Israeli President Peres met with Pope Benedict XVI at Castel Gandolfo on September 6, for "cordial" discussions that centered on the prospects for peace in the Middle East and for a quick conclusion of negotiations toward a diplomatic accord between Israel and the Holy See. During his visit, Peres renewed an invitation for Pope Benedict to visit Israel. No date has been set for a papal visit, however. Vatican insiders suggest that the Pope probably will not make a visit until the diplomatic accord is completed.
Pope Benedict XVI met with Prince Saud al Faisal, the foreign minister of Saudi Arabia, in a private audience on Thursday. The Vatican did not disclose any information about the content of the Pope's discussions with his Saudi visitor.
"In truth, the Christian faith is not foreign to your peoples. 'Jesus is the Good News for the men and women of every time and place in their search for the meaning of existence and for the truth of their own humanity,' and in her announcement to all peoples the Church does not wish to impose herself but to bear witness to her respect for human beings and for the society in which she lives. In the social and religious context of your region, it is vitally important that Catholics express their own identity, while always respecting other religious traditions and cultures."
(Zenit: Church doesn't impose faith)
Cardinal Christoph Schönborn says Benedict XVI is the last of the great Second Vatican Council theologians, and that the Pope's words are always both important and fascinating. In view of Benedict XVI's visit to Austria today through Sunday, the archbishop of Vienna and president of the Austrian bishops' conference spoke to Zenit about the Pope, the man and the successor of Peter.
Cardinal Peter Erdo says that true Christianity is little known in Europe, and that the first task for those gathered at the ecumenical assembly is studying and living the faith. "Regretfully, we must often witness how little Christianity is known in Europe in its true essence. Many masks of Christianity are circulating, knowingly often false. I believe that the first big obstacle to ecumenism is the ignorance of Christianity and the superficiality of the Christian life."
Placating Paranoid Protestants...
The president of the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity sought to ease Protestant concerns about the language of a recent Vatican document, at a meeting of European ecumenical leaders. This Vatican statement should not be taken to mean that the Catholic Church regards Protestant groups as "somehow false churches," Cardinal Kasper told the Christian leaders gathered in Romania. Rather, he said, it shows that Catholics and Protestants "have a different understanding of what the Church is."
The president of the Pontifical Academy for Life has said that the British decision to approve creation of "hybrid" human-animal embryos is "a monstrous act against human dignity."
The interval is over, and the actors in Germany's grand coalition have come back onstage. The script for the next 2 years calls for the Christian Democrats and Social Democrats to live together until they disband to fight each other in a federal election by September 2009. But it is between the lines that one finds the real plot: complacency and angst, meaning that the second act will hardly be action-packed. Yet the mood of the 3 coalition partners (the Christian Social Union is the third) is jittery.
The 3 terror suspects had been under round-the-clock observation by 300 police officers for a period of at least 6 months. The question arises: Why did security forces not intervene at an earlier date to halt such criminal plans? Why was the plot snuffed out now? Why is something that was known about for a considerable time by security forces now being pushed into the public sphere? Could it be that political issues are at stake?
German press...
The debate on dealing with Islamist terrorism has been re-ignited in Germany by Tuesday's arrests of 3 terror suspects - 2 of whom are German converts. German commentators offer their take on how best to ward off the threat.
Around 2.3 million ethnic Germans from the former Soviet Union have emigrated to Germany since 1991. Faced with a demographic crisis, Russia is now trying to woo them back.
Germans are starting to rethink their negative views about Prussia, the state which ruled much of northern Germany for centuries and which has been viewed for decades through the prism of Nazism.
* 1701 - Treaty of the Hague, known as the Grand Alliance, is signed, whereby Britain, Holland and the Holy Roman Empire ally against France.
* 1714 - France signs Peace of Baden with the Holy Roman Empire, whereby France keeps Alsace and Strasbourg.
The first test of whether the fast-track timetable for the new EU treaty has a chance of succeeding will take place today when foreign ministers discuss the contentious points in the document. EU presidency Portugal, in charge of the talks, wants the treaty wrapped up and signed off by EU leaders in 6 weeks time.
Switzerland is known as a haven of peace and neutrality. But today it is home to a new extremism that has alarmed the UN. Proposals for draconian new laws that target the country's immigrants have been condemned as unjust and racist. A poster campaign, the work of its leading political party, is decried as xenophobic.
The future status of Kosovo is going to be high on the agenda of EU foreign ministers meeting in Portugal today and tomorrow, as they try to overcome internal divisions and move closer towards a common EU position on the sensitive issue. The EU's strong internal differences on the breakaway Serbian province have already prompted the EU's Kosovo envoy to warn that there will be "chaos" if the bloc does not manage to speak with one voice.
The US would not comment on Syria's charge that it fired at Israel Air Force aircraft that violated its airspace in the early hours of Thursday. Iran blasted Israel over Syria's claims accusing Jerusalem of "spreading insecurity" in the Middle East. Iran's ambassador to Damascus had contacted Syrian security officials and said that "Iran is ready to provide every kind of assistance to Syria." Russia, meanwhile, called on Israel to respect international law and expressed "extreme concern" over the reported incident. "The reports have caused extreme concern in Moscow."
British forces in southern Iraq have been fighting a "proxy war" against Iran, the commander of the troops who withdrew from Basra Palace has said.
Osama Bin Laden is said to be preparing to release a video message to the American people to coincide with the 6th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. "Soon, God willing, a video tape from the lion sheikh Osama Bin Laden, God preserve him."
Iran's growing ties with Africa may reflect economic necessity under pressure of international sanctions, but it also may signal an attempt to secure uranium supplies and spread its own brand of Islam. Iran has long paid attention to Africa. In an address to this week's meeting in Tehran of the Non-Aligned Movement, which includes almost every African nation, President Ahmadinejad said Iran was dedicated to African development
Too late...
Iran's unexpected agreement with IAEA head Mohamed ElBaradei to resolve old issues surrounding its nuclear program in less than 2 months, and the fact that it has installed only two-thirds of the centrifuges previously announced, indicate that Tehran may be positioning itself for another bid for a diplomatic solution.
The Bush administration's abrupt dismissal of last Thursday's IAEA report on Iran's nuclear programs is one more sign that Washington has no interest in a diplomatic resolution to its confrontation with Tehran.
White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card once famously said of the administration's 2002 campaign to get support for the invasion of Iraq, ''From a marketing point of view, you don't introduce new products in August.'' Now August is behind us, and - right on schedule - marketers both in the White House and among their supporters outside are rolling out their newest product, a public relations blitz urging a US military adventure in Iran.
Many people in the antiwar movement try to reassure themselves: Bush cannot possibly attack Iran. He does not have the means to do so, or, perhaps, even he is not foolish enough to engage in such an enterprise. All the ideological signposts for attacking Iran are in place. The only thing that might stop the war would be for Americans themselves to threaten their own government with massive civil disobedience. But that is not going to happen.
Administration rhetoric is heated and the dominant media keep trumpeting it. It signals war with Iran of the "shock and awe" kind - intensive, massive and maybe with nuclear weapons.
Yes...
That is the question a former counter-terrorism official with the CIA and the State Department asks. He questions the official story about the nukes being "mistakenly" flown over the US. A retired B-52 pilot reminds him that the only times you put weapons on a plane is when they are on alert or if you are tasked to move the weapons to a specific site. Barksdale AFB is being used as a jumping off point for Mideast operations. "Someone on the inside obviously leaked the info that the planes were carrying nukes. A B-52 landing at Barksdale is a non-event. A B-52 landing with nukes. That is something else. Did someone at Barksdale try to indirectly warn the American people that the Bush Administration is staging nukes for Iran?"
(WSWS: Why were nukes flown over US?)
A law allowing federal anti-terrorism agents to access information on the US public without a warrant has been ruled as unconstitutional by a US judge. He said Congress exceeded its authority by allowing the FBI to keep requests secret under the Patriot Act.
A person suffering from a debilitating psychological disorder feels obliged to conceal it as best as possible because the trait is generally frowned upon and hence a source of shame. The inidividual makes great effort to denounce and create the appearance of great distance from the malady. But when that condition is exposed, the person either retreats or attacks its critics. The neocon US administration is in the throes of a similar disorder, as it struggles to hide its 'terrorist' nature behind a 'diplomatic' façade.
A wide-ranging coalition that includes neoconservatives, Christian Zionists, academics, columnists and Washington lobby groups such as AIPAC is responsible for shaping US foreign policy in the Middle East and suppressing the public debate in Washington.
And his finger's on "the button"...
President Bush is prone to bouts of crying caused by the stress of his job and claims to have seen ghosts emerge from the Lincoln Bedroom in the White House, according to a new book on his presidency.
The price of oil has risen close to a record level, putting more pressure on OPEC to give a positive signal about production levels at its meeting in Vienna next week. The price increase was triggered by claims that Israeli warplanes had penetrated Syrian airspace. West Texas Intermediate surged to $77.43 a barrel, just below early August's all-time high of $78.77.
The European Central Bank has opted to keep interest rates on hold at 4%, as jitters continue to unsettle markets worldwide. The widely-expected decision in the 13-member area comes as central banks try to prevent market turmoil from turning into a bigger financial crisis.
Last month's evaporation of liquidity was a vivid manifestation of the suddenness of financial crises, which no longer stop at national borders. It also provided a reminder of the purpose of banking supervision, which is first and foremost about preventing and managing market disruption. Serious banking crises are infrequent events, but if not adequately dealt with they can threaten the very economic and social fabric of our polities. Since the 18th century, an elaborate policy framework has evolved to address the prospect of bank failures. Its rules and institutions are still based on the principle of national sovereignty.
Central bankers know, though, that the line between illiquidity and insolvency is an extremely fuzzy one, made more so with developments in financial markets.
Current financial turmoil is identical to that seen in earlier stock market crashes, Alan Greenspan has warned. Anxiety over a global credit squeeze triggered by the US housing slump was driven by "fear", he said in a speech. He drew parallels in a speech in Washington with US financial panics down the years, driven either by a collapse in confidence in banks or land speculation turning sour.
Financial vampire...
Goldman Sachs made $300m last month from the rescue of one of the investment bank's troubled hedge funds, even as external investors lost more than a fifth of their money.
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