Reading between the lines, and thinking outside the box . . .
Benedict XVI recalls that the feast of the Nativity of Christ is celebrated in conjunction with the winter solstice, and that it has a "cosmic dimension."
Pope Benedict XVI today gave a brief lesson on the unity between faith and science, during the reflection offered before the Angelus with the pilgrims in St. Peter's Square.
He began from the observation that "the feast of Christmas is connected to the winter solstice, when the days, in the northern hemisphere, start to get longer again."
This highlights the fact that Christ is the son of grace, who, with his light, "transfigures and ignites the expectant universe" (liturgy), and that the mystery of Christmas also has a "cosmic dimension," in addition to its "historical" one.
"In this regard, it may be that not everyone knows that St. Peter's Square is also a meridian: the obelisk, in fact, casts its shadow along a line that runs along the pavement toward the fountain under this window, and in these days the shadow is at its longest of the year. This reminds us of the function of astronomy in marking out the rhythm of prayer."
Today is the December solstice. There's nothing official about beginning and ending the winter or summer season at the solstice. But people around the world will mark this event, and its effect is felt everywhere worldwide.
What the Vatican may not fully appreciate, is that putting out a hard-nosed pro-life document right now, at least in the US, may be the political equivalent of shouting "Fire!" in a crowded theater.
To be sure, Obama won a majority among Catholics. Yet the sharpest anti-Obama rhetoric from religious leaders came not from old culture warriors, but rather from some Catholic clergymen.
Tony Blair left little doubt that it was fear of the reaction from the public and the media that led him to delay his conversion.
An attack on a police chief revives fears of the far right. But in Bavaria, far-right violence is mostly low-level thuggery by young skinheads.
The highest German social court delivered a judgement on December 16 that exposes the real aim of the introduction of "one euro-jobs" by Germany's former Social Democratic Party (SPD)-Green Party government: to impose state-sponsored hard labour, break opposition to such measures by the unemployed, and thereby replace reasonably paid full-time jobs with a massive low-wage sector.
Chancellor Merkel in her weekly podcast said Germans should expect "a year of challenges" in 2009, but said her government was working carefully on a stimulus package to help Germany weather the economic storm.
Chancellor Merkel said on Saturday the German government would take "a further step" in January to boost the economy after passing a stimulus package two weeks ago that was widely criticised as insufficient.
Also on Saturday, Merkel was criticised again by her Christian Social Union sister party. Deputy CSU leader Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg said she was too hesitant.
German lawmakers have been probing the schizophrenic role of the Schröder administration in resisting America's invasion of Iraq. Foreign Minister Steinmeier was in the hot seat this week, and German commentators don't believe everything he's said.
Right now, the question that the present paradigm has come to an end, is only understood by few.
But I would say, with absolute certainty, that the neo-liberal paradigm is finished, and also I would say that the European Union, as it is intended by the present European Union leadership, is finished.
I'm very happy to say that we have a national sovereign reflex coming out of this crisis, because when essentially the recent phase of the collapse occurred — it started from mid-September — if you look at it, there was not one Brussels intervention.
It was all national governments, which went to the protection of their banking systems — which was not exactly advisable, because it's all part of the bailout projects.
But essentially, the European Union is as finished as the neo-liberal paradigm.
This may not be recognized now, but you will think about it in the next period, because, under conditions of a breakdown crisis, the only institutions which can protect their country, are national institutions.
It's not supranational structures, which are in total contrast to the interests of the member-states.
Only if we go back in Europe, and get rid of the European Union bureaucracy, which is an imperial design, and go back to a "Europe of the Fatherlands," in which national sovereign countries are retaking control over their national currencies, that Europe has a chance.
Belgium's government collapsed on Friday after a top court found signs that it had sought to sway a legal ruling on the future of stricken bank Fortis.
Even as he vacates the European Union presidency, the French president contemplates a comeback.
France tries a novel approach: anticipating the Lisbon treaty.
Fears of an explosion of violence on New Year's Eve have forced President Sarkozy to abandon an education reform that was considered one of the cornerstones of his government's programme after it prompted angry protests from students.
It emerged that Sarkozy feared the protests would spill over into Christmas and the new year, spiralling into a dangerous Europe-wide student uprising inspired by the scenes of mayhem in Greece.
"Things are heating up everywhere in Europe, in Greece, but also in Spain, Italy and even in France. The slogan of the Greek students about 'the €600 generation' could easily catch on here."
On Monday he abandoned a long-standing promise to allow Sunday shopping.
Opposition to the idea of longer working hours has grown, particularly since the perceived failure of the so-called Anglo-Saxon model under which Britain upheld hard work as the secret of economic success.
Already, the Greek riots are prompting talk of a new era of networked protest. These days, images spread faster than words; and images, of course, transcend language barriers.
Prime Minister Putin warned Russia's foes on Friday against trying to destabilize a country facing broadening economic crisis, Russian news agencies reported.
Putin did not specify who might pose a threat to Russia's stability.
But in the past, he has often blamed Western security services of trying to destabilize the country using opposition groups and non-governmental organizations as their instruments.
Here is the Christmas message signed by 13 patriarchs and heads of Christian Churches in Jerusalem.
The US plans to deploy an anti-missile defense system in the oil-rich Gulf Arab states to guard against a possible Iranian missile attack that could include conventional or nuclear warheads.
The anti-missile shield would be a unified missile defense system that would provide protection to the entire region from Kuwait in the northern Gulf to Oman on the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula.
Blackout before bombing?...
Internet and phone communications between Europe, the Middle East, and Asia have been seriously disrupted after submarine cables were severed.
Experts warned that it may be days before the fault is fixed and said the knock on effect could have serious repercussions on regional economies.
"We've lost 3 out of 4 lines. If the 4th cable breaks, we're looking at a total blackout in the Middle East."
India may have ruled out the military option against Pakistan in the aftermath of Mumbai terror attacks but the international intelligence community continues to believe that strikes in Kashmir and elsewhere could still happen.
"Indian military operations against targets in Pakistan have in fact been prepared and await the signal to go forward.
An Iranian warship has entered the Gulf of Aden to protect Iranian vessels against pirates off the coast of Somalia, state radio said on Saturday.
"After travelling more than 4,000 maritime miles ... an Iranian warship entered the Gulf of Aden to protect Iranian ships against pirates," the radio said, without further details.
Iran said last month it was negotiating with pirates who seized a ship it had chartered but that it was ready to use force to free the vessel.
Israel is one of the strongest countries in the Middle East and needs to stop giving in to a "fear factor" with regard to the prospect of a nuclear Iran, Adm. (ret.) William Fallon, the former commander of the US Central Command, told The Jerusalem Post.
As reported earlier this week, Israel's Major General Gilad has met with top Russian officials to pressure them to back off a reported plan to sell Iran the S-300, their most advanced air defense system.
Taking a different tack than previous comments on the potential sale, Maj-Gen. Gilad suggested that the delivery of the system "can help Iran wipe Israel off the face of earth."
Exactly how they would do that, given their purely defensive nature, is unclear, but it would certainly make a planned Israeli attack on Iran far less convenient.
The head of Israeli Defense Ministry's Security-Diplomatic Bureau visited the Kremlin this week, intent upon convincing the Russians that equipping Iran, and perhaps Syria, with an upgraded version of their S-300 air defense system "would disturb the balance of power in the Middle East."
What balance?
George S. Patton, America's greatest combat general of WW2, was assassinated after the conflict with the connivance of US leaders, according to a new book.
The newly unearthed diaries of a colourful assassin for the wartime Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the forerunner of the CIA, reveal that American spy chiefs wanted Patton dead because he was threatening to expose allied collusion with the Russians that cost American lives.
The death of Patton in December 1945, is one of the enduring mysteries of the war era. Although he had suffered serious injuries in a car crash in Manheim, he was thought to be recovering and was on the verge of flying home.
But after a decade-long investigation, military historian Robert Wilcox claims that OSS head General "Wild Bill" Donovan ordered a highly decorated marksman called Douglas Bazata to silence Patton.
The last remaining vestige of a federal republic is the Electoral College, an ingeniously designed system to insure that small states are not overrun by large states in the election of the president.
Now, there is a powerful movement afoot to bypass the Constitution, and the amendment process, and destroy the Electoral College, which would transform America into a pure democracy.
The Kenyan government has barred unapproved contacts between the media and Barack Obama's extended family.
Family members will be required to receive permission from the government before making any public statements about their famous relative, according to the Nairobi Star.
Much has been made of the "elite" pedigrees of the people Obama has been appointing.
The last administration so dominated by Ivy League graduates was probably that of John F Kennedy, but almost all were white men from the East coast.
The Obama cabinet, by contrast, has at least 3 Hispanic, 5 female and 2 black members; the Obama inner circle is even more ethnically and sociologically diverse
There are Democrats and Republicans, liberals and moderates, Hispanics and Asians, whites and blacks, Northerners and Westerners.
But one group was arguably missing when Obama rounded out his 15-member Cabinet Friday — Southerners.
The only Southern appointment came when he named former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk US trade representative, a lower-level post. Nobody else from below the Mason-Dixon Line made the cut.
Barack Obama's transition team held an hour and 15 minute meeting on Tuesday with just over a dozen social justice groups that presented what they see as the concerns of Catholics.
In response, some Catholic bishops and commentators have told CNA that they don't believe these groups' concerns resonate with those of the Church.
As the economic crisis deepens, its human toll is becoming more evident. A new survey of food charities in the US has revealed a dramatic increase in hunger.
Feeding America, the largest hunger-relief organization in the US, says that a growing number of families face difficulties in securing adequate nutrition.
Meanwhile food banks have proven ill-equipped to meet the increased demand caused by layoffs and increased food costs, and many have collapsed or have restricted the allotments of food they make.
Though they paint a grim portrait, the Feeding America surveys on hunger offer only a glimpse of the level of social misery to come.
One measure of how tough times are in the Motor City: Some of the offenders in jail don't want to be released; some who do get out promptly re-offend to head back where there's heat, health care and 3 meals a day.
"For the first time, I'm seeing guys make a conscious decision they'll be better off in prison than in the community, homeless and hungry."
Even with no hurricane or other natural disaster to blame, Detroit has — by many measures — replaced New Orleans as America's most beleaguered city.
The oil cartel OPEC is right to warn that sharply falling oil prices will create a "price time-bomb for the future", experts have warned.
OPEC called on Western governments to cut fuel tax to help push prices back up to the "fair and reasonable" sum of $70 per barrel.
Out of conventional ammunition, the Fed uses its balance-sheet to battle the slump.
Central bankers ordinarily strive to be boring. But these are not ordinary times. On December 16th the Federal Reserve unveiled a 3-part assault on America's slump that lit up the news wires like a pyrotechnic display.
The revelation that Bernard Madoff - brilliant investor (or so almost everyone thought), philanthropist, pillar of the community - was a phony has shocked the world, and understandably so.
The scale of his alleged $50 billion Ponzi scheme is hard to comprehend.
Yet surely I'm not the only person to ask the question: How different, really, is Madoff's tale from the story of the investment industry as a whole?
The riots have begun.
Civil protest is breaking out in cities across Russia, China, and beyond.
Greece has been in turmoil for 11 days. The mood seems to have turned "pre-insurrectionary" in parts of Athens - to borrow from the Marxist handbook.
This is a foretaste of what the world may face as the "crisis of capitalism" - another Marxist phase making a comeback - starts to turn 200 million lives upside down.
We are advancing to the political stage of this global train wreck.
Regimes are being tested. Those relying on perma-boom to mask a lack of democratic or ancestral legitimacy may try to gain time by the usual methods: trade barriers, saber-rattling, and barbed wire.
It may overturn the "New World Order" as well, unless we move with great care in grim months ahead. This is where events turn dangerous.
The last great era of globalisation peaked just before 1914. You know the rest of the story...
With the global economy facing its worst recession in decades, protectionism is a growing risk.
A rise in protection would worsen the already grim outlook for world trade.
A cautionary tale about how a protectionist measure opposed by all right-thinking people was passed.
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Bilderberg luminary Henry Kissinger has repeated his routine call for a new international political order, stating that global crises should be seen as an opportunity to move toward a borderless world where national interests are outweighed by global necessities.
Biologists are addressing one of humanity's strangest attributes, its all-singing, all-dancing culture.
Subversion, espionage and a man who gave his life to disseminate the Word.
Two thousand years ago, a bright star showed the birth of the Messiah. But what was that star? Watch the video from Discovery's Science Channel.
(And: XMAS IN JUNE?)
Is it possible that the young boy Jesus actually talked to the wise men, personally thanking them for the gifts they brought?
If you believe the words of Scripture instead of ancient fables [a.k.a. Christianity] that have endured for centuries, the possibility certainly exists.
When the words of the Bible are examined without any preconceived notions, a different picture emerges.
"The Bible goes out of its way to indicate Herod clearly believed that Jesus was not a newborn babe by the time the wise men had arrived."
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