THE DAILY WAR!
Non-pagan/papal date: 11-04
THE HOLY ROMAN
What B16 calls relativism are actually the values of secular liberalism. He can accuse secularists of believing in the wrong things. But that's not the same as believing in nothing.
Here is a translation of the homily B16 gave at vespers on the feast of the Conversion of St. Paul, Jan. 25, marking the conclusion of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.
B16 will meet with leaders of the Roman Curia on February 13. The top item on the agenda for discussion, according to an Italian media report, will be the Vatican efforts to achieve a reconciliation with the traditionalist Society of St. Pius X.
Secularism is not simple acceptance of religion "as a private event, as a sect in the market of religious sentiments or as a vague and generic mysticism," says a Vatican official.
A cardinal warned in Madrid this week against “ideological totalitarian tendencies” that “can manifest themselves in regimes that consider themselves democratic.”
EMPIRE OF THE GERMAN NATION
Merkel and her foreign policy chief have reoriented Berlin's foreign policy, restoring Germany's pivotal role as Europe's largest country and one situated in the middle of Europe.
From Moscow to Gaza, Merkel's cool, pragmatic style wins praise. Nobody who's followed her rapid rise in politics can quite believe her splash debut on the international stage.
Volkswagen's chief executive is mounting a vigorous defense of his company's practices - and of the way that Germany does business.
"How a US business is run versus a German business is completely different."
"How a US business is run versus a German business is completely different."
EUROPE/RUSSIA
Tony Blair criticised the European Constitution yesterday, only months after "wholeheartedly" recommending it to the British people at the general election.
As more than 300 defense ministers and top security officials will meet in Munich this weekend, NATO officials have hinted at ideas to expand the alliance into a global organization.
Western governments appealed for calm before Friday prayers as the storm over the publication and broadcast of cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad escalated.
The furore in Europe and around the world over the publication of cartoons depicting Mohammed, and which ridicule other aspects of Islam, is but the latest example of an increasingly dangerous cultural clash.
Newspapers around the world have published editorials this morning addressing the row over the Danish Muhammad cartoons.
The controversy generated by cartoons of Muhammad continues to make front-page headlines and dominates editorials. Most papers argue that in democratic societies, the right to free speech must come above the need to protect religious sensibilities.
Putin was deeply concerned about the negative reactions of Western states to Russia's foreign and home policies.
MIDEAST/AFRICA/ASIA
Saudi Arabia's Interior Minister stated that he believed the Iranian nuclear programme to be for peaceful ends, while one cannot say the same for Israel.
The IAEA will report Iran to the UNSC when it reconvenes in Vienna this afternoon, diplomats say.
Iran's clerical regime is supremely confident, has a firm grip on power and is ready to retaliate against attacks by America or Israel with missiles or by activating terrorist allies, according to the latest US intelligence assessment.
HOUSE OF ISRAEL
President Bush had plans to lure Saddam Hussein into war by flying an aircraft over Iraq painted in UN colours in the hope he would shoot it down, a book reveals.
Congress sent President Bush a 2nd 5-week extension of the Patriot Act as Senate negotiators worked to close a deal with the White House on renewing the antiterrorism law with some new civil liberties protections.
[WAR: Hmmm . . . will an attack happen between now and then in order to insure the extension of the act?]
Average Americans can see dramatic changes in culture, economy and politics. As a rule, the changes took place because of the ongoing war against the international terrorism. Therefore, there is nothing surprising about the fact that the Pentagon has undergone the majority of the changes against such a background.
If you are reading this, you survived a predicted nuclear attack on Texas City. Recent weeks have seen the city mentioned as the subject of rampant Internet and e-mail claims suggesting that emergency management officials were preparing for some form of attack. Officials with several agencies said those reports are false.
On the eve of Super Bowl Sunday, the Monitor wondered: Is this the last unifying event in a fractured pop culture?
ECONOMY
The European Central Bank on Thursday laid the groundwork for a rate increase next month, its 2nd in 5 years, saying that Europe was continuing to grow and that inflation remained a threat.
MISC
New evidence keeps emerging that the medical profession has sold its soul in exchange for what can only be described as bribes from the manufacturers of drugs and medical devices.
#11-04
