Bigoted Letter Attacks Muslims in Ireland.

I first came across the link to this article -Horrific racist threat to Muslims in Ireland- on Facebook; the person posting the link seemed to think these threats against Muslims were OK.

The article concerns an anonymous letter received by Muslim schools and mosques in Dublin, Ireland. The letter [ found here] is full of hatred and threats against the Muslims in that country.

Some of the threats include : ( the original was printed with all caps)

"WE WILL ATTACK ANY MUSLIM MAN WOMEN AND CHILD THAT ENTERS ANY MOSQUE IN IRELAND AND ESPECIALLY IF THE NEW LARGER MOSQUE IS BUILT IN NORTH DUBLIN AND OUR CHILDREN WILL ATTACK YOURS IN SCHOOLS.........."

"WE WILL DEFEND OUR CULTURE AT ANT COST, WILL WILL [sic] DEFEND OUR CHRISTIAN FAITH AT ANY COST AND WILL WILL [sic] ATTACK ANY MUSLIM OR PERSON WE FEEL IS MUSLIM."

"THIS LAND BELONGS TO THE CHRISTIAN FAITH AND WE WILL NOT ALLOW YOU TO TURN IT INTO A MUSLIM COUNTRY."

First of all, I will not defend Islam. As a devout Catholic, I know Islam to be a false religion. However, I also know that Protestantism, in all it's various forms, is equally false. I would not advocate violent attacks on Protestants and I certainly wouldn't advocate such attacks on Muslims either.

I've yet to find any statement in the Gospels that shows Jesus supports the type of violence proposed in this letter.

We are called to defend Christ's Church, yes, but not with gratuitous acts of violence.

As if the call to attack Muslims weren't enough, the letter's writer(s) state they will attack persons they feel are Muslims. I guess that would mean Sikhs are fair game, as well.

I Heart Anagrams.

I am especially fond of this one.

CRS Responding to Super Typhoon Haiyan.

From Catholic Relief Services website:

Super Typhoon Haiyan, the equivalent of a Category 5 hurricane with sustained winds of 195 miles per hour, slammed into the Philippines on the island of Samar the evening of November 7, 2013, and hit Vietnam on Sunday, November 9. The storm has killed an estimated 10,000 people, and local officials report approximately 9.5 million people have been affected.

Catholic Relief Services, in cooperation with our partners, will provide100,000 families with shelter, essential living supplies, and clean water and sanitation. We will continue to identify the most vulnerable communities that need assistance.

CRS desperately needs your help so we can reach people and communities in desperate need—now and as they rebuild their lives.

To donate to Catholic Relief Services, click here.

Clueless Pro-Choicers.

I first came upon the video of Marni Evans and her fiance, John Lockhart, who had to delay a scheduled abortion after a decision by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals allowed Texas to implement new regulations on abortions by way of a ChurchMilitant.TV video. I found it again via Catholic Vote.org. Now, it appears the video is everywhere.

In the video below, the couple calmly discuss their decision to abort their unborn child.



I have to agree with the writer of an article on the National Right to Life website who said, "it’d be hard to pick a less sympathetic couple". The two appear to be totally clueless when it comes to understanding that they are talking about taking the life of a human being.

Their reasons for aborting their child? The typical, "we can't afford it excuse". They also admit that they haven't invested enough into their relationship.

Can't Ms. Evans see that her fiance is essentially telling her that, oh yes, I care for you but I can't possibly think of supporting your offspring?

Likewise, Evans is letting Lockhart know, in no uncertain terms, that she'd rather kill his child than bring it into the world.

Pro-abortion writers who agree with Evans & Lockhart call us "anti-choice". That's supposed to be an insult. How dare we deny someone a "choice"?

One especially clueless individual commenting on the original Texas Tribune article had this enlightening observation.

"If you don't want one,[abortion] don't have one. I don't like Brussels sprouts but I don't scream at people who choose eat them. Their choice."

The decision whether or not to allow your offspring to live is like choosing whether or not to eat Brussels sprouts.
Dear Lord, where do these people come from?

All we can do is pray for them.

Predicting the Future.

If ever there was a failed hope, an unrealized dream or a prediction for the future which did not materialize, this quote by Sir William Sefton Brancker certainly falls into that category.

Writing the introduction to World War I flying ace, Alan Bott's book, Cavalry of the Clouds, Brancker - who was then Deputy Director-General of Military Aëronautics - made this comment:

"War has been the making of aviation; let us hope that aviation will be the destruction of war."
(August 1, 1917)



Brancker was killed when the R101 airship crashed on 5 October 1930, during its maiden voyage to India, years before the London Blitz.

Reading and Writing.

When I wrote my first post of 2013, and first mentioned Deal Hudson's list of 100 Best Catholic Novels, I knew there'd be little possibility of my reading all - or even many - of the 100 books listed. I'd do my best to read as many as I could. After 10 months, I haven't gotten close. Sad to say, there are a few that I began reading but couldn't finish.......some just didn't hold my interest.

En Route by Joris-Karl Huysmans and The Comedienne, by Wladyslaw Reymont are just two of those books.




Netflix has introduced me to Swedish crime novels (in movie form) - the works of Liza Marklund, Stieg Larsson and Henning Mankell. It was only a matter of time before I'd be hunting down these crime novels in book form.

Unfortunately, the first one I bought was The Bomber by Liza Marklund. This book is the first in her Annika Bengtzon series. I throughly enjoyed the film series, but the novel isn't the page turner I expected it to be. I hope I can finish it.

Going from Swedish crime dramas to stories taking place in England (via Netflix) led me to the BBC series featuring Detective Inspector Lynley. The Inspector Lynley novels were written by an American, Elizabeth George.

I found quite a few of Ms. George's books at Amazon.com but, rather than order one of her crime novels, I purchased her book on writing fiction, Write Away. I'm very glad I did.

I'm having a hard time putting down this book; it's very instructive. Like countless others, I once started writing my own novel, but now I have a better understanding of my mistakes. I'm hoping that, upon finishing this book, I'll be a much better writer and able to repair my Philippine novel.

Time will tell, of course.