Reading between the lines, and thinking outside the box . . .
"The cordial meeting provided an opportunity for a fruitful exchange of opinions on matters concerning the current situation in the region and in the world.
"Attention then turned to certain aspects of the situation in Brazil, and in particular to social policies that seek to improve the living conditions of the many people who live in circumstances of distress and marginalisation, and to favour the fundamental role of the family in the struggle against violence and social decay.
"The discussions also emphasised collaboration between Church and State with a view to promoting moral values and the common good."
Benedict XVI will visit the Roman parish of St. Lawrence Outside the Walls and stop at the tomb of Alcide de Gasperi (1881-1954) -- a politician who, together with Konrad Adenauer, Robert Schuman and Jean Monnet, is considered a "father of the united Europe."
Here is the joint declaration published Wednesday at the conclusion of the 20th International Catholic-Jewish Liaison Committee, which took place since Sunday in Budapest.
When Chancellor Merkel arrives in Washington, DC today for the global financial summit, she will be well armed with reform proposals. From increased oversight to a global risk map, Spiegel Online has the details.
Chancellor Merkel has insisted before a summit of world leaders to address the global financial crisis that there can be "no more blind spots" in international markets.
Germany's Sueddeutsche Zeitung has quoted Merkel as underlining her insistence that international financial markets require increased regulations in order to prevent another crisis.
Germany's Der Spiegel has cracking story this morning, that the German government appears to be supporting a report which calls for an EU-level supervisor for the large cross-border banks.
The EU is set to take legal action against Germany after Berlin passed new legislation to cement state rights over Volkswagen. Porsche, the company's primary shareholder had lobbied hard against the bill.
Germany's parliament Thursday approved a 13-month extension to the country's participation in naval patrols off the Horn of Africa, part of a US-led anti-terrorism operation.
A day before the European Union heads into partnership talks with Russia, its major energy supplier to the east, Brussels has unveiled an strategy outlining how it hopes to wean the 27-country bloc from the fickle oil and gas dealer.
Antagonism between the Kremlin and the Bush administration over the deployment of missile systems in Europe deepened yesterday after the US defence secretary, Robert Gates, accused President Medvedev of "provocative, unnecessary and misguided" plans to station short-range ballistic missiles in Russia's Baltic exclave, Kaliningrad.
President Sarkozy says putting a missile defense system in Europe would do nothing to help European security.
Over the past couple of weeks, a spate of reports has appeared in the American and British media, questioning many assumptions about that war, chief among them that Russia was the guilty party.
The journalists travelled to the region separately and by different routes. They spoke to different people. But their findings are consistent: Georgia launched an indiscriminate military assault on South Ossetia's main town.
The timing of the Georgian attack, as of the arrival of the first Russian reinforcements two days later, coincides for the most part with the original Russian version.
[WAR: The Daily WAR didn't deceive! Its readers knew the truth from day one.]
Ouch!...
Vladimir Putin threatened overthrow Georgia's leader and "hang him by the balls" during talks with President Sarkozy at the height of the war between Russia and Georgia.
"I am going to hang Saakashvili by the balls," he said.
"Hang him?," asked Sarkozy.
"Why not?," retorted Putin. "The Americans hanged Saddam Hussein."
"Yes, but do you want to end up like Bush?," Sarkozy replied.
Russian MPs have backed a bill extending the presidential term in its first reading, amid speculation it may herald Vladimir Putin's early return.
Israeli caretaker prime minister Ehud Olmert wants to start direct negotiations with Syria by January, an Israeli newspaper reported today.
Tony Blair has called on Barack Obama to lead the world in finding a solution to conflict in the Middle East.
Barack Obama's election cheered many Arabs and Iranians driven to anger or despair by President Bush's policies over the past 8 years.
But Obama's choice of Rahm Emanuel, a combative, pro-Israeli political operator, as his White House chief of staff splashed cold water on some who hoped Obama would be more even-handed and sensitive in grappling with the Middle East.
An Israeli army official acknowledges that any attempt to launch a military attack against Iran would pose a "considerable challenge."
The French foreign minister says the new US president needs to consult with Europe regarding any talks with Iran over its nuclear work.
In a report which will be presented next week to a conference on the future of US-Iran policy, the AP is reporting that experts will caution Barack Obama that adding more threats against Iran will not help resolve disputes between the 2 nations, and that "an attack would almost certainly fail."
More than a half-dozen legal challenges have been filed in federal and state courts demanding Barack Obama's decertification from ballots or seeking to halt elector meetings, claiming he has failed to prove his US citizenship status.
After 9 months of silence regarding the historic presidential campaign of Barack Obama, Louis Farrakhan spoke the words that many have been waiting to hear him say.
Sarah Palin has paid tribute to Barack Obama saying America is in safe hands if he "governs with the skill and the grace and the greatness of which he is capable."
Hillary Clinton has emerged as a candidate to be Secretary of State. Her selection as top US diplomat could also mean a more hawkish foreign policy than that advocated by Obama during his campaign.
If Obama does keep Robert Gates on, Obama will be employing someone who embodies many of the worst elements of US national security policy over the past 3 decades.
As the transition to the new administration unfolds, belief in Obama's promise of change can be sustained only to the extent that one fails to examine the political record of those who are involved in this process.
For the most part, the Obama-Biden transition team is staffed by veterans of the Clinton administration, associated with the US wars in the Balkans and the policy of regime change in Iraq that set the stage for the war that followed under the Bush presidency.
It is only 10 days since Obama was swept to victory in the presidential election by a wave of popular hostility to the Bush administration.
Yet the actions of the president-elect and his advisers are already making it clear that the longing of millions of Americans for an end to the growth of US militarism and international criminality are not be realized after the inauguration in January.
Barack Obama has no plans to participate in this weekend's G-20 crisis summit in Washington -- for good reasons, too. By skipping out, he is pointing out the man he feels is responsible for the US financial misery: George W. Bush.
Three major American cities buffeted by the global financial crisis are requesting at least $50 billion in federal funds to help pay for infrastructure improvements, pensions and short-term borrowing.
Philadelphia, Phoenix and Atlanta are asking Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to release funds from the $700 billion financial bailout authorized by Congress last month.
The more details emerge, the clearer it becomes that Washington's handling of the Wall Street bailout is not merely incompetent. It is borderline criminal.
Yet despite all of this potential lawlessness, the Democrats are either openly defending the administration or refusing to intervene.
The prospects of a government rescue for the foundering American automakers dwindled Thursday as Democratic congressional leaders conceded that they would face potentially insurmountable Republican opposition during a lame-duck session next week.
At the same time, hope among many Democrats on Capitol Hill for an aggressive economic stimulus measure all but evaporated.
(Cartoons: AILING AUTOMAKERS)
The eurozone has fallen into recession for the first time since the single currency was introduced in 1999, official figures show this morning.
Evidence of global economic turmoil mounted on Thursday as leaders of the G-20 group of nations began to arrive in Washington for this weekend's summit.
Government leaders from the G20 nations are meeting in Washington this weekend for a special summit on the global financial and economic crisis.
The Group of 20 account for 85% of worldwide economic production and 66% of global population. It is unlikely, however, that the summit will come to any concrete agreement; the dissension and tensions between those present are simply too large.
Behind the summit's official façade — the photo-ops, banquets and empty statements — there will be heated conflicts over issues. Tensions that have been simmering for years are intensifying as the financial crisis and recession worsen.
In the last century, the struggle for economic and political influence, for markets, raw materials and strategic advantage produced 2 world wars.
Today, the growing conflicts between great powers are leading in the same direction. The crisis of the capitalist system not only threatens millions with poverty, unemployment and the loss of homes, savings and pensions, but new imperialist wars as well.
German press review
World leaders are gathering in Washington this weekend to consider reforms to the global financial system. Many, though, are trying to lower expectations amid widespread disagreement. German commentators say Britain and the US will have to change course by giving up power and influence.
(Cartoon: CHANGE IS ON ITS WAY)
Our European friends seem positively giddy about this weekend's meeting in Washington, where they hope to impose upon us a new world economic order like the one we imposed in 1944.
Yet, to call this a second Bretton Woods is absurd.
Globalists see in this worst of world financial crises since the 1930s what New Dealers saw in the Depression: an opportunity to geometrically augment government power and impose their visions upon mankind.
Legendary global investor Jim Rogers believes the recent dollar gains are temporary and are not based on fundamentals. He also said US government bonds are extremely overvalued. "They are "the world's last bubble."
There has been an unprecedented surge in Saudi gold purchases in the past 2 weeks with over $3.5 billion being spent on the yellow metal.
Investors warn liquidation of assets and deflation is temporary calm before the storm.
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The importance of the UN meeting in New York on dialogue between cultures and civilizations under the heading Culture for Peace cannot be overstated.
The Pentagon has a new secret weapon to neutralize sites containing chemical or biological weapons: rocket balls.
These are hollow spheres, made of rubberized rocket fuel; when ignited, they propel themselves around at random at high speed, bouncing off the walls and breaking through doors, turning the entire building into an inferno.
Researchers in the UK have discovered most European wine nations are exporting red and white wines with potentially dangerous levels of at least 7 heavy metals.
We all know a good cry helps to soothe our minds. Now doctors are discovering that tears may help to heal our bodies, too.
Josephus's commentaries on the laws and characteristics of the Essene community have been invaluable to scholars studying ancient Jewish laws and customs.
They have also been the subject of much debate, particularly as they pertain to the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Researchers have relied heavily on Josephus's works as they try to determine who wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls, who inhabited Qumran, and whether or not the authors of the scrolls and the community at Qumran were in fact one and the same.
TOMORROW IN SCRIPTURE
"Jeroboam instituted a festival on the 15th day of the 8th month, like the festival held in Judah, and offered sacrifices on the altar ... On the 15th day of the 8th month, a month of his own choosing, he offered sacrifices on the altar he had built at Bethel. So he instituted the festival for the Israelites and went up to the altar to make offerings." (1Kings 12:32,33)
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