Turkish police fired tear gas and water cannon today (May 31, 2013) at demonstrators in central Istanbul, wounding scores of people and prompting rallies in other cities in Turkey in the fiercest anti-government protests in years, the Reuters website reports.
Thousands of demonstrators massed on streets surrounding Istanbul's central Taksim Square, long a venue for political unrest, while protests also erupted in the capital, Ankara, and the Aegean coastal city of Izmir.
The unrest reflects growing disquiet at the authoritarianism of Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and his Islamist-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP). Erdogan has been changing the democratic form of government in Turkey into an Islamist-centerd government during his decade in power.
"We do not have a government, we have Tayyip Erdogan," said Koray Caliskan, a political scientist at Bosphorus University, who attended the protest.
Erdogan remains Turkey's most popular politician, and is widely viewed as its most powerful leader since Mustafa Kemal Ataturk founded the modern secular republic on the ashes of the Ottoman Empire 90 years ago. "These people will not bow down to you" read one banner at Istanbul's Gezi Park protest, alongside a cartoon of Erdogan wearing an Ottoman emperor's turban.
Friday, May 31, 2013
FL Courthouse to Have 1st US Atheist Monument; Atheists Agree 10 Commandments Display to Stay
A courthouse in Florida will soon be the site of what is hailed as the first atheist monument to be found on government property in the United States, the Christian Post website reports today (May 31, 2013).
Bradford County Courthouse will have a large granite bench placed by the national organization the American Atheists in late June 2013.
Dave Muscato -- public relations director for the American Atheists -- said the atheist monument was part of a settlement made with Bradford County over allowing a Ten Commandments display to remain at its courthouse.
Muscato added, "Equal access in this case works for us. We are thrilled to place what we believe to be the first ever atheist-sponsored monument on government property in the history of the United States."
Bradford County Courthouse will have a large granite bench placed by the national organization the American Atheists in late June 2013.
Dave Muscato -- public relations director for the American Atheists -- said the atheist monument was part of a settlement made with Bradford County over allowing a Ten Commandments display to remain at its courthouse.
Muscato added, "Equal access in this case works for us. We are thrilled to place what we believe to be the first ever atheist-sponsored monument on government property in the history of the United States."
Card.Wuerl Receives Petition Against Georgetown; Seeks to End University's Identity as Catholic Inst.
A canon law petition asking Cardinal Donald Wuerl to rescue Georgetown University's Catholic identity -- or declare that it can no longer refer to itself as Catholic! -- was delivered to the Archdiocese of Washington (D.C.) today (May 31, 2013), according to the Cardinal Newman Society website. The petition was signed by more than 1200 people, including Georgetown alumni, students, parents, faculty, and others.
Distinguished Georgetown alumnus William Peter Blatty -- an Academy Award winner and author of "The Exorcist" -- announced in May 2012 the formation of the Father King Society and its plans to file a complaint under the Catholic Church's canon law. The completed petition -- which is 198 pages long -- documents abuses of Catholic identity at Georgetown University and non-compliance with Church law for Catholic universities.
The group is seeking remedies "including, if made necessary, the removal or suspension of top-ranked Georgetown's right to call itself Catholic and Jesuit in its fundraising and representations to applicants," according to leaders.
Submitted with the petition is a 120-page dossier prepared by The Cardinal Newman Society in Blatty's request, summarizing Georgetown scandals documented by the Society over several years. The Newman Society and canon law experts were consulted for advice by the King Society throughout the year-long process of preparing the brief.
Distinguished Georgetown alumnus William Peter Blatty -- an Academy Award winner and author of "The Exorcist" -- announced in May 2012 the formation of the Father King Society and its plans to file a complaint under the Catholic Church's canon law. The completed petition -- which is 198 pages long -- documents abuses of Catholic identity at Georgetown University and non-compliance with Church law for Catholic universities.
The group is seeking remedies "including, if made necessary, the removal or suspension of top-ranked Georgetown's right to call itself Catholic and Jesuit in its fundraising and representations to applicants," according to leaders.
Submitted with the petition is a 120-page dossier prepared by The Cardinal Newman Society in Blatty's request, summarizing Georgetown scandals documented by the Society over several years. The Newman Society and canon law experts were consulted for advice by the King Society throughout the year-long process of preparing the brief.
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Al Qaeda Magazine Boasts about Terrorist Attacks; Editor of Mag. Says Terror War Has Barely Started
A new issue of the al Qaeda-published propaganda magazine titled "Inspire" boasts about recent terrorist attacks in Boston and the U.K., and urges young Muslims to carry out similar "lone wolf" operations against the West, the NBC News website reports today (May 30, 2013).
The spring 2013 issue of the online publication contains multiple articles praising alleged Boston Marathon bombers Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and one in last week's gruesome knife slaying of a British soldier in London.
"When one looks at the terrific Boston Marathon operation and its aftermath.... he understands how a single lone jihad operation can force America to stand on one foot and live in a terrified state, full of fear and rare restlessness," reads one article under the byline Abu Abdillah Almoravid.
A "Letter from the Editor" warns, "Americans you should understand this simple equation: as you kill, you will be killed.... The war is yet to cease, it has barely started."
The spring 2013 issue of the online publication contains multiple articles praising alleged Boston Marathon bombers Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and one in last week's gruesome knife slaying of a British soldier in London.
"When one looks at the terrific Boston Marathon operation and its aftermath.... he understands how a single lone jihad operation can force America to stand on one foot and live in a terrified state, full of fear and rare restlessness," reads one article under the byline Abu Abdillah Almoravid.
A "Letter from the Editor" warns, "Americans you should understand this simple equation: as you kill, you will be killed.... The war is yet to cease, it has barely started."
Greek Police Arrest Afghan Man on Corfu Island; Illegal Immigrant Threw Woman Over Coastal Wall
Police on the beautiful Greek island of Corfu in the Ionian Sea have arrested an illegal Afghan immigrant after he robbed a 20-year-old student and callously threw her over an eight-meter coastal wall, the Europe News website reports today (May 30, 2013).
Police were surprised to find the Afghan man had tattoos of swastikas and other Nazi symbols on his body.
Pantelis Haidos -- the father of the young history student that was attacked -- said she was returning home from a night out with friends when the alien Afghan robbed her. The young woman immediately handed over her purse when the robber demanded it, but as two cars approached the Afghan man threw the Greek girl over the coastal wall.
Ms. Haidos is hospitalized, but is now out of danger. Meanwhile, the criminal perpetrator is being held in jail and has been charged with robbery and attempted murder. The Afghan man -- who said he is a Muslim -- had applied for political asylum in Greece.
Police were surprised to find the Afghan man had tattoos of swastikas and other Nazi symbols on his body.
Pantelis Haidos -- the father of the young history student that was attacked -- said she was returning home from a night out with friends when the alien Afghan robbed her. The young woman immediately handed over her purse when the robber demanded it, but as two cars approached the Afghan man threw the Greek girl over the coastal wall.
Ms. Haidos is hospitalized, but is now out of danger. Meanwhile, the criminal perpetrator is being held in jail and has been charged with robbery and attempted murder. The Afghan man -- who said he is a Muslim -- had applied for political asylum in Greece.
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Vatican: 100,000 Christians Are Killed Each Year; Tells UN It's Concerned with Rel. Freedom Crimes
More than 100,000 people around the world are killed each year because they are Christians, the Independent Catholic News website reports today (May 29, 2013).
Archbishop Silvano Maria Tomasi -- Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations and Other International Organizations -- said the Holy See is deeply concerned over violations of religious freedom and systematic attacks on Christian communities in regions of the world such as Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.
Speaking during the 23rd Session of the Human Rights Council Interactive Dialogue with High Commissioner in Geneva on May 27, Archbishop Tomasi said, "The serious violations of the right to freedom of religion in general and the recent continuing discrimination and systematic attacks inflicted on some Christian communities in particular, deeply concern the Holy See and many democratic governments whose population embrace various religious and cultural traditions."
He added, "Credible research has reached the shocking conclusion that an estimate of more than 100,000 Christians are violently killed because of some relation to their faith every year. Other Christians and other believers are subjected to forced displacement, to the destruction of their places of worship, to rape and to the abduction of their leaders -- as it recently happened in the case of Bishops Yohanna Ibrahim and Boulos Yaziji, in Aleppo (Syria)." These two Orthodox Christian bishops are still in the hands of anti-Christian kidnappers.
Archbishop Silvano Maria Tomasi -- Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations and Other International Organizations -- said the Holy See is deeply concerned over violations of religious freedom and systematic attacks on Christian communities in regions of the world such as Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.
Speaking during the 23rd Session of the Human Rights Council Interactive Dialogue with High Commissioner in Geneva on May 27, Archbishop Tomasi said, "The serious violations of the right to freedom of religion in general and the recent continuing discrimination and systematic attacks inflicted on some Christian communities in particular, deeply concern the Holy See and many democratic governments whose population embrace various religious and cultural traditions."
He added, "Credible research has reached the shocking conclusion that an estimate of more than 100,000 Christians are violently killed because of some relation to their faith every year. Other Christians and other believers are subjected to forced displacement, to the destruction of their places of worship, to rape and to the abduction of their leaders -- as it recently happened in the case of Bishops Yohanna Ibrahim and Boulos Yaziji, in Aleppo (Syria)." These two Orthodox Christian bishops are still in the hands of anti-Christian kidnappers.
Disgraced Michigan Judge Sentenced to Yr. in Jail; Diane Hathaway Convicted of Falsifying Bank Info
A former justice of the Michigan Supreme Court was sentenced on May 28, having been convicted of bank fraud, the Spero Forum website reports today (May 29, 2013). Defense lawyer Steven Fishman had requested leniency in an appearance before a federal court in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Former justice Diane Hathaway -- who was elected to the Michigan Supreme Court in 2008 -- pleaded guilty in January to making misleading statements to a bank during the short sale of her house in Gross Pointe, a wealthy suburb of Detroit. She resigned her judgeship on January 21.
She was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge John Corbett O'Meara to one year and one day in prison, followed by two years of supervised release.
Appearing shaken, Hathaway addressed the court before receiving her sentence. The former jurist said she was "ashamed and humiliated." She added, "I stand before you a broken person.... I take full responsibility for my actions."
Former justice Diane Hathaway -- who was elected to the Michigan Supreme Court in 2008 -- pleaded guilty in January to making misleading statements to a bank during the short sale of her house in Gross Pointe, a wealthy suburb of Detroit. She resigned her judgeship on January 21.
She was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge John Corbett O'Meara to one year and one day in prison, followed by two years of supervised release.
Appearing shaken, Hathaway addressed the court before receiving her sentence. The former jurist said she was "ashamed and humiliated." She added, "I stand before you a broken person.... I take full responsibility for my actions."
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