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ROME -- As the multitudes gathered to wait for smoke last night, the mood on St. Peter's Square -- at least in the parts I occupied (and was pushed to) -- was somewhere between political rally and victory parade. Some offered prayers, although, given the cold, wet weather, it wasn't always easy to tell which hands were clutched in prayer and which for warmth. There were children perched on their parents' shoulders, elderly couples, young people, nuns, monks, priests, seminarians -- most of them speaking Italian. They argued about who would emerge from the balcony -- an American? No, no -- it will be the cardinal of Milan. (Indeed, the Italian bishops conference was so sure that Cardinal Scola would be the next pope that it sent out a press release congratulating him on his election.) They shouted down the flag-wavers, those wielding too-tall umbrellas -- and some who had attached the two -- who made it hard to see. They defended their territory on the piazza, with wide stances, and the occasional elbow. They shared restaurant tips. Groused about how long it was taking the cardinals to decide.
And then the smoke came. Gray at first, and lots of it. But not for long. "Bianca!" one middle-aged Italian bellowed, throwing his arms around a friend. "Bianca! Bianca! Bianca!" Screams, cheers, and shrieks -- the stampede toward St. Peter's Basilica had begun. A forest of umbrellas pushed forward. The Swiss Guard marched out. The band began to play. Vatican staff had assembled on neighboring rooftops. Some snapped photos from the top of St. Peter's. Cheers from the crowd: "Viva papa!" And we waited. And waited. Patience wore thin. More arguments about the new pope. More territorial disputes. The weather wasn't helping. And then it cleared.
When the light behind the balcony came on, the masses gasped, and applauded. And screamed some more -- until Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran emerged to deliver the news, and silence descended on the assembly. They were waiting for the name, and when it came, they let out a long sigh that indicated either confusion or disappointment. Bergoglio? No one seemed familiar with the name, which ended in a vowel, but was not Scola. Someone produced a book of the cardinals' bios. The crowd noticed. "Who is it?" A Jesuit? Seventy-six years old? From Argentina? Who took the name Francis? The people around me, nearly all of them Italian, looked puzzled as they nodded.
The pope would have to make a good first impression. But when Francis walked out on the balcony, he seemed not to know that he was on camera -- in close-up. His face was expressionless, if not stern. He didn't smile. He didn't move much at all. And then the white microphone was raised to his mouth. As he spoke, a smile spread across his face. His eyes came to life. And the piazza roared.
"As you know," he said, "the duty of the conclave was to appoint a bishop of Rome. It seems to me that my brother cardinals have chosen one who is from far away, but here I am." A touching, amusing line, and it killed. He asked for the crowd's blessing. He bowed. He led them in simple prayer. And then he bid the Square good night, and good rest.
With that, the piazza began to empty, almost as quickly as it had filled. As I pressed my way to the media center, I passed a Catholic journalist who was looking a bit shell shocked.
"Grant!" he cried out. "Can you believe it? That was the Holy Spirit."
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I'm 'happy' to hear I wasn't the only person asking, 'Who?' I have little doubt we will hear more than enough about him in the coming days, which is all good and well. However, I'm more interested in seeing what Pope Francis I is going to do about the Curia, et al. I do know one thing, we're never going to hear the end of this from "those" Jesuits over at "America" LOL
Beautifully told, Grant. I was glued to the TV, and as he spoke, I felt overwhelmed by the simplicity, warmth, and humility of his actions. It WAS the Holy Spirit. I am still amazed.
I liked his opening speech when he said The duty of the conclave was to appoint a bishop of Rome, and it seems to me that my brother cardinals went to fetch him at the end of the world. But here I am."a bishop of Rome"I think that brings the papacy down to earth a little, and I'm glad he framed his office that way right out of the gate.
I thought the Pope looked stunned.
I was driving when the announcement was made, so I flipped between NPR and the "Catholic Channel" (on Sirius). What amazed me was that everyone was completely stunned when the name was announced, but within ten minutes everyone was reporting that Bergoglio was widely known to have been the runner up in 2005. I understand that he's 8 years older and might no longer be a favorite, but it still surprises me that apparently no one thought the #2 vote getter in the previous election was at least a person to be watched.
It took the interwebs about 0.0000000003 seconds when Ratzinger was elected to make the Palpatine connection. As of this morning, some 20 hours after Bergoglio was announced? The best I've seen is George Bluth Sr. So, yes, unanticipated.
Not to rain on the parade, but it seems neither the "Prayer of St. Francis" nor the injunction: "Preach the Gospel always; if necessary, use words" are authentic sayings of Francis of Assisi. At least no one has been able to trace them back before the twentieth century.
I am confused--I am missing where that saying or that prayer came up in the above post.
Abe: George Bluth hadn't occurred to me, but I did have an Ann-like reaction when I first saw the man -- and again this morning seeing him in the paper: "Him?" Is it me or does he look completely different in every photo? He changes his glasses and I don't recognize him.
Joe, did you post your comment @ 10:34 on the wrong thread? No one has mentioned either the Prayer of St Francis or the saying you mention, here.
I had yesterday's live feed on my work computer in the teacher's lounge. The fact that the commentary was very slow on the uptake with the translations added to the "who?" factor, I think. There was some dead air when announcers were clearly trying to construe the Latin and figure out what Cardinal Tauran had said. During the coverage, one of my co-workers passed by and opined that the new pope looked like Junior Soprano. Interesting comparison. Junior looked about as desperate as Mr. Magoo, but had hidden depths. This must be true of Pope Francis, though in a much more benign way, if his brother cardinals saw fit to elect him so quickly. Sounds like Grant had fun in the crowd. Every time there were gasps and cheers, I would look up, but nothing was happening. All that created a fair amount of agita (as Junior would say), so the appearance of the new pope seemed pretty anti-climactic. I enjoyed the comic relief of the the six or eight "stage dressers" in suits hanging the bunting and running back and forth in a tizzy between the "habemus papam" announcement and the appearance.
This must be true of Pope Francis, though in a much more benign way, if his brother cardinals saw fit to elect him so quickly.Jean,Apparently the cardinals have very little say in the matter. The Holy Spirit picks the popes.
What is the official name of this new pope: "Francis" or "Francis I"?
Francis. He won't be I unless and until there is a II.
That makes sense. Like some wouldn't call someone John, sr., unless he had a son John, jr.
Thank you both.
Joseph, it is Francis I. He is the first pope to take that name---so he is Francis I.
Uh, no, Little Bear. The Vatican confirmed last night that it is Francis. I have no idea why people started calling him Francis I. It makes no sense.
David N., as I understand and believe, the Holy Spirit is there offering guidance. Whether the cardinals pay attentionto it is a another matter. They do have free will. And we know where that sometimes leads. Jesus only promises that they cannot destroy the Church, and it has withstood some bad popes.I expect this pope will be a solid traditionalist, perhaps blunt in his remarks (e.g., gay adoption discriminates against children), but who emphasizes human dignity and may be less impressed with himself than some heirs to the throne of St. Peter have been.
From Whispers in the Loggia tweets:- "I shall be called Francis, in memory of St Francis of Assisi!" - On Day One, Pope makes pit-stop at guest house where he was staying pre-Conclave to pick up his bags, pay the bill- press briefing: Pope Francis received the other cardinals from where he was sitting in the Sistine Chapel, not on the throne.- Leaving Sistina for Domus, papal motorcade was ready for Pope Francis, but new pontiff opted to join cardinals on their Conclave buses....This is sounding better and better. And he even has a sense of humor:- On dinnertime toast from cardinals, Pope Francis responded, "May God forgive you."
I wasn't responding to any particular comment, but was just anticipating the sorts of things that people might say when the connection is made with St. Francis of Assisi...
Though he was pope for only 33 days in 1978, Cardinal Albino Luciani was Pope John Paul until his successor took the name John Paul II.
as I understand and believe, the Holy Spirit is there offering guidance. Whether the cardinals pay attentionto it is a another matter.Jean,Over on First Things, I had quoted John Allen quoting then-Cardinal Ratzinger:
. . . Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was asked on Bavarian television in 1997 if the Holy Spirit is responsible for who gets elected. This was his response:I would not say so, in the sense that the Holy Spirit picks out the Pope. . . . I would say that the Spirit does not exactly take control of the affair, but rather like a good educator, as it were, leaves us much space, much freedom, without entirely abandoning us. Thus the Spirits role should be understood in a much more elastic sense, not that he dictates the candidate for whom one must vote. Probably the only assurance he offers is that the thing cannot be totally ruined.
Then the clincher:There are too many contrary instances of popes the Holy Spirit obviously would not have picked!
But someone pointed out that three days after his election, Benedict had said to the College of Cardinals:
I feel it my duty, in the first place, to thank God who wanted me, despite my human frailty, as the Successor of the Apostle Peter, and has entrusted to me the task of governing and guiding the Church.
The same person came quoted Benedict commenting on his feelings during the voting:
With profound conviction I said to the Lord: Do not do this to me! You have younger and better people at your disposal, who can face this great responsibility with greater dynamism and greater strength.
It is very difficult to argue agains that. I have a very strong feeling that Benedict could reconcile his statement about the very limited role of the Holy Spirit as he described it in 1997 with his later statements, but it seemed futile for me to attempt it.
On the Prayer of St. Francis: We sing it EVERY Sunday to the most wretched music for which I do not blame Francis. The beat is either a waltz or a fox trot.
David N. --Benedict said he was sure the Holy Spirit didn't pick the popes because if He had some of the ones we've had would never have been elected.
" ... The beat is either a waltz or a fox trot."Try it with Zumba. And a Ketel One dirty martini, up, with all the frou-frou.
Glad I caught up to this, Grant. Beautifully done.The Prayer of St. Francis traces to a Belgian priest in WWI, as I understand it. I believe Cardinal Francis Spellman later helped to popularize it. The "if necessary, use words" statement doesn't show up in any of the medieval accounts of Francis's life or in his writings. But maybe it can be said that at least both seem consistent with the man we meet in his writings.
Lordy, Lordy! The Vatican Old Guard must be trembling in their boots. Check out Rocco's latest article about Pope Francis' innovations, plus the photos of him riding in the bus with the cardingals and paying his hotel bill. If those are just hints of what is going to happen, we are in for some stormy times.http://whispersintheloggia.blogspot.com/
Reading report of the few few hours of Pope Francis, I am struck by how it is customary to systematically isolate the pope so that no one may communicate by chance and access to him is tightly controlled at every moment of the day.For example when after leaving the balcony he took the elevator down, he was supposed to go into the elevator alone with his immediate staff. But this new pope insisted instead that there was plenty of room for more people. Then the picture of him on the bus is striking: he is so accessible! Any cardinal with an urgent message for him could talk to him! Already that reduces the power of the staff.
Having watched the Pope celebrate Mass in the Sistine Chapel yesterday, his visit to St. Mary Major, and his greeting Cardinal Sodano at this morning's audience with the cardinals, I have noticed that he can be rather unsteady in his movements. It looks to me as if he might already need to use the moving platform that both John Paul II and Benedict XVI used towards the end of their pontificates to manage the long aisle in St. Peter's. And then there are the number of steps to the altar. Reason for concern?
Ann - that photo in Rocco's previous post with the Holy Father stainding at the hotel counter to settle his bill is a classic. If a national ad campaign hadn't debased the word, I'd say, priceless. Wonderful and hilarious all at the same time.
"For example when after leaving the balcony he took the elevator down, he was supposed to go into the elevator alone with his immediate staff. But this new pope insisted instead that there was plenty of room for more people."One of the endearing things about Pope John of Everybody was his lack of pretension. He didn't like to eat alone as other popes did, and liked wearing that furry papal hat because it kept his bald head warm. In his "Journey of a Soul," there are some lovely letters to his family in which he tells them how much he missed type-writing.Perhaps older men who have made it a point to live in the world and embrace the joys and sorrows of real people are better able to brush away some of that control that Claire mentions.
Just for the record, the Casa Internazionale del Clero (also, Residenza Paulo VI), Via della Scrofa, 70, is a residence for priests working in the Curia and for priests and bishops in Rome for meetings. Occasionally laymen are allowed to stay there. Adding up the time I spent there over two decades, I could probably claim several months' residence. Before "the fall."
For presidential elections I have in the past been struck by a difference between the US and France: in the US, a presidential candidate gets his chance to make his case for the elections, and is supported as best possible by his party, but if he fails, he won't get a second chance. It seems that US citizens consider that it is then time to go to other potential candidates, and the one who didn't make it when he had his chance is out. In France, on the other hand, a failed presidential bid can be seen as a warm-up, and unlucky candidates are considered as primary candidates for the next time around. Their past failure does not count against them; on the contrary, it helps make them known and gives them a head start.I wonder if Italians have an attitude similar to the French, if that applies to papal contenders as well, and if that cultural difference contributed to the lack of US media attention to Cardinal Bergoglio.
Claire:The Italian press didn't mention Cardinal Bergoglio either. Did Le Figaro or Le Monde?
Not that I know of. But where do they get their information, I wonder?


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RCRD LBL premiered the brand new remix of 'We Are Young' by Betatraxx on Friday. Click HERE to listen to the track!
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Watch the interview above to see Rome talk with Imani Lee in a special edition of In The Game. Rome talks about his previous jobs, new music and how he first heard of Sublime.


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Home > Food > Recipes > Quick Soda Bread
Quick Soda Bread
Type: Desserts and Baked Goods
Soda bread is the traditional Irish bread and is bread-making at its quickest; you don't have to wait for yeast to work or the loaf to rise. With a gluten-free variation.
Prep Time: 8M
Cooking Time: 50M
Serves: makes 1 loaf
Egg & nut free
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
- 2 cups whole-wheat flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp cream of tartar
- 1 tsp superfine sugar
- 3 tbsp vegetable shortening or lard
- 1 × 91/2 fl oz carton of buttermilk
- about 3 tbsp milk
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- Preheat the oven to 375° F.
- Sift the flours, salt, baking soda, cream of tartar, and sugar into a large bowl. Tip in any bran that remains in the sieve.
- Using your fingertips, rub the shortening or lard into the flours until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add the buttermilk. Stir with a round-bladed knife, adding enough milk to form a soft, but not sticky dough. You may need more or less liquid depending on the absorbency of the flours you've used. You need to work quickly now, since the rising agents will start to work once the liquid is added, and you don't want the leavening to finish before you get the dough into the oven.
- Knead the dough very briefly on a floured surface. Do not spend more than a couple of minutes on this since overworked bread will be tough and heavy.
- Shape into a 6 inch round, place on a greased baking sheet, and flatten slightly to 2 inch thick. Dust with flour.
- With a knife dipped in flour, make a deep cross in the top of the bread so that it will break easily into quarters when baked.
- Bake until well risen and brown and the base sounds hollow when tapped, about 50 minutes.
- Place on a wire rack to cool slightly and cover with a cloth to keep the bread moist.
- The buttermilk makes a moist, light loaf and, with the cream of tartar, provides the slightly acid environment that the baking soda needs to work. If you can't get buttermilk, use plain yogurt or the "sour milk" substitution given in the dairy-free recipe, either with soy milk or dairy milk.
Dairy free also egg & nut free: Follow the recipe for Egg & nut free, but use soy yogurt in place of the buttermilk. You can also use soy, oat, or rice milk, replacing 1 tablespoon of the milk with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or cider vinegar to "sour" it. For either option, have 3 tablespoons of dairyfree milk on hand to add in to form a soft but not sticky dough.
Gluten free also nut free: Follow the recipe for Egg & nut free, but substitute gluten-free all-purpose flour for the all-purpose and wholewheat flours, or use half gluten-free all-purpose flour and half buckwheat flour. Add 2 teaspoons of xanthan gum with the flour and 1 large egg, beaten with the buttermilk.
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SOS from the Church in Iraq
The following letter was sent today by Patriarch Louis Raphael Sako, the president of the Assembly of the Catholic Bishops of Iraq, to Aid to the Church in Need, an international Catholic charity that provides assistance to persecuted Christians throughout the world. The letter speaks for itself.
About the Author
Matthew Boudway is an associate editor of Commonweal.
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Father Lombardi issued a statement today which said in part:
His Holiness urgently calls on the international community to protect all those affected or threatened by the violence, and to guarantee all necessary assistance – especially the most urgently needed aid – to the great multitude of people who have been driven from their homes, whose fate depends entirely on the solidarity of others.
How might we manifest solidarity beyond individual prayers?
The U.N. needs to call an emergency session and condemn these outrages by ISIS. They then need to deploy a large multi-national force to stop the killing and displacement of Christians and others perescuted by ISIS.
There seems little will among the Western powers to become involved in the violence in Iraq, especially in light of the Shia-dominated government's failure in the past, and continuing resistance at present, to include substantial numbers of Sunnis in the government. In addition, the world's attention has been focused elsewhere—Ukraine/Russia, Israel/Gaza, for example. The U.S., in particular, is Iraq weary, in part because of our continuing military involvement in Afghanistan and the financial and human toll that experience has exacted. All the while in a world with diverted attention, ISIS is committing atrocities that cry out for redress. I don't see any relief in sight, however, except perhaps a military intervention by the UN, and even that possible source of hope seems more a mirage than a reality. Meanwhile, brutalities like the one reported today on CNN—ISIS forced a Christian at gunpoint to convert to Islam and then killed him anyway—will continue unabated.
The US! Britain and the entire coalition of the willing have a moral and ethical duty to,protect thes minorities from what is clearly, plainly, and evidently genocide in the truest sense of the word. The us can bomb Isis strong points and drop humanitarian aid. A humintarian corridor can be established. This is all vey doable. It should happen tonight!
This column by Jonah Goldberg makes a relevant point:
It's worth at least pointing out a key difference between the potential genocide in Iraq and the heart-wrenching slaughters in Congo and Sudan: The latter aren't our fault. But if genocide unfolds in Iraq after American troops depart, it would be hard to argue that we weren't at least partly to blame. Yes, the mass murder would have more immediate authors than the United States of America, but we would undeniably be responsible, at least in part, for giving a green light to genocide.
There will be an emergency meeting of the security council of the UN in a few hours.
Jonah Goldberg is exactly right!
There ae multiple levels at which action is needed, each of them difficut in its way. By all means, let's have a discssion in the UN. Impacts of that n ISIS will be zero, bu the developin an international consensus is good.
A humanitarian relief effort und conditions of war is very difficult, but doable, so long as US/NATO can get and keep Turkey on side. The only access tha is remotely feasibe is from Turkey throgh the Kurdish lands, and to the refugees.
Fine suppose that can be arranged. Now what: the refugees are moved to souheastern Turkey: then what? Turkey cannot be expected to give long-term shelter to all the refugees (more than Christians, of course) who need releif. So we will need to support our NATO ally, in exchange for rights of passgage, by providing long-term sanctuary elsewhere. Reastically, "long-term" is a euphamism for "permanent", as we are doing with thousands of Chaldeans in El Centro and elsewhere aready.
That is where we need to put a great deal of effort that is not rhetorical. We need to find locations where they will be welcomed and supported and provided a path forward. No whinging by the locals about traffic issues, or impact on schools, or whether they are carrying ebola, or health-care costs, or any of the other rubbish that we throw out when we do not want "strangers" in our back yards. That is neeed in Europe, among our allies in th ME, and here in North America.
The criteria for a just war are met here. Right now, the thing that would help our brothers and sisters in Iraq most would be air strikes designed to kill as many of the murderers in ISIS as possible.
Our local evening news reports that President Obama has ordered humanitarian air drops to the refugees, and has authorized limited military involvement in Iraq to protect the city of Erbil.
Meanwhile, brutalities like the one reported today on CNN—ISIS forced a Christian at gunpoint to convert to Islam and then killed him anyway—will continue unabated.
Indeed and well said. President Obama has now indicated that he is authorizing airstrikes to protect Americans and Iraq religiuos minorities trapped and starving on a mountain while the muslims wait in anxious anticipation of lording it over them if they come down and have to choose to convert or die. Gotta love that Islam. That Mohammed-what a guy! HE would never do anything like that. With him it was all love and peace and can't we all just get along?
The president is now indicating he has a pair, and God bless him for that, and pass the ammunition.
From today's (Friday) New York Times editorial:
The United States, Turkey and other allies should move quickly to meet the Kurds' needs for ammunition and weapons as well as advice on more effectively deploying the pesh merga and integrating Kurdish operations with Iraqi security forces. Under pressure from the United States, Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki of Iraq finally agreed this week to cooperate with the Kurds and to provide air support, and should continue to do so.
That will still leave Mr. Obama with the task of framing a broader strategy that involves Saudi Arabia, the Arab League and the United Nations, just to start.
I left a quick comment on the White House website and its Facebook page encouraging the US to use all of our resources to protect the Christians and Yazidis under attack in Iraq.
A small step on the part of the Vatican today. The Press Office reports:
Alla luce della grave situazione in Iraq, il Santo Padre ha nominato l'Emo.mo Card. Fernando Filoni, Prefetto della Congregazione per l'Evangelizzazione dei popoli, Suo Inviato Personale per esprimere la Sua vicinanza spirituale alle popolazioni che soffrono e portare loro la solidarietà della Chiesa.
In light of the grave situation in Iraq, the Holy Father has named Cardinal Filoni has personal envoy to express his closeness to the suffering peoples and to bring them the solidarity of the Church.
I have written to suggest that the Pope proclaim a Vigil and fast to be held in Saint Peter's Square, perhaps on the eve of his departure for Korea.
US aircraft are bombing ISIS artillery positions near Arbil.
By all means there is a moral obligation to stop these ISIS thugs gangs from their murderous terror and ethnic cleansing agenda. Let's not turn our moral high ground against them into a call to subjugate Muslims.I recall when in Syria, Assad had obliterated a Sunnis village, very few here called that an attempt at genocide of Sunnis.I recall specifically hearing on PBS before it happened and it was apparent that it would happen,pundits on PBS saying that we should just accept that Assad would anniliate that Sunni village.Regarding the Assad regimes targeting of Sunnis, the media and the politicians were saying unabashedly;Muslims killing Muslims; pass the popcorn.Or as Sarah Palin said "Muslims killing Muslims;let Allah sort it out".So if killing of Christians and other minorities and ethnic cleansing is wrong ,that works both ways. And lets not take the legitimate moral imperative to stop the murdering ISIS as a legitimation of the Maliki govermnent which has been oppressing Sunnis by also resorting to murder, torture and imprisonment without due process.Baghdad was, prior to our invasion, a fifty- fifty Sunni/Shia city and the populations were mixed. It was our war there that turned Baghdad into a majority Shia city.How did that happen? We murdered most of the Sunnis of Baghdad with the support of the Kurds and Shias!These events in Iraq and in Syria is what fuels the ISIS fanatics, who believe that the world is at war with Sunni Islam.
That was a different situation Rose. That involved a civil war and it was not at all clear who used the chemical weapons. Both had access and both had committed atrocities in the past. At issue there was which side to pick in the conflict. Recall also that they very opposition to Assad were the same type and affiliates as ISIS. ISIS, right now, is using American made weapons. Whether that is due to theft and confiscation or funnelling of arms to groups associated with them via Libya, we just don't know.
In this situation, you have innocent people literally marched out of their homes. They are completely defenseless and have not done anything to provoke any conflict.They are not part of any political or revolutionary political and military movement. They are being targetted solely because of their religious identity.
And there was actually a long term solution that occurred in Syria. With the Russians and Americans working together, Assad turned over his stockpile of chemical weapons. The concern was that the other side would have access to them but with international observers present, the parties agreed that it was fair.
As far as long term in Iraq, there needs to be more robust diplomatic engagment at the front end so that their institutions are truly representative of the various ethnicities in Iraq. But in order for a political solution to occurr, you require stability and that stability is purchased by a a fair rule of law and a strong military and police force charged with maintaining order. Furthermore that rule of law needs to be consistent with international standards as outlined in the universal declaration of human rights at the UN which guarantees religious freedom. And also the declaration on the rights of the child.
Finally, Sarah Palin.....really......she had her 15 minutes, time for her to exit the stage.....
This is also totally brazen. They are not even denying that they are doing this. They are doing so in broad daylight in complete transparency! There is simply no way that the Arab and Mulsim world can allow this to continue. I bet you see responsible leaders suppporting the US even more vocally now if not joining in the effort. this could be a defning moment for the Muslim world too. They are awaiting their Luther and Vatican II!
The situation in Syria started no differently then in Egypt; peaceful demonstations against the Assad dictatorship.It was met immediately by Assad forces with killing of protestors ,arrests and torture prisons.A week into this I realized that Assad was a militarized brutal regime which would resort to mass murder rather then relinquish its police state . Here in the West no one cared about Assad's tactics. You want to call a militarized dictatorship going up against those who are fed up and rise up against it ,a civil war? I guess it is but that dismisses what was and is happening which is as much ethnic cleansing as what ISIS is doing now.The difference being that Assad's regime has even more military power then ISIS does.And now even the support of the West. The Sunnis of Syria are also innocent men,women and children being targeted by Assad Alawite forces.If peaceful demonstrations, against a military regime is considered a provocation and legitimate grounds for retaliating with bombings and prisons,and murder of men,women and children,then our values are skewed.But yes as a result of our inaction in coming to THEIR rescue, the fanatic ISIS have been empowered.And yes we have an obligation to stop their ethnic cleansing and terror tactics.Notice their teror tactics did not impel us to stop them in Syria.When confined to Syria the cynical malicious response "let allah sort it out" was the prevailing response to both Assad and isis, which stopped Obama from acting on his own red line against Assad engaged in a holocaust of Sunnis. To dismiss the Syria situatioin as a cival war is to deny that the Sunnis of Syria have been and are being targeted for being Sunnis,and have been for like 3 years already.Assad's chemical weapons are the tip of the ice berg here. His regime continues to engage in mass murder of Sunni men ,women and children.They have the right to be protected in Syria as much minorities in ISIS controlled Iraq have the right to be protected.And that is why Sara Palins comments are still revelvant; as the consensus here in the West has been, with few exceptions, that it does not matter how many innocent people are dying in Syria.How many people Assad's regimes kills is not our concern or now even worse;he's doing the right thing in going after ISIS and all Syrian Sunnis are now virtual ISIS themselves. The Sunnis who rose up to topple this brutal dictatorship, if they don't quite deserve to be murdered by Assad, well they provoked it and so it is acceptable that a military dictatorship engages in mass murder of its own people!As long as long as Assad does not go after the Christians and Kurds.
Drew Christiansen, S.J., offers a proposal that merits, I think, serious consideration -- though it does not respond to the pressing need for action now.
Finally, Sarah Palin.....really......she had her 15 minutes, time for her to exit the stage.....
There's a commercial for esurance out this way: "15 minutes has had its 15 minutes."
Sara Palin, Dick Cheney and their ilk have had way too many "15 minutes." So long as they are reported, they will spew their nonsense.
Enough already.
Sara Palin, Dick Cheney and their ilk have had way too many "15 minutes." So long as they are reported, they will spew their nonsense.
Enough already.
Interesting how liberals inadvertantly reveal their true attitudes about freedom of speech.
Asia News is sponsoring a fund raiser to help in this crisis. "Adopt a Christian" is a response to the letter you see in the post.
Does anyone know if they have an effective mechanism to provide help in this instance? I hesitate to give when it's not clear who is going to do what with the funds. There are too many scams in today's world. Anyone have any further info about this?
Caritas Internationalis does not currently enable donations targeting specifically the crisis in Iraq, as far as I can tell. (It may come within a few days!)
In France there is "L'Oeuvre d'Orient", http://www.oeuvre-orient.fr/site-web/lassociation/nos-missions/, to serve the churches of the Middle East, and which enables one to make a donation specifically for Iraq.
I was in a conversation yesterday about the appropriateness of helping the Christians of Iraq.
Some of us were saying: we are Christian, they are Christian, and they are now being persecuted precisely because they are Christian. We owe them our help on those grounds.
Others were saying: helping certain other people more than others because of what they share with us (nationality, race, religion, etc.) is a natural but narrow-minded reaction. One should broaden one's scope and not give priority to Christians. Instead, we should give priority in our help to the victims whose need is most dire: the children, the old, the handicapped, the sick. That's what should matter when choosing where to put one's resources, instead of what religion they are.
I wonder whether that is why the exodus of the Christians of Iraq is treated with relative indifference.
Thank you for the link to L'Oeuvre d'Orient. And thank you for the comment, to which I have a couple of responses.
First, if someone says Christians should show no special solidarity toward other Christians but should instead "give priority in our help to the victims whose need is most dire," the obvious answer is: Who is currently in more need than the Christians who have been chased out of their homes at gun point by ISIS? There are actual crucifixions. At least one person was forced to convert to Islam and then executed anyway. A cool universalism is no warrant for inaction in this case. It is certainly no warrant for indifference.
Second, I question the consistency of that universalism. Do you think the people who took this line in your conversation believe that they have no more responsibility to come to the aid of family members than to help complete strangers? Do you believe they think the French government should cease to provide material support to the poor of France and should instead send its money to poorer people in other parts of the world? After all, most of the poor in France (or in America) are much richer than millions of people in India and Africa. So if Christians become sectarians by favoring other Christians, do the French become nationalists by favoring the French? Or is the principle of "charity starts at home" purely geographical?
My feeling about this kind of universalism is that it is to be commended as a noble, if impractable, ideal if it leads people to do more than they would do otherwise. When it leads people to do less, it should be dismissed as self-serving sophistry.
Matthew, I agree.
Bianchi writes about someone he knows and who was in Qaraqosh: http://www.monasterodibose.it/content/view/5841/114/1/0/lang,en/. It's in Italian, but google translate, for once, has an evocative turn of phrase: "All this until yesterday. Then they, too, must be finished, swallowed up in the river of suffering that is sweeping the Christians of that troubled region."
thank you for the Bianchi reference. Here is another of his sentences that hits close to home:
le urgenze di ciascuno di noi sono altre, dalla crisi economica e occupazionale all'organizzazione delle "meritate" ferie...
each of us has other urgent concerns: from the economic and employment crisis to the planning of our well-deserved holidays...
"Interesting how liberals inadvertantly reveal their true attitudes about freedom of speech."
Said freedom is a two-way street. They can spew and I can opine.
And I'm sure that there is too much money to be made from publishing and broadcasting the rantings and ravings of those in mention to ever shut them off. Once they no longer "draw," they will be history.
The only thing Palin and Cheney have left to keep their names and faces in the news is to be outrageous. Bill Clinton can make more money speaking to the Fireside Girls in one evening than Palin and Cheney can make in 6 months. They are jealous and rely on outrageousness rather than intelligence to sell themselves.
It's interesting that the Chaldean Church in the US, a diaspora community which numbers about 150,000 and is centered mostly in Michigan and California, has absolutely nothing about this issue on their website (Chaldeans on Line). I would have thought they would be actively engaged, even leading the charge in raising awareness and support for the displaced and threatened community to which they are linked so deeply. Perhaps individual church communities are involved, but if so it hasn't raised a web presence.
I happen to know a member of this community, and we've talked about his church. They are a very tight knit community in the US, and they all know each other. Maybe the web is really for strangers, and they are all scrambling to help through private means?
Who is currently in more need than the Christians who have been chased out of their homes at gun point by ISIS?
Perhaps the Palestinian mother and father who this week turned in time to see their child explode. I am assuming the motives that lead to that tragedy were driven by more than concerns over ownership of real estate, perhaps even religion or at least some zealot's misguided perception of it. Or, more likely, the question answers itself as so often occurs when referring to the rhetorical "others".
Aid to the church in need, the foundation that received the letter heading this post, does not do humanitarian work: http://www.acn-intl.org/pg/grants.html?p=EN,11,13,,1,,
On the other hand the Catholic Near East Welfare association does "rush basic supplies for the relief of displaced families". It's a papal agency, and currently Cardinal Dolan is the chair and treasurer. http://www.cnewa.org/home.aspx?ID=26&pagetypeID=12&sitecode=HQ
Catholic Relief Services, together with Caritas, is helping displaced families in Iraq. http://emergencies.crs.org/iraq-crs-caritas-reach-displaced-families/
CARE does not work in Iraq.
Doctors without borders does, but with extreme difficulty: http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/news-stories/field-news/iraq-greatest-medical-needs-hardest-areas-reach "Providing the most basic assistance and medical care is extremely challenging for humanitarian organizations on the ground, given the security situation."
The international rescue committee recently restarted its work in Iraq: http://www.rescue.org/news/irc-restart-humanitarian-aid-iraq-4315
The UN refugees agency appears to have been working primarily with Syrian refugees in the Middle East: http://www.unhcr.org/pages/49e45ade6.html
The Jesuit refugee services do not work in Iraq but serve Iraqi refugees in Syria, Jordan and Turkey: http://en.jrs.net/Regions_Detail?Region=MER
The Red Cross has been working with hospitals in Iraq: http://www.icrc.org/eng/resources/documents/news-release/2014/06-28-iraq-hospitals-assistance.htm
Rita, I am not sure that chaldeansonline.org is anything more than its webmaster's personal project. It doesn't seem to have been updated in some time, has a huge number of dead links, and doesn't seem to cover news.
You can find ample evidence of the Chaldean diaspora's involvement in current events on officially-sponsored websites such as kaldu.org (the St. Peter-the-Apostle Eparchy's website) and helpiraq.org (set up by the St. Thomas-the-Apostle Eparchy to deal with the current situation). The latter website highlights lobbying and fundraising efforts.
Abe Delnore, thank you for those websites. Very helpful. Not knowing the name of the eparchy, I was at a disadvantage. This is more like it.


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To the editor:
Just because our congress people are stupid, doesn't mean we are. I am so severe because they knew through their own politicizing that the sequester would be "stupid."
Golly! It's fortunate that they don't have to depend on those constituents that don't travel, eat or need unaffordable life-saving chemotherapy. In fact, news reports say that the VA has suspended some cancer chemotherapy because of sequester effects.
Just like our leaders who aren't directly affected, I am not affected so not too worried. Maybe, if they were affected by such things, they would gather around the bond fire, hold hands and pass a bill in two days!
It is so gratifying to know that our elected leaders are showing their true colors and practicing self convenience at the cost of the rest of us.
You may not be affected by what is going on, but rest assured there is someone out there that is – and it ain't traveling back and forth to raise campaign contributions for their upcoming 2014 elections.
Location, ST | website.com


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I'm using the
acronyms package and I wonder if there's an easy way of marking acronyms as such by putting an arrow in front of them?
It's a somehow unusual request. I assume that the arrow should appear between the full name and the short form of the acronym when using the
Disclaimer: I am not sure that the above code will behave as expected with all the variations of commands provided by the
EDIT: the code below redefines


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Honey Lunch Box Note
Your kids will love finding this sweet lunch box note hidden in their lunch! You can also design your own notes with our fun tool.
Grade Levels: K - 4
To view this printable you need Adobe Acrobat Reader. Click to download Acrobat Reader - it's free!


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Please Note: By clicking a link to any resource listed on this page, you will be leaving this site.
It's My Life | PBS Kids GO!http://pbskids.org/itsmylife/A safe, fun site for kids covering many topics, from handling divorce and bullies to learning about the dangers of drugs, alcohol, and smoking - plus lots more.
KidsPeacehttp://www.kidspeace.orgThis site is dedicated to helping kids overcome crisis.
National Mental Health Association (NMHA)http://www.nmha.orgNMHA works to improve the mental health of all Americans through advocacy, education, research, and service.
BAM! Body and Mindhttp://www.cdc.gov/bam/This CDC website is designed for 9- to 13-year-olds and addresses health, nutrition, fitness, and stress. It also offers games for kids.
Note: All information is for educational purposes only. For specific medical advice, diagnoses, and treatment, consult your doctor.
© 1995-
Images provided by iStock, Getty Images, Corbis, Veer, Science Photo Library, Science Source Images, Shutterstock, and Clipart.com
For a full list of Rady Children's Programs and Services, click here or call Rady Children's Customer Service and Referral Center at 1-800-788-9029 for more information.


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I've discovered this glitch that's happened to me and my brother before. Your character only takes 1 step at a time while walking, no matter where you click. Even when I press "fight", I end up having to click in the monster's vicinity several times. And what's worse about this glitch is that it always shows you as having full health. I've died THRICE today because I spend a few hundred bucks at the Healer's, only to find that I have 50 health starting a battle. This is VERY frustrating as I've died to a bunch of level 30 bandits. If the dev sees this, could you please take the most recent 3 deaths of "Herpaderp"?
[The Pride of Taern] An EXTREMELY annoying glitch.
8 posts


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Life's better on top. Feeling better, meeting challenges and exploring the world are things we all enjoy. The Peak Fitness Challenge is
designed to help you get to the top... of Texas and other peaks in your life.
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The 6 Most Terrifying Public Restrooms in the World
#3. New York's Public Bathrooms That Automatically Open After 15 Minutes, Whether You're Done or Not
"Now I need to poop. Everyone clear out."
Look, public bathrooms are horrifying. To even get to the seat, you have to wade through a lake of mystery liquid that, by the laws of logistical probability, very likely isn't water. And when you arrive, you find that the last person to use it had worse aim than a villain's henchman in a James Bond movie. If only we had the technology to build a public bathroom that cleaned itself after the last terrible human being defiled it. Well, now we do -- a number of high-tech self-cleaning toilets have opened in New York, complete with a prestigious toilet-paper-cutting ceremony. We wish that was a joke we made there, but it really happened. And these things serve only to prove the old adage that you should be careful what you wish for.
First of all, you have to pay a quarter to use them, which is an inconvenience, but understandable. But the truly horrifying part is that you only get 15 minutes to do your business. Tough luck if you're struggling with that last burrito. An alarm goes off when there are only three minutes left, warning you that, by God, those doors are opening whether you're done or not. If you do manage to finish, you get a generous three strips of toilet paper to clean yourself up.
You don't want to know how many times they've had to replace that poster.
After you leave, the bathroom turns into a self-cleaning robot befitting Skynet. Once the doors close, an arm comes down, cleans the toilet seat and blows it dry while high-powered jets spray seven gallons of water across the floor.
The bathroom floor has both a maximum and minimum weight sensor, both so the timer doesn't start until you are inside and so the cleaning process doesn't start and scald you to death with boiling water before you exit. There's something a little disquieting about the fact that you're only one malfunction away from scalding water in the face at any given moment.
"I knew I should've held it."
This comes after Seattle removed five similar toilets that it spent $5 million on after they became filthy and full of drug abusers and prostitutes. As it turns out, people still found a way to leave a mess in self-cleaning toilets, and the city finally decided to remove them when it learned that even the homeless people who went in there to smoke crack refused to use them due to how filthy they were. This is why we can't have nice things, Seattle.
#2. London's Pop-Up Urinals
Imagine this accompanied by "Ride of the Valkyries."
For a while, the British have been trying to brainstorm ways of combating the age-old problem of bar districts -- drunk dudes shambling outside and pissing all over the damn place. The only effective solution is more toilets, but lining the streets with urinals doesn't make the city particularly attractive during the day.
The solution they've come up with? Pop-up toilets! The city of London installed "telescopic urinals" that remain invisible under the ground during the day, but slide out after the sun goes down to allow London's night life no excuse for peeing in a gutter. Wait, London again? Do they actually intend to lead the world in the industry of bizarre toilets?
More like Doctor Loo, right, Internet?
Of course, if you're strolling around London at dusk, you might want to keep a close eye on where you're walking, just in case one of those things that you thought was a manhole cover suddenly destroys your shins as it slowly emerges from the middle of the sidewalk.
But that's not the most worrying thing about it. What they don't mention is whether they take care to check these things for sleeping drunks before they put them back in the morning. The only thing worse than waking up with a horrible hangover is waking up with one under the ground.
Or mistaking a urinal for a drinking fountain.
#1. The Toilet With a 30-Story Drop
Felix is a high-end restaurant in Hong Kong, located in the upper floors of the Peninsula Hotel. Most of the exterior wall is a long, sweeping window that gives the restaurant an awesome view of the city.
"Boy, I wish there was a way my penis could experience this view!"
That's pretty damn cool, until you need to go to the bathroom, and you realize that the view doesn't stop at the bar.
It features the world's only "Surprise Bidet."
For those of you who can't tell, this is a men's room, and those black things in the back are the urinals, which stand directly against a 30-story drop to the pavement below. If you're afraid of heights, you'll probably want to pee with your eyes closed.
The view is hailed as the best in Hong Kong, and that may be true, but we're not sure that the best time to experience it is while we're trying to focus on evacuating our bladders. Though it does award you the experience of feeling as though you're pissing on downtown Hong Kong.
Of course, you have no way of knowing that there isn't someone in one of those nearby buildings with a pair of binoculars seeking their own awesome view. (We're talking about your dick.)
Special thanks to Jack Hall, R. Barr, Evan V. Symon and Jim Avery for each providing a small bit of assistance or encouragement that helped make this article possible. For more from Kier, check out his blog or follow him on Twitter.
For more things about the world that should scare you, check out The 25 Most Disturbing Sex Toys and The 30 Most Unsettling German Halloween Costumes.


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When it comes to visual arts facilities, Bennington pretty much has it all. Among the creative spaces in the 120,000-square-foot Visual and Performing Arts Center (VAPA) are labs and studios for ceramics, architecture, woodworking, drawing, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture, digital arts, and more. The building is open to students 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
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Bennington's visual arts faculty is composed of photographers, sculptors, painters, architects, ceramicists, printmakers, and digital artists whose pioneering work has appeared in some of the most prestigious museums, galleries, and art publications in the world. They are keen to use their experience as professionals to inform and expand their work in the classroom.
Bennington was the first college in the nation to include the visual and performing arts as an equal partner in the liberal arts curriculum. In the 1940s, 50s, and 60s, renowned painters and sculptors gathered on its campus to redefine the visual arts. Among them was alumna Helen Frankenthaler '49, who became one of the most celebrated abstract painters in American history.
Courses | Faculty
As you move from introductory to advanced courses in any of the visual arts at Bennington, you develop not only your technique, but your own methods of investigation, conceptual thinking, and understanding of what it means to be a creative practitioner. You are encouraged to make connections between different areas of the visual arts and the liberal arts. A distinctive element is the review process: an ongoing critique by a diverse group of faculty from the visual arts, all active professionals in their field. Art history is interwoven into most of the studio courses, in addition to classes dedicated to specific art history themes and periods.
Each winter, you intern with a museum, gallery, artist, or any other job that complements your studies through Field Work Term, the annual seven-week internship period.
All visual arts classes are taught in the Visual and Performing Arts Center (VAPA), a 150,000+ square-foot creative complex connected by wood decks, balconies, and walkways. VAPA is open 24 hours a day, and students can be found there at all hours—creating new work in their studios, gathering for critiques, collaborating.


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ANDERSON, S.C. – With Winter Storm Pax continuing to wreak havoc throughout the Carolinas, the Anderson University women's and men's basketball games against the Mars Hill Lions have been moved to Monday, February 17, with the games slated for 6 p.m. and 8 pm., respectively, at the Abney Athletic Center.
Due to the inclement weather throughout the area, every South Atlantic Conference contest originally scheduled for Wednesday night has now been moved to Monday.
Both Trojan teams are slated to be back in action at home on Saturday, February 15, as they welcome Catawba to the Abney Center for a 2 p.m. tip-off.


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We've heard of some couples taking a long time to get pregnant, from the time when they decide to start. We're wondering what we can do to make the process faster.
My wife is a doctor and we spent some time planning pregnancy and making sure we had the best chances. We were surrounded by people who had been trying for a long time with no success and we asked them - in intimate detail - about their health, lifestyles, times and dates of lovemaking, family history, etc. We compiled all the evidence and built a plan. It revolves around capitalising on the correct timing, maximising your health and fertility, and a little bit of technique.
Here's a synopsis:
Get the correct timing
Maximise your health
My wife has given this plan (a more detailed version) to around 20 couples now and all have conceived within 6 months.
I see lots of well-intended medical advice here, but I would argue: forget about all of it and just relax. I know several parents who arguably tried everything, yet failed and adopted kids. Guess what happens after the adoption went through? That's right: they got pregnant.
Keeping calendar notes, adjusting your health, and thinking about the whole thing just way too much will be counter-productive, not helpful. Just relax, for starters; enjoy sex. Give this method a try for a year. If that doesn't work out, you can still go back to the medical advice routine and see what this does to you. Good luck!
The best advice I can give? Don't try.
Let me explain. Stress and conception are not compatible. The scheduling, the worrying about whether she will get pregnant this month so the due date will coincide or not coincide with family members' birthdays, the constant testing and charting, the exceitement that everything says she's ovulating, the automatic feel of lovemaking... all of that just reduces your chances, because the excitement produces higher blood pressure and an increased immune response, both of which are barriers to conception and implantation.
Relax. Take a deep breath. Ask God to grant you the serenity to accept the things you cannot change... and then enjoy tearing up the sheets (or the couch cushions or the kitchen counter if you're trying for your first little one) whenever you feel like it.
I speak from experience here. My wife and I, after moving into a new rental townhome with plenty of space to start a family, decided to give it a try. We tried for several months, and in the process we bought our first house. Nothing. We eventually gave up for a while, and she got interested in getting her tonsils out. The day before the procedure, she goes in for her pre-surgery labs... and they send her home because she's pregnant. I found the NuvaRing she was supposed to be using for that month in the refrigerator; it had slipped her mind. Our little one is now a month old, the most perfect little girl in history, and she definitely didn't happen by charting mucus consistency and basal thermometer temperatures.
One thing that JBR surprisingly doesn't mention is this, based on personal experience: If it doesn't happen for several months despite best efforts, then it might be a medical situation. We spent many frustrating months trying without success before questioning the biological machinery.
Dad should have his sperm count/quality tested -- there's not much more he can do for his part.
Mom should have her ovulation tested -- this can be many things but I guess it mostly boils down to having just the right levels of the right hormones at the right time. This is staggeringly complex and will often not solve itself automatically, so medication is a must, sometimes long-term. A set of blood tests in the course of the ovulation cycle will be in place.
However, medication is a treatment and not something couples should do preemptively -- first wait and see if nature works out for you.
Just relax.
Using fertility monitors can help in achieving pregnancy. However, I wouldn't use one unless you are experiencing difficulties.
Know your ovulation date. I have an android phone and there is actually an application that helps track your monthly and then estimates the ovulation also.
Avoid stress and caffeine Easier said then done.
If a woman is overweight it is recommended she lose some. My friend lost 50lbs and it worked.
Having sex to often when you are trying lowers the sperm count and can make it harder. So trying a day or 2 before and a day or 2 after your ovulation date. Sperm can live for 48-72 hours inside the woman.
I am sure there are more these are the few I remember from what I read when we decided to try for our second.
Calculating ovulation by the days of your cycle will work reasonably well if the mom-to-be has a regular cycle. If she has an irregular cycle, then she should start tracking her basal body temperature to find out when she is actually ovulating. This website (http://www.fertilityfriend.com/) will give you a lot of great information about finding out when she is actually ovulating instead of just when she "should be" ovulating. If the cycles are normal, then this won't be much of an isssue.
Other good advice that has already been mentioned: Stop birth control pills a few months before you're officially trying to give her body time to get back on track. (Start tracking cycles during this time.) Work on your weight, and exercise. Quit smoking. Keep a calendar tracking everything, sex, temps, periods, pregnancy tests. (If everything goes great, this is excessive, but if you have problems, it helps to have all this information tracked for several cycles when seeking medical help.)
When we decided it would be a good idea to have kids, we did lots of reading, and other research. The standard things turned up, all listed by JBRWilkinson.
Of all the books we read, the one unexpected and striking thing turned up in a book by Robert Winston, which I believe was in Getting Pregnant: A Guide to Infertility, but as it was a borrowed book I can't go back and verify. We knew Winston as a TV presenter, but it turns out he was a pioneering researcher in the IVF field, who related fascinating stories about the battle to increase the viability rate of embryos (like noticing a sudden drop in viability, and tracing the cause back to repainting of the hospital - in another wing!). But I digress.
The unexpected thing was a graph. It plotted on one axis how often the couple had sex in a month; on the other axis was how long it took them to conceive. It was dramatic, the relationship was clear: lots of sex and you get babies quickly. The discussion accompanying the graph said that timing ovulation cycles wasn't anywhere near as helpful as frequent copulation. I'm sure you're insightful enough to determine the various contributing factors to that increased success rate.
That sounded great, and at first, it was - but it quickly became like a death-march. Baby-making sex is no fun. Based on my experience and the graph, my suggestion to increase your chances of conceiving is: make sex more fun. When sex is more fun, you'll have more and get a baby quicker.
Try to remember that unlike the data from which Winston's graph was derived, my anecdote is not data, but we did conceive immediately - following all of JBRWilkinson's points (excluding the timing-related ones), and going on our death-march. We'd also decided that no kids wasn't going to be a deal-breaker, so we weren't emotionally vested in falling pregnant.
You can improve your chances of getting pregnant, by tracking your ovulation. If you will have intercourse within your ovulation period, you can improve your chances of getting pregnant. I included herewith an article on how you can calculate ovulation, to help you determine when is your fertile period. The process includes using an ovulation calculator, an ovulation kit and many others. You can read the article for the full details. Ezine Article: How to Calculate Your Ovulation?
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Fairly simple question that Im sure you will laugh at me for.
I have two rectangles playerRect and wall.
I have an if statement with the condition being ..
if (CGRectIntersectsRect(playerRect,wall)) {
//handle collision here
The problem I'm having is working out which side actually hit the wall rectangle.
I need to know because then I stop te player from moving depending on which side hit.
Thanks for any help


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BOWERSTON - In a high school football game that can be considered as highly unique, host Conotton Valley scored with 1:52 left in the game to beat visiting Toronto, 35-32, Saturday afternoon.
The referees threw 39 flags and 33 of those were accepted as penalties toaling 284 yards.
In addition, the referees brought both teams to the middle of the field during the third quarter and had all the players shake hands, before returning them to the sidelines and resuming the game.
In addition, only one Red Knights player had positive yards running the ball. There were 10 combined turnovers and 763 yards of offense.
Toronto fell to 3-5 and hosts Hundred at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
Conotton Valley grabbed that lead late in the fourth quarter thanks to a 25-yard pass from Colton Cottis to Brandon Bailey.
It came 48 seconds after freshman Blaze Glenn teamed up with brother Chez Glenn for a 95-yard score.
The Red Knights scored 17 points in the second quarter on a 13-yard run by Blaze Glenn, a 2-yard run by Chez Glenn and a 21-yard field goal by Joey Chadwick.
Blaze Glenn hooked up with Charles Ross III on a 66-yard strike in the third period.
Glenn completed 13 of 24 for 306 yards, two scores and two picks. Chez Glenn caught five passes for 172 yards and the six-pointer.
Blaze Glenn ran the ball 15 times for 70 yards and was the only Toronto runner with positive yards as four other runners combined for 15 carries for negative-27 yards.
Conotton Valley finished with 298 yards on the ground on 52 attempts.


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The recommended version of Slackware is 13.37
-current support has been dropped
-There are now 64-bit packages as well as 32-bit; choose your preference
Update: New packages available! as per 31-05-2012: Kdenlive 0.9.2 and MLT 0.7.8
Major changes have been made: all the packages for the patent-free software are provided as well as scripts to build the patented software.
Everything has been built as shared library, which is notable in the amount of packages to support ffmpeg (which was built statically at first)
New per May 31st 2012:
- kdenlive 0.9.2
- ffmpeg and dependencies updated
Built for Slackware 13.37, which is the supported platform (although I think it should provide no issues on Slackware 13.1)
Please leave comments in the forums, so everyone can see the status.


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Recently a discussion came up amongst friends. Some of us like to record our gameplay and put it up in YouTube, own3D, etc.
Problem is, some of us are getting copyright strikes / copyright claims, on audio as well as video.
Bear in mind, the videos getting the claims and strikes are not manipulated in any way, except resized to 1080p or 720p. No external music or sound, no external video has been added.
So, what do I pay for when I dish out 60 bucks for a game? Don't I "own" the content I paid for?
Or have I only paid for the service, i.e. the ability to be able to play the game and only that?
I'm not interested how YouTube or own3D or sites like that and their copyright system suck. That's not the issue here.


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Harley Quinn's Greatest Moments from "Batman: The Animated Series"
TV, Comic Books
In 1987, writer Christopher Hinz released Liege-Killer, the first novel in his "Paratwa Trilogy," although longtime comics readers may remember him for his work on the mid-'90s DC Comics/Helix series Gemini Blood. Now, more than 25 years later, Hinz has adapted Liege-Killer for comics, collaborating with artist Jon Proctor on the new graphic novel Binary, published by Ilfeld Comics.
To learn more about the project, I asked Proctor a handful of questions about Binary and working with Hinz.
Tim O'Shea: What was it about Christopher Hinz's script that attracted you to Binary?
Jon Proctor: Binary is a graphic novel adaptation of Christopher's novel Liege-Killer, which was first published in 1987. It went on to win the Compton Crook Award for Best First Novel and earned a nomination for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. It had a cult following for years, and even though I was unaware of the original novel I was familiar with a nine-issue miniseries Christopher did for DC comics short-lived, science fiction and science fantasy imprint called Helix. The comic, titled Gemini Blood, had similar themes to the Binary/Liege-Killer universe. Incidentally, it was also drawn by Tommy Lee Edwards, and I've always been a huge fan of his artwork. Stuart Moore edited the Helix mini, and he and I have been partners in crime for years. He thought I might be a good fit so he approached me with the idea for Binary. Committing to a 125-page full-color book where the entire production sits squarely on my shoulders was a little nerve-wracking, but the script hooked me on the first page. In other words, Christopher is a really talented writer! The science fiction aspect was one thing that attracted me to it but within the layering of the characters was something different and fascinating. For one thing, the idea that the main villain in the book consists of two assassins that share a soul was really something I thought would be great fun as well as a visual challenge to pull off, and it was! The script was just really fresh and the world it portrayed was enormous. I did a few pages as a try out for Christopher and our producer Etan Ilfeld, and thankfully they chose me to do the book.


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Passing the buck: a foreign policy Update
Stephen Walt is calling Barak Obama a buck passer when it comes to foreign policy. Is this a criticism in a country where presidents are supposed to announce "the buck stops here!" or is it, as Walt argues, a sound policy that has been undermined by what he consider "self-inflicted wounds" in Afghanistan and Iraq?Walt writes: "[Obama] is a buck passer. And despite my objections to some of what he has done, I think this approach reveals both a sound grasp of realpolitik and an appreciation of America's highly favorable geopolitical position."He goes on, "the greatest risk we face as a nation are self-inflicted wounds like the Iraq and Afghan wars or the long-term decline arising from a failue to invest wisely here at home. Recognizing these realities, Obama has reacted slowly and in a measured way to most international events. He takes his time, remains calm, and prefers to pass the buck to others whose interests are more directly affected. Unrepentant neocons and liberal imperialists scorn this approach, because they never lose their enthusiasm for new and costly crusades, but most Americans don't seem to mind. Why? Because they recognize what the foreign policy establishment can't admit: What happens in Syria, Mali, most of Central Asia, and even the Korean peninsula just doesn't matter that much to the United States, and the outcome in most of these places won't make Americans poorer or less safe unless Washington does something stupid (like intervening with military force)." Read it here.So what do you unrepentant neocons and liberal imperialists think?UPDATE: Apropos of a discussion about Libya in the comments below, take a look at the David Brooks column today in the NYTimes. In defending Victoria Nuland, State Dept. spokesperson, in the Benghazi matter, Brooks points out how much this was a CIA operation for which the State Dept. is taking the hit. Interesting, if true.
About the Author
Margaret O'Brien Steinfels, a former editor of Commonweal, writes frequently in these pages and blogs at dotCommonweal.
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Best article on all-round foreign policy I've read in years. Thanks, Ms. S.I agree that the drone policy's morality needs to be thought through, and the policy definitely needs some limitations. But war is not what it used to be, and the whole world needs to recognize that fact.
Margaret - would Libya, in which we 'led from behind' or some such, be consonant with this thesis?
@Jim Pauwels - Margaret can speak for herself, but it seems to me that it would. As I recall, France had the most immediate self-interest (among Western powers) at stake. The French government feared a humanitarian disaster leading to tens of thousands of Libyans fleeing across the Mediterranean to ask for asylum in France.From a distance it sure looked like President Obama said (not in so many words), "If it's that important to you, then you put "boots on the ground". As your ally we'll provide support (air force, logistics, CIA, etc.)."
Obama is not an isolationist nor is he a libertarian a la Ron Paul. As far as not being involved, or Obama not being engaged, this is a half truth. For example, there have been more drone strikes used in the "war on terror" than before. Commonweal commented on this earlier. There have also been clandestine operations. I read that part of what occurred in Benghazi was that the US consulate in Benghazi was arranging, through Libya, arms to be transferred from the military installation in Libya, through intermediaries, to the Syrian resistance. This by the way, if anyone is at all interested, is illegal and is what landed Reagan in hot water in the entire Iran-Contra affair.That aside, I am more on the Ron Paul side of the divide when it comes to US involvement in foreign affairs. I guess that makes me a crypto-libertarian. I rarely, if ever, hear Democrats talking this way.
"Led from behind?" It would seem so if we fully know yet how all of that worked. France and England were in the forefront of wanting action but I suspect it was the U.S. that lent most of the force--airplanes for no-fly zones, ships for taking foreigners to safety etc. And as we see in the current brouhaha in Congress over the Benghazi affair, the State Department (covering I think for the CIA) played an active role in delivering arms and equipment to the rebels and then afterward tried to negotiate stabilization, which is what I think Ambassador Christopher Stevens was doing when he was killed. But the lesson of Libya is being played out in Syria and so I take it that the lesson learned is lie low, or as Walt says, Passing the buck to others, mostly in this case the Gulf nations plus Jordan and Turkey. For the Syrian opposition, I would speculate, the lesson learned from Libya was start the fight, advertize the atrocities, and the rest of the world will come to your rescue. Hasn't happened. I think Obama's caution should prove salutary to future revolutionists, but he may pay a high price in attacks from the like of McCain, Graham and, as Walt writes, "unrepentant neocons and liberal imperialists."
Every time I hear someone say Obama has failed to "provide leadership" in Libya or Syria or Mali or wherever, I'm grateful for his leadership. Admitting that his drone dependency is the Achilles heel of his low-cost foreign policy, it nevertheless remains true that little has cost more American blood and treasure than the presidential quest for legacy through world leadership. Enough. Often I think Obama's most important legacy will not be healthcare or the drawdown in Iraq, finally putting some boundaries on the imperial presidency. As much in his dealings with Congress as in foreign policy questions he has abandoned the president-as-Caesar model that says we must demand that the president should lead in the White House, on Capitol Hill, and in every nook of the globe. I suppose this is a terrible disappointment to neocons and Wilsonians. But we've seen where their way leads.
Obama's foreign policy must be understood through the lens of Niebuhr and the inherited overreach and alienation. Niebuhr ,not simply in the need to recognize and confront evil but in also recognizing the limits of American power
Here's some speculation on my part. Vietnam and post-Vietnam, 1965-1980, were a time of serious reflection on foreign policy and on U.S. practices, especially the CIA in Latin America primarily, but elsewhere as well. Lessons learned included military over-reach, political lies, and intelligence rearrangements to suit military and political needs. Some reforms were enacted (the Church Committee, 1975) and the CIA in particular was reined in. Those lessons were repudiated by Reagan and Bush II; Clinton hesitated over Bosnia perhaps because he remembered those lessons. Now we have a president who came of age in the 70-80s (he was born in 1961). Perhaps he remembers discussion about those lessons especially as an undergrad. Add to that a special awareness that African-Americans were disproportionately killed and maimed in Vietnam. The Obamas have both made a distinct out reach to veterans and their families. When members of both parties remembered those lessons, through the Carter years, the U.S. had more modest foreign policy goals. The Reagan Administration stoked the anti-Communist fires and the Republican forgot those lessons. In time, the Democrats responded to Republican charges that they were weak on defense and forgot the lessons as well. Okay, wild speculation!
A supplement to your wild speculation:The 60s and 70s saw the rise of the Third World. We look back and see the conflict between the 1 st and 2nd world, the West and the Soviets, or even the US and the Soviets, with the 3rd world as a battleground for those 2. But in Africa, Asia and Latin America, the issue was colonialism and imperialism. That is the context for "leading from behind" rather than imposing our policies by decree.Even wilder!
I think Stephen Walt is onto something meaningful with his "buck passer" tag to describe Obama in his approach to foreign policy. This president has wisely chosen to pass on hasty commitments of new legions of American boots on the ground-style interventions in the cases of Libya, Iran and Syria. This approach has demonstrated welcome restraint without appreciable apparent damage so far to national security, especially following close upon Bush's headlong rushes into battle accompanied with merely token troop/financial commitments from allies, sending sizeable numbers of our troops and treasure straight into the quicksands of multiyear quagmires. These precipitous campaigns have ultimately mostly served to drain the US of blood, treasure and international respect without bringing appreciable improvements in living condition or other mission objectives to benefit the Iraqis or Afghans, the folks we allegedly rushed across the globe to help. What folly! As for the cheapskate connotation of "buck passing," I say that it's about time that the US insist that other allied nations bear their fair proportionate shares of the various burdens of policing international crises.
On the buck passing theme: Bracket the successful U.S./Nato invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 to get Al Qaeda and don't bracket our useless occupation of the country since: Why isn't Afghanistan a bigger issue for Iran, Pakistan, China, and all of the other Stans than for us and for NATO?
Applying Occam's razor, my sense is Obama's shift is that it has less to do with ideology and vision than it does for pragmatic analysis of capacity and cost. The US literally cannot afford the military industrial complex any more. That is the simplest, and therefore, probably truest explanation.
It seems to me that whichever party is in power at the moment - Democrats or Republicans - receive dinero from the military-industrial complex. Until the Dems took control of the senate in 2006, they hollered routinely hollered on about Iraq and no-bid contracts. Once they got hold of the reins, they went silent.Gitmo is still trundling along and president Obama has ordered more drone strikes than Bush dreamed of. Indeed, those in power now are busily setting about setting the stage for drones hovering all over the USA. Drone salesmen (and eventually, drone contractors and drone training schools) no doubt are dreaming of (banking on) incredible profits.As a Republican, I tend towards isolationism, or at least on trying to keep our focus on our own hemisphere. The thing is some party ought to put America first, and let places like Syria resolve their own problems.


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In Maoz Tzur we say:
רב בניו וקנייניו,
על העץ תלית
His many sons and his possessions,
You hung on a tree
Were Haman's possessions really hung on a tree?
In Maoz Tzur we say:
Were Haman's possessions really hung on a tree?
It's amazing what you can find on Hebrewbooks!...
In Sifsei Chachamim, by R' Avraham Abba Hertzel (Bratislava, 1899), he says that this is based on the Gemara's statement (Megillah 15b, top) that "that wicked man had all of his treasures engraved on his chest" (evidently meaning that he wore a medallion, or something similar, that had all of his possessions depicted or listed on it). Presumably he would have worn this to the two feasts to which Esther invited him, and since he was taken directly from the second one to be hanged, then that medallion - "all his treasures" in microcosm - was hanging there on the gallows with him.
The translations I have seen translate it differently, and effectively elide the vav; either קניניו refers to the rest of Haman's household, or to the fact that his sons were his dearest possessions.
From Koren/Sacks:
From Artscroll:
From Rödelheim/Bamberger:
which means: "His multitude of sons, his dear treasure, were hung on his own gallows."
From Rödelheim/Wilhelm:
which means: "His most precious property, his many sons, You let hang on the gallows."
At the 2014 International Bible Contest for Adults (חידון התנ"ך הבינלאומי למבוגרים תשע"ה) televised finals1, celebrated grammarian2 Dr. Avshalom Kor (אבשלום קור) posed this question among a series of short vignettes about "Ma'oz Tzur" that he presented while the next contestant was getting into place. He answered that the 'ו' preceding "his possessions" is an example of a "ו' שמסבירה" - a "vav that explains." So, this 'ו' is more of a dash than an "and."
Dr. Kor provided, as a Scriptural example of this construct, Shmuel I 28:3, which says, of Shmuel:
The 'וּ' here doesn't mean that they buried him twice, in Ramah and in his own city, but that they buried him in Ramah, which was his own city.3
Similarly, here, the song says that they hung up Haman's sons, who were his possessions, not as well as his possessions. This explains the translation choices of siddurim documented in Yosef's answer.
1. In which one Alexander Heppenheimer, 42, of Crown Heights, took second place.
2. Yes, according to Wikipedia, Israel has such a thing: "עקב קנאותו לשפה העברית וסלידתו משגיאות כתיב וטעויות דקדוקיות בדיבור הפך שמו לשם נרדף ליודע השפה העברית והלצות רבות על הדקדוק בעברית נקשרו בשמו."
3. It appears that this interpretation could be consistent with that of Metzudat David, but not that of Rashi.
Perhaps you can break it up like this (M'layl)- you wiped out the enemy of his name (including) his many children and possessions, you hung him on a tree.
In Riv'vos Efrayim (volume 8 number 267), Rabbi Efrayim Greenblatt suggests that it may refer to Haman's slaves. (He also refers the reader to Or L'avraham on Rus, by Rabbi Avraham Gurewitz (spelling?), page 98; but I don't have a copy.)