Islamic war: South Asian front
Sri Lanka: 12 injured as Buddhist mob attacks mosque
(Times of India) “A Buddhist mob attacked a mosque in Sri Lanka’s capital and at least 12 people were injured, the latest in a series of attacks on the minority Muslim community by members of the Buddhist majority. A mob of Buddhists, who are mainly ethnic Sinhalese in Sri Lanka, threw stones at a three-storey mosque and nearby houses in a central Colombo neighbourhood during evening prayers on Saturday, residents told Reuters. Later, hundreds of Muslim residents took to the streets, some clutching sticks, to prevent any further attacks on their community, witnesses said.” (08/11/13)

Mama’s Note: I really wonder what’s going on here. The “reports” don’t actually tell us much. I studied Buddhism, along with many other religions long ago, and their basic principles simply don’t support attacks on others like this and at least always seemed to be one of the more non-violent religions. Seems their nutty Islamic neighbors may have pushed even them too far.

Nathan: Even some of the most dedicated of pacifists can be driven to the point that they will seek to defend themselves and their families and friends.  But that is rare, and I wonder if the news story is in fact accurate, or if it was nothing but an excuse to justify the mob of Muslims.

Home front
TSA Expands Duties Beyond Airport Security
(New York Times) The squad was not with the Washington police department or Amtrak’s police force, but was one of the Transportation Security Administration’s Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response squads — VIPR teams for short — assigned to perform random security sweeps to prevent terrorist attacks at transportation hubs across the United States. … With little fanfare, the agency best known for airport screenings has vastly expanded its reach to sporting events, music festivals, rodeos, highway weigh stations and train terminals. Not everyone is happy.

Nathan: The NYT and its understatements: cute, huh?  The TSA looks and smells more and more like the Gestapo these days, because “after all, we aren’t the Airport Security Administration.”  No, indeed, and this isn’t our grandfather’s country, either:  Funny how with Germany, Japan, and a number of other countries after our hides – or the USSR and Red China and all their satellites – we didn’t need 100,000 uniformed, jackbooted thugs running around in squads and “cooperating” with local police, but today we do?  And more, “inspecting” (harassing and illegally searching) people AFTER they leave the train or bus or whatever.  Vipers need to become a name as much hated as “Stasi” and “Gestapo” and “Cheka” long before the same levels of fear are associated. (Though that time may be limited, people!)

Home front – Politics 2013 – War on some religions
Catholic Bishop Leaves Democratic Party for GOP; 2012 DNC Was Last Straw
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Are there any RC Bishops who are libertarians?  Going from the DNC to the GOP sounds like just jumping from one boiling pot to another one.  But knowing the hierarchy and how the priests are educated and experienced before getting their miter, I suspect that any radicals that might be even minarchists are flushed out, the way Dernyi were found out in Gwynned (the Camber series).  There is no question that the GOP is marginally better in SOME things (at least on the surface, but not much better.

Mama’s Note: In all my years with the church, I only met one priest who truly understood the non-aggression principle and advocated individual liberty and self responsibility. He was a very old man then, who had been born and raised in Austria. He had been outspoken all his life, and was finally sent to our remote desert parish until he could be forced to retire. The bishop was a happy socialist, and that was that.