Income Inequality

There's been a significant amount of talk recently about growing income inequality.  Both Pope Francis and President Obama have discussed this problem in the past few weeks.

This video nails the issue on it's head as far as the U.S. is concerned…

Pope Selfie

This Pope is certainly shaping up to be quite different than all the others.

Meet the Popes

Whatever your level of religiosity, from a historical standpoint this meeting is quite remarkable.  The last time two popes could have met was almost 600 years ago in 1415 when George XII resigned.  

Unfortunately, the net came up short on video of a meeting between George and his successor.

Smoke Signals

Just in case you're into this sort of thing, Popealarm will will send you a text or email as soon as a puff of white smoke goes up.

And for the truly obsessed, there's the live CBS Smoke Cam...

About Those Red Shoes

I was raised Catholic -- the whole nine yards...alter boy, Catholic elementary school, high school, and unintentionally even Catholic college -- but I'm not quite sure what I'd call myself now: lapsed, disenchanted, agnostic, a pro-choice liberal formerly known as Catholic? Whatever category I'd fall into, I'm not loosing a wink of sleep over Benedict's decision to toss in the papal towel.  If it serves to bring in a more progressive or believe it or not a black Pope, all the better, but given the recent history of the Catholic Church I'm not holding my breath.

Now, about those red shoes. From HuffPo...

When he emigrated from his native Peru to Rome, Italy, Antonio Arellano never imagined he would end up measuring the foot of one of the most influential men in the world: Pope Benedict XVI. He still can't believe that his little shoe store, in the Borgo Pio neighborhood, close to Vatican City, became the favorite of cardinals and religious leaders. 

Pope Benedict XVI doesn’t use Prada shoes, as was speculated at some point about the red pair that have been his trademark throughout his pontificate period, which ends this February 28. 

The man behind those iconic red shoes is, in fact, Hispanic. They are a product of Peruvian artisan Arellano. Arellano left Peru in 1998 looking for a better future. He came to Rome with little knowledge of the language, but with the most powerful weapon he had at the moment: his shoemaker skills. After setting up his business, suddenly, Arellano began receiving visits by several religious personalities, until one day he finally met Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger Aloisius, who later became the 265th Pope.

"The Pope is treated the same as all clients. He doesn't accept any favoritism and pays just as others do," he said.

Monsignor Meth

Is the Catholic Church now a creative consultant to Breaking Bad?

This one is completely bizarre.

From The Daily Beast...

Sex toys, ruby red slippers, drug paraphernalia, and a Roman collar!

Those all were to be elements of The Land of Oz & Dorothy’s Place, a combination adult novelty shop that Monsignor Kevin Wallin apparently planned to take over and move to a new location after he was suspended from his Bridgeport, Conn., parish amid reports of him cross-dressing and having sex in the rectory.

Add methamphetamine to the list, according to the government, which alleges that the 61-year-old cleric now dubbed “Monsignor Meth” used the store to launder proceeds from a transcontinental drug enterprise... 

...“While in Wallin's residence, the UC [undercover police officer] observed Wallin open a desk drawer inside which was contained small Ziploc baggies, spoons, and scales,” the affidavit states. “The UC also observed a large, gallon size Ziploc bag filled with what appeared to be crystal methamphetamine.”

The UC further observed that Wallin had a safe inside a closest. The affidavit says Wallin provided the UC with the numbers of two cellphones he would call if “he wished to purchase crystal methamphetamine in the future.” Wallin did not seem to be a neophyte in the ways of narcotics peddling.

American Psychos

Some days, more frequently now than several years ago, I just shake my head and am speechless.

From NPR...

[W]hen Mary Eady visited one of the yoga classes at her son's school last year, she saw much more than a fitness program. "They were being taught to thank the sun for their lives and the warmth that it brought, the life that it brought to the earth and they were told to do that right before they did their sun salutation exercises," she says. Those looked like religious teachings to her, so she opted to keep her son out of the classes. 

The more Eady reads about the Jois Foundation and its founders' beliefs in the spiritual benefits of Ashtanga yoga, the more she's convinced that the poses and meditation can't be separated from their Hindu roots. "It's stated in the curriculum that it's meant to shape the way that they view the world, it's meant to shape the way that they make life decisions," Eady says. "It's meant to shape the way that they regulate their emotions and the way that they view themselves." 

Critics of the yoga class launched an online petition that garnered about 260 signatures as of Friday, about 50 of them voluntarily identifying themselves as parents in the district. Another online petition, in support of the class, had more than 2,700 signatures, which are anonymous to those who don't sign. 

Eady and the other parents working with Broyles want the classes made completely voluntary and moved to before or after the school day.

Merry Christmas

The War on Christmas

Hilarious.

Coming soon to PBS...

Tearing Down Timbuktu

First this...

Now this may be turned into rubble...

From The Atlantic...

The West African city of Timbuktu used to be one of Africa's richest and most important, a nexus of trade across the Sahara and a center of religious and scientific learning as far back as the 1400s. The relics of that history still stand in the form of such world heritage sites as the University of Sankore. 

On April 2, it came under new ownership: rebels from an ethnic minority known as Tuareg, who'd sought independence for years. Five days later they got it, declaring northern Mali as the independent country of Azawad. Then, on June 1, breakaway rebels with the extremist Islamist group Ansar Dine (translation: "Defenders of Faith") took control of Timbuktu. 

In their first month of rule, Ansar Dine has shut down the tourism industry ("We are against tourism. They foster debauchery," a representative said), sent locals fleeing, and, over the past four days, destroyed half of the shrines that mark Timbuktu's ancient and remarkable history. The United Nations condemned the destruction and the International Criminal Court suggested it could be a war crime, but Ansar Dine insisted they won't slow down, later pulling a beautiful Gothic door off the Sidi Yahya mosque that became one of the world's great centers of learning during the 1400s. They follow an extreme form of Islam that sees Timbuktu's shrines and mosque-universities as sacrilegious; a form of idol-worship. Their campaign is still going -- it's been compared to the Taliban's early-2001 destruction of ancient Buddha statues -- and some observers worry that many of Timbuktu's historical treasures, which have survived countless invasions and empires, won't live out the month.

Deep Sigh

Seriously?

From Gallup...

46% of Americans believe in the creationist view that God created humans in their present form at one time within the last 10,000 years. About a third of Americans believe that humans evolved, but with God's guidance; 15% say humans evolved, but that God had no part in the process.

And for the piece de resistance...drumroll please...the percentage of those who believe in creationism is up 6 fracking percent from last year!

Go figure.

A Changing Heart

One day we'll look back and wonder how some within our society could be so heartless.  Until that day comes, stories such as this will continue to show that change isn't out of the realm of possibilities.

From Single Dad Laughing (the author of I'm Christian, Unless Your Gay)...

This is the text he sent me in return: “I don’t care. I’m at my friends house writing that essay and I’m not coming home till you read it.” 

I think you would have seen steam coming out of my ears if you saw me. I started preparing to go talk to the school the next day. I sent a few angry texts to my son that he didn’t answer. I got the article out of the trash so I could take it into the school and get this teacher fired. My anger got a little out of control and while I was sitting there fuming and planning what to do, I got another text from my son that said “Just emailed it. Love, Jacob.” 

My son’s name is not Jacob, and it took me a minute to realize that he was talking about your friend Jacob in your article. And when I realized that I suddenly started shaking in fear and anger at what he might be telling me. I started out of control crying because I couldn’t handle having a gay son and what if that’s what he was trying to tell me? After a long time I finally got the courage to go look at my email and see what he had sent. And this is what he wrote.

A Picture is Worth...

The photographer's description from Twisted Sifter...

“I remember clearly that it was about 5 p.m. on November 25 [2011]. I was just finishing an assignment photographing retired soldiers bidding farewell to their comrades at the train station. On my way out, I heard someone yelling from a corner and soon after lots of people gathered around. I ran towards the sound and made my way to the front of the crowd, only to find an old man dead on the bench. As I raised my camera, a Buddhist monk walked out of the crowd and went directly towards the dead man. The monk bent down to hold the old man’s hand and started to chant scriptures. I began to take pictures immediately. One minute later, police came over and cordoned off the area. After the monk finished the ceremony, he bowed to the old man and quickly disappeared among the other busy passengers.” [Shanxi Taiyuan Train Station]

"What Breast Cancer Is, and Is Not"

She lays it on the line about breast cancer and the Komen Foundation. 

A must see...

 

Gold, Frankincense, & Myrrh

Today being the Epiphany/12th day of Christmas (hint, hint...time to take down the Christmas decorations) there's no better day to take a look at the gifts of the Three Magi.

From The Independent (UK)...

They journeyed from the East to pay homage to the boy king bearing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. But they would struggle to complete the feat today. Gold prices are soaring on commodity markets, myrrh crops have been hit by drought – and now frankincense could soon be no more. 

Solid frankincense resin can be sold at up to £37.33 per kilo (about $75). Myrrh is roughly twice as expensive, but prices are volatile. And four days before Christmas, an ounce of gold costs £1,029.20 on the international market – up by nearly 20 per cent this year. 

But the worst news comes from Dutch ecologists studying populations of Boswellia in Ethiopia, who warn that the number of the frankincense-producing trees could halve in the next 15 years and eventually cease altogether if factors such as fire, grazing and insect attack go unchecked. An extinction of Boswellia would put an end to a millennia-old trade in the aromatic resin, which peaked under the Roman Empire and still provides materials for the perfume and aromatherapy industries today.

Some "Gentle People"

Of course, the entire Amish community shouldn't be tainted by the horrific deeds of a few but this article certainly paints a disturbing picture of broader problems within certain Amish communities.  

From Legal Affairs...

To the hordes of tourists who travel to Pennsylvania Dutch country each year to go to quilting bees and shop for crafts, the Gentle People, as the Amish are known, represent innocence. They are a people apart, removed in place and arrested in time. They reject the corruptions of modernity—the cars that have splintered American communities and the televisions that have riveted the country's youth. The Amish way of life is grounded in agriculture, hard work, and community. Its deliberate simplicity takes the form of horse-drawn buggies, clothes that could have come from a Vermeer painting, and a native German dialect infused with English words... 

...In some church districts, which encompass only two or three dozen families scattered along back roads, there appear to be many crimes like Johnny and Eli's to forgive. No statistics are available, but according to one Amish counselor who works with troubled church members across the Midwest, sexual abuse of children is "almost a plague in some communities." Some police forces and district attorneys do their best to step in, though they are rarely welcomed. Others are slow to investigate or quick to let off Amish offenders with light punishments. When that happens, girls like Mary are failed three times: by their families, their church, and their state.

See Ya 2011

One last look at a year filled with disaster, revolution, loss, joy, and peace.

Courtesy of Google...

Apollo 8 Christmas Message

An out of this world broadcast.

From Neatorama...

The men of Apollo 8 were slated to become the first humans ever to leave the Earth’s orbit, enter lunar orbit, and see the far side of the Moon. But as their launch date approached in December 1968, NASA added an even more terrifying task to the crew’s to-do list: public speaking. The agency wanted the astronauts to host a live broadcast from the spacecraft on Christmas Eve. Worse still, the men were given only one cryptic instruction: “Say something appropriate.”

The astronauts were in a tough spot. When millions of people of different faiths and backgrounds are listening, what exactly constitutes appropriate? To make matters trickier, 1968 had been a grim year for Americans -the Vietnam War was raging, and Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr. had both been assassinated. How could the astronauts simultaneously orbit the Moon, introduce millions to outer space on TV, and buoy the American spirit?...

...She made an elegant, simple suggestion: Why not just read from the book of Genesis?
The astronauts jumped at the idea. They reasoned that genesis had a broad enough appeal across religions to add a hint of spirituality without ostracizing non-Christians.

The broadcast began with the crew showing some of the first images of Earth ever seen from space...

Remembering

There wasn't a cloud in the sky on that crisp September morning.  It was a picture perfect day on the Chesapeake Bay.

2001 thus far had already been a difficult year.  My father passed away in the Spring and I found the familiarity and calm of the Bay to be the perfect place to mourn his loss.  It was also an ideal setting to concentrate on the development of an internet startup that I along with several others were pouring our days and nights into. 

During the early morning of September 11, I walked down to the Bay to try and catch a few crabs for lunch.  Unsuccessful after about an hour, I packed it in and went back to the house a little after 9am, completely oblivious to the fact that the world had changed in the past 30 minutes.  With my 28.8K modem, I logged onto the internet and soon saw a headline about a plane that had flown into the World Trade Center.  Like many, my immediate thought was that some amateur pilot had accidentally flown a small aircraft into one of the twin towers.  After the market opened and the Dow dropped by a couple hundred points, I finally decided to turn on the TV to see what was happening.  

In that split second when the first image appeared on the TV the magnitude of the situation was clear. In those early hours so many questions swirled around unanswered. Who? Why? Is more to come? What about nuclear weapons? How far from DC is safe?

I phoned my family (some calls went through others didn't) and then dialed my best friend (and business partner at the time) in California and told him wake up and turn on the TV.  The remainder of the day was spent anxiously waiting for my sister, niece, and mother to navigate the mass exodus out of DC and glued to the television trying to make sense out of the senseless.

The following week was surreal.  With air traffic grounded and no flights overhead, the sky over the Bay was the quietest I'd ever experienced.  Later that week, I spoke with a friend in Sweden and [mistakenly] mentioned that having Bush rather than Gore as President might not be such a bad thing.

Slowly the immediate fears receded and life got back to "normal" but after 10 years and an estimated $3.3 trillion spent, two wars, countless lives lost, warrantless wire taps, full body scans, increasing religious intolerance, U.S. government sponsored torture, and a society that treats fear and paranoia as part of the everyday experience it's difficult to call this normal.

Hello Dalai

Yesterday morning, the Dalai Lama gave a talk on the west lawn on the Capitol . Gates opened at 7am. We arrived around 7:15 with all the necessities to while away the next two hours until the program began: blanket, freshly made zucchini bread, water, magazines, a MiFi, and Scrabble.

A little over two hours later, after a sonorous chant by several Buddhist monks , Whoopi Goldberg , the MC for the event, began the introduction. A few minutes later, the Dalai Lama, who turned 76 the day before, took the stage . The next hour or so was filled with his unscripted thoughts on living a compassionate life, embracing and learning from ones enemies, and the development of inner beauty.

It was a refreshing way to spend a Saturday morning.