The Pope and the Law

This week atheists Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens have called for the arrest of Pope Benedict XVI when he visits Britain between September 16 & 19, visiting London, Glasgow, and Coventry.  They intend to have him arrested for “crimes against humanity” and will use the same precedent as when former Chilean Dictator Augusto Pinochet visited and was arrested upon entering Britain in 1998. 

Pinochet was arrested for his “crimes against humanity” that occurred while he ruled Chile that consisted of at least 1,500 killings and 200,000 Chileans fleeing in exile.  The British arrested Pinochet, who had previously had a great relationship with former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, on the principle of universal jurisdiction that proclaims that some crimes are so severe that every country has the right to arrest this criminal for the benefit of all nations regardless of whether the crimes have any relation to the arresting country.  Dawkins and Hitchens argue that Pope Benedict XVI’s handling of child abuse cases where he consistently put the interest of the Catholic Church ahead of the interest of the victims should be regarded as equal to a dictator valuing the stability of his government and consolidation of power over the best interests of the people of his nation.  Additionally, since the Vatican is not recognized as a state by the United Nations the Pope would not be entitled to the diplomatic immunity that a head of state would receive upon visiting Britain.

The significance of Dawkins’ and Hitchens’ claims does not reside in the sensational image of arresting a sitting Pope, but instead on the origins of the moral authority with which we formulate our laws.  As a society we are at a cross roads between laws originating from an infallible source to then be applied to the masses, and laws arising from learning from the fallible nature of man.  The former interpretation of laws will make people more inclined to believe in divine truths, increasingly severe punishments including death, and a very black and white perspective of life.  The latter will result in truths deriving from actions and the knowledge that truths were meant to be broken, and this most likely would result in reasonable punishments, and an acknowledgement of the grey areas of life. 

Laws that originate from the morality created by a religious organization, which is where many current laws have originated, proclaim an infallible nature, but as time has progressed humans have acknowledged the fallibility of the previously infallible.  The arresting of the Pope would prove not only the fallibility of the infallible, but also the fallibility of the most powerful organized religion on earth.  Frankly, if this is the direction humanity wants to proceed I have no problem with that, but I do not feel that atheists should take us there.

If atheists spark this process then history will inevitably repeat itself.  People will decide to believe in no God instead of believing in a God, when the most sensible act would be admitting that we actually have no idea.  The desire to apply infallibility to a belief would have been transferred from a belief in something to a belief in nothing, yet the whole reason for the controversy originates from an acknowledgement of the fallibility of our beliefs and religions, and a desire of our laws to correct these errors.  The desires of Messrs. Dawkins and Hitchens should not be the main motivator for re-examining the actions, motivations, and moral authority of the Pope, but instead the desire should start from common actions such as the current scandal involving U.S. swimming.

Last week ABC reported that 36 U.S.A. Swimming, the official swimming organization representing the United States in the Olympics, coaches over the past decade had groped, molested and secretly videotaped teenage swimmers, and as a result all 36 were banned for life and many are currently serving jail terms.  I think all would agree that U.S.A. Swimming is a much smaller organization than the Catholic Church, but it should be evident to all that U.S.A. Swimming has dealt with these crimes in a much more severe and effective manner.  Despite being a much more stern disciplinarian, U.S.A. Swimming still admits that they need to improve, yet the Catholic Church has failed to act on numerous occasions. 

The Catholic Church repeatedly transfers priests who have abused children to other parishes and ordered for them to repent, yet these tactics not only prove ineffective but also do not align with the standards that society has set for crimes of this magnitude.  The reason that U.S.A. Swimming and the Catholic Church have administered drastically different punishments for similar crimes centers on the fact that the former acts based on the fallible nature of man, and the latter on the infallible nature of its beliefs.  Moving a priest to another parish and sentencing him to repent may appear lenient and ineffective to many, but if your punishments come from an infallible source then the punishments must be adequate.  The absurdity of the Catholic Church’s logic should be obvious to all, and the danger that this logic has wreaked on countless children throughout the world is evident for all to see.

The call to arrest the Pope should stem from an objective will to try those that appear to put the lives of others in danger, and not any ill will towards the belief of an organization.  At present the most damning evidence against Pope Benedict XVI is that in 1985 when he was Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger and had been appointed the as the head of the Vatican office that shared responsibility for disciplining abusive priests he denied the request of the diocese of Oakland to remove Rev. Stephen Kiesle whom they had suspected of molesting children.  The then Cardinal Ratzinger cited the “grave significance” of the arguments for removing Rev. Kiesle, but instead ordered that Rev. Kiesle receive “as much paternal care as possible”, a.k.a. adult supervision to hopefully stay out of trouble, and stated that it would be in “the good of the universal church” if this case was handled in this fashion. 

These punishments are not acceptable in modern times, and obviously were not in the 80’s since the diocese of Oakland felt that Rev. Kiesle needed to be removed.  One of the most startling revelations of this case is that Kiesle had been charged with child molestation in 1978 and had just finished his three years of probation upon entering the diocese in Oakland in 1981.  A known pedophile was working in the Catholic Church and not only did Cardinal Ratzinger deny the request to remove him from the Catholic Church, but instead argued that it was in the best interest of the universal church for him to stay.  This decision may have sustained the image of the infallible moral authority for the Catholic Church by allowing the crimes to go unnoticed, but now these errors in judgment can be seen by all and the morality of the Catholic Church does not appear to be on the same level as that of the rest of western civilization. 

At present the Catholic Church seems to be working quickly to correct these errors and that is appropriate, but should the Pope, or the Infallible, be able to argue that his mistakes should be excused because they were based around a desire to sustain an image of infallibility?  Basically, “The Church and I made mistakes because we were trying to be perfect, so stop harassing us so that we can continue with our perfection.”  I think few people would accept this mea culpa, and frankly accepting the Pope’s apology, if one ever arrives, would be a regression in our understanding of the laws that govern us.  The most just act would be to treat the Pope as if he was a regular person, since that is exactly what he is, and every person can be arrested.

Racism in Italian Football

 Mario Balotelli

Mario Balotelli is an Italian footballer of Ghanaian descent that has suffered many abuses from Italian fans because of his race. 

This week the Italian football club Nuovo Casteltodino abandoned a match after two of their Italian players of African descent received repeated abuses.

Every weekend I watch football.  I watch football from England, Spain, Italy, Germany and France.  I watch a lot of football, yet watching a match on television does not compare to being in the stadium.  The atmosphere inside a football stadium is hard to duplicate and many sports pale in comparison.  Seeing a football match live is truly something everyone should witness even if you are not a fan of the sport.  It is an environment that should be experienced and not just viewed from afar, yet there are aspects that need to be removed.

During my times in Europe I’ve attended a handful of matches, and I enjoyed them all, but I do remember a few occasions where there were chants that I did not appreciate or sections of the stadium that I was advised not to purchase tickets in, and all of this was solely due to the color of my skin.

In modern day society, and past societies, racism and/or prejudices towards other groups are nearly inevitable.  People may be unfamiliar with a group of people and their initial judgments towards the character of those individuals could be based on appearance and/or habits.  At some point people must find a way of dealing with these differences.  Some may respond negatively, some positively, and others completely indifferent, but the main theme should be that although the end result may be similar the process of getting their was most likely completely different.

In Italy people may be inclined to racist actions not because of an overwhelming belief that people of African descent are beneath them, but instead because their country is in a very vulnerable geographic location that makes them ripe for invasion and therefore the people are wary of individuals that one could deem as foreign.  Italian racism could arise from opinions that originate from the slave trade during the Roman Empire.  The method for addressing this problem could reside in their Roman Catholic faith, as the audio clip alluded to.  This perspective does not make their racism any less significant to that which exists in the United States, which originated solely from the slave trade, but it may gave a better method for which we can address and hopefully solve the problem.

Racism may be an international problem, but addressing it domestically may be the ideal method for solving this issue.

For more info on this topic go to the BBC.

A Great Place to Live

Earlier this week a Moroccan man was denied French citizenship for forcing his wife to wear a niqab, a full veil that only allows for her eyes to be seen, due to his behavior being ‘incompatible with French values’.  (The Guardian has the full story.) French Imigration Minister Eric Besson said,

"It emerged during the inquiry and the interview process that this person forced his wife to wear the full veil, deprived her of freedom of movement with her face exposed and rejected the principles of secularism and equality between men and women,"

This outward and distorted display of Islamic principles not only went against the ideals of France’s secular government, but also its basic principle of equality among the sexes.  A man should not be able to so strictly regulate the attire and life of his wife and then be allowed citizenship in a country that opposes these practices.  To make matters even worse he justified these actions by citing his religious beliefs.  France has had a long tradition of secular values that have existed since the French Revolution, and religious expression in government buildings have long been outlawed.  Public schools, courthouses or any government buildings do not display the Ten Commandments, the crucifix, the Star of David, the Koran or any religious imagery.  The French Republic is separate from the church and therefore cannot support any religion.  By not supporting any religion, the French Republic cannot accept justification for actions based solely on religious beliefs.  Actions must be vindicated by reason and logic, and not merely religious dogma.  This is a level of governing that many countries have failed to attain; yet all should aspire for. 

It seems strange to support an individual not obtaining citizenship due to his religious beliefs, but in this situation it is appropriate.  Governments should work towards sustaining and furthering the equality and freedoms of its people, and when an individual acts to diminish this equality and these freedoms he should not be granted the luxury of participating regardless of his justifications.  In the end, we should all hope that this man eventually starts to treat his wife as an equal, and allow her to have all the freedoms that a French person enjoys.  Until, that day happens he truly is not French, and should not be treated as a Frenchmen.

In a completely unrelated story France was voted the best country to live in for the fifth time in a row by International Living’s annual Quality of Life Index.  In evalutating France International Living stated,

"No surprise. Its tiresome bureaucracy and high taxes are outweighed by an unsurpassable quality of life, including the world's best health care."



The Decade in Pictures

As the decade draws to a close I am still astonished to realize that to many this is the only decade that they truly remember.  This is the decade that they matured in.  This has been a decade where even some of the most beautiful and well intended events have an under current of violence. Even the above picture has violence all around it, since the Iranian government actively pursues suppressing her freedoms.  What she is doing is now illegal and can prevent her from getting any form of an education in Iran because she would now be a 'star student'.

That is not a place people should want to grow up in.

I have included a series of pictures from the decade below, but to get more I recommend visiting The Big Picture.

Click to read more ...

Rachel Maddow & More Info on the Attempted Christmas Bomber

On The Rachel Maddow Show last night she did something amazing and unexpected.  She did not take the day of by making her show a year or decade in review special.  She actually discussed the news, and this was great.  When you consider that the U.S. Senate passed a health care bill on Christmas Eve, an al Qaeda youth attempeted to blow up an airplane on Christmas Day, and Iran increased their protests against their government over the weekend, it would only seem appropriate that we receive news on Monday evening.

Part of her show consisted of giving a great perspective of the complexities of the attempted Christmas bomber, and she did so with the great help of Richard Engel.  Watch it below.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

The Sunday Knight - Bomb Threat

A young Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab

On Christmas day, 23 year old Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab attempted to detonate a bomb on a Northwest Airlines flight carrying 278 passengers and 11 crew members from Amsterdam to Detroit while the plane made its final descent.  He hid his bomb of pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN), one of the most powerful high explosives, in the lining of his pants and before he attempted to detonate the bomb he ventured to the lavatory for roughly fifteen minutes to set it up.  Upon returning to his window seat, he claimed that he had an upset stomach and then covered himself with a blanket.  At that point he attempted to detonate the bomb, but the detonator malfunctioned and instead a fire erupted in his pants seriously burning his legs.  Upon seeing the fire, hearing the noise, and smelling the smoke the passengers subdued Mr. Abdulmutallab, and the threat disappeared.  

This story should be frightening and infuriating, yet due to the events of the past decade it almost seems like the norm.  This should not be a welcomed surprise.

Click to read more ...

A Cleric Dies, but the Fight Continues

Yesterday the Iranian cleric the Grand Ayatollah Hoseyn Ali Montazeri died at his home in Qom, Iran from natural causes at the age of 87.  Over the past six months Montazeri has become a very inspirational figure in Iran, since he spoke out against the presidential elections and stated that there was widespread fraud.  An Ayatollah openly disagreeing with the Supreme Leader the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is not common, and only validated the revolutionaries claims of fraud. 

Thus today was his funeral and many Iranians used the event to voice their anger with the current dictatorial regime in Iran.  They wore green, the color of the revolution, and presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi was in attendance.  The government feared the actions of the supporters of Montazeri so they sent the military to watch the funeral to prevent clashes.  Yet despite his death the significance of Montazeri should not be lost on anyone.  He very easily could have become the Supreme Leader instead of the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Just three months before the previous Supreme Leader the Ayatollah Khomeini died of cancer, the Ayatollah Montazeri and him had a falling out due to Montazeri's claims that Khomeini intended turn Iran into an Islamic dictatorship.  This falling out meant that Montazeri was no longer Khomeini's successor, and that the present Supreme Leader the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei became next in line.  Three months later Khomeini died and Iran continued on a path towards Islamic dictatorship.

I hope Iranians use this funeral to envision what could have been, and stay inspired to make a better tomorrow.

The Grand Ayatollah Hoseyn Ali Montazeri

You can read more about the funeral at the BBC HERE.

Muslim Response to the Swiss

If only the response to the Swiss minarets ban was this simple.

You can see more of Peter Brookes cartoons at the Times of London online HERE.

57% of the Swiss say "No" to minarets

Apparently 4 minarets, and the fear that one day minarets may number in the tens, constitutes a threat to the security of Switzerland.  

Fear appears to be replacing love as the emotion that can conquer all.

Mumbai Terrorist Attacks - One Year Later

The Taj Mahal Hotel under siege

"I was told to kill until my last breath."

Azam Amir Kasab, 21, the sole captured Mumbai terrorist

A year and one day ago the city of Mumbai, India had their own terrorist attack.  Ten young Pakistani men from the group Lashkar-e-Taiba, the Army of the Righteous, boarded tiny boats and landed at the Indian port city of Mumbai.  Once there their intentions were to kill at least 5,000 people.  They planned on killing British and American tourists, taking hostages, and then bombing to the ground the Taj Mahal Hotel.  These ten young men had been expertly trained for this attack for six months.  They wanted the world to see the power of Lashkar-e-Taiba.

The attacks in Mumbai lasted for three days.  Nine of the terrorists were killed by the police, and one was captured.  166 people died in the attacks, and it could have been much worse if the attackers had not under estimated the strength of the Taj Mahal Hotel.  The 105 year old structure proved to be stronger than their bombs.  The attacks could have been far worse if they were successful with this part of the plan, and then the similarities between the "Indian 9/11" and the American original would be too obvious to ignore.

Over the Thanksgiving holiday we can easily find our selves consumed with ourselves, and our families.  "What kind of Turkey will I prepare?"  "What crazy deal will I find on Black Friday?"  This is fine.  We should not ignore ourselves and our families, but we should be able to take the time and acknowledge the significant events that may be occurring around the world at the same time.  Some of them are tragic and some are heroic, but they all warrant at least a flicker of our attention.  The world is big and it moves fast, and we must take the time to see as much of it as we can, the good and the bad.  Otherwise it will pass us by.  We would have remained the same and the whole world would have changed, yet we would be none the wiser.  

Over the weekend, I think we all need to cast an eye towards the attacks that occurred in Mumbai one year ago.

A year ago President-Elect Barack Obama release this statement on the matter.

"President-Elect Obama strongly condemns today's terrorist attacks in Mumbai, and his thoughts and prayers are with the victims, their families, and the people of India. These coordinated attacks on innocent civilians demonstrate the grave and urgent threat of terrorism. The United States must continue to strengthen our partnerships with India and nations around the world to root out and destroy terrorist networks. We stand with the people of India, whose democracy will prove far more resilient than the hateful ideology that led to these attacks," said Brooke Anderson, Chief National Security Spokesperson

It is amazing what can occur in a year or six months, and how it can all fly by.  At some point though we all need to get out of the daze and become more aware.  Becoming more aware of a terrorist attack plotted in Pakistan and implemented in India would probably be a good idea for all Americans who are concerned with our foreign policy towards the Middle East. 

"I was told to kill until my last breath."

For more info on the Mumbai Terrorist Attacks I recommend visiting the Huffington Post's Mumbai Attacks page and to get a better picture of the terror of the attacks I recommend The Big Picture's "Mumbai under attack" page.

Don't Mess with the Church

CHURCHTANK TYPE 7C by Kris Kuksi

"Perhaps it is far too objectionable to begin to agree upon what art is or what great art should be. Therefore, it is most certain that for myself, within this occupation, I must be true to my tastes and to expel those pressures to conform to art-trends new or old."

Kris Kuksi

For more art by Kris Kuksi visit HERE.

Dangerous Participants: Psalm 109:8

May his days be few; may another take his place of leadership.

Psalm 109:8

May his children be fatherless and his wife a widow

Psalm 109:9

This is the latest trend in religious right fear mongering and hate speech, and this needs to be taken quite seriously.  The religious right are using the seemingly nice phrase "Pray for Obama" to mean anything but a hope for the well being of our President.  Instead they use it as a threat, on nearly jihadist levels.  

There are groups of people who not only hope for the death of our President, but also find it appropriate to use this message to earn money and recruit more followers into the fold by fabricating bumper stickers, T-shirts, teddy bears and more.  This is not a joke.  This is not funny.  This should regarded as a serious threat to the President because what else could it be.  I cannot see how it could be anything else.  The Secret Service's Presidential threat level has gone up 400%, and that is higher than any President's, Democrat or Republican, in the last 52 years.

Below Rachel Maddow discusses this issue with Frank Schaeffer, but before that we need to quickly examine how this truly does ruin America.  Frankly, I cannot think of anything more abhorrent, un-Patriotic, and un-American than actively expressing, advocating, and marketing your desire for the President to be killed, but this ruins the process of being an American.  By being a citizen of a country you decide that you will respect the country and its laws.  That respect does not mean that you approve of everything, but instead you know there is a respectful way to go about problems.  You can vote for the opposition, file complaints, run for elected office, organize debates and peaceful protests, but one thing most countries do not tolerate or respect is the advocating of the death of individuals who have not been convicted of any crime.  Killing the innocent plunges a country into chaos, and a desire to do so shows a total lack of respect or appreciation for everything America has created and represents.  

Earlier today I mentioned how certain participants, most notably on the right, aim to obstruct the legislative process through a lack of debate and the influence of lobbyists, and now it is frighteningly apparent that other individuals on the right hope to destroy one of the basic foundations of a stable, sovereign country.

Here is Rachel Maddow 

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Things I Like - Judaism

After finishing my Easter celebrations, I've come to a new realization.  I like Judaism.  I'm not Jewish and do not intend to convert at any point in the future, but one thing is for sure.  I like Judaism.  I have not read the Torah, or even the entire Bible for that matter, but those facts matter little in my newly formed opinion.  My opinion all stems from a conversation I had with a friend almost six months ago.

My friend, Sanford, and I were driving to Miami, and as one must do in long car rides, we had to talk.  We covered every topic you could imagine.  We talked about politics, girls, the weather, our jobs, our families, and of course religion.  My friend is Jewish and I am not, and hearing a different perspective on religion and the divine is something I enjoy, so this was not a subject that could be missed.  At one point, in the conversation Sanford told of how he really enjoyed how when he was younger his synagogue educated all of its pupils on Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and other worldly religions.  He thoroughly enjoyed this education, and felt that that was something that other religions did not offer.  I agreed, but the foundation of my agreement differed from his.  Judaism has something that other religions do not.  Judaism is a religion that is exclusive to an ethnic group.  Jewish individuals are born into a religion.  Therefore the religion has a consistent stream of followers and recruiting is no longer needed.  The lack of recruiting is what I like about Judaism.

In synagogues around the world they can teach about the great attributes of many religions knowing that the risk of defection is slim to none.  That is a fascinating freedom that many religions lack.  American Christianity definitely lacks this attribute.  There always seems to be a quest to add more flock to the fold.  In a time, when people are constantly being marketed and advertised to, I would like the divine to refrain from bombarding people with billboards, t-shirts, hats, bands, etc.  It makes me tired.  It makes me tired when reasonable people engage me in religious conversations and must preface statements with "don't worry I'm not going to convert you."  It gets to a level where recruitment interferes thought and tolerance.  This makes me sad, and frustrated.

Essentially, I hope people find something to believe in as long that belief is not focused on eradicating my own beliefs.  I want people to not care about my beliefs, but know that I try to help others with them.  I want them to feel like they are a "chosen one" because of their beliefs, but to also feel that I am also a "chosen one" because of my differing beliefs.  Judaism may not encompass entirely how I want people to treat each other, but at least their indifference allows me the time to breath and think, instead of constantly trying to avoid the cries for assimilation.

Thus, or thus far, I like Judaism.