I think I'm staying away from Europe and points East for a while,

maybe for the rest of my lifetime.
I've had a yearning to see Barcelona, but perhaps it will never happen.

Thank goodness, there's still plenty to see and do in this hemisphere.

Baptismal records are forever; church membership is not.

Just as a public record (of marriage, divorce, death, etc) is forever, in most cases. The action recorded did indeed happen. Some of the actions can be and are frequently undone, but another public record is made to indicate that. Rarely is a record removed.

Church membership, or at least individual parish membership, on the other hand, is usually counted yearly. The various parish memberships are then added together to form the number in the diocese. As is obvious, people move out of the area in which they were baptized and become members of churches in the area into which they have moved. Some join other churches, some cease church-going.

If attrition is not accounted for, growth, where it is caused by an influx of population, as in the South or the West, would not be recognized with any kind of accuracy. Similarly, when an area loses population, that has to be accounted for, in the distribution of clergy and supporting funds.

Where did you find that info? nt

I doubt any of those museums will do anything to endanger money contributions,

no matter the source.
PBS as well.

I'm envisioning the pilot still at the airplane controls, with an armed hijacker

giving orders.

It would be better for us all if it was not so.
Europe has many scary scenarios playing out, making it harder to carry on normal business and living conditions without fear.
Imagine how the school-mates and families of those 16 or so students who were lost will be affected long-term.

It's my understanding that the plane descended at a steady 400mph,

and under normal conditions would have leveled off at 10,00 ft, but, in this case, did not, and crashed at ca 6800 ft.

The fact that the descent was "controlled" - i.e., not a free fall

which would accelerate the further it fell and got closer to earth, would indicate that either it had been set for that speed on automatic pilot, or that a person was controlling the descent speed.

Also, it seems there was no communication from the pilot in the 8- 10 minutes before the crash.

I notice there has been no on-air spoken speculation of a hijacking;

the complete lack of this mention, given the many tensions in Europe at this time, speaks volumes in and of itself.

While we all hope that a hijacking did not occur, that thought is at least as valid as some of the other possibilities for the cause now being offered.

Barbaric. nt

And tonight we hear that the Ms. Robinson, the President's niece, and

basketball player for Princeton, is receiving threats.

What is wrong with some people?