Tom Faranda's Folly

Yankee closer David Robertson signs with Chicago White Sox (for $45 million)

Robertson was a good pitcher and seemed to be a super-nice guy. 

$45 million. Nice work if you can get it.

 

CIA torture report - and they lied about it.

These are the grossest findings/mentionings. No doubt, sticking someone in a coffin-sized box for 266 hours is torture.

CIA Torture Report: The Most Stunning Findings

Really bad stuff, never should have been done, regardless of whether any information was gotten. HOWEVER, I don't think the report should have been made public. Not helpful.

 

 

The scoop on Chicken McNuggets

How they're made - I report you decide. Besides some text there is a 90 second video.

McNugget Secret Ingredient: Molded Chicken Mush. An attempt at transparency isn't necessarily so appetizing

 

C-SPAN: Rep. Gowdy questions Jonathan Gruber

Devastating - Gruber almost in tears at times. Issa's comment at the end ... a few words saying volumes ...

 

More on Stepinac-Canisius state championship football game

Here was my post Sunday night, after the game. Tim football; Stepinac doesn't make it over last hurdle

UPDATE: Heres the msgvarsity article, which is much better then the lohud article I posted initially, now below it.

“We had an unbelievable year,” said O’Donnell. “To win the AAA championship and to play in the state championship game was an unbelievable thing for these kids. We’re disappointed today, but we’ll still celebrate all that this group has done.”

 

From Lohud - this is a decent article, but I think it doesn't play up enough that the decisive advantage for  Canisius was their excellent kicking game. When do you see a 60 yard field goal - one of three field goals by their kicker - in a high school game - or for that matter, in a college game?  Even with the interceptions, Stepinac still had a chance to win in the last two minutes.

Stepinac had committed enough mistakes to fill a month of football, let alone three-plus quarters. Yet there the Crusaders were, deep in the fourth quarter against the state's No. 1 team, sitting just 25 yards from the tying touchdown.

Fittingly — and painfully, if you're a Stepinac fan — the Crusaders surrendered the football one last time when their fourth-down pass was intercepted and returned for a touchdown. It was one mistake too many, as Stepinac fell 23-10 to Canisius in the inaugural CHSAA state championship football game at Mitchel Field.

"We made a lot of mistakes," Stepinac senior Gavin Heslop said. "We had two late turnovers and they capitalized on them."

Stepinac (12-1) had a punt blocked and threw two interceptions that, combined, led to all 17 Canisius points in the fourth quarter.

The Crusaders actually led 10-6 entering the fourth when senior Pat Heffernan had his second punt blocked — this one by the state's top recruit, Tyrone Wheatley Jr. — and it led to Jakob Loucks' go-ahead touchdown.

******

A win likely would've vaulted Stepinac to No. 1 in the state, but the loss did little to tarnish its accomplishments, including the program's first CHSFL title since 1955.

"It is probably the best team in school history," O'Donnell said. "I don't think there's much doubt about that."

 

Chuck Todd proves (again) he's in over his head on Meet the Press

Ridiculous. No follow-up question when Garner's widow says his killing is not about race. Menawhile she's sitting with the odious Sharpton.

Patheric.

 

Why Americans living abroad give up their citizenship

From the NY Times yesterday.

Some 3,000 Americans gave up their citizenship last year, a tiny number that’s nevertheless been soaring. Yes, a few expatriates may be trying to avoid future taxes, as Senator Charles E. Schumer accused the Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin of doing two years ago, when Mr. Saverin, who lives in Singapore, surrendered his passport ahead of the company’s initial public offering.

But most, like me, are not tycoons. We’re responding to the burden and cost of onerous financial reporting and tax filing requirements that are neither fair nor just. (Living and working in London, I pay higher taxes, to Britain, than I would in New York.)

Some 7.6 million Americans live abroad — expats would be the 13th most populous state, if we were a state. Many are overseas temporarily, for work or study. But many others marry foreigners, start companies or have long-term overseas assignments. We are just like ordinary Americans — except that we lack representation.

The United States is an outlier: Its extraterritorial tax laws apply to American citizens and companies no matter where they are. We are the only country (except, arguably, Eritrea) that taxes all of its citizens on worldwide income rather than where the income is earned. Expatriate Americans have to pay taxes once, wherever they live, and then file again in the United States.

Last paragraph:

The challenges facing expat Americans abroad would disappear if the United States taxed and regulated only those who lived in America. Sadly, American politicians don’t care about Americans living abroad. It is easier to demonize us as tax dodgers than to fix irrational policies that no longer make sense in an interconnected world. The founders agreed on “no taxation without representation.” Why can’t Congress?

WSJ on the failed rescue attempt in Yemen

A Noble Rescue Attempt. Though Luke Somers died, jihadists know they are targets if they kidnap Americans.

Jihadists don’t distinguish between civilians and soldiers, or among journalists, clergy, doctors or aid workers. They are waging what they think is a struggle to the death against other religious faiths and the West. Their goal is to kill for political control and their brand of Islam.

******

So we are entering an era when the U.S. will have to undertake more such rescues of Americans kidnapped overseas. The results will be mixed, but even failed attempts will send a message to jihadists that capturing Americans will make them targets—and that there is no place in the world they can’t be found and killed.

It’s a tragedy that fanatical Islamists have made the world so dangerous, but Americans should be proud of a country that has men and women willing to risk their own lives to leave no American behind.

Farandaville and hobbits

The Farandas, 3/4 of whom are hobbit fanatics fans (not Tim) will be seeing the third installment before Christmas.

 

Pope Francis explains the Immaculate Conception.

From last year -

 

The Anderson grandson #2

UPDATE: Email from a friend of mine - "great photos! People pay a lot of money to have hair like that kid!"

I already posted about this Black Friday Jaunt: Brigid and Tom on the Croton Dam and Aqueduct Trail and after the walk we beetled over to Bob and Judy Anderson's house, where they were entertaining their four kids, son -in law, boyfriend, and two grandsons.

Here's Judy with Logan, her second grandson.

Nice mohawk.

 

 

Tim football; Stepinac doesn't make it over last hurdle

A little track analogy. Canisius 23-Stepinac 10, after Stepinac led 10-6 at the end of the third period.

The game was dominated by two things: the wind and the Canisius kicker, who was selected as the offensive player of the game. Amongst other things (like great kickoffs) he had three field goals, including a 60 yarder!

Stepinac had a chance to win at the end. Trailing 16-10 with two minutes left, they had first down on the Canisius 20, but couldn't go anywhere and on fourth down, threw a pick 6, which made the final score a little bit out of step with the actual game.

Considering the weather conditions and travelling to Mitchel Field on Long Island, Stepinac had a good turnout of supporters.

The end.

Tim Football: State championship today! A preview

From Lohud:

Catholic state championship preview: Stepinac vs. Canisius

"At full strength, I'd have to favor Canisius, but Stepinac definitely has a chance."

Well, we'll see about that.

Ex-Giant Tyrone Wheatley's son plays for Canisius, and is the #1 college prospect in the state.

And here:

Stepinac: " ... we're going to go all out Sunday."

With a two-week layoff, and after such an emotionally charged win over rival Iona Prep for the league title, Stepinac could view Sunday's Catholic state championship as a bit anti-climactic. Not so, said senior Malcolm Major.

The Stepinac running back believes his team's season will be remembered differently with one more win.

"We're not satisfied with 12-0," Major said. "We have one more game. Thirteen-and-oh is a lot better than 12-1, so we have to finish what we started and remain undefeated."

******

His Crusaders arguably enter the game with a deeper roster, a fact made even more stark by Canisius playing without two-way starters Brad Zaffram, a two-time all-state linebacker, and two-way lineman James Thomas, who are both suspended.

Still, Canisius has plenty working it its favor. Canisius, also named the Crusaders, beat both last year's (Aquinas) and this year's (Jamestown) Class AA state champions and finished 3-0 against opponents from football-rich Ohio. They are ranked No. 34 nationally by USA Today.

The Buffalo-area school also boasts the state's top recruit, senior TJ Wheatley, who has offers from Alabama and Oregon, among others. At 6-foot-6 and 265 pounds, he is an imposing presence at defensive end.

"He's a really impressive player," Major said. "He gets after it and he is a specimen. He's probably going to be the biggest player we've faced in my high school career, but I'm not going to let that get to me."

For Stepinac, the fear will be that Wheatley and his defense will, in fact, contain its bevy of playmakers. The run-first, defensive-minded team should be well rested after playing just twice in a 36-day span. Canisius actually had a full week off during the recent Buffalo snowstorm that dropped as much as 6 feet on players' homes.

Louisiana senate election runoff: "Dems' final insult: Landrieu crushed"

Republican Bill Cassidy’s resounding victory is the ninth Senate seat picked up by the GOP in this year’s elections, three more than the party needed to take control of the chamber. With nearly all the ballots counted, Cassidy led Landrieu by 14 points, 57 percent to 43 percent.

I didn't know Cassidy was a physician.

Cassidy, a medical doctor, first elected to a Baton Rouge-area congressional seat in 2008, ran an uninspiring but mistake-free campaign that capitalized on increasing hostility to the Democratic party in Louisiana and throughout the Deep South.

It was the final major race of a 2014 election cycle in which Republicans won nearly every battleground Senate election, gained three governorships and at least 246 House seats. Democrats’ efforts to localize many of these contests fell flat, and Republicans succeeded in making the election a referendum on the unpopular president.

 

73rd. anniversary of Pearl Harbor

Pearl Harbor survivors reunite in Hawaii to mark 73rd anniversary of attack

I believe my mother was at a Yankee game, when word came over the loudspeakers for all armed forces members to report to their units.

More than a dozen Pearl Harbor survivors, each more than 90 years old, gathered in Hawaii this week to share stories as they marked the 73^rd anniversary of the Japanese attack that killed 2,400 sailors, Marines and soldiers.

The gathering has been called the last meeting for the USS Arizona Reunion Association – comprised of the remaining nine survivors of the USS Arizona, a battleship that sank in the Dec. 7, 1941, attack.

But Louis Conter isn’t ready to talk about the end.

"I don't think this is going to be our last. ... We've still got time to go," said Conter, 93, of Grass Valley, Calif. "We'll be back out here no matter whether the rest of the crowd can make it or not."

Jesuit Magazine: "Explaining Teaching on Mary"

With the Feast of the Immaculate Conception tomorrow, here is a short video from the Jesuit Publication America.

 

World's heaviest man dies

This is from The Telegraph (UK). What a pity. I think one of the cable channels showed a special on this guy, and his struggle to loss weight/survive. There are many good points in the article - by the way, a stone is 14 pounds. At his maximum, he weighed 980 lbs.

World's fattest man Keith Martin dies, aged 44. Weight-loss surgery could not save Londoner Keith Martin, 44, who died from pneumonia following a lengthy battle with his weight

"In Keith's case, it's a shame because he'd had successful surgery despite being high-risk because of his size. It was unlucky he then caught pneumonia.

"Bariatric surgery can be a very good thing for the people who need it.

"We can't ignore they are here and they need help. Once a patient hits a BMI of 30-35 it is extremely difficult for them to lose weight on their own. If they are not treated they can require a lot of medical help which can be very costly.

"If they can get the weight off they can improve their health and mobility and maybe contribute to society rather than being a burden.

******

Prior to the weight-loss surgery, Mr Martin recorded a video message to his family in case he didn't survive.

He said: "Hi guys, I just wanted to let you know that I love you guys and thanks for being there for me. You can tell the rest of the family I love them and thanks for the support. Take care of each other."

Mr Martin's weight ballooned after he became seriously depressed in his twenties.

He blamed blamed the bingeing on depression and anxiety which he developed after his mother died - also of pneumonia - when he was 16.

Mr Martin, who used to spend his days playing video games and watching TV, explained in 2012: "I started eating to ease the pain and before I knew it, I was binging every time something upset me.

"I've always been depressed. I am an agoraphobic - I'm afraid of public places - but it was never treated.

"I just want to be happy, without needing food to make me happy."

Celtic Woman - Orinoco Flow: got to love it.

The anniversary of my discovering Celtic Woman, six years ago.

 

 

My friend Sue Konig's NRO column on the live "Peter Pan" on NBC.

Which I was going to DVR and then forgot! Rats. I was a huge fan of Mary Martin as Peter Pan, way back when (1955 on NBC).

However, the reviews of the latest recreation of Peter Pan weren't very good.

Here's Sue's - hit the link for the whole amusing column

No Ugg a Wugg . . . Wha? Political correctness vs. Peter Pan

I think we can all agree that there are scenes in popular movies and plays from decades ago that cause us to say, wow, that is not gonna fly these days.

But is “Ugg a Wugg” really in that category? “Ugg a Wugg” is the song that Peter Pan sings with the “Indian” girl Tiger Lily. It’s about counting on each other. It has lyrics that children would make up and is a nonsense friendship song. Not only is it not about Native Americans, but the mythical tribe it so positively portrays allows the play to introduce themes of bonding amongst diverse groups, equality between the sexes, and brotherhood across racial identity.

Tiger Lily and her tribe are not Native Americans. They live in a made-up place: Neverland. How do you get there? Second star to the right and straight on ’til morning. That is not an actual place. Google Map it — it won’t come up.

2,069 year old quote, still relevant!?

UPDATE: See comments below on where this quote came from

Sent to me by my friend Graham (an old Jamaica buddy and rugby player).

Great Quote ?

 

"The Budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled, public
debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and
controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed, lest
Rome will become bankrupt. People must again learn to work instead of
living on public assistance." - Cicero, 55 BC

 

So, evidently, we've learned bugger all over the past 2,069 years.

      

Tim football: Overall state championship game Sunday!

#1 Canisius vs.  #2 Stepinac

Go here -  New Yok State Rankings

December 7, 2014 - 2:00 PM

Mitchell Field

1 Charles Lindbergh Boulevard, Uniondale NY 11553

Tickets available at game, $5 general admission

 

If you can't make the game, watch it on www.msgvarsity.com

or go to

 

Bb Hyland's Sports Page Pub (Hamilton Ave, White Plains)

Emma's Ale House (Gedney Way, White Plains)

Rye Road House (High Street, Rye)

 

GO CRUSADERS!

 

 

Bad news for Tom: harvard says lefties less successful than righties

So this explains my problems! And it's Harvard wo we know it must be true.

A new study by a Harvard University economist says lefties generally make less money than righties, and they may be worse off in other areas of life, too.

“Lefties exhibit economically and statistically significant human capital deficits relative to righties, even conditional on infant health and family background,” Goodman writes. “Lefties work in more manually intensive occupations than do righties, further suggesting that their primary labor market disadvantage is cognitive rather than physical.”

Uh-oh. And it gets worse.

“Lefties have more emotional and behavioral problems, have more learning disabilities such as dyslexia, complete less schooling, and work in occupations requiring less cognitive skill,” Goodman said.

But leftie pitchers are in demand! And four of last seven Presidents have been left-handed (but maybe that proves the point?).

WSJ columnist: "The Two Faces of Chuck Schumer. Schumer’s message to the Democratic Left: I’m with you, until you start losing."

Dan Henninger's Thursday column - always an insightful read.

Schumer is absolutely the epitomy of a politician's politician. Which is pretty damnable.

If the link doesn't open and you want to read the whole column, just email me.

David Axelrod accused Sen. Schumer of being, ugh, a professional politician, whose “abiding principle” is how to win elections. That’s an understatement.

In 1974, Chuck Schumer stepped out of Harvard Law School and into the New York state legislature, never practicing a day of law. In 1998, the 24th year of his chosen career, Mr. Schumer entered the U.S. Senate.

Sen. Schumer’s chosen career is the bloodless business of political protection. In order, that includes a) him, b) his base of power and c) his party. Common to all three is winning, not losing, elections.

******

And what does one imagine these professional Democrats were telling each other? Here’s a guess: They now realize that Barack Obama and the politics he represents—the politics of the progressive left—is undermining their party’s electoral future at every level of government.

Because Sen. Schumer supported ObamaCare and defended other Obama policies, his critics say he’s a hypocrite. Oh my. Maybe these people didn’t understand the terms of the prenuptial agreement at this level of politics: Chuck Schumer was on board for whatever ride, program or gimmick the Democratic left wanted, so long as members of the party family kept winning re-election. Now they are not.

After reciting the tax situation in Maryland which lead to a Republican winning the governorship in a Democratic state, the column finishes -

What are the odds that any Democrat of national prominence, including Hillary Clinton and Chuck Schumer, would now adopt lower taxes as party policy? It’s less than zero, so long as the left’s grip on party policy holds. Call that the Elizabeth Warren Effect.

By default, the Republicans own what looks like one of the most populist, middle-class issues out there—get the government’s hands out of my family’s pockets.

Daily News: Top 10 football players of all time

The sort of list that can start "vigorous" discussion. The Daily News has been putting up lists of ten players for their top 50 players of all time, and here are the top 10.

Hard to argue with the top two.

 

Whew! Great save by bus driver of her students

Pretty scary, nice ending.

 

Another Democrat Senator repudiates Obamacare

The first was Schumer  Amazing! Chuck Schumer admits Dems were wrong!; this time it's the retiring Tom Harkin of Iowa.

“We had the power to do it in a way that would have simplified health care, made it more efficient and made it less costly and we didn’t do it,” the veteran senator tells the Hill. “So I look back and say we should have either done it the correct way or not done anything at all. What we did is we muddled through and we got a system that is complex, convoluted, needs probably some corrections and still rewards the insurance companies extensively.”

It’s the kind of thing you might expect Mitch McConnell to say, but the words are from a fellow member of the Senate’s class of 1984—Tom Harkin of Iowa, who retires next month. He’s generally considered one of the most liberal Senate Democrats.

Harkin is the second Democratic senator to criticize ObamaCare in recent days—New York’s Chuck Schumer was the first—and of the two critiques, Harkin’s is by far the more substantive. Schumer, as we noted last week, framed his criticism in purely political terms and affirmed the belief that ObamaCare was still good policy.

Of course if you read the whole column, you find out that Harkin's criticism was that the mistake was not having the government completely take over healthcare ...

“Congress should have enacted ‘single-payer right from the get-go or at least put a public option [which] would have simplified a lot.’ ”

NY Times continues to shrink

Buyouts for senior people.

Some of them, like Chief financial correspondent Floyd Norris are well-known.

The newspaper announced its intention to reduce staff in October, when it said it would cut 100 jobs, or 7.5% of its 1,330 newsroom positions, in the coming months. The newspaper told its shareholders that the buyouts were the driving reason behind the company’s $9m operating loss in the third quarter of this year, with an estimated cost of $21.4m in severance payments due to the staff reductions.

WSJ Democrat columnist: Schumer was right; let's move on.

William Galston who writes a weekly column in the Wall Street Journal. Pretty sensible.

Democrats, It’s Time to Move On. Chuck Schumer got it right: Focus on helping the middle class.

There are two reasons why all of this is irrelevant. First, the defeat was set in stone months ago, if not earlier. Sixth-year midterms are almost always bad for the incumbent president’s party. This one was made worse because President Obama’s popularity and approval were at a low ebb, the economic recovery had yet to reach average families and the news from overseas was unremittingly bleak. In September, half a dozen political scientists using various models published their predictions, and most of them got within hailing distance of the actual House and Senate results.

Second, what’s past is past. Democrats failed to deliver what the people wanted, and Republican candidates feasted on that failure. What matters now is the agendas that both parties present to the country over the next two years.

The American people are sending a large and urgent message to Washington: We want an economy that works for all of us, not just a favored few, and nothing we’ve heard from either party so far convinces us that you know how to get us there. Although it was a tactical mistake to reopen the muted intraparty debate over the Affordable Care Act, the broader point that New York Sen. Chuck Schumer recently made—that Democrats need to refocus on the well-being of average Americans—is incontestable.

Stating the obvious I suppose.

Looking to the past will not yield a winning formula for the future. Thoughtful Republicans understand that “Back to Reagan” is not enough. For their part, Democrats must resist the temptation to stir a jigger of populism into the policy brew of the 1990s and repackage the cocktail as an agenda for 2016.

Instead, we should spend the next two years debating answers to the questions that will define the country’s future. ...

if you can't get in through the link and want to read more then the excerpts above, email me and I'll send it.

 

Study: 4 year graduation rate in public colleges very low

in yesterday's NY Times. Only looked at public colleges, not private colleges.

“Students and parents know that time is money,” said the report, called “Four-Year Myth.” “The reality is that our system of higher education costs too much, takes too long and graduates too few.”

At most public universities, only 19 percent of full-time students earn a bachelor’s degree in four years, the report found. Even at state flagship universities — selective, research-intensive institutions — only 36 percent of full-time students complete their bachelor’s degree on time.

Nationwide, only 50 of more than 580 public four-year institutions graduate a majority of their full-time students on time. ... The problem is even worse at community colleges, where 5 percent of full-time students earned an associate degree within two years, and 15.9 percent earned a one- to two-year certificate on time.

******

Each year, the report said, 1.7 million students begin college in remediation, including a majority of community college students — but only one in 10 remedial students ever graduate.

******

While there is widespread agreement that graduation rates are too low, some education experts said they wished Complete College America had considered faculty issues and how much students actually learn.

“They’re too focused on efficiency and not enough on quality,” said Debra Humphreys, a spokeswoman for the Association of American Colleges and Universities. “Yes, we have a huge completion problem, but we also have a problem that a lot of students graduated without learning what they need.”

Pretty damning report, really.

Stephen Hawking warns "artificial intelligence could end mankind"

Oh come on -  "one of Britain's pre-eminent scientists..." This guy's thinking is getting fuzzier and fuzzier.

The robots will take over. Yawn.

He told the BBC:"The development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race."

Read it if you're worried.

On the other hand, his book "A Brief History of Time" published in 1988, is excellent and still worth reading.

"Living off the grid" with renewable energy: soon can be reality for many of us

Here's a good piece off the CNBC website - timely since we're having solar panels put on our roof.

As the technology behind renewable energy evolves—and improves—more consumers will opt to cut ties with utility companies and become their own power source.

Much like how people abandoned land lines for mobile devices, consumers will likely begin to adopt new ways of powering their homes instead of being completely reliant on utility companies, said James Wrathall, an attorney in the the energy finance group at Sullivan & Worcester.

"I think consumers are gaining power in the equation and they are seeing these availabilities of this technology and they are seeing the benefit economically and they are going to demand it and they are going to get it," Wrathall said.

******

While potentially great for consumers, this change could spell trouble for electric utilities, according to a report by the research firm Morningstar published earlier this year.

"Distributed generation (DG) could be the end of utilities as we know them today," Morningstar said in the report. "Utilities' centralized network monopolies break down when customers become self-sufficient competitors."

******

While improvements in distributed generation will make it easier for people to leverage microgrids in the near-term, advancements in solar and battery technologies will help drive the power shift even further, ...

"The improvement of batteries will be fundamental to a revolution that will make any kind of living off the grid not just possible, but easy," Cascio said.

In fact, they are key to the transition.

"Batteries, really energy storage, is fundamentally necessary. It would be like the Internet without servers. It's fine to generate power, but inherently to live off a micro grid or to be off the grid you have to find a way to store power in the equation," Wrathall said.

A Company mentioned in this article - Solar City - is the one we are working with.

Rugby: All Blacks' Keven Mealamu, Bears' Stephen Paea compare rugby, NFL

Excellent interview/article in Sports Illustrated. Some neat pictures. The Bear's Stephen Paea is Polynesian and played rugby as a youth.

Excerpt below link.

All Blacks' Keven Mealamu, Bears' Stephen Paea compare rugby, NFL

THE MMQB: (to Mealamu) How were you trained to tackle? How does one execute a proper rugby tackle?
MEALAMU: We have to do quite a bit of tracking work first, following a player while he is coming forward, a guy who is possibly quicker than you. So a lot of our tackling depends on proper footwork, to set up a good shoulder tackle. In rugby you’re taught to put your head on the [ball carrier’s] right side and get a good shoulder on them, which also helps from a safety point of view.

THE MMQB: Stephen, how do you get guys on the ground?
PAEA: I learned to tackle from rugby. One of the weakest parts of your body is your neck. I was taught that early. I learned to lead with the same shoulder as my forward foot. That came from rugby. I learned that if you take big strides the runner can go either way and get past you, but if you take short steps and lower your center of gravity, you can make the play.

Black Friday Jaunt: Brigid and Tom on the Croton Dam and Aqueduct Trail

I stitched together nine short vignettes. Worse part of this video is me yakking away. Next time I'll shut up.

Surprise - my hiking buddy Jeanne Marie and her hubby Damian - meet them on the way back over the Dam.

 

British Cardinal visits Gaza; describes horrible situation

From the Zenit Catholic news service:

Cardinal Nichols Describes Gaza Trip as Shocking. Laments Endemic Poverty; Whole Generation Growing Up in These Circumstances

Seeing first-hand the small Palestinian territory, scarred by the 50-day war between Israel and Hamas, Cardinal Nichols said he found himself shocked by a number of observations:

"I was told that more or less 50% of the people of Gaza have had their houses damaged or destroyed in this conflict. [Another] thing I found shocking was how endemic the poverty is of the ordinary people.

"There was very little constructive economic activity I could see. Many factories seemed to have been destroyed. What you saw on the streets were workshops where old spare parts of cars were adapted to keep the current cars going - a second-hand market.

"[There was a lot of] second-hand wrought iron work taken from the rubble and bricks recirculated, and the normal markets selling foodstuffs, fruit and vegetables, but that isn't enough to sustain a population of 1.5m people.

"The poverty is a deep problem - especially when the birth rate is so high in Gaza - a whole generation of people are growing up in these circumstances."

Cardinal Nichols celebrated Mass for the Catholic community of around 150 people at the Holy Family parish in Gaza City and visited an orphanage run by the Sisters of Mother Teresa where 38 children and babies are cared for.

Finally, the Cardinal visited the Rosary School, run by the Sisters of the Rosary, a kindergarten and an elementary school for about 800 pupils - the majority Muslims.

In his homily at Sunday Mass, Cardinal Nichols praised the parish community for offering the shelter of its compound to Orthodox Christians and Muslims during the conflict.

Here's an audio of his thoughts -

http://www.catholic-ew.org.uk/Home/News/Cardinal-in-Gaza

 

Government auctioning off house - which may be boobytrapped

Interesting article in The Guardian (UK). The house in New Hampshire was ceased from a couple who refused to pay federal taxes on the theory that taxation was illegal.

In August, a US marshal-hosted auction failed to attract a single bidder for the 100-acre property that was once owned by Ed and Elaine Brown, who were based there during a nine-month standoff with federal officials in 2007. Minimum bids for the home were set at $250,000. US marshals are now working out the details for the next auction, while warning that the property could contain landmines or other hidden explosives.

In1994, Brown told the New Hampshire Sunday News he believed in a wide-ranging conspiracy, involving politicians including Bill Clinton, George Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev, to “deprive Americans of their liberty”. He predicted a violent “revolution” in the US.

The couple, armed with assault rifles and pipe bombs, entertained like-minded visitors during the standoff and even held a picnic, which ultimately led to their arrest.

Undercover US marshals, pretending that they were supporters delivering goods from Elaine Brown’s dental practice, were invited into the house. Ed Brown initially kept an assault rifle trained on the marshals as they unloaded items, but lowered the weapon once he became comfortable, according to court documents. The group shared beer and pizza before additional marshals were called in to make the arrest.

Following the couple’s arrest, a court said the property was host to “a vast supply of explosives, firearms, and ammunition, including rifles, armor piercing bullets, pipe bombs, and bombs nailed to trees”.