Friday

The Daily WAR (13-28)

Reading between the lines, and thinking outside the box . . .
 
 
 
    Thursday morning the Pope received thirty representatives of the Pontifical Biblical Commission who have just held their plenary assembly, dedicated to the theme: "Inspiration and truth in the Bible".
    "From a correct approach to the concept of divine inspiration and truth in Sacred Scripture derive certain norms that directly concern its interpretation.
    "Scripture must be read in the context of the living Tradition of the entire Church. In her Tradition the Church carries the living memory of the Word of God, and it is the Holy Spirit Who provides her with the interpretation thereof in accordance with its spiritual meaning.
    "The interpretation of Sacred Scriptures cannot be a merely an individual academic undertaking, but must always be compared with, inserted into, and authenticated by the living Tradition of the Church.
    "Tradition...integrally transmits the Word of God as entrusted by Christ the Lord and by the Holy Spirit to the Apostles and their successors so that they, illuminated by the Spirit of truth, could faithfully conserve, explain and spread it through their preaching."
 
    Benedict XVI, said Archbishop Stanovnik, "is very different from how he is portrayed by the media, who make him out to be an inflexible, rigid and conservative Pope, estranged from reality, insensible, dogmatic, and he is not like this. He is exactly the opposite. What is sad is that some sectors in the Church believe what the media says."
 
    Though Benedict XVI will go to the Holy Land next month as a pilgrim, the trip undoubtedly has a political dimension, acknowledges the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Archbishop Twal.
    In this interview, the archbishop speaks of the May 8-15 trip, and the challenge of finding the best time for a papal journey to a region plagued by conflict.
 
    The Vatican Secretariat of State signed a memorandum of understanding today together with the League of Arab States.
    A statement explained that this agreement: "further consolidates the bonds of cooperation that exist between the Holy See and the League of Arab States, especially on the political and cultural levels, in favor of peace, security, and regional and international stability.
    "Moreover, it proposes instruments of consultation between the two parties, giving attention also to initiatives of interreligious dialogue."
 
 
 
    It's an issue that has split Berlin right down the middle. Should ethics be compulsory at school and religion an optional course, or should there be a clear choice between them?
    In the increasingly bitter campaign ahead of Sunday's referendum both sides claim they are defending freedom of choice.
 
    The German economy is sinking precipitously as a result of the global economic crisis, creating the worst downturn since the Great Depression.
    Politicians and labor leaders are concerned about social unrest, but the government remains firm in its conviction that its not time yet for a 3rd stimulus package.
 
    A clutch of political and labour leaders in Germany have raised the spectre of civil unrest after the country's leading institutes forecast a 6% contraction of gross domestic product this year, a slump reminiscent of 1931.
    The leader of the DGB trade union federation called the latest wave of sackings a "declaration of war" against Germany's workers. "Social unrest can no longer be ruled out."
    Gesine Swann, presidential candidate for the Social Democrats, said "the mood could turn explosive" over the next 3 months unless the government takes drastic action.
 
 
 
    The European Commission is threatening Germany with legal action if it refuses to publish details of beneficiaries of farm subsidies.
 
    The archbishop of Dublin is underlining the need for European Christians to bring Gospel values to their countries, to foster a unity and solidarity as in the early Church.
    "Europe today needs a vision for its future. Rather than lamenting a lack of recognition of the Christian heritage of Europe in recent political documents and events, European Christians have a new opportunity to bring to a Europe in search of hope and vision a challenging way of living the Christian message."
 
    President Medvedev has dismissed the head of the country's powerful GRU military intelligence service, the Kremlin has said. Officials gave no reason for the move.
 
 
 
    Israel rejected the international call for the creation of a Palestinian state, just hours after the US urged it to commit to the 2-state solution.
    Defending Tel Aviv's opposition to the peace process, hardliner Israeli Foreign Minister Lieberman on Thursday called on the international community to stop pushing for the creation of a Palestinian state.
    He also dismissed the calls to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli core issues.
 
    The Iranian president rakes supporters of Israel over the coals, saying they hold Zionism more sacred than divine faiths and freedom of speech.
    "They have made an idol called the Zionist regime, and they say that you can talk about anything but that. They insult the prophets of God and justify themselves with talk of 'freedom of speech'. But, when it comes to Israel, they say you are not allowed to speak a word. They want the entire world to worship their idol."
 
    Following reports yesterday that the Tehreek-e Taliban Pakistan had established virtual control over the Buner District, fear over the forces nearing the Pakistani capital has sparked a popular backlash against the various Taliban-styled militants and a military offensive that is putting the Swat Valley peace deal in peril.
 
    A new dirty game of geo-politics has already started in Baluchistan, Pakistan.
    To understand the recent wave of violence in Baluchistan we must understand the vested interests in Baluchistan.
    The root cause of violence in Baluchistan is not internal poverty or lack of development but the covert operations of foreign intelligence agencies.
    The US is looking into taking direct control of Gwadar, possibly by capturing Gwadar port, so that they can make a land route through Baluchistan into Southern Afghanistan. This will give them an alternate supply route for their troops.
    Baluchistan must be under US control so that gas pipelines from Central Asia can pump gas through Afghanistan into coast of Baluchistan.
    Brzezinski believes that Iran not Arab world is the natural ally of US in the Middle East.
    The current US government is using the foreign policy ideals of Brzezinski, which calls for using Islamic militant and Iran against China and Russia.
 
    South Africa's governing party, the African National Congress, is once again steamrolling to a big election victory, leading with 67% of the vote early Friday after more than 66% of the ballots have been counted.
 
 
 
    Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is criticizing the Bush administration for what she called a failed 8-year effort to isolate Iran.
 
 
 
    Does Barack Obama understand the people he leads? Do his aides?
 
    The Jane Harman case is confusing to newcomers. The most important question that arises is why now? Why 4 years after the phone call?
    It is the most important question because it speaks to the fact that the central fight here, between the Israel lobby and the critics of the Israel lobby, is a fight that has been going on for more than 60 years in the underground of the Washington establishment.
    What the Harman leak suggests is that the establishment press and the disgruntled Israel critics within government have found each other at last.
 
    The New York Times' David Barstow won a richly deserved Pulitzer Prize for 2 articles that, despite being featured as major news stories on the front page of The Paper of Record, were completely suppressed by virtually every network and cable news show, which to this day have never informed their viewers about what Barstow uncovered.
    Here is how the Pulitzer Committee described Barstow's exposés: "Awarded to David Barstow of The New York Times for his tenacious reporting that revealed how some retired generals, working as radio and television analysts, had been co-opted by the Pentagon to make its case for the war in Iraq, and how many of them also had undisclosed ties to companies that benefited from policies they defended."
    By whom were these "ties to companies" undisclosed and for whom did these deeply conflicted retired generals pose as "analysts"?  ABC, CBS, NBC, MSNBC, CNN and Fox -- the very companies that have simply suppressed the story from their viewers.
 
    The US is in the midst of the most radical privatization agenda in its history.
    We see this in schools, health care, prisons, and certainly with the US military/national security/intelligence apparatus.
    The Wall Street Journal this week reported: "Facing pressure to crack down on crime amid a record budget deficit, Oakland is joining other US cities that are turning over more law-enforcement duties to private armed guards."
 
    Responding to the Obama administration's attempt to justify a controversial "right-wing extremism" report by citing Timothy McVeigh, a counter-terrorism group has posted a video statement by a prominent Democrat investigator who contends the Oklahoma City bomb plot was hatched not by right-wingers but by Islamic jihadists.
    In the video, released by America's Truth Forum, Schippers says there's "no question the Oklahoma City bombing was a part of a state-sponsored attack on the heartland of the United States."
    "I have been asked about the Oklahoma bombing and whether there was any kind of federal cover-up. The simple and direct answer is yes. Unquestionably, a federal cover-up beginning in 1995 and continuing to today."
    [WAR: Yes, the OKC bombing was a foreign "state-sponsored attack" -- not by "Islamic jihadists," but by German intelligence (BND). See The BND in OKC?! for more info.]
 
 
 
    The entire world is hoping that housing is about to "recover" and re-ascend its glorious bubble-era heights of valuation.
    But it's not going to happen. Why not? For several fundamental reasons.
 
    The financial crisis in the US has triggered a social crisis of historic dimensions.
    Soup kitchens are suddenly in great demand and tent cities are popping up in the shadow of glistening office towers.
    Even drug dealers are feeling the pinch.
 
    Good news from 6 US banks has raised hopes that an end to the financial crisis might be in sight.
    But German experts think the euphoria is wishful thinking.
    As they see it, things are going to get worse soon -- and banks will be forced to make billions more in write-downs.
 
    The CEO and Chairman of Bank of America says he was threatened by the Bush Administration's Secretary of Treasury when he tried to back out of a deal to rescue Merrill Lynch.
    The stunning disclosures of a behind the scenes power play by top government officials were the talk of Wall Street and Washington yesterday.
 
    The big dogs of banking and finance are playing a rough game of bump-and-run with Obama, trying to knock him off balance and demonstrate their dominance.
    Forget the financial numbers. What we are witnessing is a high-stakes melodrama of glandular politics.
 
    Obama's White House meeting was typical of his public relations efforts to placate public opposition while taking no serious measures to rein in the banks.
 
    Two mind-numbing fast-paced dramas. Two parallel worlds. One real, one fiction, both deadly.
    Jack Bauer, mythic hero of "24." Dying from a deadly bio-pathogen leaked from weapons developed by Starkwood, a rogue mercenary army attacking the presidency, hell-bent on taking over America.
    The other drama in play: "Hank the Hammer" Paulson, iconic Wall Street hero, a Trojan Horse placed inside Washington by Goldman Sachs as Treasury Secretary in control of America's $15 trillion economy.
    Goldman, a modern dynasty with vast financial powers much like those once used by the de' Medici, Rothschilds and Morgans to control nations.
    Both dramas play high-stakes games with financial WMDs that have lethal consequences.
    Oh, you really think just I'm plotting a television series? Or just paranoid, exaggerating this power grab?
    You better read "The Usual Suspects," Matthew Malone's brilliant article in Portfolio magazine: He "exposed" the "Goldman Sachs 'conspiracy' to take over the US financial system."
 
    Is the euro zone, 10 years old this year, going to live or die?
 
    Classical/neoclassical economics has consistently protected the wealth of the privileged; it has preserved the status quo.
    This is capitalism's intent, and the evidence for it is overwhelming.
    It has impeded the improvement of the human condition for 200 years, and unless it is scrapped, it will continue to do so. No mere change in government can stop it.
 
    While budget-crunching, dollar-stretching and living on less is new to some, the art of living frugal is hardly a new topic.
 
 
 
    An ancient script that's defied generations of archaeologists has yielded some of its secrets to artificially intelligent computers.
 
 
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