The Holy See Press Office Director has affirmed that the Pope is dedicating part of the holiday he is spending in the Italian alpine resort of Lorenzago de Cardore to writing the 2nd part of his book "Jesus of Nazareth," and to reflecting upon his next encyclical "which will have a social theme."
Benedict XVI told Shimon Peres, newly-elected president of Israel, that he hopes his presidency will give a decisive impulse to the peace process in the Middle East. According to an Israeli public radio station, the Pope wrote a letter to Peres, not published by the Holy See, in which he emphasized the reputation and achievements of the Israeli leader.
Pope Benedict XVI recently issued 2 unexpected decrees, restoring the atavistic Mass of the Council of Trent and resuscitating an outmoded Catholic exclusivism - the notion of a pope-centered Catholicism as the only authentic way to God. Pope Benedict is attempting to restore, by fiat, the first naïveté of "one true church." In an age of global pluralism, this is simply not tenable.
A new generation of Russian businessmen has discovered Germany. Investments, joint ventures and takeovers from the East are on the rise. One reason: Wages in Moscow and St. Petersburg are too high.
Facing pressures from rival Boeing and a strong euro, the Airbus parent shuffles its Franco-German top tier in hopes of a little stability.
France will press for governments of the 13 countries sharing the euro to directly confront the European Central Bank over interest rate policy, in an effort that many European officials believe is designed to lower the value of the euro vis-à-vis other currencies. But the initiative will almost certainly face intense opposition from the ECB and other European countries, notably Germany.
The architect of the rejected European constitution, Valery Giscard d'Estaing, says the recently agreed changes to the document are "cosmetic" and designed to avoid the EU's new reform treaty looking exactly like the EU constitution.
Poland's right wing is consolidating, and may end up threatening the newly-minted EU treaty. Two extremist politicians on Monday joined forces amid pledges to put the brakes on Polish integration into the EU.
Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has urged the Security Council to vote quickly on a resolution putting Kosovo on the path to independence, but the council subsequently ended a meeting on the matter deadlocked over objections from Russia. Russia opposes any action that would allow Kosovo to declare independence from Serbia, an ally of Moscow, and has hinted strongly that it will use its veto if such a measure comes up for a vote. It has also refused to join the normal council process of negotiating changes.
Amid a growing diplomatic row that threatens to affect the EU's ties to Russia, Moscow said it intends to put a halt to cooperating with London on counter-terrorism and security matters.
Tensions between NATO and the former states of the Soviet Union reached a new climax last weekend, following Russia's unilateral withdrawal from the Treaty for Conventional Armed Forces in Europe. Now, for the first time since the 1980s, Europe confronts a violent spiral of rearmament, and some commentators are already speaking of a second Cold War. This confronts European governments, squeezed between the US and Russia, with a major dilemma.
The tit-for-tat Russian action is rooted in suspicions that have their origins in America's violation of the so-called Two Plus Four Treaty. Signed in 1990 with the Soviet Union after the Eastern Bloc fell, the treaty was intended to allow for the unification and integration of Germany into the West. In the Two Plus Four Treaty, the US pledged not to station foreign troops or nuclear weapons in the eastern part of Germany, and not to expand NATO eastward. Since then, in violation of the treaty, NATO has added 10 new countries. And the US would like to add more. No wonder Russia is beginning to feel encircled. One need not have an affinity for Russia, Russians, or their autocratic leader to realize that the US is principally to blame for the current tensions.
German and other European leaders have welcomed President Bush's new Middle East initiative calling for an international conference to explore ways of creating a Palestinian state.
Syrian President Assad expressed skepticism at President Bush's call for an international Mideast peace conference, calling the offer "just words." Hamas rejected the proposal, saying Americans couldn't be trusted to be fair. "We believe that all promises made by Bush are false promises."
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is due to visit Egypt for talks with Arab foreign ministers, while Israel ruled out negotiations "at this stage" on the borders of a future Palestinian state. "Israel has openly stated that we're willing to talk about issues of 'political horizon' and about how to achieve the vision of 2 states for 2 peoples. But we have been very clear that we are not willing to discuss at this stage the 3 core issues of borders, refugees and Jerusalem."
A group of retired communist cadres has launched a scathing attack on China's leadership for jettisoning socialism in favour of the "evil road" of capitalism. In a hardline critique of the People's Republic of today, the 17 former diplomats, officials, academics and army officers accused the government of selling off assets, allowing foreign companies to plunder the country and favouring entrepreneurs over the workers. Conservatives call for a reversion to state control of industry and, in particular, an end to the poison of foreign political ideas such as "democratic socialism".
As a result of an usually severe flood season, over 2 billion mice have swarmed and are now destroying crops in 22 counties in China. Mice holes became flooded, causing the rodents to tunnel through the dikes and spread out into fields, eating crops and posing a direct health hazard of crisis proportions to humans.
The UN agency has seen Iran's decision to allow inspection of Arak reactor and its willingness to discuss its nuclear program as positive steps.
A Japanese official says his country will use yen in half of its future crude transactions with Iran as requested by the Islamic Republic. Iran has called on the Japanese oil contractors to change the unit of currency in transactions to yen from dollar as a way to counterbalance the US sanctions against the country.
A former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in the Reagan administration has gone further than ever before, warning that the Bush administration could be about to stage false flag events and terror attacks in order to reinstate the draft, announce a dictatorship and attack Iran. In his weekly syndicated column, he suggests that unfolding events and the nature of the rhetoric emanating from government quarters suggests that a major staged terror attack could be just around the corner.
A recent exposé in the London Independent, when stripped of its heavily lefty leaning bias, has provided a stark picture of neocon worshippers in America today as a bunch of bigoted wannabe elites who have swallowed whole the mantra of the Bush cabal and now believe that real conservatism consists of invading every oil producing country in the world and killing American citizens who protest.
The dollar fell to a record low against the euro and dropped versus the yen after Bear Stearns reported hedge fund losses, fueling speculation investors will spurn US assets as the economy slows.
Oil edged towards $76 a barrel today after 2 days of losses, as investors awaited weekly US inventory data that are expected to show refineries running harder and churning out more gasoline.
When saboteurs blew up several natural gas pipelines in central Mexico this month, it temporarily shut down production for US automakers and other important manufacturers. Ordinary Americans should have an interest in learning who is behind the attacks and why. Mexico is the 2nd-largest exporter of crude oil to the US and if unknown assailants can blow up a natural gas pipeline, they could strike as easily at oil. World oil prices are now above $73 a barrel, and further strikes against Mexican energy infrastructure would add to the price jitters.
The South Korean Supreme Court ruled that an unborn child will not be considered human until the mother goes into labor. This definition came in a court decision late last week that cleared a midwife of negligent homicide charges. The ruling stated that "even if a Caesarean section was possible, the mother did not have labor pains, which is the beginning of childbirth, thus the unborn baby cannot be recognized as a human being."
[WAR: Well, they almost got it right - and are 9 months closer to the truth than the Clueless Catholics and Paranoid Protestants. Life does begin at birth - specifically at the first breath, the "breath of life".]
Well, duh!...
Eating more than the recommended 5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day does not improve the survival chances of breast cancer sufferers, according to a new study.
[WAR: Cancer is not something to be fought - either by eating extra good stuff, or taking the "cut, slash 'n burn" way. No, cancer is to be prevented by not indulging in the causes of it. So it's not how much good food one eats - it's what is NOT eaten/drunk that counts! If one continues to eat bad foods, drink colas/alcohol, take any medication, etc., then it doesn't matter how much fruit and veggies you eat - because you're still contributing to the cause of cancer. For more info, check out Dr. Lorraine Day's website at http://www.drday.com.]
Well, duh again!...
Taking vitamin C supplements to prevent a cold is a waste of time and money, say researchers. A review of 30 studies involving more than 11,000 people found that taking the tablets had no effect on the average person. Thousands of people take the supplements and some take large doses in the belief it helps them stay healthy but the analysis shows it is unnecessary.
[WAR: Again, there is no need to "combat" a cold or suppress its symptoms - if you do, then you're on the road to cancer. Just don't indulge in the causes of them - which leads to toxemia and toxicosis, and causes the body to quickly detoxify when you reach a certain toxic level. And once you realize that the body is dumping toxins and waste, then ipso facto, you know not to "combat" it - just allow the body to complete the disease process. The body is perfectly capable of healing itself - it's the most amazing thing ever created. And fasting is the best way to this. Because if you feed a cold, you'll have to starve a fever!]
D'Oh! A painting of Homer Simpson next to the 17th century giant carved into the hillside at Cerne Abbas, Dorset, in the United Kingdom has angered Pagans who regard the giant as a spiritual icon.
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