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Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Michael's List - Israeli nukes?; Mideast tension; Pirates drown; Ukraine protests; Nicosia Beer festival; EU, Turkey progress; Orthodox in America



Israel will keep up its longstanding policy of deliberate ambiguity over its nuclear programme, Defence Minister Ehud Barak said on Tuesday, adding that US support for the position remains unchanged. "This is a good policy and there is no reason to change it. There is complete agreement with the United States on this question," Barak told army radio. He also said "there is no risk" that inspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) would get authorisation to inspect Israel's Dimona nuclear reactor. "There is no threat over the traditional agreements between Israel and the United States on this issue," said Barak. "I met President Barack Obama and other US officials two weeks ago. All of them told me denuclearisation efforts target Iran and North Korea." Israel has maintained its so-called policy of deliberate ambiguity about its nuclear programme since the Jewish state inaugurated the Dimona reactor in the southern Negev desert in 1965. Media reports have said the United States agreed in 1969 that as long as Israel did not test a nuclear weapon or publicly confirm that it had one, Washington would not press it on the issue. Foreign military experts believe Israel has an arsenal of several hundred nuclear weapons. Like nuclear-armed countries India, Pakistan and North Korea, Israel has not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in order to avoid inspections by the Vienna-based IAEA. But an Israeli scientist on Monday said Israel should end its decades-long silence over its reported nuclear weapons capability and open its nuclear reactor to inspection. Uzi Even, a Tel Aviv University chemistry professor and former worker at the Dimona reactor, said Obama's campaign for global nuclear arms reduction is a sign of changing times and Israel must get in step.


Russia's president said Tuesday that Israeli-Arab tensions threaten to draw the Middle East into a new catastrophe, as he added Moscow's weight to a diplomatic push to ease antagonism between Israel and Syria. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, whose country has been building up its influence as a Middle East mediator, pledged its assistance in pushing the region toward peace. "Tensions in the Middle East threaten to lead to a new explosion or even a catastrophe," he said. Last month, Israeli President Shimon Peres accused Syria of providing Scud missiles to Hezbollah militants in Lebanon and adding to an arsenal that the Iranian-backed Shiite militants say can reach all parts of the Jewish state. Syria denied the accusation and warned such talk seemed calculated to set the stage for military action. Before Medvedev's visit, Peres' office said the Russian president agreed to deliver a message to Syrian President Bashar Assad seeking to ease the tensions. Assad, addressing the reporters, leveled more accusations against Israel over its conflict with the Palestinians. "Expelling Palestinians from Jerusalem, attacking holy sites and besieging Palestinians in Gaza are steps and measures that could completely derail the peace process," he said. U.S.-mediated indirect peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians began last week after 17 months of deadlock. Syria had also been expected to use Medvedev's two-day visit to lobby Moscow to block new U.N. sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program. Russia, which has veto power as a permanent member of the Security Council, has been reluctant to back a fourth round of tougher penalties. Diplomacy and sanctions have so far failed to persuade Iran to stop parts of its nuclear program that could serve as a possible pathway to weapons production. Iran insists its program is only geared toward peaceful uses like energy generation, but Tehran has not fully cooperated with an investigation by the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency. In a joint statement issued after their talks, Assad and Medvedev called for a nuclear weapons free Middle East and urged Israel to join the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and open up its nuclear facilities to the U.N. monitoring agency. Israel is widely believed to have a nuclear arsenal, though it does not acknowledge that.


The Somali ambassador to Russia on Tuesday defended the decision to set adrift a group of pirates who briefly seized the Liberian-flagged Moscow University tanker last week. The tanker, with a Russian crew of 23, was hijacked on May 5 off the Somali coast. After a Russian naval operation on May 6 freed the tanker, capturing 10 pirates and killing one, the disarmed pirates were put into inflatable boats without navigational systems and pushed off into open waters. Russia said it had no choice but to set the pirates adrift, citing the absence of international laws to prosecute them, and their boat disappeared from radars an hour later. A top-ranking Defense Ministry source said on Tuesday the pirates are believed to have died. "It doesn't concern us whether the pirates died or not. We, the states of Russia and Somalia, are responsible for a criminal's civil rights when he voluntarily surrenders or we take him alive," ambassador Mohamed Handule told journalists. Handule said law-abiding citizens should be pitied, rather than criminals, adding that Somalia has no funds to search for the pirates in the sea. He told the journalists to imagine they are law enforcement officers in the wilderness. "You free the hostages, but you can't do anything with the criminals and you leave them in the woods. Are you guilty?" he asked. Handule said the pirates are unlikely to have survived as the location where Russian sailors left them is 250 miles from the coast. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev pledged last week to punish pirates who seize vessels off the Somali coast "with the full force of maritime law." Until a legal system allowing hijackers to be punished is created, "we will have to act as our forefathers did when they met pirates," he said, without specifying how exactly the pirates should be punished. Russia has repeatedly called for the creation of a special juridical body to try hijackers captured during anti-piracy operations off the Somali coast. In late April, the UN Security Council adopted Russia's proposal to consider the creation of a new court for this purpose.


Hundreds of supporters of President Viktor Yanukovich threw a cordon around the Ukrainian parliament on Tuesday to block opposition demonstrators from coming near the building. Tension was high after riots in parliament on April 27 in which smoke bombs were thrown and brawls broke out between Yanukovich and opposition deputies over ratification of an agreement to extend the Russian navy's stay in Ukraine. On Tuesday, several hundred members of the pro-Yanukovich Regions Party formed a barrier to the entrance to the parliament building, while police kept back about 3,000 supporters of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko from drawing near. Yanukovich, in a U-turn after the anti-Russian policies of his predecessor Viktor Yushchenko, agreed on April 21 to extend the lease of the Black Sea fleet until 2042 in exchange for cheaper gas, vital for the struggling economy. The Black Sea fleet extension was ratified on April 27 in almost siege conditions in parliament and the ex-Soviet republic is now preparing to welcome Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in Kiev on an official visit on May 17. Yanukovich draws most of his support from the industrial east and the south, and is particularly strongly backed by the mainly Russian-speaking population in Crimea where Russia's fleet is based. An opinion poll by the KIPU sociology centre found that 56.5 percent of Ukrainians favoured the extension of the fleet's stay until 2047 -- giving the nod to an extension of a further five years which is allowed under the April 21 Kharkiv agreement.


Cyprus’s capital Nicosia aims to attract tourists away from the more favored coastal resorts by staging an annual beer festival, organizers said. “Unlike all other European capitals, Nicosia has the sad privilege to be the only one not to enjoy the respective country’s lion’s share of tourist numbers,” Christodoulos Angastiniotis, president of the Nicosia Tourist Development and Promotion Company, said in a phone interview today. Nicosia, located in the center of the eastern Mediterranean island, received just 5 percent of the 2.1 million tourists that visited Cyprus last year, according to Angastiniotis. Tourism directly and indirectly accounts for about a quarter of the island’s economy. The organizers are providing free buses to transport tourists from coastal resorts to the festival, which begins tomorrow. As many as 15,000 people are expected to attend.


Turkey should make some progress in its negotiations to join the European Union in the next two months, Spain's foreign minister said on Monday, urging the bloc to intensify its cooperation with Ankara. Speaking after a regular meeting to assess Turkey's readiness to join the 27-member union, Miguel Angel Moratinos said the EU would "certainly" open new areas of talks before Spain's presidency of the EU ends on June 30. "Chapters will be opened during the Spanish presidency," he told a news conference after speaking with Turkish officials in Brussels. Since their launch in 2005, Turkey's accession talks have progressed slowly because of a dispute with EU member Cyprus over a Turkish enclave on the Mediterranean island which has led Cyprus to block the opening of some policy areas, or "chapters". Turkey's membership is a divisive issue in Europe where centre-right governments in Germany and France, worried about cultural differences, have signalled their opposition to letting the largely Muslim nation of 72 million people join. But Moratinos said the EU should "further accelerate and consolidate bilateral commitments" with Ankara. Turkish officials in Brussels reiterated pledges to press on with reforms, but expressed frustration over "political barriers" put up by EU member states. The EU's enlargement chief Stefan Fuele said it was possible some negotiations chapters would be opened this year but that more reforms were key in Turkey. These include a need for better rule of law, a more effective fight against corruption, protection of human rights and more separation between civil and military authorities. Accession talks could be further complicated if peace talks on Cyprus between the Greek community and the breakaway northern province, recognised only by Ankara, founder after an election last month brought to power a hardline Turkish Cypriot leader.


In a few weeks Orthodox bishops will meet in New York to discuss changes that may permanently transform the public face of Orthodox Christianity in America. The meeting is largely under the public radar, so low in fact that few Orthodox believers are even aware of it. How do we understand its importance? First, some history. Orthodoxy Christianity entered the American continent through Russian missionary work in Alaska starting in 1794. Native Aleuts received the Gospel and the Orthodox Church took root there. Later Orthodoxy spread to San Francisco and then to the East Coast largely through the Russian immigrant communities. The next phase of Orthodox growth occurred during the great waves of American immigration starting in the late 1800's. America's gates were opened to Eastern Europeans came to America by the thousands searching for economic stability. They built parishes and brought over priests from the mother countries to minister to them. At first growth was relatively orderly. The Russian Orthodox Church held administrative authority in America because they were the first to establish a presence here. This lasted until 1918 when the Communist takeover in Russian broke all ties with the mother Church. After 1918 Orthodox Church order in America devolved into what we have today: a very loose federation of Orthodox Churches divided along ethnic lines where each ethnicity has its own bishop. It creates all sorts of canonical anomalies including multiple bishops in one city that undermine the public witness, internal health, and cultural contributions of Orthodox Christians in America. Unknown to many is that no substantive theological divisions exist between the Orthodox jurisdictions even though they remain administratively divided along ethnic lines. Further, in many cities the divisions are more formal than material since the second and third generations self-identify as Americans more than they do with their grandparents' country of origin. There the local parishes cooperate in catechesis programs, social outreach, youth and summer camp programs, and so forth even though each reports to a separate bishop. The easiest way for Catholics to understand this is to recall what Roman Catholicism was a hundred years ago. There were Polish Catholics, Irish Catholics, German Catholics, Italian Catholics and others. A good Pole for example, would gravitate to the parish of his ethnic compatriots half a city away even though there was an Irish Catholic Church right down the block. Today those divisions don't exist. More difficult to Catholics to comprehend however, is why it takes so much time and effort for the Orthodox to get their house in order. One reason is that Orthodoxy does not have a pope. Orthodoxy Christianity sees unity expressed in shared theology and worship. The term "Catholic" (Greek: katholikos -- "according to the whole") in the Nicene Creed's "One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church" refers not to an institutional structure or administrative principle. Rather, it means that each local parish expresses the faith of the larger Church. This definition is more abstract than the Roman Catholic definition and frustrates Roman Catholic ecumenical officers to no end. Who do they talk to? Who really represents the Orthodox Church? It also leads to problems like we have in America today: canonical incoherence that needs to be rectified. On the other hand, the definition functions as a safeguard to problems that trouble the Roman Catholic Church. Take liturgical devolution for example. A guitar or polka liturgy (mass) in an Orthodox Church is simply incomprehensible. It won't happen. If it did, that parish will have ceased to be Orthodox. If a bishop ever sanctioned it, he would be run out of town. The American Orthodox bishops made a self-directed attempt at unity about ten years ago at what is now called the "Ligonier Conference." They decided to unify the ethnic churches into one American Orthodox Church. The Patriarch of Constantinople disagreed and forced the retirement of the Greek Orthodox Archbishop in order to derail it. Most people thought Ligonier was dead. Ten years later it looks like the train left the station anyway. Moscow is rising in authority and leads the effort to correct the American anomaly thereby completing the work they started over two centuries ago. Last year the Patriarchs of Orthodox churches the world over met in council at Chembesy, Switzerland to lay the groundwork for the New York meeting at end of this month. One reason for the reluctance of Orthodox bishops to publicize the meeting is that no one really knows what will come of it. They have no historical precedents to guide them. The Orthodox change slowly, sometimes interminably so, and no one is willing to offer any predictions or promises. If it succeeds, even incrementally, the public face of Orthodoxy in America will be much different down the road. For an inside look on the meeting see Peter Marudas "What's the Future of Orthodox Unity in America?"

Monday, May 10, 2010

Michael's List- Pledge to save Euro;US military, Iraq, Pascha; Serbia-Russia, Victory Day; Israel Settlements, Attack on Iran; Sunday of the Blind Man


The EU and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) pledged a massive defence package of nearly $1 trillion (R75 trillion) for the embattled euro today, hoping to turn back relentless attacks on the euro zone's weakest members and allow the continent to resume its hesitant economic recovery. Under the three-year aid plan, the EU Commission will make e60 billion (R584bn) available while countries from the 16-nation euro zone would promise bilateral backing for e440bn. The IMF would contribute an additional sum of at least half the EU's total contribution, or e250bn, Spanish Finance Minister Elena Salgado said. "We'll defend the euro whatever it takes," EU commissioner Olli Rehn said after a meeting of EU finance ministers. "We're placing considerable sums in the interest of stability in Europe." Spain and Portugal, which have begun to see the same signs of trouble that Greece had three months ago, have committed to "take significant additional consolidation measures in 2010 and 2011" and the two countries will present them to EU finance ministers at their meeting next week.


On a cool and cloudy morning, in the middle of a majority-Muslim country, 200 or so military and civilian Christians rose before the sun to attend a 6 a.m. Easter service on the grounds of an old soccer stadium about 100 miles north of Baghdad. Many others had spent the night in prayer, attending an Easter service that begin 30 minutes before midnight on this U.S. military base, known as Contingency Operating Base Speicher. Holy Week in Iraq was like “coming back home to a Christian heartland,” said Capt. Kevin Millsaps of Kingsport, Tenn., who serves as chaplain for the 3rd Squadron, 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment of the Tennessee Army National Guard. Based in Kingsport, the squadron shipped out at the first of the year for a tour of duty in the Middle East. Millsaps was a priest at the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Bluff City, Tenn., for two years before this deployment, his first to Iraq. He said he had to relinquish his position at Holy Trinity when he left with his Guard unit, because the church couldn’t be without a priest while he was deployed. “My position here is to offer and oversee religious support for anyone in the squadron,” Millsaps said. “If I can’t help a certain individual for whatever reason, then I will find a chaplain who can.” Now, in the land known as “The Cradle of Civilization” and reputedly where the Garden of Eden originated, Millsaps and other Christian members of the 3/278th mark a milestone each time they celebrate religious services. “Abraham came from the City of Ur,” Millsaps said. “Other stories in the Bible such as Daniel and the lion’s den originated in this area. The city of Nineveh, in Iraq, is associated with the story of Jonah and the whale.” And as they observed Easter, considered the holiest of all Christian celebrations, the sun emerged from a shroud of clouds as a large white oval on the horizon. Radiating from the center, the sun’s spectrum of soft pastel pinks, yellows, violets and magenta created a lush background for the Easter service, providing an illusion of the sky being newly painted from an artist’s dripping palette. Earlier in the day, Millsaps conducted Easter services for the Eastern Orthodox Christian followers from the 278th and anyone else wishing to attend the overnight celebration, which ran from 11:30 p.m. Saturday to 2:30 a.m. Sunday morning. The services were held in a converted old wood shop on the base that now serves as the newly formed St. George Chapel. “My message to the congregations was the reading of the Easter sermon of St. John Chrysostom, which is still read among the 400 million followers of the Orthodox Christians as it has been for 1,600 years on Easter Sunday,” Millsaps said. “St. John’s sermon is read all over the world and in the language each country uses,” Millsaps said. “There are Orthodox Christians also in Greece, Russia, Armenia, Syria and Ethiopia to name a few.” Iraq was a Christian nation as was Syria and other parts of Mesopotamia until the conquest of Persia in the 7th century AD. Islam rule then took over as the region’s primary religion. Today, about 3 percent of Iraq’s population is Christian and even less, 1.5 percent, of Iran’s population is Christian. Syria has the largest percentage of Christians among the countries in the region, with 10 percent.


President Boris Tadić was in Moscow on Sunday for Victory Day celebrations, where he met with his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev and PM Vladimir Putin. Tadić said after the meetings that there was a mutual desire to continue cooperation between the countries, not only in the political and economic, but also the security sector. Tadić attended the celebration of the 65th anniversary of victory over fascism in Moscow. "(At a reception in the Kremlin for delegation members) I spoke with President Medvedev and briefly with Prime Minister Putin. The first impression was that we want to continue cooperation and closeness in all domains, not only in politics and the economy, but security as well," Tadić said. He stated that he also talked with Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdjukov, as well as all other leaders who attended the reception. Speaking about the talk with Angela Merkel, Tadić said that he relayed his stand that it would be a disastrous mistake to stop the EU integrations process due to interior problems in the Eurozone. He specified that he and his European partners had also discussed military cooperation - the possibility of buying products from the military industry. Leaders from 21 country attended the celebration in Moscow, and mostly the military parade at Red Square.


Soldiers from Britain, France, Poland and the US marched alongside Russian troops in Red Square during the biggest-ever Victory Day parade, marking the 65th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany. Watching were those to whom the day is dedicated in the first place, the veterans. “The Soviet Union took the main blow of the fascists, who threw three-quarters of their troops to the Eastern Front. They wanted to burn our country down, but faced a resistance that has no match in courage and strength. Our veterans gave us the most important thing ever: they conquered freedom for us,” Dmitry Medvedev said during his address. It was an emotional day for around 3,000 veterans in attendance – a day of joy through tears, as many described their feelings. Their ranks included some from former Soviet Republics and Western wartime allies. German Chancellor Angela Merkel put aside the European financial crisis to come and pay respects to those who fought against the Nazis. Also present were leaders from countries which have criticized Soviet rule – like Estonia – which has faced its own accusations of wartime Nazi collaboration. Hundreds of veterans were invited to the Victory Day dinner after the parade, where they shared a meal with leaders from around 25 countries. These war heroes hadn't met each other during the war, but they say now they feel as united as ever. Back then, the war united countries which seemed to have nothing in common. Now, it is hoped that the memory of battles fought together and the shared joy of victory can help provide the same unity and friendship – 65 years on.


Deputy Prime Minister Moshe Ya'alon said on Monday Israel has the technological capabilty to make a military strike against Iran. Addressing a conference on air power, Yaalon said Israel's experience in carrying out air strikes against terrorists along its borders could easily be extended to distant sorties in Iran. "There is no doubt that the technological capabilities, which improved in recent years, have improved range and aerial refuelling capabilities, and have brought about a massive improvement in the accuracy or ordnance and intelligence," he said. "This capability can be used for a war on terror in Gaza, for a war in the face of rockets from Lebanon, for war on the conventional Syrian army, and also for war on a peripheral state like Iran," said Yaalon, a former IDF chief of staff. "As far as I'm concerned, attack remains the best form of defense," he said. Israel sees itself at a de facto war with Iran due to its sponsorship of Hezbollah and Hamas, Yaalon said. "There is no doubt, looking at the overall situation, that we are already in a military confrontation with Iran," he said. "Iran is the main motivator of those attacking us."


The Palestinian Authority accused Israel of violating the terms of newly started indirect peace talks. Two days after the start of proximity talks with Israel, the first peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians in 18 months, the Palestinian Authority on Monday reported to the United States that Israel is allowing the construction of homes in an eastern Jerusalem neighborhood. The construction of 14 homes in the Ras el-Amud neighborhood of eastern Jerusalem was reported Sunday by Peace Now. A senior Israeli official told Haaretz that the homes were being built privately and that the government had no authority to stop it. The plan for the land on which an old Israeli police station formerly sat and which is owned by an American businessman includes 104 housing units, Peace Now said. The plans also reportedly include a swimming pool, community library, synagogue, kindergartens and a mikveh. The project would link to two other Jewish enclaves in the neighborhood. Some 14,000 Palestinians live in Ras el-Amud.


Christ is risen! It is not for much longer that we will hear these marvelous words from the church ambo. The all-Church celebration of this great solemnity, this salvific work of God is coming to an end. Together with the angels in heaven, we sang the resurrection of Christ; together with Apostle Thomas, we called out, “My Lord and my God!” having met the Savior; together with the myrrh-bearers, we ran to the empty tomb, carrying our pain, our sadness, our sorrow and received the good news; like the paralytic, we were raised by Christ from the death of sin to pure life; and like the Samaritan woman who left her clay pot by the ancient well and ran to tell the people in the city about the coming of the Messiah, Christ urges us to leave the muddy waters of the worldly and the sinful and drink from the ever-flowing Divine source, leading us into eternal life. But these holy days are coming to an end: in three days we will mark the apodosis of Pascha and on Thursday celebrate the Ascension of the Lord—our hope in our ascension—us healed, raised, cleansed by the blood of the Savior in His united, undivided Body—the Holy Church. As we watch these last Paschal days pass, the Holy Church wants to strengthen our Paschal joy in anticipation of the feast of the Ascension and teach us that Christ, Whom we now do not see with our physical eyes, is here among us, visible to the eyes of the spirit. In the Gospel reading, the Church tells us about the wisdom of the blind man and warns us against the spiritual blindness of the Pharisees. In the Gospel reading, we heard how Christ healed the blind man, gave sight to a man who had been born blind. Behold, a miracle! “Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind” (John 9:32). But isn’t the stubborn blindness of those who should be able to see even more surprising? Isn’t the spiritual blindness of the Pharisees more amazing? Spiritual blindness defies not only faith, not only the miracle, but even common sense itself. “Who is He?”—asks spiritual blindness; “A prophet!”—answers faith (John 9:17). “How did He open your eyes?”—persists spiritual blindness, not looking for an answer; “I already told you and you did not listen,”—responds faith (John 9:27). “We do not know him or from where He is!”—declares spiritual blindness rejecting Christ, turning away from Him (John 9:29); “Indeed, it is strange that He gave sight to the one born blind, but you do not know from where He is,”—marvels faith (John 9:30). “He is a sinner!”—yells spiritual blindness, trying to smear all that is bright and heavenly with dirt (John 9:24); “God does not listen to sinners” (John 9:31),—wise faith teaches those who are spiritually blind, “But this One performed a miracle from God.” The false pastors of the Jewish people are mad: “He violates our habits, He heals a man on the Sabbath; He wants us to open our eyes, wash dirt off our faces and look at the sun, but we are used to our dirt, our eyelids are shut with sin and our eyes do not see the sky; He calls us up, but we are more comfortable in a moldy basement. Kill! Drive him out!”—and they seek to kill the Savior and drive out the saved (John 9:34). Aren’t the spiritually blind of all times the same? Don’t they also drive Christ from their hearts and lives under the mask of piety, often not even bothering with a mask? Offering to us the Gospel story about blindness in this the last Sunday of Pascha, the Holy Church calls all who thirst for healing from spiritual blindness to turn to the source of light and to follow the wise faith of the one who was born blind. Because we also, blinded from birth by our sins, look at the world through the empty eye sockets of our hardened hearts. But the resurrection of Christ, the light shining for the world from the gaping eye socket of the tomb by Golgotha, gives resurrection to us also, opens our eyes, shines into our hearts, lifts us up to the heavenly Sun, if in simplicity of faith we can accept the grace which heals us, if we do not stubbornly choose our spiritual blindness. If we stop hiding from God behind the blinds of false piety, behind the false façade of external decorations, and turn to Christ the Savior in simplicity of faith, then the Son of God will find us also, as He found the man born blind, and reveal Himself to us, and strengthen our faith. Let us turn to Christ with a fervent prayer to heal our eyes, our hearts, our whole person on the holy day of the Lord’s Sabbath, the Day of the Lord; and let us carry our Paschal joy through the next few days, through the next year, and, as the foundational principle through our whole life. “Christ is risen, and the demons are fallen! Christ is risen, and the angels rejoice! Christ is risen, and life reigns! Christ is risen, and not one dead remains in a tomb!” (St. John Chrysostom) Amen!

Friday, May 07, 2010

Michael's List - Greece is a 'scapegoat'; Balkan Conference; NATO-Balkans Open-door, European Missile Shield; Russia-US Adoptions; Religion in Europe



While all fingers are pointing towards Greece and its crisis, dominating the front pages of world news, the other countries with similar situations “remain under the radar” and are mostly reported on the back pages of the news. “Greece’s woes have revealed a Euro-elite more interested in blame-shifting than tackling the economic crisis” Daniel Ben-Ami reports. Worries that the crisis may spread to other weak euro zone countries makes it seem that there was never a crisis before Greece. The crisis has already spread even before Greece was recognized. Greece was not the leader of this crisis but the one targeted first. “Greece is only one of 19 countries that have financial troubles” according to the international economic forecaster, Bob Chapman. He continues to say “Greece is being used as a scapegoat, public debt to GPD at the moment is approximately as that of the United States”. As chaos ripped through Europe in April with the Volcanic ash and continues to threaten the future of tourism in the summer, Iceland is certainly not considered the villain but Greece troubles are. Just as Iceland has no responsibility for the volcano, Greece does not have responsibility for the global economic crisis and can only take a small part of the euro zone crisis. This hypocrisy is validated even further as the rating agencies are being blasted for their reporting mechanisms for Greece from prominent. The European Commissioner, should be applauded, when on May 4th he "told credit rating agencies to watch their step when judging a country's financial health, saying they would probe their work and could even set up a central agency to take on their job" It is the clearest warning yet from the 27-country bloc's executive to an industry that senior European officials have criticized privately for being too harsh in downgrading Greece. Reuters reported on May 3rd that "The European Union may propose rules within weeks to cap the size of individual trades by speculators in derivatives, blamed for exacerbating the economic crisis, said sources with knowledge of the matter. Under the plans, the new regime could allow watchdogs to limit big trades in derivatives such as Greek debt default insurance. Some suspect speculators accelerated the rising cost of this insurance, pressuring Athens to turn to European neighbors and the IMF for a 110 billion euro bailout." The Times Online reported that a similar concurrence "Like many Greeks, Mr. Michalos takes blame for the decades of excess that have led to near disaster, but also is unhappy about the way that the country seems to have been rounded upon. “We are the scapegoat,” he said. “We represent only two percent of the euro zone GDP and Spain has tremendous problems with its private debt.” Germany is drawing profit from a lower euro, he added." The quote of Robert Cook should be kept in mind “Say and do something positive that will help the situation; it doesn't take any brains to complain." It is said that Serbia is doing its part by helping encouraging its citizens to vacation in Greece helping to bring in more tourism revenues. Other countries are doing their part as well. Belgium Parliament voted already for 1 bn euro aid towards Greece, along with the 60 million euro aid from Cyprus. This “call to action” of these countries should be recognized worldwide. It is funny, to say at least, that FYROM, Romania and Bulgaria issued Travel warnings to Greece, when their own problems exist. Protests happen on a daily basis around the world so one might ask why every protest of Greece is publicized more. This month alone it has been reported, although in very few newspapers comparably, the protests that exist; Tens of thousands of demonstrators in more than 70 US cities turned out over the weekend in protest of a new Arizona immigration law, Near daily protests have been held outside parliament in Egypt on a variety of economic issues, including demands for an increase in the minimum wage; Thousands of Bangkok workers and hundreds of businesses have seen their incomes drop as protests have clogged a central part of the city for weeks; Thai protesters hold out for more talks; Georgian opposition began protests in Tbilisi against declaration of May 6, Albanians take to the streets etc... OSAC reports in February 2010 highlight the safety of Greece. “Statistics suggest that violent crime in Greece is considerably less prevalent than in other European countries. Athens is safer in terms of violent crime than comparably sized metropolitan cities” Greece is known for its natural beauty and the cultural monuments. Violence never was and never will be a characteristic of the kind and hospitable people of Greece. Greece is the fourth most popular tourist destination for Europeans in 2010, according to the Euro barometer survey. Travel Advisers most recently declared for its Traveler’s Choice Destination Awards on Wednesday that Oia Greece is the best romantic destination in the world. During the Scandinavian Trade Fair for Travel TUR 2009, held in Goteborg in Sweden (19-22 Mar), RES magazine a leading travel publication in Scandinavia, awarded Greece as the “Best travel destination for families with children. Daily Frappe says that “Greece was recently placed in 24th place among 124 countries in the overall rankings for the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index presented on Thursday by the World Economic Forum. U.S. magazine, Conde Nast Traveler, recently published a multi-page tribute to the beauties and wonders of Greece. It also stated that “The Greek island holiday destination of Mykonos has been voted the best place to go for a European getaway in a magazine poll. Travel and Leisure picks three hotels in Greece in their “Worlds Best Hotels” 2010. So many publications cannot be wrong. With that being said, it is the responsibility of the Greek citizens, together with the Greek Government, to alter this image immediately. Furthermore, Greece should recognize the economic damage that will be done with strikes and demonstrations which will discourage visitors to come to Greece. Along with the volcanic ash threat on the air transportation, world economic woes, tourism is really being threatened. Whatever rights the people have to protest against austerity measures, it should cease for the benefit of the country. Other displays of dissatisfaction can be chosen to show the pain being caused by the austerity measures. We hope that the Greek Party leaders will do their job, and they will advise their members for the fatal behavior. “Greece is being scapegoated. The market reactions are generating problems, which are primarily built up on speculation, but which then turn into reality,'' Deutsche Bank's former chief economist Norbert Walter said in an interview with the Austrian daily Der Standard on April 29th.


Cyprus gained its independence from the British Empire in 1960, but even the British Ministry of Defense could not deny that for 3,500 years, Cyprus' Greek identity of language and culture has been retained. Over the centuries, numerous empires have come and gone, and quite a few ethnic communities have blossomed in Cyprus: Armenians, Latins and even Arab Maronites. But it was the yoke of the British Empire that sought to force the impression of "two peoples" on the island in order to implement its partition plans. During the 1955-59 struggle to liberate Cyprus, not a single Turkish Cypriot participated. Instead, the British, with the aid of Turkey, established the Turkish terrorist organizations Volgan and TMT to attack Greek Cypriots and other communities, including even the Turkish Cypriots. It was the British who recruited the Turkish Cypriots into their police and security forces to crack down on anti-colonial activism. The Turkish military invasion did not protect anyone's interests but those of the mass murderers and rapists who pillaged the property of anyone who was not Turkish. Scores of Greek and Armenian monasteries and churches have been forcibly converted into hotels and casinos, and the Turkish military recently went so far as to bulldoze a Neolithic settlement in order to plant Turkish flags. In his letter, Timur Edib, former president of the Maryland American Turkish Association, talks of the "balance" the Green Line has lent to Cyprus. Balance? Hardly. Just ask the multitudes of nationalities that were displaced forcibly or murdered by the Turkish military on the "Turkish-and-only-Turkish" side of the Attila Line.


There will be no photographing, joint statements, or indication of functions at the EU-Western Balkans conference in Sarajevo in June. UN mission in Kosovo, UNMIK, representatives will be present, according to Belgrade daily Danas. Foreign Ministers Vuk Jeremić and Skender Hyseni, appointed by the Kosovo Albanian government in Priština as its foreign minister, will be seated at the same table at the meeting, accroding to the same newspaper report today. The daily writes that it learned from the Serbian and Kosovo governments that they agreed to the so-called Gymnich format of the conference, considering that this meeting will be held on a ministerial level unlike the one in Slovenia recently, where presidents and prime ministers were invited. Belgrade snubbed the informal gathering in Slovenia, saying that Kosovo Albanian officials could only take part as Kosovo-UNMIK, and without violating UNSC Resolution 1244 in the process. “A model of participation of officials from Priština which is acceptable to Belgrade has been found, which includes personal presence of ministers without stating of their functions. Also, it has been agreed that there will be no photographing before and after the meeting, or joint statements for the public afterwards. This Gymnich model was the only solution under which we have agreed to sit with the representatives of authorities in Priština at the joint meeting, of course, in the presence of representatives of the EU mission in Kosovo,” State Secretary with the Kosovo Ministry Oliver Ivanović told the daily. Back in Belgrade, Serbian Deputy PM Božidar Đelić was quoted as saying that the ultimate achievement of the upcoming meeting in Sarajevo should not be only that it was held, but that Serbia and other countries, based on new EU development plan “Europe 2020“, create similar programs where concrete projects in five areas would be visible. According to Chief of the EU Delegation to Serbia Vincent Degert, the EU wants all of its partners in the region to participate at the regional conference in Sarajevo, since, according to him, the idea is to send a message that the entire Western Balkans has a European perspective.


NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said on Friday in Romania that the Alliance will continue its open door policy as regards countries in the Balkans and would like all the states in the region to join the European Union and NATO. Rasmussen, who is on a two-day official visit to Bucharest, added that Ukraine and Georgia could also become NATO members if they want to and if they meet the necessary criteria. "Our position concerning future members, decided at the Bucharest summit in 2008, remains unchanged. The Membership Action Plan, MAP, does not guarantee future NATO membership but it is a framework and an opportunity for a country to take the path of reform to meet the criteria required for membership," Rasmussen said. Last month, NATO extended a MAP to Bosnia, but attached conditions to its implementation. Membership action plans are intended to expedite candidate countries' progress toward joining the 28-member military alliance and are seen as a key stepping stone on the way towards full membership. Under the plan, the NATO membership aspirants are provided with individually-tailored advice and support. The plan also serves as a means to monitor their progress and provide feedback on reforms. NATO comprises 28 member states, including the Balkan countries of Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Romania, Slovenia and Turkey. Bosnia and Macedonia hope to join the alliance in the near future, while Serbia has still not firmly established whether it will seek NATO membership.


At a news conference Wednesday at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Rasmussen said he was in favor to link and expand NATO's missile defense systems to protect the entire continent. "NATO is already building a missile defense system to protect our armed forces when they go out on mission," Rasmussen said. "The cost of expanding that system to cover not only our soldiers but also our populations … is less than ($258 million) over 10 years spread among the 28 NATO countries." For that money, Europe will get "full coverage geographically, as well as protection against the threats we can envisage today," he said. Rasmussen said the comprehensive shield was needed to defend a "growing threat" from Iran. The system would be different from that proposed by Washington but could rely via a command-and-control system on those in place or under construction, he added. Rasmussen said Russia should be involved in the plans from the start. "We would very much like to explore the possibilities, to cooperate, to link the systems," he said. "In the coming months we will have discussions on that within the NATO-Russia Council." He added NATO ministers would decide over such a shield at a summit in Lisbon in November.


Russia's parliament on Friday defeated a motion that would have prevented Americans from adopting Russian children. The motion was put forward in reaction to the case of Artyom Savelyev, an 8-year-old Russian boy sent back to Moscow alone last month by his adoptive mother in Tennessee. The mother claimed the boy was violent and that the orphanage had lied about his condition. Russian physicians said they found no mental issues with the boy. Savelyev' return led to calls for more control over foreign adoptions and a freeze on all adoptions to Americans until the United States signed a bilateral agreement allowing Russia to better monitor and control adoptions. A motion to freeze all adoptions to the U.S. pending the signing of such an agreement fell 98 votes short Friday in the State Duma, the lower house. After a month of conflicting signals, Education Minister Andrei Fursenko confirmed earlier this week that Russia had not suspended U.S. adoptions, which he said required legislation to be passed by parliament or a presidential act. The dominant Kremlin-friendly party, United Russia, voted against Friday's motion, saying it did not make sense given Americans' willingness to discuss an agreement. "If an agreement is not signed, we will be the first to submit a freeze bill to parliament," deputy Natalya Karpova said. Some 1,800 Russian children were adopted in the United States last year, according to the Russian Education and Science Ministry. U.S. citizens have adopted nearly 50,000 Russian children since the early 1990s, the ministry's Alina Levitskaya told the State Duma on Friday.


Europe applies double standards in dealing with measures of freedom of expression in society. This is the charge launched by the Russian Orthodox Patriarchate of Moscow, concerned that this fundamental right is not fully applied to religious communities. The deputy head of the Department for External Church Relations of the Patriarchate, the abbot Philipp Ryabykh, told Interfax news agency: “In the Western world the right to criticize every religious point of view is often claimed, but at the same time symbols of faith are censored and the religious approach to political and social life of citizens censored”. This is how the priest responds to the words of Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Thorbjørn Jagland, according to whom criticism of governments and religions, "their myths and ideas”, meet European democratic standards. The religious outlook of many problems Ryabykh continues, "is often not considered in the same way as that based on scientific method or humanism, and indeed it is relegated to the realm of mythology, an insult to people who believe." Furthermore the priest points out that "religious language is censored in public life, thus Christmas becomes a simple holiday season, the Christmas tree is removed from public places as well as the crib to the point that they are even proposing to remove the crucifix from schools. " Europe "often calls for respect for freedom of expression and yet it restricts the right of believers to be in society with their views." Father Philipp calls for guarantees for the rights of religious communities to freely express their concerns on issues of bioethics or same-sex marriages: "If we build a society in which religious believers can also speak freely, we will have achieved the desired result for Europe." In a recent article Jagland reiterated, "Freedom of speech and expression is the very essence of European identity."

Thursday, May 06, 2010

Michael's List - Osama not in DC; Cinco de Mayo; Ex-KLA leader arrested; Russia v Pirates II; Priest killed; Cyprus talks; AHEPA Day 2010



Rest assured, Washingtonians. Usama bin Laden is not residing in the nation's capital. That's the word from the State Department following Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's attempt to toy with America's sense of security during an ABC interview that aired Wednesday morning. "I heard that Usama bin Laden is in Washington, D.C.," the head of the Islamic regime responded when asked repeatedly whether the Al Qaeda leader was roaming freely in Iran. But it's OK to exhale; State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley says it's not true. "Over the past few hours, we've done an intensive search here at the Department of State -- every nook and cranny, every rock, and we can safely report that Usama bin Laden is not here," Crowley said at the end of his opening announcements in his daily briefing. Asked if a check had been done of the greater Washington area, Crowley, relieved by the laughter elicited from the comment, said no, but he's "pretty confident" Ahmadinejad is inaccurate. Pressed about reports that bin Laden is in Iran, Ahmadinejad told ABC, "Maybe you know, but I don't know." Then Ahmadinejad contended that bin Laden is in D.C., at the behest of a former U.S. president. "He's there because he was a previous partner of Mr. Bush. They were colleagues, in fact, in the old days. You know that? They worked together. Mr. Bin Laden never cooperated with Iran, but he cooperated with Mr. Bush," the Iranian president said.


What is Cinco de Mayo anyway? Contrary to popular belief, it's not Mexican Independence Day, which is commemorated Sept. 16. It actually celebrates the 1862 Mexican victory over the French in the Battle of Puebla and, according to many people, is more of a U.S. holiday than a Mexican one. For the average Mexican, today is just another Wednesday, wrote Oscar Casares, a professor at the University of Texas-Austin. "The holiday, which has never really been much of one in Mexico, crossed over to this side of the border in the 1950s and 1960s, as civil rights activists were attempting to build harmony between the two countries and cultures," Casares wrote. "The date gained more attention in the 1980s when marketers, particularly beer companies, saw this as a perfect opportunity to capitalize on the celebratory nature of the holiday." Eric Lurio wrote in the Huffington Post, "It's actually a Mexican-American holiday, which was for some reason very popular in California, and over the years has become the official Mexican ethnic day, as Columbus Day is for the Italians ... In other words, it's a harmless, if totally fake holiday."


According to media reports, EULEX police arrested Sabit Geci in Priština this Thursday. Geci, an ethnic Albanian, is described as one of the leaders of the so-called Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), and he is suspected of committing war crimes in 1999. The arrest was carried out this afternoon “with police out in force”, Tanjug reports. The crimes that Geci is suspected of were committed by the now disbanded KLA in the Klina-Mališevo-Glogovac triangle of the province, in the Drenica region. While a short EU mission in Kosovo, EULEX, police statement said that they “carried out a house search and arrested a male suspect in connection with war crimes allegedly committed between April and June 1999,” the Albanian language media in Priština identified the person as Sabit Geci.


The fortunes of a band of Somali pirates quickly changed Thursday when a Russian warship opened fire on a hijacked oil tanker, freeing the crew and arresting the bandits, who a day earlier had raced across the Indian Ocean to seize a cargo valued at more than $50 million. The high-seas battle unfolded after 23 crewmen on the tanker Moscow University sent a distress call and hid from the pirates in a sealed rudder compartment. A Russian destroyer closed in and special forces stormed the vessel at dawn, after marauders shot at a surveillance helicopter, according to the anti-piracy European Union Naval Force. "The Russian warship, knowing the crew was locked down and safe, returned fire on the pirates," said a statement released by the EU force. "Eventually the pirates surrendered and a boarding team from the Marshal Shaposhnikov [warship] arrived onboard the tanker, captured all the pirates and freed the crew. All the crew are safe and well." Russia's state-run RIA Novosti news services reported that one pirate was killed and 10 were arrested. The rescue operation was stunning, ending an ordeal less than 24 hours after pirates seized the 106,474-ton tanker about 350 miles off the Yemeni Island of Socotra. The vessel, owned by Novorossiysk Shipping Co. and carrying 86,000 tons of crude oil, had left Sudan and was bound for China, catching the attention of pirates who have expanded their hunting territory hundreds of miles from the Yemeni and Somali coasts. The Marshal Shaposhnikov, an anti-submarine destroyer, was part of a fleet of international warships to protect oil tankers and cargo ships in the vital shipping lanes in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden. The anti-piracy effort has prevented a number of attacks. In February, Danish special forces foiled a hijacking of a merchant ship, and earlier this week a Greek warship fired at and arrested seven bandits in a speedboat off Yemen. Maritime authorities estimate that pirates have attacked hundreds of ships in recent years and have negotiated ransoms between $100 million and $200 million. Pirates are believed to be holding about 350 hostages and as many as 20 vessels.


Police in the Russian republic of Chuvashia held a 22-year-old man in connection with the killing of a priest, an investigation spokesman said Thursday. The unidentified suspect is a resident of Novocheboksarsk, a city on the southern bank of the Volga River about 2 miles from the Chuvashian capital Cheboksary, police quoted by the Russian Information Agency Novosti said. The unidentified priest who was also a monk from the Russian Orthodox St. Michael the Archangel Church in Cheboksary was found dead in his home Wednesday with multiple knife wounds, police said. He was the second priest killed in Chuvashia in two weeks. On April 24, a priest identified as Father Anatoly, 46, was discovered dead with a gunshot wound at his church in the village of Yantikovo, in the eastern part of Chuvashia. Police later detained a 47-year-old man with a history of mental illness in the killing. Investigators said they had no links between the two cases, Novosti reported. Chuvashia, located in the center of the European part of Russia, in the heart of the Volga-Vyatka region, is the homeland of the Chuvash people, a Turkic-speaking ethnic group whose members mostly belong to the Russian Orthodox Church. In November 2009 the Rev. Daniil Sysoyev of St. Thomas's Church in southern Moscow was shot dead by a masked gunman. Sysoyev was known for his active missionary work in converting Muslims and members of religious sects to Christianity. His assistant was badly wounded in the attack. The killing stirred a wave of condemnation from religious groups in Russia and demands for better security for the clergy.


A United Nations spokesman yesterday announced that stalled Cyprus reunification talks are scheduled to resume on May 26. UN spokesman Rolando Gomez said in a statement that following consultations between Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon's special adviser on Cyprus Alexander Downer and the leaders of the two rival communities of the divided island, "Cyprus talks will resume on Wednesday, May 26, at 10 a.m. at the United Nations Protected Area in Nicosia." The UN-backed reunification talks were suspended in late March, ahead of April 18 elections in the Turkish-occupied north of Cyprus, which saw pro-solution leftist Mehmet Ali Talat replaced by nationalist hardliner Dervis Eroglou. As part of his election campaign, Eroglou advocated greater independence for his community, a breakaway region recognized only by Ankara. Eroglou's election had raised concerns among Greek Cypriots that any progress made between Talat and Cypriot President Dimitris Christofias during intensive talks that began in September 2008 would be put into jeopardy by Eroglou's separatist stance. But Downer said in a separate statement on Tuesday that the new Turkish-Cypriot leader had agreed to pick up where the talks left off. "It's a good outcome and I think we will just have to wait and see how the talks go once they resume, but it's good we are getting the process going again," said Downer. "This is an agreement which is within the reach of the leaders," he added. "What is needed is the political will to grasp it." Major issues that remain pending on the negotiation table are property rights and security. Chapters such as governance, power sharing, EU affairs and the economy, on which significant progress has already been made, will not be reopened by Eroglou, said Downer. "Both leaders have made it clear to me that they are very committed to a solution. Time will tell," added Downer.


May 16, 2010. AHEPA Sunday. To the Most Reverend Hierarchs, the Reverend Priests and Deacons, the Monks and Nuns, the Presidents and Members of the Parish Councils of the Greek Orthodox Communities, the Distinguished Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Day, Afternoon, and Church Schools, the Philoptochos Sisterhoods, the Youth, the Hellenic Organizations, and the entire Greek Orthodox Family in America. Beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ, On this day we as the Holy Archdiocese of America recognize the members and service of the American Hellenic Educational and Progressive Association. The AHEPA family has a long history of promoting Hellenism, education, philanthropy, civic responsibility, family and individual excellence in a spirit of true diakonia and community. Through national and international programs, initiatives, and annual meetings, the members of AHEPA continue to enhance the well-being of so many. They are also members of the parishes and organizations of our Greek Orthodox Archdiocese, worshipping and serving in our sacred mission to share the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is in this way that the goals of AHEPA represent the nature of the relationship of our Orthodox faith and Hellenic heritage. With a tradition of compassion for those in need, a dedication to the highest ideals, and a commitment to offering so that others might succeed in life, the members of AHEPA are able to provide a witness of the attributes of our faith and heritage that nurture our potential and affirm our need for God and one another. This is a witness that we can all offer as Greek Americans, Philhellenes, and Orthodox Christians, sharing with everyone the great inheritance we have received. On this Sunday, we thank the AHEPA family for their significant contribution in our communities, this country, and around the world. I ask all of our parishes to recognize the members of AHEPA and promote the work of this esteemed organization. As brothers and sisters in Christ and as beneficiaries of a great and beautiful tradition of faith, truth, knowledge and life, let us pray to God for the vital work of AHEPA, and may we labor together for His honor and glory. [To read more about AHEPA, click here.]


Wednesday, May 05, 2010

Michael's List - Pirates vs Russians; NATO seized weapons; Iran war games; Proximity talks; US base, Okinawa; Motherhood rankings; US Vets Memorial



Somali pirates have boarded an oil tanker off East Africa and a Russian warship is rushing to intervene. The 106,000-ton ship, named the Moscow University, has 23 Russian crew members on board. Today's dawn attack occurred about 500 miles east of the Somali coast. It's still unclear if the pirates are fully in control of the tanker, an EU Naval Force commander told AP.


NATO officials are “concerned over the latest developments in the Macedonian-Kosovo border zone”, said reports from Priština. A large weapons cache was discovered there recently, after Macedonian police engaged an ethnic Albanian gang from Kosovo. Such actions could lead to a destabilization of Macedonia, stated Allied Joint Force Command Naples Commander U.S. Admiral Mark Fitzgerald. “The amount of weapons which was discovered is very large and it represents a great concern for us,” he said in Priština this Wednesday. “Such actions could destabilize countries like Macedonia, so it’s obvious that we’re concerned,” he stated. Fitzgerald also commented on the Kosovo Albanian government's decision to disable Belgrade-based mobile and landline telephone networks in Kosovo. He requested that “everyone finds non-violent ways to address and solve these issues through established institutional forms”, said reports. “We’ve asked the (Kosovo) government to be more transparent and to provide information to the public in advance when they make such decisions,” Fitzgerald concluded.


Iran on Wednesday kicked off new war games and military maneuvers in the strategic Persian Gulf waters, the country's second military show of force in less than a month. The exercises reflect Iran's desire to flex its military muscle at a time of a deepening standoff with the West over Tehran's controversial nuclear program. The war games, held annually since 2006, also act as a warning, should U.S. or Israel consider a military strike on Iran's nuclear facilities. The new maneuvers, dubbed "Velayat 89," are to last eight days in the Strait of Hormuz and the Sea of Oman and cover about 97,000 square miles (250,000 square kilometers) of Iranian territorial waters, reported state TV. In late April, Iran's Revolutionary Guard held five-day maneuvers in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz. Iran's leaders have in the past said that if attacked, the country would respond by shutting off the Strait of Hormuz, the mouth of the Gulf through which around 40 percent of the world's oil and gas supplies passes, as well as by attacking American bases in the Gulf. Navy chief Adm. Habibollah Sayyari was quoted by the TV as saying Wednesday that Iran's Navy, backed by the air force, will "show its might" in the latest exercise. The exercise comes as the Obama administration is lobbying hard at the U.N. Security Council for tougher punishment of Iran over its refusal to suspend uranium enrichment, a process that can produce either a warhead or fuel for a nuclear reactor. The West accuses Iran of seeking to build a weapon, a claim Tehran denies, insisting its nuclear program is only for peaceful purposes, such as power generation. The exercise also comes against the backdrop of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's remarks on the sidelines of a nuclear treaty conference at U.N. headquarters in New York dismissing the threat of further economic penalties for Iran. Ahmadinejad has recently been lobbying China and Russia, the two among the Security Council's five veto-wielding permanent members that have been reluctant to endorse further sanctions against Iran, and also rotating members such as Uganda and Brazil. As the sole head of state to attend the once-every-five-years Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty gathering, Ahmadinejad argued in New York that any new sanctions would mean President Barack Obama has given up on his campaign to engage Iran diplomatically.


U.S. Mideast envoy George Mitchell will meet in Jerusalem with Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss the start of proximity talks. Mitchell and the Israeli prime minister were scheduled to meet Wednesday afternoon. Netanyahu has said he is ready to launch the talks at the meeting. Mitchell is scheduled to meet Friday with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, but talks are not likely to start before at least Saturday, when the Palestine Liberation Organization Executive Committee is set to meet to approve the talks. Abbas was meeting Wednesday in Cairo with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Netanyahu met with Mubarak on Monday, when he reportedly updated the president on the status of the peace process. Israel's deputy prime minister, Dan Meridor, told the Jerusalem Post in an article published Wednesday that indirect talks will fail. "Everyone will want to pull America to their own side, and they won't get closer, they will get further apart," Meridor, also the minister of intelligence, told the newspaper. "I think we need to go quickly to direct talks." Abbas put the start of the indirect peace negotiations in doubt on Tuesday after a West Bank mosque was burned down in a fire that Palestinian officials blamed on residents of neighboring Jewish settlements. Israeli police said the fire was caused by an electrical short. "This criminal attack threatens efforts to revive the peace process," Abbas said.

V. STRAIGHTTIMES - U.S. base stays in Okinawa

To the dismay of long-suffering Okinawans, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama yesterday went back on his word to relocate the United States Futenma airbase outside the prefecture. Visiting the prefecture for the first time since he took office last September, the Japanese leader told Okinawa prefectural governor Hirokazu Nakaima he had no choice but to ask the people of Okinawa to continue to shoulder the burden of the US bases. "As a practical issue, it is difficult to move all the functions of Futenma outside the prefecture," said the Prime Minister. The ruling Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) led by Mr Hatoyama had promised in last August's general election to move Futenma outside the prefecture, if not outside Japan entirely. But Mr Hatoyama told the Okinawa governor yesterday: "There was talk about moving Futenma out of the country. But considering the Japan-US security relationship, and the security of neighbouring countries, in terms of providing a deterrent force, it is not possible in reality." He added: "I apologise to the people of Okinawa."


The United States has scored poorly on a campaign group's list of the best countries in which to be a mother, managing only 28th place, and bettered by many smaller and poorer countries. Norway topped the latest Save the Children "Mothers Index", followed by a string of other developed nations, while Afghanistan came in at the bottom of the table, below several African states. One factor that dragged the US ranking down was its maternal mortality rate, which at one in 4,800 is one of the highest in the developed world, said the report. "A woman in the Unites States is more than five times as likely as a woman in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Greece or Italy to die from pregnancy-related causes in her lifetime and her risk of maternal death is nearly 10-fold that of a woman in Ireland," the report said. It also scored poorly on under-five mortality, its rate of eight per 1,000 births putting it on a par with Slovakia and Montenegro. Norway headed the list of developed countries at the top of the list of best places to be a mother, followed by Australia, Iceland, Sweden, Denmark, New Zealand, Finland, the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. At the bottom was Afghanistan, followed by Niger, Chad, Guinea-Bissau, Yemen, Democratic Republic of Congo, Mali, Sudan, Eritrea and Equatorial Guinea. The report recommended more funding for women's and girls' education and better access to maternal and child health care, particularly in the developing world. In the United States and other industrialised nations, it called on governments and communities to work together to improve education and health for disadvantaged mothers and children.


Saint Nicholas Cathedral [in Washington, DC] invites all Orthodox parishes in the US to add the names, ranks, and photographs of their US military veterans to the newly established Orthodox Veterans Memorial web page, a 21st century extension of the cathedral's continuing commitment to praying for our Orthodox fallen. "Our chaplains serve Orthodox of all jurisdictions and, as such, our War Memorial will honor all Orthodox Christians whose names have been submitted to be honored," wrote His Beatitude, Metropolitan Jonah, in a letter to the faithful and friends of Saint Nicholas Cathedral. "We must never forget their sacrifice and those who have, as Abraham Lincoln so eloquently stated in his Gettysburg Address, 'given their last full measure of devotion.'" The Orthodox Church has a longstanding tradition of dedicating churches to the memory of Orthodox Christians who have fought and died in defense of Church and country. Saint Nicholas Cathedral, modeled after the 12th century Church of Saint Dmitri in Vladimir, Russia, was built in the early 1960s as the National War Memorial Shrine. A decade-long effort to raise funds for the cathedral's construction had been blessed by the Holy Synod of Bishops in 1949. The cathedral was dedicated in 1963 to the memory of Orthodox Christians who died fighting for freedom in the Russian Revolution, World Wars I and II, and the Korean War. A bronze dedicatory tablet hangs at the entrance of the cathedral, and a book listing the names of the fallen, collected from parishes across the nation, is kept in the altar. Each year, on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, these names are read aloud during the Divine Liturgy. The cathedral's new Veterans Memorial web page features a growing list of Orthodox veterans by jurisdiction and parish. On-line visitors can find the webpage by clicking the tab labeled "Veterans" on the navigation section of the cathedral's website, www.stnicholasdc.org. A link from the OCA website, www.oca.org, to the webpage of the Veterans Memorial will be available shortly. New names and photographs will be added as they are received. Additions to the web site should be submitted by e-mail to veterans@stnicholasdc.org. Please include the words "VETERANS" in the subject line of all emails. Names should be submitted in the following format: *** Jurisdiction, Name of Home Parish, Location of Home Parish (e.g., GOARCH, Hagia Sophia Cathedral, Washington, DC) *** Full Name of Veteran, Rank, Branch of Service, Years of Service, Wartime Service, Awards for Valor, Active/Retired/Deceased/KIA/MIA. (e.g., Pappas, George J., COL, US Army, 1948-1978, Korea, Vietnam, Silver Star, Retired.) Please address all hardcopy correspondence concerning the Veterans Memorial to Veterans Memorial Coordinator, Saint Nicholas Cathedral, 3500 Massachusetts Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20007. Names of service members killed in action (KIA) or are missing in action (MIA) not already included on the cathedral's listing of the fallen will be added and duly commemorated in the Divine Liturgy on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend.

Tuesday, May 04, 2010

Michael's List - Syrian Sanctions; US, UK, France, UN Hall walk out; Cyprus talks; Russia-NATO; Belgrade-Priština; Google wind farm; The Marrying Kind



President Barack Obama Monday renewed US sanctions on Syria for a year, accusing Damascus of supporting "terrorist" groups and pursuing missile programs and weapons of mass destruction. There had been no expectation that Obama would lift the measures, but the renewal came at an especially sensitive time in often tense US-Syria relations, despite efforts by the administration to return an ambassador to Damascus. The United States has also recently accused Syria and Iran of arming Hezbollah with increasingly sophisticated rockets and missiles, which it says are undermining stability in the region. Obama said in a message to Congress renewing the sanctions imposed by former US president George W. Bush in 2004, that the Syrian government had made "some progress" in suppressing the infiltration of foreign fighters bound for Iraq. But he added that its "continuing support for terrorist organizations and pursuit of weapons of mass destruction and missile programs, continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States." Obama also called on Syria to demonstrate "progress" in the areas that Washington says justify sanctions, to allow them to be lifted in future. Some US lawmakers have seized upon the accusations to argue against any rapprochement between Washington and Damascus. In February, Obama nominated career diplomat Robert Ford as the country's first ambassador to Syria in five years, but his appointment has yet to be confirmed by the Senate. Bush declared a national emergency regarding Syria on May 11, 2004, and imposed economic sanctions over charges it was a state sponsor of terrorism. They were extended in 2006, tightened in 2007 and renewed the following year. Monday's action marked the second renewal of the sanctions regime by Obama.


The delegations of the U.S., Britain and France walked out of the UN General Assembly hall where a review conference on nuclear non-proliferation is under way after Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad accused Western powers of double standards concerning nuclear non-proliferation. Addressing the delegates from 189 nations, Ahmadinejad said Washington was pushing Iran to halt its uranium enrichment program while continuing to develop its own nuclear weapons. Answering UN Secretary General's call for Iran to agree on the exchange of uranium for nuclear fuel, Ahmadinejad said Iran was always ready for it. "I want to reply to UN Secretary General's call for Iran to agree on the exchange of uranium for nuclear fuel... Iran was always ready for this, and I want to announce once again that it is acceptable for Iran, and we have made our proposal concerning the issue. Now, the ball is on the side of other states, which should accept our proposals," he said. The United States and other Western countries suspect Iran of developing nuclear weapons under the guise of a civilian nuclear energy program. In line with the UN plan drawn up in Vienna last October, the Islamic Republic was to ship out its low-enriched uranium to Russia for further enrichment and subsequently send it to France where it would be made into fuel rods. Tehran stalled the plan, suggesting it could consider a simultaneous swap of its low-enriched uranium for 20%-enriched uranium, but that the exchange should be simultaneous and would have to take place on its own territory.


A United Nations envoy says talks to reunify divided Cyprus will resume during the last week of May. Alexander Downer says the exact date hasn't been finalized, but that it will likely be May 26. Downer says newly elected Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu and the island's Cypriot President Dimitris Christofias will pick up where the talks left off prior to the April 18 Turkish Cypriot [leader's] election. Cyprus was split into an internationally recognized Greek Cypriot south and a breakaway Turkish Cypriot north in 1974 when Turkey invaded. Downer was speaking Tuesday after meeting with Christofias. He met Eroglu on Monday.


Russia will seek direct opportunities to sell weapons to NATO member states, according to Russia's envoy to the alliance, Dmitry Rogozin. He also said Moscow is considering sending weapons to Afghanistan to assist its present government. In return, the Alliance might lift all barriers for free military trade between Moscow and NATO member states. Last December, the alliance's secretary general asked Russia to supply Kabul with military helicopters.


The visit of top European and U.S. officials has prompted the beginning of talks between Priština and Belgrade, the BBC in Albanian said. The radio quoted unnamed international diplomats as the source of its story. The sources also claim that the international officials want Serbia to give up insisting on opening the question of Kosovo's status. Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini reported that those talks would begin right after the Western Balkans conference in Sarajevo at the beginning of June. BBC reported that the Belgrade-Priština talks will cover three main topics - decentralization, cultural heritage and northern Kosovo. The BBC sources said that Priština may form eight working groups which would assist in the technical preparations for the talks. The same sources stated that the talks will be made "easier" through European diplomats in Kosovo, most of all Italian Ambassador in Kosovo Michael Giffoni, who is the EU envoy for northern Kosovo, and the head of the Greek Liaison Office in Pristina, Dimitris Moschopoulos, EU envoy for cultural heritage. It is believed that the preparatory period will be conducted in August, so as to open a path afterward for the technical level of the talks, which are expected to be raised to the ministerial level later. The diplomatic sources said that opening the talks about certain questions, excluding the status issue, may happen as soon as the International Court of Justice renders its advisory opinion on the legitimacy of the Kosovo Albanian decision to unilaterally proclaim independence.


Google Inc. has invested $38.8 million in two North Dakota wind farms, the Internet giant's first direct investment in utility-scale renewable energy generation. The Mountain View, Calif., company said in a Monday blog post that it invested in wind farms built by NextEra Energy Resources, a unit of FPL Group Inc. The wind turbines, made by General Electric Co., generate 169.5 megawatts of power, enough to serve more than 55,000 homes. Google's stakes in the wind farms are in the form of "tax equity" investments, in which investors take over a project and use federal tax credits granted to the project to offset their own taxes as a return. NextEra said it sold approximately $190 million of Class B membership interests in the two wind farms, with Google's stake represents about 20% of the Class B shares. The companies didn't immediately disclose the other investors. The projects include a 120-megawatt wind farm in Barnes County, N.D., called Ashtabula 2, and a 49.5-megawatt wind facility called Wilton Wind 2, in Burleigh County, N.D. The output from the facilities, which have been operating since last year, are being sold to utilities under power purchase agreements. A Google spokesman said the electricity generated by the wind farms wouldn't be used to power any of the company's data centers. The wind farms are among more than 10,000 megawatts of wind power facilities built across the U.S. in 2009, according to the American Wind Energy Association. NextEra, which owns more than 7,500 megawatts of wind farms, is the nation's top wind power generator. The company also owns nearly 12,000 megawatts of mostly nuclear and natural-gas fired power generation. In California, where Google is headquartered, utilities are required to use renewable sources for a fifth of the power they sell by the end of this year, with the mandate set to expand to one-third renewables by 2020 under pending regulations. Thirty-one other states and Washington, D.C., have renewable power requirements or goals, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. In 2008, about 7% of U.S. power supplies came from renewable sources, with about 7% of that amount from wind.

VII. PRAVMIR - The Marrying Kind

The latest statistic on inter-faith marriages among Orthodox singles stands at almost 90%. That means that the vast majority of marriages of Orthodox Christians are to non-Orthodox Christians or even non-believers. So why is this important? Well, maybe it isn’t. But I think it is a symptom of a potential weakness. Let me tell you why. St. Paul said “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?” (2 Corinthians 6:14) Now, to be sure, this passage is a general teaching about having close relationships with non-believers because these relationships can have a detrimental effect on your own spiritual growth and maturity, but the same principle applies to the closest of human relationships – husband and wife. Some find the above statistic troublesome because they are concerned about preserving a particular cultural identity. Others are concerned that there are certain family traditions put at risk when Orthodox marry outside their own faith tradition. While these concerns may be valid, they really aren’t the most worrisome. No, in fact, my greatest concern about these marriages is that the very cause of their existence may tell us more about the faith commitment of the people involved that we’d like to admit. Young people fall in love. That is just a fact of life, but that fact should not mean we ignore the wisdom of the faith in making this life-changing decision about marriage. There’s just too much at stake. For instance, why would a committed Christian believer want to enter into a spiritual covenant like marriage with someone who is not even a Christian? If our faith is really the center of our lives wouldn’t we desire to have a life-long companion who shares that central, spiritual character of our own hearts? A wise rabbi was commenting on the growth of inter-faith marriages between Jews and Christians when he said “It really isn’t Jews marrying Christians as much as it is non-Jewish Jews marrying non-Christian Christians.” In other words if a person’s faith is really the biggest part of their identity, they will express that truth in the choices they make in life-long companions. If the faith is simply nothing more than a cultural decoration to their lives, then their chose of spouse will reveal that too. Here are some pastoral guidelines for choosing a spouse. First, a spouse must be a Christian believer. This is the minimum requirement. While it may be fashionable to say that “all religions lead to the same place” it isn’t Orthodox. A committed Orthodox Christian who has made their faith the center of their lives and their identity cannot possibly believe that a life-long, healthy marriage can be made from the union of a committed Orthodox Christian and someone who rejects Jesus Christ as the God-Man Savior of all of humanity. It’s like trying to mix oil and water. Second, a non-Orthodox spouse should be willing to consider conversion to Orthodoxy. We Orthodox declare that our Orthodox Christian faith is the fullness of Apostolic Christianity. We declare in the Creed each week that we believe in “one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church.” If this is true, why wouldn’t we desire that every believer in Jesus Christ as savior would embrace the fullness of the Orthodox Christian faith? If that is true of our desire for our Christian friends, how much more should that be our desire for our husband or wife? In pre-marital counseling classes I always make it clear to the non-Orthodox Christian believers that that are invited to embrace, and be embraced by, the Orthodox Christian Church. Finally, a spouse should agree to raise any children in the Orthodox Christian faith. Now don’t misunderstand me here. I’m not talking about making sure the children know how to make traditional, cultural food, as important as that may be. No, I’m referring to making sure that these precious children are schooled in and given examples in the fullness of their Christian heritage in authentic Orthodox Christian discipleship – daily prayers, home icon corners, regular church attendance, and serious participation in the Divine Mysteries of the Church. Please know that none of the above is meant to discount the real emotions and committed relationships that occur in inter-faith marriages. But the exceptions prove the rule in this case. Our desire for our entering into the divine mystery of matrimony, especially from our Orthodox Christian teachings, demand we put our Orthodox Christian faith at the very center of our decision making process when we choose a marriage partner for life! There is more at stake here than just the temporary romantic feelings of a moment. Our marriage is a reflection of our Orthodox Christian commitment and nothing less than serious and faith-educated choices will do.

Monday, May 03, 2010

Michael's List - Dobrovoljačka massacre; Cyprus talks; FYROM dispute; Ahmadinejad at UN; Russians, Poles; Israel, Egypt talks; Samaritan Woman



Two gatherings were held in Sarajevo, Bosnia, to mark 18 years since the crime in Dobrovoljačka Street, with heightened tensions in the town. On May 3, 1992, a retreating Yugoslav Army (JNA) convoy was attacked by Muslim forces in this Sarajevo street, resulting in death and injury of scores of soldiers. Memorial ceremonies were planned in East Sarajevo today, while several hundred Serbs from the Republic of Srpska (RS) for the first time also honored the victims at the scene of the crime. They carried white roses and candles through Dobrovoljačka Street, and honoring the victims of the crime for which no one has been held responsible to date. However, cantonal police stopped their buses this morning. Unofficially, police did so waiting for participants of another gathering to disperse. They were the Green Beret Association, who announced they would go to the same street today, “to honor the defenders of Sarajevo”. The association called on citizens to “gather peacefully” in the street, which has been renamed to Hamdije Kreševljakovića St. No incidents were reported from the two gatherings that were held in close proximity. The so-called Green Berets were a Muslim paramilitary formation during the 1992-95 war, which was later integrated into the Bosnian Army.


Talks to reunify divided Cyprus will not start from scratch after a hard-liner won a Turkish Cypriot leadership election last month, a U.N. envoy said Monday. Dervis Eroglu, who was elected president of the breakaway Turkish Cypriot north, met with U.N. envoy Alexander Downer for the first time since the April 18 vote. Downer said Eroglu agreed to build on progress his leftist predecessor Mehmet Ali Talat made after 19 months of negotiations with Greek Cypriot President Dimitris Christofias. Eroglu's election has raised fears that his long-standing support for separate sovereignty — instead of a partnership in a federation envisioned by Talat and Christofias — would derail negotiations. Cyprus was split in 1974 when Turkey invaded after a coup by supporters of union with Greece. Turkish Cypriots declared an independent republic in 1983, but only Turkey recognizes it and maintains 35,000 troops there. The island's internationally recognized Greek Cypriot government has said Eroglu's election could create "very serious problems" to the talks. Christofias said any deviation from a federal basis to an accord would be a deal-breaker. Downer said he told Eroglu that the talks should resume from where they left off — after a nearly two-month break for the election — and remain in line with what was previously agreed. "Mr. Eroglu has made it clear that he is happy for the talks to proceed on those bases, so we're pleased to hear that," Downer said after meeting Eroglu in the Turkish Cypriot northern half of the divided capital. "We think that's very constructive." The U.N. envoy said he hopes the open-ended talks can resume before June and that a specific date will be set after he meets with Christofias on Tuesday. "I do think that we need to get the momentum back into these negotiations," Downer said.


Time is passing and optimism for finding a solution to the name dispute between Macedonia and Greece will start waning, said French Ambassador to Skopje Jean-Claude Schlumberger in interview to Radio Free Europe, Macedonian Vecer newspaper writes. Schlumberger’s statement comes after the optimism for name dispute’s solution expressed by Spanish foreign minister who visited Macedonia recently. According to the French diplomat optimism is based on the willingness to cope with the issue shown by the two countries. “There is nothing impossible if there is political will. I believe that talks under the UN auspices should continue. It is important to have bilateral talks on all levels. This will allow creating better climate for issue’s solution,” Schlumberger remarked.


Delegates from around 200 countries have gathered at the UN for a conference aimed at stopping the spread of nuclear weapons. Most eyes will be on Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who is to deliver a speech. In his speech, President Ahmadinejad is expected to criticize the International Atomic Energy Agency and international community for failing to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons. Ahmadinejad is also likely to unload some verbal whiplash against the United States and its allies for – what he is accusing the West of – promoting fears about proliferation of nuclear weapons purely for the hidden alternative agenda of not allowing developing nations to have access to nuclear technologies for peaceful purposes. The Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which is what the conference will focus on, was signed 40 years ago and currently unites 189 states. It requires that non-nuclear signatory nations promise not to develop nuclear weapons and in return they are allowed to have peaceful nuclear programs. Five parties to the treaty are publicly recognized as nuclear states and include the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France and China. The treaty is reviewed every five years.


Russia and Poland have a common stake in building mutual trust, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said in a message to the Polish people on Constitution Day. "I am sure that the peoples of our two countries, who recently together went through a tragic event, are interested in the strengthening of mutual trust and understanding," Putin said in a congratulatory telegram to his counterpart, Donald Tusk, a government statement said. "The widening of genuine friendly and mutually-advantageous relations between Russia and Poland is likewise important from the point of view of the guarantee of stability and security in Europe," he added. Polish President Lech Kaczynski was killed in a plane crash on April 10 near the west Russian city of Smolensk. He was on his way to a ceremony to pay tribute to the some 20,000 Polish officers killed by Soviet secret police during World War Two in Katyn and other locations across the U.S.S.R. This year will mark 20 years since Russian authorities first admitted that thousands of Poles were executed by the NKVD in "one of the gravest crimes of Stalinism."


Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Sharm el-Sheikh has ended. The two met for over an hour-and-a-half on the backdrop of proximity talks between Israel and the Palestinians slated to commence on Wednesday. According to Head of the National Information Directorate Nir Hefetz the private meeting "focused on the resumption of the peace process and other regional issues and was held under a positive and constructive atmosphere." Netanyahu's visit in Egypt comes in a sensitive time on the backdrop of an Egyptian bid to disarm the Middle East of nuclear weapons. An American-Russian initiative for a nuclear-free Mideast, supported by Egypt, will be discussed during the nuclear summit in New York. The initiative calls Israel to disarm itself of nuclear arms. A number of other issues are slated to be raised as part of Netanyahu-Mubarak talks, such as the anti-smuggling campaign on Israel's southern border and the war against radical Islamic terror following recent terror alerts in the Sinai region.


In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen. Christ is Risen! Jesus says remarkable things to the Samaritan Woman, speaking of a life that seems so far removed from what we experience in our daily lives. He says to her that if she drinks the water he offers she will never thirst again and that it will become a spring of water in her "welling up to eternal life." In another place he says, "out of your belly shall flow rivers of living water." What could he be talking about? Is such a thing possible for us? Why do our spiritual lives seem so barren? In today's Gospel the Samaritan Woman's experience points to some clue for us. It is a sacramental encounter. I want to focus on only one aspect of this morning. The necessity of repentance and purification. The Lord, at his most scandalous, initiates a dialogue with a Samaritan Woman at Jacob's well. He breaks so many religious, cultural and social laws it is hard to count them all! As Dn. Jeff told us last week, "God is both king and rebel." Here he is as the Glorious, Divine Rebel. The Lord knows the Woman at the Well is a sinful woman; that she has had many husbands and is living with another man, but He does not judge or condemn her. He gently, compassionately and masterfully leads her in confession, modeling for her the truth of who He is and who she may become. The Lord speaks and then graciously awaits her response. He reveals more and more as He perceives she is able to embrace transcendence. She asks to receive the living water and the Lord desires to grant her request, but first He helps to pave the way by revealing the things that stand in the way. She must first confess and repent of her sins. Purification is the first step in the spiritual life because virtue is the necessary foundation. If we attempt to embark on the spiritual life without this, we will be as the foolish man who built his house on the sand. At the first appearance of temptation the house crumbles because its foundation is weak. But the house built on the firm foundation of virtue stands firm. Not even a legion of demons could bring it down. One wise teacher wrote that "purification is the systematic pruning away of all sources of distraction." Jesus helps the Woman at the Well prune away the things in her life that distract her from an intimate relationship with God based on "spirit and truth." This is what the sacrament of Confession is all about; not just the listing of sins, but the uprooting of the causes of sin. As we progress in the spiritual life what we confess becomes more and more subtle, as we begin to work with the thoughts, emotions and conditioning that give rise to our sin. Denied the living water of God, we search for other sources of water we hope will quench our thirst, but they produce only more thirst. The soul's search for alternative gods turns into craving and addiction to things that satisfy only for a moment and then the moment is gone and with it, happiness. We must wake and be honest with ourselves and start to whittle away these distractions, to leave behind all our earthly cares and the half-baked solutions we concoct that do not, and never will, work. As the great Western mystic Meister Eckhart wrote: "It is a fair trade and an equal exchange: to the extent that you depart from things, thus far, no more and no less, God enters into you with all that is his, as far as you have stripped yourself of yourself in all things. It is here that you should begin, whatever the cost, for it is here that you will find true peace, and nowhere else." If our spiritual lives are non-existent or barren, then be sure that at the root of the problem is that our hearts and minds are filled with distractions from the remembrance of God. It is a struggle. Have no doubt, but a struggle which produces fruit an hundred-fold. When there is nothing to hinder the cooperation between the Holy Spirit and the human spirit, the living water begins to flow. I recently watched an amazing video produced by the BBC. It documented the experience of an Anglican priest, Fr. Peter Owen-Jones as he followed in the footsteps of St. Antony the Great of Egypt. After visiting his monastery by the Red Sea he went up the mountain where the Great Saint lived in a cave continuing his struggle for many years. With teaching and the prayers of Fr. Lazarus, an Australian Coptic monk who was dwelling near the cave of St. Antony and had been for eight years, to help him Fr. Peter lives for three weeks virtually alone as St. Antony had done. At the end of three weeks of struggling with his own "demons," his fears, temptations, loneliness in a place where he could not grasp hold of the things he would normally use to distract him from the struggle, he reaches a place of peace at which he says, "I am actually beginning to enjoy this and that is a worry." Allow me to quote his final reflection. "The goodness is the struggle and to be aware that it is a struggle; to be aware that we are constantly making choices between the good and the bad - the good choice and the bad choice...I have come to acknowledge since being here of the importance of that struggle...not to engage in it means that we just fall asleep, we become numb and I was numb when I got here. I know that now...and I'm beginning to come alive again now. And it's painful. It's really painful, like being born, but it's true. So, there we go, another day. Another beautiful day." It is as simple and as difficult as this that we learn to always choose what is good, wise and skillful so that the Lord's work finds in us a willing partner. The struggle for purity is worth the sacrifice. "The proof," as they say, "is in the pudding."

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