JEWISH KING JESUS IS COMING AT THE RAPTURE FOR US IN THE CLOUDS-DON'T MISS IT FOR THE WORLD.THE BIBLE TAKEN LITERALLY- WHEN THE PLAIN SENSE MAKES GOOD SENSE-SEEK NO OTHER SENSE-LEST YOU END UP IN NONSENSE.
OTHER RUSSIA-UKRAINE NEWS I DONE
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/malaysia-airlines-plane-with-239-on.html
THE PLANE INVESTIGATION OVER-ITS OFFICIAL CRASHED IN INDIAN OCEAN
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/day-18-mh370-telegraph-says-it-was-sex.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/obama-trys-to-rally-world-to-oust-putin.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/i-can-do-what-ever-i-want-russia.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/russia-makes-it-final-crimea-is-russias.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/pentagon-not-ready-for-cold-war-with.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/empty-suit-obama-i-will-definately-not.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/crimean-forces-take-ukrainian-navy.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/putin-makes-treaty-crimea-officially.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/european-west-ready-to-sanction-russia.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/crimea-becomes-part-of-russia-today.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/2-killed-in-ukraine-crimea-as-one-day.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/russia-ukraine-situation-fri-2-days.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/russia-invasion-of-crimea-continues.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/crimea-russia-ukraine-situation-this-day.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/crimea-wants-independence-not-russian.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/russia-blamed-for-deaths-in-ukraine.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/russian-forces-tighten-grip-on-crimea.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/russia-ukraine-situation-today.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/russia-has-this-crimea-situation-well.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/eu-leads-diplomacy-on-ukraine-crimea.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/putin-pulls-back-from-brink-of-world.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/russias-stock-market-fell-11-and-lost.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/watch-stock-markets-oil-today-from-this.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/russian-troops-surround-ukraines-army.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/russia-unanamously-approves-troops-in.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/02/russia-troops-copters-in-crimea-and-kiev.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/02/watch-for-afghanistan-to-have-next-arab.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/02/is-this-ukraine-situation-beggining-of.html
WORLD POWERS IN THE LAST DAYS (END OF AGE OF GRACE NOT THE WORLD)
EUROPEAN UNION-KING OF WEST-DAN 9:26-27,DAN 7:23-24,DAN 11:40,REV 13:1-10
EGYPT-KING OF THE SOUTH-DAN 11:40
RUSSIA-KING OF THE NORTH-EZEK 38:1-2,EZEK 39:1-3
CHINA-KING OF THE EAST-DAN 11:44,REV 9:16,18
VATICAN-RELIGIOUS LEADER-REV 13:11-18,REV 17:4-5,9,18
THE RUSSIA - UKRAINE SITUATION AT 12:02AM TUE MAR 25,14
PUTIN GOT BOOTED OUT OF THE G-8.WERE BACK TO G-7 AGAIN.
Russian military starts large training exercises in Siberia: agency-MAR 25,14--Yahoonews
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's military launched training exercises on Tuesday for its rocket forces in Siberia, Interfax news agency reported, amid increased tensions with the West over Moscow's annexation of Ukraine's region of Crimea.A spokesman for Russia's Strategic Rocket Forces said around 10,000 troops would take part in the March 25-29 exercises in western Siberia's Omsk region and Orenburg in the southern Urals, more than 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles) from Russia's border with Ukraine.Earlier this month, Russia staged a military exercise involving 8,500 soldiers near its border with Ukraine after the toppling of that country's pro-Moscow president Viktor Yanukovich amid a popular uprising and violent street clashes.The crisis in Ukraine has sparked the biggest confrontation between Russia and the West since the end of the Cold War.NATO's top military commander said on Sunday Russia had built up a "very sizeable" force on its border with Ukraine.NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe, U.S. Air Force General Philip Breedlove, also said Moscow may have ex-Soviet Moldova's mainly Russian-speaking separatist Transdniestria in its sights after annexing Crimea.(Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; Editing by Gareth Jones)
G8 summit in Sochi becomes G7 event in Brussels
Today @ 21:45-MAR 24,14-By EUOBSERVER
EU Council chief Van Rompuy has said the G8 summit in June in Sochi, Russia, will be held as a G7 meeting in Brussels instead without Russia. Brazil, India, China, and South Africa criticised Australia's idea to also exclude Russia from a G20 meeting in Brisbane in November, however.
Van Rompuy: Russia has left the G8
Today @ 19:02-MAR 24,154-By EUOBSERVER
EU Council head Van Rompuy said Monday Russia "left in some way the G8" ahead of a G7 leaders' meeting in The Hague, referring to Moscow's annexation of Crimea. EU Commission head Barroso said the G7 will "condemn" Russia's actions and voice "readiness to take further [punitive] measures."
G7 warns Russia of more sanctions if Ukraine crisis escalates
By Steve Holland and Aleksandar Vasovic - Yahoonews
THE HAGUE/FEODOSIA, Crimea (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama and major industrialized allies warned Russia on Monday it faces damaging economic sanctions if President Vladimir Putin takes further action to destabilize Ukraine following the seizure of Crimea.Leaders of the Group of Seven nations, meeting without Russia, agreed to hold their own summit this year instead of attending a planned G8 meeting in the Russian Olympic venue of Sochi, along the Black Sea coast from Crimea, and to suspend their participation in the G8 until Russia changes course.On a day when Kiev ordered its remaining troops to withdraw from Crimea and Russian forces captured a Ukrainian marine base and a landing ship in the region, leaders of the United States, Germany, France, Britain, Italy, Japan and Canada condemned what they called "Russia's illegal attempt to annex Crimea in contravention of international law".They also agreed their energy ministers would work together to reduce dependence on Russian oil and gas and increase energy security."We remain ready to intensify actions including coordinated sectoral sanctions that will have an increasingly significant impact on the Russian economy, if Russia continues to escalate this situation," they said in a joint statement.The G7 leaders, who met on the sidelines of a nuclear security summit in The Hague, said they would convene again in Brussels in early June, the first time since Russia joined the G8 in 1998 that it will have been shut out of the annual summit of industrialized democracies.They also urged the International Monetary Fund to reach a rapid agreement with Ukraine to unlock urgently needed financial aid for the country's shattered economy.Obama, who has imposed tougher sanctions on Moscow than European leaders over its takeover of the strategic Crimean peninsula, told reporters: "Europe and America are united in our support of the Ukrainian government and the Ukrainian people"."We're united in imposing a cost on Russia for its actions so far," he said of the visa bans and asset freezes slapped on senior Russian and Crimean officials.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov played down the G8 snub.
"If our Western partners believe the format has exhausted itself, we don't cling to this format. We don't believe it will be a big problem if it doesn't convene," he told reporters.
RESISTANCE ENDED
In Washington, both Republicans and Obama's fellow Democrats said they were disappointed the G7 had not gone further.In the Senate, which is considering an aid package to Ukraine this week, lawmakers said Russia should be barred permanently, not temporarily, from the G8.A State Department spokeswoman highlighted the economic damage Russia has already suffered due to its action in Crimea, a Russian-majority region, after the fall of Ukraine's pro-Russian president to months of mass protests."The Russian stock market's down 20 percent this year already. That's the worst performing index in the world," spokeswoman Maria Harf told reporters. "That's $75 billion of market value wiped away, due in large part to the power and reach of our sanctions."The Russian currency is near an all-time low as investors have lost confidence in the economy and fled into dollars."Earlier on Monday, Russian troops forced their way into a Ukrainian marine base in the port of Feodosia, overrunning one of the last remaining symbols of resistance. They later stormed and captured a Ukrainian landing ship, firing warning shots and stun grenades. No casualties were reported in either incident.In Kiev, acting president Oleksander Turchinov told parliament the remaining Ukrainian troops and their families would be pulled out of Crimea in the face of "threats to the lives and health of our service personnel".That effectively ends any Ukrainian resistance, less than a month since Putin claimed Russia's right to intervene militarily on its neighbor's territory.White House officials accompanying Obama expressed concern at what they said was a Russian troop build-up near Ukraine and warned that any further military intervention would trigger wider sanctions than the measures taken so far.One U.S. official said Moscow had massed some 20,000 soldiers near the border. Russian intervention in eastern or southern Ukraine would be the clearest trigger for additional sanctions, as would violence in Crimea, another official said.NATO also fears Putin may have designs on Transdniestria, a part of another former Soviet republic, Moldova.Russia has said it is complying with international agreements on troop movements and has no plans to invade.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE TALKS
In what has become the biggest East-West confrontation since the Cold War, the United States and the European Union have imposed personal sanctions on some of Putin's closest political and business allies. But they have held back so far from measures designed to hit Russia's wider economy.Obama also discussed the crisis at a meeting in The Hague with Chinese President Xi Jinping, who has voiced support for Ukraine's sovereignty but refrained from criticizing Russia.The West wants Beijing's diplomatic support in an effort to restrain Putin but while Xi called for a political solution, he did not harden China's position towards Moscow.Russia formally annexed Crimea on March 21, five days after newly-installed pro-Moscow regional leaders held a referendum that yielded an overwhelming vote to join Russia. Kiev and the West denounced the annexation as illegal.In one sign of a possible easing of tension, Lavrov agreed to hold a first meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart, Andriy Deshchytsya, on the sidelines of the nuclear security summit.The first 50 out of 100 observers dispatched by the pan-European OSCE security watchdog arrived in Ukraine on Monday to monitor potential trouble spots and defuse tensions. Russia relented late last week and agreed on a mandate after prolonged wrangling, but the monitors will not be allowed to enter Crimea.
FURTHER COSTS
Western officials are now focused less on persuading Putin to relinquish Crimea - a goal that seems beyond reach - than on deterring him from seizing other parts of Ukraine, which was under Moscow's control within the Soviet Union until its break-up in 1991.Persuading Europeans to sign on to tougher sanctions could be difficult. The EU does 10 times as much trade with Russia as the United States, and is the biggest customer for Russian oil and gas. The EU's 28 members include countries with widely varying relationships to Moscow.But German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the EU's most powerful leader, has taken a tough line with Putin and supported EU moves to reduce the bloc's long-term dependence on Russian energy.Despite the disruption to East-West relations, Washington wants other diplomatic business with Moscow to continue. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry held talks with Lavrov after meeting the head of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, overseeing the destruction of Syria's toxic stockpile in action sponsored jointly by Washington and Moscow.Russia hit back symbolically at Canada, announcing personal sanctions against 13 Canadian officials in retaliation for Ottawa's role in Western sanctions so far. Moscow has already taken similar measures against senior U.S. Congress members but not yet European officials.(Additional reporting by Anthony Deutsch, Jeff Mason, Justyna Pawlak and Andreas Rinke in The Hague, Gabriela Baczynska in Simferopol, Natalia Zinets in Kiev; writing by Paul Taylor; editing by Mark Heinrich)
Austrian politician compares EU with 3rd Reich-MAR 24,14-Yahoonews
VIENNA (AP) — An Austrian far-right politician under fire for saying that Hitler's rule may have been more liberal than European Union regulations on Monday acknowledged that he also disparaged blacks during a speech at a presentation of a book written by a fellow right-winger.Andreas Moelzer initially denied saying that Europe risked turning into a "conglomerate of Negroes ... where chaos multiplies (through) mass immigration." He admitted doing so after a German newspaper posted a voice recording of his comments on Internet.Earlier in the day, Jewish Community leader Oskar Deutsch and Eva Glawischnig, the head of Austria's Greens party, demanded that Moelzer withdraw his candidacy to the EU parliament for saying that the European Union is a dictatorship that makes the Third Reich look "possibly ... liberal."Both comments were made last month but were reported only recently. Moelzer said he used the Third Reich comparison to point to EU over-regulation and that his anti-black comments were "inappropriate."Moelzer is on the far-right fringe of his FPO party, which has made huge gains over recent years with a stridently Eurosceptic, anti-corruption and anti-foreigner message. It now regularly polls as the most popular of all Austrian parties.
03/24/2014 - VATICAN INSIDER -St. John XXIII, patron saint of Christian unity?-Representatives of the Orthodox Church have seen Roncalli as the protector of ecumenism since the days of the Second Vatican Council-ANDREA TORNIELLI
vatican city
Influential representatives of the Orthodox Church were among the first to recognise John XXIII’s saintliness in the days of the Second Vatican Council. They even wanted to proclaim the good Pope a “patron” saint of the ecumenical path. Italian journalist and essayist Stefania Falasca has just published a book about this based on testimonies gathered during the procedure for the canonization cause. “Giovanni XXIII, in una carezza la rivoluzione” (which roughly translates as: “John XXIII, a revolution came with a caress”) runs through the history of Roncalli’s canonization, explaining the reasons and pastoral opportunities that led Francis to approve, pro gratia, the full canonization of his great Lombard predecessor.In convening the Second Vatican Council, John XXIII took on the task as Successor of Peter, to make it clear to all Churches that the journey towards full unity between all baptised Christians could not be put off any longer. “This is not an ideological ecumenism that wants to gloss over differences inherited from the past, but an ecumenism of truth and charity,” Falasca writes. The desire expressed since the days of the Council for a return to unity, does not aim to bring about a forced uniformity but create “a building site for the future of the Church.” This is not to be based on emotions and sentiments but on “one, common baptism and the same faith in Jesus Christ.”Among those who also saw this passion for Christian unity as a reflection of the Good Pope’s holiness, were some of the Orthodox Church’s foremost representatives, who played prominent roles in the post-conciliar period, Falasca writes.There was one key figure in particular who testified the enthusiasm John XXIII inspired within the Orthodox world long before his canonization was officially decided: Dutch cardinal Johannes Willebrands (1909-2006). He played a leading role in the development of Catholic ecumenism, right from the days of Vatican II. In 1960 John XXIII called him to form part of the Secretariat for promoting Christian Unity led by the Jesuit cardinal Augustin Bea. In his statement for John XXIII’s canonization process, Falasca quotes Willebrands saying that the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Athenagoras, was the first to refer to John XXIII quoting the Gospel passage: “Fuit homo missus a Deo cui nomen erat Johannes” (“There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John.”)“The solution to the Church’s separation from the brothers in the mission which the Pope had found by opening the Church’s arms, turned into something concrete, a common sentiment, first of respect and then of genuine worship of the Servant of God,” Falasca writes and the customary visit by Orthodox delegations to John XXIII’s tomb in the Vatican became a sign of this great veneration. The very day after John XXIII’s death, Athenagoras recognised that “as a head of the Church who was driven by his love of Christ and despite his short reign, the deceased Pope traced a new path towards ecumenical dialogue, which for the Church is the prelude to Christ’s priestly prayer being put into practice.”
In the statement he gave for the late Pope’s cause, Willebrands said that when it came to the moment for Catholics and their separated brothers to choose a patron to drive the move towards Christian unity, Catholics put St. Josaphat (the Ukrainian Greek Catholic bishop who was honoured as a martyr of unity with the Successor of Peter) forward. It was the Russian observers who asked for Pope John to be considered as a candidate for the role of patron of the ecumenical movement.A year or so later, the Metropolitan of Leningrad, Nikodim, a prophetic figure of Russian Orthodoxy, apparently discussed the doctrine and the work Roncalli for Christian unity in his theology dissertation. Nikodim discussed his dissertation entitled “John XXIII Pope of Rome” on 15 April 1970 at the Moscow Theological Academy. In his academic analysis, the Russian Metropolitan referred to John XXIII as a saint, based on his obedience to the Mild Jesus as described in the Gospel and according to the Orthodox Church’s theological and Canonical criteria.Nikodim died of a heart attack in Rome on 5 September 1978 during a meeting with John Paul I. He was just 49 year old when he died and was in Rome representing the Patriarchate of Moscow in the official ceremonies and meetings for the start of the Pope John Paul I’s pontificate. Before dying, he addressed some words to the new Bishop of Rome, which John Paul I would refer to during his audience with the Roman clergy a few days later: “I assure you that never in my life have I ever heard such beautiful words…,” Luciani said. In an interview back in 2006, the Jesuit Miguel Arranz who interpreted at the meeting described those years as “a fleeting gift that the Church lost.” Back then, “the Successor of Peter’s role received concert recognition from the Eastern bishops. Their trips to Rome were real visits ad limina Petri. Governments would press them to go to visit the Pope, whom they trusted as children of a sister Church. Perhaps the successor of Peter’s ties with the Christians of those lands would eventually have found a way to consolidate themselves. Perhaps it was all just an illusion but at certain times a return to unity seemed so easy…” Now Pope Francis has decided to proclaim John XXIII a saint pro gratia, based on valid reasons which are a sound alternative to a scientifically and theologically proven miracle. One of the pastoral reasons Francis has decided to proclaim Roncalli a saint, is the modern-day relevance of his ecumenical vision. Pope Francis has mentioned the preferential option for the poor in a number of speeches, bringing him closer to his Orthodox brothers.In his interview with Italian newspaper La Stampa, Francis spoke about the meetings he has already had with a number of representatives of the Eastern Churches, saying: “I felt like their brother. They have the apostolic succession; I received them as brother bishops. It is painful that we are not yet able to celebrate the Eucharist together, but there is friendship. I believe that the way forward is this: friendship, common work and prayer for unity. We blessed each other; one brother blesses the other.” In his Apostolic Letter Evangelii Gaudium, Francis recommends “reaping what the Spirit has sown in them, which is also meant to be a gift for us.” Referring to the Church’s Orthodox brothers, Francis reiterates that “we Catholics have the opportunity to learn more about the meaning of episcopal collegiality and their experience of synodality.”According to Falasca, Francis’ upcoming trip to the Holy Land to meet the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew (fifty years after the historic embrace between Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras), is not just a one-way Apostolic Visit by the Pope, it is a pilgrimage that both brother faiths are embarking on from the start, for the first time. This pilgrimage is a decisive step forward in the common awareness that the Churches will be “retracing Christ’s steps in the holy and glorious Sion, mother of all Churches.” Faiths will be able to invoke the support of St. John XXIII as patron saint - given that he will be canonized a month prior to the pilgrimage – in the hope that full ecclesiastical and sacramental unity will flourish once again between the Orthodox and Catholic Churches. They can only achieve this by putting aside political strategies and focusing on the Gospel, as Roncalli had suggested.
OTHER RUSSIA-UKRAINE NEWS I DONE
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/malaysia-airlines-plane-with-239-on.html
THE PLANE INVESTIGATION OVER-ITS OFFICIAL CRASHED IN INDIAN OCEAN
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/day-18-mh370-telegraph-says-it-was-sex.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/obama-trys-to-rally-world-to-oust-putin.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/i-can-do-what-ever-i-want-russia.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/russia-makes-it-final-crimea-is-russias.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/pentagon-not-ready-for-cold-war-with.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/empty-suit-obama-i-will-definately-not.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/crimean-forces-take-ukrainian-navy.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/putin-makes-treaty-crimea-officially.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/european-west-ready-to-sanction-russia.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/crimea-becomes-part-of-russia-today.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/2-killed-in-ukraine-crimea-as-one-day.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/russia-ukraine-situation-fri-2-days.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/russia-invasion-of-crimea-continues.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/crimea-russia-ukraine-situation-this-day.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/crimea-wants-independence-not-russian.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/russia-blamed-for-deaths-in-ukraine.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/russian-forces-tighten-grip-on-crimea.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/russia-ukraine-situation-today.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/russia-has-this-crimea-situation-well.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/eu-leads-diplomacy-on-ukraine-crimea.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/putin-pulls-back-from-brink-of-world.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/russias-stock-market-fell-11-and-lost.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/watch-stock-markets-oil-today-from-this.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/russian-troops-surround-ukraines-army.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/03/russia-unanamously-approves-troops-in.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/02/russia-troops-copters-in-crimea-and-kiev.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/02/watch-for-afghanistan-to-have-next-arab.html
http://israndjer.blogspot.ca/2014/02/is-this-ukraine-situation-beggining-of.html
WORLD POWERS IN THE LAST DAYS (END OF AGE OF GRACE NOT THE WORLD)
EUROPEAN UNION-KING OF WEST-DAN 9:26-27,DAN 7:23-24,DAN 11:40,REV 13:1-10
EGYPT-KING OF THE SOUTH-DAN 11:40
RUSSIA-KING OF THE NORTH-EZEK 38:1-2,EZEK 39:1-3
CHINA-KING OF THE EAST-DAN 11:44,REV 9:16,18
VATICAN-RELIGIOUS LEADER-REV 13:11-18,REV 17:4-5,9,18
THE RUSSIA - UKRAINE SITUATION AT 12:02AM TUE MAR 25,14
PUTIN GOT BOOTED OUT OF THE G-8.WERE BACK TO G-7 AGAIN.
Russian military starts large training exercises in Siberia: agency-MAR 25,14--Yahoonews
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's military launched training exercises on Tuesday for its rocket forces in Siberia, Interfax news agency reported, amid increased tensions with the West over Moscow's annexation of Ukraine's region of Crimea.A spokesman for Russia's Strategic Rocket Forces said around 10,000 troops would take part in the March 25-29 exercises in western Siberia's Omsk region and Orenburg in the southern Urals, more than 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles) from Russia's border with Ukraine.Earlier this month, Russia staged a military exercise involving 8,500 soldiers near its border with Ukraine after the toppling of that country's pro-Moscow president Viktor Yanukovich amid a popular uprising and violent street clashes.The crisis in Ukraine has sparked the biggest confrontation between Russia and the West since the end of the Cold War.NATO's top military commander said on Sunday Russia had built up a "very sizeable" force on its border with Ukraine.NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe, U.S. Air Force General Philip Breedlove, also said Moscow may have ex-Soviet Moldova's mainly Russian-speaking separatist Transdniestria in its sights after annexing Crimea.(Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; Editing by Gareth Jones)
G8 summit in Sochi becomes G7 event in Brussels
Today @ 21:45-MAR 24,14-By EUOBSERVER
EU Council chief Van Rompuy has said the G8 summit in June in Sochi, Russia, will be held as a G7 meeting in Brussels instead without Russia. Brazil, India, China, and South Africa criticised Australia's idea to also exclude Russia from a G20 meeting in Brisbane in November, however.
Van Rompuy: Russia has left the G8
Today @ 19:02-MAR 24,154-By EUOBSERVER
EU Council head Van Rompuy said Monday Russia "left in some way the G8" ahead of a G7 leaders' meeting in The Hague, referring to Moscow's annexation of Crimea. EU Commission head Barroso said the G7 will "condemn" Russia's actions and voice "readiness to take further [punitive] measures."
G7 warns Russia of more sanctions if Ukraine crisis escalates
By Steve Holland and Aleksandar Vasovic - Yahoonews
THE HAGUE/FEODOSIA, Crimea (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama and major industrialized allies warned Russia on Monday it faces damaging economic sanctions if President Vladimir Putin takes further action to destabilize Ukraine following the seizure of Crimea.Leaders of the Group of Seven nations, meeting without Russia, agreed to hold their own summit this year instead of attending a planned G8 meeting in the Russian Olympic venue of Sochi, along the Black Sea coast from Crimea, and to suspend their participation in the G8 until Russia changes course.On a day when Kiev ordered its remaining troops to withdraw from Crimea and Russian forces captured a Ukrainian marine base and a landing ship in the region, leaders of the United States, Germany, France, Britain, Italy, Japan and Canada condemned what they called "Russia's illegal attempt to annex Crimea in contravention of international law".They also agreed their energy ministers would work together to reduce dependence on Russian oil and gas and increase energy security."We remain ready to intensify actions including coordinated sectoral sanctions that will have an increasingly significant impact on the Russian economy, if Russia continues to escalate this situation," they said in a joint statement.The G7 leaders, who met on the sidelines of a nuclear security summit in The Hague, said they would convene again in Brussels in early June, the first time since Russia joined the G8 in 1998 that it will have been shut out of the annual summit of industrialized democracies.They also urged the International Monetary Fund to reach a rapid agreement with Ukraine to unlock urgently needed financial aid for the country's shattered economy.Obama, who has imposed tougher sanctions on Moscow than European leaders over its takeover of the strategic Crimean peninsula, told reporters: "Europe and America are united in our support of the Ukrainian government and the Ukrainian people"."We're united in imposing a cost on Russia for its actions so far," he said of the visa bans and asset freezes slapped on senior Russian and Crimean officials.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov played down the G8 snub.
"If our Western partners believe the format has exhausted itself, we don't cling to this format. We don't believe it will be a big problem if it doesn't convene," he told reporters.
RESISTANCE ENDED
In Washington, both Republicans and Obama's fellow Democrats said they were disappointed the G7 had not gone further.In the Senate, which is considering an aid package to Ukraine this week, lawmakers said Russia should be barred permanently, not temporarily, from the G8.A State Department spokeswoman highlighted the economic damage Russia has already suffered due to its action in Crimea, a Russian-majority region, after the fall of Ukraine's pro-Russian president to months of mass protests."The Russian stock market's down 20 percent this year already. That's the worst performing index in the world," spokeswoman Maria Harf told reporters. "That's $75 billion of market value wiped away, due in large part to the power and reach of our sanctions."The Russian currency is near an all-time low as investors have lost confidence in the economy and fled into dollars."Earlier on Monday, Russian troops forced their way into a Ukrainian marine base in the port of Feodosia, overrunning one of the last remaining symbols of resistance. They later stormed and captured a Ukrainian landing ship, firing warning shots and stun grenades. No casualties were reported in either incident.In Kiev, acting president Oleksander Turchinov told parliament the remaining Ukrainian troops and their families would be pulled out of Crimea in the face of "threats to the lives and health of our service personnel".That effectively ends any Ukrainian resistance, less than a month since Putin claimed Russia's right to intervene militarily on its neighbor's territory.White House officials accompanying Obama expressed concern at what they said was a Russian troop build-up near Ukraine and warned that any further military intervention would trigger wider sanctions than the measures taken so far.One U.S. official said Moscow had massed some 20,000 soldiers near the border. Russian intervention in eastern or southern Ukraine would be the clearest trigger for additional sanctions, as would violence in Crimea, another official said.NATO also fears Putin may have designs on Transdniestria, a part of another former Soviet republic, Moldova.Russia has said it is complying with international agreements on troop movements and has no plans to invade.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE TALKS
In what has become the biggest East-West confrontation since the Cold War, the United States and the European Union have imposed personal sanctions on some of Putin's closest political and business allies. But they have held back so far from measures designed to hit Russia's wider economy.Obama also discussed the crisis at a meeting in The Hague with Chinese President Xi Jinping, who has voiced support for Ukraine's sovereignty but refrained from criticizing Russia.The West wants Beijing's diplomatic support in an effort to restrain Putin but while Xi called for a political solution, he did not harden China's position towards Moscow.Russia formally annexed Crimea on March 21, five days after newly-installed pro-Moscow regional leaders held a referendum that yielded an overwhelming vote to join Russia. Kiev and the West denounced the annexation as illegal.In one sign of a possible easing of tension, Lavrov agreed to hold a first meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart, Andriy Deshchytsya, on the sidelines of the nuclear security summit.The first 50 out of 100 observers dispatched by the pan-European OSCE security watchdog arrived in Ukraine on Monday to monitor potential trouble spots and defuse tensions. Russia relented late last week and agreed on a mandate after prolonged wrangling, but the monitors will not be allowed to enter Crimea.
FURTHER COSTS
Western officials are now focused less on persuading Putin to relinquish Crimea - a goal that seems beyond reach - than on deterring him from seizing other parts of Ukraine, which was under Moscow's control within the Soviet Union until its break-up in 1991.Persuading Europeans to sign on to tougher sanctions could be difficult. The EU does 10 times as much trade with Russia as the United States, and is the biggest customer for Russian oil and gas. The EU's 28 members include countries with widely varying relationships to Moscow.But German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the EU's most powerful leader, has taken a tough line with Putin and supported EU moves to reduce the bloc's long-term dependence on Russian energy.Despite the disruption to East-West relations, Washington wants other diplomatic business with Moscow to continue. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry held talks with Lavrov after meeting the head of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, overseeing the destruction of Syria's toxic stockpile in action sponsored jointly by Washington and Moscow.Russia hit back symbolically at Canada, announcing personal sanctions against 13 Canadian officials in retaliation for Ottawa's role in Western sanctions so far. Moscow has already taken similar measures against senior U.S. Congress members but not yet European officials.(Additional reporting by Anthony Deutsch, Jeff Mason, Justyna Pawlak and Andreas Rinke in The Hague, Gabriela Baczynska in Simferopol, Natalia Zinets in Kiev; writing by Paul Taylor; editing by Mark Heinrich)
Austrian politician compares EU with 3rd Reich-MAR 24,14-Yahoonews
VIENNA (AP) — An Austrian far-right politician under fire for saying that Hitler's rule may have been more liberal than European Union regulations on Monday acknowledged that he also disparaged blacks during a speech at a presentation of a book written by a fellow right-winger.Andreas Moelzer initially denied saying that Europe risked turning into a "conglomerate of Negroes ... where chaos multiplies (through) mass immigration." He admitted doing so after a German newspaper posted a voice recording of his comments on Internet.Earlier in the day, Jewish Community leader Oskar Deutsch and Eva Glawischnig, the head of Austria's Greens party, demanded that Moelzer withdraw his candidacy to the EU parliament for saying that the European Union is a dictatorship that makes the Third Reich look "possibly ... liberal."Both comments were made last month but were reported only recently. Moelzer said he used the Third Reich comparison to point to EU over-regulation and that his anti-black comments were "inappropriate."Moelzer is on the far-right fringe of his FPO party, which has made huge gains over recent years with a stridently Eurosceptic, anti-corruption and anti-foreigner message. It now regularly polls as the most popular of all Austrian parties.
03/24/2014 - VATICAN INSIDER -St. John XXIII, patron saint of Christian unity?-Representatives of the Orthodox Church have seen Roncalli as the protector of ecumenism since the days of the Second Vatican Council-ANDREA TORNIELLI
vatican city
Influential representatives of the Orthodox Church were among the first to recognise John XXIII’s saintliness in the days of the Second Vatican Council. They even wanted to proclaim the good Pope a “patron” saint of the ecumenical path. Italian journalist and essayist Stefania Falasca has just published a book about this based on testimonies gathered during the procedure for the canonization cause. “Giovanni XXIII, in una carezza la rivoluzione” (which roughly translates as: “John XXIII, a revolution came with a caress”) runs through the history of Roncalli’s canonization, explaining the reasons and pastoral opportunities that led Francis to approve, pro gratia, the full canonization of his great Lombard predecessor.In convening the Second Vatican Council, John XXIII took on the task as Successor of Peter, to make it clear to all Churches that the journey towards full unity between all baptised Christians could not be put off any longer. “This is not an ideological ecumenism that wants to gloss over differences inherited from the past, but an ecumenism of truth and charity,” Falasca writes. The desire expressed since the days of the Council for a return to unity, does not aim to bring about a forced uniformity but create “a building site for the future of the Church.” This is not to be based on emotions and sentiments but on “one, common baptism and the same faith in Jesus Christ.”Among those who also saw this passion for Christian unity as a reflection of the Good Pope’s holiness, were some of the Orthodox Church’s foremost representatives, who played prominent roles in the post-conciliar period, Falasca writes.There was one key figure in particular who testified the enthusiasm John XXIII inspired within the Orthodox world long before his canonization was officially decided: Dutch cardinal Johannes Willebrands (1909-2006). He played a leading role in the development of Catholic ecumenism, right from the days of Vatican II. In 1960 John XXIII called him to form part of the Secretariat for promoting Christian Unity led by the Jesuit cardinal Augustin Bea. In his statement for John XXIII’s canonization process, Falasca quotes Willebrands saying that the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Athenagoras, was the first to refer to John XXIII quoting the Gospel passage: “Fuit homo missus a Deo cui nomen erat Johannes” (“There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John.”)“The solution to the Church’s separation from the brothers in the mission which the Pope had found by opening the Church’s arms, turned into something concrete, a common sentiment, first of respect and then of genuine worship of the Servant of God,” Falasca writes and the customary visit by Orthodox delegations to John XXIII’s tomb in the Vatican became a sign of this great veneration. The very day after John XXIII’s death, Athenagoras recognised that “as a head of the Church who was driven by his love of Christ and despite his short reign, the deceased Pope traced a new path towards ecumenical dialogue, which for the Church is the prelude to Christ’s priestly prayer being put into practice.”
In the statement he gave for the late Pope’s cause, Willebrands said that when it came to the moment for Catholics and their separated brothers to choose a patron to drive the move towards Christian unity, Catholics put St. Josaphat (the Ukrainian Greek Catholic bishop who was honoured as a martyr of unity with the Successor of Peter) forward. It was the Russian observers who asked for Pope John to be considered as a candidate for the role of patron of the ecumenical movement.A year or so later, the Metropolitan of Leningrad, Nikodim, a prophetic figure of Russian Orthodoxy, apparently discussed the doctrine and the work Roncalli for Christian unity in his theology dissertation. Nikodim discussed his dissertation entitled “John XXIII Pope of Rome” on 15 April 1970 at the Moscow Theological Academy. In his academic analysis, the Russian Metropolitan referred to John XXIII as a saint, based on his obedience to the Mild Jesus as described in the Gospel and according to the Orthodox Church’s theological and Canonical criteria.Nikodim died of a heart attack in Rome on 5 September 1978 during a meeting with John Paul I. He was just 49 year old when he died and was in Rome representing the Patriarchate of Moscow in the official ceremonies and meetings for the start of the Pope John Paul I’s pontificate. Before dying, he addressed some words to the new Bishop of Rome, which John Paul I would refer to during his audience with the Roman clergy a few days later: “I assure you that never in my life have I ever heard such beautiful words…,” Luciani said. In an interview back in 2006, the Jesuit Miguel Arranz who interpreted at the meeting described those years as “a fleeting gift that the Church lost.” Back then, “the Successor of Peter’s role received concert recognition from the Eastern bishops. Their trips to Rome were real visits ad limina Petri. Governments would press them to go to visit the Pope, whom they trusted as children of a sister Church. Perhaps the successor of Peter’s ties with the Christians of those lands would eventually have found a way to consolidate themselves. Perhaps it was all just an illusion but at certain times a return to unity seemed so easy…” Now Pope Francis has decided to proclaim John XXIII a saint pro gratia, based on valid reasons which are a sound alternative to a scientifically and theologically proven miracle. One of the pastoral reasons Francis has decided to proclaim Roncalli a saint, is the modern-day relevance of his ecumenical vision. Pope Francis has mentioned the preferential option for the poor in a number of speeches, bringing him closer to his Orthodox brothers.In his interview with Italian newspaper La Stampa, Francis spoke about the meetings he has already had with a number of representatives of the Eastern Churches, saying: “I felt like their brother. They have the apostolic succession; I received them as brother bishops. It is painful that we are not yet able to celebrate the Eucharist together, but there is friendship. I believe that the way forward is this: friendship, common work and prayer for unity. We blessed each other; one brother blesses the other.” In his Apostolic Letter Evangelii Gaudium, Francis recommends “reaping what the Spirit has sown in them, which is also meant to be a gift for us.” Referring to the Church’s Orthodox brothers, Francis reiterates that “we Catholics have the opportunity to learn more about the meaning of episcopal collegiality and their experience of synodality.”According to Falasca, Francis’ upcoming trip to the Holy Land to meet the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew (fifty years after the historic embrace between Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras), is not just a one-way Apostolic Visit by the Pope, it is a pilgrimage that both brother faiths are embarking on from the start, for the first time. This pilgrimage is a decisive step forward in the common awareness that the Churches will be “retracing Christ’s steps in the holy and glorious Sion, mother of all Churches.” Faiths will be able to invoke the support of St. John XXIII as patron saint - given that he will be canonized a month prior to the pilgrimage – in the hope that full ecclesiastical and sacramental unity will flourish once again between the Orthodox and Catholic Churches. They can only achieve this by putting aside political strategies and focusing on the Gospel, as Roncalli had suggested.
