The Pope on political systems: “there is not just one political model…”

This is from Zenit, the Catholic news service: Pope Says There's No Ideal Political Model Invites 11 Envoys to Cultivate National "Genius" VATICAN CITY, DEC. 18, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI says there is no ideal political model, and that each country needs to cultivate its own national spirit. The Pope affirmed this today when he … Read more

The SEC and Bernie Madoff

See here The Bernie Madoff fraud where I point out that it's not just the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that failed; but there's no doubt they were shockingly dismal. The Washington Post has a good analysis – SEC Ignored Credible Tips About Madoff, Chief Says – washingtonpost.com The nation's chief securities regulator said yesterday it was "deeply troubling" … Read more

The Bernard Madoff fraud has devastated some philanthropies.

For several days this stunning, fraudulent, Ponzi Scheme has been in the news. First here's the definition of a Ponzi Scheme Ponzi scheme – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investment operation that involves paying abnormally high returns ("profits") to investors out of the money paid in by subsequent investors, rather … Read more

Cardinal Avery Dulles, SJ

The Cardinal died yesterday, at the age of 90. A really fine theologian, I loved to read his essays in America and First Things. Tom Faranda's Folly: Jesuit Cardinal Avery Dulles retires Dulles resided in the Bronx, on the campus of Fordham University. Here's this morning's aricle in the local newspaper, and it's a very good and … Read more

Darfur update

Haven't posted anything on Darfur in quite awhile. And things don't seem to be getting any better. This is an editorial from yesterday. Editorial – Darfur, Another Year Later – NYTimes.com Much of the fault lies with Sudan’s cynically obstructionist president, Omar Hassan al-Bashir. But Russia and especially China — which has major oil interests … Read more