FamilyNet

125px
Type	Broadcast network
Country	United States
Availability	Broadcast stations in some markets Cable SkyAngel
Founded	c. mid 1980s
Headquarters	Irving, Texas

FamilyNet is a broadcast television network. The network was founded in 1979 as the National Christian Network, and took the name FamilyNet in 1988 under the ownership of Jerry Falwell.^[1] The channel was acquired by InTouch Ministries in October 2007 from the Southern Baptist Convention.^[2] In December of 2009, FamilyNet was acquired by Robert A. Schuller's ComStar Media Fund.^[3] In 2010, FamilyNet was spun out into its own company, with Robert A. Schuller as the chairman. ^[4]

FamilyNet has a programming mission geared to family programming, involving a mix of lifestyle programming, game shows, classic sitcoms and dramas, and movies.

The network reaches 15.7 million television households throughout the United States through a variety of sources, including broadcast affiliates, cable, and over internet television on the SkyAngel platform.^[5] It won a 2008 Telly Award.^[6]

The organization also operated FamilyNet Radio 161, a full-time Christian talk channel on SIRIUS Satellite Radio, but was dropped on November 30, 2010 in favor of FamilyTalk.

Television programming[link]

• Judie Byrd's Kitchen, a cooking program.
• Wretched, a theology and commentary program hosted by Todd Friel.^[7]
• Liberty University home football games
• Your Health, natural/alternative health advice

In October 2009, FamilyNet began a Saturday morning kids programming block called FunTown, featuring airings of Underdog and The Bullwinkle Show and hosted by FamilyNet's original characters, Groove and Sluggo.

Currently, a large portion of the FamilyNet schedule in the afternoons, evenings, and primetime consists of syndicated programming such as Mr. Belvedere, The Bob Newhart Show, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and Don't Forget The Lyrics!. Original programming airs in the morning and early afternoon times.

Other features[link]

In April 2009, FamilyNet.com added a FamilyNet Community internet forum for viewers to discuss programming, family-related topics, and participate in blogs and games.

See also[link]

• American Christian Television System
• National Christian Network
• PTL Satellite Network
• Vision Interfaith Satellite Network

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• FamilyNet Radio official website

This article about a television station in the United States is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Yu Dafu
Born	(1896-12-07)December 7, 1896 Fuyang, Zhejiang, China
Died	September 17, 1945(1945-09-17) (aged 48)
Occupation	Short Story writer and Poet

Yu Dafu (simplified Chinese: 郁达夫; traditional Chinese: 郁達夫; pinyin: Yù Dáfū; Wade–Giles: Yu Ta-fu) (December 7, 1896—September 17, 1945). Born in Fuyang, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, was a modern Chinese short story writer and poet.

Early years[link]

Yu Dafu's father died when he was three, leaving the family poverty-stricken and destitute. He received a number of scholarships through the Chinese government and went on to receive a traditional Chinese education in Hangzhou. Chronologically he studied in Jiangxing-Fu Middle School (before he came to Hangzhou), Hangzhou-Fu Middle School, Yuying Academy^[1] (育英学堂, formerly of Zhejiang University).

In 1912, he entered Hangchow University (later its major part merged into Zhejiang University) preparatory through examination. He was there only for a short period before he was expelled for participation in a student strike.^[2]

He then moved to Japan, where he studied economics at the Tokyo Imperial University between 1913 and 1922, where he met other Chinese intellectuals (namely, Guo Moruo, Zhang Ziping and Tian Han). Together, in 1921 they founded the Chuangzao she 創造社 ("Creation Society"), which promoted vernacular and modern literature. One of his earlier works Chenlun 沉淪, also his most famous, published in Japan in 1921. The work had gained immense popularity in China, shocking the world of Chinese literature with its frank dealing with sex, as well as grievances directed at the incompetence of Chinese government at the time.

In 1922, he returned to China as a literary celebrity and worked as the editor of Creation Quarterly, editing journals and writing short stories. In 1923, after an attack of tuberculosis, Yu Dafu directed his attention to the welfare of the masses.

In 1927, he worked as an editor of the Hongshui literary magazine. He later came in conflict with the Communist Party of China and fled back to Japan.

Second Sino-Japanese war[link]

After the start of the Second Sino-Japanese war, he returned to China and worked as a writer of anti-Japanese propaganda in Hangzhou, and later in Zhejiang. From 1938 to 1942, he worked as a literary editor for the newspaper Sin Chew Jit Poh in Singapore.

In 1942 when the Imperial Japanese Army invaded Singapore, he was forced to flee to Sumatra. Known under a different identity, he settled there among other overseas Chinese and began a brewery business with the help of the locals. Later he was forced to help the Japanese military police as an interpreter when it was discovered that he was one of the few "locals" in the area who could speak Japanese.

In 1945, he was arrested by the Kempeitai when his true identity was finally discovered. It is believed that he was executed by the Japanese shortly after the surrender of Japan.

Works[link]

• Chenlun 沉淪 "Sinking" (1921)
• Riji jiuzhong 日記九種 “Nine Diaries” (1927)
• Guoqu 過去 “The Past" (1927)
• his first novel?? (1928) (moderately successful)
• his second novel?? (1932)
• Chuben 出奔 "Flight" (1935)

His most popular work, breaking all Chinese sales records, was Jih-chi chiu-chung "Nine Diaries", which detailed his affair with the writer Wang Ying-hsin. The most critically acclaimed work is Kuo-ch'u or "The Past", written in 1927.^{[citation needed]}

References[link]

• Encyclopædia Britannica 2005 Ultimate Reference Suite DVD, article- "Yü Ta-fu"

External links[link]

• Works by Yu Dafu at Project Gutenberg

La Fonky Family (often shortened to La Fonky, or La FF) are a French hip hop group from Marseille. They are composed of four rappers, Le Rat Luciano, Menzo, Don Choa and Sat, the producer Pone, DJ Djel, the dancer Blaze, the singer Karima, Flex (fetus) Nandell, and manager Fafa.

Fonky Family made their first appearance on the French hip hop scene in 1994, after IAM had paved the way for new hip hop artists originating from Marseille. In 1995, they appeared in the song titled Les Bad Boys de Marseille on Métèque et mat, the first solo album by IAM's Akhenaton. Their first album, Si Dieu veut, came out in 1997 and soon received a gold album. Karima left the group before the release of the album.

In 1998, the group were invited to collaborate with Akhenaton on the soundtrack of Luc Besson's film Taxi. The film became a huge success and its soundtrack topped the French charts. After numerous collaborations with different members of IAM on their solo albums, the group released an extended play (EP) record with six live and edited titles, titled Hors série volume 1, in spring 1999. Hors série volume 2 was released in 2000.

Their second album, Art de rue, came out in 2001. After that, many members of the group chose to pursue solo careers: Le Rat Luciano had already released a solo album in 2000, and Sat and Don Choa followed in 2001 and 2002 respectively. DJ Djel produced two compilations in 2001 and 2003.

In January 2006, Fonky Family released their third album Marginale Musique (Jive/Sony BMG), which debuted on the French charts straight at number one.

Fonky Family have a global music publishing deal with BMG Music Publishing.

Fonky Family's track "La Furie et la Foi" was used as the soundtrack for French skateboarder JB Gillet's part in the film "Rodney Vs Daewon Round II".

Discography[link]

• 1998 : Si Dieu Veut...
• 1999 : Hors Série Volume 1
• 2001 : Art 2 Rue
• 2001 : Hors Série Volume 2
• 2006 : Marginale Musique

External links[link]

• Fonky Family - Official site
• Fonky Family at MCM.net
• Fonky Family Biography at Radio France International

Helen Thomas
Helen Thomas in February 2009
Born	(1920-08-04) August 4, 1920 (age 91) Winchester, Kentucky
Residence	Washington, D.C.
Citizenship	United States
Alma mater	Wayne State University (formerly Wayne University) (B.A., 1942)
Occupation	Author, retired journalist and columnist
Years active	1943–2010
Religion	Greek Orthodox
Spouse	Douglas B. Cornell (m. 1971–1982)

Helen Thomas (born August 4, 1920) is an American author and former news service reporter, member of the White House Press Corps and opinion columnist of Lebanese Rûm/Melkite descent.^[1] She worked for the United Press and post-1958 successor United Press International (UPI) for 57 years, first as a correspondent, and later as White House bureau manager. She was a columnist for Hearst Newspapers from 2000 to 2010, writing on national affairs and the White House. She covered every President of the United States from the last years of the Eisenhower administration until the second year of the Obama administration. She was the first female officer of the National Press Club, the first female member and president of the White House Correspondents' Association, and the first female member of the Gridiron Club. She has written six books; her latest, with co-author Craig Crawford, is Listen Up, Mr. President: Everything You Always Wanted Your President to Know and Do (2009). Thomas retired on June 7, 2010, following comments she made about Israel, Jews and the Israel/Palestinian conflict.^[2]

Early life and education[link]

Thomas was born in Winchester, Kentucky, the seventh of the ten children of George and Mary (Rowady) Thomas, immigrants from Tripoli, Lebanon.^[3][4] Thomas has said her father's surname, "Antonious," was anglicized to "Thomas" when he entered the U.S. at Ellis Island,^[3] and that her parents could neither read nor write.^[5] Thomas was raised mainly in Detroit, Michigan, where her family moved when she was four years old, and where her father ran a grocery store.^[3][6] Of her experience growing up, Thomas has said,^[7]

"We were never hyphenated as Arab-Americans. We were American, and I have always rejected the hyphen and I believe all assimilated immigrants should not be designated ethnically. Or separated, of course, by race, or creed either. These are trends that ever try to divide us as a people."

She has also said that in Detroit in the 1920s, she came home crying from school, "They wanted to make you feel you weren't 'American'... We were called 'garlic eaters.'.^[6] She was raised as a Christian in the Greek Orthodox Church^[3]

She attended public schools, deciding to become a journalist while she was in high school.^[8] She enrolled at Wayne University (now Wayne State University), in Detroit, receiving a bachelor's degree in English in 1942.^[9]

Early career[link]

Her first job in journalism was as a copygirl for the now-defunct Washington Daily News, but shortly after she was promoted to cub reporter, she was laid off as part of massive cutbacks at the paper. Thomas joined United Press in 1943 and reported on women's topics for its radio wire service, earning $24 ($322 today) a week.^[10][11] Later in the decade, and in the early fifties, she wrote UP's "Names in the News" column, for which she interviewed numerous Washington celebrities.^[12] After 1955, she covered federal agencies such as the Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.

Thomas served as president of the Women's National Press Club from 1959–60. In 1959, Thomas and a few of her fellow female journalists forced the National Press Club, then barred to women, to allow them to attend an address by Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev.

Presidential correspondent[link]

Thomas with Gerald R. Ford and Dick Cheney in 1976

In November 1960, Thomas began covering then President-elect John F. Kennedy, taking the initiative to switch from reporting the "women's angle" to reporting the news of the day.^[13] She became the White House UPI correspondent in January 1961. Thomas became known as the "Sitting Buddha," and the "First Lady of the Press."^[14] It was during Kennedy's administration that she began ending presidential press conferences with a signature "Thank you, Mr. President,"^[15] reviving a tradition started by UPI’s Merriman Smith during the presidency of Franklin Roosevelt.^[16]

In a 2008 article, the Christian Science Monitor described her thusly: "Thomas, a fixture in American politics, is outspoken, blunt, demanding, forceful and unrelenting. Not only does she command respect by the highest powers in the US, her reputation is known worldwide."^[17] When Cuban leader Fidel Castro, was asked in the early 2000s what was the difference between democracy in Cuba and democracy in the United States, Castro reportedly replied, "I don't have to answer questions from Helen Thomas." Thomas considered Castro's reply to be "the height of flattery."^[18]

Thomas was the only female print journalist to travel to China with President Richard Nixon during his historic trip in 1972.^[19] She traveled around the world several times with all U.S. Presidents since Richard Nixon, and covered every Economic Summit since 1975, working up to the position of UPI's White House Bureau Chief, a post she would hold for over 25 years. While serving as White House Bureau Chief, she authored a regular column for UPI, "Backstairs at the White House."^[20] The column provided an insider's view of various presidential administrations.

Thomas was the only member of the White House Press Corps to have her own seat in the White House Briefing Room. All other seats are assigned to media outlets.

Departure from UPI[link]

On May 17, 2000, the day after it was announced that the UPI had been acquired by News World Communications Inc., an international media conglomerate founded and controlled by Unification Church leader Reverend Sun Myung Moon which owns The Washington Times and other news media, Thomas resigned from the UPI after 57 years with the organization.^[21] She later described the change in ownership as "a bridge too far."^[21][22] Less than two months later, she joined Hearst Newspapers as an opinion columnist, writing on national affairs and the White House.^[23]

After leaving her job as a reporter at the UPI, Thomas became more likely to air her personal, negative views. In a speech at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, she quipped, "I censored myself for 50 years when I was a reporter. Now I wake up and ask myself, ‘Who do I hate today?’"^[24]

George W. Bush administration[link]

During President George W. Bush's first term, Thomas reacted to then-Press Secretary Ari Fleisher's statements about arms shipments to the terrorists by asking: "Where do the Israelis get their arms?" He responded "There's a difference Helen, and that is --". "What is the difference?", she asked. He responded: "The targeting of innocents through the use of terror, which is a common enemy for Yasir Arafat and for the people of Israel, as well as --". She interrupted him, saying: "Palestinian people are fighting for their land." He responded: "I think that the killing of innocents is a category entirely different. Justifying killing of innocents for land is an argument in support of terrorism."^[vague][25]

In January 2003, following a speech at a Society of Professional Journalists banquet, Thomas told an autograph-seeker, "I'm covering the worst president in American history." The autograph-seeker was a sports writer for The Daily Breeze and her comments were published. After that she was not called upon during a press conference for the first time in over four decades. She wrote to the President to apologize.^[26]

Traditionally, Thomas sat in the front row and asked the first question during White House press conferences. However, according to Thomas in a 2006 Daily Show interview, this ended because she no longer represented a wire service.^[27] During the Bush administration, Thomas was moved to the back row during press conferences; She was called upon at briefings on a daily basis but no longer ended Presidential news conferences saying, "Thank you, Mr. President." When asked why she was seated in the back row, she said, "they didn’t like me...I ask too mean questions."^[28]

Thomas in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room half an hour before morning gaggle, 2007

On March 21, 2006, Thomas was called upon directly by President Bush for the first time in three years. Thomas asked Bush about the War in Iraq:

I'd like to ask you, Mr. President, [about] your decision to invade Iraq ... Every reason given, publicly at least, has turned out not to be true. My question is: Why did you really want to go to war? .... You have said it wasn't oil...quest for oil, it hasn't been Israel, or anything else. What was it?

Bush responded by discussing the War on Terror, and stated as a reason for the invasion that Saddam Hussein chose to deny inspectors^{[clarification needed]} and not to disclose required information.^[29] Thomas was criticized by some commentators for her exchange with Bush.^{[citation needed]}

In July 2006, she told The Hill, "The day Dick Cheney is going to run for president, I'll kill myself. All we need is another liar... I think he'd like to run, but it would be a sad day for the country if he does."^[30]

At the July 18, 2006, White House press briefing, Thomas remarked, "The United States ... could have stopped the bombardment of Lebanon. We have that much control with the Israelis... we have gone for collective punishment against all of Lebanon and Palestine." Press Secretary Tony Snow responded, "Thank you for the Hezbollah view."^[31] Other members of the press weighed in. According to Washington Post television critic Tom Shales, questions like the one above have sounded more like "tirades" and "anti-Israeli rhetoric."^[32] However, Greg Mitchell of Editor & Publisher described Shales' attack as "disturbing."^[33]

In a press conference on November 30, 2007, Thomas questioned White House Press Secretary Dana Perino as to why Americans should depend on General David Petraeus in determining when to re-deploy U.S troops from Iraq. Perino began to answer when Thomas interjected with "You mean how many more people we kill?" Perino immediately took offense, responding:

Helen, I find it really unfortunate that you use your front row position, bestowed upon you by your colleagues, to make such statements. This is a...it is an honor and a privilege to be in the briefing room, and to suggest that we, the United States, are killing innocent people is just absurd and very offensive.^[34]

Obama administration[link]

President Barack Obama presenting Thomas cupcakes on her 89th birthday^[35]

On February 9, 2009, Thomas was present in the front row for newly elected President Obama's first news conference. President Obama called on her with the statement, "Helen. I'm excited, this is my inaugural moment,"^[36] seemingly a reference to her long-term presence in the White House Press Corps.^[37] Thomas asked if any Middle Eastern country possessed nuclear weapons. Obama replied that he didn't want to "speculate" on the matter.

On July 1, 2009, Thomas commented on the Obama administration's handling of the press, "we have had some control but not this control. I mean I'm amazed, I'm amazed at you people who call for openness and transparency and you have controlled...".^[38][39][40] She also said that not even Richard Nixon tried to control the press as much as President Obama.^[41]

On August 4, 2009, Thomas celebrated her 89th birthday. President Obama, whose birthday is on the same day, presented Thomas with birthday cupcakes and sang Happy Birthday to her before that day's press conference.^[42]

Resignation following comments on Israel and Jews[link]

Thomas retired in June 2010, following negative reaction to comments she had made about Israel, Jews, and Palestine during a brief interview with Rabbi David Nesenoff of RabbiLive.com.^{[1][43][44][45][46][47]} Nesenoff was on the White House grounds for an American Jewish Heritage Celebration Day, and he questioned Thomas as she was leaving the White House via the North Lawn driveway:^{[46][48][49][50]}

Nesenoff: Any comments on Israel? We're asking everybody today, any comments on Israel?

Thomas: Tell them to get the hell out of Palestine.

Nesenoff: Ooh. Any better comments on Israel?

Thomas: Hahaha. Remember, these people are occupied and it's their land. It's not German, it's not Poland...

Nesenoff: So where should they go, what should they do?

Thomas: They can go home.

Nesenoff: Where's the home?

Thomas: Poland, Germany...

Nesenoff: So you're saying the Jews go back to Poland and Germany?

Thomas: And America and everywhere else. Why push people out of there who have lived there for centuries? See?

Nesenoff: Are you familiar with the history of that region?

Thomas: Very much. I'm of Arab background.

Nesenoff: I see. Do you speak Arabic?

Thomas: Very little. We were too busy Americanizing our parents... All the best to you.^[51]

—May 27, 2010, RabbiLive.com ^[46]

A one-minute excerpt of the May 27, 2010 interview was posted on Nesenoff's website on June 3. On June 4, Thomas posted the following response on her web site:

I deeply regret my comments I made last week regarding the Israelis and the Palestinians. They do not reflect my heart-felt belief that peace will come to the Middle East only when all parties recognize the need for mutual respect and tolerance. May that day come soon.^[52][53][54]

She resigned from her job three days later, on June 7, 2010.

Thomas's agency, Nine Speakers, Inc., dropped her as a client because of her remarks.^[55][56] Craig Crawford, who co-authored Listen up, Mr. President, said "I ... will no longer be working with Helen on our book projects.”^[57] Her scheduled delivery of a commencement speech at Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda, Maryland, was canceled by the school.^[58] The White House Correspondents' Association, over which she once presided, issued a statement calling her remarks "indefensible."^[59] On June 7, Thomas abruptly tendered her resignation from Hearst Newspapers.^[60]

On June 8, in an interview on NBC's Today Show, President Obama called her remarks "offensive" and "out of line." and said her retirement was "the right decision." He remarked that it was a "shame" her celebrated career had to end in such controversy, and at the same time he recognized her long service covering U.S. presidents, calling her "a real institution in Washington."^[61] Her comments also garnered rebukes from numerous others, including White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer, former special counsel to and White House spokesman for President Bill Clinton, Lanny Davis, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, and Hoover Institution senior fellow Victor Davis Hanson.^{[52][62][63][64]}

Helen Thomas' alma mater, Wayne State University strongly condemned what it called her "wholly inappropriate comments."^[43]

Thomas' defenders either supported her comments or put them into what they felt was a proper context. These arguments included the belief that she was completely correct and should not have felt any repercussions, that Thomas was only referring to the West Bank when she talked about Israelis getting the hell out of "Palestine," or that her comments could not be explained but should not erase what she had achieved in her memorable career. Hezbollah called Thomas' comments "courageous, bold, honest and free opinion," and Hamas said of her comments that she had "told the truth."^[65][66] Some, such as former White House correspondent Sam Donaldson did not agree with what Thomas said but praised Thomas' achievements as an early female journalist, and said her comments likely reflected the view of many people of Arab descent.^[67] Khalid Amayreh, a Palestinian journalist based in Dura, near Hebron praised Thomas, stating that her remarks were "factually true" and that the "descendants of converts to Judaism originating in the Khazar region, have no automatic right to claim Palestine as their patrimony especially if that dubious right is exercised at the Palestinian people’s expense."^[68]

After Thomas' resignation from UPI, her coveted front row center seat in the White House Briefing Room was awarded to the Associated Press (AP), while Fox News moved from the second row into the AP's former front row position.^[69]

In August 2010, a group of Holocaust survivors and relatives criticized the Arab American National Museum of Dearborn, Michigan for its plans to place a statue of Helen Thomas in its museum, saying that it would be immoral to honor her and that "American values are at stake."^[70][71]

In October 2010, Thomas said in a radio interview with Scott Spears of WMRN that she realized soon after making the comments that she would be fired, stating, "I hit the third rail. You cannot criticize Israel in this country and survive." She added that she issued an apology because people were upset, but that ultimately, she still "had the same feelings about Israel's aggression and brutality."^[72]

The president of the Society of Professional Journalists, Kevin Smith, said in June that Thomas's comments were "offensive" and "inexcusable."^[43] The society was later asked why it decided to continue the Helen Thomas Award for Lifetime Achievement after Thomas's comments. Smith's successor as the society's president, Hagit Limor replied in December: "We discussed the issue at our exec board meeting in July 2010. The majority believed this to be a one-time slip that didn't change Ms. Thomas's lifetime of service, which is what we were honoring." ^[73][74] However, on January 14, 2011, the Society of Professional Journalists voted to retire the Helen Thomas Award for Lifetime Achievement; stating that it staunchly defends the right to free speech, but that "the controversy surrounding this award has overshadowed the reason it exists." "...No individual worthy of such honor should have to face this controversy. No honoree should have to decide if the possible backlash is worth being recognized for his or her contribution to journalism."^[75] "SPJ will simply not give a lifetime achievement award (anymore)" said Scott Leadingham, spokesman for SPJ.^[76]

Later career[link]

2010 speech on Arab Americans[link]

On December 2, 2010, shortly before a speech for the eighth annual "Images and Perceptions of Arab Americans" conference at the Byblos Banquet Center on Chase, Thomas told reporters that she still stood by the comments she had made to Nesenoff. Referring to her resignation, she said "I paid a price, but it's worth it to speak the truth."^[77][78][79] During the speech, Thomas said: "Congress, the White House and Hollywood, Wall Street are owned by Zionists. No question, in my opinion."^[77] Thomas defended her comments on December 7, telling Scott Spears of Marion, Ohio AM radio station WMRN, "I just think that people should be enlightened as to who is in charge of the opinion in this country."^[80]

The next day, the Anti-Defamation League called for journalism schools and organizations to rescind any honors given to Thomas. The organization said that Thomas had "clearly, unequivocally revealed herself as a vulgar anti-Semite" in the speech.^[81] Hours later, Wayne State University in Detroit discontinued the Helen Thomas Spirit of Diversity in Media Award, which it had been granting for more than ten years, citing what it called her antisemitic remarks. The school issued a statement saying: "As a public university, Wayne State encourages free speech and open dialogue, and respects diverse viewpoints. However, the university strongly condemns the anti-Semitic remarks made by Helen Thomas...". Speaking for the school, Matthew Seeger said: "The controversy has brought a negative light to the award, which was never the intent of the award."^[77] Thomas herself reacted with scolding remarks saying that "the leaders of Wayne State University have made a mockery of the First Amendment and disgraced their understanding of its inherent freedom of speech and the press." She also stated that "the university also has betrayed academic freedom—a sad day for its students."^[82] The university's Arab American Student Union held a protest on campus December 10. In a news release the Palestine Cultural Office of Michigan made a call for concerned individuals to contact the university. Also, members of the Congress of Arab American Organizations held a meeting with university officials on December 7 in an attempt to make them repeal their decision, but a later response from the university said it would not reverse its position.^[83] Asked by the Detroit Free Press how she'd respond to people who say she's anti-Semitic, Thomas responded: 'I'd say I'm a Semite. What are you talking about?'".^[84]

[edit] 2011 Playboy interview

In March 2011, Thomas did an interview with David Hochman, a reporter for the men's magazine Playboy. Asked by Hochman to explain her controversial remarks about Israel and Jews in particular, made in May 2010, she said, "Well, there's no understanding [on the part of the Israelis] of the Palestinians at all. I mean, they're living there and [the Israelis] want to come and take their homes and land and water and kill their children and kill them." When asked what she had meant when she commented that "they" should go back to Germany, Poland and America, Thomas replied that the millions of German, Polish, American and Russian Jews who have come to Israel in recent years should have stayed where they were as they have not been persecuted since World War II. Upon being asked if she recognizes that Palestinian hijacking and suicide bombing is wrong, Thomas answered, "Of course I don't condone any violence against anyone. But who wouldn't fight for their country?...The suicide bombers act out of despair and desperation." Thomas insisted she does not feel antisemitism toward Jews at all: "I think they're wonderful people. They had to have the most depth. They were leaders in civil rights."

Later in the interview, when asked by Hochman if she stood by her December 2010 accusations that Zionists own the White House, Hollywood and Wall Street, Thomas answered that she did stand by those remarks. When confronted with the fact that Jews constitute a small percentage of the total population, Thomas told Hochman: "I know where you're leading with this. You know damn well the power [Jews] have...It's real power when you own the White House, when you own these other places in terms of your political persuasion. Of course they have power. You don't deny that. You're Jewish, aren't you?" Hochman said that he was Jewish.

Thomas accused Israel of treating the Palestinians as the Nazis had treated the Jews of Germany and Poland and Hungary: "They can't just come in and say, 'This is my home,' knock on the door at three in the morning and have the Israeli military take them out. That's what happens. And that's what happened to the Jews [during the Holocaust]. Why do [the Israelis] inflict that same pain on people who did nothing to them?"^[85]

Awards[link]

Thomas has received numerous awards and more than 30 honorary degrees. In 1976, Thomas was named one of the World Almanac's 25 Most Influential Women in America.^[86]

In 1986 she received the William Allen White Foundation Award for Journalistic Merit from the University of Kansas.^[15] Thomas received an Al Neuharth Award for Excellence in the Media from the Freedom Forum in 1991. The White House Correspondent's Association honored her in 1998 by establishing the Helen Thomas Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2000, her alma mater, Wayne State University, established an award for journalists in her honor, the Helen Thomas Spirit of Diversity award;^[87] but in December 2010, the award was discontinued by Wayne State citing her renewed remarks that she stands by what she had said earlier in May to Nesenoff. Speaking for Wayne State, Matthew Seeger, its interim dean said, that the award is given to promote the importance of diversity in the media; but this award “is no longer helping us achieve our goals.”^[88] In 2007, Thomas received a Foremother Award from the National Research Center for Women & Families.

In October 2010, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) honored Thomas with a lifetime achievement award.^[89][90]

In April 2012, Thomas received an award from the Palestine Liberation Organization's General Mission to the United States. The award was presented by PLO Executive Committee member Hanan Ashrawi to “recognize Thomas’ long career in the field of journalism, during which she defended the Palestinian position every step of the way.”^[91]

Bibliography[link]

• Listen Up Mr. President: Everything You Always Wanted Your President to Know and Do. (with co-author Craig Crawford) (Charles Scribner's Sons, 2009) ISBN 1-4391-4815-5
• The Great White House Breakout. (with co-author and illustrator Chip Bok) (Penguin Group, 2008) ISBN 978-0-8037-3300-8 (children's book)
• Watchdogs of Democracy? : The Waning Washington Press Corps and How It Has Failed the Public (Charles Scribner's Sons, 2006) ISBN 0-7432-6781-8
• Thanks for the Memories, Mr. President : Wit and Wisdom from the Front Row at the White House (Charles Scribner's Sons, 2003) ISBN 0-7432-0226-0
• Front Row at the White House : My Life and Times (Scribner, 2000) ISBN 0-684-86809-1
• Dateline: White House (Macmillan, 1975) ISBN 0-02-617620-3

See also[link]

• Rick Sanchez
• Octavia Nasr
• News conference

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Helen Thomas

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Helen Thomas

• Helen Thomas at the Internet Movie Database
• Helen Thomas collected news and commentary at The New York Times
• Works by or about Helen Thomas in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
• Magda Abu-Fadil (August 4, 2010). "Happy Birthday Helen!". Huffington Post. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/magda-abufadil/happy-birthday-helen_b_669977.html. 
• Michael Sneed (August 3, 2010). "Where is Helen Thomas?". Chicago Sun-Times. http://www.suntimes.com/news/sneed/2559812,CST-NWS-SNEED03.article. ^{[dead link]}
• "RadioLIVE New Zealand interview with Helen Thomas" (Audio). RadioLIVE New Zealand. Posted June 15, 2010. http://www.radiolive.co.nz/Interview-with-veteran-White-House-correspondent-Helen-Thomas/tabid/506/articleID/14131/Default.aspx. 
• "Elders Part 4 - Helen Thomas" (Transcript of Andrew Denton interview with Helen Thomas). July 7, 2008. http://www.abc.net.au/tv/enoughrope/transcripts/s2296751.htm. 
• David Chambers (March–April 2006). Calling Helen Thomas. 57. Saudi Aramco World. http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/200602/calling.helen.thomas.htm.  discusses Thomas impact on younger Arab-American journalists.
• "Truth, Fear and War", speech by Thomas, September 13, 2003.
• Oral History Interview with Helen Thomas, from the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library
• Oct. 2010 Interview of Helen Thomas by Scott Spears (WMRN)

Saint Stephen
Saint Stephen in Glory (detail) (1601) by Giacomo Cavedone
Deacon and Protomartyr
Died	c. 34 Jerusalem
Honored in	Roman Catholic Church Eastern Orthodox Church Oriental Orthodox Church Eastern Catholic Churches Lutheran Church Anglican Church
Feast	26 December (Western) 27 December (Eastern)
Attributes	stones, dalmatic, censer, miniature church, Gospel Book, martyr's palm, orarion
Patronage	casket makers; deacons; Altar Servers; headaches; horses; masons; Serbia[1]

Saint Stephen (Koine Greek: Στέφανος, Stephanos; sometimes spelled "Stephan"), the protomartyr of Christianity, is venerated as a saint in the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran,^[2] Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Orthodox Churches.

Stephen's name is derived from the Greek language Stephanos, meaning "crown". Traditionally, Stephen is invested with a crown of martyrdom; he is often depicted in art with three stones and the martyrs' palm. In Eastern Christian iconography, he is shown as a young, beardless man with a tonsure, wearing a deacon's vestments, and often holding a miniature church building or a censer. Rembrandt depicted his martyrdom in his work The Stoning of Saint Stephen.

Martyrdom[link]

Saint Stephen preaching.

History approximates Stephen's story around A.D. 34-35, shortly after Jesus' crucifixion^{[citation needed]}. According to Chapter 6 of The Acts of the Apostles, Stephen was among seven men of the early church at Jerusalem appointed to serve as deacon. However, he is depicted as also successfully preaching to his fellow Jews and bringing many to accept Jesus as the Messiah. After a dispute with the members of a synagogue of "Roman Freedmen," he is denounced for blasphemy against God and Moses (Acts 6:11) and speaking against the Temple and the Law. Stephen is tried before the Sanhedrin. His defense is presented as accusing the Jews of persecuting the prophets who had spoken out against the sins of the nation:

"Which one of the Prophets did your fathers not persecute, and they killed the ones who prophesied the coming of the Just One, of whom now, too, you have become betrayers and murderers." (7:52)

While on trial, he experienced a theophany in which he saw both God the Father and God the Son:

"Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God." (Acts 7:56) This vision of Christ standing differs from other Scripture which indicates Jesus sits at the right hand of God - perhaps inferring that Christ stood in honor of Stephen whose martyrdom was near.

He is condemned and stoned to death by an infuriated mob, which is encouraged by Saul of Tarsus, later to be known as Saint Paul the Apostle. After his own conversion to Christianity, Paul makes reference to witnessing Stephen's martyrdom in his writings.^[3]

Hagiography[link]

Saint Stephen's hagiography is included in Jacobus de Voragine's Golden Legend. De Voragine's version of the legend begins with an etymology from Isidore of Seville's Etymologies: Stephen (from Greek stephanos, "crown") also comes from the Hebrew word for "pattern" [Hebrew "tabniyth"?] since he was the first martyr of the New Testament, he set the pattern for suffering in Christ. He adds etymologies from other sources: Or his name comes from strenue fans, "speaking strongly," because of his manner of speaking and his religious doctrines. Or it comes from strenue stans, "laudably standing" or fans anibus, "instructing and ruling over old women." Thus, according to de Voragine, "Stephen is a crown because he is first in martyrdom, a norm by his example in suffering and his way of life, a zealous speaker in his praiseworthy teaching of the widows."^[4]

The version in the Golden Legend proceeds to depict Stephen, in keeping with the Biblical account, as one of seven deacons appointed by the Apostles to appease the widows among the Greek-speaking Christians of the Church in Jerusalem. It goes on to tell how, jealous of Stephen's success in his ministry to his fellow Jews, the Jewish authorities conspire to bring him down. First, they attempt to defeat him by way of argument, but are unsuccessful since the Holy Spirit enlightens Stephen with divine wisdom. Next, they bring false witnesses, who accuse him of blaspheming against God, Moses, the Law and the Temple. Aided by an angel, Stephen refutes every point, a refutation recounted in some detail. Finally, they try torture; still, Stephen attempts to convert them by inciting shame and fear in them, and, showing his love for them, he prays for his opponents as they stone him to death.^[4]

St Stephen at Bet Gemal[link]

The St. Stephen Church at the Bet Gemal monastery in Israel

In 1916, the Salesians of Don Bosco at Beit Jimal Monastery (Bet Gemal) discovered a mosaic floor during excavations for a small construction. Fr Maurizio Gisler, a Swiss Benedictine monk of the Dormition Abbey on Mount Sion, Jerusalem, gave his opinion that the mosaics belonged to a Byzantine Church of the 5th century.^[5] The Salesians and Fr Gisler knew of the letter of the priest Lucian of Kfargamla, who in 415 wrote to the churches of East and West announcing the discovery of the tomb of St Stephen, together with that of Nicodemus (see John 3) and the Rabbi Gamaliel, member of the Sanhedrin and uncle of Nicodemus (Acts 5:34-39), and of one of his two sons, Abibos. The letter begins thus: "Lucian... priest of the church of God in Kfargamla, in the territory of Jerusalem, to the holy church and to all the saints who are in Christ Jesus in the whole world, greetings in the Lord." Lucian continues: on 3 December 415, while he was sleeping in the baptistery of his church, he had a vision of a man, tall, dressed in priestly vestments and a mantle covered with jewels and with the sign of the cross, who said to him: 'Go to the city of Elia (i.e. Jerusalem) and say to the bishop John: "How long are we to remain closed up? When are you going to open us up?" It is absolutely necessary that during your service as bishop you bring to light our mortal remains, which lie abandoned and forgotten. I am not so much worried about myself, as about those who are buried with me, who are saints and worthy of honour.' Upon being asked who he was, the personage replied: 'I am Gamaliel, teacher of Paul, Apostle of Christ, and I used to teach the Law at Jerusalem. Next to me lies Stephen, who for his faith in Christ was stoned to death by the Jews and by the priests of Jerusalem, outside the Northern Gate from which a path leads to the valley of Kedron. There the body of Stephen, by order of the wicked leaders of the city, was left exposed day and night without being buried, that it might be devoured by animals. Nevertheless, by the will of God, no animal touched it, no ferocious animal, no bird, no dog. I, Gamaliel, who admired Stephen greatly and wanted to join him in his faith, sent my servants in secret to carry the body of Stephen on my cart to my property at Kfargamla, which means "property of Gamaliel", 20 miles [about 30 kms] from the city. I told them that he should be buried in my tomb and that they should buy whatever was necessary for the burial, at my expense.' Gamaliel went on to explain that the one buried next to Stephen was his nephew Nicodemus who was baptized by Peter and John (whom he later defended) and who had therefore to suffer persecutions by the Jews. Finally he spoke of his son Abibos who together with him had embraced Christianity, while the other son and his wife remained Hebrews and were buried in the native place of his wife.^[6]

Gamaliel appeared twice more to Lucian, because Lucian wanted to be sure that the vision had come from God and that he was not being deceived. In the third apparition, Lucian was severely rebuked for his incredulity. He then decided to search for the tomb, and found it not far from the church near which he was living. The remains of the four persons, Stephen, Nicodemus, Gamaliel and his son Abibos, were carried to Jerusalem on orders of Bishop John and deposited in the Mother Church of Hagia Maria Sion Abbey (or Dormition Abbey on Mount Sion), the church of the Cenacle. Lucian had to be satisfied with some relics, conserved in a monument of mausoleum, which Bishop John constructed to console him for his loss.^[7]

In 614 the Persians under Khosrau II destroyed all the churches of Palestine, except the Church of the Nativity at Bethlehem, because of the representations of the three Magi, dressed as Persians, on the facade. The church at Kfargamla was also destroyed and, as happened to many other historical or biblical sites of the Old and New Testaments, it was soon forgotten, its memory vanished.^[8]

The Salesians and Fr Gisler, in 1916, knowing the letter of Lucian, immediately made the connection between Kfargamla and Bet Gemal, with the word 'Bet' (house) in place of 'Kfar' (village, settlement). The distance, 30 kms, corresponded to that indicated by Lucian. Convinced of having found the tombo of St Stephen, the Salesians built a church over the mosaics in 1930, of the same dimensions as the Byzantine church, and called it the "Church of St Stephen." Not all, however, accepted this identification of Kfar Gamla with Bet Gemal. The greatest opposition came from the Dominicans (Fr Lagrange, Fr Abel, etc.) of the École Biblique of Jerusalem, who were supporting another locality, Jammal, 30 kms north of Jerusalem.^[9]

In 1999, Fr Andrzej Strus, a Salesian from Poland, professor at the Salesian Pontifical University (UPS), Rome, began archaeological excavations at a site called Jiljil, also itself on the Salesian property at Bet Gemal, about 300 metres from the new Church of Stephen. He found the remains of a circular structure, which had last served as a winepress. However, its original use appeared to be different, because the structure was very well built, with precise Byzantine measures. Fr Strus proposed that it was a funeral monument, a mausoleum, built in honour of an important person or a saint. He believed that this circular structure (Stephen means 'crown' in Greek) was the monument that John, Bishop of Jerusalem, had constructed at Kfargamla, to house the relics of St Stephen, when the body was carried back to Jerusalem.^[10] Strus supplies arguments for the transformation of Kfar gamla into Bet Gemal.^[11] Strus concludes: "If the identification of Bet Gemal with Kaphar Gamla is correct, Kh. El-Jiljil could be the most probable place where one needs to search for the tomb of St Stephen and for the remnants of his first memorial."^[12]

In 2003, near this circular structure was found a stone architrave or lintel with a tabula ansata. A tabula ansata on a lintel indicates that there was something written or carved on this. The writing was, however, indecipherable. However, Fr Puech, expert in ancient writing from the Ecole Biblique, identified the writing and published an article in Revue Biblique.^[13] The writing ran: "DIAKONIKON STEPHANOU PROTOMARTYROS." Diakonikon means a place for conserving relics. This is therefore solid evidence for identifying Bet Gemal with the ancient Kfar Gamla, where St Stephen was buried.^[14]

St. Stephen's Day[link]

Public holidays[link]

In Western Christianity, 26 December is called "St. Stephen's Day", the "feast of Stephen" mentioned in the English Christmas carol "Good King Wenceslas". It is a public holiday in many nations that were historically Catholic, Anglican or Lutheran: Austria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Luxembourg, Slovakia, Poland, Italy, Germany, Finland. In Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United Kingdom, the day is celebrated as "Boxing Day". In Catalonia (though not elsewhere in Spain), it is rendered as Sant Esteve and is a bank holiday. In France, the day of Saint Étienne is a bank holiday in the Alsace-Moselle region, but not elsewhere. Ligao City Albay and in Tuguegarao City, Philippines, celebrates a fiesta on this day in honor of St. Stephen Protomartyr, its patron saint. In the Republic of Ireland it is Wren's Day, when children carry a wren from house to house, asking for money.

The Republika Srpska claims Saint Stephen as its patron saint. The Republika was proclaimed on 9 January 1992 (December 27, Saint Stephen's Day, on the Julian calendar observed by Orthodox Christians), and that date is observed as a national holiday known as "Republic Day".

Byzantine icon, 11th c.

Western Christianity[link]

In the current norms for the liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church, the feast is celebrated at the Eucharist, but, for the Liturgy of the Hours, is restricted to the Hours during the day, with Evening Prayer being reserved to the celebration of the Octave of Christmas.

The General Roman Calendar used to include a feast on 3 August of the Invention of the Relics of St Stephen — "Invention," (Latin: inventio), meaning "finding" or "discovery" — to commemorate the finding of St Stephen's relics during the reign of Emperor Honorius. In the Tridentine Calendar, this feast was celebrated as a "Semidouble", a rank that it lost in 1955, when Pope Pius XII reduced it to the rank of "Simple". It was one of the second feasts of a single saint removed from the calendar by Pope John XXIII in 1960, and, while it is celebrated by those traditionalist Catholics who observe earlier versions of the Roman calendar, it is not celebrated by those who, in accordance with Pope Benedict XVI's motu proprio, Summorum Pontificum, observe the 1962 calendar.

Eastern Christianity[link]

In the Eastern Orthodox Church and those Eastern Catholic Churches which follow the Byzantine Rite, Saint Stephen's feast day is celebrated on December 27. This day is also called the "Third Day of the Nativity".

Santo Estêvão Church, Santo Estêvão (Jua) A pale pink building with three doors. The central door is double, with each half depicting a human figure in blue. Atop the third story stands a tower (possibly with bells) on each side and crucifix-topped dome in the center.

In India, the Feast of Saint Stephen is celebrated in the former Portuguese colony of Goa, where Santo Estêvão Island is named after him. Santo Estêvão Church on the island of Jua was built in 1759 (see image).^{[citation needed]}

The Eastern Orthodox Church still celebrates the discovery of the saint's relics on 15 September and the translation of his relics on 2 August. The September feast celebrates the discovery of Stephen's relics in 415, after which they were solemnly transferred to a church built in his honor in Jerusalem. Later, during the reign of Theodosius the Younger, the relics were transported to Constantinople, the event commemorated in August. The 4 January marks the commemoration of the "Synaxis of the 70 Apostles". Since Stephen is included in these 70 Apostles mentioned in the "Acts of the Apostles", he is also remembered on that day.

Tomb[link]

Many churches are named in honor of Saint Stephen, but there was no official "Tomb of St Stephen" until 415. When Christian pilgrims were traveling in large numbers to Jerusalem, a priest named Lucian said he had learned by a vision that the tomb was in Caphar Gamala, some distance to the north of Jerusalem.

Gregory of Tours reported that the intercession of Stephen preserved an oratory dedicated to him at Metz, in present-day France. His relics were preserved when the oratory was left standing, after Huns burned the remainder of the city on Easter Eve, 451.^[15]

Commemorative places[link]

See also: St. Stephen's Cathedral, St. Stephen's Church

St. Stephen Church in Batroun, Lebanon

• Saint Étienne, France, and numerous other places named Saint Étienne in the French-speaking world
• Brisbane, Queensland, Australia – The Cathedral of St Stephen, Brisbane
• Vienna, Austria – Stephansdom, the Cathedral of St. Stephen, founded 1147 and seat of Cardinal Archbishop of Vienna. Symbol of the city of Vienna and of Austria, has the tallest spire in Austria and is the country's most famous church
• Rome – San Lorenzo fuori le Mura, where his remains are interred with those of the eponymous saint under the altar
• Old city of Jerusalem – the "Lions' Gate" is also called St. Stephanus Gate, after the tradition that Stephen's stoning occurred here, though it probably occurred at Damascus Gate
• London – St Stephen's Chapel in the Palace of Westminster was originally built in the reign of Henry III of England; it became the first site of the debating chamber of the British House of Commons
• Dublin – St. Stephen's Green
• Manila, Philippines – St. Stephen's Parish and St. Stephen's High School
• San Salvador, El Salvador, San Esteban, San Salvador
• St Stephen's House, Oxford – Permanent Private Hall of the University of Oxford and Anglican Theological College
• St Stephen's Church, Bristol – the first city church built outside the walls around c.1250, rebuilt c1430-1490.
• St. Stephens, Alabama – Alabama Territorial capital from 1817 to 1819.
• St. Stephen, New Brunswick
• St. Stephen, South Carolina
• Church of St. Stephen the Martyr, New York City, established 1848.
• St. Stephen Catholic Church (Ona, West Virginia) [2]
• St. Stephen's Church, Kombuthurai, built by St. Francis Xavier in India in 1542.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Saint Stephen

• "St. Stephen, the First Martyr"
• "St. Stephen". Catholic Encyclopedia. 1913. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14286b.htm. 
• "Apostle Stephen the Protomartyr"