Benedict XVI paid tribute to Eastern Christians, expressing his gratitude for their fidelity at the price of martyrdom. He reiterated "his profound appreciation for the Eastern Catholic Churches for their particular role as living witnesses of the origins." These Churches maintain the traditions and liturgies of the Orthodox Churches, but are set apart by their obedience to the Bishop of Rome.
Christian education is formation in authentic freedom since it implies a discovery of the love of God which gives meaning to life, says Benedict XVI. "This is the decisive challenge for the future of the faith, the Church and Christianity."
A scandal in the eastern state of Saxony is threatening to engulf Chancellor Merkel's right-hand man. The chief of staff is accused of not doing enough to probe allegations of widespread sleaze in Saxony's political establishement in his previous job.
German press...
SPD leader Kurt Beck has thrown a spanner in the works of Germany's grand coalition with an essay criticizing the SPD's coalition partners, the CDU/CSU. Commentators suspect he is just trying to step out of Merkel's shadow - but warn that he may end up just hurting himself.
The former federal environment secretary, Jürgen Trittin, even believes that the only conservative party with which the Greens could form a coalition is the Christian Social Union in Bavaria. Should the shaky grand coalition in Berlin break apart, the Greens could also be used to form a new majority together with the free-market Free Democrats. Such a coalition would be possible without new elections.
Helmut Kohl's old friend and fellow Cold War veteran Mikhail Gorbachev has recommended that the former German chancellor be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Europe remains a stronger Christian fortress than people realize. What's more, it is showing little sign of giving ground to Islam or any other faith for that matter.
The EU is facing a crisis: As leaders prepare for a summit next week to discuss reviving the stalled EU constitution, Poland is threatening to use its veto unless the new voting system is renegotiated. EU leaders are worried.
EU leaders, responding to Polish veto threats, called on European governments to compromise on a draft EU constitution treaty at an upcoming summit.
Despite all this backing, success is still far from guaranteed, with Poland the main obstacle, although the Czech Republic is also applying the brakes.
COG prophecy cookie continues to crumble...
The inappropriate centralisation of political power by the EU is one of the main reasons people mistrust it, argues former German President Roman Herzog. "People are increasingly ill-at-ease, and even downright sceptical about the European Union. One of the main reasons is that they cannot shake off the feeling of an ever-stronger and inappropriate centralisation of its competences."
* "It is my opinion that in any case the European Union in order to be able to operate effectively should strictly limit its interventions on the rights it has. It should not be a centralized organization." (Otto von Habsburg)
* "In any case the Habsburgs and their supporters have now drifted away from the present EU, and they may be hoping to find other, more useful embodiments of their purposes as presented in the Paneuropa program: 'Commitment to a Europe united by its Christian-Western values,' 'the insertion of these value-conceptions into the daily lives of Europeans,' and 'the bringing to public attention of the goals of the movement.'" (Puritans or Habsburgs)
In European countries where living memory can still recall the horror of wars that cost more than 40m lives, one might have expected emotional celebrations to mark 50 years of peaceful and prosperous coexistence. Yet this year's golden anniversary of the Treaty of Rome meant no more to the majority of Europe's people than EU constitutional debates. Perhaps this widespread indifference to a milestone in European history can be explained by an absence of collective identity on a continent where culture is deeply rooted in the nation state. If so, could or should our common history be "repackaged" to help create a shared sense of identity?
The EU gave investors new voting powers, increasing shareholder democracy. The rules erase borders for the casting of ballots, empowering foreign investors who hold a third of shares in the region. The rules will give more power to hedge funds and other investors already exerting greater influence at companies around Europe.
Serbia will never surrender Kosovo to the breakaway province's ethnic Albanian majority or trade its territory for EU or NATO membership, Serb leaders said. President Bush had "disgusted" Serbs by promising independence to Kosovo and would not be forgiven.
The issue of Kosovan independence is inflaming great power relations, splitting Europe, threatening further instability in the Balkans region and emboldening secessionist movements elsewhere to press for independence.
Russia called for substantial changes to a conventional arms control treaty that was forged when the Soviet Union held sway over all of Eastern Europe and NATO and the Warsaw Pact confronted each other. Russia issued the demand at the first emergency meeting ever called by a signatory to the 1990 Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe.
[WAR: "Look, their brave men cry aloud in the streets; the envoys of peace weep bitterly. The highways are deserted, no travelers are on the roads. The treaty is broken, its witnesses are despised, no one is respected." (Isa 33:7,8)?]
The Russian Orthodox Church has backed President Putin's opposition to US plans to install a missile defence shield in Eastern Europe.
The enemy was Britain in 1945-46; the enemy of Russia is Britain today. It's not the US, it's Britain. It's London, what it represents as a financial clique center of the world. The dollar is a reserve currency that controls the world's fate today, but it's actually controlled from London. I think senior people in Russia do not think that the US is the problem. They think that the US is key to the problem, but that Britain is the enemy. Anyone who understands this knows that Britain is the enemy. The British Empire.
Shimon Peres has been elected Israel's next president, winning the support of 86 of parliament's 120 members in a second and final round of balloting. Peres, of the ruling Kadima Party, all but clinched the race after his two rivals withdrew after the first round of voting earlier in the day.
Former Prime Minister Ehud Barak has been elected leader of the Labour Party, the 2nd major partner in the country's governing coalition.
Prime Minister Olmert called for the deployment of an international force along the Gaza-Egypt border in order to stop the ongoing strengthening of extremist groups in the Gaza Strip.
The EU would consider participating in an international force in Gaza if asked by the major players in the region, the EU's foreign policy chief Javier Solana said.
The highest ranking UN official in Israel has warned that American pressure has "pummelled into submission" the UN's role as an impartial Middle East negotiator in a damning confidential report.
Hassan al-Turabi invited Osama bin Laden to stay in Sudan in the 1990s. Now he pushes for reform. "[Turabi's] one of the most influential men in Sudan today. He is also a religious leader, with so many ideas about the role of women, about democracy, and so he has influence outside Sudan as well. He's one of the great thinkers of Islam today."
Iran and Austria discussed avenues for bolstering bilateral cooperation in various economic fields. Austria is one of Iran's main economic partners in Central Europe.
The Islamic Republic of Iran wrote a letter to the UN Security Council condemning the insolent threats made against the Islamic Republic of Iran by the Israeli regime. "Emboldened by the absence of any action by the Security Council, various Israeli officials have unabatedly continued to publicly and contemptuously make unlawful and dangerous threats of resorting to force against the Islamic Republic of Iran in total defiance of international law and the fundamental principles of the Charter of the United Nations."
The current propaganda campaign on behalf of striking Iran is all about Israel. It's as simple as that. The question before the house is this: should the US exhaust itself militarily, economically, and psychologically in order to ensure indefinite Israeli domination of the Middle East? To the Israel Lobby, this is a no-brainer: of course it should. Anything less than unconditional support for Israel's strategic objectives would be anti-Semitic and "hateful."
The Bush administration's experimentation with diplomacy with Iran is viewed with great concern by the advocates of war. The immediate effect of re-igniting the let's-bomb-Iran discussions is the undercutting of the recently initiated US-Iran talks over Iraq, which in turn will cause the military confrontation with Iran to be viewed in a new light.
Vice President Dick Cheney, the linchpin of the British oligarchical hold on the US government, took some political body blows in the week of June 4, which have increased the pressure for bringing him to account for his crimes and offenses. With more and more spotlights being trained upon Cheney's high crimes and misdemeanors against the US Constitution, he becomes ever more impeachable—and the political excuses for failing to pursue impeachment more and more unacceptable. Specifically, if impeachment is "off the table," the war against Iran and shredding of the US Constitution are surely on the table.
I've believed for some time now that the greatest threat to America's freedoms is not specifically from socialism or communism but rather an "ism" you seldom hear much about these days – fascism. I would place fascism and socialism just a few degrees to the right of communism. Remember, both fascism and socialism favor – to one degree or another – government control of production and distribution. The only thing that distinguishes fascism from socialism in economic theory is how they get that control. Fascists realize the government doesn't need to own industry to control it. Through regulation and taxation, fascists know they can achieve the same results without nearly as much work and responsibility.
A powerful coalition of conservative Anglican leaders is preparing to create a parallel Church for conservatives in America in defiance of the Archbishop of Canterbury, provoking the biggest split in Anglican history. According to sources, at least six primates are planning the consecration of a prominent American cleric as a bishop to minister to Americans who have rejected their liberal bishops over the issue of homosexuality. The move will send shock waves through worldwide Anglicanism and may prove to be a fatal blow to the efforts of Dr Rowan Williams to hold together what he described last month as a "very vulnerable, very fragile" Church.
Right here in my backyard...
The Anglican Communion Network is a theologically conservative network of dioceses and parishes working toward Anglican realignment. The ACN was officially formed in January 2004 at a conference in Plano, Texas attended by several hundred priests and lay leaders, including 12 Episcopal bishops. The ACN was formed in response to suggestions by the Archbishop of Canterbury in the wake of the controversy regarding Anglican views of homosexuality.
World oil prices will rise sharply in the second half of 2007 unless OPEC increases production, the International Energy Agency said, as some analysts predicted that crude could top $80 a barrel later this year.
Some of the reasons why the Chinese stock market continues to defy both gravity and the half-hearted efforts of the government to cool it are normal and obvious. But there is another reason that says a lot about a particularly Chinese situation: the relationship between Communist party power and wealth accumulation.
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