KING JESUS IS COMING FOR US ANY TIME NOW. THE RAPTURE. BE PREPARED TO GO.
Multilingual and respected by Jews, Muslims and Orthodox Christians, Benedict XVI's friend and former pupil was one of the cardinal electors in the 2005 papal conclave that chose the German as head of the Catholic church. A scholar who is at home in the pulpit, Schoenborn also is well connected in the Vatican — and appears willing to make it his home, if reluctantly.Asked if he would like to succeed Benedict on news of the pontiff's plan to step down, he said: "my heart is in Vienna, my heart is in Austria — but naturally with the whole Church as well.."Such reticence is not unusual for a prince of the church known for a quiet management style focused on steering the Austrian church around controversy.That has not always been possible. The austere Schoenborn owed his own elevation to the scandal involving his predecessor, Hans Groer, who was accused of abusing young boys.Appointed Vienna's archbishop in 1995, Schoenborn initially stayed silent. But he showed courage three years later, personally apologizing "for everything that my predecessors and other holders of church office committed against people in their trust."In a measure of his dislike of confrontation, he fired his reform-minded vicar, Helmut Schueller, in 1998 by shoving a dismissal letter under Schueller's door.Yet, while grappling with the pornography scandal roiling the church in 2005, he took on the Vatican."It's sad that it took so long to act," he said of Rome's reluctance to investigate the wrongdoing, saying later of the scandal: "The church is greater than its human weaknesses."He went further than that as cases of sexual abuse continued rocking the church, calling for a re-examination of priestly celibacy in 2010 — only to roll back in typical style shortly after, by having his spokesman issue a denial that he was questioning the rule on priests not marrying.While accepting the possibility of evolution, Schoenborn criticized certain "neo-Darwinian" theories as incompatible with Catholic teaching, writing in a 2005 New York Times editorial, that "any system of thought that denies or seeks to explain away the overwhelming evidence for design in biology is ideology, not science."Ideologically, his tenure has been marked by a turn away from inner-church reform. Instead he has focused toward respect for Catholic dogma — while understanding those who fall by the wayside."It is not easy for the church to find the right path between the ... protection of marriage and family on the one hand and ... compassion with human failings," he said in 2004, alluding to church opposition to — but his personal understanding of — divorce. His audience, at a funeral Mass for Austrian President Thomas Klestil, included both his widow and his divorced wife.Later, however, he made clear that he backed the sanctity of marriage, telling an Austrian weekly shortly after Benedict's resignation that its indissolubility "can be traced back to the instructions of Jesus" and thus could not be changed.He spoke out about bending church dogma in response to pressure in the same interview, saying: "If Christ communicated a teaching that we believe is true and brings salvation to humanity, then nobody gains if that teaching is falsified, even if he were to gain in popularity by doing so."Born Jan. 22, 1945, into an aristocratic Bohemian family, Schoenborn's destiny appeared to have been influenced by his heritage — 19 of his ancestors were priests, bishops or archbishops.After joining the Dominican order in 1963, he was ordained to the priesthood in 1970 by Cardinal Franz Koenig. Like most Austrians, Schoenborn idolized Koenig for his social engagement and courage to speak out on controversial issues — but was initially eclipsed by Koenig's overwhelming personality.In the late 1960s, when Koenig played tennis in Schoenborn's hometown of Schrunns, Schoenborn "always fought to be Koenig's ball-boy," said Schoenborn confidant Heinz Nussbaumer in a telling reflection of the later relationship between the two churchmen.Because of Koenig's strong persona, Schoenborn "had a difficult start," said Nussbaumer, publisher of a Catholic weekly. "But later he was able to develop his own personality."His reputation as a scholar — and bridge-builder to Orthodox Christians — began with a dissertation on icons even before he became a theology professor at the Catholic University of Fribourg, Switzerland in 1975. Fluent in French and Italian, proficient in English and Spanish, he is well-connected in the Vatican, as reflected by his role as a cardinal elector for Benedict.He built on his image as an ecumenist with visits to the patriarchs of Russia and Romania and met with Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei 11 years ago, on the first trip of a Catholic church leader to the Islamic republic since the 1979 revolution.Normally above the fray of international politics, he spoke out sharply in 2002 about President George W. Bush's inclusion of Iran with prewar Iraq and North Korea as part of the "the axis of evil.""In the best case it's naive," he said, contending such comments could "alienate Iran's moderate factions."
1 THESSALONIANS 5:3
3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
ISAIAH 33:8
8 The highways lie waste, the wayfaring man ceaseth: he hath broken the covenant,(7 YR TREATY) he hath despised the cities, he regardeth no man.(THE WORLD LEADER-WAR MONGER CALLS HIMSELF GOD)
ISAIAH 28:14-19 (THIS IS THE 7 YR TREATY COVENANT OF DANIEL 9:27)
14 Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem.
15 Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:
16 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.
17 Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.
18 And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.
19 From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report.
By Elad Benari, Canada First Publish: 3/1/2013, 11:34 PM-Israelnationalnews
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu intends to “punish” the Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria by freezing all new construction in the region, Channel 2 News reported on Friday.According to the report, the members of the Likud’s coalition
negotiation team have made it clear to MK Uri Ariel, who heads the
coalition talks on behalf of the Bayit Yehudi party, that the new the
government, when formed, will immediately freeze construction in all areas of Judea and Samaria outside the so-called “settlement blocs.”
The Channel 2 report explained that Netanyahu has a bone to pick with the residents of Judea and Samaria because of their tendency in recent years to become members of the Likud even though they do not intend to actually vote for the Likud in the election.Netanyahu is reportedly upset because these residents participate in large numbers in the party’s primaries so they can bring in candidates that are considered more right-wing to high-ranking spots on the party's Knesset list. When election day comes, however, they do not vote for the Likud.Channel 2 presented statistics from the last election, according to which only a third of the people who are registered Likud members in some communities of Judea and Samaria actually voted for the party on election day. In Beit El, according to the numbers, 576 residents joined Likud but only 212 voted for the party. In Shilo, 321 joined Likud but only 127 voted for it. In Yitzhar, 100 residents joined Likud, with only 21 voting for the party.According to the report, MK Ariel was told of the impending construction freeze in a way that does not leave much room for doubt as to the seriousness of the Likud’s intentions. Netanyahu's associates reportedly clarified explicitly that there will be serious and practical implications to what Netanyahu views as the “betrayal” on the part of the Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria.As a concession to restart final status talks with the Palestinian Authority, Netanyahu froze construction for a 10-month period in all Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria – at considerable political cost to his party and government – at the behest of U.S. President Barack Obama in 2010.Nevertheless, PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas reneged on his side of the agreement, grudgingly arriving towards the end of the freeze as a guest in the White House after having been dragged there by Jordan’s King Abdullah II and former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Three meetings later, the “talks” were over, ended by a new demand by Abbas for an additional Israeli construction freeze in order to proceed further.The latest report of an impending construction freeze may simply be Netanyahu’s way to make a gesture towards Obama, who is planning a visit to the region later this month.While the White House has indicated that Obama will not come to Israel and the PA with a new peace initiative, Netanyahu may be trying to appease the U.S. President who had expressed concern over parties such as the Bayit Yehudi, which is against a Palestinian state, taking part in the new coalition.The residents of Judea and Samaria’s anger towards Netanyahu is not a secret. While he has expressed support for the settlement enterprise, in the last term Netanyahu also supported demolitions in communities such as Beit El and Migron. He also failed to adopt the conclusions of the Levy Report which stated unequivocally that there is no “Israeli occupation” in Judea and Samaria, despite pressure on him to do so.Before the election in January, a spokesperson for the Ulpana neighborhood in Beit El, which was evicted during the term of the last government, slammed the heads of local councils in Judea and Samaria for endorsing Netanyahu for Prime Minister.The spokesperson, Harel Cohen, said that the Council had no business endorsing Netanyahu, because his policies have been anything but pro-Yesha.“The public has not forgotten how the Likud and the Prime Minister imposed the building freeze on Judea and Samaria, how they destroyed Migron and the Ulpana neighborhood, and acted to prevent the imposition of Israeli law on Jewish towns in Judea and Samaria," said Cohen.(Arutz Sheva’s North American Desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)
By Elad Benari, Canada First Publish: 3/1/2013, 10:11 PM-Israelnationalnews
After saying on Thursday that Yesh Atid refuses to enter a coalition with hareidi-religious parties, the Likud Beytenu’s coalition negotiation team said the same on Friday about the Bayit Yehudi.Speaking Friday afternoon following a meeting between the negotiation
teams of the Likud Beytenu and the Bayit Yehudi, Likud representative Attorney
David Shimron attacked the Bayit Yehudi’s team and said, “Bayit Yehudi
told us that they are boycotting the hareidim just like Yesh Atid, as a
result of their pact which still exists.”
Shimron said that, as far as he was concerned, Bayit Yehudi was “invalidating an entire community and we do not accept boycotts. We'll see how we can advance from here and form a government as a result of this situation.”Shimron made similar remarks after a meeting on Thursday with Yesh Atid, saying that “that as far as Yesh Atid is concerned, there is no room for hareidim in the government.”Bayit Yehudi and Yesh Atid have made a pact, agreeing to enter the coalition together or not at all, so they can guarantee a coalition ally with similar goals.Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has tried hard to break the alliance between the two parties but has been unsuccessful.The reports in two major news sources Friday that Netanyahu's representatives offered Yesh Atid a policy of destroying Jewish communities in return for their entry into the coalition without Bayit Yehudi, vindicate Bayit Yehudi's decision to enter into a tactical alliance with Yesh Atid. Together with reports that Likud made contradictory overtures to Bayit Yehudi, they portray Netanyahu in an unflattering light and are no cause for pride, for supporters of Likud/Yisrael Beytenu.
Bayit Yehudi, while agreeing with Lapid’s intention to enlist hareidi-religious yeshiva students into the army, has never said it would refuse to sit in a coalition with the hareidim and indicated that it would be willing to negotiate with them on this issue.In fact, Bayit Yehudi MK Ayelet Shaked reiterated once again on her Facebook page Friday that her party “has no problem entering into a coalition with the hareidim. But we will not be in the coalition without Yesh Atid.”Yesh Atid chairman Yair Lapid criticized the Likud’s negotiators on Friday over the fact that they made sure to publicize the fact that his party had rejected the hareidim.
“So what we did talk about during the coalition negotiations?" wrote Lapid on his Facebook page. "We spoke about the need for a housing revolution to bring down prices, about education, about the cost of living, about our commitment to make things easier for the middle class.”“In other words,” he added, “we talked about all the things that are not spins, and do not make headlines, and do not deal with trying to get people to hate and be angry with each other. Then why is it that the only thing that came out is the Likud’s message that we reject the hareidim? That’s a great question.”(Arutz Sheva’s North American Desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)
ISAIAH 17:1,12-14
1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.
12 Woe to the multitude of many people, which make a noise like the noise of the seas; and to the rushing of nations,(USELESS U.N) that make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters!
13 The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but God shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a rolling thing before the whirlwind.
14 And behold at eveningtide trouble; and before the morning he is not.(ASSAD) This is the portion of them that spoil us,(ISRAEL) and the lot of them that rob us.
JEREMEIAH 49:23-27
23 Concerning Damascus.(SYRIA) Hamath is confounded, and Arpad: for they have heard evil tidings: they are fainthearted; there is sorrow on the sea;(WAR SHIPS WITH NUKES COMING ON SYRIA) it cannot be quiet.
24 Damascus is waxed feeble, and turneth herself to flee, and fear hath seized on her: anguish and sorrows have taken her, as a woman in travail.
25 How is the city of praise not left, the city of my joy!
26 Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, and all the men of war shall be cut off in that day, saith the LORD of hosts.
27 And I will kindle a fire (NUKES OR BOMBS) in the wall of Damascus, and it shall consume the palaces of Benhadad.(ASSADS PALACES POSSIBLY IN DAMASCUS)
PSALMS 83:3-7
3 They (ARABS,MUSLIMS) have taken crafty counsel against thy people,(ISRAEL) and consulted against thy hidden ones.
4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
5 For they (MUSLIMS) have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:(TREATIES)
6 The tabernacles of Edom,(JORDAN) and the Ishmaelites;(ARABS) of Moab, PALESTINIANS,JORDAN) and the Hagarenes;(EGYPT)
7 Gebal,(HEZZBALLOH,LEBANON) and Ammon,(JORDAN) and Amalek;(SYRIA,ARABS,SINAI) the Philistines (PALESTINIANS) with the inhabitants of Tyre;(LEBANON)
By Elad Benari, Canada First Publish: 3/1/2013, 8:32 PM-Israelnationalnews
For the first since the end of the IDF’s Pillar of Defense counterterrorism operation, Gaza-based terrorists opened fire on Friday afternoon towards the Shaar Hanegev region in southern Israel.No one was hurt but a military vehicle belonging to a commander of the IDF’s Gaza Division sustained damage.While Friday’s incident was the first time since November that shots
were fired from Gaza towards Israel, it marks the second time in less
than a week that Gaza terrorists have violated the Egyptian-brokered ceasefire agreement with Israel that was reached at the end of Operation Pillar of Defense.On Tuesday morning, Gaza terrorists fired rockets towards southern Israel. One rocket hit the city of Ashkelon, but did not cause injury. A second rocket apparently hit an open field near the city.Residents said they had no warning of the impending strike.
The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, which is affiliated with Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah movement, claimed responsibility for the attack.The rocket fired was an upgraded M-75.Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, Ron Prosor, sent an urgent letter to the UN Security Council and to Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday night, hours after the rockets were fired, asking that they condemn the incident."Israel considers Hamas as being responsible for all attacks coming from Gaza,” Prosor wrote. "No country would allow to play Russian roulette with the lives of its citizens. You must condemn this blatant violation of the ceasefire, which could lead to escalation.”(Arutz Sheva’s North American Desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)
Austrian cardinal: a conservative open to reform
By | Associated Press – 4 hrs ago MAR 2,13
VIENNA (AP) — Austrian Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn
is a soft-spoken conservative who is ready to listen to those espousing
reform. That profile that could appeal to fellow cardinals looking to
elect a pontiff with widest-possible appeal to the world's 1 billion
Catholics.His nationality may be his biggest disadvantage: Electors may be reluctant to choose another German speaker as a successor to Benedict XVI.A man of low tolerance for the
child abuse scandals roiling the church, Schoenborn himself was elevated
to the its upper echelons of the Catholic hierarchy after his predecessor resigned 18 years ago over accusations that he was a pedophile.
___
EDITOR'S NOTE: As the Roman Catholic Church
prepares to elect a successor to Pope Benedict XVI, The Associated
Press is profiling key cardinals seen as "papabili" — contenders to the
throne. In the secretive world of the Vatican,
there is no way to know who is in the running, and history has yielded
plenty of surprises. But these are the names that have come up time and
again in speculation. Today: Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn.
___Multilingual and respected by Jews, Muslims and Orthodox Christians, Benedict XVI's friend and former pupil was one of the cardinal electors in the 2005 papal conclave that chose the German as head of the Catholic church. A scholar who is at home in the pulpit, Schoenborn also is well connected in the Vatican — and appears willing to make it his home, if reluctantly.Asked if he would like to succeed Benedict on news of the pontiff's plan to step down, he said: "my heart is in Vienna, my heart is in Austria — but naturally with the whole Church as well.."Such reticence is not unusual for a prince of the church known for a quiet management style focused on steering the Austrian church around controversy.That has not always been possible. The austere Schoenborn owed his own elevation to the scandal involving his predecessor, Hans Groer, who was accused of abusing young boys.Appointed Vienna's archbishop in 1995, Schoenborn initially stayed silent. But he showed courage three years later, personally apologizing "for everything that my predecessors and other holders of church office committed against people in their trust."In a measure of his dislike of confrontation, he fired his reform-minded vicar, Helmut Schueller, in 1998 by shoving a dismissal letter under Schueller's door.Yet, while grappling with the pornography scandal roiling the church in 2005, he took on the Vatican."It's sad that it took so long to act," he said of Rome's reluctance to investigate the wrongdoing, saying later of the scandal: "The church is greater than its human weaknesses."He went further than that as cases of sexual abuse continued rocking the church, calling for a re-examination of priestly celibacy in 2010 — only to roll back in typical style shortly after, by having his spokesman issue a denial that he was questioning the rule on priests not marrying.While accepting the possibility of evolution, Schoenborn criticized certain "neo-Darwinian" theories as incompatible with Catholic teaching, writing in a 2005 New York Times editorial, that "any system of thought that denies or seeks to explain away the overwhelming evidence for design in biology is ideology, not science."Ideologically, his tenure has been marked by a turn away from inner-church reform. Instead he has focused toward respect for Catholic dogma — while understanding those who fall by the wayside."It is not easy for the church to find the right path between the ... protection of marriage and family on the one hand and ... compassion with human failings," he said in 2004, alluding to church opposition to — but his personal understanding of — divorce. His audience, at a funeral Mass for Austrian President Thomas Klestil, included both his widow and his divorced wife.Later, however, he made clear that he backed the sanctity of marriage, telling an Austrian weekly shortly after Benedict's resignation that its indissolubility "can be traced back to the instructions of Jesus" and thus could not be changed.He spoke out about bending church dogma in response to pressure in the same interview, saying: "If Christ communicated a teaching that we believe is true and brings salvation to humanity, then nobody gains if that teaching is falsified, even if he were to gain in popularity by doing so."Born Jan. 22, 1945, into an aristocratic Bohemian family, Schoenborn's destiny appeared to have been influenced by his heritage — 19 of his ancestors were priests, bishops or archbishops.After joining the Dominican order in 1963, he was ordained to the priesthood in 1970 by Cardinal Franz Koenig. Like most Austrians, Schoenborn idolized Koenig for his social engagement and courage to speak out on controversial issues — but was initially eclipsed by Koenig's overwhelming personality.In the late 1960s, when Koenig played tennis in Schoenborn's hometown of Schrunns, Schoenborn "always fought to be Koenig's ball-boy," said Schoenborn confidant Heinz Nussbaumer in a telling reflection of the later relationship between the two churchmen.Because of Koenig's strong persona, Schoenborn "had a difficult start," said Nussbaumer, publisher of a Catholic weekly. "But later he was able to develop his own personality."His reputation as a scholar — and bridge-builder to Orthodox Christians — began with a dissertation on icons even before he became a theology professor at the Catholic University of Fribourg, Switzerland in 1975. Fluent in French and Italian, proficient in English and Spanish, he is well-connected in the Vatican, as reflected by his role as a cardinal elector for Benedict.He built on his image as an ecumenist with visits to the patriarchs of Russia and Romania and met with Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei 11 years ago, on the first trip of a Catholic church leader to the Islamic republic since the 1979 revolution.Normally above the fray of international politics, he spoke out sharply in 2002 about President George W. Bush's inclusion of Iran with prewar Iraq and North Korea as part of the "the axis of evil.""In the best case it's naive," he said, contending such comments could "alienate Iran's moderate factions."
Benedict's obedience to new pope part of tradition
By | Associated Press – 2 hrs 15 mins ago MAR 2,13
VATICAN CITY (AP) — He slipped it in at the end of his
speech, and said it so quickly and softly it almost sounded like an
afterthought.But in pledging his "unconditional reverence and obedience" to the next pope, Benedict XVI
took a critical step toward ensuring that his decision to break with
600 years of tradition and retire as pope doesn't create a schism within
the church.It was also a very personal expression of one of the tenets of Christian tradition that dates back to Jesus' crucifixion: obedience to a higher authority.In the two weeks since Benedict announced he would resign, questions
have mounted about how much influence he would still wield and exert
over the new pope.Benedict will continue to live inside the Vatican, wear the white
cassock of the papacy, call himself "emeritus pope" and "Your Holiness"
and even have his trusted aide continue living with him while keeping
his day job as head of the new pope's household.The Vatican has insisted there should be no problem with a reigning
and a retired pope living side-by-side, that Benedict has no plans to
interfere and that as of 8 p.m. Thursday, Benedict was no longer pope.But the real concern isn't so much about Benedict's intentions as it
is about how others might use him to undermine the new pope's agenda or
authority."There is the risk that Benedict
is aware of that some people could claim in the future that they want
allegiance to Benedict and not the next pope," said the Rev. Robert Gahl, a moral theologian at Rome's Pontifical Holy Cross University. "He wants to preclude any division in the church."One needs only to look at the last time a pope abdicated to
understand how real that risk was, at least in history: Pope Gregory XII
stepped down in 1415 as part of a deal to end the Great Western Schism,
when dueling papal claimants split the church.Gregory and all the cardinals who elected him pope in 1406 had pledged to abdicate if the rival Pope Benedict
XIII in Avignon, France, did the same. While the endgame didn't work
out exactly as planned, Gregory did step down and the split was
eventually healed.The "shock" of that schism "certainly influenced the collective
mentality of the church of Rome" and contributed to the tradition of
popes reigning until death, church historian Giovanni Maria Vian, editor
of the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, said.Today, the Catholic Church already has fringe groups not in full
communion with Rome, such as the ultra-traditionalist Society of St.
Pius X, with whom Benedict took extraordinary measures to reconcile
during his eight years as pope.If the next pope were to roll back some of Benedict's overtures
toward the group, which included allowing greater use of the pre-Vatican
II Mass in Latin, some of its members could try to pressure the new
pope by saying "'We want to be in full communion, but only if Benedict
accepts us,'" noted Gahl.By pledging his own obedience to the new pope, Benedict has undercut any such scenario.Benedict also took measures to ensure that the election of his
successor was free of any possible claims of illegitimacy, in another
bid to thwart those who might still claim him as pope. He issued a final
legal document giving the College of Cardinals the right to move up the
start date of the conclave.
The cardinals could have interpreted the previous rules as giving them that right, but Benedict made it crystal clear to avoid any suggestion that the election itself wasn't valid.In that same document, Benedict also moved to ensure that his successor is viewed as the only legitimate pope by requiring the cardinals who elected him to make a public pledge of obedience to him during one of his first Masses as pope. Under previous rules, the cardinals only make that pledge in the privacy of the Sistine Chapel immediately after the election.
"They represent the whole church, the universal church," Gahl said of the cardinals, adding that such a public show of deference to the new pope's authority was a powerful message to all believers.But while his primary aim may have been to ensure a smooth transition to the next pope, Benedict was also voicing his own expression of submission to authority that that underlies Christian tradition dating from Jesus' act of obedience to God in dying on the cross.Christians believe that Jesus died to save them from their sins.
"Christ's obedience isn't just the most sublime example of obedience, it's the fundamental one," the Rev. Raniero Cantalamessa, Benedict's personal preacher, wrote in his 1986 book "Obedience." ''It's not so much the death of Jesus that saved us, but his obedience up until death."Technically speaking, however, none of these pledges of obedience were necessary, said the Rev. Ladislas Orsy, law professor at Georgetown University of Law School."When Ratzinger was elected pope, he became the bishop of the diocese of Rome. When he resigned, he ceased to be bishop of the same diocese but he continued to belong to it," Orsy said. "As such, he is under the jurisdiction of the new bishop" — the new pope.Orsy, a Jesuit, also noted that obedience is far less important a virtue in the church than its three main virtues of faith, hope and charity. And there are several layers of obedience, as within the military, he added."A drill sergeant's authority extends as far as the drill goes — it demands a mechanical unthinking obedience — and that is all. Intelligence is exiled," he said. "When the general sends a major with a battalion into combat, the major owes thinking obedience to the general who is not on the battlefield. Intelligent interpretation of the command is required.""The church believes that supreme authority is vested in the Gospel and in the tradition that communicates it. This is the framework within which all authorities in the church must function, and all must obey."But he said the church is also a human organization where some social order is necessary. Priests and bishops make vows of obedience. Other members of the church obey to lesser degrees.But lest anyone be concerned that Benedict's pledge of obedience is blind or open to abuse, Orsy noted that "There have been always situations when for the sake of faith, hope, and love, obedience to overreaching authority may — or must — be denied."___Follow Nicole Winfield at www.twitter.com/nwinfield
LUKE 21:28-29
28 And when these things begin to come to pass,(ALL THE PROPHECY SIGNS FROM THE BIBLE) then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption (RAPTURE) draweth nigh.
29 And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree,(ISRAEL) and all the trees;(ALL INDEPENDENT COUNTRIES)
30 When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand.(ISRAEL LITERALLY BECAME AND INDEPENDENT COUNTRY JUST BEFORE SUMMER IN MAY 14,1948.)
The cardinals could have interpreted the previous rules as giving them that right, but Benedict made it crystal clear to avoid any suggestion that the election itself wasn't valid.In that same document, Benedict also moved to ensure that his successor is viewed as the only legitimate pope by requiring the cardinals who elected him to make a public pledge of obedience to him during one of his first Masses as pope. Under previous rules, the cardinals only make that pledge in the privacy of the Sistine Chapel immediately after the election.
"They represent the whole church, the universal church," Gahl said of the cardinals, adding that such a public show of deference to the new pope's authority was a powerful message to all believers.But while his primary aim may have been to ensure a smooth transition to the next pope, Benedict was also voicing his own expression of submission to authority that that underlies Christian tradition dating from Jesus' act of obedience to God in dying on the cross.Christians believe that Jesus died to save them from their sins.
"Christ's obedience isn't just the most sublime example of obedience, it's the fundamental one," the Rev. Raniero Cantalamessa, Benedict's personal preacher, wrote in his 1986 book "Obedience." ''It's not so much the death of Jesus that saved us, but his obedience up until death."Technically speaking, however, none of these pledges of obedience were necessary, said the Rev. Ladislas Orsy, law professor at Georgetown University of Law School."When Ratzinger was elected pope, he became the bishop of the diocese of Rome. When he resigned, he ceased to be bishop of the same diocese but he continued to belong to it," Orsy said. "As such, he is under the jurisdiction of the new bishop" — the new pope.Orsy, a Jesuit, also noted that obedience is far less important a virtue in the church than its three main virtues of faith, hope and charity. And there are several layers of obedience, as within the military, he added."A drill sergeant's authority extends as far as the drill goes — it demands a mechanical unthinking obedience — and that is all. Intelligence is exiled," he said. "When the general sends a major with a battalion into combat, the major owes thinking obedience to the general who is not on the battlefield. Intelligent interpretation of the command is required.""The church believes that supreme authority is vested in the Gospel and in the tradition that communicates it. This is the framework within which all authorities in the church must function, and all must obey."But he said the church is also a human organization where some social order is necessary. Priests and bishops make vows of obedience. Other members of the church obey to lesser degrees.But lest anyone be concerned that Benedict's pledge of obedience is blind or open to abuse, Orsy noted that "There have been always situations when for the sake of faith, hope, and love, obedience to overreaching authority may — or must — be denied."___Follow Nicole Winfield at www.twitter.com/nwinfield
LUKE 21:28-29
28 And when these things begin to come to pass,(ALL THE PROPHECY SIGNS FROM THE BIBLE) then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption (RAPTURE) draweth nigh.
29 And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree,(ISRAEL) and all the trees;(ALL INDEPENDENT COUNTRIES)
30 When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand.(ISRAEL LITERALLY BECAME AND INDEPENDENT COUNTRY JUST BEFORE SUMMER IN MAY 14,1948.)
Spain to fight Catalonia sovereignty declaration
– Fri, Mar 1, 2013
MADRID (AP) — The Spanish government says it will challenge a recent declaration by lawmakers in Catalonia that the region is a sovereign entity.Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria says Friday that the appeal to the Constitutional Court is based on the opinion of the Council of State consultative body, which says the declaration is unconstitutional.Though the January declaration is largely symbolic it potentially
paves the way for a proposed referendum on Catalonia's right to decide
its relationship with Spain.Catalonia is the wealthiest region of Spain and in Barcelona has one of Europe's most high-profile cities. The regional government's president Artur Mas accused the government of being anti-democratic.
Polls show Catalans are evenly divided over independence, though a majority oppose it if it means exiting the European Union.
Polls show Catalans are evenly divided over independence, though a majority oppose it if it means exiting the European Union.
1 THESSALONIANS 5:3
3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
ISAIAH 33:8
8 The highways lie waste, the wayfaring man ceaseth: he hath broken the covenant,(7 YR TREATY) he hath despised the cities, he regardeth no man.(THE WORLD LEADER-WAR MONGER CALLS HIMSELF GOD)
ISAIAH 28:14-19 (THIS IS THE 7 YR TREATY COVENANT OF DANIEL 9:27)
14 Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem.
15 Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:
16 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.
17 Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.
18 And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.
19 From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report.
Report: Netanyahu Planning New Construction Freeze
PM
Netanyahu, upset with residents of Judea & Samaria for not voting
Likud, is reportedly planning to impose a new construction freeze.
Netanyahu speaks after elections-Flash 90
The Channel 2 report explained that Netanyahu has a bone to pick with the residents of Judea and Samaria because of their tendency in recent years to become members of the Likud even though they do not intend to actually vote for the Likud in the election.Netanyahu is reportedly upset because these residents participate in large numbers in the party’s primaries so they can bring in candidates that are considered more right-wing to high-ranking spots on the party's Knesset list. When election day comes, however, they do not vote for the Likud.Channel 2 presented statistics from the last election, according to which only a third of the people who are registered Likud members in some communities of Judea and Samaria actually voted for the party on election day. In Beit El, according to the numbers, 576 residents joined Likud but only 212 voted for the party. In Shilo, 321 joined Likud but only 127 voted for it. In Yitzhar, 100 residents joined Likud, with only 21 voting for the party.According to the report, MK Ariel was told of the impending construction freeze in a way that does not leave much room for doubt as to the seriousness of the Likud’s intentions. Netanyahu's associates reportedly clarified explicitly that there will be serious and practical implications to what Netanyahu views as the “betrayal” on the part of the Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria.As a concession to restart final status talks with the Palestinian Authority, Netanyahu froze construction for a 10-month period in all Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria – at considerable political cost to his party and government – at the behest of U.S. President Barack Obama in 2010.Nevertheless, PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas reneged on his side of the agreement, grudgingly arriving towards the end of the freeze as a guest in the White House after having been dragged there by Jordan’s King Abdullah II and former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Three meetings later, the “talks” were over, ended by a new demand by Abbas for an additional Israeli construction freeze in order to proceed further.The latest report of an impending construction freeze may simply be Netanyahu’s way to make a gesture towards Obama, who is planning a visit to the region later this month.While the White House has indicated that Obama will not come to Israel and the PA with a new peace initiative, Netanyahu may be trying to appease the U.S. President who had expressed concern over parties such as the Bayit Yehudi, which is against a Palestinian state, taking part in the new coalition.The residents of Judea and Samaria’s anger towards Netanyahu is not a secret. While he has expressed support for the settlement enterprise, in the last term Netanyahu also supported demolitions in communities such as Beit El and Migron. He also failed to adopt the conclusions of the Levy Report which stated unequivocally that there is no “Israeli occupation” in Judea and Samaria, despite pressure on him to do so.Before the election in January, a spokesperson for the Ulpana neighborhood in Beit El, which was evicted during the term of the last government, slammed the heads of local councils in Judea and Samaria for endorsing Netanyahu for Prime Minister.The spokesperson, Harel Cohen, said that the Council had no business endorsing Netanyahu, because his policies have been anything but pro-Yesha.“The public has not forgotten how the Likud and the Prime Minister imposed the building freeze on Judea and Samaria, how they destroyed Migron and the Ulpana neighborhood, and acted to prevent the imposition of Israeli law on Jewish towns in Judea and Samaria," said Cohen.(Arutz Sheva’s North American Desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)
Kerry to stress need for Egypt consensus for IMF deal
By Arshad Mohammed | Reuters – 1 hr 0 mins ago MAR 2,13
CAIRO (Reuters) - Secretary of State John Kerry will stress the importance Egypt achieves political consensus for painful economic reforms needed to secure an IMF loan, a senior U.S. official said on Saturday.Kerry
arrived in Egypt on his first visit to the Arab world since taking
office for talks with the leaders of a country mired in political and
economic crisis two years after the overthrow of autocrat Hosni Mubarak.With Egypt's pound and foreign currency reserves
sliding, the official said that if Cairo could agree on a $4.8 billion
loan from the IMF, this would bring in other funds from the United States, European Union and Arab countries.However, the official said the United States believed Egypt needed to increase tax revenues and reduce energy subsidies - measures likely to prove highly unpopular."His basic message is it's very important to the new Egypt for there to be a firm economic foundation," the official told reporters as Kerry flew to Cairo."In order for there to be agreement on doing the kinds
of economic reforms that would be required under an IMF deal there has
to be a basic political ... agreement among all of the various players
in Egypt," the official said on condition of anonymity.Egypt said on Thursday it would invite a team from the
International Monetary Fund to reopen talks on the loan and the
investment minister expressed hope that a deal could be done by the end
of April.The loan was agreed in principle last November but put
on hold at Cairo's request during street violence the following month
that flared in protest at a planned rise in taxes.
While the tax rise was withdrawn, Islamist President Mohamed Mursi is likely to face violent protests as any cuts in subsidies demanded by the IMF will push up living costs in a country where poverty is rife.Energy subsidies soak up about 20 percent of the government budget, bloating a deficit set to soar to 12.3 percent of annual economic output this financial year.
CLASHES IN MANSOURA, PORT SAID
Early on Saturday, young protesters fought interior ministry police in the Nile Delta city of Mansoura, where one protester was killed and dozens injured. In the Suez Canal city of Port Said, protesters torched a police station, security sources said.While the protests were unrelated to Kerry's visit, they were examples of the frequent outbreaks of unrest faced by Egypt's government.Clashes are commonplace, with young people and Egyptians demanding Mursi reform the interior ministry's police force. The president is accused of not taking police reform, a key demand of the uprising that toppled Mubarak, seriously.Kerry will stress the need for agreement across the political spectrum on reforms and winning approval in the Shura Council, Egypt's upper house of parliament."What they need to do is ... things like increasing tax revenues, reducing energy subsidies, making clear what the approval process will be to the Shura Council for an IMF agreement, that kind of thing," said the official.Hopes for consensus between the ruling Islamists and opposition parties seem slim. Liberal and leftist opposition parties have announced a boycott of parliamentary elections, scheduled for April to June, over a new constitution produced by an Islamist-dominated assembly and other grievances.
Kerry meets opposition leaders on Saturday but many senior figures were not on the list of expected participants, including Hamdeen Sabahy, who came a close third in presidential elections last year and former U.N. nuclear agency head Mohamed ElBaradei.Kerry does not wish to be seen as lecturing Egyptians and will not explicitly tell opposition parties to renounce their boycott of the lower house polls, the U.S. official said.However, he will make the case for them to take part."If they want to ensure that their views are taken account, the only way to do that is to participate. That they can't sit aside and just assume that somehow by magic that all of this is going to happen," the official said. "They've got to participate."(Reporting by Arshad Mohammed; editing by Jason Webb)
While the tax rise was withdrawn, Islamist President Mohamed Mursi is likely to face violent protests as any cuts in subsidies demanded by the IMF will push up living costs in a country where poverty is rife.Energy subsidies soak up about 20 percent of the government budget, bloating a deficit set to soar to 12.3 percent of annual economic output this financial year.
CLASHES IN MANSOURA, PORT SAID
Early on Saturday, young protesters fought interior ministry police in the Nile Delta city of Mansoura, where one protester was killed and dozens injured. In the Suez Canal city of Port Said, protesters torched a police station, security sources said.While the protests were unrelated to Kerry's visit, they were examples of the frequent outbreaks of unrest faced by Egypt's government.Clashes are commonplace, with young people and Egyptians demanding Mursi reform the interior ministry's police force. The president is accused of not taking police reform, a key demand of the uprising that toppled Mubarak, seriously.Kerry will stress the need for agreement across the political spectrum on reforms and winning approval in the Shura Council, Egypt's upper house of parliament."What they need to do is ... things like increasing tax revenues, reducing energy subsidies, making clear what the approval process will be to the Shura Council for an IMF agreement, that kind of thing," said the official.Hopes for consensus between the ruling Islamists and opposition parties seem slim. Liberal and leftist opposition parties have announced a boycott of parliamentary elections, scheduled for April to June, over a new constitution produced by an Islamist-dominated assembly and other grievances.
Kerry meets opposition leaders on Saturday but many senior figures were not on the list of expected participants, including Hamdeen Sabahy, who came a close third in presidential elections last year and former U.N. nuclear agency head Mohamed ElBaradei.Kerry does not wish to be seen as lecturing Egyptians and will not explicitly tell opposition parties to renounce their boycott of the lower house polls, the U.S. official said.However, he will make the case for them to take part."If they want to ensure that their views are taken account, the only way to do that is to participate. That they can't sit aside and just assume that somehow by magic that all of this is going to happen," the official said. "They've got to participate."(Reporting by Arshad Mohammed; editing by Jason Webb)
Likud Negotiator: Bayit Yehudi Also Rejected Hareidim
After
saying that Yesh Atid refuses to enter a coalition with hareidi
parties, the Likud team said the same about the Bayit Yehudi.
Netanyahu / Bennett-Israel news photo: Flash 90
Shimron said that, as far as he was concerned, Bayit Yehudi was “invalidating an entire community and we do not accept boycotts. We'll see how we can advance from here and form a government as a result of this situation.”Shimron made similar remarks after a meeting on Thursday with Yesh Atid, saying that “that as far as Yesh Atid is concerned, there is no room for hareidim in the government.”Bayit Yehudi and Yesh Atid have made a pact, agreeing to enter the coalition together or not at all, so they can guarantee a coalition ally with similar goals.Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has tried hard to break the alliance between the two parties but has been unsuccessful.The reports in two major news sources Friday that Netanyahu's representatives offered Yesh Atid a policy of destroying Jewish communities in return for their entry into the coalition without Bayit Yehudi, vindicate Bayit Yehudi's decision to enter into a tactical alliance with Yesh Atid. Together with reports that Likud made contradictory overtures to Bayit Yehudi, they portray Netanyahu in an unflattering light and are no cause for pride, for supporters of Likud/Yisrael Beytenu.
Bayit Yehudi, while agreeing with Lapid’s intention to enlist hareidi-religious yeshiva students into the army, has never said it would refuse to sit in a coalition with the hareidim and indicated that it would be willing to negotiate with them on this issue.In fact, Bayit Yehudi MK Ayelet Shaked reiterated once again on her Facebook page Friday that her party “has no problem entering into a coalition with the hareidim. But we will not be in the coalition without Yesh Atid.”Yesh Atid chairman Yair Lapid criticized the Likud’s negotiators on Friday over the fact that they made sure to publicize the fact that his party had rejected the hareidim.
“So what we did talk about during the coalition negotiations?" wrote Lapid on his Facebook page. "We spoke about the need for a housing revolution to bring down prices, about education, about the cost of living, about our commitment to make things easier for the middle class.”“In other words,” he added, “we talked about all the things that are not spins, and do not make headlines, and do not deal with trying to get people to hate and be angry with each other. Then why is it that the only thing that came out is the Likud’s message that we reject the hareidim? That’s a great question.”(Arutz Sheva’s North American Desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)
ISAIAH 17:1,12-14
1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.
12 Woe to the multitude of many people, which make a noise like the noise of the seas; and to the rushing of nations,(USELESS U.N) that make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters!
13 The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but God shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a rolling thing before the whirlwind.
14 And behold at eveningtide trouble; and before the morning he is not.(ASSAD) This is the portion of them that spoil us,(ISRAEL) and the lot of them that rob us.
JEREMEIAH 49:23-27
23 Concerning Damascus.(SYRIA) Hamath is confounded, and Arpad: for they have heard evil tidings: they are fainthearted; there is sorrow on the sea;(WAR SHIPS WITH NUKES COMING ON SYRIA) it cannot be quiet.
24 Damascus is waxed feeble, and turneth herself to flee, and fear hath seized on her: anguish and sorrows have taken her, as a woman in travail.
25 How is the city of praise not left, the city of my joy!
26 Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, and all the men of war shall be cut off in that day, saith the LORD of hosts.
27 And I will kindle a fire (NUKES OR BOMBS) in the wall of Damascus, and it shall consume the palaces of Benhadad.(ASSADS PALACES POSSIBLY IN DAMASCUS)
PSALMS 83:3-7
3 They (ARABS,MUSLIMS) have taken crafty counsel against thy people,(ISRAEL) and consulted against thy hidden ones.
4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
5 For they (MUSLIMS) have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:(TREATIES)
6 The tabernacles of Edom,(JORDAN) and the Ishmaelites;(ARABS) of Moab, PALESTINIANS,JORDAN) and the Hagarenes;(EGYPT)
7 Gebal,(HEZZBALLOH,LEBANON) and Ammon,(JORDAN) and Amalek;(SYRIA,ARABS,SINAI) the Philistines (PALESTINIANS) with the inhabitants of Tyre;(LEBANON)
Gaza Terrorists Open Fire at Southern Israel
For
the first since the end of Operation Pillar of Defense, Gaza-based
terrorists opened fire the Shaar Hanegev region in southern Israel.
'Guardium' unmanned ground vehicle patrols Gaza border-Israel news photo: IDF
The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, which is affiliated with Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah movement, claimed responsibility for the attack.The rocket fired was an upgraded M-75.Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, Ron Prosor, sent an urgent letter to the UN Security Council and to Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday night, hours after the rockets were fired, asking that they condemn the incident."Israel considers Hamas as being responsible for all attacks coming from Gaza,” Prosor wrote. "No country would allow to play Russian roulette with the lives of its citizens. You must condemn this blatant violation of the ceasefire, which could lead to escalation.”(Arutz Sheva’s North American Desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)
Syria, Iran accuse US of double standards
By | Associated Press – 2 hrs 42 mins ago MAR 2,13
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — The Syrian and Iranian foreign ministers on Saturday accused the United States of double standards over the Obama administration's decision to provide aid to rebels fighting to topple President Bashar Assad, saying this will only prolong the conflict.The remarks were the first official statements from Iran and Syria following U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's
announcement this week that Washington will provide, for the first
time, non-lethal aid directly to Syria's rebels, in addition to $60
million in assistance to Syria's political opposition.Speaking at a joint press conference in Tehran, Syria's Walid al-Moallem and his Iranian counterpart, Ali Akbar Salehi, stressed that whether Assad stays or goes will be decided in presidential elections scheduled for next year."Assad is Syria's legal president until the next elections.
Individuals have the freedom to run as candidates. Until that time,
Assad is Syria's president," Salehi said.Iran is a staunch ally of the Syrian regime and has stood by the
embattled Assad throughout the country's nearly 2-year-old conflict.Kerry announced the aid at an international conference on Syria in
Rome on Thursday. In the coming days, several European nations are
expected to take similar steps in working with the military wing of the
opposition to increase pressure on Assad to step down and pave the way
for a democratic transition.Al-Moallem said Syria is facing a crisis in which "most of the universe" is taking part.
He directly accused Turkey and Qatar and other countries he did not name of supporting and funding "armed terrorist groups" operating in Syria, using the terminology employed by the Damascus regime to refer to the rebels fighting to topple Assad.Al-Moallem said it was it's inconceivable that Washington allocates $60 million in assistance to Syrian opposition groups while it continues to "kill the Syrian people" through economic sanctions imposed against the country."If they truly wanted a political settlement they wouldn't punish the Syrian people and finance (opposition) groups with so-called non-lethal aid," he said. "Who are they kidding?"The Damascus official stressed that Syria's sovereignty is a "red line.""No one is allowed to infringe on Syrian national sovereignty," he said, adding that that the Syrian people will decide their own leaders through the ballot box. "We refuse to be a piece of chess in the hands of the international community."
He directly accused Turkey and Qatar and other countries he did not name of supporting and funding "armed terrorist groups" operating in Syria, using the terminology employed by the Damascus regime to refer to the rebels fighting to topple Assad.Al-Moallem said it was it's inconceivable that Washington allocates $60 million in assistance to Syrian opposition groups while it continues to "kill the Syrian people" through economic sanctions imposed against the country."If they truly wanted a political settlement they wouldn't punish the Syrian people and finance (opposition) groups with so-called non-lethal aid," he said. "Who are they kidding?"The Damascus official stressed that Syria's sovereignty is a "red line.""No one is allowed to infringe on Syrian national sovereignty," he said, adding that that the Syrian people will decide their own leaders through the ballot box. "We refuse to be a piece of chess in the hands of the international community."
His Iranian host, Salehi, said "double standards were being applied
by certain countries that serve to prolong and deepen the Syrian crisis"
and lead to more bloodshed.___Associated Press writer Albert Aji in Damascus, Syria, contributed to this report.
Magnitsky relatives: Russian diplomat lied to EU parliament
01.03.13 @ 11:04 By Andrew Rettman
BRUSSELS - The mother and widow of
Sergei Magnitsky, a Russian anti-corruption activist who died in prison,
have accused a Russian diplomat of lying about him to the European
Parliament.The women - Natalia Magnitskaya and Natalia Zharikova - spoke out in a
letter on 25 February to the parliament's subcommittee on human rights.They said Konstantin Dolgov, the Russian foreign ministry's special
envoy on human rights, misled MEPs at a hearing in Brussels on 20
February when he told them Magnitsky's relatives want him to be tried
posthumously in order to clear his name.According to a transcript of the hearing, Dolgov said: "The court
cannot close the case unless the relatives, or people who represent the
interests of the deceased, make it clear that they are not against the
closing of the case. The relatives of Mr Magnitsky made it absolutely
clear that they are against closing the case without his acquittal."Russian authorities accused Magnitsky, an accountant, of fraud after
he exposed a scam by tax officials to embezzle hundreds of millions of
euros from the Russian treasury.He died in pre-trial detention in 2009.But prosecutors are now re-opening the fraud case against him in what
his family sees as a smear campaign and a form of intimidation to keep
them quiet.
"[Dolgov's] statements are hard to characterise other than [as] a lie and hypocrisy," Magnitskaya and Zharikova said."We suddenly learned from the media that a criminal case was resumed posthumously … The initiative to resume the criminal case belongs to deputy general prosecutor Victor Grin, though he is not a 'close relative'," they noted."Our position about the unlawfulness of this proceeding has been stated in over 25 formal complaints," they added.Dolgov is not the first Russian diplomat to claim the dead man's family want him to be tried.Russia's EU ambassador, Vladimir Chizhov, in an interview with EUobserver on 28 June last year, also said: "If the immediate relatives of the deceased declare officially that they want the case closed, then it is closed. None of Magnitsky's relatives have said a word about that."The Magnitsky affair has become a cause celebre in EU-Russia and US-Russia relations.For their part, 10 French MPs and senators, including senior figures from President Francois Hollande's Socialist Party, in a joint letter on Thursday (28 February) urged him to raise the issue on his visit to Moscow.They compared Magnitsky's prison diaries - which detail the abuses that led to his death - to the writings of Soviet-era dissident Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn.They said the posthumous trial is a form of "repression" and a "sinister comedy … which must be stopped." They added: "This affair, both tragic and touching, stands as a symbol of human rights violations in Russia."Hollande did not refer to Magnitsky in public remarks in Moscow on Thursday, however.He told a press conference with Russian leader Vladimir Putin: "We have not come here to judge, but to observe and to seek progress [on human rights]."
"[Dolgov's] statements are hard to characterise other than [as] a lie and hypocrisy," Magnitskaya and Zharikova said."We suddenly learned from the media that a criminal case was resumed posthumously … The initiative to resume the criminal case belongs to deputy general prosecutor Victor Grin, though he is not a 'close relative'," they noted."Our position about the unlawfulness of this proceeding has been stated in over 25 formal complaints," they added.Dolgov is not the first Russian diplomat to claim the dead man's family want him to be tried.Russia's EU ambassador, Vladimir Chizhov, in an interview with EUobserver on 28 June last year, also said: "If the immediate relatives of the deceased declare officially that they want the case closed, then it is closed. None of Magnitsky's relatives have said a word about that."The Magnitsky affair has become a cause celebre in EU-Russia and US-Russia relations.For their part, 10 French MPs and senators, including senior figures from President Francois Hollande's Socialist Party, in a joint letter on Thursday (28 February) urged him to raise the issue on his visit to Moscow.They compared Magnitsky's prison diaries - which detail the abuses that led to his death - to the writings of Soviet-era dissident Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn.They said the posthumous trial is a form of "repression" and a "sinister comedy … which must be stopped." They added: "This affair, both tragic and touching, stands as a symbol of human rights violations in Russia."Hollande did not refer to Magnitsky in public remarks in Moscow on Thursday, however.He told a press conference with Russian leader Vladimir Putin: "We have not come here to judge, but to observe and to seek progress [on human rights]."
Assad forces take Aleppo village, reopening supply line
By Dominic Evans | Reuters – 15 hrs ago MAR 2,13
BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces seized a village southeast of the city of Aleppo
on Friday, reopening a supply line to the country's biggest city where
they have been battling rebels for eight months, a monitoring group
said.The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights
said the capture of Tel Shghaib marked the last step to creating a land
supply route north into Aleppo from Hama province, crucial for Assad's forces who have lost control of part of the main north-south highway.Rebels say they hold most of the city itself and nearly
all the rural hinterland. But they have been unable to achieve a
decisive victory and complain that they are outgunned and vulnerable to
Assad's air force, artillery and ballistic missiles, which killed dozens
of people in Aleppo last week.The United States
pledged direct but non-lethal aid to the rebels at a meeting in Rome on
Thursday, disappointing Assad's opponents who had hoped for more
tangible military support to tip the balance of forces on the ground.Activists reported another day of fierce fighting
around Aleppo, including the military airport at Nairab, three miles
north of Tel Shghaib which Assad's forces retook."It's a significant gain for the regime," the
British-based Observatory's director Rami Abdelrahman said of the army's
push north, which reversed many rebel advances when they moved south
into Hama from Aleppo province at the end of last year.Further east, on the Iraqi frontier, government troops
also managed to wrest back control of the Yarubiyah border crossing
after insurgents seized it 24 hours earlier, he said.
SYRIA COULD FALL APART
The revolt against Assad, which erupted in March 2011 with mainly peaceful protests, has escalated into civil war between mainly Sunni Muslim forces and troops and militias loyal to Assad, from the minority Alawite community whose faith derives from Shi'ite Islam.The United Nations says 70,000 people have been killed, nearly a million have fled the country and millions more have been displaced or need aid.U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Friday that Syria, a major Arab state on the fault lines of broader Middle East conflict, would fall apart if the government and rebels keep fighting instead of seeking a negotiated peace.
"This is a very small window of opportunity which we strongly support and encourage them to use that. The opportunity may close soon," Ban said in Geneva.The government and opposition have both edged away in recent weeks from their previous rejection of dialogue. Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem said on Monday the government would even talk to armed rebels and opposition coalition leader Moaz Alkhatib has said he is ready to meet Assad's representatives.But Syrian officials say any serious talks must be on Syrian soil under state control, and have shown no readiness to discuss Assad's departure - the central demand of the opposition. For rebel fighters, who do not answer to exiled civilian opposition leaders, Assad's exit is a precondition for any negotiations."I continue to urge the Syrian parties to find their way to the negotiating table. The horrors of the last months and years prove beyond doubt: the military solution in Syria is leading to the dissolution of Syria," Ban said.He also called on the U.N. Security Council, paralyzed by a standoff between the United States and European allies on one side, pushing for U.N. action against Assad, and Russia and China, who have backed Assad, to unite and address the crisis.Moscow criticized Thursday's meeting in Rome of largely anti-Assad Western and Arab states for taking positions and steps which "directly encourage extremists" to topple the government by force.But the Kremlin also said presidents Vladimir Putin and Barack Obama had told their foreign ministers to keep in close touch and seek new initiatives to end Syria's civil war.U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Thursday Washington would provide non-lethal aid including medical supplies and food to rebel fighters, as well as $60 million to help the civilian opposition provide services including security, education and sanitation.The European Union said it had amended sanctions on Syria to allow the supply of armored vehicles, non-lethal military equipment and technical aid.
The steps still fell well short of what rebels are looking for - more arms, and prompted the opposition to postpone a Saturday meeting where they had been due to choose a prime minister to head the administration of rebel-held territory.Alkhatib said he was tired of hearing Western concerns over the growing role of Islamists in the Syrian rebel ranks - one of the main obstacles to greater military support, saying it paled into insignificance alongside the prolonged civilian suffering."Many sides...focus (more) on the length of the rebel fighter's beard than they do on the blood of the children being killed," he said, standing next to Kerry after their meeting.(Additional reporting by Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva and Alissa de Carbonnel in Moscow; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
SYRIA COULD FALL APART
The revolt against Assad, which erupted in March 2011 with mainly peaceful protests, has escalated into civil war between mainly Sunni Muslim forces and troops and militias loyal to Assad, from the minority Alawite community whose faith derives from Shi'ite Islam.The United Nations says 70,000 people have been killed, nearly a million have fled the country and millions more have been displaced or need aid.U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Friday that Syria, a major Arab state on the fault lines of broader Middle East conflict, would fall apart if the government and rebels keep fighting instead of seeking a negotiated peace.
"This is a very small window of opportunity which we strongly support and encourage them to use that. The opportunity may close soon," Ban said in Geneva.The government and opposition have both edged away in recent weeks from their previous rejection of dialogue. Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem said on Monday the government would even talk to armed rebels and opposition coalition leader Moaz Alkhatib has said he is ready to meet Assad's representatives.But Syrian officials say any serious talks must be on Syrian soil under state control, and have shown no readiness to discuss Assad's departure - the central demand of the opposition. For rebel fighters, who do not answer to exiled civilian opposition leaders, Assad's exit is a precondition for any negotiations."I continue to urge the Syrian parties to find their way to the negotiating table. The horrors of the last months and years prove beyond doubt: the military solution in Syria is leading to the dissolution of Syria," Ban said.He also called on the U.N. Security Council, paralyzed by a standoff between the United States and European allies on one side, pushing for U.N. action against Assad, and Russia and China, who have backed Assad, to unite and address the crisis.Moscow criticized Thursday's meeting in Rome of largely anti-Assad Western and Arab states for taking positions and steps which "directly encourage extremists" to topple the government by force.But the Kremlin also said presidents Vladimir Putin and Barack Obama had told their foreign ministers to keep in close touch and seek new initiatives to end Syria's civil war.U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Thursday Washington would provide non-lethal aid including medical supplies and food to rebel fighters, as well as $60 million to help the civilian opposition provide services including security, education and sanitation.The European Union said it had amended sanctions on Syria to allow the supply of armored vehicles, non-lethal military equipment and technical aid.
The steps still fell well short of what rebels are looking for - more arms, and prompted the opposition to postpone a Saturday meeting where they had been due to choose a prime minister to head the administration of rebel-held territory.Alkhatib said he was tired of hearing Western concerns over the growing role of Islamists in the Syrian rebel ranks - one of the main obstacles to greater military support, saying it paled into insignificance alongside the prolonged civilian suffering."Many sides...focus (more) on the length of the rebel fighter's beard than they do on the blood of the children being killed," he said, standing next to Kerry after their meeting.(Additional reporting by Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva and Alissa de Carbonnel in Moscow; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
