Officials and Royal Family Attended Christmas Liturgy in Belgrade

Crown Prince Aleksandar Karađorđević (1945- ) and his wife Crown Princess Katarina (1943- ), with Serbian Deputy PM Ivica Dačić (1966- ) to their left, at Christmas Liturgy served by Patriarch Irinej Gavrilović (1930- ) of all Serbia in Belgrade

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On Saturday morning, Patriarch Irinej Gavrilović of all Serbia served Christmas Liturgy in Belgrade. In his Christmas message, the patriarch said that our spiritual peace was disturbed very much by fears and worries about the events in the world, especially by the tragic events in Kosovo and Metohija, and he told Serbs in that province to persevere and remain in their homes, saying, “To our dear believers, Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija, we send them the message to persevere in the midst of unjust suffering, and to remain in their homes with their Church and their holy places, in the land of their ancestors”. Today, Eastern Orthodox Serbs and Russians, the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, the Copts in Egypt, the monasteries of Mt Athos, and Greek Old Calendarists mark and celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ according to the Julian calendar.

In Belgrade, officials, opposition, and other public figures attended liturgy served by Patriarch Irinej in the Cathedral of St Michael the Archangel. They included Deputy PM Ivica Dačić, Minister of Religion and Diaspora Srđan Srećković, opposition SNS party leader Tomislav Nikolić, and Prince Aleksandar Karađorđević and his wife Katarina. The Roman Catholic archbishop of Belgrade, Stanislav Hočevar, was also present. On 9 January, Patriarch Irinej will travel to the Republika Srpska (RS) to take part in the entity’s patronal feast, the Holy Day of St Stefan.

7 January 2012

B92

http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics-article.php?yyyy=2012&mm=01&dd=07&nav_id=78167

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9 January 2012. A Multimedia Presentation. Hooray for Timkat!

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Timkat is the Epiphany celebration of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. Interestingly, it’s held on 19 January on regular years, but on it jumps to 20 January on leap years (that’s 10 Terr on the Ethiopian calendar). It’s a big deal in Ethiopia, as the images testify.

The Orthodox Civilisational Space (to use Sergei Solovyov’s terminology) is wide and varied… it goes from Salekhard in the north to Addis Ababa in the south, from Užgorod in the west to Magadan and rural Alaska (don’t forget the Alaska Native people and their Orthodoxy!) in the east. Orthodox people are of all races and they live in all the other Civilisational Spaces (Western, Latin American, Muslim, African, Hindu, Pacific, and East Asian) too, not only in the Orthosphere (thank you to the friend who thought that one up… of course, it’s a neologism based on “Anglosphere”… neat, ain’t it?). Of course, there’s “overlap” (such as Indonesia and Malaysia being part of both the Hindu and Muslim Civilisations, and, Burma, Indochina, and Thailand being part of Hindu Civilisation)… but now isn’t the time to get into that. There’s more to Orthodoxy than most realise… yes, Virginia, we ARE one of the Great Civilisational Currents (we owe nothing to or need nothing from the West, NEVER forget that)…

Greet your Ethiopian friends on the 20th of this month… it’s the decent thing to do!

BMD

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Seeks Support in Latin America

Shudder! Here come the Iranians! Let me ask you a question… who has killed more civilians throughout the world with its armed forces, the USA or Iran? The shoe pinches, doesn’t it?

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On Sunday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad started a four-nation Latin American tour with a visit to Venezuela as part of an effort to win support in the region. On Monday, Ahmadinejad, accompanied by several key ministers, expects to meet with Venezuelan President Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías to discuss bilateral relations and prospective trade deals. He will travel to Nicaragua on 10 January to attend the inauguration of newly re-elected President José Daniel Ortega Saavedra and wrap up his five-day tour with visits to Cuba and Ecuador. Experts believe that improving ties with leftist regimes in Latin America becomes vitally important for Tehran as the global community gradually increases its pressure on Iran over the country’s controversial nuclear program.

Western powers and Israel suspect Iran of seeking to build nuclear weapons. Iran denies this, saying its programme is civilian in nature. US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters last week, “As the regime feels increasing pressure, it is desperate for friends and flailing around in interesting places to find new friends”. Tensions between Iran and the West escalated in the past few weeks, as Tehran threatened to stop oil supplies passing through the Strait of Hormuz should economic sanctions limit or prevent Iranian oil exports. On Sunday, US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta warned Iran that any attempt to carry out its threat would draw an immediate US military response.

9 January 2012

RIA-Novosti

http://en.rian.ru/world/20120109/170677774.html

Editor’s Note:

The US State Department lies to you when it says that Iran’s isolated internationally. Rather, the USA and its allies, including Israel, demonise Iran. The USA hasn’t forgiven Iran for the Iran Hostage Crisis of a generation ago. Iran has never kissed the Americans’ arse for that, and Washington has had its nose out of joint about Iran ever since. Besides, Iran believes that it doesn’t have to listen to Western diktats, and that’s just impossible on their part!

Let’s be frank… Russia and China have given Iran implicit guarantees. If the USA or Israel were to attack Iran, it would be “penny-wise and pound-foolish”. That is, they MIGHT delay an Iranian bomb for a year or two, whilst the USA would muck up its relations with the Muslim “street” permanently, and such a strike would force Russia and China into an intimate alliance for at least the next generation. On top of that, it could cause enharmonic dissonance within NATO, creating a double bind that could weaken, if not destroy, it.

You’re not hearing this in the mainstream media because of the strength of the Israel Lobby. I’m no anti-Semite (indeed, I stand four-square against such), but anyone who doesn’t acknowledge that there’s such a thing as the Israel Lobby doesn’t have a brain. We’ve already paid dearly for its existence (there would have been no 9/11 had we ignored the Israel Lobby)… what more shall it take for us to throw it into the outer darkness? Standing against the Israel Lobby and advocating anti-Semitism are two different things. I’m for the former and I oppose the latter… any questions?

BMD  

Syria Hails Visit of Russian Warships to Tartus

Russian naval task force centred on the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov… the Bear’s back and he’s telling the American aggressors to back off on Syria

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Syrian authorities called the visit of a Russian naval task force to the port of Tartus a “show of solidarity with the Syrian people”, the official SANA news agency reported. On Sunday, a Russian task force, led by the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov, arrived in Tartus to replenish water and food supplies during a long-term training mission in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. SANA cited Governor Atef al-Naddaf of Tartus as saying, “We highly respect Russia’s honourable stance in support of the Syrian people”. Russia maintains a Soviet-era naval maintenance site near Tartus as its only military foothold in the Mediterranean. Moscow is planning to modernise the facility to accommodate large warships, including missile cruisers and even aircraft carriers after 2012. On Sunday, the Defence Ministry reiterated that the visit of Russian warships to Tartus wasn’t in connection with the current political crisis in Syria, and said that the task force would leave the port on 9 January to continue with its training mission.

9 January 2012

RIA-Novosti

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20120109/170675862.html

Editor’s Note:

Despite the denials, we all know why the Russian task force is in Syria… it’s to deter the USA from launching aggression against Syria, full stop. Russia stopped American aggression in South Ossetia in ’08, and it looks like its ready to stand against American Hegemonism yet again. The bear’s back and that may mean that the violence and mayhem that America’s unleashed on the world over the last twenty years may cease… God willing, let it be so…

BMD