At Israel’s Holocaust Memorial, Many Find the Pope’s Silence Deafening

Few question Pope Benedict XVI’s good will, nor the eloquence of his prose. But for the second time in three years, the Pope has delivered a highly anticipated discourse on the Holocaust that was moving but, by its silence on specific subjects, missed an opportunity of historic proportions. Welcomed at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial early Monday evening, Benedict spoke powerfully of the victims, and called on humanity never to forget the attempt to exterminate the Jews as a way “to ensure that hatred will never reign in the hearts of men again.” But, in a highly unusual criticism of an honored guest’s remarks, Rabbi Israel Meir Lau, chairman of the Yad Vashem council, told Israeli television that though the speech was moving, “Something was missing.

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Search wanes for professor missing on volcanic island

Three police officers continued to search Thursday for an American professor who disappeared on a small volcanic island in Japan. Japanese authorities had scaled back the search for Craig Arnold, an award-winning poet who has been missing for 11 days. At one point, teams of rescuers scoured the island on foot, while others searched from helicopters.

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Search for U.S. professor in Japan extended through Tuesday

Japanese authorities have agreed to continue searching for an American university professor through at least Tuesday, more than a week after he disappeared on a volcanic Japanese island, colleagues and relatives said. Craig Arnold’s family also has hired a private, U.S.-based rescue group that is set to join the search in Japan this week, according to his sister-in-law, Augusta Palmer

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Report: China intimidated parents of quake victims

Chinese government authorities have intimidated and unlawfully detained parents and relatives of children who died in last year’s Sichuan earthquake and harassed their supporters, an Amnesty International report said this week. The 52-page report, released Sunday and titled “Justice Denied: Harassment of Sichuan Earthquake Survivors and Activists,” documented instances where parents and relatives said they had been detained for up to 21 days for trying to get answers from officials about their children’s deaths. Some said they had been detained several times

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White House already on a hunt to replace Souter

A process begun months ago among White House lawyers to quietly compile a list of possible Supreme Court picks has accelerated with word Justice David Souter plans to step down form the bench later this year. The nominee would give President Obama an immediate opportunity to place his stamp on the nation’s highest court, and perhaps to begin cementing his legacy with a lifetime appointment to that bench. Obama on Friday said he will seek “somebody with a sharp, independent mind and a record of excellence and integrity.” That person must honor traditions, respect the judicial process and share Obama’s grasp of constitutional values, he said

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