Tuesday

The Daily WAR (#05-27)

 
 
Previously on Ignatius Insight, I have commented on the Foreword and on the discussion of the Temptations in the desert in Benedict XVI's explication of how he himself understands who Jesus is. Here I wish to say some things about the last chapter of the book Jesus of Nazareth, which is entitled, "Jesus Declares His Identity." Basically, as I understand it, the pope wanted to address the concern of whether he, aside from the fact that he is now pope, personally held what the Church teaches about Christ, namely that he is true God and true man.
[WAR: "True God and true man"? Absolutely impossible and pagan to the core - the doctrine of antichrist that John warned us about!]
 
Benedict XVI ended his 3-day visit to Austria, expressing his hopes that the country will offer a contribution to Europe by salvaging the wealth found in its Christian roots. "Vienna, faithful to its rich history and its location in the vital center of Europe, can offer a specific contribution in this regard, by consistently helping to bring the traditional values of the continent, values shaped by the Christian faith, to the European institutions and to the work of promoting international, intercultural and interreligious relations."
 
The Vatican's top ecumenical officer compared Europe's popular attitudes with "dancing on volcano or on a powder keg." "If Europe has any future, we will need a common set of basic principles," Cardinal Kasper observed. He said that the common Christian culture of the continent can be recovered only if and when "we, the Christians of Europe, eventually wake up."
 
 
 
1544: Sweden's King Gustavus I forms alliance with France to counter Denmark's alliance with the Holy Roman Empire.
 
Known for being a stalwart defender of conservative values, the Christian Democratic Union has been leaning toward the center. If the party can't agree on a common profile, it risks losing its majority. For critics within the conservative camp, however, Merkel has ruined her party's core conservative profile and become a servant of Berlin's center-left.
 
Six years have passed since the 9/11 attacks but new information about the hijackers and the origins of their plan continues to come to light. Information investigated by German police at the time has resurfaced.
 
With the help of the CIA, German investigators foiled what would likely have been the most devastating terror attack of its kind in the country's history. The plans of a fanatical group of Islamists trained in Pakistan reveal just how great a risk Europe faces.
 
The US military and German police mounted an extensive security operation around a US airbase today following an anonymous bomb threat but police said they believed it was a hoax.
 
The captors of a German man kidnapped in Iraq 7 months ago have issued a new ultimatum to the German government: They will kill the hostage unless Berlin withdraws its troops from Afghanistan.
 
 
 
Reality slap!...
Mischa Shauli sat at the National Archives in Washington, D.C., completely beside himself. It had been years since the first time he heard about the existence of a document said to prove that Stalin, not Hitler, bore the main responsibility for WW2. From out of the sea of details, a coherent thesis emerges: Stalin dragged Hitler into war to force Europe into chaos and facilitate a communist revolution on the continent. According to Shauli, there is evidence to back up this theory, including a speech by Stalin himself as well as a report obtained by the US Consulate in Prague. The report has been mentioned here and there over the years, but it has never been published, because no one knows where it is today. He believed, and did not give up, repeatedly setting out to find it, going as far as Washington. No one is happier than he is today: The document is in his possession, and now the history of WW2 may have to be rewritten: It was Stalin's fault.
[WAR: Sorry all you COG "prophets"! Now try not to run over your tongues as you try to back-peddle your way out of this dilemma and rewrite ... "update" ... your booklets and articles.]
 
Chancellor Merkel has backed France's idea of setting up a "council of the wise" to debate the future of Europe.President Sarkozy suggested at the end of last month that an independent body be set up to discuss where Europe is heading – something he made a condition of, in exchange for Paris not blocking Turkey's EU membership talks.
 
Chancellor Merkel and President Sarkozy on Monday called for a European push for more transparency on financial markets following recent turbulence. Taking the fight to the speculators, Sarkozy stated that he was "not against competition, but against speculation." "I am for the market economy, I am for globalization, but I am not for speculation."
 
In a recent onslaught against the Kosovo Albanians, the Serbian authorities have gone over from strong albeit diplomatic statements to threats. If Kosovo declares independence unilaterally, Belgrade will take extreme measures - seal the borders, impose a trade embargo and return its troops to the province to restore Serbia's territorial integrity.
 
 
 
 
At least 69 Israeli soldiers were injured when a rocket fired from Gaza exploded in an army camp in southern Israel, the military has said. The rocket hit an equipment store at the Zikkim training base, sending shrapnel flying through surrounding tents where soldiers were sleeping.
 
Syria says Israel is planning to wage another war in the region after the Israeli army staged military exercises on the Golan Heights. The state-run Syrian daily al-Thawra said on Sunday that a recent war game by the Israeli military on the occupied Golan Heights has sent a clear message reflecting Israel's intention for waging a new war in the region.
 
An American military historian argues that the situation in Iraq is worse than ever and that the artificial nation, created after WW1, is breaking up. The "surge," he says, is also failing.
 
European press...
General David Petraeus painted an encouraging picture of the situation in the country during a Congressional hearing. European papers think a miracle is needed.
(LX cartoon: Hey! It's workin'!)
 
A new Osama bin Laden videotape released today, shows one of the suicide hijackers speaking his last will and testament into the camera as his image is superimposed upon an image of a burning World Trade Center. The videotape had not yet been posted on extremist Web sites. But the IntelCenter, a monitoring group in suburban Washington, said it had obtained the videotape privately and provided it to Associated Press Television News.
 
 
 
Kurdish guerrillas have launched a clandestine war in northwestern Iran, ambushing troops as they seek Western backing to secure an ethnic homeland. In retaliation, the Iranian army has carried out a series of counterattacks in the mountains, which span the border with Iraq.
 
Faced with US economic sanctions and a weak dollar, Tehran is demanding foreign energy companies do business in yen and euros, despite increasingly desperate need for investment. In a deal announced last week, Japan's Nippon Oil agreed to buy oil from Iran using yen instead of the traditional US dollars. The agreement comes after years of Iranian efforts to shift its petroleum exports away from dollars and toward yen and euros.
Military action against Iran "should be used if we see that Iran's nuclear weapons program is about to come alive," Benjamin Netanyahu told a counter-terrorism conference on Monday. "The military option should never be kept off the table." Some 2 1/2 years remained until Iran would acquire nuclear weapons, he said, adding: "That's 700 days, and today is another day."
 
Iran's foreign minister says Iran's logical stance on its nuclear program has revealed the malicious policies of the US and its allies.
 
On the same day General Petraeus delivered to Congress his much-anticipated progress report on the US military's "surge strategy" in Iraq, neoconservative ideologues associated with the American Enterprise Institute took aim at another one of the reputed foes of "freedom" – the Islamic Republic of Iran. The panelists at Monday's discussion left little room for compromise, and their generalizations about Iran as an irrational actor support a very clear and consistent neoconservative message: there can be no negotiation with Iran. In the final analysis, military confrontation with Iran becomes a forgone conclusion.
 
One of the most disturbing attributes of the neoconservatives is their willingness to subordinate the US's national interests to those of Israel. Henry Kissinger, while national security adviser and secretary of state between 1969 and 1977, might have been one of the first neocons in deed if not in name. Kissinger is reported to be a frequent visitor to the White House, most particularly to the office of Vice President Dick Cheney, and has been a driving force to confront Iran.
 
 
 
A new report says a SCUD-type missile launched from a small ship 200 miles from the coast of the US could unleash a nuclear-generated electromagnetic pulse over Washington, D.C., that would leave behind $771 billion in damage. Experts have predicted the EMP attack essentially would destroy any electronics within range of its impact, leaving technology comparable to that available in the 1800s.
 
 
 
Oil prices have surged to near record highs after a series of attacks on energy facilities in Mexico, the world's 5th largest crude exporter. Following the Mexican attacks, which have been blamed on a left-wing rebel group, US light was up to $77.86 in early Tuesday trade.
 
The European Commission cut its forecast for annual economic growth in the euro currency zone and the EU, warning that the region's recent economic pickup may have peaked as higher borrowing costs make a global slowdown more likely.
 
President Putin said that Russia might impose new restrictions on foreign investment in response to the US strengthening of control over purchases made by foreign companies in the US. He said Russia was concerned about recently passed US legislation intended to tighten national security reviews of proposed foreign investment, which he described as a "step away from liberal economics."
 
By now, all of Wall Street understands that the private-equity gravy train has jumped the tracks. But few seem to realize how ugly the pile-up could become. Wide swaths of Wall Street, and many of the industries that serve it, are in for some serious collateral damage.
(IHT op-ed: The next bubble)
 
In the book, titled "The Wolf of Wall Street," Belfort describes how he and his cronies bamboozled small investors by foisting a stream of dubious stocks upon them and then cashing out before the investments crashed. Much of it was done while cruising along on Quaaludes, and when regulators became suspicious, Belfort spirited his gains to Switzerland.
 
 
 
Scientists have discovered a way to identify the politics of the human brain by using a scan that can identify liberal or conservative tendencies. Researchers report today that by electrical activity in the brain can identify just how committed to Right or Left-wing causes a person is likely to be. The team has linked political persuasion to a general mechanism for how the brain deals with new information.
 
Women are often portrayed in stories and tales as the "Damsel in Distress." We are the ones for whom men rise up and slay dragons. We are the "weaker sex"; said to faint at the sight of blood, needing to be spared the gory details of battle whether on the field or in the market place. We are the ones waiting in our flowing gowns for the knight to come and carry us away on the back of his white horse. And yes. There are days when a knight in shining armor would be most welcome. We do long to be fought for; loved enough to be courageously protected.
But there is a mighty fierceness set in the heart of women by God. It is true to who we are and what we are created to do. Women are warriors too. Redeemed women of God have tender, merciful hearts, backbones of steel and hands that have been trained for battle. There is something incredibly fierce in the heart of a woman that is to be contended with, not dismissed, not disdained, but recognized, honored, welcomed and trained.
 
Party like it's 1999!...
The rest of the Christian world celebrated the dawn of a new millennium 7 1/2 years ago – an event ignored by the famously proud people of Ethiopia. They have been waiting patiently for their calendar to catch up ever since. It is based on the ancient Egyptian dating system and contains 13 months. Most of the Christian Church revised dates in the 5th century to take account of calculations suggesting that Jesus was born 8 years earlier than previously thought. The Ethiopians struggled on, making today the last day of the 13-month of the year 1999.
[WAR: Just as the Ark of the Covenant has been preserved in Ethiopia, has the knowledge of the true year also been preserved - even though the exact start/finish of it may be incorrect?]
 
 
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