Sailing the Last Voyage with Newton and Pascal
The proposed plan to store in a central database every cell call, text message and email in the United Kingdom reminds me of a line from Bill Atwood's song "USSR," from his album 3:25 A.M.: ...and everything I do they see; there's always somebody near. He also sings about "across the sea, where men are …
Continue reading "USSR, UK Style, and Heavy-Handedness Here, Too"
Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, who was a leading man among the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night, and said to him: "Rabbi, we know that you are a Teacher come from God; for no one could give such signs as you are giving, unless God were with him." "In truth …
ACI's Dr. Philip Turner's case about Episcopal Presiding Bishop Kathering Jefferts Schori not knowing what she was doing was going pretty well until he said the following: When first I learned that the Presiding Bishop was not going to greet the Pope, I wondered if, because of her gender and her controversial positions on a …
As if he hasn't caused enough trouble with his fellow Evangelicals, Brian McLaren takes his Emergent roadshow to the upcoming Anglican Lambeth conference: Rumor has it that Brian Mclaren, one of the leaders of the emerging church movement, has been invited to address the assembled bishops at Lambeth. This should not be a surprise as …
Continue reading "Brian McLaren: Right at Home with the Reappraisers at Lambeth"
Ambrose Evans-Pritchard can see sour relations all he wants to... The US-Saudi tango has been on thin ice ever since the terrorist attacks of 9/11. Sixteen of the hijackers were Saudi nationals. The Bush family has cleaved closely to the Saudi monarchy, but strong factions in Washington see Riyadh's Wahabi monarchy as part of the …
Continue reading "The Saudis, and Our Weak Bargaining Position"
The People's Republic finally did it: California's supreme court ruled that a ban on gay marriage was unlawful Thursday, effectively leaving same-sex couples in America's most populous state free to tie the knot in a landmark ruling. In an opinion that analysts say could have nationwide implications for the issue, the seven-member panel voted 4-3 …
Continue reading "Same Sex Civil Marriage: There’s Always Plan B"
This week's podcast is a departure; it's a speech given on 6 September 2007 by Paul Speltz, former U.S. Ambassador to the Asian Development Bank, now President of Kissinger Associates (as in Henry Kissinger, Nixon's Secretary of State.)Â Paul's address is actually two speeches in one: An analysis of the 1997 Asian bank crisis and …
Continue reading "The 1997 Asian Bank Crisis, and Financial Crises of Today"
I was saddened to hear the following news from my home church: James "Jimmy" Heyman spent the last Sunday of his life doing what he loved best — serving God. Mr. Heyman, a longtime acolyte at The Episcopal Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea, served as crucifer at the May 4 service. Clad in the red acolyte's robe, …
CBN's David Brody always has a nose for a good story, and this, as my grandfather (the Duesenberg dealer in Washington) would say, is a "doozy:" I have been telling Brody File readers for months that if Barack Obama becomes the Democratic nominee he will make a pitch to win over independent/moderate Evangelicals. Well, we …
The present flap in Lebanon is one more example of this: The crises was sparked last week in Beirut when the government of Prime Minister Fouad al-Siniora ordered the communication and surveillance network at Runway 17 of Beirut Airport be dismantled, claiming it was "illegal and unconstitutional"... Hezbollah cried foul, claiming the network had been …
Positive Infinity 