Thursday, February 21, 2013

Court: Calif. may have to hire Wiccan chaplains


2:45p.m. EST February 20, 2013




Byron Ballard, a high priestess in the dianic tradition of Wicca, performing the ceremony of Calling the Quarters during a Sabbat service.(Photo: John Coutlakis, GPN)



STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Calif. may have as many as 2,000 Wiccan prisoners
Currently, 5 religions have full-time prison chaplains
Minister says Calif. Department of Corrections misunderstands Wicca


SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — California prisons hire full-time chaplains and spiritual leaders to serve Catholic, Muslim, Jewish, Protestant and Native American inmates.

On Tuesday, a federal appeals court gave new life to a decades-long battle by Wiccan inmates for access to their own full-time chaplain.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a trial judge's dismissal of a Wiccan prisoner lawsuit seeking the same rights as the five other religious practices. The appeals court said the Wiccan prisoners make a compelling argument that the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation may be unconstitutionally showing preference to the five religions in violation of the 1st Amendment.

The appeals court ruled that the trial court judge was wrong to dismiss the case almost immediately after it was filed without delving deeper into the evidence. For instance, the court said it could be that a Wiccan chaplain could be needed only at the Chowchilla prison rather than throughout the 33-prison statewide system of 150,000 inmates.

The appeals court also warned that the CDCR may still be able to show that the Wiccans don't have enough worshipers or critical needs for a full-time chaplain. It ordered the trial court judge to reconsider the case.

"There are certainly enough Wiccan prisoners to merit their own chaplain," said Gary Friedman, a spokesman for the American Correctional Chaplains Association. "I hope this leads to the hiring of more chaplains to represent even more minority faith groups."

The number of Wiccan inmates is in dispute. A CDCR survey reported 183 Wiccan prisoners in 2007 after recording about twice that number in 2002.

But Patrick McCollum, a leading Wiccan minister who has led the Wiccan prisoner fight for full-time chaplains for 20 years, puts the number at about 2,000 system wide. McCollum said many Wiccans prisoners were afraid to answer the CDCR survey for fear of reprisals. He also argued that a survey should be conducted by a neutral party with no ties to the CDCR.

McCollum, who volunteers as a Wiccan chaplain in California prisoners and who lost his own lawsuit against the CDCR in 2011, says he believes the CDCR opposes hiring a full-time chaplain because of a misunderstanding of the religion's beliefs.

Wicca is a pagan religion that worships nature and involves witchcraft.

"People have a lot of misconception about Wiccans," McCollum said. "It has nothing to do with Satan."

The CDCR declined comment, citing pending litigation. In court papers, its lawyers argue that its opposition is based strictly on numbers, pointing out that other minority faith groups are also without full-time chaplains. The court papers also argued that Wiccans are served by the full-time chaplains and volunteers like McCollum.

California deputy attorney general Kenneth Roost argued in the court papers that "the Constitution permits prisons to employ chaplains to accommodate inmates' religions needs, and does not require prisons to hire chaplains representative of all inmates' religions."

Still, the appeals court said that if the Wiccans claims do hold up then "the prison administration has created staff chaplain positions for five conventional faiths, but fails to employ any neutral criteria in evaluating whether a growing membership in minority religions warrants a reallocation of resources."


Source

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Just a Taste – 02.14.13


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Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Wall Street extends losses; Nasdaq off one percent







NEW YORK | Thu Feb 21, 2013 1:31am IST

(Reuters) - U.S. stocks extended losses on Wednesday following minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve that suggested the central bank may have to slow or stop buying assets before seeing a pickup in hiring.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI was down 68.54 points, or 0.49 percent, at 13,967.13. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX was down 13.14 points, or 0.86 percent, at 1,517.80. The Nasdaq Composite Index.IXIC was down 33.43 points, or 1.04 percent, at 3,180.16.

(Reporting by Angela Moon; Editing by Jan Paschal)




Source


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Fiddling while Rome Burns? The Pope Hides from Sight while Italian Church and State Feign Normalcy




Posted on February 19, 2013 by itccs


Rome:

The biggest crisis to hit Catholicism since the Reformation keeps spiraling out of control for the Vatican.

Domestic commentators describe events in Rome as constituting the worst political problem for an Italian government in decades, as President Napolitano is being pressured by the Vatican and his Lateran Treaty obligations to aid Pope Benedict evade and obstruct justice.

The entire matter of the Pope's situation and Italian liability for criminal behavior was apparently high on the agenda of Napolitano's recent discussions with US President Barack Obama in Washington, DC.

Meanwhile, keeping an accused Joseph Ratzinger under their protection in defiance of international law, the Vatican's Secretariat of State under Cardinal Bertone is delaying their response to a Diplomatic communique from a European government notifying Rome of impending legal action against Ratzinger.

According to a source who is a liaison with the said government, no official reply has been issued by Bertone's office to the February 4 communique, nor is the Secretariat even engaged in back-channel communications on the matter.

"They are pretending the Diplomatic Note never arrived, and that business is normal leading up to their Conclave to choose their next pope. They must maintain an appearance of stability right now, we are assuming" said the liaison source.

Meanwhile, the church-dominated Italian media has launched a vilifying and uninformed assault on the ITCCS and Kevin Annett without having contacted or interviewed Annett or ITCCS officers.

Nevertheless, ITCCS website traffic has exceeded 300,000 "hits" in the past several days, and legal and political help is pouring in to the Tribunal, especially from Italy and the United States.

The ITCCS is planning public occupations of Catholic churches commencing Sunday, March 24, 2013. It will issue an update and plan of action tomorrow, on this website.

Issued by ITCCS Central – Brussels
18 February, 2013



Giocherellare mentre Roma brucia? Il Papa Nasconde alla vista, mentre Chiesa e lo Stato italiano Feign normalità


ITCCS segnalazione della Centrale dei

Roma:

La più grande crisi per colpire il cattolicesimo dopo la Riforma continua a spirale fuori controllo per il Vaticano.

Commentatori nazionali descrivere eventi a Roma come costituente il peggior problema politico per un governo italiano degli ultimi decenni, come il Presidente Napolitano è sotto pressione da parte del Vaticano e dei suoi obblighi derivanti dal Trattato del Laterano per aiutare Papa Benedetto eludere e ostacolare la giustizia.

L'intera questione della situazione del Papa e la responsabilità italiana per il comportamento criminale è stato apparentemente all'ordine del giorno delle discussioni recenti Napolitano con il presidente americano Barack Obama a Washington, DC.

Nel frattempo, mantenendo un imputato Joseph Ratzinger sotto la loro protezione in spregio del diritto internazionale, del Vaticano, Segreteria di Stato di cui il cardinale Bertone sta ritardando la loro risposta ad un comunicato diplomatica da un governo europeo notifica Roma di imminente un'azione legale contro Ratzinger.

Secondo una fonte che è un collegamento con il detto governo, nessuna risposta ufficiale è stata rilasciata dall'ufficio Bertone al 4 febbraio comunicato, né la Segreteria anche impegnato in back-canale di comunicazione in materia.

"Stanno facendo finta nota diplomatica non è mai arrivato, e purché tale attività è normale che porta al loro Conclave di scegliere il proprio papa successivo. Essi devono mantenere una parvenza di stabilità in questo momento, stiamo assumendo", ha detto la fonte di collegamento.

Nel frattempo, la chiesa-dominato media italiani ha lanciato un assalto diffamando e disinformati sul ITCCS e Kevin Annett senza aver contattato o intervistato funzionari Annett o ITCCS.

Tuttavia, il traffico sito web ITCCS ha superato 300.000 "hits" nei giorni scorsi, e l'aiuto giuridico e politico si riversa in al Tribunale, in particolare in Italia e negli Stati Uniti.

Le ITCCS prevede occupazioni pubbliche di chiese cattoliche a decorrere Domenica 24 MARZO 2013. Inoltre, pubblicherà un aggiornamento e il piano d'azione domani, su questo sito.

Emesso da ITCCS Central – Bruxelles
18 Febbraio 2013



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Pope Benedict 'complicit in child sex abuse scandals', say victims' groups

Pope Benedict XVI 'knew more about clergy sex crimes than anyone else in church yet did little to protect children', say critics


Ian Traynor in Brussels, Karen McVeigh in New York and Henry McDonald in Dublin
guardian.co.uk, Monday 11 February 2013 15.04 EST



Children play in St Peters' Square at the Vatican. Benedict, then Cardinal Ratzinger, was in charge of investigating sex abuse scandals but critics say he covered up paedophilia. Photograph: Gregorio Borgia/ AP

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Victims of the epidemic of sex- and child-abuse scandals that erupted under Benedict's papacy reacted bitterly to his resignation, either charging the outgoing pontiff with being directly complicit in a criminal conspiracy to cover up the thousands of paedophilia cases that have come to light over the past three years, or with failing to stand up to reactionary elements in the church resolved to keep the scandals under wraps.




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Was JFK wrong?


The very word "secrecy" is repugnant in a free and open society; and we are as a people inherently and historically opposed to secret societies, to secret oaths and to secret proceedings. We decided long ago that the dangers of excessive and unwarranted concealment of pertinent facts far outweighed the dangers which are cited to justify it. Even today, there is little value in opposing the threat of a closed society by imitating its arbitrary restrictions. Even today, there is little value in insuring the survival of our nation if our traditions do not survive with it. And there is very grave danger that an announced need for increased security will be seized upon by those anxious to expand its meaning to the very limits of official censorship and concealment. That I do not intend to permit to the extent that it is in my control. And no official of my Administration, whether his rank is high or low, civilian or military, should interpret my words here tonight as an excuse to censor the news, to stifle dissent, to cover up our mistakes or to withhold from the press and the public the facts they deserve to know.

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Without debate, without criticism, no Administration and no country can succeed—and no republic can survive. That is why the Athenian law-maker Solon decreed it a crime for any citizen to shrink from controversy. And that is why our press was protected by the First Amendment—the only business in America specifically protected by the Constitution—not primarily to amuse and entertain, not to emphasize the trivial and the sentimental, not to simply "give the public what it wants"—but to inform, to arouse, to reflect, to state our dangers and our opportunities, to indicate our crises and our choices, to lead, mold, educate and sometimes even anger public opinion.

John F. Kennedy
(Extract from speech on April 27th 1961 at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City before the American Newspaper Publishers Association).


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The Love Gospel


(John 14:15)




What is the Love Gospel?


The Love Gospel is an erroneous view by professing Christians of how God expects His people to present His plan of salvation to the world. It is usually a two-pronged fork that presents these two major unbiblical premises:


God loves everybody


We need to "love" people into the Kingdom Of Heaven: Either preach to people by your actions alone or don't preach to anyone until you become their friend or do something "nice" for them, etc. Or don't tell people anything about the Bible or Christ until your good deeds prompt a person to ask you why you are so nice.

Where does the idea of the Love Gospel come from?

Well, the first idea (God loves everybody) comes from Arminianism... the false free-will gospel that is so popular today and that is being rapidly spread by everyone on down from leaders of huge ministries to the pastors of little home-town churches. Please refer to our article "What The Gospel Is and Is Not" for a clarification on this issue.

The second idea (Love people into heaven by our good deeds) is based upon man's idea of what love is and not God's idea. God's primary means for His people to show LOVE towards a lost and dying world, is to DECLARE TO THEM that all people are ungodly sinners who repeatedly violate the laws of an infinitely holy God. And then, God's people are to show their love for the lost by WARNING THEM to flea the coming wrath of God before its too late. And the DEPTH OF OUR LOVE for sinners will be truly manifested as we turn the other cheek and go the extra mile for these people, even AS THEY PERSECUTE US for having had the nerve to open our mouths and tell them the true Gospel of salvation by grace alone through Christ alone.

Those who adhere to the Love Gospel, use a method called "friendship evangelism" to spread their message. See our article "A Look At Friendship Evangelism" for more information on that subject.

If we truly understand how God wants His children to act and to interact with the unsaved, then we will see that the Love Gospel is contrary to Scripture. We see that here in Matthew chapter 10:

"16 Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. 17 But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues; 18 And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles. 19 But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. 20 For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you. 21 And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death. 22 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved. 23 But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come. 24 The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord. 25 It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household? 26 Fear them not therefore: for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known. 27 What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops. 28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."

Summary

The writer of this article has no problem agreeing with people and with Scripture that believers in Christ are to perform acts of kindness for the unsaved that INCLUDE ministering to them in material and practical ways. BUT even Christ, the great Shepherd of the Church and the Great Physician, NEVER HESITATED to point out people's sins and to COMMAND them to "repent" and "go and sin no more". It was not Christ's acts of kindness that prompted the Jewish religious authorities to have him crucified. IT WAS HIS WORDS! He dared to testify to the truth:


"The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil." [John 7:7]

May God grant you the desire to worship Him in spirit and in truth and to examine - in the light of Scripture - what you were taught about this subject.



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Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Mario Draghi at the hearing of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs of the European Parliament




Introductory statement at the hearing of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs of the European Parliament

Speech by Mario Draghi, President of the ECB, Brussels, 18 February 2013


Madam Chair,

Honourable members of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs,

It is a pleasure to be back here in Parliament and in front of your Committee for our regular exchange of views.

We enter 2013 in a more stable financial environment than in recent years. This has been achieved through concerted reforms by governments and parliaments and decisive actions by European institutions. But considerable further efforts are needed to ensure that Europe continues emerging from the crisis, re-creates confidence among investors and citizens, and re-establishes stability and growth.

This house has a key role to play in the reform agenda. I am thinking in particular of the adoption of the legislation for the Single Supervisory Mechanism. This is of crucial importance for progress towards financial union.

Today, I will first review economic and monetary developments in the euro area since December. I will then address the two topics that you have selected for our discussion: the impact of a low interest rate environment; and the establishment of a Single Resolution Mechanism.

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Economic and monetary developments

Since our last meeting, the Governing Council has left key ECB rates unchanged: the main refinancing rate currently stands at 0.75%; the rate on the deposit facility stands at 0%; and the rate on the marginal lending facility stands at 1.50%.

Economic activity contracted for a third consecutive quarter in the fourth quarter of 2012. Available indicators signal further weakness at the beginning of 2013, with domestic demand remaining dampened. This is due to weak consumer and investor sentiment and to the necessary balance sheet adjustments in both the public and private sectors. Foreign demand also remains subdued.

Economic weakness in the early part of 2013 is expected to be followed by a very gradual recovery later in the year. Strengthening global demand, our accommodative monetary policy stance and the improvement in financial market confidence across euro area countries should all work their way through to spending and investment decisions and support the recovery.

Even though we have yet to see sustained improvement in the real economy, survey indicators have confirmed earlier evidence of a stabilisation of business and consumer confidence, albeit at low levels. Taking a somewhat longer view, the improvement in financial market confidence since last summer has been significant. As regards the exchange rate, let me be clear that the exchange rate is not a policy target, but it is important for growth and price stability.

Another sign of improved confidence is the larger than expected early repayment by counterparties in the first of our two three-year longer-term refinancing operations settled in December 2011 and March 2012. This indicates that banks are less uncertain about their funding prospects than a year ago. We will closely monitor conditions in the money market and their potential impact on the stance of monetary policy, which will remain accommodative with the full allotment mode of liquidity provision.

The risks surrounding the economic outlook for the euro area continue to be on the downside. They relate to the possibility of weaker than expected domestic demand and exports, slow implementation of structural reforms in the euro area, as well as geopolitical issues and imbalances in major industrialised countries which could both have an impact on developments in global commodities and financial markets. These factors have the potential to dampen the ongoing improvement in confidence and thereby delay the recovery.

Annual inflation in the euro area has continued to moderate, falling from 2.5% in October to 2.2% in November and December and 2.0% in January, as we had foreseen. Inflation is expected to decline to below 2% in the near term.

Risks to the outlook for price developments continue to be seen as broadly balanced over the medium term, with upside risks relating to higher administered prices and indirect taxes, as well as higher oil prices, and downside risks stemming from weaker economic activity and, more recently, the appreciation of the euro exchange rate. Inflation expectations for the euro area remain firmly in line with the Governing Council’s aim of maintaining annual inflation rates below, but close to, 2%.

Our monetary analysis is consistent with price stability. The underlying pace of monetary expansion and loan dynamics remain subdued. The annual growth rate of loans to the private sector remains negative. To a large extent, subdued loan dynamics reflect the current stage of the business cycle, heightened credit risk and the continuing process of deleveraging.

Overall, inflationary pressures should remain contained over the policy-relevant horizon. Taking the evidence together, this allows our monetary policy stance to remain accommodative.
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The impact of a low interest rate environment

Let me turn to the first topic that you have chosen for our meeting today, namely the implications of a low interest rate environment.

The impact of the global financial crisis on the economy and, potentially, on price developments has been unprecedented. We have taken unprecedented measures in response, aiming pre-emptively and forcefully to avert risks to price stability, in accordance with our primary mandate.

First, we have reduced our key interest rate to 0.75%, a level previously unseen in virtually all euro area countries. The interest rate in the overnight interbank market is now even lower, close to zero.

Second, we have acted to prevent an abrupt reduction in the supply of credit to the real economy. We have given banks unrestricted access to central bank funding in all our refinancing operations. We have extended significantly the average maturity of these operations. We have broadened the set of eligible collateral. This assurance of funding to banks has prevented disorderly deleveraging in the financial sector and averted a collapse in money and credit, with potentially severe implications for price stability, and thereby employment and growth.

All these decisions have ensured price stability and stabilised inflation expectations during an exceptional period.

Naturally, the ECB is aware of the challenges arising from a protracted period of low policy rates and ample liquidity. Let me elaborate on the three main challenges.

The first is that low interest rates may affect the ability of savers and investors to generate returns. This is especially the case for institutions targeting nominal returns, such as insurance companies and pension funds. Yet, by ensuring price stability throughout the crisis, monetary policy has contributed to more stable financial conditions. This is central to the interests of savers and investors: there can only be sustainable returns in a stable environment.

The second challenge relates to incentives. A protracted period of low interest rates and ample liquidity facilitates rolling-over loans at very low costs. Banks may therefore have less incentive to monitor credit risk properly and may provide too many loans to non-profitable business. Over time, such misallocation of financial resources would undermine overall productivity and depress growth and employment.

The third challenge is that protracted monetary accommodation may fuel bubbles in house prices and other asset markets. As the crisis has painfully demonstrated, the bursting of such bubbles inflicts large costs for the real economy.

In this context, a natural question is whether monetary policy should be used actively to contain asset price booms and bubbles – a response known as ‘leaning against the wind’. Thanks to our monetary policy strategy, implicitly we do this to some extent. We focus on the medium-term horizon and take account of monetary developments in assessing risks to price stability.

Having said that, let us be clear that changes in policy interest rates are normally not the first best instrument for addressing financial imbalances. They should be considered only under very special circumstances, for example when a widespread rise in asset prices threatens price stability in the euro area as a whole. In the absence of such imbalances relevant from a euro area perspective, the appropriate tools to counter imbalances in the financial sector and possible asset price misalignments are at the country level. To avoid the build-up of excessive risks in the financial system or housing markets, national authorities have appropriate tax and supervisory instruments at their disposal.

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The establishment of a Single Resolution Mechanism

Let me turn to your second chosen topic, the establishment of a Single Resolution Mechanism.

The Single Resolution Mechanism should be centred in a Single Resolution Authority with a European Resolution Fund at its disposal. I welcome the European Council’s December statement that during the course of 2013, the Commission will submit a proposal for such a mechanism for Member States that are participating in the Single Supervisory Mechanism.

The ECB shares the European Council’s view on timing for the Single Resolution Mechanism, namely that it will be required once bank supervision is effectively moved to the Single Supervisory Mechanism. We therefore welcome the European Council urging the co-legislators to examine the proposal as a matter of priority with the intention of adopting it during the current parliamentary cycle.

There are four main reasons for a Single Resolution Mechanism, with a Single Resolution Authority at its centre.

The first reason is that only a Single Resolution Authority will ensure timely and impartial decision-making focused on the European dimension. In a situation where a cross-border resolution is required, the Single Resolution Authority would avoid national focus and pursue the optimal resolution strategy, thus mitigating coordination problems.

The second reason is that the Single Resolution Authority would credibly pursue the least cost resolution strategy, assessing possible cross-border spillover effects and systemic concerns, and ensuring that resolution costs are first and foremost borne by the private sector. It would thereby minimise resolution costs without recourse to taxpayer money.

The third reason is that the Single Resolution Authority is an essential complement to the Single Supervisory Mechanism. The Single Supervisory Mechanism will provide a timely and unbiased assessment of the need for resolution, while the Single Resolution Authority will ensure prompt and efficient action once the trigger is reached. This will avoid misaligned incentives that could arise with supervision moved to the European level while resolution responsibility remained national.

The fourth reason is that a Single Resolution Authority would help to break the vicious bank-sovereign nexus.

The Single Resolution Authority naturally needs to be strong and effective to deliver what is needed. This requires three features to be fulfilled:

First, the Single Resolution Authority needs to dispose of a robust resolution framework, one that provides it with enforceable resolution tools and powers. In this respect, the proposed bank recovery and resolution directive is key. Adoption of the directive, ideally by June, is an urgently needed step towards a strong European resolution framework.

Second, the Single Resolution Authority needs access to resolution financing. It should therefore have a European Resolution Fund at its disposal, which should be financed by the private sector via risk-based ex ante levies. The European Resolution Fund should be backed by a public backstop mechanism, the support of which would need to be recouped via special ex post levies on the private sector. This means that it would be fiscally neutral over the medium term.

Third, the Single Resolution Authority should have an institutional set-up that allows for independence, sufficient operational capacity and a robust accountability framework with effective judicial protection against resolution decisions ex post.

The Commission is currently assessing the options for the institutional anchoring of the Single Resolution Authority. I am looking forward to its proposal, which will need to ensure these three essential features.


Thank you for your attention. I am now at your disposal for questions.
European Central Bank
Directorate General Communications and Language Services
Press and Information Division
Kaiserstrasse 29, D-60311 Frankfurt am Main
Tel.: +49 69 1344 7455, Fax: +49 69 1344 7404
Internet: http://www.ecb.europa.eu

Reproduction is permitted provided that the source is acknowledged.


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Control Arms’ Global Week of Action will be held from the 11th to the 17th of March 2013.


The theme will be “missing pieces,” referring to the few missing elements of the draft text that would make the Arms Trade Treaty complete. In their letter, they have provided suggested actions and resources.

Pax Christi International invites all of its Member Organisations to focus on the ATT during the Week of Action. The letter can be read in English: http://archive.paxchristi.net/2012/2013-0039-en-gl-SD.pdf




Pax Christi International - rue du Vieux Marché aux Grains, 21 - 1000 Brussels Belgium
Tel. +32 2 502 55 50 - Fax. +32 2 502 46 26


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Speech: Towards universal prosperity and well-being within our planetary boundaries



Reference: SPEECH/13/137 Event Date: 19/02/2013

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Other available languages : None


European Commission

Janez Potočnik

European Commissioner for Environment

Speech: Towards universal prosperity and well-being within our planetary boundaries


Ministerial roundtable discussion on "Environmental challenges within sustainable development and the UNEP's contribution to Sustainable Development Goals, Promoting sustainable consumption and production", at the 27th Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme / Nairobi, Kenya

19 February 2013

Eradicating poverty and ensuring that prosperity and well-being are sustainable are two of the most pressing challenges the world faces today.

These challenges are universal and inter-related and need to be addressed together by all countries. I always advocated that it is not sufficient to address them separately – a unified international policy framework is absolutely necessary.

We now have the opportunity to develop such an overarching policy framework - with global goals – for post 2015. The European Commission will set out its views about this overarching framework at the end of this month in more detail.

In our view, such a framework should set out a path from poverty towards prosperity and well-being, for all people and all countries, with progress remaining within planetary boundaries. Global goals should act as "guiding lights", giving direction for action needed for sustainable development for all. This objective is within our reach within one generation.

Key to success of such framework and a major novelty is universality. It needs to steer action not only in the development of the poorest economies but also to steer economic transformation in developed and emerging economies. It should encourage innovative approaches to enable people to get out of poverty; it should encourage universal aspiration towards prosperity and well-being, and at the same time ensure we don't threaten these very aspirations by breaching planetary boundaries.

I would to mention the elements that make up such an overarching framework for post 2015

Firstly; building on the experiences of the MDGs, we know that setting clear and precise human development goals and targets can have enormous transformative effect. We have to finish the work started by the MDGs, and establish new, modernised goals, learning from the MDGs, establishing "Floors to Living Standards" under which no citizen should fall by 2030. These updated MDGs should be qualitative as well as quantitative, and apply to each and every citizen irrespective of where they live.

Secondly, the new framework should not focus simply on alleviating poverty, it also needs to focus on empowerment; ensuring that all citizens have the basic tools to pull themselves out of poverty; through energy, IT, infrastructure and sustainable energy and agriculture. This is where joint initiatives of UN agencies can help: to provide the tools and build capacity for policy that ensures integration of sustainable development thinking into all relevant policy areas.

Thirdly, we know that ending poverty and ensuring a decent life requires also equity, justice, democratic governance, and human rights.

Fourth, the Good Stewardship of Natural Resources must be a key element in ensuring that developing countries reach their potential. Climate change, biodiversity loss, the degradation of oceans, freshwater resources and land and soil have negative impact especially the poor. Resources, the "pillars of life" the EU talked about in the run up to Rio, should be exploited in a sustainable manner but also on the basis of open, transparent governance.

Finally, Peace and Security also have to figure in the post-2015 framework. It is a fact that the countries affected by violent conflict in recent years have almost universally failed to achieve a single MDG. This does not mean that the new Framework should seek to re-invent existing mechanisms to resolve conflicts; it should focus on prevention.

Following the pathway to sustainability is a must for all to pursue. Goals will guide and provide stimulus all along that pathway. Goals should be set on a 2030 timescale and address the overarching objectives of sustainable development: poverty eradication, changing unsustainable consumption and production patterns and protecting and managing the natural resource basis.

On the EU side, we are joining forces between the environment and the development side, along with the foreign affairs community. We believe moving out of silos is the only way to arrive at a meaningful framework to help eradicating poverty and achieving sustainable development for all.

Let me for a moment talk about sustainable production and consumption. UNEP played a key role in that work internationally and has built up good expertise. Rio+20 finally adopted the 10 year framework and appointed UNEP as secretariat. So it makes only sense that we talk today about future UNEP work in this area.

From the EU side we have been very active already for the last two decades, developing labelling tools, promoted the use of environment management systems, green public procurement and other instruments designed to influence the behaviour of consumers and producers. The EU and its Member States have also implemented legislation that results in less wasteful, more efficient and safer production methods. Persistence is called for on SCP-policies: our labelling instrument dates back to 1989 only in recent years it becomes more visible on the market.

In recent years we have put strong emphasis on resource efficiency, which has the potential to be the key to environmental, economic and social challenges. Energy is one example, where efficiency gains can avoid negative impact on the environment, help competitiveness of industry and maintain affordable price levels for consumers, also in the long run.

Food is another example where resource efficiency can be the key to more sustainable production and consumption. This can be through avoiding the huge levels of food waste both on the production and consumption side, by promoting agricultural practices that reduce impact on soils and require less water and fertilizer. If pursued in a comprehensive manner, this will help to provide nutrition for a fast increasing world population, help to keep prices in check, and remain within boundaries of what nature allows.

As the UNEP paper shows, efforts need to be made on a range of policies, through a range of approaches, at national and international level. SCP policies need to be holistic if they are to be effective.

SCP policies need to have a strong resource efficiency focus. A lot of work remains to be done to turn a concept like resource efficiency into practical policy advice, integrate it into programmes designed to support developing countries, and into policy and legislation in any country.

Thank you.


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The growing crisis in Europe




Join a discussion with high-level EU Officials and Civil Society experts about the future direction of the EU's response to the crisis!

Together, we will explore the deepening levels of social distress in Europe and will assess the adequacy of the EU's mechanisms and policy responses to date - including the Europe 2020 Strategy's European Semester and the EU's austerity approach through the Stabilisation Mechanisms.

Download the agenda  (Draft version).


When: 21 February 2013 

Where: European Economic and Social Committee, Room VM3, 2nd floor, Van Maerlant Building, rue Van Maerlant 2, 1040 Brussels 

Note: Please note that, for security reasons, your ID will be required to access the building



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The End of Social Security Checks


What You Should Know About Your Social Security Benefits

From Tom Murse


See More About:
social security
federal benefit programs




Blank Social Security checks are run through a printer at the U.S. Treasury printing facility in Philadelphia, Pa.William Thomas Cain/Getty Images



Updated July 17, 2012

The U.S. Department of Treasury began phasing out paper Social Security checks and other federal benefit checks on May 1, 2011. It required anyone applying for Social Security checks and other federal benefits on and after that date to receive their payments electronically.

See also: Applying for Social Security Benefits

Those who began receiving Social Security checks before May of 2011 have until March 1, 2013, to sign up for electronic payments, the Treasury Department announced. Those who don't sign up to have their Social Security checks direct-deposited by that date would receive their benefits through theDirect Express card program.

"Getting your Social Security or Supplemental Security Income payment by direct deposit or Direct Express is safer and more reliable," Michael J. Astrue, the commissioner of Social Security, said in announcing the change.

Who's Impacted by End of Paper Checks

The change applied to Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, Veterans Affairs benefits, and anyone who receives benefits from the Railroad Retirement Board, Office of Personnel Managementand Department of Labor (Black Lung).

"You don't have to worry about your check being lost or stolen and your money is available immediately on your payment date," Astrue said. "There is no need to wait for the mail to arrive."

In 2010, more than 540,000 Social Security and Supplemental Security Income paper checks were reported lost or stolen and had to be replaced, the Treasury Department said.

Savings from End of Paper Checks

Phasing out paper Social Security checks entirely is expected to save taxpayers about $120 million every year, or more than $1 billion over 10 years. Government officials also pointed out that eliminating paper Social Security checks will "provide positive benefits to the environment, saving 12 million pounds of paper in the first five years alone."

"More than 18 million baby boomers are expected to reach retirement age during the next five years, with 10,000 people a day becoming eligible for Social Security benefits," said Treasurer Rosie Rios.

"It costs 92 cents more to issue a payment by paper check than by direct deposit. We are retiring the Social Security paper check option in favor of electronic payments because it is the right thing to do for benefit recipients and American taxpayers alike."

What You Need to Do Now

If you are applying for new benefits, you are now required to choose an electronic payment method, whether it's direct deposit of your Social Security check or other federal benefit into a bank or credit union account.

When you apply for your Social Security check or other federal benefit, you will need:
Your financial institution's routing transit number, often found on a personal check;
The account type, checking or savings;
And the account number, often found on a personal check.

You can also choose to receive your Social Security check on a prepaid debit card or Direct Express Debit MasterCard card.

What You Need to Do By 2013

If you currently get your Social Security check or other federal benefit payment on paper, you must switch to electronic payments before March 1, 2013.

You can switch from paper checks to direct deposit at www.GoDirect.org, by calling the U.S. Treasury Electronic Payment Solution Center's toll-free helpline at (800) 333-1795, or by speaking with a bank or credit union representative.

Anyone already receiving federal benefit payments electronically will continue to receive their money as usual on their payment day. No action is required.

About Paper Social Security Checks

The first monthly Social Security check was received by Ida Mae Fuller on Jan. 31, 1940, according to the Treasury Department. Since then about 165 million people have received Social Security benefits.

The movement toward electronic payments has been steadily increasing, the Treasury Department said. By May of 2011, electronic payments made up more than three-quarters of all noncash payments nationwide.

There were 5.7 billion fewer checks written in 2009 than in 2006, a decline of 6.1 percent per year - while electronic payments grew 9.3 percent during that same period. Among federal benefit recipients, about eight in 10 receive their Social Security check or other federal benefit payment electronically, according to the Treasury Department.

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New Technologies that threaten our Safety and Privacy


Written by: Michael Caldwell on February 13, 2013.



In the USA the TV watches YOU! Technology is a wonderful thing. It makes our lives easier. But some technologies can put us in danger and threaten our privacy.


By now we all know that every modern cell phone can not only be traced with GPS technology but it can also be activated by the carrier to be utilized as a listening device unbeknownst to its end user. Add to that new more accurate facial recognition systems that utilize calculations based on the distance between your eyes, ears and nose to identify you and the influx of millions of tax dollars for city wide surveillance cameras and you would think not much crime would go unsolved. But as usual it is all about “terrorism”.

So what US cities have the most surveillance cameras? Chicago surpassed Washington DC this year for the top position. Other cities with high amounts of police surveillance are Houston, Dallas, and Austin TX as well as Denver CO, and Rochester NY.

The NSA has built a huge data center in Utah that reads every email you’ll ever send.
Many of us are aware that nothing of what we say on social networks is really private. But you’d think your emails would be safe from prying eyes — especially those of your government. But once the government completes work on a top-secret Utah data center reportedly built to spy on civilian communications.

The $2 billion facility, said to be complete by September 2013, is designed to be able to filter through yottabytes (10^24 bytes) of data. Put into perspective, that’s greater than the estimated total of all human knowledge since the dawn of mankind. If leaked information about the complex is correct, nothing will be safe from the facility’s reach, from cell phone communications to emails to what you just bought with your credit card. And encryption won’t protect you — one of the facility’s priorities is breaking even the most complex of codes.

The good news is that the sheer volume of internet traffic and emails sent in a single day is far too much to be read by human eyes. Instead, the government will likely need to rely on complicated algorithms to assess each transmission and decide if they represent a security threat. So you’re probably out of the government’s earshot here… as long as you watch what you say.

The FBI maintains detailed files on numerous public, semi-public, and private figures.
Have you ever thought of taking a job with the government? If you value your privacy, think twice — the government runs incredibly extensive background searches on its high-profile applicants.

What kind of information does the government want from its applicants? Well, when former Apple CEO Steve Jobs was under consideration for a job with George H.W. Bush’s administration in 1991, the FBI compiled a massive file on him. Included in that file: the fact that Jobs had a 2.65 GPA, his history of marijuana and LSD usage, and his tendencies to “distort reality” and to “twist the truth” in order to achieve his goals.

Of course, Jobs is far from the only figure with an FBI file. Other public personalities profiled by the FBI include John Lennon, Marilyn Monroe, Jimi Hendrix, and even Anna Nicole Smith. If you’re curious about what goods the FBI has on you, you can always submit a request to view your own personal file. Of course, that the government doesn’t profile everyone — just certain people of interest.

Homeland Security is reading your tweets and Facebook status messages.
Unless you play around with your Twitter and Facebook privacy settings, just about anything you say is public. So it might not come as a surprise that the Department of Homeland Security is seeking contractors to build software and hardware capable of reading through what it calls “publicly available social media.” The government wants to read through your tweets and status messages to see if there’s any information that might help in detecting threats. Some believe the US Government financially backed Facebook and Twitter in exchanged for “future cooperation”.

There are some ground rules to the project. The government won’t pose as a Twitter follower and won’t accept or send any Facebook friend requests. Still, even with those restrictions, there’s a lot of information floating out there for the feds to read, even if most of it is nonsense about Justin Bieber.

Your ISP is required to keep files on what sites you visit.
A law that requires your internet service provider to keep constant tabs on you, along with detailed records of what websites you visited and when was passed with H.B. 2288 and companion bill S.B. 2530. The bill, sponsored by State Rep. John Mizuno (D), “requires internet service providers… keep consumer records for no less than two years.” The bill then goes on to specify that these records must include “each subscriber’s information and internet destination history information.”

The U.S. House of Representatives is considering a similar bill titled Protecting Children From Internet Pornographers Act. That bill, sponsored and written by Texas Republican Representative Lamar Smith, would mandate that commercial ISPs create logs of customers’ names, bank information, and IP addresses. That information could later be used by attorneys seeking to prosecute in a criminal trial or even in civil cases and even divorce trials.

Not much is private anymore
Between private companies violating your privacy and now the government, is there any way to avoid prying eyes? Not really, unless you make significant changes in the way you use the web. So before you send that next tweet or post that next Facebook status message, think about whether or not you’d be okay with a complete stranger looking at it — because that’s very well what may happen.

More than the violation of our constitutional rights what worries me is how much money this is costing WE the people. It seems to me that we are building our own prison. Paying for the shackles that will keep us from soaring.

I hope that is food for thought.




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Samson and Delilah





1 Then went Samson to Gaza, and saw there an harlot, and went in unto her.

2 And it was told the Gazites, saying, Samson is come hither. And they compassed him in, and laid wait for him all night in the gate of the city, and were quiet all the night, saying, In the morning, when it is day, we shall kill him.

3 And Samson lay till midnight, and arose at midnight, and took the doors of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and went away with them, bar and all, and put them upon his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of an hill that is before Hebron.

4 And it came to pass afterward, that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.

5 And the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and said unto her, Entice him, and see wherein his great strength lieth, and by what means we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to afflict him; and we will give thee every one of us eleven hundred pieces of silver.

6 And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength lieth, and wherewith thou mightest be bound to afflict thee.

7 And Samson said unto her, If they bind me with seven green withs that were never dried, then shall I be weak, and be as another man.

8 Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven green withs which had not been dried, and she bound him with them.

9 Now there were men lying in wait, abiding with her in the chamber. And she said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he brake the withs, as a thread of tow is broken when it toucheth the fire. So his strength was not known.

10 And Delilah said unto Samson, Behold, thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: now tell me, I pray thee, wherewith thou mightest be bound.

11 And he said unto her, If they bind me fast with new ropes that never were occupied, then shall I be weak, and be as another man.

12 Delilah therefore took new ropes, and bound him therewith, and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And there were liers in wait abiding in the chamber. And he brake them from off his arms like a thread.

13 And Delilah said unto Samson, Hitherto thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: tell me wherewith thou mightest be bound. And he said unto her, If thou weavest the seven locks of my head with the web.

14 And she fastened it with the pin, and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awaked out of his sleep, and went away with the pin of the beam, and with the web.

15 And she said unto him, How canst thou say, I love thee, when thine heart is not with me? thou hast mocked me these three times, and hast not told me wherein thy great strength lieth.

16 And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, so that his soul was vexed unto death;

17 That he told her all his heart, and said unto her, There hath not come a razor upon mine head; for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my mother's womb: if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.

18 And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, Come up this once, for he hath shewed me all his heart. Then the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and brought money in their hand.

19 And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him.

20 And she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the Lord was departed from him.

21 But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison house.

22 Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven.

23 Then the lords of the Philistines gathered them together for to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god, and to rejoice: for they said, Our god hath delivered Samson our enemy into our hand.

24 And when the people saw him, they praised their god: for they said, Our god hath delivered into our hands our enemy, and the destroyer of our country, which slew many of us.

25 And it came to pass, when their hearts were merry, that they said, Call for Samson, that he may make us sport. And they called for Samson out of the prison house; and he made them sport: and they set him between the pillars.

26 And Samson said unto the lad that held him by the hand, Suffer me that I may feel the pillars whereupon the house standeth, that I may lean upon them.

27 Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines were there; and there were upon the roof about three thousand men and women, that beheld while Samson made sport.

28 And Samson called unto the Lord, and said, O Lord God, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.

29 And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood, and on which it was borne up, of the one with his right hand, and of the other with his left.

30 And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life.


31 Then his brethren and all the house of his father came down, and took him, and brought him up, and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the buryingplace of Manoah his father. And he judged Israel twenty years.

Judges 16
King James Version (KJV)
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Monday, February 18, 2013

Obama's Chief of Staff Praises Catholic Influence


Sunday, 17 Feb 2013 03:07 PM


By Sandy Fitzgerald



The Catholic Church is a “critical part” of American society, Denis McDonough, the newly appointed White House chief of staff, told “Meet the Press'” David Gregory Sunday.

McDonough is a devout Catholic, growing up in a large family of 11 children in Minnesota, Gregory noted, and has been a religious, as well as political, adviser to President Barack Obama.

But the new chief of staff said he would not get into church politics on the show when it comes to analyzing what the church should do when it comes to picking a successor to Pope Benedict XVI, who announced his retirement last week.

“What I do know is that the church has been — universally but also here in the United States — a critical part of this society,” said McDonough. “It is a critical part of our education system that has helped so many people — it helped me, frankly.”

The new chief of staff said in his opinion, “as long as the church continues doing exactly what it's done over the course of these many years, by advocating the kinds of things


Source

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Meet the Press   |  Aired on February 17, 2013

McDonough: Catholic church ‘critical part of our society’

White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough talks about the recent resignation of the pope.




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Was the Pope pushed? An abuse scandal, corruption and the dark intrigue behind Benedict's shock resignation


By GUY ADAMS

PUBLISHED: 18:13 EST, 15 February 2013 | UPDATED: 19:05 EST, 15 February 2013


The room full of people was still in shock at the news of his resignation when Pope Benedict XVI tottered across the marble floor towards a tall, heavy-set man in the red robe and skullcap of a cardinal.

As cameras rolled on Monday in the gilded Sala del Concistoro at the Apostolic Palace in Rome, Benedict grabbed the man by his shoulders, looked deep into his eyes and — struggling to hold back tears — shared a long embrace.

It was a public show of affection to one of the Pope’s most important fratres carissimi or ‘dear brothers’.



Dark intrigue: Benedict's decision to become the first leader of the Catholic Church to step aside since the Middle Ages has left a slew of unanswered questions

It was also a display of respect. For the man was Cardinal Angelo Sodano, who as Dean of the College of Cardinals will organise the coming conclave at the Sistine chapel where 117 cardinals from across the world choose the next pontiff.

Yet in these ancient hallways, things are never entirely as they seem.

Dust may still be settling on Benedict XVI’s unexpected resignation, at the age of 85, but cynical eyes have begun to turn towards his relationship with Sodano the power-broker.

Sodano has lost little time in expressing his ‘sense of loss and almost disbelief’ at Benedict’s decision to quit, telling reporters that Monday’s announcement felt ‘like a lightning bolt in a clear blue sky’. But Vatican insiders smell a rat about those widely reported comments. They point out that, far from being surprised at Benedict’s announcement, Sodano had been told the previous Friday. And far from a ‘sense of loss’, previous form suggests the ambitious cardinal would have been delighted at the news.


More...
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The Papal Apocalypse! Doomsday fanatics claim next pontiff will be the last according to 12th century Prophecy of the Popes
A liberal Pope? Not a prayer: Benedict’s successor will feel the shadow of his continuing presence in Vatican City



Benedict’s decision to become the first leader of the Catholic Church to step aside since the Middle Ages has left a slew of unanswered questions. In the official statement, the German-born Pope blamed his resignation on advancing years, saying declining health had left him unable to properly lead the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics.

‘Having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry,’ he said.

An official spokesman later added that Benedict is suffering from a ‘decline in vigour, both of the body and spirit’.

To a degree, that’s probably true. Italian newspapers have revealed Benedict suffered a ‘serious fall’ this year and underwent heart surgery in November to replace a pacemaker fitted after an earlier heart attack.



Dust may still be settling on Benedict XVI's unexpected resignation, at the age of 85, but cynical eyes have begun to turn towards his relationship with Cardinal Angelo Sodano (pictured) - the power-broker

But in a world governed by tradition, serving Popes don’t step aside, no matter how ailing.

Benedict’s predecessor, John Paul II, served for 27 years, surviving an assassination attempt. After being diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2001, he suffered severe difficulties speaking and even sitting up. But he carried on until his death in 2005.

The last pope who failed to carry on until the bitter end was Gregory XII, who was forced out in 1415.


The last to go voluntarily was Celestine V, who resigned in 1294.

But if the fact of the Pope’s departure is unusual, its timing looks downright suspicious.

The Vatican claims he’d been considering the move for almost a year, praying intensively as he decided whether to quit.

But if so, why did he recently allow officials to schedule an official tour of Brazil for July?

Why, too, insiders wonder, shortly before Christmas did Benedict promote one of the Vatican’s most glamorous figures, fellow German Georg Ganswein, to Archbishop and the high-profile position of Prefect of his Pontifical Household?

At the time of his appointment, the 56-year-old — who is known as ‘the Black Forest Adonis’ and ‘Gorgeous George’ on account of his good looks — was billed as the perfect right-hand man to protect an ageing Pontiff from the daily grind of Vatican politics.



Benedict promoted Georg Ganswein (pictured) to Archbishop and the high-profile position of Prefect of his Pontifical Household

Ganswein then appeared on the cover of last month’s Italian Vanity Fair, billed as the ‘George Clooney of Catholicism’.

The article pointed out that papal aides are promoted to archbishop when an ailing Pope wishes to create an unofficial ‘gatekeeper’. But if Benedict knew he was about to quit, why appoint Ganswein to this position?

The Pope’s departure also comes at a time of scrutiny over the Vatican’s alleged links to the world of organised crime.

Last summer saw the scandalous trial of Paolo Gabriele, his butler, who was sentenced to 18 months in prison for stealing confidential documents from his master’s desk and passing them to a journalist.

The papers were given to Gianluigi Nuzzi, a reporter whose ‘Vatileaks’ scoop alleged corruption at the Vatican Bank, including the laundering of £160 million on behalf of the Mafia.

In the wake of Nuzzi’s revelations, the bank’s president was forced to resign. A replacement is due to be announced in the coming months.

His identity is of great concern to organised criminals, who fear the ‘wrong’ appointee will attempt to wipe clean the tarnished bank’s slate by confessing a raft of previous financial misdeeds.

Benedict was expected to usher in just such a new broom; his successor may not. The fact his departure is good news for the mafia has left many suspicious.

But the most curious figure in the shock resignation is Cardinal Sodano.

The Pope and the cardinal are hardly allies. Indeed, for years they have been regarded as bitter rivals, clashing repeatedly as they each climbed the slippery pole of the hierarchy.

Months after Benedict became Pope, Sodano resigned as the Vatican’s Secretary of State, its most senior political and diplomatic post, after 12 years in the high-profile job. This hardly makes him an obvious candidate for a public papal embrace.

The second source of suspicion is Sodano’s professed surprise at Monday’s news.

Several Vatican insiders, including Nigerian Cardinal Francis Arinze, a top contender to be the next Pope, say Sodano learned of the coming resignation in Benedict’s private quarters the previous Friday.





Not allies: For many years, the Pope (right) and Cardinal Sodano (left) have been regarded as bitter rivals, clashing repeatedly as they each climbed the slippery pole of the hierarchy


If that is the case, then why did the Cardinal describe Benedict’s departure, three days later, as a bolt from the blue?

And what really happened at the Friday meeting? Though held in secret, reports in the Italian press claim there was a heated argument between the men over the fraught question of how the Church should deal with clergy accused of sexual abuse.

In recent years, Benedict has taken a relatively hard line on dealing with paedophile priests, an issue that has damaged the hierarchy’s reputation.

Not only has he apologised publicly to victims, he has also insisted that the Vatican, rather than individual diocese, should be in charge of investigating future abuse complaints, referring them to the police whenever possible.

Sodano takes a different view. The cardinal has been reluctant to proceed with investigations into suspect priests over the years, and famously used a prayer during Easter Mass in 2010 to describe the complaints of victims of abuse as ‘petty gossip’.

He has clashed with Benedict over this issue several times over the years. In 1995, they fell out over how to deal with Cardinal Hans Hermann Groer, who resigned as Archbishop of Vienna after being accused of molesting young men.



While it seems Sodano had several reasons to seek the Pope's resignation, that doesn't mean he had the ability to execute such an audacious plot

Benedict advised the then Pope, John Paul II, to issue an apology over the appalling allegations, which were later proven. Sodano, as the Vatican’s Secretary of State, chose to over-rule him.

Then, in 1998, Sodano instructed Benedict — then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger — to drop an investigation into multiple counts of abuse by Fr Marcial Maciel Degollado, founder of a holy order called The Legionaries of Christ. In a plot twist worthy of a Dan Brown novel, a Catholic journal uncovered evidence that Sodano had issued the order after receiving $15,000 from the order for being its ‘cheerleader’.

Benedict waited eight years for revenge. In 2006, he removed Maciel — later revealed to have fathered several children by different women — from his post. Sodano’s resignation from Vatican Secretary of State came soon afterwards.

Yet while it seems Sodano had several reasons to seek the Pope’s resignation, that doesn’t necessarily mean he had the ability to execute such an audacious plot.

A hostile cardinal seeking to bring down a Pope would have to unearth a catastrophically devastating scandal from his past.

With Benedict’s childhood in the Hitler Youth and long career in a Church ridden with sex abuse allegations, there are avenues for attack. But eight years of scrutiny from the media has left little mud sticking to him.

There is a dubious incident from 1980, when as Archbishop of Munich he transferred a paedophile priest to another parish. And there have been complaints that during the Eighties and Nineties, in his role as head of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, he ignored complaints of abuse.

Getting the Pope to resign would have taken something more damning. Did Sodano stumble on a scandal? It seems unlikely.

A more plausible explanation is perhaps that constant exposure to Vatican politics had left the monkish and cerebral Benedict tired and desperate to find an escape.

‘Maybe an unpleasant meeting with Sodano pushed him over the edge,’ says a veteran insider. ‘The Vatileaks scandal showed the place to be completely dysfunctional. It’s been that way throughout history.’

As for Sodano, he’s no doubt hoping one piece of Vatican history repeats itself. The last time a College of Cardinals chose a new Pope was in 2005 and Benedict was Dean of the College of Cardinals. This time, of course, the dean is none other than Cardinal Angelo Sodano.


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Pope will have security, immunity by remaining in the Vatican






By Philip Pullella

VATICAN CITY | Fri Feb 15, 2013 1:59pm EST

(Reuters) - Pope Benedict's decision to live in the Vatican after he resigns will provide him with security and privacy. It will also offer legal protection from any attempt to prosecute him in connection with sexual abuse cases around the world, Church sources and legal experts say.

"His continued presence in the Vatican is necessary, otherwise he might be defenseless. He wouldn't have his immunity, his prerogatives, his security, if he is anywhere else," said one Vatican official, speaking on condition of anonymity.



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Dr. Ben Carson for President? ‘I’ll Leave That Up to God’




By ABC News
Feb 17, 2013 8:05am

ABC News’ Kari Rea reports:

It’s a forum that isn’t known for making news – so Dr. Ben Carson says the buzz created by his speech atlast week’s National Prayer Breakfast, including a Wall Street Journal staff editorial with the headline “Ben Carson For President” – came as a surprise.

“I don’t think it was particularly political,” Carson, the director of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins, told ABC’s Chief White House Correspondent Jonathan Karl during an interview for ”This Week.” ”You know, I’m a physician. I like to diagnose things. And, you know, I’ve diagnosed some pretty, pretty significant issues that I think a lot of people resonate with.”

With an audience that included President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, Carson spoke out about political correctness, health care and taxes at the breakfast. In his roughly 23-minute address, Carson called for a private health care savings plan and a flat tax for all Americans. His address has since gone viral, racking up more than two million views on YouTube.




Dr. Ben Carson on ABC's "This Week"

The speech isn’t Carson’s first foray into national politics. In 2008, President George W. Bush awarded the successful brain surgeon the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.

On Sunday, Carson criticized some of President Obama’s policies but also called him a “very talented politician.”

“There are a number of policies that I don’t believe lead to the growth of our nation and don’t lead to the elevation of our nation,” Carson added. “I don’t want to sit here and say all of his policies are bad.”

He also offered his diagnosis for today’s political environment.

“What I would like to see more often in this nation is an open and intelligent conversation, not people just casting aspersions at each other,” Carson said on “This Week.” “I mean, it’s unbelievable to me the way people act like third graders. And if somebody doesn’t agree with them, they’re this and they’re that and, you know — it comes from both sides. And it’s just so infantile.”

As for his own ambitions, Carson, 61, is retiring from practicing medicine this summer. But he told Jonathan Karl he’s not ruling out a future bid for political office.

“That’s not my intention,” he said. “But I always say, ‘I’ll leave that up to God.’”

To read an excerpt of Carson’s 2012 book “America the Beautiful,” click HERE.


Source


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Controversial address vaults Hopkins' Carson into political arena



Prominent surgeon says he's driven by Christian faith, concern over nation's 'moral decay'





By Scott Dance, The Baltimore Sun

9:44 a.m. EST, February 18, 2013



Dr. Ben Carson says he didn't anticipate the reaction to what he considered his common-sense remarks as keynote speaker this month at the National Prayer Breakfast.

But after video went viral of the trailblazing black neurosurgeon taking jabs at Barack Obama's health care overhaul a few feet from the president himself, some want the famed doctor at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore to parlay the attention into a new career: politics.

"Here you have this guy who has been a celebrity minority for 30 years coming out and making the conservative case better than a lot of conservatives can," said Jonah Goldberg, editor-at-large for National Review Online. "Emotionally, that had a really big impact for a lot of people."

Related




Commentary: Dr. Ben Carson's speech was courageous


While some objected to Carson raising health care and tax policy at the traditionally nonpolitical Washington breakfast, conservative heavyweights Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Ann Coulter all cheered his address.

The Wall Street Journal published an editorial with the headline "Ben Carson for President."

Fame isn't new to Carson. The 61-year-old Detroit native, who rose from a childhood of inner-city deprivation to become the youngest person to lead a major division at Johns Hopkins Hospital and the first surgeon anywhere to separate conjoined twins, has written bestselling books about his life, his faith and success.

His memoir, Healing Hands, was made into a television movie starring the Oscar winner Cuba Gooding Jr. President George W. Bush awarded him the Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, in 2008.

But with his address at the annual breakfast, he has drawn a new level of attention to himself — and one he intends to use to reach a larger audience.

Carson, who plans to retire from surgery in June, says he has no interest in running for office. But he says he will use the new exposure to urge common sense, bipartisanship and a reversal of the "moral decay" that he says is eating away at the country.

"I have this feeling that as time goes on, we're not getting any more civilized, and we should be," he said in an interview. "We're still running around like the days of Genghis Khan. There are so many important, better things to do and we need to encourage people to reach into the brighter side of humanity and not encourage people to continue to glorify the darker side."

He won plaudits from the political right for his prayer breakfast call for the creation of health savings accounts at birth in place of what he considers the bureaucracy of Obama's health reform, and for the imposition of a flat tax that he likened to a biblical tithe to supplant a complex tax code that he said asks too much of the rich.

He also lambasted Washington for the $16.5 trillion national debt — evidence, he said, of hubris to rival that of ancient Rome.

Though he didn't mention it in his remarks, Carson adds same-sex marriage to his litany of the nation's problems.

Much of his address focused on a biblical argument for bipartisan cooperation.

Carson has been better known for his accomplishments than for his ideology. Speaking at the prayer breakfast in 1997, he described being raised by a poor, single mother who had been one of 24 children. He said he felt as if he was "the dumbest person in the world" before he gained confidence in his intellectual abilities.

He studied his way to Yale, and then to medical school at the University of Michigan, where he considered going into psychiatry before he realized his hand-eye coordination and spatial skills would make him an apt surgeon.

At the age of 33, he was named director of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins, where he led the team that performed the milestone conjoined twin surgery in 1987.

Along with this experience, he said, his Christian faith drives the practices that he preaches. Carson is a devout Seventh-day Adventist.

"I've had experiences in my life that leave no doubt in my mind about the fact that God exists," Carson said. "I'm quite willing to debate people who don't think so because I want them to explain to me how did our solar system get so organized and how is the universe so complex and yet well-organized that we can predict 70 years hence when a comet is coming?"

Carson is known for sharing his views plainly, said Carol James, a physician assistant at Hopkins who has worked alongside him for more than three decades and is godmother to his three sons.

"As time has gone on," she said, "his interest in the community and the country and how we are stacking up both educationally or in other ways with the world has become a more prominent concern for him."

The subject inspired "America the Beautiful: Rediscovering What Made this Nation Great," Carson's more recent book. James said he isn't shy about sharing those concerns.

The combination of Carson's forthrightness, his stature in the medical community, and the spectacle of an African-American physician confronting Obama over his most controversial policy have caught the attention of the political world.

Though Carson calls himself an independent, Republicans have rallied behind his message where it dovetails with their own. Limbaugh and Laura Ingraham have joined in the praise.

"I think it was refreshing to hear somebody speak plainly and talk about solutions and not talk about political rhetoric," said David Ferguson, executive director of the Maryland Republican Party. "I think there's always going to be a reaction, regardless of who is speaking, when somebody has solutions and a bold approach instead of the cyclical problems we're facing as a country."

Carson said he has been "deluged" since the speech with media requests and reaction, "95 percent of it positive." He said he believes it shows "an incredible thirst in this nation for common sense."

How long he stays in the spotlight could be up to him, said Paul Herrnson, a government and politics professor at the University of Maryland, College Park. Ross Perot, for example, kept himself relevant in the 1992 presidential election by persisting through his own ambition and financial independence. Given how far off the 2016 election is, that could be a tall task to attempt now, Herrnson said.

Some have criticized the breakfast address as an inappropriate political stunt. The conservative columnist Cal Thomas accused Carson of "lowering himself" by breaking with the tradition of avoiding politics at the 61-year-old event. Past speakers have included Mother Teresa, Bono, and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

But the comments weren't intended to stoke political controversy, Carson said. Nor, he said, did they appear to offend Obama.

"I think there is virtually no better setting than something like the National Prayer Breakfast to talk about the spiritual state of the nation," he said. "I believe the spiritual state of the nation is not good."

Carson said he hopes to spark independent thinking over partisan bickering. He has planned 10 international trips after his retirement from surgery to speak to youth about the importance of education. He also plans to continue speaking around the United States — something for which he is now likely to be in greater demand.

Many of those speeches are likely to touch on what Carson sees as a weakening of the nation's moral fiber that threatens the country's survival.

"We try to make everything equal now, every kind of family situation," he said. "We go into the schools and we say there's no outstanding people because we don't want this one or that one to feel bad.

"We're basically extracting reality out of everything so everybody can feel good. But ultimately making everyone feel good makes everyone feel bad."

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A previous version of this article misstated how many siblings Carson grew up with. The Sun regrets the error.

Dr. Ben Carson

Age: 61

Family: Married, three grown sons

Education: B.S. in psychology, Yale University; M.D., University of Michigan

Accomplishments: Named Johns Hopkins director of pediatric neurosurgery at age 33, the youngest to lead a department at the hospital. Was principal surgeon on the first successful surgery to separate conjoined twins in 1987. Led first successful surgery to separate twins conjoined at the top of the head in 1997. Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, 2008.


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