28 July 2011. Dickie Wood on “Leave of Absence”… First Families Throw Another “Inconvenient” Person off the Train

Read this:

Dean of St Catherine’s on Leave of Absence

Archimandrite Zacchaeus Wood, Dean of St Catherine the Great Martyr-in-the-Fields Church in Moscow and representative of the Orthodox Church in America to the Patriarch of Moscow and all the Russias, has been placed on a leave of absence and recalled to the United States by His Beatitude, Metropolitan Jonah. He’s prohibited from exercising any liturgical or sacramental ministry. Priest John Kechkin, who is attached to St Catherine Church, will provide pastoral services for the time being. Archpriest Leonid Kishkovsky, Director of External Affairs of the Orthodox Church in America, will assume duties as the representative of the OCA to the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia.

28 July 2011

oca.org

Official OCA Website

http://oca.org/news/headline-news/dean-of-st.-catherines-on-leave-of-absence

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Now, read this:

Archimandrite Zacchaeus Wood Placed on Leave

In a carefully worded statement from Syosset today, it was announced that the highly visible Archimandrite Zacchaeus Wood, representative of the Orthodox Church in America in Moscow, “had been placed on a leave of absence and recalled to the United States”. While avoiding the word “suspension”, the statement noted that Fr Zacchaeus is “prohibited from exercising any liturgical or sacramental ministry”. The announcement concluded by stating, “Archpriest Leonid Kishkovsky, Director of External Affairs of the Orthodox Church in America, will assume duties as the representative of the OCA to the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia”. Given the Archimandrite’s position, the statement was also published in Russian. No reason for the action by Metropolitan Jonah was given by the OCA, but OCANews.org has learned that an allegation of possible misconduct has been levelled against the Archimandrite. OCANews.org also learned that the Archimandrite had been called back to the USA this past weekend, but checked himself into a hospital in Russia instead. He has since been released, but it remains unclear if he is on his way back to the United States at this time.

28 July 2011

Mark Stokoe

Orthodox Christians for Accountability

http://www.ocanews.org/news/ZaccheusonAbsence7.28.11.html

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Finally, here’s a rant from “Love BT” posted on the Indiana List:

It seems just yesterday that the Archimandrite’s lawyer, son of an OCA Archpriest, sent an e-mail to Protopresbyter Rodion S Kondratick, which stated that if the Protopresbyter tried to “touch” Fr Zacchaeus, “I will destroy you!” I hope that His Beatitude took this into consideration before acting as described in this OCA notice at oca.org! No one wants to be destroyed at all, let alone by a doughty Archpriest’s son! Such matters must be approached with utter sobriety. May God be with the Archimandrite.

(His “May God be with the Archimandrite” rings hollow… it’s like Fr Lebedeff’s “With love in Christ”… hypocrisy on stilts, kids.)

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My guess would be that Lyonyo, Garklavs, and (maybe) Bishop Mel want Dickie out. Wheeler, Hunchak, and Johnny Hopko also don’t care for Dickie. Probably, Tosi’s in on it, too. Some think that the First Families shit-canned Dickie because Dickie was playing about with fire… some stories have it that he’s got connections with the American special services… a little outré, but not improbable… after all, Potapov’s neck-deep in Foggy Bottom politics, he’s more of a politician than a priest. Dickie was playing footsy with Archimandrite Tikhon Shevkunov (the superior of the Sretensky Monastery (where Dickie lived for a while)), who’s the confessor to the Putin family. On top of that, Dickie was using the English side of Pravmir and Pravoslavie.ru to push HOOMie shit.

Conjecture would lead one to think that he stepped in three distinct (and equally malodorous) cow pies:

1. Fr Tikhon was suspicious of his questions and snooping around, so, he had the FSB check out Dickie, or, the FSB became suspicious of him on its own… Fr Tikhon is VVP’s confessor, after all… Fathausen withdrew Dickie just as the cavalry was closing in (no doubt, Potapov got the word from his contacts at the Centre… JP’s too dumb to have a good intel network)
2. Fr Tikhon was suspicious of Dickie’s HOOMie pals, got in touch with his American contacts, found out the truth, hit the roof, and told KMG
3. Lyonyo got rid of Dickie as he had become a liability… it’s rumoured by some that Dickie’s a gay blade (he was tight with Feodosy), it’s known that he’s been hospitalised for drink-related problems

This isn’t the Final Scene… we ARE in the Final Act, but there’s a while yet to go before we can put this one to bed. What’s obvious is that the First Families are getting desperate enough to take open control of certain offices. If you were to ask me, I’d say that Potapov and Lyonyo are the effectual leaders of the OCA-ROCOR duopoly. Fathausen and Hilarion are fronts… the first is an ignorant and grinning boob… the second is the son of a Galician peasant from the hard-scrabble Canadian prairies, so, he knows how to be silent when it’s indicated. I’ll say this… Hilarion Alekseyevich is NOT “playing it by ear”… I’m convinced that he’s in touch with the Centre, and the Centre wants things to develop to the point where they can identify clearly who’s naughty and who’s nice. It’s going to take some time, yet, for the Centre takes the LONG view. It’s not going to be over tomorrow, or, next week, or, even next year, maybe. The Centre is waiting for the fruit to ripen fully, and it’s not going to move until then. In addition, the Centre wants us to see the mess that we’re in. We’re paying dearly for receiving so many rightwing nutters… they’ve distorted the Church, enough so to concern the Mother Church. Remember… the internet exists in Moscow… they KNOW what’s going on here. It’s getting more confusing… and it’s going to get more so before we resolve this. Dickie’s on the way out… if I were Bobby K, I wouldn’t be complacent. Well… this proves the existence of the Fall, yet again. If I weren’t a believer, I’d just walk away from it all. I feel sorry for the Mark Stokoes of this world… their cherished dream is unravelling in front of them, and they think that they can have the same place in the new order as they did in the old one… silly wabbits…

Barbara-Marie Drezhlo

Thursday 28 July 2011

Albany NY   

Editor’s Update:

I just received this:

Garklavs went to pick him up at JFK & he wasn’t on plane… OCA bought him a ticket and he never cancelled...

The plot thickens… by the way, Bobby and Love BT are off the beam to claim that Dickie was working for the FSB. I believe it was the other way ’round. It’s not like the movies… if someone catches the other guy’s assets, usually, they’re given 48 hours to get out of Dodge, except in the case of putting political pressure on the other side. C’mon… if Dickie were an FSBnik, he’d be staying at the Centre, he wouldn’t be skedaddlin’ back here… sheesh.

BMD

Editor’s Second Update:

As of 00.45 EDT Friday 29 July 2011, Zacchaeus Wood is no longer on the clergy listings of oca.org. There is NO posting on oca.org explaining this. Slowpoke Matusiak strikes again! Well… we’ll find out tomorrow… or, maybe we won’t!

BMD 

First Hierarchs of the MP and Georgian Church Met at the Kievo-Pechersky Lavra

His Holiness and Beatitude Catholicos-Patriarch Ilya Gudushauri-Shiolashvili of all Georgia (1933- ), His Holiness Patriarch Kirill Gundyaev of Moscow and all the Russias (1946- ), and His Beatitude Metropolitan Vladimir Sabodan of Kiev and all the Ukraine (1935- )

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A photo of the private talks… do notice how bored and distracted the Blunder looks… at a time when a photog was present, no less. This is a “Lenin’s Tomb Moment”, kiddies (SOMEBODY wanted the Blunder to look bad)…

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In this press conference, do note how the Blunder’s hidden… Balashov’s visible, but the Blunder’s cut off… interesting, nicht wahr?

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On 26 July 2011, in the Synodal Hall of the Kiev Metropolia, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill Gundyaev of Moscow and all the Russias met with His Holiness and Beatitude Catholicos-Patriarch Ilya Gudushauri-Shiolashvili of all Georgia. Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev of Volokolamsk, the Chairman of the MP DECR, and Archpriest Nikolai Balashov, vice-chairman of the MP DECR, on the part of the MP, and Metropolitan Fyodor of Akhaltsikhe, Tao-Klardzhetsky, and Laz, and Metropolitan Gerasim of Zugdidi and Tsaishsky, the Chairman of the Foreign Department of the Local Church of Georgia, on the part of the Georgian Church, also attended the confab. Opening the meeting, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill expressed his deep satisfaction with the progress in recent years the level of dialogue with the Georgian Church. According to His Holiness, the regular exchange of delegations and joint participation in Church festivities suggest that the MP isn’t in as close contact with any other Local Church as it is with the Georgian Patriarchate.

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill emphasised, “I think that it’s very true to say that there’s very uneasy bilateral relations between Russia and Georgia now. If relationships between two states weaken, we have to strengthen the inter-Church ties that bind together people of the same faith, because that’s what Christ wants us to do. Time passes, the political situation changes, but Christian people continue to dwell in unity with each other. May God grant that our interaction with our co-religionists was for the benefit of our peoples and for the benefit of our two Churches”.

After their private meeting, the First Hierarchs of the MP and the Georgian Church held a press conference for journalists. Addressing the media, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, in particular, said, “Firstly, I’d like to express my deep satisfaction at the most opportunity to meet with His Holiness and Beatitude here, at the ancient Kievo-Pechersky Lavra, from whence monasticism spread all over the land of Holy Rus. It’s a very special and holy place. We talked about our problems, but what we said was in the presence of the holy saints of the Caves, as we were near many relics of the Holy Fathers. We, the First Hierarchs of our two sister Churches, met here, in this fertile spiritual atmosphere. We discussed issues related to the ecclesiastical situation in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, as well as some general Orthodox questions. I must say that when I meet with His Holiness and Beatitude… and we’ve worked together on different projects since 1968… every time, our meetings left a good impression in my soul. Today, we discussed complex issues in an atmosphere of brotherly love and peace. It’s clear that the canonical jurisdiction of the Georgian Patriarchate extends over Abkhazia and South Ossetia. On the other hand, now, there’s canonical disorder… this applies to isolated localities. Recent developments in Abkhazia clearly show how much damage this canonical confusion causes in people’s spiritual life. Therefore, having discussed the situation in an open fraternal atmosphere, we agreed to continue our conversation… to adopt solutions that would, in future, help the two Churches, in close coöperation, to contribute to the peace of the Orthodox people in these regions, to tidy up the canonical order, and, most importantly, prevent any disruptive actions that are harmful to the salvation of souls. As I’ve said before, we discussed some Inter-Orthodox questions, where we, by the way, see eye to eye. Thank God, we can now act as one on many issues”.

In turn, His Beatitude Patriarch Ilya warmly thanked Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and all the Russias for the invitation to visit Kiev and for this opportunity for them to continue their dialogue. He said, “This is the first time that I’ve been in this city. The city, its country, and its people have made an indelible impression on me. Indeed, our negotiations were in a fraternal atmosphere, even though the questions that face us… those about Abkhazia and the Tskhinval region… involve very delicate matters. I thank His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, because he has once again confirmed the jurisdiction of the Georgian Church over Abkhazia and Tskhinval. No doubt, we’ll meet again. We made a good start; I believe that the prospects in future are very good; we’ll find ways in a spirit of mutual understanding to deal with our problems. Thank you for your friendly hospitality, Your Holiness”. The two First Hierarchs continued to exchange ideas at a shared meal.

27 July 2011

Patriarchia.ru

Official MP Website

http://www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/1586078.html

Editor’s Note:

Firstly, a short excursus. Some have asked me about “of Moscow and all the Russias”. This leads to something that all Russian speakers find childishly simple, but which confuses English speakers, in particular. The title of the Patriarch does NOT refer to “Russia” (Россия)… it refers to “Rus” (Русь)… the “Russian World”, that is, the cultural space from Transcarpathia in the west to Cape Anadyr in the east, from Norilsk in the north to Sochi in the south. Furthermore, the toponym in the title is in plural, not singular form (всея Руси), ergo, “Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia” is WRONG… it distorts and contracts the meaning of what’s conveyed in the original Russian. The Patriarch isn’t the spiritual leader of all “Russians” (that is, ethnic Russians (русские) or Russian citizens (россияне)); he’s the First Pastor of the entire cultural space of Rus, and of its diaspora, as well. In English, it would be, perhaps, more “precise” to say, “Patriarch of Moscow and all Russes”, but that’s not euphonic… it doesn’t sound RIGHT. English demands the use of an article (French would use “l’Russe”), and “Russias” has a more pleasing sound than “Russes”… ergo, the best Englishing is “Patriarch of Moscow and all the Russias”. It gives you the full import of the Russian… it gives you the full flavour of the double eagle looking west to Užgorod and east to Petropavlovsk Kamchatsky. I hope that this helps.

As for the present article above, Mark Stokoe posted something from a pro-American bum-kissing Neoliberal website called “Civil Georgia”… so, I wanted to give you the real deal… it’s apparent that they didn’t clear everything, but they agreed to disagree on the sticking points and they resolved to meet again. Note, “As I’ve said before, we discussed some Inter-Orthodox questions, where we, by the way, see eye to eye. Thank God, we can now act as one on many issues”. Stokoe did NOT quote this… what it means is that Kirill and Ilya made a deal on Abkhazia and South Ossetia in return for Georgia supporting the MP in the grand chess game against the EP. Kirill got what he most wanted… an ally against Bart. Ilya got what he most wanted … saving face and continued jurisdiction over the disputed areas. One wonders if Ilya and KMG met with Nino Buturladze, the head of the pro-Russian Free Georgian opposition to Saakashvili’s lickspittle pro-Washington junta. This smells as if Ilya detects that Saakashvili’s days as Foggy Bottom’s fair-haired el jefe are numbered, and he wants to be in on the winning side. In short, Stokoe’s all wet, per usual.

By the way, his other submissions lately are just as crank. The Church isn’t going to change its position on homosexuality any time soon (or any time later). Why should Mark worry? Pastoral oikonomia towards individual homosexuals is of long-standing and traditional… hell, he and his partner benefit from it! Lately, Mark’s been going off the deep end with his Renovationist maunderings, such as this. We’re supposed to be EXCITED that Seraphim Sigrist has written a new book (yawn)… Mark lies about the situation at St Nicholas Cathedral in Nice (he was SILENT about Mme Plas… that means that he approves of clerics abusing the Mysteries and using them to hurt “dissident” parishioners)… and he quotes an unknown (a Taras Berezovets, who I’ve never heard of) from the crook pro-schismatic Portal Credo.ru. Berezovets is NOT “well-known”… he’s never quoted in any of the sources at the Centre, nor is he ever cited in MP publications… obviously a pro-American bum-kisser. Stokoe’s site has gone “down the hole” (where’s Baby Plucky when we need him?)… won’t someone get out the humane killer and put it out of its misery?

BMD 

28 July 2011. Brent Bozell Has a Temper Tantrum and Hissy Fit About the Rich Being Overtaxed and How There’s a “Hate-GOP” Machine

Income Distribution in the USA, 1947-2007, in 2007 dollars… it’s clear from this that Brent Bozell is a well-paid liar, there’s no other way of putting it. The above graph is clear… the Republican Party/Tea Party is lying to you… you know what to do.  

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Read this:

http://news.yahoo.com/hate-gop-machine-070000918.html

Note this:

In round numbers: In fewer than four years, Obama has increased the debt by 4 trillion USD (110.5 trillion Roubles. 2.79 trillion Euros. 2.442 trillion UK Pounds). He proposes we raise it another 2.3 trillion USD (63.6 trillion Roubles. 1.6 trillion Euros. 1.4 trillion UK Pounds). This makes Obama responsible for almost half the debt of the United States. But it’s “unreasonable” to say so.

Yes… there’s a deficit because taxation on the top people is amongst the most lightest in the world! The Republican Party refuses to allow a reasonable level of taxation on the rich. The Bush tax cuts on the wealthiest Five Percent are the cause of the mess that Mr Bozell “cites”.

See this:

http://news.yahoo.com/low-taxes-high-health-costs-us-choices-tough-080137550.html

Note this:

This year’s federal tax revenues are forecast to equal 14.4 percent of gross domestic product, a broad measure of economic output, according to the Office of Management and Budget. That’s the lowest share since 1950, long before Congress approved expensive programs such as Medicare. Tax collections have been reduced by the recession and by tax cuts enacted in 2001 and 2003. Among 29 countries ranked by the Organisation for Economic Development and Cooperation, only Japan and Spain take in less tax revenue than the US as a percentage of GDP.

In 1950, the top marginal tax rate was 90 percent… under Richard Nixon, it was 70 percent… under Clinton, it was 39 percent… today, after Bush’s tax giveaways, it’s 35 percent. In short, the rich ARE getting a “free ride”, and Mr Bozell is nothing but a well-paid running-dog lackey of the Five Percenters. You see, if the Top One Percenters have 35 percent of the income, under a progressive tax structure (as is used by all developed societies), they’d be paying at least 50 percent of the taxes. As they’re not, the US tax structure is highly regressive, with the government collecting a MUCH greater proportion of sales taxes, fees, fuel taxes, and payroll taxes from moderate-income households… data that the Tax Foundation ignores (it IS a rightwing Neoliberal outfit, after all).

Another way of seeing how the Post Reagan New GOP/Tea Party raped ordinary people in the US is to look at the index of the richest 10 percent as compared to the lowest 10 percent, the higher the figure, the more income inequality there is. Here’s a list of representative countries, going from most inequality to least inequality:

1.  USA	15.9
2.  Georgia	15.4
3.  UK	13.8
4.  Russia	12.7
5.  Australia, New Zealand	12.5
6.  Canada	9.4
7.  France	9.1
8.  Poland	8.8
9.  Kazakhstan	8.5
10. Denmark	8.1
11. Armenia	8.0
12. South Korea	7.8
13. Germany, Austria, Byelorussia	6.9
14. Slovakia	6.7
15. Sweden	6.2
16. Norway	6.1
17. Finland	5.6
18. Hungary	5.5
19. Czechia	5.2
20. Japan	4.5

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“Undeveloped” countries weren’t considered, as their R/Ps are VERY high.

Look at the above table… the USA has a very high R/P. Do note how high Georgia’s R/P is? Saakashvili is aping the USA, he and his cronies are living high whilst they crush under the ordinary people… the R/P says so! Now, you see why the Western media just LOVES Georgia. Russia’s R/P is going down; the USA’s is going up. That’s one of the reasons that Fox News HATES Russia. In short, this table just simply proves that Brent Bozell, Rush, Michelle, Dropout Scott Walker, and all the rest are lyin’ sacks o’ shit. No representative democracy can function with an R/P as high as the Anglosphere states have (except for Canada). In short, the Neoliberal “conservatives” are raping ordinary folks to fatten the boodle bags of their oligarch paymasters. It’s time to do something about it. Income inequality in the USA was going down until the time of Ronnie the Drooler. How do you like being lied to? Remember… petrol went up 20 percent in the USA, whilst it only rose an average of 8.6 percent in Europe, over the past six months. Somebody’s getting richer… and it sure as hell isn’t us!

Barbara-Marie Drezhlo

Thursday 28 July 2011

Albany NY   

28 July 2011. The Latest Rightwing “Scare Scam”… “Food Insurance”

Editor’s Foreword:

I heard that Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity were pushing some dodgy-sounding product called “Food Insurance”. It didn’t sound on the up and square, so, I Googled “food insurance scam”… I found something… I’d like to share it with you.

BMD

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“Food Insurance”… Are You Buying It?

OK, I know these are hard economic times, but today I found a website that left me wondering what in the world is happening to the world around me! According to the website http://www.foodinsurance.com, “In light of the tragic events in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina, the power outage in New York City that brought the city to a standstill, and the constant threat of fires, earthquakes, tornadoes, and other natural disasters across the country, it’s important to make sure we always have the basic necessities of life with enough home food storage for your family to survive for at least two weeks”. It goes on to say for as little as 199.99 USD (5,522 Roubles. 140 Euros. 123 UK Pounds), you can order enough of their freeze dried or dehydrated food to sustain one adult with three meals a day for 14 days.

Not sure what disasters could befall your friends and family? No problem! A handy map allows you to “mouse over” a region to see a list of potential disasters common to that area. Now, that you know what kind of disaster is looming in your future, you need to know how much food you’d need, right? Just click on the calculator and it will tell you which of their kits you need to buy. They also list a variety of disaster scenarios, so, I chose “severe winter storm” just in case I should ever find myself in that situation. Their list of things you should do to prepare for a severe winter storm didn’t include anything I hadn’t heard a dozen times before. Keep your documents in a waterproof container, keep a small preparedness kit in your car, and install safety features like smoke alarms. All good advice for sure, but again, nothing I hadn’t heard before. I found it interesting that they didn’t say anything about keeping your cell phone charged since land lines don’t work when the power goes out… a common problem with severe winter storms. Therefore, I moved on to what to do in the event of a terrorist attack. Guess what! Their steps for preparing for a terrorism attack are the same as a severe winter storm. In fact, their four basic steps are the same for all eight potential disasters. The only one that varied was “unemployment”. There, they suggested you buy their kits BEFORE you’re unemployed. I guess if you wait until after you are unemployed you’re screwed, because you couldn’t afford to buy their stuff.

We all need to prepare ourselves better for the unexpected, but is this website necessary? There’s nothing there that you couldn’t accomplish with a trip to your nearest Sam’s, Costco, or camping store. Online stores like REI and Cabela’s are two of my favourites and you’d be amazed at the things you can buy to keep in your emergency kit. Doesn’t it just make sense to incorporate some of these things into our daily life?

• buy extra batteries the next time you go to the store
• stock up on canned goods when they go on sale… especially ones that don’t require cooking like peanut butter and tuna
• if you’re lucky enough to know how to can foods, keep plenty in your pantry
• buy a simple camping stove and some containers of fuel
• while you’re in the camping section, pick up some freeze dried or dehydrated foods to have on hand
• store bottled water for drinking and cooking that freeze dried food you just bought
• make your plans well in advance so you aren’t caught off guard
• make sure you have plenty of candles and matches (kept in a dry container)
• sporting good stores, especially those specializing in camping and hunting sell all sorts of things that would come in hand in an emergency like instant hand warmers that are air-activated and can provide heat for up to 7 hours

There are plenty of other helpful hints that you can find on a myriad of sites that aren’t trying to sell something. In my opinion, this “Food Insurance” site has nothing to do with insurance. It is an opportunistic money grab and plays shamelessly on people’s fear.

http://activerain.com/blogsview/1361691/food-insurance-are-you-buying-it-

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Editor’s Afterword:

“Food Insurance” is FAR overpriced… perspirin’ minds wanna know how much Beck and Hannity are getting to shill for it. You could get the same amount of dried food for far less if you bought it yourself. You’d save enough to buy everything else on your “emergency necessities” list. It shows you the state of the rightwing mind… scary, isn’t it? Many of the rightwingers are so bovine and stupid that they’d buy powdered dehydrated water if Limbaugh, Cain, and Bachmann were pushing it. However, the bubbas are going to vote next November. That means that you have to get off your arse and do so, as well.

We have dragons to slay, kids…

BMD