Thursday

The Daily WAR (02-02)

Reading between the lines, and thinking outside the box . . .
 
 
 
    Here is a Vatican translation of the message Benedict XVI addressed to Cardinal Martino, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. The message was sent on the occasion of an April 11-12 conference in Rome titled: "Disarmament, Development and Peace: Prospects for Integral Disarmament."
 
    Yesterday afternoon, the Pope attended a concert offered by the Chinese Philharmonic Orchestra and the Shanghai Opera House Chorus who presented Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Requiem Mass.
    "Music, and art in general can serve as a privileged instrument for encounter and reciprocal knowledge and esteem between different populations and cultures, a means attainable by all for valuing the universal language of art."
 
    An Irish bishop, reflecting on the enormous social changes in that country since it achieved independence, has said that the Irish nationalists who led the 1916 uprising "would be disappointed to see how materialism has possessed so many hearts and minds and pushed God from the center to the sidelines."
    Bishop Jones of Elphin reminded his congregation that the Catholic faith had exercised enormous influence over Irish society in the early part of the 20th century, so that Eamon De Valera, a dominant figure in Ireland's struggle for independence, "saw Catholic Ireland and the Irish nation as synonymous ... It is said that the relationship between Church and State was symbiotic."
 
 
 
    A new building boom is sweeping Germany as royal palaces destroyed during or after WW2 are set to rise again.
 
    Germany's highest court ruled Wednesday that the decision to deploy German crews on NATO surveillance flights over Turkey during the Iraq war was illegal. The federal constitutional court said the centre-left government of then chancellor Gerhard Schroeder had violated the country's Basic Law by supplying pilots without consulting parliament.
 
    President Köhler called for deepening of ties between Germany and Israel in a statement issued today, the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Jewish state. The continued existence of the state of Israel and an end to violence in the Middle East are central in German policy, he said.
    "The path to peace is through a 2-state solution with an Israel whose safety and continued existence are guaranteed and with a viable Palestinian state with recognized borders and good neighborly relations with Israel."
 
 
 
    Silvio Berlusconi unveiled his new conservative government on Wednesday and gave top posts to close allies in one of Italy's most right-wing cabinets since WW2. Berlusconi held last-minute negotiations with his main allies from the National Alliance, a party with fascist roots, and the vehemently anti-immigrant Northern League to distribute the cabinet posts.
 
    Vladimir Putin was today confirmed as Russia's new prime minister by the country's lower house of parliament in a move that formalises his power-sharing role with the new president Dmitry Medvedev. Deputies in Russia's state duma voted overwhelmingly to support Putin's candidacy – by 392 to 56 votes. Only the communists voted against.
    Immediately after today's vote Medevev said he would pass a decree formally naming Putin as head of Russia's new government.
 
 
 
    Today, Israel marks the 60th anniversary, according to the Jewish calendar, of its founding. World leaders will endorse the event with a major international conference in Jerusalem on May 14-16, the actual date of its founding.
    Despite the celebrations, not one of the commentators outside or within Israel has been able to disguise the deep sense of unease and disillusionment that pervades Israel.
 
    An Iranian Jewish leader on Wednesday said his community would not mark this week's 60th anniversary of the founding of the state of Israel, which he accused of "killing innocent" Palestinians. "We are in complete disagreement with the behaviour of Israel."
    "It is not related to us," he said about today's celebrations in Israel to commemorate 6 decades of statehood. "We are Iranians. We have no relations with Israel."
 
    The real story behind Israel's strike on a Syrian military facility last September has never been investigated.
 
    The Levant is on a serious war footing. All major players in the Levant have been continuously talking about war. The Levant could be the starting point of a major international conflict with global ramifications and which could quickly spin out of control. Such a conflict could even involve the use of Israeli or American nuclear weapons against Iran and Syria.
   
    North Korea, it is often said, is a criminal state. One of the more persistent stories supporting that allegation is that the North Koreans are counterfeiting US currency. Through repetition, the claim has taken on an aura of proven fact.
    Yet the closer one examines the matter, the murkier the picture becomes. Counterfeit currency attributed to North Korea raises deep concern due to its extremely high quality. Dubbed supernotes, their production process closely matches that of the genuine article, and the engraving is so fine it rivals that of the US Bureau of Engraving and Printing
 
 
 
    IAEA boss Mohamed ElBaradei says recent talks with Iran about its 'alleged studies of weaponization' have resulted in 'good progress'.
 
    The German security-technology firm Draeger is being investigated in the US for potential violation of a trade embargo with Iran.
 
    Iran has arrested members of a terrorist group with links to Britain and the US who were behind a blast at a mosque last month that killed 14 and wounded 200 in the southern city of Shiraz. "The blast ... was caused by a bombing by a terrorist group with links to Western countries, especially Britain and America."
 
    The Leader of the Islamic Revolution says the US military presence in Iraq and the Persian Gulf is behind tension and insecurity in the region. "The presence of US troops in Iraq is enough for prompting the Iraqi nation [to resist them] and the Americans are the primary culprits in inciting insecurity in Iraq," Ayatollah Khamenei said.
    He termed as a sheer lie the claims by the US that it is seeking to establish security in Iraq, adding that based on some US officials' admission the country invaded Iraq to gain control over the country's oil resources.
 
    As threats of military action against Iran continue to issue from various spokesmen of the war party in the U.S., the Islamic Republic has launched an ambitious initiative aimed at preventing war, based on a comprehensive package of economic, political and security measures on a vast regional plane.
 
    Bruised and battered by his Labour government's worst local election defeat in 40 years, Prime Minister Gordon Brown has been warned by his intelligence chief, John Scarlett, head of MI6, that he is facing a major decision which could plunge his leadership to the point where his own disillusioned supporters will mount a campaign for him to resign.
    Just as Tony Blair left government with the shadow of Iraq as his nemesis, so Brown is facing the mounting pressure to oppose plans for "a surgical strike" against an insurgent training camp inside Iran where the Republican Guards have a "huge training camp across the border with Iraq."
    The plan is endorsed by the US and Israel. But increasingly Brown's cabinet ministers oppose military action against Iran.
 
    Iran is making allies in Latin America to counter Washington's traditional influence in the region and could use them to threaten US security, a top US diplomat said Wednesday. Left-wing governments in Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua and Bolivia have all become allies of Iran in recent years, and other countries in Latin America have diplomatic ties with the Islamic republic.
 
    US State Department official Thomas Shannon hints at a war on Iran, saying Tehran may use South America as a springboard for retaliation. He opined that the Islamic Republic is likely to use Latin America to launch retaliatory strikes against the US in the event of a US military attack on the country.
 
    In a Fox News interview, former UN Ambassador John Bolton discussed his desire to bomb camps inside Iran. Fox host Martha McCallum asked, "Can you imagine a scenario where President Bush would do that before the end of his term?" Bolton responded, "I think so, definitely." He added later, "This is entirely responsible on our part."
 
    There is absolutely no justification for military intervention or sanctions against Iran.
 
 
 
    Mikhail Gorbachev has accused the US of the imperialistic conspiracy against Russia, which pushes the world to a new Cold War. He said that Washington has been increasing its military potential to prevent Russia's revival.
    "The USA can't put up with the fact that somebody in the world is independent on it. Every American president must wage war. Sometimes I think that the USA intends to wage war against the entire world."
 
    Key war on terror architect Douglas Feith has now confirmed Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz and Wesley Clark in admitting that the so-called War on Terror is a hoax.
    In fact, starting right after 9/11 -- at the latest -- the goal has always been to create "regime change" and instability in Iraq, Iran, Syria, Libya, Sudan, Somalia and Lebanon so as to protect Israel. And the goal was never really to destroy Al Qaeda.
    The war on terror was never intended to be about fighting terrorism. As even Newsweek has now admitted, the war on terror is a hoax.
 
    Among her known clients were current Louisiana Senator Vitter, former AIDS Czar Randall Tobias, Dick Morris and military-industrial wonk Harlan Ullman, but Dick Cheney's McLean, VA phone number, reported earlier was summarily un-reported after a turnaround by ABC News.
    According to early accounts, ABC News correspondent Brian Ross had the exclusive scoop because Palfrey turned over years-long call lists for his staff to verify. After Cheney turned up on the list, the story, already on the ABC website and poised to run on 20/20, suddenly went away.
    No explanation has been offered as to why ABC reversed itself. Any mention of Cheney was scrubbed from their website and the 20/20 piece never ran.
 
    John McCain will speak at the annual conference of the National Council of La Raza (The Race), the extreme Hispanic lobby group that advocates a militant "reconquista" of the Southwestern US. In 1999 La Raza honored McCain at its 10th annual Capital Awards for "staunch support of the Hispanic community".
 
    The former first lady bet everything -- and lost. Barring some kind of miracle, Barack Obama will become the Democratic Party's nominee for president. A dramatic finale on Tuesday night brought an end to the Clinton era.
 
    For the past month we have heard a lot about The Reverend Jeremiah Wright. There are endless loopings of the same half a dozen out-of-context sound bites. This is nothing more than a collective gang bang by mindless narcissistic media stars who intentionally dumb down what he said.
    What did he say that was so outrageous? Based on the comments of the lemming pundits, I seriously wondered whether they saw the same speech I did. I listened to the whole thing twice and was hard pressed to find anything that was outrageous or insane.
 
    At the end of his first year in office, Sarkozy finds himself in deep trouble with French voters and opinion-makers who are accusing him of everything from bad manners to responsibility for the huge increase in the price of butter and cheese.
    Sarkozy's approval rating has dropped below 30%, rivaling the abysmal standing of his new best friend and apparent ideological ally, President Bush. No French president in modern history has dropped so fast or so far in public ratings.
 
   Oil reserves are running out, gas prices are soaring. France's government is reacting to the dwindling energy supply much like Russia and Great Britain: the government is laying claim to vast stretches of the world's oceans.
    France already controls 11 million square kilometers of the world's oceans, 2nd only to the US. Now they want more, demanding the equivalent of 3 Germanys all in one gulp. It's part of a rush to divvy up the world's oceans by this time next year.
    Paris would like to see its Exclusive Economic Zone -- defined by international law as the ocean extending 200 nautical miles off a state's coasts -- expanded by almost a million square kilometers.
    May 13, 2009 is the deadline for countries to submit territorial claims to the UN's Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS). A handful of governments have been scrambling to prepare the way for claims down the road by sending out exploration missions and establishing outposts in remote parts of the globe.
 
 
 
    Oil prices held steady today in Asia after jumping to a record near $124 a barrel as investors captivated by the market's upward momentum seemed to ignore figures showing an increase in US crude and gasoline supplies.
 
    An industry group said Wednesday that pending US home sales dropped to a new low in March, signaling the housing slump has yet to bottom out even as the spring sell season gets under way. So far, there's been no evidence that the traditionally strong spring selling season is jump-starting any sales activity.
 
    False stats to fuel next gold rush, market quality makes for sketchy deals, stimulus package with little effect, tapped out borrowers, reflationary policy and its significance for Wall Street...
 
    Top European power companies such as National Grid are expanding across the Atlantic, attracted by good earnings and regulatory stability. Residents of New York, Maine, and Houston have something in common they may not realize: When they pay their electric bills each month, the money ends up in the coffers of some of Europe's largest utilities.
 
    The euro fell to an 8-week low against the dollar and had its biggest decline in almost 2 months versus the yen on speculation the European Central Bank will signal concern today that economic growth is slowing.
    The currency declined for a 2nd day after the yield spread between 2-year German notes and Treasuries narrowed as investors bet the sputtering economy will force the ECB to cut interest rates this year.
 
    The European Commission's report on the future of the euro area has not been getting the deserved attention in European newspapers, which is why we are (unusually) running a special edition summarising, and commenting on, some of its key recommendations.
 
    Russia's Ministry of Agriculture and Food Production is warning President Medvedev today that the World faces the 'immanent' threat of mass starvation due to the catastrophic cyclone that has destroyed Myanmar's entire rice crop, and the disastrous volcano that has virtually destroyed the South American country of Chile's fruit and vegetable producing regions.
    Adding to the Global crisis of food production, these reports continue, have been Kenya's reporting that nearly 20% of its rice crop has been destroyed by disease, the UN reporting that the deadly wheat fungus, capable of destroying entire wheat fields, has moved from Africa into the Middle East and the US reporting that nearly 900,000 acres of their most valuable crop land has been submerged due to massive flooding in their Mississippi River regions.
    Australia, one of the World's top wheat exporters, is also warning that their historic drought is getting worse, and that should rains come, their government is reporting it will take 'several years' to restore their farmlands.
 
 
 
    "Then Solomon began to build the temple of YAHWEH in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where YAHWEH had appeared to his father David. ... He began building on the 2nd day of the 2nd month in the 4th year of his reign." (2Chr 3:1-... / 1Kin 6:1-...)
    "In the 2nd month of the 2nd year after their arrival at the house of ELOHIM in Jerusalem, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Jeshua son of Jozadak and the rest of their brothers (the priests and the Levites and all who had returned from the captivity to Jerusalem) began the work, appointing Levites 20 years of age and older to supervise the building of the house of YAHWEH." (Ezra 3:8-...)
    [WAR: Even though Ezra doesn't record the day the work started, it would make perfect sense to start on the same day that Solomon started.]
 
 
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