Posted by Jim on May 15, 2018
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
I am writing to ask for your support in a critical matter.
As you may know, Fidelis Care, a non-profit health insurer that has served the poor and needy of New York, began operating in 1993 as the Catholic Health Services Plan of Brooklyn and Queens. In 1997, the eight bishops of the Catholic dioceses of New York, led by John Cardinal O’Connor, expanded Fidelis Care across the state to improve the health and wellness of underserved New Yorkers. It has become a model for managed care in the United States.
In recent years, however, it has become clear that the Church could better address the health and health-related needs of the underserved by exiting the increasing technology-driven insurance business and refocusing our efforts.
This is why, in September 2017, we announced that Centene Corporation, a national leader in providing managed care insurance plans, had agreed to buy the assets of Fidelis Care, so that the Church could continue to meet the health care needs of New Yorkers throughout the State in new and innovative ways.
Through consultation with philanthropy experts, it became clear that the best path forward was to establish a foundation to continue our mission of caring for New Yorkers in need and addressing social determinants of health outcomes. Therefore, the Catholic bishops have approved the creation of the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation, to undertake this critical new way of serving people of all faiths with their health and health-related needs.
The transaction has been approved by the New York Department of Health and the New York Department of Financial Services. A review by the New York Office of the Attorney General marks the final phase of approval. Once approved, the Foundation can begin initial grantmaking activity to communities and organizations throughout New York State, issuing grants totaling up to $150M annually.
I kindly ask that you click on this link to send an e-mail to the New York Office of the Attorney General asking them to approve this foundation:
https://www.votervoice.net/NYSCATHOLIC/campaigns/59123/respond
Letters are due May 23rd and then will be compiled and added to the public record.
Your prayers, support and action on this matter are critical to achieving the long-term vision for the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation and making New York a healthier, more equitable place for all.
Thank you.
Faithfully in Christ,
Timothy Michael Cardinal Dolan
Archbishop of New York
Posted by Jim on
May 15th
Active Firefighter Terence M. Lorino Ladder Company 51
WAKE Wednesday, May 16, 2018 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm Thursday, May 17, 2018 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm and 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm Charles G. Schmitt Funeral Home 3863 Merrick Road Seaford, NY 11783 FUNERAL Friday, May 18, 2018 11:00 am St. William the Abbot Church 2000 Jackson Ave Seaford, NY 11783 All Off-Duty Members should attend in Class A Uniform. |
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Posted by Jim on
May 14th
GOOSE FEST BENEFIT IN HONOR OF LIEUTENANT CHRISTOPHER J. RAGUSO On Sunday, May 20, 2018, a benefit will be held in honor of MST SGT / FDNY LT / Honorary CFD Chief Christopher J. Raguso at Hoyt Farm Park Preserve. The festival begins at 12:00 pm. Tickets include beer, wine, water, soda and food donated by local supporters. There will be live bands throughout the day, along with amazing raffle items and a 50/50 raffle. For $50 advanced tickets, visit www.goosefest.eventbrite.com. Tickets will also be available at the door on the day of the event. Children 12 & under are free. All proceeds will go to Lt. Chris Raguso’s family. For more information, please email goosefest2018@gmail.com. 6TH & 7TH DIVISION MEDAL DAY Engine 68 & Ladder 49 will host the 6th and 7th Division Medal Day on Wednesday, June 6, 2018, from 1:00 pm – 8:00 pm at Billy’s Sports Bar, 856 River Avenue, in the Bronx. The celebration will include an outdoor BBQ, hot buffet, beer, water, soda and music. The Medal Recipients are:
- Lt. James P. Lee, Jr., Division 7
- FF Lucas A. Niskanen, Ladder 31
- FF Collin Sheil, Ladder 45
- FF Kristian McNaughton, Ladder 19
- Lt. Michael J. Conboy, Rescue 3
- FF James J. McConville, Ladder 39
- FF Scott M. Doody, Rescue 3
- FF Erik A. Lubniewski, Ladder 39
FDNY HANDBALL TOURNAMENT Come and play an original NYC sport, handball, in the first ever FDNY Doubles Handball Tournament. The objective is 21! The tournament will be held at Juniper Park in Middle Village (corner of 80th St / Juniper Blvd North) in Queens on Saturday, May 26, 2018. Registration begins at 10:30 am, and the tournament will begin by 11:00 am. Please be sure to bring your FDNY ID. To register, you must login to the PayPal link paypal.me/pools/c/83tczTiPW3 and provide names for each player, along with payment of $50 per team. The first 32 teams will be eligible. You must be an FDNY employee to play.
- 1st Prize = $500
- 2nd Prize = $200
- 3rd Prize = $100
The rest of the proceeds will be donated to the EMS Health Fund to benefit members in need after tragic events, or when unusual circumstances arise. ON THE ARM BREAKFAST AT FRIENDS OF FIREFIGHTERS On Wednesday, May 16th, from 8:00-11:00 AM, drop by Friends of Firefighters’ historic firehouse, located at 199 Van Brunt Street, Brooklyn, NY 11231, for another delicious breakfast prepared by retired firefighter Tony Cat and friends. As always, breakfast is free to all FDNY members, active and retired, and their families. No RSVP needed, just your company and appetite. FIREHOUSE KITCHEN TALK AT FRIENDS OF FIREFIGHTERS Fire sprinklers and firefighters go hand in hand. Both can suppress a fire, but in combination, fires don’t stand a chance. Understanding the critical points of a fire protection system is key to utilizing these systems at their full potential. Join Friends of Firefighters on Tuesday, May 29th, from 6:00-9:00 PM, at 199 Van Brunt Street, Brooklyn, NY 11231, for a free presentation from The New York Fire Sprinkler Contractor’s Association, a not-for-profit corporation committed to providing education and coordination for Authorities Having Jurisdiction to protect public safety through the proper use of fire sprinkler systems. NORWEGIAN INDEPENDENCE DAY PARADE Permission is granted for off-duty members to participate in the annual Norwegian Independence Day Parade. The parade will begin at 1330 hours on Sunday, May 20, 2018. The Viking Society of the FDNY requests participating members to assemble at 80th Street and 3rd Avenue, Brooklyn, NY, at 1300 hours. All off-duty members and their families are invited to attend. Members are requested to attend in dress uniform. |
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Posted by Jim on May 12, 2018
Loughgall documents point to war crime
Members of the IRA unit shot dead in a British Army ambush at Loughgall
had been under surveillance for weeks, it was confirmed this week.
A lawyer for the father of one of the eight republicans killed at
Loughgall in County Armagh in 1987 said the new information is a major
development in the case.
Relatives of the dead men and legal representatives point out that the
disclosure proves that the men should have been arrested and their
deaths prevented.
‘Elite’ SAS soldiers wiped out the IRA’s East Tyrone unit as it was
preparing to mount an attack against Loughgall RUC barracks in May 1987.
It has thought the orders for the massacre, the North’s most notorious
‘shoot-to-kill’ act of targeted assassination, came directly from the
British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. It was the IRA’s single
largest loss of life during the conflict.
Declan Arthurs’ father, Patrick, is suing the Ministry of Defence (MoD)
over the ambush, as well as the PSNI (formerly RUC), who took part in
the operation.
Partially censored documents have now been disclosed by the PSNI as part
of his legal action. Mr Arthurs’s barrister said they revealed an SAS
operation had been watching eight of those who ended up dying for a
number of weeks prior to the ambush.
Mairead Kelly of the Loughgall Truth and Justice Campaign said: “It has
long been suspected by the bereaved families of Loughgall that the SAS
shoot-to-kill operation did not have to happen.
“This recent raft of discovery shows that the state authorities had
sufficient information to effect arrests long in advance but instead
undertook a premeditated shoot-to-kill strategy.”
Ms McKeegan, of KRW Law, said the new material from the PSNI “proves
that the security services not only could have prevented the ambush but
that the MoD have not been up-front in relation to their disclosure
obligations in this case”.
She said that previous disclosure from the MoD made no reference to SAS
surveillance of the IRA men in advance of the shootings.
Funding for outstanding inquests from the conflict, including the
Loughgall massacre continue to be blocked by government officials
despite a recent court ruling that former First Minister, DUP leader
Arlene Foster, had illegally withheld the cash.
Ms McKeegan said the new evidence “further highlights the need for the
fresh inquests and the need for the money to be released from the
[British] government immediately so that all victims of the conflict can
obtain the answers that they so greatly need and deserve.”
Posted by Jim on
Francis Hughes: Scourge of the UDR
A contemporaneous account of the life of Francis Hughes following his
death on May 12, 1981 while on hunger striker against the Tory
criminalisation of republican prisoners. From the Starry Plough.
The name of Francis Hughes will surely continue to stick in the throats
of British military and political hawks.
Unlike many of those who make the ultimate sacrifice Francis Hughes had
already become a legend in his own lifetime and amongst his own people
as one of the most capable guerrilla fighters Ireland has produced in
the long war against British Imperialism.
Having put Francis Hughes “safely away” in 1978 the British assumed that
his name would no longer strike terror in their own hearts and a chord
in the minds of people in South Derry.
The British were exultant at his arrest following a gun battle in which
Francis and a comrade killed an SAS man and wounded another. Despite an
awesome wound he refused to answer his interrogators who later described
him as “totally uncooperative”. After the usual mockery of a Diplock
trial British soldiers felt slightly more relaxed in South Derry and
surrounding areas. Very foolish of them of course but then the British
military mind has never understood the collective spirit of solidarity
engendered by individually brilliant revolutionary soldiers like Francis
Hughes.
And brilliant he was. His exploits are legion and legendary spreading
through areas of Tyrone, Derry and Antrim. They are too numerous to
recount here. Suffice it to say that all the normal cliches like
dedication, bravery, military skill and the like are inadequate to
describe a man who caused the British military machine as much grief as
most guerrilla fighters from Tom Barry, Michael Collins and through to
the modern breed of fighters.
One or two examples of his coolness and ingenuity would make even
Collins look like a novice. The night he was surrounded by British
soldiers in one of the numerous “safe houses” in his area of operation
he simply grabbed his rifle and weaved his way through the tightening
circle stopping occasionally to mumble a few familiar words with the
professionals of the British Army whose perception of the “stupid Irish”
has often been a weapon in our favour. He got away then as on many other
occasions.
Behind his folk hero status in South Derry, however, lies the fairly
typical story of a young Irish man who was not allowed to grow up
normally in the artificial police state called Northern Ireland. It was
not for want of trying.
Showing an aptitude for history and woodwork at school he started an
apprenticeship as a painter and decorator at the age of 16 years which
he completed shortly before becoming a full time revolutionary. Shortly
after he became a painter he and a friend receive a brutal beating from
British soldiers on a lonely country road one night. The experience was
to prove more painful to the Brits than Francis himself over the next
few years.
Responsible for more attacks on British forces than the combined
strength of many other units put together he became the “most wanted
man” in the Six Counties. So feared was he that his comrades recalled
recently in Republican News one UDR patrol recognised him once at a
checkpoint but fearful (wisely) of a shoot-out they waved him through.
Francis Hughes is now doubly famous and revered. His hunger strike to
the death was just the ultimate proof, if any were needed, that his
determination and actions in the field were inspired by a profound
political motivation.
If the entire body of self-seekers now scrambling to retain their seats
in the Dail possessed between them just a portion of the guts and
conviction that Francis showed there might not be the need for the
ending of many young Irish lives.