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Douglas, Arizona (ROTO REUTERS) There has
been a recent controversy of
the effectiveness of the Boeing Company erecting a “virtual fence”
along 6,000 miles of the U.S. border. Critics have said that
surveillance by the government’s $2.5 billion Secure Border Initiative
Network or SBInet leaves a lot of holes and will do little to reduce
illegal immigration.  

Boeing proposes to construct a necklace of
1,800 towers equipped with
cameras, sensors and links to sophisticated computers along the
nation’s vast frontiers with Mexico and Canada.  Boeing
proposes to construct a necklace of 1,800 towers equipped with cameras,
sensors and links to sophisticated computers along the nation’s vast
frontiers with Mexico and Canada.

News came today though of a surprising
capture that was the result of the new virtual fence technology.
 It can be now revealed that a previously unknown terror cell
headed by Afghani Bhati Al-Boya has been broken up and their leader
detained.

Virtual terrorist Bhati Al-Boya  was detected by the new
virtual fence and was prevented from entering the country.
 Initial reports are that Bhati Al-Boya is a half-life
character that was intent on entering the country illegally and then
going to a computer cafe or library to enter the Second Life virtual
world and commit acts of terrorism.  

Second Life a huge virtual universe where
real world dollars are spent by individuals and organizations
 and disruption  to normal play operations can do
real monetary damage.  Virtual characters can easily assume
false identities known as Avatars that can make finding and arresting
virtual characters difficult.

To hold suspected virtual terrorist Bhati
Al-Boya a special virtual cell is being made at the Guantanamo Bay
detention camp where currently a firewall is being put into place.
 These plans are being protested by the Virtual Character
Liberties Union (VCLU) who reject the power to detain
suspected virtual terrorists indefinitely, without charge, trial or a
right to counsel.  Virtual enemy combatants should have access
to the courts and the the Bush administration does not have statutory
power to detain these virtual individuals.

Very few of us will walk up to someone
today and greet him or her with the words, Happy St. Cyrils Day, or
even Happy Cyrils Day. And surely no one will tell their sweetheart
to Be my Methodius.

And yet, today the universal Church commemorates Sts. Cyril and
Methodius, not St. Valentine, notwithstanding the latters
larger-than-life appeal.

Sts. Cyril and Methodius, brothers from what in biblical times was
known as Thessalonica, were ninth-century missionaries to the Slavic
people in Eastern Europe. Not only did they learn the oral language of
the people, but they developed an alphabet and written language so that
the Bible and liturgical texts could be translated into the living
language of the people. They were truly remarkable men of God.

Leon Suprenant has a good point especially
since we have no idea which St. Valentine this day is named after.

Surely Sts. Cyril and Methodius are much
more cool being brother Bishops and  brothers and how many
people have invented a language that is still used today?
 Their missionary work and the spread of the Gospel surely
warrant more attention than they get on the memorial.  But
then again considering performances of the Vagina Monologue, official
New York City brand condom giveaways, and all the other nonsense that
goes on this day  – I bet they are happy to take a back seat
to St. Valentine and quite happy that this stuff does not get
attributed to them.  Though we might want to give a shout out
to the St. Valentine and commiserate with him because surely if he
wasn’t in the Beatific Vision he would be a little down today. 

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Want to use Jesus hand cream? Well, you can’t anymore. At least not in Singapore.

A Singapore-based retailer pulled a line of cheeky Jesus branded cosmetics from its shelves after complaints from irate Catholics, the local newspaper reported on Tuesday.

The cosmetics, called "Lookin’ Good for Jesus", is made by American makeup company Blue Q. It was sold in three Topshop outlets in Singapore.

Wing Tai Holdings, which manages the Topshop brand in the city-state, pulled the items off its shelves late last month after some customers complained, the Straits Times newspaper reported.

"We don’t want to offend our customers," a company spokesman was quoted by the paper as saying.

Reuters could not get a comment from Wing Tai as its offices were closed for the Lunar New Year holiday.

…Some of the products sold include, a "virtuous vanilla" lip balm, hand and body cream and a mirrored Jesus statuette. They feature a drawing of Jesus flanked by two adoring women and carry slogans such as "Get tight with Christ", "Get His Attention" and "Redeem Your Reputation and More".

Here a product line that wasn’t well thought out. The Jesus "Show me the money" wallet is certainly one of the strangest product combinations I have ever seen.

But Lookin’ good for Jesus does not exactly fit "But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” Though if you really want to be "Lookin’ good for Jesus" then the confessional is the perfect beauty salon. Even better in the confessional you don’t need Jesus Bubble Bath to wash away your sins.

Reuters has a slideshow of the odd products.

I ran this test last year so you can check your progress

Funny how tomorrow this post will elicit no reaction.

Winston Churchill made no secret of his
love of brandy and cigars; Margaret Thatcher was bereft without her
handbag, and Pope Benedict XVI, I can reveal, has Fanta.

When the Archbishop of York, John Sentamu, visited the Vatican this
week, he gave the Holy See a case of Holy Grail beer, brewed in North
Yorkshire. The Pope, however, opted instead for the orange stuff.

“He doesn’t normally drink,” Catholic priest Fr Tim Finigan tells Spy.
“He prefers Fanta. I’m not really sure why, perhaps because it was
originally created in Germany.”

And what does Fanta make of its most famous customer?

“We’re very flattered,” says a spokesman for Coca-Cola, which produces
the fizzy drink.

So might the Pope be fronting its next campaign? “I don’t think so,” he
adds. “He’s not quite right for our target audience.”

Well the Pope is right for all target
audiences, but I don’t think we
want to see him with Fantanas saying “Don’t You Wanta Fanta? “

Fr. Finigan who was quoted maintains an excellent blog here.

 When meeting the pope it is
customary to offer him a gift, and Benedict XVI has amassed many tokens
of esteem. Former British prime minister Tony Blair gave him a painting
of the Catholic convert Cardinal Newman and Saudi Arabia’s King
Abdullah presented him with a jeweled scimitar.

When the Archbishop of York, John Sentamu, met the pontiff he gave him
the Holy Grail, a beer brewed in Masham, North Yorkshire.

It was the highlight of the archbishop’s first trip to Rome to
celebrate the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity and to cement cordial
relations between the Roman Catholic and Anglican Churches.

Following their 15-minute chat in the Basilica di San Paolo Fuori le
Mura, believed to be the burial place of St Paul, Sentamu said: “I told
the brewery I was meeting the pope and they made a special brew for
him. I heard he’d been given some Black Sheep ale and liked it. So I
brought that and the Holy Grail.”

The gifts pleased the pope, who is Bavarian by birth and prefers beer
to wine and water. That the tipple was a one-off would have also suited
a pontiff with designer flourishes. During a two-hour service, which
was peppered with incense, chanting, coughing and ringtones, his
ruby-red Prada loafers peeped out from under his ivory robes.

“I was very impressed by the pope,” Sentamu said. “He cares about human
beings. He is such a deep theologian, it drives him to compassion. He
is not a starchy person, but people look at his writings, they are very
precise, and think he is like that … but he is very warm.”

This
is the beer given which includes the motto “Tempered over burning
witches.”  Which prompts the question “What is the speed of
the unladen sparrow and are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not
one of them will fall to the ground without your Father’s will. “

PHOENIX — Football fans struggling to
find a place to stay for the Super Bowl may not be entirely out of
luck: there are still beds available at the local monastery.

The Benedictine nuns of Our Lady of Guadalupe Monastery in Phoenix are
renting out rooms during Super Bowl week for $250 a night, plus $50
extra for each additional person. That’s not an unreasonable fee,
considering a nearby Super 8 Motel is charging $500 a night.

“It’s a different twist for us in the sense that we’ve never opened the
monastery for an event like the Super Bowl,” said Sister Linda of the
Benedictine Sisters of Phoenix. “It’s just a different clientele than
we’re accustomed to.”

The nuns said they plan to use the money to pay for some property they
purchased adjacent to the monastery.

Though the sisters won’t impose a curfew, lodgers at the monastery will
have to abide by a few rules: no smoking, no rowdy behavior and most
importantly, no alcohol.

Super Bowl fans will have to have their crazy fun elsewhere, but at
least confession is conveniently located.

“I would think that God’s got to be excited about the Super Bowl as
well,” Sister Linda said. “He wants people to enjoy life.”

This makes sense since the rule of St.
Benedict Chapter 53 says:

Let all Super Bowl fans who arrive be
received as Christ, because He will say: “I was a stranger and you took
Me in” (Mt 25:35). And let due honor be shown to all, especially to
those fans of the opposing team to the one you like.

Let the kitchen of the Abbot and the guests be apart, that the brethren
may not be disturbed by the guests who arrive at uncertain times
because of Super Bowl parties and who are never wanting in the
monastery. Let two brothers who are able to fulfill this office well go
into the kitchen for a year to be able to provide the guests with
appropriate snacks such as Buffalo Wings and a tray of cold cuts and
cheeses.