Though the proof that he was actually born in Hawaii may silence some critics, a new, rather more interesting side of his life has emerged – that his father Barack Obama senior was a serial womaniser and polygamist who government and university officials were trying to force out of the country.
Obama senior married Stanley Ann Dunham, a white student from Kansas, not only when he was said to have already been married to a woman in Kenya, but at a time when interracial marriages were still illegal in many parts of the U.S.
Documents obtained from the U.S. immigration service paint a picture of a man who ‘had an eye for the ladies’ and, according to his file, had to be warned several times to stay away from girls at the university.
Family portrait: A rare snapshot of President Obama with his father Barack Obama senior who, new documents reveal was a serial womaniser and polygamist
Happier times: Barack Obama senior stands with the President’s mother Stanley Ann Dunham at an airport in Hawaii
Heather Smathers, a investigative journalist with the Arizona Independent, obtained the files through a Freedom of Information request.
A memo from a University of Hawaii foreign student advisor said that Obama senior had ‘been running around with several girls since he first arrived here and last summer she cautioned him about his playboy ways. Subject replied that he would “try” to stay away from the girls.’
It also considered his earlier Kenya marriage as a grounds to deny him a visa extension but concluded that ‘polygamy was not an excludable or deportation charge’.
He is further described as ‘a slippery character’, and his relationships with ‘several women’ are discussed and investigated, while questions about his ‘marital problems’ are repeatedly raised.
Another immigration memo, from June 1964, records that Harvard officials were trying ‘to get rid of him’ and ‘couldn’t seem to figure out how many wives he had’.
The documents also specify that he had a child – Barack Obama junior – while he was at the university on August 4, 1961.
The memo also notes that he be ‘closely questioned before another extension is granted – and denial be considered’.
Other notes make reference to some kind of campaign to drive Obama senior out of the country and back to Kenya. The memo advised officials to withdraw his funding.
It said: ‘Obama has passed his general exams, which indicates that on academic grounds he is entitled to stay around here and write his thesis; however [Harvard] are going to try to cook something up to ease him out…. They are planning on telling him that they will not give him any money, and that he had better return to Kenya and prepare his thesis at home.’
President Obama’s mother met his father at a Russian language class at the University of Hawaii in 1960. At the time he was the first and only African student at the university.
When they married, she did not realise that he had a wife and child in Kenya. The couple divorced in 1963 and Ann Dunham struggled as a single mother to bring up her child, just as her estranged husband was at studying at Harvard and reportedly carousing after women
From pirate to president: Barack Obama playing as a little boy and (right) on the beach with his family
Venezuela’s Chavez condemns death of Gadhafi’s son
CARACAS, Venezuela – Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is condemning the killing of one of Moammar Gadhafi’s sons and three of his grandchildren in a NATO airstrike in Libya.
Chavez asked how some European leaders such as those of Spain, France and Italy can continue to support the airstrikes in Libya
CARACAS – A delegation of Libyan officials is in Venezuela to discuss possible peaceful solutions to the war in the North African country, Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez said Tuesday.
A vocal opponent of military action by Western governments, Chavez is also a close ally of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and has proposed talks between rebels and the government.
“Who gave them the right to do this, it’s crazy,” Chavez said of NATO military strikes. “Because they don’t like the leader Gaddafi, because they want to take Libya’s oil and water … they are chucking bombs everywhere.”
“We are dedicated to finding a political solution to the drama being lived by the Libyan people. A delegation sent by Gaddafi has arrived in Venezuela and we are seeking a peaceful outcome,” Chavez said during a speech to workers.
He did not give details of which officials traveled with the delegation.
Last month, Chavez proposed a international commission visit Libya to seek negotiations between rebels and the government, but the idea did not gain traction and was rejected by Gaddafi’s son Seif al-Islam.
Venezuela has been mentioned as a possible safe-haven for Gaddafi if he ever flees his own country, but Chavez officials have denied that option is being considered.
The African Union is also seeking a non-military solution to the violence in Libya that calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities followed by a transitional period and political dialogue
Arsenal yazinduka yailaza Man United 1-0
Arsenal imefanikiwa kuifunga Manchester United iliyopwaya katika mbio za kuwania ubingwa ambao kwa sasa umebakia wazi wakati vinara wa ligi Manchester United wakiwazidi kwa pointi tatu Chelsea walio nafasi ya pili huku ikisalia michezo mitatu.
Aaron Ramsey akishangilia bao na Va Persie
Mwamuzi Chris Foy alishindwa kuona mpira wa wazi uliochezwa kwa mkono na Nemanja Vidic kipindi cha kwanza akiwa katika heka heka za kuokoa krosi ya Theo Walcott, huku Robin Van Persie akijiandaa kuudonoa kwa kichwa.
Ingawa Manchester United walikuwa nusura wasawazishe kwa mkwaju wa free-kick wa Wayne Rooney, lakini kwa ujumla Arsenal waliendelea kuumiliki mchezo.
Bao la Arsenal lilipatikana katika dakika ya 56 baada ya Aaron Ramsey kuunganisha vyema pasi aliyosogezewa na Robin Van Persie.
Iwapo mabingwa watetezi Chelsea watashinda katika uwanja wa Old Trafford siku ya Jumapili ijayo, wataongoza ligi kuu ya England.
Arsenal wanazidi kujichimbia nafasi ya tatu wakiwa na pointi 67.
Katika mechi za awali Liverpool imejisogeza hadi nafasi ya tano ya msimamo wa ligi baada ya kupata ushindi mnono wa mabao 3-0 dhidi ya Newcastle
Maxi Rodriguez akishangilia bao lake la kwanza
Liverpool walimiliki mchezo hasa dakika za mwanzo na iliwachukua dakika 10 kupata bao la kuongoza lililofungwa na Maxi Rodriguez.
Newcastle United walijitahidi kuibana Liverpool na katika dakika ya 59 Mike Williamson alimchezea rafu Luis Suarez na wenyeji wakazawadiwa mkwaju wa penali ambapo Dirk Kuyt hakufanya ajizi na kuukwamisha mpira wavuni na kuiandikia Liverpool bao la pili.
Suarez alikamilisha uhondo wa mabao kwa wenyeji alipofunga bao la tatu. Andy Carroll mchezaji wa zamani wa Necastle aliyechukuliwa na Liverpool, aliingia zikiwa zimesalia dakika 20 kabla mchezo kumalizika.
Matokeo hayo yameinyanyua Liverpool hadi nafasi ya tano wakiwa pointi 55 sawa na Tottenham waliosukumwa hadi nafasi ya sita, lakini wakipishana kwa wingi wa mabao.
Nayo Wolves ilikosa nafasi ya ya kupanda kutoka timu tatu zilizo chini kushuka daraja, baada ya kutoka sare na Birmingham waliocheza wakiwa 10.
Steven Fletcher akishangilia bao lake
Steven Fletcher aliipatia Wolves bao la kwanza kwa mkwaju wa penalti baada ya Ben Foster kumchezea rafu Stephen Ward dakika ya saba ya mchezo.
Sebastian Larsson aliachia mkwaju uliogonga mwamba na baadae akafanikiwa kuisawazishia Birmingham kutokana na kichwa hafifu cha kuokoa alichopiga Michael Mancienne.
Kwa matokeo hayo Wolves wanaendelea kubakia nafasi ya 19 na pointi 34, huku Birmingham wakifanikiwa kubakia nafasi ya 15 na pointi 39. Bado wasiwasi wa kushuka daraja watakuwa nao iwapo hawatafanya vyema kwa michezo iliyosalia.
Wazee maarufu wanazuru Ivory Coast
Ujumbe wa Wazee Maarufu unazuru Ivory Coast, kujaribu kuhimiza umoja na mapatano baada ya ghasia zilizofuatia uchaguzi, ambapo watu mamia kadha waliuwawa.
Katibu Mkuu wa zamani wa Umoja wa Mataifa, Kofi Annan, anayeongoza ujumbe huo, alisema hali nchini humo bado ni tete.
Ghasia za hapa na pale zimeendelea, tangu rais wa zamani, Laurent Gbagbo, kukamatwa mwezi uliopita; na Bwana Alassane Ouattara kuchukua uongozi.
Wengine kwenye ujumbe huo wa wazee, ni
wa Afrika Kusini na rais wa zamani wa Jamhuri ya Ireland, Mary Robinson.
Libya inasema mtoto wa Gaddafi ameuwawa
Serikali ya Libya inasema kuwa mtoto mwanamume wa Kanali Gaddafi, pamoja na wajukuu watatu, waliuwawa katika shambulio la karibuni la ndege za NATO dhidi ya Tripoli.
Msemaji alieleza kuwa kiongozi wa Libya mwenyewe alisalimika katika nyumba hiyo alimokuwa akiishi mwanawe, Saif Al-Arab Gaddafi.
NATO, kwenye taarifa yake, inasema ililenga pahala pa uongozi wa shughuli za kijeshi, haikulenga mtu maalumu, lakini inasikitika kuwa kuna watu walikufa.
Hakuna maiti waliooneshwa lakini shambulio hilo lililenga eneo la makaazi mjini Tripoli.
Serikali inasema watu wane waliuwawa, yaani Saif al-Arab, mtoto mwanamme mdogo kabisa wa Gaddafi, na watoto wa Saif watatu.
Mwaka 1986, Gaddafi alipoteza mtoto wa kike, katika shambulio la ndege za jeshi la Marekani.
Msemaji wa Libya, Moussa Ibrahim, anasema shambulio la jana ni ushahidi wa wazi kuwa sasa kiongozi wa Libya, na familia yake, wanalengwa.
Punde NATO ilitoa taarifa kusema kuwa inaendelea kulenga vituo vya uongozi vya serikali lakini haiwalengi watu fulani.
Msemaji wa serikali, Moussa Ibrahim anadai kuwa Kanali Gaddafi na mkewe walikuwako ndani ya nyumba hiyo wakati wa shambulio hilo, lakini ni shida kuona vipi aliweza kunusurika bila ya kujeruhiwa, katika uharibifu uliosababishwa na makombora matatu yaliyoangushwa papo kwa papo.
Uchina na Urusi katika baraza la Usalama la Umoja wa Mataifa, zina wasiwasi kuwa NATO inapindukia idhini ya mwaka 1973
Libya Confirms Muammar Gaddafi’s Son Saif killed in Nato strike
Mussa Ibrahim said Saif al-Arab was a civilian and a student who had studied in Germany. He was 29 years old.
Libyan officials took journalists to the house, which had been hit by at least three missiles. The roof had completely caved in in some areas, leaving strings of reinforcing steel hanging down among chunks of concrete.
A table football machine stood outside in the garden of the house, which was in a wealthy residential area of Tripoli.
Saif al Arab Gaddafi is reported to have been killed in the blast along with three of the colonel’s grandchildren
Colonel Gaddafi last night survived a Nato missile strike that killed his youngest son.
The Libyan government said Saif Al-Arab Gaddafi, 29, died after a precision air strike on a house in a compound in Tripoli. Three of Gaddafi’s grandsons were also killed.
The Libyans said Gaddafi and his wife were in the house at the time but escaped unharmed. It appears that the property, a large residential villa within a gated compound, was specifically targeted, as the two neighbouring houses were untouched.
Gaddafi’s supporters last night called the air strike a failed assassination attempt. They claimed that Nato was now directly targeting their leader and that this went beyond the remit of United Nations resolutions.
Saif Al-Arab was the lowest-profile of the Libyan leader’s sons and is not to be confused with Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi, the dictator’s heir-apparent. However, he had played an active role in seeking to quell the rebellion that has seen pro-democracy supporters gain control of the east of the country, including Benghazi.
While studying in Munich in 2006, he gained a reputation as a playboy and became involved in a nightclub brawl with a bouncer when his girlfriend was thrown out. Two years later, his Ferrari was impounded by German police for excessive exhaust noise.
Later in 2008 he was suspected of attempting to smuggle an assault rifle, a revolver and munitions from Munich to Paris in a car with diplomatic number plates.
However, the case was later dropped as the alleged weapons were never found and the German public prosecutor decided there was insufficient evidence to proceed with a prosecution.
Journalists were shown around the house after it was heavily damaged in the bombing
Three bombs are believed to have landed on the house
The news of the attack was greeted with anger in Tripoli, where sounds of gunfire could be heard across the city. Government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim said the villa was attacked ‘with full power’.
He added: ‘The attack resulted in the martyrdom of brother Saif Al-Arab Gaddafi and three of the leader’s grandchildren.
‘The leader and his wife were there in the house, with other friends and relatives. The leader himself is in good health – he wasn’t harmed.
Gaddafi was in the house at the time but was not hurt
‘This was a direct operation to assassinate the leader of this country.’ He said the attacks had no legal, moral or political foundation.
Journalists at the scene reported seeing one unexploded device in a huge crater among the rubble of the house and said the roof had caved in. It is thought at least three missiles hit the building.
Libyan leader Colonel Gaddafi yesterday refused to give up power but said that he was ready for a ceasefire and negotiations provided NATO ‘stop its planes’.
Gaddafi looked to have been winning with government forces held at bay in the east and around the besieged city of Misrata, while fighting for control of the western mountains.
But weeks of Western air strikes have failed to dislodge the Libyan leader and the war has instead become locked in a painful stalemate.
With neither side apparently able to gain the upper hand, Gaddafi struck a conciliatory tone in an 80-minute televised address to the nation in the early hours of Saturday.
‘(Libya) is ready until now to enter a ceasefire,’ said Gaddafi, speaking from behind a desk and aided by reams of paper covered in what appeared to be hand-written notes.
‘We were the first to welcome a ceasefire and we were the first to accept a ceasefire … but the Crusader NATO attack has not stopped,’ he said. ‘The gate to peace is open.’
Gaddafi denied mass attacks on civilians and challenged Nato to find him 1,000 people who had been killed in the conflict.
‘We did not attack them or cross the sea … why are they attacking us?’ asked Gaddafi, referring to European countries involved in the air strikes. ‘Let us negotiate with you, the countries that attack us. Let us negotiate.
Colonel Gaddafi was at the house at the time but reported to be unharmed
As well as Saif al-Arab Gaddafi, three of the colonel’s grandsons were killed in the blasts
The roof had completely caved in in some areas, leaving strings of reinforcing steel hanging down among chunks of concrete
But as he spoke, NATO warplanes hit three targets close to the television building in Tripoli in what state media said was an attempt to kill Gaddafi who has ruled Libya for 41 years.
The air strikes left a large crater outside the attorney general’s office but did not damage the building and hit two other government offices housed in colonial-era buildings. It was not immediately clear if there were any casualties.
Previous ceasefire offers have been rebuffed by NATO as Libyan government forces have continued to fight on.
Gadhafi offers truce as NATO strikes in Tripoli
TRIPOLI, Libya – Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi called for a mutual cease-fire and negotiations with NATO powers in a live speech on state TV early Saturday, just as NATO bombs struck a government complex in the Libyan capital.
The targeted compound included the state television building and a Libyan official alleged the strikes were meant to kill Gadhafi. However, the TV building was not damaged and Gadhafi spoke from an undisclosed location.
Since the start of the uprising against him in February, Gadhafi has made only infrequent public appearances. In his rambling pre-dawn speech, he appeared both subdued and defiant, repeatedly pausing as he flipped through handwritten notes.
“The door to peace is open,” Gadhafi said, sitting behind a desk. “You are the aggressors. We will negotiate with you. Come, France, Italy, U.K., America, come, we will negotiate with you. Why are you attacking us?”
He said Libyans have the right to choose their own political system, but not under the threat of NATO bombings.
Rebel leaders have said they will only lay down their arms and begin talks on Libya’s future after Gadhafi and his sons, some of whom hold powerful positions in the country, step aside. Gadhafi has repeatedly refused to resign.
Saturday’s pre-dawn air strikes targeted a government complex, and reporters visiting the scene were told two damaged buildings housed a commission for women and children and offices of parliamentary staff.
One of at least three bombs or missiles knocked down a huge part of a two-story Italian-style building. In another building, doors were blown out and ceiling tiles dropped to the ground. One missile hit the street outside the attorney general’s office, twisting a lamppost and gouging out a crater.
A policeman said three people were wounded, one seriously.
In his speech, Gadhafi lamented the air strikes, which began in mid-March under a U.N. mandate to protect Libyan civilians. The strikes have mainly hit Libyan military targets, but three did hit Gadhafi’s residential compound.
“Why are you killing our children? Why are you destroying our infrastructure,” Gadhafi said Saturday, while denying that his forces had killed Libyan civilians.
Just hours earlier, however, government forces shelled the besieged rebel city of Misrata, killing 15 people, including a 9-year-old boy, hospital doctors said. The city of 300,000 is the main rebel stronghold in western Libya and has been under siege for two months.
The port is Misrata’s only lifeline. On Friday, NATO foiled attempts by regime loyalists to close the only access route to Misrata, intercepting boats that were laying anti-ship mines in the waters around the port.
The regime signaled Friday that it is trying to block access to Misrata by sea.
Moussa Ibrahim, the Libyan government spokesman, said he was unaware of the attempted mine-laying. However, he said the government is trying to prevent weapons shipments from reaching the rebels by sea. Asked whether aid vessels would also be blocked, he said any aid shipments must be coordinated with the authorities and should preferably come overland.
Gadhafi’s forces have repeatedly shelled the port area and his ground troops are deployed on the outskirts of Misrata, after having been driven out of the downtown area by the rebels last week.
With the rebels holding much of eastern Libya, Gadhafi needs to consolidate his hold over the western half, including Misrata and a mountainous region on the border with Tunisia.
On Friday, fighting between rebels and regime loyalists over a key border crossing spilled over into Tunisia, drawing a sharp rebuke by Tunisian authorities. The Foreign Ministry summoned Libya’s ambassador to convey its “most vigorous protests” for the “serious violations” at the Dhuheiba border area Thursday and Friday, a ministry statement said.
The crossing is a strategic lifeline for Libya’s western Nafusa mountain area where members of the ethnic Berber minority — who have complained of systematic discrimination by the regime — have been fighting the Gadhafi’s forces for several weeks.
Elements of Libyan government forces crossed the border following the fighting with the rebels, prompting the Tunisia army to mount searches for them in the frontier town Dhuheiba.
At one point Friday, 15 Libyan military vehicles, carrying troops armed with anti-aircraft guns and rocket launchers, were spotted in Dhuheiba. Town resident Mohammed Hedia said local civilians and the families of Libyan rebels who had been staying there set upon the Gadhafi troops, creating a “chaotic situation.”
The Tunisian army stopped “several members of Gadhafi’s brigades, regrouping them and leading them back to Libyan territory,” the Tunisian Defense Ministry said, according to TAP.
The Tunisian news agency, citing military officials, said dozens of Libyan troops and rebel fighters were killed in the two-day battle over the Dhuheiba crossing which ended with rebels regaining control Friday, after Libyan forces held it for a day.
Ibrahim, the Libyan spokesman, confirmed that Libyan troops had fled into Tunisia, running from the rebels. He said Libyan authorities were in touch with their Tunisian counterparts.
Thousands of residents of the mountain area have fled to Dhuheiba and other Tunisian border towns. TAP said thousands more Libyan refugees streamed into Tunisian overnight
Obama mocks Trump at correspondents’ dinner
WASHINGTON — U.S. President Barack Obama exacted his revenge Saturday after weeks of attacks from his would-be Republican challenger Donald Trump, joking that the billionaire businessman could bring change to the White House, transforming it from a stately mansion into a tacky casino with a whirlpool in the garden.
With Trump in attendance, Obama used the White House Correspondents’ Association annual dinner to mock the reality TV star’s presidential ambitions. The president said Trump has shown the acumen of a future president, from firing Gary Busey on a recent episode of “Celebrity Apprentice” to focusing so much time on conspiracy theories about Obama’s birthplace.
After a week when Obama released his long-form Hawaii birth certificate, he said Trump could now focus on the serious issues, from whether the moon landing actually happened to “where are Biggie and Tupac?”
“No one is prouder to put this birth certificate matter to rest than ‘the Donald,”‘ Obama said, referring to Trump’s claims the same day that he was responsible for solving the issue.
For Trump’s decision to fire actor Busey instead of rock singer Meat Loaf from his TV show earlier this month, Obama quipped: “These are the types of decisions that would keep me up at night. Well handled, sir.”
And then, as a coup de grace, Obama showed a screen with his vision of how Trump could bring change to the White House. “Trump” was prominently displayed in glittery letters and girls could be seen with cocktails on a Jacuzzi-augmented front lawn.
Trump chuckled at some of the earlier jokes, but was clearly less amused as comedian Seth Meyers picked up where Obama left off.
“Donald Trump often talks about running as a Republican, which is surprising,” said the Saturday Night Live actor, entrusted with providing some of the comedy for the evening. “I just assumed he was running as a joke.”
Trump stared icily at Meyers as he continued to criticize the real estate tycoon.
Obama and Trump found themselves in the same room after an intense week of attacks from Trump, who has piggybacked on the birther conspiracies and even Obama’s refusal to release his university grades to raise the profile of his possible presidential bid.
And the birth certificate was clearly the key punchline for the evening, which typically offers the president a chance to show off his humorous side and a town consumed by politics and partisanship to enjoy a light-hearted affair.
Obama’s presentation started after the wrestler Hulk Hogan’s patriotic anthem, “Real American,” played. Images of Americana from Mount Rushmore to Uncle Sam were shown on the screen, alongside his birth certificate. And then he offered to show his live birth video, which turned out to be a clip from the Disney film, “The Lion King.”
On the serious side, Obama took time to thank the troops for their service overseas and noted that the people of the South, especially Alabama, have suffered heart-wrenching losses.
“The devastation is unbelievable and it is heartbreaking,” he said. He encouraged the journalists in the room to help tell the stories of those who have been hurt by the storms and saluted those who lost their lives while covering the news.
Other possible Republican presidential hopefuls in attendance were former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, Rep. Michele Bachmann and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. And stars such as Sean Penn and Scarlett Johansson also were among the more than 2,500 people who attended.
The association was formed in 1914 as a liaison between the press and the president. Every president since Calvin Coolidge has attended the dinner. Some of the proceeds from the dinner pay for journalism scholarships for college students.
Several journalists were honoured at the dinner:
– Dan Balz of The Washington Post and Jake Tapper of ABC News, for winning the Merriman Smith Award for presidential coverage under deadline pressure. Balz won for coverage of an unexpected appearance by Obama and former President Bill Clinton at a White House briefing, and Tapper won for revealing that Obama would ask Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair to resign.
– Peter Baker of The New York Times, for winning the Aldo Beckman award for sustained excellence in White House coverage, for stories dubbed “the education of a president.”
– Michael Berens of The Seattle Times, for winning the Edgar A. Poe Award for excellence in coverage of news of national or regional significance. Berens uncovered flaws in a health care plan for seniors that resulted in neglect, abuse and even death.
John Paul II on the fast track to sainthood
Pope John Paul II is one step closer to sainthood following beatification by his successor Sunday, an honor that saw Catholics crowd St. Peter’s Sqaure and churches around the world in memory of the late pontiff.
The crowd in Rome erupted in cheers, tears and applause as an enormous photo of a young, smiling John Paul II was unveiled over the loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica and a choir launched into hymn long associated with the Polish-born pope.
“He restored to Christianity its true face as a religion of hope,” Pope Benedict XVI said in his homily, referring to the late pontiff’s decisive role in helping bring down communism. Benedict dotted his remarks with personal recollections of a man he came to “revere” during their near-quarter century working together.
“The mood as you can imagine is very buoyant, very festive,” said CTV’s Martin Seamungul from Rome. “It’s a big change from the mood of John Paul II’s funeral — that was about mourning, this is about celebration. Many people here were at that funeral and it was an enormous showing of love that so many people have for John Paul II and had throughout that papacy.”
The late pope, “has an enormous following and that’s displayed here very strongly,” he added.
Beatification is the third of four steps on the road to sainthood, a process that John Paul II has sped through thanks to his former right-hand man, Pope Benedict XVI. The process started two months, not the traditional five years, after John Paul II’s death.
“John Paul II could be declared a saint very soon,” said Seamungal. Benedict XVI, then Cardinal Ratzinger, was largely responsible for church policy and doctrine during John Paul II’s papacy.
The beatification is based on a miracle attributed to John Paul II, who is said to have cured a nun of her Parkinson’s disease. Canonization, or full sainthood, will require another miracle.
“The next step in the process will be looking to find that miracle, that second miracle, and it must happen after this particular date,” Seamungal explained, noting that there are already reports of possible miracles that “will be very strictly examined” by the church.
The beatification, the fastest in modern times, is a morale boost for a church scarred by the sex abuse crisis, but it has also triggered a new wave of anger from victims because the scandal occurred under the previous pope’s watch.
Though he remains popular, John Paul II’s record of “foot-dragging on sexual abuse leaves a lot to be desired,” said Ted Schmidt, former editor of Catholic New Times.
Schmidt sees the speedy beatification as a sign of the current pope’s traditional attitudes.
“It says a lot about him, it says a lot about the attempt by the church to turn its back on the progressive movement,” that would see the addition of female priests and a new approach to homosexuality, Schmidt told CTV News.
“This particular Vatican administration is trying to say ‘This is where the church is going’ despite mass defections of Catholics,” he said.
From Mexico to Australia, bells pealed in churches and cathedrals and people erupted in applause and tears to celebrate as Benedict XVI bestowed the honour on Polish-born Karol Wojtyla, who visited 129 countries in his 27-year papacy to become the most-travelled pope ever.
In the Philippines, where many adore John Paul II with rock-star intensity, people flocked to see mementoes: a piece of his cassock believed to have healing powers and a set of plate, spoon and fork — still unwashed after he used them 16 years ago during a visit to the country.
The popular pontiff has a wide following in the Philippines, Asia’s largest predominantly Roman Catholic nation where authorities foiled a terrorist plot to assassinate him during a visit in 1995. Nearly 10,000 babies were named after him after his visits as a pope, according to a news report.
Although John Paul’s beatification has been criticized elsewhere by some as happening too fast and under a cloud over the clerical sex abuse scandal, it’s being celebrated by many Filipinos as rare good news at a time of depressing man-made and natural disasters in their impoverished homeland and beyond.
“Why not?” asked John Paul Bustillo, a 16-year-old medical student named by his mother after the pontiff. “He was a model and an inspiration who united the world with his extraordinary charisma.”
In John Paul II’s native Poland, tens of thousands of people gathered in rain in a major sanctuary in Krakow and in Wadowice, where the pontiff was born in 1920. Prime Minister Donald Tusk and his wife Malgorzata watched the ceremony together with Wadowice residents
1 - The meaning of the word "koran = (quran)"
The word "koran = (quran)" is spelled as "Quran", "karan", "karin", or Quarin . In the Arabic Language, the letters "K" and "Q" are pronounced almost the same as in English. Some people spell the word "koran = (quran)" as "Quran".
The word (koran = (quran)) has many meanings in the Arabic language. The word (karaa) means "read" and it could be used in the past tense as "red" also. The word "korn" means "horn". The word (korn) means century also. [Notice that the word (bible) in Arabic is (in-jeel), and the word "jeel" means "generation".] I don't know if the similarities between the word (korn), which means (century) and the word (jeel), which means (generation) meant something and therefore those doctrines are named suchlike. For sure, the bible is named (in-jeel) fifteen hundred years before they named the koran = (quran). It means that they named the koran = (quran) according to the bible's name (in-jeel). They probably named it "koran = (quran)" to read or to be red because the word "koran = (quran)" means "red" the past tense of "read" or "to read".
The word "karina" or "qurina" is used to describe "bad spirit" that appear in bad dreams. The word "kor" means admit.
The Arabic word for "islam" in English is "to surrender". The word "salam" in English is "peace". The word "islam" or "aslam" in English is "surrendered".
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