be quenched by many waters.
God bless you, watch over you this week. Give you just a blessed week as He keeps His hand upon your life to guide you according to His will. And may you walk in His love. And may you be enriched in His love and in all things in Christ Jesus.
The Blue Letter Bible ministry and the BLB Institute hold to the historical, conservative Christian faith, which includes a firm belief in the inerrancy of Scripture. Since the text and audio content provided by BLB represent a range of evangelical traditions, all of the ideas and principles conveyed in the resource materials are not necessarily affirmed, in total, by this ministry.
Blue Letter Bible study tools make reading, searching and studying the Bible easy and rewarding.
Blue Letter Bible is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization
©2020 Blue Letter Bible | Privacy Policy
Note: MLA no longer requires the URL as part of their citation standard. Individual instructors or editors may still require the use of URLs.


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BLOGMAS DAY 30- Best YouTube Comments (2017 Edition)
Well, we've nearly reached the end of 2017, and so it's time to recap over some of the most popular music of this year, and pick out some of the most ridiculous and funny YouTube comments out there!
Bad Liar- Selena Gomez
All those Netflix free trials
Despacito- Luis Fonsi, Daddy Yankee, feat. Justin Bieber
Despacito… burrito… doritos!
Humble.- Kendrick Lamar
Definitely don't listen to this song then!
Look What You Made Me Do- Taylor Swift
Burying all those old Taylor's…
New Rules- Dua Lipa
I like this version much better…
Rockstar- Post Malone, feat. 21 Savage
Send them some! Quick!
Swalla- Jason Derulo, feat. Nicki Minaj, Ty Dolla $ign
Too true!
Shape Of You- Ed Sheeran
True… and hilarious!
Touch- Little Mix
Loved this about the video!
Wild Thoughts- DJ Khaled, feat. Rihanna, Bryson Tiller

subset: commoncrawl


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Cabal Theatre
- "Jour de fête" 15$
- French surtitles
This show is in English with French surtitles on certain nights.
Under the force of glaciers, boulders strike bedrock and carve crescent grooves marking their struggle. Similarly, the forces of history and memory collide in moments of strife and war, gouging their own scars: chattermarks.
Chattermarks inhabits the necessary reckoning within a post-conflict landscape.
When questions of "What do I make for lunch?" are as insurmountable as "How do we memorialize our pain?"-- when friends who are enemies are friends once more -- where peace is an arbitrary dike, leaking and threatening to burst -- how does a community, and an individual continue?
Invigorating theatre with the operatic play of monuments, we find the tragic, comic, and the sensual hidden in this tenuous moment of agreement. In the wastes, the porous boundaries of war and the complex process of recovery.
In partnership with Wild Side Festival of Centaur Theater
A combination of academic research, collective writing and physical training are staples of Cabal Theatre's creative process. They are committed to creating performances that resonate from the personal to the universal, to work with a diverse range of artists from across the country and abroad, weaving the individual voices into the fabric of a collective score. This piece draws from Elizabethan tragedy, opera, post war cinema and literature.
Cabal combines rigorous stage craft with personal experience to create theatre that inspires one to broaden their perspectives and invite more humanity and nuance into their previously held ideals. Cabal approaches each project based on its specific needs, whether through impassioned narrative work or postdramatic presentation, it is often bolstered by arresting media design. They seek to queer normative perspectives by playfully challenging audiences while remaining accessible - not simply alienating but constructively provoking and entertaining. This group of artists have collaborated together on an adaptation of Schiller's Mary Stuart, the award winning Tragic Queens (recipient of two Montreal English Theatre Awards) and La Somnambule, a large scale immersive performance inspired by Djuna Barnes' Nightwood.
- Director
- Anthony Kennedy
- Playwright
- Joseph Shragge
- Dramaturg
- Kyle Croutch
- French language dramaturg
- Gabrielle Chapdelaine
- Story by
- Joseph Shragge
- Kyle Croutch
- Anthony Kennedy
- Text by
- Joseph Shragge
- Additional text
- Kyle Croutch
- Performers
- Benita Bailey
- Jillian Harris
- Roxane Loumède
- Alex Petrachuk
- Meagan Schroeder
- Surtitle conception
- Elaine Normandeau
- Sound Design
- Devon Bate
- Set Designer
- BP Houle
- French Translation and Consultation
- Gabrielle Chapdelaine
- Movement Conceptor
- Michelle Rambharose
- Costumes Design
- Sophie El-Assaad
- Light Design
- Jon Cleveland
- Technical Director
- Tristynn Duheme
- Stage Manager
- Trevor Barrette


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We always care for Quality & improvements , Our Rotary cut okoume face veneer, also called Gaboon okoume veneer,
originated from the Gabon Africa, is a hardwood veneer mainly used for making plywood ,
furniture surface making and other panel products , The grain of our okoume veneer is straight and shallowly interlocked, sometimes wavy, and its texture medium.Rotary cut will yield veneer with a broad grain pattern with no plain sliced or quartered appearance.
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We invite overall request for Okoume face veneer ,kindly contact us without hesitate.
Production Description
Product Show
More National Wood Veneer for Option


text: SOLD!!! Welcome to 10 Derby Court. Fabulous Home located on a quiet court in Skyline Acres. Gorgeous stone walkway and patio w/ glass railing. Main floor features Stunning kitchen granite counters, huge island, breakfast bar & backsplash (fridge, stove & dishwasher included). Dining area w/ garden doors to screened in room, deck (wired for speakers) & private fenced backyard. Formal living area & den/office. 2 piece bath at entrance to attached double garage. Beautiful hardwood staircase takes you to 2nd floor featuring Master bedroom w/ walk-in closet & ensuite. Two additional bedrooms. Gleaming hardwood floors. Lower level offers family room, bonus/games room & laundry/storage room with laundry sink (washer & dryer included). Curb appeal galore. Mature trees & Beautifully landscaped. Minutes to all including elementary & middle school, TCH, UNB, Grant Harvey, YMCA, shopping, walking trails and downtown. Pride of ownership. This home is a MUST view.


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We are constantly updating our range of products to ensure we offer you the most advanced automotive products for your vehicle. So, whether your car needs Exhausts, Tyres, Batteries, Servicing, Brakes or specialist 4x4 wheels and tyres, we can guarantee you a cost effective and high-performance solution for all your motoring needs.
Mon - Fri 8:30am - 5:30pm
Sat 8:00am - 4:00pm
Sun Closed
Bank Holidays Closed


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BRECKENRIDGE, Colo. (CBS4) – When the order came in for more than 450 homes to evacuate due to a wildfire near Breckenridge on Wednesday, locals and vacationers alike suddenly found themselves in a stressful situation. A lot of them told CBS4 it was the worst wildfire they have ever seen.
"We saw a lot of people looking up towards the sky, and so we went to see what it was and there was a really big cloud of smoke and then that's when we got the text to evacuate," said Becca Calhorn, describing the Peak 2 Fire, which forced the evacuations in the Peak 7 area.
In addition to being winter ski destination, Breckenridge is popular for tourists during the summer months. The Calhorn family is visiting from Nebraska and they are currently without a place to stay.
"We went back to our rental cabin and packed up everything just as fast as we could and got all of our dogs into the car," Calhorn said. "It was starting to get to a point where you could tell people were starting to rush and get into their cars as quickly as possible."
The Peak 2 Fire is burning on federal land in the White River State Forest. It was first reported by a mountain biker near the Colorado Trail late Wednesday morning.
"It made the mountains almost look small, with how big the smoke (plume) was," Calhorn said.
Anna Bourgeois has lived in her home at Peak 7 for seven years and was surprised when she got word about the evacuation order.
"I had no idea this was going on. I was out working in the yard cutting branches, doing wildfire mitigation on my lot and came around the corner and they said 'You're supposed to be out of here,'" said Bourgeois.
People in the houses that were evacuated were allowed back to the homes for a short time Wednesday night to collect belongings. The homes are about two miles away from the fire, which has burned more than 80 acres. As of Thursday morning, the mountain neighborhood remained evacuated.
The American Red Cross set up a shelter for evacuees at Summit Middle School in Frisco.
Wildfire Resources
– Visit CBSDenver.com's Living With Wildfire section.
Wildfire Photo Galleries
– See images from the most destructive wildfires (Black Forest, Waldo Canyon, High Park and Fourmile), the deadliest (Storm King) and largest wildfire (Hayman) in Colorado history.


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Enjoy Dinner 30% Off At Grand Buffet In Victoria, Over 200 delicious choices.
Apr 07, 2015 10:07PM
By Jennifer Snell
You are invited to Grand Buffet for over 200 items to choose from including a Mongolian grill, sushi, and seafood! Located in the Center of Victoria, Texas, Grand Buffet offers casual Chinese, Mongolian and American dining in a relaxed and pleasing environment.
All their our food is cooked fresh. They offer both a full carry out menu, as well as an extensive lunch and dinner Buffet.
Their lunch and dinner buffet is packed with a great variety of made fresh Chinese, Mongolian, Mexican, and American dishes. Friday and Saturday dinner specials are steamed snow crab legs and cheesecake. Every day - all day, they offer fresh steak cooked to order, as well as Jumbo Shrimp. Every night and all day Sunday, we offer Frog Legs, Basa Fillets, Crab Legs, Clams, Oysters, and Steak on the buffet.
Their carry out menu has something for everyone, from the warm comfort of Wonton Soup to sweet, crunchy General Tso's Chicken. They take pride in offering a diverse set of dishes from the Hunan, Mandarin and Mongolian cuisines.
The restaurant is open 7 days a week
The local owners and excellent serving team at Grand Buffet pride themselves on presenting exceptional fresh food and 1st class service in a relaxed, pleasing atmosphere.


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The Detroit Red Wings are riding a two-game losing streak against the Montreal Canadiens as those Atlantic Division teams meet for the first time this season on Tuesday night at the Bell Centre.
Montreal and Detroit met four times last season, with the the teams splitting those contests 2-2 on the NHL betting lines but the Canadiens grabbing the victory in the last two matchups. For totals bettors the UNDER has only paid off once in the last six games between Detroit and Montreal.
Detroit Red Wings vs Montreal Canadiens Opening Odds and Betting Line
Betting fans looking to back visiting Detroit Red Wings before puck drop in this match found them as 135-moneyline underdogs at Bodog. They saw an opening total of 5, according to GTbets.eu.
Get the free Odds – VSB
app with lines and Bet Tracker capabilities! In the Apple Store and on Google Play.
Computer Prediction: Detroit Red Wings vs Montreal Canadiens Pick
Odds – VSB
computer prediction formulas pick a 2.9-2.7 win for the Canadiens on Tuesday. View the computer score prediction and who will win the pick on the moneyline for all upcoming NHL matchups here.
Detroit Red Wings vs Montreal Canadiens Odds and Stats.
Team Betting Records & Power Rankings
The Montreal Canadiens bring a 5-1-0 record to the battle against the 3-1-1 Red Wings. OVER/UNDER bettors have seen Montreal go 4-2 so far and the Red Wings go 0-4-1. Stay Informed: follow us on Twitter for odds specials, betting line moves and Montreal vs Detroit injuries news.
The Montreal Canadiens sit at No. 22 in the current NHL power poll here at Odds – VSB
, while the Detroit Red Wings sit at a No. 10 on the same chart.
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How Detroit Red Wings vs Montreal Canadiens Stats Matchup
The game also pits Montreal's No. 7-ranked offense, averaging 3.33 goals per game, against a Red Wings defense that ranks No. 2 at 1.6 goals allowed. The Canadiens power play is averaging 15% while the Red Wings defense kills off 100% of their penalties.
Recent Outings Betting Recap
In their last action, Detroit was a 1-0 winner at home against the Maple Leafs. Bettors on Detroit at -115 on the moneyline collected their winnings from that game, while the total score (1) sent UNDER bettors home happy as well.
Montreal was a 3-2 winner in its last match at home against the Avalanche. They won as -154 favorites, while the total score of 5 made winners of UNDER bettors.
Detroit Red Wings vs Montreal Canadiens Betting Odds Trends
Detroit is 3-6 SU in its last 9 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Detroit's last 5 games
Detroit is 17-8 SU in its last 25 games when playing Montreal
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Detroit's last 6 games when playing Montreal
Montreal is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Montreal's last 6 games
Montreal is 8-3 SU in its last 11 games at home
Montreal is 8-17 SU in its last 25 games when playing Detroit
Next Betting Matchups
Detroit home to Pittsburgh, Thursday, October 23rd
Montreal home to New York, Saturday, October 25th
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More savings for seniors, students and the disabled on SunRail
Sanford – The Florida Department of Transportation today announced that students, seniors and the disabled can now enjoy deeply discounted fares on SunRail with the purchase of a Prepaid Value SunCard.
The Prepaid Value SunCard works just like a debit card, where SunRail fares are deducted based on the distance traveled. Funds can be added to the card as often as needed. All SunRail customers receive a 10 percent bonus when loading funds onto the card.
Beginning Monday, October 26, students between the ages of 7-18, seniors over the age of 65, and the disabled who are certified by LYNX and/or Votran or who have a current Medicare card, also will qualify for 50 percent discounted fares with a PrePaid Value SunCard. To qualify for the discount, valid identification must be shown to a SunRail conductor upon request.
With inclusion of the PrePaid Value plan, the 50 percent discount for students, seniors and the disabled now applies to all types of fare payments, including one-way and round-trip tickets, and weekly, monthly and annual passes.
Simply visit a ticket vending machine at any of the 12 SunRail stations in Volusia, Seminole and Orange counties and select the SunCard that best meets your needs and schedule. Or, you may order on-line at www.SunRail.com .
For more information about SunRail, SunCards, train schedules and fares, please visit www.SunRail.com or call 1-855-RAIL-411 (724-5411)
Questions? Please contact Steve Olson at email@example.com or 386-943-5479.


text:
innovative design solutions
Master Planing Portfolio
DAR Engineering appointed by the Ministry of Health to carry out site studies situate pre-designed typical hospital with its ancillary buildings. These typical hospitals shall be fitted out on various sites located all over the Kingdom. The studies include:
- Preliminary studies of site to adapt the land to suit the project Specialist Clinics
- Cadastral & topographical survey of the site
- Soil investigations
- Placing the typical pre designed hospital to the site and make the necessary changes in the tender document (Drawings, Bill of Quantities and Specification)
Master Planning for various Hospitals
Project Highlights
Location : --
Completion : --
Cost : --


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In this post, I am going to introduce you to Gutenberg editor and give you complete overview about its functions and explain you how it works. Let us learn in detail how this new editor works, and share some relevant information about WordPress Gutenberg Editor.
If you are using WordPress, then it is very important to be completely aware of Gutenberg editor. With the release of the WordPress 5.0, all websites are using this new editor by default; however, you still have an option of utilizing the Classic editor instead. It means you have to choose which editor is a best choice for you.
In order, to check this out, first let's understand how both these options work. It is very important to know what every WordPress editor's visual interface looks like, and which kinds of websites they are best suited for. For instance, media-rich websites benefit from Gutenberg editor. But, if your website has simple setup, you might prefer the Classic editor just for its easiness and simplicity.
Here in this post, let me take you through major differences between Classic & Gutenberg editors. And then decide which is suitable for your requirements. Let's go right into it!
Brief Introduction to Gutenberg Editor
What's Gutenberg?
Gutenberg is a sleek and modern block-based editor, which has some amazing features from the page-builder plugins such as Divi and Visual Composer. It alters the way pages and posts are created completely. It also replaces a classic editor and makes creating the rich content at WordPress one simple & refreshing experience.
In Gutenberg Editor everything is in a form of blocks. This allows you to control the whole layout of your website even though you do not know HTML. It does not change how WordPress 0.5 works. It changes to how people just like you & me interact to.
Gutenberg editor is made to help the users to create dynamic layouts. This allows you to use the drag-and-drop way to build posts and pages using various pre-built blocks. Every block is customizable, and with its unique set of options like size, colors, and placement.
The Gutenberg editor provides many benefits, like better mobile responsiveness. But, as it is the huge structural change and has the potential of causing issues on your website.
Gutenberg vs. Classic Editor: Understanding its Pros & Cons
Now we have introduced you to Gutenberg editor, let us take a close look at its pros & cons compared to its Classic editor. One biggest difference can be seen in both the editors' interfaces.
Like we mentioned earlier, Gutenberg editor makes use of drag & drop system. That means it is simple to place the block anywhere on your page or post, and other blocks can shift accordingly:
You can do some amazing things with this great feature. For example, experiment with diverse ways to use image placement and break up the sections of text. Additionally, create full-width images.
One more benefit of Gutenberg editor is if you want to have a modern look, or do with the multimedia elements. For instance, this new editor has the shortcode block, which allows you to insert codes in an intuitive way:
There is the widget block that allows you to place all types of features directly on posts and pages.
Gutenberg helps to reduce a number of plugins that you want. If you are using the shortcode plugin or image gallery plugin, then it might no longer be essential. Same goes for the plugins that includes contact form and table functionality, since Gutenberg offers both. It is worth to note that the Gutenberg's versions are simple than what many plugins have, however they are completely functional if you do not want any frills.
But, if you are used to Classic editor's layout & do not want to use these advanced features, it is possible that you might find Gutenberg editor quite frustrating than useful. For instance, you cannot just sit down & type text in Gutenberg editor. All different elements of the post or page, like paragraphs and headers, need to be placed in the separate blocks:
It might take a little time to check out how to utilize Gutenberg's settings, or how to place the blocks so your content looks in a way you want. It applies to everyone who makes use of websites you build. Suppose you are working with the client or team who is quite resistant to change and technophobe, it is better to continue using Classic editor .
Lastly, the fact that Gutenberg editor is a big change results in additional downsides. For example, Gutenberg has not been made totally accessible. Suppose your website serves people with special requirements, like those using the screen readers, Gutenberg might cause problems to them. Additionally, the editor might create conflicts with your website's themes and plugins.
How to Know Which Editor Will Be Right on Your Web Site
On a positive side, Gutenberg editor offers several new tools for the dynamic layouts, visual editing & media-rich content. Suppose you wish to give your website and its content a different and unique look, then Gutenberg offers plenty of possibilities. This helps you to create dynamic layouts, and will reduce your requirement for any extra plugins.
Obviously, Gutenberg has a few downsides. There is a bit learning curve involved, some users have actually found this editor to be unintuitive and overly complex. Suppose you wish to create straightforward posts or pages having images and text, Gutenberg might offer many more features than the website actually needs. Also, as we mentioned before, the new editor isn't yet accessible completely.
While deciding which editor will be right for your website, consider the kind of content that your website has, and benefit from the Gutenberg's features. For instance, the online magazine wants to design visually exciting articles can use Gutenberg's drop case option, and the ability to add CSS styles on a specific text.
But, you might prefer staying with Classic editor in case you use WordPress for drafting short posts, or you already have the page builder plugin, which you are comfortable using it. Suppose that description fits your website, or you just dislike Gutenberg editor, you may disable new editor & install Classic editor. This allows you to continue to produce content in a way you want.
Suppose you want to start making use of Gutenberg, you do not have to do anything very special. Update your website to use it by default before an end of a year. Alternatively, you may install Classic plugin when 5.0 come, if you want to keep on using this functionality you are quite familiar with:
Suppose you decide to stay to Classic editor, be aware you might do this forever. Lots of plugins are adapted to work with Gutenberg, and the new plugins and themes are created to take benefit of (enhance) its functionality. Whether you like it or not, Gutenberg is a future of WordPress –thus it is worth to learn how this works even though you would like to avoid using this for now.
What're Gutenberg's Blocks?
Gutenberg Editor is designed on a concept of Blocks. And Gutenberg's Blocks will allow you to add anything to your post or page. Right from the paragraph text, video, images, widgets, buttons, and pull quotes, just think about it, and Gutenberg's Blocks will add this in your content.
Like you may see below, Gutenberg allows you to drag images from the desktop and drop it directly in the Block to add the gallery into your post.
To display Gutenberg's Blocks, we select many pictures of blocks.
Note: We can go in-depth at how to use the Gutenberg Blocks later. We will just cover the broad overview in the post.
Knowing About Gutenberg Editor Menu
Time to dive in the Gutenberg Editor just by starting with options in their top menu
11 Menu Bar Options Include
Located on the top of your screen, you will see a menu bar having 11 different options:
- Back option
- Add Block option
- Undo option
- Redo option
- Content Structure option
- Block Navigation option
- Save Draft option
- Preview option
- Publish option
- Settings option
- Many More Options
1. Back
Pressing on Back button can take you to either edit all pages or posts depending on what you are editing at present.
2. Add Block
Add Block is where you can find a wide range of the Gutenberg's Blocks & embeds you may add in your page and post. You may use the search bar and scroll through different options that are available on your screen.
Gutenberg Editor's "Highly Used" Block options will include:
- Paragraph
- List
- Heading
- Image
- Gallery
- Spacer
- Quote
- Cover
- Video
There are many more Gutenberg Blocks, thus will cover them in complete detail later on.
3. Undo
Undo last change that you made.
4. Redo
Redo the last undo.
5. Content Structure
Content Structure gives you a quick overview of the content in your WordPress page or post, including word count, number of paragraphs, headings, and number of Blocks. You also can see the Document outline that is very handy to see in a way your WP page or post is structured with the headings.
Making use of headings (heading 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) is the best way of dividing your content into different sections, and giving readers the better way of scanning this information. Headings are important for SEO. Because search engines make use of headings to index your content, thus use them very wisely.
Just by clicking on heading, you may quickly jump on the corresponding section of a page.
6. Block Navigation
This option allows you to quickly jump between Gutenberg Blocks at your WordPress page or post.
7. Save Draft
The Save Draft option is how you will save your current version of the draft. Note WordPress Gutenberg can constantly auto-save all your work, thus you might not use the Save Draft button quite often.
8. Preview
Preview button to show what your page or post can look like on a front end of the website when it gets published.
9. Publish
Clicking on Publish button can make your WP page or post available to the public.
10. Settings
Settings wheel toggles down settings menu on & off.
11. More Tools and Options
Use an icon with 3 vertical dots for displaying More Tools and Options menu.
From the menu, you will see additional options you have for Gutenberg editor, which includes View, Editor options & more Tools.
Views include Spotlight Mode, Unified Toolbar, and Full-screen mode.
- Unified Toolbar will allow you to access all the block & document tools at one single place.
- Spotlight mode will allow you to focus at one block at a time.
- Full-screen Mode will allow you to work without any distraction by removing the unnecessary menu items.
You easily can switch between Visual & Code Editor here. Switching between the views will be useful for advanced users in case you want to see the current code that is generated by content.
In the Tools section, you will Manage Reusable Blocks, configure the Keyboard Shortcuts & Copy All Content.
Know About Document Menu Options
Let us now walk through Document menu options. You will see ten different options to format the "document," or content in the WordPress page or post.
1. Document
The tab toggles on the right menu for displaying Document settings.
2. Block
Toggle right tab for displaying Block settings.
3. Status and Visibility
Status & Visibility section provides a complete overview of the current status of the page or post.
- Visibility –Post Visibility option enables you to select who will see the WordPress page or post when it gets published. You may select between Password protected, Private or Public.
- Publish – You may use Publish option for scheduling your post and publish automatically. For scheduling the post, choose the date & right time that you want the new page or post to get live.
- Post Format –Post Format link will allow you to select the format of the post, which includes Link, Aside, Quote, Image, Video or Standard.
- Stick to the Front Page – Check the box to have a link of your post being added on the front page of the site.
- Pending Review –Choose this option & save your post to change its status of pending.
4. Revisions
By clicking on Revisions link can take you to different versions of the post. You can compare two versions to see changes that are made or who made it. You may revert your page to the older version from your Revisions page.
5. Categories
Choose the current category or you can create the new one for the post.
6. Tags
Choose the current Tag or you can create the new one for the post.
7. Featured Image
You can add Featured Image in your post.
8. Excerpt
Create a description or summary for your page. WordPress Excerpt is one optional description or summary of your post and excerpts have got two uses:
- Gives summaries in the RSS feeds: The excerpts will replace full content in the RSS feeds when the option to display the summaries is chosen in Dashboard = Settings = Reading.
- In the post previews: That depends on a WordPress theme, the excerpts are displayed in the places where fast summaries are highly preferable to the full content, as search results and archives for the tags, categories, authors and months.
9. Discussion
Control if you wish to allow the users to comment on your WordPress page or post. You can select whether to allow Trackbacks and Pingbacks. Trackbacks & pingbacks are two methods to alert the blogs that you linked to it, so they offer one kind of the "remote" commenting system.
- Pingback is one kind of comment created when you will link to other blog post and where pingbacks are been enabled. Pingbacks will be automated and do not send content.
- Trackbacks are a way to notify the legacy blog systems you have linked to. Trackbacks should be manually created, and send an excerpt of a content.
Know Gutenberg Editor Block Menu Options
Block tab on the right side of your screen gives you many options to format Blocks you have used. You will first have to choose the Gutenberg Block that you want to format. Block Settings will allow you to customize every block individually.
When you select the Gutenberg Block, options in the panel can change. Most of the Gutenberg Edition Block options need to do with styles and formatting. Customizations settings available may vary with the Block type; however you will see there are many different options to apply styles or other settings in the Block.
Advanced Settings of Gutenberg Block
The Advanced setting will allow you to add the additional CSS class on your selected Block. The CSS classes are used by the theme to add any additional styles in your Block.
Change the Block Type
Every Block has got the option of changing its type. Just by clicking on the Block you've added and hovering over an icon on left, you may change the present Block Type to pre-selected blocks options given to you.
Edit Current Block
Like you may see below, I can use Change Block Type to switch to my current block right from the Paragraph block to Heading block. After that I can use Edit Current Block to change its heading size. You may have various quick edit options that depend on the type of the block selected.
Some More Options
Every Gutenberg Block has additional options that are revealed just by clicking on an icon on far right side of a menu for Block.
The additional settings will include:
- Duplicate
- Hide Block Settings
- Insert After
- Insert Before
- Add to Reusable Blocks
- Edit at HTML
Hide & Show Block Settings
The option allows you to switch between hiding & show right sidebar settings. It is helpful in case you quickly want to clear up the editing screen.
Insert Before
It is where you may insert the new block over the Block currently selected.
Insert After
Use this option to insert the new block below your block that is selected.
Edit as HTML or Edit Visually
The option allows you to switch between the editing views, Visually or in HTML. Editing in HTML can be very helpful if you would like to see and alter HTML code output in Block, like div classes and inline styles applied on the block. Switching to Edit Visually may return to the editing screen by default.
Add Reusable Block
In this option, you will save the current Block for using later. The option can be very useful if you are using similar same images, text, and buttons frequently.
Remove Block
Use it to delete the current block from the post or page.
Give Gutenberg Spin On Your WP Website
Now you know how to work on the WP Gutenberg editor, it's your turn of having some fun with different options. You may play with this new editor before the release of WP 5.0 just by downloading Gutenberg plugin & installing this on your website.
The new WordPress Gutenberg editor is the modern and latest drag-and-drop system tool, with plenty of useful features. But, it is one big change in a way WordPress functions, and not everybody feels that it is the change for better.
Gutenberg editor is also introducing the brand-new way of creating content that offers many more options than the traditional editor. Though it has a few drawbacks, like lack of accessibility or potential to cause the compatibility errors. Suppose you want to use Gutenberg editor, all you have to do is to update your website when 5 roll over. Or, you may use the Classic Editor plugin just too efficiently avoid the change (momentarily).


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Orange's Board of Directors votes to renew the mandate of Stéphane Richard
At its meeting on 20th February 2018, the Orange Group's Board of Directors approved the renewal of Stéphane Richard's mandate as a Board member in anticipation of his renewal as Chairman of Orange's Board of Directors for a four-year term.
The Board was convinced by the solid results achieved by Stéphane Richard during the eight years he has spent as head of Orange. During this time, he has succeeded in restoring a positive working environment within the company and has overseen improved financial results despite strong competition in France and abroad. They also examined the development prospects as set-out by Orange's management team, and in particular the strategic choices proposed by Stéphane Richard in terms of international development, the diversification of the Group's activities, as well as the ongoing innovation and investment programmes both in very high-speed broadband networks and digital services. The Board members consider that these elements fully justify this renewed mark of confidence.
This resolution will be presented to shareholders for a vote at the Annual General Meeting on 4th May 2018. The full list of resolutions will be published in the French repository of official and legal publications (BALO) and on orange.com on 28th February 2018.
Orange is one of the world's leading telecommunications operators with sales of 41 billion euros in 2017 and 150,000 employees worldwide at 30 September 2018, including 92,000 employees in France. The Group has a total customer base of 261 million customers worldwide at 30 September 2018, including 201 million mobile customers and 20 million fixed broadband customers. The Group is present in 28 countries. Orange is also a leading provider of global IT and telecommunication services to multinational companies, under the brand Orange Business Services. In March 2015, the Group presented its new strategic plan "Essentials2020" which places customer experience at the heart of its strategy with the aim of allowing them to benefit fully from the digital universe and the power of its new generation networks.
Orange is listed on Euronext Paris (symbol ORA) and on the New York Stock Exchange (symbol ORAN).
For more information on the internet and on your mobile:
Orange and any other Orange product or service names included in this material are trademarks of Orange or Orange Brand Services Limited.


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(New Eastern Outlook) – I remember during how during World War II Americans anxiously tuned in to their radios to hear the news from the US's two fronts: invariably, there were figures on how many miles our troops had advanced in the latest battles. Journalists, which later came to be referred to as 'embedded' with the fighting forces, competed to publish the figures first.
Nowadays, American journalists simply state that in 2014 Russia 'invaded' Ukraine, without reporting how many kilometers its troops covered on any given day. (Obviously, Western journalists were not 'embedded' with the invading Russian force, however three years later, we still do not have the faintest idea how the invasion they still refer to went down. The mighty Russian army that 'threatens' Europe never arrived in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, a mere 236 miles from the Russian border. In fact, its presence on Ukrainian territory is limited to supporting two Russian-inhabited rebel provinces.
And yet, serious writers like Anne Applebaum, (wife of former Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski and a scholar with a host of credentials), in a recent issue of the New York Review of Books, no differently than tv journalists, claims that 'Russia invaded Ukraine'.
Applebaum's marriage to a high-level Polish official (whose Wiki includes more details about his accomplishments than that of any international leader you can think of ), and her acquisition of Polish citizenship, (although dual nationality is officially frowned upon by the State Department), together with her professional focus on Eastern Europe, suggests the likelihood that she would write from a Polish perspective, which is tainted by centuries' long enmity toward Russia.
Even allowing for that bias, Applebaum's article, built around a review of six books on Europe, paints a dire picture, yet fails to mention the role US force-feeding of neo-liberal economic policies played in the EU's downfall from worker paradise to a pariah ripe for Russian 'taking'.
Applebaum's list of problems includes the migrant crisis (which can be traced to US wars of aggression) terrorism (ditto) international corruption (which affects the entire world), the single currency, high youth unemployment and 'Russian revan-chism'. Youth unemployment too can be laid at neo-liberalism's door, as seen when France's new president, a former banker and neo-liberal poster child, made it easier for companies to fire people, supposedly in order to boost employment: the breadth and violence of the reaction surpasses anything demo-prone France has seen since the 1968 Paris Spring.
While Applebaum laments the absence of a common foreign and defense policy between the EU's member states, she knows that the US is probably lobbying to prevent this from happening. Quoting the author of 'The Great Regression, Heinrich Geiselberger: "All the risks of globalization that were discerned (in the 90's) actually became reality." And "Many hoped (the EU and NATO) would also help integrate Russia and North Africa into Europe.' (Note the hubris of that idea, as opposed to more cooperation between equals when it comes to Russia and the fact that much of Europe is viscerally opposed to welcoming 'dark people' especially if they are Muslims).
Applebaum goes on to muddy the waters by claiming that 'the US and Great Britain, who see the EU as a 'left-leaning' institution, will be surprised to learn that many contributors to [Geiselberger's] book see the EU as part of the same neo-liberal problem." Applebaum practices here the neo-liberal sleight-of-hand that blames the victim for the problem. If the EU is part of the 'neo-liberal problem' it's because its leaders are incapable of resisting the pressure of US-led globalization.
As for 'Russian revanchism', this claim is developed in detail in an article for the Department of Defense's Center for Complex Operations, by John Herbst, the Director of the Atlantic Council's Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center and a retired U.S. Ambassador toUkraine and Uzbekistan. In "PRISM Volume 6, Number 2 | July 18, 2016", Herbst claims that:
"For instance, Ossetia didn't shell Georgia, it was invaded and a handful of Russian peacekeepers paid with their lives to buy Ossetians some time before "the cavalry" came. From the very first days of the post-Soviet world, Moscow's security services developed the "frozen conflict" tactic to limit the sovereignty of its neighbors. They supported Armenian separatists in the Azerbaijan region of Nagorno-Karabakh in order to exert pressure on Azeris, South Ossetians, and Ajarians; the Abkhaz in Georgia to pressure Tbilisi; and the Slavs in Transnistria in order to keep Chisinau, the Moldovan capital, in check. For those who mistakenly blame current tensions with Moscow on NATO enlargement, it is worth noting that Moscow had its frozen conflicts policy in place before talk of the first expansion of NATO."
Herbst fails to admit that harking back to a basic socialist tradition, one of Russia's core principles is the defense of national sovereignty, while the US has systematically organized 'color revolutions' in the nations on Russia's border in order to draw them into its orbit with the goal of eventually rendering Russia vulnerable to a takeover, complete with its trove of precious minerals and other resources.
According to Herbst:
" After the Rose Revolution in Georgia in the fall of 2003, which drove President Eduard Shevardnadze from power, the Kremlin instituted a trade embargo and undertook various military provocations. In late July 2008, Russia's South Ossetian proxies began to shell Georgian positions. A sharp Georgian response gave Moscow the pretext to send in troops in August, which promptly defeated the Georgians."
The official Russian version of the 'Georgian War' is that Georgian soldiers stormed into the South Ossetian capital Tskhinvali, causing Russia to send in troops to restore South Ossetian sovereignty. Yet Herbst continues:
"Led by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Western mediators established a diplomatic process that led to a ceasefire. The United States sent humanitarian assistance to Georgia and, as a caution to Moscow not to send its troops further into Georgia beyond South Ossetia, delivered it via the U.S. military. Moscow did not take the war beyond South Ossetia."
This account is a bit silly, as if by delivering aid 'via the US military' — whatever that means — was sufficient to deter Russia from further action. Why would Russia want to 'take action' against Georgia, anyway?
That's just part of the usual obfuscation: there was actually a series of color revolutions, starting with the 2003 Rose Revolution in Georgia, the 2004 Orange Revolution in Ukraine and the 2005 Tulip Revolution in Kyrgyzstan. An American, Gene Sharp, is credited with providing the blueprint for the 'color revolutions' with his writings on non-violent change, and the US-educated and installed Sakashvili ruined Georgia all on his own, then sought refuge in Ukraine, where he was first given citizenship, then asked to leave. But Ukraine is another story.
Ukraine's 2004 Orange Revolution pitted a pro-Russian candidate against a nationalist, and was won by the nationalist. In the following election in that country, in 2010, the outcome was reversed, followed by EU efforts to woo Ukraine away from Russia by offering membership. American analysts never mention the reason why Russia opposed that membership: Russia has an economic treaty with Ukraine, that would not only result in EU and Ukrainian goods reciprocally circulating freely: EU goods would be able to enter Russia as well, with no reciprocity.
According to Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland in a speech to the Washington Press Club in December, 2013, the US spent five billion dollars encouraging Ukrainian demands for EU membership. That speech was uploaded to the internet the following February, when it became clear that violence in Kiev's Maidan Square would culminate in a US-engineered coup against the elected pro-Russian President, Viktor Yanukovich. He fled on February, 22, 2014, after Neo-Nazi militiamen threatened an accord that had just been reached to end the clashes.
One of the militia leaders, Dmitri Yaros, who subsequently became Minister of the Interior, gave an expansive interview that Timepublished in its February 5, 2014 issue, and which was subsequently scrubbed from the internet. That interview, which can be accessed via the name of the interviewer, Simon Shuster is the most valuable document we have to prove that references to Neo-Nazis in Ukraine are vastly understated.
Yaros candidly traces the history of his movement from World War II, when Ukrainian nationalist Stepan Bandera organized militias to kill Russians, Poles and Jews alongside Hitler's SS, hoping the Reich would reward them with independence when it defeated the Soviet Union. (Ukraine only existed as an indepen-dent territorial entity for two years after World War I, and since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.) Today, the Ukrainian government is still supported by the Neo-Nazi militias that provided the muscle on the Maidan.
Back to Herbst's version of history:
"Putin has escalated his intervention [into Ukraine] several times. It began in April 2015 with Russian leadership, arms, and money" (almost a year after the formation of the Peoples' Republics of Donetsk and Lugansk…). When Ukraine launched its counter-offensive under newly elected President Petro Poroshenko in June 2015, the Kremlin sent in increasingly sophisticated weapons, more fighters (including the Vostok Battalion of Chechens), and finally, the regular Russian army itself in August."
According to Herbst:
"Only the use of regular Russian forces stopped the Ukrainian counteroffensive. Throughout this period, the West was slow and weak in confronting the Kremlin. For instance, the G7 leaders had warned Putin in early June that if he did not cease his intervention in Ukraine by the end of the month, Russia would face sectoral sanctions. Yet by the end of June, despite the introduction of major Russian weapons systems into Ukraine, there was no more talk of sectoral sanctions. Only the July shooting-down of the Malaysian passenger jet, along with the invasion (sic) by Russian troops, persuaded the Europeans to put those sanctions in place." (Once again, this is a doctored version of Russian history: MH17 was not shot down by "top of the line" Russian weapons, but is widely believed to have been brought down by a Buk, an old Soviet weapon no longer in use by the Russian military, but still used by Ukrainians at the time. Also, according to this paragraph, the so-called Russian 'invasion' took place more than a year after the Kiev coup and the Eastern provinces declarations of autonomy!)
"After regular Russian forces defeated the Ukrainian army in early September 2015, Germany and France helped negotiate the Minsk I ceasefire, which Russia repeatedly violated by introducing more equipment and military supplies into Ukraine and taking an additional 500 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory. This escalated aggression, however, did not lead to any additional sanctions last year."
Where are these 500 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory that have supposedly been 'taken' by Russia? Again, deliberate obfuscation reigns. The reference is to 'regular Russian forces' as in an invading army, when in reality Russian volunteers were aiding the citizen armies of the Russian-speaking People's Republics of Donetsk and Lugansk, while President Putin discouraging their hopes for integration into Russia.
The case of Crimea is different: unlike Eastern Ukraine, it had always been part of Russia since Catherine the Great seized it from Turkey, and it hosts Russia's only warm water fleet, per a long-term treaty with Kiev. Given the strong presence of fascists in the post-2014 government, Russia could not risk having its naval base confiscated. The 'little green men' so popular with journalists were part of the contingent regularly stationed in Sebastopol.
However, according to Herbst:
"Putin's second vulnerability concerns the use of his army in Ukraine. While his media have conducted an extensive smear campaign against Ukraine and its leadership, they have not been able to persuade the Russian people that Russian troops should be used there. Since the summer of 2015, numerous polls by Moscow's Levada Center have shown that a large majority of the Russian people oppose using troops in Ukraine. Because of this, Putin has denied the presence of Russian troops there, despite strong evidence to the contrary. For example, thousands of regular Russian troops were used in August and September of 2014 to stop Ukraine's counter-offensive." (We have heard nothing of these supposed military to military battles. Where were the journalists?)
"In January 2015, Western intelligence estimates reported that there were anywhere between 250 to 1,000 Russian officers in Ukraine, while Ukrainian intelligence claimed that there were as many as 9,000 or 10,000 Russian troops. Even Putin finally acknowledged in December 2015 that there were "some" Russian military in the Donbass."
Broadening his analysis, Herbst seemingly lets his imagina-tion run wild: in reality this is a shop-worn effort to present the US attitude toward Russia as being more than willing to engage in joint efforts:
"The United States might also enhance cooperation with all interested Central Asian states to offset the potential destabilizing impact of its withdrawal from Afghanistan. While this may seem counterintuitive, this last initiative need not exclude the Kremlin. Indeed, NATO and the EU can also help strengthen some nations on Russia's periphery by projects that include the Kremlin. This would also demonstrate that NATO and EU policies are designed not just to discourage Kremlin aggression, but also to resuscitate cooperation on matters of mutual interest."
But then – inevitably:
"Policy in the grey zone should also focus on state weaknesses that Moscow exploits to ensure its control. As discussed above, the Kremlin uses its intelligence services to recruit agents in the power ministries of the post-Soviet states. It also uses its firms to acquire key sectors of these countries' economies and to buy political influence.
"With interested countries, the United States and NATO should offer programs to help vet (sic) the security services and militaries to make clear that (or to ensure that?) they both are under the full control of the political leaders in these states. At the same time, the United States and the EU should expand programs to uncover corruption in the financial and other sectors of these countries' economies."
It's hard to decide whether this breezy program qualifies as mere hutzpa or beyond the pale delusion: to imagine that 'the Stans' that ring Russia's southern border, where Muslims live peaceful and increasingly comfortable lives, would be interested in US hucksterism, is almost beyond belief. Clearly, the Pentagon's imagination is running wild:
"Two years after Russia began to tear Ukraine apart,(!) and seven years after it did the same in Georgia, (!!) the West is finally waking up to the danger of Kremlin revanchism."
What do the Pentagon's 'experts' know about the intricacies of South Ossetian, Abkhazian or Azerbaijani politics — much less these three small nations' relations with Russia? (Do any of them even speak these countries' languages?) We seem to have ended up a long way from Applebaum's Europe, but only to the extent that we buy into her view of it as a superior 'civilization' which the countries that make up the major part of the Eurasian continent — as well as Africa —should emulate. Europe is a peninsula of Eurasia, and it is at last awaking up to the fact that its trans-Atlantic bonds are what threaten its future.
The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Duran.


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The Centre is proud to have contributed to the creation and launch of the FrancoPREV network of the Organisation Internationale de la francophonie, Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles. The Centre presented the "What If I Was Wrong? When We Talk, We Learn!" campaign at the conference on social polarization and radicalization leading to violence organized by the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles.
- Posted by info-radical
- On 18 December 2018
- 0 Comments


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Clean streets
Every day our street cleaners work hard to keep the City of Sydney's roads, lanes and footpaths clean. They sweep and hose surfaces using recycled stormwater whenever possible.
Our teams empty street litter bins, collect syringes and pick up items that have been illegally dumped. They also remove chewing gum, posters, stickers and graffiti.
How you can help
You can help keep your neighbourhood clean and safe by:
- bringing your bins in
- booking a pick-up for your unwanted large household items
- putting your rubbish and recycling in the correct bins
- reporting illegally dumped material, bill posters, graffiti, used syringes and abandoned shopping trolleys.
Storing your bins
All your bins must be stored on your property between collections, not on the footpath or street. Please retrieve and store your bins on your property soon after collection.
Bins left out on the street or footpath can create safety hazards and cause littering problems if they get knocked over. They are also more likely to be damaged, stolen or lost.
Illegal dumping
Illegal dumping is a concern for us and our community. It is unsightly, expensive to remove and can damage the natural environment and human health. Please report illegally dumped materials in your neighbourhood.
If you have unwanted household materials, there is no need to dump these. Give them to charity or book a free pick-up of furniture, whitegoods, e-waste and other large household items instead.
Bin your gum
Chewing gum dropped on the ground sticks to the footpath and streets. It doesn't degrade over time and it is very difficult and costly to remove. As the gum builds up it makes our streets look unsightly.
Please consider others and dispose of your chewing gum thoughtfully by putting it in a street litter bin.
Cigarette butts
Dumping a cigarette butt attracts heavy fines, particularly if the cigarette is lit. Smokers can instead carry a portable ashtray, use ashtrays on street litter bins or wall-mounted ashtrays outside shops and offices. Make sure your cigarette is stubbed out before you put it in an ashtray or bin.
Sharps, such as needles, syringes and lancets need to be disposed of safely to prevent injuries. Use our map to find a safe disposal location. Or call the Needle Clean-Up Hotline to report used syringes in public places on 1800 633 353.
Abandoned shopping trolley
If you spot an abandoned shopping trolley report it to Trolley Tracker or call 1800 641 497.
Graffiti or bill posters
Help reduce graffiti and illegal bill posters in your neighbourhood by reporting these.
Last updated: Monday, 1 July 2019


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Photo Gallery - Winter Carnival
Each year the schools in the local district meet to enjoy a day of winter sports and put to practice the skills they have been learning during Physical Education lessons. Students choose to play football, hockey, netball or soccer. Busselton Primary School students play teams from six other schools to test their abilities.
Well Done Busselton Primary School students who showed great sportsmanship during Winter Carnival.


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Those who start their own businesses do so for different reasons. Not everyone is in search of riches or glory. The motivation to start businesses can come from different places, too. One of the things that all small business owners do have in common, though, is that the motivation came and it was enough to inspire these business owners to act on their desire to build a new company.
Motivation is an interesting thing. It inspires you to act and to do something to help achieve the things you want and need, but if you have a poor motivation, it could actually hurt your chances of accomplishing the things that you want to. Money, for example, isn't always a good motivation. As a matter of fact, it's typically one of the worst motivations that you can have. That may sound silly, but it's true.
If money is your sole focus, you could lose track of what is best for your company, and you might even jump ship for another opportunity that appears to be more financially fruitful than your business. You could lose sight of why you started your company, and you might not see it all the way through, and when you don't that could even end up costing you more in the long run. If money is your primary motivation, you should either consider doing something other than starting your own company, or find a different motivation.
There are plenty of other very appealing things about starting and running your own business that you can turn to for motivation, some of which probably haven't even crossed your mind yet. Such as…
Be Your Own Boss
As your own boss, you won't have anyone telling you what to do. You get to control every aspect of your business and won't have an annoying boss looking over your shoulder every five minutes to make sure that you're doing your work. Do your work your way without anyone telling you differently.
Create Your Own Schedule
Another underrated aspect of running your own business is the fact that you get to choose when you work. For those of you who haven't created your own work schedule, you have no idea what you're missing out on. You can take as long of a lunch or as short of a lunch as you want, and take the days off that you want as well. If you need to take time off to take care of your kids, it's not a problem. Take the time off that you need, don't worry about clocking in and out, and live the life that you've always wanted.
Change The World
One of the best motivations that you can have for starting your own business is that of changing the industry or changing the world. This is a good desire to have, because if you do, the money won't be as big of an issue for you and it won't be a driving factor in many of your business decisions. This desire will help you to be more creative and do things outside of the box. It will motivate you to have fun with your work and really enjoy what you do.
If you're looking to start your own business, you should congratulate yourself. It's a great endeavor and it will certainly be a life changing one, as well. If you're still searching for inspiration or any extra motivation, www.quotery.com, can be a great place to start. You'll find some quotes that can help you light the fire to start your business and get things rolling. Once you find motivation that doesn't have to do with making money, you'll know that you're ready to start a new company.