THE DAILY WAR!
Non-pagan/papal date: 11-18
THE HOLY ROMAN
E-mail excerpt from CWNews
"Once again today, many secular outlets provided a skewed version of the news from Rome. Contrary to what you may have seen, B16 did not express support for Muslims demonstrating against the Danish cartoons. Even the Lebanese prime minister (a Sunni Muslim), didn't claim that the Pope was backing the protests. What the Pope did say is that people have the right to protest -- peacefully -- if they are offended."
"Jesus was conversing with the Father and raised his human spirit in communion with the Person of the Son, so that the humanity of the Son, united to him, might speak in the Trinitarian dialogue with the Father..."
[WAR: Here is the Antichrist proclaiming the false doctrine of Yahshua being "fully human and fully God", thereby making him "God in the flesh". If you're in agreement with B16, you're on very dangerous ground!]
B16's trip to Turkey next November will be a crucial test of Muslim-Christian relations, says a Vatican official.
Opus Dei has once again asked Sony Pictures to consider editing the soon-to-be-released film The Da Vinci Code, so that it would “not contain references that might hurt Catholics.”
Polzer said that his tour aims to debunk Brown's myths about Rome and the secret Illuminati society, in order to genuinely illuminate his clients.
EMPIRE OF THE GERMAN NATION
After years of debate, Germany's federal and state governments have agreed on plans to reform their individual responsibilities, thus paving the way for a more transparent and efficient means of government.
King of the North...
Edmund Stoiber told Bild Zeitung that Germany must begin construction on a Transrapid International high speed rail line next year in order to continue developing the high-tech train. 'The Transrapid must be built in Germany now, not in 2010 or 2012.'
As European governments scrambled to assess energy security following Russia's standoff with Ukraine over natural gas prices, one quiet but startling development went unnoticed in the eastern half of the EU. That is where Germany has been amassing a vast energy empire, spun out through a web of holdings across Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and further south to Bulgaria and Romania.
EUROPE/RUSSIA
Papers across Europe tussle over the impact opening EU services to cross-border competition will have on jobs and pay. Echoes of Iraqi prisoner abuses are evoked in a Muslim prisoner's allegations against French police. And in Paris, there are calls for a little less culture, please.
Europe's economies are in the doldrums, and no one seems to know how to revive them -- and the malaise seems to be getting worse. Yet 2 noisy arguments now raging show that an alarming number of Europeans are in denial about the economic facts of life.
Freedom of movement for services is among the principles of the Treaty of Rome, the founding document of what is now the EU. Nearly 50 years after the signing of the Treaty of Rome, a much enlarged union is still running scared of one of its fundamental objectives.
Hostile deals are expensive, they inspire vitriolic criticism, and they fail more than half the time. So why are they on the upswing in Europe? In the past 6 months, aggressive acquirers have been lobbing hostile offers across and within European borders at a rapid rate, often setting off culture clashes along the way.
The EU's ambitious plan to create an independent defense force has stumbled into financial difficulties that are likely to delay, if not scuttle, the project.
[WAR: What?! But what about all the "warnings" from COG "prophets" about the certainty of a coming "EU army" to be led by Germany which will dominate the world? Hmmm ... looks like they're blind and having their own visions!]
MIDEAST/AFRICA/ASIA
The ingredients are Iraq, Iran, Hamas and cartoons deemed blasphemous by Muslims.
Iran insisted that it was not seeking a nuclear weapon, rejecting unprecedented accusations by France that its atomic drive was "clandestine" and "military" in nature. Meanwhile, Angela Merkel said that Germany need not fear a new war in the Middle East.
Russia's top military chief warned the US against launching a military strike against Iran. He said that while Iran's military potential cannot compare to the US, "it is hard to predict how the Muslim world will respond to the use of force against Iran. This may stir the whole world, and it is crucial to prevent anything like that."
China and Iran hope to conclude a multi-billion dollar oil-and-gas deal in coming weeks, with a Chinese delegation of top economic-policy makers planning a trip to Iran possibly next month to help finalize the transaction.
In this volatile landscape, Musharraf walks a fine line. Pakistan's is still a fairly new political system, so the roles of religion, civil society, the military and local governments are still being worked out. But prodemocracy forces are getting impatient, and religious fervor is on the rise.
King of the South...
Hassan al-Turabi, Bin Ladin’s protector in Khartoum, and the source of inspiration for the international Islamist movement. Cast aside, he continues to theorize on a radical Muslim model. We would be wrong not to pay attention to Hasan al-Turabi: the intellectual mechanism is as sparkling as ever.
A sustained period with little or no rain, along with a lack of government planning, are widely blamed for this humanitarian crisis, which is affecting a vast swath from northern Kenya across Ethiopia and Somalia to Djibouti.
HOUSE OF ISRAEL
William Hague, the shadow foreign secretary, made a calculated critique of US foreign policy last night, saying Washington and its allies faced a "critical erosion" of their moral authority across the globe.
Last week's annual Conservative Political Action Conference signaled the transformation of American conservatism into brownshirtism. A former Justice Department official got a standing ovation when he told the audience that the rule of law mustn't get in the way of President Bush protecting Americans from Osama bin Laden. The point on which the regime is insisting is that there are circumstances (undefined) in which the president does not have to obey laws. The Bush regime is asserting the Fuhrer Principle, and Americans are buying it.
The woman whom Bush calls his High Prophet today sets off to try and control the international consequences of this week's publication of the new Abu Ghraib images and the UN's report on Guantanamo Bay.
The Big Easy has removed 6.3 million cubic yards of debris since Hurricane Katrina wrought its devastation in August. There is another 50 million left to go. Vast tracts of the city are still lifeless wasteland, scores of neighbourhoods remain uninhabitable, only a third of the population has returned and the coffers are bare.
ECONOMY
Congressman Ron Paul on...
"Most importantly, the dollar/oil relationship has to be maintained to keep the dollar as a preeminent currency. Any attack on this relationship will be forcefully challenged – as it already has been. Ironically, dollar superiority depends on our strong military, and our strong military depends on the dollar. As long as foreign recipients take our dollars for real goods and are willing to finance our extravagant consumption and militarism, the status quo will continue. But real threats come from our political adversaries who are incapable of confronting us militarily, yet are not bashful about confronting us economically. That’s why we see the new challenge from Iran being taken so seriously."
Crude oil climbed back above $58, halting a 2-week slide that has wiped 15% off the price, but analysts said the recovery was likely to be short lived with US gasoline supplies at a 6-year high. But the potential for export disruptions from Iran and continuing unrest in Nigeria’s oil rich delta could easily turn the market around.
Suppose a politician promised to reveal the details of a simple proposal that would, if adopted, produce hundreds of billions of dollars in savings for Americans that would require no net cash outlays from American families. A policy that would deliver precisely this could be enacted by Congress today - namely, a $2-a-gallon tax on gasoline whose proceeds were refunded to American families in reduced payroll taxes.
The age of globalization is uncompromisingly incessant on discarding local cultures altogether for failing to present any sort of viable economic potential. We must understand that clinging to age-old tradition and heritage is not analogous to backwardness. It remains to be seen whether globalization has left much room for indigenous cultures to negotiate a space for themselves in a world of encroaching global polities and often uncompromising nation-state boundaries.
MISC
On the menu...
The menu at Beijing's latest venue for its growing army of gourmets is eye-watering rather than mouth-watering. Situated in an elegantly restored house beside Beijing's West Lake, it is China's first speciality penis restaurant. Here, businessmen and government officials can sample the organs of yaks, donkeys, oxen and even seals.
(Op/ed: Expensive and shameless)
#11-18
