Benedict XVI expressed his sadness at the news of the apparent suicide of a member of the Vatican police force.
Green makeup for the Whore...
This summer the cardinals at the Vatican accepted an unusual donation from a Hungarian start-up called Klimafa: The company said it would plant trees to restore an ancient forest on a denuded island by the Tizsa River to offset the Vatican's carbon emissions. The young trees, on a 15-hectare (37-acre) tract of land that will be renamed the "Vatican Climate Forest" will in theory absorb as much carbon dioxide as the Vatican makes through its various activities in 2007. In so doing, the Vatican announced, it would become the world's first carbon-neutral state.
Italian officials and politicians have accused "radical and Masonic" groups of being behind the threats by the European Commission to investigate supposed "fiscal advantages" of the Catholic Church in Italy. The political party Forza Italia implicitly accused former government official Romano Prodi of the Radical Party, which is heavily Masonic, of being involved as well.
When Gerhard Richter, one of the world's most expensive living artists, designed an abstract stained glass window for Cologne Cathedral, Cardinal Meisner could barely conceal his anger. "It belongs in a mosque or another house of prayer, not this one. If we are going to have a new window, then it should be one that reflects our faith, not just any faith." Politicians say that the Cardinal is aggravating tensions with Islam, while other churchmen say he is trying to stir up an ancient debate about how one should depict and visually pay tribute to God.
Here in the Baltic home state of Chancellor Merkel, Germany's far Right National Democratic Party - often associated with skinheads and steel-toed boots - is pursuing a softer, path to power.
Germany lacks a "vision for the future of Europe," according to a top Polish foreign policy official. He also accused his country's western neighbor of not taking Poland's interests seriously.
"If Europe wants to be relevant in Asia, we have to become partners." Steinmeier made clear that any interest of conflicts between Asia and Europe could only be resolved through "dialogue". Meanwhile, Steinmeier said Russia remained a "strategically important partner" for Europe, despite political differences. "No single global issue can be solved without Russia."
Ministers from within the EU and from its neighbouring countries gathered for the first time on Monday to discuss the bloc's neighbourhood policy, but the meeting highlighted the strong divisions about what such a policy should mean. Designed with the objective of offering EU neighbours closer – or privileged – cooperation with the bloc, the ENP does not offer EU membership – something clearly underlined by Germany. "The ENP is a separate issue from EU membership. It doesn't open any doors."
Member states from central and eastern Europe have passed the technical tests necessary to get the green light for joining the bloc's Schengen borderless area without further delays early next year.
The EU's ambitions to open the bloc's energy sector to greater competition were dealt a fresh blow Monday after the French state-owned natural gas company Gaz de France announced that it would merge with the utility Suez to create one of the world's largest energy groups. The deal, which creates Europe's largest buyer and seller of natural gas, as well as its biggest natural gas distributor, reinforces France's position as a major player in European and global energy markets.
The EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner called on EU states to respect the independence of the European Central Bank over monetary policy and setting interest rates. "Everyone has a right to his opinion on monetary policy and on interest rates but nobody should put pressure on the (central) bank. Everyone has to respect the fact that the Central Bank takes its decisions wholly independently."
An important anniversary has contemporary resonances: today is the centenary of the Anglo-Russian convention of August 31 1907. Relations between the 2 countries are strained at present, and the Russian government is very unpopular here, as it was 100 years ago, but the issues that the agreement addressed - Persia and Afghanistan, as well as Tibet - are eerily topical.
Russia will hold firm in its opposition to deployment of US missile defenses in Eastern Europe and in its insistence that Kosovo's status be resolved to Serbia's satisfaction, the foreign minister said. "Our partners should understand that we don't bargain. It should be understood that, for all the nonconfrontational external policy of Russia, there are so-called 'red lines' for us - this is when there is a real threat to our national security or to the existing order of international rights."
The EU's Foreign Policy Chief, on tour in the Middle East, says all parties need to seize the opportunity for peace in the region. Yet they should be realistic and cautiously optimistic about the process.
Trade between the EU and Israel should be halted in protest at human rights violations in the Palestinian territories, a UN conference has heard. So far, however, these calls have been rejected by EU governments and by the European Commission.
Bush's Labor Day visit to Iraq marks the beginning of a month-long White House drive to win congressional authorization and funding to continue the war in Iraq for the duration of Bush's term in office and beyond.
Britain's has completed evacuating its 550 troops from Basra Palace and announced that Basra itself will be handed over to Iraqi control "in the autumn". Basra is the last of 5 provinces in southern Iraq to be handed over to the Iraqis. The divergence over Iraq between Britain and the US was given graphic expression by President Bush's unannounced visit to Iraq yesterday.
(LX cartoon: Up the creek!)
"Osama bin Laden could not have plotted the WTC attacks. Neither did Al Qaeda. It's all a myth created by the West," says Sheikh Hassan al-Turabi, the charismatic Sudanese Islamist ideologue who hosted and mentored bin Laden in Khartoum in the early 1990s. "Yes, he was angry with the Americans and the British. But he is not the man behind Al Qaeda."
Former president Rafsanjani today urged Iran to preserve national unity and beware of being provoked in the face of the "dangers" posed by arch enemy the US. "They made a big issue of the nuclear issue and they are mobilising public opinion, their Greater Middle East plan is still on the table. Now they have started an anti-Shi'a wave and we should be careful not to fall into their traps. We should not let ourselves be provoked and give an excuse for the enemy."
The new Commander of Islamic Republic Guard Corps emphasized that the IRGC is ready to reply to all possible threats of system's enemies. "The region has to be cleared off the existence of enemies, and interactions with them (for their allies) should be long distance, since the Muslim peoples of the region cannot tolerate the presence of aliens here."
A new assault orchestrated by the Zionists is moving forward on the basis of another myth: that Iran is developing a nuclear arsenal and wants to "wipe Israel off the map". Zionist lackey US Senator Joe Lieberman has already urged America to bomb Iran. How many more lunatics will fall in line?
It would be almost clinically insane to start a war with Iran, but I'm more worried than I have been that it could happen. Chaos and war could spread across the globe and leave the US even more isolated than it is now.
These kinds of words, pouring out of the administration, send a clear message to any Iranian: You are in trouble. Bend to our will or we destroy you. The neat little war with Iran, which few Democrats oppose, has the potential to ignite a regional inferno.
When Bush comes. It is a popular joke in Tehran, akin to saying, "when pigs fly." Of course, behind every joke lurks a genuine sentiment. There is a palpable sense among many Iranians that the US might start dropping bombs on them at any moment.
The Chinese military shut down the Pentagon's computer network for more than a week during an unprecedented cyber attack, according to leaked reports of an internal investigation. China has flatly denied the allegation, dismissing it as a product of "Cold War" thinking.
All summer, bankers have sweated on Wall Street. Many found themselves in the office trying to make sense of the credit market shutdown that has left their banks responsible for the billions of dollars used to finance leveraged buyouts, yet facing uncertain prospects of getting investors to take some of the debt off their hands. This week will offer the first big test of the credit market as five banks try to entice investors. In the coming months, more than $330 billion in leveraged buyouts must be financed.
For months, the media and specialized press have used terms like "market correction" or a "technical" crisis to describe the present situation, on the theory that economic fundamentals remain robust. Lately, this view has given way to a more pessimistic one that a consumer-induced crisis may be unfolding. A brief examination of the history of sub-prime mortgages sheds some light on how "technical" vs. "fundamental" today's crisis is. The other factor that kept the sub-prime market growing in recent years was the stability of the job market, which in turn is largely dependent upon the construction industry. Thus, the spike in foreclosures and delinquencies may signal the beginning of a "fundamental" crisis of colossal proportions that no accounting gimmick will be able to stave off.
We have only begun to see the reverberations of the mortgage meltdown. They will be as sweeping and mindboggling as global warming or an earthquake measuring 10 on the Richter scale. Tony Soprano economics aren't necessarily noisy, but they are gargantuan in their reach and ramifications. Global economic meltdown, initiated by the ruling elite of the US with full knowledge of omnipresent, pervasive global resource depletion-or as some have called it "Peak Everything", will obliterate the American middle class and result in the ownership of the planet by a voracious ruling elite.
Japan's economy has slowed sharply over the summer and may now be on the brink of recession, dampening hopes that Asia will buttress world growth as America battles the sub-prime housing crisis. The seemingly endless string of weak data from Japan comes amid mounting concern in Washington that the US economy is starting to buckle, and possibly tipping into a severe slump.
Imagine what it would cost to expand the war to Iran. Should this happen, it will simply be too much for the world economy to handle. Local recessions are a given and the possibility of a worldwide depression will not be too farfetched. All in all, the situation is not as bright as the "experts" are saying. I said it in august and September 2006, and I say it again: the US economy is in a bad shape and unless the existing problems are not addressed properly, it will drag the rest of the world with it into a terrible recession or even a depression.
The days of ever-lower food prices may be drawing to an end as production becomes more global and more land is devoted to environmentally friendly fuels. Wheat prices have rocketed more than 50% in the past 3 months as demand outstrips supply across the globe. Concern that Russia may try to restrain its wheat exports and dry weather in Australia has fuelled buying of wheat futures contracts.
People may want to think they are looking for like-minded soul mates but the reality is simply that men are attracted to beauty and women are attracted to wealth. Research gathered in a scientific speed-dating study reveals that when it comes to the rules of attraction people behave like stereotypical Neanderthals.
Melanin is a special pigment that gives the skin and hair its natural color. It also gives color to the iris of the eye, feathers and scales. It makes the skin tanned, but also produces unwanted freckles, birthmarks and other colored marks on the body. Mysterious melanin is an amorphous suspension of polymeric compounds that colors tissues of animals, plants, mushrooms and even microorganisms. Melanin can be black, yellow and brown in color.
Scientists have discovered a potential link between deodorants and breast cancer. High levels of aluminium, which makes up 90% of the anti-perspirant part of most products, were found in the breast tissue of cancer patients who had undergone mastectomies. Scientists have previously warned that aluminium could be absorbed through the skin, particularly after the armpits are shaved. Once in the body, it may mimic the hormone oestrogen, which is known to be involved in the development and progression of breast cancer. Researchers found "significantly higher" levels of aluminium in the underarm region of the breast than other areas.
The following article was commissioned by the Christian Science Monitor in the spring of 1997. Despite much favorable comment from editors, and full documentation, the story remains unpublished by the Monitor. By any yardstick, this report was an award-winning scoop for any national paper. The report offers a glimpse into the history of fluoride, a bio-accumulative toxin that Americans ingest every day.
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