November 27, 2002

Law meets with long-spurned Catholic organization CNN - A meeting between a lay Roman Catholic group and Cardinal Bernard Law was described by both sides as cordial and candid, but did not immediately resolve issues surrounding the sex abuse scandal, which has been the source of tensions between them. Law, archbishop of Boston, sat down with members of Voice of the Faithful on Tuesday for the first time, months after spurning requests to meet with leaders of the reform group. 7:58:15 PM

Teacher arrested in sex case SFGate.com - State agents have arrested an Oakland third-grade teacher who traveled to a Sacramento hotel for what he allegedly believed would be a sexual encounter with a 12-year-old girl, authorities said today. Thomas Stacey Reeves, 37, of Berkeley, was arrested Monday at about 2 p.m. on multiple felony sex charges, according to Michael Van Winkle, a state Department of Justice spokesman. 5:53:14 PM

From Little Green Footballs we have this tale of lies from the UN. Apparently, they were complaining about the death of Iain Hook at the hands of the IDF.  The UN denied claims by the IDF that they were being fired at by Palestinian gunmen from INSIDE the UN compound. The problem is that sometime before his death Iain Hook himself left this voicemail for IDF Captain Peter Lerner referring to "shabab" or armed gangs: [IDF Capt. Peter] Lerner's voice mail service automatically dated the call at 12:53 p.m. on Friday, less than an hour before Hook was shot and killed. The caller said, '“'Hi Peter, it's Iain here. I'm just making a progress report, really. We're pinned down in the compound. The shabab have knocked a hole in the wall, which I'm not happy about at all. I'm trying to keep them out, and I will just keep my people pinned down in the corner until I hear from you. OK? Over." So the man whose death the UN is decrying betrays their statements to be lies. Rich. It really makes you wonder if anything they say is true. And thank Providence that sites like LGF exist to betray these sorts of lies. [link from: wilde ] 4:55:19 PM

In Iran, a 'second revolution' gathers steam. Christian Science Monitor - Ten days of pro-democracy protests spur militants to counter with a show of conservative force in the streets. I commented last week that I thought this felt familiar, like a revolution starting. 4:40:47 PM

Nigerian cleric urges Christians to fight back Toronto Star - A Catholic archbishop said today that Christians were "tired of turning the other cheek" to Muslim attacks and blamed the government for deadly sectarian riots after a newspaper article about the Miss World beauty pageant. "No group of people should be allowed to invade the city of Abuja and molest law-abiding citizens," said the Rev. John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan, Archbishop in Nigeria's capital, Abuja. Onaiyekan spoke at a news conference called by the Council of Nigerian Churches and accused President Olusegun Obasanjo's government of failing to protect Christians during the riots. 4:05:07 PM

French Arrest Man After Hijack Bid Fails Guardian - A man who hijacked a French jet in 1999 struck again Wednesday, threatening to blow up a flight over Switzerland with 57 passengers aboard, police said. He surrendered after the plane landed in southern France and no one was hurt. 3:13:12 PM

When off the cuff must be on the record Financial Post -  Last week's scandal, call it Morongate, underscores the fact that there is no such thing as "off the record." To recap, the Prime Minister's communications officer, Françoise Ducros, called George W. Bush, the U.S. President, a "moron" for using the NATO summit to try to garner support for a potential war against Iraq. 7:29:58 AM

Women reach about 50% of world HIV cases San Jose Mercury News - For the first time in the global epidemic's history, about half the people now infected with the virus that causes AIDS are women, the United Nations and the World Health Organization reported Tuesday. 7:25:32 AM