DULUTH, Minn. (AP) - A northern Minnesota man has pleaded guilty to driving his motorized lounge chair while drunk. A criminal complaint says 62-year-old Dennis LeRoy Anderson told police he was operating his customized La-Z-Boy and "that he was coming from the Keyboard Lounge after consuming approximately eight or nine beers since about 2 p.m. that day."
Keyboard Lounge owner Roger Raymond says Anderson was not served at his Proctor bar and had not entered it. Anderson's attorney, David Keegan, did not return calls for comment Thursday.
Prosecutors say Anderson's blood alcohol content was 0.29 percent, more than three times the legal limit, when he crashed the lounge chair into a parked vehicle in August 2008. He was not seriously injured.
Proctor Deputy Police Chief Troy Foucault says the chair was powered by a converted lawnmower and was equipped with a stereo and cup holders.
Sixth Judicial District Judge Heather Sweetland stayed 180 days of jail time Monday and ordered two years of probation for Anderson.
(Xinhua) -- Hundreds of people have been arrested across the country in a crackdown on a major Mexican drug cartel, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced Thursday. "Into the paddy wagon wit' yez!"
"Que? Que?"
[ZZZZZAPPPPP!]
"Don't taze me, bro!"
All together 303 people were detained in 38 cities in 19 states during last two days while large amounts of illegal drugs, weapons as well as millions of U.S. dollars were also seized, he told reporters at a press conference in Washington, he said. That's about eight people per city. Doesn't seem that overwhelming when you look at it that way...
Aside from the arrests, Holder said, authorities also seized more than 32 million dollars in cash, 1,265 kg of methamphetamine, nearly 2 tons of cocaine, about 7.2 tons of marijuana and 12 kg of heroin. Looked at that way, it's a bit more whelming...
Management brought in a consultant a while back, to increase worker efficiency.
The raids were part of "Project Coronado," targeting La Familia, the newest and most violent of Mexico's five drug cartels, is the target of the crackdown. Holder said that "Project Coronado" has led to the arrests of 1,186 people over 44 months, and more arrests are expected.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/23/2009 00:00 ||
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This is really good news. The cartels have a stronghold in the US that is a major issue. I hope the arrests were leaders and not just soldiers managing storage and transfer points. Hat tip to the task force that pulled this off. I cant even imagine what almost 3,000 pounds of Meth looks like, let alone 2 tons of coke.
Posted by: 49 pan ||
10/23/2009 10:26 Comments ||
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" A drop in the bucket" a very important first drop. The smuggling and crime is based off US demand. Attacking it at home is just as important as working in Mexico, Columbia, and Afghanistan. I hope the plan continues before they start shooting at our police.
Posted by: 49 pan ||
10/23/2009 15:55 Comments ||
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Officers from the Baker and Teller Counties Sheriff's Office were called when a young couple noticed someone inside their car at 2:30am.
But when the police arrived, they found that the intruder was not a criminal, but a hungry young black bear who had wandered into the unlocked vehicle.
Many bears who live near human populations have learned how to open car doors, said local sheriff Kevin Dougherty.
Experts say it may have been attracted by the smell of food from within the car.
After getting inside, the door closed behind it, and it was unable to escape. When it realised this, it panicked and thrashed about, setting off the car alarm.
Officers opened the car door from the outside, and -- presumably to their relief -- the creature needed no encouragement to slink off on its own.
Police are now warning locals to be very careful not to leave food in their vehicles.
It is not the first time a bear has been involved in apparent Grand Theft Auto. A bear in New Jersey managed not only to break into a people carrier, but accidentally to release the handbrake, sending the car rolling 50 feet downhill.
On that occasion the bear managed to break a window and effect its own escape.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/23/2009 00:00 ||
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As comedian Tim Bedore has brought to our attention, this is part of the "Vast Animal Conspiracy."
The 70-year-old woman who shot a would-be robber at a North Side motel last night is attending the All-American Quarter Horse Congress today and feels sick about the shooting, according to her son.
Columbus police say the shooting occurred about 9:15 p.m. at the Continent Inn, 6225 Zumstein Dr., located at The Continent shopping center, off Rt. 161 near I-71.
Sgt. Eric Pilya of the homicide squad said the woman was in a motel room with four or five others and they'd cracked open the door to get fresh air. Pilya said a man barged into the room, demanding money from those inside. Police said the woman, from southern Ohio, grabbed a gun that she had in the room and shot Wayne Winston, 25, of Columbus, who staggered into the parking lot of the motel and died.
Police have not released the name of the woman who shot Winston.
Her son, who spoke this morning on the condition that his name and his mom's name not be used, said his mother is torn up about the shooting and has felt sick since it occurred.
No charges had been filed. Pilya said it's likely that the case will be presented to a Franklin County grand jury to see whether the woman should be charged.
Meena Patel, a clerk at the Continent Inn, said the shooting occurred in Room 111, which was booked to a man and woman. The woman has since moved to another room in the motel. Her son said she has a concealed carry permit.
The annual All-American Quarter Horse Congress is in its third week at the state fairgrounds and ends Sunday. It is the world's largest single-breed horse show and attracts more than 600,000 people to Columbus each year.
Y'all have been warned. Do not threaten horse people.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/23/2009 00:00 ||
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Associated article here. "It's a wonder she didn't shoot us all," said her 51-year-old son, who was preparing to hand over his cash when he heard the gunshot. "She's the worst shot in the world.
"She said to me, 'God was with me tonight. You know I couldn't have done that myself.'"
None of the family members, who live in Ironton, wanted to be identified, fearing retaliation; and the woman didn't want to be interviewed. They have moved to a different room in the motel. Too bad the paper ID'd their home town & their whereabouts. Too much information. Saying that they live in Ohio and moved to a different location would have been more than enough for the newspaper to report.
#5
My wife and daughter are at that show every year and were there last weekend. A good friend of my daughter was still there competing. It's a huge event for the horse people.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/23/2009 11:11 Comments ||
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When the word gets back to the other horse people, I bet there is going to be a bunch of hasty gun sales, so people can have a "temp gun" while at the show.
Gun dealers could increase sales right now (probably not that they need to), by throwing in a box of ammo with each purchase, but which must be picked up at a different visit.
Rapid Action Battalion yesterday picked up a staff reporter of the daily New Age from his Jatrabari residence and allegedly tortured him in public.
He was however released around 10:15pm and was taken to Dhaka Medical College and Hospital for treatment. Rab officials in the afternoon said they were planning to file a case against him on charges of "keeping drug substances".
Locals said a team of Rab-10 picked up FM Masum from his rented house as he had protested "rude" behaviour of some Rab personnel towards the wife of his landlord. The Rab men reportedly went there to arrest the woman.
The battalion personnel allegedly beat Masum up and rubbed salt to the injuries, locals said, adding they took him to the Rab office.
The law enforcers even paid no heed to him even after he had shown his identity card, they said.
New Age informed The Daily Star that the battalion arrested the owner of the house, Salauddin, Wednesday midnight on charges of trading in drug substances.
The Rab officials claimed they had planted found him in possession of Pethidine and Phensidyl.
Masum has run several reports on extra-judicial killings such as the deaths in "crossfire" or "encounter" committed by the battalion and on illicit drug business. He has also written several reports on torture on newsmen across the country.
Meanwhile, talking to The Daily Star, Rab Commanding Officer SM Kamal Hossain earlier admitted that they had picked up Masum from his residence but now they were investigating the matter.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/23/2009 00:00 ||
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Getting away from the emphasis on criminals and towards maintaining power...impossible to avoid, I suppose.
#2
What had the landlord's wife done to attract the attention of the Rab? What tone did the reporter take when he protested their behavior? What kind and volume of drugs was the landlord involved with, and had the reporter been aware of this? If not, given that he's a reporter, why not? Lots and lots of questions unaddressed in this article about the reporter's mistreatment. Not to mention that policeman have traditionally rewarded interferers with a visit to the back room at the police station...
Kalapara police on Wednesday night arrested the shopkeeper of Dholirbazar who reportedly raped a 13-year-old girl but was later handed down a mere punishment at village arbitration arranged by a local public representative to ensure the culprit's escape.
A police team led by Sub-Inspector Matiur Rahman visited the village Wednesday evening and later arrested the alleged rapist, Hanif Mollah, 30.
Hanif reportedly raped the teenager, daughter of Khalil Mian of West Chaplee village, when the girl came to his shop to buy goods on Sunday night.
When contacted Ishaq Ali, officer-in-charge (OC) of Kalapara police station said, "The victim has been sent to the Judicial Magistrate's Court to record her statement under section 164 yesterday."
Hanif too has been sent to the court, he added.
Marium Begum, mother of the victim, filed a case with Kalapara Police Station Wednesday night accusing six to seven persons including Hanif Mollah and Union Parishad member Anwar Hossain in this connection.
Anwar Hossain arranged the arbitration on Monday in presence of over 200 people where Hanif was handed down a fine of Tk 5,000 in addition to whipping 50 times.
Family sources said Anwar had forced the victim's father not to go for legal action and also pocketed the Tk 5,000 fine money.
Family sources said Anwar had forced the victim's father not to go for legal action and also pocketed the Tk 5,000 fine money.
Another case has been filed with Galachipa Police Station in connection with a separate rape incident there. A 12-year-old girl was gang-raped Tuesday night in the town when the victim was going to her uncle's house.
Kabir Hossain, the victim's elder brother filed the case on Wednesday night accusing Liton, Manik, Yusuf and Mizanur Rahman.
Liton, who was caught earlier by the locals and handed over to police, has been sent to the Upazila Judicial Magistrate's Court yesterday.
When contacted MA Khaleq, OC of Galachipa Police Station said, "We are investigating the incident and shall take lawful steps against the culprits if they are found guilty."
The victim is undergoing treatment in a critical condition at Patuakhali General Hospital, sources from the hospital said
Posted by: Fred ||
10/23/2009 00:00 ||
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Hugo Chavez's support has declined in the polls as many Venezuelans say they are fed up with 27 percent inflation, a stagnant economy, faulty public services - and a government they see as incapable of doing much about it.
The president's popularity has slid in monthly tracking polls from a high of 61 percent after winning a vote in February to 52.8 percent last month, pollster Luis Vicente Leon of the Caracas-based firm Datanalisis said Wednesday, adding that the downward trend in the percentage who view his presidency positively has continued since.
After more than a decade in power, Chavez is still by far the country's most popular, most resilient and most divisive politician. What appears to have changed recently is that more are complaining about the high cost of living and a government that has often fallen far short of its promises.
"Whatever he offers, everything gets half-done," said Maria Martinez, a 32-year-old who once voted for Chavez but now is disenchanted. She says the government's health programs are insufficient, and the $500 or so she earns each month selling books in the street is no longer enough to support her five children.
She said water reaches her Caracas slum only now and then due to a broken main that officials haven't fixed.
"They always say they're going to repair the pipe, and they never do," Martinez said with a frown. "They offer and offer, and they never finish."
Leon, whose polling firm has long tracked Venezuelans' views about Chavez, said that in the past whenever his popularity has dipped near or below 50 percent, it has "set off alarms" for the president and he has found ways to boost his support. He said Chavez has recovered from worse situations before and "continues to be the strongest leader in the game."
In the past couple of months, as the lower poll numbers emerged, Chavez announced plans to bring in more Cuban doctors to staff neighborhood clinics he acknowledged had been abandoned. He also has prepared to boost spending through issuing some $8 billion in bonds.
The president said recently that the final months of 2009 "are going to be a big offensive in all areas: in politics, social issues, economic issues."
The government, which relies on oil revenues for about half its budget, is trying to turn around an economy that after years of rapid growth contracted 2.4 percent in the second quarter of the year.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/23/2009 00:00 ||
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How freaking hard is it to repair water mains? I'll never understand how this trivial stuff never gets done. I know, corruption, but jeez that means stealing a percentage.
#3
I think the problem is that he's spending all the extra cash on other necessities. Like weapons systems to fend off the imminent attack by the United States.
Ousted Honduran president Manuel Zelaya will return to talks only if his rivals agree to reinstate him first, his advisers say. That's the way leftists negotiate: they'll hold talks with you if you concede their point first. What's mine is mine, now let's talk about what's yours ...
The Organization of American States (OAS) on Wednesday called for a push to restart dialogue as a solution to the crisis appeared ever more distant, with both sides stuck on the issue of Zelaya's return to office before the elections next month. How about if Manny leaves for Fiji or Samoa or someplace?
Stalled talks this week represent the latest setback since the June 28 military-backed coup, which took place following a dispute over Zelaya's plans to change the constitution. Critics saw the move as a bid to extend term limits. They prob'ly saw it that way because the plans to change the constitution involved removing the term limits that kept Manny from proclaiming himself caudillo, like his friend Hugo did.
"Zelaya will return to dialogue if it is to sign his restitution," his adviser Rasel Tome told AFP. That's the diffo between "dialogue" and "capitulation," isn't it?
The de facto regime, led by Roberto Micheletti, wants to push ahead with the presidential polls set for November 29 to resolve the crisis, as Zelaya remains holed up in the Brazilian embassy. Zelaya's term expires in January. Not only is the regime "de facto," it's "de jure."
Meanwhile, in an increasingly polarized Honduras, Zelaya's supporters planned new protests, despite a continued clampdown after the lifting of curbs on civil liberties imposed by the de facto regime, union leader Juan Barahona told AFP on Thursday. That's the whole intention, isn't it? And I'll betcha there's lotsa Venezuelan cash funding it...
Zelaya's ouster was backed by the country's courts, Congress and business leaders, and came after he swerved to the left and aligned himself with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. ... and tried to emulate Hugo by grabbing permanent power.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/23/2009 00:00 ||
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Anyone know the Spanish for "F*** you - and the horse you snuck in on"?
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
10/23/2009 0:32 Comments ||
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Barbara,
the reflective verbs of Spanish are a problem but how about
"joda usted y el caballo en el que usted se movió sigilosamente en"
Posted by: lord garth ||
10/23/2009 8:42 Comments ||
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Can we toss him in El Calabozo until after the election?
#4
Zelaya knows if he settles for les, he loses. If I were a negotiator for the government, I would push to adjourn the talks until January, giving both sides time to review their positions. Without changing the Constitution, Zelya can't run for president and his term endds December 31. Problem solved. No action need be taken,
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
10/23/2009 16:21 Comments ||
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Republicans in the Senate are gearing up to battle the Obama administration over the high-priority plan to finish a new arms-control treaty with Russia before the end of the year.
Sen. Jon Kyl, Arizona Republican and No. 2 Republican Senate leader, recently identified a key issue that is likely to complicate the administration's plan: Russia for years has been violating the current Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), which is set to expire Dec. 5. Mr. Kyl said in a Senate floor speech Oct. 19 that Russia's development of a new multiple-warhead RS-24 missile that was tested as recently as May 2007 violates the current treaty.
"That would be illegal for the Russians to deploy under START. So why are they testing it?" Mr. Kyl asked.
"In this case, it appears the Russians have cheated - if not in the letter of the START agreement, at least in its spirit - by converting one of their existing missiles, the Topol-M, to this new multiple-warhead variant," he said. The new missile is also known as the SS-27 by the Pentagon.
The argument of Mr. Kyl and others concerned with the administration's rush to conclude a new treaty is over how a new agreement can be reached when there is evidence that the Russians failed to abide by the old one.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/23/2009 00:00 ||
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Yet another chance for Obama to prove to his meddle to the nation. IOW, giving away the farm to Putin.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
10/23/2009 0:49 Comments ||
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TOKYO (Reuters) -- Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said on Friday there was no need to rush a decision that could stall a realignment of U.S. troops in the country, as tension grows over an issue that could fray ties with Washington.
The top U.S. military officer kept up the pressure on Tokyo, saying a swift decision on the re-positioning of a U.S. Marine air base was needed to avoid putting a troop reorganization deal at risk, undermining security in Japan and the region.
The Sankei newspaper reported Japan would tell U.S. President Barack Obama when he visits next month that it would craft a new plan by the end of the year to relocate the base on the southern island of Okinawa. But Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano said there had been no such decision.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/23/2009 12:51 ||
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WMF >THREAD SUB-ARTIC > CHINA IS BEING HEMMED IN BY USA ON ITS EASTERN, SOUTHERN AND WESTERN FLANKS [AFPAK Front, IRAN Front, RUSS + EASTEUROS Front > GMD-TMD, ally INDIA, + traditional JAPAN-SOKOR-PHILIPPINES-GUAM-DIEGO GARCIA]; + USA IS INDIRECTLY ATTACKING CHINA, RUSSIA BY PROXY.
#4
* GUAM PDN POSTER > many in JAPAN know their country is a target for KIMMIE'S = NOKOR's MISSLES [future Nukulaar]; + CHINESE MIL FORUM > JAPAN ON VERGE OF FSCAL COLLAPSE/HIGH JAPANESE GDP WAS A "BALLON".
versus
WMF > TARGET JAPAN: CHINA'S SECOND ARTILLERY HAS 300 STARTEGIC NUCLEAR BOMBS AIMED AT JAPAN; + BEIJING'S STEADILY GROWING STRATEGIC MISSLE STRIKE CAPABILITY CAN NOW EFFEC TARGET APPROXIMATELY 45% OF THE USA.
* SAME WMF > US NAVY IN BUDGET STAGNATION [no significant $$$ changes to gross US Fleet size].
USA = USDOD-NAVY can longer afford a large fleet ala WW2 or COLD WAR - however, it can afford only PER UNIT VESSEL/SHIP SUBSTITUTION as affected by changes in Techs.
* SAME WMF > TAIWAN KMT LEGISLATOR JOHN CHIANG: WAR BTWN CHINA, TAIWAN STILL POSSIBLE ANYTIME WITHIN FIVE YEARS [circa Year 2014-2015 ro].
* SAME > JAPAN FOREIGN MINSTER OKADA: US-JAPAN OKINAWA BASES RELOCATION EXPECTED TO BE FINALIZED DURING OBAMA'S NOVEMBER VISIT [11/12th/2009].
The Bammer's visiting Nippon.
*** IOW, SAME-TO-SMALLER USN FLEET + DITO USAF + ARMY-USMC grunts spread out around the world, at roughly same time as PAN-ISLAMIST NUCLEARIZATION [ Govts + Militant Groups] >THIS SHOULD END WELL 2010-2020???
#5
GULF TIMES > ONE IN SIX JAPANESE LIVING IN POVERTY [Japan Welfare Ministry statistcs]. Approxi 15,7$ of Japanese living below the median income levels for 2006, one of the worst for developed countries within the OECD group of nations.
versus
TELEGRAPH.UK > BRITAIN STILL IN [deep] RECESSION AND OVERTAKEN BY ITALY
#6
GULF TIMES > [Defense Ministry Official]CHINA: ONUS IS ON USA TO KEEP TIES STABLE [inclusive and respectful of Chin's core interests and decisions, etc.].
The people of the 23rd Congressional District of New York are ready to shake things up, and Doug Hoffman is coming on strong as Election Day approaches! He needs our help now.
The votes of every member of Congress affect every American, so it's important for all of us to pay attention to this important Congressional campaign in upstate New York. I am very pleased to announce my support for Doug Hoffman in his fight to be the next Representative from New York's 23rd Congressional district. It's my honor to endorse Doug and to do what I can to help him win, including having my political action committee, SarahPAC, donate to his campaign the maximum contribution allowed by law.
Our nation is at a crossroads, and this is once again a "time for choosing."
The federal government borrows, spends, and prints too much money, while our national debt hits a record high. Government is growing while the private sector is shrinking, and unemployment is on the rise. Doug Hoffman is committed to ending the reckless spending in Washington, D.C. and the massive increase in the size and scope of the federal government. He is also fully committed to supporting our men and women in uniform as they seek to honorably complete their missions overseas.
And best of all, Doug Hoffman has not been anointed by any political machine.
Doug Hoffman stands for the principles that all Republicans should share: smaller government, lower taxes, strong national defense, and a commitment to individual liberty.
Political parties must stand for something. When Republicans were in the wilderness in the late 1970s, Ronald Reagan knew that the doctrine of "blurring the lines" between parties was not an appropriate way to win elections. Unfortunately, the Republican Party today has decided to choose a candidate who more than blurs the lines, and there is no real difference between the Democrat and the Republican in this race. This is why Doug Hoffman is running on the Conservative Party's ticket.
Republicans and conservatives around the country are sending an important message to the Republican establishment in their outstanding grassroots support for Doug Hoffman: no more politics as usual.
You can help Doug by visiting his official website below and joining me in supporting his campaign.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/23/2009 00:00 ||
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soooo...?? This is New York where a Palin endorsement is sure to horrify and dishearten the loyal democrats who see her as Satan in the flesh. Is Palin trying to help the democrat or the republican here? I'm confused.
#2
NY has a Conservative party as well as the Republicans. The Conservatives have their roots in the upstate area that includes the 23rd. Often but not always they merge with the Rs to field a candidate. Palin's rallying them to make it Hoffman this time.
Posted by: lord garth ||
10/23/2009 8:37 Comments ||
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There is no difference between the Democrat and Republican candidates in the NY-23 race. There would be no difference between the two in votes and the only difference would be where they would caucus. And there rumors that the Repub would move to the Dems if she got effective opposition in the primaries for the 2010 election.
At a minimum the liberal Republican leadership needs to get a whack alongside the head about appointing and suppporting liberals to a conservative district.
#5
The district has been Republican since the civil war, and is very conservative, fiscally and socially.
The local GOP insiders and party leaders hand picked one of their own, Dede Scozzofava who happens to be for card check, supported the stimulus bill and TARP, has a consistent tax and spend voting record at the state legislature, is pro choice, wants to federally fund abortions as part of Obamacare, and is endorsed by and funded by NARAL, Planned Parenthood local officials, several Unions, Daily Kos, and ACORN. Yes, ACORN endorsed her. The REPUBLICAN nominee is to the left of the DEM!!!!!!!
This is another example of GOP party leaders ignoring grass roots. This time the grass roots put their own candidate forward Hoffman. And he took the Conservative Party line on the ballot, which is usually given to the Republican candidate. That is who Palin is endorsing The Conservative candidate instead of the "Republican" machine pol that's more Pelosi favorable in policy than large parts of the Democrat Party.
Posted by: M Defarge ||
10/23/2009 12:01 Comments ||
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#6
Once upon a time New York elected a Senator on the Conservative Party ticket - James Buckley.
Can the Church of England be doomed? Would it matter if it were? Would anybody notice?
These questions are prompted by the news that Pope Benedict XVI is attempting to persuade Anglican clergy and even entire parishes to defect en masse to the Roman Catholic Church. Good Lord! It's a Papist plot!
This is a manoeuvre which, according to one's point of view, could be described as audacious, unfriendly and even predatory. Or just picking up somebody else's pieces...
The Pope looks at our national Church and sees an increasingly fragmented institution, some of whose clergy and laity are longing for strong and decisive leadership. Or any leadership at all...
So he turns poacher. Poachers set traps and snares or go creeping through the woods with guns. All the Pope seems to be doing is whispering "here, priesty-priesty!" in a Christiany kind of voice...
When I am completely senile, my brain turned to mush and dribbling out my ears, that image will be the last thing I still remember.
Watch for the esteemed Archbishop to push for outlawing incense, candles and lace on vestments. It's coming ... along with a court determination that 'Thee' is hate speech.
Since the Pope regards the Roman Catholic Church as the one true Church, and does not even acknowledge the validity of Anglican orders, I suppose we should not be too surprised by what he has done, though it is difficult to imagine his predecessor, Pope John Paul II, making an open overture of this sort. The interesting question is why Pope Benedict should feel emboldened to so. I've heard of Anglican priests who've gone over to the Papists, some of them married -- the celibacy thing doesn't carry over if they've alrady got a wife. I don't think they even have to go through reprogramming. "High church" Anglicans are considered close enough to Catholics.
I am afraid much of the explanation has to do with the leadership - or lack of it - of Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury. While the Church of England had many problems before he was enthroned, and will continue to have them long after he has gone, it can't be denied that they have multiplied during his watch. I don't think it's a given that there will be a Church of England after he's gone. He might well be the Romulus Augustulus of the church. Unsurprisingly, he appears to have been caught off-guard by the Pope's machinations. "Whut? Whut? Sorry! I wuz havin' a nap! Whuddya say?"
Any Primate would admittedly have experienced difficulties in his position. He has tried in vain to bridge the gap between those who favour homosexual priests and those who abhor the idea. Right. What's it say in the Book?
A sizeable minority of Anglican clergy dislike the prospect of women becoming bishops, and these are the people in particular whom the Pope hopes to lure to Rome. As the Church of England becomes more womanly its more manly members look for something a little more testicular... And it must also be granted, in Dr Williams's partial defence, that no Archbishop of Canterbury is in the position of a Pope, who is able to issue encyclicals and can generally command at least public obedience among Catholics. On the other hand, you'd think that as head of a major denomination he'd spend a bit more time reading up on religious precedents and taking a firm stand here and there. He doesn't have to do it on every issue, but since he does it on not much of anything people do tend to notice. Many of the same people then look for something a little more substantial.
The Primate of the Anglican Church is merely primus inter pares, So's the Pope, in theory...
and is supposed to take into account the views of other bishops, clergy and even laity. The Queen (and by extension the Prime Minister and the Cabinet) is nominally head of the Church of England, not he. The Queen, the PM, and the Cabinet dont' spend a lot of time debating matters religious, nor are they trained to do so... Still, when these points have been duly noted, Dr Williams has not been an impressive Archbishop. A reputedly brilliant academic, he has never served as an ordinary parish priest. I have no idea whether he's a "brilliant academic." He doesn't appear to be even a mediocre theologian, and as a leader he's squat. You can't lead if you don't know where you're going.
Oh he knows where he's going, alright. He just isn't good at getting the unwashed - or rather, the seriously baptized - to follow.
Unlike some very clever men, he is no good at simplifying complex theological issues for people less clever than himself, which is to say almost all of us. Who told you he was brilliant? Polysyllables don't make a genius, and they might even cover up a dullard.
Senator John F. Kerry comes to mind, as does former Vice President Al Gore of blessed memory.
Indeed, it is quite possible for moderately intelligent people to listen to the Archbishop preach a sermon or deliver a lecture on theological matters and not be at all sure what he is on about. Maybe there's no point to what he's saying? Maybe it's mush? Somehow people were able to make out what Calvin was saying, or Wesley. For that matter, the Pope somehow seems to get his message across. So here we have an inarticulate fellow with diabolical eyebrows who sometimes wears a funny hat and other times consorts with druids. You sure he's a genius?
Well, he managed to get Bishop Nazir-Ali to resign and thereby lose a prime pulpit from which to warn about militant Islam. That's some sort of genius, I suppose.
Paradoxically, he is capable of being direct to the point of triteness when he feels moved - as he often does - to discourse on secular matters. Y'mean when he's talking about things outside, sometimes far outside, his field? I'm always struck that he's holding the same seat Cranmer held. The thought kinda takes my breath away.
Some will remember how not very long ago he incautiously suggested during a radio interview that officially sanctioned Sharia courts might be allowable for Muslims in this country. It did not help that in a subsequent lecture this statement was hedged about with caveats. The damage had been done. Seems like history's outside his field of expertise, doesn't it? The whole idea behind English law has been one set of laws for everybody.
Far too often he sounds like a Guardian leader writer in full flood rather than a divine. In other words he's a pedestrian intellect masquerading as somebody really, really smart?
One of his pet subjects is global warming. Lemme see... That's in Galatians, right? Or is it in Isaiah?
Psalms. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of darkness I will feel no evil, for You are with me
See how cleverly that dovetails?
And here I thought it was Revelations ...
There may be nothing wrong with that - except that there are already many people, some of them rather more expert than he is, lecturing us about its supposed perils. Shouldn't an Archbishop of Canterbury offer us guidance on moral issues? You'd kinda think that, wouldn't you?
In an interview only last week with The Times, Dr Williams suggested that it was 'unsustainable' to airfreight vegetables from Africa because of the effect of aircraft emissions on global warming. I imagine he believes that climate change threatens the integrity of our God-given world, and is therefore a moral issue. I'm still looking for the echoes of Thomas Aquinas here...
The trouble is that thousands of poor Africans will be impoverished if we do not buy their produce. This is not a matter about which a sensible Archbishop should be emphatic. Cause, meet effect. I think the Church got it by way of the Greeks, who got it from the Hittites, who got it from the Assyrians, who got it from the Babylonians, who got it from the Sumerians, who invented the concept when Gilgamesh and Enkidu conked Humbaba with a rock and he died.
It does indeed seem like the kind of non-connection this particular archbishop might make. A little erudition can be a dangerous thing in the wrong hands.
My favourite example of an ill-judged incursion into the banal was his suggestion some years ago that motorists should drive more slowly in order to save the environment (not lest they kill or injure one another) and his demand for a 'strictly enforced' speed limit. "'e wuz goin' 58 miles an hour, yer honour!"
"To the Tower wiv him!"
Amusingly, Dr Williams's predecessor but one as Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Robert Runcie, was once fined for driving at nearly 100mph on the Stevenage by-pass when he was Bishop of St Albans. I hope he is not roasting in Dr Williams's version of Hell. Does Dr. Williams have a version of Hell? Has he ever said?
There are already more than enough politicians and pundits telling us what we should, and should not, do in the way we live our secular lives. Surely the proper function of the senior Archbishop of the Established Church is to provide Christian guidance on profound moral questions, and to carry the flag for Christian values in an age in which science pretends it has all the answers. Yes, but taking a position on moral questions can be controversial. Look at all the people who haven't become Catholic!
We don't want a rent-a-quote Archbishop popping up every day of the week. I understand, too, that senior clerics do not have a hotline to God, and may sometimes be themselves unsure as to the true Christian path. On the other hand you'd think they should spend a lot of time thinking on that very subject...
Nonetheless, I long for an Archbishop of Canterbury who spares us his fashionable advice on the secular issues of the day, and tells us how we should respond as Christians to the moral challenges of our age. I can see that Dr Williams does not want to be divisive, and he probably fears that strong guidance, for example on assisted dying, might alienate some Anglicans who are instinctively in favour of it. They're the ones who won't become Catholics, so there'll likely still be a Church of England, until the last member assists the second last in shuffling off the mortal coil.
But the Church of England is not a club intended to keep a diminishing band of members happy. If it is to justify its continued existence as our so-called national Church, it must speak to the whole nation - or at any rate the whole of England. In his moral timidity and preoccupation with fashionable secular issues, Dr Williams exemplifies the worst traits of the modern Church of England. He's talking about its similarity to lukewarm dishwater. You can't drink it and it's not even very good for washing dishes.
And yet a Church which at a national level appears so shaky in its beliefs is sometimes remarkably strong in individual parishes. In my home-town of Oxford, for example, there are Anglican churches where it is difficult to find a seat on Sundays. I'm guessing they still use the Book of Common Prayer, though I could be mistaken...
Young people in particular yearn for guidance. Some will become Muslim, some will become Catholic, and the remainder will become communists or Greens...
Many of them are not satisfied with the secular pieties of our age. If they cannot find a home in the Church of England, some of them will turn to the Roman Catholic Church, where doubtless they will be welcomed with open arms. That's what I just said, only he left out the Muslims...
But the Church of England is surely worth preserving, partly because it is so bound up with our history and even now has a special place in the English nation, and partly because of the beauty of its liturgy (even though the beauties of the Authorised Version and the 1662 prayer book have regrettably been largely set aside) and of its choral music. So much for the Book of Common Prayer...
The choral music is still being sung by secular choirs with demanding directors, precisely because of the beauty of the compositions. No worries there, any more than that Mozart's Requiem will be lost to the memory of Man. Both trailing daughters have recently sung various traditional C.of E. pieces in various choruses, here in the middle of the American Midwest.
Dr Williams's polite, but firm, response to Pope Benedict should be to lay off our Church.
'Our' church? You mean 'we of the secular pieties'? We who are hollow souled, don't attend, don't believe and are content to let the government subsidize old buildings because they make us feel somehow connected to the past and the doctrine we disdain? That 'our'?
Yet without strong, determined and inspired leadership the Church of England may continue to disintegrate. Its various factions must learn to respect authority. Brilliant though he may be, Rowan Williams, miscast academic that he is, will never be able to supply it.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/23/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Great in-line, Fred. Love the pics. ;-p
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
10/23/2009 0:38 Comments ||
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#3
It's unfortunate that the writer has got the facts backwards. The Pope didn't make rules to 'lure' people away from the Anglican church. The Pope made rules to allow the acceptance of people who asked to join the Catholic Church. There's a difference, he isn't poaching, he's accomodating.
#4
.. and tells us how we should respond as Christians to the moral challenges of our age.
You mean like -
Thou shall not covet thy neighbor's wealth and thou shall not [use the government] to steal thy neighbor's wealth as the soci@lists do?
or
Thou shall not bear false witness [regardless how passionate you feel about an issue, like say, Man Made Global Warming]?
or hold people accountable for their personal behaviors like thou shall not commit adultery or murder?
Not in these days when 'rules' are not to make people feel bad about themselves. When you compromise fundamental principles what do you have to stand on? Right Newt?
#6
Thanks for bringing this up. I went on a reading spree!!!
It appears not that the pope was poaching, but that Traditional Anglicans had come begging the Roman Catholic Chruch for a path to come in as a parish or even a whole diocese and to keep their priests and most of the High Church Anglican liturgy. This has apparently been ongoing for years, since the whole gay married Bishops in the USA thing split the Anglican/Episcopal Church.
The African Bishops and conservative US Episcopals seem to be the ones asking for this and wanting it enough to start talking to the Vatican and keep talking to the vatican to hammer out an agreement.
This in its essence adds to the Latin-Rite a ne Anglican-Rite Catholic Church like the Eastern-Rite Catholic Church which will all be part of the Roman Catholic Church and adhere to central orthodoxy and the Pope and Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church, but the Anglicans like the Eastern are allowed some variance in liturgy, allowed their own (unmarried celibate) Bishops, and allows for ordaining married priests at the diocesan/parish level.
Its a specific and good outlet for Anglicans who feel trapped by the extreme leftward tilt the Church of England and liberal branches in the US have taken when they went away from Biblical and Traditional Christianity.
The problem for the Church of England is that the only places it was growing were in the places where the traditionalist and conservatives were holding out against the sinking liberalism coming from Canterbury. Once they join the Roman Catholics, the CoE will shrink in significance and size especially overseas and will likely start dying off even worse than it is now in England.
What the pope gets from this are millions of orthodox, conservative Catholics under the Anglican-Rite Catholic umbrella and a great influx of new-but-old married priests world wide. This will help the pope bring the Roman Catholic Church more into an orthodox and conservative direction and fight the liberal bishops in his ranks especially in the US.
Over all pundits seem to think it will bring new energy and unity for the Roman Catholic Church as a whole since the Eastern-Rite and Latin-Rite will see good people come in from this influx of Anglican-Rite Catholics.
Very interesting times.
Posted by: M Defarge ||
10/23/2009 13:02 Comments ||
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#7
I imagine she and the Pope will be discussing that sort of thing in his upcoming visit to Buckingham Palace.
#9
"Unlike some very clever men, he is no good at simplifying complex ... issues"
That's my definition of intelligence, along with predicting the future. It sounds to me like he's a self-publicist rather than brainy, and self-publicist get found out for having no "core".
#11
As a lapsed Episcopalian I have viewed our sect from without for decades now, and found the liberal drift increasingly intolerable. However, I would caution some of my less removed co-religionists to view carefully the Catholic Church's leftward drift as well at the parish/dioscean level in the US.
Witness Sactuary movements for illegals and other examples of religion-politics merger a la South America soci@lism.
#12
'Our' church? You mean 'we of the secular pieties'? We who are hollow souled, don't attend, don't believe and are content to let the government subsidize old buildings because they make us feel somehow connected to the past and the doctrine we disdain? That 'our'?
No worries, lotp. Those beautiful old buildings resound to the sound of the beautiful old songs composed for their fabric so much better without the bodies of congregants to unevenly absorb the sound. The St. Martin-in-the-field choir will make such recordings as will make your very heart weep to hear it, just you wait.
#14
As the Times article noted: "A job as a clergyman in the Church of England comes with a stipend of £22,250 and free accommodation. Catholic priests earn about £8,000, paid by their parish and topped up by a diocese where the parish cannot afford even that."
You can forget theological parlor games, this will be the real sticking issue.
Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, may be hot on the heels of a Holy Grail of cancer therapy: They have found a way to not only protect healthy tissue from the toxic effects of radiation treatment, but also increase tumor death.
More than half of all cancer patients are treated at least in part with radiation, but the same radiation that kills cancer cells can also destroy healthy ones, causing side effects such as nausea and vomiting, skin sores and rashes, and weakness and fatigue. Long-term radiation exposure can lead to the scarring and death of normal tissue.
They found that blocking a molecule called thrombospondin-1 from binding to its cell surface receptor, called CD47, affords normal tissues nearly complete protection from both standard and very high doses of radiation.
"This dramatic protective effect occurred in skin, muscle and bone marrow cells, which is very encouraging. Cells that might have died of radiation exposure remained viable and functional when pre-treated with agents that interfere with the thrombospondin-1/CD47 pathway."
"Dr. Isenberg and his team are examining multiple disease treatment strategies for pulmonary hypertension, wound healing, sickle cell disease and heart attacks, based on the blockade of the thrombospondin-1/CD47 pathway," he said.
#1
I wonder if there is application for this with cleanup operations at power plants and weapons facitities to protect workers.
Posted by: 49 pan ||
10/23/2009 15:43 Comments ||
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#2
Even possible military operations in a nuclear environment. And used in conjunction with long term space operations and nuclear engines and power sources. Emergency services in nuc mishap, the list goes on.
As George W. Bush joked with a business crowd inside a historic hotel ballroom Thursday, hundreds of rubesfoolsrusticsdweebsknuckleheadscommunists people outside the room cheered while he was being burned in effigy.
Police in riot gear and others on horseback held back a crowd of hundreds of idiots, including several nimrods people who tossed shoes at the Queen Elizabeth hotel in a demonstration of disdain for the man speaking inside.
Two anarchists protesters tried forcing their way through the line of shield-and baton-carrying police, were wrestled to the ground, and arrested.
Ironically, this anti-war protest took place outside the same hotel where the ultimate anti-war anthem - John Lennon's Give Peace a Chance - was recorded in 1969.
Chants of "George Bush terrorist" echoed in the street as some of the 300 drooling protesters said they refused to accept that Canada would roll out the red carpet for a man they called a war criminal.
Inside the hotel, nearly 1,000 spectators paid $400 to hear Bush speak during the latest stop on his Canadian tour.
In his first visit to Montreal, the former U.S. president warmed up the crowd by referring to local hockey legends Maurice and Henri Richard. "I was an avid sports fan (growing up) and I actually knew who the Rocket and the Pocket Rocket were," Bush said.
He got a standing ovation when he first took the podium to address the eager audience.
But outside in the street, Helen Hannah said she couldn't imagine why Bush had been invited to speak in several Canadian cities.
"He has nothing to offer," the colourfully dressed goofy protester said. "He stands for modes of torture, modes of warfare and modes of lying that don't represent the way most Americans and most Canadians want to face the world."
Posted by: Fred ||
10/23/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Any predictions on when shoes will fly towards Obama?
#3
Imaging how the MSM would cover an Obama effigy burned at a tea party demonstration. Then again as media members of the inner circle, it's easy to imagine the protesters portrayed as anything but people expressing a civil statement, but as knuckle dragging inbred morlocks.
#4
Why is it that people cannot use the word 'ironically' correctly? It isn't 'ironic' that they are protesting where the song was written. Journalists are so stupid.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
(Xinhua) -- Hundreds of people have been arrested across the country in a crackdown on a major Mexican drug cartel, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced Thursday. 
Officers from the Baker and Teller Counties Sheriff's Office were called when a young couple noticed someone inside their car at 2:30am. 
Rapid Action Battalion yesterday picked up a staff reporter of the daily New Age from his Jatrabari residence and allegedly tortured him in public.
Hugo Chavez's support has declined in the polls as many Venezuelans say they are fed up with 27 percent inflation, a stagnant economy, faulty public services - and a government they see as incapable of doing much about it.
Ousted Honduran president Manuel Zelaya will return to talks only if his rivals agree to reinstate him first, his advisers say. 
Can the Church of England be doomed? Would it matter if it were? 
Since the Pope regards the Roman Catholic Church as the one true Church, and does not even acknowledge the validity of Anglican orders, I suppose we should not be too surprised by what he has done, though it is difficult to imagine his predecessor, Pope John Paul II, making an open overture of this sort. The interesting question is why Pope Benedict should feel emboldened to so. 
Unsurprisingly, he appears to have been caught off-guard by the Pope's machinations. 
And it must also be granted, in Dr Williams's partial defence, that no Archbishop of Canterbury is in the position of a Pope, who is able to issue encyclicals and can generally command at least public obedience among Catholics. 
Still, when these points have been duly noted, Dr Williams has not been an impressive Archbishop. A reputedly brilliant academic, he has never served as an ordinary parish priest. 
Paradoxically, he is capable of being direct to the point of triteness when he feels moved - as he often does - to discourse on secular matters. 
As George W. Bush joked with a business crowd inside a historic hotel ballroom Thursday, hundreds of 
