Benedict XVI says that theologians should have the courage to ask questions but also the humility to receive answers from the Christian faith. "Only if we ask questions, and are radical with our questions, radical as theology has to be, going beyond specializations, only then can we find answers to these fundamental questions that affect all of us."
Whorin' around...
Benedict XVI received Polish President Lech Kaczynski in audience on the 2nd anniversary of the death of Pope John Paul II. The president said Benedict XVI also spoke of "issues linked to the European Constitution and the presence of Christian roots" in the document.
A source close to the governing body of the EU has confirmed that Pope Benedict XVI was extended an invitation to address a plenary session of the Parliament. A source yesterday said they were still awaiting a response but were "hopeful" it would be accepted.
Local politician Gabriele Pauli is known as the "beautiful rebel" within the Bavarian conservative party, the Christian Social Union. But she may have pushed things too far by posing in latex for some seductive photos. "I see no reason to conceal my femininity," Pauli told the weekly news magazine Stern. "I drive a motorcycle and wear black gloves - is that a reason to quit the party? Are we living in the Middle Ages? "
Edmund Stoiber probably regrets not having been in Bavaria the past week. He was on an 11-day trip through Asia when the scandal surrounding his rival broke. "There's no need for any further commentary," Stoiber said when asked for his reaction to the photos. But a source close to him was quoted as saying: "It's definitely a point of satisfaction. The more she makes herself look ridiculous, the better it is for him." Meanwhile, rumors have started that Stoiber may reconsider his promise to resign. ;-)
Germany on Monday increased its contribution to the NATO force in Afghanistan by deploying 6 Tornado jets. The planes will be used for reconnaissance in southern Afghanistan, where the Taliban insurgency threatens international peacekeepers and Afghan citizens alike.
Across this country of 10 million, a growing number of Belgians are trading in their jeans for suits of armor. They are rubbing stones together to make fire, eating their dinners out of cauldrons, re-enacting heroic battles and participating in mock hangings. Though the dates are disputed, many medieval scholars say the Middle Ages began in 476, with the fall of the Roman emperor Romulus Augustus, and ended in 1453, with the taking of Constantinople by the Turkish sultan Mahomet II.
In the heart of Europe, the troubled world of Franz Kafka seems to be gaining ground over the hopeful world of Vaclav Havel. The historic cities of Prague, Warsaw, Bratislava and Budapest look impressive enough, but economic progress is increasingly overshadowed by political turmoil.
Ukraine has plunged into its most serious political crisis since the 2004 Orange Revolution. A shaky truce between pro-Western and pro-Russian camps has broken after President Yushchenko ordered parliament to be dissolved. Supporters of the two sides are gathering in Kiev.
The German EU presidency has called for "moderation" and "responsibility" in Ukraine, as the latest political crisis in Kiev threatens to destabilise one of the EU's largest neighbours in the east.
Merkel's visit to the volatile region which was initially aimed at sorting out chances of reviving the stalled Mideast peace process, turned instead into a German show of blind support for the Zionist regime. The fact that Merkel met Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert three times during her visit to Jerusalem while she refused to hold talks with Hamas Ministers underscored the point that Germany can no longer be a real mediator in the Mideast conflict.
Ehud Olmert has surprised the world by inviting Arab leaders to a peace conference. But his enthusiastic words lack substance - and Olmert risks discrediting the Saudis as the last widely recognized peace brokers.
The Arab League chief Tuesday blasted Israel's response to an Arab peace initiative in the Middle East as "disturbed" and warned against normalization. The league's Secretary-General told reporters in Cairo there was "no clear Israeli line, but an absolutely disturbed" position from Israel regarding the Saudi-proposed 2002 Arab peace initiative reactivated at the Arab summit in Riyadh last week.
Opposition among factions of the Iraqi elite to the policies being demanded by Washington has brought the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to the brink of collapse, and with it, the façade that the US invasion has installed some form of democratic regime in Baghdad.
By telling other oil exporters that it's a good idea to do business in other currencies, Iran threatens to cause a shift in central bank holdings. If the euro continues to rise, central banks are better off by buying euros. This threat to US foreign policy is great. The threat to the domestic economy is worse. The potential for disrupting the flow of oil has never been greater. If I were James Baker and his associates at the Council on Foreign Relations, I would be ordering several cases of Depends. They are running out of time to reign in Junior.
What could be more Middle Eastern than setting up a trade? Could Britain and the US have set the whole thing up to create an incident justifying a strike on Iran? That seems unlikely, given that Britain is not keen on war with Iran. But what about the reverse? Could Iran have grabbed some British hostages as a way of pre-empting an American attack planned for April? This is where things get interesting.
A growing number of American, Russian, Arab, and Israeli specialists are convinced that the world has moved ominously closer to a global confrontation, to be triggered by an American or Israeli/American attack on Iran, that could come in the immediate days or weeks ahead, and almost certainly by the end of the year. The role of the British in the fueling of a global showdown inside the Persian Gulf cannot be ignored or underestimated, except at grave risk.
With international tension building over the crisis in Iran, a Russian minister and the country's top general warned Tuesday against military action against the Islamic republic. "Any military action near our border is unacceptable. We will take that extremely negatively and everything we can to oppose it."
A bad Good Friday?...
Last weekend saw widespread reports in the mainstream media that the US will be ready to launch a missile attack on Iran's nuclear facilities as soon as early this month, perhaps "from 4 a.m. until 4 p.m. on April 6." Other reports also released last weekend suggest that the attack is going ahead but not until the Summer. Whether it be this Friday or this Summer, both Russian and Israeli intelligence sources agree that there is going to be an attack.
The US is planning to attack Iran's nuclear reactors and other nuclear facilities by the end of this month, the Kuwait-based Arab Times newspaper reported today. Citing anonymous sources in Washington, it said that various White House departments had started preparing the political speech to be delivered by the US president later this month, announcing the military attack on Iran.
For the first time since its rise as a superpower the United States is facing a serious threat to its hegemony across the globe.
The most important factor shaping the post-Cold War world is cultural identity. The idea of universal values is "a distinctive product of Western civilization" and not shared by other civilizations. As the power of the West declines relative to other civilizations – notably Chinese and Islamic – civilizations risk clashing over fundamentally different beliefs and interests. Ironically, the dislocations associated with modernization and globalization are sparking a return to cultural roots, which usually means a renewed commitment to religious identity.
Americans live in a hermetically sealed zone that keeps relevant information from crossing our minds and informing our judgment. Are the news media dumbing Americans down or merely giving people what they want? Either way, the public remains ill informed and insufficiently curious about the world beyond our borders.
Scots are being invited to believe that endorsing the SNP is a dangerous option with a safety catch. The Scottish electorate should be aware that a vote for Mr Salmond would be a very substantial step towards leaving the United Kingdom. It is a deadly serious election with much at stake.
DaimlerChrysler confirmed for the first time today that it is in negotiations with a number of parties about the sale of its money-losing Chrysler division.
Megamesses...
The megachurches mushrooming in the US are mammoth feel-good temples providing entertainment for one and all. The ministers used to deliver weekly jeremiads excoriating homosexuality, feminism and abortion, but many - particularly younger evangelists - are now using the pulpit to preach about Africa and the environment.
Paranoid Protestants Publishing Prophecy Propaganda...
The final instalment of an evangelical Christian publishing phenomenon which has spawned 16 novels and sold 64 million copies arrived in shops across the US yesterday. Kingdom Come, the last of the "Left Behind" series of Bible-inspired thrillers, tells the story of the final postmillennial battle between Jesus and Satan.
=========================
