Wednesday

THE DAILY WAR!
 
Non-pagan/papal date: 10-24
 
THE HOLY ROMAN
 
Here is B16's message for the 40th World Communications Day. The message is entitled "The Media: A Network for Communication, Communion and Cooperation."
 
B16 says his first encyclical, "Deus Caritas Est," is inspired in part by Dante Alighieri's "Divine Comedy."
 
The president of the Italian bishops' conference has reiterated his stand that Church leaders will not be silenced, but will continue to speak out on important public moral issues.
 
A commentary by Capuchin Father Raniero Cantalamessa prompted questions about the status of unbaptized children who die. The topic has been under the consideration by the International Theological Commission.
 
 
EMPIRE OF THE GERMAN NATION
 
The name of Nuremberg is an evocative one. A major trading city in medieval times, it became the unofficial capital of the Holy Roman Empire and was the seat of German Kings.
 
Angela Merkel angered the German opposition by failing to challenge President Jaques Chirac on his comments that France would consider a nuclear response to countries sponsoring state terrorism in the event of an attack.
 
Angela Merkel will give the opening speech, on the topic of European integration, at the World Economic Forum in Davos today.
 
 
EUROPE/RUSSIA
 
Dailies across the continent believe that a Swiss MP's investigation into secret CIA prisons in Europe has little to show for itself, and others believe that the recent British spy scandal in Russia is part of an attempt by President Putin to curb NGOs.
 
The president of the European Commission was booed and heckled Tuesday in the French National Assembly as he defended himself and his Brussels colleagues against accusations that they favored free markets at the expense of social protections.
 
Europe's new police force could be in action in trouble spots worldwide as early as this year, France's defence minister said this week during its inauguration by ministers from the 5 participating EU countries.
 
Today Saxe-Coburgs occupy two royal thrones in Britain and Belgium and one prime ministerial limousine in post-communist Bulgaria. Not a bad record for a penniless princeling from a small German province.
 
 
 
MIDEAST/AFRICA/ASIA
 
Ehud Olmert, in his first major policy address since he became Israel's acting prime minister, said that he backed the creation of a Palestinian state and that Israel would have to relinquish parts of the West Bank to maintain its Jewish majority.
 
Is there a person anywhere in the world who still thinks there is an ounce of sanity in the Bush administration? John Bolton is Bush’s unconfirmed ambassador to the UN. A neoconservative warmonger, he has managed to get the UN Security Council on January 23 to instruct Syria to disband and disarm the Lebanese militias. How is Syria to meet this demand?
 

Iran has defended its plan to stage a conference questioning the Holocaust, accusing the British prime minister of "intolerance" for criticising the event.

 
Two bombs exploded in a bank and outside a government building on Tuesday, killing 6 people and wounding 46 in the southwestern city of Ahvaz, which has a history of violence involving members of Iran's Arab minority.
 
The US and European drive to rebuke Iran over its nuclear activities has run into new difficulties, raising doubts about whether the IAEA would refer Iran quickly to the UNSC for possible punitive action. 
 
Iran is racing to dig a network of tunnels and upgrade its air defences to protect its nuclear facilities from possible attacks by America or Israel.
 
The Iranians are contemplating two developments. First, to create a new oil exchange in March 2006, which will sell Iranian oil for euros. Second, to develop the nation's nuclear technology capabilities, possibly for producing nuclear weapons, but officially for the generation of electricity. In contrast to its official concern over Iran's nuclear developments, the Bush Administration says not a word publicly about the first development, strictly peaceful, which would create new international demand for euros in place of dollars. This is about oil, political power, currencies, and above all, legitimacy.
 
Speculations have begun regarding whether the proposed March 2006 launch of the Iranian oil bourse, will become the catalyst for a significant blow to the position of the US dollar?
 
King Abdullah has held talks with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during his landmark visit to India. India's growing economy is fuelling greater energy needs and Saudi Arabia supplies a quarter of its oil.
 
The alliance serving as Africa's voice to the world recoiled yesterday from making Sudan's military ruler its chairman but chose instead another dictator who seized power by force.
 
 
HOUSE OF ISRAEL
 
In short, if Bush does not confront Iran on the nuclear issue with sanctions or air strikes, he may find himself confronted by Israelis and their US auxiliaries.
 
From executive orders to undeclared wars, the White House has gone unchecked since long before George W. Bush.
 
For some people, it's such a sensitive topic they would prefer no one discussed it at all. But if Samuel Alito is confirmed to the Supreme Court, it will be the first time in American history that 5 sitting justices will be Catholic.
 
The continued existence of the US as a republic may depend upon the defeat of the nomination of Federalist Society member Samuel Alito.
 
Texas law enforcement officers and Border Patrol agents engaged in an armed standoff with Mexican military personnel and drug smugglers just inside the United States along the Rio Grande yesterday afternoon.
 
 
ECONOMY
 
If you believe most statistics, the economy is doing quite well. Corporate profit is soaring. Consumer spending and business investment have been growing at a healthy clip. Yet, amid the vim and vigor, there is a weak spot that does not quite mesh with these readings.
 
Thanks to a steady increase in oil output in recent years, Russia is now poised to displace Saudi Arabia as the key energy supplier to the West. But the kingdom has not welcomed Russia's gain. The emerging contest for oil dominance between Russia and Saudi Arabia will profoundly affect US energy security, Russia's global role, Saudi power, and OPEC, not to mention the global economy.
 
Economic nationalism in various guises is on the rise across the world. And this could have cascading implications for politics, economics and business.
 
 
MISC
 
E.I.R. STRATEGIC ALERT (PDF document)
Stock Markets Tumble; Labor Revolt Against EU Commission; Germany Has To Revive Economic Sovereignty
 
Only 5% of the Universe is a usual visible matter, all the rest is mysterious dark substances.
 
 
 
#10-24
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