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Patriarhul, radioul și trafaletul

Romania: Church patriarch's paint-roller blessing

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The leader of Romania's Orthodox church has been mocked for using a paint-roller dipped in holy oil to bless new TV and radio studios, it's been reported.

Patriarch Daniel unleashed his unusual blessing technique as he inaugurated the studios of church-owned Trinitas Radio and Television,the Romanian HotNews website reported. Photographs published by the Orthodox Church website show the patriarch carrying out a traditional blessing service, before moving through offices and studios with the roller on the end of a long pole.

The ceremony did not go unnoticed by Romania's press and internet humorists, with altered versions of the photos being widely circulated,Adevarul news website reports. One popular blogger posted an image showing the Patriarch apparently endorsing a brand of paint.

A church spokesman later told Adevarul that it's not the first time Patriarch Daniel had used the "sanctification rod", one of a number of tools of his trade, as it helps anoint rooms with higher walls and ceilings which would otherwise be difficult to reach.

A spokesman defended the patriarch's unusual blessing technique

Razboiul ruso-ucrainean, faza pe conducte

Gas transit pipeline explodes in Ukraine

Published time: June 17, 2014 13:01
Edited time: June 17, 2014 17:09

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An explosion has struck a pipeline in the central Ukrainian Poltava region. Witnesses say flames from the blast are up to 200 meter high.

“The explosion occurred at about 14:45 local time in a field,” the local police press-service said in a statement. Due to the “flame and the high temperatures,” it was“impossible to get closer to the epicenter.”

The “Brotherhood” natural gas pipeline (Urengoy-Pomary-Uzhgorod) is about one kilometer away from the nearest settlement. No injuries have been reported from the blast. Fire fighting crews have been deployed to the scene.

The blaze, which according to the Interior Ministry towered 100 meters high, was put out by “between 4 and 5 pm.”

Pipeline faucets have been temporary turned off, but transit of Russian gas to Europe is being realized through a reserve pipeline.

A preliminary investigation found the explosion was caused by ‘pipeline depressurization’.

Ukraine’s Interior Ministry also cites possible “terrorism” - based on locals “hearing two loud booms before the fire.”

But within just an hour of the blast Ukraine’s acting Interior Minister Arsen Avakov blamed Russia.

The Ministry statement decried “Sabotage of a gas pipeline in the Poltava region” as “another attempt by Russia to discredit Ukraine as a gas partner” but didn’t back up such a strong accusation with any additional information.

Operating since 1967, the “Brotherhood” is the largest consumer gas pipeline in Europe, clocking in at 4,451 km. It cuts through Ukraine and runs into Slovakia, where it diverges in two directions; with one part supplying gas to the Czech Republic, Germany, France and Switzerland, and the other to Austria, Italy, Hungary and several countries in the Balkans.

Whether the explosion affects gas supplies to Europe will be seen in the coming days, Russian gas giant Gazprom has said.

At the same time, Ukrainian state gas pipeline and depot operator Ukrtransgas insists that the accident will not affect transit of Russian gas to European consumers.

"[The explosion] clearly did not affect the gas flow," a Ukrtransgaz spokesman said.

The Poltava region, where Ukraine's oil and natural gas industry is concentrated, lies in the center of the country. This territory is under the protection of the Ukrainian army and has not been the scene of fighting between anti-government militias and government forces.

Back in March, the leader of ultranationalist group Right Sector, Dmitry Yarosh, threatened to destroyRussian pipelines on Ukrainian territory to “deprive our enemy [Russia] of its source of income

One american dezertor for 5 terrorists...

The White House on Monday defended a controversial deal that freed the lone American prisoner of war from the conflict in Afghanistan, saying that giving Congress 30 days to review the deal was "not an option."

Press secretary Jay Carney said "unique and exigent circumstances" forced the administration to move quickly to secure the release of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl.

The White House spokesman said the state of Bergdahl's health, that he had been held in captivity for five years and "the fact there were no guarantees the window would remain open" all played into the decision to make the prisoner swap.

Carney also said the transfer, under which five Taliban militants being held at the prison at Guantanamo Bay were freed, should "not have come as a surprise" to members of Congress.

"We have been engaged in an effort for years, as we should have been, to recover Sgt. Bergdahl, a prisoner of war in Afghanistan," Carney said. "And as part of those efforts, there have been ongoing discussions about how to bring that about. And that included conversations with members of Congress about at least the possibility of transferring these five detainees as part of getting Sgt. Bergdahl back to the United States and back with his family."

Some Republicans have argued that the president violated federal law, which requires the administration notify lawmakers a month before anyone is transferred from the Guantanamo prison.

Carney said the White House had "repeatedly noted concerns" with the requirement, believing it infringed on the president's constitutional powers as commander in chief.

The White House spokesman also dismissed concerns that the deal would incentivize the capture of American soldiers in ongoing conflicts in the Middle East. And Carney said the decision to negotiate with the Taliban for the swap was in keeping with U.S. tradition to conduct prisoner exchanges following conflicts.

"Prisoner exchanges in armed conflicts are hardly a new development, including in our history in the United States," Carney said. "Whether it's the Japanese or the North Koreans or others, we have engaged in prisoner exchanges in the past."

And Carney said the White House did not believe the freed Guantanamo detainees would pose a risk to the U.S. He did not detail what security assurances officials had received.

"Without getting into specific assurances, I can tell you that they included a travel ban and information-sharing on the detainees between our governments, between the United States and Qatar," Carney said. "I can also tell you that the assurances were sufficient to allow the secretary of Defense, Chuck Hagel, in coordination with the national security team, to determine that the threat posed by the detainees to the United States would be sufficiently mitigated and that the transfer was in the U.S. national security interest."

The White House spokesman sidestepped questions about reports Bergdahl may have deserted his post before he was captured in Afghanistan. Some troops have expressed anger over efforts to recover Bergdahl and the prisoner exchange.

"The Defense Department will obviously — has been and will continue to be the lead in terms of evaluating all of the circumstances surrounding his initial detention and his captivity," Carney said.

A spokesman for the Pentagon has said the Defense Department still does not fully understand the circumstances surrounding Bergdahl's disappearance.

Read more: http://thehill.com/policy/defense/207933-white-house-defends-prisoner-swap#ixzz33kVZZijC
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