"The WAR on error"
But the papal visit is not primarily an attempt to pacify relations between Christianity and Islam. Instead, Benedict is there to engage with Islam and Eastern Orthodoxy in the hope of persuading both to join his project of overcoming secularism. The Pope, far from being sectarian, wants to inaugurate a new religious renaissance in Europe that opposes both secular and religious fundamentalism.
Pope Benedict XVI called divisions among Christians a "scandal to the world" and recalled the faith's deep roots in Europe in a joint ceremony Thursday with the spiritual leader of Orthodox Christians at his ancient Christian enclave. "The divisions which exist among Christians are a scandal to the world."
The Pope's arrival at the Phanar was accompanied by the festal ringing of bells and was followed by a doxology in the Patriarchal Cathedral of St. George. At the end of the service the ecumenical patriarch welcomed Benedict XVI, who responded accordingly.
(B16's address to PB1)
(B16's address to PB1)
"In this Eucharistic celebration we praise the Lord for Mary's divine motherhood, a mystery solemnly confessed and proclaimed in Ephesus at the Ecumenical Council of 431."
[WAR: Yes, "Mary's divine motherhood" is a logical and reasonable teaching ... IF it's true that Yahshua was "God in the flesh" and "fully human and fully God". So if you believe these two phrases, then you're in complete agreement with the spirit of antichrist."]
German press...
The pope's first day in Turkey was a success. Not only did the Turkish prime minister not give him the cold shoulder, but Benedict XVI said all the right things.
Before he arrived, the Turks hated him. Now that Pope Benedict XVI is in Turkey though, he has made 73 million new friends. Not only has he sought to heal the Christian-Muslim divide. But he also supports Turkish EU membership at a time when the country really needs an ally.
The pope arrived in Ankara on Tuesday to a reception of empty streets, somber-faced officials and indifferent Turks. But the pope smiled. And even managed a joke at his own expense. All part of his Velvet Invasion.
Vatican spokesman, Fr. Federico Lombardi, SJ, told the Italian press today that Pope Benedict XVI is not worried about a statement released by Islamic terrorist group al-Qaeda, in Iraq. The organization said the Pope’s current trip to Turkey is the continuation of an anti-Islam crusade.
Germany plans to keep a clause in its draft telecommunications legislation that protects Deutsche Telekom, the country's former monopoly, a lawmaker said Wednesday, increasing the possibility that the government will face a lawsuit from European Union antitrust regulators. "The EU has a political agenda. It wants to give itself more responsibility to determine how markets are run."
After nearly a decade in which German industry fought to regain the competitiveness that it had lost in the 1990s, signs are mounting that the largest economy in Europe is experiencing a significant productivity breakthrough that could increase the country's economic growth potential over the long term and curb its tendency to generate rising prices as it expands.
Angela Merkel is resisting pressure from NATO: She refuses to station German troops in the south of Afghanistan. But she has agreed to let German troops conduct "emergency rescue missions" there. It sounds harmless, but it could have significant consequences for the troops.
The German government is bickering over whether to send troops to the troubled Darfur region in western Sudan. Germany has 37 soldiers in Sudan as logistical aides and military observers; the two mandates allow for up to 275 soldiers to be deployed there.
[WAR: The Kingdom of the North ponders what to do about the Kingdom of the South...]
Speaking as pope and diplomat this week, Pope Benedict XVI appeared to reverse his prior position, telling Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey that he wished "for Turkey's entry into the European Union," according to the prime minister's account of the meeting. But Wednesday it was unclear whether the pope's remarks represented a genuine shift in his policy or what impact they might have on Turkey's chances to join the EU. Many commentators in Europe noted that the pope's endorsement had been reported only by Erdogan.
Turkey's prospects for membership in the European Union dimmed on Wednesday with recommendations to suspend key areas of negotiation.
The NATO summit in Riga, which ended yesterday, confirmed the alarming gap between military requirements in Afghanistan and the political will to meet them. NATO needs to invoke the spirit of Article 5 of its charter, which binds members to go to each other's defence. Otherwise, Afghanistan could yet prove its graveyard.
(LX analysis: NATO strikes deal - but where are the reserves?)
Following its invasion of Lebanon this summer, Israel was said to have largely lost the PR battle to Hizbullah, but armed with a major web offensive, it's fighting back.
The planned meeting between President Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in the Jordanian capital of Amman failed to go ahead yesterday, after a secret White House memo detailing US plans for Iraq, and critical of Maliki, was leaked to the New York Times. Bush and his advisers have flown to Jordan, not for a collaborative meeting with the leader of a sovereign country, but to deliver an ultimatum to their stooge Maliki.
Syrian President Bashar Assad said his country will continue to challenge U.S. efforts to exert control over the Middle East, sounding a defiant tone ahead of President Bush's arrival in the region for talks on Iraq. "Colonialism has not ended. In the past they used to call it colonialism, today it is called liberation of people. ... Names differ but the essence is the same. As colonialism continues, revolution and resistance continue."
What was then unthinkable is now feared. A sudden departure of U.S. forces will place the future of Iraq's Sunnis in serious jeopardy from well-armed Shiite militias backed by Tehran. A precipitous withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq will result in an immediate and massive Saudi Arabian military intervention to stop Iranian-backed Shiite militias from "butchering Iraqi Sunnis."
Israeli Vice Premier Shimon Peres appealed for united action against Iran, saying the country appears stronger than it really is because of a lack of an international consensus over its nuclear ambitions.
A Majlis deputy said that a letter sent by President Ahmadinejad to the American people called their attention to realities in Iran and US policies toward this country. Referring to the massive propaganda of the West to sully Iran's reputation including the biased reports of its media to paint a negative picture of the country, the MP said that "media reports unfairly hide realities and facts concerning Iran." He said the letter was necessary because it brings to the attention of the American people the lies that are being said about Iran.
"What has blind support for the Zionists by the US administration brought for the American people? It is regrettable that for the US administration, the interests of these occupiers supersedes the interests of the American people and of the other nations of the world. What have the Zionists done for the American people that the US administration considers itself obliged to blindly support these infamous aggressors? Is it not because they have imposed themselves on a substantial portion of the banking, financial, cultural and media sectors?"
[WAR: "Then Bush, Cheney, and Rice said to Ahmadinejad, 'Please speak in Persian, since we understand it. Don't speak in English in the hearing of the people on the wall." (Isa 36:11)]
Born to rule
Consider the remarkable smoothness with which the crown has passed from monarch to heir throughout the period since 1688. Despite the inevitable duds that arise in any hereditary system — the ones who die childless, or marry unwisely, or are too thick, or too clever by half — the history of modern British monarchy has been one of near-seamless transition.
Many nations have prospered after gaining independence from their neighbours. Why should the Scots be different?
Prime Minister Tony Blair's close relationship with President George W. Bush is "totally one-sided" and has given Britain no leverage over U.S. foreign policy, a U.S. State Department official has said, according to a British newspaper report. The Times of London said Thursday that Kendall Myers told an audience in Washington that Britain's role as a bridge between the United States and Europe was "disappearing before our eyes."
In a devastating verdict on Tony Blair’s decision to back war in Iraq and his “totally one-sided” relationship with President Bush, a US State Department official has said that Britain’s role as a bridge between America and Europe is now “disappearing before our eyes”.
"It has been, from the very beginning, very one-sided. There never really has been a special relationship, or at least not one we've noticed."
The Anglo-American link is stronger than some in the State Department assume. “How special is the US-UK relationship after Iraq?” The correct answer to the question remains “very special”.
Madeleine Albright's confident claim a decade ago that the United States was the world's "indispensable nation" is looking mighty threadbare. The "transformational presidency" of George W. Bush was supposed to reinvigorate America's global leadership and enhance its ability to project power throughout the world. Instead, debilitated by the quagmire in Iraq, America is increasingly disrespected by its adversaries and mistrusted by its allies. How has such a reversal taken place, especially after the outpouring of support following 9/11?
Gold rebounded today but was likely to trade in a tight range, watching the U.S. dollar after upbeat U.S. growth data raised the likelihood that the Federal Reserve could hold off on cutting interest rates.
In December, a high-powered U.S. delegation chaired by the secretary of the Treasury, Henry Paulson, will go to Beijing. The chairman of the Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke, will be among the members of the delegation. The U.S. Treasury has already stated officially that one of the purposes is to exercise pressure on China to allow the yuan to fluctuate more freely. The economic situation in the mid-1920s and the middle of the first decade of the 21st century are not comparable, but the scenario of one major economic power pushing another one into inappropriate policies later to be judged wrong looks disturbingly similar.
Early this morning a moderate geomagnetic storm was initiated most likely from sunspot region 927. This occurs when ‘charged particles’ in the way of solar flares, CME’s (coronal mass ejection) and or coronal hole charge hits the Earth’s magnetic field. When this occurs, extreme weather is likely to occur. Also watch for increased earthquake and volcanic activity. Also watch for beautiful auroras which may drop down to lower latitudes. Sky watchers should be on alert for auroras tonight. The interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) near Earth has tilted south, opening a crack in Earth's magnetic defenses against the solar wind. This could fuel a geomagnetic storm.
A bronze calculating machine salvaged from a shipwreck a century ago is finally yielding up its secrets, revealing a Greek computer of remarkable sophistication for a device constructed long before the birth of Christ.
Doctor of Philosophy Valery Dyemin, a researcher of the Arctic region, maintains that Hyperborea (“beyond the Boreas (north wind)”), a mythical land that the Greeks thought was located beyond Scythia, existed in reality. One of the charts by Gerhardus Mercator, the 16th century Flemish cartographer and geographer, shows a huge continent lying in the vicinity of the North Pole. The land is an archipelago composed of several islands divided by deep rivers. The question is: How did that land appear on the chart?
Be a WARrior and support the WAR effort by:
* Clicking on the ever-changing and news-related ads at the top.
