Quote of the day

Did you catch that? The president of the United States is going to the UN to seek permission to attack a sovereign and independent country.

Where is the Tea Party when you need it? Aren’t they the ones that carry the miniature-sized versions of the U.S. Constitution in their pockets? Attention Tea Partiers: Check out the section of the Constitution that requires the president to secure a formal declaration of war from Congress before he can wage war against a foreign regime. Let’s hear from you. This is no time for silence.

The fact that Obama decides to go to foreigners to seek permission to wage another war of aggression just goes to show, once again, how far our nation has strayed from its founding principles.

Source
HT: The Young Fogey

European Court Rules In Favor of Crucifixes In Schools

Via Byzantine Texas

VATICAN CITY (AFP) — The Vatican on Friday welcomed as "historic" a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights that said displaying crucifixes in schools in Italy did not breach the rights of non-Catholics. The Russian, Ukrainian, and Greek Churches were also vocally in opposition to the proposed crucifix ban; labeling it "Christianophobia." The EU ruling is available here (PDF).

"It is an important and historic ruling," Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said in a statement, adding that the decision "has been welcomed with satisfaction by the Holy See."

The European Court of Human Rights ruled earlier that displaying crucifixes in schools in Italy did not breach the rights of non-Catholic families, overturning a previous decision.

Read the rest here.

French Air Force Attacks In Libya

It is being reported that French military aircraft are now in action over Libya against the forces of Col. Qaddafi.

Qaddafi defies West as attacks on city continue

TRIPOLI, Libya — Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi urged President Obama and European leaders on Saturday to hold back from enforcing a no-flight zone over Libya as reports indicated that his forces were continuing to press their attacks against rebels in the east despite warnings from the United States and other Western countries that such moves would provoke military action from the West.

Colonel Qaddafi’s comments, in open letters to President Obama and other leaders that were the Libyan leader’s first public response to the threat from the West, were the latest indication that military confrontation in the skies over Libya may be imminent. And their tone suggested that Colonel Qaddafi was leaving himself little room to back down in order to avoid a clash with the West.

One letter was addressed to Mr. Obama and a second to President Nicolas Sarkozy of France, Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain, and Secretary General Ban Ki-moon of the United Nations.

“Libya is not yours. Libya is for all Libyans,” Colonel Qaddafi wrote, according to the government spokesman. “This is injustice, it is clear aggression, and it is uncalculated risk for its consequences on the Mediterranean and Europe.”

“You will regret it if you take a step toward intervening in our internal affairs,” he added.

President Obama sent Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to a meeting in Paris on Saturday to consult with France, Britain and members of the Arab League on further action. An allied military strike on Libya did not appear imminent as he spoke.

President Obama on Friday ordered Colonel Qaddafi to carry out an immediate cease-fire, withdraw his forces from rebel-held cities and stop all attacks on Libyan civilians or face military action from the United States and its allies in Europe and the Arab world.

Read the rest here.

I am absolutely opposed to sticking our nose into this mess. But given that intervention appears to be a done deal, my feeling is let's get this done and over with as quickly as possible. The decision has been made and troops committed. So it's time to take care of business and ring this tin pot dictator's bell. And then let's get the H--- out of there, within a month if possible.

The only thing worse than getting into a war we should not be in, is getting into a war by half measures. Smash him and then go home... QUICKLY.

Paris skyline to be remodelled by Russian Orthodox church

It is one of the most recognisable skylines in the world, featuring one of the most famous monuments.

On the banks of the river Seine, Gustave Eiffel's iron tower, the symbol of France, juts high above the 19th-century Haussmann buildings and the trees of the Champ de Mars park that surround it.

But all this is about to change if the Russians have their way.

Moscow has unveiled plans to build a large Orthodox cathedral complete with five golden onion domes next to the Eiffel Tower. The building on the sought-after site will include a cultural centre and public garden, and was agreed directly by the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, and his Russian counterpart, Dmitri Medvedev.

Architects' drawings show the domes sitting on an undulating roof of glass panels, with the tower in the background.

At 27 metres from the top of the highest dome to the ground, the cathedral is unlikely to detract from a structure that rises to 324 metres. City authorities say they will need to be sure it "fits into its surroundings and is built to last" before giving their approval for the building.

The winning design was unveiled on Friday after an international competition won by a Franco-Russian company.

When Moscow bought the site, formerly the HQ of the French weather service, last year, it was a diplomatic coup as at least two other countries were vying for the land. However, Le Nouvel Observateur magazine reported French concerns that it could be used as a front for spying as it is near a diplomatic complex.

Russian officials in Paris said work on the project was planned to start in 2012 and was likely to cost about €34.5m (£30.1m). Moscow has already paid around £60 million for the site.

"We wanted to find a combination of Orthodox tradition and contemporary architecture to stand out in the heart of Paris," said a spokesman for the church.

Source.

Rod Dreher: What's so appealing about Orthodoxy?

I came to Orthodoxy in 2006, a broken man. I had been a devoutly observant and convinced Roman Catholic for years, but had my faith shattered in large part by what I had learned as a reporter covering the sex abuse scandal. It had been my assumption that my theological convictions would protect the core of my faith through any trial, but the knowledge I struggled with wore down my ability to believe in the ecclesial truth claims of the Roman church (I wrote in detail about that drama here). For my wife and me, Protestantism was not an option, given what we knew about church history, and given our convictions about sacramental theology. That left Orthodoxy as the only safe harbor from the tempest that threatened to capsize our Christianity.

In truth, I had longed for Orthodoxy for some time, for the same reasons I, as a young man, found my way into the Catholic Church. It seemed to me a rock of stability in a turbulent sea of relativism and modernism overtaking Western Christianity. And while the Roman church threw out so much of its artistic and liturgical heritage in the violence of the Second Vatican Council, the Orthodox still held on to theirs. Several years before we entered Orthodoxy, my wife and I visited Orthodox friends at their Maryland parish. As morally and liturgically conservative Catholics, we were moved and even envious over what we saw there. We had to leave early to scoot up the road to the nearest Seventies moderne Catholic parish to meet our Sunday obligation. The contrast between the desultory liturgical proceedings at Our Lady of Pizza Hut and what we had walked out of in the Orthodox parish down the road literally reduced us to tears. But ugliness, even a sense of spiritual desolation, does not obviate truth, and we knew we had to stand with truth – and therefore with Rome – despite it all.

Read the rest here.

An interesting read, and I can identify with some of Rod's experiences (as an ex Traddie). That said it sounds like he still has some issues with the Catholic Church. I think he was spiritually wounded by some of what he came into contact with. That is regrettable (although understandable) because one's view of the RCC should not be so heavily framed by the sex abuse scandal. If I remember correctly he had to swim in the deep end of the septic tank as part of his journalistic investigation into that scandal. That can and will leave deep scars.

San Francisco's Pension Gap Is Truly Terrifying

San Francisco's public pension crisis is way worse than many thought, according a new study from Stanford professor Joe Nation.

Here are some highlights from the report:

* The San Francisco Employees Retirement System (SFERS), which covers most of the city's municipal workers,faces an unfunded liability of $4.4 billion on a market value basis. That's nearly $35,000 per every San Francisco household.

* SFERS' reported liability is based on an optimistic 7.75% annual rate of return. If the 1990-1999 historical average rate of return - 6.2% - is used, the city's unfunded pension liability grows to $6.8 billion.

* The city also reports more than $4.364 billion in unfunded retiree health care costs. That figure will likely grow to $9.5 billion by 2028. Without major policy changes, "the probability of San Francisco meeting its unfunded health care obligation is zero."

* The city now spends $514 million on pension and healthcare. By 2016, that cost is likely to balloon to $1 billion - more than the police department, fire department, sheriff's department, DA's office and probation departments combined.

The report concludes that the only way San Francisco could even begin to dig itself out of its pension hole is through serious pension reform - namely, increased employee contributions. The city's labor unions, however, have made it clear that any changes will meet stiff resistance.

Source

Washington Post: Metropolitan Jonah goes to Washington (long story)

A reasonably well written and balanced article on the recent issues within the OCA and the leadership of Metropolitan Jonah...

They appeared at the edge of the crowd on the Mall, a group of men seemingly out of a distant century. Their heads were crowned with klobuks, the distinctive headgear of Orthodox clergy. Sporting black cassocks and untrimmed gray beards, with golden icons dangling from their necks on long chains, these visitors stood out among the crowd clad in jeans and winter coats. The man in their center carried a bejeweled walking stick.

Metropolitan Jonah, 51, leads the Orthodox Church in America, the second-largest Eastern Orthodox body in the United States. He was there to rally the huddled masses waiting in the freezing air to begin the March for Life, the annual demonstration protesting the 1973 Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion nationwide. His aim was to boost Orthodox participation in political issues. But his efforts to change the OCA would spark a ferocious reaction from his own bishops one month later. At issue is the very nature of Orthodoxy in the New World.

The tensions began with Jonah’s surprise election as head (or “metropolitan”) of the OCA in late 2008. The new leader, who is the first native-born convert to head the church, wasted little time instituting change. He put word out to his bishops and seminarians that their presence was expected at the March for Life, held every January. It was time, he would later tell a reporter, for the Orthodox “to step out in the public square” on a number of social concerns, including abortion. To encourage such stepping out, Jonah also decided to move the offices of the OCA from its isolated Syosset, N.Y., chancery to St. Nicholas Cathedral in Northwest Washington.

On the morning of the march, Jonah preached an uncompromising Gospel at the cathedral. “We need to see and call things what they are and not in some disguised politically correct language,” he said, dressed in resplendent gold brocade vestments, his salt-and-pepper beard making him appear like an Old Testament prophet. “Abortion is the taking of human life.”

Jonah continued: “So often, people think that if we name sin for what it is, that we’re judging people. No, we’re just pointing out reality. It is not a matter of judgment to say abortion is a sin. It is not a matter of judgment to say that homosexual activity is a sin. It is a matter of simply stating the truth of the Gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ.”

A few hours later at the march — while 80 Orthodox seminarians from New York and Pennsylvania stood, shivering, underneath a large “Orthodox Christians for Life” sign — Jonah told his listeners to stand firm against “the plague of abortion.” He received a rousing ovation. As he swept away down the steps, various clergy kissed his hand, and Washington’s Cardinal Donald Wuerl came up to greet him.

Read the rest here.

Patriarch Kirill, Cardinal Koch speak about Catholic-Orthodox partnership

Cardinal Kurt Koch, the president of the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity, met on March 16 with Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill.

Neither the Vatican nor the Russian Orthodox Church released a detailed report on the meeting, which was held in Moscow. But the Orthodox patriarchate indicated that Kirill had stressed his support for Pope Benedict in the effort to combat secularization, particularly in Europe. The Russian prelate also commented on the positive trend in relations between Rome and Moscow.

Cardinal Koch was visiting Moscow for the first time since his appointment as the Vatican’s chief ecumenist. Prior to his meeting with Patriarch Kirill, he had spoken earlier in the week with Metropolitan Hilarion, his counterpart as ecumenical-affairs officer for the Moscow patriarchate.

Source.

UN Approves Air Attacks And No Fly Zone Against Libya

UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations Security Council approved a measure on Thursday authorizing “all necessary measures” to protect Libyan civilians from harm at the hands of forces loyal to Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi.

The measure allows not only a no-fly zone but effectively any measures short of a ground invasion to halt attacks that might result in civilian fatalities. It comes as Colonel Qaddafi warned residents of Benghazi, Libya, the rebel capital, that an attack was imminent and promised lenient treatment for those who offered no resistance.

“We are coming tonight,” Colonel Qaddafi said. “You will come out from inside. Prepare yourselves from tonight. We will find you in your closets.”

Speaking on a call-in radio show, he promised amnesty for those “who throw their weapons away” but “no mercy or compassion” for those who fight. Explosions were heard in Benghazi early on Friday, unnerving residents there, Agence-France Presse reported.

The United States, originally leery of any military involvement in Libya, became a strong proponent of the resolution, particularly after the Arab League approved a no-fly zone, something that Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called a “game changer”

With the recent advances made by pro-Qaddafi forces in the east, there was a growing consensus in the Obama administration that imposing a no-fly zone by itself would no longer make much of a difference and that there was a need for more aggressive airstrikes that would make targets of Colonel Qaddafi’s tanks and heavy artillery — an option sometimes referred to as a no-drive zone. The United States or its allies might also send military personnel to advise and train the rebels, an official said.

In the most strident verbal attack on Colonel Qaddafi to date by an American official, Mrs. Clinton said Thursday that the Western powers had little choice but to provide critical military backing for the rebels. “We want to support the opposition who are standing against the dictator,” she told an applauding audience in Tunisia on Thursday. “This is a man who has no conscience and will threaten anyone in his way.”

She added that Colonel Qaddafi would do “terrible things” to Libya and its neighbors. “It’s just in his nature. There are some creatures that are like that.”

Read the rest here.

Great, another war. You would think two were enough. Someone explain to me exactly how this is any of our business.

Ecumenical Patriarch Excommunicates "Vassula" Ryden and Her Followers

The Orthodox Church, following strictly the shining example and teaching of the Holy Apostles, the teaching of the Fathers of the Church who have their succession, and the divinely-inspired decisions of the Ecumenical Synods, safeguards as a pearl of great price the faith of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church which the Christian plenitude experiences through their participation in the Sacraments and entire spiritual life of the divinely-founded ecclesiastical body.

Hence, whatever movement and improvised tension, personal or collective, in contempt or in breach of the dogmas of the Orthodox Christian faith and life in Christ within the Church as the only path for the salvation of our souls, all the more the self-proclaimed "supposedly charismatic" personality, is rejected always as an unacceptable innovation.

In this spirit, and for the beneficial protection of our pious Orthodox plenitude from dangerous spiritual confusion, who do not know well matters underlying the risk of delusion, rejects from the Mother Church Vasiliki Paraskevis Pentaki - Ryden, widely known as a "Vassula", and her organization founded under the title "True Life In God" which rashly and frivolously proposes teachings based on the supposed "direct dialogue between her and the Founder of the Church Jesus Christ our Lord", and those conquered by her and the supporters of "True Life In God", which deviate arbitrarily from the God-given teaching of the Church, but also scandalize the Orthodox phronema of pious believers.

Hence, we call upon the proponents of these unacceptable innovations and the supporters who maintain them, who henceforth are not admitted to ecclesiastical communion, not only to not be involved in the pastoral work of the local Holy Metropolis, but also to not preach their novel teachings, to prevent the appropriate sanctions under the Holy Canons.

Read the rest here.

Hat Tip: Carlos Antonio Palad of Rorate Caeli

While the EP is not the Orthodox Pope, he is the First Hierarch of the Church. When he speaks with this kind of language his words carry great weight. My guess is that this will put pressure on the Patriarchate of Alexandria, which has tolerated this woman's heretical nonsense for far too long to deal with her. She has now been formally or informally barred from communion by most of the canonical Orthodox churches.

Royal Wedding: 'Skip the gifts and give to charity'

Prince William and Kate Middleton have asked wedding guests and well wishers to donate to their own special charitable fund rather than give them presents, St James’s Palace has announced.

The gift fund will support 26 charities of the couple’s choice, incorporating the armed forces, children, the elderly, art, sport and conservation.

Each was hand-picked and chosen with careful thought.

Many of the organisations are small local projects with extremely limited budgets and they spoke yesterday of their great delight and surprise at being chosen, acknowledging that the recognition alone was a real boost.

Read the rest here.

Very classy. Maybe this will start a trend.

Libyan army calls for Benghazi to surrender as Saif Gaddafi says town will fall within 48 hours

The Libyan army has told people in Benghazi to lay down their arms as its troops advanced closer to the rebel stronghold for what could be the decisive battle in the uprising against Muammar Gaddafi.

Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam, speaking to French-based TV channel Euronews, said his troops were near Benghazi and "everything will be over in 48 hours".

The town of Ajbadiyah, 150 km (90 miles) south of Benghazi on the Gulf of Sirte, was firmly in government hands after most of its rebel defenders retreated under fire from a withering artillery barrage on Tuesday. Those who stayed had now handed over their guns, a rebel officer said.

In Benghazi, seat of the insurgents' provisional national council, the mood was a mixture of defiance and nervousness, with some citizens predicting a bloodbath and others confident the rebels would still snatch victory against the government offensive.

Read the rest here.

American Who Worked for C.I.A. Freed in Pakistan

LAHORE, Pakistan — American officials won the release on Wednesday of a C.I.A. contractor under investigation for two counts of murder here after they spent more than six hours with the families of the victims, the lawyer for the families Asad Manzoor Butt said.

The families accepted a payment of money, ending the case, Mr. Butt said. He did not specify the amount.

The Punjab law minister, Rana Sanaullah, confirmed on television that payment had been agreed to and paid, and that the contractor, Raymond A. Davis, 36, had been handed over to the United States consul general.

Mr. Butts also said he thought Mr. Davis had already left the jail. A five-car convoy from the United States consulate left the Kot Lakhpat jail at 4:20 p.m., local time.

Read the rest here.

Emperor Delivers Rare Address on Nuclear Crisis

TOKYO — Emperor Akihito of Japan, in an unprecedented television address to the nation, said on Wednesday that he was “deeply worried” about the ongoing nuclear crisis at several stricken reactors and asked for people to act with compassion “to overcome these difficult times.”

An official with the Imperial Household Agency said that Akihito had never before delivered a nationally televised address of any kind, not even in the aftermath of the Kobe earthquake in 1995 that killed more than 6,000 people. The address was videotaped.

The remarks on Wednesday afternoon were the first public comments from Akihito, 77, since a devastating earthquake and tsunami struck northern Japan last Friday, and they underscored the urgency of multiple crises confronting the country. Akihito expressed his concern for the survivors of the disaster and thanked the rescue teams working under difficult conditions in the north.

Read the rest here.

Food Prices See Sharpest Rise in 36 years

WASHINGTON — Wholesale prices surged last month at their fastest pace in just over 1-1/2 years due to higher energy costs and the steepest rise in food prices in 36 years.

Excluding those volatile categories, inflation was tame.

The Labor Department said Wednesday that the Producer Price Index rose a seasonally adjusted 1.6 percent in February — double the 0.8 percent rise in the previous month. Outside of food and energy costs, the core index ticked up 0.2 percent, less than January's 0.5 percent rise.

The report comes one day after the Federal Reserve said it expected the upward inflation pressure from energy and other commodities to prove transitory, but that it would keep a close eye on inflation and inflation expectations.

Read the rest here.

No need for alarm folks. The Federal Reserve assures us that inflation is not a problem.

Japan: For Elderly, Echoes of World War II Horrors

NATORI, Japan — Hirosato Wako stared at the ruins of his small fishing hamlet: skeletons of shattered buildings, twisted lengths of corrugated steel, corpses with their hands twisted into claws. Only once before had he seen anything like it: World War II.

“I lived through the Sendai air raids,” said Mr. Wako, 75, referring to the Allied bombings of the northeast’s largest city. “But this is much worse.”

For the elderly who live in the villages lining Japan’s northeastern coast, it is a return to a past of privation that their children have never known. As in so much of the Japanese countryside, young people have largely fled, looking for work in the city. The elderly who remained are facing devastation and possible radiation contamination, a challenge equal only to the task this generation faced when its defeated, despairing nation had to rebuild from the rubble of the war.

Read the rest here.

Easing the Way in Therapy With the Aid of an Animal

We’ve all seen guide dogs that can direct blind people around obstacles and tell them when it is safe to cross the street. Perhaps you also know of guide dogs for the deaf, which can alert people to a ringing phone, a doorbell or a smoke alarm, or dogs that can warn people with epilepsy of an incipient seizure, giving them time to get to a safe place before they lose consciousness.

Dr. Marty Becker, veterinarian and author (with Danelle Morton) of “The Healing Power of Pets” (Hyperion, 2002), tells of a golden retriever named Dakota, who was able to warn his master, Mike Lingenfelter, that a heart attack was imminent and alert Mr. Lingenfelter to the need to leave a stressful situation and take preventive medication.

“This dog is leading me through life,” Mr. Lingenfelter told Dr. Becker. “All I’m doing is following the dog.”

In recent decades, there have been countless such stories of animals helping to improve and even preserve the lives of children and adults with all manner of diseases and disabilities. Trained dogs are being used to help keep children with autism safe and to break the “freeze” that can afflict people with Parkinson’s disease when they try to walk. And dogs, cats, bunnies and birds are often brought to schools and institutions, as well as to hospitals and nursing homes, where they help to relax and inspire residents and distract patients from their health problems.

Read the rest here.

Japan Disaster Latest

• Most Workers Evacuated From Damaged Plant
• More Radiation Leaks
• Hundreds of Thousands Told To Stay Indoors
• Fears That Radiation Could Enter Food Chain
• Tokyo In Near Panic As Stores Are Stripped
  
• Thousands of Bodies Wash Ashore
• Critical Shortage of Coffins and Body Bags
• Millions Homeless Seeking Food and Shelter
  
• Tokyo Stock Exchange Drops 10% As World Financial Markets Nosedive

Read the latest news here.

Please pray for the suffering people of Japan.