BREAKING: Post S&P Downgrade, Chicagoans Take to Streets, Demand Arrest of Bankers
http://RTR.org | Immediately following the announcement of the S&P downgrade, defiant Chicagoans took the the streets and demanded the arrest of the Bankers and an the end of the Federal Reserve system. This was never covered on any news outlet.
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Bringing the Vatican to Justice
By Sam Harris
I confess that, as a critic of religion, I have paid too little attention to the sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic Church. Frankly, it always felt unsportsmanlike to shoot so large and languorous a fish in so tiny a barrel. This scandal was one of the most spectacular “own goals” in the history of religion, and there seemed to be no need to deride faith at its most vulnerable and self-abased. Even in retrospect, it is easy to understand the impulse to avert one’s eyes: Just imagine a pious mother and father sending their beloved child to the Church of a Thousand Hands for spiritual instruction, only to have him raped and terrified into silence by threats of hell. And then imagine this occurring to tens of thousands of children in our own time—and to children beyond reckoning for over a thousand years. The spectacle of faith so utterly misplaced, and so fully betrayed, is simply too depressing to think about.
But there was always more to this phenomenon that should have compelled my attention. Consider the ludicrous ideology that made it possible: The Catholic Church has spent two millennia demonizing human sexuality to a degree unmatched by any other institution, declaring the most basic, healthy, mature, and consensual behaviors taboo. Indeed, this organization still opposes the use of contraception, preferring, instead, that the poorest people on earth be blessed with the largest families and the shortest lives. As a consequence of this hallowed and incorrigible stupidity, the Church has condemned generations of decent people to shame and hypocrisy—or to Neolithic fecundity, poverty, and death by AIDS. Add to this inhumanity the artifice of cloistered celibacy, and you now have an institution—one of the wealthiest on earth—that preferentially attracts pederasts, pedophiles, and sexual sadists into its ranks, promotes them to positions of authority, and grants them privileged access to children. Finally, consider that vast numbers of children will be born out of wedlock, and their unwed mothers vilified, wherever Church teaching holds sway—leading boys and girls by the thousands to be abandoned to Church-run orphanages only to be raped and terrorized by the clergy. Here, in this ghoulish machinery set to whirling through the ages by the opposing winds of shame and sadism, we mortals can finally glimpse how strangely perfect are the ways of the Lord.
In 2009, The Irish Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse (CICA) investigated such of these events as occurred on Irish soil. Their report runs to 2,600 pages. Having read only an oppressive fraction of this document, I can say that when thinking about the ecclesiastical abuse of children, it is best not to imagine shades of ancient Athens and the blandishments of a “love that dare not speak its name.” Yes, there have surely been polite pederasts in the priesthood, expressing anguished affection for boys who would turn 18 the next morning. But behind these indiscretions there is a continuum of abuse that terminates in utter evil. The scandal in the Catholic Church—one might now safely say the scandal that is the Catholic Church—includes the systematic rape and torture of orphaned and disabled children. Its victims attest to being whipped with belts and sodomized until bloody—sometimes by multiple attackers—and then whipped again and threatened with death and hell fire if they breathed a word about their abuse. And yes, many of the children who were desperate or courageous enough to report these crimes were accused of lying and returned to their tormentors to be raped and tortured again.
The evidence suggests that the misery of these children was facilitated and concealed by the hierarchy of the Catholic Church at every level, up to and including the prefrontal cortex of the current Pope. In his former capacity as Cardinal Ratzinger, Pope Benedict personally oversaw the Vatican’s response to reports of sexual abuse in the Church. What did this wise and compassionate man do upon learning that his employees were raping children by the thousands? Did he immediately alert the police and ensure that the victims would be protected from further torments? One still dares to imagine such an effulgence of basic human sanity might have been possible, even within the Church. On the contrary, repeated and increasingly desperate complaints of abuse were set aside, witnesses were pressured into silence, bishops were praised for their defiance of secular authority, and offending priests were relocated only to destroy fresh lives in unsuspecting parishes. It is no exaggeration to say that for decades (if not centuries) the Vatican has met the formal definition of a criminal organization, devoted not to gambling, prostitution, drugs, or any other venial sin, but to the sexual enslavement of children.
Consider the following passages from the CICA report:
7.129 In relation to one School, four witnesses gave detailed accounts of sexual abuse, including rape in all instances, by two or more Brothers and on one occasion along with an older resident. A witness from the second School, from which there were several reports, described being raped by three Brothers: ‘I was brought to the infirmary…they held me over the bed, they were animals….They penetrated me, I was bleeding’. Another witness reported he was abused twice weekly on particular days by two Brothers in the toilets off the dormitory:
7.232 Witnesses reported being particularly fearful at night as they listened to residents screaming in cloakrooms, dormitories or in a staff member’s bedroom while they were being abused. Witnesses were conscious that co-residents whom they described as orphans had a particularly difficult time:
This is the kind of abuse that the Church has practiced and concealed since time out of memory. Even the CICA report declined to name the offending priests due to pressure from the Vatican. The cover-up of these atrocities continues.
I have been awakened from my unconscionable slumber on this issue by recent press reports (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, & 6) and especially by the eloquence of my colleagues Christopher Hitchens (1, 2, 3, 4, & 5) and Richard Dawkins (1 & 2). Both have begun a public effort to make the Pope accountable for the Church’s complicity in these crimes. Here, I would like to announce that Project Reason, the foundation that my wife and I started to spread scientific thinking and secular values, has joined Hitchens and Dawkins (both of whom sit on our advisory board) in an effort to end the “diplomatic immunity” which the Vatican claims protects the Pope from any responsibility. We would greatly appreciate your support in this cause. All donations are tax-deductible in the United States.
May 10, 2010
Update (August 7, 2011): Project Reason has sponsored Geoffrey Robertson’s, The Case of the Pope: Vatican Accountability for Human Rights Abuse.
Related Articles:
Eagleton, T. (2010). The Case of the Pope: Vatican Accountability for Human Rights Abuses by Geoffrey Robertson The Guardian. (September 11).
Home, M. (2010). Author Sam Harris joins plot to have Pope arrested. The Sunday Times. (May 15).
Bush should be included as a defendant!
Written by Thomas R. Eddlem
The Seventh U.S. Court of Appeals ruled August 8 that two American citizens detained and tortured without trial or court hearing by the Bush-era Defense Department may sue former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
U.S. Navy veteran Donald Vance (left) and fellow American Nathan Ertel were employed by the private U.S. government contractor Shield Group Security in 2006 outside the Baghdad green zone and witnessed the sale of U.S government munitions to Iraqi rebel groups for money and alcohol. After becoming FBI informants, the two were detained and tortured by federal officials for 97 days (Donald Vance) and six weeks (Nathan Ertel) at Camp Cropper in Iraq after contacting the FBI about corruption in the now-defunct federal contractor.
Judge David Hamilton wrote in a 2-1 appellate court decision that concluded, "The wrongdoing alleged here violates the most basic terms of the constitutional compact between our government and the citizens of this country." The district court had earlier ruled that the allegations are the kind that “shocks the conscience."
The court described their alleged treatment, which is perfectly consistent with torture treatments approved by Rumsfeld's Defense Department:
"The lights were kept on at all times in their cells."
"Their cells were kept intolerably cold, except when the generators failed."
"There were bugs and feces on the walls of the cells."
"They spent most of their time in complete isolation."
They "had a concrete slab for a bed."
"Guards would wake them if they were ever caught sleeping."
"Heavy metal and country music was pumped into their cells at 'intolerably-loud volumes.'”
They "had only one shirt and a pair of overalls to wear during their confinement."
They were "often deprived of food and water."
They were "repeatedly deprived of necessary medical care"
"They experienced 'hooding.'”
They "were 'walled,' i.e., slammed into walls while being led blindfolded with towels placed over their heads to interrogation sessions."
“Even Saddam Hussein had more legal counsel than I ever had,” Vance told the New York Times back in 2006 after his release. “While we were detained, we wrote a letter to the camp commandant stating that the same democratic ideals we are trying to instill in the fledgling democratic country of Iraq, from simple due process to the Magna Carta, we are absolutely, positively refusing to follow ourselves.”
After his arrest, Vance was told point-blank that he had no right to an attorney, even though this is an explicit guarantee of the Constitution's Sixth Amendment. “You do not have the right to legal counsel, but you may have a personal representative assist you at the hearing if the personal representative is reasonably available,” he was told in legal documents handed to him during his detainment. The New York Times noted on December 18, 2006 that "Mr. Vance and Mr. Ertel had separate hearings. They said their requests to be each other’s personal representative had been denied."
Vance and Ertel were largely kept from the outside, though after a few weeks Vance was allowed a phone call to his fiancée, Diana Schwarz, back in Illinois. Vance told her, "start talking, sending e-mail and letters and faxes to the alderman, mayor, governor, congressman, senators, Red Cross, Amnesty International, A.C.L.U., Vatican, and other Christian-based organizations. Everyone!” He added: “I am missing you so much, and am so depressed it’s a daily struggle here. My life is in your hands. Please don’t get discouraged. Don’t take ‘No’ for answers. Keep working. I have to tell myself these things every day, but I can’t do anything from a cell.”
Rumsfeld's attorneys sought dismissal of the lawsuit on the basis that as Secretary of Defense, he had immunity from criminal actions and was above the law. The court summarized Rumsfeld's argument: "The defendants contend that a [court] remedy should not be available to U.S. citizens for any constitutional wrong, including torture and even cold-blooded murder, if the wrong occurs in a war zone. The defendants’ theory would apply to any soldier or federal official, from the very top of the chain of command to the very bottom." But the court explicitly rejected this astonishing claim of government officials being above the law:
We see no persuasive justification in ... case law or otherwise for [Rumsfeld's] most sweeping argument, which would deprive civilian U.S. citizens of a civil judicial remedy for torture or even cold-blooded murder by federal officials and soldiers, at any level, in a war zone. United States law provides a civil damages remedy for aliens who are tortured by their own governments. It would be startling and unprecedented to conclude that the United States would not provide such a remedy to its own citizens.
The court cited the 1976 Supreme Court case of Brown v. Plata, which concluded: “Prisoners retain the essence of human dignity inherent in all persons. Respect for that dignity animates the Eighth Amendment prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. The basic concept underlying the Eighth Amendment is nothing less than the dignity of man.” The Eighth Amendment explicitly prohibits the federal government from "cruel and unusual punishments" without exception, even in the case of national defense.
Vance became the 2007 recipient of The Ridenhour Truth-Telling Prize for his efforts at exposing the Bush-era torture policies. Keith Olbermann of the Current TV channel asked Vance in a August 5 interview if the government had "tried to pay you to keep quiet." Vance replied that his lawsuit was about the attack on the U.S. Constitution and his personal rights, and not about money: "Absolutely. My case and John Doe's case [have] nothing to do with money. We have had settlement conferences in the past, and in every single instance we have come to no agreement whatsoever. We are going forward to court. I have no interest in having any settlement conferences."
A second lawsuit, John Doe v. Rumsfeld, involves a third anonymous military contractor who was detained and tortured for nine months beginning in November 2005. A District of Columbia district court allowed the John Doe case to proceed in an August 2 ruling.
Photo: Donald Vance testifies at a Senate Democratic Policy Committee hearing, "Abuses in Private Security and Reconstruction Contracting in Iraq: Ensuring Accountability, Protecting Whistleblowers," Sept. 21, 2007: AP Images
LOS ANGELES (LALATE) – Sinead O’Connor’s new look is surprising fans. Sinead O’Connor with her trademark bald head and amazing voice delivered a massive hit with “Nothing Compares 2 U.” Her appearance on Saturday Night Live, tearing up a picture of Pope John Paul II on live television, shocked a nation. But this week, a new image (HERE) of her in PEOPLE is surprising fans.“Nothing Compares 2 U” was twenty years ago. Now, O’Connor is in her forties and a mother of four. But after she appeared in a music festival in Bray, Ireland, PEOPLE posted a picture of her dramatic new look. Candace Cameron Bure tweeted in response “Is this really Sinead O’Connor? I honestly can’t tell it’s the same person.” PEOPLE said of the appearance “nothing compares to … who?”
O’Connor according to the news site wasn’t a headliner, but performed as only a backup singer. Her last album was 2005’s Throw Down Your Arms. And yes, she is still upset about the Vatican.
She recently told news “The Vatican and the pope need to get on their knees and confess the full truth in the same language they make us use in Mass.” She added “They need to get on their knees, open everything up, be transparent, tell the truth, ask the people for forgiveness and prayers.”
LOS ANGELES (LALATE) – Sinead O’Connor’s new look is surprising fans. Sinead O’Connor with her trademark bald head and amazing voice delivered a massive hit with “Nothing Compares 2 U.” Her appearance on Saturday Night Live, tearing up a picture of Pope John Paul II on live television, shocked a nation. But this week, a new image (HERE) of her in PEOPLE is surprising fans.“Nothing Compares 2 U” was twenty years ago. Now, O’Connor is in her forties and a mother of four. But after she appeared in a music festival in Bray, Ireland, PEOPLE posted a picture of her dramatic new look. Candace Cameron Bure tweeted in response “Is this really Sinead O’Connor? I honestly can’t tell it’s the same person.” PEOPLE said of the appearance “nothing compares to … who?”
O’Connor according to the news site wasn’t a headliner, but performed as only a backup singer. Her last album was 2005’s Throw Down Your Arms. And yes, she is still upset about the Vatican.
She recently told news “The Vatican and the pope need to get on their knees and confess the full truth in the same language they make us use in Mass.” She added “They need to get on their knees, open everything up, be transparent, tell the truth, ask the people for forgiveness and prayers.”
Maryland Governor O'Malley Resisted Pressure from Baltimore Archbishop to Reject Marriage Equality
In late July, Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley, a Catholic, came out in support of marriage equality in that state, declaring it an "administration priority".
Newly released letters show that O'Malley was pressured by Edwin F. O’Brien, the archbishop of Baltimore, to resist endorsing same-sex marriage because it, O'Brien said, "deeply conflicts with your faith."
Added O'Brien: "Preserving the central role of the natural family unit has always been — and should continue to be — the reason why our government recognizes marriage as existing between one man and one woman...Maryland is not New York. We urge you not to allow your role as the leader of our state to be used in allowing the debate surrounding the definition of marriage to be determined by mere political expediency. The people of Maryland deserve no less.”
Said O'Malley in reply: "As a free and diverse people of many faiths, we choose to be governed under the law by certain fundamental principles or beliefs, among them ‘equal protection of the law’ for every individual and the ‘free exercise’ of religion without government intervention...Other states have found a way to protect both these rights. So should Maryland...I have concluded that discriminating against individuals based on their sexual orientation in the context of civil marital rights is unjust. I have also concluded that treating the children of families headed by same-sex couples with lesser protections under the law than the children of families headed by heterosexual parents, is also unjust.”
Read more at www.towleroad.com
It must be nice to live high on the hog, on the backs of the sheep!
Amid downturn, Pope's $72M Spain trip under fire
Pope Benedict XVI delivers the Urbi and Orbi message and blessing to faithful after the Easter Holy Mass on April 24, 2011 at St Peter's square at The Vatican.
Unlike most people, every trip the Pope takes is a big event.
Security, giant projection screens, stages, sound systems, and accommodations for the thousands of pilgrims who want a glimpse of the leader of the Catholic Church are almost never already there in their entirety, making his visits very not cheap.
When Pope Benedict XVI visits Spain next week for World Youth Day festivities, the price tag to accommodate him and the event will be between $72 million and $86 million, according to Agence France Presse.
That price tag is too much, critics say, especially with Spain suffering massive public sector cuts and nearly 20 percent unemployment.
Organizers say 80 percent of the cost of the event will be financed by payments from the 1 million or so pilgrims expected to attend, with the rest coming from donations by companies and individuals, AFP reports.
Still, opposition to the event and its price tag has been very vocal, and is coming from both secular and religious groups.
An umbrella group - the Priest's Forum - argue that the costs and showmanship of the event cannot be justified in the age of austerity, The Guardian reports.
Evaristo Villar, a 68-year-old member of the group, told The Guardian: "The companies that are backing World Youth Day and the pope's visit leave much to be desired. They are the ones who, together with international capital, have caused the crisis. We are not against the pope's visit, we are against the way it is being staged."
Yago de la Cierva, the executive director of World Youth Day 2011, told The Guardian that they are trying to be economically responsible, but "the new generations - young people today - they like big events and the church uses all the tools that exist to present the message of Jesus Christ."
The World Youth Day celebrations began under Pope John Paul II in 1986 as a way to revitalize the faith among young Catholics, AFP reports. It was in Spain once before, in 1989.
