Our attention today will be focused on St. Cyril of Jerusalem. His life represents the coming together of two dimensions: on one side, pastoral care and, on the other, involvement in the controversies that weighed upon the Church of the East at that time.
Benedict XVI named Archbishop John Foley as pro-grand master of the Knights of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem. The grand master of the Knights of the Holy Sepulcher is a cardinal named by the Pope. He governs with the grand prior, who is the Latin-rite patriarch of Jerusalem.
In a globalized world, the universalizing of labor standards is not a burden, but a support for the human rights of workers, says the Holy See. The archbishop said that social goals cannot be excluded in a world where wealth is increasing but is not equitably distributed.
Czech Prime Minister Topolanek and his outgoing Bavarian counterpart Edmund Stoiber, who has never been officially invited to the Czech Republic, may meet this summer on Czech soil. "After Prague's accession to the European Union the time is ripe for talks at the highest level," Stoiber said. During his years in office Stoiber has criticized the Czechs for refusing to scrap the so-called presidential Benes Decrees, in accordance with which the post-WW2 Czechoslovakian government had expelled most of Czechoslovak Germans in an act of collective punishment.
Polish PM...
In a radio interview, Poland's prime minister issues an ominous warning about Berlin, implying that contemprorary Germany is comparable to the time that saw Adolf Hitler rise to power.
[WAR: He must be reading/listening to "that prophet" up there in Edmond, OK!! And speakin' of the PCG ... on the Philadelphia Trumpet website there is an article (Russo-German Pact Imminent) that states: "...Napoleon's defeat brought the 5th revival of the Holy Roman Empire to its end..." Really? Sounds good - but too bad this doesn't square with history! The Vatican and Germany would surely object to this twisting of history - and they're the ones that made up the HRE of the German Nation! Napoleon gave the HRE its mortal wound in 1806, and the Woman didn't ride his FRENCH empire.]
"Speaking to the German authorities as the prime minister of Poland - I warn you not tolerate these kinds of things...This will lead to the worst, to misfortunes, which could hurt Europe but which would also hurt Germany." Meanwhile, prime minister Kaczynski said Poland plans to go on fighting during intergovernmental treaty negotiations, formally opening next month.
One of Germany's leading European parliamentarians has attacked the Polish government for bringing up the country's Nazi past in an attempt to gain more power in the EU.
Following last week's EU summit, calls are increasing for a core Europe in which countries can cooperate without being blocked by others. In some policy areas, a Europe of different speeds has long since become reality.
But...
Chancellor Merkel has said that Europe must not be allowed to divide into 2 camps that approach European integration at different speeds. Referring directly to a "two-speed Europe," she said "I don't think that is a good idea" adding that it would only lead to "the opening of new trenches" in Europe.
Chancellor Merkel told EU parliamentarians in Brussels that the landmark treaty agreed by EU leaders last week shows the way forward for the 27-nation bloc.
Luxembourg's Prime Minister played a pivotal role in the EU summit in Brussels. He spoke to Spiegel Online about the German Chancellor, selfish nationalism and Merkel's similarity to wild cats.
It didn't take Nicolas Sarkozy long to make his mark. After a few weeks as French president, he has already kissed the EU goodbye. Sarkozy may trumpet his rewording as a triumph. But the EU can't work as a Franco-German conspiracy. Unless the trade bloc offers something to all members, it is condemned to fracture and decline. The process may take a while, but Sarkozy has put the EU on a path to destruction.
In the corridors of Brussels the talk is of a likely clash between Brown and Sarkozy over the direction of Europe. "They are poles apart on free-market competition versus state intervention, trade protectionism versus globalisation and further enlargement versus drawing final borders for the Union. This is a clash waiting to happen."
I have no doubt about it. There will be a collapse of the European Union pretty much like the Soviet Union collapsed. Just think what will happen if it comes to an economic crisis. The recrimination between nations will be huge. It might come to blows. This huge edifice of bureaucracy is going to collapse on our heads. This is why, and I am very frank about it, the sooner we finish with the EU the better. The sooner it collapses the less damage it will have done to us and to other countries.
According to Russian scientists, there is new evidence backing Russia's claim that its northern Arctic region is directly linked to the North Pole via an underwater shelf. Under international law, no country owns the North Pole. Instead, the 5 surrounding Arctic states - Russia, the US, Canada, Norway and Denmark (via Greenland) - are limited to a 200-mile economic zone around their coasts.
The Middle East Quartet has named Tony Blair as its new troubleshooter in the Middle East. But the EU's German Presidency is annoyed with the decision-making process leading up to his nomination.
(PFP: Tony of Arabia?)
Ethiopia's prime minister says he is strengthening his army in preparation for an attack by long-time foe Eritrea. "Our defence forces have the capacity to deter aggression and to repulse it if it occurred and... this is being strengthened by the day."
The visiting Deputy Head of Green Party Faction in Germany's parliament said that Iran has the right to produce nuclear energy. "All countries signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty are entitled to use civilian nuclear energy."
Warmonger...
Sanctions and diplomacy have failed and it may be too late for internal opposition to oust the Islamist regime, leaving only military intervention to stop Iran's drive to nuclear weapons, John Bolton, told The Jerusalem Post. Worse still, according to Bolton, the Bush administration does not recognize the urgency of the hour and that the options are now limited to only the possibility of regime change from within or a last-resort military intervention, and it is still clinging to the dangerous and misguided belief that sanctions can be effective. As a consequence, Bolton said he was "very worried" about the well-being of Israel. If he were in Israel's predicament, he said, "I'd be pushing the US very hard. I am pushing the US [administration] very hard, from the outside, in Washington."
Israeli officials took issue with the doomsday outlook on Iran that John Bolton articulated, saying Jerusalem believes a combination of diplomatic pressure and stepped-up sanctions may get Teheran to rethink its nuclear program.
Energy Secretary Sam Bodman said he was concerned that supplies of oil from Venezuela could decline now that Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips have decided to exit major oil projects in the OPEC country. Asked if he was worried US oil imports from Venezuela could be reduced with the companies leaving, Bodman said: "Sure, of course."
Distrust of the US has intensified across the world, but overall views of America remain very or somewhat favorable among majorities in 25 of 47 countries surveyed in a major international opinion poll. "It has worsened among America's European allies and is very, very bad in the Muslim world. But there is still a favorable view of the US in many African countries, as well as in 'New Europe' and the Far East."
(FFF: Why they hate us)
Rain, rain go away...
Dallas is looking a lot like Seattle these days. A prolonged drought has been washed away in north Texas. Dams that were low just a couple of months ago are now brimming with water, and rivers are roiling. An official at the local office of the National Weather Service said this has been the 2nd wettest June since records began in 1899 in the Dallas/Fort Worth area with over 10.5 inches of rain. That is about an inch short of the previous record set in 1928. Southern Oklahoma has also been hard hit by the unusual levels of precipitation.
French banking giant Société Générale Group, through its subsidiary SG CIB, has warned today in a confidential report that the American banking system is in danger of 'imminent collapse' due to the hedge fund failures at US banking giant Bear Stearns, a fear that is also being voiced in America. SG CIB warns in their report that a 'series of cascading events' leading to the 'insolvency' of the American banking system is now being 'unleashed'.
The US faces a severe credit crunch as mounting losses on risky forms of debt catch up with the banks and force them to curb lending and call in existing loans, according to a report by Lombard Street Research. The group said the fast-moving crisis at 2 Bear Stearns hedge funds had exposed the underlying rot in the US sub-prime mortgage market, and the vast nexus of collateralised debt obligations known as CDOs.
Over the weekend of June 17, executives at Bear Stearns scrambled to avert the collapse of 2 hedge funds. Officers at other Wall Street banks that had provided billions of dollars in loans to the funds began to question why Bear Stearns was not stepping in to bail them out.
As the ancient documents are readied for a San Diego exhibition, scholars clash over just who wrote them and what they represent.
Centennia is a map-based guide to the history of Europe and the Middle East from the beginning of the 11th century to the present. It is a dynamic, animated historical atlas including over 9,000 border changes. The map controls evolve the map forward or backward in time bringing the static map to life. It's ideal for anyone who loves maps and history, and it's also extremely popular among genealogy enthusiasts. There's no easier way to get a long-time-scale perspective on the history of the regions of Europe and the Middle East than by watching the borders shift back and forth in Centennia.
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