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Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Jewish boycott;DADT;Korea talks;New Arms Race;World Heritage Sites;EULEX-Kosmet;Apostle Andrew



Kauft nicht bei Juden – “Don’t buy from Jews” – is back. The call to boycott Jewish commerce is Europe’s oldest political appeal. Once again, as the tsunami of hate against Israel rolls out from the Right and the Left, from Islamist ideologues to Europe’s cultural elites, the demand is to punish the Jews. That the actions of the Israeli government are open to criticism is a fact. But what are the real arguments? Firstly, that Israel is wrong to defy international law as an occupying force on the West Bank. But what about Turkey? It has 35,000 soldiers occupying the territory of a sovereign republic – Cyprus. Ankara has sent hundreds of thousands of settlers to colonize the ancient Greekowned lands of northern Cyprus. Turkey has been told again and again by the UN to withdraw its troops. Instead, it now also stands accused of destroying the ancient Christian churches of northern Cyprus. Does anyone call for a boycott of Turkey, or urge companies to divest from it? No. Only the Jews are targeted. Or take India; 500,000 Indian soldiers occupy Kashmir... May we talk of the western Sahara and Morocco, or Algeria’s closure of the border there, making life far worse than that of Palestinians in Ramallah or Hebron? No, better not... Second, the desire for peace in the Middle East is a global priority. But peace requires recognition of the Jewish state of Israel. There are 40 member states of the UN which have the words “Muslim” or “Islamic” in their names. No one challenges their right to exist or defend themselves. Israel unilaterally withdrew from Gaza. Its reward was to have the territory turned into a new launch pad for rockets intended to kill Jews. More rockets have been fired at Israel from Gaza than V1 or V2 rockets at London in 1944. No one blamed Winston Churchill for responding with all the force he could, as cities like Hamburg or Dresden faced the wrath of the RAF. But if Israel takes the slightest action against the Jew-killers of Hamas, all the hate of the world falls on its head... Those who dislike Israeli rightwing policies must find other language than that of classical anti- Semitism... As Europeans we must reject the old language of boycott and economic campaigns against Jews. Israel, Palestine and Europe must all have a 21st century future, and not return to the hates of the past.


The U.S. Defense Department's long-anticipated report on the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy is being prepared for release Tuesday to lawmakers. Pentagon officials will distribute advance copies of the report on the policy barring gays and lesbians from openly serving in the military and brief staff members of the House and Senate Armed Services committees. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen also will conduct a news conference at the Pentagon about the report and why they support changing the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. The report includes a poll of active-duty military and families, and lays out how the Defense Department can implement the policy change if Congress votes for a repeal. Co-author Army Gen. Carter Ham said the report was the most comprehensive personnel policy assessment in the Defense Department ever, CNN reported. The Senate Armed Services Committee has scheduled hearings Thursday and Friday.


The United States, South Korea and Japan are all balking at China's request for emergency talks with North Korea over the crisis on the Korean Peninsula, as high-profile military exercises between South Korea and the United States in the Yellow Sea continued in a show of force. Obama administration officials said a return to the table with North Korea, as China sought over the weekend, would be rewarding Pyongyang for provocative behavior during the past week, including the North's deadly artillery attack on a South Korean island and its disclosure of a uranium enrichment plant. Beijing called for emergency talks with North Korea, the United States, Japan, South Korea and Russia, participants in the six-party nuclear talks, which have been suspended indefinitely. Rejecting the emergency talks amounts to a pointed rebuke to China. The United States wanted China to signal clearly that North Korea's aggressive behavior would not be tolerated. Instead, Beijing remained neutral about who was responsible for the flare-up. It remains unclear just what the United States would actually accept from North Korea to return to talks.


President Dmitri A. Medvedev, expressing continued wariness over the prospect of military cooperation with his country’s former Cold War adversaries, warned on Tuesday that a failure by Russia and the West to reach an agreement on missile defense could provoke a new arms race. The remarks, delivered in Mr. Medvedev’s annual state of the nation address, came just weeks after the Russian president had signaled his country’s readiness to begin cooperating with NATO on the development of a European missile defense network. “The following alternatives await us in the next 10 years,” Mr. Medvedev told an audience of Russia’s top leaders gathered at the Kremlin. “Either we reach an agreement on missile defense and create a joint mechanism for cooperation or, if we do not succeed in entering into a constructive understanding, there will begin a new arms race.” In the absence of cooperation, he said, Russia would be prepared to deploy “new means of attack.” Missile defense has been a longstanding impediment in relations between Russia and the West. Russian leaders staunchly opposed a Bush Administration plan to deploy elements of a missile shield in Poland and the Czech Republic, claiming that such a system could be directed against Russia. President Obama altered the Bush plan in part by changing the location of missile interceptors, a move that assuaged Moscow’s fears somewhat. NATO leaders agreed at a summit meeting this month in Lisbon to create a defense shield that would protect all NATO members from attacks by rogue countries like Iran. At the meeting, Mr. Medvedev accepted NATO’s invitation for Russia to participate in the project, although it is still unclear exactly what Russia’s role would be.


A United Nations committee tasked with safeguarding the world’s valued cultural heritage that might be threatened in times of armed conflict has granted enhanced protection status to three sites in Cyprus and another one in Italy. The sites – Choirokoitia, Paphos and the Painted Churches of the Troodos region in Cyprus, as well as the Castel del Monte in Italy – were declared as being in need of enhanced protection by the Committee for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) during a meeting in Paris this week. “Enhanced protection status reinforces the legal measures in place to prevent such terrible losses to the world’s cultural heritage,” he added after the status was granted, the first such decision by the Committee. The “enhanced protection” status is one of the features of the 1999 Second Protocol to the Hague Convention of 1954 for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict. The granting of such protection by the Committee to sites in countries that are party to the Second Protocol can be made under three conditions – that the site be of the greatest importance to humanity; that it be protected by adequate domestic legal and administrative measures recognizing its exceptional cultural and historic value and ensuring the highest level of protection; and that it not be used for military purposes or to shield military sites. The protection means that States cannot fall back on the argument of “imperative military necessity” for using or targeting cultural sites in times of conflict. It also obligates States to make intentional attacks against identified sites a criminal offence or to penalize use of such sites or their immediate surroundings in support of military action. To view and interactive map, as well as a list, please click here.


Deputy Director of Police at the Interior Ministry Branislav Mitrovic said today that the ministry in cooperation with EULEX in Kosovo-Metohija is trying to provide more security for Serbs in northern Kosovo-Metohija. Presenting a report on the security situation in the province at a session of the parliament’s Committee for Kosovo-Metohija, he recalled that cooperation with EULEX is necessary because the Serbian Interior Ministry has operational presence in the province. This cooperation with the representatives of EULEX is very useful because of information sharing. The Deputy Director of Police pointed out that there are still pressures on the Serbs in the province manifested as attacks on personal and property security, the destruction of property and denial of telecommunication links. Mitrovic said that organised crime exists in Kosovo-Metohija noting that a special problem is the border with Albania, which is almost completely open. Also present in Kosovo-Metohija is the production and distribution of drugs and illegal trade from the African and Asian areas to EU countries, he noted, reiterating that organised crime is not present in northern Kosovo-Metohija, where Serbs are majority population, but only in the southern parts of the province. Mitrovic said he also informed EULEX officials about this, so as to prevent the arrival of special mono-ethnic units to the north of Kosovo-Metohija, which could cause instability and anxiety among the Serbian population. Mitrovic specified that the Kosovo Police Service (KPS) now numbers about 700 Serbs, adding that this number should be increased so that they could legally be able to protect their fellow citizens.

The Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called was the first of the Apostles to follow Christ, and he later brought his own brother, the holy Apostle Peter, to Christ (John 1:35-42). The future apostle was from Bethsaida, and from his youth he turned with all his soul to God. He did not enter into marriage, and he worked with his brother as a fisherman. When the holy Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist John began to preach, St Andrew became his closest disciple. St John the Baptist himself sent to Christ his own two disciples, the future Apostles Andrew and John the Theologian, declaring Christ to be the Lamb of God. After the Descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles, St Andrew went to the Eastern lands preaching the Word of God. He went through Asia Minor, Thrace, Macedonia, he reached the River Danube, went along the coast of the Black Sea, through Crimea, the Black Sea region and along the River Dniepr he climbed to the place where the city of Kiev now stands. He stopped overnight on the hills of Kiev. Rising in the morning, he said to those disciples that were with him: "See these hills? Upon these hills shall shine forth the beneficence of God, and there will be a great city here, and God shall raise up many churches." The apostle went up around the hills, blessed them and set up a cross. Having prayed, he went up even further along the Dniepr and reached a settlement of the Slavs, where Novgorod was built. From here the apostle went through the land of the Varangians towards Rome for preaching, and again he returned to Thrace, where in the small village of Byzantium, the future Constantinople, he founded the Church of Christ. The name of the holy Apostle Andrew links the mother, the Church of Constantinople, with her daughter, the Russian Church. On his journeys the First-Called Apostle endured many sufferings and torments from pagans: they cast him out of their cities and they beat him. In Sinope they pelted him with stones, but remaining unharmed, the persistant disciple of Christ continued to preach to people about the Savior. Through the prayers of the Apostle, the Lord worked miracles. By the labors of the holy Apostle Andrew, Christian Churches were established, for which he provided bishops and clergy. The final city to which the Apostle came was the city of Patra, where he was destined to suffer martyrdom. The Lord worked many miracles through His disciple in Patra. The infirm were made whole, and the blind received their sight. Through the prayers of the Apostle, the illustrious citizen Sosios recovered from serious illness; he healed Maximilla, wife of the governor of Patra, and his brother Stratokles. The miracles accomplished by the Apostle and his fiery speech enlightened almost all the citizens of the city of Patra with the true Faith. Few pagans remained at Patra, but among them was the prefect of the city, Aegeatos. The Apostle Andrew repeatedly turned to him with the words of the Gospel. But even the miracles of the Apostle did not convince Aegeatos. The holy Apostle with love and humility appealed to his soul, striving to reveal to him the Christian mystery of life eternal, through the wonderworking power of the Holy Cross of the Lord. The angry Aegeatos gave orders to crucify the apostle [on a cross in the shape of an "X," the first letter of "Christ" in Greek; this cross is also the symbol of Saint Andrew]. The pagan thought he might undo St Andrew's preaching if he were to put him to death on the cross. St Andrew the First-Called accepted the decision of the prefect with joy and with prayer to the Lord, and went willingly to the place of execution. In order to prolong the suffering of the saint, Aegeatos gave orders not to nail the saint's hands and feet, but to tie them to the cross. For two days the apostle taught the citizens who gathered about. The people, in listening to him, with all their souls pitied him and tried to take St Andrew down from the cross. Fearing a riot of the people, Aegeatos gave orders to stop the execution. But the holy apostle began to pray that the Lord would grant him death on the cross. Just as the soldiers tried to take hold of the Apostle Andrew, they lost control of their hands. The crucified apostle, having given glory to God, said: "Lord Jesus Christ, receive my spirit." Then a blazing ray of divine light illumined the cross and the martyr crucified upon it. When the light faded, the holy Apostle Andrew had already given up his holy soul to the Lord. Maximilla, the wife of the prefect, had the body of the saint taken down from the cross, and buried him with honor. A few centuries later, under the emperor Constantine the Great, the relics of the holy Apostle Andrew were solemnly transferred to Constantinople and placed in the church of the Holy Apostles beside the relics of the holy Evangelist Luke and St Paul's disciple St Timothy.

Monday, November 29, 2010

Lame-Duck session;S.Korean response;Iran talks;Climate talks;OSCE,Georgia,S.Ossetia; Serbia-Greece, Russia, Kosovo churches



The House and Senate return Monday from their Thanksgiving break to resume the lame-duck session. One remaining item on the agenda for the lower chamber is a censure vote on Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.). The ethics committee recommended censure for the 20-term lawmaker and the full House has to vote on it. It can pass with a simple majority. The House also has to pass the “doc-fix,” which will prevent the cut of Medicare payments to physicians. The House is scheduled to vote on it Monday. The Senate approved the fix on Nov. 19. The Senate could vote on a three-year moratorium on earmarks; 67 votes are needed for passage, and reaching that threshold is considered unlikely. The administration is pushing the upper chamber to hold a vote on New START, an arms reduction treaty between the U.S. and Russia. Other items Congress must deal with before the end of the year: whether to extend the Bush-era tax cuts; passing a federal budget or a continuing resolution to keep the government running; and extending long-term unemployment benefits. The Pentagon releases its one-year study on the repeal of “Don’t ask, don’t tell” on Tuesday. Pentagon leaders will testify before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday and Friday. The president’s fiscal commission is scheduled to release its final report this week. The co-chairmen issued a draft proposal in early November on how to cut the deficit. To read a list of possible items for this Monday, November 29 - Friday, December 3, on the Hill, please click here.


South Korea will "firmly" respond to future provocations from North Korea, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said Monday, declaring that his nation "cannot remain patient" in the face of continued hostility from Pyongyang. "Fellow citizens, at this point, actions are more important than words," Lee said in a televised address Monday morning. "Please have trust in the government and the military and support us." Lee's address came a day after South Korean and U.S. forces started joint military exercises Sunday, prompting a furious response from North Korea. The aircraft carrier USS George Washington is set to join South Korea's forces near the coasts of China and North Korea for the four-day drill, which the North called "no more than an attempt to find a pretext for aggression and ignite a war at any cost," according to the official Korean Central News Agency. China, North Korea's closest ally, called Sunday for an emergency meeting of the six major powers involved in talks about the Korean peninsula. Top diplomats from the six nations -- which also include Japan, the United States and Russia -- need to meet soon to "maintain peace and stability on the peninsula and ease the tension" in the region, Beijing's special representative for the region, Wu Dawei, said Sunday. A top Chinese envoy met with Lee on Sunday, and a high-ranking North Korean official will visit Beijing this week, China's Xinhua news agency said. South Korea said Sunday it did not think the time was right for a resumption of the six-party talks, but said it would "bear in mind" the Chinese proposal. In Washington, meanwhile, a State Department spokesperson told CNN that it is consulting with its allies, but resumed six-party talks "cannot substitute for action by North Korea to comply with its obligations."


Iran has accepted a date for talks with major powers, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Monday. The six powers hope the talks will focus on its disputed nuclear program, but Tehran has said its uranium enrichment activity will not be up for negotiation. "Two dates have been proposed, they accepted one of them and we do not have any problem with that," Ahmadinejad told a news conference, adding that the venue was still under discussion.


A new round of U.N. climate talks opens on Monday with almost 200 nations meeting in Mexico in hopes of clinching an agreement on a narrow range of crunch issues dividing rich and emerging economies. The two-week conference at the beach resort of Cancun aims to agree on funds and approaches to preserve rain forests and prepare for a hotter world. It will also seek to formalize existing targets to curb greenhouse gas emissions. The long-running U.N. talks have pitted against each other the world's top two emitters, the United States and China, with U.S. demands for greater Chinese emissions curbs echoing similar pressure on free trade and human rights. On the eve of the talks, Mexican President Felipe Calderon pointed to the economic opportunities from fighting climate change, aiming to end the distrust of the previous summit. "This dilemma between protecting the environment and fighting poverty, between combating climate change and economic growth is a false dilemma," he said pointing to renewable energy as he inaugurated a wind turbine to power the conference hotel. That comment jarred European Union negotiators, who said that the talks must also achieve harder commitments to existing emissions pledges, including from developing countries. "We will look for a limited set of decisions in Cancun. We hope we will lay out the path forward," Artur Runge-Metzger, a senior EU negotiator, said on Sunday. "We do see the outlines of a compromise," said Peter Wittoeck, senior negotiator with Belgium, which holds the rotating EU presidency. The main aim of the talks is to agree a tougher climate deal to succeed the Kyoto Protocol, whose present round ends in 2012, to step up action to fight warming. World temperatures could soar by 4 degrees Celsius (7.2F) by the 2060s in the worst case of climate change and require annual investment of $270 billion (173 billion pounds) just to contain rising sea levels, studies suggested on Sunday.


Georgia and South Ossetia must cooperate to overcome the aftermath of the 2008 war between Georgia and Russia over the republic, a leading official from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said on Monday. Georgia and Russia fought a brief war in South Ossetia in August 2008. Russia recognized South Ossetia and another former Georgian republic, Abkhazia, as independent states shortly after the ceasefire. Tbilisi has declared them occupied territories and broken off relations with Moscow. "The principle of consensus dominates in the OSCE, and there are opposite positions of the state members on this issue," the director of the organization's Secretariat Center on Conflict Prevention, Herbert Salber, said on Monday at a briefing in Kazakhstan's capital of Astana. Kazakshtan holds the OSCE's rotating presidency this year. But Salber said the reconciliation process between Tbilisi and Tskhinvali would take much time. "There is no need to wait for a miracle, but a summit here, in Astana, allows direct talks at a high level," Salber said. The OSCE summit is to take place on December 1-2 in Astana.


Serbian Minister of Foreign Affairs Vuk Jeremic and Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs Dimitris Droutsas agreed on Friday in Thessaloniki that organisation of the summit “Thessaloniki II” in 2014 would give impetus to the EU integration of the Western Balkan countries. Jeremic, who is attending the 23rd meeting of the Council of foreign ministers of member states of the Organisation of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) in Thessaloniki, welcomed this initiative of Greece and underlined that the two countries will continue close cooperation with its partners in the implementation of this idea. He said that relations between Serbia and Greece are excellent, without any unresolved issues and added that Serbia is grateful for the efforts which the Greek government is making today for the European future of the Western Balkans. Jeremic also announced close cooperation with Greece in terms of economy and regional cooperation, pointing out that the two countries have an identical stance towards all the issues in the region and the world. Droutsas acquainted Jeremic with Greece’s initiative to organise a “Thessaloniki II” summit in 2014, when Greece is to take over the EU’s rotating presidency. He highlighted that this gathering will encourage the EU integration of the Balkan states. The Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs voiced his pleasure at the fact that the European Commission will soon compose an opinion needed for Serbia’s EU candidacy.


Russia will take part in the restoration of Orthodox Christian shrines in Kosovo. In an arrangement with UNESCO, Russia will donate $2 mln for this in 2010 – 2011. This money will be spent on restoring four Orthodox facilities which are included in the UNESCO World Heritage list - the monastery of the Serbian Patriarchate in Peć, monasteries in Dečani and Gračanica and the church of the Mother of God in Prizren. Russia is also organizing the necessary administrative work and expert examinations. It will send there experienced architects, engineers and experts who will take part in the restoration works. Since 2000, Albanian separatists have destroyed over 150 monasteries and churches in Kosovo. Many other historical monuments are also under a threat of being destroyed. All this time, Russia has been expressing its readiness to help restore the ruined shrines. The late Russian Orthodox Patriarch Alexy II has many times called on the world’s community to preserve the Kosovo heritage. The Russian Church has been constantly sending its representatives to Kosovo to help restore the ruined churches. The chairman of the Department for external relations of the Russian Orthodox Church Metropolitan Hilary says that the program to restore the Kosovo heritage is still working. “The Russian Church will continue to render feasible help to Orthodox Christians in Kosovo, in particular, to monasteries and convents. The Serbian clergy welcomes Russian monks and nuns when they come to Kosovo. After all, the Russian Church has a lot of experience in organizing monasteries – today, there are over 800 monasteries and convents in Russia. We can well help our brethren in Kosovo.” The UN sees preservation of the UNESCO world heritage as one of its primary tasks. About 200 countries are already taking part in the UN’s program to preserve historical monuments. Russia’s decision to donate money to save the Kosovo shrines is a part of the UN’s humanitarian program for Kosovo.

Friday, November 26, 2010

N/S Korea,U.S.;"Fake"Taliban;Saudi arrest 149;Cyprus talks critical;Aegean rights;ISS crew;Spirit of Thankfulness



Officials in North Korea have warned that they are on the brink of war with the South, as the United States and South Korea prepare to conduct a joint training exercise in the Yellow Sea. Tensions have been high since the North shelled the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong on Tuesday, taking relations between the two Koreas to one of its lowest points since the Korean War. And ahead of the US-South Korean drills scheduled to begin on Sunday, the North continued to rattle its saber, saying it was “ready to annihilate the South’s stronghold” if it violated the North’s sovereignty. North Korea also conducted artillery test fires audible on Yeonpyeong. The rounds fired on Friday were the first heard since the attack earlier this week, and South Korea’s Ministry of Defense spokesman, Kwon Ki-hyeon, told The New York Times that all of the rounds fired appeared to stay within North Korea and were thus likely part of a drill or a show of force designed to keep South Korean forces on edge. South Korea appears to be preparing for the possibility of more acts of aggression, with government officials announcing that they would change their rules of engagement. Previously, those had been designed to stop a conflict from escalating, but they are being altered to make it easier for South Korean forces to respond to any further “provocations,” reports The Chosunilbo. Although many South Koreans doubt that the recent attack will lead to a larger conflict, there has been mounting criticism that Seoul’s response was not strong enough. On Thursday, the country’s Defense minister resigned, and was replaced by a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Kim Kwan-jin. Hundreds of South Koreans also demonstrated in the border town of Paju, saying that their government was “being too weak,” reports the Guardian. President Lee had vowed a strong response to any attack after an investigation found that the North was responsible for the sinking of the South Korean Navy vessel the Cheonan in March. The United States has reemphasized its commitment to South Korea's defense following the artillery attack. Gen. Walter Sharp, the top commander of US forces in Korea, toured artillery-damaged areas on Yeonpyeong just hours before the North conducted its apparent training fire exercise. Although the coming joint military exercises will take place far from the disputed Yellow Sea border, The Korea Herald reports that the North may use them as cause for another act of aggression. The exercises were planned before the attacks happened.


Britain did not respond Friday to Afghan charges its agents introduced an impostor posing as a Taliban leader into President Hamid Karzai's palace. Earlier this week, a New York Times investigation revealed that a man calling himself Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansour had held three meetings with NATO and Afghan officials and met Karzai. Karzai's chief of staff, Mohammad Umer Daudzai, said unidentified British officials brought the man to meet Karzai in July or August, the Washington Post reported Friday. Afghan intelligence later established he was really a shopkeeper from Quetta, Pakistan. Britain's MI6 paid the impostor at least $100,000 over a year, The Daily Telegraph reported Friday, citing unnamed intelligence sources. When an Afghan who knew the real Mansour revealed the error, the man was allowed to return to Pakistan, according to reports. MI6 is thought to have made contact with the false Mansour in Quetta, where the Taliban leadership is based. It is not clear who was responsible for trying to verify his identity.


Interior ministry announces in past 8 months terrorists who were planning attacks on state, security official, journalists detained; 124 are Saudis while the rest belong to other nationalities, report says. The Saudi Arabian Interior Ministry announced on Friday that in the past eight months it has arrested 149 al-Qaida militants who were planning attacks on state and security officials and journalists, AFP reported. Out of the 149, 124 are Saudis while the rest belong to other nationalities, according to a statement carried by state-owned Al-Ekhbareya television. Saudi authorities have also dismantled 19 Al-Qaida cells, the report suggested. In October Saudi intelligence services warned of a new terror threat from al-Qaida against Europe, particularly in France. European officials were informed that al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula was doubtless active or envisioned being active on the European continent.


UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has warned that talks to end Cyprus' 36-year division would suffer a major setback unless progress is reached early next year. The United Nations chief said in a report released on the island Thursday that peace talks "could founder fatally" without a "substantive agreement" being reached before elections in Cyprus and Turkey are held in mid-2011. The Mediterranean island was split into a breakaway Turkish Cypriot north and an internationally recognized Greek Cyprus joined the European Union in 2004, but the breakaway north, where Turkey maintains 35,000 troops, has been effectively left out. The ongoing dispute is hurting EU-NATO co-operation and Turkey's troubled EU membership bid. In his report, Ban described progress in the UN-backed talks as "frustratingly slow," pointing to a stalemate over the key issue of settling property claims by Greek Cypriots displaced from the north in 1974. Ban invited rival Cypriot leaders to U.N. headquarters last week in an effort to revive the process. He will meet with them again in Geneva in late January to gauge the chances for a successful outcome — and he has urged the two side to be "fully prepared with a practical plan." Under the terms of the negotiations, a reunification deal would require approval in separate referendums. Cypriot government spokesman Stefanos Stefanou, responding to the report, said his government remains committed to work "intensively and constructively" for a breakthrough before the Geneva meeting. Cypriot south in 1974 when Turkey invaded.


Prime Minister George Papandreou reiterated, from Parliament's podium on Friday, that there is no issue of co-exploitation in the Aegean Sea with neighbouring Turkey. The premier noted that no such a discussion can be held with Turkey under the still existent threat of war (casus belli) issued in the 1990s by Turkey's assembly, "because our territorial rights are being disputed via incessant violations and infringements, and of course, because Turkey has not recognised the International Law of the Sea." He also cited the fact that the issue of the Aegean's continental shelf has not been resolved based on international law and the International Court of The Hague.


The latest crew to return to Earth from the International Space Station has landed safe and sound. The Soyuz capsule delivered the Russian cosmonaut and two American astronauts to Kazakhstan. The undocking took place as scheduled and the journey back to Earth lasted about three hours. Russian veteran cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin has spent a year in space and his colleagues from NASA, Shannon Walker and Douglas H. Wheelock – about six months each. Their mission included a number of space walks and 120 scientific experiments, including biotechnology, physics and chemistry tests. On Thursday evening, the crew had a Thanksgiving farewell meal with their colleagues staying at the ISS. Three more cosmonauts remain there and they are waiting to welcome three others in the mid-December.


It is natural for us to ask help from God in times of trouble or sorrow. It is also natural to plead on behalf of our loved ones. These two forms of prayer - petition and intercession - are vital. But the prayer of thanksgiving, mentioned so often in Scripture and made so eloquently in many Psalms, must also be an essential part of our lives as Christians. Are we truly thankful to God for His innumerable blessings and mercies toward us? Do we really feel we even have anything to be thankful for? Perhaps, amid our daily duties and struggles, an occasion for gratitude seems hard to find. We may have pressing financial needs, urgent family problems, deep personal sorrows or concerns. We may be only too well aware of the evils of our time, or the sins of our heart. We may simply feel empty, weary, isolated. The evening news, or the events in our neighborhood, may make us feel that talk of thanking God is at best simple-minded and at worst hypocritical. In reality, the practice of prayerful thanksgiving is essential to acquiring inner peace. Far from being simple-minded, it requires - and develops - a living faith and humility in the soul. One of the reasons God often seems far from us is simply because we do not - even will not - see Him where He is, in the daily circumstances of life He sends us. Giving thanks to God for everything in our "ordinary" lives can help us to see at last that nothing in our lives is really ordinary. Life is never "ordinary". It is rather a passage from time into eternity. The circumstances that rise before us, the problems we encounter, the relationships we form, the choices we make, all ultimately concern our eternal union with or separation from God. If we as Christians truly believe that our lives are lived under the sign of the Cross and in the light of eternity, then we must believe that God is with us in all the changing fortunes of our days. And we must also believe that despite natural disasters and human ills, evil is not finally triumphant and death is not victorious. In our lives there are no chance events, no irrational twists of empty fate, but rather the ever-present workings of a provident God, Who uses all means to lead us into the harbor of Christ. When we begin to feel, however faintly, the truth of this, we shall find much to be grateful for. The spirit of thankfulness is a necessary part of the spiritual discipline of living in the present moment - with God - and not in the past or the future. We cannot know what will happen tomorrow, or even tonight; we cannot change what is already past. But we can be grateful today for the blessings of today - the blessing of life itself, the blessing of communion with God through prayer and the Holy Eucharist, the blessing of repentance, the healing of forgiveness. Even the small, seemingly trivial, moments in our day - the sight of a bird in the sky, the greening of a tree, the laugh of a child, the voice of a friend - speak to us of God if only we wish to hear, for everything of beauty, of light, of love, comes to us from Him. In such small moments, as much as in the dramatic crises of our lives, the headlong rush of time opens upon eternity. If we learn to live quietly, attentively, faithfully, in the "now" which alone truly exists for us, we shall be prepared by degrees for the "everlasting now" which awaits us after death. If we do not find and follow Christ in the present moment, we shall not recognize Him at the end of time. Let us ask of God a grateful heart, and let us resolve to give thanks each day for the day itself and the presence of Christ in it, sustaining our life by His hand and giving courage to our struggles, zeal to our repentance, contrition to our prayer, and stability to our labors. If only we will make an effort, we will find that giving thanks to God - even in adversity - opens our hearts to see blessings we had not thought to find.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

EU-NATO obstacles;"Will" on Cyprus;Kosovo fugitive;Merkel on Terror;Cholera,Haiti;Int'l Adoptions;Christians clash,Egypt



When NATO leaders met for dinner last Friday night in Lisbon, there was little opportunity for small talk. Although the NATO secretary general, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, had persuaded all 28 leaders at the summit meeting to agree to a new Strategic Concept for the Alliance, a U.S. missile shield for Europe and a fresh start between NATO and Russia, there was one unresolved issue that dominated most of the two-and-a-half-hour dinner. That was the relationship between NATO and the European Union. It may seem odd that two organizations based in Brussels with 21 member countries in common should spend so much time worrying about their relationship. But the reality is that NATO and the European Union cannot talk to each other easily. This prevents them from having easy access to each other’s military and civilian resources at a time when both organizations are stretched financially and militarily in peacekeeping and combat missions. There are many walls. When NATO ambassadors and diplomats assigned to the E.U.’s Political and Security Committee, or P.S.C., decide to meet, the agenda is scrupulously drawn up to exclude any reference to military or intelligence issues. This is despite the fact that NATO and the E.U. need to deal with such topics because they work together in Bosnia-Herzegovina, in Kosovo, on the Somali coast and in Afghanistan. Even more worrying for both sides, say diplomats, is the lack of any security arrangements that would, for example, allow NATO forces to rescue E.U. police trainers in Afghanistan if they came under attack. The reason for the deadlock is the divided island of Cyprus, whose northern part Turkey invaded in 1974 and has occupied since. This part of the island is recognized only by Turkey. And Turkey, a leading member of NATO and an E.U. applicant, does not recognize the (southern) Republic of Cyprus as a member of the E.U., which it joined in 2004. Since 2004, when the E.U. reneged on its own principles not to admit Cyprus until the island’s status was resolved, the Cyprus-Turkey dispute has become one of the most debilitating and intractable issues inside and between NATO and the E.U., say diplomats from both organizations. Turkey prevents high-level formal meetings between NATO and the P.S.C. on the grounds that Cyprus does not have any security clearance from NATO. It is a member neither of the alliance nor of NATO’s Partnership for Peace, a program of bilateral and security cooperation between individual countries and NATO. Because each NATO member has a veto, Turkey can stop discussions between NATO and the E.U. over military operations and intelligence issues. It can also stop Cyprus from sitting in on these meetings, even though Cyprus is a member of the E.U., and from participating in E.U. peacekeeping missions. Even if Cyprus chose to get around the security clearance issue by applying to join NATO’s Partnership for Peace, Turkey would block it. The retaliations seem endless, say diplomats. They are also damaging NATO as it seeks cooperation with the E.U., whose civilian components, like the police, the judiciary and customs officials, complement NATO’s military resources. They also prevent the E.U. from exploiting the foreign policy and defense potential set out in the Lisbon Treaty.“The Cyprus issue is crippling,” said Mr. Carl Bildt, the Swedish foreign minister. “The key thing is for Cyprus to come together for its own sake. This European nation has been divided for too long,” he added.


Prime Minister George Papandreou met yesterday with Cyprus President Dimitris Christofias and reiterated Greece’s support for Nicosia’a efforts to make progress in peace talks with the Turkish Cypriots while urging Ankara to display the will for a solution. “We back Christofias’s efforts in the hope that the Turkish-Cypriot side will respond to his overture for an honorable solution,” Papandreou said after talks with the visiting Cyprus leader. “It is they who must demonstrate the will to contribute to a serious solution,” the prime minister said, referring to Ankara and the Turkish-Cypriot community. Papandreou reiterated that the Cyprus problem remains “a top priority in Greek foreign policy,” adding that without its resolution, “there can be no full normalization of Greek-Turkish relations.” In comments made in Parliament later yesterday, Christofias stressed that any solution would have to include “an element of compromise.” “We want compromise with the Turkish Cypriots, not occupation,” said Christofias in his first address before Greece’s Parliament. Christofias said that the ideal settlement envisaged by Nicosia remained a “bizonal, bicommunal federation,” but he noted that he and the Turkish-Cypriot leader, hardliner Dervis Eroglu, disagreed about what would constitute this. “Our differences are still on the table,” he said. Christofias added that a solution would have to be based on “the departure of occupying forces from the island and the end of any form of foreign dependence.” Christofias’s visit to Athens followed his three-way talks in New York with Eroglu and United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. The three men agreed to make efforts to speed up the process of peace talks and to meet again at the end of January in Geneva.


A Kosovo Albanian wanted stateside on charges of conspiracy to provide support to terrorists "lives openly" in a Kosovo town. The United States considers "lumberjack Bajram Aslani" one of its most wanted men but, "because of Kosovo's unusual international status", it is unable to have him extradited and interrogated. Unlike others on the FBI most wanted list, says the report, Aslani is "not hiding out in a distant desert or rugged mountain range". He lives with his family next door to a United Nations building, "and on a typical day prays in a local mosque and greets police officers when he goes shopping". The agency describes Kosovo's legal system as "hybrid and weak", where EU judges deal with major terrorism and war crimes cases. “We continue to seek his prosecution in the United States,” U.S. Justice Department spokesman Dean Boyd was quoted. The report adds that a Serbian court sentenced Aslani in absentia in 2009 to eight years in prison for selling weapons to Islamic militants - "a charge he denies". He also denies the U.S. accusations against him, and considers himself "a victim of secret services". Aslani was arrested in June, but EU judges set him free, saying that Americans had not provided sufficient grounds to support their case, and cited the absence of an extradition accord between Washington and Priština, Reuters reports.


German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday said that the terrorist threat facing her country is real, but also called on people to remain calm. Speaking to lawmakers at the Reichstag parliament building, Merkel said that while there is reason to worry, "there's no reason for hysteria." The parliament building was closed down to visitors earlier this week over concerns of a possible terrorist attack. The move came after Der Spiegel magazine reported on the weekend, without citing sources, that an informer claimed to German authorities that al-Qaida planned a possible attack early next year on the parliament building in downtown Berlin. The parliament building was closed down to visitors earlier this week over concerns of a possible terrorist attack. The move came after Der Spiegel magazine reported on the weekend, without citing sources, that an informer claimed to German authorities that al-Qaida planned a possible attack early next year on the parliament building in downtown Berlin.


U.N. officials are calling for a much stronger international response to Haiti's cholera outbreak after new estimates show the epidemic could affect as many as 400,000 people. The U.N.'s humanitarian agency says the new estimate is twice what health officials had earlier projected for how far the outbreak could spread. Health officials say the estimate is a worst-case scenario and could be avoided if prevention and treatment responses can reach enough people. U.N. Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Valerie Amos called the estimate a wake-up call and said investment is needed in cholera prevention throughout Haiti along with more treatment centers and more health workers. Earlier Tuesday, it was announced Amos would be visiting Haiti this week to review the humanitarian response to the cholera outbreak that has killed about 1,300 people. Amos will be in the Caribbean nation for two days, meeting with government and U.N. officials as well as representatives of non-governmental organizations. Besides the cholera epidemic, Haiti is still recovering from a January 12 earthquake which killed more than 200,000 people and left about one million others homeless.


Russia and the United States will hold the next round of talks on drafting a child adoption agreement in Washington on December 1-3, a Russian Education Ministry official said on Wednesday. "There is reason to hope that the negotiations will help deal with the remaining issues and ensure the early signing of an agreement," Alina Levitskaya, director of the ministry's Child Education and Socialization Department, said. Russian Children's Rights Ombudsman Pavel Astakhov has said he may push for a freeze on adoptions of Russian children by U.S. citizens if Russia and the United States fail to seal an adoption agreement by early 2011. Russia is one of the largest sources of adoptions for U.S. families, accounting for about 10 percent of foreign adoptions. The mistreatment of Russian children adopted in the United States has attracted public attention in recent months as a result of a number of highly publicized incidents. In June, a 7-year-old boy was placed alone on a one-way flight to Moscow by his U.S. adoptive mother with a note claiming he was "psychopathic." Following the case, Russia threatened to prohibit child adoptions by U.S. citizens until the countries sign an intergovernmental agreement guaranteeing the rights of adopted children.


Hundreds of Christians clashed with riot police in Cairo in a protest over church construction in which one person was killed and dozens were wounded, witnesses and security sources said. Christian protests on this scale are rare in Muslim-majority Egypt. But sectarian tensions have risen. Analysts say the state needs to address grievances such as those over laws making it easier to build a mosque than a church to prevent an escalation. The Interior Ministry said at least 112 protesters were detained after scuffles in the Giza area of the capital, where the authorities had halted construction of a church although the Orthodox Coptic Christians said they had an official permit. "We will build it, we will build it," chanted some of the protesters near the unfinished church. Some Christians, who make up 10 percent of Egypt's 79 million people, demonstrated near the church and others near the Giza governor's office. The official state news agency estimated that as many as 3,000 people were involved in the protest. A medical source said one Christian was killed. Security and medical sources said some 45 police and protesters were wounded. Scores of police with shields and batons sealed off the area and fired tear gas at protesters. Some police threw rocks back. "Look, this is our government throwing rocks at us. All this because of a church," said 30-year-old Samuel Ibrahim, pointing to officers lobbing stones towards the demonstrators. Giza governor Sayyed Abdel-Aziz said the Christians appeared to have used a permit for a social centre to build a church. The Christians said they had the right permit and would continue to build, even without machinery. Egypt's Christian and Muslim clerics emphasise sectarian harmony, but communal tensions sometimes erupt into violence, often sparked by land disputes or cross-faith relationships. A human rights group, the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, reported in April that the number of violent sectarian incidents had risen to 53 in 2009 from 24 in 2008, saying many cases had been insufficiently investigated or ignored.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Terrorist arrests;NATO alliance;Bakoyannis new party;Greek,Cypriot leaders meet;Saakashvilli's pledge;Serbia-EU-Kosovo;Religious Fasting, human health



Authorities have arrested 10 people in two separate terrorism investigations in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany, Belgian officials said Tuesday. Some of them are suspected of links to terror suspect Bassam Ayachi, who was charged in 2009 with preparing terrorist attacks. The suspects were using a jihadi website to plan an attack on an unspecified target in Belgium, police said. The investigation, which also looked into the financing of what police called a Chechen terror organization, has been going on since late 2009, according to a statement from the Belgian prosecutor's office. Those arrested are Belgian, Dutch, Moroccan and Chechen, authorities said. Belgian counterterrorism sources told CNN that two unrelated police operations targeting terrorist suspects are under way, one in Brussels and another in Antwerp. The sources say police have visited 15 locations in Brussels, the nation's capital, as part of a continuing investigation into a terrorist cell linked to Ayachi. A number of arrests have been made. The other investigation is focused on Antwerp, where several people have been arrested in connection with a jihadist plot to attack targets in Belgium. The operation there follows a year of investigation, the sources say. The Antwerp investigation began after a U.S. intelligence agency passed on intercept information to their Belgian counterparts, an intelligence source told CNN.


On November 19 and 20, the heads of state of NATO member countries came together in Lisbon for their annual summit, at which they adopted a new strategic charter that will guide the alliance for the next decade. The charter repositions NATO to meet 21st century threats like insurgencies, cyber attacks, and terrorism. The military alliance also took the historic steps of including Russia in its meeting -- in hopes of what NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen called "a fresh start" in relations -- and agreed to develop a missile-defense system to protect all NATO territory. Less than 48 hours after the summit ended, U.S. Ambassador to NATO Ivo Daalder sat down with RFE/RL's chief Washington editor Christian Caryl to talk about the alliance's achievements and the challenges that remain. To read the entire interview, please click here.


Former conservative Foreign Minister and New Democracy outcast Dora Bakoyannis yesterday broke a long silence and launched her own political party, named Democratic Alliance, before an audience of about 5,000 supporters. In a speech at a crowded Badminton Theater in Goudi, Bakoyannis said that her party would be a business-friendly alliance that would seek “cooperation and common ground with other political forces” from the center of the spectrum to help extract Greece from its debt crisis. The new party’s logo is an olive tree in blue and orange colors. The 56-year-old politician, who served as mayor of Athens between 2002 and 2006 and foreign minister under the previous conservative government from 2006 to 2009, defended her decision to vote in favor of an international rescue plan for Greece in May, a move that led ND leader Antonis Samaras to oust her from the party. “There were some measures in the memorandum that I disagreed with and still disagree with,” Bakoyannis said, referring to the agreement between Greece and its international creditors. “But at that moment, in May, the dilemma was inexorable for all, approval of the rescue mechanism or immediate bankruptcy,” she added. Bakoyannis also directed clear criticism against ND for its rhetoric against the rescue package. “Choosing not to vote for saving your country and not bearing the political cost of your decisions is the epitome of extreme and irresponsible populist politics,” she said. Several former ND cadres attended Bakoyannis’s speech and there were reports of interest by current members of ND, fueling speculation that Bakoyannis’s venture will weaken the already strife-riven main conservative opposition.


Prime Minister George Papandreou on Tuesday received visiting Cyprus President Demetris Christofias in Athens, as the two leaders reiterated long-standing support for a bizonal and bicommunal solution within the framework of UN resolutions, International Law and and the European Union's acquis communautaire. Greek and Cypriot leaderships referred to an absolute convergence on views and cited flawless cooperation, while noting that Cyprus must prevail as one state, with one authority and one nationality for its citizens.ana-mpa After the meeting with Christofias, the Greek premier noted that unless the Cyprus issue is solved relations between Athens and Ankara can never be completely normalised.


Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has said he will make a unilateral "pledge not to use force" over South Ossetia and Abkhazia and invite Russia to talks without preconditions. In an interview with France's Figaro published on Tuesday, he also said he would make the announcements during his speech to the European Parliament in Strasbourg later in the day. "We tried everything to speak directly with the Russians. Every time we invited them to begin a dialogue, they refused in quite a rude manner. I have no choice but to turn to the moral authority of the European Parliament to make this unilateral declaration not to use force," the Georgian leader said. "This is a controversial initiative, because every country, when occupied, has the right and even the obligation to fight for its sovereignty, including by military means. But I see things differently," Saakashvili said. "Georgia should become a European country, a modern country. We can not end up like Afghanistan or Chechnya." He also said that Russia and Georgia, who broke off diplomatic ties after the 2008 five-day war over South Ossetia, should begin talks without any preconditions. "We should start talking to each other," the Georgian leader said. "The situation [in Abkhazia and South Ossetia] is illegal from the point of view of international law, both in legal terms and at the local level. I don't think this is in Moscow's interests." He described the situation in its former republics as "unbearable," with almost 500,000 people displaced, "20% of our territory occupied and two thirds of our coastline lost." Georgia and Russia fought a brief war in South Ossetia in August 2008 after Georgian forces attacked the republic in a bid to bring it back under central control. Russia recognized South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states shortly after the end of the fighting.


Minister of Foreign Affairs Vuk Jeremic said in London on Thursday, that unless the fatigue caused by EU enlargement is overcome, the silent pro-European majority in the Western Balkans might become a silent minority. Speaking at the London School of Economics, Jeremic reiterated that Serbia is absolutely committed to EU membership as a strategic goal and Belgrade is open for dialogue and compromise with Pristina, acceptable for both sides. The dialogue should begin as soon as possible and on less controversial issues, in order to gradually shift to more delicate ones, the Minister explained. Serbia will not recognise its province’s independence, either explicitly or implicitly, he underscored, adding that dialogue is the only path to peace. Belgrade will be open and just in any such dialogue and will put forward concrete proposals which may bring about a compromise acceptable to both sides. We will not decline any outcome in advance, but we will not accept a dictate either, Jeremic emphasised, warning that obstinacy and insistence on unilateral decisions will not yield results. Two-thirds of countries worldwide do not recognise Kosovo’s independence, while one third is trying to convince others to recognise it, but with little success, the Minister recalled. Jeremic highlighted that attempts to jeopardise dialogue by unilateral change of reality in the field or by force must not be tolerated, warning that such a scenario might even undermine the peace process. The region has achieved a new level of trust and understanding and cooperation that has not existed ever before has been established, he stated. Speaking of reconciliation, the Minister specified that Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina are especially obliged in this process, noting that for Belgrade this is not just a political priority, but also a strategic and moral imperative. Jeremic echoed Serbia’s absolute commitment to the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Bosnia-Herzegovina and stressed that Serbia is committed to the "one Bosnia policy", which is the surest guarantee that the country will not fall apart. We will support all reforms that are acceptable to representatives of both entities and all three constituent nations, he declared and stressed the importance of mutual respect, pragmatism and compromise.


The past two decades have seen a rise in the number of investigations examining the health-related effects of religiously motivated fasts. Greek Orthodox Christians fast for a total of 180 - 200 days each year, and their main fasting periods are the Nativity Fast (40 days prior to Christmas), Lent (48 days prior to Easter), and the Assumption (15 days in August). The fasting periods are more similar than dissimilar, and they can each be described as a variant of vegetarianism. Some of the more favorable effects of these fasts include the lowering of body mass, total cholesterol, LDL-C, and the LDL-C/HDL-C ratio. This review summarizes the health-specific effects of these fasts [Orthodox, Ramadan, Daniel Fast] and provides suggestions for future research. To download the report in PDF, click here.

Monday, November 22, 2010

Turkey,Cyprus ports,Aegean Sea,Greece;FYROM;NATO-Russia;TSA,"opt-out" boycott;List:Dangerous U.S. cities;Iraqi Christians safe in Jordan



Turkey will not open its ports to Greek Cypriot vessels and goods unless the European Union lifts its trade embargo on Turkish-controlled northern Cyprus at the same time, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said. “If there’s a simultaneous opening of ports and airports, then we’ll be a part of it,” Erdogan said to reporters in Ankara. “No one should expect anything different.” Cyprus has been divided into a Greek Cypriot south, which is internationally recognized, and a Turkish-run north, which is not, since Turkey invaded the Mediterranean island in 1974. The north of the island is under an effective blockade by the EU and most of the rest of the world, with direct flights banned and almost all trade carried out via Turkey. The EU has frozen some areas of Turkey’s membership negotiations because of its refusal to recognize the Greek Cypriot government after Cyprus joined the bloc in 2004.


Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday denied reports that an agreement was reached with Greece and their dispute over territorial water in the Aegean Sea. The disputed territorial water borders stretching from 6 to 12 miles is also known as the 12 miles issue. Erdogan made his remarks in response to reporters after attending a ceremony in Ankara. Asked to comment on news reports that Turkey and Greece reached an agreement on 12 miles, Erdogan said "there is no agreement reached." The Turkish premier added that the parties will make a joint statement should an agreement is reached. "This is out of question at the moment. Authorized people continue talks. We will make necessary statements if they reach a specific point," Erdogan noted. Greece claims that its territorial waters should be extended to 12 nautical miles from 6 miles, citing international maritime agreements. Turkey, however insists that it is against neighboring state's claim about the extent of the territorial waters in the Aegean Sea.


A majority of Macedonia's citizens are against changing the name of their country in order to be accepted in the European Union and NATO. According to a Gallup survey reported by the MIA news agency, 63% of interviewed citizens were against changing the name of the Republic of Macedonia, while 31% said they were in favor of the change which would accelerate the process of Euro-Atlantic integrations. According to the same survey, as many as 82 percent of Macedonians are against the name change, while 77 percent of Albanians living in the country are in favor of it believing it would remove the main obstacle on the country's way to the EU and NATO. Four years ago, Skopje gained the status of a European Union candidate state but has yet to start accession negotiations owing to its name - the Republic of Macedonia, which Greece is strongly opposed to. Greece is also blocking its accession in NATO, because it believes that Macedonia has been the name of a Greek province since ancient times. The United Nations is the mediator in the dispute, which is not making much progress.


President Medvedev says the hostile period between Russia and NATO is over. Moscow and the Alliance have agreed to boost collaboration on one of their most divisive issues – missile defense. Russian president Dmitry Medvedev arrived at the summit of the former Cold War military alliance to leaders welcoming him with open arms. Leaders on both sides seemed to indicate they plan to co-operate, after NATO-Russia talks they hailed as “historic”. Missile defense plans under the Bush White House provoked the most serious rift between Russia and NATO since the Cold War. Now the Alliance wants Russia to join in – but Russia wants more than just sweet words. The US reset of relations with Russia has brought NATO to woo Moscow; once the great enemy, but now courted as a key potential ally. Russia and NATO have reiterated common challenges to be fought – from the spread of weapons of mass destruction to terrorism. Russia has pledged more help to NATO in Afghanistan, with transport access and more resources to fight narcotics there, and, for the first time, in Pakistan. Despite all the warm words, there are still differences – notably regarding the South Ossetian conflict over two years ago. In 2008 NATO backed Georgia, which Russian forces were forced to fight after the South Ossetian civilian population came under Georgia’s military attack. And while NATO seeks new purpose and allies, others say the Alliance belongs in the past. Perhaps there is no better example of the international discontent over NATO and its policies than on the streets of Lisbon, where citizens have come from all over Europe to protest the alliance and the goals being set at its summit. And after introducing a new strategic concept at the summit, NATO’s challenge now is to turn that concept into reality – where top on the list is forging a lasting partnership with Russia.


Transportation Security Administration chief John Pistole took to the airwaves this morning, using the TV network morning talks shows to urge opponents of stepped-up screening procedures not to follow-through on a pledge to boycott airport scans this Wednesday. Opponents of the controversial full-body scanners have called for passengers to boycott the scans on Wednesday, typically one of the nation's busiest days for air travel as Americans travel ahead of the Thursday Thanksgiving holiday. Supporters say a "National Opt-Out Day" boycott might disrupt the security system, a move that might force federal security officials to reconsider the current full-body scan or "enhanced" pat-down procedures that currently are in place. Against that backdrop, "Pistole implored passengers Monday not to take delaying actions or engage in boycotts of body scans, actions he said would only serve to 'tie up people who want to go home and see their loved ones,' " The Associated Press writes. AP adds "Pistole had pledged Sunday to review security procedures in the wake of a public outcry. But he also said the TSA must balance people's demand for privacy with the need to protect passengers from those who would try to set off bombs on planes." Regardless, some travel industry officials appear to be bracing for disruptions to holiday travel this week. "Just one or two recalcitrant passengers at an airport is all it takes to cause huge delays," Paul Ruden, a spokesman for the American Society of Travel Agents, tells AP. "It doesn't take much to mess things up anyway — especially if someone purposely tries to mess it up." AP notes the group "has warned its more than 8,000 members about delays resulting from the body-scanner boycott."


Washington ranks as one of the most dangerous cities in the country, according to new FBI crime statistics. The list, compiled by CQ press, lists D.C. as the fourth most unsafe city with more than half a million people, behind Baltimore in the second slot and Detroit as the most dangerous. The ranking comes from FBI statistics for murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary and car theft. Many, including the FBI, say these numbers should not be used to rate cities. "These rankings represent a gross misuse of FBI data," says Houston Mayor Annise D. Parker, chair of the U.S. Conference of Mayors Criminal and Social Justice Committee, according to a BusinessWire.com report. "Everyone with the slightest knowledge of this issue knows the rankings are not credible, but the publication persists with them, presumably because rankings are popular and sell books. Unfortunately, they also do real harm to the reputation and economy of the cities that come out on the losing end, often through no fault of their own." But CQ defends the list a straightforward look at crime today. New York City is now listed as the third most safe city. Washington ranks 22nd overall among all cities. Download the complete list (PDF) by clicking here.


A spate of attacks targeting Christians in Iraq has forced many to flee to neighbouring Jordan which many see as a stepping stone to a new life as far away as possible from the violence-ridden country. On Sundays families gather at the Syriac Orthodox church in Jordan's capital Amman to pray, socialise and mull over the best ways of securing a visa to enable them emigrate to the United States, Canada, Australia or Europe. There are always new faces in the crowd, like Suzanne Jilliani, her husband Hani Daniel and their year-old baby who fled after the October 31 attack on Baghdad's Syriac Catholic cathedral that left 46 worshippers dead. The couple, who now live in a furnished flat provided by the Syriac church in Jordan, dream of joining Jilliani's family in the United States. Like some Christians, Moayed said he fled Iraq after being threatened by the Mahdi Army militia of radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. George Hazou, who heads a Syriac charity organisation in Jordan and is an official with the Middle East Council of Churches, estimates that 120,000 Iraqi Christians have fled to Jordan since the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq. "There are 40,000 to 50,000 Iraqis left in Jordan," he told AFP, adding that the rest have left to start new lives in North America, Australia and Europe. Earlier this month a senior Iraqi clergyman said Iraq's Christians should leave the country or face being killed at the hands of Al-Qaeda. "If they stay they will be finished, one by one," the London-based Archbishop Athanasios Dawood told the BBC. But Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said on November 9 that Christians should not be encouraged to leave their homeland. An estimated 800,000 Christians lived in Iraq before the 2003 US-led invasion, but their number has since shrunk to around 500,000 in the face of repeated attacks against their community and churches. Altogether an estimated two million refugees from Iraq, mostly Muslim, have fled to Jordan and Syria since the invasion.

Friday, November 19, 2010

Ditching TSA?;Military Tribunals;NATO-Russia,missiles in Turkey;UNSC-EUFOR-BiH;Israeli-U.S.;Martyrs Joy,Fr.Sysoeyv



An Orlando, Florida, airport official wants to do away with the Transportation Security Administration and use a private firm to screen passengers. Larry Dale, president of the Sanford Airport Authority in Orlando, is considering ditching TSA security personnel and replacing them with a private firm. Dale's comments come during a week in which the TSA has been under fire for it's airport screening procedures, including imaging technology and pat downs. TSA is in charge of protecting the nation's transportation systems. Private airport security is not uncommon. The TSA lists 17 airports that are currently participating in its Screening Partnership Program. They include San Francisco International Airport, Kansas City International Airport, Greater Rochester International Airport and Key West International Airport. Participating airports work with TSA to hire an approved security contractor and must follow TSA security guidelines when screening passengers and baggage, according to the TSA website. "All commercial airports are regulated by TSA whether the actual screening is performed by the TSA officers or private companies. The TSA sets the security standards that must be followed and includes the use of enhanced pat downs and imaging technology, if installed at the airport," said TSA spokesman Greg Soule. Congressman John Mica, R-Florida, the ranking member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, wrote a letter to the nation's 100 busiest airports urging them to ditch the TSA for private security.


The Obama administration may be forced to rely on military tribunals to try "war on terror" suspects after a New York jury cleared the first ex-Guantanamo inmate brought to a civilian court of almost all charges, experts say. The trial verdict is a huge blow to President Barack Obama's plans to close Guantanamo Bay prison and will boost Republicans opposed to trying terrorists on the mainland. "The verdict has offered a vision of the nightmare scenario -- acquittal in a terrorism case involving a high value detainee -- and that vision will be enough to ramp up the already intense pressure not to try something like this again," said legal expert Benjamin Wittes from the Brookings Institution in Washington. However, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told a news briefing, "The President remains committed to closing Guantanamo Bay to ensure that it is no longer the recruiting poster that it is right now for al-Qaeda." Tanzanian national Ahmed Ghailani, 36, was acquitted on Wednesday of all but one of the 286 charges brought against him after the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Tanzania and Kenya. He faces up to life in prison after being found guilty of conspiracy against U.S. property in the attacks which killed 224 people and injured thousands more. But on Thursday, Mr. Wittes said Ghailani's final sentence, which could be the mandatory minimum of 20 years in jail, will fail to quell the political storm about future trials of other suspects -- including the self-confessed mastermind of the September 11, 2001 attacks and his four alleged coplotters. "The only thing that will matter in the political sphere will be that prosecutors won a conviction on only one of 285 criminal counts -- that they came within a hair's breath of losing the case entirely," he said. Wednesday's verdict immediately reignited the fierce debate about what to do with other "war on terror" suspects. The Obama administration is seeking to try some of the 171 terror suspects still at Guantanamo Bay in civilian courts, as part of its stalled plans to empty and close the notorious facility in Cuba.


Leaders of the 28 NATO member countries begin a two-day summit in Lisbon on Friday, and next to the war in Afghanistan, a missile defense shield to defend against Iran is set to be high on the agenda. Turkey is seen as playing a key role in the program, but Ankara is far from enthusiastic. This week Turkish President Abdullah Gul said he wrote to NATO leaders explaining his country's concerns over the proposed missile defense shield. Primarily, Ankara fears potential fallout with Iran, with which in the last few years it has rapidly developed strong political and economic ties. Political scientist Cengiz Aktar of Bahcesehir University said the missile defense program is now viewed by Turkey's Western allies as a test of its allegiances. Turkey's closeness with Iran was epitomized in July, when Ankara voted against a UN Security Council resolution to impose new sanctions on Iran for its continued uranium enrichment program. The vote set alarm bells ringing in the capitals of Ankara's Western allies - none more so than in Washington. Concern had already been growing in the US even before the vote, following the collapse of relations between Turkey and Israel. Now Washington is using all its diplomatic muscle on Ankara to secure its participation in the missile defense program. Turkey is the only NATO country bordering Iran, and is thus seen as playing a key role in the program. Earlier this month the head of the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, John Kerry, visited Turkish Prime Minster Recep Tayyip Erdogan to press Washington's case. Even though he put a positive spin on the talks, he admitted little progress had been made. Analysts say the failure to resolve the issue before the Lisbon summit is causing concern in both Washington and Europe. In the European Union's annual progress report published this month, it too stressed its concern with Turkey's apparent reluctance to tow the EU's foreign policy line. [Turkey demands to be given control of missile defense system since it will be on her territory.] Such a demand could prove hard for NATO to agree to, especially with increasing questions about Turkey's relations with Iran. Even if NATO agrees on a compromise, as is expected, Turkey's apparent reticence will not go unnoticed. Failure to reach an agreement would likely be a turning point in Turkey's relations with the West.


Missile defense, one of the thorniest points in Russia-NATO relations, could be the focus for new cooperation between the two sides after the NATO summit in Lisbon. "It will certainly be a summit that marks a fresh start in our relations," NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said on the eve of the landmark November 19-20 meeting. "I hope in particular that NATO and Russia will be moving forward on missile defense cooperation." The Russian side agrees - something the two sides have rarely managed to achieve on missile defense issues in the past. "I consider this realistic," presidential aide Sergey Prikhodko said, adding that the realization of the system was simply a matter of "political will." He also said a joint system was possible in the "mid-term, rather than the long-term". Russian Air Force Commander Alexander Zelin said on Tuesday the Air Force was ready to work on missile defense systems with NATO. The Kremlin insists that the readiness to cooperate on missile defense issues should be laid down in a written document. Rasmussen also said that the alliance is hoping for further cooperation with Russia on Afghanistan. "We are hoping to finalize an understanding which would broaden the existing agreement on transit. It would allow for land movements across Russia both to and from Afghanistan. And the list of approved goods would be enlarged," he said. That enlarged cooperation could include Russian training and support for Afghanistan's helicopter force. He also expressed hope that NATO and Russia would "increase the scope" of its work on combating the drug trafficking from Afghanistan. Russian and U.S. personnel recently combined to launch raids on drug labs. The NATO head also remarked that "new NATO" meant "a more engaged NATO, open to deeper partnerships in a wider world, including with Russia."


The UN Security Council has extended the mandate of the European Union Force (EUFOR) in Bosnia for another year, it was stated in New York. EUFOR took over the peace mission from SFOR - the NATO-led stabilization forces in BiH in 2004. Their purpose was to ensure compliance of all sides with the Dayton Peace Accords. Addressing the UN Security Council last week, the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina Valentin Inzko required an extension of EUFOR's mandate in BiH. He also called for continued involvement of the international community in that region. He assessed that 15 years after the signing of the Dayton Peace Accords, the country still lacks readiness for dialogue and compromise. The Security Council adopted a resolution in which it “reminds the parties once again that, in accordance with the Peace Agreement, they have committed themselves to cooperate fully with all entities involved in the implementation of this peace settlement,” the United Nations News Service reported.


Israel's prime minister will ask his Cabinet Sunday to consider a package of security and diplomatic incentives the U.S. has proposed to entice Israel to renew limits on settlement construction and revive moribund peace talks with the Palestinians. The chief Palestinian negotiator expressed strong reservations about the proposal because the 90-day moratorium on new construction would only apply to the West Bank and not east Jerusalem, the Palestinians' hoped-for capital. But Saeb Erekat did not reject it outright, saying the Palestinians would consult among themselves and with Arab leaders. Peace talks ground to a halt, just three weeks after they began, after Israel rejected U.S. and Palestinian pressure to extend a 10-month moratorium on new construction that expired Sept. 26. Palestinians refused to return to the negotiating table if construction resumed on land they want for a future state and gave the U.S. until later this month to come up with a formula to salvage the talks. The diplomatic climate soured even further last week after Israel pressed ahead with plans to build 1,300 apartments in east Jerusalem. In a seven-hour meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the U.S. last week, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said that in exchange for a new construction moratorium, the White House would ask Congress to sell Israel 20 stealth fighter jets, an Israeli diplomatic source said. The U.S. would also commit to fight international resolutions that would be critical of Israel or unilaterally advance the Palestinian quest for statehood, he said. He spoke on condition of anonymity pending the presentation of the deal to the Cabinet on Sunday. Netanyahu can expect some stiff opposition to the proposal from some members of his hawkish Cabinet. It was unclear if any decisions would be taken at Sunday's meeting. Erekat, the Palestinian negotiator, said the Americans had not officially informed the Palestinians about the details of the proposal, but "they know we have a major problem in not including east Jerusalem." Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will put the U.S. plan before Palestinian decision-makers and call for an immediate session of Arab League officials before announcing an official decision, Erekat said.


On November,19, 2010 is one year since the murder of Fr. Daniel Sysoeyv. When I was little, I very much feared death, and thought that to die meant to completely vanish. It is a very good thing that believers do not have such fear. While we are alive on earth, our bodies interfere with our seeing God, for God is Spirit, but when we die, our soul encounters God. People of faith of course also fear death, but it is a different kind of fear. It is not a fear of vanishing, of no longer being, it is not a fear that your life, everything good that you possess, everything will come to an end, and no longer exist. Rather, it is the fear of God's Judgment, fear that God will judge us for everything we have done. And today, praying for Fr. Daniel, we ask God that this Judgment of God over Fr. Daniel will be a merciful one. Like everyone else, Fr. Daniel was a sinful person, but he possessed amazing zeal; he greatly desired that all people should learn about Christ. He had a great desire to tell about Christ to those who did not yet know about Him. He wanted to share with others the joy of his faith. And the fact that the Lord blessed him with such a martyric death is a sign of God's mercy towards man. While the Saints were being taken away to be martyred, they rejoiced that they could suffer for Christ's sake, to suffer for the One Who died for us on the Cross, Who suffered for us. Thus, for the Saints, it was a joy to have a martyr's death, and we always celebrate the day of their death as a great Feast. In our school, there are girls who are afraid of revealing their faith in Christ, who are afraid that others will find out that they are Orthodox, who are embarrassed by the fact that they do not smoke and do not commit the sins that others do. Some of the children are embarrassed that they do not have social network pages, that they don't own a good cell phone. Yet, is that a cause for embarrassment?! Is that so important? Is that what one needs? What is important for man is to be with God, to be with Christ. And of course, to be embarrassed by what is the main joy of our life, to be embarrassed by what the Lord has given us, not according to our merits, but because he has chosen us — that is a great sin. Our being chosen should be a source of joy, about which we should speak; how can it be an embarrassment? Even if as a result we are betrayed unto torture and death. Such a death will be an encounter with God, Whom we seek here on earth but quite often cannot find. With that God, Who is the greatest Joy, for Whose sake one can give up everything, including life itself. Those who murdered Fr. Daniel know not what they did. When good on earth is destroyed in this manner, the good becomes very powerful! Those who crucified Christ saw that he was preaching something quite different from what they believed , and they wanted to put an end to that preaching, wanted to force Him to be silent, for he was denouncing lying, hypocritical, evil, greedy people, people who served the devil. They did not know how to accomplish their goal, so they decided to put Him to death. And what happened? Did they win? Stupid people. Christ is Risen! And the Faith in Christ has spread throughout the entire world. Although we are living today far from the place where Christ suffered, although we are living centuries after his death, we know of Christ. It is impossible to kill good. It cannot be destroyed. It is impossible to kill the truth, for it remains victorious. It is impossible to kill life itself, for the soul was created by immortal God. When people act as they have here, they help good to become firmly established, with ever greater power. In the past century, many people were murdered and tortured to death, and what was the result? The Faith was triumphant! Look at how many churches are being opened, at how many people are coming to God. Have the murderers won? It was the martyrs who were victorious! Today is the day of commemoration of Hieromartyr Kirill of Kazan, of Fr. Tavrion, who spent 30 years in exile. It was they who were victorious. And of course, Fr. Daniel is victorious. Because it is impossible to destroy good. Those whom he called to faith, those to whom he preached Christ, will now become even stronger in that faith. Of course, we should all follow along that path. We must not be afraid to bear witness to the Faith in Christ. Of course, as we are not privy to God's Judgment, we must pray for the soul of Fr. Daniel. Yet, it is our hope that if the Lord granted him such a martyric death, he will also take him to himself into the Heavenly Dwellings, and will grant him rest with the Saints. Let us pray for that, with both hope and joy! Let us also pray for his wife. He left three children, for whom life now is very difficult. We must help them.