The New Republic

Against the meaning of his entire history as a prince of the church and also against various dicta issued by him later as the Vicar of Christ, Pope Benedict has proclaimed that he will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the conclave convened by Pope John Paul II in the Umbrian town of Assisi. That gathering assembled eminences from the "world religions" to pray together for peace. READ MORE >>

The Hurriyet Daily News and Economic Review is Turkey's major English language newspaper. Its web site this morning reported that, according to a survey of 1503 Turks done by MetroPoll, the United States is considered by 43% of the population as the major threat to Turkey. This means that the U.S. heads the list of enemies of the Turkish state. Israel follows but by only slightly more than half of the respondents. READ MORE >>

The ones I'm writing about are the idealists. Those who are stirred to action by the inhumanity of man to man. READ MORE >>

It was not exactly uplifting to read about the conviction of Moshe Katzav, the former president of Israel, on several counts of rape and other accusations of sexual depredation. And, to tell the real truth, the Jewish state has had a rash of such offenders at high and middle levels that bring no glory to what is otherwise a highly cultured and civilized society - kind, demanding of standards, even sweet. READ MORE >>

Yes, of course. The majority of Muslims are against terror killings of Christians. Maybe even a big majority. But the fact is there is little evidence and, in fact, almost no evidence of revulsion at what has become the distinctive imprint of Islam in the modern world. Alright, I'll note the most important caveat: it is not Islam but Islamists and Islamism that are at fault in this ongoing outrage. READ MORE >>

I don’t know exactly how much pressure the president is under to release Jonathan Pollard. But there is certainly much heat on the prime minister from his ultras to persuade Obama to set the convicted spy free. READ MORE >>

Aubuike Ihejririka, Nigeria’s army chief of staff, explained the terror that killed at least 40 people in northeast Nigeria on Christmas eve and Christmas day. READ MORE >>

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We've been reading over the past year that Abu Dhabi and the other emirates are having financial difficulties. But troubles at the bank are always relative. These are not the worries of Spain or Greece and not even the worries of this emirate's poorer cousins, which are far less than that of the now nearly bankrupt European states.   READ MORE >>

I am no fan of the European Union. It is an artificial contraption, run by the corporate and bureaucratic elites of the continent, without democratic sanction because the various peoples subsumed under its rule themselves see that it is without democratic values or ambitions. Had it at least energized the economies of Europe there might be some raison d'être for its intrusive rules which wreak havoc with every member nation's culture and identity. READ MORE >>