Philadelphia Bulletin 5-8-09

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The BulletinVol. VI No. 091 RES IPSALOQUITUR Friday, 8 May— Sunday, 10 May 2009

25 c /

 www.thebulletin.us

PHILADELPHIA ’SF AMILY 

NEWSPAPER 

“N EARLY  EVERYBODY  R EADST  HE  BULLETIN” ®NOW R EACHING PHILADELPHIA ’S 100,000 MOST DISCERNING R EADERS

FOR HOME DELIVERY: CALL US AT 215-735-9150 OR VISIT ONLINE AT www.thebulletin.us

CULTUR 

EM’BR 

 AINS NATION

Business. . . . . . . . . Pages 10-11

Crossword . . . . . . . . . . Page 20

Culture . . . . . . . . . . . . Section 2

Editorial . . . . . . . . Pages 22-23

Herb Denenberg. . . . . . Page 2

Local & State. . . . . . . Pages 3-5

Monkeybrains . . . Pages 18-21

Movie Listings . . . . . Section 2

Nation & World . . . Pages 6-9

Society . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 24

Sports . . . . . . . . . . . Pages 13-17

TV Listings . . . . . . . . Section 2

 Weather. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 2

INDEX

oneiric (adj., oh-NYE-rik): of or relating to dreams : dreamy 

  WORD POWER 

POORRICHARD’S

 A LMANACK

He that would live in peace & at ease,Must not speak all he knows, nor 

 judge all he sees.

BULLET LIST

 A PostwarRemembrance

  A local writer read a new  World War II tome by Richard J.Evans — and saw his own mem-ories stirred. See Section 2

Philly Voices From AIPAC Conference

 About 6,500 people, includ-ing those from the Philadelphiaarea, attended the AmericanIsrael Public Affairs Committeepolicy conference. See Page 4

 Abp. Wood Student Wins Art Contest

  Archbishop Wood junior  Allison Sims won the Seventh  Annual Dad Vail Regatta ArtContest on Tuesday. See Page 5

Obama: Repeal BanOn Tax-Funded

 Abortions In DCPresident Obama urged a

repeal of the ban on taxpayer-funded abortions in Washington, D.C. See Page 7

Philly Native JoinsObama Admin.

Philadelphia native EdwardDeSeve was named senior advis-er to the president for recovery and reinvestment. See Page 7

Stocks Drop As Bank,Technology Shares Fall

U.S. stocks slid from a four-month high as declines in finan-cial, telephone and technology shares snuffed out an early rally.

See Page 11

 Junk-BondRally Premature

  Junk-bond investors whohave spurred the biggest rally onrecord are getting ahead of therecovery. See Page 11

PROVOCATION

“Being a full-time mother isone of the highest salaried jobs... since the payment is purelove.” — Mildred B. Vermont

Happy Mother’s Day!

Page 21

Federalist Society,Kristol WinBradley Prizes Page 6

 Visco’s Art ShowsMarian Devotion

Section 2

Ridge Will NotRun For Senate

By BRADLEY VASOLI

THE BULLETIN

Former Homeland Security secretary and formerPennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridgesaid Thursday he does notintend to run for U.S. Senatenext year.

His decision comes asRepublicans bustle to find a can-didate after U.S. Sen. ArlenSpecter left the GOP to run forreelection in 2010 as aDemocrat. National Republicanleaders had discussed Mr. Ridge

as a possibility to take on Mr.Specter. That apparently won’t

happen this year, but Mr. Ridgepledged to remain active in pub-lic life in various capacities.

“Public service has longplayed a significant role in my life,” he said in a statement.“That service does not end here.There are causes to which Iremain intensely committed,including my work on behalf of the disability community, ournation’s veterans, our nationalsecurity and the GOP — theparty I enthusiastically joinedmore than four decades ago.”

Mr. Ridge’s decision againstrunning might seem precipi-tous, given that he’s only 

Continued On Page 4

Philly.com Boss Leaves For Comcast Sports GroupBy JOHN P. CONNOLLY 

THE BULLETIN

The president of Philly.com,the Web site of  The Philadelphia Inquirer , has left the newspaperfor Comcast Sports Group,according to a report on  Editor 

& Publisher’s Web site.Eric Grilly, who ran The

 Inquirer ’s Web site for two years,said that he was not leavingbecause of any dissatisfaction with The Inquirer , but because of the favorable offer he got fromComcast. He is expected to be

the Comcast Sports Group’sexecutive vice president andchief digital officer.

“They’ve got their footprintin 10 markets, and if you look  where Comcast is going, they have an aggressive expansion

Continued On Page 4

By JOE MURRAY 

THE BULLETIN

  Archbishop Charles J.Chaput received the BecketFund for Religious Liberty’sprestigious Canterbury AwardThursday night in recognitionfor his commitment to preserv-ing moral values and his outspo-ken advocacy for religiousrights.

Every year, the Becket Fundgives the award to a leading voice in the debate over religious

liberties. Traditionally, therecipient, according to theorganization, is one who refuses

to render to Caesar’s what isrightfully God’s.

The Becket Fund thought Archbishop Chaput was a primecandidate for the award becausehe has earned a reputation of actively engaging the market-place of ideas.

“We are especially proud toadd Archbishop Chaput to thisdistinguished list,” says Becket

Continued On Page 6

Members Adamant To Save Vesper Club

ED A NDRIESKI/Associated Press

Denver Archbishop CharlesChaput was honoredThursday by The Becket Fund with the Canterbury Medal.

By MICHAEL P. TREMOGLIE

THE BULLETIN

The Philadelphia FireDepartment is a racially polar-ized one. Reverse discrimina-tion lawsuits have been filed by   white firefighters claiming thata hiring quota forces theappointment or promotion of   African Americans who do notscore as high as white appli-cants.

The hiring quota began in1975 by a consent decree the city signed with the federal govern-ment to correct racial discrimi-

nation in past hiring. It subse-quently enacted several policiesto correct this — the hiringquota being one.

But the white firefighters say the current administration haszealously exceeded this quotaand has engaged in blatantreverse discrimination. They spoke to The Bulletin on condi-tion of anonymity.

Their official position is rep-resented by the Philadelphiachapter of the Concerned  American Firefighters  Association (CAFFA).  According to CAFFA, what wasonce an understandable effort to

Continued On Page 3

RescueMe

 Discrimination Claims Inflame Fire Dept.

S AMUEL SOKOL/For The Bulletin

POPE’S A RRIVAL MEETS HOSTILITY This sign is one of two that hang in the plaza outside of theChurch of the Annunciation in Nazareth where the Pope isscheduled to appear next Thursday. According to one of thesigns, followers of religions other than Islam will not see thenext world. For more coverage, see World on Page 8.

 Decision Opens GOP

 Door For Toomey

Religious Liberties GroupHonors Denver Archbishop

By JENNY DeHUFF

THE BULLETIN

Philadelphia —

Members of the time-honored

  Vesper Club, tucked away onSydenham Street in Center City,are opening their wallets to savetheir club, which has been inexistence since 1941.

The club is facing financialhurdles. Long known for itsaffordable membership fees, the  Vesper Club has never asked itsmembers for any additional

costs, beyond the annual dues.However, economic woes areforcing the club to charge itsmembers, for the first time, aspecial assessment, to pay for

back taxes, rent, maintenanceand food costs.

Many members of the VesperClub said they are willing to pay more than necessary to keep the

club alive.  Allan Domb, Philadelphia’slargest luxury condominiumrealtor and 30-year member of 

Continued On Page 5

R OB R EED/The Bulletin

R EADY FOR THE R EGATTA Saint Joseph’s University women’s head crew coach Gary Quinlan takes in the scenery along the Schuylkill River on Thursday from the dock of the Hawks’ boathouse on Kelly Drive. Friday marks the beginning of the 71st running of the Dad Vail Regatta.The recent weather and hard economic times have taken their toll on the regatta, which will once again welcome teams from 100-plus universities this weekend to Philadelphia. For more coverage, see Sports on Pages 15-17.

R OB R EED/The Bulletin

 A BLOCS SUCCESS STORY Reggie Redding speaks on Thursday at the BLOCS ScholarshipDinner at the Loews Philadelphia Hotel. Mr. Redding attendedSaint Martin de Porres School in North Philadelphia on aBLOCS scholarship before playing basketball for Villanova. Formore coverage, see Local on Page 3.

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Page 8 Friday, 8 May 2009The Bulletin

WORLD

ByDAVIDBEDEIN

andSAMUELSOKOL

MIDDLE E AST CORRESPONDENTS

N a za r e th , I s ra e l —

Next Thursday, May 14, PopeB en ed ic t X VI w il l v is itNazareth and appear at theChurch of theAnnunciation.

The Muslims of Nazarethare split in their reactions, butsome have responded visceral-ly.

Multiple Islamic signs, inboth Arabic and English, withsome bearing the image of theDome of the Rock, have been

hung in the l arge plaza outsideof the church in anticipationof the Pope’s arrival.

One such sign reads: “And whoever seeks a religion otherthan Islam, it will never beaccepted of him, and in theHereafter he will be one of thelosers.”

 While another sign reads:“In the name of Allah, theMost Beneficent, the MostMerciful Say (O Muhammad):He is Allah, (the) One andOnly Allah, t he E tern al ,

  Absolute. He begetteth notnor was He begotten Andthere is none Like unto him,”in a quote attributed to theQuran.

 As The Bulletin reported on April 21, Islamists in Nazarethhave handed out thousands of 

flyers denouncing the Popeand stating that he is unwel-come.

“ We a nn oun ce f romNazareth that we are opposeto the Pope’s visit. A person

  who cursed the prophet, whostood at the head of the effort

to convert Muslims in Darfur,Indonesia and the Muslim world, attacked Islam, praised  America and drew near andfraternized with the butcher of Gaza is unwanted here,” theflyer read.

There has been no actionon the part of the municipality to remove these signs prior tothe Pope’s arrival.

 David Bedein can be reached [email protected]

ByDAVIDBEDEIN

MIDDLE E AST CORRESPONDENT

Jerusalem — An Israelisoldier, identified as Sgt. Noam

  Adin Rechter Levi, 20, waskilled on Wednesdaynight.

Thesoldier wasshotduringapatrol in the village of Birzeit,near Ramallah.

Since April 2002, the Israeli

army has resumed patrols in all Arabvillages in theWest Bank.

These daily Israeli army patrols have succeeded in stop-ping almost all potential terrorattacksfrom theWest Bank overthe past two years — more thanIsrael’s securityfence has.

During the operation, theDuhifa Battalion of the KfirBrigade was engaged in a con-

frontation between IsraelDefense Forces (IDF) soldiersand armed Palestinians. Duringtheconfrontation, Sgt.Levi waskilled by a gunshot.

The security forces arrestedseveral Palestinians, and theincidentis being investigated.

 David Bedein can be reached [email protected]

ByDAVIDBEDEIN

MIDDLE E AST CORRESPONDENT

Jerusalem — An over-  whelming number of rabbis,reporters, pundits, journalistsand academics in Israel havejoined forces to welcome thePope Benedict XVI on hisscheduled visit to Israel.

Israel’s official radio and TV stations have gone out of their

  way to present hourly updatesconcerning thePapalvisit.

However, dissenting voicesto the official welcome are now being heard in diversecircles.

General (res.) Giora Eiland,the former head of the IsraelNational Security Council,

 wrote a guest editorial inIsrael’slargest daily newspaer, Yediot

 Aharonot, titled “HarmfulGroveling.”

In his article, he wrote: “It would have been better for this visit not to take place, and con-trary to conventional wisdom,it

 will cause diplomatic harm toIsraelratherthan benefit.”

Gen. Eiland reminded theIsraelipublic that PopeBenedictXVIhadserved asa conscriptinth e G erma n ar my, t he

  Wehrmacht, which played amajor role in the mass murder

of JewsduringWorldWar II.He also criticized the Pope’s

desire to beatify Pope Pius XII, whoserved intheVaticanduring World WarII.

Hewrote:“There aredozensof reports documentingChurchrepresentatives,the Cardinalsof Holland, Austria and Ukraine,

  who sent letters to the popereporting murderous actsby theNazis, with dates, places andnumbersof victims... Pope PiusXIIopted to disregard this”

Gen. Eiland also remindedthe public that “there were sen-ior Catholic figures who askedhim to issue a clear statement,

 which,even ifit didnotdetertheNazis, would at least give rise tohesitationsamong Catholic col-laborators in Poland, Ukraineand other countries,” yet “the

Poperefused.”Gen.Eilandalso raised ques-

tions about the Pope’s desire to  visit the State of Israel andraisedthe fearthat “He wantstocome here because the holiestsites to Christianity happen tobe under Israelisovereignty.”

 Yet from Gen. Eilan’s pointof view, the unkindest cut of all

 was when “The [P]ope voicedsupport for the Durban II con-

ference” along with his visit tothe Palestinian Authority in anUnited Nations Relief and

  Works Agency (UNRWA)refugee camp near the security fence next to Bethlehem, “sothatPalestinian refugeesand thefence will provide a fine back-drop forhis message.”

Given this background, Gen.Eiland questioned Israel’s will-ingness to host the Pope and tocover the full $10 million incosts from Israeli taxpayermoney, with more than 80,000police officers assigned to thetaskat hand.

In conclusion, Gen. Eiland  wrote: “Groveling before thepope is a shameful act, and con-traryto conventionalwisdom, itbearsno diplomatic benefit.Justas an unnecessary confronta-

tion can harm the state’s stand-ing, so too can unnecessary grovelingbe harmful.If wewereto say to the Vatican that ‘thetime is not right for a visit,’ we

 would be doing something bothjustified from a Jewish stand-point andwise froma diplomat-ic standpoint.”

 David Bedein can be reached [email protected]

S AMUELSOKOL/ForThe Bulletin A banner, posted by Muslims protesting Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to the area, is seen in in theplazaoutsideof theChurchof theAnnunciationin Nazareth.During hisvisit, thePope isexpect-edto makea stop at thechurchnextThursday.

Flags Over Nazareth Islamists Prepare For Papal Visit

Former Israeli Security OfficialFrowns Upon Papal Visit

Israeli Soldier Killed In Arab Village Near Ramallah

ByDAVIDBEDEIN

MIDDLE E AST CORRESPONDENT

Jerusalem — The Middle  East Newsline reports Iran hasreached an agreement intendedto turn Venezuela into a majordefense client.

Iran and Venezuela havesigned several agreementsmeant to bolster defense andmilitary cooperation. Theaccords call for Iran to train

 Venezuela’s military, as well asfor Iran to export missiles andother weapons systems to the

SouthAmerican state.“This is a long-term plan,”

Iranian Defense MinisterMustafaNajar said.

On April 29, Mr. Najar con-cluded a three-day visit toCaracas where he met govern-ment and military leaders.Officials said Mr. Najar led alarge delegation from his min-istry as well as the Iranian mili-tary.

“Cooperation with  Venezuela has experienced aleap that we’re seeking to accel-erate in this visit,” Mr. Najarsaid.

Relations between Iran and Venezuela have developed rap-

idly over the last three yearsunder PresidentHugo Chavez.

Iran hassent militarydelega-tions as well as DefenseMinistry staffers to brief 

 Venezuelaon thelatestweaponsdevelopedby Tehran.

Iran has reported defenseexports to about 55 nations.Officialssaid the exportsinclud-ed that of missiles, mortars,armored vehicle platforms andunmanned aerial vehicles(UAVs).

 David Bedein can be reached [email protected]

Report: Iran, Venezuela Forge Defense Agreement

Peres To UN Chief: You Should Have Visited Auschwitz, Not Ahmadinejad

ByDAVIDBEDEIN

MIDDLE E AST CORRESPONDENT

Jerusalem — Israeli President ShimonPeres harshly criticized U.N. Secretary-GeneralBanKi-moon during their WednesdaymeetinginNewYork.

The meeting took place against the backdropof Mr. Ban’s personal behavior during lastmonth’s Durban II conference and the U.N.’srecent report criticizing Israeli conduct in Gazafour monthsago.

  Addressing the Durban II conference, Mr.Peres told Mr. Ban he should have taken hisentourage to visit Auschwitz instead of sitting by idlyas MahmoudAhmadinejaddelivereda speechdevotedto thedenial of theHolocaust.

Unlikethe Europeanrepresentatives, the U.N.secretary-general listened attentively to the entirespeech anddid notleave thehall.

“I amashamed,”Mr. Peres said.Mr. Ban, in response, tried to tone down Mr.

Peres’ harsh statements and said, in his defense,Mr. Ahmadinejadhad misled him.

The secretary-general said he had sat with Mr. Ahmadinejad and drafted a moderate statement with him for an hour prior to his speech at theGeneva, Switzerland-based conference.

However, Mr. Ahmadinejad went up to thestage and ignored their agreement, delivering aspeech denyingthe Holocaustinstead.

Mr. Ban said his position as secretary-generalpreventedhimfromleavingthehall, butMr.Peresrejected his explanation.

Mr. Peres said he felt a great shame that theU.N. had chosen Holocaust Memorial Day, the

 worst day in the Jewish consciousness, to give aplatformto sucha despicable man.

 After their discussionaboutthe DurbanII con-ference, the meeting continued to be tensebecauseof theU.N. reporton theIsraeli operationin Gaza, among other reasons.

Mr. Ban said he had attempted to tone downthe report and had softened many problematicparts andextracted clausesthat deviated fromthereport’soriginal purpose.

The Israeli president gave Mr. Ban a sharprhetoricalquestion, inquiringif the U.N. expected

Israelto sitidly by, since morethan 4,000rockets were fired on Israelin thepast three years.

Helambastedthe report’signoranceof Hamas’activities, such as planting bombs in kinder-gartens,buildingsand evenU.N. facilities.

The secretary-general responded by saying theU.N. would not begin another inquiry intoOperation Cast Lead, as the Gaza incursion isreferred to by Israel, without the Jewish state’sconsent.

Mr. Peres admittedIsraelmadesome mistakesin the course if the operation and said Israel didnot intend to deliberately kill civilians; however,healsosaidtheArabswhofirefromGazado.

  David Bedein can be reached at [email protected]

GERALDHERBERT/AssociatedPress

Israeli President Shimon Peres leaves the West  Wing of the White House after meeting with

President Barack Obama in Washington onTuesday. On Wednesday, Mr. Peres met withU.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon andrebuked him for sitting idly by as IranianPresident Mahmoud Ahmadinejad delivered aspeechdenying theHolocaustlast month.