A Place of Brightness: november 13

Showing posts with label november 13. Show all posts

Saturday, November 14, 2015

Ciprian Calciu and Mariana Lăcrămioara Pop - May They Rest in Peace / Odihnească-se în pace

If you don't know Romanian you wouldn't have ever known about the lives of Ciprian Calciu and Mariana Lăcrămioara Pop, two Romanian citizens who died last night in the terrorist attacks in Paris. To honor their memory, I will describe them in English so that a wider world may know their story.

Ciprian Calciu (32 years old) came from Tulcea, a city near the Danube Delta in Romania. He was a graduate from the Henri Coandă Technical College.

Mariana Lăcrămioara Pop (29 years old) came from Baia Mare, a city in the North-West of Romania. She was a graduate of the Anghel Saligny Technical College.

They had both moved to France seeking a better life and work opportunities. And there they met each other and fell in love. Ciprian was working as a mechanic for an elevator company; Mariana was working as a bartender. They have a son, one and half years old.

Last night, they went to an anniversary party with friends at the restaurant La Belle Équipe. Their son was at home, being cared for by Mariana's mother. Also at home was Mariana's eleven year old daughter from a previous marriage.

The two were enjoying the party together with their friends when terrorists from the self-proclaimed Islamic State burst in firing bullets into the space. Ciprian and Mariana, along with 17 other people, died in that attack.

They were two beautiful people working hard to build a life for themselves and their children. They did not deserve for their lives to be cut short by this senseless brutality.

France has declared itself to now be at war. And I believe we need to stand beside our oldest ally.

But in this moment, I just pray for Ciprian and Mariana in the words of our Orthodox tradition. And I invite you to pray for them and their loved ones, as well as all who have died and were injured in these attacks.

Veşnica Pomenire.
Memory Eternal.

în loc luminat, în loc cu verdeaţă, în loc de odihnă.
In a Place of Brightness, in a Place of Verdure, in a Place of Repose.

Odihnească-se în pace.
May They Rest in Peace.

Henri Co

Henri Coandă

Friday, November 13, 2015

Casus Foederis - Casus Belli : The Case for the Alliance - The Case for War

Article 5 of the NATO Treaty allows a member nation to claim that an armed attack against one member is an attack against all. This holds the implication that all members are bound to respond militarily if the offended member decided to choose that route.

This is known, in Latin as the Casus Foederis, Latin for "The Case for the Alliance." (Literally "The Case of the Alliance.") The Alliance includes accepting responsibility to go to war if the Alliance is thus triggered into action.

The NATO treaty members were triggered to war only once, so far. The United States invoked Article 5 after the 9/11 attacks. And NATO members dutifully participated in a number of military actions in Afghanistan as a result.

As I write this post, we are watching the death toll in the Paris attacks grow by the minute. And the fact is, France has every right, just as the USA did, to invoke Article 5 at this moment. They have been grievously attacked by an entity that calls itself a State. (I'm assuming, but I'm right, that this attack will eventually be deemed ISIS related.)

The term Casus Belli is Latin for "The Case for War." (Literally "The Case of the War.") This refers to an event that is used as a pretense for embarking on a war. Julius Caesar used the migration of the Helvetian people as a Casus Belli to invade and conquer Gaul. The United States of America used the explosion of the USS Maine as a Casus Belli to start to the Spanish-American War. (Granted, it is not at all clear that Spain had anything to do with the destruction of that ship.)

The fact is, the events of this day may very well be both a Casus Belli for France and a Casus Foederis. History may look upon today as a crucial juncture in the flow of this war.

We Americans must never forget the significant assistance France rendered us in our War of Independence. Did we repay that in WWI? Certainly. Did we repay that in WWII? Certainly. Is our debt to them cancelled? Never. We are friends forever. However they choose to respond to this attack, we must stand beside them.

________________________________________________________________

https://www.amazon.com/Saecula-Saeculorum-Keith-Massey/dp/0984343253?ie=UTF8&creativeASIN=0984343253&linkCode=w00&linkId=5WIF2DJM6ZHW3LFX&redirect=true&ref_=as_sl_pc_tf_til&tag=keitmassintea-20

If you're interested in Latin or ancient history, or even just an entertaining read, check out the time-travel thriller In Saecula Saeculorum. Click to learn more.

It's a bargain at 0.99 cents on Kindle (or affordably priced at $11.90 on paperback).

You'll travel back to ancient Rome on a harrowing mission to save the modern world. It's the adventure of four lifetimes.

________________________________________________________________

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)

In Saecula Saeculorum, the 4th Novel in the Valquist Series

In this fourth novel of the Valquist Series, Andrew Valquist is retired (?) from the National Security Agency and teaching Latin at a Classical Academy in the Washington DC area. But in the world of espionage, looks can be deceiving. He's not necessarily happy with the role he has played in all this, but the school was actually a joint NSA/MI-6 Project in which four young people have been unwittingly prepared for a mission to travel back in time to ancient Rome to retrieve information from a library that may save the modern world from certain destruction. They know they have to at least try to save humanity, but can they also save each other?

Next Stop: Spanish, the 3rd Novel in the Valquist Series

This third novel in the Valquist Series can be read as an espionage action-adventure in its own right, but also you can use it as a way to either brush up on your Spanish or learn functional Spanish for the first time! John Valquist needs to learn Spanish. But he's in luck, since his uncle Andrew is a language expert and a former (?) spy who is taking him on a vacation to Spain so he can study the language. In Next Stop: Spanish, you have the chance to see and study the words John studies, and then watch him add more and more Spanish into his dialogue as the story progresses. During this vacation, they get pulled into espionage intrigue (why do these things always happen to the Valquist family?). In the dramatic conclusion, John will need to put together everything he has learned to save his uncle!

Amor Vincit Omnia: the 2nd Novel in the Valquist Series

In this second novel of the Valquist Series, Keith Massey takes you into the halls of the National Security Agency, where he himself worked for four years after 9/11 and an Arabic linguist. You follow our hero Andrew Valquist, as he starts work as a new recruit at the NSA. Little does he know that on his first on the job, he's about to fly off on an unexpected overseas assignment. He'll be even more surprised when he learns that his background in ancient Latin will be crucial to the mission!