Benedict XVI's second Encyclical, "Spe Salvi" which is dedicated to the theme of Christian hope, has been published. The document - which has an introduction and 8 chapters - begins with a quote from the Letter of St. Paul to the Romans: "spe salvi facti sumus" (in hope we are saved).
(Also: Full text of encyclical)
Benedict XVI received members of a Forum of Catholic-inspired Non Governmental Organizations, who are currently in Rome to reflect on the contribution they can offer, "in close collaboration with the Holy See, to the solution of the many problems and challenges associated with the various activities of the United Nations and other international and regional organizations."
international discussions often seem marked by a relativistic logic which would consider as the sole guarantee of peaceful coexistence between peoples a refusal to admit the truth about man and his dignity, to say nothing of the possibility of ethics based on recognition of the natural moral law. This has led, in effect, to the imposition of a notion of law and politics which ultimately makes consensus between states, ... the only real basis of international norms." Among "the bitter fruits of this relativistic logic, the attempt to consider as human rights the consequences of certain self- centered lifestyles; a lack of concern for the economic and social needs of the poorer nations; contempt for humanitarian law, and a selective defense of human rights."
Benedict XVI has not accused the UN of moral relativism, despite some media reports, explained a Vatican spokesman. The spokesman said that "forced journalistic interpretations" were spread in various media outlets regarding the speech that the Pope gave Saturday to the first Forum of Catholic-Inspired Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs). "The Pope said exactly, 'International discussions often seem marked by a relativistic logic.' In contrast to what was written, he had not attacked the United Nations, nor had he said that it is 'dominated' by moral relativism."
Germany could be asked to ban the US-based Church of Scientology under a Hamburg security official's proposal that contends the group violates human rights. Hamburg's secretary of the interior plans to seek a nationwide ban of Scientology at this week's meeting of top German security officials. If all 16 states agree to the proposal to ban Scientology, Germany's Interior Minister would be asked to initiate proceedings against it.
Chancellor Merkel vowed to put business-friendly policies at the core of her Christian Democratic Union's new program, as she sought to distance her party from its Social Democrat partner in the ruling coalition. "The order of the day can only be to steer the course and strengthen the foundation of the recovery. Growth and jobs must remain the benchmark of our policies."
As expected, Vladimir Putin's United Russia Party won a landslide victory in parliamentary elections, garnering over 63% of the vote as of this writing, which will give it 70% of the seats in the Duma, or national assembly. President Putin was right to tell off western critics and limit foreign observation of Russian elections. Most Russians couldn't care less about the feeble little liberal parties clamoring for western-style democracy. It's a sad truism that Russians want order, economic progress and national pride, not democracy.
Judo champion, abstemious Putin fits this bill perfectly as the historic "white czar," a good, fatherly autocrat who is strong, manly, and pure. Putin says he wants to continue leading Russia. But he is constitutionally banned from a third presidential term. So does Putin plan to run Russia as an all-powerful prime minister? As leader of his URP? Will he become a youthful elder statesman? Or will he simply get the Duma to change the constitution? He may follow the example of Czar Ivan the Terrible, temporarily withdrawing from public life until throngs of supplicants beg him to return to Moscow as Czar.
European press...
The European press reacted on Monday to Putin's landslide victory with a mix of criticism and, in a few instances, praise. But most papers agree that the power struggle within the Kremlin is only just beginning.
History is often self-repeating. Those who are oblivious to the lessons of history are, by virtue of ignorance, doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past. Samuel P. Huntington's "Clash of Civilizations," is an outright camouflage, an ideological instrument used to reach geo-political objectives. This "conflict notion" is part of a broad strategy which has been used throughout history to divide, conquer, and rule.
By Huntington's definitions, 9 diverse civilizations co-inhabit Eurasia; establishing conflict between them is a means towards controlling them and eventually absorbing them in the Spencerian sense of war and the social evolution of nation-states and societies, as defined by British sociologist Herbert Spencer. Is humanity witness once again to a gradual march towards a large-scale international war like WW2, as Vladimir Putin has warned the Russian people? Or is fear being used to push forward otherwise unacceptable global economic policies?
Iran has welcomed a major US intelligence report that suggests its government is not currently trying to develop nuclear weapons. The latest National Intelligence Estimate says it is now believed Iran stopped its weapons programme in 2003. Tehran has always maintained its nuclear programme is being developed purely for peaceful purposes. Iranian state TV hailed the report as a "victory". It said Iran was "honest" and had been "vindicated", while it said the report demonstrated flaws in US intelligence.
(Also: Report frustrates US hawks)
(Also: Bush keeps up pressure on Tehran)
At the Annapolis Middle Eastern peace conference much more went on behind the scenes than took place before the cameras. As there is little chance of a breakthrough for peace, there has been much speculation over why the conference took place at all.
The conference is only comprehensible in terms of the other agendas that drove it. Behind the scenes, the US and Israel were less interested in making peace with the Palestinians than they were in building up a de facto coalition of Arab states against Iran, which is why there was intense diplomatic pressure to obtain the participation of every Arab country.
It seems that with each passing week there are more stories raising the specter of George Bush turning Iraq and Afghanistan into a bloody trifecta by attacking Iran. Look beyond daily papers and the picture emerges of an administration that is determined to attack Iran.
With all this in mind, we decided to talk with the man who literally wrote the book on Bush's intentions. Nearly a year ago, Scott Ritter's Target Iran was published, and he's been sounding the claxon of impending war ever since. To learn what he thinks the future holds for Iran, and the consequences of a US invasion, we recently sat down for a 90-minute phone interview with Ritter. What follows is a condensed version of that conversation.
Former Italian President, and the man who revealed the existence of Operation Gladio Francesco Cossiga, has gone public on 9/11 - telling Italy's most respected newspaper that the attacks were run by the CIA and Mossad and that this was common knowledge amongst global intelligence agencies.
"[Bin Laden supposedly confessed] to the Qaeda September [attack] to the 2 towers in New York [claiming to be] the author of the attack of the 11, while all the [intelligence services] of America and Europe ... now know well that the disastrous attack has been planned and realized from the CIA American and the Mossad with the aid of the Zionist world in order to put under accusation the Arabic Countries and in order to induce the western powers to take part ... in Iraq [and] Afghanistan."
Reading Naomi Wolf's The End of America: Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot, I realized the hour is later than I thought. Many of us have watched the Bush regime's actions with a growing feeling of horror intertwined with a sense that somehow we've seen all of this before, but we aren't sure where. We're confused because what we're seeing conflicts with unexamined and deeply held assumptions we have about American freedom. Wolf's short but meticulously documented book shows that what is happening in America has indeed happened many times before, not in the US, but rather in places like Chile, Italy, Russia, and Germany. In each case, people couldn't understand why they didn't recognize where they were heading before they passed the point of no return.
Too little, too late...
The Ron Paul revolution has come about quickly in less than a year's time. It has surprised nearly everyone, including Congressman Paul himself. Libertarians are accustomed to seeing the same typical Republicans and Democrats running each election cycle, while the Libertarian Party presidential candidate gets less than 1% of the vote with no hopes of winning. So why all of a sudden is Ron Paul having so much success? In many ways, there is a bit of a perfect storm brewing.
(Video: Threat to the Establishment)
The ailing US economy seems to be driving the exchange rate of the dollar inexorably downward, with serious consequences for the global economy. Politicians and central bankers are looking on helplessly as the economic outlook worsens by the day and European companies rack up huge losses.
With the dollar as weak as ever, European companies are trying to avoid disaster. Factories in North American are becoming more attractive, and over the weekend, both Airbus and VW hinted they might take the plunge.
Hubris and arrogance are too ensconced in Washington for policymakers to be aware of the economic policy trap in which they have placed the US economy. If the subprime mortgage meltdown is half as bad as predicted, low US interest rates will be required in order to contain the crisis. But if the dollar's plight is half as bad as predicted, high US interest rates will be required if foreigners are to continue to hold dollars and to finance US budget and trade deficits.
Which will Washington sacrifice, the domestic financial system and over-extended homeowners or its ability to finance deficits? The answer seems obvious. Everything will be sacrificed in order to protect Washington's ability to borrow abroad. Without the ability to borrow abroad, Washington cannot conduct its wars of aggression, and Americans cannot continue to consume $800 billion dollars more each year than the economy produces.
Chavez threatens to nationalize banks
President Chavez has threatened to nationalise the Venezuelan subsidiaries of Spanish banks Banco Santander and Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, if Spain's King Juan Carlos does not apologise for telling Chavez to "shut up". "Spaniards bought some banks here, and it doesn't cost me anything to take those banks back and nationalise them again."
President Chavez has threatened to nationalise the Venezuelan subsidiaries of Spanish banks Banco Santander and Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, if Spain's King Juan Carlos does not apologise for telling Chavez to "shut up". "Spaniards bought some banks here, and it doesn't cost me anything to take those banks back and nationalise them again."
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