A Multimedia Presentation. Jews Greet the New Year 5772… It’s Rosh ha-Shana (Rosh Hashanah)

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On Wednesday evening, Jewish communities began their celebration of the New Year, which they calculate from the creation of the world. According to the Jewish calendar, the year coming is 5772. In Moscow, the celebration of Rosh ha-Shana (New Year) will begin at the Jewish Community Centre in Maryina Roshcha with a concert by the Hasidic Cappella Male Chorus. At 19.00 MSK (16.00 UTC 11.00 EDT 08.00 PDT) the people will light candles and Chief Rabbi Berel Lazar will read the Prayer of the Year. In the middle of the first day of the New Year, the participants will blow the ritual horn, the shofar. Jews count the New Year from the sixth day of creation, the day when God created the first man. Rav Lazar said, “This has a deeper meaning. We must remember mankind’s creation; we must become acutely aware that our lives have significance, which means that we didn’t come into the world aimlessly, but through the Will of the Creator”.

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An FEOR spokesman told us the history of the holiday. Jews celebrate Rosh ha-Shana, which in Hebrew means “head of the year” on the first and second days of Tishrei on the Jewish calendar. Every year, people appear before the Court of God, where everyone must give an account for what they did over the past year and repent of any evil actions they may have done. On the eve of Rosh ha-Shana, Jews greet each other with the wish, “May only good be written of you this year”. An ancient legend says that the names of everyone living on earth is written in the great book of life in heaven, and that God decides everyone’s fate during the time of Rosh ha-Shana, “Who shall live, and who shall die; who shall have serenity, and who shall roam; who shall have confidence, and who shall doubt; who shall be wealthy, and who shall be in poverty”. Prior to the festal New Year’s meal, the custom is to eat apples dipped in honey; this custom is to wish everyone a “good and sweet” New Year. During the meal, they eat fish, pomegranates, carrots, beets, and other fruit whose names in Hebrew or Yiddish are associated with good events.

28 September 2011

Voice of Russia World Service

http://rus.ruvr.ru/2011/09/28/56844585.html

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Archpriest Dmitri Smirnov Thinks that Troy Davis was One of God’s Chosen

It’s NOT just in Russia… Irish MPs rally with Martina Davis, Troy Davis’ sister…

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Archpriest Dmitri Smirnov, head of the MP Department for Relations with the Armed Forces and Police, expressed outrage at the execution of Troy Davis in the USA. In his video-blog, Fr Dmitri said, “He was, of course, in human terms, a martyr… I’d say that he’s simply one of God’s chosen”. In 1989, a jury in Georgia found Davis guilty of shooting a policeman. Litigation lasted for years, and, just the other day, the State of Georgia finally put Davis to death. According to Fr Dmitri, “This man had already suffered 20 years of imprisonment, that’s plenty of time to atone for any crime”. Furthermore, he thought that the four delays in the execution of the sentence were “despicable, inhuman, and sadistic. Over 20 years, a person can radically change, so, in any case, if you execute someone after 20 years, you kill an innocent person, because they’ve become quite another person. This is nothing but horrendous and depraved vengeance”. For Fr Dmitri, “the only consolation” is that thousands of Americans stood up for Troy Davis.

27 September 2011

Interfax-Religion

http://www.interfax-religion.ru/?act=news&div=42389

Editor’s Note:

Fr Dmitri’s no pansy! He believed that the best punishment for the Forbidden Art 2006 nutters was to take the belt to ‘em! We’re NOT talking of an oily, effete, and mincing eunuch from the Blunder’s aspirantura in Bolshaya Ordynka. He’s a stand-up guy who delivers it straight-up, with no mixer, and no guile. I agree with him… 20 years is enough punishment for any crime. Anything more is “despicable, inhuman, and sadistic”. I think that most decent people would agree with Fr Dmitri, “This is nothing but horrendous and depraved vengeance”.

Reflect on this… Fathausen, Alexander Webster, Victor Potapov, John Whiteford, Freddie M-G, Terrence Mattingly, Rod Dreher, the Coneheads, and all the other konvertsy agree with the Sectarian nutters who put Troy Davis to death, not with Fr Dmitri and the rest of civilised humanity. The “Evangelicals” are bloodthirsty exponents of “an eye for an eye” and champions of the worst Calvinist Determinism… “if you’re rich, God willed it; if you’re poor, God’s punishing you”. That ‘s what the Sectarians actually believe, and the konvertsy echo them. Now, THAT’S food for thought!

BMD

28 September 2011. Love BT’s Registered to Attend Upcoming OCA Sobor… I Asked a Lawyer a Question about Storheim

I received this from one of my indefatigable informants:

Love BT has registered to attend the Sobor as a retired bishop; supposedly, he plans to demand an investigation into allegations made by Nikolai Soraich against Peterson.

Let’s see… Soraich was BT’s Chancellor… BP was BT’s protégé, but BP turned on Bobby, which soured BT on him. Are you thinking what I’m thinking? Yep… it looks like a campy and exaggerated “bitch fight” between three aging drag queens. Don’t forget… BT fostered Soraich (and Brittain)… BT defended the HOOMies (even after credible abuse charges surfaced)… BT defended JP, even though he KNEW of El Gordo’s intimate (how intimate?) relationship with Gleb Podmoshensky. That is, BT and Soraich (along with Michael Reagan, their treasurer, the old troika in charge of the OCA Diocese of the West) are ganging up on BP at Bobby’s behest. This is stupid… you don’t telegraph your intentions so blatantly. Hell, I heard of ‘em, and I’m on the other coast. Either BT’s dumber than dirt… or, he’s got something else up his sleeve, and this is just a feint to mislead his opponents. The only sure thing is that BT’s coming to the Sobor… and the OCA was stupid to allow such. SOMETHING’S gonna come down, and whatever it is, it’s not going to be controllable once BT looses it. BT’s a “loose cannon”… and these fools are allowing him a forum. It’s not prudent… it’s not circumspect. It also shows that JP’s not in control of anything… he’s in the kiddie seat, and Bobby’s at the controls, diving straight for the Twin Towers. Bozhe! God DO help us…

In other news, I was trying to make sense of conflicting reports about the Storheim affair up in Canada. Suffice it to say, the fog’s thick enough that I can’t even make a reasonable conjecture. I e-mailed a lawyer friend, and asked her what, in general terms, happens in such cases, she replied:

Firstly, the subject mustn’t commit any other offences, even the most minor (except for moving violations). They must live in a specified location, but they can travel, so long as they keep the court of jurisdiction informed of their movements. The subject CAN NOT be around children under 18 without approved supervision and prior authorisation, and they must stay a reasonable distance (500 feet) away from places where children under 18 congregate (schools, playgrounds, etc). Of course, the subject must stay away from the complainants. This is in general; specific conditions may differ from case to case. I can’t comment on the case you asked me about. I don’t have the information at hand. But this is SOP in most abuse cases; you can assume that most of the above applies, with the caveat that anything I wrote could be otherwise in the specific case mentioned.

Whew! That’s “lawyerly”… well, I DID ask a lawyer’s opinion, and I got a lawyer’s reply. In plain talk, it appears that (if the general rule’s being followed in his case) Storheim’s got to keep the court informed of his whereabouts, and he must seek its approval if any event involves kids. Did he do so in the case involving the pastoral visitation in BC? That’s the million-dollar question, and no one seems to have a straight answer on it.

The OCA should be keeping this jaboney under wraps… the BC situation makes it look like the OCA’s on Storheim’s side, not being properly objective, not taking the proper and prudent steps to safeguard our kids. I’d keep any kid of mine away from Storheim… he’s still under charges, and until the court reaches a decision one way or the other, it’s best to err on the side of caution in defending our kids from sexual predators. There’s been too many “confidential settlements”… “We admit no guilt or wrongdoing”… you catch my drift. This isn’t an isolated exception… I fear that it’s only the first of a long history of perverted clergy coming to light. If we love God, we’ll love the truth. If we love the truth, we’ll avoid falsehood. What’s more false than a bunch of closeted gay bishops running rampant? I’d prefer V Gene Robinson… at least, he’s openly gay; he’s hurt no children (and is unlikely to ever do so). “The Lone Ranger”… “We’re waiting for the Frenchman to die”… Herman and his friend in South Canaan… Love BT shielding Soraich… Paffhausen, Eliel, and Brum defending Podmoshensky… you can see that Storheim’s just the latest in a long and wretched procession.

It’s time to clean house… “For the good of the Church”. If we don’t, there won’t be a Church. It’s time to put out the fire… not to be “nice”, “polite”, or “respectful”. If you lay stress on the latter, I know whom you serve… and it’s not the Lord Christ!

Barbara-Marie Drezhlo

Wednesday 28 September 2011

Albany NY

Fr Vsevolod Chaplin Praised Medvedev’s Decision to Implement a “Peaceful and Open” Transfer of Power to PM Putin

“This is a real example of decency and integrity in politics…”

Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, the head of the MP Department for Church and Society, thinks that the proposal brought forward by President Dmitri Medvedev to nominate Prime Minister Vladimir Putin as a candidate in the next election exemplifies integrity in politics. In commenting on last Saturday’s convention of the United Russia Party, he told Interfax-Religion, “Has there ever been a time in Russian history when a transfer of power was so peaceful, dignified, sincere, and full of good-will? This is a real example of decency and integrity in politics, an example that, in my opinion, isn’t only applauded by our confrères who lived in Soviet times, but it’s also applauded by most people throughout the world, including people from countries that have the gall to lecture us”. At the same time, he admitted that we need more diversity in politics; he suggested that it’d eventually grow healthier, saying, “However, if one man heads the chain of command in the country, the peace, prosperity, and even the lives of millions depend on the transfer of power being prudent; we must not only reject confrontational behaviour between individuals, we must also prevent friction between blocs in the larger society that these individuals rile up to support their faction”. He expressed his satisfaction with the statements made at the convention, “many different parts of society were represented, through many of its more active and thoughtful members, and they expressed sincere and unanimous support for this turn of events”. Speaking Saturday at United Russia Party convention, President Medvedev proposed that the party support the candidacy of Vladimir Putin as the next President of the Russian Federation. At the same time, Medvedev accepted Putin’s proposal to head the list of United Russia Party candidates in the upcoming elections to the RF Gosduma. For his part, Putin expressed the hope that Medvedev would accept the post of head of the government {In European terms, a “President” is the head of state, above party affiliations… the “Prime Minister” is a party leader who’s the head of the government… this is the way of it throughout Europe, not only Russia… no European country has an American-style President: editor}.

26 September 2011

Interfax-Religion

http://www.interfax-religion.ru/?act=news&div=42361

Editor’s Note:

Here’s a sober Russian take on the events:

http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20110926/167134922.html

Charlie came out swinging against Western know-alls in the media, academe, the intel establishment, and government. For instance, the Western media is repeating the same old lies about the Orthodox Church in Russia. See:

http://washingtonexaminer.com/news/world/2011/09/russian-orthodox-church-slams-2-acclaimed-authors

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/russia/8790457/Russian-Orthodox-Church-embroiled-in-corruption-scandal.html

They dug DEEP, kids, and found… one obscure corrupt priest in the Volga Region… the local bishop rusticated him to the outer boonies for having sticky fingers and boastful ways. That’s NEWS? They accuse KMG of wearing bling… well… look at B16 and your typical Anglican prelate (KMG looks pretty RESTRAINED compared to those guys, let’s be honest). Then, they all boo-hoo and cry big crocodile tears because Fr Vsevolod believes that Lolita shouldn’t be read as part of high school class-work. I’m in his court for that one… kids have wild enough raging hormones… we’re going to INCITE them by giving them such material (it’s an appropriate book in an advanced American Lit class in college, though)? Who’s taking the “stupid pills” around here? I rest my case. In short, its Western hubris and pride, again… to think that there’s Orthodox zapadniki (especially SVS, Syosset, and the konvertsy) who lap this mindless and ignorant shit up.

For Orthodox people, it sure looks like there are three new sheriffs in these here parts… Archbishop Mark Golovkov, Archimandrite Tikhon Shevkunov, and Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin. Mark my words. You know what that means… Fathausen, the SVS/Syosset cabal, Love BT, Bobby, and Lyonyo have to git out of town by sundown. With the law riding in along with the po-nashemu posse comitatus, there’s only result in the cards… all of Love BT’s horses, and all of Lyonyo’s merry men, can’t put Fathausen together again… and that’s a fact!

BMD