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Greek Orthodox Archdiocese Sues Port Authority Over St. Nicholas Church

by 1389AD ( 106 Comments › )
Filed under Christianity, Orthodox Christianity, September 11 at December 10th, 2010 - 11:30 am

Vigil for St. Nicholas Church at Ground Zero

Exterior of St. Nicholas Church at Ground Zero, destroyed on 9-11

View from balcony: St. Nicholas Church at Ground Zero, destroyed on 9-11

Fr. John Romas conducting services: St. Nicholas Church at Ground Zero, destroyed on 9-11

Parishoner lighting a candle: St. Nicholas Church at Ground Zero, destroyed on 9-11

It is absolutely inexcusable that, nine years on, that there are still no plans to rebuild the Orthodox Christian Church building that was destroyed on September 11, 2001. The parish still exists, but the New York/New Jersey Port Authority has made it impossible for the priest and parishoners to rebuild either on their original site or on any alternative neighboring site. The rebuilding of this church is being tied up in red tape, while at the same time, Mayor Bloomberg has been lobbying for 9-11 tax dollars to be used for building the Ground Zero Mosque.

(h/t: Pam Geller)

WSJ: St. Nicholas Church Begins Legal Action Against the Port Authority

By JOSH BARBANEL

The leaders of St. Nicholas Church, the small whitewashed Greek Orthodox Church destroyed by falling debris on Sept. 11, 2001, have begun legal action against the Port Authority demanding that the church be rebuilt under the terms of a deal worked out several years ago.

A claim filed against the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey by church leaders and the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America on Monday accused the agency, which is overseeing Ground Zero’s rebuilding, of engaging in “arrogance, bad faith and fraudulent conduct” and “shabby and unlawful treatment.”

Under state law, the church is required to file a notice of claim against the Port Authority for some of its claims, and wait 60 days before it can go to court, according to Mark. G. Cunha, a lawyer for the church.

In 2008, after years of discussions, the Port Authority and the church announced an agreement to rebuild the church, which was originally located on Cedar Street, on a nearby site on Liberty Street. As part of the deal, the Port Authority said it would pay $20 million toward the cost of the new church.

But in March, the deal fell through. The Port Authority accused the church of making excessive demands, while church leaders say the Port Authority unilaterally withdrew from negotiations.

John Kelly, a spokesman for the Port Authority, said officials hadn’t yet seen the filing and couldn’t comment on it. But he said: “We very much hope the Orthodox Church rebuilds on their original site.”

In papers served on Monday the church is now seeking to compel the Port Authority to live up to the terms of what the church said is a “binding preliminary agreement.”

It said that even after the Port Authority backed away from the agreement, the authority began digging in the site of the old church and is trespassing “without permission, notice or any legal justification.” The underground portion of the old church site is part of what is to become an underground vehicle security center, where trucks entering the site would be searched…

Read the rest.

USA Today: Church left out of 9/11 renewal

NEW YORK — Towers are rising again at the site of the World Trade Center, a place of devastation turned into a construction hub. But the cross-topped belfry of St. Nicholas Church isn’t among them.

Nine years after it was destroyed in the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the little Greek Orthodox church that stood across the street from the twin towers is farther away than ever from being rebuilt.

Slow progress toward a new home halted last year when the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which controls the Ground Zero site, broke off discussions with the church over where and how a new church would be built.

On Sunday, the eve of St. Nicholas Day, 70 families of the congregation gathered near the site to light candles and pray for a way to rebuild their spiritual home amid the office towers and memorial plaza taking shape. “It’s not a political statement. This is our place, and we belong there,” says Mark Arey, a priest and director of interfaith relations for the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America…

Read the rest.


Every Day is Burn a Koran Day

by 1389AD ( 144 Comments › )
Filed under Free Speech, Islam, September 11 at October 10th, 2010 - 8:30 pm

Scroll down for the NFL Week 5 Open


YouTube: Annual Burn-a-Koran Day 9-11: A Compilation

From the 1389 Blog Mailbox

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE AND RE-POST
From www.BurnTheKoranForFreedom.com

OPEN LETTER TO GEN. PETRAEUS

“Were the actual burning to take place, the safety of our soldiers and civilians would be put in jeopardy and accomplishment of the mission would be made more difficult.”
– Gen. David Petraeus

General, I ask you this: what in h-ll is your “mission” if We the People jeopardize it by exercising our unalienable First Amendment rights in our own homeland? Is your “mission” to defend our rights against foreign enemies, or to defend foreign enemies against our rights?

You made your choice, and you justified it by asserting that you and those under your command have been taken hostage by our terrorist enemy. The ransom demand you obediently delivered to us is that we must submit to your captor’s restrictions against our rightful freedom on our own property, or they’ll kill you.

I remind you and your captors that we do not negotiate with terrorists.

And I remind you that you are the most respected general in the present day, commanding in the most powerful military in all of history, during the most justifiable war in the last seventy years. So please either remember your priorities and slaughter your captors, or resign in disgrace so that we may replace you with a warrior. And if you resign, please do so right along with President Obama, Gen. Caldwell, Pentagon Spokesman Lapan, Sec. of State Clinton, Atty. Gen. Holder, NATO Sec. Rasmussen and all others in all branches of government and in all alliances who echoed your request, no matter whether they did so mindlessly or with surrender aforethought.

Our own military leaders asking us to forsake our freedom is un-American. Asking us to do it to on behalf of the comfort of our enemy in a time of war is treasonous. And asking us to do it in the name of the alleged cowardice of those under your command is a shocking and unthinkable act of surrender which I still don’t have all the words for.

But I do have the action for it. We the People will force the issue right here and now. If peacefully exercising our unalienable rights on our own property here in our own homeland endangers you, then we will endanger you.

We will burn the Koran for freedom and post the videos for all the world to see. We will be overt or covert, we will be named or anonymous, we will be sparse or numerous – but we will be unstoppable, and eventually we will be effective.

We will do this because you have no goddamned right to sell out our freedom for the sake of our enemy’s sensitivity. We will do it because you more than have the power to defend yourselves against that enemy if only you would use it. We will do it because facing danger to defend our rightful freedom is why we pay you, train you, equip you, promote you, appoint you, deploy you, and – formerly! – revere you.

You work for us, General, not for our enemy. And we will regain control over you and over this war from the command center of our own backyards. We will destroy any of your alliances of appeasement which would restrict our constitutional rights. We will force the military to defend yourselves and us as you were deployed to do, or to come home in defeat and lock the door behind you.

Whether accidentally through stupidity or deliberately through manipulation, it’s been made clear that We the People have the power to force this issue with nothing more than a book, a match and a video recording.

And so we will.

A right not exercised under duress is a right that has been surrendered. And should you and those above you continue to choose surrender as the course of the military, that will be your own course, your own bargain with the devil, and your own shame – not that of We the People. If free individuals are to remain free, they must defy all oppression at all times, without special exceptions. America was founded on defiance! And some of us remain a proudly defiant people to this day. So if your “mission” is to build understanding in the world, then make sure they understand that about us.

When we can burn our own copies of the Koran on our own soil without credible threats from jihadists or appeasement of those threats from our military and our government, then we will gladly stop burning them.

We may live in occupied territory psychologically, but we do not yet live in occupied territory legally or physically. We will do as we please, and we will continue to expect all branches of our government to secure our right to do it.

I remind you that securing our rights is the only legitimate reason that governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.

And not everybody among the governed consents to surrendering our rights to terrorists. We will ensure that you either join us in resisting them, or get out of the way.

Let’s roll.

Chuck

www.BurnTheKoranForFreedom.com

Reasons to burn the Koran:

Because it warns our enemies, at home and abroad, that we will NOT be intimidated.

Because it shows that we do NOT consider the Koran to be a “holy book” – any more than Mein Kampf is, and for the same reasons. Any book that advocates spreading a totalitarian political ideology through a combination of violence and fraud, and that tells people to slaughter Christians and Jews, is not a holy book, and that’s that.

Because the frenzied Muslim rage at Koran-burning will serve to teach non-Muslims all over the world about the inherent intolerance of Islam, and about the very real dangers of Islam to civilized society.

Because when a sufficiently large number of people burn Korans on a regular basis, it will become more and more difficult for members of the politically-correct power elite to retaliate in order to shut down dissent. No more abuses such as billing Pastor Jones for police protection or firing Derek Fenton for burning a Koran on 9-11. The local authorities can succeed in retaliating against a few high-profile people here and there, but the oftener it happens, the harder it is for them to keep up.

Because, as paradoxical as it sounds, burning a book that you own can be a symbol of freedom of expression. When governmental authorities burn books, they are generally burning books that they have confiscated from others; it is a public display of tyrannical censorship. On the other hand, when you burn a book that you own, in public or on YouTube or on your blog, you are expressing a strong negative opinion about the contents of that book. The same is true if you re-post such pictures or videos, or in other ways express your support and approval for that demonstration. You are showing that you stand against the enemy ideology expressed in that book.

Because burning the Koran is a protest against the burning of nearly three thousand PEOPLE on September 11, 2001, who perished as a result of the evil ideology promulgated within that book.

Why not ask people to examine the Koran to expose the evils it contains?

I agree that a critical reading of the Koran, as well as the Hadiths, will expose the roots of the ideology held by our enemies. Many blogs and websites, and a considerable number of recent books, already provide this perspective, and I believe it is a worthwhile effort. But there is no reason why you can’t burn a Koran as a protest, and also quote passages from the Koran to show why that book deserves no respect.

Once again, let’s roll!



Scroll down for the NFL Week 5 Open


Jewish Orphans versus Muslim Prayer Rugs

by 1389AD ( 126 Comments › )
Filed under Anti-semitism, Christianity, Islamic Supremacism, Israel, Leftist-Islamic Alliance, UK at October 7th, 2010 - 2:00 pm

The question is: Whose side is your clergy on?

Muslim Prayer Rugs and Jewish Orphans

(h/t: Gates of Vienna)

This is not about peace or tolerance, or pissed on rugs. It’s about feeding hate under the guise of tolerance.

By Daniel Greenfield – Monday, October 4, 2010

On a late summer evening, Omar Rivera stumbled over to a local mosque, clutching a beer bottle in his hand and looking for a place to answer nature’s call. He chose the Al-Imam Mosque and proceeded to urinate around its exterior, where there were apparently some Muslim prayer rugs lying around. Omar had committed what was a fairly commonplace act of vandalism in the city, public urination. When suddenly he became the poster child for the rise of a “New Islamophobia”.

Along with a drunken liberal arts student who slashed a Muslim cabbie, the media transformed poor Omar into the face of a new and terrible wave of hate directed against Muslims. Initial news stories claimed that he had called the mosque denizens, “Terrorists”, before peeing on their rug. The NYPD later explained that it had never happened, and that he never said anything for or against Muslims.

After a five-day drunk, Omar probably didn’t even know his own name by that point. Neither did Michael Enright, the cabbie slasher, who had a long history of drinking problems. After the attack, he sat down in the middle of traffic, rather than trying to make an escape. Rather than being motivated by any animus toward Muslims, Riviera and Enright were driven by their blood alcohol level and drinking problems. There was no wave of Islamophobia, just two drunk guys who needed to become Friends of Bill.

[…]

When infidels are murdered by Muslims, no one calls for an emergency summit. But when a Muslim prayer rug is pissed upon, everyone had better jump into the Dhimmimobile and denounce that rising wave of hate.

Meanwhile in support of the rugs themselves, J-Street collaborator, Rachel Barenblat of Velveteen Rabbi seized on the chance to promote herself by “passing the hat” and raised over a thousand dollars to replace the urine soaked rugs. At the same time as Rachel was passing the hat for the rugs, five people were murdered in Israel by Muslim terrorists. They left behind six orphans. Rachel Barenblat did not volunteer to “pass the hat” for them, because how can a few Jewish orphans compared to the sacred rugs of the Al-Imam Mosque? She didn’t even appear to acknowledge their murders. Unlike the rugs, they were non-people.

And so we are witness to the spectacle of an enlightened post-modern era, in which Jewish liberal clergy have decided that soiled rugs have more personhood than Jewish orphans.

[…]

The Egyptian Al-Iman Mosque or the Al-Marwa Center in Queens whose rugs were so horrifyingly bepissed, appears to be a satellite of the Brooklyn Islamic Center, operating mosques and a school as the Al-Iman Center. Here’s a sample of some of the tolerant teachings to be found on the Al-Iman website about who’s responsible for causing AIDS. If you guessed the Jews, congratulations. You win a nickel.

[…]

For bonus tolerance, their parent, the Brooklyn Islamic Center, was being fundraised for by highlighting the center as a way to drive Jews out of the neighborhood.

Read it all.

Also please visit Daniel Greenfield’s blog, Sultan Knish.

Beware of any Christian or Jewish clergy, or religious organizations, who profess “tolerance of Islam.” It’s all about pandering to Islam at the expense of their own faith. Such clergy are, so to speak, wolves in shepherd’s clothing.

Instead, support those clergy who stand up for Israel.

Telegraph UK: Methodist preacher to sue his own church over claim of anti-Israel bias

A Methodist preacher is preparing to sue his own church over claims it is using charitable donations to pursue a campaign of discrimination against Israeli Jews.

By Robert Mendick, Chief reporter
Published: 7:00AM BST 03 Oct 2010

The legal dispute has been prompted by a controversial resolution passed at the Methodist Conference which called for a boycott of some Israeli goods.

If the legal action is successful, it would likely bring to an end all similar campaigns that boycott Israeli goods and services.

David Hallam, who preaches in Methodist churches around Birmingham, has accused his own church of wasting funds to pursue a vendetta against Israel. There are no Methodist churches in either Israel or the Occupied Territories.

Mr Hallam, 62, a former labour MEP, said: “What I object to is money which I am putting on the collection plate on a Sunday being used to fund a political campaign against the Jewish state. This is both discriminatory and a misuse of a charity’s funds.

“The Methodist Church seems to think it has a God given right to tell Jews how to run their affairs. It is very disturbing we are getting involved in a territory where we don’t have any members or churches.”

Mr Hallam has recruited Paul Diamond, a barrister with expertise in human rights law and religious law, to bring the case.

Mr Diamond will argue that the Methodist resolution passed in the summer is in breach of European human rights law and a wide-ranging European Union directive on racism.

Read it all.


Talk About Balls.

by Bunk Five Hawks X ( 417 Comments › )
Filed under Art, Food and Drink, Humor, Open thread at August 25th, 2010 - 11:00 pm

From the Blogmocracy’s News As It Happens Department, there’s this:

“Tourism chiefs in Serbia are hoping their annual testicle cooking competition will attract a significant amount of international visitors.

According to Orange News, the Testicle Cooking World Championship in Ozrem will feature delicacies made from the testicles of bull, wild boar, horse, shark, ostrich, kangaroo, donkey, turkey, goat, reindeer and elk.

The testicle cooking contest starts on 27 August, with the final taking place on 29 August.”

The Culinary Cojones Cooking & Consumption Competition will undoubtedly create a stampede for the Ozrem zoo as well, as people from around the world are booking flights just to hear what bulls, boars, horses, sharks, ostriches, kangaroos, donkeys, turkeys, goats, reindeer and elk males all sound like on helium.

Tip o’ the Tarboosh to coldwarrior for the link, and a Tip o’ the Stein for the rest of us while we chow down on another Overnight Open Thread.