Where the wall used to be – now just a line of bricks in the road:
The Berlin wall encircled West Berlin, not East; here is a part of it that is still intact with graffiti. Much of the graffiti was destroyed, but it has been restored by the original artists.
Pieces of the wall are for sale in most of the souvenir shops – or they could be bits of rubble from someone’s back yard, it’s hard to tell.
Brandenburg Gate:
The ultimate in cycling decadence: the beer cycle.
More here.
From here:
Reverend Michael Land, 67, said Christians needed to adopt swearing in their everyday language because it is how Jesus would have spoken.
He said too many people put Jesus “on a pedestal” and failed to realise that he was poor, relatively uneducated and preferred not to mix with the elite of his day.
He added that the Church risked becoming out of touch with ordinary people if its clergy did not become “streetwise” and failed to use earthy language.
Rev Land, who is retired but still preaches at Burghill occasionally, said: “The church must be more streetwise and use language most people use today.
“People view Jesus through tinted spectacles and place him on a pedestal.
“The reality is that he was poor, lacked any real education and did not fraternise with Pharisees or scholars.
“People today would probably be quite shocked at the language he used at that time.”
I’m all for speaking to people in language that they understand even if it is a bit ripe. Rev. Land’s real problem, though, is his implied de-Deification of Jesus. Who better to be on a pedestal than God? Rev. Land’s insistence that Jesus doesn’t belong there presumably means he doesn’t believe Jesus is God and, thus, is not a worthy object of our worship.
Even though Rev. Land is a bit wobbly on the Deity of Jesus, he does have firm views on driving:
He described the driving incident and said: “Someone pulled out in front of me so I sounded my horn. The driver got out of his car and came over to me.
“I wound my window down and said ‘why don’t you learn to f***ing drive’. He just walked away. I don’t think he could believe it.
“I did not remove my clerical collar, why should I? I did it then and I’d do it again, I’m not afraid to tell it how it is even if that means swearing.
It seems to me that Rev. Land should learn how to be a fucking vicar.
Exterior:
The Amber Room where photos are not allowed. Ahem:
The modest little ballroom:
Many more photos to come later.
A couple of interviews with Christopher Hitchens:
One of the interestingly wrong points that Hitchens makes is that if he does end up making a deathbed confession of faith, we should not take it seriously since it would be the product of delirium, pain, panic or chemically altered brain functions: in other words, it wouldn’t be the “real” Hitchens. For an atheist, though, where the material is the only reality, it would still be the “real” Hitchens, since the version of this over-inflated ego that exists in any moment in time is the only real one there is. For Christians a Lord Marchmain style deathbed conversion would be an occasion of rejoicing; for atheists one of lament – but atheists would not be able to wriggle out of it being a real statement of faith by a real Hitchens.
Watching these, it would take a hard hearted person not to feel sorry for him.
Here is a video of the Anglican contribution to the Vancouver Gay Pride Parade:
Apparently it was “A magnificent demonstration of civility”.
It was also an exercise in Scripture mangling by people carrying signs saying, “no good thing will God withhold from those who walk with integrity” Ps 84:11. The organisation “Integrity” has high-jacked not only the word but the New English Version’s translation of what most others have as “walk uprightly”; since when did homosexual activity become a component of walking uprightly?
Further along we have a few brightly painted blokes sporting tea-shirts declaring themselves, presumably, to be “intrinsically good”, in spite of the general drift of Scripture, experience and common sense that says we are all intrinsically bad – so bad that we need a Saviour.
There is even a Rowan Williams doppelganger in there at 2:14.
Chatting with a Warsaw resident.
Me: Does anyone look back to the days of Communism with longing – does anyone miss those days?
Resident: Oh yes, some do. Those who are not political may miss the security of the Communist era.
Me: Security?
Resident: Yes, you didn’t have to worry about where to live, you were given a job and were paid even if you didn’t do it well; health care was free.
Me: Who would be the people who miss it?
Resident: Mainly people who don’t think. Also, for example, people in a small town where the factory closed after the fall of Communism: they would all have lost their jobs. So they say that things were better under Communism. But mainly people who don’t think.
Me: Do you think Communism will ever return to Poland?
Resident: – rolls eyes – I hope not.
In Minsk there is no litter, no graffiti, no homeless people sleeping on park benches and almost no crime or unemploymnt. The question is, what happens to a litterer, homeless person, or petty thief in this socialist paradise? No-one wanted to tell me, but someone did point out that, unlike Russia, the KGB is still in operation.
The country’s president, Aleksandr Lukashenko is a dictator: political opposition is not tolerated, but religious expression is, apparently.
Health care and education are free or at least cheap and almost everyone has somewhere to live – a 2 room apartment; almost everyone also wants to leave and those who can do. There are a few wealthy people, of course and everyone else is – not poor, since poverty does not fit into the socialist ideal – impecunious, all equally so.
In summary, Belarus serves as a model for the Arcadia that Fred Hiltz and his cronies are eager to construct.
Strolling along the bank of the Moskva river this morning was like standing downwind from a smouldering campfire. The city is enveloped in smoke from the huge forest fires raging nearby. The heat isn’t helping: it has been 38 degrees or higher for over a month now.
There is definitely freedom of the press in Russia (only English language papers – see below): a local Moscow paper has the headline, “Putin Sang Songs While Russia Burned.” It seems that the fire departments are not as well equipped as they might be and Putin hasn’t helped much. In talking to some Russians, it appears that the Russian language papers are far from free: they are all state owned and the stories are all heavily scripted by the state.
The traffic in Moscow makes Toronto’s rush hour appear quite serene. There are striped cross-walks painted on the road, but cars don’t necessarily stop at them. The hapless pedestrian must step out into the road, fix the eyes of the driver of the oncoming smoke belching Lada with a steely stare and cross; any show of fear will be interpreted as a sign of weakness and it will be all over. Yes, Ladas are still made in Russia – you don’t have to wait 13 years for one now, though.
Moscow is one of the most expensive cities in the world: the standard room rate at the hotel where we are staying is $750 per night. Fortunately my wife is part Russian and thanks to her Russian Mafia connections, our rate is much less. Mercifully, it is one of the few air conditioned buildings in the city.
Photos later; I am typing this on a Kindle – it is painfully slow but it does appear to have Europe-wide free cell Internet access.
Here’s a view of the Moscva before the smoke really settled:
Here it is pretty thick:
Less thick here at Red Square:
August 2nd is Paratroopers’ Day in Russia so when my wife and I were near Red Square this evening we found ourselves in the middle of a mixture of celebrating – and very drunk – paratroopers and riot police. They celebrated by fighting rival paratrooper divisions while the riot police watched.
I was enjoying taking a few photos until a young fellow got into his car, emerged with a glock and started shooting. The riot police sprang into action and chased him off, leaving his targets free to trash the car, a task they undertook with relish.
I have a very nice photo of the car trashing.
And here it is. The striped shirts belong to the paratroopers; the other two are riot police who watched the car mayhem with interest but no interference.
Arrived in Novgorod and visited the oldest church in Russia (9C) where a mass was in progress.
Dinner, a few – well, numerous – Russian vodkas, smooth as silk neat at room temperature; wonderful.
Were I tempted by mere aesthetics, I might stay.
