Admitting that "I was a stupid young boy who only had fantasies and stories in my head," author Gunther Grass attempted in New York this week to explain his joining the Waffen SS, something to which he only admitted last August. But even his sympathetic interviewer seemed far from satisfied.
Grass's recently translated autobiography, Peeling the Onion, an attempt to revisit the early years of his life and to offer some explanation, brought him to the city. But he seemed unable to offer much in defense of his six decades of secrecy and his early belief in the Nazi regime. "If someone believes in something he doesn't see other things. It's easy to say I was a child, but I didn't ask any questions. That's why I wrote this book," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/01/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
"wellll, the uniforms looked spiffy.."
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/01/2007 8:03 Comments ||
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Yep, he was a "stupid young boy" when he joined the SS. Now he's a stupid old man.
Posted by: Mike ||
07/01/2007 8:18 Comments ||
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#3
"I was stupid"
Oh well, that's all right then.
Posted by: Tony (UK) ||
07/01/2007 8:19 Comments ||
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#4
Most youth are a bit fickeled, particularly in turbulent times. Let it go. A selection of works by Günter Grass in English, he has written many more in his native tongue.
The Tin Drum. Transl. by Ralph Manheim. London: Secker & Warburg, 1962.
Cat and Mouse. Transl. by Ralph Manheim. San Diego: Harcourt Brace, 1963.
Dog Years. Transl. by Ralph Manheim. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, 1965.
Four Plays. Introd. by Martin Esslin. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, 1967.
Speak out! Speeches, Open Letters, Commentaries. Transl. by Ralph Manheim. London: Secker & Warburg, 1969.
Local Anaesthetic. Transl. by Ralph Manheim. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, 1970.
From the Diary of a Snail. Transl. by Ralph Manheim. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1973.
In the Egg and Other Poems. Transl. by Michael Hamburger and Christopher Middleton. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1977.
The Meeting at Telgte. Transl. by Ralph Manheim. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1981.
The Flounder. Transl. by Ralph Manheim. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1978.
Headbirths, or, the Germans are Dying Out. Transl. by Ralph Manheim. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1982.
The Rat. Transl. by Ralph Manheim. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1987.
Show Your Tongue. Transl. by John E. Woods. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1987.
Two States One Nation? Transl. by Krishna Winston with A.S. Wensinger. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1990; London: Secker & Warburg.
The Call of the Toad. Transl. by Ralph Manheim. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1992.
The Plebeians Rehearse the Uprising. Transl. by Ralph Manheim. New York: Harcourt Brace, 1996.
My Century. Transl. by Michael Henry Heim. New York: Harcourt Brace, 1999.
Too far afield. Transl. by Krishna Winston. London: Faber, 2000.
#5
Herr Grass turned the idea of Aryan superiority he embraced as a child into the insufferable German attitude of moral superiority acquired through deprivation and hard work after. Of course they're better than the rest of Europe! Look at the economic powerhouse they built out of the rubble of the war, with only their bare hands and the sweat of their brow... You Amis [or whatever the other person is] had it so easy, and so you've never had to develop character like we have. That's why you must listen to us when we tell you [fill in another blank] -- we've learnt from experience in a way you never could!
#6
Of course they're better than the rest of Europe! Look at the economic powerhouse they built out of the rubble of the war, with only their bare hands and the sweat of their brow.
Behind the shield of millions of Americans and trillions of dollars in defense and a promise of mutual assured destruction for over fifty years.
#7
I have one comment for the Krauts, and it's from Texas: "don't start no trouble and there won't be no trouble." Maybe they've finally learned that lesson.
Posted by: Mac ||
07/01/2007 10:22 Comments ||
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It's probably like studying kabbalah, Shipman. Maimonedes said a man mustn't do that until he's at least thirty, has married and taught his sons a trade that they'd be self-supporting, before he may begin the study. Something about being firmly anchored to reality, I believe. ;-)
Special from Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Mullen
WASHINGTON (NNS) -- Every man and woman serving our Navy today joins me in mourning the death of retired Rear Adm. Eugene Fluckey, recipient of the Medal of Honor and a true naval hero. We extend humbly to his family our thoughts, prayers and deepest sympathies in this, their time of great grief and sorrow.
Fluckey passed away on June 29. He was one of the most daring and successful submarine skippers of World War II -- he was credited with sinking 29.3 enemy ships totaling more than 146,00 tons -- Eugene Fluckey helped lead and inspire our Navy to victory. He inspires us still today. We will miss him sorely.
In addition to the Medal of Honor, they pinned upon his chest four Navy Crosses, the Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit and a host of other unit and campaign awards. He was known for his audacity and courage, on more than one occasion running his boat in close to shore to attack enemy shipping and bases. He was merely 31 when the war ended.
He even helped pioneer the idea of submarine support to special operations. In the summer of 1945, he launched a group of his own commandos ashore to set demolition charges on a coastal railway line, destroying a 16-car train. It was the sole landing by U.S. military forces on the Japanese Home Islands during the war. I never heard of this action until I read this.
Fluckey was also a loyal and devoted leader, for whom his people had the greatest respect and in whom they entrusted their lives and their honor. He knew all too well how much they depended on his steady hand, and how much he, in turn, depended on them.
In his final war patrol report as commanding officer of USS Barb, he had this to say about his crew: What wordy praise can one give such men as these; men who follow unhesitatingly when in the vicinity of minefields so long as there is the possibility of targets Men who flinch not with the fathometer ticking off two fathoms beneath the keel Men who will fight to the last bullet and then start throwing the empty shell cases. These are submariners.
As we mourn his passing, so too should we pause and reflect on the contributions of this great man to our Navy and to our nation and of the thousands of lives he guided, the careers he mentored, the difference he made simply by virtue of his leadership.
We ought never forget his own words of wisdom: Put more into life than you expect to get out of it. Drive yourself and lead others. Make others feel good about themselves. They will outperform your expectations, and you will never lack for friends.
Fluckey certainly never lacked for friends. And on behalf of those of us -- his friends and shipmates -- still serving in the Navy, I wish for his soul fair winds and following seas and for his family and loved ones our deepest respect and sympathies.
#1
"Eternal Father, Strong to save,
Whose arm hath bound the restless wave,
Who bid'st the mighty Ocean deep
Its own appointed limits keep;
O hear us when we cry to thee,
for those in peril on the sea."
On 27 April 1943, Commander Fluckey assumed command of Barb (SS-220).
As commanding officer of Barb, he established himself as one of the greatest submarine skippers, credited with the most tonnage sunk by a U.S. skipper during World War II: 17 ships including a carrier, cruiser, and frigate. In one of the stranger incidents in the war, Fluckey sent a landing party ashore to set demolition charges on a coastal railway line, which destroyed a 16-car train. This was the sole landing by U.S. military forces on the Japanese home islands during World War II. . . .
During his famous eleventh patrol, he continued to revolutionize submarine warfare, inventing the night convoy attack from astern by joining the flank escort line. He attacked two convoys at anchor 26 miles inside the 20 fathom (37 m) curve on the China coast, totaling more than 30 ships. With two frigates pursuing, Barb set a then-world speed record for a submarine of 23.5 knots (44 km/h) using 150% overload. For his conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity, Fluckey received the Medal of Honor. Barb received the Presidential Unit Citation for the eightheleventh patrols and the Navy Unit Commendation for the twelfth patrol. . . .
Of what was he most proud? "Though the tally shows more shells, bombs, and depth charges fired at Barb, no one received the Purple Heart and Barb came back alive, eager, and ready to fight again."
Posted by: Mike ||
07/01/2007 8:06 Comments ||
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#3
With two frigates pursuing, Barb set a then-world speed record for a submarine of 23.5 knots (44 km/h) using 150% overload.
bet that was exciting - LOL!
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/01/2007 8:19 Comments ||
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#4
How blessed is the country that produces men like this!
#5
Iirc, Captain Fluckey's rampage up the Japanese coast also included shelling attacks against against dock facilities and seaside factories and the first use of surface-to-surface rockets from a submarine. According to The Rocket by David Baker, the latter were the standard 4.5" type often fired from converted landing craft to soften up beach defenses. Barb had been rigged with a multiple launcher on the foredeck.
#13
I had the good fortune to be assigned to the Naval Academy as an instructor in Plebe skinny,or chemistry to civilians when Gene Fluckey was a Capt and head of the Dept. I only met him on one or two occasions , buthe was a smiling relaxed skipper who could not have been nicer to everyoneincluding young Jg s.They did not mention that Fluckeys CMH was for going into Tokyo harbor andsinking a ship inside the harbor , then siting on the bottom for several days while depth charges went off everywhere.I humbly thank the parents of such men
Posted by: john e morrissey ||
07/01/2007 12:13 Comments ||
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#14
One source states that one of the scuttling charges aboard the Barb was the explosive device used to destroy the 16-car RR train.
#17
Yesterday Gen. Robin Olds was laid to rest at the Air Force Academy. We were having a unit reunion at the Academy at the same time. There were fly-bys by F-4s, P-51s, and even a Mig-17. I hope people like Admiral Fluckey and Gen. Olds are never forgotten, and that the traditions they inspired continue as long as the US exists.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
07/01/2007 18:51 Comments ||
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NEW YORKMillions of eyewitnesses watched in stunned horror Tuesday as light emptied from the sky, plunging the U.S. and neighboring countries into darkness. As the hours progressed, conditions only worsened.
Despite the high potential for danger and decreased visibility, scientists say they are unable to do anything to restore light to the continent at this time.
"Vast gravitational forces have rotated the planet Earth on an axis drawn through its north and south poles," said Dr. Elena Bilkins of the National Weather Service. "The Earth is in actuality spinning uncontrollably through space." Read the rest .....
ZIMBABWES leading cleric has called on Britain to invade the country and topple President Robert Mugabe. Pius Ncube, the Archbishop of Bulawayo, warned that millions were facing death from famine, unable to survive amid inflation believed to have soared to 15,000%.
Mugabe, 83, had proved intransigent despite the massive risk to life, said Ncube, the head of Zimbabwes 1m Catholics. I think it is justified for Britain to raid Zimbabwe and remove Mugabe, he said. We should do it ourselves but theres too much fear. Im ready to lead the people, guns blazing, but the people are not ready.
Some parts of Zimbabwe have seen 95% of crops fail, leaving families with only two or three weeks food supply to last a year. Prices in the shops are more than doubling every week and Christopher Dell, the American ambassador, predicts that by the end of the year inflation could hit 1.5m%.
Ncube said that far from helping those struggling on less than £1 a week, Mugabe had just spent £1m on surveillance equipment to monitor phone calls and e-mails. How can you expect people to rise up when even our church services are attended by state intelligence people?
People in our mission hospitals are dying of malnutrition. We had the best education in Africa and now our schools are closing. Most people are earning less than their bus fares. Theres no water or power. Is the world just going to let everything collapse in on us?
#1
If you wait for others to make you free, it will be a long wait. Even if you just try a little bit, just little things, you will earn some of your freedom. But if you can't muster the least bit of resistance yourself, you lose.
#2
Besides all that, you voted for the asshole.
You raped and beat and killed the whites, drove them out of office, off their land, out of the country, you made your bed.
Now sleep in it.
Enjoy your black controlled paradise.
#5
Um, no. There's still too many of the non ZANU-PF elite who view Mugabe as a 'Washington unfortunately gone to the Dark Side'. And they'd sooner drown than listen to non-Africans yelling at them to swim.
Posted by: Tony (UK) ||
07/01/2007 18:09 Comments ||
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#9
The world rescued Zimbabwe from apartheid. I don't think that the world is responsible for rescued Zimbabwe from itself.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
07/01/2007 18:10 Comments ||
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#10
Hey, Zimmies! You wanted Bad Bob badly enough to threaten continued civil war if you didn't get him. Now you've got Bad Bob. Live (or die) with your choice. You can choose your actions; you just can't choose the consequences of those actions. I've got just about as much sympathy for you as you had for the whites you drove out.
Posted by: Mac ||
07/01/2007 18:57 Comments ||
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#11
If my memory serves me correctly, I remember the people of Eastern Europe liberating themselves without much, if any, overt outside intervention. And their security services weren't pushovers, either.
#14
Instapundit had the correct question/answer: "Why doesn't someone just bump him [Mugabe] off?"
A question many of us have asked, too....
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
07/01/2007 22:40 Comments ||
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#15
TW, I concur. Without Reagan's correct policy, the EE would be still under a yoke. The SU would be probably a little more "pragmatic" like China, but with the commie nomenclature intact and firmly reigning over the satellites.
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) - Judges on Thursday ordered the war crimes trial of former Liberian President Charles Taylor delayed until Aug. 20 to provide time for a new defense team to prepare its case. Taylor is accused of arming and funding Sierra Leone rebels who waged a campaign of terror in their country's 10-year civil war that ended in 2002. He has pleaded not guilty to charges including murder, rape, mutilation and conscripting child soldiers.
His landmark trial at the U.N.-backed Special Court of Sierra Leone started June 4 with the prosecution's opening statement and resumed last Monday. But proceedings ground to a halt both times as Taylor first fired his court-funded lawyer, saying he wanted to defend himself, then failed to show up in court.
On Monday, presiding judge Julia Sebutinde ordered the court's principal defender, an official whose job it is to see that Taylor gets an adequate defense, to find him a new legal team by July 31. She also directed him to appoint an interim defense counsel to represent Taylor for the first witness's testimony at hearings scheduled to run July 3-11.
But in a joint motion Thursday, both prosecutor Brenda Hollis and the interim defense attorney, Charles Jalloh, said it would be "in the interests of justice" to delay the trial's resumption until Aug. 20, when the new defense team should be in place. Court spokesman Solomon Moriba told The Associated Press on Thursday that judges would explain the decision further at a brief hearing on July 3.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/01/2007 00:00 ||
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The number of Zimbabweans seeking asylum in South Africa has increased dramatically since Robert Mugabe's police assaulted the country's opposition leaders on 11 March, experts say.
South Africa has not officially recognised the human rights abuses of President Mugabe's regime so those seeking refugee status face a difficult, drawn-out process. The flow of Zimbabweans fleeing the country, both legally and illegally, has become a rush as food and fuel shortages grow and inflation - now at 4,000 per cent - is predicted to hit a staggering 1.5 million per cent by year end.
Essentially Z-Bob dollars are worthless.
Thousands of Zimbabweans are jumping the border into South Africa every week and many are falling prey to robbers who prowl the border zone. More than 165,000 were picked up and deported from South Africa in the past year, according to new figures released to The Observer by the International Organisation of Migration (IOM). It is Africa's most extraordinary exodus from a country not at war, according to experts.
At Beitbridge, the great Limpopo river divides the two countries. Here there are frequent reports of Zimbabweans drowning or being eaten by crocodiles as they try to cross. Currently, South Africa is sending back more than 4,000 Zimbabweans every week, up more than 40 per cent from 2006. These figures relate only to those who were caught and returned. There are no reliable figures on illegal migrants, it is widely estimated that 3.4 million Zimbabweans - a quarter of the population - have now fled.
Proportionally that's far greater than the number of Mexicans in the U.S. illegally.
On the ridge above the Limpopo, 12ft high electric fences bristling with razor wire mark the border. Patched-up holes riddle the fences, evidence of the constant traffic. Two freshly cut spaces break the fence and in the distance a small campfire can be seen where border jumpers huddle for warmth.
'This is one of the busiest borders in Africa,' says Andrew Gethi, IOM's Beitbridge operations officer. The IOM office opened in May 2006 and has been overwhelmed. 'We expected to deal with 6,000 deportees per month, but the number was 12,000 and it has gone up to 17,000,' said Gethi. 'It is seven days a week. We get no breaks.'
South Africa delivers its deportees to the IOM office on the Zimbabwean side. They are offered a hot meal, counselling and transport home. Only 55 per cent accept: the rest immediately turn around and try again, according to officials who are powerless to stop them.
South Africa's President, Thabo Mbeki, conceded last May that the enormous human influx 'is something we have to live with'. He avoided describing the economic collapse, hunger and repression creating the refugees.
Didn't want to embarrass his pal Bob.
Christopher is one of the border jumpers. 'People are leaving Zimbabwe because the government is not looking after the people - it's against the people, it's beating people, it's shooting people,' he says. 'There's no law in Zimbabwe. The law is for the President, he works for himself with the police and army only. That's why people are running away from Zimbabwe.
'I was with the opposition. They shot my dog in front of my children. They beat me and threatened to kill me. I was so scared of the government I didn't mind the danger from crocodiles or elephants.' Christopher found work on a farm. Human Rights Watch report that thousands of Zimbabweans face harsh conditions and abuse on South Africa's farms, yet no one opts to go back to Zimbabwe.
But as the number of exiles grows, so does resentment. 'They are taking our jobs. They are stealing. We should send them all back,' said Nepo Nkhahle, who runs a trucking business. 'I know it is not their fault. They don't know where their next meal is. But many South Africans are getting fed up with this.'
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/01/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Same old tune, just replace Zimbabweans with Mexicans and repeat, repeat, repeat.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
07/01/2007 11:48 Comments ||
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Two more cases have been filed against detained former Jamaat lawmaker Abdullah Mohammd Taher and his brother on charges of misappropriating public funds allocated against different projects.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/01/2007 00:00 ||
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A court in Khulna yesterday sent President of Khulna Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) Shaharuzzaman Murtoza to jail custody, our Khulna correspondent reports. He was arrested Friday evening after a case was filed earlier that day in connection with violating Passport Ordinance 1973. He allegedly had two passports in his possession.
Another Khulna court yesterday sent Conservator of Khulna Circle Sheikh Mizanur Rahman to jail custody on completion of his five-day remand. Mizanur was arrested on June 24 at his home in Khulna in connection with amassing huge illegal wealth and keeping contraband substances.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/01/2007 00:00 ||
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A Dhaka court yesterday sent former BNP lawmaker Mossaddak Ali Falu to jail custody on completion of his 12 days on remand, in four phases, in connection with two cases filed against him for misappropriating government relief materials.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/01/2007 00:00 ||
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They crash through red lights, shoplift and obstruct police investigations - and get away scot-free. These are not young thugs, let off because of prison overcrowding, but diplomats representing their countries in embassies in the UK.
A new list of shame, published by the Foreign Office, reveals that foreign embassy staff have been on a crime spree - safe in the knowledge that their diplomatic immunity will protect them from prosecution.
A new list of shame, published by the Foreign Office, reveals that foreign embassy staff have been on a crime spree - safe in the knowledge that their diplomatic immunity will protect them from prosecution.
The offences alleged to have been committed last year range from speeding to theft, assault and actual bodily harm. Diplomats from six embassies, including those of Thailand, Pakistan, Azerbaijan and Pakistan, were alleged to have been guilty of shoplifting, while officials representing Kuwait, Nigeria and the Ivory Coast were alleged to have committed assault causing actual bodily harm.
The rap sheet, released by Foreign Office ministers, shows that scores of diplomats, driving smart cars with diplomatic plates, were caught breaking the speed limit. German diplomats are alleged to have been caught over the speed limit on six occasions. A member of the United Arab Emirates' diplomatic staff is alleged to have failed to stop after an accident, while an Argentinian was alleged to have been guilty of dangerous driving.
However, since foreign officials are protected from being prosecuted because they have diplomatic immunity, the police have no powers to arrest them. In many cases, the Foreign Office has intervened, asking for their immunity to be lifted so they can face prosecution. However, most embassies refused to co-operate. Out of apparent frustration, the Government released a full list of foreign missions whose diplomats had committed offences over the past four years.
The move will be seen as an attempt by the Foreign Office to shame embassies into obeying Britain's laws.
A Foreign Office spokesman said: "Of course we expect those serving in diplomatic missions in the UK to abide by the laws of the United Kingdom."
Last year alone, diplomats committed 126 criminal offences, 15 of which would have led to a prison term of a year or more. Over the past four years, the rap sheet has included allegations of child neglect, by Kazakhstan, driving while drunk (Russia), facilitating illegal immigration (Germany) and rape (Morocco).
Saudi Arabian diplomats faced allegations of bribery, an indecent assault on a child, and domestic violence, while South African diplomats allegedly committed indecent assault and robbery.
Nigerian diplomats were accused of arranging sham marriages, going equipped to commit deception, theft, and assault, leading to actual bodily harm. A diplomat from the Congo is alleged to have committed an indecent assault.
Angolan diplomats are alleged to have been guilty of robbery and assault. Staff from a number of embassies were stopped on suspicion of driving while drunk. And a diplomat from Kazakhstan is alleged to have failed to stop for police while driving without insurance and a licence.
#1
Just like all those diplomats in New York City. Label them Persona Non Grata and ship them home. Keep their home offices busy finding replacements. Oh, and exchange lists, so they can't be posted to another desirable country. If they all end up in Lagos, someone will learn something.
Hong Kong - An estimated 68,000 people marched Sunday to demand democracy for Hong Kong on the 10th anniversary of its return to Chinese rule, hours after China's president warned them not to defy Beijing.
Huge crowds congregated in the city's Victoria Park and marched on the government central offices for the annual demonstration to demand universal suffrage, overshadowing government-organized anniversary celebrations.
Organizers declared themselves 'delighted' with the turnout which they estimated at 68,000 making it the largest since the 2003 and 2004 July 1 marches which each attracted more than 500,000 people.
However, the Hong Kong police, which traditionally puts a low estimate on turnouts for anti-government demonstrations, estimated the turnout at just 20,000. A reporter for government-run radio station RTHK earlier estimated the crowd at 40,000 to 50,000.
A spokeswoman for the march organizers said: 'We are very happy so many Hong Kong people came out onto the streets today. Now we hope the government will respond to the people's demands for democracy.'
President Hu Jintao, visiting Hong Kong for the first time as China's leader, earlier sounded an apparent warning to pro-democracy campaigners Sunday, warning them not to challenge Beijing's powers.
In a speech to mark the handover anniversary, President Hu spoke of the 'paramount importance' of national unity above any of Hong Kong's singular interests.
But Hu left the city before the pro-democracy march began Sunday afternoon in a move that seemed designed to avoid any embarrassing confrontations.
The Chinese leader's speech, delivered at a swearing-in ceremony for a new Beijing-appointed administration in Hong Kong, appeared to be a warning to campaigners pressing for universal suffrage in the former British colony.
Hu went to lengths to stress that national unity was the most important factor of the 'one country, two systems' arrangement by which Hong Kong was returned to Chinese rule on July 1, 1997.
'One country and two systems cannot be separated from each other, still less should they be set against each other,' Hu said.
'One country means we must uphold the power vested with the central government and uphold China's sovereignty, unity and security.'
Hu spoke of a 'gradual, orderly development' of Hong Kong's political system, indicating that Beijing would not be rushed into putting a date on universal suffrage in the former British colony.
The president, accompanied by Hong Kong leader Donald Tsang, then left the city for Shenzhen in neighbouring southern China before the start of the pro-democracy demonstration.
At the demonstration, Catholic church leader Cardinal Joseph Zen said he was in 'no mood to celebrate' the 10th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to Chinese rule as the city still had no democracy.
Responding to the pro-democracy march, a government spokesman said: 'The Chief Executive has undertaken to completely resolve the issue of universal suffrage within his term of office.'
President Hu's relatively low-key visit, with no public walkabouts, was characterized by tight security with police keeping protesters from going anywhere near the Grand Hyatt Hotel where he stayed.
Hong Kong was a British colony for 156 years before reverting to Chinese rule at the stroke of midnight on July 1, 1997, under an agreement that guarantees political freedoms for 50 years.
The territory is technically entitled to full democracy from 2007 but China and Hong Kong's Beijing-appointed chief executive have so far refused to name a date for universal suffrage in the city of 6.9 million.
#2
I'm not sure why anyone who wanted Democracy would have decided to stay in Hong Kong. I would have been doing a pull-up on the skid of the last helo as it lifted off.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
07/01/2007 17:37 Comments ||
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#3
nice visual SH LOL
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/01/2007 17:45 Comments ||
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The open letter is pastoral in nature, but it is also a declaration for religious freedom in China. And the Holy See continues formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan.
ROME: In an extraordinary open letter directed to Chinese Catholics, Pope Benedict XVI has acknowledged the suffering experienced by Catholics under Communist rule but also concluded that it was time to forgive past wrongdoings and for the underground and state-sponsored Catholic churches in China to reconcile.
Openly hoping for a renewal of relations between China and the Vatican, which were suspended in the 1950s, Pope Benedict reassured the Chinese government that the Vatican offered no political challenge to its authority, while urging the state-sponsored Catholic church to acknowledge the Vatican's control on religious matters.
"The misunderstanding and incomprehension weighs heavily, serving neither the Chinese authorities nor the Catholic Church in China," the letter, which was released Saturday, said.
It was the pope's long-awaited first official and explicit statement on China's estimated 12 million Catholics, the majority of whom worship in underground churches to avoid having to register with the government and swear loyalty to it.
Months in preparation, the 28-page letter was issued in multiple languages, including Chinese, along with an unusual accompanying "Explanatory Note" highlighting main points.
The pope praised China for "the splendor of its ancient civilization" and noted with approval that it had greater religious freedoms and decisive movement toward socioeconomic progress. He underlined that the Roman Catholic Church "does not have a mission to change the structure or administration of the State."
Gerolamo Fazzini, editor of Mondo e Missione, a magazine for the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions, said: "This is a step forward because it states the Vatican position clearly and holds out a hand to civil authorities. It says the church and authorities can be allied in dialogue. That you can be good Chinese citizens and Catholics at the same time."
Continued on Page 49
"Pope Exchanges Worthless Paper, for Brownie points with his flock."
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
07/01/2007 11:55 Comments ||
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#2
I submitted this item for posting for its powerful political statements; it's direct challenge to the authority of the Communist Party.
Here is the political lightning bolt (my emphases):
Likewise, therefore, the Catholic Church which is in China does not have a mission to change the structure or administration of the State; rather, her mission is to proclaim Christ to men and women, as the Saviour of the world, basing herself in carrying out her proper apostolate on the power of God. As I recalled in my Encyclical Deus Caritas Est, The Church cannot and must not take upon herself the political battle to bring about the most just society possible. She cannot and must not replace the State. Yet at the same time she cannot and must not remain on the sidelines in the fight for justice. She has to play her part through rational argument and she has to reawaken the spiritual energy without which justice, which always demands sacrifice, cannot prevail and prosper. A just society must be the achievement of politics, not of the Church. Yet the promotion of justice through efforts to bring about openness of mind and will to the demands of the common good is something which concerns the Church deeply''.14
In the light of these unrenounceable principles, the solution to existing problems cannot be pursued via an ongoing conflict with the legitimate civil authorities; at the same time, though, compliance with those authorities is not acceptable when they interfere unduly in matters regarding the faith and discipline of the Church. The civil authorities are well aware that the Church in her teaching invites the faithful to be good citizens, respectful and active contributors to the common good in their country, but it is likewise clear that she asks the State to guarantee to those same Catholic citizens the full exercise of their faith, with respect for authentic religious freedom.
The Falun Gong were (and are) hunted down, imprisoned, and executed by the thousands for far less.
#4
I see this as a strategy that will incrementally bring religious freedom to several billion people. It is unlikely that the PRC will be willing to bring attention to itself with continued brutal surpresion of Catholics and other Western religions. Such a policy is bad for business. Hopefully, other Eastern religions will benefit as well.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
07/01/2007 13:50 Comments ||
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#5
Some friends of mine have been approached on the street by missionaries lately. Things are changing.
Japans defence minister said on Saturday the 1945 atomic bombings on the country by the United States couldnt be helped as they led to the end of World War Two.
The comments are likely to invite criticism from victims and opposition parties, and may further dim Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his ruling blocs prospects in a July 29 upper house election. My understanding is that it ended the war and that it couldnt be helped, Defence Minister Fumio Kyuma said in a speech near Tokyo. When it was dropped on Nagasaki, it was a tragedy, Kyuma, whose electoral district includes Nagasaki, also said.
The 66-year-old minister later told reporters he did not intend to justify the bombings, but reiterated that from the US perspective, the use of atomic bombs at the time was inevitable.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/01/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
My understanding is that it ended the war and that it couldnt be helped,
An astonishing degree of Japanese clarity. Let's hope that our current crop of politicians are capable of similar insight should the need arise once again.
#5
Everyone in the nation dead, or two dead cities.
Ummmm, both Hiroshima and Nagasaki are bustling cities today, not "Dead".
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
07/01/2007 11:59 Comments ||
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#6
Nagasaki's GDP exceeds that of Australia and the Netherlands.
Posted by: John Frum ||
07/01/2007 12:12 Comments ||
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#7
Mazda accounts for 30% of Hiroshima's GDP, itself larger than those of Switzerland, Belgium, Sweden, and Austria.
Posted by: John Frum ||
07/01/2007 12:17 Comments ||
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#8
I disagree with Mr Kyuma. Japanese defeat was inevitable. The atomic bomb was the quickest way to end the conflict. Had the Japanese population and American military been further decimated by an invasion, I believe that the Cold War would have proceded very differently. For instance, I can't see the Marshal Plan happening. I think Korea would certainly have been written off.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
07/01/2007 12:20 Comments ||
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#9
#2
John, I think you're right. It will take a slow and subtle course to turn the populace from the fear and horror of any nukes to the acceptance of them as necessary for their own arsenal.This will take several years, but you can bet the Chicom ears shot up just like a fox trying to elude the hounds.
#10
I have been working on a historical novel based on the proposed invasion of Japan. My conclusion is that Japan was extremely lucky they surrendered when they did.
In August 1945, the British were ~1 month away from invading Malaya. The Japanese General in charge of SE Asia had given orders to kill any prisoners if it was likely they'd be liberated. This was 200,000 people, of which half were civilians (including women and children).
If they had been killed, I can't see Hirohito escaping a hanging. I also think the relatively benign occupation would have gone out the window.
In addition, the US 20th Air Force was half way through its campaign to bomb the 100 largest cities in Japan. In actual fact we stopped at number 52. Had the war not stopped, this campaign would have continued.
There is more, but I think you can see that Many more people would have died if the war had continued than died from the 2 atomic bombs.
Al
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
07/01/2007 13:50 Comments ||
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#11
I read a long time ago that some Japanese who have a historical military background acknowledge privately it was a good thing. We saved them from themselves.
#13
my Uncle - saved from the Marine invasion by the bombing - was all I need to justify the bombing.
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/01/2007 16:24 Comments ||
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#14
Saw an interesting article recently - the US is STILL using purple heart medals originally stockpiled for the invasion of the Japanese mainland. And there's over a hundred thousand left.
#15
The planned Imperial response to invasion of the Home Islands was: murder of all prisoners & internees along with a fight to the death a la Okinawa & Iwo Jima. This was what was set to take place had the Emperor not surrendered after the first 2 nukes. What would the point of a US-led invasion have been then? I think it was more than likely a fed-up US would have just stood offshore & rained nukes on the Empire until every Imperial subject was incapable to resisting. It might have taken a few more months/years to build the nukes, but no historian has ever probed the disgust of the US electorate in August 1945 with its mounting combat death toll combined with the unexpected & newly acquired ability to utterly devastate an enemy land by the square mile without risking a single serviceman. The Empire of Japan got off very, very easy.
AUSTRALIA could be invited to join the North American Free Trade Agreement as part of a strategy among Asia-Pacific nations to deal with the collapse of world trade talks.
The Bush administration will discuss with Australia and other Asia-Pacific countries next week the possibility of bringing together regional and bilateral freetrade agreements in the event that the Doha round of global free trade talks is finally declared dead. The troubled round of negotiations stalled again last week because of a walkout by India and Brazil.
Pressure is also growing for Australia to use its position as chairman of the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-Operation forum this year to push for India to join the 21-member diplomatic club. India's critical role in a post-Kyoto climate change arrangement is adding weight for its involvement, despite the stern opposition of China.
In an exclusive interview before her trip to Cairns for next week's meeting of APEC trade ministers, US trade representative Susan Schwab said alternatives to the so-called Doha round of global trade talks were being considered, with the US focusing on the Asia-Pacific region.
"You look at what's going on in the Asia-Pacific - there's so much promise, it's so exciting, and so how do you make sure you sustain that and how do you make sure it grows rather than turning in on itself," Ms Schwab told The Australian. "I think you will see a real acceleration of bilateral and regional deals including something like a free trade agreement of the Asia-Pacific if the Doha round really disappears from the scene.
"One of the big questions with the proliferation of bilateral and regional agreements is this: is there an inclination - and if so what would it take - to knit together multiple free trade agreements? Because all of us have multiple free trade agreements. That is another issue - we would talk about it."
Asked whether that could mean including Australia in the NAFTA - the regional agreement between the US, Mexico and Canada struck under the Clinton administration - she said: "Exactly." But Ms Schwab stressed that this did not mean that Washington was backing away from Doha. "I think at this point most of us believe the single most important thing we can be focusing on right now as trade ministers is a successful Doha round, trying to save the Doha round, because it so very important," she said.
Prime Minister John Howard said last month that any failure of Doha would see Australia turn to the Asia-Pacific region.
A spokesman for Trade Minister Warren Truss said Australia's priority was still the Doha round. "But if it does fall over there is a whole range of other possibilities we would be looking at, one of which would be an APEC FTA," he said.
While lauding the success of the US-Australia free trade agreement, Ms Schwab also referred to some "growing pains", acknowledging that Australia had issues with the US's farm subsidies. She also repeated Washington's view that Australia's single desk wheat-marketing arrangements, which have protected AWB's monopoly, were a "serious irritant". Her comments come as federal Agricultural Minister Peter McGauran is in Washington for meetings.
International Trade Strategies director and former trade negotiator Alan Oxley said any invitation from the US to discuss a trade deal, such as NAFTA, would be difficult to ignore. He said he thought it more likely, however, that nations would find it more efficient to look to an APEC-wide deal.
Mr Oxley said that while the idea of an APEC free trade deal was given a boost at last year's APEC meeting in Vietnam, the introduction of a trade deal between South Korea and the US had changed the landscape. That deal had put greater pressure on Japan to make serious attempts at deals with other nations - including Australia - for fear of missing out on opportunities.
#4
I would expect any free trade agreement to help and hurt different segments of any individual country's economic porfolio but the consumers to benefit regardless. Probably Austrailain vinyards are quietly pleased. Most likely those segments that grieved are pretty vocal.
I like the process of knitting together smaller trade agreements better than a one-step global agreement. There are just too many kooks throughout the world for an effective agreement. Free trade itslef implies competition among a variety of alternatives. A global agreement on trade would be every bit as effective as the UN - that's the problem.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
07/01/2007 14:24 Comments ||
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#5
"Free Trade" is an empty phrase that used to cover all sorts of regulations, barriers, and quotas that in the end someone else pays for. True "Free Trade" would mean something pretty close to our interstate commerce. However, even as open as that is, it has limits that restrict pure free trade.
The 'commons' doesn't exit, because someone always cheats and rationalizes why its ok for them to do so.
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/01/2007 12:41 Comments ||
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#3
Happy birthday, Canucks. Have a couple brews on us, eh?
Posted by: Jonathan ||
07/01/2007 14:19 Comments ||
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#4
Happy Canada Day to our Canadian Rantburgers.
May you prevail over the moonbats. :-D
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
07/01/2007 16:03 Comments ||
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#5
If I had any O'Keefe's Extra Old Stock to toast you with, Excalibur, rest assured that I would. Likewise with the Wiser's Oldest. Two of my most favorite, but that should be no surprise to the likes of you.
The Blasphemy laws should be repealed so that minorities can practice their religion according to their own beliefs, said Syeda Abida Hussain, United Citizens Forum (UCF) chairperson, on Saturday.
She was addressing a seminar on Human Rights and Existing Socio-Democratic Situation in Pakistan organised by the Amnesty International in collaboration with the UCF at a local hotel. She said General Musharraf had been supporting the extremism for the last seven years. She said the Jaish-e-Muhammad had been registered in his (Musharraf) tenure in 2000. She said former federal minister Nilofar Bakhtiar was victimised by the generals discriminatory action. She demanded the release of Ataullah Maingal and Javed Hashmi.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/01/2007 00:00 ||
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The Muttahida Majils-e-Amal will quit the NWFP government and the Balochistan coalition if opposition parties unite against the dictatorship, MMA leader Liaqat Baloch told reporters here after his party held a meeting with a European Union delegation on Saturday.
We have no alliance with President General Pervez Musharraf. We should not be forced to quit the NWFP government alone. All political parties have to play their due role, he added. MMA Secretary General Maulana said, We have told the EU delegation that on the one hand they champion the cause of democracy and on the other they support military dictatorship. He said rumors were rife that the assemblies were going to be dissolved. He said transparent elections could be held only if President General Pervez Musharraf doffs his uniform, adding that the government was creating confusion on the issue of elections.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/01/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
There is no confusion about elections. The confusion is corruption in the islamic world. Much progress needs to be made in the area of Societial infrastructure. In other words, you need to know how to run a state and have many non corrupt officials in order to resemble a democracy.
Pervez is not going to be there forever so you need to be seeking leaders and hopefuls. This is a long process and should take years. But for now, there is enough turmolt and Pervez is the best for you at this time.
Here is the proposed long term solution: http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=4568
You need leaders that will concentrate on building this plan. Good people who will ignore all of the propaganda about Israel so they can concentrate on Pakistan which is a very poor country. Don't become another Gaza.
The U.S. embassy in Cyprus issued a public appeal on Sunday for information on the whereabouts of a senior U.S. diplomat who has been missing for three days.
Thomas Mooney, a U.S. defence attache, was last seen on Thursday afternoon
Thomas Mooney, described on the Cyprus government Foreign Ministry Web site as a U.S. defence attache, was last seen on Thursday afternoon. The embassy declined to state the nature of his work, calling him an "employee".
Authorities declined to speculate on where he might be or the reasons for his disappearance. "He just disappeared," a United States embassy official told Reuters.
A U.S. embassy news release with a photo of Mooney urged anyone with information on his whereabouts to contact police. Local media said Mooney was 45. Police on the east Mediterranean island said they would issue a missing persons alert on Sunday. His car was also missing and his mobile phone switched off.
The Cypriot Foreign Ministry Web site said Mooney was accredited to the island in June 2006.
#1
My first assumption is that he was kidnapped by the IRGC, and will become a bargaining chip for the return of the general we either kidnapped or who defected. We'll know by the middle of July, one way or another.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
07/01/2007 20:30 Comments ||
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Iran's supreme leader on Saturday threw his weight behind a gasoline rationing scheme which sparked angry protests and left more than a dozen petrol stations burnt out in the world's fourth largest oil exporter. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's highest authority under its system of clerical rule, hailed the government's "bravery" in a speech to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and senior officials, state television reported.
Despite huge energy reserves, the Islamic Republic has limited refining capacity and imports 40 percent of its fuel needs, a sensitive issue when world powers are threatening new U.N. sanctions over Tehran's nuclear ambitions. Seeking to rein in costly imports and soaring consumption of heavily-subsidised fuel, the government in May raised the litre price by 25 percent and on Wednesday launched a delayed plan to ration the sale of gasoline.
Many motorists complained the amount of fuel they are allowed to buy, just 100 litres a month, is not enough and some lawmakers have called for a review of the allowances. But Khamenei, who has also previously defended the government against criticism on some issues, made clear he backed the move. "The issue of gasoline is one of these actions which the government bravely made a decision about," he was quoted as saying. "And of course, by studying all of its aspects, (the implementation of) this decision should continue."
Critics say the government needed to act to put a brake on demand but that raising the price would be more efficient than artificially restricting the sale of gasoline. They say the announcement that rationing would start just hours beforehand added to public anger, leading to the torching of 19 petrol stations on Tuesday, according to media reports.
Khamenei suggested the money Iran could save through the scheme -- gasoline imports cost it $5 billion last year -- should be used to improve living conditions. "If this huge amount decreases eventually, certainly it will be spent on issues related to people's lives, employment and building roads and schools," he said. The government has not said if drivers will be allowed to buy fuel above their allocation at a higher price than the subsidised rationed price of 1,000 rials (11 U.S. cents) per litre. If not, analysts say a black market is inevitable.
Ahmadinejad's economic management has faced mounting criticism from the public and the media. Some 57 economists said in a open letter this month government policies were fuelling price rises and failing to deliver the fairer society he promised when he came to power.
Posted by: ryuge ||
07/01/2007 00:38 ||
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#1
No gasoline rationing is too severe for the man with an unlimited fuel supply.
#2
Although Iran holds the world's second-biggest energy reserves, it imports more than 40 percent of the gasoline it uses. Demand is buoyed by subsidies while supply is restricted by waste and lack of refinery capacity. Service stations in Iran sell the fuel at 1,000 Iranian rials a liter, about 42 U.S. cents a gallon.
Iran spends about 52 U.S. cents to import a liter of gasoline, according to Hojatollah Ghanimifard, National Iranian Oil Co.'s director for international affairs. Demand has risen 10 percent a year on average for the past five years
The United Arab Emirates, India, the Netherlands and France are Iran's largest suppliers of gasoline.
Posted by: John Frum ||
07/01/2007 8:13 Comments ||
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#3
Another round in the power struggle.
Khamenei suggested the money Iran could save through the scheme... should be used to improve living conditions
Of course they could cut back funding to the Qods Force and divert it to domestic purposes, but that would be 'betraying the Revolution'.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Admitting that "I was a stupid young boy who only had fantasies and stories in my head," author Gunther Grass attempted in New York this week to explain his joining the Waffen SS, something to which he only admitted last August. But even his sympathetic interviewer seemed far from satisfied. 
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) - Judges on Thursday ordered the war crimes trial of former Liberian President Charles Taylor delayed until Aug. 20 to provide time for a new defense team to prepare its case. Taylor is accused of arming and funding Sierra Leone rebels who waged a campaign of terror in their country's 10-year civil war that ended in 2002. He has pleaded not guilty to charges including murder, rape, mutilation and conscripting child soldiers.
The number of Zimbabweans seeking asylum in South Africa has increased dramatically since Robert Mugabe's police assaulted the country's opposition leaders on 11 March, experts say.
Japans defence minister said on Saturday the 1945 atomic bombings on the country by the United States couldnt be helped as they led to the end of World War Two. 
The Muttahida Majils-e-Amal will quit the NWFP government and the Balochistan coalition if opposition parties unite against the dictatorship, MMA leader Liaqat Baloch told reporters here after his party held a meeting with a European Union delegation on Saturday.
