Reading between the lines, and thinking outside the box . . .
Here is the address Benedict XVI gave Thursday upon meeting with the Special Council of the Synod for Africa at the apostolic nunciature of Yaoundé.
Pope Benedict's repeated gaffes and the Vatican's inability to manage his message in the internet era are threatening to undermine his papacy, Vatican insiders have said.
The Holy See is struggling to contain international anger over the Pope's claim on his first official visit to Africa that AIDS "cannot be overcome through the distribution of condoms, which even aggravates the problems."
"Until recently the Vatican was secretive and their way of controlling the message of the Church was to release information slowly and highly selectively through carefully worded documents. The problem now is that the internet and the blogosphere won't wait for the Vatican, so its message gets swamped."
(And: FULL TEXT OF B16 ON AIDS)
(Cartoon: B16 ON CONDOMS)
Infallibility aside, maybe this Pope just isn't all that good. At popery, I mean. At generally poping about. It's just, every time he does anything, a lot of people get upset.
Germany's far-right National Democratic Party may be on the brink of financial collapse, but the neo-Nazi scene is alive and kicking. And, experts warn, it is becoming more dangerous.
Germany's finance minister, Peer Steinbrueck, has been described by an MP in Switzerland as behaving like a 'jackbooted Nazi' for challenging banking secrecy in the country.
The spat has laid bare deep national tensions at a time many Swiss are nervous about an influx of German residents.
Chancellor Merkel on Thursday went before the German parliament to defend her handling thus far of the crisis shaking the global economy. Finance Minister Steinbrück admitted that he doesn't know how bad things will get.
Earlier this week, Germany's economy minister flew to Washington to negotiate the future of ailing German carmaker Opel.
German commentators see Berlin's efforts to work with the Americans as a possible turning point in moves to save the European unit of troubled General Motors.
In a record turn-out, as many as 3 million people hit the streets in France on Thursday to protest against the government's economic policies in response to the global crisis, according to union estimates. The numbers were closer to 1.2 million, say the police.
Meanwhile, strikes have been taking place in other EU countries as well, including Italy.
In less than a fortnight Obama will embark on an 8-day, 4-nation tour of Europe and Turkey where his reception from the public is likely to be in marked contrast to the ritual protests that usually greeted George Bush's ventures across the Atlantic.
This should not, however, serve to obscure the reality that many of Obama's proposals to steer a new course are running into the hard rock of self-interested resistance from some of the same countries that did so much to damage the agenda of his predecessor.
Obama is discovering that what Donald Rumsfeld once branded "Old Europe" is a significant obstacle to his ambitions for the global economy, the unfinished war in Afghanistan or reaching out to the Muslim world.
US Admiral James Stavridis is expected to take command of NATO forces soon.
Obama's decision to appoint him has astounded many in Europe, but the nominee brings important experience to the Afghanistan mission.
Greece has blocked the NATO and EU ambitions of Macedonia for the past 18 years over a bizarre name dispute.
The ongoing controversy threatens the very cohesion of the diminutive Balkan republic, which holds presidential elections Sunday.
Trying to pull America's relations with Russia out of a tailspin before the presidents of the countries meet for the first time next month, 3 former US secretaries of state and a former secretary of defense were in Moscow on Thursday for informal meetings with top officials.
Whispers of a split between Prime Minister Putin and his handpicked successor, Presiden Medvedev, have grown louder over the past few weeks.
The economic crisis is putting pressure on the ruling duo to show they're on top of things. It may also be exacerbating their differences.
Over the years, some of my wildest critics seem to have assumed I am Jewish. At the same time, some of my closest friends wish I were.
Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister-elect, has been given two more weeks to form a broad-based coalition government, which he says is essential to maintain political stability.
The Likud leader was granted the extra time by the Israeli president today to persuade the Labour party under Ehud Barak, the outgoing defense minister, to join his coalition.
The Palestinian Authority accused Israel of "ethnically cleansing" east Jerusalem of Palestinians, following the tearing down of dozens of buildings in the capital's east.
"There is an unprecedented escalation of the Government of occupation and what they call the municipality of Jerusalem against the Palestinian presence in Jerusalem through the destruction of tens of houses and the issuance of demolition orders against dozens of others."
The United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories has said Israel's military offensive on Gaza "would seem to constitute a war crime of the greatest magnitude under international law."
Osama bin Laden has issued a new message urging Somalis to overthrow the country's new president.
"You are the first line of defence for the Islamic world in its southwestern part; and your patience and resolve supports your brothers in Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan, the Islamic Maghreb, Pakistan and the rest of the fields of Jihad."
The Indian government has strongly rejected a call by the US to pull back armed forces from its troubled border with Pakistan.
India's Foreign Secretary, during his recent visit to Washington, told the US senior officials that New Delhi wouldn't move its troops back along the border.
Also, Indian defense sources said that Islamabad had deployed several army brigades along Indo-Pakistan border in Jehlum-Chenab and Chenab-Ravi corridors.
Pakistan has also deployed more troops along the Line of Control in disputed Kashmir region.
The US military is prepared for the possibility that North Korea may launch several missiles to coincide with its scheduled rocket launch next month, a US general said on Thursday.
There is a "high probability" that the US could knock down a North Korean missile aimed at this country, the Pentagon's military commander for the Pacific told Congress yesterday.
A top US commander says China's "aggressive and troublesome" run-in with an unarmed American ship shows that Beijing is not yet ready to behave acceptably.
Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister says Moscow sees no sign that Iran is seeking military objective in its nuclear work.
"For the time being, we see no signs of a switch of this program to military purposes.... And in this we're in full solidarity with the conclusions of the latest report of the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency."
Iran has called for the abolition of the right to veto currently in the hands of the 5 major powerful countries of the United Nations.
"This unfair privilege has given the right to specific countries to overshadow decisions of the UN Security Council to protect their interests. And therefore such countries prevent the body from doing its job, which is to investigate issues regarding security and peace."
In messages to heads of neighboring states President Ahmadinejad offers congratulations on Nowruz, first day of spring in northern hemisphere.
He said mankind would move toward building a world full of peace, stability and friendship in light of ethics and spirituality.
Nowruz, celebrated at the vernal equinox, has been the focal point of Persian New Year for thousands of years. It is also celebrated in many parts of the world such as Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Iraqi Kurdistan and the Kurdish region of Turkey.
(Wiki: NOWRUZ)
Barack Obama has called for a "new beginning" of "honest" relations with Iran in a video released on YouTube.
In a dramatic reversal of White House policy, he announced that America was determined to pursue "constructive ties" with its former arch enemy.
(And: IRANIAN VIEWS ON MESSAGE)
(And: EU WELCOMES MESSAGE)
Of all the pitfalls Barack Obama might face, here is one not many people predicted: He is struggling as a public communicator.
The Obama administration is considering a plan that will merge NASA with the Pentagon.
Combining the space program with the Pentagon could help NASA with additional funding for future missions.
America, the great lady, has been conned! And like a woman seduced by a smooth-talking scoundrel, we feel used.
As the US financial crisis broadens and deepens, wiping out the wealth and savings of tens of millions, destroying hopes and dreams, it is hard not to see in all of this history's verdict upon this generation.
We have been weighed in the balance and found wanting.
Their gimmick to protest the bailout is hilarious because GOP tax policies are more in line with King George than colonial patriots.
The mayor of California's state capital unveiled plans to shut down a sprawling "tent city" of the homeless that has drawn worldwide media attention as a symbol of US economic decline.
Professor Michael Hudson is correct that the orchestrated outrage over the $165 million AIG bonuses is a diversion from the thousand times greater theft from taxpayers of the approximately $200 billion "bailout" of AIG.
Nevertheless, it is a diversion that serves an important purpose. It has taught an inattentive American public that the elites run the government in their own private interests.
(And: BANKERS TO THE RESCUE)
The only institution that can set in motion the expansion of money and a false boom is the Fed.
The US government lit the fuse to the $683 trillion derivative's debt bomb on Wednesday March 18, 2009 with the announcement the Fed would purchase $300 billion dollars worth of US Treasury used toilet paper and an additional $750 billion dollars worth of mortgage backed used toilet paper.
In total the commitment to counterfeit over a trillion dollars leaves only $682 trillion dollars worth of derivatives to sort out.
This is the end of the dollar. Everyone with any sense on earth will be unloading both their treasuries and mortgage-backed crap on the Fed.
The meeting of the G20 in London on April 2, 2009 will be the most important financial meeting in history.
If the delegates do not adopt a new gold standard of honest money, the dollar will totally default within a few months.
The fuse has been lit. There is nothing the government can do beyond what they have already done. Nothing has worked. Nothing can work.
The situation appears all the more worrying in that tensions are growing on the eve of the April 2nd summit.
Indeed a number of thinly disguised threats on the part of some G20 leaders, as well as various attempts to manipulate public opinion on the part of others are to be observed.
If the G20 Summit fails to prevent the world entering into the phase of geopolitical dislocation, similar operations of manipulation and destabilization will increase in number, each regional block trying to discredit their opponent.
Gordon Brown's hopes of leading the world out of recession at next month's pivotal summit in London were undermined yesterday when European leaders flatly rejected calls for a further massive stimulus package.
The London meeting risks being overshadowed by a dispute between Europe and the US over public spending.
A series of leaders at an EU summit, led by Germany's Chancellor Merkel, refused yesterday to go along with American calls for greater borrowing and spending by Europe.
Seeking to quash any lingering American hopes of more stimulus spending from across the Atlantic, European leaders Thursday hit on a new argument: Unlike the US, Europe will spend huge sums during the recession through its generous welfare systems.
Germany, the biggest contributor to the EU budget, has taken the toughest line against spending.
"It is not time to look at more growth measures," Chancellor Merkel said. "I disagree with this idea completely. The existing measures must work, they must be allowed to develop."
The European Central Bank denied a report it has a rescue fund for troubled euro-region members and the German government said it has no knowledge of such a plan.
With budget deficits ballooning across Europe amid the worst recession since WW2, concerns have grown that some euro-region countries could default on their debt repayments and spark a crisis for the monetary union.
The world is moving into the 2nd wave of the financial crisis, which will be symbolized more by the deterioration in the global business cycle than the financial market itself, said Stephen Roach, chairman of the Hong Kong-based Morgan Stanley Asia.
"I think the second wave will be driven by the weakening of profitability of corporations around the world and that will have a negative impact on their ability to pay back loans to banks and other financial institutions."
Roach noted that the world economic recession is not bottoming. "I think there's more to come in terms of the weakness of the world economy. When the year is finished, I think 2009 will represent the first decline for an entire year in world GDP we have seen since the end of WW2."
The current global financial crisis embodies a chance for a new economic order, argue Chancellor Merkel and Dutch Prime Minister Balkenende.
That idea should be the guiding principle for the upcoming G-20 summit in London.
That manufacturing is in decline is hardly surprising, but the depth and speed of the plunge are striking and, most worrisome for economists, a self-reinforcing trend not unlike the cascading bust that led to the Great Depression.
The pattern of manufacturing and trade ominously recalls how the financial crisis of 1929 grew into the Great Depression: tightening credit and consumer fear reduced demand for manufactured goods in one country after another, creating a downward spiral that reduced global trade.
Both the United States and Mexico must be careful. A full-fledged fight could threaten more than $350 billion in annual commerce between the countries. That is clearly in nobody's interest.
While the world talks about new ways to save struggling banks, there are a handful of economists who think some banks shouldn't be saved at all.
American economist James Galbraith told Manager Magazin that it might make more sense to break them up and start over.
The descendants of Prophet Mohammed, who live in Russia, offered their support to the Russian government in the fight against the global financial crisis.
DIVERSE ECONOMY COMES (Part 1)
In 1991 communism failed. In 2008 capitalism failed us.
In the space of 17 years, 2 great economic systems based upon very elaborate and self-convinced ideologies collapsed.
Two great peoples, American and Russian, are stunned and wandering in a vacuous period of human history, in a great pause between ages.
weakened dollar and evidence that OPEC has significantly slowed production sent oil prices soaring to new highs for the year Thursday.
"I think we'll see higher oil prices for a while. There's an expectation that the market has bottomed out."
Benchmark crude for April delivery surged $3.47 to settle at $51.61 a barrel on the NYME. Oil prices hit $52.25 earlier in the day.
As the wealthier nations cease investing in the developing world or acquiring its exports, the crisis is hitting them with a vengeance.
[CFR Opinion Roundup][Newseum][Global Incident Map][Earthweek][Day-Night Map][Tonight's Sky][Moon phase]
When we go online, each of us is our own editor, our own gatekeeper. We select the kind of news and opinions that we care most about.
Nicholas Negroponte of MIT has called this emerging news product The Daily Me. And if that's the trend, God save us from ourselves.
The decline of traditional news media will accelerate the rise of The Daily Me, and we'll be irritated less by what we read and find our wisdom confirmed more often.
The danger is that this self-selected "news" acts as a narcotic, lulling us into a self-confident stupor through which we will perceive in blacks and whites a world that typically unfolds in grays.
(Cartoons: DYING NEWSPAPERS)
The sooner, the better!...
A "postevangelical" predicts the coming of an anti-Christian era that will fundamentally alter the religious and cultural environment.
In the Northern Hemisphere spring officially began at 7:44 AM ET today — the vernal equinox, or spring equinox.
But don't be fooled by the old rumor that on the vernal equinox the length of day is exactly equal to the length of night.
The true days of day-night equality always fall before the vernal equinox.
By the time the center of the Sun crosses over the Equator — the official definition of equinox — the day will be slightly longer than the night everywhere on Earth.
The difference is a matter of geometry, atmosphere, and language.
(And: EQUINOX MARKS DUE EAST/WEST)
[WAR: Well it's that time of year again: That point in time -- which has never been observed in the history of man -- used by the majority of those that try to observe the Bible's appointed times as the pivotal point to determine when Passover is.
And it's exactly the same point of reference used by The Whore in Rome to determine her pagan Easter celebration.
So should the same point be used by both The Whore and Yahshua's Bride? Not only no, but hell no!!]
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