The Front Page Cover
"I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened"
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Featuring:
The Pope's Better Angels of Peace
Jonathan Tobin
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"Rise up together as one voice"
"Be careful where you stand"
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Maybe they meant ‘on TV’ - Gallup: “The American public estimates on average that 23% of Americans are gay or lesbian, little changed from Americans' 25% estimate in 2011, and only slightly higher than separate 2002 estimates of the gay and lesbian population. These estimates are many times higher than the 3.8% of the adult population who identified themselves as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender in Gallup Daily tracking in the first four months of this year.” -Fox News
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WITH YOUR SECOND CUP OF COFFEE
On what historians believe was this day in 334 B.C. King Alexander III of Macedon led a combined army of Macedonians and Greeks to its first major victory in his conquest of the Persian Empire at the River Granicus (in modern day Turkey). At the time little was known of him to Persian King Darius, who thought his local commander could handle the 21 year-old upstart who was new to the throne. But after a stop at Troy to honor the Achilles with libations and a ritual naked run around the Greek hero’s sepulcher, the young king revealed a boldness in battle that would eventually lead him to conquer much of the ancient world and to one day earn the name Alexander the Great.
Historian Donald Wasson’s account of the one-hour Battle of Granicus between the 33,000 warriors details how between 1,500 and 3,000 Persians would fall to Alexander’s flanking maneuver (Macedonian/Greek losses were put at 120), and how after the battle the young king had little sympathy for Greek mercenaries fighting alongside the Persians. As for the spoils of victory, Alexander sent 300 suits of Persian armor home to Athens to remind the Greeks that Granicus was only one step in the war to avenge the Persian invasion of his homeland by Darius I and Xerxes decades before. -Fox News
On what historians believe was this day in 334 B.C. King Alexander III of Macedon led a combined army of Macedonians and Greeks to its first major victory in his conquest of the Persian Empire at the River Granicus (in modern day Turkey). At the time little was known of him to Persian King Darius, who thought his local commander could handle the 21 year-old upstart who was new to the throne. But after a stop at Troy to honor the Achilles with libations and a ritual naked run around the Greek hero’s sepulcher, the young king revealed a boldness in battle that would eventually lead him to conquer much of the ancient world and to one day earn the name Alexander the Great.
Historian Donald Wasson’s account of the one-hour Battle of Granicus between the 33,000 warriors details how between 1,500 and 3,000 Persians would fall to Alexander’s flanking maneuver (Macedonian/Greek losses were put at 120), and how after the battle the young king had little sympathy for Greek mercenaries fighting alongside the Persians. As for the spoils of victory, Alexander sent 300 suits of Persian armor home to Athens to remind the Greeks that Granicus was only one step in the war to avenge the Persian invasion of his homeland by Darius I and Xerxes decades before. -Fox News
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Walker brings thunder in Oklahoma - WiscNews: “The Oklahoma audience [at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference] erupted in cheers when [Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker] ticked off what he called ‘conservative reforms’ he pushed for in Wisconsin such as pushing the state to adopt right-to-work laws and requirements to ask for identification when voting, as well as de-funding Planned Parenthood. Walker on Thursday largely echoed speeches he has made on the stump in recent months, mentioning shopping for bargains at Kohl’s department stores and revealing he decided to seek a high state office to make Wisconsin a better state for his children.” -Fox News
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HEED THE BUGLER’S CALL
As Americans commemorate the men and women in uniform who gave their lives in defense of our, “Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace” introduces us to Tom Day, a man who has made it his mission to have a bugle player at every military funeral. 15 years later his organization is going strong. Mr. Sunday also sits down with former Gov. Mike Huckabee, R-Ark., to talk about on his new campaign strategy for 2016. “Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace” airs at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. ET on Fox News. Check local listings for air times in your area. -Fox News
As Americans commemorate the men and women in uniform who gave their lives in defense of our, “Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace” introduces us to Tom Day, a man who has made it his mission to have a bugle player at every military funeral. 15 years later his organization is going strong. Mr. Sunday also sits down with former Gov. Mike Huckabee, R-Ark., to talk about on his new campaign strategy for 2016. “Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace” airs at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. ET on Fox News. Check local listings for air times in your area. -Fox News
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SHIZZLE BUT NOT SHEEZY? THAT’S RIDIC
NPR: “A new batch of 6,500 words are now available to Scrabble players, after publishing house Collins updated its widely used Official Scrabble Words listThursday. The list includes tech jargon and slang, such as pwn, twerk and shizzle. Also added: aji (the pepper), coqui (the frog) and the more old-fashioned ixnay and zowee. (See a longer list at the bottom of this post.) With more than 276,000 words, Collins says its Official Scrabble Words reflects how English is used around the world, with words gleaned from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, the U.K., and the U.S. The word list takes up 1,216 pages in hardback; it's also an app.” -Fox News
NPR: “A new batch of 6,500 words are now available to Scrabble players, after publishing house Collins updated its widely used Official Scrabble Words listThursday. The list includes tech jargon and slang, such as pwn, twerk and shizzle. Also added: aji (the pepper), coqui (the frog) and the more old-fashioned ixnay and zowee. (See a longer list at the bottom of this post.) With more than 276,000 words, Collins says its Official Scrabble Words reflects how English is used around the world, with words gleaned from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, the U.K., and the U.S. The word list takes up 1,216 pages in hardback; it's also an app.” -Fox News
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backstabber Boehner to nObama: Fix the VA Now!
(leanrightamerica.org) - Speaker of the House backstabber John Boehner has lost his patience with the Veterans Administration, his anger obvious as he took to the floor Wednesday. “Just one person has been fired,” backstabber Boehner said. “What the hell happened to the rest of them?”... It’s a question for which the VA has no answer. The coverup has continued with conflicting stories about who was punished, what has been changed, and what will be done in the future. Earlier this year, VA Secretary Robert McDonald claimed that 60 people had been fired for the scandal. Later, that number turned out to be only 14. And then last month, the New York Times reported that only a single person had been fired for the scandal. backstabber Boehner insisted that additional legislation was not the answer; only the administration could effect the kind of change needed in the VA. He said President nObama “owes the American people a real, long-term plan to fix the VA. Not a promise or a pledge or a rearranging of deck chairs: a real plan to clean up this mess.” What we need is a new leader. http://www.leanrightamerica.org/uncategorized/boehner-to-obama-fix-the-va-now/
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Congress: Terror-Tied Aliens Seeking Asylum in U.S.
(Adam Kredo) - Congress is demanding that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) release documents detailing how many foreigners seeking asylum in the United States have been found to have ties to terror groups, according to a recent letter sent to the agency by leading lawmakers... The letter comes on the heels of revelations by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) that at least 638 aliens seeking asylum in America have been found to have connections to terrorists. This “recent disclosure regarding the numbers of aliens found to have a ‘credible fear’ in cases where the terrorism bar to asylum eligibility may have applied raised the concern that hundreds of known and suspected aliens with terrorist connections may be attempting to take advantage of our country’s asylum system,” according to the letter, sent by leaders of four House committees on national security, the judiciary, and government reform. http://freebeacon.com/national-security/congress-terror-tied-aliens-seeking-asylum-in-u-s/
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Gun Bans, No Limit On Immigration – TPP Is Dictator nObama
(rickwells.us) - Michael Savage points out the secrecy surrounding the dictatorial powers that the Republicans and Democrats are attempting to cede to this most corrupt and anti-American occupant that has ever tainted the upholstery of the White House furnishings... Savage describes the tyrannical nObama regime as “a dictatorship as sure as I’m sitting here,” and notes the sellouts within the Republican Party, naming McCon-nell, backstabber Boehner and the Mormon miscreant Orrin Hatch (R-UT). It discusses the very real possibility that UN style gun control could already be in or later added to the deal with our government and more importantly the citizens of the United States powerless to do anything about it short of revolution. http://rickwells.us/gun-bans-no-limit-on-immigration-tpp-is-dictator-obama-doing-what-we-fear-most-michael-savage/
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nObama And loose lips Biden Selling Climate Change
(rickwells.us) - The two anti-American agents who occupy the highest offices within the executive branch, Hussein nObama and loose lips Joe Biden, both made recent addresses to graduating classes to promote their false narrative of man-caused climate change... nObama spoke to the Coast Guard, loose lips Biden to Naval Cadets, both of them arguing the case in favor of climate alarmism. It is important to recognize the source of this drive is not a concern for the well-being of the planet. In an odd sort of questioning of which came first, the Chicken Little or the egg, it was the agenda for global conquest through the United Nations which determined that a climate threat was the best method for forcing the powerful to submit to rule by the self-ordained elite. Maurice Strong, the man who was the driving force behind the formulation of the United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC, said in 1990, “What if a small group of world leaders were to conclude that the principal risk to the Earth comes from the actions of the rich countries? And if the world is to survive, those rich countries would have to sign an agreement reducing their impact on the environment. Will they do it? The group’s conclusion is ‘no’. The rich countries won’t do it. They won’t change. So, in order to save the planet, the group decides: Isn’t the only hope for the planet that the industrialized civilizations collapse? Isn’t it our responsibility to bring that about?” http://rickwells.us/obama-and-biden-selling-climate-change-their-globalist-marxist-mission-working-for-the-un/
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Senate blocks House bill on NSA surveillance, 2-month extension
(foxnews.com) - The Republican-led Senate blocked a House-passed bill and several short-term extensions of the USA Patriot Act early Saturday... The big stumbling block was a House-passed measure to end the National Security Agency’s bulk collection of domestic phone records. Instead, the records would remain with telephone companies subject to a case-by-case review. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McCon-nell favored retaining the program, but fellow Kentuckian and Republican presidential contender Rand Paul blocked any extension no matter how brief past the midnight May 31 expiration. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/05/23/senate-blocks-house-bill-on-nsa-surveillance/
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$41 Billion Per Year, EPA Nazi McCarty Promised
(rickwells.us) - A federal government analysis has found that the new restrictions dictated to the American people by the EPA will, as expected, come at a heavy price... CO2 emissions limits contained in the latest regulations set to be adopted this summer will more than double the amount of energy capacity lost compared to what would occur without the rule. The Department of Energy has estimated the loss of 40 gigawatts of capacity by 2040 without the restrictions. With the new energy-killing mandates, that number will climb to an estimated 90 gigawatts. An additional 4.9 percent cost increase will be felt by 2020, with another 4 percent in 2030 followed by 2.6 percent in 2040. Those costs and reduced energy available to the American people are a direct result of these EPA mandates. Costs are never as small as predicted by the government and there is no reason to believe that the approximate five percent figure is legitimate. After all, that number is a far cry from the “price of a gallon of milk per month” that EPA energy Nazi Gina McCarthy quoted when she first introduced the restrictions. http://rickwells.us/41-billion-per-year-is-a-lot-more-than-the-price-of-a-gallon-of-milk-per-month-epa-nazi-mccarty-promised/
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Democrats call for 'flood' of Muslims to U.S. (Leo Hohmann) - A group of 14 Democrat senators has written a letter to President nObama urging him to “dramatically increase” the number of Syrian refugees being resettled into American cities and towns... They say the U.S. needs to take in at least 65,000 Syrians as permanent refugees over the next year-and-a-half. The 14 senators, led by Richard Durbin, D-Ill., Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Diane Feinstein, D-Calif., cite the research of the Refugee Council USA to make their case for 65,000 Syrian refugees by the end of 2016. RCUSA is the main lobbying arm of the nine agencies that contract with the federal government to resettle refugees in cities and towns across America. http://www.wnd.com/2015/05/democrats-call-for-flood-of-muslims-to-u-s/
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Emails Cast Doubt on Hilly Clinton’s Benghazi Claims
(Sharyl Attkisson) - The Benghazi Committee says there are a number of emails in which State Department personnel specifically passed along security issues to Clinton in 2011 and 2012 before the attacks... An August 2012 email to then-Secretary of State Clinton from one of her top aides, Jake Sullivan, referred to “some warning signs” regarding the deteriorating security situation. Clinton has long denied being in the loop about mounting dangers in Benghazi and her agency’s rejection of security requests from U.S. personnel, including Ambassador Christopher Stevens, who was killed in the attacks. Though Clinton was sent multiple cables about security prior to the assaults, she explained that she got far too many to read. What a lousy excuse, if she read any of them. http://dailysignal.com/2015/05/22/newly-released-emails-cast-doubt-on-hillary-clintons-benghazi-claims/?utm_source=heritagefoundation&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=saturday&mkt_tok=3RkMMJWWfF9wsRojsqnJZKXonjHpfsX56%2BQpWqS%2BlMI%2F0ER3fOvrPUfGjI4JSMVhI%2BSLDwEYGJlv6SgFQrLBMa1ozrgOWxU%3D
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CAIR Doesn’t Think Our US Military Should Be honored
(AmyElizabeth) - While the rest of the country was recalling its fallen troops, two prominent CAIR officials questioned whether they deserved to be honored. Virtually all Americans come together on Memorial Day to honor those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for the country’s freedom and safety... Two Council on American-Islamic Relations’ officials spent the holiday weekend differently: Questioning whether U.S. troops deserve to be honored and tweeting that the country was “established upon white supremacy.” The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a group labeled by the Justice Department as a U.S. Muslim Brotherhood entity and unindicted co-conspirator in a terrorism-financing trial, disingenuously claims that it is a moderate organization. This is one good reason they shouldn't be on American soil. http://gopthedailydose.com/2015/05/23/cair-dont-think-us-miltary-honored-memorial-day/
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Congress pushes a pay cut for former presidents
(Pete Kasperowicz) - There's a new movement in Congress to dramatically cut the taxpayer-funded pensions given to former presidents, in an era when it's never been easier for former presidents to make millions of dollars... Reports this week said Bill and Hilly Clinton together earned more than $25 million since 2014, mostly from huge speaking fees that both are able to command. Even George W. Bush, who has kept a lower profile since leaving office, has earned large speaking fees. A Congressional Research Service study from last year said taxpayers spent about $3.5 million to support all the former presidents, and that more than $400,000 was spent on office space for both Bush and Clinton. http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/congress-pushes-a-pay-cut-for-former-presidents/article/2564886
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The Pope's Better Angels of Peace
Jonathan Tobin
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(jewishworldreview.com) - It turns out Pope Francis may not have called Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas "an angel of peace.".
That was the quote reported by the Associated Press, Agence France Presse and the New York Times on Saturday night and led to my response here criticizing the pontiff for uttering such an egregious comment the following morning. Speaking the way about a man who was a Holocaust denier, a funder and organizer of terrorism, presides over a government and media that routinely foments hatred of Jews and Israel and who has repeatedly rejected peace would be outrageous.
That was the quote reported by the Associated Press, Agence France Presse and the New York Times on Saturday night and led to my response here criticizing the pontiff for uttering such an egregious comment the following morning. Speaking the way about a man who was a Holocaust denier, a funder and organizer of terrorism, presides over a government and media that routinely foments hatred of Jews and Israel and who has repeatedly rejected peace would be outrageous.
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But if, as JWR contributor Tom Gross pointed out in the Weekly Standard, most of the Italian press reported that the pope actually said, "you could be an angel of peace," that puts the exchange in a very different light. That led Gross to claim those mainstream media outlets that spread the original story did so because they are prejudiced against Israel and for the Palestinians.
But if, as JWR contributor Tom Gross pointed out in the Weekly Standard, most of the Italian press reported that the pope actually said, "you could be an angel of peace," that puts the exchange in a very different light. That led Gross to claim those mainstream media outlets that spread the original story did so because they are prejudiced against Israel and for the Palestinians.
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Gross is on to something there since media bias on the Middle East is real. But before we file this story away as merely another example of this problem, let's put it in context.
Gross is on to something there since media bias on the Middle East is real. But before we file this story away as merely another example of this problem, let's put it in context.
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If the Times and other outlets that picked up the quote still haven't corrected their stories, it's also because the event during which the pope spoke led them to think that's what he meant.
If the Times and other outlets that picked up the quote still haven't corrected their stories, it's also because the event during which the pope spoke led them to think that's what he meant.
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In this case, the fault may belong as much to the Vatican as to those reporters who spread the misquote.
In this case, the fault may belong as much to the Vatican as to those reporters who spread the misquote.
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As Gross noted, there is now good reason to think the pope did not call Abbas an "angel of peace." The Italian press quoted the pope as saying, "Lei possa essere un angelo della pace" — which is translated as "you could be an angel of peace." The pope giving Abbas a gift of a medallion that shows an angel of peace "destroying the bad spirit of war" (apparently a standard event for all visitors) and led to the pontiff saying that Abbas could do the same thing.
As Gross noted, there is now good reason to think the pope did not call Abbas an "angel of peace." The Italian press quoted the pope as saying, "Lei possa essere un angelo della pace" — which is translated as "you could be an angel of peace." The pope giving Abbas a gift of a medallion that shows an angel of peace "destroying the bad spirit of war" (apparently a standard event for all visitors) and led to the pontiff saying that Abbas could do the same thing.
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That not only doesn't sound bad, it could be spun as the pope challenging Abbas to do something that he has not done before. Even more, some have pointed that in addition to the medal, the pope also gave Abbas a copy of his 2013 encyclical Evangelii Gaudium, a document that included language that spoke of Judaism with respect. That could lead some to think the pope was actually sending the PA leader a critical message rather than a pat on the back. If true, that should generate applause from friends of Israel rather than criticism.
That not only doesn't sound bad, it could be spun as the pope challenging Abbas to do something that he has not done before. Even more, some have pointed that in addition to the medal, the pope also gave Abbas a copy of his 2013 encyclical Evangelii Gaudium, a document that included language that spoke of Judaism with respect. That could lead some to think the pope was actually sending the PA leader a critical message rather than a pat on the back. If true, that should generate applause from friends of Israel rather than criticism.
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But there's a good reason why the mainstream press has been slow to amend their original stories: the Vatican hasn't sought a correction.
But there's a good reason why the mainstream press has been slow to amend their original stories: the Vatican hasn't sought a correction.
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As the Times of Israel pointed out, neither the Vatican website nor its official news agency specified what the pope said to Abbas on Saturday. Nor did they note the widespread discrepancies in the coverage of that event with many publications making the claim that the pope praised Abbas and others using the more equivocal quote. Nor is that likely to happen.
As the Times of Israel pointed out, neither the Vatican website nor its official news agency specified what the pope said to Abbas on Saturday. Nor did they note the widespread discrepancies in the coverage of that event with many publications making the claim that the pope praised Abbas and others using the more equivocal quote. Nor is that likely to happen.
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As much as many of us are rightly predisposed to think that the AP or the New York Times willfully distorted the pope's words, the Vatican doesn't appear to be displeased about the misquote.
As much as many of us are rightly predisposed to think that the AP or the New York Times willfully distorted the pope's words, the Vatican doesn't appear to be displeased about the misquote.
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Moreover, it's hard to be too tough on reporters who got the quote wrong in that manner because praise of Abbas and the Palestinian cause seemed to be exactly the purpose of the visit and other events surrounding the canonization of two Arab nuns who lived in the country when it was under Ottoman rule during the 19th century.
Moreover, it's hard to be too tough on reporters who got the quote wrong in that manner because praise of Abbas and the Palestinian cause seemed to be exactly the purpose of the visit and other events surrounding the canonization of two Arab nuns who lived in the country when it was under Ottoman rule during the 19th century.
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The Vatican's decision to join much of the rest of Europe and recognize Palestinian independence without first insisting that Abbas (and/or his Hamas rivals that rule Gaza) make peace with Israel was a signal not just of approval for the PA leader but of contempt for efforts to hold him accountable for his behavior. It is a good thing if Pope Francis did not actually call Abbas "an angel of peace." But by approving the PA's end run around the peace process at the United Nations, the pope has already done something that is morally equivalent to such an outrageous statement.
The Vatican's decision to join much of the rest of Europe and recognize Palestinian independence without first insisting that Abbas (and/or his Hamas rivals that rule Gaza) make peace with Israel was a signal not just of approval for the PA leader but of contempt for efforts to hold him accountable for his behavior. It is a good thing if Pope Francis did not actually call Abbas "an angel of peace." But by approving the PA's end run around the peace process at the United Nations, the pope has already done something that is morally equivalent to such an outrageous statement.
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Were the pope really interested in challenging Abbas to become an angel of peace, he would not be authorizing the Vatican to conclude a treaty recognizing Palestine while its leaders refuse to recognize the legitimacy of a Jewish state no matter where its borders are drawn.
Were the pope really interested in challenging Abbas to become an angel of peace, he would not be authorizing the Vatican to conclude a treaty recognizing Palestine while its leaders refuse to recognize the legitimacy of a Jewish state no matter where its borders are drawn.
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The church had an opportunity to stand for peace by refusing to join the rush to recognize a government that has no control over the territory it claims and much of which is under the thumb of an Islamist terror group with which the PA has tried to forge an alliance. If the Vatican hasn't asked for a correction about the misquote, it's because it seems to be perfectly happy to let the world think the pope is an ardent backer of the PA.
The church had an opportunity to stand for peace by refusing to join the rush to recognize a government that has no control over the territory it claims and much of which is under the thumb of an Islamist terror group with which the PA has tried to forge an alliance. If the Vatican hasn't asked for a correction about the misquote, it's because it seems to be perfectly happy to let the world think the pope is an ardent backer of the PA.
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So as much as we are right to criticize the Times, the AP and Agence France Pressse for their mistake, the real fault lies with a Vatican that staged a happy photo op with a leader with Abbas's checkered past and present opposition to peace talks.
So as much as we are right to criticize the Times, the AP and Agence France Pressse for their mistake, the real fault lies with a Vatican that staged a happy photo op with a leader with Abbas's checkered past and present opposition to peace talks.
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No one who knows much about Abbas thinks he could ever be an angel of peace. But Pope Francis, a good man whose good intentions deserve our respect, could be one.
No one who knows much about Abbas thinks he could ever be an angel of peace. But Pope Francis, a good man whose good intentions deserve our respect, could be one.
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But in order to do it, he would have to step back from a policy that aligns the Vatican with those seeking to unfairly pressure Israel and gives the PA a pass for rejecting peace.
But in order to do it, he would have to step back from a policy that aligns the Vatican with those seeking to unfairly pressure Israel and gives the PA a pass for rejecting peace.
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('' YOUR OPINION IS IMPORTANT TO ME WHAT DO YOU THINK ? '')
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