Gary Noth, Bernanke's Crazed Nostrums

Ben Bernanke's Post-Horse Barn Door-Locking Strategy for Real Estate

Latin Poetry

From Contemporary Latin Poetry: William Burton: "Absurdus Tyrannus (The Foolish Tyrant)"
VivaVoce -- Roman Poetry Recited ~ Catullus, Horace, Vergil and more
The Classics Pages : Scansion - reading Latin Verse
Latin Metre
Reading Latin Meter Out Loud
Guide to the scansion of Latin Poetry
latin poetry / text-to-speech
Classical Language Instruction Project

Latin Poetry
the latin poetry of thomas campion a hypertext
Ted's Museum - Latin Poetry

Reading Latin Poetry Aloud - Cambridge University Press
Edwards, M.W.: Sound, Sense, and Rhythm: Listening to Greek and ...
Yale > Classics > Greek and Latin Poetry Competition

Jo Sung Mo MV

with Lee Young Ae...

Making of Hwang Jin Yi

Thanks to SongHyeGyo.net.

Zenit has a new look

Check it out--it's easier to go through the archives now.

Edit: Here is the Zenit announcement.

Cain, what have you done?

Scientists say 'Iceman' died from arrow

Given the position of the arrow, it doesn't seem like a case of friendly fire among hunters. I think someone else really wanted this guy dead, and shot him in the back!

But seriously, I wonder how the scientists reacted when they made this determination. Clinical detachment?

So much for the supposed peacefulness and egalitarianism of hunter-gatherer societies?

More Hobbit houses?

A Hobbit House
Hobbit House Homepage (didn't check this one, since it has a lot of java or something and I didn't want to wait)
Earth Sheltered "Hobbit Hole"
Hobbit House Farmstead - Natural Building - Sustainable Farming ...

A Low Impact Woodland Home

Alison Krauss and Shania Twain

Forever and Always


Shania Twain: You Shook Me All Night Long

Hayley Westenra, Ave Maria

melody composed by Vladimir Vavilov



And...

Hayley Westenra sings national anthem NZ Memorial Dedication ("God save the Queen" first, then the NZ national anthem)

Cardinal Bertone on Pius XII (Part 2)

Cardinal Bertone on Pius XII (Part 2)

"He Had Before Him a World in Thrall to Violent and Irrational Passions"

VATICAN CITY, JUNE 6, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the second part of a speech given Tuesday by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone at the presentation of a book by Andrea Tornielli, "Pio XII: Un Uomo Sul Trono di Pietro" (Pius XII: A Man on the Throne of Peter).

Part 1 was published Tuesday. Part 3 will be published on Thursday.

* * *

4. A Very Precise Historical Period

It seems useful to me to underscore how Tornielli's book calls our attention again to some things already known by serious historians. I think that this is one of the valuable points about the volume that we are discussing here: It takes account of the difficult times in which Pope Pacelli lived, the Pope whose voice did not enjoy the favor of the powers that be during World War II or during the succeeding period in which the opposing political blocs faced off against each other. How many times did Vatican Radio "not have the requisite electricity" to make the Pontiff's voice heard; how many times was there "a scarcity of paper" to reproduce his thoughts and uncomfortable teachings; how many times did some accident cause issues of L'Osservatore Romano to be "lost," -- issues that carried clarifications, updates, political notes ...

Nevertheless, today, thanks to modern means, those sources have been amply reproduced and been made available. Dr. Tornielli has sought them out and found them and the great body of notes in his book is a testimony to them.

At this moment I would like to draw your attention to an important period. The figure and work of Pius XII, praised and thanked before, during and immediately after World War II, began to be scrutinized by different eyes during a very precise historical period, from August 1946 to October 1948. After "the persecutions of a fanatical anti-Semitism that were unleashed against the Jewish people" [Allocution of August 3, 1946], the desire of the tortured people of Israel to have their own country, their own secure refuge, was understandable.

But it was equally understandable that those people who already lived in Palestine also had rights and expected respect, attention, justice and protection. The newspapers of the times provided ample coverage of the tension that was beginning to manifest itself in that region, but because they did not wish to consider the reasoning and proposals of Pius XII, they began to take positions some on one side, some on another, and thereby transformed the Pope's reflection -- that was attentive to the criteria of justice, equity, respect, and legality and developed in an articulate way -- into ideology.

Pius XII was not only the Pope of the Second World War, but a pastor who, from March 2, 1939, to October 9, 1958, had before him a world in thrall to violent and irrational passions. From that moment forward, there began to take shape an incomprehensible accusation against the Pope, namely, that he did not intervene as he should have on behalf of the persecuted Jewish people.

In this connection it seems to me important to recognize that, in any case, those who are free of ideological designs and are lovers of the truth, are well disposed to more deeply understand, in complete sincerity, a long, fruitful, and to my mind heroic, papacy. An example of this is the recent change of attitude at the great sanctuary that is Yad Vashem in Jerusalem to reconsider the figure and work of Pope Pacelli, not from a polemical perspective but from a historically objective angle. It is a fervent wish that such publicly manifested goodwill will have an adequate follow-up.

5. The Duty of Charity Toward All

June 2, 1943, on the occasion of the feast of St. Eugene, Pius XII publicly expounded the reasons for his attitude. First of all, Pope Pacelli speaks again of the Jewish people: "The rulers of nations must not forget that he who 'carries the sword' -- to use the language of sacred Scripture -- cannot decide the life and death of men except in accord with the law of God, from whom all authority comes."

"You cannot expect us," Pius XII continues, "here to recount point for point all that we have tried to procure and accomplish to mitigate their sufferings, to better their moral and juridical condition, to safeguard their inalienable religious rights, to bring help in their sufferings and necessities. Every word to this end that we addressed to the competent authorities as well as each of our public allusions had to be weighed and measured by us in the very interest of those who were suffering, so that we should not unwittingly make their situation more grave and unbearable. Unfortunately, the visibly obtained improvements do not correspond to the maternal solicitude of the Church on behalf of these particular groups that are subjected to the most bitter misfortunes, and the Vicar, [who] asking only for compassion and a return to elementary norms of law and humanity, has found himself, at times, before doors that no key could open."

Here, in the middle of 1943, we find revealed the reason for the prudence with which Pacelli conducted himself in public denouncements: "in the very interest of those who were suffering, so that we should not unwittingly make their situation more grave and unbearable."

These are words that to me seem to be echoed in the brief address given by Paul VI on Septempber 12, 1964, at the catacombs of Santa Domitilla. On that occasion Pope Montini said: "The Holy See abstains from more frequently and vehemently raising its legitimate voice in protest and outrage, not because it ignores or neglects the reality of what is happening, but out of Christian patience and so as not to provoke worse evils."

In the middle of the 1960s, Paul VI was referring to the countries behind the Iron Curtain, governed by totalitarian communism. He, who was a close collaborator of Cardinal Pacelli and of Pope Pius XII, thus adduces the same reasons.

Popes do not speak with the idea of pre-constituting a favorable image for future ages. They know that the fate of millions of Christians can at times depend on their every word; they have at heart the fate of men and women of flesh and blood, not the applause of historians.

Robert Kempner, a Jewish lawyer and public official at the Nuremberg trials, wrote in 1964, after the appearance of Hochhuth's "The Deputy": "Any propagandistic position that the Church would have taken against Hitler's government would have not only provoked suicide ... but it would have hastened the execution of still more Jews and priests."

[Translation by ZENIT]

Relocalization Network

website

Global Public Media audio files on relocalization

2 Haley Westenra vids

After some editing, there's more than two. Oh well.

Abide by Me


Prayer (live)


MV


Mary, Did You Know, Song of Praise


I've posted this one before...
Across the Universe of Time


alt

It is said that she's Catholic. May she be more devout than Charlotte Church.

63rd Anniversay of D-Day

General Eisenhower gives the order of the day "Full victory - Nothing else" to paratroopers in England just before they board airplanes in the first D-Day assault.

Pentagon chief honors D-Day troops
The National D-Day Memorial Foundation

Photos: Song Hye Gyo

Philip Johnson, Rebels in Rome

Rebels in Rome
The Catholic Church and the Confederacy in Civil War America
Philip Gerard Johnson

The Mogambo Guru, Forced to eat higher food prices

Forced to Eat Higher Food Prices
"Up to now, the price inflation was the 'fun' kind, as it went into stocks, bonds, housing…Now inflation is showing up in the "not fun" category, namely food and stuff you have to buy just to stay alive."
by The Mogambo Guru

Richard Benson, How the Government Creates Jobs

How the Government Creates Jobs

Since 9/11, 60 percent of job creation has related almost directly to the housing boom and consumer spending, generated from home equity extraction through mortgage refinance. Remember, the Federal Reserve cut interest rates to one percent and kicked off the greatest housing bubble of all time. The housing boom created an America with over 1,200,000 real estate agents, and hundreds of thousands of jobs in the mortgage and home construction industry.

On the surface, the job market looks sound and Wall Street bulls take every opportunity to reinforce this belief whenever low initial unemployment claims are announced. But common sense tells me there is something brewing below the surface and this housing bust will have an even bigger impact on our economy, than previously suggested, by reducing employment and consumer spending, in a big way.

(The officially reported governmental statistics fail to note that a very high percentage of new jobs created in the past few years were commission-only jobs, or jobs with independent contractor status. Workers categorized as independent contractors are not eligible for unemployment benefits. This means all of the real estate agents who haven't made a sale, along with the mortgage bankers who no longer have a company to bring their loans to, will not be filing for unemployment, even though they haven't made a dime. The Department of Labor Statistics, however, continues to view these unemployed and vastly under-employed workers as holding full- time jobs.)

The latest employment data from the payroll survey showed it added 88,000 workers. However, the household survey - a broader measure - showed a loss of almost 500,000 jobs. According to the household survey, over 360,000 workers simply dropped out of the labor force in April. So, if you want to believe the Wall Street touts, please go right ahead and put your rose-colored glasses back on and tune into that movie with the happy Hollywood ending. If, on the other hand, you think like me and believe there is an economic storm brewing, please read on.

Our government "prints up jobs out of thin air" the same way the Federal Reserve prints up money. To manufacture jobs, The Bureau of Labor Statistics uses their very own Net Birth/Death computer model (see CES Net Birth/Death Model for job creation at www.bls.gov). The idea behind the model is simple: Because small firms are always failing and starting up and it takes a few months for them to report on the payroll survey, an estimate is needed for the new jobs created. So, back when the economy was recovering, the Net Birth/Death Computer Model added jobs that had very likely been created. Their methodology goes like this:

- The Net Birth/Death model first creates jobs on a non-seasonally adjusted basis;

- The computer-generated jobs are then added to the jobs actually reported by the payroll survey for the month;

- The new total is then seasonally adjusted which creates the reported monthly unemployment number announced to the public. It's only much later that ongoing payroll surveys confirm or rebut the estimated job creation.

I realize the above may sound confusing, but it's actually meant to. This is economic propaganda created by our very own government! This false creation of jobs is not that much different from the over-stated earnings created by the executives at Enron that brought the company down.

Giuliani and lightning

See Domenico Bettinelli's post for what happened during last night's debate.

Ron Paul interview for NHPR

here

Thanks to Lew Rockwell.

PCR, Losing the Economy to Mythology

Losing the Economy to Mythology
by Paul Craig Roberts

Economists cannot understand this straightforward analysis because economists, like neoconservatives, are not reality-based. Economists are governed by the illusion that America’s post-World War II prosperity is based on free trade. It is not. America’s postwar prosperity was based on the destruction of the economic capability of the rest of the world by World War II and communism-socialism. America was prosperous in its trade because no one else could produce anything.

Transcript for the third Republican debate

held last night in New Hampshire

transcript (single page)

Mitt Romney on the American dream:

But there’s something bigger in conservatism that I don’t think we’ve spoken about, and that is that America is a land of opportunity, and our future is going to be far brighter than our past, not just as we overcome these challenges, but as we take advantage of the new opportunity of the 21st century.

So to be conservative is to believe in inevitable progress and growing prosperity? I think not. But it may be what it is to be Mormon.

and

Now, let me tell you what I think about a broader issue. We’ve talked tonight about all of the issues as they relate to the problems that we have, and I understand that. But we have extraordinary opportunities. What the Republican party has to stand for is more than solving problems. In the 19th century, the new frontier for us was the American West. In the 20th century, it was Europe — selling products to Europe and North America. Now Asia has come out of poverty. A billion people —

MR. BLITZER: Thank you.

MR. ROMNEY: — who were steeped in poverty are coming out of poverty. They’re consumers. We can sell products to them, medicines, technology —

MR. BLITZER: Thank you, Governor.

MR. ROMNEY: — energy. We are a party of the future, and we have to stop worrying about the problems and thinking we can’t deal with those. We have to focus on the future and our opportunity to make America a great place for our kids and grandkids. Thank you.

Mitt Romney is a businessman, and it is said that Mormons have a influence upon industry in disproportion to their numbers. (The secret to Mormon business success?)Is there a link between his answer and his religion? Or is he merely parading some ideology of the past? So the new frontier is the trade that we can do with Asia? But we are already doing trade with Asia--and we're importing more than we're exporting--how are we going to overcome the trade deficits that already exist? There's no awareness of the moral and spiritual malaise affecting the country; not only is is the perennial problem for politics, but in the United States it has lead to a very precarious situation with respect to the survival of local communities. A house of cards that will fall if anything hits the table.

And one more proof of the real principles of Giuliani and McCain:

MS. VAUGHN: What is your question tonight?

Q With regards to illegal and legal immigration, in your opinion, what does it mean to be an American? What are the tangible and intangible attributes of an American?

MS. VAUGHN: Congressman Tancredo.

REP. TANCREDO: It means, number one, cut from the past. If you come here as an immigrant, great. Welcome. If you come here legally, welcome. It means you cut your ties with the past, familial — especially political ties with the country from which you came.

But let’s be serious about this, you guys. We talk about all the immigration reform we want, and what it’s got to get down to is this: Are we ready for a timeout? Are we actually ready to say, “Enough is enough”? We have to stop all legal immigration except for the — for people coming into this country as family members, immediate family members, and/or refugees. Are we willing to actually say that and say enough — is it — we have got to actually begin the process of assimilating people who have come in this great wave of immigration. The process of assimilation is not going on.

And how long? How long will it take us for that — for us to catch up with the millions of people who have come here, both legally and illegally, and assimilate them? I’ll tell you this. It’ll take this long: until we no longer have to press 1 for English and 2 for any other language. (Applause.)

MR. BLITZER: I promised, Governor Huckabee, you’d have a chance to weigh in on this immigration issue. Do you agree with Congressman Tancredo that the U.S. should effectively end most legal immigration into the country?

MR. HUCKABEE: No, I disagree with that. I think that there are a number of people that we should welcome into this country. And it’s — certainly engineers and doctors and scientists that we may need legally coming here.

What we need to do is to have a border that is sealed and the same kind of process that we have to go through if we go into a stadium. We go in one at a time and we have a ticket. That’s the only thing I think Americans really are asking us for is a sane, sensible system that’s based on the idea that if you come here, that you come here through the same process that we would be expected to go through if we went to another country, which is not happening today.

MR. BLITZER: Mayor Giuliani, are you comfortable with what Congressman Tancredo says about immigration to this country?

MR. GIULIANI: No, I’m very uncomfortable with it. I mean, the reality is, it’s one thing to be debating illegal immigration. It’s a very complex subject. I think we’ve had a very good debate about it. And I think the bill needs to be fixed in the way that I’ve indicated. But we shouldn’t be having a debate about legal immigration.

Abraham Lincoln defined what an American is better than I’m going to be able to do it or Congressman Tancredo or anyone on the stage. Abraham Lincoln, who fought the know-nothing movement, said being an American is not whether you came over on the Mayflower or you came here yesterday. How much do you believe in freedom? How much do you believe in freedom of religion? How much do you believe in freedom for women? How much do you believe in the right to vote? How much do you believe in the rule of law? The person who believes in that the most is the best American, and the person who doesn’t isn’t an American.

MR. BLITZER: Thank you.

MR. GIULIANI: That’s Abraham Lincoln’s words. We should always be open to legal immigration. It reforms us. It makes us better. It brings us people who want to make a better life for themselves —

MR. BLITZER: Thank you.

MR. GIULIANI: — and their families. If we lose that, we lose the genius that has made America what it is.

MR. BLITZER: I’m going to go back to Jennifer in a second. (Applause.) But I want Senator McCain to respond as well. When you hear what Congressman Tancredo says, what goes through your mind?

SEN. MCCAIN: It’s beyond my realm of thinking. Look, America is the land of opportunity. The question was just asked, “What is it to be an American?” It’s to share a common goal that all of us — a principle — are created equal and endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights.

That means we go as far as our ambition will take us. That means we have a better life for ourselves and our children. And the lady that holds her lamp beside the golden door is still the ideal and the dream. Of course it has to be legal. Of course it has to be regulated. And 18 months, by the way, will go by while we fix the border before we do anything else on this issue.
MR. BLITZER: Thank you.

SEN. MCCAIN: But America is still the land of opportunity and it is a beacon of hope and liberty, and as Ronald Reagan said, a shining city on a hill. And we’re not going to erect barriers and fences.

What Tancredo says about the need for assimilation makes sense, but it may be too late in certain states that are the most affected by legal and illegal immigration; simply because of sheer numbers, how will states like California, Arizona, or Texas be able to bring about assimilation when Anglos are losing their numerical majority (especially if we look at particular regions of those states, rather than the state as a whole)? How could it be justified? Unfortunately, Tancredo will probably be criticized by almost everyone else for suggesting a temporary stop to legal immigration. Those other candidates who mindlessly support endless imigration into this country are very far removed from understanding what is needed to preserve local communities and to make sure they grow at a reasonable (sustainable) pace.

From McCain and Giuliani we get talk of a "proposition nation." Nothing about the "Western" tradition, rooted in Christianity, and transmitted particularly through Anglo-Saxon and Celtic culture, mixed slightly with other European cultures. Zip. I don't think this ideology is new to the Republican party--it is something that the oligarchs adhere to, for their own advantage. But Giuliani and McCain are as bad as the multiculturalists among the Democrats.

Fr. McNamara on head coverings

Masses for the Living and the Dead

And More on Head Coverings

ROME, JUNE 5, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Answered by Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy at the Regina Apostolorum university.

Q: Is the Mass offered for the living more powerful than after your death? St. Anselm and Pope Benedict XV said they are. Could you please comment. -- S.T., Chicago

A: While our reader did not offer the sources of these comments by St. Anselm and Pope Benedict XV, I will take her word for them.

In what way can we say that one way of offering a Mass is "more powerful" than another?

First of all, it is necessary to clarify that in itself the Mass has the same value of Christ's paschal mystery of which it is the ritual re-presentation. Therefore its value is infinite, and one Mass is not more powerful than another.

Thus, any difference in value must be sought in the effect on the person for whom the Sacrifice is being offered.

In the case of the deceased in purgatory any benefit is received passively, since the soul is no longer capable of performing new meritorious acts. While such a soul is already saved, it cannot increase in sanctity but only purify those imperfections which impede its definitive entrance into glory.

A living person, however, is still capable of growing in sanctifying grace. And so a Mass offered for a person already in God's grace has the effect of offering a gift of increased grace which the person may willingly receive in order to become more Christlike.

As an intercessory prayer, a Mass offered for a person in a state of actual mortal sin may yet supply the grace necessary for repentance even though conversion is always a free acceptance of the grace that is offered.

While the Mass may be offered for other intentions as well (for instance, for those who are ill), I believe that the discourse regarding whether the Mass for the living is more powerful than for the dead lies principally in the above point regarding the possible increase in sanctity. The offering of the Mass may also assist in this increase of sanctity by helping people face their sufferings and trials more deeply united to Christ.

Only the living can become holier, even to the point of directly entering heaven after death. Some might be perplexed by the idea that there can be differences in sanctity in heaven. The saints sometimes used a useful image to describe this possibility.

During life, by freely corresponding with grace, each person prepares his or her own capacity of being filled with God. In heaven, some will be like liqueur glasses; others, beer tankards; others, barrels; and a few oil tankers. The important thing is that all will be filled to the brim, and none will feel the lack of anything necessary for happiness.

Of course, the Church recommends praying and having Masses offered for both the living and the dead, for none should be excluded from our charity.

* * *

Follow-up: Head Coverings for Women

Several readers asked for further clarifications after our article on women wearing head coverings (May 22).

One reader said he was told that the new Code of Canon Law did not repeal the former obligation to wear hats and veils, but simply did not mention it.

Although some canonists might accept this hypothesis, it is not the most probable interpretation as it is unlikely that the legislator would have left the faithful in doubt as to the existence of an obligation. By no longer mentioning the custom, the legislator removed it from the realm of obligation while leaving intact the possibility of its remaining as a custom in some places or contexts.

A reader from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, mentioned a particular case: "We have a small group of traditionalist parishioners who come for Mass with their heads (especially women) veiled. Most parts of the Mass they are seen kneeling when everyone else is standing. During Communion they would receive kneeling and will only receive Communion if distributed by a priest and not by lay ministers or religious. There are instances where they refused to come out for Communion because the priest who celebrated the Mass would only give Communion to communicants who are standing. This resulted in them moving from church to church, searching for priests who would give them Communion kneeling. What is the Church's norm on this?"

Other readers mentioned similar cases of women being actively discouraged by priests from wearing hats and veils because they "cause distraction."

The principal reason why St. Paul mandated women to cover their heads was to foment modesty during the liturgy, especially because in the cultural context of the time a woman who did not cover her head conveyed a message of impropriety.

Since modesty is the primary reason, a woman is free to cover her head for the sake of modesty, or simply out of respect for long-standing custom.

While modesty would also advise against using elaborate hats and veils that tend to draw attention to oneself, there is no authority in canon law or in common-sense social mores that would allow a blanket prohibition or discouragement of all head coverings. Priests should be flexible enough to accommodate the various spiritual sensibilities of their flock, except in the case of clear incompatibility with the nature of the sacred rite.

A similar point could be made regarding the so-called Malayan traditionalists. These faithful should be encouraged to participate in the common gestures of the celebration which express unity of prayer and purpose.

Although the priest should try to educate them as to Church norms and genuine piety, it is usually pastorally advisable to be patient and avoid creating unnecessary divisions regarding points that are not always clearly defined in liturgical law.

At the same time, the Holy See has made it clear that even when the bishops' conference has established the practice of receiving Communion standing as a general norm, the faithful who wish to, may kneel down to receive the Host. It has also emphasized in very clear terms that under no circumstances may the faithful be refused Communion simply because they kneel.

Such members of the faithful, however, should also be careful lest their practice cause any disturbance to the flow of the Communion lines and if necessary they should, for example, wait until the end to receive kneeling.

As one version of the classic spiritual adage says, "In important things unity, in less important things liberty, in all things charity."

From the May 22 answer:

During St. Paul's time it was considered modest for a woman to cover her head, and he was underscoring this point for their presence in the liturgical assembly.

This custom was considered normative and was enshrined in Canon 1262.2 of the 1917 Code of Canon Law alongside the recommendation that men and women be separated in Church and that men go bareheaded. This canon was dropped from the new Code of Canon Law promulgated in 1983, but the practice had already begun to fall into disuse from about the beginning of the 1970s. Even though no longer legally binding, the custom is still widely practiced in some countries, especially in Asia. It has been generally abandoned in most Western countries even though women, unlike men, may still wear hats and veils to Mass if they choose.

Sociological factors might also have been involved. The greater emphasis on the equality of man and woman tended to downplay elements that stressed their differences.

Likewise, for the first time in centuries, not donning a hat outdoors, especially for men, ceased being considered as bad manners, whereas up to a few years beforehand it was deemed unseemly to go around hatless.

This general dropping of head covering by both sexes may also have influenced the disappearance of the religious custom.

MC discussion of weddings and bridezilla

One perfect day

Blackwater/HK partnership

Sarge, the official announcement.

Course offerings of Blackwater HK International Training Services include the full spectrum of operator and instructor classes covering HK submachine guns, pistols, and rifles. Armorers’ courses cover current HK weapons and newly developed systems like the HK416 carbine.

As part of the HK and Blackwater relationship, Heckler & Koch accessories, merchandise, and apparel will be sold in the Blackwater “Pro Shop” located at the Moyock, North Carolina training facility. Special edition HK/Blackwater firearms are being developed. HK logo products and accessories will also be sold through the Blackwater web site (www.blackwaterusa.com/proshop).

The new url for the ProShop. (No HK products, yet.)

Phil Elmore's product reviews

here