Thursday in Lent 4

O Lord our God, you sustained your ancient people in the wilderness with bread from heaven: Feed now your pilgrim flock with the food that endures to everlasting life; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
[Yesterday's collect]

He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, ‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? (Mark 8:34-37)

The Communion that wants to save its own life will lose it, and the Communion that loses its life for my sake, and for the sake of the Gospel, will save it.

The Church that wants to save its own life will lose it, and the Church that loses its life for my sake, and for the sake of the Gospel, will save it.

The congregation that wants to save its own life will lose it, and the congregation that loses its life for my sake, and for the sake of the Gospel, will save it.

The political party that wants to save its own life will lose it, and the political party that loses its life for the sake of the People, will save it.

Jesus made it really clear.

Will we listen?

Will we learn?

Are we willing to lose our lives or will we insist on clutching them tightly in a death grip?

Almighty and most merciful God, drive from us all weakness of body, mind, and spirit; that, being restored to wholeness, we may with free hearts become what you intend us to be and accomplish what you want us to do; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
--the BB

Stuff and nonsense

South America - Thailand connection
We just reported the arrest of the global arms trader in World Watch. Emptywheel reports that this arrest in Thailand may be related to the cross-border adventures in South America and the Colombian raid on FARC rebels in Ecuador.

Bout, the target of an international arrest warrant and U.S. sanctions, was picked up at a Bangkok hotel after he entered Thailand on February 29. Police were searching for an associate.

Bout was attempting "to procure weapons for Colombia's FARC rebels", the Thai police said in an arrest report.

Which suggests it ties in some way to the cross-border raid the Colombians staged in Ecuador, for which the US is alleged to have provided intelligence. The Colombians nabbed a laptop from the scene of the Reyes assassination--though already there are disputes about what kind of intelligence the laptop included. This may mean the Colombian/Venezuelan conflict will get bigger before it is resolved.

Avoiding taxes, beating out competition, and screwing employees
We wouldn't be talking about Bush and Cheney's good friends, the folks at KBR would we? Well, yes, we would. Check out their Cayman Islands scam at Emptywheel's blog.

Jack Abramoff, Jeff Gannon, Carl Truscott, George Bush - connect the dots
You can't be sure but the possibilities are fascinating. The White House clearly protected Carl Truscott, former head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms when he committed all manner of misuse of funds and people (the DOJ has never pursued the complaints against him). He came to BATF from the WH where he was in the Secret Service. You know, back in the days when folks like Jack Abramoff and gay manwhore Jeff Gannon used to visit there. You gotta wonder. Read more here.

Rule of Law? Qu'est-ce que c'est?
The Washington Post reported two days ago:

Two former high-ranking Shiite government officials charged with kidnapping and killing scores of Sunnis were ordered released Monday after prosecutors dropped the case. The abrupt move renewed concerns about the willingness of Iraq's leaders to act against sectarianism and cast doubts on U.S. efforts to build an independent judiciary.

The collapse of the trial stunned American and Iraqi officials who had spent more than a year assembling the case, which they said included a wide array of evidence.

"This shows that the judicial system in Iraq is horribly broken," said a U.S. legal adviser who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the case publicly. "And it sends a terrible signal: If you are Shia, then no worries; you can do whatever you want and nothing is going to happen to you."

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's decision to allow the case to proceed to trial was considered a significant step toward proving his Shiite-led government could hold Shiite officials accountable for sectarian crimes. The case was heard at the multimillion-dollar Rule of Law Complex, protected and supervised by the United States, which has said that the development of an impartial justice system is essential to Iraq's long-term stability.

"Rule of Law Complex"? Is that a psychological condition listed in the DSM-IV? Is it related to Bush's night sweats when he dreams that his crimes will catch up with him? Or does it never even occur to the coddled, entitled New England fratboy (with Texas pretensions) that his crimes might some day catch up with him?

h/t to Swopa at Firedoglake for this one.

Unchecked power gets abused. Who knew?
Glenn Greenwald shares lessons from the forthcoming Inspector General's report. You will be shocked to learn the following:

(1) If unchecked power is vested in government officials, they're going to abuse that power;

(2) If government officials exercise power without real oversight from other branches, they're going to break the law and then lie about it, falsely denying that they're done so, insisting instead that they're only using their powers to Protect Us;

(3) Allowing government officials to engage in surveillance on American citizens with no warrant requirement ensures that surveillance will be used for improper ends, against innocent Americans.

Israel - Palestine
Palestinian gunmen kill 8 in Jerusalem Jewish school
Reuters - 3 hours ago
By Alastair Macdonald JERUSALEM, March 6 (Reuters) - Two Palestinian gunmen opened fire in a Jewish religious school in Jerusalem on Thursday, killing at least eight people and wounding 20, the Israeli emergency service Zaka said.

Alas, altogether too much stuff and not enough nonsense. I will try to bring some levity to us later on.
--the BB

Just stop it!

I've said nice things about John Edwards here and about Obama. I have tried to stay out of the primary fray for the most part because I (1) want it over and (2) want to support a progressive Democrat in November. In fact, I'd pretty much promised myself just a few days ago to keep the primary mostly out of this space. But I really can't abide this shit any longer and am going to speak out. Some of my blog friends will disagree with me; they have their own blogs where they can make their own case.

WTF is Clinton doing?

“I think that since we now know Sen. (John) McCain will be the nominee for the Republican Party, national security will be front and center in this election. We all know that. And I think it’s imperative that each of us be able to demonstrate we can cross the commander-in-chief threshold,” the New York senator told reporters crowded into an infant’s bedroom-sized hotel conference room in Washington.

“I believe that I’ve done that. Certainly, Sen. McCain has done that and you’ll have to ask Sen. Obama with respect to his candidacy,” she said.

[Emphasis mine]

Wow. "I'm like the Republican candidate; not too sure about my fellow Democrat."

Which party is she campaigning for?

I want a Dem candidate who distinguishes herself/himself from the Republicans. Forcefully.

She has now done this several times. It is a calculated statement. I, for one, think it is reprehensible to build up McCain's character at the expense of a fellow Democrat.

h/t for this particular quote to Hoffmania

Additionally, as Joe Sudbay pertinently notes:

When exactly did Hillary Clinton demonstrate that she was able to "cross the commander-in-chief threshold"? When she supported Bush by voting for the Iraq War? When she supported Bush (and Lieberman) on the Iran resolution last September (basically a carbon copy of the Iraq war resolution)?

I saw these videos at Americablog: (and here)





I look forward to the day when the United States has a woman president. Frankly, HRC is not the one I want to see in that role.
--the BB

DO NOT GET COMPLACENT

Would Bush launch a war with Iran this fall just to insure Republican control of the White House?

In a heartbeat.

Just saying.
--the BB

The War President

Bush is trying to work out a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) with Iraq that would not only extend the time for US troops to be in that country but would bind us into it. It also contains little goodies like immunity for contractors (can we all say "Blackwater"?). It is also being worked outside the normal route for treaties that would require Senate ratification. I am not certain it's even legal. But that has never stopped GWB, possibly the greatest criminal alive.

You can read about it in dday's article at Hullabaloo, plus the other article about how the WH is using the AUMF* to justify this creative agreement.

In the second article, dday writes this:

They're really grasping at any straw they can, and considering that Congress has failed to hold them accountable for this whatsoever, they'll probably get away with it. And by the way, this is not just about Iraq; this is about making sure that any other potential war doesn't need Congressional oversight or authorization, either. If they need an October surprise to win the election, they don't want to have to mess with any pesky "laws" in order to make it happen. So the precedent of using the 2002 AUMF is also about a pretext to use the September 20, 2001 AUMF for Afghanistan to strike any "terrorist" anywhere in the world. And we know who comes up with the definition of a terrorist.

Emphasis mine. And if that doesn't scare the bejeebers out of you, you are not paying attention.

*Authorization for Use of Military Force against Iraq Resolution of 2002

Heart thread - 3/6/2008

KJ's sister and family (copied from OCICBW):

From KJ
Karen, my sister finally "failed" a couple of tests! Yea!

Although her type of tumor (and it is now established that there is more than one) is apparently aggressive and fast growing in nature, the additional blood and bone tests have indicated the cancer has not spread to the systems that were screened in these recent tests.

Chemotherapy begins on Thursday, and she seems ready, much more at peace than those of us around her, which I attribute to prayers from far and wide.

Thank you for continued prayers. My heart ached on Monday when I asked my 15 year old nephew how he was doing in the midst of it all, and saw his deer in the headlights look when he replied, "Fine."

For Freedom Bound who has to put up with outspoken and bigoted assholes and could use some extra graces and wrote at MP's: "can I ask for prayer type stuff please?"


Other thoughts of prayer
Let us remember the Body of Christ in the dioceses of San Joaquin, Fort Worth, Pittsburgh, and anywhere else where the leadership works toward schism.

Today I am led to think of those who will go to bed hungry in a world that has enough food for all, those who die of starvation or malnourishment, and our hardened hearts and weakened wills that fail to rectify this.

And those who will this day be shamed, whether in public or private, and a little bit more of the image of God in them will be forgotten or obscured and their ability to love themselves will be diminished.

Those who live in terror, their minds assaulted with fear, confusion, and desperation; their bodies debilitated by the excess of adrenalin pumped throughout their systems--whether the threats they face are immediate, physical, and mortal or chronic, perceived, and unnamed.

For the healing of the earth: its air, its water, its soil, its balance.

For the humility, honesty, and grace for people of differing views, differing needs, and differing faiths to meet together and seek each other's common humanity, that dialogue and healing may ensue.

I give thanks for God's gracious gift of medicines and for the process of ridding my body of infection. (Feeling better today; thanks for all your prayers and thoughts.)



Blessed are you,
Creator and giver of peace.
Peace be upon us;
peace be upon this place;
peace be upon us this day.
The deep, deep peace of God,
which the world cannot give,
be upon us
and remain with us always.
--David Adam

--the BB

Immoral, invincible Bush only lies

In dark inaccessible hid from our eyes,
Most wicked, notorious, death-dealing his ways,
The world he destroys while he still garners praise.
--with apologies to Walton Chalmers Smith


Jesse Wendel at The Group News Blog informs us of the following:

On December 20, 2007, President Bush signed routine postal legislation. In a "Signing Statement", the President claims Executive Power to search the mail of U.S. citizens inside the United States without a warrant, in direct contradiction of the bill he had just signed.

In an article from The Seattle Times ("Bush says feds can open mail without warrant") that Wendel cites, we read:

White House spokeswoman Emily Lawrimore denied Bush was claiming new authority.

"In certain circumstances — such as with the proverbial 'ticking bomb' — the Constitution does not require warrants for reasonable searches," she said.

Bush, however, cited "exigent circumstances" that could refer to an imminent danger or a long-standing state of emergency.

I wonder whether Emily Lawrimore was experimenting with ayahuasca or merely some especially potent White House kool-aid because I can think of no other way she might imagine that the Constitution does not require warrants in certain circumstances.

Amendment IV

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

What part of "shall not be violated" or "no warrants shall issue, but upon probably cause" does Ms. Lawrimore not understand?

If there is a "ticking bomb" situation, even the FISA court statutes allow for action first and requesting a warrant within 72 hours thereafter, so action is not forbidden but actually provided for. Don't let them ever tell you that Congress or the Democrats don't want to allow them to act for our protection. It's pure bullshit and they know it.

We cannot, we must nut, allow the White House to redefine the Constitution to mean the opposite of its clear intent. Strike down their lies! Inform the ignorant! Correct the bloviators!

George Walker Bush is a liar. The people surrounding him are liars. Say it loud and say it proud; they must not be allowed to get away with it!

[I originally typed that he was "a damned, detestable liar," but damning is God's job and not mine. That I detest the man and everything he stands for is so obvious it would be redundant to insert it in the large-type passage.]

This constitutes this week's Thursday Constitution blogging post.
--the BB

Señor, ten piedad

Palestine - Israel - Egypt
Picking Up Pieces, Gazans Debate Israel Incursion
New York Times - 1 hour ago
Palestinians in a destroyed area of Jabaliya and elsewhere argued over the repercussions of a 48-hour Israeli incursion into the Gaza Strip, which killed nearly 100 Palestinians.
British Aid Groups Say Gaza Conditions Worst Since 1967 Voice of America
Egypt Presses Hamas on Gaza Truce The Associated Press
'NGO report fails to face reality of deteriorating Gaza situation'
Jerusalem Post - 43 minutes ago
By ITAMAR SHARON The Foreign Ministry on Thursday refuted a report by a coalition of eight British-based human rights organizations which blames Israel for the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip.
Israeli soldier killed in Palestinian militant attack CNN
Fierce Gaza clashes break out BBC News
Ministro israelí cancela visita a EU por el deterioro de seguridad ...
El Universal (México) - hace 41 minutos
09:08 El ministro israelí de Defensa, Ehud Barak, ha cancelado la visita que tenía previsto efectuar la próxima semana a Estados Unidos en vista del deterioro de la "seguridad" en Israel, informó hoy a Efe una portavoz de su oficina. ...

Venezuela - Colombia - Ecuador
Venezuelan Troops Patrol Border
The Associated Press - 1 hour ago
SAN ANTONIO, Venezuela (AP) - Soldiers toting assault rifles trudged through sugarcane fields, pausing occasionally to gaze across the river that separates Venezuela from Colombia.
Venezuelan Military Reinforces Border with Colombia Voice of America
Diplomats Closer To Ending Crisis In Latin America Washington Post
Correa dice que esto no ha terminado y exige condena a Colombia
W Radio - hace 5 horas
03/06/2008 - Tras su llegada a Caracas para entrevistarse con Hugo Chávez en el Palacio presidencial de Miraflores, el presidente de Ecuador Rafael Correa afirmó que su Gobierno "no va a quedarse tranquilo" hasta que la comunidad internacional ...
80 ciudades marcharán por víctimas del conflicto
La Patria (Colombia) - hace 9 horas
El llamado para hoy es al respeto ya la tolerancia. Quienes quieran movilizarse contra las Farc lo podrán hacer. Solidaridad. 20 ciudades en Colombia y 60 en todo el mundo se movilizarán hoy con varias intenciones pero sólo un propósito: solidaridad ...

Kenya
Kenya Parliament Convenes with Power Sharing Deal Topping Agenda
Voice of America - 2 hours ago
By VOA News Kenya's parliament is to convene Thursday in Nairobi to discuss for the first time a power sharing deal intended to end the country's deadly post-election crisis.

Sri Lanka
S Lanka rapped over 'disappeared'
BBC News - 9 hours ago
Sri Lanka's government is one of the world's worst perpetrators of enforced disappearances, US-based pressure group Human Rights Watch (HRW) says.

Thailand - International Arms Dealing
Thai police arrest Russian arms dealer
CNN International - 1 hour ago
BANGKOK, Thailand (CNN) -- Thai police Thursday arrested Viktor Bout, a internationally wanted Russian arms dealer, Thai police and a US embassy spokeswoman told CNN.

Turkey - Kurdistan - Iraq
Turks launch air, artillery strikes on Kurds in Iraq
Houston Chronicle - 8 hours ago
By ASSO AHMED and ALEXANDRA ZAVIS SULAYMANIYA, IRAQ - Turkey unleashed air and artillery strikes against Kurdish guerrillas in northern Iraq on Wednesday, officials here said, five days after the Turks completed a major ground offensive in the ...

Iran - United States - Iraq
Iran team leaves without US talks on Iraq
AFP - 5 hours ago
BAGHDAD, March 6, 2008 (AFP) - An Iranian delegation left Baghdad for home on Thursday without holding talks with officials from archfoe the United States on the security situation in Iraq, an Iranian official said. "The delegation has left Baghdad ...

New York City
Police Investigate Times Square Blast
The Associated Press - 44 minutes ago
NEW YORK (AP) - A small bomb caused minor damage to an empty military recruiting station in Times Square early Thursday, shaking guests in hotel rooms high above "the crossroads of the world.

World Markets
Le pétrole et l'euro au plus haut
20minutes.fr - Publié depuis 1 heure
Ainsi, jeudi midi, les cours du baril «light sweet crude» pour livraison avril a franchi pour la première fois la barre de 105 dollars, grimpant même jusqu'à 105,97 dollars. Juste avant, un porte-parole de la police new-yorkaise avait indiqué qu'«une ...

AIDS
Nouvelle percée contre le Sida
20minutes.fr - 3 mar 2008
Un quart de siècle après avoir isolé le virus responsable du Sida, les chercheurs ont enfin découvert comment certains individus infectés parviennent à échapper à tout symptôme. Une équipe nord-américaine a en effet identifié une protéine impliquée ...

Balkans
NATO-Treffen: Fast grünes Licht für den Balkan-Beitritt
Deutsche Welle - vor 4 Stunden gefunden
Auf dem NATO-Treffen zeichnet sich bei der Erweiterungs-Frage eine Entscheidung ab: Die Balkan-Länder Albanien, Kroatien und Mazedonien könnten dem Bündnis im Prinzip beitreten, die Ukraine und Georgien eher noch nicht. Grundsätzlich ist eine große ...
Greece rejects Macedonia Nato bid BBC

Netherlands
'Substantial' Dutch terror risk BBC
The Netherlands has raised its terrorism alert level to "substantial", partly due to the expected release of an anti-Islam film.
It is the second-highest alert level, although the justice ministry said "there is no concrete evidence" that the country faced possible attacks

Hollywood
Spokesman Says Swayze Has Pancreatic Cancer
WISN.com - 15 hours ago
"Dirty Dancing" star Patrick Swayze is suffering from cancer, according to his physician, but is not in as dire condition other media outlets report.


O heavenly Father,
protect and bless all things that have breath;
guard them from all evil
and let them sleep in peace.
--Albert Schweitzer

--the BB

Nous sommes foutus!

Think Progress reports this news from Esquire:

[W]ell-placed observers now say that it will come as no surprise if Fallon is relieved of his command before his time is up next spring, maybe as early as this summer, in favor of a commander the White House considers to be more pliable. If that were to happen, it may well mean that the president and vice-president intend to take military action against Iran before the end of this year and don’t want a commander standing in their way.

Digby comments:

If the Republicans want to shoot the moon to win in November, this is the likliest course. Start a new war and rely on the "rally round the flag" effect. It's hard to imagine they could go to that well again, but never underestimate paranoia and the lure of patriotic grandeur and big ratings to push the country into temporary insanity.

They are talking about CENTCOM Commander Admiral William Fallon.


As I said in the header....

Unless we can stop them. But who can and will? Not the Congress we currently know and loathe.
--the BB

Four more years of the same?

--the BB

Breaking: -JDS resigns from the HoB

Mr. Schofield, former bishop of San Joaquin, has tendered his resignation from the House of Bishops while making numerous wild-ass assertions. Check it out at The Lead.
--the BB

Wednesday in Lent 4

The Pharisees came and began to argue with him, asking him for a sign from heaven, to test him. And he sighed deeply in his spirit and said, ‘Why does this generation ask for a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to this generation.’ And he left them, and getting into the boat again, he went across to the other side.

Now the disciples had forgotten to bring any bread; and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. And he cautioned them, saying, ‘Watch out—beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.’* They said to one another, ‘It is because we have no bread.’ And becoming aware of it, Jesus said to them, ‘Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes, and fail to see? Do you have ears, and fail to hear? And do you not remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you collect?’ They said to him, ‘Twelve.’ ‘And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you collect?’ And they said to him, ‘Seven.’ Then he said to them, ‘Do you not yet understand?’

They came to Bethsaida. Some people brought a blind man to him and begged him to touch him. He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village; and when he had put saliva on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, ‘Can you see anything?’ And the man* looked up and said, ‘I can see people, but they look like trees, walking.’ Then Jesus* laid his hands on his eyes again; and he looked intently and his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. Then he sent him away to his home, saying, ‘Do not even go into the village.’ (Mark 8:11-26)

Sometime around 1979-80 I read an entire book on the middle paragraph of the lesson above.

Alas, I remember that I read such a book but cannot recollect the central points made.

I had the motivation and the opportunity back then to spend about 100 hours reading in preparation for a ten-hour series on the Gospel of Mark. I had acquired many of the classic texts we learned about in seminary but never read (or only saw excepts). I had a library card at UCLA and located such books as I did not own myself, sometimes making copies of out-of-print items. I reviewed the highlights of the history of synoptic studies and then focused on Mark. I re-read the Greek text of that Gospel. I had great fun. And a group of faithful folks gathered on six Saturday mornings to engage the Gospel according to Mark. We had a wonderful time of it.

That was probably the first and last time I was reasonably abreast of scholarship on any topic. It felt good, I'm glad I did it, and to this day I feel more comfortable in Mark than in any other Gospel, though I have since done studies and led courses in the others.

Were you hoping for some profound insight about that passage? Sorry. Not today.

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. (1 Corinthians 12:4-7)

I love 1 Corinthians 12. Here we have such a rich celebration of the twin mystery: God is the source of variety and unity! The Spirit gives many gifts and all those diverse gifts are for the common good.

My own sense is that unity and diversity are each meaningless without the other. Variety without interrelatedness is mere chaos. Unity without variety is static (and boring - the sin for which there is no forgiveness). Diversity working together in harmony is a big part of my vision of the goal of creation. The Spirit is at work teasing out variety while also interweaving those many strands into a grand tapestry. Ever-increasing variety interrelated in ever-increasing complexity... and all for the whole, for the common good.


O God, with you is the well of life, and in your light we see light: Quench our thirst with living water, and flood our darkened minds with heavenly light; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

[Yesterday's collect but I wasn't about to waste it.]
--the BB

Brick of the Day

Original photo by Yuri Kozyrev for Time

I will never stop helping whoever is in need, even if it is going to cost my life, because I know I'm doing the right thing.
MADIHA HASSAN
37, a seamstress in Iraq, on receiving death threats for distributing food and supplies to displaced Iraqis, which earned her the nickname the "Mother Teresa of Baghdad"

From Time's Quotes of the Day

Let's shoot some prayers and thoughts this lady's way.
--the BB

Profits versus people: hmm, tough choice

There is an interesting post on Sen. McCain and his relationship with First Nations at the General's. Lokywoky begins thus:

It appears that Senator John McCain has been systematically engaged in a "genocide" of sorts against the Navajo (Di'neh) People in his home state of Arizona. In order to further the interest of mining companies (Peabody Western and others) he has sponsored and passed laws to forcibly relocate thousands of Di'neh from their ancestral lands on the reservation that was guaranteed to them by Treaty in the 1870's. In order to do this, he has had the assistance of BIA lawyers who have forged signatures of Di'neh elders (most of whom do not read, write or speak English) on documents supposedly giving permission for their lands and their civil rights to be given away. John McCain has also used the divisive tactic of claiming that the Hopi Tribal Council is empowered to make decisions for the Di'neh (they do not as they are a different tribe).

Y'all know how to click if you want to read it all.
--the BB

Domine, exaudi nos

Venezuela - Colombia
Chavez and Uribe: big falling-out for 'odd couple'
Reuters - 1 hour ago
By Hugh Bronstein BOGOTA, March 5 (Reuters) - Latin America's one-time 'odd couple' is in no mood for hugging. A simmering dispute between Hugo Chavez and Alvaro Uribe, the hard-willed, politically opposed presidents of Venezuela and Colombia, ...
Venezuela Troops, Tanks Mobilizing to Colombia Border (Update4) Bloomberg

Iran - European Union
Iran says will hold nuclear talks only with IAEA
Reuters - 51 minutes ago
By Edmund Blair TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran on Wednesday rejected a call by world powers for more nuclear talks with their envoy and said it would in future discuss its uranium enrichment program only with the UN nuclear watchdog.
Iran rejects new EU nuclear talks BBC News

United States
Justice Department finds improper use of subpoenas in terror, spy ...
USA Today - 2 hours ago
FBI Director Robert Mueller says a new report from the Justice Department will show that federal agents misused "national security letters" to obtain personal information about Americans during terrorism and espionage investigations in 2006.

Serbia - European Union
Serbian Nationalist MPs Seek Resolution Freezing Push Toward Ties ...
Voice of America - 47 minutes ago
By VOA News Nationalists in the Serbian parliament, angered by European backing for Kosovo's independence, have introduced a resolution that would freeze Belgrade's movement towards membership in the European Union.
EU calls on Serbia to commit to Europe Reuters

Crude Oil Prices - OPEC - Venezuela
Oil Rises Above $104 to Record on OPEC Output, Venezuela Tanks
Bloomberg - 1 hour ago
By Mark Shenk March 5 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose above $104 a barrel to a record in New York after OPEC gave no indication it will increase production, US fuel inventories declined and Venezuela sent tanks to its border with Colombia.

California Supreme Court and Gay Marriage
California Supreme Court in gay marriage storm
San Jose Mercury News - 2 hours ago
By Howard Mintz (Lt. to Rt.) Yevgeney Myknoylenko, of Sacramento, and Nickolay Gelis, of Sacramento, protested same sex marriage, while Luis Ituriol, of San Francisco, showed his support for it across the street from the California State Supreme Court ...


United States - Iran - Iraq
US-Iran talks on Iraq planned for Thursday
USA Today - 1 hour ago
BAGHDAD (AP) - US and Iranian officials will meet Thursday to discuss Iraq's security for the fourth time, just days after Iran's president demanded in Baghdad that American troops withdraw, Iraqi and Iranian officials said.
US envoy says no date set for Iran-US talks on Iraq Reuters


Israel - Palestine
Israel and the Palestinians 'agree to restart talks'
Times Online - 3 hours ago
Israel and the Palestinians have agreed to restart peace talks, Condoleezza Rice, the US Secretary of State, said today. Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian President, suspended discussions on Sunday after Israel launched its offensive in the Gaza Strip ...
Abbas calls for calm before talks BBC News



The hartred which divides nation from nation,
race from race, class from class,
Father, forgive.
The covetous desires of people and nations
to possess what is not their own,
Father, forgive.
The greed which exploits the work of human hands,
and lays waste the earth,
Father, forgive.
Our envy of the welfare and happiness of others,
Father, forgive.
Our indifference to the plight of the imprisoned,
the homeless, the refugee,
Father, forgive.
The lust which dishonors the bodies
of men, women, and children,
Father, forgive.
The pride which leads to trust in ourselves
and not in God,
Father, forgive.
Be kind to one another, tenderhearted,
forgiving one another,
as God in Christ forgave you.
--from Coventry Cathedral (1962)

I have retained the gender-limited language of the original litany.
--the BB

Hauling myself into the shop

Actually, it's not even a check-up. Just taking my bronchitic self in to the doc's early tomorrow morning so as to get my lungs (and sinuses) all healthy again. I wouldn't bother a physician with a viral cold but I know my body well enough to recognize inimical bacteria at work.

To bed now (after Russian class and the tail end of a family dinner). Won't be back blogging until later in the morning.

I hereby dispense myself from Lenten reflections for Tuesday - and Tuesday prayer blogging. There are prayers enough scattered about this place and news of two deaths of people I love in one day is Lent enough.

Behave yourselves and no unseemly squabbling between Clinton and Obama camps, OK?
--the BB

In Memoriam

Fr. Ivan Ramirez, assisting priest at Holy Trinity/ La Santísima Trinidad, Richmond, died peacefully at about 10:30 in the morning on February 26 at Berkeley's Alta Bates Hospital. On the one hand we feel the sadness of his loss. On the other hand, he was in pain and miserable because of the limitations of his condition, and he is now released from his suffering.

His wife Elena told me a story about one of his last days in the convalescent hospital. Many people were visiting at the same time. A Cuban woman who worked at the hospital asked, "Who is this man that so many people come to visit him?" When she was informed that he was a priest, she said, "Oh, I must make my confession." So, while the visitors waited in the garden, Ivan heard the woman's confession. So, he was a priest to the end.

A funeral service will be held at Grace Cathedral on Saturday, April 12th, at 4 p.m.

--Written by John Rawlinson

Ivan was in the clergy support group that was formed when I began at St Cuthbert's. A very kind, soft-spoken man with a warm smile. He and his gracious wife Elena were such a joy to know. They were Chileans who had lived her so long they were truly between cultures, knowing they could never really go back. He is the priest who was accused of almost making the sign of the Cross when he gave the benediction at the end of a Eucharist while visiting Chile. The Southern Cone wanted nothing that Catholic in their church.

For many years he was the pastor at El Buen Samaritano in San Francisco.

We are poorer and heaven is richer for his passing.
--the BB

Rep. Nancy Boyda stands up

"I am adamant about protecting the Constitution. They're giving nothing in return for it. We're not getting any more security and they're shredding the Constitution," said U.S. Rep. Nancy Boyda, D-Second Dist....

"What shocks me is how members of Congress from Kansas would so readily give up 230 years of our Constitution without gaining any additional security," Boyda said....

Boyda pointed out that Congress is being asked to give phone companies immunity without knowing why they need immunity.

"The question is why the president is completely unwilling to tell Congress what he did," Boyda said. "It seems to me it's probably about domestic surveillance."....

Despite her objections to the Senate Bill, Boyda acknowledges wiretapping and conducting terrorist surveillance is "job number-one," but cannot compromise civil liberties.

She said FISA was adopted to safeguard the rights of Americans, not to protect terrorists.

"Keeping America and Americans safe is my number-one priority," Boyda said.

She cautioned that despite many Americans having no objection to wiretapping because they have nothing to hide, the stake of American democracy is hanging in the balance.

"If you are willing to have the government come into your home and into your personal life without any probable cause and without any oversight or any warrant, then you have just given up our democracy," Boyda said.

--from the The Leavenworth Times

h/t to mcjoan
--the BB

What part of "No!" doesn't Congress understand?

Are you comfortable with allowing unlimited, warrantless electronic surveillance and datamining of the communications of all Americans and indeed the entire world on the say-so of George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and/or David Addington, with no possibility that they will ever agree to answer any questions you may ever have about it?
--Kagro X

A grande dame passes on

Roselle Bezazian Kemalyan
October 4, 1909-February 20, 2008

Roselle Kemalyan lived a life full of grace and style, adventures and compassion. Her faith, her family and her music were centers of her days. She was born and educated in Illinois, graduated from Oberlin College and Music Conservatory in Ohio, and became a music professor. She was a master teacher with a gift and flair for imparting knowledge. After her marriage to Levon Kemalyan (he died in 1976), she made her home in Fresno. After his death she became more thoroughly involved in her church life, in her music, and in visiting and helping out with children and grandchildren, moving in 1986, to Pasadena to be closer to family. She was a master story teller, able to weave her experiences into such vivid word pictures that her listeners felt they were experiencing life along side her. She was preceded in death by granddaughter, Jennifer K. Starbird, in 2004. Beloved mother of Constance K. Wright and her husband Gerald, and Katharine K. Starbird and her husband Thomas; beloved grandmother of John Wright and Gregory Starbird and his wife Heather; and beloved great-grandmother of Simone Dziadzan Starbird. A Memorial Service was held in Pasadena on Tuesday, February 26, 2008. Internment at Belmont Memorial Park, Fresno, California. Remembrances may be made to the First Presbyterian Church, Fresno, California, or to the music program of La Canada Presbyterian Church, La Canada, California.
Published in the Fresno Bee on 3/4/2008.

Roselle's daughter Kathy and I went to high school and college together and Kathy's sister Connie was just a couple years ahead of us. I was blessed to enjoy the hospitality of the Kemalyan home where ideas and values and history and faith and music were part of the ordianry conversation. Roselle was, as her obituary indicates, a stunning musician and I will never forget her coming into our humanities class to introduce us all to some of the major composers in western music. She would tell us about them and play for us. What a gift to a bunch of teenagers!

She was also one of the great Armenian cooks on whose food I grew up and always had madzoon (Armenian yogurt) going. (All right, that wasn't my fave but the fact that she cultured it impressed me.)

May Roselle rest in peace and rise with Christ in glory.

--the BB

There is a passing reference to Connie Kemalyan in my post "Genocide has a face." If you are new to this blog, you will learn a lot more about me in that post from February 2005.