Random

• Very outside the box (at least for 2008) and generous -- Living conditions for pastors and church members in rural Alaska could significantly improve thanks to new partnerships with Evangelical Covenant Church conferences.

The conferences in the lower 48 states are each adopting at least one church and will offer financial support, which is sorely needed, says Rodney Sawyer, field director for the Evangelical Covenant Church of Alaska. ~ Link

• The Guam Department of Public Works has neglected to register "the entire fleet of school buses, several trash trucks and at least ten official vehicles currently operating without proper registration" and apparently the police department, is getting ready to crack down. ~ Link

• "Will you love her, comfort her, honor and keep her, in sickness and through health insurance, forsaking all others, be faithful to her as long as you both shall live?" -- 7% of Americans say that they or someone in their household "decided to marry in the last year so they could get healthcare benefits via their spouse." ~ Link

• South Koreans are invading American ivy league schools utilizing a strategy that involves study without ceasing. ~ Link

• More shipping container construction ~ Link

• Quakerism moving in a new direction? Across the board, the number of Quakers is dwindling, to roughly 100,000 in the US. But if Quakerism continues to catch on among the estimated half million pagans in the US, those who embrace both traditions predict that could reverse the Quakers' downward trend. ~ CT article