During the homily for the Solemnity of the Assumption, Benedict XVI invites the faithful to have the "courage to live" like Mary "against all the threats from the dragon" because "love is stronger than selfishness." He strongly criticises anti-Christian dictatorships: Nazism, Stalinism and materialism. In the Angelus the Pope highlights the solidarity between Our Lady "and the Son, in the struggle and total victory against death."
(EWTN: B16 on the protection of Mary)
The cabinet of Chancellor Merkel approved new transparency rules for private equity and hedge funds. The proposals "cover the wide spectrum of funds." They focus on protecting companies that are takeover targets, and would oblige private equity and hedge funds to disclose how they finance their bids and to elaborate on their aims if they seek to raise stakes in companies beyond 10%. They also seek to restrict funds from acting in concert during takeovers and to curb hedge funds' influence at shareholders' meetings.
Following the UN's decision to deploy troops to Sudan, war mongers in Berlin are pushing for German participation. German foreign policy specialists from the opposition, as well as, from circles close to the ruling CDU Party are calling for Germany showing a presence in the Western Sudanese province of Darfur, at least with military observers or high ranking officers.
It's no secret that Iraq is a politically, ethnically and religiously fractured country. But a new study released in Berlin argues that federalism remains the country's last, best hope. Otherwise, it may fall apart completely.
President Ahmadinejad arrived Wednesday in Kyrgyzstan to join the leaders of Russia and China for a summit of a regional group seen as a platform for countering US interests in strategic, energy-rich Central Asia. The US, which maintains an air base in the host country, is keeping a close eye on today's gathering of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which also includes four ex-Soviet republics in Central Asia.
In a move with ominous implications, the Bush administration has resolved to brand the entire Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps as a "specially designated global terrorist" organization. The highly provocative step not only sets the stage for intensified economic pressure on Tehran, but also formalises a potential casus belli for US military action against Iran. The decision to unilaterally criminalise a major branch of the military of a sovereign nation is unprecedented.
(MSNBC: Iran brushes off US threat)
The decider behind the Decider – Dick Cheney – is calling for airstrikes against Iran. Indeed, it seems Cheney has already chosen the casus belli for such an attack – a provocation that we will doubtless see occurring any day now.
The door is closing on President Bush's opportunity to shape domestic policy. His strength is sapped by an unpopular war, Democrats are running Congress, and the 2008 presidential election is in full roar, distracting attention from the president's priorities. With dwindling options, Bush has decided he might get more done in his final months by going it alone.
London's FTSE 100 fell below the 6,000 level today as uncertainty over the impact of losses in the US sub-prime lending market persisted.
(LX: Global markets plunge)
(WSJ: Banks remain tense)
(MW: Only panic left)
A dramatic surge in the Japanese yen over recent days has cut off a key source of liquidity for the global asset boom, setting off a panic flight from emerging markets for the first time since the latest turmoil began. "We're now seeing a vicious cycle where all this goes into reverse. The impact could be enormous."
(UPI: China and the dollar crisis)
The Labor Department's most recent inflation data showed that US food prices rose by 4.2% for the 12 months ending in July, but a deeper look at the numbers reveals that the price of milk, eggs and other essentials in the American diet are actually rising by double digits. Already stung by a 2-year rise in gasoline prices, American consumers now face sharply higher prices for foods they can't do without.
A pair of German physicists claim to have broken the speed of light - an achievement that would undermine our entire understanding of space and time. Being able to travel faster than the speed of light would lead to a wide variety of bizarre consequences.
Today in Scripture
* "At YAHWEH's command Aaron the priest went up Mount Hor, where he died on the 1st day of the 5th month of the 40th year after the Israelites came out of Egypt." (Num 33:38)
* "Ezra arrived in Jerusalem in the 5th month of the 7th year of the king. He had begun his journey from Babylon on the 1st day of the 1st month, and he arrived in Jerusalem on the 1st day of the 5th month..." (Ezra 7:8,9)
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