Elul, 5763/Tishri, 5764
(September/October, 2003)
(Please keep in mind that Jewish dates begin on the evening before.
This is a work in progress and will be updated as needed.)
1 Tishri, 5764 (Sept 27, 2003) Closest asteroid yet flies past earth
An asteroid about the size of a small house passed just 88,000 kilometres
from the Earth by on Saturday 27 September -- the closest approach of a
natural object ever recorded. Geostationary communication satellites
circle the Earth 42,000km from the planet's centre.
The asteroid, designated 2003 SQ222, came from inside the Earth's orbit
and so was only spotted after it had whizzed by. The first sighting was on
Sunday 28 by the Lowell Observatory Near-Earth Object Search program in
Arizona, US.
Amateur astronomer Peter Birtwhistle of Great Shefford, Berkshire, UK,
then photographed it on Monday 29. This provided data that helped Brian
Marsden, of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, to calculate
its orbit.
The asteroid's 1.85-year orbit is quite eccentric, indicating it cannot be
a man-made object, Marsden says. He estimates the asteroid measured less
than 10 metres. This is too small to have posed a danger to Earth,
although it would have made a spectacular fireball had it entered the
atmosphere.
House fires
The passage came at about 2300 GMT, only 10 hours after a bright fireball
streaked over the Orissa region of India. Indian villagers have found
pieces of the meteorite, which reportedly cause two house fires. However,
this event was not connected to the fly past of 2003 SQ222, says Marsden.
The previous record for closest approach of an asteroid -- 108,000km
measured from the centre of the Earth -- was set in 1994 by another 10m
object named 1994 XM1.
But the third-closest approach -- at 120,000km -- was object 2002 MN,
which was about 80m in diameter. If on target, that could have exploded in
the Earth's lower atmosphere and devastated a couple of thousand square
kilometres on the ground.
Another small asteroid, 2003 SW130, missed the Earth by 160,000km on 19
September, making it a busy month for asteroid watchers.
2 Tishri, 5764 (Sept 28, 2003) Italy nationwide blackout (coupled with US/Canada, London, Mexico, Sweden/Denmark outtages in past 2 months)
A nationwide power blackout struck Italy in the dead of night on Sunday, unleashing chaos,
stalling lifts, stranding travelers, but causing no known disasters.
Practically all the country's 57 million people were hit, a failure similar in scale to last month's
collapse in the U.S. Northeast and Canada -- though, coming on a weekend night, its initial
impact was less dramatic and less economically damaging.
"It's chaos, and until the electricity comes back on it will continue to be chaos," said policeman
Fabio Bragazzi, 21, at Rome's main Termini train station where passengers, among some 30,000
stranded across the country, slept on the ground.
Disbelief was heightened by uncanny coincidence -- it was the fourth major Western blackout in
two months, after cuts in North America, parts of London, and Scandinavia.
Workers struggled to restore electricity and by early afternoon had done so in two thirds of
Italy's 103 provinces, but parts of the capital and the south were still blacked out.
Authorities blamed the outage on a breakdown of electricity lines, some in heavy storms, from
France, Switzerland and Austria -- neighbors on whom Italy relies heavily for power.
Rome's underground railway had to be evacuated and the outage scuppered a special "open
night" in the city where shops, tourist sites and museums were to stay open until daybreak.
Hundreds were blocked in elevators across the country. But with most people asleep and
emergency generators kicking in for hospitals and key services, there were no reports of
fatalities. Authorities said precautionary power cuts could hit about five percent of households
on Monday.
Italy's worst blackout for nearly a decade, which struck at 3:20 a.m. (0120 GMT), hit all Italy
except the island of Sardinia and some small pockets of the mainland, officials said.
(yahoo)
2 Tishri, 5764 (Sept 28, 2003) Meteorite wrecks house in India
Thu Oct 2,2003 -- Officials investigating a meteorite that crashed in eastern India
say it was part of the most spectacular meteor shower in the country's recent history.
Witnesses say the meteor lit up the night sky "like daylight" Flaming debris from
the space rock lit up the sky in Orissa state on Saturday night, and sent villagers
running after its burning fragments set fire to their houses. "I have never seen a
meteor covering such a large area with a huge fireball and roaring sound," said
Basant Kumar Mohanty, senior director of the Geological Survey of India. According
to state authorities, two large fragments of the meteorite, weighing roughly 5 kilograms each,
have been recovered.
(bbc)
2 Tishri, 5764 (Sept 28, 2003) Ailing Pope appoints 31 cardinals
By NICOLE WINFIELD, Associated Press Writer
VATICAN CITY - Amid concerns about his frail health, Pope John Paul II appointed 31 cardinals Sunday,
acting months earlier than expected and strengthening his influence on the group that will chose his successor.
The new "princes" of the church include senior Vatican officials and diocesan
leaders from 20 countries. They will receive their red hats at a ceremony known as a consistory on Oct.
21 — a date chosen to coincide with the weeklong celebrations marking John Paul's 25th anniversary
as pope.
...
The College of Cardinals is already mainly made up of like-minded conservatives and the new batch will further cement the pope's
influence on the choice of his successor.
Prior to Sunday's announcement, the College of Cardinals had 164 members — 109 of them under age 80 and thus eligible to vote
in a conclave to elect a new pope. Of the eligible voters, all but five were named by John Paul.
Birthdays and overall old age mean the number of College of Cardinal members is constantly in flux, but the traditional maximum
is 120 voters. John Paul has had no qualms about surpassing that number — doing so at the last two consistories in 2001 and
1998.
The latest appointments bring to at least 135 the number of cardinals under 80.
Vatican officials had said no consistory was expected before the end of the year; February 2004 had been mentioned as a
possible date, because the previous two consistories were held in that month.
No explanation was given for why the pope acted sooner. But Vatican officials said privately that with the College of Cardinals and
heads of national bishops conferences already coming to Rome for the anniversary celebrations — as well as the pope's declining
health — an October consistory seemed opportune...
(yahoo)
2 Tishri, 5764 (Sept 28, 2003) Call for "United Nations of Religions"
Posted: September 30, 2003
1:00 a.m. Eastern
© 2003 WorldNetDaily.com
As a two-day conference of major religions ended
in Kazakhstan, key leaders of 18 faiths agreed to
meet regularly under the banner "Congress of
World and Traditional Religions."
One delegate hoped the group would translate
into a "United Nations of Religions." Speeches
touched on how to address differences between
religions, the need for more dialogue, and the issue
of terrorism.
The secretary-general of the Muslim World
League, Sheikh Abdullah Al-Turki, from Saudi
Arabia, said the Koran prohibits any acts of
violence.
He told the delegates, "Islam is against all killing
that is without a just cause. We cannot accept
those who say that Islam is a religion that kills or
harms others." Sheikh Al-Turki said Muslims also
oppose those who use religion for political
purposes.
The senior Jewish representative at the conference
was Jonah Metzger, the chief rabbi of Israel. He
spoke of the need for greater understanding
between faiths, directing his remarks to the
delegations from Saudi Arabia, Iran, Pakistan, and
Egypt, who were sitting just a short distance
away.
Metzger invited all of those present to come to
Jerusalem, which he called by its Islamic name of
"Al-Quds." He told the conference that the
invitation applied to everyone, even those with
whom Israel does not have diplomatic relations.
During the conference there were private meetings
between delegates from the Catholic and Russian
Orthodox churches, which have spiritual
differences going back centuries as well as more
recent disputes over property in the former Soviet
Union.
Hindus from India also had a chance to talk with
their historical Muslim adversaries from Pakistan.
Representatives of other faiths at the congress
included Taoists and Buddhists from China, and a
Shinto delegation from Japan.
The congress was chaired by President Nursultan
Nazarbayev, who initiated the idea of holding the
meeting in Kazakhstan's new capital city, Astana.
The delegations agreed that Kazakhstan would be
the appropriate place for a new, permanent
organization to allow for more dialogue between
peoples of all religions. Nazarbayev offered to
provide a new building.
6 Tishri, 5764 (Oct 2, 2003) Israel to Expand Security Barrier
The new fence will not be immediately connected to the barrier built so far, as a concession to
Israel's main ally, the US. However, sections will be built around several Jewish settlements in
the heart of the West Bank.
The US administration said its view on the fence as problematic had not changed, but he fell
short of any detailed criticism of Israel's latest decision.
The Israeli cabinet decision comes a day after a United Nations report condemned the barrier as
illegal and tantamount to "an unlawful act of annexation"
(bbc)
6 Tishri, 5764 (Oct 2, 2003) U.S. Fails To Deduct From Israeli Loans
The United States has approved loan guarantees of $9 billion as part of efforts to improve the
Israeli economy. The program allowed Israel to raise up to $3 billion a year for the next three
years.
State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said on Tuesday that the administration would
probably decide in fiscal 2004 to deduct from the Israeli loan guarantees. Boucher said that
under U.S. law Washington must deduct the amount of Israeli government investments in the
West Bank and Gaza Strip from the loan guarantees.
(menl)
8 Tishri, 5764 (Oct 4, 2003) Haifa bombing
(IsraelNN.com) At about 14:15 today, a female suicide bomber blew
herself up in the Maxim Restaurant on southern Haifa’s HaHagana
Boulevard, resulting in the deaths of 19 persons and the wounding
of over 65. Included among the dead were three children and a
baby girl.
Police report the bomb used in the blast was “moderate” in size, but
did contain a large quantity of shrapnel to increase the devastation
of the blast.
Haifa officials explain the restaurant, owned by Israeli Arabs, is a
symbol of the dual existence and harmony that exists in the port city
between its Jewish and Arab residents. There were Jews and
Arabs among the dead.
Police stated there was a security guard at the entrance to the
restaurant and they are still trying to understand how the bomber
managed to get inside. At the time of the blast, the restaurant was
full of patrons enjoying a Saturday afternoon repose.
The victims were transported to the trauma unit of the Rambam
Medical Center, as well as the Carmel and Bnei Tzion Hospitals.
Some of the wounded are reported in serious condition.
According to Magen David Adom emergency medical service official
Zaki Heller, 67 victims were transported from the scene – two died
in hospital. The others, 17, were pronounced dead on the scene.
According to Heller, five of the victims were in serious condition,
four moderate, and 39 light. 300 units of blood were distributed to
the hospitals treating the victims.
At this time of this report, no terror organization has claimed
responsibility for the attack. Jerusalem places the responsibility for
the attack squarely on the shoulders of Yasser Arafat and the PA.
(Arutz-7)
8 Tishri, 5764 (Oct 4, 2003) EU leaders meet in Rome to hash out first ever constitution
ROME, Italy --The leaders of the 15 European Union members and 10 countries due to
join next year have clashed at a meeting in Rome to discuss a draft treaty for the bloc.
The new constitution is an attempt to streamline the operation of the enlarged
community -- but many smaller nations worry it reduces their influence and are
expected to demand changes.
Meanwhile outside the summit venue anti-globalization demonstrators set fire to
an employment agency, smashed cars and windows.
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, whose country currently holds the
six-month rotating EU presidency, opened Saturday's one-day summit in the
Palazzo dei Congresi by urging leaders not to put their individual national
interests above the common good.
He also appealed to countries to avoid trying to renegotiate the voting system
agreed in June by 105 politicians, led by ex-French President Valery Giscard
D'Estaing, after 16 months of debate.
His draft would see most EU policy decisions taken by a majority of member
states -- representing 60 percent of the bloc's 450 million citizens.
It also plans for an EU president, foreign ministers, a structured defense policy
and moves to block vetoes that cause bureaucratic deadlock.
European Parliament President Pat Cox echoed Berlusconi's plea, warning that
if leaders try to unpick the convention's work they could jeopardize the treaty
and "end up with a miserable lowest common denominator," Reuters reported.
Poland and Spain want to keep the current complex voting system agreed at
the Nice summit in 2000, which gives them an influence disproportionate to
their populations.
Polish Foreign Minister Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz said the voting system
should not even be discussed for another five years.
Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar complained that the convention had
exceeded its mandate by trying to rewrite the voting rules.
The Giscard D'Estaing draft also proposes cutting the EU's executive, the
European Commission, to 15 from 20 now and 25 next year. Many of the new
members, most from the former Communist bloc, fear this will reduce their
influence.
The draft allows for greater integration of member states' defense forces. But
countries close to Washington, such as Britain and Poland, see this as a
challenge to NATO's role, while neutral states fear it would militarize the EU.
CNN's Rome Bureau Chief Alessio Vinci said: "No major decision is expected
soon. The tough bargaining is likely to last until mid-December -- Berlusconi
hopes for a signing ceremony in Rome by mid next year."
He added: "But even then the constitution will be far from a done deal.
"Each nation's parliament will have to ratify it, and some countries are
suggesting they would call for a referendum.
"A 'No' vote in just one country could stall the whole process.
"If all goes well Europe could have its first constitution by 2006, if not, it's back
to the negotiating table."
9 Tishri, 5764 (Oct 5, 2003) Israeli raid of Syrian camp
By Mohamad Bazzi
October 6, 2003
Beirut, Lebanon -- Israeli warplanes bombed a target
just miles from the Syrian capital yesterday, in the first
Israeli military attack inside Syria in 30 years. Israel
said the site was a training camp used by Pales- tinian
militants responsible for deadly attacks against
Israelis, but Syria said it was a civilian area and
warned of a "grave escalation" in violence.
The air strike - in apparent retaliation for a Palestinian
suicide bombing Saturday that killed 19 Israelis, came
on the eve of the 30th anniversary of the Yom Kippur
War, in which Israel held off Arab armies. The attack
brought condemnation from many Arab governments
and heightened fears that Israeli-Palestinian fighting
could spread to neighboring countries. The Bush
administration appeared to have been taken by
surprise, with officials saying that Israel did not give
Washington any advance warning of the attack.
The administration urged both countries to show
restraint, but added a pointed criticism of Syria, saying
Damascus "must cease harboring terrorists and make
a clean break from those responsible for planning and
directing terrorist action from Syrian soil." Washington
has been pressuring Syria for months to cease its
support for Palestinian militant groups and to seal its
borders with Iraq, where Syrians have slipped in to fight
U.S. troops. Last month, administration officials
suggested that they might impose sanctions on Syria.
With Israel's far superior military, Syria has little option
for retaliation. Instead, Syrian leaders looked for
international support yesterday, calling for emergency
meetings of the United Nations Security Council and
the 22-member Arab League. In a letter to the UN,
Syrian Foreign Minister Farouq al- Sharaa said the attack "threatens security
and peace in the region and could aggravate the situation into dire consequences
that would be hard to control."
Israeli officials said they would pursue Palestinian militants wherever they are.
"Any country who harbors terrorists, who trains them, supports and encourages
them, will be responsible to answer for their actions," said Israeli government
spokesman Avi Pazner.
Even if Syria does not retaliate directly, the raid signals a dramatic shift in
Israel's response to Palestinian suicide attacks. Since the start of the current
Palestinian uprising three years ago, Israel has confined its retaliation to the
West Bank and Gaza Strip. Now, analysts say, Israel could expand its strikes
into Syria and Lebanon, where Palestinian groups operate.
"This is the beginning of a new phase of retaliation, because now nothing can
stop Israel from hitting Palestinian targets inside Syria or Lebanon," said Farid
el-Khazen, a political science professor at the American University of Beirut.
"There is no military deterrence to Israel in the region. The only deterrence is the
United States, and it does not seem to object strongly to this new Israeli
strategy."
Syrian analysts said Damascus would not abandon the Palestinian groups,
which are one of its last potential bargaining chips with Israel.
"Israel's message to Syria today was that Damascus will pay for anything that
happens inside Israel and the occupied territories," said Imad Shueibi, a politics
professor at the University of Damascus whose views often reflect the
government's position. "But Syria cannot be intimidated into withdrawing its
support for the Palestinian resistance groups."
By making such a dramatic raid, analysts said, the Israeli government might
have forestalled public demands for the expulsion of Palestinian leader Yasser
Arafat, a move strongly opposed by the United States.Israeli officials said the
targeted camp - about 12 miles northwest of Damascus - was used by Islamic
Jihad, the group that claimed responsibility for Saturday's suicide bombing in the
Israeli port city of Haifa. While several leaders of Islamic Jihad, Hamas and other
Palestinian militant groups are based in Damascus, they all deny having any
training camps on Syrian territory. Villagers near the targeted site told reporters
that Palestinian guerrillas had used it in the 1970s but that it had been
abandoned for many years. Syrian officials quickly closed off the area yesterday
and prevented journalists from photographing it.
To buttress its case, Israel distributed undated video footage said to have been
taken at the camp by Iranian TV. The footage shows a man in a camouflage
uniform conducting a tour of underground tunnels packed with arms and
ammunition. In one room, dozens of pistols, machine guns and grenades were
displayed on a table.
A small, radical Palestinian group based in Damascus said it once used the area
but that it had been deserted for years. The Popular Front for the Liberation of
Palestine-General Command said two civilian guards were injured in the air
strike.
The last time Israel struck inside Syrian territory was during the October 1973
war.
During the past 30 years, military confrontations between Israel and Syria have
taken place in neighboring Lebanon, which is politically dominated by
Damascus. Syria has more than 20,000 troops in Lebanon. In April 2001, Israeli
warplanes destroyed a Syrian radar station in Lebanon, killing three Syrian
soldiers. That strike came in retaliation for an attack on Israeli troops by
Hezbollah, a Lebanese guerrilla group backed by Syria and Iran.
Yesterday's attack prompted speculation that Syria would retaliate indirectly by
having Hezbollah launch attacks from Lebanon's southern border with Israel. A
senior Hezbollah official said the group, which fought an 18-year guerrilla battle
that drove Israel out of south Lebanon in 2000, has taken steps to fortify its
positions along the border. But the official hinted at Hezbollah restraint, saying
the group "would not take any steps to enable further Israeli aggression."
In recent months, Syrians have been worried about becoming Washington's next
target for "regime change."
Syrian leaders are convinced that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will not
negotiate a return of the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in the
1967 Middle East War, and that the Bush administration will not broker a peace
deal between the two countries. That is why Damascus sees little incentive to
entirely cut its support to Palestinian militant groups and to Hezbollah.
(newsday)
[IMRA: "Control security" doesn't mean disarm the terrorists. At most it
means coordinating their activity)
http://www.palestine-pmc.com/details.asp?cat=1&id=1072
Palestinian President Yasser Arafat issued a presidential decree Sunday
night declaring a state of emergency in the occupied territory and a new
eight-member cabinet headed by Prime Minister-designate Ahmad Qurei.
Qurei, better known as Abu Ala, said the emergency cabinet he will head
was necessary in light of the exceptional circumstances in the area, most
notably after Israel heightened its threats to "remove" the Palestinian
President and following a bombing in Haifa, which claimed the lives of 20.
Accordingly, Abu Ala stressed the need for such a cabinet to enable the
Palestine National Authority (PNA) to maintain a grip over a deteriorating
security situation.
"Taking into consideration the difficult situation of the Palestinian
people and the necessities imposed by the situation, President Arafat
issued a presidential decree by which he declared a state of emergency,"
Qurei told AP.
According to the Palestinian Basic Law, the emergency cabinet can function
for a period of up to thirty days, and can be extended for another thirty
days only after the approval of two-thirds of the Palestinian Legislative
Council (PLC) members.
Unlike previous cabinets, this emergency government does not require PLC
ratification.
Qurei was named Prime Minister last month following the resignation of
caretaker premier Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) on September 6. He had planned
to present a larger cabinet - a 12-member one - to parliament for approval
later this week.
However, Arafat's decision seems to be influenced by the worsening
security situation.
"We have a deterioration of the security situation and we need to assert
control over security," the new premier said.
He added that the new government will be sworn in on Tuesday and will
immediately hold its first meeting.
The cabinet includes many of the familiar faces such as Salam Fayyadh and
Nabil Shaath, who will retain their posts as ministers of finance and
interior affairs respectively. It will also include some new figures such
as Nassre Yousef, who will become interior minister and will attain
responsibility for the security apparatus.
IMRA - Independent Media Review and Analysis
9 Tishri, 5764 (Oct 5, 2003) Ambassador Dan Gillerman Warns Security Council: God is watching
Ambassador Dan Gillerman Permanent Representative of Israel to the United
Nations http://www.israel-un.org/sec_council/gillerman_051003.htm
Emergency Session of the Security Council (5 October 2003) The United
Nations New York
Mr. President,
I wish to congratulate you on the assumption of the Presidency of the
Security Council. Let me also express to you my regret that your first
meeting is of this nature and taking place on this day. I wish also to
express to Sir Emyr Jones-Parry my great appreciation for his able and
fair stewardship of the Security Council last month.
This meeting of the Security Council is being convened within hours of Yom
Kippur, the Day of Atonement, which is the holiest Day of the Jewish
calendar. I deeply regret that the Council could not meet after this most
important religious day, so as to allow Israel to participate fully in the
debate. I will, unfortunately, have to leave this meeting after I make my
statement to observe this Holy Day.
Yesterday, a Palestinian suicide bomber entered a crowded beachfront
restaurant in the port city of Haifa, murdering 19 innocent civilians and
wounding at least 60 others. The restaurant, a symbol of Arab-Israeli
co-existence was frequented by both Jewish and Arab citizens of Israel,
and among the victims were four Israeli Arabs, and 3 children and a baby
girl. Five victims were members of the same family, and three were members
of another family. Whole families were wiped out by this horrendous act.
Islamic Jihad, a terrorist organization that operates freely from
Palestinian Authority territory and has headquarters in Damascus, Syria
proudly claimed responsibility for this massacre. Islamic Jihad is an
organizations committed to the destruction of Israel through holy war and
engages in the deliberate and widespread murder of innocents to that end.
It opposes moderate Arab governments and actively supports terrorist
attacks against Western targets. There could not be a more obvious example
of a terrorist organization.
The massacre in Haifa, is the latest in over forty terrorist atrocities
committed by Islamic Jihad in the past few years. Among the attacks
perpetrated by this organization is the massacre of 21 teenagers at a
discotheque in Tel-Aviv on 2 June 2001; the bombing of 5 June 2002 at the
Meggido Junction which killed 18 Israelis; the bombing of a commuter bus
on 21 October 2002 which killed 14 citizens; the attack on a shopping mall
in the Israeli town of Afula on 19 May 2003, in which 3 civilians were
killed and over 70 wounded; and the attack on March 30, 2003 where a
suicide bomber detonated his explosives at a cafe in Netanya wounding 58
civilians.
Mr. President,
The encouragement, safe harbor, training facilities, funding and
logistical support offered by Syria to a variety of notorious terrorist
organizations is a matter of public knowledge. Among the many terrorists
group that operate and benefit from the auspices of the Syrian
dictatorship are Islamic Jihad, Hamas, Hizbollah, and The Popular Front
for the Liberation of Palestine. It is well known that the Secretary
General of Islamic Jihad, Ramadan Abdallah Shallah is one of several
terrorist leaders that operates freely in Damascus and receives immunity
and support from the Assad regime.
Allow me to briefly detail, for the benefit of the Council, the extent of
support that Syria, as well as the regime in Iran, affords to terrorist
organizations such as Islamic Jihad who are engaged in the deliberate
massacre of innocent civilians:
1) Safe harbor and training facilities are provided throughout Syria for
terrorist organizations such as Islamic Jihad, Hamas and Hizbollah, both
in separate facilities and in Syrian army bases. The Ein Saheb base, which
was targeted in Israel's measured defensive operation today, is just one
of these facilities sponsored by Syria and Iran. Recruits at camps such as
Ein Saheb come from Islamic Jihad, Hamas and other terrorist groups. They
are taught how to assemble bombs, conduct kidnappings, prepare suicide
belts, gather intelligence and establish terrorist cells. Some have also
received aviation instruction. Recruits training at these camps are slated
to return to Palestinian Authority territory and other areas to set up
cells and conduct terrorist operations.
2) Syria has itself facilitated and directed acts of terrorism by
coordination and briefings via phone and internet and by calling activists
to Damascus for consultations and briefings. Three such operatives, for
example, Tarek Az Aldin, Ali Saffuri and Taabat Mardawi have been
identified under investigation as specifically designated liaisons for
relaying instructions between officials in Damascus and terrorist cells in
the West Bank and Gaza. Mr. Mardawi has admitted involvement in many
attacks including a bus bombing in Haifa in May 2001, a suicide attack at
a restaurant in Kiryat Motzkin in August of that year and a bus attack
near Nazareth in March 2002. Another example comes from an intelligence
report provided by the Head of the Palestinian Preventative Security
Apparatus on 31 October 2001, which asserts that Hamas, Islamic Jihad and
Hizballah were meeting in Damascus "in order to increase their joint
acitivity.with the aid of Iranian money". Instructions are also given to
halt terrorist activity when it suits Syrian or Iranian interests to avoid
the spotlight, such as following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 in the
United States.
3) Iran, through the use of the Syrian and Palestinian banking systems
sustains a systematic money transfer system, and large sums of money have
been transferred to Islamic Jihad as well as other terrorists
organizations through Damascus for the planning and perpetration of
attacks. Mr. Shallah himself, the secretary-general of Islamic Jihad, is
known to have transferred funds in the hundreds of thousands of dollars
from Damascus to the individual accounts of Islamic Jihad operatives, such
as Bassam al-Saadi, who is responsible for Islamic Jihad financing in
Jenin.
4) Syria uses its state run media and official institutions to glorify and
encourage suicide bombings against civilians in restaurants, schools,
commuter buses and shopping malls. To mention but a few examples, Radio
Damascus, in a broadcast of 9 May 2002, lauded "The wonderful and special
suicide attacks which were executed by some of the sons of the Palestinian
nation". In another State-run announcement of 1 January 2002, Damascus
radio declared that "The entire world knows that Syria, its political
leadership, and its Arab people.have turned Syrian Arab soil into a
training camp, a safe haven, and an arms depot for the Palestinian
revolutionaries". And on 13 May 2002, President Bashar Assad himself
announced in reference to so-called acts of resistance "If I had not been
President of Syria I wouldn' t hesitate to participate in them". This was
not said by Osama Bin Laden or even Saddam Hussein, these words were
uttered by a President of a member of this council! Syria has also played
host to a number of conferences in which senior terrorist operatives from
Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other organizations meet.
5) Syria has facilitated the transfer of arms to Palestinian terrorist
organizations such as Islamic Jihad, by allowing the transfer of
sophisticated weapons from Iran to Hizbullah through Syrian territory.
Hizbullah, itself a viscous terrorist organization, has then sought to
smuggle these arms to Palestinian terrorist groups, as was evidenced in
the Karine A arms shipment and similar incidents.
Mr. President,
These are just a few examples of the extent and nature of the involvement
of the Syrian regime in the deliberate murder of innocent civilians. Each
and every one of these acts constitutes a grave violation of international
law and Security Council resolutions, as well as a threat to international
peace and security. There are few better exhibits of State-sponsorship for
terrorism than the one provided by the Syrian regime.
Security Council resolution 1373 adopted under Chapter 7 of the Charter,
which in an act of the highest hypocrisy Syria itself voted for, makes
absolutely clear that States must prevent acts of terrorism, and refrain
from any form of financing, support, safe harbor or toleration of
terrorist groups. Syrian complicity and responsibility for suicide
bombings is as blatant as it is repugnant. The membership of this
arch-sponsor of terrorism on this Council is an unbearable contradiction
and an embarrassment to the United Nations. For Syria to ask for a debate
of the Council, is comparable to the Taliban calling for such a debate. It
would be laughable, if it weren 't so sad.
And yet, Members of the Council and the United Nations can hardly be
surprised at this shameless act of hypocrisy by the Syrian regime. This is
the same regime that speaks so often of "occupation" while it brutally
occupies the neighboring territory of Lebanon It is the same regime that
speaks of international law and human rights while it subjugates its
people under a repressive and primitive dictatorship, violating countless
international obligations. It is the same regime that supported the Saddam
Hussein regime in Iraq in violation of Security Council resolutions, and
to this day facilitates the infiltration of terrorists to attack civilian
and military targets in Iraqi territory. And it is this same despotic
regime that speaks so freely of double standards at the United Nations.
Syria would do well to take a hard look at the mirror, and count itself
fortunate that it has not yet, for unfortunate reasons, been the subject
of concerted international action as part of the global campaign against
terrorism. Not yet!
The Syrian delegate speaks a great deal about so-called resistance.
Perhaps he can tell us precisely, without his familiar diplomatic word
games and misrepresentations, how exactly the murder of children and
babies in a restaurant is an act of legitimate resistance. Or perhaps he
could tell us how the Syrians themselves have dealt with resistance, such
as in the case of Hamas in which some 10,000 civilians were murdered by
Syrian Armed Forces.
Mr. President,
Israel's measured defensive response to the horrific suicide bombings,
against a terrorist training facility in Syria, are a clear act of
self-defense in accordance with Article 51 of the Charter. These actions
come after Israel has exercised tremendous restraint despite countless
acts of terrorism that have claimed hundreds of innocent lives for which
Syria bears direct and criminal responsibility. It comes after Israel, and
the international community as a whole, has called repeatedly on Syria to
end its support of terrorism and finally comply with international law.
And it is designed to prevent further armed attacks against Israeli
civilians in which Syria is complicit, with a view to encouraging Syria to
resolve its dispute through bilateral negotiations in accordance with
Security Council resolutions 242 and 338, as it is legally required to do.
May I ask what any other country sitting around this table would do in the
face of the callous murder of hundreds of its civilians? This is not a
hypothetical question. Many states in this organization, and in this
Council, have been faced with terrorism of far less intensity and have
responded with far less restraint and far less concern for human life. And
yet, the Security Council has not seen fit to scrutinize their conduct.
Indeed, on certain occasions the Council has specifically endorsed such
defensive measures.
If there is a double standard in this Organization it is that while some
states are afforded the right to protect their citizens, Israel too often
is sent the message that its citizens are not worthy of protection. If
there is a double standard, it is that some states are able to support
terrorism with impunity, while those defending against it are called to
account. If there is a double standard it is Syria sitting at this table,
and raising one hand to vote against terror and the other to perpetrate
and initiate terror! For the sake of peace and the reputation of this
Council, let there be no such double standard today.
In the face of the rejectionism, aggression and terrorist sponsorship of
the Syrian regime, together with Iran and the Palestinian Authority, what
would the international community have us do? Like any state faced with
such a critical and prolonged threat, Israel must exercise its inherent
right and obligation to defend its citizens. What can we tell the Arab and
Israeli mothers of children murdered in this weekend's attack in Haifa? We
could have prevented the death of your son or daughter? We could have
stopped a terrorist from walking into your town, your school, your home,
your bedroom, but our hands were tied? Israel remains committed to a
peaceful solution to the Middle East conflict, and is ready to make
painful compromises to that end. But no peace can come while terrorism
prospers. No negotiations can bring progress, while our citizens die on
the streets.
Today, on the very eve of the Day of Atonement and the thirteenth
anniversary of the Egyptian-Syrian aggression that initiated the Yom
Kippur War, we call on members of the Council to come to the aid of the
victims of terrorism, not their sponsors. Syria deserves no support for
its complicity in murder and the Council would commit an unforgivable act
of moral blindness were it to act otherwise. The time has come for the
Council which adopted resolution 1373, and which has been at the forefront
of the global counter-terrorism campaign, to hold to account a brutal
dictatorship that is world-renowned for adopting terrorism as its primary
tool. The world is watching. And today, more than on any other day, God is
watching too!
Thank you, Mr. President.
October 04, 2003
The 50th annual Red Mass for Supreme Court justices, judges, attorneys and senior
government officials will be held the Sunday before this year’s Supreme Court session
begins:
Sunday, October 5, 2003, 10:00 a.m.
The Red Mass invokes God’s blessings and guidance in the administration of justice
under the power of the Holy Spirit, and is a tradition that dates back many centuries to
Rome, Paris and London. The name comes from the color of the vestments worn by the
celebrants and the color of fire, a symbol of the Holy Spirit.
Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, Archbishop of Washington, will be principal
celebrant. The homilist will be Cardinal Avery Dulles, SJ, an internationally-recognized
theologian, author and lecturer. Born in New York in 1918 to John Foster Dulles,
Secretary of State under President Dwight Eisenhower, and Janet Pomeroy Avery
Dulles, he was ordained a Jesuit priest in 1956. Cardinal Dulles has written 700 articles
and 22 books on theology and served on the faculty of Woodstock College and The
Catholic University of America. Currently, he is the Laurence J. McGinley Professor of
Religion and Society at Fordham University, a position he has held since 1988. Cardinal
McCarrick and Cardinal Dulles knew each other as students at Fordham; Cardinal
McCarrick served Cardinal Dulles’ first Mass as a priest and the two were elevated to
the College of Cardinals together in February 2001.
The Red Mass is sponsored by the John Carroll Society, a Washington area
organization that provides spiritual, intellectual, charitable and social opportunities for
Catholic professionals. This year marks not only the 50th anniversary of the Red Mass,
but also the restoration of St. Matthew’s Cathedral and, in November, the 40th
anniversary of President John F. Kennedy’s funeral at the church.
11 Tishri, 5764 (Oct 7, 2003) Israel won't rule out another attack in Syria
(IsraelNN.com) A government official quoted by Israel Radio this
morning stated Syria would be responsible for future terror attacks
and Israel’s aerial strike earlier in the week was a warning message
to both Iran and Syria.
Yesterday, the army Northern District commander, Major-General
Benny Gantz, warned Damascus as well while touring the northern
border area. Gantz stated Israel sees Damascus and Iran as
directly responsible for funding terrorism against Israel, as well as
hosting terrorists and providing logistical assistance.
(Arutz-7)
11 Tishri, 5764 (Oct 7, 2003) Bush asserts Israel's right to defend itself
Chris McGreal in Jerusalem and agencies
President George Bush refused last night to criticise Israel's
attack on Syria, saying it had a right to defend itself.
Mr Bush said the Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon, should
avoid aggravating tensions in the region, but added that Israel's
hands should not be tied.
America has criticised Syria for "harbouring terrorists" and has
said it would not back a UN resolution which condemns Israel
but fails to mention the preceding suicide attack in Haifa that
killed 19 people.
An Israeli soldier was killed late yesterday during clashes
across the Lebanese-Israeli border. It was the first Israeli death
in the area for more than a month.
Israel blamed Syrian-backed Hizbullah guerrillas, but the group
denied involvement. Lebanese officials said cars and a house
were hit by Israeli fire. A UN vehicle was also strafed by gunfire
from the Israeli side, a UN officer said.
12 Tishri, 5764 (Oct 8, 2003) Russia Calls for International Conference on Mideast
2003-10-8 2:52:58
Russia is calling for an international conference on the Middle East peace process.
Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said Russia thinks it is necessary to consider the
possibility of holding an international conference, which could consider all the aspects of the
Middle East settlement process, including considering Israeli-Syrian and Israeli-Lebanese
relations.
Ivanov also expressed Russia's hope that the UN Security Council would approve the
roadmap plan for Middle East peace initiated by Russia, the United States, the United Nations
and the European Union in order to make it mandatory for all conflicting parties.
He said the creation of an international monitoring mechanism will help put the roadmap
peace plan into effect.
12 Tishri, 5764 (Oct 8, 2003) Map of Damascus terrorists' homes published by Israel in essence saying "we know
where you live"
We know where you live.
That was the unmistakable message of the release by Israeli
authorities on Tuesday of a map pinpointing what it said were
homes and offices of Palestinian militant leaders in Damascus.
The army said the map was intended to illustrate the extent of
the "Terror Network in the Damascus Region." It came on the
same day that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Israel would attack
its enemies "any place, and in any way."
On Sunday Israeli planes bombed what the Israeli military said was
a training camp for Palestinian militants near Damascus, after a
suicide bomb killed 19 people in Haifa. Syria said the target of the
Damascus strike was a civilian site.
The Israeli army map shows supposed locations of the homes of
senior Hamas leaders Mousa Abu Marzook and Khaled Mashal,
Islamic Jihad leader Ramadan Shallah and Ahmed Jibril, chief of the
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine -- General Command
(PFLP-GC).
It also shows 10 sites in Damascus the army says are the
political, military and in some cases media offices for Islamic Jihad,
Hamas, Fatah and the PFLP-GC.
A Palestinian official, who refused to give his location or affiliation,
said: "This step shows that Israel plans to press ahead with its
assassinations policy and to give it an international dimension."
"Do they think this will scare a group of people who are willing to
die for their cause? If so, this is where they are very wrong. I am
dead since 1948 and nothing scares me or any Palestinian man,
woman or child," he added.
"This is a very cheap form of blackmail against Syria because it
refuses to bow to U.S. and Israeli pressure," another official said
in Syria.
LEADERS MOVE FROM PLACE TO PLACE
Hamas and Islamic Jihad sources in the West Bank and Gaza Strip
said Abu Marzook, Mashal and Shallah moved between Damascus
and Beirut for "security reasons."
Syria, which has been under intense U.S. pressure to kick militant
groups out of its territory, says Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other
Palestinian groups maintain only media offices in Damascus.
"The map is proof of the extensive presence of Palestinian terror
groups in Syria," an Israeli security source said. "We said it before
and we say it again, everyone that is involved in terror and
endangers the lives of Israeli citizens is not immune."
Sharon took a tough line on Tuesday but made no specific
threats.
"Israel will not be deterred from defending its citizens and will hit
its enemies any place and in any way," he said in a speech
broadcast live from a military cemetery in Jerusalem.
"At the same time we will not miss any opening and opportunity to
reach an agreement with our neighbors and peace."
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, breaking his silence on the
attack near Damascus, accused Israel of trying to drag Syria and
the rest of the Middle East into a wider conflict.
Analysts see Israel stepping up its campaign to pressure Syria to
cut links with Palestinian militant groups and expect more clashes
with Hizbollah guerrillas on the border with Lebanon, where Syria
acts as the main powerbroker.
But they expect it to stop well short of war.
12 Tishri, 5764 (Oct 8, 2003) Meteor over Western Australia sonic boom
It was seen by scores of people between Perth and Bunbury in the south to Geraldton in the north and Dowerin in the east. Perth Observatory
astronomer Peter Birch said the meteor was brighter than a full moon as it broke the sound barrier and woke Dowerin residents.
It is rare for a meteor to create a sonic boom. One was heard over southern WA on May 1, 1995, and there had been one between then and last
night, Mr Birch said.
(harpazo)
13 Tishri, 5764 (Oct 9, 2003) Group calls for delegalization of marriage
A group of legal scholars and gay advocacy groups are calling for marriage to be de-legalized in order to make the distribution of benefits more fair
for people who aren’t married, including gay couples. fox news
(harpazo)
14 Tishri, 5764 (Oct 10, 2003) Oslo hatchers poised to announce 'Swiss
Accords'
October 10, 2003
Jerusalem (www.jnewswire.com) - As the number of Israelis murdered as a
consequence of the Oslo process nears 1,200, the men who met secretly in
Norway's capital 10 years ago to put together their master plan for peace are now
reportedly on the verge of unveiling a new initiative.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has reacted angrily to news of the Labor
Party-sanctioned "Swiss Accords," but appears powerless to halt the plan in its
tracks, even though he fears it could undermine his government and help bring Labor
back into power.
Leftist cabal
According to a Y-Net report picked up by the Israel Insider website Thursday, chief
Oslo architect Yossi Beilin and a cabal of his left-wing Israeli comrades have been
holding clandestine meetings with PLO leaders for over a year in an attempt to put
together what they have vaingloriously dubbed, the Swiss Accords.
The meetings in Switzerland, among other places, had reportedly been held with the
consent of PLO terror chief Yasser Arafat, even as the Sharon government was
fighting to neutralize him and crush the terror groups operating out of areas under his
control.
Arafat lieutenant Yasser Abed Rabbo was heading up the Palestinian team to the
talks.
As leaked news of the plot began making waves in Israel Thursday, a "high-level"
meeting of the country's leftists departed for Jordan to finalize the agreement, after
which they reportedly plan to try sell the deal to the public.
Sleeping with the enemy
In an apparent effort to try and head off the deal, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon
Wednesday slammed what he called "a cynical political attempt by Labor and the left
to topple the government by illegitimate means."
Left wing groups had been "coordinating their actions with the Palestinians behind the
government's back," Sharon said, and this at a time when Israel was "engaged in a
difficult campaign against terror."
But Labor leader Shimon Peres derisively dismissed Sharon's condemnation, saying,
according to The Jerusalem Post Friday, that he could "speak with whomever he
wants, wherever and whenever he wants."
As the Jewish people prepared to celebrate the start of the Feast of Tabernacles on
Friday evening, concerned observers in Israel were wondering how it was that Israeli
officials were permitted to negotiate with the enemy during a time of war.
Said one, "If the US Democratic Party would try and negotiate a peace deal with
Al-Qaeda or the Iraqi Ba'ath Party of Saddam Hussein during America's war on those
foes, they would be tried for treason."
America's role?
Questions have arisen regarding Washington's role in the plan after reports that the
meetings had been bankrolled by Switzerland, the United States, the European Union
and Japan.
Comments on news of the accords have yet to emerge out of the US, where the Bush
administration has been recently perceived as increasingly aligned with Sharon in
Israel's war on terror.
Barak: 'Irresponsible and damaging'
Former Labor leader and Prime Minister Ehud Barak has slammed the alternate
"peace" agreement as "irresponsible and damaging to the State of Israel," Y-Net said
Friday.
If the Labor Party wanted to be taken seriously, he said, it could not be involved with
plans that "confuse both the public and our friends alike."
During his tenure as Prime Minister, Barak offered the PLO 97 percent of Judea,
Samaria and Gaza, together with half the city of Jerusalem, for a Palestinian state.
October 13, 2003 UK, France, Germany work on plans for EU military
Big three draft European defence plan
The United Kingdom, France and Germany are
working on plans for closer defence cooperation
within the European Union.
The three major European players are at the moment
working on developing plans for a unit which can lead
medium to long term military operations.
If the work succeeds, the European Union will have
taken a further step towards the development of a
common defence policy.
The issue was discussed on Sunday when French
President Jacques Chirac met German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder in Paris.
If London, Paris and Berlin agree on an initiative, the Italian EU Presidency is ready to
table the proposal at the Autumn Summit in Brussels on Thursday (16 October),
diplomatic sources in Brussels told the EUobserver.
The leaders of France and Germany reached agreement with British Prime Minister Tony
Blair, when they met in Berlin a couple of weeks ago on the principle of closer ties within
the area of defence and security among European Union member states.
The three are said to have agreed on the necessity to be able to plan and execute
European Union operations independently of NATO, something the UK was earlier
opposed to.
However, a previous plan of France, Germany, Belgium and Luxembourg of locating
common headquarters in Terveuren outside Brussels has been scrapped. This was seen
a as symbol of European independence from the US and was not acceptable to the
British.
Instead it is likely that only a strategic headquarters will be in Belgium or perhaps in the
headquarters of the EU Military Committee in Rue Cortenberg in Brussels. The
operational centre would then be located nationally and could differ from operation to
operation.
October 13, 2003 California: Davis Signs Domestic Partner Benefit Bill
Outgoing Gov. Gray Davis signed the bill enacting the measure, which had been a key goal of gay rights groups.
Geoff Kors, executive director of Equality California,
called the move "incredibly significant."
"There are a lot of businesses that want state contracts, and in order to be eligible, companies will now have to give equal benefits," Kors said.
In 1996, San Francisco became the first jurisdiction in the country to adopt such a requirement, prompting numerous companies to offer benefits to
domestic partners, Kors said. Other cities have since followed suit, and California is the first state to approve such a law, Kors said.
The measure narrowly cleared the Legislature earlier this year, passing the Assembly with the minimum number of votes needed.
At the time, Democrats described the measure as a victory for fairness and civil rights, while Republican opponents said it would trample the rights
of employers who objected to gay relationships. fox news
(harpazo)
October 14, 2003 EU Viewed by China as World Power to Rival US
The European Union is the world's rising superpower,
poised to overtake both America and Japan as the biggest
trade and investment force in China, according to a
strategic policy paper published by Beijing yesterday.
The Chinese government said the EU was transforming
the global landscape with its successful currency launch
and strides towards a joint foreign policy, defence, and
judicial union.
Describing EU integration as "irreversible", Beijing
marvelled at Europe's 25-35 per cent share of the global
economy and its projected 450 million population after
expanding into the former communist bloc next year.
The white paper follows a flurry of Sino-EU ventures,
including the Galileo global satellite system, described as
a direct challenge to the American GPS monopoly in
space.
The two sides are also working together on nuclear
research.
France and Germany have been pushing hardest for
closer ties with China, hoping to cash in on a lucrative
market but also to develop a strategic alliance as a
counterweight to American power after the diplomatic
trauma of the Iraq war.
Last June, the French defence minister, Michele
Alliot-Marie, proposed sharing sensitive military
technology with Beijing. She called for a softening of the
arms embargo imposed on the country after the
Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989.
The Chinese already have the world's second biggest
defence budget, £40 million annually, but they have to
rely on outdated weaponry bought from Russia and
Ukraine.
Yesterday's white paper said the ever-closer military ties
rendered the EU embargo a relic from the last century.
China's efforts to court Brussels reflect a new mood of
respect for the EU across Asia. India is also rushing to
upgrade its ties with Europe, recruiting extra staff to lobby
EU officials and MEPs.
October 14, 2003 Pope to Accept Mother Teresa's Blood
Vatican City: Drops of blood from the body of Mother Teresa, who will be beatified next Sunday, are
to be presented in a reliquary to Pope John Paul II, church sources said today.
The pontiff will receive the relic during the beatification ceremony, Canadian priest Brian
Kolodiejchuk told AFP.
The reliquary would be be placed in the popes private chapel, said Father Kolodiejchuk, a missionary
from a charity working with the postulator, or advocate presenting the case for beatification.
The blood was taken from the body of Mother Teresa, who died in 1997, by a doctor acting under
the supervision of ecclesiastical authorities when the body was exhumed for beatification.
Nuns belonging to Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity began arriving in Rome today for the
ceremony.
One group arrived from Mumbai and New Delhi, wearing their traditional blue-edged white saris,
while a second flew in from Atlanta in the United States accompanied by the secretary general of
the synod of bishops, Belgian Cardinal Jan Pieter Schotte.
October 15, 2003 US vetoes resolution on Israeli security fence
15 October – The United States has vetoed a draft resolution before the
Security Council that would have declared Israel’s building of a barrier, said to
have taken in some Palestinian territory in the West Bank, illegal.
In a late night session Tuesday, 10 Council members voted in favour of the
draft resolution, the United States voted against and four members – Bulgaria,
Cameroon, Germany and United Kingdom – abstained. The draft resolution
was sponsored by Guinea, Malaysia, Pakistan and Syria.
The resolution’s main operative paragraph would have the Council decide
“that the construction by Israel, the occupying power, of a wall in the
Occupied Territories departing from the armistice line of 1949 is illegal under
relevant provisions of international law and must be ceased and reversed.”
Explaining his veto after the vote, Security Council President John
Negroponte, speaking in his national capacity as the United States
representative, said the resolution was unbalanced and failed to address
terrorism and the security problems that Israel had faced for years.
All resolutions on the Middle East should include that kind of balance, he said.
October 16, 2003 Church Marks Pope's 25th Anniversary
"I renew, in the hands of Mary, beloved Mother, the gift of myself, of the present and the future: everything will be done according to
your will. Supreme Pastor, stay among us so that we can proceed with you securely to the house of the Father."
As the Mass ended on a floodlit square, John Paul asked for a closing hymn dedicated to the Virgin Mary, for whom he has always had a
special devotion. ap
(harpazo)
October 16, 2003 Anglicans Warn of Split Over Gays
Thursday, October 16, 2003 Posted: 11:38 PM EDT (0338 GMT)
LONDON, England (CNN) -- Leaders
of international Anglican churches
pressured the U.S. Episcopal
Church Thursday not to consecrate
an openly gay man as a bishop
next month, saying the move could
split the worldwide Anglican
Communion.
At the conclusion of a two-day emergency
meeting, the primates of 37 Anglican churches
issued a statement saying that if the Rev.
Gene Robinson is consecrated as bishop of
New Hampshire, "the future of the communion
itself will be put in jeopardy."
"This will tear at the fabric of our communion
at its deepest level," the statement said.
The Anglican leaders called for creation of a
commission to make a yearlong study of how
to deal with deep theological disagreements
between individual churches in the
decentralized 77 million-member Anglican
Communion.
In the meantime, they asked individual
churches not to react hastily.
Among those at the meeting was Presiding
Bishop Frank Griswold of the U.S. Episcopal
Church, who voted to confirm Robinson's
selection as bishop at the U.S. church's
national convention in Minneapolis in August.
Queried by reporters if he would ask
Robinson to step aside, Griswold said, "I might
do many things."
He said events could intervene before the
installation of Robinson as bishop November 2.
"I'm simply saying anything could happen. The
Second Coming [of Christ] can occur, which
would certainly cancel an ordination,"
Griswold said.
"At this point, I am scheduled to be in New
Hampshire on the second of November.
Something could happen to me, but I hope it
won't."
But Griswold said he fully supported the
Diocese of New Hampshire in the process that
led to Robinson's election as well as the
national convention's decision to confirm it.
Griswold said one result of the primates'
meeting was the recognition that "what may,
in fact, be good news to a majority in one
province may in fact be bad news
somewhere else in the world."
Under U.S. church law, lay people and clergy
in individual dioceses elect bishops, who are
then confirmed by the national convention and
consecrated.
Normally, approval of diocesan choices is
routine, but the decision by New Hampshire
Episcopalians to pick Robinson, who lives
openly with a male partner, set off a firestorm.
Conservatives appeal
Conservatives within the U.S. church, who
object to the decision on biblical grounds,
turned for support to primates of Anglican
churches in the Third World who believe gay
and lesbian relationships are a violation of
traditional Christian teaching.
Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams,
recognized by Anglicans as the spiritual head
of the communion, summoned Griswold and
the other primates to Lambeth Palace in
London, for an emergency meeting to discuss
the controversy over Robinson's appointment.
The meeting also addressed a decision by an
Anglican diocese in Vancouver, Canada, to
approve a liturgy to bless same-sex
relationships.
Williams noted, however, that because of the
decentralized structure of the Anglican
Communion, the ultimate decisions on such issues are in the hands of individual national
churches.
"The challenge we have worked hard to meet has been to find some way of coping with
divisive issues as a communion," Williams said. "We can't constrain anyone. All we can do is
just say who we are."
The primates' final communique said that "as a body we deeply regret" the decisions of the U.S.
and Vancouver churches because they "could be perceived to alter unilaterally the teaching of
the Anglican Communion."
They also reaffirmed a 1998 resolution on human sexuality by the Lambeth Conference, a
worldwide gathering of Anglicans, that said the only appropriate type of sexual relationship is a
lifelong marriage between a man and a woman, with abstinence the only option "for those not
called to marriage."
That statement, supported by church leaders from Africa, Asia, Latin America and the
Caribbean, precluded both blessings of same-sex relationships and ordination of openly gay
people to the priesthood.
It was repudiated by many Anglicans in countries such as the United States, Canada, Australia
and Britain.
Thursday's statement from the Anglican leaders was described as unanimous. Griswold noted
that the deep regret was expressed by the primates "as a body" and did not contradict his vote
to approve Robinson as a bishop.
"It says that so that those of us who are not part of that deep regret can at least honor the fact
that we're part of a body," he said.
'Substantial intervention'
Conservative dissidents within the U.S. church who met last week in Dallas, Texas, pressed
the primates to allow individual U.S. churches that disagree with their bishops on gay issues to
seek oversight from more conservative bishops from outside their dioceses.
In their statement, the primates called for creation of such a structure, and Griswold said the
U.S. church is "always open to further consideration of that kind of ministry."
The Rev. Canon David Roseberry, whose church in Plano, Texas, was host of last week's
meeting, called the primates' communique "a substantial intervention."
"If the Episcopal Church decides to proceed with the consecration of Gene Robinson, they will
be rendering an action that will clearly be schismatic," Roseberry said in a statement.
In Washington, David Anderson, president of the American Anglican Council, one of the leading
conservative groups, said he was pleased by the primates' stand.
A spokeswoman for the group, Cynthia Brust, said the AAC was hopeful Robinson would step
aside or that Griswold would stop his consecration.
A decision by Robinson to step aside would not be unprecedented. Canon Jeffrey John, an
openly gay priest in the Church of England, was nominated as bishop of Reading but withdrew
amid strong objections from Anglican conservatives.
His decision allowed the English church to avert the controversy now threatening schism of its
American counterpart.
(cnn)
23 Tishri, 5764 (Oct 19, 2003) Pope beatifies Mother Teresa
Sunday, October 19, 2003 Posted: 4:43 AM EDT (0843 GMT)
VATICAN CITY (CNN) -- Hundreds of
thousands crowded St. Peter's
Square Sunday, celebrating Pope
John Paul II's beatification of
Mother Teresa, known as the
"Saint of the Gutters" for her work
with the poor.
A smiling portrait of Mother Teresa was
unveiled, shortly after the ceremony.
The nun will now be known as the Blessed
Mother Teresa of Kolkata, one step away from
sainthood.
Some 450 nuns from Mother Teresa's
Missionaries of Charity are in Vatican City for
the three-hour Mass. Residents in Kolkata
(formerly Calcutta) are watching the
ceremony on giant television screens and
celebrate two Masses at the house where
she lived, worked, and is buried.
Lines of people waited to view an exposition
in Rome highlighting key moments of Mother
Teresa's life, and the nuns from her charity
have set up sleeping tents, following her
example of modesty by refusing more
comfortable lodgings. The nuns have brought
with them 2,000 poor from all corners of the
country.
A morning Mass was celebrated in Kolkata at
Mother House, where the late nun lived and
worked, and an evening Thanksgiving
Beatification Mass is planned. The destitute
children who live at the homes Mother Teresa
established in the eastern Indian city were
able to watch her beatification from Vatican
City on large screens.
"There's a fire everywhere, the interest in the
Mother, wanting to know her message,
wanting to know more about her," said Sister
Nirmala, Mother Teresa's successor.
Archbishop Henry D'Souza of Kolkata said he believes many more christians will want to
emulate Mother Teresa after Sunday's ceremony.
"Many will come closer to God," he said. "Many will want to dedicate their lives to the poor and
to serve others."
Born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu in 1910, Mother Teresa set up her Missionaries of Charity in the
slums of Kolkata in 1950 and made her headquarters in the Indian city for nearly half a century.
Her small figure in a white-and-blue sari and sandals became familiar around the world. She
died in Kolkata in 1997 at age 87.
Known as the "Saint of the Gutters" for her unending work and compassion for the poor,
Mother Teresa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. The Norwegian Nobel Committee
said her spirit and the respect she had for the worth and dignity of human beings inspired
constructive efforts to do away with hunger and poverty.
The nuns and priests from the Missionaries of Charity continue her work around the world,
including some ex-communist countries where she was banned. Her order has offices in
Europe, Africa, the Americas and Australia, as well as Hong Kong and Russia.
Her devotees began pressing the Vatican soon after her death to speed up the nun's sainthood
cause, saying her holiness was clear to many around the world. Pope John Paul II granted the
special dispensation in 1999, and the procedure began.
Last December, the pope approved a miracle attributed to Mother Teresa after her death,
paving the way for her beatification. Before she can be canonized and made a saint, however,
a second posthumous miracle must be proved to the satisfaction of a Vatican committee and
the pope.
The approved miracle involved a 30-year-old Kolkata woman who said praying to the nun cured
a stomach tumor. The Vatican committee said in October 2002 that it could find no "scientific
explanation" for the woman's recovery, and the pope made it official late last year. (Doubt over
miracle)
Throughout his 25 years as pontiff, Pope John Paul II has canonized 477 people, more than any
of his predecessors combined. Mother Teresa will be the 1,319th person this pope has
beatified.
Most of the Catholic Church's saints or blessed people are honored decades, if not centuries,
after their deaths, and there is a mandatory five-year waiting period before formal evaluation of
a candidate for beatification can begin.
Shortly after Mother Teresa's death, the pope waived the waiting period in part, some believe,
because of her fame and reputation.
Sunday's events will also include the creation of 31 new cardinals.
(cnn)
1997- Notes on Revelation
CLOSEST ASTEROID YET FLIES PAST EARTH
By Jeff Hecht
New Scientist
October 2, 2003
Italy Grinds to Halt in Nationwide Blackout
Meteorite Crashed into East India; Dazzling &
Panicking Indians
Ailing Pope Appoints 31 New Cardinals
Sun Sep 28, 8:08 PM ET
A call for 'United Nations of
Religions'
Kazakhstan conference brings together
leaders of 18 faiths
The Israeli cabinet has approved the next phase of a controversial fence it is building in the
West Bank to stop Palestinian suicide bombers.
The Bush administration has suspended plans to reduce U.S. loan guarantees to Israel. U.S.
officials said Secretary of State Colin Powell has decided not to reduce the $1.6 billion in loan
guarantees issued for Israel in fiscal 2003. They said Powell also decided to delay any deduction
from another $1.4 billion that Israel had been eligible to raise with U.S. guarantees in fiscal
2003, which ended on Sept. 30.
Sabbath Suicide Bombing Attack in Haifa
18:43 Oct 04, '03 / 8 Tishrei 5764
October 4, 2003
EU leaders clash at treaty summit
Israel Bombs Syria
Warplanes hit suspected training camps used by Palestinians
9 Tishri, 5764 (Oct 5, 2003) Emergency PA cabinet set by Arafat for one month rule
MIDDLE EAST CORRESPONDENT
Arafat Declares New Emergency Cabinet Headed by Qurei-Move Vital For PNA
to Control Security, New PM Says 06/10/2003
Palestine Media Center- (PMC)(Official PA website)
Website: www.imra.org.il
Text: Ambassador Dan Gillerman Warns Security Council: God is watching
9 Tishri, 5764 (Oct 5, 2003) 50th "red mass"
IMRA - Independent Media Review and Analysis
Website: www.imra.org.il
50th Annual Red Mass for Supreme Court Justices, Judges and Government Officials
Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle
1725 Rhode Island Ave., NW, Washington, DC
Israel Warns Syria and Lebanon
09:19 Oct 07, '03 / 11 Tishrei 5764
Bush asserts right of Israel to
strike at Syria in self-defence
Tuesday October 7, 2003
The Guardian
Russia Calls for International Conference on Mideast
Israeli map shows 'Terror Network' in Damascus
( 2003-10-08 09:25) (Agencies)
Meteor Over WA Creates Sonic Boom
A spectacular meteor streaked across the skies of south-west Western Australia overnight, creating a sonic boom as it broke the sound barrier and
startling many country residents. The meteor vaporised near the Wheatbelt town of Dowerin, 157km north-east of Perth, about midnight (WST).
Group Calls for De-Legalization of Marriage
Marriage has its advantages but some think the nation’s laws give married couples too much favorable treatment and the only way to even the
playing field is to de-legalize the institution.
JNW News
Oslo hatchers poised to announce 'Swiss
Accords'
By Jerusalem Newswire Editorial Staff
13.10.2003 - 09:54 CET
Davis Signs Domestic Partner Benefit Bill
California has became the first state to require businesses with large state contracts to offer domestic partners the same benefits that spouses
enjoy, although the law will not take effect until 2007.
EU viewed by China as world power to
rival US
By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard in Brussels
(Filed: 14/10/2003)
Pope to accept Mother Teresa's blood
Tuesday, 14 October , 2003, 00:33
Security Council fails to adopt resolution on
Israeli barrier
Church Marks Pope's 25th Anniversary
An ailing Pope John Paul II celebrated his 25 years as pontiff on Thursday, asking tens of thousands of pilgrims, his admiring Polish countrymen and
the men who help run his church to pray for him, saying his future rested in the hands of God.
Anglicans warn of split over gays
Pope beatifies Mother Teresa
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