Seven
9 years ago
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Italian blog
if you are at all interested in italian politics, this blog: http://italianroots.blogspot.com/ keeps you informed every so often... love the blog!!!
Co-worker drives body in UPS truck
Sun July 27, 2008
Co-worker drives body in UPS truck
Story Highlights
Co-worker agrees to take body of man who died of cancer to funeral service
Michael McGowan plans to keep picture of deceased co-worker in his truck
Widow describes her husband as having been "the happiest UPS man alive"
CRYSTAL LAKE, Illinois (AP) -- Jeff Hornagold loved being a UPS driver.
So when the suburban Chicago man died this week of lung cancer, longtime co-worker Michael McGowan agreed to take him on one last delivery.
McGowan transported Hornagold's body from Davenport Family Funeral Home to Saturday's funeral services in his UPS truck.
McGowan says he plans to keep a picture of Hornagold in his truck until he retires so that they can keep riding together.
Hornagold was a UPS driver for 20 years, and his wife Judy Hornagold described him as "just the happiest UPS man alive."
She says the special delivery was the perfect tribute.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Co-worker drives body in UPS truck
Story Highlights
Co-worker agrees to take body of man who died of cancer to funeral service
Michael McGowan plans to keep picture of deceased co-worker in his truck
Widow describes her husband as having been "the happiest UPS man alive"
CRYSTAL LAKE, Illinois (AP) -- Jeff Hornagold loved being a UPS driver.
So when the suburban Chicago man died this week of lung cancer, longtime co-worker Michael McGowan agreed to take him on one last delivery.
McGowan transported Hornagold's body from Davenport Family Funeral Home to Saturday's funeral services in his UPS truck.
McGowan says he plans to keep a picture of Hornagold in his truck until he retires so that they can keep riding together.
Hornagold was a UPS driver for 20 years, and his wife Judy Hornagold described him as "just the happiest UPS man alive."
She says the special delivery was the perfect tribute.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Rabbi condemns release of purported Obama prayer note
Rabbi condemns release of purported Obama prayer note
Story Highlights
Prayer note purportedly written by Barack Obama removed from prayer wall
Rabbi who supervises wall condemns its removal
Israeli newspaper prints what it says are the contents of the prayer
JERUSALEM (CNN) -- The rabbi who supervises Jerusalem's Western Wall condemned the removal of a prayer note purportedly written by Sen. Barack Obama, saying the action was "sacrilegious."
Sen. Barack Obama leaves a prayer note in Jerusalem's Western Wall.
The U.S. presidential candidate visited the holy site early Thursday and placed a note in the cracks of the wall -- a custom of visitors.
The note was subsequently removed from the wall, according to the Israeli newspaper, Ma'ariv, which printed what it said were the contents of the prayer.
Ma'ariv said a seminary student gave the note to the newspaper.
Obama's senior strategist Robert Gibbs told CNN, "We haven't confirmed nor denied" that the note is from the Illinois senator.
"This sacrilegious action deserves sharp condemnation and represents a desecration of the holy site," said Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, who supervises the Western Wall, in a statement.
He said notes are supposed to be removed twice a year, on the eve of Jewish New Year and Passover, and placed in a repository under supervision "to keep them hidden from human eyes."
"Notes which are placed in the Western Wall are between the person and his Maker; Heaven forbid that one should read them or use them in any way," Rabinowitz said.
CNN's Sasha Johnson, who was a part of a pool of journalists who accompanied Obama to the wall, said when reporters asked Obama what he wrote, he declined to share the contents of his prayer.
Obama told the reporters it was a private conversation between him and God, Johnson said.
"Anybody who goes to the Western Wall and places a note there does so under the assumption that it's a private communication between him and God, and therefore once he has that presumption of confidentiality, there are rabbinic decrees against reading anybody else's private communications," said Jonathan Rosenblum, director of the Orthodox Am Ehad think tank.
Obama returned to the United States Saturday night, bringing to an end his eight-day trip to the Middle East and Europe.
CNN's Paula Hancocks contributed to this report.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/07/27/obama.prayer/index.html?iref=mpstoryview
Story Highlights
Prayer note purportedly written by Barack Obama removed from prayer wall
Rabbi who supervises wall condemns its removal
Israeli newspaper prints what it says are the contents of the prayer
JERUSALEM (CNN) -- The rabbi who supervises Jerusalem's Western Wall condemned the removal of a prayer note purportedly written by Sen. Barack Obama, saying the action was "sacrilegious."
Sen. Barack Obama leaves a prayer note in Jerusalem's Western Wall.
The U.S. presidential candidate visited the holy site early Thursday and placed a note in the cracks of the wall -- a custom of visitors.
The note was subsequently removed from the wall, according to the Israeli newspaper, Ma'ariv, which printed what it said were the contents of the prayer.
Ma'ariv said a seminary student gave the note to the newspaper.
Obama's senior strategist Robert Gibbs told CNN, "We haven't confirmed nor denied" that the note is from the Illinois senator.
"This sacrilegious action deserves sharp condemnation and represents a desecration of the holy site," said Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, who supervises the Western Wall, in a statement.
He said notes are supposed to be removed twice a year, on the eve of Jewish New Year and Passover, and placed in a repository under supervision "to keep them hidden from human eyes."
"Notes which are placed in the Western Wall are between the person and his Maker; Heaven forbid that one should read them or use them in any way," Rabinowitz said.
CNN's Sasha Johnson, who was a part of a pool of journalists who accompanied Obama to the wall, said when reporters asked Obama what he wrote, he declined to share the contents of his prayer.
Obama told the reporters it was a private conversation between him and God, Johnson said.
"Anybody who goes to the Western Wall and places a note there does so under the assumption that it's a private communication between him and God, and therefore once he has that presumption of confidentiality, there are rabbinic decrees against reading anybody else's private communications," said Jonathan Rosenblum, director of the Orthodox Am Ehad think tank.
Obama returned to the United States Saturday night, bringing to an end his eight-day trip to the Middle East and Europe.
CNN's Paula Hancocks contributed to this report.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/07/27/obama.prayer/index.html?iref=mpstoryview
Friday, July 25, 2008
Randy Pausch: YouTube's star lecturer dies at 47
"If I don't seem as depressed or morose as I should be, sorry to disappoint you," Pausch said.
YouTube's star lecturer dies at 47
Story Highlights
Randy Pausch was computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon
His September 2007 "Last Lecture" became Internet sensation, best-seller
Pausch's lecture celebrated living the life he always dreamed
(CNN) -- Randy Pausch, the professor whose "last lecture" became a runaway phenomenon on the Internet and was turned into a best-selling book, died Friday of pancreatic cancer, Carnegie Mellon University announced on its Web site.
Randy Pausch emphasized the joy of life in his "last lecture," originally given in September 2007.
Pausch, 47, a computer science professor, delivered the lecture, "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams," at Carnegie Mellon in September 2007, a month after being told he had three to six months to live because his cancer had returned.
The lanky, energetic Pausch talked about goals he had accomplished, like experiencing zero gravity and creating Disney attractions, and those he had not, including becoming a professional football player.
He used rejections he was handed when he applied for jobs at Disney to comment on the importance of persistence.
"The brick walls are there for a reason ... to show us how badly we want something," he said. "Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don't want it badly enough. They're there to stop the other people." Watch what Pausch did for his wife »
Starting with a joke about "a deathbed conversion" -- "I just bought a Macintosh" computer -- the educator went on to say that one of his childhood dreams was to write an entry in the World Book Encyclopedia.
"I guess you can tell the nerds early," he added.
An expert in virtual reality, Pausch did go on to write an encyclopedia entry on the subject.
He discussed his fondness for winning stuffed animals at fairs, showed a slide of them, then -- pretending to be concerned his audience would think the image had been digitally manipulated -- produced them onstage.
Donning silly costume items like a vest with arrows sticking out of it and a Mad Hatter's hat, he described working with students as a way to help other people achieve their dreams.
He also played down his own importance, saying that after he got a Ph.D., his mother took to introducing him as "a doctor, but not the kind who helps people."
The lecture has been viewed more than 3.2 million times since it was posted on YouTube in December.
Pausch co-founded the university's Entertainment Technology Center and was known for developing interdisciplinary courses and research projects that attracted new students to the field of computer science. He also spent his career encouraging computer scientists to collaborate with artists, dramatists and designers, Carnegie Mellon said.
The university's president, Jared Cohon, described Pausch as "a brilliant researcher and gifted teacher."
"His love of teaching, his sense of fun and his brilliance came together in the Alice project, which teaches students computer programming while enabling them to do something fun -- making animated movies and games," Cohon added. "Carnegie Mellon -- and the world -- are better places for having had Randy Pausch in them."
Pausch describes Cohon urging him to talk about having fun in his lecture, and telling him it's difficult because it's like asking a fish to talk about water.
"I don't know how not to have fun," he said. "I'm dying and I'm having fun. And I'm going to keep having fun every day I have left."
Pausch is survived by his wife, Jai, and three children.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
July 24, 1911: Hiram Bingham 'Discovers' Machu Picchu
Top Stories Magazine Wired Blogs All Wired
Science : Discoveries
July 24, 1911: Hiram Bingham 'Discovers' Machu Picchu
By Randy Alfred 17 hours ago
Bingham's expedition photographed Machu Picchu soon after his 1911 arrival.
1911: Exploring in Peru, Yale archaeologist Hiram Bingham locates Machu Picchu, the lost city of the Incas. The event will set off a century of controversy.
Bingham was born in Honolulu, the son and grandson of Protestant missionaries in the Pacific. He graduated from Yale University and did graduate work in history and politics at the University of California and Harvard.
Bingham had already made two expeditions to South America -- and published a book on each -- when he returned to Peru in 1911. He located the last Inca capital, Vitcos, and made the first ascent of the 21,763-foot Mt. Coropuma. Then came the find that would make him famous: Machu Picchu.
Bingham eventually left academe for Republican politics, serving as lieutenant governor of Connecticut. He was also governor for one day, before moving on to the U.S. Senate for eight years. The Senate censured Bingham in 1929 for hiring a lobbyist. He died in 1956.
The controversies have not ended:
Did Bingham "discover" Machu Picchu?
Hardly. He was led there by local people who lived nearby and were using Machu Picchu's agricultural terraces. He did, however, conduct the first archaeological excavations there and uncovered the famous structures hidden by four centuries of disuse. He also documented, mapped and photographed the site over several years.
Was Bingham the first European to visit Machu Picchu?
Maybe not. Some claim that the German adventurer and businessman Augusto Berns had visited the site some four decades earlier, with the blessing of the Peruvian government. Others say that two missionaries had trekked there in 1906, five years before Bingham.
Bingham, however, was clearly the first to scientifically explore the place, and he also publicized it. The entire April 1913 issue of National Geographic was devoted to it. Bingham also wrote about it, notably Inca Land: Explorations in the Highlands of Peru (1922) and Lost City of the Incas, a 1948 best-seller.
What was Bingham looking for?
After locating the capital, Vitcos, he was hoping to find the last Inca stronghold, Vilcabamba, which fell to the Spanish in 1573. Machu Picchu was in the wrong direction from Vitcos to be a likely Vilcabamba, but Bingham was so impressed by Machu Picchu's mountainous impregnability that for the first years of his exploration he thought he must have found Vilcabamba.
What kind of place was Machu Picchu?
For many years, it was uncertain if Machu Picchu was a city, a mountain fortress, a religious shrine, a royal palace or various combinations of these. Continuing archaeological exploration has produced a consensus that it was a highland retreat of the Inca royalty. "Machu Picchu was simply a royal estate," says archaeologist Richard Burger. "You can think of it as the Inca equivalent of Camp David."
Who owns the artifacts Bingham removed from Machu Picchu?
Yale University's Peabody Museum has housed hundreds of museum-quality artifacts (and thousands of fragments) for nearly a century. The government of Peru maintains that these were only loaned to Bingham, and that they belong to Peru and its people.
After years of negotiations, Yale and Peru signed a Memorandum of Understanding in March 2008. Yale acknowledged Peruvian ownership of the collection and pledged to work with Peru to promote an international traveling exhibit of the collection and create a permanent, new museum for it near Machu Picchu. Some prominent Peruvians think the agreement still gives Yale too much control.
The dispute is not alone. A similar controversy rages over Britain's continued control of the Elgin Marbles, decorative pieces removed from the Parthenon in Athens two centuries ago.
Does tourism threaten Machu Picchu?
Some people fear that. Machu Picchu was already a World Heritage Site when it was named one of the Modern Wonders of the World in 2007. That led archaeologist Luis Lumbreras to warn that the influx of tourists was already damaging both the historic site and the fragile ecosystem surrounding it.
This controversy, too, is not alone. Striking a balance between protecting a site and providing access to let people experience it has caused restrictions at England's Stonehenge, France's Lascaux cave paintings and elsewhere.
Balancing preservation and access is also a conundrum in planning for Yosemite and other national parks. Some natural sites, like the exact location of the world's oldest living tree (Methuselah, a bristlecone pine in the eastern Sierra Nevada) or the world's tallest tree (a coast redwood in Northern California) are just plain kept secret.
Source: Various
Science : Discoveries
July 24, 1911: Hiram Bingham 'Discovers' Machu Picchu
By Randy Alfred 17 hours ago
Bingham's expedition photographed Machu Picchu soon after his 1911 arrival.
1911: Exploring in Peru, Yale archaeologist Hiram Bingham locates Machu Picchu, the lost city of the Incas. The event will set off a century of controversy.
Bingham was born in Honolulu, the son and grandson of Protestant missionaries in the Pacific. He graduated from Yale University and did graduate work in history and politics at the University of California and Harvard.
Bingham had already made two expeditions to South America -- and published a book on each -- when he returned to Peru in 1911. He located the last Inca capital, Vitcos, and made the first ascent of the 21,763-foot Mt. Coropuma. Then came the find that would make him famous: Machu Picchu.
Bingham eventually left academe for Republican politics, serving as lieutenant governor of Connecticut. He was also governor for one day, before moving on to the U.S. Senate for eight years. The Senate censured Bingham in 1929 for hiring a lobbyist. He died in 1956.
The controversies have not ended:
Did Bingham "discover" Machu Picchu?
Hardly. He was led there by local people who lived nearby and were using Machu Picchu's agricultural terraces. He did, however, conduct the first archaeological excavations there and uncovered the famous structures hidden by four centuries of disuse. He also documented, mapped and photographed the site over several years.
Was Bingham the first European to visit Machu Picchu?
Maybe not. Some claim that the German adventurer and businessman Augusto Berns had visited the site some four decades earlier, with the blessing of the Peruvian government. Others say that two missionaries had trekked there in 1906, five years before Bingham.
Bingham, however, was clearly the first to scientifically explore the place, and he also publicized it. The entire April 1913 issue of National Geographic was devoted to it. Bingham also wrote about it, notably Inca Land: Explorations in the Highlands of Peru (1922) and Lost City of the Incas, a 1948 best-seller.
What was Bingham looking for?
After locating the capital, Vitcos, he was hoping to find the last Inca stronghold, Vilcabamba, which fell to the Spanish in 1573. Machu Picchu was in the wrong direction from Vitcos to be a likely Vilcabamba, but Bingham was so impressed by Machu Picchu's mountainous impregnability that for the first years of his exploration he thought he must have found Vilcabamba.
What kind of place was Machu Picchu?
For many years, it was uncertain if Machu Picchu was a city, a mountain fortress, a religious shrine, a royal palace or various combinations of these. Continuing archaeological exploration has produced a consensus that it was a highland retreat of the Inca royalty. "Machu Picchu was simply a royal estate," says archaeologist Richard Burger. "You can think of it as the Inca equivalent of Camp David."
Who owns the artifacts Bingham removed from Machu Picchu?
Yale University's Peabody Museum has housed hundreds of museum-quality artifacts (and thousands of fragments) for nearly a century. The government of Peru maintains that these were only loaned to Bingham, and that they belong to Peru and its people.
After years of negotiations, Yale and Peru signed a Memorandum of Understanding in March 2008. Yale acknowledged Peruvian ownership of the collection and pledged to work with Peru to promote an international traveling exhibit of the collection and create a permanent, new museum for it near Machu Picchu. Some prominent Peruvians think the agreement still gives Yale too much control.
The dispute is not alone. A similar controversy rages over Britain's continued control of the Elgin Marbles, decorative pieces removed from the Parthenon in Athens two centuries ago.
Does tourism threaten Machu Picchu?
Some people fear that. Machu Picchu was already a World Heritage Site when it was named one of the Modern Wonders of the World in 2007. That led archaeologist Luis Lumbreras to warn that the influx of tourists was already damaging both the historic site and the fragile ecosystem surrounding it.
This controversy, too, is not alone. Striking a balance between protecting a site and providing access to let people experience it has caused restrictions at England's Stonehenge, France's Lascaux cave paintings and elsewhere.
Balancing preservation and access is also a conundrum in planning for Yosemite and other national parks. Some natural sites, like the exact location of the world's oldest living tree (Methuselah, a bristlecone pine in the eastern Sierra Nevada) or the world's tallest tree (a coast redwood in Northern California) are just plain kept secret.
Source: Various
Monday, July 21, 2008
Indigenous grandmas nearly kicked out of Vatican
Indigenous grandmas nearly kicked out of Vatican
© Indian Country Today July 18, 2008. All Rights Reserved
Posted: July 18, 2008
by: Rob Capriccioso
Photo courtesy Marisol Villanueava --
Thirteen indigenous grandmothers, formally known as the International Council of Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers, initial greeting at the Vatican was not pleasant. The group was almost kicked out while performing a prayer and waiting to speak with Pope Benedict XVI.
ROME - They went to pray. They went to see Pope Benedict XVI on his home turf. They went to ask that he rescind historic church doctrine that played a role in the genocidal onslaught of millions of indigenous people worldwide.
For 13 indigenous grandmothers, accomplishing only one of their three goals wouldn't have been so bad - had they also not been harassed by several Vatican policemen who claimed the women were conducting ''anti-Catholic'' demonstrations.
The elders, formally known as the International Council of Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers, convened in the morning hours of July 9 at St. Peter's Square. After setting up an altar cloth, candles and sacred objects, including feathers and incense, they began holding a prayer and ceremony circle. Nine-year-old Davian Joell Stand-Gilpin, a direct descendant of Chief Dull Knife of the Lakota Nation, was brought along by one of the grandmothers to participate in traditional regalia.
Soon, however, four Vatican police officials asked the women to stop the prayer ceremony, claiming their prayers were in contradiction to the church's teachings - despite the two crosses on the alter cloth and some of the members being practitioners of the Catholic faith.
The officials told Carole Hart, an Emmy and Peabody award-winning producer and filmmaker traveling with the grandmas, that the group was in violation of Vatican policy. They said a permit Hart had obtained in order to document the prayer gathering was only relevant in terms of filming, but did not allow the women to pray, sing or burn incense.
The police said the actions of the grandmothers were ''idolatrous.''
Through the course of obtaining the permit, Hart had written to Vatican officials explaining that the grandmothers would be conducting a prayer ceremony at the site.
''We stuck to the fact that we were legitimately there with this permit,'' Hart said. ''The grandmas did not back down.''
Still, the police urged the grandmothers to move on; but Hart and the group appealed the decision to a higher authority. Finally, the police brought back a law official who assessed the situation. Upon seeing 13 indigenous elder women and hearing one of their songs, the official concluded there was no problem with the ceremony.
The official also ultimately invited the grandmothers to enter St. Peter's Basilica to rest and pray.
Despite their short-term success, the ultimate goal of the grandmothers - to hand-deliver a statement to Pope Benedict XVI, asking him to rescind several controversial papal bulls that played a part in the colonization of indigenous lands - was thwarted.
Documents from the 15th century, such as the papal bulls, show the papacy played a role in the genocidal onslaught that affected millions of indigenous people on the North American continent. In 1455, for instance, Pope Nicolas authorized Portugal ''to invade, search out, capture, vanquish and subdue all Saracens and pagans'' along the west coast of Africa, enslave them and confiscate their property - which set the tone for European interaction with the indigenous peoples of the Western Hemisphere.
Just a short time before the grandmothers left for their long-planned journey to Rome, Pope Benedict XVI announced that he would be leaving the Vatican to rest at his summer home, called Castel Gandolfo, in preparation for a trip to Australia.
The pope had originally been scheduled to be in residence July 9. Laura Jackson, the grandmothers' publicist, described the pope's decision to leave the Vatican as a ''sudden cancellation'' and noted that the grandmas held tickets to a scheduled public audience he was to have held that day.
While Castel Gandolfo is less than 20 miles away from the Vatican, the grandmothers ultimately decided not to make the journey to the pope's summer getaway despite some in their inner circle encouraging them to pay an unexpected visit.
Hart believes the grandmothers chose to focus on St. Peter's Square because it's part of the Vatican and is a strong symbol of the pope.
''As women of prayer, I think they felt that bringing their prayer there, on the very ground on which the church as an institution stands, as close as they could get to the heart of the church, would have a great effect on what will happen next,'' Hart said. Additionally, the women had no guarantee that they would even be able to enter the grounds of the pope's summer residence.
Instead, the elders left a package with one of the pope's personal guards at the Vatican. The package contained a written statement the women had sent to the Vatican in 2005 decrying the papal bulls, to which the Vatican never responded. It also contained a new 632-word statement to the pope asking him to repeal three Christian-based doctrines of ''discovery'' and ''conquest'' that set a foundation for claiming lands occupied by indigenous people around the world.
''We carry this message for Pope Benedict XVI, traveling with the spirits of our ancestors,'' the women said in their new message. ''While praying at the Vatican for peace, we are praying for all peoples. We are here at the Vatican, humbly, not as representatives of indigenous nations, but as women of prayer.''
The package was given to the pope's guard via a traditional Lakota manner, by extending it to him three times with him then accepting it on the fourth attempt. The entire process was captured on film, and is expected to be made into a documentary by Hart in the coming year.
It is unknown whether the pope has yet personally received the package, but legal scholars and Native activists in the U.S. have nonetheless been paying close attention to the grandmothers' journey.
''I think the trip is very significant,'' said Steven Newcomb, co-director of the Indigenous Law Institute and author of the book, ''Pagans in the Promised Land: Decoding the Doctrine of Christian Discovery,'' and an Indian Country Today columnist.
''These are women who are very much grounded in their own languages and traditions. They're able to raise visibility of the issue in ways that others are perhaps less effective.''
The grandmothers from the U.S. who sit on the women's council are Margaret Behan, of the Arapaho/Cheyenne of Montana; Agnes Baker Pilgrim, of the Takelma Siletz; Beatrice Long Visitor Holy Dance and Rita Long Visitor Holy Dance, both Oglala Lakota of Black Hills, S.D.; Mona Polacca, Havasupai/Hopi; and Rita Pitka Blumenstein, Yupik Eskimo.
All of the grandmothers are currently in private council in Assisi, Italy, and are expected to be returning home by early August.
© Indian Country Today July 18, 2008. All Rights Reserved
Posted: July 18, 2008
by: Rob Capriccioso
Photo courtesy Marisol Villanueava --
Thirteen indigenous grandmothers, formally known as the International Council of Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers, initial greeting at the Vatican was not pleasant. The group was almost kicked out while performing a prayer and waiting to speak with Pope Benedict XVI.
ROME - They went to pray. They went to see Pope Benedict XVI on his home turf. They went to ask that he rescind historic church doctrine that played a role in the genocidal onslaught of millions of indigenous people worldwide.
For 13 indigenous grandmothers, accomplishing only one of their three goals wouldn't have been so bad - had they also not been harassed by several Vatican policemen who claimed the women were conducting ''anti-Catholic'' demonstrations.
The elders, formally known as the International Council of Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers, convened in the morning hours of July 9 at St. Peter's Square. After setting up an altar cloth, candles and sacred objects, including feathers and incense, they began holding a prayer and ceremony circle. Nine-year-old Davian Joell Stand-Gilpin, a direct descendant of Chief Dull Knife of the Lakota Nation, was brought along by one of the grandmothers to participate in traditional regalia.
Soon, however, four Vatican police officials asked the women to stop the prayer ceremony, claiming their prayers were in contradiction to the church's teachings - despite the two crosses on the alter cloth and some of the members being practitioners of the Catholic faith.
The officials told Carole Hart, an Emmy and Peabody award-winning producer and filmmaker traveling with the grandmas, that the group was in violation of Vatican policy. They said a permit Hart had obtained in order to document the prayer gathering was only relevant in terms of filming, but did not allow the women to pray, sing or burn incense.
The police said the actions of the grandmothers were ''idolatrous.''
Through the course of obtaining the permit, Hart had written to Vatican officials explaining that the grandmothers would be conducting a prayer ceremony at the site.
''We stuck to the fact that we were legitimately there with this permit,'' Hart said. ''The grandmas did not back down.''
Still, the police urged the grandmothers to move on; but Hart and the group appealed the decision to a higher authority. Finally, the police brought back a law official who assessed the situation. Upon seeing 13 indigenous elder women and hearing one of their songs, the official concluded there was no problem with the ceremony.
The official also ultimately invited the grandmothers to enter St. Peter's Basilica to rest and pray.
Despite their short-term success, the ultimate goal of the grandmothers - to hand-deliver a statement to Pope Benedict XVI, asking him to rescind several controversial papal bulls that played a part in the colonization of indigenous lands - was thwarted.
Documents from the 15th century, such as the papal bulls, show the papacy played a role in the genocidal onslaught that affected millions of indigenous people on the North American continent. In 1455, for instance, Pope Nicolas authorized Portugal ''to invade, search out, capture, vanquish and subdue all Saracens and pagans'' along the west coast of Africa, enslave them and confiscate their property - which set the tone for European interaction with the indigenous peoples of the Western Hemisphere.
Just a short time before the grandmothers left for their long-planned journey to Rome, Pope Benedict XVI announced that he would be leaving the Vatican to rest at his summer home, called Castel Gandolfo, in preparation for a trip to Australia.
The pope had originally been scheduled to be in residence July 9. Laura Jackson, the grandmothers' publicist, described the pope's decision to leave the Vatican as a ''sudden cancellation'' and noted that the grandmas held tickets to a scheduled public audience he was to have held that day.
While Castel Gandolfo is less than 20 miles away from the Vatican, the grandmothers ultimately decided not to make the journey to the pope's summer getaway despite some in their inner circle encouraging them to pay an unexpected visit.
Hart believes the grandmothers chose to focus on St. Peter's Square because it's part of the Vatican and is a strong symbol of the pope.
''As women of prayer, I think they felt that bringing their prayer there, on the very ground on which the church as an institution stands, as close as they could get to the heart of the church, would have a great effect on what will happen next,'' Hart said. Additionally, the women had no guarantee that they would even be able to enter the grounds of the pope's summer residence.
Instead, the elders left a package with one of the pope's personal guards at the Vatican. The package contained a written statement the women had sent to the Vatican in 2005 decrying the papal bulls, to which the Vatican never responded. It also contained a new 632-word statement to the pope asking him to repeal three Christian-based doctrines of ''discovery'' and ''conquest'' that set a foundation for claiming lands occupied by indigenous people around the world.
''We carry this message for Pope Benedict XVI, traveling with the spirits of our ancestors,'' the women said in their new message. ''While praying at the Vatican for peace, we are praying for all peoples. We are here at the Vatican, humbly, not as representatives of indigenous nations, but as women of prayer.''
The package was given to the pope's guard via a traditional Lakota manner, by extending it to him three times with him then accepting it on the fourth attempt. The entire process was captured on film, and is expected to be made into a documentary by Hart in the coming year.
It is unknown whether the pope has yet personally received the package, but legal scholars and Native activists in the U.S. have nonetheless been paying close attention to the grandmothers' journey.
''I think the trip is very significant,'' said Steven Newcomb, co-director of the Indigenous Law Institute and author of the book, ''Pagans in the Promised Land: Decoding the Doctrine of Christian Discovery,'' and an Indian Country Today columnist.
''These are women who are very much grounded in their own languages and traditions. They're able to raise visibility of the issue in ways that others are perhaps less effective.''
The grandmothers from the U.S. who sit on the women's council are Margaret Behan, of the Arapaho/Cheyenne of Montana; Agnes Baker Pilgrim, of the Takelma Siletz; Beatrice Long Visitor Holy Dance and Rita Long Visitor Holy Dance, both Oglala Lakota of Black Hills, S.D.; Mona Polacca, Havasupai/Hopi; and Rita Pitka Blumenstein, Yupik Eskimo.
All of the grandmothers are currently in private council in Assisi, Italy, and are expected to be returning home by early August.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
British PM demands end to Israel settlements
British PM demands end to Israel settlements
Story Highlights
NEW: Brown: "Settlement expansion has made peace harder to achieve"
Was Brown's first trip to Israel and Palestinian territories as Britain's leader
Brown spoke at news conference with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas
He arrived in Israel after visiting Iraq where he met with PM Nouri al-Maliki
BETHLEHEM (AP) -- British Prime Minister Gordon Brown demanded Sunday that Israel cease settlement construction and promised more money to jump-start the battered Palestinian economy.
In his first trip to Israel and the Palestinian territories as Britain's leader, Brown repeatedly stressed that economics are key to Mideast peace and said Israel should ease travel restrictions in the West Bank that have hindered commerce.
But his strongest comments were reserved for the settlements: "I think the whole European Union is very clear on this matter: We want to see a freeze on settlements.
"Settlement expansion has made peace harder to achieve. It erodes trust; it heightens Palestinian suffering; it makes the compromises Israel needs to make for peace more difficult," Brown said at a news conference with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank town of Bethlehem.
Abbas went further in his criticism of Israel's construction in disputed east Jerusalem and the adjacent West Bank, telling Brown that Israel lacks commitment to the "principles and spirit" of Mideast peace efforts. He singled out stepped-up construction of homes for Jews in areas of Jerusalem the Palestinians claim for their capital.
At a joint appearance after meeting Brown later in Jerusalem, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert acknowledged that Israel disagrees with the Palestinians and Britain over the issue of settlements but added, "I am absolutely convinced, Mr. Prime Minister, that this should not stand in the way of an agreement between us and the Palestinians."
Olmert repeated his contention that agreement is "closer than ever" and said he hoped for an accord by the end of the year.
Israel and the Palestinians resumed peace talks late last year at a U.S.-backed conference in Annapolis, Maryland. Both sides had originally aspired to reach a final peace deal by the end of the year but have backed away from that goal somewhat because of arguments over settlements and whether the Palestinians are capable of enforcing security in areas they control.
Under the first phase of the internationally backed "road map" peace plan, which forms the basis of the negotiations, Israel was to freeze all settlement construction and the Palestinians were to crack down on militant groups.
The international community is trying to bolster Abbas' moderate government, and Brown said Britain would donate $60 million on top of $500 million the British government has pledged to the Palestinians over the next three years.
He spoke of the need to create jobs by building industrial parks, promoting small businesses and putting up desperately needed housing. He announced plans to host an international investment conference for the Palestinians in the fall and promised to help the Palestinians train their security forces.
Peace efforts are also complicated by the fact that the Gaza Strip is ruled by militants from Hamas. Ismail Haniyeh, who heads the Hamas government in Gaza, said Sunday that Brown should visit Gaza to see the "humanitarian crisis" caused by Israel's blockade of the territory, "unfortunately with the participation of several countries, including European countries and the British themselves."
Israel imposed a partial blockade on Gaza in response to rocket fire from the territory on southern Israel. A cease-fire currently in effect has decreased the rocket fire and has led Israel to increase the trickle of goods entering Gaza.
Brown's two-day visit to the region has been overshadowed by a claim from a Shiite militia holding five British hostages in Iraq that one of the captives killed himself.
The British leader arrived in the region after visiting Iraq, where he met with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and discussed the plight of the British hostages kidnapped by a Shiite group a year ago. Shortly after his departure, he called the report that one of the men had committed suicide "a very distressing development" and demanded that the Shiite militia "immediately and unconditionally" release the Britons.
The British government has yet to authenticate the group's claim.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Find this article at: http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/07/20/brown.israel.ap/index.html?eref=rss_latest
Story Highlights
NEW: Brown: "Settlement expansion has made peace harder to achieve"
Was Brown's first trip to Israel and Palestinian territories as Britain's leader
Brown spoke at news conference with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas
He arrived in Israel after visiting Iraq where he met with PM Nouri al-Maliki
BETHLEHEM (AP) -- British Prime Minister Gordon Brown demanded Sunday that Israel cease settlement construction and promised more money to jump-start the battered Palestinian economy.
In his first trip to Israel and the Palestinian territories as Britain's leader, Brown repeatedly stressed that economics are key to Mideast peace and said Israel should ease travel restrictions in the West Bank that have hindered commerce.
But his strongest comments were reserved for the settlements: "I think the whole European Union is very clear on this matter: We want to see a freeze on settlements.
"Settlement expansion has made peace harder to achieve. It erodes trust; it heightens Palestinian suffering; it makes the compromises Israel needs to make for peace more difficult," Brown said at a news conference with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank town of Bethlehem.
Abbas went further in his criticism of Israel's construction in disputed east Jerusalem and the adjacent West Bank, telling Brown that Israel lacks commitment to the "principles and spirit" of Mideast peace efforts. He singled out stepped-up construction of homes for Jews in areas of Jerusalem the Palestinians claim for their capital.
At a joint appearance after meeting Brown later in Jerusalem, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert acknowledged that Israel disagrees with the Palestinians and Britain over the issue of settlements but added, "I am absolutely convinced, Mr. Prime Minister, that this should not stand in the way of an agreement between us and the Palestinians."
Olmert repeated his contention that agreement is "closer than ever" and said he hoped for an accord by the end of the year.
Israel and the Palestinians resumed peace talks late last year at a U.S.-backed conference in Annapolis, Maryland. Both sides had originally aspired to reach a final peace deal by the end of the year but have backed away from that goal somewhat because of arguments over settlements and whether the Palestinians are capable of enforcing security in areas they control.
Under the first phase of the internationally backed "road map" peace plan, which forms the basis of the negotiations, Israel was to freeze all settlement construction and the Palestinians were to crack down on militant groups.
The international community is trying to bolster Abbas' moderate government, and Brown said Britain would donate $60 million on top of $500 million the British government has pledged to the Palestinians over the next three years.
He spoke of the need to create jobs by building industrial parks, promoting small businesses and putting up desperately needed housing. He announced plans to host an international investment conference for the Palestinians in the fall and promised to help the Palestinians train their security forces.
Peace efforts are also complicated by the fact that the Gaza Strip is ruled by militants from Hamas. Ismail Haniyeh, who heads the Hamas government in Gaza, said Sunday that Brown should visit Gaza to see the "humanitarian crisis" caused by Israel's blockade of the territory, "unfortunately with the participation of several countries, including European countries and the British themselves."
Israel imposed a partial blockade on Gaza in response to rocket fire from the territory on southern Israel. A cease-fire currently in effect has decreased the rocket fire and has led Israel to increase the trickle of goods entering Gaza.
Brown's two-day visit to the region has been overshadowed by a claim from a Shiite militia holding five British hostages in Iraq that one of the captives killed himself.
The British leader arrived in the region after visiting Iraq, where he met with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and discussed the plight of the British hostages kidnapped by a Shiite group a year ago. Shortly after his departure, he called the report that one of the men had committed suicide "a very distressing development" and demanded that the Shiite militia "immediately and unconditionally" release the Britons.
The British government has yet to authenticate the group's claim.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Find this article at: http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/07/20/brown.israel.ap/index.html?eref=rss_latest
Pictures from a friend
The birth of a ladybug/ladybird
From my friend Angie in UK
I know some of you enjoy my weird and wonderful photos, so I thought I would share a rather unique experience I recently had. Hands up who has seen the life cycle of a ladybird? Anyone seen one being born? Well here's a little nature lesson for you then First of all, this is how the poor lovely ladybird begins its life. Yes this ugly little critter is in the early stages of becoming what we all know and love
Oh but it gets worse! You see the shell has to harden up next, and they they have to do these rather unflattering yoga poses!
But then comes the big moment, when its time to break loose and get some sun and spots, and here it is happening ...
But then the poor little chap gets a real complex when he sees himself for the first time and realises he got his colours all wrong
Oh well, better luck next time! LOL!
From my friend Angie in UK
I know some of you enjoy my weird and wonderful photos, so I thought I would share a rather unique experience I recently had. Hands up who has seen the life cycle of a ladybird? Anyone seen one being born? Well here's a little nature lesson for you then First of all, this is how the poor lovely ladybird begins its life. Yes this ugly little critter is in the early stages of becoming what we all know and love
Oh but it gets worse! You see the shell has to harden up next, and they they have to do these rather unflattering yoga poses!
But then comes the big moment, when its time to break loose and get some sun and spots, and here it is happening ...
But then the poor little chap gets a real complex when he sees himself for the first time and realises he got his colours all wrong
Oh well, better luck next time! LOL!
********************************************
Saturday, July 19, 2008
A Muslim woman too orthodox for France
A Muslim woman too orthodox for France
By Katrin Bennhold
Friday, July 18, 2008
LA VERRIÈRE, France: When Faiza Silmi applied for French citizenship she was worried that her fluent French was not quite perfect enough or that her Moroccan upbringing would pose a problem.
"I would never have imagined that they would turn me down because of what I choose to wear," Silmi said, her hazel eyes looking out of the narrow slit in her niqab, an Islamic facial veil that is among three flowing layers of turquoise, blue and black that cover her body from head to toe.
But last month, France's highest administrative court upheld a decision to deny Silmi, 32, citizenship on the ground that her "radical" practice of Islam was incompatible with French values like equality of the sexes.
It was the first time that a French court had judged somebody's capacity to be assimilated into France based on private religious practice, taking laïcité - the country's strict concept of secularism - from the public sphere into the home.
The case has sharpened the focus on the delicate balance between the tradition of Republican secularism and the freedom of religion guaranteed under the French Constitution - and how that balance might be shifting. It comes four years after a law banning religious garb in public schools was reinforced. And it comes only weeks after a court in Lille annulled a marriage on request of a Muslim husband whose wife had lied about being a virgin. (The government subsequently demanded a review of the court decision.)
So far, citizenship has only been denied on religious grounds in France when applicants were believed to be close to fundamentalist groups.
The ruling has received almost unequivocal support across the political spectrum, including among many Muslims. Fadela Amara, the French minister for urban affairs, called Silmi's niqab "a prison" and a "straitjacket."
"It is not a religious insignia but the insignia of a totalitarian political project that promotes inequality between the sexes and is totally lacking in democracy," said Amara, herself a practicing Muslim of Algerian descent.
François Hollande, the leader of the opposition Socialist Party, called the ruling "a good application of the law," while Jacques Myard, the conservative lawmaker elected in the constituency where Silmi lives, demanded that face-covering veils be outlawed.
In an interview, Silmi told of her shock and embarrassment when she found herself unexpectedly in the public eye. Since July 12, when Le Monde first reported the court decision, her story has been endlessly dissected on newspaper front pages and in late-night television talk shows.
"They say I am under my husband's command and that I am a recluse," Silmi said during an hourlong conversation in her apartment in La Verrière, a small town 30 minutes southwest of Paris. At home, when there are no men present, she lifts her facial veil and exposes a smiling, heart-shaped face.
"They say I wear the niqab because my husband told me so," she said. "I want to tell them: It is my choice. I take care of my children and I leave the house when I please. I have my own car. I do the shopping on my own. Yes, I am a practicing Muslim, I am orthodox. But is that not my right?"
Silmi declined to have her photograph taken, saying that both she and her husband were uncomfortable with the idea.
Silmi married Karim, a French national of Moroccan descent, eight years ago and moved to France with him. Their four children, three boys and a girl, aged from 2 to 7, were all born in France. In 2004, Silmi applied for French citizenship, "because I wanted to have the same nationality as my husband and my children." But her request was denied a year later because of "insufficient assimilation" into France.
She appealed, invoking the right to religious freedom. But late last month the Council of State, the judicial institution with final say on disputes between individuals and the public administration, upheld the ruling.
"She has adopted a radical practice of her religion, incompatible with essential values of the French community, particularly the principle of equality of the sexes," said the ruling.
Emmanuelle Prada-Bordenave, the government commissioner who reported to the Council of State, said Simli's interviews with social services revealed that "she lives in total submission to her male relatives. She seems to find this normal and the idea of challenging it has never crossed her mind."
But everything is not as Western cliché might have it in the Silmi household. As she recounts her story, it is her husband who serves a steaming pot of mint tea and chocolate cookies. Silmi herself collected this interviewer from the rail station in her car. She does not wear her facial veil while driving and says that she also lifts it when she picks up her children at the local public school.
"What hurts me most is that people who don't know me judge me like this," she said. Journalists got many facts wrong, she said, starting with the number of her children and ending with the assertion that she refused to take off her veil when she was interviewed for her citizenship. "It is simply not true," she said.
M'hammed Henniche of the Union of Muslim Associations in the Seine-Saint-Denis district north of Paris, fears that the ruling may open the door to what he considers ever more arbitrary interpretations of what constitutes "radical" Islam.
"What is it going to be tomorrow? The annual pilgrimage to Mecca? The daily prayer?" said Henniche. "This sets a dangerous precedent. Religion, so far as it is personal, should be kept out of these decisions."
In one sign of the nature of some of the criteria used to evaluate Silmi's fitness to become French, the government commissioner approvingly noted in her report that she was treated by a male gynecologist during her pregnancies.
The Silmis say they live by a literalist interpretation of the Koran. They do not like the term Salafism, although they say literally it means following the way of the prophet Muhammad and his companions.
"But today 'Salafist' has come to mean political Islam; people who don't like the government and who approve of violence call themselves Salafists. We have nothing to do with them," said Karim Silm, a soft-spoken man with a visible prayer mark on his forehead and a religious beard.
His wife explains that in 2000 she decided to wear the niqab, a dress code typically found on the Arabian Peninsula, because in her eyes her traditional Moroccan attire - a flowing djelaba with head scarf - was not modest enough. "I don't like to draw men's looks," she said. "I want to belong to my husband and my husband only."
She has given herself until September to decide whether to challenge the ruling.
France is home to nearly five million Muslims, roughly half of whom are French citizens. Criteria for granting French citizenship include "assimilation," which normally focuses on how well the candidate speaks French.
Lately, though, President, Nicolas Sarkozy has stressed the importance of "integration" into French life. Part of his tougher immigration policy is a new law to make foreigners who want to join their families take an exam on French values as well as French language before leaving their countries.
Karim, a former bus driver who says he is finding it hard to get work because of his beard, dreams of moving his family to Morocco or Saudi Arabia. "We don't feel welcome here," he said. "I am French but I can't really say that I am proud of it right now."
Copyright © 2008 The International Herald Tribune www.iht.com
By Katrin Bennhold
Friday, July 18, 2008
LA VERRIÈRE, France: When Faiza Silmi applied for French citizenship she was worried that her fluent French was not quite perfect enough or that her Moroccan upbringing would pose a problem.
"I would never have imagined that they would turn me down because of what I choose to wear," Silmi said, her hazel eyes looking out of the narrow slit in her niqab, an Islamic facial veil that is among three flowing layers of turquoise, blue and black that cover her body from head to toe.
But last month, France's highest administrative court upheld a decision to deny Silmi, 32, citizenship on the ground that her "radical" practice of Islam was incompatible with French values like equality of the sexes.
It was the first time that a French court had judged somebody's capacity to be assimilated into France based on private religious practice, taking laïcité - the country's strict concept of secularism - from the public sphere into the home.
The case has sharpened the focus on the delicate balance between the tradition of Republican secularism and the freedom of religion guaranteed under the French Constitution - and how that balance might be shifting. It comes four years after a law banning religious garb in public schools was reinforced. And it comes only weeks after a court in Lille annulled a marriage on request of a Muslim husband whose wife had lied about being a virgin. (The government subsequently demanded a review of the court decision.)
So far, citizenship has only been denied on religious grounds in France when applicants were believed to be close to fundamentalist groups.
The ruling has received almost unequivocal support across the political spectrum, including among many Muslims. Fadela Amara, the French minister for urban affairs, called Silmi's niqab "a prison" and a "straitjacket."
"It is not a religious insignia but the insignia of a totalitarian political project that promotes inequality between the sexes and is totally lacking in democracy," said Amara, herself a practicing Muslim of Algerian descent.
François Hollande, the leader of the opposition Socialist Party, called the ruling "a good application of the law," while Jacques Myard, the conservative lawmaker elected in the constituency where Silmi lives, demanded that face-covering veils be outlawed.
In an interview, Silmi told of her shock and embarrassment when she found herself unexpectedly in the public eye. Since July 12, when Le Monde first reported the court decision, her story has been endlessly dissected on newspaper front pages and in late-night television talk shows.
"They say I am under my husband's command and that I am a recluse," Silmi said during an hourlong conversation in her apartment in La Verrière, a small town 30 minutes southwest of Paris. At home, when there are no men present, she lifts her facial veil and exposes a smiling, heart-shaped face.
"They say I wear the niqab because my husband told me so," she said. "I want to tell them: It is my choice. I take care of my children and I leave the house when I please. I have my own car. I do the shopping on my own. Yes, I am a practicing Muslim, I am orthodox. But is that not my right?"
Silmi declined to have her photograph taken, saying that both she and her husband were uncomfortable with the idea.
Silmi married Karim, a French national of Moroccan descent, eight years ago and moved to France with him. Their four children, three boys and a girl, aged from 2 to 7, were all born in France. In 2004, Silmi applied for French citizenship, "because I wanted to have the same nationality as my husband and my children." But her request was denied a year later because of "insufficient assimilation" into France.
She appealed, invoking the right to religious freedom. But late last month the Council of State, the judicial institution with final say on disputes between individuals and the public administration, upheld the ruling.
"She has adopted a radical practice of her religion, incompatible with essential values of the French community, particularly the principle of equality of the sexes," said the ruling.
Emmanuelle Prada-Bordenave, the government commissioner who reported to the Council of State, said Simli's interviews with social services revealed that "she lives in total submission to her male relatives. She seems to find this normal and the idea of challenging it has never crossed her mind."
But everything is not as Western cliché might have it in the Silmi household. As she recounts her story, it is her husband who serves a steaming pot of mint tea and chocolate cookies. Silmi herself collected this interviewer from the rail station in her car. She does not wear her facial veil while driving and says that she also lifts it when she picks up her children at the local public school.
"What hurts me most is that people who don't know me judge me like this," she said. Journalists got many facts wrong, she said, starting with the number of her children and ending with the assertion that she refused to take off her veil when she was interviewed for her citizenship. "It is simply not true," she said.
M'hammed Henniche of the Union of Muslim Associations in the Seine-Saint-Denis district north of Paris, fears that the ruling may open the door to what he considers ever more arbitrary interpretations of what constitutes "radical" Islam.
"What is it going to be tomorrow? The annual pilgrimage to Mecca? The daily prayer?" said Henniche. "This sets a dangerous precedent. Religion, so far as it is personal, should be kept out of these decisions."
In one sign of the nature of some of the criteria used to evaluate Silmi's fitness to become French, the government commissioner approvingly noted in her report that she was treated by a male gynecologist during her pregnancies.
The Silmis say they live by a literalist interpretation of the Koran. They do not like the term Salafism, although they say literally it means following the way of the prophet Muhammad and his companions.
"But today 'Salafist' has come to mean political Islam; people who don't like the government and who approve of violence call themselves Salafists. We have nothing to do with them," said Karim Silm, a soft-spoken man with a visible prayer mark on his forehead and a religious beard.
His wife explains that in 2000 she decided to wear the niqab, a dress code typically found on the Arabian Peninsula, because in her eyes her traditional Moroccan attire - a flowing djelaba with head scarf - was not modest enough. "I don't like to draw men's looks," she said. "I want to belong to my husband and my husband only."
She has given herself until September to decide whether to challenge the ruling.
France is home to nearly five million Muslims, roughly half of whom are French citizens. Criteria for granting French citizenship include "assimilation," which normally focuses on how well the candidate speaks French.
Lately, though, President, Nicolas Sarkozy has stressed the importance of "integration" into French life. Part of his tougher immigration policy is a new law to make foreigners who want to join their families take an exam on French values as well as French language before leaving their countries.
Karim, a former bus driver who says he is finding it hard to get work because of his beard, dreams of moving his family to Morocco or Saudi Arabia. "We don't feel welcome here," he said. "I am French but I can't really say that I am proud of it right now."
Copyright © 2008 The International Herald Tribune www.iht.com
'It's gonna be a bloodbath,' fallen soldier told father
updated 9:30 p.m. EDT, Fri July 18, 2008
'It's gonna be a bloodbath,' fallen soldier told father
Cpl. Matthew B. Phillips had a smile on his face in
'It's gonna be a bloodbath,' fallen soldier told father
Story Highlights
U.S. soldiers who died in Afghanistan were a few days from completing deployment
Some wanted money for school; others wanted to start a career in military
Relatives seek to reconcile their grief with their anger toward the military
By Emanuella Grinberg, CNN
(CNN) -- Cpl. Gunnar Zwilling suspected that his days were numbered last week, while he and his band of brothers in the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team prepared for a mission near Wanat, Afghanistan.
"It's gonna be a bloodbath," he told his father, Kurt Zwilling, on the phone in what would be their last conversation.
Kurt Zwilling braced himself for the worst but held out hope that his son would make it home.
"They were in the most dangerous place on Earth. They were in mortal danger, and there was nothing they could do about it," he said. "But they were soldiers, so they had to do their job."
With just a few days left in their 15-month tour, Gunnar Zwilling and eight of his comrades were killed July 13 in a clash with as many as 200 Taliban militants during a mission to set up an outpost near Wanat. It was the deadliest attack on U.S. troops in Afghanistan in three years.
In the wake of their deaths, the paratroopers have become symbols of what many say is a forgotten war, prompting the U.S. military to draw up plans for putting more troops and resources into the war in Afghanistan.
But before they were national heroes, the young soldiers were beloved sons, brothers, fathers and husbands who were drawn to the Army for different reasons.
Cpl. Jason D. Hovater, 24, of Clinton, Tennessee, joined the Army against his family's wishes with the intention of jump-starting his college education.
Before joining the service in 2006, Hovater was a "man of God" who divided his time between his father-in-law's landscaping company and playing songs of worship with his family.
"Everything that God deposited in that boy came out when he played the piano," said his mother, Kathy Hovater, who home-schooled her son and his three siblings.
Shortly after Hovater joined his combat team in Italy, his sister said, he called home and said he had made a mistake but was committed to following through with his service.
"He was a dedicated soldier. He did what he was supposed to do because he said if he weren't over there, all that horror and torment that was going on in the war, it would be over here," said his sister, Jessica Davis.
Cpl. Pruitt A. Rainey, 22, of Haw River, North Carolina, also joined the Army as a means to pay for his college education so he could become a teacher, according to Jeff Terrell, the leader of the youth group at the Glen Hope Baptist Church.
"He wasn't going to be a career military guy, but he believed in what he was doing," said Terrell, who knew Rainey since his teen years. "He felt like this would help him. He enjoyed it, but he had other plans.
"He really wanted to teach. He had a good way with kids. Kids flocked to him."
Before joining the Army, Rainey spent his time doing martial arts, a pastime that came naturally to the high school wrestling star, and volunteering for his church's youth ministry.
"The kids loved to jump on him like he was a big bear," Terrell said. "He was a big kid, but he was gentle."
Cpl. Jonathan R. Ayers, 24, of Snellville, Georgia, seemed destined for military service since childhood.
"Jon was just very military since he was 3 years old. He looked at your shoes, and if they weren't perfect, they were no good," said his father, Bill Ayers. "He loved the regiment of the military; he loved order and schedule."
Despite his fastidious tendencies, Ayers' father remembers him as a "cutup" who never failed to amuse with his Jeff Foxworthy impersonation.
"He loved to see people smile and laugh," Ayers said. "He was not a prankster, but he loved to tell jokes."
For the free-spirited Cpl. Matthew B. Phillips, 27, of Jasper, Georgia, the armed forces satisfied a need for adventure while providing a service to his country.
"Matt had a very individualistic personality. He loved living life," said his father, Michael Phillips. "Even though he was afraid at times, in every photo from Afghanistan, he had a big smile on his face."
Phillips, who left a wife behind, died on the same day his sister gave birth to her first son, whom she named after him.
Like other grieving relatives, Phillips' father is attempting to reconcile his emotions with concerns over how the military handled the situation.
"We're torn between incredible pride and anger. We're having a difficult time reconciling that after 14 months, someone who served his country well and paid his dues, why would he be placed in such a perilous situation?" Phillips said.
"There have to be some answers for the family."
Dean Bogar, the grandfather of Cpl. Jason M. Bogar, 25, of Seattle, Washington, said he was troubled by the fact that his grandson was fighting in a Taliban stronghold with little reinforcements.
"That's a big question mark," he said.
Even so, he said, he is proud of his grandson for bringing "valor" to the Bogar name.
"He was a nifty boy. He had a great sense of humor and was outgoing and very bright and upfront with everything," he said. "Kind of clever little imp."
In the beginning, Kurt Zwilling said, his son enjoyed the camaraderie, discipline and excitement that Army life offered.
"Everything he did, he did with a passion," Kurt Zwilling said of his son, who graduated from high school in Florissant, Missouri. "That's why he wanted to join the paratroopers: He wanted to go into the toughest thing and be with the best."
Even as the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan became apparent, Zwilling said, his son applied the same determination to his service that had carried him through high school theater, sports and music.
"He walked into the valley of death and didn't flinch. He knew what was going to happen, and he went anyway. That's bravery," he said.
For the parents of 1st Lt. Jonathan P. Brostrom, 24, of Aiea, Hawaii, knowing that their son died doing what he felt was right brings some sense of closure.
"He was very happy doing what he was doing, and he wouldn't have had it any other way," said his mother, Mary Jo Brostrom. "That was what he wanted to do, defend our freedom and serve with his brothers."
Brostrom's parents said they are grateful they had the chance to spend time with their son in May, when he showed up unexpectedly at their door on Mother's Day with a bouquet of flowers.
He spent the next few weeks surfing, fishing and spending every waking moment with his parents and his 6-year-old son, Jase.
"When he came home, he would wrestle around and try and make us laugh," Mary Jo Brostrom said. "He had a beautiful smile and a beautiful heart, and that's what we'll miss."
Find this article at:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/07/17/airborne.soldiers.family/index.html?iref=mpstoryview
'It's gonna be a bloodbath,' fallen soldier told father
Cpl. Gunnar Zwilling had a bad feeling about
his final mission in Afghanistan, said his father, Kurt.
First Lt. Jonathan P. Brostrom surprised his mother,
Mary Jo, on Mother's Day at his parents' Hawaii home.
Cpl. Matthew B. Phillips had a smile on his face in
every photo from Afghanistan, said his father, Michael.
Story Highlights
U.S. soldiers who died in Afghanistan were a few days from completing deployment
Some wanted money for school; others wanted to start a career in military
Relatives seek to reconcile their grief with their anger toward the military
By Emanuella Grinberg, CNN
(CNN) -- Cpl. Gunnar Zwilling suspected that his days were numbered last week, while he and his band of brothers in the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team prepared for a mission near Wanat, Afghanistan.
"It's gonna be a bloodbath," he told his father, Kurt Zwilling, on the phone in what would be their last conversation.
Kurt Zwilling braced himself for the worst but held out hope that his son would make it home.
"They were in the most dangerous place on Earth. They were in mortal danger, and there was nothing they could do about it," he said. "But they were soldiers, so they had to do their job."
With just a few days left in their 15-month tour, Gunnar Zwilling and eight of his comrades were killed July 13 in a clash with as many as 200 Taliban militants during a mission to set up an outpost near Wanat. It was the deadliest attack on U.S. troops in Afghanistan in three years.
In the wake of their deaths, the paratroopers have become symbols of what many say is a forgotten war, prompting the U.S. military to draw up plans for putting more troops and resources into the war in Afghanistan.
But before they were national heroes, the young soldiers were beloved sons, brothers, fathers and husbands who were drawn to the Army for different reasons.
Cpl. Jason D. Hovater, 24, of Clinton, Tennessee, joined the Army against his family's wishes with the intention of jump-starting his college education.
Before joining the service in 2006, Hovater was a "man of God" who divided his time between his father-in-law's landscaping company and playing songs of worship with his family.
"Everything that God deposited in that boy came out when he played the piano," said his mother, Kathy Hovater, who home-schooled her son and his three siblings.
Shortly after Hovater joined his combat team in Italy, his sister said, he called home and said he had made a mistake but was committed to following through with his service.
"He was a dedicated soldier. He did what he was supposed to do because he said if he weren't over there, all that horror and torment that was going on in the war, it would be over here," said his sister, Jessica Davis.
Cpl. Pruitt A. Rainey, 22, of Haw River, North Carolina, also joined the Army as a means to pay for his college education so he could become a teacher, according to Jeff Terrell, the leader of the youth group at the Glen Hope Baptist Church.
"He wasn't going to be a career military guy, but he believed in what he was doing," said Terrell, who knew Rainey since his teen years. "He felt like this would help him. He enjoyed it, but he had other plans.
"He really wanted to teach. He had a good way with kids. Kids flocked to him."
Before joining the Army, Rainey spent his time doing martial arts, a pastime that came naturally to the high school wrestling star, and volunteering for his church's youth ministry.
"The kids loved to jump on him like he was a big bear," Terrell said. "He was a big kid, but he was gentle."
Cpl. Jonathan R. Ayers, 24, of Snellville, Georgia, seemed destined for military service since childhood.
"Jon was just very military since he was 3 years old. He looked at your shoes, and if they weren't perfect, they were no good," said his father, Bill Ayers. "He loved the regiment of the military; he loved order and schedule."
Despite his fastidious tendencies, Ayers' father remembers him as a "cutup" who never failed to amuse with his Jeff Foxworthy impersonation.
"He loved to see people smile and laugh," Ayers said. "He was not a prankster, but he loved to tell jokes."
For the free-spirited Cpl. Matthew B. Phillips, 27, of Jasper, Georgia, the armed forces satisfied a need for adventure while providing a service to his country.
"Matt had a very individualistic personality. He loved living life," said his father, Michael Phillips. "Even though he was afraid at times, in every photo from Afghanistan, he had a big smile on his face."
Phillips, who left a wife behind, died on the same day his sister gave birth to her first son, whom she named after him.
Like other grieving relatives, Phillips' father is attempting to reconcile his emotions with concerns over how the military handled the situation.
"We're torn between incredible pride and anger. We're having a difficult time reconciling that after 14 months, someone who served his country well and paid his dues, why would he be placed in such a perilous situation?" Phillips said.
"There have to be some answers for the family."
Dean Bogar, the grandfather of Cpl. Jason M. Bogar, 25, of Seattle, Washington, said he was troubled by the fact that his grandson was fighting in a Taliban stronghold with little reinforcements.
"That's a big question mark," he said.
Even so, he said, he is proud of his grandson for bringing "valor" to the Bogar name.
"He was a nifty boy. He had a great sense of humor and was outgoing and very bright and upfront with everything," he said. "Kind of clever little imp."
In the beginning, Kurt Zwilling said, his son enjoyed the camaraderie, discipline and excitement that Army life offered.
"Everything he did, he did with a passion," Kurt Zwilling said of his son, who graduated from high school in Florissant, Missouri. "That's why he wanted to join the paratroopers: He wanted to go into the toughest thing and be with the best."
Even as the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan became apparent, Zwilling said, his son applied the same determination to his service that had carried him through high school theater, sports and music.
"He walked into the valley of death and didn't flinch. He knew what was going to happen, and he went anyway. That's bravery," he said.
For the parents of 1st Lt. Jonathan P. Brostrom, 24, of Aiea, Hawaii, knowing that their son died doing what he felt was right brings some sense of closure.
"He was very happy doing what he was doing, and he wouldn't have had it any other way," said his mother, Mary Jo Brostrom. "That was what he wanted to do, defend our freedom and serve with his brothers."
Brostrom's parents said they are grateful they had the chance to spend time with their son in May, when he showed up unexpectedly at their door on Mother's Day with a bouquet of flowers.
He spent the next few weeks surfing, fishing and spending every waking moment with his parents and his 6-year-old son, Jase.
"When he came home, he would wrestle around and try and make us laugh," Mary Jo Brostrom said. "He had a beautiful smile and a beautiful heart, and that's what we'll miss."
Find this article at:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/07/17/airborne.soldiers.family/index.html?iref=mpstoryview
A few "let's piss off Michelle" stories
Vatican 'regrets' female bishops decision
updated 9:03 a.m. EDT, Tue July 8, 2008
Story Highlights
NEW: Move a rift to apostolic tradition of ordaining only men as bishops, says Vatican
Church of England's General Synod passed resolution allowing female bishops
Some traditionalists threaten to leave Anglican Church for Roman Catholic Church
First consecration of a female bishop could happen in 2015
(CNN) -- The Vatican said Tuesday it regrets the decision by the Church of England's governing body to allow the ordination of women as bishops.
The move by the Anglican Church's General Synod "is a rift to the apostolic tradition" of ordaining only men as bishops, the Vatican said in a statement, and is another obstacle to reconciliation between Anglicans and Roman Catholics.
"This decision will have consequences on the dialogue which had brought good fruits," the Vatican statement said.
The General Synod passed a resolution Monday night that allows women to become bishops, acting over the objections of traditionalists who argued that Jesus only wanted men in leadership positions.
Some traditionalists have threatened to abandon the Anglican Church for the Roman Catholic Church if women become bishops. Several hundred Anglican priests made that move when women were first ordained 16 years ago.
The synod narrowly rejected a proposal for "super bishops," which would have allowed parishes opposed to female bishops to opt out. Opponents argued the plan would be insulting to female bishops.
The Church of England has about 114 bishops. They supervise parishes in Britain.
The final hurdle for the consecration of female bishops is expected in February with a vote on a "code of practice" intended to protect people who as "a matter of theological conviction will not be able to receive the ministry of women as bishops or priests."
The first consecration of a female bishop could happen in 2015.
The theological debate over female bishops has centered on the question "What would Jesus do?"
The traditionalists argued that bishops must be men, as were Jesus and his apostles.
Retired Canon Alan Duke, a longtime supporter of women in church leadership posts, said those arguments "simply do not stack up."
Duke said that while Jesus named no female disciples, he used and valued woman in radical and different ways for his time.
"He was hardly going to choose women and send them into a situation where they might have been in grave risk," Duke said.
Christina Rees, with the pro-women lobby Women and the Church, described what was at stake as "an acceptance by the Church of England of women on equal terms as men in the ordained ministries."
David Holding, a traditionalist church member, said he does not object to female bishops, but "there must be a proper provision made for those who can't go along with it."
The lack of a provision to allow traditionalists to choose to be under a "super bishop" instead of a woman raises concern that a schism could develop in the Church of England.
Duke described "an awful lot of bluster" but doubted there "will be a mass exodus."
Find this article at: http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/07/08/women.bishops/index.html
Story Highlights
Lambeth Conference, held every decade, brings together Anglican church leaders
Some bishops have boycotted event over gay clergy and female bishops
Conservative Anglican bishops decided last month to form their own movement
Anglican Communion is 3rd biggest church in the world, has 80M members
CANTERBURY, England (AP) -- The world's Anglican bishops turned Saturday to the enormous task at the heart of their once-a-decade summit: trying to keep the Anglican family from breaking apart over the Bible and homosexuality.
With its private prayer phase over, the Lambeth Conference gets down to business but is hobbled by a boycott: about one-quarter of the invited bishops -- mostly theological conservatives from Africa -- are not attending.
The 650 bishops who are here include a mix of traditionalists, moderates and liberals, all with divergent ideas about what Anglicans should believe and how their fellowship should operate.
The conference's opening public worship is set for Sunday in Canterbury Cathedral. The Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, the Anglican spiritual leader, has led a three-day closed-door session this week focused on the role of the bishops as seen through the Gospel.
Williams designed the entire gathering without any votes or resolutions. Instead, starting Monday, the bishops will hold daily Bible study and small group discussions. They plan to release their collective "reflections" on the meeting when it ends Aug. 3.
Some critics have said the program is an attempt to avoid decisive action. The 77 million-member Anglican Communion has been splintering since 2003, when the Episcopal Church, the U.S. Anglican body, consecrated the first openly gay bishop, V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire.
Last month, Anglican conservatives -- frustrated that Williams hasn't done more to keep the U.S. church and other liberal Anglicans in line with traditional Bible teaching -- formed a new global church network that circumvents Williams' authority but stops short of schism.
A few leaders of that movement are attending Lambeth, but most have stayed away. They released a statement ahead of the Sunday service condemning "false teaching which justifies sin in the name of Christianity."
"These are not merely matters of different perspectives and emphases," they wrote. "They have led to unbiblical practice in faith and morals, resulting in impaired and broken communion. We long for all orthodox Anglicans to join in resisting this development."
Archbishop Phillip Aspinall, head of the Anglican Church of Australia, defended the conference design Saturday as "not backing away from the hard realities we have to face, but nurturing the right spirit" to confront them.
Williams has told bishops they must "call everyone together" instead of aligning with one group or another. He also said bishops must not only listen to the people they lead, but also consider what God wants of them, according to bishops who discussed details of the private talks.
In one session, Williams asked the bishops, seated in the nave of the historic cathedral, to go pray with another bishop who they feel nervous about meeting, according to U.S. Episcopal Bishop George Councell of New Jersey.
Several bishops said as they looked around the cathedral, they were struck by the tombstones of Anglican church leaders who had served hundreds of years ago. It was a good reminder not only of the history of the Anglican fellowship but also of its ability to survive turmoil.
"We've been at this a long time," Councell said.
The Anglican Communion is a global fellowship of churches that trace their roots to the missionary work of the Church of England. It is the third-largest group of churches in the world, behind Roman Catholics and Orthodox Christians.
The communion has long held together different views of ritual and Scripture. But it's biggest and fastest-growing churches are now in Africa and other developing regions where strict interpretation of the Bible is the norm.
The wealthy but much smaller liberal-leaning churches in the U.S., Canada and Western Europe have seen dramatic drops in membership.
Williams barred Robinson and a few other problematic bishops from the Lambeth Conference to ensure broader participation. But he invited U.S. leaders who consecrated Robinson and bishops from other Anglican provinces that accept gay relationships.
Robinson has traveled to Canterbury anyway, hoping to meet with as many overseas Anglican bishops as possible. Advocates for gay and lesbian Anglicans have also set up in Canterbury, planning an opening service of their own in another church on Sunday.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Find this article at: http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/07/19/church.anglican.ap/index.html?eref=rss_latest
updated 9:03 a.m. EDT, Tue July 8, 2008
Story Highlights
NEW: Move a rift to apostolic tradition of ordaining only men as bishops, says Vatican
Church of England's General Synod passed resolution allowing female bishops
Some traditionalists threaten to leave Anglican Church for Roman Catholic Church
First consecration of a female bishop could happen in 2015
(CNN) -- The Vatican said Tuesday it regrets the decision by the Church of England's governing body to allow the ordination of women as bishops.
The move by the Anglican Church's General Synod "is a rift to the apostolic tradition" of ordaining only men as bishops, the Vatican said in a statement, and is another obstacle to reconciliation between Anglicans and Roman Catholics.
"This decision will have consequences on the dialogue which had brought good fruits," the Vatican statement said.
The General Synod passed a resolution Monday night that allows women to become bishops, acting over the objections of traditionalists who argued that Jesus only wanted men in leadership positions.
Some traditionalists have threatened to abandon the Anglican Church for the Roman Catholic Church if women become bishops. Several hundred Anglican priests made that move when women were first ordained 16 years ago.
The synod narrowly rejected a proposal for "super bishops," which would have allowed parishes opposed to female bishops to opt out. Opponents argued the plan would be insulting to female bishops.
The Church of England has about 114 bishops. They supervise parishes in Britain.
The final hurdle for the consecration of female bishops is expected in February with a vote on a "code of practice" intended to protect people who as "a matter of theological conviction will not be able to receive the ministry of women as bishops or priests."
The first consecration of a female bishop could happen in 2015.
The theological debate over female bishops has centered on the question "What would Jesus do?"
The traditionalists argued that bishops must be men, as were Jesus and his apostles.
Retired Canon Alan Duke, a longtime supporter of women in church leadership posts, said those arguments "simply do not stack up."
Duke said that while Jesus named no female disciples, he used and valued woman in radical and different ways for his time.
"He was hardly going to choose women and send them into a situation where they might have been in grave risk," Duke said.
Christina Rees, with the pro-women lobby Women and the Church, described what was at stake as "an acceptance by the Church of England of women on equal terms as men in the ordained ministries."
David Holding, a traditionalist church member, said he does not object to female bishops, but "there must be a proper provision made for those who can't go along with it."
The lack of a provision to allow traditionalists to choose to be under a "super bishop" instead of a woman raises concern that a schism could develop in the Church of England.
Duke described "an awful lot of bluster" but doubted there "will be a mass exodus."
Find this article at: http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/07/08/women.bishops/index.html
Anglicans seek to prevent church split
The Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams (centre)
stands with bishops at the 10 yearly Lambeth Conference.
Story Highlights
Lambeth Conference, held every decade, brings together Anglican church leaders
Some bishops have boycotted event over gay clergy and female bishops
Conservative Anglican bishops decided last month to form their own movement
Anglican Communion is 3rd biggest church in the world, has 80M members
CANTERBURY, England (AP) -- The world's Anglican bishops turned Saturday to the enormous task at the heart of their once-a-decade summit: trying to keep the Anglican family from breaking apart over the Bible and homosexuality.
With its private prayer phase over, the Lambeth Conference gets down to business but is hobbled by a boycott: about one-quarter of the invited bishops -- mostly theological conservatives from Africa -- are not attending.
The 650 bishops who are here include a mix of traditionalists, moderates and liberals, all with divergent ideas about what Anglicans should believe and how their fellowship should operate.
The conference's opening public worship is set for Sunday in Canterbury Cathedral. The Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, the Anglican spiritual leader, has led a three-day closed-door session this week focused on the role of the bishops as seen through the Gospel.
Williams designed the entire gathering without any votes or resolutions. Instead, starting Monday, the bishops will hold daily Bible study and small group discussions. They plan to release their collective "reflections" on the meeting when it ends Aug. 3.
Some critics have said the program is an attempt to avoid decisive action. The 77 million-member Anglican Communion has been splintering since 2003, when the Episcopal Church, the U.S. Anglican body, consecrated the first openly gay bishop, V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire.
Last month, Anglican conservatives -- frustrated that Williams hasn't done more to keep the U.S. church and other liberal Anglicans in line with traditional Bible teaching -- formed a new global church network that circumvents Williams' authority but stops short of schism.
A few leaders of that movement are attending Lambeth, but most have stayed away. They released a statement ahead of the Sunday service condemning "false teaching which justifies sin in the name of Christianity."
"These are not merely matters of different perspectives and emphases," they wrote. "They have led to unbiblical practice in faith and morals, resulting in impaired and broken communion. We long for all orthodox Anglicans to join in resisting this development."
Archbishop Phillip Aspinall, head of the Anglican Church of Australia, defended the conference design Saturday as "not backing away from the hard realities we have to face, but nurturing the right spirit" to confront them.
Williams has told bishops they must "call everyone together" instead of aligning with one group or another. He also said bishops must not only listen to the people they lead, but also consider what God wants of them, according to bishops who discussed details of the private talks.
In one session, Williams asked the bishops, seated in the nave of the historic cathedral, to go pray with another bishop who they feel nervous about meeting, according to U.S. Episcopal Bishop George Councell of New Jersey.
Several bishops said as they looked around the cathedral, they were struck by the tombstones of Anglican church leaders who had served hundreds of years ago. It was a good reminder not only of the history of the Anglican fellowship but also of its ability to survive turmoil.
"We've been at this a long time," Councell said.
The Anglican Communion is a global fellowship of churches that trace their roots to the missionary work of the Church of England. It is the third-largest group of churches in the world, behind Roman Catholics and Orthodox Christians.
The communion has long held together different views of ritual and Scripture. But it's biggest and fastest-growing churches are now in Africa and other developing regions where strict interpretation of the Bible is the norm.
The wealthy but much smaller liberal-leaning churches in the U.S., Canada and Western Europe have seen dramatic drops in membership.
Williams barred Robinson and a few other problematic bishops from the Lambeth Conference to ensure broader participation. But he invited U.S. leaders who consecrated Robinson and bishops from other Anglican provinces that accept gay relationships.
Robinson has traveled to Canterbury anyway, hoping to meet with as many overseas Anglican bishops as possible. Advocates for gay and lesbian Anglicans have also set up in Canterbury, planning an opening service of their own in another church on Sunday.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Find this article at: http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/07/19/church.anglican.ap/index.html?eref=rss_latest
____________________________________________________
Friday, July 18, 2008
Sniper targets teen asylum-seekers in Norway
Sniper targets teen asylum-seekers in Norway
ASKER, Norway (AP) -- Several shots were fired at a center for teenage asylum-seekers in Norway on Friday, and a 16-year-old Somali boy was seriously wounded, police said.
Police believe the shots were fired from long range, with a "heavy-caliber" weapon, police spokesman Einaar Aas said, without giving further details.
The boy was in his bed on the top floor of a two-story Hvalstad asylum center in Asker, outside Oslo, when a bullet pierced the wooden wall and hit him in the stomach, asylum center director Ahmed Bozgil told The Associated Press.
Aas said the boy was in critical condition at an Oslo hospital and would undergo surgery.
"It's to early to speculate about motives, but we are taking this very seriously," Aas said. Violence against refugees is rare in Norway, but an influx of immigrants recently has led to calls for tighter immigration controls.
It was unclear exactly how many rounds hit the building in the 8 a.m. (0600 GMT) shooting.
"It's the first time we have had any serious incidents like this here," Bozgil said. He said there were 121 youths from 13 countries at the center at the time of the shooting, but only the 16-year-old was hit.
Police helicopters and sniffer dogs searched the area for suspects, but no arrests had been made by Friday afternoon, the police spokesman said.
Last year about 6,000 asylum-seekers sought refuge in the Scandinavian country, and the number is expected to more than double this year.
The biggest numbers are coming from Iraq, Eritrea, Russia and Somalia.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
All AboutNorway
Find this article at: http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/07/18/norway.shoot.ap/index.html?eref=rss_latest
Story Highlights
Police say gunman fires at a Norwegian center for teenage asylum seekers
Gunman used heavy caliber weapon and fired from long range, police say
16-year-old Somali boy was seriously wounded
Police helicopters and sniffer dogs searching for the shooter
ASKER, Norway (AP) -- Several shots were fired at a center for teenage asylum-seekers in Norway on Friday, and a 16-year-old Somali boy was seriously wounded, police said.
Police believe the shots were fired from long range, with a "heavy-caliber" weapon, police spokesman Einaar Aas said, without giving further details.
The boy was in his bed on the top floor of a two-story Hvalstad asylum center in Asker, outside Oslo, when a bullet pierced the wooden wall and hit him in the stomach, asylum center director Ahmed Bozgil told The Associated Press.
Aas said the boy was in critical condition at an Oslo hospital and would undergo surgery.
"It's to early to speculate about motives, but we are taking this very seriously," Aas said. Violence against refugees is rare in Norway, but an influx of immigrants recently has led to calls for tighter immigration controls.
It was unclear exactly how many rounds hit the building in the 8 a.m. (0600 GMT) shooting.
"It's the first time we have had any serious incidents like this here," Bozgil said. He said there were 121 youths from 13 countries at the center at the time of the shooting, but only the 16-year-old was hit.
Police helicopters and sniffer dogs searched the area for suspects, but no arrests had been made by Friday afternoon, the police spokesman said.
Last year about 6,000 asylum-seekers sought refuge in the Scandinavian country, and the number is expected to more than double this year.
The biggest numbers are coming from Iraq, Eritrea, Russia and Somalia.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
All AboutNorway
Find this article at: http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/07/18/norway.shoot.ap/index.html?eref=rss_latest
Yusuf Islam wins damages for "veiled women" slur
Singer Yusuf Islam, formerly known as Cat Stevens, performs during the Live Earth concert at the soccer arena in Hamburg, northern Germany, July 7, 2007.REUTERS/Christian Charisius Yusuf Islam wins damages for "veiled women" slur
1 hour, 35 minutes ago
British folk singer Yusuf Islam, formerly Cat Stevens, accepted libel damages and an apology on Friday from a news agency that reported he had refused to talk to women at an awards ceremony who were not wearing a veil.
The artist, who changed his name after becoming a Muslim in the late 1970s, will donate the "substantial" payout to Small Kindness, a U.N.-linked charity he chairs.
Adam Tudor, the singer's attorney, told London's High Court that the story behind the legal action was published by World Entertainment News Network and was used on Contactmusic.com, a website said to have 2.2 million page views a month.
The article appeared in March last year and suggested that the singer was "so sexist and bigoted that he refused at an awards ceremony to speak to or even acknowledge any women who were not wearing a veil," Tudor said.
"It went on to suggest that Mr. Islam's manager had stated 'Mr. Islam doesn't speak with women except his wife, least of all if they don't wear a headscarf. Things like that only happen via an intermediary."'
Tudor said the article had embarrassed the singer, creating a false impression of his attitude to women and also casting serious aspersions on his religious faith.
World Entertainment News Network issued an apology, saying:
"We now accept that these allegations ... are entirely without foundation, and that Mr. Islam has never had any difficulties working with women, whether for religious or for any other reason."
Islam, 59, is still best known for his hits as Cat Stevens, including "Wild World," "Morning Has Broken" and "Moonshadow."
He sold an estimated 60 million albums as Stevens, but retired from showbusiness in 1978 after converting to Islam. He released his first mainstream pop album since then in 2006.
Reuters/Nielsen
Copyright © 2008 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
This goes to show how so much misunderstanding and lack of knowledge of other peoples pervades even today's society! I remember that people wanted to destroy his albums a few decades ago when he converted and then again after 9/11. Idiots. If you ever listened to his music you'd know he never sang about anything but life and peace. And a lot of religious symbolism was already there. (I just found it strange going from Greek Orthodox to Islam, nothing wrong with that, but just struck me odd, at the time, welllll to be honest, still)
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Windmills coming around again in the Netherlands By John Tagliabue
Windmills coming around again in the Netherlands
By John Tagliabue
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Karel Streumer, the operator of De Distilleerketel, the only windmill in Delfshaven on the edge of Rotterdam, hoisting its sails. (Dirk-Jan Visser for The New York Times)
AMSTERDAM: The Dutch are building windmills again. Up and down the coast, out from port cities like this one, you can see them: white and tall and slender as pencils, their three slim blades turning lazily in the North Sea breeze.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Karel Streumer, the operator of De Distilleerketel, the only windmill in Delfshaven on the edge of Rotterdam, hoisting its sails. (Dirk-Jan Visser for The New York Times)
AMSTERDAM: The Dutch are building windmills again. Up and down the coast, out from port cities like this one, you can see them: white and tall and slender as pencils, their three slim blades turning lazily in the North Sea breeze.
These ones generate electricity, of course, rather than grinding grain. The government has already built one enormous farm of mills far off the coast, where they are inoffensive to tourists, and plans a second. Yet it is also building, and rebuilding, mills like the squat, homely ones that have seemingly always dotted the Dutch countryside and reflect as much the nature of the country as do tulips or Gouda cheese.
"Revival might be a bit strong," said Leo Endedijk, director of The Dutch Mills, a group that supports mill restoration. Yet last year, the government, concerned that one of the foremost symbols of the Netherlands was about to disappear out of neglect, approved an $80 million program to build or restore 120 mills, of roughly 1,040 still standing. That has created a backlog of work for the country's previously strapped mill restorers.
"We have special companies, very specialized mill makers and restorers," said Endedijk, in an office in the shadow of De Gooyer, a soaring 18th century mill now housing a popular brewery. "They would not have the capacity to restore 120 mills."
The need to find renewable sources of energy is driving the Dutch to build the modern mills, which Endedijk insists be called turbines, not mills.
"We as an organization don't work with modern wind turbines," he sniffed, adding, as if to underscore the gap between the traditional and the contemporary, that while the four blades of traditional windmills turn counterclockwise, the three of modern wind turbines go clockwise.
But the fast pace of change in is reviving interest in the old mills. As immigration changes the face of Dutch cities and globalization spreads its veil of uniformity over life in the Netherlands, many among the Dutch are looking for their roots. "It's a little bit of national pride," said Lukas Verbij, whose company, Verbij Hoogmade, is a leading mill builder and restorer.
Some of the renewed interest in mills is driven by the search for traditional food and drink. Patrick Langkruis, whose bakeshop, Het Bammetje, features 28 kinds of bread and 35 different rolls, uses only flour ground by a traditional mill. "The taste is fuller, there's more flavor," he said. "It's also because the grains are ground slowly."
His supplier is Karel Streumer, who has been grinding ordinary and exotic grains for the past eight years at his mill, De Distilleerketel, or distillery pot, in Delfshaven on the edge of Rotterdam. He uses technology - huge mill stones and enormous wooden gears that make visitors feel they're inside an immense and ancient clock - that has not changed since the mill was built in 1727.
Streumer, 54, his shock of curly white hair perpetually dusted with flour, is one of a growing number of millers who are taking over restored or rebuilt mills. In addition to wheat, he said, counting off his products on a dusty hand, he grinds familiar grains like corn, rye and oats, and some unfamiliar ones, like grain sorghum, or milo, and spelt, a kind of wheat. One customer arrives once a month from Frankfurt to pick up 25 kilograms, or 55 pounds, of mashela, or pearl millet, which is widely used in African cooking.
Curiously, though the revival of the mills is a back-to-the-roots thing, many customers are natives of a wide range of countries, Streumer said, including Ethiopia, Morocco and Turkey. "Eighty percent of my customers are not natives of the Netherlands," he said.
One of them is Samson Tesfai, whose restaurant, The Taste of Africa, specializes in dishes of his native Eritrea, which he fled in 1986 because of the fighting between his homeland and Ethiopia.
Each week, he said, he buys mashela, sorghum, ground corn and wheat flour from Streumer to use in the ethnic dishes he prepares. "We can find it elsewhere," said Tesfai, 43. "But this is a good address, with a good product, so why go somewhere else?"
Neither the spread of ethnic restaurants, with increased immigration, nor the return to traditional tastes among the Dutch, is enough to keep millers like Streumer in business. Without a crew of volunteers who help out on weekends, he said, the mill would not be profitable.
"It's hard to make the money to keep the mill in good shape and to pay employees, too," he said. "We are not professionals." So the mills remain a matter of the heart, rather than the pocketbook. Except, of course, for builders like Verbij. Now 48, he represents the fourth generation of his family to run his company, which was founded in 1868 and employs about 20 master wood and metal workers.
"A wave of building is coming" when the government releases its latest round of subsidies, he said. "Every owner could apply. It's a kind of lottery."
He just finished a 1.2 million, or $1.9 million, project to rebuild with traditional technology a mill in the town of Soest that was destroyed in 1930. So attached were the townspeople to their mill, he said, that one woman donated money from the sale of her home.
Not only the Dutch but all the world seems to love a windmill. Verbij has built four in Japan, beginning with one in Osaka in 1989. And despite the crush of work in the Netherlands, he now finds time to work on three mills in the United States, including restoration of the giant Murphy Windmill in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, one of the world's largest, which was built in 1905 and is badly dilapidated.
"It's our biggest project," Verbij said. "It's nice to see all those people happy at the sight of a windmill."
Copyright © 2008 The International Herald Tribune www.iht.com
I think this is just cool! I wish the States would invest more in wind and solar power and cut dependency on oil and other lucrative business that aren't ours.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Calif. Firefighters Get Backup From NASA Drone
Calif. Firefighters Get Backup From NASA Drone
Amanda Fehd, Associated Press
July 15, 2008 -- Fire crews battling nearly 300 blazes burning across California are getting help from a pilotless plane that transmits real-time images of hot spots and flare-ups to commanders in the field.
Amanda Fehd, Associated Press
July 15, 2008 -- Fire crews battling nearly 300 blazes burning across California are getting help from a pilotless plane that transmits real-time images of hot spots and flare-ups to commanders in the field.
The unmanned drone developed by NASA scientists discovered a hot flare-up in a canyon near the town of Paradise, prompting fire officials to issue evacuation orders for 10,000 people in Butte County last week. Thick smoke and heat had prevented other aircraft from patrolling the area.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Monday toured the NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, where he credited the NASA technology with saving lives and pushed an initiative to charge homeowners a fee to pay for emergency response equipment.
"This unmanned plane is a true life-saver. But even though we get all this terrific help, California needs more resources, there's no two ways about it," the governor said.
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said 288 blazes were still burning around the state, most of them in the mountains ringing the northern edge of the Central Valley.
So far this fire season, flames have blackened about 1,300 square miles and destroyed about 100 homes across California. Most of the blazes were sparked by a June 21 lightning storm across the northern part of the state.
The current complex of fires is "the largest single fire event in history for California," said Kelly Houston, spokesman for the Governor's Office of Emergency Services.
The previous record was set in the October 2003, when wildfires scorched more than 1,155 square miles, Houston said. State record-keeping on wildfires began in 1936.
The state defines a "fire event" as a grouping of blazes that fall within the same location or time period.
While the October 2003 fires killed 24 people and destroyed more than 3,600 homes, Houston said officials point to acreage when quantifying wildfires to point to the strain on firefighting resources.
A massive wildfire in the Los Padres National Forest continued spreading northward and eastward Monday, relieving the danger to the storied coastal town of Big Sur but forcing residents of another community to stay away from their homes for a third day.
Mandatory and voluntary evacuation orders, first issued Saturday morning, remained in place for more than 200 homes in the rural Cachagua community northeast of Big Sur. The blaze, which already has charred 188 square miles and destroyed 27 homes, was about 1 1/2 miles from the residential area, according to the U.S. Forest Service.
Firefighters had a strong fire line there that they expected to hold, keeping the flames from reaching the more populated Carmel Valley, said Tacy Skinner, a Forest Service spokeswoman.
On the southwest border of the blaze, which was 61 percent contained, firefighters were in cleanup mode Monday. The Pacific Coast Highway fully reopened ahead of schedule a day earlier, and residents and business owners in Big Sur were settling back in after three weeks of evacuations.
Cooler weather around the state allowed officials to lift evacuation orders in the fire-ravaged towns of Paradise and Concow. The fires in Butte County, which have burned 83 square miles and destroyed 50 homes, weren't threatening any homes and were about 70 percent contained Monday evening, officials said.
"Things still seem to be looking pretty good," said Kevin Colburn, a state fire department spokesman in Butte County, adding that expected triple-digit temperatures never materialized Monday. Highs were in the mid-90s, helping the fight.
At least one person was found dead after the blaze swept through Concow. An autopsy was conducted Monday, but officials have not released the victim's identity or cause of death.
A fire on the southern extension of the Los Padres forest near Santa Barbara County was 90 percent contained by Monday after charring more than 15 square miles, but 55 homes remained under an evacuation warning.
And another blaze in the Sequoia National Forest east of Bakersfield was 70 percent contained after burning about 58 square miles, according to the Forest Service. To make matters worse, the town of Lake Isabella, near the southern end of the Sequoia forest, was tackling a mudslide.
Jim Bagnell, a forecaster with the National Weather Service, said Monday night that a mix of ash and mud slid into Lake Isabella and covered one of the town's main streets. He said he is not sure what else was damaged.
Meanwhile, in Inyo County, about 90 miles east of Fresno, crews were working Monday to clear mud and debris from Highway 395 in the town of Independence, said Carma Roper, spokeswoman for the sheriff's department.
A huge mudslide, caused by severe thunderstorms on Saturday over an area ravaged by fire last year, was still blocking all but one lane of the road, and the California Highway Patrol was escorting vehicles through the blocked area, she said.
The mud avalanche damaged about 55 homes, and about 25 of them are uninhabitable because mud had swallowed the structures, Roper said. "There aren't really houses to go back to," she said. "It's not a livable area."
In Washington state, the biggest fire to strike the southern Cascade Range in decades continued to grow Monday, as weather forecasters warned of hazardous fire conditions for most of the east side of the state.
The fire had burned about 9 square miles, or more than 6,000 acres, in south-central Washington near Mount Adams, the state's second-highest peak. The fire was burning in timber, some beetle-killed, in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest and on the Yakama Indian Reservation. No homes were threatened.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Secrets of the Dead: Amazon Warrior Women
From the PBS site of the program: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/secrets/previous_seasons/case_amazon/index.html
About The Show:
CASE FILE: Amazon Warrior Women
THE SCENE: Russia and Mongolia
LEAD DETECTIVE: Dr. Jeannine Davis-Kimball
The myth of the Amazons, a tribe of bloodthirsty blond women thundering across arid battlefields to the horror of their male foes, has lingered for centuries. Their exploits seized the imagination of the Greek scribes Homer, Hippocrates, and Herodotus. But proof of their existence had always been lacking. Now, a 2,500-year-old mystery may have been solved, cracked by an American scientist whose ten-year odyssey led her tens of thousands of miles in pursuit of the truth. After unearthing evidence of a culture of ancient warrior women in the Russian steppes, Dr. Jeannine Davis-Kimball followed a trail of artifacts to a remote village in Western Mongolia, where her quest for a living link to a long-imagined tribe ended with a startling discovery. There, among the black-eyed Mongols, Davis-Kimball found a blond child, a 9-year-old girl named Meiramgul. Through DNA testing, Davis-Kimball finds that the DNA sequences of the warrior women and those from the girl of Mongolia are identical.
This painting on a Greek vase depicts an Amazon woman warrior on horseback engaged in battle.
Amazons in myth:
History's first mention of a race of warrior women is found in Homer's ILIAD, an account of the Trojan War, probably written in the 8th or 7th century B.C.. Homer's Amazons, a race of fierce women who mated with vanquished male foes and kept only the female children they bore, were believed to occupy the area around the Black Sea. Amazon women also crop up in Greek myths. One of the labors of Hercules, for example, required him to acquire the girdle of the Amazon queen, Hippolyte. The Amazons of Greek mythology most likely had no connection to the women of the steppes, says archaeologist Jeannine Davis-Kimball. "I think the idea of the 'Amazon' was created by the Greeks for their own purposes," she says.
A history of sorts:
The works of the Greek historian Herodotus, written around the 5th century B.C., describe a group of female warriors who lost to the Greeks at the battle of Thermodon. Herodotus' Amazons were taken prisoner and put on ships, but overwhelmed and killed the Greek crew. Unable to sail themselves, the women drifted to the shores of the Black Sea, to the territory of the Scythians, a nomadic culture of Iranian descent. The women, Herodotus says, intermarried with the Scythian men, and convinced their new husbands to move northeast across the flat grassy plains, high mountains, and searing deserts of the Russian steppes, where the group eventually evolved into the Sauromatian culture.
Golden ornaments such as this bead were found in abundance at a recent excavation of an Amazon warrior woman's grave.
Amazons in Eurasia:
The first direct evidence for warrior women of high status on the steppes of southern Russia comes from excavations of burial sites of the Sauromatian culture dating from the 6th to the 4th century B.C. Judging from their grave goods, Sauromatians were nomadic, experts in animal husbandry, and skilled in warfare. Starting around the 4th century B.C., Sauromatian culture evolves into the Sarmatian culture, also a nomadic people that make their livelihood raising animals and versed in the art of war. The culture, which had been expanding its territory, soon shifts its focus. "They become raiders and traders, with forays to the west to interface with the Romans, and they relocate to cities and to areas along large trade routes," Davis-Kimball says. "Their wealth increases. We see that in their burial items. We see strong, powerful women, but their role changes. We find burials of women that still retain cultic artifacts, indicating that they were a priestess of some sort, but there is much more gold and more secular ornamentation -- more golden cups, more golden jewelry, elaborate things -- and less weaponry. This type of evolution is a normal manifestation of culture."
This nine-year-old Mongolian girl, Meiramgul, is blond and may share genetic traits with the ancient Sarmations.
Clues and Evidence
To uncover the genetic link between nine-year-old Meiramgul, the blond child of the mountains of western Mongolia, and the long-dead women warriors of the Eurasian steppes, researchers examined snippets of a particular type of genetic information called mitochondrial DNA. Each cell in a plant or animal carries two varieties of deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA. Within the nucleus of the cell is the full genetic complement, or genome, representing all of the genes that give an organism its particular characteristics and allow it to function. In humans this nuclear DNA is represented by two sets of 23 chromosomes, one set each passed on by the mother and father. One pair of these chromosomes determines the sex of the individual; a nuclear DNA analysis was used to determine the female gender of the warriors unearthed by archaeologist Jeannine Davis-Kimball and her colleagues during the excavations featured in SECRETS OF THE DEAD: "Amazon Warrior Women."
Mitochondrial DNA, however, is separate from these 46 nuclear chromosomes. It is found within the cytoplasm of cells -- the matrix of proteins, chemicals, fluid, and other structures located outside of the nucleus -- and, in particular, within tiny, pill-shaped compartments called the mitochondria. Within mitochondria, a cell's energy-producing reactions take place. (Some lethal poisons, such as cyanide, work by disrupting the biochemical reactions that mitochondria use to power up cells). Each of the 500 to 1,000 mitochondria inside a cell contain several circular pieces of DNA. There are approximately 16,000 base pairs, the chemical building blocks of DNA, along each strand; human nuclear DNA has about 300,000 times as many base pairs. The mitochondrial strand contains thirteen genes, each used to produce proteins that are involved in energy production. Other bits of the mitochondrial, or mtDNA, strand code for molecules called ribosomal and transfer RNA, which are intermediaries in the chemical process that translates the genes into their respective proteins.
A crucial feature that sets mitochondrial DNA apart from nuclear DNA -- and that allows genetic studies like the comparison of the DNA from ancient bones to that of young Meiramgul -- is that the strands are only passed from mothers to their children. This is because the mitochondria present in a fertilized embryo come almost entirely from the egg and rarely from the sperm. The mtDNA strands would normally be passed from mother to child in perfect form, but occasionally one of the individual base pairs will change, or mutate, producing a slight deviation in the sequence. Molecular biologists have mapped the entire sequence of human mitochondrial DNA and also have measured the average rate at which these mutations occur, which allows them to use slight differences in the sequence as a way of determining how closely related individuals are through their maternal ancestors. For this reason, mitochondrial DNA has frequently been used to examine the genetic relationships of families, population groups, and even the entire human species.Mitochondrial DNA studies revealed, for example, that Neanderthals were not direct ancestors of modern humans.
Mitochondrial DNA analysis also showed that all groups of humans on Earth could be mapped back to a single woman, a "mitochondrial Eve" who lived in Africa 200,000 years ago. (That is not to say that every human on Earth descended from the same woman living 200,000 years ago; rather, she was the most recent common ancestor of all humans, through maternal lines of inheritance). Because an individual cell possesses a thousand or so copies of the mtDNA strand, it is useful in the analysis of ancient or damaged tissue, teeth, hair, and bones, for the simple reason that there is much more of the material to locate and extract than there would be of nuclear DNA. Of course, the examination of any ancient DNA samples is fraught with difficulty, and contamination is a constant risk (for more on the isolation of DNA in Egyptian mummies by ancient DNA expert Scott Woodward of Brigham Young University, see the SECRETS OF THE PHARAOHS Web site, http://www.pbs.org/wnet/pharaohs/secrets3.html) so the analyses are only done in the world's best molecular biology laboratories.
An interview with Jeannine Davis-Kimball
Dr. Jeannine Davis-Kimball Interview with Jeannine Davis-Kimball
As a graduate student studying Iranian art, Jeannine Davis-Kimball knew basically nothing about ancient nomadic peoples, and she never imagined her career would eventually be focused on the enigmatic warrior women who once wandered the Eurasian steppes some 2,000 years ago and provided a historical basis for the myth of the Amazon. Then she happened across carved stone reliefs in one of the palaces of the Archaemedian dynasty, which ruled Persia from 559 to 330 B.C. The reliefs depicted scenes of nomads paying tribute to the kings. In contrast to others honoring the rulers, these people were distinctively dressed, wearing soft boots and tall hats, and they were leading horses. Davis-Kimball was intrigued by the figures, and she thought she knew where she might look for them. "I suspected that I might be able to find some traces of them if I were to go out to the Eurasian steppes," to the north of the Persian empire, "because that is where you would find nomadism," recalls Davis-Kimball, now the director of the American Eurasian Research Institute and its subsidiary, the Center for the Study of Eurasian Nomadism, at the University of California at Berkeley. "Nomadism is based on animal husbandry, primarily raising sheep and horses, and you don't find that in cities because the animals have to have pasture land, wide open spaces."
At the time, more than twenty years ago, American libraries and museums didn't have much, if any, information on nomadic cultures. At museums in Kazakhstan, however, Davis-Kimball, who had been a nurse and cattle rancher before entering graduate school later in life, gained new insight into nomadism in general and specifically into the people who'd once occupied the southern Russian steppes. She soon began excavations of the kurgans, or burial mounds, of ancient Eurasian nomads, and became the first American woman to collaborate in archaeological investigations in Kazakhstan. "Everything that I excavated was very interesting because it all added to our knowledge, but my first big find was at the 1994 excavation at Porkovka," located in Russia near its border with Kazakhstan, "when we discovered artifacts indicating there were women there who were very important within the culture." Finding warrior women who played a prominent role in the nomadic society came as a total surprise to Davis-Kimball, and it led her to focus her career on the investigation of the warrior women of the Russian steppes and other cultures. "I had no idea that these women existed. In history and in art -- for instance, in the stone reliefs of the Persian Archaemedians -- there is no indication that women have any particular status. In fact, women are sort of invisible, because history is always written by men." But Davis-Kimball has found that in reality, warrior women were quite common among ancient Eurasian societies and also among other nomads. "Our new evidence shows that women have always had a pretty prominent place in nomadic societies," she says.
Despite her stunning discoveries, Davis-Kimball currently has no plans to revisit the warrior women of the steppes and undertake more excavations. "Our work is done at Porkovka," she says. "There are several factors involved in excavating -- you have to have a site you want to excavate that has the potential for new discoveries, and you have to consider the cost. It has become extremely expensive to put together an excavation, and a lot of the focus on research in the Middle East has gone to contemporary issues -- Islam, terrorism -- which don't affect me in archaeology, but decrease the availability of funding."
Resources:
Did Amazon warrior women, the Antiope and Hippolyte, belong to an extinct matriarchal warrior society? Or were they simply fictional characters depicted in ancient Greek mythology?
What is known of the actual Amazons within the Aegean is very little, and yet intrigue about a race of dominant warrior women in the bronze age has flourished from ancient times into the present.
Is there more behind these famous warrior women than mere fantasy? Join in a virtual archaeological expedition to fathom this mysterious myth.
Read the entire text online.
A sequence of major events in the Trojan War.
The Trojan War: The Judgement of Paris
According to legend, the chain of events that led to the Trojan War started at a royal wedding.
Credits:
TV Credits:
A production of Story House Productions for Thirteen/WNET New York in association with National Geographic Channels International and ZDF.
Executive Producer, Story House Productions:Andreas Gutzeit
Produced and Directed by:Carsten Oblaender & Jens Afflerbach
Written by:Carsten OblaenderCo-
Written by:Steven Zorn
Coordinating Producer:Kurt Tondorf
Executive in Charge:William R. Grant
Executive Producer:Beth Hoppe
© 2004 Educational Broadcasting Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
Web Credits:
Art Director:Sabina Daley
Designer:Radik Shvarts
Writer:Kathy Svitil
Lesson Plans:Viki Babcock
HTML Implementation:Brian Santalone
Technical Director:Brian Lee
Executive Producer:Anthony Chapman
Thirteen Online is a production of Thirteen/WNET New York's Kravis Multimedia Education Center in New York City. Anthony Chapman, Director of Interactive & Broadband. Bob Adleman, Business Manager. Carmen DiRienzo, Vice President and Managing Director, Corporate Affairs.
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/secrets/previous_seasons/case_amazon/about.html
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
