THE HOLY ROMAN (visiting the) EMPIRE OF THE GERMAN NATION
In Munich, the pope was greeted warmly by Bavarian Minister-President Edmund Stoiber of the Christian Social Union Party. Stoiber emphasized that "the Christian roots of Bavaria are strong and full of energy." Stoiber thanked the pope for raising his voice "in warning when Christian values and human dignity threatened to be overcome by the spirit of the times." And Stoiber received the loudest applause when he said, "It moves us deeply in our souls when the head of the Roman Catholic Church says, 'My heart beats Bavarian.'"
On Saturday the Pope said he would "make efforts" to improve ties with the Protestant church, following an appeal for closer links from German president Horst Köhler. Edmund Stoiber, Bavaria's conservative state premier, said he hoped the visit would reinforce moves to include a reference to God in the stalled European Union constitution.
Pope Benedict XVI spent a sentimental day in his Bavarian homecoming Monday, visiting the town where he was born, the church where he was baptized and his favorite pilgrimage site.
Here is a translation of the address Benedict XVI delivered at Munich's Mariensaeule (Virgin's Column), during which he once again entrusted Bavaria to the Mother of God.
Here is a Vatican translation of the homily Benedict XVI gave at the celebration of Vespers in Altoetting's Basilica of St. Anne, attended by religious and seminarians.
Here is a Vatican translation of the homily Benedict XVI gave at the Celebration of the Eucharist at the Kapellplatz Altoetting.
Pope Benedict XVI has celebrated the fourth day of his trip to his native Germany with a massive outdoor mass that has drawn hundreds of thousands of Christian believers.
Though eyes are on his trip home, the Pope is (gradually) launching big changes back in the Roman Curia.
Five priests and seminarians, including past members of the Society of St. Pius X, founded by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, have returned to full communion with the Catholic Church.
MIDEAST/AFRICA/ASIA
"The Lebanese war dramatically opened all eyes to the fact that if we don't solve the Palestinian issue, the future looks pretty bleak for the Middle East." He told Time this initiative would be "one of the last chances" to secure stability in the troubled Middle East.
Germany said on Monday that Lebanon has asked for the German navy to join in the expanded UN mandate in the war-worn country. Germany was now awaiting Lebanon and the United Nations to finalize "operations plan and the rules of engagement" before it sends ships to the Middle East.
China plans to send a contingent of peacekeeping troops to Lebanon and is consulting the United Nations on the details. China, growing in confidence on the global stage, has become increasingly involved in U.N. peacekeeping operations since 2000.
At the end of this month, African Union forces, the only peacekeepers in Darfur, are scheduled to go home. That gives the rest of the world only three weeks to avoid a worsening tragedy.
HOUSE OF ISRAEL
If Iranian President Ahmadinejad is serious about opening a Euro-based oil bourse in Tehran to undermine the US dollar, now is the time to strike. Strategic experts believe that internationally, the mega strategic energy deals are slipping away from corporate America, whose strong arm tactics are alienating growing nationalist sentiment across the world.
The Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks were the beginning of the collapse of the American empire, and it is only a question of time before the next "great big event" strikes the United States, a senior Palestinian terror leader who received American training warned during a WND interview today.
When the World Trade Centres came down, they triggered a war that is more complex than any in human history. This is a war between belief systems, between civilisational values. And it will be a long time before it is over.
It's hard to believe that five years have passed since we entered what I call World War Forever. Slowly, most of us are coming to the realization that the enemy in this new world war is not a country nor it is limited to one region. It's everywhere, and the enemy could be anyone.
The United States, with a monopoly on conventional military power, has stood up against nature...and against history. It cannot be long that she does so, unless history and nature are both to come to a complete stop. Instead, since there are no conventional powers outside to challenge her, her destruction is being wrought unconventionally, from within.
The ideology is difficult to define. It used to be a blend of liberal democracy and hawkish foreign policy. Today the term refers to idealistic hawkishness.
In what researchers described as one of the most comprehensive studies of the U.S. religious landscape, the survey found that 89% of Americans attend a local congregation or affiliate with a denomination.
[WAR: "These people worship me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me."]
There have been indications lately that this whole End Times business is fast becoming more than a crazy hobby among the mutant-evangelist set, and is actually playing an important role in Middle East politics, specifically in guiding America's Israel policy.
MISC
Followers Claim Doral Man is God On Earth. This self-proclaimed Son of God is a 60 year old former heroin addict and convict.
Rye bread has a special hearty, sour, earthy, German essence that makes the eating of it a journey into the world of my round-bellied, polka-loving, beer-swilling, liver-eating European ancestors. Rye bread is substantial, flavorful, and distinctive even in comparison with whole wheat.
Remember, you can view this at http://thedailyworldaffairsreport.blogspot.com.
