Reading between the lines, and thinking outside the box . . .
The Pope is preparing to cancel the excommunication of four traditionalist Catholic bishops including one who believes the Holocaust never happened and the gas chambers were a myth.
Pope Benedict XVI has already signed the decree lifting the excommunication of the 4 bishops of the ultra-conservative Society of St Pius X, according to well-sourced reports in the Italian press.
One of the bishops, Richard Williamson, an English former Anglican and graduate of Winchester and Cambridge, gave an interview to Swedish TV this week in which he said: "There were no gas chambers."
The Pope, whose own position is towards the conservative wing of the Church, is understood to be keen to welcome the society's members, thought to number more than 150,000, back into the fold.
At a time when all hopes of unity with the Anglican Communion are now dead in the water, a reconciliation with traditionalists at the other end of the scale would be a dramatic gesture which, for Benedict, would set a triumphant seal on this week of Christian Unity.
However, Bishop Williamson's statements on the Holocaust and comments he has made endorsing the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, threaten to derail the Pope's plans.
If Benedict XVI goes ahead with lifting the excommunication in spite of Bishop Williamson's comments, that will in turn wreak havoc on more than 40 years of attempts to rebuild relations with the Jewish community.
(And: WHAT IS HOLOCAUST DENIAL?)
Pope Benedict XVI has communicated with Barack Obama twice since the Democrat won the White House. The pope and Obama had a "cordial" conversation mainly about cultural issues, according to a Bush administration source with close ties to the Vatican.
When the Pope brought up the subject of abortion, Obama said simply: "We agree to disagree."
But the source said that Obama did agree with the Pope on the controversial issue of same-sex marriage, saying they shared a common view that marriage should be only between a man and a woman.
B16 AND SEEHOFER MEETING (another translated article)
la chiesa è solo una puttana!...
The Church is an institution that is esteemed and valued around the world, according to Benedict XVI's secretary of state.
The relationship between the Catholic and Russian Orthodox Churches is significantly better than a few years ago, largely thanks to friendships being formed by representatives of both, says a Vatican aide.
Imagine a medicine that has a staggering 75% success rate in treating cancer, and yet is a natural and ethical product, owned by a nonprofit company headed by devout Catholics.
The Free Democrats have done unexpectedly well in Hesse elections.
Germany faces a "sizeable" and "possibly extended" recession, with its economy set to shrink 2.5% this year, the International Monetary Fund said, revising down a previous forecast.
The projection is even gloomier than Berlin's own assessment of its economic plight.
Pressure is growing on the federal government to make billions more available to banks in order to shift the burden of the bank's speculative losses onto the population as a whole.
The main source of the stream of new losses for the banks is the enormous sum of "toxic securities" on their balance books.
Behind the scenes, the banks are exerting enormous pressure for their losses to be covered by the public purse and the taxpayer.
The German government will not pursue any solution to help ailing banks shift toxic assets off their balance sheets that includes nationalising those assets, the Finance Ministry spokesman said today.
Germany's most prominent political debate TV program "Anne Will" had announced to run a show on Gaza, but in what many observers believe to be an unprecedented step canceled the topic only 3 days earlier.
Germany's Foreign Minister on Thursday promised to work together with newly-appointed US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on a range of pressing foreign policy issues.
Steinmeier's office said Thursday he had telephoned with Clinton and agreed to meet soon.
"Let us work together to find solutions for the great challenges of our time starting from the solid German-American relationship that has closely and amicably connected us."
European leaders have called emergency talks to discuss a groundswell of social unrest and violent street protests that have spread across Europe amid the economic downturn.
Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Greece and Iceland have all faced social unrest and rioting as unemployment soars and as many European countries have been forced to impose severe cuts to government spending.
A senior EU source has told The Daily Telegraph that a March summit of European leaders will examine the increasing unrest as unemployment rises across Europe and cuts to social programmes bite.
The police arrested about 30 people, including army officers and a police chief, in a nationwide sweep Thursday for suspects in an alleged coup plot that has rattled financial markets and fueled tension with the army.
Hamas and Israel are observing separate ceasefires after a 22-day Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip.
Alastair Crooke, founder of the Conflicts Forum think-tank, shares his thoughts on the conflict, the region and what Obama might bring to the mix.
Askin' for trouble!...
Barack Obama has called on Israel to open its borders with Gaza, in a powerful sign of his new administration's break with Bush-era policy on the Middle East and the world as a whole.
A prominent leader of al-Qaeda has called for attacks in Western countries, particularly Britain, in retaliation for Israel's offensive in Gaza, arguing that London was behind the creation of the Jewish state.
Qaddafi's op-ed...
Everywhere one looks, among the speeches and the desperate diplomacy, there is no real way forward.
A just and lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinians is possible, but it lies in the history of the people of this conflicted land, and not in the tired rhetoric of partition and 2-state solutions
A member of Saudi Arabia's royal family warned Barack Obama today the Middle East peace process and US-Saudi ties were at risk unless Washington changed tack on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
There is no other head of government in the entire world who could say such words to the president of the US. And will Olmert's successor be able to speak with Bush's successor in the same way and with a similar result?
There are very few Representatives of the people of America who would dare challenge Israel, or who might possibly criticize Israel, or who have the courage to condemn atrocities committed by Israel.
A new start with the Muslim world, as pledged by Obama in his inaugural speech, has a sine qua non: a Palestinian settlement, a quest that has eluded the last 5 US presidents.
In naming George Mitchell as special envoy to the Middle East, President Obama unfortunately made statements indicating no departure from the failing policies of previous administrations. In particular Obama emphasized Israel's right to "defend itself", never once mentioned things like the occupation or International law.
("Change"?: TOP-NOTCH CFR, TC AND BILDERBERG MEMBERS)
(And: HAMAS SEES NO HOPE IN OBAMA)
In the age of Obama, we're going to have to get used to the new zeitgeist in Washington, and in the media: the perpetual high moral dudgeon of contemporary liberalism.
What's happening is the inauguration of a new phase in the "war on terrorism" – a new front, or, rather, series of proliferating fronts, spread out all across the region, albeit centered in Afghanistan and the tribal areas of Pakistan.
The liberals have, in large part, made a grand bargain with the Obama administration: close Guantanamo, end torture, and we'll close our eyes to the widening of the Afghan war and the extension of American military assets throughout Central Asia.
Of course, there are already a number of American bases in the 'stans: expect these to be ramped up and multiplied – along with the problems this will cause with the Russians.
(And: KABUL'S RIFT WITH US WIDENS)
A border dispute could become the spark that launches China and India into a military conflict, with Chinese strategists resurrecting the concept of a "partial war" to recover what they call "Southern Tibet," the region India calls "Arunachal Pradesh," according to a report from the G2 Bulletin.
The departure of the last Ethiopian tanks from Somalia's capital is ushering in a new phase of conflict in a nation known for clan warfare: a battle for power among militias flying Islamist banners.
In Israel, Hamas is seen as an arm of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which seeks to extend its hegemony over the Middle East.
Predictions that Israel would attack Iran before President Bush leaves office have proven correct, in a manner of speaking. The attack on Hamas in the Gaza Strip is seen by some analysts as an attack on the western arm of Iran's would-be Middle East dominion.
"Israel has, in effect, launched the war on the Iranian empire that President Bush and Vice President Cheney can only have contemplated," writes American author Robert D. Kaplan in Atlantic Online.
Iran has set up a public-funded committee to prompt reconstruction of the Gaza Strip which devastated by a 23-day Israeli offensive.
The US secretary of state and Israel's foreign minister have reportedly reached an agreement to work together in dealing with Iran's nuclear program. Israel's daily Haaretz said Tzipi Livni and Hillary Clinton made the deal during a phone conversation.
US Treasury secretary-designate vows to follow Bush's procedures on Iran over its nuclear program, despite Obama's claims of new policies.
He said that if confirmed as the Secretary, he would "consider the full range of tools available to the US Department of the Treasury including unilateral measures" to halt Iran's nuclear progress.
A lawyer who is working on one of the cases before the US Supreme Court that challenges the eligibility of Barack Obama to occupy the Oval Office is raising concerns over a meeting between the defendant in the case and the judges who are expected to review it.
Orly Taitz, whose case is scheduled to be heard today in a conference among justices, confirmed on her website that a supplemental brief in her arguments had been distributed.
"No reporters were allowed. No attorneys were invited on behalf of the plaintiffs. This causes many of us citizens to question the rules of judicial ethics and causes us to question the impartiality on behalf of the justices."
Maybe paying strict attention to the Constitution isn't nitpicky after all? I'm glad someone still takes at least part of the Constitution seriously.
Unfortunately, another part of Article II, Section 1 was completely trampled upon during the 2008 election process and right up through the swearing in ceremony.
That is the issue of whether Obama is indeed, as the Constitution requires, a "natural born citizen." Perhaps he is, perhaps he isn't.
But the Constitution either means precisely what it says or it doesn't. If we're going to fudge on such simple, straightforward matters as eligibility requirements for the president and oaths of office, where does the fudging end?
And, conversely, if it is so critically important to recite the specific and exact 35 words of the oath of office as delineated in the Constitution, why was it not important to establish Obama's eligibility beyond any shadow of a doubt?
Ironically, Barack the boy was raised by his white maternal grandparents; his Kenyan father abandoned him.
The qualities Americans appeared to find universally appealing in the ambitious, affable Obama – his confidence and calm, and his commitment to community and kin, education and excellence – these came from Kansas, not Kenya.
Since winning the election, Obama has argued that he should be allowed to bring his BlackBerry to the Oval Office, despite national security concerns and a tradition of e-mail-free presidents.
On a recent visit to Tucson, Arizona, where I was invited to give a presentation on monetary reform, I was disturbed by a story of strange goings on in the desert.
On January 18, the Associated Press reported that Warren Buffett said that the "US is engaged in an economic Pearl Harbor."
There was hardly any comment by any of our national dailies or the leading financial dailies.
The government said Thursday it has distributed an additional $1.5 billion to 39 banks nationwide as part of the $700 billion financial rescue program.
The banking crisis in Europe stems from increased worries over the global economy, but investors are troubled by homegrown issues as well. Economists fear the downturn will last well into 2010.
China has responded angrily to an accusation of currency "manipulation" by the new US Treasury Secretary.
His comments, on only the 2nd day of Obama's presidency, sent a much stronger message to China than his predecessor, Hank Paulson, ever dared to.
General Electric reported today a 44% drop in quarterly profit, meeting Wall Street's expectations, as the US conglomerate and economic bellwether closed out one of the toughest years in its 117-year history.
For a picture of the US real estate crisis, imagine New Orleans wrecked by Hurricane Katrina, and before the waters even begin to recede, another Katrina hits.
The 1,120,000 lost US retail jobs in 2008 are a signal that the 2nd stage of the real estate bust is about to hit the economy.
This time it will be commercial real estate: shopping malls, strip malls, warehouses, and office buildings.
Yet, the solution offered by Obama's economic team is to expand debt further.
This is not surprising as Obama's economic team consists of the very people who brought on the debt crisis. Now they are going to make it worse.
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Indiscriminate kidnappings. Nearly daily beheadings. Gangs that mock and kill government agents.
This isn't Iraq or Pakistan. It's Mexico, which the US government and a growing number of experts say is becoming one of the world's biggest security risks.
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