Magic Statistics

The policy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art concerning photography is that photos may be taken, but without flash only.  I took only a few photos, and most of them came out blurry.  This one looks good, however, IMHO.  This fragment of a fresco, placed in the Museum’s medieval art section, is of Byzantine origin, painted sometime between the 12th and 14th centuries.

The caption describing the fresco reads:

Fragments from a wall painting of a Koimesis
("Falling Asleep" of the Virgin)
Depicting an archangel and St John of Damascus
Fresco
Byzantine
Painted 1150-1350

Images of the Koimesis, called the Dormition in the West, show archangels joining Christ and the apostles at the Virgin’s bier to escort her soul to heaven.  The great theologian Saint John of Damascus (ca. 675-754), who wrote many hymns on the Virgin’s death and assumption into heaven, is often depicted with the apostles in later examples.  The Koimesis is one of the most important Middle Byzantine icon types.  A large representation of the subject was often painted on the west wall in Byzantine churches.

An earlier Koimesis, made of ivory, is posted at the Museum’s website.

Previous related posts:

• St John of Damascus: Qur'an contains "foolish sayings worthy of laughter"
• A prayer of St John of Damascus

Liberal leadership hopeful Bob Rae was NDP premier of Ontario between 1990-1995.  If the results of the 1995 Ontario provincial election are any indication, his leadership was a disaster both for Ontario and for the Ontario NDP.  Although the party’s approval rating reached 70% shortly after he was elected, approval had plummeted to a miniscule 6% a few years later.  In 1990, the NDP won 74 seats in the 130-seat provincial legislature; in 1995, it suffered a humiliating defeat, winning only 17 seats.

The Ontario economy tanked during Mr Rae’s premiership.  A four-year-long recession cost many thousands of jobs and ruined the finances of business and government alike.  Public debt soared and charges of government incompetence became commonplace.

Now Bob Rae has left the NDP, joined the Liberals, and wants to be chosen party leader.  Asked if he had any regrets about his past political failure, he said he’s gotten over it.

Yes, he admits, he made mistakes. Big mistakes. But don't expect apologies. Don't expect regrets.

"You learn lessons. You'd be crazy not to learn lessons," Bob Rae acknowledged, about his tenure as NDP premier of Ontario.
. . .
"There are always things that you could improve on, but don't beat yourself up over it," he advised, lounging in his cluttered Toronto law office. "Life is always going to change."

What “lessons” does he mention?  Here’s one: Don’t trust over-optimistic forecasts from government economic analysts.  That brought a sharp rebuke from one of his own finance minister’s fiscal policy advisors.

I remember a number of briefings from senior bureaucrats at the time that projected less than rosy scenarios. My government was all too quick to dismiss such concerns and provincial spending was allowed to rise at twice the level of inflation.

If all Mr. Rae has learned from his government experience is how to blame civil servants for his own and his government's shortcomings, then he has not learned much at all.

Globe and Mail business columnist Neil Reynolds launches a withering critique.

He still doesn't get it. The question isn't whether Mr. Rae made mistakes. Of course he did. And the question isn't what his mistakes have done to him. It's what they did to others. The question is whether he has ever understood the harm he caused, and wept. The question is whether he has ever felt either contrite or penitent.

Mr. Rae took a shallow, two-quarter recession and turned it into an ugly, four-year Ontario recession that devastated thousands of lives. Lost jobs. Lost homes. Lost savings. Lost businesses. In the end, Mr. Rae's recession invited comparisons to the Great Depression. The number of people still working in the province at the end of 1994, for example, was less than the number working at the beginning of 1990 — the only five-year period that this had happened since the 1930s. (Mr. Rae assumed office in October, 1990; he left in June, 1995.)

Bob Rae may have left the NDP, but he still sounds like one of those NDPers who has learned nothing.

For access to Mr Reynolds’s full column, click here.

Previous related posts:

• New Democratic Party or Old Communist Party?
• Widening income gap in Canada?
• BC economy recovering from NDP 1990s slump

An independent Christian fellowship has wanted to build a church in Carmacks, Yukon, for years.  The group thought it had all the permits necessary to go ahead, but now the Little Salmon/Carmacks First Nation objects to the location chosen.  The first nation claims the site is an ancient and sacred burial ground, but Carmacks Christian Fellowship says it’s been bulldozed several times in recent decades.  Besides that, the land is under the control of the municipality; nor was it identified as a burial ground during land claims negotiations.

If this area is sacred, then why was it not identified on the land claim settlements, asked [Carmacks Christian Fellowship member Dawn] Charlie, who is frustrated with the hullabaloo over municipal land.
. . .
Charlie had visiting archeologists examine the area roughly five years ago, she said.

“And they told me everything had already been bulldozed.”

The first nation claims that the Christian fellowship pulled the wool over their eyes by keeping the church site secret.

[T]he First Nation originally backed plans for the new church.

“We did write a support letter,” said [Little Salmon/Carmacks First Nation chief Eddie] Skookum.

“But, at that time, we wanted to know where it was going to be built.

“And they never did show us where the building will be.

“We didn’t know where it was being build until we saw people start cleaning up that area and we thought, ‘What’s going on?’”

At a meeting last week, none of the first nation's ten elders opposed building a church, but all objected to its proposed location.

It gets worse: The site is not yet properly zoned for a church.

 “We’re in the process of re-zoning,” said Carmacks acting mayor Elaine Wyatt.
. . .
To change zoning bylaws, the municipal act requires the village hold three public meetings.

“It’s a slow process,” said Wyatt.

Despite lack of zoning approval, the church builders started clearing the land last fall and bulldozing over a month ago.  Also, services were held under a tarp on the site all summer.

Excuse me, but I have some questions.  How is it possible to get a building permit and other approvals without revealing the spot where you want to build?  Why did no one say anything about the burial ground?  If the location was bulldozed during various construction projects dating back as far as 50 years, how can it still be considered sacred?

But you won’t find answers to any of those questions in the Yukon News article.  Can’t say I’m surprised: I long ago came to the realisation that “investigative reporting” is an oxymoron to most Yukon journalists.

What the reporter does provide is this irrelevant, not to say counter-productive, “expert” opinion:

The ongoing conflict reminds [consultant Lee] Carruthers of his trip to South America.

“In Peru, the Spaniards would purposefully build their churches right on top of the Inca’s sacred sites, to show their superiority,” he said.

Carmacks Christian fellowship acting like conquistadores?  I think not.  One rather obvious problem with that analogy is that fellowship spokesperson Dawn Charlie has aboriginal ancestry—and I doubt she’s the only aboriginal Christian in town.

Both Ms Charlie and Mr Skookum say they want to reconcile their differences.  A meeting between the two groups is scheduled for later this week.

Carmacks is a village of about 400 people, located 175 km north of Whitehorse.  Carmacks Christian Fellowship is the only organised Christian worship group in the village.