Super-rich are buying gold by the ton

The world's wealthiest people have responded to economic worries by buying gold by the bar - and sometimes by the ton - and by moving assets out of the financial system, bankers catering to the very rich told Reuters, the news agency.

Fears of a double-dip downturn have boosted the appetite for physical bullion as well as for mining company shares and exchange-traded funds, UBS executive Josef Stadler told the Reuters Global Private Banking Summit.

"They don't only buy ETFs or futures; they buy physical gold," said Stadler, who runs the Swiss bank's services for clients with assets of at least $50 million to invest.

UBS is recommending top-tier clients hold 7-10 percent of their assets in precious metals like gold, which is on course for its tenth consecutive yearly gain and traded at around $1,314.50 an ounce on Monday, near the record level reached last week.

"We had a clear example of a couple buying over a ton of gold ... and carrying it to another place," Stadler said. At today's prices, that shipment would be worth about $42 million.

Read the rest here.

Patriarch Kirill compares situation with religion in Europe with period of atheism in USSR

Moscow, October 13, Interfax – Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia said the situation with religion in some countries, including Europe, reminds him of the times of militant atheism in the Soviet Union.

"I am deeply convinced that modern civilization is making the same mistake as the Soviet Union. It doesn't matter very much why you are removing faith from pubic life. The final result, as engineers say, is the same: you get dismantling of religious consciousness," the Patriarch said while meeting with German President Christian Wulff in Moscow on Wednesday.

The Russian Church has lived for decades in a country where the official ideology was the ideology of atheism, "where churches were destroyed, crosses were removed from churches to be used for some secular purposes, where religious life was squeezed out of public life and could only be manifested in private, intimate life."

The people who made such policies "have very good intentions and acted on the basis of their convictions, and their convictions were very humanistic: to build a just prospering society, good future, where people would be happy and would have everything they wanted to have, but religion, those crosses on churches were getting in the way," the Patriarch said.

"It scares me that something illogical is now taking place in some countries, including in Western Europe. No one is saying that the Christian presence should be removed for the sake of a good future, but they are using a different philosophy: they want to remove crosses from schools and religion from public life in the name of human rights," Patriarch Kirill said.

He thanked Germany for "defending the legality of the presence of traditional Christian values in societal life on many issues."

Patriarch Kirill said philosophies come and go and Christian faith has existed for 2,000 years and it "formed the spiritual and cultural foundation of Europe."

"For this reason, we believe we now need to speak loudly about it, because we have a right to do that, we have lived for many years in a country that drove God from public life and we know the consequences of that," the Patriarch said.

Patriarch Kirill said the current "phenomenal revival of religious life in Russia and the other former Soviet republics is largely a reaction to that past."

Source

Ortho-Cath Reunion? Not so fast

Teófilo de Jesús has posted the results of an online survey he conducted aimed at gauging the attitudes of Orthodox laymen and women towards restoration of communion with Rome. The results of this unscientific poll suggest great skepticism, and resistance to any rapprochement with Rome that does not include significant concessions, especially in the area of ecclesiology and doctrine. A not insignificant minority were opposed to reunion under any circumstances.

You may read the detailed results here.

When "Orthodox" is Not

A recent discussion over at the Byzantine Forum has brought to my attention a problem that seems to be on the increase of late. I am referring to bogus "Orthodox" churches. Some people, especially the non-Orthodox, have been duped by these groups. This used to be a problem much more commonly associated with the Catholic Church. But in recent years it has become an increasing issue with us as well.

Without going into a long or forensic discussion of the not so Orthodox sects, I thought I would give some brief background on the various types there are and then point up a few signs that might indicate you have stumbled on a less than legitimate group.

Speaking in very general terms the faux-Orthodox typically can be divided into three groups.

1. The mainstream but schismatic Orthodox: These are groups who are doctrinally Orthodox and who generally follow the liturgical discipline of the Church. Their "bishops" often have legitimate historical connections to the Church in terms of their orders though they may have been deposed or excommunicated. Examples of this are most commonly to be found in certain break away "churches" that are attempting to self proclaim their independence or autocephaly. The so called Macedonian Orthodox Church and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kievyn Patriarchate are two prominent examples.

2. The schismatic and non-mainstream Orthodox: These are almost always going to be so called "Old Calendarist" churches. There are a plethora of them out there. Most are small and very few are in communion with anyone outside their own church. They are characterized by a rejection of the "new" or "reformed Julian" calendar which they regard as heretical. One may fairly divide the Old Calendarists (OCs) into two sub-groups, moderate and radical. The moderate OCs while branding as heretical any church that uses the new calendar might accept the grace of the sacraments of those churches which use the old calendar but are themselves in communion with new calendarist churches. Radical OCs by contrast consider anyone who has held communion with new calendarists to be tainted and their sacraments to be without grace. Both types of OCs are frequently infected with all kinds of bizarre conspiracy theories involving Jews, Free Masons and the like.

3. The counterfeit Orthodox: These are groups that have simply adopted the word "Orthodox" into their church name in an effort to gain some form of respect or legitimacy to which they are not entitled. Almost without exception they lack any authentic connection to the Orthodox Church and are usually outright heretics. Many of these sects are, or at one time were, Catholic vagantes who decided that a name change might cause people to ask fewer inconvenient questions. There are a lot of Catholics who keep track of these sects and post warnings about them. And many Roman Catholic Diocese also will post warnings about pseudo-Catholic groups. Regrettably, there is generally less awareness within Orthodoxy of such entities. In addition the jurisdictional craziness, especially here in N. America makes it a lot easier for these sects to operate without being closely questioned. Few Orthodox dioceses or jurisdictions seem to be cognizant of the problem or at least have shown little interest in it.

Warning Signs

There are a number of indicators that can serve to alert one that you may have encountered a group whose relationship with The Church is questionable. I would however caution that there are occasional exceptions to these indicators so don't assume a group is bogus just because they meet one of the signs listed below. That said if they DO meet one or especially if they meet multiple indicators you should approach with caution and be prepared to ask questions.

1. If the name of the church, excluding the saints name, has more than five words in it you may want to refer to # 2 below.

2. If any of the following words appear in the church's name (as opposed to the parish name) you may have a problem... True, Authentic, Genuine, Real, Holy, Synod, Metropolia, Resistance, Exile, Underground, Old Calendar, Reformed, Inclusive, Liberal or Conservative, Canonical. If you run into the "Really True Old Calendar First Holy Orthodox Church of Dump Truck County Alabama in Exile" don't walk away. RUN!

3. Almost any church that has the world "calendar" anywhere in its name is at least schismatic.

4. Churches (as opposed to parishes) that claim to be "Western Rite" are bogus. Note: There are a small number of fully canonical Orthodox parishes which have been blessed to the use of the Western Rite. In N. America they are almost all under the jurisdiction of the Antiochian Archdiocese. There are at present NO canonical Orthodox churches that are "Western Rite." That means there are no Orthodox Western Rite bishops.

5. Churches that make reference in their website or literature to the "pan-heresy of ecumenism" are likely schismatic or worse.

6. Churches that feel the need to proclaim their bona-fides by listing the lineage of their Apostolic Succession like a pedigree on their website are bogus. Canonical Orthodox churches don't do that. They don't need to. On a side note, I have never seen any so called Orthodox Church with such a lineage posted where their "orders" did not derive from Roman Catholic vagantes. It is exceedingly rare for any of these sects to have any sacramental connection to the Orthodox Church. And it is worth noting that while the Roman Church (owing to its Augustinian approach to Holy Orders) sometimes accepts the validity of their orders, the Orthodox Church does not.

In conclusion one may stumble on a church that seems "Orthodox," but something doesn't feel right. Or maybe they meet one of the above warning signs but your not really sure. In such cases just ask some questions. Orthodox priests will be able to answer simple questions quickly and without evasion. Probably the easiest and most obvious question is "Who are you in communion with?" or "Are you in communion with the Ecumenical Patriarchate?" While I concede that the EP is NOT the Orthodox Pope, he does occupy the canonical first place of honor in The Church. If someone is not in communion with him that is one giant flashing neon warning sign. For a number of years ROCOR was in a state of (I will borrow an Anglican expression here) "impaired communion" with the EP and just about everyone else outside of the Serbs and the Jerusalem Patriarchate. But that is over now. Today I don't know of any canonical Orthodox church that is not in communion with the EP.

The majority of bogus Orthodox groups are misguided but usually well meaning people. They often believe they are right and we (in the canonical Church) are wrong. Others are heavily populated by people who are ill informed about the true nature of their church and its relationship with Orthodoxy. And sadly a few are scams run by con artists, thieves and in a hand full of cases sexual predators.

Bottom line... When in doubt ASK QUESTIONS.

A Victorian tale of crime and murder

VSO has posted an excerpt (with link) of the fascinating, and rather gruesome, story of Mr. H. H. Holmes who may be the earliest documented American serial killer. The man was a diabolically brilliant Gilded Age criminal, and I (not usually a fan of the true crime genre) confess to finding his story riveting.

Contrary to the popular image of the late Victorians as stuffy and insufferably prudish, they loved their crime stories as much as our own modern society. And the press, on both sides of the Atlantic, was often filled with lurid tales of dreadful deeds calculated to make well bread ladies gasp (as much as was possible in a corset) with horror.

Wikipedia also has a write up on Mr. Holmes.

The DNA of Death

WASHINGTON — In the course of an hourlong argument at the Supreme Court on Wednesday about a death row inmate’s quest to test DNA evidence, the justices asked neither of the questions that people without legal training might have thought crucial: Why won’t Texas prosecutors consent to the testing? And could the results show that the inmate, Henry W. Skinner, is innocent of the triple murder that sent him to death row?

The justices focused instead on whether Mr. Skinner had located a path through a thicket of legal doctrines meant to limit postconviction challenges.

Last year, in District Attorney’s Office v. Osborne, No.08-6, the court ruled by a 5-to-4 vote that inmates have no freestanding right under the Constitution’s due process clause to test evidence that could prove their innocence in states without laws on DNA testing. The court and Congress have, moreover, severely limited habeas corpus challenges to convictions and sentences.

Mr. Skinner chose a third route, suing under a federal civil rights law known as Section 1983 and saying a Texas law that allows DNA testing in only some circumstances violated his rights.

That position required Mr. Skinner’s lawyer, Robert C. Owen, to maintain that his client’s goal, at least for now, was not to challenge his conviction or death sentence, as such challenges would have to be brought through a habeas petition, but simply to test the evidence.

Read the rest here.

Dollar Falls to Eight-Month Low Versus Euro on Fed Outlook; Aussie Jumps

The dollar fell to its weakest since January against the euro and approached a 15-year low versus the yen before reports likely to fuel speculation the Federal Reserve will ease policy further to support prices.

The Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against the currencies of six major trading partners, reached a nine-month low before the Labor Department is forecast to say gains in U.S. wholesale costs and consumer prices slowed. The Singapore dollar rose to a record after the island’s central bank said it will steepen and widen the currency’s band to curb inflation. Australia’s dollar jumped to the highest since it began trading freely in 1983 as Asian stocks extended a global rally.

“It really comes down to what the Fed does and we are looking at the prospect of further quantitative easing in November or December,” said Adam Carr, a senior economist at ICAP Australia Ltd. in Sydney. “You’re not likely to see any dollar strength,” until the Fed’s November meeting, he said.

The dollar declined to $1.4039 per euro as of 9:55 a.m. in Tokyo from $1.3961 in New York yesterday, after earlier reaching $1.4058, the lowest level since Jan. 27. It fell to 81.54 yen from 81.81 yen. It touched 81.39 on Oct. 11, the weakest since April 1995. The yen traded at 114.47 per euro after yesterday declining 0.4 percent to 114.20.

The Dollar Index, used by IntercontinentalExchange Inc. to track the greenback against currencies including the euro, yen and Swiss franc, slid to 76.652, the lowest since Jan. 14, before trading at 76.715.

Read the rest here.

Gold vs. Treasuries: Which Do You Believe?

Which do you trust more, paper or gold?

Any psychoanalyst looking at the behavior of investors today would see clear strains of schizophrenia in a comparison between the markets for gold and US Treasuries.

Currently, the 10-year Treasury yield is setting new lows on a daily basis. In the financial models all economists were taught at school, this would be an indication of an economy with low inflation expectations and a strong currency. But the dollar has fallen over 12% since June, and the price of gold continues to hit all-time highs. These results are completely antithetical. Bonds are flashing a warning sign of deflation, while gold and the dollar presage hyperinflation.

During the last period in which the US experienced significant economic stress, the late 70's and early 80's, the markets in gold and Treasuries showed a much higher degree of harmony. At that time, the Fed's extreme depression of interest rates led to rapidly rising inflation, a weakening dollar, and a massive spike in the price of gold. More significantly, yields on Treasuries soared as investors demanded higher rates as compensation for the added inflation risk. In other words, everything made sense.

Beginning in January of 1977, gold began an epic bull market which ended just prior to February of 1980. In that time, the metal soared from $135 per ounce to just under $860 per ounce, and the Dollar Index lost about 20% of its value. Yields on the 10-year Treasury soared from 7.2% in January of 1977 to 12.4% in February of 1980. This occurred in an environment where the Federal Reserve - under Arthur Burns - pursued an inflationary monetary policy. He increased the monetary base from $62 billion to $114 billion in just eight years.

Today, the environment is similar to what the country confronted 30 years ago. Like then, our monetary base has surged - but this time even faster. Instead of merely doubling in eight years as it did under Burns' watch, Alan Greenspan and Ben Bernanke have tripled the base in twelve years (from $621 billion in 2000 to over $2 trillion today). Accordingly, the dollar price of gold has more than quadrupled, from $280 per ounce in 2000 to over $1,300 today. Over that time, the dollar has registered a 35% drop in value. However, in stark contrast to 1980, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note has collapsed from 6.6% in 2000 to less than 2.4% today.

Read the rest here.

Utah Meeting Seeks to Unify Orthodox Christians

SALT LAKE CITY (RNS) If a group of Orthodox Christians meeting in Salt Lake City this week (Oct. 14-16) has its way, future generations of Greek, Serbian, Russian and other ethnic faithful all will worship together in a single American church.

A unified church would "honor and celebrate the multicultural Orthodox community here," says Bill Souvall, president of the group Orthodox Christian Laity. "It would give us a powerful presence in America. Spiritual seekers and searchers would find us."

There currently are 14 Orthodox jurisdictions in America, and each has its own bishop in the country of origin and its own language, but the liturgy and doctrines are the same, Souvall says. "The churches of America should be American. They shouldn't have all these separate archdioceses."

Even so, this push for unity is not universally accepted.

Some bishops who look to Europe for leadership are not eager to displease their superiors, Souvall said. Older members also worry about losing their language, culture, identity and ties to their home countries.

Read the rest here.

Patriarch Kirill criticizes Spanish gay marriage propaganda

The head of the Russian Orthodox Church has decried gay relationship "propaganda" in Spanish secondary school textbooks.

Spain, which was one of the first European countries to legalize gay marriages in 2005, has seen a wave of criticism from parents whose children had to use books that teach pupils about gay relationships.

Some of the indignant parents are set to apply to the European Court of Human Rights.

The patriarch said the Orthodox Church "would never fail to call a sin a sin."

"I consider it very important to take into account the second article of the Protocol 1 of the European convention on human rights that stipulates that "the state shall respect the right of parents to ensure such education and teaching in conformity with their own religions and philosophical convictions," the patriarch said.

Source

Chile: Mine rescue nearing end with one left to bring up

A great miracle of God.

Mine rescue in progress in Chile

Pick a TV channel. It's probably on. Prayers for everyone involved.

N.Y. Faces $200 Billion Shortfall in Retiree Health Costs

The cities, counties and authorities of New York have promised more than $200 billion worth of health benefits to their retirees while setting aside almost nothing, putting the public work force on a collision course with the taxpayers who are expected to foot the bill.

The total cost appears in a report to be issued on Wednesday by the Empire Center for New York State Policy, a research organization that studies fiscal policy.

It does not suggest that New York must somehow come up with $200 billion right away.

But the report casts serious doubt over whether medical benefits for New York’s retirees will be sustainable, given the sputtering economy and today’s climate of hostility toward new taxes and taxpayer bailouts.

The daunting size of the health care obligation raises the possibility that localities will be forced at some point to choose between paying their retirees’ medical costs and paying the investors who hold their bonds. Government officials aim to satisfy both groups, and have even made painful cuts in local services when necessary to keep up with both sets of payments.

Only a few places have tried to rein in their costs, by billing retirees for a portion of the premiums, for example. Retirees have responded with lawsuits, but ratings agencies and municipal bond buyers have shrugged off these warning signs.

“So far, the market doesn’t care,” said Edmund J. McMahon, the director of the Empire Center. “The market seems to assume, on the basis of nothing, that at some point all of these places are simply going to stop paying retiree health benefits.”

Read the rest here.

Federal judge issues injunction against military gay ban

SAN DIEGO (AP) — A federal judge issued a worldwide injunction Tuesday immediately stopping enforcement of the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy, suspending the 17-year-old ban on openly gay U.S. troops.

U.S. District Judge Virginia Phillips' landmark ruling also ordered the government to suspend and discontinue all pending discharge proceedings and investigations under the policy.

U.S. Department of Justice attorneys have 60 days to appeal. Pentagon and Department of Justice officials said they are reviewing the case and had no immediate comment.

Read the rest here.

This is breaking news. As such the above text which is from the wire service AP is likely to change on the linked site.

Rescue may be near for trapped miners

COPIAPO, Chile — Fresh air and freedom were just hours away on Tuesday for 33 miners trapped a half-mile underground for 69 days, men whose endurance and unity have captivated the world. No one in the history of mining has been trapped so long and survived.

"This story started as a tragedy and we hope that in a few hours, it'll end in a miracle," Chilean President Sebastian Pinera said to reporters gathered at the mine site.

Read the rest here.

From the mailbag: Guest Posts?

Never really thought about it, though until today was never really asked. After considering the idea, I am open to the possibility of an occasional guest post with a few caveats.

• Any proposed guest post should be submitted to me by email and should be on a topic likely to appear on this blog. (That's a rather wide field but there are limits).
  
• It should be in conformity with the guidelines for comments I have linked in the sidebar.
• It needs to be signed in some way. A pen name or Blogger ID is OK. "Anonymous" is not. But your real name should be in the email you send to me.
• Contrary points of view are OK if you are responding to something previously posted that's a bit too long for the com box.
• Please don't be offended if you submit something and I say "no." If I decline to post something on the blog I will let you know why.
  

With the above in mind please understand I am not encouraging everyone to start sending in guest posts. This is my blog and I plan to keep it that way. Guest posts would be an exception not the rule. Having said that, there are some people I have corresponded with or who are regular commentators who would get serious consideration if they had something they thought was worth posting.

In ICXC
John

Memory Eternal

140 years ago today Robert E. Lee died.

H/T Wilson Unplugged

Memory Eternal

Ten years ago today the USS Cole was bombed.

Quote of the day...

The Postal Service’s ability to lose mail is, of course, legendary. Here is an example of how bad it has become: last week the American Postal Workers Union had to postpone their national election of officers because so many of the ballots were lost in the mail.

Source.

H/T T:19

September FED minutes suggest more money printing

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Federal Reserve officials believed in September the struggling recovery might soon need more help, and they discussed several ways to provide support, including the possible adoption of a price-level target.

Policy-makers had a "sense that (more) accommodation may be appropriate before long," the central bank said on Tuesday.

In minutes of the its last policy-setting session held September 21, the Fed said officials discussed several approaches to aiding the economy but focused on buying additional longer-term Treasury securities and ways to nudge the public into expecting higher levels of inflation in the future.

On Wall Street, stocks trimmed their losses, with both the Dow Jones industrial average (DJI:^DJI - News) and the Standard & Poor's 500 Index (^SPX - News) briefly turning higher after the FOMC's minutes came out.

To help shift inflation expectations, policy-makers debated providing more detailed information about what rates of inflation they would prefer, or the possibility of making clear they would tolerate a higher level of inflation on a temporary basis, a policy approach known as price-level targeting.

They also discussed the possibility of targeting a path for GDP growth.

Read the rest here.

Happy Birthday: Ramsay MacDonald

[Ramsay] MacDonald has the gift of compressing the largest amount of words into the smallest amount of thoughts.

-Winston Churchill

Russian Orthodox Church launches YouTube channel

Here.

A Roman Catholic Old Kalendarist on Sede Vecantism, Pius XII and neo-Trads

Is there anyone more full of shit than a Sedevacantist? See this site for a good laugh. According to them Pius XII was the last ''true'' Pope and they celebrate the Tridentine Rite, and that if you do not adopt the sedevacantist position (like so many in the SSPX, with whom I desire no communion - ever) you don't really care much for Tradition. The dead give away of their manifest heresy is this line (no doubt inspired by Mediator Dei): ''What we believe, so we pray.'' Their priests even swear Pius X's Oath against Modernity!

Boob. As far as ''true'' Popes go Pius XII was the absolute worst in the history of the Papacy (even worse than John XII, who funded his far too numerous mistresses at the Lateran by the sale of episcopal consecrations). A thousand anathemas upon that awful, heretical, man. And now the ''Tridentine Rite''...To my knowledge the so-called ''Tridentine Rite'' has not been celebrated since 1604 when Clement VIII introduced his new reformed Missal (and I think that the ''ethos'' of the Tridentine Rite died a death when Gregory XIII imposed the Gregorian Kalendar on the Universal Church in 1582). No doubt these ignorant extremists celebrate the '62 Rite merrily, woefully ignorant (or wilfully so) of the fact that the '62 Rite is as far removed from any holistic and authentic hermeneutic of Tradition as is the rest of their deplorable position. But it was before the Council so it's all ok; it's Vatican II which is the enemy of Tradition, not Pius XII! If the See of Peter is vacant then the Church of Christ is builded upon sand. But then some have even gone so far as to elect their own popes. Idiots.

Read the rest here.

See the original for links.
I posted n this subject a few years back.

New York: GOP candidate for governor attacks gays

Carl Paladino greeting supporters after his remarks

Republican candidate for governor Carl P. Paladino told a gathering in Williamsburg Sunday that children should not be “brainwashed” into thinking that homosexuality is acceptable, and criticized his opponent, Democrat Andrew M. Cuomo, for marching in a gay pride parade earlier this year.

Addressing Orthodox Jewish leaders, in Williamsburg, Mr. Paladino described his opposition to same-sex marriage.

“That’s not how God created us,” he said, reading from a prepared address. "I just think my children and your children would be much better off and much more successful getting married and raising a family, and I don’t want them brainwashed into thinking that homosexuality is an equally valid and successful option — it isn’t."

And then, to applause from the group at Congregation Shaarei Chaim, he said: “I didn’t march in the gay parade this year -the gay pride parade this year. My opponent did and that’s not the example we should be showing our children,”

Read the rest here.

Democrats: Heading for a once in a generation electoral shellacking

Over the weekend I wrote a piece on how some liberal elites, not least at The New York Times, remain in denial over the scale of the disaster the Left is facing at the polls in November. Well, I hope they’re taking a close look today at the latest Gallup poll, which is enough to make any White House adviser weep.

Gallup’s new survey of more than 3,000 adults, including over 2,700 registered voters (1,800 of whom are highly likely to vote), shows Republicans with “a double-digit advantage” under two separate scenarios – lower and higher turnout. Under the higher turnout scenario, the GOP lead is 13 percentage points, while under the lower turnout scenario it is even higher, at 18 points:...

...How substantial could GOP gains be based on the Gallup numbers? According to Michael Barone, arguably America’s most influential election analyst, those gains could be the biggest since 1946, 1928 or even 1894, let alone 1994.

Read the rest here.

40 State Attorneys General plan coordinated investigation into bank and mortgage fraud

WASHINGTON — The attorneys general of up to 40 states plan to announce soon a joint investigation into banks' use of flawed foreclosure paperwork.

A person briefed on the investigation said Saturday night that an announcement could come as early as Tuesday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation was not yet public.

Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller will lead the investigation. Miller already has been leading multistate reviews of questionable foreclosure documents.

A joint investigation by 40 states would further escalate pressure on banks to widen their suspensions of foreclosures. On Friday, Bank of America became the first bank to halt foreclosures in all 50 states.

Read the rest here.

Caught Spying on Student, FBI Demands GPS Tracker Back

A California student got a visit from the FBI this week after he found a secret GPS tracking device on his car, and a friend posted photos of it online. The post prompted wide speculation about whether the device was real, whether the young Arab-American was being targeted in a terrorism investigation and what the authorities would do.

It took just 48 hours to find out: The device was real, the student was being secretly tracked and the FBI wanted its expensive device back, the student told Wired.com in an interview Wednesday.

The answer came when half-a-dozen FBI agents and police officers appeared at Yasir Afifi’s apartment complex in Santa Clara, California, on Tuesday demanding he return the device.

Afifi, a 20-year-old U.S.-born citizen, cooperated willingly and said he’d done nothing to merit attention from authorities. Comments the agents made during their visit suggested he’d been under FBI surveillance for three to six months.

An FBI spokesman wouldn’t acknowledge that the device belonged to the agency or that agents appeared at Afifi’s house.

“I can’t really tell you much about it, because it’s still an ongoing investigation,” said spokesman Pete Lee, who works in the agency’s San Francisco headquarters.

Afifi, the son of an Islamic-American community leader who died a year ago in Egypt, is one of only a few people known to have found a government-tracking device on their vehicle.

His discovery comes in the wake of a recent ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals saying it’s legal for law enforcement to secretly place a tracking device on a suspect’s car without getting a warrant, even if the car is parked in a private driveway.

Read the rest here.

Contemplating the once unthinkable... Am I the only one wondering how long before it's time to start thinking about where to immigrate to?

Three rare books about the Russian Orthodox Church in China have been found

Three rare books about the Russian Orthodox Church in China found by Nina Achmatova The three tomes, which are waiting for a translator, are about the birth and development of three churches in Beijing, Tianjin and Harbin. The Chinese government does not recognise the Russian Orthodox Church. Its 13,000 members meet occasionally for religious functions, and usually inside the Russian Embassy and consulates. Moscow (AsiaNews) – The Russian Orthodox Church in China is trying to rediscover its origins. Some believers have been able to borrow some old books on Orthodox Christianity in the Middle Kingdom that date back to the first half of 20th century. They describe the foundation and development of three churches in Beijing, Tianjin and Harbin. Scanned one page at a time, the rare copies are available on the internet. Originally published in Russian, they are waiting for a translation. All three tomes are rare specimen with facts, figures and pictures of some of the earliest churches of the Orthodox Mission to China. The first book, by a nameless author, is dedicated to the Church of the “Protective Mantle of the Mother of God”, built in Tianjin in 1931. Archimandrite Viktor was the first priest put in charge of the church, which included an Orthodox cemetery, a library, an Orthodox ecclesiastic confraternity, the first high school ran by religious in the country, a Russian hospital and the Mercy House of the Blessed Serafim Sarkovsky. Many Chinese but also foreigners from places like Great Britain, France and Italy received physical and spiritual assistance from the last two structures.

Read the rest here.

GOP House of Representatives candidate spends free time dressed as Nazi SS officer

Rich Iott, the House Republican nominee in Ohio’s 9th district, belongs to a group that reenacts World War II battles as a Nazi SS division.

Iott confirmed to The Atlantic that he has been a member of the group, called Wiking, for years but that his participation stems from his interest in history.

"In fact, there's a disclaimer on the [Wiking] website,” he told The Atlantic, which first reported his membership. “And you'll find that on almost any reenactment website. It's purely historical interest in World War II."

Iott is seen in photos dressed up in a Nazi military uniform. The group says its name come from the 5th Panzer Division Wiking, which was an armored tank division that included foreigners and mainly fought against Russians on the Eastern Front. A recruiting video on the Wiking site, shows members of the group marching, shooting rifles and performing drills as if they’re German soldiers.

Read the rest here.

Unbelievable. And before anyone steps up to defend "historical" reenactment as a hobby; we are not talking about a guy who belongs to a WW II group that, when in need of some bad guys makes its members draw lots to see who has to be the enemy. We are not even talking about guys wearing Confederate uniforms at Civil War reenactments. This is a group that is dedicated to a specific unit/division of the Nazi SS. The same unit to which Joseph Mengele belonged. Irrespective of the relatively sane disclaimer on the group's web site, who in their right mind would nominate a man for Congress who dresses in an SS uniform for a hobby? I mean seriously. All the other side has to do is run a silent TV spot showing a photo of this guy for 30 seconds in his deaths head and swastika get up and the election is over. They don't even need to say a word.

I was pretty sure no one was going to top the Christine O'Donnell fiasco. Boy was I wrong. Fortunately for the GOP (unlike in Delaware) I am pretty sure this was not a seat that was considered to be "in play."

Democrats plant phony Tea Party candidate in NJ

MOUNT LAUREL, N.J. (AP) — A New Jersey Republican congressional candidate criticized his Democratic opponent Friday amid mounting evidence that Democratic officials planted a tea party candidate in the race to siphon off conservative votes.

"My opponent, John Adler, represents everything that is wrong with politics in our country today," Republican Jon Runyan said. "I would ask for an apology. But frankly, an apology from someone like Congressman Adler would be so meaningless that it's not worth seeking."

He spoke at a news conference as Adler, a first-term Democratic lawmaker, and his campaign remained mum about a report in the Courier-Post of Cherry Hill in which Democratic operatives speaking on the condition of anonymity confirmed what Republicans have believed for months: That tea-party candidate Peter DeStefano was put on the ballot by Democrats.

The operatives said a county Democratic employee is running at least the Web elements of DeStefano's campaign.

Read the rest here.

At the very least this is a despicable and dishonorable form of deception. At most it might be election fraud.

A reflection on theft and justice

There use to be legal term in Britain, "perversion of justice," which I think we might do well to ponder.

Thirty and 40 years ago, it was commonplace back home in Newfoundland. Toward the fall of the year, afternoons and weekends, young men and old would head off into the woods armed with nothing but an axe apiece. For a month or more they'd chop down lengths of spruce -- spruce was very common where I lived -- limb them, and stack them up for taking home once the snow arrived.

Travel a couple of miles in the woods behind any small town then and you'd see these piled stacks of fresh-cut wood, ever so neatly trimmed, everywhere you looked. It was a lot of work for one man to cut, clean and transport a winter's load of wood for the home stove. Saving on the cost of oil was the main reason. That and a certain fondness for the type of heat produced by burning freshly cut wood. It's a folk maxim: "There's nothing like the wood heat." Wood heat was also greatly favoured for baking the best homemade bread.

Now there were many low, uncivil and even criminal acts that Newfoundlanders were, like any other bunch, capable of inflicting on one other. But even the vilest had their limits. People might pilfer and steal, for example, but only the true guttersnipe crossed certain boundaries. Who'd steal from the parish collection plate? Only a proper rat would think of it. Same with stealing from another man's pile of wood. It was the cheapest of cheap bastards, indeed -- sorry for the language, but it's called for -- who would steal another man's wood.

He wasn't only stealing the value, you see. He was stealing the labour. He was stealing the honest work of a man willing to work. He was mangling the idea of neighbour as well. The man who'd steal another man's store of firewood was lazy, miserable, vile, useless and universally despised. It was about as low as you were allowed to get back then.

I found myself thinking of that limited code, and the severity of its particular judgment, because of David Chen -- the immigrant Chinese grocer who fell so painfully and bizarrely afoul of the law here in Toronto, and whose trial, fitfully, was undertaken this week.

All of Toronto and most of the country knows his story by now. How he spotted a chronic shoplifter-thief (on the thief's second visit to his store in a single morning), chased him, caught him and threw him bound in a van while he (Chen) waited for the police to show up.

What followed had most of the country in a fit of anger and puzzlement when it got out. The police charged the young, hard labouring, non-thief, Mr. Chen-- with kidnapping, forcible confinement, assault and carrying a dangerous weapon. (Chen was carrying boxcutters -- a normal tool for a man who works in a grocery store.) Anyone with a still functioning mind who's heard of this case cannot understand what the Toronto police and prosecutors were thinking when they laid this raft of original charges. Apparently outrage and mockery -- I can't think what else -- led to the police dropping the kidnapping and "possession of boxcutter" charges, but they insisted on proceeding to trial on the other "offences."

The cops actually made a deal with the chronic small-time lout -- got him some special prosecutorial consideration -- if he would rat on the grocer he was robbing. All the zeal of Toronto's police establishment seemed turned on the poor model-immigrant David Chen. How do things get so perversely and so perfectly upside down that the hardworking honest new citizen is facing more peril from the sweet Canadian legal system than the man who chronically robs for a living?

That's the first part of people's anger and puzzlement. The second part goes to wider ground. Anyone who's spent time in this country's bigger cities will have become familiar with heroic examples of immigrants and their families working fearful hours, six and seven days a week, at the most menial or tiresome of jobs. You've seen them in taxi cabs, where 16-hour days are not unusual. You've seen the convenience store operators working marathon hours, some backed up by family members. You see them in restaurants and groceries, the dry cleaners and small shops everywhere.

These people work harder, longer, more diligently and more patiently than anyone else. It is from precisely these ranks that David Chen emerges. Apart from the outrage that should be felt over his lunatic prosecution, there should be a second outrage that this parasite -- Bennett is his name -- chose to steal the goods and labour of a man who has nothing but his goods and labour. The layabout and the crook injures the self-reliant and hardworking ... and then the "system" sides with the layabout. That's what has everyone so angry.

Just like the example from back home 30 years ago. To steal another man's firewood was the deed of the cheapest of cheap bastards. To rob David Chen -- and additionally to put him in jeopardy from the law for attempting to stop the assaults on his business -- is a cheap act in a mean world. Mr. Chen should not be prosecuted. And his thief should be shunned.

Source.

The Democrats: Ask not if it will be bad, rather ask ... how bad?

It has become fashionable to speak of a Democratic comeback, but we’re not really seeing one in our forecasting models. Certainly there are some individual races — particularly on the East and West Coasts, as well as some gubernatorial contests outside these regions — that look better for Democrats than they did a few weeks ago. But we’re showing Republicans gaining ground where they need to gain it to maintain decent chances of taking over the Senate. We also show improvement for them in the House forecast this week.

Our model now estimates that the Republicans have a 72 percent chance of taking over the House, up from 67 percent last week. Moreover, they have nearly even odds of a achieving a net gain of 50 seats; their average gain in a typical simulation run was between 47 and 48 seats. However, the playing field remains very broad and considerably larger are possible, as are considerably smaller ones.

Republican gains this week are mostly the result of factors at the local level; the national environment is roughly stable. The expert forecasters whose judgment we incorporate into the model continue to revise their characterizations of races, and in almost all cases, the changes work toward the benefit of Republicans. Cook Political, for instance, in a break from its usual convention of not classifying seats held by incumbents as worse than toss-ups, this week decided to classify 10 seats currently held by Democratic incumbents, including the seat held by Alan Grayson in Florida’s 8th Congressional District, as leaning toward the Republicans.

Read the rest here.

The Packard: Strictly for lovers of the classic auto

A 1928 Packard

IN a world of interactive, Imax-enhanced, iPod-guided automotive museums, the relatively modest historical collection here may hardly seem worth a visit. But America’s Packard Museum on Ludlow Street is something different, and decidedly worthwhile: it is not a re-creation, but an authentic artifact of the history of the Packard Motor Car Company.

What began as the city’s premier Packard dealership, then lay dormant for decades, is now a center for all things Packard — parts, restoration information and, above all, exceptional examples of the luxury brand.

Housed in a proto-Deco building designed by the architect Albert Kahn and built in 1917, the Citizens Motorcar Company was also part of the official Packard distributorship for much of the Midwest. Like a movie set, the sales offices around the high-ceiling showroom have the look of a dealership still in business, an impression reinforced by the 20-foot-tall neon Packard sign outside and the array of cars visible through the expansive windows. Period furniture, black telephones, sales brochures, a well-worn briefcase and even an early Dictaphone complete the setting.

Read the rest here and see photos of some truly wonderful old cars.

The Great Chicago Fire: 139 years ago today

Panic on the Randolph Street Bridge

The whole cow story was a lie cooked up by a newspaperman. To this day no one knows with certainty how the great fire started. The end of the 1937 classic film "In Old Chicago" contains a remarkably good (for the era) depiction of the fire with all the chaos and panic.

Goldman Sachs: The Dollar will decline sharply in the coming year

The dollar will embark on a sharp decline over the next 12 months, Goldman Sachs forecast on Wednesday, as policy makers in Washington look poised to press the trigger on another round of printing money.

The investment bank expects the dollar to drop to $1.79 against the pound in six months and $1.85 in 12 months. Sterling closed at $1.5891 in London yesterday. The euro won’t be spared either, with the dollar’s slump forcing it to $1.50 six months from now and $1.55 in a year’s time.

Powered by President Obama’s stimulus package and a rebound in inventories, the US recovery peaked in the final three months of last year and has been slowing ever since. As the summer delivered a diet of weak economic data, the conviction has strengthened among a growing number of officials at the Federal Reserve that it should risk another bout of quantitative easing - printing money to inject into the economy.

“More QE is seen as a co-ordinated effort to get the dollar lower,” said Thomas Stolper of Goldman Sachs. “It makes sense for the US.”

Separately, Goldman’s chief economist, Jan Hatzius, warned that the world’s biggest economy faces a “fairly bad” or a “very bad" scenario over the next six to nine months.

Source.

Britain's Royal Navy faces draconian cuts

The Navy is set to be reduced to the smallest size in its history after admirals yesterday offered drastic reductions in the fleet in order to save two new aircraft carriers from defence cuts.

Under the plans, the number of warships would be cut by almost half to just 25, with frigates, destroyers, submarines, minesweepers and all amphibious craft scrapped.

Even if built, the new carriers could sail without any British aircraft to fly from them after admirals "mortgaged everything" to persuade ministers not to abandon the £5.2 billion programme. The ships could also be delayed for years and redesigned to save money, defence sources have disclosed.

In a final appeal to the National Security Council, Navy chiefs yesterday offered to make cuts that would reduce the senior service to its smallest since the time of Henry VIII.

One new aircraft carrier is already under construction, but the fate of the second has emerged as the central issue of the Government's Strategic Defence and Security Review, which is supposed to frame military planning for the next decade.

Read the rest here.

Ummm The last time I checked, Great Britain was still an island nation dependent on imports to feed its population. Putting the possible survival of your country in the hands of "allies," no matter how much you may like and trust them now, does not strike me as a wise policy. And reducing the size of the Royal Navy to essentially a heavily armed coast guard would be doing exactly that.

A parting observation... dismantling a powerful professional navy is neither difficult nor terribly time consuming. Rebuilding one in the event of a need would be.

Over 89,000 stimulus payments sent to prsioners and the dead

WASHINGTON — More than 89,000 stimulus payments of $250 each went to people who were either dead or in prison, a government investigator says in a new report.

The payments, which were part of last year's massive economic recovery package, were meant to increase consumer spending to help stimulate the economy.

But about $18 million went to nearly 72,000 people who were dead, according to the report by the Social Security Administration's inspector general. The report estimates that a little more than half of those payments were returned.

Read the rest here.

RIP: Roy Ward-Baker director of "A Night to Remember"

LONDON — Roy Ward-Baker, the British director best known for "A Night to Remember," the 1958 movie about the Titanic disaster, has died. He was 93.

His son Nicholas Baker says the director died peacefully in his sleep at a London hospital on Tuesday.

Roy Ward-Baker started out as an assistant director on Alfred Hitchcock's "The Lady Vanishes" in London in 1938. After serving in the army during World War II, he went to Hollywood where he directed Marilyn Monroe in the 1962 movie "Don't Bother to Knock."

He later returned to England where he directed many television dramas, including adventure series "The Avengers."

He remains best known for "A Night to Remember," which recounted the final night aboard the Titanic.

Source


"A Night to Remember" is IMO still the gold standard for films about that tragic ship.

Wall Street: Dylan Ratigan on the banksters home mortgage and foreclosure fraud

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

I have said it before and I will say it again. Banks are the enemy.

New Jersey's governor kills a boondoggle

The largest public transit project in the nation, a commuter train tunnel under the Hudson River connecting New Jersey to Manhattan, was halted on Thursday by Gov. Chris Christie because, he said, the state could not afford its share of the project’s rising cost.

Mr. Christie’s decision stunned other government officials and advocates of public transportation because work on the tunnel was under way and $3 billion of federal financing had already been arranged — more money than had been committed to any other transit project in America.

The governor, a Republican, said he decided to withdraw his support for the project on Thursday after hearing from state transportation officials that the project would cost at least $2.5 billion more than its original price of $8.7 billion. He said that New Jersey would have been responsible for the overrun and that he could not put the taxpayers of the state “on what would be a never-ending hook.”

The tunnel was a project of New Jersey Transit. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which gets its money from tolls, committed $3 billion for the plan after committing billions of dollars for the rebuilding of the World Trade Center site.

In scrapping the project, Mr. Christie is forfeiting the money from the federal government and jeopardizing as much from the Port Authority. The state may also have to repay the federal government for its share of the $600 million that has already been spent on the tunnel.

The tunnel, which would have stretched under the Hudson from North Bergen, N.J., to a new station deep below 34th Street in Manhattan, was intended to double the number of trains that could enter the city from the west each day. The project’s planners said the additional trains would alleviate congestion on local roads, reduce pollution, help the growth of the region’s economy and raise property values for suburban homeowners.

The tunnel was also supposed to provide jobs for 6,000 construction workers just as some other big transit infrastructure projects in the city, like the Second Avenue subway, were winding down.

Instead, the contractors hired to dig the tunnel will soon start laying off workers.

“This was the project that I think everyone was counting on to revitalize the public-works sector,” said Denise M. Richardson, managing director of the General Contractors Association of New York. “For construction workers that were counting on job opportunities, it’s a real blow to them.”

Mr. Christie admitted that the cancellation would be costly but he said it would be more prudent for the state to withdraw sooner rather than later. He said he also expected to be able to redirect the Port Authority’s $3 billion to other projects in the state, though he did not identify any.

When Mr. Christie told Ray LaHood, the federal transportation secretary, about his decision, Mr. LaHood demanded to meet with the governor to discuss the matter further. The two were scheduled to meet on Friday afternoon, but Mr. Christie gave no indication that he could be swayed.

Read the rest here.

Wonders never cease. I have heard good things about this guy and am beginning to believe at least some of them may be true.

EU considers legislation making abortion services compulsory for doctors

The right of doctors to refuse to refer women for abortions on conscientious grounds is under threat from the Council of Europe.

A draft resolution would end the opt out and compel medical staff to carry out the procedure itself against their wishes if patients have nowhere else to go for the treatment.

It also calls for a register of doctors who object to abortion on conscientious grounds and a complaints mechanism for women who feel aggrieved by a refusal of a doctor to either grant an abortion or to perform the procedure directly.

The resolution will be put to a vote of assembly members on Thursday and while it would not be legally binding on Britain, if it is formally adopted it would put pressure on member-states to ban conscientious objection as a protection for doctors.

In Britain, medical staff who object to the procedure can refuse to become involved and instead simply give information to patients and inform them of their rights to see another specialist.

But the resolution calls for all doctors to be forced to direct women to alternative centres which are willing to carry out abortions.

Politicians behind the move argue that growing numbers of doctors are refusing to become involved in abortions, depriving women, particularly from poor backgrounds, of treatment to which they are legally entitled.

Read the rest here.
H/T The Young Fogey

Saudi Arabia: Police raid "secret" Catholic Mass and arrest Filipinos

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - Saudi police raided a secret Catholic mass in Riyadh last week and arrested a dozen Filipinos and a Catholic priest, charging them with prosyletising, a local daily reported on Wednesday.

The raid took place as some 150 Filipinos were attending the mass in a Riyadh rest house on Friday, the second day of the weekend in Saudi Arabia, Arab News said.

The twelve Filipino men and the priest, whose nationality was not specified, were "charged with prosyletising," the daily quoted an official from the Philippine embassy in Riyadh as saying.

They were all released Sunday on guarantees by sponsors or embassies, the report said.

Saudi Arabia bans the practice of any religion aside from Islam. However, small, low-key prayer services inside expatriate compounds and in Filipino gatherings are tolerated by officials.

With more than one million workers in Saudi Arabia, Filipinos comprise the bulk of the Christian community inside the kingdom.

Filipino activists confirmed the arrests to Agence France-Presse, saying they had been released, but could not confirm the arrest of a priest.

Source.

Russian Church to establish its own YouTube channel

Moscow, October 7, Interfax - The Russian Orthodox Church will open its own site at popular YouTube video hosting service.

The project presentation will be held October 11 in the conference hall of the Christ the Savior Cathedral during the international festival of Orthodox media "Faith and Word", the Synodal Information Department reported to Interfax-Religion Thursday.

Before, Vladimir Legoyda, head of this department, acknowledged in an interview the need to develop the church public relations and "create proper awareness of the Church's activity."

He emphasized that the Church currently "is exposed to continuous information pressure, i.e. "counter-public relation" practices initiated by people who never play fair and do not scruple to employ dirty tricks."

Legoyda believes that such challenge should be opposed by "a competent and efficient work performed by specialists, otherwise the Church may be drowned in the flood of lies and deceit."

"If "public relations" means creating and promoting any image, I believe, this term is not quite appropriate in relation to the Church," Legoyda states.

He reminded that the Church is "a bearer of Truth and the Truth - Christ - does not need any image."

Source.

Fed Officials Mull Inflation as a Fix

The Federal Reserve spent the past three decades getting inflation low and keeping it there. But as the U.S. economy struggles and flirts with the prospect of deflation, some central bank officials are publicly broaching a controversial idea: lifting inflation above the Fed's informal target.

The rationale is that getting inflation up even temporarily would push "real" interest rates—nominal rates minus inflation—down, encouraging consumers and businesses to save less and to spend or invest more.

Both inside and outside the Fed, though, such an approach is controversial. It could undermine the anti-inflation credibility the Fed won three decades ago by raising interest rates to double-digits to beat back late-1970s price surges. "It's a big mistake," said Allan Meltzer of Carnegie Mellon University, a central bank historian. "Higher inflation is not going to solve our problem. Any gain from that experience would be temporary," adding that the economy would suffer later.

Others warn that pushing inflation higher than the target could create public confusion and risk fueling financial bubbles and market instability. They say Fed policy already is weakening the dollar and as a result prompting a gold and commodity boom. "The Fed is treading upon a mine-laden path that has never been tip-toed through in this country," said Andrew Busch, a currency strategist at BMO Capital Markets.

Read the rest here.

Benedict XVI and the liturgical iconoclasm of the Western Church

...Benedict XVI speaks of authentic liturgical reform according to the hermeneutic of continuity, of course, he believes the whole of the Second Vatican Council needs to be interpreted in this way. But, at least, with respect to liturgy, how far back in history do we need to go to make repairs where this break in continuity has taken place. For many Catholics, this break took place at Vatican II especially in the area of liturgy. This is why the ordinary form of the mass and the extraordinary form of the mass is such an important ideological battle ground for so many Catholics. For others the break happened at Trent. However, for Pope Benedict the break takes place long before then. Benedict XVI believes the Western Church never fully understood and therefore never fully received the Seventh Ecumenical Council and it is for this reason that a sound liturgical theology has not developed in the West. Basically, Joseph Ratzinger believes the West’s liturgical theology is semi-iconoclastic and sometimes, perhaps in the present close to fully-blown iconoclasm.

We speak of the Eastern Orthodox Churches and the Roman Catholic Church having the first Seven Ecumenical Councils in common but perhaps a lot more work needs to be done in this area to agree on a common and definitive understanding of the Orthodox victory over iconoclasm. I am very surprised that the Catholic-Orthodox International and American Theological Dialogues have never explicitly discussed this issue. Pope Benedict certainly believes a new iconoclasm is infecting the Western Church.

Read the rest here.
H/T Eirenikon

The author is an Eastern Rite Catholic monastic.

Papal Primacy: Russia leads the resistance

...The outline of the discussion was, until this point, a working document drafted by a joint sub-commission at the beginning of autumn 2008, at a meeting in Crete.

In October of 2009, in Cyprus, the joint international commission for theological dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church, with the Russians present, examined and discussed the first part of this outline, on some historical cases of the universal exercise of the "primacy" of the bishop of Rome, in the first centuries of the Christian era.

The discussion was supposed to continue in Vienna. But there were surprises right from the beginning. The Russian delegation raised objections against the working text provided in Crete, and ultimately succeeded in having it rewritten.

*

The main objection of the Russian Church is the one summarized by Metropolitan Hilarion shortly after the meeting, in a note published on the website of the patriarchate of Moscow:

"The 'Crete Document' is purely historical and, speaking of the role of the bishop of Rome, it makes almost no mention of bishops of other Local Churches in the first millennium, thus creating a wrong impression of how powers were distributed in the Early Church. Besides, the document is lacking any clear statement that the jurisdiction of the bishop of Rome did not extend to the East in the first millennium. It is hoped that these gaps and omissions will be made up in revising the text."

As a result, the Russian delegation asked and obtained that the text from Crete not be included among the official documents of the commission, not bear the signature of any of its members, and be used simply as working material for a new rewriting of the working outline. A rewriting more attentive to the theological dimensions of the question.

In effect, at the end of the talks in Vienna, the participants agreed to set up "a sub-commission to begin consideration of the theological and ecclesiological aspects of primacy in its relation to synodality."

Next year the sub-commission will present the new text to the coordinating committee of the commission for theological dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church. So that the following year, 2012, the commission will be able to revisit and continue – on the basis of the new outline – the discussion begun in Cyprus and Vienna.

Read the rest here.

This is well worth reading as it presents a Catholic perspective from someone with many eyes and ears in the Vatican. That said it has its shortcomings not the least of which being that it repeats the worn canard that the only thing dividing Rome from Orthodoxy is the Papacy. I also think Magister hugely overstates the level of acquiescence on the part of the other non-Russian churches to Rome's papal claims. If this is what people are thinking in the Vatican then Rome has some really serious issues that go beyond doctrine.

The American Orthodox Census

Josephus has the scoop. This represents the first attempt at a serious census of the numbers and demographics of Orthodoxy in America. Bottom line the entirety of the Orthodox faithful is a bit less than half that of the Episcopal Organization. The Greek Archdiocese is by far the largest in terms of numbers with the OCA in second, although the OCA has a significantly higher percentage of regular attendees as a percentage of their total membership. On a side note these numbers also include the non-Chalcedonian Churches and two schismatic Orthodox groups.

The markets respond...

...to last night's decision by the Bank of Japan to cut their lending rates effectively to zero. As of the time of this post gold has shattered another nominal record rising by more than $25 and is trading at $1341.70 oz. Silver is up by more than 4% and is trading at $22.85 oz, a new 30 year high.

The currency war continues as the world's central banks race to see who can incinerate the value of their paper money the fastest.

Gallup delivers a stunner

As Election Day draws closer, every major public opinion poll shifts from interviewing registered voters to those whom it identifies as "likely" voters. Gallup, the oldest U.S. polling company, first developed the model it uses for identifying likely voters back in 1950 and its final election polls have proven highly accurate.

Yesterday, Gallup delivered its first 2010 "likely voter" poll and the results floored the political community. In the generic ballot question, which asks which party a voter would favor in a generic House contest, Gallup gave the GOP a 46% to 42% edge. But then Gallup applied two versions of its "likely voter" turnout model. In its "high turnout model," Republicans led Democrats by 53% to 40%. In its "low turnout model," the GOP edge was a stunning 56% to 38%. That kind of margin in favor of Republicans has never been seen in Gallup surveys.

What should worry Democrats most is that the "low turnout model" is typical of recent midterm elections. If the Gallup numbers hold up (and the firm cautions that "the race often tightens in the final month of the campaign"), some word more cataclysmic than "tsunami" would be needed for the Democratic losses.

Read the rest here.

Modern college life; women make further strides towards equality with men

Caution: This post is rated PG 13 and contains strong language and adult themes.

I was wrong. For pretty much my entire life I believed rather chauvinistically, that women were incapable of descending to the same levels of classless lowbrow behavior one typically associates with college fraternities, of which I have no personal experience, and drunken sailors, of which I do have some experience. The evidence of my error can be found in a recent news report, which I decline to name, quote, or link but which has made the rounds on the internet for those determined to find it.

It concerns a certain female student at Duke University who compiled (using power-point) a senior "thesis" on sex in college in which she recounts in graphic detail more than a dozen of her sexual "hook-ups" during her tenure at Duke. Not stopping there she named names and attached pictures of the alleged "subjects" of her 'study.' The icing on the cake is found in the conclusion of her report where she grades the young men (mostly college athletes) on such criteria as their performance, physical (cough cough) attributes, and other sultry details. Though she claims the whole thing was a joke it has been posted on the web and has gone viral.

One wonders what this young woman's father thinks, having likely coughed up in excess of $50,000 for her education only to discover that his daughter is a woman of easy virtue (I had another word in mind, which may yet appear) who has seen fit to advertise her numerous liaisons to the entire world. How proud he must be of the glass floor his daughter has shattered in her descent into the gutter.

It seems we live in an age where the internet has effectively replaced the bathroom wall and barracks room gossip I recall from my days in the Navy. But when considering the harm done to other people's reputations, even if she cares not for her own, this is shocking even by today's extremely low moral standards. Of course a very compelling point could be made that the young men who have been named to either their glory or humiliation brought this upon themselves. I have often lamented that English does not contain a male specific equivalent for "slut" (there's that word).

For my own part this reinforces a rather strongly held conviction that it is time to rethink the war waged so aggressively on single gender colleges and universities.

San Francisco mulls 'Happy Meal' ban

The latest from the land of fruits, nuts and berries...

SAN FRANCISCO — San Francisco has a long history of bold public health and environmental stances, going after everything from plastic bags in grocery stores to cigarettes to sugary drinks.

A proposed city ordinance would ban McDonald's from putting toys in Happy Meals unless it adds fruit and vegetable portions and limits calories. The proposal would apply to all restaurants, but the focus has been on McDonald's and its iconic Happy Meals.

Supervisor Eric Mar said he proposed the law to protect the health of his constituents, but McDonald's has waged an aggressive fight to block the measure. A battery of McDonald's Corp. executives showed up at city hall to argue that the legislation is a heavy-handed effort that threatens the company's decades-old business model and the free choice of its customers.

The proposed Happy Meal law is just the latest in a string of San Francisco ordinances aimed at regulating public health. The city recently expanded a law banning tobacco sales in pharmacies to include grocery stores and big-box stores that also have pharmacies.

Read the rest here.

Once in a while (but not often) someone from SF will publicly bristle at the widespread perception that their city is run by a bunch of left-wing statist loons who are only a half step removed from being out right communists. Really.

Archbishop Seraphim of Canada (OCA) takes a leave of absence amid rumors of scandal

In a statement issued Saturday evening, October 2nd in Ottawa, Archbishop Seraphim (Storheim) announced he had resigned from all his duties with the Synod of the OCA on September 19th, and requested a "Leave of Absence" from his duties with the Archdiocese of Canada, effective October 1. In his letter, the Archbishop did not mention a specific reason for his unexpected and sudden request, other than stating that his physician had informed him it “was overdue”. In a subsequent announcement from the OCA, posted this evening, October 3rd, on OCA.org, the Church confirmed that the Archbishop of Canada was being investigated for sexual misconduct.

Read the rest here.

Owen also has a post up on this.

Cities pushed to the limit turn to states

Harrisburg, the capital of Pennsylvania, dodged financial disaster last month by getting money from the state to make a payment to its bondholders.

It did so even though the state warned that the money had to be used for city workers’ pensions.

Now Harrisburg is calling on the state again. On Friday, the city said it could not meet its next payroll without money from the state’s distressed cities program.

Across the country, a growing number of towns, cities and other local governments are seeking refuge in similar havens that many states provide as alternatives to federal bankruptcy court. Pennsylvania will have 20 cities and smaller communities in its distressed-cities program if Harrisburg receives approval. Michigan has 37 in its program; New Jersey has seven; Illinois, Rhode Island and California each have at least one. This is on top of troubled housing, power and hospital authorities.

The increasingly common pleas for state assistance — after two relatively quiet decades — reflect the yawning local budget deficits that have appeared in the last two years.

As tax revenue has fallen, the cost of providing labor-intensive government services, like teaching and policing, has proved hard to reduce.

Read the rest here.

The currency war continues; Bank of Japan cuts its rate to near zero

TOKYO — In a surprise move, Japan’s central bank lowered its benchmark interest rate to a range of 0 percent to 0.1 percent Tuesday, a tiny change from its previous target of 0.1 percent but a symbolic slide into an age of zero interest rates.

The Bank of Japan also said it would set up a temporary 5 trillion yen, or $60 billion, fund to buy Japanese government bonds, commercial paper and other asset-backed securities amid concerns over weakening growth in the world’s third-largest economy.

With the interest rate cut, the central bank effectively reintroduces a zero-interest rate policy for the first time since July 2006. The decision underscores concerns that a strong yen and persistent deflation threaten the country’s fragile economic recovery.

The dollar rose against the yen on the announcement, climbing 0.7 percent on the day to 83.90 yen from about 83.55 yen before the decision.

Read the rest here

Sacked (II) or how to commit professional seppuku

CNN has fired anchor Rick Sanchez following a radio rant Thursday night where he called Jon Stewart a "bigot," blamed CNN brass for discrimination against him and insinuated that the media industry is controlled by Jews. The network announced Sanchez's dismissal in a statement early Friday evening:

“Rick Sanchez is no longer with the company. We thank Rick for his years of service and we wish him well,“ the statement said.

Sanchez's controversial interview occurred on the final day of his show in the 8 p.m. time slot, where he was replacing Campbell Brown, who departed in May. Angry about being replaced by CNN's new "Parker Spitzer" talk show and the constant jokes made at his expense on the "Daily Show," he lashed out on at his perceived enemies — CNN brass, Jon Stewart and Jews.

Sanchez went on Pete Dominick's Sirius XM show to promote his new book, "Conventional Idiocy." While on air, he called Stewart a "bigot," implied that CNN is controlled by Jews and that the network passed him over for promotion because he's Latino.

Read the rest here.

JK Rowling refuses to rule out another Harry Potter book

JK Rowling, the Harry Potter author, has left fans on tenterhooks by not ruling out the possibility of another book.

The author said the characters from the phenomenally successful series are "in my head still" and one day she "could definitely" write several new books about them.

In an interview with US television chat show host Oprah Winfrey, the author added: "I'm not going to say I won't. I love writing them."

While not ruling out a follow up Rowling said that for now she has moved on to a new phase of her writing.While not ruling out a follow up Rowling said that for now she has moved on to a new phase of her writing.

She said: "I have to write for my own mental health. I need to write. I love it. I need to do it." In the hour long interview conducted in Edinburgh she said finishing the final Harry Potter book had been like a "bereavement." She said: "It was huge, although I knew it was coming. Initially I was elated, but then I cried like I haven't cried since my mother died." The author also described the vagaries of fame, including her "Beatles-esque" book tour of the US.

Read the rest here.

Sacked

It's been another depressing baseball year for Mets fans. And it looks like the owners have had enough. The rumors are flying that both General Manager Omar Manaya and the Manager Jerry Manuel are about to get their pink slips. After last year's abysmal showing I favored cutting both of them some slack given the high number of injuries which could not be fairly blamed on either of them. But that excuse has been worn out. It's time for some changes.

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada takes a shot at the Russian Orthodox Church and the OCA

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada has refused relics of the Great Prince Vladimir offered for veneration by the OCA. In doing so they launched a strongly worded attack on the Russian Orthodox Church and its history in the Ukraine. You may read the details at Byzantine Texas.

Personally I think their reaction is way over the top. But hey, we wouldn't be Orthodox if we couldn't find some reason to throw furniture (or relics) at each other.

Sigh.

Moderate Republicans: The GOP continues its purge

Last week, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) raised eyebrows in her home state by voting against the repeal of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy regarding gays in military service, a measure she championed and voted for in committee. On the Senate floor, Collins said repealing the policy was “the right thing to do” and a “vital issue,” but apparently it wasn’t as vital as presenting a united Republican front against a procedural matter: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s restriction of the number of amendments that could be attached to the bill.

Her pretzel-like position demonstrated the tightrope she and fellow Maine Republican Olympia Snowe are forced to walk in the current political environment. Northeastern moderate Republicans—fiscally frugal but socially progressive—have been an increasingly endangered species since the Sunbelt conservative takeover of the party began in the 1960s. With Tea Party sympathizers swamping Republican primaries this year, there’s a question of whether moderates will soon become extinct because they lose a primary (like Delaware’s Mike Castle), switch parties because they see a loss coming (like Pennsylvania’s Arlen Specter), or lurch well to the right to survive a challenge (like the now unmavericky John McCain.)

“I think it’s virtually impossible anymore to be a moderate in the Republican Party and survive politically,” says Tom Jensen, of Raleigh, N.C.–based Public Policy Polling, which conducted a poll last month finding that Maine Republicans would favor an unnamed conservative challenger to Snowe by a 63–29 margin. “If Snowe and Collins are committed to being elected as Republicans, it is in their interests to move to the right.”

Read the rest here.

California governor's race has an October surprise

SANTA MONICA, Calif. — Republican Meg Whitman struggled to steady her campaign for California governor after disclosures about her former housekeeper — an illegal immigrant — threatened to cut into her support among Latinos just weeks before election day.

The campaign that for months was dominated by talk of schools, the state's $19 billion deficit and jobs has become a swirl of accusations pitting the word of Whitman, the billionaire former eBay chief executive, against a 39-year-old maid who worked in her home for nearly a decade.

Whitman says the woman provided what appeared to be a valid Social Security card and driver's license when she was hired through an employment agency in 2000. At issue is whether Whitman knew about a 2003 letter from the Social Security Administration that raised discrepancies about her housekeeper's documents — a possible tip-off that she could be in the United States illegally.

Read the rest here.