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Showing posts from March, 2013

EASTER RISING

GPO (General Post Office) where that Rising by Irish Forces was centred   Currently there is a Military Parade going on at Dublin, Ireland in Remembrance of the 1916 Easter Rising of the Irish against the British for Irish Freedom.  Today is the 97th. Anniversary of that event and the Irish Defence Forces, the President and Government are commemorating the act that finally lead to Ireland winning its freedom in 1922 after 800 years of British Rule.  During which one might add there was not a single day of peace because in some part of the country there would be an act, big or small, to spoil the Brits day. Happily today there is a better understanding that Nations like to Rule themselves under their own culture, language and believes.  So it is not surprising that the unwise experiment of the European Union is failing and its financial system falling apart. Happy Easter to our readers and as always Good Watch

WHITEOUT

  Finally after what appeared to be several unexplained delays the Pope Francis flew by Papal helicopter to Castel Gandolfo to meet with former the Pope Benedict XVI for the two Popes to have lunch and pray together.  We say the " two Popes " because to the intense discomfort of many Roman Catholics of the Lay Community and one suspects many in the Religious Community as well, Pope Benedict XVI wore White normally the exclusive Papal colour.  Just what many of us had feared would be allowed to happen since it is clear there is a reluctance by Pope Benedict XVI to completely let go of his Papal status. This is the exact point that we had hoped Pope Francis would not allow and so establish in the minds of all, not just Catholics, that there is only one Pope and it is Pope Francis.  Here we have the first major disappointment of the new Papacy and it is a most discomforting major point.  This was an opportunity for Pope Francis to clearly establish his Papal Authority

BOUNDARY HIT

HMS Duncan D37   For those of you who do not play cricket a clear hit over the boundary line counts as six runs.  Well the British do play cricket and the Royal Navy just got a nice six with the arrival of HMS Duncan in Portsmouth Royal Navy Base under the Blue Ensign today for commissioning when she will raise the White Ensign. She is the latest and last of the Type 45 destroyers which are designated air defence vessels.  Armed with the Sea Viper missile defence system, BAE 4.5 inch Mk.8 Mod. gun, Phalanx CIWS and various smaller caliber ship and personnel armaments.  The first Type 45 HMS Daring arrived in Portsmouth in January 2009 and was followed by HMS Dauntless , HMS Diamond , HMS Dragon , HMS Defender , and now HMS Duncan. HMS Duncan will undergo sea trials and sea training under her Royal Navy White Ensign before serving on worldwide duties as needed.  This week HMS Dragon departed for the Middle East on her maiden deployment. Good Watch

HABEMUS PAPAM FRANCISCUM

Jorge Mario Cardinal Bergoglio, SJ   His Holiness Pope Francis   Tonight in Rome, Italy Jorge Mario Cardinal Bergoglio, SJ heard those fateful words "Tu es Petrus".   On what is believed to be the fifth ballot he was Elected Pope taking the name Francis .  He was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina on December 17, 1936 thus is six days older than myself also the name Francis is also my Roman Catholic Confirmation name.  He is a Jesuit the first ever to become Pope and my final school years were spent at Ireland's premier Jesuit College - all of which seems to indicate one should be on ones best behaviour! Now we must patiently wait and see how he sets about administering the Roman Catholic Church particularly dealing with the highly dysfunctional Vatican Curia.  It may well be he is what is needed to solve the Church's many problems, for now the Lay Community should take a wait-and-see attitude remembering that those of the Society of Jesus can pull sur

M - NOTIFICATION CORRECTION

NLIN #3 - 2013. CORRECTION The MCA sent the wrong link for  MGN 401 here is their latest data. MGN 401 (M+F) Amendment - Navigation: Vessel Traffic Services (VTS) and Local Port Services (LPS) in the United Kingdom. To download click on http://www.dft.gov.uk/mca/mgn401 call 023 8032 9391 if you experience difficulties. Good Watch.

CLOSED DOORS

  So it begins.  After filing into the Sistine Chapel earlier today the 115 Cardinal Electors individually took their oath of absolute secrecy to Elect a new Pope. It was interesting to see their faces as one by one they placed their right hand on the book and recited the oath printed in Latin on the left hand page, putting in their individual name at the designated place.  The faces reflected the great strain of the moment the Cardinal Electors are under, some looked resigned as if hoping that they would not be chosen but realising it was up to the 114 other Electors to decide, some looked quite tense, others looked fairly confident that they would be voting for the new Pope and he was not going to be one of them.  However these are confident men used to great authority within and indeed in many cases outside the Roman Catholic Church, each right hand was steady resting on the book. This is a time of great prayer both by the Religious of the Roman Catholic Church and its Lay

CRY WOLF

Time to change to my nautical hat and write a Post not on Papal Happenings, important as that is to  the Roman Catholic Church Lay Community. One of the links listed in MY BLOG LIST is a website of a Miami, FL maritime lawyer.  While up to a point it is informative in his anxiety to show up every little thing that goes even slightly wrong on board Cruise Ships he is like the little boy who cried " Wolf ".  Since much of the stuff published is of relatively minor importance the major incidents tend to get lost or as one former shipmate said to NAUTICAL LOG over the weekend " more petty nonsense just to make trouble ".  Well that is somewhat harsh because from each incident we should learn something and perhaps make seafarers lives if not completely safe at least less dangerous. NAUTICAL LOG personally does not like the fact that lawyers are allowed to advertise and clearly this lawyer website is the epitome of self-advertisement.  So be it then its allowed!! 

CONCLAVE

  When we wrote the explanation in parenthesis below it was not quite accurate.  What was meant to be expressed was that those in the Conclave were the ones without the key to get out as indeed was mentioned later - however one was quickly corrected ( see Comments ). ( In a point of interest the word "Conclave" means "without key" in Latin and indeed Italian) .   It indicates that the Cardinal Electors are actually locked into the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican by the Camerlengo with no key to get out, sleeping, eating and comfort facilities are provided in case it takes time to reach  a decision.  The Conclave will now commence on Tuesday, March 12, 2013 when the final deliberations begin and the Cardinal Electors vote on their individual choices as to whom amongst them or perhaps outside them will be the next Pope. After each round of voting the ballots are burned with a chemical that causes black smoke if there is a negative result and white smoke if th

M - NOTICE NOTIFICATION

NLIN #3-2013. The following M-Notices are available from www.dft.gov.uk/mca/ .  If you experience any problems call 023 8032 9391 for assistance. MIN 451 (M+F)   Period of Validity of Notice of Eligibility and Time Required Between Re-sits of Oral Exams. MGN 401 (M+F) Amendment Navigation: Vessel Traffic Services (VTS) and Local Port Services (LPS) in the United Kingdom. MGN 462 (M+F) Pollution - Entry into Force of the Energy Efficiency Design Index. MGN 465 (M+F) Navigation - Automatic Identification Systems (AIS) - Annual Testing. Good Watch.