Catholics resisted Nazism during the dictatorship of Adolf Hitler in Germany, and if they didn't do it in a more decisive way, it was because of "a certain inferiority complex." Kugler explained that Pius XII "loved the German people" and never approved of the Nazi regime. The historian pointed out that "in 40 out of 44 speeches of Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli - the future Pius XII - as nuncio in Germany, there were criticisms of totalitarianism and racism." In light of this, "to say that he was anti-Semitic and in favor of Hitler is ridiculous," he affirmed, saying that the Holy See's diplomacy saved at least 700,000 Jews.
A row over alleged Vatican interference in Italian affairs has erupted after a demand by the European Commission for Italy to explain tax breaks for the Catholic Church on income from property. A spokesman for the Competition Commissioner said Brussels had received complaints that the tax concessions amounted to illegal state aid. He said that the Commission was merely seeking information at this stage. That was enough, however, to unleash a political storm in Italy over the role and status of the Church, with the Left accusing it of using its "privileged position" to impose a Catholic agenda on Italians with the connivance of the Right.
Deutsche Bank has shut down its proprietary credit trading desk in London and up to 7 employees have left the bank as the credit crunch claimed yet more scalps yesterday. The move is just one of a series of examples of investment banks scaling back businesses hit by the market turmoil.
A day after prosecutors announced they were investigating the bank's former management board, troubled WestLB has reported huge losses resulting from the high-risk speculative trading at the heart of the probe.
In a sign of the renaissance of Germany's Jewish community, the country's biggest synagogue is to re-open today in Berlin. But the presence of armed guards outside brings to mind the specters of the past and the dangers that still persist.
Norway and Germany yesterday unveiled plans to exploit some of the Arctic's vast energy reserves but insisted the joint project was not an attempt at a "land grab". The nations' foreign ministers travelled to the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen to sign an agreement to explore and develop energy fields and to study the effects of global warming on the North Pole.
Russia has reacted with anger at EU plans to prevent foreign companies from uncontrolled access to the European energy sector, warning that any discriminative measure will be legally challenged. "Russia is as interested in supplying Europe as Europe is in receiving gas from us. We are mutually interdependent and that interdependence is a pillar of energy security."
In a country that has long resisted globalization, President Sarkozy bluntly told France on Thursday to stop kidding itself and face up to it - but in a French way. Calling the free market an illusion, Sarkozy said France should not be shy about having the government defend French companies and interests from foreign marauders. But he also signaled that he was not the French "dirigiste" of the past.
(IHT op-ed: Sarkozy breaks the mold)
(LT op-ed: Sarkozy makes a stand)
(Economist op-ed: The world according to Sarkozy)
(Economist: Sarkozy: Running fast, but where's he going?)
The prime minister of Kosovo vowed Thursday to declare independence if internationally brokered talks failed to "open a way for us," staking out a tough position at last-ditch negotiations on the province's future. The deadlock raises the likelihood of a showdown after Dec. 10, when 120 days of negotiations called by the UN secretary general expire. At that point the international community will be confronted with the possibility that Kosovo will make a play for statehood on its own.
Remains of the Jewish 2nd temple may have been found during work to lay pipes at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in east Jerusalem. An archaeologist from Bar Ilan University urged the Israeli government to stop the pipework after the discovery of what he said is "a massive seven metre-long wall."
Israel is blocking leading archeologists from surveying massive damage Islamic authorities are accused of causing to what experts believe may be an outer wall of the Second Jewish Temple. "The Israeli government is actively blocking us from inspecting the site and what may be a monumental find and is doing nothing while the Waqf destroys artifacts at Judaism's holiest site."
A moving photo exhibition in New York shows what the media doesn't - shocking photos of seriously wounded Iraq veterans. The images and the soldiers' quotes which accompany them say more about the war than you might want to know.
Gasoline prices could rise to about $9 per gallon if the US withdraws troops from Iraq prematurely, Rep. Jon Porter said he was told on a trip to Iraq that ended this week. "To a person, they said there would be genocide, gas prices in the US would rise to $8-$9 a gallon, al-Qaida would continue its expansion, and Iran would take over that portion of the world if we leave."
Ruh-Roh...
A C-130 aircraft carrying an Alabama senator and congressman was fired on as it was flying from Baghdad to Amman, Jordan. The airplane was carrying Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., and Rep. Bud Cramer, D-Huntsville, and 2 other senators. Three rockets were shot at the plane and were "near misses," Shelby said in a telephone interview. He said the pilot took evasive maneuvers to avoid the rockets. The plane landed safely in Amman.
The mainstream media has failed to report the agreement reached between the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Iranian government in regards to the Iranian nuclear energy program. The IAEA has given Iran's nuclear program a clean bill of health. Why is the US media not reporting on this matter? Why do the US and its Western allies continue to threaten Iran with punitive bombings for its alleged non-compliance, when everything indicates that Iran has a bona fide nuclear energy program and does not have the capabilities of developing nuclear weapons? The fact of the matter is that the US and its Coaltion partners, as confirmed by several reports, are in an "advanced state of readiness" to wage a military operation directed against Iran. What they now require is a fabricated pretext which portrays Iran, in the eyes of public opinion, as a threat to world peace. The Western media bears a heavy burden of responsibility in the current wave of disinformation regarding Iran.
(PTV: US, UK and France slam IAEA report) Well, duh!
The German government has banned firms from importing goods to Iran that could be used for military purposes, thus reinforcing an earlier EU decision to tighten sanctions against Tehran in the ongoing nuclear row.
President Bush's most recent ranting, in which he accused Iran of threatening to unleash a "nuclear holocaust," must be seen, for sure, in the context of the drumbeat for military aggression against the Islamic Republic. Within the space of a few days, several articles appeared in the mainstream press, indicating that the Cheney project for launching a new war is on the front burner.
The war whoops are scheduled to reach a crescendo on September 11, at which point I expect the War Party to roll out a new narrative that portrays Iran as the protector and enabler of al-Qaeda, or even the real author of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Perhaps they'll run the complete works of Laurie Mylroie through a word processor, and, in true Orwellian fashion, insert Ahmadinejad's name where Saddam's once appeared, replacing "Iraq" with "Iran." Presto, change-o! – and we have yet another war myth, a fresh load of prefabricated propaganda with which to bamboozle the masses, befuddle the media, and defuse dissent in the leadership of the major political parties.
The Republican and Democratic parties have divided the American people over fundamental moral values, they have failed to rectify longstanding national problems, and their existence chiefly benefits special interest groups, politicians, and mega-corporate executives. As George Washington wrote, the constant alternation of two parties in the federal government would be a "frightful despotism."
Americans, at large, viewed catastrophic earthquakes, fires and hurricanes with surprising optimism. Whether seeing it as a religious opportunity to get back on the straight and narrow, or an economic opportunity to rebuild bigger and better, Americans are uniquely steeped in the potential of crisis. American economy and self-perception has become dependent upon catastrophe.
How much will the credit crunch hurt the world economy? The severity of mountainous terrain becomes clearer as you start climbing. So, too, the economic effects of the credit crunch will become more apparent over time.
President Bush is expected to set out plans later today to help homeowners with sub-prime mortgages avoid defaulting. Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke is also due to talk about the ongoing problems today.
Home foreclosures in the US have reached near-epidemic scope and scale. Predatory lending practices, speculation and widespread fraud cannot, however, fully account for the scale of the foreclosure crisis. Rather, the ultimate causes lie in long-term trends; the stagnation of wages, the lack of affordable housing and the growing indebtedness of American households.
The mysterious disappearance of millions of bees is fueling fears of an agricultural disaster.
Our twin worlds of Mars and Venus
What really intrigues me are the contrasts across the North Atlantic with regard to matters of war and peace - remarkable differences that cannot be explained by economics or social structures. Instead - as the noted American foreign-affairs commentator Robert Kagan argued a few years ago in his celebrated "Americans are from Mars and Europeans are from Venus" formula - different political cultures and historical experiences may account for the two radically opposed attitudes toward conflict in today's world.
What really intrigues me are the contrasts across the North Atlantic with regard to matters of war and peace - remarkable differences that cannot be explained by economics or social structures. Instead - as the noted American foreign-affairs commentator Robert Kagan argued a few years ago in his celebrated "Americans are from Mars and Europeans are from Venus" formula - different political cultures and historical experiences may account for the two radically opposed attitudes toward conflict in today's world.
Scientists have worked out why mosquitoes make a beeline for certain people but appear to leave others almost untouched. Specific cells in one of the three organs that make up the mosquito's nose are tuned to identify the different chemicals that make up human body odour. To the mosquito some people's sweat simply smells better than others because of the proportions of the carbon dioxide, octenol and other compounds that make up body odour.
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