Tuesday, 10 July 2012

Roger Federer: a metaphysical genius exempt from the laws of nature

Damian Thompson is Editor of Telegraph Blogs and a columnist for the Daily Telegraph. He was once described by The Church Times as a "blood-crazed ferret". He is on Twitter as HolySmoke. His new book is called The Fix: How addiction is invading our lives and taking over your world.

 

Roger Federer: a metaphysical genius exempt from the laws of nature, said David Foster Wallace

By Sport
Federer: almost supernatural power, said David Foster Wallace


Hat-tip to Andrew McKie for this insight from David Foster Wallace, writing in the New York Times. You may think it belongs in Pseuds' Corner. Then again, DFW was a tennis player of near-professional standard who wrote the finest novel of the 1990s, Infinite Jest. And he's been dead for four years, which gives you some sense of how long Federer has been at the top:
Roger Federer is one of those rare, preternatural athletes who appear to be exempt, at least in part, from certain physical laws. Good analogues here include Michael Jordan, who could not only jump inhumanly high but actually hang there a beat or two longer than gravity allows, and Muhammad Ali, who really could “float” across the canvas and land two or three jabs in the clock-time required for one. There are probably a half-dozen other examples since 1960. And Federer is of this type — a type that one could call genius, or mutant, or avatar. He is never hurried or off-balance. The approaching ball hangs, for him, a split-second longer than it ought to. His movements are lithe rather than athletic. Like Ali, Jordan, Maradona, and Gretzky, he seems both less and more substantial than the men he faces. Particularly in the all-white that Wimbledon enjoys getting away with still requiring, he looks like what he may well (I think) be: a creature whose body is both flesh and, somehow, light.
In other words, Murray didn't stand a chance.
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Sunday, 8 July 2012

YET ANOTHER SOCCER STAR IS BIG MEDJUGORJE SUPPORTER


http://crownofstars.blogspot.co.uk/

YET ANOTHER SOCCER STAR IS BIG MEDJUGORJE SUPPORTER

 

Medjugorje scores for striker Mate Bilic

In a recent interview with Radio Mir, Croatian soccer star Mate Bilic spoke about his attachment to Medjugorje and explained that he is a regular visitor to the village.

Mate was born in Split, Croatia; his wife Emilia comes from Ljubski, Herzegovina, a short drive from Medjugorje which they and their two children Mark and Carla consider their second home.

The 31-year-old striker said that Medjugorje is never very far away (see photo), even when in Spain where he plays professional soccer with the Spanish club Sporting Gijon,

“It’s always there, in my heart ” said Mate, “and I gladly testify to Medjugorje.”

As a child Mark would come on pilgrimage to Medjugorje, and now he makes sure to visit every year with his own family. He says Medjugorje is a place that strengthens families, where people can gather more strength to go forward in life.

“Our values are built in to this” said Mate, “and it important that the children learn from an early age what is meaningful to us as Christians. Although outwardly there is quite a change to Medjugorje I feel the spirituality has remained the same.”

Mate then spoke about the pressures and temptations connected with professional football, but said that the way to resolve any crisis is to believe in God and incorporate prayer in the family.

He said that young people come under pressure not to believe, that the Church and the Sacraments are not important and if they practice their faith they are often ridiculed, and so the family unity becomes threatened.

“I try to educate my children in religious life and provide them with moral values. I believe that young people can only morally grow with the help of God. The difficulties are great and it takes much time to be able to devote to the family but we call on Our Lady of Medjugorje for help with this.”

Mate also revealed that a priest prays the Lord’s Prayer with the Sporting Gijon team before every match and recently invited Mate to speak to a group of Spanish students and prepare them for a forthcoming visit to Medjugorje in July.

Mate has travelled widely during his long and successful career playing for eight different clubs and representing Croatia at all international levels, but he always makes sure that the one place he comes back to every year is Medjugorje.

“I always come with baggage” he said, “but I leave peaceful and blessed. It is such a prayerful and peaceful place. It amazes me.”
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Saturday, 7 July 2012

Father Emil J. Kapaun ... now here's a real man!

Father Emil J. Kapaun ... now here's a real man!



Emil Kapaun

http://www.frkapaun.org/


Emil Joseph Kapaun
Emil Kapaun.jpg
Chaplain (Captain) Emil Joseph Kapaun
Born(1916-04-20)April 20, 1916
Pilsen, Kansas
DiedMay 23, 1951(1951-05-23) (aged 35)
Pyoktong, North Korea
Allegiance United States of America
Service/branchSeal of the US Department of the Army.svg United States Army
Years of service1944–1951
RankUS-O3 insignia.svg Captain
Battles/warsWorld War II
Korean War
AwardsDistinguished Service Cross
Legion of Merit
Bronze Star Medal with V (Valor) Device
Purple Heart
Emil Joseph Kapaun (April 20, 1916 – May 23, 1951) was a Roman Catholic priest and United States Army chaplain who died in the Korean War. The Roman Catholic Church has declared him a Servant of God and he is a candidate for sainthood.

 

Emil Joseph Kapaun was born on April 20, 1916, and grew up on a farm three miles southwest of Pilsen, Kansas.[1][2] His parents were Enos and Elizabeth Kapaun, Czech immigrants.[3]
He attended and graduated from Pilsen High School in May 1930.[4] Kapaun graduated from Conception Abbey seminary college in Conception, Missouri, in June 1936. He then attended Kenrick Theological Seminary (now Kenrick-Glennon Seminary), St. Louis, Missouri, where he was ordained in June 1940. Kapuan also served as auxiliary chaplain at Herington Army Airfield nearby Pilsen. In December 1943, Fr. Kapaun was appointed pastor to replace Fr. Sklenar who had retired. After serving in the Pilsen area under the Roman Catholic Diocese of Wichita, Kapaun joined the army in July 1944.

On June 9, 1940, Kapaun was ordained a priest at what is now Newman University in Wichita, Kansas.[1] He celebrated his first Mass at St. John Nepomucene in Pilsen, Kansas.

In 1943, Kapaun is appointed auxiliary chaplain at the Herington Army Airfield near Herington, Kansas.[1]
Fr. Kapaun began his military chaplaincy at Camp Wheeler, Georgia, in October 1944. He and one other chaplain ministered to approximately 19,000 service men and women.[4]
He was sent to India and served in the Burma Theater.[1] Fr. Kapaun was promoted to Captain in January 1946[1] and returned stateside in May 1946. Kapaun was discharged in 1946 and went to the Catholic University of Washington where in 1948 he earned an M.A. in education.
In September 1948, he re-enlisted in the Army. He resumed his chaplaincy at Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas. Fr. Kapaun left his parents and Pilsen for the last time in December 1949.[1]
In July 1950, Kapaun was ordered to Korea from Japan, a month after North Korea invades South Korea.[4]
In January 1950 he was stationed near Mt. Fuji, Japan as a military chaplain until alerted into combat in July 1950. In the same month, Fr. Kapaun's unit, the 35th Brigade from Ft. Bliss landed in South Korea during a big invasion. He was constantly on the move northward until his capture by Chinese Communists in November 1950.
In November 1950, he was captured near Unsan, North Korea.[5][6] The POWs marched for 87 miles to a prison camp near Pyoktong, North Korea.[7] Kapaun was able to influence some prisoners, who were ignoring orders from officers, to carry the wounded.[7] At the camp, he dug latrines, mediated disputes, gave away his own food, and raised morale among the prisoners.[8] He also led prisoners in acts of defiance and smuggled dysentery drugs to the doctor, Sidney Esensten.[9] Kapaun developed a blood clot in his leg, dysentery, and pneumonia.[10] He died on May 23, 1951 at the prison camp in Pyoktong, North Korea.
His main complaint was lack of sleep for several weeks at a time.[4] He constantly ministered to the dead and dying while performing baptisms, hearing first Confessions, offering Holy Communion and celebrating Mass from an improvised altar set up on the front end of an army jeep. He constantly would lose his Mass Kit, jeep and trailer to enemy fire. He told how he was thoroughly convinced that the prayers of many others were what had saved him so many times up until his capture. He was awarded the Bronze Star Medal in September 1950 just before his capture in November 1950.[4] Kapaun was captured in November 1950 and died in a POW camp on May 23, 1951. He was buried in a mass grave near the Yalu River.[4] He was noted among his fellow POWs as one who would steal coffee and tea (and a pot to heat them in) from the Communist guards.
On August 18, 1951, Kapaun is posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions at Unsan.[1][2]
An G.E. Theater television play, entitled, "The Good Thief" aired on CBS in the late 1950s and starred Spencer Tracy.
In 2000, U.S. Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-Kan.) began a campaign to award the Medal of Honor to Kapaun.[11]
Before leaving office on September 16, 2009, Secretary of the Army Pete Geren sent Tiahrt a letter, agreeing that Kapaun was worthy of the honor. Admiral Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also agreed. Seven chaplains have been awarded the Medal of Honor. Tiahrt hoped the United States Congress will approve a bill awarding the Medal of Honor to Kapaun, for signing by President Barack Obama.[11]
The current version of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 (Senate Bill 1867, Section 586) contains an authorization and a request to the President to award the Medal of Honor to Emil Kapaun postumously for acts of valor performed by him during the Battle of Unsan on November 1 and 2, 1950 and while a prisoner of war until his death on May 23, 1953 as a chaplain in the 8th Cavalry Regiment during the Korean War.[12]

In 1993, Kapaun is named Servant of God by the Roman Catholic Church, the first step toward possible canonization.[1]

The following is a general narrative from the many reports of Fr. Kapaun's ordeal as a prisoner of war given by many repatriated American soldiers after their release from prison camps. He was most remembered for his great humility, bravery, his constancy, his love and kindness and solicitude for his fellow prisoners. "He was their hero... their admired and beloved "padre." He kept up the G.I.'s morale, and most of all, allowed a lot of men to become good Catholics."[4]
Reports received noted that Fr. Kapaun's feet had become badly frozen, but that he continued to administer to the sick and wounded. He continuously went out under heavy mortar and shelling to rescue wounded and dying soldiers at personal risk of being captured or killed.[4]
Many accounts were given as to the many creature comforts he provided the many of his comrades of the 8th Cavalry Regiment during imprisonment. They were both spiritual and physical. He provided endless hours of prayer and what nourishment he could find to all he could to keep them from starving to death.[4]
Fr. Kapaun, weakened as months passed on, managed to lead Easter sunrise service on Sunday, March 25, 1951. He was so weak that the prison guards took him to the hospital where he died of pneumonia on May 23, 1951. Fr. Kapaun received a citation for the Distinguished Service Cross.[4]
A detailed account of Fr. Kapaun's life is recounted in Fr. Arthur Tonne's Chaplain Kapaun: Patriot Priest of the Korean Conflict. The author writes:
"In a very definite sense, we are all beneficiaries from the life of Fr. Kapaun. He has left us a stirring example of devotion to duty. He has passed on to us a spirit of tolerance and understanding. He has given us a share of dauntless bravery — of body and soul. He has transmitted to every one of us a new appreciation of America, and a keener, more realistic understanding of our country's greatest enemy — godlessness, now stalking the world in the form of communism. He has bequeathed a picture of Christ-like life. What Fr. Kapaun willed to us cannot be contained in memorials, however costly or beautiful. It is a treasure for the human soul — the spirit of one who loved and served God and man — even unto death."
When Fr. Kapaun was assigned to the Eighth Cavalry regiment — which was surrounded and overrun by the Chinese army in North Korea in October and November 1950 — he stayed behind with the wounded when the Army retreated. He allowed his own capture, then risked death by preventing Chinese executions of wounded Americans too injured to walk.[13]

The Vatican is now examining whether a medical healing that took place in Sedgwick County, Kansas, can be considered a miracle by the Roman Catholic Church.[1] He may be on the road to sainthood and could be considered only the third American-born saint.

On Sunday, June 29, 2008, the Opening Ceremony which officially opens the Cause for Sainthood for Fr. Emil Kapaun was made on Father Kapaun Day held at St. John Nepomucene Catholic Church in Pilsen, Kansas.[14]
On June 26, 2009, Dr. Andrea Ambrosi, the Roman Postulator for Father Kapaun's cause for canonization arrived in Wichita in order to interview doctors in relation to alleged miraculous events. Among these, the claims of 20-year-old Chase Kear who survived a severe head injury last year in part, because he and his family claim, they successfully petitioned Fr. Emil Kapaun to intercede for them.[15][5]
Kear, a member of the Hutchinson Community College track team, fell on his head during pole vaulting practice in October 2008 but, it is said, was miraculously healed despite being near death.[15]
The Rev. John Hotze, the judicial vicar for the Diocese of Wichita, and trained in Canon Law, will assist in investigating Kear's case.[1] Fr. Hotze has spent eight years investigating the proposed sainthood of Kapaun. The Catholic Church has considered canonizing Fr. Kapaun ever since soldiers were liberated from Korean prisoner-of-war camps in 1953 and retold tales of Kapaun's heroism and faith.[16] The Wichita diocese has continued receiving reports of miracles involving Fr. Kapaun.[17] He is being considered for possible designation as a martyr.[15]

On May 7, 2011, Nick Dellasega collapsed at a Get Busy Living 5K race in Pittsburg, KS (honoring the memory of Dylan Meier). Due to a series of coincidences, Nick survived, even though he had seemingly died on the scene. His childhood friend, EMT Micah Ehling, is quoted by the Eagle as saying "I know what a face looks like when the soul leaves the body. And that's what Nick looked like".[18] Some bystanders attribute Nick's survival to the devotion of his cousin, Jonah Dellasega, who fell to his knees at the scene and prayed to Father Emil Kapaun. In a strange coincidence not reported by the Eagle, Dylan Meier, in whose memory the 5K was being held, was slated to teach English in Korea at the time of his death.[19]
Skeptics point out that Kapaun's spirit could not possibly have orchestrated the bizarre coincidences that saved Nick's life, because some of them were set in motion long before Nick collapsed (including a visit by Nick's uncle, Mark, a medical doctor from Greenville, N.C.). However, believers insist Father Kapaun intervened to save Nick's life; The Eagle reports: "The coincidences are strange enough and the prayer notable enough that a Catholic church investigator has reported Nick's story to the Vatican, which happens to have a representative in Wichita again, sizing up Father Emil Kapaun for sainthood."[18][18]

 Gallery

  • Chaplain (Captain) Emil Kapaun
  • A statue in Pilsen, Kansas, depicting Kapaun helping a wounded comrade
  • Kapaun Memorial Chapel, Seoul, South Korea; dedicated November 4, 1953.
  • Kapaun Religious Retreat House, Ōiso, Japan; dedicated December 1954.
  • Kapaun Barracks and Chapel, United States Military Base, Kaiserslautern, Germany; dedicated June 7, 1955.
  • Father Kapaun Memorial Technical School, Kwanju, Korea; dedicated Summer 1955.
  • Chaplain Kapaun Memorial High School, Wichita, Kansas; dedicated May 12, 1957. Later to become Kapaun Mt. Carmel High School, 1971.
  • Bronze Door Panel, Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Wichita, Kansas; dedicated February 1997.
  • Chaplain Kapaun Korean War Memorial Site, Pilsen, Kansas; dedicated June 3, 2001.
  • Chaplain Kapaun Complex, Fort Riley, Kansas; dedicated 2001, 2002.
  • Emil Kapaun Knights of Columbus Fourth Degree Assembly, Katy, TX.
  • "The Good Thief", a General Electric Theater television production, starred Spencer Tracy as Father Kapaun.
  • A Saint Among Us, Father Kapaun Guild (Wichita Chancery Office) KS, 2009.
  • The Story of Chaplain Kapaun, Fr. (Msgr.) Arthur Tonne, 1954, Didde Publishers, Emporia KS.
  • A Shepherd in Combat Boots, William L. Maher, 1997, Burd Street Press, Shippensburg, PA, ISBN 1-57249-305-4
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wenzl, Roy (December 6, 2009). "The Miracle of Father Kapaun". The Wichita Eagle. http://www.kansas.com/kapaun/. Retrieved 2010-01-24. 
  2. ^ a b Nasaw, Daniel (April 16, 2012). "Recognition finally for a warrior priest's heroics". BBC News. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17224774. 
  3. ^ Wenzl, Roy (December 13, 2009). "Part 8: The Miracle of Father Kapaun. Father Emil Kapaun: Former POWs say his miracle was providing them hope". The Wichita Eagle (Kansas.com). http://www.kansas.com/2009/12/13/1096173/father-emil-kapaun-former-pows.html. 
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "FATHER EMIL JOSEPH KAPAUN". Knights of Columbus. Archived from the original on September 26, 2010. http://web.archive.org/web/20100926012959/http://www.kofc3744.org/kapaun.htm. 
  5. ^ a b Wenzl, Roy (December 6, 2009). "Part 1: The Miracle of Father Kapaun. Father Emil Kapaun: In Korea, Kapaun saves dozens during Chinese attack". The Wichita Eagle (Kansas.com). http://www.kansas.com/2009/12/06/1085753/father-emil-kapaun-in-korea-kapaun.html. 
  6. ^ Wenzl, Roy (December 7, 2009). "Part 2: The Miracle of Father Kapaun. Father Emil Kapaun: Through Death March, Father Kapaun perseveres and inspires". The Wichita Eagle (Kansas.com). http://www.kansas.com/2009/12/07/1086859/father-emil-kapaun-through-death.html. 
  7. ^ a b Wenzl, Roy (December 8, 2009). "Part 3: The Miracle of Father Kapaun. Father Emil Kapaun: In icy POW camps, Kapaun shares faith, provisions". The Wichita Eagle (Kansas.com). http://www.kansas.com/2009/12/08/1088292/father-emil-kapaun-in-icy-pow.html. 
  8. ^ Wenzl, Roy (December 9, 2009). "Part 4: The Miracle of Father Kapaun. Father Emil Kapaun: As hundreds die, Kapaun rallies the POWs". The Wichita Eagle (Kansas.com). http://www.kansas.com/2009/12/09/1089887/father-emil-kapaun-as-hundreds.html. 
  9. ^ Wenzl, Roy (December 10, 2009). "Part 5: The Miracle of Father Kapaun. Father Emil Kapaun: Leads camp prisoners in quiet acts of defiance". The Wichita Eagle (Kansas.com). http://www.kansas.com/2009/12/10/1091710/father-emil-kapaun-leads-camp.html. 
  10. ^ Wenzl, Roy (December 11, 2009). "Part 6: The Miracle of Father Kapaun. Father Emil Kapaun forgives guards, welcomes death". The Wichita Eagle (Kansas.com). http://www.kansas.com/2009/12/11/1093318/father-emil-kapaun-forgives-guards.html. 
  11. ^ a b Milburn, John, "Army says Kansas Army chaplain Rev. Kapaun worthy of Medal of Honor for service in Korean War", Associated Press, October 13, 2009. Baltimore Sun website. Retrieved 2009-10-15. The article includes an undated photo (released by the Catholic Diocese of Wichita), showing Father Kapaun saying Mass in the field.
  12. ^ "SEC. 586. AUTHORIZATION AND REQUEST FOR AWARD OF MEDAL OF HONOR TO EMIL KAPAUN FOR ACTS OF VALOR DURING THE KOREAN WAR.". National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2012 (Senate Bill 1867). Library of Congress. http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/F?c112:2:./temp/~c112Z3xMhM:e283766:. Retrieved 25 December 2011. 
  13. ^ http://www.kansascity.com/news/breaking_news/story/1297312.html
  14. ^ http://www.frkapaun.org/
  15. ^ a b c "Vatican sends investigator for Kapaun sainthood". Associated Press (TheKansan.com). June 22, 2009. Archived from the original on July 24, 2011. http://www.thekansan.com/news/x931200052/Vatican-sends-investigator-for-Kapaun-sainthood. 
  16. ^ Wenzl, Roy (December 12, 2009). "Part 7: The Miracle of Father Kapaun. Father Emil Kapaun: POWs call him 'a hero and a saint'". The Wichita Eagle (Kansas.com). http://www.kansas.com/2009/12/12/1094896/father-emil-kapaun-pows-call-him.html. 
  17. ^ http://www.kwch.com/Global/story.asp?S=10569235&nav=menu486_2_4
  18. ^ a b c http://www.kansas.com/2011/07/03/1919049/mans-recovery-credited-to-kapaun.html
  19. ^ http://www.morningsun.net/newsnow/x1042542059/Dylan-Meier-dies-in-hiking-accident
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Thursday, 5 July 2012

The Holy Shroud: subatomic level annihilation?

The Holy Shroud: One Big Bang and the body was gone

The Holy Shroud
The Holy Shroud

The results of a recent study - completed by Italian scientist, Giuseppe Baldacchini - on the theory of annihilation, are said to prove the authenticity of the Shroud according to the current laws of physics

Marco TosattiRome





Giuseppe Baldacchini is a physician who has worked for Italian research centre ENEA for a number of years. He is also a passionate scholar of that mysterious object which is the Holy Shroud of Turin and in recent days he has published a book about his findings, which readers can access by clicking on the following link. Of particular interest is a fascinating theory he has come up with to try to respond to a series of questions about how the image on the Shroud was formed and how the body which lay wrapped inside the winding sheet could have disappeared. Baldacchini presents two theories: one, that the Shroud is a medieval fake which is useful in worship rituals and/or religious propaganda in the Catholic Church, like many other relics. And two, that it is the genuine article and really did contain Jesus Christ’s body, making it a witness of his Resurrection.
 
“The Shroud is an old linen sheet, measuring 4,40x1, 10 sq m, which contains a number of marks including a front and back image of a body (IC) and organic and inorganic liquid stains. Over the past decades it was discovered that the IC is neither a drawing nor a picture created with known techniques. Indeed, some reddish stains were caused by human blood (Antonacci, 2000), (Wilson, 2010). Naturally we cannot yet exclude a fake so let us suppose that the Shroud is a medieval fake created by a brilliant forger who never existed on Earth and remains unknown today (Baldacchini, 2011). The supposed author/authors must have been familiar with some kind of technology or possessed certain information before these were even invented or published.” Baldacchini lists eleven crucial scientific elements which lead him to the conclusion that the Shroud is not a fake. These are too many to list here so we ask you to refer to the original text.
 
The scholar recalls that “The Shroud contains no traces of putrescent liquids or gases (these marks start to appear about 40 hours after the person’s death, so the body had disappeared from the shroud before then, but not too long before that judging by the blood stains which would have needed some time to form as a result of the liquefaction of the clotted blood, the process of haemolysis),” and that “The body was not removed from the Shroud manually (there are no signs of dragging that correspond with the blood stains).”

So how did the body disappear? Baldacchini’s response is this: “The only phenomenon in Physics that can lead to the complete disappearance of mass, producing an equivalent energy is the process known as matter-antimatter annihilation (AMA). Today, this can only be reproduced on a subatomic level in elementary particle laboratories but was a dominant occurrence straight after the Big Bang. That is, in the first instants of our universe’s existence.” The “annihilation theory” also satisfies the criteria of previous theories: “Indeed, only a small portion of the energy from the dead matter is released, while the body is completely annihilated and reappears almost exactly as it was before even outside the Shroud.” Previous theories are based on radiant energy (MEB) and the idea of the body being mechanically transparent (REB). These were completed by the “Consistent historical method” (CHM) theory. Said theories were all conceived in order to explain the body’s disappearance as it was not mechanically removed from the winding sheet. Therefore, Jesus Christ’s body becomes transparent for the Shroud, which satisfies the MTB theory, whilst releasing a limited amount of radiant energy, a requirement of the REB theory, without the problems presented by the HCM theory.”
 
Concluding his study, the physician states that: “The AMA theory tells us nothing, except that the body dematerialised inside the Shroud and instantly materialised again somewhere else, either dead or alive. This makes no difference to the laws of Physics as this way they do not contradict the evangelical texts which describe it as resurrected and therefore alive.” They also tally with the chemical and physical characteristics of the Holy Shroud. “I pushed the boundaries of current scientific knowledge but tried to remain within the laws of physics we are familiar with today, mainly the preservation of energy and the non preservation of some parameters that are essential in the elementary processes which form the basis of our universe’s existence,” the scholar concluded.
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Bloody Sunday: Police to investigate Derry deaths

People arrying body of injured man The Saville Report was heavily critical of the Army and found that soldiers fired the first shot


The police are to launch a murder investigation into the deaths of 13 people shot dead by soldiers in Londonderry on Bloody Sunday in 1972.
The move comes after the PSNI and Public Prosecution Service reviewed the findings of the Saville inquiry, which said none of those killed was armed.
The police investigation is expected to take at least four years and involve a team of 30 detectives.
Police have said no decision has been made as to when it will start.
Chief constable Matt Baggott told the Northern Ireland Policing Board: "It is a matter that I think we should be investigating and will be investigating."
Assistant Chief Constable Drew Harris added: "That will be a large investigation obviously and setting aside the resources to properly start that and take that forward is a corporate issue which is under investigation at this time.
"There is not the expertise free and available to undertake an investigation of this size and that is why we are faced with dilemmas around prioritisation.
"The special resources required for this scale of investigation are just not available at this moment to commence an investigation of this scale and length of time."
The Saville Inquiry said the Army had fired the first shots on Bloody Sunday and were to blame for what happened.
It published its report in June 2010, after a 12-year inquiry.
Prime Minister David Cameron issued an apology, describing what happened as "both unjustified and unjustifiable."
"It's a step in the right direction because myself, my family and most of the families want prosecutions”
John Kelly Bloody Sunday victim's brother


Some relatives of victims said they wanted the soldiers responsible to be prosecuted for murder and attempted murder.
The PSNI on Thursday confirmed it is to launch a murder investigation.
John Kelly, whose brother Michael was shot dead on Bloody Sunday, said: "It certainly is good news but it was something we were expecting anyway.
"My view on it at the time was these soldiers should have been arrested straight away and prosecuted on what came out of the Saville report.
"But certainly after hearing what we heard today it's a step in the right direction because myself, my family and most of the families want prosecutions."

British soldiers convicted of murder during the Troubles

During the Troubles four British soldiers were convicted of murder in Northern Ireland.
In 1984, Private Ian Thain was convicted of murdering 22-year-old Thomas Reilly in west Belfast. He served just over two years in prison.
In 1993, Private Lee Clegg was convicted of the murders of teenagers Martin Peake and Karen Reilly - who had been in a stolen car in west Belfast. He was released two years later and in 1999 he was cleared of the charges following a retrial.
Scots Guards Mark Wright and James Fisher were convicted in 1995 of murdering north Belfast man Peter McBride in September 1992. They each served six years of their life sentences.
All four soldiers were subsequently re-admitted into the Army.
Bloody Sunday occurred on 30 January 1972 - a civil rights demonstration through the streets of Derry in the north-west of Northern Ireland ended with the shooting dead of 13 civilians by the British Army.
Fourteen others were wounded.
The Saville Inquiry cost £195m and was the longest-running and most expensive inquiry in British history.
'Whitewash' Lord Saville was appointed in 1998 by then Prime Minister Tony Blair to look into the events of Bloody Sunday.
It followed an earlier official inquiry in 1972, led by the Lord Chief Justice Lord Widgery, which was described as a "whitewash" by the families of the victims and their supporters.
Lord Saville said he had the impression that people in Derry were as upset by the Widgery Report as they have been by the events of the day.
Among the inquiry's findings were:
  • No warning had been given to any civilians before the soldiers opened fire
  • None of the soldiers fired in response to attacks by petrol bombers or stone throwers
  • Some of those killed or injured were clearly fleeing or going to help those injured or dying
  • None of the casualties was posing a threat or doing anything that would justify their shooting
  • Many of the soldiers lied about their actions
  • The events of Bloody Sunday were not premeditated
  • Northern Ireland's Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness, Sinn Fein, was present at the time of the violence and "probably armed with a sub-machine gun" but did not engage in "any activity that provided any of the soldiers with any justification for opening fire"
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Wednesday, 4 July 2012

'God Particle’ discovered: Peter Higgs and the Large Hadron Collider

'God Particle’ discovered: Peter Higgs and the Large Hadron Collider


After more than 30 years of planning, building and testing, the Large Hadron Collider is providing answers that could fundamentally change the way in which we understand the universe.

CERN, the European Organisation for Nuclear Research, has revealed its preliminary data analysis today at the site of the collider in Geneva - with the revelation that a new sub-atomic particle consistent with the elusive Higgs boson has been discovered.

Named after its inceptor, Professor Peter Higgs, the boson may provide an answer to the long standing mystery of why objects have mass. As the momentous news was announced this morning Professor Higgs shed tears of joy.

He said in a statement: "I never expected this to happen in my lifetime and shall be asking my family to put some champagne in the fridge."

But how did research undertaken decades ago by a British professor culminate in the announcement of the so called “God particle”?

Building blocks

After completing a degree and masters in physics, Newcastle-born Peter Higgs moved to Edinburgh in 1960 to take up lectureship and continue his research. Four years later he arrived at a breakthrough, proposing the existence of a subatomic particle that could explain how mass works.

Professor Higgs said that the finding did not come to him in a ‘eureka’ moment, but instead it was one that fermented over a period of time.

Professor Peter Higgs' work inspired CERN's £6bn Large Hadron Collider.

“By the summer of 1964 I knew I was on to something,” he told Der Spiegel. “That was perhaps the reason, because my head was full of thoughts, that I forgot the instructions for putting up the tent when we went for a camping trip in the Scottish mountains”.

After returning to the University of Edinburgh, Professor Higgs wrote his seminal paper “Broken Symmetries and the Masses of Gauge Bosons”, published in ‘Physical Review Letters’.   

As it turned out, Professor Higgs was not the only physicist to propose such a theory.

A paper written by Robert Brout and Francois Englert ["Broken Symmetry and the Mass of Gauge Vector Mesons"] and another authored by Gerald Guralnik, C. Richard Hagen and Tom Kibble [“Global Conservation Laws and Massless Particles”] touched upon the same principles - all three theories paving the way for the ambitious work at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN.        

Put into practice

Oddly enough, Professor Higgs’ landmark work almost never saw the light of day as it was initially rejected by the editor of ‘Physics Letters’, who failed to see its importance. Higgs tinkered with his exposition and sent the piece to ‘Physical Review Letters’, who published it later that year.

Despite a mass of intrigue surrounding the work of Higgs and his contemporaries, it was not until 1976 that CERN’s Professor John Ellis hinted that the research should be put to the test. What followed was 36 years of conception and construction of the Large Hadron Collider- a £6bn project to find the elusive Higgs boson.

The world's largest atom smasher, the Large Hadron Collider.

Built beneath the Swiss/French border at Geneva, the mammoth collider extends more than 16.5m in a circular tunnel - a complex system which took a decade to build. Since its initiation in 2008, the collider has encountered a number of technical problems, but physicists captured a hint of the boson’s existence late last year, although more data was needed for confirmation.

In essence the Large Hadron Collider was built to create the ideal conditions to produce evidence of the Higgs boson. The collider contains 1200 magnets cooled to -271C, which accelerate protons to 99.9% of the speed of light. At this speed the protons then ‘collide’, creating thousands of new particles.

Physicists believe that for every billion collisions 10 Higgs bosons are created, although it is a fine art to measure.       

"We have reached a milestone in our understanding of nature," said CERN Director General Rolf Heuer today.

He pointed out, though, that further work was needed to identify what exactly had been found.

"As a layman I would say we have it, but as a scientist I have to say, 'what do we have?'" Heuer told a press conference.

"We have discovered a boson, and now we have to determine what kind of boson it is."

Finding the Higgs would validate the Standard Model, a theory which identifies the building blocks for matter and the particles that convey fundamental forces.

It is a hugely successful theory but has several gaps, the biggest of which is why some particles have mass but others do not.
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Italian soccer star in Medjugorje

Tuesday, July 03, 2012

Another Italian soccer star in Medjugorje

(Courtesy of  http://crownofstars.blogspot.co.uk/)
 
Italy‘s national soccer team captain Gianluigi Buffon has made a surprise visit to Medjugorje today, just two days after leading his team in the final of Euro 2012.

After travelling by private jet to Mostar this morning, arriving at mid-day, the legendary Juventus goalkeeper was warmly greeted by other Italian pilgrims at the airport returning home from yesterday’s apparition visit of the Virgin Mary to the seer Mirjana Dragicevic-Soldo.

Buffon (pictured) captained the Italian team in the recent Euro 2012 championship when his side was beaten 4-0 by Spain in the Final played at Kiev last Sunday night. He is expected to stay in Medjugorje for two days.

UPDATE: The Croatian newspaper Vecernji list reports that Buffon left Mostar airport accompanied by Medjugorje guide Mike Vasilj.

After a short visit to the church of St James for a quiet prayer, Buffon was welcomed to Medjugorje by Fr Miljenka Šteko and then taken to meet the other Franciscans who pastor the parish. He remained with them for 40 minutes before checking into the Grace Hotel.

Mike Vasilj, also the guide and host for the recent visit of another high-profile Italian football personality Roberto Mancini, told waiting journalists that Buffon wanted to conduct his pilgrimage in privacy before he returns home on Wednesday and would not be giving any interviews.

The 34-year-old goalkeeper has previously visited the shrine and his mother actively supports many of the humanitarian projects associated with Medjugorje.

The picture below shows Buffon arriving with his guide and joined by Fr Miljenka Šteko.
© Vercernji list
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