If the experience of previous ECB interventions is anything to go by it is only a matter of time until we see larger-scale ECB operations, potentially accompanied by a European Financial Stability Facility (and later European Stability Mechanism) bailout. This is how it happened in the cases of Ireland and Portugal. ECB measures have always been announced as ways to prevent further, more costly rescue packages. The strategy never worked because in the end we got both. It won’t work this time, either.

It is remarkable how far the ECB has now moved from its initial Bundesbank-like philosophy of independence and monetary stability. These were not just soap-box oratories but supposedly law. The EU Treaty defines the ECB’s role very clearly: “The primary objective of the European System of Central Banks [the ECB and eurozone central banks] shall be to maintain price stability.” And the ECB “shall be independent in the exercise of its powers and in the management of its finances. Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies and the governments of the Member States shall respect that independence.” If only!

Maybe the ECB somehow manages to conform to the letter of the law. It certainly doesn’t to its spirit….

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Enjoying a refreshing pilgrimage has never been more accessible or affordable, as the Bishop of Oxford issues an invitation to join him on pilgrimage via ‘tweets’ on the Twitter website. His progress – along with inspirational prayers taken from the new book Pocket Prayers for Pilgrims and useful links to information on his chosen destinations – will be read on mobile phones and computers free of charge by all who follow the Church of England’s national Twitter identity c_of_e at http://twitter.com/#!/c_of_e.

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Searching for survivors amid the rubble that was the World Trade Center, workers 10 years ago unearthed two steel beams joined together at right angles. The 17-foot cross ”” to some, a sign of comfort and faith in the most nightmarish of times ”” became part of the story of New York City’s recovery from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. To omit it from the National September 11 Memorial and Museum ”” as a misguided lawsuit seeks to do ”” is tantamount to ripping out a page of history.

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From here:

Lord God, we live in disturbing days:
across the world,
prices rise,
debts increase,
markets are in turmoil,
jobs are taken away,
and fragile security is under threat.
Loving God, meet us in our fear and hear our prayer:
be a tower of strength amidst the shifting sands,
and a light in the darkness;
help us receive your gift of peace,
and fix our hearts where true joys are to be found,
in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Judge David Turner, for twenty years a churchwarden at All Souls, spoke so well that some of us felt like applauding at the end. He began by recalling John’s written instructions when he went to the College of St Barnabas in 2006 whose carers were present and were warmly thanked. “I do not wish to cling to life. I have a living hope of a yet a more wonderful life beyond death. I do not wish to be unnecessarily hindered from entering it.” Today’s funeral was “supremely an au revoir moment….”

{He] recalled one particular meeting he arrived at at All Souls having been dive-bombed by a seagull on his way to the church. He went into the meeting still wiping the considerable mess off his suit and muttering “wretched seagull.” John responded: “ A herring-gull or maybe a black-headed gull, but a mere seagull it was not. Dear brother, you have been judged for your ignorance.” Cue laughter in the aisles.

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“My destructive side has grown a mile wide,” she sang on her first album in 2003. The cause of Amy Winehouse’s death has not yet been confirmed, but her struggles with drug addiction, and more recently alcoholism, mean most people will be shocked if a link isn’t found.

But have you ever wondered why one person can drink like a fish for years and never become an alcoholic, while for others, like Winehouse, a tipple or 10 can begin the slide into dependency? Why can one person take that first disgusting drag of a cigarette (for that first drag is always disgusting) and say never again, while for others it becomes the start of nicotine dependence, still the most common addiction in the world?

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From here:

“The events of the past few days in London are appalling – but not wholly unexpected. Whatever the real motivations of those who have brought violence to our streets, there will be a proper time for sober analysis and an assessment of the role of gang culture in the capital.

“For now, the other side of the story of violence and looting is the swift response of communities across London in clearing up the debris and caring for the victims of what has happened. Our churches are already at the forefront of this.

“The Bishop of Edmonton last night attended a vigil for peace in Tottenham, at the heart of where the troubles began, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with local politicians and other Christian leaders in calling for an end to the violence.

“Nearby, St Mary the Virgin on Lansdowne Road has been helping those whose homes and businesses have been affected, including distributing meals and providing hot water and mobile phone charging for those left without electricity, to ensure they can remain in touch with loved ones.

“As trouble reached East London yesterday evening, Bishop Adrian and Father Rob Wickham were on the streets helping those they could as panic spread through Hackney. Many others among you have been helping in similar ways across the Diocese.

“The situation is unpredictable and it is important that we keep in touch and support one another with prayer and practical assistance.”

Check them out.

Almighty God, who didst call thy deacon Laurence to serve thee with deeds of love, and didst give him the crown of martyrdom: Grant, we beseech thee, that we, following his example, may fulfil thy commandments by defending and supporting the poor, and by loving thee with all our hearts, through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Eternal God, who hast taught us that the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty to the pulling down of strongholds: Help thy soldiers to fight the good fight of faith, refusing the weapons of the devil and the world, and overcoming hatred with love, evil with goodness, falsehood with truth, and so extending the victory of the cross; through him who triumphed thereon, even thy Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ.

And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 1And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not kill, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.'” And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have observed from my youth.” And Jesus looking upon him loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing; go, sell what you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” At that saying his countenance fell, and he went away sorrowful; for he had great possessions. And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it will be for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!”

–Mark 10:17-23

Though not widely offered by U.S. doctors, gender-detecting blood tests have been sold online to consumers for the past few years. Their promises of early and accurate results prompted genetics researchers to take a closer look.

The authors say the results suggest blood tests like those studied could be a breakthrough for women at risk of having babies with certain diseases, who could avoid invasive procedures if they learned their fetus was a gender not affected by those illnesses. But the study raises concerns about couples using such tests for gender selection and abortion.

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After three nights of escalating violence, arson and looting which have left parts of London looking like a war zone, Prime Minister David Cameron has one pressing question to answer from citizens looking to him for reassurance and action: “Who controls Britain’s streets?”

Throughout Monday night and the early hours of Tuesday morning the answer to that question appeared to be “the mob.” It certainly was not the police, politicians or local community leaders, all of whom were overwhelmed by the unprecedented scale of the violence and the speed with which it escalated and spread, first, from one London borough to another and then, perhaps inevitably, to other cities including Liverpool, Birmingham and Bristol.

If Cameron cannot offer a different answer to the question, one that reassures people that government ministers and the police have control, then the consequences for his leadership could be far reaching and, ultimately, even lethal.

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The Federal Reserve on Tuesday sharply downgraded its outlook for the American economy and took the extraordinary step of signaling that it would hold short-term interest rates at exceptionally low levels “at least through mid-2013.”

The move marks the first time that the U.S. central bank has pegged a specific timetable to a pledge on its benchmark interest rate, the federal funds rate, which has been near zero since late-2008.

But the decision came with three dissenting votes from Fed committee members, reflecting concerns about the threat of runaway inflation down the road.

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Never underestimate the power of a well-told story.

The Rev. Adam Bartholomew was converted to biblical storytelling when the Rev. Thomas Boomershine asked him to serve as his audience while he prepared an audiotape of Mark’s Passion narrative as part of his dissertation at Union Theological Seminary in New York, where both were students in the 1970s. First Boomershine read the narrative. Then he told it.

“I was absolutely astonished at the difference. That converted me,” said Bartholomew, a former United Church of Christ minister and now Episcopal priest-in-charge at Church of the Ascension in Mount Vernon, New York .

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An advertising campaign for Italy’s revenue agency that starts Tuesday has set itself a lofty goal: to get Italians to pay taxes.

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From here:

Popular personal finance personality Dave Ramsey summed it up eloquently and simply: “If the US Government ”‹was a family, they would be making $58,000 a year, they spend $75,000 a year and are $327,000 in credit card debt. They are currently proposing big spending cuts to reduce their spending to $72,000 a year.”

Alan Haley has a further discussion of this here.

A concert event organized by atheist, agnostic and other non-theist soldiers has been cleared by the Army to take place next spring at Fort Bragg, concert organizers and a spokesman for the post said Monday.

Organizers planned to hold the Rock Beyond Belief event this year, but they canceled after saying Bragg leadership was not providing the same support it gave to an evangelical Christian concert last fall.

Supporters hailed the Army’s decision.

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No amount of jaw-jawing from the ECB (or from the G-7, which yesterday put out an odd statement calling the rise in euro-zone bond yields not “warranted”) can make investors buy Italian debt. Mr. Trichet continues to act as if the markets are having an attack of the vapors, from which they’ll recover presently. But no rational person or institution is going to start buying sovereign debt from heavily indebted, stagnant, deficit-running countries as if the past 15 months had never happened. The lamp has been rubbed, the genie has escaped, and no amount of un-rubbing will put him back in the lamp.

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With its twin towers standing tall above Pearl Street at Division Avenue, the church is built with limestone taken from the Grand River bed and the building is the largest stone structure in continuous use within the city, according to facilities manager David Hawley.

St. Mark’s history parallels the growth of the city around it. The parish was formally organized in 1836; barely 10 years after Louis Campau first hauled his canoe ashore on the west bank of the Grand River at an Indian village near the “grand rapids.”

“On the face of it, most people aren’t aware just how old that building is,” Barr said. “Not many people off the street have ever really thought about it.”

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Here are the stories of some of the fallen:

”¢ A severe arm injury during fighting in Fallujah in 2004 didn’t keep Matthew Mason off the Iraq War battlefield. Nor did it dull the competitive fire of the avid runner and former high school athlete from outside Kansas City. Within five months of losing part of his left arm, absorbing shrapnel and suffering a collapsed lung, Mason competed in a triathlon. He soon returned to his SEAL unit.
“He could have gotten out of combat,” said family friend Elizabeth Frogge. “He just insisted on going back.”
Mason, the father of two toddler sons, grew up in Holt, Mo., and played football and baseball at Kearney High School. He graduated from Northwest Missouri State University in 1998. His wife, who is expecting their third child ”” another boy ”” also attended Northwest Missouri.

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Both men are religious — [Joseph] Eppink is Episcopalian, [Ralph] Panelli is Roman Catholic — so a church wedding was necessary for them.

The couple booked the First Lutheran Church in Albany, Babcock’s place of worship. They said they would have loved to have the ceremony in Eppink’s church, but Bishop William Love of the Albany Episcopal Diocese has barred priests from participating in same-sex marriage ceremonies. The congregation supports the couple. The Sunday after the law was passed, “We had a coffee hour in front of the church, and there was this huge cheer from people. The church, the parish, they’re all very excited,” Eppink said.

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They defied the bishops to support President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul. Now Catholic hospitals are dismayed the law may force them to cover birth control free of charge to their employees.

A provision in the law expanded preventive health-care benefits for women, and the administration said last week that must include birth control with no copays. The Catholic Health Association says a proposed conscience exemption is so narrowly written it would apply only to houses of worship. Some other religious-based organizations agree.

“I call this the parish housekeeper exemption – that’s about all it covers,” said Sister Carol Keehan, president of the 600-member umbrella group for Catholic hospitals. “What we are trying to do is make workable the conscience protection the administration says it is willing to give.”

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Standard and Poor’s, the agency responsible for Friday’s downgrade, merely confirmed what anyone with their eyes open for the past decade or two already knew: The U.S. has a huge and growing debt problem that it is resolutely unwilling to solve.

Not unable. Just unwilling.

Not just politicians, but anyone who buys into their divisive, fanciful rhetoric.

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Stressed on the job? Add rude co-workers to the list of headaches.

“Workplace incivility” is on the rise, researchers said Sunday at the American Psychological Association annual meeting.
The academics define workplace incivility as “a form of organizational deviance”¦ characterized by low-intensity behaviors that violate respectful workplace norms, appearing vague as to intent to harm.”
Translation: rudeness, insults and plain old bad manners.

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It started as a simple gesture.

But it could have implications far beyond the quiet New Jersey street where Patrick Racaniello affixed a wooden cross on a tree in his front yard.

Livingston Township officials say Racaniello’s display, which he intended as a celebration of Lent, violated an ordinance that generally prohibits postings on a structure, including a tree, “calculated to attract the attention of the public.”

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Amateur footage appears to show a gang of youths charging at police in south-east London

Rioting has spread across London on a third night of violence, with unrest flaring in other English cities.

An extra 1,700 police officers were deployed in London, where shops were looted and buildings were set alight.

Birmingham, Liverpool, Nottingham and Bristol also saw violence.

Read it all and BBC has a live website here.

This has left the military to decide, more or less, how to run the transition and what its destination will be. Do they pursue former officials or not? Do they prosecute Mubarak? Or do they simply move on in the hope that the past can be left to itself? Presently the answer seems to be that they pursue those they don’t like (such as associates of Hosni Mubarak’s son Gamal), and only go after others when failure to do so generates popular anger. The military will always ensure its own interests in the regime are preserved, which may well limit the kind of structural reform that is possible in Egypt. And without a clear, revolutionary leadership, who has the authority to intervene?

This matters. To the extent that Egypt has inspired the Arab Spring, failure at the last hurdle will be a major symbolic blow to the region. Colonel Gaddafi’s horrific stubbornness in Libya is already deflating. So too the lack of progress in Bahrain and the absence of western interest or a clear avenue to success in Syria.

It’s a pivotal moment….

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Grant, O heavenly Father, that by the guidance of the Holy Spirit we may be enabled to discern thy holy will; and that by the grace of the same Spirit we may also be enabled to do it, gladly and with our whole hearts; for the glory of thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord.

And Pharisees came up and in order to test him asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” He answered them, “What did Moses command you?” They said, “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce, and to put her away.” But Jesus said to them, “For your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder.”

–Mark 10:2-9