"Secular UK could be ‘Lion’s Den’ for pope; First visit stirs up outrage, comedy" by Anthony Faiola, Washington Post | September 16, 2010
LONDON — The first state visit by a pope to Britain, a country that unceremoniously broke with the Vatican over Henry VIII’s divorce in the 16th century, seemed doomed to controversy from the start....
Then I'd rather not read too much. I might go pour through the history book later, though. :-)
Various groups — including the victims of sexual abuse by Catholic priests — have banded together into an alliance dubbed Protest the Pope and are set to march Saturday through the streets of London as the German-born pontiff hosts an outdoor vigil in Hyde Park.
Can't you at least leave the service alone?
A number of Britons, some with deeply held suspicions of Vatican motives, are also still smarting from a campaign launched by Benedict to woo dissident Anglicans angry over the ordination of gay and female clerics. Still more are furious over the $30 million price tag for the trip, largely funded by British taxpayers as is customary for state visits.
I could see where that might piss someone off.
Related: Queen Mothers
I guess you cut out enough to afford a visit from the Pope, no?
For Benedict, the British trip marks a broader campaign to raise the profile of religion in increasingly secular Europe, as well as to ease outrage over the string of sex abuse scandals by Catholic priests that continue to rock the region from Ireland to Austria.
Yeah, I've been sticking (sorry, poor choice of words) those reports in the Religion file.
He also appears to be doing something his critics have said he has thus far been reluctant to do: mend fences....
How come every time he does that he is stepped on even more?
--more--"
And who has the MOST INSATIABLE APPETITE for blood on the planet?
"Amid fresh mortar attacks, Mideast talking continues; No breakthrough yet on Israel’s settlement policy" by Mark Landler and Isabel Kershner, New York Times | September 16, 2010
I really hate to bring this up, but:
"Isabel Kershner.... is an Israeli citizen.... possible family ties to the Israeli military"
Oh, one of the tough guys of the AmeriKan MSM.
JERUSALEM — The Israeli military said one rocket and nine mortar shells were fired into Israel from Gaza yesterday — the heaviest day of fire since March 2009.
I'm sorry, I'm just not buying it any more: Israeli admits responsibility for Aqaba rocket attack
Also see: The Gaza Rocket Squads
Of course, it gives Israel the excuse -- cui bono -- to waylay something in Gaza.
The Israelis retaliated with an air strike that killed a Palestinian civilian and wounded two.
The violence in Gaza, which is controlled by Hamas, the Islamic group opposed to the peace talks, did not deter the negotiators, who stuck to their schedules. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton was a busy presence....
Who gives a s*** whether she had her fat, drunk ass in gear?
Still....
Yeah: Peace Talk Pablum
That's always the result as Israel sucks up more land.
Related:
How the hell you going to make a state out of that when Israel says it is keeping all settlements (no precondition though).
And when I read this next paragraph....
Friction along the Israel-Gaza border has been mounting since Sunday, when three Palestinians, including a man in his 90s and his teenage grandson, were killed in northern Gaza by Israeli mortar fire.
A man in his 90s?!!!!
How is a man (who has seen it all since 1948) OLDER than the DIRT he is eating SURVIVE under such conditions -- and why must he PERISH with his YOUNG GRANDSON (may Allah bless them)!!?!!
And WHY DOES ISRAEL ALWAYS LIE right out of the blocks, hanh?
Yesterday’s air strike was on a tunnel that the Israeli military said was operated by Hamas....
In another sign of escalation, Israeli police bomb-disposal experts found that two of the mortar shells fired from Gaza yesterday contained white phosphorous, according to a police spokesman. Phosphorous munitions are typically employed to illuminate and mark battlefield areas and create smokescreens; they are highly flammable and can burn flesh like napalm....
Yup, NO MENTION of ISRAEL'S LIBERAL USE of them on CIVILIANS back at the end of 2008 and in early 2009.
You know, those WAR CRIMES that NEVER GO ANYWHERE in the international halls of justice.
As the Obama administration tries to keep these talks afloat, it is seeking to open another channel between Israel and Syria....
In other words, there is this broader overall effort behind the scenes that you are not being told about that is either a deke before attacking Iran or part of the revised neo-con war strategy that rules AmeriKa.
--more--"
