Free Republic

Democratic Senator Richard Durbin's now-historic comment likening U.S. detention facilities at Guantanamo to the Nazis, Soviet gulags, Pol Pot--"or others"--was not the worst thing said in recent days about the administration's Iraq policies. All this proved was that Sen. Durbin was looking out the window in the fifth grade when the nuns taught analogies. A similarly tossed-off comment by Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein, generally regarded as a serious person, was more troubling. After saying "there is rising concern that everything [my emphasis] seems to be going the wrong way" on Iraq, Sen. Feinstein demanded "regular progress reports" from the President...

Monday, January 03, 2005 almost fUNnny . . . Day 9 of the tsunami crisis. I know I had promised to lay off the UN for a bit . . . but I can't. As one reader commented on a previous Diplomad posting on the UN, "it's like watching a train wreck" -- you know it's horrible, but you've just got to look at it. In this part of the tsunami-wrecked Far Abroad, the UN is still nowhere to be seen where it counts, i.e., feeding and helping victims. The relief effort continues to be a US-Australia effort, with Singapore...

MOSCOW, December 29 (Itar-Tass) - Sri Lankian Ambassador Wijekoon Mudiyanselage Ukkubanda Wijekoon thanked Russia for its quick assistance in overcoming the consequences of the tidal waves that had hit his country. It is the biggest tragedy for the country. A tremendous number of people died in one day -- more than 21,000 -- while over one million were hurt. In some areas, tidal waves swept several kilometers into the country, according to the envoy. Immediately after the disaster, Sri Lanka's President Candrika Kumaratunga announced the whole territory of the country a zone of calamity and requested the world community to...

Earthquake, Tidal Waves Crush Korea's Tourism Industry The powerful earthquake that triggered devastating tidal waves off the waters of the Indonesian island of Sumatra in the Indian Ocean is impacting Korea's travel agencies during a peak holiday season. While on-site rescue efforts are underway, many tourists are bottled up in the region, with delays in flight arrangements as local airports have also been hit by the colossal tidal waves accompanied by the earthquake. Runways are inundated with water and air traffic control systems at key airports have been rendered out of service. Korean travel agencies have been flooded with last-minute...

IN the middle of Central Java today, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer will co-host a unique gathering of religious leaders in what he hopes will become a regular event. Mr Downer and his Indonesian counterpart, Hassan Wirajuda, will welcome more than 100 prominent religious figures from 14 countries ranging from Burma to New Zealand. The two-day gathering in Yogyakarta will be opened this morning by Indonesian President Soesilo Bambang Yudhoyono. Mr Downer will also use the two days to discuss further counter-terrorism co-operation. That will include a separate bilateral discussion with Indonesia's new leader today on the idea of a new...

Indonesia's recently-elected president has visited the country's war-torn province of Aceh, the scene of one of Asia's longest-running separatist rebellions. Hopes are high that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will give fresh impetus to attempts to bring peace to the restive province. Analysts say the fact that Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has chosen Aceh for his first major trip since taking office last month is an indication of the importance he sets on solving the quarter-century-long conflict in the province. President Yudhoyono has promised to look for new ways to reconcile the differences between the government and the separatists. The previous administration,...

VIENTIANE: Military-run Myanmar said on Friday there would be no changes to its promised “road map” to democracy after a leadership shake-up last month in which the prime minister was sacked. “The answer is clear, there will be no changes,” Foreign Minister Nyan Win told reporters on the sidelines of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meetings in the Lao capital Vientiane. “The recent changes will have no bearing on either the country’s domestic or foreign policy,” he said. Khin Nyunt, who was also intelligence chief, was removed from his post as prime minister on October 17 and placed under...

The Howard Government has rejected calls from South East Asian nations to sign a treaty renouncing the use of force in the region. During the federal election campaign, Prime Minister John Howard repeated his commitment to launch an attack against terrorists abroad if they were planning to strike Australian interests and the host country refused to act. Next week Mr Howard will become the first Australian Prime Minister to attend an ASEAN summit. At the meeting in Laos, he hopes to start negotiations for a free trade deal with the 10 ASEAN member nations. ASEAN leaders want Australia to support...

India's new naval chief said the force urgently needed to replace its aging combat ships, admitting it was facing a desperate shortage of manpower and equipment. "My job is to see that the navy stays in fine fettle," Admiral Arun Prakash told a press conference in New Delhi, his first since taking office last month. "We need to arrest declining force levels, which will keep going down till 2012 as aging ships get decommissioned. We have got 150 ships, we need to sustain that level," he added on Wednesday. According to the navy, fleet strength will shrink to 127 warships...

<p>NAIROBI, Kenya — The shock waves of last year's ordination of an openly homosexual bishop in the United States reverberated in Kenya yesterday, as Anglican leaders from across Africa began meeting to discuss whether to keep accepting crucial funding from the U.S. Episcopalian Church.</p>

African Primates in make-or-break summit Number: 5712 Date: April 8, Africa’s continuing place in the Anglican Communion will come under sharp scrutiny next week as the leaders of the Council of Anglican Provinces in Africa [CAPA] meet in Nairobi. The summit, running from April 14-16, will review the future of CAPA in light of the consecration of Gene Robinson as Bishop of New Hampshire in the USA. The 12 African Primates and the Bishop of Egypt will be joined by the Archbishops of Southeast Asia, South America, the West Indies, the Philippines, Pakistan, and New Guinea along with other Anglican...

As some of you probably remember, back on February 17th, the statement of the Anglican Primates of the Congo, Central Africa, Rwanda, and South East Asia released a statement saying that they would provide alternative oversight to conservative Anglican parishes in Canada who had requested it. The statement read as follows: ---------------------------------- FOUR PRIMATES STATEMENT: An Offer of Temporary Adequate Episcopal Oversight WHEREAS, a crisis of faith and leadership has been created in the Diocese of New Westminster by the passing of a motion to bless same-sex unions, and the actual performance of the same in a church with the...

The Realignment: A Summary Update By The Editor REPORTS OF FALLOUT at home and abroad from the U.S. Episcopal Church's embrace of an openly gay bishop and optional same-sex blessings just keep coming. "The implications are staggering. Hardly a day goes by without international mention of more consequences," said Archbishop Gregory Venables of the Southern Cone of America—one of the latest Anglican provinces to declare broken or some form of impaired communion with the Episcopal Church's liberal leadership. Provinces in that category now number 11 (out of 38), and represent nearly half of all Anglicans worldwide. In addition to the...

PRESS STATEMENT For Immediate Release 24 November 2003, Office of the Archbishop of the Province of the Anglican Church in South East Asia Breaking of Communion with the Episcopal Church of the United States of America consequent on the purported consecration of a gay bishop The Synod of the Province of the Anglican Church of South East Asia (‘the Province’) unanimously reject the purported consecration of Dr Gene Robinson (‘Robinson’) on 2 November 2003 by the Episcopal Church in the United States of America (‘ECUSA’) in New Hampshire, as a bishop in the Anglican Church. The Province views the purported...

STATEMENT OF THE BISHOPS OF THE PROVINCE OF THE ANGLICAN CHURCH IN SOUTH EAST ASIA ON THE CONFIRMATION OF THE REVD CANON DR GENE ROBINSON AS BISHOP OF THE DIOCESE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE BY THE HOUSE OF BISHOPS OF THE PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (ECUSA) 13th August 2003 It is with grave concern and deep sadness that we in the Province of the Anglican Church in South East Asia received the news of the confirmation by the House of Bishops of The Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America (ECUSA) of the election...

Posted on Monday, November 17, 2003   When Christians embrace Islam By Johnna Villaviray, Senior Reporter(First of Three Parts)When the television reporter Richard Rivera stepped onto the Sulu pier, one thing was on his mind: send stories to Manila about efforts to recover the Abu Sayyaf’s 19 Sipadan hostages. By the end of the six-week assignment, Rivera brought home not just war stories but a new faith as well. Now answering to the name Abdurahman Ismail, Rivera has resigned from the network and is now helping to organize rallies to raise civic awareness. He says he doesn’t miss his...

<p>His capture was one of the civilized world's biggest coups in the War on Terror. The August arrest of Riduan Isamuddin, better known as Hambali, removed another al Qaeda killer from global circulation. Hambali was the terror mastermind behind Jemaah Islamiyah (JI, al Qaeda in Southeast Asia). The "brain" who planned the October 2002 mass murder in Bali, he served as both people "connector" and supply conduit for numerous attacks throughout the region.</p>

Chinese military harasses U.S. Navy ship; China expands defense/political/economic relations in SE Asia September 3 Chinese Parliamentary chief and former Foreign-Minister Li Peng has begun an 18-day tour of Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and Australia, reports the official Xinhua news agency. Known as the "Butcher of Tiananmen Square" for his leading role in the violent 1989 suppression the Chinese pro-democracy movement, Li Peng is also credited with building PRC ties to neighboring countries in the post-Tiananmen period. Li's delegation consists of 120 officials, including the Chairman of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Committee and other senior officials responsible for economic, energy,...

FBI chief to visit KL, S'pore CANBERRA -- The chief of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Robert Mueller will visit Malaysia and Singapore to discuss the latest developments in the war against terrorism. His stops in the two Asian nations follows his low-profile stopover in Australia, where on Tuesday, he held talks with Australian Prime Minister John Howard and other senior ministers.Mr Mueller was due to arrive in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday, and, following meetings with Malaysian officials, he will go to Singapore on Thursday.Malaysia and Singapore have carried out dozens of arrests since early December against a network...