21 July 2011. The STS Pallada Visits Alaska

The Russian sailing ship Pallada is to call at Kodiak AK on 21 July, a spokesman the Far Eastern State Technical Fishing University, said on Thursday. Kodiak will be the Pallada’s first port of call during a four-month Pacific expedition. The ship carrying cadets from the Primorye and Kamchatka sailed from Vladivostok on 1 July. She’s to call at ports in the United States, Canada, and Japan. The ship will be open to the public during her three-day stay in Kodiak. Visitors will be able to inspect the tall ship and to see an exhibition dedicated to the 50th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin’s space flight and the 270th anniversary of the discovery of Russian America. The crew and cadets will visit the Baranov Museum, the former home of Aleksandr Baranov, the first governor of Russian Alaska, built in 1808. This is the oldest surviving Russian architectural monument in North America. They’ll also see the Alutiiq Museum and the Holy Resurrection Church where the relics of St Herman of Alaska, the first Orthodox Christian saint in North America, repose. The Russian cadets, representatives of local youth organisations, and students will hold a concert to end  the visit. In its 22-year history, the Pallada has sailed for 13 years, called at 101 ports in 35 countries, and trained 12,000 cadets, midshipmen, and students from all over Russia. Guinness World Records lists the Pallada as the fastest sailing ship in the world. It can reach speeds in excess of 18 knots.

14 July 2011

RIA-Novosti

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20110714/165189612.html

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Legion

Recently, I spent 20 days with a NATO military unit. It seems that the Americans are all tall, muscular, and full of the joy of life. Certainly, it was a healthy lifestyle, we got up early (depending on the schedule, we normally arose at 07.00, and turned in at 22.30), ate a hearty breakfast, exercised in the gym, and swam in the pool. Today, there’s nothing planned, just rest in an air conditioned room with my laptop, Facebook and skype, saying hello to everybody back home.

15 June: NATO aircraft struck Tripoli with powerful air strikes. Reports from the Libyan press agency Jana reported that the bombing started fires in houses and several people were injured.

I wasn’t on the US military base anymore; I was in a nice hotel on the island of Crete recommended to me by a travel agency, near the village of Stavros, which, in translation, means a post or a cross. The chapel in the hotel had icons on the walls… there were US Air Force backpacks piled up in the lobby.

16 June: According to Libyan television, NATO aircraft attacked a bus in Kikla, south of Tripoli, killing 12 people.

The flights start in the morning, and end, as a rule, at 21.00. Every night there was bombing. The Americans came in at about 04.00, after landing at the base. They were tired, but in good spirits. Two black nimble airplanes, faster than the speed of sound, dashed from the shore of St Andrew’s Crete in the Aegean Sea to Libya, to bring them democracy.

16 June: NATO aircraft mistakenly strafed a column of rebel vehicles in Libya, injuring 16 people according to Reuters. 

Almost all of them have tattoos. The most popular image drawn on their body is the cross. Some, the senior men, come with typical wives and young children. Others, they’re young and free, they have a drink or two, they’re on holiday, they wrap themselves up in a sheet, it’s a tunic, and they wear replica Roman legionary helmets (did they bring them, I wonder?), and they arrogantly walk about the hotel like that.

19 June: NATO air strikes in Tripoli killed seven civilians, including one child, according to Reuters. 

“Yes, it’s a good job”, the young black woman explains to the local Greeks, “I’m writing a letter to my husband; we don’t get to see each other that often. I’ve been doing this for three years; I like it. It doesn’t scare me. I like to travel a lot, I’m usually in London, but, now, I’m here in Greece”.

20 June: AP reported that heavy air strikes on Tripoli in the early morning on Sunday killed nine civilians and injured another 18. Libya said that NATO bombed other civilian targets as well.

In Crete, there was no noticeable disturbances, no strikes (except in Chania, in the evening, a couple of dozen people lazily demonstrating in front of City Hall with placards). Business seemed to occupy everyone on Crete; they were moving, entertaining, feeding, and supplying the NATO troops.

25 June: An air raid on Brega destroyed a bakery and a restaurant, killing 15 civilians and wounding 20 more, Libyan television reported.

Overhead, there’s another rumble, two aircraft, flying in formation, hung with bombs, going off to democratise Libya… Gaddafi give up!

28 June: NATO aircraft struck the market in Tavrage, killing at least eight civilians and wounding seven.

What should I do? Do I stage a mini-demonstration? Should I write “Stop bombing Libya!” on the poster advertising Barbeque at the pool bar… 19.00? Should I have a consciousness-raising session and pass out leaflets with pictures of Libyan children?

Is it all true?

14 July: Tripoli blamed NATO forces for 1,108 civilian deaths and wounding 4,537 others in their bombing of Tripoli and other cities, according to Agence France Presse.

The Greeks allowed 21st century Crusaders to operate from their territory. The eyes of American soldiers are calm, their consciences are at peace, for they believe that their task’s a noble one, they’re preventing the Libyan dictator to pursue his “dark plans”.

Archpriest Zakariya Kerstyuk, UOC/MP, in 2010-11, pastor of St Andrew the Apostle Church at the Ukrainian Embassy in Tripoli (Libya):  

I sensed freedom in Libya. It has free health care and education, no rent, free electricity, and free natural gas; it distributes the fruits of the sales of its natural resources equally to every citizen of the state (about 400 USD (11,100 Roubles. 278 Euros. 245 UK Pounds) per month), it has a fantastic social benefits package. I think if there weren’t foreign interference, Gaddafi would restore order.

Metropolitan Theophylact of Tripoli and Libya (Patriarchate of Alexandria and all Africa) stayed with his parishioners as NATO aircraft bombed the Libyan capital of Tripoli. He said:

My heart grieves for all that’s happened. Libyans are a wonderful people. In the evening, we hear bomb explosions, but silence reigns during the day. Our position’s bleak, and uncertainty about what’ll happen next, torments our souls.

Catholic Bishop Giovanni Martinelli, Apostolic Vicar in Tripoli: 

The bombs have become our Golgotha. In order to destroy al-Gaddafi, NATO has already destroyed dozens of innocent people. NATO remains committed to its bombing. It seems that no one wants a peaceful solution to the conflict.

18 July 2011

Anna Danilova

Православие и мир (Orthodoxy and the World)

http://www.pravmir.ru/legion/

Editor’s Note:

I noticed two things, both of which you should know. Firstly, there are TWO Pravmir sites… Pravmir.com and Pravmir.ru… the first is in English, and the second is in Russian. On the Russian site, there’s an easily-accessible link to go to the English-language site. Look for yourself. Here are the URLs:

http://www.pravmir.com/

http://www.pravmir.ru/

Did you see that on the English-language site, there’s NO link to go to the Russian site? Russian sources tell me that Dickie Wood runs Pravmir.com, and he uses it as an autocephalist propaganda mouthpiece. This happened because Archimandrite Tikhon Shevkunov doesn’t have English-language facility, and anything in English sucks hind tit at the Centre (it’s not a language used overly much in the CIS, which is the focus there). Pravmir.com is NOT a “mirror image” of the Russian site as one finds at Interfax, RIA-Novosti, ITAR-TASS, or VOR. Rather, it’s a quasi-independent site with material from the Russian site deleted and with additional English-language material not found on the main site. For instance, it has pieces by, of all people, the Episkie ninny Stephen Freeman… some of Pravmir.com is nothing but reposts from the worst autocephalist websites, including oca.org. Sources tell me that one Nectaria Rees, a HOOMie fanatic in Platina CA, does much of what’s translated into English. As a result, it’s often bowdlerised and truncated out of all recognition to the original.

However, that’s NOT the most important point that I wish to make today. Two anti-NATO articles don’t even show up on the English side at all. NOT AT ALL. Concurrently, the konvertsy and Vlasovtsy rightwingers are claiming that the MP is supporting the bombing of Libya. Trust me, I check the main Russian sources daily… there’s been no such statement… NONE… NADA… NICHEVO… NO WAY… NO HOW. I’d like you to take the URL posted above and this one:

http://www.pravmir.ru/liberalnyj-fashizm/

You’ll find yourselves in front of two substantial articles. Now, go to Pravmir.com… type in “Sotnichenko” into the search box… you’ll get nothing. Type in “Liberal Fascism”… you’ll get nothing. If you type “liberal” or “fascism”, you get nothing relevant. Type in “Legion”, you get nothing relevant. Finally, type in “Anna Danilova”, you’ll get nothing relevant.

I’ll be blunt… Dickie is blatantly censoring the website, and only allowing rightwing voices on it. He kicked out two anti-NATO articles from the main site because he, Fathausen, and Potapov are trying to get over on you. They’re lying… knowing full well what the Centre’s position is on the matter. The Church’s position is that military intervention in Libya is wrong and that all foreign adventurers should withdraw from the conflict. Reread Legion and here’s a link to my translation of Liberal Fascism:

https://02varvara.wordpress.com/2011/04/02/liberal-fascism/

THIS is what the Church actually teaches. The Church says NO to the NATO aggression against sovereign Libya. It does NOT support the attack by transnational interests against the socialist Libyan state. Don’t forget… Potapov was/is a fairly-high middle level federal bureaucrat at VOA/RL/BBG; he holds/held a “red” US official passport. He’s known to have deep ties with the Moonie nutters at the Washington Times. That means that he’s trying to say that an extremist rightwing view is the Church’s teaching, even though he knows full well that it goes against the Church’s actual position. Fathausen is equally besotted with the rightwing… don’t forget, he kissed up to the First Profit of the Mormons in preference to greeting a bishop of the UOC/MP in New York. If nothing else, it shows that Dickie’s in JP’s corner… for now. What we can draw from this is that the rightwing scummers raising a rumpus on the Orthodox blogosphere don’t know what they’re talking about… they’re people who advocate shredding the social safety net everywhere (not just in the USA) to make the world safe for greed and acquisitiveness. The fact that Libyans shared their wealth somewhat equally inflamed them… it angered and goaded them to no end. You see, if there’s even one state where people cooperate, it shows the Neoliberal Free Marketers up for the godless and grasping filth that they are. That’s the real reason for the aggression against sovereign Libya, and it’s why the Church does NOT support it in any way shape or form!

What’s most clear is that these paladins are lying to you, laughing at you, and pissing on you… they’re sure that you’ll never find out the truth… well, kids, the truth WILL set you free… but only if you let it! Ponder that…

I wonder what His Holiness would think if he knew that these American slimers were pursuing an openly anti-Russian policy? Surely, he must know…

BMD

21 July 2011. Relics and Video of St Maksim Sandovich… Confessor of the Faith Under the Habsburg Uniate Yoke

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Above, we see relics of St Maksim Sandovich of Lemkovshchyna, murdered by the Habsburg authorities on trumped-up charges of spying at the beginning of World War I. Actually, they arrested and killed him for being an effective preacher against the Unia, whose hierarchy were bum-kissing lickspittles of the Habsburgs. Yes, sir… the Uniates were obsequious running-dog lackeys of the Poles, the Habsburgs, and the Second Polish Republic, just as they’re the willing Step n’ Fetchits of the American Neoliberals… all of whom attacked the Church in Galicia, Transcarpathia, Byelorussia, and the Lemkovshchyna for their low political ends.

The Uniates are NOT our friends. Pray for the poor rank n’ filers… they’re not responsible for what their leadership does. Be kind to them, let your good-will be sincere and unfeigned, but don’t validate the Unia itself. The people aren’t guilty… the organisation that they belong to is. That’s an important and critical distinction. Don’t give any quarter to “Josephus Flavius”… and don’t trust his website Byzantine Texas, either. Ponder this, the konvertsy are gaga over him… they won’t listen if you tell them that Uniatism opposes Christ’s Church. That’s one of the ways that makes it clear that they’re not one with us, never have been, and will leave us in future (excoriating us for our “hatefulness”, no doubt).

Here’s a video of Lemkovshchyna, in 1987… at 6:52 minutes into this video you will see the late Fr Maksim, the son of the saint:

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St Maksim Sandovich is amongst the saints… Fr Gavriil Kostelnik shall be amongst the saints (the case for his canonisation is going forward in the UOC/MP), and the late Fr Mikhail Shuvar will be amongst the saints in future (Patriarch Kirill noted his passing)… all three names are absent from “Josephus Flavius'” writing… I wonder why. Is it because all three made an effective witness against the Unia’s falsity, and gave their lives for the principle of Church Unity? I think that that’s the case here.

Accept no substitutes… the Church is the Church, and that’s that… too many good people such as St Maksim, Fr Gavriil, and Fr Mikhail gave their lives for us to engage in syncretistic and false “dialogue”. If we were to do, their blood would speak against us on the Last Day…

My thanks to my correspondent who passed on the link and the photo…

Barbara-Marie Drezhlo

Thursday 21 July 2011

Albany NY

Patriarch Kirill Urged Young People to Preserve the “Eternal Flame” of the Memory of the Great Victory of the Soviet People in the VOV

Patriarch of Kirill Gundyaev (1946- ) of Moscow and all the Russias

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Patriarch Kirill Gundyaev of Moscow and all the Russias pointed up the importance of passing the memory of the Soviet people’s victory over fascism to the coming generation. “I become very emotional whenever I lay flowers at the eternal flame, as it’s a memorial to the defenders of our Motherland. Decades have passed, of course, and the families who lost loved ones have lost the sharp edge on their pain, but the diminution of our pain shouldn’t blunt our memory”, the patriarch said after laying flowers at the military memorial in Saransk, established in memory of the Mordovians who died in the Second Great Patriotic War. In his view, if future generations no longer remember those who gave their lives for their country, “those generations won’t find within themselves the strength to protect the Motherland. That’s why, today, it’s especially important to us to for you to remind us of your service, veterans. Through your lives, through your example, your words bring to life the events of so many decades ago; you bring it all to life for contemporary people, you embody the heroic feat (подвиг) of our people. You have faith in this, as you were part of these legendary military events”. To keep alive the memory of the Great Victory, even after the generation of veterans passes, “everybody needs to work hard, to educate our young people to love their Motherland, to give them a proper understanding of its history… not just to give them respect and admiration for the feat (подвигом) of their grandfathers and great-grandfathers”, His Holiness said. Then, the clergy, led by Patriarch Kirill, sang the Eternal Memory. At the end of the ceremony, His Holiness and Nikolai Merkushkin, the head of the Republic of Mordovia, greeted each of the veterans, shaking hands.

21 July 2011

Interfax-Religion

http://www.interfax-religion.ru/?act=news&div=41577 x

Editor’s Note:

Note that His Nibs used the word подвиг (podvig) twice… this is a VERY strong word in Russian, its overtones are impossible to render adequately in English. It’s “feat”, “wonder”, “miraculous”, and “heroic”, all at once, and all combined, one and inseparable. His Holiness was comparing the exploits of the soldiers of the VOV to the acts of the great ascetics of the Church… подвиг is the word that we use to describe their spiritual feats.

For Russian history fans, both Patriarch Nikon Minin and Archpriest Avvakum Petrov were ethnic Mordvins… was this one reason why their conflict was so bitter? After all, the ensuing Raskol persisted to the present… despite all the overblown affection of the konvertsy for the raskolniki, they’re still outside of the Church, they’re nothing but Proddies with an Orthodox liturgy (much like the konvertsy are themselves, nicht wahr?). I should mention that the enthusiasm of the knovertsy for the raskolniki is similar to their culpable indifferentism regarding Uniatism… they lecture us, telling us that Uniates are “brothers” with us in a notional “Eastern Church“. That’s damnably false (in the literal sense of the words), and it’s about time that we slapped down the ignorant and arrogant former Episkies saying that… they’re attempting to export their diabolical “Branch Theory” amongst us, but do remember that His Holiness condemned that Anglican heresy in no uncertain terms, when he was still a Metropolitan. If I’m to believe His Nibs, or, to believe JP, Hatfield, Dreher, Freddie M-G, et al, it’s NO contest! I somehow think that most of you reading this agree with me. You know what to do at the upcoming OCA Sobor…

BMD