Various...

‘Amateur hour’: Washington aghast at Trump administration’s war plan group chat

America’s rich scramble to open Swiss bank accounts over Trump fears

Trump says countries that purchase oil from Venezuela will pay 25% tariff on any trade with U.S.

Americans Are Buying an Escape Plan

That Portrait (I'm  not seeing the big deal. I saw it and it looks pretty good to me.)

US could default on debt as soon as July

Erdoğan seizes geopolitical moment to snuff out democratic opposition

Tesla Sales in Europe Crater

Prayers please

For all those effected by yesterday's violence. Lord have mercy!

On the decapitation of the satanic idol

LORD SAVE THY PEOPLE

In light of recent events...

Going out in a blaze of glory

Yesterday I posted a little news item from the NY Times about an airline attendant who had a run in with a really obnoxious jerk on his plane and had what I referred to as an "I've had enough and I'm not taking it anymore!" moment. After the short excerpt with the obligatory link to the rest of the story, I admitted to feeling some sympathy for the man and guessed that I might not be the only one who smiled a little while reading it. I was wrong.

As by now probably everyone in the country has heard, Mr. Steven Slater, (formerly?) of Jet Blue Airlines, was cursed and struck (accidentally?) by a passenger as yet unnamed who felt he was special so he could stand up and get his carry on luggage while everyone else had to sit and wait until the plane finished taxiing. The long and the short of it is that Mr. Slater decided after being cursed and struck that just maybe the customer is not always right, and that it was time for a career change. So he got on the PA system and announced his resignation to his co-workers and passengers with a very personal message thrown in for the benefit of the special gentlemen already alluded to. After which he then grabbed his own carry on bag, helped himself to a couple of beers from the beverage cart (probably the only severance package he could expect), popped the hatch, activated the emergency evacuation slide and executed one of the most glorious acts of professional seppuku in recent memory.

As I said above; I was wrong. Reaction to this, at the time rather small story in the Times, was not limited to a few sympathetic grins. Mr. Slater has overnight become a national folk hero. He has become the embodiment of that great American song from the early 80's "Take this job and shove it!" Online blogs and bulletin boards on major news services and papers have been flooded with "Atta boy!" comments. People from Maine to Hawaii are posting their own stories of on the job frustration and in some cases, of that moment when they too snapped and told their boss exactly where, with anatomical precision, they could stick their job.

At this rate Mr. Slater's could be the next face on Mt. Rushmore, except for a few small details.

First, he has been arrested and charged with a couple of felonies. In theory he could spend up to seven years in the clink. In reality I suspect the Queens County DA is already pondering where in a county of several millions of people he is going to find twelve who would convict Steven Slater of jaywalking. My guess is this will be plea bargained as fast as it can be arranged while saving face.

Another problem, and one that kinda bothers me a bit, is the manner of his exit. No, I'm not talking about his decision to very publicly quit without notice or even his telling off the south end of a north bound mule for whom rules are optional. If it stopped there I'd probably buy him a beer were we ever to meet. I am talking about his decision to deploy a one time use only piece of emergency equipment that costs about $100k as the instrument for his grand exit. I don't care how bad your day was, or how mistreated you feel by your employer. You don't get to destroy or expropriate company property on your way out the door. (I'm inclined to overlook the beers.) So yea, that is probably the number one issue that keeps me from enshrining Mr. Slater in the pantheon of truly great Americans.

All of which said, as I noted yesterday I am still sympathetic. I won't bore you with my own "I've had enough and I'm not taking it anymore!" story. Suffice to say I actually do have one. But it's no wheres near in the same league as Mr. Slater's (I didn't even get canned). My guess is we have all had moments where we either snapped or only held back by a truly supreme effort from throttling someone in desperate need of a little oxygen deprivation.

So here's to you Steven Slater, a hearty 2 and a half cheers! Just next time, don't take or damage anything that doesn't belong to you on your way out.

An outrageous comment

According to the UPI the below remarks were made by the Nigerian (Anglican) Bishop +Isaac Orama of Uyo.

Sept. 2 (UPI) -- Uyo, Sept. 2, 2007 (NAN) The Anglican Bishop of Uyo, Rt. Rev. Isaac Orama, has condemned the activities of homosexuals and lesbians, and described those engaged in them as "insane people''. "It is scaring that any one should be involved in a thing like that and I want to say that they will not escape the wrath of God,'' he said. Orama told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) today in Uyo, that the practice, which has worsened over the years, was "unbiblical and against God's purpose for creating man''. Homosexuals - 2 "Homosexuality and lesbianism are inhuman. Those who practice them are insane, satanic and are not fit to live because they are rebels to God's purpose for man,'' the Bishop said. He noted that the Anglican Church in Nigeria had continued to lead the fight against the practice especially in the US where it led the opposition to same sex marriages. "The aim of such fight is to provide a safe place for those who want to remain faithful Anglicans and Biblical Christians,'' he explained.(NAN) NS/IFY/ETS

This prompted me to take the unusual step of posting the below comment over at Fr. Jake's site (yes, that Fr. Jake) where +Orama's comments were receiving much attention.

Bp +Orama's comments are repulsive and shock the conscience. I condemn them unreservedly. The only thing that is satanic here is whatever could impel a servant of God to make such remarks about any of God's children.

Whatever one's opinions regarding the current problems in many of the mainline Protestant sects and their alarming departure from Christian orthodoxy, this clearly is way over the top. I am not normally in the habit of advising other churches about matters of internal discipline, but Bp. +Orama needs to be called on the carpet for this . No one who calls themselves a Christian and wishes to be so recognized by any decent person should feel anything other than revulsion and yes, anger over these comments.

Odds & Ends... (mostly non-Orthodox)

Most of the religious news of late has been from non-Orthodox confessions. Given what tends to make news that's probably not a bad thing. Anyways here is a quick summary of some of the stories making the rounds...

CNA reports that Professor Gregorio Peces-Barba, a leading Spanish socialist and staunch anti-clericalist has written a blistering attack on the Roman Catholic Church. He accuses the Roman Church of working to undermine the sovereignty of the Spanish Parliament and of opposing a progressive (read radical liberal) education program authored in part by Peces-Barba. In his article he compares the Roman Church to the regime in Iran and makes none too thinly veiled threats against the church if they do not accept the radical left agenda being pushed by Spain's socialists.

The Telegraph reports that in the CofE women priests will at least equal male clergy by 2025. This of course presupposes that the CofE will still exist in 2025. Read the story here.

The former Episcopal Bishop of Ft. Worth (TX) Clarence Pope has opined in a recent interview that the Catholic Movement within Anglicanism is now dead. He felt this to be especially true within the Episcopal Church. Given that situation he felt that as a matter of conscience he could no longer remain a member of TEC and that it was time for him to go. He has since entered communion with the Roman Catholic Church.

Pope Benedict XVI has begun penning the first draft of his second encyclical letter while on vacation. (When I go on vacation I prefer lying on a beach, which aside from being Orthodox is one reason I will never be Pope.) The new letter seems set to again confound his liberal critics who have been atwitter lately with claims that B-16 has finally run up his true colors with his Motu Proprio and the recent CDF "we are THE CHURCH" memo. According to the London Times (via Rocco Palmo), the new encyclical appears to be focused on social justice issues following in the footsteps of Popes +Paul VI and John +XXIII as also +Leo XIII. He is expected to make a case for a more humane global economy that will protect against discrimination and exploitation of the poor. Additionally he supposedly will specifically condemn the use of various schemes by the wealthy to avoid paying their fair share of taxes such as off shore bank accounts and tax havens.

Again via the Telegraph we learn that of the more than 800 Anglican bishops worldwide invited to next years Lambeth conference only a little over 200 have responded before the deadline. At least 6 archbishops have already sent their regrets and a significant number of others appear to be holding out until it becomes clear if the Americans (The Episcopal Church) will be showing up. If they come it is likely that there will be a mass rejection of invitations from the rest of the world wide Anglican Communion which although divided on many issues is overwhelmingly opposed to the pro-homosexual positions adopted by TEC. It is not beyond possibility that more than half of the bishops would decline to come. Further evidence of the death of Anglicanism.

Apparently inspired by the wonderful success being seen in the Episcopal Church with their abandonment of elemental Christianity, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA) took a big step in following TEC's lead. They adopted a resolution calling on bishops to refrain from disciplining homosexual clergy in committed relationships.

The New Exodus

And the roll call of the martyrs continues to grow. Islam has replaced Communism as the newest creation of martyrs. And yet we continue to welcome almost unrestricted Islamic immigration into the Christian West. When will we wake up? From the July 23rd issue of Newsweek:

He refused to leave Baghdad, even after the day last year when masked Sunni gunmen forced him and eight co-workers to line up against a wall and said, "Say your prayers." An Assyrian Christian, Rayid Albert closed his eyes and prayed to Jesus as the killers opened fire. He alone survived, shot seven times. But a month ago a note was left at his front door, warning, "You have three choices: change your religion, leave or pay the jeziya"—a tax on Christians levied by ancient Islamic rulers. It was signed "The Islamic Emirate of Iraq," a Qaeda pseudonym. That was the day Albert decided to get out immediately. He and the other 10 members of his household are now living as refugees in Kurdistan.

Across the lands of the Bible, Christians like Albert and his family are abandoning their homes. According to the World Council of Churches, the region's Christian population has plunged from 12 million to 2 million in the past 10 years. Lebanon, until recently a majority Christian country—the only one in the Mideast—has become two-thirds Muslim. The Greek Orthodox archbishop in Jerusalem, where only 12,000 Christians remain, is pleading with his followers not to leave. "We have to persevere," says Theodosios Atallah Hanna. "How can the land of Jesus Christ stay without Christians?" The proportion of Christians in Bethlehem, once 85 percent, is now 20 percent. Egypt's Coptic Christians, who trace the roots of their faith back to Saint Mark's preaching in the first century, used to account for 10 percent of their country's population. Now they've dwindled to an estimated 6 percent. "The flight of Christians out of these areas is similar to the hunt for Jews," says Magdi Allam, an Egyptian-Italian author and expert on Islam, himself a Muslim. "There is no better example of what will happen if this human tragedy in the Arab-Muslim world is allowed to continue."

This is very grim reading. Read the rest here

Odds & Ends...

Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams is not "absolutely certain" that the Anglican Communion can get its act together. However he asserts that schism is not inevitable. Currently the Churches of Nigeria and Uganda are threatening to boycott the Lambeth conference. Also many bishops and lay persons in the Episcopal Church (USA) are urging a boycott unless Bishop V. Gene Robinson is invited. +Williams left him off the invitation list (at least for now) due to his "manner of life." Robinson is divorced and a practicing homosexual. His election and consecration after repeated warnings from conservatives in the AC that such an act would be intolerable to them has placed severe strains on the communion. Several Anglican churches have since broken communion with TEC. The Anglican primates are currently awaiting a response to an ultimatum issued earlier this year demanding that TEC promise not to consecrate any more gay bishops and refuse to bless same sex unions.

In Australia Roman Catholic Archbishop Barry Hickey of Perth has been taking a lot of heat for his declaration that Catholic politicians who vote in favor of a therapeutic cloning bill should not receive communion. Fred Riebeling, the speaker of the legislative assembly of West Australia has accused the Archbishop of making threats against a member of parliament. He has called for +Hickey to be questioned on the matter.

Iowa University Astronomer Guillermo Gonzalez has been effectively sacked (denied tenure) for co-authoring a book in which he opines that the universe's complexity suggests some form of intelligent design. This opinion was never expressed in any class room or taught in any way to students. However a number of his colleagues acknowledged that his opinions expressed in the book were a factor in their rejection of his tenure application. This seems rather peculiar given at least one other individual who was given tenure at IU despite making some highly controversial statements in class.

The Episcopal Church is not the only mainline denomination seeing a mass exodus of members. The Presbyterian Church USA (PCUSA) lost another 45,000+ members last year. They have now lost about 45% of their numbers since 1965. For a detailed breakdown of their membership woes go here.

In Great Britain an effort is underway to add some English/ Western saints to the official calendar of the Russian Orthodox Church. Rev. Andrew Phillips the rector of St. John of Shanghai Orthodox Church says that although largely unknown to many Orthodox, there are more than 300 Orthodox saints and martyrs of English origin. One bishop has confirmed that at least nine English saints are already in the process of being added to the Russian Orthodox calendar and may soon be approved for worldwide veneration and commemoration.

The Brotherhood of St. Moses the Black has been formed with its first chapter in Detroit MI. This is a society of black Orthodox Christians whose mission is to help spread the truth of Orthodoxy in the African American community. Those seeking more information will find contact information at the linked news article. Let us all pray for this very important missionary work.

The Orthodox Archbishop of Cyprus +Chrysostomos II has offered to mediate a possible meeting between Patriarch +Alexei II of Moscow and Pope +Benedict XVI of Rome.

``I asked to see the pope, and I thank him for the opportunity,'' the archbishop was quoted as saying about the mediator possibility. ``We want to help him in every way to improve the relations between the two churches, because we are children of the same Father. I would be happy if he accepted the offer.''

Asked if the conditions were right for Benedict to meet with Russian Patriarch Alexy II, the archbishop was quoted as saying: ``Every moment is a good moment because the aim is that of doing what is best for both churches. It's clear that we're not talking about organizing a meeting in 24 hours.''

+Chrysostomos acknowledges the difficulties in this endeavor but believes that with good intentions, "obstacles can be surmounted."