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Monday, March 11, 2013

BASKETBALL MELTDOWN in MANILA- Former NBA player BANNED FOR LIFE after choking PBA teammate!

MANILA, Philippines- Watch below the on court meltdown of a former National Basketball Association NBA player Renaldo Balkman apparently losing his mind after an alleged missed foul call in the closing minute of a loss suffered by his team the Petron Blaze Boosters in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA)- the country’s premier pro league. The former New York Knicks and Denver Nuggets forward is playing for Petron as an international import. 

To summarize this very embarrassing incident- never before seen in the PBA league and this basketball-crazy Philippine archipelago: he bumped two referees, pushed an assistant coach, threw one teammate aside and, most notably and grabbed another by the throat. 

The PBA management, acting quickly on the matter, banned Balkman from playing in the PBA for life for his actions that was watched live on TV and went immediately viral on the internet. He was also assessed a fine of P 250,000 for his grave misconduct that shocked the big crowd at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. He earned the distinction of becoming  the first import in the last 15 years to be barred for life from the pro league's almost 40 years of existence. Until that fateful Friday game, Balkman was the tournament scoring leader.
The PBA, citing “a culture of accountability", didn't go easy on Balkman even as he issued a public apology in a meeting with the commissioner. The decision took into consideration his track record as a player, including a head-butting incident during a FIBA Americas game between Puerto Rico and Venezuela and his altercation with the bench of the Alaska Aces during a pre-season game in Cebu.



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Thursday, March 7, 2013

VATICAN City: Historical FACTS and ODDITIES.

The Vatican announced and already implemented Pope Benedict XVI's resignation on Feb. 28. The sudden announcement caught Catholics around the world off guard- becoming the first pontiff to step down in nearly 600 years. This puts focus once again not only on the Papacy itself but the Vatican structure itself. Below are some quick historical facts and some oddities on Vatican City:

How did the Vatican City Come into Existence.

This is a souvenir of the creation of the Vatican State by the Lateran Pacts. Its “trinity” of 
King Victor Emmanuel III, Pope Pius XIand Il Duce (The Leader) Benito Mussolini celebrates the 
new unity of temporal and spiritual authority. This accommodation between church and state was 
called the “peace of Laetitia” (pax Laetitia) after the Roman Goddess of Joy. However, it helped legitimize 
a regime that by 1929 had already spread terror by political assassination, military tribunals and a police state.
Considered geographically as a part of Italy, the Vatican City actually stands out as an independent country. The Lateran Treaty established the state after a long series of disputes with the Italian government. The Treaty made Vatican City independent in 1929 and with that the Roman Catholics earned a special place in Italy.

What is the capital of Vatican City?

The capital of the state of Vatican City is Vatican City. It is the only city inside a city. The Holy See is the smallest independent state in the world, covering an area of approximately 44 hectares (110 acres). The Vatican City is home to a population of about 812 (as of December 2011).
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Stato della Città del Vaticano is the official name given to the Vatican City. It simply means "State of the City of the Vatican". Vatican finds its origin in Latin and comes from the word Mons Vaticanus, meaning "Vatican Mount". Rome, the capital of Italy, completely surrounds the area of the Vatican.



Why is Vatican City called the 'Holy See'

'See' as a noun means "the seat or office of a bishop". 'Holy See' means the see of the bishop of Rome. Therefore, the term refers to the city-state of Vatican because it happens to be the territory in which the Pope resides. The term as used by the United Nations refers not to the city of Vatican but to the government of the Roman Catholic Church. It is this government, not Vatican City, which is represented at the UN.

Random FACTS and ODDITIES:

St. Peter's Basilica from the River Tiber. The iconic dome dominates the skyline of Rome.

Built over the tomb of St. Peter the Apostle, St. Peter's Basilica was constructed during the 4th century. It was rebuilt in the 16th century and today is a major tourist attraction.

 Pope Benedict XVI receives greetings from Roman Curia and pontifical family
at the Clementina Hall on December 22, 2008 in Vatican City, Vatican. 
Autocracy is the form of government with the Pope has complete power. He is assisted by a body of agencies known as the 'Curia'.

It has no armed forces. Italy provides this Vatican City with military defense.The current military force of the Vatican constitutes The Pontifical Swiss Guards, better known as the Vatican Guards, who originally served as personal bodyguards to the Pope.

Importing food, water, electricity, gas and other necessary essentials is a must.

No income tax is exercised and no restrictions are laid on the import or export of money.
The Vatican City has its own post office.
from ropcorn.com
The Vatican's own Post Office is popular among the Romans owing to its speed as compared to the Italian mail. They also issue their own stamps.
former Pope; Pope Benedict XVI in St. Peter's Square, Rome, 2010
The Pope, Cardinals, members of the Swiss Guard and Clergy are issued their own passport by the Vatican City. The Vatican City has no diplomatic service as such; these relations are handled by the Holy See.

About 8% of their yearly taxes can be donated by the Italians to the Vatican instead of paying it to the Italian Government.

The UNESCO has declared the Vatican a World Heritage Site- the only site to encompass a whole country.
Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel
from italytravelista.com
The world-famous Vatican museums extend over 9 miles and is believed that it would take you 4 years to complete the circuit even if you spend merely 1 minute admiring each painting!

Loggia of the Benediction is the name given to the balcony upon which the newly elected Pope stands. The first blessing called Urbi et Orbi is recited by the Pope from this balcony, when it is heard by millions of people all over the world.

The languages spoken by the people of Vatican City include Latin,Italian, French, and English. It has the highest literacy rate of hundred percent. However, surprisingly, it has not established any language as official, under law.
Institute for Works of ReligionIstituto per le Opere di Religione
ATM users in Vatican City are still given the option to use Latin to perform transactions. The Institute for Works of Religion (Italian: Istituto per le Opere di Religione – IOR), commonly known as the Vatican Bank is the only one in the world to do so.

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Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Pope Joan- a Female POPE! Fact or Fiction?

A medieval artistic rendition of Pope Joan with a papal tiara. Illustrated
Manuscript.Bibliothèque nationale de France, circa 1560's.

Medieval religious leader Pope Joan is believed to have been a female pontiff who reigned over the Roman Catholic Church for a short time in the mid-800s. She allegedly assumed the name John Anglicus, disguising herself as a man and eventually becoming pope.  Pope Joan supposedly reigned as Pope John VIII from a few weeks to more than two years depending on the source. Some theorized that her term came between Pope Leo IV and Benedict III. 
Pope John VIII 
The first mention of the female pope appears in the chronicle of Jean Pierier de Mailly, but the most popular and influential version was that interpolated into Martin of Troppau‘s Chronicon Pontificum et Imperatorum somewhat later in the 13th century. Most versions say that she was a talented and learned woman who disguised herself as a man, often at the behest of a lover. She was thought to have grown  up in Mainz, Germany where she studied Greek and Latin at a monastery founded by English missionaries. Girls at that time were not educated so Pope Joan may have disguised herself as a boy to pursue her studies. She allegedly fell in love with a monk and went with him to Athens disguised as a fellow monk. She later moved to Rome named John Anglicus. A talented scribe, she worked as a papal notary and rose up the ranks within the Vatican, eventually becoming a cardinal and elected as pontiff around 855,
Pope Joan publicly giving birth during a street procession. Note the jester behind
the column mocking the event, as well as the Corinthian column which
 has the peculiar face of a demon. Woodcut engraving by Giovanni Boccaccio. Now in British Museum. circa 1353.
It is believed that her story was discovered when she gave birth to her child. According to stories, her secret was uncovered during a papal procession. Pregnant at the time, Pope Joan was on her way to the Church of the Lateran in Rome when she began having contractions. Learning that the pope was having a baby, the people reacted in horror. Most reports indicate that she was killed that day, either by stoning or by being dragged behind a horse. Later popes avoided the crossroads where Pope Joan was supposedly killed, which was called the Vicus Papissa, or street of the female pope.

Her existence has been dismissed by the church as purely a myth. Others point to evidence in documents and artwork that indicates a woman once held the highest position in the church. Pope Joan is mentioned in a book by poet Giovanni Boccaccio. Many other sources and images of a female pontiff can be seen in numerous artworks, including sculptures by Gian Lorenzo Bernini at the Basilica in St. Peter Square.
Carved statue of Joan Papieżycy Gian Lorenzo Bernini in the Basilica of St. Peter.
from minos-minal-omfalos.blogspot.com
Donna Woolfolk Cross, the author of her historical novel Pope Joan (1996), told ABC Primetime Live that she believed that Pope Joan was a real person based on research materials available. A feature film based on Cross' novel is reportedly in the works. 

Fact or fiction....you be the judge.

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Wednesday, February 27, 2013

'Racist' Beijing Restaurant Sign BANS " the Japanese, the Philippines, the Vietnamese and dog(s)" !

"This shop does not receive the Japanese, the Philippines, the Vietnamese and dog(s)."
Beijing resto not for Filipinos et al. Photo by Mark Ralston, AFP
A sign at the Beijing Snacks restaurant near the Forbidden City, Beijing barring citizens of nations involved in maritime disputes with China -- along with dogs -- has triggered a wave of online outrage among Vietnamese and Filipinos. The door sign reads: "This shop does not receive the Japanese, the Philippines, the Vietnamese and dog(s)." Vietnam and the Philippines are locked in a longstanding territorial row with China over islands in the South China Sea. China and Japan have a separate angry and bitter dispute over islands in the East China Sea.
The photos were originally posted on Facebook which have gone viral in Vietnamese-language forums and featured heavily in Philippine newspapers and websites.

The irony is that the sign  itself recalls RACISM against CHINESE during China's colonial era, when British-owned establishments barred Chinese from entering. A sign supposedly reading "No Dogs and Chinese allowed" became part of Communist propaganda after it was said to have hung outside a park in Shanghai when Western powers controlled parts of China. It has become part of Chinese folklore and featured in the 1972 Bruce Lee film "Fists of Fury" -- but many historical experts say no such sign ever existed.

Fist of Fury Hong Kong poster



No dogs and Chinese allowed- 

The (in)famous scene from Bruce Lee's "Fist of Fury"  that was also called The Chinese Connection....


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Tuesday, February 26, 2013

UPDATE: POPE Resignation QUESTIONS; ANSWERED...of Pope Emeritus and white cassocks...

Below are the latest updates on some lingering QUESTIONS on  Pope Benedict XVI's resignation- now officially answered by the Vatican.

Pope Benedict XVI in St. Peter's Square, Rome, 2010

"How is the former pope to be addressed?"

Pope Benedict XVI  will be known as "pope emeritus" after he steps down this week. The retiring leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics  can still be referred to as "His Holiness Benedict XVI" and will have the additional title of "Roman pontiff emeritus", Vatican spokesperson Federico Lombardi, SJ said.

Asked whether Benedict will be the first former pontiff to be called "pope emeritus", Lombardi laughed and said: "We don't know what Celestine V (1294)  was called when he stepped down. We'll have to ask the historians." The 13th-century monk was the only other pope in the 2,000-year-old Church's long line of rulers to step down voluntarily -- saying he could not tolerate the intrigues of the Church hierarchy.

"What will the former pope wear considering that the white cassock is normally reserved only for pontiffs?"

Gammarelli’s family enterprise, located behind the Pantheon, has provided Popes with their garments ince 1792. 
Pope Benedict XVI's famous red shoes were made by Antonio Arellano. 

He will continue wearing the white cassock normally reserved for pontiffs after he resigns but without the doubled shoulder cape, Lombardi said. He said Benedict has chosen to swap his trademark red shoes for a brown pair given to him by artisans in Mexico during a trip last year.

“What will be done with the papal ring used to seal important documents, traditionally destroyed upon a pope’s death?”


He would also stop wearing the gold Annulus Piscatoris (Ring of the Fisherman) used to seal papal documents. Tradition dictates that the ring be destroyed and a new one cast for each pope, but whether that occurs will be up to Vatican number two Tarcisio Bertone, the camerlengo or chamberlain who will be "interim pope" until a successor to Benedict is found.

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Monday, February 25, 2013

POPE Resignation: Controversial QUESTIONS - ANSWERED!

Pope Benedict XVI stunned the world by announcing his resignation effective Feb. 28, 2013. He will be the first pope to step down since Gregory XII in 1415. His resignation raises several controversial questions; popular ones selectively picked from the web here and answered:

"Will he still be infallible after resignation?"

At Vatican Council I, above, Pius IX defined papal infallibility as a dogma.
No—and in fact, he’s never been infallible. In accordance with the First Vatican Council of 1870, the pope is infallible only when he makes an ex cathedra statement—that is, a statement concerning “a doctrine concerning faith or morals to be held by the whole Church.” Most popes never make ex cathedra statements during their papacy; only one infallible statement (regarding the Assumption of Mary) has been made since the First Vatican Council of 1870. Pope John XXIII was quoted as saying, “I am only infallible if I speak infallibly but I shall never do that, so I am not infallible.” Pope Benedict XVI has never spoken ex cathedra, and he will lose the ability to do so once he resigns from the papacy.

“What will be done with the papal ring used to seal important documents, traditionally destroyed upon a pope’s death?”



The 2013 conclave opens against the context of the 1415 papal resignation, when Gregory XI shucked off his Annulus Piscatoris. Over the last 598 years, every pontiff died with his ring on.The Annulus Piscatoris (Ring of the Fisherman) depicts a bas-relief of Peter fishing from a boat.  Pope Clement IV first mentioned this signet in a 1265 letter and  popes used it to seal official documents until 1842.
“It will be ‘terminated,’” Vatican spokesperson Federico Lombardi, SJ. said. A pope’s ring is shattered on his death—or resignation. In the presence of other cardinals, the camerlengo or  temporary  administrator slips the ring from the deceased pontiff’s finger, then smashes it to bits.

"How is the former pope to be addressed?"

Should we still call him Benedict XVI, or go back to being Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger? 

He can’t be called Benedict or “Your Holiness.” He puts aside his white cassock and, since he is over 80, he cannot attend the conclave. We don’t know yet what name he’ll go by. Pope Gregory XII (born Angelo Correr) continued to be known as Gregory until his death in 1417. 

Benedict will definitely remain a bishop until his death, since becoming a bishop is a sacrament, and even bishops who are removed from office aren't stripped of that title.We also don’t know whether Benedict will become a cardinal again as we won’t automatically revert to being cardinal—he would have to be reappointed cardinal by his successor. There is some precedent for this to happen-  Pope Gregory XII  as appointed cardinal upon his abdication.

"Where will he lodge?"

The Mater Ecclesiae monastery is 4,300 square feet and lies just west of St. Peter’s Basilica.the place
where Pope Benedict XVI  will retire to a life of prayer. Credit: File Photo/ EWTN News.
from catholicismpure.wordpress.com
He’ll move to the Apostolic Palace of Castel Gandolfo, the pope’s summer residence. Castel Gandolfo is a resort town on Lake Albano near Rome. Afterward, he’ll move to Mater Ecclesiae monastery -a monastery of nuns in the Vatican for which renovation work is on going.

Vatican sources said three concerns were factored into the decision that Benedict retire to a Vatican convent: (a) Vatican police will guarantee his privacy and security; (b) seclusion in a monastery—in Germany, for example—would spur visitors; and (c) a pope’s potential exposure to legal claims over sexual abuse scandals.
The 1929 Lateran Pacts between Italy and the Holy See established Vatican City as a sovereign state. It provides that Vatican City would be “invariably and in every event considered as neutral and inviolable territory.”

"What kind of retirement benefits does the pope have?" 

Since no pope has retired in almost 600 years, there is no formal retirement plan for popes. However, as a bishop (and possibly a cardinal), Benedict will continue to have access to the Vatican’s lavish healthcare plan with private doctors currently managing his medical treatment. The pope does not officially receive a salary, though his needs are seen to by the Holy See. Canon law requires each diocese to provide support and housing for its priests after they retire, though the details of priests’ and bishops’ pension plans vary from country to country.

"Will he have any say in choosing his successor?"
Officially, no. Pope Benedict XVI will not participate in the papal conclave to elect the next pope. (For one thing, as previously mentioned, he may not revert to being a cardinal. For another thing, he’s too old to take part in the papal enclave—only cardinals under the age of 80 may vote.) However, Pope Benedict appointed 67 of the 118 members of the College of Cardinals who are currently eligible to participate in the election of the next pope. This means that Benedict will have had at least an indirect influence over the election.

What about the rights of Cardinal Ratzinger to speak and write upon retirement?

Cardinal Ratzinger has a right to speak and write. In practice, anything he says or writes will be examined by media to see if it conflicts with anything the new pope says.
“It’s unheard of. It gives the impression that Benedict will be keeping an eye on his successor,” Robert Mickens, Vatican correspondent for The Tablet, said. “It puts a lot of pressure on the new Pope and people around him. It’s opened up a can of worms.”
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