Snow Tsunami Slams Buffalo NY

I am a native New Yorker and as such am no stranger to snow and ice. Those who live in Buffalo however take a certain perverse pride in their weather. This westernmost of New York's big cities is practically synonymous with ugly winter storms that roll in from the Great Lakes dumping a foot or more of snow at a time... with unpleasant regularity and near daily snow squalls dropping an inch or three. In Buffalo it has been said that there are two seasons, winter and the 4th of July. And one can well believe it with annual snowfalls often topping 100(!) inches. So let's just say that these people are not in the habit of fainting at the first sight of the white fluffy stuff.

But the storm now battering these hardy folk is one likely to be long remembered. Over the next 48 hrs or so Buffalo is expecting somewhere in the neighborhood of six feet of snow (70+ inches in various places). How bad is that? It is bad enough that Buffalo is paying this storm their ultimate tribute.

They are giving the kids a day off from school tomorrow.

Hotel guests ‘fined’ for leaving bad review on TripAdvisor

A couple have been "fined" £100 by a Blackpool hotel they described as a "rotten stinking hovel" on travel review website TripAdvisor.

Tony and Jan Jenkinson posted the negative comments after being unimpressed with the one night they spent at the Broadway Hotel.

The couple, from Whitehaven, later found £100 charged to their credit card. The hotel said its policy was to charge for "bad" reviews.

Read the rest here.

More Evidence of Global Warming

All 50 states are currently experiencing sub-freezing temperatures. Yes, even Hawaii.

Questions About Sharpton’s Finances Accompany His Rise in Influence

The Rev. Al Sharpton, who came to prominence as an imposing figure in a track suit, shouting indignantly at the powerful, stood quietly on a stage last month at the Four Seasons restaurant, his now slender frame wrapped in a finely tailored suit, as men in power lined up to exclaim their admiration for him.

Mayor Bill de Blasio and Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo hailed him as a civil rights icon. President Obama sent an aide to read a message commending Mr. Sharpton’s “dedication to the righteous cause of perfecting our union.” Major corporations sponsored the lavish affair...

...Obscured in his ascent, however, has been his troubling financial past, which continues to shadow his present.

Mr. Sharpton has regularly sidestepped the sorts of obligations most people see as inevitable, like taxes, rent and other bills. Records reviewed by The New York Times show more than $4.5 million in current state and federal tax liens against him and his for-profit businesses. And though he said in recent interviews that he was paying both down, his balance with the state, at least, has actually grown in recent years. His National Action Network appears to have been sustained for years by not paying federal payroll taxes on its employees.

With the tax liability outstanding, Mr. Sharpton traveled first class and collected a sizable salary, the kind of practice by nonprofit groups that the United States Treasury’s inspector general for tax administration recently characterized as “abusive,” or “potentially criminal” if the failure to turn over or collect taxes is willful.

Read the rest here.

Thanks to Jonathan Gruber for revealing Obamacare deception

Democrats are desperately distancing themselves from Obamacare architect Jonathan Gruber. He “never worked on our staff,” President Obama said this weekend in Brisbane, Australia, (even though Gruber was paid almost $400,000 by his administration, is the intellectual author of the individual mandate and met in the Oval Office with Obama and the head of the Congressional Budget Office to pore over the bill). “I don’t know who he is,” Nancy Pelosi declared on Capitol Hill (even though she repeatedly cited him by name during the Obamacare debate).

The reason Democrats are running from Gruber is the same reason conservatives should be thanking him: Gruber has exposed what liberals really think of the American people.

Read the rest here.

Death: Forget closure, normal grief can last forever

Queen Victoria wore mourning for the rest of her life after Prince Albert's death.

When I was three years old my brother was born. He had a heart condition, and after being in and out of hospital for the whole of his little life, he died when I was five. The time after he was gone was a long and empty period of terrible loneliness and the hollow aching of grief. His death has quite literally marked me, the way all tragedies mark us, particularly when they happen when we’re small.

Even after all these years, there is still a raw place inside that is close enough to the surface to open up again with any big blow and all but double its impact. Even after years of therapy. Even with a long and involved period of training to be a therapist. Even with everything I supposedly know about losses and their impact.

There’s nothing particularly special about this story. While most of us imagine grief should be temporary, our optimism about the transience of loss is not supported by the facts. The death of children and of siblings affects the quality of the rest of our lives. The death of a parent when we are young has long-term measurable impacts on our mental health.

Closure doesn’t appear to be an accurate metaphor for the general course of our human bereavements. Instead, “normal” grief can last in some form for a lifetime.

Read the rest here.

Britain: PM Cameron Issues Blunt Warning on Global Economy

LONDON — In a starkly downbeat assessment, British Prime Minister David Cameron has written that the world’s economy could be headed for another fall.

“Six years on from the financial crash that brought the world to its knees, red warning lights are once again flashing on the dashboard of the global economy,” Cameron writes in a piece published in Monday’s edition of Britain’s Guardian newspaper.

The prime minister cites a euro-zone economy that is “teetering on the brink of a possible third recession, with high unemployment, falling growth and the real risk of falling prices too.” He also references emerging market economies that “were the driver of growth in the early stages of the recovery” but are now slowing, as well as stalled trade talks, instability in the Middle East, war in Ukraine and the spread of Ebola.

Read the rest here.

Cardinal O’Malley: ‘If I Were Founding a Church, I’d Love to Have Women Priests’

Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston has said that were he to start a church he would “love to have women priests”.

The outspoken remarks came during an interview with 60 Minutes on American television network CBS.

Asked by reporter Norah O’Donnell whether excluding women from the Church hierarchy was immoral, Cardinal O’Malley said, “Christ would never ask us to do something immoral. It’s a matter of vocation and what God has given to us.”

Read the rest here.

The Great Immigration Betrayal

IN the months since President Obama first seem poised — as he now seems poised again — to issue a sweeping executive amnesty for millions of illegal immigrants, we’ve learned two important things about how this administration approaches its constitutional obligations.

First, we now have a clear sense of the legal arguments that will be used to justify the kind of move Obama himself previously described as a betrayal of our political order. They are, as expected, lawyerly in the worst sense, persuasive only if abstracted from any sense of precedent or proportion or political normality.

Second, we now have a clearer sense of just how anti-democratically this president may be willing to proceed.

Read the rest here.

Vatican Approves Married Clergy for Eastern Rite in the West

The Vatican has taken steps to end a long simmering controversy. With the approval of Pope Francis, most restrictions in the diaspora on ordaining married men, or importing married clergy from the East are being lifted. The broad enforcement of the Latin discipline of celibacy on all Eastern Rite clergy in the West has been a sore point for more than a century.

Details here.

Not Your Typical Christmas Ad

It's popping up all over the web, but if you haven't already seen it, here is the Christmas advertisement from the British supermarket chain Sainsbury's. While I don't generally get sappy over advertising, this one struck a nerve. For those unfamiliar with the background, it's based on the very real Christmas truce of 1914 during World War I. Read about it here.

Axios!

Statement of the Brotherhood of the Orthodox Clergy Association of Houston and Southeast Texas on the Comments of Fr. Robert Arida on Homosexuality...

Read it here.

Former British PM Major Warms UK May Quit European Union Over Immigration

Britain has just a 50-50 chance of remaining in the European Union, Sir John Major has warned, saying that opposition to continued membership of the European Union has reached “a critical mass”.

In a speech in Berlin on Thursday Sir John warned that Britain’s frustration was “no game”, adding: “There is a very real risk of separation that could damage the future of the United Kingdom – and Europe as a whole.”

Read the rest here.

Defying the Law; Obama Prepares to Govern By Executive Order

WASHINGTON — President Obama will ignore angry protests from Republicans and announce as soon as next week a broad overhaul of the nation’s immigration enforcement system that will protect up to five million undocumented immigrants from the threat of deportation and provide many of them with work permits, according to administration officials who have direct knowledge of the plan.

Read the rest here.

Many banks defy bankruptcy rulings and demand payment

In the netherworld of consumer debt, there are zombies: bills that cannot be killed even by declaring personal bankruptcy.

Tens of thousands of Americans who went through bankruptcy are still haunted by debts long after — sometimes as long as a decade after — federal judges have extinguished the bills in court.

The problem, state and federal officials suspect, is that some of the nation’s biggest banks ignore bankruptcy court discharges, which render the debts void. Paying no heed to the courts, the banks keep the debts alive on credit reports, essentially forcing borrowers to make payments on bills that they do not legally owe.

Read the rest here.

Banks are the enemy!

U.S. Sailors Assaulted by Turkish Nationalists in Istanbul

ISTANBUL — Members of a Turkish nationalist youth group assaulted three visiting American sailors in Istanbul on Wednesday, hurling balloons filled with red paint at them, putting white sacks over their heads and calling them murderers.

A video posted online by the group, the Turkish Youth Union, or T.G.B., shows a dozen of its members staging an anti-American protest in the touristy Eminonu district and attacking the sailors, who were not in uniform, in broad daylight.

The sailors had just disembarked from the guided missile destroyer Ross, docked in Istanbul for a few days. They escaped and returned to the ship, and all shore leave for the crew was canceled.

Read the rest here.

Christmas stricken from schools calendar

Christmas and Easter have been stricken from next year’s school calendar in Montgomery County. So have Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah.

Montgomery’s Board of Education voted 7 to 1 Tuesday to eliminate references to all religious holidays on the published calendar for 2015-2016, a decision that followed a request from Muslim community leaders to give equal billing to the Muslim holy day of Eid al-Adha.

In practical terms, Montgomery schools will still be closed for the Christian and Jewish holidays, as in previous years, and students will still get the same days off, as planned.

Board members said Tuesday that the new calendar will reflect days the state requires the system to be closed and that it will close on other days that have shown a high level of student and staff absenteeism. Though those days happen to coincide with major Christian and Jewish holidays, board members made clear that the days off are not meant to observe those religious holidays, which they say is not legally permitted.

Read the rest here.

Geert Wilders on the Islamization of Europe

I come to America with a mission. All is not well in the old world. There is a tremendous danger looming, and it is very difficult to be optimistic. We might be in the final stages of the Islamization of Europe. This not only is a clear and present danger to the future of Europe itself, it is a threat to America and the sheer survival of the West. The danger I see looming is the scenario of America as the last man standing. The United States as the last bastion of Western civilization, facing an Islamic Europe. In a generation or two, the US will ask itself: who lost Europe? Patriots from around Europe risk their lives every day to prevent precisely this scenario form becoming a reality.

Read the rest here.

Armistice Day

What if Mormon Missionaries Were Honest About Their Beliefs?

Islamic Prayer Service to be Held in National Cathedral

WASHINGTON -- Washington National Cathedral and five Muslim groups announced today the first celebration of Muslim Friday prayers (Jumaa) at the Cathedral on Friday, November 14.

Read the rest here. (Scroll down a bit)

The Leader of the Loyal Opposition

It's been expected for a while now, but for the record Pope Paul VII has removed Cardinal Burke from his position as the chief justice for the Catholic Church's version of the Supreme Court. He has been appointed as chaplain for the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, a position that is being universally referred to as purely ceremonial. As far as I am aware no one on either side of the increasingly sharp divide within the Catholic Church is pretending that this is anything other than a very public de-facto dismissal.

On the upside, Burke's status as the leader of the loyal opposition has now been firmly cemented. May God grant him many years!

Fr Robert Arida: Why Don’t You Become Episcopalian?

It's getting a lot of attention in the blogosphere. An Orthodox priest (OCA) recently posted a silly piece suggesting we take a hint from the Episcopalians and embrace the modern culture of everything goes. Now Fr. Johannes Jacobse (AOANA) has posted a scathing response that ends with the question in the title of the post. Read it here.

See also these related discussions from Rod Dreher and Christopher Johnson. And still more from Dreher on the broad based and very sharp criticism being directed at Fr. Robert's essay.

HT: Dr.Tighe

Supreme Court Likely to Take Gay Marriage Case

I am not easily surprised in politics or constitutional legal cases, but yesterday's decision by a three judge panel of the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals upholding four state bans on homosexual marriage was a bolt from the blue. With that decision we now have incompatible opinions on a critical constitutional issue at the appellate court level. I see no means by which the Supreme Court can continue to duck the matter. They will take the case, perhaps even hearing arguments late during this term.

An issue I had thought settled has suddenly become very unsettled. However, while I am extremely pleased, I will let the champagne chill until the SCOTUS hands down its ruling.

A Republican Rout

It's 9PM PST (midnight on the right coast) and the GOP has regained control of the US Senate. The exact margin won't be known for a while, but it is possible that when the dust settles they may have gained a stunning nine seats. Meanwhile in the generally overlooked House of Representatives, the GOP looks like it will enjoy its biggest majority since the 1920s.

I think Mr. Obama is in for a tough final two years in office.

Pakistani Christian Couple Is Tortured and Burned to Death by Angry Mob

LAHORE, Pakistan — An enraged mob tortured a Pakistani Christian couple and incinerated their bodies in a brick kiln in eastern Pakistan on Tuesday after they were accused of burning a Quran, police officials said.

Read the rest here.

St. Nicholas at Ground Zero

A short video showing the plans for the reconstructed St.Nicholas that was flattened on 9-11. They seem to have taken their inspiration from the new Roman Catholic cathedral in LA. Too big. Too modern. Way too sterile. This was a place where simplicity with traditional Orthodox iconography and interior design would have been far better. Color me unimpressed.

HT: Fr.Z

Decree of Excommunication by the Union of Eritrean Monasteries Against the Usurper Yof­tahe Dimet­ros

Spiritual greetings to you.

It is common knowledge that for over ten years, you, the individuals known as Mr. Yoftahe Dimetros Gebre-mariam and the priest Habtom Russom, have been administrating the Orthodox Tewahdo Church of Eritrea.

It is a truth known to everyone that during your administration, the church that is ancient, Apostolic, Holy and a bastion of peace and unity has been turned into a place of bedlam; its vision distorted; its mission disrupted; and enveloped by a fog of divisiveness which has placed her at a great peril. This is due to your wicked actions which fell outside the parameters of the rule of law. Most of all, you’ve rendered a church that was a source of faith, good moral behavior; a teacher, guide and protector of law and order, and the book of God into a haven for hypocrites and self-serving beasts by destroying its pillars of law and sacraments. You’re the cause and effect of this saddening phenomenon that is exhausting the church and wrecking havoc on it; this is the truth we have been closely following and carefully weighing to determine its veracity. You’re therefore primarily responsible for all the Church’s problems that have gotten worse under your tenure as administrators.

In regard to this, we, the Union of Eritrean Monasteries, have advised and warned you repeatedly, directly and through the Holy Synod and other concerned parties, in writing and verbally, to take quick corrective decisions to nib the problems in the bud. In spite of this, you failed to awaken your conscience and correct the way you conducted and ran your affairs; but you also misconstrued our patience and foolishly led the Church from bad to worse; making her slide backwards like a crab. We’ve become keenly aware and certain that your labor and mission is not to promote the interests and growth of the Church, but to hasten its demise and disintegration so you can serve your own individual interests and gain fame.

Although it is very difficult to compile and list all the damage you’ve incurred and are incurring on the Holy Orthodox Tewahdo Church, but in order to clarify all your misdeeds and transgressions with the hope that it might help you to repent, we’ve classified them into nine categories:

1. You’ve repeatedly violated and allowed the violation of the pillars of sacraments, canons and the traditions of the Church;

2. You’ve unlawfully taken over and monopolized the powers of the Holy Synod and the papacy of His Holiness the Patriarch, and the Archbishops of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church; and in their name and without their consent, you’ve taken illegal actions;

3. You’ve become partial and a cover to the hypocrites; and served them well by providing them solid ground;

4. You’ve strangled all aspects of the Church’s apostolic mission and spiritual activities and weakened the Church; labored to weaken and destroy the Union of Monasteries;

5. You’ve committed and allowed acts that brought in the causes for strife and dissension and put the unity of the Church in jeopardy;

6. You’ve being using your illegally acquired powers and dictatorial administrations to excommunicate and harass innocent servants of the Church, among whom were fathers from the monasteries and without any due process;

7. You’ve enabled corruptions and wickedness (contrary to spirituality) to spread within the Church.

In spite of your serious transgressions on the canons, religious traditions, the holy Church and sacredness, we’ve repeatedly reached out and implored you to correct your dictatorial wickedness, but you’ve failed to head our advice. We, the Union of Monasteries, should not allow our limitless patience to be taken for granted; our Church be the play-ground of anyone who dares to come and highjack it as if it doesn’t have owners; we can’t tie our hands behind our backs and watch, for that will be an utter abdication of our most important spiritual obligations. We, therefore, excommunicate you, Mr. Yoftahe Dimetros Gebremariam, and the priest, Habtom Russom Habte, in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, by the authority of Peter and Paul, the three hundred eighteen fathers of the Orthodox faith, Timothy the Apostle, Abune Selema Kessate Birhan and all holy fathers of the monasteries of Eritrea, effective this hour.

Read the rest here.

A sad night for the kids

About a half hour before sunset a cold steady rain, the first in ages, started to fall. It has been gaining in intensity and I have not had a single trick or treater come to the door. As badly as we need the rain, its timing really is pretty crappy. I am not so old that I can't recall the joy of what I now refer to as national juvenile diabetes day. And Halloween on a Friday night, with no school the next day to limit how late you can roam in search of free candy, was the best.

Alas this night is not fit for man nor beast nor spook.

Quote of the day...

"At this very critical moment, there is a strong sense that the church is like a ship without a rudder.”

-Archbishop Raymond Card. Burke, Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura

Source

A Liberal Catholic Ponders the Possibility of a Conservative Schism

Until this weekend, I had largely believed in the liberal narrative which holds that Pope Francis’s reforms of the Catholic church are unstoppable. But the conservative backlash has been so fierce and so far-reaching that for the first time a split looks a real, if distant, possibility.

One leading conservative, the Australian Cardinal George Pell, published over the weekend a homily he had prepared for the traditional Latin mass at which he started ruminating on papal authority. Pope Francis, he said, was the 266th pope, “and history has seen 37 false or antipopes”.

Why mention them, except to raise the possibility that Francis might turn out to be the 38th false pope, rather than the 266th real one?

This is a fascinating nudge in the direction of an established strain of conservative fringe belief: that liberalising popes are not in fact real popes, but imposters, sent by the devil. The explanation has an attractively deranged logic: if the pope is always right, as traditionalists would like to believe, and if this particular pope is clearly wrong, as traditionalists also believe, then obviously this pope is not the real pope. Splinter groups have held this view ever since the liberalising papacy of Pope John XXIII at the start of the 1960s. I don’t think that’s what Pell meant, but it was odd and threatening to bring the subject up at all.

Read the rest here.

Survey Shows Poor Grasp of Doctrine by Evangelicals

My guess is that similar rather embarrassing results would be returned by a survey of Catholic or Orthodox laity. In any case you can read it here.

HT: Dr. Tighe

US Navy Bows to Political Correctness

The Navy said it will deploy enlisted female sailors in 2016 aboard submarines with female officers already assigned to them. 

In July, the Navy announced that enlisted female sailors will begin deploying on submarines in 2016. The enlisted women will be placed on ships with female officers where those naval officers can function as role-models and mentors, Connor said. 

"We will build upon the ships that have women officers to lead and bring in senior women at the chief petty officer level just like we did with the women supply officers," he explained.

Read the rest here.

Idiocy.

No Posting Until Wednesday

I am traveling.

Oil Slump and Sanctions Are Hitting Russian Economy Hard

"...Russia is already in a perfect storm," said Lubomir Mitov, Moscow chief for the Institute of International Finance. "Rich Russians are converting as many roubles as they can into foreign currencies and storing the money in vaults. There is chronic capital flight of 4pc to 5pc of GDP each year but this is no longer covered by the current account surplus, and now sanctions have caused foreign capital to turn negative, too."

"The financing gap has reached 3pc of GDP, and they have to repay $150bn in principal to foreign creditors over the next 12 months. It will be very dangerous if reserves fall below $330bn," he said.

"The benign outcome is a return to the stagnation of the Brezhnev era [Застой in Russian] in the early 1980s, without a financial collapse. The bad outcome could be a lot worse," he said.

Read the rest here.

Big Banks Warned to Clean Up Their Act

Federal Reserve Bank of New York President William Dudley delivered a stern warning to the largest banks in a speech earlier this week. Either clean up your illegal and unethical behavior through "cultural change" from within, he said, or be broken into smaller, more manageable pieces. 

In his conclusion, the warning was direct and explicit:

Read the rest here.

Sweden Hunts Foreign Submarine

In an echo from the Cold War, Swedish military forces are reported to be hunting for an unidentified submarine in their territorial waters. The Russians, everyone's first suspect, heatedly denied that any of their vessels are involved. On a side note, there also no Russian troops in Ukraine.

Met. Hilarion Addresses Catholic Synod on the Family

As one would expect when we are talking about Met. Hilarion, his address was both direct and charitable.

Byzantine Texas has the full text. 

Second Ebola Case Reported (and a little perspective)

The United States now has its second confirmed case of Ebola contracted here and the alarm among government officials and the general population is clearly rising.

On a side note; statistics suggest that somewhere between 85-90 people died yesterday in motor-vehicle crashes... and a similar number are likely to be killed by the end of today. Going by the most recent available numbers; around 32,000 will be killed in car wrecks in 2014.

I know I know... who cares about that! TWO PEOPLE HAVE EBOLA!!!

An update and slow posting for a while

At long last dad has recovered to the point where he is mostly able to take care of himself, and so, after six months(!) I packed up yesterday and went down to see mom for a couple weeks before I head back to the west coast. The internet connection at mom's is pretty poor and I expect to be busy with other things, so please bear with me if there are gaps in posting.

Roman Catholic Family Synod: Early report called a "pastoral earthquake"

A document summing up the synod so far has been described as a “pastoral earthquake” by a leading Vatican commentator.

The document, called the relatio post disceptationem, was read aloud in the synod hall this morning. It has been drafted by synod fathers selected by Pope Francis and can be read in full here.

The document calls on the Church to build on the “positive aspects” of relationships that are deemed irregular – such as between remarried couples or same-sex partners – and keep the “doors always wide open” to people in those relationships.

Read the rest here.

Everything I have read about this synod from Roman Catholic sources and blogs has been deeply disturbing.

Going Dutch: How to run a functional pension system

Imagine a place where pensions were not an ever-deepening quagmire, where the numbers told the whole story and where workers could count on a decent retirement.

Imagine a place where regulators existed to make sure everyone followed the rules.

That place might just be the Netherlands. And it could provide an example for America’s troubled cities, or for states like Illinois and New Jersey that have promised more in pension benefits than they can deliver.

“The rest of the world sort of laughs at the United States — how can a great country like the United States get so many things wrong?” said Keith Ambachtsheer, a Dutch pension specialist who works at the University of Toronto — specifically at its Rotman International Center for Pension Management, a global clearinghouse of information on how successful retirement systems work.

Read the rest here.

Fred Reed on Cops

Two very good posts by brother Fred on police and the problems of policing.

Here  and... Here

I sometimes wish that people knew more about cops, who they are, and the world they live in. There are pretty good cops (most) and very bad ones (few) but accounts in the press usually bear little relation to the truth. What happens on the streets is not as clear, not nearly as clear, as the immaculately coifed indignations of the flickering screen would have you think. Permit me a few examples of routine ambiguity.

First, though, a journalistically unwelcome reality: Almost everyone charged by the police is guitly, no matter what Jesse Jackson thinks. There are two reasons. First, the perps are almost all caught in the act: They are swerving all over the road and blow museum-pickled on the Alka-Sensor, or caught coming out the window with the TV set, or the car is reported stolen and they are driving it, or caught slinging rock and it’s in their possession. Second, the case load is so great in the cities that the DA won’t paper a case unless he is sure he will win. The cops know this, and know the DA will raise hell with them if they send him iffy-maybe-could-be cases, so they don’t.

Cops engage in, and have to engage in, a lot of Not Quite by the Rules policing (NQBTR). Sometimes the rules just don’t quite work. For example, the aging widow in DC who didn’t sell in time when the neighborhood went bad and drug dealers started hanging on her corner. Property values died and she can’t sell for enough to buy elsewhere, and she is afraid to leave to walk to the grocery store past a cloud of dirtballs. The cops tell the dealers, “Get your sorry butts off this corner, now, and don’t come back.”

It isn’t legal, but the druggies don’t know it. Or maybe they do, but know better than to push their luck. They move to another corner, the old woman gets her groceries, and everybody is happy. Got a better answer? I don't...

Potentially major advance reported in treating type 1 Diabetes

Some good news for a change...

Scientists are closer to a potential stem cell treatment for type 1 diabetes.

In a new article in the journal Cell, Douglas Melton, co-director of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute (and one of the 2009 TIME 100) and his colleagues describe how they made the first set of pancreatic cells that can sense and respond to changing levels of sugar in the blood and churn out the proper amounts of insulin.

It’s a critical first step toward a more permanent therapy for type 1 diabetics, who currently have to rely on insulin pumps that infuse insulin when needed or repeated injections of the hormone in order to keep their blood sugar levels under control. Because these patients have pancreatic beta cells that don’t make enough insulin, they need outside sources of the hormone to break down the sugars they eat.

Read the rest here.

Heading West

I am finally going home at the end of the month and I know how I want to travel....

Anyone got a spare time machine I can borrow?

Thank You Mr. President

Walmart to End Health Coverage for 30,000

More criminal charges for big banks

The Justice Department is preparing a fresh round of attacks on the world’s biggest banks, again questioning Wall Street’s role in a broad array of financial markets.

With evidence mounting that a number of foreign and American banks colluded to alter the price of foreign currencies, the largest and least regulated financial market, prosecutors are aiming to file charges against at least one bank by the end of the year, according to interviews with lawyers briefed on the matter. Ultimately, several banks are expected to plead guilty.

Read the rest here.

I am willing to bet a steak dinner that no one will go to jail. Any takers?

The writing on the wall

The fight is not over, but the end is no longer in much doubt. The Supreme Court's surprising decision to let stand five pro-gay marriage decisions from the appellate courts effectively signals the top court's lack of interest in slowing or halting the advance of homosexual marriage. And since those decisions are based at least in part on the Supreme Court's DOMA ruling, this is going to be seen as a green light by the lower courts in every state to overturn laws protecting natural marriage.

Basically it's all over except for the actual court cases which will still have to be done on a mostly state by state basis. But those cases have pretty much been reduced to a legal formality.

In Defense of World War I

Now here is something one does not often see. Noted historian Max Hastings offers a defense of the necessity, and even the moral imperative of the First World War from the British perspective. While I remain unconvinced, I will concede that Hastings makes some cogent points. Had Britain stayed out and the Kaiser's army triumphed by the end of 1914 (a very real possibility), it is difficult to imagine Great Britain not falling under the shadow of a German dominated Europe. But of course, Hasting's arguments carry little weight in the debate over American intervention in the war.

If California doesn't get rain this winter ...

Each year from October to the following September, California measures its rainfall and snow accumulation.

This past season didn't take much figuring. It turned out to be the fourth driest year ever for the state, as it only got around 60 percent of the average precipitation.

As California starts a new water measurement cycle—and faces a fourth year of severe drought—another dry winter could be a tipping point for the country's top agricultural producer.

"This year is crucial," said Michael Hanemann, professor and environmental economist at the W.P Carey School of Business at Arizona State University.

"A third winter of low rain would be extremely painful," he said. "If we have one or two dry winters we can get through that. But the lack of water this winter would have a significant economic impact on agriculture that hasn't been felt before."

Read the rest here.

Ghosts of Colson & Neuhaus & the Real Catholic Debate

I am not going to excerpt this one. It's a longish piece that is well worth the read. See also this related article.

Saudi Arabia and the Wreckovation of Mecca

WHEN Malcolm X visited Mecca in 1964, he was enchanted. He found the city “as ancient as time itself,” and wrote that the partly constructed extension to the Sacred Mosque “will surpass the architectural beauty of India’s Taj Mahal.”

Fifty years on, no one could possibly describe Mecca as ancient, or associate beauty with Islam’s holiest city. Pilgrims performing the hajj this week will search in vain for Mecca’s history.

The dominant architectural site in the city is not the Sacred Mosque, where the Kaaba, the symbolic focus of Muslims everywhere, is. It is the obnoxious Makkah Royal Clock Tower hotel, which, at 1,972 feet, is among the world’s tallest buildings. It is part of a mammoth development of skyscrapers that includes luxury shopping malls and hotels catering to the superrich. The skyline is no longer dominated by the rugged outline of encircling peaks. Ancient mountains have been flattened. The city is now surrounded by the brutalism of rectangular steel and concrete structures — an amalgam of Disneyland and Las Vegas.

Read the rest here.

Russian Constitutional Court Upholds Ban on Promoting Homosexuality To Minors, Interpreting It Narrowly

"...The Russian Constitutional Court has found that the contested provision does not contradict the Constitution. It also gave a constitutional law interpretation, which shows all law enforcers that a broad interpretation of the ban is unacceptable and it is compulsory for everyone, including courts. Such an approach is comparable to the approach used by the Russian Constitutional Court to recognize the unconstitutionality of some part of some provision," Constitutional Court Judge Nikolay Bondar said, commenting on the court decision.

Bondar reiterated that the Russian Constitutional Court's decision on the debated article is based on the fact that it does not envision interference in the sphere of individual autonomy, including people's sexual self-determination.

"Secondly, the court ruled that this provision is not aimed at banning or officially condemning non-traditional sexual relations. Thirdly, this article does not prevent impartial public debate of the legal status of sexual minorities, including by holding public events according to the procedures established by law. However, minors should not be involved in the relevant events, no matter whether it's rallies or debates, and the disseminated information should not be targeted at them," Bondar said.

"We not only fully recognize, but also consistently observe the main acts of international law dealing with personal rights and freedoms, including people's sexual self-determination. As to the practices used by some European countries, which, among other things, involve the deformation of traditional socio-cultural values in the sphere of family and marriage, they cannot be an example to us. Every country has a sovereign right to decide on these issues in its own way. That, naturally, is also true for Russia, and we also have the absolute right to make such decisions in accordance with our Constitution, and the moral, ethical and socio-cultural values of our society," Bondar said.

Read the rest here.

Major Anglican Meeting Likely Cancelled

An every ten year gathering of all or most of the bishops of the worldwide Anglican Communion is likely to be cancelled or at least postponed indefinitely. The decision to put off the Lambeth Conference indefinitely due to extreme differences within the communion over church doctrine and discipline is believed to be without modern precedent. The only previous postponements were a result of the two world wars.

Read the story here.
HT: T-19

The Secret Service Under Fire

It's been a tough year for the Secret Service. One after another the hits just keep coming for one of the most legendary law enforcement agencies out there. Their job description requires among other things, a readiness to step between the person they are protecting and anyone or thing that may pose a danger to their principal. In the most extreme case they would be expected to use their bodies as human shields and "take the bullet" meant for the President. (At least one agent has done exactly that.) And for 113 years they have, with one truly horrific exception, kept the President's of this country safe from harm despite several close calls.

But now we have people openly questioning whether they are up to the job after a series of scandals and revelations of embarrassing security lapses. Recently an armed man not only jumped the White House fence but managed to force his way into the Executive Mansion itself where he ran amok until finally tackled by an off duty agent.

Possibly though, the most alarming revelation has just made it into the open. Two weeks ago an armed man with a violent criminal record, who somehow had acquired a job as security contractor for the CDC, managed to ride an elevator with President Obama! That's crazy.

Sacrificing Property Rights on the Altar of Gun Rights

...As a matter of personal preference, I would certainly encourage private companies to allow their employees to bring their firearms to work, and, as a matter of taste, I would prefer it if those who have been discovered violating company policy were treated gently — especially if they were forced to break the rules in self-defense. But, unless one is to wholly rewrite the nature of American constitutional government, these decisions must be reserved to the private sector, and not to local voters or representatives. Like all of the provisions within the Bill of Rights, the Second Amendment serves as a check on government and on government alone. It does not apply to Walmart or to FedEx or to Joe’s Highway Diner. When the NRA gripes that some politicians are “heeding corporate concerns” over the predilections of gun owners, what it is really saying is that those politicians are respecting property rights and refusing to get involved where they are not welcome. At what point, one wonders, did that become undesirable to liberty-loving people?

Read the rest here.

Consecration of St. Clement's

The consecration of the church dedicated to the Great Martyr St. Clement Pope of Rome September 27, 2014

We Broke Iraq

Colin Powell famously told President George W. Bush before the Iraq invasion, "If you break it, you own it." Well, it's safe to say we broke Iraq.

That's the story I heard last week from two people who live there. I met with the Rev. Canon Andrew White — "The Vicar of Baghdad" — who serves as the chaplain to St. George's Anglican Church in the heart of Baghdad. We were joined by Sarah Ahmed, a director at White's Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East. Ahmed was born and raised in Iraq. White has lived there for 15 years.

"I was in favor of the U.S. invasion," White told me. "But we are literally 5,000 times worse than before. If you look at it, you can see it was wrong. We have gained nothing. Literally nothing. We may have had an evil dictator, but now we have total terrorism. We used to have one Saddam. Now we have thousands."

Read the rest here.
HT: T-19

Worst Op-Ed of the Month

OK, there are still a few days left in September. But I am calling it game over and handing this month's prize to Dan Emmett for this piece promoting a further militarization of our society and law enforcement. I won't even touch who he wants to put in charge of protecting the President of the United States.

North Korean Dictator Suffering from "Discomfort"

He hasn't been seen in weeks and his most recent previous appearances showed him limping. All of which has gotten the rumor mill running at full tilt. Now in a very rare admission the N. Korean state media has publicly admitted that their supreme dictator is suffering from "discomfort." Hmmm...

Read the story here.

10% of Americans Drink Half of All Booze Consumed Annually

Do you drink a glass of wine with dinner every night? That puts you in the top 30 percent of American adults in terms of per-capita alcohol consumption. If you drink two glasses, that would put you in the top 20 percent.

But in order to break into the top 10 percent of American drinkers, you would need to drink more than two bottles of wine with every dinner. And you'd still be below-average among those top 10 percenters.

The top 10 percent of American drinkers - 24 million adults over age 18 - consume, on average, 74 alcoholic drinks per week. That works out to a little more than four-and-a-half 750 ml bottles of Jack Daniels, 18 bottles of wine, or three 24-can cases of beer. In one week.

Or, if you prefer, 10 drinks per day.

Read the rest here.

A Hollywood Ending for Captain Clutch

Derek Jeter, the longtime captain of the New York Yankees, hit a walk off single in the bottom of the ninth, driving in the tie breaking run in his final at bat in Yankee Stadium. Really, was there ever any doubt?

Next stop... Cooperstown.

Flight to Israel Delayed as Ultra-Orthodox Jews Demand Gender Segregation

An El-Al flight from New York to Tel Aviv was turned into an “11-hour nightmare” after hundreds of ultra-Orthodox Jewish passengers refused to sit next to women.

Read the rest here.

The California Dream: A second bedroom

IRVINE, Calif. — This was the state that embodied the middle-class American dream: Move west, acquire a small slice of property, perhaps with a palm tree or two.

For decades, comfortable suburbs like this one just south of Los Angeles boomed with new housing tracts designed to attract the latest arrivals. When space started to come at a premium, developers moved inland, building more homes for people who could not afford the more expensive coastal areas.

But now, cities across the state are grappling with a dwindling stock of housing that can be considered affordable for anyone but the wealthiest. In much of the state, a two-bedroom apartment or home is virtually impossible to acquire with anything less than a six-figure salary.

“It’s hard to imagine how all of California doesn’t become like New York City and San Francisco, where you have very rich people and poor people but nothing in between,” said Richard K. Green, an economist and director of the Lusk Center for Real Estate at the University of Southern California. “That’s socially unhealthy and unsustainable, but it’s where we are going right now — affordability is its worst ever, and we’re seeing a hollowing-out of the middle class here.”

Read the rest here.

The Resurgence of European Anti-Semitism

SARCELLES, France — From the immigrant enclaves of the Parisian suburbs to the drizzly bureaucratic city of Brussels to the industrial heartland of Germany, Europe’s old demon returned this summer. “Death to the Jews!” shouted protesters at pro-Palestinian rallies in Belgium and France. “Gas the Jews!” yelled marchers at a similar protest in Germany.

The ugly threats were surpassed by uglier violence. Four people were fatally shot in May at the Jewish Museum in Brussels. A Jewish-owned pharmacy in this Paris suburb was destroyed in July by youths protesting Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. A synagogue in Wuppertal, Germany, was attacked with firebombs. A Swedish Jew was beaten with iron pipes. The list goes on.

Read the rest here.

ISIS Destroys Memorial & Church of Armenian Genocide in Der Zor, Syria

Fighters from the Islamic State (ISIS) reportedly desecrated and blew up the Armenian Genocide memorial complex in the eastern Syrian city of Deir ez-Zor, near the site where vast numbers of Armenian refugees were forced to march to their deaths in the early 20th century. 

The Church, located in al-Rashidyeh neighborhood, was built in 1989-1990, and consecrated a year later. 

The Armenian Genocide Memorial Church contains the remains of victims of the Armenian Genocide collected from the Syrian desert and has served as a pilgrimage site for Armenians worldwide, and every year, on April 24, special commemoration ceremonies attended by thousands of people would be held at the site. 

Read the rest here.

US and allies launch heavy air strikes on ISIS

The United States and several Middle East partners pounded Islamic State targets in Syria Tuesday with waves of warplanes and Tomahawk cruise missiles in an aggressive and risky operation marking a new phase in the conflict.

A statement issued by the U.S. Central Command early Tuesday said that a “mix of fighter, bomber, remotely-piloted aircraft and Tomahawk” cruise missiles destroyed or damaged multiple Islamic State targets in Syria, where a civil war has been raging for more than three years.

The U.S. statement said “partner nations,” including Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, “participated in or supported” the operation, although it provided no details. The involvement of these regional allies are key for the legitimacy and logistics of the operation.

Read the rest here.

When Israel is the Subject, Rabbis Tread Carefully

...Forty-seven years after Israel’s victory in the 1967 Middle East war — celebrated by Jews worldwide — Israel’s occupation of Arab lands won in battle and its standoff with the Palestinians have become so divisive that many rabbis say it is impossible to have a civil conversation about Israel in their synagogues. Debate among Jews about Israel is nothing new, but some say the friction is now fire. Rabbis said in interviews that it may be too hot to touch, and many are anguishing over what to say about Israel in their sermons during the High Holy Days, which begin Wednesday evening.

Read the rest here.

US Ramping Up Nuclear Weapons at Huge Expense

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A sprawling new plant here in a former soybean field makes the mechanical guts of America’s atomic warheads. Bigger than the Pentagon, full of futuristic gear and thousands of workers, the plant, dedicated last month, modernizes the aging weapons that the United States can fire from missiles, bombers and submarines.

It is part of a nationwide wave of atomic revitalization that includes plans for a new generation of weapon carriers. A recent federal study put the collective price tag, over the next three decades, at up to a trillion dollars.

This expansion comes under a president who campaigned for “a nuclear-free world” and made disarmament a main goal of American defense policy. The original idea was that modest rebuilding of the nation’s crumbling nuclear complex would speed arms refurbishment, raising confidence in the arsenal’s reliability and paving the way for new treaties that would significantly cut the number of warheads.

Instead, because of political deals and geopolitical crises, the Obama administration is engaging in extensive atomic rebuilding while getting only modest arms reductions in return.

Read the rest here.

OCA Holy Synod issues Preliminary Response to canonical restructuring proposals

A Preliminary Response of the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church in America to proposals with regard to canonical restructuring, a topic of discussion at the fifth meeting of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America in Dallas, TX September 15-19, 2014, was issued and distributed to all bishops on September 17.

The text of the Preliminary Response reads as follows.

Read the rest here.

Crying Rape

In the emotionally charged conversation about rape, few topics are more fraught than that of false allegations. Consider some responses to the news that singer-songwriter Conor Oberst had been falsely accused of sexual assault. Last December a woman writing in the comments section of the website xoJane, going by the name Joanie Faircloth, claimed Oberst raped her when she was a teenager. The charge spread across the Internet; Oberst denied it and brought a libel suit against Faircloth when she refused to retract the story. In July she completely recanted, admitting that she had made it all up to get attention. Yet instead of showing sympathy for the ordeal of the musician—one known for being supportive of feminist issues—some chided him for taking legal action to defend himself against a false, career-damaging charge. In the Daily Dot, pop culture critic Chris Ostendorf decried the lawsuit, arguing that it could intimidate real victims of rape and that it promoted the idea of men as victims of false accusations—even though that’s exactly what Oberst was. After Oberst dropped the suit, Bustle’s Caroline Pate praised his decision and referred to the saga as “a roller-coaster for both parties”—treating the false accuser and the wrongly accused as morally equivalent—and called the revelation of Oberst’s innocence “crushingly disappointing.”

False rape accusations are a lightning rod for a variety of reasons. Rape is a repugnant crime—and one for which the evidence often relies on one person’s word against another’s. Moreover, in the not-so-distant past, the belief that women routinely make up rape charges often led to appalling treatment of victims. However, in challenging what author and law professor Susan Estrich has called “the myth of the lying woman,” feminists have been creating their own counter-myth: that of the woman who never lies.

More than a quarter-century ago, feminist legal theorist Catharine MacKinnon wrote that “feminism is built on believing women’s accounts of sexual use and abuse by men”; today, Jessica Valenti urges us to “believe victims en masse,” because only then will we recognize the true prevalence of sexual assault. But a de facto presumption of guilt in alleged sexual offenses is as dangerous as a presumption of guilt in any crime, and for the same reasons: It upends the foundations on which our system of justice rests and creates a risk of ruining innocent lives.

Read the rest here.

After the Vote: Cameron Suggests a Federal System for Great Britain (Updated)

So Scotland is staying with the promise of what will effectively be Home Rule, with Westminster (Parliament) exercising authority over only matters of obvious interest to the entire United Kingdom, i.e. defense, foreign affairs, trade and commerce etc. Pretty much everything else will be handled by the Scottish Parliament. But now Cameron is throwing a wrench into the works and suggesting that what is good for the goose is good for the gander. He wants ALL of the UK to enjoy the same benefits. That would mean Northern Ireland, Wales and yes, England would also have the right to substantially self govern themselves. Predictably the Labor Party is up in arms. It's one thing for Scotland to be largely free of any Tory governance. It is altogether a different matter for the English to be able to govern themselves, likely with very limited input from Labor.

(Update) The BBC has a good story up discussing the constitutional, and political, issues revolving around home rule for England.

Scotland Says "No" to Secession

Scotland has decisively rejected secession from Great Britain. If the current figures hold, the margin of defeat for the nationalists will be near a super-majority of 10 pts. Such a sharp rejection of the proposal should put an end to any serious threat of dis-union for the foreseeable future and cannot be seen as anything other than an electoral rebuke to the SNP.

Still, Westminster would be gravely mistaken in taking too much comfort from this victory. A significant percentage of Scots did vote to secede.  And it is probable that at least some of the No votes were reluctant ones, likely based  more on pragmatic concerns than any affection for the United Kingdom. Clearly there is a strong undercurrent of dissatisfaction north of the border.

Six Reasons Scotland Might Vote to Secede

How will it go tomorrow? Nobody really knows. Both campaigns are supremely confident, both can point to polls that show them narrowly ahead. Both have “invisible advantages”. YES probably enjoys the support of thousands of first time voters; NO thinks that it leads comfortably on early postal votes. The NO people are satisfied that they have a “quiet” vote motivated by reason rather than passion, and that with every new outrage perpetrated by YES extremists they gain yet more silent support. One YES person put it to me that the people who tend to break toward NO are the old and English-born.

Personally, I think that YES might indeed enjoy a slight edge. Due to the following factors:

Read the rest here.

FP: A Critical Indictment of US Foreign Policy Over the Last 20 Years

...Look where the United States was in 1993. Communism had been vanquished, Saddam Hussein was out of Kuwait and fully contained, and the United States faced no hostile states of any consequence. American prestige was at an all-time high and the Israelis and Palestinians were signing the Oslo Accords. Open markets and democratic institutions were spreading and a new World Trade Organization was preparing to foster further liberalization of the world economy. Some people thought we'd reached the "End of History" and Thomas Friedman was busy congratulating America for inventing "DOScapital 6.0." The future was so bright, we had to wear shades.

Fast forward to 2014. Great-power rivalry is back, even if the level of competition has yet to reach the intensity of the Cold War or other turbulent periods in world history. The peace process in the Middle East is kaput, and most states in that region are either pariahs, politically stagnant, or convulsed by civil war. At this point, it is not outlandish to imagine a substantial redrawing of several Middle East borders and/or the emergence of several new states, along with an intensifying struggle for Palestinian civil rights inside Greater Israel. The EU is still on economic life support, the United Kingdom may lose Scotland, Ukraine is torn between East and West, and Islamic extremists are operating from Nigeria to Pakistan and beyond. Pakistan (!) and North Korea (!!) have joined the nuclear club in the past 20 years, and there are growing disputes over territorial claims and navigation rights in the waters adjacent to a rising China.

As sure as a sunrise, the GOP wants to pin the blame for a lot of these problems on President Obama. Neoconservatives like Robert Kagan -- who cannot seem to find enough quagmires to dive into -- also blame the American people for being less enthusiastic about fighting foolish wars than he is. But in fairness, there are several reasons why things have gone so poorly over the past two decades, and plenty of blame to go around.

Read the rest here.
HT: TENNPAGA

Sandro Magister: A Ceremonial Exile for Cardinal Burke

The Vatican purge of anyone connected to Pope Benedict XVI appears to be continuing apace...

ISIS May Be Targeting Pope Francis

Pope Francis is at risk of an assassination attempt by the Islamic extremists of Isil, the Vatican has been warned, ahead of his first visit to a Muslim-majority country this weekend.

As the 77-year-old pontiff prepares to travel to Albania on Sunday for a one-day visit, Iraq's ambassador to the Holy See said there were credible threats against the pontiff's life.

The leader of the Roman Catholic Church could also be vulnerable when he travels to Turkey in November, the ambassador said.

Read the rest here.

Italy's debt level heading to dangerous levels

The OECD has drastically cut its growth forecast for Italy. The depression will drag on though most of 2015.

The economy will contract by 0.4pc this year. It will remain stuck in the doldrums next year with growth of just 0.1pc.

If so, Italy’s public debt will spiral to dangerous levels next year, ever further beyond the point of no return for a country without its own sovereign currency and central bank.

“This is catastrophic for the finances of the country. We’re heading for a debt ratio of 145pc next year,” said Antonio Guglielmi, global strategist for Mediobanca.

“Who knows the maximum number that the market will tolerate? The number is already scary, but for the time being Draghi’s poker game is proving successful, and there is now the smell of QE keep the game going for a bit longer.”

Read the rest here.

Fred Reed on illegal immigration

A few thoughts for Americans (justifiably) upset by the influx of illegal Mexicans:

First, they come because you invite them. In effect you say, “Diego, don’t you cross that river. If you do, and we catch you, we’ll just put you back across the border and you can try again, perhaps the same night. When you make it across, which is easy, we’ll give you a good job and, depending on where you are, a driver’s license, schools for your kids, welfare, food stamps, and medical care. Any children you have will be US citizens and, as we all know, sooner or later you will have amnesty Now, don’t cross that river, you hear?.”

That’ll work.

Second, they come because you guys changed the immigration laws. Mexico didn’t change your laws. The illegals didn’t change your laws. You did.

Third, you let them stay. You are not deporting them. You encouraged them to come and, when they did, you let them stay, and now you complain that they came and stayed. How sensible.

Fourth, you grouse that Latinos take American jobs. They do not. It is probable that no Latino has ever taken an American’s job. How would he do it? Point a pistol at the gringo’s head and say, “Give me that shovel or I’ll blow you into gruel”?

Read the rest here.

If World War I was a bar fight

Germany, Austria and Italy are standing together in the middle of a pub when Serbia bumps into Austria and spills Austria’s pint.

Austria demands Serbia buy it a whole new suit because of the new beer stains on its trouser leg.

Germany expresses its support for Austria’s point of view.

Britain recommends that everyone calm down a bit.

Serbia points out that it can’t afford a whole suit, but offers to pay for the cleaning of Austria’s trousers.

Russia and Serbia look at Austria.

Austria asks Serbia who it’s looking at.

Russia suggests that Austria should leave its little brother alone.

Austria inquires as to whose army will assist Russia in doing so.

Germany appeals to Britain that France has been looking at it, and that its sufficiently out of order that Britain not intervene.

Britain replies that France can look at who it wants to, that Britain is looking at Germany too, and what is Germany going to do about it?

Germany tells Russia to stop looking at Austria, or Germany will render Russia incapable of such action anymore.

Britain and France ask Germany whether it’s looking at Belgium.

Turkey and Germany go off into a corner and whisper. When they come back, Turkey makes a show of not looking at anyone.

Germany rolls up its sleeves, looks at France, and punches Belgium.

France and Britain punch Germany. Austria punches Russia. Germany punches Britain and France with one hand and Russia with the other.

Russia throws a punch at Germany, but misses and nearly falls over. Japan calls over from the other side of the room that it’s on Britain’s side, but stays there. Italy surprises everyone by punching Austria.

Australia punches Turkey, and gets punched back. There are no hard feelings because Britain made Australia do it.

France gets thrown through a plate glass window, but gets back up and carries on fighting. Russia gets thrown through another one, gets knocked out, suffers massive brain damage, and wakes up with a complete personality change.

Italy throws a punch at Austria and misses, but Austria falls over anyway. Italy raises both fists in the air and runs round the room chanting.

America waits till Germany is about to fall over from sustained punching from Britain and France, then walks over and smashes it with a barstool, then pretends it won the fight all by itself.

By now all the chairs are broken and the big mirror over the bar is shattered. Britain, France and America agree that Germany threw the first punch, so the whole thing is Germany’s fault . While Germany is still unconscious, they go through its pockets, steal its wallet, and buy drinks for all their friends.

Old news

It's old news but I haven't seen it mentioned outside of the Byzantine Forum...

Fr. Constantin Simon, SJ, former vice-rector of the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome, and author of several articles and books on Russian Christianity, has been received into the Orthodox Church.

HT: Blog reader Ordo Antiquus 

Scottish nationalists 'severely underestimate the economic risks of independence

Scottish nationalists have severely underestimated the economic risks of independence, a leading think tank has concluded as it predicted a major black hole in public finances after a Yes vote.

The triple-whammy of declining oil revenues, fleeing financial services and increasing pension costs would see Scottish Government revenues drop more than £13bn after a Yes vote, according to the Centre for Policy Studies (CPS).

The centre-right think tank predicted the Scottish Government would bring in just £50bn in 2015-16 – some £14bn lower than predicted by the Yes campaign.

Read the rest here.

A brief update

In the event that anyone is still looking in here, I thought I might post a quick update. For now I am still on the the right coast helping out with dad. His recovery continues, although it is going very slowly. I had hoped to be back in California by now and deeply regretted missing Bill's funeral, but it is what it is. All of which aside I am keeping pretty busy. At this point I am no longer making guesses as to a date for my return. Lastly, I intend to remain offline except for occasional checks of email and or news until after the forty days of mourning for my Godfather. That should be somewhere around the fifteenth of September, following which regular blogging and other normal activities will resume.

Memory Eternal

My Godfather William (Bill) reposed last night following a brief battle with pancreatic cancer. I spoke with him yesterday afternoon after receiving an email asking if I wanted his icons. I can say with absolute certainty that he was ready and at peace. In time I am sure that will provide some comfort to me. At the moment however the pain is too immediate and great. His last words to me were "I love you."

There will be no blogging until at least September 4th.

100 Years Ago

H.M. Albert I of Belgium

Germany invaded Belgium, one of the most consequential military events in history. Great Britain responded with an ultimatum and then declared war at 11 PM GMT. There are few innocent victims in the catastrophe that was the Great War, but Belgium may be the only truly blameless country. All they wanted was to be left alone. (A cautionary lesson for radical isolationists. That kind of foreign policy only works if everyone else is abiding by the rules.)

King Albert I is my favorite monarch for his heroic stand against the Germans. Given the choice between dishonor and a ruinous war that he knew Belgium could not win, he chose to fight in defense of his little country's Independence and her violated neutrality.

And now for a great human interest story

As some of you may recall one of my favorite websites linked in the sidebar, is called Shorpy. The site owner posts very large pixel, highly detailed photos of everyday life or scenes from way back in the day. It's a great place for a glimpse of a world gone by.

So the pic I have posted above is one of the more recent additions. As soon as I saw it I felt an immediate sense of who these two people were. Solid mid-Western folks that we might once have called the salt of the earth. Of course we often just don't know a lot about the people who appear in the photos posted and such seemed to be the case here. The photo is one of a set obtained off ebay and as the caption from Shorpy tells us, it's of "Howard & Rena, April 1952." Visiting Claude's farm somewhere in Minnesota." And that should be the end of it....

But it isn't.

Incredibly (do read the comments) one of the regulars managed to track down census records and got a probable ID on the couple and who they were visiting. Then he makes some phone calls and actually tracks down relatives of this couple, who I suspect must be surprised to discover Howard and Rena  now prominently featured on the internet. But the surprises keep coming...

First, and not surprisingly, Howard passed away quite a while ago (memory eternal). But Rena IS STILL ALIVE at 101! Any way...

Read it all here.

P.S. I agree with some of the comments over at Shorpy... I want that hat and tie.

100 Years Ago

H.I.M. Kaiser Willhelm II

The Imperial German Government delivered an ultimatum to Belgium, a country whose neutrality was guaranteed by treaty, demanding free passage for its army in order to attack France.

CIA Admits it Spied on Congress

CIA employees improperly searched computers used by Senate investigators involved in a multiyear probe of the agency’s use of harsh interrogation measures on terrorism suspects, according to the findings of an internal agency inquiry that prompted CIA Director John Brennan to apologize to lawmakers this week.

Ten agency employees, including two lawyers and three computer specialists, surreptitiously searched Senate Intelligence Committee files and reviewed some committee staff members’ e-mails on computers that were supposed to be exclusively for congressional investigators, according to a summary of the CIA inspector general’s report released Thursday.

The document criticizes members of the computer team for a “lack of candor about their activities” when they were questioned by investigators working for CIA Inspector General David Buckley.

Read the rest here.

A Volley of Criticism for the New York Times

Via T-19 ...
The Times is taking an online shellacking for its grossly biased coverage of a number of social and religious issues, especially relating to gay rights. See...

Here - Terry Mattingly

Here - Andrew Walker & Owen Strachan

Here - Alan Jacobs.

Here - Rod Dreher

and here - T:19

Prayers please

In your charity I beg your prayers for someone close to me who has been diagnosed with a very serious illness.

Europe steps up sanctions on Russia

LONDON — The European Union on Tuesday approved a package of expanded sanctions against Russia over the conflict in eastern Ukraine, where Moscow has been widely accused of supporting separatist rebels.

The new sanctions target Russia’s state-owned banks, and will restrict sales of arms, some kinds of technology and some equipment used by the oil industry. European diplomats also drew up a list of Russian oligarchs who will face individual sanctions.

European governments were moving in lock step with the United States on the new round of sanctions, despite concerns that they would pay an economic price for confronting the Kremlin more aggressively.

Read the rest here.

DC Gun ban is struck down

D.C. police were told Sunday not to arrest people for carrying handguns on the street in the wake of a judge’s ruling that overturned the city’s principal gun-control law.

However, the D.C. attorney general’s office said it would seek a stay of the ruling while the city decides whether to appeal.

In an order approved by Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier, police were told that District residents are permitted to carry pistols if the weapons are registered. Those who had not registered their handguns could be charged on that ground, the instruction said.

The number of registered pistols is thought to be low.

Lanier’s instructions to police also said that residents of other jurisdictions without felony records would not be charged under the ban on carrying pistols. 

Read the rest here.

100 Years Ago

The Austro-Hungarian Empire declared war on Serbia.

EUROPE AT POINT OF WAR; RUSSIA BACK OF SERVIA IN RESISTING AUSTRIA

• Austria presents ultimatum to Servia [sic] requiring acceptance of demands by 6pm today
• Russia demands that Austria abandon the time limit on her ultimatum under threat of "extreme measures"
• Entry of Russia into dispute brings Germany into field under terms of Triple Alliance
• Great Britain and France work to find modus vivendi, but thus far in vain
• All offers of mediation declined by Austria and threats of intervention unheeded
• Austria's fighting force estimated at 810,000 men
• Servia's military strength is estimated at 195,000 men
• The Russian Army is in round numbers 1,500,000 strong
• Germany's peace strength is minimum 672,000 men. On a war footing the German Army is the largest in the world i.e. 2,250,000 men

100 Years ago today, and seemingly out of the blue, the end of Western Civilization is announced.