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Post by Séamus on Feb 16, 2020 8:24:38 GMT
"St Phillip Neri my glorious advocate teach me to look at all I see around me after thy pattern as the creatures of God. Let me never forget that the same God who made me made the whole world and all men and animals that live in it. Gain me the grace to love all God's works for God's sake and all men for the sake of my Lord and Saviour who has redeemed them by the Cross" St John Henry Newman
Not a few people have questioned the intellectual honesty of climate activists who are willing to cause minor havoc in cities in response to the consumerism of western nations but seem largely unwilling to strike a lance with the most polluted and polluting of nations (China,India,perhaps Russia). And not without reason do Extinction Rebellion and the likes avoid this. I can't see these governments taking kindly to a how-dare-you invasion via solar-powered yacht. For all the Left's criticism of Trump they have to at least admit that activist visitors to the country he's governing, however loopy,leave America alive and free.
I've,however,only noticed one comment concerning the discrepancy between the reputedly greatest actor of last year using an award speech to question dairy-farm practises and the reality of animal abuse in the Wuhan market,reportedly the origin of the much-hyped coronavirus. I'd be unhappy to see any unethical goings-on in the production of milk,sceptical as one would be about a commentary coming from a celebrity with an unorthodox upbringing,raised vegan from age three, but it all pales in the light of rare,smuggled and probably drugged creatures in dirty cages being cooked in Wuhan and is it not fair to ask where the Peta and other much-travelled activists are?
I may agree with some of what these organisations say,for example concerning the usage of furs- in the modern age that is,no one suggests that hunting using pre-industrial methods was unethical. Even then, three animals commonly killed for skins(foxes,camels and rabbits)are invasive in Australia and are usually culled for environmental purposes,which shows the constant need for using the brain when dealing with situations of any sort.
The talk of bats as the genesis of corona comes,ironically,as an article was published about Bishop John Arnold of Salford who is trying to do the right thing by breeding them in the 'Laudato Sí Memorial Forest' planted in his palace grounds. The belfries of Manchester are obviously deemed all the poorer without them. Another one HG Wells got wrong- instead of England's church towers being equipped with sirens to warn parishioners of the approach of giant creatures we,a century into the modern age,have this.
"'This horse loves me,let him too mourn my departure. The Creator had revealed to him what he had hidden from thee,a man endowed with reason' (St Columba) caressed the animal and gave him a parting benediction" [montalembert,monks of the west]
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Post by cato on Feb 23, 2020 20:54:59 GMT
I have lived through several virus scare stories to be panicking over the Corona virus but I think it may be a mistake to be complacent either. We can take sucessful quarantine measures and scientific research and treatment for granted. In contrast to our ancestors we can identify and combat potential plagues much more efficiently saving countless lives.
On the negative side global air travel makes the potential of rapid disease spread more likely. One theory doing the rounds is that the virus is an accidently released Chinese biological weapon. I think this is unlikely given the relatively low mortality rate. Chinese neo-colonialism in Africa has largely been ignored by our media but could lead to disastrous levels of death and panic given the poor levels of health care in Africa. It could also lead to a new wave of emigration to Europe which will need to resort to drastic methods to prevent an influx.
Rod Dreher has carried a couple of almost apocalyptical posts recently based on a Chinese source. A few facts are clear. Much of our medical supplies including face masks are made in .... China. Many cities are in lock down affecting industries and the wider Chinese economy. This will have a knock on effect in the wider world. Dreher also mentions serious human rights abuses by Chinese security forces. If all this were not enough China is now also facing a Locust invasion which is destroying swathes of crops. Read the posts to see how big the potential problem may get.
Our media is focusing on a handful of western deaths . The much more frightening scenario has been ignored so far.
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Post by Séamus on Feb 24, 2020 7:42:16 GMT
Two countries,Singapore and Hong Kong, have reportedly suspended Mass due to corona. I heard that earlier directives to distribute Communion on the hand ONLY had caused the traditional masses in Singapore to refrain from people's Holy Communion at all. As one priest remarked,the rest of Singapore seems to be functioning pretty normally.
The Dean of Perth's cathedral simply asked parishioners to consider hand reception only (and, to be fair,not to receive from the chalice) -but what about that most contagion-prone and unnecessary part of mass,the sign of peace?
The hypothesis that the scales of the pangolin (an increasingly rare animal that rarely breeds or even survives in captivity) are an intermediate carrier of the virus sheds further spotlight on the illegal animal trade and also how rarely the virtue signallers are seen where they're most needed.
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Post by cato on Feb 24, 2020 13:53:55 GMT
Two countries,Singapore and Hong Kong, have reportedly suspended Mass due to corona. I heard that earlier directives to distribute Communion on the hand ONLY had caused the traditional masses in Singapore to refrain from people's Holy Communion at all. As one priest remarked,the rest of Singapore seems to be functioning pretty normally. The Dean of Perth's cathedral simply asked parishioners to consider hand reception only (and, to be fair,not to receive from the chalice) -but what about that most contagion-prone and unnecessary part of mass,the sign of peace? The hypothesis that the scales of the pangolin (an increasingly rare animal that rarely breeds or even survives in captivity) are an intermediate carrier of the virus sheds further spotlight on the illegal animal trade and also how rarely the virtue signallers are seen where they're most needed. Imagine the hysteria if the virus had come from the USA or horror of horrors Israel! The self hating western chatterarti give the vile Chinese regime a get out of the gulag free card no matter what horrors it gets up to. I suspect future generations will be appalled by this callous disregard for Asians. Orientalism is alive and well in 2020. There are also diabolical gloating comments on Twitter from anti Semitic trolls rejoicing at the first cases of the Corona virus in Israel. Hitler's disciples continue their nastiness from their laptops. |
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Post by Séamus on Feb 26, 2020 23:25:06 GMT
Two countries,Singapore and Hong Kong, have reportedly suspended Mass due to corona..etc.. in 2020. There are also diabolical gloating comments on Twitter from anti Semitic trolls rejoicing at the first cases of the Corona virus in Israel. Hitler's disciples continue their nastiness from their laptops. It would be a bitter irony if it took root in Israel or Iran(which reportedly has significant cases)two countries where halal and kosher are traditional values, seeing that it started in a situation where every animal in existence gets consumed(not sure what percentage of Israeli Jews adhere to kosher these days). An American body's recommendation that beards be shaved off wouldn't go down well with some peoples in these nations either. (Rock the Casbah) |
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Post by cato on Feb 27, 2020 12:41:48 GMT
There are also diabolical gloating comments on Twitter from anti Semitic trolls rejoicing at the first cases of the Corona virus in Israel. Hitler's disciples continue their nastiness from their laptops. It would be a bitter irony if it took root in Israel or Iran(which reportedly has significant cases)two countries where halal and kosher are traditional values, seeing that it started in a situation where every animal in existence gets consumed(not sure what percentage of Israeli Jews adhere to kosher these days). An American body's recommendation that beards be shaved off wouldn't go down well with some peoples in these nations either. (Rock the Casbah) It would be ironic if The stories about animal - human transmission are true that such primitive practices were to bring our highly sophisticated societies to their knees. I see some conservative bloggers almost rejoice over the prospect of a global pandemic. I only hope they don't get to see their silly fantasies realised. If it doesn't kill them it will kill family members and friends . A fatality ratio of 3% is a lot of deaths particularly in societies which have not experienced mass unexpected deaths since world war II in most cases. Israel is the home of Armageddon so I wouldn't be suprised to see it as a key player in the the final human drama if this is what this is. The Iranian nuclear fetish is also linked to their desire to wipe out the Jewish state. Few of the anti Zionists point out Corona is also spreading in Turkey and the wider Islamic arab world too. Moslem lives matter? I do wonder about these annual scares. They are like the hate demonstrations in 1984 turned on regularly by the media. Last year there were regular dire predictions of a resumption of the troubles , deaths due to medicine shortages, economic chaos etc - all due to Brexit. Hmmmmmmmmmm. |
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Post by cato on Feb 27, 2020 12:51:22 GMT
The UK Express , not a paper of record , is claiming the pope has caught the virus
and has cancelled some appointments. Or maybe it's a head cold.
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Post by Séamus on Feb 29, 2020 4:46:31 GMT
The UK Express , not a paper of record , is claiming the pope has caught the virus and has cancelled some appointments. Or maybe it's a head cold. Could they have become unwell there in the Eternal City through following the Book of Exodus and deciding to sup on the ashes of pachamamas for Lent? Just after hearing that Mr Phoenix is joining the extremists who redeem dairy cows from the much-regulated farms of western countries,I read a December article stating that, in Bolivia at least, the indigenous pachamama cultus involves the (sometimes cruel) killing of llamas. As much as these largely-hunting and gathering peoples often took their part in the food chain without exploitation and with a certain amount of grace, there are often these cases of blind eye turning when looking at primitive cultures. |
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Post by cato on Feb 29, 2020 14:24:52 GMT
The sign of peace has been suspended at masses in Ireland and people with cold like symptoms have been advised to stay away from mass . As the virus tends to kill more senior citizens and as congregations age more and more this is a prudential decision which makes sense. It's good to see the church being proactive and practical. People might consider refraining from going to communion but that is probably a modern liturgical heresy.
An advantage of the old rite mass is there is no sign of the peace for the lay faithful. The Holy father has cancelled his schedule for a third day in a row. In the past The Holy See never admitted any pope was ailing until he was in extremis. Officially The Pope is simply under The weather. The Iranian government has also been hit by several top members of its government getting ill.
I am hoping the Patrick's day celebrations get cancelled. I generally avoid Dublin on the 17th due to aggressive crowds on the streets and in pubs. I suspect the current Fine Gael acting government are loath to take this decision as Mary Lou will no doubt accuse the Blueshirts of cancelling the national holiday. Sinn Fein naturally would make all of March a St Patrick's festival . It would be free too. Only the highest 1% would have to pay anything.
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