16 January 2012. VOR Presents… Romanian Protests Against Austerity Policy

The Romanian Government is due to hold an emergency meeting over the growing wave of protest against the Cabinet’s austerity policy.

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On 15 January, clashes erupted during a protest as demonstrators pelted riot police with stones, a day after a dozen people suffered injuries when a similar rally turned violent.

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Around 1,000 Romanians gathered in central Bucharest to voice anger at falling living standards and to call on Romanian President Traian Băsescu to quit.

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However, hours after the beginning of a peaceful demonstration, about 100 hooded youths started throwing stones, firecrackers, and smoke bombs.

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Reports indicate that several dozen people were injured.

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Romanian Prime Minister Emil Boc urged the protesters to end their violence and to start a dialogue.

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16 January 2012

Voice of Russia World Service

http://english.ruvr.ru/photoalbum/63943164/63948528/

Editor’s Note:

For those not in the know, Romania has a “minority government”… that is, no one party has a majority in parliament. The largest bloc is the Liberal Democratic Party (PDL)… a pro-Western Neoliberal bunch, run by pro-American lickspittles. Like in Australia, the most rightwing major party are the “Liberals”… of the sort condemned by the Church for their moneygrubbing and attempts to enrich the plutocrats at the expense of the ordinary people. If an election were to occur today, there’s no doubt that the centre-left Social Democratic Party (PSD) would whip the PDL handily. In short, the American-imposed post-communist order in the Balkans is unravelling, and rather quickly at that.

THIS is what the GOP wants in the USA… they, too, expect the common people to bear all the pain so that the McMansion dwellers get all the gain. Think on that…

BMD

16 January 2012. A Thought from His Holiness…

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16 January 2012. Russian Consul General in Apple Holds Reception… Kapral Welcome, Paffhausen Not

The original image…

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Click here for the original press release on patriarchia.ru. Hilarion Kapral and Jerome Shaw were IN… Fathausen was OUT. Unnamed OCA clerics were present, but Vladimir Romanovich didn’t find them important enough to list (which probably galled Lyonyo, Jillions, and Behr to no end… they’re the obvious “nameless ones”). Where was Dahulich? He’s the OCA bishop for the region, and if the Centre did recognise the OCA as a legit autocephalous Church, he’d be there, but he wasn’t named. Either he wasn’t there… or the Centre didn’t find naming him important. Neither one of these options bodes well for the OCA. The Russian government’s snubbing them… otherwise, Dahulich and Fathausen would be there. Of course, perhaps, Fathausen wasn’t invited to keep the food budget in line…

Barbara-Marie Drezhlo

Monday 16 January 2012

Albany NY

16 January 2012. Blunder Notes Tenth Anniversary as Bishop… Guess Who Didn’t Come to Dinner?

Here’s the image from the original post, in all its low-res glory…

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I’ll not waste your time with the press release… for those who want the whole megillah (in Russian), click here. Let’s throw the raw meat on the table! Who WAS there, in terms of Local Churches? Here’s the list:

• Georgia
• Greece
• Poland
• Czechia and Slovakia
• Jerusalem
• Bulgaria

That means that the following Churches did NOT send a delegate to the Blunder’s Dixie Fry and Love-Feast:

• Ecumenical Patriarchate
• Romania
• Serbia
• Cyprus
• Antioch
• Alexandria
• Albania

I’ve noted that virtually all Russian media sources now speak of “14” Local Churches, not “15”. This means that the faction around the Patriarch (through his “press secretary” Vlad Legoida) has given up on the OCA’s autocephaly, but it’s not “official” yet. Hmm… no one from the OCA showed up (rather, no one from the OCA was mentioned in the patriarchia.ru official press release) and His Holiness didn’t show up either… nor did Mark Golovkov or Vsevolod Chaplin.

There’s no way of reading the tealeaves on this one, as the Blunder’s such an obvious pro-Western lickspittle… the Serbs and Romanians could be boycotting him for his chumminess with the papists, for instance, and the Syrians (Antiochians) might have taken a pass due to the Blunder’s bum-kissing of the warmongering Western élites. Yet, there are three “players” firmly in Bart’s corner… the EP, Cyprus, and Albania. Alexandria MAY be in his corner. It’s interesting, the present contretemps over Igumen Ephrem may drive a wedge between Bart and the Greeks.

Don’t forget… the Blunder is NOT a ruling bishop, the first head of the DECR not to be such. Even though his title is “Metropolitan”, he ranks below ALL ruling bishops, even the most junior “Bishop”… he’s nowhere near the stature of Yuvenaly Poyarkov. Talking about Vladyki Yuvenaly, sources tell me that he’s very bitterly anti-OCA… and His Nibs doesn’t discipline him for it.

Talking about the OCA and the Centre… where’s Dickie Wood? He’s just fallen off the face of the planet. Note well that JP, Lyonyo, and Jillions all refuse to speak on the matter. I’d direct the Winnipeg magistrate to this, and remind them that this is “business as usual” for the OCA. In short, they’re inveterate liars who never tell the truth, even under oath. I’d say to the Crown Attorney, “Do ask JP about his guru Podmoshensky, if you ever get the chance, and ask him why he stuck with Podmoshensky even after the ROCOR Holy Synod defrocked him. Do note that JP tells his interlocutor what they want to hear, though… although I’m certain that you’ve noticed that already”.

In short, pass the jug, sinful-ginful humanity’s living up (or down, if you will) to its reputation…

Barbara-Marie Drezhlo

Monday 16 January 2012

Albany NY