Barack Obama Marks Holocaust Remembrance Day

President Barack Obama on Sunday marked Holocaust Remembrance Day, Yom Ha Shoah, saying the world must honor victims of Nazi horror by renewing a commitment to prevent genocide and anti-Semitism.

“We must never tolerate the hateful stereotypes and prejudice against the Jewish people that tragically continues to this day,” Obama said in a written statement.

“We must work, instead, on behalf of a world of justice and peace, in which all nations and peoples value the humanity that we share, and the dignity inherent in every human being.”

“The memories of the victims serve as a constant reminder to honor their legacy by renewing our commitment to prevent genocide, and to confront anti-Semitism and prejudice in all of its forms.”

Bringing Vampires Back Home – To Britain

A British university is to hold a conference on Vampires in an effort to counterbalance the “Americanisation” of the fictional genre.

Delegates to the University of Hertfordshire’s “Open Graves, Open Minds: Vampires and the Undead in Modern Culture” conference to be held on April 16-17 will have their food served to them out of coffins as part of a mission to encourage students of all ages to study literature.

English lecturer Sam George, who has just launched a Master of Arts degree in vampire fiction at Hertfordshire, said the most famous vampire narrative of all, Dracula, was written by Irishman Bram Stoker and set in London and Whitby in Yorkshire, but that now with the “Twilight” saga and “True Blood,” modern vampires have become Americanised.

“It’s amazing how many British actors have played Dracula on screen,” George said in a statement on the university’s website. “I aim to put the British vampire back on the map.”

George said she is particularly interested in the new teen vampire narratives which act as a useful metaphor for wider teen anxieties about their bodies and the first stirrings of desire.

Should Naked Men Pull Boats?

A row has broken out in China over a plan to revive a custom for naked men to haul boats through a tourist beauty spot.

Political adviser Yao Benzhi suggested the move to restore local culture and boost tourism in the Shennongxi Stream Gorge in Hubei province.

Yao even volunteered to be the first naked boatman – but he has been criticised for seeking economic growth at the cost of the boatmen’s dignity.

People came from far and wide to see the naked boatmen until they were ordered to cover up in the year 2000 to avoid offending women and children.

But the number of visitors has actually fallen sharply since the estimated 1,000 boatmen were told to start wearing pants.

Liu Zhong, of the local Jiangshan Travel Agency said: “Many tourists come here to see the naked boat trackers and they are disappointed to see them dressed.”

465-Year-Old Dog Steals The Show

 A 16th century dog, the only known female to have served aboard King Henry VIII’s ill-fated flagship the Mary Rose, has stolen the show at Britain’s Crufts dog show this year.

The two-year old mongrel, lost aboard the Tudor warship 465 years ago, is a special guest of the Kennel Club this year, according to the show’s organizers.

The painstakingly reconstructed skeleton, poised on its haunches, acquired the nickname “Hatch” after divers discovered her remains near the sliding hatch door of the Mary Rose’s carpenter’s cabin.

Her remains were found partly inside and outside his quarters suggesting she was trapped there as the huge warship, the pride of the English fleet, keeled over and sank in the Solent off England’s southern coast in mysterious circumstances.

Joe And Jill Biden Visit Israel

Vice President Joe Biden visited the Yad Vashem Holocaust History Museum on Tuesday and at the end of his visit, signed the site’s guestbook.

He wrote that as a young father, he took his children to visit the Dachau death camp in German, to make them understand how brutal mankind can be.

Biden added that Israel is the heart, life and hope of the world’s Jews, and that it saves lives every day. He said that anyone who doubts this, should visit the museum, and that the State of Israel is a central bolt in the world’s existence.

The American vice president added that each day, Israel challenges the words of poet William Butler Yeats who wrote, “Too long a sacrifice can make a stone of the heart.”

A Cruise To Remember

Violence, drunkenness and all manner of debauchery featured on a six-month voyage on a migrant ship bound for Australia 170 years ago, a newly discovered diary reveals.

The raunchy tale of anarchy on the high seas is recorded by a junior officer, James Bell, aboard “The Planter” which sailed to Adelaide from Deptford in east London in 1838.

Alcohol-fueled acts of “great violence” involving officers, mates and even the ship’s doctor are all recounted.

In the green vellum-bound journal, Bell tells how the captain regularly entertained two of the 11 daughters of a doctor-preacher from Liverpool called McGowan.

He wrote: “our captain of course could not want a mistress till he returned to his own in England, but made love to two of McGowan’s daughters … The Capt was allowed to keep the daughters company at all hours, and during the whole time of our being in warm weather our bed on deck sufficed for all three.”

Bell, whose 225-page diary goes up for sale at auction in London next month after being bought in a market stall for a pittance, said his crew were no better.

“Such an example was soon followed up by all the ship’s company but particularly by the three mates (who) carried immorality to a glaring height.”

Bell told how they blatantly took up with a band of prostitutes in search of a better life in the colonies.

He called the women “… natives of some obscene alley, in some obscene street, of that renowned city, London, and who are conveying in themselves all the filth of the place of their nativity, to Adelaide.”

Ironically, Bell kept his diary for a female friend back in England, but interestingly for the time spared her few blushes.

“With all this whoring and drunkenness,” he wrote, “it is amazing this ship ever arrived in Australia.”

The diary is expected to fetch between 2,000 to 4,000 pounds ($3,000 to $6,000) at a sale on March 23, according to the auction house Bonhams.

Michael Steele Calls On Harry Reid To Step Down

The chairman of Republican National Committee (RNC), Michael Steele, has called on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to abandon his post over his past racial derogatory remarks about President Barack Obama.

The RNC leader, appearing on “Fox News Sunday,” blasted Reid for describing Obama as a “light skinned” African-American “with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one,” during the 2008 presidential race.

Calling for the resignation of the Nevada Democrat, Steele also accused his party colleagues of hypocrisy on the matter.

“There is this standard where Democrats feel that they can say these things and they can apologize when it comes from the mouths of their own. But if it comes from anyone else, it is racism,” Steele told the TV show.

“If (Senate Minority Leader) Mitch McConnell had said those very words that this chairman and this president would be calling for his head, and they would be labeling every Republican in the country as a racist for saying exactly what this chairman has just said,” Steele continued, referring to the comments Reid had made more than a year ago.

Reid apologized for his remarks on Saturday and the US president accepted the apology in a statement, saying “I accepted Harry’s apology without question because I’ve known him for years.”

The apology comes as Reid faces a difficult re-election amid frustration from both liberals and conservatives with his leadership in the Senate.

Legendary ‘Tavern On The Green’ Shutting Down

Tavern on the Green, once America’s highest-grossing restaurant, is singing its culinary swan song.

The former sheepfold at the edge of Central Park, now ringed by twinkling lights and fake topiary animals, is preparing for New Year’s Eve, when it will serve its last meal. Just three years ago, it was plating more than 700,000 meals annually, bringing in more than $38 million.

But that astronomical sum wasn’t enough to keep the landmark restaurant out of bankruptcy court. Its $8 million debt is to be covered at an auction of Baccarat and Waterford chandeliers, Tiffany stained glass, a mural depicting Central Park and other over-the-top decor that has bewitched visitors for decades.

Even the restaurant’s name is up for grabs. At stake is whether another restaurateur taking over the 27,000 square feet of space, owned by the city, can reopen as Tavern on the Green.

For 75 years, since it first opened amid the Great Depression, the Tavern has attracted clients from around the world.

“This reminds me so much of Poland!” exclaimed Vermont resident Meg Kearton as she entered for her first time in late December. “It reminds me of a restaurant in Warsaw — the grandeur and the colors.”

A decisive moment comes in January. That’s when a Manhattan federal judge will either side with the city and rule that the moneymaking name Tavern on the Green, valued at about $19 million, belongs to whomever operates the space or say the current owners keep it.

If the city loses, the facility will reopen as Tavern in the Park.

Stalin’s Grandson Seeks Apology From Radio Station

The grandson of Josef Stalin is suing the radio station Ekho Moskvy, it said, in a second attempt to stem media criticism of the leader whom many Russians still revere for victory in World War Two.

Yevgeny Dzhugashvili is seeking 10 million roubles’ ($326,900) compensation and an apology from Ekho Moskvy over comments made by presenter Matvey Ganapolsky on a program in October, who said:

“Stalin signed an order that children can be shot from the age of 12 as enemies of the nation. Which of the bastards dares say a single word in his defense?”

Ekho Moskvy said it had been notified of the lawsuit.

Earlier this year a Russian court threw out a similar case by Dzhugashvili against Novaya Gazeta newspaper which said Stalin had personally ordered the killings of thousands of Soviet citizens.

Historians said at the time the court’s decision was a victory in Russia where they say there is a creeping attempt to paint a more benevolent picture of the Soviet Union’s most feared leader, under whose rule millions perished.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin weighed into the fierce national debate on Stalin’s legacy this month, praising him for industrializing the Soviet Union and winning World War Two, but condemning his repression.

Some 37 percent of Russians look on Stalin with respect, sympathy or even admiration, according to a WCIOM poll published this week. Roughly a quarter of the population dislikes, fears or hates him and the rest are indifferent.

Jimmy Carter Offers Jewish Community ‘Al Het’

Jimmy Carter asked the Jewish community for forgiveness for any stigma he may have caused Israel.

In a letter released exclusively to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, the former U.S. president sent a seasonal message wishing for peace between Israel and its neighbors, and concluded: “We must recognize Israel’s achievements under difficult circumstances, even as we strive in a positive way to help Israel continue to improve its relations with its Arab populations, but we must not permit criticisms for improvement to stigmatize Israel. As I would have noted at Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, but which is appropriate at any time of the year, I offer an Al Het for any words or deeds of mine that may have done so.”

“Al Het” refers to the Yom Kippur prayer asking God forgiveness for sins committed against Him. In modern Hebrew it refers to any plea for forgiveness.

Carter has angered some U.S. Jews in recent years with writings and statements that place the burden of peacemaking on Israel, that have likened Israel’s settlement policies to apartheid, and that have blamed the pro-Israel lobby for inhibiting an evenhanded U.S. foreign policy.

Abraham Foxman, the Anti-Defamation League’s national director, welcomed the statement, calling it the “beginning of reconciliation.”

“We welcome any statement from a significant individual such as a former president who asks for Al Het,” Foxman said. “To what extent it is an epiphany, time will tell. There certainly is hurt which needs to be repaired.”