Reading between the lines, and thinking outside the box . . .
Benedict XVI is meeting with his former students to discuss the historical Christ and the Gospel account of the Passion, reports L'Osservatore Romano.
The Vatican newspaper reported that the meeting is taking place through todday at Castel Gandolfo, where the Pope is spending the summer.
The group is called "Ratzinger Schülerkreis" (Ratzinger's Circle of Students).
Taking up one's cross isn't an option, it's a mission all Christians are called to, says Benedict XVI.
He said this Sunday before reciting the midday Angelus with several thousand people gathered in the courtyard of the papal summer residence at Castel Gandolfo, south of Rome.
(And: Full text)
Commerzbank has agreed to buy Dresdner Bank from insurer Allianz in a deal worth $14.4bn. The deal will create a real rival to Germany's largest bank, Deutsche Bank.
The combined group would be Germany's biggest bank in terms of customer numbers, although it would still be a distant #2 to Deutsche Bank in terms of assets.
EU leaders will have few options at their disposal and internal differences threatening the bloc's ability to build consensus when they meet to discuss the Caucasus crisis and future relations with Russia today.
Vladimir Putin has warned Europe that Russia's energy reserves will flow to the Far East if the continent's leaders seek to punish his country for invading Georgia.
A day before EU leaders meet to discuss the situation in Georgia, President Medvedev said Russia would respond in kind to European sanctions. Germany said Moscow's support is crucial to European stability.
Beating up on Russia is now fair game. Moscow, for its part, won't back off, so clear lines are drawn for protracted confrontation in a very high risk gamble for both sides.
Russia prefers diplomacy to conflict and seeks alliances with the West and its neighbors. America wants conquest.
A build-up of naval forces is underway in the Black Sea, involving both NATO and Russian ships. The provocative actions by the US-lead military coalition create the danger of a clash with potentially catastrophic consequences.
After months of denials the status of Jerusalem is on the table during negotiations, Ehud Olmert's office confirmed to WND that a mechanism has been created to deal with the issue of the holy city in US-backed Israeli-Palestinian talks aimed at creating a Palestinian state by the end of the year.
According to senior Israeli and Palestinian diplomatic sources, both sides are already negotiating Jerusalem, with Palestinian officials claiming the talks are in advance stages.
Joe Biden was quoted Monday as telling senior Israeli officials behind closed doors that the Jewish state will have to reconcile itself to a nuclear Iran.
In the unsourced report, Army Radio also quoted Biden as saying that he opposed "opening a additional military and diplomatic front."
Army Radio said Israeli officials expressed "amazement" over the remarks.
The Dutch intelligence service has pulled an agent out of an "ultra-secret operation" spying on Iran's military industry because spymasters in Netherlands believe a US air attack was imminent.
Palin's nomination was hailed by the extreme-right and Christian fundamentalist elements who have long dominated among Republican Party activists, and who have been largely estranged from the McCain campaign.
The Palin selection demonstrates once again the dirty secret of American politics: that semi-fascistic forces exercise near-veto power over the Republican Party
So what is Sarah Palin's true purpose? Whether she knows it or not, she is a stalking horse.
"Stalking horse" comes from hunting. To avoid scaring the prey, say a group of wild ducks, the hunter lets his horse wander towards the ducks since the ducks are not startled by seeing a horse. The hunter stays carefully behind the horse until he is close enough to shoot the ducks.
McCain and his coterie of neocon, war-mongering imperialists are the hunters. Sarah Palin is the stalking horse. And you and me, we're the ducks.
A German expert on US political policy called the choice "risky, but very good."
While Americans spend the next 3 months pondering which candidate is worthy of becoming the next US president, the rest of the world made up its mind a long time ago: they want Barack Obama for president.
Although attention is focused on the petroleum industry as Hurricane Gustav takes aim at the Gulf Coast, billions of dollars are at stake in other economic sectors: New Orleans' trademark tourism industry, the shipping business, sugar harvesting—and even such niche products as red-hot Tabasco sauce.
Washington is lucky that China is not taking advantage of this crisis to help Russia inflict a crippling lesson.
Russia holds $580bn of foreign reserves. China holds $1,800bn. Together they own a third of the $1.5 trillion stock of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and other US agency bonds.
They are holding a gun to the head of the US Treasury, and the US financial system.
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So is it all just a case of hard luck and poor planning? There is just too much of a pattern, and too many elements all pointing in the same direction.
Islamic day
[WAR: Well I guess I made a big assumption about when Muslims start their "day". Although they fast during the "day time", they start their 24-hour "day" at sunset -- following the error of Babylonian Judaism.]
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