THE DAILY WAR!
Non-pagan/papal date: 11-22
THE HOLY ROMAN
Upon Joseph Ratzinger’s election to the papacy, many commentators correctly noted that his self-described theological “master” was St. Augustine. Pope Benedict’s first encyclical, Deus Caritas Est, is full of citations and themes drawn from Augustine’s texts. The encyclical’s publication appears, however, to confirm that another, more contemporary thinker has influenced the way that B16 views religion in free societies and the nature of the state. That person is the 19th-century French social philosopher Alexis de Tocqueville.
"It is vital that fraternal relations between communities be rendered more profound, in order to favor the harmonious development of society, recognizing the dignity of each individual and allowing everyone the free expression of their religion."
The new phenomenon of immigration, particularly between Africa and Europe, must be addressed with greater collaboration among the countries involved.
EMPIRE OF THE GERMAN NATION
Thought criminal...
David Irving, the controversial historian, was jailed for 3 years in Austria yesterday after pleading guilty to charges of denying the Holocaust 17 years ago. "I'm shocked and I will be appealing."
(LX op/ed: Denial denied)
Another thought criminal...
On Feb. 9, Ernst Zündel, a Holocaust denier, faces a German court on charges of inciting racial hatred and defaming the dead. The case shows that while Germany guarantees freedom of expression, there are limits.
German papers
Scientists in chemical protection suits packing dead birds into bags, soldiers disinfecting vehicles: it doesn't look good. How worried should the nation be after last week's discovery of dead swans on an island on Germany's Baltic coast? Some German commentators say the authorities are causing unnecessary panic by sending in the army. Others say they should have responded much faster.
(DW: Fear borders on hysteria)
EUROPE/RUSSIA
Papers are divided over David Irving being jailed for 3 years in Austria for denying the Holocaust. They also appeal for calm over bird flu.
The eyes of world sports fans may be on the Winter Olympics in Turin, but after an extraordinary public row in the Alpine resort of Davos some economists now fear the Italian economy is heading for an Argentine-style default on its massive debt. The drama in Davos is now the talk of economists, bankers and finance officials across Europe. A sovereign nation is able to follow such policies -- EMU exit, return to national currency and effective default on Euro debt -- regardless of any legal or formal constraints that the EMU treaty imposes in terms of no exit clauses.
The 15th anniversary of the date when heads of Poland, Hungary and Czechoslovakia gathered in the Hungarian city of Visegrad to sign the Declaration on Cooperation was marked last week. Fifteen years later it can be said with confidence that this event has changed the history of Europe.
It seems as though the Albanians of southern Serbia are “blackmailing” the Serbian authorities: Their demand for political and territorial autonomy will be more radical only if Serbia manages to divide Kosovo at the end of status negotiations. Will Serbia face a second Kosovo? How further will the Serbian land disintegrate?
MIDEAST/AFRICA/ASIA
Marking what many here are calling a major escalation in Palestinian terrorism, security officials announced yesterday they captured a rocket launcher and several mortar shells intended for attack against a Jerusalem neighborhood. A leader of the planned attack said his group will soon launch a rocket war against the Jewish state, threatening to fire missiles at Israel's international airport and warning his group's rockets will soon "bring hell" to Israelis.
Iran's foreign minister called yesterday for an end to the violent protests over cartoons that have left dozens dead in several Muslim countries. "We should try to cool down the situation. We do not support any violence."
Comments attributed to the Iranian President saying he wanted to see Israel
EU talks with the Iranian foreign minister failed to make progress in resolving the West's standoff with the Islamic republic.
Iran will not hold back its vital oil exports as a weapon in its nuclear dispute with the West, a senior Iranian oil official said on Monday. "Iran will not use oil as a weapon because we think it would have a very bad effect on most of the population of the world."
Many anti-war analysts fear that the Bush administration’s spurious accusations and subsequent war will lead to a wider World War. If Iran has no nuclear weapons, the war on Iran, in itself, will not lead to the speculated World War 3. It will only worsen the situation worldwide. Instead of directly ending up in a World War, the war on Iran will only become a next phase in spreading the World War that is already on without our realizing that we are passing through its initial phases. On the other hand, a false assumption that Iran has no nuclear weapons will, in fact, quickly engulf many more countries and take the World War that is already on to a quick climax.
HOUSE OF ISRAEL
French intellectual Bernard-Henri Lévy roams across the US, seeking to uncover its soul.
Heads up, Americans. The Bush administration is now greasing the skids for employers to drop your health coverage. This is a biggie.
[WAR: Good! People should take responsibility for their own health by healthy living, and not relying on someone else -- ultimately the consumer! -- to pay for their "sins". Why do I have to pay extra for things I buy because the employees of the company don't eat right and follow a healthy lifestyle?!]
ECONOMY
Oil prices surged on Monday after a series of militant attacks in the Niger Delta that shut down nearly 20% of Nigeria's oil output. "The incidents in Nigeria are happening at a time when geopolitical events seem to be happening at a near-continuous rhythm - such as production problems in Iraq, tensions in Iran and in Venezuela. It's a long list and it fosters a climate of very volatile oil markets."
MISC
NAFTA failure, wages drop and poverty rises in Mexico... The corporatist exercise in psychological warfare... of the unseen supernatural evildoers... and the authority to spy on American citizens... America maintains unilateral control over the Internet...
It is actually derived from the rapeseed, a member of the mustard family which is generally unfit for human consumption and was once more commonly used as a potent pesticide and lubricant.
#11-22
