*Yeah. I studied history in College.
Posted on 08/15/2006 12:03:13 PM PDT by NYer
ROME (CNS) -- Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, retired archbishop of Washington, arrived in Lebanon in early August, visiting Catholic aid projects, church and government leaders and getting what he described as "a lesson in frustration."
His Aug. 10 meeting with two Muslim leaders in Beirut was canceled after Israeli planes dropped leaflets on the city warning of new bombardments.
"It scares the heck out of people," he said of the leaflet drops. "And if they don't leave, they can be killed. But it's awful; they get word to leave their homes because they are going to bomb in the next hours."
In an Aug. 10 telephone interview from Beirut, the cardinal said his visit was meant to be a sign of solidarity with the suffering people of Lebanon, the same kind of visit he has made in the past to Israel in the wake of terrorist attacks.
"I have concerns for the poor people of Lebanon. I'm not making any judgments on what political things are happening, but I know that even now there are people in some villages that are totally blocked off by the war and they have no bread, they have no water and they have no medicine. And that has been going on for almost two weeks," the cardinal told Catholic News Service.
"If that continues, it will be a disaster. We will be starving people," he said.
"I am not a politician, not a statesman and not a general. I can't blame anybody, but I want to say, 'Here is what I find,' and the world must do something," he said.
Cardinal McCarrick arrived in Beirut from Amman, Jordan, Aug. 9 aboard a Jordanian transport plane carrying humanitarian aid. He expected to leave Lebanon the same way Aug. 13.
The cardinal met Aug. 10 with Lebanese President Emile Lahoud, Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and other government officials. He said they were courteous, explained the situation in the country and expressed their hopes for a cease-fire.
"They feel they have done what everybody has asked them to do. They are willing to send 15,000 Lebanese soldiers" into southern Lebanon, where the Hezbollah militia are deployed, firing rockets and mortars into Israel.
"But apparently, that is not enough," he said.
A U.N. resolution on an immediate cease-fire faced delays as Security Council members disagreed over when Israeli troops should be asked to withdraw from southern Lebanon and when an international peacekeeping force should be deployed.
"You come here and get a lesson in frustration," the cardinal said.
Cardinal McCarrick visited several schools Aug. 9, meeting with the displaced people being sheltered in them and with the staff and volunteers of Caritas Lebanon, which is running the shelters and providing food, clothing, blankets and medical assistance.
The Salma Sayyegh public school, which he visited, has been turned into a shelter for 360 Muslims -- mostly women and children -- who have fled the fighting and bombardment of their homes in southern Lebanon.
Catholic Relief Services, the U.S. bishops' international relief and development agency, is supporting the work of Caritas Lebanon at Salma Sayyegh and throughout the country.
In addition to financial support, CRS has sent staff members experienced in the logistical side of emergency relief to assist with security, warehousing, medical care and media relations, among other things.
"Everything is difficult to get here because the bridges have been knocked down and many of the roads have been bombed so trucks can't travel, so the whole food distribution system is in peril," Cardinal McCarrick said.
Most people in Lebanon, he said, "are becoming more and more anti-Israeli," including the Christians, who also have been forced to flee. "It's a very desperate situation."
"Lebanon has the largest Christian population in the Middle East and we're losing that," he said. "The people are going to leave because they cannot work. There is no gas for the cars; there isn't food to eat. We don't know how they are going to open the schools.
"It's frustration that one feels here. They say to me, 'Thank you for coming,' but my visit is not much more than saying, 'We love you and we are praying for you and we understand your suffering,'" the cardinal said.
Cardinal McCarrick said he also wanted to let the Lebanese people know "that together with the Holy Father, we Catholics in the United States are calling for an immediate cease-fire and for corridors of safety so humanitarian goods like food and water can be delivered."
Basic message: Whatever fantasies may motivate the Islamolooneytunes in their desire to kill every last Jew and destroy Israel, they lose. Christians, Lebanese or otherwise, have no business giving aid and comfort to the Islamic enemies of Western Civilization.
Additionally, I will never accept the notion that Saddam Hussein had no WMD until reliable folk excavate the Bekaa Valley and every square inch of Syria, preferably from the sky with bunkerbusters and daisy cutters.
I bet that I am not the only American who is fed up to the eye teeth with paying attention to these lunatics. It is time for them to sit down, shut up, leave civilization alone, and understand that there are unlimited consequences to further resistance. We spend a lot on our military and its job is to kill bad guys and break their things.
BTW, there is already a Palestinian state. It is called Jordan.
As to Cana, bear in mind the desecration of the Catholic Church at Bethlehem by armed Islamolunatics using it as a hideout.
If the UN site was deliberately targeted, it was probably for good reason like collaboration of UN "observers" with Islamofascisti. The UN denies the Oil for Food cornucopia of corruption and reality generally. Amnesty International?????? I'll take them seriously when they take abortion for the slaughter of the innocent that it is. They are also knee-jerk anti-American and anti-Israeli.
If you deny that Lebanon tolerated the presence and growth of Hezbollah in their midst, thereby earning the recent unpleasantness, you are not toting a full six-pack. Ideas have consequences and so does the harboring of Hezbollah and so does hatred of America. If Lebanese of any religious stripe side with Ahmadinejad and Hamas and Hezbollah against the US and Israel, well, God gave them free will and they will suffer the earthly consequences of its misuse.
The evil of Hezbollah is not debatable. Neither is our commitment to Israel (which is paying a bit of a price for Ariel Sharon going soft and leaving a quisling like Ohmert as a successor. Netanyahu for PM! It is only a matter of short time until he is. Too bad Menachem Begin is no longer available or Moshe Dayan.
Great tag line!!!!
America magazine is a reliably leftist rag not fit for Catholic consumption. I was educated by the Jesuits so long ago that they were still Catholic.
Maybe if the non-Islamolunatic politicos of Lebanon had more backbone than that of the feckless and shameful Vichy regime in today's Paris, then the Lebanese would have driven the Hezbollah criminals from their soil or executed them en masse and there would have benn no Israeli involvement.
1. In 1968 Bobby Kennedy was shot and killed by:
(a) A salesman from Utah
(b) An construction worker
(c) A college student on Spring Break
(d) Middle Eastern Islamist males between the ages of 17 and 40.
2. In 1972, 11 Israeli athletes were killed at the Munich Olympics by:
(a) Your grandmother
(b) A Midwest auto-parts dealer
(c) A mom and her 6-year-old son visiting from Indiana
(d) Middle Eastern Islamist males between the ages of 17 and 40.
3. In 1979, the U.S. embassy in Iran was taken over by:
(a) A bluegrass band
(b) Dallas Cowboy fans
(c) A tour group of 80-year-old women
(d) Middle Eastern Islamist males between the ages of 17 and 40.
4. During the 1980’s numerous Americans were kidnapped in Lebanon by:
(a) A family on their way to Disney World
(b) Jesse Ventura
(c) A Boy Scout Troop
(d) Middle Eastern Islamist males between the ages of 17 and 40.
5. In 1983, the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut was blown up by:
(a) A pizza delivery boy
(b) The UPS guy
(c) Geraldo Rivera making up for a slow news day
(d) Middle Eastern Islamist males between the ages of 17 and 40.
6. In 1985 the cruise ship Achille Lauro was hijacked, and a 70-year-old disabled American passenger was murdered and thrown overboard by:
(a) A girls’ choir
(b) A hardware store owner
(c) A secretary
(d) Middle Eastern Islamist males between the ages of 17 and 40.
7. In 1985 TWA flight 847 was hijacked at Athens, and a U.S. Navy diver was murdered by:
(a) A Marine officer with two weeks leave
(b) A plumber going to visit his mom
(c) A Catholic nun
(d) Middle Eastern Islamist males between the ages of 17 and 40.
8. In 1988, Pan Am Flight 103 was bombed by:
(a) A college-bound freshman
(b) A cardiac surgeon on his way to Houston
(c) A waitress
(d) Middle Eastern Islamist males between the ages of 17 and 40.
9. In 1993, the World Trade Center was bombed by:
(a) A starving actress
(b) A mom with a newborn
(c) Twin six-year-old boys
(d) Middle Eastern Islamist males between the ages of 17 and 40.
10. In 1995, a plot to blow up U.S.-bound international flights over the Pacific was attempted by:
(a) Hawaiian school kids
(b) A decorated Vietnam veteran
(c) Twin sisters on their way to Paducah
(d) Middle Eastern Islamist males between the ages of 17 and 40.
11. In 1998, the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania were bombed by:
(a) A local TV weatherman
(b) A dad and his two sons on a ski trip
(c) A widower going to visit his grandchildren
(d) Middle Eastern Islamist males between the ages of 17 and 40.
12. In 2000, 17 sailors died in an attack on the USS Cole (DDG 67) in Yemen by:
(a) A child in a stroller
(b) A high school class on their way to visit Washington, DC
(c) Newlyweds on their way to Miami
(d) Middle Eastern Islamist males between the ages of 17 and 40.
13. On 9/11/01, four airliners were hijacked—two flown into the World Trade Centers, one into the Pentagon and one into the ground in rural Pennsylvania. They were hijacked by:
(a) A retired police officer on a mission trip to Haiti
(b) A firefighter going to Maryland for training
(c) A paramedic on his way to vacation in Hawaii
(d) Middle Eastern Islamist males between the ages of 17 and 40.
14. In 2002 reporter Daniel Pearl and other Westerners were kidnapped and beheaded by:
(a) The Peace Corps
(b) Scottish clansmen
(c) Cuban refugees
(d) Middle Eastern Islamist males between the ages of 17 and 40.
15. In 2002, more than 330 hostages in Beslan and 130 hostages in Moscow were murdered in sieges by:
(a) American exchange students
(b) The Red Guard
(c) Church planters
(d) Middle Eastern Islamist males between the ages of 17 and 40.
16. In 2003 the United States liberated Iraq from “The Butcher of Baghdad,” but most American military personnel were killed by:
(a) Iraqi school-girls
(b) Street vegetable vendors
(c) Women without burkas
(d) Middle Eastern Islamist males between the ages of 17 and 40.
17. In 2004, more than 200 Spanish civilians were murdered on trains by bombs in Madrid, detonated by:
(a) Morning commuters
(b) A three-year-old Chinese girl
(c) Flamenco dancers
(d) Middle Eastern Islamist males between the ages of 17 and 40.
18. In 2005 more than 50 UK citizens were killed by bombs on trains in London, detonated by:
(a) Rail workers
(b) Those unable to hail taxis
(c) Wheelchair-bound grandmothers
(d) Middle Eastern Islamist males between the ages of 17 and 40.
19. In 2005, there were hundreds of casualties, men, women and children, killed by bombs in Jerusalem, Riyadh and Amman. These innocent civilians were murdered by:
(a) Construction workers
(b) Farmers
(c) Christian missionaries
(d) Middle Eastern Islamist males between the ages of 17 and 40.
20. In 2005, the city of Paris, and other European cities experienced an extended period of riots and destruction. The unrest was led by:
(a) “Youth”
(b) Soccer fans
(c) Catholic nuns
(d) Middle Eastern Islamist males between the ages of 17 and 40.
21. Since the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom, more than 2,500 Americans have been murdered by terrorists. 35,000 Iraqi men, women and children have also been murdered by terrorists. Most of the combat and civilians casualties were the result of bombs detonated in civilian population centers by:
(a) Portuguese fruit vendors
(b) Disgruntled transit union workers
(c) Nebraska schoolteachers
(d) Middle Eastern Islamist males between the ages of 17 and 40.
22. In 2006, hundreds of Israeli civilians have been killed by rockets launched by:
(a) the Salvation Army
(b) remnants of the ‘Jackson Five’
(c) the cast of ‘Friends’
(d) Middle Eastern Islamist males between the ages of 17 and 40.
23. In 2006, a plot to blow up 10 U.S.-bound planes from the U.K. was attempted by:
(a) members of the Royal Family
(b) Japanese tourists
(c) Metallica groupies
(d) Middle Eastern Islamist males between the ages of 17 and 40.
24. Since 2001, the FBI has reported that there are major terrorist cells still in U.S. urban centers. Several of these cells have been uncovered and cell members arrested. In every case, the terrorists cell members were:
(a) elderly Southern Baptists
(b) Lutheran Youth Groups
(c) Presbyterian ministers
(d) Middle Eastern Islamist males between the ages of 17 and 40.
"Middle Eastern Islamist males, or those they've converted between the ages of 17 and 40.
Who ended up controlling Germany? Who is gonna end=up controlling Lebanon? Hizollah is NOT going to give-up their weapons and the French, the FRENCH? - are gonna be the peace protectors for the UN.
The FRENCH? The UNITED NATIONS?
Israel is paying the price for electing a liberal lawyer
Welcome back, freeper Salvation! (Vanity) -- A travelogue of a pilgrimage through Eastern Europe
When a Christian converts, he meets Jesus, the Prince of Peace. When one converts to Islam, he meets Muhammad, part John Gotti, part David Koresh - as Serge Trifkovic puts it
Excellent!
Well done!
*Yeah. I studied history in College.
Holy Flip-Flop! RIP, CG
Great series of posts Gipper Gal. Thanks for sharing your insights and analysis.
Okay, here's just one. This an excerpt (though I encourage you to read the full article):
The spiritual leader of Israel's ultra-orthodox Shas party, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, has provoked outrage with a sermon calling for the annihilation of Arabs."It is forbidden to be merciful to them. You must send missiles to them and annihilate them. They are evil and damnable," he was quoted as saying in a sermon delivered on Monday to mark the Jewish festival of Passover.
Rabbi Yosef is one of the most powerful religious figures in Israel, He is known for his outspoken comments and has in the past referred to the Arabs as "vipers".
Through his influence over Shas, Israel's third largest political party, he is also a significant political figure.
As founder and spiritual leader of the political party Shas, Rabbi Yosef is held in almost saintly regard by hundreds of thousands of Jews of Middle Eastern and North African origin.
The Palestinian Authority has condemned the sermon as racist and is calling on international organisations to treat the rabbi as a war criminal.
Rabbi Yosef said in his sermon that enemies have tried to hurt the Jewish people from the time of the exodus from Egypt to this day.
"The Lord shall return the Arabs' deeds on their own heads, waste their seed and exterminate them, devastate them and vanish them from this world," he said.
Having posted the requested proof, I would like to make absolutely clear that I do NOT believe that Orthodox Judaism is necessarily racist or violent. In fact, real Orthodox Jews were the earliest critics of the state of Israel's treatment of its neighbors. I direct your attention to the website of Neturei Karta. They have been consistent advocates of peace and human rights for everyone in the middle east.
I can't say the same about Islam. However, I know many moderate, peaceful, and tolerant Muslims. Here's an example of the typical Beiruti Muslim for you. This is from a Reuters article on July 21, 2006:
BEIRUT: Tens of thousands of foreigners and Lebanese lucky enough to hold other passports may be fleeing Israeli bombardment of Lebanon, but those left behind feel the world has abandoned them again.
Even before the latest crisis erupted eight days ago with the capture of two Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah guerrillas, Lebanon was etched on the world’s memory in grainy television images of a civil war that tore the country apart.
"After living through the war, I could not bear to hear another shot. I would even feel terrible when the electricity went off. In war, all the things you might have been working for years suddenly become meaningless," says Mohamed Shreif, an artist who runs a bar in Beirut.
Even after our long war, we are being ignored again by the international community and I have lost faith in humanity. I realise that we mean nothing to them, just nothing."
A Muslim who runs a bar and who "could not bear to hear another shot" is not a danger to Israel or America.
Peace comes AFTER we kill the enemy.
Funny, that's exactly what Hezbollah's leader preaches. But he's a savage. You're not, of course. You're one of the "good guys". You just have a slightly different interpretation of Jesus' commandment to "turn the other cheek."
BTW, I feel slighted. I too opposed your poor grasp of histroy and your inane ideas about how to respond to Arab and Muslim terrorism directed at Israel and, yet, so far, I have not been called any names.[sic]
My parents taught me that it's not polite to ridicule the mentally ill.
After spending over a decade in civil war, the Lebanese decided that killing and murdering each other does not lead to peace. It corrupts the soul. It brings damnation to all. It destroys the land. They listened and actually tried to live what John Paul II came to Lebanon to tell them in May 1997:
Lebanon is called to look resolutely to the future, a future freely determined by the choice of its people....Henceforth all are called to commitment on behalf of peace, reconciliation and fraternal life, by offering at their various levels signs of forgiveness and by working in the service of the national community, so that violence will never again prevail over dialogue, fear and suspicion over trust, resentment over fraternal love.In this new Lebanon which you are slowly rebuilding, it is important to give a place to every citizen, particularly to those who, inspired by legitimate patriotism, wish to become involved in political activity or economic life.
He brought them hope that they could once again live in peace. I really wish the world would listen to the wisdom of John Paul II. He knew what war was. He knew what it did to people. And he knew how to topple dictators without tanks! The Gipper himself knew that Poland was the pebble that started the avalanche that toppled Soviet tyranny. You can thank the Polish Pope for that.
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