Benedict XVI encouraged seminarians to always be attentive to the Word of God and to be humble in acknowledging sin in the Church and in their lives.
For generations, Roman Catholic schoolchildren in this country were taught to pray for the conversion of England. Their prayers may soon be answered: as talk of an Anglican schism grows, a leaked report hints that the Church of England may recognise a modified form of the papacy. This may seem an unlikely development in view of ancient prejudices: Anglicans inveighed against "the whore of Babylon", while Catholics scorned their Anglican brethren as heretics.
Anglican leaders have issued an ultimatum to the US Church by demanding an end to the appointment of gay clergy and the blessing of same-sex couples. US bishops have until 30 September to respond to the communique, issued after archbishops met in Tanzania.
Hitler, Bush and the Mullahs have one thing in common: they're represented as effigies at the Düsseldorf carnival. On Rose Monday, costumed revelers cheered on the parade which pokes fun at everyone and everything.
Some 2 million people took to the streets of Germany's Rhine region for the climax of the carnival season yesterday but Muslim representatives were angered by floats featuring bearded men in turbans and explosives belts.
I've just worked out how the federasts are going to do it. Ever since the French and Dutch "No" votes, the craftiest legal minds in Brussels have been looking for a way to resurrect the European Constitution. Now, they have found one: a way so devilishly beautiful that even those who support national sovereignty must tip our caps to them. The democratic experiment is over. We are back to the Monnet method of behind-the-scenes integration. Eurocrats have calculated that, as long as we are presented with a fait accompli, we will shrug our shoulders and accept it. And, God forgive us, they are probably right.
Subsidiarity is a principle according to which the decisions are to be taken as closely as possible from the citizens. Although it is one of the principles of the EU, a growing number of people are concerned about the reality of its implementation in the integration process. It is time the heads of states established a clear separation of competences between the EU and the member states. This constitutes the only reasonable alternative to the fake assumption that the EU will not do whatever it takes to gain more powers, including ignoring the principle of subsidiarity.
Airbus, the European aircraft manufacturer, faces the possibility of being broken up after German shareholders and executives were understood to have been discussing the feasibility of the group's present structure. The Times understands that there is enormous dissatisfaction on the German side of EADS, the defence company that owns Airbus, and sources close to the company say that the Germans are considering a breakup.
[WAR: As goes Airbus, so goes the EU?...]
With the final round of negotiations on the future of Kosovo about to kick off in Vienna tomorrow, the European Parliament – striving to enter the diplomatic arena – is indicating it may take a clear pro-independence stance.
President Putin raised eyebrows with his aggressive speech at the Munich Security Conference. Spiegel spoke to the Czech Foreign Minister about the alleged arms race, the missile defense shield, and how the new Russia is like the old Soviet Union.
The specter of a new military rivalry between Moscow and Washington has been looming since Vladimir Putin delivered a speech highly critical of the US at the Munich Security Conference earlier this month. Is it the birth of a new arms race between the former arch-enemies?
Kremlin sources are reporting today that President Putin has ordered Russian Military Forces to prepare for war against the US
President Ahmadinejad said today that Iran would only halt its uranium enrichment program and return to negotiations if other Western nations do the same. "That ... we shut down our nuclear fuel cycle program to let talks begin. It's no problem. But justice demands that those who want to hold talks with us shut down their nuclear fuel cycle program too. Then, we can hold dialogue under a fair atmosphere."
The US stands to retaliate against Iran in case Tehran targets the "innocent passage of ships," the commander of the Fifth Fleet has said.
[WAR: Now, does "target" mean if Iran so much as points anything in the direction of the ships, or "paints" or "locks-on" one with its radar?!]
US contingency plans for air strikes on Iran extend beyond nuclear sites and include most of the country's military infrastructure, the BBC has learned. It is understood that any such attack - if ordered - would target Iranian air bases, naval bases, missile facilities and command-and-control centres.
A former Iranian ambassador and Islamic Republic insider has provided intriguing details to Asia Times Online about US covert operations inside Iran aimed at destabilizing the country and toppling the regime - or preparing for an American attack. "The Iranian government knows and is aware of such infiltration. It means that the Iranian government has identified them [the covert operatives] but for some reason does not want to show [this]."
Have "designed-to-fail" microchips set up the US naval, air and ground units in the Persian Gulf for a disastrous defeat in Bush's looming showdown with Iran? Has a Wal-Mart mentality, and corporate sleight-of-hand fatally undermined the US war machine with microscopic flaws? Following this website's revelations of Israel's recent abortive nuclear air strike on Iran, agents of the United States military intelligence community have returned to visit my informant to disclose disturbing developments.
Karl Rove, then White House senior political advisor for President Bush, received a copy of the secret Iranian proposal for negotiations with the US from former Republican Congressman Bob Ney in early May 2003. The Iranian proposal for negotiations - which suggested that Iran was willing to consider far-reaching compromises on its nuclear programme, relations with Hezbollah and Hamas and support for a Palestinian peace agreement with Israel as part of a larger peace agreement with the US - has become a contentious issue between the Bush administration and its critics in and out of Congress.
A disturbing recent phenomenon in Washington is that laws that strike to the heart of American democracy have been passed in the dead of night. So it was with a provision quietly tucked into the enormous defense budget bill at the Bush administration's behest that makes it easier for a president to override local control of law enforcement and declare martial law.
German press review...
Republican Senators foiled a Democratic bid to have Congress criticize President Bush's troop increase in Iraq. But with a clear majority of politicians on Capitol Hill opposing the White House's war strategy, is this a defeat for the president or for the Democrats? German dailies take a closer look.
The real regime crisis that is coming may be right here in River City.
Our Assyrian lovers dumping us...
The issue is no longer whether DaimlerChrysler will spin off its ailing US subsidiary, but how. The Chrysler subsidiary's billions in losses pose a threat to the company's German core business -and to CEO Dieter Zetsche.
The US and EU could set a date for the creation of a transatlantic trading zone at a summit in April, diplomats say. "There are political and structural problems. You have to set up a mechanism involving members of Congress and the European parliament. It has to outlive individual presidents and committee chairmen. It will take a long time."
The danger of imperialist war is compounded by the deepening economic crisis of world capitalism. After 3 decades of globalised production, the advanced capitalist countries, the US in particular, have discovered that the economic crisis that they sought to avoid by diverting manufacturing to cheap labour countries has returned home on a much larger scale. If this process continues indefinitely, the financial system must collapse at some point with incalculable consequences for the world economy.
The Internet is changing, but its primary benefit, says Craigslist founder Craig Newmark, is that it links up good people. Spiegel online spoke to him about virtual idealism, Martin Luther the blogger, and the future of online journalism.
The minister has the number 666 tattooed on his arm. But Jose Luis de Jesus Miranda is not your typical minister. De Jesus, or "Daddy" as his thousands of followers call him, does not merely pray to God: He says he is God.
Just what do non-believers believe in? Despite all the tempting spiritual goodies our world offers, enlightened skeptics still seek to practice a secular, humanist morality. But the lure is growing hard to resist: Even pious Catholics are starting to dream of reincarnation.
[WAR: Hey, if God was supposedly "incarnated" into a human, then why can't humans be "re-incarnated" into something else? By logic and reason, you have to accept/reject both doctrines together - you can't have one without the other.]
Today in Scripture
"In the 40th year, on the 1st day of the 11th month, Moses proclaimed to the Israelites all that YAHWEH had commanded him concerning them..." (Deu 1:3)
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