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The Australian
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Australian
Alaskans: Peace is a big deal for us – Russia's only 4km away
When Pope John Paul II met President Reagan in Alaska in 1984, he hailed the 49th US state as 'a crossroads of the world'. This was not only literally true, serving as a refuelling stop for both leaders as they crisscrossed the globe - the Pope was on his way to South Korea and the Pacific Islands, Reagan returning from China - but it also reflected a turning point in history as they plotted to liberate Poland and the other Warsaw Pact countries from Soviet control. A few years earlier President Nixon had his own historic meeting in Alaska, meeting in Anchorage with Emperor Hirohito, himself on a stopover to a state visit to Britain. Now Alaska finds itself again at a crossroads both geographically and politically, this time for two leaders in President Trump and President Putin who are poised to make momentous decisions on war and peace. It is a fitting venue for a US-Russia summit given the rich shared history of the two nations reflected here but it also underlines that, while the agenda is the future of Ukraine and western European security, this is a discussion between neighbours. 'Peace between Russia and Ukraine is a big deal for Alaska because we're so close to Russia here - the longer this war goes, the more chance there is of more global war and we're on the front lines,' said Father Matthew Howell, pastor of an Antiochian Orthodox Church in Wasilla, an hour's drive north of Anchorage. For the locals, Alaska does not feel remote at times like these. This is especially true for some of its more recent arrivals. 'I have Ukrainian parishioners in my church,' Father Howell, 41, said. 'They absolutely want peace. They are refugees who want this war to end. As an Alaskan - I've been here for over 20 years, my wife was born and raised here - we absolutely feel like we are on the front lines of any war that starts and so this summit is critical.' Mainland Russia is 88km away across the Bering Strait, a waterway named after the Danish explorer sent by Peter the Great to chart new territory east of Russia in the 18th century. Russian trappers quickly followed in pursuit of its sea otter pelts and established coastal communities that observed the Orthodox faith, spread by missionaries to native Alaskans. It still has thousands of adherents here, albeit no longer under Russian Orthodox jurisdiction. Despite the distance to the mainland, Sarah Palin, the former governor, was right when she said during the 2008 presidential campaign that Russia could be seen from Alaska. She was ridiculed for something she didn't actually say - 'I can see Russia from my house!', which was voiced by Tina Fey in a parody of her in a Saturday Night Live sketch. In fact, Ms Palin told ABC News that 'they're our next-door neighbours, and you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska, from an island in Alaska'. Big Diomede, a Russian island in the Bering Strait, is only 4km from Little Diomede, owned by the US. They are visible from each other on a clear day. Some Russians believe the government of Tsar Alexander II, which was bankrupt after the Crimean War and looking to counter British expansion in the frozen north, blundered in selling the 1,723,337 sqkm territory to the US for $US7.2m in 1867. At the time, though, many Americans nicknamed the purchase 'Seward's Folly' after the secretary of state who completed it. The Klondike gold rush in western Canada several decades later changed minds about the territory, fuelling a population and building boom that laid the foundations for eventual US statehood in 1959 after its strategic importance was recognised in World War II. The reminders of Russian influence are all around Anchorage, not least on the huge military base where Mr Trump and Mr Putin will meet. Named in part after Captain Hugh Elmendorf, a brilliant pilot killed while flying a prototype fighter plane in 1933, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson is home to the graves of nine Soviet pilots, two military personnel and two civilians who died between 1942 and 1945 while ferrying aircraft from the US to the Soviet Union. Nearly 8000 aircraft were donated to the Soviet Union under the Lend-Lease Act, a US policy to provide its allies with military aid, including weapons, supplies and food. Some 300 Russian pilots flew the planes over the Bering Strait and on to the eastern front. 'Thus, the meeting will unfold near a site of profound historical importance - one that underscores the wartime brotherhood-in-arms between our nations,' said Yuri Ushakov, former Russian ambassador to the US, who will be part of the five-man Russian delegation. 'This symbolism is particularly resonant in this year, the year of the 80th anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany and militarist Japan.' There is an irony in Mr Putin and his team being hosted at a US base that has grown to a civilian and military population of 32,000 because of its importance on the front line against the threat primarily from Russia. But the Russian leader is unlikely to want to venture into downtown Anchorage to try the elk or yak burgers at the 49th State Brewing Company, where he would be more likely to encounter protesters - and perhaps one of the moose that occasional wander the city streets - than on a secure military installation. 'The choice of Alaska is quite significant - first, it's equidistant, almost, in the flight time for each of the presidents to that venue, which symbolically says we're treating Russia as an equal here,' said George Beebe, the former director of Russia analysis at the CIA and director of grand strategy at the Quincy Institute. 'Second, it is not in Europe, which of course was the traditional meeting place during the Cold War. It puts a focus on the bilateral US-Russian relationship, which is I think where President Trump wants it to be. It also says to Putin: 'We are going to engage with Russia.'' The Times Read related topics: Vladimir Putin The Times Historical analogies for Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin's meeting in Alaska are overblown: it's unlikely there'll be any grand bargains. The Times In a speech to mark 80 years since the end of the Second World War, Charles will echo his grandfather George VI's emphasis on the global devastation of conflict.
Yahoo
01-08-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Watch highlights from Summit's TSSAA football preseason practice in full pads
Watch highlights from Summit's preseason full pads practice on July 30, 2025, as the team prepares for a scrimmage against Pope John Paul II.
Yahoo
13-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Fact Check: Photo of Pope John Paul II playing baseball isn't what it seems
Claim: Photograph authentically shows Pope John Paul II playing baseball. Rating: Context: The photograph taken in 1996 shows Gene Greytak, a man who impersonated Pope John Paul II. In July 2025, a photo circulated online that claimed to show Pope John Paul II playing baseball. The picture appears to show the former pope, who died in 2005, in his papal robes while swinging a baseball bat. (X user @PraytheRosary12) While the photograph is real, it does not show Pope John Paul II. The man playing baseball was Gene Greytak, an American real estate broker who became famous as a papal impersonator. As such, we rate this claim as miscaptioned. Using Google's reverse image search tool, we traced the photograph to a Los Angeles Times obituary of Greytak, who died in 2010. It was taken by Rick Silva for The Associated Press in 1996 and showed Greytak participating in the New York Mets' fantasy baseball camp. Greytak made appearances at numerous international venues, including at a hotel in Budapest, Hungary: (Wikimedia Commons) He even appeared in an episode of "Golden Girls" titled "The Pope's Ring": Per the obituary, Greytak's resemblance to the pope made him into a minor celebrity and he made appearances on film and television as a result. As a Catholic, he did not want to do anything inappropriate while impersonating the pope and the Los Angeles Archdiocese even told him his performances did not violate any canon law. "Pope John Paul II Dies | April 2, 2005." HISTORY, 24 Nov. 2009, Accessed 9 July 2025. "The Pope's Ring." The Golden Girls, directed by Lex Passaris, 14 Dec. 1991. Accessed 9 July 2025. Thursby, Keith. "Gene Greytak Dies at 84; Retired Real Estate Broker Became Papal Impersonator." Los Angeles Times, 3 Mar. 2010, Accessed 9 July 2025.
Irish Times
06-07-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
Oliver Plunkett's story would make a great film – it's a shame modern, secular Ireland has forgotten him
Interest in Oliver Plunkett has fluctuated over the four centuries since he was found guilty of treason in a blatant miscarriage of justice in 1681, after which he was hanged, drawn and quartered at Tyburn . Interest may have peaked in the 1970s. In 1975, there was nearly a diplomatic incident because then taoiseach Liam Cosgrave and president Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh were vying to represent Ireland at the canonisation in Rome . Cosgrave won and even proclaimed the first reading at the canonisation Mass. Archbishop Karol Wojtyła of Kraków also attended, invited by Cardinal William Conway. Four years later, now Pope John Paul II, he prayed before the relics of St Oliver Plunkett at Drogheda before his famous plea for peace. Citing Oliver Plunkett as an exemplar of forgiveness, he begged 'in the language of passionate pleading ... on my knees ... turn away from the paths of violence and ... return to the ways of peace'. More than 50 years before, in 1920, when Terence McSwiney was Lord Mayor of Cork, Sinn Féin councillors successfully proposed that George's Street be renamed Oliver Plunkett Street in honour of his beatification. READ MORE This year marks the 400th anniversary of Oliver Plunkett's birth and the 50th since his canonisation. But in contrast, the national coverage has been scant and the response muted, aside from in places directly associated with the saint, such as Loughcrew in Co Meath, where he was born, Armagh, where he was primate, and Drogheda, the home of the national shrine in St Peter's Church. An extensive programme , concluding in November, has been held in these areas involving Masses and ecumenical services, walks, tours, exhibitions, concerts and competitions, thanks to a hard-working committee. It is not the first time that Oliver Plunkett has fallen from national attention. For example, in the 200 years after his death, only a loyal few kept his memory alive. Tommy Burns, writing in the Commemorative Book compiled by the St Oliver 400 Committee, includes in that small number the Siena Dominican Sisters in Drogheda. They preserved the executed archbishop's head for nearly 200 years, which sometimes involved great personal risk. While the relic may appear grisly to modern sensibilities, it is venerated not for ghoulish reasons but as evidence of his ultimate sacrifice for his faith. [ From the archive: Highlighting cruelty of St Oliver Plunkett's execution reaffirms our commitment to faith Opens in new window ] Oliver Plunkett's story would make a great film. He was connected to many of the Hiberno-Norman landed families. When he chose to be a priest, he also chose exile in Rome, as no seminary could operate in Ireland. He became a well-regarded professor of theology at the College for the Propagation of the Faith. When appointed as Archbishop of Armagh in 1670, the memory of Cromwell's slaughter of thousands in Drogheda and Wexford followed by deliberately induced famine that reduced the population by up to 25 per cent was still fresh. Plunkett managed to navigate a political situation where Catholics officially had no civil rights. It sometimes necessitated disguise as an English officer or hiding in caves. He worked tirelessly to be on good terms with Protestant bishops and included Protestant students in a newly established Jesuit school in Drogheda. The Irish Catholic Church was in chaos – religious orders fighting over property, alcohol-abusing priests leading scandalous lives, and the Rapparees – or partisans – launching raids. The Rapparees were viewed either as guerrilla defenders of fellow dispossessed Catholics or lawless criminals, and probably contained elements of both. Oliver Plunkett negotiated a settlement with the Rapparees in Tyrone, leading to an unprecedented peace. Some of the clerics he reprimanded or removed from office would eventually give false testimony against him, implicating him in Titus Oates' entirely fictitious Popish plot. Modern, secular Ireland does not have much space for a story like Oliver Plunkett's or, indeed, for contemporary examples of Christian persecution. But as Archbishop Eamon Martin said in a homily in Loughcrew last Sunday, 'sadly, even in 2025, martyrdom remains a reality for many of our Christian brothers and sisters around the world'. Archbishop Martin cited the recent murder of 200 Christians in western Nigeria. Fulani armed groups descended on a village full of displaced Christians and murdered them with machetes, before setting fire to their bodies. According to a UK Parliament research briefing , 4,476 Christians were killed for faith-related reasons in 2024. Seventy per cent of those killed were in Nigeria. The world mostly ignores it. The BBC recently provided a perfect example of this reluctance to ascribe religious motives in an explainer on the 200 deaths. It laid the blame on farmer versus herder conflicts and climate change before mentioning religion as an additional factor. According to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, Fulani armed groups in northwest Nigeria engage in 'kidnapping, rape, property and cattle theft, illegal possession of weapons, and murder'. While the motivation behind individual attacks can be difficult to verify, they 'significantly restrict freedom of religion or belief, particularly for the predominantly Christian communities that live there'. We care about the shocking conditions of Palestinian children in Gaza because we see them daily on our screens. The courage and faith of St Oliver might remind us that other persecuted communities, including Christians, deserve visibility and no less of our concern.
Mail & Guardian
02-07-2025
- Business
- Mail & Guardian
Genevieve Nel's Journey in Diplomatic Catering
Mail and Guardian spoke to Genevieve Nel from the renowned Norma & Co catering company. What are some of your most memorable catering experiences? Many of my most memorable experiences stem from years back when my mom and aunts started Norma and Vilma Caterers. I was just a young girl, and we had the honour to cater for and subsequently meet Pope John Paul II when he visited South Africa. All our families had the honour to meet him, and it was the most incredible day. What is your philosophy on food and catering? You need to love what you do to provide food that tastes and looks good. We try to always create an environment at work with happy and fulfilled team members. A happy chef creates beautiful food. What makes your catering business unique? We take great pride in basing our business on creating relationships with clients. This is the cornerstone of our business and has always been, even when the business started 30 years ago. How do you stay up-to-date with the latest trends in catering? Social media is a huge influence in my business. I am always getting new ideas online, but we also work with a wonderful group of event planners and coordinators who push us out of our comfort zone, often creating new and wonderful food experiences. What is your culinary guilty pleasure? I am simple when it comes to food. I love a night out at a nice restaurant—not a fancy expensive one, but the local family restaurant in the neighbourhood with my husband and children. That's just perfect for me. You are becoming known as an 'Ambassador of Local Flavours' in diplomatic circles. What is the major thing you want to teach diplomats about South African food? I wouldn't say we are gurus in local flavours, but we love to bring South African flavours into international dishes. We are blessed enough to be entrusted with some wonderful National Days where we try new international cuisines, which become popular with our other clients afterwards. South Africans have wide exposure to international food—we grew up with families that ate anything and everything, so we are very lucky to have been exposed to such a variety of flavours. Who influenced you the most? There is no doubt that my mother, Norma, has been my biggest influencer in the catering business. She started and ran Norma and Vilma Caterers successfully for 25 years until COVID. Thereafter, she and I started Norma and Co on our own in 2021, and although she has taken a step back from the business, she still works and runs the business in the background. She still has a big influence on the flavours and recipes we create and produce. Your work involves a great deal of creativity. Where do you find your inspiration? A lot of our setups and creations involve trial and error. We have wonderful suppliers such as florists and equipment décor companies that assist with beautiful equipment and flowers, but staying on top of trends in the catering business worldwide also helps with inspiration. There are many caterers creating amazing things daily. Thanks to social media, we can draw inspiration globally now. When did your business begin? Norma and Co started in 2021 during COVID, built on the backbone of Norma and Vilma Caterers. COVID hit our industry hard, and instead of closing our doors permanently, we decided to restructure, move our premises, downsize substantially, and start again. This was a huge leap of faith, but we are so grateful that we were able to remain relevant to some of our clients and have gained so many more along the way. Which was the first embassy you catered for? I was still a young girl, but I remember my mom and aunts catering for the Embassy of Peru's National Day even before the business had business premises—when the business was still being run from our kitchen in our family home. How many embassies do you now cater for? In diplomatic circles, there is always changeover of staff regularly, so we are always grateful for our South African contacts that carry us through the different missions. We work with a wonderful group of ambassadors, high commissioners, consul generals, and many others currently. I would estimate we probably work with approximately 25 embassies at the moment.
