Blah, blah, blah...
May Lent be for every Christian a renewed experience of God's love given to us in Christ, a love that each day we, in turn, must "regive" to our neighbour, especially to the one who suffers most and is in need. Only in this way will we be able to participate fully in the joy of Easter.
Around 2 in 3 Germans support President Putin's view that the US is on a mission to become the world's "one single master". The poll also showed 62% of Germans were not concerned about stronger Russian military might.
Germany has admitted that there is likely to be a strong battle over European Commission plans to revamp the EU's energy sector but has pledged to push for concrete results and act as an honest broker during its EU presidency. "Germany is going to have to accept compromises which will not be easy for us. It would be an error if we were to continue to pursue our own interests and we're not going to make that mistake."
Tony Blair has pursued many issues in search of a lasting positive legacy; Mideast peace, strong EU-US ties and climate change. But as time runs out, Angela Merkel is the leader most likely to achieve his goals.
An unexpectedly resonant ceremony marking the 125th anniversary of Franklin Delano Roosevelt took place in Moscow. A conference commemorating Roosevelt's anniversary was held at Moscow Institute of Foreign Relations. According to Americans who took part in Moscow conference, it exceeded similar functions held in the US on the occasion.
When a prime minister has just lost a war, is dogged by corruption allegations, and sees his popularity ratings in free fall, what can he do? Why, he can initiate provocations. A provocation diverts attention, generates headlines, creates the illusion of power, radiates a sense of leadership. But a provocation is a dangerous instrument. It can cause irreversible damage.
Asia is rising to the top and there's no doubt about it. "In every measure the strategic center of gravity is shifting to Asia."
The foreign ministers of the 3 giants of the Asian landmass - Russia, China and India - will meet today in New Delhi to advance an old proposal for a Trilateral Global Alliance that would effectively exclude the West from a position of superiority in Asia, before achieving the same purpose in Africa and South America. Although at present only a gleam in the eye of geopoliticians, the TGA has made enough progress in the past 2 years to indicate that within the next 3, a framework agreement could be signed by the three heads of government that would codify the principles and objectives of this partnership aimed at limiting Western power.
The American team sent a messenger to the gated North Korean Embassy. Would the North be interested in a private, bilateral meeting outside Beijing? A few days later, the North agreed and chose a location — Berlin. The Berlin meeting in January was critical in resuscitating the talks and in shaping the agreement reached Tuesday in Beijing, according to a senior US official familiar with the American negotiating team.
Iran's Oil Minister said that a stock market for trade in shares of oil companies will be established in Iran's southern of Kish in the near future. The stock market will be open to the public soon after the appointment of a managing director and members of a board of directors.
The head of Iran's Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Mines held talks with his German counterpart and the President of the BGA in Berlin. He also attended a round-table meeting of German business and trade representatives, responding to questions about investment possibilities in Iran. He was due to take part later in the day in a seminar in Hamburg on privatization and investment opportunities in Iran. Iran remains one of Germany's biggest trading partners in the Middle East.
Iran's Secretary of Supreme National Security Council said that Iran is prepared to fully guarantee that it does not intend to produce nuclear weapons.
Iran's Minister of Defense said that US accusations of Iranian supply of arms and ammunition to Iraqi insurgents are nothing but lies. He said the accusations are "part of the US psychological war on Iran to create discord among regional states."
Russian Military Analysts are reporting today that President Putin has issued orders to the Russian Interior Ministry to 'immediately' dispatch Spetsnaz (Special Forces) troops to Iran
Iranian President Ahmadinejad should "be made to disappear from the arena," a former director of Israel's Mossad advocated in an exclusive interview with WND.
The American invasion of Iran appears imminent, at least in some quarters of the British Isles, so it has to be taken seriously. But before we all head off to the next round of anti-war demonstrations, it's important to separate the facts from the rhetoric.
The US government is hell-bent on a wider war in the Middle East, and there doesn't seem to be anyone – not Congress, not any of our allies, not Divine Providence itself – capable of stopping them. Threats against the Iranians come on an almost daily basis.
The prestigious magazine The Economist, not MAD magazine, has a $2.2 billion B2B stealth bomber on its cover this week headlined "Next stop Iran?" In response to my question about how he rated the odds of a bombing campaign against Iran, former CIA director R. James Woolsey, hummed an answer for me on the sidewalk as we exited the Metropolitan Club. It was a parody of the Beach Boys hit "Barbara Ann": "Bomb Bomb Bomb, Bomb-Bomb Iran."
[WAR: I've actually wondered why this song parody hasn't resurfaced already. Maybe it'll return after the staged provocation to be blamed on Iran...]
Before things get any more out of hand, President Bush needs to make his intentions toward Iran clear. And Congress needs to make it clear that this time it will be neither tricked nor bullied into supporting another disastrous war. How little this administration has learned from its failures is a constant source of amazement. It seems the bigger the failure, the less it learns.
It's a bad idea. There's no need for it. There's great danger in doing it. America is against it, and Congress should be. The UN is against it. The Russians, the Chinese, the Indians, and the Pakistanis are against it. The whole world is against it. The plan defies common sense. If it's carried out, the Middle East, and possibly the world, will explode. Oil will soar to over $100 a barrel, and gasoline will be over $5 a gallon.
Al-Qaida's #2 said President Bush was an alcoholic and a lying gambler who wagered on Iraq and lost, according to a new audiotape. "Bush suffers from an addictive personality, and was an alcoholic. I don't know his present condition ... but the one who examines his personality finds that he is addicted to two other faults - lying and gambling."
The historic decline of the US (part 3)
The WSWS has often pointed out that the Bush regime is guilty of the same crime for which the Nazi regime was indicted at Nuremberg, and from which, in the words of the prosecution, all its other crimes flowed: the waging of an aggressive war. I don't want to make some kind of superficial comparison between the situation in the US and Nazi Germany. But we can develop a more accurate assessment by focusing on the underlying processes at work.
Investing in copper is ludicrous you say? Ok… how about nickel or zinc? Lord knows I sure as heck can't afford silver, gold or platinum. It's all "unobtanium" to me.
The global leveraged takeover bubble of hedge funds and private equity funds may begin to explode this month in your living room, especially if you live in Manhattan or in Dresden. Two large private-equity takeover schemes speculating on the price of housing—one based in New York, the other in Germany—are threatening to blow up.
For decades, the United States, a self-professed evangelist for free trade, has been paranoid about other nations manipulating the exchange value of their currencies for trade advantage with counterproductive distortions in global free trade.
Valentine's Day started in the time of the Roman Empire. In ancient Rome, February 14th was a holiday to honour Juno. Juno was the Queen of the Roman Gods and Goddesses. The Romans also knew her as the Goddess of women and marriage. The following day, February 15th, began the Feast of Lupercalia.
In September 2006, the founder of the "Growing in Grace Ministry" was billing himself as the second coming of Christ. However, now Jose Luis de Jesus Miranda says he's the Antichrist. In other words, because he claims to be the second coming of Christ, he rejects the continued worship of the old Christ: Jesus of Nazareth.
