Comment
There's going to be some light blogging today (and most likely tomorrow, Sunday) as it's my son's birthday - a big 7!
But I just wanted to point out that Nihil Obstat is fingering Gregg the Obscure...
From the comments section below:
#2 Aug 30 2002, 07:00 pm
I don't have a marketing degree.
I may be working on a degree in a related field.
I am puzzled as to why no one has yet fingered Gregg the Obscure.
ID verification: The third fact will exonerate one woman. At least one
new suspect will be added.
nihil obstat
Saturday, August 31, 2002
Religious News
These sort of stories make me cringe, religion playing to the lowest common denominator. Instead of religion being a opiate, what would Marx say now, religion is a Sweet-tooth religion? - Candymakers add a dollop of faith to latest products As Mary Poppins would say, a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down. That's the concept behind Christian candy --- treats wrapped or packaged with a message from the Bible. Candies such as Testamints started to catch on in the mid-1990s as a novelty item for church groups and Christian retailers. But now, with confections ranging from breath mints to lollipops, gum, gummy characters and gourmet chocolates --- even edible candy necklaces centered with a candy cross --- the niche market is poised to become much more. Secular retailers are starting to bite, and wholesalers are finding a new group of buyers. Here's the article.
Can you say, egotistical? The Rev. David L Moyer president of the national organization Forward in Faith, hasn't ministered to parishioners in his suburban Philadelphia congregation during a six-month suspension imposed by Bishop Charles E. Bennison. But when the suspension ends Wednesday, Mr. Moyer says he will be back on the job. He plans to defy the bishop if he is ordered to step down. "I think he's going to depose me," said Mr. Moyer, rector of the Church of the Good Shepherd in Rosemont, Pa. "I'm not going to regard the deposition as valid. I plan to continue on as rector here." Here's the article.
He'd opened this paper that morning to discover Father Paul J. Bolduc, 67, had been placed on administrative leave following an accusation of molestation. ``That man was in my daughter's home two weeks ago with all our family after christening my granddaughter,'' he said, sounding angry and distraught. ``He was the one who officiated at my daughter's wedding. Now I see his name surfacing and can't tell you how betrayed I feel.'' Here's the article.
These sort of stories make me cringe, religion playing to the lowest common denominator. Instead of religion being a opiate, what would Marx say now, religion is a Sweet-tooth religion? - Candymakers add a dollop of faith to latest products As Mary Poppins would say, a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down. That's the concept behind Christian candy --- treats wrapped or packaged with a message from the Bible. Candies such as Testamints started to catch on in the mid-1990s as a novelty item for church groups and Christian retailers. But now, with confections ranging from breath mints to lollipops, gum, gummy characters and gourmet chocolates --- even edible candy necklaces centered with a candy cross --- the niche market is poised to become much more. Secular retailers are starting to bite, and wholesalers are finding a new group of buyers. Here's the article.
Can you say, egotistical? The Rev. David L Moyer president of the national organization Forward in Faith, hasn't ministered to parishioners in his suburban Philadelphia congregation during a six-month suspension imposed by Bishop Charles E. Bennison. But when the suspension ends Wednesday, Mr. Moyer says he will be back on the job. He plans to defy the bishop if he is ordered to step down. "I think he's going to depose me," said Mr. Moyer, rector of the Church of the Good Shepherd in Rosemont, Pa. "I'm not going to regard the deposition as valid. I plan to continue on as rector here." Here's the article.
He'd opened this paper that morning to discover Father Paul J. Bolduc, 67, had been placed on administrative leave following an accusation of molestation. ``That man was in my daughter's home two weeks ago with all our family after christening my granddaughter,'' he said, sounding angry and distraught. ``He was the one who officiated at my daughter's wedding. Now I see his name surfacing and can't tell you how betrayed I feel.'' Here's the article.
Serious News
This could be a very, uh, cheap way to build that home you always wanted...Sludge from sewage works can be used to bulk up ordinary house bricks, a team from Taiwan has found. "It's a win-win situation because it converts the wastes into useful materials and alleviates disposal problems," says Chih-Huang Weng, leader of the team at I-Shou University in Kaohsiung County that devised the process. Here's the article.
Hijack suspect 'had US embassy target' A man arrested in Sweden on suspicion he was about to hijack a plane, was planning to crash the aircraft into a US embassy in Europe, according to a Reuters report. Here's the article.
This could be a very, uh, cheap way to build that home you always wanted...Sludge from sewage works can be used to bulk up ordinary house bricks, a team from Taiwan has found. "It's a win-win situation because it converts the wastes into useful materials and alleviates disposal problems," says Chih-Huang Weng, leader of the team at I-Shou University in Kaohsiung County that devised the process. Here's the article.
Hijack suspect 'had US embassy target' A man arrested in Sweden on suspicion he was about to hijack a plane, was planning to crash the aircraft into a US embassy in Europe, according to a Reuters report. Here's the article.
Light News
I seem to remember this song..."I'm not Lisa, my name is Rachel..." Mexican police say a woman has admitted stabbing her boyfriend because he kept calling out another girl's name during sex. Here's the article.
Not sure if this is silly, light, or just incredible... Hollywood dispatched Bruce Willis and an arsenal of nuclear bombs, but the simplest way to save Earth from a monster asteroid may be to inflate a giant air bag and nudge the killer rock out of the way, an American scientist says. Here's the article.
I seem to remember this song..."I'm not Lisa, my name is Rachel..." Mexican police say a woman has admitted stabbing her boyfriend because he kept calling out another girl's name during sex. Here's the article.
Not sure if this is silly, light, or just incredible... Hollywood dispatched Bruce Willis and an arsenal of nuclear bombs, but the simplest way to save Earth from a monster asteroid may be to inflate a giant air bag and nudge the killer rock out of the way, an American scientist says. Here's the article.
Friday, August 30, 2002
Comment
Great read that's been sitting on BBC for sometime comparing Bush to Churchill...I especially got a kick out of the letters section.
In case you aren't aware, US Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld has drawn a parallel between the two...which has raised more than a few eyebrows in the UK...
This is not only a powerful political analogy, it also reflects President Bush's professed admiration for Britain's wartime leader. "I love Churchill," he once admitted to TV host Oprah Winfrey, according to the BBC.
Anyway, the article runs down various comparisons, such as political pedigrees, and route to job...but the best part for me was this reminder, under the Guardians of the English language:
Bush:"You teach a child to read, and he or her will be able to pass a literacy test."
Churchill: "This is the sort of English up with which I will not put."
Great read that's been sitting on BBC for sometime comparing Bush to Churchill...I especially got a kick out of the letters section.
In case you aren't aware, US Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld has drawn a parallel between the two...which has raised more than a few eyebrows in the UK...
This is not only a powerful political analogy, it also reflects President Bush's professed admiration for Britain's wartime leader. "I love Churchill," he once admitted to TV host Oprah Winfrey, according to the BBC.
Anyway, the article runs down various comparisons, such as political pedigrees, and route to job...but the best part for me was this reminder, under the Guardians of the English language:
Bush:"You teach a child to read, and he or her will be able to pass a literacy test."
Churchill: "This is the sort of English up with which I will not put."
Religious News
Classic words from a Pedophile (priest) and the lack of guilt... "You don't communicate with anybody else about it," he said. "(But) it takes two to tango. It was always a two-way thing. "The boys work in the rectory with the priest and you just get friendly. You sit down in the rectory and have a Coke. It's a mutual deal ... an affectionate thing and a friendly thing."..."He might have been lonely. And priests are lonely persons, too. We need friendships and kids love priests. I weakened. I was looking for affection." Here's the article.
Relatedly, Church in Germany Mobilizes Against Pedophilia Here's the article.
As the Beatles once said, All you need is love....so saith Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez: Salesian Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez has said that that while we're now witnessing the globalisation of the economy, what is needed is a "globalisation of love". Here's the article.
Irish seminary ends training of priests The trustees of St Patrick's College in Thurles, announced the suspension of the seminary today, due to a shortage of students. Here's the article.
Ugandan army releases priests The Ugandan army has set free three European priests whom it captured during a clash with Lords Resistance Army (LRA) rebels in the north of the country. Here's the article.
So did he, or didn't he...A Palestinian comedian was scheduled to open for Mason, who's Jewish, at Zanie's comedy club in Chicago. But hours before the show was to start, the comic was told he wouldn't be allowed to perform because he is Palestinian. Here's the article.
Church tribute to Holly and Jessica And from another article, this from the clergyman who's presiding the service... He said that evil was not too strong a term to describe what happened. “In my language this is evil,” he said. “But as soon as you put that word in print, people jump on it. It is a loaded term. It is not a neutral term
Dalai Lama Criticizes U.S. War "Terrorism cannot be overcome by the use of force because it does not address the complex underlying problems," he said in a statement. "In fact, the use of force may not only fail to solve the problems, it may exacerbate them and frequently leave destruction and suffering in its wake Here's that article and thisAirline Refuses Ticket to Dalai Lama
Controversy still going around UK Rabbi statements condemning Israel In the case of Jewish-Israeli relations, the situation in the Middle East has become so bad and the moral responsibility of the Israeli state is so patent, that many non-Israeli Jews who have traditionally supported the state of Israel, right or wrong, can no longer do so. The moral duty is now to speak out against Sharon and the occupation, not as a form of betrayal, but as way of defending both the idea of humanity and the right of Israel to exist. Here's letter to editor.
Catholic Church Speaks Out On Kenyan Elections
Classic words from a Pedophile (priest) and the lack of guilt... "You don't communicate with anybody else about it," he said. "(But) it takes two to tango. It was always a two-way thing. "The boys work in the rectory with the priest and you just get friendly. You sit down in the rectory and have a Coke. It's a mutual deal ... an affectionate thing and a friendly thing."..."He might have been lonely. And priests are lonely persons, too. We need friendships and kids love priests. I weakened. I was looking for affection." Here's the article.
Relatedly, Church in Germany Mobilizes Against Pedophilia Here's the article.
As the Beatles once said, All you need is love....so saith Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez: Salesian Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez has said that that while we're now witnessing the globalisation of the economy, what is needed is a "globalisation of love". Here's the article.
Irish seminary ends training of priests The trustees of St Patrick's College in Thurles, announced the suspension of the seminary today, due to a shortage of students. Here's the article.
Ugandan army releases priests The Ugandan army has set free three European priests whom it captured during a clash with Lords Resistance Army (LRA) rebels in the north of the country. Here's the article.
So did he, or didn't he...A Palestinian comedian was scheduled to open for Mason, who's Jewish, at Zanie's comedy club in Chicago. But hours before the show was to start, the comic was told he wouldn't be allowed to perform because he is Palestinian. Here's the article.
Church tribute to Holly and Jessica And from another article, this from the clergyman who's presiding the service... He said that evil was not too strong a term to describe what happened. “In my language this is evil,” he said. “But as soon as you put that word in print, people jump on it. It is a loaded term. It is not a neutral term
Dalai Lama Criticizes U.S. War "Terrorism cannot be overcome by the use of force because it does not address the complex underlying problems," he said in a statement. "In fact, the use of force may not only fail to solve the problems, it may exacerbate them and frequently leave destruction and suffering in its wake Here's that article and thisAirline Refuses Ticket to Dalai Lama
Controversy still going around UK Rabbi statements condemning Israel In the case of Jewish-Israeli relations, the situation in the Middle East has become so bad and the moral responsibility of the Israeli state is so patent, that many non-Israeli Jews who have traditionally supported the state of Israel, right or wrong, can no longer do so. The moral duty is now to speak out against Sharon and the occupation, not as a form of betrayal, but as way of defending both the idea of humanity and the right of Israel to exist. Here's letter to editor.
Catholic Church Speaks Out On Kenyan Elections
Serious News
Okay, I admit, I don't really know what heading under to file this, but it goes here, well. because it's about a mayor and the quota system...India's first eunuch mayor unseatedThe first eunuch mayor to have been elected in India has been unseated by a court over a disagreement about what sex she is. Kamla Jaan has been mayor of Katni, in central India, since January 2000, and like other eunuchs in India, commonly refers to herself as "she". But a judge has now ruled that this eunuch is in fact a man, and has no right to occupy a seat reserved for women under a quota system Here's the article.
What's it with all this Nazi clothing? I just have a hard time believing it's all an accident...Yesterday shirts sold at Target with 88, today this: Sportswear manufacturer Umbro tonight promised to review its procedures after a pair of trainers was given the same name as a deadly gas used by the Nazis to kill millions in concentration camps.Jewish groups expressed outrage after it emerged that the leather training shoes were called Zyklon, prompting Umbro to drop the name and express its “regret” at any offence caused Here's the article.
US Air Force commanders considered crashing fighter jets into hijacked planes on 11 September because of a lack of armed planes, a BBC investigation reveals.
Businessman on the run? Sounds like a song from Wings... Warren Anderson, the former chairman of Union Carbide, has never appeared before the criminal court in Bhopal to answer charges of "culpable homicide" in the 10 years that the case has rumbled on. Nor has any American employee of the company. Here's the article.
No surprise here (take a gander a Thursday postings)...Arab states condemn US Iraq plan The Arab League has again strongly criticised any prospect of an American attack on Iraq - and questioned where such American action could eventually lead. Here's the article. Related articles: Al-Qaeda 'poised to strike again' and Al Qaeda alive and well: UN report and Chirac cautions Washington against unilateral use of force
Okay, I admit, I don't really know what heading under to file this, but it goes here, well. because it's about a mayor and the quota system...India's first eunuch mayor unseatedThe first eunuch mayor to have been elected in India has been unseated by a court over a disagreement about what sex she is. Kamla Jaan has been mayor of Katni, in central India, since January 2000, and like other eunuchs in India, commonly refers to herself as "she". But a judge has now ruled that this eunuch is in fact a man, and has no right to occupy a seat reserved for women under a quota system Here's the article.
What's it with all this Nazi clothing? I just have a hard time believing it's all an accident...Yesterday shirts sold at Target with 88, today this: Sportswear manufacturer Umbro tonight promised to review its procedures after a pair of trainers was given the same name as a deadly gas used by the Nazis to kill millions in concentration camps.Jewish groups expressed outrage after it emerged that the leather training shoes were called Zyklon, prompting Umbro to drop the name and express its “regret” at any offence caused Here's the article.
US Air Force commanders considered crashing fighter jets into hijacked planes on 11 September because of a lack of armed planes, a BBC investigation reveals.
Businessman on the run? Sounds like a song from Wings... Warren Anderson, the former chairman of Union Carbide, has never appeared before the criminal court in Bhopal to answer charges of "culpable homicide" in the 10 years that the case has rumbled on. Nor has any American employee of the company. Here's the article.
No surprise here (take a gander a Thursday postings)...Arab states condemn US Iraq plan The Arab League has again strongly criticised any prospect of an American attack on Iraq - and questioned where such American action could eventually lead. Here's the article. Related articles: Al-Qaeda 'poised to strike again' and Al Qaeda alive and well: UN report and Chirac cautions Washington against unilateral use of force
Light News
You got money, and a craving for attention, you too could go out of this world... N'Sync singer Lance Bass is to become the third space tourist, he has confirmed at a press conference at Nasa. The 23-year-old is set to be the youngest ever astronaut when he goes to the International Space Station on 28 October. Here's the article.
It's that time of year again...time for the underground organ bazaar stories to re-circulate...UK doctor puts Indian kidneys up for sale
India has once again come to unhealthy prominence as one of the world’s leading underground organ bazaars with the revelation that a Britain-based Indian doctor agreed to broker the cut-price sale of a kidney from a living Indian donor Here's the article.
You got money, and a craving for attention, you too could go out of this world... N'Sync singer Lance Bass is to become the third space tourist, he has confirmed at a press conference at Nasa. The 23-year-old is set to be the youngest ever astronaut when he goes to the International Space Station on 28 October. Here's the article.
It's that time of year again...time for the underground organ bazaar stories to re-circulate...UK doctor puts Indian kidneys up for sale
India has once again come to unhealthy prominence as one of the world’s leading underground organ bazaars with the revelation that a Britain-based Indian doctor agreed to broker the cut-price sale of a kidney from a living Indian donor Here's the article.
Thursday, August 29, 2002
Comment
A lesson in mathematics?
Those favoring military intervention in Iraq
- United States, Israel
Officially undecided...
Australia (although growing opposition movement to any such venture)
Those initially opposing military intervention in Iraq
- United Kingdom, Spain, Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, European Union, Canada, Romania, China, Russia, Belorussia, Ukraine, Turkey, South Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Various Anglican Bishops and Archbishop, Various Roman Catholic Bishops and Vatican, Pax Christi, Saudia Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Kuwait, others
The math doesn't seem to add up...
One other thought...given that the Middle East nations are so opposed to any intervention in Iraq, perhaps US policy of arms exports and aid to the region should also be questioned. Check out the following: Despite occasional rhetorical support for greater individual freedoms, the United States has generally not supported tentative Middle Eastern steps toward democratization. Indeed, the United States has reduced—or maintained at low levels—its economic, military, and diplomatic support to Arab countries that have experienced substantial political liberalization in recent years while increasing support for autocratic regimes such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Egypt, and Morocco. Jordan, for example, received large-scale U.S. support in the 1970s and 1980s despite widespread repression and authoritarian rule; when it opened up its political system in the early 1990s, the U.S. substantially reduced—and, for a time, suspended—foreign aid. Aid to Yemen was cut off within months of the newly unified country’s first democratic election in 1990. (click here for link)
And this thought: The Middle East is the destination of the majority of American arms exports, creating enormous profits for politically influential weapons manufacturers. Despite promises of restraint, U.S. arms transfers to the region have topped $50 billion since the Gulf War... and this...To link arms transfers with human rights records would lead to the probable loss of tens of billions of dollars in annual sales for American weapons manufacturers, who are among the most powerful special interest groups in Washington. This may help explain why the United States has ignored the fact that UN Security Council resolution 687, which the U.S. has cited as justification for its military responses to Iraq’s possible rearmament, also calls for region-wide disarmament efforts, something the United States has rejected.
A lesson in mathematics?
Those favoring military intervention in Iraq
- United States, Israel
Officially undecided...
Australia (although growing opposition movement to any such venture)
Those initially opposing military intervention in Iraq
- United Kingdom, Spain, Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, European Union, Canada, Romania, China, Russia, Belorussia, Ukraine, Turkey, South Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Various Anglican Bishops and Archbishop, Various Roman Catholic Bishops and Vatican, Pax Christi, Saudia Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Kuwait, others
The math doesn't seem to add up...
One other thought...given that the Middle East nations are so opposed to any intervention in Iraq, perhaps US policy of arms exports and aid to the region should also be questioned. Check out the following: Despite occasional rhetorical support for greater individual freedoms, the United States has generally not supported tentative Middle Eastern steps toward democratization. Indeed, the United States has reduced—or maintained at low levels—its economic, military, and diplomatic support to Arab countries that have experienced substantial political liberalization in recent years while increasing support for autocratic regimes such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Egypt, and Morocco. Jordan, for example, received large-scale U.S. support in the 1970s and 1980s despite widespread repression and authoritarian rule; when it opened up its political system in the early 1990s, the U.S. substantially reduced—and, for a time, suspended—foreign aid. Aid to Yemen was cut off within months of the newly unified country’s first democratic election in 1990. (click here for link)
And this thought: The Middle East is the destination of the majority of American arms exports, creating enormous profits for politically influential weapons manufacturers. Despite promises of restraint, U.S. arms transfers to the region have topped $50 billion since the Gulf War... and this...To link arms transfers with human rights records would lead to the probable loss of tens of billions of dollars in annual sales for American weapons manufacturers, who are among the most powerful special interest groups in Washington. This may help explain why the United States has ignored the fact that UN Security Council resolution 687, which the U.S. has cited as justification for its military responses to Iraq’s possible rearmament, also calls for region-wide disarmament efforts, something the United States has rejected.
Religious News
Newspaper finds priest accused of sexual abuse on Caribbean Island A Roman Catholic priest from Bridgeport accused of sexually abusing teenage boys is living a secretive but comfortable life on a Caribbean island, The Hartford Courant reported Thursday. The Rev. Laurence Brett, described by church officials in Bridgeport and Baltimore as a criminal and an "evil man," disappeared in late 1993. Since he vanished, church officials have said they wanted Brett found and brought to justice. Here's the article.
Delhi Archbishop affirms opposition to forced conversions Reacting to allegations that Protestant evangelical groups are pressuring Sikhs into Christianity, the archbishop of Delhi has said the Catholic Church "condemns any conversion by force or unworthy means". Here's the article.
Warning: Drinking and Goblins don't mix! A MAN died at the weekend after drinking a concoction prepared by a self-styled prophet intended to force him into confessing that he possessed goblins blamed for an illness in his family. Here's the article.
Muslim charities under attack? It is too difficult to surmise that President George W. Bush had Arab and Islamic charities in mind when he threatened to wage a "war on terror", and anyone who supported it morally or financially. This is not the first time that the United States has targeted Arab and Islamic charities. These organizations have been playing a major role in building bridges between Muslims in various countries by providing aid and relief where they are most needed, as well as by helping the wealthy channel their donations to worthy causes. During the last two decades, Islamic charities were a thorn in the eyes of the West, especially the Church-run charities that had hitherto monopolized aid to Asia and Africa Here's the article.
From Scotland: Islanders prefer church services to upstart airline service. The island in the Outer Hebrides is the spiritual home of the Free Church of Scotland, an evangelical group that split from the Church of Scotland in 1843 and claims 5,000 of Lewis's 22,000 residents as members Here's the article.
Paralysed man says Padre Pio cured him A man left paralysed and unable to speak after a car crash claims he is walking and talking again after St Padre Pio's spirit visited him. Luigi Venneri says the Capuchin friar appeared and spoke to him by his hospital bed. Here's the article.
Churches condemn stem cell bankPlans for the bank, which will enable government scientists to research medical conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease and diabetes using stem cells taken from embryos, were condemned by churches and pro-life organisations Here's the article.
After chief UK Rabbi speaks out against Israel there are calls for his sacking.
Newspaper finds priest accused of sexual abuse on Caribbean Island A Roman Catholic priest from Bridgeport accused of sexually abusing teenage boys is living a secretive but comfortable life on a Caribbean island, The Hartford Courant reported Thursday. The Rev. Laurence Brett, described by church officials in Bridgeport and Baltimore as a criminal and an "evil man," disappeared in late 1993. Since he vanished, church officials have said they wanted Brett found and brought to justice. Here's the article.
Delhi Archbishop affirms opposition to forced conversions Reacting to allegations that Protestant evangelical groups are pressuring Sikhs into Christianity, the archbishop of Delhi has said the Catholic Church "condemns any conversion by force or unworthy means". Here's the article.
Warning: Drinking and Goblins don't mix! A MAN died at the weekend after drinking a concoction prepared by a self-styled prophet intended to force him into confessing that he possessed goblins blamed for an illness in his family. Here's the article.
Muslim charities under attack? It is too difficult to surmise that President George W. Bush had Arab and Islamic charities in mind when he threatened to wage a "war on terror", and anyone who supported it morally or financially. This is not the first time that the United States has targeted Arab and Islamic charities. These organizations have been playing a major role in building bridges between Muslims in various countries by providing aid and relief where they are most needed, as well as by helping the wealthy channel their donations to worthy causes. During the last two decades, Islamic charities were a thorn in the eyes of the West, especially the Church-run charities that had hitherto monopolized aid to Asia and Africa Here's the article.
From Scotland: Islanders prefer church services to upstart airline service. The island in the Outer Hebrides is the spiritual home of the Free Church of Scotland, an evangelical group that split from the Church of Scotland in 1843 and claims 5,000 of Lewis's 22,000 residents as members Here's the article.
Paralysed man says Padre Pio cured him A man left paralysed and unable to speak after a car crash claims he is walking and talking again after St Padre Pio's spirit visited him. Luigi Venneri says the Capuchin friar appeared and spoke to him by his hospital bed. Here's the article.
Churches condemn stem cell bankPlans for the bank, which will enable government scientists to research medical conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease and diabetes using stem cells taken from embryos, were condemned by churches and pro-life organisations Here's the article.
After chief UK Rabbi speaks out against Israel there are calls for his sacking.
Serious News
It's obvious from out here, but it seems for some people it's still a shock to find out that the World is against US over Iraq Governments around the world have expressed strong opposition to the prospect of a US attack on Iraq, with Hosni Mubarak, Egypt's president, warning that a military campaign, as emphatically endorsed the previous day by Dick Cheney, US vice-president, could send the region into chaos. Saudi Arabia, Washington's most important Arab ally; China, a veto-holding member of the Security Council; and several European allies, including Germany, France and Belgium, said the impasse with Iraq should be solved diplomatically through the UN. Here's the article.
And more Iraq and "war on terror" news: A senior adviser to US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has poured scorn on Saudi opposition to military action against Saddam Hussein. and this: Washington has again warned Iran against harbouring members of Osama Bin Laden's al-Qaeda network. and this: Iraqi officials have given reporters a tour of a factory suspected of producing chemical weapons. and this: Senior administration officials said today that they expected President Bush eventually to seek some new explicit sign of approval from Congress — but not necessarily a formal vote — before launching any military campaign against Iraq. and this: Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid-Reza Asefi on Wednesday denied allegations made by Washington Post about presence of al-Qaeda members in Iran. Quoting intelligence sources, the Washington Post claimed on Wednesday that two al-Qaeda members with tens of others have been given shelter in Iranian hotels.
Could it be something in the name? What's next, Pinochet underwear? Thanks to Target, the nationwide department-store chain, students across the country may be heading back to school in hip-looking white supremacist regalia. The retail giant is selling shorts and baseball caps splashed with “EIGHT EIGHT” and “88” – white-power code for “Heil Hitler,” because “h” is the eighth letter of the alphabet. Here's the article.
Yesterday, was an annual food fight in Spain...132 tons of tomatoes were thrown...Tens of thousands of people stripped off their shirts and hurled tons of ripe, juicy tomatoes at each other in the annual Tomatina food fight, creating knee-deep rivers of tomato sauce on the streets of this Spanish town. The festival, which has its roots in a food fight between childhood friends, is gaining in popularity. Today's crowd numbered around 38,000 -- more than four times the population of Bunol -- and 8,000 more than last year, Spanish news agency Efe reported Here's the article and a related article.
Israeli tanks killed four members of a Palestinian family in a raid on a Gaza Strip village on Thursday, witnesses and hospital officials said, in violence fraying a security deal meant to lay groundwork for a cease-fire. Here's the article.
LA schools are poised to ban lucrative soft drink deals that make them money for sports equipment after an increase in obesity in pupils, and this interesting tidbit..."A significant number of teenage boys are now drinking five or more cans of soda a day," writes Schlosser. "Each can contains the equivalent of about 10 teaspoons of sugar." While 20 years ago teenage boys drank twice as much milk, as soda, now the reverse is true. And about a fifth of the country's one-and two-year-olds now drinks Coke, Pepsi or Dr Pepper. Here's the article.
It's obvious from out here, but it seems for some people it's still a shock to find out that the World is against US over Iraq Governments around the world have expressed strong opposition to the prospect of a US attack on Iraq, with Hosni Mubarak, Egypt's president, warning that a military campaign, as emphatically endorsed the previous day by Dick Cheney, US vice-president, could send the region into chaos. Saudi Arabia, Washington's most important Arab ally; China, a veto-holding member of the Security Council; and several European allies, including Germany, France and Belgium, said the impasse with Iraq should be solved diplomatically through the UN. Here's the article.
And more Iraq and "war on terror" news: A senior adviser to US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has poured scorn on Saudi opposition to military action against Saddam Hussein. and this: Washington has again warned Iran against harbouring members of Osama Bin Laden's al-Qaeda network. and this: Iraqi officials have given reporters a tour of a factory suspected of producing chemical weapons. and this: Senior administration officials said today that they expected President Bush eventually to seek some new explicit sign of approval from Congress — but not necessarily a formal vote — before launching any military campaign against Iraq. and this: Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid-Reza Asefi on Wednesday denied allegations made by Washington Post about presence of al-Qaeda members in Iran. Quoting intelligence sources, the Washington Post claimed on Wednesday that two al-Qaeda members with tens of others have been given shelter in Iranian hotels.
Could it be something in the name? What's next, Pinochet underwear? Thanks to Target, the nationwide department-store chain, students across the country may be heading back to school in hip-looking white supremacist regalia. The retail giant is selling shorts and baseball caps splashed with “EIGHT EIGHT” and “88” – white-power code for “Heil Hitler,” because “h” is the eighth letter of the alphabet. Here's the article.
Yesterday, was an annual food fight in Spain...132 tons of tomatoes were thrown...Tens of thousands of people stripped off their shirts and hurled tons of ripe, juicy tomatoes at each other in the annual Tomatina food fight, creating knee-deep rivers of tomato sauce on the streets of this Spanish town. The festival, which has its roots in a food fight between childhood friends, is gaining in popularity. Today's crowd numbered around 38,000 -- more than four times the population of Bunol -- and 8,000 more than last year, Spanish news agency Efe reported Here's the article and a related article.
Israeli tanks killed four members of a Palestinian family in a raid on a Gaza Strip village on Thursday, witnesses and hospital officials said, in violence fraying a security deal meant to lay groundwork for a cease-fire. Here's the article.
LA schools are poised to ban lucrative soft drink deals that make them money for sports equipment after an increase in obesity in pupils, and this interesting tidbit..."A significant number of teenage boys are now drinking five or more cans of soda a day," writes Schlosser. "Each can contains the equivalent of about 10 teaspoons of sugar." While 20 years ago teenage boys drank twice as much milk, as soda, now the reverse is true. And about a fifth of the country's one-and two-year-olds now drinks Coke, Pepsi or Dr Pepper. Here's the article.
Silly News
I don't want ot be insensitive, but how is this? THE cause of Jamie Ainscough's lingering arm injury had doctors baffled - until an X-ray uncovered a tooth belonging to an opposing player. Doctors operated on the former NRL star now playing with Wigan in English Super League to extract the stray fang. And after a few courtesy phone calls, Ainscough identified the owner of the chopper that was buried deep in his arm. Here's the article.
And from our continuing look at how crime doesn't pay...or how sometimes crime attracts a certain "element"...A Pennsylvania man told a judge that he dozed off at the wheel and crashed into a school bus, causing serious injuries, because he'd been up late the night before making counterfeit checks. He also fessed-up to not having a driver's license and to doing a little cocaine. Here's the article.
A man in the northeastern city of Turin has taken his wife to court for repeatedly opening his personal mail, despite his stream of pleas to stop. Here's that article.
I don't want ot be insensitive, but how is this? THE cause of Jamie Ainscough's lingering arm injury had doctors baffled - until an X-ray uncovered a tooth belonging to an opposing player. Doctors operated on the former NRL star now playing with Wigan in English Super League to extract the stray fang. And after a few courtesy phone calls, Ainscough identified the owner of the chopper that was buried deep in his arm. Here's the article.
And from our continuing look at how crime doesn't pay...or how sometimes crime attracts a certain "element"...A Pennsylvania man told a judge that he dozed off at the wheel and crashed into a school bus, causing serious injuries, because he'd been up late the night before making counterfeit checks. He also fessed-up to not having a driver's license and to doing a little cocaine. Here's the article.
A man in the northeastern city of Turin has taken his wife to court for repeatedly opening his personal mail, despite his stream of pleas to stop. Here's that article.
Wednesday, August 28, 2002
Comment
Here's a sure way to bring attention to your blog...
First annoy lots of people...and be anonymous.
And then, when the hits stop hitting (could it be nobody is paying attention?), throw out the possibility that you will soon post "hints" to your identity...
Sound familiar? Or could it be that Nihil Obstat is just lonely?
You decide...
What you really want to know is, who am I?
I have seen the following suspects fingered on various blogs:
Mark Shea
Charlie
Eve Tushnet
some guy in Pennsylvania (Is this Charlie?)
Maureen
Karl Schudt's wife
I put on my thinking cap and came up with some more suspects:
ONION - just look at that face
The Old Oligarch - find any misspellings on his blog?
Rod Dreher - allows him to keep his job and strike back at critics freely
Amy Welborn - described here as "lovely and talented", then curses Nihil Obstat in (perhaps) a classic diversionary tactic
Kathryn Lively - similar reasoning
one of Victor Lams' robots - imagine what something programmed by him could do
Tony Alamo - if you must know why, take a look at this
None Of The Above
Future posts will contain facts about yours truly.
Some names will thereby fall off the list of suspects, while others may be added to it.
Stay tuned.
Any bloggers out there have a marketing degree?
Here's a sure way to bring attention to your blog...
First annoy lots of people...and be anonymous.
And then, when the hits stop hitting (could it be nobody is paying attention?), throw out the possibility that you will soon post "hints" to your identity...
Sound familiar? Or could it be that Nihil Obstat is just lonely?
You decide...
What you really want to know is, who am I?
I have seen the following suspects fingered on various blogs:
Mark Shea
Charlie
Eve Tushnet
some guy in Pennsylvania (Is this Charlie?)
Maureen
Karl Schudt's wife
I put on my thinking cap and came up with some more suspects:
ONION - just look at that face
The Old Oligarch - find any misspellings on his blog?
Rod Dreher - allows him to keep his job and strike back at critics freely
Amy Welborn - described here as "lovely and talented", then curses Nihil Obstat in (perhaps) a classic diversionary tactic
Kathryn Lively - similar reasoning
one of Victor Lams' robots - imagine what something programmed by him could do
Tony Alamo - if you must know why, take a look at this
None Of The Above
Future posts will contain facts about yours truly.
Some names will thereby fall off the list of suspects, while others may be added to it.
Stay tuned.
Any bloggers out there have a marketing degree?
Tuesday, August 27, 2002
Religious News
This is an example of somebody who doesn't quite get it...does somebody need explaining heresy? Denominational niceties notwithstanding, pretty much all Christian faiths have a thing about sex. It's a fairly icky thing: sex for pleasure is frowned upon, procreative sex is borne with a kind of lie-back-and-think-of-England stoicism, and abstinence regarded as virtuous.This position, as various scandals raging in parishes around the world sadly demonstrate, has led to considerable problems. Yet, had history turned out differently, the relationship between faith, power and sex wouldn't even be a blip on our collective moral radar. Indeed, believers all over the globe would be now enthusiastically, and piously, rooting for God....All these groups, of course, never really had a chance of surviving the wrath of the establishment, but it's interesting to dwell on what the world would have been like today had they triumphed and attained majority influence. One thing for sure is that a lot of recent headlines would have been very different: "Bishop Admits Sex Scandal: I Haven't Scored In Weeks." Here's the article.
Is he claiming religious discrimination?....Utah polygamist given five years to life in prison for child rape...Here's more: Polygamist Tom Green has spent a lot of time extolling the virtues of taking multiple wives. On Tuesday, he will learn what price he must pay for his lifestyle when he is sentenced for raping a minor -- a girl he married when she was just 13 years of age...The most important thing to be considered now is the 29 children that need their father and what their future holds without him being there for them," she wrote. In all, Tom Green has fathered 33 children. Here's the article.
Didn't they already do this? People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has launched an anti-dairy billboard campaign featuring a Madonna and her breastfeeding child. "If it was good enough for Jesus...," the billboard's big lettering reads, followed by the tag line: "The breast is best." The billboard directs viewers to an anti-dairy website. Here's the article.
Another "drink" story: Iran's Zam Zam Cola to Quench Pilgrims' Thirst in Mecca The fizzy Iranian soft drink "zam zam cola" could quench the thirst of the two million Muslim faithful expected next February on their annual pilgrimage to Islam's holiest spot Mecca, following a Saudi boycott of U.S. cola giants coca cola and pepsi cola. Here's the article. This isn't really a religous story, but it's a pop story: African Aids Activists Target Coke Aids activists in Africa have targeted Coca-Cola for the launch of a campaign to demand that multinational firms supply their HIV-positive workers and families with anti-retroviral drugs.
Well, now this is interesting...UK's chief rabbi slams Israeli atrocities The chief rabbi has termed the Israeli stance against Palestinans as "incompatible" with the deepest ideals of Judaism, and adds that the current conflict is "corrupting" Israeli culture. The move by the chief rabbi of Britain would send shock waves through Israel and the world Here's the article.
A British priest forced to flee Zimbabwe priest based in the UK has been forced to flee to a safe house after being arrested three times in Zimbabwe by President Robert Mugabe´s security police, the Bishop of Plymouth Diocese said yesterday. Here's the article.
I don't have access to full article, but looks very interesting...Will the Pope Visit Manila? A Case Study in Vatican News Coverage Will Pope John Paul II travel to the Philippines in January 2003? Two leading world news syndicates say the answer is a definite No. The Vatican says the idea is still under consideration. And the resulting confusion offers a revealing glimpse at the way news is made, and stories are reported, at the Vatican. Here's the link.
Enquiry opened toward beatification of Pope John Paul I A preliminary enquiry into the possible beatification of Pope John Paul I has been opened in the Italian Diocese of Belluno-Feltre, where the "smiling Pope" was born and raised Here's the article and a similar one.
More out of Australia...Bishop attacks Catholic culture of secrecy The sex abuse crisis was an opportunity for renewal in the church, Bishop Power said, but secrecy and the exclusion of women in areas such as the church's teachings on sexuality were instead fanning frustration and feelings of disenfranchisement among Catholics. "I honestly believe secrecy in the operation of the church is causing great harm to the church," he said. Bishop Power's comments coincided with the release of the terms of reference for the inquiry into allegations of sexual abuse against Sydney's Catholic Archbishop, George Pell. Here's the article. Relatedly, Church outlines scope of Pell enquiry
And also from down under...Bible and Koran come together as Parliament opens Muslim Labour MP Ashraf Choudhary made New Zealand parliamentary history when he swore allegiance on the Koran, supplying the treasured book himself. Called forward by their full names, the other MPs either gave an oath on the Bible, or swore an affirmation to the Queen. That offered onlookers the chance to a) learn who had interesting middle names b) play Spot the Christian, a game popularised by the news media when United Future did well on election day. Here's the article.
This is the story of a male adult monkey that has metamorphosised as God Hanuman. No joke. A monkey sitting atop the statue of God Hanuman for the past twenty-two days is attracting streams of people to this unbelievable happening . Here's the article.
More Mad science...STEM cells from thousands of human embryos are to be stored for use by medical researchers. The Medical Research Council will announce next month that it is to create the world’s first stem-cell bank. Here's the article.
This is an example of somebody who doesn't quite get it...does somebody need explaining heresy? Denominational niceties notwithstanding, pretty much all Christian faiths have a thing about sex. It's a fairly icky thing: sex for pleasure is frowned upon, procreative sex is borne with a kind of lie-back-and-think-of-England stoicism, and abstinence regarded as virtuous.This position, as various scandals raging in parishes around the world sadly demonstrate, has led to considerable problems. Yet, had history turned out differently, the relationship between faith, power and sex wouldn't even be a blip on our collective moral radar. Indeed, believers all over the globe would be now enthusiastically, and piously, rooting for God....All these groups, of course, never really had a chance of surviving the wrath of the establishment, but it's interesting to dwell on what the world would have been like today had they triumphed and attained majority influence. One thing for sure is that a lot of recent headlines would have been very different: "Bishop Admits Sex Scandal: I Haven't Scored In Weeks." Here's the article.
Is he claiming religious discrimination?....Utah polygamist given five years to life in prison for child rape...Here's more: Polygamist Tom Green has spent a lot of time extolling the virtues of taking multiple wives. On Tuesday, he will learn what price he must pay for his lifestyle when he is sentenced for raping a minor -- a girl he married when she was just 13 years of age...The most important thing to be considered now is the 29 children that need their father and what their future holds without him being there for them," she wrote. In all, Tom Green has fathered 33 children. Here's the article.
Didn't they already do this? People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has launched an anti-dairy billboard campaign featuring a Madonna and her breastfeeding child. "If it was good enough for Jesus...," the billboard's big lettering reads, followed by the tag line: "The breast is best." The billboard directs viewers to an anti-dairy website. Here's the article.
Another "drink" story: Iran's Zam Zam Cola to Quench Pilgrims' Thirst in Mecca The fizzy Iranian soft drink "zam zam cola" could quench the thirst of the two million Muslim faithful expected next February on their annual pilgrimage to Islam's holiest spot Mecca, following a Saudi boycott of U.S. cola giants coca cola and pepsi cola. Here's the article. This isn't really a religous story, but it's a pop story: African Aids Activists Target Coke Aids activists in Africa have targeted Coca-Cola for the launch of a campaign to demand that multinational firms supply their HIV-positive workers and families with anti-retroviral drugs.
Well, now this is interesting...UK's chief rabbi slams Israeli atrocities The chief rabbi has termed the Israeli stance against Palestinans as "incompatible" with the deepest ideals of Judaism, and adds that the current conflict is "corrupting" Israeli culture. The move by the chief rabbi of Britain would send shock waves through Israel and the world Here's the article.
A British priest forced to flee Zimbabwe priest based in the UK has been forced to flee to a safe house after being arrested three times in Zimbabwe by President Robert Mugabe´s security police, the Bishop of Plymouth Diocese said yesterday. Here's the article.
I don't have access to full article, but looks very interesting...Will the Pope Visit Manila? A Case Study in Vatican News Coverage Will Pope John Paul II travel to the Philippines in January 2003? Two leading world news syndicates say the answer is a definite No. The Vatican says the idea is still under consideration. And the resulting confusion offers a revealing glimpse at the way news is made, and stories are reported, at the Vatican. Here's the link.
Enquiry opened toward beatification of Pope John Paul I A preliminary enquiry into the possible beatification of Pope John Paul I has been opened in the Italian Diocese of Belluno-Feltre, where the "smiling Pope" was born and raised Here's the article and a similar one.
More out of Australia...Bishop attacks Catholic culture of secrecy The sex abuse crisis was an opportunity for renewal in the church, Bishop Power said, but secrecy and the exclusion of women in areas such as the church's teachings on sexuality were instead fanning frustration and feelings of disenfranchisement among Catholics. "I honestly believe secrecy in the operation of the church is causing great harm to the church," he said. Bishop Power's comments coincided with the release of the terms of reference for the inquiry into allegations of sexual abuse against Sydney's Catholic Archbishop, George Pell. Here's the article. Relatedly, Church outlines scope of Pell enquiry
And also from down under...Bible and Koran come together as Parliament opens Muslim Labour MP Ashraf Choudhary made New Zealand parliamentary history when he swore allegiance on the Koran, supplying the treasured book himself. Called forward by their full names, the other MPs either gave an oath on the Bible, or swore an affirmation to the Queen. That offered onlookers the chance to a) learn who had interesting middle names b) play Spot the Christian, a game popularised by the news media when United Future did well on election day. Here's the article.
This is the story of a male adult monkey that has metamorphosised as God Hanuman. No joke. A monkey sitting atop the statue of God Hanuman for the past twenty-two days is attracting streams of people to this unbelievable happening . Here's the article.
More Mad science...STEM cells from thousands of human embryos are to be stored for use by medical researchers. The Medical Research Council will announce next month that it is to create the world’s first stem-cell bank. Here's the article.
Serious News
All I can say is...what?...Men Missing Since 9/11 Found Alive Two men listed for months as missing in the Sept. 11 attack on the World Trade Center have been discovered alive in area hospitals, city officials said Tuesday. In addition, the city medical examiner's office said a revised list of the missing and dead is expected to reflect at least five similar cases when it is released next week. Here's the article.
The E-bomb?...Saddam to be target of Britain's 'E-bomb'...sounds like heavy metal to me.. The "radio frequency weapon", or E-Bomb, developed at a secret site in south-west England, sends out a high-intensity radio wave with similar effects to the electromagnetic pulse from a nuclear blast.It is also able to penetrate the underground bunkers where Saddam's chemical and biological weapons are stored as protection from allied bombing. The radio pulse will travel easily down the bunkers' power and ventilation ducts. Here's the article.
Osama bin Laden Sends His Greetings to Afghans IslamOnline’s correspondent in Pakistan has received a copy of a message from an Afghan source who said that it was written by Osama bin Laden, at a time when there are efforts underway to unite the Al-Qaeda organization, the Taliban, and the Afghan leader Gulbudin Hekmatyar. Here's the article. Relatedly, no decision on Iraq attack, says Bush The United States has not taken any decision to launch a military attack against Iraq to remove President Saddam Hussein, and would consult its allies before any such action, President George W. Bush has said
Looking for an off-beat place to go for holidays? How about Iran...Some 3,000 tourist attractions in Iran The deputy head of Iran Travel and Tourism Organization, Nasrollah Mostofi, declared that 3,000 tourist attractions have been identified by a national tourism promotion project. Here's the article.
Beauty Queens show solidarity...Following stoning ruling, Nigeria faces Miss World boycott threat Some beauty queens who were to travel to the finals in November have pledged to boycott the contest, while others expressed concern for their safety at the hands of Islamic groups that plan to disrupt the ceremony. Here's the article.
And relatedly...Nigerian State Washes Its Hands of Stoning Sentence The Nigerian state government at the centre of an outcry over the sentencing of a single mother to death by stoning said yesterday it would not intervene in her appeal Here's the article.
Oh, those Australians...Brothel duty for Australian MP A conservative Member of Parliament in Australia is set to spend the day as a "slave" at one of Western Australia's most notorious brothels. Liberal Party member Barry Haase was "won" in a charity auction after the madam of Langtree's brothel in the mining town of Kalgoorlie made the highest offer for his services for a day Here's the article.
Rich farm subsidies attacked at Earth Summit The world's richest nations faced calls at the Earth Summit on Tuesday to scrap billions of dollars in farm subsidies blamed for exacerbating hunger and hampering trade from Africa and Asia. Domestic political considerations are stopping wealthy governments from impoverishing their own farmers and Western officials sought to focus attention on efforts to improve agricultural production in nations where many are hungry. Here's the article. Relatedly, Britain criticises Bush for summit absence
This isn't a surprise...reportedly, Osama Bin Laden did the same thing...when in Spain, do as the Spaniards?...Saudi Princes Live Hedonistic Lifestyle on Vacation
King Fahd's visit to Marbella, Spain, is a study in contrasts. Though he leads a very strict Muslim nation, many of the thousands in his entourage from the House of Saud reportedly have no problem gambling or dancing all night with willing blondes at the area's discotheques. Such things are prohibited in Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam Here's the article.
Settlement Near in Florida Voting Rights Lawsuit A settlement appears imminent in the federal lawsuit alleging that some African-Americans were denied the right to vote in Florida's 2000 presidential election. The suit, filed by the NAACP, was aimed at the state of Florida and several of the state's counties. Here's the article.
Latest Stratfor report: Washington, Beijing Maneuvering Ahead of Crawford Summit U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage recently called an ethnic Uighur militant group in western China a "terrorist group." Officials in Beijing viewed Armitage's statement as a vindication of its domestic policies. Both Washington and Beijing are laying the groundwork for a meeting between Chinese President Jiang Zemin and U.S. President George W. Bush in October -- a meeting that may set the tone for Chinese-U.S. relations for years to come. Here's the article.
Is this an endorsement? KKK business cards hidden among Wal-Mart's U.S. display...Cards Put Inside Books Written By Lynne Cheney...The cards were put inside copies of a book written by Lynne Cheney, wife of Vice President Dick Cheney. They were also found in book covers sold to benefit a foundation named for a passenger on one of the hijacked Sept. 11 flights. Here's the article.
Who's the latest Serbian folk-hero? Nato's failed attempts to put Radovan Karadzic, Europe's most wanted war crime suspect, behind bars is feeding the legend of an elusive hero, developed by Bosnian Serbs who have been helping him escape the peacekeepers. "The Serb Talibans" and "Do not give away our brothers" are among song titles of the latest home-produced folk songs pledging protection and support to Karadzic and his army commander Ratko Mladic, both accused of genocide committed during Bosnia's 1992-95 war. Here's the article.
Closer to home...ETA Bomb Defused as Police Shut Down Basque Party Headquarters Police in Spain's Basque region defused a bomb planted by ETA militants early on Tuesday, only hours after they shut down the national headquarters of the now-banned Batasuna Party for its alleged links to the radical pro-independence group, police sources said. Here's the article.
Ginseng poaching? When Ginger Shelby tends her fields, she carries a rifle on her back. The plant she grows in secret can fetch hundreds of dollars a pound. She's been threatened and robbed by local thugs, and learned the hard way that there's no point in calling the sheriff. Her crop is American ginseng, an herb prized in Chinese medicine that can retail for as much as $1,800 per pound. In recent years, a growing number of people in Appalachia and other eastern mountain regions have begun planting the herb on their woodlots, using a sustainable technique that can provide a healthy income to small landowners while protecting their forests from commercial logging. Here's the article.
All I can say is...what?...Men Missing Since 9/11 Found Alive Two men listed for months as missing in the Sept. 11 attack on the World Trade Center have been discovered alive in area hospitals, city officials said Tuesday. In addition, the city medical examiner's office said a revised list of the missing and dead is expected to reflect at least five similar cases when it is released next week. Here's the article.
The E-bomb?...Saddam to be target of Britain's 'E-bomb'...sounds like heavy metal to me.. The "radio frequency weapon", or E-Bomb, developed at a secret site in south-west England, sends out a high-intensity radio wave with similar effects to the electromagnetic pulse from a nuclear blast.It is also able to penetrate the underground bunkers where Saddam's chemical and biological weapons are stored as protection from allied bombing. The radio pulse will travel easily down the bunkers' power and ventilation ducts. Here's the article.
Osama bin Laden Sends His Greetings to Afghans IslamOnline’s correspondent in Pakistan has received a copy of a message from an Afghan source who said that it was written by Osama bin Laden, at a time when there are efforts underway to unite the Al-Qaeda organization, the Taliban, and the Afghan leader Gulbudin Hekmatyar. Here's the article. Relatedly, no decision on Iraq attack, says Bush The United States has not taken any decision to launch a military attack against Iraq to remove President Saddam Hussein, and would consult its allies before any such action, President George W. Bush has said
Looking for an off-beat place to go for holidays? How about Iran...Some 3,000 tourist attractions in Iran The deputy head of Iran Travel and Tourism Organization, Nasrollah Mostofi, declared that 3,000 tourist attractions have been identified by a national tourism promotion project. Here's the article.
Beauty Queens show solidarity...Following stoning ruling, Nigeria faces Miss World boycott threat Some beauty queens who were to travel to the finals in November have pledged to boycott the contest, while others expressed concern for their safety at the hands of Islamic groups that plan to disrupt the ceremony. Here's the article.
And relatedly...Nigerian State Washes Its Hands of Stoning Sentence The Nigerian state government at the centre of an outcry over the sentencing of a single mother to death by stoning said yesterday it would not intervene in her appeal Here's the article.
Oh, those Australians...Brothel duty for Australian MP A conservative Member of Parliament in Australia is set to spend the day as a "slave" at one of Western Australia's most notorious brothels. Liberal Party member Barry Haase was "won" in a charity auction after the madam of Langtree's brothel in the mining town of Kalgoorlie made the highest offer for his services for a day Here's the article.
Rich farm subsidies attacked at Earth Summit The world's richest nations faced calls at the Earth Summit on Tuesday to scrap billions of dollars in farm subsidies blamed for exacerbating hunger and hampering trade from Africa and Asia. Domestic political considerations are stopping wealthy governments from impoverishing their own farmers and Western officials sought to focus attention on efforts to improve agricultural production in nations where many are hungry. Here's the article. Relatedly, Britain criticises Bush for summit absence
This isn't a surprise...reportedly, Osama Bin Laden did the same thing...when in Spain, do as the Spaniards?...Saudi Princes Live Hedonistic Lifestyle on Vacation
King Fahd's visit to Marbella, Spain, is a study in contrasts. Though he leads a very strict Muslim nation, many of the thousands in his entourage from the House of Saud reportedly have no problem gambling or dancing all night with willing blondes at the area's discotheques. Such things are prohibited in Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam Here's the article.
Settlement Near in Florida Voting Rights Lawsuit A settlement appears imminent in the federal lawsuit alleging that some African-Americans were denied the right to vote in Florida's 2000 presidential election. The suit, filed by the NAACP, was aimed at the state of Florida and several of the state's counties. Here's the article.
Latest Stratfor report: Washington, Beijing Maneuvering Ahead of Crawford Summit U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage recently called an ethnic Uighur militant group in western China a "terrorist group." Officials in Beijing viewed Armitage's statement as a vindication of its domestic policies. Both Washington and Beijing are laying the groundwork for a meeting between Chinese President Jiang Zemin and U.S. President George W. Bush in October -- a meeting that may set the tone for Chinese-U.S. relations for years to come. Here's the article.
Is this an endorsement? KKK business cards hidden among Wal-Mart's U.S. display...Cards Put Inside Books Written By Lynne Cheney...The cards were put inside copies of a book written by Lynne Cheney, wife of Vice President Dick Cheney. They were also found in book covers sold to benefit a foundation named for a passenger on one of the hijacked Sept. 11 flights. Here's the article.
Who's the latest Serbian folk-hero? Nato's failed attempts to put Radovan Karadzic, Europe's most wanted war crime suspect, behind bars is feeding the legend of an elusive hero, developed by Bosnian Serbs who have been helping him escape the peacekeepers. "The Serb Talibans" and "Do not give away our brothers" are among song titles of the latest home-produced folk songs pledging protection and support to Karadzic and his army commander Ratko Mladic, both accused of genocide committed during Bosnia's 1992-95 war. Here's the article.
Closer to home...ETA Bomb Defused as Police Shut Down Basque Party Headquarters Police in Spain's Basque region defused a bomb planted by ETA militants early on Tuesday, only hours after they shut down the national headquarters of the now-banned Batasuna Party for its alleged links to the radical pro-independence group, police sources said. Here's the article.
Ginseng poaching? When Ginger Shelby tends her fields, she carries a rifle on her back. The plant she grows in secret can fetch hundreds of dollars a pound. She's been threatened and robbed by local thugs, and learned the hard way that there's no point in calling the sheriff. Her crop is American ginseng, an herb prized in Chinese medicine that can retail for as much as $1,800 per pound. In recent years, a growing number of people in Appalachia and other eastern mountain regions have begun planting the herb on their woodlots, using a sustainable technique that can provide a healthy income to small landowners while protecting their forests from commercial logging. Here's the article.
Silly News
This isn't really Silly News, but rather Incredible News: Did you konw the youngest known mother was a five-year old Peruvian? Lina Medina's parents thought their 5-year-old daughter had a huge abdominal tumor and when shamans in their remote village in Peru's Andes could find no cure, her father carried her to hospital. Just over a month later, she gave birth to a boy.....He said she had her first period at 2 1/2, became pregnant aged 4 years and eight months and that when doctors performed the Caesarean to deliver her baby, they found she already had fully mature sexual organs Here's the story.
What are the chances of being hit by a meteorite? Next to nothing? Tell that to this girl...The odds against being hit by a meteorite are billions to one - but a teenager in North Yorkshire may have had one land on her foot. Siobhan Cowton, 14, was getting into the family car outside her Northallerton home at 1030 BST on Thursday when a stone fell on her from the sky Here's the article.
This isn't really Silly News, but rather Incredible News: Did you konw the youngest known mother was a five-year old Peruvian? Lina Medina's parents thought their 5-year-old daughter had a huge abdominal tumor and when shamans in their remote village in Peru's Andes could find no cure, her father carried her to hospital. Just over a month later, she gave birth to a boy.....He said she had her first period at 2 1/2, became pregnant aged 4 years and eight months and that when doctors performed the Caesarean to deliver her baby, they found she already had fully mature sexual organs Here's the story.
What are the chances of being hit by a meteorite? Next to nothing? Tell that to this girl...The odds against being hit by a meteorite are billions to one - but a teenager in North Yorkshire may have had one land on her foot. Siobhan Cowton, 14, was getting into the family car outside her Northallerton home at 1030 BST on Thursday when a stone fell on her from the sky Here's the article.
Religious News
It's a bit early for Halloween, but there's a Hell House documentary coming out soon. Each Halloween, members of the Trinity Church in Cedar Hill, Texas, put on a haunted house. But instead of ghostly howls and skeletons in coffins, "Hell House" depicts what the Pentecostal church considers to be sins: a girl having an abortion... another taking drugs at a rave, getting raped, then killing herself... a boy committing suicide in a classroom. In each elaborately staged scene, Satan taunts the sinner, and then drags him or her off to hell. The aim is to save souls through fear. Here's the article
Hey, why not...after Ron L. anything's possible... More than 70,000 people in Australia have declared that they are followers of the Jedi faith, the religion created by the Star Wars films. A recent census found that one in 270 respondents - or 0.37% of the population - say they believe in "the force", an energy field that gives Jedi Knights like Luke Skywalker their power in the films. Here's the article.
Somebody needs to take a valium (not to mention misunderstanding...)? Baptist Leader Calls Catholics Anti-Semitic for Excluding Jews from Evangelism"There can be no more extreme form of anti-Semitism" than the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' statement that "Jews already dwell in a saving covenant with God" and therefore shouldn't be evangelized by Christians, says Jim Sibley, coordinator of Jewish ministries for the Southern Baptist Convention's North American Mission Board. "It is never good for the Jews whenever the Roman Catholic Church fails with respect to the gospel," he said. "When they used coercion, the Jewish people suffered horribly and were hardened against the good news of their messiah. Now, in singling out the Jewish people for evangelistic exemption, they are withholding the hope of Israel." Here's the article.
Anglicans urge greater concern for the earth Bishop Browning’s appeal was endorsed by the Bishop of Hereford, the Rt Revd John Oliver, who is the Church of England’s spokesman on environmental affairs in the House of Lords. “We are in a desperate plight as regards global warming and climate change. The planet is going to the buffers very much sooner than people realise,” the Bishop said. Here's the article...and not to be left out...Pope stresses urgency of humanity´s "ecological vocation" Here's that article.
Not true, says this article...Bishops are firm on celibacy... A number of Australian bishops surveyed by The Australian newspaper have failed to echo Canberra-Goulburn Auxiliary Bishop Pat Power´s weekend call for a review of the celibacy rule. Here's the article.
YOGA fans were fuming last night after a vicar banned their classes from his church hall for being “unchristian”. The Rev Derek Smith objected to the trendy exercise because of associations with the Hindu faith. Here's the article.
Things not looking too good in Australia...peadophile and murder? A notorious Melbourne paedophile potentially implicated in the murder of a 12-year-old boy escaped investigation because the Catholic Church failed to report his behaviour, it has been alleged. Police say the paedophile, a church worker who preyed on boys at a northern suburbs parish in the 1960s, would have been investigated for murder if priests and church officials had not withheld what they knew about him. Here's the article.
Hundreds pray at Mother Teresa's tomb Hundreds of school children, social workers and foreign volunteers offered flowers and bowed their heads Monday at the tomb of Mother Teresa on the 92nd anniversary of her birth Here's the article.
In nod to China, U.S. blacklists Muslim group The Bush administration has listed an obscure Muslim group fighting Chinese rule in the western province of Xinjiang as a terrorist organization, a visiting American official disclosed here Monday night in what appears to be a warming trend in Chinese-American relations Here's the article.
An older Cornerstone humorous article "Stomping Satan with Style: How Christians Get Their Rhetorical Kicks" is a good read. Now someone might say we should avoid total acceptance of agenda from left or right, that Scripture condemns much of both. That’s those wishy-washy theologians again. Some liberal New Ager named C. S. Lewis warned Christians not to get entangled with “Christianity AND . . .” because the “and” will end up taking over. Well, in the case of Americanism and the right wing, would that really be so bad? They even dress like Christians. Remember, as far as getting a big bunch of believers, “It’s easier to seal a package deal.”
It's a bit early for Halloween, but there's a Hell House documentary coming out soon. Each Halloween, members of the Trinity Church in Cedar Hill, Texas, put on a haunted house. But instead of ghostly howls and skeletons in coffins, "Hell House" depicts what the Pentecostal church considers to be sins: a girl having an abortion... another taking drugs at a rave, getting raped, then killing herself... a boy committing suicide in a classroom. In each elaborately staged scene, Satan taunts the sinner, and then drags him or her off to hell. The aim is to save souls through fear. Here's the article
Hey, why not...after Ron L. anything's possible... More than 70,000 people in Australia have declared that they are followers of the Jedi faith, the religion created by the Star Wars films. A recent census found that one in 270 respondents - or 0.37% of the population - say they believe in "the force", an energy field that gives Jedi Knights like Luke Skywalker their power in the films. Here's the article.
Somebody needs to take a valium (not to mention misunderstanding...)? Baptist Leader Calls Catholics Anti-Semitic for Excluding Jews from Evangelism"There can be no more extreme form of anti-Semitism" than the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' statement that "Jews already dwell in a saving covenant with God" and therefore shouldn't be evangelized by Christians, says Jim Sibley, coordinator of Jewish ministries for the Southern Baptist Convention's North American Mission Board. "It is never good for the Jews whenever the Roman Catholic Church fails with respect to the gospel," he said. "When they used coercion, the Jewish people suffered horribly and were hardened against the good news of their messiah. Now, in singling out the Jewish people for evangelistic exemption, they are withholding the hope of Israel." Here's the article.
Anglicans urge greater concern for the earth Bishop Browning’s appeal was endorsed by the Bishop of Hereford, the Rt Revd John Oliver, who is the Church of England’s spokesman on environmental affairs in the House of Lords. “We are in a desperate plight as regards global warming and climate change. The planet is going to the buffers very much sooner than people realise,” the Bishop said. Here's the article...and not to be left out...Pope stresses urgency of humanity´s "ecological vocation" Here's that article.
Not true, says this article...Bishops are firm on celibacy... A number of Australian bishops surveyed by The Australian newspaper have failed to echo Canberra-Goulburn Auxiliary Bishop Pat Power´s weekend call for a review of the celibacy rule. Here's the article.
YOGA fans were fuming last night after a vicar banned their classes from his church hall for being “unchristian”. The Rev Derek Smith objected to the trendy exercise because of associations with the Hindu faith. Here's the article.
Things not looking too good in Australia...peadophile and murder? A notorious Melbourne paedophile potentially implicated in the murder of a 12-year-old boy escaped investigation because the Catholic Church failed to report his behaviour, it has been alleged. Police say the paedophile, a church worker who preyed on boys at a northern suburbs parish in the 1960s, would have been investigated for murder if priests and church officials had not withheld what they knew about him. Here's the article.
Hundreds pray at Mother Teresa's tomb Hundreds of school children, social workers and foreign volunteers offered flowers and bowed their heads Monday at the tomb of Mother Teresa on the 92nd anniversary of her birth Here's the article.
In nod to China, U.S. blacklists Muslim group The Bush administration has listed an obscure Muslim group fighting Chinese rule in the western province of Xinjiang as a terrorist organization, a visiting American official disclosed here Monday night in what appears to be a warming trend in Chinese-American relations Here's the article.
An older Cornerstone humorous article "Stomping Satan with Style: How Christians Get Their Rhetorical Kicks" is a good read. Now someone might say we should avoid total acceptance of agenda from left or right, that Scripture condemns much of both. That’s those wishy-washy theologians again. Some liberal New Ager named C. S. Lewis warned Christians not to get entangled with “Christianity AND . . .” because the “and” will end up taking over. Well, in the case of Americanism and the right wing, would that really be so bad? They even dress like Christians. Remember, as far as getting a big bunch of believers, “It’s easier to seal a package deal.”
Serious News
Pledge of Allegiance a Socialist invention? That's what this article says: But regarding the Pledge, here's something to bug some of the more shrill folks to the right: Francis Bellamy, the fellow who wrote The Pledge of Allegiance, was a self-described socialist! Bellamy was a Baptist pastor and "Christian Socialist" who, when resisted by fellow churchmen who thought him a radical, pointed to his belief in Jesus Christ and the Scriptures themselves as evidence for his activism Here's the rest of the article.
Wasn't there a movie about this?...Australian vigilantes picket homes and call for death to adulterers The Blackshirts are former husbands aggrieved by their treatment at the hands of their ex-wives and the courts, who regard themselves as the vanguard of a "men's rights" movement in Australia and say that their actions will be remembered as marking a turning-point in history. They have campaigned against the ordination of women and despise homosexuality, but the issue which unites them above all is anger at their former spouses and a rage at those who cuckolded them. Here's the article.
{UPDATE: Summit strikes deal on fisheries The deal - the first substantial one reached at the summit - envisages restoring most of the major global fisheries to commercial health by 2015. Here's that article.} Discussions are set to resume at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, with agriculture heading the agenda for the second day of debate. Here's the article. Here's another with a different tack: The environmental group Friends of the Earth International (FoE) called the U.S., Canada and Australia the "axis of environmental evil" for their failure to support international environmental agreements. Here's a Reuters item. The U.N. head of the Earth Summit denied on Tuesday the event would achieve little more than lofty talk about intractable problems and pledged action on narrowing the world's rich-poor divide without damaging the planet.
Mad science?...'Animals' grown from an artificial embryo Virtual creatures, with muscles, senses and primitive nervous systems, have been "grown" from artificial embryos in a computer simulation. The multi-celled organisms could be the first step towards using artificial evolution to create intelligent life from scratch Here's the article.
Election time... Germany's top newspapers have declared Sunday's television election debate between Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and challenger Edmund Stoiber a draw, even the conservative mass tabloid Bild failing to pick a winner Here's the article.
Police move against Basque party Masked Spanish police have closed the national headquarters of the Batasuna party - widely seen as the political wing of armed separatist group ETA - in a raid in the northern city of Pamplona. Here's the article.
And despite ETA, some people agree that Spain is actually quite nice...does rain have anything to do with it? More than half of Britons would like to emigrate from their homeland, fed up with the price of living and terrible weather, and would prefer to live in the United States or Spain, a survey published Monday said. Here's that article.
US presses case for attacking Iraq US Vice-President Dick Cheney has given one of the clearest signals yet that the Bush administration intends to depose Saddam Hussein. Mr Cheney, a leading hawk, said a policy of containment was no longer an option because doing nothing was riskier than acting against the Iraqi leader Here's the article.Check out this also: Bush Hails Strong Saudi Ties Before Meeting Envoy. And relatedly: Director of Homeland Security Tom Ridge has said cells of Osama Bin Laden's al-Qaeda network are operating in the United States. Here's that article...Interestingly, enough Bin Laden Urges Afghans to Continue Holy War Against US... An Islamic internet site issued a letter of Osama bin Laden that urges the Afghans to continue their Jihad, or holy war, against the United States, the Oriental radio reported on Sunday. Here's that article.
And check this out: Another 2 Russians likely to be at Guantanamo.
Speaking of Saddam.. Iraqi president Saddam Hussein had terrorist leader Abu Nidal killed because he is feeling the pressure of possible U.S. action to topple his regime, according to the respected British publication Jane's . Here's the article.
What gives?...Bush Seeks Secrecy For Pardon Discussions President Bush's lawyers are trying to keep secret the inside stories of President Bill Clinton's last-day pardons by invoking a claim of executive privilege that extends far beyond the White House. Here's the article.
No mention of Julia Roberts or Hugh Grant?....850,000 Join London's Notting Hill Carnival, Europe's biggest street party Here's the article.
Pledge of Allegiance a Socialist invention? That's what this article says: But regarding the Pledge, here's something to bug some of the more shrill folks to the right: Francis Bellamy, the fellow who wrote The Pledge of Allegiance, was a self-described socialist! Bellamy was a Baptist pastor and "Christian Socialist" who, when resisted by fellow churchmen who thought him a radical, pointed to his belief in Jesus Christ and the Scriptures themselves as evidence for his activism Here's the rest of the article.
Wasn't there a movie about this?...Australian vigilantes picket homes and call for death to adulterers The Blackshirts are former husbands aggrieved by their treatment at the hands of their ex-wives and the courts, who regard themselves as the vanguard of a "men's rights" movement in Australia and say that their actions will be remembered as marking a turning-point in history. They have campaigned against the ordination of women and despise homosexuality, but the issue which unites them above all is anger at their former spouses and a rage at those who cuckolded them. Here's the article.
{UPDATE: Summit strikes deal on fisheries The deal - the first substantial one reached at the summit - envisages restoring most of the major global fisheries to commercial health by 2015. Here's that article.} Discussions are set to resume at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, with agriculture heading the agenda for the second day of debate. Here's the article. Here's another with a different tack: The environmental group Friends of the Earth International (FoE) called the U.S., Canada and Australia the "axis of environmental evil" for their failure to support international environmental agreements. Here's a Reuters item. The U.N. head of the Earth Summit denied on Tuesday the event would achieve little more than lofty talk about intractable problems and pledged action on narrowing the world's rich-poor divide without damaging the planet.
Mad science?...'Animals' grown from an artificial embryo Virtual creatures, with muscles, senses and primitive nervous systems, have been "grown" from artificial embryos in a computer simulation. The multi-celled organisms could be the first step towards using artificial evolution to create intelligent life from scratch Here's the article.
Election time... Germany's top newspapers have declared Sunday's television election debate between Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and challenger Edmund Stoiber a draw, even the conservative mass tabloid Bild failing to pick a winner Here's the article.
Police move against Basque party Masked Spanish police have closed the national headquarters of the Batasuna party - widely seen as the political wing of armed separatist group ETA - in a raid in the northern city of Pamplona. Here's the article.
And despite ETA, some people agree that Spain is actually quite nice...does rain have anything to do with it? More than half of Britons would like to emigrate from their homeland, fed up with the price of living and terrible weather, and would prefer to live in the United States or Spain, a survey published Monday said. Here's that article.
US presses case for attacking Iraq US Vice-President Dick Cheney has given one of the clearest signals yet that the Bush administration intends to depose Saddam Hussein. Mr Cheney, a leading hawk, said a policy of containment was no longer an option because doing nothing was riskier than acting against the Iraqi leader Here's the article.Check out this also: Bush Hails Strong Saudi Ties Before Meeting Envoy. And relatedly: Director of Homeland Security Tom Ridge has said cells of Osama Bin Laden's al-Qaeda network are operating in the United States. Here's that article...Interestingly, enough Bin Laden Urges Afghans to Continue Holy War Against US... An Islamic internet site issued a letter of Osama bin Laden that urges the Afghans to continue their Jihad, or holy war, against the United States, the Oriental radio reported on Sunday. Here's that article.
And check this out: Another 2 Russians likely to be at Guantanamo.
Speaking of Saddam.. Iraqi president Saddam Hussein had terrorist leader Abu Nidal killed because he is feeling the pressure of possible U.S. action to topple his regime, according to the respected British publication Jane's . Here's the article.
What gives?...Bush Seeks Secrecy For Pardon Discussions President Bush's lawyers are trying to keep secret the inside stories of President Bill Clinton's last-day pardons by invoking a claim of executive privilege that extends far beyond the White House. Here's the article.
No mention of Julia Roberts or Hugh Grant?....850,000 Join London's Notting Hill Carnival, Europe's biggest street party Here's the article.
Silly News
An example of insensitivity... The men used a gaff to fish the head out of the water and placed it in a garbage bag. Then they kept right on fishing. "We didn't want to come in right away, so we just put it in a bag in a bucket. It'd been out there awhile. What's a couple of hours?" Trabulsy said. Here's the article.
Satellite tracker finds goose in freezer A goose fitted with a £3,000 electronic transmitter to chart its migration has been tracked 4,500 miles (7,245 kilometres) by satellite - to an Eskimo hunter's freezer Here's the article.
In case you didn't see Apologia's funny post the other day, take a look at it then read this Male pale sun moths used to be found in South Australia but it seems they are extinct. Luckily, the Victorian females are parthenogenetic, which means they can fertilise themselves. But scientists are unsure of exactly how this Here's the article.
An example of insensitivity... The men used a gaff to fish the head out of the water and placed it in a garbage bag. Then they kept right on fishing. "We didn't want to come in right away, so we just put it in a bag in a bucket. It'd been out there awhile. What's a couple of hours?" Trabulsy said. Here's the article.
Satellite tracker finds goose in freezer A goose fitted with a £3,000 electronic transmitter to chart its migration has been tracked 4,500 miles (7,245 kilometres) by satellite - to an Eskimo hunter's freezer Here's the article.
In case you didn't see Apologia's funny post the other day, take a look at it then read this Male pale sun moths used to be found in South Australia but it seems they are extinct. Luckily, the Victorian females are parthenogenetic, which means they can fertilise themselves. But scientists are unsure of exactly how this Here's the article.
Monday, August 26, 2002
Comment
Just wanted to say a very belated thanks to Ono for linking to me a few times last week...go ahead, check out his site. I dare you!
And now for my thought of the day...was taking a gander at religious tolerance website, and at their item SHARED BELIEF IN THE "GOLDEN RULE"Ethics of Reciprocity, noting its most commonly known version in North America is the Golden Rule of Christianity. It is often expressed as "Do onto others as you would wish them do onto you."
The article goes on to quote similar sayings from various world religions, some quite long. Under the Christianity heading there is this:
"Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them." Matthew 7:12 ... and this "...and don't do what you hate...", Gospel of Thomas 6
What? Out of all the other books of the Bible, the authors decided to use the apocryphal The Gospel of Thomas? And it's interesting, to say the least, the amount of space given to Christianity. Scientology gets almost as much space with this: "20: Try to treat others as you would want them to treat you." This is one of the 21 moral precepts that form the moral code explained in L. Ron Hubbard's booklet "The Way to Happiness."
Furthermore, not anywhere in the article do you see Jesus Christ mentioned nor his relation to the Golden Rule. But I notice L. Ron got a plug.
I note also, the page gives much more space to these two items, which the article says are exceptions:
Church of Satan: "4. Satan represents kindness to those who deserve it instead of love wasted on ingrates! 5. Satan represents vengeance instead of turning the other cheek.!" A.S. LaVey, founder of The Church of Satan, The Nine Satanic Statements.
World Church of the Creator: "What is good for the White Race is the highest virtue; what is bad for the White Race is the ultimate sin." Although the W.C.O.T.C. uses the term "church" they are strongly anti-Christian in belief. Their religion is based mainly upon love of the white race and hatred of everyone else, who they call members of the "mud races."
The article explains that all the "creeds" are basically the same in meaning...But, I have a hard time matching up the Wiccan statement "An it harm no one, do what thou wilt" (i.e. do what every you want to, as long as it harms nobody, including yourself). The Wiccan Rede to that of Christianity.
Compare that last statement with this one (courtesy of New Advent) and their Moral Theology In General FAQ:
1 Question: We don't need all the ethical rules of organized religion. I think all we need to know about how to live is summed up in the Golden Rule.
If so, you disagree with the one who gave us that rule. Christ never confined moral truth to this principle, as important as it is. Treating others as you'd like to be treated isn't enough. If it were, a masochist would be justified inflicting pain on others simply because he derives pleasure from receiving it himself.
Jesus made it clear that sin can be committed even when no action against another is involved. In his teaching about lust, for example, he said you don't have to commit adultery with another to be guilty of the sin. Merely to look lustfully on a woman is to commit adultery with her in your heart (Matt. 5:27).
[Reprinted with permission from the July 1991 issue of This Rock magazine.]
Just wanted to say a very belated thanks to Ono for linking to me a few times last week...go ahead, check out his site. I dare you!
And now for my thought of the day...was taking a gander at religious tolerance website, and at their item SHARED BELIEF IN THE "GOLDEN RULE"Ethics of Reciprocity, noting its most commonly known version in North America is the Golden Rule of Christianity. It is often expressed as "Do onto others as you would wish them do onto you."
The article goes on to quote similar sayings from various world religions, some quite long. Under the Christianity heading there is this:
"Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them." Matthew 7:12 ... and this "...and don't do what you hate...", Gospel of Thomas 6
What? Out of all the other books of the Bible, the authors decided to use the apocryphal The Gospel of Thomas? And it's interesting, to say the least, the amount of space given to Christianity. Scientology gets almost as much space with this: "20: Try to treat others as you would want them to treat you." This is one of the 21 moral precepts that form the moral code explained in L. Ron Hubbard's booklet "The Way to Happiness."
Furthermore, not anywhere in the article do you see Jesus Christ mentioned nor his relation to the Golden Rule. But I notice L. Ron got a plug.
I note also, the page gives much more space to these two items, which the article says are exceptions:
Church of Satan: "4. Satan represents kindness to those who deserve it instead of love wasted on ingrates! 5. Satan represents vengeance instead of turning the other cheek.!" A.S. LaVey, founder of The Church of Satan, The Nine Satanic Statements.
World Church of the Creator: "What is good for the White Race is the highest virtue; what is bad for the White Race is the ultimate sin." Although the W.C.O.T.C. uses the term "church" they are strongly anti-Christian in belief. Their religion is based mainly upon love of the white race and hatred of everyone else, who they call members of the "mud races."
The article explains that all the "creeds" are basically the same in meaning...But, I have a hard time matching up the Wiccan statement "An it harm no one, do what thou wilt" (i.e. do what every you want to, as long as it harms nobody, including yourself). The Wiccan Rede to that of Christianity.
Compare that last statement with this one (courtesy of New Advent) and their Moral Theology In General FAQ:
1 Question: We don't need all the ethical rules of organized religion. I think all we need to know about how to live is summed up in the Golden Rule.
If so, you disagree with the one who gave us that rule. Christ never confined moral truth to this principle, as important as it is. Treating others as you'd like to be treated isn't enough. If it were, a masochist would be justified inflicting pain on others simply because he derives pleasure from receiving it himself.
Jesus made it clear that sin can be committed even when no action against another is involved. In his teaching about lust, for example, he said you don't have to commit adultery with another to be guilty of the sin. Merely to look lustfully on a woman is to commit adultery with her in your heart (Matt. 5:27).
[Reprinted with permission from the July 1991 issue of This Rock magazine.]
Religious News
Let the rumor mill start treading again...Church official says Pope John Paul II won't visit Philippines in January Pope John Paul II has canceled plans for a visit to the Philippines in January for an unspecified reason, a church official said Monday. The Vatican's secretary of state, Cardinal Sodano, has informed Manila Archbishop Cardinal Jaime Sin about "the sad news," said Sin's spokesman, Monsignor Socrates Villages. Ironically, Cardinal Sin's last name in Spanish means "without." Here's the article.
And speaking of rumors, here's an article about how August is rumor month in Italy (it often is here as well, las lenguas del serpiente...) August is the silly season for Italian newspapers, which may explain the recent rash of journalistic scoops about the Vatican -- some odd, some tantalizing and some outright fabrications. The month began with a bang. Italian readers opened their papers Aug. 1 to banner headlines: "Youth Fires on Papal Motorcade, Wounds a Policeman." Here's that story.
Australian bishops in the news again: Auxiliary Bishop Pat Power of Canberra-Goulburn Archdiocese has suggested a review of compulsory celibacy for priests in the wake of the clergy sex abuse scandal. Here's that article and this one: The criminal history of a man allegedly sexually molested by Sydney Archbishop George Pell was leaked to the media by the Catholic Church, a victims support group said yesterday. And relatedly, Catholic leaders show more concern for the unborn than the living in their stands on stem cell research and asylum seekers, a prominent business leader told a Sydney prayer meeting yesterday.
From Rolling Stone... There's been considerable debate over the last . . . oh, two thousand years or so . . . about the nature of Jesus Christ. But we'd venture to say that no matter what one's perception of him might be, one would be hard-pressed to imagine J.C. sporting an "AIDS Kills Fags Dead" t-shirt -- unless one was a theatrical producer, that is. One enterprising stage impresario apparently has just that vision, since he's cast former-Skid Row singer Sebastian Bach in the lead role of a road version of Jesus Christ Superstar, which is scheduled to run for nearly a year, starting in November. The tour, slated to take in more than two dozen cities, won't be stopping at any dinner theaters -- which will preclude Vince Neil from taking on a role as Peter, the portly disciple . Peter the Portly disciple? While they're at it, why not get Meatloaf in there...mmm...Here's the article.
They applauded calls for support of gay rights and laughed at jibes at the "radical Right." But they also nodded approvingly at readings of Bible verses and offered fervent "amens" to arguments that religion has a vital place in public life. The Texas Freedom Network began its Fundamentalism Education Project with what often felt like a revival meeting for the Religious Left. More than 500 people came together Monday at South Main Baptist Church for a one-day conference titled "Fundamentalism's Threat to Democracy." About 800 attended a speech by Karen Armstrong, whose book The Battle For God sets out a historical explanation for the rise of fundamentalism in Christianity, Judaism and Islam. Here's the article.
For the first time, a court has put a hold on some of the new government funding to promote sexual abstinence. Finding that certain abstinence programs in Louisiana are in violation of the constitutional separation of church and state, a federal judge there has ordered that the state stop giving money to these groups and face a trial in February. The injunction, ordered earlier this month, comes just as the Bush administration is trying to increase national spending on abstinence and provides a window into the legal questions that arise when public funds are allotted to groups ranging from crisis pregnancy centers to Christian ministries and churches. Here's the article.
In case you missed it the first time, here it is again... A high-ranking Polish priest spied for communist authorities on church officials including Pope John Paul II, who was the bishop of Krakow at the time, a government institute said Friday. Here's the article.
Isn't there a Commandment against this type of thing? Church members who visited town this week could face a $40,000 to $50,000 fine for allegedly taking at least 14,000 marine snails and lying to the police about it. Here's the article.
On the one hand, a bishop is barred from boarding an aircraft with his crozier. On the other, Sikh staff working in secure areas are being allowed to carry daggers. These are just two of the bizarre oddities thrown up by the inconsistent approach to security at British airports Here's the article.
How do you pronounce...S*C*H*I*S*M... But now, despite an attempt to paper over the cracks, a schism does seem to be opening up. Dr George Carey, who is after all still Archbishop of Canterbury for a few weeks more, has told the diocese of New Westminster in Canada that by their authorising the blessing of same-sex unions, "the unity of the Communion is imperilled". The Archbishop of Canterbury is not in charge of all the world's Anglicans, as if he were some kind of Protestant Pope. But England is the country from which Anglicanism grew. And the next Archbishop of Canterbury is in a position which I can only see as baffling. Here's the op-ed.
Relatedly, the Anglicans continue to do things the Anglican way: A WORKING PARTY of bishops set up by Dr Carey after the 1998 Lambeth Conference, to explore Anglican divisions over sexuality, has agreed, for the time being, to disagree on key issues. Here's the article.
And in this Anglican fit, do you know where the world's largest all-Anglican site is? The combined 11.9 ha site will also house the diocese offices of the Anglican church which runs the schools, a kindergarten and three Anglican chapels. Facilities include the JC's 1,000-seat cultural centre, its sports complex with a running track and an indoor gymnasium housed in the primary school. There are also plans to build an Olympic swimming pool in the future. Here's the answer.
A suburban Detroit man will appear at a pretrial hearing on Monday on charges he was driving drunk on his way to perform a circumcision. Samuel Greenbaum (pictured, left), 58, is one of five Detroit-area mohels, those who perform a delicate Jewish ritual, called a bris. Uh, delicate, you mean like heart surgery? Here's the article.
Interesting letter to the editor...Those of us who are from a cultural or ethnic minority cannot, and should not, seek to impose our wishes on the majority. All we can ask is for our own to be recognised. Here's the letter.
Priest-parliament member assassinated in Solomon Islands A Catholic priest in the Solomon Islands was murdered last Tuesday on the orders of a notorious tribal warlord Here's the article.
Road Mishaps Dog Anglican Church Talks Tragedy returned to haunt the Anglican Church yesterday when two women were injured in a road accident just days after five of their colleagues were killed in a vehicle smash-up. A group of 35 women were returning home from the five-day national convention of the Anglican Mothers' Union held in Mombasa when their hired school bus crashed at Makindu on the Nairobi-Mombasa highway yesterday Here's the article.
For you teeny-boppers out there... Kylie Minogue has denied she underwent a Hindu marriage-style ceremony in Bali with boyfriend James Gooding....The News of the World reported the couple held hands and made a pledge of eternal love on the Indonesian island Here's the article.
Little Graham not following papa's path... As the son and ministerial heir of the most famous evangelist in the United States, Franklin Graham is stepping into one of the tallest pulpits in Christianity. His recent comments on Islam, however, show he won't be the ecumenical bridge-builder that his father, Billy Graham, often tries to be. Here's the article.
Muslims are wrong to blame the British media I fear that British Muslims, eager to make themselves as influential as British Jews, are picking up bad lessons with the good Here's the article.
Four people were arrested yesterday at a London rally in support of the radical Islamic group Al Muhajiroun, British police said.
Two supporters of the group, which has expressed its backing for Osama bin Laden and declared Prime Minister Tony Blair a legitimate target for Muslims, were arrested for inciting disorder and using threatening language. Here's the article.
That river is now blessed... Local Buddhists held a ceremony recently to bless the Rappahannock River, where more than 60 people have drowned since 1972. More than two dozen of them recited a Great Compassion mantra as part of the ceremony Here's the article.
Scandals in...collections out... Though most congregations across the country still send ushers to solicit from every pew, Emmaus Road Church in downtown Seattle is among a growing number that have dropped the collection tradition like a handful of spare change Here's the article.
If collections are down, maybe they should try following in this Welsh vicar's footsteps... Cooks have got together to produce a 3,000 gallon jelly and a bara brith the size of a cricket pitch. There will also be record bids for the largest street party to be hosted in Wales, and a fire mile Mexican wave with 5,000 people taking part. The two remaining attempts involve abseliling the equivalent of the height of Snowdon and the sowing of a massive tapestry depicting the history of Prestatyn Here's the article.
Let the rumor mill start treading again...Church official says Pope John Paul II won't visit Philippines in January Pope John Paul II has canceled plans for a visit to the Philippines in January for an unspecified reason, a church official said Monday. The Vatican's secretary of state, Cardinal Sodano, has informed Manila Archbishop Cardinal Jaime Sin about "the sad news," said Sin's spokesman, Monsignor Socrates Villages. Ironically, Cardinal Sin's last name in Spanish means "without." Here's the article.
And speaking of rumors, here's an article about how August is rumor month in Italy (it often is here as well, las lenguas del serpiente...) August is the silly season for Italian newspapers, which may explain the recent rash of journalistic scoops about the Vatican -- some odd, some tantalizing and some outright fabrications. The month began with a bang. Italian readers opened their papers Aug. 1 to banner headlines: "Youth Fires on Papal Motorcade, Wounds a Policeman." Here's that story.
Australian bishops in the news again: Auxiliary Bishop Pat Power of Canberra-Goulburn Archdiocese has suggested a review of compulsory celibacy for priests in the wake of the clergy sex abuse scandal. Here's that article and this one: The criminal history of a man allegedly sexually molested by Sydney Archbishop George Pell was leaked to the media by the Catholic Church, a victims support group said yesterday. And relatedly, Catholic leaders show more concern for the unborn than the living in their stands on stem cell research and asylum seekers, a prominent business leader told a Sydney prayer meeting yesterday.
From Rolling Stone... There's been considerable debate over the last . . . oh, two thousand years or so . . . about the nature of Jesus Christ. But we'd venture to say that no matter what one's perception of him might be, one would be hard-pressed to imagine J.C. sporting an "AIDS Kills Fags Dead" t-shirt -- unless one was a theatrical producer, that is. One enterprising stage impresario apparently has just that vision, since he's cast former-Skid Row singer Sebastian Bach in the lead role of a road version of Jesus Christ Superstar, which is scheduled to run for nearly a year, starting in November. The tour, slated to take in more than two dozen cities, won't be stopping at any dinner theaters -- which will preclude Vince Neil from taking on a role as Peter, the portly disciple . Peter the Portly disciple? While they're at it, why not get Meatloaf in there...mmm...Here's the article.
They applauded calls for support of gay rights and laughed at jibes at the "radical Right." But they also nodded approvingly at readings of Bible verses and offered fervent "amens" to arguments that religion has a vital place in public life. The Texas Freedom Network began its Fundamentalism Education Project with what often felt like a revival meeting for the Religious Left. More than 500 people came together Monday at South Main Baptist Church for a one-day conference titled "Fundamentalism's Threat to Democracy." About 800 attended a speech by Karen Armstrong, whose book The Battle For God sets out a historical explanation for the rise of fundamentalism in Christianity, Judaism and Islam. Here's the article.
For the first time, a court has put a hold on some of the new government funding to promote sexual abstinence. Finding that certain abstinence programs in Louisiana are in violation of the constitutional separation of church and state, a federal judge there has ordered that the state stop giving money to these groups and face a trial in February. The injunction, ordered earlier this month, comes just as the Bush administration is trying to increase national spending on abstinence and provides a window into the legal questions that arise when public funds are allotted to groups ranging from crisis pregnancy centers to Christian ministries and churches. Here's the article.
In case you missed it the first time, here it is again... A high-ranking Polish priest spied for communist authorities on church officials including Pope John Paul II, who was the bishop of Krakow at the time, a government institute said Friday. Here's the article.
Isn't there a Commandment against this type of thing? Church members who visited town this week could face a $40,000 to $50,000 fine for allegedly taking at least 14,000 marine snails and lying to the police about it. Here's the article.
On the one hand, a bishop is barred from boarding an aircraft with his crozier. On the other, Sikh staff working in secure areas are being allowed to carry daggers. These are just two of the bizarre oddities thrown up by the inconsistent approach to security at British airports Here's the article.
How do you pronounce...S*C*H*I*S*M... But now, despite an attempt to paper over the cracks, a schism does seem to be opening up. Dr George Carey, who is after all still Archbishop of Canterbury for a few weeks more, has told the diocese of New Westminster in Canada that by their authorising the blessing of same-sex unions, "the unity of the Communion is imperilled". The Archbishop of Canterbury is not in charge of all the world's Anglicans, as if he were some kind of Protestant Pope. But England is the country from which Anglicanism grew. And the next Archbishop of Canterbury is in a position which I can only see as baffling. Here's the op-ed.
Relatedly, the Anglicans continue to do things the Anglican way: A WORKING PARTY of bishops set up by Dr Carey after the 1998 Lambeth Conference, to explore Anglican divisions over sexuality, has agreed, for the time being, to disagree on key issues. Here's the article.
And in this Anglican fit, do you know where the world's largest all-Anglican site is? The combined 11.9 ha site will also house the diocese offices of the Anglican church which runs the schools, a kindergarten and three Anglican chapels. Facilities include the JC's 1,000-seat cultural centre, its sports complex with a running track and an indoor gymnasium housed in the primary school. There are also plans to build an Olympic swimming pool in the future. Here's the answer.
A suburban Detroit man will appear at a pretrial hearing on Monday on charges he was driving drunk on his way to perform a circumcision. Samuel Greenbaum (pictured, left), 58, is one of five Detroit-area mohels, those who perform a delicate Jewish ritual, called a bris. Uh, delicate, you mean like heart surgery? Here's the article.
Interesting letter to the editor...Those of us who are from a cultural or ethnic minority cannot, and should not, seek to impose our wishes on the majority. All we can ask is for our own to be recognised. Here's the letter.
Priest-parliament member assassinated in Solomon Islands A Catholic priest in the Solomon Islands was murdered last Tuesday on the orders of a notorious tribal warlord Here's the article.
Road Mishaps Dog Anglican Church Talks Tragedy returned to haunt the Anglican Church yesterday when two women were injured in a road accident just days after five of their colleagues were killed in a vehicle smash-up. A group of 35 women were returning home from the five-day national convention of the Anglican Mothers' Union held in Mombasa when their hired school bus crashed at Makindu on the Nairobi-Mombasa highway yesterday Here's the article.
For you teeny-boppers out there... Kylie Minogue has denied she underwent a Hindu marriage-style ceremony in Bali with boyfriend James Gooding....The News of the World reported the couple held hands and made a pledge of eternal love on the Indonesian island Here's the article.
Little Graham not following papa's path... As the son and ministerial heir of the most famous evangelist in the United States, Franklin Graham is stepping into one of the tallest pulpits in Christianity. His recent comments on Islam, however, show he won't be the ecumenical bridge-builder that his father, Billy Graham, often tries to be. Here's the article.
Muslims are wrong to blame the British media I fear that British Muslims, eager to make themselves as influential as British Jews, are picking up bad lessons with the good Here's the article.
Four people were arrested yesterday at a London rally in support of the radical Islamic group Al Muhajiroun, British police said.
Two supporters of the group, which has expressed its backing for Osama bin Laden and declared Prime Minister Tony Blair a legitimate target for Muslims, were arrested for inciting disorder and using threatening language. Here's the article.
That river is now blessed... Local Buddhists held a ceremony recently to bless the Rappahannock River, where more than 60 people have drowned since 1972. More than two dozen of them recited a Great Compassion mantra as part of the ceremony Here's the article.
Scandals in...collections out... Though most congregations across the country still send ushers to solicit from every pew, Emmaus Road Church in downtown Seattle is among a growing number that have dropped the collection tradition like a handful of spare change Here's the article.
If collections are down, maybe they should try following in this Welsh vicar's footsteps... Cooks have got together to produce a 3,000 gallon jelly and a bara brith the size of a cricket pitch. There will also be record bids for the largest street party to be hosted in Wales, and a fire mile Mexican wave with 5,000 people taking part. The two remaining attempts involve abseliling the equivalent of the height of Snowdon and the sowing of a massive tapestry depicting the history of Prestatyn Here's the article.
Serious News
Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development gets under way Delegates are trying to settle major differences between rich and poor nations over issues such as trade, which environmentalists say are a distraction from the real business of the summit. Negotiators are still said to be far apart on a plan of action to present to the heads of state and government arriving next week. Here's that article and another: DIPLOMATS battled today to end rifts over reducing poverty and protecting the environment that threaten the Earth Summit as South Africa warned activists that "anarchy" will not be tolerated. "If we continue like this we will end up eating each other," Italian environment minister Altero Matteoli warned in an interview in La Stampa newspaper published on the eve of the summit which opens tomorrow.
Warning! Sailing the high seas is still risky business...Dr Edwards had to deal with a range of medical crises, from two crew members who had to be airlifted to hospital, to a sick goat. One of the main causes of ill-health was the ship's biscuits, which resulted in a number of dental problems, including a broken tooth. Here's the article.
Spain set to ban Basque separatist party Batasuna, a political party that campaigns for an independent Basque state, faces a double blow today: the Spanish parliament is expected to vote overwhelmingly in favour of banning the radical group, while a senior investigative judge is poised to suspend Batasuna's activities on the grounds that they benefit Eta, the outlawed Basque separatist group. Here's the article and related: "Long live armed ETA" reads graffiti in the People's Tavern where militant Basque separatists were seething over Spanish plans to ban their party.
Notice: Desperately need teachers, paedophiles MAY apply... Schools are trying to bypass official checks on whether new staff have criminal records because they are so desperate to cover teacher shortages before the start of the new school year. Here's the article.
The former US Secretary of State, James Baker, has warned the Bush administration that it would be very risky and expensive to mount an invasion of Iraq - especially if the White House decided to go it alone. Here's the article.
Russia defended itself against U.S. criticism of its economic ties with countries like Iraq, saying attempts to mix business and ideology were misguided. ``Mixing ideology with economic ties, which was characteristic of the Cold War that Russia and the United States worked to end, is a thing of the past,'' Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Boris Malakhov said Saturday, reacting to U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's statement that Moscow's economic relationships with such countries sends a negative signal. Here's the article...and could that be why this? US deplores Russian bombings in Georgia Or is it really a case of it's ok for us, but not for them? Nuh...that would be too simple.
But wait, there's more... Lawyers for President Bush have concluded he can launch an attack on Iraq without new approval from Congress, in part because they say permission remains in force from the 1991 resolution giving Bush's father authority to wage war in the Persian Gulf, according to administration officials Here's the article. And, as an added bonus, or punishment, depending on your leanings...Hitchens' latest on the subject..
Uh, was there any doubt?...Kharrazi: Iran is not neutral over attack on Iraq Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi here Saturday ruled down speculations that Iran had adopted a neutral stance toward a possible US attack on Iraq and reiterated Tehran's opposition to a military action Here's the article.
Well thank goodness for this (from IRNA): Foreign reporters expected to observe ethics in conveying news Director General for Foreign Media at the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance Mohammad Hassan Khoshvaqt said on Sunday that foreign journalists are expected to observe professional ethics in conveying news from Iran. He told IRNA that all foreign reporters are free to visit Iran for carrying out their professional job adding that the department for foreign media which issues license for foreign reporters requires them to be honest in conveying news. Here's the article.
When people do stupid things...this is incredible, and not the correct way to "free" mink...the activists seem to not even care that these are not wild animals, and will die if set free...I know, as I worked on a mink farm when growing up (I've got the scars up and down my arms to prove it). I have no love for these nasty littly animals, but what these people did, to me, borders on cruel...Members of an animal-rights group cut fences and broke open pens at an Iowa mink farm over the weekend, releasing hundreds of the cat-sized animals prized for their fur...Becky Demuth, who owns the farm with her husband, Nick, said about 1,200 mink escaped and half had been recovered by Monday. She said others had been run over by vehicles or killed by dogs....A percentage will die, there's no doubt about that," said Barbarash, who lives in Courtenay, British Columbia. "But all of them would die at the hands of the mink farmer if they weren't released. Outside their cages, they do have a fighting chance of survival." Here's the article.
As Aug. 31 approaches, expect more...Prince William has told friends his mother was right all along to suspect her former protection officer of spying on her and he doesn't want any detective intruding on his own privacy. William and Prince Harry are so devastated by the treachery of Ken Wharfe, whom they looked on as a surrogate father, they are now refusing to talk to their own detectives. Here's the article.
See what I mean, here's another one... 'What you must please remember,' he says, with profound delicacy, 'is that Mr al-Fayed is still very much a grieving father, and this is the fifth anniversary of the death of his son. He will no doubt among other things give you his thoughts on Prince Philip and, taken out of context, to some unsympathetic ears, some of this may make him sound like a bit of a ranting lunatic... But you must understand he cares very deeply about these things...
Another tradition in danger! What would Mr. Burns think? Plans by the food safety watchdog to alter a recipe for haggis have provoked fierce opposition in Scotland. Here's the article.
7-Up No Longer Laughing 7-Up No Longer LaughingSoft drink giant Dr. Pepper/7-Up, Inc. has pulled an advertising campaign which prison reform and human rights activists said trivialized prison rape Here's the article.
Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development gets under way Delegates are trying to settle major differences between rich and poor nations over issues such as trade, which environmentalists say are a distraction from the real business of the summit. Negotiators are still said to be far apart on a plan of action to present to the heads of state and government arriving next week. Here's that article and another: DIPLOMATS battled today to end rifts over reducing poverty and protecting the environment that threaten the Earth Summit as South Africa warned activists that "anarchy" will not be tolerated. "If we continue like this we will end up eating each other," Italian environment minister Altero Matteoli warned in an interview in La Stampa newspaper published on the eve of the summit which opens tomorrow.
Warning! Sailing the high seas is still risky business...Dr Edwards had to deal with a range of medical crises, from two crew members who had to be airlifted to hospital, to a sick goat. One of the main causes of ill-health was the ship's biscuits, which resulted in a number of dental problems, including a broken tooth. Here's the article.
Spain set to ban Basque separatist party Batasuna, a political party that campaigns for an independent Basque state, faces a double blow today: the Spanish parliament is expected to vote overwhelmingly in favour of banning the radical group, while a senior investigative judge is poised to suspend Batasuna's activities on the grounds that they benefit Eta, the outlawed Basque separatist group. Here's the article and related: "Long live armed ETA" reads graffiti in the People's Tavern where militant Basque separatists were seething over Spanish plans to ban their party.
Notice: Desperately need teachers, paedophiles MAY apply... Schools are trying to bypass official checks on whether new staff have criminal records because they are so desperate to cover teacher shortages before the start of the new school year. Here's the article.
The former US Secretary of State, James Baker, has warned the Bush administration that it would be very risky and expensive to mount an invasion of Iraq - especially if the White House decided to go it alone. Here's the article.
Russia defended itself against U.S. criticism of its economic ties with countries like Iraq, saying attempts to mix business and ideology were misguided. ``Mixing ideology with economic ties, which was characteristic of the Cold War that Russia and the United States worked to end, is a thing of the past,'' Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Boris Malakhov said Saturday, reacting to U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's statement that Moscow's economic relationships with such countries sends a negative signal. Here's the article...and could that be why this? US deplores Russian bombings in Georgia Or is it really a case of it's ok for us, but not for them? Nuh...that would be too simple.
But wait, there's more... Lawyers for President Bush have concluded he can launch an attack on Iraq without new approval from Congress, in part because they say permission remains in force from the 1991 resolution giving Bush's father authority to wage war in the Persian Gulf, according to administration officials Here's the article. And, as an added bonus, or punishment, depending on your leanings...Hitchens' latest on the subject..
Uh, was there any doubt?...Kharrazi: Iran is not neutral over attack on Iraq Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi here Saturday ruled down speculations that Iran had adopted a neutral stance toward a possible US attack on Iraq and reiterated Tehran's opposition to a military action Here's the article.
Well thank goodness for this (from IRNA): Foreign reporters expected to observe ethics in conveying news Director General for Foreign Media at the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance Mohammad Hassan Khoshvaqt said on Sunday that foreign journalists are expected to observe professional ethics in conveying news from Iran. He told IRNA that all foreign reporters are free to visit Iran for carrying out their professional job adding that the department for foreign media which issues license for foreign reporters requires them to be honest in conveying news. Here's the article.
When people do stupid things...this is incredible, and not the correct way to "free" mink...the activists seem to not even care that these are not wild animals, and will die if set free...I know, as I worked on a mink farm when growing up (I've got the scars up and down my arms to prove it). I have no love for these nasty littly animals, but what these people did, to me, borders on cruel...Members of an animal-rights group cut fences and broke open pens at an Iowa mink farm over the weekend, releasing hundreds of the cat-sized animals prized for their fur...Becky Demuth, who owns the farm with her husband, Nick, said about 1,200 mink escaped and half had been recovered by Monday. She said others had been run over by vehicles or killed by dogs....A percentage will die, there's no doubt about that," said Barbarash, who lives in Courtenay, British Columbia. "But all of them would die at the hands of the mink farmer if they weren't released. Outside their cages, they do have a fighting chance of survival." Here's the article.
As Aug. 31 approaches, expect more...Prince William has told friends his mother was right all along to suspect her former protection officer of spying on her and he doesn't want any detective intruding on his own privacy. William and Prince Harry are so devastated by the treachery of Ken Wharfe, whom they looked on as a surrogate father, they are now refusing to talk to their own detectives. Here's the article.
See what I mean, here's another one... 'What you must please remember,' he says, with profound delicacy, 'is that Mr al-Fayed is still very much a grieving father, and this is the fifth anniversary of the death of his son. He will no doubt among other things give you his thoughts on Prince Philip and, taken out of context, to some unsympathetic ears, some of this may make him sound like a bit of a ranting lunatic... But you must understand he cares very deeply about these things...
Another tradition in danger! What would Mr. Burns think? Plans by the food safety watchdog to alter a recipe for haggis have provoked fierce opposition in Scotland. Here's the article.
7-Up No Longer Laughing 7-Up No Longer LaughingSoft drink giant Dr. Pepper/7-Up, Inc. has pulled an advertising campaign which prison reform and human rights activists said trivialized prison rape Here's the article.
Silly News
Okay, I've posted a lot about "mentally-handicapped" criminals...now here's one about guards...A judge on an inspection visit to a Brazilian jail discovered a straw scarecrow dressed in police uniform on the watchtower "guarding" some 735 prisoners, police said on Friday.The judge removed the scarecrow, which had apparently been in the watchtower for days, on Thursday and took it to the court as evidence. Police opened an investigation. And this winner of a quote, which I think could be the understatement of the year..."It is considered a grave breach of security rules," a police spokesman said, adding that a prison guard or a police officer should have been on the tower at all times. Here's the article.
What's with these prisons? Canadian prison officials have launched a probe into a barbecue held at a Saskatoon psychiatric facility following reports that potentially violent inmates dined on steak, climbed trees and stripped naked. Here's that article.
No offense, but this just seems to be, well, silly...maybe somebody's been watching old reruns of "The Honeymooners?".As the debate rages over using the Yucca Mountain as a burial ground for thousands of tons of radioactive material, a better site for unwanted nuclear waste holds its mute vigil in the skies above the Nevada desert: the moon. Here's the article.
Okay, I've posted a lot about "mentally-handicapped" criminals...now here's one about guards...A judge on an inspection visit to a Brazilian jail discovered a straw scarecrow dressed in police uniform on the watchtower "guarding" some 735 prisoners, police said on Friday.The judge removed the scarecrow, which had apparently been in the watchtower for days, on Thursday and took it to the court as evidence. Police opened an investigation. And this winner of a quote, which I think could be the understatement of the year..."It is considered a grave breach of security rules," a police spokesman said, adding that a prison guard or a police officer should have been on the tower at all times. Here's the article.
What's with these prisons? Canadian prison officials have launched a probe into a barbecue held at a Saskatoon psychiatric facility following reports that potentially violent inmates dined on steak, climbed trees and stripped naked. Here's that article.
No offense, but this just seems to be, well, silly...maybe somebody's been watching old reruns of "The Honeymooners?".As the debate rages over using the Yucca Mountain as a burial ground for thousands of tons of radioactive material, a better site for unwanted nuclear waste holds its mute vigil in the skies above the Nevada desert: the moon. Here's the article.
Saturday, August 24, 2002
Religious News
This is in all the press here...spys like us?....Senior Priest Spied on Pope A high-ranking Polish priest spied for communist authorities on church officials including Pope John Paul II, who was the bishop of Krakow at the time, a government institute said Friday. The statement by the Institute of National Remembrance, which oversees the Polish secret service's files, was the first time an official confirmation of long-held suspicions that the pope — then Karol Wojtyla — was spied on before he was elected to the papacy in 1978. Here's that article.
When man plays God...The lawyer representing two women fighting to preserve frozen embryos says their human rights are being breached. Both Natallie Evans and Lorraine Hadley are going to the High Court to stop former partners from having the fertilised embryos destroyed. The women claim embryology law means both parties must consent to the embryos storage and use, and say their case could have broad implications for other couples on IVF treatment. Here's the article.
Fla Gov Jeb Bush Cites Religious 'Bigotry' Against Religious Conservatives After Criticism of Agency Head Gov. Jeb Bush defended his choice to lead Florida's beleaguered child welfare agency after an article surfaced in which he condoned "manly" discipline of children and asserted that men have authority over their wives. Here's the article.
From the Church of the Sopranos...Like Tony Soprano, I can be greedy, lustful, angry and depressed," says Seay, 30, pastor of Ecclesia, a progressive Christian community in Houston. "I don't commit adultery, murder, theft and the like, but it is possible that I could. The same kind of selfishness is within me." That's why Seay believes his congregation and other Christians can learn a lot about moral issues by watching the show. In his new book, "The Gospel According to Tony Soprano: An Unauthorized Look Into the Soul of TV's Top Mob Boss and His Family," Seay compares Tony to King Solomon. Here's the article.
Interesting letter to editorThat rethinking, a true ''repentance'' that has been ongoing for the past 40 years, has led to historic words and deeds, not just by the pope, but by Catholic bishops, priests, and laity in dialogue with Jews. Some of these ''impressive bridges'' have originated here in Boston. However embattled the archdiocese and its cardinal-archbishop may be at the moment, it is only fair to acknowledge the leadership of Cardinal Law and Bishop William Murphy in bringing Catholics and Jews together to promote mutual understanding and respect. Here's the letter.
From the Boston Globe...Becoming a priest in a time of turmoil...The demands of celibacy, heavy workloads, and a sexual abuse crisis that has shattered trust in the church: The tasks facing Catholic priests-in-training, always demanding, are even more daunting now. Mike Fitzpatrick is one of a dozen seminarians from the Diocese of Fall River who gathered recently in Wareham for the diocese's annual retreat. Fitzpatrick, 32, of Wrentham, entered Mount St. Mary's Seminary in Maryland three years ago and is to be ordained next spring. Here's the article.
More out of Australia...Church responds to more abuse claims The Archbishop of Sydney, George Pell, has been forced to respond to another sex abuse claim after an alleged victim accused the Melbourne archdiocese of having "covered up" a scandal involving a church worker and a priest. The worker, who was jailed on 29 charges of indecent assault and buggery, is alleged by former altar boys to have been a serial abuser at Fawkner North parish, where he worked in the 1960s. He is also alleged to have abused boys at the Smith's Beach camp on Phillip Island, where Dr Pell is alleged to have abused a 12-year-old boy. Here's the article.
This is in all the press here...spys like us?....Senior Priest Spied on Pope A high-ranking Polish priest spied for communist authorities on church officials including Pope John Paul II, who was the bishop of Krakow at the time, a government institute said Friday. The statement by the Institute of National Remembrance, which oversees the Polish secret service's files, was the first time an official confirmation of long-held suspicions that the pope — then Karol Wojtyla — was spied on before he was elected to the papacy in 1978. Here's that article.
When man plays God...The lawyer representing two women fighting to preserve frozen embryos says their human rights are being breached. Both Natallie Evans and Lorraine Hadley are going to the High Court to stop former partners from having the fertilised embryos destroyed. The women claim embryology law means both parties must consent to the embryos storage and use, and say their case could have broad implications for other couples on IVF treatment. Here's the article.
Fla Gov Jeb Bush Cites Religious 'Bigotry' Against Religious Conservatives After Criticism of Agency Head Gov. Jeb Bush defended his choice to lead Florida's beleaguered child welfare agency after an article surfaced in which he condoned "manly" discipline of children and asserted that men have authority over their wives. Here's the article.
From the Church of the Sopranos...Like Tony Soprano, I can be greedy, lustful, angry and depressed," says Seay, 30, pastor of Ecclesia, a progressive Christian community in Houston. "I don't commit adultery, murder, theft and the like, but it is possible that I could. The same kind of selfishness is within me." That's why Seay believes his congregation and other Christians can learn a lot about moral issues by watching the show. In his new book, "The Gospel According to Tony Soprano: An Unauthorized Look Into the Soul of TV's Top Mob Boss and His Family," Seay compares Tony to King Solomon. Here's the article.
Interesting letter to editorThat rethinking, a true ''repentance'' that has been ongoing for the past 40 years, has led to historic words and deeds, not just by the pope, but by Catholic bishops, priests, and laity in dialogue with Jews. Some of these ''impressive bridges'' have originated here in Boston. However embattled the archdiocese and its cardinal-archbishop may be at the moment, it is only fair to acknowledge the leadership of Cardinal Law and Bishop William Murphy in bringing Catholics and Jews together to promote mutual understanding and respect. Here's the letter.
From the Boston Globe...Becoming a priest in a time of turmoil...The demands of celibacy, heavy workloads, and a sexual abuse crisis that has shattered trust in the church: The tasks facing Catholic priests-in-training, always demanding, are even more daunting now. Mike Fitzpatrick is one of a dozen seminarians from the Diocese of Fall River who gathered recently in Wareham for the diocese's annual retreat. Fitzpatrick, 32, of Wrentham, entered Mount St. Mary's Seminary in Maryland three years ago and is to be ordained next spring. Here's the article.
More out of Australia...Church responds to more abuse claims The Archbishop of Sydney, George Pell, has been forced to respond to another sex abuse claim after an alleged victim accused the Melbourne archdiocese of having "covered up" a scandal involving a church worker and a priest. The worker, who was jailed on 29 charges of indecent assault and buggery, is alleged by former altar boys to have been a serial abuser at Fawkner North parish, where he worked in the 1960s. He is also alleged to have abused boys at the Smith's Beach camp on Phillip Island, where Dr Pell is alleged to have abused a 12-year-old boy. Here's the article.
Serious News
Still after the money and fame? A millionaire drug smuggler should be allowed to withdraw a guilty plea because his trial attorney, F. Lee Bailey, misled him and was more interested in his fortune than representing him, the man's attorneys argued Wednesday. Here's the article.
Guardian says US warhawks are, uh...chickenhawks...Not everyone is implicated: Colin Powell's military record is solid, of course, which may help explain his distaste for fighting; and Donald Rumsfeld, an older man, was a naval aviator, albeit in the undramatic mid-50s. Otherwise, it starts with the president, who missed Vietnam by securing a cushy number in the Texas air national guard after (so everyone assumes) his congressman father pulled strings to get him in. It is less well-known that Dick Cheney avoided the draft by getting deferments, first because he was a student, then because he was married. "I had other priorities in the 60s than military service," he has said. Fine. Me too, Dick. Some people have got other priorities now. How about you? Here's the article.
US worse than Al Quaeda? That's what antiwar.com says with respect to animal testing..."Each year, at least 320,000 primates, dogs, pigs, goats, sheep, rabbits, cats, and other animals are hurt and killed by the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) in experiments that rank among the most painful conducted in this country...The cost to taxpayers for these military experiments is estimated to be in excess of $100 million annually." Here's the article.
Interesting read...Images of liquor-bottle memorials appear in popular culture, like the final scene of the 1975 film "Cooley High," in which friends pour alcohol onto the grave of a friend mistakenly gunned down by a Chicago cop. The late rapper Eazy-E poured out a liquor tribute on one of his album covers, and the idea of pouring "One for my homey" was even spoofed in an Austin Powers movie. The custom has roots in African religious traditions of pouring libations in honor of fallen ancestors, scholars say. Here's the article.
A man who was arrested as a major terrorism suspect after the 11 September attacks and has been held in custody ever since has told the BBC that he was beaten and held for months without legal representation.Nabil al-Marabh was one of hundreds of men swept up in the nationwide terrorism investigation. Here's the article.
Europe flooding...As Dresden and the surrounding state of Saxony picked up the pieces, emergency workers and volunteers farther down the Elbe River in northwestern Germany appeared to be winning their battle to protect already sodden dikes against the flood wave. Here's the article. And flooding in China Around a million people have been mobilised to help protect dykes stretching 930 kilometres (580 miles) around the lake in Hunan Province which has been swollen by flood waters and that article.
There has long been suggestion that Mohammed Atta and his accomplices prepared their devastating onslaught in Afghanistan, but the German anti-crime agency, BKA, believes it has fresh proof to confirm the suspicion Here's the article.
US envoy Armitage arrives in Pakistan for talks US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage arrived in Pakistan Saturday ahead of meetings with members of the country's military government aimed primarily at reducing tensions with neighbouring India, a US embassy spokesman said. Here's the article.
Still after the money and fame? A millionaire drug smuggler should be allowed to withdraw a guilty plea because his trial attorney, F. Lee Bailey, misled him and was more interested in his fortune than representing him, the man's attorneys argued Wednesday. Here's the article.
Guardian says US warhawks are, uh...chickenhawks...Not everyone is implicated: Colin Powell's military record is solid, of course, which may help explain his distaste for fighting; and Donald Rumsfeld, an older man, was a naval aviator, albeit in the undramatic mid-50s. Otherwise, it starts with the president, who missed Vietnam by securing a cushy number in the Texas air national guard after (so everyone assumes) his congressman father pulled strings to get him in. It is less well-known that Dick Cheney avoided the draft by getting deferments, first because he was a student, then because he was married. "I had other priorities in the 60s than military service," he has said. Fine. Me too, Dick. Some people have got other priorities now. How about you? Here's the article.
US worse than Al Quaeda? That's what antiwar.com says with respect to animal testing..."Each year, at least 320,000 primates, dogs, pigs, goats, sheep, rabbits, cats, and other animals are hurt and killed by the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) in experiments that rank among the most painful conducted in this country...The cost to taxpayers for these military experiments is estimated to be in excess of $100 million annually." Here's the article.
Interesting read...Images of liquor-bottle memorials appear in popular culture, like the final scene of the 1975 film "Cooley High," in which friends pour alcohol onto the grave of a friend mistakenly gunned down by a Chicago cop. The late rapper Eazy-E poured out a liquor tribute on one of his album covers, and the idea of pouring "One for my homey" was even spoofed in an Austin Powers movie. The custom has roots in African religious traditions of pouring libations in honor of fallen ancestors, scholars say. Here's the article.
A man who was arrested as a major terrorism suspect after the 11 September attacks and has been held in custody ever since has told the BBC that he was beaten and held for months without legal representation.Nabil al-Marabh was one of hundreds of men swept up in the nationwide terrorism investigation. Here's the article.
Europe flooding...As Dresden and the surrounding state of Saxony picked up the pieces, emergency workers and volunteers farther down the Elbe River in northwestern Germany appeared to be winning their battle to protect already sodden dikes against the flood wave. Here's the article. And flooding in China Around a million people have been mobilised to help protect dykes stretching 930 kilometres (580 miles) around the lake in Hunan Province which has been swollen by flood waters and that article.
There has long been suggestion that Mohammed Atta and his accomplices prepared their devastating onslaught in Afghanistan, but the German anti-crime agency, BKA, believes it has fresh proof to confirm the suspicion Here's the article.
US envoy Armitage arrives in Pakistan for talks US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage arrived in Pakistan Saturday ahead of meetings with members of the country's military government aimed primarily at reducing tensions with neighbouring India, a US embassy spokesman said. Here's the article.
Silly News
It's Michael Jackson, so it's gotta be silly...Singer Michael Jackson appears to be a three-time pop -- in the parental sense, that is. The Gloved One recently attended a performance by Las Vegas magicians Siegfried and Roy with his two children by ex-wife Debbie Rowe -- 5-year-old son Prince Michael and 4-year-old daughter Paris -- plus an infant boy he introduced as his "third child," People magazine reported on Thursday. Here's the article.
It's Michael Jackson, so it's gotta be silly...Singer Michael Jackson appears to be a three-time pop -- in the parental sense, that is. The Gloved One recently attended a performance by Las Vegas magicians Siegfried and Roy with his two children by ex-wife Debbie Rowe -- 5-year-old son Prince Michael and 4-year-old daughter Paris -- plus an infant boy he introduced as his "third child," People magazine reported on Thursday. Here's the article.
Friday, August 23, 2002
Comment
Here's an interesting case...but first you have to check out the pictures at the following sites:
The Magi: On to Bethlehem, The Sacrifice
The author of the above paintings has had 18 art shows in such places as Mexico City, Chicago and Malaga, Spain. There has even been quite a few write ups here in Spain on Mario Flores.
Oh, and he's on death row in Illinois for murder. Here's his statement.
In Chicago, there was a very nice article in Spanish published by "Catolico", an official Spanish Catholic "newspaper." This paragraph struck me, which I've translated: "18 years in maximum security, guarded closely, have led him to look within, to meditate, to read and to pray. “When God enters and turns on the light, there is nobody that can turn it off." He told me also that he has read the lives of Saint Augustine and St. John of the Cross, and that they have given him strength. I tell you, I was surprised by how strong and enthusiastic he was. "I am a made of a different fiber," he said, adding, "in my first years in jail I dedicated myself to the spiritual walk."
It should be mentioned that "Catolico" is an active advocate of Mario Flores, noting that there are multiple "irregularities" in his case. Here's a website with more about Mario Flores and this with more fotos of his artwork.
Interesting...hmmm.
Here's an interesting case...but first you have to check out the pictures at the following sites:
The Magi: On to Bethlehem, The Sacrifice
The author of the above paintings has had 18 art shows in such places as Mexico City, Chicago and Malaga, Spain. There has even been quite a few write ups here in Spain on Mario Flores.
Oh, and he's on death row in Illinois for murder. Here's his statement.
In Chicago, there was a very nice article in Spanish published by "Catolico", an official Spanish Catholic "newspaper." This paragraph struck me, which I've translated: "18 years in maximum security, guarded closely, have led him to look within, to meditate, to read and to pray. “When God enters and turns on the light, there is nobody that can turn it off." He told me also that he has read the lives of Saint Augustine and St. John of the Cross, and that they have given him strength. I tell you, I was surprised by how strong and enthusiastic he was. "I am a made of a different fiber," he said, adding, "in my first years in jail I dedicated myself to the spiritual walk."
It should be mentioned that "Catolico" is an active advocate of Mario Flores, noting that there are multiple "irregularities" in his case. Here's a website with more about Mario Flores and this with more fotos of his artwork.
Interesting...hmmm.
Religious News
I debated about filing this under silly news, but hey, it's about Satan..Satan has been banished from Devils Lake. High school teams here no longer will be known as the Satans, the school's nickname for nearly 80 years. Here's the article.
Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Alexy II has called for constructive dialogue between the Vatican and the Orthodox Church for the good of the believers of all faiths. Here's the article.
More on the Shroud of Turin The mending was medieval, not the shroud," wrote Orazio Petrosillo in Rome's Il Messaggero newspaper. Petrosillo is the author of several books on the cloth widely believed to be the burial linen of Jesus. Petrosillo explained that during the Middle Ages it was very common to use a type of sewing - invisible to the naked eye - to reinforce fabrics of artistic or historical value. Here's the article.
Vatican publishes overview of church teaching on environment Official Catholic teaching on the environment is based on the belief that creation is a gift of God that must be protected, used responsibly and shared equitably, said a new Vatican book. Here's the article.
Police detained some 30 Russian Buddhists who gathered outside the Foreign Ministry on Thursday to protest Russia's decision to deny the Dalai Lama permission to enter the country. Here's the article.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) released its report which reads: "for nearly five years, the Uzbek government has persecuted individuals whose peaceful practice of Islam falls beyond state controls." The report details what it calls "arbitrary arrest, unfair trials and torture of hundreds of independent Muslims in Uzbekistan since October 2001." Here's the article.
Muslim and Christian leaders met in northern Nigeria on Thursday to sign a peace pact designed to stop the region falling back into bloody sectarian violence. Some 2,000 clergy and believers met four days after an Islamic court threw out the appeal of a young Muslim mother sentenced to death by stoning, angering opponents of Islam's Sharia law code. Here's the article.
Church holds off release of Pell inquiry details The terms of reference for the Catholic Church's inquiry into sex abuse allegations against the Archbishop of Sydney, George Pell, will now not be revealed until early next week. Here's the article.
But it doesn't stop there. The Archbishop of Sydney, George Pell, has been forced to respond to another sex abuse claim after an alleged victim accused the Melbourne archdiocese of having "covered up" a scandal involving a church worker and a priest. Here's the article.
I debated about filing this under silly news, but hey, it's about Satan..Satan has been banished from Devils Lake. High school teams here no longer will be known as the Satans, the school's nickname for nearly 80 years. Here's the article.
Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Alexy II has called for constructive dialogue between the Vatican and the Orthodox Church for the good of the believers of all faiths. Here's the article.
More on the Shroud of Turin The mending was medieval, not the shroud," wrote Orazio Petrosillo in Rome's Il Messaggero newspaper. Petrosillo is the author of several books on the cloth widely believed to be the burial linen of Jesus. Petrosillo explained that during the Middle Ages it was very common to use a type of sewing - invisible to the naked eye - to reinforce fabrics of artistic or historical value. Here's the article.
Vatican publishes overview of church teaching on environment Official Catholic teaching on the environment is based on the belief that creation is a gift of God that must be protected, used responsibly and shared equitably, said a new Vatican book. Here's the article.
Police detained some 30 Russian Buddhists who gathered outside the Foreign Ministry on Thursday to protest Russia's decision to deny the Dalai Lama permission to enter the country. Here's the article.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) released its report which reads: "for nearly five years, the Uzbek government has persecuted individuals whose peaceful practice of Islam falls beyond state controls." The report details what it calls "arbitrary arrest, unfair trials and torture of hundreds of independent Muslims in Uzbekistan since October 2001." Here's the article.
Muslim and Christian leaders met in northern Nigeria on Thursday to sign a peace pact designed to stop the region falling back into bloody sectarian violence. Some 2,000 clergy and believers met four days after an Islamic court threw out the appeal of a young Muslim mother sentenced to death by stoning, angering opponents of Islam's Sharia law code. Here's the article.
Church holds off release of Pell inquiry details The terms of reference for the Catholic Church's inquiry into sex abuse allegations against the Archbishop of Sydney, George Pell, will now not be revealed until early next week. Here's the article.
But it doesn't stop there. The Archbishop of Sydney, George Pell, has been forced to respond to another sex abuse claim after an alleged victim accused the Melbourne archdiocese of having "covered up" a scandal involving a church worker and a priest. Here's the article.
Serious News
More coming out on 9-11 The findings are stunning: FDNY chiefs were working with defective radios and often could not communicate their orders to evacuate. The same radio system had failed eight years earlier, during the 1993 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. Caught up in the confusion and urgency of the moment, hundreds of on- and off-duty firefighters streamed into the towers without checking in with superiors, making it virtually impossible to keep track of their locations. And through it all, the Fire Department was not communicating with the Police Department -- apparently, the fruit of an age-old turf battle. After the south tower had collapsed, NYPD officers in helicopters were relaying at 10:07 a.m. that the north tower looked like it too, was about to fall. Twenty-one minutes later it did, killing at least 120 firefighters, many of whom had no idea the south tower had fallen or that the north tower's demise was inevitable. Here's the article.
Proving once again that we all have a right to sue A group of Saudis plan to sue the U.S. government and media organizations for the alleged psychological and financial damage they suffered in the aftermath of September 11, their lawyer said on Wednesday. "Tens of Saudi nationals seriously plan to file lawsuits against U.S. government, civil and media entities, the majority of whom are students who had been attending American universities and were forced to leave," Saudi lawyer Katib al-Shamri said. Here's the article.
And another 9-11 story, with a strange twist...In what the government describes as a bizarre coincidence, one U.S. intelligence agency was planning an exercise last Sept. 11 in which an errant aircraft would crash into one of its buildings. But the cause wasn't terrorism — it was to be a simulated accident. Here's the article.
This is kind of an understatement with respect to Russia signing a 10-year, $40-billion trade pact with Iraq. What this development tells Bush is that his national security team has failed to do the necessary diplomatic and political work to make a persuasive case with Russia, a major player in the Persian Gulf, for going to war with Iraq. Here's that article. Another on Britain wavering on Iraq attack and relatedly, Turkey, Iraqi Kurdish Tensions High
Why has there ben more coverage on European flooding than the current one in China...Chinese authorities have begun evacuating 600,000 people living near Dongting Lake in Hunan province, which is threatening to overflow and engulf surrounding cities and farmland. Here's the article.
When political parties run foul...Batasuna, the political wing of the Basque paramilitary group, ETA, faces a possible ban on Friday as a result of moves by crusading judge Baltasar Garzon. Here's the article.
More coming out on 9-11 The findings are stunning: FDNY chiefs were working with defective radios and often could not communicate their orders to evacuate. The same radio system had failed eight years earlier, during the 1993 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. Caught up in the confusion and urgency of the moment, hundreds of on- and off-duty firefighters streamed into the towers without checking in with superiors, making it virtually impossible to keep track of their locations. And through it all, the Fire Department was not communicating with the Police Department -- apparently, the fruit of an age-old turf battle. After the south tower had collapsed, NYPD officers in helicopters were relaying at 10:07 a.m. that the north tower looked like it too, was about to fall. Twenty-one minutes later it did, killing at least 120 firefighters, many of whom had no idea the south tower had fallen or that the north tower's demise was inevitable. Here's the article.
Proving once again that we all have a right to sue A group of Saudis plan to sue the U.S. government and media organizations for the alleged psychological and financial damage they suffered in the aftermath of September 11, their lawyer said on Wednesday. "Tens of Saudi nationals seriously plan to file lawsuits against U.S. government, civil and media entities, the majority of whom are students who had been attending American universities and were forced to leave," Saudi lawyer Katib al-Shamri said. Here's the article.
And another 9-11 story, with a strange twist...In what the government describes as a bizarre coincidence, one U.S. intelligence agency was planning an exercise last Sept. 11 in which an errant aircraft would crash into one of its buildings. But the cause wasn't terrorism — it was to be a simulated accident. Here's the article.
This is kind of an understatement with respect to Russia signing a 10-year, $40-billion trade pact with Iraq. What this development tells Bush is that his national security team has failed to do the necessary diplomatic and political work to make a persuasive case with Russia, a major player in the Persian Gulf, for going to war with Iraq. Here's that article. Another on Britain wavering on Iraq attack and relatedly, Turkey, Iraqi Kurdish Tensions High
Why has there ben more coverage on European flooding than the current one in China...Chinese authorities have begun evacuating 600,000 people living near Dongting Lake in Hunan province, which is threatening to overflow and engulf surrounding cities and farmland. Here's the article.
When political parties run foul...Batasuna, the political wing of the Basque paramilitary group, ETA, faces a possible ban on Friday as a result of moves by crusading judge Baltasar Garzon. Here's the article.
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