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Wednesday, June 30, 2010
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Shakeup Inside Vatican Cabinet
This article comes from the National Catholic Reporter.
-------------------------------------------------------
Triumph of theologians over diplomats in Vatican
By John R. Allen, Jr.
In what’s already a turbulent time, Pope Benedict XVI has triggered another Vatican earthquake, changing the guard in three senior leadership positions. Among those exiting the scene is the Catholic church’s most prominent ecumenical leader over the past decade, while the new arrivals complete the ascent of personal friends and theological protégés of the pontiff to the Vatican’s top positions.
The Vatican announced today two key personnel moves:
- Cardinal Marc Ouellet of Quebec replaces Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re as Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, responsible for recommending new bishops to the pope all over the world;
- Archbishop Rino Fisichella becomes the first President of the new Pontifical Commission for Promotion of the New Evangelization, a new Vatican department devoted to reawakening the faith in the West, especially Europe.
Tomorrow, announcement of a third transition is expected: Bishop Kurt Koch of Basel, Switzerland, will replace Cardinal Walter Kasper as President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and the Commission for Religious Relations with Jews.
Kasper has been the face of the Vatican’s ecumenical outreach since 2001. He recently held a farewell session with reporters in Rome, describing the effort to restore Christian unity as the “construction site of the church of the future.”
Ouellet, Koch and Fisichella all have longstanding ties to Benedict XVI.
Fisichella, a veteran of the Roman scene, collaborated with Ratzinger in the preparation of John Paul II’s encyclical Fides et Ratio, while Ouellet and Koch both move in the theological circles associated with the journal Communio, which was co-founded by Joseph Ratzinger.
(Read more about Fisichella and the Pontifical Council for the New Evangelization here: Pope launches council to fight secular 'Eclipse of God'.)
All three over the years have argued for what Benedict XVI describes as a “hermeneutic of continuity” regarding the Second Vatican Council (1962-65), stressing that Vatican II did not repeal earlier teachings and traditions.
In July 2009, Koch addressed that point in a letter to the priests of Basel: “Instead of accusing others, and even the pope, of wishing to go back to before the council, everyone would be well advised to look over their own books and reassess their own personal position on the council,” he wrote. “Not everything that was said and done after the council, was therefore done in accordance with the council.”
One striking twist to today’s news is that as of now, neither the Secretariat of State nor the Congregation for Bishops is led by a product of the Vatican’s diplomatic service. Traditionally, both posts have been held by men who come out of the diplomatic corps – preserving a balance, observers have usually argued, between the church’s spiritual and doctrinal priorities and its social, political and humanitarian interests.
In sound-bite fashion, one might say that today’s appointments complete the triumph of theologians over diplomats under Benedict XVI.
The pope did make one diplomatic move of note today, naming Archbishop Celestine Migliore, currently the Vatican’s representative to the United Nations, as his new nuncio, or ambassador, in Poland.
In terms of timing, it’s traditional for the Vatican to make a flurry of moves in late June ahead of the pope’s annual summer retreat at Castel Gandolfo. This year, Benedict XVI will leave for his summer residence next Wednesday after the conclusion of his General Audience.
In brief comments to reporters this morning, the Vatican spokesperson, Jesuit Fr. Federico Lombardi, said that the legal document formally creating the new Council for Promotion of the New Evangelization is not expected to appear soon because work on the document is ongoing.
Lombardi also confirmed that the pope met this morning with Archbishop André-Joseph Léonard of Brussels. While he did not offer any details, the meeting follows a series of June 24 police raids in Belgium on church properties as part of a sex abuse probe and comes amid an escalating diplomatic row between Rome and Belgium over the incident.
8 Funny Posts 4 A Grin From Dennys Blogs - 30 June 2010
*** When times are tough what do you do? Laughter is the best stress reliever! Here are 8 posts from this week's posts at Denny's blogs for you to enjoy.
Cup of coffee from Brazil by il Quoquo @ flickr
From Denny: Between Colbert and Stewart, well, let's just say they have BP's shenanigans covered. Nothing gets past them!
In my ongoing effort to provide stress relief when the national conversation is so depressing - because of the BP Gulf Coast oil spill, a fragile economy and politicians who continually refuse to do right by the American people - we all need to keep laughing our way through these times until they get better. Trust that times will get better and they will. Until then, while we are in transition, we must develop coping skills for managing daily stress like making sure we are laughing often.
This is one of those times when it is true that "the pen is mightier than the sword" for the right kind of writing can bring relief to thousands in one moment over the internet. Pretty cool when you think about it. How many people can accomplish so much out of thin air? :)
Funny Smile Quotes - Cheeky Quote Day - 30 June 2010
Roundup of Late Night Funnies: BP Oil Spill, McChrystal Firing - 28 June 2010
Funny Video: Colbert Says McChrystal Had To Have Been High
Funny Video: Stewart Nails Republicans As Flip-Floppers On BP Escrow Fund
Funny Video: Colbert Lampoons Barton's BP Apology
Funny Video: Stewart Lampoons McChrystal's Balls For An Honorable Discharge
5 Funny Shorts: What Kids Think About Love and Life
Funny Video: Surfing Group Known as The Radical Rodents
*** THANKS for visiting, feel welcome to drop a comment or opinion, enjoy bookmarking this post on your favorite social site, a big shout out to awesome current subscribers – and if you are new to this blog, please subscribe in a reader or by email updates!
*** Come by for a visit and check out my other blogs:
The Social Poets
Dennys Global Politics
The Soul Calendar
Visual Insights
Beautiful Illustrated Quotations
Poems From A Spiritual Heart
The Healing Waters
Dennys Art Sanctuary
Romancing The Chocolate
Comfort Food From Louisiana
Unusual 2 Tasty
Dennys Blog Feeds
Dennys Funny Quotes
Ouch Outrageous Obnoxious And Odd
Cup of coffee from Brazil by il Quoquo @ flickr
From Denny: Between Colbert and Stewart, well, let's just say they have BP's shenanigans covered. Nothing gets past them!
In my ongoing effort to provide stress relief when the national conversation is so depressing - because of the BP Gulf Coast oil spill, a fragile economy and politicians who continually refuse to do right by the American people - we all need to keep laughing our way through these times until they get better. Trust that times will get better and they will. Until then, while we are in transition, we must develop coping skills for managing daily stress like making sure we are laughing often.
This is one of those times when it is true that "the pen is mightier than the sword" for the right kind of writing can bring relief to thousands in one moment over the internet. Pretty cool when you think about it. How many people can accomplish so much out of thin air? :)
Funny Smile Quotes - Cheeky Quote Day - 30 June 2010
Roundup of Late Night Funnies: BP Oil Spill, McChrystal Firing - 28 June 2010
Funny Video: Colbert Says McChrystal Had To Have Been High
Funny Video: Stewart Nails Republicans As Flip-Floppers On BP Escrow Fund
Funny Video: Colbert Lampoons Barton's BP Apology
Funny Video: Stewart Lampoons McChrystal's Balls For An Honorable Discharge
5 Funny Shorts: What Kids Think About Love and Life
Funny Video: Surfing Group Known as The Radical Rodents
*** THANKS for visiting, feel welcome to drop a comment or opinion, enjoy bookmarking this post on your favorite social site, a big shout out to awesome current subscribers – and if you are new to this blog, please subscribe in a reader or by email updates!
*** Come by for a visit and check out my other blogs:
The Social Poets
Dennys Global Politics
The Soul Calendar
Visual Insights
Beautiful Illustrated Quotations
Poems From A Spiritual Heart
The Healing Waters
Dennys Art Sanctuary
Romancing The Chocolate
Comfort Food From Louisiana
Unusual 2 Tasty
Dennys Blog Feeds
Dennys Funny Quotes
Ouch Outrageous Obnoxious And Odd
Supreme Court: Vatican Lawsuit Can Go to Trial
This article comes from the Associated Press.
Thanks to Rayner for the link.
-------------------------------------------------------
Court lets Vatican sex-abuse lawsuit move forward
A lawsuit against the Vatican that had been dismissed as a publicity stunt moved forward when the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal from the Holy See. Monday's development represents a significant advance for what many believed to be a long-shot claim that the Vatican bears legal responsibility for molester priests.
The high court's decision not to stop the lawsuit means the clergy sex abuse case will go to trial in an Oregon district court.
"I have known for 25 years that all roads lead to Rome," said Jeff Anderson, the Minnesota attorney who represents the plaintiff. "This is the beginning for us of a new journey, a uniquely difficult odyssey."
Anderson, who has represented hundreds of abuse victims and has tried for years to sue the Vatican, said he hoped to persuade a judge that he should be allowed to depose Vatican officials.
Jeffrey Lena, the American attorney for the Holy See, argued the Vatican is not responsible for individual priests in dioceses, saying the existence of the priest in the case "was unknown to the Holy See until after all the events in question."
The original lawsuit, John V. Doe v. Holy See, was filed in 2002 by a Seattle-area man who said the Rev. Andrew Ronan repeatedly molested him in the late 1960s.
Anderson argues in the case that priests are Vatican employees for the purpose of American law. If the trial judge agrees, that would constitute an exception to the Foreign Sovereign Immunity Act, under which the Vatican has been immune from the jurisdiction of U.S. courts.
A lower court judge previously ruled there could be enough of a connection between the Holy See and Ronan for him to be considered a Vatican employee under Oregon law. That ruling was upheld by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Lena had asked the federal courts to throw out the lawsuit.
"The Holy See does not pay the salary of the priest, or benefits of the priest, or exercise day-to-day control over the priest, and any of the other factors indicating the presence of an employment relationship," Lena said.
According to the lawsuit, Ronan, who belonged to a religious order, began abusing boys in the mid-1950s as a priest in the Archdiocese of Armagh, Ireland. He was transferred to Chicago, where he allegedly admitted abusing three boys at St. Philip's High School.
Ronan was later moved to a parish in Portland, Ore., where he was accused of abusing the person who filed the lawsuit now under appeal. He was removed from the priesthood in 1966, according to the Archdiocese of Portland, and died in 1992.
The Obama administration had sided with the Vatican on the issue of sovereign immunity.
The acting U.S. solicitor general, the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Justice Department filed a brief with the Supreme Court arguing that the case does not meet the standard for an exception to immunity.
Douglas Laycock, a religious liberty specialist at University of Michigan Law School, said the brief will be influential as the case proceeds.
"The courts give substantial weight to the State Department's views on foreign sovereign immunity issues," Laycock said.
In 2005, the administration of President George W. Bush argued the pope should have immunity from a lawsuit accusing him of conspiracy to hide abuse because the pontiff is an acting head of a foreign state. Soon after, a federal judge dismissed the case.
However, Steve Rubino, a New Jersey attorney who has represented abuse victims since the 1980s, argued that the court could react differently now that the scope of clergy sex abuse is better known. The case against the Vatican is proceeding as European churches, Vatican officials and Pope Benedict XVI are engulfed by the latest crises over clergy sex abuse.
Rubino said that when he first took up abuse cases, diocesan attorneys often won by arguing that First Amendment religious freedom protections meant that civil courts could not interfere in church business. That approach rarely works any more.
"The world has been affected by a slow realization of the depth of the scandal," Rubino said. "Judges react the same way. People are tired of this."
A separate lawsuit filed in Louisville, Ky., and still in the courts, contends the Vatican is responsible for U.S. bishops who failed to stop priests from molesting children.
The case is Holy See v. John Doe, 09-1.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Spies Among Us, Scumbag Congress Denies Food to Children of Unemployed - News Headlines 29 June 2010
*** Spies play games in America and scumbag Congress denies extension of unemployment benefits to desperate jobless in America.
Lucky Gen. McChrystal
From Denny: Gen. McChrystal is toast and was forced to retire. Lucky him that the President is such a decent guy. McChrystal would not have done the same for him if their roles had been reversed. Let's hope the general gets it and appreciates it over the years, not mistaking kindness for weakness.
The President made it possible to override Army regulations and helped McChrystal retire at four star status. Technically, he did not have enough time on the job to quality for retiring at the four star level. The four star level pension sure pays out a helluva lot better than the three star level. He should take this huge gift, shut up and disappear as quickly as he can before the President changes his mind.
Russian spies finally hauled in after FBI watches them for decade
Since I grew up in the American intelligence community I always get a good laugh when "the other side's" spies are found to be operating in our midst. Just like now, usually the FBI and the CIA have had tabs on them for some time. In this case, it's been over a decade of watching these bumbling Russian spies.
The media keeps asking the obvious questions like "They had no direct access to any high level information. What did Russia hope to gain? After all, they could find out all the information they wanted about President Obama's trips by Google search on the internet."
Of course, what the American media is missing is duh, the obvious. The Russian media is state owned and state run propaganda. In a word, the Russian intelligence community does not believe the media to be telling the truth. So, their inept old school handlers wanted these family spies to verify the American media information as truthful or not. The Russian handlers figured if their spies lived in America they would come to relate to and understand the American mindset and know if information was true as told.
This pathetic former Cold War spy ring really comes across as the last gasp of the Old Russia that just couldn't let go of their paranoid ways. These guys always were the ultimate control freaks so none of this surprises me. In the end, it all comes down to trust, of which the Russians have none. That's how their society has worked for decades, on fear and mistrust. In their minds, surely nothing could be as simple as doing a Google search. Earth to Russia: yes, it is.
OK, I've laughed enough at this one, moving along...
BP oil spill disaster and scummy corporate deeds
Oh, goodie, BP is now taking money out of the claims fund to funnel to their BP gas station owners because of the boycotts against BP. So now BP gas station owners are victims? You have got to be kidding me. BP should be paying them out of another fund and not the one for the fishermen and other business owners. Yet more scummy doings from the BP crowd.
As it is, they play games with the claims process even after Ken Feinberg got involved. Everything they do is arbitrary and delay, delay, delay for as long as they can until they get caught and profiled on some news story. Then they go into public relations over drive and churn out the glossy expensive New York ads to the tune of "me thinks thou dost protest too much."
Car sales plummet do to job loss
GM auto sales nosedived by 13 percent from last year when they were in the tubes. That is what happens when you take taxpayer stimulus money, claim to pay it back but actually just took another form of a taxpayer loan from the Federal Reserve, and then had the audacity to fire 5,000 employees. They sent those jobs overseas so obviously they still needed the work to be done. They were just too cheap to pay American workers. And these guys still think American's owe them brand loyalty? What drugs are they smoking?
Unemployment benefits denied by Congress who goes on holiday
The biggest shocker this week was Congress refusing to extend unemployment benefits to the millions of desperate people out there. Bankruptcies are way up as are home foreclosures. You can't keep squeezing people and the politicians think they will not pay some kind of price for their cruelty.
The American public is in an ugly mood and no longer mollified by inspiring words of hope or empty words about how this denial is good for the deficit. Try telling that to a hungry three year old crying because she can only eat one meal a day. Yeah, this is the same Congress that took away breakfast and lunch at America's public schools. Talk about people who will be burning in hell for eternity for such depraved indifference to the suffering of little children.
Financial Reform Deal in Doubt
House Rejects Unemployment Benefits Extension
Amid GOP Concerns About Debt and Deficit, House Vote on Extending Unemployment Benefits Fails; Another Vote Expected
Drilling Moratorium Costing Gulf Docks Business
BP Compensation Fund Not Likely to Cover Costs of Expected Losses if Obama Deepwater Moratorium Becomes Permanent
BP Meets U.S. Deadline for Oil Spill Payments
Oil Company Has Paid Gov't About $71 Million for Costs Associated With Cleanup
BP Tosses Lifeline to Gas Stations, Group Says
Energy Giant to Give up to $70M Local Stations, Suppliers Struggling Due to Boycotts, According to Industry Group
Moscow: Suspected Spies Include Russian Citizens
But Russia Urges Restraint, Insists Alleged Spies Did Nothing to Hurt U.S. Interests; State Department Plays Down Fallout
U.S. Officials Play Down U.S.-Russia Spy Fallout
White House, Pentagon Play Down Political Ramifications of Spy Ring Arrests; Obama Declines to Comment
Ex-KGB: Russia May Have 50 Spy Couples in U.S.
Cold War Defector Oleg Gordievsky Says Alleged Spy Ring May Extend Well Beyond Those Arrested
White House: McChrystal to Retire with 4 Stars
Ousted General Will Be Allowed to Retire as a Four Star General Despite Serving in that Position for Less Than a Year
A Good General Is Not Enough
Thomas Joscelyn: Winning in Afghanistan Will also Require Pressure on Pakistan.
Kagan Calm, Poised at Hearings - but Questions Linger
Cynicism in the Supreme Court Hearings
Ari Melber: Knocking Kagan’s Experience, the Republican Attack May Backfire
Auto Sales Slowing as Americans Doubt Recovery
Automakers Expected to Report Sales Decline Between 9.5 Percent, 12 Percent from May to June Later This Week
*** THANKS for visiting, feel welcome to drop a comment or opinion, enjoy bookmarking this post on your favorite social site, a big shout out to awesome current subscribers – and if you are new to this blog, please subscribe in a reader or by email updates!
*** Come by for a visit and check out my other blogs:
The Social Poets
Dennys Global Politics
The Soul Calendar
Visual Insights
Beautiful Illustrated Quotations
Poems From A Spiritual Heart
The Healing Waters
Dennys Art Sanctuary
Romancing The Chocolate
Comfort Food From Louisiana
Unusual 2 Tasty
Dennys Blog Feeds
Dennys Funny Quotes
Ouch Outrageous Obnoxious And Odd
Lucky Gen. McChrystal
From Denny: Gen. McChrystal is toast and was forced to retire. Lucky him that the President is such a decent guy. McChrystal would not have done the same for him if their roles had been reversed. Let's hope the general gets it and appreciates it over the years, not mistaking kindness for weakness.
The President made it possible to override Army regulations and helped McChrystal retire at four star status. Technically, he did not have enough time on the job to quality for retiring at the four star level. The four star level pension sure pays out a helluva lot better than the three star level. He should take this huge gift, shut up and disappear as quickly as he can before the President changes his mind.
Russian spies finally hauled in after FBI watches them for decade
Since I grew up in the American intelligence community I always get a good laugh when "the other side's" spies are found to be operating in our midst. Just like now, usually the FBI and the CIA have had tabs on them for some time. In this case, it's been over a decade of watching these bumbling Russian spies.
The media keeps asking the obvious questions like "They had no direct access to any high level information. What did Russia hope to gain? After all, they could find out all the information they wanted about President Obama's trips by Google search on the internet."
Of course, what the American media is missing is duh, the obvious. The Russian media is state owned and state run propaganda. In a word, the Russian intelligence community does not believe the media to be telling the truth. So, their inept old school handlers wanted these family spies to verify the American media information as truthful or not. The Russian handlers figured if their spies lived in America they would come to relate to and understand the American mindset and know if information was true as told.
This pathetic former Cold War spy ring really comes across as the last gasp of the Old Russia that just couldn't let go of their paranoid ways. These guys always were the ultimate control freaks so none of this surprises me. In the end, it all comes down to trust, of which the Russians have none. That's how their society has worked for decades, on fear and mistrust. In their minds, surely nothing could be as simple as doing a Google search. Earth to Russia: yes, it is.
OK, I've laughed enough at this one, moving along...
BP oil spill disaster and scummy corporate deeds
Oh, goodie, BP is now taking money out of the claims fund to funnel to their BP gas station owners because of the boycotts against BP. So now BP gas station owners are victims? You have got to be kidding me. BP should be paying them out of another fund and not the one for the fishermen and other business owners. Yet more scummy doings from the BP crowd.
As it is, they play games with the claims process even after Ken Feinberg got involved. Everything they do is arbitrary and delay, delay, delay for as long as they can until they get caught and profiled on some news story. Then they go into public relations over drive and churn out the glossy expensive New York ads to the tune of "me thinks thou dost protest too much."
Car sales plummet do to job loss
GM auto sales nosedived by 13 percent from last year when they were in the tubes. That is what happens when you take taxpayer stimulus money, claim to pay it back but actually just took another form of a taxpayer loan from the Federal Reserve, and then had the audacity to fire 5,000 employees. They sent those jobs overseas so obviously they still needed the work to be done. They were just too cheap to pay American workers. And these guys still think American's owe them brand loyalty? What drugs are they smoking?
Unemployment benefits denied by Congress who goes on holiday
The biggest shocker this week was Congress refusing to extend unemployment benefits to the millions of desperate people out there. Bankruptcies are way up as are home foreclosures. You can't keep squeezing people and the politicians think they will not pay some kind of price for their cruelty.
The American public is in an ugly mood and no longer mollified by inspiring words of hope or empty words about how this denial is good for the deficit. Try telling that to a hungry three year old crying because she can only eat one meal a day. Yeah, this is the same Congress that took away breakfast and lunch at America's public schools. Talk about people who will be burning in hell for eternity for such depraved indifference to the suffering of little children.
Financial Reform Deal in Doubt
House Rejects Unemployment Benefits Extension
Amid GOP Concerns About Debt and Deficit, House Vote on Extending Unemployment Benefits Fails; Another Vote Expected
Drilling Moratorium Costing Gulf Docks Business
BP Compensation Fund Not Likely to Cover Costs of Expected Losses if Obama Deepwater Moratorium Becomes Permanent
BP Meets U.S. Deadline for Oil Spill Payments
Oil Company Has Paid Gov't About $71 Million for Costs Associated With Cleanup
BP Tosses Lifeline to Gas Stations, Group Says
Energy Giant to Give up to $70M Local Stations, Suppliers Struggling Due to Boycotts, According to Industry Group
Moscow: Suspected Spies Include Russian Citizens
But Russia Urges Restraint, Insists Alleged Spies Did Nothing to Hurt U.S. Interests; State Department Plays Down Fallout
U.S. Officials Play Down U.S.-Russia Spy Fallout
White House, Pentagon Play Down Political Ramifications of Spy Ring Arrests; Obama Declines to Comment
Ex-KGB: Russia May Have 50 Spy Couples in U.S.
Cold War Defector Oleg Gordievsky Says Alleged Spy Ring May Extend Well Beyond Those Arrested
White House: McChrystal to Retire with 4 Stars
Ousted General Will Be Allowed to Retire as a Four Star General Despite Serving in that Position for Less Than a Year
A Good General Is Not Enough
Thomas Joscelyn: Winning in Afghanistan Will also Require Pressure on Pakistan.
Kagan Calm, Poised at Hearings - but Questions Linger
Cynicism in the Supreme Court Hearings
Ari Melber: Knocking Kagan’s Experience, the Republican Attack May Backfire
Auto Sales Slowing as Americans Doubt Recovery
Automakers Expected to Report Sales Decline Between 9.5 Percent, 12 Percent from May to June Later This Week
*** THANKS for visiting, feel welcome to drop a comment or opinion, enjoy bookmarking this post on your favorite social site, a big shout out to awesome current subscribers – and if you are new to this blog, please subscribe in a reader or by email updates!
*** Come by for a visit and check out my other blogs:
The Social Poets
Dennys Global Politics
The Soul Calendar
Visual Insights
Beautiful Illustrated Quotations
Poems From A Spiritual Heart
The Healing Waters
Dennys Art Sanctuary
Romancing The Chocolate
Comfort Food From Louisiana
Unusual 2 Tasty
Dennys Blog Feeds
Dennys Funny Quotes
Ouch Outrageous Obnoxious And Odd
Ambassador & Archbishop on US-Vatican Ties
This article comes from the Catholic News Service, by way of American Catholic.
-------------------------------------------------------
Ambassador, Archbishop Speak of Importance of US-Vatican Ties
By John Thavis
VATICAN CITY (CNS)—They came as pilgrims, but the 250 Miami Catholics must have felt a little like VIPs the day after landing in Rome.
Miguel H. Diaz, U.S. ambassador to the Vatican, hosted the group, led by Miami Archbishop Thomas G. Wenski, at a garden party at his residence June 27. Diaz warmed them up with a pep talk about the importance of U.S.-Vatican relations.
The ambassador planned to greet similar groups from Cincinnati and Milwaukee June 28, but as Archbishop Wenski said, "he wanted to show a little favoritism to us from Florida." In fact, Cuban-born Diaz spent many years in southern Florida, as a student and later as a professor at a Catholic seminary and a Catholic university. He still has family in the Miami area.
Archbishop Wenski's line about favoritism drew laughter and applause from the Florida pilgrims, who came to Rome for Pope Benedict XVI's June 29 Mass to bestow palliums, a woolen band symbolizing pastoral ministry, upon 38 archbishops.
At the reception, the ambassador and the archbishop both spoke about the significance of strong U.S.-Vatican ties, but with somewhat different points of emphasis.
Recalling President Barack Obama's meeting last year with Pope Benedict, Diaz said that "while such a brief formal occasion doesn't allow for a deep relationship to develop, it is clear that the pope and the president share key values and philosophies as well as their Christian faith."
"Together they seek to make this a better world—to foster peace, to promote justice and freedom, to feed the hungry, to heal the sick and to bring a message of life and hope to those desperate to hear it, as well as those who refuse to hear it," the ambassador said.
Diaz said the United States appreciates the immense value of faith-based organizations and their ability to "translate compassionate intent into practice," both domestically and in the international arena.
Archbishop Wenski said the Miami Archdiocese has a special vocation to welcome immigrants, especially from the Caribbean and Latin America. In that sense, he said, Miami has become "America's modern Ellis Island."
"The church in Miami and South Florida was always there for the newcomers. It was there for the Cubans right after the revolution in 1959 in Cuba. And it has been there now for the Haitians who have fled the earthquake and have come to South Florida for medical treatment. So Miami represents hope for so many people," he said.
The archbishop recalled Pope Benedict's praise of the healthy church-state relationship during his visit to the United States in 2008. But the pope also challenged the United States, he said, warning about a modern secularist trend toward "living as if God did not matter."
"As Catholics and Christians, our witness is to show to the world by the way we live how joyful life can be when we live convinced that God indeed does matter," he said.
Miguel H. Diaz, U.S. ambassador to the Vatican, hosted the group, led by Miami Archbishop Thomas G. Wenski, at a garden party at his residence June 27. Diaz warmed them up with a pep talk about the importance of U.S.-Vatican relations.
The ambassador planned to greet similar groups from Cincinnati and Milwaukee June 28, but as Archbishop Wenski said, "he wanted to show a little favoritism to us from Florida." In fact, Cuban-born Diaz spent many years in southern Florida, as a student and later as a professor at a Catholic seminary and a Catholic university. He still has family in the Miami area.
Archbishop Wenski's line about favoritism drew laughter and applause from the Florida pilgrims, who came to Rome for Pope Benedict XVI's June 29 Mass to bestow palliums, a woolen band symbolizing pastoral ministry, upon 38 archbishops.
At the reception, the ambassador and the archbishop both spoke about the significance of strong U.S.-Vatican ties, but with somewhat different points of emphasis.
Recalling President Barack Obama's meeting last year with Pope Benedict, Diaz said that "while such a brief formal occasion doesn't allow for a deep relationship to develop, it is clear that the pope and the president share key values and philosophies as well as their Christian faith."
"Together they seek to make this a better world—to foster peace, to promote justice and freedom, to feed the hungry, to heal the sick and to bring a message of life and hope to those desperate to hear it, as well as those who refuse to hear it," the ambassador said.
Diaz said the United States appreciates the immense value of faith-based organizations and their ability to "translate compassionate intent into practice," both domestically and in the international arena.
Archbishop Wenski said the Miami Archdiocese has a special vocation to welcome immigrants, especially from the Caribbean and Latin America. In that sense, he said, Miami has become "America's modern Ellis Island."
"The church in Miami and South Florida was always there for the newcomers. It was there for the Cubans right after the revolution in 1959 in Cuba. And it has been there now for the Haitians who have fled the earthquake and have come to South Florida for medical treatment. So Miami represents hope for so many people," he said.
The archbishop recalled Pope Benedict's praise of the healthy church-state relationship during his visit to the United States in 2008. But the pope also challenged the United States, he said, warning about a modern secularist trend toward "living as if God did not matter."
"As Catholics and Christians, our witness is to show to the world by the way we live how joyful life can be when we live convinced that God indeed does matter," he said.
June 29
"Why do women not eat the heart of lettuce?"
--Question posed by Plutarch; image from
PUBLIC DIPLOMACY
Preserving the slender thread in Pakistan - Kaustav Chakrabarti, opendemocracy.net:
"Coercive public diplomacy with Pakistan has outlived its utility. Repeated public admonishment by the United States is counter-productive and will only serve to snap the slender thread of consensus against terrorism among the people and the soldiers of Pakistan; and undo the most decisive driver behind successes in Swat and South Waziristan – a Pakistani ownership of its war against extremism. Given the growing ties between different militant groups, Pakistan seems ready to expand its counter-terrorism strategy. But such a break from the past needs time, and a sense of ownership. Patience, therefore, will yield greater long-term returns." Image fromAl Qaeda eyes on Bangladesh - Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury, Sri Lanka Guardian: "Osama Bin Laden remains the un-rivaled hero and leader of Muslim youths aspiring to join the Jihadist. His efforts to inspire young Muslims to jihad against the U.S.-led West seem to be proving fruitful. Easily accessible satellite television and Internet streaming video will broaden Muslim youths' perception that the West is anti-Islamic. U.S. public diplomacy cannot negate the impressions formed by real-time video from Palestine, Iraq, and Afghanistan that shows Muslims battling 'aggressive' Western forces and validating bin Laden’s claim that the West intends to destroy Islam."
Obama's Speech at Cairo: One Year Later - J. Scott Carpenter and Dina Guirguis, The Cutting Edge: "In Cairo, President Obama sought to connect with Muslims around the world by highlighting America's perceived strengths in education and scientific innovation. Specifically, he announced thirteen new public diplomacy initiatives ranging from expanded exchange programs to a promised 'Summit on Entrepreneurship.'
After the speech, the bureaucracy in Washington shifted into high gear to devise mechanisms for implementing these initiatives, with the State Department's Policy Planning Staff -- not typically an operational institution -- taking the lead in what was projected to be an exemplary use of 'soft power.' So far, however, only one of the original thirteen Cairo ideas -- the Entrepreneurship Summit, which convened in Washington in April -- has fully come to fruition. In the meantime, regional disillusionment has simmered amid growing perceptions that the president has not made good on his various promises." Image fromOf soccer and Mideast policy: Watching the US play Ghana in Cairo and drawing sweeping conclusions: Eric Trager: New York Daily News: "On Saturday night, I watched the United States-Ghana World Cup match in a Cairo coffee shop. ... I was the only American in the coffee shop and, by the time the game started, it became very clear that I was the only person rooting for America. Even as the coffee shop reached maximum capacity, it was just a lot of Egyptian men rooting for Ghana, and me. This shows that President Obama's public diplomacy has failed to win Arabs' hearts and minds. I mean, they're rooting for Ghana, for crissakes! (Does Ghana give them $2 billion a year in foreign aid?) ... The second half begins. About 15 minutes into it, the United States finally scores. I jump out of my seat. Everyone else sits listlessly, not even throwing me a courteous nod. And it figures: Whenever America does anything good (scoring a goal, sending foreign aid), nobody notices. But when we do something controversial, they take to the streets."
America's Best Export - Stuart W. Holliday, Huffington Post:
"Today, as America looks for ways to engage the world -- and not compromise its core values in the process -- promoting our culture of volunteerism and service stands out as a promising avenue. The State Department recently invited over 100 leaders from 97 countries to participate in a leadership exchange program called 'Volunteerism: United We Serve.' This group of dynamic civic leaders and activists from around the world met with counterparts in over 50 US cities. ... This group was so motivated by their experience in the US, and the opportunity to share best practices with each other, that they wrote a letter to Secretary Clinton and committed to build a network to keep them and their US partners in sustained communication about the issues they discussed during their visit. ... The best public diplomacy is actually the alignment of people towards a shared outcome in which everyone has a stake." Image from Meridian Ball (Diplomatic Courier): (L-R): Sen. Patrick Leahy and Mrs. Leahy, Kristen and Nels Olson, Ambassador Stuart Holliday.Turkey's Islamic education model draws worldwide attention - Today's Zaman: Religious Affairs Directorate Deputy Chairman for Foreign Relations Professor Mehmet Görmez: "Religion and diplomacy are two words that are very different from each other. Diplomacy has its own rules. It’s based on imposing its own reality onto others even if it is wrong. The most basic component of religions is sincerity. These two concepts don’t go well with one another. Unfortunately, however, the intermixing of religion and diplomacy has become a fact of this century. I am not happy about this as a religious person. But, due to my job, I find myself being a part of it as well. While in public diplomacy propaganda is particularly important, in divine religions conveyance is fundamental. Conveyance and propaganda are not the same thing. The way religions shift from conveyance to propaganda is degenerative. I don’t agree with it. I don’t think the term religious diplomacy is correct for Islam at all. However, in public diplomacy there is perception management.
A certain set of perceptions are created and, by managing those perceptions, diplomacy obtains results that serve its own interests. Perceptions regarding Islam that have been created in the globalizing world were so dangerous that a certain set of Muslim institutions and organizations were compelled to turn to diplomacy for perception management. But it is obvious the issue will not be resolved solely through diplomatic means, which includes all kinds of factors. ... Diplomat and current US Ambassador to Azerbaijan Matthew Bryza visited me. He said he wanted help from the Directorate of Religious Affairs to train imams in the US, Asia, Pakistan and Afghanistan. We told him that those countries had to make the request themselves and that we wanted to interact with them directly. As the directorate, none of our works will ever be part of international politics. We will not be in those places, we said." Mehmet Görmez image from articlePolitical scientist: Common ground of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict sides can be found through web communications - Trend News Agency: "Under the current circumstances over the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, some common ground can be found through web communications, Deputy dean of history chair of Moscow State University, Dr. Alexei Vlasov
said. ... People should learn to assert their interests without picturing neighbor as enemies. Public diplomacy can help heal hatred between Armenians and Azerbaijanis, Vlasov said." Vlasov image from articleThailand - Foreign Minister welcomes Media from Muslim Countriesduring Media Familarization Trip to Thailand - ISRIA: "On 28 June 2010, Mr. Kasit Piromya, Minister of Foreign Affairs, met with 16 Muslim media representatives from Libya, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Tajikistan, and Egypt, who participated in the 'Media Familiarization Trip to Thailand Programme' being held from 27 June – 3 July 2010. The Programme, which is a part of Foreign Ministry’s 'Public Diplomacy', aims to promote a better understanding about Thailand among the Muslim Media. It also seeks to increase good relations between Thailand and the Muslim Countries and increase opportunity for economic cooperation."
'Boycott efforts worsening in Britain' - Jerusalem Post: "The boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) effort against Israel is getting 'worse and worse' in the UK, Vivian Wineman, the president of British Jewry’s representative body, the Board of Deputies, warned on Sunday. ... Asked what Israel could do to help, he said Israel should improve its public diplomacy for its own sake, but that this would also have a beneficial impact for Diaspora Jews.
Israel 'must make sure its narrative is out there at the beginning,' he said, citing the belated release of IDF material showing commandos being attacked as they boarded the Mavi Marmara en route to Gaza last month. It took 'some time' before this material became public, he noted, 'by which time the narrative of ‘unarmed civilians shot by commandos’ was established.' Israel fell into 'a trap set by Islamic militants – two of whom had left suicide notes,' he said, and the outcome was 'a victory for Hamas.'” Image fromHow do we deal with the Canadian diaspora? - Don Devoretz and Yuen Pau Woo, Vancouver Sun: "More than 'loyalty' -- which evokes vague and often dubious notions of allegiance -- the concept of attachment covers a range of measurable actions that connect Canadians abroad with Canadian society, and which allows for an understanding of Canadian identity that goes beyond residency in Canada. In a paper released this week by the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, Kenny Zhang identifies a number of ways in which attachment can be expressed. ... Public policy can play a significant role in influencing the attachment of overseas citizens to Canada. Citizenship and voting rights, taxation policy, consular services, and public diplomacy affect Canadians abroad to one degree or another, and help determine the extent to which they see themselves as Canadian. The current approach to policy formulation on Canadians abroad alternates between crisis management and benign neglect, with little or no coordination among the many departments that have a role to play."
Launching of Think Tank and Website by External Affairs Minister Raising the Bar for SL Foreign Policy - Rajika Jayatilake, The Island, posted at RATATHOTA.com: "In the current post-conflict situation with its attendant conciliatory approach, Sri Lanka needs to re-examine its foreign policy.
It is in such an environment that Minister of External Affairs, G.L. Peiris, recently made the timely announcement of establishing a think tank focused on foreign policy. ... [I]n 2010, China has overtaken other countries to take second place after the US, in its number of think tanks, which has now reached 428. With China’s ascending position in the global arena, policy makers have begun to rely more and more on the analyses of think tanks. Apart from providing expertise, think tanks are vital instruments of public diplomacy in China, communicating the government’s perspective to international audiences." Image fromDiplodocus - who's there, and what are they doing? - Stephen Hale, blogs.fco.gov.uk: "People are using Diplodocus to talk about location based apps, how to centralise/devolve global web presences, social media guidance, copywriting, diplomacy hashtags, using social media during a crisis, and public diplomacy. And we have members from the US, Israel, Belarus, Canada, Malaysia, France, Estonia, Bahrain, Denmark, Norway, Australia, the UN, the EU, the UK and Finland."
New Issue of Journal of International Communication - Public Diplomacy, Networks and Influence - "Volume 16: 1, 2010 of Journal of International Communication, edited by Naren Chitty at MacQuarrie University has just turned up in my mail box there are several pieces that might interest readers of this blog Li Xiguang and Wang Jing, ‘Web Based Public Diplomacy: The Role of Social Media in the Iranian and Xinjiang Riots’ (7-22)
this concludes by arguing that China should develop its own social media PD strategy. There is a lecture by Mark Scott, managing director of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation on ‘A Global ABC: Soft Diplomacy and the World of International Broadcasting’ that discusses the international strategy of ABC (75-85)." Image fromTime for Smarter PD? - Wandren PD: "Two thoughts while watching this video from Jess3; … how do government numbers compare? … PD needs to become smarter, to get beyond ‘audience’ numbers to thinking about measuring interaction, understanding networks and the connections between participants. JESS3 / The State of The Internet from JESS3 on Vimeo."
High vs. Low Politics – Paul Rockower, Levantine: "Over a very interesting series of discussions with my fellow fellows, a notion popped up on the nature of high politics versus low politics in a social sense related to what kind of issues NGOs in China could engage. ... So to all my geeky PD friends
, I throw out the question of whether we could create a classification of social high politics vs. low politics, or would that only apply to more closed socities?" Image fromTrust Us: We Are the Organization! – John Brown, Huffington Post: "Through PR/psyops/'religious' ceremonies ('public diplomacy' as they see it) Organizations proclaim, over, over, and over again, that The Organization Has the Answer."
The Ghost In The White House – Gerald Stanley Lee, scaryhaunting.com:
"Wе аrе weary οf politicians’ politicians. Wе want ours. Politicians mау nοt bе ѕο bаd but during thе war thеу dο nοt seem tο υѕ tο hаνе done аѕ well аѕ mοѕt people. In thе dead-earnest οf thе war, wіth ουr Liberty Loan аnԁ Red Cross аnd Council οf Defense, аnԁ ουr dollar a year men wе hаνе half taken over thе government ourselves аnd wе feel nο longer awed bу thе regular political practitioners οr government tinkerers. Thеу аrе nοt аll alike, οf course, bυt wе hаνе turned ουr national glass οn thеm аnd hаνе come tο see through thеm–аt lеаѕt thе wοrѕt ones аnd many thousands οf thеm–аll thеѕе busy lіttlе worms οf public diplomacy building thеіr faint vague lіttlе coral islands οf bluff аnԁ unbelief far far away frοm υѕ, out іn thе grеаt ocean οf thеіr nothingness аll bу themselves." Image fromRELATED ITEMS
Science as a shaper of global diplomacy: The U.S., admired worldwide for its leadership in technology, should pursue science diplomacy with Muslim-majority countries. Such a policy could complement efforts to promote human rights - Ahmed Zewail, latimes.com: In today's world, America's soft power is commonly thought to reside in the global popularity of Hollywood movies, Coca-Cola, McDonald's and Starbucks. But the facts tell a different story. In a recent poll involving 43 countries, 79% of respondents said that what they most admire about the United States is its leadership in science and technology. The artifacts of the American entertainment industry came in a distant second. In the 1970s, what I, as a young foreign student studying in the United States, found most dynamic, exciting and impressive about this country is what much of the world continues to value most about the U.S. today: its open intellectual culture, its great universities, its capacity for discovery and innovation.
Info War: the battlefields of the propaganda war - Yaseen Ashraf, twocircles.net: The anti-Islam nature and propaganda of the media pave way for a big cultural invasion. The world of media is moving towards a single culture.
Even though it has the support of the western Christianity, it is basically controlled by the market. A sense of being apolitical, trivialisation (murdochisation) surrounds the media. News cease to have its politics – they tend to be mere entertainment. Image from articleObama's 5 foreign-policy victories - Robert Kagan, Washington Post: Naming Gen. David Petraeus commander in Afghanistan; the U.N. Security Council resolution on Iran; the administration's policy toward Japan hasn't been pretty, but it has worked; signaling a new determination to achieve a free-trade agreement with South Korea; the administration made clear that there is one area of continuing disagreement between the United States and Russia: Georgia.
What would reconciliation look like for the U.S. and Taliban? - David Ignatius, Washington Post: Both the United States and the Taliban have set heavy preconditions for negotiations, which for now have stymied serious dialogue.
Washington insists that Taliban fighters disarm, renounce any links with al-Qaeda and accept the human-rights provisions of the Afghan constitution. The Taliban demands the withdrawal of all foreign forces from Afghanistan. For now, those demands have produced an impasse. Image fromAfghanistan: Eyes Wide Shut: President Obama's ambivalence toward the war is energizing our enemies and undermining our allies – Bret Stephens, Wall Street Journal (subscription)
Panetta's Bomb: Now the CIA tells us Iran is going nuclear, and sanctions won't work - Review & Outlook, Wall Street Journal
Tehran accuses US spy chief of 'anti-Iran propaganda'
- Earthtimes:
Tehran on Monday rejected US Central Intelligence Agency director Leon Panetta's claim that Iran could have nuclear weapons within two years. "These remarks are baseless and just another scenario of anti-Iran propaganda by the US," Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast told the state television network IRIB. Image fromThe Art of Listening: pop, propaganda and North Korea - Daniel Trilling, New Statesman: First you hear the wail of a siren-like synth, which is quickly followed by a chorus of female voices yelping in syncopation to a strutting beat. In these initial moments, it could be Girls Aloud or the Pussycat Dolls, or any one of a host of less well-known Anglo-American girl bands - but in fact the group is 4minute, one of the stars of South Korea's homegrown K-pop scene. Singing in a mix of Korean and English, the polyglot 4Minute also bear the dubious distinction of having reopened the propaganda war between North and South Korea. Following the sinking of the Cheonan warship earlier this year, the South has begun broadcasting from 11 loudspeaker points along the demilitarised zone that separates the two countries.
4Minute's song "Huh" was the first to be played, provoking a threat from the North Korean regime to turn South Korea's capital, Seoul, into a "sea of flame". Image and caption from article: 4minute: there are five of them.BBC Commemorates Palestinian Nakba With a Bit of Fakery and Propaganda - Myron Kaplan, Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America: BBC World News broadcasts, seen in the United States on BBC World News America, didn't report on Israel's Independence day celebration but did remember the Palestinian “Nakba” which occurs at the same time and in reaction to Israel's Independence celebration.
Vatican admits 'possible errors' - Guy Dinmore, Financial Times: The Vatican yesterday admitted possible mismanagement of its vast property portfolio following an Italian investigation into suspected corruption among senior officials in Rome that has rocked Silvio Berlusconi's centre-right government. In a statement the Vatican acknowledged "possible errors" in the valuation of property managed by Propaganda Fide, a church agency reported to be in charge of assets worth €9bn used to fund missionary activities. Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe, archbishop of Naples, and head of Propaganda Fide from 2001 until his removal by Pope Benedict in 2006, was told this month that he was under investigation by the Italian authorities probing the 2004 sale of a Rome property.
Image: Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe, Archbishop of Naples, looks at the glass vial with San Gennaro's blood, 19 September 2007 in Naples, at the Feast of San Gennaro. The festival celebrates the day in 305 Ad when Saint Gennaro was martyred for the faith.
Seeing Languages Differently - Mike Shaughnessy, Boing Boing: These differences in how we perceive space (eg. size, distance, depth, and direction, etc) lead to corresponding linguistic differences manifested in the words we use to describe our surroundings in different language. This lens of language here affects how we perceive and feel about our surroundings. Apparently, the only universal content in regards to spatial perception in language appears to be the direction 'up' since it is a function of the gravity that we all feel, regardless of our cultural or linguistic background.
Condi To Get Special Piano Prize - Princess Sparkle Pony's Photo Blog
Any news is good news on the Condi front. "I must say, I'm surprised she's avoided the spotlight to the extent she has since leaving Washington. So anyway, since I can't find anything else to post about at the moment, here's your Condi piano news: Former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who started college with a goal of becoming a concert pianist,
will return to to the Coachella Valley in February to receive the Virginia Waring International Piano Competition's Lifetime Achievement Award. She'll be presented the award at the Virginia Waring International Piano Competition's Black and White Gala on Feb. 20, 2011, at the Rancho Las Palmas Resort in Rancho Mirage. Is that enough warning for you? You have only eight months to prepare! Save the date!" Image from article.ONE MORE QUOTATION FOR THE DAY
"On Facebook, you can be as mean as you want.”
--A Middle School Student
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