"The WAR on error"
Benedict XVI says that members of secular institutes are called to work in the Christian community as well as in the wider civil arena. The Pope made that observation Saturday when he met with participants in the World Conference of Secular Institutes, gathered in Rome for a two-day symposium. He invited them to be a visible sign of Christ's beauty and a "laboratory of dialogue with the world."
Officials characterise Ms Merkel's Middle East initiatives as part of a wider effort to increase EU power and influence in the world. All the same, Ms Merkel's efforts face familiar challenges from east and west. As Berlin rises anew, old tensions are apparent. All Ms Merkel's efforts to make Europe an equal partner with the US could be destroyed in a moment by a US military attack on Iran, Prof Sandschneider said. EU unity would also shatter. "It would be the end of NATO. It would be disastrous."
NATO's request for German reconnaissance planes for Afghanistan was hardly uncontroversial. Now, though, it looks like Berlin will approve the mission. With a number of restrictions.
The EU
Because of the poor results obtained by the car industry to voluntarily reduce CO2 emissions, the Environment Commissioner has proposed to set up a binding and fixed amount of emissions. But the sensitive proposal has been delayed for weeks due to internal wrangles inside the Commission as well as indication by some Member States – especially Germany as the biggest car-making industry in the EU – that they would block the plan.
Put up, or shut up...
An Iranian government-sponsored body set up to probe the veracity of the Holocaust has challenged Europe to hand over documents about the [alleged] mass slaughter of Jews in WW2. "They should hand over the proof for the dossier on the organized massacre of Jews in Europe during WW2 to the independent international fact-finding committee affiliated to this foundation." Mainstream historians specialising in the Third Reich counter there is ample documentary proof that around 6 million Jews were killed by the Nazis in World War II although some estimates put the figure slightly higher or lower.
[WAR: See the difference in language? Yes, there's proof of great numbers of Jews being killed. But there's NO proof of an "organized" (systematic, ordered, policy, etc.) effort to kill all the Jews - none! Why? Not because the Germans got rid of the records, or that it was just "verbal" orders - but because there was no such agenda. The "final solution" was exportation, not extermination.]
Russia's Foreign Minister discusses threats to security in Europe, the dispute over Russian natural gas and oil and America's unilateral approach in the Middle East.
Russia wants to negotiate a deal with the US saying their militaries will not target each other, as a way to assuage concerns over US plans to deploy missile defense sites in central Europe.
Israel is trying to upgrade its standing in the EU to be equal to that of Switzerland and Norway. Although the two countries are not members of the EU, they have free passage for people, capital and merchandise between them and the rest of the EU countries.
Ayatollah Khamenei, in his meeting with the Secretary of Palestine's Islamic Jihad Organisation said: "The Islamic world's should decisively respond to the fresh aggression of Zionist forces in violating the sanctity of al-Aqsa Mosque in Bait ol-Moqaddas." He said the Muslim world's reaction to the latest crime of the illegal Zionist entity should be in such a way that is should make Israel regret its crime.
(IRIB: Iran's PS criticizes damage)
Iran's ambassador to Baghdad responds to charges that Tehran is fostering sectarian violence and helping insurgents in Iraq.
The US Federal Reserve sent record payouts of more than $4 billion in cash to Baghdad on giant pallets aboard military planes shortly before the US gave control back to Iraqis.
The US will set up a new Africa Command to coordinate military activities and bolster security on the continent. The command would be the 5th regional US military operations base worldwide, but the location has not yet been determined.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards will hold 2 days of war games in the Gulf and Sea of Oman this week, focusing on launching missiles.
Chancellor Merkel said that the door remains open for negotiations between Iran and the international community over its contested nuclear programme. "Even if the UN has decided on sanctions, the door for negotiations remains open."
As Washington steps up its campaign of propaganda and aggression against Iran, some leading European politicians and sections of the media have expressed their concern during the past week over the increasing danger of a US military provocation plunging the entire Middle East into chaos. Increasing divisions across the Atlantic as well as between the major capitalist powers in Europe itself form the backdrop to the latest trip by Chancellor Merkel to the Gulf region. Merkel is also determined that German business interests be allowed to expand in the Middle East and Gulf area. In many respects, German capitalism has the most to lose of all the European states in the event of a conflict between the US and Iran.
Baghdad Blair...
Tony Blair says people are "increasingly alarmed" by Iran's strategy but said military action was not being planned against it. He said no option was "off the table" but "nobody is talking about or planning military intervention".
Despite the warnings voiced by military and diplomatic advisers, the president still seems to be listening to the same discredited neoconservatives. If their plotting succeeds in provoking military conflict with Iran, the resulting carnage could indeed make Iraq look like a cakewalk. The potential consequences could be catastrophic, from the closing of the gulf straits and a new oil crisis to ruptured political alliances and terrible American casualties.
Yitzhak Rabin opposed the First Gulf War in 1990, warning that one never knows when starting a war where it will lead. As Bush and the neocons are reportedly planning to attack Iran, we should all think of the likely consequences.
Every quarter sees burgeoning sales. And the reasons for this resurgence are utterly revealing about modern capitalism, and US capitalism in particular. It's 150 years since Marx pointed out that the crucial way for capitalism to increase surplus value and hence profits was extending the working day. Neoliberalism means people working longer and harder. It means much less opportunity to have sit-down meals with family and friends. It means less time for sociability and more atomisation, more stress, more sleep deprivation and more loneliness.
Archaeologists have discovered the remains of a 120,000-year-old Stone Age hunting camp in a coal mine in Germany. It is a find of great European importance, researchers say.
Here are some computer tips for those of us who are anti-state, anti-war, and pro-market. First off, I'm not against Microsoft software, I use Windows 98. It's just that the Mozilla and other programs work much better and offer more security from hacker viruses, spam, and trojans than Microsoft products.
Be a WARrior and support the WAR effort by:
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