A Russian craftsman master glazier at work in his atelier in Moscow. Labour and beauty, art and work… they always march together… never forget that. I always enjoy watching skilled people at work… the graciousness and economy of their effort and movements just takes your breath away. THIS is truth…
This is in memory of Christopher… who loved to work with his hands… may God give him rest…
BMD
This year, the Passover begins on 19 April, a week from today. They’re baking the matzah for the seder in Tel Aviv… for my Christian friends, don’t forget the words of a Greek country pappas in World War II, during the Nazi occupation, “Remember, our Lord Christ was a believing Jew”…
BMD
The Chairman of the Byelorussian KGB announced some probable scenarios for the attack. The device set off in the Minsk Metro was similar to those used by terrorists in Chechnya…
Vadim Zaitsev, the chairman of the Byelorussian KGB, said, “Today, we think that there are three possible scenarios. The first is that it was an attempt to destabilise the situation in Byelorussia. I don’t want to point out who might have been behind this attempt to destabilise us, but it’s a fact that some parties don’t like the way that Byelorussian society chooses to live. This could have been an attempt to spread fear and panic, to sow frustration with our law enforcement agencies, with the entire apparatus of power. Another scenario posits that young extremists cooked it up. Recently, we had untoward events in Byelorussia. Not all those who took part were rounded up, agreed with the actions of the Prokuratura and the court, or approved the judicial verdict. There are very extremist members in some of these youth organisations. We’ve opened a criminal case on these anarchists. We can’t exclude that the blast was an act of retaliation, especially as an action against the KGB”.
This second scenario is indirectly related to the latest presidential election, as some radical youth activists took part in events in December 2010, when police had to use force to disperse an opposition rally. Mr Zaitsev stated that the third scenario is that the blast was the action of an unbalanced individual, “not only mentally, but also in terms of their personal ambition”.
An explosives expert at the RF MoD believed that the explosion in Minsk Metro was probably due to a composite improvised explosive device (IED). He said, “The bomb set off in the Minsk Metro was most likely made from a mixture of TNT and C4, packed in plastic containers. Such devices were actively used against RF forces by guerrillas in the first Chechen campaign”. In his opinion, one can draw such a conclusion by studying the video footage available on the Internet. “Immediately after the explosion, black smoke poured out, which is a feature of burning plastic, which, apparently, was used as the container for the IED. In addition, the nature of the explosion leads one to assume that the bomb utilised the combined effect of two types of explosives, TNT and C4”, he said.
The expert didn’t rule out that the TNT or C4 used by the Minsk Metro perps had been stolen from military stores, or, that they purchased it from “black” diggers, who salvage explosives from dud ordnance left in the ground at the sites of World War II battles. According to the head of the Byelorussian MVD, the explosive device seemed to be radio-controlled and contained metal balls. At the time of the explosion, there were 300 people in the immediate vicinity of the blast, which had a power equivalent to 5 to 7 kilos (11 to 15.5 pounds) of TNT. The explosion created a crater with a diameter of 80 centimetres (32 inches) on the platform; the perps had laid the device on one of the station’s benches.
The Byelorussian MVD has made composite sketches of two men suspected of committing this terrorist act. “We’ve made Identikit drawings for two persons, including information that came to us from ordinary people”, said Anatoly Kuleshov, the head of the MVD in Minsk. He said that the investigation team reviewed videotapes, “which we removed from the scene of a barbaric crime. In addition, yesterday, we received a number of specific tips from the public, information on specific individuals who’ve generated suspicion”. Kuleshov noted that there are no female suspects, and there’s no information about suicide bombers allegedly seen before in the metro. Already, the Byelorussian KGB has arrested three people in connection with this case.
Karina Andrukovich, whose name was on the original list of the dead, is alive. According to the Byelorussian KGB, those killed in the attack were (with birthdates, if known):
One of the victims was Roman Kaptyukh, the son of Olympic track and field medallist Vasili Kaptyukh. The families of those killed in the attack will receive 10,000 dollars (282,040 Roubles 6,912 Euros 6,150 UK Pounds) apiece. Those wounded will also receive compensation and other assistance. According to the latest updated information, the bomb blast in the Minsk Metro injured 151 people (previously reports stated that there were 192 wounded). Of those injured, 26 are seriously hurt, 58 are stable, and 67 are in satisfactory condition, the Byelorussian MoD stated.
12 April 2011
Voice of Russia World Service
http://rus.ruvr.ru/2011/04/12/48799348.html
Editor’s Note:
Now that we have the names of the dead, there’s no reason why we can’t have Pannikhidas in our parishes as soon as possible. It’s what they’re doing in Byelorussia… we should do so, as well. All of us, Orthodox and non-Orthodox, Christian and non-Christian, believer and sceptic, bow in reverence at the mystery of death… it’s our common human inheritance. We all give our sincere condolences to the bereaved families and stretch out our hands in sympathy, whatever our faith, or whether we have none (I have no patience with those who refuse to see the evident decency of many “secular” folk… or the obvious crankishness of so many “believers”).
Grant, O Lord, repose to the souls of Natalia, Tatiana, Galina, Olga, Anna, Vitaly, Sergei, Roman, Yuri, Anatoly, Aleksandr, and Sergei.
Remember… they all had faces… they all had names… nothing is forgotten… no one is forgotten. Say their names, at least once… drink a toast and think a good thought, their people will KNOW, trust me.
That’s the least that we can do…
BMD
In Minsk, the authorities declared 13 April a day of mourning for those killed in the attack on the Minsk Metro. Throughout the city, national flags are hung with mourning ribbons, and all light entertainment is cancelled until the end of the week. Significant changes were made in the repertory of theatres, and in the programming on the nationwide television channels. RIA-Novosti reported that the first funerals of the victims would be held today. The explosion occurred at the Oktyabrskaya metro station during the Monday evening rush-hour, it killed 12 people, and nearly 200 were injured. Police say that they have a good idea of the identity of the alleged perp. They believe that a suicide bomber didn’t carry out the attack. Most likely, the attacker used a radio-controlled device.
13 April 2011 (MSK)
Voice of Russia World Service
http://rus.ruvr.ru/2011/04/13/48853405.html
Editor’s Note:
Perhaps, our priests could offer a general Pannikhida for the victims tomorrow, in solidarity with our co-religionists in Byelorussia. It’s the least that we can do for this brave and courageous people… they’re hated by both the Neoliberal Corporatists (“conservatives”) and the Western Triumphalists (“liberals”). Let’s stand with our Byelorussian comrades and hold our heads high… that’s the ticket, I say.
BMD
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