THE DAILY WAR!
Non-pagan/papal date: 11-17
THE HOLY ROMAN
B16 has appointed Archbishop Michael Fitzgerald as apostolic nuncio in Egypt and the Holy See's delegate to the League of Arab States.
Here is a translation of the address B16 gave at yesterday's general audience, which he dedicated to comment on the Magnificat, the canticle in Luke 1:46-55.
B16 and the Roman Curia leaders will reportedly resume their discussion at another meeting late in March.
EMPIRE OF THE GERMAN NATION
Zero growth in last year's 4Q has left Germany waiting at the race's starting line, when many had expected to begin this year approaching full trot. The disagreement is whether it's German production capacity or consumption capacity which will lead to economic growth.
German fighter jets have been banned from shooting down hijacked passenger aircraft, even if it looks as if they are about to be used in a terrorist attack against crowded buildings or football stadiums. “It is only 3 months before the start of the World Cup and we urgently have to bring some clarity into the situation,” said Edmund Stoiber.
Wednesday's high court ruling against a law which would allow hijacked planes to be shot from the skies, has provoked a mixed reaction in German editorials.
For years, UNESCO has been appealing to nations across the globe to promote their indigenous languages by filling classrooms with their multi-colored vernacular. Bavaria has decided to heed the call.
EUROPE/RUSSIA
The German press welcomes the scrapping of a law allowing the military to shoot down planes hijacked for terrorist attacks. French dailies deride President Chirac as he orders home an asbestos-lined aircraft carrier headed to India to be broken up. And across central Europe, papers are concerned at the political and economic impact of bird flu.
In the face of escalating attacks against foreigners in the Muslim world, the European Union's chief executive on Wednesday laid down a clear marker for violent critics of the Prophet Muhammed cartoons, saying that Europe now had to fight for its core European values, including freedom of speech.
The idea that the cartoons were a deliberate provocation to get us to behave badly is being encouraged by Pakistani officialdom: various political groups have condemned "the planned conspiracy by the West to instigate the Muslims"; the Foreign Office has said the cartoons are part of "sinister agendas."
(LR: Cartoons and provocation)
In case you missed it yesterday...
"The Italian right called for a crusade. A minister in Prime Minister Berlusconi's cabinet, called in all seriousness for B16 to lead the Christian world against the 'threat of Islam' just has his predecessors did in the 16th and 17th centuries. Just as a major reaction was necessary then to beat back the Turks from the gates of Vienna, he said, counter-measures are necessary." (Der Spiegel)
The death of Kosovo Albanian president Ibrahim Rugova late last month came at a particularly delicate time for the Western Balkans. Talks on Kosovo's future status begin on Monday.
The EU is heading daringly back into the minefield of Caucasus politics, driven by its new concerns about reliable and diversified energy supplies after the sudden interruptions caused by the row over natural gas supplies and pipelines between Russia and Ukraine.
When Britain, France and Germany meet with Russia over Iran's nuclear ambitions, they will be dealing with a country that has developed a new, bolder foreign policy.
If Washington is upset with President Putin over an invitation he has extended to Hamas, asking the radical Palestinians to come to Moscow for talks, Israeli officials are livid.
Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia seemed to cede much of its influence in the Middle East to the US. No longer. Now, Moscow appears eager to present itself as a counterbalance to Washington in the region -- with major geopolitical consequences.
Russian security official: Foreign secret services behind Nalchik attack.
MIDEAST/AFRICA/ASIA
Europe will not be able to “stand aloof from the dislocation, crises and conflicts of this region, which is so central to its own security.” The crisis will force “Europe to grow up very fast in security policy terms.”
France has for the first time explicitly accused Iran of using its nuclear programme as a cover for clandestine military nuclear activity.
Foreign Minister Lavrov laid out conditions for Russia to host Iran's uranium enrichment program, saying his country was prepared to do so only if Tehran agreed to re-impose an indefinite freeze on enrichment at home.
Brace yourself for a big new war. As incomprehensible as it might seem to most Americans in the wake of its Iraq failures, the Bush cabal is pushing full speed ahead for a military attack on Iran, perhaps as soon as next month.
The US signaled a broadened diplomatic offensive against Iran, claiming Tehran posed a "strategic challenge" to the world on several fronts beyond fears over its nuclear program.
Iran is ready to counter any US aggression with offensive action, the head of the elite Revolutionary Guards warns, as Washington unveiled new plans to promote democracy in the Islamic republic. "We have worked on all defensive and offensive scenarios for any possible attacks."
HOUSE OF ISRAEL
Psycho blonde chick...
Perhaps we could put aside our national, ongoing, post-9/11 Muslim butt-kissing contest and get on with the business at hand: Bombing Syria back to the stone age and then permanently disarming Iran.
A company owned by the government of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates is poised to take over 6 US ports, a development that has local and federal elected officials outraged.
The Tories will today seek to end an extraordinary rift with their natural allies in the White House with a staunch statement of support for President Bush over the need to stop Iran having a nuclear weapon.
The bear is the US government and media cover up of the 9/11 attacks. They never came close to proving that foreign "terrorists" were involved. The 9/11 attacks were created for justification of US covert plans to grab influence over oil politics in the Middle East and as an excuse to take away the rest of Americans' liberties through a manufactured threat-scenario called, "The War On Terror."
ECONOMY
Bernanke's comments calm markets, but future oil prices and housing values pose fundamental challenges.
Oh, what a tangled web we weave. The US Fed practices to deceive consumers with cheap money and then, consumers deceive their own retailers. These retailers then deceive their suppliers, who deceive their bankers, who deceive their borrowers. The borrowers build factories and office towers all over China. Whew! It makes your head spin and your skin crawl.
What will 2006 be like? On the one hand, discussions of the economy and the markets should be for amusement purposes only. On the other hand, there is such a thing as human nature. Actions do have consequences. The madness of crowds exists. And both history and markets exhibit definite trends over time.
MISC
A succession of scandals in the US has revealed widespread government funding of PR agencies to produce "fake news". Actors take the place of journalists and the "news" is broadcast as if it were genuine.
Among a great number of fairytale creatures dragons stand out as a particular category. In the memory of many nations they are still wise, amiable, open-hearted and at the same time strange-looking creatures.
#11-17
